Death Sutra

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Born into a wealthy family, Gu Shenwei was spoiled and carefree. However,
at the age of 14, his entire family were brutally murdered, and he was caught
by some bandits who sold him into slavery. As a slave boy, he entered
Golden Roc Fort by chance and found the man who had slaughtered his
family. He endured insults and worked hard to improve his kung fu while
working as a slave boy. He learned from and plotted against his enemy under
the enemy’s nose. He became increasingly ambitious as he became more and
more powerful. He would only be satisfied if he completely destroyed his
enemy—by fair means or foul. Gradually his bitter experience turned him
into a totally different person. This is a kung fu fiction that is full of
mysteries and surprises. This is a story dealing with love, betrayals and
distances. This is the journey of an ordinary boy who, against all odds, fought
against formidable foes. This is a tale regarding a person who felt abandoned
by the world made unremitting efforts to create a new world of his own, in
which he was alone.
Chapter 1 - Prologue - Two Rules
for Killers
Chapter 1: Prologue: Two Rules for Killers
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Killing is all about neatness and efficiency. Rarely will you have the same
opportunity twice. Seek every chance to catch your target off guard and
remember to always strike first. Always try to kill your target with one move
and kill everyone present. You can go ahead and forget about crap like
having a moral code, dueling on a mountaintop, rules, or even becoming a
Jianghu legend. Unlike actors, killers don't need such showy tricks or inflated
reputations.
Living as long as you can is the only criteria to be considered a top killer.
Just as all his predecessors had done, Shangguan Fa, the "Supreme King" of
his time, taught his sons the way of a killer.
Rule No. 1 for killers: Avoid being noticed. Be sure of what you want to do
before you move! Take advantage of timing and the situation as much as you
possibly can. Hiding in the shadows is your greatest advantage.
Even if your target is a half-paralyzed beggar, you have to treat him as a

Peerless Ace; sneak up and kill him from behind without hesitation.
You feel that it is a bit shameful, don't you? Well, the beggar didn't, and he's
already a dead man; and there was one percent chance that he really was a
Peerless Ace who just dressed up as a beggar to lure you in.
All is fair in war. Winning means everything for a general—who cares what
means he has taken? His soldiers, in particular, would appreciate the general's
dirty moves and tricks, which have allowed them to survive and enjoy the
fruits of victory.
A great general always attacks the enemy from the back or the side, only an
arrogant idiot yells about fighting to death all the time.
A killer is not a general, so he must be more cunning, more insidious, and

much more ruthless.
There was once a master who was born into a family of Kung Fu masters.
With extraordinary martial arts skills, he had hardly been defeated since he
was young. Those who came for a contest had to make an appointment in
advance and all his opponents were completely convinced of his ability and
accepted him as the "greatest master in the world". They even thought that he
deserved a plaque on the gate.
So what happened to this master afterward? He was dead before he was 30.
His body was found lying in a ditch after more than 10 days had passed and
the corpse had rotted beyond imagination. Even the collector could not bear
to let his parents see him like that.
Why did he die? Well, he made the mistake of leaving his home for Jianghu
adventures.
Those who visited him for a contest had to follow the rules. The two
competitors stood face to face, surrounded by the big names in martial arts.
Once the order was given, the audience would judge the competitors
according to their agility, stability, and accuracy. No one would like to use
any degrading skill as they might get laughed at just because their moves
were out-of-shape.
The master, who had been used to the "fair contests", became extremely
vulnerable once he left home and entered the dangerous Jianghu world. No
one knew who killed him, nor how he was killed. The only thing they knew
was that the fatal injury was located on his back.
Everyone sympathized with the young master's untimely death. Although

they disdained the unknown killer in public, they also discussed in private
that the master was not really that great because a real master could certainly
stop an attack from behind.
Even those people who were defeated by the master changed their tone and
claimed that the only reasons for their own defeat were poor timing and
wrong location, and they could have won if they had another encounter with
the master.
What could the master do? He was dead. He had become a pile of bones and
they could not give any explanation.
Finally, the mysterious killer became an idol whose story was spread by
everyone. Everyone claimed that they once saw the killer make a move.
Some even claimed that they themselves were the killer.
This is the truth about the Jianghu legends. No matter what means you have
to adopt to get to the top, your admirers will make up an amazing, honest,
and magnificent life for you. People only see that you stand on the top and no
one cares what tricks you've played and how many people you've killed.
Rule No. 2 for killers: No mercy. Be ruthless and leave no future trouble.
Death isn't the only purpose of killing, but more importantly, the killer must
wipe out the family's "name".
Once there was a master who had trained very hard for 10 years to avenge his
father. He defeated all upon his debut. With full confidence, he found his
enemy and wiped out the entire family. However, his heart softened when he
was planning on killing a woman and her son. He wanted to be chivalrous
and leave himself a reputation of "killing no women or children". This small
mercy could be considered the moment that led to his downfall.
Could the woman and her son take their revenge on the master themselves?
Certainly not. Her son was so dumb that he could not even get close to the
master even if he trained for a hundred years. And the woman? She knew
nothing about Kung Fu and she was such an ordinary looking person that it
would be hard for her to sell her body for a living, let alone convince
somebody to avenge her family.
The master's enemy had been very rich and all his wealth was taken away by
the master. The woman and her son, however, did not say so. The woman
claimed that she would give half of the wealth to anyone who could help
avenge her family.
This weak and vulnerable woman used the illusion of compensation to lure
people in with money she did not have, but can you imagine how many
people were attracted by the offer? Too many to count. Since the reward went
public, so many people went to the master's home to kill him. This resulted in
him having to sleep with one eye open and, eventually, he was killed by a
nobody.
Did the woman and her son get their money back? Of course not. This
nobody just symbolically gave them a small piece of land and no money. For
his reward, he took all the remaining property, which was worth millions of
dollars.
What was important was not the fate of the woman and her son, but the
"name". No one had the right to take the wealth back from the master without
the woman and her son, but with these two puppets alive, it would be
perfectly justifiable for everyone in the world to kill the master.
This is the "name".
A "name" is the most misleading and detrimental thing in the world. A real
killer neither seeks a "name" nor does he leave a chance for the enemy to get
his "name" back.
************
Shangguang Fa, the master of Golden Roc Fort and the seventh Supreme
King, was not actually a king. He owned no land, but he could go anywhere
in the 36 kingdoms of the Western Region. He had no subjects, but no one,
from the nobles to the civilians, could speak his name without trembling.
He was the king of killers in the Western Region.
No one knew for certain how powerful he really was as he never participated
in any public contest, but those who came both before and after him were all
dead.
The Supreme King almost had no enemies because once he killed someone,
even a dog would be beheaded if it witnessed the killing.
Shanggaun Fa strictly adhered to the two rules of killers. For him, the two
rules were more valuable than his life, so we can imagine his anger when he
found out that his eighth son had missed a target.
In over a century, the seven generations of the Supreme King had killed
countless people and exterminated even more families. There were enough
dead to populate a small kingdom in the Western Region. They never made
such a ridiculous mistake like killing the wrong person.
Several heads were lined up on a long table and the strangers who came to
identify the bodies could feel the anger coming off of the master of Golden
Roc Fort. They quickly hid themselves in the shadows on one side of the
room.
Shanggaun Fa picked one head up and threw it to his Eighth Son, whose face
was pale. This head humiliated him and destroyed his honor in front of these
strangers—this honor could not be restored.
"Are you really my son? Really?"
Shangguan Fa had a long, thin, dark face with sunken eyes. The Shangguan's
had lived in the Western Region for quite some time and so, inevitably, their
blood somehow got mixed in with the barbarians. When he was angry, his
eyes would become as cold and ruthless as the Gobi Desert and a snow
mountain.
His question needed no answer. The Eighth Son looked just like his father,
with the only difference being his blushed younger face that looked like two
hot iron plates.
The only way to ease the Supreme King's anger was killing. He would show
no mercy, even to his own son. Killings between fathers and sons and even
between brothers were quite common for the Shangguans because there was
only one throne.
But Shangguan Fa hesitated because he thought of the Eighth Son's mother.
That woman once brought so much happiness to him; her cunning smile and
perfect body had been imprinted in Shangguan Fa's mind for many years. She
died of some unknown, incurable disease. She was like all other women in
the world, no matter how much energy they spent on men, their last hope
would always be related to their children.
The disease developed so rapidly that she was still very beautiful on her
deathbed. Her beautiful and grieved face made it impossible for her to be
refused or forgotten.
"Let Nu be a man like you."
Shangguan Fa believed that he had kept his promise and offered the Eighth
Son, who had lost his mother early in his childhood, the best life, the most
rigorous training, and the greatest trust.
"Women are nothing but trouble," Shanggaun Fa thought. His anger was
eased a little, but he still looked like a restless beast in a cage looking for an
exit. He then drew out the sword around Shangguan Nu's waist.
Shanggaun Fa had to do something because his rules had to be obeyed. There

could never be compromised for anyone or anything. He resisted his urge of
killing him outright and instead cut off his Eighth Son's right hand, the hand
that held the sword.
That beautiful and grieved face gradually faded away in Shangguan Fa's
mind.
"I'm giving you seven days. Bring back the right head."
"Who's the poor guy that was missed? What's his name?" Shangguan Fa only
had a vague impression that the target would certainly die under a Golden
Roc Fort saber. His death was already worthy, for he had made the Supreme
King cut off his own son's hand.
************
Shangguan Nu pushed away his subordinates that came to support him and
stumbled out of the lobby. He was as angry as his father. The bleeding from
the wound was stopped by a large bag of medicine. However, no medicine
could stop the anger and hatred in his heart.
He hated his father. He had not even given him the chance to explain and
determined that he messed up by nothing more than a denial from a stranger.
This was the first time he led a team on his own, which was a sign that he
could establish his own name like his brothers. But now that he had lost his
right hand, he also lost half of his Kung Fu, not to mention his honor.
He hated his men. They were a bunch of idiots whose negligence caused this
mistake and destroyed his future.
But who he hated most was the young man that he missed. He was a person
who should already be dead but remained alive for a few more days. Even if
he could kill the young man a hundred times over, he would not get his right
hand back.
Shangguan Nu's wrath had to be released. He could only bury the hatred
toward his father deep in his heart and did not dare say anything. That young
man was not here, so the only subjects on whom he could vent his anger on
would be the dozens of killers and machetemen of his.
The killers, elites of Golden Roc Fort, and the machetemen, mercenaries of
Golden Roc Fort, had all made vows in public never to betray the Young
Master.
Shangguan Nu drew his sword with his left hand and this clumsy action
intensified his anger even more.
The killers and machetemen, having heard about what happened in the lobby,
were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered. They looked on as their young
master rushed in with a pale face.
Shangguan Nu lifted up his sword again and again, and no one dared to hide.
Several hands of his men fell down like leaves in the fall and no one dared to
make a sound. These men were destined to sacrifice everything for their
master, including their lives, when they were assigned to Shangguan Nu.
After cutting off several hands, Shangguan Nu finally calmed down. These
were all his men and taking away their Kung Fu would only weaken his own
strength.
"Go kill that guy! Get the f**k out of here and kill him! Leave no complete
body, bring the head back!"
Chapter 2 - Departure
Chapter 2: Departure
Wild animals cannot avoid going through the awkward period when they are
already strong and independent enough to live on their own but still long for
their mother's breast milk and care. During such times, they naively think that
life should always be like this. As a result, they tend to spend their days
rolling around and playing with insects, waiting for the occasional interesting
thing to happen. A leopard, larger than his mother, lies on the grass and
enjoys the warm sunshine, waiting patiently for his free lunch. However, the
good times never last. Once the mother starts her second conception, the baby
will be relegated from being the favored one to the abandoned one and, from
then on, has to rove all over the world alone. Every time he hunts, the old
memories of innocence fade bit by bit and in the end, he either dies miserably
or grows up to be a ruthless killer.
14-year-old Gu Shenwei was going through that same exact period. His name
might have been a little bit old-fashioned, but he was still as naive as a child
and his family worried about him. However, he had his own thoughts on the
matter and refused to regard himself as a grown-up until the day that his
sister married.
There were still three months until that day, but his life plans were interrupted
by an accident.
One afternoon, a servant, who was looking around the hill behind the house,
came back with a strange message that a knight had stopped by the hillside
and was observing their manor.
Old Master Gu Lun rode over and found that the knight had already gone. He
patrolled around for a bit longer but found nothing.
The family had just moved from the Central Plains to the Western Regions
two years prior and the manor was located in an oasis at the southern foot of
Tianshan Mountain. This was quite an untrodden place as it was surrounded
by the Gobi Desert for hundreds of miles. At the foot of the mountain, there
was only a small village where a few tenant farmers were living. Therefore,
no wonder the Old Master was so surprised.
Gu Lun was very vigilant as he used to be a military officer. He asked the

servant in detail about the knight's dress and behavior. In the end, he ordered
the manor servants to be more vigilant and secretly increased the security
level.
Gu Shenwei's two older brothers thought that their father was overreacting.
They just assumed that the knight was simply a herdsman who had come here
for water and grass but found people here and left.
Gu Shenwei would usually make trouble out of nothing, but this time he had
the same feeling as his father and took it seriously. He rode his pony,
patrolling around prim and proper. If there was any noise, he would dash over
to check it out and confirm what it was at full speed, no matter what it was. It
was usually a rabbit or a bird.
A couple of days passed, but there were no more strangers snooping around.
Everything was quiet and peaceful and it seemed that the days would
continue going on like this. The whole family was busy preparing Miss Gu's
dowry, as it would be a long journey from the Western Region to the Central
Plains and lots of things needed to be prepared.
Everyone had things to do and the youngest Master was going to his sister's
room every day, acting like a spoiled child. Such behavior made Miss Gu feel
heartbroken and reluctant to leave. Even though she had not left home yet,
tears had already gotten a few pieces of clothes wet.
Gu Shenwei had his own thoughts on the matter. The Central Plains and the
Western Region were two totally different worlds. After her departure, no
one knew when they would meet again. With such "naive" behavior, he
wanted his sister to remember him.
However, peace did not last long. 10 days after the knight's appearance, a few
masked men sneaked into their house in the middle of the night and made
quite a ruckus.
No matter what their purpose was, they did not seem to be able to accomplish
it right away because Old Master Gu Lun had arranged for the manor's
servants to be on night patrol. The vigilant old servant, Yang Zheng, noticed
the intruders immediately.
It was a mess and fights broke out in several different places, but none of the
fights lasted long. By the time Master Gu Shenwei woke up and had any idea
about what was going on, the masked men had already escaped.
No one had gotten hurt.
Everyone in the manor had woken up by this point and a dozen of the manor
servants happily talked about how they fought with the masked men last
night. They made it seem like there were hundreds of intruders, but old
servant Yang Zheng was pretty sure that there were no more than five
masked men.
Gu Shenwei was upset about not having witnessed those masked men, so he
kept asking his father and brothers about it. It was not until his eldest brother
ordered him to shut up did he reluctantly sit himself down in a big armchair
and quietly listen to them discussing where those masked men had come
from and why they had come here.
There were quite a few great powers in the Western Region, and the names of
those people and places were also complicated. Gu Shenwei got so confused
and gradually lost interest in the conversation. Before he finally fell asleep,
he heard the word "butcher" used frequently. No matter who the "butcher"
was, there was no need to be scared, as his father was a great general.
Actually, his father's title of general was not as great as he thought. Old
Master Gu Lun used to be a royal guard in the Central Plains. He wasn't
given the title "Brilliant General", a third-class title, until he had retired.
Although he had been a guard at the royal court, his name was well-known in
the martial arts world of the Central Plains because of the style of Kung Fu
that had been handed down, generation by generation, in his family. It was
also the reason why Yang Zheng had come here. He would be a slave here as
long as he could learn the spear technique of Kung Fu. Both the eldest and
the second sons of Lord Gu were already Kung Fu masters, but the youngest
one barely learned anything even though he was old enough now.
The youngest Master was good-looking, intelligent, and studious, but not
persistent. He always did things in the spur of the moment. In addition, as he
was the youngest in the family, he was spoiled by his parents and siblings,
which made this bad habit even worse.
Later on, Gu Shenwei was sent back to his room. When he woke up, he did
not go to his sister's room as usual. Instead, he went around and asked for
details about last night.
Those masked men were defeated immediately and everyone in the manor
thought it was a victory, ignoring the fact that no intruder was captured. Not
even a drop of blood was left after the fight. Despite this, the servants were
eloquent and tried to make the scenes pretty thrilling to the young Master.
After hearing their descriptions of the fight, Gu Shenwei was even more
upset and blamed his young attendant, Ming Xiang, for not waking him up in
time.
Ming Xiang, a boy the same age as Gu Shenwei, was the only one in the
family who could be serious with the youngest Master. He threw his hands up
in the air while wearing an unconvinced face and said, "Master, you are the
one who is learning martial arts. Your eyes and ears are both sharp and keen.
I am nothing more than a young attendant who might be killed without even
knowing it after I fall asleep, how can I wake you up?"
Being too angry to debate with the young attendant, Gu Shenwei turned
around and tried to seek comfort from his sister.
As opposed to the manor servants' attitudes, Master Gu and Yang Zheng were
serious the whole day and supervised the manor servants even more strictly
than usual. They also sent servants out to find some information. According
to Gu Lun, it was obviously not the end of the attacks.
A strong feeling of tension was spreading throughout the whole manor.
Gu Shenwei's interest about the masked men had already faded after half a
day. He had great faith in his father, brothers, and some servants with great
mastery of Kung Fu. Even if thousands upon thousands of intruders broke in,
they would be blocked outside and he could do nothing but stand aside and
watch.
The current Western Region was totally different from what it used to be
decades before. Back then, big kingdoms struggled for supremacy and small
ones were tangled in fights. On top of that, various powers and bandit gangs
sprang up over a large area. It was often that robbers realized that the people
they robbed were their peers and the ordinary people had no choice but to
hide in their houses and pray for God's help. Now, that page of history had
been turned and balance had been reached among the three major kingdoms,
the Central Plains, Norland, and Shu-lik, through compromise. More than 30
small kingdoms, both old and new, had settled down while bandit gangs
gradually decreased and became faded into legend.
When Old Master Gu Lun decided to move from the Central Plains to the
Western Region, he carefully considered that the Western Region was quite
peaceful. He swiftly decided that the manor and land were perfect for his
family.
He was right. The oasis where the manor was located was truly a perfect
piece of land.
Gu Shenwei completely believed in his father, so he did not worry at all. He

was chatting with his sister, hanging around the manor, and quarreling with
Ming Xiang as usual. When it turned dark, his father ordered him to go to
bed, and he soon fell asleep.
In a sleep-filled haze, Gu Shenwei felt someone pushing him hard. He

opened his eyes unwillingly and yawned, "What is it? Intruders again?"
Ming Xiang, also yawning like his Master, held a candle and said, "It is the
Old Master, not intruders."
Gu Shenwei got up reluctantly and saw the thin figure of his father standing
in the shadow of the doorway.
"Huan'er, put on your clothes and see your sister off," Lord Gu said.
"Huan'er" was Gu Shenwei's nickname, only close family members would

call him that.
"Is she leaving now? But the people from brother-in-law's have not come
yet…" Gu Shenwei asked in surprise. There should be two more months until
his sister had to depart. He was totally unprepared for this.
"Yes, but things have changed and now she has to leave in advance."
Gu Shenwei was too sleepy to think, so he simply complied and put on his
clothes and cape with Ming Xiang's help. Gu Lun tied up some baggage that
he had prepared beforehand on his back and inserted a short sword into his
waistband.
The Gu family's Kung Fu was famous for its skill of use of knives and spears,
but not swords. This short sword was specially made for Gu Shenwei. With a
narrow body, it was less than two feet long and only weighed about half a
kilogram.
Normally, his father took care of the short sword, Gu Shenwei hardly ever
got a chance to use it. Now that he had it, he was delighted and no longer
sleepy. He could not wait to pull it out in appreciation, but Gu Lun held up
his hands immediately and said in a low voice, "You're now a man of the
family, use this short sword to protect your sister and yourself but don't show
it off."
"Sure." Gu Shenwei promised seriously. He began to picture a scene in his

mind about how he would wield this short sword to protect his sister from
those masked men's attacks.
Gu Lun took the two kids out with him through the back door. Everything
was quiet and peaceful along the way, not even a shadow of a man could be
seen. Three people were already waiting for them outside: Miss Gu Cuilan,
the maid Chrysan, and the old servant Yang Zheng.
Yang Zheng was not only Gu Lun's servant, but also his friend and
apprentice. He tutored Gu Shenwei with some basic Kung Fu skills for a few
years, so Gu Shenwei always called him "Master Shifu Yang".
Gu Lun lifted his youngest son onto the horse. Under the cover of night, he
looked even more like an old-fashioned teacher than usual.
Ming Xiang groggily mounted a horse on his own as he was not completely
awake just yet. He was unhappy to take this unexpected safeguard mission, as
he would rather stay in the manor forever than walk into the desert again.
There were only five horses and five people. Miss Gu Cuilan covered herself
in a cape and had nothing with her. Only one of her four personal maids and a
little luggage were with her now.
"What about mother and my brothers? Dad, aren't you coming with us?" Gu
Shenwei asked with his eyes wide open. The sleepiness had already gone
away. They were more like refugees than people who were going to escort a
bride.
"You go first and we will follow soon," Gu Lun answered easily. Then he
slapped the horse and urged them to leave.
Gu Shenwei grabbed the reins lightly and tried to figure the situation out.
Yang Zheng passed by and said in a muffled voice, "Keep going."
Gu Shenwei's horse ran ahead quickly after being slapped by Yang Zheng.
When Gu Shenwei grabbed the reins again, his father had already
disappeared. Gu Lun did not even say goodbye to his daughter, who was
about to get married.
The night was pretty dark with the moon hanging in the western sky. Gu
Shenwei was very upset as leaving at midnight was not how he had pictured
his sister's departure for the marriage.
Chapter 3 - Pursuers
Chapter 3: Pursuers
The old servant, Yang Zheng, led the way. During the night, the group
crossed a meadow, climbed over a hill, then turned to the only road without
lush grass near the manor. After taking another step, they entered a totally
different world that was full of hard clay and rubble. Ming Xiang groaned in
fear.
Gu Shenwei was still only half-awake the entire time. The march in the night,
elder sister's marriage, and the short sword at his waist were all so surreal. It
was not until the sky began turning bright that he came to his senses and
surprisingly found that the sun was coming up from behind them.
"Um, are we going west?" Cuilan's husband's family lived in the Central
Plains and the marriage was arranged when they were very young. They
should be going straight eastward to get to the Central Plains.
Yang Zheng mumbled a little as if the young Master's question was not worth
a reply. After a while, he said, "We will go to Shu-lik City first where the
officers and soldiers will escort us."
"Shu-lik City!" Gu Shenwei exclaimed with surprise. Shu-lik was the largest
kingdom in the Western Region. Strictly speaking, the Gu's manor was
located in the same kingdom. Its capital, broad and densely populated, was
one of the most prosperous places in the Western Region. Gu Shenwei had
heard of it before but had never seen it in the two years since they moved
here.
Gu Lun had been a senior officer in the Central Plains, so Gu Shenwei did
not think it was strange to be escorted by the soldiers of Shu-lik. He only
thought that their procession was not majestic enough.
Miss Cuilan had been sitting on the horse, seemingly having no objection to
this arrangement. Gu Shenwei recovered and kept pace with his elder sister,
talking about if there would be something interesting to see in Shu-lik City.
He pulled out the short sword and waved it around like a master. Cuilan kept
quiet and only said a few words to occasionally remind her brother to be
careful.
Although she was only three years older than him, Cuilan had been nursing
her naughty brother like a mother.
Because there were two girls, they moved slowly. The midday sun was
blazing and Yang Zheng did not want to stop to rest. Cuilan and the maid
already felt tired, but they tried to hang on. Caring about his sister and being
unable to endure the head-on exposure of the sun any longer, Gu Shenwei
yelled out for water and a meal.
Just then, the faint sound of hooves came from behind them.
Yang Zheng jumped down from his horse and listened carefully for a
moment. He unfastened his frequently used lance from the right side of the
horse and stood in the middle of the road, looking majestic with his white
hair fluttering in the wind.
Everyone retreated to the side of the road except for Gu Shenwei, whose eyes
twinkled. He pulled out his short sword and stood shoulder to shoulder with
Yang Zheng.
"Sister, don't be afraid. I'll fight the bandits!"
"Don't stand in my way." Yang Zheng raised the lance and put the young
Master behind him with the lance rod. He had a high status in the Gu family
and was unkind to everyone but Old Master Gu Lun. Moreover, Gu Shenwei
was technically his apprentice.
Gu Shenwei waved his short sword around and tried to fight for a chance to
kill the enemy. He saw a cloud of dust in the distance and knew that their
pursuers had arrived.
Three men in black stopped their horses about 20 paces away from Gu
Shenwei and pulled out their broadswords together.
"The Gu's should go back home," said the man-in-black in the middle, whose
voice was as chilling as rusty iron.
"Nobody is going back home." Yang Zheng stood up with the lance.
The Gu family were good at both knives and spears, with the knife skills
having been practiced before the spear skills. Being especially proficient in
spear skills, Yang Zheng was not frightened at all to face three enemies.
The man-in-black on the left rode toward Yang Zheng, waving his blade.
Yang Zheng made the lance point upward and squatted slightly with his legs
apart, just like a farmer holding a pickaxe to fight an evil wolf.
When the man-in-black approached with his broadsword high up in the air to
chop Yang Zheng to pieces, Yang Zheng stabbed the lance out suddenly.
The stab was simple and smooth with no tricks and seemingly so weak that a
child could dodge it, but the man-in-black was hit right in the chest. He fell
down with his broadsword without a sound while his horse kept running for a
while and eventually stopped on its own.
The other two involuntarily urged their horses to take two steps back.
Gu Shenwei ran forward excitedly. He had never thought his Master Shifu
was this powerful and even actively complained about the family's spear
skills. Yang Zheng had been practicing the same movements every day for
many years and never practiced any other movements. Gu Shenwei never
expected such a simple stab to be so powerful, and now he had a new
appreciation of his Master Shifu and the family's spear skills.
The remaining two attackers glanced at each other, then raised their
broadswords and rode toward Yang Zheng, attempting to launch a double-
pronged attack.
Gu Shenwei came forward as he wanted to test the power of his own short
sword. In fact, he had never learned swordsmanship and had only practiced
some knife forms absent-mindedly. To him, there was no difference between
swords and knives.
Again, Yang Zheng put the young Master behind him with the lance rod and
squatted slightly with the spear pointing forward as though he only knew this
move.
Sometimes, one move was enough. Yang Zheng had been immersed in the
ways of the Gu Spear Form for several decades. No matter if it was raining or
snowing, he practiced stabbing at least a thousand times a day and never
stopped. Although seemingly to be an ordinary movement in the eyes of
others, it could form 10,000 movements in his mind. More practice would
only make it more beautiful.
Old Master Gu Lun was the only one who understood his mindset. After all,
Gu Lun taught this spear form to Yang Zheng. Gu Lun often sighed and said
that the Gu Spear Form skill could only be inherited by someone with the
family name.
Therefore, Yang Zheng was loyal to the Gu family and would not allow
anyone to hurt the young Master and Miss as long as he was alive.
The two men-in-black came at him.
Yang Zheng stabbed two times so quickly that it seemed to have hit the two
men at the same time.
One man silently fell off his horse while the other screeched and shook a few
times without falling off the horse. He squeezed his legs and lowered his
body to make the horse run westward.
Yang Zheng turned around and raised the lance in one hand, aimed for a
moment, and threw the three-meter lance. It flew as steady and fast as a
javelin.
30 paces away, the man-in-black was speared straight through the chest and
fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
"Master Shifu Yang!" Gu Shenwei exclaimed both happily and respectfully,
"Teach me those lance skills, please!"
"Poke the target 500 times a day and you will get initial success in three
years. Then after that point, do it 1,000 times per day and in 10 years, you
will get it."
"Then it would be better to practice 'Yin and Yang Strength', which will make
me stronger in 10 years."
"Ah, okay." Yang Zheng walked over to the body, pulled out the lance, wiped
the blood on it with the clothes of the fallen man, rode on his horse, and
hurried on with the journey. He would not keep in mind the young Master's
enthusiasm, nor the three dead bodies left on the road.
Yin and Yang Strength, the Internal Strength technique handed down through
the generations of the Gu family, was the foundation for the martial arts of
the Gu family. It was not taught to daughters or people outside of the family.
Although being deeply trusted by Gu Lun, Yang Zheng had not been entitled
to learn it.
Gu Shenwei had been doing Yin and Yang Strength for about 10 years now,
but he was still stuck at the first rudimentary layer. This made him the
slowest among all the descendants of the Gu family.
As the group moved on, Gu Shenwei grew very interested in the origin of the
bandits. Yang Zheng said nothing and so Gu Shenwei could only discuss the
topic with Ming Xiang. His sister, Cuilan, and the maid, Chrysan, slowly
recovered from the shock of the attack and chimed in occasionally.
After talking for about two hours, Gu Shenwei's enthusiasm was running out,
but Yang Zheng suddenly said,
"He was a great Kung Fu master."
"Who was?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"The one who almost got away."

"Him? I thought he was pretty average because he was stabbed by you
without applying any skills. No, he was strong, but our family's spear form is
more powerful, isn't it?"
"Haha."
Yang Zheng did not argue anymore. Contests between masters often came
down to a few tricks. The one beaten by one movement might not be much
worse than the winner. The situation might be reversed if the location or the
timing was different. It was hard to clearly explain the subtleties of fighting
to outsiders. Although Gu Shenwei had the surname Gu and had been
studying Kung Fu for a long time, he was still regarded as an "outsider".
After a long ride, Yang Zheng finally stopped to rest when it was getting
dark. There were neither villages nor shops around, so they could only sit on
the rocks along the roadside to rest.
After a hard day's journey, Gu Shenwei was exhausted and sat down close to
his sister. Ming Xiang and Chrysan found some food and water from the
packs and served their masters.
Yang Zheng had a couple of bites and kept looking eastward vigilantly.
Gu Shenwei was a little dismissive of Master Shifu Yang's excessive caution.

Master Shifu Yang not only learned the spear skills from his father, but also
his inflexible nature. Who dared to chase them when there were three bodies
lying on the road?
"Master Huan, there is an important task that needs to be done. Would you
like to do it?" Only Yang Zheng called Gu Shenwei "Master Huan".
"Sure. Is it related to the bandits?" Gu Shenwei sprang to his feet in

excitement.
"Yes, but this is not an easy thing to do, so you don't have to."
"The harder the better," said a proud Gu Shenwei, holding the handle of his
sword.
"I want you to ride to Shu-lik City to get reinforcements."
"Reinforcements? Aren't the bandits dead?"
"There may be more bandits."
"You can kill one with one movement, and I can kill one with… two, and by
doing so, we can kill them all."
"But there may be too many bandits for the two of us to protect the Miss."
Gu Shenwei glanced at his sister, Cuilan. "Good idea. I'll go. Who should I
look for? The king?"
"No, go to Shu-lik City and find Marshal Yang. Just tell him that Yang Zheng
needs his help and he will understand."
"Ok."
Gu Shenwei stood up and went to mount his horse, but was stopped when
Yang Zheng grabbed him. "Change clothes with Ming Xiang, yours are not
suitable for riding."
The more serious Yang Zheng was about the situation, the more excited Gu
Shenwei was. However, Ming Xiang, who was pulled by the young Master
and asked to change clothes, seemed somewhat reluctant.
The only thing that annoyed Gu Shenwei was that Yang Zheng confiscated
his short sword and told him that he would not need it on the way. "Ride
straight west at top speed and you can arrive in Shu-lik City within one day
and night."
Gu Shenwei jumped onto his horse and all his fatigue disappeared without a
trace. He gave his sister a big smile as he said, "I'll be back!"
He was so excited that he did not ask for any more details. He did not even
realize that he carried nothing and would have to solve the problem of eating
and drinking along the way.
The young Master rode as far as he could and became a small black dot on
the horizon. Looking at her brother's figure, Cuilan suddenly said with a sigh,
"I hope the horse can run fast enough and he won't turn around."
Yang Zheng's face softened slightly. Although the Miss was young and
gentle-natured, she also had good insight and was capable of understanding
what this meant.
"Pardon me, Miss. I've thought it over and over in my head, and I can only
save one of you," Yang Zheng said sadly, getting down on one knee.
"Uncle Yang, please rise. To save my brother is to save the whole Gu family.
How could you feel guilty?"
Ming Xiang and Chrysan did not understand what the Miss was saying, but
felt uneasy.
Chapter 4 - Family Massacre
Chapter 4: Family Massacre
Gu Shenwei pinched his leg very hard to expel the drowsiness that he felt. He
had been riding his horse for almost a whole night. He was so tired and dizzy
that he realized just how hard it was to ride a horse. In the days when they
moved from the Central Plains to the Western Region, he scarcely felt how
severe the Gobi Desert was because he was curled up in his family's arms.
He held the horse steady as he saw two roads in front of him, one leading
north and the other leading south. Master Shifu Yang had just told him to go
west, but he mentioned nothing about north or south…
Fortunately, there were pedestrians on the road. However, no one that he met
could speak Central Plains Chinese.
Gu Shenwei was so concerned about the task that Master Shifu Yang handed
to him that he could not bear to wait on the road. He just chose to go north.
After a while, he finally met a group of herdsmen. One of them, who was
fluent in Central Plains Chinese, told Gu Shenwei that he had been going the
wrong way. When he heard that the boy wanted to find "Marshal Yang", he
could not help laughing out loud.
"There is no Marshal Yang in the capital, nor in the entire Shu-lik."
"My Master Shifu Yang said there is, so there must be." Gu Shenwei was
quite certain, thinking that a herdsman had probably never seen a dignitary.
"Haha, your Master Shifu must be a good joker. In Shu-lik, we don't have any
marshals. We only have generals and commandants. Even if we needed a
marshal, why should we choose someone by the name of Yang from the
Central Plains?"
Those herdsmen laughed and left, leaving Gu Shenwei alone.
Gu Shenwei was not a fool. He was just a little innocent because he had
never been cheated. The biggest setback in his life was being bullied by his
two elder brothers, so it was easy for him to believe and accept everything
told by his father and his Master Shifu. Once he began to think it over, he
immediately found the whole thing strange from beginning to end.
A sense of foreboding was rising in the boy's heart.
Gu Shenwei turned the horse back toward the original road with his face
stretching tightly. He realized that he had been left out of his family's affairs,
which made him feel bad. He wondered how his father and Yang Zheng
would explain all this to him when they met again.
Gu Shenwei did not meet his sister and the others until noon. A trade caravan
group came from the east and everybody was flustered as if they had just
been robbed. One of them kindly yelled to the boy, who was riding alone.
"Turn back! Turn back!"
Gu Shenwei ignored the kind shout, with a knot of tension in his stomach.
His horse was already frothing at the mouth, but he continued to push it past
its limits with his whip.
Half an hour later, he saw a lance erected on the side of the road, shaking
slightly like a flagpole without a flag.
There was a head on the top of the lance, with white tousled hair fluttering in
the wind.
As Gu Shenwei approached, he recognized that it was his Master Shifu, Yang

Zheng, the old servant of the Gu family, with his eyes wide open, seemingly
unconvinced of his own death.
He once stabbed three men with a lance, but only one night later, he was
beheaded. It was highly possible that the man who had killed him wanted to
show his strength to passersby by putting Yang Zheng's head on the top of
the lance.
Gu Shenwei then noticed several dead bodies lying on the ground.
Yang Zheng's body was lying down by the lance without any injuries. The
killer took his head off with only one move, which was very impressive. Gu
Shenwei could not imagine what a powerful Kung Fu master the killer was.
There were three more bodies. One of them was the maid, Chrysan. Her
breasts and face were full of cuts, and her clothes were dyed red from her
blood. She did not have any fighting skill, but it seemed that the killer used a
few more moves to torture her.
Another one of the bodies was Ming Xiang, who was dressed in the young
Master's clothes. Gu Shenwei could only judge the identity of the body by his
clothes because Ming Xiang's head was missing. It was neither on the top of
the lance, nor in the vicinity.
Gu Shenwei fell off his horse and fell to his knees. He could not help
throwing up until he had nothing to vomit from his stomach. He forced
himself to look at the last body because that one was different.
What made Gu Shenwei slightly reassured was that the last body was not his
sister's. It was a teenager who was as old as Gu Shenwei. He was as scarred
and bruised as Chrysan, but looked strange because Gu Shenwei had never
seen him before.
Gu Shenwei jumped on his horse and continued to ride eastward. He wanted

to know where his sister was and went home to figure out what was going on.
To his knowledge, the Gu family had no enemies in neither the Central Plains
nor the Western Region.
At dusk, Gu Shenwei returned to the village at the foot of the manor's hill,
where more than a dozen villagers here were tenant farmers of the Gu family.
At ordinary times, there should be a scene of smoke curling up from the
kitchen, but today, all the doors were closed with no signs of smoke.
Looking up at the hill, the manor of the Gu family had been burned to ashes.
Gu Shenwei arrived at the gate and jumped off his horse, standing still. He
was in a daze, looking at the dark ruins as if he were trapped in a strange
dream and could not wake up no matter how much he struggled.
Was the home just gone? Were all these people just dead?
Gu Shenwei stepped onto the broken tiles and cracked logs, which were still
warm, and looked through all the rooms as if the roofs and walls were still
there.
It was a massacre. Every dead body was left in place, burnt beyond
recognition. However, Gu Shenwei could still roughly recognize them
according to their positions.
His father, Gu Lun, lay side by side with his mother, Mrs. Gu, and both of
their heads were cut off. Gu Shenwei had to wade through the covered bricks
and wooden blocks to see their small bones. How could Gu Lun, a Kung Fu
master, a great hero in his son's eyes, never notice the enemy?
His two elder brothers also lay in the same place, with their heads off as well.
They died quietly, without any chance to show their skills, which had been
practiced for more than 10 years.
The manor servants were all dead with full bodies. It seemed that the killers
were only interested in the heads of the masters.
But the elder sister was still missing. There were only the bodies of the three
maids in her room. Although they were burnt, Gu Shenwei was still able to
recognize that none of them was his sister.
This young boy, who had a carefree childhood and had been very loved,
suddenly faced the destruction of his family. His first feeling was fear. Now
that his home was gone, who would protect and guide him in the future?
He had thought of entering the world of adults after his sister's marriage, but
in an instant, he found himself left alone in a strange world with an uncertain
future.
Gradually, the young man's heart was overtaken by anger. He wanted to get
his sister back, avenge his family, and kill all of his family's enemies, no
matter how many there were and where they came from.
Once he got the idea of revenge, Gu Shenwei suddenly came to his senses.
He could not go at the enemies empty-handed. He needed some money and
equipment.
The manor was pillaged by the killers and most of the property had been
swept away, but there was always a catch.
Gu Shenwei had never cared about the financial situation of his family, but at
this moment, many details of his life flashed in his mind, which helped him
deduce some small secrets.
He dug out a small bag of silver coins under his second brother's bed. When
he pushed the body away, he nearly shed tears, but he choked them back.
What could tears do? When he was a child, it might have been comforting
and helpful, but now it just meant weakness and humiliation.
The road of vengeance was so long that he did not even have an idea who his
enemies were. The most important thing, currently, was to deal with his
family members' bodies.
No full bodies of the masters were left. There were only blackened skeletons
that would break at the slightest touch. Gu Shenwei carefully cradled the
remains of his two brothers to his parents' room and placed them side by side
with the bodies of his parents.
In fact, it could not be called a "room" with collapsed walls, ashes, bricks,
burnt wood, copperware, and a ruined roof. They were everywhere on the
ground and it would soon become a grave, with dilapidated walls covered by
grass.
Gu Shenwei had seen a village where the white bones became a den for the
reptiles in the grass and were trampled upon by birds and beasts passing by.
He could not let his family suffer such torment after being without their full
bodies.
Gu Shenwei suddenly steeled himself. He found a wall brick, kneeled on the

ground and smashed the skeletons with the brick. He hit them so hard, as if
he were hitting his enemies. He did not even notice when his face became
covered with tears.
"God is not fair!"
Gu Shenwei shouted bitterly and scattered the ashes into the air. It was not
fair for the Gu family to suffer such a fate. Although his father, Gu Lun,
practiced Kung Fu, he had never been involved in any conflict of Jianghu,
nor had he offended anyone in the imperial court. He was always tolerant and
even weak sometimes.
"Perhaps my father had some enemies in the dark. But the Gu family had
moved thousands of miles to the Western Region. Was there any unresolved
hate that made them chase us all the way here?"
Gu Shenwei could not figure it out. He blamed it all on God. He grabbed a

brick and threw it into the air.
It seemed that God still wanted to ridicule the young Master after treating the
Gu family cruelly. The brick only flew a few feet, falling outside of the
"door" at a mocking angle, and hit a flowerpot outside the "door".
The pomegranate tree in the flowerpot had turned into black wood, and the
flowerpot had been burned so badly that it cracked into many pieces with a
noise.
Gu Shenwei was already exhausted. After throwing the brick, he

involuntarily fell to the ground on his hands and knees, panting, unable to
even curse.
A moment later, the cruelty of God became a manifestation of wonder.

Looking up, Gu Shenwei suddenly remembered something after he saw the
soil, which was still in the shape of a flowerpot.
Then he ran out like a madman, with his hands pushing the scorched earth
away and throwing the flower's roots aside. He dug out a small oilskin packet
from the bottom of the flowerpot and pinched it slightly to make sure there
was a book inside. He breathed a sigh of relief, tucked it carefully into his
arms, and hid it behind the small silver parcel.
He remembered the scene that he had accidentally witnessed one night after
they moved to the Western Region. His father put something in a flowerpot.
At the time, he was so sleepy that he just felt puzzled about his father's
behavior but he had made no careful analysis. At this moment, an idea
appeared in his mind because he guessed what his father had hidden.
There was the shortcut manual to master the "Yin and Yang Strength" hidden
in the book.
The "Yin and Yang Strength" included Nine Levels of Yin Strength and Nine
Levels of Yang Strength. Although Gu Lun had been practicing it for the
longest time, he could only merely reach the fifth level of Yin Strength and
Yang Strength. However, there was a shortcut manual, which could greatly
improve a person's power in a very short time. There was a latent danger
about it, however, so few of the Gu family's descendants had practiced it.
The top level of the "Yin and Yang Strength" would supposedly be
invincibility and Gu Shenwei deeply believed that. Suddenly, God was no
longer the archcriminal for the disaster of the Gu family, for it showed Gu
Shenwei a way to get revenge.
Seeing as how Gu Shenwei had just cursed God, he would like to call this
miracle the "Will of the Divine". He was only 14 years old and had been
living under the wing of his father and elder brothers. He had never thought
that he would one day shoulder the burden of avenging his family. He even
vaguely wished that the dead one was himself because he thought either of
his brothers would be more suitable to avenge their family.
He needed the "Will of the Divine" to support the idea of revenge.
But now, the most important thing was to find his last remaining family
member, his elder sister Cuilan, who had been doting on him. She might still
be alive and be suffering somewhere.
The "Will of the Divine" played another joke at this moment. Suddenly, a
sharp whistle sounded outside the manor, which was heart-stopping in the
silence of the night.
Chapter 5 - The Intersection
Chapter 5: The Intersection
Gu Shenwei stood up abruptly. Without really thinking, he wanted to go out

and fight his enemies to the death, but his reasoning stopped him. No matter
what the background of those killers was, even his father Gu Lun, Master
Shifu Yang Zheng, and his two elder brothers were unable to hit back, so he
could not withstand a single blow. Even his very survival to this point was a
miracle.
New whistles came from all directions; some were long while others short,
and some stopped only to find others start. They were like a flock of noisy
predators, vying for food and they soon entered the ruins of the manor. With
their noisy hoofbeats, it seemed like thousands of people were rushing in.
Just as Gu Shenwei lowered his body and hid behind a broken wall, a torch
was thrown up into the air, flying over his head.
Before Gu Shenwei had any idea about what just happened, a big hand
grabbed his neck from behind. Gu Shenwei's feet left the ground against his
will after the person that grabbed him jumped on his horse.
Before the horse's hoof touched the ground, Gu Shenwei was suddenly
released by the big hand and fell to the ground heavily. He cried out in pain
and did not even get a chance to stand up before he rolled on the ground for a
moment. He found himself surrounded by machetemen on horses. They
looked like hungry wolves under the light of the torches, all of them greedily
staring at their prey.
Life is like that. There is always rain after an earthquake, and strong winds
follow the rain. Bad luck is like an attacked animal, whose dripping blood
will always attract more predators, then scavengers, night walkers, flies, and
tinier creatures, until their flesh and bones disappeared completely.
The destruction of the Gu family was like a deadly wound. The first batch of
killers had finished their tasks and escaped unscathed. After that, a group of
wolves and ravens followed.
They were dirty bandits and thieves, and their number was fewer than what
Gu Shenwei had initially thought. In actuality, there were only five people,
but the whistles, hooves, and torches seemingly magnified their numbers.
Gu Shenwei did not know the identities of these people, and he just took
them as enemies. He was cornered like a young beast with a low roar in its
throat, showing its claws which were not sharp.
A whip came in through the darkness, bringing Gu Shenwei to the ground

again. All of these bandits laughed excitedly and one of them leaned over to
grab the young man. He put the young man on the back of his horse and
searched him without ceremony. Finding a small bag of silver in the young
man's arms, the bandit raised it and shouted, "Hey, this kid is from the same
trade. He took it before us!"
Understanding the identities of these people, Gu Shenwei suddenly flew into

a rage. "Let me go!" he shouted, struggling to grab the parcel.
The bandit laughed louder. Not taking the young man seriously, he put the
silver into his arms. He slapped the boy heavily on the back and pulled out
the little oilskin packet.
Gu Shenwei's back hurt like hell. It felt as if it was broken. But what scared
him more was the secret manuscript of Internal Strength that had been taken.
It was the most precious relic of his family, even more important than his
own life.
Blowing a whistle, the bandit tore off the oilskin from the packet. He was
surprised to find that there was only a thin book inside. After turning a few
pages, he did not know any of the words in the book.
"What the hell is this?" The bandit was furious.

"Give it back to me!" Gu Shenwei rose up angrily.
The bandit punched Gu Shenwei in the face, almost knocking him out. The
bandit dropped the book and took out some rope to tie him up, and then
jumped down and followed the others into the ruins to look for valuables.
Since Gu Shenwei's hands and feet were tied, he could only wriggle like a
worm. After struggling desperately for a few seconds, he fell down from the
horse to the ground, and then he tried to crawl toward the book.
As he was about to get to the book, a strong wind blew over the ground. The
flame of a nearby torch that had been thrown away by a robber was blowing
like a snake's tongue. When the flame touched the pages of the book, it
instantly caught fire.
It was painful to see his book burning. What he regretted most was that he
did not build a solid foundation of his family's Kung Fu. Now, he could not
even fight an ordinary bandit.
He rolled over on top of the book to put out the fire, and then hurried to get
off the torch beside him. Carrying the book in his mouth, he got further away
from the fire. Finally, the family's secret manuscript was saved, but only parts
of it because the first few pages were almost burned out.
He looked at the book with pity and was surprised at the words in the book.
He knew every word in it, but it was an account book, nothing related to
Internal Strength!
The book, which was so difficult to find and save from being lost, was not the
shortcut manual of "Yin and Yang Strength". Gu Shenwei was very
disappointed because the secret manuscript was extremely important to his
simple plan of revenge. And due to his weak Kung Fu foundation, it would
take him at least 30 years to be able to avenge his family without the secret
manuscript.
The shortcut manual to mastering "Yin and Yang Strength" had a lot of side-
effects, so former masters of the Gu family used to hide it carefully, and no
descendants were allowed to read it. It was said that an ancestor had practiced
"Yin and Yang Strength" according to the secret manuscript, which made his
Internal Strength more powerful and his strength double. With Gu family's
skills with the sword and spear, he became very famous at the time, but three
years later, he suddenly died mysteriously in a very terrible way.
Gu Shenwei just wanted to avenge his family, so he did not care about the
effects after three years. But now, he even had lost all hope in fighting his
enemies to the death.
Those bandits thoroughly plundered the ruins. Within half an hour, they all
went back to the courtyard, carrying several packets and blowing their
whistles as they were preparing to leave.
Gu Shenwei's captor came back as well and put two packets on the horse's
back. His plunder was not as good as the others, so he was not in a good
mood. He went over to the boy and gave him a good kick.
Gu Shenwei curled up in pain. The bandit grabbed him by the ropes on his
body and tried to carry him back onto his horse.
Suddenly, Gu Shenwei realized something. The oilskin-wrapped book was

thrown into sight, revealing a corner of a white handkerchief. Before it was
picked up, he bit at a corner of the white handkerchief. He had taken the
entire white handkerchief in his mouth while he was lying on the horse's
back.
After mounting their horses, the bandits left the manor and went downhill.
There was another bandit near the village at the foot of the hill, guarding a
dozen captives and more than 30 cattle and sheep. The captives' arms were
tightly tied together. Gu Shenwei was also thrown onto the ground and tied to
the back of one of the other captives.
The six bandits drove the captives and the animals to the east. Gu Shenwei
struggled to follow them, having no time to spit out the white handkerchief.
When the sun was rising, these bandits stopped at a T-junction. Gu Shenwei
thought it was not too far from his home. He rarely left the manor, so he had
no impression of how far this road was.
They went through a narrow dirt road running north to south through a
mountain. They took a main road that went east to west after negotiating the
winding road for a few miles, seeing hundreds of people gathering at the
intersection.
Most people were dressed in scruffy leather coats. Shining in the morning
sun, their coats were so oily that they seemed to have never been washed.
Everyone was armed and had fierce eyes, they just looked like a herd of
animals being forced to gather in a heap.
There were distinct factions among the bandits. They were divided into
several groups, keeping a vigilant eye on each other. Their hands were
always placed near their weapons, ready to fight each other at any moment.
What was really weird was that these fierce bandits all squeezed in the
western part of the intersection, but none of them went over to the empty area
on the opposite side, as if there was a ghost hidden there.
What was even weirder was that all the bandits were looking at the northern
mountain pass, as if they were waiting for someone.
Four hours before, Gu Shenwei thought he had the "Will of the Divine".
Unexpectedly, he became a captive of these bandits, mixed up with a bunch
of dirty and panicked men and women.
Among all the captives, Gu Shenwei was the dirtiest. With sweat, dust, and
bone-ashes covering his whole body, he just looked like a clay sculpture.
As these bandits were not paying attention to him, Gu Shenwei spat the white
handkerchief out of his mouth. No daring to check it, he slipped it into his
pocket secretly. Knowing that he had already been searched once, he hoped
he would not be searched again.
The person the bandits were waiting for had not turned up, so they started to
become restless and began to curse. They were not used to being so close to
their peers. Two groups of them had fought with each other, and several of
them were injured. But fortunately, none of them were killed.
Gu Shenwei still did not know why he was taken. There were so many
bandits gathered near the Gu family's manor. It was said that such bandits had
been wiped out a few years ago. He looked up at the bandit who caught him
and tried to get some clue from him.
This bandit, like all the others, was dressed in a leather coat even on this hot
summer day. He was strongly built, with a thick beard on his dirty face, and a
scar on his left cheek.
The scarred bandit felt the glare from below. He looked down at the young
captive with a relentless gaze and said, "What don't you run?"
Gu Shenwei was not that stupid. He stood in the midst of all these bandits,
surrounded by the endless Gobi Desert. To escape meant certain death. In
addition, his hands were tied to a group of captives.
"You've got the money, why not let me go?"
Gu Shenwei's tone was tough, but he knew that he was just money in the eyes
of a bandit, the same as all the other men, women, and animals.
The scarred bandit spat on the ground, and his thick saliva just brushed across
Gu Shenwei's scalp. He refused to answer the question.
An old bandit looked at the gang of thieves and their captives with a gloomy
face. Suddenly, he said, "Not enough plunder, Eagle."
The scarred bandit called "Eagle" spat again and said, "The tiger has left no
food behind."
Gu Shenwei was shocked, thinking that this "tiger" must be the people who
killed off his entire family. These bandits obviously knew all the details of
the killing. He had been thinking that it would be hard to find these killers,
who might hide their whereabouts after taking out the Gu family.
The old bandit glanced at him once more and maybe saw something special
in Gu Shenwei's eyes. He said nothing more and turned his head to continue
looking across the mountain pass to the north.
Gu Shenwei waited for a long time but no one mentioned the topic of "tiger"
again, so he had to ask, "Is the tiger that you are following a big one?"
The bandit named Eagle closed his lips, as if he had not heard him. After a
while, he said coldly, "Nonsense, is there any tiger bigger than Supreme
King?"
Supreme King.
There was no one in the Western Region who did not know about Supreme
King.
Suddenly, he became very depressed because the power of his enemy was
way beyond his expectations.
Chapter 6 - The Swordsman
Chapter 6: The Swordsman
Gu Shenwei had heard a lot about Golden Roc Fort and the Supreme King
two years ago when they had just arrived at the frontier from the Central
Plains. At that time, he yearned to meet this famous killer organization and
see the Supreme King face to face, so much so that his longing became a
target for mockery from his second elder brother.
In the Western Region, the Gu family never had any involvement with
Golden Roc Fort, and Gu Shenwei soon forgot the gang and its king.
However, Gu Shenwei never could have expected that the gang's
reappearance would lead to the extermination of the entire Gu family.
As it turned out, the "butcher" his father had so frequently discussed with his
brothers after the masked men broke in was actually the "Supreme" (for these
two words sound alike in Chinese). Gu Lun had already known of the ill-
intentions that Golden Roc Fort had against his manor, therefore, he
purposely "chased away" his daughter and youngest son.
"Golden Roc Fort wanted to exterminate the Gu family, but why?"
Gu Shenwei thought it over and over, but he still could not understand. In the
past two years, his family had barely made contact with any outsiders in the
Western Region, so how could it offend the Western Region's "King of the
Killers"?
With the clip-clop of hoofbeats approaching, a brown galloping horse came

from the northern mountain pass. A knight in a gray cape sat on the back of
the horse. The bandits were happy at first, but soon their happiness was
replaced by disappointment. This was not the man they were waiting for.
Someone would have surely gone forward and held up this knight for
extortion if there was not a ban on crossing the boundaries.
Seeing a bunch of people with fierce countenances gathering at the roadside,

the gray-caped knight was neither surprised nor alarmed. He merely hastened
the horse to go keep its pace.
"Whoosh!" Someone hurled a throwing knife in the direction of the knight.

People could not cross the boundary, but weapons could.
The knight's gray cape floated like a wisp of cloud skimming through the air.
He lifted his right arm and caught the throwing knife with his hand. Then he
put it inside his leather bag and said, "Received."
As the cape hovered in the air, a long sword was exposed, hanging on one
side of the horse.
"A swordsman from the Great Snowmountain!"
Someone in the crowd shouted. Nearly 100 bandits backed up on their horses
as if a spell had suddenly pushed them simultaneously. The hurler of the
throwing knife did not dare to say a word. The captives on the ground, only
some of whom understood the situation, were all infected by the same fear
and moved back together.
Gu Shenwei was standing in the back and was almost knocked down by
people backing up in front of him, but he still able to peer over on his tiptoes.
He had never heard of the "swordsman from the Great Snowmountain", so he
had no idea what they were afraid of.
In front of him, there were two teenagers about his age. They lowered their
heads and hid behind the adults. Clearly, they knew the terror of the "the
Great Snowmountain" as well as the bandits.
A faint smile appeared on the knight's face, which was glowing in the wind,
snow, and sunshine. He squinted his eyes habitually, as if he was always
looking for something.
"People of the Eagle Gang, step forward."

His voice was measured and he said no harsh words, but he had an irresistible
force. Gu Shenwei saw that the face of the scarred bandit, "Eagle", was
turning green.
The Eagle Gang was a very small gang with only six people; it was hard to
even call them a "gang". Nevertheless, as their leader, Eagle could not back
off or act cowardly.
"I'm Eagle. This is Gloden Roc Fort's territory, how dare you say that?"
The gray-caped knight looked back at the wilderness and said, "Still one step
away. And did you ever see a man from the Great Snowmountain who was
afraid of the 'Butcher'?"
Gu Shenwei was pleased to see that the "Supreme King" also had enemies.
He had always thought that Golden Roc Fort had no rival in the Western
Region. In this case, Gu Shenwei's hope for revenge seemed much greater.
He felt that he should join the Great Snowmountain.
Eagle's face turned even greener and his men gripped their hilts nervously.
The east side of the road was the territory of Golden Roc Fort. As bandits,
none of them could stride over the boundary, otherwise, they would lose
protection.
Eagle clenched his teeth and shouted, "Brothers, why are the 81 gangs of
Tianshan so disunited? Shall we remain in silence even in the face of a bully?
Will we allow him to humiliate us?"
The other bandits looked at each other without saying a word. As small gangs
just scraping out a living, this was the first time they had heard of the "81
gangs of Tianshan". They did not share a bitter hatred of the enemy, nor did
they find it necessary to play good Samaritan.
The knight from the Great Snowmountain sneered. "The '81 gangs of
Tianshan', what a big name. I'm so scared, but I'm only looking for the 'Eagle
Gang' and no one else."
This sentence reassured the other bandits. No one stepped forward. Instead,
they all moved further back to distance themselves from the "Eagle Gang".
Eagle knew that he faced an impasse. However, he was a battle-scarred

bandit who had experienced the "Golden Age" of thieves and bandits from 10
years ago. Therefore, stubborn ruthlessness was imprinted in his bones. He
had to bite the bullet because begging was useless.
Eagle spat, and that was the last dirty thing to come out of his mouth.
He jumped off the horse and drew his sword, and his men did the same. The
six of them were lined up, and their shining scimitars made a sharp contrast
to their dirty clothes.
The knight from the Great Snowmountain smiled satisfactorily. He took off
his cape and placed it on the saddle. Then he jumped off his horse as well and
drew the long and mighty sword from the side of the horse.
The body of the sword was almost as wide as an adult's palm. The knight
leaned the sword against the ground, and the hilt reached his chest. Obvious
cracks and flaws could be seen on the edge as if its owner had used it to chop
wood.
"My name is Long Feidu."
"Your name is none of our business, you are from the Great Snowmountain
anyway. So either you kill us or we kill you." Eagle led his five men to step
forward slowly to form an arc surrounding Long Feidu.
"I should let you know who is going to kill you."
Long Feidu held the sword with two hands, with the tip still against the
ground.
The six members of the "Eagle Gang" slowly approached Long Feidu. They
did not have a habit of telling the victim their names before killing. The
bandits were more inclined to the principle of Golden Roc Fort: Kill the
target, regardless of the means.
However, Gu Shenwei had a very good impression of Long Feidu. He tried to

stand on his tiptoes to see further, but the two teenagers in front of him
seemed to be cowering and always hid behind the adults. Being tied up with
the same rope, Gu Shenwei could not stand up straight, therefore, he could
not see what was going on.
Someone shouted, and nobody could tell who made the sound. Weapons
collided, and soon all the sounds faded into silence. The scene had not
sounded at all fierce or intense, but like a blacksmith idly knocking on
ironware.
Still, the surrounding bandits and captives all cried out in panic.
Gu Shenwei summoned all his strength and jumped up to look over the heads
of the bandits in front of him. He saw that Long Feidu was raising the long
sword while five out of the six men from the "Eagle Gang" were falling to the
ground. Only their "leader", Eagle, stood there blankly, with his scimitar
thrown on the ground. He lifted his left arm in front of his face ridiculously,
as if he was going to stop the sword with his flesh.
Although it was only a glimpse, this scene was deeply imprinted in Gu

Shenwei's mind. He would not be able to forget it after many years. What
impressed him the most was not Long Feidu, who held the sword like a god,
but the trembling Eagle, who had lost all consciousness of defense.
At that moment, an idea formed in his mind. "It's so easy to kill someone."
Those twists and turns or other skills had not appeared at all, and the fist
techniques and bladesmanship he earnestly learned seemed so juvenile and
unpractical now.
Gu Shenwei only caught a glimpse before he was dragged down by the two
teenagers in front of him. The nearest teenager glared at him, signaling to him
not to make any dumb moves.
The muffled sounds made by a sharp sword cutting a blunt object and a body
falling down were pretty clear to Gu Shenwei this time.
"I'm Long Feidu from Tanduo Peak of the Great Snowmountain. If anyone
wants revenge, they can come for it now or later."
No one wished to avenge the "Eagle Gang". The bandits only pondered that
they would never, ever provoke this man. Eagle must have been crazy to
become his enemy.
There was a turmoil among the captives in the front. Through the gaps, Gu
Shenwei saw that Long Feidu was walking toward them, with the long sword
dripping blood onto the ground.
"Will this man kill the captives too?" Gu Shenwei was not as scared as the
other captives, instead, he was a little excited. He wanted to tell Long Feidu
his story and deep hatred, and he even wanted Long Feidu as his master so
that he could seek help from the Great Snowmountain.
He never expected that his wish would be so hard to achieve. He believed

that the appearance of the knight from the Great Snowmountain to be part of
the "Will of the Divine".
However, the two teenagers in front of him were stooping down so much that
they almost dragged down the people behind and in front of them. Gu
Shenwei looked at their shaking bodies with surprise. Suddenly, he
understood that Long Feidu was coming for the two teenagers, which was
clear because they were more panicked than the others.
In Gu Shenwei's eyes, Long Feidu was like a legendary hero who curbed the
violent and assisted the weak, so he was quite confused why these two
teenagers were acting so scared.
Long Feidu came slowly. Wherever he looked, the surrounding people would
bend down immediately. He stopped at the end of the line.
Beyond Gu Shenwei's expectation, the two teenagers showed no fear at this

moment and drew themselves up, making them even taller than the adults in
front of them. They stared at the sword-bearing knight.
Long Feidu narrowed his eyes into slits, but his facial expression was
unchanged. He raised the long sword with both hands.
From such a short distance, the long sword looked especially wide and heavy.
It did not even need an edge because it could easily kill anyone with its
weight alone.
If he wielded the sword, perhaps a dozen heads would touch the ground. The
captives were frightened and stayed motionless, like the dead Eagle. They
entrusted God with their lives.
However, Gu Shenwei was not scared at all. He stepped forward and looked
at Long Feidu sincerely.
"You came from the Great Snowmountain, so you must be a real

swordsman."
Gu Shenwei had never heard of the Great Snowmountain, but it did not affect
his judgment of Long Feidu.
"No, I'm just a swordsman."
"Even a swordsman shouldn't kill innocent people willfully. Only… Golden

Roc Fort does that."
Long Feidu's eyes suddenly lit up, he seemed to be moved by Gu Shenwei's

words. However, that weather-beaten face soon turned as cold as a snow
mountain once more. He held his breath and gripped his sword even tighter.
Gu Shenwei was terrified and his heart seemed to stop beating. He was going
to die together with these two unknown teenagers just because of some extra
words.
Long Feidu wielded his long sword at a slant. This movement would have
chopped down more than one head. Nevertheless, he changed his mind
midway through and lifted the blade so that it followed the same path back
up.
An arrow was cut in half and fell near his feet.
"A hidden attack, eh? You must be a flunky of the Supreme King."
"So audacious. You must be a nobody from the Great Snowmountain."

A knight in black walked from the mountain pass in the north, and two
knights followed him, each holding a large banner. The banners featured a
black background and red edges, with a golden roc embroidered in the
middle.
Chapter 7 - The Assassin
Chapter 7: The Assassin
Gu Shenwei knew that flag.
It was now two years ago that the entire Gu Family, which included dozens
of people, had left the Central Plains and traveled through the desert to the
unknown Western Region. They had hired many helpers along the way to
assist them in their journey. Among these was a helper who carried the
Golden Roc Flag. He was not a guide, though he did always walk in front of
the procession. He was not a servant either, for he did not do any chores. He
always kept his distance from his employer and made the coachmen and
other servants feel uneasy.
The journey to the Western Region was dull, but Gu Shenwei remembered
clearly that the family never suffered any attacks from bandits along the way.
Their safe travels seemed to confirm Master Gu Lun's good judgment in
navigating the Western Region. However, in truth, it had been Golden Roc
Fort that had protected them.
Golden Roc Fort was once the protector of the Gu family. This fact added to
Gu Shenwei's confusion as to why, two years after the family's journey, the
gang had become murderous butchers. He even began to doubt whether the
bandit known as Eagle had made a mistake.
The two flag-bearers stood firm as the knight in black approached alone,
carried swiftly by his horse. He stopped just over 10 steps away from Long
Feidu and dismounted, putting down his longbow without haste, as if he were
going to greet an old friend.
"What a rare visitor to Golden Roc Fort. A swordsman from the

Snowmountain!
"Hey! You even dare to fight alone. This is indeed a rare sight."
"It seems that I have no choice. But in any case, I've undergone several days
of training in the art of combat.
"I'm Long Feidu from Tanduo Peak of the Great Snowmountain."
Long Feidu held the sword in both hands, the blade slanting toward the
ground.
"I've heard a lot about you. But I'm a nobody in Golden Roc Fort. It's not
even worth mentioning my name."
The assassin in black drew out his blade, which was starkly different from the
typical scimitar used by bandits. This knife was flat and narrow, with a blade
barely two feet long. It would have looked like a needle placed next to Long
Feidu's long sword.
The two combatants drew closer to each other. The onlookers all held their
breath, waiting to witness the result of this duel.
Gu Shenwei was anxiously hoping for swordsman's success. He had already

made up his mind that no matter how Long Dufei treated the two teenagers,
he would not interfere again.
The killer and the swordsman came within three steps of each other, but
neither made a move. They stared at each other, nodding as if they were
merely acquaintances who would pass by.
Gu Shenwei's heart was in his mouth. He had witnessed and even had
participated in a few fights. Both sides would ready themselves at a distance
and continually adjust their positions while they came closer. But he had
never seen anything quite like what was happening between these two
opponents. It was so much like a casual dance that he felt no sense of
murderous feelings waiting at the other side of the fight.
The two of them were standing shoulder to shoulder with less than a step's
length between them. But they still stood staring at each other. Then, the
murderous feeling suddenly burst forth. The long sword and the narrow knife
waved simultaneously in the blink of an eye.
Though the onlookers were prepared and did not dare to avert their eyes, they
were all shocked and leaned back unconsciously, as if the weapons were
aimed at their own vital parts.
The sword and the dagger swung like lightning, but did not touch each other.
The assassin in black stepped backward even faster than he wielded his
dagger. In the blink of an eye, he already stood five steps away, just at the
edge of the long sword's attacking range.
Long Feidu withdrew his move just before the strike reached its full power.
No one seemed to win the first round. Gu Shenwei thought the swordsman
had been the stronger contender, but he questioned this assessment as he
recalled something that his father had once said.
Gu Lun had always spoiled his youngest son and had never pushed him too
hard to practice Kung Fu. However, once when Gu Shenwei was criticizing
others' martial arts, Gu Lun became unusually serious. He pointed at his own
eyes and hands, and said, "Having sharp eyesight is much more difficult than
having skillful hands."
Gu Shenwei had not taken his father's words seriously then, but now he
believed them.
Long Feidu had killed six outlaws with just a few maneuvers. The killers
from Golden Roc Fort had noiselessly slaughtered dozens of people in the Gu
family. Even though the assassin in black in front of him might not have been
one of those killers, his Kung Fu skills could not be underestimated. Both of
them were top masters. However, at such a crucial moment, their movements
were so simple and even seemed a little rough. Each move was quite similar
to the servant Yang Zheng's unchanged strike of his lance.
Gu Shenwei had already learned several sets of fist and sword techniques,
and could make reasonable comments on the various schools of martial arts
of the Central Plains. However, he would not be able to fight against even the
most ordinary bandits.
"Superficial." His father once laid this comment on him, smiling and shaking
his head.
The assassin and the swordsman crossed swords once again. This time there
was no cautious approach. Instead, they dashed out like forceful arrows, or
leopards pouncing their prey. In the blink of an eye, their weapons clashed,
emitting harsh noises.
The assassin in black stepped back first. This time he retreated further than 10
steps away. He was visibly nervous, every inch of his hair standing on end.
Long Feidu wielded his sword again and stepped forward.
Gu Shenwei felt a flicker of shock, thinking the swordsman would chase his
opponent and strike a fatal blow. He was wrong. Long Feidu immediately
stopped after a single step. It was a stalemate.
The two opposed each other like statues for a long time, confusing the
onlookers. No one dared to applaud. If they stood for the wrong team, they
would pay with their lives.
"Mercy Powder. I should have thought of it." Long Feidu suddenly knelt on
one leg, the hilt gripped in his hands. It was no longer a weapon but a crutch.
Gu Shenwei had no idea what Mercy Powder was, nor did the other
onlookers. However, it was clear to everyone that a scheme had been plotted
against the swordsman.
"You swordsmen always say 'I should have thought', but never prepare for it.
Humph." The assassin in black scorned the loser without mercy.
"Mercy Powder has no color and no smell, but it's very harmful. The victim
becomes weak and feeble. 15 years ago, the Supreme King swore to destroy
it and never use it again. Now it appears again. Golden Roc Fort hasn't
changed at all, still as untrustworthy as ever."
"Well, as knowledgeable as you seem to be, I'm afraid you're wrong. This is
not Mercy Powder, so Lord King hasn't broken his pledge, and Golden Roc
Fort maintains its honor, especially in keeping the rule that we never spare
any survivors. You can believe that!"
The assassin in black walked behind Long Feidu as he spoke, and put the
sharp tip of his blade against the swordsman's shoulder.
"That's it?" Gu Shenwei could not believe it, for he was expecting Long
Feidu to fight back. However, it was merely a teenager's wish that good
people should win and fairness should defeat trickery. The swordsman
"should have thought of it". Nevertheless, "should have" could never become
reality.
The assassin in black slowly stabbed the body with his narrow dagger until
only the hilt was left outside. Long Feidu did not resist and died in peace.
Only the corpse held the sword and knelt there. Not far from him lay the six
bandits who he had killed.
The assassin in black held the bloody dagger and turned back to look at those
bandits.
He had killed a real swordsman. True, his methods were dirty, but he was still
the winner. Everyone knew that they would be able to kill him if they all
united. However, in front of a bullying dog, they were like gentle sheep,
frightened and submissive, no matter how rude they used to be while stealing
other people's belongings and livestock.
The assassin looked at them with scorn and wiped the blood off of his dagger
with Long Feidu's body. He slid the dagger into its sheath, walked back, and
mounted his horse. After a while, he said grimly, "Finish your business and
leave immediately. No one may stay."
The bandits felt relieved and kept nodding their heads to show agreement.
The Snowmountain swordsman had disappointed him, but Gu Shenwei was

more contemptuous of the bandits. The dawn of revenge had faded away after
shining briefly.
Gu Shenwei could not figure out how to defeat his enemies, the members of
Golden Roc Fort. He had originally thought that once he mastered Yin and
Yang Strength by practicing the ways taught in the shortcut manual, he would
be able to kill all his enemies. Now he realized that it would not be easy.
He also realized something else. His father, his two elder brothers, and
Master Shifu Yang would have been able to fight back if they had not been
plotted against like Long Feidu had.
The assassin in black rode his horse forward, turned eastward at the
intersection and entered the territory of Golden Roc Fort. The two flag-
bearers followed him closely, like two female lions following after a male
lion who had just defeated an intruder. The onlookers at the west of the
intersection were merely frightened wild dogs.
"Finish your business and leave immediately." Gu Shenwei immediately

understood the meaning of this sentence, and discovered that he was to be
treated as merchandise.
Soon after the assassins of Golden Roc Fort left, a group of traveling
merchants came from the northern mountain pass in a long caravan. Some of
them rode horses, and some drove carriages. They wore a variety of different
clothing, a miscellany of many hundreds of people.
The merchants and the bandits formed two opposite groups with a clear
boundary, but they reached a peaceful agreement on this road. Both sides
were waiting for each other. The bandits took out goods and people they had
robbed, behaving like new salesmen. They sold all they had to the merchants
who walked by. In fact, they could not tell the names of most of their goods.
Those merchants loved this kind of business as it was cheap. If they were
lucky enough, they might even get a rare treasure from those bandits who
knew nothing of its true value. Most importantly, the T-junction was safe.
Even the most vicious bandits had to hold back their impulses, not daring to
touch one finger of the merchants who carried gold and silver.
They had already paid the protection fee to Golden Roc Fort, the largest gang
of bandits in the Western Region. In return, they gained privilege, which
protected them from small groups of bandits.
The trade was in full swing. Soon the bloody smell of the seven corpses
washed away. When Gu Shenwei peered through the crowd to view the
nearby Snowmountain swordsman, he found that the body had fallen on the
ground and the long sword had disappeared. Naturally, the corpses had been
robbed and nothing was left.
With so many feelings welled up, Gu Shenwei became overwhelmed. By

contrast, the two teenagers in front of him did not have many thoughts at all.
They had just narrowly escaped, and the assassin of Golden Roc Fort was
their unexpected "savior". Now they had to save themselves.
They began to untie the rope using their teeth. The rest of the captives were
stupefied for a moment before they all realized that they were now free. Their
"masters", the six bandits from the Eagle Gang, were dead.
Unfortunately, "master" was not an uncommon thing at this T-junction

dominated by bandits and merchants. Before the captives untied their ropes, a
few merchants had already arrived. They commanded their slaves to cut off
the ropes and were ready to take all of the "commodities".
Some of the captives submissively followed their new masters while others
tried to explain to the merchants.
"I'm not a slave!"
Gu Shenwei cried out at the Big Beard who was coming for him. The other
two teenagers also shouted in another language. No matter what languages
they used, their cries were only answered with laughter.
The Big Beard put away his short dagger and grabbed one of Gu Shenwei's
arms to drag him to a cart. Gu Shenwei was full of anger. Having no other
outlet to vent it, he kicked the Big Beard with all his strength.
Although Gu Shenwei was young and his Kung Fu was poor, the power of
the kick was not at all weak. The Big Beard cried out in pain and angrily
punched Gu Shenwei in his lower abdomen.
This punch was even harder than the kick. Even though Gu Shenwei had
thought of how he might defend himself, he was beaten down before he could
take any action. The Big Beard hit more heavily than the manor servants of
the Gu family.
The Big Beard intended to continue the beating, but a merchant snapped a
few words, which probably meant that he should not beat the slave to death,
as he was "purchased" goods.
The Big Beard, who had been kicked, happened to bear grudges. He
deliberately knocked the teenager's head against a wooden fence when
opening the cage. Gu Shenwei felt dizzy as he was thrown into the cage.
Gu Shenwei was not alone in this cage. A person, who was bumped against
by him, screamed and kicked him away. Gu Shenwei rolled aside. After a
long while, he regained consciousness and found that the trade caravan had
started their trip to the east to follow the Golden Roc Flag.
There was more than one cage cart, all following in procession. Oxen with
great horns were pulling the carts, and ferocious barbarian knights rode by
their sides.
Gu Shenwei looked back inside the cage. A dozen children were huddling in
the haystack and all staring at him fearfully. He had no idea who it was that
his weight had been thrown upon just now.
The hope for joining the Great Snowmountain was broken, and he had no
choice but to start all over again. He reached his hand to his chest for the
white handkerchief in order to check whether there were any of those words
that he desperately wanted to read.
But the white handkerchief was gone.
Gu Shenwei felt dizzy. He searched his whole body, but could not find it, not
even a trace of it in the nearby piles of hay.
Chapter 8 - The Pointy Face
Chapter 8: The Pointy Face
He must have lost the white handkerchief when fighting with the Big Beard.
Gu Shenwei clung to the wooden palisade of the cage and looked back, but
he could only see a long string of oxcarts. After quite a while, he was able to
get a wider view when it made a turn.
The T-junction was out of his sight, and the fleet was already off in the
distance.
Gu Shenwei gripped so tightly that his knuckles became pale. He looked back
blankly and could not believe that the family's secret manuscript had gone
just like that.
"Did you guys… see a piece of white cloth?"
With his last ray of hope, Gu Shenwei turned around and asked the other
children in the cage.
However, no one answered or even looked up at this newcomer. Gu Shenwei

did not know whether it was because of the language barrier or simply
unwillingness.
"A piece of white…"
Gu Shenwei tried to show the size of the white handkerchief with his hands,
but he said with less and less confidence. All the children were so skinny in
rags. They would not be interested in a piece of cloth at all.
"They didn't understand what you said."
After the oxcart moved some length, a teenager in the corner finally spoke
up.
This teenager was probably the same age as Gu Shenwei. He was comely
with a pointy face. Compared to the other children, his clothes were clean.
The cage was very small, but he occupied an entire corner by himself.
Playing with a straw stick in his hands, he was staring at the newcomer
inquisitively.
"The white handkerchief, a piece of white cloth. Have you seen it?" Gu
Shenwei urgently asked.
The pointy-faced teenager thought for a while and shook his head. "No. Does
it matter much?"
Gu Shenwei sat down, disappointed. His mind was going blank.
"Where are we going?" he asked unconsciously after quite a while.
"Jade City."
Gu Shenwei knew this city. It was the major city in the Western Region. As a
transportation hub, it attracted numerous trade caravans to gather there. It was
a paradise for feasting, but hell for living by using daggers and swords. He
had stayed there for one night before, and suddenly thought, "Isn't Golden
Roc Fort outside the city?"
Gu Shenwei looked up just in time to meet the pointy-faced teenager's gaze,

as if there was something weird about him that could attract the teenager's
constant attention.
"Do you know me?" Gu Shenwei asked with a hint of anger. Only the two of
them in the cage could speak Central Plains Chinese. However, Gu Shenwei
was in no mood for making friends, as he had become a slave, and had also
lost the crucial secret manuscript of the Gu family.
"A rich kid." The pointy-faced teenager sneered. His tone was frivolous and
full of sarcasm.
"What are you talking about?" A flame of fury sprang to his head, though for
the most part, the pointy-faced teenager was not the true source of this anger.
"Nothing. Once we arrive in Jade City, all of us will be sold, but no one will
buy you to be a young Master again. I'm kindly reminding you that it's not
easy to adjust going from a young Master to a slave. The slaves have their
own rules and ways of living. Do you want my advice?"
Gu Shenwei nodded, for his words sounded very reasonable.
"Wash your butt clean."
The pointy-faced teenager said this solemnly and showed a slight smile. His
smile became more and more obvious, and finally turned into crazy laughter
that carried on and on.
Gu Shenwei could not understand what he meant for a long time and only felt
uncomfortable with his presumptuous laughter. He gradually realized the
obscenity of it. However, the best time for taking offense had passed. In his
limited, extravagant life experience, he had never learned how to deal with
this kind of situation.
The pointy-faced teenager gained an advantage by his words and became

more impudent. After the roaring laughter, he pretended to be serious and
said,
"Take it easy. A young Master like you looks quite clean. When we arrive in
Jade City, surely there will be people queuing up to buy you. You'll have a
bright future. Haha, your butt will be busy."
That was undoubtedly an insult.
Gu Shenwei leaped forward and pounced at the pointy-faced teenager, but he

stumbled over the children in the middle. They rolled up into balls and yelled
in pain, which aroused a guard's attention. Without saying a word, he took
out a club to randomly thwack at the chaotic scene inside the cage.
The children quickly separated. Each of them got some hits, as did Gu
Shenwei. The pointy-faced teenager in the corner, however, was beyond the
reach of the stick.
The pointy-faced teenager was trying his best not to laugh. After the guard
left, he gave a hearty laugh that shook his belly until he was nearly out of
breath.
Gu Shenwei did not expect there to be such an annoying person in the entire
world. Besides the assassins in Golden Roc Fort, he had never hated anyone
as he hated this pointy-faced teenager.
Gu Shenwei was not the only target of the pointy-faced teenager's teasing. He
always kept silent for a moment, and then suddenly blattered. He implicitly
or explicitly talked about the miserable experience of becoming a slave,
which provoked or scared the listeners into crying.
The pointy-faced teenager could speak several languages. The children in the
cage came from different places, but he could talk to almost every one of
them. He even made an abundance of various expressions and gestures to
match his sensational rumors.
"Some masters even like to eat kids, especially kids at our ages. Every year,
these slave traders will pick a group of children with the most tender meat
and sell them to the rich who practice such a special hobby. He'll declare that
you are disobedient, and that you talk back to your master and have plans of
running away. Then he'll tie you uptight and wash your butt clean. He'll
torture you while cutting your flesh to eat, slice by slice. He'll roast it or boil
it. There're all kinds of ways to eat a slave. When the masters eat you, you'll
be still alive, watching helplessly."
The pointy-faced teenager showed his two rows of white teeth, stuck out his
tongue, and licked his teeth. "Wash your butts clean" was his favorite pet
phrase.
He would not stop until a child at the age of eight or nine cried out. Then he
would take a short breath out of satisfaction.
Soon after that, Gu Shenwei got accustomed to the pointy-faced teenager's

causticity and chatter. He now felt like a terminal patient. Now that knowing
the deadline would come soon, he had given up the will to survive. If he had
any expectation at all, it was that death would soon come.
The trade caravan moved very slowly, day and night. The slaves were
occasionally released to relieve themselves. Gu Shenwei was like a walking
corpse without any resistance and did not even try to escape. He completely
lost his confidence. Even the Will of the Divine had abandoned him, no
longer giving him any hints.
The atmosphere of the trade caravan became more and more cheerful, as Jade
City was right in front of them. There would be wealthy buyers, raptured
brothels, and fine liquor. It was all waiting for them. Most crucially, they had
entered the territory of Golden Roc Fort, which meant no more danger.
However, this sentiment was broken at noon on the third day. At that time, it
would take the caravan only one more day to reach Jade City. The rest of the
path was smoother with more green plants, and villages appeared. It did not
look like a place where bandits would show up.
At that moment though, a gang of bandits appeared in front of the trade

caravan. The people at the back could not see the actual situation, but the bad
news was passed along one after another.
"There are some bandits in the way."
"How can there be bandits here?"
"Where's the killer from Golden Roc Fort? Isn't he leading the way for us?"
"Don't worry. We have so many people. There're only a few dozen bandits."
"Bighead Kingpin? It's Bighead Kingpin. Oh my god!"
Gu Shenwei was also somewhat impressed by Bighead Kingpin, who always

appeared in horror stories. Those stories were so extraordinary that Gu
Shenwei had always regarded him as a mythical figure and did not even
expect to find out that he was real.
"It's over. Bighead Kingpin loves eating kids the most. No matter whether
your butt is clean or not, he'll eat it anyhow."
The pointy-faced teenager turned pale and repeated it in four or five

languages. His expression was not as frivolous as usual and his voice was
trembling, which made his remark seem a bit more authentic.
All the children in the Western Region had heard the story of Bighead
Kingpin of Iron Mountain. Once reminded, they all fell into a panic. Some
timid children even curled themselves up in the haystack, shivering and not
even daring to look up.
It was not Bighead Kingpin himself that spoke to the trade caravan at first.
When the whole caravan was scared to death, a frightening voice came in.
"Don't be afraid. I'm a friend of the Supreme King. I don't do business in his
territory. I'm not coming here to steal. I only want to buy something."
The merchants felt even more surprised that Bighead Kingpin of Iron
Mountain wanted to "buy" something. No one dared to answer him, for fear
that it was the bandits' slang. Once one stepped forward to fawn, what he got
might be a fast knife.
After Bighead Kingpin's underlings threw two big packs of shining silver on
the ground, the leader of the trade caravan ventured to ask,
"What would you like to buy, my lord? We have…"
"Slaves."
After hearing that, the merchants took three steps back all together. They all
huddled together and wondered who had offended this big demon to the
extent that he wanted to buy from them.
It was indeed unexpected that Bighead Kingpin would be an ordinary buyer.

A skinny middle-aged woman came out of the bandit caravan and led a small
team to check each slave cage. Then she let the team drag out the children
that she liked.
The merchants felt relieved, but the slaves, who heard the news, were truly
frightened. The pointy-faced teenager was stunned at first. Then he fumbled
in the haystack, picked up two handfuls of ash and smeared it on his face.
His move reminded everyone. Even the despondent Gu Shenwei also joined
the group to grab the ash, trying his best to make himself the ugliest and the
most inconspicuous that he could be.
The skinny woman seemed to be capable of seeing through the children's

guise at a glance. It did not matter how thick the ashes were on their faces.
She simply glanced over the cage and chose two children.
Gu Shenwei made up his mind and jumped out of the cage by himself. The
pointy-faced teenager was paralyzed in the corner, holding onto the hope that
he could be safe, but a bandit eventually dragged him out.
The skinny woman finished her job quickly. In the end, she picked out 10
boys and 10 girls. All of them were around 10 years old. The two teenagers
who had been chased by the Snowmountain swordsman, Long Feidu, were
also chosen.
"Virgin boys' and virgin girls' flesh is the most tender. We are bound to have
our butts washed and wait to be eaten."
The pointy-faced teenager only spoke in Central Plain Chinese this time.
Then, he disappointedly followed Gu Shenwei, grasped his arm firmly and
walked toward their new master.
Bighead Kingpin was at the forefront of the caravan the entire time. Gu
Shenwei only heard his voice, but had never seen him. At this time, he boldly
looked up and got a glimpse of him. Though he had already prepared himself
emotionally, he was still scared. He wondered how there could be such a
horrible person in the world.
Bighead Kingpin rode a dark horse. His upper body alone was almost as tall
as a normal person. His name fitted him well, as his head was as big as a
bucket, with loose fluffy hair that made his head look even bigger. He looked
like a large ancient vessel carved with a Taotie (a mythical ferocious animal).
With his giant eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, he resembled a statue just coming
out of the temple.
His naked upper body had tight muscles, shining in the sun.
His black horse was also different. It was a circle bigger than an ordinary
horse. With dense teeth and fierce eyes, it was like a fierce carnivorous beast.
Gu Shenwei somewhat believed the legend of Bighead Kingpin eating

people. The pointy-faced teenager behind him staggered and almost fell on
him.
Bighead Kingpin's caravan had many horses. More than a dozen horses were
immediately led out. The new boys and girls were forced to mount the horses
and ride by themselves or with others.
The pointy-faced teenager decided to stick with Gu Shenwei. He rode on the

same horse as Gu Shenwei and wrapped around his waist from the back. No
matter how hard Gu Shenwei struggled to get rid of him, the teenager would
not let go.
The Iron Mountain bandits had bought enough people, so they turned the
horses eastward and galloped away. There were nearly 10,000 taels of silver
left on the road, enough to buy dozens of slaves. The merchants were still in
shock. Though Bighead Kingpin had disappeared, no one dared to take the
money.
Chapter 9 - The Bandit Camp
Chapter 9: The Bandit Camp
The 10 pairs of boys and girls, who were held by about 50 bandits, rode at
full speed and arrived at the camp of the bandits that same night.
Iron Mountain Gang's camp, instead of being hidden deep in the forest, was
built just outside of a major city. It was populous and noisy, with weapons
and flags placed everywhere. Seen from afar, the bandit camp looked like an
army that was ready to attack a city.
"We must be outside Jade City now."
The pointy-faced teenager nervously was speculating after dismounting the

horse, with one hand grasping Gu Shenwei's clothes.
He was right. The members of the Iron Mountain Gang, who came from
various regions and could speak several different dialects, kept cheerfully
mentioning "Jade City" in all of them. They tapped each others' shoulders as
a way of sharing their joy.
Gu Shenwei was confused. He remembered that in the legends, Bighead

Kingpin of Iron Mountain always dwelled in the Gobi Desert. Unexpectedly,
he now made his appearance around Jade City, and did not seem inclined to
sack it.
The teenagers were driven forward. There were almost no female bandits in
the camp. The men in the camp were very curious about those children. They
pointed at the children and laughed rudely, making those little slaves even
more scared.
The tents were crowded in the camp. The tallest one in the middle was
obviously Bighead Kingpin's main tent.
Bighead Kingpin went directly into his tent and the 10 pairs of boys and girls
were also brought inside.
It was spacious inside his camp and it could accommodate around 100
people. The ground was covered with thick blankets. Frightened, the newly
purchased little slaves stood near the door, waiting for their unknown fate.
Dozens of sub-chiefs followed their ringleader. Before taking his seat,

Bighead Kingpin waved his big hand and shouted his order.
"Bring the meat."
The little slaves were frightened by his gesture. Two girls fainted and two
boys were scared to tears. The pointy-faced teenager was so scared that his
body became soft, leaning on Gu Shenwei's back and whispering fearfully,
"I was just kidding. They won't eat people, right?"
A bunch of underlings filed into the tent, bringing large amounts of meat and
wine. The little slaves in the corner were also served with food.
The meat and wine were casually piled on the carpet. Sitting on the floor, the
bandits ate and drank without ceremony.
The smallest piece of meat must have been five or six pounds. Half cooked,
the meat oozed a trickle of blood after a bite.
"What, what meat is this?"
The pointy-faced teenager whispered. Hearing his words, several teenagers

who wanted to eat put down the meat.
Gu Shenwei had not eaten anything for quite a few days and was very
hungry. Without paying any attention to the pointy-faced teenager's words, he
grabbed a large piece of meat and took a bite. It did kill his hunger despite
being hard and smelly. Furthermore, it did not taste like human flesh.
Gu Shenwei was taking the lead, and the other teenagers began to eat the
meat, but they were wondering what Bighead Kingpin had bought them for.
It was definitely not to invite them to eat meat.
In the tent, even the sub-chiefs showed their ferocity, not to mention Bighead
Kingpin. The normally dressed one showed his one arm, covered in scars and
tattoos, while some of the drunken ones even stripped stark-naked.
They were energetic men, and the food and wine made them even more
energetic. Without any other outlet to consume their energy, they chose to
fight with each other. There had already been several fights in the 15 minutes
since the banquet had started. Instead of stopping those fights, the bystanders
cheered them on. Wine goblets were thrown everywhere.
After eating half a piece of meat, Gu Shenwei was full. Looking at those
bandits, especially the strong and valiant Bighead Kingpin, Gu Shenwei
suddenly thought of how nice it would be to get the help from Iron Mountain.
However, the Supreme King was Bighead Kingpin's friend. Gu Shenwei

could only entertain this idea in his mind.
When the banquet was halfway finished, the passion of the bandits was
running high. They took turns to toast Bighead Kingpin. He took all those
toasts without discrimination. A big bowl full of liquor in the hands of an
ordinary man was just a small cup in his hand.
One sub-chief was so drunk that he stood up unsteadily and began shouting
loudly.
"In a few days, our Miss of Iron Mountain will get married. With the 10 pairs
of girls and boys being bought, her dowry is complete. I thereby wish our
lady to have a son early, and wish Bighead Kingpin to have a grandson!"
The Iron Mountain Gang did not care about etiquette. Even though they
called their ringleader by his nickname, Bighead Kingpin did not take offense
at that. He smiled and drank his bowl of liquor in a single draught.
Obviously, he was happy with this toast.
The little slaves were relieved. They were to be used as the dowry of the
Miss, and no longer needed to stay with Bighead Kingpin.
The pointy-faced teenager breathed a sigh of relief, and nervously whispered,
"Our Miss's father-in-law will not be a bandit, right?"
No one answered his question, and no one was concerned about it, because
the sub-chief, after gaining the favor of Bighead Kingpin, spoke one more
sentence.
"Bighead Kingpin, our Miss is reputed for her great beauty. Now she's getting
married. I guess that it's time for us to take a look at her."
The proposal was cheered by many bandits, but the voices of approval died
down as everyone saw that Bighead Kingpin's face had changed.
"You want to see my daughter?"
"No, no." The sub-chief knew he had made a mistake, and was scared, with
his face turning green and his bowl falling to the ground. He murmured, "I
don't want to, I, I…"
Bighead Kingpin suddenly stood up, picking up an iron spear laying beside
him.
The iron spear was long and thick. Compared to it, the old servant Yang
Zheng's lance was just like a toy for children.
The sub-chief knew that he had made a serious mistake and stepped back in
fear. He forced a smile, but his expression became more twisted and rigid.
Bighead Kingpin angrily shouted, like a thunderbolt. Despite his bulky body,
he nimbly jumped over the heads of more than 10 people. Before he had
landed on the ground, his spear had pierced through the chest of the sub-
chief.
Bighead Kingpin raised his spear, with the dying sub-chief hanging from it.
The sub-chief held the spear, fearfully looking at Bighead Kingpin. He said
with his remaining strength, "Please… please forgive me."
"With exception of my worthy son-in-law, no second man can see Bighead

Kingpin's daughter. No man in the world. My worthy son-in-law is the son of
the Supreme King, not you, bastard."
"Bighead Kingpin and the Supreme King are in-laws!"
Gu Shenwei was disappointed. There was no possibility of using Bighead

Kingpin to kill the Supreme King's family.
There still was a silver lining. He could follow Bighead Kingpin's daughter
into Golden Roc Fort. The Will of the Divine had made its appearance after
abandoning him for a few days.
At once, Gu Shenwei settled his mind, as a clear path appeared ahead of him.
He would make his way into Golden Roc Fort, search for the whereabouts of
his sister, and assassinate at least one of his enemies.
The death of the sub-chief did not ruin the atmosphere of the banquet. His
body was quickly removed, and the crowd continued eating and drinking.
After the banquet, the 10 girls were sent to the Miss's tent to wait on her, and
the boys were taken to the smaller tent next to hers. Their daily work was to
scrub the utensils and prepare her dowry.
When his sister, Gu Cuilan, was ready to marry, Gu Shenwei was just a
young master who lived a carefree life. He only needed to command and his
servants would carry out his orders. But now, he was carrying out the orders
of a bandit's daughter, who he had never seen before. It was no easy feat for
him to accept this.
The skinny woman, who had selected slaves for Bighead Kingpin, was the
Miss's close servant. Naturally, the teenage slaves were under her charge.
The skinny woman ordered them to call her "Mama Xue". They were the first
two words of Central Plains Chinese that the barbarian teenagers learned how
to say.
Mama Xue's appearance was a far cry from snow. Her face was yellow, her
cheeks were hollow, and her whole body looked like a stick. Knowing that
most of those youths could not speak Central Plains Chinese, she spoke little
to them. When there was an order, she commanded them by pointing her
finger.
Her fingers were slender and hard, like 10, thin iron rods. If someone could
not understand her orders at once, he would be poked by those fingers, which
often left his body with bruises lasting two or three days.
The 10 teenagers all suffered her finger-poking, and even the pointy-faced
teenager, who claimed to be the best at pleasing his master, was no exception.
Each time he saw Mama Xue come in, the pointy-faced teenager immediately
snatched his own share of the job and did it enthusiastically.
Gu Shenwei was poked several times in the chest and thought that Mama Xue
had to be good at Kung Fu, as his little Internal Strength provided him with
no protection.
Bighead Kingpin often led his bandits out of the camp. Sometimes they came
back empty-handed. Sometimes they brought back many items. It was hard to
say what kind of business he was in.
The exact date of his daughter's marriage had not been fixed. They kept
saying "soon". But there was a rumor the marriage might be ill-fated.
Gu Shenwei had a hard time in this camp.
The pointy-faced teenager brought back rumors and reminded his company.
"If our Miss cannot be married off, we're out of luck. This is a bandit gang.
Today they stay here, but nobody knows where they'll go. Will Bighead
Kingpin bring a bunch of kids with him? Are there any kids in this camp
except us? I don't think Bighead Kingpin will sell us. Instead, he'll pierce us
all together with his spear like a kabob."
The pointy-faced teenager imitated Bighead Kingpin's posture of piercing a

person with a spear. Three children were so scared that they dropped the
bronze wares to the ground.
On the fifth day after they entered the camp, Bighead Kingpin led his men
out of the camp and did not come back at night.
After a tiring day, Gu Shenwei lay on a straw mat, but could not fall to sleep.
He was used to sleeping in a soft bed. For him, the straw mat was no different
from naked ground. He also felt uncomfortable sharing a tent with others, as
he used to sleep in his room accompanied only by the young attendant, Ming
Xiang. Ming Xiang never snored, nor did he grind his teeth or twist and turn.
Gu Shenwei had accepted the fact that his entire family had been killed. His
will to seek revenge became firmer day by day, but he could not easily adapt
to such a life.
Someone was walking in the tent. A ray of moonlight found its way in
through a hole in the roof. Gu Shenwei saw two teenagers sneaking toward
the door.
It was the two teenagers who had been chased by the Snowmountain
swordsman.
Gu Shenwei had once spoken for them on impulse. However, they did not
seem to appreciate it at all. Of course, they could not speak Central Plains
Chinese, but they had never expressed their gratitude.
Gu Shenwei did not care, for he had too many other things to deal with.
The two teenagers looked alike. Apparently, they were brothers. They looked
around as they walked. In no time, the elder brother's eyes met Gu Shenwei's.
At that moment, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that the two brothers wanted
to run away.
The elder brother was stunned for a moment. He pointed outside and made a
few simple gestures. His eyes were darker than the night and glimmering,
like the vigilant eyes of a cat.
The other children were fast asleep. Gu Shenwei rose up, staring at the pair of
eyes close at hand. He understood their meaning. The brothers were inviting
him to escape together.
It seemed to be a good time to run away. Bighead Kingpin had taken away a
lot of his underlings, and most of the servants that were left did not know any
Kung Fu. The bandits never arranged for any guards to look after the 10
boys. Jade City was miles away from the camp and was a good place to
evade the bandits' hunt.
Gu Shenwei slowly shook his head, but gently waved at them to wish them
good luck.
He could not waste this good opportunity to enter Golden Roc Fort. Unless
he followed Bighead Kingpin's daughter, who would marry into Golden Roc
Fort, he could not enter Golden Roc Fort by any other means with his
ordinary Kung Fu skills.
His sister might be in the fort, but his enemies were also there.
The brothers were a bit surprised, but did not persuade Gu Shenwei any
longer. Waving at him, the elder brother turned around, took his brother's
hand, and carefully walked outside of the tent.
Gu Shenwei lay down again and thought that the brothers must have had the
same unusual experience as him, but they could not communicate.
"Someone is running away! Come and catch them!"
Just as the two brothers had lifted a corner of the tent, the pointy-faced
teenager suddenly raised the alarm. No one knew when he had woken up.
The brothers were taken aback. Hesitating for a moment, they turned around
and rushed at the pointy-faced teenager, who had been sleeping inside the
tent.
However, as the two of them were taking their first steps, they were picked
up by someone, holding one in each hand.
It was Mama Xue. Dressed in daytime clothes, her response was incredibly
quick, as if she had been waiting just outside the tent.
Chapter 10 - Sworn Brothers
Chapter 10: Sworn Brothers
"They were attempting to run away when I caught them, and that boy meant
to join them."
The pointy-faced teenager reported excitedly as he pointed at Gu Shenwei.
Hearing the commotion, other bandits rushed in, torches in their hands.
However, seeing that Mama Xue had already gotten the situation under
control, they did not take further action.
Gu Shenwei was resolved to seek revenge, by hook or by crook, but now he

was not sure what to do exactly.
Therefore, being confronted with the pointy-faced teenager's false accusation,

he hesitated momentarily, but he did not defend himself since he did not want
to betray the brothers.
In a huff, Mama Xue flung the brothers upward, and then simultaneously
slapped them on their backs without saying a word. The two teenagers fell
into a dead faint, as they landed on the straw mat.
When the pointy-faced teenager saw that, he became so excited that his eyes
glittered. He enjoyed watching others being punished and did not care who
the executor was.
Mama Xue silently strode toward Gu Shenwei, and quick as a flash, she
poked him in the shoulder with two of her fingers.
Gu Shenwei had been originally sitting on the straw mat, but after the attack,
he was lying flat on his back. Feeling the pain penetrate to his marrow, he
immediately lost control of his arms and beads of sweat glistened on his
forehead. He could not help letting out a painful cry, however, he instantly
stifled the following groan.
The pointy-faced teenager flushed with excitement, and was on the verge of
shouting "bravo".
Mama Xue turned and approached the pointy-faced teenager. The boy knelt
on the straw mat, and with great expectation, he eagerly said, "Mama Xue,
please rest assured, I…"
Mama Xue rose one of her arms and slapped him across the face. The smack
was so powerful that the pointy-faced teenager tumbled, falling heavily onto
the mat, instantly unconscious.
"Damn you, little snitch."
Mama Xue cursed as she turned around to leave. As much as she hated
informers, she still arranged for an underling to keep an eye on the tent.
Neither of the brothers nor the pointy-faced teenager died, and they woke up
just before dawn. As for Gu Shenwei, he could move now despite being in
immense pain.
The other teenagers tried their best to avoid them since they did not know
what had happened. They wanted to keep their distance from the entire affair.
With a clear handprint on his face, the pointy-faced teenager buried his cheek
against his hand in utter confusion. Seeing the brothers and Gu Shenwei
walking toward him, he immediately sat up.
"Easy now. I did that for your own good. You wouldn't have escaped. You
would have been caught and killed.
"I had no choice. We're slaves bought by them. It's our duty to remain loyal
to our master. You can also accuse me if I do anything wrong." The boy tried
hard to make excuses for himself.
Ignoring him, the brothers uttered a few sentences in their native language.
With a furious and scared face, the pointy-faced teenager snapped back. Just
then, Mama Xue entered the room.
Since the boys dreaded the skinny woman's fingers, none of them dared to
risk getting into trouble in her presence, so they retreated.
Throughout the morning, the 10 teenagers cleaned incense burners outside

the tent. Shortly before noon, something happened that almost made Gu
Shenwei forget his hatred for the pointy-faced teenager.
Bighead Kingpin came back suddenly and strode toward his daughter's tent.
His face looked pale and ghastly, and he wore an expression that only
appeared when he wanted to kill someone.
Obviously, the rule that men were forbidden from seeing his daughter did not
apply to him.
Everyone felt nervous, as if a storm were brewing. They wiped the brassware
harder as they tried to eavesdrop on the people inside. It was on that day, the
sixth day since they were made dowry, that they first heard the Miss's voice.
"No. I won't marry him!"
Her voice sounded mellifluous and as soothing as cool water on a hot

summer's day, quite different from her father's rough timbre. However, she
spoke in a firm and aggressive tone, which no one else would ever dare to use
in front of Bighead Kingpin.
Bighead Kingpin lowered his voice, trying his best to persuade his daughter,
but he was thwarted by an angrier protest,
"I won't marry a crippled man. Father, break off the engagement."
They could hear neither Bighead Kingpin nor his daughter. Suddenly, an
almighty roar came from the tent. The enormous bandit chieftain had finally
lost his patience and revealed his true nature.
"Whatever happens, you must marry him! That's an order! Motherfucker!"
Feeling threatened by her own father, the Miss burst into tears.
Bighead Kingpin sagged his upper body as he walked out of the tent.
Standing at the entrance, he let out another roar into the sky before returning
to his main tent, his footsteps heavy. On the way, leaders of varying levels
and handymen avoided encountering him. No one dared to comfort him.
Holding his spear in hand, Bighead Kingpin looked to find someone to vent
his anger on. However, he did not see anyone. So, instead, he raised his spear
and shouted with rage.
"Go to hell Shangguan Fa! Even if my son-in-law killed the wrong person,
you should have just asked him to kill the right one. Why did you have to cut
off his hand? I, I…"
Even though he was an influential bandit chieftain in the Western Region, he

could do nothing directly to the Supreme King, other than make verbal
threats.
"Who the hell is Gu Shenwei? Bring him to me! I'll tear him to shreds!"
Bighead Kingpin's eyes were red and bloodshot.
Upon hearing his name, Gu Shenwei became shocked and scared. He felt a
warm airflow rise up to his head so fast that he almost fainted. Suddenly, he
knew who his enemy was.
Eagle had been right. It was Golden Roc Fort that had exterminated the entire
Gu family, and the one who had led the slaughter was none other than
Bighead Kingpin's future son-in-law!
Thank goodness! He had been bought by Bighead Kingpin as a slave, and

together with his enemy's fiancée, he would be sent to the enemy's home.
Ultimately, Bighead Kingpin did not find anyone to kill in order to vent his
anger. The leader's and daughter's rage continued to pervade the entire camp
and everyone felt insecure. Eventually, a slave girl was the one to suffer.
Bighead Kingpin's surname was Luo and so was his daughter's. Her name
was Ningcha, which sounded quite strange. Bighead Kingpin forbade men
from seeing his daughter, but he did not mind if they mentioned her name
throughout their daily lives.
However, Miss Luo Ningcha personally hated that, especially when she was
unhappy.
The slave girl got into trouble just because of that. Since she had come from a
mountainous area, her dialect made her hard to understand. The girl struggled
to adapt to her new environment and worked hard to learn the common
language. One of the first expressions she learned had been "Ningcha". It was
a pity that she did not know its meaning or the Miss's taboo.
Two days after Bighead Kingpin had quarreled with his daughter, the slave
girl had been reciting the few expressions that she knew in Central Plain
Chinese. When she mentioned "Ningcha", she sighed and just so happened to
be overheard by Miss Luo.
Few knew what exactly happened next. Like the other teenagers, Gu Shenwei
had been working outside the tent when he heard a miserable shriek.
The screams lasted for some time before the punished girl was brought out,
her face bloody and beaten beyond recognition.
From that day on, she lost her eyes and tongue.
Gu Shenwei did not know what the others thought about it, but it filled him
with a righteous indignation. He thought Luo Ningcha was just as brutal as
her father, who indiscriminately slaughtered innocent people.
Indignant as he was, he would do nothing about it. Even if he had still been
the young Master of the Gu family and did not have to avenge his family's
murder, he would not have had the guts to defend the poor girl.
However, the slave girl did not die and after only two days, she returned to
the Miss's tent. Even though she could neither speak nor see, she still had to
serve the vicious mistress with her ears.
No one, other than Luo Ningcha herself, knew why she had kept the slave
girl.
Every time he saw the blind girl, without her tongue and groping her way in
and out of the tent, Gu Shenwei felt a cold shiver of fear run through him. He
was sorry, terrified, and he believed that the other teenagers shared his
emotions.
Maybe the slave girl's miserable suffering reminded the teenagers of their
need for solidarity. The third day after the incident, the pointy-faced teenager
unexpectedly took the initiative to make peace with Gu Shenwei and the
brothers who had previously attempted to escape.
"I came to apologize. I hope you can forgive me for my behavior that night.
Since we live, eat, and serve the same master together, we should help each
other like brothers."
While saying this, the pointy-faced teenager touched the faint handprint on
his cheek and appeared rather sincere. He was apparently capable of changing
his attitude so fast that others would mistakenly think they were facing two
different people.
He apologized in two languages. Gu Shenwei and the two brothers

exchanged knowing glances before they nodded, implying they forgave the
pointy-faced teenager for his betrayal.
They had more important secrets to keep, so they did not care much about the
pointy-faced teenager's trick.
But, the pointy-faced teenager wanted more than just peace. That evening, he
coughed to draw everyone's attention and spoke in a formal tone as the others
were about to rest.
He spoke in two barbaric tongues of the Western Region before he finally

said in Central Plains Chinese, "Now that you agree with me, let's hold a
ceremony to become sworn brothers and swear that we'll share happiness and
sorrow in the future."
He cast a seemingly serious glance over all of the boys that were present.
Seeing that nobody objected, he then continued in three languages, "I, Lin
Yang, will treat all of the people in this tent as my blood brothers. I'll share
my food and clothes with you. If I succeed one day, I'll definitely help you to
succeed, too."
It was not because they treasured the ties of brotherhood that none of them
raised any objection, it was rather they did not know the others' true thoughts
due to the language barrier. Therefore, they all kept silent. Moreover, nobody
wanted to cause a stir in Bighead Kingpin's camp since both the chieftain and
his daughter were in a bad mood and might kill someone at any time.
After a brief silence, one teenager was the first to speak. He stammered out
something in his own language, which, judging from Lin Yang's satisfied
look, must have been a vow.
The teenagers swore their oaths one after the other, some reluctantly and
others passionately. The two brothers, who had been betrayed by Lin Yang,
followed suit, though their oaths sounded brief and not very sincere.
As the eight teenagers spoke in the barbaric tongues of the Western Region,
Gu Shenwei was not able to understand a word of their vows, not even their
names. When it came to his turn, he hesitated for a moment before coldly
saying, "I, Yang Huan, will become your sworn brother. May Heaven strike
dead whoever plays dirty tricks."
He had not made a solemn vow because Gu Shenwei had not used his real
name.
If the same thing happened a few days ago, the young Master of the Gu
family would have taken great interest in participating in the ceremony and
would have taken everyone's words seriously. Now, however, he made a
promise with a lie and was sure that none of the 10 vows had been true.
Lin Yang was also aware of this, but he was satisfied since he knew that he
could not expect great changes in such a short time. Once they had entered
Golden Roc Fort, he would gradually take control of the small group and
become the real leader despite the fact that Miss Luo owned them.
On the fifth day after the ceremony, Miss Luo Ningcha was made to dress for
the wedding, and it was on that day that Gu Shenwei saw his enemy
Shangguan Nu for the first time.
Chapter 11 - The Groom
Chapter 11: The Groom
Although they became sworn brothers against their will, the 10 teenagers felt
closer to each other after that night, as if they had found a long-lost sense of
belonging.
Gu Shenwei also thought it was a good idea. Without any backer or the Kung
Fu secret manuscript, it was impossible for him to openly seek revenge, so he
could only resort to insidious means. Therefore, it was not a bad thing to have
a bunch of brothers after all.
Of course, he would not tell his secret to anyone, nor would the other
teenagers. In the small group where trust and sincerity did not exist, no one
would risk telling the truth.
Over the next few days, the 10 brothers bonded even more. They helped one
another and learned each other's language. Occasionally, they made a joke.
No one foresaw their future after entering Golden Roc Fort.
On the morning of Miss Luo getting married, the entire camp was completely
renovated. All the people, including Bighead Kingpin and his underlings,
dressed up and looked neat for the first time.
Regardless of their status, thousands of gangsters stood on both sides of the

road, hoping to see the groom. As Supreme King's son, he always considered
himself superior and could rarely be seen even by the largest bandit gang of
the Western Region.
Gu Shenwei was especially eager to see him.
The news that Golden Roc Fort had slaughtered the Gu family from the
Central Plains had been spread everywhere. The Shangguans did not try to
hide it. Therefore, more and more details of the tragedy became available to
Gu Shenwei.
Shangguan Nu, the Supreme King's eighth son, led the business. The Iron
Mountain Gang regarded killing people as "a business". All he took were 20
killers, 70 machetemen, and probably a black-masked assassin.
Machetemen, killers, and assassins varied in status in Golden Roc Fort.

Machetemen were mostly people hired from different places in the Western
Region and junior members of Golden Roc Fort. Killers were men cultivated
by the fort, therefore, were much stronger and the core of Golden Roc Fort.
Assassins were the most mysterious group of people, whose existence had
been disputed. Anyway, they were said to be the strongest and had their
identities hidden by wearing black masks. Therefore, they were also called
"black-masked assassins".
Some thought Golden Roc Fort used a steam-hammer to crack nuts by

sending 27 killers and 70 machetemen to an assassination.
Golden Roc Fort made it a rule that machetemen were responsible for
reconnaissance, vigilance, and other matters, and participated in killing
people only when necessary, while killers should execute the most important
assassination tasks.
It was exactly those machetemen who spied on the manor from the hill
behind the house, and later broke into it to ascertain the circumstances.
Eventually, they were killed by the old servant, Yang Zheng, while chasing
the five people who managed to escape from the manor.
After everything was ready, 20 killers, perhaps together with Young Master
Shangguan Nu and a mysterious black-masked assassin, entered the Gu's
manor in the middle of the night. They stealthily killed the servants patrolling
the manor first, and then the masters of the estate, and lastly, the servants that
were sleeping.
Since they were well-prepared, they executed the entire operation without
resistance. According to the standards of Golden Roc Fort, a head-on crash
was the last means that they would resort to, so no resistance was the best
result they could achieve.
The bandits plundered all the gold, silver, and precious things in the manor,
and then set the manor on fire, which was the standard procedure of Golden
Roc Fort. They abandoned any objects that were hard to move and left them
to well-informed bandits.
If all went well, the action would win a bright future for the Eighth Young
Master, Shangguan Nu.
It was his first time to carry out a task by himself. If he succeeded, he would
be qualified to set up his house and develop his own forces. Additionally, he
would marry the daughter of the chieftain of the biggest bandit gang in the
Western Region to consolidate the family power and his own status.
His dream was shattered by the 14-year-old boy's escape.
People made different guesses as to how the teenager named Gu Shenwei got
away. The rumor was that the master of the manor, Gu Lun, was a crafty old
scoundrel. He sent out a few teams that night to divert the machetemen's
attention before arranging his daughter and youngest son's escape.
Shangguan Nu made a wrong judgment and only sent out a few machetemen
to chase after them. As a result, the three machetemen were killed by Yang
Zheng. They did not notice that two young masters were missing until they
slaughtered all the people in the Gu's manor. To make up for it, Shangguan
Nu sent out the killer in time, who took back the head he wanted.
It turned out to be the wrong head!
It did not belong to the young Master of the Gu family, but to some unknown
person.
Because of that unforgivable mistake, the Supreme King cut off his Eighth
Son's hand, and out of rage, Shangguan Nu did the same to several
machetemen and killers.
Shangguan Nu's future was ruined from the very beginning. Although the
Supreme King had not made any formal announcement yet or in the future,
everyone was certain that Shangguan Nu would not be qualified to keep
house for a long time. His engagement to Bighead Kingpin's daughter was
still valid, but it was no more his marriage than a purely family marriage. The
Supreme King and Bighead Kingpin needed to establish a connection through
marriage, and neither of them had any other children at the right age.
What disappointed Gu Shenwei the most was that the rumors rarely
mentioned what happened to Miss Gu Cuilan. People either assumed that she
was dead, or did not mention her at all.
As for the reason why Golden Roc Fort slaughtered the Gus, there were so
many versions that Gu Shenwei could hardly tell which one was true. For
money? For treasure? For fame? For hatred? Or for revenge? After all, it was
not the first time that Golden Roc Fort exterminated an entire family. For the
fort, it was just an ordinary action. The Iron Mountain Gang had taken
interest in it only because it was related to their chieftain's daughter.
No one had expected such a weird ending to the entire event. It was said that
the Supreme King gave clear orders and told Shangguan Nu to bring the right
head back in seven days.
Shangguan Nu angrily agreed to do so, but everyone played down the details.
How far could a 14-year-old child flee in the desert of the Western Region?
There was no doubt that he would eventually be caught by the Golden Roc
Fort pursuers.
Gu Shenwei alone knew that he was still alive.
As for his surprising survival, Gu Shenwei guessed the reasons were

probably that Yang Zheng played a trick by disguising Ming Xiang as
himself, and then found another child to dress up as the young attendant. On
top of that, a series of accidents happened to Gu Shenwei, like him losing his
way. After returning to the manor, he was caught by bandits who did not
know him and who were later killed by the swordsman. In the end, Bighead
Kingpin personally picked him out of all the slaves.
All those accidents prevented Shangguan Nu from tracking down the escaped
boy, and left him no choice but to hand over a substitute's head.
There was no doubt that Shangguan Nu brought the wrong head back to
Golden Roc Fort, but why did no one notice it?
Gu Shenwei racked his brains, but could not find an answer.
The groom's procession arrived.
Dozens of knights dressed in bright uniforms led the procession on well-

trained vermilion horses walking at the same pace. The dignified knights and
horses overwhelmed the spectators around.
Behind the knights was a bridal chair carried by eight people, and right by the
chair, the groom, Shangguan Nu, followed the procession on a horse.
Though dressed in standard groom attire, Shangguan Nu did not look happy
at all. He remained as cold-blooded as usual, and turned a blind eye to the
onlookers' discussions and admiration.
He behaved as if he was a newly-appointed general inspecting his

unpromising army.
He wore a saber that was in a dark sheath and it was out of tune with the
whole procession and very unpleasant to the eyes.
It was said that the men of the Shangguan family would never leave their
sabers until death. Therefore, the crowd understood and forgave the new
groom's rudeness.
In fact, the spectators were more interest in the groom's right hand that had
already been cut off by the Supreme King.
Without the hand to hold a sword, he was less threatening. It was like a fierce
tiger whose teeth and paws had been extracted.
Shangguan Nu hid his entire right arm in a long sleeve. No one knew what
was holding the halter, as part of it was also covered by the sleeve. The
groom seemed no different from a normal person.
People with even a little knowledge of proper etiquette would not deliberately
stare at others' physiological defects. It was a pity that courtesy was rarer than
benevolence in the camp of the Iron Mountain Gang. After looking at the
groom's procession and dress, thousands of people fixed their eyes on the
hidden hand.
Shangguan Nu's facial expression turned stiffer, as if he himself had become

a part of the "Iron Mountain".
Seeing Shangguan Nu from afar, Bighead Kingpin smiled broadly. He forgot

all the unhappy things, and whole-heartedly waited for the Supreme King's
son. "Who can tell that he's handicapped? He's a perfect match for my
daughter." With this in mind, he opened his arms to embrace his son-in-law.
Gu Shenwei stood right behind Bighead Kingpin together with the other slave
boys and girls as well as the bandit leaders. He could clearly see the groom
get down from his horse and kneel to greet his father-in-law. He even caught
a glimpse of an iron hook in the groom's sleeve when Bighead Kingpin
supported his son-in-law and gave him a passionate hug.
The hook flashed before Gu Shenwei's eyes.
He found himself extremely calm, and was not as nervous as expected.
This was the enemy of the Gu family. There was a good chance that he was
the one who killed and beheaded Gu Shenwei's mother and father.
Gu Shenwei was only a few steps away from Shangguan Nu, holding a red
gift box in his hands. Suddenly, an impulse to throw himself at Shangguan
Nu arose in his mind, and his body involuntarily leaned forward.
A piercing gaze swept over him.
With her eyes, Mama Xue was warning him not to make a show in front of
the groom.
Gu Shenwei suddenly awoke from his daze, and immediately resumed his
standing posture. He thought, "My father endeavored to save me, and Master
Shifu Yang Zheng and my elder sister sacrificed themselves for me. I can't
waste my life like this."
He would take revenge, but his target was not Shangguan Nu alone, but the
entire Shangguan family.
Blessed by the Will of the Divine, he believed he would succeed.
The groom stood up, his eyes sweeping randomly across the crowd behind
his father-in-law. Though many were blocked by Bighead Kingpin's tall and
bulky body, he still managed to see a group of silly bandits, who giggled and
seemed vulgar despite their brand-new clothes.
Shangguan Nu felt a little disappointed, thinking, "Do I have to seek an

alliance with them? How can father choose to build a connection with such a
mob?"
Gu Shenwei bravely met the glance, but he did not attract Shangguan Nu's
attention.
As soon as he decided to enter Golden Roc Fort, he made up his mind to take
a huge risk: Someone in Golden Roc Fort surely had to know him. Perhaps
Shangguan Nu had long ago heard about his appearance.
Now, Shangguan Nu did not recognize him, so he passed the first test. But
how long could he hide his identity in the fort?
Gu Shenwei knew that the Will of the Divine had not left him much time to
seek revenge. He had to take action as soon as possible.
Chapter 12 - Names
Chapter 12: Names
The largest killer organization and the number one bandit gang in the
Western Region were connected by a marriage. This was destined to cause a
sensation in Jade City and be remembered for a long time.
Riding a horse among the bride-escorting procession, Gu Shenwei might

have been the only person who was not interested in the wedding. He had
been to Jade City once before. Now revisiting it, he was in a quite different
mood.
Two years ago, the Gu family had marched laboriously in the desert for
nearly a month. They initially had seen a densely populated place, Jade City.
Parched, the first sip of water was like drinking bejeweled nectar. In the
travelers' eyes, Jade City was comparable to an earthly paradise.
There were a large number of shops and taverns spread throughout the
exterior of this city. All sorts of people from various places walked along the
streets. It was the first time they had seen so many different races. They could
not stop staring with wild abandon.
Master Gu Lun did not like this place, however. After staying for a while, he
went to the yamen to exchange their passports. Once morning came about,
they had to travel west. They were heading for an oasis manor that had been
bought with the help of a bailee. The manor itself was hundreds of miles
away.
"It's such a pity," thought both Gu Shenwei and his two elder brothers. His
eldest brother had scolded his second brother for wanting to buy an exotic
beauty, but he himself had stared fixedly at those beautiful women on the
street, nearly falling off his horse.
Hoping to revisit Jade City to purchase a big-eyed, fair beauty someday, his
second brother had kept quite a few private savings. He had hidden them
under his bed.
The bride-escorting procession entered the city through the western gate and
marched on the street with great fanfare. Both sides of the street were
congested with onlookers. Everyone bowed, showing their respect and
strewing flowers on the ground. It was a win-win marriage received like
royalty.
In Jade City, the sword ruled all.
Golden Roc Fort was situated on the top of the mountain outside Jade City.
The only access to it was a zigzagging mountain road, starting from the
northern gate of Jade City. Seen from afar, the fort in the mountain looked
like an imperial palace. The city at the foot of the mountain became its portal
and its first line of defense.
Houses stood along the mountain road. Although it was not as populated as
the city, it was not bleak. All the houses' doors and walls were decorated
festively for the wedding in Golden Roc Fort. In fact, most of these
households were associated with Golden Roc Fort in various aspects. By
depending on the Supreme King, they could enjoy a good living.
The temperature gradually decreased with the rise in altitude, which brought
a bit of briskness in the midsummer.
Approaching Golden Roc Fort for the first time, people would be astounded
by the precipitous terrain. Under the mountain, no one would notice that the
fort was built on an isolated summit surrounded by an unfathomable abyss.
There was only a roughly 10-foot-wide stone bridge that connected the
mountain road to the fort.
If someone were to walk on the bridge and look down, they would feel dizzy.
There was no protection on both sides of the stone bridge. Clouds and mist
drifted around and nothing could be heard.
As they passed over the bridge, everyone dismounted and began to walk. No
one dared to risk the horses being frightened, lest they fall and break into
pieces.
Cautiously and anxiously, they walked over the narrow stone bridge while
holding onto the fort in awe.
It was an antique fort. In front of its gate was a vast, vacant piece of land,
paved with bluestones, which was partially damaged.
The wall of the fort had huge rocks stacked up, varying in height. They were
well-arranged with the lowest wall being 30 or 35 feet in height. On top of
the wall, there were watchtowers spread with an infinite amount of piles of
arrows. Countless flags rose up into the clouds.
If there were enough provisions, one man could defend against 10,000
enemies. No one would be able to break through the fort from the outside.
Gu Shenwei believed in the existence of the Will of the Divine more than
ever. Because of that, he was able to enter Golden Roc Fort.
Opening the fort gate, the crowd stood at the entrance to greet the bride.
Gu Shenwei thought he could see Shangguan Fa, the legendary Supreme

King. However, he was disappointed that he neither saw any other members
of the Shangguan family except Shangguan Nu, nor got a chance to witness
the scene of making ceremonial obeisance.
The 10 pairs of teenage boys and girls became the Shangguan family's
property along with innumerable other dowries. They were taken over in
Golden Roc Fort.
Appointed as the young mistress's personal servants, the girls were sent to
Shangguan Nu's residence, while the boys were assigned to a small courtyard.
"Firewood Yard" was engraved on the lintel, so Gu Shenwei presumed that
their duty from now on was chopping firewood.
For these newcomers, the wedding banquet consisted only of ethereal music
and faint laughter.
It was a peaceful, endless first night in Golden Roc Fort for them. Apart from
someone bringing them dinner, no one cared about the new property. The 10
teenagers slept in one room, sharing a large, heated brick bed that could
barely fit them all.
The pointy-faced teenager, Lin Yang, was the first to recover from the shock.
The handprint on his face had already disappeared and his confidence had
almost recovered. He was the one that thought of making a pact with
everyone. Proclaiming himself as "big brother", they were now sworn
brothers.
"This is Golden Roc Fort, you know? All of the major royal families in the
Western Region have to respect the Shangguan family. We're lucky… no, I'm
lucky. I can succeed in winning the Supreme King's favor. If you gain favor
in Golden Roc Fort, you gain favor in the entire Jade City. As for you guys, if
you follow me honestly and learn how to deal with people, you may be
successful someday as well. Don't blame me for not warning you that at least
one person will get killed every day in Golden Roc Fort. You'd better watch
out!"
Lin Yang liked to frighten people but he liked to be flattered even more.
Therefore, several scared, pale teenagers catered to his commands, begging
him for special care.
After babbling for almost two hours, Lin Yang slept with satisfaction. The
other teenagers also fell asleep one by one. Gu Shenwei could not fall asleep.
Closing his eyes and then opening them, he could not remember the last time
he had slept well.
He had already entered Golden Roc Fort. His sister might be locked up in
here somewhere. He could even imagine her crying. Although it was quite
risky to probe the fort, he could not tolerate giving up.
Despite the possibility of Lin Yang waking up and the traps spread outside,
Gu Shenwei still quietly crawled up and sneaked out of the room, barefoot.
In the small yard, there were doors on the east and west sides. Outside the
eastern door lay a long and deep alley, which Gu Shenwei and the others had
passed through to enter the yard. Knowing that there were guards during the
day, he decided to go from the western door to check out the surroundings
outside.
The door was unlocked, which was a good sign. It was totally dark outside,
however. It took Gu Shenwei some time to make out the surroundings. There
was a flat, muddy ground with lots of gravel and vague shapes of large trees
not far away.
The place looked like the outside, rather than a part of Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei was surprised at how easily he was able to leave the fort. He
gingerly felt his way forward. After taking 30 or 40 steps, he felt a stone fall
and heard a strange sound. He stopped walking and looked down. He was
startled.
He was already standing on the edge of a cliff. If he had taken one more step,
he would have fallen into the abyss. No wonder there was no guards here. In
fact, there was no need for guards.
The sound of a pebble hitting the precipice below made a strange, weak
sound on such a silent night. It sounded like a sort of shrill whistle, like an
echo from the netherworld.
Gu Shenwei was tense as he slowly backed away two steps and ran back into
the yard.
Back in the yard, Gu Shenwei calmed down and carefully walked to the
eastern door. After pushing against it, he found that the door was locked. He
walked back a few steps to observe where he could climb over. He suddenly
collided with something, however. Turning around, he saw a man looking
down at him.
The man in all black wore a mask, camouflaged in the night. His right hand
was placed near the left side of his waist. If one looked closely, one would
recognize that the man's hand was holding a hilt. He was as quiet as a ghost.
"Is there someone who is also here to pay Golden Roc Fort a nighttime visit
like me?" Gu Shenwei thought.
Gu Shenwei was astonished and delighted. He remained motionless and silent

because of what had happened on the cliff edge. He was more vigilant than
usual.
They stared at each other for quite a while. Eventually, the man-in-black
spoke first.
"You are violating the curfew order."
Gu Shenwei was disappointed that the man-in-black was actually a night

watchman of Golden Roc Fort instead of an accomplice. Golden Roc Fort
was impregnable from the outside and inside.
"I am new here, I did not know. I, I need to pee."
"You belong to the Eighth Young Mistress?"
Gu Shenwei nodded desperately.
The man-in-black hesitated, loosening the hilt that he was tightly holding.
"There is a chamber pot in the room."
Gu Shenwei knew that he had just narrowly escaped. He quickly nodded and
ran back to the bedroom, finding the chamber pot. He was so nervous and
afraid that the night watchman might still be spying on him outside,
therefore, it took him a while to be able to urinate a little.
Lying on the brick bed, he still felt his heart beating wildly.
"No more risks." He warned himself secretly.
The other teenagers were sleeping soundly, snoring unceasingly.
Gu Shenwei had not thought about how to exact revenge yet. Worse still, the
next day, he found it was quite hard to see Shangguan Nu.
Firewood Yard was not a place for firewood storage. It was a place for the
dead.
Without a high status, anyone who was injured or sick would be sent to this
small yard to await their death. In Golden Roc Fort, there were many who
had a low status and could not receive any medical treatment. As Lin Yang
had said, "At least one person dies every day."
Bighead Kingpin's daughter was enjoying her honeymoon while the 10

teenagers she had brought here were assigned to look after these dying
people. They fell into "hell" when they woke up.
It was more painful to touch the dead and watch the wounds bleed and fester
than to watch people being slain by swords. After one day's work, these
teenagers looked decades older, silent and depressed. A rotten scent lingered
in their noses. Even Lin Yang became dull, not saying a word.
The man in charge of Firewood Yard was in his 20s. He was thin and weak,
with a little acne dotted on his pale face. It seemed like he had fallen ill and
was sent here to wait for death, but after a long time, he became "the master"
here. He had kept on living.
With a surname of Han, the man in charge was called "Slave Ji". He gnashed
his teeth as he introduced his own name, as if blaming his terrible name on
the teenagers.
He always held a roughly 3-foot-long rosewood stick and liked to say,

"Hitting softens your bones, and teaching makes you good slaves."
The rules in Golden Roc Fort were stricter than in the Iron Mountain Gang.
The first thing Slave Ji did after taking over the new servants was to give
them new names. The naming was quite easy. He picked Chinese characters
in sequence from the Thousand Character Classic and added one character,
"Slave", to it. Excluding some taboo-breaking and complicated characters,
there were 700 or 800 characters left, used by successive servants.
This was how Slave Ji had gotten his name.

He took out the name booklet, which was filled with all different kinds of
signs, finding which characters were still available.
"San, Lv, Xiao, Yao, Xin, Zou, Lei, Qian, Qi, Xie, Huan, and Zhao. Well, Lv
and Zou are used already, there are still 10 characters left, just enough."
The place for naming was in a yard next door. An old man with white hair
and particularly loose skin was in charge of the naming. Slave Ji would
confirm the character while the old man would find the matching iron mold
and heat it up in the fire, turning the mold red.
Even though the teenagers were unable to understand Central Plain Chinese,
they knew what would happen next. They glanced at each other. No one
wanted to be the first.
"Hurry up! There are a lot of things to get done." Slave Ji urged them
impatiently.
Lin Yang, with the new name of Slave Yao, pushed Gu Shenwei, who was
beside him. Gu Shenwei became the first one to have his new name branded
on his right arm.
Slave Huan.
His new name unexpectedly shared the same character with his nickname.
For the brother pair, the elder one and the younger one were called Slave Qi
and Slave Xie, respectively.
On the teenagers' arms, two ugly characters and a flying bird were imprinted.
The flying bird was the symbol of Golden Roc Fort.
Watching his new underlings with beads of sweat on their foreheads, Slave Ji
felt quite content. He even showed his characters on his arm for everyone to
look at. He pulled down his sleeves and said,
"Now, you're men of Golden Roc Fort. Whether you're alive or dead, you're
now Lord King's servants. Right now, your lives are in my hands."
Chapter 13 - Oaths
Chapter 13: Oaths
Gu Shenwei's new name was Slave Huan, and the first dying man he cared
for was in his 20s. The young man had three deep cuts on his chest, and he
seemed to have lost all sense of sensation as he quietly lay on the brick bed
without a groan or any requests. Except for his faint breathing, he appeared to
be dead.
Gu Shenwei was not really looking after the man, but rather watching the
man's life fading away because the only assistance Slave Huan provided was
to give him a bowl of water.
The only generosity Golden Roc Fort bestowed upon the injured was to not
bury them while they were still alive.
The teenagers, who had just spent their first night in the fort and were still not
familiar with their names, were sent here to take care of the dying people.
With the strong smell of blood, they began their new life at their new "home".
Usually, a dying person only needed one caretaker. However, this was the
offseason so he was the only patient in the yard. Therefore, Slave Ji asked all
the teenagers to come over and get used to it, while he himself stood far away
from the door with his nose covered.
"Now you see the fate of killers," Slave Ji said.
Slave Ji seemed to gloat over the man's misfortune, while the latter gave no
response.
"He's Slave Jie, and he entered the fort on the same day as I did. Now look at
him, he's lying there waiting for death, while I'm standing here watching him
die. Haha, if you want to be a killer, strive for it in your next life."
Slave Jie did not refute the claims; perhaps he had not even heard Slave Ji's
words. However, Slave Yao (Lin Yang) dared to look up and say, "But, one
can be somebody once becoming a real killer, right?"
That provoked Slave Ji. "Yeah, be somebody. All of you go become killers. If
anyone of you lives longer than me in East Castle, I'll kowtow to him. Look
at yourself, you would dare to be a killer? Humph."
Slave Ji waved his rosewood stick menacingly, but he did not want to get too
close to the dead, so he walked away. In his mind, Slave Jie was already
dead.
Slave Jie died at dusk, and the teenagers were quite reluctant to touch the
dead body. However, under the threat of that rosewood stick, they were
forced to carry the body to the western door and threw it into the abyss.
"It's the final destination for all the servants in Golden Roc Fort. It's called
Ghost Cliff. Listen carefully, there's a strange sound, isn't there? It's like a
dying person groaning."
Slave Yao scared them, and the other teenagers ran back as quickly as
possible. Meanwhile, Slave Ji stood by the West Yard and snorted. No one
knew whether he thought it was laughable or contemptible.
Gu Shenwei then followed the crowd. The night before, he had come to the
cliff and heard the scream.
Later on, the teenagers learned from Slave Ji that the cliff outside the West
Yard was named Ghost Cliff and that Slave Yao had not made up the story.
However, nobody knew how he knew about the cliff.
Ghost Cliff was a triangle platform, in the middle of which there were the
remains of a stone table. It was said that the dead had been previously
cremated with a heap of firewood on it. That was the origin of the name
Firewood Yard. Since Golden Roc Fort changed its customs, the stone table
had gradually been demolished, leaving nothing behind but a little rubble and
charred burn marks.
Over the next few days, the teenagers were tasked with waiting for somebody
to die and then throwing the corpse off Ghost Cliff. Most of the dead were
young people who had dreamed of being killers, entered East Castle to be
apprentices, but had been ruthlessly kicked out.
Golden Roc Fort was divided into several relatively independent districts.
East Castle was used to train killers, while West Castle consisted of various
types of yards, such as Firewood Yard, specializing in the disposal of the
dead.
Even while knowing that more people died than survived, people still wanted
to enter East Castle, which was difficult for those teenagers to understand.
Most of them agreed with Slave Ji—they preferred to be an alive, obedient
slave in West Yard rather than a dead killer.
However, the ambitious Slave Yao seemed to think differently and repeatedly
suggested that he had the potential to be a killer. Nobody took his words
seriously because he was incapable of Kung Fu, and his constitution was not
better than anyone else's.
Gu Shenwei used to think about whether he should strive to get into East
Castle. Golden Roc Fort's killers had slaughtered the Gu family, and he
thought being trained to be a killer and using it for revenge was a
considerably attractive idea and a perfect plan in his mind. However, it would
not be easy to make it come true.
First, he was pressed for time. Being the young Master of the Gu family, he
could be recognized at any moment, so he had to get his revenge as soon as
possible.
Second, the training in East Castle would be cruel and bloody, and few
succeeded in surviving. He was afraid that he might die there without getting
his revenge.
Third, the real problem was that an inferior family servant like him was not
qualified to enter East Castle without a recommendation.
Gu Shenwei expected the enlightenment of the Will of the Divine again, but
nothing happened.
Since he had entered Golden Roc Fort, it seemed as if the Will of the Divine
had become blocked and kept out. He had no method for finding his sister or
taking revenge. Now, not to mention exterminating the Shangguan family, he
could not even see the edge of a piece of clothing belonging to Shangguan
Nu.
He was genuinely afraid of becoming stuck in Firewood Yard and being

forced to carry the dead for the rest of his life.
Not just him either, all of the teenagers had the worrying feeling about being
forgotten. Golden Roc Fort did not seem to intend to treat the 10 children
seriously. Like those dying people, they thought they would waste their lives
in such an ominous yard until the arrival of their death.
The fifth day since arriving at the fort, those teenagers saw their first glimmer
of hope.
Mama Xue, serving Miss Luo Ningcha, arrived.
Although the teenagers had never been treated in a friendly manner by Mama
Xue, they had, in fact, suffered a lot of pain from her Iron Finger. Still, they
felt as if they saw their kin, for only she could save them out of the abyss of
misery.
That afternoon, Mama Xue opened the door, entered, and as usual spoke
briefly. "Follow me."
The teenagers that had been cleaning the dead's room nearly gave out a cheer.
However, Slave Ji stood by the door. Under the threat of his rosewood stick,
no one dared to show any obvious pleasure.
"Who are you?"
Slave Ji looked at the unknown middle-aged woman in surprise. The woman

walked so quietly that he had not heard her footsteps, which displeased him.
"I'm Miss Ningcha's wet nurse."
Slave Ji frowned, for he had never heard of Miss Ningcha in the fort, and the
woman, flat as a coffin, did not look like anyone's wet nurse.
"What Miss?"
Mama Xue poked Slave Ji with one finger, and with a trace of a blush, Slave
Ji grunted and fell down in the threshold.
"Let's go."
Mama Xue turned around and walked through the yard door, and the
teenagers hurried to follow her. With a crafty mind, only Slave Yao helped
Slave Ji pick himself up and whispered the woman's identity to him.
Passing through the eastern door, the alley, and then after several turns,
Mama Xue led the 10 teenagers to the Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu's
residence. All of Golden Roc Fort's masters' residences were gathered in
North Castle, far away from Firewood Yard. Faced with numerous crossroads
along the way, Gu Shenwei observed carefully, but was able to only
memorize 60 or 70 percent. It was surprising that Mama Xue could find them
easily, despite the fact that she was a newcomer.
The Eighth Young Master's residence faced south and consisted of inner and
outer yards. Though it was not quite large, it looked fairly chic and quiet. It
was hard to imagine that the master of this place was a killer.
Mama Xue pointed to the empty area in front of the main hall and gave the
order: "Kneel down."
Except for Gu Shenwei, who hesitated, everyone did as Mama Xue said.
He thought about how he had made up his mind to take revenge by all means
and that he could bear anything. Therefore, he quickly bent his knees and
knelt on the ground simultaneously with the others.
Mama Xue still glanced at him, but it was not his hesitation that had caught
her attention, but rather his upright back.
Along with the teenagers, there were 10 girls and several close maids that
were already kneeling there with a restless look, indicating that something
big had happened.
At the open door, there was a translucent screen, revealing a slender

silhouette.
"Are they all here?"
"Yes, Miss."
Bighead Kingpin's daughter did not like the title of Mistress, so her close
maids still called her Miss. Because of this, all of the servants that had come
along with her were required to call her Miss.
"Let them make vows, one by one."
It was the voice of Bighead Kingpin's daughter from his memory, the one
whose tone had been void of the shyness or happiness of a bride, but full of
uncontrollable anger.
"I, Mama Xue, swear to the heavens that I'll be loyal only to Miss Luo
Ningcha, daughter of Bighead Kingpin of Iron Mountain. I'll follow my lord's
surname Luo and never change it. If I break my oath, I'll be punished with
lightning and thunder and fall into the bottom of hell with no chance for
reincarnation."
Using sincere words, Slave Yao followed Mama Xue and swore an oath first.
If Gu Shenwei had not known Slave Yao well, he would have thought that
Slave Yao had been serving the Miss for many years.
Slave Yao could inquire about some news. For example, he knew of Ghost
Cliff, which proved that his way of dealing with people would be helpful in
Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei still needed to get to know the enemies' lair, so he followed

Slave Yao and he was the second one to take an oath. With the new first
name and surname, he opened his mouth to swear. Meanwhile, he repeated in
his mind, "I'm Gu Shenwei."
It was not easy for the teenagers who could not speak Central Plains Chinese
well to swear an oath, so Slave Yao volunteered to be their translator.
Although they stuttered while repeating Slave Yao's words, the teenagers
unexpectedly finished their oaths.
However, no one knew why Bighead Kingpin's daughter suddenly made them
do so.
After the oath-taking ritual, the Miss behind the screen asked, "Mama Xue,
who do you think is well-suited?"
"The other things are unimportant. The key point is that the person must be
clever, so I think he's suited."
The person she pointed to was Slave Yao, and he instantly moved forward
two steps on his knees. He kowtowed as he said, "I'll go through raging fire
and boiling water for Miss."
The Miss did not comment on what he was suited for, saying only, "That's
him." With that, the impromptu show of swearing allegiance thus ended.
Later, the teenagers were sent back to Firewood Yard by a maid, except for
Slave Yao, who was left alone and did not return until nightfall.
Slave Ji grumbled in a low voice while he locked the yard door. Now that he
was aware of Mama Xue's identity, he would not dare to directly challenge
her. Therefore, the only thing he could do was to give a torrent of oblique
abuse. In his eyes, the 10 teenagers "belonged" to him, and Mama Xue and
the Eighth Young Mistress's interference broke his control and challenged his
benefit.
Slave Yao did not mind Slave Ji's verbal abuse. Back in the communal room,
he kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the brick bed. Lying on his back, he
let out a relaxing sigh, after which he kept silent for quite a while.
Everyone knew his temperament and understood that he would brag about the
special treatment from the Miss sooner or later.
Eventually, Slave Yao said casually, "From tomorrow on, I won't be looking
after the dead with you." He said this as if he had suddenly thought of
something unimportant.
"Why? Will you leave here?" someone asked curiously. In Golden Roc Fort,
Central Plains Chinese was the common language, and several northern
barbarian teenagers had learned a few words so they could kind of
communicate.
"Mama Xue's going to teach me Kung Fu. I'll be a killer soon."
Everyone was startled by his words. Slave Yao had shown his interest in
being a killer previously, however, it was unexpected that good fortune
would fall on him so fast.
"Can you?" Slave Qi said in his ponderous Central Plains Chinese. Although
he and his brother, Slave Xie, had participated in the sworn brother
ceremony, they had never forgotten Slave Yao's betrayal.
In fact, everyone had similar doubts about whether Slave Yao could become
a killer. The first dead man they saw had been a killer apprentice that had
been kicked out of East Castle. With such a weak body, Slave Yao probably
would not stick to it for one day and would be carried back to Firewood
Yard.
"You know nothing," Slave Yao said disdainfully. "Killers are still human
beings. They have different ranks, and also follow the social rules. An
ordinary person that entered would die, but the Eighth Young Master and the
Eighth Young Mistress recommended me. Who would dare to kill me?"
No one could refute his words. They knew nothing about the real situation in
Golden Roc Fort.
However, Gu Shenwei had been moved by his words.
He did not want to waste time becoming a killer, but if he could gain the
masters' favor and recommendation, it would be possible for him to get close
to Shangguan Nu.
Chapter 14 - Slave Xiao
Chapter 14: Slave Xiao
It was pretty normal for Bighead Kingpin's daughter to summon the 10 teen
servants. They were led by a maid to the Eighth Young Master's yard. After
swearing allegiance, every morning the teenagers would pay their respects to
the female master.
After a few days, Gu Shenwei realized how difficult it was to get close to the
Miss.
Despite trying to imitate Slave Yao, Gu Shenwei did not win the Miss's favor.
As the young Master of the Gu family, he never had this sort of difficulty
before. Everyone liked him. It had never crossed his mind how difficult it
was to gain someone's favor. Now as a low-ranked slave in charge of taking
care of dead bodies, who would like him? Even strangers would try their best
to avoid him.
Whenever the teenagers paid their respects to the Miss, they would kneel at
the very edge of the yard. They would remain motionless with their heads
bowed. They could not stand up until the Miss had completely entered the
backyard. Then they would take the same route back to Firewood Yard,
where Slave Ji's stony face would await them.
The Miss with the surname Luo was not a young lady of the Shangguan
family. As a daughter-in-law, she had to fulfill her duties every morning. She
would go bow to her mother-in-law with other daughters-in-law. It was in
those moments she would have such horrendous moods. Somewhat similar to
her husband Shangguan Nu, she would vent her anger by torturing her own
slaves.
Slave Yao warned the teens, scaring them. "I wonder who will be the first to
piss off the Miss. Whoever does, don't come ask me for help. We may be
brothers, but I need to take care of myself first."
Slave Yao often intimidated them with such lies. This time, something
actually did happen, matching his prediction. The poor and hapless teenager
was named Slave Xiao.
As the tallest and oldest, Slave Xiao was strong and always liked to smile
with a genial round face. He often appeared more childish than even the
youngest, Slave Xie. Slave Xiao was also very intimidated by Slave Yao to
the point of crying. However, Slave Xiao became exceedingly bold when
they bowed to the Miss again.
He raised his head and glanced at the Miss.
The Miss was striding in the yard hurriedly. Angrier than usual, she asked,
"Why does Little Ru have to change her name? Does the Shangguan family
have all of the characters copyrighted? This is absurd!"
Except for Mama Xue, the Miss's four maids were named Little Chen, Little
Xin, Little Ru, and Little Yi. This was according to the Chinese idiom "Chen
Xin Ru Yi". The teenagers privately thought that these names sounded awful.
The Miss's preference for them was not affected by how they sounded.
Perhaps the Miss cared about neither the actual four maids themselves nor
their names. She was reluctant to change her maid's name because she was
forced to do it. She could not fight against it, however. This was her mother-
in-law, Mistress of the Shangguan family, who made the request.
Slave Yao had explained all of this to them afterward. The teens at the
moment could not think clearly as they became frightened by another voice.
"Why did you raise your head?"
The scream resounded throughout the whole yard. The maid, Little Ru, who
had yet to change her name, angrily glared at the teenager kneeling at the
edge of the yard. Slave Xiao was trampled underfoot by Mama Xue before he
could explain himself. His face slammed into the yard's bluestone. He did not
dare to move.
The teenagers had been kneeling with their heads on the ground. At that
moment, no one dared to even roll their eyes.
The Miss abruptly stopped her continuous complaints and rushed into the
hall. Once the screen was set down, she asked,
"This man saw me?"
Slave Xiao, only a silly teenager, became a "man" due to his offensive action.
"No, he shouldn't have."
Although she had cruelly kicked him, Mama Xue tried to help Slave Xiao
with an excuse. Slave Yao wanted to say something when Mama Xue glared
at him, but he choked back his words.
"I saw nothing." Slave Xiao muttered while on his stomach, which proved
that he had raised his head.
"Kill him," the Miss ordered behind the screen.
"Miss… we'd better not," Mama Xue said hesitantly.
The Miss was now in Golden Roc Fort, not the Iron Mountain Gang. She no
longer had the supreme power to decide life and death. Although she resented
her new status, she could not do anything about it.
"Gouge out his eyes and cut off his tongue."
This was the same punishment the unlucky girl standing next to the Miss had
suffered. Each time the teenagers bowed to the Miss, they saw her.
"I didn't see, I didn't see."
Slave Xiao was so terrified, his body trembled like a sifter as he lay flat on
the ground.
The Miss's four maids approached him together. It was their duty to gouge
out people's eyes and cut off their tongues. The maid, Little Ru, was
especially eager as she needed an outlet for her anger. She was as angry as
the Miss.
Though Bighead Kingpin's daughter might not be able to act as she acted
before, it was still inevitable. No one could restrict her from punishing her
own servants.
No one begged for Slave Xiao.
Gu Shenwei did not want to admit it, but he was scared stiff. He even wished
for a moment that he was deaf so that he was not able to hear Slave Xiao
screaming.
The maids acted quickly and professionally. They even gave Slave Xiao
some medicine to staunch the blood afterward.
The teenagers quietly carried Slave Xiao back to Firewood Yard. Even
though no one was sincere when they swore to be pack brothers, everyone
currently felt like they owed Slave Xiao, who had barely survived.
Slave Ji was astonished by Slave Xiao's bloody face. He jumped back a step
and waved his rosewood stick as if driving away invisible evil spirits. "What
happened?"
Slave Yao briefly explained the whole story. "Idiot, why did you raise your
head?" Slave Ji asked, appearing strained and afraid.
Slave Xiao could still hear even after losing his eyes and tongue. He
disengaged himself suddenly from the crowd's hold, cried out, and rushed
toward the place that he thought Slave Ji was standing.
It happened so abruptly that no one could stop him. Slave Xiao almost ran
past his target. Slave Ji initially froze up, but then he became irritated and
swung his rosewood stick at Slave Xiao.
"Heartless idiot, are you mad? How dare you peep at the Eighth Young
Mistress! Do you want to be killed?"
It seemed unnatural for Slave Ji to get angry.
From Slave Xiao's facial expression, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that it

was Slave Ji who incited Slave Xiao to secretly peep at the Miss.
What really happened was that while Slave Ji was chatting with the servants
from the other yards, he showed his curiosity about the Eighth Young
Mistress's appearance multiple times. The bandit's daughter from the Western
Region was known for her peerless beauty, but no man had ever seen her
face. The men in Golden Roc Fort had never experienced Bighead Kingpin's
might and were naturally eager to know whether the rumor was true or not.
The 10 teenagers, on the other hand, had already ingrained in them the notion
to never look at the Miss. Not even the most ordinary curiosity could affect
them. Only Slave Xiao, who was the most well-behaved and a people-
pleaser, had been unexpectedly persuaded by Slave Ji.
Everyone figured out the truth, but no one spoke up. Slave Yao hurriedly led
them to grab ahold of Slave Xiao and carry him to their bedroom. Hit by the
rosewood stick, Slave Xiao was not able to resist and had already lost
consciousness.
Slave Xiao lay on the brick bed, bleeding everywhere. Slave Ji had refused to
get a doctor, so the other teenagers could only wipe the blood off of him. It
was similar to what they did in their daily routine with dying people.
During the night, Slave Xiao kept groaning and puffing for breath.
Occasionally, he cried out in his own language. Gu Shenwei did not know
what he yelled, as no one translated it for him.
No one could fall asleep under such circumstances. Slave Yao jumped out of
the brick bed and patted Slave Xiao's head, saying something in an
imperative tone. The dying teenager eventually became quiet.
That night, Gu Shenwei basically did not sleep.

The next morning, when he opened his eyes groggily, he knew that Slave
Xiao had passed away.
The sworn brothers, without any genuine emotional bonds, completely fell
apart. Everyone knew that as servants, they were not qualified to protect each
other. To survive, they had to find other backers.
Three of them turned to Slave Ji. Certainly, they had all learned a lesson
through Slave Xiao and would never peep at the Miss for Slave Ji.
The other two teenagers curried to Slave Yao's favor more than usual. Slave
Yao, appreciated by Mama Xue, soon seemed to have a bright future as a
killer apprentice.
The pair of brothers, Slave Qi and Slave Xie, remained independent and
rarely associated with others. They were always whispering something in
their own language.
Gu Shenwei did not care about these connections in their social circle. He
was focused on the way to get revenge.
The day after Slave Xiao died, Mama Xue came again and directly burst into
Slave Ji's room with a glare.
"You killed our Miss's servant."
Slave Ji was scared of Mama Xue's imposing attitude. He took two steps back
and muttered,
"Don't accuse me. You murdered Slave Xiao yourself by gouging out his
eyes and cutting off his tongue. This has nothing to do with me!"
Mama Xue was ineloquent, but adept in Iron Finger. With no words, she
poked Slave Ji in the chest twice. The experienced teenagers knew that the
skinny woman's finger was harder than the overseer's rosewood stick.
Slave Ji's face abruptly turned beet red. Crying out, he fell and curled up on
the ground. It was the second time he had gotten stabbed by her. The strength
this time was quite more powerful than last time.
Mama Xue punished Slave Ji, which concluded the death of Slave Xiao.
In order to avoid being despised by the teenagers, the next day, Slave Ji
invited his backer. It was due to this man that he was able to become the
overseer of Firewood Yard.
At dusk, when the nine teenagers were getting ready for bed, Slave Ji called
for them in his room and ordered them to come in. It seemed that he was
emboldened and wanted to show his "power".
Slave Ji became confident because of the person in the room. The man lay on
his back in a deck chair, while Slave Ji sat on a small stool, massaging the
man's legs.
The man was a killer of Golden Roc Fort. He had a black robe with a golden
bird embroidered on the shoulder, a dark red waistband, and a narrow blade.
The teenagers could only recognize his identity from his clothing, but Gu
Shenwei actually knew the man.
Gu Shenwei thought that he looked familiar just by seeing his profile. He

must have met him somewhere before.
"Bastards, did the Miss not cut off your tongues today?"
Slave Ji looked mean, so no one dared to respond.
"Hey, watch out! That's the Eighth Young Mistress you're dealing with, don't
lose your manners," the assassin in black said casually with his eyes closed.
"Third Brother, I'm serious. It was just a slave that died. In our fort, I've
always taught the servants in this way. No master has ever complained. The
new Mistress asked that skinny b*tch to stab me twice, but it was them who
gouged out his eyes and cut off his tongue. They were the ones who caused
him to die. Third Brother, you are not aware of this, but the b*tch's finger is
so pointy. There are two bruises on my chest from her."
Slave Ji took the killer's right hand and used it to massage his own chest.
His tone and behavior were completely different from the usual cruel
overseer.
"That b*tch has a background. It was very kind of her to not stab you to
death. What do you want me to do? I'm an underling of the Eighth Young
Master. How can I go against the Eighth Young Mistress?"
"Hmph, I think the Mistress must be very ugly, or she doesn't know how to
be cordial. Why doesn't she allow others to look at her? She has just gotten
married a few days ago, and the Eighth Young Master has traveled far from
home. Alas, Third Brother, you yourself had left for several months and just
came back a few days ago. Soon you'll leave again. Third Brother, you
should speak to the Eighth Young Master about Mama Xue. She has just
entered the fort, but she's so arrogant. What will become of her in the future?"
Gu Shenwei suddenly remembered who the man was.
About three months ago, a man called Han Shiqi from the Western Region
came to the manor of the Gu family with a letter. Master Gu Lun had
accepted him as a manor servant.
Gu Shenwei found himself fearfully looking down at the edge of the cliff
again. If Han Shiqi were to sit up and open his eyes, he would immediately
recognize the young Master of the Gu family.
Chapter 15 - Acquaintance
Chapter 15: Acquaintance
Who wrote the recommendation letter for Han Shiqi? That person had to be
closely associated with the massacre of the Gu family.
However, Gu Shenwei did not have any clue because he was still a naive
young Master at that time and did not care about it. If he had not been in the
study when Han Shiqi met Gu Lun, he would not have remembered the
manor servant.
Han Shiqi must have known the previous "young Master", as one of his main
purposes for working in the manor had to be to recognize their faces.
The first head that they had taken was incorrect, and so was the second. No
one could be more certain about it than Han Shiqi.
What Gu Shenwei had been worried about had come to pass.
At this critical moment, he could do nothing. He could not rashly leave

because it would only arouse the others' attention, neither could he wait like
this because Han Shiqi would open his eyes sooner or later.
Gu Shenwei could only pray silently and let the Will of the Divine decide his
fate.
His complexion slightly exposed his mood. Slave Yao, adept at observing
people, curiously glanced at him and opened his mouth to speak, but then
closed it.
Over there, Han Shiqi, who lay on the deck chair, turned over and beckoned
Slave Ji to massage his waist while drowsily saying, "Less talk. I'm already
very lucky to keep this hand. Every time I see the Eighth Young Master, my
heart pounds heavily. How dare I speak more? Let's talk about it later."
Slave Ji was not satisfied, especially in front of the new servants. He then
pushed Han Shiqi's waist like a little woman while saying in a seductive tone,
"Third Brother, I don't understand. They killed the wrong kid before letting
you double-check. It wasn't your fault. You deserve a medal for finding the
kid. Why are you scared?"
Gu Shenwei also wanted to know what happened to the second child.
Han Shiqi gave two short laughs and stretched, but did not answer. Turning
to face the nine teenagers, he opened his eyes.
Gu Shenwei had his heart in his mouth and almost turned around to escape,
as he would rather jump off the cliff than fall into the enemy's hands.
Han Shiqi closed his eyes again.
"I'll be away for about a month. Get some entertainment for me."
Slave Ji understood tacitly that he had to use various means to win his backer
over.
"Slave Qi and Slave Xie, stay. The rest of you, go back to your room." Then
he whispered into Han Shiqi's ear, "A pair of brothers…"
The pair of brothers froze up as they knew that he was talking about them.
The elder brother, Slave Qi, had big eyes and bushy eyebrows, but his
younger brother, Slave Xie, was delicate with bright eyes and shapely
eyebrows. Slave Xie was so timid that he always hid half of his body behind
his brother. In Gu Shenwei's view, Slave Xie always kept silent.
Slave Yao looked bad as if he suffered tremendous grievance. He

immediately flew into a rage after going back to the bedroom.
"In what way are they better than me? Just a pair of brothers. Poor taste. I'm
certain that they don't clean up their butts. Hmph, Slave Ji thought I snitched
on him to Mama Xue. He should have thought that everyone knows that he
had hit Slave Xiao."
Gu Shenwei roughly guessed what the pair of brothers would suffer.
Although he was only 14, he had indistinctly heard of catamites in the

Central Plains. He had not understood the exact meaning of this word, but he
knew that it was an extremely sordid evil deed.
He sympathized with the pair of brothers but could do nothing. They had run
into trouble while he had escaped it. Han Shiqi would leave tomorrow and
come back a month later. Perhaps during that period, the Will of the Divine
would help him find his sister. They could escape together and then seek
revenge.
Slave Yao was irritated at losing the chance to flatter Han Shiqi. As "lucky"
Slave Qi and Slave Xie were not here, he started to vent his anger on others.
"Slave Huan, it may be your turn next time. Look at you, with your self-
righteous, noble look. You'll win the favor of Master Han. Oh, I forgot to
remind you. Those men like to be rough to such a little lamb like you. When
it happens, you may not be able to walk for a few days. Haha, they…"
Gu Shenwei really wanted to punch Slave Yao in the face. However, he kept
his temper in check and repeatedly warned himself not to mess things up.
Han Shiqi was in the opposite room, therefore, Gu Shenwei had better not
arouse his attention.
However, he eventually could not control himself anymore and finally rushed
at Slave Yao on impulse.
Slave Yao was prepared for it and kept standing behind the other teenagers.
The five teenagers who had not learned Central Plains Chinese well could not
fully understand his words, so they did not know why Slave Huan suddenly
lost his temper and caught hold of him.
With his bit of family-inherited skills, Gu Shenwei could not fight with
killers or bandits, but it was possible for him to defeat several peers. While
looking at Slave Yao's proud pointy face, Gu Shenwei suddenly came to his
senses, choked back his anger, and stepped aside.
The pair of brothers, Slave Qi and Slave Xie, did not come back until
midnight.
The elder brother, Slave Qi, clamped his lips shut and lowered his head so as
to not look at anyone while his younger brother, Slave Xie, sobbed behind
him.
The two teenagers lay on the brick bed while the others pretended to hear
nothing. However, there was one who had not fully vented his anger.
"Hey, your butts must feel pretty good, right? Don't think you're higher than
me after gaining a killer's favor. I'm the Miss's henchman now, and in the
future, I'll be…"
Before Slave Yao could finish his words, Slave Qi had stridden over and
punched him in the face. While the two of them fought with each other, the
nearby teenagers tried to stop them but ended up joining the battle.
Eventually, all nine teenagers in the room either willingly joined or were
forced into the fight, but no one knew whom he fought with because of the
darkness. Though Gu Shenwei knew Kung Fu, he still received a lot of hits.
No one noticed that someone had come in with a lantern due to the fight still
being in full swing.
Slave Ji said with a sneer, "Third Brother, they are fighting for you."
While resting in Slave Ji's room, Han Shiqi heard the teenagers fighting
fiercely. At midnight, such a fight would arouse the night watchmen's
attention. Han Shiqi felt irritated but amused, and shouted, "Stop," while
rushing to separate the crowd.
Gu Shenwei had completely lost control. The indignation that he had been
repressing for several days flowed out. Every punch he gave was with all his
strength. Suddenly, he felt someone pinch his right arm. Without hesitation,
he took the chance to turn around, his head crossing under the arm and his
left fist punching toward the other's face.
Han Shiqi was surprised that a little master hid among the group of children.
He did not show his move to block it but grabbed the teenager's right arm
with more strength to push outward. The fearless teenager was instantly
thrown into a corner.
A red circular print was left where Gu Shenwei's new name was branded. His
bones felt like they were broken. It was true that there was a large gap
between him and a killer of Golden Roc Fort.
The two people stared at each other.
One was once a spy who had entered the manor of the Gu family and was
now a faithful killer serving the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu; the
other was once the young Master of the Gu family, but was now a slave, with
a humiliating brand on his arm.
At this moment, Gu Shenwei was quite calm for there was no way to escape.
He would rather die gloriously in a fight than beg for mercy, disgracing the
Gu family of the Central Plains.
The nine teenagers scattered throughout the room. All of them kept silent as
they knew that they had caused trouble. Slave Yao turned his head to face the
other way as if it had nothing to do with him.
Han Shiqi swung his hands with a surprised smile.
Gu Shenwei knew he had been recognized. With the idea of fighting to the
death in his mind, he glared back.
"Slave Ji, you hide a treasure here."
"Don't talk rubbish. Show your moves!"
Gu Shenwei slowly stood up. His body was full of the first level of Yang
Strength, like an overflowing brook. Facing the well-known killer of Golden
Roc Fort, he was determined to fight to the death, neither shivering nor
flinching.
All the teenagers were surprised that Slave Huan, who looked well-behaved,
abruptly dared to fight with such reckless abandon. It was also an unexpected
surprise for Slave Ji, who trained this servant. If the servant behaved like this
in front of the masters, Slave Ji would be blamed for negligence.
"You brat! Do you want to die? How dare you speak to the boss like this!
What have I taught you?"
Immediately, he took out the rosewood stick on his waist and was ready to
enforce the "family law".
Han Shiqi, unexpectedly, raised his arm to stop Slave Ji with the same smile.
"No, keep his wildness. Don't let anyone touch him. Wait for my return."
Han Shiqi and Slave Ji left with a lantern, leaving the nine teenagers in the
darkness. All of them breathed heavily and then successively got into the
brick bed. No one won this fight and no one benefited.
Gu Shenwei also crawled into bed. He was exhausted and it felt as if his
skeleton collapsed, too weak to hold up his whole body.
"What did Han Shiqi mean? Didn't he recognize me?
"But how is that possible? One of Han Shiqi's main purposes for getting into
the Gu's manor was to recognize us. Or maybe that was not Han Shiqi, but
just someone who looked like him."
Slave Ji always called him "Third Brother", but never mentioned his real
name.
"One more butt is going to bloom…" Slave Yao muttered before falling
asleep. He was indignant about why he was not the lucky one.
Gu Shenwei did not know why he was not recognized until he washed his
face the next morning. His face was black and blue and swelled up to the
point that no one could recognize it.
He had been so absorbed in his worries that he did not feel any pain. The
moment he touched the cold water, he felt unbearable aches and pains.
The others were all seriously injured and some of them limped in pain.
When they paid their respects to the Miss as usual, Mama Xue saw the
pathetic teenagers and just snorted without saying a word.
After they returned to Firewood Yard, Slave Ji used his rosewood stick to tell
the teenagers that he was the master of this yard and only he was qualified to
hit others.
However, Slave Yao, who started that fight, escaped the overseer's torture
because he received individual training at Mama Xue's place after they paid
their respects to the Miss. To be a killer in Golden Roc Fort, it was not
enough to only win the master's favor; one should have a little martial arts
foundation.
But Slave Yao suffered a lot at Mama Xue's place. While the other teenagers
recovered, only he continued to suffer injuries to his face. Before going to
sleep, he still imagined what would happen if he became a killer, but at the
moment, he was not full of confidence.
Gu Shenwei believed that it would not take more than a few months for Slave
Yao to die by Mama Xue's hand.
The 11th day after he entered Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei was still
annoyed that he had not heard any news about his sister, and was also upset
about how to deal with Han Shiqi's return. Slave Yao, who had not learned
Kung Fu very well, came to find him.
Gu Shenwei was surprised to see him, as the two of them did not speak with
each other over the past few days. While he was mopping the floor in Slave
Ji's room, Slave Yao walked in, returning earlier than usual.
"You know Kung Fu?"

Gu Shenwei did not answer and kept cleaning the floor.
"Teach me."
"Dream on," Gu Shenwei secretly said, still ignoring him.
"Teach me Yin and Yang Strength and I'll give the cloth back to you."
Gu Shenwei suddenly stood up.

Chapter 16 - Teaching Kung Fu
Chapter 16: Teaching Kung Fu
Gu Shenwei was extremely restless about the lost white handkerchief, and
was astounded to hear about its whereabouts from Slave Yao.
He immediately realized two things.
One: Slave Yao must have stolen the white handkerchief from Gu Shenwei
when he fainted. Although Slave Yao was a distance away, he could have
still snatched it because of his high "status" in the slave carriage.
And two: Slave Yao did not know martial arts. Otherwise, the first thing he
would have done after entering Golden Roc Fort was to report Gu Shenwei,
because Yin and Yang Strength was the unique skill from the Gu family of
the Central Plains. Even though he had stolen the white handkerchief and
even read the shortcut manual of Yin and Yang Strength, he did not know
how to practice it.
Gu Shenwei quickly stood up. Although Slave Yao had been mentally
prepared, he was startled, took a step back, and showed his new move.
"Hey, don't move. I've also learned Kung Fu. I'm not weaker than you."
Gu Shenwei knew him well after being around him for a while. He squatted
down to mop the floor again and said, "If that's so, then what can I teach you?
Keep the handkerchief."
"Hey, hey. You can't fool me. Who do you think I am? I've been living in
deceit since I was a kid. You're still too naive."
Gu Shenwei washed the rag in the basin and wrung it, saying, "Believe it or
not, Mama Xue's Kung Fu is 100 times better than mine. Anything she can't
teach you, neither can I."
Slave Yao frowned and carefully observed Slave Huan, trying to read his
mind.
"Mama Xue is indeed powerful, but she said she has no time to teach me her
ultimate skill. If Yin and Yang Strength is really as powerful as is written on
the cloth and can be acquired in a short amount of time, then I want to learn
it."
"You really believe such casually written things? You know, I haven't been
able to grasp it either."
"Hey, hey, you can't deceive me. You just haven't had time to practice it yet,
otherwise, you wouldn't have been so nervous before. Let's get this straight.
You teach me Yin and Yang Strength and help me become a killer. Only then
will I give the white handkerchief back to you. Do we have a deal?"
The word "give" made Gu Shenwei furious. He suppressed his anger after
thinking a bit. "If you give me the white handkerchief now, I can teach you a
few moves."
Slave Yao shook his head. "I don't make bad bargains. You will get it back
after I become a killer, or at least until I enter East Castle."
While Gu Shenwei was thinking up a response, Slave Ji came in and

grouchily shooed Slave Yao away. Since Slave Yao followed Mama Xue to
learn Kung Fu, Slave Ji had a terrible impression of Slave Yao. Even if Slave
Ji treated him coldly, Slave Yao did not care because he had a stronger
benefactor supporting him.
For the rest of the day, Gu Shenwei thought about how to reply to Slave Yao.
He focused on two things he had to do—take back the white handkerchief
and prevent Slave Yao from knowing the secret.
He could not trust Slave Yao to keep the secret just like he could not count on
all his enemies dying of illness.
Slave Yao was a dirty dog that did not deserve any trust.
Gu Shenwei's thoughts wandered wildly. Suddenly, he thought of something.

His only choice might be to murder Slave Yao.
"Murder Slave Yao?"
He had many reasons for making such a decision. Slave Yao was a
disgusting, even hateful guy. He did not know what Yin and Yang Strength
meant. Once he did, he would either divulge the secret or unintentionally do
so. Then, Mama Xue and the experienced killers of Golden Roc Fort might
know the origin of this Internal Strength set. If that happened, Gu Shenwei
would without a doubt be killed.
Gu Shenwei did not want to die yet; he had to get his revenge. The Will of
the Divine had supported him so far to get him where he was. Therefore, the
Will of the Divine had to want Slave Yao, who got in his way, to die.
While having supper, Gu Shenwei made up his mind. He would tell Slave
Yao that he accepted his proposal. He had yet to plan his murder, however.
He was not Slave Ji nor Mama Xue, so he did not have the power to order
anyone to be murdered. He was also not a Peerless Ace, who could kill
people imperceptibly.
That night, while everyone was getting ready to sleep, Slave Yao waved at
Gu Shenwei. "Let's get started tonight."
"We can't go out now because of curfew orders."
"It's okay. I've asked Mama Xue to notify the watchmen in advance. I can go
out to practice Kung Fu at night as long as I stay in the yard. You can be my
lackey."
The word "lackey" provoked Gu Shenwei. However, after being in a

dangerous situation, Gu Shenwei could substantially control his wrath. He
gave Slave Yao a cool glance and stepped outside. The other teenagers were
all surprised that he was so obedient.
In the courtyard, Slave Yao warmed up by stretching out his arms, kicking
his legs, and letting out several shouts. Slave Ji, living in the opposite room,
opened the door and yelled.
"It's midnight. Why are you shouting? If you want to practice Kung Fu, go to
Ghost Cliff."
Although Slave Yao had received special permission, he still did not dare to
disobey Slave Ji. "Okay," he replied with a smile and turned his head to look
at the small western door. His face was turning green. Unless it was
absolutely necessary, nobody would ever willingly go to Ghost Cliff during
the day, let alone at night when it was totally dark.
Taking a deep breath, Slave Yao led the way to the western door.
After stepping outside, he stood against the wall of Golden Roc Fort and kept
himself as far away from the cliff as possible. Slave Yao mentally calmed
himself and spoke. "Let's get started."
"Give me the white handkerchief."
"Why? Did we not make a deal…"
"I have to read what is on the white handkerchief in order to teach you Yin
and Yang Strength."
"Hey, that's not right. We made a deal. You can not mislead me again. I've
read the white handkerchief carefully. It said that when learning the shortcut
manual, it required at least mastering of the first level of Yin and Yang
Strength. I want you to teach me the common Yin and Yang Strength.
Regarding the shortcut manual, I can practice it by myself. Who needs you to
teach me that?"
Currently, Gu Shenwei was completely certain that the shortcut manual was
on the white handkerchief.
"I haven't read the white handkerchief. How would I have known that? If you
want to learn Yin and Yang Strength, I'll teach you. Listen, if Yin and Yang
were to combine, nothing could transcend it, no one could predict it, and no
god nor ghost could respond…"
Although Gu Shenwei lacked in his studies and spent almost 10 years

reaching only the first level of Yang Strength, he still had the family's
Internal Strength manual in mind and was reciting those sentences one by
one.
Slave Yao frowned in concentration while memorizing those words. After

Slave Huan finished reciting the manual of the first level of Yang Strength,
Slave Yao rolled his eyes and said, "Repeat them again. I don't remember."
Gu Shenwei recited it again. At times, Slave Yao told him to stop and explain
the meaning of some words or phrases. Gu Shenwei finally finished teaching
the manual after reciting the several hundred characters four or five times.
Then he began to teach the footwork and posture of training. Yin and Yang
Strength focused on strength practice. Without needing to practice
meditation, Yin and Yang Strength was different from common Internal
Strength.
"Don't look down on me even though I don't know Kung Fu. That's right, I'm
still smart and can tell if you are lying. I'm not boasting. I'll become the
strongest killer of Golden Roc Fort sooner or later and the Supreme King's
right-hand man. Slave Huan, you're not an idiot. Don't follow the pair of
brothers. They're vulgar, barbaric, and simple-minded wolf pups. Follow me!
I'll find a way to help you enter East Castle and become a killer too."
Slave Yao appeared to be excited. He stretched out his right hand and waited
for Slave Huan's response, as if he was already the famous killer of Golden
Roc Fort, and was condescendingly trying to woo a loyal partner.
Gu Shenwei thought for a while. He left Slave Yao's hand hanging, but
grasped Slave Yao's forearm.
He established relations with Slave Yao like a barbarian of the Western

Region.
From that day on, they went to Ghost Cliff to practice Yin and Yang Strength
every night. No one disturbed them there; the night watchman also did not
patrol there.
The other teenagers were puzzled with Slave Yao and Slave Huan's
relationship. Even the lofty Slave Huan was close to Slave Yao. Therefore,
the others did not have any reason to keep their distance from Slave Yao.
Slave Yao further enhanced his status because of this. A few teenagers who
had previously followed Slave Ji began to flatter Slave Yao in their clumsy
Central Plains Chinese. They wanted to have a backup plan and Slave Yao
enjoyed the attention.
Slave Qi and Slave Xie behaved oppositely. They not only ignored Slave Yao
but also treated Slave Huan coldly. Previously when they met, the brothers
would nod at Slave Huan. Now, they ignored him on purpose.
Although Slave Yao liked to brag, he was actually very clever. On the third
day after practicing Yin and Yang Strength, he felt feverishly warm in his
Dantian. He pressed his belly like an excited pregnant woman."So this is Yin
and Yang Strength? I can feel it."
"This is the first level of Yang Strength."
"Hah, I have Internal Strength! Heh, it's not easy to control."
"It's very normal. Yang is for the straightest, hardest, largest, and fiercest.
The stronger the feeling, the better."
"You're absolutely right. I feel so much more powerful."
Slave Yao demonstrated a set of punching techniques that he had learned

from Mama Xue. It looked impressive, vigorous like a tiger. Although he had
not practiced well enough yet, it had an aggressive momentum.
It was easy to learn the foundation of Yin and Yang Strength. However, it
was quite difficult to actually successfully apply it. Once it was mastered
though, even the Supreme King could not be his opponent.
Gu Shenwei believed in his family's unique skill.
The next evening, after Slave Yao came back from Mama Xue's place, he
cheerfully whispered to Slave Huan.
"Hey, Mama Xue praised me today. Yin and Yang Strength is really helpful."
Gu Shenwei was shocked because Mama Xue was a dangerous person. Albeit
she belonged to the martial arts circles of the Western Region, it was possible
that she had heard of Yin and Yang Strength. Gu Shenwei smiled and said,
"You mentioned me to Mama Xue? Can you ask her to teach me Kung Fu
sometime? We can enter East Castle together."
Slave Yao immediately stopped grinning and vigilantly said, "I will. Take it
easy. It's not easy to enter East Castle. They only choose one person at a time.
You can wait for the next chance."
Gu Shenwei slightly sighed with relief. For now, Slave Yao would not
mention Yin and Yang Strength to Mama Xue.
That evening, Slave Yao was quieter than usual. When they were ready to go
at midnight, he suddenly asked, "Slave Huan, what are your thoughts about
me?"
Gu Shenwei was not expecting this question. He spoke frankly as he thought

that at this point, it was okay to be honest and not disguise his feelings.
"You're very shameless."
"Yes, I am."
Slave Yao smiled. It was not a fake smirk but a sincere smile.
"Why do you think I'm shameless? This is a shameless world. If you want to
survive here, you have to be shameless. If you want to succeed, you have to
be even more so. If you want to be invincible, you have to take advantage of
your opponent and become shameless even before they are. This is the only
truth I have told. Think about it. This is as profound as your Yin and Yang
Strength."
Gu Shenwei thought that what Slave Yao said made sense.
In this shameless world, one could only survive by becoming more shameless
themselves. Therefore, he had to be more vicious than his enemies if he
wanted his get revenge in the killers' fort.
He observed Slave Yao's pointy and thin face, the guilt in his heart gradually
fading away.
This self-claimed "shameless" teenager, would suffer from Qigong Deviation

in a few days because of his Kung Fu practice.
Chapter 17 - Qigong Deviation
Chapter 17: Qigong Deviation
Yin Strength and Yang Strength needed to be practiced together. The higher
level one reached, the more powerful he would be. Though it was safe to start
from Yin Strength, it would take longer to master it. If one wanted to
improve faster, he had to practice Yang Strength first with a top martial
artist's guidance and help.
There were two sides to everything—a positive and a negative. If either

strength went beyond their limit, it would be more harmful than beneficial.
Therefore, Yang Strength practice had to be accompanied by Yin Strength
practice for protection and vice versa.
If a practitioner started with the first level of Yang Strength and did not have
Yin Strength to neutralize it, he would need to turn to an external force for
help. The "external force" had to have reached at least the second level of Yin
Strength.
When he practiced the first level of Yang Strength, Gu Shenwei was guided
by his father, who had reached the fifth level of Yin Strength. While teaching
the manual to his son, Gu Lun had been careful and reminded him that, to be
safe, laying down a solid foundation was more important than anything else.
Gu Shenwei had used this as his primary excuse and had not practiced hard
over the years. Therefore, he had not moved forward after mastering the first
level of Yang Strength and had postponed reaching the first level of Yin
Strength.
Gu Shenwei had intentionally not told this key point to Slave Yao. Instead, he
had encouraged Slave Yao to study harder so that he could improve faster.
The faster Slave Yao practiced Yang Strength, the deeper he would suffer
from Qigong Deviation.
It was the only way he could inconspicuously remove Slave Yao, who had
two masters, Mama Xue and Slave Huan. If Slave Yao died because of
practicing Kung Fu, the first suspect would be Mama Xue.
The plan seemed flawless, but the only problem was that Qigong Deviation
was uncontrollable.
Gu Shenwei had learned a little about Qigong Deviation from his father, but
he had no idea when Slave Yao would suffer from Qigong Deviation.
It would be useless for Gu Shenwei if Slave Yao were to suffer from Qigong
Deviation several months in the future. Once Slave Yao entered East Castle,
he would encounter many masters who would be able to identify their new
apprentice's Yin and Yang Strength sooner or later.
Besides, Han Shiqi would come back in half a month and he had already
chosen Gu Shenwei to serve him during the night.
Gu Shenwei felt the danger as if a sword was hanging over his head.
Gu Shenwei did not have a reason to be softhearted, but he was not a cold-
blooded killer. When watching a still-living teenager walk toward death
because of his plot, he unconsciously fell into self-reproaching from time to
time.
"Should Slave Yao die? Must he really die?"
Since Gu Shenwei taught him Yin and Yang Strength, Slave Yao seemed to
treat him as his friend. Certainly, in Slave Yao's eyes, "friends" were
classified hierarchically. He never forgot to remind Slave Huan that he had a
higher status and was stronger so he could provide wisdom and power and
that Slave Huan should return his loyalty and appreciation.
He often instilled his philosophy of life into Slave Huan.
"You must have heard of the two rules for killers of Golden Roc Fort: First,
no exposure—Hide in the dark as much as you possibly can. Second, show
no mercy—Leave no further trouble.
"You know, being a slave is the same as being a killer. Masters have a higher
status; servants have a lower status. If you want to climb up, you should
throw all your rules and dignity away first. Do what they want you to do and
show them you're happy about it. As I often say, 'wash your butt clean'. Is
washing it clean enough? No, you should take the initiative to play up to
them. Make something new to make them like you. Then, sometime you'll
have a chance to see your new master by treading on the old master. Don't
hesitate at that time.
"Friends? Are servants qualified to make friends? Everyone is like a rung of a

ladder trod on by one another. Today, I step on you, but tomorrow, you may
tread on me."
Hearing such a "heart-to-heart" talk, Gu Shenwei only listened to it and spoke

to himself secretly, "He's right, so you can kill him without feeling guilty."
Slave Yao's Internal Strength advanced at a miraculous pace, and his power
became stronger and stronger. The Tiger-taming Fist set that he had learned
from Mama Xue was also quite fierce. They combined with each other and
became increasingly more powerful.
The two of them often fought with each other. Gu Shenwei only knew the
Baguazhang Technique. Though he had not completely mastered it, he was
stronger than the new practitioner, Slave Yao. Especially during the first few
days, Gu Shenwei totally gained the upper hand. However, with the
uncontrollable growth of Yang Strength in Slave Yao's body, Gu Shenwei
gradually could not handle it.
Slave Yao had only practiced Yin and Yang Strength for just over 10 days,
unexpectedly more effectively than Gu Shenwei, who had half-heartedly
practiced it for nearly 10 years.
Gu Shenwei even suspected that his father was wrong and that Qigong
Deviation did not exist at all. Slave Yao was brimming with energy. There
were no life-threatening signs.
The 14th day after Slave Yao had felt hot in his Dantian, something
happened. After practicing the Tiger-taming Fist set, he was sweating
profusely, as if he had just taken a shower. It had never happened before.
"You look a little tired."
"I'm fine. I have sweat a lot since I was a kid. I feel inexhaustible strength.
Yin and Yang Strength is so helpful. How did you learn it? It seems that
you're weaker than me."
"I didn't study hard, otherwise, I wouldn't have been caught and sold by
them."
"Hehe."
Slave Yao did not ask anything further, for the teenagers had an unwritten
rule that no one inquired about the other's origin. Even the most-talkative
Slave Yao had never mentioned his past.
Slave Yao practiced Yin and Yang Strength one more time, stepping on 64
hexagrams, carrying the strength of Yin and Yang and taking a deep breath.
After finishing it, he sweated more heavily and pressed on his chest, as if it
was a little painful.
"Are you uncomfortable?" Gu Shenwei asked, trying his best not to let his
voice appear that he cared too much about it.
"No, I'm fine. Mmm, I feel a little pain here. Just a little. Maybe I practiced it
too hard."
Gu Shenwei immediately realized that the first sign of Qigong Deviation had
shown up. Obviously, Slave Yao felt pain in the Tianchi acupoint, which was
the same as what Gu Shenwei's father had warned him about before.
The Tianchi acupoint belonged to the Pericardium Meridian. Next, he would

feel pain on each of the acupoints in his arms. When both his arms entirely
shook uncontrollably, he would die shortly afterward.
"Maybe you're practicing Internal Strength too fast. You should slow down,"
Gu Shenwei sincerely said, though he had wished that Slave Yao could
improve faster.
He did not expect Slave Yao to frown. It was the first time that he was angry
with Slave Huan over the past few days.
"What do you know? Mama Xue puts a lot of pressure on me. She said that I
have a long way to go and would get killed on the first day after entering East
Castle. F**k, it's a real fight. No matter how clean you wash your butt, it
won't help. I still want to enjoy my life. Practice it… though I have to suffer
more pain, I'll practice it. I'll master the first level of Yang Strength, and
practice the first level of Yin Strength. Then I can practice the shortcut
manual."
Gu Shenwei somehow admired Slave Yao because the pointy-faced teenager,

who was not accustomed to enduring hardships, now seemed persistent.
"I'll kill the bastard as soon as I become a killer."
Gu Shenwei did not ask whether the bastard was in the fort or was someone
that Slave Yao knew before, nor did Slave Yao mention it.
"It would be meaningless for me to come to Golden Roc Fort if I weren't the
most highly respected killer. Slave Huan, I'm not such a person who will
always repay someone for his help. But I'll remember your help from this
time. Don't worry. I know that you have a secret. I won't tell anyone. I want
you to be my right-hand man."
Slave Yao blinked his eyes. Though he was under the moon, his little, thin
face looked red and his two eyes shone, as if he had just taken a huge gulp of
mellow wine.
From his words, Gu Shenwei did not know whether he should be moved, or
resentful, or both. He was the young Master of the Gu family, not a right-
hand man for a servant. However, in the ruthless Golden Roc Fort, he
desperately wished that there was a "friend-like" person by his side.
Gu Shenwei squeezed out a smile and said, "I'm afraid I'm not qualified for
that."
Slave Yao held his head high as he patted Gu Shenwei's shoulder. "Whether
you're qualified or not is up to me."
At night, lying on the brick bed, Gu Shenwei prayed to the unnamed Will of
the Divine in private and strengthened his resolve for revenge.
He was like an evil-minded doctor, who beheld his patient got an incurable
disease. He not only held his tongue at this point, but also offered his patient
sweet poisons.
However, Gu Shenwei would not have finally made up his mind if one thing
had not happened later.
Gu Shenwei had been gingerly inquiring about where the jail of Golden Roc
Fort was. He believed that his older sister, Cuilan, had to be having a rough
time in such a place.
However, it was not easy. As a new slave in training, he only had a small
chance to get out of the little yard. Each time they went out, they were led by
someone and were not allowed to look around at will, let alone chat with
others.
There were no residents in the small yard. People who went there were
generally the dying and were not talkative at all.
However, one heavily injured man still revealed some important information.
The man was beyond recognition. Different from former killer apprentices,
he was smelly and immediately breathed his last breath after being carried
into the room. The ones who were carrying him turned around and ran to the
western door.
Slave Ji, who was supervising the teenagers to wash clothes, covered his nose
and said,
"People from Ghost Yard are so smelly. I don't know how those guards can
bear it."
A teenager, who had just learned how to flatter his superior, looked puzzled
and interested in it. "Boss, what's Ghost Yard?"
"Obviously, one is a human being outside the yard, but becomes a ghost after
going inside. You little bastards, if any one of you is naughty, I'll send you to
Ghost Yard. You'll half-rot first before you're dead. Humph, I think Slave
Yao isn't far away from Ghost Yard…"
Slave Yao was learning fist techniques in Mama Xue's place, so he could not
hear the threat. However, he would know at night. Except for the brothers
Slave Qi and Slave Xie, the other teenagers would scramble to tell Slave Yao
everything.
Slave Ji rambled on. Gu Shenwei knew that Ghost Yard was just a dozen
steps away from here. Its real name was Heart Cleansing Yard.
Ghost Yard and Ghost Cliff must have been neighbors.
That night, after practicing Yin and Yang Strength with Slave Yao, Gu
Shenwei could not fall asleep. While the other teenagers were snoring, he sat
up and quietly got out of the brick bed. It was the second time that he
stealthily left the room. He kept his eyes open in the dark and was able to get
used to the dim moonlight outside.
He went to Slave Ji's room. Slave Ji seldom locked the door while sleeping,
as if he was waiting for someone all the time. Of course, the person he waited
for could not have been Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei quietly opened the door. He often cleaned the room, so he was
quite familiar with its layout.
Slave Ji was sleeping deeply with a rosewood stick by his hand.
Behind the door hung three keys, one of which could open the eastern door.
What Slave Ji did was open it in the morning and close it at night.
Gu Shenwei took off that key and retreated from the room. Closing the door,
he walked toward the eastern door.
Last time, he had just pushed the door, which aroused the night watchman's
attention. He thought that it might have been a coincidence that the night
watchman happened to be patrolling nearby. This time, no one would notice
him if he had a bit of luck.
In order to find his older sister, he was willing to take any risk.
Listening for a while at the door, Gu Shenwei opened it and stepped outside.
Then, he squatted down to listen carefully. After ensuring no one was hiding
nearby, he stood up and walked toward the narrow alley against the wall.
Every morning, he would pass through the alley and pay his respects to the
Eighth Young Mistress. However, he had never expected that behind the tall,
plain door he had once passed by there was a jail.
Chapter 18 - True Words
Chapter 18: True Words
Gu Shenwei tiptoed along the wall. Even though it was only around 300 feet
from the small yard to Ghost Yard, he cautiously observed his surroundings
before every move, as if walking along the edge of a cliff.
Though well-prepared, Gu Shenwei underrated Golden Roc Fort's security

system. He had only taken a dozen steps when someone caught him by the
collar and lifted him up.
Like ghosts, night watchmen lurked around, and they always showed up at an
unpredictable moment, no matter how cautious one was.
Captured flat-footed, Gu Shenwei calmed himself and he spoke in a low

voice. "Let me go."
The night watchman was not the same one that Gu Shenwei had met
previously, and he was a little astonished by Gu Shenwei's calmness. Even
though his face was covered by a black veil, the night watchman's killing
intent lessened.
"You've violated the curfew order."
"I'm on duty."
"For what?"
"Well…" Gu Shenwei was not able to make up a good excuse immediately.
Suddenly, Slave Yao's voice rang out. "I did. I arranged for him to go out."
Gu Shenwei had thought that no one had noticed his actions, however, he had
been spied on for a while.
The night watchman had not realized that there was a man behind him either.
Slave Yao's appearance surprised him, so he threw Gu Shenwei to the side.
His right hand held the hilt and left hand pressed on his scabbard's sheath.
"Who are you?"
"Slave Yao, serving the Eighth Young Master." Slave Yao comported himself
better than Gu Shenwei, adding a bit of impatience and anger.
"You've violated the curfew order, too."
"I don't care what the curfew order says, I left something in the Eighth Young
Master's yard, so I asked Slave Huan to get it back. What's wrong with that?"
Gu Shenwei did not expect Slave Yao to be here helping him to cover up his
lie, and he was a little touched. However, it was not easy for Slave Yao to
pack up the night watchman and send him off because he also held a low
position.
As expected, the night watchman did not take his words seriously and said
grimly, "You two follow me to see the on-duty Blademaster."
Blademasters were the core leaders of Golden Roc Fort. If someone was sent
to meet a Blademaster, it meant his or her improper behavior would be
recorded, and then harsh punishment would follow.
It would not be a big deal if Gu Shenwei had only snuck from the yard,
however, the key he had stolen made things worse. Gu Shenwei would
probably be imprisoned in Ghost Yard.
In fact, Gu Shenwei was now half-expecting to be imprisoned, where he

would likely get the chance to find out about his elder sister. However, Slave
Yao did not think so.
"You must be Killer Liu Xuan. Right? We are both slaves that belong to the
Eighth Young Master, so we should work together. In other words, the Eighth
Young Mistress has been in bad mood recently. If you send us to the
Blademaster, it wouldn't benefit either side."
"How did Slave Yao know the night watchman's name?" Both Gu Shenwei
and Liu Xuan were surprised. The night watchmen always wore black clothes
and covered their faces in order to hide their identities.
"How… how did you recognize me?"
"Well… take it easy, dude. A while ago, you took the job as a guard in the
Eighth Young Master's yard. I've met you a lot of times while learning
martial arts from Mama Xue. You know, we serve the same master so we
should work with each other."
Rolling his eyes, the night watchman Liu Xuan hesitated in taking them to
the Blademaster. The night watchman hid their identities so that they could
enforce discipline impartially. However, he had been recognized by Slave
Yao and it was now hard to be "impartial" in this situation. Furthermore,
violating the curfew order was not a big deal, and catching them would not
further his career.
"Go back right now! Never break the curfew again."
"But, I need that thing that I left right away."
"You can't. Go back now. You serve the Eighth Young Master in his yard
every day. There will be plenty of chances to get that thing back. Don't
worry."
"Alright…" Slave Yao shrugged his shoulders with displeasure. "I'll get it
back tomorrow." Then he reprimanded Slave Huan. "Go back now. It's really
troublesome letting you do something for me."
Gu Shenwei answered him vaguely. Then he rushed back to the small yard…
The night watchman Liu Xuan had totally blanked because his identity had
been recognized. Eventually, he would figure out that Slave Yao was
swindling him. But, he had freed them, therefore, it would be unnecessary to
pay the two young slaves back.
Slave Yao snatched the key from Gu Shenwei and locked the gate. Later, he
would put the key back into Slave Ji's room. He then came over and pulled
Gu Shenwei toward the western gate where they always practiced martial
arts. It was the quietest place.
"How dare you? You shouldn't have snuck out." Slave Yao sighed and spoke
in a gentle voice.
"Thank you. It was fortunate that you recognized the killer."
"Hush! That was just a lucky guess. At first, I didn't know who he was until I
saw how he held his sword. Everyone has their own characteristics when they
hold a sword. This guy, Liu Xuan, doesn't do Kung Fu very well. But, he
does like to show off so he always swings his right hand before holding his
sword. Hopefully, he has nine lives. If Liu Xuan ever meets a master, he will
be killed while he swings his hand."
Slave Yao had only been practicing martial arts for two weeks, and he did not
have any real fighting experience. However, Gu Shenwei had been
astonished by his observation skills and ability to deduce. Later he figured it
out. "Mama Xue must have told him and he just repeated it to others. If the
person was not familiar with him, they would likely mistakenly regard him as
an expert."
Gu Shenwei thanked Slave Yao sincerely.
Gu Shenwei now had a much better impression of Slave Yao. Moreover, he

wanted to be honest with Slave Yao and rely on his assistance for revenge.
Born in the purple, Gu Shenwei had owned many slaves and thought he got
along well with them. After becoming a slave, he found out that it had been
an illusion. In fact, he had not learned how to survive among slaves, let alone
how to build a good relationship with them.
It had been almost a month since Gu Shenwei had entered Golden Roc Fort,
and he had only acquired a little information. These young barbarians still
could not speak in Central Plains Chinese fluently, and they knew more of
the gossip in Golden Roc Fort than him. As for Slave Yao, he was an expert
on searching out news and was even more familiar with Golden Roc Fort
than an old slave that had been here a decade.
If Gu Shenwei could have such an assistant, it would be much easier for him
to seek out his sister and take revenge.
"Slave Yao, I want to tell you something. You're in danger, but I can help
you."
Gu Shenwei decided to tell Slave Yao the truth, that he had Qigong
Deviation. What he said was totally credible—Gu Shenwei definitely could
help him, because he had already reached the First Level of Yin Strength.
Although he did not devote himself to martial art training during the 10 years
he had been under the professional guidance of his father Gu Lun, he did
have a profound foundation in Kung Fu. If he took training himself seriously,
Gu Shenwei could make great progress in a short time.
Yin Strength did not improve a practitioner's Internal Strength. However, it

helped the practitioner control their Yang Strength easily. If someone
compared Yang Strength to a gateway for entry into their power, accordingly
Yin Strength would be the key to controlling it.
Gu Shenwei thought he was capable of rescuing Slave Yao from Qigong

Deviation and helping him control it when his Yang Strength arrived once he
had achieved the First Level of Yin Strength.
Tutting with his mouth, Slave Yao shook his head and smiled at Gu Shenwei,
as if he were a little child talking naively.
"I'm not kidding. You practiced your Yin and Yang Strength too fast and it
might cause Qigong Deviation." Finally, Gu Shenwei told him the truth.
If he had not been afraid of waking people in the yard, Slave Yao would have
laughed at him loudly. Even so, he still could not help laughing as he put his
right hand on Slave Huan's shoulder. After a time, he stopped making fun of
Gu Shenwei, who was staring at him angrily.
"Don't make me look down on you. You are not a person who can play tricks.
Every time you tell lies, I really want to laugh at you. Telling a lie isn't your
forte. Remember, sometimes being innocent makes you more loveable."
Gu Shenwei bristled and temporarily gave up the idea of ??helping Slave Yao
with suppressing his Yang Strength. "Well, you helped me. I think it's better
to pay you back. What do you want?"
Slave Yao's hand was still on his shoulder. "I know you have a secret."
"I can't tell you that."
"It doesn't matter. I don't want to know. However, once I tell someone else
you have Internal Strength and a secret manuscript, your secret would be
exposed to everyone."
Gu Shenwei shoved Slave Yao's hand away, feeling alarmed.
It was common for a slave to know Kung Fu in Golden Roc Fort. However, it
would make a difference if a slave knew how to practice Internal Strength.
Many people in this world could do some Kung Fu by moving their fists and
feet. But, few people knew of Internal Strength. This method of practicing
Inner Strength was a core secret of the martial arts schools, and it was
inherited by their members exclusively, which represented a schools'
uniqueness.
In the view of a martial arts expert, Yin and Yang Strength represented the
Gu family from the Central Plains, more reliably than his last name.
"What do you want exactly?"
Slave Yao, who was shorter than him, took a step forward, smiling viciously
like a grown man. "I like you very much, all the time."
"Well." Gu Shenwei was not fond of him, however.
"I hope you love me back."
"What are you talking about?" Gu Shenwei stepped back, feeling strange
about Slave Yao's words.
"You still don't understand?"

"What should I understand?"
"Well, I won't force you. After you serve Slave Ji's killer, you'll realize what
I'm saying. Just do the same thing for me. I'm, at least, better than him."
Hearing these words, Gu Shenwei understood the implied meaning. Han

Shiqi was one of his most hated enemies and, to him, the most disgusting
person in the world. He knew what Slave Qi and Slave Xie had experienced.
Even though dozens of days had passed, the two brothers still carefully
concealed their experience, and Slave Xie sometimes woke up screaming in
the night.
Gu Shenwei could not imagine what Han Shiqi had done to them. However,
one thing was clear—it had been horrendous. Slave Yao now was asking him
to do the same thing.
His good impression of Slave Yao and his trust in him quickly dissipated.
Being offended but unable to fight back, full of anger but unable to unleash
it, Gu Shenwei deeply felt the pain and weakness of being a slave. During his
14 years of life, all the humiliation he had suffered, added together, could not
even be a patch on today's suffering.
Gu Shenwei totally gave up the idea of saving Slave Yao.
"Damn you," he said, and then went back to the small yard.
Leaning against the wall, Slave Yao watched the young man's shadow as it
faded. He knew Slave Huan's life-threatening secret, so the only thing he
needed to do was wait.
"You'll come back and beg me one day," Slave Yao mumbled.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew and a piercing, mournful wail, like the cry of a
beast or the shout of a ghost, came from Death Cliff. Slave Yao rushed back
to the small yard in a hurry, and locked the door, thinking, "Why don't people
in Golden Roc Fort close this damn gate?"
Chapter 19 - Outbreak
Chapter 19: Outbreak
"Third Brother's coming back." Slave Ji excitedly announced the news like a
young wife waiting for her husband's return. His face was full of expectation.
Simultaneously, the way he looked at Slave Huan changed.
Slave Huan was the treasure he would like to consecrate to Han Shiqi. It was
very difficult to find a benefactor in Golden Roc Fort, so he could not be
jealous of anyone.
Gu Shenwei, who was forcibly named "Slave Huan", was freed from all his
chores. He had nothing to do every day. He just rested and waited for the
killer Han Shiqi's "kind" visit.
"Smile more. How many times have I told you! Don't look so lifeless." Slave
Ji often lectured Slave Huan. He also wanted to find an opportunity to pass
on some "skills" to Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei could only try to avoid seeing him as much as possible. Han
Shiqi and Slave Yao had no direct connection at first. Things started to
intertwine when Slave Yao made the same request as Han Shiqi. Moreover,
Gu Shenwei's solution was related to both of them.
In conclusion, Slave Yao had to die and Gu Shenwei needed to take the white
handkerchief back. He had mastered the Yin and Yang energy. He could
begin to practice the shortcut manual. If the power of Yin and Yang Strength
was as immense as Gu Shenwei's father said, he would be able to take
revenge soon.
It was risky for people to practice the shortcut manual, as Qigong Deviation
would break out in two or three years, but Gu Shenwei did not care. He
would pay any price to save his missing sister and kill all his enemies.
Gu Shenwei no longer cared about his own life. Sometimes he even thought
that death was better than living, especially when he saw the slave mark on
his right arm.
It became more and more obvious that Slave Yao had entered into Qigong
Deviation. The indications were the sharp pains that radiated from his Tianchi
acupoint to his Tianquan, Quze, and Neiguan acupoints. Occasionally, his
arms would tremble uncontrollably.
Gu Shenwei hypocritically advised him not to practice too fast. The more
frequently he reminded Slave Yao, the harder Slave Yao practiced. Slave Yao
did not take the shaking of his arm seriously and thought that the symptoms
would naturally alleviate once he achieved a higher level.
Gu Shenwei was almost done reciting the whole practice of Yin and Yang
Strength to him. The description of the Yang Strength after the third level
attracted Slave Yao so much that he was even more reluctant to slow down in
his practicing.
It was difficult to lay a solid foundation for practicing Yin and Yang
Strength. In the beginning, the force might not be as powerful as the other
martial arts to some extent. Therefore, practitioners would not be able to
remold themselves until reaching both the second levels of Yin Strength and
Yang Strength.
Gu Shenwei had been secretly searching for the white handkerchief the whole
time. He would stealthily search Slave Yao while helping him correct his
posture, but the white handkerchief was too light and thin to be felt from his
clothes. Sometimes when Slave Yao was not there, Gu Shenwei would check
his luggage. Unfortunately, he found nothing.
Slave Yao had hidden the white handkerchief very well.
Seeing that Han Shiqi was returning soon, Gu Shenwei was out of patience.
He had once wanted to ask Mama Xue for help. However, he felt shameful
that a killer would fancy a catamite. Besides, Mama Xue might not willingly
interfere. Also, she could not solve the key issue, which was that Han Shiqi
could recognize Gu Shenwei.
That was unless Gu Shenwei got into a fight like a month ago when his face
was badly beaten, then Han Shiqi would not recognize or even have the
slightest interest in him.
However, this simple plan was not easy to implement. In fact, the
relationships among these nine young slaves had changed from when they
had just arrived at Golden Roc Fort in the beginning. Slave Yao's status
improved every day. He fully controlled the five young slaves. Even Slave
Huan was unanimously considered to be his follower. Only Slave Qi and
Slave Xie, the two brothers, stood out as a separate group.
Gu Shenwei would rather ally with these two brothers if he needed

companions in Golden Roc Fort, even if they viewed Gu Shenwei only as a
passer-by and barely spoke to him. Gu Shenwei thought it over. He decided
to look for a fight with them.
Slave Qi did not seem to know any Kung Fu but he was burly and had
strength. Gu Shenwei hoped that he would not displease Slave Qi too much
or he could get seriously injured.
Gu Shenwei needed to wait patiently now. When Han Shiqi came back to
Golden Roc Fort, he would fight with Slave Qi.
When Gu Shenwei was free, he would usually sit on the edge of Ghost Cliff.
Here, Slave Ji would not bother him. No matter how desperately he wanted to
teach Gun Shenwei his "skills", he would never set foot in this place.
Gu Shenwei often wondered how many bodies were thrown into Ghost Cliff.
"Do the bodies slowly decompose or are they directly eaten by beasts?
Perhaps there are tigers and wolves wandering underneath, waiting for food
to fall from the sky."
It suddenly dawned on him. Was he thinking about his own fate, to be or not
to be? To hopelessly live for revenge or to end his life by jumping off the
cliff?
In his mind, Gu Shenwei hated a life filled with responsibility, revenge,
humiliation, etc. He should have lived a completely different lifestyle that
would suit him better.
"It's the Will of the Divine," he thought.
Every time he pondered his fate and future, Gu Shenwei came to the same
conclusion. God supported him, an orphan who knew little Kung Fu,
retaliating against the most dominating killer organization in the Western
Region.
Like a humble follower on his last breath, Gu Shenwei survived because he

believed in the nameless Will of the Divine. He had to and could only have
faith in it.
The Will of the Divine manifested again just as he expected.
On the 30th day after entering Golden Roc Fort, Slave Yao died. For the rest
of his life, Gu Shenwei would never forget how Slave Yao looked as he died.
Although Gu Shenwei did not personally kill Slave Yao, he was the first
person to die because of him.
That morning, the nine teenagers routinely visited the Eighth Young Master's
yard to show courtesy to the Eighth Young Mistress. Miss Luo began to
complain about the Meng family as soon as she stepped into the yard.
"What's the Meng family so proud of? Her ancestors were just humble
tradesmen and porters. Now the Meng family lends money for interest and
gathers people to gamble. How many people have died because of that! How
can their business continue to run without my father's help?"
"Miss, don't be angry. You're Bighead Kingpin's daughter and should not be
bothered by such trifles from a snobbish person." Maid Little Sui, once
named Little Ru, comforted her. Miss Luo had four maids and their names
were previously "Chen, Xin, Ru, and Yi"—which means happiness. Now
they were changed to "Chen, Xin, Sui, and Yi" because the Supreme King's
daughter was called Shangguan Ru.
The Supreme King's wife was Lady Meng, who came from one of the richest
families in Jade City in the Western Region.
"Humph, the Shangguan family are murderers and arsonists like my family.
Lady Meng is so precious. Why did she marry the Supreme King of Stone
Castle?"
Mama Xue stopped Miss Luo in time. After all, they currently lived in
Golden Roc Fort. They had better not reveal the story of the Shangguan
family.
Miss Luo entered the main hall and sat behind a folding screen. Only then
were the slaves allowed to raise their heads while kneeling down.
"Swear to me." Miss Luo arrogantly ordered just like all the other self-
conceited nobles. She gained satisfaction from these meaningless and
insincere oaths.
The slaves repeated the oath one by one. They were often interrupted by Miss
Luo when she felt like someone's tone was not sincere enough. If so, she
would command Mama Xue to prod him until she was satisfied.
Everyone's oath was similar to what they had vowed on the first day. Every
time Miss Luo felt upset, they would swear to her repeatedly.
This was by no means a good start to the day, but it was the same every day.
After finishing the vows, the slaves would escape from Miss's and Mama
Xue's supervision and spend the rest of the day normally. Though he never
mentioned it, Gu Shenwei assumed that Slave Yao sometimes probably had a
hard time learning martial arts from Mama Xue.
The swearing ritual came to an end that day. Only a fumbling old woman was
left. She could never clearly vow to Miss Luo. If Mama Xue reminded her of
the vows, she would be able to finish quickly, but then next time she would
still forget the oath.
Miss Luo constantly accused the old woman of disloyalty. This time, she
added her anger and censure on the Meng and Shangguan families. To
everyone's surprise, at that moment, Slave Yao started laughing.
This was not an ordinary laugh, but a huge laugh. He laughed hysterically.
Finally, he was out of breath. It seemed like he was taunting everyone in this
yard as if they were clowns, and the most ridiculous one among them was
Miss Luo, who sat behind the screen.
Slave Yao laughed so strangely that no one knew how to stop him. Mama
Xue rushed at him and kicked his side until he was rolling on the ground.
"You're crazy! Why are you laughing?"
The place she kicked was an important acupoint of the human body, but it
had no effect on Slave Yao. He continued laughing with his belly pressed and
pointed at Mama Xue's face.
As sober and steady Mama Xue was, she became confused and puzzled.
Mama Xue could not help rubbing her face. Then, she burst out in anger and
shame, kicking Slave Yao and hitting his vital acupoints.
Slave Yao no longer rolled on the ground. His body lay as still as a fallen
statue, but his laughter never ceased. It became more and more shrill,
sounding like a beast was inside him.
Everyone in the yard was frightened and retreated away from Slave Yao.
Sitting behind the folding screen, Miss Luo asked in horror, "Is he
bewitched?"
Mama Xue did not believe in the possession of evil spirits at all. She kicked
his Taiyang acupoint again. At last, he stopped laughing. "Don't be afraid,
Miss. He is just lacking Internal Breath."
Only Gu Shenwei knew the truth among the crowd. Slave Yao's Qigong
Deviation had broken out but it was beyond what he had imagined. The
consequences of practicing incorrectly were actually very miserable and
painful. He had thought that there would only be spitting of blood and then
death.
Mama Xue ordered the other young slaves to carry Slave Yao back to their
yard.
There were rooms in the small yard for dying slaves. These young men
carried Slave Yao quickly into one of the rooms and then all ran away at
once. Only Gu Shenwei remained.
Slave Ji glanced at Slave Yao and gloated after hearing them come in.
However, he hated to stay with a dying man, so Slave Ji left hastily after
telling Gu Shenwei to guard him.
Slave Yao was barely alive, breathing shallowly. Gu Shenwei checked that
there was no one else in the room. He rapidly climbed on the bed and
searched Slave Yao for the white handkerchief. He then pressed Slave Yao's
Tianchi acupoint on his chest, raising his Yin Strength. He passed Internal
Breath into Slave Yao.
Slave Yao screamed suddenly and awoke a few minutes later, staring blankly
in silence.
"Where is the white handkerchief? Give it back to me!"
Gu Shenwei, who had placed all his hope on the white handkerchief, eagerly
yelled. He could not let Slave Yao die without saying anything.
Chapter 20 - Invitation
Chapter 20: Invitation
Slave Yao stared at Slave Huan for a while in confusion. He was looking at
him, but he no longer knew him. It was like Slave Yao had turned a blind eye
and no longer saw him. Suddenly, a deep flush rose on Slave Yao's face as he
reached out and clutched Slave Huan's arm.
"What happened to me? You know. You can save me, can't you?"
"You're right," said Gu Shenwei, while he pulled away his arm stiffly, "but,
first I want my white handkerchief back."
"The handkerchief, handkerchief…"
Slave Yao muttered, almost as if he had never heard those words before.
Then his blush receded and his chest heaved rapidly. His arms twitched
violently and he aggressively knocked on the brick bed. Slave Yao laughed
again hoarsely.
Gu Shenwei anxiously reapplied pressure to Slave Yao's Tianchi acupoint.

He was trying to put Internal Breath into Slave Yao's body through Yin
Strength. Unfortunately, his Internal Strength was too weak to subdue the
forceful and flood-like Yang Strength inside Slave Yao's body. Although
Slave Huan exhausted himself trying, Slave Yao did not get any better.
Only powerful superiors, such as Mama Xue, could stop his Qigong
Deviation with Internal Breath.
Gu Shenwei gave up rescuing him and tried to avoid his flailing arms. Then
he searched Slave Yao's body thoroughly, even between his legs, yet he
found nothing. Slave Yao must have hidden the handkerchief elsewhere.
After struggling for nearly an hour, Slave Yao had exhausted his energy and
finally calmed down. He moved his arms once in a while and grunted like a
someone drowning, struggling to get his last breath.
"The handkerchief! Give it to me!"
Gu Shenwei exerted all his strength while shaking Slave Yao's body,
intending to squeeze the last of his vitality out of him.
Slave Yao fell into a confused state, the blush came and went, again and
again. Sometimes, he would regain consciousness and chatter and babble
nonsensically.
He could not recognize Slave Huan or the others. All that he said was
nonsense—boasting this, cursing that, and sometimes begging as if he were a
solo player, acting out several figures simultaneously.
Gu Shenwei was desperate. He had only completed half of his plan with the
help of the Will of the Divine. Now, Slave Yao was dying and he did not
know where to find the white handkerchief.
Slave Yao's situation was quite unstable. From early morning to sunset,
neither a doctor nor Mama Xue came to treat him. This trivial thing was not
worthy of notice in their eyes.
Gu Shenwei lay down, resting his head against the brick bed. It was
impossible to get a clue about the handkerchief from the wheezing and
nonsensical words that burst out of Slave Yao's mouth, who had completely
forgotten about the handkerchief thing as well as Golden Roc Fort. All that
he mentioned was past experiences.
What Gu Shenwei got from the miscellaneous murmurs was that Slave Yao's
former master had been a very mean and despicable person, filling Slave
Yao's heart with hatred toward the world.
However, it was strange that Gu Shenwei felt no fear sitting beside a person
who was going to die soon. He focused all his attention toward his plans for
the future. He would not be able to protect his life better than Slave Yao had.
Sooner or later, he might be sharing the same fate.
How would he explain that to Slave Yao when they met in hell?
"Hey, it was me who led you to experience Qigong Deviation, but you also
killed me by stealing that white handkerchief, so we're even."
How would Slave Yao respond? Maybe he would have found a new boss in
hell, giving no concern to his soul's existence. Yet, if Slave Yao still had
inordinate ambitions, Gu Shenwei made up his mind to kill him again.
"Slave Huan."
Slave Yao suddenly and calmly called his name, as if nothing had happened.
Gu Shenwei's heart began to pound despite the fact he had remained calm the
entire time. He turned his head and gazed at Slave Yao.
Slave Yao's eyeballs were terribly bright, almost as if they were burning. The
mysterious light of a man who had returned to consciousness just before
death.
"You will never be able to run away. I'll be waiting for you in hell."
Those were the last words that Slave Yao spoke. As if he had the capability
to read people's minds, he read Slave Huan's. After these minacious, or
maybe prophetic words, Slave Yao exhaled his last breath as his head tilted
down and settled on his chest.
Gu Shenwei's heart pounded again. He knew Slave Yao was dead after he
checked for his breath.
Gu Shenwei asked no one for help. Carrying the corpse, he walked out of the
western gate and threw it off the end of Ghost Cliff. He felt a great relief and
yet he knew there was another burden on his mind, one which he might not
ever be able to cast off.
After he arrived back in the bedroom, the boys inside tried to avoid him for
fear that they would be contaminated by the evil spirit of Slave Yao. So, they
kept at least three feet away from him.
Gu Shenwei was too tired to care. He was too exhausted to even worry about
the arrival of Han Shiqi, who would soon be arriving. So, he closed his eyes
and fell asleep quickly.
Things did not go as people wished. The next day, Slave Ji woke the boys
with a rosewood stick by knocking it on the edge of brick bed. He announced
that they did not have to pay respects to the Eighth Young Mistress because
she believed that they had acquired evil spirits. They were left to clean up
Firewood Yard, since "Third Brother" would come and rest here tonight.
This surprised Gu Shenwei and he was not sure how to handle it. He thought
he might need another fight.
However, Slave Ji solved this problem for him temporarily. Even though his
eyes were full of hatred, the target had been another boy. He asked Slave
Huan, "Is that guy dead?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"Clean?"
Gu Shenwei nodded again.
"Take off your clothes, let the others burn them. You're not allowed to cross
the threshold for three days."
Gu Shenwei finally felt at ease. He did not care about being possessed by an
evil spirit. Instead, he thought that Han Shiqi would not trouble himself to
look for him for a while.
He had dodged getting the rap for the disaster, but someone had to be his
whipping boy. Slave Ji pointed to Slave Qi and Slave Xie and ordered them.
"Come here."
The other boys left the room in a hurry as nobody wanted to be in the same
room with Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei took off his clothes and tossed them out of the room. Soon
afterward, someone took them away and then a new set was thrown into the
room.
Gu Shenwei dressed himself neatly and then searched the whole room
carefully. He looked in corners and behind the stone bricks that could be
moved.
Slave Yao had hidden the handkerchief very well and Gu Shenwei could not
seem to find it anywhere. He doubted that it had been destroyed by Slave
Yao. However, since he had already memorized every word, there had been
no need for him to keep it.
The boys would not dare to return, except for the brothers Slave Qi and Slave
Xie. They had been exempted from the labor and were waiting for Han
Shiqi's "favor".
The three boys awkwardly kept silent in the room.
They would have become friends if they were not ignoring each other over a
misunderstanding that Gu Shenwei just could not explain.
In the past, the brothers had been ashamed of being "favored". However, they
had calmed down. Even the young one, Slave Xie, did not weep or wail
endlessly like he used to.
After a while, Slave Qi asked straightforwardly, "Did you kill Slave Yao?"
Slave Qi could not speak Central Plain Chinese very well, but he was sure
about what he had asked. However, Gu Shenwei failed to understand his
intention, so he remained silent.
"We need you to kill another."
He sounded certain and Gu Shenwei could tell that Slave Qi was looking for
his help.
"Who?"
"That man."
Gu Shenwei understood who he was talking about. Out of the three boys,
only he knew the name "Han Shiqi", while Slave Ji called the man "Third
Brother". He was not sure whether that was the killer's real name or not.
Gu Shenwei did not doubt the brother's determination to kill Han Shiqi, but
he decided not to answer immediately since they were not actually friends.
"We want our humiliation wiped out. I know you don't want it either. Would
you like to join us?"
Speaking in a non-native tongue, Slave Qi's tone sounded crude. However,

amidst his eyes, right under his thick eyebrows, Gu Shenwei could see his
honesty and sincerity, which was rare among the slaves of Golden Roc Fort.
"I'm in," Gu Shenwei replied.
There was no need to refuse their help and he had no reason to play a trick on
Slave Qi.
Slave Xie stepped forward as well. The three boys held each other's arms to
express their trust. They had observed each other for so long that they could
treat each other sincerely.
Slave Qi was tall, half a head higher than Gu Shenwei, and had a wild and
prideful temperament. He acted like an animal cub that stood in the bustling
world of humankind, incompatible and despised.
The younger one, Slave Xie, was more like a reticent child that had not
outgrown their childhood yet. He followed his brother all the time
everywhere. He could not seem to adjust to his current position or to his life
as a slave. He acted more like a child from a wealthy family than Gu Shenwei
did.
Obviously, these two brothers could not win anyone's heart with such
characters. They were treated like toys by Han Shiqi, gifts and competitors by
Slave Ji, and disobedient boys by Mama Xue. Anyway, they were punished
far more often than the others, especially Slave Qi.
After several months living as a slave, there had been a visible change to him.
No trace of immaturity could be found on his face. There was only a pair of
vigilant eyes and a tight-lipped mouth, which was far from pleasing.
Gu Shenwei was the exception. He saw the same anger, hatred, and fright in
the brothers. That killer from the faraway snow mountain also had the same
bitter experience as they had.
Neither of them mentioned their past since there was no point in doing so.
The pain would not be reduced or released. Instead, the weakness and
fragility of the survivors would be revealed.
Now they were faced with the same predicament, the same danger, and the
same enemy. Violence had to be met with violence, so they decided to seek
revenge. But Han Shiqi was not Slave Yao, who knew nothing about martial
arts. He was a killer of Golden Roc Fort, and even if he was not the strongest,
he could destroy these three boys easily.
"I've got a plan," Slave Qi said.
He had been waiting for this moment for ages and was willing to take any
risk to defeat the villain.
Chapter 21 - The Sharp Knife
Chapter 21: The Sharp Knife
Here was Slave Qi's plan:
"That man", or Han Shiqi, knew Kung Fu well. When he first "patronized"
the brothers, they had learned through their resistance that Han Shiqi could
not be defeated even by the combined effort of eight slave boys. Therefore,
they had resolved to kill him by assassination.
The thought of assassinating Han Shiqi came naturally to Slave Qi, given that
they were in Golden Roc Fort. The key was the method. After all, the one
they were going to assassinate was an experienced killer.
As it was impossible to kill him bare-handed, they had to equip themselves

with a sharp weapon. Slave Xie solved this problem by stealing a rarely used
knife meant for meat cutting while he was fetching food from the kitchen. It
was about four inches long, rather small but razor-sharp.
Next, they needed someone to divert Han Shiqi's attention. Since the brothers
were chosen again, they had to make yet another sacrifice.
"I want to see him die with my own eyes," Slave Xie cursed. He seldom
spoke, but now he was acting like an angry lion, grinding his teeth.
The last and most critical thing was that someone had to deliver the final stab.
That was the most important reason why the brothers sought Slave Huan's
help.
"You're the best in Kung Fu. You can kill him silently."
Gu Shenwei blushed after hearing this praise from Slave Qi.

When he was the young Master of the Gu family, though he did not project a
semblance of superiority, he secretly believed that he could defeat most
people in martial arts circles. His recent experiences these days had been
ruthless in revealing the truth—even the manor servants who had failed to
beat him were actually just pretending. He could not even take down a
common bandit.
But Gu Shenwei was still willing to take on this task, for Han Shiqi was not
only the villain whom he coveted but also the hidden traitor who had caused
the extermination of his entire family. It had been a month since that incident,
and as a mean slave, he was eager to put a sharp knife into his enemy's body
and comfort the restless and vengeful beast inside his mind.
"What would they do after the killing?"
They did not mention that. When Gu Shenwei thought about it afterward, he
found the whole matter inconceivable. They were so anxious to kill Han
Shiqi that they had no time to think about the result.
Gu Shenwei had just seen a man die in front of him the previous day, and he
felt that his heart was still hardened. He immediately agreed and took
possession of the sharp knife, which was smaller than a dagger, from Slave
Xie.
The last time Han Shiqi had "patronized" the brothers, it was in Slave Ji's
room, where he might do the same thing this time. Since this room was the
most comfortable one in Firewood Yard, Slave Ji would be judicious to sleep
in another room.
Gu Shenwei needed to sneak into the room in advance, which could be easy
or difficult, depending on when Slave Ji would call roll and when he left the
room. If Gu Shenwei could not find an opportunity, he would have to give
up, leaving the brothers to suffer the humiliation.
Gu Shenwei used to clean Slave Ji's room, so he knew its layout well. It was
a raised bed instead of a brick bed there, which was good, for he could hide
under the bed and wait for the moment that Han Shiqi reposed himself, and
then he would stab him from beneath the bed.
The sharp knife was so short that they decided to wear down the wooden
handle down to reveal the three-inch-long tongue of the knife. Then they
bounded two slats to the tip of the tongue, which made the whole knife about
six inches long, sufficient to strike clean through the plank of the bed before
stabbing into the body lying on it.
The timing was significant. They made an arrangement in which Slave Qi

and Slave Xie would lead their target to an appropriate position and voice the
secret signal, which was "brother". Upon hearing that, Slave Huan lying
under the bed would immediately stab upward.
There was another problem: the assassin lying under the bed could not be
discovered in advance, so he had to be very, very quiet. Han Shiqi might
sense his presence even by the slightest gasp. After all, he himself was a
killer with sharp ears and keen senses.
If Gu Shenwei had not entered into the First Level of Yin Strength, he would
not be capable of lying soundless and still. Now that he could control his
Internal Breath, he could also control his breathing.
They had a rehearsal. Gu Shenwei lay down on the brick bed, trying hard to
breathe silently and continuously. The brothers came close from the doorway
while listening attentively, and then gave their judgment.
In the beginning, Gu Shenwei could not control his timing very well, but after
a bit of practice, he could control his breathing for a longer time, and at last,
he managed to keep it steady for a quarter of an hour.
A boy happened to come in during the rehearsal. He glanced at Slave Huan

lying on the bed, and his face suddenly changed. He turned around to run out
at once, almost falling down.
Though it made for a hilarious scene, it also reminded them of the importance
of avoiding the eyes and ears of the five other boys.
Slave San, Slave Xin, Slave Lei, Slave Qian, and Slave Zhao were all of a
timid temperament, as they had been influenced so deeply by Slave Yao that
they had accepted their fate as slaves quickly after they entered the fort,
which meant they would be happy to betray their companions in exchange for
a fortune.
Taking some time to discuss this problem, Slave Xie thought for a while.
Finally, he said nothing about it except, "I'll handle it." He left alone, and
returned with their lunch, saying, "It's over."
Slave Xie wandered around the yard and secretly talked with every boy
inside. Finally, these five boys went to Slave Ji and claimed that they would
even rather live in the shabbiest house than share a room with Slave Huan.
Since no one lay dying in Firewood Yard recently, there were sufficient
empty rooms. Not to mention that Slave Ji was glad to do them a special
favor for their brown-nosing. Therefore, he gave his order—Slave Huan was
not allowed to take a single step out of the room.
"I told them that you were bewitched and my brother and I are trying to drive
the evil spirit out of you." Slave Xie grinned and explained to Slave Huan. He
was more talkative and intimate with Slave Huan than before.
"Haha. Well, I've got many evil spirits to drive out of my body."
"Did you really kill Slave Yao using sorcery?" Slave Xie asked curiously,
who had obviously been holding onto this question for a long time.
"Don't be rude, it's none of your business." Slave Qi pulled his younger
brother behind to stop him from snooping on privacy.
"I'm less skillful in sorcery than you." Gu Shenwei smiled and said that he
would rather not mention Slave Yao.
Slave Xie failed to notice that Slave Huan was prevaricating and thought
Slave Huan was denying it. He gave a confused look, a bit disappointed.
Yet, Slave Qi felt it was worth exploring, though he would not question it
because he knew that everyone had their own secrets.
In the afternoon, the brothers went to learn the "techniques" taught by Slave
Ji, while Gu Shenwei practiced holding his breath alone and pressing the
transformed knife against the bottom of the bed before jabbing upward
quickly and forcefully.
In his imagination, blood would pump out en masse, and he would have to
roll aside quickly to avoid it.
"He is the enemy," Gu Shenwei told himself. Han Shiqi was the key target in
his path of vengeance. Killing him would be revenge completed, and any
other enemies who died by his hand in the future would be a bonus.
"When will the vengeance end?" Gu Shenwei asked himself again in silence.
"Pay them back by killing their entire families."
He did not feel it strange to even think about this. Though he was just a slave
and the only thing he could do was practice his skills on the brick bed, he
remained ambitious.
However, the most difficult task was not killing, but waiting.
Sometimes he could hear the other boys' conversations from outside, which
represented another world—reality, simplicity, and oblivion.
Gu Shenwei even envied them for a while, but he quickly reminded himself
that even if without the burden of revenge, he should not act like those slaves.
What he had lost was far greater than what the other slaves in Golden Roc
Fort had lost put together.
He did not know how many times he had practiced the simple action of
jabbing. As the sun went westward, he felt it was all in his mind. He stopped
and hopped off of the bed to exercise a little.
That stab had to end a life, otherwise, three lives would be ended. Yet, he had
no fear or doubt, as if he was an experienced killer doing something normal.
He thought of his father, Gu Lun, who would shake his head while talking
about his son. He had been worried that Gu Shenwei would not achieve
anything, be it in civilization, military, agriculture, or commerce. Gu Shenwei
was good for almost nothing.
"Maybe I am a born killer," Gu Shenwei thought. He grinned without
noticing.
When calling roll, Slave Ji neither mentioned Slave Huan nor went to his
room, which was a good sign.
Slave Xie brought the dinner, with the news that everything was good and
that nobody had predicted that a plot was being brewed. He and his brother
would think of an idea to attract Slave Ji and the others, while Slave Huan
would take the opportunity to sneak into Slave Ji's room.
Slave Ji always ate with the boys in the same room, though of course, not at
the same table. He enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by people, as their
flattery was the real feast.
Gu Shenwei was not hungry at all, but he still tried to swallow some of his
meal because he did not want his stomach growling when he was under the
bed.
After dinner, he listened behind the door. There came cheers and laughter
from the east side. Waiting for the noisiest moment, he arched his back and
trotted through the yard and entered into Slave Ji's bedroom. He knew it very
well, so without even checking, he crawled beneath the bed.
The headboard was about three feet above his head. Gu Shenwei lay down on
the cold ground, stretching his arms and holding the knife, and then aimed at
the point that was three feet down from the headboard and 17 inches in from
the side of the bed. Luckily, there was a gap between those two planks, which
saved him a lot of trouble.
He and the brothers had chosen the position in advance. If all went as
planned, the middle of Han Shiqi's back should be exactly there.
There would be only one stab and no more. That was all the chance he would
get.
They knew how ferocious this killer of Golden Roc Fort could be. It would
not take much time for Han Shiqi to kill these three boys, even if he was hurt
badly, let alone Slave Ji and the night watchmen resting outside. Any
abnormal sound could get all three of them killed.
The sky was getting darker, and it was even darker beneath the bed. Gu
Shenwei kept the knife aimed at the same point the entire time to make sure
he would not miss.
Finally, he heard footsteps from outside. Someone coughed, walked inside, lit
the candle, dumped his shoes, and jumped onto the bed heavily, shaking a
layer of dust off. Gu Shenwei was completely unprepared for this and
released a hearty sneeze.
Chapter 22 - Under the Bed
Chapter 22: Under the Bed
Gu Shenwei tried to suppress his sneeze. The sound had been relatively quiet,
but all the same, it almost destroyed their plan. Fortunately, someone outside
shouted just as he was sneezing.
"Boss, will Third Brother come tonight?"
It was Slave Ji who was lying on the bed. Gu Shenwei suddenly felt fortunate
it was not his target, the killer, who had arrived. If it had been Han Shiqi who
had lain on the bed, he undoubtedly would have perceived that someone was
hiding under the bed, even with someone speaking outside.
Slave Ji sat up and said impatiently, "I told you, I don't know. If he comes, I'll
tell you. Go back to your room!"
It was Slave Qi who spoke outside. He had spoken loud on purpose to let
Slave Huan know that the target would probably not come after all.
Slave Qi followed the order and left. Slave Ji lay down again and muttered to
himself. "Ambitious little bastard, you were still crying two days ago, but
now you're so eager for it. I have to be careful. You're still too tender to
compete with me."
Slave Ji talked to himself for a while and hummed a tuneless melody. After
tossing and turning for an hour, he went to blow out the light and got ready to
sleep.
Gu Shenwei remained motionless and did not dare to deepen his breathing.
He put his hands over his nose to prevent himself from inhaling more dust
and waited for almost an hour. After Slave Ji snored louder and louder, Gu
Shenwei quietly crawled out and gingerly escaped from the room. Then he
ran back to his bedroom.
The pair of brothers were waiting for him inside. It was safe for them to stay
here, as the other five teenagers were sleeping in the other room.
The man did not arrive. Slave Qi heard a rumor that the Eighth Young
Master, Shangguan Nu, had not adequately finished his task. Though they
had succeeded in killing the target, they had lost a killer.
According to Golden Roc Fort's standards, a killer should strike the moment
his target was unable to resist. If the target were to manage resistance, it
would then be proven that the killer has made a mistake in taking the action.
Shangguan Nu was having a rough year. There were two tasks that he had
failed to complete with perfection, which had lowered his position in his
father's mind. As a result, he gradually became angrier and vented his anger
on his subordinate killers and macheteman. It was said that someone had
been hurt yet again under the blade of the Eighth Young Master.
In this case, Han Shiqi would not dare to fool around as soon as he came
back, lest he aggravate the Young Master and suffer his blade for no reason.
However, it was a sort of torture for the three teenagers, who were eager for
vengeance.
That night, Gu Shenwei hid under Slave Ji's bed for the third time. The
previous two times, he had achieved nothing more than sweeping the dust
from under the bed to prepare a relatively comfortable position for himself.
Han Shiqi arrived a bit late, but Slave Ji did not fall asleep. With only one
knock at the door, Slave Ji, like a dog smelling out bones, jumped out of the
bed suddenly, picked up the key behind the door, and opened the yard door
with delight.
Han Shiqi either did not care about the curfew order or had managed to avoid
the night watchmen so that he could come to Firewood Yard late at night.
"Third Brother, I missed you so much. Look, I've gotten thinner."
Slave Ji's feminine voice made Gu Shenwei's scalp tingle, causing

goosebumps. Then Slave Ji laughed and acted coy, completely different from
the overseer with the rosewood stick in his hands.
Gu Shenwei felt sick.
He had deep compassion for Slave Qi and Slave Xie, and understood why
they persisted in assassinating this killer of Golden Roc Fort.
After the two guys outside lit a candle and sat together on the bed, Gu
Shenwei held his breath and hoped that they would not stay long. If he had
known Han Shiqi's exact position on the bed, he would have killed him
immediately.
Han Shiqi spoke few words, for his purpose was to enjoy himself, not to
cultivate emotion. After a while, he said, "Where's the scrappy kid? Call him
in."
Gu Shenwei was startled. "Does 'the scrappy kid' refer to me?"
"Slave Huan? He's got an evil spirit. Don't call him tonight. The pair of
brothers…"
"What evil spirit?"
"Well! There was a kid in the yard who went mad in front of the Eighth
Young Mistress. Ah! The servant brought back by the bandit's daughter was
no good. Slave Huan saw him off, so he got an evil spirit from him. I asked
him to stay in the room and not come out."
"Don't talk about the business of the eighth yard. How unlucky the Eighth
Young Master is! He's had so many problems from inside and out. It's got me
on edge all the time. I'm afraid that he'll stab me someday just because he's in
a bad mood."
"Yes, that's right. The Eighth Young Mistress's business is her own problem.
I feel pity for the Eighth Young Master with that striking appearance and
excellent skill at Kung Fu…"
"Hey, let's not talk about evil spirits. I heard what happened to the kid. He
practiced Kung Fu and suffered from Qigong Deviation. It has nothing to do
with any evil spirit. The woman called Mama Xue has already admitted that
she was anxious to teach him Internal Strength. As a result, it killed him."
"Right, right." Slave Ji's mouth agreed with him, but his heart was not
convinced. He himself was still inclined to believe that an evil spirit was
responsible.
Hearing all this from under the bed, Gu Shenwei was startled. "Undoubtedly,
Slave Yao learned Internal Strength by himself, and I intentionally made him
suffer Qigong Deviation. Why did Mama Xue confess that it was her fault?
Did she want to protect the Miss from the event of an evil spirit?"
Gu Shenwei could not figure out the reason.
"Go call the kid in. I'll drive the evil spirit out of him."
As he spoke, Han Shiqi's voice was somewhat indecent. Slave Ji smiled

knowingly. Meanwhile, Gu Shenwei under the bed was terribly frightened.
Their assassination plan had appeared to be flawless, but they neglected that
the killer would not believe in the evil spirit.
Once they found that Slave Huan was not in the room, all of their planning
would be in vain.
Slave Ji grinned as he rose from the bed. Gu Shenwei moved the little sharp
knife slightly and intended to take immediate action as soon as Slave Ji was
far enough away. However, the problem was that he did not know Han
Shiqi's exact position, therefore, he could only rely on his best guess.
This tactic had the lowest probability of hitting Han Shiqi in any vital area of
his body, but it seemed that he had no choice left.
On the bed, Han Shiqi spoke suddenly. "Who is that? Who's sneaking
around?"
Gu Shenwei was startled again. As he was about to make his move, a voice
came from outside.
"Is Third Brother here?"
"I said I would call both of you. Piss off," Slave Ji angrily shouted.
The person outside was Slave Xie. Slave Ji had already been vigilant and
impatient toward the liveliness of the brothers.
"Yes, boss. Eh, isn't Third Brother in the room? I'll go ask my elder brother to
come together."
"Who says you guys are going to serve tonight? Go to sleep!"
"But boss, you taught us that we should…"
"Little bastard, you've really got some nerve to talk back."
Slave Ji patted his rosewood stick in his palm, intending to teach the naughty
Slave Xie a lesson.
But it seemed that Han Shiqi's interest was piqued by Slave Xie. "Wait a
second. Just let the pair of brothers come in. I want to know what you've
taught them."
"Hehe! Third Brother, you've seen what tricks I have up my sleeve."
Once Slave Ji went to call Slave Qi, Gu Shenwei felt relieved and quietly
move the sharp knife back to its previous position. He could find the position
in the darkness, as he was so familiar with it.
But now there was another problem. Han Shiqi and Slave Ji had wasted too
much time chatting on the bed. Almost 15 minutes had passed. Gu Shenwei
slowed down his breath for a long time and was already feeling suffocated.
He desperately needed a breath of fresh air.
Slave Qi came in and closed the door. Slave Ji did not follow him, which
seemed to be the only part of the plan so far that had gone without a hitch.
Han Shiqi jumped out of bed. As his feet landed on the ground, Gu Shenwei
took a deep breath.
"So, you've improved since last time, hmm? Come here, I feel tired today.
Let me see your tricks. Don't disappoint me, or you'll learn the way of my fist
yet again."
"I assure you, you will be satisfied." It was Slave Qi's voice. Slave Qi still
could not call him Third Brother. Gu Shenwei could sense that he was a little
nervous.
"Satisfied…" Han Shiqi repeated in an ambiguous way.
"Third Brother, let's sit on the bed." Slave Xie was not normally talkative,
and he appeared to be calmer than his brother.
"Take it easy."
What happened next, Gu Shenwei could not understand. The voices and
groans that he heard sounded quite strange and ugly as if something filthy
was invading his ears. Initially, he blushed and nearly could not control his
breath. But soon, the power of vengeance and anger allowed him to recover
and focus on the point just above his head.
The brothers employed all their skills. However, this time Han Shiqi
preferred to stand up rather than to get on the bed, no matter how hard they
tried.
Another 15 minutes passed. It was the longest 15 minutes in the three

teenagers' lifetimes. Suddenly, Han Shiqi gently let out a cry, followed by the
sound of someone being hit.
"Little bastard, I knew that you had evil desires. You want to plot against my
penis. How dare you!"
"You killed me. I want to kill you in revenge," Slave Qi said.
Gu Shenwei was surprised and did not know if Slave Qi could not bear such
humiliation and had taken action in advance. He wondered whether he should
get up help them or stay under the bed.
"Thwack, thwack!" It was the sound of someone being beaten, followed by a

cry from Han Shiqi that grew more and more excited.
"Hah! My methods are more fun. I'll give you a taste of something new."
"Let my brother go!" Slave Xie shouted.
The pair of brothers in Han Shiqi's hands looked like weak lambs, whose
screams and struggles only stimulated the former's evil desires.
Then someone jumped onto the bed. "Come and get me, bastard."
It was Slave Xie, who had held mastery of Central Plains Chinese for less
than a month, but could shout abuse as well as Slave Ji.
With a bang, another person landed on the bed. Judging from the landing
sound, Gu Shenwei guessed that it had to be Slave Qi being thrown on the
bed by Han Shiqi.
"Haha, a couple of fledglings. Let me join your little game. Now that you can
understand my words, it'll be more fun."
Gu Shenwei understood the brothers' intention. They were using Han Shiqi's
enjoyment of a challenge to entice him onto the bed.
Gu Shenwei cleared all the thoughts in his mind and quietly waited for the
signal to make his move.
The bed was almost turned upside down as continuous cries filled the room,
but Gu Shenwei blocked all the commotion from his mind.
"Brother!"
Finally, the signal had come. Gu Shenwei even could not recognize who said
it. Blood was flowing to his head. He wanted to exert all his strength, but had
no strength at all. He wanted to move swiftly, but acted slowly as if he was
frozen.
The sharp knife passed smoothly through the seam of the bed, as if moving
through the air.
Then it encountered a hard obstacle and could not be pushed any further.
Chapter 23 - Dumping the Corpse
Chapter 23: Dumping the Corpse
After the knife was plunged into the bed, Gu Shenwei immediately turned his
body to dodge.
Gu Shenwei had practiced this action numerous times. At the last moment,
though he maintained his feeling of urgency, all his muscles became stiff, as
if his mind was occupied by an evil spirit. He moved slowly, like in a
nightmare.
His blood flowed uncontrollably into his head, and his limbs were much
weaker than he had expected.
Eventually, Gu Shenwei got out from under the bed and saw Slave Xie
huddle on the ground with his face buried in his arms, his thin naked body
shivering.
The sight of Slave Xie looking so terrified made Gu Shenwei calm down. Gu
Shenwei disentangled himself from his nightmare. Immediately, he stood up
and jumped onto the bed. His moves were agile, as if he were an experienced
master in Lightness Skills.
He used all his strength to press down on the pillow. The man under it
seemed to be both struggling and, at the same time, totally unresponsive.
After quite a while, Gu Shenwei found that another person was pressing on
the pillow with him.
Slave Qi was also naked. As he exerted his strength with every muscle, his
face was distorted, his eyes bulged out, almost falling to the point of popping
out, and his teeth clenched his lower lip, which was starting to bleed.
Suddenly, Gu Shenwei felt frightened and gently pushed Slave Qi. "Alright,
he's dead."
Slave Qi had used up all his strength. He was not as tough and firm as he
looked. With the gentle touch, he instantly sat on the bed and open his mouth
blankly, saying a word in his own language. It sounded meaningless to Gu
Shenwei.
Han Shiqi was dead.
Gu Shenwei removed the pillow. His enemy was staring at them, but could
hardly recognize him.
Han Shiqi was stark naked as well. The ugly thing between his legs had
turned impotently to the side. Slave Xie held a dagger and rushed over to
chop it off.
Gu Shenwei hastily jumped off of the bed and stopped the impulsive Slave
Xie just in time. "Watch out, no more blood."
Gu Shenwei crawled under the bed again to dismantled the hilt. Slave Qi and
Slave Xie had settled their minds and slowly lifted up the corpse together
until the sharp knife was completely taken out from the seam of the bed, and
then they turned the corpse around.
Though many unforeseen incidents had occurred, this assassination had gone
more perfectly than they had imagined.
That sharp knife had pierced precisely into Han Shiqi's heart. He had died
with hardly a struggle. He had even lost little blood, leaving only a tiny stain
on the covers.
In the flicker of the candlelight, the three teenagers beheld the dead in
silence, as if they were offering their condolences or appreciating a
masterpiece.
After a while, they began to do their own tasks as pre-arranged in the plan.
Slave Qi and Slave Xie put on their clothes. One of them went to check the
situation outside while the other left to pack up Han Shiqi's belongings with
Gu Shenwei, including several pieces of clothes, a dagger, a stiletto knife, a
killer waist token, several small bottles, a handkerchief, and other sundries.
The killer waist token was an oval flavescent jade stone, imprinted with a
simple bird and the character "Jue".
With this waist token, one could visit lots of places in Golden Roc Fort. Gu
Shenwei wanted to keep it, but gave that up after hesitating for a while. As he
was just a teenager, attempting to show the killer waist token would bring
more trouble than it was worth.
"You can take it. It's your trophy."
Slave Qi pulled the stiletto knife and small bottles close to his chest.
According to the tradition of their clan, all of the dead's possessions belonged
to the one who had done the killing.
Gu Shenwei shook his head, put the waist token with the rest of the
belongings, and rolled them into a ball. "It's too dangerous. We'd better not
keep his things."
"If we stay here with them, it'll be dangerous. But it won't be if we run away."
Slave Qi spoke confidently and seemed to have a plan, which he had never
mentioned before. While Gu Shenwei was about to ask him, Slave Xie came
back and nodded to them, indicating that everything was alright outside and
they should carry the corpse away.
The three teenagers carried the corpse together. The brothers each held one
foot of the corpse while Gu Shenwei held the head. They quietly walked to
Ghost Cliff outside the western door with the belongings placed on top of the
corpse.
Slave Xie had already opened the yard door to ensure they could get out
smoothly.
Gu Shenwei was mostly worried about the mysterious night watchman, but
they were lucky tonight. No night watchmen showed themselves the entire
way that they carried the corpse to the gate. Ghost Cliff was a precipice.
There was no need for guards, and therefore, they were safe for the time
being.
The teenagers of Firewood Yard had all carried corpses, but Han Shiqi was
quite heavier than any of those. Still a dozen steps away from the edge of the
cliff, Slave Xie was already worn out and could not help stooping down.
Slave Qi and Gu Shenwei glanced at each other and slowly put down the
corpse together. They felt exhausted. No matter how hard they tried, they
could not bring themselves to finish the last few steps.
The sharp knife still remained in the back of the corpse with only a sliver
exposed that could barely be seen in the moonlight.
Gu Shenwei thought that it was a mistake to take a rest and they should
dispose of the corpse as soon as possible. When he stooped to pick up the
corpse, it suddenly grasped his ankle!
The strength of the grip was as strong as an iron hoop.
Gu Shenwei's blood boiled and then directly froze into ice. At that moment,
he felt that his spirit was outside of his body.
Slave Qi and Slave Xie were stupefied at first, but then pounced on Han Shiqi
together. The elder brother pulled out the sharp knife and haphazardly
stabbed with all his strength.
The corpse gave no response.
Gu Shenwei pushed Slave Qi away, disentangled himself from Han Shiqi's

grip, and turned over the corpse to observe carefully.
This was still a corpse, just with a little effusion of blood around the corners
of his mouth. Nevertheless, Gu Shenwei did not know why it had grasped the
ankle of its murderer and whether it had been alive while grasping.
Gu Shenwei's spirit came back to him. It seemed to have been purified while
it was absent. While it was gone, he had been cool-headed, like a coroner
performing an autopsy.
He checked Han Shiqi's breath and touched his chest for a while. Part of him
wished that Han Shiqi would still be alive, so that he could ask about his
sister's whereabouts as well as the reason why Golden Roc Fort had
slaughtered the Gu family.
"Is he really dead?" Slave Xie whispered. His face paled, whiter than the
moonlight.
"Yes."
The three teenagers no longer had the strength to carry the corpse, whereupon
they rolled it together to finish the last dozen steps and pushed it off the cliff
with its belongings.
No matter if Han Shiqi was dead or alive, he would not be coming back.
"What next?"
Gu Shenwei asked. Slave Qi and Slave Xie obviously had thought it through
much more than he had and already had a plan to cope with the aftermath.
Slave Qi, whose hands were stained with blood, appeared panicked and
irritable, as if he would blow up if someone provoked him even slightly.
"Hmm? Next? Next, we'll run away. You'll come with us."
"Run away? How? This is Golden Roc Fort."
Slave Qi took a deep breath to cool down and looked much better. "You
know, every morning we have to carry water. There are lots of wooden
barrels. Water is sent from the outside. If there's a chance, we can hide in the
wooden barrels to escape."
Gu Shenwei had also done this job, so he immediately understood what Slave
Qi meant. Golden Roc Fort was located at the peak of the mountain, without
a source of water. Daily water was carried from the foot of the mountain. The
men that delivered the water were not allowed to enter the fort. The water
would be poured into a stone pool. Then, the servants inside the fort would
carry it to their own yards. By the pool, lots of empty wooden barrels were
left, which might be taken away the next day by the men who delivered the
water.
There was an overseer by the pool, but that did not mean that they did not
have any chance. Sometimes, when there were too many servants who carried
water, the overseer could not keep his eye on all of them, so one could crawl
into the barrels and wait for the arrival of the men who delivered water.
It sounded like a feasible plan.
But Gu Shenwei still shook his head. It was the second time that he had
refused to escape with them. Slave Qi gave him a strange look.
"I'll stay. I have my enemies here. I want my revenge."
That's all Gu Shenwei could tell them. Even though they had murdered the
man together, he could not expose all his thoughts because he was cautious
and also insecure. He would take revenge for his parents and brothers by
killing the entire Shangguan family. It might be a whimsical goal that nobody
else could understand.
However, Slave Qi and Slave Xie accepted his reason. In their eyes,
vengeance was more important than anything. They had postponed escaping
because they wanted to kill the man who had humiliated them.
The three teenagers returned to Firewood Yard. Gu Shenwei returned to his

room alone. Slave Qi and Slave Xie went to clean Slave Ji's bed, and tried to
make the small stain as inconspicuous as they possibly could. Then they went
back to sleep. The other five teenagers were sleeping soundly and no one
envied the pair of brothers.
Gu Shenwei closed his eyes. As the first enemy had been killed, the small
piece of the huge stone blocking up his heart had fallen and a sliver of light
shone inside. He had lots of things to do, but now felt sleepy. Without
clearing away all of his thoughts, he fell deeply asleep.
It was a sweet sleep like Gu Shenwei had never known before.
Waking up in the morning, Gu Shenwei almost forgot everything that had

happened the night before. After a while, he was infused with the joy of
having tasted revenge. Even the sunshine outside appeared to be more radiant
than usual.
He had enjoyed the three-day holiday for getting rid of the evil spirit and had
to pay his respects to the Miss with the other teenagers. He had been
wondering why Mama Xue admitted to teaching Slave Yao Internal Strength.
However, Mama Xue seemed to have forgotten all about it. He did not see
any clue from her cold, stiff face.
When they returned to Firewood Yard, Slave Ji appeared slightly restless and
kept asking Slave Qi and Slave Xie where Third Brother was and why he had
left without saying a word.
Slave Qi and Slave Xie were quite well-composed, which Gu Shenwei

admired. The brothers casually explained that Third Brother had left that
night, and they had opened and then locked the yard door because the
overseer had already fallen asleep and they did not want to bother him.
Slave Ji believed their words, as Han Shiqi did not spend every night there.
However, Slave Ji did not know why he was so restless and kept thinking of
it all day long.
In the afternoon, Slave Ji felt more distracted. Overseeing the teenagers at

work, he was completely absent-minded. At dusk, he even did not call roll,
and he locked the yard door later than usual. After going back to his own
room, he kept the candle lit and fell asleep after midnight.
Due to his absent-mindedness, Slave Ji did not find that Slave Qi and Slave
Xie were missing. The brothers went to carry water in the afternoon. They
came back once, but did not return the second time, owing to the overseer's
serious negligence of duty.
Gu Shenwei felt relieved for Slave Qi and Slave Xie, as the first step of their
plan to run away had gone smoothly.
The other five teenagers found it unusual, but no one else cared about it. As
new servants, they did not know how to deal with things like that, nor did
they dare to remind Slave Ji, as the overseer was already in a bad mood.
Gu Shenwei privately prayed that the two brothers would succeed in

escaping.
As for Golden Roc Fort, it was a peaceful night, but the next morning, when
everything was exposed, a storm was raised.
Chapter 24 - Torture Chamber
Chapter 24: Torture Chamber
When the teenagers paid their respects to the Miss, there were no signs
showing that Han Shiqi's death was known. The Miss did not notice that two
servants had disappeared. Only Mama Xue frowned and inquired about it.
The six teenagers looked at each other and gave no response. She
discontentedly shook her head, but did not ask anything further.
After they went back to Firewood Yard, Slave Ji still had not noticed that two
people were missing. He eventually found that there were only six teenagers
left in the yard when he wanted to ask Slave Qi and Slave Xie for more
details.
"Where are they?"
Slave Ji was quite astonished and could not imagine that someone had
disappeared in Golden Roc Fort, as it was impossible in his eyes.
The teenagers looked at each other and gave no response.
Slave Ji became furious and swung his rosewood stick at the teenagers
without any particular reason. "How dare you! How dare you play tricks
behind my back! You're all in this together. Did the other two brats leave
with Third Brother?"
The teenagers ran away from him while they yelled that they did not know.
While the yard was in disarray, the eastern door opened. It was not the
servants bringing dying people, but a group of men in black who entered.
They looked slightly different from killers with their belts not red, but green
or yellow, and they were also not equipped with blades.
Upon looking at those people, Slave Ji appeared more scared than he would
upon meeting with killers. His rosewood stick fell to the ground. He opened
his mouth without saying a word and could not help bending his knees. No
one knew whether he would bow to them or fall down.
The men in black silently dashed over and rapidly carried Slave Ji away, who
was paralyzed with fright. Someone locked the western door, which had
never been locked before. The eastern door was also locked from the outside
when they left.
No one explained anything to those terrified teenagers. Now they felt as if

they were imprisoned in Firewood Yard. Except for Gu Shenwei, the others
knew nothing about what they were guilty of.
Two injured men had been sent to the yard two days ago. Usually, the
teenagers would avoid stepping into the room of those two men. But now, all
of them ran into the room to look after the injured, because they wanted to
prove that they were still useful in Golden Roc Fort.
At noon, no one brought them lunch, which was an ominous sign.
The two injured men died before it had gotten dark. The western door, which
was used to access Ghost Cliff, was locked, therefore, the corpses could only
be left on the brick bed to become stiff little by little.
"I didn't do anything. We didn't, right? Only Slave Ji got into trouble. He
won't get us involved, will he?"
The teenager, Slave Zhao, suddenly spoke. Everyone had been silent for a
long time. They just felt restless because they did not know what exactly had
happened. Only Gu Shenwei could roughly guess most of it, but he would not
say a word.
"Mama Xue will save us. We're underlings of the Miss, and we've taken
oaths." Another teenager, Slave Lei, looked hopefully at his companions,
wanting to gain some confidence from them.
The other teenagers desperately nodded and suddenly breathed a sigh of

relief.
Gu Shenwei nodded, but thought that the Miss and Mama Xue would not
save them. If they had such thoughts or abilities, they would not have let
them stay in Firewood Yard to serve the dead. The Eighth Young Master's
yard also needed servants, but they had not been asked to go there.
Bighead Kingpin's daughter, who had supreme power in the bandit camp, had
ended her previous life since she had gotten in the bridal sedan.
At dusk, only two of the men in black with the yellow belts returned again.
One of them gave a brief order to the six panic-stricken teenagers.
"Follow us."
Though they were worried, the teenagers did not dare to inquire about it and
honestly followed the two men in black to leave Firewood Yard. It had been a
place that they desperately wanted to leave, but now, it was like home for
them.
Gu Shenwei kept calm and was even a little optimistic. The men with the
yellow belts did not tie anyone up. Maybe they only wanted to make an
inquiry. Regarding the facts that a killer was missing and two servants had
suddenly disappeared, everyone would link those two things together and
would not suspect those who remained.
But Gu Shenwei's thoughts were not completely correct.
The men with the yellow belts were torturers from Heart Cleansing Yard. All
of the teenagers were brought there. A formal interrogation was waiting for
them.
Heart Cleansing Yard was not far from Firewood Yard, with there being only
a small yard between them. It was also called Ghost Yard and it was used for
punishment.
Gu Shenwei had always wanted to enter Ghost Yard to look for his sister.
Now he knew that it was useless to go there. All the cells for the prisoners
were underground and heavily guarded, so no one could see into them from
outside.
Gu Shenwei thought it was ironic that there were "prisoners" in a killer

organization.
The teenagers were brought to an underground torture chamber. It seemed to

be frequently used, for the floor was filled with greasy mud. The teenagers
had looked after several dying people who came from Heart Cleansing Yard,
and their bodies were stained with this sort of mud. Slave Yao once said that
the mud was mixed with flesh. Having seen the broken limbs of the dying
people, they knew his judgment was nearly correct.
Numerous strange implements for punishment were placed inside the room,
with iron chains here and there. In a corner, a prisoner was tied up to a
wooden stand. His skin and flesh were torn so much that his original
appearance could not be recognized. When he let out a groan, all the
teenagers cried out.
That man was Slave Ji.
He had been the overseer of Firewood Yard in the morning, but now, he was
only qualified to return to the yard to await his death.
A teenager immediately fainted and another two teenagers were so stupefied

that they could not move a single step as some liquid dripped from their
pants.
More than 10 people stood inside the room. Besides the torturers with the
yellow belts, there were other people, some of whom even did not wear
black. They did not care about the teenagers' fears. If someone were to
remain calm upon entering Heart Cleansing Yard, that would make them
surprised.
Gu Shenwei felt his leg shivering and he had the impulse to run away.
He was the descendant of the Gu family of the Central Plains. As the son of a
government official, he used to play with the generals' and courtiers' sons.
For them, excruciating torture, like a ghost or a god, was just a tale.
"How did I fall to such a place? Isn't it enough that I have lost my entire
family? Must I also have to experience a humiliating way to die?"
No one expected that one of the teenagers was the young Master of the Gu
family, nor could they understand how he felt. The torturers deftly tied the six
teenagers to different stands and began to flog them without saying a word.
After a single whip, the fainted Slave Lei cried out horribly. Then, the
chamber was full of screams.
No one dared to resist.
That was the rule of Heart Cleansing Yard—whether one did something or
not, one had to accept punishment first. Among those punishments, flogging
was the lightest one.
After the flogging, the torturers ordered the teenagers to speak, but they did
not say what the torturers wanted to hear.
The teenagers scrambled to tell them anything that they knew, even their
experiences of pouring tea for Slave Ji. They still thought the overseer of the
yard had run into trouble.
Then the torturers asked the teenagers to talk about Slave Qi and Slave Xie,
which brought about more details.
It was all nonsense, but the poker-faced torturers wanted to discover a hole in
the nonsense and find the real insider.
Gu Shenwei's legs went limp, but his fear disappeared after the flogging.
Compared to the hidden agony in his heart, the physical pain became
insignificant.
He also cried out and spoke nonsense. Although it was his first time entering
a torture chamber and facing a torturer, he was quite clear about those tricks.
He pretended to be an ordinary teenager while he observed them in private.
The inquirers were all underlings. The two men in charge stood far away and
appeared indifferent.
One of them wore black and a yellow belt. He was a tall, thin man with a
gloomy expression. Obviously, he was in charge of Heart Cleansing Yard.
The other one wore a grey robe. Like a scholar, he was short and thin and had
a meditative look about him.
They did not have sabers, which were symbolic of a killer.
After the interrogation, the torturers stepped aside. Then the two men began
to make their judgment.
"They cannot say anything useful. The two servants did it alone," the man
wearing the yellow belt said first. The teenagers felt relieved.
"Humph. That seems to be the case, but we should be careful. These kids are
sinister, especially when they've had adults to teach them," the man wearing
the grey robe said casually with a courteous smile, as if he was pointing out a
common truth.
"Maybe. These kids haven't been in the fort for long. As they have only met a
few adults, it would be easy to find out the person who is behind them. Right,
Mister Guo?"
The man in the grey robe, called Mister Guo, looked surprised. "Blademaster
Shen, you've misunderstood my words. I just feel that we shouldn't easily
believe these kids. Han Shiqi was a killer. It seems impossible that these kids
could have plotted against him."
Han Shiqi was his real name. Most of the killers in Golden Roc Fort were not
famous, therefore, it was not necessary for them to use fake names while
performing tasks.
Blademaster Shen and Mister Guo held different opinions; the former wanted
to minimize the effects of the issue, but the latter wanted to dig up more
information.
Gu Shenwei reminded himself that if he could survive in Ghost Yard, he

would inquire about every conflict in Golden Roc Fort, which might be
helpful to aid him in his vengeance.
The interrogation fitfully went on without any focus. The torturers seemed to
ramble a bit. Gu Shenwei felt that the interrogation had been arranged on
purpose. Every time the teenagers mentioned Mama Xue or the Eighth
Young Mistress, the torturer would not ask anything further. The clever
teenagers understood and no longer mentioned anything about the Eighth
Young Master's yard.
Blademaster Shen and Mister Guo left and returned several times. They really
did not speak much. There were no signs shown that they had had a dispute,
but they did not look at each other.
The Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu, also arrived once. It was the
second time that Gu Shenwei had seen his enemy who had slaughtered his
entire family. Shangguan Nu stood farther away than he had before, so it was
even more hopeless for Gu Shenwei to get his revenge.
Shangguan Nu just took a look and left without saying a word. He nodded at
Blademaster Shen, but ignored Mister Guo. Instead, Mister Guo paid his
respects to the Young Master.
At midnight, several men in black rushed in, threw something on the ground,
and retreated after bowing to Blademaster Shen and Mister Guo.
That thing was a living person. As he raised his head, the first person that he
saw was Gu Shenwei.
Slave Qi had been caught.

Chapter 25 - The Emergence of the
White Handkerchief
Chapter 25: The Emergence of the White
Handkerchief
They soon discovered the real cause of Han Shiqi's death. However, for many
people, dealing with the individuals involved in it was a difficult problem.
The Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu, had bad luck this year. Bad things
kept happening one after another. The deceased Han Shiqi was his underling
and the two murderers were discovered to be servants brought by his new
wife.
Gu Shenwei could speculate about what had happened over the past three
stifling days by piecing together the information that he had heard through
the grapevine.
After Slave Qi was caught, the other six teenagers were immediately sent
back to Firewood Yard. They were imprisoned again and were completely
isolated; the only exception was that someone brought them only one meal
every day. No one had taken care of the two corpses, which had started to
decay. The smell gradually wafted through the whole yard and into the room
where the teenagers lived.
They had been in great distress during the past three days. After scabs
formed, they helped each other peel them off and waited for the final verdict.
This was the last time that the sworn brothers would trust and support each
other.
Gu Shenwei felt very nervous because he did not know what Slave Qi would
confess.
Gu Shenwei already had an awful fright when Slave Qi glanced at him at the
underground torture chamber in Heart Cleansing Yard. Most people who
were older and more strong-willed than Slave Qi would have made a full
confession under various cruel tortures.
At noon on the fourth day, the western door was eventually opened and a new
overseer arrived.
The first thing he did was open the eastern door and dispose of the two
corpses.
The corpses were rotten and infested with maggots. Although the corpses
looked disgusting, the teenagers were cheerful when they carried them away.
They resumed their jobs and it seemed as though they had been forgiven.
After the teenagers cleaned up the room with the corpses, the new overseer
announced that nothing would change. Firewood Yard had reopened and the
teenagers should continue to carry out their duties.
But actually, everything had changed.
The new overseer did not live in Firewood Yard. He came at dawn and left at
night. He would lock the yard door while he was away. As a result, the
teenagers led a more restricted lifestyle. They no longer paid their respects to
the Miss. More guards were arranged around the water-carrying place in the
fort. All the empty barrels that were not used at the moment were moved
away.
They accepted the first patients after Firewood Yard reopened and one of
them was the ex-overseer, Slave Ji. He had suffered crueler torture than the
others but he managed to survive. While the other patients were thrown off
Ghost Cliff one after another, unexpectedly, only he had recovered.
However, Slave Ji became quiet and often remained silent all day long. After
losing his backer and his position, he had an uncertain future. One night,
when he just managed to walk by himself, he committed suicide by using his
own belt. The corpse was found the next morning, dangling on the doorframe
of the western door.
No one was surprised at his death and no one cared about it. The teenagers
threw his corpse off the cliff. Someone even complained about how
inconsiderate the ex-overseer was. "Since you wanted to commit suicide, why
didn't you directly jump off the cliff?"
One day, the teenagers saw Slave Qi's corpse, which was beheaded, being
carried directly to Ghost Cliff by two men in black.
Although he was accustomed to seeing corpses, Gu Shenwei could not bear it

and began to vomit. The other teenagers averted their eyes with a pale look.
They lost their appetite for the rest of the day.
Slave Xie was caught less than two days later. He resisted so fiercely that the
attackers had to directly kill him. His body was thrown into the wild because
they no longer needed to have his confession.
Slave Qi had borne through everything in Heart Cleansing Yard. He did not
mention anyone except for his younger brother.
He confessed that he made the plan to murder Han Shiqi. He had nailed the
sharp knife under the bed. Then he crawled under the bed and killed the
enemy who was enjoying himself while Slave Xie held down Han Shiqi.
Everything matched his confession. Han Shiqi's belongings were found in

Slave Qi's luggage.
It turned out that Slave Qi and Slave Xie were orphans of the Great
Snowmountain. They were sold as slaves because their parents had died in a
fight between several mountains. The pair of brothers and Long Feidu, who
had slaughtered the Eagle Gang at the T-junction, belonged to the same tribe,
but they were from different mountains.
The Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort were bitter enemies.
Gu Shenwei did not understand people from the Great Snowmountain, who
fought among themselves even when faced with a strong enemy.
The origin of the pair of brothers provided an element of conspiracy to Han

Shiqi's death. The six teenagers of Firewood Yard were interrogated again
and were asked about their personal history.
This time they were not sent to Heart Cleansing Yard, but all the teenagers
were greatly intimidated. Once they were questioned, they revealed all their
life experiences starting from the day they were born.
Gu Shenwei did not tell the truth, but it was too hard for him to make up his
origin. Therefore, he stole Slave Yao's origin as a servant of a businessman
from the Western Region. He said he was grabbed and made into a slave by
bandits while he was accompanying his master on a trip.
What Slave Yao said before his death was incoherent. Therefore, Gu Shenwei
had to polish what he had said once again. It turned out to be so convincing
that even he himself almost believed that he had experienced these events.
The only problem was that his words could not withstand scrutiny because he
looked quite different from the pointy-faced Slave Yao.
However, no one would put in the effort to find the merchant of the Western
Region, who was so far away from here, only for the purpose of verifying Gu
Shenwei's statement. Gu Shenwei was secretly worried about it before he
confirmed that he had successfully deceived them.
The case gradually faded into the background. No one suspected that there
was another accomplice. There were some people who wanted to end the case
as soon as possible in order to minimize the impact of the case.
Gu Shenwei was aware of the contradiction between the two sides in the
torture chamber. The thin and tall Blademaster Shen, named Shen Liang, was
the chief in Heart Cleansing Yard, and he was also the Eighth Young Master
Shangguan Nu's uncle. He represented his nephew's interests and used his
power to minimize the effect of the case.
The thin and short Mister Guo came from Whiterobe Academy in East
Castle. Although he was not any Young Master's relative, it was known that
he was close to the Fifth Young Master. Mister Guo was eager to maximize
the effect of the case so he could damage the Eighth Young Master's power.
Almost everyone in Golden Roc Fort knew that the Eighth Young Master
was on bad terms with the Fifth Young Master. It was said that the two young
masters' mothers had not gotten along well with each other and had passed
their enmities onto their sons.
As the Supreme King, Shangguan Fa, did not want the case to get out of
control, the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu, had seemingly won this
round. It would be a major scandal if the news that a killer was assassinated
by two teenagers in Golden Roc Fort were to spread outside the fort.
The lord of Golden Roc Fort was unwilling to hold his son accountable for
the case, therefore no one dared to stir things up.
Nevertheless, Shangguan Nu fell into the lowest position in his father's mind,
as he was not capable of taking the leadership of a group of killers and he
could not even handle the internal affairs of his yard, which made the
Supreme King disappointed.
It was not helpful for Gu Shenwei to know that Golden Roc Fort was not
united. He was stuck in Firewood Yard now, dealing with the dead every day.
Though he had five acquaintances, they barely spoke with each other, as the
five acquaintances were afraid to speak.
There had been 10 teenagers who followed the Miss into Golden Roc Fort.
After a little more than one month, four of them were dead. Even though "at
least one person gets killed every day" in Golden Roc Fort, it was still a
scarily high proportion. All the teenagers were pessimistic about their future.
Gu Shenwei found himself being isolated in such circumstances.
The other five teenagers often avoided him or whispered behind him. They
showed a flicker of fear toward Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei felt confused about their behavior. He had not bullied or

betrayed anyone. He lived at the bottom of Golden Roc Fort and did the
humblest work with them. He could not figure out why he became unusual in
their eyes.
After several days, he finally realized why he looked different from them.
Although his behavior was disguised, he was still different from that of the
other teenagers from the mountain areas. He did not randomly sit on the
ground. He frequently washed his hands, was able to read, and always walked
with his back straight.
He knew Kung Fu. Although he was not comparable to the killers in the fort,
none of the teenagers were his match.
He was not afraid of Ghost Cliff and often went there by himself. Sometimes
he practiced Kung Fu there; sometimes he just blankly sat there. The others
would not go to that place, except for when they needed to dispose of the
dead.
When Slave Yao was possessed by the evil spirit, Gu Shenwei stayed with
him. Slave Qi and Slave Xie once attempted to help Gu Shenwei drive the
evil spirit away, but instead, the brothers "had been possessed by the evil
spirit" and had made an assassination. Slave Xiao, who had died early on,
also seemed related to Slave Huan, as they used to stay together.
Those were the five teenagers' thoughts. Though Gu Shenwei was initially
irritated by it, he began to feel at ease as no one would come to disturb his
Kung Fu practice.
Gu Shenwei had practiced Kung Fu the hardest for over a month since he
entered Golden Roc Fort. Now that he did not know the whereabouts of the
shortcut manual, he had to put all his hopes on regular Kung Fu practice.
It would never be too late to get his revenge. He had already given up on the
idea of taking revenge as soon as possible.
As long as no one recognized him, he could patiently wait until he mastered

Yin and Yang Strength. No matter how long it would take, regardless of
whether it took 10 or 20 years, he would have a chance to get his revenge, as
his enemy Shangguan Nu was still young and would still be alive at that time.
On the 10th day after Firewood Yard was reopened, the teenagers, who
became more and more frightened of Slave Huan, "gave" him a surprise.
On that day, there was no patient in the yard. After the new overseer locked
the eastern door and left, Gu Shenwei took the opportunity to practice Kung
Fu on Ghost Cliff. He returned to the yard to have lunch at noon.
The other teenagers avoided him, so he usually went back to his room and ate
alone. It was the same on that day, except that there was one more thing on
his bedding.
It was a piece of white handkerchief with some words on it.
Gu Shenwei almost dropped the bowl onto the ground.
He rushed forward, put down the bowl, and picked up the white
handkerchief. After reading the first line of the writing, he knew it was the
shortcut manual of Yin and Yang Strength.
He greedily read, ignoring his meal. He had no time to be curious about the
origin of the white handkerchief.
Gu Shenwei felt disappointed after reading it through.
It was indeed the real shortcut manual. However, it was not a shortcut as he
had imagined. If he practiced Yin and Yang Strength at normal speed, he
would finish the all forces merger when he reached the ninth level of Yin
Strength and Yang Strength. If he practiced the shortcut manual, he could
combine the two kinds of strength at any level, but the power could not be
comparable to the normal practice method.
The words on the white handkerchief made it clear. If one reached the third
level of Yin Strength and Yang Strength, it would be powerful after
combination; if one reached the fifth level, it would be very powerful; if one
wanted to be invincible, he had to reach at least the seventh level.
Although it was called a shortcut, it had its limits.
His father, Gu Lun, had practiced it hard for dozens of years and had just
reached the fifth level of Yin Strength and Yang Strength. In comparison, Gu
Shenwei had just reached the first level of it and did not know when he would
master Yin and Yang Strength.
Gu Shenwei tucked the white handkerchief away. After thinking for a while,
he took it out and spent that afternoon thoroughly memorizing the manual.
Then he tore up the white handkerchief and threw it off the cliff.
From now on, the unique skill of the Gu family had no written records and
only existed in the sole descendant's mind.
Gu Shenwei now had the time to consider just who had given the white
handkerchief back to him.
It had to be one of the other five teenagers. He had kept the important articles
for Slave Yao and did not divulge the secret, even if he suffered a lot in Heart
Cleansing Yard.
Gu Shenwei had to find that person.
However, Gu Shenwei could not decide whether he should thank him or

remove him for now.
Chapter 26 - Exposure
Chapter 26: Exposure
It was not easy for Gu Shenwei to find out who had returned the white
handkerchief. He had less communication with the other five young slaves.
Therefore, Gu Shenwei could not directly ask them, so he just warily
observed and analyzed the entire matter.
To start with, he removed Slave Lei, Slave Zhao, and Slave San from the
suspect list. They had once followed Slave Ji for a while, and later they had
built a closer relationship with Slave Yao. It seemed impossible that Slave
Yao would have let those three fence-sitters safekeep such an important
handkerchief for him.
After his precise deduction, only Slave Xin and Slave Qian might have had
the chance to do so. They were Slave Yao's devoted followers when he was
alive. He carefully analyzed the situation. "Slave Xin is so timid. He once wet
his pants when being tortured in Heart Cleansing Yard. If he was holding
onto the white handkerchief, he would have told the truth to the others."
Hence, Slave Qian became the prime suspect.
Slave Qian and Gu Shenwei were the same age. He was an early-maturing
and introverted young man. When flattering someone, not only did he please
people, but he also did not grovel too much.
The more Gu Shenwei thought about it, the more firmly he believed that
Slave Qian was the person who had given the white handkerchief back.
However, he could not prove it, so he had to keep silent for the moment
because there was no benefit in verifying it now. Moreover, Gu Shenwei
would not like to and could not kill anyone. Knowing that Slave Qian had not
exposed the secret to the others, he should wait and see what he would do
next.
However, he was still very anxious. Slave Qian was illiterate, so he did not
know what was written on the white handkerchief and perhaps Slave Yao did
not tell him the details either. But how long this secret would be kept was
unknown to everyone.
Gu Shenwei had continued to spy on Slave Qian until something unexpected

interrupted his plan.
It had been almost a month since Firewood Yard had been reopened. Perhaps
Miss Luo thought that the tumult had subsided, so she requested for the
young slaves to greet her again every morning.
The six slaves were taken away by Mama Xu as usual. The newly
inaugurated overseer was a well-polished person. He did not stop Mama Xue
from taking all of them, and he also spoke humbly with her.
These young slaves brought by Miss Luo, as well as the other slaves, had
suffered overwhelming curses, accusations, and tearful complaints in the
Eighth Young Master's yard.
Bighead Kingpin's daughter was also affected by the murder scandal. She had
brought Slave Qi and Slave Xie, so she had to take the responsibility of
oversight. People mistakenly believed that Miss Luo had sacrificed her slaves
to cater to the Eighth Young Mater's killers.
That was certainly not true, but it did not stop the rumors.
Miss Luo thought she had been totally wronged. Her husband, Shangguan
Nu, particularly kept away from her because he thought that the bandit's
daughter brought bad luck.
From behind the folding screen, the Eighth Young Mistress accused all the
slaves of being ungrateful. She claimed that she was going to go back to Iron
Mountain tomorrow, and by then, Bighead Kingpin would punish everyone
here.
Mama Xue and her maidservants patiently persuaded Miss Luo for a while.
Gu Shenwei stared at the ground and thought disapprovingly, "It's been a

month since the murder happened. She didn't leave this place at that moment,
let alone now. This is Golden Roc Fort. Even though she is Bighead
Kingpin's daughter, she can't come and go freely.
"Such a stupid and pretentious woman. She isn't a patch on my sister, Gu

Cuilan." Gu Shenwei made this conclusion in his mind.
That day, after repeating the oath hundreds and thousands of times, all the
slaves were allowed to leave, except for Gu Shenwei.
Mama Xue had asked him to stay behind.
Gu Shenwei had foreseen this situation. To be honest, he had been looking

forward to it for a long time. Mama Xue had once lied about passing Internal
Strength on to Slave Yao and had shouldered the responsibility of Slave
Yao's Qigong Deviation for a reason.
After the other slaves had left, Gu Shenwei followed Mama Xue into the
backyard. It was the first time that he had entered the room.
In a wing-room, Miss Luo was sitting behind a thick folding screen. All the
maidservants had been asked to leave, except for a blind and mute young girl
who could only hear people talking. She was the best keeper of secrets.
Miss Luo once cruelly punished this maidservant by having her eyes gouged
out and her tongue cut out. Now, she took her as a trusted subordinate. Luo
Ningcha did not think that it was a paradoxical thing.
Mama Xue ordered him to kneel down and said to Miss Luo behind the
screen, "He's the slave that we want."
Miss Luo remained silent for a while, as if she was carefully sizing him up.
And although they were separated by the thick screen, she could see a
looming figure.
"Did he really kill the madman?" Miss Luo could no longer remember the
boy who had practiced Kung Fu in the yard. She only had an impression of
his mad laughter.
Although he was well-prepared, Gu Shenwei was surprised by Miss Luo's

straight way of speaking. "It wasn't me, I…"
Mama Xue kicked him in his side. Her toes were as hard as her fingers. Gu
Shenwei suddenly felt his Internal Breath stagnate and he could not say
anything more.
"Shut up," Mama Xue commanded in an indifferent tone. Then she softened
her voice and said to Miss Luo behind the screen, "Yes, he did it. It can't be
wrong."
"Did he fake Slave Yao's death to look like an accident?" Miss Luo was not
angry, but rather a little curious.
"He's kinda smart."
"Sinister and ruthless," the Eighth Young Master Mistress said verbatim
without any emotion, as if the slave kneeling down outside was a dog that
was fed and controlled by her.
"Right. He's sinister and ruthless. He's the slave that Miss wants."
For a while, no one spoke in the main hall. Gu Shenwei thought fast, "What
kind of slave does Miss Luo want? Why does she need a 'treacherous' slave?
What benefit could I gain?"
"All right, that's him," Miss said, "but make sure he's loyal to me."
Bighead Kingpin's daughter was not so foolish. The slaves' daily vows were
only able to please her, but they were not enough to gain her trust.
"That's easy," Mama Xue said confidently. She turned to Gu Shenwei and
started to question him.
"Slave Huan, tell me your real name."

"Yang Huan."
"Humph! Your name is Yang Huan. After entering Golden Roc Fort, your
nickname is Slave Huan. What a coincidence!"
"I know that it sounds ridiculous, but it's indeed my real name."
"Where did you live before working in Golden Roc Fort?"
"I once lived in Shu-lik City. My former master was surnamed Lin."
Mama Xue kicked him in his side again. "You're lying. How dare you?
What's the relationship between you and the Gu family from the Central
Plains?"
Gu Shenwei was shocked that Mama Xue had realized that he was lying.
It had to be the Yin and Yang Strength. What he had taught to Slave Yao
revealed his identity. Although Mama Xue was aware that he was related to
the Gu family, she did not inform on him to Shangguan Nu…
Many things sprang to his mind, just like the ever-changing clouds covering
this world. Gu Shenwei had to make up his mind quickly and bravely.
"Forgive me, my Miss. Forgive me, Mama Xue. I'm sorry to…"
"Enough meaningless talk. Tell me your whole life story."
"I'm indeed Yang Huan. My father's Yang Zheng, a martial arts manager of
the Gu family."
"A martial arts manager's son? How could you learn Kung Fu that was
exclusive to the Gu family members?"
"My…" Although Gu Shenwei had been aware that his speech and acting
should be like a slave's son and had quickly changed his persona, he almost
blurted out: "My father, Gu Lun". Then he cautiously continued, "My father,
Yang Zheng, had a close relationship with Master Gu Lun, so I had the
chance to learn the family-inherited Kung Fu. Nominally, they were master
and slave, but in fact, they were sworn brothers. Therefore, the master broke
the traditional rules and allowed me to practice the Gu family's Kung Fu—
Internal Strength and Blademanship. Father also had passed it on to me in
private, just a little. But I didn't learn it very well."
"It sounds convincing. Let me check out how much you've learned."
The moment Mama Xue pushed her hard palms on Gu Shenwei's neck, he
felt a strong and fierce Internal Breath come into him, ripping and tearing him
and rushing into the Dantian acupoint in his belly.
Gu Shenwei's Internal Strength was very frail. He had just reached the first
level of Yin Strength and Yang Strength. He was a very long way away from
mastering Yin and Yang Strength. Abruptly being pressed by external power,
Gu Shenwei did not have much time to raise his Qigong and it spontaneously
resisted Mama Xue's Qigong. This action exposed his weak Kung Fu
foundation.
Gu Shenwei's Qigong power was very weak in contrast to Mama Xue's, like
using a cup of water to put out a big fire.
Gu Shenwei only felt that his body was completely shaken. His Dantian
acupoint seemed to burst in an instant. Being not ready for any of that, he
fainted.
When he woke up, Gu Shenwei heard Miss Luo curiously ask,
"Is he alive?"
"Yes. He didn't deceive us this time. Slave Huan only learned some
superficial Kung Fu. Slave Yao, you moron! He found such an incompetent
teacher to learn Internal Strength from."
Gu Shenwei relaxed a bit and blushed.
"What's your purpose of coming to Golden Roc Fort?"
"I made up my mind to avenge my father," Gu Shenwei said and straightened

his back in order to make his voice sound more sorrowful. They thought that
he was talking about Yang Zheng. But in fact, he mourned his father, Gu
Lun.
"The Eighth Young Master is who killed your father,"
Mama Xue said to Gu Shenwei frigidly. On hearing her words, Miss Luo
giggled behind the screen, as if she had heard a joke just now but was too shy
to laugh.
"Not exactly. My father was killed outside the village. A professional killer
murdered him. Well… The murderer is the Eighth Young Master's
subordinate."
"It's better for you to take revenge on my husband, so that I can return to Iron
Mountain," the Miss said slowly.
"Miss! Take back your words. Now you belong to the Shangguan family.
Nothing can change that. Never mention it again."
Mama Xue warned Miss Luo in a severe tone, as if she were lecturing a naive
little girl. She did not look like the humble and prudent maidservant that she
usually acted like. There were not many outsiders, so Mama Xue did not care
about the discrepancy of the master-slave identity too much.
Miss Luo also did not treat Mama Xue as an ordinary maidservant, either.
Therefore, she just snorted discontentedly, rather than scold Mama Xue. Miss
Luo said in a low voice,
"Of course, I know."
Mama Xue turned to Slave Huan and said, "If you dare to spread this gossip,
I'll throw you off the cliff."
"I won't tell anyone because I didn't hear anything. Heaven and earth can
prove my loyalty to Miss and Mama Xue."
Gu Shenwei had totally destroyed his self-esteem with those begging words.
From now on, he would never ever have any connection with the title "Young
Master of the Gu Family".
He had no choice. If Gu Shenwei still had the identity of a young Master, he
could not find his sister, let alone take revenge for his family.
"Humph. You? Even if you practiced for 100 years, you couldn't even hurt
one of the Eighth Young Master's little fingers. Who killed your father?
Killer Han Shiqi?"
"No. I still don't know who the murderer is."
Mama Xue walked around Gu Shenwei twice, observing him carefully, just
like a calculating merchant who was about to buy some goods.
"You want to take revenge, right? It's possible. But you should stop taking
any actions without my permission and end your secret investigation. Miss
will reward you if you perform very well. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do. I won't hesitate to lay down my life if Miss and Mama Xue need
it."
"Let's start from today. You'll replace Slave Yao now and learn Kung Fu
from me. In one month, I'll send you to East Castle as a killer apprentice
candidate, so you'll have the chance to be a killer in Golden Roc Fort. If you
don't achieve it, then just end your life. You know what I mean, right? If you
betray me, you'll die just like your father. Remember, young man, I'll kill
anyone without playing tricks or informing on him if he's supposed to die."
Chapter 27 - Kung Fu Practice
Chapter 27: Kung Fu Practice
Gu Shenwei stayed behind and started to learn Kung Fu from Mama Xue the
same day.
Although their relationship could not be called friendship, nor was it as

simple as teacher and student, one intently taught Kung Fu and the other
diligently learned it.
Gu Shenwei knew that Mama Xue and Miss Luo did not only desire to
provide a killer apprentice for Golden Roc Fort. They helped him keep the
secret for other reasons. However, he would be temporarily safe until they
made their final demand.
This was such a strange team. Using the alias Yang Huan, the target of Gu
Shenwei's revenge was very likely to be the Eighth Young Master,
Shangguan Nu, while the Eighth Young Mistress, Luo Ningcha, did not even
care about it, and neither did Mama Xue. She also readily believed his words.
As for Gu Shenwei, the young man with killing intent, he now had to ensure
his safety with the help of two calculating women.
There was another thing that Gu Shenwei did not expect—he was not the
only person learning Kung Fu from Mama Xue.
The method of naming maidservants in Golden Roc Fort was similar to that
of naming male slaves. People picked up one word from the Thousand
Character Classic as a part of their nicknames, and the only difference was
that they added "maid" before their names.
It was Maid Lotus who practiced Kung Fu with Gu Shenwei. She was one of
the 10 slave girls bought by Bighead Kingpin.
Maid Lotus was a girl of few words. If she was not so overly serious, one
might even call her beautiful. She always seemed to be meditating upon
something, and she was alert to everything around her. She paid special
attention to every word Mama Xue said and observed every movement Mama
Xue made.
In Mama Xue's opinion, Maid Lotus was an excellent apprentice.
Gu Shenwei had never heard Mama Xue mention her before.
The pointy-faced teenager, who had talked so much about the slave girls, had
neglected to mention Maid Lotus as well. This was very strange for such a
talkative cutup.
Mama Xue's way of teaching Kung Fu was completely different from the Gu
family's. On the first day, she did not demonstrate any Kung Fu movements.
Mama Xue only asked the two "apprentices" to fight with each other. It was
not a simple Kung Fu training but a real fight.
Gu Shenwei was kicked down by the first strike and he realized that Maid
Lotus was taking this seriously. At that time, he also realized why Slave Yao
had often been wounded.
Although Maid Lotus did not have any Kung Fu foundation, with her good
understanding of Kung Fu and great courage, she had managed to master
some boxing skills taught by Mama Xue over dozens of daily lessons.
In the beginning, Gu Shenwei wanted to hide his real strength, but he soon
realized he would have to spare no effort to beat her and he even used the
power of the first level of Yin and Yang Strength. Even so, his fight with
Maid Lotus ended in a draw.
Maid Lotus had never practiced Internal Strength before, but she had much
more fighting experience than Gu Shenwei.
Just fighting for less than half an hour, Gu Shenwei was sweating profusely.
He felt his breath becoming turbulent in his Dantian and found it nearly
unendurable.
Mama Xue often guided Maid Lotus on how to move while watching their
fight from the side. As for the new trainee, Slave Huan, she gave some advice
or ordered him around only after the fight had ended.
"Forget the stupid movements you've learned and practice your Internal
Strength. If you want to enter East Castle and become a killer, you should
practice Kung Fu anew."
That afternoon, Mama Xue went to serve Miss Luo, so she asked Maid Lotus
to teach Slave Huan Tiger-taming Fist.
Gu Shenwei already felt disgraced for being beaten by a girl of the same age.
Now he was even more embarrassed as he had to learn Tiger-taming Fist
from her, who treated him indifferently. She did not say anything else unless
she was explaining Kung Fu movements to him, seeming very reluctant to
teach him.
However, Gu Shenwei had a totally different experience when he went back

to Firewood Yard.
The newly appointed overseer took the initiative to speak to Slave Huan for
the first time. Furthermore, he encouraged him and told him that he did not
need to look after the injured in the yard.
The other five young slaves also awkwardly smiled at him and welcomed
their "sworn brother" back. Slave Lei even helped him brush the dust off his
clothes. Their change in their attitudes was quick and obvious, which was
difficult for Gu Shenwei to adapt to immediately.
Nevertheless, his focus was still on Slave Qian.
Slave Qian behaved himself as usual. Although he also showed his kindness
to Slave Huan like the others, he did not talk too much. In an awkward
silence, Slave Qian would start to speak. It seemed that he was the leader of
this small group.
Gu Shenwei decided to temporarily put the white handkerchief issue away.

He had to be devoted to Kung Fu practice in order to become a killer
apprentice in East Castle and also to deal with the two women.
Golden Roc Fort was like a huge and indestructible mountain when people
saw it at a distance. But there were noticeable small cracks when observing it
closely. Luckily, Gu Shen had already found a few cracks. However, it was
not enough for his revenge. He needed to continue to observe and find the
junction of all cracks.
Gu Shenwei could practice Kung Fu aboveboard now. He spent all his time
practicing Kung Fu, except for eating and sleeping. After he got back from
Mama Xue's place, Gu Shenwei still went to Ghost Cliff to practice Yin and
Yang Strength. He wanted to make up for the time that he had wasted over
the last 10 years.
Mama Xue hoped the two teenagers she had recommended would become
outstanding in East Castle. Therefore, she strictly supervised them as they
practiced Kung Fu and even intervened in Slave Huan's Internal Strength
training, out of fear that he would lose his life due to Qigong Deviation like
Slave Yao.
Mama Xue used a forceful method to help Slave Huan improve his Internal
Strength, unlike his father Gu Lun, who had taught Internal Strength step by
step.
Gu Shenwei needed to practice Yin and Yang Strength in front of Mama Xue
every day. While he was practicing, she sometimes poked him with her iron
fingers on different acupoints. And each time, she passed the inner force into
his body to help him break through his meridians.
This would benefit his Internal Strength practice a lot, but it meant that Gu
Shenwei would suffer great pain. He became black and blue all over and
could not even find a comfortable posture to sleep at night.
The daily Kung Fu practice with Maid Lotus increased his agony. The silent
young maid had been inexplicably jealous of him from the very beginning.
Later on, she regarded him as an enemy since Mama Xue was privately
helping him improve Internal Strength.
Gu Shenwei had never been hated so much by anyone.
He had no idea about how to deal with it. Angry and ashamed, he eagerly
wanted to surpass Maid Lotus in Kung Fu practice.
It was not an easy goal to achieve when studying Tiger-taming Fist. On one
hand, he was not good at boxing; on the other hand, he had practiced it two
months longer than Maid Lotus. However, the situation changed 10 days later
when Mama Xue started to teach them how to move the saber.
The date of new killer-apprentices' admission was approaching. In order to

speed up the training, Mama Xue needed to teach as many Kung Fu
movements as possible in a short time.
Mama Xue reminded Slave Huan and Maid Lotus often, saying, "A Kung Fu
practitioner needs to build their foundation with boxing training, which
makes their movements quick and agile. Hence, you'll feel more comfortable
when learning how to use other weapons later on. However, don't rely on
boxing when fighting with people because it's just a basic skill. No matter
how skilled you are at boxing, holding a sharp dagger makes you stronger. If
someone with bare hands defeats an armed man, it must be due to an
enormous difference between the two sides' Kung Fu strength. In other
words, it doesn't prove that fists and feet are better than weapons. Remember,
once you become a killer and live by killing, your boss will choose the
opponents for you, not yourself. Therefore, never dream of beating armed
people with your bare fists. You should use a saber to beat both armed and
bare-handed men."
Mama Xue herself practiced Iron Finger. Obviously, she did not match her
deeds to her words. But, Mama Xue was not a killer. Moreover, it was
unnecessary for her to practice swordsmanship, as she had served Miss Luo
for a long time and worked in the back yard.
Although he had carefully memorized his family's swordsmanship, Gu

Shenwei needed to conceal the truth because he lied to Mama Xue, saying
that he had not learned it very well.
Fortunately, Mama Xue did not care. She taught them the swordsmanship for
real fighting, including 18 basic saber movements and no fixed action
combinations. Each basic movement was very simple, for example, cutting,
stabbing, or piercing, which were very similar. But once they could practice
each with proficiency, Mama Xue asked them to randomly combine the 18
basic saber movements, so they could create other numerous movements.
Mama Xue said that the series of saber movements was Iron Mountain Knife
Form, one of the martial arts that helped Iron Mountain Gang dominate the
desert area.
Gu Shenwei felt that Iron Mountain Knife Form was not as skillful as the Gu
family's swordsmanship. However, it was easy to understand and flexible.
When performing the 18 basic saber movements, he could occasionally add
one or two moves from his family's swordsmanship. Gu Shenwei found the
connection between the movements was also very smooth, which sometimes
brought unexpected effects.
However, it was an obstacle for Maid Lotus. Before the training, she had
never touched a real saber. It took a few days for her to learn how to control
her strength and hold it. Therefore, during fighting, she often fell behind.
Sometimes, the gap between their power was so wide that Mama Xue
replaced Maid Lotus and fought with Slave Huan herself.
Consequently, Maid Lotus became more silent and gloomy. Every time Gu
Shenwei arrived at the yard, he saw Maid Lotus practicing the sword
movements. After he left, she continued her training.
Gu Shenwei also made rapid progress on Yin and Yang Strength. Within a
month, he separately arrived at the second level of Yin Strength and Yang
Strength.
It was the first time Gu Shenwei had felt very good since he entered Golden
Roc Fort. The improvement of Kung Fu also boosted his confidence in taking
revenge. Although there was a long way to go, slowly but surely, he was
walking toward the finish line.
He wanted to become the most powerful killer and then retaliate on the
killers.
When Bighead Kingpin's daughter felt bored, she would go to watch Mama
Xue teach them Kung Fu. Of course, Miss Luo still sat behind the folding
screen. She had been forced to quit a lot of habits since she married the
Eighth Young Master. But she insisted on one habit more firmly—she would
not allow males to see her face except for her husband, and females could not
see her real face, either.
It was said that Miss Luo wore several veils when greeting her mother-in-law
every morning. This was quite understandable however, as the tension
between them was palpable.
When Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus practiced Iron Mountain Knife Form,
Miss Luo sometimes commented on their performance. Simultaneously, her
four maidservants would seize the opportunity to recall the happy days in the
past with Miss Luo.
From their chatting, Gu Shenwei learned that Miss Luo did not know Kung
Fu at all. Besides, Iron Mountain was not a real place and it referred to the
site where the bandit gang camped. They also talked about Mama Xue, who
was not actually Miss's wet nurse. She had joined the bandit gang after Miss
Luo was born a few years later.
It was the beginning of autumn in the lunar calendar when people in East
Castle began to recruit killer apprentices. Although the sky was gloomy, the
air at the peaks was fresh due to the first frost the night before.
Mama Xue brought Slave Huan and Maid Lotus to East Castle.
There were so many buildings in East Castle. Walking through the countless
alleys and lanes felt like navigating a maze. If not led by someone familiar
with the layout, outsiders could easily lose their way. Even though Mama
Xue had not been in Golden Roc Fort for a long time, she knew the
complicated paths in East Castle well, which was no surprise to Gu Shenwei.
Just like West Castle, there were numerous yards located in East Castle.
Mama Xue guided them into a small one, which looked a little shabby, like
other places in Golden Roc Fort after more 100 years of wind and rain.
However, the registrar, sitting behind the long table in the wing-room, was
very serious and respectable. It seemed that Golden Roc Fort manifested its
real strength through its people, not its magnificent buildings.
The registrar glanced at the first group of visitors who wanted to sign up. He
had not written anything down yet.
"Which yard?"
"The Eighth Young Master's."
"What's her name?"
"Maid Lotus."
The registrar began to ask lots of questions, for example, what kind of Kung
Fu they had learned and so on. He recorded the answers verbatim. Mama Xue
offered detailed answers for Slave Huan and Mama Xue, who just stood aside
and listened.
Everything went well and Maid Lotus became the first recorded killer
apprentice that year.
At this time, two or three groups of apprentices arrived. The small courtyard
seemed a bit crowded.
Next, it was Gu Shenwei's turn. At first, everything went well also. The
registrar had written Slave Huan's name down, and he would quickly finish
the inquiry after the last few questions. But, when the registrar asked Gu
Shenwei's Kung Fu foundation, a problem arose.
"He has learned Internal Strength?"
"Em… Just a little." It was still Mama Xue who answered, and she frowned.
The registrar lowered his head and crossed out the name "Slave Huan".
He looked up and said, "This slave can't enter East Castle."

Chapter 28 - Hostility
Chapter 28: Hostility
"A little more, just a little bit more." Gu Shenwei was close to taking the
perfect step on his path of revenge. He had prepared well, but failed at the
last moment, falling down from the light of the right path into the darkness of
a sewer.
Someone in the yard had recognized Mama Xue and knew she was a
maidservant serving the Eighth Young Mistress. People started to discuss
them in hushed whispers and sneered at them in a "proper" way. They
gossiped loudly enough to hear each other, but quietly enough that when
Mama Xue turned around, she could not tell who had been talking.
Mama Xue's sallow face was slightly flushed. She did not say anything else
and left Maid Lotus alone. Then, she hastily returned to the Eighth Young
Master's yard with Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei was asked to stay behind in the front yard, and Mama Xue went
to visit Miss Luo. For a while, he faintly heard the Miss rebuking someone in
the back yard.
As he was waiting, several slaves passed by. They were surprised by Slave
Huan's appearance and then they were alarmed upon hearing the Miss's voice
and left quickly without daring to ask what had happened.
Mama Xue walked out from the back yard in a hush after a quarter-hour. She
passed Gu Shenwei without a glance, as if he did not exist.
Anxious and afraid, Gu Shenwei stood in the empty yard alone. Not only had
he lost the opportunity to enter East Castle, but he also lost his value to Miss
Luo and Mama Xue. How would they deal with him? Send him to the Eighth
Young Master directly, or let him go and avenge his father?
If they decided on the former, he would have to try to kill the Eighth Young
Master, Shangguan Nu. This was the crux of his path to revenge. Shangguan
Nu had murdered his parents and siblings with his own hand. He was the
number one villain in Gu Shenwei's mind.
When Mama Xue came back two hours later, Gu Shenwei still could not
come up with a good plan. She stared at the panic-stricken slave for a while,
as if planning something herself. But Gu Shenwei could not figure out what
by her facial expression. Finally, she said, "Pack your luggage and bring it
here. From now on, you work in this yard."
This was at least better than the worst possible outcome. Gu Shenwei thanked
and bowed to Mama Xue. Later, he returned to Firewood Yard. His footsteps
were so heavy, as if he were carrying a big stone on his back. But he became
optimistic again halfway through. Despite his failure to enter East Castle, he
would work in the Eighth Young Master's yard. This meant he would have
the chance to get close to Shangguan Nu and take his revenge.
When learning Kung Fu from Mama Xue in the daytime, Gu Shenwei had
never met the master of this yard, Shangguan Nu, who always went out very
early and returned late. He never liked staying at home.
Rumors had spread widely in Firewood Yard. Slaves became flurried. Seeing
Slave Huan come back alone, they flocked to him and asked lots of questions.
Gu Shenwei told them the truth that he had been rejected. On hearing the
news, the young slaves contorted their faces in disappointment. However,
after learning that Gu Shenwei would work in the Eighth Young Master's
yard, most of them envied him, in that no matter how hard and tiring the
work was in master's yard, it would be much better than staying in Firewood
Yard and serving dying people.
One of the five slaves was missing as they listened to Gu Shenwei's

unfortunate story. When he finished the tale, Slave Lei told him another
unlucky thing—Slave Qian had been taken away by Mama Xue. It was said
that she might recommend him to enter East Castle.
Miss Luo and Mama Xue, who were the outsiders in Golden Roc Fort, had
made a simple mistake. They knew little about the killer system, so they
naively thought a killer-apprentice would be welcomed provided that he
showed proficiency in Kung Fu. Also, the Miss fished the information from
her husband, Shangguan Nu, who was the son of the Supreme King. From the
moment he was born, his name was on the list of killers. Obviously, he had
not attended any killer-selection activities. Hence, Shangguan Nu was not
familiar with the system of selecting killer-apprentices, either.
Thus, Mama Xue diligently helped them practice Kung Fu, but had missed an
important rule of killer-apprentice recruitment in East Castle—one could not
be allowed to practice Internal Strength before entering East Castle.
It was widely said that killers in Golden Roc Fort had their own method of
practicing Internal Strength, which differed from any other martial arts
school.
No matter what the reason was, Yin and Yang Strength, which Gu Shenwei
had practiced around the clock, was now a stumbling block for him,
preventing him to enter East Castle.
When Mama Xue realized her mistake, she immediately discussed the issue
with Miss Luo, and also called in yard-safeguarding killers to help them
better understand all of the specific rules. She found that there was still a
chance to correct the mistake.
In fact, the training for the apprentices in East Castle was identical, regardless
of their Kung Fu foundations. Even if the apprentices did not know anything
about Kung Fu, it did not matter. Killer-apprentices, the killers of the fort
believed, should start anew in their practice of Kung Fu after entering East
Castle.
Therefore, Mama Xue had gone to Firewood Yard and picked up another
person to enter East Castle among the five young slaves. Slave Qian tasted
the manna from heaven in surprise. He dropped the menial work that he was
doing and became a killer-apprentice.
Before Gu Shenwei had returned, the remaining four slaves had gained the
information from others. News was spreading that Mama Xue had lost face in
East Castle. Even people working in the remote Firewood Yard had heard
about it, while Gu Shenwei still did not know.
It proved perfectly just how isolated and unpopular the Eighth Young
Mistress was in Golden Roc Fort. No one had told her the rules of killer-
apprentice recruitment.
This was the so-called Will of the Divine. Gu Shenwei could not accept it.
Neither did the other four slaves. They would rather believe the intelligent
Slave Yao could become a killer and that Slave Huan, student of Kung Fu,
could enter East Castle. But Slave Qian had nothing special. He was an
everyman. For God's sake, how could luck have treated him so kindly? It was
so unfair.
"He won't be able to get through it. Within a month, he'll be carried back,"
Slave Lei said with great confidence. Although killer-apprentices were not
asked to have a Kung Fu foundation from the very beginning, according to
tradition, it was better to have learned it before.
There was nothing more to say. When Slave Qian returned and had
successfully become a killer, the young slaves, including Slave Lei, would be
licking his boots.
Gu Shenwei visited the new overseer again and told him he wanted to pack
his luggage and leave. But he was met with trouble, as Mama Xue could not
decide by herself which yard the slaves should work in, especially Gu
Shenwei, who belonged to Firewood Yard, where serviceable slaves were
becoming fewer and fewer, making it very hard to find someone to replace
him.
However, the problem was resolved quickly. Thoughtful as Mama Xue was,
she had arranged everything. In the name of the Eighth Young Master, she
took Slave Huan away.
Later, Gu Shenwei moved into a small stone house with his bedroll in the
afternoon, next to the Eighth Young Master's back yard. He was to live with a
housemate called "Elderly Zhang". Their responsibility was to take care of
horses and stables.
People in Golden Roc Fort put the prefix "Slave" before the names of the
male slaves, including the groom living with Gu Shenwei. But everyone
called him Elderly Zhang all the same. His nickname was quite unique
among slaves, who were generally called "Slave so-and-so".
Elderly Zhang was considered a working model for all slaves. He was loyal,
hard-working, and earnest. As soon as he finished his work, he went directly
to bed and never gossiped. Gu Shenwei had lived with him for several days,
but they had few conversations.
Gu Shenwei was familiar with horses. When he was a young Master, people
took care of his horses for him. The only thing he cared about was if his own
horse ate well or not, and if its fur was bright. Now he was feeding horses for
his enemy.
He tried not to recall the past, afraid of revealing his true emotion. Gu
Shenwei was in a dangerous place now, so he had to be extremely cautious
when taking actions. Even though Han Shiqi had died, no one could
guarantee that there was not a second subordinate working for Shangguan Nu
who knew he was the Master of the Gu family.
Besides, Slave Qian had entered East Castle and was out of Gu Shenwei's
reach. What if he unintentionally told others the story about the white
handkerchief?
Mama Xue was also a potential threat to him. Gu Shenwei understood why
she asked him to stay in Shangguan Nu's yard. It was easier for her to oversee
him. After all, Miss Luo and Mama Xue had discussed too many secrets in
front of him.
However, Mama Xue rarely appeared. Except for the routine of paying his
respects every morning, he met with her very few times.
Elderly Zhang was a slave of Golden Roc Fort, so he did not need to show his
loyalty to Miss Luo every morning. Gu Shenwei guessed that this was the
reason that Elderly Zhang never chatted with him—they were in different
camps, serving different masters.
Gu Shenwei had witnessed the contradictions among the masters in Golden

Roc Fort and also heard a lot of rumors about it. But his status was too slow
and his power was too weak to pry open the cracks in the mountain that was
Golden Roc Fort.
The only thing he could do was spare no effort in practicing Kung Fu.
It was known to all that Gu Shenwei knew how to practice Internal Strength.
People knew Mama Xue taught him, so it was unnecessary to practice it
secretly. Once he finished feeding and cleaning the Eighth Young Master's
horses, Gu Shenwei would go somewhere to practice Kung Fu. Yin and Yang
Strength, Tiger-taming Fist, Iron Mountain Knife Form… He practiced them
all at least once.
Elderly Zhang was neither for nor against Gu Shenwei's Kung Fu practice.
He only looked upon him coldly as a disinterested bystander. He only had
one "privilege"—leading horses and waiting for his master respectfully at the
front door at night. Every afternoon, he would lead the horses back to the
stables.
Gu Shenwei had no chance of meeting Shangguan Nu. But during these days,
he had learned of Shangguan Nu's living habits.
The Eighth Young Master kept a stable schedule. He went out early and came
back at night no matter if it was rainy or windy. Every five to 10 days, he
would bring one more horse with him. He would come back in three to five
days. At that time, the horses totally changed in appearance, becoming thin
and dirty, and sometimes one of the horses was missing.
Only then did the indifferent Elderly Zhang show his pity. No matter how
late the horses came back, he would wake up Slave Huan, and they would
feed and clean the horses together. Elderly Zhang would hug these exhausted
horses and murmur to them, like a mother anticipating her sons' return.
Gu Shenwei founded himself stuck in his path of revenge. He could not move
forward or step back. He was wasting time with an old man who loved horses
more than human beings. But his enemy just behind the wall was living and
killing people as usual.
Gu Shenwei, the 14-year-old young man, cultivated patience that he had

never before possessed. He knew he had to wait because the Will of the
Divine would guide him.
It had been two months since he became a groom's assistant. Fall went by,
and winter arrived. A fresh layer of snow covered Golden Roc Fort. Finally,
Gu Shenwei had a chance to see Shangguan Nu.
That afternoon, he was practicing Iron Mountain Knife Form, taught by

Mama Xue with a wooden stick. To hide his identity, Gu Shenwei had to
forget the familiar Gu family's sword movements. But he still did not
understand Iron Mountain Knife Form very well.
The practice of Iron Mountain Knife Form focused on the practical

application in fighting. There were 18 ways to move, which were easy to
practice. However, the combinations of these movements were flexible. Gu
Shenwei practiced them without a training partner, which was like practicing
shooting without a target. He still could not understand the quintessence of
Iron Mountain Knife Form, no matter how hard he practiced.
He also inadvertently added some sword movements from the Gu family,

which he was very familiar with and could not entirely abandon.
Gu Shenwei devoted himself to sword training. One day as he was deep in

study, he suddenly detected that someone was observing him from a few
miles away, who seemingly had been against the wall for a while. This
person did not hide intentionally, but nevertheless had gone unnoticed. This
reflected an essential quality that a professional killer should have.
For an instant, Gu Shenwei froze. He had looked forward to approaching his

enemy for a long time. Unexpectedly, his enemy was coming for him now.
It was Shangguan Nu.
Hate and anger were like a flammable catkin, which burned out instantly. All
that remained were the seeds of fear.
"Did the Eighth Young Master find out my true identity?" His legs were
trembling. Their meeting was not like what he had expected and he was not
yet ready for it.
Shangguan Nu glared at the young man in front of him, who seemed a little
depressed with eyes that expressed complicated emotions. He was a little
shocked. His remaining left hand could not help holding onto the handle of
his sword.
Chapter 29 - Changing Masters
Chapter 29: Changing Masters
Shangguan Nu felt strong hostility from the young man's eyes. Intuitively, he
held the hilt tightly. But the slave's hostility had gone fleetingly and now he
looked dull and fearful like most slaves.
An unmatured thought came into Shangguan Nu's mind so quickly that he

could not catch up.
Shangguan Nu returned to his senses. He realized the young man in front him
was the slave brought by his wife's bandit family, who became panicked
because of meeting the master in Golden Roc Fort. He decided to forgive the
innocent young man this time. Shangguan Nu also felt a little pity. This slave,
who would make a good enough killer-apprentice, was well-studied in
swordsmanship and was also full of courage, but East Castle had rejected
him.
"You're Slave Huan, the one rejected by East Castle?"
"Yes, I am."
Gu Shenwei completely lost his strength due to the involuntary muscle

relaxation that could occur after experiencing fear. He kneeled down on one
knee and said reverently, "I didn't know that Master had arrived. Please
forgive me."
Shangguan Nu still had no expression. He was thinking over the young

slave's value. For a while, he nodded at him and then said, "I see…"
Shangguan Nu then left, leaving the confused slave alone.
Over the next few days, Gu Shenwei was afraid because he did not know
what Shangguan Nu would do next. Obviously, this meeting with Shangguan
Nu had not been by chance.
Finally, Mama Xue explained everything to him and took him to meet Miss
Luo.
"Master Nu has sent you away. Tomorrow, you shall go to Star Picking
Academy and serve the young master."
Gu Shenwei's beating heart was finally calm. Shangguan Nu had not

recognized him. He did not say anything, but Miss Luo behind the screen
unleashed her anger. "Crash!" She threw something on the ground.
"Ridiculous. The Meng family has so many servants. Why should my

servants serve them?"
Gu Shenwei had a sudden realization. The Supreme King's wife was Lady
Meng, from the richest family in Jade City. From the first day that Luo
Ningcha had married into Golden Roc Fort, she did not get along with her
mother-in-law, Lady Meng. This fact was well-known to all in Golden Roc
Fort. Even people living at the foot of the mountain had heard about their
feud.
Lady Meng had given birth to fraternal twins for the Supreme King. The
elder son was Shangguan Fei and the little girl was Shangguan Ru. That was
the reason that Miss Luo's maidservant, Little Ru, had to be renamed. It was
disrespectful for a maidservant to have the same name as the masters. People
said that the Supreme King showed partiality to them and everyone in Golden
Roc Fort loved the two young masters. Even Shangguan Nu also wanted to
please his younger brother and sister.
They ordered Gu Shenwei to be an attendant for a young master. He guessed

that the master he would serve might be Master Fei and, suddenly, he became
a little sad. Master Fei's position in Golden Roc Fort perhaps was like the
Young Master in the Gu family. A few months ago, Gu Shenwei was an
innocent young Master, but now he had become a servant. Fate was too hard
to predict.
Gu Shenwei kneeled on the ground in silence. Mama Xue went to Miss Luo
and comforted her.
She said, "Master must have his own reason. If he stays here, Slave Huan will
be idle. Miss, you're a wife now, better be patient."
"But… I can't stand it. These ladies will feign carelessness and talk about it
just to embarrass me."
"What goes around comes around. We're isolated and helpless here at
present. When Bighead Kingpin comes, all the problems will be solved."
"When will my father visit me? It has been such a long time since I married
the Eight Young Master. He doesn't remember me."
Miss Luo continued to release her grievances into the room, and then she
broke something again. The blind maid squatted and swept up the fragments
on the floor. For no reason, Miss Luo kicked her as she cleaned. "Ow!" She
made a sound, but quickly swallowed it down.
This was strange. It seemed the more Miss Luo abused Maid Cui, the more
she gained the Miss's trust. Now, she had now served Miss Luo for more time
than the four maidservants "Chen, Xin, Sui, and Yi".
Mama Xue continued to comfort the Miss in a soft voice. But she could not
shake the shame that she had suffered, so she commanded Slave Huan, who
was kneeling down outside, "You must swear to me that I alone will be your
master, no matter who you serve."
Gu Shenwei said firmly, "Slave Huan swears to God. Today, I'm the slave
serving Miss Luo and Mama Xue. I'll never betray them. If Miss needs me,
I'll appear immediately. If someday I break my vow, I shall be punished by
heaven and go to hell in the afterlife."
If Miss Luo wanted to hear more vows, he could swear to them in thousands
of ways without any hesitation. She always demanded that slaves pledge their
allegiance to her every four or five days. He had become accustomed to it.
Miss Luo snorted, seemingly dissatisfied with his vow. She added, "If I hear
that you are supporting the masters from the Meng family, you will be
punished by my husband. You know that he's willing to kill the son of Yang-
whoever from the Gu family."
Miss Luo still remembered Slave Huan's secret. She was not so stupid.
Then, Gu Shenwei put forth three different versions of his vow to show his
"loyalty". Finally, Miss Luo was a little satisfied, but she made another
unexpected request.
"Slave Huan, as you enter in Star Picking Academy, I ask you to take the
opportunity to kill Shangguan Fei. I'll make Lady Meng suffer for the rest of
her lifetime."
Gu Shenwei was suddenly stunned. Of course, it was not because of his

kindness. People surnamed Shangguan in Golden Roc Fort were all on his
revenge list. However, if he murdered the Supreme King's son, he would
certainly head to his doom.
"Miss!" Mama Xue shouted. Apparently, she did not approve of her plan.
However, Miss Luo was very excited about her plan. She paced behind the
screen and ignored Mama Xue's words. She continued, "To start with, you
need to win his trust. Later, murder him stealthily. I believe you can succeed
due to your good Kung Fu and intelligence. Most of all, you must do it
secretly. Once you succeed, my father will give bountiful rewards to you.
Additionally, I'll help you find out who murdered your father, and let you
carry out your sentence on him."
The more he heard, the more surprised he was. This woman was totally
insane. Her decision would kill him and also risked her own life. Once Gu
Shenwei murdered Shangguan Yu and Shangguan Fei, even though she was
Bighead Kingpin's daughter, she could not survive.
Gu Shenwei did not dare to say anything. Miss Luo suddenly stopped her
pacing and said harshly, "Why don't you speak? How dare you violate my
order!"
Gu Shenwei said, "I'll do as you've ordered."
"Go and do it within three days."
"I'll try my best."
Mama Xue persuaded Miss Luo in a low voice. After a while, the Miss raised
her tone and spoke loudly, "I have made up my mind. I'm not worried about it
and I won't regret my decision."
Mama Xue came out from behind the screen and said, "Follow me." Usually,
her face did not betray her true feelings, but now Mama Xue seemed a little
angry. After taking Slave Huan out of the room, she stopped in the front yard
and turned to look at him.
"You know what you should do, right?"
"Of course, I'm loyal to Miss Luo. But I'll also listen to Mama Xue's
instruction because all the things that Mama Xue planned are good for Miss
Luo."
Mama Xue said, "Humph. You've learned the skills necessary to deal with
people from Slave Yao. Very good. I don't know what your plan is. But you
should spare no effort in pleasing Shangguan Fei from tomorrow on, and let
him like you and trust you. It's more important than becoming a killer in East
Castle. I'll explain to Miss. Don't worry. Even though you're Shangguan Fei's
servant now, you still should live here, understand?"
"Yes. I will try my best to cater to Shangguan Fei."
"You must succeed. If Shangguan Fei likes you, your status in Golden Roc
Fort will be improved. If not, I'll personally deliver you to your dead father."
Mama Xue seemed serious, she was not the sort of person to tell jokes. Then
Gu Shenwei returned to his room, wondering about what benefits Mama Xue
could gain by pleasing Master Fei. She seemed to have a plan that could
make him become a killer and also help him gain Master Fei's trust.
No matter what her purpose was, her plan coincided with Gu Shenwei's
revenge. He should please Shangguan Fei, which was like catching a sheep in
a flock. Perhaps he could take advantage of him. At least, once they painted
him into a corner, Gu Shenwei could kill Master Fei, adding an important
character to his list of completed revenge.
After he made up his mind, Gu Shenwei slept very tight. Even Elderly
Zhang's snoring did not bother him this night.
The next morning, before the greeting ceremony to Miss Luo started, Mama
Xue brought Gu Shenwei to Star Picking Academy.
Situated in West Castle, Star Picking Academy was the learning hall in Gold
Roc Fort, close to the Inner Residence and far from Heart Cleansing Yard
and Firewood Yard. All the Shangguan family's children studied here. On the
way to Star Picking Academy, there were three gates guarded by people to
check the passersby's waist tokens. If not introduced by Mama Xue, Gu
Shenwei could not even enter the first gate.
Outside of the learning hall, slaves were waiting for their masters, who had
already gone in to study. They stamped their feet and blew on their fingers to
keep warm in the cold wind while chatting with each other.
Shangguan Fei's leader-servant was a middle-aged man in his 30s who was
the eldest servant among them, called Slave Qing. He looked kind and smart.
Once meeting Mama Xue, he recognized her and politely accepted Slave
Huan. Also, he gave Slave Huan a waist token. But after Mama Xue left, his
smile disappeared immediately.
He said coldly, "Come here early tomorrow. Don't let your master wait for
you. Go and stand there."
Slave Qing pointed to the end of the slaves' line. Some young slaves had
already waited there, huddled up with swollen, bruised faces. They were
likely beaten recently.
No one talked to Slave Huan, the newcomer, so he just stood and heard them
gossiping about their masters.
There were a dozen masters studying in the learning hall. Except for the
Supreme King's children, the descendants of their relatives also were
educated here. People could tell the master's status from their servant's
behavior. Slave Qing did not have a high position, but he stood closest to the
door and raised topics of conversation. The other servants also tried to please
him.
The topics were always about the rumors of their masters. The most frequent
master mentioned by them was the Ninth Young Master. It was said that the
master was very naughty and always screwed things up. But from their
gossip, people showed their preference for this young master. They were
even proud of meeting or talking to the ninth child of the Supreme King.
An hour later, a loud noise came from the school. It seemed that people were
fighting in the room, while Slave Qing and other slaves did not care at all.
They exchanged a knowing look with each other.
"The masters are taking a break. But the Ninth Young Master is playing
games again," someone said.
Gu Shenwei suspected the word "playing" here might have a different

meaning because he heard someone was screaming in the hall.
He was trying to accustom himself to the new environment. Just then, the
gate opened and someone was pushed outside as a voice bellowed out, "Next
one."
The young slave was probably 14 or 15 years old. He staggered and fell
directly into Slave Qing's arms. Slave Qing frowned and pushed him away,
waved to the other slaves standing farthest away, and said, "Come here!"
Gu Shenwei did not understand what was going on. The other servants
around him pushed him into the room together.
The slaves' numerous arms were like the feet of a giant centipede, sending Gu
Shenwei into the room as if they were sending prey to their hungry masters.
Slave Qing looked at him hesitantly, but the masters inside the room urged
him again. He had to seize the newcomer's shoulders and cram him through
the crack of the door, saying quickly, "Be cautious…"
Chapter 30 - Ten Movements
Chapter 30: Ten Movements
Dozens of people were huddled in the school, including slaves and masters.
They formed a circle, which seemed crowded in this small yard.
As he came in, Guo Shenwei was pushed into the circle. The pupils said
excitedly, "Here he comes!" and, "How many rounds can he hold on?"
As they let go of him, he was finally freed. He stood alone and gazed in
confusion at the boy on the other side. His heart was beating heavily.
When he had seen Bighead Kingpin's face, he was shocked that someone
could look so frightening. Now a similar idea crossed his mind, "How can
someone look so delicate and beautiful?"
He seemed to be around 10 years old. His skin was bright white, as if he had
been carved out of a piece of precious jade. His face was pink because of too
much exercise, resembling two drops of blood in clear water. His jet-black
eyes were large like an infant's, curious, and desired to control everything. He
appeared to disdain the crowd and the new opponent with his nose up.
Gu Shenwei was sensible. He had met many children of the nobles in the
Central Plains before, but now he was transfixed there, acting like a rustic
boy who happened to get an opportunity to enter into the palace. He did not
come to his senses until the crowd burst into laughter, and then he
immediately knelt down and drooped his head with a flushed face.
"Slave Huan wishes you peace, young master."
They stopped laughing abruptly. "I'm not young." The voice spoke clearly
and furiously and stressed the word "young".
Gu Shenwei looked up in surprise. He had assumed that the youth in men's
wear surrounded by people had to be the ninth child of the Shangguan family,
Shangguan Fei. Now he realized that such a gorgeous creature could not be a
boy.
His mind was racing. If this was not Shangguan Fei, then it must be
Shangguan Ru. "How should I address her? My lady? She may not like that
title as she is in men's wear."
Gu Shenwei was in a daze again. Apparently, there were some subtle rules in
the school, but he had been here less than half a day, so nobody had told him
yet.
Shangguan Ru raised her eyebrows and the laughter came again. The
audience was glad to watch the fun.
Gu Shenwei looked around for help. Then he got the sign from a girl behind
Shangguan Ru, who was also in men's wear. She was the same age as him
with a skinny figure, but very tall, almost the tallest one in the hall. She
mouthed the words incessantly: "Ninth Young Master!"
"Ninth Young Master! Slave Huan wishes you peace, my Ninth Young
Master."
Shangguan Ru grinned, yet another boy standing beside the tall girl said
angrily, "Look what a slave my eighth brother brought me! He can't even
recognize his own master."
This child looked very similar to Shangguan Ru, but more heroic. There was
no doubt that he was Shangguan Fei, Slave Huan's real master.
"Shangguan Fei is the elder brother of the twins, so Shangguan Ru must be

the younger one, who is the Tenth Young Master. Why did the girl tell me to
address her as Ninth Young Master?"
Gu Shenwei could not make sense of it. He had received orders to flatter the
ninth child, but unfortunately, he had offended both of them at the very first
meeting.
The tall girl probably also came from the fort, because Shangguan Ru and she
were the only two girls in this group of boys. Actually, she held the highest
position. She opened her arms, keeping Shangguan Fei behind her, shouting,
"Come on! This is a new round. 10 moves. I bet this boy will definitely fall
down within 10 moves."
The pupils placed their bets one after another. Some placed their bets on
Shangguan Ru, some on the new slave.
Gu Shenwei understood now that he was going to compete with Shangguan

Ru. Needless to say, he had to lose. Furthermore, he should lose the game
clumsily, because she was a cute little girl.
However, it was not quite as simple as that. Shangguan Fei did not bet on his
sister. Instead, he ran over to Gu Shenwei's side and said, "You can't fall in
10 moves, or I will call my eighth brother to teach you a lesson."
Gu Shenwei was in a bind. Slave Qing surely knew how to deal with this
dilemma, but he could not help Slave Huan from outside the door.
Shangguan Ru was becoming impatient. She squared up and roared, "Get out
of the way!"
The crowd stepped aside. While Gu Shenwei was not even ready, Shangguan
Ru sprang from the opposite side, flying at him with a kick toward his face.
This was not a move one would expect from a 10-year-old girl. The power
and the action were both threatening. It appeared that the girl was on a level
that even an experienced adult could not easily reach.
Gu Shenwei was thinking of hiding his strength before this move. Now he
knew he had to employ all his skills to evade her foot.
Shangguan Ru kept her moves coming continuously, each one just as

decisive and brave, in contrast to what her appearance would suggest.
Gu Shenwei had no time to think, as he was busy protecting himself by

twisting and turning. Hand and foot combat was not his strong point; the
Tiger-taming Fist he had learned was hard-edged, which was not well-suited
to block the girl's attacks. He dared not use the hard moves, so he continued
to appear weak and vulnerable.
After five or six moves, the sounds of chanting became louder, coming from
all sides. The tall girl and Shangguan Fei shouted themselves hoarse.
Right at the 10th move, Shangguan Ru was at her most ruthless. She played a
trick, pretending to turn back to keep her distance and then suddenly bending
backward to land a kick.
This was unexpected. Though Gu Shenwei could have avoided it, he

hesitated for a second whether he should or not. His task was to win
Shangguan Fei's favor, yet this girl seemed more like the winner of all the
favor.
At this very second, Shangguan Ru's feet kicked him solidly. Gu Shenwei's
body flew backward, bumping into a pupil who was cheering aloud.
The pupil was unprepared, but luckily, he was strong. Yelling and retreating
several steps, he was held up by others. Gu Shenwei took the chance to
bounce up and then staggered in another direction, but he was pushed yet
again.
"It was still in 10 moves and he did not fall. We win!"
Shangguan Fei shouted aloud, stepping out from behind Gu Shenwei.
"Don't be so shameless. He almost fell down. You pushed him up."
The tall girl stepped forward, hands on her hips, and clamored. She had to be
the Supreme King's daughter because she would not yield an inch.
The two groups began to quarrel. Shangguan Ru pointed at Gu Shenwei, who

had said nothing up to this point. "Admit that you were pushed up by others."
Shangguan Fei gave his order loudly near Gu Shenwei's ear, "You managed
to stand firm on your own, didn't you?"
Going around in a circle, Gu Shenwei was once again in a bind. All he could
do was equivocate.
Shangguan Ru pushed the people aside and faced Gu Shenwei directly.

"What, you're not giving up?" Her face was red with anger.
They were so close that Gu Shenwei could feel her breathing. He thought it
was best not to contradict her. "I…"
At that moment, someone finally spoke, saving him from his dilemma.
"Everyone go back to the school."
It was a majestic teacher, hands held at his back, gazing coldly at the pupils.
It worked. Dozens of pupils, including Shangguang Fei, along with their

study companions were so frightened that they immediately shut up and
turned back, trotting back to the school.
Shangguan Ru stayed, staring angrily at the insensitive Slave Huan and

thinking, "How dare you? You lost!"
"Go back!" the teacher repeated. A man could not be a teacher in Golden Roc
Fort if he had no influence.
Shangguan Ru's face was getting more and more red, like a jade cup filled
with wine. But she could not disobey the order. So she went back, but
suddenly she turned around and grabbed the ear of Slave Huan, twisting it
brutally.
In this way, the Supreme King's most beloved daughter left a mark on Gu
Shenwei's body. The shadow in his mind stayed as the pain receded.
The moment Slave Huan walked out of the hall, he was immediately rebuked
by Slave Qing, who had been listening outside the entire time. He found
Slave Huan to be utterly incapable, having offended both of the children.
"You could have just called them master, why did you call her young master?
The 'young master' we mentioned in private was the young lady, Shangguan
Ru. When in the Ninth Young Master's presence, it means Shangguan Fei.
The young master would surely take offense hearing you call the lady 'Ninth
Young Master'."
Slave Qing went on talking about a series of things, which no one could
understand except himself. "It's just a name, why bother so much?" Gu
Shenwei despised him.
As Slave Qing explained, Shangguan Ru was raised up as if she were a son,

and became more ambitious and more like a boy than her elder brother,
Shangguan Fei. She always wanted to rank higher than him, so she denied
that she was a younger sister, making their titles confusing.
The tall girl was not the Supreme King's own daughter, either. She was the
twins' cousin, and she was named Shangguan Yushi. She was Shangguan
Ru's best friend and also had a boy's temperament.
"You should call her 'Master Yu' instead of 'Miss', or you may lose your life,
instead of just a single ear."
"The truth that she's a Miss cannot be changed, even if I call her 'Master'.
She's cruel enough to kill someone because of this tiny mistake." Gu Shenwei
felt contempt for the discipline again.
The children of the Shangguan family read in the morning and learned
martial arts in the afternoon. At noon, they dispersed. The Misses'
companions were numerous, so Slave Qing stayed with some of them and let
the others leave.
Gu Shenwei was not chosen, so he went back to Mama Xue's alone.
After hearing about the first day's experience, Mama Xue rebuked him again
that he had failed to flatter the master. But she avoided the most important
question, just as Slave Qing had—If the twins had conflicting opinions, who
should Slave Huan side with?
Gu Shenwei had to figure that out on his own.
He lay down in the stone house to think about the problem when Elderly
Zhang went to feed the horses. It had always been a difficult task for him, for
he was unlike Slave Yao, who was a born slave and had the instinct to flatter.
Though he was not the master of the Gu family, he could not accept that he
was "Slave Huan".
He had known nothing about flattery since he was born, except for being
flattered.
Gu Shenwei suddenly sat up. It was true that he did not know the rules of
slaves, but he knew the master's thoughts. He knew what kind of slaves could
make the master happy. He was experienced in this part.
He made a bold decision.

Chapter 31 - Sparring
Chapter 31: Sparring
Early in the morning on the next day, Gu Shenwei ran to the gate of the
school. Since he had an attendant-level waist token, he did not need Mama
Xue to lead him. He thought Mama Xue would explain his absence when the
slaves gave their regards to the Miss.
Gu Shenwei was the first to arrive. Slave Qing nodded to him, showing his
satisfaction.
Slave Qing and the others were members of the outside attendants, who could
not enter the Inner Residence. They were primarily responsible for holding
various objects and only bringing them inside when the masters called for
them. Otherwise, they stayed outside, as the twins had other personal servants
to stay near them.
The twins came into the hall with Shangguan Yushi, accompanied by a
retinue. Gu Shenwei could not see as he was pushed from behind.
Two children came much earlier than usual that day, which surprised Slave
Qing. He soon heard the order come from the hall. "Send the guy from
yesterday in here!"
Slave Qing shook his head. He grabbed Slave Huan from the crowd and
pushed him into the school. "You asked for this."
There were already some pupils out there, circled up as they had been the
previous day. They formed a gap to let "the guy from yesterday" in.
The twins stood shoulder to shoulder, ignoring each other. Shangguan Yushi,
who was wearing clothing that was too short for her, spoke to Gu Shenwei.
"Yield to Master Ru, or fight again. Make a decision."
Shangguan Fei's mouth was shut by his sister as soon as he opened it to

speak.
More and more pupils began making their way toward the scene, many of
whom could not even enter through the gate, so they stayed to watch from the
yard.
"I will not yield," said Gu Shenwei.
The pupils were frozen, all of them staring in surprise at the new slave.
"Doesn't he see the sparring boys out there? Doesn't he see their shivering,
bruised bodies?"
"You, you won't yield? You want another fight? You…" Shangguan Yushi,
astonished, seemed at a loss for words.
Shangguan Fei pushed away his sister's hand, shouting gladly, "What a good
slave!"
Shangguan Ru raised her hand proudly, "So what? 10 moves again. And this
time, you won't be able to get up afterward!"
Gu Shenwei decided not to employ his humble tactics this time. He would
not use the methods of a slave. Rather, he would do exactly the opposite and
win the respect and trust of the twins with his toughness.
He knew all too well the inner thoughts of those children. When he had been
the master, his favorite game had been to compete with people. Which manor
servant would win his heart? It had always been the ones who would put
forth their full effort, never those who yielded immediately and kowtowed.
He used to have many attendants, but in the end, he had only kept Ming
Xiang, who was the worst tempered of all of them and loved to quarrel with
him. Actually, when a man already had plenty of slaves, what he needed most
was a friend that he could call his equal.
Yet, even that equality had been fake.

This mindset, which once belonged to Gu Shenwei, was now the weakness of
the twins.
Gu Shenwei posed and said, "Please enlighten me."
He had not attacked her at all the day before. Now, it was the time to show
them what he was really capable of.
The pupils were excited about the show. A slave dared to speak to Shangguan
Ru with a Jianghu tone? Slave Qing heard it clearly from outside and grew
anxious, regretting that he could not pull him out and beat him at once.
Shangguan Yushi was more confused and did not even react; Shangguan Fei
was feeling proud of the new slave's behavior.
Shangguan Ru blushed at first, and then raised her head even higher and said,
"Don't be so certain. We'll have to see what happens in the arena."
In this second battle, the two exchanged more than a hundred moves. The
sound of support for each side could be heard in almost half the fort. There
was no more mention of "10 moves". Now they only wanted to know who
was better—the arrogant and domineering Shangguan Ru, or the recklessly
bold slave.
Indeed, this fight was quite unlike the half-real pseudo-competition from
before, Shangguan Ru was cruel, yet the slave was not timid, bravely using
the Tiger-taming Fist. The pupils close to them had to dodge quickly to avoid
becoming an unintentional victim of a foot or fist.
Slave Qing stood totally astonished, watching from the gate. "Does this slave
know he will court disaster for himself and many others?" Finally, he
concluded that anyone brought by a bandit's daughter was simply
uncultivated.
Gu Shenwei did try his utmost in fists and feet, even in the Baguazhang
Technique he had learned at home. But he still conserved his efforts, using
half the Yin and Yang Strength, the "equality" was limited. He was still not
supposed to hurt this false "master".
But Shangguan Ru was no ordinary competitor, even as a girl who was three
or four years younger, she was a skilled fighter, and more practiced in
Chinese boxing than him. After more than a hundred moves, she had shown
no less than five kinds of Kung Fu, which made Gu Shenwei have to defend
instead of attack. He could barely hold it up, even after bringing out all of his
Yin and Yang Strength.
Once again, the fight was put to a stop by the majestic teacher, saving Gu
Shenwei from the predicament.
Those two were fighting so intensely and the crowd was watching so intently
that no one heard the teacher speak. He blushed deeply and waved his ruler,
heavily smacking the necks of several students to drag them back to reality.
Embarrassed, they ran to the school rapidly.
Gu Shenwei was completely exhausted. He had not been so tired even after
carrying the corpses.
Shangguan Ru was the same, sweat running down her face, her hair a mess.
She tried to utter some Jianghu jargon, but was only able to grunt heavily.
Finally, Shangguan Yushi managed to say, "We'll see." Then she took a hold
of Shangguan Ru, and they walked into the school.
Shangguan Fei was much timider than her. He had run immediately after
seeing the teacher lose his temper, giving no regard to the slave who had
made him proud.
Gu Shenwei held his knees and grunted heavily. His sweat dropped to the
ground and formed many tiny craters in the snow, and then his neck was
abruptly smacked without warning.
"Get out!"
The teacher wore his anger on his face. This was his domain, the very last
territory where gentility was kept, yet it had been destroyed by an unknown
slave.
The furious Slave Qing was waiting for him as well. He took two full hours
to explain to Gu Shenwei just how outrageous his actions had been, and how
he had kicked up a breeze not only for himself but also for those pupils who
would be punished.
"Tearing you into pieces is not enough payment for a single hair dropped
from the tiny Miss's body."
In his hurried disposition, Slave Qing had called Shangguan Ru "the tiny
Miss", which was her true identity in people's eyes.
Gu Shenwei said nothing except, "Yes." Shangguan Ru had surely dropped

countless hairs in this fight, but he knew that she was not injured at all. On
the contrary, she had shown no mercy. His face was covered with bruises,
and even more, spotted his body.
Slave Qing made the decision to send Slave Huan back, even though he
might offend the Eighth Young Master.
But he wavered in his resolution after the pupils were dismissed at noon,
suddenly seeing something shocking.
Just as usual, the twins and Shangguan Yushi walked out of the gate at the
head. Shangguan Ru stood in the middle with her hair fixed and breathing
calmed. She stopped and pointed to Slave Huan and said, "He will attend me
from now on."
Slave Qing was too shocked to say anything. Shangguan Fei said in an
astonished tone, "Well, Eighth Brother gave him to me."
"Yes. But now I want him, so he is mine."
And then Shangguan Ru left proudly with her confidant, with Shangguan Fei
following, nagging about his ownership of Slave Huan. But everyone knew
that he would lose the argument to his sister in the end.
Though he had no idea what to say, Slave Qing had to make something up.
He reminded Slave Huan that this was unexpected, and that this kind of
situation could end even more badly. He told Slave Huan that he should find
an opportunity to admit defeat, or he would face a terrible fate.
Once Gu Shenwei got rid of him, the twins had already gone far away.
The plan did not go as he wished. Gu Shenwei had wanted to impress Young
Master Shangguan Fei, yet Shangguan Ru had incorporated him.
To add to his uneasiness, when Mama Xue heard his reports, she only
sneered, nothing more.
Gu Shenwei soon found out how tough it was to goof around with the ninth
child. She treated him like an equivalent opponent and fought with him at
least once a day—in the hall, on the road, outside the yard, whenever she
wanted. Shangguan Yushi and Shangguan Fei sometimes fought with him as
well.
Shangguan Ru was the daughter of the Supreme King and had been trained
by many famous teachers, not to mention that she was a smart and ambitious
girl. After only a few days, Gu Shenwei found that he had to pull out all of
his strength to keep up with her.
Shangguan Yushi was a shrewd girl, and she appeared to be of about equal
skill as Shangguan Ru, but after some fights with Gu Shenwei, her hidden
power revealed itself, and Gu Shenwei was certain that she was the stronger
fighter.
Though Shangguan Fei was a boy, his Kung Fu skills were middling and he
had a bad temper. Gu Shenwei could only deal with him patiently, trying not
to fight with him.
But Gu Shenwei did not have an opportunity to flatter them further. In their
eyes, Gu Shenwei was nobody but a slave who could hold his own in a fight.
There was no "equality".
Gu Shenwei knew only two fist skills, so he was limited even if he trained
hard. He wanted to progress but he did not want to beg. Of course, he could
beg nothing from Mama Xue. So he reported to her every day about how
rapid Shangguan Ru progressed and how she loved fighting, and after a
month, Mama Xue was finally convinced to teach him "Ruyi Palm".
Mama Xue said that fists and feet were the foundation, while blades and
swords were the marks of a killer. But Slave Huan's opponent was the
daughter of the Supreme King, and therefore Mama Xue would only
strengthen his foundation instead of teaching him skills of the blade or
improving his Internal Strength by external force.
The Ruyi Palm combined both attack and defense. It was more complex and
profound than the Tiger-taming Fist. Gu Shenwei took 10 days to learn it, and
then learned another Grappling Technique and leg skill. He had actually
become the apprentice of Mama Xue now, yet they kept a cold relationship
like before. Mama Xue told nothing about her real motivation.
As Gu Shenwei's Kung Fu was growing stronger, Shangguan Ru kept it up.

Those two chasing each other, from the autumn to the winter. It was not until
the Spring Festival was about to arrive that Gu Shenwei was finally able to
get some time to rest, for the twins seldom went to the school.
Gu Shenwei thought he could go on in this way. He was gradually getting

ahold of the twins and using them to go deeper into the fort. But what
happened in December caused him to reflect on being a killer.
In recent days, Golden Roc Fort, where people made a job of killing, was
decorated with lanterns and streamers, and those killers were ready to
celebrate the New Year like ordinary people. No one suspected that someone
would be so arrogant as to cross Jade City openly, walk uphill, go through the
stone bridge connecting the natural moat, erect his flag, arrange his blades
and swords, and challenge the Supreme King.
Chapter 32 - The Challenge
Chapter 32: The Challenge
The New Year holiday was less than a month away and the ground was
completely covered with a thick layer of snow, while the snowflakes were
flying in the sky slowly and gently. It seemed as if it might never end.
Irregular sounds of reading out loud came from school. Slave Qing and others
waited outside the doors, covered their ears, and stamped about to keep
warm.
"The two masters won't come here today, it's too cold," Slave Qing said
hopefully. Normally, if they missed the early class, they would not come, so
they could go out and found a place to drink wine.
But today was not a normal day. A bunch of kids ran over rapidly, no doubt
they had to be led by the twins, for there would be no one else so bold in
Golden Roc Fort.
As expected, Shangguan Ru was in the lead, followed by Shangguan Yushi

and Shangguan Fei, and then the young personal attendants.
"Follow me."
Shangguan Ru ordered loudly and did not stop. She did not want to be
scolded by the teacher who was ruthless toward anyone.
More than half of the attendants belonged to the twins, who were bored and
freezing, so they followed her immediately under her order. Only the steady-
going Slave Qing hesitated, and asked, "Why?"
"There are people coming to challenge. You don't want to see?"

Shangguan Ru said and ran away. The listeners were all shocked and picked
up their pace without hesitation. Golden Roc Fort was not an ordinary place
and challenges did not come often. And they could run to the gate to see what
happened if they were with the twins.
Slave Qing also followed even though he did not believe it. "It might be
another trick by the two girls." He was born in the fort, yet he had not heard
of a challenge from the outside in all his years.
The other slaves did not dare to leave without their masters' permission, so
they decided to convince their masters after the class to watch the fun
afterward.
Gu Shenwei was fast, and he followed them very closely. After several
months of experience, he was now much more mature than his peers and
much more thoughtful. "People challenging the fort is very unusual as it is
extremely difficult for an outsider to even cross the entire Jade City and
climb to the supreme peak, not to mention challenge Golden Roc Fort."
There were already several men outside the gate. The twins learned of the
news from the Inner Residence, so they arrived on time, just before the fight.
Three challengers, a tall, robust old man and two young monks, stood on the
opposite of the gate. They were less than a hundred strides from the crowd,
with the stone bridge right behind them.
The old man must have been very commanding and majestic when he was
young. He was a head taller than the monks, with broad shoulders and
scraggly hair. He looked like a silent lion. But he was old now, leaving only a
skeleton of the man he once was. No matter how giant the skeleton was, it
could not offer endless strength as it once did.
The two monks were humble. They kept their fingers interlocked and
lowered their eyebrows. They looked more like a couple of irresponsible
practitioners coming here to meditate, instead of the old man's servants or
friends.
The old man held a nearly-20-foot-high flag lengthwise, where a line was
written: "The blade won't be laid down unless the hatred is paid off." In his
right hand, there was a weapon rack, with a lance and a blade on it.
"What? An old man and two monks? How did the slaves let them get up
here?"
Shangguan Fei and the attendants were disappointed upon seeing these
challengers. They thought the challenger had to be coming with great
momentum, yet they were only three common people, who would be beaten
down if they rushed forward together.
Shangguan Ru observed them thoroughly. She sneered and said, "Are you a
fool? Are you the real son of the Lord? Look at the flag."
Shangguan Fei flushed with shame for being mocked and satirized by his
cousin. He mumbled and observed the flag, as well as others, and the laughter
died away. "Whoa…"
The flagpole was made of common wood and could stand upright in the
ground without anyone holding it. As the cold wind blew, it stood still as the
pole's end was deeply inserted into the ground.
The empty ground was paved with giant stones. It was to the point that no
dirt or earth existed. The flag holder had to be not only robust but also have a
strong Internal Strength to insert it over a foot in the stone.
"So what? A common killer in our fort could finish them."
Shangguan Fei was still being stubborn. Shangguan Yushi ignored him as she
held Shangguan Ru's hand and looked around the fort. As the challengers had
already prepared, Golden Roc Fort should now send someone to clear the
place.
Meanwhile, Gu Shenwei was standing behind them. He turned around at this

moment, so no one could see the tears shed from his eyes.
The tears were both unrelated to the wind and the challengers. They were
toward the lance and the blade as they were clearly the style of the Gu family.
No doubt the old man was closely connected to the Gu family.
Almost every country's army was equipped with standardized blades and
lances. However, things were different in Wulin. Every family or school had
their own unique arms, so it was a way to identify the family or school. The
Gu family's lance was 16 feet in length and this might be the longest lance.
Its blade was three feet long, shorter than most of the blades.
Though Gu Shenwei gave only a glance at the weapons, he could still

identify that the old man was using his family's arms. He had not learned the
martial arts very well, but he was all too familiar with those two weapons to
make any mistake.
It nearly destroyed his mind, which had struggled and suffered for several
months. He used to think he was the only survivor of the Gu family, with all
the burden of revenge on his shoulders. Now he saw a man coming to avenge
his relatives, how could he calm down with such excitement happening
before him? He almost lost control.
What was lucky was that no one noticed him. They were all looking around,
watching either the challengers or the road that led to the fort. They wanted to
know who would come out and kill these three.
Gloden Roc Fort had not been intruded upon for a hundred years, as the
killers of the fort had not been challenged by anyone all over the world.
Though the masters and the slaves were only teenagers, they never doubted
that, mysterious or not, this old man was dead.
People walked out of the fort endlessly. But they were merely the audience,
instead of the killers. It appeared that the Supreme King did not care about
the challengers, and he neither treated them seriously nor did he close the
entrances or exits.
"Who dares to challenge?" Everyone questioned that in the first place.
"Aren't those two monks the mages of the Four Truths Temple? We usually
donated more than any other families. Why can't they be satisfied, and go on
stealing?"
Gu Shenwei never heard of the "Four Truths Temple" so he could not care
less. The only thing he wanted to know was the identity of the old man.
The fort did not send its killer until 15 minutes later. Even through the noise
and excitement of the crowd, the identity of the old man was revealed.
"Marshal Yang. He's Marshal Yang."
"A marshal of what? An army of two monks? Then I must be the grand
marshal."
The teenagers were laughing at the strange name while Gu Shenwei was once
again shocked. "So there actually is a 'Marshal Yang'."
On the day his whole family was murdered, Gu Lun asked the loyal old
servant, Yang Zheng, to take his son and daughter away. And after Yang
Zheng defeated the chasing enemies on the road, he knew it would not end
well, so he let the little master wear the young personal attendant's clothes,
and told him to find "Marshal Yang" in Shu-lik City to ask for reinforcement.
Gu Shenwei thought "Marshal Yang" was someone Yang Zheng made up, so
he returned when he was only halfway. However, a series of accidents
happened that led him to Gloden Roc Fort.
If he had ridden his horse into Shu-lik City, maybe he would now be standing
together with Marshal Yang facing Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei could not be more remorseful. He had suffered so much

humiliation that he never thought he would have, and in the end, he had
chosen the wrong path.
"What happened?"
Shangguan Ru asked curiously, as she noticed the strange expression on

Slave Huan's face.
"It's nothing. It's just the wind." Gu Shenwei wiped his tears hastily. He could
not reveal his identity now. Even if Marshal Yang could defeat the Supreme
King, he should use another identity and find another opportunity to meet
him, instead of a slave's.
"He's frightened," Shangguan Yushi glanced at Slave Huan and said. She did
not like Slave Huan at all. It could be said that she did not like anyone except
for Shangguan Ru.
A team of killers with black clothes and red belts finally came from Golden
Roc Fort. They walked along the noisy teenagers, serious and cold, not
bowing to the masters as usual.
"So many killers!" someone cried out. The killers were the elite and
backbone of Golden Roc Fort. People could barely see a group of three to
five killers, however, this group combined more than 20 killers. Even the
toughest task could be finished by this amount of strength.
"The old man and the monks are dead."
"So it seems."
The crowd thought these killers would attack the challengers altogether, as
they were accustomed to the fact that the majority was greater than the
minority. After all, they lived in Golden Roc Fort.
Unfortunately, they were wrong this time. The killers stopped 20 strides away
from Marshal Yang and half-circled around him. After that, a killer went
forward, pulled out his narrow saber and asked for a solo fight.
This was surely not from the "rules" of Golden Roc Fort and yet it made the
crowd even more excited. No matter what they learned when they were
young, or what belief they would hold in the future, at this moment, they
worshipped the strongest force.
"That's Ye Sheng. He belongs to the Fifth Young Master."
Someone recognized the first killer.
Gu Shenwei actually knew the killer. He was the one who finished the
swordsman from the Great Snowmountain, Long Feidu, in the T-junction, but
the killer had refused to reveal his name.
Gu Shenwei wanted to warn Martial Yang that Ye Sheng was good with
hidden weapons. Long Feidu died because of his use of knockout powder or a
similar weapon.
But he could not and did not dare to speak. He could only expect that Martial
Yang was better and smarter than Long Feidu and knew such brazen methods
and had already prepared for them.
Chapter 33 - One move
Chapter 33: One move
Marshal Yang was so old that he had no need to further his comprehension of
the mortal world and stood aloof. He had come to the Western Region from
the Central Plains many years ago to live as a hermit. He was caught in a
state of grievance that he could not rid himself of.
His younger brother, Yang Zheng, died under the narrow blade, and his close
friends, the Gu family, were murdered brutally. He had to avenge them.
He had learned his skills from the Gu family and now it was the time to repay
them.
He took a long time to look for aides. Unfortunately, no one in the Western
Region wanted to rebel against the Supreme King. As a result, he had to
challenge the Supreme King alone with a single blade and lance, otherwise,
the last of his strength would be wasted while he just waited.
It was only because he threatened to wreak havoc in Jade City that the monks
of the Four Truths Temple finally agreed to walk him to the peak, and only so
far, for this saved them from the carnage, but they still would not enter
Golden Roc Fort. He arrived at the gate of the fort and waited quite a while
but still could not see the Supreme King. What awaited him was a team of
assassins in black and some ignorant teenagers who stayed away.
"How many killers like you do I have to kill to meet the Supreme King?"
Marshal Yang asked. He sounded old and exhausted, which made this query
not so arrogant or disparaging.
"You have no right to meet Lord King." The killer, Ye Sheng, answered with
contempt on his face and a narrow knife in his hand. He treated all the so-
called martial artists this way.
"Is that it? Or is it just that you don't have the right to answer my question?"
Martial Yang was also aggressive. Despite the words he used, his voice was
faint and weak. It sounded like a cowish old man reciting another's words.
Before he had finished speaking, they both moved. Martial Yang only wanted
to shift Ye Sheng's attention, regardless of his reaction.
Contrary to his old voice, Martial Yang was quick. When they met in the air,
the distant teenagers could not figure out who had made the first move. Some
onlookers even saw nothing before the battle was over.
The superiors always fought rapidly, Gu Shenwei already knew. But it was so
quick that before he started to worry about Martial Yang, the old man had
retreated to his original position. He coughed for a while, seeming too weak
to attack twice.
Ye Sheng held his narrow knife in his right hand, half-brandished it and
stopped near the scalp of Martial Yang. The gesture of his left hand was
strange as well. It did not look like a fist or a palm. He might have been
wanting to eject something from it, but changed his idea and did not retreat in
time.
The battle scene was not at all intense. The teenagers looked at each other
speechlessly, hoping someone could answer. "Did they fight? Who was the
winner?"
The answer was revealed momentarily—Ye Sheng fell down loudly, with the
same gesture he had held when he first moved. Apparently, he was already
dead.
An old man had defeated a Golden Roc killer bare-handed with one move.
The pupils' confidence was broken and now they were no longer excited.
Shangguan Fei whispered, "Idiot, why not fight with the others?"
Shangguan Ru frowned as she looked at Shangguan Yushi, who could

usually answer her questions. This time, she was disappointed because her
cousin also seemed confused.
The teenagers grew up with the legends of their killers. It was hard for them
to accept that a killer would be killed at the first blow.
As the others were frustrated, Gu Shenwei was almost choked up with

emotion. He was eager to stand out and to speak to everyone proudly: "Look,
that was my family's unique skill—Yin and Yang Strength."
Though he did not see it clearly before, now he had figured it out. Martial
Yang must have learned Yin and Yang Strength, and he was quite proficient
at it.
Gu Lun once told his son about the traits of the family's inherited Internal
Strength—Normally, an internal strength was either hard, which made the
opponent incapable of bearing it and forced them to retreat; or soft, which
injured the enemy invisibly such that the enemy would only sense it after a
long time. However, Yin and Yang Strength was both hard and soft. One
could not learn it quickly, but it embodied many traits of other schools, for
the Yang Strength could kill the enemy at once, while the Yin Strength could
defuse the rebounding strength, meaning that if the enemy stood, he would be
hurt more seriously.
Gu Lun demonstrated its function by attacking a stump. When he attacked the

stump with Yang Strength, the stump was crushed and the fragments flew
off; and when he did that with Yang Strength, the stump did not move at all,
yet after Gu Lun cut it open, all of its veins were broken. When he used both
strengths, the stump was smashed but all of the fragments dropped to the
ground instead of flying off.
Gu Shenwei thought it was just for fun at that time. He had applauded and
exclaimed and took it for granted. When he thought of that now, he was both
grieved and proud because this was the forceful Yin and Yang Strength of the
Gu family!
If this had been a formal competition, the Golden Roc killer could not have
beaten Martial Yang. Gu Shenwei had already memorized the entire strength
manual. Sooner or later, he would become as powerful as Martial Yang.
The assassins in black at the front remained nonchalant. They were not pupils
and had seen death countless times and would not be affected by Ye Sheng's
death so easily. Another three killers stepped forward and pulled out their
narrow knives, approaching their enemy from three directions.
Martial Yang did not even glance at them. He pivoted back and grabbed the
single blade on the weapon rack. He would confront them with his back.
The killer on the left could not endure the "seduction", so he stepped a little
faster, and a hint of disorder appeared in the orderly three-man formation.
The flaw was transient but fatal. Just before an assassin in black witnessing
the battle spoke to warn him, Martial Yang seized the opportunity, drew out
his blade, and jumped backward. With his backhand, he stabbed the lower
abdomen of his enemy on the left.
The remaining two killers made the second mistake—they changed their
attack route, wanting to seize the chance and attack.
However, once Martial Yang completed his attack, he jumped forward and
returned to his original position so that he could not only avoid their bodies,
but keep himself in the flank of the enemy on the right.
The three-on-one had now become a duel. During the short time that the
teenagers blinked, Martial Yang had enough time to kill another one.
Mistakes were made one after another. When the third killer found that he
was now the only one, he hesitated for a moment. What could he do while
this killing machine was in front, and his companions were in back? What
if…
The second that he hesitated in fear sent him to the hand of death.
In the blink of an eye, Martial Yang already killed three men. People now
were looking up at him, even though he returned to his form as an old man
who could barely hold his blade when the enemies fell down.
The teenagers were anxious. This was not the scene they had pictured. They
thought the Golden Roc killers would win without the slightest effort.
However, Gu Shenwei was frightened and worried. Every move of Martial

Yang was truly from the Gu Knife Form, though it was different from what
he had learned in his childhood. It seemed like Martial Yang was not even
using any skill. He attacked according to the flaws and weak points that his
enemies had suddenly exposed; a forehand could turn into a backhand, a
slashing could become a splitting. Even the most proficient user of the Gu
Knife Form could not defend against it.
"Where did Marshal Yang learn that from? This man who I had never heard
of is actually more powerful than my father."
Gu Shenwei carefully memorized the moments Martial Yang killed his

enemies. He now understood not only his inherited Kung Fu much better, but
also all the Kung Fu he had learned in these recent months.
Another five assassins in black came out. Behind Martial Yang were two
monks and a stone bridge, the attackers could only half-enclose him, for any
single killer could be the hindrance. The killers knew this well.
Five killers approached with the utmost caution, as they could sense the
enemy was near at hand. Martial Yang turned back again, dropped the blade,
and grabbed the lance, but no one advanced rashly. They had been learned
their lesson.
Gu Shenwei's Master Shifu, Yang Zheng, used to hold his lance upright and
wait for the enemy seriously. Contrary to his brother, Martial Yang held it
casually, like a walking stick.
However, no one looked down on him and his weapon now.
The killers moved more and more slowly and stopped at about seven or eight
strides away from Martial Yang. They were now close to the attacking range
of his lance. They could either strike him at full speed with all their strength,
or let him assault one killer while the rest waited for the best moment to kill
him. Either way, they should not use a short knife against the long lance.
The snow had stopped without anyone noticing because they all held their
breath, especially the pupils in front of the gate. Compared to the real
superior, the strongest man among them was no one but a showy and
impractical martial artist. But they all sensed the intense killing intent at this
moment, even the slaves who knew nothing about Kung Fu.
It was just that they did not know where the killing intent came from. Was it
from Martial Yang, or from the five killers whose muscles were tensed?
"As father said, a real superior could create a flaw within his enemy instead
of waiting for the flaw to be exposed," Gu Shenwei thought. He did not care
about such advice then, but it had all been seared into his consciousness.
What Martial Yang had learned was the inherited Kung Fu of the Gu family,
different from Gu Lun's in details but similar in tactics. He was the real
superior.
Martial Yang abruptly let out a roar without any warning. It was as loud as
several lions roaring together, and every pupil's body shook, leaving the
sound tingling in his ear.
The weakest one among the five killers flustered, stepped forward
involuntarily, looking like he was being dragged by a giant force.
The flaw had arisen.
Hence, the lance jabbed forward.
The same jab by Martial Yang's hand was quite different from one from Yang
Zheng's, who was the old servant of the Gu family and had used his lance like
a strict craftsman—every jab was measured, people could see it, yet they
could not avoid it. But Martial Yang made the lance appear to be a ghost or a
dragon, moving too swift to predict its position and jabbing too fiercely to be
defended.
One jab, two jabs…
Martial Yang made five jabs seem like one, and every jab ended a life. He
returned to his original position at once, grunting. He seemed to have almost
exhausted all his strength after these simple moves.
In others' eyes, the old man might be pretending to swindle the enemies. But
Gu Shenwei knew it was real because he had been reminded repeatedly by
Yang Zheng that if one did not use 80 percent of his strength on each jab, his
jabbing was useless.
Yang Zheng practiced the jabbing skill and practiced it arduously for many
years. Even still, he had to rest for a while every time after he finished four or
five pokes. Martial Yang had battled for three rounds, and though he killed
each enemy with a single move, he could not be as energetic as before.
But the others did not know that. The exhausted old man was already a high
mountain that they could not climb. At least more than 10 killers were still
alive now, but they had already lost their will to fight.
After Martial Yang recovered his breath, he raised up his head and acted like
a stubborn teacher teaching slow-witted students. He said slowly,
"You need the killing desire first, before you can kill a man."
That was exactly the problem. As the killers lost their killing desire, Golden
Roc Fort needed to send someone better if they wanted to win.
Chapter 34 - Xuanji
Chapter 34: Xuanji
This was a disappointing and embarrassing moment for the Shangguan twins.
As children of the Supreme King, they seemed to be the "face" of Golden
Roc Fort and yet they stood there without their father and brothers present.
Shangguan Fei looked nervous and Shangguan Ru bit her lips. Her cheeks
blushed as red as precious rubies and an irresistible flame of anger burned in
her wide black eyes.
Gu Shenwei even momentarily thought that she would rush forward to rebuke
the killers and fight Marshal Yang, who had just killed nine people in
succession.
The sound of drum beats kept coming from the fort, alternating between fast
and slow.
Normally, this would sound like the signal of an attack, but for the Golden
Roc Fort killers, it had a different meaning.
The dozen or so killers in the front kept backing away cautiously. They did
not turn around to move toward Golden Roc Fort until they were over 20
steps away from Marshal Yang.
The killers were about to retreat.
Marshal Yang just looked at them with no intention to stop them. Such pawns
had never been his target, instead, the nine dead bodies lying before him were
his name card to be shown to the Supreme King.
Golden Roc Fort had its "Two Rules for Killers", and Marshal Yang also had
his own rules.
The killers moved steadily and unflustered. This, however, would not
comfort the frustrated teenagers. The twins just watched in astonishment as
their killers backed off. They looked back at the fort, expecting more
powerful reinforcements to replace these disappointing killers. They still had
the blademasters, young masters, and black-masked assassins. Golden Roc
Fort had not shown its full strength.
But only one more person appeared while the regular drumbeats continued to
order everyone to retreat.
Slave Qing sighed silently and stepped forward, "Masters, let's go back and
leave it to the Young Masters."
The twins were still too young to be called "Young Masters".
Shangguan Ru ignored him and stubbornly stared at Marshal Yang in the

distance. She looked as if she could kill him with her eyes. Shangguan Fei
turned halfway and saw his younger sister standing still, so he turned back,
also refusing to leave.
Slave Qing produced a forced smile and shook his head. The killers were
about to enter the fort's castle, which was dangerous for the group of children,
who could not help. So, he looked to Shangguan Yushi for help.
Normally, Shangguan Yushi was the most audacious one, who often egged
the twins on to be mischievous. But, at this critical moment, she matured. She
put her hands gently on her cousin's shoulders and whispered into her ear.
Whatever she said was very effective and Shangguan Ru's anger slightly
cooled as she turned around to walk into the fort.
Now that the "Ninth Young Master" no longer insisted on staying, all of the
other teenagers felt relieved and hurried back to Stone Castle. They had come
to see the fun, but the situation turned out to be a bit dangerous.
The killers sprinted in behind them and the thick wooden door slowly closed.
"Cough, cough!" Slave Qing wanted to say something to comfort the twins.
They walked on in a dead silence and no one said a word along the way.
Shangguan Ru, however, had no interest in the nonsense of slaves, so she

suddenly ran toward the Inner Residence. She wanted to ask her father why,
as the Supreme King and the one who made everyone in the Western Region
tremble at hearing his name, he would suffer such shame instead of sending
his strongest subordinate to kill the challenger with one blow.
Shangguan Yushi, Shangguan Fei, and their young personal attendants

followed her closely. Slave Qing could not do anything but shake his head
and dismiss the rest, who likely would not work for the rest of the day.
Gu Shenwei managed to control his inner joy and excitement with the
greatest perseverance, but he could not control his steps. Unconsciously, he
had already started running.
Elderly Zhang was not there. He seldom went back to the stone house except
for when he would be going to sleep. That weird old man would rather stay
with horses than communicate with people.
Gu Shenwei had been pacing back and forth, alone in the house, too excited
to sit still. His emotions, which had been hidden for too long, poured out
now.
He practiced his family's unique knife and spear skills and attempted to
practice his Yin and Yang Strength, neither of which lasted for very long.
Various ideas swarmed into his mind, preventing him from thinking clearly.
From Marshal Yang, he vaguely comprehended many subtleties of the Gu

family's Kung Fu as well as a vision of his revenge. He wanted to verify the
power of the unique knife and spear skills of the Gu family immediately.
Then he could plan a perfect escape to join Marshal Yang.
The Kung Fu master, Marshal Yang, continued standing outside the fort
apparently waiting to enter.
However, he did not attempt anything since he was inside Golden Roc Fort,
where he had to be particularly careful. Even minor negligence could cause
him to die before meeting with Marshal Yang.
He had to hide his true emotions as soon as he possibly could, but what he
could not understand was why the people around him were not panicking.
Marshal Yang, who had killed nine of their killers in a row continued
standing outside the fort, shouldn't the people in the fort feel a sense of
urgency?
Elderly Zhang had devoted himself to taking care of the horses and acted as if
he had never heard of the challenger. Gu Shenwei could not help mentioning
the battle outside during dinner, to which Elderly Zhang just replied with a
grunt and continued eating as if the death of several killers was not as
important to him as the few pieces of meat in his bowl.
After dinner, Gu Shenwei went to Mama Xue to report the situation of the
day as usual. She already knew about the details of the challenge and even
knew Marshal Yang. "That old guy hasn't been around for a long time."
This was the only comment Mama Xue made about the challenger. As usual,
she was more concerned about the behavior of the twins. She was dissatisfied
with Gu Shenwei since he failed to garner more favor from the twins.
"You have to work even harder. Didn't you learn any tricks about flattery
from Slave Yao? Use them all! The Miss has great expectations for you."
The Miss again. Gu Shenwei knew well that her trick was to be "the fox
assuming the majesty of a tiger". He had not seen the Miss in months. He
wondered whether Luo Ningcha still remembered a man named Slave Huan.
"I've been working very hard." Gu Shenwei argued in a low voice. He could
not control his temperament because of the arrival of Marshal Yang.
Mama Xue looked at him in surprise and then suddenly understood. "I almost
forgot, Marshal Yang seems to be Yang Zheng's brother. I wonder why you
didn't go out to him, or…"
Gu Shenwei's heartbeat raced suddenly. He had forgotten that he had to be

Yang Zheng's son since he told Mama Xue and the Miss that that was his
background. So how could he explain that he had never heard of Marshal
Yang before the extermination of his family?
"I… I've never heard my father mention my uncle."
Gu Shenwei decided to tell the truth. Mama Xue doubted his words, and she
would be more suspicious if he kept piling up the lies.
"How did the brothers get on with each other? Since they had little
communication, why did Marshal Yang seek revenge for his brother?"
"Marshal… Uncle probably wants revenge for the Gu family instead of my

father. He saw him fighting and he used only the traditional Kung Fu of the
Gu family, which he was more adept at than my father."
Mama Xue stared at Slave Huan, hoping to find the trace of a lie on his face.
Soon afterward, she changed her mind. The real identity of the teenager was
not important. As long as she could control him for her own purposes, it did
not matter even if he had been an illegitimate son of the Supreme King.
"How is your practice of Internal Strength?"
Mama Xue suddenly changed the subject, catching Gu Shenwei off guard.
Mama Xue had been teaching him boxing and kicking skills and had not
asked him about his Yin and Yang Strength for a long time.
"Just… not bad."
"Is there anything wrong with it?"
"No, nothing. Why?"
"I don't want you to fall into Qigong Deviation like Slave Yao."
"Well, I'm fine. I think I won't."
"Are you sure? Press on the Xuanji acupoint in your chest, do you feel
anything?"
Mama Xue asked him this strange question in an easy way and Gu Shenwei
pressed on his Xuanji acupoint with his right thumb.
A hot current ran straight from Gu Shenwei's Xuanji acupoint to his Dantian.
He felt like he had inadvertently swallowed a mouthful of extremely hot
pepper, making him feel hot from his throat all the way into his stomach.
The feeling came on suddenly. Gu Shenwei recalled a situation from a few

months ago when Mama Xue pricked major acupoints on his body with her
iron-like fingers to help him improve his Internal Strength.
He cried out and almost fell down. However, he managed to keep his legs,
but his face had turned pale. "What, what have you done to me?"
There was no expression on the sallow face of Mama Xue. "Well, it's about
time."
"What? About time?" asked Gu Shenwei, voice trembling. He thought he had

cheated Mama Xue, but it turned out that he had unconsciously fallen into her
trap.
"Did you think that you were the only one that could push others into Qigong
Deviation?"
Mama Xue's words hit Gu Shenwei like a pot of cold water. He directed his
strength secretly and found nothing abnormal. However, the hot current that
seemed to come from nowhere had been real. Mama Xue's words were not an
empty threat.
"Mama Xue, I… I have always been loyal and obedient. Also, the twins trust
me very much."
Gu Shenwei said these words naturally as he dropped to his knees, which was
a response that Slave Yao used. That pointy-faced teenager had died from
ignorance about Internal Strength, but he could have been a master to Gu
Shenwei in other respects.
"Far from enough. You have to be as close to the two children as possible
until they trust that they can say anything to you."
"But, but…"
Gu Shenwei did not know how to explain the fact that he was a low-level
attendant who did not even have access to the Inner Residence. This would
make it impossible for the twins to treat him like a friend even if he was
strong in Kung Fu.
"There are always ways as long as you try."
Mama Xue said coldly, waving her hand, indicating it was time for Slave
Huan to leave. When he moved back toward the door, she said casually, "You
don't need to worry about Qigong Deviation. It won't happen for a few
months."
"Yes, thank you, Mama Xue."
The excitement caused by the arrival of Marshal Yang had almost

disappeared completely. However, things were not dire. Marshal Yang's Yin
and Yang Strength seemed to be stronger than his father Gu Lun's. As long as
he could manage to meet with Marshal Yang, he should be able to redirect his
Internal Strength in the right way.
"Marshal Yang…
"Why isn't there a tense atmosphere in the fort, except for the dozens of
teenagers who had watched the battle?"
Gu Shenwei had just learned about a bad thing and he really did not want to
be entangled with bad luck, so he suppressed the ominous premonition.
However, he could not sleep that night. He kept running his Internal Breath to
find signs of Qigong Deviation and kept thinking about Marshal Yang
outside the fort. Sometimes he heard screams and he even thought that
Marshal Yang had fought his way into the fort. He listened carefully but
everything would fall silent again.
Chapter 35 - Fairness
Chapter 35: Fairness
At dawn, Gu Shenwei woke up and quietly walked out of the room. The
rough and fresh air outside was refreshing.
Golden Roc Fort was like a camouflaged beast hidden in the grass. Its killing
intent disappeared while it slumbered, which made Gu Shenwei feel like he
owned Stone Castle.
Gu Shenwei shook his head to remove the illusion. Although he could not see
or hear anything, he knew that a vigilant night watchman would be hidden
somewhere in the vicinity, and if he went off the deep end, he might be
exposed to the beast's claws.
He ran to the school. As an attendant of Shangguan Ru, he had access to this

path. Although it was somewhat early, the night watchman who would see
him might consider him a servitor who was eager to please his master.
There was no one at the entrance.
Gu Shenwei listened in all directions, thinking that there might be some

reaction in the fort if something important had happened outside the fort.
Everything was so normal that he felt uneasy. Then, footsteps were heard.
It was Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi, no Shangguan Fei or other

young personal attendants. It was still too early for them to get up from their
warm beds.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi looked very serious and seemed to have
been sleepless all night, just as Gu Shenwei was. They ran by Gu Shenwei
without taking notice of or greeting him.
Gu Shenwei ran after Shangguan Ru, following whom allowed him to move
freely in the fort. Shangguan Yushi turned her head and glared at him, but she
did not forbid the attendant to follow them.
Gu Shenwei saw the gate closed in the distance, but when the three came
closer, the gate slowly opened. This further confirmed Gu Shenwei's
conjecture that there were many invisible guards in the fort, so the twins
could not escape from their watching eyes whatever they tried.
The gate of the fort opened wider and wider, gradually revealing the square
outside.
Gu Shenwei saw the banner carried by Marshal Yang, drooping coldly and
hanging as if frozen.
Then he saw a second flagpole.
The sun was rising, but the world was dark in front of him. He seemed to be
returning to the night of his family's massacre. As in a dream, his legs swung
involuntarily and he had to run toward the monster that had swallowed most
of his life.
Marshal Yang's head was on the tip of his own lance, the same way that his
younger brother, Yang Zheng, had died.
There were no corpses on the ground. The two monks had disappeared and
no one knew whether they were dead or alive. The snowfall yesterday has
frozen into hard snowballs, and there was no trace of fighting, as if the lance
with a head on its tip had been there ever since the founding of Golden Roc
Fort.
The three teenagers stopped on the stone steps in front of the gate, not daring
to go any further. The heavy breath that followed running had replaced all
words.
It was strange that the two young girls were as shocked and lost as Gu
Shenwei, as if the dead had fought to the death for them.
As an attendant who was eager to please the masters, Gu Shenwei thought he

should say something to comfort Shangguan Ru. However, he could not say a
word and even felt a fierce hatred for the two standing in front of him.
The Shangguans were his enemies, and no Shangguan was an exception.
After a while, Shangguan Fei followed with Slave Qing and other attendants.
"Well, there is nothing to worry about now. This is the end which I expected.
What can a mad old man expect if he dares to challenge Golden Roc Fort?"
said Slave Qing, clapping his hands.
Shangguan Fei had been in such a hurry that he was now gasping with his
hand on his knees before getting up. "That's all? I thought I could see the
black-masked assassin."
The black-masked assassin was a legend of Golden Roc Fort. Even the
Supreme King's own sons could not verify its authenticity before being
entitled to be called Young Masters.
No one, except for the first three teenagers, was disappointed with the death
of Marshal Yang. The only thing they were not satisfied with was that they
had missed the killing.
While the teenagers were making comments, Shangguan Ru suddenly turned

around, rudely pushed away the crowd behind her, and strode toward the fort.
Shangguan Yushi followed her and Gu Shenwei hesitated for a moment and
was left far behind. He could only join the other attendants.
Although Shangguan Fei had not commented enough, he absentmindedly

glimpsed at the inside and outside of the fort and turned around to chase
Shangguan Ru, as following this younger sister had become a habit of his.
The attendants, feeling that their masters were in a bad mood, became silent
and even feared getting too close to the masters. Shangguan Fei was
relatively kind, but Shangguan Ru might do anything to the attendants.
The teenagers walked past nearly half of Stone Castle and stopped at
Moonhold Academy, where the children of the Shangguan Family learned
Kung Fu, instead of the school.
Moonhold Academy was located in East Castle, which was opposite Star
Picking Academy, the school, but it was a standalone academy unconnected
with any other academy in East Castle. Only the Shangguans had access to it,
so their training mode was naturally different from that of the selected killer-
apprentices.
At this point, most of the attendants could only stay outside. Everyone was
relieved because Shangguan Ru could only find someone else to vent her
anger on.
But Shangguan Ru turned around with one foot already stepping on the stage.
Looking angrily at the attendants, she said, "Can our family compete with
people on fair ground? Is a raid the only way we can kill him?"
No one dared to answer this question, and most people felt it unnecessary to
answer it. This was Golden Roc Fort, where there had never been "fairness".
"Anyway, he was killed. Is there anything different about the process?" said
Shangguan Fei, shrugging his shoulders and feeling puzzled by her sister's
anger.
Shangguan Ru was obviously dissatisfied with the answer. Then the veteran
Slave Qing coughed and said, "It was fair, in fact."
"How was it fair?" Shangguan Ru said in an aggressive voice as if she would

hit Slave Qing once his answer inevitably disappointed her.
"This is Golden Roc Fort, where we train killers skilled at assassination.

Everyone knows this well, including this Marshal Yang. He had come to
challenge, so he must have been ready to deal with various means of
assassination. That's why I said it was fair. Golden Roc Fort doesn't pretend
to be decent while playing tricks in the background. Instead, we're
straightforward killers. If he comes for an open challenge, we accept, and if
he comes secretly, we also accept. It's all about his own choice. Now that he
is dead, he is proven inferior to our assassination skills. So everything was
fair."
For Slave Qing, this was nothing but a cliché of Golden Roc Fort. He just
modified it a little. However, for those unsophisticated teenagers, it was just
like a wonderful and profound lesson of life, especially for some of them
whose minds were heavily burdened.
Gu Shenwei had been in a low mood, feeling desperate again when walking
in the crowd. But these words of Slave Qing suddenly enlightened and
awakened him.
He had heard similar words when he was captured as a slave at the T-

junction. He remembered that the killer, Ye Sheng, scoffed at the swordsman
from the Great Snowmountain who was trapped by him, saying, "You're
always like this, saying you 'should have thought of this', but fail to prepare
yourself."
The words of Slave Qing and Ye Sheng did make sense. A new world
emerged before Gu Shenwei's eyes. Although the Gu family's Kung Fu was
powerful, it had failed to thwart the assassination from Golden Roc Fort. To
avenge his family, he needed to learn everything about killers in addition to
high skills of Kung Fu.
"Know the enemy and know yourself well, and you can fight a hundred
battles without defeat." The Gu family had suffered a massacre simply
because they had failed to know their enemy.
When Mama Xue trained him to be a killer-apprentice, Gu Shenwei was

thinking of accessing the upper level of Golden Roc Fort. Now he was trying
to please the twins for the same reason.
Suddenly, he found another possibility—he could only kill a couple of people

even if he could get closer to the owner of the fort and sooner or later he
would give himself away. But if he could get an insight into the operation of
Golden Roc Fort as well as all tricks of the killers, he would not be afraid
even if his true identity was exposed, and he could still avenge his family
from the outside.
It was not only Gu Shenwei who was persuaded by Slave Qing. Shangguan
Ru slightly raised her head and was also thinking. Even though she was the
daughter of the Supreme King, she still had to accept the truth that
"assassination is fair". She turned to her cousin, Shangguan Yushi.
Shangguan Yushi also looked at her younger cousin. The cousins had a
consonance and understood each other from their eyes.
Shangguan Yushi suddenly smiled slyly. "I want to be that."
"Me too."
"Let's go now."
Shangguan Ru nodded firmly and held her cousin's hand, and then the
cousins ran toward East Castle.
Slave Qing was confused by their words. After they had run away for a
while, he suddenly understood that the two Misses were planning to break
into East Castle and learn to be killers.
East Castle, as a place of strategic importance, had the strictest of guards,

second only to the Inner Residence. Only killers and killer-apprentices had
access to it, so Slave Qing called out in a hurry, "Stop, masters."
Before his voice had died away, three or four people jumped out to chase
after Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi.
The death of Marshal Yang and the words of Slave Qing rekindled the
teenagers' illusions about killers. Only the targets had changed from killers
like Ye Sheng, who could often be seen in the fort and were easily killed by
challengers, to those legendary killers who never revealed their identities.
Slave Qing was flustered and exasperated. Although he was only about 30
years old, he did not know Kung Fu, so he could not catch those energetic
teenagers. Even worse, he could not scold them because Shangguan Fei was
among them.
And Gu Shenwei was also among them. Once Shangguan Ru and Shangguan
Yushi started to talk, he had guessed their idea because it was exactly the
same as his. In order to find out the true colors of the killers, he was willing
to pay all costs.
The portal to East Castle was always closed, but it could not stop Shangguan
Ru. She started to knock on the door heavily before she stopped running. The
knocks were so heavy and urgent as if someone had come to challenge again.
The gate was still closed, but a small door on the gate opened a crack, and a
deep voice was heard. "What is it?"
"The Lord has orders."
Shangguan Ru told an off-hand lie immediately as her frustration had been

swept away.
"Lord" was the honorific for the Supreme King, so the man inside was
obviously taken aback when hearing it. He seemed to be in doubt and
hesitated for a moment.
Using such a moment, Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi had already

pushed the door together, trying to force an entry, and then Shangguan Fei,
Gu Shenwei, and two young personal attendants followed.
Slave Qing was still anxiously trying to persuade them behind them. He
never expected that his explanation for Golden Roc killers could lead to such
a consequence.
Finding it unusual, the man inside immediately closed the door by force. The
two girls outside were not as powerful as him, so Shangguan Yushi cried out,
"This is Master Ru. You don't dare hurt her!"
The watchman certainly knew who Master Ru was, so he reduced his force to
avoid hurting the cherished daughter of the Lord.
While he was worrying, the people outside were making concerted efforts.
Four teenagers joined the two girls in time to push the door by force together.
The crack became bigger. Shangguan Ru snuck in and the watchman yelled.
He was a bit distracted and the other five teenagers also managed to go inside
just a moment after.
When Slave Qing arrived with other attendants, the small door had been
closed again. Slave Qing could do nothing but sigh and pray that the two
masters would not stir up further trouble or get hurt inside.
Chapter 36 - Apprentices
Chapter 36: Apprentices
Inside East Castle, there were still alleys that led in all directions to different
courtyards. Gu Shenwei had once entered a small courtyard for recruiting
apprentices. This time, the pair of doors stood closed in an uninviting stance
toward outsiders.
The twins had not been here before either, so they ran around aimlessly. In
order to shake off the pursuer, they made a sharp turn at every corner. After
passing a number of courtyards, the six teenagers finally became too tired to
run further. They looked back and saw no one. The watchman had been either
shaken off or was not chasing them at all.
Anyway, they were now at the core area of East Castle. Thinking that true
killers might be learning assassination techniques on the other side of the
wall, they could not help smiling at each other.
With Shangguan Ru as their leader, the six teenagers searched one courtyard
after another. But every door was tightly closed. There was no response to
their knocks, nor was there any sound on the other sides of the walls. It
seemed that every courtyard was empty.
Shangguan Ru's brows were growing more knitted and she was about to lose
her temper again. Fortunately, Shangguan Fei finally found something behind
a door and waved excitedly to the others.
The six people huddled together and stuck their ears to the door. Sure
enough, they heard a quick "Bang, bang!" inside. There were people inside,
and a lot of them.
However, there was not even a crack in the door. They were soon tired of
listening to the sound, so Shangguan Ru stepped back and checked the
surroundings. When she reached a short wall, she pointed at the corner of the
wall and said to her young personal attendant, "Stand against here."
The young personal attendant hurriedly stood straight and patted his
shoulders, saying, "Ninth Young Master, come on."
However, the wall was so tall that Shangguan Ru could not climb over it even
from the shoulders of the attendant. She pointed at Slave Huan and said,
"You try it."
Though a bit unhappy, the attendant could only follow the order and bend
down. Gu Shenwei stood on his shoulders and faced the alley. He could
almost reach the top of the wall.
Shangguan Ru rubbed her hands excitedly and said to her brother and cousin,
"Come on, throw me up there."
The other attendant was startled, "Master Ru, isn't it too dangerous?"
"Shut up!" said Shangguan Ru. The attendant dared not say another word
after that.
The sense of danger was exciting to Shangguan Yushi. Shangguan Fei was a
bit nervous but afraid of being scorned. He hesitated for a moment and then
went over to help for fear of his cousin's staring eyes. "This is your idea," he
murmured.
The two boys each held one of Shangguan Ru's feet and pushed her up into
the air.
Just like an agile bird, Shangguan Ru flew up and stood firmly on the
shoulders of Gu Shenwei after several somersaults. Gu Shenwei did not feel
much more weight and hurriedly grasped her ankles.
Shangguan Ru peered inside from the top of the wall, leaving the others
looking up at her anxiously.
"What do you see?"

"Well, a lot of people."
"What are they practicing?"
"The same as us, just wooden sabers. Even the moves are the same, nothing
special."
"I see. This is Carvewood Academy, which is dedicated to training junior

apprentices."
The young personal attendant on the ground ran straight to the door and stood
staring at it for a while. "Master Yu is right. It is Carvewood Academy. Wait,
there are some small characters below. Wow…"
The attendant cried out suddenly, which was followed by a sedate and harsh
voice. "Who's there?"
All of the teenagers were caught off guard by the voice. The attendant on the
bottom went weak at the knees, and then the two people above him fell to the
ground.
Although Shangguan Ru had been the highest up, she had learned Lightness
Skills, and besides, there were two people below to catch her, so she was
totally unharmed. Nevertheless, she was frightened by the fall and did not
stand up from her cousin's arms until after a long moment.
Gu Shenwei, standing in the middle of the tower of three, was not so lucky.
There was no one holding him and he thought of protecting the one on his
shoulders, so he fell down heavily to the ground. When he stood up and
touched his face, he found that his forehead and nose were bleeding.
The voice had come from a training tutor who was walking out of Carvewood
Academy. He recognized Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Fei at a glance and
was surprised to see them. He walked over and stretched out his hand, saying,
"Are you hurt?"
Shangguan Ru, who had regained her composure, stood up immediately, and
Shangguan Yushi stopped the training tutor's hand from touching her.
"Of course not. This is none of your business. We… we're here for a
challenge."
Feeling herself losing face for having been so frightened, Shangguan Ru

came up with this idea on a whim. She wanted to challenge Carvewood
Academy like Marshal Yang had.
The training tutor, a sturdy middle-aged man of average height, was

somewhat shocked at her words. Carvewood Academy, as part of Golden
Roc Fort, belonged to the Shangguan family, so why would the ninth child of
the Supreme King want to challenge her own family? But being a quick-
witted man, he immediately realized that the intrusion of these teenagers into
East Castle, which had not been stopped by anyone, must have been upon the
tacit permission of some higher-level figures. Now that everyone was playing
this game with the young masters, why should he take it so seriously?
"So, you are experts coming to grant us your instruction here. Would you
mind telling me your school?"
Shangguan Ru had only blurted out her challenge and did not expect it to be
treated seriously, so she could not help smiling. "We're flattered to be called
experts. We are the… Moonhold School, and I'm the head."
The children of the Shangguan family all practiced martial arts in Moonhold
Academy, so Shangguan Ru used this name accordingly.
"And I'm the deputy head," Shangguan Fei said in a hurry but was
immediately met with his cousin's glare.
"Heads of the Moonhold School, welcome. I'm Hu Shining, training tutor of

Carvewood Academy. Please come inside for a little competition."
The twins were used to the flatter of the people in the fort, so they accepted
Hu Shining's compliment naturally and stepped inside with their heads high.
Following them were the four "experts", among whom Gu Shenwei was the
least to be regarded as an "expert". There was still blood on his face that
refused to be wiped away. Fortunately, no one took notice of him.
Carvewood Academy covered a large area and had numerous houses.
Furthermore, the courtyard was much larger than ordinary ones, so it was not
crowded with hundreds of killer-apprentices. With weapon racks placed on
all sides, it looked no different from any other martial arts training field.
Other training tutors had already heard the conversation outside. They all had
the same idea as Hu Shining, to do everything possible to please the two
masters. So they ordered the apprentices to line up in the east to welcome the
challengers from the Moonhold School.
It was natural that Shangguan Ru would be eager to participate in a

competition. After saying just a few words, she was the first to step forward
for the challenge. In all apparent seriousness, Hu Shining designated some
apprentices to receive the challenge. According to him, those were all "best
of the best" or the "top apprentices".
However, after only two matches, Shangguan Ru's interest was waning.
These killer-apprentices, mostly teenagers, had already been reminded that
they could not come at the child with any genuine fight. With this in mind,
they acted more gutlessly than they would have in their normal training and
were defeated in just a few moves. When Shangguan Ru pushed them further,
they would rather suffer her beating and defeat than show their true strength.
Shangguan Fei, however, was very happy for having won three matches in a
row. He asked them to bring him a wooden saber for more matches. As
expected, he won all of them again, which made him very proud. Waving the
wooden saber, he shouted at his sister, "Why not let me be the head?"
Shangguan Ru ignored him. She was wondering how she might make these
killer apprentices show their real strength. Shangguan Yushi whispered to
her, which made her eyes brighten up. She said in a loud voice, "Come back,
deputy head, let's change the rules."
Shangguan Fei exited the arena reluctantly. He took the towel from his young
personal attendant and said, "Carvewood Academy is no match for our
Moonhold Academy, is it?"
Shangguan Ru turned to Hu Shining. "It's so boring to compete this way. I

know that you dare not display your true skills. Well, I'll send a disciple to
challenge you. I need real matches. Cheating is not something for heroes, and
it's not for killers either."
Hu Shining felt relieved. As long as the challenger did not bear the surname
Shangguan, it did not matter if he got hurt. So he said with a smile,
"Penetrating insight, you are truly a worthy head of the Moonhold School.
But the fact is, our disciples are not capable enough so it is natural that they
felt nervous before the head of a school."
Tired of such flattery, Shangguan Ru turned around and pointed to Gu

Shenwei. But before saying anything, she stopped and furrowed her brow.
She found that Slave Huan was injured and looking like a drowned mouse,
not a sign of a disciple from a famous school.
Gu Shenwei walked up and whispered, "Master, just let me try."
Gu Shenwei could not miss the opportunity to please Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru had no other choice. The other two young personal attendants
were poor in Kung Fu, and if Shangguan Yushi took the challenge, the killer-
apprentices still would not show their real skills. So she said, "You must win.
If you disappoint me, I will drive you out."
Gu Shenwei then joined the contest and someone handed him a wooden
saber.
However, Hu Shining found it difficult to select the right representative for

Carvewood Academy. To please Shangguan Ru, they needed a real match,
but this "top disciple of the Moonhold School" looked badly battered,
obviously just having been beaten, so he had to be fairly weak. It was not
easy to find an even match for him among the killer-apprentices.
His eyes ranged over the killer-apprentices and finally stopped at one of
them. He asked the disciple to come over and whispered to him, "Defeat him
after 10 moves."
The apprentice nodded, took a wooden saber, and walked to a location

several steps away from Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei was surprised—he knew this fellow.
It was Slave Qian, one of the "dowry" slaves of Miss Luo Ningcha. He used
to know nothing about Kung Fu, and he had entered East Castle in place of
Slave Huan by a series of accidents. His foundation was worse than anyone
else's, and after several months of training, he was still the weakest among
the apprentices.
Slave Qian lived in the courtyard of the Eighth Young Master and followed a
different schedule from that of Slave Huan, so they seldom met each other.
The career as a killer-apprentice had left a clear mark on him. He used to be a
clever and calm person, who knew when and how to speak and seldom
showed his true feelings on his face. But now, he was much thinner, his
calmness had become dullness, his true feelings were hidden much deeper,
and there were often signs of vigilance in his eyes.
He must have suffered a lot of hardships.
The same was true of Gu Shenwei, who had endured even more sufferings.
On the outside of the fort, Marshal Yang's head was still on the tip of his
lance, but he needed to pretend to be happy and please the children of his
enemy.
They faced each other silently, each pretending that the face before them was
that of a stranger.
Gu Shenwei needed a victory to please Shangguan Ru. With the wooden

saber held tightly in his hand, he had already made up his mind. Although
Marshal Yang had died, his words were still in his mind: "To kill someone,
you need the heart of a real killer."
Gu Shenwei did not want to kill anyone, neither could he by using a wooden
saber, but he still attempted to arouse the hatred from the very depths of his
heart to stimulate the killing desire.
Tightly holding his wooden saber, Slave Qian also needed a victory to prove
that he himself was not one sent by Mama Xue merely to fill the numbers and
that his training in these months as a killer-apprentice was better than the
years of practice of Slave Huan.
Hu Shining's words were thrown to the back of his head, and neither of the
boys considered this match to be a game.
Hu Shining sensed that something was going on. Shangguan Ru and

Shangguan Yushi, on the other hand, were full of joy and held each other's
hands, waiting for a wonderful, real contest.
Chapter 37 - Reincarnation Cliff
Chapter 37: Reincarnation Cliff
To avenge his family, Gu Shenwei felt like he had possessed the killing
desire for a long time. He had just been trying to keep it hidden and avoid
stirring it up.
But he found it hard to convert his killing desire into killing intent, especially
when he had to use a wooden saber against his opponent. He could not even
treat the twins of the Shangguan family as his enemies, let alone Slave Qian,
who had once lived together with him.
However, the feeling of hatred was on call at any time. It mercilessly

devoured its owner's viscera, hurting its owner, but it was unwilling to work
on its owner's enemy.
Gripping the wooden saber with both hands, Gu Shenwei realized that he had
to regard Slave Qian as the person he hated the most before stirring up the
killing desire.
Shangguan Fa was the one who ordered the slaughter of the Gu family.
Unfortunately, Gu Shenwei could not imagine what he looked like because
he had never seen the Supreme King.
Shangguan Nu, the principal villain who killed his parents and elder brothers,
was the enemy he had seen and approached. Nevertheless, regardless of
whether Gu Shenwei wanted to admit it or not, his fear of the Eighth Young
Master's figure had overwhelmed his hatred.
As for Han Shiqi, the traitor that lurked in the Gu's manor, Gu Shenwei had
already stabbed him to death. His heart had no fear as it only held hatred for
the dead man.
A strange feeling arose in Gu Shenwei's heart. Suddenly, he felt as if the
wooden saber was turning into a part of his body. Although it was the first
time he used it, he was very confident of his victory. In his eyes, Slave Qian
became "Han Shiqi", who moved stiffly and could easily be defeated.
A drifting voice said, "Start." He felt that the order was like a hand releasing
a fully-bent bow and he was the sharp arrow that was notched on the string.
The two teenagers simultaneously launched their strikes. Compared to their

speed, their movements were rather bland. One approached by cutting down
from above and the other chopped at the opponent's lower abdomen with a
flat cut.
The contest ended after only one strike. If they were two famous people or
adults, the onlookers would have regarded it as a typical duel between
masters. However, they were teenagers. One was a heavily injured slave and
the other was the weakest apprentice in his own sect. Therefore, the scene
seemed quite ridiculous.
"Oh, what happened? Why did they stop fighting? Who's the winner?"
Shangguan Fei shouted. He was confused like the majority of the people.
In the arena, Gu Shenwei was kneeling on one knee, his wooden saber was
resting horizontally on Slave Qian's lower abdomen. Slave Qian was standing
with a bent back, his weapon was pressing on Slave Huan's left shoulder.
If those were real sabers, one of them would have his abdomen cut through
and the other would have his body cleaved in half. Both were fatal blows, so
the key was who had been hit first. The one who was struck first would not
have been able to move and, of course, would be the loser.
The two separated and retreated. Since neither of them was arrogant, they
would not claim the victory for themselves. Therefore, everyone turned their
eyes to Hu Shining. As the training tutor, he was experienced and had a sharp
eye, so he would not misjudge the result.
Hu Shining kept a poker face, as if the two teenagers had made a big mistake.
He walked toward Slave Qian, grabbed his wooden saber, and raised it high
without saying a word. Suddenly, he forcibly broke the wooden saber with
his bare hands.
Then, under everyone's surprised gaze, he approached Gu Shenwei with the

two pieces of the wooden saber in both hands, silently presenting them to
him.
Now that his killing desire had already disappeared, Gu Shenwei felt unsure
of what was happening. Under Hu Shining's persistent gaze, he felt pressured
into having to take the broken saber. He glanced at his opponent, Slave Qian.
Slave Qian flushed with shame. He stared at his own toes, as if he were naked
under the watchful eyes of everyone but not daring to cover himself.
"Moonhold School wins."
As Hu Shining announced the result, Shangguan Ru and her fellows jumped

with joy.
"One more round, one more round."
Shangguan Yushi urged, but Hu Shining declined while shaking his head.
"There's no need for one more round. No apprentice in Carvewood Academy
is a match for him."
The crowd was confused as to why the training tutor thought so highly of a
slave. The twins had fought with Slave Huan once, and they felt that he was
almost on par with them. They had never heard of such a compliment from
Hu Shining.
"Humph! Never mind, let's go." Shangguan Ru thought the training tutor was
just making excuses, so she turned to leave.
Gu Shenwei gripped his own wooden saber in one hand while the other two
broken saber pieces were in his other hand. Since he did not know where to
put them, he walked over to Hu Shining and, with great respect, handed them
back to him.
Hu Shining casually took them back, and could not help asking, "What's your
name? Why aren't you in East Castle?"
"I'm Slave Huan, I practice Internal Strength."
Hu Shining shook his head in regret. From the killing intent he felt within
him, he had thought that Gu Shenwei was a natural killer. It was a pity that he
was not a killer in East Castle.
Gu Shenwei turned to catch up with his masters. Hu Shining stared at his

back with regret. Suddenly, he thought that it might be risky for the two
young masters to keep being around such a special teenager.
The idea just now flashed across his mind but he could not prove that the boy
was dangerous. He had better not ask for trouble.
Behind him, the defeated Slave Qian suddenly held his abdomen and began
to vomit violently.
When she saw Slave Huan coming out of Carvewood Academy, Shangguan
Ru stepped forward and gave him a punch. She said with a smile, "You're
good at saberplay, you've been hiding your strength from us."
Gu Shenwei knew she did not really mean anything by the punch, so he
accepted the hit with a smile. Suddenly, he knelt down and said with
inspiration, "Master Shifu, my Kung Fu isn't worth mentioning compared to
yours."
"Who's your Master Shifu?" Shangguan Ru asked in a loud voice, but her
smiling face was as beautiful as a flower. Obviously, she did not hate that
title.
"When I stepped onto the arena, you recognized me as your apprentice on

behalf of our Moonhold School."
With a serious expression on her face, Shangguan Ru sized Slave Huan up

with her head tilted to one side. Suddenly, she burst into laughter and said,
"Well, since you did quite well today, I'll take you as my apprentice. But
remember, I'm strict. If you aren't obedient or don't work hard, I'll punish
you."
"Of course. A strict teacher is as important as a father. My humble life is in

your hands."
A few months ago, Gu Shenwei would have felt embarrassed just by

watching others use such flattery. But now, he could do the same without any
difficulty.
This was exactly how hardships and hatred would transform a person.
Shangguan Fei became unhappy about Shangguan Ru having an apprentice.

He interjected, "Since I'm the deputy head of our school, I should be Slave
Huan's mentor, too."
"Every apprentice should only have one mentor. If you really want to be a
mentor, you could find other students to be your apprentice. Well, you two,
pay respects to your Master Shifu."
The two young personal attendants were clever. On hearing Shangguan Ru's
order, they immediately knelt in front of Shangguan Fei, calling him Master
Shifu. They sounded even more sincere and friendlier than Gu Shenwei, so
Shangguan Fei became proud and happy again.
Shangguan Yushi had been watching with a critical eye, and she could not
bear it anymore. "Humph! They deliberately let you win. What makes you so
proud?"
Originally, she was happy when Gu Shenwei won in the arena, but when she
saw that he was taking the initiative and sparing no effort to please
Shangguan Ru, she felt uncomfortable.
Shangguan Ru was in high spirits. She pulled her cousin's hand and said to
Gu Shenwei, "Come and meet your Master Uncle Yu."
Gu Shenwei turned to Shangguan Yushi and said, "Nice to meet you, Master
Uncle Yu."
Shangguan Yushi wanted to turn away, but she was firmly held tight by
Shangguan Ru and had to receive Gu Shenwei's respects.
In the morning, Shangguan Ru was depressed about Marshal Yang's death.

However, now she was cheerful because she had just set up a new sect and
had received an apprentice. "Alas. This ceremony is too simple. Since
Carvewood Academy has their own base, we should also have a base of our
own. Where should we go?"
Everyone offered advice. Some proposed Moonhold Academy, some

recommended Star Picking Academy, and some suggested a vacant house in
Golden Roc Fort. However, Shangguan Ru did not like any of them, since
they were not special enough to be a "base".
In the end, the smart Shangguan Yushi came up with a brilliant idea. She
whispered in Shangguan Ru's ear, and the latter blurted out with excitement,
"That's great! Let's go there."
With these words, she ran into the depths of East Castle with her cousin,
followed by the other four teenagers, who were at a loss. Shangguan Fei
asked while running, "Where are you going? Where are we going?"
It seemed that Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi did not know exactly
where that place was either. They ran around in the alleys and frequently
returned to the starting point. They ignored Shangguan Fei's questions, which
made him so anxious that he jumped up and down and kicked his two
"disciples" several times so that he could vent his anger.
As the six teenagers ran further and further, the yards they passed on both
sides became less numerous. Finally, they saw a cliff at the end of an alley.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi felt refreshed. They kept running

forward, while Shangguan Fei stopped chasing them, the color of his face
paling. "I know where you're going. I'm not going."
The two young personal attendants were still running, but they suddenly
realized something upon hearing Shangguan Fei's slightly changed voice.
They immediately stopped and rushed back to their master's side.
Being the only one who was totally ignorant about the place, Gu Shenwei ran
to the two ladies' side.
Shangguan Ru glanced back at Shangguan Fei and said disdainfully, "What a

coward! You're not qualified to be a killer." Then she sped up. Shortly, the
three of them arrived at the end of the alley.
It turned out the cliff was not there. A stone staircase slanted down until it
reached a large fan-shaped platform dozens of feet down. The real cliff was
situated right at its end, where there was no protection against falling.
"It must be here," Shangguan Yushi said mysteriously.
Gu Shenwei did not see anything special about that place except the
landform. What surprised him was the familiar smell in the air, but he could
not, at that moment, figure out what it was exactly.
"Hey, come back! That's Reincarnation Cliff. Let's go play somewhere else."
Shangguan Fei shouted from behind. The two ladies shrugged off his warning
and smiled at each other. Shangguan Yushi turned to look at Slave Huan and
asked, "Do you know about Reincarnation Cliff?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"This is where killers of Golden Roc Fort go up to heaven. The dead are
dropped here."
Shangguan Yushi was waiting to see Slave Huan become panicked. To her
disappointment, he only replied, "Ah," to show he finally knew what the
place was, and he looked around out of curiosity instead of fear.
Gu Shenwei used to care for the wounded in Firewood Yard, and he had
dropped many corpses off Ghost Cliff. He once wondered, now that the
severely wounded were sent to Firewood Yard, what happened to those that
had already died? Now he finally understood.
There was a similar place to Reincarnation Cliff in West Castle, and Gu

Shenwei was cautious not to mention it. After all, his experience in Firewood
Yard was not a good one.
Shangguan Yushi was astounded by Slave Huan's fearlessness. Even

Shangguan Ru admired him a bit, since she had to pluck up her courage to
come here.
Suddenly, they heard a sound of clanking metal coming from far away, like a
bell that sounded in a welcoming ceremony. Next, they saw two men in black
silently walk out of the alley carrying a corpse and heading for Reincarnation
Cliff.
Shangguan Fei and the two young personal attendants turned pale. They
hurriedly gave way to the men and pressed themselves against the wall.
The men carrying the corpse did not salute Shangguan Fei and continued
moving forward with their heads down.
Shangguan Yushi's and Shangguan Ru's faces were a bit pale as well. But
they only retreated a few steps and stood by the road. They watched the two
men pass by and walk down the stone stairs.
The two men kept reciting some words. Gu Shenwei had also heard others
mumbling them after Marshal Yang had killed several killers in a row. He did
not listen carefully back then, but he finally heard them clearly this time.
"The soul rises to the Ninth Heaven, and the spirit falls to the Ninth Abyss.
"The living suffer in grief, and the dead settle in peace."
There were merely 16 Chinese characters, and the two kept reciting them in a
low voice, as if it was a mantra to drive away evil spirits.
Gu Shenwei was so deeply touched that he could not help asking, "What are
they reciting?"
Shangguan Yushi continued reciting the words, while Shangguan Ru, as if

she was afraid of disturbing someone, whispered,
"Death Scripture."
Chapter 38 - A Lesson
Chapter 38: A Lesson
From Shangguan Ru, Gu Shenwei learned that "Death Scripture" was a

rebirth mantra passed on from generation to generation in Golden Roc Fort.
As time went by, most of it had been forgotten, and only these two sentences
were left.
Gu Shenwei meditated upon the words: "The living suffer in grief, and the
dead settle in peace" and felt as if a knife were being twisted in his heart. It
occurred to him that he was the "living" one, who was suffering in grief, but
had the "dead", the members of his family, really "settled in peace"? If he
could know their afterlife, maybe he would not need to bear the heavy burden
of revenge.
Perhaps ignorance was the root of "the living suffer in grief".
The two men who had carried the corpse returned empty-handed. They
bowed to salute the young masters as they went by before silently advancing
with pale faces. Soon afterward, they disappeared into the depths of the alley,
as if they had been affected by the ghostly atmosphere.
Shangguan Fei refused to play any longer. The two ladies also felt uneasy
and did not insist either. Thus, the adventure was over, and the newly started
ceremony of the "Moonhold School" to recruit new disciples came to an
eventual end.
Gu Shenwei wanted to continue playing the "game", as it would be helpful

for him in pleasing Shangguan Ru. However, Shangguan Yushi seemed to be
wary of him. She requested to go back to the Inner Residence right after they
left East Castle. Shangguan Fei, who was frightened, naturally agreed with
her. Since Shangguan Ru was not able to dissuade them, she had no choice
but to follow them.
Gu Shenwei and the other attendants were unqualified to enter the Inner
Residence, so they were left behind. After the young masters left, Slave Qing
bitterly scolded Slave Huan in front of everyone before their dismissal.
Hearing Gu Shenwei's report in the evening, Mama Xue was interested in the
little game of the "Moonhold School" very much. She asked him to
encourage Shangguan Ru to continue playing it. "You see. As long as you
work hard, you can always make it. You should beg Master Ru to teach you
Kung Fu. You'll benefit a lot if she, as the Lord's daughter, agrees to teach
you a few maneuvers."
Although he knew it was not Mama Xue's real intention, Gu Shenwei eagerly
said yes. He became more and more curious about this woman. "Does she
want to learn Golden Roc Fort's Kung Fu secretly? But she's already
powerful enough, especially with her Iron Fingers. Since she doesn't want to
be a killer, what could be in Golden Roc Fort that is so attractive to her?"
"It's good that you beat Slave Qian. He may not be happy, but it doesn't
matter. He needs to be prodded a little to teach him a few lessons," Mama
Xue continued.
Gu Shenwei agreed while his heart sank. He had offended many people today
just to please Shangguan Ru.
After bidding farewell to Mama Xue, Gu Shenwei returned to the stone house
and quietly recalled what had happened that day.
He did not expect to be able to defeat Slave Qian with just one strike. He was
also surprised by the fact that "the killing desire" could improve his Kung Fu
so much.
Lying on the brick bed, Gu Shenwei tried to summon his "killing desire"
again.
It was easier said than done. The killing desire was unlike a servant who
came at his beckon. Gu Shenwei first tried facing the air and then the wall,
but there was no change in his inner state. How could he have the killing
desire toward a lifeless object?
He assumed he had to find a living person to practice it on.
Elderly Zhang was sleeping soundly at the end of the brick bed, opposite Gu
Shenwei. They were more than three feet away from each other, which was
almost the same distance as two opponents would be in a Kung Fu
competition.
Gu Shenwei tried to imagine Elderly Zhang as Han Shiqi, and it worked. His
killing desire gradually rose, and even without any weapon in hand, he
believed he could kill the man with a finger, since there were so many weak
but vital parts of a body, such as the eyes, throat, or genitalia.
His killing intent became stronger, and Gu Shenwei could hardly resist his
urge to kill. All of a sudden, he realized where his killing desire came from.
The so-called killing desire was actually hatred without fear.
When he hated a person, it often meant he feared that person. Only by

conquering fear could he transfrom his hatred into the killing desire and even
power.
Gu Shenwei had already practiced this when he competed with Slave Qian
during the day, but he only understood it now.
He suddenly saw the light as a brand-new world of martial arts loomed a few
feet away from him.
However, the light disappeared in the blink of an eye. He only saw two
frightened and raging eyes.
"What, what the hell are you doing?"
Elderly Zhang was sleeping tight before he was suddenly woken up by an

indefinable panic and sense of crisis. He opened his eyes and happened to see
the murderous Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei was suddenly awakened. His killing desire, like a little shy beast,
immediately hid in the darkness after being scolded and refused to show itself
anymore.
"Nothing. I, I can't fall asleep."
"Can't fall asleep? Go out to stare at the moon if you can't fall asleep. Why
are you staring at me?"
"I'm sorry, Elderly Zhang. I didn't mean it."
Elderly Zhang seemed shaken. He turned over while cursing and tried to fall
back asleep with his back toward Slave Huan. But he did not dare to close his
eyes anymore, so he swore again, rolled out of bed, and went outside after
putting on his clothes. He was in no mood to look at the moon, so he went to
the stable to attend to his treasured horses.
"A man isn't as reliable as an animal," Elderly Zhang murmured.
As a result, Gu Shenwei had offended one more person by the end of the day.
However, Elderly Zhang's reaction reminded him that he had better not
practice summoning the killing desire at random, as it could easily catch the
eyes of bystanders. Even an ordinary man like Elderly Zhang could sense it,
let alone others who knew martial arts. That training tutor of Carvewood
Academy, who had suddenly changed his attitude during the day, further
proved this.
It would be undesirable for him to make such a conspicuous display if he

wanted to hide his identity and seek revenge in secret.
The next day, Gu Shenwei failed to please Shangguan Ru, since the twins
simply did not show up. Slave Qing was not surprised about this. He yawned
and said, "The new year is coming. Madam will surely keep them around.
Perhaps we'll be free for some time."
However, Shangguan Yushi did come to school. It was the first time that Gu
Shenwei had seen her attend the school all by herself.
Without Shangguan Ru around, she looked colder and prouder than ever
before. She pushed over a student, who was standing at the entrance and
talking with his fellows, and went straight in without even casting a glance at
him.
Blue in the face, the student clenched his fist and was about to curse. But on
seeing that it was Master Yu that had pushed him, he swallowed his words.
Although both of them were descendants of the Shangguan family, they held
vastly different statuses.
Gu Shenwei knew he would invite a snub if he went over and called her
"Uncle Master Yu", so he stood far away, not wanting to provoke the little
devil.
But trouble was always like this—the more one tried to avoid it, the closer it
followed.
Since the twins did not come to school, according to rules, their attendants
could be dismissed. When disordered reading was heard from the school,
Slave Qing allowed most people to leave and only kept seven or eight
teenagers who were normally fighting partners.
Slave Qing went to chat with the other attendants, while these fighting
partners stood in the corner of two walls. Suddenly, someone said in a low
voice,
"You shouldn't have done that."
It took a while before Gu Shenwei finally realized that this person was
talking to him, as the speaker did not mention his name or look at him.
"What?"
"You shouldn't have called Master Ru 'Master Shifu'," another teenager said.
Gu Shenwei was quite at a loss. When he saluted Shangguan Ru as his

Master Shifu, she was quite pleased. Besides, he did not understand why the
news had spread so fast.
"Well." Gu Shenwei casually replied, not taking it seriously since he became
inured to the servants' jealousy and competition. Just because he had not
taken Slave Qing's advice and won the two young masters' favor, Slave Qing
had turned a cold shoulder to him. As a result, none of the attendants at the
entrance were friendly toward him.
"You still don't understand?" a third teenager asked.
Gu Shenwei was confused. It seemed that these teenagers were warning him
not out of jealousy, but out of kindness.
"What should I understand?"
On the other side, Slave Qing was chatting happily and laughing loudly,
while all the teenagers kept silent. Among the attendants, the fighting
partners had relatively low statuses, and they dreaded Slave Qing the most.
But to some extent, Slave Huan was their "savior". Since the slave who was
Master Ru's match had come, they had lived a much better life. A few of
them were even lucky enough to remain uninjured for several months, so they
did not want to see Slave Huan run out of luck.
As Slave Qing's laughter faded, the teenager who stood closest to Gu

Shenwei said in a low voice, "You shouldn't get too close to Master Ru, or
Master Yu will be unhappy."
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized what was happening. No wonder Shangguan

Yushi had been behaving so oddly since he called Shangguan Ru "Master
Shifu" in Moonhold Academy yesterday. It turned out that she had kept
trying to shake him off because she was jealous of him.
While it was understandable for a servant to be jealous of another servant, it

was difficult to understand why a master would be jealous of a servant. Gu
Shenwei could not help shaking his head with a bitter smile.
"He doesn't know!" a teenager shouted in surprise, but he immediately

covered his own mouth.
"Don't know what?" Gu Shenwei was a bit annoyed, thinking, "If you really
want to help, why not make it clear to me?"
"Master Yu… killed someone."
After a long silence, a teenager explained in a low voice, and then nobody
said anything.
Gu Shenwei did not understand why the teenagers dreaded a girl who had
killed someone so much, since Golden Roc Fort was full of killers who had
committed innumerable murders. Even he had killed people, one of whom he
had personally stabbed.
But anyway, he had seen Shangguan Yushi's brutality with his own eyes.
Once, she had stepped on a fighting partner's arm and broken it in public.
Right now, the poor teenager was standing next to Gu Shenwei, his face
ghastly pale.
At class break, Shangguan Yushi did not summon anyone to fight with her. It
was not until all the students and the old teacher had left at noon that a
student came out and ordered the eight fighting teenagers waiting outside to
go into the school together.
Strictly speaking, these teenagers had been assigned to the twins and did not
belong to Shangguan Yushi. However, Master Yu's order was no different
from Master Ru's, so nobody dared to disobey.
Slave Qing did not go in, but continued waiting at the gate.
There was not a soul in the school yard. The young personal attendants led
them to one of the rooms in the eastern wing.
In the room, the writing desks had been moved to the corners, leaving an
empty area in the middle. Shangguan Yushi sat on a chair, her personal
attendants standing behind her and several children of the Shangguan family
on both sides.
It did not seem as if they were going to have a competition. Gu Shenwei's

heart skipped a beat, realizing this game targeted him.
Shangguan Yushi hated people winning too much of Shangguan Ru's favor,
especially when that person was just a servant.
"You little imp, why don't you call me Uncle Master now?" Shangguan Yushi
asked.
"Your humble servant would not dare." Gu Shenwei knelt down.
To take his revenge, he had to degrade himself and tried his best to behave
like a slave. When humiliated by his master, he first thought what Slave Yao
would do in the same situation.
The pointy-faced teenager, whom he had murdered, was still influencing him
from the unseen world.
"You wouldn't dare? I saw that you were very bold yesterday. Is this the first
day for you as a slave? How dare you flout the rules after serving the new
master for only a few days! How dare you call her Master Shifu. Do you
think you have that privilege?"
"He was brought by the Eighth Young Mistress from the bandit camp."
A young attendant whispered to Shangguan Yushi, which intensified the

latter's hatred toward Gu Shenwei. Since the Eighth Young Mistress was on
bad terms with Madam, who happened to be the twins' biological mother,
naturally the people around Madam disliked Bighead Kingpin's daughter and
anyone brought here by her.
"The Eighth Young Master sent me to…"
Gu Shenwei was trying to defend himself when Shangguan Yushi suddenly

stood up in a rage and kicked him. "What a bold mongrel! You're as much of
a nuisance as your cheap master. You don't deserve to live in Golden Roc
Fort."
Gu Shenwei only hesitated a bit, and was suddenly kicked in the chest.
Although he had made some achievements in practicing Yin and Yang
Strength, he could not bear the young lady's kick. He rolled backward and felt
spasms of pain in his ribs when he knelt down again.
Shangguan Yushi had not vented all her anger, so she turned to the other
seven fighting teenagers and ordered coldly, "Slap him in the face, and teach
him how to be a slave."
Gu Shenwei felt the blood surging in his body. No matter how hard he tried
to imitate Slave Yao, he was not a real slave after all. For him, humiliation
was more unbearable than death. The killing desire hidden in the depths of
his heart became restless and itching for action.
Chapter 39 - Bribery
Chapter 39: Bribery
Gu Shenwei hoped that justice would prevail at this moment. He thought that
God owed him an explanation and wondered, "Why am I abused like this
now? Was I an evildoer in my previous life? If I was and I'm doomed to be
punished in this life, why did God let me enjoy a carefree life for 14 years?"
Seven sparring boys took turns slapping him in the face. If anyone of them
did not hit him hard enough, Shangguan Yushi would beat that boy.
Reality was cruel. Shangguan Yushi was a young master, while Gu Shenwei
was just a slave boy. The sparring boys had no choice at all.
Gu Shenwei had to suppress his killing desire, and every time he got a slap in
his face, he would beg for mercy. "Master Yu, Please forgive me. I'll never
dare to do that again."
God seemed to neglect his prayer for help. During the whole process, no one
stood up to put an end to this abuse. Shangguan Yushi easily achieved her
goal of punishing an obnoxious slave. She cast a disdainful look at Slave
Huan and said, "Well, I will spare your life this time."
With these words, she left with her companions.
The sparring boys were left behind. They seemed at a loss for words. A boy
took a step forward, wanting to help Slave Huan up, but he quickly moved
back since he saw everyone else was just standing by.
Slave Qing came over and glanced at them as if nothing had happened. "Get
out. What are you doing here?"
Gu Shenwei stood up and walked toward the gate. When he walked past
Slave Qing, the slave caught him with one hand.
"I knew from the beginning that you would get into trouble. Your eyes are
different. No slave has this kind of look in their eyes. You behave as if you
are the owner of the fort. You might have been a prince of a small country
before, but you are a slave in the fort now and you'll remain a slave until you
die. If you want to survive here, you'd better behave yourself. Stop striving
for a position by pleasing the young masters. You are just a toy. Don't be so
ambitious."
Gu Shenwei humbly expressed his thanks to Slave Qing and hurriedly

returned to the stone house. He grabbed a rag to wipe the blood stains off his
face. He did not mind the physical pain but he found it hard to endure the
emotional torture. He felt as if his heart was stabbed by numerous sharp
knives and each knife caused him endless pain. He was overwhelmed by the
burning desire to kill all his enemies and, at the same time, tried his best to
remain calm.
Elderly Zhang came home with lunch in hand. Since being frightened by
Slave Huan last night, he had been vigilant of the slave boy. The fact that
Slave Huan came back heavily wounded further strengthened his belief—
people were not as reliable as cattle.
Elderly Zhang placed a big bowl of rice topped with meat and vegetables on
the edge of the brick bed and pushed it to Slave Huan. After a while, he
picked out a few pieces of meat from his own bowl and put it in the slave
boy's bowl.
Gu Shenwei looked at the silent horsekeeper in amazement.
Elderly Zhang hunched over his bowl to eat without looking at Slave Huan at
all.
Gu Shenwei did not know what to say. He held his bowl and began to gobble
down his food.
Mama Xue was not as kind as Elderly Zhang. When Gu Shenwei went to
report to her in the evening, she looked exceptionally grave. She already
knew what had happened to Slave Huan through her own channels. The
sparring boys did not think it was necessary to conceal Slave Huan's public
humiliation and shame.
"If it was Slave Yao, things like that would never happen," Mama Xue
complained.
That being said, she actually knew very little about the pointy-faced teenager
and had never shown any appreciation for him when he had been alive.
"You managed to kill him, so you should do better than him. Don't forget
about your little secret and the hidden danger in your Xuanji acupoint. I'll
never cure a useless slave, let alone help him avenge his father."
Mama Xue was a rigorous person but she seldom gave out a threat. Hearing
what she said, Gu Shenwei was clear that she was very dissatisfied with his
current progress.
He knelt down on the ground and decided to tell her what he had thought
about the whole afternoon. "Mama Xue, please forgive my stupidity. I
promise I'll fix it. I've got a plan already."
Mama Xue remained silent. Gu Shenwei continued.
"I'm going to give Shangguan Yushi a lesson in front of Master Ru. It's the
thing she fears the most and it will be totally beyond her expectations."
"You seem to forget that you are just a slave and she's a master."
"That's what makes it a terrible shame for her. Master Ru only likes strong
fighters. In the past, Shangguan Yushi was the best fighter in the school. I'm
going to prove to her that Shangguan Yushi isn't as powerful as she thinks."
"Will this childish game work?"
Gu Shenwei explained after a while, "For Master Ru, everything is a game."
Mama Xue frowned. She poked the arm of the chair with her iron-like
fingers, making a rat-a-tat sound.
She was too old to understand adolescents and did not remember that she had
liked to play games in her childhood. She was not satisfied with Slave Huan's
plan, but at the same time, she somehow felt that it might work.
"If you get into trouble again, you should make sure that Miss Luo won't be
affected."
"Yes, I promise. It's just a little game between children. Adults will never
care about such trivial things. Besides, Shangguan Yushi is very disrespectful
to Miss Luo. She deserves this punishment."
"You don't need to drive a wedge between us and Shangguan Yushi. I already
know that she's Lady Meng's minion. Of course she likes to speak ill of Miss
Luo."
Mama Xue sounded a little agitated all of a sudden. Gu Shenwei knew that
what he had said was right.
"Yes. Mama Xue knows everything."
"Are you sure you can defeat her? I've heard that the little girl is a good
fighter and she's probably even stronger than Master Ru."
"As for this problem, please forgive me for being blunt, I need your help,
Mama Xue."
"Aha, you little brat. Do you dare to ask me to play this childish game
together with you?"
"No. I just want Mama Xue to teach me more about Kung Fu so that I can
defeat Shangguan Yushi with a single strike."
According to his observation, Shangguan Yushi was a strong opponent. He

believed that in a martial competition, she would stand a good chance to win
but in a life-and-death situation, he would defeat her after he evoked his
killing desire. This was because the girl had not yet learned the trick of
killing, though she was extremely cruel and merciless.
Unlike his peers, Gu Shenwei had already realized the subtle difference
between a martial competition and a killing through the fight between the
killers and Marshal Yang.
Mama Xue still had some concerns. She stared at the daring boy for a long
time without saying a word, as if she wanted to see through his mind.
Gu Shenwei did not get a definite promise from Mama Xue, but he would
carry out his plan anyway.
The next day, he rushed to the gate of the school early and stayed there,
waiting for an opportunity.
He had stayed with the young masters' attendants at the gate for many days.
Everyone just ignored the silent slave boy, but he had heard many things
from them.
There were nearly 20 students in the school. Except for the twins, they were
just relatives of the Supreme King's family and most of them were surnamed
Shangguan. They were seven- or eight-year-old children or adolescents aged
15 or 16, and there were only two girls among them—Shangguan Ru and
Shangguan Yushi.
Although they were in the same class, they were different in status. The
Supreme King's son and daughter were the most venerated young masters and
all the other pupils tried their best to please the twins. As for the young
masters in the low positions, they did not receive more respect than Slave
Qing.
Gu Shenwei had very little contact with the students, but he could judge their
status based on the attitude of the servants at the gate.
He noticed a pupil named Shangguan Hongye. "Hongye" was a good name

since it meant great achievement. His father was a younger brother of the
Supreme King, but unfortunately, he had died a long time ago. Shangguan
Hongye had no brothers. He and his mother depended on each other in the
fort. They relied on the Supreme King's financial support to make ends meet.
When Shangguan Yushi had entered the school yesterday, she had shoved
Shangguan Hongye to the ground. When being bullied in public, he did not
even have the courage to say a word.
Gu Shenwei had noticed that he had looked angry at that time.
Given that, he thought he should try to find a chance to talk to Shangguan

Hongye.
Shangguan Yushi was arrogant but she was, actually, just a distant relative of
the Supreme King. This was her greatest weakness.
Unlike Shangguan Hongye, a nephew of the Supreme King, she and the king
were just of the same clan. They descended from one common ancestor who
lived about a hundred years ago.
Today, the twins and Shangguan Yushi did not come to school since they had
already begun to celebrate the new year.
Not long after the class started, Slave Qing allowed the twins' attendants to
leave. He himself chatted at the gate for a moment and then left to have a
drink.
After that, only half of the servants still stood at the gate. They envied the
twins' attendants for now as they did not have to stand outside in cold
weather while holding some small items that their masters might not use for
the entire day.
In such an atmosphere, no one cared about Slave Huan, who huddled in a

corner.
At noon, when class was over, the students rushed out of the gate and headed
for home with their servants. Shangguan Hongye was not eligible to live in
the Inner Residence. His home was a small courtyard in West Castle. Given
that, Gu Shenwei and he were going the same way now.
Gu Shenwei followed Shangguan Hongye and his young attendant. After they
walked through two gates, he found no one else was around and called out,
"Master Hongye."
It was a good place for a private conversation. The guards at the gate in front
of them and at the gate behind them would never pay attention to a group of
children who were chatting together. Neither would the killers hiding in the
shadows.
Shangguan Hongye stopped walking and cast a doubtful look at Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei had not yet recovered from his injuries. His eyes were swollen
and his face was bruised. It took Shangguan Hongye a long time to recognize
the slave boy. After that, he twitched his mouth and turned away. Though he
was not a popular young master in the school, he disdained to chat with a
slave, especially an unpopular slave.
"Master Hongye, you dropped something."
Slave Huan showed Shangguan Hongye something like a rag ball. Shangguan
Hongye knew it was not his but before he refused, Slave Huan had already
forced the thing into his hands.
He felt irritated and offended since he felt that Slave Huan had overstepped
his bounds. When he was about to say something to express his
dissatisfaction, he felt the weight of the rag ball and shut his mouth. He
opened a corner of the rag and saw some silver inside. It was not much but
was attractive enough for Shangguan Hongye.
The young master was confused. Without saying anything, Slave Huan
smirked at him and quickly left. The slave's bruised face made a weird
expression. Shangguan Hongye stood agape for a moment and then swiftly
put away the silver.
The young attendant did not understand what had happened just now. He
shouted out excitedly, "Master, how did you get the silver? Thank goodness
someone picked it up and returned it to you. Now we can pay off some debt
before the spring festival."
Gu Shenwei walked forward quickly, feeling uncertain about what he had

done. If Shangguan Hongye thought the silver was too little or refused to
receive a slave's help, his plan would be ruined.
Fortunately, the young master seemed to have accepted the silver. Gu

Shenwei did not hear a thing when he walked out of the third gate and turned
into an alley.
The students were a group of fools and got obsessed with gambling. Gu
Shenwei had heard Shangguan Hongye's young attendant complain about his
master's towering gambling debts many times. He had even said that his
master had pocketed a portion of his wages to pay the debts.
Under such circumstances, Shangguan Hongye, a young master of inferior

status, would treasure every penny.
For Gu Shenwei, bribing Shangguan Hongye was just the first step of his
plan. He still needed Mama Xue's help.
Chapter 40 - Unexpected Tricky
Moves
Chapter 40: Unexpected Tricky Moves
While Mama Xue was still hesitating whether to teach Slave Huan more
Kung Fu tricks, the slave boy came to her and made another request—some
money to bribe Shangguan Hongye.
Gu Shenwei had given all his savings, which were less than two taels of
silver, to that young master last time.
"I don't need a lot. 20 taels of silver is enough. Shangguan Hongye owes a
dozen taels of silver. With this money, he can pay off his debts and get back
into the gambling game again. When that happens, he'll take the initiative to
ask me for help."
"How are you going to explain the origin of the money? You are just a slave
boy, but you seem to be more well-off than a young master."
"Mama Xue, please excuse me for being bold. You can give me some gold or
silver utensils and I'll tell Shangguan Hongye that I stole them from Miss
Luo. He's well into debt now, so he'll definitely keep the secret."
Hearing such a childish plan, Mama Xue shook her head. She had to think it
over since it might cause trouble for Miss Luo and her.
In the fort, Mama Xue was the only person Gu Shenwei could depend on.
Her support was the only advantage he had when competing with the other
slave boys. Without Mama Xue, he would achieve nothing.
Fortunately, the next morning, Mama Xue came to him with a small parcel in
her hand.
Elderly Zhang had gotten up early. By the time Mama Xue came, he had
already gone to look after the horses. She threw the parcel on the brick bed
and turned to Slave Huan, who had just finished dressing.
"I hope your plan works."
Gu Shenwei was just a boy who had begun to understand the real world. He
was not confident about his plan either, but he gave absolute assurance to
Mama Xue while carefully concealing his restless mood.
At noon, when school was over, he did it again. He told Shangguan Hongye
that he had dropped something and handed a tiny silver cup to him. It was
pressed flat and a little bit of it had already been broken off, but it was still
silver that weighed three taels.
Shangguan Hongye grunted his assent and quickly put it away, as if he had
indeed dropped a silver cup. His young attendant started to doubt it but he
knew he had better shut up at this moment.
Over the next five days, Gu Shenwei gave many different little things to
Shangguan Hongye like this and the young master received each of them
calmly. He even sent his attendant away on purpose and always walked home
alone. Gu Shenwei was content with this progress.
The parcel sent by Mama Xue was filled with all kinds of gold and silver
utensils, which were enough for Gu Shenwei to bribe Shangguan Hongye
every day for a long time. More importantly, the things that Miss Luo had
brought from the Iron Mountain Gang had no marks, so no one would be able
to know where they came from.
The next few days were the New Year holidays. Classes were suspended and
so was Gu Shenwei's bribery plan.
Mama Xue had thought for several days before she finally agreed to teach
Slave Huan Kung Fu.
Gu Shenwei was aware that even if he kept practicing Kung Fu for 10 more
years, he would not be able to defeat Shangguan Yushi with one or two
moves in a martial competition. He did not plan to surpass her in a short time.
He just wanted to defeat her with some tricky moves that were totally beyond
her expectation.
Since Shangguan Yushi and the twins learned Kung Fu together, their moves
were quite similar. Gu Shenwei did not know much about Shangguan Yushi's
fighting style, but he was familiar with Shangguan Ru's fighting skills.
During his previous daily reports, he had already demonstrated all her moves
to Mama Xue.
Mama Xue was also very familiar with Golden Roc Fort's Kung Fu and had
been reflecting on an effective tactic to defeat Shangguan Yushi.
"You can't kill her but you have to defeat her. That's a little bit tricky. Golden
Roc Fort's Kung Fu is complicated. There are more than a dozen unarmed
combat routines. It's impossible to crack every move in the routines in such a
short time."
Gu Shenwei had to admit that Mama Xue had a point, but he had already
thought of a solution.
"I'll ask Shangguan Yushi to fight me in a game of speed. I believe she'll

adopt her best fighting moves in such a competition. I guess not all the moves
in Golden Roc Fort's unarmed combat routines are among the best Kung Fu
tricks, so I only need to…"
Mama Xue sneered and shook her head. She knew that there were only a few
marvelous tricks in Golden Roc Fort's Kung Fu, but none of them were easy
to crack.
Mama Xue herself could easily kill Shangguan Yushi with just one move, but
Slave Huan could not learn such a move since his Internal Strength was not
strong enough. Besides, this kind of move could never be used on a young
master.
A few days later, when the spring festival ended with laughter and happiness,
Mama Xue finally figured out a tactic. She asked Maid Lotus to serve as
Slave Huan's sparring partner.
Maid Lotus and Slave Qian had been killer-apprentices for months, but
unlike the other apprentices who lived in East Castle, they still lived in the
Eighth Young Master's residence. This arrangement further increased
criticisms against the wayward Eighth Young Mistress, but Gu Shenwei
somehow felt that it must have been Mama Xue's decision.
As the most suitable substitute for Shangguan Yushi, Maid Lotus came here
to practice with him.
She apparently had benefited a lot from the training, which made Gu Shenwei
envious. He believed that if he could become a killer-apprentice, he would
progress much faster than anyone else. But now, this girl of his own age who
had been learning Kung Fu for less than a year was already an equal to him,
and she even surpassed him in unarmed fighting.
Mama Xue asked Slave Huan to demonstrate Shangguan Ru's best Kung Fu
tricks again. Based on what she saw, she picked out five moves from Golden
Roc Fort's unarmed combat routines and focused on cracking them.
"Remember, the tricks that one is most familiar with are his or her best
moves, so the five moves I chose may not be the best Kung Fu tricks in the
routines or what Shangguan Yushi is best at. I can't guarantee that she'll use
these moves."
Gu Shenwei listened to Mama Xue respectfully. He trusted her judgment.

Though he was sure that she was just using him to achieve her own goals, he
could not deny that she taught him well. Sometimes, he thought she taught
even better than his father, Gu Lun, and his family's loyal servant, Yang
Zheng.
"These five moves are more offensive than defensive and attack the vital
parts of the body, which makes them ideal moves in a quick battle. If she
promises to defeat you in a limited number of moves, she'll probably use
them."
These five moves were picked out from three different unarmed combat
routines. Maid Lotus had only mastered three of them. She had started her
training in East Castle a few months ago, but Shangguan Yushi had practiced
Kung Fu for a dozen years. Fortunately, Maid Lotus was a devoted and
diligent apprentice and quickly made up the difference.
Knowing that various moves could be evolved from one classical form,
Mama Xue thought of three or four evolved moves for each classical move
that she picked out and cracked them one by one. In the end, she decided on
15 strikes to defeat Shangguan Yushi. Actually, she could think of more
tricks, but since the girl was not a Peerless Ace, she believed these 15 moves
were enough.
She created most of them based on her own Kung Fu tricks. They were not
marvelous moves in a conventional martial competition, but they would be
effective in fighting Shangguan Yushi.
It took Gu Shenwei three days to master these 15 tricks, but this was just the
beginning. Knowing how to crack Shangguan Yushi's moves was not enough.
He had to learn how to predict which move she was going to use.
For example, when she lowered her shoulders, he had to know which move
she was about to use. Otherwise, it would be too late for him to react when
she attacked, even if he knew the way to counter.
That was why Mama Xue brought Maid Lotus here. She would never tell
Slave Huan which move she was going to use, and sometimes, she would use
some other tricks besides the five moves. Gu Shenwei thus could enhance his
ability of observing and reacting.
Maid Lotus treated Slave Huan as mercilessly as Mama Xue did. She gave
him a sound beating as if she held a grudge against him, which made her
more like Shangguan Yushi.
Gu Shenwei had a really hard time practicing these 15 moves in actual

combat. On the fifth day of the first lunar month, when the school reopened
after the New Year holidays, he had already received a lot of bruises on his
body, but he still could not use the moves flexibly in a fight.
Fortunately, most of the students did not attend school that early. It was said
that the twins and Shangguan Yushi would not come to school until the 15th
day of the first lunar month. Gu Shenwei felt lucky to get more time
practicing his moves. Actually, he had never expected that this would take
him so much time.
To become a good Kung Fu fighter, one had to endure lots of boring

exercises first and then grab the tricks from these repeated practices. Gu
Shenwei now knew that he still had a long way to go.
Among the students who came to school early, he spotted Shangguan

Hongye. This was good news for him. More importantly, Slave Qing had not
yet come to work. He sent a servant to tell the twins' attendants that they had
to come to school every day but did not have to stay at the gate all day long.
After the attendants happily dispersed, there were only five or six teenagers at
the gate of the school. Gu Shenwei could not find a reason to stay, so he left
for his stone house.
When he estimated that it was the time that school ended, he went around to
the alley in front of the front yard and slowly walked toward the school. Soon
afterward, he bumped into Shangguan Hongye.
The young master was walking alone without his young attendant being
around. He acted as if he did not see Slave Huan at all.
Gu Shenwei approached him and bowed. "Master Hongye."
Shangguan Hongye hummed indifferently while slowing down his steps in

anticipation.
Gu Shenwei took out a silver bowl. "Is this the thing you dropped?"
This bowl was larger than any of the previous utensils. Shangguan Hongye's
eyes shone with excitement, but he did not take it immediately. He looked
around and then pushed Slave Huan into a corner. He seemed confused and
irritated.
"What's your purpose?"
"What purpose? I'm just returning the things you dropped."

"Save it. You are just a dogsheet slave boy. Where did you get those gold and
silver things? You must have stolen them from… Tell me. What do you want
from me? Otherwise, I'll send you to Heart Cleansing Yard."
Gu Shenwei pushed Shangguan Hongye's arm away without saying a word. It

was not a good place for such a talk since the guards in the shadows might be
hiding somewhere nearby, overhearing their conversation. However, Gu
Shenwei had no better options. He pressed the bowl into Shangguan Hongye
and stared at his face.
The arrogant look in his eyes gradually changed into a greedy one.
"I just happened to see these things and I couldn't stop myself from picking
them up. As for Heart Cleansing Yard, I've been there once," Gu Shenwei
said coldly.
He had been thrown into Heart Cleansing Yard, which was nicknamed Ghost
Yard, and had been tortured there. This experience clearly stunned
Shangguan Hongye. The young master took a step back and did not look so
aggressive.
"If it's not yours, I'll ask someone else."
Gu Shenwei said while pretending to leave. Seeing this, Shangguan Hongye

swiftly gave up his commanding position as a young master and grabbed the
slave boy's arm.
After a little hesitation, he said, "You don't have to ask anyone else. It's
mine."
Gu Shenwei took out the silver bowl again and handed it to Shangguan
Hongye, but this time, he did not immediately loosen his grip on the bowl.
"As for these things that I picked up, I can give them to anyone who comes to
me. If you have a good friend, you can tell him this."
Shangguan Hongye pulled the bowl out of Slave Huan's hand and said with
certainty, "No, I don't have any friends."
This bribery continued for a few days. No matter what Slave Huan brought,
Shangguan Hongye would take it away without a word.
Gu Shenwei felt it was the time for him to make a request of Shangguan
Hongye.
Chapter 41 - Gamble
Chapter 41: Gamble
Gu Shenwei learned quickly in his study of the cracking movements. Now he

could guess the moves correctly about seven or eight times for every 10
moves that Maid Lotus made.
Still, he was unsatisfied with himself because he sometimes made mistakes,

especially when Maid Lotus made a move other than the five basic moves,
which he could not predict, not least because he had only prepared the 15
moves Mama Xue had created. As a result, his mind became muddled in
confusion, and he was incapable of fighting back.
Mama Xue, however, praised him unexpectedly, "It's a pity that you cannot
enter East Castle. With your perceptiveness, you could finish your
apprenticeship and become a real killer within few years. It is truly a pity."
But she became more and more worried about Slave Huan's plan. "What are
the chances of the girl using these five moves first?"
Gu Shenwei was worried about this as well. If his opponent were Shangguan
Ru, he was 60 to 70 percent sure that he could predict the moves correctly,
but when facing Shangguan Yushi's Kung Fu, he could not. He could only
presume that she had learned the same things as the Ninth Young Master had,
including her last resort.
"She will use them. I know she wants me to make a fool of myself in public,
possibly even kill me. She will choose the strongest move to begin with."
Every time Mama Xue asked, Gu Shenwei was just as certain. He acted like a
gambler now, throwing it all-in on one hand. This way, he would not only
force himself to believe that he would win, but those who watched would
believe it as well.
On the 13th day of the first month of the lunar year, Gu Shenwei made it
clear to Shangguan Hongye.
He might have guessed Slave Huan's purpose, so when he took up an oblate

silver piece, instead of leaving, he waited for him to speak with his arms
crossed.
"Master Hong, do you like to gamble?"
"What? Do you want to win these pieces back? Actually, they do not even
belong to me anymore."
"No, I want you to organize a gambling event."
Shangguan Hongye was silent. Not just anyone could be the banker for a
gambling event. Normally, Shangguan Yushi was the banker in the hall.
"I could find others, too. But I must say, it seems that the two of us have a lot
in common."
Shangguan Hongye did not speak at first, until suddenly his face warped and
he blurted out, "Watch your mouth. Slave Qing said you don't know the rules.
Remember, I'm a master, and you're a slave. What could we possibly have in
common?"
"We share a burning hatred for the same person."
Shangguan Hongye knew who was he talking about. It was well-known in the
hall that Shangguan Yushi had been teaching an impervious slave, not to
mention that Slave Huan's scarred face was still recovering.
"How dare you hate a master? You bold, nasty slave."
"Of course I don't have the right. But she is not my real master. My true
master is the Eighth Young Master."
Gu Shenwei stopped, letting this sink in for Shangguan Hongye.

Shangguan Hongye thought for a while, and his hatred toward Master Yu
won out. "Your gambling event is related to her?"
"Yes. I want you to incite her to compete with me. You can be the banker,
and together, we'll rip her off."
"Haha, first of all, you might not win. It would be easier to ride up into the
sky on a cloud than to take a single coin from her."
"Don't worry about that. I have my ways, all you need to do is organize it."
"What do you want to gamble for anyway? Just to see who wins?"
"No, I want you to bet on me taking her down in three moves."
Shangguan Hongye held his mouth open for a while. He was becoming more
confused by the minute about this slave. "Are you serious? I'd bet she can
beat you in three moves."
Gu Shenwei shook his head. "She knows how capable I am, she won't bet you
on it. Just bet on me."
Now Shangguan Hongye was shaking his head. "Impossible. I don't know if
you can beat her or what, but I don't want to risk it. You may have run out of
silver pieces, but I want to keep some."
"That I can assure you. Just organize it. You win, you take all the money; you
lose, you can get it back from me."
This was a deal that he could not lose. Shangguan Hongye was very
interested, but he still could not make up his mind. Though he hated
Shangguan Yushi deeply, he feared her as well.
Gu Shenwei did not want to push him too hard. "Think about it. I'm always
ready."
The next three days were holidays again. Gu Shenwei focused on practicing
Kung Fu, acting very confident before Mama Xue. Yet when he went back to
the stone house, his mind was still perturbed. All of his information came
from the gossip of the slave boys. How could he know which part was true?
But he had to clear the hinderance that Shangguan Yushi had brought upon
him. He had been unprepared for the humiliation before the spring festival,
but now it was his turn to choose his formation and let the little devil take it.
On the 17th day of the first lunar month, classes started again. The twins and
Shangguan Yushi finally showed themselves.
After nearly a month's separation, Shangguan Ru seemed to have forgotten

her "apprentice" as she laughed and talked with her cousin. At the door of the
hall, the teenagers arrived and sent their regards to the twins. As the eight
sparring-slaves kneeled, she did not even give a glance toward Slave Huan.
Her New Year had been colorful. Shangguan Yushi thought of the many
tricks they had pulled. They nearly overturned the roof of the Inner
Residence. The "Moonhold School" killers and apprenticeship was beginning
to feel quite old and she lost all interest.
Shangguan Hongye sent his regards as well, and then he went to the hall,
following Shangguan Fei without glancing at Slave Huan, seemingly having
already forgotten his suggestion.
Gu Shenwei looked calm and collected, while in fact, he was quite anxious.
As time crept slowly by, in the interval between classes, the masters asked for
some sparring, and Slave Qing did not pick Slave Huan.
Near noontime, the pupils dispersed. Gu Shenwei wasted his time waiting for
a reply.
Even Shangguan Hongye dodged Gu Shenwei, leading the young attendant

and running so fast that Gu Shenwei could not even catch up with him.
It happened again on the second day. Mama Xue started to demand

information about the progress, but he could only answer her with, "It's
underway," while he was actually less confident now. If Shangguan Hongye
was afraid to manage it, it would all be impossible.
For three days, things remained the same. Just as Gu Shenwei decided that he
would intercept Shangguan Hongye, regardless of the results, what he had
been looking forward to finally arrived.
In the interval between lessons when the masters in the school asked for
another sparring, and after Slave Qing selected a boy, another order came:
"Send Slave Huan in."
Slave Qing was astonished. Reluctantly, he pointed to Slave Huan. "You,

go."
Gu Shenwei pretended that he was surprised, lowered his head, and went to
the hall. He heard Slave Qing whispering to him as he passed by, "Don't risk
your neck."
Gu Shenwei said nothing.
Now the hall was more crowded than anytime before. As expected, his
opponent was Shangguan Yushi, who was surrounded by a visibly larger
audience. Shangguan Ru was their leader.
However, on the other side, Shangguan Fei, instead of Shangguan Hongye,

was the leader.
Shangguan Hongye must have been too chicken-livered to organize the

gambling event, so he had to incite the little master to do it.
"Well, isn't he my apprentice?"
Shangguan Yushi suddenly thought of the game she had played last month as
Slave Huan was walking into the crowd to face her.
"That was a joke, please forgive Slave Huan for being so loose-lipped, my
Ninth Master," Gu Shenwei said after he bowed. Shangguan Yushi sneered
inconspicuously.
Every young pupil had heard of her punishing Slave Huan except Shangguan
Ru.
Shangguan Ru contorted her mouth, "Hmph, you think you're so great? Teach
him a lesson for me, Master Yu."
"Well, your brother thought the slave could beat me within 10 moves,"
Shangguan Yushi said with contempt.
"10 moves?"
Gu Shenwei was astonished at first, but he understood very soon. Shangguan

Hongye and Shangguan Fei were too conservative to believe he could do it in
three moves, so they added seven moves, which could destroy his plan now.
If Shangguan Yushi was not infuriated enough, she would reserve her last
resort, hence the cracking moves that he had learned from arduous practice
would be useless.
"10 moves are still too many!" Shangguan Fei shouted. Though he was a
yesman with Shangguan Ru, he wanted to show that he too was great.
Gu Shenwei spoke in advance before the twins started to quarrel,
"I yield, we don't need to fight."
Hearing this sentence, the pupils were shocked. A slave, whose main
responsibility was sparing, refused to spar with the masters? Where did he get
his courage?
Shangguan Fei was more agitated now. "How do you know you will lose
even before your fight? I've bet plenty of silver on you, don't you yield now!"
Shangguan Hongye hid himself behind the young master and flushed with
anger, shouting, "Are you kidding? You want to rebel?"
Shangguan Yushi did not care and stayed silent with her arms akimbo. But
Shangguan Ru was disappointed. "Your Kung Fu is good, you might win!"
She was worried that she had forgotten on which side she stood.
Gu Shenwei waited for their voices to settle down and said, "10 moves are
too many, I'd like to yield directly. If it were fewer moves, it might be
worthwhile to compete."
The pupils were even more shocked. After a brief silence, they all burst into
laughter together.
"This nasty slave is mad," they thought.
Shangguan Fei turned his head to look at Shangguan Hongye, confused.

"What?"
Shangguan Hongye's face was turning purple now. "Slave Huan, will you
fight or not? Get out if you can't."
Shangguan Yushi was not laughing. With her eyebrows raised, she stopped
Shangguan Ru from speaking and said, "Well then, you're keeping your own
counsel. In that case, in how many moves do you expect to beat me in?"
"Master Yu is excellent, Slave Huan respects that. But I've heard someone
explaining martial arts…"
"Save your nonsense. How many moves?"
"Three moves. No more, no less."
Shangguan Yushi was angry. Before, she had been ready to accept, but now
Shangguan Fei was unwilling. "No. I won't bet three moves. It should be 10."
Hearing their leader's words, the pupils behind him wanted out as well. Just
before the whole event began to fall apart, someone stepped forward.
"I'll bet on Slave Huan."
It was Shangguan Ru who made the declaration. Seeing her cousin's face, she
added, "I don't trust him, I just want to see what tricks he's playing."
Shangguan Ru was more influential than Shangguan Fei. Some pupils

immediately "betrayed" Shangguan Yushi, and so did Shangguan Fei. After a
while, the bets were reorganized.
Shangguan Yushi smiled once her anger had boiled over. Warming up her
legs, she said, "Come on, you bastard. Let me see your three moves."
Gu Shenwei had made it happen. He had infuriated Shangguan Yushi and

aroused Shangguan Ru's interest. Altogether, it was going better than he had
predicted.
Now, it depended on whether his and Mama Xue's judgment was right.
Chapter 42 - Winning and losing
Chapter 42: Winning and losing
Though the bet was "Slave Huan will beat Master Yu in three moves",
Shangguan Yushi rushed to advance her first move, which was not what Gu
Shenwei was expecting.
She lowered her left shoulder. Gu Shenwei thought her move would be
"Fierce Thunder", in which she would disguise her two fists while her real
attack used her foot. Gu Shenwei chose to break it by leaning his body
backward and catching her foot in his hands to throw her back.
It turned out that Shangguan Yushi was using "Encompass the left, brush the
right". Both elements of this attack were genuine offences and fast as
lightning. Gu Shenwei's skills were slightly inferior to hers, which almost
caused him to lose immediately.
Thanks to the days he had spent with Maid Lotus, learning to read her moves
on the fly, he reacted much faster than before. He waited for the moment and
retreated immediately. Though he did not receive her kick, he was totally
embarrassed.
After this, the audience was confused rather than shocked. Slave Huan was so
presumptuous that they thought he must be keeping his strength under wrap.
In fact, he was too weak. The more quick witted among them perhaps thought
that Slave Huan had tried intentionally to ingratiate Shangguan Yushi after he
had been humiliated.
Shangguan Fei turned his head and glared at Shangguan Hongye angrily.
Shangguan Hongye was confused, too. His face flushed, he clenched his fists.
He wasn't sure if he wanted to cheer for Slave Huan, or just smash him.
Shangguan Yushi did not give her opponent the chance to have a break. She
was wrathful now, deciding to defeat, or even kill the nasty slave in three
moves. Before her fists finished, she suddenly jumped up, turned around in
the air and tread her feet.
This move was what Mama Xue expected from the five moves—the "Heaven
Spinning Stroke". Gu Shenwei had already memorized the counter move by
heart. The only problem was that after losing the first move, he could not
even stand steady. It would be hard for him to deal with it leisurely.
He should have squatted in the bow stance, letting her fly over, and then
borrowed her force to push her away.
If this move was used correctly, Shangguan Yushi would have flown into the
crowd and fell down. But Gu Shenwei moved a split second too late, with an
incomplete gesture that did not even allow him to touch her. Instead, she was
able to grab his arm when she turned around.
The audience was astonished, thinking Slave Huan was out of luck.
Shangguan Yushi was always vicious, leaving her opponent without any face.
This time she would surely use the move "Splitting Bones And Muscles".
From there, the scene changed rapidly. It appeared as though Slave Huan's
pace was scattered, with his hands waving in the air, and he would fall down
at any moment. However, in the next second, it was Master Yu who fell off.
Gu Shenwei pressed on her arm, and before the master gave his order, he left
her, retreating three steps backward, and stood. It meant the fight was over.
Shangguan Fei and his fellows jumped up excitedly. "We win, we win!"
Though Shangguan Yushi had fallen down, she was not hurt. She pressed her
hands down on the floor and sprang up abruptly. She shouted resentfully with
her face so red that it seemed it might bleed. "You cheated, three moves
again."
Before Gu Shenwei could speak, Shangguan Fei rushed up to say, "All's fair
in war. Winning is winning, don't make a scene."
Shangguan Yushi was furious and stepped forward, waving her fists, wanting
to fight with Shangguan Fei. Shangguan Ru rushed between them quickly,
splitting them apart, saying, "Wait a minute, it's still undecided who the
winner is!"
"What are you talking about? Didn't she fall down?"
"But in which move?"
This question silenced the people. The fight had unravelled so quickly that no
one had seen exactly how many moves occured.
Shangguan Fei pulled out Slave Huan from behind. "Was it the third move?
Tell me, was it?"
"No, I beat Master Yu in the fourth move. I lost."
Gu Shenwei was telling the truth.
When Shangguan Yushi had grabbed his arms, she used the "Gold-breaking
Hand", with both of her hands wringing and winding his arms. Once she
finished, Gu Shenwei's arm would be broken.
The "Gold-breaking Hand" was a vicious move, yet it was included in the
five moves Mama Xue selected. Gu Shenwei did not even think, he lowered
his head and submerged it beneath his arms, resolving her catenated strength.
Afterward, he stood in front of her, using his other hand to grab her chest.
It was not easy to decypher Golden Roc Fort's kung fu. But Shangguan Yushi
was a girl, and no matter how much her character and clothes looked like a
boy, she thought in a girl's way. Therefore Mama Xue thought of some
"vicious moves" with this in mind.
This "chest grabbing" caused Maid Lotus to give up and retreat in a muddle
during their practice. Gu Shenwei always used just half of this move. Mama
Xue scolded them even for this.
But Shangguan Ru was not Maid Lotus, she knew nothing about it. She was
unaware of what was happening as Gu Shenwei turned around and resolved
her "Gold-breaking Hand", not to mention this "chest grabbing". She did not
even jump backward like Maid Lotus.
This time Gu Shenwei was unprepared. He had to draw his hand back at the
exact moment. But Shangguan Yushi was stunned, so he grabbed her arm
from behind his back.
Shangguan Yushi almost got humiliated because of her mistake. She was so
angry that once she reacted, she took a step forward, and used her hand-to-
hand combat skill, "Ladder Breaking Feet".
This skill regarded the opponent's body as a ladder, grasping the wrist of the
opponent, and borrowed his force, kicking him from the head to the feet with
enough strength that it could break a bone with every kick.
Though it was indeed vicious, it was not usable in too many conditions.
Mama Xue thought for a long time before listing it in the five moves she had
prepared.
When Shangguan Yushi borrowed the force that had been predicated by Gu
Shenwei, he seized the opportunity and chose not to be humble. Before her
first kick was finished, with her lower body swaying, he pulled her back and
brushed past her. Just before Shangguan Yushi was able to gain a steady
stance, Gu Shenwei turned around and pressed her to the ground.
These moves were so fast and the two fighters were so close that in other's
eyes, it was only one move, while in truth, they had performed a fourth move.
Shangguan Ru had seen it clearly.
The winner became the loser, which brought much controversy. But Gu
Shenwei was just a slave, so his yielding would satisfy the crowd. Shangguan
Fei glared at him, and pushed him away, "No, since they didn't separate, it
was only one move."
"It was four moves! And it had nothing to do with the separation!"
The twins each stood for opposing sides, arguing with each other even though
they had no stake in the matter. Shangguan Ru forgot she was actually in the
same gang as her brother as she concentrated on arguing for Shangguan
Yushi.
The two competitors were separated by a group of noisy puipils. They stood
staring at each other, one giving a wooden, inflexible glare, while the other
was trying hard to calm her own anger.
Gu Shenwei had reached his aim. It did not matter who won or lost, taking
down Shangguan Yushi had surely impressed everyone. Now Shangguan Ru
stood at her cousin's side, but Slave Huan would be forced deep into her
memory after this.
There was no end to the arguement between the two groups of pupils. At last
the teacher came, waving his ruler to drive them away into the yard or back to
the hall. Finally, the scene settled down.
Slave Qing's face was black as he said, "You're not afraid to die, are you?
Since you're so tough boned, and Master Yu spared you last time, let's see if
you're so lucky now."
Gu Shenwei put his head down and kept silent. There was not much fun in
being serious with Slave Qing. This man did not rank high on his revenge
list.
"Get out! Go to your bandit den!"
Slave Qing was so mad that he even treated the Eighth Young Mistress
impolitely.
Gu Shenwei departed, feigning submission. Shangguan Yushi and Slave Qing

did not want him too close to the Ninth Young Master, but now he was sure
that Shangguan Ru would call him back sometime.
He went to the stone cabin, lying on the Kang, and thought back on what had
happened that morning. He had taken a little revenge toward Shangguan
Yushi, but it was not enough. Something bigger was hidden inside his mind.
Someday, someday he must kill the little devil, and the twins as well.
Then he thought of killing Shangguan Ru, and he hesitated for moment. But
he cooled down at once. His heart was so full of hatred that there was no
room for mercy or sympathy.
The fight brought other issues to deal with. The first one to be mad was
Shangguan Hongye, who, before they had a break, ran to the stone cabin
because he had not only lost the bet, but also offended Shangguan Fei. He
would surely wreak on Slave Huan to vent his frustrations.
"You nasty slave, you cheap boy! You dare to lie to me? I'm going to kill
you!"
Shangguan Hongye rolled up his sleeves. Reagardless of how strong this

slave's kung fu might be, a slave was a slave, and the master could beat him
whenever he wanted.
Gu Shenwei did not need Mama Xue to teach him breaking moves in order to
deal with Shangguan Hongye, or someone like him. He did not even need to
predict the opponent's moves in advance. He could press and hold him, with
his face on the edge of the Kang.
Shangguan Hongye did not bring his young attendant when he came, which
proved to be huge mistake.
"You, you, you, let go of me!"
Gu Shenwei released his hands and retreated, but kept his cold stare aimed at
this bully-looking coward. He had figured out a way to deal with Shangguan
Hongye.
"You dare to beat me?" Shangguan Hongye half-squated and half-stood, with
his arms on the Kang, and his face full of fright.
Gu Shenwei fished out a package from his quilt and threw it to Shangguan
Hongye. "How much money did you lose? I'll pay."
Shangguan Hongye opened the package, giving it a glance. The white and
yellow pieces were sparkling inside. It was much more than what he had lost
in the bet, but still, a slave paying money to him? He did not know how to
respond.
"This, this was not about the money. The young master said that he would
punish me hard, and so did you. He wouldn't just let it go." Shangguan
Hongye held the package tight, speaking in a less angry tone than before.
Gu Shenwei did not care about the young master. It would not take more than
three days before Shangguan Fei forgot about this matter.
"The yard knew something was lost. They are searching and investigating
rigorously."
Shangguan Hongye was astonished. He was the Supreme King's own

nephew. If it was known that he took the silver pieces from the slaves, which
were stolen, he would be embarrassed to death.
He was regretting having ever gotten involved the little intrigue of Slave
Huan, but he could not bring himself to drop the package.
"You can have what's in there and use it as you wish, but remember to save
some for me."
Shangguan Hongye pocketed the package, though it was full to the point of
bulging. "Don't worry," he said. "After I pay the debt, we'll split the rest fifty-
fifty."
Since he decided that taking care of the money was the first priority,
Shangguan Hongye was not so angry toward Slave Huan any more. Fearing
that he might pull back his words, even before Slave Huan asked, he went out
of the room so totteringly that he nearly knocked down Elderly Zhang, who
was coming inside.
Elderly Zhang watched the teenager stumble out, shocked. "Isn't this, isn't
that…" But many years' experience of being prudent and cautious made him
stop immediately. He laid down the lunch box, and, taking his part, went out
of the stone cabin speechless to go eat with his favorite horses in the stable.
Having fixed one problem did not allow Gu Shenwei to relax. Shangguan
Yushi would not leave the matter at that. Sooner or later, she would come and
punish him.
Chapter 43 - The truth
Chapter 43: The truth
It was Shangguan Hongye who had encouraged the little master to organize
the betting, and Gu Shenwei was very humble during the fight with
Shangguan Yushi, even yeilding by himself. This could make Shangguan
Yushi feel contempt toward him, thinking he must still be the slave who was
humiliated before the Spring Festival and dared not to fight back.
Gu Shenwei hoped that this was the case.
If Master Yu asked her attendants to avenge her, it could leave him no choice
but to submit himself as he had a month ago. If their contradiction was open
to the public, the master would only lose her face, while the slave could lose
his life.
Shangguan Yushi came in the afternoon. She had to be accompanied by

Shangguan Ru at all times, so it was a little difficult to get out without
anyone noticing.
She did not come in aggressively as Shangguan Hongye did. Instead, she
ducked into the room like a ghost. She stood silently at the door alone,
practically invisible, gazing at Slave Huan, who was sitting on the Kang.
Slave Huan, who was waiting for her, was shocked when he looked up.
No one would doubt Shangguan Yushi's anger. Her face was so rigid that it
looked almost like the stone cabin, and a furious devil seemed hidden in her
long, narrow eyes, ready to rush out and attack at any moment.
Gu Shenwei thought she might say something, so he kept silent and

concentrated, not expecting her to fight without saying anything.
Shangguan Yushi's eyesight exposed the path of her feet before she made her
move. Gu Shenwei rose up, jumped off of the Kang, landing to meet her first
move.
Master Yu was a clever girl, who was smarter than most of the teenagers in
the fort. But she had the same weakness as they did: She learned the best
Kung Fu, but lacked any real fighting experience.
She used "Fierce Thunder", the move Gu Shenwei had misjudged in the hall,
but had no trouble with this time.
He had already seized the optimal position. He caught her foot lightly in his
right hand, and threw Shangguan Yushi backward by the borrowed force.
Mama Xue had thought of a great way to break the move, and in fact she
overestimated Shangguan Yushi. This girl, who was a year younger than Gu
Shenwei, did not learn the ever-changing character of the martial arts. She did
use her moves correctly, but did not adjust the moves according to the
condition.
Shangguan Yushi hit the wall, falling down. And then she stumbled to stand
up.
Gu Shenwei had not used too much strength, and she was not hurt. But this
could not cover up her failure. Though it seemed like she had won the bet, the
truth that she lost after four moves was far more concerning.
She was not someone who could admit failure easily. As soon as she stood
up, she attacked immediately. Move after a move, she swung swiftly and
violently. But this time she learned the lesson: swiftness and violence were
not ends unto themselves. She attacked steadily and surely, and the next
several moves were not in the five moves.
Gu Shenwei dealt with her cautiously, not wanting to finish it quickly either.
The two teenagers crossed fist and foot in this narrowly cabined room. They
kept silent, neither wanting to admit to being the weaker opponent.
Gu Shenwei did not have so many breaking moves, and he gradually became
the weaker one. Fists and feet were always not the strong points of Gu
family's Kung Fu. During the first dozen years of his life, he did not practice
it well, either. Hence he was less forceful than Shangguan Yushi who trained
herself hard in the Moonhold Academy.
And so the saying was right that Master Yu's Kung Fu was even better than
Shangguan Ru, which normally she hid very well. But now she showed them
off, trying her utmost to kick the nasty slave down.
Holding the advantage, Shangguan Yushi was growing fiercer by the

moment, which increased the odds that she used one of the five moves. As
expected, she exerted "Heaven Spinning Stroke" after about thirty moves, but
Gu Shenwei did not get the chance to resolve it.
After several moves more, Shangguan Yushi used "Intensifying Billows and
Waves", which was also one of the chosen five moves.
Among several of those who practice Kung Fu in Golden Roc Fort, this move
was trivial. Using two palms to push forward, it came and went straightly.
Bur Mama Xue had underlined it, and explained its profoundness to Slave
Huan and Maid Lotus.
"Why does one become the superior and another remains a commoner, even
if they have learned the same move? The difference is that one uses it
'flexibly', while another uses it 'mechanically'. Every move in Kung Fu has its
own settled pattern, which suggests the enemy is in a specific position. For
example, if you use 'Black Tiger Heart Prising Movement', you suggest the
enemy is on the opposite side, with his weakness exposed and without any
defense. What if the enemy is not there? It will be useless. That's what using
it 'mechanically' means. No matter where the enemy is, or how he defends
himself, one only moves continuously without thinking effectively. It's the
same as using a treasured sword to cut the beef, sooner or later, the sword
will be broken. However, if you use it flexibly, which means focusing on the
momentum, taking the advantage, seducing the enemy to step into the
position where you want him to be, and kill him instantly. If you want to use
the 'Intensifying Billows and Waves' well, you shall disturb the enemy by a
series of tricks, and take the chance when she is in a muddle and cannot keep
her lower body steady, to kick her with all your effort. Golden Roc Fort's
Kung Fu is both offensive and defensive. This move is the only one which
has no defense, and for this reason you shall make every effort.
Therefore, when Shangguan Yushi showed a series of tricks, Gu Shenwei

guessed she would use the "Intensifying Billows and Waves", which could be
divided into two parts, the lower part focusing on the enemy's body, while the
upper one attacking the important acupoint in the breast. No matter which
part it was, if Gu Shenwei predicted it correctly, the breaking move was the
same.
If Shangguan Yushi was an experienced superior, then Gu Shenwei could

appear as though he were unsteady and fall down, and then she should know
there must be something afoot. But she could only see Gu Shenwei attack
faintly, which accorded with the timing of using the "Intensifying Billows
and Waves", so she kicked at once.
This move meant exerting all her strength, which Shangguan Yushi did.
Therefore she could not change in half way through.
By the time her palms' gesture had formed, Gu Shenwei had already gotten
down on one knee, waiting for her. After she pulled out her palms and found
out he had gone, Gu Shenwei's right elbow was in the middle of pressing into
her underbelly.
There was no need to show mercy. If they kept brawling in this way, he
might lose.
Shangguan Yushi's body bent like an arch and flew backward, hitting the wall
again and dropping down. This time she failed to keep herself steady, and
suddenly sat down.
Gu Shenwei was shocked. He thought he had kicked her too hard, so he

stepped up, wanting to check it out. But he retreated back immediately,
knowing he must make hay while the sun shines and not appear flabby.
"You want to compete again?"

He deliberately made his voice cold and tough, causing Shangguan Yushi to
sit on the ground and stare at him with fright in her eyes. She wiped her
mouth and immediately put on a ruthless face. "The Eighth Brother will tear
you into pieces."
In this final moment, Shangguan Yushi showed her nature as a prima donna.
She would find a more powerful and more influential people to defeat him.
Gu Shenwei squatted, and gazed into her in the eye. He was going to tell her
the "truth", which mostly came from the rumors among the slaves of the
learning hall, and a little from his own speculation. The answer would reveal
itself as to whether the little devil could be awed.
"Of course the Eighth Brother will tear me into pieces, but before that, he
may want to know one thing—something that is bad for our two masters."
"What are you driveling on about?"
"Someone in school organized the gambling event to defraud the Shangguan

family's children, in the name of the Ninth Master."
"That was simply for fun, and no one was defrauding anyone!"
Gu Shenwei ignored Shangguan Yushi's disputation and carried on.

Hereafter, all that came from his lips was all his speculation.
"This person obtains her money, but shares it with no one. The Ninth Childe
is so kind and pure that she is unaffected by this. What she doesn't know is
that this person is not gambling for fun, but for her family."
Gu Shenwei stared at the girl opposite him, unblinking, and observed every
tiny change in her face.
Shangguan Yushi kept silent at first, her cheeks blushing and her shoulders
lowered. She seemed ready to attack at anytime. But after keeping this
posture for a long time, she suddenly broke.
"It wasn't me, it was my brother… my mother forced me to get the money… I
had no choice…"
She spread her feet and cried aloud.
Gu Shenwei felt shamed. He had relied on his superior, Mama Xue, to help
him mercilessly bully a girl who was a year younger than him. Right now this
girl did not look like "Master Yu" after all.
"I understand. We're all in between a rock and hard place."
Gu Shenwei used a gentle tone while Shangguan Yushi raised her head up
stubbornly, trying to stare at him furiously. She felt tears forcing themselves
up behind her eyes, so she lowered her head and suppressed her crying, but
found it was no use. All she could do was sobbing, without saying anything.
"I'm just a slave who was trying to please my master, and I'll always be a
slave however hard I work. It's my destiny. And your family name is
Shangguan, which is also your fate. We won't interfere with each other's
business. Isn't that right?"
Gu Shenwei spoke cautiously. Shangguan Yushi's character was just like her
name. Her name, "Yushi," meant "Time of the rain", but no one knew just
when that time would come, and when it did, whether it would sprinkle or
storm.
The crying girl stood up and forcefully wiped her face, concealing her
inappropriate emotion at last. "I'll come back."
Hearing these threatening words, Gu Shenwei was actually relaxed. Such an

empty threat usually meant an armistice, at least temporarily.
"Slave Huan's life is in your hand," Gu Shenwei answered humbly. He could

never achieve a clear contract with Shangguan Yushi, but this was enough.
Shangguan Yushi grunted and left the room. Then she turned around at the
door and said, "What happened today…"
"…will remain a secret. If I leak a single word, may I be struck by lightning,

and never reincarnate."
Gu Shenwei completed her thought before she could. There was nothing
easier than making a pledge.
Shangguan Yushi was not very satisfied. Things had not ended her way. But
still, she left, saying nothing.
Gu Shenwei exhaled deeply. It was too tiring dealing with this little devil.
Compared to her, Shangguan Hongye was truly an idiot.
He had won in this round, but he knew it was clear that this would not be the
final round. He had to prepare for her revenge, which would certainly be
more vicious next time.
But during this armistice, he could make Shangguan Ru fall in love with
being a killer again. Only when he hid behind this energetic girl could he
reach the core secret of Golden Roc Fort.
Chapter 44 - Practice
Chapter 44: Practice
The relationship between Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Yushi became very

subtle. As it appeared, one of them was a master, while another was a slave;
one stood high, the other kept a low profile. But when no one was paying
attention, they looked at each other with deep hatred.
They did not fight publicly anymore, as their battle was now fought through
the Ninth Young Master, Shangguan Ru. After all, they had the same
purpose: flattering Supreme King's favorite girl.
Gu Shenwen became the most welcomed sparring boy again. Every morning
he followed the twins, playing everywhere and using every chance he could
speak to try to imbue the idea to Shangguan Ru that one had to be a killer
first so that she could learn the best Kung Fu of Gloden Roc Fort.
The idea was just what Shangguan Ru thought. She was only twelve after the
festival, not qualified to take part in the family issues, so she was curious
about the killer as well as others.
Gu Shenwei thought everything was going according to his plan, but he was
too late, because it was Shangguan Yushi instead of him who completed the
task of encouragement.
After the first lunar month, the atmosphere of the new year had been wiped
out. In the next morning, as soon as they came to the learning hall,
Shangguan Ru stood on the step and called on all the attendants who
belonged to her, her brother and Shangguan Yushi. Altogether they were
about twenty-five people, and then she declared,
"Follow me, boys and girls, let's play a game."

Gu Shenwei saw Shangguan Yushi smilingly pat her cousin on the shoulder
to show her support and approvement. He knew then it must be her idea.
Though Gu Shenwei was surprised, he wanted to see the result. Yet Slave
Qing, as the leader of these attendants, felt troublesome. Because the Ninth
Master's "game" was always dangerous, and most of them were unavailable
to him.
But this time, he thought it was out of the line for three masters to bring the
attendants to the East Castle. "Was the last time's expedition not enough?
And they were going to break through?" Slave Qing ran to the front of the
team, trying to find Shangguan Yushi to ask her to persuade Shangguan Ru to
stop this. Yet when he reached the front, he saw the Eastern Castle open its
gate widely, seeming to welcome this team.
Slave Qing was frozen. He was only in his thirties and despite a few masters
he had served, he had seen no one being spoiled like the twins. They could
even get a ladder-holder when they wanted to grab the star.
If other Young Masters did this when they were young, the slaves would
scold them and told them to focus on practicing Kung Fu. The teachers of the
Moonhold Academy were absolutely stronger than the training tutors of the
Eastern Castle. When his Kung Fu was superior to a normal killer, and
qualified to be named as Young Master, then he could enter into the Eastern
Castle. He could choose his own subordinates as a master there instead of
being an apprentice.
The twins were terribly spoiled.
Slave Qing shook his head ceaselessly, like a wringing dog, without hearing
the sneer of the pupils from behind.
Most of the young attendants went to the Eastern Castle for the first time.
They were exciting and nervous, hoping to find something exotic, which they
could boast of after they went back.
But they disappointed this time. The Eastern Castle was not different from
any other place: the same crisscrossed alleys, countless yards. The only
difference was that no one was here. A long time had passed, yet they saw no
one. They seemed to be walking in a deserted town.
But this "town" was very clean. No snow could be found in the path, and the
door was closed tightly. The high door head was carved with ancient
characters, like pairs of cold eyes, surveilling the intruders.
When the excitement fell away, the horror spread among the attendants,
especially as the two young masters were leading them to go farther and
farther. Someone even started a rumor that the destination was Reincarnation
Cliff.
In Golden Roc Fort, Reincarnation Cliff had much more of a reputation than
the Ghost Cliff. The slaves who grew up in the fort never hearing of
Firewood Yard knew Reincarnation Cliff, because they thought all of the
killers would be thrown to the abyss in this cliff, and blessed Gloden Roc
Fort with another life form in another world. It was said that even in the
daytime, there were ghosts wandering around Reincarnation Cliff.
Seeing the cliff at the end of the alley, Slave Qing was frightened, his legs
twitching and shivering. He could only move with the teenagers next to him.
He quavered, "My masters, you should not go on, it's…"
"Reincarnation Cliff, why shall we stop?"
Shangguan Ru spoke peacefully as she turned around.
The ominous rumor had been proved true. This bunch of people acted the
same as Slave Qing. They huddled together, not intending to go step further.
"This is an experiment." Shangguan Ru predicated their reaction, "Those who

are brave enough, come with me. Other cowards, go out of the East Castle."
Most of them proved to be cowards. They exhaled with relief. But Shangguan
Ru had not finished. "Go out of the Eastern Castle, and don't claim
yourselves as our attendants. Find yourselves a new master."
Shangguan Fei, who was too timid to be close to Reincarnation Cliff before
the festival, now was feeling bold, too. He stood on his sister's side, and
spoke loudly,
"The people who were buried in Reincarnation Cliff were the elites of Golden
Roc Fort. The killers, including my father and I, will be buried here. Does
anyone loathe this place?"
After these words, those who had drawn back now went a step forward.
Bearing a name of "deserter" in Golden Roc Fort? They could hardly get on
with life, let alone find a new master. The two masters had the temper of
children, and heavy hands, though, they were beloved by Lord, they would
have a boundless future. Since serving them was leisure and sometimes could
have some reward, it would be foolish to leave them.
Especially Slave Qing, Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Fei might be the last
two masters he could serve. He would have to work doubly as hard to earn a
prestigious occupation after the masters grew up.
No one turned back. They ventured to walk into Reincarnation Cliff, wearing
the formidable faces.
The outcome they were all most frightened of did not happen. Shangguan Ru
did not aim at Reincarnation Cliff.
At the end of the alley, there was a giant stone on the southern part, which
was about a 34 centimeter distance from the wall, allowing only one person
to pass through once at a time. But when entered, the place revealed itself as
an extensive semicircular space.
The west of this area was a high wall of a yard, with the stone in the north
and the cambered cliff in the west, which straighten suddenly in the south.
Though this cliff was close to Reincarnation Cliff, they were separated by the
giant stone. Alongside the cliff, there was an iron chain around the border,
which made it much safer. The attendants were less frightened. They were
amazed and wondered how their two masters found this place.
Gu Shenwei was puzzled, too. Last time they had come here, no one found
this place. After observing it carefully, he found the iron chains and the stone
pillars were still new. Apparently, they were installed in recent days, and the
floor was cleaned, with no macadam here, as if were polished.
It must have been the Supreme King who gave the order to clear this place
and give it to the twins.
Gu Shenwei used to be spoiled in his own home, but not like this. The twins
were free to do anything, and got whatever they wanted.
Gu Shenwei felt somehow jealous. The spoilt twins reminded him how great
his life could have been. Meanwhile, it strengthened his conviction, making
him indulge in his thoughts. He contemplated on the emense pain the
Supreme King would feel be when he killed the twins.
But he restrained himself quickly, acted like the others, and sighed with
admiration.
The twins and Shangguan Yushi looked at their slaves proudly. As they
settled down, Shangguan Ru told them the content of their new game.
"Look, I want to choose some potential candidates among you, and raise one
as killer."
Shangguan Fei interrupted, "And me, I will raise a killer, too."
"Yes, and so will master Yu. We three will be the blademasters, and the best
of you will be our killers"
The public was relieved. It was just a game of "fake killer". As they were
protected by the twins, they could do whatever they wanted in the fort, and
there would be no danger. Besides, if these masters were so excited, maybe
some of them could be rewarded a real killer's name, which was a fantastic
bargain. So the attendants rushed up to enroll. Even Slave Qing, who pushed
and shoved in the throng, claimed he was keeping order while in fact he was
standing in the front of the line.
But some of them tittered in private, "The twins will become the 'Young
Master', yet they lower themselves to be a so-called ' blademaster ', how
childish!"
Actually, the three "blademasters" were happy, and began to vie for their own
"killers".
Gu Shenwei set his heart at rest. It was just a game, but, if he guessed it right,
the twins must have learned many killing skills in the Moonhold Academy,
which could help him anyhow. In addition, Shangguan Ru would be fond of
him in the game. No one could be compared with him among these teenagers.
He began to think it could play out quite nicely. The only thing he neglected
was that Shangguan Yushi could never let him contact Shangguan Ru very
frequently.
At the beginning of picking up "killers", Shangguan Yushi asked for Slave

Huan, saying, "We've agreed, whoever asks for someone first gets him. No
shameless tricks!"
The twins professed their vexation effusively. Slave Huan, it was clear, was
the best of the attendants. Once he was snatched up, Shangguan Fei reacted
quickly and asked for another teenager who skilled in Kung Fu. Shangguan
Ru was left no choice. She gazed around and chose her "killers" at last.
Gu Shenwei had to hide his vexation deeply. He was still fighting with
Shangguan Yushi, and he lost another round.
They finished very quickly. Three "blademasters" chose three "killers" for
their own, and let Slave Qing take away the others.
Slave Qing brought the others back, sighing and groaning, for he was not
chosen. However, he knew no Kung Fu at all. He even dared not to see
someone be killed.
The three teams of "killers" each selected a place to train. Shangguan Yushi
occupied the north area near the giant stone, while Shangguan Ru was in the
middle area, and Shangguan Fei in the south.
Shangguan Yushi stared coldly at her three men. She gave her order as the
training: carrying the wooden weapon back.
Gu Shenwei understood it.
Shangguan Ru was not even thinking about raising a "killer". She just asked
them to do countless tasks: carrying the wooden swords or sabers, taking the
Kung Fu books, bringing back the tea and towels, anything that could keep
them away from her for a while.
In this way, Gu Shenwei could learn nothing, but worse, he lost the
opportunity to get close to Shangguan Ru.
The other boys were glad to do it. They were meant to play with their
masters, and their jobs were doing these chores, while practicing and
enduring hardship would be too tough for them. So they dallied over these
things deliberately. If possible, they would avoid being there the whole day.
The twins treated this game seriously, having learned many killers' stunts
recently, so they forced the subordinate teenagers to practice them hard. The
complaints could be heard everywhere. They envied Shangguan Yushi's
subordinates.
After several days, things were getting worse.
When there was no chore to be arranged, Shangguan Yushi asked them to

guard outside, calling it "secret post", which was the requisite skill of a killer.
Gu Shenwei had met with the inevitable obstacles. This jealous girl was
much more stubborn than the giant stone.
Chapter 45 - Wall Climbing
Chapter 45: Wall Climbing
Shangguan Yushi tried everything to prevent Slave Huan from getting close
to the twins. The slave boy could not solve this problem with his powerful
kung fu. He had to think of another way to get closer to the twins.
Fortunately, the twins' enthusiasm for the killer training game did not
diminish over time. Shangguan Ru announced that she would hold a contest
for the three killer teams after a month from now.
Gu Shenwei thought this was a chance for him to regain Shangguan Ru's
favor.
To achieve that goal, he needed to know in advance about what kind of

program that the young masters would choose for the contest and to make
preparations for it. He felt that he had to be extra careful about this matter
because Shangguan Yushi was also involved in making decisions about the
contents of the competition.
The day after when Shangguan Ru had declared that she would hold a
contest, Gu Shenwei seized an opportunity to meet Shangguan Hongye again.
The moment Shangguan Hongye noticed Slave Huan from afar, he sent his
young attendant away. He walked to the slave boy alone and greeted him
with a nod.
"Do me a favor," Gu Shenwei said straight away.
Shangguan Hongye was rather disappointed that the slave boy did not bring
him anything valuable this time. "Do you want me to organize a gambling
game again? I can't do that again. Master Yu nearly discovered that it was me
who organized the gambling game last time. I can't afford to offend her,"
Master Hongye grumbled.
"No. It's easy this time. You just need to inquire about what competition
program Master Ru chooses for the contest that will be held in a month."
"Hehe, I almost forgot that you're selected as a 'killer' now. Are you feeling
anxious about the contest? I'm sorry, I can't help you. Master Ru won't talk to
me."
"Master Fei must know something about it."
"Come on, I made him lose money last time. He hates my guts."
"Okay, never mind. Return the package to me. I'll ask someone else for help."
Shangguan Hongye's face changed as he looked around. He dragged Slave

Huan to a secluded spot against a wall. "Are you insane? All right. I promise
to help you one more time. We had agreed to a 50/50 split of the money, but
now I want it all."
"Hmm, okay. It's not a big deal. I can do it again."
Upon hearing that, Shangguan Hongye immediately approached the slave

boy and whispered next to his ear, "If you obtain some valuable goods again,
I can help you exchange them for silver and keep hold of it for you."
Gu Shenwei smiled without giving an answer. He turned around to walk

away, and within a few steps, he stopped and looked back to remind
Shangguan Hongye. "Quickly inquire about the matter. I want to know as
soon as possible."
After that, he went to visit Mama Xue to ask for her help.
"Master Ru will hold a contest after a month. If I can win the competition, the
twins will think highly of me. They'll probably ask Shangguan Yushi to give
me back to them. Or they'll consider me their strongest 'opponent'. As long as
I can win the game, they'll favor me again. However, I'm not confident in
myself because I haven't made any progress in my Internal Strength
recently…"
Mama Xue sat in a chair as she examined the humble teenager in front of her.
"You're smart. Sometimes I think that you're even smarter than Slave Yao.
Maybe you're too smart. I have to keep an eye on you."
"I wholeheartedly work for Mama Xue and Miss Luo. I only hope that one
day, Mama Xue and Miss Luo will help me avenge my father's death. Most
importantly, Mama Xue, you have the ability to kill me at any time."
He had told Mama Xue that his father was Yang Zheng, who was actually an
old servant of his family.
He had secretly pressed on his Xuanji acupoint in his chest several times and
felt a burning sensation there, which kept growing stronger over time. Since
Mama Xue had stopped helping him improve his internal strength, he had
been stuck at the second level of his Yin and Yang Strength. At first, he had
thought that he only needed more practice, but gradually he came to realize
that it was Mama Xue's interference that stopped him from making any
progress in his Internal Strength.
"So you know your place. That's good, that's good." Mama Xue said
repeatedly, without giving him an answer.
The next night, Mama Xue came up with a solution to the slave boy's
problem. She ordered Maid Lotus to spend two hours each night training
Slave Huan. The girl who had practiced kung fu with him in the past now
became his teacher.
Although Maid Lotus appeared unfriendly to the slave boy, she still followed
Mama Xue's order to teach him everything she had learned during the day,
such as fist fighting techniques, saber skills, Lightness Skill and hidden
weapons. Gu Shenwei found out that he could master all these kung fu skills
except for the Golden Roc Fort's Internal Strength. It was true that anyone
who had learned another kind of Internal Strength would be unable to
practice Golden Roc Fort's Internal Strength.
Gu Shenwei received his killer training from Maid Lotus at night and
continued to serve Shangguan Yushi during daytime. As an unfavored
servant of the young master, he followed her orders to complete many small
and trivial tasks.
He anxiously waited for Shangguan Hongye's reply. He was eager to know

what Shangguan Yushi thought his greatest weakness was.
Half a month passed. Shangguan Hongye had not acquired any information.
It was not his fault, as Shangguan Ru herself had not yet decided on the
competition program.
When another six or seven days had passed, Shangguan Hongye hastily gave
Slave Huan a slip of paper. He had finished his task.
Two words were written on the paper: wall climbing.
Gu Shenwei was confused about it. "Wall climbing?" However, the next
moment, he quickly realized that it was a Lightness Skill match.
Shangguan Yushi had discovered that Slave Huan's weakest point was his
Lightness Skill.
The Gu family's kung fu featured firm steps and steady moves. The family's
Lightness Skill was only just so-so, and thus Lightness Skill became Gu
Shenwei's weakest point. Shangguan Yushi had easily noticed this
shortcoming of the slave boy since she had watched him fight on many
occasions.
There were only seven or eight days left before the contest. Gu Shenwei
explained the situation to Mama Xue and spent all the remaining days
practicing Lightness Skill and wall climbing skills, hoping to make up for his
shortcoming during these few days.
As a beginner in Lightness Skill, he could not rapidly improve his Lightness

Skill without a strong Internal Strength. Given that, Mama Xue finally agreed
to help him practice Yin and Yang Strength again.
During the month, the twins abandoned their studies and concentrated on
training their "killers". Gu Shenwei and the other eight teenagers were
authorized to enter the restricted area of Golden Roc Fort and had to go to
Giant Rock Cliff in East Castle every morning to check in. However, every
morning after the check-in, Shangguan Yushi would send her three "killers"
away on some "sentry duties".
Finally, it was the day of the contest. All the students skipped school to watch
the match. For most students, this was their first time entering East Castle.
They were thrilled in the beginning but then felt a little bit disappointed after
entering the place. They all became restless while approaching Reincarnation
Cliff, but when they arrived at Giant Rock Cliff, they all felt excited again
and simultaneously praised that it was such a nice place.
The competition program was wall climbing, just as Shangguan Hongye had
informed Slave Huan.
There was a stone wall in the west of the cliff, which was more than 10
meters high. No one understood why Golden Roc Fort built such a high wall
near a cliff.
Nine red silk flowers were placed on the top of the wall. The contestants were
asked to climb up the wall as fast as possible to snatch the flowers. The one
who picked the most flowers would be the winner.
This contest did not look like a match between killers, but it was visually
pleasing and easy to understand for the audience.
The three "blademasters" were not included among the contestants. Only
their nine "killers" would climb the wall to snatch the flowers.
It was Shangguan Fei's idea. The young master would never want to be
defeated by his sister and cousin in front of the public, and he would feel
even more humiliated if some servants also outshone him.
However, some children of the Shangguan family, who had received training
in the Moonhold Academy, were not satisfied with this arrangement and
demanded to join the competition. At their urging, five more contestants were
added to the game. Now there were 14 contestants preparing to scramble for
the nine red flowers.
The three "blademasters" were the judges, and Slave Qing was responsible
for keeping order. As long as the twins were safe, he would be willing to take
part in any game together with them.
Among Shangguan Yushi's three "killers", only Slave Huan could climb up
the wall. The other two teenagers, who had learned nothing during the past
month, dug their fingers into some cracks of the wall but still failed to lift
their feet off the ground. Shortly after the beginning of the contest, they
admitted defeat embarrassedly and went back to their "blademaster" with red
faces to accept the punishment. Shangguan Yushi immediately sent them out
on "sentry duties". The audience found this scene very funny and burst into
laughter.
Shangguan Yushi did not mind the crowd's mockery. Her eyes remained
fixed on Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei jumped much higher than all the other contestants in the
beginning. He worried that the five children surnamed Shuangguan would
become his strong rivals since they might have learned some advanced kung
fu skills in the Moonhold Academy. However, soon he found out that his
worry was completely unnecessary. These five children probably just joined
this game for fun. They could not even compete with Shangguan Fei's
"killers". All of the five children became scared and started to cry after
climbing up less than seven meters. Three of them fell down and the other
two climbed down by themselves, which prompted another round of laughter.
Shangguan Fei's "killers" outshone Shangguan Ru's "killers" in kung fu, but
Shangguan Ru had trained her teenagers well over the past month. Now, the
six teenagers closely followed Gu Shenwei as they crawled toward the
flowers like nimble geckos.
Gu Shenwei snatched the first red flower. A great cheer went up from the
crowd. He felt that a hand was trying to grasp his ankle and kicked it off
without mercy. The next moment, someone fell down while screaming.
After that, the remaining six teenagers all made to the top of the wall. They
drew out their wooden sabers to fight each other.
Gu Shenwei was adept at saber skills. He did not need to resort to using his
killing desire this time and easily defeated all his opponents. During the fight,
the teenagers fell off the wall one after another. Two of them even fell into
the place on the other side of the wall and spent quite a while limping back to
Giant Rock Cliff.
Gu Shenwei discovered that the six teenagers had not improved very much
after having trained for one month. He felt lucky that he had overestimated
them and for taking this chance to ask Mama Xue to help him improve his
Yin and Yang Strength.
He obtained seven red flowers in the end. While he was fighting with the
others, another teenager grabbed two red flowers and hastily jumped off the
wall. He was not injured, since some of the audience managed to catch him in
time.
Gu Shenwei stuck his wooden saber back into his belt and slowly climbed
down the wall with the red flowers. His Lightness Skill was not good enough
to ensure his safety when he jumped from somewhere more than 10 meters
high.
The first person he looked at when he landed was Shangguan Ru.
Master Ru was also staring at him. Although her "killers" failed to gain any
flowers, she did not seem angry at all. Normally, she would lose her temper
from only a little frustration.
Gu Shenwei turned to Shangguan Yushi and gave the flowers to her, his
"blademaster".
"Master Yu, my blademaster, I picked them for you."
Shangguan Yushi was extremely disappointed and furious at this moment,

but she masked her feelings very well. She did not accept the red flowers.
"Keep them. They're yours," she said coolly, with both hands behind her
back.
Shangguan Yushi seemed to admit defeat and gave up on trying to drive

Slave Huan away, which made Gu Shenwei become more vigilant against
her.
The "killer training" was over. Shangguan Ru fired the useless "killers" and
only kept Slave Huan and another two teenagers. She told the three teenagers
that the "blademasters" were going to form an elite team together with them.
"They think I only did this for fun. I'll give them a big surprise."
Today was the first day of this elite killer team. Now only the six members of
the team remained at Giant Rock Cliff.
"We're the strongest children in Golden Roc Fort. Compared to us, those
apprentices in Carvewood Academy are just rubbish," Shangguan Ru said
solemnly and mystically.
She paused a moment to look at Shangguan Fei. She felt that he could not
meet her criteria but she could not drive her brother away.
"Killers can't just play games. We should carry out our duty."
Her tone became more mysterious. She was not influenced by anyone this
time. It was all her idea.
"I'm going to organize an assassination," she announced.

Chapter 46 - Assassination
Chapter 46: Assassination
Shangguan Ru wanted to hold an "assassination" in Golden Roc Fort, but she

had not decided on the target.
The plan sounded childish and impractical. Except for Shangguan Yushi,
who supported Shangguan Ru without reservation, the others were somewhat
inclined to give up on her plan.
Shangguan Ru widened her eyes and said aggressively, "No retreat for killers.
If they don't move forward, they die."
It sounded scary. Though everyone knew that Shangguan Ru would not kill
anyone, they also knew that great suffering would come if they disobeyed
her. Therefore, they all pretended to be cheerful and began to discuss the first
target for assassination.
Gu Shenwei kept silent, as he did not want to aggravate Shangguan Yushi.

The jealous girl would not easily forgive him. Therefore, the only thing he
could do was to not offer her any excuse.
The first victim of the "assassination" game was Slave Qing. Nobody knew
who originated the proposal, but all of them agreed with it. Shangguan Yushi
intentionally warned her three "killers". "If you dare to report our plan, you'll
be labeled a traitor. How shall we punish the traitor?"
"Expel them from the fort and hack their body with 100 blades." Shangguan
Fei scrambled to answer. It was the family motto of Golden Roc Fort, and he
was quite familiar with it.
"Right. Don't show mercy to the traitors." Shangguan Ru stressed her tone.
They were not afraid that their bodies would be "hacked with 100 blades". It
would be more miserable for them simply to be banished from the fort. The
three "killers" immediately swore to heaven that they would not divulge the
secret. Gu Shenwei was good at making such pledges, as he only needed to
slightly change the pledge he had made to Luo Ningcha.
By dawn on the fourth day, it was proved that no one had divulged the secret.
Slave Qing lived on the periphery of West Castle, where most of the adult
servants' houses were gathered. He would go out at dawn, walk through a
deep alley, and meet his two lackeys at the alley entrance to head for the
school together.
The six people were divided into three teams, led by the twins and
Shangguan Yushi respectively. They had tailed Slave Qing for three days and
learned his daily routine.
Gu Shenwei still followed Shangguan Yushi.
Though Master Yu was absent-minded in training others, she did not neglect
her own kung fu practice. With the great improvement in her lightness skill,
she intended to compete with Slave Huan. Gu Shenwei had to maintain his
mindfulness at all times so that he could catch up with her in the chaos of the
curving alleys.
Slave Qing did not find himself being "spied on". As a family servant of
Golden Roc Fort, he had lived in this place full of killers since he was a child.
The advantage of living in Golden Roc Fort was that he did not need to be
worried about the assassination, because attacking sneakily in Golden Roc
Fort was like showing off incompetence before experts. It was impossible no
matter how they planned.
Shangguan Ru composed the plan for the "assassination". Shangguan Fei

would lead the three "killers" to ambush at the entrance to the alley, lest
Slave Qing's two lackeys ruin their plan. Shangguan Ru and Shangguan
Yushi would be responsible for the assassination.
Although it was just a game, the teenagers felt nervous and excited from the
bottoms of their hearts. Shangguan Fei almost ruined the plan by chirping
with excitement.
The "assassination" went smoothly. The four of them at the entrance could
not see the situation inside, but heard a heartrending cry. The two lackeys,
who came to meet with Slave Qing every morning, also heard it. The two
lackeys trembled with fear and almost fell to the ground. Then they ran
towards the alley, but just ran two or three steps before they looked at each
other and changed their minds. They eventually ran back to their homes in
panic and no longer showed up for the rest of the day.
The two girls, having succeeded in the "assassination", jumped and rushed
out of the alley, like two little deer who had just learned how to run. They
glowed with joy, with the corners of their mouths jiggling, as if they were
suppressing crazy laughter with all their strength.
The others retreated at full speed and returned to their own identity.
Slave Qing was frightened indeed. Though the saber lain on his neck was
wooden, he felt as though he was standing before the gates of hell. His face
was green for the next three days and, he became paranoid. If he heard a
voice behind his back, he would jump in fright.
Slave Qing became a laughingstock in the fort. However, three days later,
when things went back to normal, he was even proud of himself, as it seemed
an honor for him to become the first target of the assassination. He thought it
was a miracle that he could survive.
Slave Qing vividly described the sneak attack, as if he had kept his
composure at that moment and had watched the whole process from the back.
"She made a deft move, like a celestial being who showed up. When the
saber slashed down, I froze up. I had felt that something was wrong, but I
was still stunned when I saw the saber. You can't imagine such
swordsmanship could be displayed by a child of little more than 10 years
old."
Slave Qing severely punished his two lackeys who had not come to save him.
He intended to dispatch the two lackeys to do the most unpleasant work, such
as looking after the dead in Firewood Yard. However, he was persuaded by
the teenager's parents to forgive them.
The twins became famous for their assassination. They expanded the range of
their "assassination" targets, including even blademasters and young masters
of Golden Roc Fort.
Only the first "assassination" caused an unexpected effect. Later operations

were like games in which the two sides cooperated with each other. Their
targets, who had their ways of knowing the twins' plan in advance, would
pretend to have no idea of it. Some of them would intentionally walk alone to
give them the chance.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi speculated there was a hidden traitor in

their team, but they could not find the evidence. Gu Shenwei knew that
Master Yu was eager to frame him for betrayal. Therefore, he became more
careful. He just reported what had already happened and would not speak
more, even to Mama Xue.
Mama Xue, of course, did not care about the children's game and even
showed a little contempt. Nevertheless, she was satisfied that Slave Huan had
become the core of the organization built by the twins, so she continued to
help him improve his Internal Strength.
Mama Xue's Iron Finger was still stiff. Gu Shenwei understood clearly that
every Internal Breath she transferred was not only a good medicine for
improving Internal Strength, but was also a poison that caused qigong
deviation. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it, as his Internal Strength increased
rapidly.
The next "assassination" was in full swing. With Supreme King's

acquiescence, no one dared to call the game off. But not every target was as
kind as Slave Qing. The twins were chased by the old teacher at school for a
dozen days, and after that, they did not dare to go to school for a long time.
Several blademasters with high status would not behave like humble servants.
They could find those teenagers' tricks without any warning. Shangguan Ru
and Shangguan Yushi were almost caught several times, while Shangguan
Fei and the other two "killers" were not spared from capture. Gu Shenwei did
not get caught, with the help of the kung fu Mama Xue had taught him. Even
so, there were two times that he barely escaped.
Though they hardly realized it, the six teenagers' kung fu was improving
substantially. The "assassination" game seemed more effective than the
traditional teaching.
However, Shangguan Ru became increasingly demanding. After a month, she

"fired" the two "killers" who always dragged their feet. Now four people
were left, with Gu Shenwei as the only servant.
Shangguan Fei could not meet Shangguan Ru's requirements, but it was
difficult for Shuangguan Ru to "fire" her elder brother. Each time Shangguan
Fei used their mother as the shield, Shangguan Ru could only compromise
with him.
Nevertheless, Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi began to add a new part

to the game. They tried their best to shake off Shangguan Fei, as they became
more confident and no longer needed helpers.
Shangguan Fei's kung fu was weaker than the two of them, so they could
easily shake him off. Gu Shenwei had lost their tracks several times. He even
suspected that it was Shangguan Yushi who came up with this idea to deal
with him.
In fact, this was an opportunity for Gu Shenwei to obtain Shangguan Fei's

trust by using their common experience, but he made up his mind to follow
the two girls.
Gu Shenwei made this decision because of his competitive mentality. The

more tricks Shangguan Yushi played, the more he wanted to defeat her. The
decision also had a utilitarian purpose. Obviously, Shangguan Ru had higher
status than Shangguan Fei, so to gain her favor would be helpful, not only for
Mama Xue's mysterious plan, but also for his future revenge.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi always shook the other two off
unexpectedly. They had their own way of communicating, which the others
could not understand. One moment, they would be walking and then
suddenly take to their heels. It was hard for the other two to catch up with
them, because the two girls were adept at lightness skills.
Gu Shenwei treated it as a test and kept his eye on the two girl's every
movement. After several attempts, he had a basic grasp on the two girls' non-
verbal code. An eye contact, a flick of a finger or a random pause would be
the signs for "shaking their partners off".
Gu Shenwei practiced lightness skills day and night. After several

embarrassing failures, he finally could catch up with the two girls, and
entered their firm coterie. No matter how hard Shangguan Yushi tried, she
could not shake him off.
Shangguan Ru was glad for his participation. Shangguan Yushi was her close
friend, sister, and adviser, but the distinctive servant was her opponent. With
her competitive personality, she liked to have an equal opponent.
The three of them spent lots of time visiting almost half of Golden Roc Fort,
searching for the best places for "assassinations". Shangguan Ru and
Shangguan Yushi knew quite a few killer skills. Half in practice and half
showing off, they taught them all to the sticky little servant.
Gu Shenwei took this chance to probe into every cranny of the fort. Finally,
he ascertained that his missing elder sister was not within those walls.
They became bolder and bolder. One time, they even tried to "assassinate"
the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu.
At that time, Gu Shenwei was roughly familiar with his enemy's kung fu.
Shangguan Nu was able to detect the intentions of the three tricksters, but he
did not show it until they made the first move. Then he captured all of them.
This was a crushing defeat. It was the first time that none of the three
"killers" had escaped since the assassination game started.
As the Eighth Young Master's servant, Gu Shenwei had to kneel down and
kowtow for mercy, while the two girls behaved in a spoiled manner and
asked their target to apologize to them instead.
Shangguan Nu sincerely seemed to like his youngest sister and even showed
a different side. He not only apologized to his sister, but even offered a rare
smile while displaying his iron hook to please the two girls.
The severed right hand was Shangguan Nu's greatest shame. Usually, if
someone so much as casts it a glance, they might be killed by him.
Gu Shenwei became a bit anxious. He wanted to maintain his hatred for

Shangguan Nu. In his mind, this man with one hand was the most evil
creature in the world. Therefore, he did not want to see the Eighth Young
Master's softhearted side.
After they failed to "assassinate" Shangguan Nu, Shangguan Ru called the

game off for a while and went back to school.
Several days later, after the "assassination" restarted, Gu Shenwei

unexpectedly found himself as the "target". This time, however, they did not
just play for fun.
Chapter 47 - Mine
Chapter 47: Mine
The twins began getting weary of the "assassination" game. When they
returned to school, it was early summer. Lush green moss came out from the
crevice of the rocks and the rich fragrance of unknown flowers permeated the
air in Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei did not know why Mama Xue became so impatient. She kept
forcing Slave Huan to try his best to flatter Shangguan Ru until he could
follow her into Inner Residence. This was the first time Mama Xue had put
forward a definite aim.
Gu Shenwei could only promise that he would do as she said. As an

attendant, he knew it was quite difficult for him to enter Inner Residence.
Most of time Shangguan Ru led him to play for fun, and treated him like her
ordinary friend. However, when she was tired, she would return to being the
young master and enter the red door, which divided their status. Masters of
Golden Roc Fort and their henchman were inside while their reliable servant
could only stay outside.
Gu Shenwei was tasked with cleaning Giant Rock Cliff every day.
Giant Rock Cliff now became a base for the twins. As the time passed, the
interstices of the stone wall and the hidden caves under the boulder were full
of various gadgets. The items, such as wooden weapons, small target butts,
ropes, flags, and books were thrown everywhere. Gu Shenwei had to put
them away and remember their exact positions so that he could immediately
find them when the two masters needed them.
He was supposed to do the cleaning with other attendants, but since the twins
returned to school, the other attendants had become lazy. They would only
show up at noon, lest their masters come.
Gu Shenwei enjoyed it. He no longer needed to wait by the entrance to the

school every morning, as Slave Qing did not like him and the other attendants
excluded him. He came directly to Giant Rock Cliff. The little door of East
Castle was always open for him. After putting those sundries away, he could
concentrate on practicing kung fu without worrying that someone would
disturb him.
The twins usually came to play for a while in the afternoon. Besides
Shangguan Yushi, they sometimes brought other children of the Shangguan
family, who were proud of this priority they enjoyed. In fact, the teenagers in
the fort judged their status according to the number of times they had gone to
Giant Rock Cliff.
A kung fu competition between Shangguan Ru and Slave Huan was always

on the agenda. Now they no longer competed with fist techniques, but turned
to the wooden saber. Their bladesmanship was much stronger than that of the
others, so no one else dared to challenge Slave Huan. Even Shangguan Fei
refused to fight with him in contempt.
Shangguan Yushi might have been the only one who was able to fight with
these two, but she also refused to hold a contest with Slave Huan for no
reason. Everyone knew she detested this servant.
There was some gossip among the teenagers about the three of them. Gu
Shenwei did not take it seriously, but he remained vigilant at all times and
was afraid that Shangguan Yushi would play more dirty tricks.
That morning, Gu Shenwei went to Giant Rock Cliff as usual. East Castle
was as silent as it always was. He could sense that some guards were hiding
near several of the crossroads as he passed. As he was close to Reincarnation
Cliff, this feeling disappeared. The cliff was always the place with lightest
guards in Golden Roc Fort.
However, as soon as he entered Giant Rock Cliff, Gu Shenwei immediately

perceived an ambush on both sides of him. Though he tried his best to hold
his breath, his stealth was nothing compared to the experience of the guards.
Gu Shenwei thought it was the twins, skipping classes to hang out near the
cliff and wanting to play a joke on him, so like the previous targets, he also
pretended that he did not know they were there and put the sundries away as
usual.
The ambusher was obviously impatient, and launched a sneak attack as soon
as Gu Shenwei stooped down for the first time.
Gu Shenwei decided he would sustain the blow to please the attacker, but the
moment the weapon touched his body, Gu Shenwei suddenly changed his
mind. However, it was too late to strike back. He could only roll forward to
avoid the fatal blow, but he still got hurt and felt a burst of pain in his back.
When Gu Shenwei stood up, what he saw was not one of the twins but the
cold-faced Shangguan Yushi, holding a shiny steel dagger.
He suddenly realized that Shangguan Yushi was not playing a trick. She
really wanted to kill him.
Gu Shenwei was still astounded, though he had prepared for an attack.

Shangguan Yushi was only fourteen, younger than him by a year. She had
restrained herself for several months. Gu Shenwei had not expected that she
would carry out a real assassination as a reprisal. There was no sign that her
hate was reaching its limits.
He immediately understood, as he had participated in two murder cases, one

for Slave Yao and the other for Han Shiqi.
Gu Shenwei thought she must be insane. Her desire to have someone all to
herself could be compared to his will to get his revenge.
Shangguan Yushi was not insane. She was more composed than she had ever
been. Slave Huan thought he had entered their coterie, adding an extra person
to their two-person world. In her eyes, such a conceited servant deserved
death.
Shangguan Yushi had failed with the first strike. She immediately pounced
on him and pressed down hard, not giving him any chance to breathe.
Gu Shenwei stepped back repeatedly until he reached the edge of the cliff,
with his heel already against the iron-chain fence.
He had been forbearing, but suddenly he became furious. In order to take

revenge, he had paid many high prices. He had changed his name and had
been sold as a slave to serve others and flatter them. He had never imagined
that he would do those things, but now he had done it all and would keep
doing it.
He would not be softhearted in his path to revenge. Shangguan Yushi wanted

him to die, so he would return the favor.
Shangguan Yushi's kung fu was not much weaker than his. Moreover, she
had a sharp dagger in her hands. Mama Xue was right. Fist and foot could not
fight against saber and sword.
The only advantage Gu Shenwei had was his real killing desire. He did not
even care about his own life, so long as he got his revenge.
Shangguan Yushi wanted to kill him, but she did not have the faintest
understanding of "the killing desire". She did not have the will to kill people
at any cost.
She was also somewhat lacking in experience, which was essential for killers.
Once one held the upper hand, one must not stop the attack. She, however,
did stop, as she believed she had already driven her opponent into frustration.
Slave Huan was injured on his back. If he took a step back, he would fall off
the cliff.
She, like most who seek revenge, wanted to say something before her enemy
died.
People rarely realized that language and swords are of equal importance for
revenge. Sometimes, language was much more important, as a torrent of
abuse could express the feeling of successful vengeance. As he was killing
Han Shiqi, Gu Shenwei felt regretful that he did not show his real identity
and did not ask about his sister's whereabouts.
"She's mine."
Shangguan Yushi uttered the words ruthlessly. The malevolence implied in

her words made him tremble with fear. She was no longer a 14-year-old girl
at that moment. She had strode across a delicate borderline and entered the
adult world. In this world, possession meant everything.
Gu Shenwei did not answer, because language could not stop the crazy
woman. He took the opportunity to hold his body and catch his breath,
thinking how to save himself.
"You smelly servant, how dare you compete with me?"
Gu Shenwei considered that the situation could be resolved if Shangguan

Yushi would just speak to Shangguan Ru. After all, he did not pose any real
threat to her. No matter how hard Slave Huan had tried, he was just a servant
in Shangguan Ru's mind. Shuangguan Ru's only friend was Shangguan
Yushi.
Slave Huan had at worst hung around on the edge of the coterie, which
Shangguan Yushi had delimited. Nevertheless, she was like a king of lion
proudly responding to a challenge. She could only vent her hatred by killing
him.
"Go to hell!"
Before she finished speaking, she had stabbed Gu Shenwei with the dagger.
Still, Gu Shenwei did not retreat. He just leaned to other side to avoid a blow
to his vital parts and took the strike with his left shoulder. At the same time,
he jumped forward and held Shangguan Yushi, making her fall heavily to the
ground.
He had no choice but to self-destruct if he wanted to save himself.
This was Grappling Technique Mama Xue taught him. Once a move was
made successfully, this murderous maneuver followed it. The two of them
fought so closely that they could not complete a full move. The fight to death
eventually became competition for strength.
Gu Shenwei finally regained the upper hand. Since Mama Xue had helped
him improve his Internal Strength, his Yin and Yang Strength had improved
quickly and was close to the third level of Yang Strength. As a boy, he
himself was naturally stronger. After several moves, he seized Shangguan
Yushi on her neck.
The dagger was still sticking out of his left shoulder, blood dripping, but Gu
Shenwei did not feel any pain, because he had an urge to kill. All his strength
was concentrated in his hands.
Shangguan Yushi tried to fight back, her face turning red from lack of air and
her eyes full of terror. She was terrified, as the boy was becoming cruel as a
beast, emitting an endless murderous aura. It was his killing intent that
defeated her completely.
"Let go of each other. What're you two doing?"
Gu Shenwei raised his head and saw the panic-stricken Shangguan Ru

standing beside the huge rock. Petrified, she had cried out but did not come to
stop them.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Shenwei even wanted to kill Shangguan Ru as

well. Her kung fu was almost a perfect match with his, or maybe stronger for
some moves, but she was a little girl like Shuangguan Yushi, without a real
killing desire. The "assassination" game just trained her skill, but did not
instill in her a will to kill.
Reason came back to him at the critical moment. He was dragged back from
the edge of the breakdown.
He began to carry out his plan for revenge. If he killed Shangguan Ru right
now, he would ruin his own plan, as he could not cover up the murder.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi were neither ordinary servants nor
unqualified killers. If the two of them died on Giant Rock Cliff, he had no
choice but to die with them.
Gu Shenwei loosened his hands and stood up blankly. He did not know how
to explain this matter. It was Shangguan Yushi who had picked a fight with
him. The dagger in his shoulder could prove everything.
Shangguan Yushi also jumped up. Before Slave Huan could explain, she
pressed her cyanotic neck with one hand while pointing at her enemy with the
other and crying. "He wanted to kill me!"
"No, I didn't…"
Gu Shenwei opened his mouth hastily to defend himself. However, he made

the same mistake that Shangguan Yushi had. He hesitated when he held the
upper hand. Worse still, he forgot that he was standing on the edge of the
cliff.
Shangguan Yushi looked exhausted, but it was just illusion. She

unexpectedly launched a sneak attack again with a kick under the Shangguan
Ru's stare. It hit him exactly in his lower abdomen.
She tried to remove her opponent at any risk.
Gu Shenwei could not dodge it and could only take it. Shangguan Yushi gave
the kick with all her Internal Strength. Even an adult could not bear it. He
staggered, took a step back and was blocked by the iron chain that stood at
half his height.
Even so, he could barely stand. Nevertheless, Shangguan Yushi did not show
any mercy, giving the second kick in spite of Shangguan Ru's scream.
Gu Shenwei turned over and fell off the cliff. Though he waved his hands, he
could not reach the iron chain, which was far away from him in the blink of
an eye.
"How ironic." The first thought that came to Gu Shenwei's mind as he

tumbled through the air was self-mockery, "I'm the only one dying in the
series of 'assassinations' in the Golden Roc Fort."
Shangguan Ru's scream came faintly, but soon could not be heard.
Chapter 48 - A Birds Nest
Chapter 48: A Bird's Nest
Gu Shenwei was plummeting at high speed, but he still held onto his will to
survive, flailing about and trying to find a purchase to break his fall. Though
he could not see anything, he could feel himself bump into some trees or half-
decayed stones.
He was unsure how much time had passed. Gu Shenwei finally landed on
something. He felt as if his bones had fallen apart, but he immediately fainted
and did not feel the sharp pain, which went deep into his marrow.
He was alive. The obstacles along the way had slowed down his falling speed
and the place he landed happened to be full of twigs and soft grass.
He immediately regained consciousness. The full body-encompassing pain

swallowed up him. For a while, he was not able to think, see or hear
anything.
When he eventually regained control of his body, he tried to sit up to observe

his surroundings. The first thing he saw was a mass of cloudy mist, which
indicated that he did not land at the bottom of the cliff, but on the side of the
mountain.
Then he saw something unbelievable and unacceptable to his mind. He had

not noticed it because it was so strange that he refused to admit that it could
exist.
Not far away from him, there was a giant python, which was as thick as an
adult's thigh. It did not attack the invader that fell from the sky, as its mouth
was filled with a huge egg. The egg looked like a smooth grey stone, which
was as large as Bighead Kingpin's head.
The python's mouth was fully open so that its yellow eyes could only look up
at the sky, which interrupted its view. This was one of the reasons why Gu
Shenwei was still alive.
It looked so strange and incompatible with the real world that Gu Shenwei
thought that he must be in the netherworld. He felt like he had drunk Meng
Po's soup and had forgotten his previous life, his revenge, and the girl who
killed him. He just blankly watched the python and remained motionless.
His strong will to survive stimulated all his potential. Ignoring the great pain,
Gu Shenwei stood up and drew out the dagger from his left shoulder. The
weapon had not fallen out during his tumble.
He wanted to take a few steps back to keep a safe distance, but after only half
a step, he found there was no more space for him to move.
The place he had landed was a large nest. It looked like a gigantic bowl made
of twigs and hay. If it were turned upside down, the nest would be the size of
a small human house. Now he was standing on the edge of the nest, the twigs
teetering under his feet.
The python was trying to swallow the bird egg. With its muscle contracting,
the python swallowed a little bit more, leaving little still exposed.
Gu Shenwei did not realize that it was a good time to kill the python until it
completely swallowed the egg. If he waited, the python would push the egg
into its belly and twist its body to crush it. Then it might be willing to eat a
human teenager.
Half of its body was left outside the nest. In order to swallow the egg, the
python wriggled its body and moved forward about a third of a meter. Now it
was closer to Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei took several steps toward the python's head and stabbed between
its two yellow eyes. Then he stooped and gingerly moved forward, the tip of
the dagger moving along the python's body. The cuts left were deep in some
places but shallow in others because of its bones.
As soon as he reached its tail end, Gu Shenwei turned around to lean against
precipice. The rock behind him gave him tremendous power and confidence.
The python's back had been sliced from head to tail, but it seemed insensible,
neither feeling any pain nor resisting with any fercoity. It continued to
swallow the egg and wriggle its bloody body.
After a while, the python gradually stopped moving. The bird egg was
competely exposed. The python lost all its blood and showed its white flesh.
Hundreds of nematodes swarmed out between the skin and the flesh. Every
nematode was about half a meter long. Shaking their head, they seemed to
want to find a new home.
As the terror changed into disgust, Gu Shenwei leaned against the precipice
more closely, wishing he could turn to stone and mix with the precipice. He
originally thought he could kick the python off the nest when it died, but now
he did not want to take even half a step forward.
The bird egg on the python's head suddenly cracked. Gu Shenwei did not
consider the bird egg's safety while cutting the python. The tip of the dagger
had left a scratch on it, which allowed the shell crack.
Gu Shenwei would not have been surprised even if immortals and ghosts
appeared at the moment. He stared at the egg, which joggled slightly and then
shook fiercely, with an urgent cracking sound. Eventually, a nestling came
out.
The nestling was so ugly; even a ghost was not comparable to it.
It was a third of a meter tall and much bigger than ordinary birds. Without
any feathers, it looked emaciated, as if its skeleton were covered by a layer of
pink skin. Its yellow eyes were a small replica of the python's.
The nestling had a long beak. It did not cry or run around. It held its head
high and did not know that it had been a dish for the python just moments
before.
It seemed to suffer from starvation in the egg, because the first thing it did
was to eat the mucus left in the egg after looking around. After a few bites, it
was attracted by the python and stepped forward. It pecked at the yellow
eyeballs with two bites and then began to eat the squirming nematodes. The
nestling enjoyed its meal and ate them all from the python's head to tail.
It seemed it was still not full. After swallowing several pieces of the python
flesh, it finally finished its dinner. It raised its head and stared at the human
being standing against the precipice with its yellow eyes, as if it was trying its
best to recognize whether Gu Shenwei was its food, enemy, or friend.
Gu Shenwei had been watching while the nestling was eating. With the
dagger in his hand, he was eager to stab the monster to death several times.
However, he was blocked by the disgusting corpse of the python. He could
not move an inch, as if his feet were rooted in the ground.
The nestling did not reach his knees, but its eyes was evil as if it was the
reincarnation of a demon. Gu Shenwei felt shocked and had no confidence to
defeat it.
The nestling suddenly spread his bare wings and dashed at the human being.
Before Gu Shenwei realized, the nestling had begun pecking his two legs
with its sharp beak.
It was painful. Gu Shenwei kept moving his leg, but he could not avoid the
rain-like barrage of its pecks in such a small place. It did not seem to have
any vicious intentions though, because it just pecked, but never bit him. If it
had snapped at him with the strength it had used while eating the python
flesh, the nestling would have bitten off a large piece of his flesh.
Even so, Gu Shenwei still could not bear it, whereupon he lifted his dagger
and tried to frighten it off. "Go. Go away. I have a dagger."
Gu Shenwei waved the dagger while kicking it off. The nestling did not seem
to mind. It thought that this was a game after its meal, so it enjoyed playing
with him. Its eyes were so keen that it was able to hit the foot he stuck out.
If it went on like this, Gu Shenwei knew his legs and feet would be broken.
He decided that he could not show any mercy to it and held the dagger high.
When he was about to stab it, he felt that the sky suddenly became dark.
There were clouds and mist over the nest, with sunshine slanting through
them, but the darkness, like a massive black cloud, blocked all the sunshine.
Gu Shenwei could not help looking up and immediately felt lucky that he had
not killed the nestling. He should have thought that the nestling should have
huger parents, since the egg was huge.
A giant bird was one head taller than an adult human. It almost covered up
half of the sky, when it spread its wings.
The giant bird quickly landed on the nest. It was covered entirely in black
feathers, with a pinch of golden feathers standing on the head, like a small
crown. Its long iron-gray beak was like two sharp blades combined together.
Its eyeballs were as yellow as the nestling's. They looked less vicious, but
more proud, thoughtful and perseverant.
The giant bird loosened its claws to release a small living beast while
landing. The small beast curled up, groaning in a low voice. It did not intend
to run away.
Gu Shenwei was petrified. He was completely sure that he was not the giant
bird's match.
The giant bird looked at the nestling, and then glanced at the human being.
Finally, it noticed the dagger lifted in the air.
Gu Shenwei hurriedly lowered his hand. He subconsciously wanted to cast

the dagger away, but immediately thought it would be so intentional that the
giant would see through his trick. He did not know why he believed this bird
could perceive human emotion.
He pulled the dagger close to his chest, and said with one hand pointing to
the python corpse and the other hand pointing to the nestling, as if to say, "I
killed that and saved it."
The giant bird was hesitating. The nesting did not seem to be interested in its
kindred and kept pecking the human being's legs and feet. Gu Shenwei did
not dare to dodge it and could only bear the pain.
The giant bird took a step forward. Its eyes suddenly became fierce.
When Gu Shenwei thought the giant bird would attack him, the sky became
dark again. The second giant bird came back.
This giant bird was bigger than the previous one, and the golden feathers on
its head were more striking. Gu Shenwei had to raise his head high enough to
see it clearly. He speculated that the latter was male and the former was
female.
The male bird also caught a small beast. After it put it down, the male bird
kept its wings unfolded and immediately pounced upon the invader.
The female bird spread its wings, but did not attack with the male bird. She
hopped in front of him to block his attack, with her beak pointing at the
eggshell in the head of the python. She turned out to have no vicious intent
either. Gu Shenwei had misunderstood the viciousness in her eyes.
The two giant birds touched each other using their beaks, which was their
way of communication. It seemed that the birds here were unable to chirp.
Gu Shenwei waited in fear.
The two giant birds reached an agreement soon. They folded their wings and
nodded at the human being.
Gu Shenwei breathed a sigh of relief. It was the first time that he had felt a
little safe since the moment Shangguan Yushi stabbed him with a dagger. He
had been worried for long and almost could not calm himself down.
The nestling had not received any response from Gu Shenwei, which made it
finally notice the two giant birds behind it. It tilted its head and looked
confused.
The female bird lowered her head and pecked the head of the small beast
caught by it. The small beast gave a cry of misery and soon died. The female
bird did not care about it. It held a bloody eyeball and looked expectantly at
the nestling.
Gu Shenwei just knew that it was not a small beast but a grown grey wolf.
The grey wolf's cry before it died sounded like the strange sound he had
heard on Ghost Cliff.
The nestling immediately understood who its real parents were and rushed to
them. It first received the eyeball from its mother's mouth, raised its head to
swallow it, and cheerfully pecked the giant bird's claw.
The giant bird's claw was covered with crusted skin and thick calluses, so it
not only could bear the nestling's sharp beak, but also gain more pleasure.
Gu Shenwei seemed to become obtuse from having fallen off the cliff. After
quite a while, he finally realized that what he saw were the giant rocs. Golden
Roc Fort was named after them.
Chapter 49 - Miracle
Chapter 49: Miracle
The experience of escaping from the hand of death was like a ridiculous
dream for Gu Shenwei. He still felt that he was dreaming after safely landing
on the clifftop. Stone Castle seemingly became small, as if he could crush the
castle just by stepping on it.
The two giant rocs admitted that this human being was their son's savior, so
their hostility toward him had gone. Meanwhile, the male roc pecked out the
other wolf's eyeball and kindly gave it to Gu Shenwei, hoping that he could
taste the delicious food.
The little roc had been tyrannical since it was born, and it stretched out its
neck like a floating balloon. It wanted to snatch the food from its father's
claws.
Gu Shenwei made series of complex gestures to show his gratitude and

declined this "good" gift. If the giant rocs misunderstood him, then he would
possibly lose his life instantly. But in any case, he could never eat that wolf's
bloody eyeball.
The male roc was very smart. It understood his gestures and fed the eyeball to
the little bird.
Gu Shenwei gesticulated wildly to show that he loved the beautiful roost, but
he had come from the top of the cliff and eagerly wanted to go back.
The giant rocs were intelligent and soon they understood the man's intention.
The female bird first flew high, seeming to scout the way. Then, the male roc
grabbed Gu Shenwei by the shoulders with its sharp claws and flew below its
partner.
The little roc seemed to be a little attached to him. Once Gu Shenwei was in
the air, it came over to him and pecked at his feet continuously.
Gu Shenwei's feet hurt, and so did his shoulders, but the wonderful feeling of
flying relieved his pain. Like a kitten in a cat's mouth, he did not dare to
move or use his strength. The clouds and mist swept past him. For a moment,
Gu Shenwei felt like he was not rising, but falling down.
Finally, he landed on the clifftop. The two giant rocs nodded to him
majestically and quickly flew away. They seemed to dislike this Stone Castle.
Gu Shenwei was totally paralyzed with fatigue and fear. There was no one on
the Giant Rock Cliff. Shangguan Yushi and Shangguan Ru had left, and the
scattered stuff on the ground still remained where it was.
Gu Shenwei rested about half an hour on the Giant Rock Cliff. Then, he took
a deep breath and struggled up to his feet. He hobbled across the giant rock
and headed toward the gate of the East Castle while leaning against the wall.
As he was walking closer to the castle, the world became more and more real
to him. His hatred of this place, which had been temporarily covered up by
the adventure, now appeared again. He was still the young teenager who
carried revenge. Nothing had changed, except that he needed to kill
Shangguan Yushi as soon as possible.
After a long hesitation, Gu Shenwei arrived back at the stone house. He

immediately fell asleep on the brick bed. Under his current circumstances, it
was too difficult for him to scheme to kill someone right now.
When he woke up, it was pitch-black in the room, already midnight. But he
had not reported about what had happened today to Mama Xue.
"Mama Xue must be angry," he thought. But then he turned over and quickly
fell asleep again.
Gu Shenwei got up on time the next morning. Someone had clumsily

bandaged him from head to toe. Of course, it was not a doctor's technique. As
he abruptly sat up, the pain was still not relieved, but he now had a clear
mind, so he could think and plan something as usual.
Obviously, the man who had bandaged his wounds was Elderly Zhang. This
reticent groom had gone to feed the horses, but had put a bowl of rice
covered with meat on Slave Huan's bedside.
Gu Shenwei forced himself to eat all of it, and then directly went to the Giant
Rock Cliff as usual. Since he was still in Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei
would continue to fulfill his duty as Slave Huan.
Standing outside the door, he looked at the stable in the distance. The root of
the tree of hostility buried in his heart had been loosening. However, he was
immersed in hostility again upon thinking of Shangguan Yushi.
The Giant Rock Cliff still looked like what it was. After picking up several
things, Gu Shenwei, who was still seriously wounded, felt exhausted. He just
wanted to sit down against the wall and take a rest. When he came back to his
mind, it was already noon.
He could not and did not want to see a doctor in Golden Roc Fort. If the
doctor were to say that he could not be cured, then he might be sent to
Firewood Yard to just wait for death.
However, the nature of sitting here was almost the same.
As he was randomly thinking about his future, three teenagers walked in from
outside of the giant rock, chatting and laughing.
They were the attendants who belonged to the twins. Their duty was as same
as Slave Huan's—cleaning the platform on the Giant Rock Cliff. They often
came late when working, and they did so today.
Seeing Slave Huan sitting in the corner, the smile on their faces instantly
disappeared. They surprisingly opened their mouths and stood still like
stones, as if they had been rooted in the narrow entrance.
"Oh my God!" Someone cried out loudly. The three teenagers quickly turned
and ran away. They huddled together in the narrow entrance and then fell
down.
Gu Shenwei felt confused. Then he realized that in the eyes of the others, he
had "died" from falling off of the cliff.
Gu Shenwei always thought that the guards were everywhere in Golden Roc
Fort, so he should have been found a long time ago when walking to the
stone house. So, why did those attendants know nothing about it?
Maybe they were ill-informed, he guessed. The guards probably did not tell
them what they had known.
Before long, Gu Shenwei heard many people running from outside. He had
just stood up against the wall when Shangguan Ru rushed in.
Just like the three attendants, Shangguan Ru froze as soon as she saw Slave
Huan. She stopped running and seemingly was prepared to fight or escape.
Many people were looking at from him behind her, however, no one dared to
come in.
"You… Are you a man or a ghost?"
Shangguan Ru sternly questioned him but could not conceal her fear from
him very well.
"If I were a ghost, I would not need to bandage these wounds."
Gu Shenwei chuckled, feeling that it was hilarious.
"He does have a shadow!" Master Fei cried from outside and squeezed in the
crowd. Standing behind his sister, he continuously looked over Slave Huan,
as if just seeing him for the first time.
"Why didn't you die?" Shangguan Ru said. She still did not believe that he
was alive.
"A tree stopped my fall and I was unconscious for a while. When I climbed
back to the ground, you and Master Yu had left."
Gu Shenwei concealed the part about meeting the giant rocs.
Shangguan Ru calmed down and ran over to him with a big smile. She held
his hand and said, "Follow me."
They ran outside and the young masters standing at the entrance made way
for them. They had not truly believed that Slave Huan was a living man, so
they followed Shangguan Ru and Slave Huan far away.
It was anguish for Gu Shenwei to run with Shangguan Ru. He felt that his
wounds were rupturing open, but he did not stop and tried to figure out where
the Ninth Young Master would go.
Outside the gate of the East Castle, five or six servants, including Slave Qing,
were anxiously pacing back and forth. Slave Qing could not persuade the two
masters to see the "ghost", Slave Huan. But he did not dare to follow them, so
he had ants in his pants.
Shangguan Ru held Slave Huan's hand and jumped over the threshold. They
met Slave Qing on the way. On seeing Slave Huan, though he was more than
30 years old, he also cried out, "Oh my God!". His legs gave out and then he
collapsed into another slave's arms behind him.
Shangguan Ru laughed loudly without stopping her running. She did not run
to the school or the Moonhold Academy, but took Slave Huan into a yard
located in a remote corner, which he had never been to.
This small and obsolete yard was situated on the median line of Golden Roc
Fort.
Shangguan Ru opened the door and yelled, "Master Yu! Master Yu! Come
out. He hasn't died."
Gu Shenwei had wondered why he did not see Shangguan Yushi. In fact, she
was hiding here in case the "ghost" would take revenge.
Shangguan Ru shouted three times. A trembling voice came from the east
wing room. "Well… Is it true?"
"Of course. Yes, he's still alive. Look! He has a shadow! How could he be a
ghost?"
"Creak!" The door slowly opened. Shangguan Yushi cautiously craned

forward. Now she looked like an ordinary young, 14-year-old girl who was
frightened. Her pride and indifference had disappeared completely.
"Who are you?" She pretended to be tough, but her voice showed her anxiety.
"I'm Slave Huan. Don't you remember me, Master Yu?" Gu Shenwei said.
"What happened? How are you still alive?"
"I fell off the cliff yesterday and was caught by a tree. Later, I felt dizzy for a
while. When I woke up, a few people were around me and talked to me,
saying that Master Yu was just playing a joke, so I shouldn't take it
seriously."
Shangguan Yushi screamed and closed the door before Gu Shenwei finished
telling his experience.
Shangguan discontentedly threw aside Slave Huan's hand. "I'm very happy
that you're OK. But why do you scare her?"
"Master Ru, what I said is true. I don't dare to frighten Master Yu. Maybe that
was just my hallucination because of a serious brain injury."
Shangguan Ru seemed to believe his words and pushed Slave Huan out. She
yelled toward the east wing room. "Come out, Master Yu. Otherwise, we'll
come in."
Shangguan Yu opened the door and came out. She looked calmer than before.
She thought if she must talk to a "ghost", it was safer to stand under the sun
rather than stay in a room.
"What do you want?"
Obviously, Gu Shenwei could do nothing in this situation. He took out the

knife and respectfully handed it to Shangguan Yushi. "Luckily, I'm still alive.
I'll devote the rest of my life to serve Master Fei, Master Ru, and Master Yu.
Here you are."
Shangguan Yushi slowly took the knife. Her confusion disappeared the
moment that she touched Slave Huan. She now believed that he was a living
person rather than a ghost.
"I… Actually… I wouldn't hurt you if the Ninth Childe didn't say…" Master
Yu murmured.
"Don't say that. Don't tell him. Slave Huan is alive now, so nothing has
changed." Shangguan Ru jumped from Slave Huan's side and held her
cousin's arm. She interrupted their talking.
Gu Shenwei did not think so. Actually, things had changed. He was a badly
injured slave now. In his mind, his hatred, like a torch burning fiercely, was
stronger than ever. If there was something that was unchangeable, it had to be
his determination to kill all of the Shangguan family members.
But he was still curious about what Shangguan Ru had said. These words
made Shangguan Yushi so jealous and she even wanted to kill him.
However, he did not ask. Superficially, he needed to be a kind servant, who

should thank his masters thousands of times for their forgiveness, even
though they wanted to kill him. A master apologizing to a slave? That was a
daydream.
Shangguan Ru pulled her cousin's arm with one hand and held Slave Huan
with the other. She said seriously, "We're in the same assassination team. It's
called a team because the three of us are in it. Therefore, we must trust, help,
love, and never betray each another. If anyone were to violate the oath, I… I
wouldn't talk to him or her forever."
What a childish oath! Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Yushi ostensibly took it

seriously and repeated her vow. When speaking to "love each other
devotedly", Slave Huan and Shangguan Yu both revealed the feeling that he
or she would definitely take revenge on each other. But Shangguan Ru was
very pleased, so she did not notice how unreliable her team was.
"An oath?" Gu Shenwei snorted at it in his mind. Over the last year, he had
vowed so many times. Only the first oath was true—to kill all of the
Shangguan family members.
The miracle of Slave Huan's narrow escape created quite a stir among the
youth in Golden Roc Fort. Regardless of Slave Qing's anger, many people
came to talk to him on purpose and even touched him by chance to make sure
that it was a human body.
But upon meeting Mama Xue, he received a totally different treatment.
Mama Xue did not believe in the ghost story. She was dissatisfied with Slave
Huan's offensive action to Shangguan Yushi, as if he should take the whole
responsibility for this assassination.
She punished Slave Huan with her Iron Finger, which made his internal
injury even more serious.
Hence, the next morning, Gu Shenwei went to the Giant Rock Cliff alone.
Now he could do nothing because of his serious injury. Thus, he just lay
down under the warm sunshine, wondering how he could secretly pay
Shangguan Yushi back for this.
He had never anticipated that one day he would also experience the pain of
Qigong Deviation. Thus he felt a little guilty for Slave Yao.
Chapter 50 - Saber Manual
Chapter 50: Saber Manual
Gu Shenwei's Internal Strength was completely controlled by Mama Xue. He

could only improve his kung fu with the help of her Iron Finger. Meanwhile,
the inner force passing by her was gathering in his Xuanji acupoint, like a
dormant parasite in his body, which could wake up at any time and eat its
master's flesh.
Mama Xue had punished him last night by her Iron Finger. The punishment
was a powerful incentive for his kung fu practice. The next day, Gu Shenwei
felt that a surge of hot qi breaking out in his Xuanji acupoint and rushed to
Dantian. He had not prepared for it yet.
The sunshine in early summer was so bright and warm while Gu Shenwei
was seriously wounded. He was immersed in the feeling of escaping from the
hand of Death under the protection of the Will of the Divine. Suddenly, he
lost control and sat up in great pain. Gu Shenwei felt his chest tighten. He
wanted to cry out but could not utter a word.
If someone was watching him from aside, he would think that Slave Huan
definitely was a ghost.
Nobody watched and nobody helped him. In a moment, he fell down on the
ground, groaning with pain, his body convulsing.
The situation lasted about a quarter-hour. But Gu Shenwei felt like he had
bathed in a hot tub for a whole day and became sweaty and fatigued. He was
too weak to move his little finger.
He once thought Mama Xue was his protector. But now, he realized that both
of them had their own plans. Their cooperation would come to an end soon.
Still lying on the ground, he thought about Mama Xue and Shangguan Yushi.
For a while, unconsciously, his body could move again and he sat up straight.
At this moment, he saw the two giant rocs land in front of him.
The two beasts perhaps thought that they had not fully paid back what they
owed to their son's savior. Since Gu Shenwei did not like eating the wolve's
eyes, they brought more "delicious" food for him—two fresh beasts' hearts,
which were still beating.
Gu Shenwei was too delighted to see the giant rocs again. Their appearance
comforted him a lot, and even the pain did not seem so unbearable to him.
It was the first time he had felt the unconditional love from others, but he also
felt sick because of the disgusting beasts' hearts. Therefore, he had to gesture
for them in a complex way, not only to show his gratitude, but also to
tactfully refuse the "fine cuisine".
The two giant rocs were a little surprised and looked down at the picky
human boy. All of a sudden, they picked up the two fresh hearts and flew
away.
Gu Shenwei now felt regretful because he did not want to offend them.
Staying in this cold stone fort, he still felt he must always disguise his true
self, even when facing a dog. Luckily, he did not need to wear the mask when
getting along with the two living creatures.
The giant rocs might have felt as though they were treated rudely. They did
not show up again this day.
During next days, everything was, as Shangguan Ru had said, "back on

track". They practiced kung fu together and planned who would become the
next target of their "assassination". In order to show she had "forgiven" Slave
Huan, Shangguan Yushi performed more actively than before and made
numerous proposals.
But Gu Shenwei understood clearly: although her fear of ghosts had

disappeared, Shangguan Yushi's hostility to him never faded. He could tell
from her eyes.
Gu Shenwei never mentioned his qigong deviation to anyone, including
Mama Xue.
To his surprise, the giant rocs did not hate him for his rude behavior. They
appeared again the next morning, bringing two kinds of food—an unknown
fruit in the female giant roc's mouth and a colorful serpent under the male
giant roc's claw.
Gu Shenwei chose the fruit without hesitation. He did not care if it was
poisonous or not, in any case it was better than a snake. He ate it and showed
his "satisfaction" by with his face at the same time.
The female roc pecked at its partner as if to say "I told you so," while the
male roc regally turned his head away. It picked up the snake and swallowed
it quickly in three bites.
Gu Shenwei felt very happy to see them again. He cautiously walked towards
them and tried to pat their ink-black feathers.
The giant rocs evidently did not like being touched by a human. Last time,
they had to fly with him, in order to bring Gu Shenwei to the cliff top. Hence,
this time they firmly refused the intimate behavior—the two giant rocs just
flew away.
Now Gu Shenwei had another secret in his mind. It was between him and the
two giant rocs, which was not related to darkness and depression, but
happiness and brightness. He gained a sort of family-like love from the two
birds. He also had a fuzzy hope—if the two giant rocs could help him take his
revenge…
But the giant rocs may not be interested in revenge, because they
intentionally hid from human beings. Every time they visited Gu Shenwei,
the two birds would first look around and made sure there were no strangers
around them.
Due to the two giant rocs, Gu Shenwei even delayed the revenge plan, and
actually, he had not perfected the plan yet anyway. After half of a month, he
recovered slowly. Shangguan Yushi stopped challenging him in public, so Gu
Shenwei had to pretend that he had let bygones be bygones.
The giant rocs seemed to think that no matter how many things they gave
him, they remained indebted forever to their son's savior. They brought all
sorts of things in order to reward him. After learning about his preference, the
two giant rocs abandoned fresh and bloody "food", but brought more colorful
and unknown flowers and fruit instead.
The way that he expressed his gratitude was to gorge on the fruit and flowers
they brought him. Sometimes, he thought the flowers were too beautiful to
eat, so he kept them to admire their beauty. But the rocs began to think he
disliked the flowers, and was going to throw them away. Gu Shenwei had to
snatch the flowers from their claws and swallow them quickly.
Luckily, in most cases, the aromatic flowers were tolerable.
Once, the flower brought by the two rocs had a heavy fragrance. After
swallowing it, the smell still lingered. That afternoon, when Gu Shenwei was
practicing kung fu with the twins, Shangguan Ru sniffed at him and asked,
"Are you wearing rouge?"
Gu Shenwei blushed and repeatedly denied it, but all people around him start
to laugh at him. "Slave Huan secretly powdered his face." It became a hot
topic during the next days among the youth in Gold Roc Fort, though no one
took it seriously. People just slowly forgot about it.
One month later, the two giant rocs felt it was not enough to bring food to
him only, so they started trying to find something that may be useless to them
but valuable to human beings.
Not only the killers in Golden Roc Fort fell off the cliff, but other people too.
The Stone Castle had been built a century ago. It had witnessed so many
historical changes. Every time a new lord came to power, people would
throw the former lord's posessions off the cliff.
The giant rocs picked up their presents for Gu Shenwei from the items
scattered at the bottom of the steep cliff.
These presents included rusty armor, fragmentary blades, scattered jewelry
and half-rotted clothes. Most of them were useless, but Gu Shenwei always
accepted the presents in front of the giant rocs and hid all things in the hole
under the giant stone. Later, he would find a chance to cast most of them
back down, keeping some of the jewelry that was beautiful and perhaps
valuable.
Occasionally, the giant rocs carried something amazing to him, for example,
a long and sharp saber. He did not know how long the saber had been lying at
the bottom of the cliff, but it was still extremely dazzling, as if it were only
just forged.
Gu Shenwei took the present and played with it for a few days. Eventually
though, he decided to abandon it reluctantly. In Giant Rock Cliff, all the
twin's weapons were wooden, so this iron saber was out of place. Once it was
found, he would not be able to explain where it was from. Besides,
Shangguan Yushi now was now eager to niggle him at him at any time.
Shangguan Yushi returned to her normal attitude, though she was still jealous
of Slave Huan. But she concealed her emotion very well in front of
Shangguan Ru. She insisted the Ninth Young Master belonged to herself and
that no one had the right to be close to her. If Shangguan Ru did not look
down upon Master Fei, she would also envy him.
Gu Shenwei gingerly maintained the peaceful relationship with Shangguan

Yushi. He would not take the risk to avenge his family until he had formed a
perfect plan.
With time going by, the giant rocs trusted in him more and more. Gu
Shenwei now could gently stroke their feathers with their permission. Some
of the feathers were soft but others were very tough, especially the feathers
on the tips of their wings that would flare up when they were angry, making
them look larger.
The giant rocs felt totally safe. Once, they brought the squab little roc with
them. It still did not have too many feathers and was rather diminutive. On
arriving at Gaint Rock Cliff, it continued looking for food, as if it had never
eaten anything since it was born.
Maybe its parents hunted quite easily. Although it was almost two months
old, this little roc was still the size of a hatchling.
At least this little roc remembered Gu Shenwei who had saved it and
continuously chased after him. Later, the female giant roc caught it and took
it away within minutes.
The giant rocs probably thought the little roc was too naughty and impolite,
so they did not bring it to meet Gu Shenwei from then on. In fact, he
sometimes missed the ugly little beast.
When midsummer came, it had almost been a year since the Gu family
members were slaughtered. On one day, the two rocs brought a special gift
for Gu Shenwei, which was neither food nor containers, but a book.
Perhaps they had hesitated for a while to give this book to him. At the same
time, they brought lots of palatable fruits to compensate for the
"unimportance" of this gift.
This book was made of sheepskin. However, it was bound in a volume like
the most books in the Central Plain. Perhaps it had dropped into the stone
crack, so the wind and rain did not ruin it.
There was a simple sketch on every page. Some might have obscure poems
or sentences written beneath. In the margin, someone had scribbled some
notes in a different style of handwriting.
After the giant rocs left, Gu Shenwei skimmed over this book. He almost
could not understand a single phrase, but the pictures were clear and easily
understood, which indicated this was an anonymous saber manual.
Before the twins arrived here, Gu Shenwei had hidden the book in the stone
crack.
The Giant Rock Cliff was the twins' stronghold, and nobody was more
familiar with it than Gu Shenwei. Unless there was an inch-by-inch search,
no one would find the book he hid.
Gu Shenwei spent three days reading and generally understood it. He thought
the sword manual was ridiculous and frightening. He almost abandoned it.
On the first page of this book, some puzzling words were written: "If one
wants to kill others, he must die first. His body should be like the skeleton.
His heart should be like the ashes. His mind should be self-forgetting. If one
eliminates both life and death, one shall live forever; if one keeps one's
persistence, one shall perish sooner."
Some sentences in this book cited the context from Zhuangzi , most of which
he could not completely understand when he had studied it. Even the
explanations in the margins were perplexing, but all of it seemed to be saying
"death comes and goes."
The sketches were very simple. One showed a saber stuck in a person's neck.
People in these pictures mostly looked fierce, like devils running from hell.
Every picture had this similarity: The saber stuck a neck. The only difference
was the angle they were sticking.
"What kind of manual is it? Stabbing-neck manual?" Gu Shenwei was

beginning to think the book was a complete farce. Someone must have
written it for fun. If these movements really existed in this world and were
practiced by kung fu learners, then the way to defend against the movements
would be easy, simply protect one's neck with a hard camail. Then he would
be invulnerable, no matter how skillful the saber manual demonstrated the
movements.
Gu Shenwei stood on the edge of the cliff. Several times, he wanted to

discard it, but he felt that a few sentences in this book made some sense.
Meanwhile, it was very thin, so he decided to hide it again.
But for a long time, he did not reread the saber manual. When a
heartbreaking accident happened, he nearly forgot the book altogether.
Chapter 51 - The Giant Rocs Death
Chapter 51: The Giant Rocs' Death
Gu Shenwei felt he was a lonely warrior, swimming in the boundless sea.

Exhausted, he saw an island by chance and landed on it. Even though he
clearly knew that his destination was over the horizon and he had to continue
his swimming, Gu Shenwei lingered on the island and made excuses to
postpone swimming again.
The giant rocs were his island. He liked these strange creatures and even
revered them.
During the past two months, unless it rained cats and dogs, he met the giant
rocs every day and ate the fruit and flowers they brought. Sometimes, he
chatted with them. When they were in a good mood, Gu Shenwei even could
stroke their beautiful black feathers.
The giant rocs looked like imperatorial elders. They liked this unusual young
man and constantly brought gifts for him. But they still behaved elegantly
and only occasionally allowed Gu Shenwei to break the boundary and play
with them for a while.
Before the horrible moment came, Gu Shenwei had no sense of its approach.
Although Mama Xue became more and more impatient and urged him to
speed up the progress of his practice, and although Shangguan Yushi often
gave attitude to him because of her increasingly unconcealed hate, generally
speaking, he peacefully spent the two months in Golden Roc Fort. Shangguan
Ru started to trust in him. Besides, his qigong deviation did not break out. It
was the most relaxing time since he had entered Golden Roc Fort.
It was too relaxing for Gu Shenwei, as such was not supposed to be the life of
an avenger. If he had to find the omen of the miserable event would follow,
this relaxed state could possibly have been it.
That afternoon, Gu Shenwei came to Giant Rock Cliff as usual. He tidied up

and practiced Kung Fu for a while as usual. Later, the giant rocs arrived on
time. They brought some big and black fruit this time. Gu Shenwei still did
not know what it was, but he took a bite. To his suprise, its taste was
delicious and succulent. He quickly ate it all and threw the pits away.
He chatted with two rocs about the trifles that had happened lately: Master
Ru lost her favourite wooden saber. The servants did not know whether it had
dropped down the cliff or not. If the rocs saw it, it would be nice if they could
pick it up and bring it to him. That could be very helpful indeed.
The giant rocs could not understand human beings' words, so he just spoke
thoughtlessly and did not take it seriously.
They did not stay with him too long, but today they were much more eager to
leave than before. After giving the fruit to Gu Shenwei, they wanted to fly
away. But they reluctantly stayed behind because of the young man's
disappointed look.
They were a little bit nervous though, and kept looking and observing
surroundings. The tense atmosphere became apparent and even Gu Shenwei
began to get nervous. He had not realized what was going on, but waved rocs
away. He said, "Just go. Come to see me tomorrow."
The giant rocs nodded. They always kept silent and never chirped. The male
gaint roc spread its wings, while the female giant roc kept her eyes pointed at
the young man, which seemed to show its kindness before leaving.
At this time, someone cast two enormous bird nets and ended their goodbye.
One fell from the high western wall and the other net raised from the bottom
of the eastern cliff. One from the sky, one from the earth, there was no place
for them to escape. The nets were approaching the giant rocs and Gu
Shenwei.
The male roc had spread its wings and promptly flew up. Using its sharp beak
and claws, it tore down the net from the bottom in a flash.
But the female roc hesitated. It strengthened its leg and pushed the young
man away. Unfortunately, it was captured by the net descending from the
eastern wall.
Gu Shenwei hit the giant stone and fell. The female roc had not pushed him
fiercely, so he was not injured. At the same time, the male roc came back to
the ground and helped the female roc tear the big net.
Even in such an emergent moment, they did not make a sound.
The nets lost their functionality. But the giant rocs had wasted their best
chance of escaping. Nets began dropping one after another. In total five nets
were capturing them. They were hemmed densely.
Gu Shenwei felt his blood rushing up, as if he were witnessing his own
family being slaughtered. He let out a wild cry and rushed to the giant rocs,
ripping the nets. However, what Gu Shenwei had done was just a drop in the
bucket, because his Inner Strength was too weak.
The two giant rocs were struggling with all their strength. Their mighty
power and the sharpness of beaks were beyond the ambushers' imagination.
Within minutes, the male roc tore a hole on the top of the nets. But it did not
fly away directly. Instead, it stayed to finish ripping the gap to free the female
roc first.
At this moment, many ambushers jumped out from the walls and the cliff
side. Everyone was in grey, which was as the same color as the stones. They
also covered their faces and showed only their cold and merciless eyes.
More than a dozen people pulled down on the vast bird nets and other six
ambushers ran towards the giant rocs.
Gu Shenwei tried to stop the ambusher closest to him, but the man did not
even give a glance at him and kicked Gu Shenwei in his belly with his right
foot as fast as lightning. Gu Shenwei flew away and hit the high wall with
force, as if he had never practiced Kung Fu.
The female roc headed out from the nets but its wings were still trapped by
them. The six ambushers threw ropes, separately entangling their necks.
The more dangerous it was, the more calm the giant rocs became. They
circled around on the spot all of a sudden. The ambushers pulling them lost
their balance and had to circle with them.
Noticing their enemies could hardly stand, two giant rocs rapidly pecked the
ropes with their sharp beaks. The rapid speed and accurate attack could be
compared to the first-class Kung Fu learner. The six ambushers nearby them
hastily dodged the pecks. One of them was too late, and his eyeballs were
pecked out.
Even this man was unyielding. After attacked by the rocs, regardless of the
blood squirting from his eye sockets, the ambusher kept tightly holding the
ropes.
While pecking the ambushers with their sharp beaks, they used their claws to
rip the nets at the same time. Every time scratching the nets, they tore down a
large piece. The firm and tenacious nets were as tender as weeds under their
attacks.
Gu Shenwei was knocked down and watched the battle between people and
rocs in horror. He could do nothing, but just silently prayed in his mind. If the
giant rocs could safely fly away, he would sacrifice anything, and even was
willing to stop his revenge.
However, since the day his family was broken up and the members died, his
prayer had never come true. The Will of the Divine always played tricks on
him, giving him hope and then mercilessly taking it away.
The giant rocs were extremely powerful, even a dozen of ambushers could
not easily control them. Seeing the hole becoming bigger and bigger, it would
not take a long time before the rocs could fly away. If they did, the six
ambushers would either release them or be dragged into the sky.
The big bird nets could not bear the rocs' scratching and finally were
destroyed. The male giant roc immediately used its beak and claws to force
the six ambushers to step back. Now the female roc spread its wings and
prepared to leave.
Gu Shenwei had his heart in his mouth. He looked up and saw the female
giant roc, its mountain-like body, wind-like wings and phoenix-like golden
crest, and he yelled "Go! Go!".
The female giant roc left the ground and raised its head to the sky. Then the
beautiful and unique head was suddenly cut down. Its body still maintained
its flying posture. Red blood sprayed out, as if the sunset glow had tinted the
sky red.
A dark shadow appeared behind the female giant roc. He was like an
invisible devil and seemed to materialize out of thin air, holding a narrow and
shineless grey saber, which could freeze steel into powder. Even though he
killed the most beautiful and elegant creature in this world, the killer would
have no regrets.
"No!"
Gu Shenwei shouted in despair. The scene seemed to take him back to the
night a year ago. That night, he was forced to watch his family members as
they were slaughtered and beheaded.
"No!"
At the same time, another angry shout rang out. A figure flew out from the
northern giant stone. He was a man but moving like a swift bird, as if he had
wings on his back.
The moment the man flew over, the female roc's body fell down. While the
killer was landing, he hit the killer's chest with his palm.
The masked killer who had just killed the giant roc, had made the worst
mistake in his life. His saber was useless in front of this man. After attacked
by the man, he spat out blood and flew off the cliff, falling into the
bottomless abyss.
The killer did not scream, because the power of that palm had already killed
him.
The female giant roc fell down. Its head was chopped off by the killer and
rolled on the ground, a dozen steps away from Gu Shenwei. Its yellow eyes
were still open but had lost their radiance.
But the male roc's eyes, like burning flames, were emitting scorching light. It
swayed its body wildly and blew violent whirlwinds with its wings. Every
beak attack would peck off a killer's eyes. Every clawing would grab a piece
of a killer's flesh.
People trembled with fear once they heard the killers coming. But these
killers were as fragile as little children in front of the giant roc.
In an instant, the six ambushers nearest to the roc lost their lives. The man,
who had jumped off from the giant rocks, had already quickly stood back. He
said harshly, "I want it alive. Don't hurt it!"
More ambushers flocked in from the high walls outside the giant rocks. There
were forty or fifty people in all.
The male roc stood proudly. Its feathers on the wing tip shook like sharp
swords. For a moment, no one dared to challenge it.
It lowered its head and pathatically glanced at its dead lover. All of a sudden,
it raised its head, its chest full of air, and the roc looked as though it had
expanded its size two-fold.
Every ambusher standing here had killed millions of people. But this time,
they were freaked out. No matter how the master scolded them, they just
slowly and cautiously moved towards the male roc. No one wanted to be the
next sacrifice.
The male roc despised these little tiny human beings. It gathered all its energy
and strength. Then the roc let out its first and last chirp since it was born.
The voice, like the thunder, resounded through the sky and spread across the
whole of Golden Roc Fort, and even passed further to Jade City at the foot of
the mountain. People in the city were also frightened.
The sound was still lingering around the crowds for a long time after it had
fallen down.
The great raven giant died. It chose to commit suicide.
All people on Giant Rock Cliff were too shocked to move. "No chirping in its
lifetime. With one chirp, it would die. It's a real Golden Roc. What a pity.
One had been wounded."
The man, who yelled "no" at the same time with Gu Shenwei was also
dressed in grey clothes. He was of medium build with a long and slender face
and sunken eyes, and was plain-looking. But his killing intent and royal
demeanor could not be ignored. The killers around him could not help but
lower their heads, even if stone-made Golden Roc Fort behind him seemed
shorter.
Gu Shenwei once felt the strong killing intent when seeing Marshal Yang.
But compared with the man, Marshal Yang's killing intent was not worth
mentioning, as if a river flowed to the sea.
Gu Shenwei's sorrow and anger was suddenly replaced by the horror that
came from the depth of his heart.
A masked killer walked to Gu Shenwei and knelt on the ground, one hand
squeezing Gu Shenwei's neck and the other hand holding the dagger tied on
his waist. He humbly asked the man in grey,
"My lord, how should we deal with this slave?"

Chapter 52 - Night Visit
Chapter 52: Night Visit
Supreme King, Shangguan Fa, stood with his hands across behind his back.
In front of him, a dozen of killers carefully held up the two giant roc bodies,
and one killer held the female roc's head.
He appreciated his prey with pride.
Golden Roc Fort, Golden Roc Fort, such had been the name of this fort for
more than 100 years. But who had ever seen a real Golden Roc? Who had
captured the Golden Roc? Only he, the Seventh Supreme King had done it
and brought the greatest glory to this stone castle.
It was a symbol, representing that Golden Roc Fort would have its heyday.
Also, the dreams, which the former Supreme Kings had not realized, would
soon come true with his efforts.
Shangguan Fa was immersed in great satisfaction and pleasure. But a fly in

the ointment was that one roc's head was severed. He could hire the best
craftsman in the world to stick the head back and renew the perfect specimen,
so that no one could notice it had been destroyed, but Shangguan Nu could
not shake the feeling that it was an annoying imperfection.
Holding their breath, a dense hoard of killers stood on Giant Rock Cliff and
waited calmly. The one who had overpowered Gu Shenwei carefully
observed Lord King's every gesture. Once Supreme King gave him the hint,
he would kill this slave without any hesitation.
"Did you catch it?"
A clear voice asked. In the world dominated by Supreme King, she was the
one only who dared to intrude.
Shangguan Ru squeezed in from the back of the giant rock, pushed the statue-
like killers away and rushed toward his father.
"How did they die?" Her voice sounded full of surprise and dissatisfaction.
"The giant roc isn't an ordinary bird. It would rather die than surrender to
others, so no one can catch them alive." Shangguan Fa lowered his head and
patiently explained to his daughter. Instantly, the most powerful king of
killers in Western Region turned into a benign father.
"Just the same as the rocs, the Shangguan family is also extraordinary, right?"
Shangguan Fa was very pleased and answered, "That's right. The Shangguan
family is far from the ordinary. We're the dominators, the destroyers, and the
almighty leaders. But we aren't as same as the rocs either, because nobody
can force us to commit suicide."
Gu Shenwei felt his heart would blow up the next minute. It was Shangguan
Ru that divulged the secret to Shangguan Fa.
The Ninth Master must have gone to Giant Rock Cliff furtively. She was
going to surprise Slave Huan but accidentally saw the giant rocs. Later, she
left stealthily and told her father.
Gu Shenwei had once thought that he was more mature than other youth of
the same age. But now, he realized how ridiculous he had been. A 12-year-
old young girl could fool him and trick him without much effort.
"Dear Ru, it's you who found the Golden Roc, so you contributed to it most.
Say it. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. You can have anything in this
world."
"Well, my dearest father, you've given me the best things from around the
world. What else could I ask? Em… How about rewarding this slave?
Without him, none of us could have seen the Golden Roc, so we should
reward him appropriately. "
Unexpectedly, Shangguan Ru was asking rewards for Gu Shenwei, who was
surprised and did not understand the reason. Actually, everybody present
knew this slave had not informed the masters of the Golden Rocs' appearance
in time, so he had committed a capital crime. However, he was only a slave
and no one took his life seriously enough to care that he would disobey the
Ninth Master's will, so nobody disagreed with her.
Even Supreme King, Shangguan Fa, was too happy to forgive a low-status
slave. He had never let off any traitor since the first time he held a saber at
the age of five.
"What do you want, kid?"
Shangguan Fa cuddled his daughter, still proudly watching the dead Golden
Rocs. He did not look at the shivering slave behind him.
Gu Shenwei could not control the fear that quickly spread from head to toe.
He was afraid of this man who commanded the slaughter of the Gu family.
The fear came from the depth of his mind, which spread more quickly than
his sorrow and hatred through his body. Gu Shenwei despised his cowardice,
but he could do nothing to stop it.
"I… " Gu Shenwei's throat was extremely dry, as if hot molten iron were
being poured down into it. "I want to be a killer!"
The killer squeezed his neck and jerked his arm, as if he could not help
laughing.
Shangguan Fa looked back at the slave crawling on the ground and he could
only see the slave's back. This was the superiority of Supreme King, who
stood high above the masses. People in front of him could only expose their
backs, which was less-intimidating. However, it was also a disadvantage for
the dominator, in that he could not see people's faces, which revealed their
true emotion.
"To be a killer?"
"I've practiced kung fu before. The only thing I want is to enter East Castle
and become a killer apprentice. If I didn't practice kung fu very well, I would
still be able to die without any regret."
Disasters had unceasingly honed this young man. Gu Shenwei had

proficiently buried the sorrow in the depth of his mind. He wanted to take
advantage of this chance and strived for his benefit.
"Okay." Shangguan Fa turned back to see the two Golden Rocs. For him, this
low-status slave no longer existed in his world.
People in Giant Rock Cliff had left and Gu Shenwei was the last one to walk
away. He lost his soul and could not get rid of the idea: he, himself, caused
the death of giant rocs, however, the chief criminal was Shangguan Ru.
Although his dream of becoming a killer apprentice had come true, it could
not comfort his great sorrow of losing all his family members.
Soon, the comfort appeared to be more insignificant.
Gu Shenwei returned to the stone room. Within minutes, Mama Xue ordered
a servant to call him to her room.
There were only Mama Xue and Gu Shenwei in the room. Her face looked
quite pale with anger.
"You stupid and ungrateful dog! How dare you conceal the rocs' appearance
from me?"
Gu Shenwei hastily kneeled down. He had forgotten that the information that
Supreme King was so fond of the giant roc would be important to Mama
Xue.
Slave Huan's silence made Mama Xue angrier. In order to enter Golden Roc
Fort, she had waited for many years. In order to achieve the ultimate goal, she
would have to wait for many more.
"It seems I was wrong. Once I believed you, but you've betrayed me. I've
been too nice to you. Raise your head, kid."
Mama Xue spoke harshly to him and bent down, showing her iron-like
finger. She poked Slave Huan's Xuanji acupoint on his chest.
She only poked once, but the power was unprecedentedly strong. A hot
stream of inner strength was passed into Gu Shenwei's body, as if a wild fall
wind swept the fallen leaves, and rushed to his Dantian.
A fire was burning in Gu Shenwei's body. Every inch of his skin, every part
of his organs seemed to be reduced to ashes. Gu Shenwei fell down heavily.
Like a fish out of water, he twisted and turned while his mouth opened and
closed repeatedly but could not make any sound.
Two months ago, Gu Shenwei had experienced the qigong deviation. But it
could not compare with what he was experiencing now. He wanted to die but
he could not. He wanted to live, but he would not. The burning sensation
inside even drove out the sorrow and hatred in his mind. The only thing Gu
Shenwei would like to do was to beg before her, but he could not say any
words suffering the great pain.
A stream of hot air spewed out from his throat, as if he had vomited all his
organs.
Mama Xue sat back in the chair. Slave Huan's pain did wonders to assuage
her anger. She tasted her tea and thought about her plan, regardless of Slave
Huan's rolling and twisting.
After the two hours torture, Gu Shenwei felt he had gone to the hell and then
returned to the world.
"How did you feel? My Iron Finger kung fu was not worse than Supreme
King, right?" Mama Xue said sneeringly.
"I won't betray you ever again. Please forgive me, Mama Xue," Gu Shenwei
begged in a hoarse voice.
"Get out!" Mama Xue shouted.
Gu Shenwei dragged himself back to the stone house and lay weakly on the
brick bed.
Fire could burn anything, but it also could cast steel. Gu Shenwei grinned
silently. The pain had gone and his heart became harder. Since that moment,
all people in Golden Rock Fort were his enemies and they deserved to die.
Suddenly, some sentences in the Nameless Swordbook ran through his head.
Gu Shenwei felt these words became suitable to describe his situation—only
the heartless could kill people. Perhaps the content in this book was not just a
joke.
Gu Shenwei jumped off the brick bed and practiced Yin and Yang Strength.
He smiled again.
Mama Xue's finger power could not only bring pain, but also could bring the
benefit of his Internal Strength practice. The power, passed by Mama Xue in
order to punish him, conversely, helped him improve to the third level of
Yang Strength.
But how could it happen? Mama Xue absolutely would not help him.
Gu Shenwei had gained some clues on the bed. Now, he finally understood
the reason he was able to improve his Inner Strength. It was the Nameless
Swordbook.
Gu Shenwei once spent three days reading it carefully. Even though he still
did not understand it very well, he had memorized many of its sentences.
When being tortured in Mama Xue's room, he unconsciously recited these
words. Although the content did not help him relieve the pain, these words
helped him turn Mama's energy into driving force.
Due to the great pain at that time, he did not realize it. Now, the whole thing
clicked.
"What kind of book is it?"
Gu Shenwei became confused. It was not a simple sword manual

superficially. The notes seemed to describe a way of practicing Internal
Strength.
Gu Shenwei was so excited. He even wanted to come to Giant Rock Cliff and
immediately find the book to read it. But he gave up the idea, because, in the
afternoon, he could not enter East Castle without following the twin masters.
He had to wait until the next morning and then would be able to read it.
That day was seemingly a blessing day in disguise: The giant rocs were
murdered, but Gu Shenwei became a killer apprentice; Mama Xue induced
qigong deviation in him, but he started to understand the essence of Nameless
Swordbook.
Yet the situation seemed somehow incomplete. That night, as Gu Shenwei

and Elderly Zhang slept tightly, someone knocked the door.
They sat up simultaneously. The person had entered the room and was
standing at the entrance.
"I have something to tell you."
It was Shangguan Ru. Although it was too dark to see the comer clearly, Gu
Shenwei could clearly distinguish her voice.
Elderly Zhang even felt sleepy, but was still a loyal servant. He pretended to
hear nothing and laid down again. The devoted servant began to snore, as if
he had only been sleepwalking.
Gu Shenwei was surprised. The girl, who he hated now, came to visit him at
midnight.
"Does she want to play a new game with me? Or is it a new conspiracy
secretly supported by Shangguan Yushi?"
Gu Shenwei dressed quickly under the blanket and said in a low voice, "What
can I do for you, Master Ru?"
"Am I your Master Shifu ?"
"Of course. What's your order, Master Shifu?"

Shangguan Ru stepped out of the stone house and waved at Gu Shenwei to
follow. He stuck closely behind her, but secretly took precautions.
"Do you seriously take me as your master?" Shangguan Ru asked again.
Outside, the moon cast its velvety light on everything. Gu Shenwei clearly
saw Shangguan Ru's serious face. She was not as happy as she had been
during the daytime and carried a big parcel on her back. Besides, there were
two sabers under her right arm, the real iron saber, not wooden ones that they
used daily.
Gu Shenwei said humbly, "Yes, Shifu. Once my Master Shifu, always my

Master Shifu, I'll… What I said is true."
"Well then, flee from the castle with me. Right now."
Chapter 53 - Escape
Chapter 53: Escape
Among all things that happened that day, the most confusing was Shangguan
Ru's words.
She was only twelve, and Supreme King's favorite girl, not to mention she
had just made great contributions. She ranked high in her father's mind. How
could she think of escaping?
"Is that ironic? Or there's some sort of conspiracy?" But she could kill him
with no difficulty. In fact, if not for her pleading at the Giant Rock Cliff, Gu
Shenwei could not flee for his life, let alone get the opportunity to be a killer
apprentice.
Gu Shenwei was scratching his head, yet his hesitation annoyed Shangguan
Ru.
"What? You dare to disobey my order? You're just like her!"
Gu Shenwei knew what "her" meant, hence he made the decision quickly: He
would give quite the opposite answer of Shangguan Yushi.
"Your apprentice will always accompany you, my master. I'll go wherever

you go, and I'll never leave you, not by one step, but…"
Shangguan Ru smiled. Her smile shined so bright and beautiful under the
moonlight.
"That'll be enough, we'll talk about it after we get out of the fort."
Shangguan Ru handed a saber over to Gu Shenwei, and held his hand,

walking toward to the foot of the wall. She raised a finger to her lips, asking
him to be quiet.
Gu Shenwei held his dagger, following her, confused. This was just a game.
Before they walked too far, they would be stopped by the night watchman.
Gu Shenwei had been intercepted by the night watchmen twice before, so he

understood that they were everywhere in the fort.
But he was wrong. Shangguan Ru knew the fort much better than him. She
reached the foot of the wall, laying her ears on it and listened for a while, and
went on after she made sure there was no problem. She would listen through
it at certain intervals, and sometimes she made detours, seemingly to avoid
the guards.
Gu Shenwei watched her for a while as she listened against the wall, and then
he understood the situation.
He had overestimated Golden Roc Fort's guarding level. The night watchmen
were not everywhere, and they were moving, searching all the place. But they
did not walk inside the alleys, instead, they stopped at the foot of the wall.
Once they finished the patrol of an interval, they would knock at the fixed
point as a way of reporting to the network of watchmen.
Gu Shenwei could not hear these knocking sounds very well, but Shangguan
Ru did. She knew how to avoid the night watchmen who were passing by and
the safest path to go.
They went farther and farther, gradually drawing closer to the gate. Gu
Shenwei was now facing a choice: following Shangguan Ru to "escape", or
calling on someone to stop the game. The former could make the Ninth
Young Master happy, while the latter was what a slave should do.
Gu Shenwei chose the former.
Shangguan Ru led him to a high wall and laid her ear on it, listening for a
while. She unwrapped the package, and took out a wall-hooking grapnel. She
had prepared adequately.
Shangguan Ru threw the grapnel upward, but it dropped down immediately
when it reached the head of the wall. She hastened to catch it, yet it had
already made a noise.
They remained silent for a moment. No guard was coming, she picked a great
time.
Gu Shenwei took over the grapnel from Shangguan Ru. His Yin and Yang
Strength had just reached the third level of Yang Strength, promoting his
Internal Strength immensely. He threw it and easily made it across the wall,
sticking fast to the wall on another side when it dropped.
Shangguan Ru smiled and grabbed the rope to climb the wall.
Gu Shenwei wrapped his arm around the package, wrapped the narrow
dagger, and followed her up.
No one was on the wall. Shangguan Ru slipped down from the other side
quickly. She did better in Lightness Skill, so she fell to the ground rapidly,
while it took him a while to find a suitable foothold.
No one was in the clearing. Half a year ago, Martial Young, who came to
challenge, died here, with a lance plug in his skull. No trace could be found
now.
They arched their backs and marched quickly, after they ran through the
stone bridge, and took the downhill path and heaved a sigh of relief together.
Gu Shenwei thought their escape was unbelievably easy, while Shangguan

Ru thought it resulted from her well-planned scheme, about which she felt
triumphant. As they rounded some corners and could not see the fort
anymore, she became bold, and could not help but to laugh heartily.
"Aha, finally I made it. My father wouldn't allow me to adventure in Jiang

Hu, neither would my mother or Master Yu. But now I'm here! Hum, I won't
be back until I acquire my reputation. Slave Huan, you're the most loyal one,
you can rest assured, we'll be successful. I'll teach you all my Kung Fu."
"Your apprentice will be very glad to adventure in Jiang Hu. It's not that
important to learn your Kung Fu. And why should I worry since I have such a
formidable master?"
"Well, you're a nice one, and you have good Kung Fu. But you talk like a
slave too much. I don't like it."
Gu Shenwei held back his sneer. He was an actual slave in Golden Roc Fort.
Once he showed his colors, he would be killed immediately.
"You're my master. Taking a look at any apprentice of a school, they all talk
to their master in this way."
"Really? Then I do need to take a look. Anyway, I don't treat my master in

this way."
The walked downhill as they continued to talk. Shangguan Ru was so excited

that she could not shut her mouth. She was extremely curious about the
outside world.
"Slave Huan, you weren't born in the fort, were you?"
"No. This is my second year at the fort."
"Then you must know many things about Jiang Hu."
"Yes."
Gu Shenwei actually had no experience in Jiang Hu. He used to live an

extravagant life, with a very limited social circle. When he moved to the
Western Region, he was even more isolated than Shangguan Ru. But his
training master, Yang Zheng, was an old traveler. Yang Zheng would tell
some anecdotes when he was in good humor.
Gu Shenwei polished these anecdotes, and told Shangguan Ru. She listened
with keen pleasure, especially the so-called Jiang Hu rules.
"Does this competition have rules? Like how Martial Yang does?"
"Jiang Hu outside is different from Golden Roc Fort. They're restrained. We
can do whatever we want, so we're more capable. That's why Martial Yang
died."
"But I think the outside rules are better. If people assassinate each other
whenever they want, the result is countless stone castles. No one is safe, they
cannot even walk out. They're better off knowing nothing about Kung Fu."
"One can hardly do whatever he wants. There was only one Golden Roc Fort
in the world. Others can only beg to learn the art of assassination."
This was a strange conversation: Supreme King's daughter envied the Jiang
Hu rules, while the foe of the Shangguan family defended Golden Roc Fort.
The downhill path was long, and Shangguan Ru was already tired halfway
down. She yawned all the time, saying, "How far? We should have bought
two horses along."
"When we reach the mountain foot, we can buy horses."
"Hmm. Slave Huan, take me upon your back."
Gu Shenwei moved the package to his front and took over Shangguan Ru's
dagger, putting it in his belt. He got on one knee to let her climb onto is back.
Shangguan Ru was light. Gu Shenwei carried her and went on. They did not
talk for even a minute.
"Say something, don't let me fall asleep. Or you can ask me something, your
master can answer you."
She sounded light, too. After the nervousness during the first half of the
night, she was drowsed.
Gu Shenwei thought for a while, and a question crossed his mind.
"Do you remember when I survived after I had been thrown off of the cliff?"
"Of course. You lied to me, saying you climbed up by yourself, while you
rode the Golden Roc to fly up, didn't you? I remember, you naughty
apprentice, you dare to hide it from me that you're Golden Roc's friend!"
"Ouch!"
Gu Shenwei shouted out. Shangguan Ru had bitten him on his neck.
"Well, I… eh…"
Gu Shenwei really did not know how to explain, especially how to tell
Shangguan Ru that for the sake of those two giant rocs, he had to kill her one
day.
"Hee hee, forget about it. You proved your loyalty when you followed me
downhill. I forgive you. Father is going to make the specimen of them. I'll
take you to watch it."
Shangguan Ru felt no regret. She was Supreme King's daughter, and no

matter how she envied the Jiang Hu rules, she stuck to the principles of
Golden Roc Fort. In her view, possessing two rocs would be more important
than leaving them alive.
Gu Shenwei's could scarcely control his anger. He clenched his teeth, trying
his utmost not to kill the girl on his back.
"Go on. I'm falling asleep again."
"Yes, I haven't finished my question. What have you told Master Yu that she
wants me dead by any means?"
Gu Shenwei had always been curious about this question. But during these
two months, he found no trace of an answer. Both Shangguan Ru and
Shangguan Yushi kept it a secret.
Shangguan Ru laughed, and Gu Shenwei could feel her breath. But she did
not answer immediately, after a while. She seemed to have fallen asleep, but
then she answered indistinctly,
"Master Yu told me that everyone has a chance to trust someone in their

lives, regardless of the results. She said she would give this chance to me, and
I said I would give this chance to you. Then she was angry, complaining that
you were a slave with evil intentions. But don't blame her, she's a good
person. She just doesn't know what I mean. Whether or not she believes me,
she is always my best friend…"
Shangguan Ru was still murmuring, and Gu Shenwei could not hear her
clearly anymore. She failed to resist the drowsiness and went to her dreams.
He carried her down the mountain, regretting asking this question.
One's enemies should be furious and brutal, so there would be no hesitation

or sympathy when they were slaughtered. Why would she say that after she
turned her back on the Golden Roc?
The path was long, though not long as he expected. Crossing several corners,
it would meet the end. The Jade City could be seen indistinctly, with some
vague lights shining.
Gu Shenwei sighed, turned around and walked uphill.
The water-like moonlight was shimmering. Shangguan Ru slumbered

soundly, not knowing the direction had been changed.
Gu Shenwei could still feel the heavy weight of the girl and the package and
dagger, though he was on the third level of Yang Strength.
He returned to Golden Roc Fort, and he would face the stone bridge. What a
great opportunity to drop all of his burden and throw himself after her. That
way, the girl would never know her "chance" was given to the wrong person.
Gu Shenwei crossed the bridge. He could see a group of people standing in

front of the gate from far away, and numerous guard appeared behind him,
like ghosts, in case he retreated.
After all, it was just a game, though everyone cooperated with the Ninth
Young Master to play it.
Some women ran to him, cautiously taking Shangguan Ru over from his
back. And laid her down on another's back to send her into the fort.
Nobody made a sound. Shangguan Ru was still sleeping. She trusted him
very much.
Gu Shenwei took out the package and the daggers. A woman walked to him,
and said softly,
"The madam tells you, you're doing well."

Chapter 54 - Mama Xue
Chapter 54: Mama Xue
They rewarded Gu Shenwei with nothing more than some good words, even
if he had walked with Shangguan Ru for a half night.
When Gu Shenwei returned to the stone cabin, he found Elderly Zhang had
gone to feed the horses even before the sunrise. He lay down on the Kang
without taking off his clothes, and his mind was chaotic. Quickly, he fell into
sleep and had many dreams.
In his dream, two giant rocs spread their wings widely, and stretched their
necks, but they could not fly. This was exactly what they looked like when
they die. Not far away, Shangguan Ru pointed to Slave Huan, and her face
was full of anger, but then she laughed, thrillingly and creepily. The ugly
squab was furiously pecking him at his feet.
Gu Shenwei's heart was torn up with anxiety. He tried hard to wake up, but
he was sleeping deeply. He asked the help of a person with a vague face, but
when he gradually came to see her clearly, he found she was Mama Xue.
This woman sat in a chair, as she always did, cold and silent.
Gu Shenwei suddenly sat up, finally he got the dream out of his mind. There
was nothing terrifying in the dream, but he was totally frightened into a cold
sweat, with his heart beating heavily.
He looked up, and saw Mama Xue sitting on the edge of the Kang, whose
expression was almost the same as she had in the dream. Now he could not
differentiate between reality and the illusion, and his heartbeat nearly
stopped.
"You had a nightmare?"

"Yeah."
"Don't be afraid. The nightmare is no different from the reality."
Gu Shenwei was stunned. It was hard to figure out if Mama Xue, who held
her breath all the time, was just talking or meant something else. But he
recognized that she was real, hence this was reality.
"You're doing good, very good." Mama Xue smiled, which was rarely seen.
She seldom came to the stone cabin. Normally, it was Gu Shenwei, who went
to the yard to see her. Apparently, her smile seemed unreal in this dark cabin.
"What? You flatter me." Gu Shenwei did not understand her intention.
"The girl has a crush on you?"
This sentence was even more confusing. He was Shangguan Ru's intimate
slave, which was a fact known by everyone. But obviously, Mama Xue meant
something more.
"Ah! No, Mama Xue, you misunderstand."
He finally recognized her meaning. This was ridiculous, for Shangguan Ru

was only twelve years old. He explained hastily what had happened the night
before.
That was simply a game. He knew it from the very start, therefore he played
with the Ninth Young Master as always. The only reason she chose him was
that Shangguan Yushi refused her.
Yet Mama Xue kept her smile. Finally she sighed. "So you're right that your
Ninth Young Master trusts you more than anyone else."
The word "trust" shocked Gu Shenwei. He chose not to tell Mama Xue every
word Shangguan Ru had said, and he was not going to tell her in the future.
"I guess so."
Mama Xue became cold again. She said, "Slave Huan, will you do anything
for me?"
"Of course, I'll go through raging fire and boiling water for…"
Mama Xue waved to stop him. "That's enough. I know you're a clever boy, so
let's talk frankly. You know that I can disclose your secret to the Eighth
Young Master anytime, don't you?"
"Yes, I know." Gu Shenwei knelt on the Kang, and answered her carefully.
He felt that she was going to tell him something important.
"And you know that without my help, you can never improve your Internal
Strength after you were implanted with my Peripheral Force, don't you?"
"Yes, I know." Gu Shenwei answered more carefully. What Mama Xue did
not know was that he used the words written on the Nameless Swordbook to
break through the third level of Yang Strength.
"And you already had a qigong deviation before last night?"
Gu Shenwei was surprised that Mama Xue still knew that he had the qigong
deviation on the Giant Rock Cliff two months ago, though he had told no
one.
"Yes, that was two months ago."
"And from that day, you have three years to live."
Gu Shenwei looked at the grim-looking Mama Xue in amazement.
"In these three years, you'll have the qigong deviation once a while. Every
time it will be sustained a little longer, and it will be more painful. After three
years, the evil spirit stays in your heart. And no one can rescue you, not even
the immortal Buddha."
"Have mercy, Mama Xue, have mercy!" Gu Shenwei pretended to be

shaking.
"I will, as long as you do one thing for me. I'll not only erase the force in your
Xuanji acupoint, but also teach you the real formidable Kung Fu, and then
you can kill your enemies as you like, no matter who they are."
She stressed the last few words. Gu Shenwei now understood that she never
believed in him when he named himself "Yang Huan", and lied about other
things.
"I'll do it. I'll do anything if it serves you, no matter how hard it is."
"Well, it's not that hard. In the Six Kills Temple inside the fort, there was a
wooden saber. You shall find it for me."
Gu Shenwei knew the Six Kills Temple. It was the place where the
Shangguan family worship their ancestors, which was located in the
northernmost area. To go there, one had to cross through the Inner Residence.
"I, I'll find a way."
He said so, but he knew it was impossible.
"What way can you find? Ask the Ninth Young Master to help you."
Gu Shenwei was suddenly enlightened. That was why Mama Xue asked him
to flatter the twins. This was her ultimate purpose.
"I'll try."
Gu Shenwei could not be sure. The wooden saber Mama Xue wanted must be
very significant or kept some secret that Golden Roc Fort would protect it so
well. Whether Shangguan Ru was willing to help, or after her help, whether
he could take the saber, were all unsure. Once the thing was exposed, the
Ninth Young Master could be scorned at most, yet he might die.
"You should not 'try'. If people find out, you'll definitely die." Mama Xue
seeming to have guessed what Slave Huan was thinking, she said coolly.
"Mama Xue, please show me the right path."
"Now that the Ninth Young Master likes you, you should let her know when
you have qigong deviation."
Mama Xue said calmly, while her words surprised Gu Shenwei. She drank
the tea, and continued, "It's said there was a medical secret hidden inside the
wooden saber, which can bring the dead back to life. You need it to save
yourself."
"I see." He understood her plan.
"If she says the fort has countless physicians and she can find someone to
cure you, what should you say?"
"I'll say… the manual I learn is from the other school. Golden Roc Fort's
Internal Strength will make me deviate much more from the righteous path."
"Fine, that'll work. And you don't need to be afraid. Once I have the saber, I'll
do some research, and you can return it. No one will find anything wrong."
"Yes."
Mama Xue stood up, and said, "Tomorrow I'll send you into the Inner
Residence to serve the Ninth Young Master."
"But Lord had promised me to become a killer apprentice…"
"What? Are you saying you want to become a killer apprentice?" Her voice
cooled down.
"Uh, no. I'll get you the wooden saber."
Mama Xue went to the door, and said, "These killers aren't formidable. I'll
teach you a much stronger form of Kung Fu."
"Yes, Thank you, Mama Xue."
She was gone. Gu Shenwei sat on the Kang, and thought carefully about the
task. After a while, he walked out of the cabin and went to the East Castle.
He had to look up in the Nameless Swordbook, maybe he had found a
method to read it.
The gate was closed, including the little gate. He tried to knock, but there was
no one answer. He was surprised because for several months he could get in
there easily with no impediment.
Gu Shenwei then walked into the school.
There was still a crowd of attendants standing at the school's gate. However,
this time they stared at Slave Huan directly, as if he were a condemned
prisoner, waiting to be executed.
He slowed down, gazing at these slaves warily. Had he offended someone

unconsciously again?
Slave Qing walked out. His expression was indecipherable, and one could
find envy, hatred, confusion and timidness on his face. Then he said drily,
"Why are you here?"
"I…" Gu Shenwei had lost his tongue. Indeed, it had been a long time since
he had stopped waiting at the gate, "Have… have the two masters arrived?"
"It's none of your business. Don't ask around. You know the rules."
Slave Qing answered stiffly, and Gu Shenwei had to leave. The crowds' noise
was up, "Master Ru…" "How could that be possible…" He could only hear
clearly for several words.
Now he did not know what to do. He had to wait for Mama Xue to send him
to the Internal Residence.
That night, he went to greet Mama Xue as usual. She had nothing to say this
time, so she dispatched him quickly.
He met with Maid Cui in the yard.
Her eyes were gouged and her tongue was cut out, but after that, she was
specially trusted by Miss. Gu Shenwei sympathized with her, especially when
her name reminded him of his sister, Gu Cuilan. But he never communicated
with her.
He stepped aside to let her pass.

She smiled at him. This was her magic: She could identify a person simply by
his steps, and sometimes she was even more accurate than a normal person.
She walked by, and slipped him a strip of paper smoothly.
Gu Shenwei went back to the cabin, and lit the oil lamp. He opened the note,
which read "Nine thirty-sixth, south-east wall."
Elderly Zhang was still in the stable. He would not come to the cabin until he
wanted to sleep.
Gu Shenwei burned the note.
He trusted no one. He had lost the chance to trust others. But when it was
close to nine o'clock, he still went to the wall. He stood at the corner and
faced his cabin. If anyone found out, he would say he got sands in his boots.
Maid Jade seemed to have no ability to hurt him.
After the sound of the gong--which indicated the time--died away, he heard a
voice say, "Slave Huan, are you there?"
It shocked him cause the voice came from the wall. He answered and looked
around at the wall, and then he found a hole this size of a thumb, through
which a person was speaking to him. The voice sounded familiar.
"Is that you, Slave Qian?"
"Yes."
"Why him?" Gu Shenwei could not understand. After the competition last
year, Slave Qian treated him coldly, even with contempt.
"What do you…"
"There's no time for details. I want to tell you one thing. You should find an
excuse to delay whatever Mama Xue wants you to do."
"What do you know?"

He answered vigilantly. Maybe this was the test of loyalty from Mama Xue.
"You fool, think about it. Once she has it, she'll certainly kill all three of us."
Slave Qian sounded frightened and anxious, and he plugged up the hole when
he finished talking.
Gu Shenwei walked to the cabin rapidly, wondering what "all three of us"
meant.
Chapter 55 - Inner Residence
Chapter 55: Inner Residence
Gu Shenwei had already thought it through, regardless of Slave Qian's

warning.
Mama Xue must have been aiming for something big, or she had a powerful
benefactor, and for that reason she dared to frame a plot in Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei thought they should form a union, or even tell her his real
identity.
He had considered all of the possibilities, and decided to abandon this plan.
The main reason was the non-equivalence of their strength. Telling her the
truth would give him nothing more but another handle in Mama Xue's hand
to control him by.
He was only a fifteen-year-old boy, with mediocre Kung Fu, who wanted to
slaughter the Shangguan family. Who would "form a union" with him?
Once he lost the value in use, Mama Xue would surely morganize him.
But he had no choice now, and he was eager to know the secrets inside the
wooden saber. It might be the Golden Roc Fort's unique manuscript of their
martial arts, or a great fortune. Anyway, it could be helpful for his revenge.
Now he was a man walking on a tightrope. Whether he moved forward or

backward, once he took a false step it was all over.
The next afternoon, Slave Huan was sent to the Internal Residence. But it was
two women, unknown middle-aged servants, who brought him in instead of
Mama Xue.
The servants looked him over on the road, making him feel awkward. He felt
relieved when they finally asked him to stay alone in a room.
The Inner Residence was the only one that had a red gate among all the
residences inside Golden Roc Fort. Its inside decoration was similar to the
outside, except that more plants were on display and it was incredibly
furbished. Luxurious ornaments and new furniture made it much better than
the dilapidated Western and Eastern Castles.
Gu Shenwei felt strange the whole time he was there. He did not understand
this feeling until he realized this residence's style: It did not look like a place
for the "king of killers", instead, it was more like a land of warmth and
tenderness, where a merchant prince and his concubines enjoyed their
extravagant life.
Compared to this, the Eastern and Western Castle was more suitable for
killers: they had broken stone walls and countless growing weeds that created
an atmosphere suitable for killers.
He waited for a long time. He kept standing and dared not sit down. Every
time someone walked by, he would bow to them. Finally, two young maids
came to him when the evening lights were lit.
The maids acted like the former servants, looking him over directly when
they came in as if he were an exotic animal imported from another country.
One of them smiled and said, "Look at him… no wonder the ninth child…"
Gu Shenwei blushed. People thought Shangguan Ru liked him, which was

completely wrong. Shangguan Ru was not only too young, but also a girl who
thought herself a boy. She wanted to join Jiang Hu, fighting and killing there.
She acted more like a real boy than her brother.
The maids led him to cross a series of paths and verandas before entering a
larger room, where the floor was covered with thick carpet and the aroma was
floating all over the house. Giant candles were burning, luminating the whole
house. Crowds of women were laughing presumptuously.
Gu Shenwei recognized who he was going to meet. Therefore he lowered his
head, cast his eyes down and moved several steps forward. Before the maid
called him, he kneeled down.
"My Lady, this is the slave."
"Slave Huan bows before Your Lady. May Your Lady be young and healthy
forever."
Howls of laughter erupted around the room. A woman opposite him said,
"Look at this kid. He knows what people want. Now raise up your head."
Gu Shenwei straightened up, still casting his eyes down. He did so for he saw
Supreme King's lady, the twins' mother, from the moment he entered.
This lady, who came from Meng family, was only in her 30s and looked very
young and gorgeous. The twins resembled her. The customs of Western
Region were different from the Central Plain, so the lady needed not to wear
a veil before the male servants. Now Gu Shenwei understood why Miss Luo
Ningcha, who was too stubborn to unveil herself, could not win her mother-
in-law's favor.
"You look handsome. I assume that's why Ru wants you to join her adventure
in Jiang Hu."
She was trying to tease him, the group of women laughed again. Gu Shenwei
had never seen so many women crowded together. He felt uncomfortable,
and dared not to move an inch.
"A traitor! I don't want him to come."
It was Shangguan Ru's voice. She was sitting next to her mother, holding her
arms. She appeared angry and turned her head away to avoid seeing him.
On the other side next to the lady was Shangguan Fei. He had a good laugh
and made ghostly face at his sister.
"You shall not blame others so casually. Your little escapade was already
discovered before your left of the Inner Residence, but we just kept silent.
He's just a kid, and he proved his loyalty by keeping you company. What else
do you want?"
"Traitor!"
"Alright, alright. At least he carried you for a half night. He's good enough.
Don't blame him anymore."
"Traitor!"
No matter how tenderly the lady tried to comfort her, Shangguan Ru kept a
straight face, and spoke out only one word. The "apprentice" refused his
"master's" order? This drove her crazy.
Gu Shenwei kneeled there and said nothing. He thought the twins had grown
so lawless under their father's influence, but now he knew it was because
their mother spoiled them. As it was said, whether the offspring were noble
depended on their mother, and this lady must be the most beloved one of
Supreme King.
Bighead Kingpin's daughter, Miss Luo Ningcha, wanting to compete with her
was like using an egg to strike a stone. Gu Shenwei now felt the Miss was
truly foolish.
"Do you want him to be your slave or not? If you don't, I'll drive him out
now."
"No. He is a traitor." Shangguan Ru said without any hesitation.
"If she doesn't want him, I'll take him," Shangguan Fei interrupted. "Slave
Huan is good at Kung Fu. He can be my trusted follower." Slave Huan was
supposedly a gift from his eighth brother, Shangguan Nu, but was robbed
from him. Now he wanted the gift back.
However, after Shangguan Fei's words, the sister showed reluctance. She
grasped her mother's hands. "No, I… Well, I'll keep him, so I can punish this
nasty slave."
"Alright. You can punish your slave as you like."
As the mother and daughter talked, they completely ignored Slave Huan, as if
he was a pet, knowing nothing about human language.
He was dismissed and was accompanied by two maids who were laughing as
they carelessly took him to a small room.
As a slave who made a contribution, he was rewarded some plates of pastries.

The maids poured the pastries down on the Kang and took the plates away.
There was another boy, 14 or 15, who bowed to the maids when they came in
and continued to pack up when they gone, turning his back on Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei recognized him as Slave Ling, one of the young personal

attendants of the twins. Gu Shenwei once stepped on his shoulder and held
Shangguan Ru's foot, letting her peep at the killer's regular practice.
Gu Shenwei also remained silent. He had seen countless open and secret
strife between the slaves, so he had to act carefully. When he was the Gu
family's little master, he never knew such things. He used to think slaves
were just slaves. Except for their faces, they had the same temperament and
character.
After Slave Ling finished his work, he sat on the edge of the Kang and hung
his head, as if he were thinking of something. After a while, he turned back to
Slave Huan. "I'm glad you came."
Gu Shenwei grunted assent. He could see there was no gladness in Slave

Ling's face.
"Since you've come, I can go. From now on, I'll not need to fight with others
or practice Kung Fu so hard. I can find a normal master, flatter him and take
his beating. Everything has its order. Ah, I've been so tired these past years.
"A normal master?" Gu Shenwei repeated the words. He had been a master
for 14 years, yet he did not know what "a normal master" meant.
Slave Ling's face changed. "I don't mean that. I was just speaking without
thinking. I'll never treat my master…"
"I won't gossip."
"Hey, I know you're different from others. You're… you're… you know,
different."
Gu Shenwei smiled. They always said he was different, and most of the time
it meant the negative way. If they really knew how different he was, they
would be frightened to death.
"Before I leave, I have some rules to tell you."
"Please."
"First, don't walk around casually. If you don't know where you can go, then
stay where you are. But keep yourself busy. Whenever the master calls you,
you'll run to him like a dog chasing a rabbit."
"Yes." Gu Shenwei thought he had been running much faster than a dog these
past months.
"Second, don't look around so much. You shall use your eyes to serve the
master instead of satisfying your own self. You shall watch what your master
is saying and doing, and don't let them say too much."
"Alright." Gu Shenwei already had stricter demands for himself. He must

implant a brand new idea in his master's mind.
"Third, don't talk casually. You should have slapped me immediately for
what I said at that moment, and reported to your master."
"Hmm, now I know. And I'll do it next time."
"Heh, heh, so many rules. Memorize these three first."
"Thank you."
Someone was calling Slave Ling's name from outside. He held his package
and prepared to leave. But he thought for a while, and said, "Sometimes I
think you're crazy. But I have to warn you not to mess with Master Yu."
He had gone. Gu Shenwei now owned this cabin. He was thinking of the task
Mama Xue gave him, forgetting about Shangguan Yushi, who was so jealous
that she must be thinking of how to settle with him."
As he was alone, the first thing he would do was break one of the three rules
by "walking around casually."
He lived in a corner of the garden. There were a dozen cabins like his where a
bunch of animal trainers and some personal attendants of the twins all lived.
Gu Shenwei had met with those attendants, but they ignored each other as
though they were strangers. There were more than 20 trainers, with sturdy
frames and naked arms, who kept walking around, scoffing at the attendants.
The air smelled of animal urine, and the thunder-like roar came time and
again.
Gu Shenwei ignored the beasts. He walked along the path, crossing many
corners, and found the garden was truly not a place for a Lord: not too many
exotic flowers, one could only see jagged rockery, withered pines and
cypresses, and wrecked toys. The grassland was a total mess, it seemed the
beasts had trampled on it.
The Inner Residence had left Gu Shenwei with an effeminate impression. He

did not know the garden was so messy that it was almost a northern meadow,
a meadow that was devastated.
Before he went too far in the northwest direction, Gu Shenwei found a yard
with a low wall built by broken rocks that seemed like a shabby rockery.
Behind it were several stone cabins, with little decoration, incompatible with
the aesthetic of the whole residence. They were more like the cold structures
outside.
A teenager Gu Shenwei had never met before jumped out from the tree
alongside the path, with his palms outward, soundlessly forbidding the
intruder to go forward.
Gu Shenwei understood and receded. The boy held a dagger. A real dagger.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi were always in men's wear. Gu

Shenwei originally thought it was for the sake of the school, but now he had a
different idea: In order to make these two girls masculine, people in the fort
had been working tirelessly.
Chapter 56 - The Encouragement
Chapter 56: The Encouragement
It was a cloudy and bright night. Summer flowers gave off an unnerving
smell of conspiracy.
When it was about the third watch, Gu Shenwei snuck out of his house. He
went off the main road, heading for the yard he saw in the day.
Slave Ling had warned him not to wander, or to mess with Master Yu.
However, on his first night in Inner Residence, he decided to break these two
rules.
The sky was starless. Gu Shenwei held his breath. He almost ran into the
night watchman twice, but he managed to make it outside the garden.
He climbed over the low wall, waiting patiently. After making sure no one
was in the dark, he snuck under the crab apple tree, picked up a pebble, and
flipped it at the windows of the central house.
Although the architecture style was different from that of the Central Plain, it
was easy to tell the owner's house. The only uncertainty was which twin lived
here.
There was no response.
Gu Shenwei picked up a second pebble. This time he threw it harder, making

a loud noise.
Still, there was no response, as if it was unoccupied. But, someone outside

the house reacted.
Gu Shenwei's hair stood on end. It felt like Shangguan Yushi's assassination

again. He then darted forward, while swiftly turning around. It was the armed
boy he saw by day who was ready for a second attack.
The boy looked serious, even murderous. It was not a game.
Gu Shenwei's position was unfavorable. There was not much room for his
maneuvers. However, the armed boy was even better than Shangguan Yushi
in kung fu.
Aiming the edge of his dagger at the intruder's chest, the boy was determined
to end the fight in one split. It was his duty and his honor.
A window was opened with a squeak. Then the boy hopped backward like a
ghost under a spell, vanishing into the air.
Gu Shenwei's blood froze. He could not understand the mysterious boy.
"Who is it?"
"It's me. Well, I'm supposed to see Master Shifu under orders."
"Whose orders were that?"
"They're yours, Master Shifu."
"Mine?"
"In the daytime, didn't you flash three fingers at me to meet you at the third
watch?"
"No, I didn't! You're a traitor. I'll punish you tomorrow."
"Master Shifu, I know I'm guilty, so I came to receive my punishment today."
Gu Shenwei knelt under the window, while Shangguan Ru only showed her
head and yawned.
Lights were on in rooms on both sides. Shangguan Ru snapped. "Go to sleep,

nobody gets up!". Then the lights went out.
"You came too early. I haven't decided how to punish you yet," Shangguan
Ru said sulkily.
"I've got an idea: We'll drive him 'out of Stone Castle, covered with a
hundred daggers'. This is our practice." Shangguan Yushi also showed her
head.
Gu Shenwei actually wanted to say Shangguan Yushi failed to run away with
Master Ru last night, which was a greater betrayal. But instead, he said, "It's
not the practice in our 'Moonhold School', Master Shifu."
"Well, I haven't worked out the practice, either."
"It must be different from any other school's."
"Of course it is."
Shangguan Yushi broke in again. "I say throw him straight off Reincarnation
Cliff. It's easier."
"Do you want to kill me again, Uncle Master?"
Shangguan Yushi raised her eyebrows in fury. The failed assassination made
her livid. She could control the feeling when Shangguan Ru was present. But
hearing the servant talking about it, she wanted to fight back.
"No quarreling!"
"Yes, I'll listen to Master Shifu," Gu Shenwei immediately said.
Shangguan Yushi snorted and turned around, showing Slave Huan only the
back side of her head.
"If you want to return to our school, get me out of here and venture into the
world with me."
"We can also venture into the Stone Castle. There're so many aces in our
castle. It's possible you won't run into many aces like them even you venture
for a decade outside."
"What a brown nose," Shangguan Yushi murmured.
"It's different. In the Castle, they all treat me like a child."
"Oh, actually, I have an idea. A way they'll take you seriously."
"Tell me!" Shangguan Ru's eyes flashed.
"Liar," Shangguan Yushi said without turning her head.
"I'll tell you a story first."
"It'd better be interesting, because I'm tired." Shangguan Ru's chin was on her
elbow. She liked stories, especially stories in the middle of the night.
It was pitch dark, only insects chirping. No one, not even the armed boy,
would interrupt them. Thus, Gu Shenwei directly sat on the ground, slowly
telling the story that he just remembered.
"That night, I told you many jianghu rules, but in fact, not all people follow
the rules. Some people are bound to break those rules."
"You're talking about killers. Killers have rules too, and only our rules are
different from others," Shangguan Yushi said scornfully, without a look at
him.
"No, I'm not talking about killers. In the Central Plain, we don't have schools
like Golden Roc Fort."
"What kind of people are they?" Shangguan Ru became a little curious.
"They're burglars."
"Ah, you mean the Bighead Kingpin lot. You must hear it from your
Mistress." Shangguan Yushi deliberately interrupted again.
"Not entirely the same. Bighead Kingpin is a bandit who robs publicly, while
the burglars attack at night and disappear. Everyone knows them, but no one
sees them. Well, this may describe the top killers. However, they're not
interested in people, but only priceless treasures."
Shangguan Yushi could not think of any famous burglar at the moment, so
she just grunted.
"The one I'm talking about was the famous top burglar in the Central Plain,
known as 'Dexterous Dragon'. He had a habit of bragging about his doings,
embarrassing the owner. He was also very bold. He stole from prominent
families, officials, and even Heaven."
"You're exaggerating." Shangguan Yushi could not help but criticize him.
"I'm not exaggerating. The Dexterous Dragon pulled off a dozen of big heists.
But he was still not satisfied. Then he went to the imperial palace to rob the
place. You may know the emperor in the Central Plain claimed to be the son
of God. The Dexterous Dragon stole from the son of God. Isn't that stealing
from Heaven?"
"What's so great about the imperial palace? The guards could never compete
with Golden Roc Fort's."
"Hush. Let him finish. What did he steal?"
Shangguan Ru became interested. Although she was from the Western

Region, she knew emperors were different from kings. Golden Roc Fort
could not compete with them.
"The Dexterous Dragon stole more than 30,000 kilograms of gold and silver
from the Great Treasury. It'd take a lot of effort even by cart. But no one
discovered it until several days later when the gold and silver appeared in
civil markets. Rumors flew. The guards knew it. Many people lost their jobs
and lives because of this."
"The burglar loved money," Shangguan Ru said.
"Yes, the Dexterous Dragon did. But he also spent a lot. More than 30,000
kilograms of gold and silver were spent in less than a month. But money was
nothing compared to the missing jade seal, which greatly disturbed the
imperial court."
"He stole the jade seal? Why did he want that?" Shangguan Ru laughed.
"It took several days to find that the jade seal was missing? Was the emperor
just lazy?" Even Shangguan Yushi became interested.
"They found out on the second morning. But they all thought it was stolen by
someone in the palace. They didn't realize it was a burglar. After stealing the
jade seal, the Dexterous Dragon issued about 100 imperial edicts in a row,
releasing many felons. He even announced an Imperial Confession saying 'I
myself was low in virtue and acted unkingly'."
Shangguan Ru chortled. She was starting to like the burglary profession.
"You can imagine how chaotic the imperial court became. Nobody knew
which edicts were real. They were reluctant to accept the edicts, and also
reluctant to disobey them. Therefore, the Dexterous Dragon earned another
alias—Emperor's Student. He was even called 'the Overlord' among the
people."
"He really misbehaved and knew how to have fun. What happened then?
What did he steal next?" Shangguan Ru's eyes shone with admiration.
"Then the Dexterous Dragon died."
"What?" The two girls cried in doubt. Finally, Shangguan Yushi turned her
head around. "What a storyteller! The hero dies at the climax!"
"The guards were so anxious that they spent five months in pursuit and
arrested tens of thousands of people. Finally, they found out Dexterous
Dragon's whereabouts. 300 imperial aces were sent to capture him, and
10,000 soldiers were on standby."
Gu Shenwei paused for a moment.
"Was he killed?" Shangguan Ru asked.
"No. The Dexterous Dragon killed himself. He didn't leave any confession.
Thus many people thought the real burglar was still alive, hiding. People
even gave him another nickname—Red Bat Lady."
"Ha, you're lying. Everyone knows Lady with Red Sleeves is one of the
'Three Heroes of Wind and Dust'. She's not even a burglar." Shangguan
Yushi had spotted a hole in the story and yelled out immediately.
"Not the same person. She's the bat lady because the Dexterous Dragon hid
by day and came out by night like a bat. She also died in a red dress. That's
why she was called Red Bat Lady."
"The Dexterous Dragon was a woman?" Shangguan Ru asked in surprise.
"Yes, she was."
"I bet you made this up. It's such a bad story," Shangguan Yushi said and
pouted. She always disbelieved Slave Huan.
"It's true. You can ask those who've been to the Central Plain. They must all
know it. I heard it from the one who had seen Red Bat Lady's body."
The theft in the imperial palace was the last and biggest case before Gu Lun
resigned. He managed to retrieve the jade seal himself. Gu Shenwei
remembered it well. But he also added some details to the story to impress
the two audiences.
This was not a complicated or happy-ending story. But the two girls liked it.
They leaned on the ledge, thinking about the story.
"At first, you said we could do something fun in the Castle. You were talking
about this." Slave Huan's promise crossed Shangguan Ru's mind.
"Yes."
"We can't really kill people, but we can steal things." Shangguan Yushi also
realized that.
"Steal something special. We can surprise them." Gu Shenwei encouraged

them. He thought they would better steal something from Six Kills Temple.
Chapter 57 - Intuition
Chapter 57: Intuition
Gu Shenwei's half-true story moved the two young girls. Even though they
did not make up their mind to steal anything instantly, he knew he had
successfully taken the first step.
However, it was only a small step. Gu Shenwei could not control Shangguan
Ru's thoughts, so he just waited and saw what this bossy girl would do next.
The next morning, after the twins went to school, Gu Shenwei had the chance
to sneak into the Eighth Young Master's yard for reporting to Mama Xue. He
did not take the methods that Mama Xue had taught him, because she
obviously overrated Slave Huan's influence on Master Ru. A slave's life and
death were not enough to draw her attention.
Gu Shenwei saw some people carrying a big basket from the gate. He
recognized one of them was Slave San, one of the ten male slaves bought by
Miss Luo.
Some of them had died and others had left. Only four still worked in
Firewood Yard, however, Miss Luo had forgotten them. Hence, other people
in Golden Roc Fort had no reason to remember them.
Expressionless and glassy-eyed, Slave San did not seem to notice Slave
Huan. Carrying the basket, he looked down and hurriedly left with the others.
Gu Shenwei was very sensitive to these trivial matters for no reason. He

wanted to know what had been put into this basket.
Even if there was a dead person inside, such was a common occurrence in
Golden Roc Fort. But Gu Shenwei could not control his curiosity and the
faint uneasiness. He had not stopped thinking about it, until he entered Mama
Xue's room.
Unexpectedly, Mama Xue was kind to Gu Shenwei. She not only expressed
her satisfaction with the progress of the plan, but also showed her
appreciation for Slave Huan's wisdom. Additionally, she rewarded him a cup
of tea.
As he drank the tea, Mama Xue said, "You'll know how hard it is to find a
trustworthy person in the world. Even a master of kung fu can be easily hurt
by people's betrayal. However, you're a trustworthy man to me. Now, we're
'master and apprentice'. Although I know a lot of kung fu skills, what I've
taught you only accounts for about 20% of them. After you gain the thing I
want, I'll teach you more powerful kung fu, which isn't showty, you know,
but practical. Ah! You want to avenge the person who murdered your father.
After learning my kung fu, you can kill anyone you want."
This was not the first time that Mama Xue had said "kill anyone you want".
Gu Shenwei though she probably had learned his real identity.
Gu Shenwei cautiously thanked Mama Xue, appearing to be neither cold nor

enthusiastic. He mentioned nothing about the secret of the wooden saber. In
fact, he wanted to know some clues about the saber, but now he felt it was
better to play the fool.
Since the twins may be calling Slave Huan to attend the kung fu competition
at any moment. Gu Shenwei used this as an excuse and left.
After he walked out the door, Gu Shenwei reflected that he had been too
nervous, and even he could not walk normally, due to the muscle tension.
After he ensured no one was around him, Gu Shenwei walked outside to the
southeastern corner, where he had talked to Slave Qian last night.
The hole was sealed up by mud.
Gu Shenwei rushed back to the school gate.

As the sun was shining gloriously, all of the servants hid under the wall
shadow and still kept using their sleeves fan themselves. But Gu Shenwei felt
chilly.
Slave Qian died. Obviously, Mama Xue killed him. Her words about "trust",
in fact, were a warning: She had known the two little slaves' conspiracy.
Gu Shenwei hoped to find the more convincing evidence of Slave Qian's

death, so he carefully listened to people's chatting. But Slave Qian was just a
killer apprentice in East Castle. The apprentices like him could die one or two
every day on average in East Castle. Who else would be interested in his
death?
Gu Shenwei also wondered if he was overwrought. Even if it was a dead man

in the bucket, it might not be Salve Qian. But he soon insisted the original
guess and even believed it. The intuition could not be wrong.
The young man, who had the overwhelming desire to take revenge, the
woman, who had the overwhelming desire to steal the saber, they once
walked on the same road, but now the road fork was in front of them.
Once she did not gain the wooden saber, Mama Xue would kill him. Gu
Shenwei knew that Slave Qian's warning was right, while if he could not take
the wooden saber to Mama Xue, he would be killed as well.
Gu Shenwei began to conceive the killing plan again. However, he did not
find an assistant this time and also did not have the convenience of hiding
behind the screen. The right place, the good time, the close allies, he had
none of them.
Gu Shenwei was considering the complicated killing plan. Once coming up

with a new one, he quickly denied it and completely did not hear someone
calling him.
"Slave Huan!"
The voice became harsh. Gu Shenwei suddenly sobered up and raised his
head. He saw Slave Qing's extremely unsatisfied face.
Slave Qing felt surprised and angry that Slave Huan could enter Inner
Residence and became Shangguan Ru's attendant, therefore, Slave Huan's
indifference made him angrier.
"What's the matter with you? Now you can't hear slaves speak after serving
the master?"
"Sorry. I… I'm a little sleepy."
Gu Shenwei tried to find excuses. He had offended so many people in Golden

Roc Fort, so he did not want to annoy one more person.
"Take some slaves to clean up Kun Yard. Master Fei wants to use it," Slave
Qing ordered.
Shangguan Ru often gave some weird orders, so Gu Shenwei did not ask why
and left for Kun Yard with other five or six slaves.
Since Gu Shenwei did not know where it was, a young slave led him into the
yard. When arriving there, he found he had been Kun Yard once.
Last time, when Gu Shenwei had a narrow escape after falling down the cliff,
Shangguan Yushi thought he was a ghost and then hid in this yard.
This small yard had been empty for a long time and dust accumulated so
much. These young slaves took almost two days to clean it up.
The next day, Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi did not go to school.
They came to Kun Yard and asked the slaves carry a lot of items into it, most
of which were taken from the garden in Inner Residence.
Initially, Gu Shenwei thought Shangguan Ru wanted to live alone, so she

moved to many objects and tools. But later he found she actually was
designing a field to practice kung fu.
That afternoon, Master Ru and Master Yu drove all attendants away, except
Slave Huan. Slave Qing tried to stay, but Master Yu kicked him out.
Naturally, he blamed on Slave Huan.

Shangguan Ru was touched by the story of Dexterous Dragon, so she decided
to become a great thief who could fly over the eaves and run on the walls. At
first, Shangguan Yushi did not want the Ninth Young Master to be influenced
by Gu Shenwei. However, she changed her attitude soon and supported him.
Gu Shenwei was astonished by her behavior.
But he quickly realized she supported them because she wanted to gain the
power of control.
As for Shangguan Ru's attitude, she did not hate the competition between her
cousin and the slave, and even a little liked it.
Gu Shenwei had not seen himself as a child for almost a year and started to
learn a lot of things, so he could clearly see the essence of the game.
"Even a kid isn't naive." He thought.
The 15-year-old girl, Shangguan Yushi, had understood the principle—A

man leaning against the big tree could enjoy the shade it provided. Hence, she
had to rely on "the big tree"—Master Ru and was trying to "tie" herself
firmly with her. Besides, the 12-year-old girl, Shangguan Ru, knew that she
should balance the two sides by natural intuition.
The truth was always ugly. When he recalled his past as a young master, Gu
Shenwei also played these tricks unconsciously. Now he still needed to play
the tricks. However, compared with the tricks he had played before, he had a
more specific and bloodier goal.
Shangguan Fei also ran over. He was the "attendant" that the two young girls
could not get rid of. Having tried to the way of begging and even threatening,
he was permitted to join them. But the girls drove away his attendants as
usual.
The Four Great Thieves in Golden Roc Fort was formed.
Except Gu Shenwei, the rest of them did not know the real purpose of this
game, but he could not tell them. Hence, at the first three days, they only
devoted themselves to practicing Qing Gong, because it was a basic skill for
the great thieves.
The twins also invited a training tutor from Moonhold Academy. He was a
small and plain man with the ugly mustache, but his Qing Gong was great.
The tutor taught the three masters diligently and seriously, however, he
looked down upon the low-status servant, who had gained the priority to join
the team.
Gu Shenwei had to stand behind the masters and followed their movements.
His Qing Gong was not good, so he did not learn it very fast and could barely
catch up with the two girls.
Probably the training tutor thought the servant was too stupid to teach. He
checked Gu Shenwei's Internal Strength by pressing the vital acupoints on his
chest. After a while, the tutor made his conclusion and impatiently said,
"You can't learn the profound kung fu in Golden Roc Fort, because you've
studied a totally different one. Now you can catch up the training progress,
but later you won't, so give up."
Then the tutor did not explain more. But Gu Shenwei thought his words made
sense. He knew that Yin and Yang Strength, which was exclusive for the Gu
family, required the learner should practice kung fu steadily and slowly. In
his memory, his father Gu Lun had not paid much attention to practicing
Qing Gong.
However, Gu Shenwei believed the man's efforts was the decisive factor, so
he did not give up. Especially, Shangguan Yushi's attitude spurred on him.
Since she had heard the tutor's talk to Gu Shenwei, she practiced Qing Gong
harder. If she could surpass Gu Shenwei on one kind of kung fu, Shangguan
Yushi would be very delighted.
The masters only spent three days on practicing. They did not want to
practice kung fu day by day in order to become a great thief, so they started
to discuss the things that they wanted to steal.
For Gu Shenwei, it was the most difficult part of his plan. If he did not lead
Shangguan Ru's interest to Six Kills Temple, the whole plan would become a
real game. Then all his efforts would be in vain.
Therefore, he cautiously chipped in and tried not to expose his purpose. For
example, when Shangguan Fei mentioned stealing his father's token, he
would point out that was improper, because the game was for fun and could
not embarrass the parents. When Shangguan Ru planned to steal a good saber
in East Castle, he would suggest that people in there always did not guard
against the twins. Even if they succeed, people must help them secretly.
Some of the other goals were too easy. Before Gu Shenwei made his
disagreement, others denied them quickly.
The four teenagers secretly discussed for the whole afternoon, but still did not
come up with a good idea. They became anxious. At last, Shangguan Yushi
said the place that Gu Shenwei had expected to hear for a long time.
"Six Kills Temple. It's a good place and hides a lot of treasures. Also, it's
heavily guarded. Remember once we wanted to play inside but people drove
us away? They can't intentionally help us steal the items."
Gu Shenwei did not say anything and silently waited for the approvement of
the two masters.
No matter what other's goal was, Gu Shenwei wanted to steal the wooden
saber. After that, he still needed to find a way to deal with Mama Xue.
Hence, Gu Shenwei now hesitated whether to fasten the stealing plan.
Chapter 58 - The Plan
Chapter 58: The Plan
Among the four, only Shangguan Fei had entered Six Kills Temple, where
the people in Golden Roc Fort had offered sacrifices to their ancestors. One
of its rules was that no woman was allowed, which offended both Shangguan
Fei and Shangguan Yushi, and they solidified their resolve to steal something
from the temple.
Shangguan Fei sketched the outline of the temple in accordance with his
memory. The main hall laid north near the cliff, sitting on a grand
groundmass, and people could see it from many locations in Golden Roc
Fort. At a hundred feet away from the hall, there was an arc stone wall which
was high and wide enough to separate the hall and the Inner Residence.
The north-south rectangular main hall was different from ordinary temples.
Its north side as well as half of the east and west sides hugged the cliff, and
its windows were three meters high from the ground so that the sun could
shed light on the ancestors' paintings on the opposite wall.
Six Kills Temple kept a lot of priests, who were called Sacred Master, in
Golden Roc Fort. Rumor has it that they were once master-like killers, yet
they gave up killing for a variety of reasons. They swore to protect the temple
and have never stepped beyond the stone wall for their whole life.
"I've seen them. They're just some weak old men. There's nothing to fear."
Shangguan Fei said lightly. He did not take the rumors seriously, while the
other three thought the opposite, especially Shangguan Ru and Shangguan
Yushi. Although they had never entered Six Kills Temple, they had more
knowledge than Shangguan Fei.
"Nonsense, they're kung fu masters. Master Liu's killer mentor is a Sacred
Master. His mentor is one of the fort's best killers of this century. Only
several killers can surpass him in the number of kills," Shangguan Yushi
refuted.
Shangguan Fei could not deny that. Master Liu, who had a mustache, was
their training tutor in the Moonhold Academy, and his words were
trustworthy.
In Golden Roc Fort, a killer was judged by the number of his kills. Master
Liu's killer mentor, who was among the top ten killers of this century, was
apparently not a "weak old man". Even though he was old now, he could
easily defeat a few teenagers.
"The Red Bat Lady, how did she sneak into the palace? Apparently, her kung
fu wasn't the best because she was forced to commit suicide in the end,"
Shangguan Ru asked.
Unfortunately, Gu Shenwei did not know the answer. Back then the Gu
family cared more about Gu Lun's future, so they did not know much about
the details. He pondered for a while and said, "It's knockout powder I guess.
It's said that every time she sneaked into the palace the people there slept
more soundly than usual."
"Knockout powder!"
Three youngsters of the Shangguan family exclaimed simultaneously, and

their eyes gleamed. Knockout powder was a unique art in Golden Roc Fort,
and they had been familiar with it since childhood.
This reminded Gu Shenwei of that swordsman named Long Feidu from the
Great Snowmountain. A Golden Roc Fort killer had used some knockout
powder on the swordsman and killed him easily. "That unlucky man thought
the killer used some Mercy Powder on him, but the killer denied it.
According to the killer, Golden Roc Fort has stopped using Mercy Powder
now, so what kind of knockout powder do the killers use now?"
"We really could use some Mercy Powder," Gu Shenwei suggested.

Hearing that, the other three teenagers looked confused. "What kind of stuff
is it?" Shangguan Fei asked.
Gu Shenwei did not know what Mercy Powder was either. He assumed that it
used to be an exclusive knockout powder of Golden Roc Fort, but it was
banned for some reason. Seeing their reaction, he was surprised and thought,
"It seems that Golden Roc Fort did ban it. The fort really kept its promise.
That's not its style at all."
"Uh, it's a kind of knockout powder. It's said to be very effective."
"We might not have Mercy Powder, but we could get some of 'that',"
Shangguan Yushi said as she narrowed her eyes.
Somebody in Golden Roc Fort had produced a replacement of Mercy

Powder, yet nobody talked about it. And Gu Shenwei just nodded his head
without asking further as he pretended to be aware of the truth.
They sent Shangguan Fei to "get some of that". He was assigned to simple
jobs because his kung fu was the worst among the four.
Using only knockout powder was far from enough. The gate of Six Kills
Temple was usually closed, and nobody could go inside without a Sacred
Master. Therefore, the biggest problem was figuring out how they could
obtain the key. After a long discussion, the four could not come up with a
solution so they moved on to talk about what they were going to steal.
Shangguan Fei described all the treasures in Six Kills Temple to the other
three teenagers, but he had never mentioned a wooden saber. Gu Shenwei
could not ask him directly. He guessed that Mama Xue might have known
about some secrets that even the Shangguan family had not known.
Toward evening, Shangguan Ru finally decided on the target of their action: a

palm carved out of a piece of pure dark jade.
There was no specific reason to choose the enshrined Black Jade Palm, of
which Shangguan Ru had heard about a long time ago. She wanted to see it in
spite of being a woman.
At last, Shangguan Ru made everyone swore an oath: Never tell anyone a
word about this task.
She wanted this mission to be carried out. She did not want another false
"assassination". That was a method which the adults had used to keep the
children happy.
Gu Shenwei swore like this, "If I talked, cursed be my family, and I shall be
condemned to hell where I'll meet a violent end."
The Gu family had their "violent ends" already. As for Gu Shenwei himself,
he did not care about how he would meet his end. He only wanted revenge.
When the four were about to leave Kun Yard after the discussion, Shangguan
Yushi suddenly thought of something. "Ah, I almost forgot. That burden of
yours, it's not easy for you to get rid of that guy. You need to go through the
Inner Residence to get inside Six Kills Temple."
"That 'Shadow Guard'."
Shangguan Ru gnashed her teeth as if she had the same degree of hatred as
Gu Shenwei.
"For me and my brother, father had arranged a bodyguard who's at your age.
He always hides in the dark and never shows up easily. He knows all about
what we did, and then reports every small detail to father. The last time when
we failed to escape was because of him reporting our secrets. I hate him so
much," Shangguan Ru explained.
Gu Shenwei now knew. The Shadow Guard was the one who forbade him
from entering Shangguan Ru's residence during the day, and was also the
armed teenager that attacked him at night. He had also found out the reason
why Shangguan Ru easily forgave his "betrayal" because she found a
scapegoat, the Shadow Guard.
"Maybe now he's hiding nearby," Shangguan Fei whispered.
"No, I told mum to ask him to keep a hundred paces away from me,
otherwise I'll kill him. He can't be in this yard now."
Judging by Shangguan Ru's countenance, she was not kidding.
Shangguan Yushi pulled Shangguan Ru's hand and said, "I'll take care of it.
Trust me."
The meeting was over before she could tell everyone about the solution.
In two consecutive days, the four were discussing the details of the plan. It
was not as easy as it looked. The only advantage was that the three masters
were born in Stone Castle, which saved them the effort of conducting a
preliminary investigation.
Shangguan Ru did not like this and thought that the plan was not practical
enough. "How did the Red Bat Lady get the info about the palace? She
couldn't have asked around inside."
"No, of course not. Uh, there must've been a spouse who helped her."
"Ha, then you're our hidden traitor!" Shangguan Ru exclaimed while pointing
at her brother.
Shangguan Fei flushed and quickly denied it, his arm wavered between the
two girls, then he finally pointed at Slave Huan and said, "He's the hidden
traitor. Let him play the hidden traitor."
Thereafter, Slave Huan, who knew the least about Golden Roc Fort among
them, became the "hidden traitor".
In the following day, the twin finally went to school, leaving Gu Shenwei
some time to meet Mama Xue.
Mama Xue had her cold and stiff look again, and there was no way to tell her
feelings. Somehow Gu Shenwei thought she was a little too hasty. After he
had reported the latest developments, she offered some advice.
"It's pretty easy actually. The twins can lightly sneak into Stone Castle
because they're familiar with the guards. Even if they were recognized, those
guards might not utter a single word. The key though, is how you can enter
Six Kills Temple. Hmm—look, you…"
It seemed like Mama Xue knew more about Six Kills Temple than
Shangguan Fei did. The tricky part was, according to the rules, Mama Xue
was a woman and would not have an opportunity to go anywhere near the
main hall.
Gu Shenwei thought that it was too risky. However, he could not think of a
better idea. They planned to use knockout powder to steal the gate key, but
they did not know who had the key, and it was impossible for them to knock
out dozens of Sacred Masters at the same time.
In the afternoon, Gu Shenwei told the other three Mama Xue's idea, and it
was well-received, especially by Shangguan Ru. She praised Slave Huan and
wondered why she had never thought of this idea.
There was a prominent outthrust with a sharp angle near the east side of Six
Kills Temple, which was opposite to the windows on the east wall. If a piece
of rope could connect both ends, those with good lightness skill could climb
over the rope and reach the windows.
Gu Shenwei gave the credit of "remembering the outthrust" to Shangguan

Fei, and no one suspected Gu Shenwei.
The twins had somebody transport the tools here, including two flying claws
and ropes that were 10 meters long. To ensure that the rope was long enough,
they tied it together with another piece of rope.
Slave Huan spent the whole afternoon practicing on how to precisely throw
the flying claws at a distant target.
Shangguan Ru suggested moving at that night, yet compromised to wait for

another night.
Back at his residence, Gu Shenwei thought about the plan over and over
again. With the twins, this plan could work out just fine. Even in the worst
case scenario, they would not be killed if they were caught. He was not
worried about how to steal the wooden saber, but rather what to do after
obtaining it.
"Mama Xue. Mama Xue," Gu Shenwei repeated her name in his mind. He
wanted both her head and the secret inside it. If the wooden saber did matter
that much to her, it might also be helpful with the overall course of
vengeance.
But the truth was, either killing her or getting the secret was impossible to
achieve.
On the following day, the four discussed the details incessantly until they
nailed down everything.
"Have you found out that being a thief is quite the same as being a killer?"
Shangguan Yushi asked while they were taking a rest.
"Yep, similar in every part, except for the final target. One is for the object,
the other is for human lives."
Shangguan Ru felt the same way, and thought this game became more
meaningful than before.
At midnight, according to the appointed time, Gu Shenwei slunk to

Shangguan Ru's yard and gently knocked on the window, which was then
instantly pushed open. The other three, all wearing black suits and masks,
filed out.
Shangguan Yushi, who was the tallest, frowned because they forgot to
prepare a suit for Slave Huan, leaving him still looking like a slave.
Gu Shenwei assigned several wooden sabers to the others, making this game
look as realistic as they had wanted it to be. Besides, he took this saber for a
particular reason: to replace his targeted wooden saber in Six Kills Temple
with this one.
Furthermore, he came up with an idea to use this opportunity to uncover the

secrets of Mama Xue. This could be a perilous game and it was 100 times
more real than the three masters' game. Once things went south, he could not
expect mercy from any of them.
Chapter 59 - In the Air
Chapter 59: In the Air
When Shangguan Yushi was about to close the window, Gu Shenwei looked
inside inadvertently and saw how Shangguan Ru had "taken care" of the
Shadow Guard. The teenager with a knife was lying on the floor, motionless,
tightly tied up, with his mouth stuffed.
Shangguan Yushi closed the window quickly, and his gaze from behind the
black cloth was clearly a warning for Slave Huan that it was none of his
business, but a "private matter" of the two young girls.
The four people were divided into two groups, with Shangguan Ru and
Shangguan Yushi in the front, and Shangguan Fei and Gu Shenwei behind
them at a distance of more than 10 steps. In the hazy moonlight, they could
barely see each other.
The Inner Residence was not as strictly guarded as the two castles, so they
easily made it to the outer wall of the Six Kills Temple. Two young girls had
already jumped on top of the wall and slid down a thin rope. They had made
great progress in Qing Gong and the walls here were not as tall as those
outside.
The "thieves" had entered the territory of the Six Kills Temple. Here, they
needed to be careful at every step. The girls were still exploring the way in
front and would signal the two teenagers behind them to follow when they
were sure that it was safe ahead.
There were many torches outside the temple, which from time to time
reflected a distorted figure, dimming the light of the stars and the moon.
The dozens of Sacred Masters, who were guarding the sacred temples of the
Shangguan family day and night, could never expect that such "unworthy
descendants" of the family would come here to steal something.
Under the red steps leading to the temple, there were many stone houses
where the Sacred Masters lived, so it was almost impossible to pass through
without being noticed. The only way to enter the temple was to climb up the
steps.
The four teenagers quickly ran up without meeting anyone. It was far less
strictly guarded here than expected.
On the left of the red steps, there was a several-foot-tall stone tablet, beside
which there was a column with a string of lanterns hanging from top to
bottom, making the words on the tablet very clear:
"Six rounds of reincarnation, no extermination."
Gu Shenwei was shocked with just a quick glance at it. These words made
him realize the true meaning of the name Six Kills Temple and triggered
some ideas in his mind. But he had no time to think it over as Shangguan Fei
was already leading the way to the sharp corner in the east of the temple.
That corner was narrow and was occupied by a huge bronze tripod, where
they barely found a place to stand. Now it was time for Slave Huan, who was
the most powerful, to come in handy.
Gu Shenwei took the extended flying claw from Shangguan Fei and focused
his eyes on the east wall of the Six Kills Temple.
Having never been here before, he did not know the exact location of the
window except for some rough descriptions by Shangguan Fei, who was not
attentive at all and could hardly tell the exact size or ground clearance of the
window. He could only rely on his intuition as he made a darker location the
target.
Shangguan Yushi kept nudging him on the waist, urging him to move
quickly. He almost suspected that the girl wanted to make some trouble and
place the blame for failure onto him.
Gu Shenwei threw the flying claw with Yang Strength, and just before the
claw had left his hand, he attached some Yin Strength to it so that it could
land lightly without making too much noise.
Although his Internal Strength was controlled by Mama Xue and could
hardly be improved, he had been more and more skillful in the application of
Yin Strength and Yang Strength.
The thin rope slipped quickly from Gu Shenwei's hands like a slippery snake.
Their plan, which had taken them several days of preparation, was still full of
holes. If the windows of the Six Kills Temple were closed in the evening, the
flying claw could not hook onto anything and they could do nothing but gaze
at the temple and sigh.
Finally, with a low click, the flying claw landed. The window was open.
They listened carefully without moving for quite a while. If that sound were
to be noticed by the Sacred Masters, their entire plan to steal would be a total
failure.
There were only the wind and the strange sounds that occasionally came from
the abyss, sounding like a giant roc pecking at the eyeballs of a monster.
"Maybe there were people like us here," thought Gu Shenwei. He pulled the
rope harder until it could not be pulled back anymore.
And the other three firmly tied the other end of the rope to the legs of the
tripod.
Shangguan Yushi pulled the rope hard again. Making sure that it was firm
enough, she nodded at Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru took a deep breath and grasped the rope from mid-air at first.
She firmly held the rope with both hands and both legs, just like a monkey,
and climbed toward the Six Kills Temple.
This was no joke. Although the cliff was the most powerful "guard" of
Golden Roc Fort, it was different from humans. It would treat everybody
equally and would not show mercy just because the challenger was a
daughter of the Supreme King. Shangguan Ru would fall down and be
smashed into pieces due to a touch of carelessness or if the flying claw was
not firmly secured.
If such a tragedy took place, Slave Huan would have to pay for it with his
own life, and even Shangguan Yushi would probably be unable to escape
punishment. Therefore, these two kids were really haunted with fear.
Shangguan Ru's petite figure rushed into the darkness of the night and finally
faded into the darkest shadow.
Following a flutter of tremors, the three teenagers at the corner finally relaxed
as apparently Shangguan Ru had arrived safely.
Shangguan Yushi was next. Clutching the rope with one hand, she pointed at
Shangguan Fei with the other hand, waved it, and then pointed to the
distance, indicating that he should leave for observation.
During their practicing, Shangguan Fei had been very active. However, the
rope was only a few feet above the ground then, but now, they were on a cliff
with an abyss below them. He was extremely frightened and had to nod
immediately to agree with his cousin's arrangement. He even felt that this
arrangement was totally right.
Shangguan Yushi then turned to Slave Huan and waved her hand again.
Gu Shenwei was surprised. He could not stay. If he could not enter the Six
Kills Temple, he would not be able to steal the wooden saber that Mama Xue
wanted, and then his deliberate plan to make the twins "thieves" would
simply be a game.
He shook his head.
But he had to nod at the firm eyes of Shangguan Yushi. After all, this was not
the place for arguing.
He knew very well what Master Yu was thinking. Could anything else
enhance friendship better than being "criminal partners"? She wanted to steal
the Black Jade Palm with only two people and downgrade Slave Huan to a
peripheral collaborator.
Shangguan Yushi climbed over along the rope. She was taller and her Qing
Gong was much better, so there was almost no additional swing on the rope.
Gu Shenwei was pressing the rope with one hand. He only needed to shake it
with a little "Yin and Yang Strength" and Shangguan Yushi would definitely
fall, which would look like an accident, and he could get rid of a huge
problem.
Gu Shenwei had never forgotten that this very girl had tried to assassinate
him.
But the timing was not ideal. His most urgent task now was to steal the
wooden saber.
He let go of the rope with regret, wondering when the next perfect
opportunity would present itself.
Shangguan Fei looked at the torches in the distance with due diligence, not
noticing the subtle movements of Slave Huan.
After Shangguan Yushi had also entered the temple, Gu Shenwei waited for a
while and climbed onto the rope. He had already offended Master Yu
anyway, and the grudges between them could never be resolved, so he did not
care to offend her once more.
Shangguan Fei did not discover this until Gu Shenwei had climbed a few
yards, and he stamped his feet anxiously. Not daring to stand between the
cliff and shout, he could only watch the disobedient slave disappear into the
darkness of the night.
Gu Shenwei had already climbed more than half of the way and was only a
few feet away from the window. Suddenly, the rope loosened and he fell at
once.
Gu Shenwei broke out in a cold sweat. However, after falling down for about
a foot, the rope became stable again. Not daring to move rashly, he remained
suspended in mid-air on the rope. Underneath him, there was an abyss that
seemed to be able to swallow the entire world, and the rope was swaying in
the mountain wind.
The idea of releasing the rope and ending everything was tempting to the
young boy in danger, but he threw away the remaining idea of escape only
for a short moment. He kept up his spirit and finished the final distance
quickly.
The flying claw had moved from its original position and Gu Shenwei would
have definitely died if there was not a small depression on the windowsill that
had retained one hook of the claw.
Gu Shenwei immediately thought of Shangguan Yushi. It was definitely she

who had loosened the flying claw to create an "accident".
Gu Shenwei grasped the flying claw again by force and fixed it in a firm
position. Then, he turned to the inside of the Six Kills Temple.
The Six Kills Temple was extremely long and narrow, with long rows of
pillars supporting the roof on both sides. A small silver plate was hung
between every two pillars. On each plate there was a candle, illuminating the
murals between the windows.
The murals were life-like portraits of knife-wielding men who were ancestors
of the Shangguan family. There were many other places that were left blank,
reserved for the descendants.
In the depths of the temple, however, there was not an ancestral tablet, but a
huge, sheathless saber, which was even longer than an ordinary lance. Under
the light of the row of candles, the snow-white blade was shining
intimidatingly.
On the floor in front of the giant saber, two masked girls were tying up a
gray-haired old man. The old man with his mouth stuffed was not resisting,
obviously stricken by Shangguan Ru's overpowering drug. He did not faint
but just lost his strength. Surprisingly, he even looked calm.
The girls looked up at Slave Huan and continued what they were doing. The
lights were dim and came from a distance, so Gu Shenwei failed to clearly
see Shangguan Yushi's expression.
This was not the right time for revenge. He looked around for traces of the
wooden saber.
The hall was empty and the only objects inside were placed under the giant
saber. Gu Shenwei went forward and saw the Black Jade Palm along with the
altar, incense burners, porcelain vases, and various sacrifices. There were also
some unique things that could never be seen in the ancestral halls of ordinary
people, such as a pile of skeletons, real or not, and a few damaged armors.
But there was no a sign of a wooden saber, which could be seen everywhere
outside of Golden Roc Fort.
The giant saber was the only saber, but it was certainly not wooden.
Mama Xue clearly said that there was "a wooden saber". Gu Shenwei
regretted not asking Mama Xue for more details, like for instance, if it was
hidden somewhere.
Shangguan Ru jumped onto the altar and carefully appreciated the giant saber
and the skeletons. This was the first time for her, probably also the first time
for any female member of the Shangguan family, to enter the Six Kills
Temple, so she was very curious about everything.
Shangguan Yushi waited by the altar for orders. Gu Shenwei looked around
the hall again, but he could not find any place that seemed a possible location
for the wooden saber to be hidden.
Shangguan Ru picked up the Black Jade Palm, which was just the size of a
real palm, and put it into a bag that had been prepared beforehand. Then, she
carried the bag and jumped off of the altar. She nodded at the other two and
signaled them to leave.
Shangguan Yushi glanced at Gu Shenwei when passing by. But Gu Shenwei

did not care at all. This was his only chance. If he could not find the wooden
knife, he would probably suffer what Slave Qian had suffered.
The tied-up old man was lying on the ground and looking at the roof with a
peaceful gaze, not caring at all about the three thieves who had intruded the
hall.
Gu Shenwei also looked up at the roof. No, there was nothing there. Even if
the wooden saber really was hidden there, he could not jump onto it.
Shangguan Ru called Gu Shenwei to leave immediately with a shush as she

and Shangguan Yushi had already reached the window from which they had
come in.
Gu Shenwei had no choice so he ran over quickly.
Shangguan Ru was still the first one to go out, leaving the pair of enemies,
who ignored each other.
Shangguan Yushi suddenly turned to Gu Shenwei and said in a low voice,

"Why do I always think you are planning some conspiracy?"
Gu Shenwei did not reply as he suddenly thought of a possible place where

the wooden saber might be hidden.
Chapter 60 - Failure
Chapter 60: Failure
Shangguan Yushi did not expect a clear answer from Slave Huan. She just
wanted to show that she was not foolish and kept watching him. Hence, after
achieving her goal, she humphed and climbed out of the window.
Gu Shenwei was all alone with an old man, who was still tied with a rope
under the giant saber. The latter seemed obedient and did not care about
anything in the world.
Gu Shenwei instantly looked forward against the wall. Soon his heart jumped
because he had seen the wooden saber by chance. "God helps those who help
themselves," Gu Shenwei thought. The wooden saber was inlaid on the wall
near to him. A slender and tall man-in-black pictured in the mural held it, so
it was slightly more prominent than the wall. Without purposefully and
cautiously looking for it, the saber was hard to be found.
Gu Shenwei rushed to the wall. He quickly drew out the wooden saber tied
on his waist and replaced the one in the mural.
Wooden sabers made in Golden Roc Fort looked basically the same. Even
their owners had difficulty distinguishing one saber from the other.
Gu Shenwei stuck the fake saber in the mural and hastily glanced at the old
man. The latter still stared at the ceiling and ignored what had happened
around him.
"Perhaps the old man is a hidden kung fu master." This strange idea came to
his mind. But he immediately ran back to the window. Now he could not
think too much, because the most urgent thing was to fulfill the task ordered
by Mama Xue.
He climbed out of the window and crawled along the rope. Staying with
Shangguan Ru, Shangguan Yushi would likely be unable to move the rope in
order to murder him again.
Back on the ground, Gu Shenwei untied the rope and let it hang outside of the
Six Kills Temple's wall. The flying claw would stay there forever.
Four "great thieves" retreated to the roads from which they came and Gu
Shenwei was the last one to jump out of the wall. They had never thought
their heist would be completed so successfully, so they were excited but also
worried.
After all, Golden Roc Fort was the masters' home. Once they exited Six Kills
Temple, Shangguan Fei became brave again. Several times, he pestered his
sister Shangguan Ru and wanted to see Black Jade Palm. However,
Shangguan Ru rejected him. In her mind, their mission was still going on and
they should continuously pretend to be the "great thieves".
However, Shangguan Ru was less steadfast, because she suspected that

someone had known their plan and secretly helped them. Perhaps, it was
another game arranged by others. Particularly, the old man in the temple was
too vulnerable. He almost seemed willing to be tied up by them. The whole
thing was doubtful.
Her doubts were quickly confirmed.
When they arrived back to Shangguan Ru's residence, someone was already
waiting there.
In fact, there should have been a man in the room—the armed teenager, who
they had captured. But now, the person in her room was not the tied-up
young man.
This man, wearing a long and grey robe, was very thin and short. He was
standing in the dark. As soon as the four "thieves" walked into the room, he
lighted up the little candle on the table. The light lit up his face with a humble
and well-prepared smile.
"I wish, Master Fei and Master Ru, everything goes well."
The man spoke in an over-pleased voice and bowed to the twins, which made
his smile more hypocritical. But he did not greet to Shangguan Yushi.
"How could you be here? Who let you in?" It was Shangguan Ru's sharp
reprimand.
When seeing this man, the four of them were astonished. But Shangguan Ru
still behaved tyrannically. She ripped off the black veil and harshly
questioned him, while looking for the armed teenager. Sure enough, he had
disappeared.
Gu Shenwei was more surprised than the others, since he had met the man in
grey once.
The person wearing the grey robe was surnamed Guo. People in Golden Roc
Fort called him Mister Guo. In the murder case of Han Shiqi, he had
suggested that all slaves in Firewood Yard were suspicious and insisted on
enlarging the range of investigation, so they could find out the man behind
the murder.
Gu Shenwei also heard the rumor that Mister Guo was the confidant of the
Fifth Young Master. People said he did not get along very well with the
Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu.
Mister Guo worked in Whiterobe Academy of East Castle. Gu Shenwei had

not figured out what exactly people in Whiterobe Academy did, so he
doubted he could enter Shangguan Ru's residence.
"Miss, I'm ordered to bring two items back."
"Whose order ?" Shangguan Ru said angrily.
Shangguan Ru was still tough and uncompromising. But Gu Shenwei was

shocked again… "Two things? That means they might know I've stolen the
wooden saber from the temple."
"The order that the Seventh Supreme King set down: Anyone trespassing in
the Six Kills Temple will be beheaded. I follow it." Mister Guo answered
calmly.
Shangguan Ru suddenly flushed. No one had threatened her with "death"

since she was born. "Alright. You wanna kill me? Then do it."
After finishing her words, she untied the baggage and took the Black Jade
Palm out. However, Shangguan Ru did not give it to Mister Guo, but held it
tightly to her chest. She felt uneasy, not only because of Mister Guo's
offensive behavior, but also the failure of their stealing. Standing behind her,
Shangguan Fei was embarrassed and restless, while Shangguan Yushi had
already clenched the wooden saber with a cold face.
Mister Guo's humble smile still remained. "Of course I won't dare to hurt
Miss. I just want to take the two things back. Then Lord will personally deal
with the rest."
Although he did not criticize them directly, his words revealed that Mister
Guo thought they were treasonous. Shangguan Yushi could not help but raise
her head and said scornfully, "Two items? Are you sure?"
Gu Shenwei took out the wooden saber and held it with both hands. He just
stepped forward and did not know how to explain it.
"Humph! It's you. I knew it… "
Shangguan Yushi goggled and yelled at him. At this time, Shangguan Ru

grabbed the wooden saber from Slave Huan. She quickly said, "I let him take
it. Now both things are in my hand. But you don't deserve to bring them
back."
Gu Shenwei lowered his head and dared not to say anything. Shangguan Ru
had saved him again.
Although Shangguan Yushi did not believe Master Ru's explanation, she kept
silent.
Mister Guo would not be annoyed by these teenagers' words. He just bowed
again and gently said, "Miss is right. Now I'll invite someone qualified to
come here."
When Mister Guo was going to leave, Shangguan Ru suddenly brandished

the wooden saber toward his neck. The "Miss" from Mister Guo's mouth felt
piercingly ironic to her.
Mister Guo suddenly stepped forward and narrowly avoided her attack. Then
he went out of the room, as if nothing had happened.
Mister Guo seemed like a plain scholar, but surprisingly, he was a kung fu
master.
"You won't be tricked by Miss, right?" Mister Guo spoke to the armed
teenager.
"I won't." Standing outside the door, he answered in a low and muffled voice
and then flashed into the room.
He was Shangguan Ru's Shadow Guard, who looked ashen from shame.
As a special group in Golden Roc Fort, Shadow Guards protected their

masters, but they could not show their face.
Their responsibility required them to make no mistakes.
The armed teenager was tied up like a dumpling after he accidentally had
smelled the knockout powder. It was not only a burning shame for him, but
also meant his Shadow Guard career was over. Now Mister Guo ordered him
to guard the four teenagers in the room, which clearly proved he could not be
a Shadow Guard forever, because he had shown his face in front of his
master.
The armed teenager stood at the door, right hand taking the saber. His finger
became white, because he held the saber too tight. The young guard gazed at
the corner and studiously avoided people's eyes.
"The two masters are very stubborn. You can take this opportunity to prove
you're serious."
Mister Guo ordered from outside and then it became quiet again. He left
without making any sound.
Shangguan Ru passed the Black Jade Palm and the wooden saber to Slave
Huan. She raised her head up proudly and walked toward her Shadow Guard.
"Are you serious? So am I."
Without completing her words, Shangguan Ru hit the guard with her right
hand and obstructed his view. Simultaneously, she flicked the colorless and
tasteless knockout powder with her left hand.
This was the second time she had played this trick. Of course, the guard
would not be played like a fool again. He flashed quickly and dodged her
right-hand attack, while using his left sleeve to ward off the knockout powder
and rebounded off it.
Shangguan Ru herself breathed in the knockout powder. She could not stand
steadily and fell backward into Shangguan Yushi's arms. Shangguan Yushi
said harshly, "How dare you!"
The guard did not say anything but just drew out the saber. Shangguan Fei
abruptly jumped behind the two girls. He yelled, "What are you doing?"
The guard wanted to prove he was definitely serious. His attack target was
not the masters, but the only present slave.
Since being attacked by this guard, Gu Shenwei had known the armed
teenager's kung-fu level was higher than his own. Now he held the wooden
saber and Black Jade Palm in his hands, so he became more anxious. At this
critical moment, Gu Shenwei suddenly took a deep breath and fell backward
as he faced the saber.
He was wounded. The tip of the saber had cut his clothes and left a long and
shallow mark on his chest.
The guard did not kill Gu Shenwei at the first movement, but he gave up
attacking again. He put the saber back into the sheath and turned over, as if
everything had been solved.
Now, the four "great thieves" knew the guard was "serious".
Gu Shenwei stood up unsteadily. His legs trembled from of the unexpected

attack. If the armed teenager's kung fu were any better, he would have died in
Golden Roc Fort, though nobody knew his true identity and purpose.
Luckily, Gu Shenwei's wound was not severe, so he did not need to bind it.
Besides, no one tried to offer him help.
The knockout powder did not have an antidote, but recovery was quick.
Carrying Shangguan Ru, Shangguan Yushi helped her sit on the edge of the
bed and rubbed her forehead gently for a while. Soon Shangguan Ru could sit
straight by herself. Her face flushed with anger. Gu Shenwei had seen it
several times.
"Let the old rascal tell my father. No one dares to hurt you," Shangguan Ru
said with great anger.
Shangguan Ru just humphed as Shangguan Yushi comforted her. She was

planning how to "take revenge". In her eyes, Mister Guo and the armed
teenager had committed the most heinous crimes.
"We're just playing a game with them, right? Later, we'll return the stuff."
Shangguan Fei murmured. He was a little frightened now.
Gu Shenwei knew he was not qualified to talk, so he remained silent and took
the opportunity to observe Shangguan Ru's room.
The room was only a little bigger than the servants', so its decoration was also
very simple. There was some stuff, like tables, chairs, and stoves. Curiously,
he did not find anything special for a girl. Although Shangguan Ru was
arrogant and owned lots of slaves in the castle, to his surprise, she lived in
quite a simple room. Gu Shenwei realized that Supreme King spared no
efforts making his daughter look like a boy.
After she could stand up, Shangguan Ru waved to Slave Huan and took the
Black Jade Palm and the wooden saber back. Holding them now in each of
her hand, she said stubbornly, "Unless Lord comes here, no one can take
them away from me."
Shangguan Fei drew back his neck and kept silent, but Shangguan Yushi
tightly held the Ninth Young Master's shoulder and showed a firm look, as
did Shangguagn Ru. "Right, people in Six Kills Temple didn't stop us. Now
they want to take the items. No way!"
Gu Shenwei expected the whole thing would soon pass, but also hoped
Shangguan Ru could draw all people's attention, because he had brought two
fake wooden sabers. One was inlaid in the mural, the other was held by
Shangguan Ru. Actually, the real one had been concealed by him.
This trick was originally going to deal with Mama Xue, but he had used it
because of the accident. Once somebody found the saber was fake, even
Supreme King's daughter could not save the audacious servant's life.
Chapter 61 - The Hostage
Chapter 61: The Hostage
Shangguan Yushi was the twins' cousin and best friend, and her father was
one of Supreme King's late distant relatives and capable assistants. But none
of these could save her from being beheaded as a sacrifice since, by Lord's
order, she was as low as a servant.
She had expected that. Although she was only 15, Shangguan Yushi knew
Stone Castle's rules better than most of the people. A disgraced master was
no better than a favored servant. Shangguan Ru, whom she had been relying
on, had not fully grown up. Though she was Supreme King's favorite child,
she did not have power. This was the essential difference between the ninth
child and the eldest child.
From this moment on, whether Shangguan Yushi and Slave Huan could live
or not all depended on Shangguan Ru's will.
Shangguan Ru seized the dagger from her cousin, stood in front of them, and
said to her elder brother, "No."
Shangguan Chui, Supreme King's eldest son, slowly shook his head. He
always thought that his father should not spoil the twins. No such folly would
have happened if his father had listened to him. "Enough, my little sister,
don't be such a child."
Supreme King had nine sons and eight daughters, among whom Shangguan
Ru was the youngest child. However, she had long been claiming to be a boy
and older than Shangguan Fei, therefore, she was not happy with the address
"little sister".
She held the dagger tightly, and her head high. "I said no."
With a look of disapproval on their faces, the two men at the door looked at
the stubborn little girl. Unlike the Shadow Guard, they were experienced, so
the dagger was as ridiculous as a baby's stick in their eyes.
Mister Guo took a step.
But Shangguan Ru put the saber against her own neck. "Stop. One more step,
I'll kill myself."
There were about 10 steps between them. Mister Guo felt that he would be
able to take Miss Ru's dagger, yet he still stopped and looked at his Young
Master, with no intention of taking the risk.
"It's a mistake to let you wear men's clothes and learn Kung Fu. When do
women in the Shangguan family start to disobey their father and elder
brother?"
Shangguan Chui's words showed his attitude, thus Mister Guo took another
step and measured his distance from Miss Ru. He only had to take two more
steps to seize the dagger without hurting her.
Shangguan Ru suddenly put down her dagger, but she did not give up. She
rushed to the bed, grabbed Shangguan Fei by her right hand, twisted it behind
him, and then put the dagger against his brother's neck.
She had risked it all. She still remembered what Master Shifu had taught her,
fixing her eyes at the blade and watching her enemies only from the corners
of her eyes. "Since women in our family don't matter, then I'll kill a man."
No one expected that, including Shangguan Yushi, who dared not speak in
front of Shangguan Chui but stood still in the corner with Slave Huan, letting
the family drama decide whether she would live or not.
Shangguan Fei was undoubtedly the most surprised. From the moment his
elder brother came in, he had been standing by the bedside with his head
down, only too anxious to confess and end everything. The last thing he
wanted was to become the center of attention. It never occurred to him that he
would be taken hostage.
"Hey…"
Shangguan Fei's voice trembled. The dagger had just been used and was still
stained with blood which seemed to be dripping onto his skin. Since they
were born of the same parents and were always by each other's side. He
believed the threat was real.
Shangguan Ru whispered "shut up", as she gripped his hand hard.
Mister Guo stopped again. He had learned about the group's scheme earlier,
therefore he did not show up until he could catch them red-handed.
Everything went as expected. The only thing he did not see coming was that
Miss Ru could be so stubborn.
"Stop it!" Shangguan Chui uttered a scream of anger and wanted to seize the
dagger himself as he stepped forward.
Shangguan Ru resolutely pressed the blade into Shangguan Fei's neck a little.
Feeling a pain in his neck, Shangguan Fei immediately cried. "Spare me, my
sister. Save me, my elder brother!"
Shangguan Chui had to pause. He only wanted to take advantage of this to

suppress Lady Meng, a woman who was younger than him, yet increasingly
favored by Lord, much more than any lady. This upset him a lot. Golden Roc
Fort was a man's world, where women had no say, let alone power. All of this
changed because of Lady Meng's marriage.
He did not like Shangguan Fei either, but he could not take the consequences.
Shangguan Ru's killer instinct was set off by the sight of her brother's blood.
Finally, she could join a real battle, instead of a playful game. "I don't care
about the 'The Draconic Ascent of the Ten Sons'. I'll kill one son first, then
only eight will be left. Then we'll see how you explain it to father."
Shangguan Fei could do nothing but cry. He had always been weaker than his
sister in Kung Fu. At this moment, he was more vulnerable than ever.
Gu Shenwei did not understand what "The Draconic Ascent of the Ten Sons"
meant, for there was an unwritten rule in Stone Castle: The servants could
gossip, but they were not allowed to talk about Lord and his descendants.
Therefore, he did not have an answer to this until later. For now, he could
only speculate that it was a prophecy that involved Supreme King having ten
sons.
It was obvious that the Shuangguan family believed the prophecy and took it
seriously because suddenly Shangguan Chui's countenance changed, and he
stood back with eyebrows raised in fury.
If Shangguan Ru seized Lord's lifeline, she seized the Young Master's

lifeline.
"What the hell do you want?" Shangguan Chui asked irritably.
"I want to see my father. I don't believe a single word of yours. I don't think
my father will punish me."
She actually did believe so, but only in front of her father would she have the
opportunity to act like a spoiled child, saving her two favorite people's lives.
Shangguan Chui hesitated a little, looking at Mister Guo. Mister Guo shook
his head. They wanted to make Lady Meng ashamed. He must not give the
little girl any chance to win. He did not believe she would kill her own
brother, either.
The room was quiet and everyone's thoughts were like a snake's tongue,
moving and sniffing around for the prey, ready for the next move.
Soon someone took action. It was hard to tell who was the first attacker, but
all the same, the situation suddenly became chaotic. Everyone wanted to
solve it in their own way.
Shangguan Chui and Mister Guo dashed like moving ghosts. One grabbed
Shangguan Ru's dagger, and the other rescued the crying Shangguan Fei.
Shangguan Ru was so determined. Since she did not have the heart to hurt her
own brother, she could only turn the dagger against herself.
Meanwhile, or even earlier, Shangguan Yushi rushed toward the twins and
held the two of them. Although she was slower than the two adults, she was
nearer to them, so the three of them reached their targets almost at the same
time.
Suddenly, the light went out and the room was dark.
Gu Shenwei had knocked over the lamp.
He did not know how long Shangguan Ru could protect him and whether she
could protect him or not. So he decided to trigger chaos. He would not die in
peace if he had not killed anyone from the Shangguan family at the end of his
life.
There were noises of fallen tables and chairs, slashing daggers, wooden
sabers and swinging fists. Some shouted, and some screamed. Finally,
someone snapped and said, "Stop, all of you. I'll go for Lord."
Finally, Shangguan Chui gave up. Supreme King had left the matter to him.
He would be very embarrassed if something happened to the twins.
Everyone stopped. Gu Shenwei did not hit anyone, but stumbled over a body
on the ground, stained with blood.
"Now…"
It was Shangguan Ru's voice. She made a mistake.
Shangguan Chui had received strict killer training, among which telling the
sound in the dark was one of the required skills. He could not tell where they
were at the beginning because of the chaos. Now that everyone had stopped,
he quickly gained the advantage.
Before she could finish her words, Shangguan Ru screamed for she had
already been seized on both sides by her brother. The dagger had been taken
away as well.
Hearing Shangguan Fei's crying, Mister Guo darted to pick him up.
"Light it up." Shangguan Chui ordered.
Finding no serious injury on Shangguan Fei, Mister Guo released him and
struck a match to find the lamp that was left with some oil in the dim light.
In such a short time, the room had become a complete mess.
Shangguan Chui frowned. He would lose face if people knew Supreme

King's eldest son had been forced upon by his little sister.
"Cut off their heads, and bring these two scourges to Six Kills Temple."
Shangguan Chui wanted nothing now but to solve the problem as soon as
possible.
"You said…"
"I said that after your conviction outside Six Kills Temple, I'd bring you to
father."
Shangguan Chui tossed the dagger away, turning to Shangguan Fei and said,
"What about you? You also want to see father?"
"No, I… I'll listen to you, my brother."
Shangguan Fei was still in shock, and did not dare to see his father at all. He
went to the bed, picking up Black Jade Palm and the wooden saber and said,
"We could also bring these two back."
Shangguan Chui nodded. "So many quarrels would have been spared if Lady
Meng and his little sister behaved."
Shangguan Yushi sat on the ground, pale-faced and hair scattered. The
Shangguan surname could not protect her, neither could the unusual
friendship with Shangguan Ru.
On the other side, Gu Shenwei was still sitting in the blood, and the dagger
thrown away by Shangguan Chui was at his feet.
"Wait for a miracle, or pick up the dagger and take the risk?"
"As long as I could kill one Shangguan's descendant," he thought. "I won't
have gone through the humiliation and grief in vain." He chose Shangguan
Fei as his target.
Just as he moved his finger, there came the "miracle", but not for him. A
woman yelled outside. "Lord's order, Lord's order!"
Aunt Tong rushed in breathlessly. She did not practice Kung Fu and running
around burdened her.
"Young Master, Lord's order, he'll come to settle this up in person."
Shangguan Chui's face became sullen. "I haven't received such an order."
Aunt Tong was slightly surprised as she glanced over the mess in the room,
but she turned to her Young Master immediately. "I got the token."
Then she took out a small white jade knife from inside her sleeve, holding it
up high.
Chapter 61 - The Ritual
Chapter 61: The Ritual
The four "great thieves" were trapped in the room, knowing little about the
great disturbance they had brought to Golden Rock Fort.
The first one who came to explain the situation to them was Aunt Tong, a
stunning middle-aged woman. As a maidservant brought by Lady Meng from
her parents' home, she was much favored in Golden Rock Fort.
She arrived in a hurry shortly after Mister Guo's left, shouting as she came in,
"My little Masters!"
Nevertheless, the twins beamed with joy after seeing her. They rushed toward
her and led her by the arm, like two spoiled children. The Shadow Guard
hesitated and pretended he had not seen her presence. He was ordered to keep
the four from getting out, not to prevent others from getting in.
"Aunt Tong, I need your support," Shangguan Ru said to her. "What the hell
was wrong with Mister Guo! He snuck into my room and scared me. Besides,
he imprisoned us and instructed my Shadow Guard to watch over us, how
dare he? Am I not from the Shangguan family?"
Aunt Tong held the twins by the hands with a mixed feeling. "Don't tell me.
You should know you've caused a lot of trouble."
"We've done nothing but play around in Six Kills Temple and take back a
little souvenir. What's the big deal?"
Shangguan Ru reacted so fast in finding excuses for everything that

Shangguan Fei could hardly chime in.
"Both of you should know Six Kills Temple is unavailable to us," Aunt Tong
replied, "especially… to women."
"My mother asked me to be a self-made man. Besides, what's wrong with

women? Anyway, I've gone inside. There're quite a few forbidden places in
Stone Castle, but none of them can keep me out."
The more Shangguan Ru spoke, the angrier she became. Aunt Tong
repeatedly shook her head and said, "Six Kills Temple is different from the
other places with which you can easily deal. Unluckily, Mister Guo was on
duty tonight, and he… alas. Come over here and listen to me… "
After hearing the whisper from Aunt Tong, Shangguan Ru released her arm
and said while stamping her foot, "It was me who had broken into Six Kills
Temple. Why should we blame a slave?"
Gu Shenwei stood in a corner, holding his tongue all along. He raised his
head upon hearing Shangguan Ru's words and realized that Aunt Tong
wanted to put the blame on him. He was a slave as well as a man, which
might minimize the trouble.
Aunt Tong had not expected that Shangguan Ru would speak her idea aloud.
She shook her head faster and said with a sigh, "Lady Meng is on the way to
see the Lord, hoping she can arrive earlier than Whiterobe Academy. She let
me tell you two to behave yourselves and not act up any more."
"What else can we do with a bladed man watching us?"
Shangguan Ru said defiantly.
"Aunt Tong, will it be all right if we return the Black Jade Palm and the
wooden saber back?"
Shangguan Fei, a timorous boy, was anxious and fearful, because he was not
favored by their father as much as his younger sister.
"Take it easy. No one can lay even a finger on you as long as Lady Meng is
with you."
Aunt Tong slightly comforted the twins and hurried away.
Gu Shenwei had been observing everything from aside. He discovered that

Aunt Tong had never talked with Shangguan Yushi, who appeared to be
nervous in her presence from the beginning to the end. Aunt Tong's last
sentence "No one can lay even a finger on you" particularly disturbed him.
He knew Shangguan Yushi and him were not included in "you".
Shangguan Yushi seemed to have figured out something, and she looked
round at Slave Huan. For that instant, the two enemies' hearts linked together
and they suddenly understood each other, despite their cut-throat competition
for Shangguan Ru.
"You betrayed us, didn't you? You are conspiring, I know it."
Shangguan Yushi stepped forward and harshly said this to Slave Huan all at
once.
Gu Shenwei didn't know her exact plan, but he cooperated with her right
away. "I had no right to enter Whiterobe Academy at all. How could I snitch
on you? I'm afraid someone is playing a double game."
"Me?" Shangguan Yushi asked.
She quickly held up her wooden saber and swung it at Slave Huan's head.
Confused, Shangguan Fei hastily moved away and cried out angrily, "At this
critical moment, you shouldn't fight!"
However, Shangguan Ru caught the hint from her cousin sister. She said,
waving her hands, "Are you done? Get out if you want to fight!"
Although Shangguan Yushi was play acting, she chopped as hard as she
could, as if she intended to make the play battle into a real battle. As for Gu
Shenwei, without any arms, he leaped aside and ran outside following
Shangguan Ru's words. He was chased by Shangguan Yushi, who was
brandishing a wooden saber at him.
However, the armed teenager pulled out half of his saber and said to them,
"Don't move!" He could let somebody in but nobody out.
Gu Shenwei was caught in a dilemma and had to turn around to face

Shangguan Yushi's attack. He evaded her attack. Both of them were moving
nearer to the armed teenager.
"Don't move!"
Again, the armed teenager loudly said, and he drew out the remaining half of
his saber.
Shangguan Ru was extremely mad and rushed into the two fighters exactly
when Gu Shenwei lost his balance and fell toward the armed teenager.
Startled a bit, the armed teenager started to strike the reckless Slave Huan.
Having been learning martial arts from childhood, the armed teenager
understood that in a war there was no objection to deceit. But after all, he was
inexperienced in real battle and gave himself away by that momentary startle.
It was the third time for Shangguan Ru to eject the unknown knockout
powder from her fingers.
As a result, the armed teenager lost all his strength and was stopped halfway
from his strike, falling to the ground with the saber slipping out of his hand.
He had fallen into his master's trap once again.
The play battle ended, the girls and the slave stopped their fighting.
Shanggaun Fei knew nothing about what was happening. He looked at them,
puzzled.
"I'm sure this guard sold us out," Shangguan Yushi said.
Shangguan Ru agreed with her. She took out a small iron box from her right
sleeve and threw it on the ground. She said complacently to the guard,
"You've probably forgotten that this powder contains three doses."
"Kill him," Shangguan Yushi said, picking up the saber.
Shangguan Ru stared at her cousin in astonishment and stepped backward.

All she planned to do was bring the Shadow Guard under her control, but
killing him was never in her plan.
None of them got Master Yu's point except Gu Shenwei. Lady Meng
intended to sacrifice the insignificant ones to save the twins. Such being the
case, they would better worsen the situation and bind them together.
Thinking of this, Gu Shenwei begun to admire Shangguan Yushi to an extent.
Facing the threat of death, the armed teenager did not beg for mercy or
showed any fear, still struggling to stand up.
"He complied with Mister Guo's order and made himself an enemy of both
Lady Meng as well as you," Shangguan Yushi added. "For that, he's no
longer your Shadow Guard. We can't let him go and make us an achievement
he can take credit for."
"Are you serious?" Shangguan Fei asked.
He looked pale and seemed to be even more terrified than the endangered
Shadow Guard.
The armed teenager would soon be free from the powder and Mister Guo
would come back at any time. The chance was transient.
Shangguan Yushi handed the saber to her cousin sister.
Shanggaun Ru took it and pressed it against the armed teenager on the chest.
She did not like this guard. He had ruined her plans many times, and what he
had done tonight annoyed her badly…
She pushed the saber into the chest and pulled it out. Hereto, he had not made
any sound but covered his wound with his hand, from which the blood was
gushing out.
In her eyes, confusion shined, but soon it was replaced by determination. She
gave the saber back to her cousin sister.
Shangguan Yushi then stabbed the armed teenager on another shoulder. By

doing so, he could attack no more even if the powder became less effective.
She turned back and said to Shangguan Fei, "It's your turn."
"My turn? For what?"
"Stab him, and then everyone will know the result of betraying the
Shangguan family."
Shangguan Fei violently shook his head, and kept retreating until he plunked
himself down on the bed.
The armed teenager could not cover his wounds any more, which left his
clothes drenched in blood. But he looked neither scared nor afraid, but
ashamed.
One of the Two Commandments of a Killer in Golden Roc Fort was

defeating your enemy by hook or by crook. The armed teenager had been
trapped twice, he felt as shameful as a top student failing a vital exam.
"Coward! I thought you were a son of the Shangguan family," Shangguan

Yushi scornfully said to Shangguan Fei.
She stopped urging him, gripped the saber, and turned to Shangguan Ru.
"Let's do it together."
Shangguan Ru became more resolute after seeing Master Yu's disdain for her
brother. Biting her lips, she nodded her head heavily and held her cousin's
hands. They pointed the saber at the armed teenager's heart.
All of a sudden, Gu Shenwei walked over to them and participated by putting

his hands on Shanggaun Ru's. He then stuck the saber deeply into the heart
before Shangguan Yushi could react.
The armed teenager gasped his last breath with his head titled to one side.
He was killed by the three of them all at once.
That night, no one had wanted to kill anyone, it just happened. The armed
teenager became a nameless victim.
The clasped hands, the saber, the flowing blood, and the lost life, all those
elements constituted an evil ritual. Shangguan Ru, Shangguan Yushi, and Gu
Shenwei came into a profound alignment, while Shangguan Fei, who was too
frightened to say no, became an outsider and collapsed on the bed.
It was the first time for Shangguan Ru to kill a human being. Panicked as she
looked, her big dark eyes shone brightly with great energy and joy, which
clearly proved herself as Supreme King's descendant.
Gu Shenwei joined in the ritual at the last moment. Strange to say, he could
guess every idea of Shuangguan Yushi then. As if they had been friends for
years, they two could draw a complex conclusion from each other's subtle
movements.
"Throw him out!"
Shangguan Yushi commanded him. The better they knew each other, the
more they hated each other.
Gu Shenwei had been used to dealing with the dead, so he was calm. He kept
himself from thinking how unfair it was for the armed teenager. After all, it
was not him who made the decision.
He grasped the armed teenager by the hands and was about to drag him out
when someone stepped in.
It was Mister Guo, who appeared soundlessly as usual, and no one in that
room heard his footsteps.
When he saw the scene there, his rigid, humble smile abruptly vanished and
his true colors of malice appeared. But instantly, he put on that smile again.
"Ugh, what a ruthless way. Your Highness, you should be careful with them."
There were eight Young Masters in Golden Roc Fort in total, but only the
eldest son of Supreme King was called without an ordinal.
The Young Master, a tall and well-built man with a pair of striking eye bags,
which almost covered half of his face, appeared from the doorway. He did
not look much like a junior of the Shangguan family.
"Lord orders Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Fei to go to Six Kills Temple and
confess their sins. Other accomplices must offer their heads as sacrifices."
His cold voice showed he had little feelings toward his younger brother and
sister. He even did not spare a glance at the dead body on the ground, as if it
were only a normal decoration of the room.
Chapter 62 - Victory
Chapter 62: Victory
Shangguan Ru disentangled herself from her elder brother's arms and grabbed
the Black Jade Palm and the wooden saber from Shangguan Fei. She angrily
glared at Shangguan Chui without saying a word. Although she did not win
by herself, she could enjoy her victory for now.
Bypassing the overturned chairs and tables, Aunt Tong held Shangguan Fei
in her arms and asked, "Ah, why is your neck bleeding? Who did this?"
She turned her gaze towards Shangguan Chui.
"Sister,"
Shangguan Fei said with his face full of tears. He had suffered a lot tonight.
Aunt Tong was stunned and thought that Shangguan Fei must have been
frightened.
Shangguan Ru said seriously, "I did. My eldest brother thought I wasn't

qualified to be a man of the Shangguan family. I want to show him that I am
qualified."
Shangguan Chui snorted. He would not lower himself to argue with a child.
Aunt Tong did not know how to reply. She took out her handkerchief and
carefully bandaged the wound for Shangguan Fei.
Gu Shenwei crawled up from the ground and wanted to stand behind

Shangguan Ru. After Aunt Tong shot him an unfriendly glance, he could
only retreat to stand next to the wall.
Shangguan Yushi also stood up. She discreetly tidied clothes and hair for
Shangguan Ru while being careful to not draw Aunt Tong's attention to her.
No one spoke in the room.
After a while, the Lord still did not show up. Shangguan Chui kept holding
the dagger around his waist, with his expression blocked by his two big eye
bags. He suddenly said, "Let me kill the two slaves who incited their master
to cause trouble."
In the young master's eyes, his sister Shangguan Yushi was the same as the
slaves.
Shangguan Ru stretched out her hand to protect Shangguan Yushi and said, "I
said. No."
Shangguan Chui gave no response, but drew out his saber. He could
accurately kill the target with only one slash, even if there were 100
Shangguan Ru protecting Shangguan Yushi.
Mister Guo did not have a saber, but he hid his hands within his sleeves. He
could kill anyone even if he did not have a weapon, especially that little child
with poor kung fu.
Gu Shenwei knew that he was the short man's target and immediately became
vigilant. However, he took precautions not for self-protection, but for
strangling Shangguan Fei to death. Gu Shenwei regretted that he had not
picked up the saber on the ground just now.
"If you kill my people, you're my enemy. I won't accept your apologies and
won't reconcile with you. I won't treat you as my eldest brother, let alone
treating you as the Supreme King's eldest son. I'll pester you for the rest of
my life, until the time when I'll personally kill you."
Shangguan Ru could only issue a threat, as she knew she was not capable of
protecting those she cared about. Her voice was cool as if it was not a 12-
year-old child's voice.
Shangguan Chui was surprised that there was something worth paying
attention to in his sisters' words, but he could not show weakness because he
was a killer and the eldest son of the Shuangguan family, and he would most
likely become the next Supreme King.
The faint candlelight was flickering on the saber blade.
"If you cannot kill her, you should respect what she said."
A voice came from the door.
The Supreme King arrived, but no one noticed it.
All the people in the room knelt down, except for Shangguan Ru. She ran to
stuff the Black Jade Palm and the wooden saber into her father's hands.
"Father, this is the first trophy I gained as a thief. I offer them to you."
Shangguan Fa could not help giving a slight smile. "They originally belonged
to me."
"But I've stolen them. They're mine for now. They could only belong to you
after I have given them to you."
Shangguan Fa snorted heavily and glanced at the corpse on the ground.

"What happened?"
"He betrayed me, so I killed him."
"You're not yet 13 years old, and you've already started killing people."
If a boy of the Shuangguan family was 13 years old, he would be considered

as an adult. Then he would be qualified to be called "Young Master" and
would begin to build his own team. From Shangguan Fa's words, they knew
that Shangguan Fa had treated his youngest daughter as a man.
Shangguan Chui and Mister Guo looked at each other and thought. "That's
bad."
"Regardless of whether we're one or 100 years old, we're not allowed to
betray the Shuangguan family," Shangguan Ru said.
"Well said."
The Supreme King rarely gave praise to someone. Shangguan Chui could not
allow the situation to deteriorate, so he said, "Father, Six Kills Temple is a
place for our ancestors. Women are forbidden to enter. Seventeenth sister…"
"From now on, don't call her seventeenth sister," Shangguan Fa said coldly.
The big change in his attitude scared Shangguan Chui. "Not long ago, father
was furious at his daughter's bad behavior. Why has he suddenly vented his
anger on his eldest son?"
"Mister Guo, choose a good time. I'll bring my daughter to Six Kills Temple
and declare to my ancestors that my youngest daughter will be my tenth son.
You should call her Master Ru. Next year, she'll be the Tenth Young Master."
Mister Guo prostrated on the ground and answered "Yes" in a quavering

voice. He originally planned to humiliate Lady Meng, but he did not expect
that he would fail like this. He disgraced himself.
Gu Shenwei knelt in the corner. It was the second time that he had met the
Supreme King. He felt less fear than the last time and could think normally.
He admired Lady Meng, the twins' mother who he had just met once before.
Gu Shenwei initially thought that Lady Meng was an ordinary mother who
spoiled her children, and that the Supreme King had encouraged Lady Meng
to raise their daughter like a boy. Now he knew that he was completely
wrong. It was Lady Meng who nurtured her daughter as a boy. She kept
instilling the concept into the Supreme King for those years: as long as she
had the proper personality, a daughter could be treated as a son.
Eventually, with the help of an unforeseen crisis, she persuaded her husband
to openly admit that Shangguan Ru would be his tenth son.
Gu Shenwei admired her from the bottom of his heart. He was also curious
about what trick Lady Meng had used to be able to manipulate the killer king
of the Western Region.
Gu Shenwei had thought that Bighead Kingpin's daughter was too stupid to
win the fight against her mother-in-law.
At dawn, the long night was finally over.
Shangguan Ru was extremely excited as the crisis was more real than all the
games she had ever played. She thought she had failed miserably at one
point, but she managed to win in the end.
She even pushed Mister Guo into confessing the identity of the informer.
It turned out to be Shangguan Fei. On the day before they took action, he
bragged with several clansmen and unconsciously revealed their plan.
Whiterobe Academy paid more attention to the gossip of the fort. They
immediately made preparations for it. They did not plan to prevent them from
entering Six Kills Temple, but rather they prepared to catch them with the
stolen goods.
Family feuds were always a part of Golden Roc Fort. The Supreme King
chose not to hold anyone responsible for the incident. No one made further
inquiries; even the overbearing Shangguan Ru also understood the rule and
did not blame her eldest brother.
Gu Shenwei's little trick was temporarily covered up by the internal conflict

of the Shangguan family. The real wooden saber of Six Kills Temple was
hidden in a place that only he knew about.
He was not sure how long he could keep the secret. Someone would find that
the returned wooden saber was a fake sooner or later. When it would happen,
even Shangguan Ru could not protect him. Worse still, she would treat him as
a "traitor".
Gu Shenwei was pressed for time. He had to find a way out for himself, but
first, he needed to know what the secret of the wooden saber was from Mama
Xue.
Golden Roc Fort was like a great golden mountain. If one wanted to pull it
down, he must patiently look for both visible and invisible cracks. Gu
Shenwei had already found a few, but he was too weak to fight back, even
when faced with those flaws. Therefore, he just observed and collected
information. He believed that someday these cracks would merge into a fatal
ravine in front of him.
The internal conflicts of the Shuangguan family, such as Lady Meng's

ambition and the secret of the wooden saber, were the cracks of Golden Roc
Fort. There were several less tiny and covert cracks, like Shangguan Yushi's
implicit position and Shangguan Nu who lost his father's favor. Gu Shenwei
had kept all of them in mind.
Gu Shenwei knew there were many wooden sabers around Shangguan Ru's
residence, so he randomly took a wooden saber before returning to his room.
After sleeping for two hours, he immediately got up and left Inner Residence
to meet Mama Xue with the wooden saber.
If there were guards blocking him, he would say that "the Tenth Young
Master" asked him to sweep Kun Yard. No one would disturb Shangguan Ru,
as she was sleeping soundly right now.
In fact, he was too anxious. He bumped into lots of people, but no one
blocked him and several unknown people even smiled at him.
The gossip always spread at an unexpected speed. Shangguan Ru would be

the Tenth Young Maste and even her close servant's status was immediately
elevated.
Gu Shenwei offered the wooden saber to Mama Xue, but she was not happy
because she had already heard about what had happened in Inner Residence.
She placed the wooden saber on the table and said, "You've caused a big
trouble."
"I did not expect to cause that."
"What happened to the wooden saber? I heard that it was returned."
"I brought two wooden sabers. One was used to swap places with the wooden
saber in Six Kills Temple; the other was returned. This is the real one. No one
knew that I hid it at the bottom of the wall of Six Kills Temple. I retrieved it
afterwards."
Most of what Gu Shenwei said was true, except that he did not go back to
take the real saber.
Mama Xue finally smiled and took the wooden saber. After glancing at it, she
became angry and broke the wooden saber. "You're too daring. How dare you
play a trick in front of me?"
Mama Xue stabbed Gu Shenwei with her Iron Finger. He fell down and felt a
blast of heat flow into his Dantian, feeling as if his body was roasted in a fire.
"Mama, Mama Xue, I didn't… lie to you. It, It's true."
Mama Xue kicked Slave Huan, which slightly relieved his pain, and said,
"Do you think I can't recognize the wooden saber in Six Kills Temple?"
Gu Shenwei could breathe now, but he could not stand up. "There might be
more than one wooden saber in the temple."
"More than one?"
"I did not have time to check all the place at that time. The wooden saber was
inset into the wall and camouflaged by the character in the painting. It was
closest to me. I thought it was the one you wanted. Now that I think about it
again, I feel that the wooden sabers might be inset in other places."
Mama Xue sat down again. She seemed to be convinced by the detail of the
wooden saber being inset into the wall. The information she had received was
not clear. She had never entered Six Kills Temple, so she did not know the
details in the temple.
"Can you enter Six Kills Temple again?"
"I can go there with the Tenth Young Maste."
Mama Xue somewhat believed in his words, but she was still skeptical.
"Don't play tricks with me. Remember, both your secrets and your life are in
my hands."
"I wouldn't dare to forget."
Gu Shenwei dragged his heavy body and left Mama Xue's room. He had
found out where the secret of wooden saber was hidden from Mama Xue's
eyesight. He would disobey Mama Xue's order and play another trick.
Chapter 63 - Informer
Chapter 63: Informer
Gu Shenwei trotted to the stone house where he used to live. He wanted to

find Elderly Zhang, as the old man was able to help him carry out the plot
that he had planned beforehand.
Elderly Zhang was not in the room, but he was in the stable instead. He was
looking after the Eighth Young Master's horses. He rarely spoke when he was
living with Slave Huan, but now he was chatting with the horses as if he was
talking with some old friends, and he even did not notice that Slave Huan was
coming over.
When he saw the old man being more intimate with the animals than with
human beings, Gu Shenwei felt that the man was out of place in Golden Roc
Fort.
"Ahem."
Elderly Zhang quickly turned around. His serene face immediately fell, as if
he changed a mask in the blink of an eye.
"Do me a favor," Gu Shenwei directly said.
Elderly Zhang kept silent and did not even greet him, so Gu Shenwei had to
speak first.
"I cannot help you."
Elderly Zhang refused straightforwardly and began to do his work. His

behavior seemed to indicate that the conversation was over.
Gu Shenwei did not leave, because he did not have a real friend in the fort
and could not find another person who could help him. He waited. After
Elderly Zhang added the fodder, washed the horses, swept the horse dung,
and when he could no longer pretend to have something to do, Gu Shenwei
tried again. "I want to meet the Eighth Young Master."
"The master is not here."
"I'd like to report a plot to the Eighth Young Master. It will occur next to
him."
Elderly Zhang suddenly stood up and took two steps towards Slave Huan. "I
don't know about the plot and I'm not interested in it. If you want to meet the
master, you can go ahead. Don't talk to me."
Gu Shenwei stared at Elderly Zhang. He knew that the old man, despite his
cold appearance, was a warmhearted and very compassionate person, so he
pleaded, "I can't survive this night without your help."
Gu Shenwei exaggerated a little bit, but he did not lie to the old man. He
speculated that Six Kills Temple would discover that the wooden saber was
fake and then he would become the prime suspect.
"Everyone will die. It's quite normal to die early in the fort," Elderly Zhang
retorted angrily.
He turned around and picked up a bunch of horse fodder, but he had to put
the fodder back after seeing that the stable was still full. He turned back again
and saw Slave Huan still standing there. He could not help but become
angrier. "Piss off. I'm only responsible for feeding my horse. I don't interfere
in other people's business. If you want to meet the master, you can go south
to the academy. It's just by the fort gate."
"I cannot let others know about my meeting with the Eighth Young Master."
Elderly Zhang sneered. He had talked too much to the teenager. He could not
help it and sarcastically said, "You mean you want the master to meet you?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
He wanted to stealthily meet the master, but he did not intend to hide it from
Mama Xue. It might be difficult for Mama Xue to bribe the people in the fort,
because of her surly Miss. He needed to do this so his plan would not be
ruined by the Eighth Young Master's enemies, such as Mister Guo.
This was important.
Elderly Zhang was astonished, but became increasingly furious as he thought

the teenager was making fun of him. "You can wait patiently. There are too
many servants in the fort. The master doesn't have the time to meet all of us.
I'll tell him when he comes to 'meet' me."
"The conspiracy that I want to disclose is about the Eighth Young Master
himself."
Gu Shenwei lied a little bit, but it was also important for him to let
Shangguan Nu think that Mama Xue was his enemy.
Slave Huan looked serious. He did not appear as if he was being possessed by
an evil spirit or was being drunk. Elderly Zhang had remained loyal to the
master, therefore, he took the teenager's words somewhat seriously. "The
master will be back for supper. I'll find a chance to tell him when I am
leading the horse."
"I cannot wait until tonight. I need to tell him now. Maybe it's a bit late now."
Gu Shenwei imagined that Six Kills Temple would fall into a state of panic
after discovering that the wooden saber was fake, and the killers would
search for the daring servant.
Elderly Zhang was quite ambivalent. He was faithful to his master, but he
was reluctant to take part in a conspiracy. Even if he could further his career,
he was also unwilling to step in, not to mention that he did not completely
believe in Slave Huan.
In his eyes, Slave Huan was a weird teenager who looked preoccupied and
sometimes showed scary eyes. Elderly Zhang thought Slave Huan was both
pitiful and disgusting and he would never be a good servant.
Elderly Zhang seemed to make up his mind. Going back to his stable, he
picked up the bunch of fodder he just threw back. Nevertheless, after turning
around, he threw it again, walked to Slave Huan and said angrily, "You'd
better not lie to me, or I'll use you to feed the horses. They'll eat you until
nothing is left."
At this moment, the six horses inside the stable sneezed together.
Gu Shenwei returned to the stone cottage to wait. He speculated that Elderly

Zhang had a special relationship with the Eighth Young Master, beyond that
of a relationship between an ordinary servant and a master. The posture of
Elderly Zhang stepping away after he agreed had confirmed his thought.
While he waited, Gu Shenwei used the time to think about his whole plan
over again.
He could not be Mama Xue's match by himself. To snitch on Mama Xue was
his only way out, but it was a delicate matter to choose the person whom he
should report to.
Normally, the people who were told about the conspiracy would catch Mama
Xue as soon as possible, subject her to cruel torture and force her to confess
about her leader. The first thing Mama Xue would confess was Slave Huan's
origin.
Only one person might directly kill Mama Xue without interrogation. That
was the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu. He was at a low ebb of his life
and desperately hoped to change his father's impression of him, so he hoped
that something bad would never happen in his yard again. Han Shiqi's death
had already embarrassed him. If the people brought by his wife caused a
problem again, he would again be blamed for incompetence.
Gu Shenwei considered the whole thing from the Eighth Young Master's
perspective, and believed that the Eighth Young Master would immediately
kill Mama Xue in an imperceptible way.
There were quite a few loopholes in his plan. Shangguan Nu might be eager
to further his career and persist in interrogating Mama Xue; he might kill the
informer after killing Mama Xue.
Gu Shenwei thought, "There's no plan without any risk. This is the only way
in such hopeless situation. There's heavy fog ahead, but it's better than the
alternative which is death."
In this fight with Mama Xue, his only advantage was that he was not afraid of
death as well as his qigong deviation, which Mama Xue could probably never
understand.
The Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu quietly stood by the door, as if he

had stayed here for a long time. He displayed a killer's essential quality. He
did not look displeased for having to "meet" a servant personally, nor did he
appear anxious to hear about the details of a plot.
After overcoming the lingering fear for the enemy who had slaughtered his
whole family, Gu Shenwei knelt down and told him everything. He divulged
Mama Xue's plot and the hidden place of the wooden saber of Six Kills
Temple, without mentioning his secret that was in Mama Xue's hands.
Shangguan Nu still did not reveal his thoughts. He stared at the servant for a
long time and it seemed that he was more interested in the servant. "You
didn't snitch on Mama Xue at the beginning, but now you betrayed her."
Gu Shenwei knew that his answer was of great importance so he had to

carefully consider his words. "I beg for mercy, Eighth Young Master. I'm
scared at the beginning. Mama Xue had powerful kung fu and threatened to
kill me. I thought again and again, and finally realized that though I was
brought by the Mistress, my real master was you. I certainly should consider
my master's interests, so I don't think that I betrayed Mama Xue because she
wants to hurt you. Eighth Young Master, she's the traitor."
Shangguan Nu sneered, as this servant was lacking in his efforts to flatter his
master. However, there were a few words that matched up with his concerns.
"My interests?"
"Mama Xue was the Eighth Young Master's servant, but she didn't care about
the effects on the Eighth Young Master."
Gu Shenwei was aware that he did not need to speak any more, otherwise, it
would arouse Shangguan Nu's suspicions and grievances.
Shangguan Nu's left hand was accustomed to pressing on the hilt. Ever since
his father had cut off his right hand, he had cherished his only knife-holding
hand. Whenever he met the unknown teenager, he had a strange feeling, a
sense of tension and hostility. The slight feeling was enough to stimulate his
desire for killing.
One of the essential qualities for killers was to employ reason and abandon
emotions. Shangguan Nu suppressed his indistinct, immature desire. He had
once cut off several underlings' palms in a rage. Afterwards, when he thought
about it, he felt it was more stupid than killing the wrong person. His
impulsive behavior was comparable to breaking the other hand by himself.
"Wait here."
Gu Shenwei stayed in the stone cottage for a long time, but Elderly Zhang did
not show up once, as the old man made up his mind to stay as far away from
the "conspiracy" as possible.
Gu Shenwei even wondered whether his plan had failed. He originally

thought that he would carry out his plan successfully, but now he felt his plan
was childish and laughable. Shangguan Nu could interrogate Mama Xue in
private and kill her after getting to the bottom of it.
At dusk, Shangguan Nu came back. Gu Shenwei had been worried for long
so that his heart did not seem to beat. He felt like his chest and belly was
dropping so that he did not feel hungry even though he had not eaten
anything for a whole day.
Shangguan Nu brought back the wooden saber, threw it at the servant and
only said, "Bring it with you when you go to meet Mama Xue at nine
o'clock."
Gu Shenwei was left in the stone cottage again, with the wooden saber in his
hands. He ascertained that this was the wooden saber of Six Kills Temple that
he had stolen.
Walking to the door, he looked outside through the seam of the door and
stuck his ear against the wall to listen carefully, ensuring that no one was
nearby. Then he lit the lamp and looked at the wooden saber carefully.
The wooden saber looked ordinary. Without the blade, it was almost the same
as the Golden Roc Fort's saber. It was around 72 centimeters long, shorter
than the broadsword of the Gu family; it was extremely narrow, about three
centimeters wide. The saber's body was flat and straight, like an extended
dagger or a shortened sword.
The saber's hilt was covered with silk red string that looked new. This was
probably the only difference.
Normally, the silk string would look somewhat blackened, if it was often held
by people and was infused with sweat, but this wooden saber which
contained a secret did not seem to be used.
Shangguan Nu wanted to use the saber as bait, which was in Gu Shenwei's

plan. However, it offered him a great opportunity to probe the secret.
When Mama Xue had glimpsed at the fake saber, Gu Shenwei had known
that the secret was on the hilt.
Gu Shenwei carefully untied the knot and slowly took off the silk while
thinking that the secret had better be worth the risk.
Chapter 64 - The Trap
Chapter 64: The Trap
Gu Shenwei was disappointed because the secret on the handle was not worth
the risk.
There were only a few inconspicuous dents below the thread on the handle.
There were seven dents on one side, and three dents on the other side. Even if
they signified something, Gu Shenwei could not understand at all.
He carefully re-tied the silk thread and quietly waited for the gong sound that
indicated the second watch. Elder Zhang seemed to be avoiding him as he
never returned even after dark.
Matron Xue probably would not survive tonight. Gu Shenwei was completely
reliant on Shangguan Nu's next actions. He even thought of turning to
Shangguan Ru for help because she was about to become the 10th master and
would have a justification to protect other people. But he quickly gave up on
the idea, because he knew Shangguan Ru would think that he was taking
advantage of and would betray her. With Shangguan Yushi fanning the
flames, she might personally kill him in an instant.
Gu Shenwei went out of the stone house on the second watch.
From the moment when his entire family was killed, he took a narrow path
that was full of traps. It was a miracle for him to have survived each day.
Today was no exception.
For a long time, he had not remembered the Will of the Divine that helped
him live through the first few days. Now he refreshed his memory.
The mansion gatekeeper was surprised to see Slave Huan because few people
walked around Stone Castle this late at night. Gu Shenwei had to claim to be
called by Matron Xue. The keeper reluctantly let him in.
Matron Xue seemed to have expected it as the room was lit. Before he could
speak, Matron Xue ordered him to come in.
Gu Shenwei presented the wooden saber to Matron Xue. "How lucky! Just
when I returned to Inner Residence, the 10th master went to Six Kills
Temple. Indeed, there was another saber on the other wall of the temple. I've
searched the interior of the temple and this was the right one. I thought
Matron Xue might worry, so I am offering it right away."
Matron Xue merely nodded as she looked at the saber in her hand. After a
while, she said, "Turn around."
Gu Shenwei did so. He knew that Matron Xue would strip down the thread to
check. Since she had never seen a Six Kills Temple saber before, she would
not notice the difference of the thread.
Bang, and another bang.
Gu Shenwei's heart began to beat rapidly. "Why did she break the saber
again? Isn't this the right saber? Did Shangguan Nu trick me?" As numerous
doubts crossed his mind, Matron Xue said, "Follow me, I'll take you to a
place."
Gu Shenwei turned around and saw the broken saber. Obviously, Matron Xue
did not want anyone else to know the secret.
"But why won't Shangguan Nu or the watchdog he sent stop her? Her scheme
has been confirmed. What are they waiting for? Is the secret of no value to
Golden Roc Fort at all?"
"Where are we going?" Gu Shenwei's voice cracked despite his attempts to

stay calm.
"I've promised to teach you the masterpiece kung fu, but it's not suitable
here."
"Yes, Matron Xue. Thank you, Matron Xue."
Normally Slave Huan should say a few more words of gratitude, but now he
could not bring himself to do so. Matron Xue promised him not only the
masterpiece kung fu, but also the timely return of the saber. Despite her
promise, she broke it into pieces. This did not bode well.
Matron Xue left the room and Gu Shenwei had to follow her. Shangguan Nu
did not reveal his plan to him. Both the servant and the saber were probably
used as baits.
Gu Shenwei had never before felt so worried and hesitant. Following Matron
Xue, he resolutely made up his mind. "If I can survive to continue my
revenge, I'll never ever be a pawn anymore. I must be the manipulator."
The gatekeeper looked reluctant. "I'm sending him back," Matron Xue said
lightly as she walked out of the mansion. The keeper did not dare to stop her.
It was late at night and there was not a soul in sight. As soon as she crossed
the alley, she leaned onto the wall to listen. She was knowledgeable about the
security arrangements of Golden Roc Fort's guards.
She took Slave Huan farther and farther, but not to the Inner Residence in the
north. They were heading all the way to the southeast. The walls surrounding
them gradually became deserted. Although it also belonged to East Castle, it
was uninhabited and was not used so therefore it was abandoned.
Gu Shenwei remembered that he and Shangguan Ru had been here playing

the assassination game. He even wandered the ruins.
"It's haunted." Shangguan Yushi simply explained. However, Shangguan Ru

was so scared that she never came afterwards.
There were several occasions where he wanted to shout for help to attract the
night watchmen's attention so that they would arrest Matron Xue. But he
resisted this urge because he knew it would be futile when they went deep
into the ruins.
They walked into a weed-lined alley where its walls on both sides had fallen
down and its slates had been scattered. The wind sounded like ghosts in the
pale moonlight.
Matron Xue can hear a lot by ear. Her hearing was much more capable than
Shangguan Ru. If she did not hear something suspicious, she really was not
followed. Gu Shenwei became increasingly restless, for he could not expect
Shangguan Nu to care about a servant.
Matron Xue suddenly stopped. Gu Shenwei almost bumped into her.
She pointed at his ribs and said, "Wait here."
Gu Shenwei felt weakened. He slowly sat on the ground as he lost all his
strength. He knew that he had been attacked on the acupoint.
As Matron Xue went deeper into the alley, Gu Shenwei observed the
dilapidated surroundings.
The alley was long and narrow. Yet it shrank to about one meter wide where
Gu Shenwei sat, allowing only two people to walk through side by side.
Starting from here, the stone walls on both sides were replaced by stone men,
which looked similar to the stone sculptures that were placed at the entrance
of tombs.
Gu Shenwei could not ascertain more things in the deep night, but he
suddenly understood the secret.
The alley was like the saber, and the narrow way lined with stone men was
the handle.
Looking back, he remembered the dents were all on the back of the blade,
which meant south in the alley. Since Matron Xue went far, he guessed she
had been looking for the seventh stone man in the south. As for the three
dents on the other side, there must have been corresponding markings.
Now that Gu Shenwei knew about the secret, he became more confused. "
Why doesn't Shangguan Nu take any action? Doesn't he care about this at
all?"
Matron Xue silently emerged from the dark, emotionless and empty-handed.
Gu Shenwei was trying to stand up. But Matron Xue picked him up by the
throat and lifted him up easily. This gaunt woman possessed strength that did
not match her thin shape at all.
"In another life, I'll teach the masterpiece kung fu to you."
She got what she wanted. There was no reason to leave him alive for any
longer.
Gu Shenwei desperately struggled, trying to pull Matron Xue's arm by using

both hands. Her arm was as hard as dead trees, unlike a human arm at all.
"I… have something…"
He spat three words. Matron Xue hesitated and loosened her grip a little,
letting a breath of life-saving air into his chest.
"The saber is fake," Gu Shenwei said.
Matron Xue smiled ironically, like a ghost in the moonlight. "I always said
that you're smart, but sometimes you're too smart. I know you've checked my
saber, but the stone men are geared up. I wouldn't have been here if I were
wrong."
Matron Xue pointed at Slave Huan's Xuanji acupoint, putting into an

unprecedentedly strong burst of energy. She taught the youngster most of his
kung fu, however, now she would destroy it.
His Dantian seemed to have exploded, tearing his body into a million pieces.
Gu Shenwei wondered why he could still think, feel, and can even utter a full
sentence. "It's a trap."
Matron Xue's lips moved with a hint of a smile. But then her countenance
changed dramatically. At the same time, she tossed away Slave Huan and
turned around.
"Who is it?"
Gu Shenwei could not hear anything. Matron Xue did not need to do
anything as the hot burning energy alone could kill him. He used to
unintentionally memorize Nameless Swordbook to turn the power into his
own. But he could not do the same due to the exceptionally strong power.
The more he recalled the obscure words, the more his thoughts became
muddled. Now he could not even tell if he was alive or dead.
He thought he had gone through countless reincarnations. Actually, it was

just after a short time when he regained consciousness, despite the burning
pain inside him. He saw Shangguan Nu holding a dagger, standing 10 steps
away from Matron Xue.
"How amazing! 'Bone-piercing Ace' Kang Wenmei of the Barren Sect should
become a servant in our family. I'm really impressed by your brilliant skill."
Gu Shenwei was surprised that Shangguan Nu knew about Matron Xue's

secrets. He never knew who she was. Those sects from the Western Region
were foreign to him, let alone the Barren Sect.
"Oh, you're not a family man. You know too little about your family's
affairs."
Shangguan Nu remained calm. He slowly stepped forward. "Too little, but

I'm not too late."
Matron Xue took out a scroll and sighed. "It took a lot of effort to acquire,
but it's a fake."
In the next moment, she threw the scroll to Shangguan Nu and leaped
forward with a kick. She was not heading for the Eighth Young Master, but
Slave Huan, who was paralyzed on the ground. She knew she had been
betrayed. She needed to exact retribution on him.
Gu Shenwei did not expect that. He could not dodge it even if he was alert.
Therefore, he could only exert a Yin and Yang Strength on his chest to
prepare for the kick.
With a bang, Matron Xue kicked him on his chest. Then, due to the resisting
force, she bounced over a broken wall to escape.
The scroll unfolded in the air, falling onto Shangguan Nu. He drew his
dagger with his left hand and used it to slice apart the scroll. He looked up at
the flying woman in the moonlight but he did not pursue her.
The kick seemed to break Gu Shenwei's bones. He spat out a mouthful of

sweet blood, but he survived. He could not understand why, but the hot
burning pain inside had greatly subsided. He also looked up at the bird-like
Matron Xue.
Suddenly, the two dead giant rocs crossed his mind. Matron Xue looked so
similar to the soaring female roc.
Then a more similar scene appeared. A ghost-like head emerged behind

Matron Xue's shoulder, and she was not aware of it.
It was not a ghost, it was a masked face instead. Like the men-in-black that
killed the female bird, he also emerged straight from the void and made a
fatal blow from behind the target.
It was like a nightmare coming back to him, but the protagonist was a woman
rather than a bird. Since then, Gu Shenwei had always been dreaming about
the scene. He could not tell it was a woman or a bird. Every time he woke
from the dream, he was soaked in sweat.
Matron Xue's head left her body like a fallen fruit. The blood seemed to drain
in one moment, the body frozen in the air. Yet, from his point of view, the
masked head was positioned at where Matron Xue's head was a moment ago.
Gu Shenwei looked at the strange scene. He could no longer tolerate the fear
and cramps, and he vomited.
It was the first time he had seen a Black-masked Assassin, who was no longer
just a tale to him.
Chapter 65 - Family Affair
Chapter 65: Family Affair
Shangguan Nu slanted the saber in his left hand to the ground, wielded the
hook on his right hand, and impaled Mama Xue's head. He then raised it high,
appreciating it carefully.
Due to the excessive loss of blood and the pale moonlight, Mama Xue's
originally sallow face seemed as stiff and lifeless as the stonemen's nearby.
The headless corpse collapsed, while the black-masked assassin vanished in

mid-air, just as fast and mysteriously as he had appeared.
Gu Shenwei shivered several times in a row. With all the pores on his body
fully opened, bursts of hot and cold air were emitted in waves, as if
something that had been living in his body for a long time was frantically
escaping.
He had never been soberer and calmer than he was now.
It turned out that the wooden saber and the stonemen were a trap that Golden
Roc Fort had set for the Barren Sect. It was exactly through this that
Shangguan Nu managed to find out Mama Xue's origin.
Next, how would the Eighth Young Master deal with the slave who had
snitched on Mama Xue? Gu Shenwei struggled to stand up and rubbed off the
blood and filth around the corner of his mouth, waiting patiently.
Although the burning pain had disappeared, the Internal Qi inside his Dantian
was still unstable like billowing water. However, he had no time to attend to
it.
Shangguan Nu sheathed his saber, used his left hand to pull Mama Xue's
head off, and then said to the teenager hiding in the corner, "Throw it off."
Gu Shenwei was momentarily puzzled by the command, but he soon realized

that "it" referred to the headless body and "off" the cliff at the end of the
alley.
Since dumping corpses had been his old job in Firewood Yard after he
entered Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei was familiar with it. He gripped the
corpse by one foot and dragged it deeper into the alley, completely ignoring
the blood left on the ground.
At the end of the stone figures was a pile of rubble, and behind it was indeed
a cliff. After throwing the corpse off of it, Gu Shenwei suddenly felt relaxed,
and the fear entangled in his heart also disappeared. In his eyes, the Eighth
Young Master became an ordinary person, a common killer, and an average
son of Supreme King.
Shangguan Nu had been following the teenager a few steps away, his left
hand pressing his saber hilt. He was surprised by Slave Huan's change. A
moment ago, he was vomiting violently because of Mama Xue's death, but
now he was composed, as if what he had thrown off was merely junk.
Only those without fear toward death could qualify as real killers. Therefore,
Shangguan Nu loosened his saber-wielding hand a bit.
Over the past year, Gu Shenwei had witnessed so many killings and deaths,
but fear had never subsided in his heart until tonight. The black-masked
assassin's one, clean, and swift cut had pushed his fear to the limit, and then it
had faded away.
On the Giant Rock Cliff, he did not have such feelings when Supreme King's
subordinates killed the giant rocs in a similar way. At that time, he was
immersed in grief and neglected his own life-and-death situation.
Shangguan Nu stared at Slave Huan standing at the edge of the cliff. With a
simple movement, he could kill the slave, and he could even avoid the trouble
of dumping the corpse. What a great temptation.
"Let's go."
Shangguan Nu turned around with Mama Xue's head in hand and walked
toward the alley's exit.
Gu Shenwei closely followed him. He felt the Eighth Young Master's killing
intent gradually fade away as they walked on. Shangguan Nu had restored his
inconspicuous state before they had walked out of the "hilt" part of the alley.
Only the head that he carried indicated his identity as a killer.
A killer with black clothes and a red belt was waiting at the alley entrance.
He immediately knelt on one knee upon seeing Shangguan Nu, holding a red
wooden box high with both hands.
Shangguan Nu put Mama Xue's head into the box. He drew out a
handkerchief, wiped the iron hook of his right hand carefully, and then
cleaned his left hand skillfully. With a year of practice, his left hand was even
more flexible than his right hand was before.
Shangguan Nu looked back, and Slave Huan immediately realized what he

should do. Therefore, he stepped forth to take the red box from the killer and
carried it as his master moved on while the assassin in black quietly retreated.
The two returned to the Eighth Young Master's place. Shangguan Nu seemed
to have a well-thought-out plan. After they entered the courtyard, he directly
walked toward the small hall in the backyard. Upon seeing the master, a killer
guarding the hall bowed and left the yard right away.
Lights were on in the small hall. Obviously, someone was expecting the
Eighth Young Master.
Shangguan Nu pushed the door open and went inside while Gu Shenwei
hesitated a bit before following him in.
A half-transparent screen was placed inside, behind which the Eighth Young
Mistress and Maid Cui's figures could vaguely be seen. The four maids,
Chen, Xin, Ru, and Yi, stood beside the screen, panicking and seeming to
wait for an imminent disaster.
Someone was kneeling on the floor. Gu Shenwei recognized that it was Maid
Lotus, despite her being prostrated and her hidden expression.
Gu Shenwei knelt by Maid Lotus' side right away, understanding that

Shangguan Nu meant to attend to his family affairs.
Since he rode into the Iron Mountain bandit camp and saw the ragtag group,
Shangguan Nu had been disappointed with the marriage. The performance of
Bighead Kingpin's daughter in Golden Roc Fort further justified his initial
judgment.
Speaking of the people that she had brought, they turned out to have been
bought on the spur of the moment. She had not even checked their
backgrounds. In the end, two kids assassinated one of his killers and made
him a laughingstock.
Speaking of her, she apparently knew that her husband and her mother-in-
law, Lady Meng, were in the same league, but she still acted in an arbitrary
and reckless way and almost offended everyone in the castle, weakening her
husband's power and influence.
Finally, her wet nurse turned out to be a spy sent by Golden Roc Fort's
enemy, which almost brought him big disgrace again in front of his father.
"She's a jinx with a fairly useless good appearance," Shangguan Nu thought

bitterly. He had never wanted to be the only man that could see her face.
"My husband…"
Miss greeted him, her voice trembling. No matter how peremptory she was
ordinarily, she had long sensed that the atmosphere was stifling, different
from normal times. The strangest thing was that Mama Xue was nowhere to
be found.
"Get out," Shangguan Nu ordered coldly.
The four maids near the screen all left, lowering their heads and holding their
breath. The blind, tongueless Maid Cui only hesitated a short while, and then
also walked around the screen and left the room. She was so panicked that
she almost hit the door frame.
As all the maids had left, Bighead Kingpin's daughter felt much lonelier and
asked, "My husband, what exactly has happened?"
"Show her." Shangguan Nu's voice could barely hide his fury.
Gu Shenwei moved on his knees to the edge of the screen and held the red
wooden box high. He tried his best to keep his head low and not see the
slightest bit of Miss Luo.
After a long, depressing silence, Miss finally spoke. Her tone sounded calm
and even revealed a trace of self-mockery. "I have finally gotten rid of her.
My husband, is this a gift from you?"
Neither Shangguan Nu nor Gu Shenwei had expected such a response from

Luo Ningcha. For the first time, Gu Shenwei thought that maybe Miss was
not as stupid as he had thought.
"Don't you want to know why I killed her?"
"She's humble concubine's slave and also yours. My Lord doesn't need a
reason to kill a slave."
"Humph, what a good wife. Mama Xue was Golden Roc Fort's enemy. She
sneaked here under a false name to steal something. It's a pity that the two
helpers she selected snitched on her on the same day."
Gu Shenwei suddenly came to understand what Slave Qian said before his
death, "Mama Xue will kill the three of us." Back then, he suspected that the
third person could not be Maid Cui, who had delivered the message for them.
"But Maid Lotus had seemed very loyal to Mama Xue, so why did she also
snitch on Mama Xue? Has she also been planted with the finger energy that
caused Qi Deviation? Most importantly, has she already revealed this to the
Eighth Young Master?"
Gu Shenwei became uneasy again, but what Miss said next made him
uneasier.
"Although Mama Xue claimed to be my wet nurse, in fact, she had never
nurtured me. She came to Iron Mountain a few years ago. She dared to cheat
my father. My husband, thanks to your keen observation, you've found out
her true identity. I'll write to tell my father all this, and he'll be grateful to
you."
"It's been years and you don't know the origins of the people around you.
Which one is trustworthy among the slaves that you've brought?"
"Easy, my husband. These slaves always create trouble for you and me.
There's no need to keep them, kill them all if you like."
Bighead Kingpin's daughter had never spoken to please another like this
before. When she first entered the castle, she was mad for a long time just
due to the matter of changing her maid Little Ru's name, but now she readily
suggested killing all the slaves.
The advice was so vicious that even Shangguan Nu frowned. Mama Xue's
death would inevitably cause some rumors, and if he killed a dozen slaves, it
would probably become well-known to the people of Jade City at the foot of
the mountain.
"Leave this alone. From now on, I forbid your father from sending more
people here. It'd be better for those thieves and swindlers to stay at the bandit
camp."
"Yes. Your humble concubine obeys your order."
It was unprecedented for Miss to speak in such a humble manner. Gu

Shenwei even doubted that the person behind the screen was Luo Ningcha.
Later, he heard her sobbing, and could not help sympathizing with her.
His wife's humility greatly alleviated Shangguan Nu's indignation. After all,
she was Bighead Kingpin's daughter, and even Supreme King could not
punish her casually.
"Somebody."
Hearing Shangguan Nu's call, a killer in black appeared from nowhere.
"Lock up these two slaves and wait for my order," Shangguan Nu said.
Gu Shenwei moved back on his knees, put down the red wooden box, stood
up, and left the room with Maid Lotus. Since neither of them had gained the
Eighth Young Master's complete trust yet, he was still considering how to
deal with these two snitches.
The assassin in black strictly executed the master's order and shut the teenage
boy and girl into the same room located in the front yard.
The room was rather small. Even though they stayed in different corners,
they were still just a few steps away from each other.
It was past midnight. The assassin locked the door and went to rest. Since
there were guards everywhere in the castle, he bet that the two slaves would
not dare to escape.
Neither Gu Shenwei nor Maid Lotus lay down to sleep, nor did they speak to
each other.
Gu Shenwei was haunted by considerable doubts, which kept arising before

he could figure any of them out. It so happened that he was wondering why
he had survived Mama Xue's last kick when the hot Qi in his Xuanji acupoint
lost control again and rushed to his Dantian.
What a coincidence! Mama Xue predicted that he would frequently suffer

Qigong Deviations and definitely die within three years. More than two
months ago, he had already experienced it on the Giant Rock Cliff once, and
now, he had to undergo it again.
However, compared with the powerful finger energy that Mama Xue used
several hours ago, this Qigong Deviation came in a gentle and mild way. Gu
Shenwei could even endure it without falling down, and only a layer of sweat
appeared on his forehead.
He thought about the Chinese characters in the "Nameless Swordbook" and
tried to turn the hot Qi into his own Internal Strength. This might have been
the most painful cultivation method in the world. However, he had no
alternative. He could not improve his Yin and Yang Strength without doing
this.
The symptoms of Qigong Deviation gradually disappeared at dawn. Gu

Shenwei heaved a long sigh and surprisingly found that he had reached the
third level of Yin Strength. He had practiced hard but had gotten nowhere,
today he achieved his goal because of the latent danger that his enemy had
imposed on him. Thinking of this, he could not help smiling bitterly.
Maid Lotus, who had not looked at Slave Huan throughout the night,
suddenly turned her head and asked, "You have Qigong Deviation, too?"
"Yeah, I've suffered it twice."
"I experienced my first a month ago," Maid Lotus said.
The fact that both of them had been planted with Peripheral Force by Mama
Xue quickly bound them together.
"I think Miss will kill both of us," Maid Lotus said with a heavy heart.
Gu Shenwei was shocked by Maid Lotus' obtrusive remark, because he felt

the same way.
Chapter 66 - The Secret
Chapter 66: The Secret
Gu Shenwei was worried that Shangguan Nu would dispose of him, but he

never expected that Bighead Kingpin's daughter would plot against him.
Oddly enough, Gu Shenwei had a sharper mind than usual although the
qigong deviation was unbearably painful. When he was reciting the sword
manual, many thoughts automatically gathered together to offer new insight
into some details which he had neglected to consider earlier on.
"Miss wants to kill both of us."
On hearing Maid Lotus' words, Gu Shenwei immediately understood what

she meant.
"She's afraid we've heard some information regarding her secret from Mama
Xue."
"I've finally got rid of her." Miss' words still lingered in Gu Shenwei's ears.
Looking back on Mama Xue's relationship with Miss and Mama Xue's style
of dealing with things, he knew Miss must have some controversial secret
that may have been divulged by Mama Xue.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus fell silent again. Mama Xue was always tight-
lipped and she had never spilled the beans in this respect.
But Miss would not believe this. She would rather kill them to remove this
possibility once and for all.
Gu Shenwei secretly regulated his Internal Breath, during which he could

sense the might of the third level of Yin and Yang Strength. He felt that his
Internal Strength had increased several fold, so it was very handy to use. If he
was given a few days in a quiet place, he would be able to make all the forces
merge together by using the sped-up technique so that it would greatly
enhance his Internal Strength.
By then, even if he could not become an expert, he would have been stronger
than ordinary people and he would be capable of assassinating several
enemies from the Shangguan family.
He pressed his Xuanji acupoint again and felt that the burning sensation was
still there. Even the third level of Yin Strength could not remove the energy
from Mama Xue's finger.
While Gu Shenwei was trying to figure out how to gain more time, Maid
Lotus took a seat on his opposite side seemingly said to herself, "I asked her,
but she wouldn't tell me."
"She?"
"Maid Cui."
Gu Shenwei was startled, but he soon understood. Since Maid Cui did not
have a tongue or eyes, she was the Miss' most trusted maid. She might have
had a chance to eavesdrop on Miss' secret. However, it was hard for her to
reveal anything. She could not speak or write, therefore, she could only
communicate with gestures. No one would understand her except those
closest to her.
Gu Shenwei suddenly recalled something and blurted out, "You betrayed

Slave Qian!"
That evening, Gu Shenwei talked to Slave Qian, who was on the other side of
the wall. It was Maid Cui that delivered the message for them. He had been
wondering why Maid Cui would do Slave Qian such a favor. Now he realized
the one behind her was actually Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus snorted softly and scorned Slave Huan's overreaction. She said,
"I asked him to remind you, but he freaked out and wanted to report
everything, including the Peripheral Force implanted in us. I had no choice
but to silence him with Mama Xue's help."
Gu Shenwei was surprised at Maid Lotus' maturity and sophistication, since

she was merely 14 or 15 years old. Indeed, it was inappropriate to reveal that
Mama Xue had controlled their Internal Breaths and Golden Roc Fort would
not spend much time and energy treating them, because they were mere
servants. On the contrary, killing them would be the simplest and most
effective way to deal with them, so that they would not be controlled by
Mama Xue's sectmates.
Gu Shenwei had once learned kung fu from Maid Lotus and they had stayed
together from morning to night, but he did not know much about her. At
some point, he even felt a connection to his enemy Shangguan Yushi, but he
had to take a guess about what this girl was thinking.
"Fine. Have you found a way to crack the Peripheral Force?" Gu Shenwei
asked as he pretended to not care about the answer.
"No," Maid Lotus answered emotionlessly.
They remained silent again. A moment ago, they became closer, as they
shared the same fate, but now they became estranged again. Eventually, Gu
Shenwei thought it was better to speak frankly.
"I have a suggestion."
"What?"
"Let's try to find the solution together. No matter who finds it first, he or she
should share it with the other," said Gu Shenwei.
"Why?"
"Because when one person is going to die, he or she will make this widely
known to the people of the castle, who would probably not like it."
Maid Lotus' indifferent expression was surprisingly similar to Mama Xue's.

She looked at Slave Huan and pondered for a while before saying, "Okay.
Fair enough."
"We won't snitch on or plot against each other in secret, right?" Having
learned his lesson from Slave Qian's death, Gu Shenwei had to ask Maid
Lotus to make a promise, even if it was just a verbal one.
"Of course. I'll count on you to find the solution first."
They were accomplices now. Although this could not completely remove
their wariness, it definitely alleviated the tense atmosphere.
It was broad daylight. They heard the sound of the door being unlocked and a
man saying, "Just for a moment. Don't stay too long."
The door was opened and Maid Cui came in. It seemed that she came to
deliver food, as she was carrying a meal box.
The killer closed the door and stood guard outside.
With her incredibly sharp senses, Maid Cui accurately found the small table
against the wall and put the meal box on it. She then approached Maid Lotus
and made a series of strange gestures. She looked extremely anxious.
Maid Lotus held Maid Cui's hands and whispered. "I know." Subsequently,
she turned to Slave Huan and said in an even quieter voice, "The Eighth
Young Master has gone out. Miss will see us soon."
Miss was short-tempered, and she was determined to immediately eliminate

the servants regardless of her husband's stance on the matter.
Maid Lotus whispered something in Maid Cui's ears, but the latter seemed
terrified, as she kept shaking her head.
The guard waiting outside became impatient and started urging Maid Cui to
leave. Gu Shenwei could not wait either, since Maid Lotus and he were in a
life or death situation, he had no choice but to grasp every opportunity to save
their lives.
"Maid Cui, listen to me. Slave Qian died because of you. Do you want Maid
Lotus and I to die in the same way?" Gu Shenwei asked in a quiet voice.
His accusation was unfair, because Maid Cui had only delivered a message to
Slave Qian, but she did not snitch on him.
On hearing that, Maid Cui suddenly became blue in the face. Then, she
seemed to make a great determination and made a string of gestures. Hastily,
she turned and escaped the room before Maid Lotus could ask for any more
information.
The killer outside relocked the door and left.
Maid Lotus pondered with her head lowered, as if she was not sure about the
information that Maid Cui had revealed to her. After a long while, she said in
a low voice, "Miss has killed someone. That's all Maid Cui knows. Mama
Xue didn't talk about this very often."
The issue of that Bighead Kingpin's daughter killing someone did not sound
like a big deal for Miss. The two discussed for a while and came up with
several possibilities, for example, that Miss had killed Bighead Kingpin's
favored woman or subordinate. But they could not find any solid evidence,
because they had stayed at the Iron Mountain camp for only a few days.
At that moment, the door was opened again and the killer said in a restrained
tone, "If the Eighth Young Master asks about this, don't pin the blame on
me."
Two maids stepped inside, and Little Sui said, "Don't worry. Miss will
explain everything."
However, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus became worried.
"Miss wants to see you."
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus exchanged worried glances and walked to the
door. Suddenly, Little Sui stopped one of them and said, "You go first."
She was talking to Gu Shenwei. It seemed that Miss wanted crush on them
one by one.
Little Sui led Slave Huan to the backyard while the other maidservant stayed
behind.
Miss was already seated behind the screen. Maid Cui was not around and
there were only two maidservants guarding the door.
The four women wanted to murder the servant, but they did not know that he
was no longer the untrained teenager he was a year ago. Miss did not know
kung fu and those maidservants only had average kung fu skills, so Gu
Shenwei was confident that he could defeat or even kill them all. However,
this kind of killing was meaningless since his enemy was surnamed
Shangguan, not Luo.
"Slave Huan, do you know of your guilt?" Asked Little Sui.
Meanwhile, Miss only listened from behind the screen.
Gu Shenwei kneeled down and said, "Humble servant doesn't know of my

guilt."
"You swore an oath with the surname of Luo, but you informed the Eighth
Young Master behind Miss' back and put her in an unfavorable position. You
deserve a myriad of deaths."
"Mama Xue was the real traitor. She was always around Miss and prevented
humble servant from meeting with Miss. I had no choice but to report to the
Eighth Young Master."
Not all of what Gu Shenwei said was a lie, for he had not "seen" Miss for
almost half a year.
"Humph, it's just an excuse. Dig his heart out, and I want to see if it's black or
not."
It was not the humble and timid Miss, but the arrogant and vicious Luo
Ningcha that was speaking.
The three maidservants said yes in unison and each drew out various tools
like rope and knives.
Gu Shenwei pressed his head against the ground and pleaded. "Humble
servant admits his guilt and he's willing to accept any kind of punishment.
After he dies, he'll tell Mama Xue that the secret is still a secret when he
meets her there."
"What did you say?"
Miss harshly shouted from behind the screen and quickly stood up.
"Humble servant said 'a secret is still a secret'."
"How dare you mongrel. Cut off his tongue first and then his heart."
"Even if humble servant loses his tongue, there are others who still have
theirs. But rest assured, Miss, even if humble servant dies, the others will still
keep the secret."
Miss sat down again. "You've told it to others?"
"Over the past year, humble servant has made friends with several people in
the castle. We talked about everything with each other. They're all willing to
keep the secret for Miss."
It was quiet behind the screen for a long time. The three maidservants looked
at each other, not knowing whether or not they should continue to cut his
tongue and heart.
"All of you, go stand guard outside," Miss said.
All the maidservants were shocked, but they still obediently exited the room.
Only Miss and the servant were in the room. Gu Shenwei really wished all of
his enemies were as stupid as her.
"I remember you. Mama Xue once thought highly of you. She said you're
cunning, but… You infiltrated the castle for a revenge, didn't you?"
Miss had long forgotten Slave Huan, now she recalled him only because of
his threat. She was lucky enough to remember Slave Huan's weakness.
"That's right. If Miss reveals a single word about it, humble servant will die
without a burial place. Humble servant will keep that secret for Miss forever
and won't let anyone else know it."
"Who have you told? Tell me and I'll spare your life."
"Humble servant is more than willing to tell Miss their names. The problem
is that they're in awe of Miss. Once they hear Miss is looking for them, they
may shoot off their mouth, so humble servant would better not say who they
are."
Miss remained silent, as she was wondering how reliable the servant's words
were. Nevertheless, she was more used to making a lightning decision than
thinking over carefully. She had tried to be patient talking to Slave Huan, but
she could not bear it anymore.
A teacup flew toward Gu Shenwei from behind the screen, fell to the ground
and shattered into pieces. "Secret, secret, what secret do you know exactly?
I'll tear you into pieces if you can't say it."
Gu Shenwei did not know what Miss' secret was about exactly, but he was
sure about one thing. In this room, he was the only one who had the power to
kill. The worst case scenario would be to kill Miss and trigger a fight between
Golden Roc Fort and Bighead Kingpin of Iron Mountain.
Chapter 67 - The Apprentice
Chapter 67: The Apprentice
Everyone had their own worries. Once others mentioned something related to
it, it would arouse their suspicions, as if they could imagine the whole big
tree through a green leaf.
So did Bighead Kingpin's daughter.
Gu Shenwei only answered Miss Luo with one sentence, when facing her
threaten. Then his life was spared, at least, temporarily.
"I don't dare to tell Miss' secret, unless standing in front of Bighead Kingpin."
Miss Luo was irritated again when she heard Gu Shenwei mention Bighead
Kingpin. After a moment of silence, she rushed out from behind the screen
and picked up things around her to hit Slave Huan while cursing him.
Kneeling on the ground, Gu Shenwei easily dodged most of the things that
Miss Luo threw at him. Occasionally, one of the things Miss Luo threw out
would hit him, but it did not hurt. He paid more attention to Miss Luo's
words, because he wanted to find some clues about her secret.
This may be regarded as their first "meeting". Gu Shenwei only saw a furious
woman in a black veil. Although she was in an extreme anger, Miss Luo still
protected her face, which only her husband could see.
Under the most vicious curse, Slave Huan was driven out. Also, Maid Lotus
was not called in by Miss Luo. Hence, they concluded that Luo Ningcha
would not kill them temporarily.
After experiencing an extremely stressful day yesterday, Gu Shenwei thought

today's event was more like a farce.
"If Miss Luo asked me how to get rid of us, I would suggest her to show her
face to me to get an excuse for executing me. Although the people in the fort
often laugh at this habit of her, they won't object it if she wants to kill me for
this reason. As for Maid Lotus, she can accuse this slave girl of discussing
her appearance in public. It's easy for Miss Luo. She just needs to find a
'witness' to frame Maid Lotus." Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
Gu Shenwei just thought about it for a second. He would not give the advice
to Miss Luo. This woman only became wise, due to her husband's hidden
fury. In most cases, she was a stupid and vicious woman. Thanks to Bighead
Kingpin's prestige, she could survive in Golden Roc Fort.
Actually, the person that Gu Shenwei worried about was Maid Lotus. She
seemed to believe Slave Huan knew about Miss Luo's secret, but wouldn't
share it with her, so she treated him indifferently again.
They probably would never become partners, let alone good friends, who
could have a heart-to-heart talk. Some people may be wary of others at their
first meeting, but they distrusted each other from the get-go even if they did
not know why.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had been imprisoned for more than three days.
Finally, Gu Shenwei could not stand and fell to sleep on a brick bed. But
Maid Lotus did not even close her eyes. Except that her face became paler
with each passing day, despite that she did not seem sleepy at all.
She only sneakingly used the potty when during Gu Shenwei's thunder-like
snores. Gu Shenwei knew this and always made his snore louder on purpose.
On the fourth day, Shangguan Nu came to the jail, since he had decided how
to deal with the two slaves. On seeing them in the same room, he was
surprised, because he never thought to imprison the young male servant and
the maidservant together.
"Follow me."
He commanded them without any emotion as usual.
The two exhausted slaves obediently followed their master and finally arrived
at a detached yard in West Castle.
Six or seven men in black had already been waiting here. Some of them were
red-belt killers and others were yellow-belt servants. As soon as seeing the
Eighth Young Master, they all bowed to him.
In the west of the yard, a pillar was erected. A strong man with a full beard
was tied on it. His eyes widened and his muscles strong and toned. Near him
was a long sword stabbed into the ground.
Shangguan Nu ordered a servant to give them two Golden Roc Fort sabers.
He looked at the confused slaves and said, "Kill him."
Maid Lotus picked up a saber without any hesitation. Gu Shenwei took the
other one.
A killer ran over to untie the bearded man, and then quickly retreated to his
original position.
After the bearded man got rid of the chain, the first thing he did was to grab
the giant sword, inserted in the ground. He roared and staggeringly rushed to
the ten enemies in front of him. He ran with a limp indicating that one of his
legs was broken.
This was the first time that Gu Shenwei held a saber made in Golden Roc
Fort. He could feel the unmatched weight, compared with its slender body.
His killing desire raised all of a sudden.
Simultaneously, the young boy and girl moved and stabbed the curly-bearded
man in totally different movements. Slave Huan directly attacked the enemy's
vital part in the abdomen, while Maid Lotus swiftly jumped, skimmed over
the man, and stuck his heart from the back. Although she moved at the
further distance than Gu Shenwei, Maid Luo killed the man with him at the
same time.
The curly-bearded man apparently had consumed all his energy in yelling.
During the fight with two teenagers, he was too weak to exchange any moves
with them. He kneeled down and died with both hands placed on the shaft of
the giant sword.
Another swordsman from the Great Snowmountain died. This time Gu

Shenwei even did not care about his name. Compared with killers in Golden
Roc Fort, they were like clumsy bears and were driven into a corner by
wasps.
The two young slaves, who would become killers in the future, not only
killed their enemy with one strike, but also retreated safely. The frozen looks
on their faces were telling the others that they were accustomed to the smell
of blood and death.
This was a test. Shangguan Nu did not intend to examine their kung fu skills.
He just wanted to know whether they have the basic quality of a killer—cold
blood.
Many people were highly skilled at kung fu. They even could easily beat 10
enemies by themselves, however, at the crucial moment, they would hesitate
to kill enemies. Contrarily, others came to the other extreme. They were
crazy about blood and killed people just for fun, regardless of the bad
outcomes of slaughtering people.
The assassins nodded together, who were satisfied with the two teenagers'
performance. But Shangguan Nu did not say anything yet or made any
suggestion.
However, Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were freed. That afternoon, they were
sent to Carvewood Academy in East Castle. Maid Lotus gained her identity
as a killer apprentice again, while Gu Shenwei, who had made great efforts
over the last year, finally realized his dream.
Shangguan Nu let them off for some reason. He said, "Someone told me that
you'll become excellent killers, so I forgive you. Go to East Castle and then
come to visit me alive as killers."
However, the Eighth Young Master did not tell Slave Huan and Maid Lotus
who had spoken for them. Gu Shenwei first precluded Luo Ningcha. It was
kind of her to spare his life, let alone to help him.
This time, Shangguan Nu did not ask them to return to his residence every
night. He permitted them to stay in East Castle, like other apprentices.
Before Gu Shenwei left, he wanted to say goodbye to Shangguan Ru. He

recently heard that she had officially entered Six Kills Temple and had been
acknowledged as the tenth "son" of the Supreme King.
Shangguan Nu denied it. "You don't need to do it," he said.
Gu Shenwei had entered East Castle hundreds of times, when he

accompanied with Shangguan Ru. But this time, he felt it was the very first
time he had come to the mysterious castle and became very excited and
anxious, unlike a calm apprentice. One day, he would become the most
excellent killer and obtain the confidential information of Golden Roc Fort.
At present, the black-masked assassins were his most valued opponents. Only
when he was more powerful than them, Gu Shenwei could call himself the
Shangguan family's enemy.
Maid Lotus directly went back to Carvewood Academy. But Slave Huan
needed to register again. The registrar, who he had met last time,
unpleasantly wrote down his name. Only becoming a killer in the future, Gu
Shenwei could be called Yang Huan. Now, as an apprentice, his name was
still Slave Huan.
To the left of his name on the pamphlet, the note "The one had learned
Internal Strength from other schools" was circled. Gu Shenwei did not expect
this sentence would bring him a lot of trouble and even almost destroy his
killer career.
It was not a good time when Gu Shenwei entered East Castle, since the ten-
month killer apprentice training would end soon. Then, all the apprentices
would come to Pyrowork Academy and continued studying more advanced
kung fu skills. Also, they would have their own Master Shifu, who lived with
them and taught them more practical skills. Most importantly, apprentices
would have a fight competition every month. During the fight, they could
bring the real saber and kill their opponents. It was said that over a half of the
killer apprentices would lose their lives in the competition.
Most apprentices felt very excited about the cruel fight.
Gu Shenwei soon found that Maid Lotus and he were exceptions, because
most of the young apprentices were not the slaves serving in Golden Roc
Fort. Some of them, who did not speak Central Plains Chinese fluently, came
from different counties in Western Region. They were willing to become a
killer and even risked their lives.
Hu Shining, who worked in Carvewood Academy as the training tutor, had

met Slave Huan once. He seemed to have a good impression on this slave. On
the second day that Gu Shenwei had entered the yard, Hu Shining once talked
to him and suggested he should stay in Carvewood Academy for the next 10-
month training with the new apprentices. He said, "You should stay here,
because you have some fatal shortcomings in kung fu. It's a better choice for
you, instead of staying in Pyrowork Academy."
Gu Shenwei coldly refused him. Although he had not been trained over the
last 10 months, Gu Shenwei did not think he had any fatal shortcomings.
Now, his Yin and Yang Strength had arrived at the third level, so his Internal
Strength was higher than the most apprentices in Carvewood Academy. It
was enough to make up for the weakness in kung fu skills.
Hu Shining left disappointedly. Gu Shenwei would regret his rude behavior

someday. Perhaps since having been in Golden Roc Fort for a long time, he
instinctively misunderstood people's kindness as evil intentions.
Hu Shining was right. Compared with the apprentices, who had been strictly
trained, Slave Huan's kung fu had a serious defect. Especially, in the killer
mentors' eyes, his Internal Strength from other schools was an irretrievable
mistake.
A few days later, the killer apprentices came to Pyrowork Academy in the
eastern East Castle, which was smaller than Carvewood Academy. Almost
100 killer mentors waited there and prepared to select their apprentices. After
finishing the selection, they would bring the new apprentices to their yard and
come back to attend the fight-until-the-end competition every month.
Gu Shenwei soon realized what the training tutor Hu Shining had said was
true. The killer mentors had learned the basic information about the
apprentices, so the selection ended very quickly in the morning.
At last, more than 30 apprentices remained for some reasons. Gu Shenwei

was one of them.
The fate had played a joke with him and then a bigger one. A yellow-belt
overseer in Pyrowork Academy took the responsibility to govern these killer
apprentices, who were on the edge of elimination.
He said, "Don't worry. Some killer mentors still didn't come to choose their
apprentices yet. They'll take you away in the next few days."
He first comforted them and then added, "Anyway, you have nothing to do
now. Just stay here and work, like carrying the dead bodies…"
Gu Shenwei found he had wasted too much time and energy, because now he
started to do the same thing that he did, when he arrived at the Golden Roc
Fort. The fate played a cruel trick on him.
Chapter 68 - Feed the Roc
Chapter 68: Feed the Roc
For Gu Shenwei, staying in Pyrowork Academy for half of the first month
was a nightmarish experience. Gu Shenwei doubted whether he had made the
right choice. Ever since most of the over 30 remaining apprentices were taken
away by their killer mentors, a few of them gave up on their dream of being
killers and volunteered to be servants in West Castle.
The only solace for him was that he had an opportunity to return to Giant
Rock Cliff, where Nameless Swordbook was hidden.
There were numerous killer apprentices in East Castle. As it was impossible

to let them have contests on the same day, Pyrowork Academy held several
martial arts contests almost every day.
The martial arts contest was held in an unusual form. All the apprentices had
to wear masks. The overseer would randomly choose a room which simulated
various environments, such as an alley, the wilderness, a bedroom, and a
tavern. Two apprentices would enter the room from different doors. Without
any rules, they would immediately start to fight until one of them fell.
There were rules for apprentices' advancement: If one defeated his opponents
in 12 consecutive months, he would become a probationary killer. If one
killed his opponents with a strike in 6 successive tests, he would be qualified
to be a real killer.
This was an endless and cruel killing game. Few apprentices could become a
real killer. It was not because the teenagers were soft-hearted. If they were
allowed to attack once more, they would kill their opponents without any
hesitation, regardless of whether their opponents were their friends or not.
However, it was difficult for them to kill their opponents with a single strike.
Those apprentices, who held the desire to kill while entering the room, often
found that they were always a step away from instantly killing their
opponents when they struck a blow with all their strength.
Those who were slightly injured could continue the game while the seriously
injured would be carried to Firewood Yard in West Castle. To Gu Shenwei's
shock, lots of apprentices believed that the injured would receive medical
treatment in Firewood Yard. He really wanted to tell them the truth.
"Firewood Yard wasn't a clinic, but a place for the dead."
No one would listen to him. He still had no friends, just like the time when he
was in West Castle.
The apprentices who were killed with a single strike not only became a
stepping stone for other killer apprentices, but they also received a sort of
strange honor of being thrown off Reincarnation Cliff.
This was the task Gu Shenwei was assigned to do in Pyrowork Academy.
Usually, the overseers with the yellow-belt were responsible for this work.
Now that they had the remaining apprentices, they willingly assigned them to
do it.
The first person Gu Shenwei carried out was a 12-year-old child. The boy
might be become a scary killer after several years, but now he was just a
corpse. His only wound was a gash from his forehead to his shoulder, with
his mask split in half. His skull could be seen.
The corpse was carried by Gu Shenwei and his partner. When they were
close to Reincarnation Cliff, Gu Shenwei spoke to his partner behind him. "I
can do it alone. It's inconvenient for us to walk on these steps together. You
can just take the stretcher back."
The fearful teenager nodded. He carried the stretcher under his arm and
immediately ran away without expressing his gratitude.
Gu Shenwei carried the corpse on his shoulder, but he did not follow the path
to Reincarnation Cliff. He walked to the nearby Giant Rock Cliff.
The place was once the twin's territory, but now it was discarded by them. It
maintained the previous look as the day the two giant rocs were killed. The
filthy, broken net was spread out here and there, mixed with the books and
wooden sabers.
Gu Shenwei put down the corpse and found Nameless Swordbook which he
had looked forward to reading.
He had already become familiar with the word and drawings in the
swordbook, but he still greedily browsed through it one more time. Then he
pulled it close to his chest and intended to carefully study it when he was
alone in Pyrowork Academy. He thought he had already known something
from it.
He held the corpse and wanted to throw it off Giant Rock Cliff. At this
moment, he heard a faint tweet from the cliff.
"It might be the skinny nestling who's fond of eating and pecking."
It had been almost one month. Gu Shenwei had never thought about what
happened to the helpless nestling without its parents. He immediately felt
ashamed because he was the one who had caused the death of giant rocs and
he had let the nestling survive alone under the cliff. The nestling could not
understand what had happened.
Gu Shenwei immediately realized that he must have heard wrongly. The

voice could not be that of the nestling. Supreme King once said that the giant
roc would not sing because they would die of it. The sound might be a
figment of his imagination.
However, Gu Shenwei could not get rid of the sense of guilt. He held the
corpse to the place where he had fallen off. After confirming the position, he
threw the corpse down and let it fell as close as possible to the precipice.
The moment he let go of the corpse, he recalled some of the words in Death
Scripture, whereupon he recited it in a low voice.
The living suffer in grief, and the dead settle in peace."
Was the nestling alive? He did not know.
Would the corpse accurately fall into the nest? He did not know.
Could the giant roc eat the dead? He did not know.
He harbored the sense of guilt and hoped that, by doing so, he would make up
the damage that he had caused.
From that day on, whenever he had an opportunity, he would throw killer
apprentices off Giant Rock Cliff. Sometimes he would do that in successive
days; sometimes he had to feed the nestling once every seven or eight days.
He could not find any signs showing that the nestling was alive, but he
insisted on feeding the nestling. The little one became the only thing he felt
responsible for in this world.
As the number of failed apprentices became fewer and fewer, Gu Shenwei

could finally live alone. The first thing he did was to practice Yin and Yang
Strength according to the sped-up technique. As a result, he almost killed
himself.
The Peripheral Force that Mama Xue had implanted in Slave Huan's Xuanji
acupoint was extremely powerful. It prevented him from improving his
Internal Strength and from practicing the sped-up technique of Yin and Yang
Strength.
Gu Shenwei felt Internal Breath was in disorder after practicing the half of
the manual. He fainted after a while. At dawn, he woke up. Fortunately, he
had fainted in time. Otherwise, he would not have to wait the three years
before he would die from qigong deviation.
Since the sped-up technique did not work, he started to concentrate on

studying Nameless Swordbook.
He knew some knowhow about how to read this book. In the book, most of
the text about "death" was not concerned about how to kill others, but how to
kill oneself.
"Devoting oneself to Tao, one would harm oneself and become weaker and
weaker; after one dies, one would find the truth."
Gu Shenwei stared at the words from Tao Te Ching and thought about it for
long. He finally understood what they roughly meant: Only by making
oneself die could one make others die.
However, he found it hard to practice. It was extremely difficult to have the

desire to "kill others", let alone to "kill oneself".
In order to get revenge, Gu Shenwei did not care about his life, but it was
hard to be resolute in his desire to kill himself.
Gu Shenwei thought the words might be some sort of metaphor, as it was

impossible for him to kill others after he was dead.
He began to secretly practice the 29 movements in the swordbook, but he

became more confused after several times of practice.
Each movement of them was used to stab at the enemy's neck, but they were
from different angles. There was a movement where one needed to stab from
above. Because of his poor lightness skill, Gu Shenwei could not finish it
after trying several times.
The verses written below the sword movements were obscure. Even with the
notes beside them, Gu Shenwei could only understand a small part of it.
The clearest sentence was that the faster one made a move, the better it would
be. However, the book did not mention how to improve the speed.
It mentioned that one needed to stab accurately. Gu Shenwei just understood

parts of it, because the object one spotted was not the enemy's neck, but his
"Qi". He did know what "Qi" meant, and he was not sure whether it was
related to Internal Breath or if it was practiced by practitioners in the martial
arts circles.
What Gu Shenwei could not accept the most was that all the 29 movements
were used to attack with full strength, which was worthy of a swordbook
being about how to commit suicide.
As a child, Gu Shenwei had not studied hard, but his father was a kung fu
master who knew several martial arts from different schools. Therefore, Gu
Shenwei knew that all the kung fu are comprised of both offense and defense.
There were several offensive movements in a set of kung fu, but they must be
balanced with defensive movements. He had never heard of a set of kung fu
like Nameless Swordbook which gave up on the defense.
After he learned all the 29 movements, Gu Shenwei lost his confidence. This
set of swordsmanship was full of loopholes. Once one failed with the first
move, his opponent would take the chance to fight back and that he would
not be able to block it.
If the last three or four pages of the Internal Strength manual were not
helpful, Gu Shenwei would have given up on studying the swordbook.
There were over 4,000 characters written on the last few pages. The font was
so small that he could only recognize them up close. Every time he suffered
from qigong deviation, or Iron Finger from Mama Xue, Gu Shenwei recited
those words to turn the power into his own Internal Strength.
He did not understand the meaning of those words at all. He did not know
how it worked because he only memorized them.
Gu Shenwei tried to recite those words at normal times but it did not work. It
seemed that it could only strengthen Internal Strength when it was under the
pressure of Peripheral Force.
Gu Shenwei had spent more than 10 days on studying the Nameless

Swordbook, but he gained nothing except that he memorized the words well.
He was delayed in his kung fu practice, so he had made up his mind to hide
the swordbook on Giant Rock Cliff again.
The second day after Gu Shenwei hid Nameless Swordbook, a person that
would have a great impact on him came to Pyrowork Academy.
The man was named Tie Hanfeng, but he was neither cold nor sharp.
Tie Hanfeng walked with a limp and his face appeared as if it was glowing
red. He bowed to every overseer with the yellow-belt in Alchemy Academy.
This made his gait stranger, as if he was a scalawag begging for money.
Therefore, when an overseer said he was a killer, the five remaining

apprentices could not believe it.
Tie Hanfeng was not only a killer, but also a Master Shifu who was qualified
to accept the apprentice. This year, it was his first time that he accepted an
apprentice. No one knew why he came over half a month later after missing
the day for formally selecting apprentices.
Those overseers ignored him and lied to him, telling him that there was no
apprentice left. Tie Hanfeng went into the room where they carried corpses
while saying, "Aren't there some left? I'm not greedy. Only one is enough."
The teenagers pretended to be busy. They would like to be a servant in West

Castle rather than follow a killer mentor like a scalawag. It was not as
important if they could not learn anything. They were afraid that they would
be killed in the first monthly test if the Master Shifu taught them
irresponsibly.
The overseer shook his head and said perfunctorily, "Well, whoever wants to
follow you, you can take him away."
Among the five of them, only Gu Shenwei wanted to be Tie Hanfeng's

apprentice. He was willing to take the risk of following a wrong Master Shifu
because, at one moment, he felt a scary killing intent emanating from the
crippled man.
Chapter 69 - Master Shifu
Chapter 69: Master Shifu
Tie Hanfeng's face had become redder and redder when he was less than 20
years old. Originally, it made him look easygoing. However, as his face
developed an increasingly darker shade of red and when the wrinkles on his
face became clearly visible, the middle-aged Tie Hanfeng's normal face had a
seemingly irritated look, as if he would suddenly draw his saber and fight to
the death at any time. From then on, he intentionally wore a pleasing smile to
cover his real look.
How could a man become a killer if he made others raise their guard on the
first sight? This was the reason why Tie Hanfeng had "changed his look".
The smile was already fixed on his face after 20 years, as if it was a mask that
merged with his skin.
Everyone was already accustomed to his look. If one observed closely, one
would find that the killing intent behind the "smiling mask" became denser
and denser. A cunning gleam in his eyes leaked out his killing desire with an
uncontrollable sign.
Gu Shenwei observed carefully. He could not see the uncontrollable sign, but
just a crippled old man with his eager killing desire which was similar to
Marshal Yang who died in front of the Golden Roc Fort gate. Gu Shenwei
thought he would not disrespect or easily offend this man if he were an
supervisor with the yellow-belt.
"I'd like to be his apprentice."
When Gu Shenwei spoke, Tie Hanfeng laughed in a more flattering manner.

After glancing at his apprentice, he approached the yellow-belted supervisor.
"Look, someone chose me. I think he's good."
The supervisor frowned. He did not mind giving Cripple Tie an apprentice,
but he did not want to release his right-hand man who dared to carry corpses
alone. He thought it would be a waste if this apprentice followed an
unqualified Master Shifu.
Tie Hanfeng faced the supervisor with a wide smile, trying to appeal the
supervisor in this way. Gu Shenwei saw through the supervisor's intention.
Since he had his own purpose, he said, "I'll come back to carry corpses after
following him."
"Right, right. My apprentice looks like a good helper for carrying corpses."
Tie Hanfeng patted on the back of Slave Huan's head. The strength he used
almost knocked Slave Huan down.
"You don't have to come every day, just every three days. You don't have to
come once we have enough helpers." The supervisor finally agreed to let
Slave Huan go.
After he officially introduced them to each other, the supervisor called a

scribe to keep a record of everything. Then the ceremony of accepting the
apprentice was over. Golden Roc Fort stuck to practical rules, so there were
no complicated rituals for those matters.
Tie Hanfeng took his new disciple back to his residence. It was a shabby
small yard that was located in the south of East Castle, not far from
Woodensaber Alley where Mama Xue died.
There were lots of small and dilapidated houses in this area, where the
various Master Shifu of Pyrowork Academy would teach their apprentices.
Each yard had six or seven rooms, with different sizes of courtyards; the
bigger courtyards were about a dozen steps wide while the small ones were
only several steps wide. The yard wall was so tall that, when he looked up,
Gu Shenwei felt as if he was living in a deep well .
The yard was in a mess, as if a group of people had fought here and thrown
up all over the place while they were drunk.
A small table and a deck chair were placed near the door of the room. There
were leftover dishes and dumped liquor which had been set on the table. A
broken weapon rack stood by the yard wall, without any weapon in it. Six or
seven sabers without sheaths all laid on the ground.
It was not like a residence for killers. Gu Shenwei could not help but doubt
whether he made a wrong judgment. "Tie Hanfeng isn't a real killer. The
overseers' attitude shows that they don't believe the crippled man was
qualified to teach an apprentice."
He soon got an answer.
As soon as he walked into the yard, Tie Hanfeng rushed to the deck chair and
fell onto it as if he a traveler who had finally returned home and just wanted
to sleep after travelling for a long time.
Tie Hanfeng did not sleep. He grabbed a wine pot to pour it, but found that it
was empty. With a bang, he put it down, smacked his lips, and then
swallowed his saliva to satisfy his craving for liquor. Suddenly, he looked at
his apprentice with a cold face as if it was his first time seeing him. "Little
bastard, you want to be a killer?"
When Tie Hanfeng had a foul temper, he did not look like a bloody killer at
all.
"Yes, Master Shifu."
"Your throat has been bunged up with sheet? Holding back like this? Talk to
me in a full sentence."
Tie Hanfeng liked speaking with foul words. When he was faced with people
who did not deserve his flattering, his mouth would be filled with profanities,
as if he could not express himself without them.
"Yes, I want to be a killer, Master Shifu."
"Hmm, come to kill me. There is a saber over there."

Gu Shenwei had seen indifferent people, flagitious people, and viperous
people. However, he had never previously seen someone like the red-faced
man who could change his facial expression in an instant.
Tie Hanfeng grabbed a wine cup and threw it at his apprentice after seeing
that his apprentice did not know how to react. He was not like Luo Ningcha.
The wine cup precisely hit Gu Shenwei's forehead, immediately causing
blood to flow out.
"I want you to kill me, understand? Were your ears on your butt or were they
eaten by a dog?"
Gu Shenwei was so furious that he could not think of a word to respond. He

silently walked to the wall, picked up a saber which looked the sharpest, and
turned toward his Master Shifu. When he was five steps away from him, Gu
Shenwei suddenly struck a blow with his full strength.
in a scary speed Tie Hanfeng laid on the chair comfortably. He suddenly

drew a similar saber from under the deck chair at a scary speed, and waited
until Gu Shenwei's saber almost reached his head.
The shining blade light suddenly reached out and disappeared in the blink of
an eye. The red face behind the light looked like that of Death who came to
hunt spirits in the mortal world.
Gu Shenwei fell down like a bunch of rags, motionless. After a while, the
scarlet blood flowed out from his lower body.
"Idiot."
Tie Hanfeng spat out a word and then placed his saber across his knees. He
took the empty wine pot again and angrily threw it away. The wine pot
rebounded to the ground after hitting the stone wall. Another piece of trash
was added to the yard.
It was unknown how much time had passed. Gu Shenwei woke up in the
dark, and felt a lot of pain in his chest with a numbness in his mind. "He
wanted to kill me." This was the first thought that popped up in his mind.
Then he was curious about why he did not die.
He let out a groan and then suddenly stood up, as if he was a dummy with
mechanical buttons.
The clothes on his chest was dyed red. The rough, ugly wound went across
from his left shoulder to his right rib, and was more than one foot long.
Tie Hanfeng was still lying on the chair with a cup of mellow liquor in his
hand.
"Are you dead?"
"No."
Gu Shenwei ground out.
"Bandage your wound. You have too much f**king blood."
Courtesy was useless in this yard. Gu Shenwei did not answer him. He went
straight into the room to find the styptic powder and bandages. He even did
not try to cover his wound tightly and let his blood drip. He did not feel much
pain, because he was focused on concocting a plan to kill his Master Shifu.
The room inside was tidier than the outside, as it had been uninhabited for a
long time. The quilt was folded up neatly but it was covered with dust. Tie
Hanfeng slept on the deck chair day and night.
The medicine kit and bandages were placed in a conspicuous place, which
indicated that their owner lived on the edge of a knife indeed.
At that time, he was not skilled at dealing with the wound, so he spent a lot of
time cleaning, applying medicine, and bandaging the wound. His first
permanent scar was left because of it.
Soon, he would become accustomed to various wounds and could bandage

them at full speed.
Gu Shenwei walked out of the room. Looking at the nape of Tie Hanfeng's
neck, he wanted to sneakily attack him from his back.
"It's not a good time for assassination,"
Tie Hanfeng said, without turning his head. He lifted the wine cup and drank
all of it. His voice was gentle and confused, as if he was a sage who was lost
in thought.
Gu Shenwei got to know another side of his Master Shifu's personalities. The
more the others drank, the worse their temper became. In contrast, his Master
Shifu was foul-mouthed when he was sober, as if everyone was his deadly
enemy. After several drinks, he would become reasonable and talk in a gentle
voice, like an innocent child.
Gu Shenwei finally knew why the supervisors of Pyrowork Academy had not
thought that Tie Hanfeng could teach apprentices well. Tie Hanfeng was a
heavy drinker. Every drop of liquor would extinguish a little bit of his killing
intent. And lastly, he was a drunken slob with a powerless body. He was not
capable of protecting himself, let alone killing people.
It was difficult for a Master Shifu like that to teach his disciple about how to
be a good killer.
"Old Hu said you're a good candidate. It's a pity no one appreciates you."
It was the second time that someone said Slave Huan was good candidate
over the half a month. Gu Shenwei realized that Hu Shining, the training tutor
in Carvewood Academy, turned to be the person that saved Maid Lotus's and
his lives. But he had treated Hu Shining coldly.
"I didn't clearly see how you made your move."
Gu Shenwei said in a grave voice. He thought he had the ability to compete

with a killer after reaching the third level of Yin and Yang Strength. But the
result was that he still could not withstand a strike.
"You'll know how to kill people if you keep attacking. Come, do it again."
This was the way of Tie Hanfeng would teach his apprentice, without any
oral guidance or display of skills. In his opinion, it was enough for his
apprentice to master two or three sets of sabermanship; the only remaining
thing for him was to enrich his experience and enlighten himself.
His first requirement for Slave Huan was simple. "Force me out of the chair
in 10 days. If you can do it, I'm your Master Shifu. If you fail, I'll kill you."
Tie Hanfeng was half drunk while speaking, so his tone was not hard enough.
However, Gu Shenwei believed his threat was real. He immediately picked
up the saber and tried to "kill" his Master Shifu with his full strength, no
matter how painful his chest was.
The reason why Tie Hanfeng set the 10-day deadline was that Slave Huan
would took part in the first monthly test in 10 days.
"I don't want you to lose or win. I want you to kill your opponent. It doesn't
matter how many moves you made. Just kill your opponent with one strike.
What is this pitiful killing intent of yours? Don't hide it. Show all of it. Use
all your strength like your mother when she was giving birth to you."
Tie Hanfeng taught his disciple like that when he was sober. Gu Shenwei
knew his Master Shifu was trying to stimulate his will to fight, but he still
simmered with anger. All the people he had met was courteous before he was
14 years old. Since the Gu family was slaughtered, he had never seen a
person like this foul-mouthed cripple.
Gu Shenwei imagined his Master Shifu as Han Shiqi, Shangguan Yushi, and
Shangguan Nu, and madly evoked the killing intent hidden deep inside his
heart. On the ninth day after following his Master Shifu, he successfully
forced Tie Hanfeng to jump out of the chair, and split in half the deck chair
which his Master Shifu had cherished.
Chapter 70 - The First Monthly
Test
Chapter 70: The First Monthly Test
Today, Gu Shenwei was going to take his first monthly test in the Pyrowork
Academy. It had rained a little early in the morning, but now it stopped and
the sky cleared up. It was cool and breezy.
Not wanting to affect his apprentice's mood, Tie Hanfeng decided to stay
sober this morning, so he did not drink any liquor at breakfast. As they
walked out of their small yard, he took a deep breath of the fresh air and said
to his apprentice, "It's such a nice day for killing. The smell of blood will
soon fade and drift away in the wind. Come on, my apprentice, go ahead and
kill them all. Slaughtering them like pigs."
He limped ahead, leading the way for his apprentice. Today, Gu Shenwei was
dressed in black from head to toe and covered his face with a black cloth.
This was the standard outfit for all the killer apprentices who went to take the
monthly tests. Golden Roc Fort made this rule to protect the apprentices'
identities. According to the fort's tradition, a real professional killer should
remain anonymous throughout his life.
It was not easy for the killers to adhere strictly to that tradition. When they
were young, they could still manage to keep things low-key, but once they
entered middle age and became semi-retired, they would start to find
enjoyment in bragging about their achievements. Tie Hanfeng was such a
semi-retired killer. In the past ten days, he had told Gu Shenwei many
incredible stories. According to him, the people he had killed lined up could
span the whole gobi desert.
Boastful as he was, he would never reveal who he had killed, as this was one
of the key principles of Golden Roc Fort. Even though now it was widely
known as a gang of ruthless killers, its current leader, the seventh Supreme
King, still pretended that killer gang business was a secret of the fort, as all
his predecessors had done.
After entering the Pyrowork Academy, Tie Hanfeng greeted every yellow-
belt and killer mentor with a big grin on his red face, as if he had come to
attend a wedding party.
Just like him, most of the killer mentors here had just passed their prime time.
They were over forty or even fifty, and by courtesy of their masters' kindness,
they could now make a living by teaching instead of killing.
Besides Tie Hanfeng, there were seven or eight killer mentors. They all
appeared to be on high alert and behaved in a highly professional manner.
They dispersed in the yard and remained silent almost all the time. Every one
of them had piercing eyes and habitually placed one hand on the handle of his
saber. No one allowed even his own apprentices to stand within three steps
from him.
Tie Hanfeng was the only exception. He left his apprentice behind and
chatted excitedly with all his friends here and there. Surprisingly, unlike the
yellow-belts who reacted coolly toward him, all the serious-looking killer
mentors seemed to get along with him and even permitted him to stand close
to them.
As Tie Hanfeng had only one apprentice, everyone immediately recognized

Slave Huan, even though he wore the all-black outfit.
A yellow-belt came to him and said, "Alas, Slave Huan, what a pity! You're
such a useful slave boy. I hope you can carry yourself to Reincarnation Cliff."
With these words, the man guffawed loudly.
Since Gu Shenwei had to come here to help with carrying corpses every three
days, he was very familiar with this yellow-belt. He laughed together with
him and then said, "No matter who gets killed today, I'll carry him to
Reincarnation Cliff."
He knew his words were a little bit muffled by his black cloth mask, but he
was still surprised by the yellow-belt's reaction. That man kept shaking his
head, as if he hadn't heard what Slave Huan had just said. After a moment, he
walked away while murmuring to himself repeatedly, "It's such a pity."
Apparently, he firmly believed that Slave Huan would die today, which
struck him as odd. The monthly tests were brutal, but most of the time, the
losers would just get injured and only very few killer apprentices would be
killed on the spot. Gu Shenwei began to wonder why the yellow-belt was so
certain about it.
Tie Hanfeng limped back to him, still looking happy. He waved to a thin
killer mentor, who stood far away from them, and then turned around to
whisper beside his apprentice's ear, "Did you offend someone in the fort?"
"No." Gu Shenwei lied to his mentor without any hesitation. He had offended
quite a lot of people in the fort and some of them did want to kill him.
"Your opponent today is determined to kill you."
"So am I."
This time, Gu Shenwei was telling the truth. He even started to doubt that his
mentor was just trying to arouse his fighting spirit by saying that. He thought
it was such an unnecessary move. He had got the trick of killing. The scars on
his body could prove it.
"Huh, you little bastard. What a bold apprentice you are! You dare to cheat
your mentor. Look, that son of a b*tch over there is your opponent today. His
master said that he wanted to fight you since he had some personal grudge
against you. He also said that this fight was between you guys and no one
would interfere."
Gu Shenwei looked at the boy his mentor was talking about. He was of
medium height and sturdily built, standing more than three steps away from
the thin killer mentor. Even though the boy was in a black outfit now, Gu
Shenwei was still sure that he had never offended any killer apprentice like
him. He had stayed in the Carvewood Academy for only five or six days. He
had not even gotten many chances to meet anyone at all there.
"No matter what, I'll kill him anyway."
Gu Shenwei grabbed his saber handle tightly to focus himself, without

feeling guilty or nervous about his decision to kill a stranger.
"F*ck the personal grudges. I haven't heard this phrase for years. Well, go to
kill him. Remember, no matter how many moves you exchange with him,
you need to kill him with only one strike," Tie Hanfeng sneered and said.
A yellow-belt waved his hand to Gu Shenwei, summoning him to the test.
Gu Shenwei opened the door assigned to him and walked into the test room.
It was shaped like a narrow lane, which could only allow two people to walk
side by side and was dimly-lit by a tiny oil lamp hanging from the ceiling.
The stocky boy was already inside the room, standing about 10 steps away
from him.
The yellow-belts closed the doors, leaving the two apprentices inside.
Both of them were full of fighting spirit now. As they had no place to hide
inside this "lane", they started to walk toward each other step by step. For a
moment, Gu Shenwei felt an urge to ask the boy what kind of grudge he had
against him, but he quickly threw this thought away. He guessed that the boy
might just have made up this story to arouse his own killing intent. No matter
what, he had already decided to kill this boy.
When they were only five steps away from each other, Gu Shenwei was
about to attack, but his opponent moved faster than him. He leaped forward,
pointing his saber at Gu Shenwei's chest. Gu Shenwei instantly detected the
deception in this movement. His opponent was just trying to get behind him.
Evidently, this boy stuck to Golden Roc Fort's fighting style. No matter how
narrow the space was, he still tried to kill his opponent from the back.
While the boy was jumping about, Gu Shenwei just kept low and steadily
rotated his body to avoid exposing his back to his opponent. For quite a long
time, the stocky boy had failed to spot any chance to launch an attack, and
they had not really exchanged any moves.
Soon, Gu Shenwei found that there was definitely something off about the
stocky boy, who was preparing to jump up for the tenth time. The boy's
shoulders had already started to sink, but his feet still on the ground, which
perhaps was induced by tiredness.
Given that, Gu Shenwei easily predicted the boy's movement and struck at
him.
In the next minute, the boy threw his saber away and used both of his hands
to cover the wound in his chest. Blood kept spouting out from between his
fingers, but he still struggled, trying to remain upright. After a moment, he
could not control his body anymore. He involuntarily staggered backward
and then fell onto the ground. Gu Shenwei clearly saw the boy's legs twitch a
few times before he died.
Gu Shenwei had thought he had already got used to killing, but now when he
ended someone's life in a fighting contest for the first time, he could not help
but feel like he wanted to vomit. He had not felt this way for a long time,
since he had thrown Mama Xue's dead body off the cliff.
To avoid the boy's blood, which was flowing on the ground toward him, he
kept stepping backward until he suddenly felt a wall against his back. The
impact woke him up from the shock instantly. He swiftly turned around and
knocked three times on the door, telling the yellow-belt outside that the fight
was over.
He put on a straight face to mask his unpleasant sensation and then walked
out of the room. The yellow-belt outside was greatly surprised. Even those
cool killer mentors also could not help casting their eyes on him.
During this monthly test, he was the only one who had killed his opponent
with just one strike. There were a few unlucky killer apprentices who were
seriously injured and sent to the Firewood Yard in the West Castle.
Gu Shenwei kept his promise. He himself carried the boy's dead body to the
Giant Rock Cliff, chanted the "Death Scripture" three times and then threw
the corpse off, hoping that the nestling could get this food.
The thin killer mentor did not care about his apprentice's death at all. As a
seasoned killer, he had already become accustomed to such things. He had
not even come to see his apprentice for the last time.
But Tie Hanfeng had come to see the dead boy. He had checked his wound
carefully, without saying anything. When Gu Shenwei returned to the yard
after throwing the boy's dead body away, his mentor got revealed his anger at
him.
"You son of a b*tch. You've killed someone in the test. Are you proud of
yourself now? What? Did someone tell you that you're not a real killer?"
"Yes," Gu Shenwei answered. He still remembered that Hu Shining, the

training tutor of the Carvewood Academy, had told him that his kung fu had a
"fatal flaw".
"Huh, you're really proud that you killed someone with only one strike in
your first monthly test, aren't you?"
"No."
Gu Shenwei was confused now. He thought he had done very well in the test.
"Are you f*cking stupid? You cut into his chest. What the f*ck were you
thinking? Haven't you learned anything from those idiots in the Carvewood
Academy?"
"I've not been trained in the Carvewood Academy."
Gu Shenwei blurted, while holding his saber handle tightly.
Tie Hanfeng was stunned. He realized that he could not reproach Slave Huan
for not knowing the basics, since he was the only killer apprentice who had
not been trained in the Carvewood Academy in all these years. Tie Hanfeng
had listened to Hu Shining's recommendation and had decided to take this
boy as his apprentice even before he had met him in the Pyrowork Academy.
Now he found he could only blame himself for underestimating the
importance of basic killer training, but this could not stop him from spilling
his rage at his apprentice.
"F*ck you and all your ancestors and relatives! Did you come to frame me?
You don't even know the basics. How can you become a killer? I'll kill you
now, you jerk. I'll chop you up and feed you to a dog, and then chop up the
dog and feed it to a pig, and then chop up the pig and feed it to the rats. I'll
kill all the rats and throw some of them in the mountains and the others into a
river. After that, you may be reincarnated, but you'll always be missing some
body parts."
Tie Hanfeng cursed while dashing toward Gu Shenwei with a saber in hand.
He slagged his apprentice off for striking at the stocky boy's chest, but now
he was also planning to attack Slave Huan from the front. He thought he was
much stronger and experienced than the slave boy and did not need to use
any advanced techniques to kill him.
Gu Shenwei was always on guard against his mentor. Seeing the malevolent
look on Tie Hanfeng's face, he understood that his mentor did mean it when
he said that he would kill him.
Tie Hanfeng kept rushing forward without raising his saber. He did not need
to do so. He moved much faster than most people. He believed that the slave
boy could never determine his moves, not to mention counter them.
Gu Shenwei did not raise his saber either. He was clear that he could not
compete with his mentor in speed. If he raised his saber now, he would just
give his mentor a chance to predict his movement and spot his weakness.
He took a step back and felt nauseous again. What Tie Hanfeng said sickened
him. Although he was well aware that he talked like this all the time, he still
could not endure such verbal abuse. Being brought up in a traditional Chinese
family, he could hardly get used to this kind of filthy speech.
All the knife fighting skills and routines he had learned flashed across his
mind, from the Gu family style to the the Iron Mountain style and Golden
Roc Fort style. Nevertheless, Gu Shenwei was not satisfied with any of these
moves. Suddenly, he thought of a move and raised his saber to stab Tie
Hanfeng's neck.
Chapter 71 - Go Down the Hill
Chapter 71: Go Down the Hill
Tie Hanfeng was lying on a new wicker deck chair. Every now and then he
would stretch out his hand to touch the injury on his neck. This wound was so
small that it did not even need any medical treatment. However, he still felt
somewhat frightened every time he thought of Slave Huan's strange move.
Gu Shenwei was standing a few steps away from his mentor, holding his
bandage-swathed right wrist with his left palm. The cut in his wrist was quite
deep. If Tie Hanfeng had not let him off at the last minute, he would've ended
up like the Eighth Young Master and would've needed to learn saber skills
with his left hand from the beginning.
"What's this sheet you used just now?" Tie Hanfeng took a swig of his liquor
and asked. He was a little drunk, but not drunk enough to say something nice.
"I've learned a few sword skills, and this move just came to me all of a
sudden in the moment."
"What? Sword skills? Aha!" Tie Hanfeng said mockingly, as if he had heard
a joke or an obvious lie. "There're only two kinds of people using swords: the
idiots and the gods. Are you a god?"
"No, I'm not."
"So you're not qualified to use a sword. If I find you using a sword skill
again, I'll insert a sword into you as*hole and let it stick out of your mouth.
Even gods don't know this skill."
"Yes, sir."
Gu Shenwei decided not to use the technique in the Nameless Swordbook
anymore, not because of what Tie Hanfeng said, but because of its lack of
defense. Just as he had suspected, this sword skill was a nice move for a
surprise attack, but if he failed to kill his opponent with one stab, he would
expose all his weak points to his opponent. It was just too risky to use this
kind of move in a fight.
Compared to the influence of sword skills, Tie Hanfeng was more worried
about Slave Huan's mode of attack.
During the past 10 days, when he had been practicing Golden Roc Fort saber
skills with his apprentice, he had not spotted this bad habit of his at all. This
was because during that period of time, Gu Shenwei had also been trying his
best to practice attacking from the back. However, practice was different
from a real fight. At that moment of life and death, when Gu Shenwei had
spotted his opponent's weak point, he just had struck at it instinctively.
He had never received the 10-month-long basic killer training of the

Carvewood Academy, so he lacked many essential qualities of a professional
killer.
Tie Hanfeng was determined to help his apprentice make up the lessons he
had missed. He started with step training and urged Slave Huan to get behind
his opponent all the time. Several days later, he finally lost his patience and
got furious once again. "What the f*ck is wrong with you? Did your mum
squeeze your legs too hard when she gave birth to you? You're even slower
than me, an old cripple. Run light on your feet! Light on your feet! Don't
stick to the ground like a piece of sheet."
Gu Shenwei had never been so savagely reviled by any of his kung fu

teachers. His father had always called him his brightest son, and Mama Xue
had also praised him as a fast learner. He had even greatly surprised the
training tutor of the Carvewood Academy. However, Tie Hanfeng usually
described him as absolute rubbish.
For the first few days, Gu Shen had thought this might be the Golden Roc
Fort's teaching tradition, but one day when he went to help carry corpses in
the Pyrowork Academy, a yellow-belt told him that no killer mentor would
insult and abuse his apprentices like Tie Hanfeng.
"You're his first apprentice," the yellow-belt said sympathetically. "In fact, he
doesn't really want to train a killer. He became a killer mentor just for the
title. You know, this title is very useful."
The yellow-belt did not explain the use of the title, and Gu Shenwei did not
ask either. He was too depressed to pry into this matter at the moment.
During his second monthly test, Gu Shenwei killed his opponent, a tall boy,
with only one strike again. The boy tried to exchange moves with him
directly, but got killed even faster than the stocky boy in the previous
monthly test.
Gu Shenwei won the fights easily, not because he had excellent lightness
skills or saber skills, but because at present, no killer apprentice could
compete with him in internal strength. He had already reached the third level
of Yin and Yang Strength, while the other apprentices were just beginners,
who had practiced internal strength for only one year.
Tie Hanfeng went to check the dead body and was disappointed again, since
the mortal wound was in the tall boy's chest.
Gu Shenwei explained that it was a waste of time to get behind the boy and
end him from the back, for the boy had obviously left his chest unprotected at
that time.
Tie Hanfeng looked gloomy, but he did not flare up this time. After thinking
for a while, he said, "F*ck it. As long as you can survive this year, I won't
care about your mode of attack anymore. Maybe you'll become an unusual
killer, one of a kind. Do what you're good at. You've a strong killing intent. I
like it, but you can make it even stronger in the future."
In order to arouse his apprentice's killing intent, Tie Hanfeng resorted to his
unique teaching technique again.
"Come on, brat. Imagine that I'm your father's murderer. I killed him and
chopped up him to feed a fat dog, and then I ate that dog. Come here brat,
and kill me to avenge your father, otherwise how can you call yourself a
man…"
Tie Hanfeng talked on and on, making up stories about how he had
barbarously murdered Slave Huan's mother, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts
and all his ancestors. He enjoyed bragging about everything, even imaginary
things.
Those extremely outrageous stories deeply stung Gu Shenwei.
All his family had been brutally murdered. This memory was almost
intolerable to him. Hearing Tie Hanfeng use abusive language to insult his
family, he felt that his blood began to boil with indignation.
He hated his mentor and wished to kill him. One day, when Tie Hanfeng was
heavily drunk, he eventually got a chance to hold a saber to his mentor's
throat. He imagined again and again that he would cut this vicious man's
throat, turning him into a fountain of blood, but in the end, he still gave up.
After all, Tie Hanfeng was not his family's murder.
During the third monthly test, Gu Shenwei, who had put up with his mentor's
emotional abuse for a whole month, gave full vent to his anger and hatred. He
cut his opponent in half as soon as they met. After that, he felt much better.
Among all the killer apprentices, only a few had killed every opponent in the
tests with only one strike three times in a row. Gu Shenwei was such an
apprentice and thus won many people's recognition. The yellow-belt started
to treat him as a real killer apprentice and told him that he did not have to
come to the Firewood Yard to carry corpses anymore.
"No, I want to come. I need to get used to the smell of dead bodies."
Gu Shenwei refused the yellow-belt's suggestion because he wanted to throw

food to feed the nestling. But beyond his expectations, the yellow-belt was
deeply impressed by what he said and spread his words to everyone. As a
result, more and more killer apprentices began to copy this behavior. Once an
apprentice killed his or her opponent in a monthly test with only one strike,
he or she would personally carry the dead body to the Reincarnation Cliff.
Everyone now took this thing as a mysterious ceremony and a symbol of
strength.
The Pyrowork Academy was happy with this new trend among the
apprentices, for it greatly reduced the yellow-belts' workload. However, it
made Gu Shenwei a little worried, since he could not find that much food for
the nestling anymore. He had thrown corpses to the birdie every three days in
the past, but now he could only find food to feed it every six or even nine
days.
Tie Hanfeng was not pleased with Slave Huan's performance. He felt pissed
off and also confused. He checked the wound on the dead body carefully, and
asked Slave Huan for details about the fight and went to many different
people to ask for information. Sometimes, he would stay out all night.
On the fifth day after the third monthly test, he asked Slave Huan again.
"Did you offend someone in the fort?"
"No."
Gu Shenwei replied with finality, but he felt a jolt in his heart. He wondered
if his mentor had already heard some rumors about him.
"Why did all your opponents want to kill you so badly?"
"I don't know. Doesn't everyone want to kill his opponent in a monthly test?"
Gu Shenwei said. He had killed all the three opponents easily and had not
found anything special about them.
"That's not what I'm talking about. All the three boys exchanged positions
with others to fight you in the tests."
"The one who arranged this thing was so stupid. Every apprentice he chose
was weak," Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
"I've been here for just one year. I don't know many people in the fort," he
further explained this matter to his mentor.
He had some suspects in mind, but he would never tell his mentor. Tie
Hanfeng seemed to believe his apprentice this time. He thought for a moment
and said to himself, "Well f*ck, was this directed against me?"
Tie Fengfeng became even more concerned about this matter and spent three
more days investigating it secretly. One day, at noon, he suddenly stood up
from his chair and said, "Apprentice, let's go down the hill."
Gu Shenwei was practicing saber skills at the moment. He was really

surprised to hear this suggestion, since Golden Roc Fort did not allow killer
apprentices to go down the hill freely.
Tie Fengfeng was not a punctilious fellow and did not care about those
unimportant rules at all. He ordered his apprentice to leave with him
immediately and then murmured to himself, "I've stayed here for over three
months. I feel so horny." When he turned around, he found that his apprentice
was watching him with a puzzled look on his face. "Why do you stare at me?
If you dare to look at me like that again, I'll f*ck your ass. That's how the
apprentices in the fort repay their mentors," Tie Hanfeng shouted.
Gu Shenwei finally understood what his mentor was talking about. He felt so
offended that he nearly threw his saber at him.
Tie Fengfeng did not mean it. He did not like men at all.
Knowing that besides drinking and swearing, Tie Hanfeng had another
hobby, prostitutes, Gu Shenwei disdained him even more.
Since they had left the fort, Tie Hanfeng had been bragging about his sex
experiences to his apprentice, a 15-year-old inexperienced boy.
Like all the other stories he had told, his sex stories were full of falsehoods
and exaggerations, such as sleeping with ten women at one night or waking
up in a bed inside a palace.
Their journey was quite smooth. Gu Shenwei was amazed to discover Tie
Hanfeng had lots of friends outside the fort.
Before they entered North City through the north gate of Jade City, their
sabers were taken away by the gate guards. When they walking together on a
wide and clean street, Tie Hanfeng said triumphantly, "This is the safest place
in the whole Western Region. Even a dog can live safely and comfortably
throughout its whole life at this place."
Gu Shenwei had been here twice. Once when his family had just moved to
the Western Region and once when he had escorted his sister to her wedding.
He had never carefully observed this place, but he had a good impression of
its exquisite buildings and elegant pedestrians.
Protected by the largest killer organization, North City, the northern half of
Jade City, thrived and flourished.
But this place was not Tie Hanfeng's destination. He led his apprentice across
North City and into South City, which was the most famous--or infamous--
part of Jade City.
The streets here were muddy and twisty. Many weird-looking pedestrians
were hustling and bustling around. The buildings along the streets were quite
shabby and looked as if they were about to fall apart at any minute.
Compared to the paradise-like North City, South City looked like hell.
However, Tie Hanfeng felt at home at this hell-like place. He squinted his
eyes and took a deep breath of the turbid air, enjoying himself for a moment.
After that, he said, "Let's go to kill a jerk. He plotted against me, trying to kill
my only apprentice."
Chapter 72 - Southwall
Chapter 72: Southwall
Jade City was divided naturally into two parts by a river. On the north bank
of the river stood a high city wall, which was built to prevent South City's
residents from sneaking into North City.
Since Tie Hanfeng had a killer waist token issued by Golden Roc Fort, he had
free access to North City. After he had managed to smuggle Slave Huan in
and out of North City, he warned him, "Follow me closely, otherwise, you'll
have to rot in South City. Without me, you can never return to the fort."
"North City is the safest place in the Western Region, and South City is…"
After a long time, Gu Shenwei finally thought of a proper word. "South City
is the most profligate place."
After crossing a pontoon bridge, which was the only access connecting North
City to South City, they saw a shabby building that was a brothel. A hooker
was drearily standing at the gate. In the light of the setting sun, Gu Shenwei
could clearly see the wrinkles around her eyes under her heavy makeup. He
guessed that she would look good only after night had fallen.
But Tie Hanfeng was so excited to see her. He cheerfully went over to her
and held her by the waist. When they were about to walk into the house, Tie
Hanfeng thought of his apprentice. "Do you want to try?" he asked coldly.
Gu Shenwei shook his head.
"Wait for me outside. Don't go far."
Gu Shenwei did not want to be mistaken for a pimp or a doorkeeper, so he

turned away and walked down the street. He walked past three brothels and
four taverns and then he finally found a place to stop.
It was getting dark. All the buildings along the street were brilliantly
illuminated and had their doors open for business. The muddy street reflected
the light and looked as if it were glowing. At this moment, this hell-like city
became a place of dazzling colors.
Gu Shenwei now understood why his father had declined to stay any longer
in Jade City. He had been avoiding this dissolute place for the benefit of his
three sons.
Gu Shenwei stood on a street corner, observing the pedestrians. He believed

that many of them came from North City because they were nicely dressed
and were followed by a group of servants. They were strutting in the streets
like they owned the place.
He also spotted quite a few killers from the Stone Castle. They looked
different from all the other pedestrians. They always kept a straight face and
often looked down as they walked. Once someone approached such a killer,
he would intuitively cast a murderous eye on that person.
All killers remained low-key as Golden Roc Fort required, but their cool
attitude and some occupational habits still made them easily recognizable.
Gu Shenwei thought of Tie Hanfeng, who did not look like a professional
killer at all and, thus, fit in naturally with the crowd here. He believed that no
one would discover that his mentor was a killer.
Gu Shenwei felt awkward standing here. He did not like that place at all. In
fact, he would rather stay inside the Stone Castle. Things here were so
strange and so inconsistent with his traditional Chinese upbringing.
Most people in the street avoided him, for everyone could tell at a glance that
this cool and vigilant boy was a killer.
But there was always an exception. A young man wearing a cloak walked
past him and suddenly turned around. He leaned over and whispered beside
Gu Shenwei's ear, "Do you need a knife? It's the sharpest in the world. It'll
never get blunt, even after killing hundreds of people."
Like all the other killers, Gu Shenwei did not like to be approached by
strangers. He held his head back and stretched out his right hand to grab his
saber shaft but failed. After a few seconds, he remembered that he had
already given his saber to the guards at the northern gate of Jade City.
"No."
Such a stiff refusal did not discourage that young man at all. He continued to
ask, "What about poisons? Antiaris and gelsemine, they leave no trace on
dead bodies."
"I don't have any money."
Gu Shenwei hoped to send him away by saying that, but the young man just
paused for a moment and said with a smile, "Hey, bro. You've never bought
anything in South City, have you? You must come from the Stone Castle. No
matter what you want, you can tell me. All you need to do is…"
Then the young man made a throat-cutting gesture. Gu Shenwei now realized
that what the man wanted was not his money, but his services.
When the young man was looking hopefully at Gu Shenwei, waiting for a
reply, another man suddenly rushed over and pushed him several steps away
and said with a threatening tone, "Piss off."
Seeing the young man hurriedly run away, Tie Hanfeng smiled. To Gu
Shenwei's great surprise, his mentor was sober and at the same time in a very
agreeable mood. He even patted his shoulder and spoke to him kindly. "Don't
give a damn about those guys. They can't even be sure if they themselves can
live through the night or not. If you want to make a lot of money, you just
need to listen to me. Even if you can't become a killer in the future, you'll live
much better than most of the people here."
"No, I want to be a killer."

Gu Shenwei replied with finality, but Tie Hanfeng did not take it seriously.
He tugged on his apprentice's arm and dragged him forward, saying, "Come
with me. I'll take you to a nice place. Let's see if you still want to become a
killer when you get there."
Gu Shenwei worried that his mentor had already abandoned the assassination
plan. He wanted to urge him to carry out the plan, but had continually not
gotten a chance to do so. Tie Hanfeng had told him that someone wanted to
kill him. He did not quite believe it, but he really wanted to see what a real
assassination looked like.
A section of the city wall situated in the southwest of Jade City had collapsed
years ago and had not been rebuilt in time. Since then, many businessmen
had begun to open up shops outside the broken wall. This area had developed
into a prosperous place now, and the nice place that Tie Hanfeng had
mentioned was located there. The back of it was up against a section of the
dilapidated city wall, and its name was Southwall.
"There's an old saying, 'You'll never turn back until you hit the southern wall',
which means that it often takes a very rude awakening for a person to change.
But do you know what the next line is? 'You'll never turn back after you enter
Southwall.' Hahaha."
Tie Hanfeng was cheerful like a child. He seemed to have already forgotten
about his assassination plan before he had even drunk anything. Gu Shenwei
now reckoned that he might just have used the plan as an excuse to go down
the hill to have some fun.
Different from the shops in the street, Southwall tavern's entrance was very
dimly lit. Most people, except for familiar customers, would easily miss its
entrance in the darkness.
There were two fat guys standing at the entrance: one was tall and the other
was short. They would search every person before they entered the tavern.
No one could bring a weapon inside of it. After taking away someone's
weapon, they would coldly say, "You can get it back when you leave."
Evidently, Tie Hanfeng must have visited here pretty often. He just opened
his arms, showing the guys that he did not have any weapons, and directly
walked into the tavern. The fat guys bowed to him with a smile and then
stopped Gu Shenwei and carefully searched him before pushing him inside.
Just like South City, Southwall did not give Gu Shenwei a good first
impression. He hated this place and was instantly on alert here. He never
expected that in the future he would consider this place his second home. He
had lost his entire family, so this place actually was going to become his only
home.
To his great surprise, he found out that Tie Hanfeng seemed to be a big shot
here.
He had seen how humbly this cripple behaved in Golden Roc Fort. With that
image stuck in his mind, he thought that the waiters and customers must have
mistaken him for somebody else because they all warmly greeted Tie
Hanfeng when he entered the tavern. Some of them even bought him drinks.
The tavern was quite spacious and well-lit inside. There were many tables of
different sizes. About a dozen waiters were swiftly moving around, serving
the customers. Unlike Gu Shenwei, all of them were running so light on their
feet, meeting Tie Hanfeng's requirements about stepping.
Southwall was famous for good drinks. It offered all kinds of famous wine
and liquor. In this place, a customer who came from the Central Plain could
drink famous liquor from his hometown, such as Fen liquor or Diao liquor.
He could also try some new drinks, such as wine or ale. A beginner here
would order lots of different drinks and try as many new drinks as he could.
A real lush would just order his favorite drink and keep drinking it until he
got drunk.
It took Gu Shenwei quite a long time to locate Tie Hanfeng, who was sitting
in a corner and waving to him.
Many different drinks had been placed on his table. He had a craving for
alcohol but he was not yet a lush. Like the beginners in Southwall, he
preferred to try various kinds of drinks.
He gave his apprentice a cup of wine and screeched, "Drink it!"
Gu Shenwei shook his head and refused to take the wine, but Tie Hanfeng
still thrust it into his hand while saying, "Every killer drinks. That's a skill
you have to master."
Gu Shenwei did not believe what Tie Hanfeng said, but he could not resist
any longer. The wine was red and looked like blood, which made him feel
nauseous. He had killed three people in the monthly tests, but still failed to
overcome this discomfort. In order to conceal such a restless mood, he
followed the example of his mentor and chugged the wine down.
He found that it tasted surprisingly good. It was sweet, tart and zesty,
dispelling his nausea and exhaustion.
He started to drink one cup after another just like his mentor. During this
period of time, many people came to their table to drink and talk with Tie
Hanfeng, who could manage to drink while talking. He even drank much
more than his silent apprentice.
After a while, Gu Shenwei began to realize that his mentor came here not for
fun, but for information.
"A fat guy from Shu-lik was killed in Haitang Lane," a gangly man told Tie
Hanfeng, and then he left their table but remained nearby. After that, a one-
eyed man came and whispered to Tie Hanfeng, "I want to hire someone to
send some goods to the Central Plain safely." After hearing what they said,
Tie Hanfeng summoned a poorly dressed middle-aged man and told him that
there was a good case that they could accept now. He asked the man to
charge a high price for it since it was not a regular case. The man bowed to
Tie Hanfeng and then went back into the crowd, searching for the one-eyed
man. Seeing that, Tie Hanfeng beckoned the gangly man back over and gave
him a small packet of silver.
While doing all of those things, Tie Hanfeng still continued to drink.
It was getting late, but the tavern somehow became even more crowded.
People just kept coming in, and it seemed that no one wanted to leave. Tie
Hanfeng's business was doing quite well. He spent quite a lot of money here,
but at the same time earned more. When no one came to him to talk about
business, he started to drink and chat with his friends.
He had quite a lot of friends here. Gu Shenwei could tell that none of them
were Golden Roc Fort killers.
The one that he remembered most clearly was an old friend of his mentor. He
secretly nicknamed him the horse-faced man, since this man had a really long
face and a peculiarly small mouth. Among all these people, he and Tie
Hanfeng had talked for the longest time. They had talked about their youth,
their dead friends, and the beautiful women that they had seen. They had
even talked about their enemies in the past while shedding tears.
After midnight, the customers started to leave. After hugging Tie Hanfeng,
the horse-faced man also staggered out of the tavern.
Tie Hanfeng had a really good time. He touched his belly with satisfaction
and then he turned to look at his apprentice and said, "Let's go kill that guy."
Chapter 73 - Murder in the Night
Chapter 73: Murder in the Night
Gu Shenwei had not sensed the slightest hint of murder in the conversation
between those two. This was why he did not expect Master Shifu to decide to
kill the horse-faced man, not to mention that Master Shifu had sent his
apprentice to execute it.
"Why?" Gu Shenwei asked bluntly. Tie Hanfeng sternly stared at him, while
Gu Shenwei realized that he had stupidly misspoken.
"I haven't brought my blade," Gu Shenwei said, realizing that he had made
another mistake.
Nobody liked a talkative killer, nor would people hire a killer who could not
kill without a blade. Gu Shenwei was ashamed for his stupid mistakes.
Therefore, he took a chopstick from the table, hid it in his sleeve, stepped
over a sleeping drunkard, and started to track down the horse-faced man.
Because there was no more business, the two fat servants in the doorway
were putting bundles of weapons into a large wooden case. More than half of
the customers left so unconsciously that they forgot to retrieve their stored
blades and swords, nor would they be coming back to get them later.
Although Gu Shenwei did want a blade, he gave up the idea very quickly
because he had decided to execute the task with just a chopstick.
Outside the place, a cool wind blew the smell of alcohol mixed with filth. As
Gu Shenwei had never drunk so much wine, he stumbled along and almost
fell over. Strangely, although his body was out of control, he did not feel very
drunk and was conscious enough.
Standing in the doorway, he was able to spot the horse-faced man's silhouette
right away.
The horse-faced man entered the city from a gap in the city wall and sneaked
deep into the chaotic downtown buildings through winding street lanes.
Gu Shenwei quickly followed him. He leaned against the wall to throw up the
wine after reaching a street corner. Then he felt much better because his
hands and feet came back under his full control.
Although Shangguan Ru's "Assassination" was merely a game, Gu Shenwei

had learned a lot from it. For example, when tracking he had to stay away
from lights and straight streets, and stay close to dark shadows or
intersections.
About 15 minutes later, they reached a place where the rooms shed dimmer
lights than other places. Gu Shenwei thought that it was time to kill.
The horse-faced man was too drunk to notice anyone following him as he
staggered forth in bright and dark mazelike lanes, yelling something from
time to time.
There was a turn up ahead and Gu Shenwei picked up his pace and sharpened
the chopstick by breaking it into a shorter one.
Gu Shenwei's heart was beating faster. An assassination in real life was so

different from the one in the firehouse's monthly tests because a volunteered
killer apprentice was prepared for killing from the start, and he took carrying
off souls for granted. But when it came to this horse-faced man, this killer
apprentice seemed to be struck by an inexplicable power and felt weak from
head to toe. That was because Gu Shenwei thought that the horse-faced man
was so real after seeing him drink, speak, and cry for his lost friend like a
child.
After he turned the street corner, complete darkness descended. It was the
ideal place for assassination, but unfortunately, he had lost the target.
The entire alley was silent, without any people or footsteps.

There was always something that could never be learned from schools.
Nobody had ever taught Gu Shenwei how to discover and utilize his intuition,
but in that instant, his intuition told him that the enemy was right beside him.
The horse-faced man silently thrust his weapon at Gu Shenwei. Apparently,

he did not forget his dagger stored in that doorway.
Gu Shenwei lowered his head and narrowly avoided the stabbing blade. He
could even feel the coldness of the metal as the steel dagger swept past his
right cheek.
The two grappled and neither shrank back or called for help. Welcome to
Southern Jade City. Death was the only solution here.
Although the horse-faced man's Kung Fu was average, he was so experienced

in combat that he could wield the dagger like a master. After having survived
three dangers and wasted two lethal attacks, Gu Shenwei finally mastered the
horse-faced man's rhythm on his 15th stroke, and then stabbed the chopstick
deeply into his shoulder.
They both attacked swiftly and the combat did not last long. Gu Shenwei felt
exhausted after he had stabbed him, which pushed his opponent three steps
backward. All of a sudden, he started to miss the Southwall Tavern's wine
and became thirsty.
Lethally wounded, the horse-faced man still struggled to survive. He tossed

the dagger away and stumbled toward the end of an alley with one hand
covering his shoulder and the other stretching straight out as if there was
some life-saving elixir lying ahead.
Gu Shenwei stood still, counting the horse-faced man's steps. When it got to
the ninth, he could not help picking up the dagger from the ground and
chasing after him.
That man's will to survive was unexpectedly strong.
Gu Shenwei grabbed the horse-faced man's hair from the back, thus forcing
the man to raise his head, and then severed his throat with the dagger.
He failed to kill the enemy with one chopstick in one stroke. Were Pyrowork
Academy's supervisor here, Slave Huan would have been judged as a failure.
Watching the corpse drop to the ground, Gu Shenwei was suddenly struck by
panic. Although he had no sympathy for this man, he felt as upset as he had
been when he was blamed by his father for his misbehavior in his childhood.
Still holding the weapon, he hesitated whether or not to throw it away over
and over again, and finally threw it off to the side in the street.
After all of that, he noticed some black eyes, which shone like cats' eyes in
the darkness.
A boy sat on a short wall, holding a half-eaten melon—he had seen the entire
scene of murder. He was nervous, excited, and obsessed about this. It was a
surprise that he did not run away.
He seemed to be 11 or 12 years old, which was confusing, however, because

his eyes looked as mature as those of an adult.
Gu Shenwei had not spotted this witness during the entire time because he
had been focused on the horse-faced man.
How should he deal with the witness? Kill him or just ignore him? Gu
Shenwei was not sure about the solution, which surely had been taught in
Carvewood Academy. He was the only one who hesitated about that among
hundreds of killer apprentices.
The boy finally swallowed the food that had been in his mouth for quite a
while and carefully said, "I just came outside to eat some melon."
It was late at night, when even the drunks that sought hangovers had gone
home to sleep. This kid's statement could not have been any weirder.
It only took one step for him to jump toward the wall so that he could drag
the boy off. However, Gu Shenwei lost the desire and will to murder again,
so he stepped back and decided to leave.
The boy apparently misunderstood this juvenile killer's movements and

immediately said, "Let me help you throw the corpse away. Do you know
where to dump it?"
Gu Shenwei had no idea, and taking care of the corpse had never even
occurred to him. Just after hearing the boy's words, he thought that it was
necessary.
"Get down here and take the body."
Gu Shenwei commanded the boy, trying to sound cool and tough.
The boy swiftly threw his melon away, landed on the ground, and ran over to
the corpse. Then, he struggled to carry the corpse on his back and staggered
forth. But unfortunately, he fell harshly to the ground only after two steps.
"I'm not lying, it's way too heavy."
The boy again struggled to crane his head out from underneath the corpse. He
looked innocent, yet not scared.
Despite the fact that he was unsure whether the boy was pretending or not,
Gu Shenwei carried the corpse on his shoulder. He was adept at it.
"I'll show you the way," the boy said, starting to run fast.
Gu Shenwei followed him closely and found out the boy could not do Kung
Fu.
The boy took a shortcut so that they reached the city's edge very quickly. As
they marched on, they saw fewer and fewer houses around them, and an
infinite darkness that looked like countless layers of black veils enveloped
Jade City off in the distance.
"The wasteland is ahead. People dump corpses there."
The boy sounded like an expert. While the young killer was looking off into
the distance, he sneaked into the alley beside them and desperately ran away.
He was afraid that the killer might murder him to silence a potential
informant and dump his body right on the spot.
Gu Shenwei did not go after that boy because one kill was enough for this
night. He continued to go ahead for a while, and then tossed the corpse into
the bushes. He stood still, staring into the gloomy and stagnant night sky and
listening to the hollow howl of a wolf. He agreed with the boy that this place
must have consumed many of the corpses in Jade City.
He almost got lost in the winding alleys, and it took him a long time to find
his way back. Once he returned to the Southwall Tavern, it was almost dawn.
There were only a few people left inside the tavern. They were sound asleep,
either lying on the ground or on a table. Gone were the manager, servants,
and the two fat doormen.
Tie Hanfeng sat on a chair, with his face upward and mouth wide open,
sleeping deeply just as usual.
Gu Shenwei seated himself in front of Master Shifu. The wine that remained
on the table did not attract him at all.
After a sudden shudder, Tie Hanfeng woke up and ground his teeth. He
looked at his apprentice coldly, indicating that he became sober.
"Master Shifu, it's done."
"Where's the head?"
"…I dumped the corpse in a wasteland."
"A leopard just can't change its spots. There are more than enough corpses in
this city for you to carry. Maybe you can count on this business to make a
fortune, you dimwit. Bring the head back to me, and leave the rest for the
dogs next time."
"Aye, Master Shifu."
This murder was thus ended. Except for adding some field experience for a
killer apprentice, it did not create much of a stir in Jade City.
This trip away from the mountain had a decent impact on Tie Hanfeng
because he gave up the life he had already been accustomed to. He had lived
an indigent life for three months, only to train a killer who could never attack
from behind. After that feast of wine in his revisit to the Southwall Tavern,
he realized what mattered the most, hence, he left his apprentice alone.
"If nobody can beat you in Pyrowork Academy within one year, it means that
you've been trained enough. Who can foresee the future?"
After that, Tie Hanfeng left his apprentice to take care of his own "business".
He frequently went downhill and spent the night outside.
Tie Hanfeng thought that he had completely solved the plot against Slave
Huan. He figured out that the horse-faced man, as his "business" partner,
tried to remove his name of killer mentor by bribing people inside the fort to
kill his only apprentice, only to force the iron cripple to accept unfair terms of
splitting money.
This name was so vital to Tie Hanfeng that without it, he was only a half-
retired old killer in Golden Roc Fort that could not even find a low-paying
escorting job.
Now that the horse-faced man was dead, his apprentice was safe. But that
was only the thought of Tie Hanfeng, Gu Shenwei still had a suspicious
mind.
The first that one he suspected was Miss Luo Ningcha, a stupid woman with
poor social relationships. He excluded her from his list shortly after because
it might be tough for her to bribe a killer apprentice.
The second one was Shangguan Yushi, who had never truly dropped her
guard against Slave Huan. Killing Slave Huan in Pyrowork Academy was in
her best interest.
There were about 10 days left until the fourth monthly test. Since Gu
Shenwei had sensed that there was someone following him every time he
went to dump corpses, he chose to throw corpses from Reincarnation Cliff
instead of Giant Rock Cliff, which he did not dare to go anymore.
Rather than telling this to Master Shifu, Gu Shenwei decided to conduct this
investigation himself.
Chapter 74 - Cloud Panther
Chapter 74: Cloud Panther
Near Woodensaber Alley was a deserted courtyard, in which overgrown

weeds, halfway-tilted houses, and scattered rocks and wood were
everywhere. However, it was the busiest place in Golden Roc Fort after
sunset.
Stone Castle was populated with seven or eight thousand of people with a
variety of needs. However, only the owners could fully satisfy their needs.
Those killers, knowing the fact that they might be killed at any time,
desperately wanted to spend their money. Therefore, a small black market
took shape.
Every day after sunset, groups of men in black pushed aside the weeds,
struggled to go through the cracks in the wall, and then looked for the things
they wanted: the so-called fair Southwall wine, fresh North City delicacies,
and groceries that apparently came from nowhere.
All buyers and sellers were masked, which "blackened" the black market.
The Shangguan family acquiesced to the existence of the black market on the
condition that no business was allowed to take place in those 17 uninhabited
courtyards or beyond, and the business must cease by two o'clock.
Gu Shenwei visited this black market every three or four days for the sole
purpose of buying wine for his Master Shifu. He became so familiar with this
place that he could recognize some of the regular businessmen, such as
Shangguan Hongye.
Shangguan Hongye was the Supreme King's nephew. The fact that his father
died early had demoted him to the lowest rank in the masters' circle. He lived
a life worse than those master-favored slaves, and he was even inferior to
those killers who spent money like water.
To please this "master" who he could take advantage of, Gu Shenwei had
asked for plenty of gold and silver utensils from Mama Xue, then squashed
them and presented them to Shangguan Hongye as gifts. This child of the
Shangguan family claimed that he had already worn them out, but the truth
was that he restored those utensils carefully, and then sold them in the black
market.
But this business was not good. After a few months, there were still a few
golden cups and silver pots left on his stall.
Gu Shenwei squatted down, pretending to choose something.
Shangguan Hongye, in servant clothing and with ragged cotton mask, was
telling an extravagant account of his merchandise in a rather low voice, as if
his dirty stuff were all second-hand king's utensils.
Here came the other rule of the black market: Do not make loud noises.
Gu Shenwei took out a few silver coins, which was the "wage" that Tie
Hanfeng gave Gu Shenwei after when he had killed the horse-faced man.
Shangguan Hongye's eyes gleamed thrillingly.
"What would you like? Take a look at this bedpan. It's pure gold."
"I want nothing but your favor." Gu Shenwei pulled off the black cover on
his face so that Shangguan Hongye could recognize him.
"Get away from me. I… I came here for fun, not for business."
Gu Shenwei took out some silver coins again, because he was very sure that
this guy would yield to the temptation of money, regardless of his violent
appearance.
Shangguan Hongye stopped packing up his stall. He hated his impoverished

status more than his own weakness. Seeing Gu Shenwei taking back the
coins, he stepped up, pressed Gu Shenwei's hands, and said, "What favor are
you asking? I pray it's not another gamble."
"No it isn't. Do you know if Master Yu is still studying in school?"
"She seldom goes to school." Shangguan Hongye withdrew his hands,

because he did not want to offend Shangguan Yushi anymore.
"Help me find out if Master Yu knows somebody in Pyrowork Academy."
"Ha, I know the answer already. Her elder brother stays there every day."
The moment Shangguan Hongye said this, he regretted, "Why should I give
him the information before he pays?" Gu Shenwei asked a few more
questions and then paid all the silver coins to Shangguan Hongye.
He knew it by then.
Shangguan Yuxing was an infamous loser in his family. He was good at

eating, drinking, f*cking, and gambling, anything except reading and martial
arts. He worked as a man in charge in East Castle for a while, and was
familiar with the rules and markets in each yard of East Castle. After being
fired, he managed to acquire a title called "counselor", and started his
underground career of solving people's "personal issue".
"Counselor" was not a formal title as "blademaster", "overseer", or

"supervisor", and was not on the register. These people did not get paid, and
their only privilege was a free passage to some specific places.
In fact, Gu Shenwei had seen Shangguan Yuxing at a time when he did not
know about the man's identity.
Shangguan Yuxing was a young man in his 20s who resembled his younger
sister in some aspects. Unlike Shangguan Yushi who had long arms and legs,
he was slim and was of average height.
Just like Tie Hanfeng, he was active in every corner of Pyrowork Academy
and mingled with every yellow-belt steward. However, he had never
approached Slave Huan, who had thought that he was a servant. It never
came to Gu Shenwei that he was the enemy's brother.
Gu Shenwei quickly confirmed that the one who followed him every time he
dumped corpses was Shangguan Yuxing.
After a few days of observation, he decided to meet the follower. The

stewards treated Shangguan Yuxing worse than Iron Cripple, because he had
no influence within the fort. Therefore Gu Shenwei felt that he could beat
Shangguan Yuxing in order to send a message to that little she-devil.
"A killer only uses his own knife." Gu Shen had prepared his message which
he will send to Shangguan Yushi.
When there were three days left until the fourth monthly test, Gu Shenwei
went to Pyrowork Academy alone and picked a corpse. As usual, he left
alone with the corpse.
It did not take long for him to notice someone stalking him, because
Shangguan Yuxing was not skilled at tracking people.
But Gu Shenwei did not go to Reincarnation Cliff this time. Instead, he

turned to Giant Rock Cliff. When he arrived, he immediately laid down the
corpse, hid behind the giant rock entrance, drew out his saber, and held
breath to wait for his stalker.
Very soon, there was a faint gasping sound coming from the other side of the
giant rock.
Gu Shenwei suddenly moved to the other side, grabbed the follower's clothes
in the front with his left hand, and with his right hand he positioned the saber
on the other's neck. He was about to speak when he felt his heart tremble, and
then together with the prey, he leaped back to dodge this sudden attack.
Someone else was following Shangguan Yuxing!
The other youngster with a valiant countenance was also around 14 years old,
short but sturdy, in a black suit without a mask, and holding a saber as well.
At a glance, Gu Shenwei knew that he was a killer apprentice.
Judging by his ability to control his breath at will, Gu Shenwei knew his kung
fu was not weak.
Gu Shenwei pushed Shangguan Yuxing away, focusing on this unexpected

expert.
It took Shangguan Yuxing a few spins to hold his feet. With a bodyguard
beside him, he said in an intense tone, "Easy, asshole."
"Why are you following me?"
"Just to find out what you're doing."
"Leave me alone. Tell your sister that she can approach me herself."
"My sister? It has nothing to do with her! Sheet, you must be f*cking
swearing. Cloud Panther, go!"
The youngster named Cloud Panther had been waiting for this all along. He
lifted up the saber to show his stance, and his hardy muscles were evident
through his clothes.
It surprised Gu Shenwei once again. "Who's behind Shangguan Yuxing, if he

didn't do this for her younger sister?" There was no time for him to dig out
the truth, and he took out his saber to prepare for the battle. This apprentice
was stronger than all his opponents in the previous monthly tests, thus he
could not afford to be distracted.
"Hey, you two are supposed to meet in three days. Why bother waiting? Just
do it now." Shangguan Yuxing said, and stayed back as he waited for the
show to start.
The two remained facing each other for a long time, neither launching an
attack. They were both outstanding among the 600 apprentices, and they both
could discern the killing intent from each other. Unless one could find a flaw
from the other, he would not waste the first move.
Shangguan Yuxing was unaware of the tension. What he saw was just two
slow and somber youngsters, and he was very disappointed. "Move! What are
you waiting for?"
Cloud Panther finally attacked. His movement was not very fast, but steady
and fierce. Like Gu Shenwei, he was adept at frontal attacks.
Gu Shenwei could choose to counter him by moving faster, but the "slow
movement" could often be a trap set by those who attacked relentlessly.
Therefore, Gu Shenwei directly took the strike. When the two sabers met, his
arm became slightly numb from the impact.
His Internal Strength was even more potent than some adult killers' because
his Yin and Yang Strength was at the third level. It surprised him that there
was another youngster who had more power than him.
This irritated Gu Shenwei, and he struck back with his saber, trading blow for
blow with Cloud Panther. The two clashed with their sabers harder and
harder, faster and faster by taking advantage of each other's force, while
Shangguan Yuxing had to step back due to the shockwaves caused by the
clashing sabers.
"What the f*ck. Motherf*cker…" Shangguan Yuxing cursed non-stop.

Apparently, he did not know of a way to express how astounded he was.
After having traded over 50 blows, the two youngsters stepped back at the
same time because they both needed to gasp for breath.
It was the very first time Gu Shenwei had met his match, and that killer
apprentice was also adept at frontal attacks. Therefore, a sense of fellowship
arose in Gu Shenwei. On the contrary, his opponent did not feel the same.
The short youngster had killing eyes, as if he would not be satisfied until he
slaughtered the enemy.
"Have I offended you?"
Gu Shenwei asked Shangguan Yuxing, while staring at Cloud Panther.
"Ask yourself. Somebody did hate you though, and wanted your head."
If it was not Shangguan Yushi who wanted to kill him, then Gu Shenwei
thought about Miss Luo Ningcha. After all, he had seen how the children of
the Shangguan family were obsessed with money. "What did Bighead
Kingpin promise you?"
"Bighead Kingpin? How come?" Shangguan Yuxing frowned and felt

weirder.
Gu Shenwei was becoming more confused. He could not think of anyone

other than those two women who would have wanted to kill an apprentice .
"Did that man aim to remove the 'killer mentor' title of Tie Hanfeng? No, it
can't be, I had just killed his enemy in some South City alley."
Cloud Panther attacked again, with quick strokes. Gu Shenwei vigorously

met the attacks head on. After trading another 10 blows, the two split up
again. No one won.
Shangguan Yuxing panicked, he had never seen Cloud Panther's enemy

survive after two rounds. "What are you waiting for? Use your ultimate skill!
I didn't pay you for nothing."
The reticent Cloud Panther heard the command. His eyes glowed with more
ferociousness, and he tightened his whole body like a sharp arrow.
Seeing this, Gu Shenwei felt sorry for him. Cloud Panther was strong, and his
bladesmenship was swift and fierce. He might even triumph if he continued
to attack at his pace. But now he became so impatient that he wanted to take
pre-emptive move before adjusting his breath, which definitely would leave
weakness. Therefore, Gu Shenwei was most certain to win the next round.
Even a loser like Shangguan Yuxing had smelled blood, and he crossed his
hands in excitement.
They were just about to attack, when they were interrupted by a strange and
harsh roar.
The sound came from underneath the cliff and it sounded as if countless
rocks were rolling down. It was earthshakingly noisy and it seemed as if the
whole Giant Rock Cliff would collapse in no time.
The tension between the two vanished, and they all stared at the cliff in
surprise. After a moment, they were dumbstruck when a monster jumped up
to the cliff.
Chapter 75 - The Ugly Bird
Chapter 75: The Ugly Bird
There was no demon like that in Buddhist paintings of hell, nor was there a
monster like that in people's nightmares.
It was a giant bird with a narrow neck and without any hair above its chest.
Its crinkled skin was covered with countless black dots. The five long
crimson feathers on its head were like the tassels that were hung on a
general's helmet. Its elongated iron-gray beak was like a steel scissor with
rusty spots.
Its eyes were blood red like burning rubies.
The roc did not have many feathers. What few feathers it had were curled and
sparsely scattered across its body. The feathers stuck to the body in disorderly
manner, which made it look like a spirited but drenched chicken. Only on its
wings were there thick feathers, and saber-like quills stuck up from the tip of
its wings.
The fledgling had grown up. But in contrast, except for the unbelievably
giant body, it looked like a mad ugly old man in black rags with ferocious
eyes. Its appearance was vastly different to that of its proud and upright
parents.
It spread its wings on the edge of the cliff like a wall, casting a shadow that
almost covered the three people.
It was hungry because no food had fallen from the sky for many days.
Finally, it smelled something familiar. Then, it climbed up by clinging
recklessly to the twigs and rocks on the cliff — it could not fly yet.
All three people were so scared that they couldn't speak. Gu Shenwei did not
expect that he would feed a monster like this with all the killer apprentices'
bodies.
The giant red-crowned roc ignored the three people. It paused on the cliffside
for a while then it approached the rock. It first pecked out the eyeballs of the
corpse that Gu Shenwei carried here, which were its favorite, then it pierced
through the chest and swallowed its heart. It did not take long for the giant
red-crowned roc to eat less than half of the body.
The three living people next to it were still motionless, as if they were under a
vicious spell.
Among them, Shangguan Yuxing was the nearest to the giant red-crowned
roc. He was already trembling with fear and felt sick at the same time when it
first pecked at the eyeballs. At the moment he could not bear it anymore,
knelt on the ground, and threw up. Then, he looked up with a shiver. "What
the hell is that? Kill it, Cloud Panther!"
"Don't mess with it."
Gu Shenwei warned in a whisper. He had seen the two giant rocs violently
kill many aces of the Golden Roc Fort. Although the giant red-crowned roc
was still a fledgling, it didn't appear to be much weaker than its parents.
Gu Shenwei's warning did not work. Cloud Panther seemed to be both

ashamed and angry for his panic. To save face, he lifted up his saber, ran a
few steps, leapt forward and chopped at its neck.
Gu Shenwei also jumped to ward off Cloud Panther's saber. He wanted to

both protect the ugly giant roc, and to prevent Cloud Panther from dying in
vain.
Although the giant red-crowned roc was leisurely eating, it was still a natural
killer. Just when the attack was behind it, it ferociously stood up and turned
around to resist. Its wings stirred up blasts of wind which blew down
Shangguan Yuxing to the ground, and then it pecked at the bold intruders
with lightning fast speed.
As a result, Cloud Panther lost grip of his saber and fell from up high in the
air. Just as he touched the ground, he immediately bounced back. He covered
his eyes with his hands and twisted his body wildly. His mouth was open,
letting out a terrified squeak as he had lost his sense of direction in the midst
of his anguish. He did not make it far as he tripped over the chains on the
cliff and fell into the abyss.
He was dumb.
Gu Shenwei promptly withdrew next to the wall since he was not sure if the
fledgling recognized him or not.
Shangguan Yuxing was paralyzed with fear. He tremblingly crawled on all

fours toward the exit and didn't even take notice of what had happened to
Cloud Panther.
Having sensed the eyes of the living as delicious as those of the corpse, the
giant red-crowned roc had a voracious appetite. It rose up about three meters
high and landed accurately on the vulnerable human being, with claws
penetrating into his flesh and its beak pecking at him twice. Shangguan
Yuxing did not make a sound. It was not because he could bear it, but rather
he had already been scared to death ever since when the roc first rose up to
the sky.
The giant red-crowned roc turned to the only human left, and forced Gu
Shenwei to the corner, with quills stuck up to induce terror.
Gu Shenwei could have shouted for help to attract the killers of East Castle to
besiege the flightless bird. However, he said nothing and expected that it
would recognize him. He tossed his saber and slowly walked towards it.
The giant red-crowned roc became a little puzzled at the human being's face.
It did not recognize his face, but it recognized his smell. It was the smell it
remembered from the moment when it came out of its eggshell, and it was
also the smell which lingered on each serving of food that had fallen from
high above the cliff.
It stopped and slowly folded its wings. It tilted its head and observed the
strange creature, just like when they had first met in the nest.
Gu Shenwei held out his hands to touch the scattered feathers on its chest,
making the giant red-crowned roc flinch on guard and slightly spread its
wings. However, the human's touch brought back its memory, making it let
down its guard and let out a satisfied hiccup-sounded noise in its throat.
Gu Shenwei could no longer hold back his tears, as if he found a long-lost

family member. He reached his arms around the giant red-crowned roc, and
held it tightly.
The giant red-crowned roc was not used to this way of expression. It first
resisted it, then reluctantly accepted the human being. In the end, it even
patted him with its wings, and pecked at him on his shoulder with its sharp
beak.
Suffering from the pain in the shoulder, Gu Shenwei eventually let go of the
roc and smiled, "You're still as ugly as usual. When will you become
powerful like your parents?"
The giant red-crowned roc shook his head, stirring the feathers on its head.
Yet, it suddenly occurred to Gu Shenwei that the giant red-crowned roc was
greatly imperiled. Because once somebody raised the alarm, the Supreme
King would be desperate to catch it, even if he needed to send people to go
down under the cliff.
"Go, go!"
Pushing away the giant red-crowned roc, Gu Shenwei urged in anxiety.
Whereas, apparently the roc could not understand the human's action. It was
still elated at this reunion after a long time, and it was also not quite full, so it
was not willing to leave now.
"You have to learn to fly. Go down there to find food. Don't come up again!
Never!"
Gu Shenwei pushed the giant red-crowned roc to the edge of the cliff and
helped it spread its wings. "Go there, once you go down, you'll fly high above
with winds under your wings. Fly, bear your parents in mind. Don't peck at
the dead, go peck at the fresh eyes of the wolves, because they're your
favorite. Fly away from human beings, and don't you ever come back to
Stone Castle. Spread your wings and fly!"
The giant red-crowned roc could not fully understand his words. It still
wanted to bypass the human it knew to move toward its unfinished food.
Gu Shenwei pushed with all his strength. Ugly as the giant red-crowned roc
was, but what was ugliest was Stone Castle behind him. He would never
allow the only family he cared for in the world to get hurt anymore.
The giant red-crowned roc fell into the abyss as well, scraping blocks and
blocks of rocks off the cliff.
Gu Shenwei knelt on the ground and listened tensely, praying to the nameless
Will of the Divine to not let the giant roc fall, nor let the sound attract the
killers in the castle.
After a seemingly endless wait, Gu Shenwei was greeted with a sudden gust
of wind, causing his kneeling posture to become unstable. Then, a mass of
black cloud tore through the sky and dissipating the mist. After whirling
around the human, the black cloud faded out of sight.
Finally, Gu Shenwei collapsed onto the ground and let out a deep sigh, but
then he discovered that he was also in danger. A skillful killer apprentice fell
off the cliff, and a son of the Shuangguans lay dead at the cliffside. How was
he supposed to explain that without exposing the roc?
On the other hand, what was the most important right now was to destroy the
evidence. He grabbed Shangguan Yuxing in the feet, planning to throw him
off the cliff.
"Do you need help?"
Gu Shenwei quickly raised his head, and saw a grassy-eyed Maid Lotus.
There were indeed two sabers nearby, but both were out of reach. At that
moment, Gu Shenwei was petrified.
"Get rid of his clothes."
"What?"
Gu Shenwei couldn't understand her words. He wasn't even sure if she was
with or against him, because the reserved girl was always secretive.
"If you throw him off like that, you'll be the prime suspect. We're out of time.
Take off his clothes."
It seemed that Maid Lotus was really helping him, hence, Gu Shenwei put
away his thoughts for now and quickly stripped down Shangguan Yuxing.
"Don't touch the blood, and also strip the clothes from the other body."
Maid Lotus turned around to give out more orders, just like a master giving
orders to her servant.
At that moment Gu Shenwei started to understand her intentions, thus he

quickly stripped down the body that he carried here. There was too much
blood on the shirt so he could only take off the trousers.
Gu Shenwei quickly handled the cleaning-up. He first dumped the two naked
bodies off the cliff, then folded the one and a half set of clothes and laid them
under the rock. Next, he fetched the spare broom to sweep the floor to be as
clean as possible. Bloodstains that could not be wiped clean were covered
with dust, making it look like old bloodstains.
While the clothes of the apprentices were all the same, Shangguan Yuxing
was wearing accessories that would have otherwise revealed his identity.
After the setup, it looked like two men were caught up in illegal affairs and
fell off the cliff accidentally. The credibility of the crime scene all depended
on Shangguan Yuxing's place in the Castle, because this trick wouldn't stand
up long under Golden Roc Fort's meticulous investigation.
Even so, Gu Shenwei still appreciated Maid Lotus's help very much, since it
at least earned him precious time.
While Gu Shenwei was falsifying the scene, Maid Lotus stood with her back
to him. Now she turned back and said, "Go back and ask for your Master to
pull some strings. Pyrowork Academy wouldn't care too much about these
two people."
Though Gu Shenwei wanted to say "thanks" to her, he soon sensed something

wrong and said, "Did you follow me too?"
When Maid Lotus said "two people", it certainly didn't include the body that
Slave Huan had carried here. Since she knew that Cloud Panther had fallen
off the cliff, she must have watched long, and she might know about the giant
red-crowned roc's existence as well.
"I have tests today. Now everybody dumps the corpses at Reincarnation Cliff
like you."
Maid Lotus's explanation seemed legitimate, for the fledging had made such
loud noise at Reincarnation Cliff. It was natural that she would come from
the nearby Giant Rock Cliff to check. Yet, Gu Shenwei did not know why he
would be on guard against her. They had nothing against each other and both
of them used to be Mama Xue's pawns. Nowadays they both faced the
destiny of dying from qigong deviation within three years. They really should
trust each other instead.
"Thank you," at last Gu Shenwei said these two words.
Still, Maid Lotus did not show any reaction to it. She was as emotionless as
ever. Gu Shenwei could not help but think about it again. "Maid Lotus looks
more and more like the dead Mama Xue, and without the disguise, she would
be a rare beauty."
"There's no need to thank me, but, when do you plan to tell me that you've
found the cure to qigong deviation?"
Maid Lotus still sounded calm, but Gu Shenwei was greatly shocked to hear
that.
Chapter 76 - The Alliance
Chapter 76: The Alliance
Having suffered two qigong deviation attacks in recent months, Gu Shenwei

was surprised that Maid Lotus now thought he had already cured his qigong
deviation. It took him a moment to realize why she had such question.
Maid Lotus had practiced kung fu with him, and at that time, his Internal
Strength had been just ordinary. However, months later, he was able to kill
his every opponent with one strike in the tests for three consecutive months.
Such a huge progress aroused Maid Lotus' attention and made her believe
that he had already gotten rid of the lurking threat in the Xuanji acupoint.
"No, you've mistaken me. I have reasons…"
"I thought that we're friends. We've promised each other that we'll help each
other get rid of the qigong deviation."
Apparently, Maid Lotus was not convinced. Gu Shenwei expected that, but
he was not sure what he should do at this moment.
He was not as naive as he used to be. Since his family's disintegration, he had
become even more skeptical than the most sophisticated elderly man in the
world. He instinctively distrusted anyone and thus had not made any friend in
the fort.
However, he really wanted to have some friends here. He needed the help of
other people to have his revenge on Golden Roc Fort. He was well aware that
he could not destroy the fort who had thousands of killers by himself even if
he became a peerless kung fu master.
"I'll show you something."

Gu Shenwei made up his mind and took out the Nameless Swordbook that he
had hidden under a rock nearby. He solemnly handed it to Maid Lotus, "Read
the last few pages."
Maid Lotus took the dog-eared book, simply glanced over the pages, and
closed the book.
"What's this?"
"I don't know. I got it by chance. Remember the words on the last few pages
and recite them when you have a qigong deviation attack. It cannot help you
get rid of it, but it can strengthen your Internal Strength. You can give it a
try."
Maid Lotus was as skeptical as Slave Huan. She found it hard to believe that
a book filled with so many dreadful pictures was about Internal Strength. She
opened the book again to read the last few pages.
"You can take it. It does no harm to memorize the words."
"I'll return it to you."
"Well, I need to remind you that you'd better not learn the sword skill
depicted in the first few pages. I've used it once. My opponent nearly
chopped my hand off."
Maid Lotus nodded. "Well, I see. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, and regarding the bird… "
"I won't tell anyone."
Maid Lotus left with the Nameless Swordbook. Gu Shenwei faltered for a
moment before leaving the Giant Rock Cliff. He did not know if he had made
a right decision to tell Maid Lotus his secret.
As Maid Lotus had expected, Golden Roc Fort did not care much about what
had happened to an apprentice and an unimportant relative of the Shangguan
family, although this incident caused lots of gossips. Based on the clothes
they had left near the edge of the cliff, the fort quickly determined that their
deaths were accidental without a more thorough investigation.
However, this incident did not end there. It led to a string of assassinations.
To Gu Shenwei's great surprise, it was not Shangguan Yushi who wanted to
seek revenge on him for her brother's death but a bunch of teenagers who
wanted to avenge Cloud Panther's death.
Gu Shenwei performed well in the fourth monthly test. His original adversary
died before the test, and the replacement for the dead apprentice was just
ordinary. After exchanging several moves with him, Gu Shenwei quickly
spotted a chance to knife him in the waist and nearly cut him into two pieces.
On the evening of the same day, Gu Shenwei went to the Woodensaber Alley
ruins, as usual, to buy liquor for his killer mentor and nearly got assassinated.
The liquor stall was the most crowded place in the whole market. Huddled
together with a dozen of killers and killer apprentices, Gu Shenwei wondered,
"This is like putting tigers and lions into the same cage. It's indeed a miracle
that nothing has happened all these years."
As it was already mid-autumn, it was delightedly cool now.
The people were closely packed together in front of the liquor stall, and Gu
Shenwei happened to be in the middle of the crowd. He had no room to
dodge when someone stabbed him with a dagger. At that critical moment, his
Yin and Yang Strength saved him.
His Yang Strength stretched and Yin Strength contracted. That was how he
moved his lower back muscle six centimeters forward to dodge the fatal
blow. He pushed his way through the crowd to get into the liquor stall and
knocked over the lamp during the process, leaving chaos behind him.
He did not discover the attacker. Nor did he find out what led to the outbreak
of violence which started from the moment he got stabbed. Many attackers
who were hidden in the market simultaneously launched their attacks.
The chaos in the black market continued for a quarter, until night watchmen
arrived to quickly disperse the crowd.
Ten people died. Three of whom were killer apprentices. The rest seven were
just servants selling goods here.
Gu Shenwei fled the scene under the cover of the night instead of staying
there and searching for the attackers. A moment later, he was just thankful
that he had acted in such a rational way. If he had stayed inside the chaotic
market, he would have probably been killed now, let alone finding out any
clues about the attackers.
The dagger did not hit his vitals but left a penetrating hole in his waist. He
already had many scars left by Tie Hanfeng, but this was the first wound an
assassin inflicted on him.
He ran back home breathlessly, his waist bleeding. Tie Hanfeng who was
waiting for his liquor quickly bound up the wound for his apprentice. After
listening to the whole story, he smiled and said, "It's no big deal. It's the same
every year. After several fights and killing about a few dozens of guys,
apprentices will calm down. Take it easy."
Tie Hanfeng did not take this incident seriously, and went downhill the next
morning for his private "business" again.
Likewise, Golden Roc Fort did not pay much attention to this incident either
and did not conduct any investigation into it. However, beyond everyone's
expectations, this thing did not end after a few fights. It developed into a
slaughter. Golden Roc Fort had never seen such a slaughter among
apprentices over the past few decades.
The apprentices had a peaceful day after the turmoil in the black market, but
when the evening fell, they started to fight again and conducted a new string
of assassinations. This fight ended right after the midnight, and by that time,
30 or 40 had already lain dead in the southeast corner of Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei suffered another assassination. Two masked men seemed to

know that his killer mentor was away. They directly leaped over the wall and
came into the yard where he lived. One of them stood sentry outside the
house, and the other went in to assassinate him.
Fortunately, he did not entirely believe what Tie Hanfeng had said. He lay
awake with saber in hand, clothed and on guard. When the assassin walked to
the bed and raised his knife, he stabbed him in the heart with one stroke.
The assassin died silently inside the house, but his partner outside still sensed
something wrong and fled at once.
Gu Shenwei removed the assassin's mask and saw an unfamiliar face. He

carried the corpse out, dumped it beside the wall, and went back to sleep.
The next day, his killer mentor was still away. Surprisingly, Maid Lotus came
to visit him early in the morning. She brought him the Nameless Swordbook
and another 10 apprentices, who wanted to ally with Slave Huan.
Although Maid Lotus said nothing when she entered the house alone to return
the swordbook, Gu Shenwei still knew for sure that she had already tried to
recite those magical words during her recent qigong deviation.
"We need to unite," she said.
"We?"
"Yes, we, and many more people. Only when we unite can we resist the
Snow Mountain Gang."
"It seems like we have to."
Maid Lotus asked the 10 apprentices to come in. When they saw the dead
body in the corner of the yard, they gained more confidence in the alliance.
An apprentice aged about seventeen or eighteen, who was the oldest among
the crowd, explained the whole thing to Slave Huan.
Killer apprentices in Golden Roc Fort came from various places. Only a
small number of them were slaves of the fort. Most of them were small
children bought or looted from different areas in the Western Region. These
children were all under 10, and before they came to East Castle, they needed
to be trained outside the fort for a few years until they completely forgot
about their own origins.
During that training period, these children forgot their names, parents, and
hometowns, and their minds were filled with killing techniques and loyalty to
Golden Roc Fort. The most capable killers often came from this group of
apprentices.
However, these children lived together for too long and inevitably had their
own friends and even small groups. Conflicts among these groups often
occured, and these conflicts gradually developed into gang wars among the
apprentices in East Castle.
This year, a few dozens of teenagers united to form a gang, which attracted
wide attention and hatred from the apprentices right after they got into the
Pyrowork Academy. They were extremely cruel and exceptionally good at
kung fu. To abide by the killers' silence principle, they all voluntarily cut off
their own tongues.
In the Western Region, people generally took such tough and silent people as
residents of the Great Snowmountain, so the apprentices referred to this
group of teenagers as the Snow Mountain Gang. Some of them were indeed
looted from the snow mountain by Golden Roc Fort, but none of them could
remember this thing now. Now they were the fort's loyal servants and would
mercilessly slaughter the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain for the
fort.
Snow Mountain Gang was a bunch of bullies, who had provoked many
complaints among their peers.
They did not believe in Cloud Panther's and Shangguan Yuxing's scandal and
suspected that Slave Huan and Maid Lotus, who had gone to the Giant Rock
Cliff to throw corpses on that day, had something to do with Cloud Panther's
death. As Cloud Panther was an important member of the Snow Mountain
Gang, the gang members were determined to seek revenge for his death.
Meanwhile, they also took this chance to assassinate a huge number of their
enemies.
"We're all slaves of Golden Roc Fort. Although we belong to different
masters, apprentices in East Castle still consider us a gang. They call us the
Tattooed Arm Gang."
All slaves of Golden Roc Fort had their slave names tattooed on their arms.
Gu Shenwei had never expected that this feature would have made the other
apprentices think the slave apprentices as a gang.
"It looks like I'm also a member of this Tattooed Arm Gang now. It seems
that I did miss a lot of lessons for not having been trained in the Carvewood
Academy."
"Some other gangs are dissatisfied with the Snow Mountain Gang. They're all
willing to work with us to fight against those mutes."
The teenage apprentices all looked at Slave Huan with expectant looks on
their faces. Slave Huan was the top dog of the slave apprentices. He had
killed his every opponent with only one strike for four straight months. Only
a few members of the Snow Mountain Gang could compete with him in the
monthly tests.
"Alright, let's fight."
A dozen of hands piled up together. Slave Huan's hand was at the bottom,
while Maid Lotus's was on top. She also was the only female killer apprentice
in the room.
"What about killer mentors? And supervisors? What do they think?"
"Nobody will interfere." Maid Lotus answered. "It's a good way to knock out
weak apprentices. We're on our own now. People who survive and kill the
most won't be punished. Rather, they'll probably finish their apprenticeship
sooner."
Gu Shenwei was excited to hear that. "Wow, there's such a rule in East
Castle. In that case, why hesitate?"
He was ready to kill.

Chapter 77 - The Slaughter
Chapter 77: The Slaughter
Just as Maid Lotus said, no one interfered with the slaughter between
apprentices. Golden Roc Fort was glad to see future killers go through real
and harsh training. They had only set a small number of rules.
Firstly, the slaughter could only take place in East Castle, specifically the
eastern and southern area of Pyrowork Academy, reaching Reincarnation
Cliff to the east and Woodensaber Alley to the south. Any killer apprentice
going beyond the set area would be slain by concealed guards.
Secondly, the slaughter could only take place among the apprentices. Anyone
who murdered a servant would also be killed. Anyhow, the servants dared not
to enter East Castle in spite of this rule, hence the blackmarket no longer
existed, and servants who brought meals or cleaners would only enter in
groups and then leave in a rush. During the slaughter, East Castle was
chaotic, filthy, and no different than the ruins in Woodensaber Alley.
Killer mentors did not interfere with the rules. They left their places soon
after the slaughter began. Anyway, life in the castle was no longer convenient
without the blackmarket. Most of them went to South City to enjoy the fair
wine and women there, treating themselves a rare vacation for a month.
A few remaining killer mentors also left after a successful assassination by

the Tattooed Arm Gang, leaving the site to those killing spree apprentices.
This assassination was Gu Shenwei's vengeance, and its target was named
"Aardwolf".
Most of the members of the Snow Mountain Gang deserted their original
names, and nicknamed themselves with beasts. Aardwolf was one of them, a
swift young man with remarkable machete skills and expertise in close range
combat.
"He was the one that attempted to assassinate you in the blackmarket."
One Tattooed Arm Gang member pledged, without any evidence backing it.
But all the crew agreed to choose Aardwolf as their first target. They also
needed to save the gang's reputation and status, because seven of its members
were slain during the first two days of the slaughter, which was the highest
casualty among the gangs.
In fact, contrary to the oldest apprentice's assertion, there were no other gangs
willing to ally with Tattooed Arm Gang, which was hated as much as Snow
Mountain Gang. The members of Tattooed Arm Gang used to be slaves in the
castle, and were connected with every academy in every way. Their old
friends regularly paid visits to the gang, such as Maid Lotus and Slave Qian.
Plus, they did not even have to live in East Castle. As all the facts mentioned
above, the gap between Tattooed Arm Gang and the other apprentices were
deepened.
This was the very first time Gu Shenwei had joined an organization.
Although his kung fu was universally recognized as the best, he was not
selected as their leader. Everybody was waiting for him to earn their respects
by demonstrating more charisma.
That afternoon, more members of the Tattooed Arm Gang came, totaling a
number of 58 eventually. The Shangguan family's conflicts were revealed
here, because they had served different Shangguan masters. Therefore, quite
a few apprentices wanted that leadership.
Hence this assassination meant two things now, vengeance and leadership,
and Gu Shenwei was determined to take hold of this game.
The fact that Aardwolf's Master Shifu had not left East Castle was the most
significant hindrance in this assassination.
Based on the intelligence Maid Lotus had collected, Gu Shenwei schemed a

bold plan involving only three members.
Aardwolf's Master Shifu had six apprentices. The third day of the slaughter,
one of them would attend the monthly test, which was the only activity
survived in Pyrowork Academy and required every living apprentice's
attendance.
By coincidence, one member of this assassin group was attending the

monthly test the same day. Hence he was responsible for monitoring and
sending a signal to Maid Lotus who would stay at the doorway right after he
saw Aardwolf's junior fellow apprentices go into the room.
Dressed in killer apprentice's standard black suit with a mask, Gu Shenwei

started the ambush near Aardwolf's residence from the previous night.
Maid Lotus now came to change shifts, and her task was to stall or kill
Aardwolf's junior apprentice if he came back early.
Gu Shenwei took his saber and started walking aboveboard into Aardwolf's
yard.
The place where Aardwolf lived was much larger than Tie Hanfeng's. Their
killer mentor was resting inside, while Aardwolf was practicing machete
skills with his fellow apprentices. Gu Shenwei nodded to them, pretending to
be frustrated, and then went straight into "his" room without a word.
The slaughter had just begun for a few days, and everyone's vigilance had not
reached its highest level. Plus Gu Shenwei looked similar to their fellow
apprentice who went to attend the monthly test in figure, nobody suspected it,
even though it seemed weird to wear a mask after the monthly test. After all,
who would have thought an apprentice could murder somebody under a killer
mentor's eyes?
Aardwolf had a good relationship with this junior fellow apprentice,

therefore, he wanted to ask him the result after having practiced a little
longer. "It seemed as if he had failed again. It's already lucky enough for him
to walk back home."
Just as he once hid under a bed and waited for Han Shiqi's arrival, Gu
Shenwei hid behind the door, holding his breath. He felt uneasy, and again he
thought his plan sucked. "What if Aardwolf doesn't come into the room?
What if he comes in with the others? What if Maid Lotus's intelligence was
wrong? Life is full of uncertainties."
It turned out easier than he had expected, Gu Shenwei finally killed an enemy
from the back. He stabbed Aardwolf's heart, grabbed his hair before he fell,
and cut off the head, following Master Shifu's lead.
Once it was done, his anxiety vanished. He orderly cleansed the blood stains
on his saber, found a black suit to cover the head, and then walked out of the
yard easily, without looking sideways.
The other four apprentices looked surprised. They did not realize that they
should have checked on Aardwolf until that masked man in black
disappeared.
The killer mentor was so furious that he almost slew all of the five
apprentices left. After he cooled down, he admired the killer's nerve a lot. On
account of his status, he could not revenge for an apprentice by himself.
Therefore, he left East Castle right away, and said to his five apprentices,
"Kill the assassinator, or I'll kill you all."
In order to prevent such disgraceful event from happening again, the last few
killer mentors also left, unveiling another massive wave of assassinations.
As to this assassination, it spread quickly, and soon everyone knew it was

Slave Huan that did this. He then acquired the allegiance from Tattooed Arm
Gang's members, as well as series of assassinations against him.
For the entire month before winter came, Gu Shenwei was homeless. He had
stayed at every member's yard, even the ruins of Woodensaber Alley.
There was never a safe place for him. The only way to survive was to kill
before being killed.
Gu Shenwei divided 58 members into several groups with three to five

members each, and assigned them with different regions and targets, while he
grouped with Maid Lotus and a youngster named Slave Liu. He sometimes
even participated in the scheming of an assassination.
The killer talent of Maid Lotus was revealed very soon, while Slave Liu was
more of a hindrance. However, as his owner was the third Young Master,
who was very close to the eighth, Gu Shenwei had to keep company with
him. After all, the other slaves who had served the other masters were even
less trustworthy.
Assassinations were like tides, they rose and ebbed. The highest record of
casualties was around 40, and there were also days that every party chose to
cease fire.
The way to attend the monthly test became the way to death. Unlucky
apprentices got killed even before they reached the gate of Pyrowork
Academy, while the lucky ones just found out that their opponents were gone
after they entered the contest house.
Moreover, nobody dared to dump corpses on Reincarnation Cliff anymore,

because that almost meant to throw themselves off the cliff too.
If the apprentices wanted to take actions in public, they had to move in threes
or fours, with several hidden protectors.
Assassinations became more and more challenging. In the meantime, some

highly skilled apprentices' reputation grew, with their phenomenal outcomes.
People had developed a skill that could tell the assassinator by the way they
killed, so that they could record the score and rank of the perpetrators.
Although Gu Shenwei had taken part in most of the assassinations he

schemed, his rank was not on top, and lingered between three and four in the
overall ranking.
Many people found out that survivors might not have a better command of
kung fu. Many talented apprentices from Carvewood Academy, who had
killed their opponents with one saber stroke in monthly tests, got killed
during the first few days of the slaughter, while some unknown apprentices
survived and kept increasing their number of kills.
A youngster named "Liuhua" was the best of those unknown apprentices, he
ranked ahead of Slave Huan in the overall ranking.
The surname of Liuhua was Zhi. He was born in the west of the Land of
Riversand, feeble and short, with an ordinary look. The only thing that caught
everyone's attention in Carvewood Academy was his weird name. He had
never killed with one saber stroke in monthly tests after he transposed to
Pyrowork Academy, and even got injured once.
This "sick" looking youngster did not attend any gang, have any helper, and
always acted on his own. He assassinated 11 apprentices during the first three
days like a ghost. In the beginning, people attributed his kills to the other
killers, until someone found out his unique killing method.
It turned out that Liuhua was an archer. He made a special shortbow, which
was much less than a longbow in shooting range but easier for him to hide.
He only fired within a distance of 20 steps, and was able to shoot one to three
arrows dependent on how quickly the enemy responded.
He only killed with arrows and always fetched them afterward, and he had
never left an arrow on the corpses. No matter how many arrows he fired, one
of them had to penetrate from the enemy's mouth to hindbrain.
Thus he was given the nickname of "Mouth Seal", and "Liuhua the Silencer"
had once been apprentices' nightmare, especially those who had already
humiliated him. They all kept their mouth shut since then.
Liuhua's appearance had strikingly raised archers' status in Golden Roc Fort.
In the past, apprentices who studied archery and hidden weapons were in a
weak position, because of the saying among killers, "Close fight was always
better than ranged attack, because the closer you get to the enemy, the easier
you could tell whether he's alive or not."
Anyhow, Liuhua was a lone survivor who killed only for personal issues,
unable to create a stir in East Castle. The one who ranked way ahead of the
others was said to be the only one Liuhua dared not challenge.
"Wildhorse", a youngster who kept a record of one assassination each day,

had murdered 69 people in a month which was enough to form a medium-
sized gang. On a whim, he declared to hold an open contest between him and
Slave Huan to end this ridiculous slaughter.
Chapter 78 - The Duel
Chapter 78: The Duel
Aardwolf, the former leader of the Snow Mountain Gang, had been murdered
by another gang on the fifth day of the apprentice slaughter. Gu Shenwei had
already devised a detailed plan to wipe out the Snow Mountain Gang, but
time was not on his side.
Without a leader, the Snow Mountain Gang became engulfed in chaos for the
next three days. There was internal strife which resulted in the death of one-
third of the gang members. This went on until Wildhorse suddenly showed
up.
Gu Shenwei met this young man with a strange appearance once. As a

martial arts practitioner, his body was well built. The only thing that stood
out about him was his looks which always attracted unwanted attention from
other people. He has eyes that were quite far apart and a flat nose, which
made his eyes look even further apart. Overall, he looks like someone
dimwitted.
However, this superficial impression was a serious mistake.
Wildhorse was a profound martial arts practitioner. Even though he was not
the most powerful person in the gang, he had great patience and a calm
personality, which made up for his lack of skills in wielding the machete.
Liuhua the Silencer often work alone, while the Tattooed Arm Gang
members often carried out assassinations in small teams. But Wildhorse was
different from them. Like a smart assassin in Golden Roc Fort, he had always
gathered a few people before carrying out the assassination. A lot of small
gangs had been wiped out by him.
He also had a mystical ability that made all his subordinates regard him as if
he was a god. Even after his followers succeeded in cornering the target gang,
they would still leave the honor of killing the last person to him. They
insisted every time. So, even the young masters envied him.
The slaughter lasted over a month. About 600 apprentices of the current year
and several hundreds more from last year joined the battle. There were over
1,000 young men between the age of 10 to 18 years old. In the end, the
remaining 200 survivors became exhausted and tired of the killing. The
Shangguan family members, who secretly incited the battle between the
apprentices, were also agitated, as the slaughter was unexpectedly bloody this
time.
Just as the war was coming to a halt, Wildhorse informed the apprentices that
he wanted to confront Slave Huan publicly. No matter which side won, their
gangs would stop assassinating each other and neither side would retaliate.
Currently, the Snow Mountain Gang and the Tattooed Arm Gang were the
two biggest gangs. Both gangs were left with about 30 to 40 core members.
Most apprentices who were affiliated with neither gang chose to join one of
the two gangs, except for people who work alone like Liuhua. Some
apprentices even joined both gangs at the same time, which made it very
convenient to pass along messages.
Gu Shenwei was faced with a difficult decision.
If he refused the duel with Wildhorse, he would be charged with the crime of
"murder". Everyone had hoped to stop the fighting. Even his supporters
hoped that he would accept the challenge.
Even if he accepted it, he did not have the confidence to win against
Wildhorse. If he failed, it would mean certain death. He had only killed
someone insignificant from the Shangguan family —Shangguan Yuxing, in
his entire life. His revenge would end before it even started.
Maid Lotus was the only person that had publicly stated that she does not
support the duel. She said, "We're killers, who have never tried to kill our
enemies in a duel. It could be a trap."
Over the last month, Slave Huan and Maid Lotus could probably call each
other "friends". Slave Huan has been recognized as the leader of the Tattooed
Arm Gang by its members and Maid Lotus happened to be his most
important and helpful assistant.
Gu Shenwei was surprised to see that the silent girl, Maid Lotus, being this
popular among the apprentices. In fact, she was more like the anchor than Gu
Shenwei to the gang members. Without her help, the Tattooed Arm Gang
would have disbanded, because the members had served different masters
when they were slaves.
Instead of relying on her beauty, Maid Lotus convinced people that she is
capable of using her good observational skills and analysis skills. She could
often persuade the members to work together with a few words. She also told
them to put aside their differences and work together, if they wanted to
survive the slaughter.
Therefore, her attitude had a considerable amount of influence on the gang

member's morale.
This was the first time that Gu Shenwei had to assume the role of a "leader".
Before the age of 14, he had been protected by his father and brothers who
had good kung fu. He had always played the role of the innocent and naughty
young master. He did not have the experience of managing others, outside of
lecturing his own disobedient servants. Gu Shenwei knew, that once he
gained enough power and fame, he would have to bear an unshrinkable
responsibility.
Unfortunately, both the rival—Snow Mountain Gang, and his gang— the
Tattooed Arm Gang, would become his enemies in the future if he continued
down the path of revenge.
Gu Shenwei accepted the battle.
Being safe meant being timid. Considering that every step that is taken down
the path of revenge was going to be dangerous anyway, why shouldn't he risk
his life this time?
The duel would be held in three days at the ruins of Woodensaber Alley.
After the date of the battle was decided, the number of assassinations in East
Castle reduced rapidly. There were only a few cases that occured within these
3 days. One accident came close to cancelling the battle, though.
No one knew why Liuhua the Silencer decided to show up at this moment. A
few days ago, he had rarely murdered anyone. When the two biggest gangs
decided on a temporary truce, he attempted to assassinate one of the leading
members in the Tattooed Arm Gang.
His target, Maid Lotus.
It was widely speculated that Liuhua did not want the assassinations to come
to a halt. He was once a nobody, but gained fame through his skill with
arrows and the bodies that he left in his wake. Liu Hua enjoyed killing people
while hiding in the shadows, which was why he wanted to disrupt the peace
talks between the two gangs.
Slave Huan and Wildhorse were the leaders of their respective gangs. If Liu
Hua killed both of them, it would have been easy to spark a war. However,
they were very well protected, so the plan would be difficult to carry out.
Therefore, he decided to murder Maid Lotus, the spiritual leader of the
Tattooed Arm Gang, whose kung fu was weaker.
This was another stereotype in the East Castle. Just like how people thought
that the bow and arrow were weaker than the saber, it was widely believed
that females would be inadequate killers.
There were less than 100 female apprentices in the beginning in East Castle.
Over the one-month slaughter, only a dozen of them survived. Their death
rate was much higher than that of male apprentices.
Liuhua had been lurking on the yard wall, wearing a grey cape which was
covered in a layer of dust. It seemed as if he had merged into the
surroundings. He waited for an indiscriminate amount of time, starving. He
drank some water only when he was thirsty. Finally, his target appeared
alone.
Maid Lotus' yard had been closely guarded. On that night, she came out of
her room and was going to meet the Snow Mountain Gang members, in order
to discuss the details of the duel. She would have met the gang members
waiting outside the yard just by taking a dozen steps more.
Liuhua strictly adhered to his own assassination principles. He waited for

Maid Lotus patiently. When she was within 20 steps of him, Liuhua instantly
shot two arrows at her. Both arrows successfully hit her, but he was unable to
end her life with another arrow. Seven or eight guards rushed towards her to
protect her. Seeing this, Liuhua made a tactical retreat using a pre-selected
route.
This was the only time that Liuhua wasn't able to leave a mark in his victim's
mouth.
The members of the Tattooed Arm Gang were furious. Gu Shenwei swore to
avenge her. He then assassinated an important Snow Mountain Gang member
after midnight.
Even though everyone knew that Liuhua was the one responsible for this,
they still regard this as a sign of his loyalty towards the Snow Mountain
Gang.
Even though it would be quite hard for a leader to keep a clear mind in this
critical moment, Wildhorse still managed to show his unusual ability to
control every detail of the situation. Not only did he quell the voice of
revenge, but also sent all of his subordinates to capture Liuhua, in order to
prove that he was not the mastermind behind the attempted murder.
Gu Shenwei was ashamed of his inability to do anything. The battle had not
started yet, but he had lost to Wildhorse in terms of leadership and
decisiveness.
Before things spiral more out of control, Maid Lotus woke up. She was shot
twice, one close to her heart and the other her left arm. Her reaction time was
faster than what the assassin had anticipated which allowed her to avoid
getting shot in her vital body parts.
People in the East Castle only had the most common medicine for wounds,
much less being able to visit a doctor. After being injured by Liuhua, Maid
Lotus was unconscious for a day. However, she was able to wake up
miraculously. The first thing she said after opening her eyes was, "Don't be
fooled. This has nothing to do with the Snow Mountain Gang. This war
should stop."
It was this incident that made Gu Shenwei trust Maid Lotus completely.
Before this, he had always suspected and disliked her. But now, those
feelings had completely vanished.
When they first met, Maid Lotus' indifferent attitude had made an impression
in Gu Shenwei's mind. He had been threatened, humiliated, but never had he
been disregarded like this. When both of them worked as slaves, they met
each other every day. Her indifference towards him had deeply hurt his self-
esteem.
Now, it all disappeared.
The duel between Slave Huan and Wildhorse was held on time. Maid Lotus
insisted that she attend their duel despite her injuries. She was the most
important assistant to the gang leader, so she had a responsibility to protect
him from all the traps that were deployed by their enemies.
Everything went well. All members of the two gangs turned up. No one was
allowed to ask for a leave. Everyone wore black clothes and black veils and
brought no weapons. Each gang had a head count to make sure that there
were no hidden killers. The Snow Mountain Gang had 108 members and the
Tattooed Arm Gang had 89 people. Except for the missing Liuhua, there
were 193 apprentices who survived in the East Castle.
Liuhua still hadn't been found yet. The two gangs searched the whole East
Castle twice, but they were still unable to track him down. The only thing
that the people could believe was that he had jumped off of Reincarnation
Cliff. This was a very common occurence. In the last month, a dozen of
apprentices who were unable to withstand the pressure, committed suicide.
The killer apprentices gathered in Woodensaber Alley. Tension, vigilance,

and joy permeated the air. The one-month nightmare would come to the end
regardless of who wins.
The battle between killers did not naturally consist of face-to-face saber
moves. Slave Huan and Wildhorse would enter the ruins which consisted of
17 dilapidated yards. They would attempt to assassinate each other using the
cover of debris, weeds, and deadwood. There was no time limit. It could take
a few minutes or even a few days.
Gu Shenwei had already formulated a plan. After Maid Lotus woke up, they
discussed it with each other. Both of them thought it was possible.
Wildhorse was a hunter. When there were a lot of people around, he would
always encircle and wipe out his enemies. He would patiently track the
enemy and set up traps in advance, when he was acting alone. Maid Lotus
remembered Wildhorse's every assassination attempt. Thus, she drew a
conclusion, which happened to coincide with Gu Shenwei's plan.
After entering the ruins, Gu Shenwei would consciously search for the traps
that had been set by Wildhorse. He could not use any skills and had to rely on
his experience and intuition. After this, he would set up his own traps, in
order to attract Wildhorse's attention. Then, he would move back along the
road, so that he could ambush Wildhorse at a predetermined spot.
Maid Lotus and he agreed that the whole slaughter would end with several
cuts. To live or die, it depended solely on who would be fooled first.
Chapter 79 - Survival
Chapter 79: Survival
In the morning, there was a thick layer of frost on the ground and thin ice had
formed on the surface of puddles. At noon, the frost and ice had melted, and
the temperature had become as hot as if it was in the middle of summer. Gu
Shenwei and Wildhorse entered the battlefield at the same time. Even though
it was not a good time for assassination, the conditions were equally fair for
both of them.
The killer apprentices in black, who wore black veils, were waiting in
Woodensaber Alley. They could not see what was happening inside, but the
members of both of the two gang stood quietly, like two packs of loyal dogs.
Once one of their leaders died, they would instantly smell the scent of the
killer's blood.
Even if the duel continued for one more month, they would wait patiently. It
looked like a sacrificial ceremony. Even if some were not interested in it,
they were surrounded by the fanatics and also became one of them, who did
not dare to leave or do anything that would disrespect the competition.
Gu Shenwei only took a saber with him. After entering the ruins, he carefully
walked along the wall. When there were bricks and rubble, he went around it
by taking other paths; when there was dense vegetation, he would rather than
walk. For him, it was not the time to leave traces and draw the opponent's
attention on purpose.
The circle that Gu Shenwei walked became smaller and smaller. Before the
duel started, he had already identified the nine best spots for setting a trap,
now he found five more spots. However, it seemed that no one had arrived.
Gu Shenwei thought Wildhorse was very smart and that he would not choose
an ambush spot that killers already knew about.
As time passed by, the warmth brought by the noonday sun had gone and the
coldness of late autumn rose from the ground, which quickly occupied the
whole world by dusk.
Almost 200 killer apprentices stood side by side in the narrow Woodensaber
Alley. The ruins were dead silent. Gradually, darkness shrouded the whole
world. But they seemed to be enjoying a fascinating drama, watching and
listening attentively as if they were completely enraptured by the drama.
Every rustle of the leaves in the wind was like a sensational turning point
which charmed the audience.
What Gu Shenwei had learned over the last month was much more than what
the apprentices had studied over the past 10 months in Carvewood Academy.
He was proficient in tracking his enemies and hiding his own tracks. But, his
opponent was Wildhorse this time, the rising star during the apprentice fight
who had great kung fu skills and a keen intuition.
When night fell, it became easier to hide, but harder to search for a person.
Gu Shenwei had searched the ruins twice, but he still did not find any signs
of the other person. He felt he was like a madman who was fighting with
himself as he was circling around in a derelict place. Occasionally, he thought
that he had heard Wildhorse's heartbeat. However, when he quietly
approached, he didn't find anything. Sometimes, he suddenly felt very
nervous for no reason, feeling as if he was in an unfavorable location. So he
fled, just in case the opponent sneaked up on him.
In this game, saber and kung fu skills were the secondary factors. Endurance
and willpower were the first. Whoever had the least patience would be the
first to expose his location.
Night had passed and the frost temporarily reformed. Even the best killer,
who was good at Lightness Skill, would either leave his footprints on the thin
layer of ice or his footsteps would crush it.
Hence, the safest choice for Gu Shenwei was to remain where he was. But he
still searched along the roads and lurked at a fixed place. This trick could
only work very well when facing an inexperienced opponent, however, for a
well-prepared killer apprentice, Wildhorse would not be fooled. He could not
directly follow Gu Shenwei's footprints, because it meant to bite the hook of
a trap. Therefore, he would circle around and attack Gu Shenwei from his
back instead.
Gu Shenwei found three footprints and two ice-broken places. Meanwhile, he

also accidentally left the same traces. Later, he narrowed down the scope of
his search and firmly believed that he was very close to Wildhorse.
There were four dilapidated yards around the crossroads. The place was the
center of the black market a long time ago. Now, there remained a lot of
debris with only a little plant cover.
It was now late morning and the battle had continued for almost a day. At this
moment, Gu Shenwei found that a broken brick had been moved, so he
carefully searched nearby and ensured it was Wildhorse's mistake. It was the
time to take the initiative.
Gu Shenwei moved a piece of wood in the yard, which was located in the
southeastern direction from the crossroad, and chose to ambush Wildhorse
behind the broken wall in the northwestern yard, which he would pass by as
he was circling around.
The next thing that Gu Shenwei needed to do was to lie on his stomach and to
wait patiently.
After waiting for almost two hours, he finally heard the sound of slight
footsteps.
Wildhorse was approaching. Although he was dressed in the same manner as

the other killer apprentices, Gu Shenwei knew it was him. His back was
arched as he crept forward with a saber in his right hand. Before he moved
on, he would cautiously observe the surroundings like a thief.
Gu Shenwei would not laugh at him because he acted the same way. Killers
did not like the showy movements but preferred the practical methods.
Wildhorse only took two steps, and then he stopped. No one knew what had
attracted his attention and made him alert. Whatever it was, he halted and
crouched lower than before and strengthened the hold on his saber. Then, he
looked at the place where Gu Shenwei was lying in wait.
Gu Shenwei, hiding among the stone fragments, revealed an eye to observe

his opponent. He just lay on his stomach, with his back to the sun. Even a
hawk with sharp eyes would not find him.
However, Wildhorse still stared at the ruins where Gu Shenwei was waiting
in ambush. Perhaps he did not find anything and just intuitively felt danger.
Gu Shenwei still waited without blinking his eyes. Among the killers, it was
widely believed that people's mood swings could alert the vigilant enemies.
Hence, if they wanted to hide stay well hidden, their mind should be as calm
as still water.
At this time, Wildhorse looked away and stepped forwards. Suddenly Gu

Shenwei's heart palpitated, even though it might have alerted Wildhorse,
because he changed his direction. It seemed that Wildhorse was going to
circle around the giant stone. If he did so, Gu Shenwei's position would be
exposed and he would lose his advantage.
People would never know what Wildhorse would do next, because when he
was moving, someone yelled outside, "Lord commanded all people to stop
the private fight. Lord commanded all people to stop the private fight…"
The sound was like a raging wind that blew through Woodensaber Alley. The
daydream of the 200 youths had ended. All of a sudden, the apprentices, who
were drunk in the mysterious atmosphere, woke up.
Over the last month, East Castle was like an island forgotten by the gods.
Residents on this island always thought they were gods and masters. The
word "Lord" reminded the apprentices that the real god was looking down at
the small land. Now, he came to declare his sovereignty.
Every survivor belonged to the Supreme King.
A team of red-belt killers on horseback had passed the message. On seeing

them, the apprentices woke up and left quickly. In their eyes, the two people,
who were still in the ruins, had lost their halos and became common folk.
Wildhorse stepped away quietly and Gu Shenwei also retreated from the
other direction. Both of them thought they, themselves, had the initiative and
would have killed the opponent in the next minute. Therefore, they felt very
regretful.
When Gu Shenwei came back to Woodensaber Alley, most of the apprentices

had gone. Only some of his loyal members had stayed behind. They nodded
to him and also left quickly.
The killers on horseback went back. They even ignored the leader of
Tattooed Arm Gang on the roadside.
The nightmare of slaughter was over, but Gu Shenwei still was a lowly young
slave, who had a long way to go to achieve his goal of revenge.
A small group of people stood at the entrance of Woodensaber Alley and

were also dressed in black like the apprentices. But Gu Shenwei knew that
none of them came from East Castle.
They looked at the lone Slave Huan, as if they were merciless aristocrats who
were appreciating a lion cub with great interest.
Gu Shenwei had deduced who they were and he even thought some of them
were familiar to him. He should have known that this real and exciting game
would arouse the Tenth Young Master, Shangguan Ru's, interest.
Shangguan Ru stood with others. Perhaps she was the small one in the
middle.
A skinny person among them walked toward Slave Huan, who stood still.
"Master Yu." Gu Shenwei said respectfully.
On seeing the person approaching him, Gu Shenwei bowed slightly and

recognized who she was.
"You killed my brother." Shangguan Yushi spoke to him straightforwardly.

She was as elegant and proud as Gu Shenwei remembered. "Our family is
very grateful to you." She even nodded at him and said, "But I still will
avenge him. You better be careful! That's all."
Gu Shenwei looked at the tall girl. Several months ago, she was his toughest
opponent, but now she was just a proud and innocent little girl. She came
here with Shangguan Ru just for fun. She had never tasted real hatred and
blood.
"How could she know the meaning of hatred and revenge?"
"Welcome to the paradise of hatred. That's all," Gu Shenwei said proudly.
All of a sudden, the lowly Gu Shenwei became as calm and elegant as a king.
However, Master Yu, surnamed Shangguan fell into a panic. She held her
saber with her right hand, but she lost the strength and will to draw out the
saber. She stepped backward and then turned to flee.
The small group of men in black left. Gu Shenwei watched the figure, which
he thought was Shangguan Ru, and his killing desire disappeared completely.
Gu Shenwei first visited Maid Lotus. She was still recovering from her injury
so she had to leave early.
"Tattooed Arm Gang still exists," Maid Lotus firmly said.
Gu Shenwei did not refute her, but he knew what remained was just its
shadow. When the sun came out, it would disappear, like the frost in the
morning.
Killer mentors came back to the fort and counted their apprentices. Some of
them lost all their apprentices, so they had to leave Golden Roc Fort and live
in the small and cold house, expecting to recruit some good apprentices next
year.
Those mentors, who still had survived apprentices, were excited, even though
some of them were only left with one apprentice. They asked for every detail
of the assassination and then taught their apprentice all their killing
experience.
In fact, more than one killer mentor had openly announced that many of
them, who was involved in the fighting, would become top-level killers.
But no one was rewarded by the Shangguan family. It seemed that they
thought the apprentices still needed more training.
Tie Hanfeng also came back. This time, he did not drink, so he was in a bad
temper and did not show any joy on his apprentice's survival.
"I heard that you formed a 'female gang', let a girl manage the team and relied
on her to protect you? Your mom has turned into ash long ago, but you're still
as naive as a new baby. Why are you so popular among women? Are you
gonna hook up with them?"
If it happened one month ago, Gu Shenwei would be irritated. But now his
mind was as calm as still water.
"She's a qualified killer. She isn't worse than anyone else," he replied calmly.
Tie Hanfeng seemed angry at his apprentice's indifference and stared at him
for a while. Then, he changed the topic and said, "How many times do you
still need to attend the monthly test?"
"Once."
Gu Shenwei's fifth month-test would be held at the last days at the climax of
the assassination. His opponent had died. Hence, he would become a killer in
Golden Roc Fort if he gained one more chance to kill an apprentice in a
single saber strike.
"Very good. Next time, you shouldn't kill your opponent, because you need
more kung fu training."
Tie Hanfeng coldly declared, but his words, like a saber, struck deep into Gu
Shenwei's heart. He could not control his emotions anymore and he suddenly
burst into fury.
Chapter 80 - Savage Beatings
Chapter 80: Savage Beatings
Tie Hanfeng needed a killer mentor title to continue his private business in
South City. To maintain his current title, he intended to postpone his
apprentice's departure.
According to the rules of Golden Roc Fort, if a killer apprentice could kill
every opponent in the tests with only one strike for six consecutive months or
wound every opponent for 12 straight months, then he or she would become a
red-belt killer.
Gu Shenwei had killed every one of his opponents with just one strike in the
past five monthly tests. If he listened to his mentor and purposely lost the
game in his sixth monthly test, he would have to start all over again, which
meant that he would have to spend at least another six months to become a
red-belt killer. He was irritated by his mentor's request, but he still pretended
to agree with him. He secretly made up his mind to kill his opponent with
only one strike in the upcoming monthly test. He wished to get rid of this old
cripple as soon as possible because he thought that he did not need this
teacher anymore.
After the month-long massacre, the East Castle gradually returned to normal.
So did the black market. A few days later, Liuhua the Silencer suddenly
popped out, which greatly surprised everyone including his mentor.
This lone-wolf killer became even more seclusive than before and refused to
make friends with anyone. His mentor strongly supported his decision and
openly praised him as a real professional killer.
Although the two major gangs had been dismissed, the core members of the
gangs still stuck together. Some Tattooed Arm Gang members wanted
revenge for Maid Lotus and asked Slave Huan to assassinate Liuhua.
Gu Shenwei vetoed their suggestion immediately. He explained that since

Supreme King had already banned gang wars, they could not resort to
assassination to avenge Maid Lotus now. To appease his former gang
members, he promised that he would try his best to make Liuhua his
opponent in the impending monthly test.
Everyone agreed to this plan. They believed that Slave Huan could easily kill
Liuhua in a test room, since Liuhua could not compete with Slave Huan in
saber skills and could not find any place to hide and shoot in the narrow test
room.
To carry out this plan, the Tattooed Arm Gang members and even some
Snow Mountain Gang members all donated money to bribe a yellow-belt,
who promised that he would put Liuhua and Slave Huan in the same test
room in the upcoming monthly test.
This was normal business in East Castle. Shangguan Yuxing had engaged in
this business when he had been alive. Now he was dead, but the business still
thrived.
Gu Shenwei practiced hard for the test and at the same time, sent his reliable
friends to monitor Shangguan Yushi. She had gotten cold feet and fled in
their previous confrontation, but he still worried that she was secretly plotting
against him.
So far, she had not made any move to set him up in East Castle. He was not
sure whether it was because she was frightened or because she really hated
her brother and did not want to avenge him.
Three days before the monthly test, Maid Lotus' wound recovered. She took
the money to find the yellow-belt and arranged everything for Slave Huan.
Tie Hanfeng had rarely gone downhill lately. In recent days, he had urged his
apprentice to practice and begun to really exchange moves with him. Now, he
could not remain in his chair throughout a fight against his apprentice
anymore. Slave Huan was much stronger now, although he still lacked
experiences and sophisticated skills.
On the day of the test, they got up early in the morning and went to Pyrowork
Academy together. Before they entered the academy, Tie Hanfeng grabbed
Slave Huan's arm and asked, "Do you remember what I said?"
"Yes."
"Take care of it."
Gu Shenwei nodded, but at the same time, he was thinking about how he was
going to end Liuhua with one strike. He felt thrilled because after winning
this fight, he would officially become a killer and be rid of his mentor.
According to Golden Roc Fort's tradition, when he became a killer, he would

return to serve his master, Shangguan Nu. When that happened, he would be
able to see what his master's black-masked assassin could do and then figure
out a way to kill the Eighth Young Master.
He was pretty sure that he would have enough time to realize this plan before
his Qigong Deviation killed him.
Inside the yard of the academy, all the killer apprentices were in black outfits,
but Gu Shenwei still recognized Liuhua at just a glance. With a knife stuck in
his belt and a shortbow on his back, he was standing alone by a wall, far
away from everyone else including his own mentor.
"You'll die today unless you've managed to make huge progress in your saber
skills in the past month," Gu Shenwei looked at Liuhua and thought.
A building inside the yard was divided into a row of test rooms. Before the
test, the apprentices were arranged into two lines on opposite sides of the
building. A yellow-belt led Slave Huan to a test room and whispered to him
at the door, "I'm sorry. Someone paid a higher price. You can come to me to
get your money back after the test."
With these words, the yellow-belt hurried off. Gu Shenwei believed it must
have been Tie Hanfeng who had ruined his plan.
He pushed the door open and stormed into the room. To his great surprise, he
discovered that his opponent was Maid Lotus.
They knew each other very well, so they immediately recognized each other,
even though they both had their faces covered by black cloths.
"What happened?" Maid Lotus asked.
"The old cripple paid the yellow-belt a higher price to put us in the same test
room," Gu Shenwei replied.
They fell into silence, feeling lost.
For a moment, Gu Shenwei really wanted to kill Maid Lotus, since he wished
to carry out his revenge plan as soon as possible. However, he still gave up
on that idea in the end. He worried that treating Maid Lotus so cruel-
heartedly would make the other killer apprentices isolate him. To realize his
plan for revenge, he needed their help, although he would never tell them
about his plan.
"What should we do now?" Maid Lotus asked.
"Come over here and cut me. I'll let you win this match."
Gu Shenwei decided to let Maid Lotus owe him a favor. He could not
brutally kill her with one strike, so he decided to take another six months to
become a red-belt killer.
"Thanks."
Maid Lotus agreed without any hesitation. She went over to Slave Huan and
cut a shallow wound on his left arm.
This incident made Gu Shenwei believe that Maid Lotus was a girl without
pretense. He trusted her even more.
"I'll kill Liuhua for you," he said.
"No, I'll kill him by myself," she replied.

Gu Shenwei managed to calm himself down and walked out of the room to
report the result to the yellow-belt. But when he returned to the yard with his
mentor, he could not hold his anger back anymore. "You old cripple, why did
you do this to me?" he shouted.
Tie Hanfeng reacted coolly to his apprentice's anger. He lay on his deck chair
and said, "I did that for your own good."
"You did that to keep your title, so you can continue your private business."
"And still for your own good."
Gu Shenwei got so furious that he began to feel as if he was burning with

anger. He gave full vent to his frustration and his hatred toward Golden Roc
Fort and started scapegoating his mentor. "From now on, you're my enemy."
"Huh, it really took you long enough to see this point, dumb*ss. We've been
enemies from the very beginning. Look, here's my belt. If you can kill me and
hang this thing on the gate of the yard, you'll immediately become a red-belt
killer. How about it? Kill me and you won't need to take the monthly tests
anymore. You little bastard, do you want to try?"
Tie Hanfeng gave his apprentice a provocative look, feeling no shame at all.
Gu Shenwei regretted that he had not killed Master Shifu when he had gotten
completely drunk the last time. He decided to find an opportunity to
assassinate him within six months.
This decision still failed to appease his anger. He had only two years and a
few months to live and to get his revenge, but now he had to waste probably
six months on a semi-retired killer.
Tie Hanfeng noticed Slave Huan's anger and thought it was time for the
lesson he had been preparing for a long time. "Training killers is like training
dogs. First, you let them bite each other and fight against each other to fill
their hearts with anger and hatred. When they become fierce dogs that want
to swallow the whole world and bite everyone they meet, they can move on
to the next step. Do you know what the next step is?"
Gu Shenwei shut his mouth tightly, refusing to respond to such nonsense.
"The next step is to keep every dog on a leash to prevent it from biting its
owner. A disobedient dog is a useless, crazy dog, like a piece of sheet."
Although Gu Shenwei was extremely angry now, he still understood his

mentor's meaning. A killer relied on hatred and anger to maintain a strong
killing desire, but once he failed to control his own emotions, he would end
up destroying himself.
At this moment, Gu Shenwei was not sure whether he should suppress his
anger or give full vent to it. Suddenly, he felt tightness in his chest and passed
out.
His Qigong Deviation caused by Mama Xue had struck him again. This time,
it was much more severe.
However, Gu Shenwei did not suffer a lot because he fainted and became
unconscious. His only regret was that he did not get the chance to repeat the
words in the Nameless Swordbook in his mind to turn the hot energy into his
own Internal Strength.
When he woke up, he found himself lying in his mentor's chair. This was the
first time that he enjoyed this privilege. He had never touched this chair even
when his mentor had been away.
Tie Hanfeng was standing with his left leg three steps away from Slave Huan
and looking at the slave boy with gloomy eyes.
Gu Shenwei's heart skipped a beat. He had successfully concealed three

Qigong Deviation attacks since he had become Tie Hanfeng's apprentice. But
now, he could not hide this from his mentor anymore.
"Hey, there's my little apprentice, who's bent on becoming a killer. What's

going on? Did you faint with excitement? Or, do you have some f*cking
secret?"
"It's none of your business."

This time, the Qigong Deviation struck suddenly and also ended abruptly. Gu
Shenwei jumped out of the chair and began to consider how he would kill his
mentor before he gave his secret away.
In the next moment, Tie Hanfeng approached Gu Shenwei and punched him
all of a sudden. Gu Shenwei was on high alert but still failed to stop the
punch to his lower abdomen.
It hurt a lot, but he still swiftly drew out his saber to attack Tie Hanfeng's
back. As they were too close to each other now, he planned to use a backhand
attack, a new technique that he had mastered during real fights.
He had never told his mentor that he had already gotten used to attacking
from behind.
Beyond all his expectations, his killer mentor, a semi-retired killer, turned out
to be a really tough opponent.
Tie Hanfeng did not dodge aside. Nor did he adopt any defensive move to
block Gu Shenwei's saber. He just took one step forward and used his head to
hit Gu Shenwei's nose hard. Gu Shenwei had never expected his mentor to
use such a common street fighting trick to beat him.
Now, with a dizzy head and blurry vision, he could not steadily hold onto his
saber, not to mention use it to kill someone.
Tie Hanfeng carried the momentum into his next rounds of attacks. He
grabbed his apprentice by the neck and kept battering him from his head to
his waist until he blacked out again.
When Gu Shenwei woke up again, he found himself lying in the yard with his
hands and feet tightly tied by leather cords.
A month ago, he had been the leader of a gang, but today, he ended up lying
in a pile of rubbish, with a mass of bruises all over his body and face. He
thought that up until now god had played many jokes on him, but this one
was definitely the cruelest.
Now, Tie Hanfeng was a little tipsy but not in a good mood. He was lying in
his chair, saying, "I'll kill you unless you get killed by some absurd Qigong
Deviation someday. I can't let you disgrace me."
Tie Hanfeng cast a cold eye on Gu Shenwei, who remained silent but
continued to struggle on the ground all the while. After that, he just kept
drinking his liquor until he finally fell asleep in his chair.
Gu Shenwei tried everything he knew but still failed to untie himself. In the
end, he got exhausted and could only sleep on the cold ground. It was winter
now, so he shivered all night long and nearly froze to death.
Tie Hanfeng was not afraid of the cold. He had a sound sleep in his chair in
the open yard and woke up late the next day. The moment that he woke up,
he poured all the remaining liquor into his mouth. After that, he turned to
look at his apprentice, who was blue in the face because of the cold weather.
"You little bastard, you're still alive? Go down the hill with me. If I can't find
someone to heal you, I'll chop off my only good leg to feed a f*cking dog."
Chapter 81 - Assassination Plots
Chapter 81: Assassination Plots
In the following 15 days, Tie Hanfeng often went alone on separate occasions
to the city, always coming back on the same day and looking gloomy.
During those days, Gu Shenwei just focused himself on one thing,

assassinating his mentor.
In the 15 days, he tried as many as 28 different assassination plans. Some of

them were carefully considered and the others were just risky schemes he
cooked up on the spur of the moment.
Tie Hanfeng reacted calmly to all the attacks. Every time after he
successfully escaped an assassination attempt, he would beat his apprentice
heavily. Sometimes, he would even comment on his apprentice's
assassination plans.
"Idiot, you used knockout powder on a professional killer like me. Ha, I was
taking them to numb my pain at a time when your mum was still a mere
baby."
When Tie Hanfeng said this, Gu Shenwei was lying on the ground, paralysed
by the knockout powder which backfired on him.
"What a dumb*ss you are. You glanced at the place where you hid the dagger
before you launched the attack. You might as well have told me directly that
there was a dagger under the tray. I can see right through you. Do you still
dare to play such tricks on me?"
While saying this, Tie Hanfeng knocked the tray away, throwing food all
over the ground. After that, he mercilessly punched his apprentice and
knocked him down.
In order to achieve his ambition of killing his mentor, Gu Shenwei utilized all
available resources. He turned to the core members of the former Tattooed
Arm Gang. They gave him advice and provided him with rare poisons,
specially crafted short weapons and various types of hidden weapons. They
even secretly followed and watched Tie Hanfeng for him.
Gu Shenwei forbade his loyal friends from attacking his mentor for fear that
Tie Hanfeng would kill them mercilessly. He carried out all the assassin
missions by himself, since he was clear that his mentor would not kill his
only apprentice.
Having failed more than 20 times, Gu Shenwei nearly succeeded one day.
He found out that his mentor never took the initiative to attack him. Based on
this finding, he made a very sophisticated plan.
On this day, when Tie Hanfeng was lying in his chair, drinking and
grumbling that his apprentice was such a burden, Gu Shenwei kept pacing
back and forth in front of his mentor. He put on a worried look on his face,
placing his right hand several centimeters away from the saber handle and his
left hand behind his back hidden in a sleeve.
After a while, Tie Hanfeng finally got pissed off. "You bast*rd, what're you
waiting for? What's the assassination method you're going to use today? Save
it, dumb*ss. I've told you that I'm familiar with all those tricks. How about
you kill yourself and rot in this yard? Maybe, you can stink me to death."
"Bullsheet, old cripple! Your rotten leg smells much worse than my dead
body. How can you put up with that piece of sheet?" Gu Shenwei sharply
retorted.
This pair of mentor and apprentice became increasingly rude to each other.
Tie Hanfeng rapidly hurled countless insults at his apprentice, and Gu
Shenwei tried his best to revile in return. However, he still did not launch an
attack.
Tie Hanfeng was thrilled. He was glad to see his apprentice finally becoming
his match at swearing and began to salivate uncontrollably. He made mean
jokes about Slave Huan's body parts, cursed his ancestors, relatives and
friends, and even made up a dozen dirty stories about his birth. He talked on
and on, and at the same time still managed to keep drinking.
Gu Shenwei was clearly at a disadvantage in the beginning. He felt awkward

to speak out such bad language and thus could not react quickly to his
mentor's language abuses. As time went by, he began to change and gradually
master a trick. He started to take the initiative to abuse his mentor, calling
him old cripple or kiss-ass, no matter what his mentor said. In the end, Gu
Shenwei finally broke his bottom line and made a long speech, contending
that his mentor was a direct descendant of grotesque human beings and a
combination of some filthy animals.
Gu Shenwei found out that swearing was not any simpler than killing. He had
to be quick and flexible in this process, and once he used a sentence
repeatedly, he would get ridiculed by his mentor. However, when he got the
hang of it, he began to feel delighted. He realized that swearing was a good
way to relieve the stress caused by killing people. The more he cursed, the
more relaxed he felt.
This unprecedented quarrel between the mentor and the apprentice lasted
nearly four hours until Tie Hanfeng suddenly passed out.
Gu Shenwei did not use hidden weapons or poison. Nor did he add any
knockout powder to his mentor's liquor. He merely bought more liquor than
usual for his mentor today. After long-time observation, he found out that his
mentor enjoyed swearing while drinking. Given that, he gave his mentor this
long-time quarrel as a delicious dish that went with his liquor. The plan
worked. Now, Tie Hanfeng was totally drunk and unconscious.
Gu Shenwei stopped swearing. Instantly, the feeling of relief brought about

by the quarrel was replaced by a strong desire for vengeance and blood.
He drew out his saber and held it against Tie Hanfeng's chest, feeling excited
that he was about to end his mentor's life and become a red-belt killer.
He applied some pressure to his saber. It quickly pierced Tie Hanfeng's
clothes and skin, and some blood began to ooze out of the wound. Curiously,
in the next moment, he felt that his saber got stuck in something.
When he was about to push harder to thrust the saber into his mentor' chest,
Tie Hanfeng opened his eyes abruptly. He swiftly drew out a saber from
somewhere under his chair to stab Gu Shenwei in the chest.
If Gu Shenwei had continued to thrust his saber into his mentor's chest, he
would have gotten stabbed by Tie Hanfeng's saber. He did not want to die
together with the old cripple now. He had to avenge his family's deaths.
He jumped backwards to dodge his mentor's saber, and then raised his own,
preparing to defend himself against Tie Hanfeng's attack.
However, Tie Hanfeng did not rise from the chair to beat him or open his
mouth to curse him. He still widely opened his eyes and tightly held his saber
while snoring. He did not wake up at all.
Seeing that, Gu Shenwei stood agape and felt quite ashamed of himself. He
found out that he was not his mentor' rival even when his mentor was asleep.
In the next moment, Tie Hanfeng slowly closed his eyes, but still held his
saber tightly.
Gu Shenwei hesitated for a long time before he completely gave up on this

assassination plan. He did not have the courage to approach his mentor again,
for he could tell that his mentor still harbored a killing intent for anyone who
dared to approach him. He was amazed to see that Tie Hanfeng still somehow
maintained his killer instinct when he was heavily drunk and soundly asleep.
He thought of Han Shiqi, a killer he had murdered a long time ago. That man
was far weaker than Tie Hanfeng. Gu Shenwei could not understand why
Han Shiqi had also been able to become a killer. He began to doubt the
credibility of Golden Roc Fort's selection criteria for killers. He even
wondered if Han Shiqi had really gotten the killer title through a special
connection to some big shot in the fort.
Before this day, Gu Shenwei had often regretted that he had missed a chance
to kill his mentor when he was drunk, but now he had no such regrets. He
concluded from this failed assassin attempt that it was impossible to kill him
even when he was drunk and asleep.
He had to admit that Tie Hanfeng was an outstanding killer and he himself
still had much to learn from him. He thought that if he did not have the
qigong deviation and had more years to live, he would love to stay with his
mentor for a few more years.
The next morning, when Tie Hanfeng woke up at the first sight to see a saber
in his hand, he frowned. After that, he saw a small scar on his chest and
revealed an understanding smile. He stretched out his hand to grab his
flagons only to find that all of them were empty. At this moment, he finally
realized what had happened and flared up. He searched for his apprentice
everywhere, wanting to beat him up.
Gu Shenwei hid for two days before he went back to his mentor's yard. He
still wanted to assassinate his mentor. He tried a few more times but still
failed. Like before, after each failed assassin attempt, he would get pummeled
by his mentor. On a snowy day, when Tie Hanfeng brought him to see a
doctor, he still had a bloody nose and a swollen, bruised face and looked
stupid and funny.
Tie Hanfeng kept nagging that he had spent lots of money and asked help
from lots of people in the past 15 days to get a chance for Slave Huan to meet
the doctor. He warned his apprentice that he should behave himself and be
extra polite to the venerated doctor.
Gu Shenwei, however, did not want to see the doctor at all. He worried that
the doctor would discover that he was practicing Gu family's unique qigong
technique, Yin and Yang Strength.
Tie Hanfeng discovered his qigong deviation. This was one of the reasons
why he wanted to kill his mentor as soon as possible.
The doctor they were going to see was the famous Doctor Sun, who had been
able to travel extensively and learn widely from dozens of well-known
doctors in the Western Region and the Central Plain in his youth.
Doctor Sun now lived in a very grand house in North City and received all
his patients in his study. All his patients had to make appointments in
advance and would usually wait for several or even a dozen days before they
met the Dr. Sun. The doctor refused to treat several kinds of illnesses, which
included emergencies and traumas. He explained that he had never learned
how to deal with these problems.
As soon as Tie Hanfeng and Gu Shenwei arrived at Dr. Sun's residence, the
doctor's steward led them to the study.
This was the first time for Tie Hanfeng to meet the famous doctor. He
behaved courteously. He revealed a flattering smile and bowed deeply to the
doctor like an old bumpkin. After that, he pressed Slave Huan's head, forcing
him to make a bow, and said softly, "Doctor Sun, we need your help."
The doctor was a tall, serious-looking old man, dressed in a blue gown. He
did not have much hair on his head but had a waist-long, black and white
beard. As he was so engrossed in reading a book in his hand now, he just
grunted assent without looking at them at all. He continued to read two more
pages and finally put down his book. After that, he looked at them and said,
"It's liver and stomach damages caused by excessive drinking. You must be
ill-tempered, cunning and guile. Such a disposition tends to drive your Qi and
blood to your upper body. Look at your red face. That's a sign. You don't
need any medicine. As long as you can give up drinking, you'll be able to get
five more years to live. If you can't, you'll lose ten years."
Tie Hanfeng was stunned to hear that, but he would never quit drinking even
if the doctor informed him that he would die tomorrow because of alcohol.
"Doctor Sun, I'm not the patient. He is," Tie Hanfeng said.
"Why didn't you say it earlier? You guys always waste my time," the doctor
said impatiently.
He shook his head and turned to look at Gu Shenwei. "Why do you bring him
here? Don't beat him so hard next time, and he won't look so ugly."
Hearing that, Gu Shenwei felt much relieved. He thought that this doctor did
not look like a man of real learning and would never be able to discover his
qigong secret.
Tie Hanfeng pushed his apprentice toward the doctor and said, "Doctor Sun,
we didn't come for the traumatic injuries. He has an internal one."
The doctor shook his head helplessly, clearly unhappy about the fact that this
pair was wasting his time again. He stretched out three fingers to feel Gu
Shenwei's pulse. All three fingers had very long nails. Doctor Sun placed
them on Gu Shenwei's left wrist and then his right wrist. As time went by, the
doctor's eyebrows knitted more and more tightly together.
After the pulse diagnosis, the doctor still frowned. He flicked his fingers,
sending out many hair-thin strands of Qi. These strands hit the acupoints in
Gu Shenwei's governing vessel precisely, which gave Gu Shenwei a fearful
shock.
Beyond his expectations, this old bookworm turned out to be a qigong

master. When he started to worry about his secret, a strand of Qi sent by
Doctor Sun happened to hit his Xuanji acupoint. The Internal Strength left by
Mama Xue instantly responded to the stimulation and went down to attack
Gu Shenwei's Dantian.
Gu Shenwei cried out and tumbled backward. Doctor Sun grabbed his arm
and shouted to Tie Hanfeng, "Red-faced cripple, you got screwed. He's a
spy!"
Chapter 82 - For Hire
Chapter 82: For Hire
When Doctor Sun found out about his secrets, Gu Shenwei was shocked and
tried to escape out of instinct. However, Doctor Sun was gripping his hand so
tightly that he could hardly move.
Tie Hanfeng looked puzzled. "Doctor, he's my apprentice, not a spy."
"Is he? Why does he have the inner force of the Barren Sect then? Are the
two sects friends now, instead of enemies? If so, this will be a blessing for the
Western Region."
Even after learning the secret, Tie Hanfeng kept smiling and explained. "Oh,
you can trust me on this, doctor. The force was forcefully infused into him by
a traitor. That's exactly why we're here asking for your help."
Gu Shenwei was taken aback. The question, "Why did he cover for me? Is he
planning to kill me later when we're alone?", appeared at the forefront of his
mind.
Doctor Sun was suspicious of the excuse. "So, you believe him?"
"Of course, I do."
Tie Hanfeng replied with such certainty that Gu Shenwei began suspecting
him of plotting something. It had happened before. When Mama Xue
admitted to teaching Slave Yao internal strength, it certainly saved him from
being questioned, but he had to pay it back with a lot of hard work.
"Whatever, this happens to be your problem," said the doctor. "As for his
inner force, it's no big deal. It is just incurable. So, all he can do now is return
to his quarters and await his death."
Tie Hanfeng and Gu Shenwei were both in a daze after hearing this. They
couldn't understand the doctor's words. "Doctor, we don't understand. If it's
not serious, it could be easily healed, isn't it?" Asked Tie Hanfeng.
The doctor got angry out of the blue. "Is it? Look at my head. It's almost bald.
Can you tell me how to make my hair grow back?"
Tie Hanfeng did not dare utter a single word to rebuke his argument and kept
apologizing. His humble words calmed the doctor down. "Doctor Sun, my
miracle-working man. There isn't any internal injury that you can't cure."
"Only liars would claim to be capable of healing anything and everything. A

great doctor never does so. You're insulting me." Though the doctor was not
mad anymore, his words were still spiteful.
Tie Hanfeng apologized once again. The doctor stared at the silent young
man. The young man's expression was even gloomier than that of the
countless killers he had met. "There're thousands of his kind of people in your
fort. They die sooner than an insect. What would be the point of saving him?"
"I have no other apprentices but him, doctor. I just hope that he can live
longer."
Doctor Sun seemed to have been convinced, but he did not make any further
diagnosis. He was deep in thought before saying. "To be frank, there's
nothing I can do about his injuries. Umm… do you believe in Buddhism?"
The question was directed towards Gu Shenwei, who was still thinking about
Tie Hanfeng's odd behaviour. He was confused and asked, "What?"
"Buddhism."
"No, doctor."
He answered after a moment of thought. Buddhism was widely accepted in

the Central Plain and the Western Region. His mother used to be a devotee
and there had been many scriptures and statues in their house as well. Though
he had been influenced by them from a young age, he was not a believer.
"Well, there's no other way then. It's said that there's a set of exorcism
scriptures in the Four Truths Temple. It may have a magical effect on your
injuries. You don't have such a faith, so I guess it won't work on you. Forget
about it."
Tie Hanfeng and Gu Shenwei remained indifferent to the subject matter.

None of them believed in Buddhism, let alone the magical effects of it.
"Doctor, there has to be other treatments, right?" Tie Hanfeng persisted. Gu

Shenwei couldn't bring himself to care about it anymore.
"There are, but it's not in the Jade City. There's a country among the
mountains, called the Land of Fragrance, 2,800 km towards the southwest
from here. There're many extraordinary men with medical skills much better
than mine. Besides the traitor, they're your only hope for healing his injuries.
Since he still has two or three more years to live, there's enough time for him
to go there and receive treatment."
Having told them everything that he knew, the doctor went back to his desk,
picked up his book, and continued his reading.
The two visitors left the clinic and came out onto the street. Gu Shenwei was
anticipating his Shifu to show his true feelings about Gu Shenwei's secret. Tie
Hanfeng led him across the bridge and into the Southwall Tavern without a
word.
There were very few guests in the tavern in the evening. They both sat down
face to face by a table against the wall. Tie Hanfeng ordered various kinds of
wine as usual. Strangely, he did not even take a sip and just stared sternly at
his apprentice. "Tell me everything."
"About what?"
Gu Shenwei answered reluctantly. He did not want to give in so quickly. If

Tie Hanfeng knew about his secret, Tie Hanfeng could take advantage of it if
he wanted.
Tie Hanfeng's glare was as sharp as a sword. He looked the same as the time
when he ordered his apprentice to kill someone for the first time. At this
moment he was neither the red-faced groveler nor the incoherent drunkard.
He was a real, creepy killer.
Gu Shenwei managed to stall by staring at Tie Hanfeng for about 15 minutes.

He gave in first, just as he did in his previous assassination attempt. He then
told Tie Hanfeng everything that had happened between Mama Xue and him.
The details in his stories were exactly the same as what he had told the Eighth
Young Master. The only difference was that he included how he got the
Peripheral Force this time.
"You're afraid that the Eighth Young Master will kill you after knowing your
secret, right?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
Tie Hanfeng snorted. His apprentice was not that dumb after all. There were
numerous killers in Golden Roc Fort. No one would be willing to take in an
apprentice with a limited lifespan and who could be controlled by the enemy.
"Stay here,"
Tie Hanfeng said, standing up.
"Where are you going?"
"Speak less and drink more."
Tie Hanfeng left alone, leaving his apprentice with a table full of fine wine.
It was getting dark. The tavern was getting crowded with an increasing
number of guests. The smell of wine wafted in the air. His mind was numb
from the laughter and the loud noise.
He was seriously considering whether to escape or not.
"What should I do after escaping? Spend my last two years in hiding and
never see my foes again?"
He stifled the idea and thought that he should stay. Since Tie Hanfeng had
not brought him back to East Castle to see the Eighth Young Master yet, it
meant that he still had some value. He should take advantage of that to
survive. Perhaps he could even find a good time to avenge himself.
It was nearly midnight when Tie Hanfeng rushed back. He seemed more
relaxed than before. Seeing that the wine was untouched, he was confused.
"Why didn't you drink?"
"I've decided not to drink anymore."
Gu Shenwei told the truth. Drinking felt wonderful, but it would make him
feel numb later. He longed to be the best killer. Therefore, he would never
drink alcohol.
Even though Tie Hanfeng did not agree with him, but he did not try to change
Gu Shenwei's mind either. He drank as much as he could by himself. As none
of his acquaintances were there, he called the tavern keeper and the
counterjumpers over to join him. The drinking did not end until the fourth
watch. The tavern keeper would not bring them more wine as there were only
drunkards left.
From this moment onwards, he would never mention anything about his
apprentice's internal injury.
Gu Shenwei became increasingly confused as he waited. Just when Tie

Hanfeng was about to be totally hammered, he finally asked, "What on earth
do you want me to do?"
"I want you to drink," Tie Hanfeng said with a grin, obviously enjoying
drinking for past few hours.
"Not that. You already know my secret. You could order me do anything."
"Well then, take off your pants. Will you?"
Gu Shenwei reached out for his saber, but he found nothing. He had always
forgotten that he had handed over the weapon outside the North Gate.
Moreover, carrying weapons in the tavern was not allowed.
"Haha, just kidding. I'm not interested in you at all. Don't always remain
indifferent. A killer shouldn't be too isolated from others. How would you
know the ways to kill, if you don't know the ways of the world?"
Gu Shenwei was becoming more aware of the fact that Tie Hanfeng was a
very sinister man and thought that his final request must be very harsh.
Tie Hanfeng staggered to his feet. "You're so proud that you don't look like a
killer. What I want you to do? Ha-ha, you should ask yourself what you can
do for me. You're nothing to me, young man. Sit here and wait. I'm going to
find a warm woman to sleep with."
Tie Hanfeng left his apprentice by himself again and went away by himself.
Sitting by the table full of leftovers, Gu Shenwei was quite puzzled. "Is this
over? That's it? He really wants nothing from me?"
Gu Shenwei did not want to admit it, but he did gradually relax. Soon, he fell
asleep, with his head laid on the table.
He did not sleep well as Tie Hanfeng's ever changing face kept emerging
before his eyes. He drew closer and even tried to touch his hair. Gu Shenwei
angrily grabbed his wrist and tried to break it with all of his strength.
A suppressed squeal reached his ears.
He woke up and sat up straight. He found himself pinching a boy's wrist. The
boy blanched with pain, but he did not yell loudly as he was afraid that he
would draw others' attention.
Gu Shenwei released his wrist and asked, "What are you doing here?"
He had seen this boy once. When he killed the horse-faced man under his
Shifu's order, the boy was the only witness and had even 'instructed' Gu
Shenwei to throw the corpse into the wilds.
The boy rubbed his wrist with an ingratiating smile. Once again, Gu Shenwei
noticed that though the boy was small in stature, his eyes were mature and
very cunning which were comparable to adults
"Are you a killer from Golden Roc Fort?"
Gu Shenwei ignored his question.
"I know who you are. I was so stunned when I saw you killing someone last
time."
"Get straight to the point."
"I saw you yesterday and waited all night just to tell you that you're great.
We're peers, but you're a hundred times stronger than me."
Gu Shenwei stared at the boy coldly. He hated his roundabout manner of

speaking.
"By the way, I'm Xu Yi and I'm 14 years old. You can call me Xu Xiaoyi or
Xiaoyi. What's your name?"
"There's no need for you to know my name."
"Wow, you're indeed a killer! A killer is nameless and leaves no traces. One
kills per shot and disappears immediately after. Unlike me who was born in
South City, I could hardly disappear and blend in as everybody here knows
me."
"Go away." Gu Shenwei ordered.
There was really no point in dealing with such a punk.
"I haven't told you why I've come to meet you yet!"
The boy's words hit Gu Shenwei. He doubted that this boy was sent by Tie
Hanfeng to test him. "Tell me then."
Xu Xiaoyi looked around. Seeing that they were the only two sober men
among the sleeping drunkards, he then said in a low voice, "I want you to kill
someone, and I'll pay you."
Chapter 83 - Prostitute
Chapter 83: Prostitute
Gu Shenwei reminded himself that this was South Jade City, and it might be
very common here for a 14-year-old teenager to hire a killer for murder. He
did not want to show his ignorance, so he kept quiet. But he was also
unwilling to be hired because earning money was absolutely not his reason
for being a killer.
"You're asking the wrong man. I'm not a killer."
Xu Xiaoyi had been staring at him full of hope, yet now he was disappointed,
which made him appear less mature. He said, "Give me a price, I can pay it. I
have enough money, really. I can pay the first half right now."
"I said I'm not a killer."
Xu Xiaoyi was so upset that he looked like a child who did not receive his
New Year's present. "I thought that you could help. You know, this is our last
chance to get me and my sister out of here."
"You have a sister?"
"Yes. Truth be told, I'm a thief. And my sister, she is a… a prostitute. We

didn't volunteer to do this, of course. It was him who coerced us. Anytime we
can't pay him the money, he beats us. If I ever had the choice, I would learn
literature or martial arts. My sister should be a lady in a rich family, living in
North City, learning some needlework at most. I don't blame myself for being
a thief, but at least she should marry a good man, some sort of exiled noble.
She is so nice, gentle, and beautiful. Why has she been treated this way?"
Gu Shenwei recalled his sister, Gu Cuilan. She was treated much worse.
"How much money have you got?"
"Uh, I don't know. I've never hired a killer before. How much is it normally?"
Gu Shenwei had experienced the cruelest killing contest among the

apprentices, so he could detect an ambush from the movement of a single
blade of grass. And he had been scheming against adults with evil intentions,
therefore he was suspicious about everything. But he never dealt with any
street hoodlum, especially a poor hoodlum begging for his help.
"A hundred taels of silver."
When Maid Lotus bribed the steward of the Pyrowork Academy to arrange
for Liuhua to be Slave Huan's opponent, she gave him a hundred taels. Thus,
Gu Shenwei thought this was the price of a life.
The price made Xu Xiaoyi feel awkward, but he did not bargain. "Alright, I
can pay you the first 50 taels now, and when it's done, you can have the rest."
"Tell me about that man."
"Who?"
"The man who coerced you and your sister."
"This isn't a good place for our conversation. Follow me."
Gu Shenwei did not know why should he do this killing "business". The issue
between him and his Master Shifu had not yet finished, so he should not
make any more trouble under any condition. Besides, this boy was so weirdly
smart and untrustworthy.
The only thing that touched Gu Shenwei might have been his emotions when
he talked about his sister.
He stood up, following the boy to leave the tavern, and wondered what Tie
Hanfeng would think about this. Since his Master Shifu would not show him
what he really wanted, irritating him was worth a shot.
It was not too far from daybreak, there was barely anyone walking on the
street. Xu Xiaoyi led him to go through the city wall, crossing different
corners in a valley, as if he was a mouse living in the maze that he had built.
He understood every shortcut and corner and avoided others' eyes and ears.
Their destination was a small building near the street without a yard. On the
first floor was the reception room; the second floor had the bedrooms.
Although it was not very big, the decorations were luxurious: a thick carpet,
countless jades, pearls, golds, and silvers, and some silks and satins were left
everywhere and nobody knew what were they used for. Clearly, a feast had
just been finished.
It was a small brothel. Gu Shenwei became a little nervous, so he doubted the

boy again, thinking that this could be another joke of his Master Shifu.
Maybe he would see that same old bright-red face soon.
But he was proven wrong. Xu Xiaoyi went upstairs and led a fragile girl out,
which was his sister. Though her cheeks were covered with rouge, she still
looked frightened and childlike.
She, called Xu Yanwei, was 17 years old, and the first prostitute that Gu
Shenwei had ever met.
If Gu Lun was still alive, watching his son at this age already associating with
a prostitute, he might have moved his house much farther away.
Xu Yanwei, as her brother had said, was truly gentle. She remained silent and
let Xu Xiaoyi introduce her. With her head lowered, she played with her
handkerchief in her fingers and seemed to be extremely terrified about this
killing business. Any sound outside the door would shock her.
It was an old rogue who had coerced them. He lived in South City and no one
knew his real name. They just called him "Pot-bellied Buddha", and his boys
and girls called him "Father".
"Father bought children from all over the world, raised and enslaved them.
The boys would be thieves and the girls would do… this."
Xu Xiaoyi spoke with a hot temper; clearly, he hated this Father very much.
"As long as the customers can pay, he'll kill someone in public for fun. Not to
mention the beatings. Look, the wounds on my sister's body are never
healed."
He rolled up his sister's sleeves to expose a skinny arm, where her white skin
was covered with several shocking bloody scars.
Xu Yanwei quickly loosened his hands, turned around, and wept soundlessly.
Gu Shenwei was touched by their performances. The chivalrous spirit that his
father had instilled in him during his childhood revived, so he ignored many
things. For example, since this "Pot-bellied Buddha" could control many
children and did business with prostitutes and thieves, he had to be a
powerful man, or was even connected to Golden Roc Fort. Hence, killing him
might be something dangerous.
Gu Shenwei had entered into a world that was entirely different from any
aristocratic family or any fort. Lies and truth, illusions and reality did not
exist here; everything was only the hallucinatory image of gold and silver.
Those who knew how essential money was could see through this mist. But
Gu Shenwei did not know that now.
"Give me the silver and a dagger,"
said Gu Shenwei after thinking about Xu Xiaoyi's words for a while.
Assassination had its protocol. Thus, Gu Shenwei checked the surrounding

environment, decided on where could he retreat to, and asked about Pot-
bellied Buddha's personal information.
Pot-bellied Buddha was actually an expert dating back to his youth. He had
made his career by killing people in the valleys of South City. Unfortunately,
as he gained more money, he became weaker. Now he had to stop several
times to gasp when he went upstairs.
He also kept a bodyguard with him at all times. The person selected was not
the same every time, but he certainly had to be a macheteman and was
someone who could be found in any tavern in South City.
In two hours, he would come and ask Xu Yanwei for the "tax", which meant
taking all the money that she earned last night. Normally, he would come
upstairs and do the business in the bedroom.
Xu Yanwei had already gotten rid of the old woman servant who was usually
with her.
This seemed like a simple action. The only thing inappropriate would be the
dagger that Xu Xiaoyi had found.
The scabbard was brand new, covered with bright dark lacquer, and inside
was an imitation Golden Roc Fort dagger that was very rough, a little lighter
than a real one. The dagger's edge curved backward.
Gu Shenwei returned the scabbard to Xu Xiaoyi, asked him to leave, and kept
the fake dagger, then he followed Xu Yanwei to enter the bedroom.
This room looked familiar; it had the same complicated decorations as

downstairs and a curtain hung above the door. Gu Shenwei tightened the
curtain and hid himself behind it. That bodyguard should stand right in that
entrance, so he would kill him first.
After the preparations, both of them felt the awkwardness at once.
Though Gu Shenwei was only 15 years old, he had a serious and gloomy
expression all the time, which made him appear three or four years older. Xu
Yanwei had never dealt with anyone who was not her customer before,
except for her brother. She was anxious, glancing at him sometimes, and
dropped her head immediately, pretending to smooth out the extremely tidy
hemline of her skirt.
Gu Shenwei was also embarrassed. He did not know how a prostitute should
act, but in his imagination, she should be bolder and tougher. Xu Yanwei's
eyes were constantly full of tears and she kept avoiding his glances, which
made her looked less like a "prostitute".
"You should act like I don't exist, otherwise, they'll doubt you."
Gu Shenwei reminded her. He had to hide in this place for a while, but he
could not stand her inquisitive glances anymore.
Xu Yanwei grunted assent, almost silently. Then, she did what she would
have done if no one else was in the bedroom—she took off her clothes.
Actually, all she wore was a luxuriant robe with nothing else underneath it.
Although Gu Shenwei could not see anything but a vague figure through the
curtains, he turned his head back immediately and his heart was beating fast.
It was the first time he felt that Xu Yanwei might not be so shy and timid.
When he turned around again, Xu Yanwei had already fallen asleep. The
daytime was her rest time.
He cleaned a layer of sweat from his palm and grabbed his dagger tightly. He
gazed at a blank space on the door to calm himself down.
Xu Yanwei was breathing gently and smoothly, as if she had truly fallen
asleep and would not be disturbed even if there were 100 men hiding in this
room.
Pot-bellied Buddha came upstairs, treading loudly, and his sounds arrived
earlier than he did. "My precious daughter, what have you brought me
today?"
He came in like a giant ball. He wiped his perspiration often, as if it were

summer. Behind him was a middle-aged man, tall and slovenly, who
seemingly had not washed his face for a long time. The bodyguard looked
like a bandit to Gu Shenwei.
Pot-bellied Buddha walked toward the bed, and his bodyguard stood
alongside the door. All that separated him from a real killer was a curtain. He
lustily stared at the woman on the bed.
Xu Yanwei woke up the moment that she heard his steps, sat up on the bed
and pulled the quilt to cover up her body. She looked pale as she tried hard to
smile. "Father, the customer last night gave a thousand taels. It's all up there."
There was a low table with red silk covering it. Pot-bellied Buddha unveiled
it, and upon seeing the silver was piled up, he was satisfied.
Gu Shenwei was shocked, what kind of customer could give a thousand

taels? He could only get a hundred by killing a man. He felt that he lost a lot.
But now, he could not bargain anymore. He held his breath and waited for the
best moment. The bodyguard seemed to not be like an expert. Yet, according
to the protocol of a killer, Gu Shenwei had to pull out all his strength and
never disregard the enemy.
The guard greedily looked at the woman's snow-white shoulder and, hence,
he leaned forward, pressing on the curtain. He was less than three centimeters
away from the dagger.
Chapter 84 - Three Bodies
Chapter 84: Three Bodies
The Pot-bellied Buddha seemed to be satisfied after getting the one thousand
liang of silver, he patted his round belly and said, "Oh, my good girl, you are
really my money tree. You've earned more silver than the other daughters
earnings combined. How can I reward you?"
"Thank you, Father. I'm happy as long as you are happy, so I need no
reward," Xu Yanwei's voice was trembling.
"Why not? I haven't made out with you for days. Let me make it up this
time."
"I, I'm a bit tired, from last night…"
"Well, women would never be tired for such things. It is men who would feel
exhausted. I would like you to be on top so I could see your progress."
Xu Yanwei was still thinking of wriggling out of it when Pot-bellied Buddha

grabbed her hair, pulled her out from the quilt and throw her onto the floor,
"Did you treat your guests in the same way? Then one thousand liang is far
from enough. We should double the amount."
The bodyguard in front of the door already became goggle-eyed and leaned
forward a little. He was so concentrated that he failed to feel the knifepoint
behind the curtain that had already touched him.
Gu Shenwei held the handle with his left hand and kept the counterfeited
saber slightly upward. His right hand pressed on the end of the handle and
pushed it by force. When the counterfeited saber moved smoothly forward by
about a foot, Gu Shenwei immediately left the curtain and pulled out the
knife so as to avoid being entangled due to the curtain being torn by the dying
bodyguard.
A perfect thrust right into the heart. The guard was spitting a lot more blood
compared to the blood flowing from his wound. The bodyguard died without
any struggle.
Blood was dripping from the knife.
Knife in hand and keeping an eye on the stripped flabby man, Gu Shenwei
took a circuitous route to check the breath of the bodyguard, making sure that
he was really dead.
Pot-bellied Buddha had a belly really worthy of his name. The fat even
dropped below the crotch, just like a thick layer of greasy leather armor.
"He had served for only 3 days, and I had nothing to do with him!"
Pot-bellied Buddha explained earnestly to Gu Shenwei, thinking that the

killer's only target was the bodyguard. He was not scared because he had a
backing, who could protect him from being murdered in the South City.
When Gu Shenwei stepped forward, Pot-bellied Buddha became alarmed and

took a step backward to sit on the bed. With his fat breast palpitating, Pot-
bellied Buddha breathed heavily and said, "You can take the one thousand
liang over there. I'm a member of the Meng Family, young man…"
With a heavy horizontal chop, Gu Shenwei cut apart the thick fat of Pot-
bellied Buddha and his throat. He knew little about the "Meng Family" and
didn't realize that the mistress of the Golden Roc Fort was surnamed Meng
after a long time.
With his eyes wide open, Pot-bellied Buddha failed to evade and could just
see a flash of light from the knife before his stiff body fell down heavily onto
the floor.
Xu Yanwei, was hiding at the corner of the bed. She screamed and bit a
corner of the quilt hard due to fear. Looking at the place where the dead body
was bleeding, she trembled like being bewitched, unable to turn around or
close her eyes.
The assassination was so successful that Gu Shenwei even felt his previous
preparations unnecessary. "Do you want the head?" Asked Gu Shenwei
according to the rules of the Golden Roc Fort. If he were the guest, he would
cut the head of the fat man off and take it away.
It was not until Gu Shenwei asked her again that Xu Yanwei heard it. She
suddenly turned to the killer without a blink, seeming to be bewitched again.
After quite a while, she understood what Gu Shenwei had said and replied,
"No, No."
Gu Shenwei took the silver of about fifty liang from the short desk. This was
the rest of the reward for a successful assassination agreed on before.
"I'm leaving now." He said while throwing the knife away, then he left from
the back door following the planned route. There were still very few people
on the street, so he returned to the Southwall Tavern soon.
The sister and brother were no fools. They would deal with the odds and
ends, maybe hide away or escape, they would find a way. In short, they didn't
need to be cared for by other people.
It was before noon and the last drunkards in the tavern had been driven away.
The workers were cleaning up the mess to prepare for another messy evening.
Being the first guest, Gu Shenwei did not drink, which made the workers
very unhappy. They called the manager and wanted to send the unpopular
teenager away.
Gu Shenwei put one hundred liang of silver on the table and said, "I only
want one cup of wine, the reddest."
This could settle any possible disputes. The workers immediately cleaned up
the table used by Tie Hanfeng last evening and served a cup of the best wine
in the tavern.
Looking at the red liquid, Gu Shenwei tried to overcome the vomiting feeling
deep inside his stomach. Although he had been accustomed to the killing of
others with him participating the slaughter of apprentices and death of
various folk, he would still feel like this. It's only that he covered it so well
that others couldn't see it. However, this part of him ashamed him.
After a short while, Tie Hanfeng came back with his face lit up with joy and
waved at his apprentice at the door.
Gu Shenwei went up to Master Shifu and left the cup of wine on the table
without even touching it.
They went back together to the Stone Castle on the mountain. Tie Hanfeng
was in such a good mood that he kept talking along the way, but he did not
mention the internal injury of his apprentice.
Gu Shenwei had thought of bringing up the assassination jobs he had

undertaken by himself to Master Shifu, but he hesitated at the last moment.
This assassination was so easy that even the weakest apprentice in the East
Castle could easily succeed, so it was not worth boasting about.
In his heart, Pot-bellied Buddha and the horse-faced man had been put in
forgotten corners. What he was always vigilant against was his master.
However, after a whole day, Tie Hanfeng had never shown any sign of
threatening or using his apprentice, and everything went on as usual:
bragging, swearing, drinking, bragging harder and sleeping.
"It's not the right time," thought Gu Shenwei. Even Mama Xue had waited for
several days to throw out the evidence, so he could only wait. He went to bed
and fell asleep comfortably until he was woken up.
Gu Shenwei sat up immediately and saw in the darkness the vague figures of
three men standing in front of the bed.
He was ashamed and astonished. As a killer, he slept like a dead man and did
not even notice that someone had broken into the room.
"Follow us," said a man in a low voice, which was as calm as the voice of Gu
Lun who had asked his little son to leave the manor more than a year ago.
Gu Shenwei quickly put up his clothes and obediently followed the three men
out of the room. He knew where these people came from and guessed that
Master Shifu would finally take action, in an unexpected manner.
They were all torturers of the Heart Cleansing Yard.
Gu Shenwei had a terrible memory in the Heart Cleansing Yard. However, at

least he would not be killed for no reason there. Therefore, he did not worry
too much as he believed that he was still useful for Tie Hanfeng.
It was required to pass around almost half of the Stone to go to the Heart
Cleansing Yard from the East Castle, so it was already daybreak when they
arrived. The three men locked Gu Shenwei up in a small dark room in the
east wing without saying anything.
It was not the underground torture chamber, which seemed to indicate that
things were not too bad.
After about one hour, the door opened, and four men came in. They stood in
the doorway and with their backs to the sun, Gu Shenwei saw clearly their
faces after a good while.
Tie Hanfeng was on the far left, beside him was Shen Liang, blademaster of
the Heart Cleansing Yard. Gu Shenwei knew him and remembered that he
was Eighth Young Master's uncle. And the others were ordinary torturers
who he did not know.
"You killed someone in South City yesterday."
A torturer went straight to the point, which made Gu Shenwei a little

surprised. He did not expect that the Heart Cleansing Yard was questioning
him about it.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because someone paid me to do it."
The torturer paused for a while, surprised about the apprentice's frankness.
The blademaster Shen Liang said, "Tell us all about this. Don't miss any
detail."
Gu Shenwei confessed everything, from Xu Xiaoyi having seen him killing

people to him leaving the building of Xu Yanwei after putting down the
bloody counterfeited saber.
"The Xu siblings hired you to kill people?"
"Yes."
"And you've killed two people. Pot-bellied Buddha and his bodyguard?"
"Yes."
After getting affirmative answers for the two questions, Shen Liang bursted
into a short laughter as if he had heard a stupid and perfunctory joke.
"Do you believe him?" Shen Liang asked Tie Hanfeng.
Without a smile, Tie Hanfeng's red face seemed serious and cruel, "Yes," he
said. There was something about resolution and anger in his voice.
Shen Liang shook his head helplessly and said, "I still have to hand him over.
Brother Tie, You can't afford the responsibility."
Gu Shenwei was even more amazed as he found things were different from
what he had understood. He also felt incomprehensible to Shen Liang's
calling Tie Hanfeng "Brother Tie". How could Tie Hanfeng, who used to be
so flattering as a beggar to the supervisor of the Pyrowork Academy, be so
informal in the face of the blademaster whose position was much higher?
"Just give me some time."
Shen Liang looked over the puzzled apprentice, failing to recognize that he
was one of the teenagers accepting interrogation here one year ago. "I'll hand
him over before noon. In addition to the time for going downhill, you have
two hours."
The four men left without saying anything more. Gu Shenwei wondered what
had gone wrong.
Pot-bellied Buddha called himself "member of the Meng Family", and the
Mistress was also surnamed Meng. The Meng Family was the richest family
in the Jade City. This was the only clue he could find.
After two hours, Tie Hanfeng returned alone. "Let's go."
They left the Heart Cleansing Yard, and instead of returning to the East
Castle, they led two horses and rode on them to go downhill.
On the way, Tie Hanfeng was in such a silence that was rarely seen on him
usually. Finally, Gu Shenwei could not hold it and asked, "What's going on?"
Tie Hanfeng looked at his apprentice and said after a while, "You've killed
two people?"
"Yes."
"But there were three bodies there."
"What? But…" He had thought that the third body may belong to one of the
sister and brother, but he realized soon that they would not draw the attention
of the Heart Cleansing Yard, "Who was it?"
"The exiled prince of the Stone Kingdom, who was a major guest of the
Stone Castle and would have returned to his kingdom to be king in a couple
of days."
Tie Hanfeng said easily but Gu Shenwei was too astonished to say a word.
He had not killed the prince, nor had he seen anyone like a prince before,
"But I hadn't…"
"I know. I said I believe you."

"Will the Fort hand me over?"
Gu Shenwei foreboded something terrible waiting for him during their way
downhill.
"Not for now. We have three days to find out the murderer."
"We?"
"Yes, we."
Gu Shenwei felt it more and more difficult to find out Master Shifu's real
goal.
Chapter 85 - Finding the Murderer
Chapter 85: Finding the Murderer
Gu Shenwei was completely dazed. He, a killer apprentice who had not
finished his apprenticeship, had privately undertaken an assassination job,
and now he had to find another murderer to prove his innocence.
Tie Hanfeng took on this task, which must cost a lot of silver and assistance
from his connections that could not be repaid by a killer apprentice.
In a complicated mood, Gu Shenwei did not say a word until the North City
Gate.
Someone was waiting for them there.
With a protective smile on his red face, Tie Hanfeng warmly exchanged
greetings with the man and introduced his apprentice to the City-patrol
Commandant.
The City-patrol Commandant, an officer of the Jade City, was responsible for
arresting criminals. Although having about 100 subordinates, he in fact
controlled a very small area. The South City had a mixture of various people
and was not bound by anyone, while no one dared to be in charge of the area
from outside of the North City Gate to the Golden Roc Fort. Even inside the
North City, there were numerous big shots and nobles who never thought
much of the City-patrol Commandant.
Surnamed Zhong and named Heng, the present Commandant was a native of
the Central Plain. Tie Hanfeng called him "Commandant Zhong" or "Mr.
Zhong".
In a casual suit of an officer, Commandant Zhong Heng was tall and courtly-
looking. He worn a sparse beard and carried a broadsword with the style of
the Central Plain, which was broader than a saber of the Golden Roc Fort and
slightly curved.
A cordial feeling arose spontaneously from Gu Shenwei's heart. He was so

familiar with such kind of people. When they were in the Central Plain,
various officials and military officers kept coming in and going out of their
family. There was no such a title of "Commandant" in the Central Plain, but
judging from his apparel, he must be an officer at level 5 or level 6.
Without caring a lot about the teenager with suspicion of a felony, Zhong
Heng chatted a lot with Tie Hanfeng before turning to the point, "So what do
you plan to do?"
"Is there anyone in the city who is better at finding the murderer than you?
We just gonna follow you until we learn something, well, and be hostages for
three days, haha."
And then they started chatting again, seemingly just beating about the bush.
Half a day had passed and they had yet to pass the city gate. Gu Shenwei
would have scolded them if he were not at a lower position.
"Well, I can't guarantee to solve the case, but we must go through the
formality. Let's explain at the Ju's Residence first."
The Stone Kingdom was a small kingdom in the Western Region. Its royal
family was surnamed Ju. 10 years ago, a palace coup caused two princes to
go into exile with several family members here. They wanted to seek military
support so as to regain their throne, but they failed to raise enough money for
it. Unexpectedly, there were pennies from heaven. The usurper died suddenly
without leaving a descendent, so the two factions of ministers vied with each
other until they decided to ask the sons of the former king to come back.
Ju Gaotai, the first prince died in the home of a prostitute in the South City
only 10 days after receipt of the message to regain the throne.
The so called Ju's Residence was just a small house, which seemed to be a
little crowded for the two princes and their family members and attendants.
The second prince declined the interview for some excuse and a minister who
came to take the princes back to their kingdom and a bodyguard of the first
prince received them.
The minister was quite a talker who kept talking with Zhong Heng and Tie
Hanfeng about things that were not relevant. Gu Shenwei suddenly felt
himself back to the Central Plain and among his father and his fellow
officials.
Although the minister had appropriately grieved at the prince's death, anyone
could see that he had not a deep sentimental attachment to the prince, which
was understandable because he had just stayed with the future king for
several days, and 10 years ago, the prince was just a kid.
The bodyguard was the one who was really in sorrow. He, holding a scimitar
of the Western Region, was also surnamed Ju and was born in a branch of the
noble family. Perhaps he thought it was his negligence of duty that caused the
death of the prince, so he always looked at Gu Shenwei coldly as if he would
draw the scimitar at anytime to revenge his master.
After about two hours of chat, only one thing was made clear: Ju Gaotai left
the residence alone the night before last. He would return to his kingdom in
three days, so he wanted a farewell to the ten years of exile. But the bad news
came last noon.
"Mr. Xu really got a good personal relationship with his highness, what a
pity."
The minister moaned and groaned, and delivered a passionate speech

according to this topic, recalling their friendship and the connection between
the Stone Kingdom and the Meng family as if he had always been with the
prince.
Gu Shenwei realized that "Mr. Xu" was just Pot-bellied Buddha after a good
while.
Tie Hanfeng seized the opportunity to request an inspection of the body,

which made the minister really embarrassed. Although not ascending the
throne yet, the deceased prince was still future king of a kingdom,
furthermore, he was already put in the coffin and it was not good to open it
again. Finally, Zhong Heng guaranteed with this official position that he had
inspected the body in person, finding that the prince was killed with one
chop, and the wound, which was very small, was on the right side of the
neck, likely to be caused by a saber of the Golden Roc Fort.
Tie Hanfeng did not insist, which, according to Gu Shenwei, might be an

error of the Lame Man Tie. He thought it was highly necessary to check the
body personally, but he was not allowed to talk here.
When the three were going to leave, the grieved bodyguard suddenly said,
"Mr. Zhong, do you really believe the kid? The Golden Roc Fort said it has
nothing to do with them, which I believe, but they are to exonerate him.
Something that we won't agree too, we may be a small kingdom but we are
still able to gather thousands of soldiers."
Zhong Heng laughed awkwardly, and Tie Hanfeng said first, "Haha, if the
Golden Roc Fort really wants to exonerate him, they don't need to bother Mr.
Zhong. You may have thousands of soldiers, but ask yourself how many of
them are not holding the Golden Roc Flag?"
As a killer organization, the Golden Roc Fort also maintained a number of

mercenaries, who often served the kingdoms of the Western Region, so Tie
Hanfeng's words were not merely a blusterous threat.
The face of bodyguard Ju turned as red as Tie Hanfeng, and the minister
hurried to dissuade him to resolve the tension.
When the three left the Ju's Residence, the atmosphere was not as good as
when they came.
Zhong Heng invited Tie Hanfeng and Gu Shenwei to the department office
for some tea and snacks. When the evening was approaching, they finally
turned to the point. Gu Shenwei could not wait to put forth his own point of
view, "Those two people killed the prince. The minister wanted to kill the
prince in the disguise of escorting him back to the kingdom. The bodyguard
was the one who killed the prince. I threw the counterfeited saber in the
house and anyone could have picked it up and used it."
Commandant Zhong Heng looked over the kid carefully for the first time
without despising him for his low position, "That was a bold idea, but why?
Why did the minister want to kill the prince with the bodyguard? You know,
the prince was to be king in several days. They should have flattered him
instead."
"Because of the second prince," Gu Shenwei had been thinking it over for a
long time and believed his guest more and more firmly, "If the elder brother
is dead, the younger brother will be king. So he wanted to buy over the
minister and the guard, who also agreed on this idea because escorting a
prince back to the kingdom to be king was far less meritorious than assisting
a prince to usurp the throne."
Analyzing this murder with what he'd learned during the training at the
Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei thought everything was so clear.
Tie Hanfeng sniffed at him and didn't take it seriously. However, Zhong
Heng was highly interested in it. He began to treat the kid with "full of killing
intent" seriously. "Taking the matter on its own merits, your analysis is
reasonable, but you're wrong about one thing. According to the custom of the
Stone Kingdom, a guard of the noble family cannot change his master during
his whole life, so now than the first prince has died, that guard Ju must spend
his whole life guarding the first prince's tomb and is never allowed to return
to the palace."
"The rules can be changed, if the second prince becomes king…"
Zhong Heng shook his head and said, "No, you don't know their custom. The
power of the king isn't as great as you think. Difference from the emperor in
the Central Plain who has full sovereignty, their king cannot even protect
himself if he dares to destroy the custom."
During years of life in the Western Region, Gu Shenwei has heard his father
tell him some local customs, so he believed that Zhong Heng was not
exaggerating. Tie Hanfeng also nodded for consent.
"Then maybe the second prince colluded with the minister and hired someone
else for the murder." Gu Shenwei adjusted his idea rapidly.
This time, it was Tie Hanfeng who refuted him, "Idiot, isn't your mind clear
yet? We're not here to find out the real murderer, but to prove that you
weren't the one who did it."
Finding the real murderer seemed to be the same to freeing him from
suspicion, but Gu Shenwei understood Master Shifu." The sister and brother
can prove that I only killed two people," he said.
"They're missing." Said Zhong Heng with a frown, looking puzzled, too, "I've
sent people searching around the South City, but just could not find find
them, neither dead or alive."
"No one has even seen them since Xu Xiaoyi brought you from the tavern,
which I can promise."
Tie Hanfeng also made a promise, which made Gu Shenwei very surprised.
He knew well the connection of Tie Hanfeng in South City, but he never
thought that he had investigated this quietly.
The case came to a dead end. Gu Shenwei had no substantial evidence

although he got objects of suspicion.
"Come on, it's about time. Let's search around for favourable turns, preferably
meeting the two kids. If the fact is just like what you guess, they're the best
witnesses."
Zhong Heng called two captors to lead the way ahead with lanterns. Leaving
the department office, they went straight to the South City and reached the
famous "Pleasure Alley".
There a two-storied or three-storied buildings, more than one hundred of

them, along the two sides of the Pleasure Alley. The best prostitutes of the
Jade City, including Xu Yanwei, were gathered here.
Tie Hanfeng's eyes brightened, and even he had seldom come here. "Don't
you see? Xiao Fengchai is in this building. An incredible woman whose price
is as high as to make you suicide. I've had an affair with her, but can't you see
the ugly old woman at the door, she looks as if she doesn't even know me."
Zhong Heng smiled and said nothing, and Gu Shenwei pretended to be deaf.
The building of Xu Yanwei was as messy as it was yesterday. The bodies

were removed but the blood was still there. Gu Shenwei could identify the
locations of Pot-bellied Buddha and his bodyguard, and the third location
with blood was on the bed, where Xu Yanwei was sitting when Gu Shenwei
was killing the two people.
"There used to be one thousand liang of silver here."
Gu Shenwei said, pointing at the empty low table.
"It had gone when the captors came. Maybe they were brought away by the
sister and brother or the murderer."
"And maybe the captors who came here earlier had taken it," thought Gu
Shenwei.
Pot-bellied Buddha was in charge of five prostitutes, who all lived nearby.
The two captors were sent to take the other four here. But they were reluctant
to go upstairs, so they had to interrogate them downstairs.
"It's not the right time to call us here now. We're just getting more guests, any
delay will be a loss," said a prostitute, looking vixenish, and in a rush. While
the body of Pot-bellied Buddha was not yet stiff, they had found new guests
to continue with their business.
Zhong Heng asked their names, just things about birds, gold or jade. Gu
Shenwei noticed that they were not surnamed Xu as Pot-bellied Buddha.
The whole investigation was a mess. The elderly women and servants kept
urging them to leave, saying some "prince" was coming or some "marquis"
was leaving, making their answers disorderly.
Prince of the Stone Kingdom? Yes, Ju Gaotai often came here, but he had not
shown up for days. About last morning? Everyone was sleeping and the
servants were also resting. There was no one on the street when it was that
early; the Xu siblings? Who knows, maybe they were killed and thrown in
the wild.
Neither Zhong Heng nor Tie Hanfeng had gotten some valuable clues in such
a mess. Suddenly, a prostitute, who pretended to be unable to stand firm, ran
into Gu Shenwei and whispered to him, "One person, during Si Geng."
This prostitute, named Shen Yanshi, just lived opposite to Xu Yanwei.

Chapter 86 - Solve the Problem
Chapter 86: Solve the Problem
Shen Yanshi seemed to know something about the murder case and was
planning to tell Gu Shenwei alone. The teenager was bewildered, wondering
why she wanted to talk to him instead of the two adult men. At this moment,
he began to miss his life in East Castle, where killing was merely a skill or a
mission.
After meeting with Pot-bellied Buddha's prostitutes, Zhong Heng returned to

his office in North City, and Tie Hanfeng took his apprentice to Southwall
Tavern. Gu Shenwei discovered that today his mentor drank and talked with
more people than he usually did—he even attentively listened to all of their
conversations.
Xu Xiaoyi had claimed that everyone in South City knew him. This point was
confirmed by the people who came to talk to Tie Hanfeng. Most of them
seemed to know the boy very well and habitually referred to him as "the
smart kid", "the smart boy" or "little pea". Unfortunately, none of them knew
where he and his sister presently were, and no one had found any corpses that
resembled them within 5 kilometers around the city.
"It's strange: they're the best-informed people in South City. Even two ants
can't disappear from the city without being noticed by them," Tie Hanfeng
grumbled.
As it was getting late, fewer and fewer people came to deliver information to
him. At midnight, only he and his apprentice were still sat at the table. He
began to rub his cup, looking confused.
"Maybe they're hiding in North City," Gu Shenwei suggested; he thought this

was the only possibility.
"I've thought about it, and it's unlikely. The boy is a thief, and his sister is a
prostitute. They're not eligible to enter North City. I've already checked the
records of all the gates, yet there're no suspicious people among the recent
visitors to the city," Tie Hanfeng replied.
Gu Shenwei could not refute his mentor's view. All visitors to North City,
including Golden Roc Fort's killers, had to report their names and give their
weapons to the gate guards. It was not a simple task for the boy and his sister
to sneak into the city.
"Unless they're burned to ashes, we'll find them sooner or later."
With these words, Tie Hanfeng took a swig of his liquor, leaned back and fell
asleep in his chair. To this day, Gu Shenwei had never seen his mentor sleep
on a bed.
In South City, there was no night watchman who announced the time every
two hours. Given that, Gu Shenwei had been counting the passing of time
using heart-throbs all the while. He sat alone while seeing the guests of the
tavern stagger out of the gate one after another. When it was around 1 am, he
stood up, planning to visit Shen Yanshi.
"Where are you going?" Tie Hanfeng suddenly stopped snorting and asked
with his eyes closed.
"To get some fresh air."
Gu Shenwei walked out of the tavern and took a detour around it before
entering the city through another breach in the old city wall. He casually
walked down a few streets to make sure he was not being followed. After
that, he went straight to Pleasure Alley.
Since most of the guests in the taverns had already left, Gu Shenwei only saw
some whoremasters in the alley. Some of them openly swaggered out of the
brothels with satisfied looks on their faces. Some appeared to be sneaky and
hurriedly headed for North City, hoping to arrive at their homes before dawn
to avoid being caught by their families.
Gu Shenwei stretched out his hand to his waist in an attempt to hold his saber
shaft, but he failed to grab anything there, causing him to feel restless and
unsettled.
After those whoremasters left, Pleasure Alley gradually fell into silence.
Some prostitutes' clients stayed for the night, as Gu Shenwei saw the lights in
their buildings go out one by one.
He hid behind a wall to observe Xu Yanwei's and Shen Yanshi's houses from
a few buildings away. There was neither light inside nor outside Xu Yanwei's
house. Shen Yanshi's house was also dark, but there was a lit lantern hanging
at the gate of her yard.
He carefully observed every detail of the houses for 15 minutes and then
swiftly scurried to Shen Yanshi's door. It was unlatched; someone had
purposely left the door open for him.
He gently opened the door and entered the yard, discovering that this brother
had the same layout as Xu Yanwei's one across the street. He quickly found
the back gate of the yard and unlatched it before stealthily exploring the
second floor of the house.
He thought Shen Yanshi must have already sent all of her servants away
since he did not find any one of them in the house.
The door of her bedroom was also unbolted. He listened attentively outside
the door for a while but could not hear anyone breathing inside.
Pushing the door half-open, he quickly slipped into the room. Moments later,
he saw two dead bodies and quietly walked over to check on them. Upon
closer inspection, he discovered that they were Shen Yanshi and her elderly
woman servant. Shen Yanshi's fatal wound was located in her lower
abdomen, whereas the elderly woman's was in her neck.
Due to the dilation of the pupils after death, Shen Yanshi's eyes looked bigger
than before, which made her look fake but somehow sharpened Gu Shenwei's
sixth sense.
Suddenly, he felt a chill creep into his bones and he turned around. He saw a
man sitting in the corner behind him, silently breathing.
"I was just wondering if the murderer would return," the man said.
"Or, perhaps the murderer was waiting for a scapegoat."
Upon recognizing this man, Gu Shenwei decided to stay. He was amazed to

discover that the man also knew kung fu and could control his breath so
masterfully.
"Or, perhaps the murderer was waiting for our encounter."
Zhong Heng stood up and walked to the corpse. "They were wounded by a
saber, and this murderer's style resembles that of Golden Roc Fort killers'."
"No, that's not Golden Roc Fort's style."
"Oh?"
"Golden Roc Fort killers always move fast and kill their every target with
only one strike. The wounds they leave on dead bodies are always narrower
than the saber's width, but Shen Yanshi's wound is obviously wider than a
saber. The murderer must have slowly thrust a saber into her body and waited
for a while before pulling it out. As for the elderly woman, she was not killed
on the spot due to her shallow wound, and in truth, she died from massive
blood loss."
Gu Shenwei was surprised by himself today. He had seen countless bodies in

East Castle but had never paid much attention to their wounds. Now it was
the first time he realized that he already had such a deep understanding of
wounds that he could easily distinguish them.
"You're right."
Zhong Heng squatted down to touch the wounds and said, "When Shen
Yanshi was killed, the murderer was very close to her. He probably used one
hand to stab her with a saber while holding her with the other hand. When the
murderer killed the elderly woman, he used a flat-chop—obviously not one
of his usual moves."
"Well then, do you believe me now?" Gu Shenwei asked.
This was the second time he asked someone this question.
"Not really. It's not easy for someone who moves slowly to speed up, but it's
simple for a fast person to slow down. Besides, you identified the flaws of the
murderer so quickly."
"So what do you want?"
Zhong Heng returned to the corner to sit in a soft chair and said after a
thought, "I want to solve the problem."
"I thought you wanted to find the real murderer," Gu Shenwei said
mockingly.
"No. I just want to solve the problem."
"You've caught me here. Is your problem solved now?"
"No, Golden Roc Fort gave you three days. I won't take a minute from you."
Gu Shenwei felt anxious. He really wished to find a knife from his

surroundings and end Zhong Heng's life right now.
After a profound silence, Zhong Heng suddenly asked, "You don't understand
what I mean, do you?"
"I'm not good at riddles."
Zhong Heng chuckled warmly and explained, "'Looking for the truth' and
'solving the problem' are completely different concepts. Allow me to give you
an example. Let us say that someone in a room lost 100 taels of silver. The
one looking for the truth wants to know three things: Did that someone really
has 100 taels of silver? Did he really lose the silver? Who's the thief?
However, the one looking for a solution only wants to find 100 taels of silver
in order to make everybody happy, no matter who'll provide it."
For Gu Shenwei, Zhong Heng's words sounded as confusing as Tie Hanfeng's
suggestion to just prove that he did not kill the third person. He felt that he
began to understand what they meant but still had a few questions.
"What's the problem you want to solve in this case?" He asked.
"I want to find out who the real murderer is and bring him to justice."
Gu Shenwei was stunned and then realized that Zhong Heng was just joking.
He felt annoyed by these riddle-like talks. Once again, he began to miss his
life in East Castle and the simple world of killers. Compared to Zhong Heng,
even Mama Xue looked like an honest and straightforward person.
They spoke in many riddles beside the corpse but still did not ask each other:
why did you come to this murder scene?
As the day began to dawn, Zhong Heng stood up again. This time he was
planning to leave. "I'll ask around for information. What about you?"
"So will I."
"Okay."
The remaining three prostitutes, who originally belonged to Pot-bellied

Buddha, lived close to each other in the north end of Pleasure Alley. Zhong
Heng came to inform them of Shen Yanshi's death.
The first prostitute they visited suddenly sat up in her bed upon hearing the
news and murmured, "Another one of us is dead now. Alas, we're just like
falling flowers. No one will care about us. Let's die one by one. I'm dead. I'm
dead." With these words, she fell back into her bed.
The second prostitute they met received them on the first floor of her brothel
since her client was sleeping upstairs. "I knew she wouldn't end well. We
prostitutes only work for money, but she was different. She wanted too much,
just like Xu Yanwei. Aren't you investigating that murder case now? She and
Xu Yanwei were the dead prince's favorite prostitutes. They were business
rivals. At first, I even believed that it was Shen Yanshi who hired someone to
kill Xu Yanwei and her little brother."
"Why didn't you tell us about this yesterday?"
"Yesterday? Come on, officer. I didn't have time to speak to you. I had to
take care of my 'prince' at that time. As for the dead prince, he wasn't a nice
client at all. I know that I'm a whore and shouldn't complain about
whoremasters behind their backs, but that prince was never my client. Given
that, it should be alright for me to gossip about him, shouldn't it?"
"Yes, you can talk about him."
"He was way too abusive. Only an extremely cruel man like Pot-bellied
Buddha would send his real daughter to serve him. As for Shen Yanshi, that
b*tch was willing to do anything for money. If it was me, I would never
receive such a client, no matter how much he paid me."
When they entered the third prostitute's house, they saw her burning incense
on the first floor for her dead sisters. She somehow had already heard about
the news. "Everyone wanted to squeeze into North City, but still ended up in
the wilderness. Yesterday, sister Yanshi said she felt tired and closed her
door early. She didn't receive any guests. Alas, you won't care about her
things since I know you just came to ask me about the dead prince. I don't
know much about him, but I heard that many people wanted to kill him."
Gu Shenwei wanted to find Xu Yanwei's elderly woman servant, but none of

the prostitutes knew where she was. In the end, an elderly woman servant
here reminded him, "You can ask Lady Xiao. She's the kindest lady in the
alley and often helps the elderly and the weak. She probably received her out
of compassion."
After returning to the street, Gu Shenwei could not help but ask, "Are the
siblings really Pot-bellied Buddha's children?"
"Yes. Everyone knew what Pot-bellied Buddha did to them. Hearing that they
hired a killer to assassinate their father, no one was surprised. Actually, they
expected this to happen."
Disgusted by Pot-bellied Buddha's behavior, Gu Shenwei leaned against a
wall and started to vomit. After a while, he stood up and asked, "Did you say
that everyone knew what he did to his own children?"
"This is Jade City. All kinds of incredible things happen here. You'll
gradually get used to it."
Zhong Heng replied calmly, which made Gu Shenwei felt somewhat irritated.
He forced himself to calm down by recalling that he did not come to save this
world and that it would destroy itself sooner or later.
Xiao Fengchai's house was the most spacious and luxurious one in Pleasure
Alley. In fact, it was three buildings combined into one.
Since lady Xiao was sleeping upstairs, Zhong Heng and Gu Shenwei did not
get the chance to meet her, but they found Xu Yanwei's elderly woman
servant here. Unfortunately, she did not know much about the murder case,
for she had been sent away by Xu Yanwei the day before the crime.
According to her, Ju Gaotai was Xu Yanwei's frequent guest but not her only
guest. Given that, she had no idea who her guest had been at that night or
who had left the 1,000 taels of silver in her room.
"One thousand taels of silver for one night? I've never seen such a generous
guest in my whole life," the elderly woman servant exclaimed.
When they were about to leave, she suddenly thought of something and
added, "Recently, a young man has frequently been coming to visit her. She
called him Mister Mi. He seemed to be an extravagant, rich young master; I
guess only someone like him could afford to spend 1,000 taels of silver on
one night."
According to the elderly woman, Mister Mi acted mysteriously and always

wore a long robe or a cape. No one had seen his face except Xu Yanwei.
However, since there were many guests in Pleasure Alley behaving like that,
the elderly woman had not paid any special attention to him.
Gu Shenwei felt that the appearance of Mister Mi cast some light on the
murder case.
Chapter 87 - Identify the Murderer
Chapter 87: Identify the Murderer
Gu Shenwei and Zhong Heng came to Southwall Tavern to meet Tie

Hanfeng. In front of Commandant Zhong, Tie Hanfeng did not complain too
much about how his apprentice had gone into action without his permission.
He only stretched and said, "Huh, I'm lucky to have such a capable
apprentice. Look, he cracked the case all by himself."
Gu Shenwei did not respond to his mentor's remarks. He simply told Tie
Hanfeng all of his findings.
The tavern did not serve alcoholic beverages in the morning, Tie Hanfeng
could only lick his lips repeatedly during the conversation. "So, the siblings
weren't the witnesses to the murder, but they're actually the murderers? Such
cruelty!"
Hearing that, Gu Shenwei felt upset and nearly opened his mouth to retort. In
his view, the siblings did the right thing, but his mentor seemed to disagree.
He could not understand why his mentor showed acceptance instead of
contempt for Pot-bellied Buddha's deeds.
Zhong Heng did not mind the attitude Tie Hanfeng held toward the siblings.
The two began to chat, sharing lots of common topics, such as drinks, the
weather, and beautiful women. After that, they began to talk about Golden
Roc Fort and the Meng family in North City. Gu Shenwei heard a scheme in
their seemingly trivial and superficial small talk and was filled with righteous
indignation.
"So, that's it?"
"Yes, that's It."

After ending his conversation with Tie Hanfeng, Zhong Heng left the tavern.
Tie Hanfeng picked up an empty cup to check if there was any liquor left and
then threw it to the ground disappointedly.
The waiters on the day shift came to their table one after another, politely
asking them to leave. Tie Hanfeng had to take his apprentice to find another
place to stay. Not long after they left the tavern, he took his apprentice to a
shabby brothel.
Everyone inside the brothel was sleeping, but Tie Hanfeng just went directly
into a bedroom without a care, as if he owned this place. He picked up the
sleeping prostitute from her bed and threw her out together with her quilt.
The prostitute shrilled and cursed him for a while before finding another
place to sleep.
This was the first time Gu Shenwei saw his mentor lie down on a bed. Tie
Hanfeng said to his apprentice, "Get some rest. Just help yourself."
Gu Shenwei, who had just begun to have respect for his mentor yesterday,
got disgusted by him again. He would never want to touch anything there, so
he just stood in the room and asked querulously, "Is the problem solved?"
"You little bast*rd have really grown up. Come on, tell me what you've
heard."
"It sounded like you're going to use the siblings as scapegoats."
"Scapegoats? They have a motive to kill Pot-bellied Buddha and Ju Gaotai,

and now they've fled in fear of being punished. They hired you to kill their
father and at the same time, took the chance to set you up to be identified as
the prince's murderer. That's the whole story, but don't get too excited about
that. We must find the siblings and send them to the Jus' residence, dead or
alive."
Evidently, Tie Hanfeng just wanted to give the Stone Kingdom a reasonable
explanation and did not care about who the real murderer was. Hearing what
he said, Gu Shenwei began to realize what Zhong Heng meant by "solving
the problem".
Slave Huan, an ordinary killer apprentice, had been Zhong Heng's first choice
for the prince's murder.
Nevertheless, Tie Hanfeng seemed to have figured out a way to ensure his
apprentice's safety. Given that, Zhong Heng had to find another murderer to
appease the Stone Kingdom within three days.
Fortunately, now he had enough evidence to accuse Xu Yanwei and her

brother of killing Pot-bellied Buddha and Ju Gaotai. No one would doubt Xu
Yanwei's motive to kill her terrible father and her whoremaster who had often
sexually abused her. Besides, no one would care much about a prostitute and
a thief or stand out to speak for them; which made them an even better choice
as the perpetrators.
Zhong Heng just wished to close this case as soon as possible without
offending any powerful people in Jade City. Compared to the truth, he cared
more about both his career and his future.
He needed to solve this case properly, since it was not a simple case at all
and, many local powers had gotten involved in it. Zhong Heng and Tie
Hanfeng believed that they had already found a solution to make every party
satisfied, but Gu Shenwei still refused to accept it.
"No, I can't agree," he blurted. Even he himself could not tell whether he was
demanding justice or simply enjoyed refuting his mentor. He intuitively felt
that he did not want to frame the siblings.
"Do you really believe that they're innocent?" Tie Hanfeng asked curiously.
Gu Shenwei was speechless. He realized that he had focused too much on

condemning Tie Hanfeng and Zhong Heng's sneaky scheme and unethical
behaviors all this time and neglected a simple fact, which was Xu Yanwei did
have the motive to kill Ju Gaotai.
"Do you know that Ju Gaotai borrowed a large sum of money from the Meng
family? Now, no one knows where the money had gone. It must be the
siblings who stole the money."
"We still have time. We can find the real murderer."
Tie Hanfeng finally lost his patience. He jumped off the bed and landed
beside his apprentice, shouting, "F*ck! Who do you think you are? I fulfill
my duty to figure out a way to save your f*cking life, and you want to play
the hero? If you fail to find the siblings before tomorrow night, you'll be
dead. I'll cut your head off and give it to the Stone Kingdom, contending that
you killed the prince, the prostitute named Shen Yanshi, and all the b*tches
that died recently in Pleasure Alley. Don't blame me for that!"
Surprisingly, Tie Hanfeng's words did not irritate Gu Shenwei. Instead, it

somehow calmed him down. He was unable to refute his mentor and was
well aware that he was just a nobody in Jade City, who could not ensure his
own safety, let alone protect someone else.
"No matter what, we have to find the siblings first."
Tie Hanfeng thought his apprentice finally gave in. He snorted loudly and
returned to his bed.
At noon on the next day, Zhong Heng invited them to lunch. During the meal,
he kept apologizing that he should have invited them to a better restaurant in
North City.
After spending a quiet afternoon, Tie Hanfeng invited Zhong Heng to dinner
in a similar restaurant in South City.
Zhong Heng brought three officers with him, and Tie Hanfeng also invited
another friend to the dinner. During the dinner, they chatted casually about
many things except for the murder case and the missing siblings.
For them, everything had already been settled beforehand. They just needed
to wait for the siblings to fall into the trap to solve the case.
After the dinner, Tie Hanfeng did not return to Southwall Tavern to spend the
night. He brought his apprentice to a mid-priced brothel. Since South City
had no hotels, they had no other choice.
Gu Shenwei had to put up with really loud sex noises most of the night and
could not fall asleep until after midnight. In his sleep, he dreamed about
many weird scenes that he was too ashamed to mention to anyone.
The next morning, they still did not receive any news of the siblings.
Tie Hanfeng was unusually quiet and often looked at his apprentice
profoundly. Gu Shenwei had no doubts of what his mentor had said. He
believed that Tie Hanfeng would kill him without any hesitation, if he could
not find the scapegoat today.
"I want to go to the Jus' residence again," Gu Shenwei said to his mentor.
"What for?"
"Since you have to hand me over to them today, dead or alive, I decided to go
there myself."
Tie Hanfeng felt suspicious, but he still agreed, for he reckoned that his
apprentice would not play any new tricks on him.
They invited Zhong Heng to be their witness and came to the Jus' residence
together in the afternoon.
This time, only the minister came out to receive them. He looked worried,
since he was faced with many troublesome problems; such as how to send
Prince Ju Gaotai's body back to the Stone Kingdom, how to help the younger
prince get everyone's support, and how to pay off the princes' debts in Jade
City. The debts were the most problematic. In recent days, many people had
come to him asking for money. The Stone Kingdom was a small country, it
was no easy job for the minister to raise money in order to pay the princes'
debts.
He kept complaining to them about these problems, without mentioning

anything related to the murder case. He even treated Slave Huan, the main
suspect very politely.
Everybody was waiting for night to fall.
Soon, evening came. Seeing the guests meet only one messenger in the whole
afternoon, the minister knew, without asking, that the siblings were still
nowhere to be found.
"Ahem, well…" he said reluctantly.
In that moment, he saw Tie Hanfeng and immediately swallowed back his
words. The killer put on a smiling expression but still failed to mask his
grumpiness, which scared the minister a lot.
"It's almost time, we have to surrender the murderer," the killer apprentice,
who had remained quiet almost the entire time, suddenly stood up and said
calmly.
Tie Hanfeng was shocked. Zhong Heng looked at the teenager

sympathetically. The minister was greatly surprised and said, "Yes, it's
almost time, but we still have some time left before the deadline…"
"Minister, I hope that you can invite the prince to come out. He should meet
the one who killed his elder brother."
The minister stood agape. He had never expected this to happen. Just at this
moment, Tie Hanfeng abruptly stood up and shouted, "Yes, he must come out
to see the murderer of his elder brother."
The minister trembled and looked to Zhong Heng. Unfortunately,

Commandant Zhong declined to give him any response. He forced a smile
and said, "Yes, you're right, but I have to ask His Highness first. He's not yet
fully recovered from the grievance of his elder brother's death."
After a while, the prince came out, followed by a group of servants and
guards. Among them, Gu Shenwei spotted the dead prince's guard, who was
also surnamed Ju. He glared at Slave Huan the moment he saw this teenager.
The prince was a young man in his early 20s and looked thin and sad. After
he took a seat, he slightly nodded to the guests to greet them and then
snuggled down in his seat like a patient.
"So, you've already caught the murderer, have you?" The minister stood
beside the prince and asked.
Gu Shenwei turned to bow to Zhong Heng while deliberately avoiding his

mentors' eyes. "Commandant Zhong, please allow me to surrender the
murderer right here."
Zhong Heng exchanged a glance with Tie Hanfeng as he nodded and said,
"That's a good idea."
Gu Shenwei glanced around and saw some people walking about near the
door. "The murderer is among us. I hope we can close the door and all the
windows to prevent him from escaping," he required.
"Huh? I think there's no need to…"
Looking at Tie Hanfeng and Zhong Heng, the minister felt awkward and
decided to remain silent on this matter. He did not understand why they had
suddenly changed their plan.
"Close the door and the windows. Ask everyone outside to stay clear of this
place."
The prince became intrigued and gave the order. He straightened his back and
looked at the killer apprentice with interest.
When the servants left their position to shut the door and windows, Tie
Hanfeng pulled his apprentice's sleeve. "Relax, Shifu. I'll take care of this
matter," Gu Shenwei whispered.
This was the first time Tie Hanfeng heard Slave Huan call him Shifu, after he
had adopted him as his apprentice. He seemed to feel somewhat touched and
sat in his seat again silently. He stopped faking his smile and decided to leave
the matter to his apprentice.
After that, Gu Shenwei nodded to Zhong Heng. He reckoned that the

commandant had probably already guessed what he was planning to do. After
all, it was this man who inspired him to think of this solution.
Now he intended to solve the problem instead of revealing the truth.
The servants hurriedly returned to their positions. Everybody was curious and
could not wait to see what the main suspect in the murder case was going to
do.
"He's the murderer. Disarm him right now to ensure His Highness' safety."
Gu Shenwei pointed at the guard surnamed Ju.

Chapter 88 - Kill the Scapegoat
Chapter 88: Kill the Scapegoat
Gu Shenwei had been suspicious of Guard Ju for murdering the prince when
he had first met Guard Ju. Due to a lack of evidence, he had maintained his
silence at that time. Now, he was accusing the guard of murder, which
disappointed Tie Hanfeng very much. He was worried that his apprentice
might not be able to solve this matter as he had just promised.
"How dare you?" The guard took a step forward and unsheathed half of his
scimitar.
The minister stopped the guard in a hurried manner and turned to face Zhong
Heng. He asked, "Commandant Zhong, what's going on? Accusing the
prince's own guard of killing the prince! This is an insult to the Stone
Kingdom. I hope…"
"I have evidence," Gu Shenwei announced loudly, drawing everyone's

attention back to him.
Zhong Heng was the only person whose facial expression remained
unchanged. "Let him finish," he suggested.
Gu Shenwei did not pay any attention to the angry guard. He glanced around
and had his eyes fixed on the prince.
He had a guess as to what had actually happened, but there were a lot of
uncertainties. Given that, he had no way of accurately predicting what had
happened down to every detail, he had to observe the prince's reactions
carefully to confirm his suspicions.
"I know where Xu Yanwei and her brother are. They can prove that I'm
telling the truth."
Hearing that, the crowd was startled. They all knew that Tie Hanfeng and the
commandant had mobilized many people to search for the two siblings but
still failed to do so. They wondered why the killer apprentice did not look for
them earlier to prove his innocence if he really knew where the siblings were
hiding.
"You know where they are?" Asked Tie Hanfeng, who was perhaps the most
confounded person here. He had sent his men to search for the siblings a few
days ago when he had still been in the fort. He could not understand why his
apprentice, who was unfamiliar with the city, suddenly claimed that he knew
the location of the siblings.
Gu Shenwei fixed his eyes on the prince's movements and facial expressions
and said, "Commandant Zhong, please send someone to the east and west
gates of the city to check if there were two nobles of Stone Kingdom, who
came to the city on the day before yesterday and claimed that they would live
near or even inside Ju's Residence."
"Nonsense! Your Highness, please allow me to kill him right now and avenge
the death of His Highness Prince Ju Gaotai."
Guard Ju whipped out his scimitar. The minister was frightened and
immediately leapt aside. "Calm down. It shouldn't be resolved like this," he
waved his hands as he tried to persuade the guard.
Gu Shenwei stared at the prince, firmly believing that if his assumptions were
right, the prince would react before Zhong Heng sent people to the city gates.
Zhong Heng felt a little anxious. He had a rough idea as to what the killer
apprentice was going to do, but felt reluctant to get involved. "Well, now it's
too late to…"
"I'll send someone," Tie Hanfeng suddenly stood up and interrupted. "Give
me an hour. If my apprentice lied, I'll behead him myself."
Tie Hanfeng limped towards the gate. Gu Shenwei did not turn around to
look at his mentor. He still had his gaze fixed on the prince.
"Wait."
The prince finally spoke. Gu Shenwei felt relieved, but still managed to keep
a straight face.
"Your Highness!" The guard looked at the prince, surprised and lowered his
scimitar.
"Let him finish his story first. If it sounds reasonable, we can send someone
to find the siblings later," the prince said.
Hearing that, Tie Hanfeng limped back to stand behind his apprentice, ready
to draw the siblings out from Ju's Residence at any minute.
Gu Shenwei felt a little nervous. He needed to tell a reasonable story with

certainty and make it sound irrefutable. He thought long and hard but was not
entirely sure that he would be able to convince everyone.
"Here's the thing. Guard Ju wants to stay in Jade City instead of returning to
the Stone Kingdom. After killing Prince Ju Gaotai, he plans to ask the
kingdom to allow him to stay in Jade City to guard the prince's grave."
"Nonsense!" Guard Ju lifted up his scimitar again.
Tie Hanfeng stepped forward, prepareding to protect his apprentice. At this

moment, the prince suddenly raised his hand to stop the guard. "Let him
finish."
"Forgive me for being blunt. Prince Ju Gaotai used to frequently visit two
prostitutes in Pleasure Alley. Therefore, Guard Ju often saw both of them. He
liked one of the prostitutes, Xu Yanwei, so he became her client under the
name of Mister Mi."
"Nonsense," Guard Ju retorted in a low voice again. This time, no one

stopped him.
"Xu Yanwei and her brother hated their abusive father so much that they
wanted to kill him. They asked Guard Ju for help, but he refused to get
involved and advised them to hire a killer. That was why Xu Xiaoyi hired
me. However, Guard Ju was brewing another plot at that time. He knew that
Prince Ju Gaotai had just borrowed a large sum of money from Pot-bellied
Buddha and planned to pocket the money and at the same time take Xu
Yanwei for himself. After I killed Pot-bellied Buddha and his bodyguard,
Guard Ju killed Prince Ju Gaotai, took all the money and used a forged Stone
Kingdom document to get the siblings into North City. Unfortunately, the
other prostitute, Shen Yanshi happened to be aware of this. Therefore, Guard
Ju went to Pleasure Alley to kill her yesterday morning. Your Highness, I
think you should remember that Guard Ju wasn't around you both yesterday
morning and the morning your brother was murdered. And if you check the
minister's seal carefully, you'll find out that it's been used recently."
There was dead silence inside the hall. The killer apprentice told a plausible
story but only the missing siblings would be able to confirm what he said.
The minister walked towards the prince and whispered, "Your Highness, you
don't have to…"
The prince ordered the minister to stop talking and then turned towards
Guard Ju, "Ju Zhan, how dare you! Have you ever thought of your family?
Your wife and your children? You did this for a prostitute. It's really not
worth the risk."
"Your Highness…" Guard Ju looked down at his scimitar and said with a
trembling voice. "Your Highness, please spare my family. They're innocent."
Under such circumstances, Guard Ju admitted to the crime and raised his
scimitar. Everyone thought that he was about to kill himself, but instead he
leaped up, eyes widened with anger and slashed the defenseless killer
apprentice with his scimitar.
Gu Shenwei was about to dodge the attack when his mentor, Tie Hanfeng,
jumped in front of him to confront Guard Ju. His mentor and Guard Ju
brushed past each other in the air and then landed on the ground. Tie Hanfeng
managed to get hold of the scimitar while Guard Ju was left empty-handed.
The next moment, the guard's head fell to the ground, rolling towards the
minister.
Having seen such a sight, the minister nearly passed out. If the prince's
servants had not come to hold him, he would have fallen right then and there.
Tie Hanfeng put the scimitar down and bowed to the prince. "Your Highness,
please forgive me."
"That's alright. I'm sorry that such a rebellious guard of Stone Kingdom
caused you so much trouble."
The prince remained indifferent as if he was not affected by the blood or the
tragedy. He stood up and walked towards the gate. When he walked past the
killer apprentice, he asked, "What about the siblings? Are they Guard Ju's
accomplice?"
"No, they only wanted to kill Pot-bellied Buddha. They were being used by
Guard Ju."
"Oh, so they're still not innocent."
"Your Highness, they're not guilty. Pot-bellied Buddha deserved it, and it was
me who killed him, not the siblings."
Suddenly, the prince appeared somewhat angry and said, "Well, as you
wish." After that, he stormed out with his servants and guards.
As there were too many accidents today, the minister looked tired, but he still
fulfilled his responsibilities. He expressed his gratitude to the three guests
and politely sent them away.
Zhong Heng accompanied Tie Hanfeng and his apprentice to the north gate
of the city and complimented the semi-retired killer, "Mister Tie, you have
such a brilliant apprentice. He solved the case brilliantly, and I might say
even better than me. Now that it has come to this, Stone Kingdom will never
want to mention anything related to this scandal again in the future, which
saves me lots of trouble."
Tie Hanfeng grinned. This time, his smile was genuine. "Hah-hah,
Commandant Zhong, you're being too modest. Without your help, a boy like
him could achieve nothing."
Zhong Heng turned to the killer apprentice and asked, "You're from the
Central Plain, aren't you?"
"Yes, but I was sold to a merchant in the Western Region when I was little,
and then ended up in Golden Roc Fort."
"What a promising boy. I hope we can meet again in the future."
After Zhong Heng said goodbye and was about to leave, Gu Shenwei stopped
him. "Commandant Zhong."
"Yes?"
"The siblings are innocent, aren't they?"
"Yes," Zhong Heng replied smilingly.
Tie Hanfeng and Gu Shenwei retrieved their sabers and horses at the north
gate of the city. It was dark, so they decided to set out on foot. While they
were walking up the hill with their horses, Tie Hanfeng stopped smiling and
complained, "You're so secretive. Why didn't you tell me your plan earlier? I
was really worried."
"I'm sorry, Master Shifu. I just didn't want to drag you down, since I wasn't
fully confident of my plan."
"Why didn't you drag the siblings out?"
"I was afraid that they might talk too much, which would probably ruin my
plan. So I decided to leave them alone."
Tie Hanfeng was stunned. He then shook his head while smiling vaguely. He
cursed and then asked solemnly, "You do know that the guard couldn't be
rich enough to become Xu Yanwei's client, don't you?"
"Yes, but he did kill the prince."

"How did you figure the whole thing out? I knew who killed the prince, but I
still can't straighten out some details."
"When I regarded the whole thing as a problem that needed to be solved, it

became much simpler. The details weren't important. Neither was the truth."
Tie Hanfeng stared at his apprentice in surprise for quite some time and then
said, "From now on, I should take you seriously."
Gu Shenwei was very grateful towards the commandant. Although Zhong

Heng never really meant to help him out, he did teach him an important
lesson, which would benefit him for all his life.
In Gu Shenwei's mind, there was another version of the story regarding Ju

Gaotai's death.
In this version, Mister Mi was not Guard Ju but the younger prince, who
wanted the throne and his brother's woman. He might really like Xu Yanwei,
but the moment he realized that the killer apprentice was on to him, he
wanted to kill her and her brother immediately to keep it a secret. Gu
Shenwei thought that this cold, decisive prince would make a more suitable
ruler.
In his view, Guard Ju, who worked to death for the two princes, might not
have wanted to return to the Stone Kingdom as a humble guard. He probably
wished to stay with his family in Jade City, but in the end he had to become a
scapegoat for the younger prince for the sake of his family.
Gu Shenwei had found Guard Ju's excessively angry expressions very

suspicious during their first visit to Ju's Residence. He thought that the
younger prince should have never let the guard meet them.
He reckoned that the minister might not have known anything about the
younger prince's plot during their first meeting. After knowing the truth, the
minister was left with no choice but to accept that fact. He guessed that the
minister was perhaps even quite pleased with the death of the dissolute and
incompetent prince.
Now that the case was solved, Gu Shenwei did not want to think about it
anymore. His only hope is that the siblings would survive.
Stepping into the stone castle, he felt very relieved, but this was not over yet.
He had given Stone Kingdom a reasonable story, but had not yet done
anything to appease the Meng family, Pot-bellied Buddha's real boss.
Fortunately, the commandant found the siblings and the money in the end.
There were two loan contracts, which showed that Pot-bellied Buddha had
played a trick to pocket a lot of money during the process. This lightened the
Meng family's anger towards at the killer apprentice.
Gu Shenwei was punished by the fort. He would serve a 10-day confinement

in East Castle and then work as a servant in the Whiterobe Academy. A
month later, when he returned to South City, he found out that this incident
has not been resolved yet.
Chapter 89 - The Document Library
Chapter 89: The Document Library
Slave Huan was recognized by his peers as the top dog of the killer
apprentices again, since he was the first one to find a client outside the fort by
himself.
Before assassinating Pot-bellied Buddha, he had killed the horse-faced man

with his mentor outside the fort. However, it was his mentor's secret plan and
merely used his apprentice as a weapon, and no one in the fort knew it.
Unlike the secret assassination of the horse-faced man, the prince murder
case drew everyone's attention. The apprentices did not care about the prince
or Pot-bellied Buddha at all. They just wondered how Slave Huan, who had
visited the city only twice, had found a client for himself without his mentor's
help.
During his 10-day confinement, many killer apprentices, his friends and even
some casual acquaintances, sneaked to his door to visit him. After warm
greetings, they all asked him the same question through the door. "How did
you find the client?"
Gu Shenwei told all of them that it was just a coincidence. He said that he
had spared Xu Xiaoyi's life before and this boy just had suddenly appeared in
front of him, asking him to kill a person.
Gu Shenwei told the truth all the time, but this could not stop the rumours
about him from getting more and more exaggerated. At last, Slave Huan was
widely perceived as a know-it-all, who had many connections and resources
in South City. No matter how many times he denied this rumor, the
apprentices still firmly believed that he could introduce clients to them. Once
they had chances to go to the city with their mentors, they would come to
Slave Huan, asking him to introduce clients to them. They even told him that
they just wanted to accumulate experience and did not mind how much they
would earn.
After turning down a dozen of apprentices, Gu Shenwei finally dampened

their enthusiasm.
On the last day of his confinement, Maid Lotus came to see him with two
other apprentices. After a while, the two apprentices left, letting Maid Lotus
and Slave Huan have a private conversation.
Gu Shenwei kept his promise and told Maid Lotus what Doctor Sun had said
about the qigong deviation. According to the doctor, there were only two
ways to cure this deviation, one was becoming Buddhist to read the Exorcism
Manuscript in Four Truths Temple, and the other was going to the land of
fragrance about 2,500 kilometers away to seek for treatment.
In his view, neither of these methods were feasible. Maid Lotus did not make
any comments after hearing the doctor's suggestion. She could not stay here
for a very long time, so she briefly informed Slave Huan of an important
finding.
"We've found out who was behind Shangguan Yuxing."
Shangguan Yuxing had hired some killer apprentices to kill Slave Huan
during the monthly tests, but none of them had succeeded. After that, he had
followed Slave Huan for many days and hired Cloud Panther, an important
member of the Snow Mountain Gang to assassinate Slave Huan at the Giant
Rock Cliff. Unfortunately, the giant red-crowned roc had suddenly appeared
and killed both Shangguan Yuxing and Cloud Panther, and the latter's death
had caused a series of assassinations afterwards.
"Who?" Gu Shenwei asked.
He had assumed that the person behind Shangguan Yuxing must have been
Shangguan Yushi or Luo Ningcha, but Maid Lotus said something that was
totally beyond his expectations.
"Someone in the Whiterobe Academy. His surname is Guo. Do you know
who he is?"
"Mister Guo?"
Gu Shenwei was stunned and at the same time, very puzzled. He had met
Mister Guo only twice, once in the torture chamber of Heart Cleansing Yard
and once when he had been caught with Shangguan Ru in a room after they
had stolen Black Jade Palm. Gu Shenwei was pretty sure that Mister Guo did
not remember the slave boy in the torture chamber. As for the theft case,
Mister Guo still had no reason to blame a young attendant who had just
followed his master's order and had not even said a word during the whole
process. He could not figure out why Mister Guo wanted him to die.
"Wildhorse has heard Shangguan Yuxing brag about how easy it is for the
Whiterobe Academy to kill a killer apprentice."
Given Maid Lotus' good people skills, Gu Shenwei was not surprised at all
when hearing that she had contacted Wildhorse, their former enemy, to
investigate the matter. He was just completely bewildered by the fact that it
was Mister Guo who wanted to kill him.
"I heard that you're going to be sent to the Whiterobe Academy. Be careful."
With these words, Maid Lotus left. Gu Shenwei racked his brain, but still
failed to get the answer. He knew Mister Guo did not like Shangguan Ru and
Shangguan Yushi, but that could not explain why he took so much trouble to
take his revenge on a humble slave boy.
That evening, Gu Shenwei was released from the confinement and returned
to his mentor's yard. Tomorrow, he was going to work at the Whiterobe
Academy. He felt unsettled and turned to his mentor for help.
Tie Hangfeng and his apprentice were not close, but after the murder case,
the relationship between them improved a lot.
Gu Shenwei told his mentor the whole thing about Mister Guo and asked for
his advice. Tie Hanfeng, who knew Slave Huan had helped Mama Xue
stealing the wooden saber in Six Kill Temple, had some idea about this
matter but he did not reply to his apprentice immediately. He went out to ask
information from some of his friends in East Castle and returned at midnight.
"Mister Guo can't publicly announce that he wants to kill you, since the fort
will never allow such private rivalries. That was why he took so much trouble
to hire other apprentices to kill you in the monthly tests," Tie Hanfeng
explained.
Seeing the puzzled look on Slave Huan's face, he added, "Do you remember
the dog training theory I taught you? To pick out the fierce dogs and
eliminate the weak ones, you have to encourage all the dogs to fight each
other and bite each other when they're little. However, once you pick out the
ones you want, you have to keep every dog on a leash and make them learn
rules. Killer apprentices were just like those puppies. Now that the fort has
already picked out the good ones, it'll ask you to follow the rules. Mister Guo
knows the rules well, so he won't kill you directly in the mission. Likewise,
you can't openly kill him. In this fort, you're only allowed to kill me to take
my red belt and my waist token. If you succeed, it'll be a great honor for you.
If you succeed of course, hah-hah."
Gu Shenwei did not want to try it anymore. He knew he was no match for his
mentor.
"As for the reason why he hates you so much, according to my survey, it's
because of the wooden saber. At that time, he concentrated too much on
Black Jade Palm and failed to notice that you gave him a fake wooden saber.
You made him lose the lord's respect. That's why he wants to kill you."
Gu Shenwei finally understood why Mister Guo hated him so much. He

guessed that Shangguan Nu must have made up a story to explain to his
father why the wooden saber had been broken. Given the bad relationship
between Shangguan Nu and Mister Guo, he believed Shangguan Nu had not
said any good words for Mister Guo.
The Whiterobe Academy was situated in the northmost part of East Castle,
but was not part of the castle. Inside the academy, there were 36 seperate
houses, and each house had a very specific role. It was a horizontal
organization. The leaders of all the houses, who were referred to as chiefs,
directly reported to the Supreme King.
Mister Guo was a chief of a house. Gu Shenwei did not know what exactly
Mister Guo was in charge of since it was a secret, but he guessed his
responsibility might have something to do with the security of the fort.
Serving in the Whiterobe Academy was part of Gu Shenwei's punishment,

but Tie Hanfeng told him that it was more a reward than a punishment. "The
Whiterobe Academy is an important organ of the fort. You can learn lots of
things there, which you can never learn from East Castle and me. Rela. You'll
get out of it soon."
When Gu Shenwei came to the academy, he sighed that his mentor had been
too optimistic. He was asked to help in the Archives Library, a place
preserving the historical records of the fort. There were only around 10
servants working in this library, and all they needed to do everyday was
dusting, killing pests and rats to protect the books. Some of the archives were
more than 100 years old. Gu Shenwei believed no one had read these detailed
and boring records except their own authors.
He thought that he was not going to learn anything in this library and worried
that he might even forget his saber moves during these days.
Tie Hanfeng knew his apprentice's temper and had repeatedly reminded him
not to act against Mister Guo or take revenge on such a powerful person. He
strongly advised Slave Huan to keep a low profile and let Mister Guo cool
down and forget about this thing.
Gu Shenwei did not want to further irritate Mister Guo either, but Mister Guo
was secretly plotting against him.
Soon he noticed a sign but he failed to realize what it meant during the
moment.
Servants of the Whiterobe Academy all ate together in a large cafeteria.

Although they seldom talked to each other, they still had their own ways to
deliver information.
One day, when Gu Shenwei was having lunch in the cafeteria, a boy beside
him suddenly touched him and whispered, "Are you Yang Huan from East
Castle?"
Gu Shenwei was surprised to hear someone call him by this name here. It
took him a few minutes to recover from the shock. He nodded to the boy and
then the boy nodded back to him.
When he went to fetch some food for himself, he found a group of teenagers
pointing at him while whispering to each other. He had never met anyone of
them in the library, so he guessed that they were from some other house.
He did not consider it an unusual thing, since many slaves had heard his
name and were interested in the leader of the former Tattooed Arm Gang, a
gang of slaves.
The next day, which was the 15th day of his service in the Whiterobe
Academy, he went back to his mentor's place.
Later on that day, he went to meet with the core members of the former
Tattooed Arm Gang. According to his agreement with them, the 15 core gang
members would meet every three days to stay in touch. Although the gang
wars among the apprentices were over now, they still needed to stay alert.
The meeting place was not fixed. Maid Lotus would choose a place and
inform everyone before each meeting.
Likewise, the Snow Mountain Gang still existed and had even more
members. It was said that they still had more than 20 or 30 people.
During the meeting on that day, Maid Lotus told everyone the latest rumor
that the Pyrowork Academy was about to organize a real assassination and
the target was someone outside the fort.
This was an unusual thing. Normally, only red-belt killers could join a real
assassin mission, but by now, none of the apprentices had gotten a red-belt.
Among all the killer apprentices who had killed their every opponent with
one strike during the first five monthly tests, only Slave Huan had survived
the gang wars. However, Slave Huan had willingly lost to Maid Lotus during
his sixth monthly test and thus had failed to get a red belt.
This year's apprentices were considered to be the best batch of apprentices in

the fort's history. Only 20 or 30 percent of them had survived the slaughter,
and thus all the remaining apprentices were strong. Given that, East Castle
decided to break the tradition and let the apprentices join a real assassin
mission, but it had not published any detail about the mission.
The apprentices were excited to hear this news and every one of them wanted
to be selected. They were eager to prove themselves and thus their killing
desire was extremely strong. They would rather be killed in battle than wince
in fear.
The killer mentors also heard about this thing, but none of them knew any
detail about it.
The next morning, Gu Shenwei found out that the teenagers who had pointed
at him yesterday were servants of the Document Library.
There was not just one-word difference between the Document Library and
the Archives Library. The former one was in charge of handling all the
documents for the Supreme King and its staff could often meet the lord in
person. The latter would never be able to see any of those documents until the
lord died.
Just like the yellow-belts in East Castle, servants in the Whiterobe Academy
would also sell information secretly, as long as it was not a top secret.
Gu Shenwei had raised 100 taels of silver, hoping to bribe a yellow-belt to

put him and Liuhua in the same test room. His plan had failed, but Maid
Lotus still kept the money. As the plan for the killer apprentices' assassin
mission was not the most confidential document, Gu Shenwei managed to
buy a copy from a servant of the Document Library.
According to the copy, 20 apprentices were chosen for the mission. He saw
many familiar names on it, such as Maid Lotus, Wildhorse and Liuhua, but
he did not see Slave Huan. This copy still did not mention any details about
the mission either, such as the target, the time and the location.
Although he was quite disappointed not to be selected, he still felt happy to
see some of his friends get this chance. However, the text of the document
somehow made him feel uneasy. He read it again and again, but still failed to
figure out the reason for his anxiety.
He spotted Mister Guo's seal among the seven or eight seals at the end of the
document and wondered, "Is this mission a trap set by Mister Guo?" On
second thought, he believed he was just being too suspicious. After all, he
was the one Mister Guo wanted to kill, but he was not chosen to join the
mission. He tore the copy into pieces and then went to bed.
Somehow, he still dreamed about the contents of the document at night. In

that dream, they were all written in blood.
Chapter 90 - Play a Traitor
Chapter 90: Play a Traitor
The copy of a document which cost Gu Shenwei 100 taels of silver turned out
to be of little value. The worker of the Document Library had tricked him.
The moment he gave the copy to Slave Huan, the assassination mission
would shortly be announced. Given that, Gu Shenwei only knew the details
about the mission several hours earlier than the 20 chosen apprentices.
To maintain secrecy, that night, all of the 20 apprentices were taken to a

secret location outside the fort, where they would receive special training.
Because of this, Gu Shenwei did not get a chance to discuss his concerns with
Maid Lotus or his other friends.
He still had some negative feelings about this mission and thought of many
reasons to prove that his fears were reasonable. After a while, he felt that he
could not bear his nervousness anymore and decided to ask his mentor for
advice again.
As he had expected, Tie Hanfeng scoffed at his worries. "Hah-hah, you're

way too suspicious. You always see a tiger in the way, even when there's
only a rat. You saw Mister Guo's seal on the document. That means he's one
of the masterminds. He'll be held accountable if any killer dies during the
mission," he said while holding a pot with one hand and brandishing a cup
with the other hand.
According to Golden Roc Fort's principles, the best assassinations were the
ones with the least resistance. The fort saw the killer apprentices within the
East Castle as disposable trash, but once they became killers on a mission,
their lives would be extremely valuable. Any killer's death would cause great
trouble for the masterminds of assassinations.
Gu Shenwei also knew this tradition, so he had to agree with his mentor that
Mister Guo would never want any killer to perish during the mission.
With that thought in mind, he finally felt relieved. Beyond his expectations,
three days later, he was notified that he also needed to take part in that
assassination mission.
It was not a very difficult mission, but to help the killer apprentices get more
experience, the masterminds did not omit any steps. Now, they needed to
choose a spy among the killer apprentices. The one they chose was Slave
Huan.
About a year and a half ago, Han Shiqi had worked as a spy in the
assassination of the Gu family.
Gu Shenwei did not like this task at all, and at the same time he felt very
bewildered. As his punishment was not over, strictly speaking, he was not a
killer apprentice and was not eligible to partake in any assassination
missions. However, as a humble servant, he could only follow orders without
question.
A yellow-belt supervisor came to read out the orders to him, and a red-belt
killer gave him specific instructions and a parcel which contained some
ordinary clothes, some silver and a waist token for him to leave the fort.
Gu Shenwei had to leave right after accepting the order, so he did not have
time to return to his mentor's place to ask for his advice. He put down a stack
of dusty documents, changed his clothes and then headed for the city.
He hated traitors and thought they were despicable. Although Golden Roc
Fort usually called these people spies and considered their involvement an
indispensable part of all assassination missions, he still felt disgusted that he
had to play such a role in this mission.
He went by Xu Yanwei's brothel in Pleasure Alley on his way to find his

informant in South City. He discovered that the brothel had already been
taken over by a new owner. An elderly woman was standing in front of it,
enthusiastically introducing the new girl to the pedestrians.
The place where he was going to meet with the informant was a small and
dark tavern. He saw only a few guests in its narrow lobby after entering this
place. Without a waiter leading the way for him, he walked directly into a
passageway. He saw many small rooms on both sides. They were all
partitioned by solid walls, and the largest one among them could only allow
five or six people to sit down and chat. It was a nice place for private
conversations.
According to the instructions he had received, he was to walk into the 7th
room on his right-hand side. An informant should be waiting for him in this
room at that moment. This person was going to help him infiltrate a new
gang.
To his great surprise, he saw a familiar face here.
"It's you!" They cried out simultaneously.
Xu Xiaoyi spat on the ground resentfully and said, "If I knew it was you, I
would've never taken this job."
Gu Shenwei sat opposite to him and said, "No matter who the informant is, I
wasn't willing to do this job anyway."
After an awkward silence, Xu Xiaoyi complained, "You really forced my

sister and me to suffer."
"I'm sorry. I didn't die to help you guys out," Gu Shenwei said sarcastically.
If he had not insisted that the siblings were innocent, they would have been
executed a long time ago.
Xu Xiaoyi snorted and then cowered in his seat. After a while, he

straightened his back and said, "To tell the truth, we never thought of killing
Prince Ju Gaotai. He was not a good person, but none of my sister's clients
were good. No matter what, we never intended to frame you. The officer told
us that it was you who said that we're innocent and saved our lives."
"You think that I could've done better?"

"No, we're not ungrateful people, but… you know… we nearly succeeded in
leaving this terrible place. The younger prince promised us that he would
make my sister his queen and me, his minister when I grow up."
"You believed that?"
"Well… those customers… They'll even promise us to kill their own mothers
as long as we kept them happy. However, it was still a chance for us. If we
just leave this place, my sister will be able to find other rich fools."
Gu Shenwei snorted and asked, "Where's the silver left by the prince and Pot-
bellied Buddha?"
"The prince's debt collectors came to us one after another, claiming it was all
their money. They've taken it all away, and now my sister and I are penniless
and heavily in debt. Given that, she continues to work as a prostitute and me?
D*mn it, I work for you now."
"That's the way life is."
Gu Shenwei did not want to play the hero anymore. He did not feel sorry for
the siblings. They had no other options, just like himself who could only be a
killer now.
"No…" Xu Xiaoyi wanted to retort but quickly changed his mind. He thought
of his job and said, "I'll take you to their place tonight. It's easy. They'll
accept you immediately after you pay the enrollment fee."
Jade City attracted lots of exiled nobles as well as wandering hoodlums.

These hoodlums mostly lived in South City. Some of them sought
opportunities in the city, hoping to get employed by crime lords. Some chose
to take bolder actions to establish their own gangs and start their own
business.
Most of the time, Golden Roc Fort would not pay any special attention to
these small gangs and sometimes, they would even hire them to complete
some tasks. However, every now and then, some gangs would get
overambitious and even dare to challenge the Supreme King. When that
happened, the fort would take action against them immediately to ensure its
own status and at the same time, give the other gangs a warning.
The target of the 20 killer apprentices was of such a small gang. It had been
around for less than one year, and its name was Tianshan Sect. It was also
known as the Ten-Dragon Gang since it was founded by 10 wandering
machetemen.
The gang's regular meeting place was a courtyard outside the city. It was
located near the wilderness and looked more like a nameless tavern since
there were obviously much more liquor jars than weapons in the yard. At
night, the seven or eight thatched cottages in the courtyard became even
livelier than Southwall Tavern. Gu Shenwei could often see some people get
kicked out of the cottages or scuffled all the way from the cottages to the
yard.
It was indeed very simple to join the Ten-Dragon Gang. With Xu Xiaoyi as
his sponsor, Gu Shenwei paid only 10 taels of silver to get a rough iron sheet
as the admission voucher. He did not even need to give a kowtow to anyone
or go through any other kind of ceremony to join the gang.
Compared to the drinks offered by Southwall Tavern, the liquor here tasted
like vinegar. Gu Shenwei did not drink it since he had to stay sober to
observe everyone here and obtain information.
The Ten-Dragon Gang seemed to have lots of members. Gu Shenwei roughly

counted the people who visited this place tonight and found out that there
were about 200 of them. Most of them were dressed in worn-out felt jackets
and carried machetes like bandits. They came here to drink, brag and fight.
Gu Shenwei could not help thinking of his mentor. He believed Tie Hanfeng
would get along with these people very well.
In his view, this group of people looked more like some a disorderly mob
than a gang. They did not seem to share a common goal or work on a
common plan.
When Elderly Dragon came to the courtyard one or two hours before
midnight, these people finally acted like proper gang members.
Elderly Dragon, one of the founders of the Ten-Dragon Gang, was in his 60s.
He had protruding eyes, which made him look as if he was always staring at
someone. The moment he entered the room he took off his short jacket and
threw it to his followers, revealing his tattoos, which were ten fierce-looking
dragons.
"Is everybody here?" Elderly Dragon shouted. His voice boomed out above
all the other sounds in the room. Hearing his voice, the people in the other
cottages all hurriedly rushed over.
"Elderly Dragon! Elderly Dragon…" the gang members chanted their leader's
name enthusiastically. They appeared intoxicated as if they had just drunk the
best wine in Jade City.
"With a thousand members, Tianshan Sect will soon become the biggest gang
in the whole Western Region!"
The crowd burst into cheers.
"Who're we going to defeat?"
"Golden Roc Fort, Golden Roc Fort…" the members, as if possessed, shouted
repeatedly. The loud sounds shook the cottage.
"Who're we going to rob?"
"Meng Yuzun, Meng Yuzun…" the gang members got even louder this time,
calling the head of the Meng family by his full name. Meng Yuzun was one
of the richest men in the Western Region.
This Q&A lasted for nearly an hour. Elderly Dragon guided the gang
members to yell out answers to a series of questions, describing how
Tianshan Sect was going to crush Golden Roc Fort and ransack North City.
After that, Elderly Dragon put on his jacket and left. The gang members,
intoxicated and thrilled, also began to leave the courtyard after Elderly
Dragon's departure. They walked into the boundless wind and snow with
shining eyes. It seemed that this daydreaming could encourage them to
endure a few more days of hard life.
Gu Shenwei found the whole situation very absurd. He could hardly describe
this group of people as a gang. From his point of view, the Tianshan Sect was
probably just organized by some con artists with no real victims except for its
members that paid to join.
Despite that, he still strictly carried out his mission and stayed there until no
one else was left. He pretended to be drunk and slept at his table, letting Xu
Xiaoyi carry him away in the end.
It was snowing hard. The footprints left by hundreds of people were already
nowhere to be found. Without Xu Xiaoyi's help, Gu Shenwei could not even
tell which direction the city was.
After they returned to the city, Xu Xiaoyi brought the killer apprentice to his
home. The two shook off the snow on their bodies at the door. Gu Shenwei
felt extremely cold even though he practiced Internal Strength, he looked at
Xu Xiaoyi. That boy was unable to utter a word now. His lips were purple
because of the cold.
Fortunately, there was a burning brazier in the room. Xu Xiaoyi went to start
up the fire, and Gu Shenwei came to sit opposite to him. They sat quietly by
the fire to warm themselves. No one wanted to speak.
"Xiaoyi, you came back?"
"Yeah."
Gu Shenwei turned around and saw Xu Yanwei standing upstairs. She was
dressed in a silk robe and looking at him curiously. The next moment, she
recognized him and her face changed. "Why did you bring him here?" She
shouted.
"I didn't have a choice. The fort sent him to contact me," Xu Xiaoyi
murmured while shivering.
Gu Shenwei turned away to avoid Xu Yanwei. He did not want to speak with
anyone at this moment.
Xu Yanwei went back to her bedroom and locked herself in.
"I hope you don't mind. She nearly became a queen, but now she's still just a
prostitute. She's not in a good mood," Xu Xiaoyi said to Slave Huan.
"I see."
Gu Shenwei replied reluctantly. He was still thinking about the Ten-Dragon

Gang. The gang members were no threats at all except for Elderly Dragon
and a few of his followers, which made him wonder why Golden Roc Fort
wanted to attack such a group of people.
"We need to go to the courtyard again tomorrow night, but I need to get
myself a saber first."
"What for?"
Gu Shenwei did not answer. He just needed a saber. Without it, he could not
fall asleep.
Chapter 91 - A New Interpretation
Chapter 91: A New Interpretation
A saber was a must for Gu Shenwei now.
He carried one everyday in Golden Roc Fort and became accustomed to

having the extra weight on him all the time. Without it, he would feel as if he
was completely naked and unprotected, especially when he was in a
dangerous place like South City.
The next day, he left Xu Xiaoyi's place at noon and walked toward Southwall
Tavern through the deep snow. Among all the places he knew in South City,
that place had the most weapons.
The tall fat guy at the gate of Southwall looked at him coldly and refused his
request directly, "Southwall is a tavern, not a weapon shop."
"I'll pay you to get one," Gu Shenwei insisted, unwilling to take no for an
answer. He blocked the doorway, knowing that no one would come to the
tavern at this time.
The tall fat guy exchanged a glance with the short fat guy, and then they went
into the tavern. After a while, they came out, threw a weapon to the killer
apprentice and said, "For the sake of your mentor, we give you this one for
free."
Gu Shenwei was surprised to hear that the fat guys still remembered that he
was Tie Hanfeng's apprentice. He picked up the weapon and said, "It's a
sword. I said that I want a saber."
The fat guys got a little bit irritated and said, "Don't be so picky. Am I your
slave or something? Get out of here."
With their arms crossed, the fat guys approached the stubborn teenager step
by step to drive him away.
Gu Shenwei returned to Xu Xiaoyi's place and drew out the sword to have a
look. He thought it must have been left behind by a con man who
masqueraded as a nobleman. Both the shaft and the scabbard of the sword
were ornately decorated, but the gems embedded in them were apparently
fake. The sword was light and thin, with no cutting edge.
Holding it, he could not feel as secure as he did when he held a saber in hand.
"You don't like it?" Xu Xiaoyi came over and asked. He was obviously more
interested in the fake gems.
"I'm just not used to using a sword."
"It won't be a problem. No one in the Ten-Dragon Gang can compete with
you in kung fu. You can defeat them no matter what weapon you use."
What Xu Xiaoyi said reminded Gu Shenwei of the sword technique in the

nameless sword manual, which was a move without defense and was suitable
for surprise attacks. He had used it to fight his mentor. At that time, he had
almost beaten Tie Hanfeng, but also had nearly gotten killed. That was
because his mentor's kung fu was much better than his. As for the gang
members who were definitely much weaker than him, Gu Shenwei believed
that he could easily kill them all using these sword techniques.
With that thought in mind, he felt eager to try the sword techniques again
during the mission, although such bold actions were clearly against Golden
Roc Fort's principles. He had strongly advised Maid Lotus not to practice the
sword techniques from the manual, but somehow he himself was still
obsessed with it.
He lifted the sword, stabbed and pulled it back.
Xu Xiaoyi fell backward on the floor in surprise. "What're you doing? Are
you going to kill me because I know too much?" The boy asked while
touching his neck with his hand.
"No. I just wanted to try this sword out."
"Try that sword out? Try that sword out on a living person? Are you kidding
me? You might have accidentally killed me just now," Xu Xiaoyi complained
as his face turned red.
"No. I controlled it precisely," Gu Shenwei said, while putting the sword

back into its scabbard. He felt that he began to get familiarized with this
weapon.
Xu Xiaoyi could not believe what the killer apprentice said. He had clearly
felt the point of the sword touch his neck just now. If the killer apprentice had
stabbed several centimeters further, he would have been dead. In his view,
everyone can make mistakes, but he did not want to argue with the killer
apprentice in case that he would feel challenged and want to try again to
prove himself.
Xu Xiaoyi gradually calmed himself down and thought back on the sword
technique. He discovered that it was extremely fast and unpredictable, and
believed that it was the best sword technique he had ever seen. "Hey, what's
the name of the sword technique you used just now? Your sword skills seem
even better than your saber skills."
As Xu Xiaoyi did not know kung fu, Gu Shenwei could not explain to him
that such a nice sword technique might not be as practical as the saber
techniques in real fights. He simply told him, "Stab-neck sword skill."
"Half-naked? You use this sword skill after taking your clothes off?"
"No, I said stab-neck. It's a skill of stabbing necks."
Upon hearing that, Xu Xiaoyi immediately covered his neck with both hands,
and his mouth twitched. "It seems to be a nice move. How come it has such a
weird name?" He grumbled.
A customer came for Xu Yanwei in the afternoon. Gu Shenwei and Xu

Xiaoyi had to leave the house. The siblings did not have enough money to
rent a house in Pleasure Alley. They only had enough for a place at the edge
of the city. There was nowhere for them to go, and Gu Shenwei refused to go
to brothels. Given that, they just went to Southwall Tavern again.
At the entrance of the tavern, Gu Shenwei gave his sword to the fat guys and
said, "I would like to get a saber when I leave."
The fat guys searched them carefully and then reluctantly allowed them to
enter the tavern.
Gu Shenwei bade Xu Xiaoyi to keep a low-profile inside the tavern and

deliberately chose a table in a corner to avoid attention.
As it was still early in the afternoon, there were not many guests inside the
tavern. Gu Shenwei looked around, searching for familiar faces. Tie Hanfeng
was not here, but there was another elderly man who caught his attention.
The man was drinking alone and there was only one kind of alcoholic drink
on his table, which indicated that he was a real toper.
Gu Shenwei recognized that he was Zhang Ji, the teacher in the family school
of Golden Roc Fort. Mister Zhang was a strict teacher and had whipped him
in the neck back in his school days. Since new year was coming, Gu Shenwei
reckoned that the school must have been on vacation.
Zhang Ji also had a job at the Archives Library. He was the only person
interested in those archives and often read them by the light of a candle at
night. It suddenly occurred to Gu Shenwei that Mister Zhang might be able to
help him understand the document he had.
He took out all his money, around 30 or 40 taels of silver, and gave it to Xu
Xiaoyi, who was hastily gobbling down the food on the table. "Go to the
counter and pay the bill," he said.
"What, I've not finished yet," Xu Xiaoyi goggled at the killer apprentice and
said with his mouth full.
"Pay the bill for the elderly man over there."
Xu Xiaoyi was surprised. He glanced at Zhang Ji and asked, "Is he your

father?"
"Oh man, what a nosy little informant. I'll return to report to East Castle
tomorrow. It seems that I need to also tell them of your performance," Gu
Shenwei said affectedly.
Hearing that, Xu Xiaoyi jumped off his chair and hurriedly walked toward
the counter with the silver in his hands. "Stop throwing the fort's weight
around to bully us," he grumbled.
After a while, the boy came back and looked embarrassed. "That man owes a
lot to the tavern. He's come here to drink for several days in a row and only
ordered the best drinks. Your money isn't enough to pay for his bills."
"Well then, put it on my tab."
"Whose tab?"
"Tie Hanfeng."
Xu Xiaoyi reluctantly walked to the counter again and came back even faster
than the last time. The manager of the tavern followed him to tell the killer
apprentice, "We never kept a tab for Tie Hanfeng's spendings here."
"You can start keeping a tab for him as of today."
Gu Shenwei learned an important thing from his mentor, which was one
should always act boldly and steadfastly to achieve his goal in South City.
Since once he winced or appeared hesitant, he would be trampled on by
others.
The manager looked the teenager up and down and asked, "Are you his
apprentice?"
"Yes, I am."
"What if your mentor refuses to pay for your tab?"
"I'll pay with heads."

Gu Shenwei pressed one hand on the table and replied calmly like a seasoned
killer. During his first visit to South City, a young man had told him that
heads, namely his killing service, could also be used as currency in the city.
Seeing the teenager make an empty show of strength, the manager was
displeased and looked quite grim. For a moment, Gu Shenwei thought he was
going to flare-up. Nevertheless, after a while, the manager said, "142 taels of
silver. Put it on Tie Hanfeng's account."
Xu Xiaoyi was so impressed. He sat in a chair on the killer apprentice's left

side and looked at him with shining eyes. "Wow, that was really awesome.
You're so… By the way, what's your name?"
They had known each other for a long time, but the teenager had never
mentioned his name and Xu Xiaoyi had never asked about it until now.
"Yang Huan." Gu Shenwei told the boy his fake name. Now that he was sent
by the fort to carry out a task, he did not have to use his slave name anymore.
"Can I call you Brother Huan? Is it alright? You're probably only one or two
years older than me. Tut, tut…"
Xu Xiaoyi kept shaking his head. It was very difficult for him to believe that
the fierce killer apprentice was that young.
Gu Shenwei did not pay much attention to the boy. He still fixed his eyes on
Zhang Ji. Soon, Mister Zhang invited the teenager to join him.
"I've taught many students in the fort, but only you, a slave boy, know how to
show respect for a teacher."
Beyond Gu Shenwei's expectations, Zhang Ji still remembered the slave boy

who had once disturbed his class. They both worked in the Archives Library
in recent days, but they had never spoken to each other.
"It's just a small courtesy. Please kindly accept it, Mister Zhang."
"Someone is willing to pay for my tab. I've no reason to refuse such kindness.
Take a seat. If you've anything to say, say it. Don't beat about the bush.
However, I need to remind you first that I won't pay you back the money. As
for the thing you're going to ask, I can't promise that I'll help you."
"It's alright. I may need your advice for some other things in the future," Gu
Shenwei said smilingly.
Gu Shenwei recited all the contents of the document except the names to
Zhang Ji in a low voice, and then he asked, "Mister Zhang, did you notice
anything unusual in this document?"
Zhang Ji picked up his cup and shook it gently and slowly. "I can't help you
with that. I'm too old and never want to get involved in the things of the fort
too much."
"Thank you then, Mister Zhang."
Gu Shenwei did not ask any other questions. He had already gotten the
answer from Zhang Ji's attitude. Besides, given the complicated relationships
between the people in the fort, Gu Shenwei was not sure whether Zhang Ji
was reliable.
He returned to his seat, closed his ears to Xu Xiaoyi's nagging and immersed
in thought. Evidently, Mister Zhang had spotted something unusual in the
document, which confirmed his suspicion that this mission might be a plot
against him.
Gradually, the tavern got more and more noisy and crowded. Some guests sat
near him and began to chat. They all talked in a roundabout way like Tie
Hanfeng and Zhong Heng.
Hearing their conversations, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that Mister Guo

might have also put such word games in the document. To know what he
really meant, he needed to crack the riddles and read between the lines.
Gu Shenwei asked Xu Xiaoyi to get him a brush and a piece of paper. He

wrote the document down and read it carefully from beginning to end. Now
he understood why this document made him feel so uneasy.
In this carefully worded document, the masterminds expressed implications
that this plan might not succeed and that this failure might be a good thing for
the overproud apprentices.
Gu Shenwei tore the paper into pieces and walked toward the gate of the
tavern. When he walked past Zhang Ji's table, he said, "Thank you, Mister
Zhang."
"If you want to thank me, stay far away from me."
Not wanting to be spotted by some spies hiding in the crowd, Zhang Ji

replied coldly. He did not even lift up his eyes to look at Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei did not stop near Mister Zhang's table either. He kept walking
toward the gate when many guests swarmed into the tavern. Xu Xiaoyi
swallowed the food in his mouth, took a swig of a drink and hurriedly caught
up with him.
At the gate, the tall fat guy gave the killer apprentice a new weapon before he
asked. It was a sword again and was even shorter and lighter than the
previous one. It looked like a children's toy.
The fat guy smiled mockingly at the teenager, but Gu Shenwei just received
it peacefully and smiled back at him while saying, "You could've done
better."
It was getting dark and the snow was still quite deep. They crunched all the
way to the courtyard of the Ten-Dragon Gang. This time, Gu Shenwei did not
need to pay the enrollment fee, but he was asked to pay for the drinks. Since
Gu Shenwei had no money now, Xu Xiaoyi took out 10 taels of silver to pay
and repeatedly reminded the killer apprentice that he just borrowed this
money to him.
Gu Shenwei held the short sword, with his eyes fixed on a rowdy man in the
crowd. He was planning to provoke the man into a fight.
Chapter 92 - Scars
Chapter 92: Scars
While swigging liquor and talking loudly, the rowdy man occasionally waved
a long, sheathed machete with his left hand to frighten the people around him.
Some of the gang members walked away from him. Some approached him
and greeted him smilingly.
Like Elderly Dragon, this rowdy man was one of the founders of the Ten-
Dragon Gang and nicknamed himself Dragon Tooth.
According to Gu Shenwei's observations, most of the gang members could

not even hold their weapons steadily, whereas both Elderly Dragon and
Dragon Tooth were endowed with superb kung fu skills.
Actually, Golden Roc Fort had not ordered Slave Huan to investigate the
gang members' kung fu, but he did so anyway in order to discover Mister
Guo's true intentions.
A moment later, Dragon Tooth staggered out of the crowd.
Gu Shenwei stared at him in an effort to cause irritation; this was how gang
members provoked fights.
As he had expected, Dragon Tooth quickly flared up and shouted at him,

"Brat, why do you keep staring at me? Do you want to f*ck or something?
Look, here's my machete. Is it big enough for you?"
The surrounding gang members burst into laughter. Gu Shenwei shook his
head and retorted immediately, "No, your machete is stained with your own
sheet. Use it yourself."
After quarreling with his mentor many times, Gu Shenwei was not ashamed
of uttering such filthy language anymore.
The gang members laughed even louder as Dragon Tooth's face suddenly
changed. Gu Shenwei could easily tell that Dragon Tooth was the kind of
person who always claimed that he was just joking when hurling insults at
others, but would never tolerate being verbally abused himself. Only a real
master of dirty language like Tie Hanfeng could remain calm throughout a
quarrel while also quickly retorting.
Dragon Tooth unsheathed his long machete and threw the scabbard away. He
held the machete shaft with both hands, ready to attack. Drinking and
shouting, the gang members swiftly stepped aside to make room for the fight.
They were delighted to see such an exciting scene with liquor in their hands.
Xu Xiaoyi joined the crowd, urging the gang members to bet with him. "I bet
the guy with the sword will win."
Before anyone agreed to bet with him, the fight had already begun. Thanks to
this, Xu Xiaoyi was able to keep his last few taels of silver.
When Dragon Tooth lifted up his long machete, the people beside him
became scared and instinctively moved back as far as possible in order to
distance themselves from the weapon. Meanwhile, Gu Shenwei quickly
unsheathed his short sword, stabbed forward, and then drew it back. The next
moment, everyone saw a shallow wound appear on the teenager's shoulder,
blood quickly staining his cotton-padded jacket.
The gang members simultaneously cheered for Dragon Tooth while Xu

Xiaoyi stood agape, unable to believe his eyes.
"Wait for me, if you dare. I'll bring my people here momentarily."
With these words, Gu Shenwei turned around to leave. This was the gang
members' typical way of admitting defeat.
Xu Xiaoyi quickly caught up with him and repeatedly questioned what

happened.
Gu Shenwei just kept walking without saying a word; he knew that Xu
Xiaoyi would never understand what he was thinking.
Firstly, he discovered that Dragon Tooth's machete skills were subpar; his
moves were far too slow. The time he used to lift up his machete was enough
for a professional killer to land three fatal blows on him. Given that, Gu
Shenwei concluded that Elderly Dragon and the other founders of the gang
might not be very good at kung fu either. Thus, he was confused as to why
Mister Guo implied in the document that the apprentices might fail in this
mission to crush such a weak gang.
Secondly, Gu Shenwei realized that the sword skill in the nameless sword
book was exclusively a killing move and could never be used to deceive the
opponent. In the fight, he had already touched Dragon Tooth's throat with his
sword before he withdrew it, but neither the gang members nor even Dragon
Tooth himself had noticed this swift move. That was why Dragon Tooth had
not retracted his machete to block the sword and managed to wound Gu
Shenwei's shoulder.
Xu Xiaoyi forgot that it was still early in the night and took the killer
apprentice back to his home again. When they opened the door, they heard
Xu Yanwei groaning upstairs as she endured a whipping.
Xu Xiaoyi turned pale and stood dumbfounded. He wanted to walk out of the
house, but it was freezing cold outside. After a while, he entered the house
and sat by the fire quietly. A moment later, he covered his ears with his hands
and buried his face in his knees.
Gu Shenwei stood opposite Xu Xiaoyi, telling himself that this was none of
his business and that he should remain a cold-hearted killer. Despite only
being 15, the number of people he killed had already outnumbered the
number of dead people an old man would have seen in his whole life. He was
familiar with how cruel and unfair this world was and had decided not to play
the hero anymore.
However, he just could not stand idle at this moment.
He unsheathed his sword, threw the scabbard away, and ran upstairs. When
Xu Xiaoyi raised his head, he saw the killer apprentice standing at the door of
the bedroom. The boy was confused and opened his mouth, wanting to say
something. In the end, he failed to utter anything and closed his mouth.
The door was unlatched so Gu Shenwei pushed it open. His eyes were
greeted with the back of a naked man. Due to the many candles in the room,
the man's body was shimmering in the light, making it seem as though the
black tattoos on his body were alive.
With a cup of liquor in his left hand and a whip in his right hand, the man
whispered excitedly, "Scream b*tch. Scream louder…" Just as he was about
to flog Xu Yanwei once again, Gu Shenwei caught his wrist.
He threw the naked man out of the room and immediately turned around,
averting his eyesight from Xu Yanwei, who was tied to the bed.
"What're you doing?"
Before the naked man realized what had happened, Xu Yanwei was
overcome with anger and shame.
Gu Shenwei pretended not to hear what she said and fixed his eyes on the
man outside the room.
The naked man staggered to his feet and looked around. After a while, he
finally saw the teenager who had ruined his night and shouted at him, "Who
the hell are you?"
"Piss off."
Gu Shenwei took a step forward with the sword in his hand.
The man was tipsy and had no idea what kind of person he was currently
confronting. He roared and rushed back into the bedroom with a whip in
hand. Nevertheless, when he saw the teenager's face in the light, he stopped
all of a sudden and winced in fear like a dog meeting a wild wolf.
He had some jianghu experience and immediately recognized the teenager's

murderous countenance. The grim look frightened him. He put down the
whip and turned his eyes to the clothes on the chair. Gu Shenwei knew that
there was a machete on the chair since he could clearly discern a machete
shaft stick out from under the clothes.
"You can take your clothes away," he said.
Terrified by the strong killing intent, the man did not dare to move.
"You b*stard, what the hell are you doing?" Xu Yanwei shouted at the killer
apprentice. She had never experienced a killing intent and was thusly not
afraid of the teenager who had once killed two people in front of her.
Gu Shenwei ignored her again. This house was wide enough for a killer to
launch an attack on his opponent from behind. Gu Shenwei believed that
when the man realized this point, he would immediately leave this place as
quickly as possible with only his clothes.
As he had expected, when the man sobered up, he took small quick steps to
the chair to get his clothes. During the process, he accidentally touched the
machete shaft, but immediately withdrew his hand from it. He hurriedly left
the room, sweating. When he got to the first floor, he finally stopped to put
on his clothes.
"B*tch, you attempt to fool me? Wait here if you dare. I'll bring my people
here shortly," the man shouted out the typical words gang members would
use when admitting defeat, and then fled as fast as he could.
Now, Gu Shenwei found himself in an awkward situation. Xu Yanwei was

still fastened on the bed, there was no woman servant here, and he could not
ask Xu Xiaoyi to help.
"Untie the rope," said Xu Yanwei, grumpily.
Gu Shenwei threw his sword away and picked up a quilt, before swiftly
turning around and putting it on Xu Yanwei. During that moment, he got a
glimpse of the countless welts on her white skin. He quickly untied her and
then ran downstairs.
When he left, he heard Xu Yanwei shout, "Get out of here."
Xu Xiaoyi turned pale. He sat by the fire and said to the killer apprentice,
"Do you know who he is? He's Elderly Dragon's son."
"That's good."
Gu Shenwei did not want to explain since Xu Xiaoyi did not know much
about the assassination mission.
After a while, Xu Yanwei stormed downstairs and stood before the boys.
She looked furious and aggressive, completely different from the shy,
delicate girl Gu Shenwei remembered.
Thinking back to his first encounter with the siblings, he concluded that both
of them were amazingly good at acting.
"Why? Why did you drive my client away?" Xu Yanwei growled like a
tigress.
Gu Shenwei was not sure why he did this, so he just looked at Xu Yanwei
quietly.
"He saved our lives," Xu Xiaoyi murmured.
"Aha," Xu Yanwei laughed as if she had just heard a joke. "You saved my
life, so you think you have the right to judge me and to interfere in my private
affairs? What do you want me to do now? To feel embarrassed and ashamed?
And then I'll beg for your mercy and ask you to forgive me and help me? You
believe that I'm deeply grateful for what you've done and can't thank you
enough for that, don't you?"
"No, I never meant to point fingers at you."
"So you must want me to repay you by sleeping with you. Come on. Let's go
upstairs right now. You can have whatever you want. I can play a bashful girl
or a slut, and you can beat me with your blade and treat me as roughly and
abusively as you want. No matter what you do, I'll treat you like a king."
Xu Yanwei glared at the killer apprentice, her breast heaving.
"I just want you to be a good sister," Gu Shenwei pointed at Xu Xiaoyi and
said.
When he uttered the word "sister", he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Having
buried his feelings deeply for a long time, he had never expected to have such
an emotional outburst. After a while, he managed to calm himself down and
buried his feelings once again.
After an awkward silence, Xu Xiaoyi lowered his head and whispered, "She's
a good sister…"
Xu Yanwei stood agape for a while and then went upstairs.
"Wow, I've never seen her so angry," Xu Xiaoyi said smilingly, trying to
resolve the uncomfortable, embarrassing situation
Gu Shenwei kept his mouth shut; he realized that he had made a mistake. The
act of successively involving himself in the siblings' lives clearly violated a
killer's principles. Fortunately, he would soon say goodbye to them, since his
mission was about to come to an end.
Xu Yanwei walked downstairs again, with scissors and gauze in hand. She
arrived before the killer apprentice and coldly said, "Take off your shirt."
Gu Shenwei looked down and saw the wound on his shoulder. The blood was
congealed and he did not mind the pain; however, he still took off his shirt
due to Xu Yanwei's assertion.
The siblings gasped at what they saw on the teenage killer's body.
There were countless scars of different lengths between his neck and waist. In
the firelight, these overlapping and interlacing scars looked like ferocious
tattoos. Compared to his scars, Xu Yanwei's welts looked like mere dabs of
rouge.
Some of these scars were left by Tie Hanfeng and some, by his opponents.
There were so many scars that even Gu Shenwei himself had already
forgotten how he had received them.
As Xu Yanwei had no other client on that night, they all went to bed early.
Xu Xiaoyi had worried for more than two hours that the Ten-Dragon Gang
might come back to seek revenge, before finally slipping unawares into sleep.
The next morning, Gu Shenwei woke up early. He needed to go somewhere

else to report to the killer leader, the commander of the mission. A killer
leader was just a temporary title. The leader would automatically be
dismissed from the position when the mission ended. Taking the machete left
by the guest last night, Gu Shenwei set off.
He still could not understand why the plan makers thought the apprentices
might have failed in this mission. Elderly Dragon and the gang were so weak,
that he believed he could destroy them by himself.
Hoping that he could find someone to discuss his concerns with, he continued
on to the scheduled site. When he arrived, however, he discovered that the
killer leader of this mission was the last person he wanted to meet in the
whole world.
Chapter 93 - An Unexpected Guest
Chapter 93: An Unexpected Guest
In the east of South City, there was a small area, which was quite different
from the rest of the city. Its streets were narrow and tortuous and its buildings
were old and shabby, but it had no brothels or taverns. Most of its residents
ran their own small business in Jade City. They were hardworking people
who woke up early and never moved around with weapons.
While walking through the streets, Gu Shenwei kept his machete down
against his thigh to avoid attention. He was going to meet the killer leader in
a private house deep in an alley. It was a quiet place standing against the city
wall.
Twenty killer apprentices stayed inside the house, waiting for the spy.
The first person Gu Shenwei encountered upon entering the house was
Wildhorse, who stayed with his friends and slightly nodded to Slave Huan,
like a king greeting an unimportant official.
Maid Lotus and some other friends of Slave Huan were sitting together on the
other side of the room, wiping their sabers. They all stood up and nodded to
Slave Huan the moment they saw him.
None of them were qualified to freely speak here, except for the killer leader
of this mission: Shangguan Yushi.
Noticing her, Gu Shenwei knew that he had to be extra careful during this
mission. "Master Yu," he said.
"Call me killer leader," Shangguan Yushi corrected.

"Killer leader."
Gu Shenwei said as he deeply bowed to her.
After that, he reported to her the basic information of the Ten-Dragon Gang,
such as the leaders of the gang, the total number of its members, and the
number of the members who knew kung fu. He also told her all the details
about the gang members' regular meetings, such as when and where they met,
when they would leave, and who would remain in their meeting place after
the meetings concluded. Shangguan Yushi had known that Slave Huan would
work as a spy during this mission a long time ago and had been waiting for
this moment.
After hearing Slave Huan's report, Shangguan Yushi asked mockingly, "Is
that everything? That's all you've found out during the past three days?"
"Yes," Gu Shenwei replied. In fact, he only had two days to investigate, but
he did not want to argue with Shangguan Yushi.
Shangguan Yushi took out a piece of paper and read it aloud, "Tianshan Sect
has seven leaders. They gather regularly on the 15th day of each month. None
of the sect's ordinary members are allowed to join their meetings. During
each of their previous meetings, there were twelve guards that worked in
three shifts to ensure their safety. The guards were usually divided into three
teams and the best time to launch an attack would be around or shortly after
midnight." She folded the paper and added, "It seems to me that you didn't
collect any valuable information."
"I'm sorry," Gu Shenwei replied while bottling up his anger. He had never
been trained to work as a spy before and no one had given him any specific
instruction as to what kind of information he needed to collect during this
mission.
"Tomorrow is the 15th day of the month. You'll stay here to guard our
belongings. When we succeed, we'll give you no credit, but we'll thank you
for your hard work."
Some apprentices chuckled. Clearly, not all of them were Gu Shenwei's

friends.
"Yes, but killer leader, please allow me to go to their meeting place tonight."
"What for? You're planning to discover a peerless ace among the members of
the Tianshan Sect?"
"I feel that something is wrong."
Gu Shenwei found it extremely difficult to voice his concerns now, for he

had no solid evidence to prove that this mission was a trap set up by Mister
Guo. Even he himself had not figured out how Mister Guo was going to
frame him when he was not even among the 20 apprentices chosen for the
assassination mission.
However, the ambiguous text in the document still made him feel uneasy.
Unfortunately, he believed in his sixth sense but was not confident enough to
convince the others to trust his judgment.
"Well, alright, you can go. Thank you for your hard work again. However, no
matter what you plan to do tonight, you have to come back here early
tomorrow morning to clean the room. Oh, I remember: that's your old job.
You must be good at it."
"Yes," Gu Shenwei calmly replied, swallowing the insult.
Shangguan Yushi curled her lips into a smile and thought, "This arrogant
slave boy thought he could scare me off because he had killed many people,
but I'll let him know that a slave can never compete with its master."
Shangguan Yushi still wanted to take revenge on Slave Huan, not for her
useless brother's death but for the fact that he had outshone her in front of
Shangguan Ru.
Gu Shenwei did not have time to think about Shangguan Yushi; he had been
contemplating what the Ten-Dragon Gang would do to completely defeat the
apprentices. Maid Lotus and some other friends of his would participate in
the action so did not want to lose any one of them.
He went to Xu Yanwei's house and the moment he opened the door, he saw
an elderly man inside, sitting by the fire.
Gu Shenwei immediately recognized that the man was Elderly Dragon - even
though he did not see his dragon tattoos - due to the cotton-patted clothes he
wore.
"They're upstairs, very safe," Elderly Dragon took the initiative to speak.
Gu Shenwei looked up, then he put the machete by the door and went to sit
by the fire.
"You beat my son last night."
"Yes, I did."
"He deserved it."
"Well."
"If you dare to come to the courtyard again, I'll kill you."
"I see."
Their conversation ended, but Elderly Dragon showed no inclination to leave.
"Are you ready?" Gu Shenwei asked, feeling that something was wrong.
Hearing that, Elderly Dragon tensed up all of a sudden. His widened eyes
looked even more prominent now. He stared at the killer apprentice and
asked, "What're you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the liquor. I discovered that you prepare lots of it, every
night, in the courtyard."
A murderous glint flickered in the elderly man's eyes as he stretched out his
hand to the teenager.
Gu Shenwei took out the black iron sheet and put it in Elderly Dragon's hand.
A moment later, the elderly man turned his hand, throwing the iron sheet into
the fire.
After that, he ambled to the door, glanced at his son's machete without
touching it, pushed the door open, and walked into the snow.
Xu Xiaoyi walked downstairs softly and asked, "Are you going to that place
again tonight?"
"Yes."
"And this time… you don't need me to go with you, do you?"
"No, I don't."
"Wow, that's great. You know, I don't know kung fu. It'll be alright if you ask
me to steal something for you, but I can't fight those guys."
"I don't need you to steal anything for me."
"Hah-hah, how about we go out to eat now? You know sometimes my sister's
clients come here during the day."
"You go by yourself. I'll leave very soon; I have something to do."
"Well, I can stay with you for a while; it's freezing cold outside so I don't
want to go out right now."
Fifteen minutes later, Gu Shenwei walked out of the house with the machete,
but he did not completely leave the area. He hid in a street corner, observing
the house. Half an hour later, he saw a tall man walk out of it, wearing a cape
and a hood to cover his face. He looked left and right before hurriedly
leaving.
In South City, especially in the brothels, there were many sneaky men like
him.
Gu Shenwei waited for a while longer. When the cold weather became too
unbearable, he left for Southwall Tavern.
The fat guys searched him and asked him to leave his machete at the gate.
After entering the tavern, Gu Shenwei was greatly disappointed; he did not
find Tie Hanfeng or Zhang Ji here. Sitting at his mentor's favorite table, he
ordered a cup of wine and asked the manager to put his spendings on Tie
Hanfeng's tab again.
He stared at the red liquid in the white cup and waited for his mentor, but Tie
Hanfeng did not show up for the entire afternoon.
When the sun began to set, he knew that he had to leave for the courtyard. He
walked out of the tavern and picked up his machete at the gate. This time, the
fat guys did not play any trick to try and change his weapon.
A light snow was falling when he left the tavern, but when he arrived at the
courtyard, it snowed so heavily that his vision became limited to 10 steps
around him.
Evidently, there were not as many gang members as usual. When Gu

Shenwei walked around the courtyard several times and even leaped into it,
no one came out to stop him.
The cottages were lit up and noisy. He could clearly hear people drinking and
shouting inside the warm room, but he still hid outside in the snow, despite
the cold weather. Gu Shenwei was not scared by Elderly Dragon; he just
wanted to find out what the gang was plotting.
This time, he needed to discover the truth to solve the problem.
In front of the cottages, there were piles of liquor jars. They were covered by
the snow and looked like small hills. Gu Shenwei wiped the snow off of them
and knocked on them one by one, discovering that they were all empty.
"Hey!"
Someone spotted the sneaky teenager. Gu Shenwei turned around and saw
Dragon Tooth run at him, long machete in hand. Elderly Dragon's son and
several machete-men followed behind.
"Do you still remember what Elderly Dragon told you?"
"He said that he wanted to invite me here for a drink to thank me for beating
his son, but I refused. The liquor here is of poor quality and you mix it with
water. I don't want such drinks," Gu Shenwei said, gripping his machete shaft
tightly. Although the machete was quite different from a saber, he still
thought it was better than a short sword.
The machete-men clamored as Dragon Tooth brandished his long machete

and said, "You only get one chance. Piss off."
Gu Shenwei stared at Dragon Tooth for a moment and then retreated. Soon,
he could not see them anymore in the snow but he could still hear them
laughing at his cowardice.
They were the 20 killer apprentices' targets, thus he could not kill them
before they launched an attack - especially since Shangguan Yushi was their
killer leader.
He returned to Southwall Tavern to find Tie Hanfeng, but his mentor was not
there so he could only return the siblings' dwelling.
When Gu Shenwei entered the house, Xu Yanwei was sleeping upstairs and
Xu Xiaoyi was also lying in his makeshift bed on the first floor. The moment
the boy saw the killer apprentice, he mumbled, "Latch the door."
Gu Shenwei sat by the fire alone. He closed his eyes to imagine a piece of
white paper. After that, he began to write down the contents of the document
on that paper in his mind. While writing the 20 apprentices' names, he
matched them with the faces he had seen in the house this morning. When it
came to Liuhua, he suddenly realized that he did not see him earlier.
He saw the light.
He pushed Xu Xiaoyi and asked, "Who hired you to do this job?"
"Ah? What? Bigmouth Liu. Do you know him?"
Gu Shenwei did not know Bigmouth Liu. He grabbed Xu Xiaoyi's shoulders

and shook him harder until the boy finally woke up, sitting up in his bed
grumpily.
"What're you doing?"
"Who came here in the morning?"
"Elderly Dragon."
"Not him. I mean the man hiding upstairs."
Xu Xiaoyi smiled embarrassedly. He turned his eyes, seemingly wanting to

refute, but then he changed his mind and said, "You found out?"
"Who is he?"
"A client of my sister's. A normal person. Elderly Dragon came here right
after he entered the house, so he could only hide upstairs. I didn't mean to lie
to you, but you've already driven one of my sister's clients away. We were
just a little worried."
Knowing that Xu Xiaoyi was lying and acting again, Gu Shenwei said, "Don't
play tricks. You and your sister can't afford it. Watch out for your own
heads."
Hearing that, Xu Xiaoyi immediately touched his head to make sure that it
was alright. "Relax, who am I? I ran about in South City long before you
knew the place."
Gu Shenwei returned to sit by the fire. He was sure that the siblings would be
killed the day after tomorrow if they did participate in this plot, and at that
time, he would not be able to protect them. Xu Xiaoyi refused to tell him the
truth, which made him feel quite relieved; it did not make him feel obliged to
save the siblings.
Xu Xiaoyi sat on his bed, looking at the killer apprentice profoundly. He

wanted to say something, but after a while, he swallowed his words and fell
back into his bed, snorting loudly.
Gu Shenwei gripped the machete shaft tightly. Part of him longed for killing,
and the other part was always sickened by the color and the smell of blood.
He was not sure which one was his true self…
Chapter 94 - The Mistake
Chapter 94: The Mistake
Tha assassination mission was scheduled at midnight. The apprentices started

to prepare for it early: putting on their night suits, wiping their sabers, and
testing the use of their knockout powder drugs.
The killer leader Shangguan Yushi simply treated Slave Huan as a humble
handyman and ordered him to do all sorts of drudgery. For example, she
made him clean the snow in the yard, and wash the utensils in all the rooms.
She would take every opportunity to mock at his unfruitful return.
Gu Shenwei did not say anything about his suspicions, because his
suggestion would only bring about an adverse effect in front of Shangguan
Yushi. He was wiping a closet in one of the rooms at around noon when
Maid Lotus finally found a chance to come inside alone.
"Listen, tonight's assassination is a trap."
Since time was pressing, Gu Shenwei came straight to the point on seeing
Maid Lotus. She did not seem surprised at all. As she did during the slaughter
of apprentices, she was willing to be the leader's assistant and adviser. She
nodded, implying she knew what Slave Huan meant.
"The Ten-Dragon Gang will send out not only seven leaders and twelve
guardsmen, but also a large group of archers who'll hide in the empty wine
jars outside the house and crawl out as soon as you go inside. The house's
very simple and crude with thatched roofs. I guess they will set fire to the
house first and then shoot from the outside."
"Is there a mole in the castle?" Although Maid Lotus always stayed calm and
collected, she could not help feeling surprised. Golden Roc Fort was the
biggest killer organization in the Western Region or possibly even the world.
Who would risk working as a mole for a small gang?
"If you all die there, I'll be condemned as the mole." Gu Shenwei had figured
out the whole thing except the last bit. "By then, someone will prove I have
talked to Elderly Dragon. Moreover, there'll be a sum of money under my
name in some place unknown to everyone. The trap's perfect."
"Is it Mister Guo? He still wants to kill you even at the expense of twenty
killer apprentices and Master Yu?" Maid Lotus asked.
"It's him, but you're not the expense, I am. Look at the survivors in the
Tattooed Arm Gang. Most of them are servants belonging to the Second
Young Master, the Sixth Young Master, and the Eighth Young Master. Since
Mister Guo is the First Young Master's trusted follower, he must believe that
we deliberately eradicated apprentices on his side and want to take revenge."
"That makes sense. It was said that Wildhorse intended to pledge allegiance
to the Second Young Master, and Liuhua also seems to have been drawn to
the Sixth Young Master's side."
Someone walked by the room, so Gu Shenwei waited until there was no

sound outside before he added, "Try to remind Master Yu and don't tell her
it's my guess."
Gu Shenwei breathed a sigh of relief as Maid Lotus left, who was hoping
Shangguan Yushi would not be too stupid. Gu Shenwei could not help
exclaiming over the unpredictability of life. He had long wished that he could
get rid of the little devil, but now he was trying to save her life when a great
opportunity was lying ahead.
The man who walked out of the Xu's must be a guard of Golden Roc Fort. He
would prove that Slave Huan had secretly talked with Elderly Dragon. The
fact that Elderly Dragon's son spent the night with Xu Yanwei was merely a
show. Even if Slave Huan had not interfered, he would still find an excuse to
fight with Slave Huan before leaving. Thus, Elderly Dragon would have a
reason to come for Slave Huan.
They, the siblings of the Xu family, Elderly Dragon, and Dragon Tooth were
all pretending.
Gu Shenwei had already wiped the cabinet surface and made it as smooth as
a mirror, but he still subconsciously kept cleaning it as he was thinking over
the matter.
As the night fell, Shangguan Yushi summoned everyone. With a rag in hand,
Gu Shenwei watched her earnestly checking every apprentice's outfit. He also
noticed Liuhua who stayed in the corner. With his night suit on, the
marksman appeared to be thinner and smaller than anyone else. The shortbow
he held in his hand seemed to be a harmless toy.
Liuhua had once attempted to assassinate Maid Lotus but had failed. Gu
Shenwei then looked at Maid Lotus, who happened to look back. Judging
from her calm expression, Gu Shenwei knew she had already instilled the
necessary information into Shangguan Yushi since that was her strength. She
would make those thoughts appear to be Master Yu's.
The assassination team set off, leaving Gu Shenwei alone in the yard. He had
to clear the remaining weapons and all the sundries away, wait for the 21
people to return in triumph, and then go back to the castle together.
After finishing the work, Gu Shenwei stepped into the yard. It was a quiet
winter night, cold enough to freeze the most excited and boiling blood, and
also quiet enough to hear your own heartbeat.
Suddenly, an idea appeared in his mind. His heart thumped violently making
his chest almost pump blood out of his body.
Holy crap!
Gu Shenwei regretfully threw the frozen rag onto the ground, dashed back
into the room to grab a saber, and ran frantically out of the yard, hoping to
catch up with the assassination team.
South City was full of winding streets and alleys. Gu Shenwei, who was
worried, became increasingly annoyed as he chased the assassination team.
He walked briskly with his back against the wall to avoid those guests who
came for wine and women.
Looking into the distance, he could see there was no light at the gathering
point of the Ten-Dragon Gang yet, so he still had time to correct his mistake.
Gu Shenwei did not head for the destination directly, which was a killer's
instinct trained by East Castle. No matter how urgent the situation was, he
had to take a detour to check the surroundings.
Located on the fringes of the city, the yard of the Ten-Dragon Gang was far
from the city wall; with the wilds in the back and the nearest house about 100
steps away. It was a good place for an arson murder indeed.
Every 15th day of each lunar month was a day for all the leaders to meet. No
taverns were open today, therefore, there were less and less pedestrians as Gu
Shenwei moved on.
Gu Shenwei detoured to a slightly roundabout alley and climbed several short

walls on the way. Unfortunately, he did not find any signs of the
assassination team.
He arrived at a dead end at the end of the alley and had to climb over another
wall before he could return to the route leading to the gathering place of the
Ten-Dragon Gang. As he was about to jump over the said wall, he was
attacked.
His intuition had reminded him of hidden dangers many times, but this time it
failed to do so. Gu Shenwei was unprepared for the attack, so he could only
roll on the ground and escape the strike awkwardly.
Luckily, the attacker showed mercy.
"What happened?" a man in the dark asked.
"He's from the castle," the attacker in black said in a low voice under the
short wall, a saber in his hand.
He was not a killer apprentice, but a regular killer. Gu Shenwei lay on the
ground and did not dare to move. All of a sudden, he realized the last missing
part of this conspiracy: How to silence people after the mission.
There were two assassination teams. A killer apprentice team was the
vanguard, and a professional killer team was secretly following them. If the
apprentices were trapped or wiped out, the killers would execute the backup
plan and kill all the insiders of the Ten-Dragon Gang.
Killers of Golden Roc Fort never let their enemies stay alive, so Mister Guo
did not even need to make any special arrangement. The killers did not know
they were the tool of a conspiracy, and they thought they were just carrying
out a normal task.
"Kill him," the man in the dark said. They had received a very clear order and
they did not care whether the intruder was a killer apprentice or not.
"Wait. I'm a member of the assassination team," Gu Shenwei hastily said.
If Mister Guo had arranged someone among the killers, he would kill Slave
Huan without hesitation. No one moved, including the killer under the wall.
He just gripped the dagger and showed no intention to move forward.
"Why were you left behind?" Apparently, the killer hidden in the dark was
the leader as he did almost all the talking.
"I… have a task. It's part of the plan, so I can't tell you the details. You must
be backup killers, why do you come here so early? It's your turn only when
we fail."
Gu Shenwei became more confident as he said more. In the end, he stood up

and patted off the snow on his body.
There was a long silence in the dark. The killer sounded impatient when he
spoke again. "Go."
No one knew who he was ordering. The killer under the wall climbed over
the wall and disappeared. Gu Shenwei also jumped over the wall and turned
to the path to the gathering place of the Ten-Dragon Gang.
The yard encircled by mud walls was not far away. Gu Shenwei was able to
see a bean-sized light in the yard.
He paused to calm down. Since he had organized many assassinations with

small teams in East Castle and also carefully learned the skills Wildhorse
used in large-scale assassinations, he assumed that Shangguan Yushi must
have gained a lot of help from Wildhorse.
Therefore, he guessed most of the apprentices must be hidden in the wildness

behind the gathering place and stay very close to the yard, or they could even
be right under the wall. There was at least one person on each side of yard
prying the guard's condition and another one watching the road they came
from.
Gu Shenwei roughly figured out Shangguan Yushi's action plan, so he turned

right, avoided small paths, and moved forward with a bent back in the snow.
There was a row of suspicious footprints on the snow ground, which seemed
to have been left by the killer apprentices.
A few dozens of steps away stood several dead trees. Gu Shenwei detoured to
the back of the trees and observed the situation carefully. It was the 15th day
of the lunar month, so the moonlight looked extremely cold and bright. There
was a black object on a dead tree, which seemed to be a big nest. Gu Shenwei
knew it was an apprentice on the watch.
Since the person was unimportant, Gu Shenwei did not want to disturb him.
He continued to make a lengthy detour to the yard. Bending his body more
and slowing down, he seemed to be a small beast searching for food in the
snow ground.
He did not intend to remind the apprentices of the trap unless necessary
because he would be accused of sabotaging the mission for doing so.
There was a bump in the snow ground ahead which did not show any
abnormality, but one could observe the situation in the yard if staying there.
Gu Shenwei crouched and watched for a while until he made sure it was an
apprentice and there was no companion around.
Gu Shenwei moved closer and found the apprentice was still motionless.
Maybe he was a bit nervous, so he put all his attention to the yard and
ignored his back.
Gu Shenwei approached him a bit more, picked up a snowball, and threw it at

the apprentice. The snow drift suddenly moved slightly.
"It's me," Gu Shenwei said in a low voice and briefly looked up so that the
other could recognize him.
The apprentice used to be a member of the Tattooed Arm Gang, now he was
one of the zealots. He was surprised to see Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei crawled toward him and whispered something in the apprentice's

ears. The latter nodded and believed his former leader's judgment.
Meanwhile, he reminded Slave Huan in a low voice, "Watch out. Liuhua the
Silencer was over there."
It was not Liuhua that worried Gu Shenwei, but that he did not know how to
explain to Shangguan Yushi.
He made a fundamental mistake. There would be no archers hidden in the

wine jars. The killers would neglect the breathing in the jars only in special
weather conditions, and Mister Guo would naturally think of this. A
counselor of his level would never allow such uncontrollable factor to exist in
his plan.
The empty wine jars of last night must have been filled with alcohol tonight.
It was not going to be cheap wine like sour vinegar, but spirits that could be
easily lit up with fire. They would be placed along the wall forming a circle
and probably there would be some dry wood nearby. Once the 21 assassins
entered the yard, the ambushers would set fire and capture them all at once.
Chapter 95 - A Big Fire
Chapter 95: A Big Fire
Liuhua the Silencer concealed himself well. Gu Shenwei had not noticed any
suspicious signs like a bump in the snow until he suddenly felt a shiver down
his spine. He immediately looked back and saw that Liuhua was lying on his
stomach in the snow, camouflaged in his snow-white clothing and aiming a
short bow at Gu Shenwei.
He was only 20 steps away, which was within Liuhua's shooting range. At
such a distance, Liuhua would not miss any target.
Gu Shenwei knelt on the snowy ground and kept his upper body low, his left
hand propping himself against the ground and his right hand gripping a saber.
He stared at Liuhua for a while. Although they belonged to the same side, Gu
Shenwei could still feel the intense killing intent radiating from Liuhua. He
suddenly felt much pressured, which was even more uncomfortable than
when he was having a duel with Wildhorse in the ruins of Woodensaber
Alley.
"It's a trap. Don't move!" Gu Shenwei mouthed the message. However, he

still clenched the saber in his right hand and did not dare to relax for even a
moment.
Liuhua remained silent, so Gu Shenwei did not know whether he understood

him or not.
In Gu Shenwei's memory, the apprentice never spoke. He was not a member

of the Snow Mountain Gang and had not cut off his tongue like Wildhorse
and the others. He was more like a loner who had lost his ability to speak
long ago.
Gu Shenwei slowly unclenched the hilt and crawled toward Liuhua.
Opposite him, Liuhua did not loosen the bowstring, neither did his hostility
increase. However, he seemed to be irritated by something when Gu Shenwei
was 10 steps away. His killing intent suddenly rose, and he took a shot and
was ready for the second.
Luckily, 10 steps were not the best shooting range for an archer. Since he had
been prepared for it, Gu Shenwei narrowly dodged the deadly arrow.
The moment he sensed Liuhua's killing intent surge, Gu Shenwei sprang to

the right to avoid the attack. He then leaped forward again like a nimble cat
and pounced at Liuhua.
Liuhua had no chance to fire the second shot, and close quarters combat had
always been his weakness.
Gu Shenwei raised his hilt and forcibly hit Liuhua on his head. Liuhua shook
his head, yet, the killing intent in his eyes did not fade. Gu Shenwei punched
him and finally knocked him out.
If he had a choice, Gu Shenwei would like to kill the guy right on the spot
because he hated the archer's eyes and arrows. He acted like an unsociable
child, who always spoiled everyone's mood at the most inappropriate
moment.
But Gu Shenwei did not kill him. Their fight had already drawn the others'
attention. Several spots in the distance were quickly approaching him from
the wilderness behind the gathering place of the Ten-Dragon Gang.
Gu Shenwei waved his hand, signaling he was not an enemy. He did not care
whether someone from the Ten-Dragon Gang noticed him or not. After all, it
was a trap, and they knew long ago that killers were waiting in ambush for
them.
Like a little angry lioness, Shangguan Yushi glared at him from under the
crack of the black mask. She stood in front of Slave Huan with her hand
holding an unsheathed narrow saber and said coldly, "It's not that I intended
to kill you. Now you're courting death by yourself."
"There's a trap in the yard," said Gu Shenwei as he rose to his feet.

Meanwhile, he kept his right hand close to the saber hilt, since he did not
want to be killed by Shangguan Yushi like this.
"I know… "
"No, that was a wrong message. Nobody is hiding in the wine jars. They are
all filled with strong liquor and can be ignited right away. It's the Ten-Dragon
Gang that wants to attack with fire."
Shangguan Yushi glanced back at a slim apprentice in black suit. It was Maid
Lotus.
"It was my fault. I gave the wrong information, but there's still time to correct
it," said Gu Shenwei.
Shangguan Yushi said with a sneer, "Well, Slave Huan. You're really trying
hard to take all the credits."
Gu Shenwei did not refute her, as he did not care about Master Yu's thoughts
and believed Maid Lotus would not be instigated that easily.
"Go and check," Shangguan Yushi ordered.
Behind her, Wildhorse followed the order and moved out. His physique was
as perfect as a leopard's, enabling Gu Shenwei to recognize him even when
he was wearing night suits.
Wildhorse crouched down and quickly approached the yard as if he was

gliding on the snow.
"He's made great progress in kung fu," Gu Shenwei thought.
When Shangguan Yushi realized she was standing upright and could easily
expose herself, she anxiously knelt on one knee and stared at Slave Huan,
thinking the slave was trying his best to mess with her first mission.
Gu Shenwei also went down on one knee. He ignored Master Yu but stared at
the Ten-Dragon Gang's gathering place. Again he felt the weakness of his
speculation. That was definitely a trap, but it might be more covert and
sophisticated than he had imagined.
Wildhorse disappeared into the night, and no more sound came from the
gathering place. The killer apprentices knelt on the snow like a group of stone
pillars.
Suddenly, the yard was engulfed in flames, which danced like red blades and
shot high into the air. No matter how capable the people in it were, they
would not be able to survive.
"Besiege it. Kill them all," Shangguan Yushi instantly issued an order and
then shot a harsh glare at Slave Huan.
That Gu Shenwei came forward to expose the trap at the eleventh hour
annoyed her. She thought he did it on purpose to make her command of the
first assassination imperfect. Now that the assassination had turned into an
encirclement, he should be much satisfied.
Gu Shenwei did not have time to figure out Master Yu's thoughts. He also
unsheathed his saber and dashed toward the burning yard. He was a future
killer, so he did not want to stand by once the killing began.
The apprentices immediately moved out, scattering to occupy advantageous

positions and relaying the siege order to the others.
A few people managed to ran out of the yard. They were in the dark about the
trap and were doomed to be the sacrifices. Several insiders had hidden under
the yard wall and immediately ran toward the direction of the city after
lighting the fire.
But they made a grave mistake.
Wildhorse was not trapped in the big fire. Instead, he intercepted and killed
the escapees one after another. Only two were alive when the other
apprentices arrived.
"Spare one! Spare one!" Gu Shenwei shouted. He wanted to keep one alive to
bring down Mister Guo.
Shangguan Yushi misunderstood Slave Huan. She did not expect a spy in
Golden Roc Fort was behind all this, and Maid Lotus had not mentioned it
either when instilling the message to her. Therefore, she thought Slave Huan
was meddling again and insisted the order. "Kill them all!"
It was already a failure that they had not wiped out all the enemies quietly,
how could they keep one alive? Leaving no survivors was an assassination
principle of Golden Roc Fort, and Shangguan Yushi decided to adhere to it.
"What an idiot!" Gu Shenwei could not help cursing.
In the blink of an eye, the last two escapees were killed by hidden guards on
the trees and snowy ground. The two attackers initially thought they might
not have a chance to make a move during the assassination, but now the prey
was running to them, and they had also heard the leader's order, so they
naturally would not let them go.
There were still people in the yard. Several unwitting "leaders" and 12 guards
turned into burning men. Their piercing shrieks sounded particularly
shocking in the quiet winter. The apprentices were equipped with bows and
arrows, and although they were not as skillful as Liuhua, it was still effortless
for them to shoot down the dying, burning men from afar.
Six corpses were laid outside the yard. Gu Shenwei went to check them one
by one. He found Dragon Tooth and Elderly Dragon's son, but Elderly
Dragon was not there. As one of the insiders, he would definitely not stay in
the yard and wait for death.
The assassination ended in less than a quarter of an hour. Not a single target
had escaped, but the results were not satisfactory.
The Ten-Dragon Gang was small and weak and exterminating its leaders was
regarded as nothing difficult. The primary purpose of the mission was to
teach the apprentices how to perform a perfect assassination. However, it had
to be hastily finished due to the big fire.
The apprentices retreated in order, and even the most picky killer mentor
would not be able to find a problem, so the backup killers did not show up.
After they returned to the temporary hideout in the city, the first order
Shangguan Yushi issued was to kill Slave Huan. "Kill him now!" She had
held back her anger all along, and now she could finally vent her malice.
Gu Shenwei stood in the doorway and had long prepared for Master Yu's
fury. Holding his saber hilt, he said, "I saved all of your lives."
Several apprentices followed her order and were ready to take action, but
they put away their sabers when seeing Wildhorse did not intend to make a
move. Meanwhile, Maid Lotus and others just gripped their sabers with no
intention to kill at all.
Shangguan Yushi tore the black veil off her face, revealing her countenance
as cold as the chilly winter outside. "You're the investigator. You should have
known all of this a long time ago. Why didn't you tell us until the last
moment? Did you think everyone would feel more grateful to you this way?"
"I couldn't figure everything out in advance. Don't you understand that it's
just my own guesswork? There's a spy in the castle. He revealed the action
plan and wanted all of us to die!"
Shangguan Yushi was just too mad with Slave Huan, but she was not stupid.
She understood the rough idea right away after hearing what he said.
However, she continued, "Even if there is a spy, it must be you. You want to
play both sides."
Gripping his saber tight, Gu Shenwei said slowly, "You know the spy can't be
me."
Shangguan Yushi stared at the person she hated the most, the person who
competed against her for Shangguan Ru, the person who had killed her elder
brother, and hesitated whether she should take this chance to kill him or not.
Although it was not entirely justifiable, she could still find an excuse. She
glanced at the people on both sides and eventually changed her mind.
Apparently, these apprentices had been convinced by Slave Huan, so they
probably would not kill him for her, which increased her resentment toward
Slave Huan.
"Someone will find out if you were the spy or not. But you claimed there's a
spy in the castle. Do you have any evidence?"
"Elderly Dragon's still alive. He was definitely not in the yard. Find him, and
the truth will come to light. The morning is about to dawn, so we have to find
him before others do."
The apprentices brought back six heads, all of which appeared to be young,
so none of them could be the over-60-year-old Elderly Dragon. As the most
crucial insider, the schemer might also be looking for him.
Shangguan Yushi almost blurted out, "Where should we go?" But she
immediately swallowed her doubts as she did not want to expose her
weakness in front of the apprentices.
Luckily, South City was not new to Shangguan Yushi. She ordered the
apprentices to dress like ordinary people and sent them to contact the spies
that Golden Roc Fort had stationed in several spots of the city. These people
were all local bullies and good at finding people.
She left Slave Huan behind without assigning any task to him.
Gu Shenwei requested to join them. "Let me go with you. I know some

people there and can help you find him."
He exaggerated it a little bit. Actually, the only person he knew was his
Master Shifu.
Shangguan Yushi thought for a while and agreed.
Shortly after he left the hideout, Gu Shenwei noticed an apprentice was

tracking him. He thought Master Yu had underestimated him, as he had
experienced the cruelest slaughter among apprentices and getting rid of the
stalkers was one of the fundamental skills he had to acquire.
Gu Shenwei broke away from the stalker after randomly making a detour in
five streets. But he did not go to look for his Master Shifu in Southwall
Tavern right away. Instead, he needed to look for Xu Xiaoyi and his elder
sister and ask them about the truth. He had helped them a lot, and now it was
time for them to pay him back.
Chapter 96 - The Rescue
Chapter 96: The Rescue
When he entered the house, Gu Shenwei felt that something was wrong.
When he did not find any signs of living people both upstairs and downstairs,
he was panicking as he rapidly searched the whole place again.
The Xu siblings had escaped, and all of the valuable items were taken away.
There was only the saber which he had used before and it was placed on the
extinguished stove.
Gu Shenwei sat down in disppointment, wondering where the sister and

brother could have escaped to. They would be easily discovered in the city
and there were either high mountains or the Gobi desert around the city. In
this season, leaving the city would be suicidal, and the nearest populated
place was several days' walk away.
Then he realized that he was wrong again. The one in the cape was not a
sentry of the Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei sprung to his feet and ran out of the house. He wanted to find
someone to clarify one thing and to find a horse. He ran towards the
Southwall Tavern, where he could ask the manager even if Tie Hanfeng was
absent.
As soon as he passed the gap in the city wall, Gu Shenwei saw his Master
Shifu walking out of the tavern.
Tie Hanfeng came to his apprentice and asked, "What's going on? Everything
is a mess out here."
The fire outside the city and the fact that the killer apprentices were searching
for Elderly Dragon everywhere had been spread throughout the city. It was
natural for such a well-informed person like Tie Hanfeng to hear of such
things.
"It's an emergency, I need a horse."
Tie Hanfeng believed his apprentice and turn to the tavern. He came back
after a while, followed by two sleepy counterjumpers who was leading two
horses.
"Will you go with me?"
"Sure."
Thinking that it might be better, Gu Shenwei mounted the horse and asked,
"Which way leads to Stone Kingdom?"
"There are only two ways from Jade City, one eastward, the other westward.
Stone Kingdom is in the south, so they could have gone either way."
Gu Shenwei contemplated for a while, then he suddenly had an inspiration,

"Let's go west."
He remembered that short sword. The handle had fallen into the stove and the
sword tip was pointed towards the west, which must have been a message
that Xu Xiaoyi had left behind for him.
They rode straight to the road on the west. Tie Hanfeng finally had the
chance to ask Gu Shenwei, "What are you going to do?"
"I will rescue them," Gu Shenwei answered and spurred on the horse harder.
Tie Hanfeng frowned. He did not like to "rescue" because he thought the duty
of a killer was to kill.
Any moving object would be easily found in the vast expanse of wild
grasslands. When the sun was high in the sky, Gu Shenwei saw a slow-
moving carriage that was accompanied by a knight. The knight was wearing a
black cape and it stood out even though the cape was supposed to be
inconspicious.
Hearing the clip - clop of the two horses, the carriage stopped by the road
side with the knight standing guard in front of it. Gu Shenwei and Tie
Hanfeng approached the carriage and, when the curtain on the carriage was
raised, they saw the Xun sister and brother.
Xu Xiaoyi lowered his head with a slightly flushed expression. Xu Yanwei

was surprised and angry, "Why is it always you? Do we owe you money?"
Upon seeing them, Tie Hanfeng frowned a little. But he paid more attention
to the knight, who's obviously hiding a sharp scimitar underneath the cape.
"You owe me your two lives," said Gu Shenwei coldly, "so I can't let them be
taken away by others."
"It was your decision to save us. We didn't ask you." Xu Yan replied rigidly.
"So what about this time? The second prince wants to kill you, and I'll never
help you unless you ask for it."
While Xu Yanwei was bewildered, Xu Xiaoyi spoke first, "Brother Huan, the
second prince is taking us to Stone Kingdom, not killing us."
The knight, who had kept his silence until now, said, "My mission is to escort
Miss Xu and Mr. Xu to Stone Kingdom and I never had the intention of
killing them."
Gu Shenwei simply ignored his words. Although the Xu sister and brother
had been making a living in South City and knew more about the ways of the
world, they were far less perceptive than him in front of a real conspiracy.
"Just think about it. The second prince had killed his brother, which we all
know, and so do the insiders of Golden Roc Fort, the Meng Family and the
commandant. But you two are different because you are not only insiders, but
also living proofs. Of all the insiders, you are the only ones who have seen
Guard Ju commit murder and know that "Master Mi" is the second prince.
Think about it. It is neither necessary nor useful for the second prince to kill
me, but will he keep both of you alive? As soon as you leave the territory of
the Golden Roc Fort, this guard who claimed to 'have no intention of killing'
will surely destroy the proofs."
The coachman carefully looked back. He took this job because of the
generousness of the employer, but he did not want to be killed.
Looking puzzled, the Xu sister and brother turned toward the knight together.
The knight raised his hood and revealed his firm face of a fourty-year old
man, "His Majesty missed Miss Xu very much and just wants to meet you
soon. I can guarantee your safety, Miss Xu, please don't worry."
Gu Shenwei turned his horse around and said, "I've said enough. The choice
is up to you."
Xu Yan bowed her head in silence, and Xu Xiaoyi shouted, "Turn around,
turn around, we're not going to Stone Kingdom."
The coachman had been waiting for such words, however, he had to wait for
the knight's instruction.
"How about you, Miss Xu?" asked the knight.
Feeling perplexed and alarmed, Xu Yanwei thought hard about her decision.
Finally, she sighed and said, "Let's return to South City first, we're not in a
hurry to go to Stone Kingdom."
After a moment of silence, the knight took off his cape and drew out his
scimitar. "So I have no choice."
"Are you really killing us!" Xu Xiaoyi exclaimed. Both the sister and the
brother wanted to temporarily return to the city and they just wanted to see
the knight's reaction. They just didn't expect that he would really do it.
"I had to accomplish my mission. I won't ask about your background, and
you need not say anything. Just bring it on."
The last sentence was for Gu Shenwei and Tie Hanfeng. The knight had
guessed where they were from and did not want to bear the blame of killing
the killers of the Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei had no intention of accepting the challenge, instead, he rode

back to keep a distance away from the knight, "We don't need to fight
because no one asked me this time. I won't interfere in someone else's
matter."
The scimitar knight paused for a moment. He thought that the siblings would
not let go of their only saviors unless they really wanted to die.
Xu Xiaoyi was the first one to speak. "Brother Huan, help us, please, I'm
begging you! Why did I leave behind the saber? I wanted you to catch up
with us." He had been suspicious of leaving Jade City to go to Stone
Kingdom, but he had to follow his sister, who had insisted on leaving.
Gu Shenwei looked at Xu Yanwei and waited for her reply.
Xu Yanwei's face changed so fast that she looked as if she was possessed by
Slave Yao. Her sudden obsequious smile could even fascinate a 15-year-old
teenager, "What else can I do in such a situation? Please help us, my good
brother, our lives and everything else will be yours from now on."
The scimitar knight snorted and dismounted his horse, "Well, no more
nonsense. Let's see who can save and who can kill."
Gu Shenwei also dismounted his horse and drew out his saber. From the side,
Tie Hanfeng rushed forward at a speed that was even faster than a horse's
gallop. He snatched Gu Shenwei's saber and said to him, "Come on, brat, you
are no match for him."
He turned to the siblings in the carriage and said, "It's my apprentice who
rescued you. I'm just helping him, not you." Then he approached the scimitar
knight, limping with the saber in hand, looking more like a desperate
gangster than a Kung Fu master.
Just one move of the scimitar knight was enough for Gu Shenwei to see that
he was no match for the knight. The knight moved and slashed at such a fast
speed that Gu Shenwei could hardly see a sign of his attacks. He perfectly
concealed his killing intent until the last moment.
Gu Shenwei was shocked, thinking that it was fortunate to have Master Shifu
come along for the rescue.
Gu Shenwei had only seen Master Shifu kill a person once. That time was
when the opponent was just a guard with an ordinary Kung Fu foundation.
But this time, the opponent was a real master.
While Gu Shenwei was talking to the sister and brother, the scimitar knight
and Tie Hanfeng had already probed each other in secret. Now they both
showed no mercy.
A real master will usually kill someone with only one move, which Gu
Shenwei had seen in person. Now that his Fung Fu had improved, he was
even more astonished at the moves. Just like an opera fan watching the
performance of a famous actor or a monk listening to the preachings of a
dignitary, every slight turn of the toes or every slight movement of the
shoulder would lead to an epiphany.
However, in the eyes of the Xu siblings, there was nothing more than cruelty
in this fight. The scimitar came from above and slashed down. The cripple
responded by leaning his body in a manner that seemed as if he was falling
down, slashing horizontally with a seemingly weak strike, and then
immediately backed up awkwardly. It looked very ridiculous.
Of course, Tie Hanfeng had slashed with a lot of force, but that the force was
heavily concentrated on the enemy which left only a little momentum
remaining after the slash, making his move seem weak.
This is the ultimate realm for the master of a saber. Tie Hanfeng had not been
hiding anything from the apprentice, but it could not be shown unless he
encountered a powerful opponent.
Gu Shenwei was both surprised and delighted. Even a lame killer of Golden
Roc Fort had such amazing saber skills. When could he become powerful
enough to take revenge for his family?
The knight dropped his scimitar and put his left hand on his right ribs. There
was not much bleeding, but the saber had deeply penetrated his body and had
destroyed the important organs that were vital for his life.
"Great skill."
After saying these words, the knight sat on the snow with his body swaying
slightly as if he was going to fall down, but in the end, he only bowed his
head and died like an old monk in the middle of meditation.
Tie Hanfeng went behind the knight, cut off his head and showed it to the Xu
sister and brother, whose faces turned as white as snow. When she recalled
the scene of killing that she had personally seen last time, Xu Yanwei
immediately said, "No."
Tie Hanfeng threw away the head and returned the saber to his apprentice,
"This is the result of an idiot who picked a place for killing. Remember, kill
your target wherever and whenever possible. Never waste a chance."
"Yes, master"
Gu Shenwei responded respectfully. He felt that it was becoming more and

more necessary to learn all that he can from his Master Shifu.
Gu Shenwei and Tie Hanfeng led the way, and the carriage, which had turned
around, followed them at quite a distance. The coachman had decided to stay
as far as possible away from the cripple.
"The little whore looks pretty, but pay attention, a price should be paid for a
good deed," said Tie Hanfeng after a while, still feeling puzzled by his
apprentice's motivation for rescuing the siblings.
"Good deeds are like business, there will be a return from your investment
only when you are paid."
Tie Hanfeng looked at his apprentice with a subtle expression, "Yes, just like
business. You need to be capable of taking both the capital and the interest,
otherwise, you will suffer a total loss."
Gu Shenwei smiled knowingly, "No, I won't, I promise."
Tie Hanfeng had also done good deeds to this apprentice, and Gu Shenwei
knew that he must agree when Tie Hanfeng asked for the return from his
investments.
Although Jade City seemed to be close enough that they would arrive by
noon, it was actually still far away. Tie Hanfeng suddenly thought of
something and asked, "Are you looking for Elderly Dragon?"
"Yeah."
"He was killed this morning, his corpse is still warm and fresh!"
Gu Shenwei had guessed that this might be the case, but he was still a little
disappointed. He could have taken this opportunity to retaliate against Mr.
Guo. He looked back at the carriage and suddenly had an idea that might
draw the snake out of its hole, and, possibly, make the Xu sister and brother
repay some of their "debt".
Chapter 97 - Alley Fighting
Chapter 97: Alley Fighting
They separated at the southern border of South City. Tie Hanfeng took two
horses to Southwall Tavern, while Gu Shenwei took the carriage to the
apprentices' hideout.
Meanwhile, Shangguan Yushi was waiting for him angrily.
According to the plan, the assassination team should have returned to Golden
Roc Fort by now. However, they were delayed by a servant for half a day.
"I thought that you had run away. If so, it would save a lot of trouble,"
Shangguan Yushi coldly said sarcastically. She pointed to the body in the
middle of the hall. "Nobody will testify for you. Elderly Dragon is dead. How
timely!"
The fatal blow to the body was on its chest and head, which was obviously
not the style of a Golden Roc Fort killer.
"That's alright, I found another insider." Gu Shenwei turned toward the

carriage in the yard. "He was trying to escape, but I got him."
"Did he confess?"
"No, he was trying to resist. So I knocked him out."
Someone went behind Shangguan Yushi, whose eyes flashed a more furious
light than the killer leader. It was Liuhua, holding his shortbow in his left
hand. He had already put his right hand on the quiver on his waist because he
was so sensitive to the phrase "knock out".
"Bring him out and wake him up. I'll interrogate him myself." Shangguan
Yushi ordered because she wanted to know who the hidden traitor was. "He
should dare to plot against me. How bold!"
"I thought it best to take him to Heart Cleansing Yard on the mountain, in
case a long night invites bad dreams." Gu Shenwei suggested, and stared at
Liuhua, who survived last night purely out of East Castle's "no-kill order".
Shangguan Yushi was reluctant to take even one piece of the servant's advice.
But not this time because she knew clearly that the hidden traitor being
important in the castle meant that an interrogation by herself would not be
safe, even she would get herself burned. It seemed to be best to let Heart
Cleansing Yard handle it.
"Let's go now. Wait… wait till it's dark." Shangguan Yushi changed her mind
as she shot a glance outside. Two dozen killer apprentices walking in the
street in broad daylight would hurt their image. Moreover, it soon would be
getting dark.
This fit in with Gu Shenwei's plan. "We need to protect the passenger.
Elderly Dragon was killed, so our exposed hidden traitor obviously is also on
the hit list."
Shangguan Yushi arranged apprentices to guard both sides of the carriage.

She lifted up the curtain and swiftly turned back toward him.
Gu Shenwei, who was shadowing behind, whispered, "Someone must be

coming, we'd better capture him alive."
Shangguan Yushi tilted away a little in disgust to keep her distance from him.
She saw through his plan. "Has word gotten out?"
"Already to the entire South City."
Because Gu Shenwei had firmly believed in his Master Shifu's "spreading"

capability, he now had to be in the tavern, "accidentally" leaking the news
with his drunken talk.
"I hope you wouldn't be too smart this time again."

"My killer leader, I'm not the only one that he wanted to get rid of."
Shangguan Yushi snorted, but he said what was on her mind. In her
increasingly close friendship with Shangguan Ru, she saw cruel fights in the
castle, with both open and secret methods. Compared to that, this servant's
threat was next to nothing.
Shangguan Yushi adjusted her orders. Five apprentices guarded the carriage,
while the others hid in respective places in the yard. Besides, some traps were
set up to attract the hunters.
A group of killer apprentices set up nets and snares to capture another killer
alive.
The night had completely fallen on them. Still, with no attacker, the carriage
would look suspicious if they continued to wait. Thus, Shangguan Yushi had
to head back uphill to Stone Castle and carefully rearrange the details. She
and four apprentices guarded the carriage and the other 16 hid in ambush.
Slave Huan still filled in as the coachman.
It was cold. The rugged South City streets saw snowy water freeze at dusk
and coaches move slowly. Apprentices held their sabers tightly and walked
cautiously.
In the evening, it was rush hour in South City. Even severe weather could not
stop visitors from emerging in all directions. Nevertheless, this gang of
teenagers appeared out of the ordinary. Some avoided them, while some
feared nothing and scrutinized them closely instead.
A drunk man appeared out of the blue from a lightless house and seized the
shaft, vomiting on the ground. The carriage apprentices were caught off
guard and had failed to stop him.
Shangguan Yushi did not hesitate to hack at him. Master Yu was fluent in
Kung Fu, while the drunkard practiced Kung Fu as well. He was dexterous
and crouched under the coach while cursing.
The nearby apprentices all scrambled and slashed under the carriage. The
man hid from place to place safely. Moreover, he found the chance to jumped
onto the carriage. Then he lifted up the curtain, and yelled "good dexterity".
In the end, he jumped onto the nearby rooftops.
Gu Shenwei bore the saber under his thighs. He prepared himself as the
drunkard showed up. As the man rolled over, he almost simultaneously struck
with his saber.
The man was indeed dexterous, but he underestimated the coachman's skill.
When he glanced into the carriage, he was hit on the left arm.
The ambushing apprentices reacted. Once the man had lost his chance, he
was besieged from then on. Before he could say another "good dexterity",
two more "good dexterities" headed toward him.
The drunkard could not make a sound but fell back. He was stretching his
arms as if he was on ice. Then, he fell hard. One of the apprentices went to
check it out and nodded at Shangguan Yushi. The troublemaker was dead.
He had bad luck. The rooftop that he jumped onto was where Wildhorse and
another apprentice were.
Gu Shenwei was a bit disappointed not to capture him alive. Nevertheless,

the man was obviously a spy, and more dexterous killers would follow.
The apprentices all became excited because fighting against unknown

enemies was much more interesting than eliminating a tiny gang.
They were attacked on Pleasure Alley.
Pleasure Alley sat at a junction and was necessary to pass to return to North
City. It also saw a large passenger flow, but few people could pay the price.
Most of them just passed by and broke their necks hoping to get a sneak peek
of some famous prostitute.
The carriage was besieged by the crowd. It was now even harder to keep
pedestrians away. Hence, Gu Shenwei just drove regardless of the cursing
people. He held both the reins and the whip with his left hand, while his right
hand always held onto his saber because he knew it was about to be the last
moment.
Windows were open on both sides. Many people leaned forward to view the
scene and some were even famous prostitutes. It became more chaotic on the
street.
An old woman shouted in a hoarse voice, "Hey you, girl in men's clothes,
come here, I'll teach you some tricks to make men die for you."
Shangguan Yushi became furious and darted out a hidden weapon. Though
the old woman was prepared for this, she still got hit in the shoulder. She then
shrank back, barking like a mad dog. "Here comes the killer! Here comes the
killer!"
The shouts were like signals. Those rowdy people on both sides all
disappeared at once. In their place, a dozen arrows were shot simultaneously
at the carriage.
The Dragon Year apprentices were well-known in Golden Roc Fort, while a
few had heard of them here in Jade City. Ordinary people were bound to take
these teenagers lightly.
There were more than 20 rival killers. But they could only shoot 14 arrows
because the others were brutally eliminated just as they showed their faces.
After one round of shooting, eight or nine bodies fell from the windows.
The prostitutes and elderly women all cried out in fear. This time, they were
genuinely frightened, no longer bluffing.
The people on the streets did not figure out what was going on and took it as
a new trick of the prostitutes. Some even cheered. After some were hit by
stray arrows, the streets finally went into turmoil.
Four of the 14 arrows went astray, hurting the pedestrians. Seven were
blocked by the apprentices. Still, three went inside the carriage.
With the reins in hand, Gu Shenwei turned around to block another arrow. He
lifted up the curtain to check.
One arrow was nailed to the coach, the other two shot the real coachman. The
siblings of the Xu family were shivering under the coachman's body.
"You drive!" Gu Shenwei shouted and snatched out Xu Xiaoyi. He passed

over the reins and the whip. "Hold it tight, don't lose control." Then, he
jumped onto the top of the carriage.
Xu Xiaoyi was even too scared to refuse. He shrank himself and held the
reins tightly, as if his life was on the verge of death.
Fights broke out in every direction. In the houses, on the rooftops, and in the
streets, the clashing of weapons lingered on. The teenage apprentices were
silent, while the attackers shouted spiritedly. But the shouts gradually died
out over time.
Last night's imperfect assassination had pushed their accumulated killing

desire to the breaking point. They needed a release. Thus, the head-on
attackers were like sheep into a wolf's den. They were shredded to pieces in
an instant.
Gu Shenwei was kneeling on the top of the carriage with a single leg, looking
around nervously. Suddenly, he discovered that the four apprentices and
Shangguan Yushi were all gone. They had been lured by blood, all of them
chasing on the rooftops after the last attackers.
The formation broke down in an instant and the fighting spread over to the
other streets. No one was on Pleasure Alley, except for the single carriage
and its only defender.
A group of people rode from the opening of the street. They smashed every
lantern they met. It was like a flying cloud that was about to shroud the
streets.
"Run!" Gu Shenwei commanded, but the carriage was still motionless in its
spot. Xu Xiaoyi was scared stiff like a wooden saber. He just could not
loosen his hand on the reins.
So, Gu Shenwei patted his head with the back of the knife. Xu Xiaoyi
screamed, then fainted and fell over.
The two riding horses had been restrained for a long time. They ran like hell
once they were released, almost making Gu Shenwei on the top of the
carriage trip over.
Gu Shenwei held on to the edge tightly, cursing the useless Xu Xiaoyi in his
head.
The carriage ran wildly for dozens of steps before it suddenly became smooth
again. He took a look and discovered that it was Xu Yanwei who was holding
the reins. She looked weak, but faced with a crisis, she was stronger than her
brother.
"Don't drive too fast."
Gu Shenwei ordered her. The apprentices were high on killing. It was

unlikely that they would leave any attackers alive, so he had to capture
somebody himself.
Those people on the horses rode faster and faster. Now he could recognize
that there were 11 people, judging by their figures. They all had the normal
blades of a bandit gang and were not masked.
"That's him," somebody in the chase shouted.
Gu Shenwei's heart beat faster. Apparently, that "him" meant himself. "Why
would they switch their target from 'the insider' to me?"
Chapter 98 - The Capture
Chapter 98: The Capture
The first horse was in pursuit and was aligned with the carriage. The knight
raised his blade to hack at the teenager on top of it.
Gu Shenwei did not have time to think about why, as his left hand still clung
to the edge. His body was then swung into the air. He circled around and
finally fell back onto the top of the carriage.
The knight raised his arm, but then stopped moving. The horse rode on, but
his sword fell to the ground. Then, he fell over as well with his feet tangled
up in the saddle. He was dragged to some distance by the horse.
"Let's go, don't get left behind," the attackers shouted. Then, the four horses
caught up.
Pleasure Alley was the only straight street in South City, but it was not very
long. After Gu Shenwei had killed the first attacker, Xu Yanwei had already
ridden out of the alley and turned into the maze-like small alleys.
Four horses could not ride aligned. He managed to kill one attacker at a sharp
turn. Another two were standing on their horses and jumped onto the top of
the carriage. Then, the last one followed suit.
The knights were ordinary machete-men, who were ruthless but lacked
techniques. Thus, they would stand to attack, even on top of the carriage. Gu
Shenwei held on to the edge left-handed and crouched like a cat. He swung
his knife first, slashing one's heel, and then pierced another's thigh.
The two knights fell off screaming. Seeing this, the fourth knight ceased his
pursuit and slowed down to join his companions.
Gu Shenwei successively defeated two groups of attackers, but did not
capture anybody alive. He was taught to kill, not to capture while he was
being hunted down.
Another knight caught up. He snuck behind the carriage and rose up suddenly
in the air. He flew over Gu Shenwei into the coachman's seat.
The knight looked resolute but his age was hard to discern. He was about 30
to 50 years old. He had a pair of cold eyes. And just like Gu Shenwei, as he
landed on the top of the carriage, he clung to the edge and swung his sword.
"This man is a master," Gu Shenwei thought. In the meantime, he had swung

his saber toward his enemy's leg.
Fortunately, this man was not a master like the knight of Stone Kingdom. The
sword and the saber collided. They were both at the same level.
Golden Roc Fort's machete skills were for assassination. Killers were
supposed to kill in one move. In a duel, their skills would stretch thin.
Although the two people were fighting fiercely on top, neither of them could
fully perform their skills. They could only quickly and ferociously attack. In
an instant, they had already performed a dozen moves. Blades were tangled,
but neither had gained the upper hand.
The rest of the attackers caught up. One of them fell from the top of the
carriage when he tried to climb up. Thus, the other five knights stayed on
their horses. They followed the carriage and struck out a knife from time to
time. This flustered Gu Shenwei and soon left him in a bad position.
As the carriage turned into another alley, Gu Shenwei had two wounds in his
legs. The wounds were not fatal, but they limited him more.
The knight on top probably thought this was the time. Thus, he shouted, "It's
your death", and struck at Gu Shenwei fiercely, who could only defend
himself without any resistance.
Moreover, a knight sped up to the front of the carriage. He wanted to kill the
driver. Gu Shenwei was far from that seat and unable to save her.
It seemed that they were losing, whereas, opportunities arrived.
The driving Xu Yanwei let out a scream, but was free from the attack. It was
the knight who was shot by an arrow. He immediately fell to the ground like
a falling sack.
From the rooftops on both sides, people jumped down. As they landed and
slashed, four knights were hit and fell off their horses.
Seeing this, the knight on top of the carriage became flustered and he
screeched. An arrow came from inside the carriage and pierced through his
feet.
Gu Shenwei took the opportunity to jump on him and knock him unconscious
with the saber handle.
The carriage slowed down and stopped. It turned out that Xu Yanwei had
taken them back to Pleasure Alley again. It was at the same time that the
apprentices had returned from capturing the attackers.
It also turned out that Xu Xiaoyi in the carriage had already woken up. After
his careful scrutiny, he finally took the opportunity to pierce an arrow
through the knight's feet.
Gu Shenwei sat on the top sweating. He originally thought there were only
one or two assassins. He did not expect that there would a group of machete-
men. Moreover, they did not target the bait that he had set up, but himself.
Something still went wrong, which he could not understand.
The apprentices gathered around; some carried a body, another held a

wounded captive. Moreover, Shangguan Yushi wore a long face.
The dead man was Slave Liu, one of the killer apprentices. He had been on
their team. He used to be smart, but not that proficient at machete skills.
In Golden Roc Fort, losing your members in action was a mistake. Thus,
killer leader Shangguan Yushi would have to justify herself. No wonder she
was in a bad mood.
"Stupid. We shouldn't have chosen him."
She meant Slave Huan. The apprentices stayed silent. They were survivors of
the slaughter in East Castle. They did not share the same side as Master Yu of
the Inner Residence.
"They'd better have something to justify you, otherwise you'll take the entire
blame. You came up with this action without even consulting me,"
Shangguan Yushi snapped at him.
"I'll take the blame." Gu Shenwei fetched a rope and tied up the fainted
knight. He then jumped off of the carriage. With another two apprentices, he
squeezed the two captives into the coach.
As the coach stopped, the Xu siblings jumped off, away from all the
apprentices. Although about the same age, killer apprentices were completely
different people in their eyes, even scarier than the rude machete-men.
"What about them?" one apprentice asked.
Before Shangguan Yushi could speak, Gu Shenwei broke in. "They'll work
for the fort."
Shangguan Yushi hesitated. As a killer leader, she had every right to have
these two used as bait killed. It was also a principle of the killers in Golden
Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei pushed the siblings and whispered, "Go to Southwall. Look for
the cripple, Tie Hanfeng."
South City was now dangerous. The siblings were reluctant to move alone.
However, they knew that staying with the killer apprentices would be more
dangerous. Thus, they nodded and ran away in a panic. Only when Pleasure
Alley was out of sight again did they feel a little relieved.
The apprentices got into formation again and set off. Two bodies and two
captives were squeezed into the coach.
The attackers did not show up again. The teenager's capability seemed to
have frightened the mastermind behind them.
They met with some trouble crossing the bridge. The North City guards
declined to accommodate them and insisted on checking everyone's waist
tokens. The two captives were not allowed inside.
The apprentices had just been killing in the street. Therefore, they found it
hard to follow strict rules now. If Shangguan Yushi placed an order to kill,
they would not have hesitated a second to kill all the guards.
But Shangguan Yushi did not. She knew the boundaries between North and
South City. The guards came from different powerhouses in Jade City. Some
even served masters from Golden Roc Fort, whom she could not afford to
offend.
North City was necessary to pass through to get into Golden Roc Fort. There
was no other way.
"Throw the corpses away, kill one captive, and the other one will use Slave
Liu's token," Shangguan Yushi ordered.
Two apprentices were starting to throw the corpses on South City street. The
two captives were awake, and the wounded one was terrified. He begged and
cried, "Let me go, I know nothing."
The utterance of "I know nothing" sent him to hell. An apprentice stabbed
him to death and threw his body on South City street as well.
Seeing this, the experienced North City guards could not help fearing as they
opened the gate.
Thus, an ordinary assassination by the apprentices had made quite a stir in

South City. If they were to enter South City again, they would have
discovered that "teenager killers" was already a household name.
The captive was handed over to Heart Cleansing Yard. Moreover, what
happened next surprised them again.
The assassination was not smooth or perfect. They had even lost one
member. However, Shangguan Yushi was not blamed, but praised because of
her timely reactions in the face of a crisis.
On the long lists of awards, Slave Huan was absent. He was buried in heaps
of words. Soon, even the apprentices in action forgot how he had saved them
all. Only a few insiders like Maid Lotus knew about it, thus, they respected
him even more.
Nobody could keet a secret in Heart Cleansing Yard and the captive finally
started to talk. He confessed that he was not related to anyone in the fort, but
a leader of a group of tramp machete-men. The one who hired him was
another obscure machete-man.
That ended the investigation.
A few days later, rumor had it that the real mastermind was Meng Mingshi,
the fifth young master of the Meng family in North City.
Gu Shenwei took his time to understand his feud with this Fifth Young
Master Meng.
It started from the Xu sibling's father, Pot-bellied Buddha. When he was

alive, he claimed to be "Meng's people". Indeed, he was Meng Mingshi's
follower. He also led his master to a luxurious life. Thus, his death was a
great loss for Fifth Young Master Meng, who had just tasted the sweetness of
South City.
Fifth Young Master Meng was known for his bad temper. He used to get a lot
of money from the siblings. Thus, he would look after them and kept an eye
on who had intervened. Golden Roc Fort's light penalty of Slave Huan
dissatisfied him so much that he personally plotted against Slave Huan.
The Meng family was Golden Roc Fort's biggest benefactor and ally. Since
the killer apprentices first started the assassination, Supreme King decided
not to pursue. But how they solved it was not known to others.
Once again, Gu Shenwei learned the difference between "solving the

problem" and "seeking the truth".
He did not believe that Mister Guo was innocent in this matter. The implicit
document was not something that Fifth Young Master Meng could write. The
complicated conflicts in the Shangguan family also baffled him. Young
Master and Mister Guo did not get along well with Lady Meng. But they
were secretly related to the Meng family disciples.
He bore the suspects deep in his mind, only sharing that with Maid Lotus.
She agreed that Fifth Young Master Meng was Mister Guo's pawn. Thus, the
two secretly contacted some apprentices to plan revenge.
But the action was aborted. Tie Hanfeng found out the disciple's little tricks.
He immediately stopped him and taught him an important lesson.
Throughout his lifetime, Gu Shenwei would always remember Master Shifu's

teachings. In every attack and every scheme, he would strictly follow the
rules.
Chapter 99 - Education
Chapter 99: Education
Tie Hanfeng had lived a long and glorious life as a killer. When he was
immersed inside the world of blood and sabers, he had learned on his own
about how to survive.
Slave Huan was his first apprentice, and will most likely be his only
apprentice. From the beginning, he intended to teach Slave Huan his life
experiences at a suitable time. Now he thought the time had come.
He did not drink today, nor did he say anything uncooth.
"Do you remember the one I made you kill?"
Gu Shenwei nodded. Of course he did. The horse-faced man had been talking
to Tie Hangfeng a second before, but then he became the killing target.
"He used to be a famous man in the South City, and have countless ties with
both Stone Castle and Meng's residence. But killing him did not cause any
problems for us."
Gu Shenwei remembered that, the horse-faced man seemed as if he had never

existed before. No one wanted to take revenge for him.
"But when you killed Pot-bellied Buddha, you made a problem. What's the
difference? Think about it."
Gu Shenwei shook his head. Even though he thought of something, he was

too shy to say it.
"This is what I'm gonna tell you: killing a man is different from killing a man
safely. Killing a man is easy, you can do that with your bare hands. But
killing a man safely? Making him bleed is not the first concern, you should
first cut off his relations."
Tie Hanfeng talked excitedly. Although Gu Shenwei could not remember the
other things he was taught, he was enlighted by this theory.
He thought of his Master Shifu's conversation with quite a few men before he
killed the horse-faced man. At that moment, he thought those were nonsense.
Now he knew what was Tie Hanfeng up to: the promise he made was an
exchange for making those men withdraw their protection of the horse-faced
man.
Before Tie Hanfeng had even given the command, the killing target was
already dead.
Pot-bellied Buddha was no more important than the horse-faced man. If

given enough money, Fifth Elder Meng would also abandon this subordinate.
But Gu Shenwei broke the rule. He killed the man before his relations were
cut off and he did not offer any compensation. This made Meng Mingshi
want to take revenge for his lost face.
Although the Xu siblings were the ones who started this issue, they were
forgiven because they gave a bunch of taels and had taken on a lot of debts.
Tie Hanfeng also mentioned Mister Guo, "Now do you understand why you
can't challenge Mister Guo? He has a strong relationship with the Lord.
Before you can even cause any trouble, trouble will come to you at the
moment when you show up."
"So what should I do? Wait for him to kill me?"
Tie Hanfeng smiled complacently, like a child who finally had a chance to
share his secret. "This is another side of 'relation'. The more relation one has,
the harder he is to kill. So increasing the number of relations will surely make
you safer."
Gu Shenwei was stumped. He still did not know what to do. The only two
relations he had were his Master Shifu, who was popular inside the South
City, but back in the fort, he was only a pickthank; another one was
Shangguan Ru, but between them was Shangguan Yushi, who saw him as an
enemy.
Tie Hanfeng seemed to have already prepared a solution, but he kept silent.
One month later, Gu Shenwei had finished his affairs in the Archives Library
and returned to Pyrowork Academy. Tie Hanfeng led him to complete the last
task of a killer: to pledge allegiance toward a Young Master.
This was not the joke-like pledge Luo Ningcha came up with. It was the
blood oath, which could never be broken. In the history of Golden Roc Fort,
things happened like a bother killing his sibling, but a killer can never betray
his master. Because regardless of whether the killer was loyal or not, once his
master lost their power, every subordinate killer will be slaughtered and
buried with him.
Gu Shenwei figured out his Master Shifu's intention. During this month, the
surviving apprentices of the East Castle had pledged their allegiance towards
different Young Masters, because the Young Masters had begun their
scramble a year ago. The best chosen apprentices had already established
relations with their masters.
Tattooed Arm Gang skipped this step. They had their master before they
entered into the East Castle. No one scrambled for them, because thier master
had the unalterable right.
Maid Lotus made her oath to Eighth Young Master already, and Gu Shenwei
would do the same thing she did on the first day upon his return to Pyrowork
Academy.
Pledging allegiance toward the enemy who slaughtered Gu Shenwei's family.

It took him a whole night to comfort his complex emotions before he could
make the oath.
Among all the sons of the Supreme King, the only two adult sons who stayed
in the fort were the eldest son, Shangguan Chui who, following the usual
customs, stayed behind to take care of things; the Eighth Son, Shangguan Nu,
who had not built his own family for numerous reasons, stayed in the fort to
assist his father, and took control of the External Affair Academy.
Gu Shenwei completed his task in the External Affair Academy. He learned

the whole process from Maid Lotus, so everything went well.
The master of Tie Hanfeng was Third Young Master, hence he stopped his
apprentice outside the gate, and stayed there.
The ceremony was simple: Gu Shenwei kneeled outside the Council

Chamber and kowtowed for nine times, spoke out his name and slave name
loudly, and spoke according to the conventions, "This killer has no root, he
follows the master" and other sorts of stuff. And lastly, he begged for his
master to keep him as a retainer.
Someone took out a bowl half-filled with water, and a pointed cone. Gu
Shenwei used the latter one to stick his ten fingers, letting his blood drop into
the bowl, which indicated the "blood connection". Afterward, the bowl was
sent out, and there was less water than before, which meant the master had
drank from the bowl and had dripped his blood inside it.
Gu Shenwei drank it all. Now he became the "loyal" subordinate of

Shangguan Nu. Anyone who wanted to kill him had to cut off Gu Shenwei's
relation with Shangguan Nu first, othewise, one had to kill him in a very
secretive manner.
After a hundred years, the blood oath ceremony had been simplified a lot. A
first, the killer and the master had to kill an enemy together and swore by the
enemy's blood. The more powerful their enemy was, the stronger their oath
would be. After that, a series of complicated ceremonial rites was needed.
Recruiting a new killer would take several days or even months.
However, as there were more and more killers, the blood oath had become a
formality which was used by the Young Masters to expand their forces.
The reason Gu Shenwei knew this was because he spent nearly a month on
reading the books that were covered with a thick layer of dust.
One could never read through all the books in Archives Library, there were
way too much. One had to be selective. The one who taught Gu Shenwei on
what to select was Zhang Ji, who was teaching at school.
What impressed Zhang Ji was Gu Shenwei's talent of reading and

indentifying the problem in a single file. Besides, when Gu Shenwei went
back to the Archives Library, he took the initiative to ask Zhang Ji for advice.
At first, Zhang Ji refused him, yet after their conversation, he was so
impressed that he not only taught him what he had learnt in all these years,
but also gave him tasks to do, compelling this pseudo-disciple of his to read
the necessary materials.
What Zhang Ji always said was, "History told us everything, and one of them
was that no one learns from history." He had taught the children of the
Shangguan family on how to write and read and told them the fort's history,
thus he deeply understood this sentence.
During this boring and dull month, Gu Shenwei learned the history of Golden
Roc Fort, and found out Zhang Ji was right: Most of the numerous failed
killing action attempts had shared the same reason for their failure; every
Supreme King had once made a similar mistake and had tried to correct it by
using a similar method.
The killer's funeral was also simplified. In the past, they had to hold the
ceremony in Reincarnation Cliff for three days, and only dropped the body at
the end of the third day. The whole process displayed the people's ultimate
respect toward the dead. Unfortunately, the ceremony today was almost
humiliating.
Killing actions were much easier too, which came about as the result of the
stronger power of Golden Roc Fort. In the whole Western Region, there were
not many factions who could stand against the sabers of Golden Roc Fort's
killers. Hence there was little need for reconnaissance or bribery. The only
custom left was to send one spy.
"Bribing the traitor" was Zhang Ji's favorite part. Every time he asked Gu
Shenwei to read the material about this part, he stroked the book's cover and
sighed, "People's heart, ah, it's all in here."
Sometimes bribing a traitor can be very expensive. Thus during the reign of
the last Supreme King, the cost of this part was severely reduced. Moreover,
in the King's final few years, he even made a rule that unless there was a
major killing action inside the fort, they would never engage in "bribery".
Zhang Ji talked about this with bitter hatred every time. "Gold was the
sharpest dagger in the past, and the cousellor was the best killer. Now
everything changed, the only thing left was some butchers. A real killer
doesn't exist anymore."
Zhang Ji did a thorough research of the outdated "bribery" skill, and even
summarized a theory. "The master always takes the slave's obedience for
granted, but the slave doesn't. Every insult received, every flattery given, he'll
memorize it as a debt and will wait for a suitable moment for his master to
repay it all. If his master doesn't repay, or refuses to, the seeds of betrayal
will be planted. Pay attention, this kind of man is who you should bribe. I've
seen many instances of loyalty and betrayal. One thing you should learn is
that the master is always stupid. He thinks he can do anything he want,
ignoring that everything has its price. So in every situation you can always
find the ideal betrayer, and this man is usually the most loyal, obsequious and
dedicated man."
Gu Shenwei listened to him with admiration and some shock. Because he was
indeed the ideal betrayer. If he asked for his repayment, Golden Roc Fort
could not afford to repay him.
This experience had greatly affected Gu Shenwei. The history, and what Tie
Hanfeng taught him, were the largest braces for him before he completed his
vengeance.
The only regretful thing was that no information about the current Supreme
King was stored in the Archives Library. Gu Shenwei could not find any
details about the slaughter of the Gu family.
But this was the first time Gu Shenwei felt, psychologically, that he was not
that weak. During their expansion, the Shangguan family had abandoned
many things that they thought were trivial. Now behind their unprecedented
power, there were also some places that were unexpectedly fragile.
Gu Shenwei could not make a plan for now. But the path before him was no
longer a mist, nor did Golden Roc Fort's power seem to be invincible. It was
only a common stone fort which was located on the peak.
While Gu Shenwei's thoughts were largely enlighted, his kung fu had been
left behind. The evil consequence that Mama Xue brought to him had become
apparent. He experienced another qigong deviation, and he completely passed
out this time, too. This time the meditation of Nameless Swordbook was not
helpful. Furthermore, his Internal Strength did not grow.
He had stagnated in the third level of Yin Strength for more than half a year.
In the past, the other apprentices's Internal Strength were all weaker than him
but now some of them had surpassed him.
On the third day after the pledge, Gu Shenwei took part in the seventh
monthly test, but this time he failed and nearly died, which made Tie
Hanfeng very annoyed. As a result, Gu Shenwei took out the Nameless
Swordbook again.
Chapter 100 - Comprehension of
Sword
Chapter 100: Comprehension of Sword
Gu Shenwei had suffered a crushing defeat in the delayed seventh monthly

test.
Wildhorse and Slave Huan were both the best competitors among this year's
apprentices. No one knew why they were matched up against each other.
Nevertheless, everyone was looking forward to it.
Everyone had clearly remembered the battle in the ruins of Woodensaber

Alley, which had lasted for an entire day and a night. Eventually, this battle
was stopped by Lord, making these boys feel like they had been kicked in the
stomach.
Gu Shenwei's Internal Strength had stopped improving long ago. He put more
effort into practicing his saber skills and reviewing his battle experiences
after every practice session, as he hoped that this would compensate for his
shortcomings. He made that happen, at least during his first few months at the
East Castle. His kung fu was several levels stronger than before.
But now, his lack of Internal Strength was becoming more and more
apparent, which could not be counterbalanced by any saber skill or
experience.
Gu Shenwei had battled with Wildhorse for more than thirty movements in
the training room. If anyone had witnessed that, he could hardly conclude
that Slave Huan was actually the weaker one. They appeared to be of equal
strength, and it looked as if anyone could win.
But Wildhorse was the last one standing, and Gu Shenwei knew his fate the
moment when they had made their first movement.
Wildhorse was steadily improving. He had no defect: saber skill, Lightness
skill and Internal Strength, he could manage all of them well. He was much
better than the man he was at the time of the ruins' battle.
Gu Shenwei was stabbed in his left chest, close to his heart. This was one of
the deepest wounds in his body, which had nearly killed him.
It is said that Wildhorse had showed him mercy so he could repay Slave
Huan for saving him from being killed in the South City. Now he did not owe
anything to Slave Huan.
But Gu Shenwei knew this was not true. Wildhorse might be thankful, but he
was still a killer, he would never repay him by using this method.
Wildhorse tried his utmost, he could almost finish Slave Huan's life. He
failed only because his strength was still developing. If he was given another
month, Slave Huan would not be able to resist him after ten movements.
A deeply wounded apprentice had two choices: either he could choose to be

throw off the Reincarnation Cliff, thus he could be honored as a warrior,
however, it meant nothing nowadays; or could choose to be sent to the
Firewood Yard. Gu Shenwei would rather stab himself than be forced to go
back to that gloomy place.
Thus he chose the third way. He held in his most recent breath and asked an
acquaintance to send him back to where his Master Shifu lived. He kept his
eyes open all the time, so that the apprentice would not see him as a dead
man and carry him to the Reincarnation Cliff.
He passed out as soon as he was put on the bed, and he did not open his eyes
until the next night.
When he woke up, he could smell the intense herbal aromas, and then he
discovered that his wound was covered with thick bandages. Gu Shenwei felt
ashamed. Before the battle, he was thinking of overthrowing Golden Roc
Fort, and now what? He could hardly protect himself.
One should learn both strategy and skill.

Tie Hanfeng's reaction made him much more ashamed. It felt like a knife was
stabbing his internal organs.
"You woke up?"
"Yes, Master Shifu."
"You can't assist Eighth Young Master in this way."
"Yes."
"Nor can you assist me."
"Yes…Shifu."
Tie Hanfeng tried hard to suppress his temper, but it had still burst out when
he glared at Slave Huan coldly: "What the heck? What do you think you're
doing? I asked you to learn something in the Whiterobe Academy, and you
learned to be stabbed? What about your killing intent? Your hatred? If I were
you, I would kill myself immediately. Being stabbed by a dummy? You
deserve death."
Gu Shenwei could not refute it. Now they both had a red face.
Tie Hanfeng paced to and fro, his shoulders heaved up and down, making
him look like a unsteady flying bird. "You fool, you've made a lot of schemes
in this fort, needless to say about the other craps in the South City. Why do
you think you are alive now? You dared to hide your internal trauma of
Barren Sect, why I don't kill you? Why?"
Gu Shenwei still could not refute it.
"Because you killed the stupid enemy in every monthly test! Because you can
summon up a stupid 'Tattooed Arm Gang', because you can survive in the
carnage, and made everyone think you are the best apprentice! That's why
Eighth Young Master protects you all the time, and that's why I allowed you
to do so many foolish things. If you are trash, I would have never spent so
much money on you!"
Gu Shenwei could not be more ashamed. It turned out that Shifu knew Slave
Huan's secret long time ago, and he had reported it. If so, Gu Shenwei should
tell him frankly. But then again, he was just a trivial slave at that time, the
master might not want the trouble.
And it was his enemy Shangguan Nu, instead of Tie Hanfeng, who had asked
for three more days for the assassination of Stone Kingdom's prince.
This was extemely ironic. The shame he felt could never be wiped out.
"Remember, son." Tie Hanfeng seemed prepared to show his real face. "Your
life does not belong to you. You better make it count. Although Golden Roc
Fort is gigantic, it only feeds the most vicious dogs. As for my place, it's
much smaller, there's no place for trash."
What could Gu Shenwei say? He was silent. After another day's rest, he
began his work. He took out the Nameless Swordbook and read it all day
long, betting everything on it.
Tie Hanfeng left him alone. He had other things to worry about in the City.
Gu Shenwei had enough time to study the obscure and profound letters and
paintings.
The last few recondite words of the book had proved its value. The first 29
sword moves also seemed to have some mystical effects. But they all seemed
too flawed. He originally thought it was the book's problem, now he would
rather believe that he had not comprehended it.
It was too hard to understand its profound meanings. He needed assistance.
On this night, Tattooed Arm Gang's former members held their regular
meeting. The number of people had decreased, only less than ten apprentices
were left. Since they had pledged alliegiance toward different masters, this
gang had already dissolved, no need to mention the blow that Slave Huan's
fiasco had brought them.
The meeting finished quickly. They deliberately did not mention the test,
which made the atmosphere more awkward.
Gu Shenwei asked Maid Lotus to stay, who had the same problem as him.
Their Internal Strength had stagnated for a long time.
"That book is useful."
Maid Lotus spoke Gu Shenwei's mind, they were thinking the same thoughts.
Maid Lotus had not followed Slave Huan's suggestion. She was secretly
learning the sword skills, but she also could not comprehend it.
From that moment on, they sought the solution together by studying the
book, especially in the last few pages, hoping that they could find the method
to avoid qigong deviation.
After several days, they made no progress. Hence they had to admit their
failure, and instead they studied the first 29 sword moves.
In the beginning, with inspiration from each other, they had rapidly
improved. But soon a divergence appeared, and became so big that they
could not maintain the harmony anymore.
" 'The one who kills does not die', this was the leading phrase, and 'kill' was
the core, so this sword art should be used in the most ferocious and ruthless
way."
This was Maid Lotus's point. And she insisted on it even after their argument.
"You're right, but look at this, 'He devotes himself to the Tao from day to day
to suffer harm; he is harmed again and again till he dies; then he would
reborn from ash.' It's saying that the killing target was ourselves. Before
killing others, we have to kill ourselves first."
Gu Shenwei thought his comprehension of the words were better, yet he did
not persuade Maid Lotus.
These two teenagers placed all their hopes on this alien and exotic book, thus
they chewed every letter whenever they were eating or sleeping, and once
any thought came across their mind, they would share it with each other.
Because they met each other so frequently, rumors about them had sprung up,
but Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus did not care about it. Until one day, Gu
Shenwei was blocked by a team of apprentices. And since that, Gu Shenwei
recognized that even killers had their secret passions.
Those apprentices all came from the former 'Tattooed Arm Gang', and they
treated Gu Shenwei with respect Yet they all had a gloomy expression and a
rigid tone. They could not tolerate it anymore.
"Slave Huan, lets find a place, we want to talk with you."
Gu Shenwei lifted his right hand, so that he could pull out his saber at any
time. His kungfu was surpassed by Wildhorse, but these guys? They were
much weaker. "Talk with me right here."
Those apprentices looked at each other, checked that no unrelated people

were around, then their leader tentatively asked, "What's…what's going on
between you and Maid Lotus?"
Gu Shenwei almost laughed out loud. He did not see that coming. "She is my
friend and my helper. We have some important issues to discuss, that's all."
"Is that all?"
"That is all."
Gu Shenwei acted very natually. In addition, he had his right hand on his
saber, which was more persuasive than his words. Hence they apologized and
left.
Soon another rumor came: Slave Huan and Maid Lotus was planning against
Wildhorse. Some people believed it, and some people did not.
Improving their kung fu was the priority. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus
ignored all the rumors and continued to study the sword arts. But their
progress was getting slower and slower. The vocabulary in the book was too
profound, they could only identify which letters they were reading.
Gu Shenwei came up with an idea. He asked Zhang Ji for help.

The killers could not casually leave the East Castle, thus Gu Shenwei wrote
down his confusion on the paper, and requested the slaves to deliver it. He
wrote excessively everytime, including more than a hundred question
concerning kung fu, history, classics. He concealed his real question among
it, in case anyone peeped at it.
Zhang Ji did not know any kung fu, but he would read any book he had seen.
After so many readings of the secret manuscripts, he could at least write
something. Thus he answered every question Gu Shenwei asked, sometimes
he even sent some books and wrote instructions for this pseudo-disciple to
read.
At first, Gu Shenwei was worried about whether his behavior was suspicious,
yet it proved he was wrong. Zhang Ji was a hired expert, without any power
or influence. There was no danger in communicating with him.
However, his Master Shifu was the biggest hindrance. He did not understand
why his apprentice ignored the proper duties, so he threatened Slave Huan's
life everytime they met. He asked Slave Huan to stick to the saber's practice
and ignore the "profund meaning" of Zhuang Zi or Lao Zi.
Gu Shenwei tried to explain. Now that he completely knew about his Shifu,
no matter how malevolent Tie Hanfeng was, he would never kill Gu Shenwei
for real.
Maid Lotus failed in the eighth monthly test as well, but her wound was not
deep. After that, Gu Shenwei failed again. Luckily, his opponent was not that
strong, so his wound was light.
But these two failures taught them an important thing.
Unlike normal sword arts or saber arts, the 29 sword moves in the Nameless
Swordbook was unable to be learnt by a single person or two. Due to the lack
of an atmosphere where people had to face the threat of death, practising the
skill in normal conditions would not do them any good. On the contrary, they
would deviate more from the path of "killing others" or "killing their own
selves".
They made an agreement on this matter. They had to kill others to learn the
quintessence of the sword art.
Chapter 101 - Swordcraft
Practicing
Chapter 101: Swordcraft Practicing
To kill and to prevent being killed were once the apprentices' daily routines.
However, the former had become very hard after the announcement of the
"ban on killing". The only chance to kill without being punished was the
monthly test.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were eager to practice the new swordcraft more
often. Thus, it was not only rare, but also too risky for them to have an
opportunity to test it in a duel.
Every day numerous wandering swordsmen rushed into South City. As they
had no significant relations, they were the best targets for practicing the skills
by the standards of Tie Hanfeng. But since the last fiasco, he had not taken
his apprentice down the mountain even once.
Maid Lotus' Master Shifu was a typical killer. He loved nothing except for
his sword and would definitely not take his apprentice into the town.
As a result, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had to look for their targets inside
the Fort.
Just then, strange things successively happened in the Fort, providing them
with an opportunity to practice their killing skills.
One day in late February, an apprentice, the winner of his monthly test,
carried a corpse to Reincarnation Cliff, which was a precedent that was
created by Slave Huan and had now become a "tradition".
Nobody in East Castle knew exactly what had happened. They only heard a
shrill scream from Reincarnation Cliff. The guards followed the sound and
found two corpses with four deep bloody holes in their eyes, and the eyeballs
were gone. Even the cruellest killer would also feel frightened at the scene.
There were several extremely deep wounds on each body. It looked like they
had been stabbed by a row of daggers.
At first, the guards thought that it was done by external enemies. Soon,
someone recognized that the murderer was a long-haired, clawed animal
instead of human beings.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were the only two that knew what it exactly
was.
The giant red-crowned roc had reappeared. Being an expert flyer in the sky, it
took a risk and had landed in a place inhabited by humans. Perhaps it was for
the purpose of finding familiar food, avenging its parents, or to find someone
who was special.
Its appearance shocked the entire Golden Roc Fort and drew the Supreme
King's attention. Shangguan Fa led a team to search for it and set many traps
there. He even commanded Lightness Skill masters to climb down the cliff to
seek its nest.
But none of the masters came back, and except for their dying screams, no
valuable information was heard. At the steep cliffside, no one could beat a
giant flying bird, not even the most powerful man.
The Supreme King had to change his tactics. In order to catch the swift giant
roc in a smarter way, he laid many traps beside the cliff and sent out the bait.
Slave Huan was the first one chosen for the bait, for he had previously
encountered the giant roc. He stayed at the cliff all night and all day,
worrying that the roc would suddenly appear and fall into the traps. Being
surrounded by top killers, he would have no chance to save it.
The giant red-crowned roc turned out to be smarter than they all had
expected. Not falling into the trap, it hovered over the peak to seek the
weakest part of the defense and attacked them abruptly. No matter who it
was, its first step was pecking at their eyes. None had survived the attacks,
and many of them were even thrown down into the abyss from the sky.
The giant roc turned the Fort upside down. No one would go outside the wall
except for the bravest killers who wanted to achieve great merits. Even when
they went there, they went in groups. They did not want to fight the "flying
killer" alone.
The Supreme King issued an order. The one who could catch the giant roc
alive would be awarded thousands of silver as well as a treasured sword of
the Shangguan family.
During the first few days, Gu Shenwei was extremely worried about the giant
roc's fate. After finding out that the roc was safe, Gu Shenwei came up with
the idea of taking this good chance to practice swordcraft.
He and Maid Lotus targeted those men who were by themselves after the
black market had disbanded. After killing them, they threw the bodies down
from the cliff to make people believe that they were killed by the giant roc.
The first man killed by Maid Lotus was a slave, who knew nothing about
martial arts. He came to the black market to buy some stuff and had died
there for unknown reasons.
Maid Lotus stabbed the unlucky guy in the heart. As they could not find a
sword, they used a saber.
One of the swordcraft disputes between the two teenagers was that Gu
Shenwei thought they should strictly follow the instruction in the book to
attack the neck. However, Maid Lotus believed that "neck" was just an
analogy of any crucial body part. Otherwise, there would be no need for the
Chinese characters to emphasize the significance of Qi.
The Nameless Swordbook attached great importance to the existence of Qi.

With Zhang Ji's help, they finally confirmed that Qi was the energy flowing
through all living things, rather than Internal Breath. Qi had nodal points, and
by cutting off the points, they could make an instant killing. As for where the
points were, they could not tell, and neither could Zhang Ji.
Every time they attacked someone, they would check his condition
immediately. If the target did not die instantly, it meant they had not
performed the swordcraft correctly.
For the first few times, they were too nervous to meet the requirement of
killing someone by one strike, and another strike was always needed.
Gradually, they became accustomed to practising the moves and performed
better and better.
When one of them was attacking, another one would hide nearby to observe.
They would offer their comments on the gesture, move, and speed of the
attack to help each other make progress.
They found out many problems as they were practicing, and the first one was
the difference between the sword and the saber.
In a letter, Zhang Ji elaborated the characteristics of the two weapons. The

saber was heavier than the sword, and it could slice as well as stab, while the
sword only specialized in stabbing targets. Besides, the way people stabbed
with them was also different. When stabbing, a saberman would concentrate
his strength on the blade, but a swordsman would distribute his strength all
over his body. Therefore, saber skills were fierce and swordcrafts were agile.
While there were both normal sabers and treasured sabers, there were only
treasured swords.
In Zhang Ji's view, those "steel sheets" used as decorations and in juggling
and dancing could not be called swords.
The sabers in Golden Roc Fort were lighter than ordinary sabers, but still
heavier than swords. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus respectively whet a saber,
thinning the back part and sharpening the point. They hid them away and
never showed them to others unless during a killing.
After several assassinations, the two mastered the method of improving their
speed in the swordbook. They also discovered that the method of
transforming energy into strength could be applied to machete skills. To
avoid being found, they applied the swordcraft to machete skills. Though the
force would be weakened correspondingly, it could protect them from being
suspected and help them deal with the next few monthly tests.
After each assassination, they did not touch the belongings of the corpses and
just moved the bodies to the cliff. By leaving the boots and the socks of the
dead there, they made the cliff a scene of a roc attack.
Those were real assassinations. They took great care in covering their tracks,
attacked every other week, found good reasons to leave their Master Shifu,
and often met the apprentices they were familiar with so that they could get
alibis from them when necessary.
During nearly three months from the winter to the spring, they killed 12
people in total, six for each. Among the dead, there were servants with no
martial arts, apprentices shopping for their masters, and even one real killer.
But not even once had they been suspected of being involved. The black
market ran as usual with the location moved inwards.
In his thirties, that killer was still serving his masters. Like the other people,
he wore a night suit while he was hanging around the black market. The two
teenagers thought he was an apprentice due to his short height.
Maid Lotus killed him with one stab. They did not realize that the man was a
killer until they carried the body to the cliff and found his killer waist token
when they were disguising the scene.
By that point, the two teenagers understood that they had made achievements
in their swordcraft practice and there was no further need for them to practice
inside the Fort.
When they were practicing, they were friends as well as teachers to each
other. As for Zhang Ji, who helped them a lot, he would never know what
kind of killers they had become under his guidance.
Focusing on "killing", Maid Lotus' killing intent became more obvious. Gu

Shenwei saw an apprentice being scared stiff while talking to her. She
changed so much that someone even compared her to Wildhorse.
Meanwhile, focusing on "self-deconstruction", Gu Shenwei's killing intent

became weaker and weaker. Tie Hanfeng was confused and furious about his
change. He criticized him as he usually did, hoping he could reignite Gu
Shenwei's killing intent. It was not until Gu Shenwei successively killed his
opponents with one stab in the monthly tests that Tie Hanfeng grudgingly
accepted Gu Shenwei's change. After all, none of those opponents was weak.
"What happened to you? You were a natural killer who was as vicious as a
dangerous dog. Sometimes even I was scared of you. But now, you're as
spineless as a pug. Alas, I prefer to see the man you used to be."
Tie Hanfeng repeated these again and again. He missed the apprentice in his
memory.
After Maid Lotus had successfully killed a real killer, Gu Shenwei had
thought about turning his aim to Tie Hanfeng. By killing Tie Hanfeng, he
would be given the title of killer. But after several times of preparation, he
eventually gave up because Tie Hanfeng was much better at kung fu than
ordinary killers.
Gu Shenwei was anxious. He was eager to challenge a real killer to prove that
his swordcraft was as good as Maid Lotus', and maybe even better than hers.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus decided to carry out the last assassination in the
Fort.
They waited another seven days before they discovered a man who seemed to
be a killer in the black market. This killer came late. After drinking several
gulps of wine that he had bought, he peed at a wasted yard. When he came
out, there was nobody around.
The killing went very well. Gu Shenwei stabbed the killer at the neck with his
special "sword". Then the killer felt a mosquito bite, raising his hand to his
neck, but he stopped dead in mid-motion. As he was falling down to the
ground, Gu Shenwei caught his wine-gourd.
They finally mastered the swordcraft, but they had not reached the point of
perfection. When they did, they would be able to kill before the victim had
noticed anything.
As shown by a killer waist token on his body, the dead man was a real killer.
The accident occurred on the cliff at the end of Woodensaber Alley, where
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were going to dump the dead killer.
What they did not know was that Golden Roc Fort had changed its tactics as
the roc had not been caught during the last three months. Having analyzed the
place and the time of the roc's attacks, someone had found out where the roc
visited the most frequently and had set their traps there.
The cliff was an important place to set up traps because 12 people had been
killed there by the roc. A few killers were hiding there, ready for the prey.
Chapter 102 - Rocs Coming
Chapter 102: Roc's Coming
The killers felt no sense of comfort in this deep, dark night.
The two threw the body down the cliff then, just as they prepared to depart,
they both sensed danger in the air. The sensitivity to traps was in the killers'
nature, which made them consider everything as hostile, including the snecks
and the trees.
However, luckily for them, they were not the target. Moreover, this was also
not the most intense hunting ground, but they still caused alarm through their
behavior.
Like a puff of smoke, an assassin in black stood up in the snecks. "Tell me

your name."
This was the critical moment. These two teenagers had become colder and
colder as they studied the Nameless Swordbook, and they reached tacit
cooperation during many assassinations. When this moment arrived, they
quickly reacted together. It looked like they had practiced it before as they
instinctively leaped into the trap.
Maid Lotus stabbed the speaker to death and moved swiftly - like a bat
chasing its food.
Gu Shenwei rushed to the nearby thickets, slightly later than Maid Lotus, and
managed to stab another killer.
The two apprentices' ruthlessness surprised the others. They all appeared at
once, drawing their sabers.
The killers were used to finishing their tasks without a single battle or making
any sound. They waved their sabers silently.
In this horrible dark night, one could neither see any man - except a few
moving ghosts - nor hear the sound of weapons crashing or peoples' steps.
Just a thud indicated a man falling.
Their battles finished soon after.
There were only ten assassins in black remaining; six were killed. They
formed a line to block the exit of Woodensaber Alley.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were trapped.
Maid Lotus' saber was broken, with only half of it left. She did not foresee
that one of the assassins wore a breastplate, which protected him from being
stabbed in the heart.
Gu Shenwei's hands were empty. Due to the fact that he scratched his wrist
when cutting an enemy's neck, he was forced to abandon the saber.
Now they could not alter the situation. The ten assassins were terribly
annoyed and shocked. Where did these two apprentices with such weird saber
skills coming from? As a result, they stopped in case they killed some of the
Shangguan family's offspring - those who were raised painstakingly and
secretly by Supreme King.
After a while, a killer asked, "Who really are you?"
The two stayed silent. Not far from them, there were two bodies with sabers
in their hands. If they could grab them, then they might be able to fight back.
"Kill them all."
"Arrest them."
As the assassins discorded, they completely ignored Gu Shenwei and Maid

Lotus. Seizing this opportunity, the surrounded teenagers abruptly rushed
toward the dagger on the floor.
The assassins moved almost at the same time, with each teenager having two
assassins sent after them. With six assassins remaining, they stayed behind as
backup just in case the former ones failed.
Gu Shenwei grasped his saber, but he could not execute any techniques. All
he could do was avoid the attacks by tumbling. If this kept up, he would
reach the end of the cliff in a few steps.
Maid Lotus performed her lightness skill better than him. She reached the
saber earlier but facing two enemy sabers, she could not do anything but
retreat, moving closer to the cliff.
Gu Shenwei prepared to endure one cut so that he could stand up and fight
back when suddenly, the "Will of the Divine" appeared and interfered with
this incident - something he had forgotten from a long time ago.
A cloud darker than the night flew above and covered the sky.
A giant body landed in front of them, its sickle-like beak waving above
everyone's head, searching for and harvesting its favorite food.
The scream could be heard from Woodensaber Alley in the depths of the
Inner Residence. Supreme King, who was lying next to his lover, woke up in
fright.
The giant red-crowned roc appeared and before it completely landed on the
ground, it already killed two of the killers who were surrounding Gu
Shenwei.
The other killers were stunned; they were waiting for the beast all this time,
but when it finally arrived they could not find any hunting net or rope nearby.
Maid Lotus finally saw an opportunity to counterattack, so she struck one

killer and moved closer to Gu Shenwei, standing with him. She knew that the
roc was his friend.
Gu Shenwei regained his footing. Astonished, he looked at the fledgling that

he had been missing all this time.
In its childhood, it was glabrous and wrinkled, devouring food like a tiger.
When it grew up, it became ferocious with its neck shrunk and its shoulders
shrugged all the time. Now it was two heads higher than Gu Shenwei. It
stood with its shoulders back and chest out, and its crimson feathers bristled
like a solid wall. It was truly a roc now.
The giant, red-crowned roc stepped toward the rest of the killers with its back
facing the teenagers.
The killers were frightened, yet for the fame of Golden Roc Fort, they did not
retreat.
The roc did not give them chance to retreat, either. It spread its wings and
flew up about six meters high, hovering above them. After several screams,
the killers lost their eyes. They dropped their daggers, covered their faces
with both hands, and screamed. From another angle, they looked like strays
who had slowly been trekking for a long time, or tipplers who had drunk so
much that they could barely control their bodies and staggered forward. They
were seemed summoned by the fate, which led them to the abyss.
The two teenagers had toughened their hearts through many killings, yet
witnessing this scene, they stood transfixed with fright, completely forgetting
to react.
In the blink of an eye, the roc finished its slaughter. It folded its wings and
faced the boy whose life it had just saved.
It looked even stronger than its parents: those golden-crowned rocs. It

stretched its spindly neck freely, seemingly showing how nutritious those
corpses were that Gu Shenwei threw out in these past months.
The only thing unusual was the feathers on its head and eyeballs. They were
all crimson, sparkling even in the deep dark night. If the golden-crowned roc
was the prideful king, then this one must be the devil descending to earth.
It only restrained its murderous intent when it sat next to this familiar boy.
Tilting its head and sizing up Gu Shenwei, like the squab it used to be, it
wanted to peck at his insteps again.
"We have to move quickly."
Maid Lotus reminded Gu Shenwei, who was almost deaf now. He looked up
and observed the roc, unable to restrain himself with wild joy. "Is this really
the squab that I raised up?"
The roc jumped by his side and sniffed him with its beak rubbing his body.
Maid Lotus stepped backward and reminded him again. "If you stay here a
second longer, then the roc will also be in danger."
Her words drew Gu Shenwei's senses back from the excitement of reunion.
He hugged the roc hurriedly and pushed it to the edge of the cliff. "Go, leave
this place and never come back."
The roc understood how serious the situation was. It jumped at full tilt and
flew upward again. Like a gust of wind, it dashed into the cloud and
disappeared.
The two teenagers hastily dropped the corpses down the cliff; the wounds and
cuts, which were not caused by the roc, would raise doubts. They quickly hid
in the Woodensaber Alley.
This was a remote location as anyone who heard the scream would take some
time to find this place. The moment they found the shelter, countless men
arrived and reached the cliff. Thus, they grabbed the opportunity and left
soon after, missing the later scene.
The next day, they heard a rumor. Supreme King thought this incident was
unbelievable, for the killers there barely used the tool they prepared. In
addition, they were foolish enough to fight with the roc openly. Shangguan
Fa was so annoyed that he arrested the counselors who organized this
mission, sent them into the Heart Cleansing Yard, and interrogated them with
torture.
These counselors included Mister Guo, more or less comforting Gu Shenwei.

This was the prelude to his vengeance.
This incident dwarfed the influence of the dead killer in the black market.
The investigators even blamed the dead one for this failed mission. They
thought he over drank and ran to the cliff, which shocked the roc.
Supreme King felt disgraced. He forbade anyone from mentioning the roc
anymore. Yet he still arranged men on the tower and equipped them with the
strong bows and crossbows, which should be operated by several men. The
arrows were connected with the ropes, so once anyone saw the roc they could
shoot it down immediately.
Shangguan Fa now changed his mind: he wanted the roc, dead or alive.
The number of guards patrolling the border of the fort was increased. Gu
Shenwei and Maid Lotus had to abandon the assassinations. The magical
thing was, the giant red-crowned roc seemed had vanished without any trace.
In these three months, after claiming so many lives, it seemed to only have
wanted to see its old acquaintance.
The battle with the killers proved the effectiveness of swordplay, but it
exposed another problem as well. When Maid Lotus stabbed the chest of her
opponent, who at that time was wearing a breastplate, her strength failed to
pierce through, thusly breaking the dagger. She almost died.
This led them to the flaw of this swordplay which Gu Shenwei originally
considered. What if the enemies were wearing an entire set of armor, and
were invulnerable? According to the sword book, when the practicer reached
a level of Internal Strength, with the help of a unique method, they could
break through anything. However, Internal Strength was precisely these two's
weakness.
Finally, they both agreed that an extremely sharp sword was necessary if they
wanted to inherit this art.
But in Golden Roc Fort the dagger-users could hardly find a chance to forge
a sword.
After several days, when the summer came, Gu Shenwei discovered that he
was sixteen years old. It left him with less than two years to the day of his
doom. The approaching death terrified him. He used to think he did not care
about his own life, not to mention the direction of "self-deconstruction" in the
book. Yet he still imagined often what would he do if he could live a longer,
and more normal life.
In this period, he thought that he had achieved the highest level of the
swordcraft. Considered his short life, he thought of many assassination plans,
with targets including Shangguan Nu, Shangguan Fa, Shangguan Chui,
Shangguan Yushi, Shangguan Fei, and Mister Guo. The last one was
Shangguan Ru.
He considered these plans every day. But even if he had planned them well,
the image of the ghost-like black-masked assassin would appear in his mind.
He could not ensure his victory once he faced this assassin. This was a heavy
blow to his mind.
However, the mixture of the swordcraft and saber skills was useful and made
Gu Shenwei's life much easier. His victory in the next monthly test was
remarkable, making him the outstanding one again. He was looking forward
to the second competition with Wildhorse, but normally competitors would
not be arranged in the same team again.
As for what Tie Hanfeng did when he found out Slave Huan's weak point in
the counterattack in the rear of the flank, this time, he lost his temper in a
period, and accept his apprentice's change again. He did not ask Slave Huan
to increase the killing intent anymore, yet he was still unsatisfied with the
drifting skills.
After several tests, Tie Hanfeng had to admit that this saber skill his
apprentice "comprehended on his own" was effective, so did Gu Shenwei.
His kung fu was still significantly weaker than his Master Shifu since he
could not beat him down even with pure swordcraft.
Internal Strength was the most important thing to worry about. If one had
issues in this area, no matter how fierce the skill was, one would reach their
limitation soon.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were eager to practice the new swordcraft they
invented, to ensure that their weakness would be neutralized. Luckily, after
the roc vanished, a fresh batch of apprentices came to the Pyrowork Academy
a month later. Hundreds of teenagers with murderous hearts appeared in their
vision.
Chapter 103 - Exposure
Chapter 103: Exposure
After training for ten months in the Carvewood Academy, the fresh batch of
apprentices came to the Pyrowork Academy. In the same day they honoured
their masters, they broke the "no-kill order", and began a new round of
slaughter.
In order to differentiate these two batches, the manager of the East Castle
named them the Dragon Year apprentices and Snake Year apprentices,
according to the year when they came in.
After the slaughter last year and the upcoming monthly tests, the remaining
Dragon Year apprentices now numbered more than one hundred and thirty.
This batch was universally acknowledged as the fiercest batch in recent years,
yet so far no one had earned the name of "killer".
It was too difficult to exterminate the enemy six times in succession, thus in
the previous years when the apprentices were not so ferocious, they might
have been able to more easily earn the badge of the "killer". However, these
weaker "killers" were relatively more inclined to suffer from the bloody
carnage outside the fort.
The reputation of the Dragon Year apprentices attracted the Snake Year
apprentices for comparison. Those men in the Snake Year considered
themselves superior, disparaging even the killers - not to mention the elder
apprentices.
Thus this slaughter's theme was the stronger batch instead of the stronger
gang.
Even though, the slaughter did not come from anywhere.

The Dragon Year apprentices still remembered the "no-kill order", hence they
acted carefully. Even though the Snake Year apprentices challenged them for
two or three times, no one died and they only suffered light injuries. This was
until a few annoyed elder apprentices found their Shifu and hinted that this
order would not be canceled openly. Anytime a new batch came in, the
slaughter would not be limited.
Because of this, the elder batch began to brew their plots. Before that,
however, an accident occurred.
A Snake Year apprentice attended the monthly test on the fifth day when he
entered the academy and killed the opponent. He inherited the custom of the
former ones by taking the corpse to the cliff, where, unfortunately, he was
shot dead by an arrow.
For the sake of hunting down the roc, the fort established several towers and
sent men to guard them. Due to the lack of soldiers on patrol, some
apprentices were sent to the arrow tower of the East Castle.
On that day, twelve Dragon Year apprentices stayed at the tower, where they
saw the boy throwing the body. Simply for pleasure, an apprentice aimed at
the boy and the others helped to install the heavy arrows.
But no one wanted the poor boy to die; they only tried to scare this year's
arrogant apprentices. When they yelled at him, the boy waved his dagger to
show his contempt. This agitated the man who controlled the crossbow,
causing him to loosen it.
The iron arrow flew over with surprising accuracy. It broke through the boy's
chest but did not stop there as it pulled and dragged the boy to hit the
precipice. When they finally pulled back the rope which connected the arrow,
they found the boy's body - only half of it remained.
The Dragon Year apprentices apparently dealt with those things better.
Someone recalled a hint from their Shifu: "Once the new batch comes, the
prohibition no longer exists." As a result, they unanimously decided that they
should act first.
On that night, while the Snake Year apprentices burned with rage were
talking about vengeance, the Dragon Year apprentices had already separated
themselves into numerous parties and began their killing. In that night, 68
people were murdered.
The new apprentices' Shifu, who had predicted it, left the castle quickly the
next day. The only thing they told their apprentices was: "Live, and you'll be
the winner."
Tie Hanfeng did not recruit anyone. He was satisfied with Slave Huan's
behavior in these days so he used this incident as an excuse, went downhill,
drank wines, slept with women, and dealt with his business.
Obviously, Gu Shenwei would not miss this opportunity to practice his skills.
He partnered with Maid Lotus, killing six men in one night. After that, they
checked the corpse and evaluated the effectiveness of their movements. In the
end, they dropped the bodies down the cliff.
This slaughter lasted for many days. The two teenagers killed many more
men compared to last year. As a result, they became more proficient.
Through their experience, they concluded that the 29 sword moves actually
did not exist. Since it said one should kill the enemy with a single move, only
one move existed.
The 29 sword moves were simply the explanation of a single move. As they
comprehended the book at this level, they made further progress. They also
knew, however, that they had walked on the path where there was no exit.
Once they missed a step and let the enemy avoid their sword, they would be
the slaughtered one.
At this time, their progress was interrupted by a boy called "Slave Zi".
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had the impression that Slave Zi was also the
apprentice the Eighth Young Master recommended. He was smart and bold,
and learned kung fu when he was in the master's yard - earlier than the two
teenagers. Yet Mama Xue ignored him; he barely communicated with Gu
Shenwei or Maid Lotus.
In order to save his life in the slaughter, especially when the best Snake Year
apprentices almost died completely, the border between the new batch and
the elder batch disappeared. Countless new apprentices found the elder ones
and hoped to be sheltered.
Slave Zi came to Gu Shenwei almost the moment he entered the academy.

Even if Gu Shenwei refused, he still badgered him. These two teenagers
thought about whether they should kill him, but at last, they let him live in
case they caused any trouble with Shangguan Nu. They did not predict that it
was just this boy who caused them troubles.
Unknowingly, Slave Zi became their shadow who followed them everywhere

and served them. He was pretty clear that only by following these two
ruthless devils could he find a safe place to avoid the thuggery.
Due to the vast number of dead lives in their hands, Gu Shenwei and Maid
Lotus never left any corpse at the scene. They gradually acquired stronger
influence, which even surpassed that of Wildhorse and Liuhua. Some former
members of the Tattooed Arm Gang were surprised by their change. This
reminded the teenagers to restrict their behavior and reduced the frequency of
assassinations.
"Deadly Duo" became one of their nicknames.
After their blood oath every ten days, the Dragon Year apprentices needed to
pay respects to their masters - even in slaughter period. However, they were
not allowed to take their saber out of the East Castle.
When the master was gone, they would kowtow in the yard to indicate the
completion of the task.
Shangguan Nu always went outside for affairs. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus
were asked to kowtow toward an appointed killer, who would normally be
Liu Xuan.
Gu Shenwei remembered him. When he just entered the castle and walked
around casually in the valley, it was Liu Xuan who blocked him. If not for
Slave Yao's help, he would not have been able to overcome the predicament.
Slave Yao commented on this killer with a phrase Mama Xue used, "Liu
Xuan's kung fu is mediocre yet he wants to show off. When he raises his
saber, he always swings his right hand."
After several meetings, Liu Xuan seemed to grow an interest in Maid Lotus.
When they built the gang, by studying the swordbook and killing people to
practice the swordcraft, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus formed a solid union.
They trusted each other more than lovers, relatives, and friends. Gu Shenwei
always neglected that his company was a beautiful girl.
Due to her calmness, keenness, and sense of propriety, Maid Lotus could win
others' trust easily. She had friends almost everywhere, even among her
enemies - but her appearance also helped her.
There were not too many female apprentices in Golden Roc Fort; they
consisted of only one-fifth of the total population, not to mention their
numbers after the slaughter. Few of them could be called a beauty since Maid
Lotus was the absolute best. She would not be ashamed even when she
entered the Inner Residence.
Maid Lotus' beauty brought her many benefits as well as problems.
At the end of this year's slaughter, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus came to pay
their respects, while Shangguan Nu was still absent. After Liu Xuan accepted
their respects, he uttered an odd phrase, "I heard you have two special sabers,
so why don't you bring them to me someday?"
The teenagers knew they had caused trouble.
They took the normal saber to attend the test and rarely showed their thinned
sabers in public, so who discovered the anomaly and reported to Liu Xuan?
They suspected Slave Zi at first.
Maid Lotus had a great relationship with the maid of Luo Ningcha, thus,
through the inquiry, she was certain about their suspicion. Slave Zi was
acquainted with Liu Xuan because Liu Xuan could be considered a half Shifu
of Slave Zi.
The teenagers regretted that they had missed the chance to kill this shadow
boy. Finishing his life now would result in vengeance from Liu Xuan. What
they worried more about was how much Liu Xuan knew.
Neither Gu Shenwei nor Maid Lotus wanted to hand the Nameless

Swordbook over, even though it would be considered a great contribution. As
they comprehended the profoundness, they were hooked. The more people
they killed, the fiercer they were, thus they became more obsessed with it.
Now they kept the book in turn, and considered it much more significant than
their lives.
This evening, Liu Xuan came in without an invitation. He let Slave Zi ask
Maid Lotus out and meet in a remote yard in the south of the Woodensaber
Alley; this yard was not in the allowed slaughter region. Liu Xuan did not
think that these apprentices were better than him but considering the others
might come together, he would not be able to handle it. He was cautious.
When Slave Zi sent Liu Xuan's message, he appeared reluctant. "You just
saw him this morning, why didn't he tell you directly? Hey, isn't it
nonsense?"
Gu Shenwei suggested that they killed Liu Xuan and Slave ZI this time. Once
they moved their bodies to the north of the Woodensaber Alley and entered
into the slaughter region, their crime would be forgiven.
Maid Lotus did not agree. They knew nothing about the information Liu
Xuan held, or how wide this information was spread. Killing them
prematurely would alert the others.
The next day, Maid Lotus brought the bad news: Liu Xuan once supported
the action of hunting down the roc by the cliff. Though at last, they blamed a
drunken killer, yet they still noticed the strange sabers on the scene. The
masters of these sabers had not been identified. But, for a quicker closure of
this case, no one spread out this news.
Slave Zi unintentionally found their unique sabers, and he reported to Liu

Xuan as a joke. In Liu Xuan's deduction, the ones who sabotaged the action
also included those two apprentices.
Liu Xuan was not quite right, but he was close to the truth.
Chapter 104 - The League of
Crimes
Chapter 104: The League of Crimes
There was no need for Gu Shenwei to ask Maid Lotus what had happened
that night. It had been a long time since he was that ignorant youngster. He
had also heard about the misery that good-looking young apprentices suffered
at the hands of training tutors and killing mentors. In comparison, Tie
Hanfeng, who merely swore and hit apprentices, was as kind as a saint.
How could Maid Lotus, in possession of such beauty, possibly survive? In

the beginning, when her kung fu was rather weak, it was not just luck that
saved her; Liu Xuan had just been one of coveters who laid hands on her.
Gu Shenwei said nothing, but deep down, his emotions were roiling. He
could not tell whether he was indignant at Liu Xuan or jealous of him. All he
knew was that he had to kill Liu Xuan and all insiders. This was not only to
wipe them out but also as an obligation to Maid Lotus.
When the giant red-crowned rocs messed around, people could blame their
killing on it. When apprentices slaughtered, they could kill at will within
designated boundaries. But now, the rocs were gone, and Liu Xuan was so
cautious that he would not cross north of Woodensaber Alley, which meant
that Liu Xuan had to be killed by some other way.
Gu Shenwei conducted a follow-up solo investigation, and discovered that

Slave Zi also had several good friends who were potential insiders.
He had gathered that Liu Xuan was an ordinary killer and not particularly
favored by Eighth Young Master. He was rarely taken out of the fort for
missions and had later become purely a guardian of the yard.
Liu Xuan had once claimed that his direct protector was a blademaster, but
the credibility of his words was suspect.
Maid Lotus was again summoned by Liu Xuan. Afterward, Gu Shenwei went
to find her to discuss the "solution".
Her calmness impressed and also shamed Gu Shenwei, because he could not
serve justice immediately when she, as his assistant, counselor, and friend,
was bullied by another man.
Maid Lotus agreed to assassinate Liu Xuan because he was indeed a scourge.
He did not know what the clues meant yet, but he would understand when the
two apprentices' machete skills caught the attention of the Golden Roc Fort.
They figured out several plans, such as using Slave Zi to seduce Liu Xuan out
of Woodensaber Alley and then killing them both, setting up the murder
scene as a surreptitious meeting between a killer and a male apprentice. Or,
simply slaying Liu Xuan and dumping his corpse into the killing zone, and so
forth. All their plans had one thing in common, Maid Lotus would be
exposed no matter what.
It was not uncommon for killers to flirt with female apprentices and it was
not Liu Xuan's wont to keep secrets -- more likely that he would be extremely
public about the details. Therefore, if he died suspiciously in East Castle,
Maid Lotus, and even Slave Huan, would be major suspects. Also, even if
Heart Cleansing Yard would not investigate, Shangguan Nu would be
incensed.
As for the secrets of grinding weapons, Maid Lotus had ascertained that Liu
Xuan would not disclose the secret of how he had been controlling her until
he got sick of her. Even Slave Zi did not realize how important the message
he had inadvertently said was.
Up till now, every man Gu Shenwei assassinated had been a scapegoat, or Gu

had recieved additional support. He was opportunistic in some ways. In this
case, there was none, and he had to kill Liu Xuan the old-fashioned way.
As Master Shifu, Tie Hanfeng, said, "A saber kills, so does a mouth."
Sometimes, it was safer to cut off those "relationships" of Liu Xuan.
Gu Shenwei came up with a bold plan, which Maid Lotus disagreed with at
first. After listening to his detailed explanation, she thought it excellent, and
helped him perfect the plan, correcting many potential loopholes.
The key figure in this plan was Miss Luo Ningcha.
Just as Maid Lotus was leaving after paying respects to her master again,
Slave Huan was summoned by Miss.
It went as Maid Lotus planned. She was close to many of the maids, and they
were willing to help deliver messages to the Miss.
The four maids named "Chen Xin Sui Yi" stood at both sides of the screen,
while the blind and tongueless Maid Cui stood beside Miss Luo Ningcha,
who was waiting for another slave to pledge loyalty. This was Gu Shenwei's
explicit reason for seeing her. The Miss had not done this for a long time, and
was thus curious about it.
What Tie Hanfeng termed "relationships" were preferably called "backers" in

the fort. Since it was a general rule that the more "backers" the better, Slave
Huan's actions were to be expected, especially considering that he was one of
the Miss's slave dowries.
The pledging process was based on the blood oath, except that the Miss did
not puncture her finger. She would also not share the bowl of blood with a
slave. Gu Shenwei played his part faithfully, stressing in his oath that he was
first a killer for Eighth Young Master before a faithful servant of the Miss
whereas Maid Cui acted on behalf of the Miss.
The Miss was not as arrogant as before, or at least so it seemed. She spoke
languidly, like a resigned woman who had already grudgingly given in, yet
her words sounded uninterested and bitterly sarcastic, barely containing the
anger and pride deep inside her.
After the pledging, Gu Shenwei, still kneeling on the ground, asked for a few
words in private with his new master. He imagined that the Miss would
agree.
In this peculiar relationship, both the master and servant held secrets that the
other could use. Gu Shenwei claimed himself to be Yang Huan, the son of the
servant Yang Lan from the Gu family, and had maneuvered himself into
Golden Roc Fort to seek vengeance for his father. Despite not knowing the
details of her past murders, he fooled her into thinking he did.
This balance was delicate and fragile. Even a small tug on either side might
spell disaster. Nevertheless, Gu Shenwei decided not only to tug the string,
but to tie them together into a "league", implicating her in the collaborative
crime.
Miss, who was behind the screen, chuckled with sarcasm and sourness.
"Look, even a slave comes to discuss 'business' with me, as if I still have a
say in this family. He who calls himself a 'faithful servant' will soon become
a killer. At that time, I'm afraid I'll have to talk to him about 'business' by
myself."
"Dead or alive, Slave Huan is and will be the slave Miss brought into Golden
Roc Fort. As I've vowed, I shall live with my new surname Luo for the rest of
my life." Gu Shenwei still remembered the sayings that would please a
master.
"Mama Xue gave her oath as well, yet she betrayed me and kept me in the
dark. I was resented by my husband and scorned by the crowd." The tone of
the Miss suddenly became cold, before she gave a small sigh. "Off you go. I
want to plot a few 'schemes' with this slave. Who knows if I can regain the
status of master back in this castle."
Unlike Mama Xue, none of these maids dared to advise Miss, and they
departed obediently without a single word.
"You've grown up. If we were at Iron Mountain camp, my father would have
castrated you. Still, you have no right to be alone with me in a room," said
Miss, filled with memory and longing.
This was one of which Gu Shen had always wanted to figure out. Vulgar and
ill-mannered, Bighead Kingpin was the bandit chieftain. Despite being in the
Western Region with loose customs, he had raised his daughter under the
strictest etiquette standards. Even the real princess and queen did not make as
much fuss as the Miss did.
"It's because Miss trust Slave Huan. You know that Slave Huan meant every
word in his oath."
"Meant every word? If I were to send you to recruit all the insiders, then kill
you all to bury that secret, would you still follow my order?"
"I would, as long as Miss says the word. Moreover, it would only be between
us. Slave Huan had lied before. I'm the only one who knows your secret."
"I knew it, but it doesn't matter now. Now, even if I want to kill a fly, I have
to consult your true master. He's more of my jailer than my husband. Go rat
out your newly sworn master to him. Tell him everything. I don't care. One
who has already hit rock bottom doesn't care about any other trap you dig
beneath him."
In that instant, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that he could understand the

Miss's thoughts. And it was in this moment that Luo Ningcha lost the power
she had never had, while he had lost his loved ones and the whole world.
"Miss, please trust my oath. I pledged loyalty to you, neither for your status
in Golden Roc Fort, which you have virtually none to speak of, nor for your
identity. Bighead Kingpin means nothing to me."
"Ha, are you finally beginning to tell me the truth? This topic has long been
stamped out in Stone Castle as it's hard to hear. But, I'd still like to know your
true purpose here."
"Slave Huan pleads Miss to avenge me. For vengeance, Slave Huan degraded
himself to a slave willingly. For vengeance, Slave Huan is willing to do
anything. Eighth Young Master may be the owner of Slave Huan indeed, but
Miss is the life savior."
There was a moment of silence behind the screen. Miss still remembered
what Slave Huan had confessed. "You've found the one who killed your
father?" She asked finally. It sounded like she had lost interest.
"Miss is cleverer than before." Gu Shenwei thought. "Yes, it is the Liu Xuan
from Hu Yard."
Gu Shenwei did not know whether Liu Xuan had participated in the
assassination of the Gu family but he figured that Miss did not either, because
she would not have cared about an insignificant murder.
"Liu Xuan? I know him. Do you want me to kill him for you?"
"Yes."
"I can't even kill a slave like you, let alone a killer? You should entreat my
husband, the Eighth Young Master, lick his toes, and repeat those vows.
Maybe then he'll avenge you with a flick of his hand."
"Eighth Young Master would want something in return, which I cannot

provide. But I can provide Miss with the assistance you desperately require."
"Alas, though I'm trivial in Golden Roc Fort, I considered myself at least a
master. It turns out that I debased myself by asking for help from a slave. I'm
not even a master now."
"It is the water that carries boats, and it is the wind that flies the birds. It'll be
the lowborn to help accomplish the greatest course of Miss."
There was another silence behind the screen. "I've heard a lot of sweet-talk,
any of those maids are better than you. Let's not talk about the revenge first.
Tell me what you got, and how you can 'help' me."
"I'll help Miss destroy Lady Meng's prestige, and avenge all the humiliations
Miss had suffered. Let those who laughed at you beg, and let those who
despised you kneel."
There was no biting sarcasm or even any answer at all. But Gu Shenwei
could hear the clothes rustling behind the screen, and felt her restlessness.
Thus, he began the speech he had thoughtfully prepared. If he could just
persuade Miss, not only could he get Liu Xuan killed, but also create a
massive crack in Stone Castle.
"Miss, please think about it carefully. In this castle, the status of a man
depends on his bloodline and machete skills, while a woman her husband and
her house. Why did he marry you? Because you're Bighead Kingpin's
daughter. Why is Madam Meng dominating the Inner Residence? Because
she is the daughter of the Meng family in North City. Why does Madam
Meng look down on you? It's not that the Meng family is more powerful than
Bighead Kingpin, it's because of distance. Your father's mighty name is too
far to be heard here. To change your circumstances, all attempts made here
would be in vain. So, in my opinion, Miss should start with Bighead
Kingpin."
Gu Shenwei waited for her reply. Although Luo Ningcha was not that wise,
he did not wish for her to miss out on fully comprehending his speech.
Chapter 105 - The Setup
Chapter 105: The Setup
Luo Ningcha's world had changed since she married into Golden Roc Fort.
Her manners, and her rules of seeing exclusively her husband, suddenly
became people's laughing stocks. The power of arbitrarily taking and killing
she used to take for granted was no longer available. She could not even
control her own life and death.
She remembered every insult she received in the Inner Residence. The desire
for revenge devoured her and made her sleepless at night. She was not stupid
though, and was much more clever than Gu Shenwei had thought. What she
lacked in her education were vision and strategy.
"Go on."
Luo Ningcha ordered. While Gu Shenwei detected her eagerness.
"The foundation of Meng business was the worldwide trading network. It was
by Golden Roc Forts protection that the network could run smoothly, leading
to the Meng family earning a lot. Bighead Kingpin abode by the rules, never
messing with caravans that have the Golden Roc flag. Even so, his only
daughter has been bullied by a Mrs. Meng all because they don't know about
Bighead Kingpin in Golden Roc Fort. We'll teach them a lesson, and show
them how capable Iron Mountain is."
"Stop!" Miss's voice suddenly cracked, as if Slave Huan had said something
wrong. But Gu Shenwei knew he had impressed her.
"Sinister," Miss added. The word sounded unreal as if they came out on their
own with no recipient.
"Exactly what Miss wanted," Gu Shenwei added. Both of them remembered
Mama Xue's judgment on Slave Huan.
"Don't you dare say such things anymore."
"Yes, Miss." Gu Shenwei understood It was time for him to shut up. Miss's
comprehension was better than he thought.
"That Liu Xuan you were talking about, I can't kill him."
"But I have an idea." Gu Shenwei had been waiting, and then he revealed
how he and Maid Lotus had planned.
"Sinister," Miss repeated without a derogatory tone. Rather, she seemed to

have realized something. "Wait for my news."
Before leaving, Gu Shenwei asked Miss to inform Eighth Young Master of

his allegiance. Sooner or later, Shangguan Nu would learn. He might as well
tell her beforehand.
Then, Gu Shenwei returned to East Castle, with an appreciation for Zhang Ji.
During the one month in Archives Library, he had learned a lot; An armed
killer might kill one person at a time, but a rich counselor could kill many
more.
While waiting, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were restless with the thought
that Miss would screw things up if she lost her temper.
Maid Lotus's midnight dates with an East Castle killer were spreading. She
lost many friends and received some judgment because of this. Gu Shenwei
was partly relieved, for there were no longer rumors of him and Maid Lotus.
However, his on-and-off "leadership" was again in jeopardy.
When the news finally came, Gu Shenwei was so desperate that he acted as
soon as night fell. First, he kidnapped clueless Slave Zi and cut off his fingers
to interrogate him. He wanted to confirm that Slave Zi knew nothing and that
he learned the saber sharpening accidentally.
Gu Shenwei then murdered Slave Zi and dumped his body. He also killed
three Snake Year apprentices who used to be close to Slave Zi.
At the same time, some Dragon Year apprentices were encouraged to conduct
the last slaughter of this year, killing dozens of people. This, in turn, covered
Slave Huan's murders.
Yet, Golden Roc Fort stopped this pointless slaughter, since there had been
no one capable among Snake Year Apprentices. They sent most of Snake
Year apprentices to Western Region as mercenaries, spies, and servants.
Compared with the strong Dragon Year apprentices, Snake Year apprentices
were considered the weakest in history.
Liu Xuan's flogging to death was spread days later. Nobody connected it with
the two apprentices, except a few insiders.
Rumor has it Liu Xuan was so bold that he tried to rape Eighth Young
Mistress's maid. Being caught red-handed by maids, he had rashly taken off
his clothes, pulled off Miss's veil, and almost degraded her in front of them.
The maids then resisted desperately to protect their Miss.
Hearing this, Eighth Young Master immediately returned home and had Liu
Xuan flogged to death. Liu Xuan was first flogged from the toes. Then after
300 floggings, he had had his lower body battered to pieces and finally had
his head crushed.
Moreover, it was said his eyes and tongue had been cut out, as by the rules of
Iron Mountain.
Liu Xuan's confession did not matter, since the maids, Eighth Young
Mistress, and guarding killers all testified Liu Xuan was inappropriately
naked at the scene.
Eighth Young Mistress's reputation became worse, but she threatened to kill
herself for several days, which gained her back some of her good name. In
addition, she no longer entered the Inner Residence. Shangguan Nu became
both ashamed and angry, allocating two female killers on guard, and
prohibiting male killers from entering the backyard.
The maid was arranged by Maid Lotus, who was one of Miss's 10 maidens.
The maid had seduced Liu Xuan into the room and only started screaming
after he pulled off his pants. She and Miss were the only insiders in the yard.
While Miss acted exceptionally good, Gu Shenwei started to consider how to

help her beat Lady Meng. If he should succeed, it would not only be Luo
Ningcha's triumph, but would also help destroy one of Golden Roc Fort's
revenue sources.
Three days after Liu Xuan's death and two days after East Castle's slaughter,
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were summoned urgently by Eighth Young
Master.
They were summoned to the front yard hall.
Eighth Young Master seemed worried. Though the master of all killers, he
had always been caught up in family affairs. Yet, he never knew the two
respectful teenagers killed Liu Xuan. He summoned them for other reasons.
"She only trusts people who came with her."
"She" referred to Eighth Young Mistress. Shangguan Nu appeared helplessly

angry. His eyes flashed. If it were not for her identity and looks, he would
have buried her for good.
"In the future, you two will take turns guarding, changing every 10 days. you
can ask for leave during the monthly tests."
Though not part of Gu Shenwei's plan, the two undertook it at once and
expressed appreciation towards master and Mistress.
Shangguan Nu paid attention to Slave Huan, for he did not trust any male
now, not even a 16 boy. Besides, Slave Huan was tall and handsome, not like
a teenager at all.
"You took the oath to Mistress?"
"Yes, my master. I received grace in Iron Mountain, and vowed to Bighead

Kingpin to protect Miss."
Shangguan Nu did not know about the servants in Iron Mountain. Thus, he
could only trust them for now. Difficult as his wife was, she would not in a
million years try to seduce a man.
"Behave yourselves, you two have promising futures."
At first, the two youngsters thought Eighth Young Master was merely talking
cliches. Whereas, when midsummer arrived, they knew Shangguan Nu's
plans: Dragon Year apprentices were bound to be extraordinary. Golden Roc
Fort had had their destinies arranged.
Shangguan Nu asked solely Slave Huan to stay and revealed that on future
guard, he needed to report anything suspicious. "Whoever you have or will
pledge to, remember your true master is me."
Then Gu Shenwei crept, pledged his allegiance in tears, and said he knew
everything from Master Shifu. But if not for the owner's help, he would never
survive. His life belonged to his master, hence he would do everything in
master's benefit. Furthermore, he would report on his doings.
This acting was highly difficult. Gu Shenwei dressed up his emotion to where
even he could not recognize himself. Only when he said these words against
his will did really appreciate those days spent with Slave Yao.
Shangguan Nu received the second allegiance, honestly cold and sincerely

graceful. This was part of his education, and he had strengthened it following
his father and elder brother.
Afterward, he believed he had controlled the teenager. With so many killers

in the fort, only a few were worthy of attention, among whom was Slave
Huan.
Gu Shenwei had made a big progress in his revenge. Now he needed time,
which Mama Xue had left little for him.
When Gu Shenwei took the turn to watch, he at the same time acted as a
"conspiracy teacher".
Shangguan Nu had a room renovated, within which was a solid hollowed-out
wooden wall. Behind that, there was another door to the side room. This way,
Miss was completely separated, free of rumors.
Moreover, Gu Shenwei taught Miss everything he learned from Tie Hanfeng

and Zhang Ji, helping analyze wars among women in the Inner Residence.
"My Miss needs alliances. Keep note of those objected by Lady Meng,
especially whose status is lower than their identity. They must have held
grudges. Also, pay attention to those favored, they'll pay prices for favors.
These people tend to betray once there is no reward. Remember to be discreet
and only observe. Only when Bighead Kingpin acts is when Miss is able to
make alliances."
Miss told a lot of stories of the Inner Residence, leaving Gu Shenwei heavy-
headed. The struggle between Women was not any easier to understand than
Jianghu in South City.
Nevertheless, master and servant could not always hold private talk; Luo
Ningcha usually had reliant maids present. When the maids managed to make
up excuses, Gu Shenwei would report the same exact lies.
Shangguan Nu never doubted it. He believed in his wife's fidelity. The report
was merely routine, and an instinct of his to collect information.
Fortunately, Gu Shenwei's only served 10 days of guarding, and Maid Lotus's

20 days watching. After that one month, both of them had escaped from
Miss, joining a new society to obtain the title "brown-belt assassin".
Furthermore, Gu Shenwei had been secretly inciting antagonism between

Iron Mountain and Meng family. Yet little did he expect, before he planted
the hatred through Miss to Bighead Kingpin, he himself would first confront
the Meng family.
Chapter 106 - A Private
Conversation
Chapter 106: A Private Conversation
As the Dragon Year apprentices were the best batch of apprentices in Golden
Roc Fort's history, the fort was not willing to waste their lives in monthly
tests anymore. It chose 50 teenagers from them to form a new organization
called Little Flag Battalion, whose base was located in the south of
Woodensaber Alley. Five experienced killer mentors were selected to manage
this new organization. Tie Hangeng was one of them.
Teenagers in Little Flag Battalion were not killer apprentices anymore, but
they were not red-belt killers either. They were brown-belt assassins, who
were eligible to wear black outfits embroidered with golden rocs, though they
could only wear brown belts and not red belts yet. Their basic monthly salary
was 100 taels of silver, and they would be able to get bonuses when they
completed their missions successfully.
Once their trial period was over, they would be able to get their red belts.
The selected apprentices were thrilled, but soon their excitement was over.
During their first few days of working in Little Flag Battalion, they only got
some trivial jobs, such as delivering mails or standing on guard. They thought
their lives now were even more boring than their old lives in the Pyrowork
Academy.
Finally, they got an important task which was working as guards at a party.
The Meng family had a garden named Bodhi Garden in North City which
boasted beautiful lotuses in four colors.
As the lotuses bloomed exceptionally well this year, the Meng family held a
big flower viewing party and invited many friends and relatives to enjoy the
beautiful scenery in the garden. Lady Meng, who had seldom visited the
Meng family after getting married to the Supreme King decided to go to the
party. Not wanting to go to a party with a group of fierce-looking killers, she
chose the teenagers of Little Flag Battalion as her guards.
Working as guards in North City was not a challenging task at all. Golden
Roc Fort only equipped the teenagers with wooden sabers. For the brown-belt
assassins, the only benefit of this task was that they could go to the city to see
the rare lotuses.
This outing of Lady Meng lasted for days. Besides the Meng family, all the
other big families in the city also invited the lady to their banquets. Every
time before she came to a place, the killer mentors would lead the teenagers
to thoroughly check the place and keep irrelevant personnel away. When
everything was alright, they would hide behind trees or rocks and continue to
work as invisible guards.
Gu Shenwei did not get any chance to see the lotuses in those days. When
they were in Bodhi Garden, he was sent to patrol an area far away from the
flowers. Once his shift was over, he had to return to a small, dark room
immediately to sit silently with a bunch of teenagers who hated one another.
Occasionally he could meet some of his friends in this room and chat with
them quietly.
The influence of the gang wars still existed. The brown-belt assassins still
regarded one another as enemies. They worked together just because the fort
forced them to do so.
On the seventh day of Lady Meng's outing, she held a banquet in Bodhi
Garden to entertain the Meng family and the ladies of the other big families.
That day, Gu Shenwei was stationed at a guard post on an artificial hill,

which was a secluded place situated on the edge of the garden. He was pretty
sure that he would not get a chance to see the lotuses or meet anybody in this
place for the whole day. As various kinds of flowers were blooming on that
hill, he chose to hide inside a flowering shrub. He predicted that he would
spend another boring day guarding against Golde Roc Fort's enemies, who
would never show up in this place.
This was North City, one of the safest places in the whole world.
However, something unexpected happened.
Two girls who had gotten bored with the endless banquets sneaked out. They
walked up the artificial hill and sat on a stone bench, which was about three
meters away from the flowering shrub where Gu Shenwei hid.
He held his breath and kept still to avoid disturbing the girls whom he
thought were probably two young misses. Actually, according to the killers'
rules, he should find a chance to retreat from this place to stay away from
them. However, when he recognized their voices, he chose to stay here
without knowing why he did this.
He had known that Shangguan Ru would come with her mother long before,
but he had never anticipated that she would have appeared somewhere so
close to him.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi sounded a little tipsy. They chatted and
laughed cheerfully without noticing that someone was hiding right behind
them. Compared to killer apprentices in East Castle, they had received killer
training for a much longer time. Nevertheless, they did not have the killers'
sharp six senses, since they had never been through any life-and-death
battles.
Their voices sounded sweet and soft. Gu Shenwei remembered that these two
bossy girls had never talked like this before. He even started to wonder if
they were still dressed like boys now.
The girls shared various topics, such as the plants in the garden and some
trivial things in Golden Roc Fort. Gradually, they started to talk about some
private things, which made Gu Shenwei feel awkward. He was faced with a
dilemma now. He felt that he should leave as soon as possible, but at the
same time, he worried that once he moved, they would notice him and get
furious.
"Yushi, the Fifth Young Master Meng kept peeping at you."

"No. I think you might've misunderstood. He was peeping at you. I just sat
beside you."
The next moment, the girls chuckled merrily. They sounded as if they were
tickling each other now. "I don't like that guy. Yushi, let's ignore him. Don't
you agree?"
"Yes. I dislike him as well. It makes me sick to see such a young man like
him still behaving like a baby in front of his grandmother."
"Hee hee, his grandma adores him. Given that, even my mother has to treat
him differently."
"Huh, if he dares to act so shamelessly in front of me, I'll…"
"What will you do?"
"I'll spank his butt with my scabbard and send him crying all the way to his
grandma."
"You wouldn't dare do so. You won't." Shangguan Ru was panting heavily
after laughing.
"I promise I will. I dare to do anything."
Hearing that, Gu Shenwei could not help but snort in his heart. "Shangguan
Yushi, stop bragging. When we were caught by Mister Guo in the same room
after we stole Black Jade Palm, you didn't dare to say anything."
"Oh, look at you. What a daring girl you are. You can't act like this anymore
when you get married."
"I'll never get married."
"I heard that the seventh aunt has already hired matchmakers to find a
suitable husband for you."
Gu Shenwei was overjoyed to hear that and thought, "I remember that
Shangguan Yushi is only one year younger than me. Given that, she's already
reached marriageable age. If she gets married and leaves the fort, I'll feel
much relieved."
"That's a groundless rumor. I won't get married. Master Ru, do you want me
to get married?"
"Well, it's not my call. My mother said that all girls have to get married when
they grow up."
"That's not true. I knew some girls who remained unmarried throughout their
lives. I'll listen to you. If you don't want me to get married, I'll spend my
whole life accompanying you. If you get married, I'll follow you to your
husband's family. Once your husband makes you sad, I'll hunt him down to
kill him. Even his grandma wouldn't be able to save him."
"That's ridiculous. I'm still too young to get married," Shangguan Ru said and
laughed even louder.
"Come on, it'll happen soon. You're 13 now. After a couple of years, you'll
reach marriageable age."
"Shush! Stop talking nonsense. I'll become the Tenth Young Master of
Golden Roc Fort and lead my own killer team. If someone dares to marry me,
I'll kill him and his entire family."
"That's good. When you have your own killer team, I'll become your military
counselor to help you lead your killers. I'll help you become the next
Supreme King."
The ambitious girls talked on and on about their distant future and got
increasingly excited. Suddenly, Shangguan Ru felt that they lacked
something at this moment. "I think we should drink at such a good moment.
We should drink while enjoying this beautiful scenery," she said.
"Do you still want to drink? Your face is red now."
"I want that sweet liquor. We'll never get drunk with it."
"All right, you wait for me here. I'll get us some sweet liquor."
"No, no, I just said it casually. Let's stay here together to have some rest."
They remained quiet for a moment, and then Shangguan Ru started to giggle.
Gu Shenwei did not know what Shangguan Yushi did to persuade her. The
next moment, he heard Shangguan Yushi rapidly walk down the artificial hill
while Shangguan Ru was humming a tuneless song. Gradually, the girl's
voice got lower and lower. After a while, Gu Shenwei could only hear her
soft breath sounds. It seemed that she had fallen asleep.
Gu Shenwei breathed out a sigh of relief and decided to leave this place as
soon as possible. "Once the girls find out that I overheard their conversation,
they'll definitely flare up." With this thought in his mind, he sneaked out of
the flowering shrub and headed downhill quietly.
He was a little bit disappointed since he had never heard them mention Slave
Huan in their conversation. However, this was not totally beyond his
expectations. He believed that Shangguan Yushi must have tried everything
to make Shangguan Ru forget about the slave boy who had played with her
during her childhood.
Before he arrived at the foot of the artificial hill, he saw a young master, who
was about 17 or 18, walking toward the hill together with a group of young
attendants.
"They walked this way. I saw them."
"Over there, over there. See, one of them is lying on the stone bench."
The artificial hill was not very high. The teenagers spotted Shangguan Ru
easily through the flowering bushes.
"That's the Tenth Young Master. She's dressed in black, and the other girl, in
blue."
"Yeah, that's right. All the people in Golden Roc Fort like the color black. I
heard that only big shots in the fort are eligible to wear black clothes."
When the young attendants were whispering among themselves, their master
said scornfully, "The Tenth Young Master? Come on, she's a little girl. She
dared to laugh at me in front of all the guests. I'll go to teach her a lesson."
"Master, forget about it. You'd better leave her alone. All the people from
Golden Roc Fort are cold-blooded killers."
"She can scare the others away, but she can never scare me. You're such a
coward. Piss off. I don't want to see you anymore."
Seeing the "coward" withdraw embarrassedly, all the other young attendants
displayed a positive attitude to their master's decision but none of them dared
to follow the young master to the artificial hill. In the end, a young attendant
suggested, "Master, we admire your boldness, but you don't need to do much
to give her a lesson. You just need to go up there and kiss her. Let's see how
this tomboy would react."
The young master moved his arms to warm up. "You just have to wait and
see," he said to his attendants and then walked toward the hill.
Gu Shenwei sneaked back into the flowering shrub and hid again. "This
young master is probably a child of the Meng family, so he's the girls' cousin.
I'd better not get involved in this thing. After all, Shangguan Yushi will come
back soon. Shangguan Ru will also wake up when she hears his steps."
However, things did not turn out as he had expected.
The young master seemed to know some kung fu and walked very quietly.
Shangguan Ru was fast asleep after drinking and did not seem to hear a thing.
Shangguan Yushi seemed to really take her time and did not show up at this
crucial moment.
Gu Shenwei held his wooden saber and kept reminding himself in his heart
that he had every reason to stay out of this thing. "This is just a joke between
cousins. If I step out, I'll get into trouble. I've had enough troubles in my life."
Despite that, he still walked out of the flowering shrub to stand behind
Shangguan Ru with his wooden saber in hand.
When the young master was stooping down to kiss the girl, he suddenly felt a
shiver and lifted up his head. He saw a teenager standing in front of him with
a saber in his hand. That teenager's face was as cold as ice.
The young master was terrified by the murderous look on the teenager's face.
He knew that he needed to not feel scared since he was in his family's garden.
However, he was still petrified with fear. He turned pale and started to sweat.
Droplets of sweat welled up on his temples and then fell down his face.
At this moment, Shangguan Ru suddenly opened her eyes and saw a fear-
distorted face. She was shocked and raised her hand to slap the guy in front
of her with all her strength.
The young master fell down the hill.

Chapter 107 - A New Mission
Chapter 107: A New Mission
If Gu Shenwei had known that the young man was the Fifth Young Master
Meng, who wanted to avenge Pot-bellied Buddha's death, he would have
never come out of the flowering shrub.
The scuffle between the tenth child of the Shangguan family and the fifth
child of the Meng family ruined the last day of the flower viewing party.
Residents of Jade City kept talking about and laughing over this incident for
days. Many years later, they still remembered it.
Slapping Meng Mengshi seemed to not be enough to appease Shangguan Ru's

anger over the guy's mischief. She chased him down the hill and continued to
beat him. At this moment, Shangguan Yushi, who went to fetch some sweet
liquor, happened to come back with a flagon in her hand. Seeing Shangguan
Ru fighting Meng Mingshi, she immediately threw the flagon aside and
joined the fight. She beat all the young attendants away and then joined
Shangguan Ru.
Meng Mingshi had learned a little kung fu, but all the moves he knew were
impractical in a real fight. He felt dizzy after falling from the hill and was
clearly no match for the girls, but he still talked big at the beginning of the
fight. After a while, he could not hold on any longer and admitted defeat
while crying like a baby.
His attendants, who had run away to avoid Shangguan Yushi, all returned
now. They kowtowed to the girls and said, "Miss Ru and Miss Yushi, please
kindly forgive us." Hearing the boys call them miss, the girls flared up and
beat them even harder. They drove them to the middle of Bodhi Garden and
made them stand beside a pond. After that, they kicked them into the pond
one by one and kept throwing stones at them to prevent them from getting out
of the water.
The ladies across the pond thought it was a show. They laughed at the scene
and even applauded it. Suddenly, they saw Meng Mingshi struggling in the
water and panicked.
The girls became excited and refused to let the boys off until Lady Meng
came out to stop them. The servants of the Meng family hurriedly fished out
their young master. After getting out of the pond, Meng Mingshi snuggled up
in her grandmother's arms, bawling. After that, he rolled on the ground,
crying that someone was going to kill him with a saber and Golden Roc Fort
was plotting against him. His grandma thought that he was possessed by
some evil spirit and also burst into tears.
The banquet ended in acrimony. Lady Meng led all the members of the
Shangguan family back to Golden Roc Fort that night and did not pay any
visits to the Meng family in the following years.
That night, no one found out what Slave Huan had done. The moment
Shangguan Ru had woken up, he had swiftly retreated back into the flowering
shrub. He did not know what happened after the teenagers left the artificial
hill, and Shangguan Ru was unaware that a teenager had come out to protect
her.
Meng Mingshi kept yelling that a teenager had appeared behind Shangguan
Ru and wanted to kill him with a saber, but nobody believed him that
evening; everybody thought that he was just having a panic attack.
A few days later, when Meng Mingshi recovered from the shock and looked
sober, he finally convinced his family that a teenager wearing a brown belt
had threatened him with a wooden saber.
Unfortunately, he had missed the best time to seek revenge on that brown-
belt assassin. The Supreme King had sent an envoy to Meng Yuzun to make
peace with the Meng family right after Lady Meng had returned to the fort.
Now neither of the two parties wanted to mention this incident again.
Despite that, this thing still became a hot topic in the fort. Gu Shenwei heard
many ridiculous rumors about the incident. Meanwhile, he also heard quite a
lot of valuable information, and much of it was about Lady Meng.
Lady Meng, the mother of the twins, was just a distant relative of Meng
Yuzun. In fact, she was Meng Mingshi's cousin. Her parents died during her
childhood and thus she had been brought up in Meng Yuzun's family.
When she had grown up to become a beautiful young lady, she had been
picked out from all the unmarried young ladies of the Meng family by
Shangguan Fa, who had just lost his wife and planned to marry another one.
It was said that she had not been favored by Meng Yuzun's family when she
had been little. That was why she seldom visited the Meng family after she
married.
As for the fight during the flower viewing party, Lady Meng was firmly on
her daughter's side and resolutely refused to apologize to Meng Mingshi. The
Meng family could only suppress their anger and accept the Supreme King's
suggestion to downplay the whole incident.
Gradually, words about "the teenager with a saber" appeared around. Gu

Shenwei believed that no one would discover that he was the teenager, until,
one day, when Tie Hanfeng asked him about this incident. He admitted to his
mentor that he was the one who had come out to threaten Meng Mingshi.
Hearing that, Tie Hanfeng did not know whether to laugh or get mad.
Because of that, his facial expression looked quite weird. "You dumb*ss.
You're such a troublemaker. You'll die for this sooner or later," he scolded his
apprentice.
The next day, he came to his apprentice again. This time, he looked solemn.
"You have a new mission. You'll take a long journey ."
"Is there something wrong?" Gu Shenwei discovered that his mentor looked a
little worried and asked.
"F*ck it, you dumb*ss. Don't you know that he's the Fifth Young Master
Meng?"
Gu Shenwei shook his head, wanting to explain that he had never met Meng
Mingshi before, but after a thought, he decided to remain silent to avoid
further irritating Tie Hanfeng. He knew that his mentor would hurl countless
insults at him when he was in a fit of anger.
"He wanted to kill you to avenge Pot-bellied Buddha's death. It took a great
deal of effort to appease the young master. Why did you have to stick your
head out to scare him? Is your stupid turtle shell too small for you? Keep
your head inside the shell. Don't stick it out anymore. Just mind your own
business and hold your saber tightly, understand?" Tie Hanfeng spluttered.
"Yes, Master Shifu," Gu Shenwei replied while tightly holding his saber shaft
in his right hand.
Tie Hanfeng panted for a while and then said, "It's good for you to leave this
city to avoid the young master. Wealthy kids are forgetful. He'll forget about
you after enjoying a few days in South City. This isn't escaping; this mission
was scheduled a long time ago. If you guys do the job well, you'll receive
immense rewards when you return."
"Who else is going with me?"
"Maid Lotus, Wildhorse, Liuhua, and Snowcamel."
Hearing the names, Gu Shenwei was thrilled. Just like himself, these people
were also widely recognized as the standouts of the Dragon Year apprentices.
"This mission must be quite challenging," he thought.
However, when he knew what they were going to do, he was greatly
disappointed.
This mission had nothing to do with assassination again. They were asked to
escort some goods.
Bighead Kingpin missed his daughter and needed to maintain a good

relationship with the Supreme King. Given that, he would send a great
number of gifts to Golden Roc Fort every winter. In return, the Supreme King
would send gifts to Bighead Kingpin every summer. In the past, Golden Roc
Fort had always sent red-belt killers to escort the gifts, but this year, it
assigned the task to Little Flag Battalion.
It was an easy job. Seeing Golden Roc Flags and Iron Mountain Flags
fluttering over the goods, even the boldest roving bandits would run away as
soon as possible, let alone be covetous of the goods.
Meanwhile, it was also a very lucrative job. Golden Roc Fort would give the
escort team members a large sum as a bonus, and Bighead Kingpin, who was
famous for his generosity, would gift the team members with vast numbers of
gifts too.
Seeing five brown-belt assassins receive this job, many red-belt killers felt
jealous. Gu Shenwei guessed that the one who had helped to bring about such
a sudden change of tradition must have been Luo Ningcha.
Just as he had expected, three days before the escort team's departure, Luo
Ningcha summoned him and Maid Lotus to the Eighth Young Master's
residence. She asked them to deliver a few messages and a girl to her father.
The girl was Little Sui: one of Luo Ningcha maids.
Gu Shenwei believed that only someone from the Iron Mountain Gang would
think that it was normal for a daughter to send a concubine to her own father.
Luo Ningcha had written a letter to her father. She required Slave Huan to
hand it to her father in person. After a while, she sent all her servants away
except Slave Huan.
In the room Shangguan Nu had specially reconstructed for his wife, Luo
Ningcha said to her "conspiracy teacher" through the hollowed-out wooden
wall. "I pleaded with my husband to let you guys escort the gifts this year. I
think you know what I want."
Gu Shenwei had guessed what Luo Ningcha wanted, but he still shook his
head, while saying, "Miss, please tell me what you want. I dare not to read
your mind."
"You told me that a woman can only depend on her father and her husband.
Did you forget it? My husband is unreliable, so I can only ask my father for
help. You must try everything to persuade my father to attack the Meng
family's caravans and make them lose all their money." Luo Ningcha sounded
peaceful. After learning some conspiracies from Slave Huan, she could
control her emotions better now.
Gu Shenwei was excited to hear Luo Ningcha's plan since it would ruin the
relations between Golden Roc Fort's two major allies. He thought it was
worth a try and believed that Lady Meng, who was on bad terms with the
Meng family, would never interfere in this issue. As Lady Meng did not seem
to rely on the Meng family to win the lord's affection, Gu Shenwei guessed
that the lord probably loved the lady for another reason.
"I see, but Miss, I'm just a humble slave boy. Bighead Kingpin probably
won't believe my words."
"Take this with you as a token. My father will believe everything you say."
Luo Ningcha raised her hand to put something in the hollowed-out wooden
wall. Gu Shenwei walked to the wall and saw a green jade ring there. He put
it in his hand carefully and caught a glimpse of Luo Ningsha at that moment.
She still wore a veil even when she was behind the wall.
After hearing Luo Ningcha's plan, Gu Shenwei began to look forward to the
mission. He sincerely hoped that Bighead Kingpin would follow her
daughter's advice to attack the Meng family's caravans. He thought it would
be a heavy blow to Golden Roc Fort.
This escort mission was more complicated than he had expected. The five
chosen brown-belts assassins had a lot to prepare. The day before their
departure, the killer mentors appointed Slave Huan as the chief of the brown-
belt assassins. This appointment nearly caused another gang war in Little
Flag Battalion. However, being strictly monitored by the five killer mentors,
the teenagers finally gave up their assassination attempts.
The killer mentors took turns to lecture the chosen brown-belt assassins,
repeatedly emphasizing that now they were not apprentices anymore and
should forget about their gang wars. All of the mentors required them to trust
each other and work together as a team. In Tie Hanfeng's words: now was the
time for the puppies to obey rules. He said, "Stop biting each other inside the
fort. You have to work together to fight against wolves outside the fort now."
Gu Shenwei did not expect much of his team and he thought that the mentors
must have purposely chosen these five brown-belt assassins. Slave Huan and
Maid Lotus were members of the former Tattooed Arm Gang. Wildhorse and
Snowcamel were from the former Snow Mountain Gang. Liuhua was a lone
wolf and had never joined in any gang.
Slave Huan could never forget that it was Wildhorse who had left a deep
wound in his chest, and Maid Lotus always wanted to take revenge on Liuhua
who had shot two arrows at her. Liuhua also still held a grudge against Slave
Huan since the slave boy had battered him unconscious during a mission last
winter.
As the chief of the brown-belt assassins, Gu Shenwei only hoped that they
would be able to work peacefully together during the trip. To achieve that
goal, he needed to deal with these problems in advance.
The night before their departure, he went to meet Wildhorse and made a deal
with him. They promised each other that they would temporarily put aside all
of their resentment and work together to complete this mission.
Although Wildhorse had cut his own tongue, it was still quite easy to
communicate with this leader of the former Snow Mountain Gang, who was
reasonable and understanding. The real headache for Gu Shenwei was
Liuhua.
Liuhua was more secretive now. Teenagers of Little Flag Battalion seldom
saw him even though he was also a member of the battalion. He liked to hide
in the darkness like a poisonous snake, preparing to launch an attack at any
minute.
Nobody liked Liuhua. No one trusted him. He had absolutely no friends.

Given that, Gu Shenwei could not find him or ask anyone to deliver a
message to him before their departure.
He began to wonder , "It'll be a good thing if I can find a chance to kill this
poisonous snake during the trip." This thought made him feel excited.
Chapter 108 - The Escort Team
Chapter 108: The Escort Team
Gu Shenwei was just the chief of the brown-belt assassins, who worked as
guards in the escort team. Golden Roc Fort appointed another one as the chief
of the whole escort team. This chief would send the gifts to Bighead Kingpin
on behalf of the Supreme King, the Eighth Young Master and the Eighth
Young Mistress. All the five brown-belt assassins should also follow this
chief's orders.
This chief was Slave Qing, who had once worked as the twins' attendant in
the school. He had served under five or six children of the lord, and now he
was finally promoted to a butler of Inner Residence.
Back in the school, Slave Qing had been Slave Huan's superior and had
disliked this troublesome slave boy very much. However, he was just a
cowardly bully. When he met Slave Huan again, who was a brown-belt
assassin now, he behaved very politely to him. He intimately patted the boy's
shoulder and said, "Slave Huan. What a promising boy. We can be good
friends. When we come back, I'll buy you a drink. Hah-hah."
Golden Roc Fort prepared 20 boxes of gifts for Bighead Kingpin and sent 10
camels to carry these gift boxes. The escort team spent only two hours going
down the hill, but then they spent a whole day in the city.
At the north gate, they handed in all their weapons to the guards, including
the brown-belt assassins' weapons and the weapons in the gift boxes. After
entering Jade City, Slave Qing went directly to South City with some of the
team members to hire camel drivers, porters and cooks. As the Iron Mountain
Gang had no fixed headquarter, he also needed to go to a betting arena to
contact the gang's secret agent to get the current location of the gang.
The other members of the team traveled through North City and exited the
city through the east gate. After that, they went to stay in an inn outside the
gate as they waited for the gate guards to return the weapons back to them.
The Iron Mountain Gang frequently moved about all year round. It was
impossible to find them without a guide.
Slave Qing brought a guide named Jiang Chenghai to the inn to join the team.
This man had a weather-beaten face and looked quite reliable. Some people
in the inn seemed to know him well and called him Brother Dao San or Dao
San. Soon, the team members also began to call him by his nicknames.
At night, the team finally got everything ready. The brown-belt assassins got
their weapons back. They all took sabers and daggers with them, except
Liuhua, who only brought a longbow, a shortbow, a crossbow and many
arrows.
That night, Gu Shenwei secretly ordered Maid Lotus to keep an eye on

Liuhua. Although the killer mentors had repeatedly emphasized the
importance of teamwork and forbad them to plot against each other, he still
could not completely trust that lone wolf.
The next morning, the team left the inn for the camp of the Iron Mountain
Gang.
Although Dao San was the guide, he was not riding at the forefront of the
team. Snowcamel was at the head of the procession, carrying two flags on his
back, which were a Golden Roc Flag and a flag of Little Flag Battalion. The
Golden Roc Flag was black with red edge, and Little Flag Battalion's flag
was brown with yellow edge. Both of these flags were embroidered with
Golden Rocs. Behind Snowcamel and Dao San were the ten camels carrying
the gift boxes and the flags of the Iron Mountain Gang.
The ten camels were tied together by a rope to form a queue. Five camel
drivers worked together to drive them. One of the camel drivers was from the
fort and the others were hired to do this job. They spent a whole night
learning how to get along with these stubborn animals.
Behind the ten camels, twenty handymen walked with several other camels
that carried food, water and tents for the team. Slave Qing and Little Sui
traveled along with them. The former rode a horse, and the latter rode a
camel, weeping all the way. Every time she thought of Bighead Kingpin, the
man she was going to serve for the rest of her life, she would shudder in fear.
Slave Huan, Maid Lotus and Liuhua rode behind them. Wildhorse rode at the
rear of the procession.
Gu Shenwei felt relieved to leave the fort and was quite pleased to take such
an easy and rewarding mission. Even Liuhua seemed to behave himself
properly now. Gu Shenwei had never expected that they would soon get into
trouble.
At noon, a handyman ran up to him and reported that there were two riders in
front of them at the roadside and they seemed to be waiting for the escort
team.
As they were still inside Golden Roc Fort's territory, Gu Shenwei believed
that the riders did not dare to covet the fort's goods, but as the chief of guards,
he still needed to go to check the situation. He quickened his horse and
galloped to the forefront of the team.
He observed the two riders from a distance. They were dressed in black, just
like Golden Roc Fort killers, but they had slender figures like girls.
He continued to ride toward the riders, and soon he recognized them and
sighed to himself, "That's a real trouble, a big trouble."
The riders were Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi.
He had not seen Shangguan Ru for a long time and discovered that she was
much taller than before. However, she was still obviously shorter than
Shangguan Yushi.
Shangguan Yushi put on a straight face and looked away. Shangguan Ru

looked at Slave Huan smilingly. Her eyes were still big and black, just like
before. "Hey, we're the best machetemen in the whole Western Region. Do
you want to hire us?" she asked.
"Well, I'm not the boss here," Gu Shenwei looked at them and replied with an
expressionless face.
"Well then, ask you boss to meet me," Shangguan Ru stopped smiling and
said, adopting an authoritative tone. This time, she sounded just like the
bossy little girl Gu Shenwei remembered.
Slave Qing also recognized the girls and hurriedly rode to them. He got off
his horse in a flurry and said, "Alas, Master Ru, why did you leave the fort?
Did the lord and the lady know about this? Why did you come out by
yourselves? Take care. Let me help you get off your horse. Alas, what should
we do now? Slave Huan, how about we turn around to go home now?" While
saying this, Slave Qing stretched out his hands to Shangguan Ru, wanting to
help her get off her horse.
Hearing what Slave Qing said, Shangguan Ru became annoyed. She swished
her whip to drive Slave Qing's hands away and shouted, "I won't let you go
back. If you don't let us join you, we'll kill you and take all your goods away.
I'll send the gifts to Bighead Kingpin by myself."
Slave Qing did not know what to do. He was so anxious that he kept
stamping the ground. Suddenly, he saw Slave Huan wave to him. The brown-
belt assassin trotted his horse to him and bent forward to discuss with him in
a soft voice. After that, the slave boy galloped to the girls and said, "My boss
agreed to hire you. Each one of you can earn 10 taels of silver a day, but we
can only pay you after the trip. We offer free tents and free meals to you, but
we won't guarantee your safety."
"Good, that's a good offer. We accept it." Shangguan Ru nodded solemnly

and agreed.
"Ten taels of silver a day? Do you think we're beggars?" Shangguan Yushi
waved her whip and grumbled.
"The pay is quite high for inexperienced young machetemen. I'm the chief of
guards in this team, so you'll have to follow my orders in the following days.
Regardless of your past achievements or how good your machete skills are,
you must listen to me in this team." Gu Shenwei knew Shangguan Ru very
well. He was clear that he needed to make this game seem as real as possible
to please her.
Shangguan Ru was delighted to hear that. She smiled and said, "Of course,
chief. We'll follow your orders." Shangguan Yushi, however, was even
angrier now. Last winter, she had been Slave Huan's killer leader and bossed
him around. She found it hard to accept the fact that now she should listen to
this slave boy.
Slave Qing mounted his horse and watched Slave Huan act out the whole
thing. He could not help shaking his head and thought of how this
troublesome slave boy had used his own ways to please the young masters
back in the school.
Gu Shenwei asked the girls to join Maid Lotus and Liuhua and sent Slave
Qing to chat with them in case they discovered that the team was traveling
much slower now.
This was Slave Huan's idea.
He suggested that Slave Qing should accept the girls and, in the meantime,
ask the whole team to slow down. He told Slave Qing that Golden Roc Fort
might have already discovered that the girls were missing and had sent
people to find them. When someone from the fort caught up with the team to
fetch the girls, they would be able to get rid of them without offending them.
Slave Qing agreed with Slave Huan's opinion and accepted his idea.
Nevertheless, beyond their expectations, no one showed up to fetch the girls
even when the sun began to set.
Slave Qing ordered the whole team to stop traveling and put up tents to camp
beside the road. After that, he dragged Slave Huan out of the camp. He kept
looking in the direction of Jade City and said, "Slave Huan, this is your idea.
You have to be responsible."
"We don't need to wait anymore. The fort won't send anyone to chase us."
"What?" Slave Qing was shocked.
"I'm pretty sure that the lord and the lady hoped that we will take the girls
with us and then bring them back to the fort safely."
"This must be another move the lord and lady had taken to make Shangguan
Ru more like a boy. Actually, the fort could tell this plan to Slave Qing in
advance. If it did, he wouldn't be so worried now, but the tenth child would
be displeased," Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
"Are you sure?" Slave Qing still felt uncertain.
Gu Shenwei nodded and then went back to the camp. When he arrived, the
cooks had already served the dishes for dinner.
Gu Shenwei was pleased to notice that there were some delicate dishes
specially prepared for the girls. He thought that the cooks were quite smart.
However, the girls did not notice this at all. They were too excited and kept
chatting all the time.
Gu Shenwei deliberately kept a distance from the girls. For the time being, he
did not need Shangguan Ru's help nor did he want to irritate Shangguan
Yushi. He feared that the girl would do something insane during the trip if
she became mad.
Besides, he also suspected that she might still want to take revenge on him
for her brother's death. After all, Shangguan Yuxing did die because of him.
As it was getting dark, everybody had packed their belongings and was
preparing to go to sleep. Suddenly, Slave Qing stumbled all the way to Slave
Huan. He grabbed the teenager's arm and whispered, "Some people came
right after us."
Gu Shenwei was greatly surprised, "Why did the fort take such a long time to
catch up with us?"
He turned around and galloped toward the people behind the escort team.
Beyond his expectations, he quickly discovered that they were not a team of
killers but a caravan.
A moment later, the guards of the escort team caught up with their chief.
"Are they bandits? Chief, do we need to eliminate them right now?"
Shangguan Ru asked while tightly holding her saber shaft.
"No, they're not bandits."
Gu Shenwei was 100 percent sure that the people after them were not bandits
since they were still inside Golden Roc Fort's territory.
Gradually, the caravan approached them bit by bit. They saw several riders
gallop out to greet them. "Hello, friends in the front. Where are you going?"
one rider asked.
"It's none of your business. We'll let you go first. Come on. Hurry up," Slave
Qing urged impatiently. He did not want to meet any stranger during this trip
since Shangguan Ru was still in his team.
"You look familiar, friend. You must have come from Stone Castle," another
rider from the caravan said.
A moment later, a young rider galloped to them and his attendant lifted up a
torch to light up his face.
Slave Qing hurriedly got off his horse and ran to the young man. "Alas,
Mister Meng Mingshi. You still remember me? I'm Slave Qing. I
accompanied Lady Meng to the flower viewing party," Slave Qing bowed
and said.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi immediately tensed up and

simultaneously drew out their sabers. "What's he doing here?"
"Sheathe your sabers. We're guards and should only care about the safety of
the goods on the camels' backs."
The girls exchanged a look. After that, Shangguan Ru grumpily put her saber
back into the scabbard and then Shangguan Yushi also sheathed her saber.
They returned to their tent without saying a word.
Gu Shenwei summoned the brown-belt assassins to assign night duties.
Although they were still inside the fort's territory, they still needed to fulfill
their duties as guards of the escort team.
"The Fifth Young Master Meng also travels along this road. This is not a
coincidence," Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
Chapter 109 - Traveling Together
Chapter 109: Traveling Together
Meng Mingshi's caravan had camped across the road. On the next morning,
they set out together with the escort team.
The Fifth Young Master Meng led a large team. He had 50 or 60 camels and
a similar number of horses. There were more than 100 people in his caravan,
30 of whom were guards.
The brown-belt assassins discovered that all the 30 guards were just hired
machetemen, but the rider at the forefront of the caravan, who carried a
Golden Roc Flag, was obviously a professional killer from Stone Castle.
None of them had met this red-belt killer before, and the killer did not show
any interest in this group of brown-belt assassins either.
Meng Mingshi looked like a completely different person. He seemed very

amiable and chatted cheerfully with Slave Qing all the way. He did not
disturb the girls or show even the slightest hatred toward Slave Huan. It
seemed that he did not recognize this brown-belt assassin who had threatened
him with a wooden saber at all.
Gu Shenwei observed Meng Mingshi's machetemen carefully and discovered

that only two or three of them appeared to be good at kung fu. However, he
still ordered his brown-belt assassins to stay alert, since the caravan's guards
still significantly outnumbered the guards of the escort team.
At first, the girls followed their chief's order to stay away from the caravan,
but after a while, they began to approach the Fifth Young Master Meng to
make fun of him through ridicule and satire. Surprisingly, Meng Mingshi
reacted very calmly and seemed to regret his deeds very much. Seeing this,
Slave Qing was a little embarrassed. He apologized to Meng Mingshi again
and again while dissuading his young masters from mocking him.
After quite a long time, Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi finally felt that
they had said enough and returned to their own team, leaving Meng Mingshi
alone.
The two teams traveled together peacefully for three days. On the third night
of their trip, they camped near a mountain pass, which was located at the
border of Golden Roc Fort's territory. To the north lay a vast grassland, which
was Norland's domain in name, but in fact, it was a lawless place. There were
many bandits on this grassland, but they usually would not rob a team with a
Golden Roc Flag.
After spending another two peaceful days on this seemingly endless

grassland, Shangguan Ru got bored. There were few inhabitants along the
road, and the vegetation became increasingly sparse. On many occasions, she
wanted to provoke Meng Mingshi's machetemen, but Slave Qing and Slave
Huan managed to dissuade her every time.
At a fork in the road, the two teams were divided on which way they should
take.
The road to the north was safer, since it was guarded by Norland's
cavalrymen. If they took this way, they would be able to see a village every
few days. The only disadvantage was that it would take them around 20 days
to get to the camp of the Iron Mountain Gang.
The other road directly led to the capital of a small country in the northwest
of the Western Region, which was the caravan's final destination. At the same
time, this road was also a shortcut to the camp of the Iron Mountain Gang. If
they took this way, they would need only 10 days to arrive at their
destinations. However, this road was rough and risky.
Meng Mingshi had decided to take the way to the northeast a long time ago.
With 30 machetemen protecting him and a Golden Roc Fort killer leading the
way for him, he was not afraid at all. He formally bid farewell to the girls and
said, "There are many bandits along this road. We can never let them scare
you. Master Ru, take your time. It's not a big deal. I'm willing to stay in the
city for 10 more days to wait for you."
Everybody could tell that Meng Mingshi was just goading Shangguan Ru into
taking the shortcut except the girl herself. She fell into his trap immediately
and urged the escort team to take the shortcut regardless of her chief's
objection.
Gu Shenwei and the guide, Dao San, suggested the team take the safer road,
which was also their scheduled route. Gu Shenwei worried that Meng
Mingshi might have been secretly plotting against him, but he could not tell
this to Shangguan Ru.
In the end, Slave Qing, the chief of the whole escort team made a decision.
"Let's travel together with Mister Meng. We can take care of each other along
the way. He's so many machetemen. Bandits won't dare to approach us, will
they? "
Slave Qing did not want to act against Meng Mingshi. He had had such a
good time with this nice young master during the past few days. He would
have felt excited to serve the Fifth Young Master Meng if the fort had sent
him to the Meng family now.
The escort team had to obey Slave Qing's order, so they followed the caravan
to travel along the road to the northeast. Shangguan Ru insisted that the team
should stay away from the caravan. Given that, the escort team camped early
in the night and planned to set off later the next morning to distance
themselves from the caravan. That night, Shangguan Ru earnestly hoped that
some bandits would come to the camp to give her a chance to show her
excellent saber skills.
Gu Shenwei secretly ordered his brown-belt assassins to stay alert and

appointed Maid Lotus to protect Shangguan Ru. He was clear that now the
most valuable thing in this team was not the gifts but Master Ru.
He found it quite ridiculous that now he had to try his best to protect this girl
whom he had planned to kill in the future.
The following two days and nights were still quite peaceful. The biggest
accident during this period of time was the sudden appearance of a wolf. It
had abruptly approached the camp and then was shot dead by Liuhua.
Shangguan Ru was excited about this incident for a long time.
Early in the third morning, when Gu Shenwei was preparing his horse,
Shangguan Ru came to talk to him with her left hand on the hilt of her saber.
Her eyes looked even darker since she now stood with her back to the sun.
"Why do you treat me so coldly?"
"You're a macheteman, and I'm your chief. That's the way it's supposed to
be."
"No, I saw you chatting merrily with the brown-belt assassins."
Gu Shenwei clearly remembered that he had never chatted merrily with

anyone during the past days, but he did not want to continue this childish
conversation. "Now, we're chatting merrily," he smiled and said.
Shangguan Ru bit her lips and put on a straight face. She paced beside Slave
Huan for a while and asked, "Why did you come out to protect me on that
day in Bodhi Garden?"
"She knew that it was me." Gu Shenwei thought. He regretted what he had
done on that day even more. He stopped preparing his horse and said, "That's
my fault. You didn't sleep. You heard that someone was approaching, didn't
you?"
Gu Shenwei believed that a competitive person like Shangguan Ru would

answer "yes" to his question. However, the girl said, "No, I was stoned. I
heard nothing."
Gu Shenwei was speechless. After a moment, he replied, "I came out to

protect you because I'm your Slave Huan, your apprentice and your killer."
Shangguan Ru was about to turn 13 in a few months. At that time, she would
officially become the Tenth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort and own a
killer team. Like all the other young masters of the fort, she had received a
series of training and learned the skills of guessing the needs and intentions
of others, but she still failed to discover the bitterness hidden in Slave Huan's
reply.
"Good, you still remember it. I'll fight you in the future to check your
progress on your saber techniques," Shangguan Ru smiled triumphantly and
said.
Gu Shenwei bowed to her slightly. "No matter how hard I practice, I can
never surpass my Master Shifu in saber skills. However, please remember
that I'm your chief now."
Hearing that, Shangguan Ru slightly bowed back to Slave Huan, saying, "It's
really not easy to earn 10 taels of silver a day." After that, she cheerfully left.
Gu Shenwei had mixed feelings after Shangguan Ru's departure. He began to

long for killing, hoping to see blood gushing out of someone's neck. This
scene would make him feel sick in his stomach and, at the same time, feel
peaceful in his heart.
In the afternoon, an accident occured, which happened to partially satisfy his

craving for blood.
Meng Mingshi's caravan suddenly stopped at the roadside, waiting for them.
Seeing that, Slave Qing, Slave Huan and Dao San quickened their horses to
check the situation in the front, while the other members of the escort team
stopped and waited.
The caravan members all looked frightened. Seeing that, Slave Qing turned
pale. He speeded up further to ride at the forefront.
"What…" Slave Qing said in a hoarse whisper when he saw a corpse lying in
the middle of the road.
The dead man was a macheteman hired by Meng Mingshi. He lay on his back
with an arrow shot into his chest, his machete unsheathed.
"Someone wants our goods," the banner-carrying killer of the caravan said as
he glanced at the dead body.
Slave Qing looked around nervously and asked, "Who dares to rob us? Where
are they? How about we return to the fork to take the safer road?"
"No, we can't," the banner-carrying killer blurted out while shaking his head.
Slave Qing was stunned. Since he had become a butler, he had never been
denied by any ordinary killer so harshly.
Dao San was an experienced guide. He explained to Slave Qing, "This is the
bandits' typical way of telling their peers that they want a caravan's goods,
We can't turn around now since they must have already blocked the way
behind us."
"What? Peers? Are you saying that there are more than one group of bandits
here? How come… we have Golden Roc Flags."
"Bandits with names won't dare to rob us, but nameless roving bandits will
never care about our flags," the banner-carrying killer said plainly, seemingly
not surprised at all.
"Roving bandits? It must be easy for us to defeat some roving bandits, isn't
it?"
"Yes, we'll kill them all if they dare to show up."
The banner-carrying killer said assertively, which greatly raised everyone's

spirits. They were confident that their killers and machetemen would defeat
those sneaky bandits who only dared to shoot arrows at them while hiding in
the darkness.
"Let's camp here," the banner-carrying killer said to the Fifth Young Master
Meng in a commanding tone.
Meng Mingshi looked as pale as Slave Qing and kept nodding to the killer.
His attendant hurriedly went to deliver the order to everyone in the caravan.
"You'd better camp together with us," the banner-carrying killer said to Slave
Qing. Slave Qing could not agree more and nodded violently.
The escort team and the caravan stayed together again. Shangguan Ru and
Shangguan Yushi refused to trust Meng Mingshi's judgement and went to
check the dead body by themselves. When they came back, they looked
solemn and volunteered to keep watch at night.
Gu Shenwei put them on the first shift and then went to implement his own
plan.
Every time he sensed danger, he would become much calmer than usual. He
focused on analyzing the incident because he did not believe in coincidences.
"The death of the macheteman is not an accident."
He thought he had already seen through Meng Mingshi's plot against him.
It was getting dark. He walked around the camp to make sure that everything
was alright and then he went to visit the camel drivers.
The five camel drivers were sitting around a fire, chatting and drinking. He
joined them, and soon the four hired camel drivers left, saying that they
wanted to sleep early.
They purposely left the chief of the guards and the fort's camel driver alone.
Gu Shenwei stared at the camel driver. He did not know his name, but he
believed that he did not need to know that.
The camel driver kept his head down and remained silent for a long time.
When he looked up, Gu Shenwei saw his piercing eyes. Only killers had this
kind of look in the eyes. "You take care of your things, and I'll take care of
mine," the camel driver said.
Gu Shenwei nodded to him and left. His guess was right. This camel driver
was sent by Golden Roc Fort to protect Shangguan Ru. It seemed that the
girls' plan had been leaked long before they had sneaked out of the fort. Gu
Shenwei was sure that the girls would be safe with this camel driver around.
The girls were still standing on sentry. Gu Shenwei took this chance to wake
up the other four brown-belt assassins. He ordered Snowcamel to stay in the
camp and the other three to leave with him on a mission.
"Let's go to find the bandits. If I guessed correctly, they're not very far away
from us."
Four brown-belt assassins scuttled away from the girls and walked out of the
camp with their horses. After that, they mounted their horses and galloped to
the northeast.
Chapter 110 - Splitting
Chapter 110: Splitting
Four brown-belt assassins galloped rapidly on the narrow road in the

wilderness. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were in the front. Twenty steps
away from them were Wildhorse and Liuhua. They had stayed in this
formation all along the way. Although some parts of the road were broken,
they could still determine the route in the moonlight.
After traveling for more than a dozen kilometers, they finally saw a wisp of
smoke rising from one side of the road at dawn.
They got off their horses and headed for the smoke. They spontaneously
walked in a formation. Maid Lotus was at the forefront. Behind her and to her
left and right, were Slave Huan and Wildhorse, who were guarding against
flank attacks. Liuhua followed at the rear with a crossbow in hand.
It seemed that all the people in this camp were fast asleep. They did not see
anyone on sentry duty.
Gu Shenwei recognized a familiar smell. He had thrown so many dead bodies

off the cliff in Golden Roc Fort that he could never forget this smell.
They walked into the camp and saw that the campfire was about to go out.
They found more than 50 dead bodies inside and outside the tents. The blood
on the corpses had just coagulated.
Gu Shenwei had expected that some bandits were waiting for them, but he
had never expected that they would be dead when he found them.
Soon, the campfire died out, and the sun began to rise.
"Wildhorse, Maid Lotus, you go back to warn everybody. Liuhua and I will
stay here," Gu Shenwei ordered. He had no time to consider the matter
carefully now.
Wildhorse and Maid Lotus immediately went to get their horses and galloped
away.
"You stay within ten steps of me," Gu Shenwei said to Liuhua. Within this
distance, they were able to coordinate with each other in action, and Liuhua
could not shoot him with an arrow within such a short range.
Liuhua nodded and put his crossbow down. After that, he looked away with a
straight face.
An hour later, Wildhorse rode back and seemed to get some bad news.
He waved to Slave Huan and Liuhua, inviting them to leave with him right
now.
Gu Shenwei trusted Wildhorse's judgment. He and Liuhua immediately

mounted their horses and rode after Wildhorse.
Gu Shenwei thought that this whole thing was probably a plot against him,
but somehow this plot went wrong. He racked his brain but still could not
figure out what went wrong. Given that, he decided to stop thinking about
this complicated issue for now. He looked at Wildhorse's back and began to
wonder. "These strange guys. What's the point of cutting off your own
tongues?"
After traveling one or two kilometers, he saw three corpses on the road. The
dead people's horses were grazing on the grassland nearby.
He went to check the dead bodies. They were Meng Mingshi's machetemen.
He remembered that compared to the other machetemen, these three were
quite good at kung fu. He thought that they must have followed them to leave
the camp last night and gotten ambushed here. A significant amount of blood
had spouted from their wounds in the chests and stomachs, and the blood had
not yet wholly coagulated.
Gu Shenwei stood up and looked into the direction where they came from,
feeling worried. He was not sure who the murder was and where this murder
came from.
When it was near noon, the two teams behind finally caught up with the
brown-belt assassins. The moment they arrived, they immediately gathered
around the dead bodies. Slave Qing nearly passed out at the sight. He leaned
himself against a handyman and said, "This is, this is…"
"They were not killed by some ordinary bandits," Gu Shenwei said to

everyone. He was sure that bandits would never take the trouble to cut every
victim's chest and stomach open.
"It's you… You killed them. You, You've been…" Meng Mingshi pointed at
Slave Huan and grumbled while hiding behind two machetemen. His eyes
were full of fear and hatred, which indicated that he had recognized the slave
boy a long time ago.
"If you believe you can frame me by saying that, you're foolish," Gu Shenwei
looked at Meng Mingshi and thought. After a moment, he replied peacefully,
"No, I didn't kill them, but they did want to kill me."
"Nonsense! This is slander! No one wants to kill you. You, You want to kill
me. Yes. You surely want to assassinate me."
Meng Mingshi's speech became increasingly incoherent, but this did not
prevent his machetemen from reacting swiftly. They quickly unsheathed their
machetes of different size, waiting for their boss' order. At the same time, the
teenagers in the escort team also drew out their sabers. "We want to kill you.
What's the big deal? Do you think no one dares to cut your throat?" said
Shangguan Ru provocatively.
Hearing that, Meng Mingshi immediately covered his neck with both hands
and rapidly stepped back while shouting, "This is a conspiracy! This is an
assassination! You think your family is invincible, but my family won't give
in easily."
A conflict might break out at any moment. Suddenly the caravan's banner-
carrying killer, who had squatted to check the dead bodies, stood up and said,
"Sheath your weapons. Golden Roc Fort had nothing to do with the three
machetemen's deaths. Look at their wounds. That's not our style. More
importantly, they don't look like knife wounds at all."
Meng Mingshi could not discern wounds, but he trusted the banner-carrying
killer's judgment. "What kind of weapon did the murder use? Their wounds
are deep. Even their bowels and intestines fell out," Meng Mingshi said while
staring at Shangguan Ru warily.
All the three dead men's chests and stomachs were cut open. The team
members did not dare to look at them carefully, except the killers from
Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei agreed with the banner-carrying killer that the wounds were not
caused by any kind of knife. He thought that the murder must have used
something blunter than a knife, but he could not determine what it was. The
banner-carrying killer did not seem to have any idea about the murder's
weapon either.
"Let's travel together. We must hurry up now. If anyone of you leaves the
team without permission, you'll have to face the consequences on your own,"
the banner-carrying killer said with a cold face, with his eyes fixed on Slave
Huan.
"I'm sorry. I can't agree. We're two different teams. I'm chief of guards in this
escort team. I suggested that we take actions separately without interfering in
each other's affairs."
The banner-carrying killer was livid with anger. "No, I'm chief of the whole
escort team. I say we should go together with the caravan. The more people,
the better," Slave Qing shouted outside the crowd.
Gu Shenwei held his saber tightly and lifted his head up, while saying, "You
can leave with the Meng family's caravan with all the goods, but all the
guards must follow me. We never unite with the people who act
suspiciously."
Hearing that, the other six teenage guards simultaneously stood behind their
chief.
"Who? Who acted suspiciously?" Meng Mingshi shouted while hiding behind
several machetemen.
Gu Shenwei pointed to the front and said, "There's a camp not very far away
from here. There are 50 bandits in the camp waiting to rob us. However, now
they're all dead, just like these three machetemen. Mister Meng Mingshi, how
are you going to explain this matter to everyone?"
"They're all dead now?" Meng Mingshi murmured, looking confused. After a
while, he recovered from the shock and retorted, "What do the deaths of some
bandits have to do with me?"
"Let's stop beating about the bush. Can you tell us what goods your camels
are carrying?"
Gu Shenwei intended to expose Meng Mingshi's plot. "This young master

must have hired some bandits to kill me in this way. That's why he goaded
Shangguan Ru into taking this shortcut. He probably also planned to scare the
girl with those bandits. To make this incident seem real, he must have told
the bandits to rob both teams. He's sure that Golden Roc Fort won't blame the
Meng family for the death of a brown-belt assassin during such a robbery."
Gu Shenwei believed that the machetemen who had been shot dead yesterday
were also part of the show Meng Mingshi had arranged.
However, some unknown enemies suddenly appeared last night and killed all
the bandits Meng Mingshi hired. Gu Shenwei thought these unknown
enemies were probably not the young master's friends.
Meng Mingshi was apparently not the kind of person who could take in a
situation at a glance. "That's none of your business. You're not eligible to talk
to me like that," Meng Mingshi continued to shout at Slave Huan.
As a slave boy, Gu Shenwei was not qualified to question the young master,
but some of his guards were able to do so. Shangguan Ru and Shangguan
Yushi rushed to the caravan's camels to cut the ropes on the wooden boxes.
The next moment, the boxes opened, and many stones fell out. They
continued to open many other boxes and found out that all of them contained
only stones.
After that, the girls came back to their team with their sabers. The murderous
light flickered in their eyes. "The Meng family is so smart. You can sell such
useless stones to make money," Shangguan Ru said mockingly.
Meng Mingshi's face changed. He had hired a group of machetemen to fake a

robbery and had not wanted to suffer any loss during this show, so he had
filled all the boxes with stones.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi began to brandish their sabers. Since

they had been trained by the top killers, they seemed to have even better
saber skills compared to the brown-belt assassins. Seeing that, Meng
Mingshi's machetemen tightly surrounded their young master, ready to fight.
"Wait," Gu Shenwei said. He did not want to see the teams fight against each
other now. "Mister Meng just wanted to play a joke on us. We don't need to
take it seriously."
"Yes." Meng Mingshi shouted while hiding among the machetemen. The
teenagers could only hear his trembling voice but could not see where he
was. "It's a joke. Master Ru. I never meant to kill you. If I dare to harm you,
my parents won't let me off easily."
"Now, what're you planning to do? Chief of guards," the banner-carrying

killer asked Slave Huan. This time, the killer did not look that arrogant.
"We travel together. You give all your machetemen to me," Gu Shenwei said.
"I'm just a banner-carrier," the banner-carrying killer stepped aside and

refused to get involved in this thing anymore.
Now Meng Mingshi had to make a decision by himself. He looked at Slave

Huan with distrust while hiding behind many machetemen.
"If I dare to hurt you, Stone Castle will never let me off easily," Gu Shenwei
said with his hands laid out in a shrug.
The slave boy was telling the truth, but Meng Mingshi still felt uncertain.
"Alright, I give you my machetemen, but you have to swear that you'll ensure
my safety."
"I swear to gods, I'll ensure the Fifth Young Master Meng's safety."
Gu Shenwei was adept at swearing allegiance now.
After that, Gu Shenwei integrated the two teams into one. He asked the team
members to throw away those boxes of stones. By doing so, they got more
camels for the gift boxes and the team members.
He also ordered the team to camp in the place and sent machetemen to
explore the way. He posted five machetemen to investigate the road in the
front and five to the road behind them. The machetemen would return before
dark. If they found out that the way behind them was safe, he would lead the
team to return to the fork to take the more reliable route.
Since Meng Mingshi admitted that the macheteman who had been shot dead
yesterday was a show he had arranged, Gu Shenwei thought that they might
still be able to turn back.
Shangguan Ru was eager to meet some bandits, but she still accepted her
chief's decision in the end.
Gu Shenwei did not like the current situation. He had no idea who the enemy
was and what the enemy wanted to do. He also suspected that this might be
another show arranged by Meng Mingshi. After all, the deaths of several
dozen bandits were not a big deal for the wealthy Meng family.
He preferred to take the initiative to launch an attack, but now he had no

choice but to wait. Shangguan Ru was in his team. He had to be extra careful
and tried his best to ensure her safety.
Although the camel driver sent by Golden Roc Fort looked like a good killer,
he still worried that it was not enough to rely on just one person to ensure
Shangguan Ru's safety. Given that, he ordered Maid Lotus to protect
Shangguan Ru.
As for Meng Mingshi, he was sure his machetemen would take care of him.
He sincerely hoped that the bandits only wanted their goods. He could give
up those gift boxes to ensure the young masters' safety.
The machetemen who went to the front came back in time and reported to the
teenager chief that everything looked alright in the front. They had seen the
camp mentioned by the chief and behaved very politely to the boy when they
came back.
The other five machetemen were late. Everybody in the camp was nervous
and could not sleep.
At midnight, a horse galloped back from the road behind them. A

macheteman went out to take it into the camp. Slave Qing and Meng Mingshi
came out to check it and nearly passed out again.
A macheteman's head was tied to the horseback, and his feet were stuck in
the stirrups. The other parts of his body were gone.
"The unknown enemies want us to move forward," Gu Shenwei thought and

felt hesitant.
Chapter 111 - A Black Bird
Chapter 111: A Black Bird
As the leader of the team, Gu Shenwei now was faced with an embarrassing
dilemma. The more he knew, the harder it was for him to make a decision.
He worried that they would fall into the unknown enemies' trap if they
continued to travel forward. Meanwhile, he was not sure that it was safe for
them to retreat.
He did not know where the enemies were. In the meantime, he was afraid that
they might have already been prepared for all the actions he might take.
Under such circumstances, making a choice was like gambling. One could
never know the result when he threw the dice. If he were lucky, he would win
and be widely regarded as a hero.
As the leader of the former Tattooed Arm Gang, Gu Shenwei had made many
decisions back in East Castle during the gang wars. However, at that time, it
had been easy for him to predict his enemies' actions since they were all
trained by the same academies and tended to use similar techniques and
tactics. Now, his enemies were complete strangers so he could not be so sure
about his judgment.
"Should we go forward or turn back?"
Gu Shenwei felt anxious but still managed to keep a straight face. He could
not tell his concerns to too many people in case his uneasy feeling disturbed
the machetemen. He summoned Dao San and asked him several questions.
The next morning, he made a plan.
As they were already a third of the way now, if they continued to travel on
this road, in 4 or 5 days, they would be able to meet an outpost of the Iron
Mountain Gang.
Given that, Gu Shenwei decided to continue to travel in this way, but he did
not want to wait passively for another attack to arrive.
He chose three brown-belt assassins and five machetemen to form a

spearhead group with himself. They would travel to the front to explore the
way. After that, he asked Shangguan Ru to lead all the rest machetemen to
protect the team. He also appointed Maid Lotus and Shangguan Yushi to
assist Master Ru.
In fact, Shangguan Ru preferred to join the spearhead group, but she was also
quite pleased to lead more than 20 machetemen.
What Gu Shenwei planned to do was not just exploring the way. He ordered
the members of the spearhead group to ride as fast as they could and paid no
attention to the situation along the way at all. Once, the machetemen noticed
something unusual on the roadside, but he just asked them to neglect it and
keep on going forward.
They traveled like this for two days and a night. During this period of time,
they only took a few breaks to drink and eat and feed their horses. The
machetemen were exhausted. They were surprised that the teenagers still
looked alright.
For the brown-belt assassins, this was not a big deal. They had similar
experiences during their gang wars. Back then, once they had closed their
eyes to sleep, they would have been killed. All of them had once stayed
awake for days without eating or drinking anything.
Finally, they saw a camp again. There were six dead roving bandits in the
field. Gu Shenwei was pretty sure that they were not machetemen hired by
Meng Mingshi.
The six corpses were arranged in a circle. They all lay on their backs with
their soles toward an extinguished fire in the center. The blood spouting out
from their chests and stomachs dyed the soil red. Seen from a distance, they
appeared like a big blooming six-petal flower.
It seemed that the murderer had assassinated them without meeting any
resistance, and this murder had cut every dead man's chest and stomach open
again.
Seeing the dead bodies, the five machetemen turned pale and looked at their
chief nervously.
Their young chief, who had seen countless dead bodies and murder scenes,
was not disturbed by the dreadful scene at all. He despised the murder's act
very much.
In his view, it was meaningless to create such wounds on dead bodies unless
the murderer wanted to hide some clues in the corpses.
He got off his horse to carefully examine the bodies. He found a sharp piece
of stone inside the stomach of a corpse. He was pretty sure that the murderer
must have used this thing to cut the dead bandits' chests and stomachs, but he
could not figure out what the murder tried to hide. After all, there were many
kinds of kung fu in this world, which he had never seen.
The spearhead group left a mark in this camp to inform the team behind them
that they had come to this place. After that, they continued to gallop forward.
Gu Shenwei had no idea how the murderer had killed the bandits, but he
knew for sure that they did not die very long ago. That meant, now they were
not very far away from their enemies.
On the second night of the spearhead group's journey, they saw a campfire
again.
Gu Shenwei ordered the five machetemen to hide in the thick grass nearby
with all their horses. He took the three brown-belt assassins to check the
situation.
He discovered that even Liuhua was more reliable than Meng Mingshi's
machetemen. He would instead ask them to hide and wait than assign them
an important task.
The four brown-belt assassins made a detour around the camp to make sure
that there was nobody else hiding around it. After that, they moved toward
the campfire slowly, and then they stopped and disappeared in the grass about
20 steps away from the fire.
Gu Shenwei was disappointed since the people in the camp were apparently
not the unknown enemies they were searching for.
Eight shabbily clothed men were sitting around the campfire quietly with
their heads down. They all leaned their upper bodies against their unsheathed
machetes. Every now and then, one of them would throw a piece of wood to
the fire. They looked tired and dejected, like a group of hopeless ghosts.
Apparently, they were a group of poor and hungry roving bandits, who could
only eat chunks of meat and drink bowls of wine in their dreams.
Gu Shenwei guessed that they might have already surpassed their enemies.
He prayed that the unknown enemies would not take this chance to attack the
team behind them.
On second thought, he reckoned that the enemies who had carried out a series
of carefully-planned assassinations probably would not attack the team so
hastily.
Gu Shenwei began to assign tasks to the brown-belt assassins, which was an

easy job. They had received the same training and could quickly understand
Slave Huan's orders.
Gu Shenwei sent Liuhua to deliver his orders to the machetemen.
Soon the eight roving bandits were wakened up by the galloping horses. They
hurriedly rushed to the road with machetes in their hands, wanting to rob the
travelers. However, they could not stop the horses at all. Nine horses sped
past them and nearly knocked one of them down.
The eight men vented their anger and frustration by shouting and brandishing
their machetes for a while, and then they returned to sit around the campfire
again. They angrily chatted for a moment and then fell silent. As time went
by, they fell asleep one by one with nobody keeping watch at night.
According to Gu Shenwei's plan, the five machetemen would keep galloping

forward for some time and then return to join the brown-belt assassins before
dawn. He intended to confuse the unknown enemies by doing so.
As for the eight roving bandits, he just planned to use them as a decoy to lure
the enemies out.
He had a strong feeling that there were perhaps only two to three people
slaughtering the roving bandits along the way.
All the brown-belt assassins waited in their positions patiently. They saw the
crescent moon gradually rise up high in the sky and then slowly set in the
west. They knew that the night was about to be over. At this moment, the
campfire was about to go out, and all the bandits were sound asleep. They
could hear nothing except the bandits' snorting noise and the cries of insects
and frogs.
Just before dawn, they finally saw the unknown enemy they were waiting for.
It looked like a dark shadow. They saw it jump up and down all the way to
the camp, making absolutely no noise, like a big black bird looking for food
in the grass.
If this black bird had not moved directly toward the bandits, the teenagers
would have never paid particular attention to it.
The blackbird jumped around the bandits to check and then quickly decided
to launch an attack. Its weapon seemed to be a dagger. Every time, the
weapon touched a bandit, he would immediately stop snorting.
This looked more like a devil's life-sucking trick than a regular dagger skill.
Nevertheless, the teenagers were still determined to catch the blackbird alive
even if it was indeed a monster.
When the blackbird killed all the bandits and was about to cut their chests
and stomachs open, Liuhua shot out an arrow from the dense grass.
The blackbird swiftly turned around and used its wide sleeves to catch the
arrow.
Before the blackbird realized what had happened, another arrow was flying
toward it.
Liuhua the Silencer was the fastest bowman among all the Dragon Year
apprentices.
The second arrow he shot nearly hit the blackbird. It was furious and began to
jump toward the place where Liuhua hid. This time it jumped side to side to
confuse the bowman, which made it look like a clumsy bird.
Liuhua kept shooting, but none of his arrows could hit the blackbird now.
When the blackbird was only ten steps away from Liuhua, Wildhorse
suddenly leaped out of the thick grass, striking his saber at the back of the
blackbird.
They exchanged only a few moves, and then the blackbird suddenly fell into
the grass. Wildhorse immediately jumped on it. Seeing that, Gu Shenwei
came out from the other side of the camp. He knew that Snowcamel who had
been hiding in the dark had already successfully knocked the blackbird down.
In this action, Liuhua, Wildhorse, and Snowcamel were in charge of catching

the mysterious murderer alive, and Gu Shenwei was responsible for killing
all the murderer's followers. However, since the murder came here alone, Gu
Shenwei had nothing to do during this fight.
When he ran to the three brown-belt assassins, he saw that the blackbird was
already tied up with ropes, but it still kept struggling. Wildhorse was holding
his saber shaft tightly, with a murderous look on his face. He saw some blood
on Wildhorse's shoulder and realized that he was wounded by the blackbird
during the fight.
As the day began to dawn, they could see the blackbird clearly now. It was
lying face down, with its hands tied behind its back. The brown-belt assassins
discovered that there was a steel needle fixed on each of its fingers and came
to realize that these things were its weapons.
They surrounded the blackbird. Gu Shenwei drew out his dagger and knelt on
the ground to turn it over. He took off its hood and was surprised to find out
that it was a woman.
She was around 40 and looked crazy and evil. Her lips were so red as if she
had just drunk some blood. She opened her mouth, revealing her white teeth.
No matter it was a monster or a woman, for killers, a captive was just a

captive.
Gu Shenwei had been tortured in Heart Cleansing Yard before. He was well
aware that fear could make a person tell the truth. He knew that now he had
to abuse this woman a little to make her confess.
He turned her around and used his dagger to chop off her thumbs.
The woman buried her head in the soil, wailing.
When he turned her around again, her face was pale and dirty, and her lips
were not so red as before.
With the dagger in one hand and the woman's thumbs in the other hand, Gu
Shenwei said, "I've enough time to torture you. I can make you live and
suffer until our team behind catches up with us."
The woman's face was distorted by pain, but she did not look panicked at all.
She seemed even more crazier and had a threatening look in her eyes. She
scanned the teenager up and down for a while and said, "Kill me now. I won't
tell you anything. We don't want your goods, We just want the person."
Her voice was hoarse. She sounded as if she had not opened her mouth to
speak to anyone for a long time.
"Who do you want?"

"Kill me now. You can only outlive me by several days. You'll die very soon,
so will all the people in Golden Roc Fort. You're doomed since we're back.
We'll take our things back."
The woman seemed so possessed. She laughed wildly as if the things she
wanted were right in front of her now.
Gu Shenwei realized that the crazy woman was not afraid of torture. He was
pretty sure that he would not be able to get any valuable information out of
her.
He held his dagger against her chest and looked into her eyes for the last
time, hoping to capture a sign of weakness or hesitation.
However, this woman remained firm and unshakable all the time. A moment
later, he thrust the dagger into her heart.
Chapter 112 - A Counselor
Chapter 112: A Counselor
As this time the murderer did not have time to cut the eight bandits' chests
and stomachs open after killing them, the brown-belt assassins finally got a
chance to determine the real cause of the bandits' death. They discovered a
long and narrow wound inside every dead body, which started from the throat
and ended in the lower abdomen.
After checking the dead bodies, Gu Shenwei sent Snowcamel away on sentry
duty. He and the other two teenagers stood beside the extinguished campfire
together, waiting for the machetemen to come back.
The machetemen were late, which made Gu Shenwei feel anxious. "The
machetemen probably have already run away or gotten killed by that crazy
woman's partners. That woman doesn't look like an ordinary bandit at all.
She's so possessed with something and clearly against Golden Roc Fort.
Given that, these unknown enemies probably came here for Shangguan Ru."
He felt very frustrated. All this time, he had been longing to join the fort's
enemies to have his revenge on the fort, but now when he finally met them,
he had no choice but to act against them.
He wondered if he should give up his own plan and went to join them now.
On second thought, he decided not to do so, since he believed that no one was
trustworthy except himself. His revenge plan had just begun, and he was
determined to continue it.
After restoring his confidence, he tightly held his saber shaft and considered
how to defeat the unknown enemies. "That crazy woman is good at kung fu,
but I'm able to kill her with one strike. The unknown enemies have never
seen anyone of us fighting. They don't know what we can do. That's a good
thing for us."
Wildhorse and Liuhua stood beside their chief, one on the chief's left side and
the other on his right side. They reminded silent all the time. Wildhorse was
unable to speak. Liuhua did not like to talk. Both of them were quite
displeased with the fact that Slave Huan was their chief now.
Gu Shenwei turned his head to look at them, guessing what they were
thinking now. "After traveling for days, we finally caught a captive.
However, I killed her before getting any valuable information out of her.
They must disapprove of my performance very much."
"Let's take a rest for now. The enemies aren't very far away from us. I plan to
launch a pre-emptive attack on them."
With these words, Gu Shenwei kicked two corpses away to sit on a rock
beneath them. Shortly after he took a seat, he stood up abruptly and drew out
his saber.
He found another person beside the rock, who was still alive.
That person had somehow rolled himself into a ball and hidden under the two
dead bodies' legs. He was dressed in a color which was similar to that of the
rock beside him and camouflaged himself well. The teenagers thought that all
the people in the camp were already dead and relaxed their vigilance. Given
that, they did not hear this man's breathing sound when they were standing
near him.
When they took a closer look at the man, they found out that he looked like a
scholar even though now he was even dirtier than the roving bandits.
The man was thin and dressed in a shabby long robe. He was tightly tied up
with a rope, and now his body was as stiff as the rock beside him. He
appeared scared, and his eyes widened in fear. This unlucky guy had been
caught and brought to this camp by the bandits. Last night, he had seen a
demon-like black bird come to kill the bandits and then he had seen some
fierce teenagers with sabers pop out to catch the bird. He had not slept the
whole time, but he felt as if he had a nightmare which lasted throughout the
night.
Gu Shenwei lifted up his saber, pointing it at the man. The man knew that he
could no longer pretend to be a rock and began to cry for mercy. "Don't kill
me. I'm not a robber."
Gu Shenwei severed his rope and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"
The man tried to get on his feet while shivering. However, he was too weak
to stand up right now. In the end, he failed to straighten his legs and slumped
down on the rock. "My surname is Fang and my last name is Wenshi. This
name stems from the opening sentence of all the Buddhist classics, 'Ru Shi
Wo Wen' (I heard it from Sakyamuni). I just wanted to take a shortcut, but
these brothers caught me on the road and asked me to pay a ransom. Alas,
look at me. I'm just a poor scholar with no money in my pocket. Oh, no, I did
have some money in my pocket at that time. They took it away and still asked
me to pay the ransom. How could I get that much money? That's why I'm in
this camp. I was frightened to death last night seeing the cruel female devil
slaughter them all. Fortunately, I met you, a group of teenage heroes. You
killed the devil and saved my life. I can't thank you enough."
Gu Shenwei was well aware that the man was just trying to flatter them by
calling them 'teenage heroes.' He clearly remembered that this man had not
made a sound or appealed for help when the 'heroes' had come out to fight the
woman. He snorted and sheathed his saber, thinking that it was unnecessary
to be suspicious of such a poor scholar. "You can leave now," he said to the
man.
Fang Wenshi was startled. He could not believe his ears. He looked at the
three "teenage heroes" one by one and suddenly bowed deeply to them. After
that, he turned around and ran away. After only a few steps, he stumbled and
fell to the ground. He quickly staggered up and continued to run. It seemed
that he would get exhausted very soon.
"We should kill him."
Liuhua the Silencer suddenly spoke. Gu Shenwei was surprised to discover

that this thin and small boy had such a deep voice.
"No, let him explore the way for us."
Gu Shenwei replied while looking at Fang Wenshi. He thought that this man
would probably be able to help them lure the unknown enemies out.
When Fang Wenshi distanced himself enough from them, they began to stroll
after him.
After traveling for about 500 meters, Fang Wenshi saw several horses
galloping toward him. He tried to stop one for himself but failed and fell to
the ground again.
A moment later, the horses met the teenagers and stopped. There were only
six horses now, and one of them carried a dead macheteman.
The moment the horse stopped, the dead body flipped over and fell down
from the saddle, revealing an arrow shot into his chest.
Liuhua came to the corpse and knelt beside it. He fingered the arrow shaft
and carefully checked the wound, with a grim face.
Their enemies were not far away.
The four teenagers mounted their horses and gently pulled the reins to ride
slowly behind the scholar.
Just like the other killers, these brown-belt assassins were not good at frontal
attacks. Given that, they planned to find their enemies out and then
assassinate them.
Fang Wenshi ran to the top of a slope and then turned his head to look at the
teenagers behind him. Suddenly, he flopped onto the ground and did not get
up again.
When the teenagers galloped to the man, he raised up his head and asked,
"Are you from Golden Roc Fort?"
He had run only a short distance, but he was sweating profusely now. His
face was as red as blood.
"How do you know?" Gu Shenwei was a little surprised that such a weak and
poor scholar could recognize them.
"You're dressed in black, and there are birds patterns on your shoulders. Your
weapons look different from the ordinary machetes. However, I've never seen
any Golden Roc Fort killer wear a brown belt. Are you a killer apprentice?"
"Why did you stop running?" Gu Shenwei asked without answering the man's
question.
"I can't run any longer. I'm starving and exhausted. Could you lend me a
horse?"
The teenagers had two extra horses. Snowcamel had dragged them here.
"No, Golden Roc Fort never lends things." Gu Shenwei replied assertively,
but in fact, he did not know whether there was such a custom in the fort.
"I see. How about you take me with you? You can introduce me to the
Supreme King. I'll only need two or three sentences to please the lord. I
promise that he'll be delighted to meet me and reward you generously for
taking me to him. When I get a high position in the fort, I'll never forget
you."
What Fang Wenshi said struck the teenagers as ridiculous. If they had never
been strictly trained in the fort, they would have burst into laughter now.
They thought this scholar must have been crazy or shameless since he had
apparently failed to talk himself out of trouble when he had run into the eight
bandits. Despite that, the teenagers still managed to hold back their laughter
and remained silent while hearing the scholar boast about his eloquence.
"How about you tell me two or three sentences now? If you can please me,
I'll send you a horse," Gu Shenwei said.
"No, you won't understand it. Oh, no, no, I mean you won't be interested in
the political situation and the strategies of the states. You teen heroes are
brilliant enough to understand everything, but you're killers who only care
about your killing business, aren't you?"
Gu Shenwei realized that this poor scholar was a counselor, but no matter
what, he just wanted to use him as a bait to lure his enemies out. Now that
this bait refused to cooperate, he had no other choice but to kill him.
Fang Wenshi looked at the shining saber with a bemused expression. He did
not seem to notice the murderous look on the teenager's face at all. The next
moment, he said something, which not only saved his life but also marked the
beginning of the friendship between him and the teenager.
Years later, when Gu Shenwei mentioned this incident to Fang Wenshi, the
counselor could not remember these words anymore and insisted that he had
saved himself with an eloquent speech.
"You kill people with sabers. We, counselors, kill with tactics, and most of
the time, we can kill more people than you do."
Like a bolt of lightning, Zhang Ji's words flashed across Gu Shenwei's mind.
"In the past, the sharpest saber was money, and the best killers were
counselors."
He had given up many of his old beliefs but still firmly believed in Mister
Zhang's teachings. He considered them as guidelines for his revenge
campaign against Golden Roc Fort. In his view, these guidelines were even
more critical than kung fu.
He had never expected that such a shabbily-clothed scholar would have said
something similar to Mister Zhang's teachings and thus started to take the
scholar seriously.
For a moment, he even forgot about the unknown enemies nearby and
focused on imagining the distant future.
Fang Wenshi was still young, probably in his early 20s. Although he looked
dirty and poor, Gu Shenwei again spotted a fearless look on his face after
careful observation. This was the typical look of a counselor, but it would
always make the ordinary people think a counselor as an arrogant twit.
"Give him a horse."
Snowcamel was stunned, but after a moment, he still obeyed the order and
threw the reins of a horse to the scholar.
Fang Wenshi was even more stunned than Snowcamel. Someone was
touched by his words. This kind of thing had seldom happened to him during
the past few years when he had been working as a counselor.
"Are you going to introduce me to the Supreme King?"
"No, I just want you to move faster."
Gu Shenwei had learned his lesson. Compared to the distant future, he cared
more about solving the current problems. He still wanted to use the scholar as
a bait.
Fang Wenshi reluctantly mounted the horse. When he turned his head back,
wanting to say something, Gu Shenwei patted the horse with his saber. The
horse immediately galloped forward with the scholar on its back. After
traveling across a few gentle slopes, they vanished into the horizon.
The four brown-belt assassins trotted their horses forward while carefully
observing everything along their way.
The road was getting increasingly rough. When they saw a high hill in the
front, Fang Wenshi galloped back, his face extremely pale. According to Dan
San, a day after traveling past the high hill, they would be able to meet an
outpost of the Iron Mountain Gang. To the south of the steep hill lay some
low barren hills. To the south of the small hills lay a vast desert.
When the scholar came to Gu Shenwei, he said, "They told us to turn back as
soon as possible and to travel southward with all the other people."
"They?"
"Three ferocious-looking people, just like those bandits," Fang Wenshi said
with stooped shoulders. It seemed that he had not yet fully recovered from
the shock.
Gu Shenwei was a little disappointed by the counselor's cowardly

performance.
The brown-belt assassins galloped forward without any hesitation. Fang

Wenshi trotted his horse in a circle and then reluctantly followed the
teenagers.
After traveling for one or two kilometers, the teenagers stopped on the top of
a slope. They saw three riders in the front blocking the way. The riders wore
felt clothes, revealing one shoulder. Every one of them carried a long
machete on his back and held a longbow in his hand.
Gu Shenwei looked to the south, wondering what the riders intended to do by

driving all these people into the desert.
Chapter 113 - Guests
Chapter 113: Guests
The teenagers stopped at the top of the slope and paused for a while so they
could observe the situation in front of them. After that, they galloped toward
the three riders.
When they were about 100 steps away from the riders, one rider suddenly
shot an arrow into the ground ahead of them to warn them not to approach
anymore.
Gu Shenwei took Liuhua's longbow and shot an arrow into the air.
He had received some training in archery. Although he was not a very good
archer, he could still use an arrow to deliver something to the riders.
He had chopped off four fingers of the woman dressed in a black robe and
carried all those fingers with him. He tied one of the fingers to the arrowhead
and shot it out with the arrow.
A rider raised his hand to catch the arrow. He was shocked when he saw the
finger on it. Affected by his mood, his horse began to neigh and bolt. The
other two horses were also startled. The three riders immediately pulled their
reins, trying to calm down their horses.
Right at this moment, an arrow suddenly flew out from a shrub on their left
side and shot a rider down.
The two remaining riders hurriedly took out their arrows. However, before
they could nock them, they were already hit by arrows and fell off their
horses.
The next moment, Liuhua came out of the shrub and shot an arrow into each
dead rider's mouth. This was the mark he left on everyone that he killed.
Killers only launched attacks from the side or the back of their enemies.
Before the other three teenagers had appeared on the top of the slope to
attract the riders' attention, Liuhua had dismounted from his horse and had
sneaked all the way up to the riders. Although this place did not have any
lush and tall vegetation, the dense grass and bushes still screened his
movements very well.
The three riders had apparently underestimated these teenagers and thus had
forgotten to guard against flanking and rear attacks.
Now, the four brown-belt assassins went to check the three dead bodies.
Unfortunately, they did not find anything which could determine the riders'
identities.
Gu Shenwei started to miss Tie Hanfeng. "That old cripple has extensive
experience. He must have some knowledge of who they are."
Fang Wenshi finally caught up with the brown-belt assassins. He looked at

the teenagers and the dead riders on the ground, nodding vigorously. "That's
awesome. You really impressed me."
"You should keep going forward," Gu Shenwei mounted his horse and said to
the scholar.
"No, you want to use me as bait. I won't go first," Fang Wenshi replied while
shaking his head vigorously.
"You should be glad that you're still useful to us," Gu Shenwei said while
holding his saber shaft.
Fang Wenshi's face suddenly changed. "I'm a very useful person. I'm
excellent at astronomy and geography. I know the political situation in the
Western Region and the tensions between the countries very well. I even
know the local specialties of all the places in this region clearly. I'm an
excellent counselor. It's a waste to use me as bait."
When the scholar was talking on and on, boasting of his talents and expertise,
a troop was rapidly approaching them. It seemed to be a large troop. They
could see the dust rising to the clouds in the distance.
"Counselor, what should we do now?" Gu Shenwei asked sarcastically.
Fang Wenshi did not seem to notice the teenager's ironic tone and replied
seriously, "I've never learned Guiguzi and Sun Zi's military tactics. What I've
learned is the strategies of Su Qin and Zhang Yi. Despite that, I can still give
you a suggestion on the current situation. Look, there are probably nearly a
thousand soldiers coming toward us, but we had only four killers. If we don't
run away as soon as possible, we'll be dead when they start to shoot arrows at
us."
With these words, the scholar turned his horse around and galloped away.
When he arrived at the top of another slope, he stopped and looked back. He
found out that the teenagers did not move at all and felt very confused.
When the troop came near, the teenagers discovered that it was not a large
troop at all. There were only about 30 people in the troop. Their leaders were
five people dressed in black robes just like the woman they had encountered
last night.
"Go south!" A rider galloped ahead of the troop and shouted to the teenagers.
Gu Shenwei was determined to go forward. He refused to turn around or turn

to the south, for he was sure that he would never get what he wanted in the
desert.
He waved to Liuhua.
Liuhua drew his longbow and shot an arrow.
The rider reacted quickly and drew his bow almost at the same time to aim
and shoot. His arrow precisely blocked Liuhua's arrow, but he still fell off his
saddle with a cry.
Liuhua had shot two arrows at a time, but the rider had only succeeded in
blocking one of them.
The troop now realized that these four teenagers were not ordinary travelers,
but they did not attack the boys when they significantly outnumbered them.
Instead, the troop started to retreat in an orderly manner.
The brown-belt assassins followed the troop from a distance. Soon they saw
another troop consisting of about 70 people one or two kilometers ahead of
them. That troop had set some antler railings over there to block the road.
This roadblock was located right between two high hills. If they wanted to
move forward, they had no choice but to break through this block.
Behind the antler railings stood three rows of bowman.
Gu Shenwei led his brown-belt assassins to retreat a few kilometers. When

they stopped, he ordered his assassins to arrange the horses into a circle for
them to sit inside and take turns to have some sleep. He also shared some of
their water and dried food with the horses.
Killers usually launched their attacks at night, so Liuhua, Snowcamel and

Wildhorse all considered it quite normal to have some rest now so they took
turns to sleep. They were waiting for the night to fall.
Gu Shenwei could not sleep. He thought about the woman's words again and
again. "We don't want your goods. We want the person."
"It seems that the unknown enemies don't want to kill all of us. They just
intend to drive us into the desert. That's good. I don't plan to eliminate all of
them either. After all, they're Golden Roc Fort's enemies," Gu Shenwei
thought to himself. Now he only hoped that he could send the gifts to
Bighead Kingpin as soon as possible and then send Shangguan Ru safely
back to Golden Roc Fort. That little girl had never expected that her identity
would have caused so much trouble to the escort team.
At evening, when Wildhorse, Liuhua and Snowcamel were busy preparing

themselves for assassination tasks at night, Gu Shenwei said, "Relax, we
don't need to go out tonight. Let's wait here for the team behind us."
Hearing such a highly unusual decision, all the three teenagers looked at their
chief in disbelief. However, as it was a taboo for killers to act against their
leader, they still chose to accept Slave Huan's decision without saying a
word.
At this moment, the brown-belt assassins suddenly heard the scholar's voice
that came from outside the circle. "Young Heroes, could you please give me
some water? I haven't drunk a drop of water for nearly two days." The next
moment, they saw Fang Wenshi crawl into the circle from under a horse's
belly.
Slave Huan's attitude toward the poor scholar also confused the other three
teenagers.
They saw him give his own water sack to Fang Wenshi and let the scholar
drink a mouthful of water. "Now we've around 100 people and many horses
and camels, but only less than half of our people can fight. How can we
defeat 100 enemies?" Gu Shenwei asked Fang Wenshi.
Fang Wenshi looked left and right, wondering where the teenager's 100
people were. After that, he took another mouthful of water, wiped his mouth
and said, "l have to remind you first that I'm not a military professional. I've
read only a few books on battles."
Gu Shenwei raised his hand to encourage the scholar to continue talking.
"Well then, if you don't mind. Are our enemies well trained soldiers?"
"No, they're just a group of bandits with bows and arrows."
"And we've only 50 people who can barely fight in a battle?"
"Yes, pretty much. Most of them are hired machetemen, but we've about 10
professional killers."
"Killers aren't good at confronting their enemies head-on. Well, if you want
me to, I can still give you a suggestion." Fang Wenshi drank another
mouthful of water and patted his stomach before asking, "Do you still have
some dried food?"
Gu Shenwei gave all the remaining dried food to the scholar. Fang Wenshi
quickly gobbled all of it. His mouth was so full that he had to take quite a lot
of water to swallow the food down. After that, he breathed out a sigh of relief
and said, "Here's my suggestion. Let the machetemen lead the charge on the
battlefield to attract the enemies' arrows, and you killers charge right behind
them to protect yourselves. Only in this way can you get close enough to your
enemies to kill them. This method may work, but I'm not sure. I really don't
know much about battle tactics. When you grow up, oh, no, I mean when you
become strong enough to annex countries and contend for hegemony, you
can come to me and ask for my advice."
Fang Wenshi believed that a killer apprentice would never get a chance to
hire a counselor like him in the future. Given that, after he had drunk enough
water and eaten half full, he began to lose patience as he talked to the
teenager.
Despite that, Gu Shenwei was still deeply inspired by the scholar. He thought
of a plan, but he was clear that their top priority now was to survive this
night.
"Let's get ready. We'll have some guests tonight."
Gu Shenwei had discovered that most people in the enemies' troop were
ordinary roving bandits and only the people in black robes seemed to be good
at kung fu. He believed that these black-robed people were also killers who
liked to launch late-night attacks on their enemies. He decided to wait for
them to appear.
It was getting dark, but Gu Shenwei did not make a fire for the night. He sat
beside Fang Wenshi under the starry sky. At his feet lay three things wrapped
in cloths. When seen from a distance, it looked like three sleeping people.
Fang Wenshi tightly held his own right arm, trying to stop it from trembling.
He had asked the teenager to let him leave, but the teenager turned down his
request. He began to complain in his heart, "This is the worst trip in my
whole life. I failed to meet any big shots who I hoped to talk with and kept
wasting my time on a bunch of bandits or killers, who'll never give a da*n
about my expertise."
"Are you going to protect me?" he asked the teenager.
"I'm going to kill them, so they won't get a chance to kill you."
Fang Wenshi was stunned. What the teenager said did not sound like a
promise to him at all. After a while, he forced a laugh to end the conversation
and felt that his right arm was trembling even more violently.
"You said that you know the political situation in the Western Region. How
about you tell it to me now."
Fang Wenshi was stunned again. After a moment, he began to talk, not for
the killer apprentice but for the fact that talking could help himself relax.
"The 36 countries in the Western Region have enjoyed peace for a long time,
which makes them drop their guard and neglect the political tensions between
the great powers. Thirty years ago, when the Central Plain and Norland were
at war and didn't have time to manage the Western Region, this region went
through a quite long warring period. During this period, Shu-lik and Golden
Roc Fort rapidly rose to power. When the Central Plain and Norland made
peace and got involved in the political affairs of the Western Region again,
Shu-lik had already gained a firm foothold in the region. That's how today's
tripolar situation came into being. In this stable tripolar world, the 36
countries choose to depend on different great powers to ensure their own
safety and thus coexist peacefully with one another. However, now the three
biggest countries are dissatisfied with the current situation. They all demand
more. At the same time, new powers such as Golden Roc Fort and Iron
Mountain are getting increasingly strong and ambitious. Now, the situation is
very complicated. Once, one of them stirs up political tensions…"
Suddenly, Gu Shenwei could not hear Fang Wenshi's voice clearly. He felt a
strange heavy feeling in his stomach. This feeling, which was mixed with his
tension and excitement, seemed to slow down his heartbeat and cool his
blood.
At this moment, he really hoped that he could have a good sword at hand.
Fang Wenshi talked on and on, as if he was sitting with a king in the Western
Region, who had 100,000 soldiers and just needed a counselor to tell him
how to survive the turmoil in the future. He was so absorbed in talking that
he did not notice the impending danger at all.
Suddenly, he felt that a gust of wind blew over his head. He stretched out his
hand to touch his head and felt even more confused, since he discovered that
his hat was gone and some of his hair fell off. Right at this moment, he saw
the horse in front of him somehow split into two parts. A huge amount of
blood gushed out of it and rained on him.
He was frightened to death and sincerely hoped that he could pass out at this
moment. However, he was perfectly sober and saw everything clearly.
The fight between the brown-belt assassins and their "guests" ended quickly.
During this fight, two people died and another two were wounded. The
teenagers lost one of their horses, and the other five horses had already fled in
fear.
Gu Shenwei did not get a chance to fight again, which made him feel very
uneasy. The Qi inside his Xuanji acupoint became hot and started to swell.
He felt as if his blood was boiling now. He knew that another qigong
deviation attack was coming soon.
Chapter 114 - Blockade
Chapter 114: Blockade
Gu Shenwei suddenly sat up and drew out his saber. But there were not any
enemies in front of him.
One night had passed and the morning sunshine cast on the two bodies in the
black robes. Their hoods had been removed. He identified that they were
women. One had been shot by an arrow in her mouth, with her eyes still open
wide. The other was hit by a saber on her left and the scarlet blood flooded
everywhere.
Wildhorse and Snowcamel were wounded on their chests. But someone had
helped them bandage the wounds. Standing in front of Slave Huan, they were
staring at him coldly. Well, Liuhua did not get injured and stood at a distance
with his back toward others. He was holding the longbow, while keeping
watch.
On the other side, Fang Wenshi squatted with his hand pressing his belly, as
if he was pooping or suffered from stomachache. Upon seeing the young
killer wake up, he squeezed a smile and wondered this killer seemed very
reliable but timider than him.
Gu Shenwei was extremely embarrassed. He unexpectedly fainted at the most

crucial moment.
Gu Shenwei silently put the saber into the scabbard. He damaged his
reputation within the other three killer's hearts, since he had fainted at the
crucial moment. It may cause a lot of troubles in the future. Hence, he had to
prove himself in front of others as soon as possible.
The black-robed assassins did not have better assassination skills than the
brown-belt killers. This was the only useful information for Gu Shenwei.
The team that followed them caught up, as the sun rose up. They had not
been ambushed, but all of them felt very anxious, because they had seen
many dead bodies along the road. Thus, the team sped up day and night and
were not left too far behind.
But the machetemen in the team brought the news that a large group of
bandits, about 200 people, were following them. They might catch up with
the team within one day.
Although Shangguan Ru seemed exhausted, upon hearing there were bandits

following them closely behind and some assassin waiting for them ahead, she
commanded every one should be ready to fight. However, most of them were
too tired to fight against the bandits. She had to gather some core members in
the tent to have a discussion.
Gu Shenwei said that it was better to have a rest. Slave Qing only asked what
to do next, one by one with blank eyes, but did not offer any suggestions.
However, the banner-carrying killer did not say anything. As soon as Meng
Mingshi came in, he firmly ordered that all the machetemen, belonging to the
Meng family, must protect him.
Gu Shenwei first told everyone the information that the killers had gained
over the past two days. At last, he said, "They're hunting for a person within
this team, not for the money."
Upon hearing that, the Fifth Young Master Meng's face became pale. He
pointed at Shangguan Ru and horribly said, "The bandits must want us."
Gu Shenwei shook his head. "The Ninth Master secretly ran out from Golden
Roc Fort, and few people knew about it. Who they want is you, the most
favored master of the Mengs. If they kidnap you, the bandits can blackmail
your family."
Gu Shenwei lied. The person he wanted to protect was Shangguan Ru. If she
safely returned to Golden Roc Fort, the rest of them could be sacrificed. But
the Meng family members perhaps could abandon them and run away
without any hesitation once they knew the truth.
Meng Mingshi became angry. "You must protect me. People in Golden Roc
Fort call themselves the leader of the bandits in Western Region. 'Golden Roc
Flag coming, other bandits running,' why isn't the slogan working now?"
The phrase "leader of the bandits" gave great offense to other people present.
Shangguan Ru held her saber with a poker face and pointed at Meng
Mingshi. "What did you say? We're the leader of bandits? Well, how about
sending you to the bandits and we can share the ransom money."
Meng Mingshi hid behind Slave Qing and did not dare to say anything else.
The banner-carrying killer said, "Of course not, Golden Roc Fort isn't the
head of them. But the whole thing is too strange. It's the first time that so
many people have challenged the authority of the Golden Roc Flag in
public."
"Someone ordered these roving bandits to do so. I think their backer is the
women wearing black robes," Gu Shenwei answered.
The banner-carrying killer meditated for a while. He said, "Black robes,

female assassins, iron steel needles… I've never heard any schools related to
these items. I believe the bandits don't know them, either."
The core members could not figure out their enemies' background, but they
still tried to come up with an escape plan. Gu Shenwei would like to lead
them to break the barrier forcibly. However, the Fifth Young Master Meng
and Slave Qing immediately opposed him. They would rather walk to the
desert than face hundreds of bandits. Especially when hearing Gu Shenwei
hoping that the machetemen of the Mengs charge in front of the team, Meng
Mingshi firmly refused. But Shangguan Ru supported Slave Huan since she
was eager to fight. Then, the girl drew her saber and forced others to agree
with him.
Dao San was called in to introduce the terrain of the mountain that they
would pass. After breaking through Antler Railings, the team would cross the
gradual ascent of 300-meter long and then a steep slope. Later, they would
soon arrive at the foot of the hill on horseback and cross the broad plains. If
they accelerated their speed, within one day, they could enter the area
guarded by Iron Mountain.
Gu Shenwei suggested abandoning the gifts, so that they could move on

faster. But Slave Qing refused, since he had to take the responsibility of the
treasures and did not want to leave them for the bandits.
When they almost settled on their plan, the banner-carrying killer made a
mistake. He suggested that Shangguan Ru, Slave Qing, and the Fifth Young
Master Meng should stay behind the team, rather than lead the rush.
Perhaps the banner-carrying killer had more experience on killing, but he did
not understand the masters who were eager to show their strength, like
Shangguan Ru. Gu Shenwei was going to exaggerate the importance of the
maid, Little Sui, so that Shangguan Ru would willingly follow the team. But
now, the "ignorant" banner-carrying killer made a mistake with good
intentions. Shangguan Ru now insisted to do the same job as the brown-belt
assassins. No one could stop her.
At dusk, the black flag killer explained the breakthrough plan to everyone.
This was the plan: 25 machetemen of the Meng family and the 14 strong
handymen would be first to start the assault. Before arriving at the plains,
they should not stop riding. Additionally, five brown-belt assassins and
Shangguan family's two young masters will follow them to engage the
enemies so the others and the camels carrying the goods behind could pass.
The banner-carrying killer himself with the other two machetemen protected
the Fifth Young Master Meng, Slave Qing, and maid Little Sui.
Dao San and other camel drivers protected the camels.
The handymen also abandoned their belongings and rode horses. Now, they
only had to protect themselves.
They would break through the barrier at 4.00 am. If they delayed the plan,
assassins from behind them would catch up.
Killers were not good at charging, but it would take longer time to
assassinate. If their enemies merged, the several killers could not deal with it.
Gu Shenwei asked the camel driver, who had the responsibility to protect
Shangguan Ru, join killers' team, declaring that the driver was a spy sent by
Golden Roc Fort to help him. To Shangguan Ru's surprise, this everyday
driver was to protect her. On seeing his strange way of holding the saber, she
giggled.
The scene was out of control. The machetemen was hired because they
wanted money, but they did not like to risk their lives. Hence, they were
unwilling to charge. At last, the Fifth Young Master Meng personally told
them that he would double their salary, so they stayed.
The handymen fought with cries across the battlefield, seemingly fighting
like wild animals.
Gu Shenwei hoped that this plan could be kept a little more quiet, but failed.
Fang Wenshi thought them to be a "mob," which he was right.
Fang Wenshi led the horse that Gu Shenwei gave him and walked through the
crowd. He looked at Gu Shenwei with high expectation. "My dear hero, how
about appointing a macheteman to protect me? Eh? Anyone. I'll give you
some good advice. You should also protect the counselor, right?"
"Just follow me," said Gu Shenwei. He still wanted to ask Fang Wenshi
something, but he did not. "I kill them, so they won't kill you."
Fang Wenshi forced a fake smile. He had heard the same words once, but the
young man fainted at that time. Therefore, he did not believe Gu Shenwei.
However, he still decided to follow him, because he thought his companions
were all masters.
Gu Shenwei finally found a chance to talk with Maid Lotus privately, before
they made the breakthrough. After his qigong deviation broke out last night,
he understood something. He told Maid Lotus, "Do not repress your killing
desires. Once drawing out the saber, you must kill someone. Otherwise, you
could faint."
Maid Lotus understood the meaning of "faint". She said, "Recently, I also
don't feel very well these days. Looks like I can't keep up this concealed
tonight."
Gu Shenwei nodded in agreement. It would be a melee tonight, so they did

not worry about exposing the sword movements. But it was a little pity
because they threw the two sabers, which were horned by themselves and
more like a sword after killer Liu Xuan noticed that. Now, they only had the
regular sabers, which was powerless. Since the anonymous swordcraft taught
them to kill people within one movement, they would be in danger, if they
did not succeed. Even a powerless saber could affect the results between of
life and death.
The plan was perfect, but the team members carried it out poorly. As soon as
the charge started, seven or eight of the Meng family's machetemen
abandoned their positions and ray away, riding off to the desert and were not
aware that there was a bigger trap waiting for them.
Half of the rest of the machetemen had either been killed or wounded.
Tragically, those who had broken through were trapped in the enemies' camp
and could not get rid of them. The situation became favorable to the team
until the assassins from behind caught up.
Gu Shenwei had already commanded, so the eight killers were focusing on

attacking the dark robe women. Other enemies were roving bandits, so they
prepared to run away, after seeing what was happening.
No one could help each other at night. They only cared about killing their
own enemies. Hence, Gu Shenwei could unleash his killing intent. In front of
him, enemies were just the black figures, and he could find where their necks
were accurately, which even surprised himself.
Gu Shenwei did not know how many people he had killed, until someone
urged him to leave. Then, he found a horse in enemies' camp and rushed to
the hill.
There were very few people nearby. Gu Shenwei now started to worry if they
had a significant loss. If Shangguan Ru died in the enemies' camp, he had to
drop his saber to give up fighting and may even join the team of dark robe
woman.
Before he arrived at the hilltop, Gu Shenwei's heart sank, because he saw the
red light flashing in the distance. A lot of people gathered at the top, and he
could clearly hear the Fifth Young Master Meng crying.
The enemies had made a complete and thorough plan.
At the foot of the hill, roaring fire was still ablaze blocking their exit, while
enemies behind them were gathering together and blocking the entrance.
The first thing Gu Shenwei did was to search for Shangguan Ru. After
assuring she was okay, he did a quick head count and found they really did
suffer a significant loss. They only had less than ten machetemen and few
handymen. Slave Qing and Meng Mingshi were not harmed, but they were
utterly frightened to the point that they were plopped to the ground and
unable to stand up.
Dao San miraculously drove ten camels to the top of the hill by himself.
Fang Wenshi was also very smart. He did not follow "the young hero", Gu
Shenwei, to kill people, but ran to the hilltop quickly and was comforting the
terrified maid Little Sui.
Very few of Meng Mingshi's machetemen were left, and his attitude changed
fast. Pulling Slave Huan's arm, he cried out, "You need to protect me."
If there were more enemies on the other side of the fire, Gu Shenwei would
not know what to do next. Although he had experienced a lot of life-and-
death crises, he had ever been so passive. Now, there was no other choice but
to charge forward.
Gu Shenwei ordered Dao San to open one of the wooden boxes, which
contained a lot of excellent weapons that were gifts for Bighead Kingpin. He
was preparing to face the enemies' assault.
Chapter 115 - The Pouring Golds
Chapter 115: The Pouring Golds
A three-story soil-built pagoda was on the top of the hill. The soldiers, who
were previously stationed here to guard the mountain pass, were now gone.
Gu Shenwei hid the women and elders who could not use kung fu inside the
tower. The rest of the crew, about 30 men, picked up their bows and arrows,
and prepared for a defensive battle.
There were plenty of gorgeously decorated weapons that were gifted to

"Bighead Kingpin". Even the arrows were decorated with gold. The
machetemen caressed the gilded arrows in their hands, and they were
reluctant to shoot them.
There were also innumerable sabers and swords. Gu Shenwei tried serval
swords, but none of them were easy to wield. Now he seemed to understand
why Zhang Ji used to say that "There were no ordinary swords." These
jewels-inlaid pieces of steel should be decorations on the wall, instead of
being used to slay enemies. They were not swords at all.
The crew held their golden longbows, nervously watching over the enemies
downhill.
Unexpectedly, the enemy stayed put until dawn. On the contrary, they were
cleaning the battlefield. They tore apart the antler railings, and moved the
fortifications to the north side of the mountain pass, clearing a path for the
uphill people to "invite" them to escape southwards.
The fire on the other exit had been put out. More than 200 bandits showed up.
Gu Shenwei intended to launch another breakthrough before dawn. However,

under the terror of the first breakthrough, Slave Qing, Meng Mingshi and the
others vehemently disagreed. Plus the weakened strength of the crew, they
just wanted to rest in this soil-made pagoda for a moment of peace.
Gu Shenwei was agitated. The longer they stayed here, the more dangerous
the situation became. Upon seeing his enemies steadily growing in number,
he even wanted to order the killers who were escorting Shangguan Ru to
escape and to leave behind the other irrelevant members.
It turned out Gu Shenwei did not have to make this reluctant choice because
Dao San had volunteered to break through the enemy's camps, so that they
could ask for reinforcements from Iron Mountain. Other than this, he only
requested for some wine to warm up.
There were wine sacs carried by the surviving machetemen. Dao San took
one, readily poured wine into his mouth, and then cried out, "It's my turn,"
while falling backward to the ground. The crew was scared and they looked
at each other. After a while, someone commented, "He's drunk."
Gu Shenwei was so incensed that he nearly killed Dao San. He now

understood the meaning of Jiang Chenghai's nickname, which was "drunk
after three cups of wine".
However quickly Dao San had gotten drunk, he became sober shortly
afterwards. In less than half an hour, he agilely got up like nothing had
happened, found a suit of silver armor, put it on, picked up a vast circular
shield, and said farewell to the crowd. "Give me three days. When Iron
Mountain's army arrives, it will be the time for those little thieves to flee."
More than 30 men fired arrows downhill to harass the enemies. It worked.
The enemies were starting to collect the gilded arrows when Dao San charged
on a horse with a loud roar.
Dozens of eyes were watching him. He broke into enemy's camp valiantly
like a hero, but then he was surrounded. Finally, after serval roars, it quieted
down.
This was a showdown with all weapons in sight, not an assassination. Killers
were helpless in such a situation.
When the sky became much brighter, dozens of bandits downhill shouted in
unison. "Only those from Golden Roc Fort are wanted, the others can get lost,
now."
After having repeatedly shouted for a dozen times, all the people uphill had
now clearly heard these words.
In the meantime, Meng Mingshi poked his head out of the pagoda, and
listened. Upon hearing the truth, he leaped to Slave Huan, clutched the front
clothes, and in a fury he said, "You lied, you f*cking lied to me. It's you
Golden Roc Fort people that messed up. We have nothing to do with this."
Gu Shenwei pushed Fifth Young Master Meng away, in calmness he said,

"This is their scheme of sowing dissent among us. When you go down there,
they will kill you all."
Meng Mingshi paused to consider, and hesitated.
When it rains, it pours. Around 30 men arrived at the gentle slope on the
other side of the mountain. They were not bandits, but the captives who fell
to the enemy during yesterday's breakthrough. Some of them were
machetemen of the Meng family.
Meng Mingshi made up his mind, raised his hand up high, and yelled. "I give
in. Members of the Meng family, follow me. We don't have to die with those
Golden Roc Fort people."
It never came to Gu Shenwei that there would be such a moronic person in

the world. He warned, "Don't fall into their trap. You will all get killed down
there."
The Meng family's people did not trust Slave Huan anymore. Machetemen
dropped their longbow, and handymen walked out of the pagoda, approached
their little master and said something in support of the decision to surrender.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi took out their sabers, accusing the
Meng family of betrayal.
Gu Shenwei knew he could not convince Meng Mingshi. Hence he

summoned the banner-carrying killer.
The banner-carrying killer muttered for a while, and then he surprisingly did
not support Slave Huan. "I'm from Golden Roc Fort, I will stay. The others
will decide for themselves."
Gu Shenwei was astonished. He thought that killers in Golden Roc Fort were
all as good as Tie Hanfeng, who could always see through the enemy's plots.
However, he now had realized that, among killers, there were excellent and
poor insightfulness, just like the range of proficiency in machete skills.
Gu Shenwei barred the two Shangguan masters' sabers, and said to the
traitors, "You can leave. But remember this, they will kill you all. This isn't
an ordinary robbery, and those bandits won't leave survivors."
Who cared about the words of a 16-year-old juvenile killer? The Meng
family's people followed their little master down the gentle slope. Slave Qing
watched them in tears, regretting that he had not turned to other families
earlier.
There was only one Meng family member who stayed. Fang Wenshi
followed the surrendering group for a few steps, but then turned around,
shook his head and sighed. Nobody knew what was in his mind.
There were 15 men left on the hilltop, and more than 30 horses and camels.
A voice came from the camp downhill. "It's her, the shorty dressed in men's
clothing, Shangguan Ru of the Shangguan family. And those five youngsters
are apprentices. They are the ones you want."
It was Meng Mingshi, pointing to the crowd on the hilltop and yelling. Not
only had he surrendered, but also wanted to win some merit.
Shangguan Yushi turned livid. She shot a gilded arrow, which was caught in
front of the Fifth Young Master Meng, by the hand of a woman in a dark
robe.
"F*cking traitor!" Shangguan Ru yelled in rage.
The women in dark robe spoke in a voice that sounded like the screeching of
metal pieces being scraped against each other, which was so harsh that
everyone on hilltop heard it loud and clear. "Go south. People from Golden
Roc Fort, go south. Or, go to hell by sunset."
Slave Qing sat on the ground, and muttered, "Why go south? Why go south?"
The banner-carrying killer sighed, and said, "Seems like we will have to go
south and see what we can do."
Gu Shenwei shook his head, and said, "No, we're not heading south. Get
ready my friends, we have to break through them before sunset."
"With these people? There's hundreds of them down there." The banner-
carrying killer could not believe what the young leader just said.
Gu Shenwei did not know what was right. It was his intuition that told him
that breaking through was the only right option.
"Bandits love treasures. Throw them away. And when the enemies were
fighting for them, we will break through."
"What if we fail?" Slave Qing was shivering as he asked. He did not even
care about those treasures now.
"Then you will die here," Gu Shenwei answered. He did not understand why
they could not figure out such a simple thing.
He didn't want to die, he wanted vengeance. However, the killer training had
unconsciously reformed his thinking. He saw death as an ordinary and
random affair. And by practicing through the Nameless Swordbook, this
thought was pushed to the extreme.
Slave Qing was struck with panic, for he was not a killer.
Maid Little Sui, who had not said much on the trip, came up with an idea. "I
was given to 'Bighead Kingpin', does this mean that I'm not a Golden Roc
Fort's people?"
The crowd turned their head around to look at her. For the first time, Little
Sui demonstrated her bravery and firmness, meeting dozens of eyes without
fear. She was getting more and more convinced that it made sense. Although
she was not yet in Bighead Kingpin's place, she was an Iron Mountain's
people the moment she went out of Golden Roc Fort. Besides, these killers
only cared for the Tenth Young Master, and none of them would care about
protecting a maid.
Gu Shenwei had no intention of keeping Little Sui. It was even better to lose
a burden. All he wanted was to keep Shangguan Ru alive so that he could
stand a chance of killing the Tenth Young Master.
However, those bandits downhill had made their move before Gu Shenwei
could make his reply.
One after another, the heads of the Meng family's people were thrown to the
hilltop. They rolled around on the ground.
The enemy was making a demonstration in Golden Roc Fort's fashion.
The face of Little Sui turned from pale to flush with red, and back from
flushed to pale. She could not help it as she gasped with fear, and collapsed
into Fang Wenshi's arms.
"Good point, little hero. Breaking through in the chaos created by golds and
silvers, bravo." Fang Wenshi looked over the steep slope, held Little Sui
tightly, and was not interested in the heads scattered on the ground.
Gu Shenwei checked every head, and said, "Fifth Young Master Meng is
alive."
"What a shame." Shangguan Ru sounded calm, perhaps too calm to hide her
panic.
Gu Shenwei used to think that the Shangguan family trained their children in
an advanced and stricter method. Now it seemed he had overrated them.
This day passed extremely slowly. More and more roving bandits gathered on
both sides of the mountain pass. The dark robed woman had either slain the
bandits nearby, or forced them here to besiege the people from Golden Roc
Fort.
The group of 15 was preparing stealthily. Slave Qing and the other three
handymen armored up, and kept asking for blessings from Buddha. Little Sui
had not talked about her "identity" anymore. The armor was too weighty for
her to put on, so Fang Wenshi volunteered to help. He mounted on the horse
after getting armored, and Little Sui sat behind him with a shield on her back.
The killers though, were lightly armed, and only took round shields, which
would be dumped after reaching the enemy's camps.
At high noon, they launched the breakthrough.
Gu Shenwei had made countless decisions in his life. This was definitely not
the best one, but it did work.
Numerous golds, silvers, and jewels rolled downhill, and coins were pouring
down like rain. The moment those bandits saw this dream-like scene, they
immediately dropped their bows and arrows and scrambled toward it like
maniacs.
More than 20 dark robed women yelled to berate them, but these frenzied
men were unstoppable.
There were always two sides of a coin. Although the bandits gave up their
defenses, they also congested the narrow mountain passage.
The stormtroopers hit the wall of people, and the killers dismounted and
stepped onto the backs of the enemies. Several armored men fell into the
crowd, and the bandits started to snatch their golden helmets and silver
armors.
The dark robed women brought out their shiny steel needles onto their
fingertips, and started to chase after their prey.
Gu Shenwei had told the five brown-belt assassins that their life was
dependent not only on their sabers, but also on the safety of the Tenth Young
Master. However, things quickly went out of control, and they were too
focused on killing enemies and couldn't spare any effort to protect someone
else.
Even Gu Shenwei himself had lost sight of his protection target. His last
glimpse of Shangguan Ru was the camel driver leaping over Shangguan Ru's
head as he adeptly chopped off a dark robed woman's head.
Chapter 116 - The Reinforcements
Chapter 116: The Reinforcements
Gu Shenwei did not like being in the middle of a chaotic bloodbath. When he
was in the street fight against the assassins of Meng Mingshi in South City,
he had not felt confident in his strength.
Although he had escaped from the encirclement, he decided to make up for

this weakness in the future.
Only four managed to break through. Slave Huan, Maid Lotus, Wildhorse,
and Liuhua. All of them were wounded.
They looked back and saw the camel driver was still jumping around, and
every jump would kill one enemy. Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi must
be behind him, being surrounded by those bandits who were not able to
snatch the treasures.
Gu Shenwei charged back toward the enemies, cutting open an escape route,
and rescued the two masters.
The two masters were both bathed in blood. It appeared that they had been on
a total killing spree because their eyes looked glassy yet frenzied. If it were
not for the brown-belt assassins that pushed them, they would almost forget
to run forward.
After that, the seven that survived rushed forth at full speed. Since the
treasure snatching frenzy was about to end, those bandits will be chasing after
them soon.
The wide prairie became a nightmare that kept haunting them.

They had run about 1500 meters when the bandits gradually caught up with
them. Liuhua drew the bow, turned around and shot the leading enemy,
which slowed down the pursuit temporarily. Be that as it may, he only had
less than 10 arrows, which could not buy much more time.
More than 10 dark robed women branched out into two columns, ready to
outflank the escapees.
The camel driver suddenly sped up, changed direction toward a dark robed
woman, jumped onto her horse's back and slew her. After dumping the
corpse, he rode back to the team, picked up Shangguan Ru, and continued
accelerating without a word.
Shangguan Ru was unprepared, and harshly shouted, "Let go of me!" While

she struggled, she fell off the horse. After several rolls on the ground, she ran
back to those young killers, and said, "I'm with you."
The brown-belt assassins were touched by her comraderie, but also thought
her stupid because they had a bigger chance to survive without her. However,
none dared to say this. Shangguan Yushi said, "You little dummy, get on the
horse and run, now. They want you, not us."
Shangguan Ru kept her mouth shut, clenched her saber, and followed
Shangguan Yushi closely. Her pupil stretched wider. Gu Shenwei was so
familiar with her countenance that he knew it meant that she would not
change her mind.
The best chance to escape was gone. The dark robed women had already
ridden ahead of them. All they needed to do was to stall them for a little
while so that a throng of bandits behind would catch up and surround the
seven escapees. By then, even a killer with the best kung fu could not escape.
Several teenagers had the same thought as they simultaneously used Qing
Gong and flew toward the dark robed woman. Due to Gu Shenwei's weak
Qing Gong, he brought up the rear.
The camel driver was already engaging with the other dark robed women. He
leaped from one horse to another, with every strike hitting a target. The dark
robed women leaped around as well, seizing the best opportunity to attack
with their steel needles, which left stripes of wounds on the camel driver.
The youngsters joined the battle, killing enemies and robbing horses, while
the camel driver no longer jumped around as he disappeared among the group
of horses.
Shangguan Ru and the others mounted the horses and continued to escape.
Meanwhile, Gu Shenwei found himself all alone. The enemies only wanted
Shangguan Ru alive, and they did not care about a brown-belt assassin.
Clouds of arrows fell and, although Gu Shenwei blocked a few, he got shot in
his left arm.
"Get on the horse," someone told him.
Gu Shenwei dumped his saber, grasped the person's hand and mounted the
horse.
It was Maid Lotus.
Gu Shenwei pulled out the arrow on his arm. Losing a saber was almost
equivalent to losing an arm.
The wind was roaring in his ears. The remaining dark robed women followed
at the sides like gigantic bats, and the sound of horse hoofs behind was
thundering.
"The six great divisions in the wheel of karma, there's never enough to kill."
The stele in front of Six Kills Temple of Golden Roc Fort came to his mind
for no reason. He then thought about the other saying, "Immortal be those
who kills."
"Gimme the saber." Gu Shenwei yelled. With the wounded left arm holding
Maid Lotus' waist, he grabbed the saber from her with his right hand.
Two dark robed women rode up to them and abruptly jumped up together.
Like two ravens, they threw themselves at the two youngsters on the horse.
Then, the two women suddenly lost control and crashed into each other, and
they fell to the ground, dead.
Nobody saw what had exactly happened at this moment, and it seemed like
the youngster on horseback had not moved at all.
"The swordsmanship! The prototype of machete skills in Golden Roc Fort."

Gu Shenwei said in Maid Lotus' ears. His finding was so important that he
had to tell her immediately.
"What?" Maid Lotus did not understand.
"We were not using the right method of practicing the Nameless
Swordsmanship. The machete skills of Golden Roc Fort was just a
complicated derivative of it. We always knew how to raise the speed, but we
didn't apply the method on swordcraft."
Although Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus did not practice swordcraft in the
same way, their methods had many things in common. Nevertheless, they had
both long been confused about how to swing the sword fast enough to ensure
that it will hit the enemy.
It was just in this moment between life and death that Gu Shenwei came to a
realization. It was not an accident that the Nameless Swordbook had fallen to
the bottom of Reincarnation Cliff. Nameless Swordbook had everything to do
with Golden Roc Fort. And its method of raising speed was a more profound
and effective version of the machete skills of Golden Roc Fort.
The fact that the two smoothly applied swordcraft into machete skills, had
revealed the connections between them. However, pitifully, the two had been
too shallow in their knowledge of kung fu to comprehend this all along.
What had happened just now, was that Gu Shenwei swung twice with a saber,
and killed two enemies. If it were a sword with the correct weight, he would
have swung faster.
Maid Lotus did not spoke until the horse had run more than a hundred steps,
then she loudly said, "Got it."
The two youngsters had just learned one of the most important secrets of the
swordcraft, however it would not help them defeat those pursuing enemies.
To make matters worse, there was another large army ahead.
Banners and pennons were fluttering in the wind. It was an army of hundreds,
and they were deployed in attack formation and they are ready to shoot
arrows.
Several youngsters in the front-line halted, uncertain about what to do.
"Charge forth!" Gu Shenwei yelled. It was the only choice. He had been
insistent on charging forth all this way, leaving no room for him to change his
mind.
Four brown-belt assassins took the lead, following Shangguan Ru and

Shangguan Yushi. If they were just ordinary teens who practiced kung fu,
they would scream in this situation. However, they were a group of reticent
killers, and there was only the sound of rushing hoofs, demonstrating their
uncompromising will.
The interceptors ahead shot the arrows.
Hundreds of arrows flew over them like locusts covering the sky, and
showered on those pursuing bandits.
"Iron Mountain! The banner of Iron Mountain!" Shangguan Yushi shouted,

her voice shaking with excitement.
The youngsters slowed down. Watching over the reinforcements ahead, they
felt lost as if they were dreaming.
Unlike those temporarily summoned gangs of bandits, Iron Mountain Gang

was well-trained in battle. All the more, the Iron Mountain banner was
extremely feared all throughout the Western Region. After two rounds of
arrow rain, all the bandits had fled, leaving dozens of corpses. Even a man 10
times stronger than the dark robed women could not take this.
Teams of Iron Mountain soldiers passed by the youngsters to pursue the

remnants. With successive deafening roars, they charged, flanked, and drove
the remnants, dispersed yet acted in an orderly manner. Gu Shenwei used to
think Iron Mountain was a bandit gang in larger scale, which was inaccurate.
They turned around and beheld the scene. The sunset was glowing blood red,
and only six youngsters out of the hundreds in the crew had made it.
What followed next, bedazzled the youngsters who had just escaped danger,
making them feel as if they suddenly entered into a strange world.
One of the heads of Iron Mountain came to the Tenth Young Master to admit
his guilt, and sent them into the tent. Meantime, messengers were sent to tell
Bighead Kingpin to control the mountain pass ahead, in order to save the
other survivors.
It was the fire lighted by the enemy that had saved them.
Bighead Kingpin had sent hundreds of soldiers on both passages to receive

the gift-giving team from Golden Roc Fort. The outpost of this team, which
was assigned to the shortcut passage, had found the big fire on the mountain
pass and had reported back immediately. However, this head of Iron
Mountain had not thought that it was the gift-giving team which was in
danger, hence he commanded the troops to march on carefully, until finally
coming across the escaping Tenth Young Master.
Gu Shenwei, who had been worrying about his decision of charging forth,
now felt relieved. If they stayed at the mountain pass and the reinforcements
had not arrived, they had to escape into the southern desert.
Nevertheless, he took it as a coincidence that they were saved. He did not

deserve much credit for it.
Good news kept coming. The roving bandits were in fear of Iron Mountain
and Bighead Kingpin. They scattered to escape in spite of their advantage in
numbers, and left more than half of the snatched treasures and captives
behind.
At midnight, the surviving captives came to the camp one after another. Slave
Qing kneeled in front of his little master and burst into tears, while Little Sui
was still in shock and was sent into a tent to rest.
It was hard to tell the countenance of Fang Wenshi. Maybe it was thrill
followed by fear. He drew Gu Shenwei aside, and said, "You're the guests of
Iron Mountain? Why don't you tell me earlier? Truth be told, the last one I
want to see on this trip of mine, was the Master of Iron Mountain. Little hero,
do some favor to recommend me. If I rise to a position of authority, then
you're my savior."
Fang Wenshi had his gleaming eyes again, which was not favored by Gu
Shenwei. He thought that counselors should be like Zhang Ji, who knew
everything about the world yet wanted nothing from it. Gu Shenwei said,
"Let's see, even I may not have a chance to see Bighead Kingpin."
Fang Wenshi took this as a yes, nodded solemnly, and started to walk back
and forth while muttering something, probably rehearsing a speech to
persuade Bighead Kingpin.
Snowcamel, banner-carrying killers, and the camel driver were dead. They
were encircled so deeply, and in the end, they were not as lucky as a bare-
handed handyman.
Iron Mountain commanded his men to pursue to the mountain pass. He dared
not to go too far due to his current lack of numbers. Therefore, they did not
find the Fifth Young Master Meng.
Three days later, Bighead Kingpin arrived at the mountain pass personally,
and set his banner and camps there. He swore to kill all of the roving bandits
throughout the desert, and to take revenge for both the Golden Roc Flag and
Iron Mountain Flag.
Another three days later, thousands of Iron Mountain troops surrounded the
roving bandits in a circumference of 31 miles, killed and injured half of the
bandits, and took more than 200 captives.
Bighead Kingpin had men plant one flag embroidered with golden roc, and
the other with black iron spearhead on the mountain pass. The captives
kneeled beneath these two flags and confessed their sins. After that, they
were beheaded, and their corpses were piled up around the flagsticks, with
layers of heads on top of the pile of corpses.
Bighead Kingpin was busy greeting the Tenth Young Master, and met Gu
Shenwei alone after several days.
Gu Shenwei had already handed over the jade ring of Miss Luo Ningcha to
Bighead Kingpin through someone. To send the secret message to Bighead
Kingpin, and to sow discord between Iron Mountain and the Meng family,
was the primary purpose of this trip.
Chapter 117 - The State of Affairs
Chapter 117: The State of Affairs
A few days later, That "The Tenth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort fought
against thousands of bandits" became the only statement everyone made
about the survivors of the journey.
Since detaching themselves from fame is one of the principles of the killers,
they were willing to be her nameless killers.
In the beginning, Shangguan Ru patiently explained to others that she was not
the main commander. But it only brought her a reputation of "modesty".
Gradually, she only laughed without trying to explain anymore as she had
accepted the whole thing. Being the Tenth Young Master of the Shangguan
family, having led dozens of machetemen and a larger number of handymen
forward throughout an entire day and night, having personally killed
countless enemies, and the blood on her body when she was rescued, all of
this made her deserve the overwhelming praise.
She had never known, and would never know that the camel driver, who
seemed to be an ordinary man, was a top killer arranged by her father. The
man was finally killed by several black-robed women in his line of duty.
After calming down, Slave Qing began to make many friends in Iron
Mountain's bandit camp. He kept telling everyone how perfectly his master
performed in the "assassination" of him, and how brave she was when she
beat back the roving bandits. His words were so vivid and full of excitement
as if he had followed his master in every killing.
As a result, Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi found themselves extremely

popular in the camps. From Bighead Kingpin to ordinary troops, they all
regarded the two girls as heroes and top killers, and the girls loved all these.
They went to parties all the day, drank with vulgar men, and mingled around,
finding it a worthy trip.
On the evening of the slaughter of the roving bandits as the sacrifice for an
offering to their flags, Bighead Kingpin invited all the survivors to a grand
banquet. Even the handymen were also invited to the main camp to enjoy the
feast. When they saw Bighead Kingpin's underlings heavily drinking and
quarreling, they were so amazed.
No matter who they were and how much they could drink, all the brown-belt
assassins had to drink bowl after bowl with the chiefs of Iron Mountain. But
halfway through the banquet, the four assassins were all collapsed in a
drunken stupor. Hence, the fact that those killers were not good at drinking
became a joke in the camp.
However, the two masters were enthusiastic about drinking and did not refuse
the wine. In terms of alcohol tolerance, they seemed to be no weaker than the
bandits of Iron Mountain, and this had redeemed the honor of Golden Roc
Fort. Bighead Kingpin praised them greatly and rather envied the Supreme
King. "If I had one more daughter, I would let her enter the service of the
Tenth Young Master anyway, even if she were to be a maid."
Before Gu Shenwei was completely drunk, he heard Bighead Kingpin

announced that the roving bandits in the desert had dared to attack the Tenth
Young Master of Golden Roc Fort, subjecting Iron Mountain to great
humiliation, thus he would search every patch of sand and send all his men to
slay those loathsome bandits and get revenge for Shangguan Ru.
Being inspired, the chiefs vowed, sprinkled wines, and shouted: revenge,
revenge. They almost turned the camp over.
Early the next morning, Gu Shenwei woke up in dizziness. He felt bad about
the hangover.
An underling brought him a breakfast and a letter.
The letter was from Fang Wenshi. In few lines, it said that Fang Wenshi
appreciated the "hero" for saving his life, and he needed to continue on his
way, blah, blah…
Gu Shenwei almost forgot about the plain scholar and he suddenly thought up
that he still had some questions to ask. After borrowing a horse and finding
out where the scholar had gone, he started his pursuit.
Fang Wenshi had expected that he could get close to Bighead Kingpin and
changing his life from that point onward, but he was quite disappointed. He
did not know kung fu, could not drink much and was not even from Golden
Roc Fort. He could not make himself fit in the camp. Even the underlings
also made fun of him, let alone allow him to meet Bighead Kingpin.
He attended the banquet last night and made it to the main table. As he was
ready to give his spectacular speech in a toast, he stepped on a large piece of
meat, slipped and fell down. He got a bruise on his head, which invited more
laughter.
Fang Wenshi felt disgraced at behaving like a clown. Even worse, as soon as
he stood up, the sub-chiefs immediately pulled him to the wine before he
could speak. The next morning, he woke up to find himself lying on a pile of
filth and surrounded by smelly feet.
Fang Wenshi was so depressed. For the first time in his life, he began to
doubt whether what he had learned with difficulty over the past 10 years was
of any value. Wide as the world was, there was still no stage for him. He
scribbled a letter and had it sent to the "hero". Packing up his stuff, he left the
camp alone. Along the way, he was full of remorse and was even thinking of
committing suicide.
When Gu Shenwei caught up with him, he was drowning in sorrow. Standing

on the road, he uttered a long loud cry in tears and even did not notice the
sound of hoofs behind him.
"Mr. Fang, why did you leave without saying goodbye?"
Fang Wenshi was startled. Turning around, he saw Gu Shenwei. As it would

be a shame for a man to be seen crying, Fang Wenshi wiped his tears away,
clasped his hands and said, "Hero, don't persuade me. I'm not going back to
see Bighead Kingpin anyway. Iron Mountain is full of boorish fellows and
there is no place for a counselor, like me."
"Bighead Kingpin isn't going to see you; he doesn't even know who you are."
Fang Wenshi let out a long sigh and felt he had no strength to even take
another step.
Looking at the man who was rather sad, Gu Shenwei began to doubt whether
his judgment about this man was correct. Killing him seemed to be beneficial
to both sides. "Mr. Fang, I have a present for you. Please take it as your
traveling expenses."
Gu Shenwei took out a small bag of gold and jewelry, which was a gift
awarded to him by Bighead Kingpin.
Fang Wenshi was greatly surprised and studied the boy in front of him with
his eyes. He had seen many people over the years, both famous and
anonymous, but none of them had ever been interested in him. "You… think
I'm talented?"
"Uh, yes… as we've been through a lot together…"
"Ha!" Fang Wenshi grabbed the bag and laughed out loud. "Dad, mom, my
studies were useful after all! This is the first reward for my efforts!"
He laughed and cried, jumping up and down. Until Fang Wenshi felt
exhausted, Gu Shenwei finally said, "Mr. Fang, I came here for two reasons.
One is to give you the gift, the other is to consult with you regarding some
questions."
Fang Wenshi put the bag away and tidied his clothes. "Go ahead, I'll tell you
all I know without any reservation."
"You once said 'Three decades ago, Golden Roc rose up.' What does this
mean?"
Fang Wenshi never thought that the boy would be interested in this. Again,
he looked at the boy up and down. "Are you a killer apprentice from Golden
Roc Fort?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"No wonder. When you were born, Golden Roc Fort had already ruled over
the Western Region and claimed to have been ruling for centuries up till the
reign of the seventh Supreme King. In fact, 30 years ago, Golden Roc Fort
was only one of the killer gangs. The first and second Supreme Kings were
given subsequent recognition, and the third, fourth, and fifth Supreme King
were just nicknames used in Jianghu. But the sixth Supreme King rose up in
troubled times. He got his killers involved in disputes between countries and
he also wiped out the other gangs. In the five or six years after that, Golden
Roc Fort became a new force and one of the most important forces when the
conflicts in the Western Region had settled down."
"So it rose up in only five or six years?"
"Opportunity makes the hero. Had it not been for the opportunity in those
troubled times of the Western Region, Golden Roc Fort might still be a small
gang. By the way, Golden Roc Fort was called Golden Roc Hall in the past.
That Hall had a history of hundreds of years and was taken over by the
Shangguan family 30 years ago."
Gu Shenwei had not ever heard of this from Zhang Ji, who was very
knowledgeable about the history of the Fort. Even as he was reminiscing
about the past while grumbling about the present, Zhang Ji was still loyal to
current Golden Roc Fort and was even more loyal than most of the people.
He did not want to talk about the humble past of Golden Roc Fort, because in
his eyes the Fort had been the king since its birth.
Obviously, such past history would definitely not be recorded in the books
that Gu Shenwei had read.
Gu Shenwei listened carefully to Fang Wenshi while both of them were

sitting on the ground. Fang Wenshi poured out everything he had recited in
the last few days in return for the "present".
Fang Wenshi analyzed the forces in the Western Region. And when it finally
came to Iron Mountain Gang, he said, "The others think Bighead Kingpin a
cruel and thuggish guy, but I believe that he had great foresight. Looking
back over the past few years, there has been no other bandit gang of over a
thousand members except for Iron Mountain. The others were completely
wiped out whereas Bighead Kingpin became stronger and stronger. Small
countries do not dare to provoke him at all. He is very smart, isn't he?"
Not so long ago, Fang Wenshi just said that Iron Mountain was full of
boorish fellows, but now he changed his mind. Gu Shenwei nodded, but he
did not seem to be convinced.
Fang Wenshi spotted Gu Shenwei's disbelief. "Hey, you should believe my

words about Bighead Kingpin." He blurted out. "Let's talk about what's
happening now. The people of Golden Roc Fort were robbed by the roving
bandits. Although the gifts were for him, he could not have started the war to
take revenge for them. But under the excuse of taking revenge, he positioned
his camp at the mountain pass. Iron Mountain has promised the other
countries in the Western Region not to encamp anywhere for more than six
months, but now, for the purpose of vengeance, he can occupy that place as
long as he wants. It is likely that Golden Roc Fort will support him."
Upon hearing this, Gu Shenwei was suddenly realized he was coldly

sweating. He thought he was clever and could take advantage of Bighead
Kingpin with Miss' support. But now, he came to understand that, as they
were able to survive and extend their power in a complex land like the
Western Region, none of those leaders should be underestimated.
Only mutual interests could leverage an alliance. The affection between

father and daughter could not delude a man like Bighead Kingpin.
Gu Shenwei and Fang Wenshi departed in the afternoon. Before Fang

Wenshi left for his hometown, he told the "hero" his address. "Several years
later, when you gather more than 5,000 followers, come to find me and I can
be your counselor."
Gu Shenwei gave Fang Wenshi his horse. He did not know if he would have
a chance to seek help from the counselor in his lifetime.
Fang Wenshi walked forward and after a few steps, he suddenly turned
around and asked, "What's your name, hero?"
"Yang Huan ."
Fang Wenshi nodded and repeated the name several times as he was riding
away. But later on, he totally forgot the name within three days.
Gu Shenwei walked back to the camp, thinking about all the forces that were
related to Golden Roc Fort along the way. He thought maybe someday he
could utilize these forces.
As soon as he arrived at the camp, a sub-chief came and asked him to see
Bighead Kingpin.
Chapter 118 - Threats
Chapter 118: Threats
Bighead Kingpin was sitting on the bed and his enormous body seemed to
have occupied the entire tent. The room was so cramped that Gu Shenwei
almost could not find a foothold.
The giant played with the token from Luo Ningcha for a while before asking,
"Tell me, what does Bighead Kingpin's daughter want?"
"Miss has hard times in the Fort. The relationship between her and Lady
Meng is bumpy. Miss is bullied and she hopes you…" Thinking that the giant
preferred to be called Bighead Kingpin, which was also what he called
himself, Gu Shenwei quickly corrected himself. "Hopes Bighead Kingpin can
support her, frustrating the trade caravans of the Meng family to let them lose
everything and demonstrate the power of the Luo family." Gu Shenwei
kneeled down and spoke out the ideas he had instilled into Miss.
"Ha." Bighead Kingpin laughed. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Is

Slave Huan your name?"
"Yes, Bighead Kingpin. I followed Miss to the Fort."
"Oh, I got it. You're one of the 10 pairs of teenage boys and girls. Very soon
you're going to get the title of the killer. Actually, I heard a lot about you
from the Tenth Young Master. It seems that you've done a lot along the way."
Gu Shenwei was still kneeling on the ground. Thinking of what Fang Wenshi
had told him, he carefully said, "I just did what I should have done."
"Did what you should do. Well, you seem to have done many things that you
should do as a killer apprentice. Tell me, what do you think of her idea?"
Bighead Kingpin showed his majestic manner and Gu Shenwei immediately
felt the pressure as if there was a huge rock hovering over his head. "I'm just
delivering the message from the Miss and dared not change a single word. As
a vulgar slave, I dare not judge the master's intention."
"Bighead Kingpin's daughter is grumpy and disliked by her husband's family.

Since you respect her as your master, you should serve her wholeheartedly
and do your best for her. There is no need to be afraid. Just say it, Bighead
Kingpin wants you to say it."
Gu Shenwei forced himself to calm down and thought hard. "In my opinion,
it would be better for Iron Mountain to ally with the Meng family than start a
lose-lose fight. Freeing the Fifth Young Master Meng from the roving bandit
and escorting him to Jade City will make the Meng family owe Iron
Mountain a lot. Iron Mountain has talents, the Meng family has money, and
the Shangguan family has power. If you three can ally together, the benefit
will flow to each of you. As for Miss, persuade her to set aside her
competitive nature, and win the people in the Fort over so that she can help
Bighead Kingpin in a way. If Bighead Kingpin becomes the great benefactor
of the Meng family, Miss would naturally rise to a higher status."
Upon hearing this, Bighead Kingpin suddenly sat up from the backrest and
stared at the kneeling boy in front of him. "You indeed know what to do, kid.
Tell you what, the Fifth Young Master Meng was already rescued and I
arranged 200 people to escort him home under the Iron Mountain Flag. Now
he is on the way back. "
"I shouldn't be so talkative." Gu Shenwei began to admire the scholar even

more. Bighead Kingpin was indeed a clever man. As soon as he learned of
the kidnapping, he quickly took an action which was most favorable for him.
Bighead Kingpin clapped his hands. "I have a gift for you."
It was another jade ring. Gu Shenwei held it in his hands, not daring to say a
single word. He did not quite understand what the "gift" meant, but he had a
sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, Bighead Kingpin gave out an obscure laughter. "That maid also
brought Bighead Kingpin a token from Miss and Bighead Kingpin was told
to kill you at once when you finished your speech."
Gu Shenwei's heart started pounding. Miss was not as stupid as he thought

and she quite understood how to burn the bridge after crossing it. She ordered
Little Sui to bring her father another token and another message so as to kill
him with the help of her father. Gu Shenwei almost blurted out the secret of
Miss. Though he did not know the details, Bighead Kingpin would surely be
able to figure it out.
On second thought, Gu Shenwei changed his mind. Turning Bighead Kingpin

against his daughter did no good to him. Winning their trust was more
important. "Have I done anything that offended Miss?"
"She just fears that you'd leak out the message."
"I dare not. If Bighead Kingpin and Miss still couldn't trust me, I'd like to cut
my throat to prove my innocence."
"Get up."
Gu Shenwei kotowed before standing up. He had a saber by his waist. if

Bighead Kingpin had an evil intent, he would desperately fight against him.
But he did not feel any killing intent in the tent.
Bighead Kingpin stood up and his head nearly touched the top of the tent.
Then he stretched out his fat arm and patted Gu Shenwei's shoulder. "Take it
easy, you work for my son-in-law, so Bighead Kingpin thinks greatly of you
and would not kill you for no reason."
Bighead Kingpin acted so intimately that Gu Shenwei could not think of a

thing to say.
Bighead Kingpin was much better at winning others' support than the Young
Masters of the Shangguan family. He talked to Gu Shenwei heart to heart as a
father who deeply loved his daughter instead of as the Chief of Iron
Mountain. This made Gu Shenwei feel that he was highly regarded.
Bighead Kingpin seemed to have a magical effect when treating people in a
friendly manner. He made them feel that they were cared for and wanted to
devote everything to him, just as what the disciples would feel when they
were favored by a god.
As they were talking, a sub-chief came in and reported a message. "A spy
reported that they've found a stronghold of Black Lizard in the desert. It is a
three-day walk to the south of the mountain pass. Five people of Black Lizard
are hiding where there are three dead trees."
What confused Gu Shenwei was that the sub-chief reported the findings at
large in his presence, but Bighead Kingpin did not stop that.
After the sub-chief left, Bighead Kingpin patted Gu Shenwei on the shoulder
and Gu Shenwei had to use his Internal Strength to keep himself from falling
down. "As you just heard, there are many Black Lizards in the desert. If we
don't wipe them off in time, troubles will come one after another."
"It can't be more right, Bighead Kingpin. I'm wondering where they came
from."
"Ha, God knows. Possibly those crazy women slept with you killers of
Golden Roc Fort, but you killers abandoned them. Haha, don't worry.
Bighead Kingpin and the Supreme King are sworn friends. Iron Mountain
will handle this, but…"
Bighead Kingpin turned the boy over and seemed worried.
"But you couldn't tell this to anyone, especially to the Tenth Young Master.
She is just a kid and suffered a lot along the way. Once she hears the news of
Black Lizard, she would certainly risk her life to take revenge. We should
keep her safe, shouldn't we?"
"Yes, we should keep the news from her," Gu Shenwei answered in a low
voice. He was not sure whether he did see Bighead Kingpin wink at him as if
they had reached an agreement.
Bighead Kingpin took the jade ring back from Gu Shenwei. "Let Bighead
Kingpin keep this. By the time you want to leave, you can take it back. When
you get back to the Fort, please remember to teach Miss a lesson for Bighead
Kingpin."
After Gu Shenwei left the tent, it took him a long while to get rid of Bighead
Kingpin's influence on him and to think clearly.
The previous conversation was all a performance for buying over people and
allegiance pledging or something similar. Unlike Bighead Kingpin's, Golden
Roc Fort's methods for gathering followers and pledging allegiances were
more rigid and ritualized, therefore it was lacking in emotion but they were
substantially the same.
The important point was about the Bighead Kingpin's last act in that
performance. The manner of speaking and his expressions all suggested that
he meant something else. Gu Shenwei went back to his residence and
thought, again and again. Then he found himself stuck in a dangerous
dilemma.
Bighead Kingpin did not mean what he said. Actually, he wanted Slave Huan
to tell Shangguan Ru where Black Lizard was and to encourage her to go
deeply into the desert for revenge.
If Slave Huan did not get the point and took no action, he would be killed.
Bighead Kingpin's taking back the jade ring was telling that he might satisfy
his daughter's demand to kill Slave Huan. After that, what he needed was just
an excuse to deflect Shangguan Nu's anger.
The more Gu Shenwei thought about the situation, the more he felt that
maybe Iron Mountain and the black-robed women had collaborated so that
Bighead Kingpin could possess a vast area of land.
There was no truth or trust, Gu Shenwei warned himself again. He managed

to analyze the whole thing from Bighead Kingpin's perspective, and finally,
he realized that even if he did what Bighead Kingpin wanted, he would still
be killed, but this time with the excuse of leading his master into danger.
The matter was more complicated. Gu Shenwei felt as if he was walking on
thin ice, and he could not think of a way to break free. He laid himself down
and fell asleep. In his dream, he saw Bighead Kingpin and black-robed
women drinking and chatting happily.
He woke up at midnight and found that only Wildhorse and himself were in
the tent. Liuhua was not there, his whereabouts unknown.
This could be a potential danger. Gu Shenwei walked out the tent on tip-toe.
Before he had gotten far, he spotted Liuhua hiding in the dark, holding a
short bow and spying on Maid Lotus' tent in the distance.
Gu Shenwei fixedly stared at him. After a while, out of a killer's intuition,

Liuhua turned around and saw Slave Huan as well. With the killing intent in
eyes, Liuhua, however, did not attack but put the short bow away, and he
took a detour to his tent.
Liuhua the Silencer was very narrow-minded. Gu Shenwei guessed that Maid
Lotus might have offended him unintentionally, therefore he kept trying to
take revenge on her.
Gu Shenwei did not tell Maid Lotus his speculation. He pondered over how
to safely remove the potential danger. But before that, he must figure out a
way to deal with Bighead Kingpin.
Next morning, Gu Shenwei called the brown-belt assassins together to

discuss about going back. Theoretically, he was still the chief of the guards,
but Wildhorse and Liuhua were more and more unwilling to obey him. They
did not forget that Gu Shenwei had fainted at a crucial moment.
Gu Shenwei said a lot of miscellaneous things. When he finally mentioned

that he heard someone talk about the black-robed women's whereabouts, he
asked the brown-belt assassins to guard Shangguan Ru in turn and prevent
her from hearing about it. "The Tenth Young Master loves adventure. Our
mission is to escort her safely back to Golden Roc Fort, so don't make
trouble."
The other three nodded and said they got it.

As early as last winter, in the assassination of the Ten-Dragon Gang, Gu
Shenwei had discovered Shangguan Yushi's intention of roping in killer
apprentices. As Wildhorse and Liuhua definitely were the apprentices Master
Yu cared about the most, Gu Shenwei expected that one of them would tell
Shangguan Yushi the news. That girl did not know about Bighead Kingpin's
conspiracy and would take action according to her personality.
Gu Shenwei could imagine that Master Yu would excitedly encourage the

Tenth Young Master to go on an adventure.
Chapter 119 - The Mud Hut
Chapter 119: The Mud Hut
Only a whistleblower was not enough, the black-robed women's whereabouts

needed to be revealed. Gu Shenwei passed this task to Maid Lotus.
Although Maid Lotus was close to Slave Huan, Shangguan Yushi still tried to
win her over. Actually, other than Slave Huan, Shangguan Yushi was her
greatest ambition of all the Dragon Year apprentices.
The trick indeed worked. At the third watch that night, two Shangguan
masters came unexpectedly. Maid Lotus woke up the three youngsters from
outside the tent.
Gu Shenwei was pretending to sleep, so he immediately rose up when Maid

Lotus's voice came. Then he got dressed while watching the two others. As
usual, Liuhua was clothed during sleep, so he jumped straight out of bed
already holding his bow in hand; Wildhorse took his time getting dressed,
and shot a glance at Slave Huan, his wide apart eyes showing a trace of
blankness.
The whistleblower was Wildhorse.
Gu Shenwei was a bit disappointed. Though they used to be mortal enemies,

and there were even scars left by Wildhorse's saber on his chest, this sensible
boy held excellent machete skills and natural charisma. Gu Shenwei was
originally planning to turn him into an ally.
Shangguan Ru was dressed in all black with a piece of black cloth mask
hanging around her neck. She was gripping her saber hilt as she mysteriously
announced she had a mission. She requested all brown-belt assassins,
wearing a look as of to say that he who declined was a traitor.
Nobody objected, not even Gu Shenwei. He knew Shangguan Ru hated so-
called discretion. In the meantime, Shangguan Yushi, who was more mature
than six months ago, had been watching Slave Huan. Now she could read
emotions hidden in the eyes.
The six youngsters set off before dawn.
In addition, Shangguan Ru had left a letter for Bighead Kingpin, thanking

him for his warm hospitality, and asking him to have Slave Qing and others
safely returned to Golden Roc Fort. Furthermore, they had "borrowed" six
camels, along with plenty of supplies.
Nevertheless, Gu Shenwei doubled the water sack. He originally planned to

have Shangguan Yushi charged with "luring the master to risks". But in
distrust of Bighead Kingpin, he then decided to urge Shangguan Ru back to
Jade City when they set foot in the desert.
It was quiet in the Iron Mountain camp, and the guard minions bowed in
amazement to the Tenth Young Master. The bandits were straight, so they
asked, "Tenth Young Master, where are you going?"
"I'm going hunting," Shangguan Ru answered with a smile. It was the

moment she had been waiting for: To hunt down evil black-robed women in
command of formidable killers. It was once an assassination game, now it
finally came true.
Shangguan Ru could not hold her excitement. She held the rein with her left
hand, and her right hand held the saber. She looked serious, but a smile
flashed on her face. She reacted to even the slightest blow of wind. But for
the principle of silence, she should have been jabbering all time.
Gu Shenwei looked at her from behind, and was reminded of himself two
years ago: He was just like Shangguan Ru at 14, seeing the whole world like
a playground. He would only care about his own happiness, and his father
and elder brothers would solve every problem for him.
But on the road to kill, nostalgia felt so out of place. Gu Shenwei soon
cleared his mind.
The six of them had entered the desert that evening. To keep away from spies
from Iron Mountain, they had moved toward the east for some time, and then
turned south.
The black-robed women had once tried to force them into the southern desert.
Now that "the guests" had arrived, "the hosts" had to hide from being
discovered.
Finally, Shangguan Ru's facade failed. She put up tents with the teenagers,
and helped prepare the banquet on the ground. They drank half the wine they
brought in one meal, and their laughter drifted miles away.
In the end, she listened to Shangguan Yushi advice of not starting a campfire.
Actually, drinking in the moonlight added much to the passion of drinking.
The next day, the desert showed its hot burning power, and the pleasure of
the assassination gradually abated. Even Shangguan Ru grew discouraged.
By afternoon, she even stopped holding onto her saber hilt.
Gu Shenwei once suspected that Bighead Kingpin was in some way

connected to black-robed women. His suspicion lessened now since they
hadn't been following or set up all this time. Probably no one except Bighead
Kingpin himself knew that the tenth young master was in danger.
On the third day, the six-person squad met with such a sandstorm that they
began to stray. Not to mention the direction, they couldn't even see each other
clearly. Yet, they had to keep going in case the overwhelming dust buried
them. The storm was so intense, it could have buried a camel in an instant.
It had been a fateful sandstorm. It finally abated at dusk and stopped

embarrassing the six pale-faced teenagers.
They had lost their way. For they were supposed to see the "three dead trees",
a sign of where the women resided. However, they were merely looking at
the boundless dunes. There was nothing in sight except endless yellow sand.
Moreover, only Gu Shenwei noticed another consequence of the sandstorm,

that was they were completely traceless now. If Bighead Kingpin had had
them followed, by now he must have lost them.
They also ran out of wine. Thus, Shangguan Ru had a few mouthfuls of bland
water, and soon went to bed.
Shangguan Yushi sent four brown-belt assassins to explore in different

directions, also without success.
On the fourth day, the six of them continued toward the south. They couldn't
see the pass where they came from, and they were clueless about how far
they had gone astray. They only knew that if they went south, they would
reach another mountain, then if they went along the foothill in the west, they
would reach the Jade City border.
It fit well with Gu Shenwei's plan, compared with Bighead Kingpin, he was
more keen to get rid of the black-robed women now.
Shangguan Ru refused to return empty-handed for her first assassination

mission. Her name would be crippled if she left without a few heads. Hence,
she insisted on searching while moving forward, which heavily slowed their
speed. Finally, when food was almost gone, she had to admit her failure, and
quickened their march to the south.
On the 10th day in the desert, nobody had breakfast except Shangguan Ru.
Fortunately, Gu Shenwei had the foresight to bring extra water, otherwise,
they wouldn't even have water to drink now.
On this very day, the seemingly doomed assassination took a turn for the
better.
This part of the desert jutted out of the main part, thus it was not very broad.
The assassination team had already reached the edge of the desert after 10
days of walking. Though mountains in the south were not yet seen, there
went an oasis.
Actually, you would hardly call it an oasis; it was more like a sparsely
vegetated gobi desert. The area was not large, and in the middle of it stood
several mud huts, even without fences.
Liuhua stood on a sand dune and was the first to see the oasis. While the
others hid their camels, and crept on the ground waiting. After a long while,
they finally spotted someone coming in and out of mud huts. It was too far
for them to see the face clearly, but the person seemed to be dressed in black.
Shangguan Yushi got excited first. "We found it, it must be another hideout
of Black Lizard."
"Or a few herdsmen." Gu Shenwei didn't mean to throw cold water on them,
but there were some white spots around the mud huts that looked like grass-
gnawing sheep.
Shangguan Yushi stared at him. "You just want this mission to fail."
"Don't bicker, we must cooperate." Shangguan Ru quietly dissuaded, as if

they were back when the three of them played the "assassination" game in the
castle.
"I'll go check." Gu Shenwei volunteered, and left before Shangguan Yushi

approved.
Clad in the yellow cape he took from the Iron Mountain camp, he zigzagged
to the oasis. 100 steps away from the mud hut, he hid behind a rock mound
where he smelled a familiar odor before he even saw any living thing.
The land reeked of death. Even a Golden Roc Fort killer who was used to
corpses would think it was pungent in all of a sudden. Not far away, there
was a deep pit, where vultures occasionally rose and fell.
When it was getting dark, a woman in yellow walked out the mud hut.
Although she was not in a black robe, her sleepwalking steps and the
madness which lingered from her head to toe proved that she was in league
with the black-robed women. Not to mention that she was dragging a corpse,
which was definitely not herdsmen's routine.
The woman in yellow dumped the corpse randomly, disturbing seven or eight
vultures, whereas, she herself was not disturbed at all. She turned back to the
mud hut. On the way, she shook and nodded her head, jabbering.
After seeing the women enter the house, Gu Shenwei then crept to the edge
of the pit, and waved away the hungry scavengers.
Corpses were in a heap. The body that was dragged here was beside the edge
of the pit. He was a young male, and was covered in various scars. You could
hardly see any intact skin on him.
"The corpse" suddenly came alive, shaking for a moment. Blood came out of
his mouth like a fountain. Soon, he went quiet.
Gu Shenwei quietly stepped back, the hungry vultures rushed to the

delicacies clamorously.
Gu Shenwei brought back "good news". Then, Shangguan Ru was eager to

arrange the details and rules. In fact, the teenagers had been familiar with the
rules: No matter how much they disagreed, they were united as one in action.
It was a bright full moon that night. The moonlight fell on the smooth dunes
and rocks like a layer of thin snow.
The six teenagers took turns to rest, and waited until the moon was down for
their operation. This was when people fell into the deepest sleep.
Gu Shenwei was in the front, leading them to bypass the corpse pit. He
intended to slowly approach the mud hut from behind. Although he did not
see any guards in the daytime, he dared not to relax, and still zigzagged his
way to observe.
Being discreet was rewarding, because they actually found out something
strange in the nearby tree. It was a shadow in the tree, too big to be a nest.
He was the only guard. It seemed that people in the mud but didn't worry too
much about raids. Anyway, they weren't alert enough.
Liuhua used the crossbow. The arrow went straight to the target. The shadow
in the tree suddenly rose up, and died without a sound or move.
In a perfect assassination, one would sneak to the bedside, and kill the target
while he was sleeping. However, their information was not enough. They did
not know how many people were there, nor the room layouts. Hence they had
to be conservative.
Liuhua hid 20 steps away from the mud hut. As the longbow, shortbow, and
crossbow were all set up, Wildhorse, Slave Huan, and Maid Lotus guarded
one room respectively. In addition, Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi
went on top of the roof and waited in ambush.
Gu Shenwei was in the middle and the first to act. He simply knocked on the
door lightly, and there came an obscure response. After a short while,
somebody came out.
(Please keep and give suggestions)

Chapter 120 - The Tracking
Chapter 120: The Tracking
Gu Shenwei raised his saber, and chopped off one head.
The chaos expected did not come. It was quiet in the three mud huts, like
there was no more enemies.
The moonlight shone on six statue-like teenagers, who was in their spot
motionless waiting for the counterattack after the silence.
The counterattack arrived unexpectedly. The oasis was like being taken out of
a trance. The formerly immobile all became alive. People in the shadow all
dashed through doors, windows, and rooftops.
Then the killing began.
Saber went, and figures dashed. They all attacked quickly, and stood three
steps back afterward. He who fell did not make a sound as if he were mute.
The killing began in silence, and also ended quietly. The spell was cast again.
They all again stood or squat motionless, as if they were a bunch of puppets.
It was like they had been released by the master, after a brief and violent
performance.
In total, there were eight bodies. The teenagers triumphed, without anyone
hurt.
Because in a killing, someone had to take the advantage, thus it was usually
much easier than a duel. People in the mud huts couldn't even show off their
kung fu before they died.
The last step was to check if there was anyone alive, hiding.
Three teenagers went respectively into three rooms, except Liuhua. Gu
Shenwei was responsible for the middle room. As soon as he went in, he saw
a people standing in between. Hence he dashed to attack, however, he fell
under the floor.
Unexpected assassinations were easy to conduct, but similarly, unexpected

traps were equally hard to guard against.
Because of a sudden storm, six teenagers broke into the enemy's weak
defense area. Before they raised their sabers to chop off heads, it hadn't been
visited by others.
Gu Shenwei was the first victim of the underground trap.
He could not see what was going on in the room up there, because the trap
door closed as he hit the ground.
It was pitch dark.
Suddenly a finger pierced at his chest like a steel stick. Gu Shenwei was cast
to the wall, he then swiftly rolled over to the other side, in case of another
possible follow-up strike.
"What?" Somebody in the dark cried in surprise. Thus Gu Shenwei thrust his
saber in the direction of the sound, but missed it. The enemy was experienced
too, so that he shifted his place after letting out sounds accidentally.
In the pitch dark underground, the two people were waiting for the
opportunity to attack. Nobody dared to move, holding their breath, and knew
that their life depended on it.
Gu Shenwei was in the unfavorable position, for he did not know the size and
shape of the trap. Besides, he also did not know if there was another
accomplice. Moreover, his Xuanji acupoint was filled with hot burning
energy. He was on the brink of qigong deviation.
If he hadn't seen Mama Xue beheaded by a Black-masked Assassin, he would

think that was her in the dark, with the fingers piercing at him.
He suddenly knew that the dark-robed women's back around, that they were
all disciples of Barren Sect, like Mama Xue. Mama Xue's real name was
Kang Wenmei, also known as "Bone-piercing Ace". He should have thought
about that earlier.
Those black-robed women were weaker than her in kung fu, for they even
wear steel thorns on their fingers. While the person in the chamber was equal
to Mama Xue, she did not need the help of an instrument.
In fact, it was the "Peripheral Force" Mama Xue planted in him that saved
him. The force in the Xuanji acupoint would cause qigong deviation, but
equally, it could neutralize the same Internal Strength.
Gu Shenwei didn't have the time to think. He held the saber as he placed his
feet and left hand on the ground, like a crouching cat. It took him a long
while to prepare.
Certainly it must have been a long while, because everything, even the time
seemed to stagnate in the dark. He felt breathless in the chest, knowing that
he held his breath too long.
The turtle breath technique required a lot of Internal Strength, which was Gu
Shenwei's weak point. He couldn't compete with the invisible opponent in
this aspect.
Once again, he turned to the words of Nameless Swordbook. So far, the

swordbook had helped him survived many crises.
"Why open your eyes when it's all dark?"
So Gu Shenwei closed his eyes, trying to find the "Qi" written in the
swordbook. It was "the energy flowing through all living things", prevailing
but insightful or unhearable, only to be sensed by the mind. He and Maid
Lotus still failed to acquire the "mysterious energy" after countless practices.
He was nearly dying. Just as he was about to give up, Gu Shenwei felt
something extremely special in the chamber. Something that he could not
describe, nor comprehend, suddenly struck.
Then, something fell down, and so did Gu Shenwei, his head blank. He was
feeling like in a strange dream, where he saw his imminent death, and urged
himself to breathe. But, he couldn't breathe, as if there was a giant rock on his
chest.
Finally, Gu Shenwei inhaled, then he suddenly rose up. He breathed in and

out, like a ferocious animal hungry for three days.
The first thing he did was try to remember the thing he felt just now, trying to
find the door to "Qi", but failed.
All movements and methods in Nameless Swordbook could not be acquired

through practice. They were only to be reached by killing people. Gu
Shenwei and Maid Lotus found out long ago that only by killing could they
make progress. Otherwise, the practice would be meaningless.
Now that the enemy had died, Gu Shenwei could not retrieve the feeling.
Thus, he could only wait for the next crisis.
It was the most difficult sword practice in the world. It only took one failure
to get you killed.
Gu Shenwei then explored in the dark step by step. Finally, he found the
corpse. He also found a match in her pocket, and lit a small fire, but, he still
couldn't see anything.
Hence he lit up the corpse's clothes. The fire burned brightly.
It was a small chamber, on one side there was a passage at half height of a
person, like a monster's mouth. Also, there was a wooden door that was 30
centimeters over his head.
The corpse was female, and the fatal blow was at her throat. She did not
bleed much, almost died in an instant. It was more close to perfect than Gu
Shenwei's previous murders.
Then, Gu Shenwei jumped to push the wooden door several times, only to
find that the door was completely solid, impossible to open.
The fire was swallowing the women's skin. The light became dimmer and
dimmer.
No one had come to rescue him, thus it would be useless to cry for help. Gu
Shenwei crouched into the dark passage holding his saber in the front, and
carefully made his way out.
To his relief, the passage was not long. Soon, he pushed open another
wooden door, and went back to the desert. He then turned his head, found
that he was not far away from the oasis.
He came back to the three mud huts. There lay the eight dead corpses.
However, the killers were all gone.
Gu Shenwei checked the other two mud huts, and knocked on all floors. He
did not find any other traps.
Was he abandoned? Gu Shenwei could not believe it.
It was near daybreak. Gu Shenwei carefully searched around the mud huts.
He first discovered Liuhua's three sets of crossbows. The crossbows were
stretched but unreleased. He then picked them up all.
Next, he found strange footsteps, shallow and messy. Two footprints were a
dozen of steps away, as if there had been long-legged giants with tiny feet
walking.
Unless those people were jumping forward.
Gu Shenwei at once remember those black-robed women. They would

strangely jump like this when they were approaching their targets.
Following these footprints, Gu Shen went back to the place where they hid in
the daytime.
The camels were all dead. The few remaining solid foods were immersed in
blood and covered with sand. Water sacks were pierced through, and the
clean water was all lost.
Gu Shenwei packed a few pieces of eatable solid foods, and collected some
clean water with a largely intact water sack. Then, he started his tracking.
The footprints were discontinuous. Sometimes he needed to go round and

round to find the next footprint, which wasted much time. He went deep into
the desert. After one day's walking, he took a turn to the south into the
wilderness. From then on, the footprints became normal and continuous.
Moreover, there were several other people's footprints.
The others were alive. There were only three hijackers. Gu Shenwei sped up
his pace.
" The three people were all masters." Gu Shenwei thought. He had eaten the
last bit of solid foods, with a little water left. Thus, thinking was to defend
against hunger. "If even Maid Lotus and Wildhorse have been captured
without the chance to fight, he wouldn't bear a chance either. The thing is,
how did the three hijackers leave without trying to find the last teenager?"
Judging from Zhang Ji and Fang Wenshi's words, and his knowledge, Gu
Shenwei was positive that Barren Sect and Golden Roc Fort used to be
connected. Even their kung fu was similar in some ways. Black-robed
women's jumping Qing Gong was almost the same with that of Black-masked
Assassins.
On drinking up the last drop of clean water, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized

that the three hijackers may not be masters in kung fu. They could have used
knockout powders, like people in Golden Roc Fort would do.
Gu Shenwei walked day and night. On the fourth morning, he walked across
a stream, where he had plenty of water. Then he climbed to a hillside, seeing
the mountains in the south. They were branches of Tianshan Mountain.
Walking along the mountains in the west, he could return to Jade City.
Nevertheless, the footprints deviated more and more to the east.
At that evening, he finally caught up with the abductors.
His targets resided in a yard. It was like Barren Sect's another stronghold. But
the house was bigger, and the guard was much better. There were guards hid
in ambush several miles away.
Gu Shenwei did not act rashly and alert the enemy, rather, he hid and thought
how he could save them.
Doing it the hard way was impossible, for his sword craft could only deal
with one or two people. It was dangerous to deal with more.
The assassination did not work either. One killer was not capable enough, not
to mention that his opponents were great at assassination too. They wouldn't
let him leave alive.
The moon hung over the trees. Gu Shenwei detoured through the Barren Sect
stronghold. He snuck to get in front of the abductors.
This was not the hijackers' final destination. In four days' tracking, he figured
out the opponents' courses. He guessed that they probably would go deep in
the mountains.
At the fourth watch, he came across a small and narrow but fast river. He
soon found a perfect spot where he could walk across the river. Moreover, a
path lined with green grass led to the spot.
It was the hijackers' must pass to move forward.
Gu Shenwei started to set up the traps. What he had were one saber, a dagger,
and three sets of crossbows. He spent two hours working out how to skillfully
use the crossbow. Then, he spent some time on erasing his traces.
The next was to wait. A killer had to wait. Gu Shenwei still remembered how
much he hated that.
He had to kill three Barren Sect's aces at one time.

Chapter 121 - The Dream
Chapter 121: The Dream
Gu Shenwei picked a leaf and chewed it. The bitter taste kept him from
weariness.
The sun rose high. Surrounded by chirping hypnotic and tiresome whoosh,
Gu Shenwei felt at a loss, just as what he felt before every action in the past.
His being suspicious always led him to an extreme that he thought his plans
were lame and impossible to work out.
But there was no turning back. Gu Shenwei even felt his hunger was
submerged by the tension in his abdomen.
This was what he had to do. Without Shangguan Ru, he could never return to
Golden Roc Fort. Thus his chance for revenge would be even slimmer.
What's more, Maid Lotus, his principal ally, was one of the abducted people.
Shortly after noon, the people Gu Shenwei had been waiting for finally came,
though very late.
They were three women in red robes instead of black and five captives, who
were under those women's control. From far, Gu Shenwei saw them riding on
horses.
Gu Shenwei had not expected the horses. He had followed their footprints for
four days, so he was quite sure they were on foot. It never occurred to him
that the strongholds of the Barren Sect might have horses there.
There was no time to change the trap, and the original plan must go on.
Two red-robed women road ahead, five captives walking behind with another
woman after them.
About a hundred steps from the river bank, the land fell steeply and rose
again. The lush grass on both sides covered a path over, and the passengers
had to walk through them.
The first red-robed woman passed by with her horse entirely hidden in the
grass, only half her body being seen. The second woman followed her close.
The arrow flew out from the grass and shot right at the second woman's crus.
It pierced through the muscles and stuck into the horse. Neighing in extreme
pain, the horse suddenly leaped forward, knocking the front horse aside.
The arrow was supposed to be shot into the heart.
In the grass, the crossbow was set up with a branch attached to it and a stick
attached to the end of the branch. 10 steps away from it, Gu Shenwei
controlled the timing of the launch. For this, he had practiced for two hours,
but it merely injured the enemy's crus.
Gu Shenwei had rehearsed the whole plan countless times. As soon as he

launched the crossbow, he stood up quickly, picked up the short bow and
arrows, and then shot at the first red-robed woman.
The first woman rose to the bait. She jumped toward the crossbow and got
shot when she nearly touched the ground. Screaming, she fell down but did
not die. Slave Huan was far from comparable to Liuhua in the shooting.
The last woman leaped in a row and was only a few steps away from Gu
Shenwei. She tried to scratch at Gu Shenwei with her bony fingers like claws.
Gu Shenwei threw away the short bow. His saber was stuck into the grass,
unsheathed.
He tipped up the saber and stabbed at the women so fast that it seemed as if
the women dived at the saber by herself.
This was the only perfect attack in his plan. The last red-robed woman was
hit in the neck, falling to the ground.
In the same time, Gu Shenwei got five bloody scratches on his chest. The
woman was so strong that she launched her final attack before dying.
With her leg stuck to the horse, the second red-robed woman urged the horse
on and disappeared in a little while.
"Slave Huan!"
All things happened so suddenly that the five captives did not react until Gu
Shenwei killed the women. Shangguan Yushi was the first one to cry out in
horror.
"You're not dead!" Shangguan Ru continued, more delighted than surprised.
"I'm not dead." Gu Shenwei responded. He walked to the first woman, who
was shot but not dead. She got the shot in the abdomen, lying on her back and
panting. She was unable to resist.
Then, he untied the five teenagers.
Compared with the five captives, Slave Huan was the one who seemed to
have suffered more. His clothes tattered, his face covered with dust, and his
hair matted with grass, he even lost his shoes.
The five captives were all well clothed, but they were slightly sluggish and
seemed to have lost their Internal Strength.
After the joy of being rescued, the teenagers became angry at the injured
woman. Shangguan Yushi grabbed the saber from Slave Huan and wanted to
kill the woman.
"Keep her alive." Gu Shenwei stopped her.
"Why?"
"We need to ask her about their background."
"Hum. No need to ask. I know it clearly."

Shangguan Yushi killed the injured woman and cut off the two corpse's
heads. Those were her essential trophies, and she wanted to take them back.
Besides the spoken one, Gu Shenwei got another unspeakable reason to keep
the woman alive. He thought she was from the Barren Sect and might know
how to remove the Peripheral Force. But even if she were still alive, he
would not get the chance to ask her alone.
The five teenagers were captured purely by chance.
The three huts in the Oasis were the places where Barren Sect trained their
Primary disciples. There were eight disciples of ordinary martial arts and one
Master Shifu. All the disciples were killed by the teenagers from Golden Roc
Fort while the Shifu was murdered by Gu Shenwei in the underground
chamber.
That three red-robed women were there for routine inspections. One day
earlier or later the teenagers went there, they wouldn't have run into them.
As Gu Shenwei had expected, the knockout powder those women used was
the Mercy Powder, which Golden Roc Fort had agreed not to use anymore.
Compared with the effect of the ordinary knockout powder in the Fort, the
effects of Mercy Powder lasted longer. The red-robed women mixed the
powder with the food and forced the captives to eat it every meal. Were it not
for Gu Shenwei's timely rescue, the teenagers would gradually lose their
Internal Strength within 10 days.
The Barren Sect and the Golden Roc Fort had been into a feud for many
years. Shangguan Ru knew a little about the origins of this sect. It was said
that the Barren Sect was once a subordinate of the Golden Roc Fort and
betrayed the Fort when the fifth Supreme King was in charge. Then it set up
its own sect but finally was wiped out by the sixth Supreme King.
However, a few years later, the Barren Sect risen from the ashes and from the
sect came several masters. The feud between the two killer gangs
significantly affected the stability of the entire Western Region. Finally,
several mighty kings came forward and called for both sides to end the
fighting.
In the Four Truths Temple outside Jade City, the Golden Roc Fort entered
into an inviolable agreement with the Barren Sect. The Golden Roc Fort
promised not to use the means like Mercy Powder to kill others since then,
making it able to stay in Jade City. The Barren Sect voluntarily retreated into
the desert.
Few people remembered the details of that event. All in all, the Barren Sect
vanished in Jianghu and did not show up again for decades.
As for the reason why they left the desert to reappear in Jianghu and why
they forced the people of Golden Roc Fort walked southward into the desert,
none of the teenagers knew it.
When the three red-robed women found out that Supreme King's daughter
was one of the captives, they immediately took the five prisoners away with
delight. As for the boy who had fallen into their trap, they took it for granted
that the Master Shifu could kill him, so they ignored him.
"Since the Barren Sect broke the agreement, my father will definitely kill
them all," Shangguan Ru growled. She recalled the Barren Sect when being
questioned. Before that, She never associated the black-robed women with
that long-disappeared sect.
Only Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus knew that it was not the first time for the
disciples of the Barren Sect to leave the desert, as Mama Xue had even gotten
into Golden Roc Fort.
The five teenagers were naturally unable to take revenge, and the escaped
women put them in danger even more.
Both horses running away, the teenagers could only walk forward. They
drank a lot of water by the riverside, which was one of the best ways to
weaken the effect of the Mercy Powder. After crossing the river, they walked
westward along the bank for a while before turning toward the southwest,
hoping they could make their way to Jade City by feet.
No one knew how long the tramp would be.

Gu Shenwei was the only one that equipped with a saber among the six.
Liuhua took back his favorite short bow without saying a grateful word. The
crossbow was handed over to Shangguan Ru while the longbow was given to
Shangguan Yushi, with less than 20 arrows left.
Gu Shenwei gave his dagger to Maid Lotus and Wildhorse could only be
unarmed.
They marched forward the same night without rest, identifying their direction
from the black mountains in the south. They did not stop until next noon. Gu
Shenwei felt like he had just closed his eyes before he was awakened. Liuhua
hunted several birds, and everyone shared a part of the raw meat and fresh
blood, temporarily covering up their hunger.
Their Internal Strength had recovered, but it helped them little in walking.
In the third night, Shangguan Ru was the first one to break down. For she was
so young and never suffered like this, she could not withstand the march nor
walk any farther. The others took turns carrying her forward. After a long
walk when Shangguan Ru decided to rest in any case, everyone was relieved.
Starting with Wildhorse, the four brown-belt assassins kept watch in turns.
Gu Shenwei was the last one. He sat in the grass on the high ground,
enduring the lingering sleepiness and mosquito bites. When he looked at the
crescent moon, he felt as if his mind was solidified that he could think about
nothing, even the most straightforward idea.
He fell asleep, but the sight before his eyes remained the same only that he
was not sleepy anymore. He was at peace and in delight as if he was floating
in the cloud. With the noise of flying insects became obliterating, he could
hear the wind whispering through the grass and the ethereal sound of the
flute.
He was confused that he did not like the instruments such as the flute, but
why he heard the music in his dream?
Straightening up, he tried to wave away the illusory scene before his eyes
several times, but he failed. At last, he had to push his eyes open with his
fingers.
It was still the same scene, but the crescent moon faded, and the morning
came.
A tall woman came over to him and bent down, smiling.
Although Gu Shenwei didn't know her, he began to let his guard down seeing
her smile which was as warm as the spring breeze. He then smiled weakly at
her, watching her poke at his chest with one finger.
Gu Shenwei closed his eyes and fell into sleep again, unburdened and
dreamless.
When he woke up, the sun had come up. Shangguan Yushi complained about
his neglecting his duty, even though everyone was in a sound sleep and
nobody woke up in time.
"There was a woman who came last night…" Gu Shenwei said. But while
speaking, he thought it might be a dream. He stopped saying to avoid being
laughed at.
Sure enough, Shangguan Yushi snorted dismissively. Three days were long
enough for her to forget that the slave boy had saved her life. "What woman?
You might have a nightmare for you fears the Barren Sect so much."
The others shook their heads as well, indicating that they saw nothing.
Refreshed a bit, Shangguan Ru asked with a smile, "Tell me, Who did you
dream of?"
Gu Shenwei forced a smile. "I can't remember."
Actually, he distinctly remembered that woman's face, a face of fantastic

beauty and clear-cut facial features that on no account could he see her just in
the dream.
Chapter 122 - Training the Women
Chapter 122: Training the Women
The Tenth Young Master had gone into the desert and disappeared for 23
days. When she reappeared in front of the others, she was so gaunt and
travel-stained that she was almost beyond recognition. She looked more like
a boy now. Shangguan Yushi, who stood next to her, held up two skulls to
the cheering of the crowd.
The six teenagers had finally arrived at the mountain pass, which was located
on the border of the Jade City. The allied forces of Golden Roc Fort and Iron
Mountain were stationed there. Their forces had surrounded the east and
south side of the desert, ready for a large-scale attack. A few squads of killers
had already penetrated the enemy's camp and continuously reported back the
news of their confrontations.
The Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu, who was stationed at the north
side, was discussing the strategy with his father-in-law. He came into this
camp that very night and was overjoyed to see his sister had returned. After a
day's rest, he sent a team of killers to escort her home and promised her that
he would not return home until he had slaughtered the whole Barren Sect.
The Bighead Kingpin had assumed command in the north-east side. He did
not come personally. Instead, he sent someone to apologize and took
responsibility for the incident. The gifts he sent were so numerous that they
piled up at the border, and for a month after Shangguan Ru's safe arrival, the
carriages of Iron Mountain continued to arrive.
The other teenage guards were also rewarded accordingly. But the reward
was so generous that it drew the envy of the former year's guards.
The Bighead Kingpin sent a messenger to inform Slave Huan publicly that
would recieve a gift ranked only second to Shangguan Ru's, which included a
jade ring and a delicate bronze mirror.
"Bighead Kingpin has said…" The messenger piped up his voice, relaying the
message, "Slave Huan is a capable subordinate and a loyal servant. Since the
Eighth Young Mistress is young and has a bad temper, he can hold this
mirror and restrain the mistress in place of the Bighead Kingpin."
The messenger gave Slave Huan a wooden box, which contained the skull of
the maid, Little Sui. He said, "The Bighead Kingpin asked you to tell the
Eighth Young Mistress his words, 'I've raised you for many years, and I gave
you anything you wanted. I assume it's enough. From now on, you shall pay
respects to your elders and be considerate to them. Be a good wife in
Shangguan family, don't cause any trouble.'"
The Bighead Kingpin would let a teenage killer restrain his daughter? This
raised questions in the camp and embarrassed Shangguan Nu. He angrily
confronted Slave Huan and questioned him about what had happened.
Gu Shenwei had not expected that. He thought he could stir up the troubles
between Iron Mountain and Meng family, or even if he failed, he would still
sow dissension between Bighead Kingpin and his master.
Gu Shenwei could only take out the skull of Little Sui and explain that the
Mistress had asked him to pass on the message to Bighead Kingpin. Little Sui
was her second secret messenger and had been silenced. The Bighead
Kingpin knew Slave Huan was a loyal subordinate of Eighth Young Master,
so had kept him alive, but he was annoyed with his daughter's behavior.
When Shangguan Nu heard that his wife wanted Slave Huan dead, he was
perplexed but also glad to be relieved of an annoyance.
Once back to the fort, Shangguan Ru stayed in the Inner Residence and did
not come out for a long time. Four brown-belt assassins were the focus of
"Little Flag Battalion" now, including Liuhua, who was good at avoiding
crowds, but was now constantly followed by several admirers. This annoyed
him, and he almost wanted to hold another slaughter again.
As usual, Slave Huan's deeds were downplayed, and credit was given to
Shangguan Ru. Only some former members of "Tattooed Arm Gang" knew
the truth and they admired their leader all the more.
Several days later, even Tie Hanfeng asked about Slave Huan what had
happened when he passed out in front of the assassins. He considered taking
his apprentice to the doctor again. "You shall make every possible effort. We
will go to the Four Truths Temple first, if they fail, we will go to the Land of
Fragrance. They is always a way."
A month ago, Gu Shenwei would have thought Liuhua had caused all of this,
but now he put Wildhorse as the primary culprit.
Wildhorse had sought refuge with Shangguan Yushi, putting Gu Shenwei on

high alert.
However, his biggest headache with the vicious and wicked Miss, instead of
Wildhorse.
In the room with the hollowed-out wooden wall, Slave Huan held up the
bronze mirror and conveyed Bighead Kingpin's reprimand. Before he had
finished his first word, Luo Ningcha flew into a rage and smashed everything
around her. She beat her closest maids and ordered the maid outside to take
Slave Huan's mirror, shouting that his eyes and tongue would be cut off.
The maids took the mirror, but no one dared to punish Slave Huan. He was
no longer the dowry slave, he was trusted by the Eighth Young Master and
the Bighead Kingpin.
Luo Ningcha took more than three days for her rage to dissipate, and only
then did she understand the situation. Now she was indeed a recluse in the
fort. If she offended the protector her father had appointed, it would only
make things worse. Thus she summoned Slave Huan again, this time only
with Maid Jade present.
This was a meeting that was equally candid and hypocritical.
Luo Ningcha was the daughter of the Bighead Kingpin, born knowing how to
win people's support, but she just seldom used that skill. For the first time,
she apologized to Slave Huan, but soon she defended herself, "It's all your
fault, you taught me to intrigue. So I followed what you taught, to kill you to
silence you."
"You're learning fast." Gu Shenwei praised her insincerely.
"But I've thought it through, I can't do my work alone. I need an assistant, and
those useless maids won't help me. Besides, they're women, they won't
achieve anything in this fort. You'll be my henchman."
Gu Shenwei thanked her for her appreciation. But he was perturbed since
Bighead Kingpin did not value his daughter very much. He was not that
enthusiastic to help the Miss. How would it help his plan of reveng if he was
involved in a war between the women of the Inner Residence?
"This bronze mirror was left by my mother, and my father treasured it all his
life." Miss changed topic, the sadness in her voice seemingly sincere.
She asked Slave Huan to convey her father's words again.
Hearing the whole rebuke, Luo Ningcha's tears coursed down her cheeks. She
had placed all her hope of redeeming herself in Stone Castle on her father,
only to get this answer.
"Am I the one making trouble? I was bullied all the time! How can I respect
him, how can I be considerate?" Luo Ningcha's personality remained
unchanged, and now she was furious again. "This was all your idea, you
asked me to beg my father, now what? I was humiliated!"
Gu Shenwei could only sigh. He recognized how deep and shrewd the Master
of Iron Mountain was throughout this journey, he even admired him a little.
But how could he have such a foolish daughter? Yet he also knew, once this
mistress had a flash of insight, she could also be influential. It would not go
for Gu Shenwei to look down on her.
"Mistress." Gu Shenwei was initially not intending to answer her questions,

but after the consideration, he did. Luo Ningcha was the wife of Shangguan
Nu. Thus, she could be helpful in some time. "I think you misunderstand the
Bighead Kingpin."
"What? How? Tell me."
"My idea was not completely wrong. Women's position comes from the
position of her father and husband, but when it comes to the men, the origin
of power is more complicated. The Bighead Kingpin asked Mistress to be
considerate toward him. This is his way of showing his unsatisfaction, not his
betrayal. He wants more power so that he can protect you."
Miss thought for a while. "You're saying, my father, can help me only when
he is more powerful, but needs my assistance?"
"Yes."
"But he is my father, how can he bargain with me?" Luo Ningcha was
starting to become angry again.
"Everyone is fully occupied with their material gain. The Bighead Kingpin
was the hero in Western Region, you don't know how many people envy you
for the fact that you can 'bargain' with him. I met a scholar on the road, who
was highly intelligent and knew almost everything, and he was willing agree
to anything to get a meeting with the Bighead Kingpin. But he was not
qualified to talk with the king, and he left soon after a hasty meeting. I can
only say that this is his destiny."
"His destiny." Luo Ningcha chewed on Gu Shenwei's words and found she
was apprehensive. "How can I help him, then?"
"It's simple. Several days ago, the Bighead Kingpin saved the life of the Fifth
Master of Meng family, so that he could build the connection with this family
and even form an alliance. Your Mistress can take the initiative to send
someone to ask after him, for example. After you enter the Inner Residence,
mention this to the lady. First you'll know how she thinks; second, you can
show your superiority. Thus you'll kill two birds with one stone."
"You giving me another silly idea." Miss seemed unsatisfied. "You've

removed yourself entirely from this situation. Why don't you go to the Meng
family?"
"Your Mistress, Fifth Young Master Meng hates my guts. If I go, it will
defeat the purpose."
"Hey, so you're not so perfect."
This meeting ended. Gu Shenwei thought he could rid himself of the Miss
from now on, and did not expect her to summon him the third time and in
good humor.
"Your idea is good. The lady pretended she did not know the incident until I
mentioned it, and then she faked gratefullness. Hilarious. I did not see the
discord between her and her family before. It appears the Lord does not
patronize her simply because of her family. There must be other reasons, you
and I will find out."
"Yes, Your Mistress. I'll try my best." Of course, Gu Shenwei would not.
From what he had experienced in the fort, it was a taboo to ask about Lord's
private life, he could easily cause a disaster. "Your Mistress has enough
money, why not use them? You can start with those who have high positions
but do not live comfortably, such as… the Lord's nephew, Shangguan
Hongye, whose father died early, so he lives with his mother in the West
Castle. He can be bought over quickly."
Shangguan Hongye was Shangguan Ru's classmate and he had once received
Slave Huan's money to handle his affairs. Gu Shenwei the Miss about this
boy, hoping this could satisfy her request. He did not intend to be involved in
her affairs any longer.
He still remembered the mysterious woman who had appeared during his
escape, and was still confused. He was sure that it was not a dream. That
woman had smiled at him and pointed to his chest with a finger.
After he returned to the fort, he asked Maid Lotus about this, but she never
recalled it. Yet she felt that something was amiss too. They had all slept
soundly, which was unlikely for killers. Maid Lotus had never slept so
soundly, eevn when she was exhausted.
Gu Shenwei could not figure it out, so he could only give it up. He did not
understand the woman's behavior until Shangguan Ru, and several other
teenagers became "possessed."
Chapter 123 - Weal and Woe
Chapter 123: Weal and Woe
During the journey from Iron Mountain, Gu Shenwei prepared many

questions for Zhang Ji. He was the first one Gu Shenwei wished to consult.
He was now considered as a wealthy man thanks to all the gold and silver he
received. He had talked to a black-market businessman in East Castle, and
had bought several bottles of expensive wine, sending them directly to Zhang
Ji.
A few days later, with the excuse of paying respect to the Miss, Gu Shenwei
went to the school and coincidentally bumped into Zhang Ji.
Zhang Ji had dismissed the pupils early and when he tasted the excellent
wine, willingly answered every question Gu Shenwei asked. Zhang Ji was
familiar with the history of the fort, except for the top secret information
which exceeded his clearance level, but he presume to know any information.
Rather, he strove to preserve the image of the fort.
Zhang Ji corrected the many mistakes in Shangguan Ru's memory. It had not
been the Barren Sect who had wrestled with Golden Roc Fort and made the
deal in the Four Truths Temple, but the another "Golden Roc Fort."
"The New Moon Hall was originally the subsection of the fort, which
specialised in training female killers. But later they became too ambitious and
dared to usurp Lord's power. This is what I want to tell you, never trust a
woman. They seem weak and fragile, helpless without the men but they are
actually cruel and merciless. Once they have a chance, they'll seize your
power, and everything you own."
Zhang Ji wet on and on about women. He was even full of indignation, and
could not calm down even after several cups of wine.
The New Moon Hall called itself Golden Roc Fort, too, for they wished to
claim supremacy for themselves. But their female killers' ways were deviant,
focusing the Mercy powder and other herbs and potions. Zhang Ji said, "The
fort chose to never use the Mercy Powder, which was an absolutely correct
decision. Teal killers never need to rely on powder."
Though there was no one else in the school, Zhang Ji still hesitated before he
telling Gu Shenwei the secret, "The killers in the fort love a nameless
powder, which was actually a less effective variation of the Mercy Powder,
which can be easily neutralized."
The way to neutralize it was straightforward. Add traces of the powder to

one's food every day, and slowly increase the quantity. After three months,
the knockout-powder would no longer be ineffective.
Gu Shenwei told Maid Lotus afterward, and they both began to use this
powder. By wintertime, they were both immune to it.
The female killers were not only good at the powder arts but also other
unspeakable sorcery. Zhang Ji knew a little about them but despised them,
thinking they were just meant to scare, and entirely not something a real kille
should use. "If they only use killers, they will be doomed. Moreover, their
methods are entirely not alighned with others. If they try to take down the
fort, defeat is inevitable."
The war between these two forces was so dreadful that even the troops in the
Western Region felt the shockwaves. Thus the other families interfered and
forced them to sign the agreement in the Four Truths Temple. "At that time,
Golden Roc Fort, was not strong as we are today. We had to sign. But if we
were given just one or two years more, those women would not exist
anymore. Such a pity."
The content of the agreement was not classified, and Zhang Ji remembered it
well. By authority and fairness, the Lord possessed the fort, but he had to
promise that he would never use sorcery methods in assassination. The New
Moon Hall reserved the right to use these methods, but they had to live in the
desert and never come out.
They drew a line between them and agreed not to cross it.
From then on, the Golden Roc Fort stopped differentiating male and female
killers. Maid Lotus, for example, learned whatever any male killer learned.
After several years, the Barren Sect appeared once again in Jianghu.
The New Moon Hall had taken advantage of a loophole in the agreement to
form another school, which only recruited female apprentices. They also
created some new kung fu, using iron knuckles and claws as weapons. The
war with Golden Roc Fort continued.
Yet, this school did not inherit the sorcery methods, which was unfortunate.
The Barren Sect was defeated quickly. Though they ceased activites and
appeared to give up, never showing their face publicly again, they would
attempt an assassination every few years. Of course, they failed every time.
"The Tenth Young Master was lured into the desert, meaning that the women
from New Moon Hall are planning something in Jianghu. They will surely
blame this on Golden Roc Fort. If you ask me, these women were too foolish.
Maybe it come from being in the desert too long, their minds are no longer as
sharp. Golden Roc Fort is at its peak condition, challenging us is suicide!"
Gu Shenwei now truly understood. The dark robe woman belonged to the
Barren Sect, and the red-robed woman must be the apprentice of the New
Moon Hall. Only, he was still confused about why New Moon Hall wanted
everyone to blame Golden Roc Fort for restarting the war. Since treachery
was the habit of both sides, why did it matter?
"No one is free, not even the Supreme King. Their agreement was made in
Four Truths Temple and is sacred." Zhang Ji felt that he had said enough, and
raising up his cup, drank deeply.
After their gathering, Gu Shenwei commissioned a man in the black market

to send the best wine to Zhang Ji every ten days. Zhang Ji did not refuse.
More importantly, he liked that Gu Shenwei had consulted him. The best
tasting wine for him was passing on his 10-year cultivated understanding of
history to a good student.
Gu Shenwei was disturbed by the information. The mysterious woman in his

dreams must be part of some conspiracy. Some part of New Moon Hall's
sorcery. Gu Shenwei was afraid he might become an unknowing sacrifice.
Ten days are returning to the fort, he obtained the proof he sought. But, it was
not him who was "possessed". It was Shangguan Ru and some other youth.
The incident happened in bright daylight, which only made it more

unbelievable and terrifying.
Shangguan Ru had been staying with her mother and talking about about the
family affairs. It would be the Tenth Young Master's birthday in less than a
month, and she was making demands one after the other, when suddenly, she
became quiet, turned and left the room.
The women there were dumfounded, wondering what kind of trick she was
playing.
Shangguan Yushi stood up almost simultaneously, following her. People

thought she wanted to stop Tenth Young Master. Instead, they fell down
together at the doorstep, convulsing violently.
Everyone was scared speechless.
Seeing her daughter convulsing, Lady Meng became frantic. She immediately
sent for the doctor, the Taoist, and monk. The Inner Residence was thrown
into an uproar.
At the same time, the same thing was happening in the "Little Flag
Battalion."
While Wildhorse was silently exchanging views with his mute followers, his
expression abruptly changed, and pushing out of the crowd, seemed to see
something strange. After taking ten steps, he fell down and began convulsing,
just the like the two Young Masters.
Liuhua, who was good at hiding his tracks, fell from a tree and lay on the
ground, until he was finally discovered.
News of this incident dwarfed the rumor that Slave Huan once passed out.
This four events of "being possessed" were not connected until close to
midnight. The strange news had finally been circulated and someone had
realised that those two killers in Little Flag Battalion had once followed the
Tenth Master to the desert.
Doctor Sun of the Jade City came uphill specially to see the two masters.
Four brown-belt assassins, however, were taken into custody and
investigated. Several rounds of investigators came and asked almost the same
questions. It seemed like they had seldom come into contact.
The forces surrounding the fort were numerous and complicated. Each of
them tried to take advantage in the chaos and got hold of the information so
that they could profit from it.
The Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu, was not in the fort, thus his uncle,
Blademaster Shen Liang of Heart Cleansing Yard, took the four killers, and
imprisoned each of them in different rooms, telling Slave Huan and Maid
Lotus to keep quiet about it.
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were suspicious because they were not
"possessed". Gu Shenwei told Shen Liang about the mysterious woman and
described in detail about how she looked. He knew that he could only survive
the crisis by Eight Young Master's protection.
However, the four brown-belt assassins escapade was more complicated than
Gu Shenwei could imagine.
After Doctor Sun's diagnosis, he confirmed this had come from the New
Moon Hall. The doctor was extremely knowledgable, but still have to consult
with the public, who did not even recall the name until the doctor introduct it
alonside the Barren Sect.
Doctor Sun also found something strange with the Internal Strength in the
bodies of Wildhorse and Liuhua, whereas in the bodies of Slave Huan and
Maid Lotus, he could only detect Peripheral Force. "Both of these men's
Internal Strength are similar but also different. These two youths are fine, but
they won't live long." The doctor explained. He still remembered Slave Huan,
and tried to persuade him to get a diagnosis. "You don't much time now."
Doctor's explanation proved Wildhorse and Liuhua's innocence. However,

Slave Huan and Maid Lotus had to stay until they could explain how the
Peripheral Force had come to be in their Xuanji acupoints.
Shangguan Nu came to the fort immediately when he heard the news. He

guaranteed the innocence of his subordinates, claiming that the one who
planted the force had already died.
But things were still not finished though it was confirmed that Slave Huan
and Maid Lotus were not involved. Other Young Masters also came home to
visit their sisters, at least that was their explanation. However, this became a
hidden reason for feuds to start. They argued about the two killers, the Barren
Sect and the New Moon Hall. They even poked holes in Tenth Young
Master's journey in the desert. They claimed this journey meant that the fort
had broken the treaty. Not to mention the daughter of the Supreme King now
was possessed by New Moon Hall. She could be a hidden danger.
People began to spread rumours which only existed in the ancient stories, like
how the New Moon Hall used sorcery to control people's mind. They claimed
the controlled person might even kill his or her parents without any
consciousness.
The battlefield was not ideal either. Golden Roc Fort and Iron Mountain were
in the midst of ammassing stocks and provisions and could only send small
forces into the desert, with little result and much loss. Shangguan Nu's
capability was under suspicion again.
The fierce arguments actually saved the life of Slave Huan and Maid Lotus.
When Lady Meng realised that her daughter had become a mere tool and the
target of criticism, she flew into a rage. She tore into the White Robe
Academy and rebuked the Young Masters for their heaertlessness. Seeing her
great anger and ceaseless tears, these masters stopped arguing and dared not
even defend themselves.
The eighth day after the incident, the two masters and four brown-belt
assassins went to the Four Truths Temple and seek the help of the Buddha.
As Tie Hanfeng said, "My apprentice, you profit in adversity."
Chapter 124 - The Scripture
Chapter 124: The Scripture
Jade City was the capital of sins and conspiracies within the whole Western
Region. As a result, every resident believed in The Gods. All sorts of temples
lay inside and outside the city, and people consecrated all kinds of aboriginal
gods from every corner of the world there.
Those hazy Gods, who set themselves high above the masses, were like
cinereous vultures feasting on a colossal rotten corpse. The residents of Jade
City had a saying, "The more misdeeds he committed, the larger statues he
donates," which led to another conclusion, "No sin, no belief." To those
monks' and Taoist priests' comfort, there were no sinless people in this city.
Among numerous temples, Four Truths Temple deserved to be their leader. It

had to be located outside the city due to its vast coverage area. Thousands of
statues of Buddha and over 3,000 monks were there. Without surprise, the
major benefactors were Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family in North City.
Four Truths Temple was beyond the mundane affairs and seldom involved in
mortal trifles. The reason why Gu Shenwei remembered it was that it once
made an exception and sent monks to escort an Avenger onto the mountain.
When Marshal Yang was avenging the Gu family, two monks followed him
all the way and disappeared after Marshal Yang died. Gu Shenwei once
thought there was animosity between Four Truths Temple and Golden Roc
Fort. However, he later realized that this move was to sentence Marshal Yang
to death rather than "save" him.
In Four Truths Temple, Marshal Yang took an oath that if he could not go up
the mountain to seek vengeance, he would bathe the Jade City in blood. To
protect the innocent and rid the fiends, the monks agreed to escort him onto
the mountain armed with weapons.
In Gu Shenwei's point of view, this was an extremely sophisticated move to

"take care of it."
The fussing affair of "possessed" had eventually come to an end. Lady Meng
not only managed to shift the focus of Stone Castle onto her daughter's
treatment but also saved the four brown-belt assassins. "They have shared
joys and sorrows with my daughter. Thus, they're not guilty and deserve to be
rewarded."
Lady Meng personally went to Four Truths Temple in the name of praying.
Her team was too vast and mighty to stay in the temple. Therefore, they
camped outside.
According to Doctor Sun, he could not cure the Tenth Young Master whereas
the Exorcism Manuscript might have an extraordinary efficacy. Tie Hanfeng
had always been fighting for a treatment for his apprentice, and it turned out
he could do nothing when the opportunity came.
The six youngsters were summoned to the gloomy main hall. Facing many
monks and civilians and vague Buddhist statues, Mister Guo from the
Whiterobe Academy started pouring out words, proving Shangguan Ru and
the others were not killers from Golden Roc Fort, and their entrance did not
violate The Agreement.
"These two are the Misses from the Shangguan family. The four teenagers in
Daizi Pavilion are still apprentices and have not achieved the killer title yet.
According to The Agreement—" Mister Guo showed a piece of white paper
with the words printed from the inscriptions on it, 'Killers from Golden Roc
Fort shall never enter the desert.' Take a look at 'killers,' which means the
others from Golden Roc Fort can enter at will. However, it was New Moon
Hall that raided the two Misses, and this apprentice named Slave Huan
thought they had to engage in this battle since New Moon Hall were the first
to violate the agreement of peace…"
When Mister Guo vehemently spoke, the two masters—now Misses—from

the Shangguan family did not feel right, because for the first time they don
women's clothes for this affair today. They were uneasy and irritated under
the crowds' eyes.
They had to be the Miss as the result of a multi-party consideration. Golden

Roc Fort needed outside supports in this war among the killers.
The other four youngsters had prominent brown belts, showing that they were
not formal killers.
Slave Huan even had a chance to speak. He described the hazily mysterious
woman he had seen and observed the audience, hoping to figure out the
complicated relationships among the forces in the Western Region. However,
he was asked to leave before he found out anything.
The six youngsters quickly completed their tasks and left the main hall. They
heard later that Mister Guo acquired remarkable supports from the crowd.
Hence the Supreme King favored him quite a lot.
While the counselors of Golden Roc Fort were arguing strongly on just
grounds to convince the crowd, the youngsters were climbing the mountain to
visit a key witness.
Master Tiger Monk was famous for the vegetarian tiger that always followed
him and was called "Tiger Monk." His religious name was Lianxin, which on
the contrary was seldom mentioned.
Also, he kept the Exorcism Manuscript. The most important mission of their
trip was to visit this legendary monk.
Master Tiger Monk did not live in the temple. He built several thatched
cottages called "Leftslope Vihara" on the left slope and practiced Buddhism
there all the time. He wanted peace and quiet. Therefore, a receptionist led
them to the cottages on foot.
Shangguan Ru kept pulling her clothes all along. She was distraught due to
her ridiculous female dress and her upcoming possibly-ruined 13th birthday.
To tell the public that the "Tenth Young Master" was only a joke, she could
not acquire the "Young Master" title, not to mention setting up an academy to
raise killers.
Seeing her brother Shangguan Fei having all these, she became even more
upset and began to smash trees and grasses, killing all those innocent insects.
Shangguan Yushi could not make her happy either until she thought about
seeing the vegetarian tiger.
The youngsters thought that this eminent monk had to be an old one with a
solemn face and a withering body. After meeting him, they found him a
handsome middle-aged monk. The only mark left by his penance was his
almost transparent pale skin. He modestly treated people neither pedantically
nor arrogantly, as if he had small talks with them, regarding every person
equally. Usually, he personally handed over six bowls of fresh water to his
guests and amiably talked about the latest news.
Master Tiger Monk was quite interested in the giant roc which troubled Stone
Castle months ago and seemingly wanted to tame it. Gu Shenwei doubted
that the giant red-crowned roc would be into him.
The youngsters saw the well-known tiger lying on its stomach beside the
monk. It breathed through a big scary mouth, with the ups and downs of its
belly like a bellow, and it seemed bored.
"A vegetarian tiger almost equals to a killer without his saber," Gu Shenwei
thought. There was no saber on him, and he suddenly felt agitated and
struggled to keep calm.
After 60 minutes of chitchat, they got down to business. Master Tiger Monk
turned around, took out a flat cloth-wrapper, and opened it. A clay slab filled
with small and closely-written characters came into sight. Clear signs showed
that a half of the piece seemed to have been missing.
Shangguan Ru shifted her eyes from the tiger to the clay slab. "Is this the
Exorcism Manuscript?"
Master Tiger Monk caressed the clay slab and said, "Exactly. This scripture
was written by an unrivaled master. As time flew, the master died along with
his language. It was not until 300 years later that some expert decrypted its
words and translated it into the Central Plain language. However, this expert
decided to keep the pronunciation instead of meaning. Therefore, although
the scripture looks like sentences, its actual meaning has been long gone."
Shangguan Ru stared at the clay slab in confusion. "Without meaning, is it

still able to exorcise?"
The monk laughed while shaking his head. "This is exactly the profound
meaning of the scripture. The expert was concerned that if people were too
focused on the literal meanings and mistook false for true, they would
eventually be possessed instead of exorcising. So, he intentionally hid the
true meanings. Still, some original words have passed down. Since you are
from Golden Roc Fort, you must be familiar with them."
The monk reversed the clay slab and pointed at the first line, which was
printed as "云泥无分别龙虎无方等有情情不有南柯伐棱叶." However, the
monk said, "The soul rises to the Ninth Heaven, and the spirit falls to the
Ninth Abysse. The living suffer in grief, and the dead settle in peace."
"Death Scripture!" Almost simultaneously, these youngsters blurted out in

unison. These specific words were said when people died in Golden Roc
Fort.
"Right, the scripture is named Nanke Goes Woodchopping, which means the
dead reborn in Pureland and would be blessed. There's nothing wrong to call
it Death Scripture. "
Shangguan Ru scratched her hair on the temples and said, "I see. Those
words come from Death Scripture. All these years saying the words, I don't
even know the meaning."
"It's not your fault. It's not one of those Buddhist books and records, and few
know of this book."
Subsequently, Master Tiger Monk started to impart the scripture. There were
only more than 1,000 words on the clay slab, but all words were transliterated
and looked profound, inducing readers to explore their meanings, hence
forgetting to recite the scripture. Plus, some pronunciations were extremely
bizarre, such as "ren" instead of "yun." One would only make further
mistakes without a teacher.
Master Tiger Monk taught them word by word, while the youngsters
memorized the pronunciations, and the mute Wildhorse was told to read in
mind.
The six youngsters had stayed in Leftslope Vihara for a full seven days until
they could recite the scripture fluently.
Shangguan Ru did not care much about her being "possessed," and she only
wanted to play with the tiger. After three days of making acquaintance with
it, she finally stroked its head along with its beard on the following day. She
was thrilled and thought this was far more interesting than those ghost
exorcising scriptures.
Shangguan Yushi stayed close to Shangguan Ru. She dared to approach it but
not to touch it.
Wildhorse spent more time practicing his kung fu. The rule did not allow
weapons onto the mountain. As a result, he broke a handy tree branch and
stroke and cut the air with it himself.
As to Liuhua, as usual, he disappeared soon after they arrived, and he only

showed up during meals and at bedtime.
Only Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had been earnestly reciting Death
Scripture and asking every pronunciation repeatedly. Until the end, Master
Tiger Monk spent more than half of his time teaching the two.
In fact, the two were not only interested in the scriptures on the clay slab but
also astounded.
The moment the monk displayed the clay slab, they both found out that they
had already thoroughly memorized the scripture, which was on the last few
pages of the Nameless Swordbook. There were 4,000 or 5,000 words on the
book, yet only about 1,000 were on this half clay slab.
Since then, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus called Nameless Swordbook the
Death Scripture. Too many questions arose in their hearts. "Is the scripture's
true meaning a cultivation method of Internal Strength? What is the story
among it, Golden Roc Fort, and Master Tiger Monk? How did it fall into the
abyss and why was it kept by two giant golden-crowned rocs?"
The two privately discussed these for a long time, yet ended up with nothing.
Anyhow, they knew the scripture was amazingly effective. Even when they
wrongly pronounced their "Peripheral Force" in the Xuanji acupoint was
turned into the Internal Strength in Dantian. Would it be even better if they
could pronounce the scripture correctly?
The two youngsters had to ask a favor from Master Tiger Monk, which led to
him to his death.
Chapter 125 - The Protectors
Chapter 125: The Protectors
Master Tiger Monk had half his body bitten off by the vegetarian tiger he
kept. This incident caused a considerable stir in Jade City. What was worse, it
happened on the last day when the six "possessed" youngsters' were studying
the Exorcism Manuscript from the monk, ushering in a train of thoughts
among people.
According to the words of the acolyte who served meals every day,
Shangguan Ru liked to tease the tiger and feed it everything. He once saw the
little girl stuffing insects into its mouth, thus forcing it to break its vegetarian
habit.
Hearing this, Shangguan Ru felt herself being wronged, flushed with fury,
and almost breaking into tears in front of the others. Since then, she had poor
impressions of the monks in Four Truths Temple.
She felt sorrowful for the Master's death. The monk was different. He had
never sermonized or pressed on her. Even when she was teasing and playing
with the tiger he did not say anything.
She missed the vegetarian tiger even more. She spent so much time in getting
along with it, yet it acted upon its instincts and ran away in the end. However,
she was the only one who thought the tiger was innocent.
Lady Meng on the other hand, thought that her daughter was frightened, and
complained in private that those monks of Four Truths Temple were too
careless to let the Tenth Young Master stay with an untamed beast for seven
days. Therefore, she took her daughter back to the castle and was determined
to keep her close for some time.
The tiger escaped deep into the mountains after eating its master. Many
people tried to search the mountains and revenge the monk but none of these
searches beared fruit.
However, the eminent monks in Four Truths Temple did not blame this on
anyone. What they believed was that this was Master Tiger Monk's
predestined fate, and that he had merely harvested the fruit that his previous
life sowed.
Only Gu Shenwei knew that Maid Lotus was behind the whole incident.
The Death Scripture that Master Tiger Monk taught did have effects. Even
the mute Wildhorse felt calmness inside while reciting it. Although his
Internal Strength had not increased, his ability to resist the devil inside
seemed to have improved considerably.
Nonetheless, nobody was able to tell if it could crack the evil secrets of New
Moon Hall until next time somebody passed out.
Gu Shenwei had wanted to learn the entire correct pronunciation of the

scripture from Master Tiger Monk. However, he lived in the same room with
the other two youngsters, making his late night egress suspicious.
Maid Lotus lived in her cottage alone, hence only she could conduct the
mission.
It was not until they got back to Jade City that Maid Lotus had a chance to
tell Slave Huan the whole story.
Maid Lotus wrote down the last few pages of Death Scripture and handed
over a part of her writings to Tiger Monk in the second late night.
With a quick glance, Master Tiger Monk was astounded. He knew that this
was the remaining parts of Death Scripture, because he had already
thoroughly recited the quarter of the scripture he kept.
Maid Lotus then made a deal with Master Tiger Monk—he would teach her
the right pronunciation, while she would hand over the complete Death
Scripture on the premise of him keeping it secret. As to the swordcraft in the
scripture, she did not mention it.
Master Tiger Monk had been studying the words on the clay slab for years,
and it took him several days to figure out the correct pronunciation of the
entire scripture. Later, he taught all of them to Maid Lotus, yet violated the
promise of keeping it secret.
The monk had his thoughts on the complete Death Scripture through his
study of it, however, he could not thoroughly comprehend the whole picture
of it. He finally decided to hand over the complete scripture to the elder
masters in Four Truths Temple, yet told Maid Lotus in advance.
"I had to kill him." Maid Lotus explained to Slave Huan. "Four Truths
Temple is closely related to Stone Castle. If the scripture leaks, we will be
exposed for sure."
When they were on the mountain, Maid Lotus caught a rabbit and fed it to the
tiger, and she found out the tiger was able to eat meat.
In the last night of their stay, Maid Lotus stabbed the monk to death, took the
complete scripture, and induced the tiger to eat half of his corpse in order to
destroy the sign of a stab wound.
The tiger ran away, and Shangguan Ru became the major suspect, making
Maid Lotus' plan flawless.
Gu Shenwei agreed with her plan. It was the only choice and also the way
killers acted.
Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi were taken back to Stone Castle, while
the four brown-belt assassins stayed at South City, waiting for another
mission.
They were assigned to several formal killers as their assistants to inquire

intelligence and eliminate hidden troubles. On appearance, this arrangement
was only to prove the four were not "killers", and therefore they were
occupied with nothing every day.
They stayed in South City as bait.
New Moon Hall came back to jianghu with a declaration of war. However,
they disappeared after the mysterious women planted the "evil spirit" into the
youngsters. Moreover, both killers from Golden Roc Fort and Iron Mountain
troops had slain some Barren Sect members in the desert, yet had not seen a
single trace of New Moon Hall members.
Whiterobe Academy was the think tank of Golden Roc Fort. Counselors
discussed and resulted in a consensus that the New Moon Hall members had
already mingled into Jade City. Therefore, they planned to let the inferior
brown-belt assassins induce the enemy to show up.
The "evil spirit" inside the four brown-belt assassins had not been fully
exorcised yet, making them the ideal bait.
None told the youngsters the truth, yet the moment Gu Shenwei and Maid
Lotus heard that they were to stay at South City, they guessed their purpose.
They only had a short conversation before they were brought away by the
killers. The youngsters had to stay at different places to attract the enemy in a
broader area.
The killer assigned to Gu Shenwei was his Master Shifu Tie Hanfeng, who
verified Gu Shenwei's guess and was not concerned at all. "This is our
chance. We are the killers from Golden Roc Fort. We're not afraid of some
weaklings. Come as they may, I'll kill 'em all. When it comes to taking care
of women, I've got my ways. I'll teach you when you get old enough. Haha."
Tie Hanfeng also wanted to train his apprentice as a business partner, thus he
took this chance to get Gu Shenwei to familiarize with the rules and
surroundings in South City. He lodged in a brothel at Pleasure Alley, and
went to different taverns, betting arenas, and brothels, letting Slave Huan
make acquaintances with various kinds of people.
Although these people might not be kung fu experts, they had a major
influence in Jade City. Their influences wove an intricate web of connections,
which was tenacious and concealed. Without an acquaintance, an outsider
barely stood a chance to get into the web.
To "kill safely" and make some money, one had to locate himself on this web
first.
Most of them were brokers or safeguards of a certain business and were

called "Protectors" by those insiders. These businesses were insanely tricky,
and they often surprised Gu Shenwei. For example, the Protector of the rice
and flour trade was a skinny old man, said to be one of the most powerful
people in South City. He had not run any business, only collected "protection
fees" monthly, and guaranteed thriving business and no customer credits.
Anyone who wanted to safely sell rice or flour in South City had to pay a
visit to him before the business opened.
Any necessities in Jade City were sold three or four times the prices of that in
the other places. Hence, a lot of wholesalers came here, leading to the rise of
the Protectors' power.
Gu Shenwei had always thought that swords and sabers dominated South
City, and this Master Shifu mocked. "You stupid little boy. You're just like
those machetemen who have crawled to South City with mud all over their
clothes, hoping to have good wines and women only because of your good
machete skills. The truth is, even the well beings are just a bunch of hitmen,
and the rest of them are just some rabbits for us to kill for fun."
Tie Hanfeng introduced Gu Shenwei to almost half of the Protectors, only to

tell Gu Shenwei one fact. "Jade City is no different from the other places.
Gold and silver dominate everything. Ah, f*ck, the perfect death for me is to
be drowned in gold or die beside a woman on the softest bed, either of those
two and not under a sword or saber."
Tie Hanfeng was of great attainments regarding kung fu. Gu Shenwei was
uncertain whether he could kill him even after practicing Death Scripture .
However, this cripple was also a killer who cared the least about machete
skills. He was typically more negative towards things compared to Wildhorse
and Liuhua.
However, these days were beneficial to Gu Shenwei. He knew much better

about Jade City and found out Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family did not
have full control in here. With the rise of their status and ambition, the two
powers sprang up to the clouds, far away from the muddy streets in South
City, giving small powers the opportunity to get in and grow. Although those
small powers had numerous connections with Stone Castle, they maintained
their independence.
Tie Hanfeng himself was sort of a Protector. He served several big Protectors,
hiring bodyguards, clearing checkpoints, collecting bills, punishing rascals,
and sometimes killing people.
"You must be very careful when you walk in South City, because you may
offend someone heedlessly. Some patient who has trouble breathing may be a
major Protector. If you stared at him, on the next day, his subordinates will
come to cut you with sabers. There are always some idiots who believe the
bullsheet tales that they can kill at will here. In the end, they don't even know
the name of the one they have offended when they die."
Gu Shenwei was a bit flushed. He used to be such an "idiot" and had not
settled those troubles he had caused yet.
There were many Protectors like Tie Hanfeng. People could hang around in
their places, but had to trade lives for doing businesses there. Tie Hanfeng's
central place was Southwall Tavern, of which the manager was a Protector
and also one of his biggest patrons.
Tie Hanfeng had been carefully expanding his business. A few months ago,
he managed to buy a streetside storied building in Pleasure Alley, and
solicited a prostitute named Xu Yanwei in it.
Gu Shenwei remembered that he had saved the Xu siblings twice last year.
Anyhow, he had not expected that they would fall into Cripple Tie's "devilish
hands" in the name of Slave Huan.
"The owner of this building is Yang Huan." Tie Hanfeng stood at the
doorway and proudly introduced it to his apprentice.
It had never occurred to Gu Shenwei that he would own a brothel out of

nowhere. He dreamed to be a killer, and the dream would become a joke
sooner or later, as long as he stayed with his Master Shifu.
He had also a vague picture about Tie Hanfeng's intention. The cripple might
be "buying over" him, and let him take charge of his business after he
completely retired, hoping Gu Shenwei would support him later in life.
Gu Shenwei thought, "I may fail Master Shifu again."
Gu Shenwei had not seen the experts from New Moon Hall or Barren Sect
until the eighth day of acting as bait, when he went to kill people with Master
Shifu and found the enemy's trace.
Chapter 126 - The Mission
Chapter 126: The Mission
A South City noodle vendor had broken his leg. As a result, a master and his
disciple were paid to hunt down a macheteman.
Neither the master or the disciple knew the vendor. They did not know who
he was, or what kind of person he was. Neither did the vendor know them; he
requested simply the machetemen's one finger. In the end, he received a head.
Only the broker, a major Protector knew how the accident happened. In fact,
the prostitute he frequented was having an affair with a handsome
machetemen. She had been wasting his money on another man. This irritated
the major Protector a lot. However, the handsome machetemen had powerful
connections. So the Protector transferred his anger on another machetemen
that had no connection to this incident whatsoever.
The unlucky machetemen lived in a village on the fringe of town. It was full
of tramp machetemen from different places. They were either hunted, or were
as poor as Job. They only had their own lives and chipped machetes, in
search of opportunities in this "Land of Sword and Saber".
The machetemen Nie Qing was new here for less than two months. He
occasionally acted as temporary bodyguards for wealthy merchants.
Therefore, he did not have powerful connections yet. In Tie Hanfeng's eyes,
he was an easy target.
On the day, it was raining for the last time this autumn. It poured in the
morning, and drizzled in the evening. The temperature dropped at dusk, and
few pedestrians were on the street.
A dirty kid ran to Southwall Tavern in the rain. He whispered to Tie

Hanfeng, and ran away with some taels of silver.
Tie Hanfeng sipped a drink. "He'd be home all day. Don't worry, wait till the
rain stops."
But it did not stop even at noon. Tie Hanfeng sighed. "God just won't let you
go forth smoothly. Come on, we'll finish the bastard today anyway."
They borrowed rain capes from the tavern, and picked up two sabers stored in
a small room.
The sabers were impeccable products from Golden Roc Fort, left by some
unknown killers.
On the way, Tie Hanfeng first started to complain about the weather. Then,
he described his wonderful retirement life: To live in big North City
residences, to sleep with Pleasure Alley prostitutes, to drink Southwall liquor,
and never touch a saber again. He would probably have a son or whatever.
Tie Hanfeng had grown interested in washing his hands lately. He cited
several successful and failed examples. Not all Golden Roc Fort killers died
by the sword, many of them died a natural death. But he had to prepare early.
Most of them were penniless when they were deprived of the killer title. In
the end, they could only live in small houses on a hillside, and depended on
Stone Castle's little salaries. They could barely make ends meet, even couldn't
drink in town.
Some killers had to resume their work as killers, but never as a "Golden Roc
Fort killer". Hence they had to join the tramp machetemen. That way, they
could never tell if someday they would die by the sword of the new
generation of killers.
"I will never live such a life." Tie Hanfeng vowed. The rain fell on his face.
He did not take notice of that.
Some successful killers had saved enough money before retirement. Some
went out of the town. Some bought houses in North City and enjoyed the
safety that was given living under Golden Roc Fort. That way, they would
live their remaining years in peace.
Hearing this, Gu Shenwei became restless. "If the killer is such an ordinary
profession, am I driven away from my revenge now?"
He had been worried these days. He feared that he would listen to Master
Shifu's teaching, that he would die as a killer in North City. What top killers,
what revenge? He feared that he might leave it all behind.
When they were two blocks away from Nie Qing's home, Tie Hanfeng kept
his mouth shut. He looked around, holding on his saber handle. In an instant,
he turned from a weary old man to a ruthless killer.
They didn't need to converse too much. Tie Hanfeng led the way, and Gu
Shenwei followed him 10 steps away. On the cold cement road, after two
turns, they finally arrived in front of a small yard.
It was a simple yard. Its walls were low. Thus, Tie Hanfeng jumped over. Gu
Shenwei looked around, and also jumped into the yard.
Due to the pouring rain, the yard had turned into a pond. Listening in front of
the door for a while, Tie Hanfeng walked in.
The two people looked at the strangers in amazement.
"Who are you? How did you get in?" A woman in her 30s coldly asked. She
put down the dough. Then, she seemed to realize something, and added, "He's
gone out to drink." She resumed with the dough.
Gu Shenwei stood at the door, watching for the outside. He only glanced at
the boy in the room.
The boy was skinny and dark, and looked like he had practiced kung fu. He
was in front of his mother protecting her, wordless.
Tie Hanfeng looked into the back room and grunted. "The bastard gave me
wrong intelligence again."
The woman dropped the dough and pushed her son away. "You guys work
out on your own. Don't drag me and my son into this. We can't help, and we
don't want to."
Tie Hanfeng nodded but didn't answer. Instead, he asked the boy behind,
"How old are you?"
"14." The boy coldly replied.
"14, it's time for you to take on the sense of revenge due to your father."
The woman's countenance changed. The boy still didn't know what would
happen. He took a stand and proudly said, "You can't beat my dad. If you kill
him, I'll revenge…"
"Shut up!" The woman snapped. "Your dad is a macheteman, he risks his life.
He'll die someday. What revenge?"
The boy blushed. "I am also a macheteman. I will protect him."
"Fetch your machete." Tie Hanfeng ordered.
As the boy turned to the back room, Tie Hanfeng rushed to him and hit the
boy in the neck. The boy fell to the ground, lying motionless.
The woman grabbed her kitchen knife, rushing to the killer screaming.
Tie Hanfeng casually dropped her knife. Then held her neck and covered her
mouth. "Finish the kid, I have other things to do."
Gu Shenwei was familiar with Tie Hanfeng's countenance now. However, he

was uglier than ever. "Is it necessary?" asked Gu Shenwei.
The disciple's challenge surprised him. "Of course it is. It saves me dozens of
taels. You know how expensive they are. Besides, this woman is dying,
wouldn't it be a waste?"
"I think we're killers." Gu Shenwei accepted battered bodies, but found it
hard to accept his Master Shifu's action now.
"Damn you, don't play the good guy. Save it. If someone interrupts me, or the
boy is still alive afterward, you can call it a day. I'll show you how a good
guy ends up."
Tie Hanfeng took the woman into the back room. Quickly, there came
struggling, crying and panting.
The boy on the ground gained consciousness. Then, he wiped off the blood
on his forehead. He shouted "Mom" and dashed toward the back room.
However, as soon as he took one step, he was knocked down again. Gu
Shenwei was pointing the saber towards the teens heart.
Gu Shenwei tried to focus on his saber. He told himself. "I can't help him.
Even if I were to free him, Cripple Tie will hunt him down. The only thing I
can do now is spare him the torture."
The boy got up and was knocked down again. The kung fu he learned from
his dad was defenseless in front of a killer.
Hearing the sound from the back room, the boy on the ground raised his
head. He placed his neck against the saber and said, "Kill me, my aunt will
avenge."
Gu Shenwei looked at him and stabbed the saber in.
Tie Hanfeng walked out of the back room, his cape missing. He wiped his
hands with the dishcloth on the shelf. Sitting on the kitchen range, he looked
at the boy's body and said, "Wait for a moment, he'll come home."
Gu Shenwei stood beside the door. He murmured a "yes" and looked at the
dough.
It was pouring outside, yet it was eerily silent inside.
"People are flesh and bones." Tie Hanfeng spoke up, lecturing like he used to.
"People are no different than stocks. The saber goes in, the person dies. Every
man, every woman and child, you, and me, we all die someday. People are
born to kill each other."
Gu Shenwei didn't say a word. Before he could defeat his Master Shifu, he
would never argue. In his eyes, people led a different life, a life he used to
live but was ruined by Golden Roc Fort overnight. He would never see his
dead loved ones as flesh and bones. Without the love for the family, the
endeavors now would be meaningless, the hardships and disgrace he used to
bear would crush him in a second.
Tie Hanfeng stared at his disciple, his cheeks slightly working. He had finally
cheered up from the drizzle, now it was ruined by this boy. He said, "I have
ways to fix you."
Gu Shenwei had learned Master Shifu's sticks and stones, thus he did not care
too much.
It got dark early, and the rain slowly stopped. Silence fell both inside and
outside of the room. The two killers waited patiently for their target.
Someone pushed the courtyard door open and stumbled in. The water
splashed like it was being walked on by a bear. The "bear" shouted. "Where's
my lady? I'm back, don't play dumb. Little brat, where are you? I may as well
raise a dog. Dogs welcome me every day…"
Nie Qing was drunk as he pushed the door open. He staggered at the door,
adapting to the dark. He became furious when he first saw an unfamiliar old
man on the kitchen range. Then, he saw the body on the ground. Immediately
he knew what had happened. He yelled and drew out his machete.
Before he could draw the machete, a saber from behind pierced him in the
waist. He was pierced through, and he could even see the blade itself in front
of him.
Nie Qing opened his mouth and couldn't think straight. He started to stagger
backwards, and his hands scrambled to grab the blade that pierced through
him, but in vain.
Gu Shenwei pulled out the saber, and the body fell forward. At the same
time, Tie Hanfeng darted to grab at the hair and cut his head. He didn't even
interrupt the body's falling.
He put the saber away and drew a black cloth to wrap up the head. He handed
it over to his disciple.
The two people looked around in front of the yard. Then, they left after
confirming no one was watching.
On the road, a sneaky young man fetched the head. The task was finished.
They returned to Xu Yanwei's loft. Xu Xiaoyi opened the door. Seeing their
long faces, he did not greet them cheekily like he used to.
"Where's your sister?" asked Tie Hanfeng.
"She's upstairs."
"Any customer?"
"Not yet, they'll come soon."
"Well, send my disciple up. Let her teach him how to be a man."
This was Tie Hanfeng's idea of "fixing" his disciple.

Chapter 127 - Suspicion
Chapter 127: Suspicion
The Xu sister and brother knew very well who was the real master and
backer.
Xu Xiaoyi had already heard of the title Cripple Tie, so he and his sister tried
their best to please the half-protector at Southwall Tavern during the last
winter. Since the hope to be noblemen in the Stone Kingdom had gone, they
had to find a protector to survive in South City.
Tie Hanfeng had personally verified Xu Yanwei's ability and felt that she was
worth making use of. Therefore, he rented a small building at Pleasure Alley
for her to continue to work. He also helped the sister and brother to repay all
debts to Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family.
All these had been done in the name of "Yang Huan." Nominally, most of the
money earned by the Xu siblings had to be handed over to Slave Huan, but
actually, it was under the custody of Tie Hanfeng.
Therefore, during these days when Gu Shenwei lived in the brothel, not only
was Xu Xiaoyi too hospitable to "Brother Huan," but also Xu Yanwei
changed her attitude, behaving as delicately as she was when they met her
and not talking in a clear-cut way.
Occasionally, she would reveal her true features and told "Mr. Huan" that the
guests liked shy prostitutes. Although she had been doing this for five years,
every time when a stranger came, he would take her as a new girl and pay her
much more money.
The only change in Xu Yanwei was that she no longer received guests with
special hobbies. She was now a "normal" prostitute. Tie Hanfeng introduced
some guests at the beginning, but soon more guests kept coming for her
reputation. Although she was not the hottest prostitute of Pleasure Alley, she
was already very popular.
Xu Xiaoyi quit stealing and served as an attendant to his sister's guests or did
some legwork for Tie Hanfeng. He didn't care that "Brother Huan" is going to
sleep with his sister, in fact, he was even happy about it because it showed
that they had been "closer."
"Sister, don't receive guests tonight!" Xu Xiaoyi shouted loud.
"The old goat wants it again? He still has to pay me." Xu Yanwei said
unhappiness when walking out of the room.
Xu Yanwei always slept until the afternoon and then got up for prinking
herself up. At such time, she was often in a lousy mood and tended to tell the
truth. Tie Hanfeng's comment for her was, "you are only a step away from
being a first-class whore of Pleasure Alley."
The "old goat" and his apprentice were glaring at each other angrily and
ignored Xu Yanwei upstairs. Xu Xiaoyi found it abnormal and said with a
smile, "It's not Mr. Tie, it's Mr. Huan."
Xu Yanwei went blank for a while and then said with a smile, "This is
interesting. It's OK without payment."
Gu Shenwei's anger kept escalating. What he could not accept was not losing
his virginity, but that Tie Hanfeng still took him as a child and wanted to
control everything, including his ideas.
The machete was just at his waist, and the power of the swordcraft in Death
Scripture will be significantly reduced when the mood was unstable. So Gu
Shenwei constrained his anger and stabilized his mind so as to launch a
decisive hit.
Feeling the imminent murderous atmosphere, the siblings dared not speak.
Xu Xiaoyi retreated to the wall and stood there. Rich experience of making a
living in the streets had taught him a truth: when people with machetes were
about to fight, he must never try to open his mouth to mediate, just looking
on was the best choice.
There was nothing that a killer should owe his master, with such an idea in
mind, Gu Shenwei reached for the handle.
However, he still underestimated Tie Hanfeng's strength.
When his chin was punched, Gu Shenwei's right hand was still an inch away
from the machete handle. The cripple's boxing skills were as good as his
machete skills. There was hardly any routine, just one punch after another,
seemingly slow but just unavoidable.
Gu Shenwei has a wealth of experience in being beaten, so he did not hide

and just took on his master's attack. They both tried their utmost to attack
without any defense. After only a while, their faces were both seriously
injured, with blood splattered. The Xu siblings looked frightened and dared
not say anything even if they wanted to stop them.
They stopped almost at the same time, and each took a step back, gasping but
still glaring at each other angrily.
Trying to break the awkward silence, Xu Xiaoyi clapped his hands and crying
out, "The fight was just…wonderful."
Coming back to earth, Xu Yanwei, standing upstairs, said with a sneer, "I've
seen a lot of men fighting for me, but it's the first time in my life that two
men were fighting to avoid sleeping with me."
Someone was knocking on the door, Xu Xiaoyi looked at "Mr. Tie" and "Mr.
Gu," not knowing what to do.
"Open the door," ordered Tie Hanfeng, kind of allowing Xu Yanwei to

receive the guest. The apprentice's virginity was temporarily preserved.
The master and the apprentice then hid in the bedroom downstairs, where
they usually stayed. After finding gauze to wipe the blood, the two people,
one standing and one sitting, did not talk to each other for quite a while.
"You're just too…what the hell are you thinking about?"
Gu Shenwei's bemused look made Tie Hanfeng puzzled, wondering whether

he had fought so hard that his pupil's brain had been damaged.
"I'm thinking…how many machetewomen are there in the city?" Gu Shenwei

took a long breath, seemingly not joking.
Why machetewomen? Why not prostitutes? Listen, there's no difference

between prostitutes and machetewomen except that the latter may have scars
on the bodies.
Gu Shenwei shook his head and said, "No, I was thinking about what the
child said, 'aunt will revenge us.'"
Although he was no older than the teenager, he regarded him as a child.
Tie Hanfeng was a bit stunned, he didn't expect that his disciple could think
of this, "Don't worry about it, children always talk big to scare people.
Anyway, if he does have an aunt, I'll take care of her unless she was too
ugly."
"No, I mean few women are practicing Kung Fu, right?" According to the
knowledge of Gu Shenwei, few women practiced Fung Ku, except those in
the Golden Roc Fort.
"Not many, even in the whole Western Region, and most of them are in the
Golden Roc Fort."
"There are more female killers in the New Moon Hall and the Barren Sect
than in the Stone Castle."
It was until then that Tie Hanfeng understood what his disciple meant. He
laughed and said, "Do you think his aunt is a female killer just for a few
words of a child?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
Tie Hanfeng looked at his disciple in astonishment, becoming more skeptical

that his brain had been damaged. "Sometimes you are quite smart, but
sometimes you are … too smart. You are too serious about what the Stone
Castle had taught you and have become so suspicious. So tell me, is there
someone hiding in the bed? Is the guest upstairs an assassin from the Stone
Kingdom? Has Xu Xiaoyi been bribed to poison us? By the way, I heard
people talking about the 'iron shop' yesterday, does this mean someone wants
to plot against me?"
Gu Shenwei didn't answer. His being suspicious was not taught by the
Golden Roc Fort, but was intended to deal with the Golden Roc Fort, "When
I held the saber, the child's eyes … he knew it was a saber of the Golden Roc
Fort, but he still said confidently, 'aunt will revenge us.' There have been no
people from the New Moon Hall for several days, so I think why not take the
initiative to find them, which is better than do nothing as a bait."
"Just do whatever you want for the investigation." Tie Hanfeng was very
unhappy because he failed to convince his disciple on several matters in a
row. After a short period of silence, he said, "You are really a troublemaker.
How many troubles have you made and how many people have you offended
since you entered the Stone Castle? There are so many apprentices like you,
but none of them have so more enemies than you, Do you know why? Your
problem is that you are too suspicious and ambitious. You always refuse to
settle for being a slave or a killer. You've been running too fast and standing
in the way of the others, which will make you die sooner or later."
Gu Shenwei also knew this, but as a teenager who wanted to take revenge on
the whole Golden Roc Fort that had destroyed his family, how could there be
any possibility if he was not so suspicious and ambitious enough?
"I need your help," said Gu Shenwei. In the South City, he could not get any
clue without the guidance of Cripple Tie, and he was tired of waiting
passively for the enemy to come. Because he had a painful experience of
losing the initiative, he always thought about taking it back.
Tie Hanfeng frowned. He was more willing to take this opportunity to

consolidate his private business, "All right, don't waste too much of my
time."
"I would not. I want to ask Nie Qing's friends first. He must have some
acquaintances here since he had brought his whole family to the Jade City."
In order to kill Nie Qing, the macheteman, Tie Hanfeng had gotten enough
information about him, "Nie Qing came from the Northeastern Soldiers
Camp, where there are many poor people and stupid machetemen, who had
swarmed into the South City like rats. Piles of people dying before their eyes
cannot wake them up. He must have acquaintances who are so familiar with
him that they can even betray him. Let's go to the Toad Tavern, where there
are a lot of such people."
When the master and disciple left the brothel, they were so kind to each other
and even made way for each other at the door, which made Xu Xiaoyi
speechless with surprise. He just kept shaking and nodding his head after
closing the door, even failing to hear the shouts of the guests upstairs.
The Toad Tavern was located at the edge of the city, not far from the village.
Tie Hanfeng was very familiar with the shopkeeper although it was not a
place under his control.
It was already late at night when they arrived at the tavern, where there were
so busy and noise as it was just at the peak hours.
Tie Hanfeng greeted the shopkeeper warmly, and later, he pulled the disciple
aside and said. "He can't reveal any information because it is a rule. You have
to find it out by yourself."
Tie Hanfeng pushed on his disciple's shoulder, wondering what this

suspicious disciple could find out by himself.
Small as it is, the tavern has so many guests. Dozens of rough machetemen
were spending the best time of the day here, competing with drinking and
machete skills, bragging and talking about women, as if everything in their
dreams had been realized.
Gu Shenwei knew none of them, and without the introduction by Tie

Hanfeng, no one care such gloomy-looking teenager at all.
"Nie Qing!" Gu Shenwei shouted so loudly that even the noise in the tavern
was drowned out. He had been standing here for quite a while, and he had to
do something.
After a period of silence, all guests turned to the teenager without a word, and
then they suddenly turned back to continue chatting, as if the teenager was
transparent and nothing had happened.
Tie Hanfeng stood in the distance, shaking his head but with a smile on his
face. He thought that someone should teach the stupid disciple a lesson so
that he could understand the rules for living in the South City.
Two guests called the waiter to check out, but Gu Shenwei suddenly went
over to sit before them. He took off the saber and put it on the table, "There's
so much wine left, wouldn't you finish it before leaving?"
Tie Hanfeng scolded in his mind. He didn't expect that his disciple could
really find the two guys, who could hardly retain their composure and
revealed themselves when attempting to leave after hearing the name "Nie
Qing."
(Seeking for collection and recommendation)

Chapter 128 - Disheartened
Chapter 128: Disheartened
To an assassin, it was a mistake to know too much about his victim's life.
All it took for the two machetemen, who had lived dubiously in South City
for many years, to reveal everything was a good flask of wine and a saber of
the Golden Roc Fort. Although Gu Shenwei's face was badly scarred from all
the fighting he had done, it seemed to conceal his age and made him appear a
lot older than he was.
The two of them were from the same village as Nie Qing - Soldiers Camp in
the northeast.
Many years ago, when the power of the Central Plain was at its peak, it set up
many garrisons in the Western Region for its troops, which totaled more than
a hundred thousand men. This gave it hegemony over nearly all countries at
that time. When it returned to the Western Region after thirty years in
Hedong and another thirty in Hexi, its troops had been reduced to only a few
thousand, and Soldiers Camp, one of its garrisons, had been almost entirely
abandoned.
Soldiers Camp had turned into an ordinary village. Putting away their armor,
the remaining soldiers had become farmers, married and had children with
the locals. Over time, in convergence with the locals, their manner of dress
and way of life became increasingly unsophisticated. The only thing which
did not falter was their military spirit. Most families kept weapons, such that
the first piece of iron that a male baby touched upon entering the world was
either a knife or a spear.
Nie Qing was one such child born in a Soldiers Camp. His parents died early,
leaving him behind to his elder brother and sister, and a younger sister.
Adhering to the traditions of Soldiers Camp, he practiced martial arts from a
young age and became a farmer when he grew up. He never showed a hint of
jealousy, at least not publicly, when he saw his youth's companions venture
out into the world, return to the village rich, or pass away in a foreign place.
This continued until he was in his thirties, when one day, he put down his
farming hoe and said to a few neighbors, "If this thing can be dug out, then so
can swords and more."
His wife, having silently watched him for many years, had long known that
the day would come when his adventurous spirit would get the better of him.
Instead of opposing, she raised a single request. "I won't wait for you. Either
our son and I follow you, or you break up with me now, and allow me to
remarry and change our son's surname."
Nie Qing decided to bring his wife and son along. Treading along the same
path that had been taken by many villagers, they soon arrived in Jade City.
Exactly sixty days would eventually pass before the whole family was killed.
In the meantime, Nie Qing seemed to have acquired a sum of money from
somewhere, or perhaps received some donations. In any case, his life was not
as shabby as that of other wandering assassins. Although he could not find a
wealthy patron who appreciated him, he remained able to support his small
family.
His elder brother was a humble and earnest farmer, and was the only man in
the village who did not like swords. His elder sister had married to a distant
village and had long not been in touch.
These, however, were not the things that Gu Shenwei wanted to know, and
hearing them only made him feel irritated. Only one matter caught his
attention - Nie Qing's younger sister was taken away, at an early age, by an
immortal, and this incident had caused a huge uproar even in distant villages.
But not much was known. The two machetemen could not tell where she was
taken to or who she was taken by, and even expressed doubts that it was the
act of an immortal. "Maybe she just died and this was all a fabrication."
After spilling everything they knew about their fellow villager, the two of
them downed a final cup of wine and hurriedly scampered.
Gu Shenwei simply sat where he was and pondered over a few things before
someone came up to him.
It was another macheteman. Tall and burly, he had round eyes and raised
eyebrows, and possessed a dignified air about him. Slapping his palm on the
table, he asked, "Was it you who killed Nie Qing and his family?"
"Go away." Gu Shenwei grasped the saber that was on the table.
"You could have just killed the man. Why the lady and child as well?" The
macheteman did not relent and instead raised his voice, causing the tavern to
fall into silence.
Gu Shenwei raised his head and looked at the macheteman. He had regained
the impulse of killing someone upon feeling as though he was being judged.
"Because he'd bonded their lives to his own when he decided to bring them
with him."
But Gu Shenwei did not draw his saber and attack, and even he himself did
not know why. There was no need to explain anything in words, particularly
to an unfamiliar macheteman.
The macheteman cringed his face and spat a viscid lump of phlegm on to the
saber's scabbard, before he turned and departed.
The noise in the tavern returned, albeit a little softer than usual.
Tie Hanfeng watched in surprise as the macheteman walked out of the tavern.
He then took leave of the manager and signaled to his apprentice to follow
him.
Outside, without saying a word, he jabbed the apprentice on his lower

abdomen. "What the hell was wrong with you? Where was the anger you
have when fighting with me? Go kill that fella and display his head back in
the tavern."
"I don't feel like killing right now," Gu Shenwei replied stubbornly and
turned to walk into a dark alley.
Tie Hanwei followed behind his apprentice, with his eyebrows deeply
trenched. He had always felt that the latter was worthy of being trained, but
that confidence was now slightly swayed.
The two of them followed the audacious macheteman into a village on the
edge of the city, where they had killed a family of three a few hours earlier.
The macheteman entered into his own house through the main door. His head
swirling with anger, he utterly failed to notice that he was being followed.
After hiding and waiting beneath a wall for a good amount of time, Gu
Shenwei climbed over the wall and entered the house.
Tie Hanfeng kept watching outside while expecting his apprentice to emerge
with a few human heads shortly. Eventually, however, he would be not only
disappointed but bewildered. When Slave Huan came out of the house, he
was holding a long and huge iron nail in his hand.
The nail was of seven or eight inches in length. It could possibly be used as a
weapon because of its square head, which allowed it to be firmly clutched,
and pointed end.
"What's this?" Tie Hanfeng asked when they reached a secluded spot.
"I don't know, but there're many of them inside the house."
The duo turned a corner and reached the door of Nie Qing's house. Tie
Hanfeng was not amused. "You know it's the rule that a killer shouldn't return
to the scene of his deed."
But Gu Shenwei climbed over the wall and entered the house. He discovered
that the bodies had already been taken away, while the bloodstains remained.
Underneath the firewood in the hearth, he found iron nails identical to the one
he had.
When walking back through the dark alleyway, the teacher and apprentice
began to discuss the iron nails whisperingly. Although Tie Hanfeng found
them a little odd, he came up with a suitable explanation. "As machetemen,
the iron nails are probably goods that they have to safeguard."
"But, what use are they? They're too thick for building houses, and aren't
handy enough to be weapons."
"Go ask the fella who spat at you. I'm sure he can spit something else out."
"Let's not alert the snake for now."
"You seem a lot more cautious this time. Wasn't it your idea to find those
women?"
"Indeed, and that's why these male machetemen aren't important. Hasn't the
Whiterobe Academy secretly deployed many people in South City? Can't
they be asked to monitor these guys?"
"I wouldn't know. You were supposed to be the bait while I kept watch -
that's all I care about."
There was a lot of anger in Tie Hanfeng's words, and Gu Shenwei was aware
that he had struck his teacher's raw nerve. In South City, Cripple Tie would
be considered half of a Protector, but within the fort, he did not have much
status.
They only managed to return to Xu Yanwei's place after midnight, when Xu

Xiaoyi immediately told them a piece of bad news.
A Golden Roc Fort killer had just been assassinated.
The two of them hurried to the scene of the incident. It was a low-class
brothel which also served as a guesthouse.
Members of the Golden Roc Fort had already sealed off the brothel and were
interrogating the prostitutes and guests one-by-one. Tie Hanfeng displayed
his waist token to gain access together with his apprentice, and quickly found
out the details of the matter.
The killer, Wu Ling, was staying over in the brothel and having a good time
with a prostitute when he was murdered by an assassin in a single strike.
He was somewhat famous within the fort and his swordsmanship was said to
be exquisite. Although he was already rather old, he was still way above the
average killer. Like Tie Hanfeng, he formerly served Third Young Master
before he became a killer mentor.
While inspecting the body, the duo discovered that there was only a single
wound. A sharp weapon had pierced through his left eye and out of the back
of his head. He laid naked with his mouth gaped and half of his face covered
in blood. His saber was left on the bed unsheathed, showing that he was
completely unaware that he was being plotted against.
The prostitute who was on the bed with Wu Ling had yet to calm down, and
was crying and screaming, "It was a ghost, a long-haired ghost! It killed him
instantly with a sword!" She provided this answer to every question that was
asked.
The assassination was of great discomfort to all of the killers present. Wu

Ling was one of their best, and many of them were lying in ambush in the
brothel's surroundings. This was a clear case of a trap to draw the snake out
of its hole, yet the snake had been allowed to appear and slip away.
Gu Shenwei recognized Wu Ling as the mentor of Maid Lotus.
The killer mentor had, in total, taken in ten Dragon Year apprentices, but
after a process of elimination, only two remained, one of which was Maid
Lotus.
Four brown-belt assassins were left in South City as bait, accompanied by

their respective mentors. Wu Ling brought Maid Lotus to live in the brothel.
In Golden Roc Fort, there was no difference between male and female - to
become a killer, one had to get rid of gender distinctions.
Tie Hanfeng gathered together and chatted with the other killers while
waiting for people from the fort to arrive before they could decide on their
next step.
Meanwhile, Gu Shenwei found Maid Lotus in a small room.
She appeared very calm, and had not looked at her mentor's body. "I bumped
into the assassin in the courtyard but had no time to draw my weapon. Her
qinggong was excellent, and the killers waiting outside were also unable to
stop her."
"Something's not right."
"Indeed."
They talked in a highly illogical way which an outsider would not be able to
comprehend - and it was deliberate.
To a person who had practiced the swordcraft in Death Scripture , "no time to
draw my weapon" was an euphemism for nearly getting killed and that
something was wrong with one's self.
Gu Shenwei had already felt that something was not right when he followed
his mentor to kill Nie Qing and subsequently his family.
In Golden Roc Fort, he had killed even younger apprentices, while for the
sake of practicing his swordcraft, he had killed many people he did not know.
However, as he faced the fourteen-year-old boy, his heart wavered and his
hands turned a little soft.
At Xu Yanwei's place, it was also because he was caught between two minds
that he was struck by his mentor even before his hand could touch the hilt of
his weapon.
And in the tavern, he let off the provocative macheteman because of a

moment of indecision. Even though he trailed the man and discovered the
weird iron nails after the fact, it was not the idea he had in the first place.
He was only able to kill Nie Qing and son because their skills were weak and
they were unable to exert their swordcraft.
He was, in fact, no longer a killer in the eyes of his mentor Tie Hanfeng.
The Death Scripture 's swordcraft demanded speed, accuracy, and
ruthlessness. A moment of indecision was contrary to its very essence.
Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei had the same feeling - it was only when they
came across an assassin that they realized they were unable to draw their
swords in accordance with the Death Scripture 's teachings.
"A monk is playing tricks on us."
They had the same suspect in mind - Master Tiger Monk had passed to them
an Exorcism Manuscript set which he claimed was the correct reading of the
Death Scripture. Only now did they realize it had a big problem.
What they could not confirm was whether the four other youths who studied
the scripture with them were similarly affected.
"Have you seen the body?" Gu Shenwei asked. He had an even bigger
question which he wanted to ask, or perhaps even interrogate, her about.
Maid Lotus shook her head.
"The person who killed your mentor used the Death Scripture 's swordcraft."
From just one look at the body, Gu Shenwei could tell that the swordcraft
used was what he himself was familiar with - a single, fatal strike through the
eye. However, he did not know anyone except Maid Lotus and himself who
had practiced this technique.
Chapter 129 - Nails
Chapter 129: Nails
Maid Lotus had been quickly taken off the suspect list. The prostitute had
seen a "long-haired ghost" who was very likely female, while several other
people had seen Maid Lotus bumping into and nearly fighting against said
"ghost". Therefore it was impossible for her to have been Wu Ling's
murderer.
As a matter of fact, the killers waiting outside had initially suspected Maid
Lotus when they were unable to catch the assassin. They quickly realized
though, that this was false.
In Golden Roc Fort, most apprentices would not grieve when their mentors
were killed.
Mentors, in general, did not treat their apprentices as humans. During times
of relative peace and little carnage, those with many apprentices would force
them to engage in fights to the death, so as to quickly eliminate the weaker
ones. Cases of torturing or raping their apprentices were even more common.
The mentors not only received no punishment but would brag about their
deeds among themselves.
An important step in developing cold-blooded killers was to incite hatred in

their hearts.
Not only were there witnesses that verified Maid Lotus did not kill Wu Ling,
but she had no need to deny it if she did. Rather, she would have blatantly
publicized it, for she could then inherit her mentor's red belt and officially
become a killer.
Gu Shenwei had another doubt: Maid Lotus secretly passed the Death
Scripture to other people.
This idea was also swiftly debunked. Only four Dragon Year apprentices had
remained in South City. Liuhua had attempted to assassinate Maid Lotus
before, during the time Wildhorse was the leader of the rival side, and hence
Maid Lotus was irreconcilable enemies with them. Even if she did divulge
the Death Scripture , it would not have been to them.
Maid Lotus had the same suspicion against Gu Shenwei, and had also
debunked it by the same reasoning.
They calmed down and began to search for hidden traces and clues together.
This rare alone time allowed them to revert to a past when they helped and
inspired each other.
It was possible that a portion of the Death Scripture 's swordcraft remained in
New Moon Hall - the New Moon Hall was formerly a part of Golden Roc
Fort, which the scripture was closely connected with.
As the Four Truths Temple possessed fragments of the Death Scripture , it

could also have kept a portion of the swordcraft. Furthermore, since the
scripture imparted by Master Tiger Monk could diminish a person's desire to
kill, it suggested that he had a deep understanding of swordcraft.
While Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were mulling over the conspiracy of the
monk and the swordcraft, the killers in the other room were thinking about
how to cover up this humiliating fiasco.
The Golden Roc Fort sent people to continue the interrogations overnight. In
the early hours of the morning, Mister Guo of the Whiterobe Academy
appeared with an order from the lord to gather all of South City's strength to
hunt down the disciples of New Moon Hall and Barren Sect. The cautious
plan of luring the snakes out of their holes was abandoned; Golden Roc Fort
was ready to take a lot of lives.
Wu Ling's death was only one of many assassinations that took place on the
same night. While the killers were gathered in the brothel searching for clues
regarding the assassin, more assassinations were taking place elsewhere.
Seven spies of the Golden Roc Fort were assassinated, while four killers,
including Wu Ling, met their end. There were also several plots that failed.
Wildhorse was able to turn on his assassin, thus becoming the fort's only
victory of the night. This also revealed to Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus that
they were the only two whose killing desires were weakened after studying
the Exorcism Manuscript.
As more and more news arrived, everyone finally understood that this was
not an isolated case. New Moon Hall and Barren Sect were declaring war on
Golden Roc Fort by this method - the battle between them now extended
from the desert to Jade City.
As soon as the sun rose, the streets of South City became unusually crowded.
A countless number of machete-wielding men were hired to search for
suspicious women. Brothels, big and small, were the worst hit - those which
had little connections or weak backing were immediately destroyed.
By that evening, the Golden Roc Fort killers and hired machetemen had
killed over a hundred people. Although some of the victims had concealed
steel needles and demonstrated remarkable skill in their resistance, the
majority were innocent souls.
The subsequent investigation showed that the results of the machetemen were
extremely poor even though they were the largest group and killed the most
people. They slaughtered indiscriminately and purposelessly, and some even
used the opportunity to settle personal grudges. By contrast, the Golden Roc
Fort killers were adequately prepared and had a clear purpose.
Once the mass retaliation began, the four brown-belt assassins who served as
bait were completely forgotten. They had become of little value because the
enemies had shown no interest in them.
The four youths were placed in an obscure yard and left to themselves while
their mentors were taken away to participate in the hunt. Although Tie
Hanfeng was heavily displeased by his apprentice's form over the past two
days, he warned the latter not to act presumptuously. The matter had already
escalated into a battle between two large factions, and was not something
which a young and alias-less killer could solve on his own.
Gu Shenwei waited conscientiously for two days, but subsequently decided to
resume the investigation when he could no longer endure the torment of
waiting. He had a different idea - if New Moon Hall was indeed a strong
force, he could secretly assist them. The fiercer the fight between the two
factions, the better it would be for the revenge.
The four youths publicly broke up over this matter.
Wildhorse and Liuhua haughtily rejected Slave Huan's request. Liuhua's

reason was simple and frank, "You aren't the leader now." Wildhorse simply
stared grimly at him with contempt-filled eyes.
Gu Shenwei's only accomplice was Maid Lotus.
The first clue was the audacious macheteman. Gu Shenwei did not want to
alert the snake, but now that the snakes were dancing manically, it was no
longer important to be covert.
However, he soon discovered that the macheteman had disappeared. The

latter's residence had a new occupant who had just moved in and did not
know anything about the previous occupant.
The second clue was the long iron nail, which Gu Shenwei had kept even
though Tie Hanfeng paid no attention to it. The only thing he could do now
was to bring it to a blacksmith.
It was already noon, but there were few people on the streets. Not many
dared to seek fun in South City during these terrible times. The only people
around were machetemen whose expressions gave away their ill intent. They
leered at Maid Lotus and only moved away resentfully when they saw the
saber below her waist.
The peak of the massacre had already passed. Reverting to the primary nature
of killers, Golden Roc Fort, New Moon Hall, and Barren Sect only carried
out activities during nighttime. Over the past two nights, the opposing sides
had caused damage to each other, with Golden Roc Fort taking a slight upper
hand.
There were almost as many blacksmiths who came to Jade City to a seek a
living as there were machetemen. Most of them were gathered in the
southeastern suburbs, where they had formed their own village. Earthen walls
were built around it so that the knocking noises which continued round the
clock would not disturb their neighbors too much.
Since the war began, there were only a few trades in Jade City which
continued to flourish, one of which was blacksmithing. Long before the duo
reached the village, the clanking noises could already be heard ceaselessly.
Gu Shenwei soon realized that it would not be easy to find out the origin of
the nail here. The two sides of the street were filled with blacksmith shops
big and small, totaling, by estimation, sixty or seventy shops. Once the
blacksmiths heard that the two youths, who looked mature beyond their ages,
were not here for business but to ask for information, they became unwilling
to talk.
In the end, the duo found and entered what seemed to be the largest shop.
Instead of saying anything, they stood guard at the door and flashed their
sabers, causing other visitors to keep away.
The blacksmiths in the shop stopped their work and looked at the youths who
came with seemingly bad intent. One of them placed his hammer down,
wiped his hands on his apron, and sized up the two incomers while measuring
some weights. "Please wait a second."
He shouldered past the duo and left the shop, but shortly returned with a
burly man dressed in a robe.
Gu Shenwei was able to guess the identity of the man even though he did not
know his name and Tie Hanfeng had not introduced him. This was, in all
likelihood, the Protector of the blacksmith trade.
"I'm Du Qi. May I know what business the two of you are here for?" The
Protector gave a fist salute before he swept a glance at the sabers attached to
the duo's waists.
"We're here to ask about something, but nobody seems to speak much."
Du Qi laughed scornfully for a second. "You two are apprentices from the
fort, right? Didn't you learn the rules before coming out?"
He took off his robe to reveal black clothes and a red belt. It turned out that
he, like Tie Hanfeng, was a Golden Roc Fort killer. Judging from appearance,
he was in the prime of his life, and was probably still working for a Young
Master.
Gu Shenwei realized he had got into trouble once again. There was surely a
reason why Tie Hanfeng, who was hostile with eight or nine out of every ten
people, had never introduced the Protector to him.
"We're carrying out orders." He maintained his composure and replied. From
his experience, he knew to remain firm and not cower in this kind of
situation.
Du Qi revealed an expression of doubt. "Do you have a waist token for this
engagement?"
Anyone sent out to do work on behalf of the Golden Roc Fort would have a
special waist token which was unmistakable.
Gu Shenwei had a brown-belt assassin's waist token which he could use to

deceive most people, but which a genuine killer would easily discern.
Therefore, instead of reaching his hand into his pocket, he held his sword
firmly and replied "No".
In the past few days, Gu Shenwei had been hesitant while killing people and
his saber skills had greatly weakened, but he had not reached a state where he
was completely unable to wield his weapon. And judging from Du Qi's
walking posture, he was certainly not a fighter on the level of Tie Hanfeng.
Du Qi kept a straight face before he suddenly started laughing. "The two of

you serve the Tenth Young Master, right?"
Gu Shenwei gave an indefinite answer.
"What do you want to ask?"

"Who made this nail?" Gu Shenwei took out the large iron nail that
resembled a spearhead.
Du Qi frowned as he looked at the object, before he told one of the

blacksmiths, "Go ask."
The blacksmith took a trip outside and soon brought back an answer, "Mr.
Hong".
The latter's shop was pitifully small, and was sandwiched between the two
adjacent shops to the extent that it had barely enough space to turn one's
body. It was very difficult for visitors to find the shop without getting
directions.
Mr. Hong was a short and stout old man with a slightly hunched back. He had
an expressionless and stubborn look, and completely ignored the Protector
Du Qi and the people accompanying him.
"He might be difficult to deal with, but his craftsmanship is first class," Du Qi
reminded the duo. Instead of going inside or leaving the scene, he simply
remained outside the shop.
"Is this nail your creation?" Gu Shenwei asked.
"No idea." Mr. Hong shouted in a coarse and frighteningly loud voice, as if
the enquirer was a young brat who came to cause trouble.
Even the Protector Du Qi's attitude was not as odious as this. Gu Shenwei
flinched for a moment and grasped his sword handle.
Maid Lotus, who had remained silent, began to speak. "We want to make two
swords."
It was only now that Mr. Hong stopped what he was busy with, and passed
the unfinished hammer to an apprentice who was standing nervously by his
side. "What kind of sword?"
Maid Lotus drew her saber. "I want something as long as this but a little
slimmer, made using the best iron."
Mr. Hong took a glimpse at the saber. "Got it. Two swords will be a hundred
taels of silver. Pay now, and collect the swords in half a month."
A hundred taels of silver were enough to buy an entire rack of normal

swords. Gu Shenwei did not understand Maid Lotus' intention, but
nevertheless, he fished out a piece of gold that was equivalent to the price.
Maid Lotus took the gold piece but did not hand it immediately to Mr. Hong.
"Carve the sword shafts with the names 'Huan' and 'Yun'."
Maid Lotus was her slave name, while her real name was Huo Yun.
Gu Shenwei was astonished and dumbstruck by her bold and sudden manner
of speaking.
However, she remained poker-faced. "Now, tell me who made the nail, and
what is it used for?"
Mr. Hong took a look at the shiny gold piece and licked his lips. "It's the rule
that I cannot reveal who I made it for. Neither do I know what it's used for.
However, if I were to guess according to the client's demands, it's probably
used to build a very tall frame or to climb mountains. You know, a nail in the
ground every few steps."
(Please save and share!)

Chapter 130 - Investigation
Chapter 130: Investigation
Mr. Hong estimated that there were more than a thousand of these pitons in
existence, since several blacksmiths in this village were hired to produce
these pitons.
Gu Shenwei was surprised by Mr. Hong's conclusion and thought, "More

than a thousand rock-climbing pitons. Is New Moon Hall planning to climb
all the way up to Golden Roc Fort with these things? That's unbelievable. The
hill is more than 3,000 meters high and is surrounded by a river which is very
deep. Are they really capable of doing that?"
After they left Blacksmith Village, Maid Lotus told Slave Huan the reason
that she had Mr. Hong make a pair of swords for them.
"This is the only way we can carry swords with us without arousing any
suspicion. After all, everybody thinks that we're a couple. Isn't it the perfect
excuse for us to carry this pair of swords with us? I've a feeling that we are
going to need them very soon."
Maid Lotus said this without any embarrassment at all. She was a natural
born killer. She was cold, rational, and did not care much about the fact that
she is a girl.
Gu Shenwei was relieved to hear that and approved of her idea. In East
Castle, when two apprentices get romantically involved with each other, they
would show their affection to each other by sharing a pair of items. Most of
the time, they would choose to share a pair of swords or sabers.
Gu Shenwei was happy that he would soon be able to carry a sword around
with him everywhere, but at the same time, he was a little worried that he
would irritate Maid Lotus' admirers by doing so.
They made little progress with their investigation after they left Blacksmith
Village. They might be able to find some clues if they went down to the foot
of the hill and check. However, they did not have enough time to do that. In
the end, they gave up tracking down the pitons and returned to the yard where
they lived now.
As soon as they arrived at the yard, Liuhua came to tell them that Mister Guo
wanted to meet all the brown-belt assassins.
Liuhua, Wildhorse, Slave Huan and Maid Lotus went to a private house in
South City to meet Mister Guo. Last winter, when they had left Golden Roc
Fort to eliminate the Ten-Dragon Gang, they had lived in this place, which
also happened to be Mister Guo's base camp currently. The moment they
arrived at the house, the street in front of it was packed with people, but its
front yard was empty. They waited in the yard for Mister Guo's order.
A moment later, they were allowed to enter the house. Upon entering the hall,
they found out that beside Mister Guo and his killers, there were several
dozen teenagers present. They were Shangguan Yushi and her brown-belt
assassins from the Little Flag Battalion.
Mister Guo looked grumpy. In his eyes, it's outrageous that Golden Roc Fort
would permit such a group of teenagers to join the action against New Moon
Hall and the Barren Sect. However, he had no choice but to accept this
ridiculous decision, since the fort told him that it was the Supreme King's
order.
"Little Flag Battalion is in charge of the southeastern area of South City.

Shangguan Yushi, you're the killer leader of the brown-belt assassins and you
have to send someone to report to me every morning. If you encounter any
difficulties, you can contact us at anytime."
"Yes, Commander," Shangguan Yushi replied indifferently, without even the

slightest nod towards Mister Guo at all. She still held a grudge against him,
because he had treated her like a servant when he had caught the Black Jade
Palm thieves.
Just like "killer leader", "Commander" was also a temporary title granted to a
team leader during a mission. Once the mission was complete, these titles
would be revoked.
Mister Guo waved the teenagers away impatiently. He always had a

welcoming smile on his face in Golden Roc Fort, but now his face was cold
as stone.
When the teenagers were about to leave, Mister Guo singled out two of them
and asked, "Why did you go to Blacksmith Village today? Who sent you
there?"
Upon hearing that question, Gu Shenwei quickly realized that Mister Guo
was Du Qi's protector.
"I was…"
Before he finished his sentence, Shangguan Yushi suddenly interrupted.

"They were conducting an investigation. It's the Tenth Young Master's
order."
Gu Shenwei was shocked to hear that Shangguan Yushi, who hated him so
much, make an excuse for him. He had planned to tell Mister Guo that he had
been ordered to track down some enemies, but now Shangguan Yushi gave
him a much more reasonable explanation.
"You can leave now," Mister Guo commanded. "Let's wait and see what a
bunch of children can do," Mister Guo thought to himself.
Shangguan Yushi and the brown-belt assassins went to a private house in the
southeastern area of South City. She sent most of the teenage assassins out to
perform different tasks, and selected the best assassins to work with her.
Slave Huan was one of these assassins, but he was pretty sure that Shangguan
Yushi would never give him an important and rewarding task.
"The Tenth Young Master said that her followers can be killed but can never
be humiliated." Shangguan Yushi said this to remind Slave Huan that she had
just fulfilled her duty by answering Mister Guo's question for him. She
continued to say, "Let's kill as many enemies as we can to attain glory for
Master Ru. Maid Lotus, what did you discover today in Blacksmith Village?"
Maid Lotus told Shangguan Yushi about the pitons. "Do you really believe
that those women from New Moon Hall and Barren Sect can climb up to
Golden Roc Fort with those pitons?" Shangguan Yushi sneered and asked
Slave Huan.
"There's a possibility that it could happen," Gu Shenwei replied.
"It's impossible. Firstly, you don't know who bought these pitons. Secondly,
why would those women waste their energy trying to climb up the Stone
Castle? Do you think that there are no killers inside Golden Roc Fort now?
Even if all the killers have left the fort, the Supreme King can still kill all the
crazy women by himself."
Although what Shangguan Yushi said was a little exaggerated, Gu Shenwei

still had to admit that she had a point. Stone Castle was guarded by many
kung fu masters. He believed that a few black-masked assassins would be
enough to kill some crazy women trying to climb up to the hill.
"I think it may be a macheteman named Nie Qing who bought these pitons.
His sister is probably a disciple of New Moon Hall or the Barren Sect. As for
the pitons, I think they're some kind of tools."
"Where is this Nie Qing?"
"I killed him."
"Huh, Slave Huan. You still like making stories up to cause a stir. Well, from
now on, you don't have to take part in the assassination task. Go chase the
lead on the pitons. We expect great things from you."
Gu Shenwei ignored Master Yu's sarcastic remarks. He bowed to her and

accepted this arrangement.
"Mater Yu, allow me to work with Slave Huan," Maid Lotus said. This was
the first time a brown-belt assassin had chosen to openly support Slave Huan
in front of Shangguan Yushi.
Everyone, including Gu Shenwei himself, was surprised.
Shangguan Yushi was speechless for a moment. She had heard about the
relationship between Maid Lotus and Slave Huan, but she was still very
determined to draw Maid Lotus into her inner circle. Maid Lotus' attitude
displeased her very much, so she blurted out, "No, you have to stay here. I'll
give you another task."
After a moment, she changed her mind. "I'd better not force her to stay with
me. I should let her realize her mistake and come back begging for my help."
With this thought in mind, she said to Maid Lotus, "Well, if that's what you
want. You can work with Slave Huan. You have to come back and report to
me around 5 to 7pm every day."
Shangguan Yushi firmly believed that after this mission, Slave Huan would
be removed from the Master Ru's circle forever.
After Slave Huan and Maid Lotus left the house, he asked her why she
wanted to work with him. "Did you forget? My desire to kill has somehow
abated just like yours. I can't move as fast as before. It's too risky for me to
take part in the assassination task," Maid Lotus shrugged and said.
Hearing that, Gu Shenwei was very relieved. He liked Maid Lotus as a friend
and trusted her more than anyone. After all, they had gone through thick and
thin together and had even studied Death Scripture together. However, he still
felt that there was a void between them. He still remembered how harshly the
girl had treated him when they first met.
The next day, a brown-belt assassin, who was a former Tattooed Arm Gang
member, told Slave Huan privately that Shangguan Yushi had probably
excluded him from the assassination task on purpose. According to that
brown-belt assassin, 20 brown-belt assassins, who outshone their peers in the
assassination task and contributed the most, would get their red belts on the
twins' birthday and become core members of the twins' killer teams. The
twins were going to turn 13 in about two weeks. At that time, Shangguan Fei
would officially become the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort and
have his own killer team. Shangguan Ru, who had to appear in public as a
Miss for now and not as a young master, would also select her own team of
killers.
The brown-belt assassins of Little Flag Battalion performed very well at their
jobs, and some of them were even perceived to be more competent than
ordinary red-belt killers. Nevertheless, Golden Roc Fort had not yet given
anyone of them a red belt. The fort wanted to keep them for the twins,
although most of them had already taken blood oaths to their young masters.
In keeping with the fort's traditions, all the other young masters had already
agreed to send some of their brown-belt assassins to their little brother and
little sister to help them build their teams.
Shangguan Yushi had known of the fort's plan beforehand and had
deliberately asked Slave Huan to continue his investigation into the pitons.
Golden Roc Fort usually judged a killer's success by how many enemies he or
she could eliminate during a mission. Given that, Shangguan Yushi believed
that she could deprive Slave Huan of his chance to become a killer on the
twins' birthday by preventing him from joining the assassination task.
Gu Shenwei was frustrated. He had been longing to become a red-belt killer

for a long time. This would be the only way for him to get closer to the
masters of the fort to exact revenge on them. He began considering a plan to
assassinate Shangguan Yushi, who stood in the way of his revenge. However,
after some thought, he decided to give up on this plan.
"Shangguan Ru isn't stupid. She clearly knows that both Shangguan Yushi
and I are competing for her favor. She knows that we want to get rid of each
other. Once Shangguan Yushi is assassinated, she'll suspect that her murderer
is me and vice versa."
Now, Gu Shenwei had no choice but to solve the mystery as to what New
Moon Hall was planning to do with those pitons. If he could figure it out and
ruined those women's plan, Golden Roc Fort would also recognize his
contribution and make him a red-belt killer.
However, it was not an easy thing to do, as he had absolutely no clue as to
what he should do at this moment.
Maid Lotus had other ideas and suggested that they should find a way to
eliminate the false Death Scripture's influence on them as soon as possible.
She considered this thing their top priority right now since killers without
strong killing desires could never survive.
Gu Shenwei agreed to accompany her to Leftslope Vihara, where Master

Tiger Monk used to reside to look for answers. This is the least he could do to
return the favor. If Maid Lotus had not chosen to openly support him in front
of Shangguan Yushi, she would have been able to partake in the assassination
task.
He had felt kind of sorry for Master Tiger Monk's death. However, after he
discovered that his killing desire was abated by the monk's fake scripture, he
did not feel sad for the monk anymore.
On the same day, the other brown-belt assassins that were led by Shangguan
Yushi successfully killed two disciples of the Barren Sect, who were armed
with steel needles which were typical weapons of the sect.
In the evening, Slave Huan and Maid Lotus went back to report to Shangguan
Yushi. Hearing that they had not yet made any progress in their investigation,
Shangguan Yushi poked fun at Slave Huan again. That night, Gu Shenwei
and Maid Lotus sneaked out and rode to the Four Truths Temple. They had to
look back several times to ensure that they were not followed.
When they reached the hill beside the Four Truths Temple, they hid their
horses at the foot of the hill and walked up the hill along a small path. They
finally arrived at Leftslope Vihara at midnight.
As the autumn season approached, the trees had lost most of their leaves.
They could clearly see that there was a light in one of the rooms in Leftslope
Vihara.
Both of them began to wonder. "Didn't Master Tiger Monk lived in this
vihara alone, and Four Truth temple only sent a young monk to bring him
meals every day. Now that the master is dead, who would stay in that room at
such a late hour?"
Gu Shenwei unsheathed his saber and sneaked to the vihara. Maid Lotus
stayed behind to cover him. When he came to the door of the vihara, he
discovered that the door was barely opened. He peeped through the crack and
saw a monk sitting inside the room. That monk was as pale as a ghost and
was smiling towards the door. He looked exactly like Master Tiger Monk.
Chapter 131 - Breaking Obsession
Chapter 131: Breaking Obsession
Gu Shenwei stood petrified with shock. He did not believe in the existence of
ghosts. However, there was something in the monk's smile, which made him
feel somewhat nervous.
"You finally came. Did the girl come with you? How about you come in and
have a chat with me?"
"He's not Tiger Monk. His voice is deeper, and he also looks older than the
dead monk. They may be brothers," Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
A skeptical person like Gu Shenwei seldom accepted a stranger's invitation.

However, at this moment, he was somehow convinced of the monk's
sincerity. He did not feel threatened by the monk, so he pushed the door open
and went in to kneel on a meditation cushion on the ground with his
unsheathed saber placed right beside him.
After a moment, Maid Lotus, the murderer of Tiger Monk, came in. She
looked even more shocked than Gu Shenwei. It seemed that she was terrified
to see this monk who looked strikingly similar to Tiger Monk. However, she
still chose to trust the monk and walked into this house to sit on a meditation
cushion.
All the three people kept silent and still. During this moment, everything was
stationary except the dancing flame on top of the candle.
Suddenly, the monk stopped smiling and dropped his head down, but his lips
kept moving. It seemed that he was silently reciting a sad incantation. After a
long time, he raised his head up and said smilingly, "Lianxin has already
entered the realm of Nirvana."
Upon hearing his voice, Maid Lotus immediately discovered that this monk
was not Tiger Monk. "I'm afraid that Buddha won't allow a liar to enter
Nirvana," she said coldly.
The monk was not disturbed by what she said and went into a lengthy
explanation of the whole thing.
This monk, whose name was Lianhua, was Lianxin's brother. He had studied
Death Scripture clay slab together with Lianxin for years. During the course
of their research, they discovered that this scripture resembled Buddhist
mantras a lot. Chanting or hearing someone recite this scripture could vibrate
one's tendons and meridians, which would create a lasting and positive
change in the person.
Lianhua and Lianxin were excited by their discovery. They swore to Buddha
Sakyamuni that they were going to invent a Buddhist incantation based on
this scripture and use it to eliminate people's killing desire and make every
butcher become a Buddha. The people that they wanted most to convert were
killers from Golden Roc Fort.
After years of hard work, the brothers successfully created such a Buddhist
incantation and named it Breaking Obsession. Shortly after they invented this
incantation, Golden Roc Fort came to Four Truths Temple asking for the
Exorcism Manuscript. Tiger Monk believed that Buddha Sakyamuni must
have heard his prayers and thus gave him this great opportunity to persuade
six teenage killers to learn Breaking Obsession. Beyond his expectations, on
the second night of the teenagers' stay in Leftslope Vihara, Maid Lotus went
to visit him privately and showed him a page of Death Scripture, which he
had never read before.
Tiger Monk was shocked to discover that the slave girl seemed to have a
complete copy of Death Scripture. At the same time, he also decided to take
this chance to try Breaking Obsession out on her. He made a deal with Maid
Lotus. The girl promised to give him a complete copy of Death Scripture in
exchange for him teaching her the correct pronunciation of the Chinese
characters in the scripture, and he promised the girl not to tell anyone about
the complete copy of Death Scripture. After he taught Maid Lotus the correct
pronunciation of the characters on the clay slab, which was the beginning part
of Death Scripture, he taught her the first chapter of Breaking Obsession,
which was called "Changing Misfortune for All Living Creatures Sutra." He
did not tell Maid Lotus that this chapter was not from Death Scripture, and
Maid Lotus did not find anything wrong with this part. She accepted it
without question and taught Slave Huan all she had learned from Tiger
Monk.
Tiger Monk did not think that he was lying to the teenagers since most of the
characters in Breaking Obsession were from Death Scripture. He had only
put those characters in a different order to create Breaking Obsession.
Tiger Monk kept his promise to Maid Lotus and did not tell anyone else
about the complete copy of Death Scripture. However, he could hardly
control his excitement and wrote a letter to his brother Monk Lianhua. He
told his brother how he had successfully "persuaded" two teenage killers to
learn Breaking Obsession in the letter.
When Monk Lianhua came to Leftslope Vihara to collect his brothers'

belongings after his brother's death, he found several pages of notes left by
his brother. After reading the notes, he guessed that the teenagers mentioned
by his brother in the letter might have a complete copy of Death Scripture. He
was also pretty sure that his brother had deluded the teenagers into learning
Breaking Obsession.
Given that, Monk Lianhua insisted that the teenagers should not be held
accountable for Lianxin's death. That was the reason why Four Truths
Temple stopped investigating the death of Tiger Monk.
After explaining the whole thing to the teenagers, Monk Lianhua exclaimed,
"Lianxin worked hard to create Breaking Obsession, but he failed to break his
own obsession. He was so thrilled to get the chance to teach the incantation to
you that he never noticed that he himself got too obsessed with it. It was his
obsession that led to his death. That's Karma."
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were speechless. They had never expected that
such an eminent monk would have lied to them. Meanwhile, they felt
relieved, since they discovered that Monk Lianhua did not know that it was
Maid Lotus who murdered Tiger Monk.
Compared to Tiger Monk, Monk Lianhua was such an annoying person. He

talked for hours, wanting to persuade the teenagers to give up their killer
careers. Nevertheless, most of the things that he talked about were hard for
the teenagers to understand. He went on and on even after the candle burnt
out. "We're destined to meet the people we meet. Lianxin has taught you a
chapter of Breaking Obsession. That's Buddha Sakyamuni's arrangement. I
guess that you've already noticed the positive change the incantation created
in you. I would love to teach you the full text of Breaking Obsession. If you
recite it every day, you'll…"
"No, we won't become Buddhists," Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus finally lost
their patience and interrupted.
Now, they only cared about one thing. "Tell us how to eliminate the influence
of Breaking Obsession."
"Well, that's easy. You just need to forget about it." This time, Monk
Lianhua's answer was very simple and clear.
However, his answer was not helpful for the teenagers. They had taken
painstaking efforts to imprint those 5,000 Chinese characters, which did not
make much sense to them, in their brains. Those characters would flash
across their mind now and then. It was not easy to forget them.
"Is there any other way?"
"No. I mean I don't know if there's any other way. You're the first ones
learning Breaking Obsession. To be frank, I've never expected it to be so
effective, and I've never expected you to come back so soon," Monk Lianhua
said while shaking his head slowly.
Gu Shenwei flared up. He picked up his saber and pointed it to the monk
while saying, "It's not as effective as you think. I'm still able to kill you."
Monk Lianhua did not dodge at all. "You can try," he said smilingly.
Hearing that, Gu Shenwei was even more furious. He pulled his saber back,
ready to impale the monk. "Wait, he must know the correct pronunciation of
those Chinese characters in Death Scripture. Ask him to give us the correct
version of the scripture," Maid Lotus stopped him and said.
"Oh, yeah. Maid Lotus is right. This monk said that he and his brother just
changed the orders of the Chinese characters in Death Scripture to create
Breaking Obsession. That means the monks have already cracked the coding
system of Death Scripture. Given that, the fastest way to get rid of Breaking
Obsession's influence is to learn the correct order of those characters," Gu
Shenwei thought while feeling ashamed of himself for forgetting such an
important thing.
Lianhua remained calm and peaceful. "I'm delighted to know that you're also
interested in Death Scripture. When you become Buddhists, we can discuss it
together. With the help of the notes left by Lianxin, we can quickly decode
the rest of the scripture."
The teenagers did not want to become a monk and a nun, so they tried every
means available to force the monk to tell them the real Death Scripture.
However, no matter what they did, the monk still insisted that he would only
teach them the authentic scripture after they became Buddhists.
Monk Lianhua firmly believed that Breaking Obsession had already subdued
the teenagers' killing desires and made them feel hesitant about murdering a
person. Given that, he did not fear their intimidation at all. He just kept
telling the teenagers the benefits of being Buddhists, no matter what the
teenagers said or did to threaten him.
Gradually, the day began to dawn, but the monk still refused to tell the
teenagers the correct version of Death Scripture. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus
felt exhausted and decided to kidnap Monk Lianhua and take him into the
city to interrogate him with torture. They took out a rope to tie the monk up
and stuffed a rag into his mouth.
Monk Lianhua did not complain during the whole process.
When they were about to leave, a monk, who was more than two meters tall,
suddenly crashed into the room through a mud wall while roaring.
"Release Monk Lianhua! Murderers, you killed Tiger Monk and refused to
repent. I want revenge!"
Monks in Four Truths Temple always suspected that Tiger Monk's death was
not an accident but a planned murder. Lianhua just did not mention it to the
teenagers.
The sudden appearance of the tall monk stunned Gu Shenwei and Maid
Lotus. It seemed that the monk had been hiding in the next room all this time
and had heard the conversations they had with Monk Lianhua. However,
these two well-trained killers had not noticed that there was such a big man
behind a thin interior wall at all.
They stood agape for a while and then simultaneously raised their sabers to
attack the tall monk. Both of them used their best move, which was the sword
technique in Death Scripture.
After mastering this swordcraft, they had never been defeated by anyone
when they used this skill in real fights.
The tall monk was unarmed, but he reacted with ease. He simply stepped
forward to snatch the sabers from the teenagers' hands and then he easily
broke those sabers with his bare hands like breaking twigs. He threw the
broken sabers aside and went directly to Monk Lianhua, paying absolutely no
attention to the teenagers.
The tall monk ripped the rope apart to release Monk Lianhua and then took
the rag out of Lianhua's mouth. "Amitabha. I'm very sorry. Sometimes,
Lianye just can't control his emotions. I hope you don't mind. He didn't mean
to hurt anyone," Lianhua explained.
After that, Monk Lianhua continued to persuade them to become Buddhists.

Monk Lianye paced back and forth beside Lianhua, struggling to control his
own emotions. Sometimes, he would chant, "Amitabha." Sometimes, he
would shout, "I want revenge!" He seemed to be crazy.
Seeing that, Gu Shenwei realized that Monk Lianhua had also tamed a
"tiger," which was Monk Lianye. This tall monk's kung fu was superb. Such
a powerful man was even more dangerous than the tiger that Lianxin had
tamed.
Gu Shenwei exchanged a look with Maid Lotus. They both realized that they
could not get the real Death Scripture or kidnap Monk Lianhua today.
Lianhua refused to teach them the actual scripture unless they became
Buddhists. Lianye was a kung fu master whom they could not defeat. Under
such circumstances, they had only one choice.
They simultaneously turned back and dashed out of the vihara, and then they
ran down the hill as fast as they could to find their horses. They galloped
rapidly to flee this place. After a long time, they still felt that Lianhua's
naggings and Lianye's roars were reverberating around their skulls.
In broad daylight, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus slouched over their horses.
They were so listless that they were unable to say anything to comfort each
other. They had no idea that their troubles were far from over.
Chapter 132 - Three Days
Chapter 132: Three Days
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus felt so defeated. They not only failed to regain
their desires to kill but also lost their weapons during the previous fight. This
was the biggest setback they had experienced since becoming killer
apprentices.
In the past, they had been able to remain calm and emotionless no matter
what had happened, but at this moment, they could not help feeling
depressed. They reckoned that this change was perhaps also caused by
Breaking Obsession.
After riding a couple of kilometers, they finally calmed themselves down and
began to discuss what they were going to do to arouse their desires to kill.
According to Lianhua, they just needed to forget about Breaking Obsession

to eliminate its influence on them. They tried to mess up their memories by
having one of them recite the incantation loudly while the other would
frequently interrupt. However, this method did not work at all. By doing so,
they even remembered the incantation better than before.
They were so preoccupied with their own concerns that they were not vigilant
enough during their trip.
In front of Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were two women, riding sideways on
their trotting donkeys. They looked slender and thin, seeming to not know
kung fu. However, when they were about to brush past, they suddenly
jumped up from their saddles and leapt toward the teenagers. They were fast
and agile, just like kung fu masters.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus instinctively stretched out their hands to their
waists in an attempt to draw their sabers to counter-attack, but they only
grabbed empty scabbards.
They immediately remembered that their sabers had already been broken by
Monk Lianye, but it was already too late for them to adopt any other move to
defend themselves. The two women had already taken the opportunity to
poke the Xuanji acupoints on their chests.
The hot Qi in their Xuanji acupoints swiftly ran down to attack their Dantians
and then rushed up into their heads to knock them out.
Evidently, these women were also from the Barren Sect like Mama Xue.
When Gu Shenwei woke up, he found out that he was lying on a lawn and
Maid Lotus was lying peacefully beside him. He sat up to check himself and
was surprised to discover that there was no hot Qi wandering inside his body
now.
"Did the women cure my qigong deviation. How is this possible?" he

wondered.
Just at this moment, Maid Lotus also woke up from her coma. They heard
that someone was approaching and turned around. Ten steps behind them
stood two masked women: one was tall while the other was short. They were
dressed completely in black like killers from Golden Roc Fort, except for the
mark of a Golden Roc on their shoulder, which was replaced by a white
crescent moon embroidered on the strip of black cloth tied around their
foreheads.
Neither Gu Shenwei nor Maid Lotus sensed anything wrong with their
Internal Breath, and the women did not tie them up or adopt any other
measure to restrict their movement. However, they still felt somewhat
cautious without their sabers. After all, they were not good at unarmed
fighting. They stood up but did not launch an attack.
"You killed Nie Qing and his wife and son?" the short women asked Gu
Shenwei.
"Yes. Are you his sister?"
"Yes. I have to thank you for killing them. Otherwise, it would be quite
troublesome to find you," the short woman sneered and said.
As killers had to be cruel even to their own families, Gu Shenwei was pretty
sure that the woman was not joking.
Since meeting the mysterious woman in the desert, he had been waiting for
this day without fear. He knew that the Barren Sect would not easily
squander its connection to him and Maid Lotus. The sect could not find
anyone else in Golden Roc Fort, whom they could easily control with
Peripheral Force.
"Now that we finally meet, let's get straight down to business," the tall
woman said. She sounded older than the short woman.
"You're Kang Wenmei's disciples, so you're also the Barren Sect's disciples.
You have to work for us."
"No. Mama Xue never formally acknowledged us as her disciples, so I'm

afraid that we cannot be considered as such," Gu Shenwei retorted.
He still habitually referred to Kang Wenmei as Mama Xue.
"You've her Peripheral Force inside your bodies, therefore you're already
considered as our disciples."
"I can never thank you enough, if you could take it out of me," Gu Shenwei
said mockingly. Because of this force inside his Xuanji acupoint, he had only
one year to live now.
The tall woman found it hard to persuade the teenager by talking, so she
decided to do it by action. She dashed to Gu Shenwei and patted his chest to
inject a strong current of Qi into him.
The hot Qi mixed with Mama Xue's Peripheral Force in his Xuanji acupoint,
and quickly traveled along his eight extra meridians. It did not hurt, but Gu
Shenwei suddenly lost his balance and fell backward.
He tried to strike back but he was too feeble to do so at this moment. He
started to stagger like a drunk man, while the tall woman circled around him
like a phantom, striking occasionally either with her palm or by clawing at
him.
Maid Lotus tried to save him, but the tall woman easily struck her down with
one strike of her palm. It seemed that her kung fu was much better than
Mama Xue's.
Without their weapons, the teenagers' kung fu seemed mediocre.
Half an hour later, the tall woman finally stopped striking Gu Shenwei and
went back to stand with the short woman.
Gu Shenwei's face changed, as he heard his joints cracking and popping for
quite a long time after the beating. "What did you do to me?" he asked the tall
woman.
"You never knew what Peripheral Force was, did you?"
Gu Shenwei was speechless. For him, Peripheral Force only meant one thing:
qigong deviation.
"You should feel honored. In the Barren Sect, all masters used this force to
help their disciples improve their Internal Strength. We seldom give a boy
such a chance."
"Huh, I see. It looks like all your disciples will die young."
"That's not true. If your master keeps injecting Peripheral Force into you, you
can live as long as you can."
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei realized what the woman had done to him
just now. "Did you…"
"I removed Kang Wenmei's force from your body," the tall woman
interrupted.
"And then you injected your own force into me," Gu Shenwei added. He was
100-percent sure that this woman was not helping him out.
"Of course," the tall woman replied. "My Internal Strength is stronger than
hers, so congratulations, now you have more Peripheral Force in your body.
It doesn't only dwell inside your Xuanji acupoint now. You also have my
force inside your Baihui acupoint on top of your head and your Yongquan
acupoints on the soles of your feet. You will be able to increase your Internal
Strength rapidly as long as I keep injecting Peripheral Force into you.
However, you still have to thank Kang Wenmei. Without her force leading
the way, I can never inject my force into you."
When she was talking, Gu Shenwei secretly channelled his Internal Breath
and discovered that the Qi in his Dantian was much stronger than before.
Restricted by Mama Xue's Peripheral Force, he had not made any progress in
his Internal Strength for a long time. He was really impressed that this tall
woman could enhance it in such a short time.
"Mama Xue gave me three years to live. How much time do you give me?"
The woman raised three fingers and said, "Three days."
Gu Shenwei was speechless and complained in his heart, "Why do I always

get used by others? How can I get rid of such bad luck?" A moment later, he
thought of Tie Hanfeng's remark that an ambitious person like himself would
cause obstruction to some, while gaining 'recognition' and getting used by
others. He had to admit that his Master Shifu was right. If he had never
thought of becoming a killer and murdered Slave Yao, Mama Xue would
have never sent him to East Castle.
"You have three days to prove your loyalty to the Barren Sect."
"What do you want me to do?" Gu Shenwei asked, feeling a little diffident.

He guessed that it would be a difficult task.
"Return to Golden Roc Fort, and cast a rope down for me."
"Are you really going to climb all the way up to Golden Roc Fort?" Gu
Shenwei blurted out.
The tall woman turned to the short woman and whispered, "I told you those
pitons would divulge the secret." After that, she continued to talk to the
youth, "That's none of your business. You just need to fasten a rope to the top
of the cliff outside Firewood Yard before midnight the day after tomorrow.
Remember to tie the knot as tightly as you can. You'll meet me again on that
night, and if everything goes well, l'll officially acknowledge you as my
disciple."
The Barren Sect used Peripheral Force to control their disciples and prevent
them from betraying the sect. If Gu Shenwei declined to cooperate with her,
she would refuse to inject any of her force into him.
She handed a specially-made rope to the teenager. The rope was more than
200 meters long and very strong. One end of it was tied to a black thing,
which looked like a piece of iron. It was small in size but very heavy.
Gu Shenwei had no other options. Besides, he was not particularly loyal to

Golden Roc Fort. If he found that through this battle the Barren Sect was
powerful enough to resist Golden Roc Fort, he would not mind openly
betraying the Fort to join the sect.
He received the rope.
The two masked women held Maid Lotus behind as hostage and the tall
woman threatened Gu Shenwei, "If you fail, you'll die after three days. So
will she."
"Killers don't care about anyone else. You must know that. Let her leave with
me - she can help me complete the task."
"No," the tall woman shook her head and said smilingly. "All people in the
world, including killers, won't know what they really care about unless it's in
a life-and-death situation."
Gu Shenwei rode back to Jade City alone. He felt bewildered. "These two
women talked and behaved like normal people. They did not look like those
crazy women I met during my trip to the Iron Mountain Gang's camp. What
do they intend to do after climbing up to the fort at midnight? It seems that
they don't plan to assassinate anyone in the fort."
Gu Shenwei racked his brain but still could not figure out the true intention of
the sect. Given that, he decided to focus on completing the task that the tall
woman had given him.
However, he quickly ran into trouble again.
Shangguan Hongye found him in the city and gave him a letter, which was
from the Eighth Young Mistress. In the letter, Luo Ningcha ordered Slave
Huan to make up with Meng Mingshi as soon as possible.
Although Shangguan Hongye was a young master and the Supreme King's
nephew, his status in the Shangguan family was very low. Back in the school,
he used to work for Slave Huan in exchange for some silver and gold. He had
quitted school recently and now he decided to work for the Eighth Young
Mistress before he could get a post in the fort.
Before leaving the fort, Gu Shenwei had mentioned to Luo Ningcha that she
could try to bribe Shangguan Hongye and his mother to win their support,
since they were leading a hard life in the fort. He had never anticipated that
she would have taken this suggestion seriously.
"Slave Huan, wow, look at you. You're wearing a brown belt now. I'm sure
that you'll get your red belt very soon," Shangguan Hongye tried to flatter the
slave boy.
"And you have such a good taste, Slave Huan. That woman is amazing."
Upon hearing this, Gu Shenwei knew that Shangguan Hongye had already
visited his brothel in Pleasure Alley.
Not long ago, Shangguan Hongye had been to Xu Yanwei's place to deliver
the Eighth Young Mistress' order to Tie Hanfeng.
When Gu Shenwei entered Xu Yanwei's brothel, Tie Hanfeng greeted him

warmly. "The Eighth Young Mistress is right. You have to apologize to Mr.
Meng Mingshi. It's no good to offend such a wealthy young master. I've
arranged everything for you. Mr. Meng has already promised to dine with us
here tomorrow," said Tie Hanfeng, beaming.
Gu Shenwei felt overwhelmed. He had lots of things to do, but he had only
three days.
He decided to attend to the most urgent matter first, so he immediately ran

out of the brothel, mounted his horse and chased after Shangguan Hongye.
Gu Shenwei gave him an ingot of gold and passed a mission on to him.
Chapter 133 - The Dinner
Chapter 133: The Dinner
Gu Shenwei was sure that the Barren Sect was planning to climb up to
Golden Roc Fort, but the fort had not yet discovered the sect's real intention.
Those women had already successfully misled the fort by assassinating
killers in South City. In the past two days, Golden Roc Fort had launched a
citywide hunt for members of New Moon Hall and the Barren Sect but had
only killed some ordinary disciples of the Barren Sect and even some
innocent women.
Tie Hanfeng did not care much about those crazy women. He was glad that
he could help his apprentice to make up with Meng Mingshi after two days of
hard word. He himself was also excited to get this chance to meet such a
wealthy young master.
Usually, Meng Mingshi would never accept an invitation from a humble

slave boy.
However, he accepted Slave Huan's invitation this time. He did not want to
offend Bighead Kingpin and he also kind of missed Xu Yanwei.
Meng Mingshi had begun to hang out in South City at the age of 15, with
Pot-bellied Buddha as his guide.
The first prostitute Pot-bellied Buddha introduced to Meng Mingshi was his
own daughter Xu Yanwei. It was Meng Mingshi's first time sleeping with a
girl, but Xu Yanwei, a 15-year-old girl, was already a very experienced
prostitute. She taught him many things that he could never forget.
Hearing that Meng Mingshi had agreed to attend the dinner, Xu Xiaoyi told
Tie Hanfeng and Gu Shenwei many interesting things about this young
master. "There's a saying in this business that a man will always fall in love
with the first girl he's slept with. The Fifth Young Master Meng's first girl is
my sister. He did fall in love with her at that time and gave her countless
silvers. Unfortunately, all those money was taken away by the old jerk."
Xu Xiaoyi still sounded bitter whenever he mentioned his own father.
What Xu Xiaoyi said reminded Tie Hanfeng of the first girl he had slept with.
He smiled meaningfully and nodded. "Yeah, that's true."
Gu Shenwei was the only guy who looked grim at this moment. He was
confronted with a raft of problems, but none of the people here could offer
him any advice.
Xu Xiaoyi raised his head up and beamed just like Tie Hanfeng. "Given that,
a man has to be prudent to choose his first girl. Look at me. I'm still searching
for a suitable girl."
"Stop flattering yourself. You just don't have enough money to sleep with a
prostitute," Tie Hanfeng blurted out. "Before you go out to sleep with a
prostitute, you'll have to explain to me where you get the money."
Xu Xiaoyi smiled embarrassedly and changed the subject. "There's another

saying in this business: A prostitute should never fall in love with her first
man."
"Why?" Tie Hanfeng asked surprisingly. Although he was a frequent visitor

to brothels, he had never heard of such a saying. "I'm always wondering why
that woman suddenly began to treat me so coldly."
"I just heard it from my seniors in this business." Xu Xiaoyi took a sip of his
drink and continued to explain. "A young man usually has lots of fantasies
about women and tends to imagine his first girl to be perfect. In the
beginning, he's willing to do anything for the girl. However, once he gets
bored with her and goes to sleep with the other prostitutes, he'll realize that
there's nothing special about the first girl and will desert her for a better girl.
If a prostitute falls in love with her client, she'll not only lose business but
also look like a fool when her client abandons her. For example, Mr. Meng
Mingshi, he loved my sister so much, but he didn't give a d*mn about my
sister and I when we were in trouble last year."
Gu Shenwei was not interested in this business at all, but Tie Hanfeng was
deeply touched by what Xu Xiaoyi said. He kept drinking his liquor and
sadly exclaimed, "Oh, I see. That's why she acted like that."
That night, Tie Hanfeng kept murmuring in his sleep, but the next morning,
when he woke up, he quickly recovered from his depression.
Meng Ming came to Xu Yanwei's brothel at noon, accompanied by a group

of servants. Upon entering the house, he wept and poured out his heart to Xu
Yanwei while neglecting all the other people in the house. After that, he put a
smile on his face to greet Tie Hanfeng. He only nodded to Slave Huan to
greet this slave boy, before they went upstairs to dine together.
Gu Shenwei was well aware that this banquet would never decrease Meng
Mingshi's hatred toward him. After all, he had threatened the young master
with a wooden saber and witnessed the young master's discomfiture during
the trip to the Iron Mountain Gang's camp.
However, this dinner was still meaningful for Luo Ningcha and Tie Hanfeng.
The former took this opportunity to demonstrate that she had total control
over her slave boy, and the latter was thrilled to make friends with the Fifth
Young Master Meng.
During the meal, Gu Shenwei formally apologized to Meng Mingshi and

Meng Mingshi reluctantly accepted the apology. After that, no one talked to
the brown-belt assassin anymore.
Meng Mingshi spent most of the time flirting with Xu Yanwei. All the good
memories about the girl came back to him again and made him think that she
was very attractive again.
Fifth Young Master Meng brought three men to the meal. One of them was in
charge of telling jokes to liven things up. Another one remained quiet most of
the time but fixed his eyes on Meng Mingshi. Once the young master got
stuck for words, he would help him out. The last one came to drink with Tie
Hanfeng. These two guys chatted and drank merrily together like old friends.
Xu Xiaoyi led a group of servants to cater a dinner for the people on the
second floor. He ran up and down inside the house to serve dishes and drinks.
No one seemed to notice Gu Shenwei leave the table during the meal.
The teenager walked to the window alone to get some fresh air. As it was
autumn now, the wind was very cool and refreshing.
At this moment, all the other brothels in Pleasure Alley were closed. This
alley got few visitors in the day, so he did not see anybody in the street. The
only person he could see was a maid making the bed in the brothel across the
street.
Suddenly, he saw a brown-belt assassin walking quietly on the roof of the

brothel. That assassin also noticed Slave Huan, but he did not appear to mind
it.
He continued to walk forward with an unsheathed saber in hand, and then he

jumped into the house through a window and killed the maid with only one
strike. He came over to hold the maid after killing her and gently laid her on
the ground to avoid making any noise.
A moment later, another two brown-belt assassins jumped into the room to
join him. They quickly dispersed to find the other targets in the house.
They all knew that Slave Huan was watching, but none of them minded it.
They were also from Little Flag Battalion, and one of them was a former
Tattooed Arm Gang member and Slave Huan's loyal friend. Despite the fact
that all of them wore masks, Gu Shenwei still easily recognized them.
"Why do they assassinate their targets in broad daylight? This is not Golden
Roc Fort's style at all." Gu Shenwei could not help but wonder. On second
thought, he realized why they did this. Pleasure Alley was quiet during the
daytime but crowded at night, so it was better to take action here during the
day.
Soon, the assassins completed their task, but they did not retreat quietly. To
Gu Shenwei's great surprise, they opened the door and sent out a frightened
servant. "Help, help, it's a murder," the elderly woman screamed.
All the people on the banquet were dumbfounded.
Tie Hanfeng darted to the window to see what happened outside. "Liu Yin'er
was killed."
Upon hearing that the prostitute living across the street was murdered, Xu
Yanwei shrilled and threw herself into Meng Mingshi's arms. "Liu Yin'er is
one of Mr. Meng's favorite whores. Who dares to kill her? Did she
deliberately send the elderly woman out to attract Mr. Meng's attention?" One
of Meng Mingshi's servants said.
Liu Yin'er was not only one of Meng Mingshi's favorite prostitutes but also a
prostitute working for the Meng family. Besides her, many other prostitutes
in Pleasure Alley also had very powerful bosses. To avoid offending those
prostitutes' bosses, Golden Roc Fort's killers and machetemen, who had
turned all the brothels in South City upside down during the past several
days, never dared to come to Pleasure Alley to search for members of New
Moon Hall and the Barren Sect.
Meng Mingshi rubbed Xu Yanwei's shoulder with one hand to comfort her
while holding a cup of liquor with the other hand. "What an annoying b*tch.
Tell her to wait for a moment. I'll go over to kill her very soon," Meng
Mingshi grumbled.
In the next moment, the elderly woman got rid of Xu Xiaoyi and stumbled all
the way up to find Meng Mingshi.
"Mr. Meng, my kind master, someone suddenly broke into our house. Oh, my
goodness. They murdered the girl. They killed Miss…"
The woman's speech became increasingly incoherent, but her blood-smeared

dress had already convinced everyone that Liu Yin'er was murdered.
"Master Yu will come here very soon," Gu Shenwei realized something and
reminded everyone.
Just as he expected, a moment later, Shangguan Yushi and 10 brown-belt

assassins galloped to the brothel. An assassin came out to report to her.
The elderly woman's screams had already woken up all the people in the
alley. They simultaneously stuck their heads out of their windows to see what
was going on outside.
Meng Mingshi turned pale because of anger. He threw his cup aside and ran
to the window. "You… Shangguan Yushi… What're you doing here? Why
did you kill my girl?"
Shangguan Yushi remained silent. She just raised up her head to give Meng
Mingshi a glance and then walked into Xu Yanwei's brothel. When she came
to the second floor, she still did not say a word to Meng Mingshi. "Slave
Huan, you seemed to forget that you're a member of Little Flag Battalion.
Gu Shenwei had had a lot of trouble to deal with yesterday and thus had
completely forgot to report to his killer leader yesterday afternoon. "We were
too busy to come back to report."
"Where's Maid Lotus?"
"She's watching the suspects."
Meng Mingshi felt a little embarrassed, and his face became red now. "Stop,
stop. You have to give me an explanation first. Why did you kill my girl?"
"Your girl? She's New Moon Hall's disciple. Mr. Meng Mingshi, are you
close to Golden Roc Fort's enemies?" Shangguan Yushi asked.
"What are you talking about? That's impossible. She's not a…"
"I've solid evidence."
"No, you must have forged the evidence to frame me. I demand a reasonable
explanation for this. Let's go to Golden Roc Fort together."
The two young masters began to quarrel. No one in this room dared to stop
them.
Evidently, Shangguan Yushi did not just come here for Liu Yin'er. While
arguing with Meng Mingshi, she often turned to Slave Huan, condemning the
brown-belt assassin for dining together with Master Ru's foe.
Gu Shenwei was not sure if Liu Yin'er was a member of New Moon Hall, but
he was 100-percent sure what Shangguan Yushi was trying to do here. She
intended to make a big deal out of this dinner and wanted everyone to know
that Slave Huan had openly betrayed Master Ru and dined with her enemy
Meng Mingshi. She was pretty confident that Shangguan Ru would hear
about this incident very soon.
According to Tie Hafeng's theory about "relations", Shangguan Yushi, who

wanted to kill Slave Huan without stirring up Shangguan Ru's temper, was
now trying to sever the slave boy's relations with Master Ru,
Somehow, Mister Guo, the Commander of the action against New Moon Hall
and the Barren Sect, also came here to question Shangguan Yushi on the
assassination of Liu Yin'er. According to Commander Guo's order, Little Flag
Battalion should stay within the southeastern area of South City and should
never come to Pleasure Alley without permission.
Now that there were lots of people packed inside this room, Gu Shenwei was
pinned up against the window by the crowd. When he heard someone
chanting Amitabha, he could only turn his head a little to have a look. To his
great surprise, he saw two monks in Pleasure Alley: one was pale as a ghost
and the other was tall and strong like Vajra Dharma.
Chapter 134 - A Restless Day
Chapter 134: A Restless Day
Gu Shenwei felt overwhelmed. A new problem had already come to his door,
when the old problem inside the room remained unsolved.
Surprisingly, under such pressure, his true potential was somehow unleashed.
He suddenly thought of a plan to solve these problems.
He guessed that people just could not bring their potentialities into full play
unless they were cornered. He reckoned that it was because of such potential
outbursts that a coward could pluck up his courage to stand out at a crucial
moment and a young mother could lift a very heavy thing to save her baby.
The quarrel between Shangguan Yushi and Meng Mingshi was not over yet.
Shangguan Yushi showed everyone the evidence that she had found in the
brothel across the street: ten steel needles and some black clothes
embroidered with white crescents. "Liu Yin'er must be a disciple of New
Moon Hall. We found these things in Liu Yin'er's brothel, and we also found
out that she knew kung fu," she told everyone.
"How can you prove that these things are hers? Who else can prove that she
knows kung fu? She's dead now. You can say whatever you want," Meng
Mingshi retorted.
Mister Guo and Fifth Young Master Meng were old friends, but they had to
pretend to be unfamiliar with each other in front of everyone else. Given that,
Mister Guo did not openly support Fifth Young Master Meng. He just
condemned Shangguan Yushi for leaving the southeastern part of South City
without permission.
Shangguan Yushi was not a little girl anymore. She did not fear Mister Guo
now and contended that she and her assassins were just chasing a lead that
they discovered in the southeastern area of South City.
Gu Shenwei knew Master Yu's true intention and decided to give her what
she wanted. "Regardless of whether Liu Yin'er is a disciple of New Moon
Hall or not, we should never condemn the Meng family. The Meng family is
such a close ally of Golden Roc Fort, and its interests are aligned with that of
the fort. Given that, Little Flag Battalion shouldn't assassinate Liu Yin'er
without informing the Meng family beforehand. If you had told the Meng
family what you had found about Liu Yin'er and let the Meng family take
care of this thing, the family would've solved this problem better. Maybe they
could've found out more disciples of New Moon Hall for us."
Meng Mingshi thought that Slave Huan was speaking for himself, so he
echoed the slave boy's view without any hesitation. When Mister Guo noticed
Slave Huan's trick, it was already too late to stop the young master.
Shangguan Yushi was furious and stormed out of the house while calling
Slave Huan a traitor. Even Commander Guo could not stop her from leaving.
After Shangguan Yushi's departure, Gu Shenwei went to Mister Guo.

"Commander Guo, I want to talk with you, privately. I've something
important to say." Just as he had expected, Mister Guo turned down his
request at once. Despite that, he still whispered beside Mister Guo's ear. "The
Barren Sect is going to climb all the way up to Golden Roc Fort with those
pitons."
Mister Guo disliked the slave boy very much and was fed up with this piton
thing, which he thought was absurd and groundless. He flared up and scolded
the boy before leaving. This result also met Gu Shenwei's expectations.
After leaving the brothel, Meng Mingshi's servants reminded their young
master that Slave Huan was not trustworthy. "That slave boy just pretended to
speak for you, but in fact, he was implying that the Meng family did have
something to do with New Moon Hall and the Barren Sect." Upon hearing
that, Meng Mingshi gnashed his teeth in anger and hated the slave boy's guts.
Tie Hanfeng was confused. In his view, Slave Huan should stand aside
quietly to avoid offending anyone instead of getting involved in the quarrel
between Shangguan Yushi and Meng Mingshi.
Gu Shenwei did not have time to argue with his Master Shifu. He had to
leave this place as soon as possible, but before that, he needed to meet the
monks to get some information. He had asked Xu Xiaoyi to invite Lianhua
and Lianye into the bedroom downstairs not long after he had spotted the
monks in the street.
Xu Xiaoyi, who had never met any monk from Four Truths Temple before,
was excited to meet Lianhua and Lianye. He had a good time with Monk
Lianhua, who told him many interesting things about Buddhism and even
taught him several paragraphs of Breaking Obsession .
When he concentrated himself on memorizing the incantation, Gu Shenwei

suddenly came in and threw him out. The little boy was shocked and forgot
most of the words he had just learned from the monk.
After throwing Xu Xiaoyi out, Gu Shenwei bowed deeply to the monks.
It was the first time Monk Lianhua had left Four Truths Temple during recent
years. He came directly to Pleasure Alley, planning to persuade the two
teenagers to continue to learn Breaking Obsession.
Monk Lianhua was a little pedantic but he was not stupid. He could tell that
the teenager did not come to him for Breaking Obsession , but he still took
this chance to tell the teenager the benefits of becoming a Buddhist.
Gu Shenwei patiently listened to the monk for some time, and then he began
to ask questions about the origin of Tiger Monk's clay slab.
Unfortunately, Monk Lianhua did not know much about it except that it had
something to do with the agreement between Golden Roc Fort and New
Moon Hall.
Gu Shenwei asked a few more questions about the clay slab, but still failed to
get any accurate answers. Right at this moment, Monk Lianye interrupted,
"Brother Lianhua, this boy will die within a few days. You'd better not waste
your time on him anymore."
Monk Lianhua was shocked to hear that and anxiously asked Lianye, "Is
there anything wrong with this boy?"
Gu Shenwei was surprised that Lianye was able to sense his qigong deviation
without feeling his pulse. "Monk Lianye must be a qigong master and might
be able to cure my qigong deviation." With this thought in his mind, he knelt
down in front of Monk Lianhua and said, "Monk Lianhua, Monk Lianye is
right. I really wish to give up my saber to become a Buddhist, but I'm afraid
that I won't get such a chance."
Gu Shenwei knew that Lianye did not like him, so he only implored Monk
Lianhua for mercy.
The merciful monk was moved and said to Lianye, "Brother Lianye, please
help this poor boy."
Lianye felt reluctant to help the boy, but he could not deny Monk Lianhua's
request. He turned to face west and repeatedly chanted, "Amitabha, to save a
person is better than building a 7-story pagoda." After a while, he finally
calmed himself down and went to treat the brown-belt assassin. He grabbed
the teenager's wrist with his left hand to inject some cool energy into the boy,
and in the meantime he sent out strands of Qi with his right hand to help the
cool energy flowing inside the boy's meridians.
The hot Qi inside Gu Shenwei's Baihui, Xuanji and Yongquan acupoints felt
threatened and started shivering.
Soon, with the help of the strands of Qi, the cool energy began to attack the
hot Qi and drive it out of the boy's body.
Feeling that the hot Qi was defeated by the cool energy, Gu Shenwei was
overwhelmed with joy, although this remedial process made him suffer a lot
physically.
An hour later, Lianye was soaked in sweats and was too exhausted to
continue the treatment. Gu Shenwei also felt tired and weak. The moment the
monk released his wrist, he immediately fell to the ground.
Tie Hanfeng went to check out the situation inside the room. When he
discovered that the monks were treating his apprentice, he decided to leave
them alone and asked Xu Yanwei and Xu Xiaoyi to stay away from this
room.
"How's he?" Lianhua asked solicitously. Breaking Obsession was the

brainchild of him and his brother, so he really cared about this slave boy, who
was one of the first learners of the incantation.
Lianye was panting heavily. He spent some time stabilizing his internal
breath and then said, "I'm sorry. Brother Lianhua. My internal strength isn't
strong enough to erase the evil force inside his body. I've tried my best but
I'm afraid that I can only give him a few more days to live by doing that."
"That's probably the boy's fate. You've done your best. That's enough. You
don't have to be sorry. Let's go to find the girl," said Monk Lianhua,
decisively.
Now that the monks knew that the slave boy would die soon, they decided to
find Maid Lotus, the other learner of Breaking Obsession .
Gu Shenwei was quite pleased to send the monks away now. "Goodbye,
Monk Lianhua and Monk Lianye. The girl was taken away by someone else.
I'll appreciate it very much, if you can find her."
Seeing the monks leave the house, Tie Hanfeng came to Slave Huan and said,
"Shangguan Hongye came here. He asked me to tell you that the Eighth
Young Mistress wants to see you. He said that it's something important."
Gu Shenwei had been waiting for this order from Luo Ningcha all this time.
He had paid Shangguan Hongye an ingot of gold for this. He needed a
reasonable excuse for his return to Golden Roc Fort.
"I see. I'll set out right away." With these words, Gu Shenwei staggered up
and headed for the gate of the house.
Tie Hanfeng thought that Slave Huan behaved abnormally today, so he

grabbed the boy and asked, "Do you know what you're doing?"
"Yes," Gu Shenwei nodded and replied assertively. Faced with so many

tricky problems, he really wished that he was as confident as he sounded.
At night, after he returned to Golden Roc Fort, he went to report to Luo

Ningcha. He told her how he had fawned over the Fifth Young Master Meng
during the dinner.
Miss Luo quickly lost her patience and got tired of hearing the trivial details
about the dinner. She felt a little disappointed, since Shangguan Hongye had
told her that Slave Huan had something important to say. "Alright, that's
enough. You don't have to report such a trivial matter to me. Now that you've
come back, l give you another task. Go to have dinner tomorrow with
Shangguan Hongye and his mother," she said to Slave Huan.
Luo Ningcha was much more prudent than before. Although Shangguan
Hongye and Madam Yang had already accepted her money and promised to
support her, she still doubted their loyalty. She decided to send her
conspiracy teacher to feel them out.
Gu Shenwei's top priority now was to complete the task given by the tall
woman from the Barren Sect. He did not want to waste his time on
Shangguan Hongye and his mother, however, he had no choice but to accept
Miss Luo's order. Before he left, he asked Miss Luo to do him a favour.
"Miss Luo, please find a chance to go to Inner Residence to tell Shangguan
Ru that I want to meet her."
Luo Ningcha refused to deliver the message for him in the beginning, since
she hated Lady Meng and all the lady's children. Gu Shenwei told her the
benefits of keeping a low profile and maintaining friendly relations with Lady
Meng to persuade her, but she still insisted that Slave Huan should tell her the
reason for this meeting.
"The twins are going to select their own killers on their birthday. Only Master
Ru can make me a red-belt killer now," Gu Shenwei said to Miss Luo.
"If she makes you a red-belt killer, you'll become her and her mother's loyal
servant, won't you?" Luo Ningcha asked suspiciously.
"Miss Luo, I'll never betray you and the Eighth Young Master. I've taken a
blood oath to you and sworn to be your loyal servant forever. Now, all the
other young masters have promised to send their best brown-belt assassins to
the twins. If I get kicked out of the election, it'll be a disgrace to the Eighth
Young Master."
After convincing Miss Luo to deliver the message for him, he hurriedly went
back to Tie Hanfeng's yard in East Castle before curfew to read Death
Scripture. He hoped that he could find some clues to his trouble in this
scripture and read the book for hours. As a result, he only took a nap during
the early hours of the morning.
When he woke up, he felt dizzy. Today, he had lots of things to do. He had to
meet Shangguan Ru to carry out his plan and dine with Shangguan Hongye
and his mother at noon on behalf of Luo Ningcha. He also needed to sneak
into Firewood Yard to fasten the rope for the Barren Sect before midnight.
Today would be a very busy day.

Chapter 135 - Friendship
Chapter 135: Friendship
After daybreak, Gu Shenwei went to greet Miss Luo Ningcha. Miss Luo told
him that Shangguan Ru had promised to meet him after 9pm in Kun Yard.
Kun Yard was reserved for Shangguan Ru. When she becomes the Tenth
Young Master, she would move to this yard from the Inner Residence. Gu
Shenwei knew its location since he had been there before. He was a little
worried about the time. 9pm was rather late as he would have less than two
hours before 11pm.
Subsequently, he went to West Castle to visit Shangguan Hongye and his

mother.
Luo Ningcha arranged this meeting on a sudden whim, and both parties of
this meeting felt slightly awkward in the beginning. It was inappropriate to
send a boy slave to feast with a young master like Shangguan Hongye, who
was a nephew of the Supreme King. However, Shangguan Hongye and his
mother accepted this arrangement. They found it hard to reject Luo Ningcha's
money. Although the Eighth Young Mistress was ruthless and inhumane, she
was filthy rich and generous. With so much money, she could accomplish
anything.
Shangguan Hongye's mother was in her thirties and surnamed Yang. She had
lost her youthful charms and now, she's struggling to survive. Her house was
shabbily decorated, and all her servants, which consisted of a boy slave and a
maid, were sent by the fort. Both of the servants were underpaid and hated
working there. They would fake their obedience to Madam Yang and
Shangguan Hongye in front of the guests.
Seeing Shangguan Hongye and Madam Yang living in such conditions, Gu

Shenwei thought to himself, "Shangguan Fa treats his own brother's widow
and son in such a cold way. He's indeed much more merciless than the most
ruthless killer."
He found out that it was forbidden to talk about the Supreme King in this
house. It seemed that Madam Yang and Shangguan Hongye abided by this
rule much more strictly than all the other people in the fort, but this attitude
also showed their dissatisfaction towards the lord.
After they got rid of the initial awkwardness, Madam Yang and Shangguan
Hongye showed more enthusiasm. Gu Shenwei thought that they were a little
too enthusiastic and felt slightly uncomfortable.
Shangguan Hongye spoke very little, but Madam Yang spoke endlessly. She
talked about her family, praised Slave Huan for his capabilities and sighed
that her son was not good at studying nor fighting. This made Shangguan
Hongye very unhappy. Next, they talked about the Eighth Young Mistress
and Lady Meng.
Gu Shenwei was a little absent minded and gave perfunctory replies to

Madam Yang until she asked him an unusual question.
"Aren't you worried that the Eighth Young Mistress might be unhappy after
seeing you work for Master Ru?" Madam Yang asked curiously with a tinge
of reproach, while trying to act like a friend of the Eighth Young Mistress.
Gu Shenwei was still absent minded. Firstly, he stated that he was an

underling of the Eighth Young Master and serving Tenth Young Master was
Eighth Young Master's idea. Also, as a slave, he should do his best to bring
both of them together, since they were a family.
Gu Shenwei left immediately after answering this difficult question.
After he left Madam Yang and Shangguan Hongye's residence, he went to the
school to visit Zhang Ji. However, he did not obtain any useful information
from Mister Zhang. Although Zhang Ji knew lots about strategies and history,
he knew little about kung fu. He knew nothing about the origin of the Death
Scripture.
After leaving the school, Gu Shenwei went straight to Eighth Young Master's
house.
Luo Ningcha was pleased that she could get Madam Yang to openly support
her. This was the first time that she won a lady's support in the fort, and this
lady was a sister-in-law of Lady Meng and an aunt of the Eighth Young
Mistress. Luo Ningcha could not wait to hear Slave Huan's judgement of this
lady.
"How is it? Can she be trusted?" She asked impatiently.
Luo Ningcha only had one servant, namely Maid Cui. Luo Ningcha became
more and more paranoid as time goes on and she couldn't bring herself to
trust any other servant.
Separated by a wooden square wall, Gu Shenwei could only hear the voice of
Miss Luo. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "You can't believe her."
"How could that be? She offered her assistance when we were in the Inner
Residence," said Miss Luo, with a sense of disappointment.
"This is where the problem lies. As Lady Meng was the head of the inner
residence, no one dared to sympathize with you openly. Madam Yang's
exaggerated actions proved that she was under Lady Meng's orders to
investigate you."
Luo Ningcha suddenly sighed. She started to throw a tantrum by smashing

tea cups and hitting the maid as she berated Slave Huan, "You spout all kinds
of nonsense. Initially, you said Madam Yang could be easily bribed and now
you say that she was a spy for that old woman. Bighead Kingpin wanted you
to help me. This is ridiculous. How can I believe you? Mama Xue always
said to never let my guard down around you…".
Gu Shenwei looked down while kneeling on the ground as he waited for Miss
Luo to cool down. He said, "Now that the enemy is stronger than us, it's
naturally more difficult to bribe them".
"Then what do you think we can do? Are you saying that I had given out so
much money for nothing? I'll deal with Madam Yang sooner or later."
Luo Ningcha was not good at earning the trust of people nor was she good at
creating plans to further her own interests. Even though Gu Shenwei had to
educate her patiently, he had decided to distance himself from this woman as
to not be betrayed by her.
"There is a way, which couldn't only punish Madam Yang, but can also make
her stand on your side."
"You should have said this earlier", Luo Ningcha said as she forgot about the
fact that she was the one who was constantly nagging.
"Since Madam Yang was investigating you on behalf of Lady Meng, you
should speak kindly of Lady Meng in front of her as to show a hint of regret,
but don't be too histrionic…"
"Why?", Luo Ningcha asked while smashing another tea cup, "Do you want
me to beg?"
Gu Shenwei was losing his patience and said, "Of course not. By letting
Madam Yang pass along your message to Lady Meng, Lady Meng would
never believe her. If you gave Madam Yang more items such as gold, some
clothes for Madam Yang, so she could wear them in the inner residence for
everyone to see…"
Luo Ningcha had a sudden realisation and exclaimed, "Oh, so you're trying to
sow discord?"
Gu Shenwei heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Indeed. As Madam Yang and
Lady Meng aren't close to each other, this trick can be very useful. After
Madam Yang gets humiliated in front of Lady Meng's, the bribe will be
successful.".
Gu Shenwei thought that Lady Meng and Madam Yang might collude and
inflict harm to themselves to deceive her. However, there was no need to
over-complicate the fight in the inner residence. Since Luo Ningcha could not
comprehend the plan, he did not voice out his thoughts.
After dealing with Miss Luo Ningcha, Gu Shenwei went to Kun Yard. As the
door was locked, he jumped over the wall to get in. He sat on the steps in
front of the gallery while he waited for Shangguan Ru.
He went through the plan once more and made some minor adjustments.
There were several major loopholes that he was unable to amend. As a
humble boy slave, he could not control the whole situation. A decision made
by a big shot could easily jeopardize the whole plan and put his life at risk.
He had no choice but to follow through with his plan.
Shangguan Ru, who was dressed in all black and had her face covered,
arrived before the stipulated time. She wondered if Slave Huan had come up
with some new games.
This dialog played an important role in Gu Shenwei's life. Not only did he
solve numerous problems with the assistance of Shangguan Ru, but he had
also gained her trust.
Gu Shenwei had nearly become one of Shangguan Ru's closest allies once,
but they had a falling out due to various reasons. Although both of them had
met on the journey towards Iron Mountain camp before, they could not find
that initial chemistry they once had together. Subsequently, even though they
had gone through thick and thin and Slave Huan had managed to save the
lives of several young men, their relationship did not become closer.
Friendship is a mysterious thing. It can be more complex than love

sometimes. Your favourite person might not be the one who helped or
cherished you the most. Instead, it could be someone who opened up their
hearts to you and allowed themselves to be vulnerable in front of you, but
you had subsequently forgotten about all of it.
Gu Shenwei told Shangguan Ru everything that he knew about the Barren

Sect. He said, "Mama Xue used the Peripheral Force on me and Maid Lotus.
Both of us have less than two years to live. We were captured by two women
from the Barren Sect and Maid Lotus had become their hostage. I had to take
up more responsibilities and complete the mission by tonight.".
Gu Shenwei took out a thin long rope with a piece of black iron tied to one
end and placed it in front of Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru removed the black cloth covering her face. As she listened,
she became more and more surprised. She asked, "Will you die due to qigong
deviation by noon of tomorrow?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"Is Barren Sect going to climb up the cliff and siege the Stone Castle
tonight?"
Gu Shenwei nodded again and said, "My guess is that they didn't want to
attack discreetly and they have an ulterior motive.".
"Oh, no matter what motive they have, I'll tell my father and let him send
people to kill those women."
"If that's the case, I'll also die. Barren Sect is the only one who can dispel the
Peripheral Force."
Shangguan Ru was worried for Slave Huan. She said, while scratching her
head, "What should we do? Capture them alive so they can heal you?".
"They're resistant to torture. No one can force those women to do anything."
Shangguan Ru paced back and forth in front of Slave Huan. She was only
thirteen and she couldn't think of any good ideas in such a short amount of
time. She asked, "This… Have you ever said this to someone else?".
"Mister Guo. He didn't believe that Barren Sect could climb the Stone Castle
and he didn't believe me."
"Mister Guo? How can you count on him? Did you forget that he wanted to
kill you in the first place? I hate that hypocrite the most."
"I don't like him either. However, he is the commander of South City, so I
have to tell him what I know."
"How about Master Yu? You should be under her command."
"I didn't tell her. This is an important matter. Once this gets out, both Maid
Lotus and I will die and it will alert the enemy."
This sticky situation is beyond the scope of Shangguan Ru's capabilities.

Looking at the young man before her, he seemed taller and looked more
distressed. He had that same troubled look on his face. Strangely enough, she
did not notice it when they were travelling to Iron Mountain. She said, "You
have a solution, don't you? You made me worried on purpose.".
Even though Shangguan Ru's eyes was darker than the night sky, it was
shimmering like the brightest star in the sky. Gu Shenwei couldn't help but
laughed, as though this was a trivial game.
Shangguan Ru was unhappy. She said, "What're you laughing at? Is it funny,
coming up with a story to trick me? I am an adult and will have a team of
assassins in a few days time.".
Gu Shenwei stopped smiling and said, "No, this is the truth. Barren Sect will
climb the Stone Castle tonight. I have a guess as to what their intentions are
and I have come up with a solution. However, I need your help. No one else
can help or save me except you.
Shangguan Ru liked to hear this. She was satisfied. She smirked while she
stretched her hand out. She said, "Count on me. I won't let you die.".
Gu Shenwei held Shangguan Ru's hand and told her his plan. Shangguan Ru
frowned and said, "If that's the case, you'll still be in a dangerous position.".
"Danger is lurking everywhere. I only need your promise."
Shangguan Ru had her lips tightly pursed and her nose moved slightly. Then,
she clapped and said, "Sure.".
Chapter 136 - Smuggling
Chapter 136: Smuggling
It was getting late, and Gu Shenwei secretly headed for the Firewood Yard.
He was no longer that ignorant boy who had just entered the Stone Castle,
making mistakes where ever he went. He knew how to listen to the footsteps
and signals of the guards, and advanced forward between the patrol intervals.
Ever since he left, Gu Shenwei has never returned here, and even as he was
lethally wounded, he loathed coming to this place to risk his life.
This time, he was also not ready to visit any old friends.
He leaned against the wall and clambered up onto the roof. Hands and feet
latching upon the tiles, body plastered parallel to the ridge, like a nimble civet
cat, he quietly went forth. There were very few masters residing in Firewood
Yard. A little disturbance would not alarm the people below.
Outside Firewood Yard, there was a triangular piece of flat ground with
several pine trees and a cliff at the far end.
Gu Shenwei tied one end of the thin rope to a tree, and with the other end of
the rope slowly dropping off the cliff, tried not to make any noise. This was
also the most important reason that Barren Sect needed him. Because iron
nails notched into the stone cliff made such a cacophonous noise that traveled
very far, they could only climb to a certain height and needed someone to
assist from above for the last stretch.
The surface area of the Ghost Cliff, situated outside the Firewood Yard, was
massive, and Gu Shenwei was very perplexed, wondering if the disciples of
the Barren Sect could find the drooped thin rope in the dark. But this issue
needed no worry.
This was a pitch-dark night with a darkened moon and sparsely lit stars. The
Barren Sect had chosen a fine day.
Gu Shenwei waited for a long time under a tree. In the beginning, he was still
wondering how Shangguan Ru was progressing. And the more he thought
about it, the more his heart sank. He decided to simply let go of things and
not think about it. What's done has already been done, and it would be useless
to regret it now or attempt to come up with a better plan.
He remembered how it was when he first entered Golden Roc Fort. He would
often be sitting there thinking about his loved ones, desiring to follow them
with the leap of his entire being. Even now, as his grand plans for revenge
had revealed a glimmer of hope, he still found the path ahead of them
swathed in a mist of uncertainty, as if there was no possibility of reaching the
end. Death seemed to be the most alluring option.
Gu Shenwei's mind surfaced many texts from the Death Scriptures . They
were not words that looked puzzlingly like a spell from the last pages of the
scriptures, but swordcraft from its first few pages.
Someone who had the power to determine his life or death could well be
climbing up the cliff along the rope. The plan he had devised with Shangguan
Ru might not work successfully. With his back leaning against an ancient
pine tree even older than the Stone Castle, Gu Shenwei's heart experienced an
unparalleled stillness, and at that moment, those flamboyant words seemed
beckoning, waiting for him to enter.
However, just like being in the underground chamber in the desert, Gu

Shenwei obtained what he needed in a moment of life and death. After
slaying an enemy in the dark, he scarcely knew how he found his target. At
this very moment, unlocking the Death Scripture's final door of secrets lay
right in front of him, but he could not find the keys to open that door.
Someone jumped out from below the cliff. One, two… seven men in black
were on the ground, propped up on one knee and surrounding the young man
under the tree as if he were a seated mystical divine wraith.
"I did it," said Gu Shenwei.
A person in black spoke up. Gu Shenwei listened to this voice, which seemed
to belong to the woman who planted a greater finger force in him. "Very
well, wait here."
Gu Shenwei all the more desired to follow them, but he still followed that
figure's order.
Six men in black reached the bottom of the wall, leaped up the roof, and
blended into the darkness. Their Lightness Power was much better than Gu
Shenwei's, and one could scarcely see their silhouettes.
There was, however, one man in black who sat kneeled opposite Gu Shenwei.
From afar, he looked like a piece of tilted stone.
"What does it feel like to rape women and kill children?" The man in black
suddenly asked, his voice light, laced with clear animosity.
This was the younger sister of macheteman Nie Qing.
"Nothing special." Gu Shenwei said, still sitting under the tree. With not even
a saber by his side, he would not be able to resist if the other wanted revenge.
"When you're dead, what you feel would definitely be very special."
Gu Shenwei had long experienced near-death several times, but he decided

not to argue and stayed silent. Afterward, he asked in reply, "How many
years of life did your master give you?"
The way that Barren Sect imparted its Internal Strength is exceptionally
singular. Peripheral Force could be toxic and led one into qigong deviation on
a regular basis. But it could also be medicine for good, promoting the bearer's
Internal Strength. With such means, the Barren Sect could firmly control its
disciples.
"You'd better worry about your own life. If tonight goes wrong, you'll die
tomorrow afternoon. Want to know how painful it is to die? I've seen it. I tell
you, at first you'll lose all strength, and then your skin will start to itch, like
getting bitten by countless ants. But it isn't painful, not painful at all, and
afterward, you'll feel that itching sensation slowly seeping into your blood
and bones, and you'll wish to tear your whole body asunder, only you'll feel
bereft of energy. You could only oh so gently, scratch, and even when you're
bleeding profusely, you'll still be unable to die. That itchiness will never go
away. Eventually, you might need only an hour, or several days, depending
on your fate. You'll die of the itch rather than the pain. And at that moment,
you'll only be scratching, with not a single piece of well-formed skin on your
body. No pain, only the itch."
Nie Qing's sister's voice was not loud, but it was filled with venom, and every
single word was like a dagger that could kill.
Gu Shenwei could understand her hatred, but he waved it away. Strangely, as

he heard Tie Hanfeng insult Nie Qing's wife, and when he himself killed Nie
Qing's son with his saber, he did not have any regrets. For long, he tried
vainly to explain this, but now, he had become indifferent. The Breaking
Obsession words invented by the monks had seemed to lose its effect.
"I do prefer to kill with the single slash of my blade, no regrets."
"That's your Golden Roc Hall. When we capture the Stone Castle, the rules of
the killer will change."
Nie Qing's sister named the Golden Roc Fort the "Golden Roc Hall". Gu
Shenwei tried to guess who its owner was, and who the subordinate. There
must be different opinions for both.
The two did not speak to each other for some time. After an hour, the six
black men returned, and what struck Gu Shenwei was, they brought neither
manuals nor treasure, but a person.
That person appeared to have been attacked on the acupoints, and he was laid
in the black cloth bag, immobile.
Gu Shenwei had guessed the agenda to intrude the Stone Castle, but he had
never imagined that the "agenda" was hidden in this person. After that, he
was thoroughly shocked and even had a hint of admiration for the Golden
Roc Fort's methods of hiding its secrets.
The logic of Shangguan Ru's plan would not have anticipated this person to
be so important.
"You have achieved your goal." Gu Shenwei said, standing up.
This was the first danger in the entire plan. If the other side did not trust him
or take the spy seriously, he might die here.
The leading woman in black ordered their disciples to bring their captives
with them as they went down, with her being the last one. "Do you still
remember the place where you were captured? Meet me there tomorrow at
the noon. If you want to be a disciple of Barren Sect, you'd still have to be
tested. Remember to keep your rope, just throw it down."
And so saying, the woman in black jumped down the cliff.
Before long, the ropes wavered and wavered. Gu Shenwei untied the knot
and flung it off the cliff.
It would take another while, which was about what he predicted.
The disciples of Barren Sect did not attract any attention when they infiltrated
into Golden Roc Fort in the night. Gu Shenwei did not ask to see anyone else.
Waiting till dawn at the Ghost Cliff, he clambered off the wall before
Firewood Yard was open, and borrowing a horse from Eight Young Master,
he left Stone Castle hurriedly down the mountain.
The next threat was the Supreme King himself. If he were eager to start
hostilities, Slave Huan would have had no choice to dispel the Peripheral
Force within himself.
Gu Shenwei rode through the North City on his horse, and sometime before
noon, he reached the level ground in the mountains where he and Maid Lotus
were captured.
He unbridled his horse, letting it graze freely on the grass. He sat cross-
legged on the floor, waiting silently, occasionally touching his belt girded
around his waist where he would put his saber. He missed that feeling, and
without it, he felt like a giant roc that has lost its wings, or a tiger that did not
eat meat. He felt greatly irritated and powerless.
However, that which could save him was not a saber.
As noon arrived, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that his body seemed to ache,
and he started to scratch involuntarily. There were several ants on his arms.
Four masked women in black suddenly emerged from different directions.

One of them sprung out before Gu Shenwei and kicked him viciously in the
chest.
Gu Shenwei dropped to the ground, and his whole body itched, spreading
from his hair to his toes.
"Why?" That tickling did not reach intolerable proportions, and Gu Shenwei
jumped up, asking so. However, immediately, he felt his whole body weaken
and even standing up became very difficult.
"Don't you dare try to fool me!" The woman who had attacked him asked
stridently. She was the one who had planted the Peripheral Force in the body
of the young man.
"What do you mean? I did everything according to your instructions."
"You revealed the secret."
"If I had done so, would I have dared to come to see you?"
'Hey, do you still want to coax me to dispel the Peripheral Force? What a
pity, that person did not hold on long, he had let the cat out of the bag in a
few words."
This was the third danger in the plan. Life or death, it all depended on
whether Gu Shenwei could swindle the trust out of this woman.
"I don't know who 'that person' is that you're talking about. If it's that person
whom we've captured yesterday, it has nothing to do with me. You've never
mentioned your own motives, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't have
known."
The itching sensation intensified. Nie Qing's sister had described it

accurately. Gu Shenwei gritted his teeth and kept himself from scratching. He
had to preserve his willpower to deal with this crisis before him.
"You don't have to know. As long as you have divulged the secret, someone
in the house of Shangguan would naturally have guessed it."
Gu Shenwei's face was of all innocence. This expression was faked with
practiced familiarity. "Okay, I had divulged the secret. The house of
Shangguan had tampered somewhat with 'that person's' body. And what after
that? Just let you go off? Laugh it all off, and the matter would just end?
Supreme King would hardly ever bother himself over the life of an apprentice
killer like me."
This was precisely what the woman in black couldn't understand. If Slave
Huan had spilled the beans, Golden Roc Fort would have sent men to follow
them. And upon finding the hideout at Jade City, the killers would have
immediately killed them. However, they searched this flat land in the
mountains and the vicinity, and had definitely not found men in ambush.
"Cut the crap, throw him here to die."
Gu Shenwei could hardly bear the torment of the itchiness anymore, and his
body trembled. With a wavering voice, he said, "Tell me what it is you want,
maybe I can help."
"You?" The woman in black asked condescendingly. "That's the most heavily
guarded secret of Stone Castle. How would you know?"
"Mama Xue has once asked me to gather information on many things. I didn't
know why, but she was pretty satisfied. So what I'd gathered might have been
useful to her, and it may be of use to you too."
"Speak." The woman in black said hesitatingly.

"First make my itch go away. Damn, I can't bear it anymore."
Finally, Gu Shenwei could begin his bargain.

Chapter 137 - Managing Master
Chapter 137: Managing Master
The only way to find out Barren Sect's motive for climbing the Stone Castle
was from Mama Xue.
Gu Shenwei finally came up with a conclusion after thinking, several times,

through Mama Xue's behavior. Since the beginning, Barren Sect's target was
a secret kungfu manuscript. By following false information, Mama Xue had
obtained a fake copy of the manuscript. Barren Sect's renewed efforts, which
expended a hundred times more mental and physical energy than Mama Xue
had, showed that they were extremely sure where the real manuscript was
hidden.
Golden Roc Fort, which received the information beforehand, could thus
deceive Barren Sect once more by replacing the real manuscript with another
fake.
What Gu Shenwei did not expect was that the "secret manuscript" was
actually a person. He had thought that it was hidden within an object in the
Six Kills Temple, such as the Black Jade Palm which was previously stolen
by Shangguan Ru. Instead, it was hidden on the body of the Sacred Master
who guarded the temple.
A human heart was perhaps the safest place to hide the manuscript in. What
Golden Roc Fort needed to do was to protect this person.
At present, Gu Shenwei's life depended on Shangguan Ru's ability to

persuade her father. If the Supreme King urgently wanted to destroy Barren
Sect, he would naturally act without hesitation, and would undoubtedly be
apathetic to the life of a brown-belt assassin.
The lady in black fixed her eyes on the youth who was beginning to tremble
slightly. "You seem quite clever. Did Kang Wenmei die at your hands?"
Gu Shenwei resisted his bodily itch and shook his head. "Why would I want
to harm her? She's the only one who can purge the Peripheral Force from my
body."
Nie Qing could sense that the lady was wavering, and thus interrupted,
"Master, you mustn't believe this little one. He's trying to coax you into
removing the force."
The lady in black turned her head and glared momentarily at her disciple. Nie
Qing knew she had spoken too much and backed away embarrassedly.
"You aren't wrong." The lady turned towards the youth. "But Kang Wenmei
is dead. I can purge the force which I'd implanted, and can also teach you a
set of techniques for you to slowly purge Kang Wenmei's force on your
own."
"On what conditions?" There was a quaver in Gu Shenwei's voice, not

because he was excited, but because, right then, an itch traveled from his skin
into his body.
"We're finding a person, or perhaps a book, a scroll, or a wooden plank.

Whatever it is, it's the secret manuscript which the New Moon Hall has
passed down over many generations, and was stolen by Golden Roc Hall. Did
Kang Wenmei mention this?"
If Gu Shenwei wanted his act to be a little more believable, he would have

tensed himself up a little longer. However, he did not want to waste any more
time while his viscera were itching badly. Thus, he babbled a sequence of
words and started rolling on the ground witlessly.
"Yunniwufenbielonghuwufangdengyouqingqingbuyounankefalengye."
These were the opening words of the strange passage in Death Scripture. Gu
Shenwei had read it out by its literal pronunciation--its real meaning was
"The soul rises to the Ninth Heaven, the spirit falls to the Ninth Abysse, the
living suffer in grief, and the dead settle in peace."
He no longer cared if the words actually had any effect. Nie Qing was right,
the feeling of itching to death was truly special. So much that he wished he
could reach his arm down his throat and mash his intestines into bits.
The lady's face changed color almost entirely, and she began to speak in an
almost-howling voice. "What else do you know?"
But the youth, who was rolling about and scratching himself on the ground,
could no longer hear her shouting. The lady bent down and lifted him up
before she started patting him repeatedly around his body.
The itch began to dissipate. Gu Shenwei sat on the floor with his hands still
trembling. He was right once again, Barren Sect's search for the secret
manuscript indeed had something to do with the Death Scripture, or perhaps,
it was the Death Scripture itself. The latter's fall to the bottom of a cliff was,
beyond a doubt, inextricably linked to Golden Roc Fort, and thus to New
Moon Hall as well.
Although Nie Qing already felt displeased while the lady was saving his life,
she did not dare to voice out then. But now, she felt emboldened. "Everyone
knows those words. He's deceiving you, Master."
Gu Shenwei adjusted his internal breath while simultaneously reciting the

strange passage in the Death Scripture in its original pronunciation. After
more than a hundred words, he paused and pretended to think.
Even Nie Qing was speechless this time. The four females had become like
wide-eyed disciples who were listening attentively to the teachings of a
knowledgeable scholar sitting on the grass.
"What comes next?" The lady in black urged.
"Is this the secret manuscript you're searching for?"
"Yes." "Nope."
The two responses were voiced almost at the same time.

The lady in black, who had answered in the affirmative, took a look at her
disciple and commented, "You have a lot more to say today than usual."
A terrified look appeared on Nie Qing, who immediately knelt down. "Your
disciple knows her mistake. Please forgive me, Master."
Gu Shenwei's mind began to spin. There was bound to be a reason for their
contradicting responses. He knew that the chances of being exposed would
increase if he continued to recite.
"It doesn't matter either way. However, that's all I know. I'd gone around
looking for information, but when I learned of Mama Xue's death, I didn't
dare to inquire anymore and had to stop."
The lady in black was heavily skeptical. Though she was astounded by the
youth's recitation of the passage, she was undecided about the extent to which
she could trust him.
"My name's Kang Wenhui." The lady in black said as she took off the black
cloth that masked her beautiful face, on which the only signs of her age were
a few fine lines at the canthi. "I'm the Managing Master of Barren Sect. Kang
Wenmei is my subordinate."
Gu Shenwei promptly got on one knee and bowed his head. "Disciple Yang
Huan pays his respects to the Managing Master."
"Rise. Now tell me how you came by this scripture's passage."
"I shall report everything truthfully to Managing Master. Under orders from
Mama Xue, I became close with Golden Roc Fort's Tenth Young Master and
successfully obtained her trust. It was she who taught me this passage. But
after Mama Xue died, I entered the East Castle and no longer had much
contact with Tenth Young Master, and therefore didn't learn the rest."
"Is everything you said true?"
"Not a single false word. I gave up halfway back then because Mama Xue
didn't explain the true state of affairs to me. If I return and ask Tenth Young
Master once more, I'm sure I'll be able to obtain the entire scripture."
His heart thumped hard. The entire plan would be considered successful if he
was able to trick Kang Wenhui into releasing him.
"That's not what you should fret about." Kang Wenhui somehow managed to
calm down. "I've removed the force from two acupoints, Yongquan and
Xuanji, leaving only the Baihui acupoint untouched. Do you know how long
you'll be able to put up with it?"
"That's entirely up to Managing Master." Gu Shenwei replied unfrankly. This

was, in actual fact, the question he was most concerned about but did not dare
to inquire.
"Well, your current condition is quite special." Kang Wenhui revealed a little
smile, as though she was a child hiding a secret. "I'd initially suppressed
Kang Wenmei's force, but have now released it once more such that it'll
return to its original form within the Xuanji acupoint very soon. There'll thus
be two Peripheral Forces in your body, one in the Xuanji and the other in the
Baihui. Each of them can cause qigong deviation at any time. If only one
triggers, you may be able to live up to two years yet. But if they happen to
trigger at the same time, you'll soon be on your way to see Kang Wenmei."
"I beg Managing Master to show mercy."
But Kang Wenhui had already sobered up from her initial shock, and
increasingly perceived the holes in the youth's account. Involuntarily, she let
out a grim and continuous laughter. "You still want to return to Golden Roc
Fort to ask about the scripture? Better that you remain with me and tell me
the complete truth."
Gu Shenwei's heart sank. His plan had come unstuck at the final step. He felt
that it must have been an incorrect line in the passage he memorized which
aroused the latter's suspicions. He had consulted Monk Lianhua and Mister
Zhang Ji many times to figure out the Death Scripture's exact relationship
with Golden Roc Fort and Barren Sect but was not able to obtain much
information.
"I… don't understand Managing Master's meaning."
"Think about it slowly," Kang Wenhui replied composedly. "You're a male,

and so have to put in more effort than a female if you wish to join Barren
Sect. First of all, you must be completely truthful. It's best if you stop playing
tricks of holding back a few sentences here and there."
Gu Shenwei could feel the cold sweat pouring down his back. Even if he had
a saber in hand now, he was uncertain about matching up against four
disciples of Barren Sect, let alone when he was empty-handed. The entire
plan would be a complete failure if he were unable to make Kang Wenhui let
him go. He even thought about revealing the deepest secret, that "Yang
Huan" was, in fact, a son of the Gu Family, which had a sworn enmity
against Golden Roc Fort and was willing to join hands with Barren Sect and
New Moon Hall.
But this idea flashed by and was quickly discarded. On what basis could he, a
powerless and average-skilled youth, join hands with them? And why would
they believe him?
There was only one way left to go about things. Gu Shenwei suddenly came
up with an idea, albeit he had absolutely no clue how far it could bring him.
"There's something else which I felt wasn't important and hence didn't say
earlier. It might be useful, now that I think of it."
Kang Wenhui stared coldly at the youth and waited for him to continue.
"Tenth Young Master said that those texts were not passed down through
generations in the fort, but were what she learned from the Four Truths
Temple, and furthermore…"
"Furthermore what?"
"The scripture has another way of reading."
Gu Shenwei began to recite, once more, the passage he had memorized, this
time using the pronunciation which Master Tiger Monk had taught him.
Kang Wenhui listened ever more attentively. "You're a little more reliable
this time. The Four Truths Temple? Isn't that where you went with that girl
two days ago?"
"How's Maid Lotus now?"
"Don't worry, she's very well."
Maid Lotus was indeed the least of his concerns. If Shangguan Ru acted
according to plan, Golden Roc Fort would have done what they had to do in
the city by now, and Maid Lotus would have been rescued as long as she had
not died earlier. It was on him to find a way to get away with these four
demonesses and certainly not return to the city with them.
"Yes, I've been to the Four Truths Temple. Together with Tenth Young
Master and others, I was ambushed by Barren Sect, and I…"
"Don't be mistaken. It was New Moon Hall, and not Barren Sect, which
ambushed you."
There was an obvious dissatisfaction in Kang Wenhui's voice. This caused

Gu Shenwei some surprise. From what he had heard, New Moon Hall
founded Barren Sect in order to get around the armistice - the two of them
were actually the same entity.
"Alright, we were ambushed by New Moon Hall and… something strange

was implanted in our bodies." He did not know what attitude he should take
towards the secret arts of New Moon Hall.
Kang Wenhui curled her lips. "It's best to stay away from New Moon Hall's
things. But you're alright. Your body contains the Peripheral Force, which is
a mark of this sect. They wouldn't dare to touch you."
Gu Shenwei heaved a sigh of relief. The fact that Shangguan Ru and others
were "possessed" while he and Maid Lotus were fine already indicated that
the mysterious woman did not lay hands on either of them, but it was always
good to receive confirmation.
"In order to dispel the evil, we made our way to the Four Truths Temple to
study the scripture. But because of my low status, I was only given the
correct pronunciation for these hundred or so words, while only Tenth Young
Master was taught the entire scripture. However, if I ask…"
"Forget about Tenth Young Master." Kang Wenhui interrupted. "We shall go
to Four Truths Temple to visit this eminent monk."
Gu Shenwei's new plan was able to get past the first step. He started to
wonder how he could keep the lie going when they reached the temple, and
whether Monk Lianye was able to defeat four female killers of Barren Sect.
Chapter 138 - Competition
Chapter 138: Competition
Gu Shenwei had a constant feeling that Golden Roc Fort killers were hiding
in the vicinity. It was only right that Supreme King would send personnel to
keep an eye on a figure as important in Barren Sect as Kang Wenhui.
However, not a single killer appeared as they made their way to the foot of
the mountain on which Four Truths Temple was situated.
The four Barren Sect disciples took extreme caution. Kang Wenhui walked
alongside the youth while the other three maintained at least ten steps'
distance away from each other to keep guard. If anything unexpected
occurred, Gu Shenwei would be the first one to be killed.
It was already evening by the time they reached Leftslope Vihara. Gu

Shenwei had been worried that the monks remained in the city to look for
Maid Lotus, but he began to feel at ease when he saw two bald heads in the
distance.
Kang Wenhui seemed to have some apprehension towards the temple, so she
ordered her three disciples to hide nearby while she and the youth walked
towards the huts.
Lianhua and Lianye were sitting facing each other on the grass outside the
hut, with a huge dog crouched between them. Lianhua could be heard
speaking rapidly, as though chanting a scripture. Lianye placed both palms
together, while occasionally reaching a hand out to keep the dog still.
There was something bizarre about the scene. Upon closer observation, the
two realized something even odder: the crouching dog was actually a gray
wolf.
It was certainly not small in size. Whining, it scratched its front paws on the
grass nervously and revealed its fiendish white teeth every now and then.
However, it did not dare to sit up, and every time it turned its head back to
look at Lianye, the latter would turn it back again.
Gu Shenwei could clearly hear the content of Lianhua's chanting when he

approached. It was, unquestionably, the more-than-ten-thousand-word-long
Breaking Obsession .
The monks were, most surprisingly, trying to influence a wild wolf.

Presumably, they were trying to emulate Master Tiger Monk's taming of a
tiger.
But according to what Gu Shenwei had heard, Master Tiger Monk had raised
the tiger since it was young, whereas this wolf was a genuine wild beast.
When Lianye noticed that people were approaching, he simply ignored them
and instead concentrated on restraining the gray wolf for his senior brother.
Kang Wenhui felt bewildered. She had never heard of monks trying to
influence a wolf. Even more unexpectedly, the scripture which the monk was
chanting seemed similar to - but contained a lot more content than - the secret
manuscript she was after.
Kang Wenhui had imagined that there would be a bitter fight once they
reached Four Truths Temple in order to obtain the entire scripture. On the
contrary, anyone could listen freely to the chanting. The only problem was
that the chanted scripture contained many differences with the scripture she
was familiar with, and she could not ascertain which version was correct.
Regardless, she became more trusting of Slave Huan's words.
Gu Shenwei had no intention of letting Kang Wenhui listen to the entire

scripture. Thus, he coughed a few times and spoke, "Master, Yang Huan is
here to visit you."
He had to repeat himself three times before Lianhua turned his head and
smiled slightly. "Ah, the little benefactor is alive."
"I'm indeed not dead, thanks to this senior who rescued me and gave me a
few more years of life."
Lianye turned his head and surveyed Kang Wenhui. "Gee, as a woman, your
Internal Strength is stronger than mine? You were able to purge the evil force
which I couldn't?" He had previously attempted to heal Gu Shenwei without
success, thereby explaining his current doubts.
While the two monks were distracted, the gray wolf found an opportunity to
leap off the ground and run into the bushes with its tail between its legs.
Lianye was about to chase after it when Lianhua raised his hands to stop him.
"Let it go. We don't need a wild wolf now that we have this young
benefactor."
"What were you doing?" Kang Wenhui asked without responding to Lianye's
inquiry.
"Oh, we humble monks were enlightening a wild wolf, and have been
chanting scripture to it for the whole day. The effect isn't bad; the wolf's
killing desire has weakened a lot, a heart of goodness has been born in it, and
it's much more well-behaved than before. A pity you've scared it off."
Gu Shenwei felt that the wolf's improved behavior had, in all likelihood,
nothing to do with the scripture but instead was a result of Lianye's handling
of it.
"I meant, what scripture were you chanting?" Despite many years of training
as a killer, Kang Wenhui's heart began to beat faster at this time.
Monk Lianhua's eyes glimmered. "Lady benefactor has interest in Breaking

Obsession as well? Your energetic spirit and murderous exterior tell me
you're most suitable to practice this scripture."
Gu Shenwei hurriedly stepped forward, worried that the conversation

between them would soon expose the truth. "Master, this senior's purpose for
being here is to listen to the full Exorcism Manuscript."
Lianhua shook his head. "I only have a portion of, and not the complete,
Exorcism Manuscript. However, if you're willing to become a monk as well
as my student, I can help you to distinguish the sounds, while Junior Brother
Lianxin can share his notes with you. This won't be difficult."
Monk Lianhua was telling the truth. Master Tiger Monk had carefully
observed the agreement with Maid Lotus and did not divulge the Death
Scripture beyond a thousand words. But how could Kang Wenhui believe
him when she had clearly heard him chanting the strange passage? As a
killer, she naturally looked upon everyone with the eyes of one and suspected
that the monk was lying.
Gu Shenwei turned and spoke softly to Kang Wenhui. "This particular monk
yields only to a forceful approach. I'm afraid it's time for Managing Master to
show her hand. However, he doesn't know any kungfu. It's that big and tall
monk who'll be difficult to handle."
Kang Wenhui humphed grimly and spoke toward the two monks. "Master, I
feel that you're unwilling to recite the entire scripture?"
"Lady benefactor wishes to listen to Breaking Obsession , right? Shanzai

shanzai, we humble monks are only glad to help. Why would we be
unwilling?"
Breaking Obsession was a more-than-ten-thousand-word long mantra created

based on Death Scripture 's syllabic system. Kang Wenhui would certainly
make no sense of the complex relationship between the two without the monk
providing an explanation. Unfortunately, she simply felt that the monk was
unwilling to tell the truth. "Breaking what? I want to listen to Wayless Book
."
The monks became deeply puzzled the instant she said that. Even Gu
Shenwei was baffled; he had never heard of Wayless Book and wondered if
this was another name for Death Scripture .
"We humble monks are practitioners of the way. Why would we have a book
that teaches to abstain from the way? Lady benefactor must be kidding."
"Wasn't it you who taught this little fella the passage that he knows?"
Gu Shenwei hastily offered his explanation. "Before he died, Master Tiger

Monk taught me a small section of the scripture but didn't impart the rest. The
only person in the world right now who has the ability to review this scripture
is Monk Lianhua."
" 'Only' is stretching it. In this temple, there are several senior and junior
brothers who have also studied Nanke Goes Woodchopping ."
Kang Wenhui became ever more confused the more she listened, but she had
no doubt that the monk was well-versed in the scripture which was vital to
her. As a killer, she certainly did not know what fair play was and thought
that if she planted the peripheral force in the monk's body and made him feel
a little pain, he would give her anything she wanted. Thus, with a sway of her
figure, she appeared in front of Monk Lianhua.
Her pointed finger was only an inch away from Lianhua's front chest when
she felt a strong sense of danger from behind and quickly dodged away. It
was Lianye who had come to the rescue.
The lady and the latter monk fought around Monk Lianhua. Kang Wenhui's
fingers were becoming increasingly red and made a hissing noise as they
swept through the air. Although Lianye seemed clumsy and his movements
were simple and plain, he was able to not only protect his senior brother but
also strike back at her.
Within a short span of time, the two had already exchanged more than ten
different movements between themselves. Monk Lianhua, who stood in
between them, only began to open his mouth after their exchange. "Stop it,
junior brother. You've broken precept once more."
Lianye's face changed color when he heard that. Repeating the phrase "no
more fighting" to himself, he held on to his senior brother and fled.
Gu Shenwei, who was carefully observing from the side, felt that Kang
Wenhui's kungfu was not as good as he had imagined, and was, in fact,
slightly inferior to Lianye's. This gave him some much-needed assurance.
But the lady did not think she was losing. "It's not up to you to decide
whether or not to fight," she shouted as she demonstrated her Lightness Skill,
chasing behind the monks.
Seeing that their master had begun to fight, the other three Barren Sect
disciples joined in. Like Golden Roc Fort, they understood that teamwork
was more important than single combat. Taking up different positions, they
helped Kang Wenhui to trap the monks.
Although Lianye was big and tall, his Lightness Skill was not weak. With his
senior brother in his arms, he ran around several huts in such a manner that
the four females were unable to hem them in.
This was a good opportunity for Gu Shenwei to escape, but knowing that his
own Lightness Skill was merely average, he felt worried that he would be
foiled the moment he was noticed. The safer way was still to incite the two
parties into a fierce battle. It would not do for them to just be chasing and
running like this.
"Stop it, all of you! I've got something to say!"
The two parties ran another two rounds around the huts before they stopped.
Kang Wenhui was the first to do so, followed by her three disciples. At a safe
distance away from the four females, Lianye placed his senior brother down,
then stood with his palms together and silently chanted in confession.
"Aye, the four female benefactors will need to practice Breaking Obsession
now."
Kang Wenhui paid no attention to the pedantic monk and asked Gu Shenwei,
"What did you want to say?"
He walked up to her before he replied, "I'll persuade the monk to read out the
scripture." He then moved over to Monk Lianhua and said, "Master, I have a
suggestion which I'm not sure how you'll receive: allow Monk Lianye to
engage in a fight with the lady benefactors. If he loses, I'll have to trouble you
to teach them the correct pronunciation of the entire scripture. But if they
lose, I shall volunteer to shave my head, become a monk, and learn Breaking
Obsession . I vow never to reincarnate if I don't get rid of my killing desire."
Gu Shenwei's plan was that, if Kang Wenhui lost, he would claim that his
killing desire was too great while he still had many secular matters to settle,
and therefore that he needed a period of time before he could become a
monk. As for how long this period continued for would be up to him to
decide. In any case, with the two peripheral forces residing in his body, he
would be near death by the time he acknowledged the monk as his teacher.
These calculations were certainly not bad, but unfortunately, Monk Lianhua
shook his head. "That's inappropriate. Whenever there's a fight, there's
killing. Junior Brother Lianye's concentration isn't deep. If he accidentally
kills a lady benefactor, his killing desire would subsequently be reignited, and
his efforts over the past decade would be wiped out just like that. That
certainly won't do."
As the two were speaking at a normal volume, Kang Wenhui was able to hear
them clearly, and in response, she snorted contemptuously. She had yet to
reveal her best move and was entirely sure that she would not be killed. She
suddenly thought of an idea and raised it in a loud voice. "Don't worry, I have
a method for us to compete and decide a winner without killing each other."
But Lianxin continued to shake his head. "How's that possible? Whenever
there's fighting, there's death."
"Not necessarily. I just heard a while ago Monk Lianhe saying that his
Internal Strength is a lot stronger than mine. We can compete about that
without exchanging blows. We'll compete to see who can purge the
peripheral forces from Yang Huan's body. This way, we'll be saving a life
instead of harming one."
Lianhua did not know a lot about kungfu, but because the female benefactor
had spoken well, he could not help but nod his head. "Have the things in the
little one's body not been cleansed yet?"
"To do so won't be easy," Kang Wenhui quickly responded.
Lianhua lowered his head and pondered, but Lianye was already eager to get
going. Before he became a monk, kungfu was his life, and he rarely met
anyone who was his match. The few moves he exchanged with Kang Wenhui
earlier had made him itchy and restless. He had treated a disease for Gu
Shenwei before and understood the strengths and weaknesses of the evil
forces in the latter's body. He believed that even if he was unable to
completely remove the forces, he would still do better than the lady.
Only Gu Shenwei knew that the competition was unfair. Peripheral Forces
were the trademark skill of Barren Sect. Although Kang Wenhui might not be
able to completely remove the force implanted in his Xuanji acupoint by
Mama Xue, she would certainly be able to remove the force in his Baihui
acupoint, and therefore should defeat the monk in one aspect.
If Kang Wenhui was to win, Gu Shenwei would have to recite the entire
scripture for Monk Lianhua to assess his pronunciation, and his lies would be
completely exposed. However, with the force removed from his Baihui
acupoint, he would at least not have to worry about two qigong deviations
overlapping.
Gu Shenwei found himself in a dilemma.

Chapter 139 - Yin and Yang
Chapter 139: Yin and Yang
When Kang Wenhui suggested that the competition of Internal Strength

would take place using Gu Shenwei's body, the latter was still considering his
personal gains, but Lianhua had already made up his mind. "Young
benefactor, you must keep your promise and worship me as your master."
These words indicated that he agreed to the competition and was confident
that his junior brother would win.
Lianye, who was anxious from all the waiting, immediately jumped up and
exclaimed, "Who goes first?"
"We shall go at the same time. Surely you can recognize your own Internal
Strength?" Kang Wenhui walked up to him and replied.
"Wait." Gu Shenwei knew he had to be careful with his body set to become a
battlefield. "Both of you are experts in Internal Strength and much stronger
than me. But what if one of you blunder and accidentally kill me?"
"You're right, I hadn't considered that. Maybe we shouldn't compete." Monk

Lianhua changed his tone immediately.
"A true expert wouldn't blunder. Whoever kills you will be considered to
have lost."
As soon as she spoke, she reached a palm out toward the youth. Lianye, who
was no longer able to resist the temptation, pretended that he did not hear his
senior brother's words, and grabbed Gu Shenwei's wrist with his left hand to
transmit his Internal Strength while tapping with his right hand to guide the
flow.
Gu Shenwei found himself in a precarious and inextricable position. Nobody
would be able to make either of the two stop before a winner was decided.
The talk of purging the Peripheral Force was a complete lie. The two Internal
Strength masters simply wanted to get the better of the other. Although Kang
Wenhui did not say it directly, Monk Lianye knew it as well. Only Monk
Lianhua truly believed that this was a life-saving competition which had no
risk of death.
Two streams of vital force, one hot and the other cold, entered Gu Shenwei's
body. He knew instantly that this was not about saving a life, but complete
torture instead.
The hot stream was Kang Wenhui's. It excited the latent forces in the Baihui
and Xuanji acupoints, and thus became a coalition of three forces which
attacked in the direction of the cold stream transmitted by Lianye. Although
the latter was only a singular force, it was certainly not weak. The level of the
monk's Internal Strength had exceeded his opponent's imagination, and he
was not at a disadvantage despite it being a one versus three showdown.
The only person who was not enjoying this was Gu Shenwei. The battle
between the hot and cold forces, with each occupying one side of his body,
was akin to the Chu-Han Contention where thousands of horses and soldiers
swept in different directions across the territorial boundaries. The pitiful
amount of Internal Strength in his dantian was only sufficient to protect the
beating of his heart and keep him intact. His meridians would break if either
side became aggressive, let alone if there was a mass brawl.
The two experts continuously tapped on and patted Gu Shenwei's body. Like
a puppet being pulled, or a small boat traveling in raging waves, he had
absolutely no autonomy over himself. If he was able to speak, the first thing
he would do would be to beg Monk Lianhua to call off the competition.
But the monk could not see that the youth was suffering, and thought that the
latter's expression was simply that of tiredness. Thus, he began to recite
Breaking Obsession .
Although a recitation of Breaking Obsession was supposed to weaken killing

desire, it had no effect on the listeners. Both Kang Wenhui and Lianye, who
were facing a formidable enemy in each other, spared no effort in their fight
and were not distracted at all. Only Gu Shenwei, who was unable to speak
but considerably more sharp-eared than usual, mentally absorbed every word
of Monk Lianhua's recitation and was compelled to recite it in his head.
"Stop chanting!" Gu Shenwei yelled internally, but his mouth remained

unable to make even the slightest noise. What he needed to do at present was
to put all effort into keeping himself alive - the weakening of his killing
desire instead made him dithery.
Unfortunately, the things one most wants to forget are often remembered
best. The thousand-plus-word-long Death Scripture and the four-thousand-
plus-word-long Breaking Obsession flickered in front of his eyes like swarms
of flies which were impossible to chase away, and their intense buzzing
almost caused his head to explode.
It was unclear whose, but one of the vital forces suddenly went the wrong
direction and charged straight at Gu Shenwei's dantian. However, with his
head drowning in words, he was completely unaware of it. The little bit of
Internal Strength in his body served like a disorderly mob trying to defend
against troops sent from Heaven, and was wiped out in a flash.
Lianye staggered a few steps and muttered, "You're playing tricks." His left
hand remained clutching the youth's wrist, not because he was using his
strength, but because he was unable to let go.
"Are tricks not allowed?" Kang Wenhui laughed grimly. Instead of stopping,
she patted ever faster on the youth's body.
With his head lowered, Gu Shenwei resembled a walking corpse. Only the
monk's pulling and Kang Wenhui's patting kept him standing up. His legs
seemed to be floating, while his body swayed left and right.
Monk Lianhua, deeply focused on his chanting, remained in a state of

oblivious serenity and did not even hear his junior brother speak.
The other three Barren Sect disciples drew nearer and their crooked fingers
began to turn red; they knew that their master was about to win.
Kang Wenhui had played tricks once again. She never believed in keeping
promises or leaving a fight to chance. In her view, only people who were
implanted with Peripheral Forces were worth believing. While the three
forces she was controlling were fighting neck-to-neck with the monk's force,
she unexpectedly sent one of them to attack the youth's dantian. The monk
did not understand the former's intent and swiftly followed it. This allowed
another hot stream to find an opening into his body, in which it quickly
implanted a Peripheral Force.
It was not a particularly strong force, and thus Lianye was more than capable
of purging it on his own by adjusting his internal breath. However, during
such an intense battle, how could he find room to send his "troops" back into
his own body?
By separating his force in order to heal himself, Lianye promptly fell into a
disadvantage in the battle taking place in the youth's body.
Gu Shenwei was not sure whether he himself had fainted or not. He could
only feel that his body had shredded into many pieces - just like thousands of
falling leaves, or a thousand fluttering butterflies. Familiar scenes began to
appear in front of his eyes: times of him happily reuniting with his family
members, playing with his friends, and locking horns with his enemies.
Subsequently, all of the words he had memorized, as well as their

pronunciations, began to jump about in his mind like countless mischievous
monkeys. Death Scripture , which had two ways of reading; the abstruse 29
Styles of Swordsmanship ; and Yin and Yang Strength , which he was the
only person in the world to memorize… these books split into sentence-less
fragments that raced to the front of his mind, only to be pushed away by the
fragments chasing from behind and disappear.
After Monk Lianhua had completed a full recitation of Breaking Obsession ,

he raised his head only to see that the youth's face was red and pale in
different spots. His junior brother was holding on desperately with a hateful
expression on his face and his eyebrows erect, while the lady in black was the
only person who remained poised. Though he did not know anything about
kungfu, he could easily see who held the upper hand.
"Amitabha, the result has been decided. May the two of you stop fighting."
Kang Wenhui was still channeling her internal breath to drive the Peripheral
Force into the monk's body and was unwilling to stop upon being instructed.
On the other hand, Lianye wished to end the fight, but had no control over the
situation and could only continue to hold on.
Lianhua, oblivious to the danger, bowed and unexpectedly walked up to pull

his junior brother away. The moment his finger made contact with Lianye's
sleeve, he felt as if he just crashed into an inflated balloon. With a sharp cry,
he was sent flying through the air and fell heavily on the ground. Only now
did he realize that the competition was never about saving life, but was a life
and death battle instead.
Noticing the dumbstruck expression on Lianhua's face, the three Barren Sect
disciples' eyes revealed a sense of amusement.
In the blink of an eye, however, Lianhua became even more bewildered,

while the disciples' expressions froze. Nobody could believe what was
happening.
The bystanders would not have been shocked if Kang Wenhui secured
victory or even if Lianye turned the tide and snatched the win. Instead, the
situation completely blew everyone's mind. They could only watch as the
lady and the monk flew backward through the air and spewed liters of blood
as they hit the ground. Nobody went up to offer assistance.
The only person who remained standing was the youth. His complexion had
turned blood red, his clothing had puffed up, and his hair was a disheveled
mess. He seemed as though he could spit fire by opening his mouth.
Gu Shenwei's internal breath was surging furiously like the tide of the
Qiantang river. At its current pace, it was able to complete a grand circulation
in no time at all. Each grand circulation caused a portion of his Internal
Strength to enter his dantian, like water silently flowing into a bottomless pit.
That Gu Shenwei was able to protect his life was not because of Death
Scripture but instead because of the Yin and Yang Strength that his family
had passed down.
Yin and Yang Strength consisted of two methods. The first was a step-by-
step and time-consuming method of transferring yin and yang strength that
would eventually generate the most power. The second was a sped up
technique which allowed the forces to merge and greatly increased Internal
Strength when the yin and yang strengths had merely reached the third level
and above - the downside was that the power was not as strong as the first's.
With the Peripheral Forces implanted in his body, Gu Shenwei's Internal

Strength had been paralyzed and he could not even utilize the sped up
technique. It was only during the battle between Kang Wenhui and Lianye
that his bodily restrictions were removed.
Amidst his horror, Gu Shenwei tried every method he knew to get rid of the
pain and managed not only to combine his yin and yang strengths but also
seize the two experts' Internal Strength as his own. As luck would have it, the
nature of their Internal Strengths was different from each other's while having
many similarities with the Gu family's yin and yang strengths. Or else, Gu
Shenwei would have found it very difficult to subdue these two giant streams
of Internal Breath.
The Way of Internal Strength demanded a continuous input of vital force, and
the slightest of interruptions would result in a disaster. While engaged in a
life and death battle with each other, the two experts' strengths abruptly
disappeared into what seemed like a bottomless ocean, and their Internal
Breaths immediately turned back on them. They were not sent flying by the
youth, but rather, in order to dissolve their own strengths, they were
compelled to leap backward on their own. Unfortunately, they were only able
to dissolve a portion of their strengths, resulting in damage to their viscera
and the spewing of fresh blood from their mouths.
To the bystanders, everything that just happened seemed highly confusing,

and the two experts themselves were ineffably horrified. Only Gu Shenwei
roughly understood what had gone on, but because his mind was in a mess,
he was not able to reason it out clearly in a short amount of time.
Lianhua ran over to lift his junior brother up. The latter laughed
despondently. "I've lost, Senior Brother."
"A good loss it was. Your killing desire was already extinguished, but the
desire to win remained. That particular knot in your heart has now been
undone. Although you lost the competition, your disposition has triumphed
greatly."
In an instant, Lianye felt enlightened. He placed his palms together and

chanted, while his facial expressions became calm once again.
Kang Wenhui, on the other hand, was not able to see things so
philosophically. She pushed the monk away, who had come forth to assist his
brother, then wiped off the blood around her mouth and pointed at the youth
standing in the middle of the scene. "Kill him." She knew that things had
gone wrong because of him, but did not know that his Internal Strength was
presently way above what it used to be.
Just as the three Barren Sect disciples were about to act, Lianhua stepped
forth. "Hold it, there's no need to kill. Junior Brother Lianye is the loser of
this contest. I shall keep my promise and teach you the correct way of reading
Death Scripture ."
" Death Scripture ? I want Wayless Book ," Kang Wenhui stated once more
in a manner that suggested she had never heard of the former.
Lianhua was at a loss what to do when Gu Shenwei, who had regained his
senses, intervened. "Wait a minute. Though the monk lost, the lady didn't win
either. Both of them lost to me. So, Monk Lianhua, I don't have to call you
master, and neither do you have to impart any scripture."
This left Lianhua more perplexed than ever. Just then, Kang Wenhui spun
and leaped toward the youth. Turning her fingers into claws, she aimed them
toward his skull. Though her Internal Strength was impaired, she remained
confident in killing him easily.
Gu Shenwei had only learned a few punching skills, and his kungfu with his
hands and legs was certainly no match for Kang Wenhui's, but his Internal
Strength, which had increased by several times in a short span of time,
enabled his movements to be much more agile than before. Rather than
avoiding the enemy's claws, he simply met them with a fist of his own.
The fist skill he used was not derived from the teachings of the Gu family nor
Mama Xue's kungfu, and instead was an instinctive reaction he had
developed over countless close fights with his master Tie Hanfeng. In the
past, he often made plans to assassinate Cripple Tie, and each time he failed,
he would have to brawl with his master. Like a street rogue, he never paid
much attention to the method.
This explained why the skill he used was blunt and styleless. Unexpectedly,
Kang Wenhui, who was an accomplished kungfu master, did not evade it and
suffered a blow to the nose - immediately becoming bloody.
A further principle of the rogue style of fighting was that once the first move
came off smoothly, there was no stopping.
Chapter 140 - Bloodied Body
Chapter 140: Bloodied Body
Every punch Gu Shenwei exerted possessed mountain-breaking strength. He

stuck close in front of his enemy, without a trace of pity or hesitation in his
heart.
Kang Wenhui twisted and turned as much as she could, but was unable to
evade the youth's fists. She thus released all of her power, including from her
ten bloody fingers, to strike at every part of the youth's body.
Gu Shenwei's clothes were torn as a result, and countless more channels of

blood were added to his already scarred skin, yet he seemed to not mind at all
- as if his body did not truly belong to him. Keeping a straight face, he
exerted punch after punch mercilessly. At this moment, it would not have
mattered to him if his enemy was male or female, old or young.
Kang Wenhui's facial expression changed before her facial shape followed
suit. Her entire head, covered in blood, had turned even redder than her ten
fingers. She had never encountered a fighting style like this, which was as
adhesive and impossible to shake off as the most shameless of scoundrels. It
did not have any pattern or style, yet its strength was sufficient to beat a bull
to death.
The Managing Master of Barren Sect would, in time, be beaten to death by

the fists of a youth. Her skull was pulverized and an eyeball was sent flying
out.
Though Gu Shenwei panted heavily, he was not tired at all. On the contrary,
he felt more energetic than ever. If a mountain was standing in front of him,
he just might have crushed it into stones using his fists.
The three Barren Sect disciples simply watched in astonishment and were
unable to help their master in time. However, they then took a quick look at
each other and proceeded to flank the youth from three directions, with Nie
Qing taking the lead.
As killers, they often resorted to unscrupulous tactics, but would never run
away from a fight. In any case, their bodies had been implanted with
Peripheral Forces by Kang Wenhui, and thus even if they did not avenge their
master, death would be inevitable when they returned to Barren Sect.
Gu Shenwei bent his body slightly and leaped powerfully off the ground.
Every step he took was equivalent to seven or eight steps of a normal person.
Like a leopard charging after its prey, he knocked down the enemy on his left
side in two quick steps and then rolled several times on the ground while
holding on to her.
When he stood up again, the female was already dead, with her ribs entirely
fractured.
He proceeded on to the next nearest enemy, and after allowing her to add
several more scratch marks to his body with her sharp claws, he knocked her
down with a single punch. Kneeling on the ground, he proceeded to wallop
her until her flesh and blood could not be differentiated from the grass and
soil beneath.
The last of the disciples lunged at the youth and sunk her ten fingers into his
pectorals. However, after only an inch in, they could go no further nor be
pulled out.
With a backhand, Gu Shenwei grabbed the wrists of the female behind him,
then jumped up and landed on the ground face up. Consequently, although he
felt some heat in his neck area, the enemy's strength had already petered out,
and she had spat blood and died.
After pulling her ten fingers out of his pectorals, Gu Shenwei stood up with
his upper body naked. The bloodstains on his body were like meandering
brooks that flowed down along his skin. When he clenched his fists, his
muscles became taut as if they were iron cast.
The two monks had been standing stupefied by the side all this time,
watching the brutal and bloody massacre play out. They had even forgotten to
open their mouths and call off the fight. In their minds, they were a thousand
percent sure that the youth was the Devil Emperor's reincarnation.
"A… mitabha." Monk Lianhua was finally able to speak.
Although the circulation of his Internal Breath was gradually slowing down,
Gu Shenwei's killing desire was still raging. "Monks are also people, what's
the point of keeping them alive?" he thought, and thus advanced toward
them.
"Why is this… Buddhist incantation no longer effective?" Lianhua muttered

puzzledly, not realizing that danger was drawing near.
Gu Shenwei was startled. He knew now that he had indeed been tricked by
Master Tiger Monk into learning the thousands-of-words-long Buddhist
incantation that was Breaking Obsession , which had the effect of weakening
his killing desire. However, at this moment, he could feel that his killing
desire was more intense than at any time before and he did not have the
slightest hesitation that he usually had.
The brief moment of self-awareness allowed Gu Shenwei to regain his sense

of reason. "This monk mustn't die. I think there's something important I need
him to solve."
"Maybe it's something related to Death Scripture ?" Gu Shenwei tried

searching his memory. The pronunciations found in Breaking Obsession were
mostly referenced from the former, which originally did not have the effect of
reducing killing desire. As the saying went, "Water holds up a boat, but can
also sink it." Not long after he was able to overcome the restrictions of his
Internal Strength, he also made a huge psychological breakthrough, which
explained why his killing desire increased instead of reducing.
Monk Lianhua also thought similarly. His face ashen pale, he involuntarily
let out a long sigh. He and Master Tiger Monk had dedicated their lives to
this. If it was ineffective, it would not only mean that the latter had died for
nothing, but also that the vows they had made in front of the Buddha statue
were false and could never be fulfilled.
"Everything stems from Death Scripture and shall be resolved by it. Back
then, when you composed Breaking Obsession together with Master Tiger
Monk, you did so only with fragments of Death Scripture . Master Tiger
Monk was able to read the entire scripture but passed away too early. I'm
willing to rewrite the scripture and hand it to you, hoping that you can use it
to amend Breaking Obsession , and thereby dispel all killing desire in the
world as you have long wished."
"Really?" Lianhua's sorrow turned into joy, such that he was no longer much
distressed by the four corpses lying on the ground. "Little benefactor's
virtuous deed will be greatly appreciated."
"Bring me pen and paper."
Lianye, who was still able to move about despite his internal injuries, hurried
into a hut and brought out a brush, ink, paper, an inkstone, as well as a short
stool. He laid out the paper and was about to grind the ink when Gu Shenwei
grasped the brush and said, "No need." He repeatedly dipped the brush in the
spots of fresh blood on his body while writing, and when he had used up his
own blood, he began to use that of the corpses next to him.
He had long memorized Death Scripture , which was of more than five
thousand words, until he knew it backwards. As such, he completed the
writing in a short time. Tossing the brush down and standing up, he handed
the blood-written stack of paper to Monk Lianhua.
The latter did not know what to say upon receiving the blood-written
scripture. There were certainly precedents of Buddhist practitioners writing in
blood, but they were always in the person's own blood. He had never killed a
living thing in his life, yet the scripture he was holding was written in the
blood of both living and dead people - certainly worthy of the name "Death
Scripture".
"I need Master to agree to two conditions."
"Speak, little benefactor."

"Firstly, I hope that you'll teach your students the correct pronunciation of the
entire scripture instead of imparting a fake version. And secondly, I hope that
you'll try to decipher its real meaning."
As pedantic as Monk Lianhua was, he was not a foolish man. While holding
up the papers and revealing an expression of reluctance, he said, "The killing
desire of little benefactor is already inordinate. Are you still looking to use
the scripture to increase your killing desire further?"
"After deciphering it, you can decide not to impart it if it's about kungfu."
Only now did Monk Lianhua nod his head and agree. He then turned to look
at the four corpses on the ground and chanted a few lines of scripture. With
that, he and his junior brother swiftly descended the mountain. Having
become a place of killing, Leftslope Vihara was no longer a suitable place for
their practice.
Gu Shenwei unsheathed his saber and cut off the heads of the four disciples.
He then found his way downhill to where his horse was and rode it back
towards the city. Though Death Scripture was by no means a secret kungfu
manuscript, it had a definite connection with Wayless Book , which Barren
Sect was preoccupied with.
By the time it was evening, there were very few people out on the roads. As
he neared Jade City, he ran into ambushers.
The ambushers emerged one-by-one and peered silently at the bloodied Slave
Huan.
They were brown-belt assassins of Little Flag Battalion. The archer Liuhua
and the saber-wielding Wildhorse were both present. Shangguan Yushi was
the last to appear, and with some surprise and disappointment in his voice, he
said, "You've returned late."
While Gu Shenwei was engaged in a life and death struggle with the four
Barren Sect disciples, a huge battle was also taking place in Jade City.
Shangguan Ru had managed to convince her father, the Supreme King, to

replace the Sacred Master guarding Six Kills Temple. The most capable
"black-masked" assassin was dispatched overnight to keep watch at the exit
of the valley and follow the Barren Sect disciples back to Jade City. At the
same time, another killer was sent to follow Slave Huan from a distance.
The area below the Peak was surrounded by large rivers. As such, there was
only one exit which everyone had to pass through to get in or out.
Barren Sect's hiding spots within the city were thereby successfully found
out. There were three of them - two in South City and one in North City.
Past noon, the assassination campaign in the two cities began. 31 disciples of
Barren Sect were discovered and no one was spared. Every one of them was a
top-level expert, and as such, the campaign reduced the strength of Golden
Roc Fort's old enemy by more than half. For many years thereafter, it would
not be able to mount a comeback.
The assassination campaign was personally commanded by the Supreme

King. It did not attract any attention in either city, and rumors only began to
spread several days later.
Shangguan Ru had remembered her promise to protect Slave Huan's life. She
pestered her father not to intervene before Slave Huan negotiated with Barren
Sect, and informed him that she would personally protect the slave.
As she had made great contributions, the Supreme King was agreeable to
anything she wanted. However, he forbade her from leaving Stone Castle.
She thus had to entrust the job of protecting the slave to Shangguan Yushi.
Overnight, a messenger was sent to inform Master Yu to contact the killer
following Slave Huan.
The dozens of brown-belt assassins from Little Flag Battalion were sent out
in nearly full force. They had thought that no matter the outcome of the
negotiation, Slave Huan would return to Jade City together with the Barren
Sect disciples. Nobody imagined that Slave Huan would return late in the
evening, covered in blood and carrying four human heads.
It was only for show that Shangguan Yushi had brought out so many men.
She had hoped that Slave Huan would be killed and she could thus ambush
the Barren Sect disciples to "avenge" him. Unfortunately, things did not play
out the way that she wanted.
Maid Lotus was found locked up in a stronghold in North City and was
subsequently rescued unharmed.
The flaws in Stone Castle's defenses were also discovered. A semi-circular

platform had been dug out at an unknown time in the walls of Firewood
Yard's Ghost Cliff. Dozens of deity figures were also carved into the walls.
Barren Sect had formed a ladder out of iron nails to get on to the platform
and then forced Slave Huan to abseil down a rope.
It was unlucky that the one place where Golden Roc Fort had not set up an
arrow tower was Ghost Cliff.
Subsequently, more arrow towers were built to guard Stone Castle. They now
had two purposes: one was to shoot down giant rocs, and the other was to
prevent foreign enemies from entering.
In the following days, Golden Roc Fort made use of clues and confessions to
track down the remaining disciples of Barren Sect. It became widely believed
that there were no more lurking enemies within Jade City and that once
Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu wiped out the survivors in the desert,
Barren Sect would be no more.
The only thing that caused Supreme King some consternation was that the
arrestees were only Barren Sect disciples. New Moon Hall, meanwhile, had
revealed itself fleetingly but then seemed to disappear entirely.
No matter how one looked at it, this was overall a huge victory, and Supreme
King Shangguan Fa was elated. His own daughter, Shangguan Ru, was
considered the top contributor to the cause, and rumor even had it that he
praised her as "the 'son' he was most proud of" in front of many people.
Eldest Young Master Shangguan Chui lost all face. He had personally
directed Commander Guo of South City, yet after a few days of struggle, they
knew nothing about the final decisive battle. By the time they heard about it,
Barren Sect was already destroyed, and they were left with the task of
wrapping up the victory.
Shangguan Ru even complained about Commander Guo to her father,

claiming that out of prejudice he deliberately did not heed the intelligence
gathered by his subordinates, and thus nearly held up the matter.
On the surface, he received neither admonishment nor punishment. However,

after the manhunt ended, he was appointed as chief of the document library in
Whiterobe Academy. As such, although he seemed to retain his power and
influence, he was, in fact, kept far away from Golden Roc Fort's core circle.
Gu Shenwei thereby succeeded in puncturing a huge hole in Commander

Guo's web of relations, and furthermore, deepened the conflict between
himself and the latter. Soon, he would have to find a way to eliminate this
particular counselor of the Golden Roc Fort, and in doing so, become heavily
drawn into the Shangguan family's infighting.
Chapter 141 - Captive breeding
Chapter 141: Captive breeding
The brown-belt assassins of the Little Flag Battalion did not go back to the
fort immediately. Instead, they stayed in the South City for a while. They
obviously had nothing to do, except for counting how many people they
killed during their mission, and how much honor they earned. These things
concerned the final question: who was the most qualified to be the real killer
at the end of this month?
The twins' thirteenth birthday was on the 29th day of October. On this day,
they would choose ten teenagers respectively, and formed their own team of
killers. Those who were chosen, of course, became the formal killers.
However, this mission ended too fast, even before many of them drew out
their daggers, not to mention earning any honor. They "blamed" this on Slave
Huan, for he exposed the conspiracy of the Barren Sect and disintegrated
their forces quickly. He killed four enemies on his own, while the others did
not have any opportunity.
Gu Shenwei found himself isolated again. In most of the people's eyes, he

was a sign of disaster. Slave Huan could have told Master Yu the intelligence
to make the whole battalion honorable, yet he refused. He went to the fort
and reported to the Tenth Young Master personally.
Though people knew the discord between Slave Huan and Shangguan Yushi,
they did not recognize how fierce and extreme it was.
Shangguan Yushi, of course, was the most unsatisfied one. Slave Huan dared
to cross her to take the credits? This was a hidden stab toward her. However,
she showed no indiscretion. Gu Shenwei seldom met her even when he
returned to the fort.
In the former days, Gu Shenwei concentrated on the progress of Maid Lotus.
She did not suffer, but she also could not eliminate the effects of the Breaking
Obsession , which weakened the power of her machete skills largely.
Besides, she did not kill anyone or take any credit in this mission, which left
her no chance of being a killer after the test. She might not be a killer in the
future either, for her capabilities were still deteriorating.
They had tried many ways, such as reading the letters in the book backward
and in disorganized order, or killing a new machetemen of the Jade City in
the dark. But none of them worked. Maid Lotus's speed was obviously
slower, though she could still kill a man.
Based on his own experience, Gu Shenwei thought only when real danger
came upon her that Maid Lotus could break through this barrier and regain
the killing desire.
Both of them had not heard the Wayless Book which Kang Wenhui
mentioned, and they decided not to mention this to anyone, in case this book
happened to be one of the secrets of Golden Roc Fort.
Tie Hanfeng lived leisurely in the last few days in the South City. He found
something to do for his apprentice.
Before this, Gu Shenwei had already sensed the change of Tie Hanfeng's
attitude. His Master Shifu rarely lost his temper these days except for the time
he assassinated the family of Nie Qing. Hence, Gu Shenwei deducted it was
the time he "repaid" the debt of Tie Hanfeng's gratitude. He would
undoubtedly become the formal killer for what he contributed, which meant
he would no longer be controlled by Tie Hanfeng, this Cripple Tie must find
a way to harvest.
Gu Shenwei was right.
Tie Hanfeng gave him a simple mission: robbing a man together. This was a
robbery that Tie Hanfeng had been preparing for ten years.
It started from Tie Hanfeng's recognition ten years ago that a killer actually
meant nothing. The killers always claimed that they did not need any profit or
fame, yet after every mission, they could see someone gained profits and
fame which should belong to them. Thus he made a decision, he would live
well, and he would die in peace in the North Jade City.
This purpose appeared vulgar and ridiculous, compared to the oath those
killers made at first, such as "killing thousands of men." However, his dream
would be harder to achieve. It was expensive to live under the protection of
the Jade City, Tie Hanfeng needed to prepare at least ten thousand silver to
even settle down.
The killers could not make so much money of course. Besides, Tie Hanfeng
could not endure the poverty before he had accumulated enough. He also
could not get rid of his indulgence of alcohol and sex. He thought about
robbing the wealthy, yet they all had backers behind them whom Tie Hanfeng
dared not to mess with. Taking this into consideration, he devised a
complicated and safe plan to profit from.
He could be named a half-protector of the bodyguard career in the South

City. He introduced many reliable machetemen to those wealthy
businessmen. One of his permanent clients was called Zhou Lan, or Sack
Zhou.
Sack Zhou was the Protector of the rice and flour trade, he once
commissioned Tie Hanfeng to kill Nie Qing.
Moreover, Sack Zhou's fortune actually came from Tie Hanfeng, who
introduced him to many protectors in the city and motivated him to stand at
the top, taking control of the whole street. Without Tie Hanfeng, Sack Zhou
would still be an ordinary shopkeeper.
Sack Zhou was very ambitious and smart. With Tie Hanfeng's help, he started
his own career. He knew how to spend his money to associate with more
powerful men so that his position could be more stable. Now his social circle
was far beyond Cripple Tie could fathom.
But they kept a good relationship. Sack Zhou still believed in Tie Hanfeng
and asked him to be his guard.
Two or three years ago, Tie Hanfeng imbued an idea in Sack Zhou: Big or
small, the protector would not live a good life in the Jade City. The content
was happiness. One should return to his home with his fortune and fame.
However, he should keep a low profile, in case he causes any disasters.
Sack Zhou was perturbed because of the money he earned. Not to mention
Tie Hanfeng's silent transforming influence. Thus he figured out a method
which could make him not so "wealthy."
Suddenly Sack Zhou became an old dissolute, having love affairs with
numerous prostitutes, those prostitutes were all expensive and famous.
Hence, he spent countless silvers. Those who knew him all claimed that Sack
Zhou would end up with the worst fate if he kept this way.
Yet Sack Zhou was not foolish, he did not involve Tie Hanfeng in this
process. Tie Hanfeng also pretended he did not know, he even kept
persuading Sack Zhou to save his money.
Now Sack Zhou had grown a ready source for Tie Hanfeng after ten-years'
rearing. After Sack Zhou seemingly spent the last penny of him, he decided
to transmit his business to others and use the payment to live out his life in
retirement. In others' eyes, he was just another failed man in the South City.
But Tie Hanfeng knew, incalculable golds and silvers were covered by the
trash on Sack Zhou's carriages when he went back home.
"At least 20 thousand taels!" Cripple Tie told his apprentice excitingly.
"Before I die, I'll live in heaven. Damn. Though I won't be a king, I'll at least
be a lord. For the rest of my life, I won't need this blade."
As for the way Sack Zhou transported his money, Tie Hanfeng told Gu
Shenwei too. He also reminded Gu Shenwei that it was a barely known
secret.
The secret is the prostitute, the most expensive prostitute. "You remember
Xiao Fengchai, the woman who lives next door to Xu Yanwei? She's the
most popular one in the Pleasure Alley, but she's beyond that. She keeps the
fortune for those wealthy men. You can cry out how much tips you tip her in
the her courtyard, but after that, you'll have it back. All she asked was a tenth
of it as her interest. Her backer was Golden Roc Fort by the way, but you
didn't need to know who this backer is. That's the reason she can remain rich
and safe. Hey, hey, Sack Zhou thought I don't know his secret. I saw through
him the moment he entered into Xiao Fengchai's courtyard."
Now everything seemed ready, Sack Zhou would leave tomorrow "in gloom"
back to his home, Shu-lik. This was also the moment Tie Hanfeng decided to
harvest.
It was not a difficult task. Since Sack Zhou left as a failed businessman, he
would not hire expensive guards or lift up the Golden Roc Flag.
Tie Hanfeng, however, knew he had to conceal himself until Sack Zhou went
out of the fort, for if not so, he should turn over half of his profit to the fort,
which would cost him too much. Besides, he should not wait for too long,
because this secret could be revealed by some gangster.
"Walk west for five days from Jade City, or ride for two days, there's a T-
junction, and the north-south road is the western border of Golden Roc Fort.
Cross it a step further, you'll no longer be protected by the fort. You go first,
clean up that district, I heard it was chaotic in these two years. Don't let any
nameless gangster ruined my plan. I need to follow the old bastard and escort
him to the border. Though Xiao Fengchai is trustworthy, we can't completely
trust her."
This was the final purpose of Tie Hanfeng's recruiting an apprentice. He

needed a helper, who would not ask too much.
Gu Shenwei actually did not want anything in return. Tie Hanfeng taught him
kung fu, saved his life and managed a brothel in his name. He was happy to
pay all of his debt with this robbery. Tie Hanfeng's request was a piece of
cake.
"Not so much people don't value the gold, you're one of them." This was a
comment from Tie Hanfeng, which was combined with some sort of
expectation. "I won't treat you shabbily, and all of my clients will be yours.
You can prepare it earlier, and raise up a 'Sack Zhou' in this way you can
retire anytime you want, instead of struggling in life like me."
The only way Gu Shenwei retired would be through his death. But he
remained silent and started the preparations. As for Shangguan Yushi's side,
she won't even meet Slave Huan. Thus Gu Shenwei chose not to ask for her
permission.
The T-junction Tie Hanfeng mentioned was familiar to Gu Shenwei. It was

only half a day's ride from his home. It was the place he was enslaved and
started his journey in Golden Roc Fort.
Sack Zhou left the next day in a cheap and slow bullock-cart. Gu Shenwei
arrived three or four days ahead of him. He had enough time to investigate
the valley and mountains all around, and he indeed found some gangsters
there: a dozen of people, staying at the place over the night and left in the
morning. Gu Shenwei remained silent.
But during sunrise, he could not resist his impulse anymore and rode back to
the Gu family's manor.
The village downhill was empty, and no family lived there anymore.
The manor was also full of weeds. After two years, no one could find any
trace of that fire. The plants covered the entire ruins, which now were a cozy
nest for the insects and snakes.
Gu Shenwei could not recall anything. He stood in the tall grasses, trying to
revive his memory, his family affection, his happiness, and sadness, yet he
still got nothing. Moreover, he even found his hatred toward the fort was no
longer that strong.
All he possessed now was his irresistible will to kill.

Chapter 142 - Killing the Master
Chapter 142: Killing the Master
Tie Hanfeng had a good dream: he lived in a villa of the North City and was
surrounded by countless gorgeous beauties. One bloke who looked like Slave
Huan called him "dad".
As he was still immersed in his dream at the moment when he opened his
eyes, he did not immediately recognize where he was.
"It really wasn't my house…"
Tie Hanfeng rubbed his eyes and observed his house thoroughly. This was
the exact same stone cabin in the East Castle, and he was lying in his recliner,
but everything was so… so clean.
Everything, including flagons, cups, spitballs, broken daggers and fallen

chairs were all gone. It seemed like a hurricane just swept over this place.
The beddings were neat and the closet was sparkling.
Tie Hanfeng could recall a servant cleaning his residence in his dream. But
who would do that in reality? He only had one apprentice, who was once a
servant but knew nothing about cleaning.
He stood up and walked out his room.
The yard was neat. There was a weapon rack standing by the wall, with some
sabers placed on it.
The whole yard seemed to be two or three times bigger than before, which
surprised Tie Hanfeng. He gave his arm a pinch to ensure he was not still
living in his dream and then asked his apprentice, who stood in the center of
the yard. "What's the hell is going on? You don't need to drive me away like
this!"
"We'll have a duel." Gu Shenwei said coldly. He clutched his saber with one
hand and held a black mask with the other hand.
"What? Are you mad? Or do you want to die?"
Tie Hanfeng thought his apprentice was kidding, but soon his instinct told
him it was not a joke.
Gu Shenwei could kill him when he slept deeply, which was also in line with
the protocol of a killer. Though Tie Hanfeng could defend himself during his
dream, he would be much weaker than when he was awake. Besides, Gu
Shenwei had progressed a lot.
This was a ceremony. By killing Tie Hanfeng face to face, Gu Shenwei could
pay all his debts. Also, it would be a test of his swordcraft of the Death
Scripture . If he was even unable to cut off Tie Hanfeng's head, then his quest
of vengeance against the whole Shangguan family would be ridiculous. In
that case, it might have been better to die from his master's saber.
"I'm not Yang Huan or Slave Huan. My family name is Gu, and I'm Gu
Shenwei. The woman you raped is my sister if you still remember."
Tie Hanfeng's face twitched, seemingly wanting to frown and mock at the
same time. "Gu Shenwei? You've already died. I've seen the skull."
"That's a wrong skull. The Eighth Young Master brought the wrong skull
both times. He had fooled the Supreme King as well as everyone else."
Finally, the mist around the truth cleared up. As Tie Hanfeng now understood
what had really happened, he became a hard-hearted killer again. "Well,
you're bold, and I'll give you that. But you're too stupid. You gave up your
best opportunity to kill me and then you challenged me to a duel, like those
ridiculous machetemen."
Gu Shenwei unfolded the black veil, and covered his eyes with it by tying a
knot behind his head. "There're always some exceptions." He pulled out the
saber and threw the scabbard to the ground.
Tie Hanfeng limped away to his house, grabbed his saber beneath the
recliner, and went back to the yard. He was ready to kill his apprentice with
one stab. He was not even thinking about how to stab, but how to deal with
this the aftermath of this incident.
He was not prepared to publicly reveal Gu Shenwei's identity, for it would

not only cause troubles for Shangguan Nu, but also pull him into the vortex
that surrounded the Shangguan family. Now he was a man ready to enjoy his
remaining years, so there was no need to have a loose tongue.
Killing this bloke would put an end to all of this.
He carried the saber and watched the teenager ten steps away from him, who
held his saber while blindfold. His apprentice must have been driven mad by
the hatred, otherwise, why would he strike such a pose? Killers should act
like a craftsman, being serious and cautious at all times.
But he could not attack.
There was not even a hint of the killing intent in the youth.
The killing intent was not stable. It could change slightly with one's
breathing, Internal Breath and strength of will. The experts could always
sense this slight change and found a loophole. This kind of kung fu was hard
to teach to others, and one had to learn it by himself.
But Gu Shenwei had no killing intent. Tie Hanfeng could not find any
weakness in him.
Some superiors did know about how to hide the intent and would not unveil it
until he moved. But would his apprentice be a superior? Tie Hanfeng doubted
that, yet soon he confirmed it. During these several days, something inside
this teenager was totally different. He should have noticed that earlier if he
was not blinded by that robbery.
Gu Shenwei could only see darkness, and he felt like he was staying at an
underground crypt.
This was the first time that he was using a sword to kill a man. He learned
from Death Scripture that one could not predict the process of killing, nor
could he practice the killing skill. One should put all his trust on this
swordcraft.
The swordcraft was beyond a kung fu. It was a belief. Gu Shenwei would not
comprehend it until he believed in it.
Now he was more convinced, more than any time in the past, that his insights
about the scripture were right. Only by going through "self-destruction" could
he entrust himself to the sword, which could reveal the flow of the "living
energy".
"Qi" was flowing all the time, like a revolving mist. People could not see it
but feel it. In the end, it would form an ever-changing picture.
Gu Shenwei had "seen" it.
He saw a bundle of "Qi" coming for him, and quickly found the weakness in
it. He stabbed that point almost automatically and withdrew. Everything was
so natural and simple.
Gu Shenwei ripped the veil off and saw Tie Hanfeng's saber on his neck,
plunging half an inch inside.
Tie Hanfeng's eyes widened, and he could not believe what had just happened
to him. The biggest wish of him was not to die under a saber. But it was
obvious that he had just died under a sword.
Tie Hanfeng let go of the saber, and tried to walk back to the room. It felt
really absurd and ridiculous watching him limping over with heavy steps.
The saber fell down from Gu Shenwei's neck. He wiped out the bloodstain
with the black veil. He could still find the imperfections in his swordcraft,
because he failed to finish his master's life with one stab.
He slipped his sword back to its scabbard and picked up the saber. When he
walked to the room, he found his Master Shifu lying down on the recliner,
with his mouth feebly open. Tie Hanfeng's fragility could be seen from his
eyes. "Damn, what was I bustling about?"
It was his last words.
Gu Shenwei got on one knee and observed Tie Hanfeng's chest turning from
crimson to white. He seemed to become another person, whom Gu Shenwei
not care and knew nothing about. Maybe the prostitute, Zi Linglong would
recognize who he was right now.
As Tie Hanfeng's fatal wound was on his neck, which barely bled, it would
be difficult for other people to detect it.
Gu Shenwei held the saber against the neck of his master, and cut deeply
through the wound. No one would ever know the real cause of death.
The blood gradually stained the recliner and dripped onto the ground. Gu
Shenwei untied Tie Hanfeng's red belt and held it in one of his hands, while
the other held his head, and then walked out.
The belt was nailed on the gate of the academy, which indicated that someone
had finished his apprenticeship. On this day, which was only three days
before the birthday of the twins, Slave Huan became the first formal killer
among all of the Dragon Year Apprentices.
But this behavior was hard for all of them to understand.
The supervisor of the Pyrowork Academy was so shocked by the head Gu

Shenwei brought, that he could hardly speak. After quite a while, he finally
reacted and brought the new killer to the Whiterobe Academy for registration.
Gu Shenwei obtained a brand new red belt and the killer's waist token. From
now on, he should be called "Yang Huan", instead of "Slave Huan", though
the scar on his arm was unable to be removed.
The brown-belt assassins were the most confused. Yang Huan was destined
to become a formal killer after three days, why would he still kill his master?
When compared with the others, Tie Hanfeng was a relatively nice teacher.
Yang Huan would not obtain any benefit from killing him, furthermore he
would lose a backer.
Every year, there would be students who tried to kill their masters. But no
one had acted like Yang Huan, who seemed to have no reason to commit the
act.
Thus people came up with a purpose for his inexplicable behavior. A new
rumor was spreading around that the Cripple Tie had recently made a fortune,
which his apprentice wanted ardently. Considering that it would be a crime
for a formal killer to kill a master, Yang Huan did it before his promotion so
it wouldn't be considered a crime.
Tie Hanfeng's death didn't cause any unrest. He had almost cut off all his
relations in the fort so he could live in peace in the North City. Hence no one
came out to avenge his death.
Gu Shenwei only explained his behavior to Maid Lotus. "Using the

swordcraft would be more difficult if the enemy was more powerful. But
you'll progress faster."
Maid Lotus discovered the sudden and strange change in her companion.
"Your skill is getting stronger. Will you kill me one day, just for practice?
But I'm not so powerful for you to want to kill…"
Though Gu Shenwei could not expose his biggest secret, he still told her his
insights. "You still don't get it? You and I will put an end to ourselves sooner
or later if we continue to practice this swordcraft."
This was the quintessence of the Death Scripture . The apprentices of the
Barren Sect never heard of it, and the fort only knew the first sentences of
this book. They did not consider it to be of any value. Who would use a kung
fu, whose final destination was self-destruction?
Only the one who carried a blood feud and did not care about their own life
would use it.
Not to mention, the Peripheral Force in Gu Shenwei's body did not disappear
at all. He blended his Internal Strength by the sped-up technique of the Yin
and Yang Strength and thought he could eradicate the hidden danger, yet he
found the burning Qi in the Xuanji acupoint and the Baihui acupoint was only
suppressed for a time. It was restored after several days.
Those who planted the force into his body were all dead. No one could
eliminate that for him. He did not count on the remaining apprentices of the
Barren Sect to teach him their unique Internal Strength, either.
Maid Lotus was surprised yet she comprehended it quickly. She smiled. This
was the first time Gu Shenwei saw her smile, which was as pure as a child.
"Well, killing yourself is better than being killed by others."
Gu Shenwei told everything he recognized in the scripture to Maid Lotus.

Because they viewed this book in different ways at first, Maid Lotus did not
accept it completely. But his comprehension did answer many questions for
her.
Now all she needed was to complete a perfect slaughter, by which she could
rebuild her killing desire, and experience the subtleties contained in this
book.
This slaughter came much earlier than these two had expected.
Chapter 143 - Love Story
Chapter 143: Love Story
Tie Hanfeng had spent ten years preparing for this robbery, but only used
about half an hour to carry out this plan.
Sack Zhou had a long face and a hooked nose and usually looked quite
somber. Upon seeing a young macheteman block his way, he was slightly
startled but not at all worried. As he fixed his gaze on the macheteman, he
found him somewhat familiar. "Have I met this young man before? Is he…"
Sack Zhou thought and then turned his head back toward Tie Hanfeng,
hoping to get an answer from his friend. Tie Hanfeng remained Sack Zhou's
best friend for all these years and accompanied him all the way along his
journey. While traveling, they repeatedly expressed how much they loathed
being torn away from each other. Even real brothers were not as close as they
appeared.
Beyond Sack Zhou's expectation, when he spotted his "best friend" Tie
Hanfeng, the crippled man was busy slaughtering his servants and guards
with a saber.
Sack Zhou had 14 servants, 10 oxcarts and several horses.
Like two big fish besieging and devouring a school of small fish, Tie
Hanfeng and Slave Huan worked together to kill Sack Zhou's servants. One
of them drove the people around, and the other cut them down as easily as
reaping wheat.
As for Sack Zhou, he was left to Tie Hanfeng. The cripple behaved very
professionally throughout the whole process. Although he did not like his
profession as a killer, he had already gotten used to all the codes of this
profession and thus would never hesitate to kill any target even if that person
was one of his best friends. "Without me, you'll end up like an ordinary man.
It's lucky for you to have enjoyed your life as a wealthy man during the past
10 years." Tie Hanfeng said this to Sack Zhou before killing him as a way of
showing his concern for his friend.
After the deed was done, Tie Hanfeng steered the oxcarts around and headed
for the Golden Roc Fort's territory together with Slave Huan. Shortly after
they entering the territory, they met a caravan of camels. Tie Hanfeng gave
his loot to the boss of the caravan and exchanged some whispers with him
before riding back to Jade City at top speed together with his disciple.
For Gu Shenwei, this robbery action ended here. He just did this to return his
Master Shifu's favors. He did not even ask for a share of the loot. Nor did he
enquire about how much money Sack Zhou had or where the money would
go.
They came back to their place in the city in time. The moment they arrived,
the other members of the Little Flag Battalion were preparing to return to
Golden Roc Fort. Six days from now, the twins would celebrate their
birthday.
Among all the apprentices in the Little Flag Battalion, only Maid Lotus knew
where Slave Huan had been these days. After fetching the two swords from
Blacksmith Village, she came to visit him and gave him a sword with the
character "Yun" carved on its hilt, while she kept the other one carrying the
character "Huan". This incident sparked off numerous rumors of their
romance among the other teenagers. The others kept on discussing about
them until they entered the Stone Castle. From that moment on, they cared
more about who would get red belts.
The quality of the sword made by Mr. Hong exceeded Gu Shenwei's

expectations. The first time he gripped its shaft, he was thrilled and at the
same time, he felt sick as it somehow reminded him of the smell of blood.
That elderly blacksmith seemed to have guessed their real intention and thus
had produced sharp weapons instead of tokens of love for them. The blade of
the sword was stainless, looking as shiny as the surface of a pool of clear
water, while the less brave would not even dare to look directly at its mirror-
like surface. When he weighed it in hand, he felt that its weight was very
ideal and it would be easy to use during a fight.
He had to admit that this idea of Maid Lotus was brilliant. He repeatedly
unsheathed his sword to examine it with appreciative eyes. As for his saber,
now he considered it a piece of scrap metal.
Tie Hanfeng did not hide his scorn for Slave Huan's behavior at all. There
was only one time when he made an exception; he hugged his disciple around
his shoulders while saying solemnly, "Be careful. Just like you, women in
East Castle have scars all over their bodies. You may feel that it can be a
little… rough, when rubbing against each other, hum, but maybe you'll like
it."
As one of the managers of the Little Flag Battalion, Tie Hanfeng had to
return to Stone Castle to hand over his duties to his successor. Once his
disciple became a red-belt killer, he would break off his saber and retire.
When that happened, he would be able to move into his house in North City
and live a happy life during his old age.
Thinking about the matter provided him with much pleasure and turned him
into a chatterbox. He talked about nothing but how he imagined his life
would be after retirement.
"The first thing I want is liquor. I'll drink as much as I want until I die. The
second thing is women. I'll drink myself to death while being on top of a
woman. That woman will inherit half of my assets, and I'll leave the other
half for you," Tie Hanfeng said to Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei endured Tie Hanfeng's endless nagging day after day and even
bought him some liquor to please him. He saw this as a way of showing his
gratitude to his Master Shifu.
On the third day after their return to the Stone Castle, Tie Hanfeng drank a lot
of liquor during lunch, but he did not take a nap. He was suddenly silent and
remained speechless until late afternoon. When he spoke again, he got
somewhat sentimental like a poet.
Gu Shenwei guessed that it was probably the weather that affected the elderly
killer's mood. The sky had been covered by dark clouds for the entire
morning, and it began to snow in the afternoon. He moved Tie Hanfeng's
chair into the house but opened all the windows and the door, as his Master
Shifu did not like any enclosed space. As long as he could stand the cold, he
would rather sleep in the open air. Seeing the snowflakes hit the ground and
melt, Tie Hanfeng started to recall his own life story.
"My Master Shifu was a bad guy. I hope that he'll be tortured in hell. I'm not
a good person, either. I'll have to go to hell after I die. Given that, I have to
enjoy my life as much as I can, so that I'll have good memories of my glory
days to help me endure the torments of hell."
After a pause, Tie Hanfeng continued, "Everything in our lives is illusionary.

A monk told me that our lives are nothing but dreams. They're transitory, just
like bubbles, drops of dew or lightning bolts. That's why the Six Kills Temple
in the fort erected that stone tablet with the words 'Six rounds of
reincarnation, no extermination'. We'll die sooner or later, and after we die,
we'll be reincarnated in either human or animal form. In this sense, we can
never kill all the people in the world. Never."
Gu Shenwei found it quite funny to hear Tie Hanfeng, a non-religious killer,

talking about Buddhist doctrines. "This old cripple was never a serious killer,
but now he's lamenting that he can never kill all the people in the world. This
is really ridiculous," thought Gu Shenwei. He was confident that he himself
would never think about something like this, as he only wanted to kill a
certain number of people.
To his immense surprise, Tie Hanfeng abruptly changed the topic. "Her skin
was white as snow, and her fingers were warm and soft. When she touched
me, I felt as if being kissed by the breeze, and all my scars seemed to be
melting in that breeze."
While saying this, Tie Hanfeng had a dreamy look in his eyes and even forgot
to take a sip of his wine. "That brat surnamed Xu was right. A man will
always fall in love with the first woman he's slept with. I can't forget about
her, no matter how many women I've slept with after our separation. Every
woman after her seems to resemble her in some way. In my eyes, they're just
parts of her."
Tie Hanfeng went on to tell Gu Shenwei his most unforgettable love story,
which had happened before he got crippled and red-faced.
Tie Hanfeng had never gotten intimate with a woman until he was 13. Before
that, he was an outstanding apprentice immersed in violence and then a
merciless killer who was loyal only to his master.
His first time was far from perfect. As a killer, his saber was like an extension
of his hands and he could kill a person within seconds, but he appeared rather
awkward and clumsy in bed. He was so stiff that he found it difficult to roll
over on that bed. He felt that his whole body was as hard as a stone except for
one spot. That spot, much to his disappointment, just could not stay hard long
enough. She tried every trick she knew but still failed to make him feel at
ease.
They kept on trying almost the whole night. In the beginning, they chatted
with each other once in a while, but gradually, they both lost patience and
considered this thing a boring chore. They stopped chatting and focused on
trying to make that little thing stay hard for a longer time.
She was so devoted and carefully tried all the tricks that she had learned or
heard of on him again and again, like a weaver applied herself diligently to
her weaving task.
In the meantime, he was lying on his back like a sheep waiting to be prodded
by its shepherd, sincerely hoping that this would end soon and in a
satisfactory way.
After a candle being burnt out, she breathed out a sigh and stopped trying.
She put her head on his arm and touched every wound on his chest with her
soft, warm fingers, while saying, "Let's sleep." This short sentence somehow
was forever enshrined in his heart.
After hearing this sentence, he was totally relieved from anxiety and fell
asleep even before he completely closed his eyes. He had never slept so
soundly before.
When he woke up on the afternoon of the next day, he smelt something sweet
and felt waves after waves of that sweetness emanated from the pillows, the
bed curtains, the city outside the room and the sea, which he had heard of but
had never seen before, rushing toward him. He was overwhelmed by them
and suddenly fell in love with the woman lying beside him.
He threw himself on top of her and without any guidance, he accomplished

the thing that they always wanted to do. Once, twice… he kept repeating it
until he was exhausted.
In the following three days, the lovebirds continued to caress each other and
make love to each other. Both of them refused to get out of bed and had food
delivered to them directly.
Tie Hanfeng's love story sounded quite strange and thrilling in the beginning,
but just like the other love stories of prostitutes and their clients, it had a
rather conventional ending.
Tie Hanfeng could no longer tolerate the pain of separation from her and the
fact that she was a prostitute after they had been together for a month, so he
bought back her freedom and rented a house to live together with her. She
promised that she would never again receive a client, and he promised to quit
drinking and focus on his job as a killer.
They lived happily together for a year before it all ended.
For Tie Hanfeng, it was hard to give up drinking. He was attracted not only
by the alcohol but also by the atmosphere inside the taverns of South City. He
enjoyed himself most when sitting quietly in a noisy tavern. When he was
confined to his home, he felt like a fish out of water. He could not breathe,
and a voice kept buzzing in his head, urging him to return to the water.
The prostitute got bored, too. The killer, whose body was covered in scars,
quickly lost his mystique and turned into an ordinary man who was sour,
deceitful and alcoholic.
Tie Hanfeng forgot which one of them had suggested to break up. He only
remembered that after leaving that "home", he immediately returned to his
old life. Since then, his face had become redder year by year and his saber
skills had gotten better with each passing day. As for the prostitute, she left
Jade City with another man, seeking a new life.
After finishing this story, Tie Hanfeng drunk up the liquor in his cup without
a pause for breath. "Even I myself didn't know that I still clearly remember
her. You may feel that I'm not quite myself today, don't you? Hur, Hur, that's
alright. The more burden we shake off, the freer we'll be. Every killer has to
go through such a process. It's not necessarily about a woman. It may be
something else."
Tie Hanfeng' honesty and frankness made Gu Shenwei feel uneasy. He did
not know how to respond to his Master Shifu, as he could neither throw off
his burden nor tell it to his Master Shifu.
Even so, he still felt that he had to say something and decided to share a little
secret with Tie Hanfeng. "I hate blood. I feel nausea every time I see it. How
can I ditch this burden? "
Beyond Gu Shenwei's expectations, Tie Hanfeng did not scoff at him at all.
"You can't just simply discard your hatred. You have to get used to it. Once
you do, you won't call it a burden anymore. Tell you another secret. Making
love to a woman always stresses me out, but the more nervous I feel, the
more sex I want to have. Hahaha, gradually I get used to it and turn it into a
driving force in my sex life."
Gu Shenwei and Tie Hanfeng had never been so close before. During this
magical moment, they felt that they understood each others' pain for the first
time.
"Her name is Zi Linglong, and she went to Shu-lik. Now, she's probably dead
or ugly. If you happen to meet her someday, kill her and never tell me how
she looks now," said Tie Hanfeng.
They began laughing. Gu Shenwei even poured himself a fresh drink and
then made a toast to Tie Hanfeng. "How did you get crippled? Because of
some woman again?" Gu Shenwei asked in a friendly tone. He had never
mentioned this before, since it was almost a taboo to discuss with a killer
about his or her physical imperfections.
Tie Hanfeng burst into laughter and replied, "Yeah, kind of. Two years ago, I
was on a mission to kill several people, and then, you know, as a matter of
routine, we raped a woman. None of us discovered that we had killed a
wrong person during the mission, and when we returned to the fort, the
Eighth Young Master flared up. As I'm the Third Young Master's killer and
was on secondment from my master's killer team. I only got knifed in my leg.
I was very lucky compared to the young master's own killers. Their right
hands got chopped off by their master."
Upon hearing this, Gu Shenwei felt all his blood pumping into his head
strongly, which caused him to nearly pass out.
"But, to be frank with you, that woman was amazing. I still feel excited when
thinking about her. It's such a pity she got killed," Tie Hanfeng exclaimed.
He was deeply absorbed in happy reminiscences and completely oblivious of

his disciple's sudden change in facial expression.
Chapter 144 - Eavesdropping
Chapter 144: Eavesdropping
Gu Shenwei chastised himself harshly.
His family has laid dead for about two years, and he has stolen into Golden
Roc Fort with the purpose of slaying the whole of the Supreme King's family.
However, he has not killed a single master.
Amnesia quietly unleashed its prowess, as Gu Shenwei realized that he has

gradually gotten used to the life of a killer. Kowtowing to his master,
pandering to his master's interests, he has naturally placed the interests of
Stone Castle first and just as Tie Hanfeng had said, "once you've gotten used
to it, it no longer feels like a responsibility." However, a young man needs
such a burden, for it is the sole purpose behind his existence.
He could not wait any longer for Peripheral Force, and the Death Scriptures
reminded him of his impending death, and they left him less and less time.
Looking at the entire Gu family's demise from the perspective of a killer, the
matter was definitely fishy.
For one, a problem lay with Golden Roc Fort. Gu Shenwei has stayed in the
fort for slightly more than two years and has witnessed and heard of few
assassinations. Most of them took place at Jade City, mainly for his own
safety. Golden Roc Fort had an august reputation and was too prominent,
while the killer's signatures were also too distinctive. Assassination could
only be a trifling means, and could hardly pull the wool over people's eyes.
Golden Roc Fort was being transformed from an organization of killers into a
local power and in the camp of New Moon Hall, Shangguan Nu seemed to be
leading an army.
Gu Shenwei could not find the reason behind why Golden Roc Fort had slain
the Central Plain's Gu family. From an outsider's perspective, this seemed
like a trifling matter. However, Gu Shenwei had read so many materials, and
he was well aware that over ten years ago this might have seemed like any
run-of-the-mill assassination. However, to the Golden Roc Fort of today, this
was definitely amiss.
And also, as for the Gu family, the more Gu Shenwei thought about it, the
more he felt that his father Gu Lun's decision to travel for miles from the
Central Plain to the Western region had not made sense. This was akin to
sundering the many "ties" of the Gu family, which placed the family in
mortal danger.
The facts had also proven that after the Gu Family's death, the only person
who could right the injustice was Marshal Yang.
There was only one way to clear these doubts. Examining relevant books
from two years ago, one might be able to find out who were the killers who
joined in the operation, and what their motives were.
The historical data of the incumbent Supreme King have been stored in the
Document Library of the Whiterobe Academy. Mister Guo is the chief of the
Document Library, and it would be impossible for Gu Shenwei to gain any
help from him.
Gu Shenwei devised a few plans which all revolved around bribing the
handyman of the Document Library to smuggle a hand-copied manual out
from the library. However, he quickly abandoned them as the motive behind
this move would have been all too clear. Anyone would have suspected. He
could also specify the months he wanted of the manuals, but a theft without
any overall direction would also arise suspicion.
He decided to take a risk by taking things into his own hands.
Gu Shenwei had once worked at the Whiterobe Library's Archive Academy

for a month as a handyman. So he knows the internal happenings of the
academy and the rough location of the Document Library.
On the night of the assassination, Gu Shenwei explored the academy in the
night. That thirst for revenge grew in him, and he could not wait a day any
longer.
Long before his Internal Strength had leveled up, Gu Shenwei had been able
to evade the night watchmen of the fort. Not forgetting how Whiterobe
Academy's defenses are more strict than anywhere else, Gu Shenwei spent
the first half of the night eavesdropping on the wall. After getting a clear
sense of the watchmen's surveillance route, he flipped himself over the wall
and entered.
The Document Library was one of the Whiterobe Academy's most important
organizations, and it roughly occupied one whole row in the East wing room.
However, its defenses are not strong. Behind locked doors, the window is
only equipped with an inner partition, and Gu Shenwei could easily pry it
open with a dagger.
Prying open the window was simple yet extremely dangerous. Gu Shenwei
waited till the gongs sounded in the wee hour and took his chance. He fished
out his dagger and entered the room through the window. It happened in the
blink of an eye, and unless someone stared in this direction, no one would
have discerned the silhouette of this thief.
The room that Gu Shenwei entered was the depository of the Document
Library. The objective of his search was the paperwork of June in the Gui
Mao year.
The rules for placing documents here were similar to those of the Archives
library, which saved Gu Shenwei much trouble. With one hand holding three
layers of black clothes and the other a small candle, he tried to prevent the
candlelight from permeating out of the room. He found the words "Gui Mao"
on the fourth shelf.
The titles were stored by date. Gu Shenwei placed the candle on the shelf and
quickly flipped the manual, and just as he had reached May, he heard
footsteps outside the door.
He quickly snuffed the candle and kneeled on the ground.

Two lantern-carrying handymen entered the room, yawning and complaining
at the same time.
"It's too rushed."
"It's already the fifth day."
"It's like finding a needle in a haystack."
"Who said it isn't going to be?"
"Hush, just continue flipping. If we can't find it again tonight, Mister Guo
will scold us again."
"Mister Guo." These words aroused Gu Shenwei's interest. Since he was the
chief of the Document Library, the object that he is looking for must be
exceedingly important.
One of the handymen twitched his nose, saying, "did you smell candle oil?"
"It's your nose that is blocked. Hurry and get to work."
The two extinguished the lanterns and lit the lamps on the table at the door.
Together, they lifted a big box from the corner of the room and took out
volumes of tightly-bound papers. The servants began to read them book by
book, page by page, intently.
There was silence, interrupted only by the rustling of flipped pages.
Gu Shenwei squatted in between the bookshelves, holding his breath. He was

afraid of being discovered. He feared that they might take too long and that
he would not be able to escape before dawn.
His fears were not unfounded. Even when it gonged at four, those two
servants seemed to reveal no intentions of ending their search. Gu Shenwei
began to consider how he might hide in the room for the whole day. He also
thought about how he might account for his "disappearance" to outsiders.
"Found it!" One of the handymen exclaimed excitedly. Gu Shenwei was

almost as happy as he was.
"Let me see."
"This is correct. The dates and everything are correct."
"That's great. I'll read it. You copy it down."
One of the handymen started to read intermittently, "Year of Mao Zi…

residing in Kun Yard… Guo Chun, finished."
It took several days of work just to find a piece of paper with these few
words. Gu Shenwei was extremely confused, and he only understood "Guo
Chun" to be Mister Guo, and the other words were utterly meaningless.
The two handymen hurriedly cleaned the table and put the box back into its
position, left the room, carrying their lanterns.
Daybreak was coming soon. Gu Shenwei had no time to deliberate over that
strange incident. He fished out a match immediately, and lighting his own
candle, combed through the manuals of the June of Gui Mao year.
But there was nothing at all. None of the books mentioned about the
slaughter of the Gu family.
Gu Shenwei flipped once again and even scanned the documents of May and
July, but still did not find any clues.
There was no more time, he could only blow out the candles and leave the
Whiterobe Academy.
Just as Gu Shenwei's ambitions for revenge had been rekindled, he was dealt
with a setback.
No matter how big or small the operation to slaughter the Gu family was,
there should have been records of it in the books-not one, but perhaps at least
seven from its start to the finish. These would have been reported to the
Supreme King. Gu Shenwei did not understand why there were no records at
all of the Gu family in the piles of paper.
He decided to look for Mr. Zhang Jian, a teacher, to fish for information.
However, before he had left the house, Miss Luo Ningcha had sent men to
summon him.
Gu Shenwei was heavily bothered. Because Bighead Kingpin was not easily
manipulated, Gu Shenwei had lost interest in the young lady. But Luo
Ningcha still took him as her confidante and would ask him for ideas on
everything.
Gu Shenwei needed to exercise caution for if he got too close to the Eighth
Young Mistress, he might incite Lady Meng's disgust. This would affect his
relationship with Shangguan Ru and consequently, his position in Stone
Castle.
He needed to get as close to his enemies as possible.
Luo Ningcha's first words after seeing the "faithful servant" was: "I heard you
had Master Shifu killed. This is wanton indeed. When are you going to help
me kill someone?"
"As long as Miss would keep your word." Gu Shenwei thought, he would
rather not kill anyone for this woman. She would botch everything, and
before soon, news of the matter would spread to one and all.
"Oh, words of deceit are sweet. No one has wanted to lie to me as of late."
The Miss' words were laden with sarcasm, and Gu Shenwei knew the best
way to deal with her would be to keep quiet.
And sure enough, Luo Ningcha suddenly became happy again. "You taught
me well."
"Ah." Gu Shenwei couldn't remember at that moment, what tactic he had

taught her.
Lady Meng berated Madam Yang in front of everyone. She said that she
didn't know her place and was good at nothing except for embarrassing the
Shangguan family. Also, she said that her son was a wastrel. Lady Meng
thought that these words would embarrass me, but actually, my heart was
about to die of laughter.
Gu Shenwei only remembered at this moment that he had once suggested

letting the Miss use the tactic of strategic delay against Shangguan Hongye's
mother, Madam Yang, and Lady Meng. She had faithfully carried it out and
"Madam Yang should be unerringly loyal to the Miss this time."
"Perhaps. She secretly came to me crying, and I even coaxed her to put up
with it. Who knows whether those two women were trying to deceive us with
their sorrows?"
Gu Shenwei felt a faint flutter in his heart. Miss didn't seem to be too stupid
after all. She could even think of this aspect.
"Well, Madam Yang has been won over. Who do you think I should win over
next?"
But how would Gu Shenwei know? He was clueless about the people around
Madam Yang. He had selected Madam Yang only because of her son,
Shangguan Hongye. "Hey, there're always people competing for favor around
the high and mighty. You can win over some of these particular people."
The Miss muttered a long note of assent. After a moment of consideration,

she laughed suddenly, her mind occupied with thoughts of her recent victory.
"Madam Yang is a foolish woman indeed. Do you know what she told me?
She said she would exact revenge soon and that she would make Lady Meng
suffer from pain and wished that she had never been born. She wanted to
trick me into saying bad things about Lady Meng so that she could use it
against me. I would never fall for that trick."
Gu Shenwei wanted to praise the Miss whole heartily. However, as he left the
central courtyard of Eight Young Master, he changed his mind.
Many people are fighting for Lady Meng's favor. Luo Ningcha could not
think of who to target at the moment. She thus let Slave Huan leave to return
the next day.
Gu Shenwei did not remind the Miss that tomorrow was the birthday of the
twins and the saber awarding ceremony. He had no way of seeing her.
Gu Shenwei stopped by the school on the way. Thinking of his meeting with
Shangguan Hongye and his mother the last time, he was unable, somehow, to
put a rage-filled Madam Yang and a crafty Madam Yang together. The Miss
appeared to be overly calm, and if it were him, he would have seduced
Madam Yang to spill the beans before deciding whether her words were
simply empty, or that she truly had any cards up her sleeve.
At the door of the school, his thoughts turned again to the words that he heard
last night. He calculated silently, the year of the Mao would be about sixteen
or seventeen years ago, and why would Mister Guo want to trace an affair
that happened so long ago? Gu Shenwei resolved to clear this doubt.
Chapter 145 - Midnight
Chapter 145: Midnight
There were subtle changes in the attitude the teacher Zhang Ji displayed
towards this "Outsider Student".
After the teacher-killing incident, Gu Shenwei garnered mostly suspicion and

respect from the Golden Roc Fort, yet when he was with Zhang Ji, he could
not help but feel a hint of disgust and watchfulness coming from Zhang. This
was rightfully the reaction to be expected from normal people, yet it was
different at the Stone Castle.
The two of them chatted idly, and there were many gaps in their
conversation. The words did not flow out from Zhang Ji like before, and Gu
Shenwei could not directly speak about what he had eavesdropped. After a
fruitless discussion in which both were beating around the bush for half of the
day and from which he did not get much information. Thus, Gu could only
bid his farewell.
As to why the texts could have gone missing, Zhang Ji felt that this was a
common occurrence. "It wasn't very important as to whether the texts were
kept separately. I estimate that 20 to 30 percent of the texts were lost over the
passage of time because they were misplaced or destroyed for whatever
reasons," said Zhang.
However, something which Zhang Ji said piqued the wild imagination of Gu

Shenwei. Zhang Ji himself did not know the importance of these words of
his, "Ten years ago, Mister Guo was the steward of the Ceremonial
Department, having about the same responsibility as a chamberlain of the
royal palace. He was by the side of his Lordship every day, recording all his
words and movements. This was how he started his career."
As Gu Shenwei's father was a palace guard before at the Central Plains, he
heard stories of the palace since young and knew a little of the inner
workings of the palace. He immediately knew what kind or role Mister Guo
had 10 years ago. His heart stirred a little and felt a little enlightened.
Back at the East Castle, he found Maid Lotus and told her to gather
information. She came back quickly with this news, "Kun Yard used to be the
manor of the previous Third Young Master, and he was his Lord's brother. He
had already died many years ago."
While Gu Shenwei's guesses were confirmed to be true, it still came as a

great shock to him as never would he had known that during his secret trip to
the Whiterobe Academy, his search for the documents on the extermination
of the Gu family would come to naught but instead he would have
eavesdropped about a greater conspiracy.
Going through all the details again, Gu Shenwei felt that his deductions could
not be too far off from the actual events. What was going to happen next
would be how he was going to handle the situation; would he watch how the
events unfolded from afar or would he throw himself into the mix?
Strictly speaking, this conspiracy had utterly nothing to do with him, but he
did not intend to let Mister Guo have his way. It would not bode well for Gu
in the long run once Mister Guo regained the trust of his Lord again.
Gu Shenwei passed on all the information he knew and all the deductions he
made to Maid Lotus. He told her, "This is a chance for you to contribute The
risks won't be small, and if you're willing to do it, you have to act
immediately. We could be out of time tomorrow."
"Don't you want to do it yourself?" She asked. Of course, Maid Lotus would
have wanted to grab the chance to achieve glory, and this was no small
accomplishment if she managed to finish the task.
"I need help. Therefore it's better for you to be a killer as well." In truth, as
this task involved getting into the inner manor, Maid Lotus would be better
suited for it than Gu Shenwei.
Miss He bowed to him, and Gu Shenwei felt shocked. This was decorum
reserved for superiors, and even when he was made the chief of the Tattooed
Arm Gang, she did not show such respect for him.
Gu Shenwei nodded slightly, calmly accepting this show of loyalty. He had

already made it clear that he needed an 'assistant' and not a 'friend'.
Maid Lotus took her leave; she was definitely different from the simple-
minded Luo Ningcha, and Gu Shenwei did not have to instruct her what to
do.
After the task was completed, Maid Lotus still told him about how it all went
down.
There was a female disciple in the Little Flag Battalion who was friends with
Maid Lotus. The master of this female disciple was the Sixth Young Master
whose wife was from the Meng clan and the niece of his Lord's wife.
Although Lady Meng had some veiled criticism of her own family, she was
very close to this niece and daughter-in-law of hers.
Using her influence over many layers of contacts, Maid Lotus managed to get
Lady Meng to summon her for a visit that very evening.
Lady Meng first expressed her gratitude to Maid Lotus for dutifully taking
care of Shangguan Ru on the way to the Iron Mountain Battalion in the past.
Even though it was a few months ago, Lady Meng had not forgotten about it
and gave Maid Lotus many precious pearls and food. She even asked Maid
Lotus a little about the training of a female killer out of curiosity.
A handmaiden led Maid Lotus to the annex to collect her gifts and told her in
a soft voice not to leave first.
After the ladies in the hall made them leave, Maid Lotus was summoned
again. This time, Lady Meng's expression changed from one of an
approachable matron of a large household to that of an interrogator who
looked straight into the depths of someone's heart.
Maid Lotus first swore that even though she was brought into the Fort by
Eighth Young Mistress as her bridal maiden, she had never served any of the
ladies from the Luo Household; she was a slave purchased by the Bighead
Kingpin at the spur of a moment during one of his journeys. After which, she
told Lady Meng about some of the information she had gathered.
This was the hard part as she could not divulge all the deductions of Slave
Huan, as it would cause her to become a suspicious insider. Therefore, she
directed everything towards the path of Mister Guo.
Mister Guo had worked secretly in the past to arrest all of the elite Dragon
Year apprentices. Even though the conspiracy was never openly attributed to
Mister Guo, all of the brown-belt assassins in the Little Flag Battlalion hated
him.
Maid Lotus hated him as well, which explained why she was especially
interested in the movements of Mister Guo. Once she heard that Mister Guo
abused his position as the chief of the Document Library to search for
information from 15 to 16 years ago and planned to use it against the Tenth
Young Master, she decided to pass this secret on to Lady Meng.
Lady Meng was not a gullible person, but that night Maid Lotus succeeded in
convincing her. Lady Meng was not totally clueless as to Mister Guo's
conspiracy, and her expression changed once Maid Lotus mentioned
"information from 15 to 16 years ago", thus confirming that Gu Shenwei's
deductions were very close to actual events.
Lady Meng calmed down quickly and indifferently praised Maid Lotus,
instructing her not to bring this matter up to anyone else and then got the help
to send her off from the Inner Residence.
Once Maid Lotus got back to the East Castle, she found Slave Huan and
described everything to him. Both felt that tomorrow's adulthood initiation
ceremony for the twins would be interesting.
Little would they know that they had underestimated Lady Meng and that the
action had already begun prematurely that night.
Lady Meng was not the na?ve type of person who was willing to be a sitting
duck. Earlier on at the Supreme King's lavish wedding ceremony, she had
already noticed the inner conflict amongst this household and knew that she
would become an object of public criticism. From that day onwards, she
continuously consolidated her power and meticulously gathered information
that could be used against her opponents.
Lady Meng seldom used this information as she knew full well that if she
could not manage to completely destroy her opponents, moving too soon
would only result in achieving the opposite from what she wanted. Therefore,
she had always bid her time.
With what Maid Lotus confided in her, Lady Meng came to see that the
enemy was already hiding under plain sight and waiting to strike the fatal
blow; she had to act first.
That evening was absolutely normal to most people inside the Stone Castle as
only a select few were kept busy. The next morning, the huge changes inside
the Golden Roc Fort shocked everyone, and the ripples of the shockwave
could be felt even outside Jade City.
Lady Meng's decisiveness and ruthlessness far exceeded Gu Shenwei's

expectations, and he never thought that one sentence of which he
eavesdropped could create such a big commotion. This made him reconsider
the infighting in the Inner Residence, and he felt that maybe he could still
leverage on Luo Ningcha.
At midnight, a handmaiden from the Inner Residence knocked on the door of

Slave Huan's residence and passed on the order from the Tenth Young Master
Shangguan Ru, who requested his immediate presence at the Inner
Residence.
Initially, Gu Shenwei wanted to give all credit to Maid Lotus while staying
behind the scenes himself but now he had to get involved himself albeit
reluctantly. He was suspicious as to why Shangguan Ru would be involved in
this matter.
When he entered the Inner Residence, he secretly admired Lady Meng's

discreetness.
Shangguan Ru was not aware of what had transpired at all and was half lying
in her mother's arms with a blank look on her face. Lady Meng was only
using her daughter's name to act.
Maid Lotus was also summoned at the same time, and she too did not expect
that the reaction to her secret information would be so swift.
Lady Meng sat upright on a mat, wearing a gorgeous looking formal dress.
This outfit was worn only once a year during the sacrificial ceremony and
portrayed her as the rightful wife of the Lord. She hugged the twins tightly
with both her arms with a stern look across her face. It felt as though her
children would die once she let go of them.
There were only four handmaidens in the hall, and the dim rays of light
coming from the solitary candle burning hid Lady Meng and the twins
partially in the light and partially in the darkness.
"I need both of you to do something for me, and Ru'er has recommended you
two."
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus kneeled on one knee and planted their left palm
on the floor, keeping silent. This was the pose struck by a killer willing to
accept the mission given.
"Even though both of you were brought into the Stone Castle by that woman,
I have seen your loyalty towards Ru'er with my own eyes. Therefore I trust
you two."
Lady Meng got off the mat and turned to caress the cheeks of the twins,
showing a smile expressing consolation to them. She then walked in front of
the two youths and the handmaiden went forward to Slave Huan and Maid
Lotus to signal them to get up.
"Now the lives of my two children and I are in grave danger, and I have to act
first. I want you both to kill Mister Guo."
The two youths lifted their heads in shock, both feeling that this was not the
best idea.
Lady Meng knew fully well what effect her words would produce and pulled
out a folded piece of paper from her sleeve. She said, "This is his Lord's
personal handwritten order, and both of you can feel free to act accordingly."
Gu Shenwei received the paper with both hands, and saw the following lines
once he opened it: "Guo Chun of the Whiterobe Academy has intentions of
rebellion and disobedience, and can be assassinated." There was a stamp of a
Golden Roc spreading its wings on the bottom left corner and in the entire
Jade City, only the stamp ink of the Supreme King was gold.
Gu Shenwei folded the handwritten order back, and Lady Meng collected it
back when she deemed it the right moment.
The two youths had no other choice left; whether the handwritten order was
forged or not, they had to act according to their orders.
"Receive your orders." They kneeled on one knee again.
"Bring his head back to me right now."
They took two waist tokens made with white jade and engraved with the
words "Wang" from the maid, for use when traveling in the night, and left
hurriedly. They noticed that other assassins in black were waiting in the
house next door and understood that killing Mister Guo was only part of
Lady Meng's plan.
Mister Guo was staying at the West Castle and both Gu, and Maid Lotus had
to return to the East Castle to get their sabers. Gu Shenwei managed to keep
his wits about him amidst the cloud of heavy conspiracy around them. He had
to have an escape plan for both Maid Lotus and himself.
"You go get the weapons, after which meet me at the entrance to the main
yard of the Eighth Young Master."
This was a peculiar night; no night sentry came to stop the youths sprinting
about within the Fort.
Even so, Gu Shenwei still kept carefully observing while he walked and after
making sure that no one was tailing him, and leapt directly into the main yard
of the Eighth Young Master without announcing himself. He stealthily
walked to the backyard and knocked on the door of the middle bedroom.
"Who goes there?"
After knocking a few times, a maid's voice rang out from within the room.
"There's an urgent message from the Eighth Young Master", Gu Shenwei

lied.
As someone in the house started to strike a flint to light up the lantern, Gu

Shenwei hurriedly stopped the person, "Please do not make any light."
The person stopped trying to light the lantern, and after a while, Miss Luo
Ningcha's voice came from the side of the door, "I know it's you. The maid's
ears are sealed. Now tell me what you have to say."
Luo Ningcha's calmness surprised Gu Shenwei. He said, "Send someone to

Madam Yang with a message to let Shangguan Hongye leave the Stone
Castle immediately, and to hide outside its walls."
"What happened?"
"Madam Yang has done something foolish, somehow she wanted to conspire
with Mister Guo to take down Lady Meng. His Lord had ever shown
affections towards Madam Yang, and Shangguan Hongye could very likely
be his illegitimate son. Now Lady Meng has begun to remove all that is
deemed as a threat to her and if Shangguan Hongye does not leave he will
surely be dead tomorrow morning."
Gu Shenwei hoped that Shangguan Hongye would survive not out of pity but
because he wanted to have a backup plan for himself. If Lady Meng should
decide to sever all connections, he would have the ability to react.
Only Lady Meng had acted too quickly, and he did not know if his plan
would still be able to work in time.
Chapter 146 - Chess piece
Chapter 146: Chess piece
As Mister Guo was Lady Meng's first target, chaos had not yet broken out in
the castle when Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus arrived to carry out their
mission.
Both of them had arrived at precisely the right moment. They had only been
hiding for fifteen minutes when Mister Guo left his house hurriedly with four
of his men. Like a wily fox, he had been alerted to the strange activity in the
inner residence.
However, just like any other person, Mister Guo had underestimated the
abilities and determination of Lady Meng.
Mister Guo was not worried about his own safety but of the safety of an
important person, one who was to play a key role in his schemes.
Upon seeing Mister Guo head in the direction of Shangguan Hongye's

residence, Gu Shenwei could finally confirm his hunch.
To the Shangguan family, this would be a fierce family fight. To the two
young adults on their assassination mission, this would be a rare opportunity
to practice their swordsmanship.
Gu Shenwei decided to give Maid Lotus the chance to kill off Mister Guo
and his four guards.
Gu Shenwei had seen Mister Guo's skills before and his kung fu skills were
as good as that of a first-class killer.
As Maid Lotus had yet to fully remove the influence of the Breaking
Obsession , the only way to rekindle the strong killing desire within her was
through a brutal massacre.
Due to different interpretations of the Death Scripture , the weakening of

Maid Lotus' killing desire had a great impact on her killing intent, which had
originally been extremely potent.
Gu Shenwei had no intention to help her. If Maid Lotus was unable to

overcome this obstacle, she would not be able to survive in the fort, let alone
to become Slave Huan's assistant.
At the crossroads, Maid Lotus raised her "Huan" sword and began her attack.
Her first move was hesitant. But even before the first guard had fallen, she
delivered her second move, fluid and natural like running water. Gu Shenwei,
who had hidden himself, applauded her silently.
It was an enjoyment to watch the swordcraft of the Death Scripture . Those

who used such swordcraft lived as if they were always in danger. Every move
was desperate and every counterattack struck down an enemy. To those who
did not understand such swordcraft, they would fear for the safety of the user,
but to those who understood, it was truly a sight to behold.
Only those with the desire to die and the will to kill had the courage to
practice such swordcraft.
The four guards were killed in an instant. Even though Mister Guo had been
smart up till now, his last moments saw him commit a mistake. "I had served
the Lord for over ten…"
He only made it through half a sentence before he was struck down by Maid
Lotus. What he had not understood was that it was precise because of his
close friendship with the Supreme King that he was fated to die on this night.
The process of alleviating the Breaking Obsession in Maid Lotus had gone
much smoother than that of Gu Shenwei. Even as Gu Shenwei helped her to
clear the mess, he could feel the remnant of some killing intent within her.
Compared to Gu Shenwei, Maid Lotus was the more natural killer. Gu
Shenwei couldn't help but think, "She was already displaying cold-blooded
killer instincts when I first met her and at that time. She hadn't even held a
real knife before."
Both of them took out their sabers and made extra cuts around each wound,
in attempts to cover up the small and unique wounds. Then, they cut off
Mister Guo's head and went into the inner residence.
At that moment, the three o'clock drumbeats sounded. In two hours, the early
risers would discover corpses in many parts of the fort. Those who were older
and wiser would turn a blind eye but the young who had never seen such a
spectacle before would be shocked. The commotion would only die down
when their elders had warned them and by late morning, all of the corpses
would have disappeared.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were the first to complete their mission and
Lady Meng was very pleased with them. She left them in the hall as
temporary Shadow Guards. One of them would hide up in the rafters while
the other would hide in the shadows behind the pillar.
More and more people gathered in the Inner Residence.
Shangguan Yushi arrived, bringing a knife and standing at Lady Meng's side
as a personal guard.
A senior maid who served as a scribe was hidden in the penthouse. A few
cases, which were covered with papers, lay in front of her. Two junior maids
were in charge of serving her. Whenever Lady Meng gave her order, the
scribe would write it down immediately before handing the paper to Lady
Meng for checking. The paper would then be passed on to another maid to
receive the stamp of the Lord's golden seal.
This was how the assassination order of Mister Guo had come about. But
without the Supreme King's acknowledgment of these missions, all involved
parties would find it difficult to evade punishment. Yet, Lady Meng's
increasingly reckless movements made Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus very
uneasy.
The Sixth Mistress of the Meng family stood in the doorway and led several
women who were in charge of passing messages.
Shangguan Ru had started helping her mother out much earlier than her
brother, Shangguan Fei. She had even begun helping her mother make plans
and distribute manpower, shuttling between the main hall and the penthouse
to deliver the paper.
As more and more people heard the news, more and more people gathered
around the main hall. For those who had returned from their missions, Lady
Meng didn't give them the next assignment, but bade them stay in the rooms
located around the main hall. When the rooms ran out, those who returned
from their missions later were made to stand in the courtyard. In clusters,
they looked at one another silently. No one made a sound.
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were not the only youth being exploited. In fact,
some of the first batch of assassins had come from the Little Flag Battalion.
They too, had shared the same fate as the twins.
While guarding the main hall, Gu Shenwei gradually began to understand

Lady Meng's entire plan.
Although Mister Guo had viewed Shangguan Hongye and his mother as
pawns, he himself was also being controlled by others and was not worthy of
Lady Meng's regard. This time, she wanted to eliminate the problem at its
root. Her target was First Young Master, Shangguan Chui.
The discord between Shangguan Chui and Lady Meng was deeply rooted in a
long history.
The status of Shangguan Chui had once been very stable, and everyone
thought that he was the natural successor. But things began to change after
the Meng family ladies entered the fort.
Lady Meng knew Supreme King inside out and Shangguan Fa acceded to all
her requests without ever once denying her. When the twins were born, she
became greatly favored. This gradually undermined the status of Shangguan
Cui, who realized that even his own younger brothers, who once gave him the
utmost respect, had betrayed him and had sided with the new wife.
Just like any wealthy and capable heir, Shangguan Chui became jealous and
anxious.
Lady Meng gained the support of the Second, Sixth and Eighth Young
Masters, who were all dissatisfied with their big brother. She made use of her
unique authority in the Inner Residence to buy a large number of slaves and
handymen.
In the end, Shangguan Chui had been defeated by several humble handymen.
In order to eliminate his anxiety, he secretly resorted to witchcraft. Even

though he thought his actions had gone undiscovered, an unsuspecting
cleaner took notice.
Despite having the knowledge for several years, Lady Meng made no move
to act upon it. Instead, she forked out large sums of money to the cleaner to
gather more incriminating information.
Of all the information she had gathered, this was merely one of the secrets.
She was simply waiting for the right moment to act.
However, it was the information provided by Maid Lotus that prompted Lady
Meng to act in advance.
Supreme King, Shangguan Fa believed in a long-standing superstition, that

he would have ten sons -- an auspicious sign. In order to make up for this
number, he regarded his youngest daughter as a son. This was likely the
reason why Shangguan Ru was favored.
If the twins became Young Masters, Lady Meng would gain stature while the
First Young Master would have less influence. At this critical juncture,
Madam Yang, who was regarded as a humiliation in the Inner Residence,
decided to make a desperate attempt to fight back.
She had once had an affair with her husband's brother and bore him a child.
This child was Shangguan Hongye. When her husband was alive, she kept
the secret to herself but when her husband passed and Lady Meng become the
head of the Inner Residence, she did not dare to disclose the secret. Hence,
Shangguan Fa never knew that he had an illegitimate son.
Madam Yang told First Young Master this secret, hoping that she could gain
his support. She hoped that Shangguan Hongye's status could be
acknowledged and that she could consequently live a better life.
Shangguan Cui and Mister Guo quickly realized that this was a great
opportunity. As Shangguan Hongye posed no real threat to First Young
Master, grooming Shangguan Hongye in exchange for his allegiance would
give Shangguan Fa his "ten" sons while supplanting Shangguan Ru. Thus, the
power balance would be restored.
Upon hearing the Maid Lotus' information, Lady Meng understood the
enemy's plot and knew she had to act decisively.
There was just one thing that Gu Shenwei, and all others in the palace, did
not understand. Where was Supreme King? Why was the Lord's seal in the
hands of Lady Meng?
At dawn, the important people who were in the fort woke to a shock and
immediately went searching for their true masters. In the chaos, some rushed
to First Young Master's residence and some went to the Inner Residence. In
that split second, their fates were decided. Those who were loyal to
Shangguan Cui, had decided to pay allegiance to Lady Meng. Those who had
received money from Lady Meng before, were paying allegiance to
Shangguan Chui.
The guards stationed around the fort were of no help. Most killers had hidden
themselves so as to remain neutral. Only a few of them started attacking and
the youth from the Little Flag Battalion prevailed.
It was advantageous for Lady Meng to keep her supporters by her side. In the
first few hours of chaos, there was no clear winner. Any minor reason could
lead to a major betrayal. Even at the seven-fold threat to their lives, and as
more and more cases of assassination erupted, Lady Meng's supporters
remained unswayed.
The first of Lady Meng's "supporters" were all female, but as more and more
supporters joined, the majority became male. Heart Cleansing Yard's
blademaster, Shen Liang was the uncle of Eighth Young Master, Shangguan
Nu. He, representing both himself and his nephew, came to support Lady
Meng and became one of her closest allies.
Heart Cleansing Yard was in charge of discipline in the Golden Roc Fort. It
had the clearest understanding of the situation in the fort so as to could
collect information more efficiently. In no time, it brought back good news:
"Lady Meng's preemptive strategy had won a large victory. First Young
Master had incurred many casualties and deaths. Mister Guo's death had dealt
a big blow to Shangguan Cui, who had panicked and gave contradictory
orders, causing his men to lose faith in him. While Heart Cleansing Yard was
doing reconnaissance, many people rushed to Inner Residence to bring about
retribution for Lady Meng."
Lady Meng had not yet delivered her final offensive order and her family
members were getting anxious given their public opposition of First Young
Master. Were they not to completely defeat the enemy and Shangguan Chui
was to regain his influence, he would surely take revenge on them.
But Lady Meng still needed the support of one important person. Out of all
the orders, this was the only mission that had not gone as she planned and she
was extremely disappointed.
At a quarter to six in the morning, the sky was bright. Most people in the fort
were awake and had discovered the great turn of events that occurred in one
night. Most of them were ambivalent about which party to side with, but
could not do so. They could only wait uneasily.
Meanwhile, the "pawn" that Lady Meng had been waiting for finally arrived.
Several brown-belt assassins ran into the main hall of the Inner Residence
carrying a man over his shoulder. The man was scared stiff and when the
assassins released him, he fell to the ground, shivering.
Gu Shenwei snuck a glance from behind the pillar. He recognised the person.
It was Shangguan Hongye.
Supreme King's illegitimate son had not been able to escape.
Chapter 147 - Killing the Master
Chapter 147: Killing the Master
Shangguan Hongye fell for the trap, but you couldn't blame Miss Luo
Ningcha for not trying her best to remedy the situation.
She spared no effort to discourage Lady Meng. The moment Slave Huan left,
she immediately sent her maid to Shangguan Hongye's house to lead
Shangguan Hongye and his mother to her own residence. At the same time,
she ordered men to prepare gold and silver jewelry. Once Shangguan Hongye
arrived, she would give him some money to flee the fort and make way to
Bighead Kingpin.
Shangguan Hongye knew nothing about Madam Yang's scheming plot. But
as soon as he'd heard that his life was in danger, his legs turned into jelly.
Elderly Zhang had to help him onto his horse and escort him out of Stone
Castle.
Fortunately, Stone Castle's defenses failed that night, and Shangguan Hongye
snuck out successfully. However, he was still far too afraid, and he vacillated
between staying and leaving as he descended the mountain alone. When
dawn came, he had not traveled very far at all.
It was only when the brown-belt assassins arrived, their expressions stone-
cold, that Shangguan Hongye realised that something was wrong. But it was
too late to escape.
Shangguan Hongye's defection made Gu Shenwei anxious. If Lady Meng

discovered that it was Slave Huan who had leaked the information, she would
not spare him.
But even before Lady Meng spoke a single word, Shangguan Hongye
petitioned for mercy. He knew neither his real personal identity nor Slave
Huan's role in the whole matter. At the crucial moment, Luo Ningcha was
tight-lipped. All was well.
Lady Meng's way of dealing with Shangguan Hongye took everyone by

surprise, especially Gu Shenwei. He had never looked down upon Lady
Meng but it was now that he realised how he had underestimated this woman.
The combined efforts of the Supreme King and his sons might not even be
enough to defeat her.
Lady Meng did not kill Shangguan Hongye. Instead, she personally
accompanied him, just as she would her own son, took him by the hand and
announced to everyone in the hall: "This is the Lord's biological son who has
been drifting purposelessly in the world. He would have almost fallen in into
the hands of traitors, but now he is safe with me and I say, as long as I live, I
won't allow anyone to lay their hands on him. From now onwards, he'll be
called Shangguan Hong."
The people in the hall had heard about the disharmony between Lady Meng
and Young Master, as well as their illegitimate child, so they were not
perplexed by Lady Meng's strange attitude. But being shrewd people, they all
swarmed around her, congratulating her on how the Lord had found his
biological son, and praising the Lady's magnanimity.
Shangguan Hong was completely clueless about what had just happened to
him. He felt like laughing, but couldn't muster a cough, only a dazed, dizzy
sensation. All that came out of his mouth was a series of meaningless
utterances- "oh oh".
Lady Meng proffered a scroll from one of her sleeves, written on it was a
long-prepared order from the Lord. Taking a red-scabbard saber from
Shangguan Hong's hands, and brought both items to Shen Liang, the
blademaster of the Heart Cleansing Yard. "Go, I want to start the two
masters' saber awarding ceremony at noon, sharp."
This was the last killing order issued by Lady Meng. She carefully selected a
few trusted confidantes to guard the twins, and followed Shen Liang to
execute the mission together, bringing along Slave Huan and Maid Lotus.
Until then, observers had only begun to understand Lady Meng's intentions in
raising up Supreme King's illegitimate son. Shangguan Chui and Mister Guo
wanted to use Shangguan Hong to create a force of ten sons to oust
Shangguan Ru. Lady Meng had deployed the same strategy against them, but
now it was Young Master who would be ousted instead.
Gu Shenwei had made an erroneous judgment at the start. Lady Meng had no
intentions of killing Shangguan Hong at all. She wanted to wrest this
unexpected "Young Master" firmly within her control to strengthen her
power. This was surely more advantageous than killing him.
Gu Shenwei was wholly in awe of her plan. He was relieved that Lady Meng
had turned her animosity to Luo Ningcha, thus allowing him to escape.
Yet, Lady Meng did not care about Luo Ningcha at all. She had only been
jealous of Bighead Kingpin's influence upon the Supreme King. She did not
want to complicate the issue of Shangguan Hong but past wounds between
the wife and the mother-in-law had begun to fester.
Before leaving, Lady Meng pulled Slave Huan aside and softly instructed:
"Let Ninth Young Master do the work."
Gu Shenwei was sure that Lady Meng's trust in him was due to his part in
killing the master. Lady Meng hoped that Slave Huan's cruelty could
influence her comparatively weak-willed son.
Blademaster Shen Liang, with his contingent of forty assassins in black, ten
yellow-belted torturers, ten young killers, surrounded the twins and left the
Inner Residence, heading for the main courtyard of the Young Master to
perform their final task.
Shangguan Chui had undergone harsh training to become a killer. However,

in the midst of the crisis, he broke down, furiously brandishing his knife and
dispatching his subordinates to secretly assassinate Lady Meng and her twins.
Hence, when the execution squad arrived, Shangguan Chui had little more
than ten over guards beside him and they too were distracted and confused.
"No one can kill me!" With a saber in his hand, Shangguan Chui pointed
wildly at the sky and the earth, and his heavy eyebags growing deep red from
the flush of blood. "I'm the eldest son of the Supreme King and apart from
Father. No one can kill me!"
Shen Yang sympathised with the Young Master's plight but despised how he
had panicked in the face of danger. Raising his red-scabbard saber high in the
air, he said: "The Supreme King's Six-Kill Saber is right there, and by the
order of the Lord, I will kill this unfilial child."
The guards around Shangguan Chui put down their sabers hesitantly. They
were not killers and did not have to die with their master.
Shangguan Chui raised his saber and lobbed off the head of the man nearest
to him. The other guards to fled in fright. "This is all fake! It's the plot of that
wretched person, Blademaster Shen. Why don't you all catch her? Don't tell
me you've fallen for the charms of that old woman?"
Shangguan Ru stepped out, saying: "Big Brother, don't forget, my mother is

also your mother."
Shangguan Chui pointed at the twins laughing loudly, as if seeing the most
entertaining characters. "Looks like the Tenth Young Master truly carries the
legacy of the Shangguan family. You certainly live up to your name. Come
on then, kill me. Children of the Shangguan family are destined to murder
each other. Didn't the Lord kill several of his brothers? Let me be the first in
this generation. Come, when you kill me, my father will shower you with
much more affection. Ha, but leave me my eyes. I want to see which of you
will be killed after me."
Shangguan Chui still brandished his saber, not intending to be killed without
a fight. Shen Liang motioned to the assassins in black and two killers drew
their blades and stepped forward.
Despite being in charge of the killers for over ten years, Shangguan Chui still
hadn't a clue about their natures. Loosing a howl, he rushed forwards to
attack, completely missing the two other killers had already moved to stand
behind him. They unsheathed their blades and struck the Young Master's
legs.
Gu Shenwei had held on to his saber, waiting intently just for this very
moment. He had prepared for a very long time and wanted to test how good
his "machete skill" truly was.
Behind every Young Master was a "green-masked" assassin who existed for
the sole purpose of protecting his master. No matter if his master was
declared an unfaithful son, a traitor, or a usurper of his own father, he would
follow his master left and right, hiding in deserted places, only to emerge,
suddenly, out of nowhere.
But in the eyes of Gu Shenwei, the "green mask" was no longer a creature
who appeared out of thin air. Instead, a bright, cold light momentary flashed
from among the guards, and the "green mask" jumped out from behind the
killers, beheading one with a single swing of his knife. Shangguan Chui did
not even notice.
Shen Liang had prepared for this. The remaining killers unsheathed their
swords one by one. They planned to win by sheer strength of numbers.
But they were too slow.
The green-masked assassin had only killed one assassin. Before falling to the
ground, his four limbs splayed, and fist still clenched tightly around his saber.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus emerged at the same time, one stabbing his
neck, the other, the heart.
The swordsmanship of the Death Scriptures had always meant coming in just
a little late. This little delay was barely perceptible and only the most skilled
could discern this -- how, within a single breath, so much could be
accomplished.
The green-masked assassin's blade slid down Gu Shenwei's neck, albeit

ineffectually, and with two swords already plunged in his body, he died with
his master.
Gu Shenwei was a little shocked. He had actually killed green-mask together

with Maid Lotus. Yet, he was acutely aware of the fact that his victory had
been sheer luck. Had the green-mask not kept his eyes on the killer behind
Shangguan Chui, it would have been difficult to predict whether it was he or
green-face who would have died.
His neck still bled profusely, and Shangguan Ru bandaged his wound
expertly with a silken scarf.
Blademaster Shen Liang gaped at the two youths before him. He of all people
was cognizant of the unparalled skills of the green-masked assassin yet these
two youths had managed to ambush the assassin successfully! This was
beyond comprehension. From that day onwards, he made sure to keep an eye
on Slave Huan and Maid Lotus. However, at this very point in time, he was
more concerned about Shangguan Chui's condition.
Shangguan Chui's thigh was struck by a killer from behind and he stumbled
forwards several steps before falling onto the ground. He turned his head and
saw the green-masked assassin's corpse. The fight was over and he knew he
had lost. "Who's come to kill me?" He asked.
Suddenly, a miraculous calm descended upon the eldest son of Supreme

King. Despite having fallen, his held his head high and was a picture of
royalty, one that still retained all his pride.
No one breathed a single word.
Shen Liang pulled out his Six Kill Saber from its red scabbard. The saber was
the red colour its scabbard. It looked like it had been pulled from a pool of
blood.
Shangguan Fei had learnt his lesson from his mother and from Shen Liang.
He took the Six Kill Saber, and went up to his big brother.
Shangguan Chui's gaze swept over his youngest brother, and looking at Shen
Liang, he said: "I have a wife, and two sons and a daughter."
"They will live well." Shen Liang said. This was the tradition of Golden Roc
Fort, that the hatred of a generation would not pass on to the next. But in
reality, for hundreds of years, revenge between brothers had played on and
on, and there was not a single incidence in which sons had not sought to
avenge their fathers. The victor took great power, and while the vanquished
still lived, he lost all means to resist.
Shangguan Chui now looked at Shangguan Fei, a smile appearing on his face.
"It wouldn't be fitting for me to become Supreme King if I hadn't sunk a
blade into the body of a brother. So you see, I'm not worthy. Come, ninth
brother, wash yourself with my blood, and just like that saber, you'll be able
to win over the Lord's heart. Remember, be careful of women. If you muster
the same cruelty as that which resides in their hearts, then do not provoke
them. Ah, you might never know, the people that your mother was killed, the
scores of people you've never seen."
The knife in Shangguan Fei's hands trembled.
Gu Shenwei had not seen this little master for a long time. He had grown
taller and looked discernably different from his twin sister. His eyes had
sunken in, and his face grew longer, looking like a proper child of the
Shangguan family.
Yet, his expression lacked the resolve and coldness of a killer.
Gu Shenwei knew why Lady Meng wanted Shangguan Fei to kill his big
brother with his own hands. Shangguan Ru was after all, still a daughter, and
while she might assume the identity of Young Master, she would never be
Supreme King. Only Shangguan Fei could inherit his father's position.
And what Shangguan Chui had said was absolutely right. In every generation,
Supreme Kings had appeared to have killed their own brothers, and even their
own fathers. If Shangguan Fei truly wanted to get into his father's good
books, he would have to overcome this "test".
Shangguan Fei's blade pierced his big brother's chest but it only went in an
inch. Fresh blood spurted out and he shook even more violently. His hands
tried driving it in further but the blade would not move.
Shangguan Chui groaned, and opened his mouth as if to say something.

Gu Shenwei, who has been standing beside Shangguan Fei, approached him.
He grasped Shangguan Fei's hands and thrust the blade in.
And in this way, the eldest son of the Supreme King died.
Chapter 148 - The Master
Chapter 148: The Master
Shangguan Chui's death brought on a series of repercussions.
Second Young Master Shangguan Tian was hurriedly called for by Stone
Castle. He was asked to assist his father in the stead of the big brother. He
was, after all, someone of Lady Meng's camp and his objective of returning
home was to pay homage to the "highly esteemed Mother". He had also asked
his wife to take home the message that he had absolutely no intentions of
vying for the position of "King".
The fourth, fifth and seventh Young Master, who were loyal to their big
brother Shangguan Chui were highly anxious at this point in time. To
alleviate their anxieties, Supreme King increased the subordinate killers and
assassins assigned to protect his sons. They were sent separately to Norland
and Shu-lik, the two main camps. He specially treated the kings of these two
countries to ensure their safety.
Other several Young Masters again expressed their sincerity towards Lady
Meng, and even Eighth Young Mistress Luo Ningcha could not refrain from
giving gifts of atonement to her mother-in-law. She admitted that she was
nosy and had misunderstood Lady Meng's good intentions. After the incident,
in private, she summoned Slave Huan and snapped at him.
Gu Shenwei had to persuade Miss that Lady Meng was only using
Shangguan Hong and his mother, and actually had no real feelings towards
them. Madam Yang was aware of this and would thank Miss for her timely
help. Since now she gained a higher position because of his son, she would
still be useful to Miss.
On the day of the slaughter, the saber awarding ceremony of the twins went
on as usual. Shangguan Ru followed his brother, stepping into the Six Kills
Temple formally for the first time. They paid their respects to the ancestors.
Even if Lady Meng won a complete victory, Shangguan Ru would fail to

obtain the title of Young Master. Though the Barren Sect was extinguished,
the war with New Moon Hall would still have to go on. Supreme King did
not want to give the world any cause for gossip at this point in time.
A total of 20 brown-belt assassins were awarded the red-belt, becoming

official assassins. With Slave Huan who finished his apprenticeship earlier,
there were a total of 21 people. One more person, however, was added to the
original crew, and that was Maid Lotus. Just as Gu Shenwei predicted, Maid
Lotus' efforts in the final moment were decisive and won Lady Meng's favor,
earning a place for herself as a killer.
When the killers were assigned, Shangguan Ru customarily took the ten best
assassins for herself, including Slave Huan, Maid Lotus, Wildhorse, and
Liuhua. Shangguan Fei was left with 11 killers, and she only had advantages
by the number of the killers.
After the saber-awarding ceremony of the twins, on the seventh day, Golden
Roc Fort organized a reincarnation ritual. Almost every killer who remained
in the fort witnessed the ceremony. For many young killers, this was the first
time that they had seen the Lord in person.
Supreme King had been missing in the grudge between his wife and son. This
had aroused much gossip behind his back. Going public at this time squashed
much of the gossips. However, no one knew how Lady Meng obtained the
full support of the Lord, to the extent of gaining the Golden Roc seal and the
Six Kill Saber.
There were 11 killers under Shangguan Chui. One held the head, ten held his
corpse, and they sent their master to the Reincarnation Cliff. Putting the
corpse on a pre-arranged pile of wood, they formed a circle, kneeling on the
ground. One flung a torch into the woodpile and it turned into a raging fire.
The living suffer in grief, and the dead settle in peace." The 11 killers chanted
scriptures of the afterlife repeatedly.
Around the Reincarnation Cliff, hundreds of killers, forming a huddled mass

of black, solemnly stood together chanting in low voices. Their voices
enjoined with each other producing a sorrowful lament.
The cremation of the corpse had been done. The vestiges of firewood, bone,
and ashes were thrown off the cliff.
11 killers unsheathed their sabers. They broke the blades, and flung the
broken blades and scabbards away together. Then, other 11 killers walked to
chop their heads off and threw them off the cliff. The ceremony ended.
Gu Shenwei stood in the crowds, watching an expressionless Supreme King

in the distance. He wished he could transform into a little bug and fly into the
heart of the Lord to see what that man, the man who struck terror in the
whole Western Region, was thinking about. Did he really kill his own brother
for the sake of winning the title of king? Did he really not care about the
death of his eldest son at all?
Shangguan Hong, with his newly gained status, stood behind Shangguan Fa.
He twitched uneasily. He was older than the twins by several years, but had
to wait for some time before he could gain the title of "Young Master".
Because of this, his heart was filled with trepidation for he had not the least
confidence in his new position.
Gu Shenwei thought that Shangguan Hong would not be the favorite son of
the Supreme King. This could, however, save his life.
The internal feud in the Shangguan family would soon be forgotten by

everyone. And even for those who remembered, their memories would soon
be forced into oblivion by time, everything would proceed as planned as if
even a single drop of blood had not been shed in Stone Castle.
On the day of the reincarnation ritual, Shangguan Ru summoned his own ten
killers in Kun Yard for the first time.
Apart from the title of "Young Master", this small organization was akin to
that of Shangguan Fei. Shangguan Yushi was appointed as the military
counselor. This title was selected by Shangguan Ru and did not exist in Stone
Castle. Master Ru grasped his sword, standing beside the Tenth Young
Master. She was clad in masculine garments and wore a stone-cold
expression. She would never go back to a life of being a woman and never
would she get married.
Killers were the core personnel around Young Master. But that was not all.
Usually, more machetemen were summoned to Jade City so as to establish an
outer organization. This task fell to Slave Huan's hands and for this; he
gained the sinecure post of the Manager of the Outer Hall. This was also a
title that Shangguan Ru came up temporarily with.
In fact, there were early signs. During the assassination of the Ten-Dragon
gang, Gu Shenwei had been assigned the role of covering the bases for
intelligence. He entered the city the most number of times and had learned
the most from Tie Hanfeng. It was almost as if someone had already planned
well a year ago.
Gu Shenwei could not help but doubt Shangguan Yushi. His separation from
the Tenth Young Master would be in line with her wishes.
Actually, this too coincided with Gu Shenwei's intentions. The conflict

between Shangguan Chui and Lady Meng made him understand that a person
who was highly skilled in kung fu might not be the most powerful party. A
woman who had not any skill at all could also win over the hearts of people
in a masterstroke.
Sooner or later, Gu Shenwei would break off openly with Golden Roc Fort.
As he could not single-handedly confront the world's largest killer
organization, he had to start establishing his own strength now.
Of course, such a matter cannot be executed in public, but helping the Tenth
Young Master build a team of machetemen was a great opportunity.
Almost as if to test the abilities of Slave Huan, Shangguan Yushi sent him
into the city alone. Although there was someone to take the baton from him
in the city, all responsibilities lay on Slave Huan alone.
Gu Shenwei brought a blade and a knife down the mountain with him. In his
arms was the waist token of a killer.
He first went to the South City to look for someone called Bigmouth Liu.
After waiting for a day, someone finally brought the weapons that he had left
at North City to the South City. The aura of the "Manager of the Outer Hall"
had yet to shine beyond Golden Roc Fort.
Bigmouth Liu's mouth was anything but crooked. At 30 over years of age, he
could be considered handsome. Only, his gaze looked somehow off; one eye
was almost always closed, carrying an off-handed nonchalance.
Bigmouth Liu was highly interested in the internal feud that has just died
down in Stone Castle. He pursued this young master of the hall relentlessly,
hoping to tease some information out of him. But he failed. And after which,
he relentlessly explained the situation.
Forming the organization of the machetemen required money. Machetemen

killed for money so the more the money was, the better the machetemen. This
was not a problem at all, since Gu Shenwei had collected a slip of note. He
was able to collect 20,000 taels of silver in one of the betting arenas. This
would be enough for a while. According to Bigmouth Liu's estimation, the
money would suffice for 50 to 100 machetemen.
Second, there must be a vision. Machetemen from the South City were a lot,
and one could get a macheteman from any muddy ditch. However, a good
macheteman was not easily distinguishable from an ordinary one. Hence,
whether the silver was spent worthily on one would depend on the recruiter's
capabilities. On this point, Bigmouth Liu kept silent but a look of obvious
suspicion appeared on his face.
Indeed, Gu Shenwei was only a boy of 16 years. Nobody has heard of the
things he had done in the Stone Fort. Even though the brown-belt assassin
had raised a storm in the South City, it was almost completely forgotten by
now.
Following such, there must be a house dedicated to raising machetemen. The

house would not lack in accountants, clerks, servants, and et cetera.
Gu Shenwei remembered that Zhang Ji had once said these things were first
managed by Young Master himself to hone his leadership abilities. Later, it
became a formality and was passed to a subordinate.
Hence, Gu Shenwei did not despise the tediousness of these matters.

Spending three full days, he had Bigmouth Liu accompanied to have
withdrawn the taels of silvers to rent a house and look for servants. Soon,
other miscellaneous matters other than the hiring of machetemen were
completed in advance.
The house was located in the southwest of South City. It was not far from the
Southwall Tavern and Pleasure Alley. It had three entrances, ten over rooms,
and was situated in a rather hidden and easily defensible location.
Bigmouth Liu naturally became the butler. This was a great opportunity that
he had clinched. However, he would be happier if he could do things for the
Ninth Master Shangguan Fei.
Afterward, Gu Shenwei did not go hiring machetemen immediately. He had

his private affairs to attend to first.
On the fourth afternoon after entering the city, Gu Shenwei brought a knife
and sword. On horseback, he went to the Pleasure Alley to visit the siblings
of the Xu.
Xu Xiaoyi looked awkward when he opened the door. Gu Shenwei did not
say anything. He walked into the building and Xu Xiaoyi called her sister.
Yu Yanwei was sleeping and was very unhappy to be awakened by her

brother. Hearing that the "Mr. Huan" had come, her mood soured further.
And after dragging her feet for a long while, she walked out of the bedroom
and stood upstairs. "Hey, isn't this the master of my house? You must have
come to collect money. But too bad, someone took them away. Don't blame
us. You weren't here, and we couldn't offend those people."
Xu Xiaoyi's face deepened with embarrassment. After muttering a long time,

he said: "It's Shopkeeper Lyu of the Southwall Tavern. Brother Huan, you
know after Old Master Tie's death, his business has gone into Shopkeeper
Lyu's hands."
Gu Shenwei's purpose in coming here was to know more about whom Master
Shifu's inheritance went to, and thus he nodded, saying, "Follow me."
"What for?" Xiaoyi asked, widening his eyes.
"To take back the money."
"This, this… I can't help."
Gu Shenwei's fist clenched around the hilt of his knife and Xu Xiaoyi
immediately changed his mind. "Yes, yes, we can't let Brother Huan go
alone. You're now a killer and you must need a servant, right?"
Upstairs, Xu Yanwei snorted, and said, "If my younger brother so loses a

piece of flesh…"
Gu Shenwei raised his head, and said blandly, "No matter how many parts
your brother is chopped into, I will bring every single piece of him back."
Xu Yanwei's face turned ashen pale, and she ran back into the room and
never came out again.
Xu Xiaoyi interjected. "She's just that. Just like a prostitute, she pleases
whoever's a real master. It won't end in violence, right? Shopkeeper Lyu's
someone from Golden Roc Fort too. You're family."
Gu Shenwei did not reply. He was thankful to Master Tiefeng. The lame man
brought him to know the South City and its many ins and outs, and know
many big or small Protectors. So he knew that the Lyu Shopkeeper was not
someone from the Golden Roc Fort. He owned a tavern and a bank of money
and paid money to Golden Roc Fort and the Meng clan every month. It was
purely for business.
Gu Shenwei had to get money back for the Xu Shi siblings. This was his
brothel now. Additionally, he would take back Tie Hanfeng's money, which
was obtained by the master and the disciple together, and amounted to
100,000 taels. That was almost enough to form a small army.
Chapter 149 - Demanding money
Chapter 149: Demanding money
The Southwall Tavern was the most famous tavern in the South City of
Daiyu. Manager Lyu Qiying had been overseeing the place for many years.
He used the profits earned from selling liquor to launch a money lending
business. And after earning even more, he started to save money for others,
and established his own underground bank.
People who save money only believe in people who have more money.
Shopkeeper Lyu was impeccable in this respect. The rare and precious wines
in his taven were the best guarantee of this.
Wealth begets power. Shopkeeper Lyu obtained the favor of both Golden
Roc Fort and the Meng family. He kept scores of first-rate machetemen,
many of whom were carefully selected by Cripple Tie before his death. Each
of these men was excellent value for money.
So, for many years, this was the first time, someone had brought a sword into
the tavern.
At the entrance, two fatsos, one tall and short, sought to disarm the intruder's
weapons. However, with just a shake of the young man's blade, the two gave
up, and immediately ran to find the manager upstairs.
To the watchmen, kung fu skills were not as important as the keenness of the
eyes. The two fat men saw the killing intent and resolve in the young man's
eyes. "This person needs to be taken seriously," they told Shopkeeper Lyu.
Hence, for the moment, Shopkeeper Lyu put up with the young man's
offensive behavior. He invited him to a table at the corner. Where there were
no special guests, this was Shopkeeper Lyu's old seat, which was not far from
where Tie Hanfeng usually sat.
Shopkeeper Lyu looked up and saw Xu Xiaoyi standing behind Slave Huan.
"What are you doing here?"
Xu Xiaoyi wished that he was invisible, or that he could dive into the seams
in the bricks. "Hey hey, I… err…"
"He's my servant. I think Tie Hanfeng should have told you." Gu Shenwei
spoke. His hand still didn't leave the hilt of his sword, and this made him look
a little nervous.
Shopkeeper Lyu laughed coldly. So this lackey came to wrest the brothel
away. "Or let's say, I didn't have any impression at all. In the past, it used to
be the cripple who put his money here. Now that he is dead, I will take it over
from him."
"From now on, I'll collect the money myself. The money handed down by the
sister and brother of the Xu family must also be taken away."
Shopkeeper Lyu sized up the youngsters. After a while, he said: "It's a total of
7,900 taels. You can take them away. We'll call it even after this."
"There's still the money Tie Hanfeng had saved here over the years, and the
ten cartload of goods."
Shopkeeper Lyu blinked, finger rapping on the table's surface. "You killed
Cripple Tie?"
The young man did not speak.
"So you're an official killer?"
Gu Shenwei flashed his killer waist token.
Shopkeeper Lyu's eyes widened. This young man had actually become a
killer in just a few days. He still remembered Slave Huan staring at the red
wine, Tie Hanfeng's cold expression when he introduced him, and could not
however, link these memories with this aggressive teen standing before him.
"Under which master?"
"The Tenth Young Master."
"Ha." Shopkeeper Lyu laughed uncontrollably. His heart calmed down. He

thought that this kid was putting on a fake show. He probably killed his
master while the master was drunk. Alternatively, it would not be a surprise if
the cripple had died from an overdose of liquor.
"I still haven't seen the silver." Gu Shenwei did not think it was funny, and
pressed for the money.
Shopkeeper Lyu inched his body forwards and tried to persuade the teen in a
tone of earnestness. "You can't start with such a big appetite. Hasn't Tie
Hanfeng taught you this? You killed him in Stone Castle. This could mean
that you could inherit all of the cripple's possessions. However, here, in South
City, in the entire Western Region, the rules are different. You cannot simply
take away the possessions of the person that you've killed. The brothel is
yours, but the rest aren't. Listen to my advice, kid. Killers aren't as powerful
in Stone Castle as you think. You still have a long way to go."
An unsheathed sword. A swift downward stroke. A sheathing of the blade.
Shopkeeper Lyu knew a little kung fu. He wasn't skilled, but was not a
simpleton either. Even so, he looked at the severed finger on the table and for
a long while, he did not understand what had just happened.
A terrible blood-curdling scream. Seven or eight machetemen jumped out at

the same time, drawing their swords to attack the two teens.
Xu Xiaoyi immediately kneeled on the ground, cradling his head. He did not
see anything. He only heard the sounds of people falling down. There was no
clash of weapons nor any screaming and shouting.
Very soon, the surroundings resumed their peacefulness. Xu Xiaoyi relaxed

his hands and raised his head. Three machetemen lay dead with wounds on
their neck. The flowing blood was not even enough to feed ants, but they
were dead for sure. Their dim eyes proved everything.
Xu Xiaoyi was so shocked dumb that he forgot to stand up.
The remaining machetemen stayed put. They worked for money, but they did
not want to lose their lives.
Shopkeeper Lyu clutched his missing stump, a face full of disbelief. Who did
this kid actually have as a backer. He had actually dared to kill so brazenly
and unscrupulously.
"Let's go find the Supreme King at Golden Roc Fort to judge the situation!"
Shopkeeper Lyu was furious.
"I'm doing things according to the rules of Stone Castle." Gu Shenwei

reminded the other that according to the tradition of Golden Roc Fort, he had
the right to inherit everything from Master Shifu.
With a finger bleeding still, Shopkeeper Lyu's body trembled uncontrollably.

But he quickly calmed down and sat down on his chair. An agile
counterjumper came over to bandage his wound.
"Let's talk calmly about it." Shopkeeper Lyu said, with his usual placid
expression, as though he had everything under control. However, his face
was still slightly pale. He had underestimated this teen. It was a major
mistake and he had to make up for it as soon as possible.
Hence, the two "talked". Counterjumpers delivered Tie Hanfeng's preserved

receipt. Cripple Tie had no precious jewelry but only silver taels, and there
was a total of 316,000 taels.
"Want to change it to your name?"
"No need for that. As long as you know that Tie Hanfeng's things are mine."
Shopkeeper Lyu's heart ached. With this 316,000 taels, he could make so
much profit. Then the young boy surprised him again.
"The silver will be kept here."
In the blink of an eye, this teen was no longer a "robber", but had become a
big patron. Shopkeeper Lyu immediately stood upright, nodded his head
slightly and told him customarily, as he did to all of his customers. "You can
keep the silver here. You may be rest assured. However, I have to inform you
in advance that I don't accept people collecting on behalf of customers or
memos of consent. I only recognise this face before me. So if you happen to
ruin your face accidentally, it's best to come let me see immediately."
And like that the matter was settled. Gu Shenwei took half of the near eight
thousand taels collected by the siblings from the Xu family. The other half
was given to the injured Shopkeeper Lyu and the three machetemen, that is, if
these three had relatives to collect the money.
In return, Shopkeeper Lyu provided a message free of charge: Tie Hanfeng

had purchased a house in the North City.
The teens left. Among the scores of customers in the tavern, their heads
buried in alcohol, this story would soon be spread throughout the South City.
This proved to be the biggest headache for Shopkeeper Lyu. He only had to
look at his missing finger, and the corpse on the ground, and the anger in his
heart became difficult to contain.
This matter won't rest so easily. If the youth had thought that money could
erase the shame he had suffered, that would be a huge mistake.
Gu Shenwei did not have such illusions. He needed to act quickly. The search
for the target documents in the Document Library had ended in failure. This
caused a setback to the plan of revenge he had crafted in the Fort. He needed
to take the initiative to do something to satisfy the agitation in his heart.
Hatred is a messy woodpile and with enough accumulated, there could be a

blaze engulfing the entire of South City and spreading to Stone Castle. Gu
Shenwei hoped that this fire could be as big as possible. It didn't matter if it
burnt himself. After all, he would cling on tightly to Shangguan Ru, making
the Supreme King's most favored daughter burn with him.
The two teens returned to Pleasure Alley. Counterjumpers from the South
City's tavern delivered the 4,000 pieces of silver.
Along the way, Xu Xiaoyi kept looking up at Brother Huan. Standing in front
of a pile of money, his mouth hung open. Even though this money was
earned by his sister, it was taken away again and again and he had not the
chance to see it stocked together in a pile. After a long while did he manage
to call his sister in a hoarse voice.
Xu Yanwei was upstairs busy with the business and hearing shouting from
below, put on some clothes and walked out of the room. She looked unhappy.
But then, she was stunned.
A customer shouted harshly from inside: "Who is it? Make him go away."
"Someone sent money." Xu Yanwei did not turn her head. Her voice shook
slightly.
The guest walked out half-naked, his whitish body fluttering out with pomp.
"Do you leave things half-done? How much is it? I'll add…"
The fat guest looked down the pile of silver downstairs. He creased his
eyebrows. Just several thousand taels. Not too much, but it's too much to
spend on a prostitute.
The guest turned back into the house. He dressed quickly, walked down the
stairs and left without a word.
The siblings stood side by side, staring at the silver. They did not speak for a
long time. The guest's departure went completely unnoticed.
Xu Xiaoyi raised his head. He understood that no matter how good the silver
looked, it still belonged to Mr. Huan.
This is the money for you both. In the end, Mr. Huan actually said something
like this. The siblings raised their heads, bewildered and shocked. They look
like two kids who, upon seeing a distant and kind relative, did not know
whether to be thankful or vigilant.
Xu Yanwei's mind turned faster than her brothers. In a quivering voice, she
said: "Let's go upstairs to talk?" Probably because she saw that the
expressions in both younger brother and Mr. Huan's eyes were not quite right.
She quickly added: "You're the real master. This is your prerogative."
Xu Yanwei walked slowly up the stairs. After thinking for a while, Gu

Shenwei followed. The Pot-bellied Buddha did this, Tie Hanfeng too. This
was probably a time-tested rule.
Xu Xiaoyi watched the two go upstairs. A smile appeared on his face. He

then looked intently at the neatly packed piles of silver. He spread his arms,
and jumped onto the silver. There could not be any woman in the world who
would feel more comfortable to the touch than these cold hard silvers.
Gu Shenwei trailed a few steps behind Xu Yanwei. When he reached the bed
chamber, Xu Yanwei had stripped completely on the bed, an elbow propping
herself up, and the other arm stretching out in front of her. Her cheeks
blushed coyly. It was as if the teen could devour her with his eyes.
This was a performance that Xu Yanwei was best at, Gu Shenwei thought. He
unbuckled his weapons and threw them onto the ground.
Chapter 150 - The Pact
Chapter 150: The Pact
With the sword and the scabbard thrown onto the ground, Gu Shenwei was
holding on to his saber. His look was cold. It was as though the person lying
on the bed was a human-figured target.
Although Xu Yanwei had seen all kinds of clients before, a chill still ran
down her spine. Her body curled up like a baby. She begged fearfully,
"Please have mercy.".
He walked to the front of the bed. He used his saber to lift the quilt that was
covering Xu Yanwei. He could use blood to control Shopkeeper Lyu and
bribe Xu Xiaoyi with money. Towards these fickle-minded ladies, he had to
use different approaches. Sometimes, he even wanted to kill her.
The only person Gu Shenwei didn't dare to attack was Pot-bellied Buddha.
Every time he thought of what that fat ugly man had done to his daughter, he
felt extremely disgusted. In his opinion, even though this woman was
sometimes filthier than a beggar crawling in the gutter, this filth stirred up his
last bit of sympathy for her.
Gu Shenwei could not comprehend his emotions, but he did not want to
inquire further. He only knew one thing. If he was unable to make Xu
Yanwei surrender now, he would have to kill her.
His sympathy for her stopped here.
Xu Yanwei finally understood his gaze. Instead of the usual feelings of

cruelty, abreaction, and desire, it displayed the strong will of a killer.
"Next time, you will earn enough money to escape from Jade City."
Xu Yanwei looked at the knife in Gu Shenwei's hand and suddenly became
shy for no particular reason. She nodded while pulling the quilt up
unknowingly.
"However, you have to return your life, which you owed, back to me."
Gu Shenwei had rescued the siblings twice before, but Xu Yanwei was
unaware of this. To her, she never owed anyone anything. She would only
obey and be controlled by her master. Hence, she nodded again.
"You have to work for me for three years. Then you and your brother will be
free."
This was an offer from a killer. Xu Yanwei nodded again. As she was good at
acting, sometimes she couldn't even tell which roles were real. This time she
was playing a new role, which was a businesswoman who didn't know the
value of her goods.
She liked this role. All this while, she was being passed around like a wine
jug. She never had a chance to make a deal.
"Speak up.", Gu Shenwei ordered as he was slightly dissatisfied with Xu

Yanwei's constant nodding.
"For three years, Xiaoyi and I will work for you. We'll do anything.", she said
with an emphasis on the last sentence.
There was a table, which was filled with the mess left behind by the previous
customers, in the bedroom. Gu Shenwei poured away the wine in a glass and
refilled it. He made a cut on his left wrist using his saber and dripped his
blood into the glass. He turned and looked at her, who was on the bed.
Xu Yanwei dressed as quickly as she undressed. While she was getting off
the bed, she draped her clothes over her. By the time she was off, she was
neatly dressed. No one could do better than her in such a scenario.
"Give me your hand."
"I'll do it myself."
Xu Yanwei was filled with excitement and deeply fascinated by this strange
yet mannish pact. She devoted herself wholeheartedly. She picked up the
sword on the carpet and drew the sword out. She was shocked by the light,
which was reflected off the sword. She brought the sword to the side of the
table with both hands, as though she was holding a holy object.
By gently cutting herself, blood was oozing out from her smooth skin, as
though it was a piece of compressed cotton. It was similar to a small
blooming flower, whereby it bloomed and withered in a flash. Blood trickled
down the delicate wrist.
Xu Yanwei turned her body after cutting herself. She felt giddy. She threw
the sword away and grabbed onto the table. She stared at the blood fuse in the
wine and smiled. She lifted the cup, drank a big mouthful and licked off the
blood stain on her wrist.
Gu Shenwei took the glass and drank the remaining half.
His judgment was right. The seemingly delicate Xu Yanwei had a strong
heart, which was stronger than most men.
Xu Yanwei called for her younger brother so that they could listen to the new
master's orders.
Xu Xiaoyi locked the door. He could then leave his money reluctantly and
headed upstairs.
The look of Mr. Huan surprised him. As he was familiar with all sorts of
appearances that a satisfied client would have, he did not expect such a cold
expression. His sister seemed weird as well. Her eyes were beaming as
though she wanted to share a big secret.
Gu Shenwei repeated the deal to Xu Xiaoyi, as he didn't want to make Xu

Xiaoyi perform the blood oath. Gu Shenwei began to make specific requests.
He chose them to work for him after thoughtful considerations.
"Help me collect all the information related to the Stone Castle. I want to
know all kinds of information, be it what kind of drinks the customers like or
whose toes are shorter. I want to know all of this information, regardless how
trivial or uncanny."
The Xu siblings were born and grew up in the South City. They knew the
place inside out, hence they were the best people to help Gu Shenwei collect
information.
However, after listening to Mr. Huan's words, both of them became afraid
and started finding excuses.
"Ah, I understand now. Stone Castle wanted to catch the spies so they wanted
to hear what everyone is talking about. They would kill anyone who spoke ill
about them.", Xu Xiaoyi said while making a killer pose.
"You wanted to rise up the ranks. You wanted to know what kind of things
your superiors like so that you could cater to their tastes.", Xu Yanwei
guessed. Her guess was more accurate.
"Almost there. However, I don't want both of you to "ask" around. Just listen
to them. You, make the customers talk more. You, go to the streets, taverns,
batting arenas and listen to their conversations. As a reward, both of you don't
have to pay every month."
The two siblings nodded solemnly. Xu Yanwei earned thousands of taels

monthly. She would be able to earn more if she worked harder. In terms of
monetary value, Mr. Huan's task was relatively easier.
Having money and spies, Gu Shenwei had to create his own escape plans.
Next morning, he brought Xu Xiaoyi to the North City, to visit the
commandant, Zhong Heng. Both of them had met several times before.
Zhong Heng had a deep impression of Gu Shenwei. He personally greeted

them and treated them well as though they were very important people.
The commandant had heard about how Slave Huan killed his mentor.
However, he didn't bring this matter up. He just congratulated Gu Shenwei on
his promotion on becoming a killer.
Tie Hanfeng bought a house in the North City. Zhong Heng sent his men to
inquire from the relevant ministries and received the confirmation in no time.
With Zhong Heng's enthusiastic assistance, Gu Shenwei was able to obtain
the house deed and entered the house that was "left" behind by Master Shifu
by this afternoon.
Even though the name on the deed was "Xu Yi", which was Xu Xiaoyi's full
name, he could only stare at it as he knew who was the real owner.
The house was small and had only one door. However, the location was good
as it was situated near the North City checkpoint, towards South City. Tie
Hanfeng originally intended to go to Southwall Tavern to kill time.
Gu Shenwei invited Zhong Heng to drink at South City. That night, the
Commandant and his two followers were drunk and Zhong Heng had to stay
overnight at Xu Yanwei's inn. When they left the next morning, they left
behind a five thousand taels banknote. Gu Shenwei withdrew this amount of
money from Shopkeeper Lyu, over at the Southwall Tavern. This banknote
could be redeemed at any banks in the North and South City.
Gu Shenwei was busy with his own affairs for several days. On the other
side, Bigmouth Liu was in a hurry. He personally visited the "master". While
stammering, he reminded the young superior that everything was ready,
except the most important aspect. They hadn't hired any machetemen.
Gu Shenwei was in no hurry and rested for a day. On the seventh day after he
left the mountains, he brought Bigmouth Lin to the Rogue Forest.
Rogue Forest had a red glow during winter, and that was the reason behind its
name. During winter, the trees were slightly bleak, but the crowd didn't
subside.
The Rogue Forest was located in a valley in the east of the city. There was a
river cutting through it and there were tall canopies. However, the visitors
could not see the Stone Castle that lay above.
There was where the jobless machetemen gathered. If one wanted to hire
these machetemen, one would have to bring enough money and give a
shoutout. If one wanted to find a good assistant, one would have to be
discerning.
It was in the Rogue Forest where Gu Shenwei first heard of the Horned
Dragon Society.
There was a Machete God Contest in the forest and the organizers were the
Horned Dragon Society, who had just gained popularity in Jade City.
Horned Dragon Society was established by a group of people from the rich
and noble families in North City. It would mean that many of them were
descendants of the royal family.
The biggest feature of Horned Dragon Society was that it was wealthy. After
establishing for a short amount of time, it organized the Machete God
Contest. It wanted to select the best macheteman in Jade City and the prize
was ten thousand taels. The winner could get to work for Horned Dragon
Society and could receive a large amount of remuneration. Those, who
excelled in machete skills could also join the society and was given monetary
rewards.
Even in their prime, many machetemen were unable to earn as much as ten
thousand taels. Even though most of the leaves of Rogue Forest had fallen,
more people had gathered at the forest.
In the Central Plain of the forest, there were numerous open spaces that were
connected by trails. All of them became sparring grounds. There were a large
number of spectators, even those who didn't know kung fu came to spectate
as well.
It was surprising that Gu Shenwei had not heard of such big event in advance.
He was disappointed with Bigmouth Liu.
Bigmouth Liu didn't notice the dissatisfaction of his young superior, and said,
"Wow. All the machetemen in the city were crazy over the money. This is a
good thing. We can select some good yet unselected machetemen after
Horned Dragon Society are done with their selection.".
"Tenth Young Master only wants the best macheteman."
"Stop joking. The winner can get ten thousand taels. We only have twenty
thousand. We can only hire two machetemen."
"Heh", Gu Shenwei sneered. He didn't argue with Bigmouth Liu. Just like the
masters of the Horned Dragon Society, Bigmouth Liu knew nothing about
machete skills. The winner of the competition might not be the best
macheteman.
Two years ago, Gu Shenwei didn't understand this rationale as well.

However, the experience at East Castle had allowed him to understand this
logic. Out of six hundred odd good students of the Carvewood Academy, few
could survive the massacre. Contests and assassination were two completely
different things.
While Bigmouth Liu was engrossed in the sparring, Gu Shenwei was more
concerned about the machetemen who were scattered in the forest. They were
disinterested in the contest and the best macheteman might be within them.
Gu Shenwei went around and finally spotted one macheteman. He was in his
forties and had small yet bright and piercing eyes. He seemed slightly
exhausted and was probably at the end of his prime. However, Gu Shenwei
noticed that several machetemen would whisper to him before entering the
contest.
Gu Shenwei pulled Bigmouth Liu out of the crowd and asked him whether he
recognized the macheteman.
"Boss Tuo is a great helper, but you can't hire him."
"Why?"
"He used to be… under… someone. He lost his job not long ago."
Gu Shenwei immediately realized that "he" was referring to First Young

Master Shangguan Chui.

Chapter 151 - Machete of Blood
Chapter 151: Machete of Blood
Unlike killers, machetemen were employed to perform tasks for their master,
thus, they had to be loyal to their master. Because of this, while killers had to
commit suicide when their master was killed, however, machetemen could be
relieved of their obligations and look for another master.
Tuo Nengya was a barbarian. His machete skills were largely different from
those who came from the Central Plains and he often fought with two
scimitars. He came to Jade City when he was in his twenties and he was
famous in his early years. It was rumored that Golden Roc Fort had wanted to
accept him as an official killer, but he declined the offer because he wanted to
enjoy more freedom as a macheteman.
In the last few years, he had been serving under Shangguan Chui as the leader
of the group of machetemen. Many called him Boss Tuo.
After hearing this information from Bigmouth Liu, Gu Shenwei did not make
a decision immediately. Instead, he went around to observe again and heard
many rumors about the Horned Dragon Society.
As Horned Dragon Society was established by the children of many wealthy

families in North City, Gu Shenwei immediately thought of Fifth Young
Master Meng. Fifth Young Master Meng should have been involved in this
matter, but there was little information about the founders of the society.
Hence, no one knew who was part of this society. Even for the Machete God
Contest, it was organized by several protectors from South City and Horned
Dragon Society only offered monetary support.
Gu Shenwei did not heed Bigmouth Liu's advice and went up to Tuo Nengya.
As soon as he was standing in front of Tuo Nengya, Gu Shenwei could feel
many eyes were staring at him. Those machetemen were scattered
everywhere and were leaning against trees, as though they were unfamiliar
with one another. However, once someone entered their territories, they
would immediately grab hold of the hilt of their weapons.
"I recognize you," Tuo Nengya spoke. His voice was slow yet powerful as
though his words had some magical power which could materialize into
reality.
"Oh?"
"Killer Yang Huan. I heard that you were involved in the last stabbing of
First Young Master."
"You want to take revenge."
Tuo Nengya shook his head. His movements were slow as well. "If I am able
to find First Young Master, I hope he can give the salary for the last few
months to me and these brothers.", he said while raising his hand to point at
the nearby machetemen.
"When the master dies, the debt will no longer exist. However, there is a new
job. I wonder whether you're interested in it."
Tuo Nengya was obviously interested. Initially, he was leaning against the
tree, but now, he stood up straight. He grabbed on to the hilts of his scimitars
while judging the youth standing in front of him. He asked, "Do you fight
with a sword?"
"The sword is a souvenir. I fight with a blade," Gu Shenwei answered. As

swordcraft was a secret shared only between him and Maid Lotus, both of
them did not plan to let anyone else know.
Tuo Nengya lost his interest. He let go of his grip and crossed his arms.
While using his chin to point at the nearby open space, he said, "Go there.
There will be many people who will be interested in the job."
"I want a genuine macheteman."
"A genuine macheteman not only considers the rewards, but also considers
the ability of their master. No one will want to risk their lives due to their
master's poor command."
"The new master will also join in the fight."
"That will have to depend on the machete skills of the new master."
Gu Shenwei turned and looked at the sparring arena. The onlookers were
cheering, which probably meaned that someone managed to pull off a
stunning victory. Gu Shenwei asked, "Would you care for a match?"
Tuo Nengya raised his chest high, and then flattened his chest like a wind
box. He said, "At night. Come after 9 pm. Young people play around during
daytime. Old people will only fight at night."
As Gu Shenwei left, the cheers around several sparring arenas became louder.
In several days' time, the victor would be announced and those who won
today's match stood a chance to win that lucrative job.
Gu Shenwei sent Bigmouth Liu back to the city. Gu Shenwei then ate at a
stall, which was situated outside of the Rogue Forest, as he waited for
nightfall.
Bigmouth Liu was slightly dissatisfied with his young superior as Yang Huan
rarely asked for his opinion even though he was more familiar with the
situation in South City. Luckily, in a few days' time, Tenth Young Master
would visit the city from the mountains. He would rather please Tenth Young
Master rather than this so-called master.
In the evening, today's Machete God Contest came to an end. Most of the
machetemen left. Hundreds of machetemen stayed behind and were
wandering around in the forest.
Around 9 pm, a bonfire was lit at the open space, which was situated at the
deepest part of the forest. Everyone gathered around and formed a circle
around it to keep warm.
An old man, who was in his fifties, went up empty-handed. There was a
scattered round of applause. He asked, "Does anyone here wants to be the
Machete God?"
The crowd laughed as they were not interested in the title of "Machete God".
Someone in crowd shouted, "I want to be Machete of Blood God!". The
laughter became louder.
Tuo Nengya came to the young man and said, "Machete of Blood Contest
will occur every night as long as it is not raining. Participants will fight with
real weapons and this contest has had a long history, which is similar to that
of Jade City.".
"I haven't heard of it," Gu Shenwei said. Gu Shenwei became interested.

Even though Tie Hanfeng had mentioned Rouge Forest before his death, he
did not talk about the Machete of Blood Contest. As he would pick
machetemen from among his acquaintances, he did not come to such places.
"This is a game between the machetemen. Few masters will participate."
Gu Shenwei understood what Boss Tuo meant. He held onto the handle of his
blade and asked, "Why don't you participate in the Machete God Contest?"
"As I said before, genuine machetemen will consider the ability of their
master. Since we don't know who is the head of Horned Dragon Society, we
won't want to risk our lives for that ten thousand silver taels."
Gu Shenwei was accustomed to the thinking of a Golden Roc killer, so he

could not understand the intention of this group of machetemen. In his
opinion, he would rather work for the ten thousand silver taels than fight
secretly at night.
Two machetemen went up.
"Each person pays a hundred silver taels. The loser loses all, the winner takes
a hundred and eighty and the organiser takes ten percent of the pot.", Tuo
Nengya explained.
Gu Shenwei took out a small amount of gold. Tuo Nengya took the gold and
passed it to a macheteman. The gold was passed around. As Gu Shenwei
didn't know who received his gold, he was unable to find out who was the
organiser of this contest.
After three rounds, one died and two were injured. Gu Shenwei felt that one
of the machetemen had decent skills, who was slightly better than those
machetemen who were sparring during daytime. However, the macheteman
was still considered to be mediocre, since he felt that sparring could not
prove anything. He wanted a macheteman that can kill people, instead of a
person who liked to show off.
"Next pair!" exclaimed the old man on the court. "It's your turn," Tuo Nengya
spoke gently to the young man.
Gu Shenwei went forward. Since most machetemen at the gathering were

middle-aged, Gu Shenwei was one of the only few young people around.
Someone in the crowd laughed, "Who is the one that is so lucky?"
The "lucky" person was a tall, strong macheteman who had bushy beard. He
resembled Bighead Kingpin, but was smaller in size. He was holding on a big
special machete. As the machete was heavy, he dragged it on the ground and
it created a deep mark.
Someone shouted the macheteman's name and Gu Shenwei didn't bother to

listen. Gu Shenwei pulled out his blade, while waiting for the opponent to
come closer.
The bearded man shouted, raised his machete and rushed towards his skinny
opponent. It would be an easy victory for Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei had learnt a few machete skills, but he complied with Golden
Roc Fort killer's motto, which was not to underestimate his opponent and to
defeat the enemy in one blow.
The big machete slid past the young man's shoulder. For a moment, it seemed
like the young man was hit. The machete landed heavily on the ground. The
bearded man lost his balance, took a few steps forward and landed directly on
top of the bonfire. He almost extinguished the fire. In a short while, his beard
was burning.
Several people went up and pulled the man out from the fire. Needless to say,
the man was burnt. He was already dead before he fell.
Not many could clearly see how the young man attacked. He was like a
monster that came out during nighttime, which killed people using evil
secrets rather than machete skills.
The bonfire was reignited. Hundreds of spectators were speechless until the
old man gave the young man a hundred and eighty silver taels. The old man
then shouted, "Next pair". Then, the spectators started to talk among
themselves.
Gu Shenwei suddenly became the center of attention and everyone was

asking about this mysterious young man.
In the next few rounds, the fight became a showcase of machete skills.
Everyone was trying to their best so to leave the young employer a good
impression. However, most of the machetemen who went up to fight had
died.
The Machete of Blood Contest ended at 11 pm. Tuo Nengya asked the young
man to stay behind. This time, Gu Shenwei requested, "I haven't seen you
fight."
There were twenty odd people following Tuo Nengya and Tuo Nengya spoke
on behalf of them all. "We can participate and kill people, but that is not our
strength nor is that the reason why you should hire us."
"We?"
"Yes. I'm not alone. There're a total of 23 people. Either you employ all of us
or not a single one."
Gu Shenwei didn't know whether other machetemen would behave in such a
way, where they would make bold requests to their potential employers
before the deal was concluded.
"What are your strengths?"
Tuo Nengya pulled out a machete and issued a command with a loud voice.
His tone was not slow, as though he was an enthusiastic general. He
commanded, "Gather. Charge forward. Turn left. Defend. Attack. … ".
Gu Shenwei's father was a court guard, hence he knew little about battle
formation. When he was young, he was curious so he entered the training
grounds with his like-minded friends to watch the troops train. Hence, he
could somewhat understand the various formations. Tuo Nengya and his
group of machetemen were rather disciplined and possessed a certain aura.
However, there were too few people, hence the effect was rather
insignificant.
"I don't understand…"
"We are not good at fighting solo, but we can beat twenty people with ten
machetemen and fifty people with twenty machetemen. Allow me to pick a
few more machetemen until we have fifty machetemen. We will be invincible
in South City by then. Other than Golden Roc Fort, we are unrivaled."
This style was completely different than that of a killer. As Gu Shenwei was
skeptical, he asked, "Did First Young Master employ all of you because of
your formations?"
There was a change in the Tuo Nengya's expression as though the young man
had just asked a very rude question. But in the next instant, his expression
returned to normal as he replied, "No. He was uninterested in our battle
formations. I owed him a favor."
This was exactly what Gu Shenwei was worried about. However, he wanted
to make use of this sentiment, because he wanted to employ machetemen
who were dissatisfied with Golden Roc Fort. The most important part was
how to control them without telling them the truth.
"How much are you willing to sacrifice for this favor?"
"He is dead, so the favor is gone. We are machetemen, not patriots nor
chevaliers."
"Good," Gu Shenwei said while extending his hands as he planned to employ

this group of machetemen. They had a lot of details to discuss about, such as
the most important aspect, the salary.
"Hey, does anyone want to make a lot of money? Come over here. Take the
money before you work!"
Many disruptors came over as though the arrangement was pre-planned. Fifth
Young Master Meng led a group of followers and machetemen and came
over. Some were carrying heavy boxes. They placed the boxes down and
opened it. Under the light of the bonfire, boxes of silver glittered with a warm
light as though it could bring comfort to people and soothe them from the
harsh coldness of winter.
Chapter 152 - The Quarrel Over the
Machetemen
Chapter 152: The Quarrel Over the Machetemen
On the surface, Gu Shenwei had made peace with Meng Mingshi by offering
a drink to him, while in fact, their hatred for each other had increased.
Gu Shenwei came forward to pay his respects and Fifth Young Master Meng
seemed to know that he was also here to hire machetemen. Fifth Young
Master Meng feigned surprise and said, "Oh, this is so coincidental. Isn't this
Slave Huan? Are you running errands for the Tenth Young Master? This
young chap really doesn't know how to take care of his men, running errands
in the middle of the night…"
Gu Shenwei felt certain that Meng Mingshi's coming "in the middle of the
night" to hire machetemen was definitely not coincidental. He said, "These
men have already decided to work for me."
"Has the payment been agreed upon? Has the contract been signed?"
Meng Mingshi nodded empathetically. He had come prepared, therefore he

was able to keep his emotions and attitude under control. He hugged Slave
Huan across the shoulders and walked him over to a less crowded place.
"Give me some face and let me hire these men, there are many machetemen
for hire, why don't you keep looking? Let's not keep arguing and let these
poor fools be happy. If you need money, feel free to let me know. I don't
want to promise too much but I'm still able to fork out a few thousand taels,
um, say 20 thousand taels?"
Twenty thousand taels were exactly the amount of money Gu Shenwei took
from the Golden Roc Fort. "Say, Fifth Master aren't you looking for the
Machete God? Why are you taking an interest in these guys?"
Meng Mingshi patted the shoulder of Slave Huan and said, "The Machete
God is meant to maintain a stable society while these men are hired to grind,
it's different. Hey, are you looking to join the Horned Dragon Society? I can
introduce you into it. If the Tenth Young Master or Master Yu are interested,
we would welcome them as well. There's no greater thing than having people
from the Stone Castle to join."
The hypocrisy of Fifth Young Master Meng made Gu Shenwei vigilant. The
Meng family had close relations with the Golden Roc Fort and if the Horned
Dragon Society was looking to induct the Tenth Young Master, it was not the
place of an ordinary killer to bring the matter up to him. "Fifth Master is too
kind, but I can't give up hiring these men. Why don't we let them pick who to
work for?"
The quickness at which Meng Mingshi changed his expressions made Gu

Shenwei feel as though a new person was suddenly switched to his side.
The Fifth Master swiftly lifted his arm away from Slave Huan's shoulder, as
if he had by accident touched something ugly and dirty. "So, you want to go
against me?" He said. He lifted his voice and it was a little sharp.
"I don't dare to." Gu Shenwei maintained the basic level of formality but took
a step back and reached his hand towards the hilt of his knife but after a
moment's thought, let it drop down again.
"Ha!" Meng Mingshi spread out his arms with a look of someone who had
been publicly shamed and felt angry and unjustified. He spun around so as to
let everyone see himself, then talked loudly in the direction of the men he
brought along, "Everyone heard it! I had forgiven this slave from the Golden
Roc Fort who had offended me in the past and even offered him support and
treated him as a brother. Now I wish for a little favor from him, yet he is
putting on airs and acting as if he really is my equal. Today, I have to fight
back for my honor's sake. Is there any wrong in doing so?"
"There's no wrong in it, Fifth Young Master Meng has a great heart and
tolerated enough." The crowd started to chime in and many looked even
angrier than Fifth Young Master Meng.
This was not the arrogant and foolish Meng Mingshi that Gu Shenwei
remembered, perhaps he had received the secret guidance of somebody else.
Gu Shenwei retreated a few steps and waited for the commotion caused by
the crowd to die down a little. Then he said, "If it is a personal matter of
yours truly, I would never have dared to contest with Fifth Young Master
Meng. However, I am selecting machetemen for the Tenth Master, therefore I
humbly seek the understanding of Fifth Young Master Meng."
"Do you seek to pressure me by using the name of a little chap? You slave, I
want these men. Let's see who can snatch them away from me."
Meng Mingshi struck an aggressive pose with his hand on his hips as a man
dressed as a servant came forward. He first bowed to his master, then cleared
his throat and said in a clear, loud voice, "Five hundred taels every month for
each person as payment for your services and the minimum term of the
contract is three years. Sign the contract now using your palm print and you
shall receive one thousand taels as upfront payment for the first two months
of your service!"
The monthly income of an average machetemen does not go above a hundred

taels and one with a little reputation could earn up to two or three hundred
taels per month. The fee offered by the Horned Dragon Society could get
them top class machetemen.
The taels of silver from the opened trunks shone brightly and the crowd who
stood behind let out sounds of appreciation. Everyone seemed to want to pick
up a machete and endorse the contract on the spot.
It just so happened that the 20 over machetemen standing opposite remained

silent, as if none of them had witnessed these temptations.
Fifth Young Master Meng was a little shocked and looked dissatisfyingly at
the servant at his side. The servant also started to feel a little anxious and
walked to the front of the machetemen. "Boss Tuo, these are your men. Let us
hear whether you agree to these terms or not."
Tuo Nengya tilted his body and shifted all of his body weight onto his left
leg. He said unhurriedly, "There's still one more hirer. Let's see what his offer
is like."
"Hey, Boss Tuo, you best not be too cocky. This here is Fifth Young Master
Meng, not a landlord from the South City. You don't get to bargain."
Meng Mingshi stepped in, "No hurry, let's follow what Boss Tuo says. Slave
Huan, how much do you plan to offer?"
Gu Shenwei did a quick mental calculation: Five hundred taels per person for
each month for 23 machetemen, that would amount to over 10 thousand taels
a month and over four hundred thousand taels of silver over three years. Even
if he used that bit of inheritance from Tie Hanfeng, he would still not have
enough. The 20 thousand taels of silver from the Golden Roc Fort was an
inadequate measure. Furthermore, he had already spent a substantial amount
of it.
However, there was always a way to get some money in the South City. Once
the team of machetemen was formed up under the banner of the Golden Roc
Fort, the money would start to flow in successfully.
"The same conditions," said Gu Shenwei, while noticing that there were
people coming in from the outside of the forest and gathering around. They
seemed to be following the commotion but this was after midnight and only
someone with a motive would have gone to the Rouge Forest for a walk.
Fifth Young Master Meng had come prepared and Gu Shenwei knew he had
been caught unawares and fallen into a trap. He made it seem as if he was
loosening his stiff legs and walked forward by two steps, getting closer to
Meng Mingshi, getting ready to hold him hostage.
"I'll double it to a thousand taels of silver!" Shouted Meng Mingshi

emotionally while lifting his head high, as if competing with Heaven. He did
not notice the actions of the young slave.
The many lackeys who had come along with Fifth Young Master Meng were
shocked when they heard his offer. The retainer for the upcoming Machete
God was 10 thousand taels of silver, yet these normal machetemen who were
not getting any younger could earn a thousand taels of silver every month.
Comparatively, they stood to earn even more than the Machete God annually.
There was silence throughout the forest and it was only after a while that
people started to shout their approval, followed by cheers from the crowd at
the same time. It was as if Fifth Young Master Meng had won the Machete
God Contest.
The servant turned his palms to the sky and looked as if he had nothing to
say. With this offer, any other type of persuasion would seem like a cheap
deal.
Tuo Nengya did not change his expression. He did not even blink once. He
turned his sight to the young killer from the Golden Roc Fort.
"Five hundred taels, no more." Gu Shenwei planned to wind it up in this

manner. He placed no importance on face and could let the Meng family get
all the glory. All he wanted was practical benefits.
After winning so easily, Meng Mingshi felt lost. If he had known that it
would be so easy, he would not have increased the offer by so much. "Tell
your master, she wins in a knife fight, but if she wants to enter into a contest
of riches with the Meng Family, we have never lost before…"
Fifth Young Master Meng had prepared a huge victory speech to humiliate
Slave Huan. After saying a few lines of it, he was interrupted by the
insensible servant. "Fifth Master, Fifth Master…"
"What is it?" Meng Mingshi roared while turning to face the servant. The
servant nearly fell onto the floor and looked like a dog in trouble with its
master, his knees shaking. "He shook his head", the servant said.
"Who?" Gu Shenwei asked.
The servant pointed reluctantly and looked as if he had many questions left
unanswered and that he was indignant as a result.
Tuo Nengya met Fifth Young Master Meng's gaze and shook his head slowly.
"Apologies, Fifth Master, we choose killer Yang Huan."
Meng Mingshi was like most children from rich families - being pampered
from young, they were not accustomed to rejection. To counter Slave Huan
he has planned beforehand, but now he faced unexpected mishappenings and
did not know how to react all of a sudden. He started to rage and showed his
true colors. "You dare to go against me, you bunch of old fools? If you wish
to call this dog-like slave as your master, then go face your death along with
him!"
Meng Mingshi turned and looked to leave. A row of men came out from the
crowd and drew their machetes. The lackeys left the scene. It was time for
them to earn glory for Fifth Young Master Meng.
Tuo Nengya held his machete with both hands. The over twenty machetemen
behind him stood in four rows and looked solemnly in preparation for what
was about to happen.
Gu Shenwei shifted his body slightly to the front and let his Internal Breath
fill his entire body, getting ready to capture Fifth Young Master Meng alive.
Whatever Tuo Nengya's motivation for his choice was, they were now in the
same boat.
Just as the bloodshed was about to start, a shout of "Halt" came from the
crowd. A youthful master clad entirely in white came out of the crowd,
holding a paper fan even on that cold day. He did not look to be from the
Meng's residence but a master with some significant background.
"Everyone is here to do business, not to make enemies or kill. I have an idea

to satisfy both parties."
Meng Mingshi was slightly more courteous towards the master in white. He
made a symbol of respect by wrapping one palm over the other fist and said,
"Since Marquis Gao has an idea, it's all for the best. I don't wish to be
demanding but these machetemen are obviously in cahoots with that slave,
they plan to make me lose face in front of everyone."
White-clad Marquis Gao grinned and opened his fan, waving it twice by
habit, then closing it. "I heard that skilled machetemen bargain and choose
their master, Boss Tuo would rather earn less than accept the invitation from
the Horned Dragon Society, perhaps because he feels that the Society doesn't
have any skilled martial artist and that would result in many dangers to come
in the future. What I have in mind is, why don't we send someone from the
Horned Dragon Society out for a round of competition with Yang Huan? The
winner has the right to be Boss Tuo's master. Don't you think?"
Meng Mingshi accosted himself silently. How could he have thrown all this
earlier plans to the wind? He changed to an expression of big-heartedness.
"Yes, yes, what's the point in having everyone involved in a mass fight, isn't
there a Machete of Blood Contest? Since the bonfire is still burning, let's
continue the Contest!"
No one asked for the opinion of the young killer and Boss Tuo.
Marquis Gao stepped aside and a youth wearing a purple cape came forward
from behind his back.
This youth was very tall and stood above everyone. His body was well-
proportioned and did not look bulky in the least bit. His steps were steady and
he generated the power for each step from the hips, keeping the upper torso
still.
"Ye Silang!" Someone shouted this name out.
"Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang!" Someone added another two words in front of

the name.
Ye Silang removed his cape and threw it to one of his followers.
The youth wore leather pants and was naked from the waist up. His muscles
looked shiny like metal tools that had been ground before. There was not a
single scar on him. A sword hung from his waist and its length was
proportional to his body. In comparison, Gu Shenwei's sword was a long
dagger.
Gu Shenwei had seen the swordsman from the Great Snowmountain before
and knew that those people wielded a sword like a machete. Ye Silang was a
true swordsman, the first swordsman Gu Shenwei had met.
He recalled what his Master Shifu Tie Hanfeng had said before, "One who
wields a sword is either a brainless idiot or a deity."
Ye Silang looked like a god, a flawless god.

Chapter 153 - The Swordsman
Chapter 153: The Swordsman
Gu Shenwei unconsciously held on to his sword shaft. He had two types of

weapons on his waist sash - a machete and a sword. The machete was used
for cover and the sword was the most suitable as a killer's blade. Due to the
sudden appearance of a highly skilled opponent, he had forgotten his role as a
killer of the Golden Roc Fort and as such should be better versed in the arts
of using a machete instead.
Most existing sword crafts could be considered as fanciful and were pleasing
to the eye but of no practical use. Therefore, in the merciless and real jianghu,
swordsmen were never the mainstream but they were never lacking of skill.
There were always some of them who possessed god-like swordsmanship and
ranked high above other martial artists. Ye Silang was one of them.
Ye Siling never liked to speak and had dedicated his life to his sword, hence
he was known as the "Sacrificial Sword".
He was just like those who were obssessed with a certain art or skill and were
in a world of their own and were only willing to spend the least amount of
effort to handle 'disturbances' outside of their focus. To Ye Silang, other than
swords and opponents, any other individuals or concerns were nothing in his
eyes.
The killing intent he gave out was different from others and Gu Shenwei
could feel the slight difference of it. This was someone who was getting tired
of his own life and would give no second thought to killing others, without
the usual accompanying fear or excitement - just killing as it is.
Gu Shenwei held on to his sword shaft tightly. He did not know if it was
because there were too many people that had caused disturbances resulting in
him being unable to sense his opponents 'energy flowing through all living
things'. That was the point of attack as mentioned in the Death Scripture .
Ye Siling was not as calm as he appeared on the surface. He held on to his

sword shaft as well and studied this youthful killer from where he stood
amongst the crowd. The youth seemed as normal as any other macheteman,
weak and foolish, yet when he was about to draw his sword, his aura changed
suddenly into that of another person.
Where was his killing intent? Ye Siling could not understand it. When the
youth was in the entaglement with Fifth Young Master Meng, he
occasionally let off some killing intent, yet now there was none - only steady,
continuous breaths. The youth's Internal Breath had spread across all nerves
and tendons across his body and was one with this sword. This was obviously
a stance from which he could kill in a blow, yet there was no killing intent
from him.
The two of them had yet to draw their swords but only a sense of trepidation
grew in each of them. Both viewed of this accidental duel as the first tough
fight of their lives.
The time taken as they faced off was not considered long and Meng Mingshi
was just pulled aside by Marquis Gao away from the danger. The onlookers
also just jostled for the best positions, ready to watch the deadly spectacle.
Should he kill? Would his sword craft be exposed? It did not matter to Gu
Shenwei anymore, his will was all concentrated on the youthful swordsman.
Tuo Nengya still played the role of the disruptor. On this night, he seemed to
have wanted not for Fifth Young Master Meng to have his fun. He came
forward again, walked to the middle of where the two swordsmen were
facing off and shook his head, "I have not agreed, what are the two of you
fighting for?"
This time, the person who felt his position was undermined was Marquis
Gao. He kept his paper fan in a flurry and said, "Boss Tuo, you are also
someone of experience in the jianghu, do you really not know the rules?"
Tuo Nengya sighed, and twenty over machetemen formed ranks and marched
forward, blocking the path of the youthful killer.
"Boss Tuo is old and only wishes to find a dependable master. Fifth Young
Master Meng and Marquis Gao, it's not that I do not like riches, but the
Horned Dragon Society has just been set up and is highly ambitious. Why do
you need to hire machetemen with one foot in the grave like us lot? I do not
wish to hold both of you masters up and we dare not take on your offer.
Thanks for the love from both masters and please let us old men off."
The machetemen from Tuo Nengya's gang were about forty or so years old,
and were not young but could not be considered as too old either. By de-
valuing himself, he wished to settle the crisis happening in front of him
peacefully.
Meng Mingshi and Marquis Gao had brought many machetemen with them
along with the master swordsman Ye Silang, therefore they were naturally
unafraid of Tuo Nengya. However, their objective was Slave Huan and did
not wish to be involved in a mass brawl.
While the two of them were hesitating, Ye Silang suddenly let go of his
sword shaft and walked to Marquis Gao's side, saying a few words closely
into his ear. Marquis Gao's immediately smiled slightly after his face
twitched a little. He said, "The ways of the world have changed, even piles of
silver cannot hire a bunch of old men. Since Boss Tuo has made his choice of
a better master, we can only know our position and desist."
A confrontation was thus reduced to nothing and both Tuo Nengya and Gu
Shenwei were deeply shocked. Meng Mingshi and the men he brought were
also clueless, but since Marquis Gao had already spoken, none dared to
oppose him. They could only leave the Rouge Forest, feeling let down after
all the excitement. Fifth Young Master Meng ran up to the side of Marquis
Gao and Ye Silang and breathlessly fished for the reason in a soft voice.
Only when the old machetemen and youthful killer were left in the forest,
Tuo Nengya turned to face his new master and bowed in respect. The twenty
over machetemen also did likewise.
Gu Shenwei accepted the gesture serenely and brought the machetemen back
to the South City. When it was just before dawn, he brought them in the
manor he had rented for the Tenth Young Master.
Bigmouth Liu woke early and had a shock when he saw Tuo Nengya and the
gang. He hurriedly pulled his youthful superior to a side and asked what was
going on - these machetemen were originally hired by the eldest Young
Master, how could they work for the Tenth Young Master now?
Gu Shenwei stuck to his views and ordered Bigmouth Liu to bring the
accountant and documentation officer. A contract was drawn up and endorsed
and all procedures were completed.
23 armed men were hired and within the Golden Roc Fort they were known
as machetemen. Yang Huan was only their chief but their real master was the
Tenth Young Master who had yet to return.
After everything was done, Gu Shenwei requested for Bigmouth Liu to

summon all the employees in the manor.
"Take him." After everyone was present, Gu Shenwei gave the order.
The machetemen who had just signed their contract were eager to contribute
and straight away two of them came forward and pressed Bigmouth Liu, who
was fast turning green, into a kneeling position on the floor.
Bigmouth Liu could not control his shock and disbelief, " Y-you, what are
you doing? Slave Huan, Yang Huan, you do not call the shots here."
"As the Tenth Young Master is not around, I make the decisions here," Gu
Shenwei said in a cold manner.
"Even so, you cannot act heedlessly, what are you arresting me for?"
"For communicating with the enemy, passing information to them in secret

and for betraying the Tenth Young Master."
"I didn't, don't you make false accusations about me." Bigmouth Liu was still
adamantly sticking to his side of the story.
Gu Shenwei signaled to the machetemen to let Bigmouth Liu go and spoke
more peacefully, "I know, in your eyes, the Meng family and the Stone Castle
are allies, therefore how could they be enemies to you? You divulged my
whereabouts to others mindlessly and without malice."
Bigmouth Liu's face was totally red. "It wasn't me, you were walking about in
the forest, so many saw that, how could you say it was me?"
Gu Shenwei looked at the butler without saying a word. Bigmouth Liu knew
that he had slipped his tongue - Gu had not mentioned the Rouge Forest but
he himself said "in the forest". His face turned white as a sheet again and
hung his head down. "I could have said a little casually, which was passed on
the Meng clan. However, I did not meet the Fifth Young Master or betray
you."
Once "Fifth Young Master" came out of his mouth, everything was proved
true. Gu Shenwei drew his saber and said, "How could somebody as talkative
as you be fit to work as a butler for a killer?"
Bigmouth Liu turned green again but did not believe Slave Huan would dare
to kill him - he was a butler designated by the Stone Castle and not some
nobody hired from the streets hired to do menial work by this slave. "Only
the Tenth Young Master can sentence me."
Gu Shenwei pushed his saber into Bigmouth Liu's chest right up to the hilt.
"This is the sentence of the Tenth Young Master." He then watched till no
more blood spurted out from Bigmouth Liu's mouth, drew out the saber from
his body and returned it to its scabbard after wiping it clean. He then said to
the servants, "Throw it outside of the castle walls."
The servants hurriedly came forward and clumsily removed the corpse. After
this incident they all knew that if they wished to work in this manor, they had
to keep their mouth shut as if they were mute.
Gu Shenwei summoned Tuo Nengya alone to one of the houses and

questioned him about the background of Marquis Gao and Ye Silang.
Marquis Gao's real name was Gao Zhen. He was a true Marquis and it was
just that he had left his homeland for the Jade City many years ago, bringing
with him uncountable treasures and wealth which were enough to last for
many years to come. He had a vast network and was one of the notable young
masters of the South City. Tuo Nengya believed that there was an eighty or
ninety percent chance that the mastermind of the Horned Dragon Society was
Marquis Gao, or at least he was one of the masterminds behind it. As for
Fifth Young Master Meng, he was young and incapable and most likely just a
moneybag.
Ye Silang came from a more complicated background. He seemed to have

royal blood but the rumor was never confirmed. Many years ago he had
become the disciple of many famous martial artists and even entered the
Golden Roc Fort to learn machete techniques. In the end, he switched to
learning swordsmanship seven years ago and when he returned to the Jade
City three years ago he was already an accomplished top level martial artist.
Many machetemen who had come to challenge him had fallen under his
sword.
"No one has been able to defeat him in a duel," Tuo Nengya said as he swept
his eyes across the sword hanging at the waist of his chief. Ye Silang had
unexpectedly cowered because of this sword, something weird which was
unheard of. Yet this youth still lied to say that he did not know sword craft.
Gu Shenwei did not intend to provide any explanation for this matter. In fact,
he needed the other party's explanation to a greater extent.
"You wish to take revenge for the eldest Young Master." Gu Shenwei
changed the topic of conversation suddenly and went straight to the point. He
was very clear that only a certain type of person would forego one thousand
taels for five hundred of silver a month: a person bent on taking revenge.
"If a killer does not take revenge for his master, why would a macheteman
bother?" Tuo Nengya looked unmoved.
"A killer does not have feelings, but a macheteman always repays kindness
with kindness and a grievance with revenge."
Tuo Nengya mentioned before that he served the eldest Yong Master
Shangguan Chui because he owed him a favor. He said thoughtfully, "10 over
years ago, I had just come to the Jade City and a killer from the Stone Castle
raped my wife and even killed her. I found him after a year and killed him in
revenge. This killer was hired by the eldest Young Master. He did not kill me
over this incident and even offered me to take over the killer's place. I
rejected his offer and the eldest Young Master did not get angry. Just like
this, after 10 years, he was hiring machetemen and I brought my brothers to
work under him. Therefore, I owe him a favor and hate him to the core.
Because of him, I can never get my revenge on Stone Castle."
The youth looked at the old macheteman. There was the same form of hatred
in them but they were two different people, walking two different paths to
seek their revenge. There was no gratitude in the youth's heart and he would
not stop killing for anyone.
"No matter what, without me, you and your men are not allowed to come
near the Tenth Young Master alone. I always strike early and never wait till
after things are over to take revenge."
"Hey, " laughed Tuo Nengya. "Seems you are not an easy chief to handle."
That afternoon, Gu Shenwei and Tuo Nengya returned to the Rouge Forest
and hired another 28 machetemen at a monthly rate of two hundred taels of
silver. There were now a total of 51 men gathered and enough to form what
Tuo Nengya describes as "the Invincible Machete Formation".
Gu Shenwei purposely selected men not familiar to Boss Tuo to prevent the
old macheteman from consolidating his own power. Tuo Nengya took it all in
stride and never said a word in opposition.
The next morning, Gu Shenwei returned to the Stone Castle and invited the
Tenth Young Master to come down the mountain.
This tiny killer organisation had to make money fast as the 20 thousand taels
of silver left would scarcely be able to pay for a month of expenses and
salaries. Gu Shenwei did not wish to make use of his Master Shifu's
inheritance at such an early stage.
Chapter 154 - Starting Gang Wars
Chapter 154: Starting Gang Wars
Gradually, residents of Jade City began to refer to Shangguan Ru and her

killers as the "Kun Society". Even Master Ru herself did not know who
invented this name, however, as this name was already widely known, she
had no choice but to accept it.
Everyone in the city was looking forward to seeing how the Tenth Young
Master of the Golden Roc Fort would compete with the Fifth Young Master
of the Meng clan. Many thought at first that it would be a good show.
As the animosity between Shangguan Ru and Meng Mingshi had built up to a

very high level, everyone believed that the Kun Society and the Horned
Dragon Society would start a gang war very soon. Gu Shenwei did not spare
any effort to make matters worse.
Once he was back at the Stone Castle, he gave a detailed debrief to the Tenth
Young Master about the incident over the hiring of machetemen in the Rouge
Forest. Shangguan Ru expectedly was furious and wished that she was
present at the scene, so that she could personally teach a lesson to that
devious scoundrel from the Meng clan who had betrayed her. She felt that
under these circumstances, the killing of Bigmouth Liu was justified.
However, because of Lady Meng's objection, Shangguan Ru could not even

leave Golden Roc Fort now. The Lady was still worried about the 'evil spirit'
in her daughter's body and forbade her from entering South City. Although
Shangguan Ru had not had any outbreaks recently, no one was able to
confirm that the spirit had been totally removed.
Shangguan Ru had waited for many years to be completely independent and

naturally did not want to be restricted. Mother and daughter had a quarrel
over this issue.
In the end, Gu Shenwei came up with a solution. He offered Shangguan Ru

Tie Hanfeng's residence at North City as her base camp. It was close to South
City and was a convenient command center for her to direct her killers and
machetemen.
The level of safety at the North City was only slightly lower than that at the
Golden Roc Fort and many times higher than that of the South City.
Eventually Lady Meng agreed.
Shangguan Yushi kept finding faults with Slave Huan's work. Firstly, she
complained that it took too long to hire the machetemen and that Shangguan
Fei's team had already long been formed up. Then it was criticism directed at
Huan Slave that he only managed to hire old machetemen who were previous
of the eldest Young Master. Lastly she devalued the manor at the North City,
saying that it was too small and unfit for someone of the Tenth Young
Master's stature.
Shangguan Ru was not so fussy and was satisfied with everything. On the
first day after leaving the mountain, she summoned all of the machetemen.
51 machetemen entered the North City empty handed and presented

themselves in the yard (which was not too wide), for their new master's
inspection. They demonstrated a few formations.
Shangguan Ru's performance proved that she was indeed the Supreme King's
daughter. She had an air of authority yet meanwhile still appeared to be
approachable. Her time at the Iron Mountain camp taught her numerous
techniques of socialising with adult men. Hence, after a contest of machete
skills, drinking a round of good wine and playing two rounds of dice with
them, even those machetemen who despised women the most were impressed
and pledged their lifelong allegiance to the Tenth Young Master in a drunken
stupor.
After partying for three days, the machetemen returned to the South City
along with five killers. Only five remained at the North City, and the Tenth
Young Master now had to consider the real problem of survival.
According to the rules of the Golden Roc Fort, a young master would only
receive 20,000 taels of silver during his or her first year of independence. If
they wanted to earn more money, they had to expand their business in South
City. They would have to start from the ground up, but there were tried-and-
tested ways to do it.
The first method was to collect protection money. There were many
merchants in the South City and everyone of them had to look for one or
multiple protectors. The only problem was that most merchants in the city
already had people protecting them and there were not many new merchants.
If the Kun Society wished for a share of the pie, it would not be easy.
The second was to provide bodyguard and armed escort services. This was a
field facing intense competition, and the main rival would be the Golden Roc
Fort. Fortunately, there were many cargo owners who were keen on cost
savings. Besides, as Tie Hanfeng's disciple, Gu Shenwei could easily get
some orders from the merchants in the southwestern area of South City.
The third choice was entering the assassination business, which had once
been Golden Roc Fort's main source of income, but now hit jobs were few
and far between. Take Shangguan Ru for instance, even she herself did not
understand the inner workings of how the business was run.
Shangguan Yushi spent all of her effort on the Tenth Young Master and
naturally left the lowly task of earning money to Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei requested for Maid Lotus, three other killers and the 51
machetemen to follow him. Thus, he began the tough task of setting up
business.
There was now a good opportunity up for grabs in the South City. After
Shangguan Chui was killed, his Outer Hall organization was disbanded and
those merchants under the protection of the Young Master were looking
everywhere for new protectors.
These merchants were from all types of industries and spread out across the
South City.
The Kun Society entered this market a little late as most of the merchants had
already found new protectors. Gu Shenwei did not give up because of this.
He got a list of merchants from Tuo Nengya and found out about the standard
rates for protection money from the Xu siblings. After he was sure of how to
do it, he began bringing his men to visit each merchant to establish contact.
Some of the merchants wanted to maintain the peace. They were willing to
pay for extra protection but demanded a significant discount. Others refused
to accept the Kun Society's protection and asked them to talk with their new
backing.
Most of the time, these new protectors were the Horned Dragon Society.
Gu Shenwei delined to offer the merchants any discount. He only told all the
merchants peacefully that Shangguan Chui's business should be given back to
Golden Roc Fort and the only people who were eligible to take these business
over were the Ninth Young Master and the Tenth Young Master.
He was waiting for a suitable opportunity to showcase his ability.
The chance came soon and the location was at the Blacksmith Village at the
side of the city.
The shops in the Blacksmith Village were the most important assets of the
eldest Young Master. After Shangguan Chui's death, the blacksmiths did not
immediately look for new protectors, and as a result both of the twins came
here looking for opportunities.
This was the first direct confrontation between the Kun Society and the
Horned Dragon Society. At first, the machetemen from each side egged each
on the tested each other. When they realized that neither side would back
down, they started fighting and there were multiple injuries as a result.
This caused the blacksmiths to be displeased as these small confrontations

greatly affected their business. They grouped together and elected a few
representatives who presented themselves to the leaders of both groups,
requesting to set a time for both groups to face off in a duel, the winner of
which would be the recipient of the protection money from the Blacksmith
Village.
This seemed to be a reasonable suggestion and therefore on an afternoon

where snowflakes floated all over the air, the decisive duel of over a hundred
machetemen begun.
Gu Shenwei and the other killers listened to the advice of Tuo Nengya and
looked from the outside without intefering. This was the first duel consisting
purely of machetemen which they saw and they realized it was of a different
flavor compared to that of killers.
Tuo Nengya brought only over 30 machetemen with him and the opponent
had an obvious numerical advantage - they had over 70 men.
They did not act like killers who concealed their true skills while looking to
kill in a single blow but rather like two groups of theatrical performers - there
were people calling out their opponents and making loud noises, people
throwing things and people making various taunts and humiliating gestures.
From early morning till mid-day, both sides only sent out three to four pairs
to duel with win and loss for each round. There was no one dead from the
duels.
When it came to meal time, both groups dispersed to eat and the more
experienced hawkers had already carried their dumplings and noodles over
for sale, waiting outside the Blacksmith Village. The machetemen ate with
glee and there were even men from opposing sides sitting together chatting
happily. This scene did not seem to come from a duel but rather a temple fair.
In the afternoon, as the snow started to fall heavily, machetemen from both
sides gathered again and re-enacted the scene from earlier in the morning.
Finally, just as dusk approached, the duel began.
The fight lasted for an hour and spotches of red were left behind on the snow
covered ground. The sounds of kiling shook the heavens and the blacksmiths
put down their tools and watched at their doorsteps, pointing out
intermittently which weapon in which brave macheteman's hand were crafted
from their shops.
Tuo Nengya proved his worth and his thirty over machetemen formed ranks
and attacked or retreated with discipline, proving more than a match for the
oppenent who were fighting without any form of cohesion. After a few
rounds of fighting, the machetemen from the Horned Dragon Society were
routed and fled.
What left the biggest impression on Gu Shenwei was that although a

substantial amount of blood was spilled by both sides, not one person was
dead.
The entire thing was like a farce but Tuo Nengya explained to his youthful
chief afterwards, "Machetemen are out to make a living, if they can manage
to not make enemies they would, today's enemy could be yesterday's
neighbour, tomorrow they could serve the same master, so why should they
put their lives on the line? But we also have our basic rules, that is wins are
won by ability alone and the winner normally would spare the loser's life,
while the loser would know his place and leave the scene of the fight."
Kun Society's reputation grew greatly after they secured the Blacksmith
Village. Many merchants that originally belonged to the eldest Young Master
now were willing to switch allegiance to the Tenth Young Master. Gu
Shenwei immediately faced another problem which had nothing to do with
the Horned Dragon Society but caused by the elder twin brother of the Tenth
Young Master, Shangguan Fei.
As the twins had set up their killer teams at the same time, something which
was unprecendented in the history of the Golden Roc Fort, a fight over their
elder brother's interitance could not be avoided.
This matter was settled personally by Shangguan Ru. She invited her elder
brother to the North City manor and negotiated seriously with him. As usual,
she won hands down and Shangguan Fei was so angry that he nearly cried.
After throwing a useless tantrum, he flung his hands and left. The result was
still giving away much of the benefits to his sister.
At the end of the month, Gu Shenwei had gathered enough taels of silver to
pay the salaries of his employees but the capital of 20 thousand taels of silver
he originally held was still reduced. Of the merchants who originally were
under the protection of the eldest Young Master, only 20 to 30 percent
switched their allegiance to the Tenth Young Master and they also found all
sorts of excuses to reduce the protection fee given. After some calculation,
Gu Shenwei found that he could only collect 10 thousand taels of silver or so
each month, which was not enough to cover his costs.
As the end of the year drew near, an atmosphere of peace came over the Jade
City. The confrontation between the Kun Society and Horned Dragon Society
were all small fights and arguments so far and residents within and outside
the city treated it as a show. Gu Shenwei had always wanted to stir up a huge
fight but there was never a suitable excuse for it.
Entering the twelve month of the lunar calendar, the excuse presented itself.
The Xu siblings had loyally carried out their duties of listening out for
information and although most of it were of no value, they kept at it happily.
Gu Shenwei had also offered them encouragement all along. Finally, there
was one day where Xu Xiaoyi brought a piece of news to Gu Shenwei which
stirred his interest: There was a change of manager at the Southwall Tavern.
The new manager did not look like he came from the South City and the
siblings had never heard of him. However many who kept money with
Shopkeeper Lyu had received advance notice and went to meet the new
manager to fix the amount. It was said that Shopkeeper Lyu would from now
on take on a role behind the scenes and move to the North City to live a life
of luxury.
Xu Xiaoyi had especially sharp ears and had heard of this news three days
earlier. Gu Shenwei knew immediately that something was amiss. He knew
that this show of changing managers was most likely aimed at him and while
at first he wanted to bring his machetemen and killers over as a show of
force, he had a new idea suddenly.
The next day morning, he went to the North City to see the Tenth Young
Master. Firstly he gave a clear report on the financial situation and stated that
they were still making a loss every month. As a solution, he wanted to
contribute his Master Shifu's inheritance to the funds.
Shangguan Ru was shocked and Shangguan Yushi was skeptical, but in the
end still accepted this offer of goodwill and loyalty from Slave Huan and
insisted on calling it as a loan.
Ten days later, after the new manager of the Southwall Tavern had taken over
his post for a few days but Gu Shenwei had not received any notice to ratify
his funds, he decided to go to get his money.
Because of these 300 over thousand taels of silver, the Kun Society and the
Horned Dragon Society had their first confrontation which resulted in many
deaths. The citizens of the Jade City who were preparing to welcome the New
Year suddenly realized that the game was now turning into a tragedy.
Chapter 155 - To Yield
Chapter 155: To Yield
Gu Shenwei went to the Southwall Tavern three times in a row before

holding Master Shifu's money firmly in his hands. He thus added a large
source of income to the Kun Society.
This time, Gu Shenwei went alone. The new shopkeeper received the teen
warmly and after some pleasantries, expressed that he wasn't familiar yet
with the shop's operations. About the money of Tie Hanfeng, he had to
consult the old shopkeeper and ask Gu Shenwei to come again another
evening to resolve this matter when there weren't so many guests in the shop.
The second time, Gu Shenwei went alone again. However, Maid Lotus and
four other killers followed him in the dark. Machetemen gathered in the
streets outside the tavern, awaiting their orders while drinking.
The new shopkeeper was even more polite than before. However, after much
toasting and pandering which went on for about half an hour, he admitted
sheepishly that the old shopkeeper had left the tavern to tend to urgent
matters. He had not seen him, and implored Master Yang to wait another day.
Gu Shenwei accepted this explanation. He left the tavern but did not retrieve
his sword. That two watchmen was also not in sight. The streets were covered
with a pall of darkness, and in the distance, there were sounds of a drunkard's
wretching. When he turned around, the door of the tavern had already been
locked firmly from the inside.
The next moment, one couldn't say for sure how many youths jumped out
from different directions. They were all masked, carrying weapons of
different varieties. They spoke not a word and rushed at the teen standing at
the door. Their murderous postures towards a fellow killer showed that this
was not a friendly battle at all.
A fist was also a weapon. Gu Shenwei did not stay put at the door. He rushed
into the thickness of the action instead, using his fists to strike out at any
person or thing he bumped into.
He liked to fight. After doing so many tasks for the money, and demanding,
collecting and counting money, he's finally gotten to chance to vent his anger.
But the price for venting his anger was high, and after he'd smashed the jaws
of two machetemen, he was struck by a knife in the back.
As a killer, defence has always been his weakness. After honing his
swordcraft skills using the Death Scriptures , attacking without defense had
even become his prowess and signature trait.
Hence, if it weren't for the timely rescue of Maid Lotus and the others, Gu
Shenwei might have died with his enemies.
That blow from the killer's knife altered the situation in their favor. And they
certainly expected help to arrive on Gu Shenwei's side. More machetemen
emerged from the darkness. Their footsteps melted the snow on the ground.
The five killers fought, retreating as they did at the same time. At the gap in
the city's walls, they were wholly surrounded.
Gu Shenwei took out a cow's horn from his bosom. He blew a signal of
distress. The cow's horn was one of the necessary items of Tuo Nengya and
he had taught the teenage chief how to use it.
The 50 machetemen put down their wine cups. In the blink of an eye, they
had lined up neatly on the city streets. In small running steps, they reached
the gap in the city wall in no time, and shouting in unison, joined the battle
group.
Tuo Nengya had once claimed that the formation of 50 machetemen was
simply unparalleled in Golden Roc Fort. He wasn't bragging. Rows of sabers
flashed, and fresh blood spewed everywhere. Limbs were flailing in the air
and terrible screams punctuated the night sky continuously, spreading all the
way to North City.
As long as someone gave the green light, machetemen could too, kill.
The killing spree was like a barrel of fine wine and all the people who
gathered nearby were drunk in the scene. The injured machetemen did not
retreat as a result, but become more fired up to kill. This was a battle wherein
it was difficult to distinguish who was friend or foe. Participants only had a
single thought- to cut down anything that was moving.
Before rushing to the opening in the city wall, the formation had been cut to
half, and almost 200 people had been thrown into disorder.
The massacre aroused the fearlessness of the groups, which left as fast as it
came. Many realized at the same time how senseless it was to fight so hard.
They threw their knives and ran, cursing their enemies and master in their
hearts at the same time.
Gu Shenwei was carried back to his residence. In the scuffle of the crowd,
there was no place even for the most powerful macheteskills. Morning the
next day, Gu Shenwei was however, already able to walk. Apart from a
minor scar on his face, there was no visible injury on his body.
Maid Lotus and four other killers were also wounded, but not seriously.
There were seven killers who were killed, and 30 others who were injured.
Casualties on the enemy's side were even greater. About twenty were dead
and countless others injured.
Tuo Nengya visited the young chief on his own. He solemnly made his
request: "If fights in the future are going to be like this, I'll need to increase
manpower. A defence of knives isn't everything. To protect the merchants all
over in the South City, this measure is wholly inadequate."
Tuo Nengya was an old fox, he was keenly aware that this ambush could only
be the beginning of a more cruel fight. Once you've entered into the thick of a
zero-sum war, stakeholders armed with the financial resources would become
the most crucial battlefield.
Just as residents of the South City were busying with stocking on goods for
the new year, Kun Society and the Horned Dragon Society had begun their
fight for territory. The rules of goodwill between machetemen had been
broken and the dead became a daily sight. But even if corpses became a sight
people got used to, fear never failed to strike their hearts still. No one could
be assured that they would not see a street devoid of carnage when they
pushed open their doors in the morning.
You could only hire machetemen when you've got money. More machetemen
meant higher chances of winning. On this point, the Kun Society was at a
clear disadvantage. Hence, Tie Hanfeng's hundreds of thousands of taels
became crucial at this time.
Gu Shenwei went to the Southwall Tavern the third time. The shopkeeper and
his counterjumpers were all missing. Gu Shenwei first went to the house that
stored weapons to look for his own sword. Later, he ordered machetemen to
seal up all the articles in the store, especially the most precious wines.
He treated the tavern as his base camp. And he scheduled for a public auction
three days later of all the fine wines. He let this news be spread, and if
Shopkeeper Lyu did not tend to his matter, this would well be South City's
last batch of fine wine in a few years. This news caused the prices of wine to
skyrocket and many came to buy the precious wines in advance.
On the night before the auction, Shopkeeper Lyu, who was enjoying himself
in the North City showed up. His customary expression of calmness had
vanished. In tears, he complained that he had been cheated. The new
shopkeeper was a villain and had used the Southwall Tavern to harm its most
important customer.
Gu Shenwei felt there was no need to call Shopkeeper Lyu's bluff. He thus
came up with conditions promptly. Shopkeeper Lyu agreed to each and
everyone of them. Thereafter, Southwall Tavern would only accept the
protection of Kun Society. All of its possessions would also be guarded by
the Tenth Young Master. Whereas in the past it would pay Stone Castle and
the Meng family, from now on it would only pay a single party.
Southwall Tavern was forced to choose between two powerful parties. This
brought a series of repercussions. Merchants in the South City had always
paid several parties at once. They were unhappy with Kun Society's adamant
attitude. Hence, they imitated Blacksmith Village by sending a representative
to exert pressure on all protectors of the city, no matter how big or small. The
protectors in turn selected their own representative, and expressed concerns
towards the several powerful merchants of Jade City. South City was in
disarray that's for sure, but it was still a fertile ground for business. If
merchants felt their safety compromised, the reputation of Jade City could be
severely affected.
Less than two months after his independence, the Tenth Young Master had
caused such a big stir in the South City. Whether the Supreme King was
happy or angry about this, no one knew. He sent for Second Young Master
and the Meng family, as well as several influential men, and had a private
discussion. Later, he announced that Second Young Master was just a child
playing and no one needed to get worried, as long as no one was killed in the
process.
It was precisely these words that caused the machetemen of South City to die,
their blood flowing like a river. That's because the "lives" in the words of
these powerful men did not include that of the machetemen who were
wandering here.
Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family still established several unwritten
regulations. The key members of Kun Society and the Horned Dragon
Society remained at the North City. They did not engage in the killings down
in the South City. The killing was only limited to men who carried knives,
and nobody was allowed to harass the merchants. The merchants themselves
chose their own guards, and could not, at the same time, engage in the
ongoing struggle between the two societies. As for the tragedy that happened
with an attempted assassination of a killer in Southwall Tavern, they could
only have themselves to blame.
Tuo Nengya was right. The war quickly turned into a fight in the favor of the
merchants.
The enormous value of the old machetemen had been brought into full play.
In terms of gaining the trust of the merchants, Tuo Nengya, who always
carried two scimitars under his belt, was more professional than anyone else.
No matter how fast Gu Shenwei and his group of young killers killed, their
young faces still failed to reassure the old merchants.
Under the banner of the Golden Roc Fort, Tuo Nengya patiently explained to
the merchants thus: "Kun Society was an organisation of the Tenth Young
Master of Golden Roc Fort. It will exist today and will continue to exist in
the future. This was the bread-and-butter of Golden Roc Fort, but what about
the Horned Dragon Society? It was just a plaything that a group of playboys
came up with. Even if it had won this time, no one knows when it might
dissipate when the boys are tired of it. And as stakeholders who are prepared
to stay in the South City for the long haul, which party would you choose to
be your protector?"
With this reasoning, the Ninth Young Master Shangguan Fei was deliberately
left out. It seemed that the only representative of Golden Roc Fort was
Shangguan Ru.
Tuo Nengya persuaded many people but words were not enough. Gu
Shenwei hired many more machetemen. Shangguan Ru sent all his killers to
South City, and even let Shangguan Yushi to helm the force. Together with
Slave Huan, they took care of the killers and the machetemen. When they
clashed with Horned Dragon Society, there were bloody incidents almost
everyday. This reminded the young killers of the slaughters they engaged in
as apprentices and many were excited.
Together with Master Yu, there was a total of 21 killers. They formed five
small teams and went hunting for a famous macheteman from the Horned
Dragon Society. Very soon, the machetemen of the South City passed the
title of the "Machete of Blood" to the young killers.
Gu Shenwei lived a double life. In the morning, he oversaw the machetemen.

In the night, he became a killer. He preferred the latter and hence gradually,
handed most of the machetemen's affairs to Tuo Nengya.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were a team. They made use of this rare
opportunity to practice their sword craft. Even though they argued more and
more over the intricacies of details in the Death Scriptures, this did not affect
their own progress at all.
Gu Shenwei grew increasingly familiar with finding the enemy's inner

flowing energy (qi). From being blindfolded at the start to deliberately
obscuring his sight, he could rise up seeing others in this vision. The key
thing was that he was no longer at the stage of the "merging of all forces" or
at the bottleneck in training his Internal Strength. He felt his swordscraft
could be limitless and everytime he killed someone, he could improve one
step further.
Lotus Maid had reached her limit in increasing her killing intent. It reached a
point where she had to train to hide such intent. Before her opponents felt the
piercing of an electrifying amber sword, they have felt a swelling killing
intent hit them into submission. This happened almost instantaneously after
she drew her sword. They neither cried nor resisted.
The two young killers grew up quietly. Every time after they've killed people,
they had to learn how to hide their wounds. In this way, when everyone's
attention was focused on the great Kun Qiu war, only a few noticed the pair's
transformation.
Finally, one day, Gu Shenwei and Lotus Maid realized that killing normal
machetemen had become meaningless. They needed stronger opponents.
This opportunity presented itself unexpectedly after a strange case of murder.

In fact, one of the Western region's most famous swordsman, Sword
Sacrificer Ye Silang issued an open challenge to the killer Yang Huan.
Chapter 156 - Finding the Murderer
Chapter 156: Finding the Murderer
The way in which Gao Zhen, Marquis Gao had died was rather strange. He
was secretly sneaking into the South City at the height of an intense battle
between the two societies. That was like courting his own death.
Everyone said that the parents of both sides had requested the leaders of the
two societies to not enter the South City. This rule put the Horned Dragon
Society at a disadvantage.
Shangguan Ru was a teenage girl, and was only curious about South City's
tavern, betting arenas and brothels. She had no desire for them. Hence, it was
easier to deal with her. For the young masters of the other party, the story was
different. To them, hiding in the North City felt like imprisonment. Before
long, they had begun to miss the South City's allure and its hustle and bustle.
They became highly agitated, like deers in heat.
The first person who couldn't bear it any longer was Marquis Gao. He
probably thought that the end of the year would be more peaceful and that the
two opposing sides would not arrange any killings. Hence, he only brought
with him a servant. He left the city by heading for the eastern gate. After
going around in a huge circle, from an opening in the city wall, he entered the
South City. He headed straight for a prostitute whom he was familiar with in
Pleasure Alley to have fun.
Eventually, the two individuals died together, realising their dreams of

staying together for eternity. A few experts came to examine the scene of the
event, and agreed that the murder weapon was a sword.
There were few masters who used swords in the whole of Jade City. There
were even fewer who had a feud with Marquis Gao. Hence, his best friend,
Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang announced on New Year's eve that the culprit for
the murder must have been the killer from Kun Society, Yang Huan. He
demanded for a duel on the ninth of the first month of the Lunar Year. It
would be in Rouge Forest.
Marquis Gao was not an ordinary macheteman. As soon as news of his death
spread, Stone Castle sent men to the South City to investigate; and even the
11 young machetemen, Shangguan Yushi included, had to explain where they
were at the time of the crime.
All the five assassination teams were outside searching for information, and
partners of the same team confirmed this, apart from Liuhua. He went about
on his own as always. However, he was only skilled in the longbow arrow.
He knew not how to use the sword, and was only mediocre in his machete
skills. Hence, the biggest suspects were Slave Huan and Maid Lotus.
Both of them had swords. Because of how close they were, their mutual
testimonies could not be believed. At the same time however, there was no
other evidence that could prove that Yang Huan was the killer. Especially on
the topic of whether he knew how to use the sword, no one in Stone Castle
believed that he was really capable of sword skills. If he was really skilled, he
would have appeared at the East Castle long ago. And also, he would not
have been forced into a corner thrice, and been almost killed by Wildhorse in
a monthly killing test.
Ye Silang declared that Yang Huan must be a swordsman from the way he
held his sword. But this saying became highly controversial. Many felt that
Yang Huan had only held his sword hilt that way in Rouge Forest in a fit of
panic. After all, when swords and daggers were mixed together, any
confusion was possible.
However, Horned Dragon Society would not dismiss this case of murder so
easily. The strategist of the society believed that the murderer must have
come from Kun Society. As Kun Society only had two men with swords, the
murderer could only be one of them.
After a heated exchange of two days, Shangguan Ru was incensed. This was
war. Killing people was a usual affair. Since Marquis Gao had entered South
City, killing him would not be flouting the rules. Hence, she agreed to Ye
Silang's challenge.
Gu Shenwei suddenly fell into a dilemma.
He hoped to meet a master to practice his sword skills. However, he wished

even more to do this in private. He had already lied to people in the Fort that
he didn't know how to perform sword craft. And if he wanted to do so now,
his lie would be exposed.
Another option would be to use blades in a duel. The Death Scripture sword
skills and the Golden Fort's machete skills were similar in some instances.
The techniques of using swords could be completely transferrable to the
saber. He usually did this with Maid Lotus. However, Ye Silang was an
expert. In a duel between masters, there was little margin for error and any
could mean death.
Gu Shenwei's speed in using his saber always lagged a little. This scarcely
perceptible difference could cost him his life.
Shangguan Ru was highly confident of Slave Huan's abilities. She had

already accepted the challenge on his behalf. Gu Shenwei had no choice. He
could only go to the North City and cautiously explain to the Tenth Young
Master that he was the killer. But battling in an arena was not his forte.
Just like before, Shangguan Ru was highly enthusiastic about the duel. "Be
rest assured, " she consoled. "I've already thought through this. At the time of
the duel, he'll choose the time but I'll choose the way of the battle. I have a
plan. You won't duel openly but will use the whole of Rouge Forest as your
terrain, just like the duel between you and Wildhorse."
During those years of killing when the apprentices were in training, Slave
Huan and Wildhorse had a single duel. They had hunted each other down in
the midst of the ruins of a house. At the very last moment, the Lord called the
duel to a halt.
Gu Shenwei could only accept such terms. He would not use the sword. This
was also to show how his own sword was only for decorative purpose. Before
entering the Rouge Forest he had to leave his sword outside. With a duel in
this manner, he could at least regain some advantage to make up for
deficiencies in his machete skills.
Maid Lotus brainstormed various means of competing such as hiding the

sword in the forest in advance and hiding it with a saber after killing Ye
Silang.
Gu Shenwei did not agree. First, he felt that this would be discovered too
easily. Second, he did not want the plan to become an emotional crutch. Once
he thought of wanting to get that sword, his will to kill might be completely
diminished.
Dueling become inevitable. Not only the societies, but even all of the
residents of Jade City strongly supported the duel. This fight became a
spectacle for their enjoyment. They also wished however, that the duel taking
place outside the city would end the bloodshed in the city once and for all.
However, suddenly, Ye Silang's revenge became a contest between two

parties. One was a swordsman, and the other a killer who did not admit that
he was a swordsman - they will decide which society was the stronger force
in South City.
The situation developed so rapidly that most people's attention were turned to
the duel on the ninth of the Lunar Year. Even the festivity of the New Year
vanished, let alone the cause of the duel - the death of Marquis Gao.
Gu Shenwei was also completely wrapped up in his thoughts. He only

thought about how to conceal his swordcraft. Only until the third day did he
suddenly realize that this duel was absurd. Both parties should instead, be
focusing their efforts on finding the real murderer.
With such a thought, he immediately thought that Ye Silang was highly

suspicious. Marquis Gao had just died and he was already bent on revenge. It
was as though he wanted to hide something.
Hence, he went to ask around. His findings were puzzling. Ye Silang and
Marquis Gao were as close as brothers. They knew each other for years. One
was skilled in the martial arts, the other in literature. It was clear in Jade City
that there were no conflicts between them. Ye Silang was not lustful. He was
not greedy for money either. He did not come from the same country as
Marquis Gao and so would not have been involved in the same court
struggles. No matter which perspective it was, Ye Silang had no reason to
kill. This was also the very reason why when Marquis Gao died of a sword
wound, no one had suspected Ye Silang.
The logic behind this suspicion was defeated as soon as it had arisen. Gu
Shenwei decided to conduct further investigations.
Shangguan Ru did not understand. "If it's a duel, it's a duel. Why do you need
to help the enemy investigate? To me, it doesn't matter who gets killed. Just
use this opportunity to completely quash the influence of the Horned Dragon
Society."
"That's right. But we need to know who is creating such mischief. This
person wants to fish in troubled waters. We can't let him get away so easily."
Gu Shenwei was an expert in "fishing in troubled waters" and was thus very
alert to this.
Just like that, the duel on the ninth of the first month did not change. Gu
Shenwei attempted to spend the remaining six days finding out the real
murderer and squeezing out time to practise his machete skills, and
familiarizing the terrain of Rouge Forest on top of that. He could hardly
understand why he was so interested to find the truth, but he just couldn't let
the enemy get away scot-free. This was possibly the basic instincts of a killer.
He regarded being in the shadows as his privilege.
In the afternoon of the third day, Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru both went
to seek the commandant Zhong Heng. Because the corpse was already in the
coffin, one could only find the reputable sheriff of Jade City to understand
how Marquis Gao was killed.
Zhong Heng was enthusiastic as usual. Especially towards the Tenth Young
Master, he was even more genteel. He treated her as a master of the Golden
Roc Fort and not as a little girl. This delighted Shangguan Ru and she became
more interested in tracking down the real murderer.
Zhong Heng saw the corpse at the scene of the murder. "The wound is in the
front. The sword pierced the heart. It must have been a sword wound. It's like
this for both victims. The murderer must have been an expert. I'd say that this
isn't the style of Stone Castle."
The two teenagers knew what Commandant Zhong meant. If the culprit was a
killer from Golden Roc Fort, the wound would have been at the back.
However, Gu Shenwei knew that there was a killer from Golden Roc Fort
who pierced the heart out of habit. That was Maid Lotus. But on the day of
the murder, Maid Lotus was with him so she could not have been the culprit.
The doors at the scene of the murder were closely locked. The servants,
maids and elderly woman have not heard anything.
No piece of particularly valuable evidence emerged. When he was about to

leave, Zhong Heng mentioned something that no one noticed. He thought it
wasn't worth mentioning and so left it until now. "Yes, there's something. It
might - or not - be useful. I found a few grains of rice on the bed. The maid
and old woman said they didn't know where it came from. The kitchen is
below. By right the grains could not have come upstairs. But, you know, they
could be… playing games."
The two thanked the commandant. Coming to the broad city streets of the
South City, Shangguan Ru suddenly asked: "What games were they up to?"
"I don't know either. This adult is always so vague." Gu Shenwei's face
turned red. He did not know what these "games" were but he could take a
guess.
Shangguan Ru was confused. Gu Shenwei was worried that she would ask
everyone about it so he only said, "That's a brothel. It's not something good.
It doesn't matter."
Shangguan Ru nodded her head solemnly like someone who was

experienced. But then she walked on and said: "I hear you also have a
brothel."
Gu Shenwei's face turned red and he seemed flustered. He feared someone

would raise this matter. Moreover, Shangguan Ru was only a girl ten over
years old of age. "This is a joke my master came up with in the past."
"South City has so many brothels. There're so many of them even from only
counting those that are under our protection. So it's nothing. It's just a
business."
But Gu Shenwei came to his senses. Shangguan Ru was not an ordinary girl.
She was raised by the Supreme King as a boy. He had made a fool of himself.
"Yes, and we can collect much intelligence from the brothels."
Gu Shenwei warned himself sternly. He had to treat Shangguan Ru as a

Tenth Young Master.
Eventually, the Tenth Young Master surprised Gu Shenwei and caused him
much alarm. "Have you played any games in a brothel?"
"No, not at all."
Gu Shenwei waved his hands back and forth so desperately that he didn't
seem like a killer at all. Shangguan Ru burst out laughing.
Gu Shenwei was enraged. He so desperately desired to find out who the killer
was. It was the only thing on his mind. But here he was getting laughed at by
a little girl.
"Marquis Gao died in a brothel. To find out the truth, we have to make a trip
there."
Shenwei breathed a sigh of relief as the conversation made a turn to his

matter. "Yes, I'll go tomorrow."
"Yes, let's go together."
Gu Shenwei stopped in his tracks, looking at Shangguan Ru in astonishment.

It turned out that bringing the Tenth Young Master to the South City was a
very bad idea.
(Please save and share)

Chapter 157 - The Rice Shop
Chapter 157: The Rice Shop
Shangguan Yushi strongly objected to Tenth Young Master heading to South

City. The death of Marquis Gao was a good example; she would not allow
any chance for Horned Dragon Society to achieve revenge by killing
Shangguan Yushi. Also, she blamed Slave Huan for his instigation.
However, she knew the temper of Shangguan Yushi - strong objection would
not do her well. Hence she asked to go together, along with Wildhorse and
Liuhua.
Gu Shenwei was not happy about this. Although the two Masters saw
themselves as men, they were just girls in people's eyes. Thinking about it, it
was a bit odd for two girls to go investigate in a brothel with three young
killers.
Shangguan Ru refused Yushi and asked her to disguise into a boy by putting
on some make-up.
Early next morning, Slave Huan and the Tenth Young Master set out, while
Shangguan Yushi looked somber.
Walking on the narrow frosty streets in South City, Shangguan Ru took a

deep inhale and said, "Alas, We've finally arrived. Why are there so few
people here? I heard that South City is the busiest city in the realm."
"At night," Gu Shenwei said, looking around vigilantly. They chose to come
here in daylight only to avoid the noisy crowd.
Two machetemen were already waiting outside. They handed Shangguanru

her weapon and the other saber and left.
"Oh," Shangguan Ru tied the saber on her waist, and pointed at the cabin
diagonally across and said, "Is that the brothel?"
"Yup, but not the one we're going to."
On the way to Pleasure Alley, Shangguan Ru was in high spirits and kept
asking questions about almost everything, especially which forces were
behind different businesses. Slave Huan answered as he could because he did
not know everything.
Approaching Pleasure Alley, Shangguan Ru frowned and said, "It turns out
that my Kun Society runs little business here."
The businesses Kun Society had occupied used to be roughly about 40 to 50

percent of elder Young Master's businesses, and dozens of men were killed in
the takeover. 40 to 50 percent was a rather good outcome for them, but was
still poor compared to the other powers in South City.
"It's always the first step that is troublesome." Gu Shenwei tried to comfort
her, and he also hoped Kun Society would expand, the quicker the better.
The buildings in Pleasure Alley were much more sumptuous than other
places'. Shangguan Ru was interested in this place, especially for hearing the
fact that most of the famed prostitutes in Western Region were here. She
started to ask about the various brothels and their owners, but Gu Shenwei
claimed that he knew little about this. Shangguanru did not buy it. Judging by
her expression, she might think that he was just too ashamed to admit it.
Every inch of land was expensive in Pleasure Alley. Marquis Gao died in a
brothel on the east side of the street. Two youth detectives were too late, as
they found out a new prostitute moved in as soon as the corpse was cleared.
The brothel runner even turned the homicide case into a selling point—pay
100 more taels to recur the "bloody" murder scene of that night.
The brothel also had replaced the maids and procuress. The procuress opened
the door while yawning. When she heard that the two visitors were not here
to pay for sex, she slammed the door shut.
It was pointless for them to enter anyway since the people involved in the
homicide were not there. Failed was the first attempt ever in Tenth Young
Master's life to enter a brothel. She almost told her real identity when Slave
Huan drew her away.
In the morning, Pleasure Alley was the quietest place in South City, and they
were the only two on the street. Shangguan Ru was disappointed and said,
"Which is our place?"
"Only one." Gu Shenwei saved the cruel truth for himself, that he was the
owner of her only brothel here. He did not correct Shangguan Ru that Kun
Society did not "own" these businesses, they just collect money and protect
the businesses.
The eldest Young Master Shangguan Chui majored in regular businesses, and
the few small whorehouses he owned were outside Pleasure Alley. The Meng
family owned more than half of the businesses in Pleasure Alley, and also
had relationships with the rest. However, Horned Dragon Society did not take
advantage of the Meng family, that was why they shared equal influence with
Kun Society in Pleasure Alley.
To satisfy the curiosity of the Tenth Young Master, Gu Shenwei had to take
her to the "only one" brothel.
Xu's siblings were still sleeping. A newly hired maid opened the door with
heavy eyes. When she saw her master at the door she smiled immediately.
Xu Xiaoyi was quite clever. After greeting Brother Huan, he sized up the
short young man for a while and suddenly kneeled to greet the Tenth Young
Master with all respect.
Shangguan Ru felt both happy and disappointed. She asked how he saw
through her. Master Yu disguised her into a sallow-faced sick youth by
putting makeups, and even she did not recognize herself in the mirror.
"Umm, rich people can never hide their wealth I guess. Even if Tenth Young
Master played as a beggar, there's a…how do I say…domineering aura
around you."
Shangguan Ru was flattered by the sweet talk. She beamed and immediately
felt good about Xu Xiaoyi.
Gu Shenwei though was well aware that the kid was bullsheetting. He must
have recognized her by the attitude of "Brother Huan", not due to some "rich
people" or "domineering aura".
Since her excellency the Tenth Young Master had arrived, Xu Xiaoyi hurried
upstairs and knocked on his sister's door.
Gu Shenwei was quite worried about the moody Xu Yanwei, and he was not
sure about which mood would she meet with Shangguan Ru today. However,
in a minute, he was surprised. When Shangguan Ru had just taken a seat, Xu
Yanwei had gotten well-dressed and went downstairs. She was beaming and
buoyant in spirits as if she had never slept that night.
It was hard to tell which girl had more curiosity. At first, they sounded each
other out carefully. Soon they were like close friends that had grown up
together, talked about everything, and cared little about trifles.
The four had lunch together. When they spoke of the death of Marquis Gao,
the siblings almost wept. He was once Xu Yanwei's customer and left a good
impression on her. Xu Yanwei said, "I was young, and he took good care of
me, willing to spend money on me."
She realized that this kind of things were not appropriate for the Tenth Young
Master, and shut her mouth.
There were many rumors about this homicide. The siblings had not heard
about the grain of rice on the bed, so when Shangguan Ru spoke of it, they
got excited and asked for more details. The lunch finally turned into a heated
discussion.
"A grain of rice, it may be implying something. Isn't there a saying like 'raw
rice can turn into cooked rice'? What does it mean?" Xu Xiaoyi said and
started to meditate as nobody answered.
"Maybe they were playing some tricks on the bed. When Marquis Gao was
with me, he was very…" Xu Yanwei stopped again. She had the same
thoughts as the commandant.
Shangguan Ru was waiting for her words when Gu Shenwei hurried to

change the topic.
After a while, Xu Xiaoyi stopped his meditation to raise his head and said,
"Maybe we should check on the rice and flour trade. Maybe…ouch!"
Gu Shenwei kicked him under the table, but it was too late.
"What are you going to check on the rice and flour trade? There's rice in
every house, what do they know?"
Xu Xiaoyi looked at Brother Huan timidly, after seeing him nodding his
head, Xu Xiaoyi continued in high spirits. "There's a Protector in every
business, while every Protector keeps serval hitmen. Sometimes the hitmen
leave a mark at the scene to show the trait of their business. For example,
hitmen in the cloth business leave a piece of red silk fabric at the scene…"
"So the rice and flour business leaves a grain of rice?" Shangguan Ru
interrupted.
"Not that I've heard of, but it's worth a try."
Shangguan Ru nodded and said, "Yes indeed. Why haven't Commandant

Zhong and you thought of this?"
She asked Slave Huan.
"We are not familiar with South City. Not like Xu Xiaoyi, he grew up here."
The truth was Gu Shenwei had thought of this, and he was sure that Zhong
Heng had too. That sly officeholder deliberately saved the key information
and had said it very casually, trying to shirk his responsibility. The reason
why Gu Shenwei did not mention this idea to Shangguan Ru was that he
planned to mingle with her for the day and send her back to North City.
However, Xu Xiaoyi ruined his plan.
Gu Shenwei had no choice now. He took the Tenth Young Master to meet the
Proctor of the rice and flour trade in the afternoon.
The last Protector of the rice and flour trade, Sack Zhou, was "reaped" by Tie
Hanfeng and his apprentice. The current Protector had surnamed Mi and did
not like people calling him "Sack Mi". Therefore, he was called "Shopkeeper
Mi".
Shopkeeper Mi had been a hitman of Sack Zhou for years, yet he had to
spend money to save his position. That's why he had no feelings for his
predecessor, even some glee at Sack Zhou's death. In the war between
Horned Dragon Society and Kun Society, he along with his rice and flour
trade was the first to seek protection from Kun Society. There was no
resentment between him and killer Yang Huan.
Shopkeeper Mi was short, had a patchy beard, and looked nothing like a
Proctor but a languish bookkeeper. Many bags of rice and flour stacked in his
house which was messy and almost had no room for guests to walk.
Shopkeeper Mi greeted the Tenth Young Master, cleared a space for the two
and sent maids to serve some tea, murmuring "luster lent to my humble
house."
Gu Shenwei planned to come himself, and now he found a company with the
Tenth Young Master was also convenient—as a "son" of the Supreme King,
it was easier to make Shopkeeper Mi talk truthfully.
As expected, Shopkeeper Mi dared not to refuse Shangguan Ru. He thought

all his hitmen through and in sincerity he said, "No way, they're just ordinary
machetemen and they are not good at swords, let alone experts."
"'not good at swords,' are you to say that they have swords?" asked Gu
Shenwei.
"No no no, I was just talking without thinking. Look, except for your master,
who uses swords nowadays? Swordsman like Ye Silang, there's so few of
them, how could they be the hitmen of a rice and flour trade?"
Shopkeeper Mi looked sincere, and he also had no need to lie. Hence the two
youngsters left, along with this clue.
"Seems like the major suspect is still Ye Silang. The other swordsmen had
little relationship with Marquis Gao I guess," said Shangguan Ru.
Gu Shenwei thought the same and recalled Commandant Zhong's theory

about "taking care of it", which could not apply in this case. Getting rid of
suspects was not what he wanted because he would have a duel with Ye
Silang anyway. What he only wanted was to find out the murderer. Even if he
could not reveal the murderer's identity, he had to know the enemy lurking
around.
If the enemy was Ye Silang, he had to know the reason.
The sky darkened, and there were more people on the street. The shops which
did business at night had lighted up and opened. Shangguan Ru's attention
was drawn by the shops again.
"She could stroll along this street for the whole night. I need some
machetemen here to protect her." Gu Shenwei thought.
Suddenly, a 10-year-old boy thrust into Shangguan Ru, clumsily stuffed a

note into her hand, turned around and ran away. Gu Shenwei almost took out
his saber and killed the boy.
However, he grabbed the boy's arm and said, "Who sent you?"
"I don't know him, it's the man in the coat over there."
"Look!" Shangguan Ru handed over the note to Slave Huan, sounding

surprised and excited.
Gu Shenwei loosed his hand, and the boy ran away desperately.
There was only one line on the note. "The swordsman is in the Blacksmith
Village. Now."
Chapter 158 - Splitting the Ground
Chapter 158: Splitting the Ground
After more than two years as a professional killer, Gu Shenwei had

developed a highly mistrusting heart. In particular, he did not believe that
good things would be delivered on a golden plate, and thus did not think
much of the slip of paper.
"This is a trap."
"Why don't we have a look? How if someone really wants to divulge the
secret?"
"If so, he'll come to us."
Gu Shenwei recalled the time when he accepted an invitation to a prostitute's

house, only to discover a corpse when he got there.
"We'll just have a peek without showing our faces, and then act according to
circumstances."
Shangguan Ru, who loved risky adventures, was intrigued by the mysterious
slip of paper, and Gu Shenwei was forced to relent. Fortunately, Blacksmith
Village was part of Kun Society's territory, and hence there were
machetemen stationed there who could offer assistance in case of an
emergency.
Riceflour Alley was not far from Blacksmith Village, but between them was
a desolate abandoned village which had become the home of many otherwise
homeless people and stray cats and dogs. Gu Shenwei maintained his
vigilance while passing through it, and indeed, the trap which he had thought
would be set within Blacksmith Village would actually take place here in the
form of a surprise attack that came from above a courtyard wall.
The wall was quite high, and his first impression told him that it belonged to
the house of a rich and influential family.
The assailants fired three arrows at them, two of which were aimed at Gu
Shenwei and one at Shangguan Ru.
The latter two drew their sabers at the same time and deflected the arrows.
Gu Shenwei predicted, from experience, that the enemies would shoot two or
three rounds of arrows, but he was wrong this time. The assailants on top of
the wall shot only one round of arrows before leaping off the wall on the side
away from the duo.
"Hold it there!", Shangguan Ru shouted and leaped off the ground. Her toes
only needed to touch the wall once before she was already on top of the wall.
Her Lightness Skill, which had all along been great, was even more
outstanding at this time.
"Don't give chase!" Gu Shenwei could not hold her back in time nor dissuade
her. He calculated that he would not be able to jump high enough to get on
the wall, and thus could only run forward as fast as he possibly could in
hopes that there would be a lower wall for him to jump across.
He found a break in the wall a few dozen steps ahead. Crossing through the
break, he found nothing.
There was virtually nothing - no Shangguan Ru, no assailants, no trees, and

no buildings.
The place, covered in a thick layer of snow, was apparently a garden which
was abandoned during winter. A few dilapidated huts could be seen in the
distance, and there was no sign of human life at all.
He wondered if Shangguan Ru had leaped on to the wall again and exited the
place, but immediately disproved this idea. Although the sky was dark, it was
not yet completely black, and he had not run very far. If Shangguan Ru had
changed her route, she would have called out and informed him.
The garden appeared to be rather well-frequented, judging from the footprints
of differing depths that were nearly everywhere. He found, at the foot of the
wall, two shallow footprints which appeared to be left behind by Shangguan
Ru. She, or the rightful owner of these footprints, subsequently leaped
forward and landed in another person's footprints, and thus could not be
tracked any further.
There were, in actual fact, no swordsmen nor traps in Blacksmith Village.

This place was where the enemy had set up a nice trap.
Gu Shenwei was getting tricked by a simple gimmick. "If it wasn't for Tenth
Young Master…", he began to think somewhat involuntarily, "No matter how
strong Shang Guanru's kung fu or how forthright her personality is, she has
experienced too few things and thus lacks a killer's instincts."
If the ambushers were from Horned Dragon Society, they would not dare to
kill Shangguan Ru. But he would not be able to bear the responsibility if she
was even slightly injured or went missing for one or two days.
Relying on the last ray of sunlight, he searched the snow carefully until he
was brought into a jumbled maze by the mess of footprints and was forced to
give up.
"She couldn't have disappeared into thin air," Gu Shenwei thought. "Either
she has been abducted by a few quick hands… or she's hiding underground."
He began to stomp in circles around the spot where Shangguan Ru had left
footprints to test if it was hollow beneath. However, the garden was simply
too big. The sun had set, and his legs had turned numb. Though he was able
to detect a small hollow space, he did not find any clues.
He ran into the small huts in the garden but found nothing except spider webs
and cotton fragments, proof that nobody had lived there for a long time.
He thought about enlisting the help of a few machetemen to investigate, but

was afraid that if he left for a while and came back, Shangguan Ru would
have been brought far away by then.
There were infinite possibilities. Gu Shenwei could only wait while stomping
aimlessly on the ground. What frightened him most was if Shangguan Ru was
not actually underground or in some secret underground tunnel; perhaps she
had already been brought out of the garden, and what he was currently doing
was not only foolish but wasting precious time which he could use to
command his subordinates to seek out information in South City.
The sky became ever blacker. Shangguan Ru had already been missing for
two hours. Gu Shenwei jumped up and down like a madman before he finally
stopped. Kneeling on one leg, he sheathed his dagger and pulled out his
sword. He then closed his eyes to allow himself to enter combat mode.
He was trying to seek out whether there was "living energy" nearby.
Death Scripture was a type of kung fu which could not be practiced. Gu

Shenwei had to imagine that there were enemies in front of him for it to
work.
"There's a super-powerful enemy standing tall right in front of me. It casts a

long shadow and is holding a sword…"
After half an hour, Gu Shenwei could finally detect a vague bundle of scents.
The scents were as weak as the twilight musk, probably because they had
crossed through a thick barrier. They were transient and unclear in shape, and
were coalesced into a ball such that they were impossible to differentiate.
Gu Shenwei was about to take an uncalculated risk, but having already

entered a state of killing in which there was neither thought nor mercy, he
had no secondary consideration. He caught hold of one of the scents and
discovered its weak points. Subsequently, he focused his mind and energy
entirely upon his sword, such that he did not even notice the barrier in
between him and the source of the scent.
He thrust his sword forward to hit his target without any apprehension or
hesitation.
Anyone watching from the side would have been astonished. The youth
suddenly sprang high into the air, flipped his body upside down, then sank his
sword with one hand into the snow. He was like a puppet tethered to his
sword - as if the sword was initiating the movements while he had no choice
but to follow.
Stab the target.
"Someone's attacking me." He jabbed his sword twice more without thinking
and ended the battle. He then raised his head and peered out in bewilderment
at the night sky.
He had, to his own surprise, punctured a half foot wide round hole in the
snow several meters away from the spot where he knelt, and entered an
underground cave. The ceiling of the cave was nearly a foot thick, and its
floor was piled with a similar density of snow. Though he had mastered the
sped-up Yin and Yang Strength, it was still impossible to perforate a hole like
this under normal circumstances.
He used to think that the weakness of Death Scripture 's sword technique was
that it could not pierce through neck armor. He only now realized that this
was a completely unnecessary concern. The sword technique itself was all-
powerful; the condition was that one had to have full faith in the sword one
wielded and entrust oneself wholeheartedly to it. This was called the state of
"self-deconstruction".
If Maid Lotus was by his side, he would have immediately and excitedly
explained to her that his interpretation of the scripture was the correct one.
Next to him lay three corpses which were carrying knives. Their necks had
been slit by a sword and their eyes were wide open. Evidently, they had died
unappeasedly. They were constantly guarding in the direction of the tunnel,
and did not expect to be attacked from overhead. Nor was there any form of
warning, and so they were killed in a single strike.
Beside the corpses, Shangguan Ru sat against the wall. She was in a
comatose state with her head tilted to one side.
They were in a crypt that was several square meters big. Its height was
slightly taller than an average adult male, while there was a narrow horizontal
tunnel barely wide enough for one person. Shangguan Ru had fallen into a
trap on the other side of the tunnel and was dragged over by the ambushers,
thereby explaining the dirt all over her body.
Gu Shenwei did not understand how he was able to pass through the hole and
land standing up. It now seemed to him like something beyond
comprehension. Not only was the hole too small for him to pass through, but
the cave itself seemed a little too short.
"This sword technique has a certain evil about it," Gu Shenwei thought from
the perspective of a normal human. But he had no misgivings that he would
be most willing should Death Scripture really want to transform him into a
living dead or an evil demon.
He kept his sword and took out his dagger to deform the sword wounds on
the corpses. He then did what he could to enlarge the hole in the ceiling.
However, because the frozen soil was extremely rigid, he was only able to
enlarge the hole by a few inches before his dagger broke.
He raised his head to take a look outside before he lifted Shangguan Ru and
carefully pushed her up on to the ground above, making sure he did not hit
her head on to anything during the process. When he was done, he climbed
out through the hole himself.
Although she remained unconscious, her breathing was stable, and there was
not much of an issue.
Back above ground, Gu Shenwei followed in the direction of the

underground tunnel and searched carefully. Eventually, he found a
mechanism several meters ahead. It was a movable wooden door which was
frozen in thick ice on both sides. It was concealed by snow and was parallel
to the ground, and was thus imperceptible.
The trap was probably set up belatedly and hence a further tunnel for
escaping could not be dug in time. The designers likely counted on Gu
Shenwei leaving the scene to seek reinforcements, thereby allowing the
ambushers to bring their hostage away.
Gu Shenwei carried Shangguan Ru and hastily left the garden. It was highly
probable that enemies remained in the vicinity - this was certainly not the
time to search for them.
Halfway on the road, Shangguan Ru woke up. She had been sedated by a
common knockout powder which effectiveness subsided naturally, and thus
no antidote was needed. She was, however, livid to say the least; the
knockout powder was one of Golden Roc Fort's Ultimate Arts, and it was
accordingly an embarrassment to fall so easily to it.
She remained laid upon Slave Huan's back, disgruntedly vowing that she
would take revenge on Horned Dragon Society and Meng Mingshi. She was
certain that the person who set the trap was the Fifth Young Master.
It was already 9:30 p.m. by the time they returned to the residence in the
Outer Hall of South City, where Shangguan Yushi had been waiting
anxiously for a long time. The instant she saw Tenth Young Master, covered
in dirt, being carried by Slave Huan, she became overexcited and wanted to
take hold of her. However, Shangguan Ru got to her feet while stretching her
legs, and proclaimed that she was completely alright.
The attack was discussed by the family deep into the night. Everyone
eventually agreed that it was a plot by Horned Dragon Society, and thereupon
the discussion turned to how and against whom the revenge should be
enacted.
The stickiest problem was that Meng Mingshi holed himself up in North City.
If not for everyone persuading her against it, Shangguan Ru would have
made up her mind to bring the flames of war there.
Gu Shenwei spoke very little so as to quietly observe who could be a hidden

traitor.
The trap was a very well thought out one. Its designer seemed to know that
Shangguan Ru's Lightness Skill was terrific whereas Slave Huan's was
merely average. Had Gu Shenwei not persisted and remained in the area, the
enemies' plans would have succeeded - Kun Society's leader would have
become their hostage.
This type of information was not what just any person could divulge.
Gu Shenwei had no clue who it could be but simply trusted nobody.
In the end, the discussion produced several schemes for revenge. Each of
them required a lot of time and thus had to be delegated downwards to be
carried out.
Gu Shenwei secretly ordered Tuo Nengya to step up guard, while he

personally kept watch outside Shangguan Ru's room. He presumed that he
would escort her back to North City once day broke.
However, an unexpected guest showed up past midnight.
Xu Xiaoyi came running while gasping his breath. He banged as loudly as he

could on the door, not only alerting Brother Huan but also waking Tenth
Young Master up.
He brought a piece of news which he personally felt was very important.

"Shopkeeper Mi's about to escape! I knew this fella had a problem."
A big Protector, who had only recently taken over the job, was on the run the
same night that Tenth Young Master was attacked… anyone who heard the
news would have quickly put two and two together.
(Please keep and provide recommendations)

Chapter 159 - Debts
Chapter 159: Debts
Xu Xiaoyi was fifteen or sixteen years old, but his childish features and short
stature made him appear only eleven or twelve. He was smaller in size than
even Shangguan Ru. Most people tended to ignore a child like that, but
despite being small, he was capable of great mischief and was highly astute
in South City affairs. He was third-rate as a servant in a brothel, second-rate
at stealing things, but most importantly, first-rate at obtaining information.
Ever since it was mentioned at a dining table that rice grains were found on
Marquis Gao's bed after his death, the matter had constantly weighed on his
mind, and he was able to hear a lot of news regarding it by hanging out in
different parts of town.
Marquis Gao was on the verge of bankruptcy before his death. Many people
thought he had money to burn, but that was just a false front which the
marquis maintained through constant borrowing. There was even a rumor that
he had founded the Horned Dragon Society, and managed to fool Fifth
Young Master Meng to pay for its operations while he secretly used the
money to settle his debts.
It seemed that this plan proceeded not very smoothly. After his death, many
of his creditors were completely dumbfounded; those who acted fast took all
of his possessions away, while those who were slow could only curse their
own bad luck.
Shopkeeper Mi was one of the unluckiest creditors. The taels of silver he lent
to the marquis were taken from the taxes turned over by the merchants of the
rice and flour trade, and a portion of them was protection money. In other
words, the money he had lent to Horned Dragon Society was supposed to be
handed in to Kun Society. This matter would surely be exposed by the end of
the month, and that was why he had to run.
But in truth, the escape was, as of yet, merely Xu Xiaoyi's speculation. "His
family servants went and bought several Hedong horses today… you know,
it's the breed that's short and has long fur. Don't you think this is an indication
that he wants to run far, far away?"
"He's a traitor!" Shangguan Ru gnashed her teeth. "Let's get him."
As soon as Tenth Young Master gave the order, the machetemen and killers
responded in unison. Gu Shenwei was a little more cautious, however. He felt
that Xu Xiaoyi's information based on hearsay was not fully reliable, and
suggested to find out more information before taking action.
He did not disclose his other reason - this could very well be yet another trap,
and he was unwilling for Tenth Young Master to run into danger once more.
Shangguan Yushi was able to understand Slave Huan's rationales, and thus
made an exception to agree with his opinion.
Gu Shenwei was thereby granted permission to lead four killers to conduct a

nighttime investigation of Shopkeeper Mi's old haunt. If the latter was truly
thinking about escaping, Gu Shenwei would arrest him and bring him back to
the Shangguan residence where everyone was waiting.
On this chilly winter night, the cold wind was bone-piercing. The five young
killers hid in the surroundings of Shopkeeper Mi's house, with some of them
crouching against a wall and some lying prone on the rooftop. Braving the
bitter cold that could freeze a person to death, they monitored every
movement in the Mi residence.
Maid Lotus jumped into the yard to investigate, and when she came out
reported her sighting of two horse carriages inside. One of them was loaded
with boxes while the other was empty. The drivers were drinking liquor to
keep warm, and the saddles were ready - it seemed that they were to depart
shortly.
Xu Xiaoyi had guessed correctly indeed.

Shopkeeper Mi was stricken with grief. He had spent a large sum of money to
take over the position as the big Protector of the rice and flour trade from
Sack Zhou, and thought he could recoup some of it from Marquis Gao. He
never imagined that he would lose all of his investments, which amounted to
more than several hundred thousand taels of silver. Not only were his savings
wiped out, but he had no means of accounting to the merchants of the rice
and flour trade and the merciless Kun Society.
Knowing that Tenth Young Master and Yang Huan would be paying him a
visit in the morning, he was afraid of being found out and thus decided to
escape from Jade City as fast as he could.
He was waiting for 5:00 a.m., when South City was at its quietest, to set off.
He had not even thought about how far he could run.
Eventually, just as the carriages were all ready to set off, but had not taken a
step out of the gate, Shopkeeper Mi, together with his wife, concubine, and
three sons, was prevented from escaping.
Five masked men in black clothes, wielding sabers in their hands, descended
from above, as if they were messengers from hell.
The two drivers exchanged looks before they squatted beside the carriages
while holding their heads, so as to indicate that they knew nothing and were
not prepared to look at what was about to happen.
The parcel which Shopkeeper Mi was holding under his arm fell on the
ground. He gaped his mouth and inhaled the chilly air, but was unable to say
a single word. His spouses and children stood behind him shivering.
Gu Shenwei beckoned to the man, who walked over dispiritedly. His nose
could be heard convulsing with every step he took, as if he was about to cry,
or otherwise to express his disdain.
"Shopkeeper Mi, you're heading out?"
The latter recognized the killer Yang Huan's voice, and could finally close his
mouth. After swallowing a large gulp of saliva mixed in with cold air, he
turned his head to look at his family before he replied, "Master Yang, I beg
you to spare their lives even if you must kill me. The items on these carriages
will be enough for this month's fees."
"Even if they live today, they'll die tomorrow." Gu Shenwei's tone contained
little emotion. He was speaking the truth; if Shopkeeper Mi died and the
remaining debt could not be repaid, his wives and children would be made to
pay. Furthermore, many of the subordinates employed by Gu Shenwei were
killers from Kun Society.
Shopkeeper Mi could not understand this reasoning at all. He lowered his

head and let out a dejected sigh, and when he raised his head once again, he
revealed a look of insanity that was only seen during one's final and most
desperate struggle. "How if I divulge a highly valuable piece of information?"
"A killer can never offer guarantees. I have to listen to what you say first."
Gu Shenwei remained poker-faced. This was the interrogation technique he
had learned from Golden Roc Fort's Heart Cleansing Yard - let the guilty
party pour his heart out, and never allow him an opportunity to hide a secret.
"I know who killed Marquis Gao." Shopkeeper Mi's eyes glimmered in
anticipation of an eager compliance from the young killer. However, when he
did not get such a response, his eyes returned to their usual dullness.
"Speak."
"Zhou Huan. It's definitely him."
The name "Zhou Huan" was somewhere within Gu Shenwei's memory, but
he could not recall where it was from at the moment.
Shopkeeper Mi seized the opportunity to reveal everything he knew about the

matter. "Zhou Huan, known as young Sack Zhou, is the godson of old Sack
Zhou. Master Yang may not have seen him before. This fella used to be an
associate of my rice shop, but he has since moved on to 'better things'. He is
Marquis Gao's… male prostitute."
Gu Shenwei finally recalled how he knew the name. It was when he followed
his master Tie Hanfeng, while the latter was still alive, to visit the Protectors
of South City. He could remember that standing next to Sack Zhou was a
young and handsome teenager, who, despite his good looks, did not have a
self-conscious attitude. Nobody would have thought, at least based on first
impression, that he was someone's male prostitute.
"Does Zhou Huan know any swordcraft?" From Gu Shenwei's memory, the
teenager did not carry any weapons.
"Yes." Shopkeeper Mi became spirited as soon as he saw that the other party
was interested. "And he's not bad at it, even if he seldom shows off his skill.
After all, he doesn't rely on kungfu to make a living, and that's why not many
people know. I knew it was him the instant I heard that Marquis Gao died of
a sword wound. They recently had some differences and their relationship
wasn't in a good state."
"You should have spoken up earlier."
"I… didn't want to cause trouble."
Gu Shenwei humphed callously to express his skepticism towards this

explanation. If Zhou Huan had truly killed Marquis Gao, it would only be
appropriate for Shopkeeper Mi to hate him to the core - it was because of this
sword that the money he lent out turned to ashes.
Shopkeeper Mi's face turned red. "Actually, it was only when you brought up
the rice grain issue yesterday that I began to suspect him. Zhou Huan loves to
eat uncooked rice and would always carry some wherever he went. Aye, this
is all meaningless to me now. Even if the true murderer is caught, those
silvers cannot be brought back."
"Who have you mentioned Tenth Young Master to?"
"Nobody. After the two of you left, I was busy packing my things and didn't
see anyone else." An expression of shock appeared on his face.
"Where does Zhou Huan live?"

"At Heng Sheng Riceshop on the corner of the street. He was an associate
there and is now its owner."
Gu Shenwei swept a glance at his companions and raised his saber.
Shopkeeper Mi waved his hands non-stop in front of his body, as if this was
sufficient to block a sharp blade. "Master Yang, Master Yang, please spare
my life. I've told you everything I know. I'll hand in the silvers at the end of
the month with not a single cent less."
"It would have been better if you spoke up earlier."
One of Shopkeeper Mi's fingers fell on to the ground as Gu Shenwei flicked

his blade.
There was no need to kill a Protector who owed money; it was the more
appropriate choice to keep him alive and make him continue to pay up - or at
least this was what Gu Shenwei thought, and how he would explain things to
Tenth Young Master when he got back.
Shangguan Ru was much more interested in Zhou Huan than she was about
the money issue. "What's a 'male prostitute'?"
"A male who's the pet of another male." Gu Shenwei explained frankly. He
had reasoned to himself that since this young lady was willing to be treated as
a male, there was no need for him to be indirect about the matter.
"How's that possible? Can a female be the pet of another female?" Shangguan
Ru enquired without end.
"Yes, that's possible… anything is possible." Gu Shenwei suddenly felt a jolt

in his heart and recalled what he had eavesdropped in the garden of the Meng
family. Suspecting that there was a hidden meaning to the question, he acted
even more unperturbed.
"Oh my, the two of you! One's asking audacious questions while the other
isn't even embarrassed. Instead of talking drivel, why don't you go arrest that
Zhou Huan fella?" Shangguan Yushi could not go on listening to them.
"The person who should be red-faced is you," Gu Shenwei thought. However,
he was happy that she changed the subject. "In a while, I shall go keep an eye
on him, to see if anyone is giving him instructions."
Shangguan Ru wanted to join in the fun until Gu Shenwei explained to her

the monotony of a surveillance task; one could not move about or speak a
word for at least half a day. With Shangguan Yushi echoing the same
sentiments, Tenth Young Master's enthusiasm was finally dispelled.
This was no longer the first time Gu Shenwei thought the same way as
Master Yu. The former reckoned that this was because they had similar
objectives; while "climbing the big tree" provided by Tenth Young Master,
they were enemies but also two of a kind.
Gu Shenwei wanted to monitor the suspect because he still had an inner

doubt. "If Zhou Huan is truly a male prostitute and the real murderer, why did
Ye Silang find trouble with me? Given the relationship between Ye Silang
and Marquis Gao, the former should have understood Zhou Huan's situation
and suspected him first."
Having spoken unfavorably about surveillance tasks, Gu Shenwei, in fact, did

not want to spend an entire day observing a rice shop. He planned to cut
straight to the point and walk right into the enemy's camp.
But he was still a step late. By late morning, the shops on the street were all
already open for business, save for Heng Sheng Riceshop, which doors were
tightly shut. When Gu Shenwei broke the doors down and entered, he
discovered that there was nobody inside. The shelves were neatly stacked
while the barrels of rice were filled to the brim - Zhou Huan had run away in
a hurry.
A macheteman went to the nearby shops to make enquiries, and learned that
the rice shop had not been open for three days.
The investigation was carried out way too late. Gu Shenwei had already
wasted the precious time in the days following Marquis Gao's death.
After searching carefully through the shop, a few machetemen were finally
able to find an important "clue" in a rice barrel: there was a corpse of a young
man inside, covered up by the rice.
One of the machetemen confidently claimed that the man had been dead for
at least three days.
Gu Shenwei took a look at the corpse and could vaguely tell it was Zhou
Huan. There was a sword in its hand, while its neck was half snapped and its
head was tilted to one side. The neck wound was shaped like a laughing
mouth, and the bloodstains from it turned the rice grains red as well.
It appeared that Zhou Huan had slit his own throat. Gu Shenwei had gotten
into trouble once again.
Chapter 160 - A Dull Show
Chapter 160: A Dull Show
If Tie Hanfeng was still alive, he would surely have given his disciple a harsh
lesson for not complying with the rules, always trying to get to the bottom of
a matter, and ultimately inviting trouble to himself.
Zhou Huan might not have been an important figure, but his death was even
more influential upon Kun Society than Marquis Gao's assassination. The
latter's death was glorified by Kun Society, whereas Zhou Huan was a
merchant in the rice and flour trade and had paid protection fees to Kun
Society. Tenth Young Master Shangguan Ru was therefore responsible to
find out who the real murderer was and take revenge on Zhou Huan's behalf.
The reputation which Kun Society had only recently built up would go down
the drain if it was unable to provide a reasonable explanation for the case.
As he looked at the corpse, Gu Shenwei finally understood the commandant

Zhong Heng's intentions. Perhaps, that wily old fox had secretly investigated
the rice shop earlier, and did not know who to hand the corpse over to.
Fortunately for him, Shangguan Ru and Yang Huan came of their own
accord, and were the ideal people to take up the matter.
The near hundred merchants of the rice and flour trade were in a state of
jittery anxiety. Shopkeeper Mi, who had just lost a finger, hurried over to
salvage the situation. Beating his chest, he assured the crowd, on his family
members' lives, that Kun Society would handle the matter properly, and that
everyone else would be safe.
Zhou Huan's death also attracted attention from Stone Castle. If it was a
homicide, it would mean that one of the two societies, Kun and Horned
Dragon, had violated the regulation not to interfere with the merchants'
dealings.
This was a time when a "problem" needed to be "solved". The simplest and
most expedient thing to do would be to announce that Zhou Huan had
committed suicide. After all, based on the observations at the scene, he
indeed appeared to have slit his own neck. As for his motive, the ready-made
explanation was that he had done so out of love for Marquis Gao.
The pressure trickled down the chain of command. Gu Shenwei was merely
an ordinary killer whose opinions were insignificant and would never reach
the ears of the administrators in Stone Castle.
That evening, Shangguan Yushi appeared in public on behalf of Tenth Young

Master to invite representatives from the rice and flour trade to watch a
reenactment of the death scene. Most people, after taking a glimpse, would
run out of the shop without having observed the scene carefully. Despite not
speaking much, Master Yu was able to make the entire street believe that
Zhou Huan had committed suicide out of love.
However, what followed at the same time was a new explanation for Marquis
Gao's death. Many people made their own inferences and came to the same
conclusion - the true murderer was Zhou Huan, who committed a crime of
passion, with the rice grains left on the female prostitute's bed serving as
proof.
Rumors surged in Jade City regarding the emotional entanglement between

two males and a female prostitute, upon hearing which some sneered while
others lamented. But few people made the connection that since the real
murderer was identified, the duel between Ye Silang and the killer Yang
Huan was no longer necessary.
Kun Society and Horned Dragon Society reached a tacit agreement that they
would not make irresponsible remarks regarding Marquis Gao's deaths. Both
societies continued to assume that Yang Huan was the killer, and
consequently, the duel would have to proceed on time.
The duel was no longer about seeking truth, and was instead a contest for
superiority between two emerging powerhouses.
The matter was becoming simpler - Gu Shenwei simply needed to focus his
attention and get ready to kill. However, he was unable to get his head
together for some reason.
He could accept the "problem-solving" explanation which was that Zhou

Huan had committed suicide, but he would not have an easy conscience in
doing so. He knew that someone was making use of the battle between the
two societies to seek personal gain, and wanted to find out who it was and
whether the person was a friend or foe.
Therefore, he gave a secret order to Maid Lotus and the Xu siblings to

continue looking for clues regarding Marquis Gao's and Zhou Huan's deaths.
He stipulated that they could only operate in secret and must not let anyone
know that Kun Society was still searching for the true murderer.
At this point in time, he needed to start making preparations for the duel. Ye
Silang was a real master through and through. Although they had never
wielded a sword in front of each other before, there had already been a
contest of willpower and killing intent between them, and thus the mutual
impressions were deep.
The person most excited about the duel was Shangguan Ru. She attached
multiple meanings to this life-and-death fight; it would not only showcase
Kun Society's strength, but also serve to take revenge for her kidnapping.
However, Slave Huan's recent behavior deeply confounded her and many
other people. He did not focus on practicing his machete skills, nor visit
Rouge Forest to familiarize himself with its terrain. Instead, he spent a large
part of each day sitting down in deep contemplation, as if he could rely solely
on willpower to defeat a swordsman.
In actual fact, Gu Shenwei valued the duel greatly. Under normal

circumstances, Death Scripture could not be practiced. He, together with
Maid Lotus, had killed too many people, and their swordsmanship and
machete skills had reached a point of stagnation. Ordinary kills had become
meaningless to him, and only a master like Ye Silang could stimulate his
potential to develop further.
Ye Silang was like a conundrum placed in front of a genius - it was not easy
to solve, but solving it would entail stepping up to a higher level.
"If only swords were allowed," Gu Shenwei could not help thinking. This
thought was, however, fatal to himself and not his opponent. Death Scripture
required its practitioners to reach a state where there were completely no
distracting thoughts. The tiniest bit of doubt or inquietude would cause a
massive reduction of power.
Kungfu was not like the growth of a tree, which could only increase and not
decrease, and was easily measurable. Instead, kungfu was like climbing
stairs; one could ascend but also fall off, and the determinants of victory,
defeat, survival, or death included not just one's weapon skills but also which
side the environment was more favorable to, who had the greater willpower
and killing desire, etc. The slightest of changes to these factors could result in
a disastrous defeat for a kungfu master, let alone an ordinary combatant.
Since his machete skills could no longer be improved, what Gu Shenwei

needed to do was to clear the distracting thoughts and temper his willpower.
"If only swords were allowed." He was unable to banish this thought up until
the morning of the ninth day of the first lunar month.
Rouge Forest was already prepared. Many people had gathered outside the
woodland, with the rich arriving by carriage, while the poor made the journey
on foot. This sort of excitement was not seen every year, and nobody wanted
to miss out on it.
Almost none of the spectators had brought blades, and even the machetemen
left their weapons at home or concealed them safely. Nobody wanted to be
seen as ill-intentioned, and furthermore, Golden Roc Fort and the Meng
family of North City had spread the word that anyone carrying blades would
have no grounds to complain if they were attacked without an explicit reason.
Kun Society's men were first to arrive. Its band of machetemen had expanded
by several times to reach more than a hundred in numbers. They brandished
their blades deliberately, and under Tuo Nengya's command, neatly arranged
themselves to guard the Tenth Young Master.
Horned Dragon Society's men would follow behind. Its recruitment of
machetemen was even larger at approximately three hundred men. However,
they were disorderly and clustered around a few noble masters. They
constantly hollered as they walked, as if to impose themselves on the venue.
Among them was a youth in his twenties who was said to be the chosen
Machete God. His appearance attracted a great deal of attention, causing
crowds of people to swarm towards the moving contingent. This practically
resembled a case of a guest stealing the limelight from the host.
It was no longer a secret who the leaders of Horned Dragon Society were.
There were, in total, five of them, but with Marquis Gao's death, four
remained. Fifth Young Master merited the title of society owner by virtue of
outlaying the most amount of money, while the other three masters were each
of royal blood. Behind them followed 23 later-enlisted members who were
also well-known figures in North City.
Far away from the crowds, Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang was shielded by a
group of machetemen. He was wrapped in a purple cape, and hid his face in a
hood so that nobody could see his expressions.
The machetemen created a passageway for Fifth Young Master to move

towards the side of Kun Society. At first, he cheerfully exchanged a few
courteous words with Tenth Young Master, but the exchange quickly
descended into a quarrel. Shangguan Yushi held back Shangguan Ru and
declared loudly, "Talk is cheap. Let's see who's the real deal by way of
blade!"
The duel did not begin immediately. Both sides dispatched a team of
machetemen to search the forest and make sure there were no ambushes.
The crowds outside the forest were becoming restless. It was freezing out
there, and many people stamped their feet on the ground in order to keep as
warm as possible. They could not help but urge loudly and kick up a huge
fuss. The machetemen punished a few of the noisiest spectators, leaving a
little bit of red on the snow. This, perhaps, satisfied a few people's desire for
some excitement.
Amidst the chaotic clamoring, the two duelists entered the forest and quickly
disappeared out of sight. This caused the spectators to regret their behavior,
and they began to exchange updates on what was going on.
"Did Kun Society's killer bring a sword?"
"No, I personally saw only a knife. It seems like Ye Silang was wrong; how
could a killer be a swordsman?"
The name "Yang Huan" was, as of yet, foreign to most residents of Jade City.
They instead referred to him with the more general "Kun Society killer".
The betting arenas of South City certainly did not want to let slip of such a
good opportunity, and thus colluded to organize a huge betting event. Judging
from the odds, Ye Silang was more favored. He was, after all, a long-
renowned swordsman. Conversely, who knew what the "Kun Society killer"
had done before?
After the duel ended, many people who self-professed to be far-sighted

would claim that, from the start of the duel, there were signs that it would be
dull and boring, except that nobody could tell it would be dull and boring for
such a long time and yet conclude in such a dramatic fashion. The organizers
of the betting event were outraged and ran into conflict with many of the
gamblers.
After entering the forest, Gu Shenwei quickly distanced himself from Ye

Silang. Of the two of them, the latter was the one who wanted the battle to be
decided quickly.
The messy trails of footprints in the forest was a source of advantage to the
killer by helping him to hide his tracks. He had devised a tactic to delay time
as much as possible, and only show his hand when Ye Silang became
impatient and careless.
The killer was skilled at this waiting game. Instead, the swordsman did not
have this sort of patience.
Rouge Forest was not very big, and its widest part was no more than two or
three miles across. Wearing a set of white clothes, Gu Shenwei laid prone
under a tree holding his breath. He endured the biting cold and tried his best
not to think about whether he was holding a sword or a knife.
Once, Ye Silang flashed by, with his purple cape fluttering in the cold wind
like a flower which had bloomed in the wrong season, only a dozen steps
away from Gu Shenwei's position, and vanished in an instant. The latter self-
admitted that his Lightness Skill was way inferior to the former's.
Seeing that the swordsman was vigorous and inspirited, Gu Shenwei knew he
had to wait a little longer.
The audience outside the forest was increasingly agitated. The duel, which
had been publicized for several days, was not supposed to be this boring.
Two hours had passed and they had not heard any loud screams or seen any
fresh blood spilled. The only thing they saw was the occassional and brief
appearance of the purple cape. Meanwhile, not a shadow was seen from the
"Kun Society killer".
If the result was decided by popularity, Kun Society would be

overwhelmingly crushed.
Shangguan Ru, disdainful of the crowd's ignorance, dispatched several

machetemen to explain the differences between a killer and a swordsman to
everyone. "A killer seeks to deliver a surprising one-hit kill. Ye Silang may
be moving about vigorously for now, but he'll certainly lose not only the
contest but also his life. The killer will carry his head out of the forest."
The image of a human head being carried out of the forest reinvigorated the
crowd, but they remained concerned as to how long it would take. "We
haven't been able to eat and the weather's cold. Can't the killer act sooner?"
The dramatic ending took place six hours after the duel had begun. The sky
had turned slightly dark and a significant portion of the audience had left.
When they heard the cry from the forest, some of those who were leaving
turned back.
Thousands of people stretched their necks to see "Kun Society killer"

carrying Ye Silang out of the forest. However, they were puzzled and
disappointed that it was not the latter's head - Ye Silang was still alive.
"There was an ambush."
In a low voice, Gu Shenwei informed Shangguan Ru that his second duel

with Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang was once again interrupted.
Chapter 161 - Slave Yuan
Chapter 161: Slave Yuan
The story that Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang was ambushed in Rouge Forest
gave rise to two completely different responses from Jade City's residents.
Some people stood on Horned Dragon Society's side and claimed that Kun
Society used an underhand tactic to double up on Ye Silang, thereby causing
a fair duel to degenerate into a dirty and ugly plot.
But Kun Society had no lack of supporters itself. These people believed that
this was a classic tale of killer versus swordsman, where the latter became
haughty and eventually succumbed to the former's plot, and it was
insignificant whether or not it was two-versus-one. A killer was unscrupulous
by nature, and surely Ye Silang, who lived in Jade City, should have known
this would be the case.
Only a handful of people cared about the truth.
The plot was enacted at the very instant Ye Silang noticed the trail of his
enemy. Gu Shenwei knew he had no way to escape and that his Lightness
Skill was no match for the former's, and his only choice was to fight face-to-
face. This meant that the advantage he waited painstakingly for had been for
naught. Ye Silang did not look overeager at all - his patience was much better
than what Gu Shenwei thought.
Clutching his sword, Ye Silang initiated an attack on his enemy hiding under
a tree. He believed that victory was close at hand and a matter of time.
However, he never imagined there would be another person hiding in the

forest. This person hid on a tree, and his patience was even better than the
two duelists below him. He sprang into action just as Ye Silang placed his
full attention on his opponent's body.
The person was also a sword user.
He was unbelievably quick, just like the black-masked assassin of Golden

Roc Fort. By the time he appeared from the air, his sword had already struck
his target.
If the sword was aimed at him, Gu Shenwei had no confidence he would be

able to avoid it. In fact, he was completely stunned at the moment it
happened.
Ye Silang, however, was able to prevent his vital parts from being struck, and
even managed to retaliate with a strike.
The assassination attempt was over in a split second. The assassin, draped in
a white cape, did not even land on the ground. With a thrust of his sword, he
was able to generate momentum to leap back on to the trees, and quickly
disappeared in a few leaps. His Lightness Skill seemed even better than Ye
Silang's.
The latter, having suffered a sword blow to the chest, laid down on the snow.
He would probably be dead by now if his counterblow did not manage to
impale the assassin's arm.
Gu Shenwei ran forth to Ye Silang. Pulling out his knife, he peered at the
swordsman who laid face up.
"You've won." Ye Silang was still clutching his sword, but knew he was
powerless and no longer a match for the youth.
Gu Shenwei was indeed the winner, and if only he sank his knife into the
opponent and walked out of Rouge Forest with his sliced head, nobody would
have suspected that the victory was undeserved. "I didn't win."
He carried the latter out of the forest, to the surprise of everyone.
The first person who could not understand the situation was Shangguan Ru.
"Why didn't you kill him? How can you even think about saving him?"
"I want to find out who the assassin is. Having fought against him, Ye Silang
will be of use in the future."
Shangguan Ru was even more mystified. "Who cares who he is? He was
helping us anyway."
"That's what I'm worried about." Gu Shenwei's oversuspicious mind was

growing. He did not believe that someone would help him without reason,
and thus he needed to find out the truth. "We are the killers. The ones who
should be hiding in the dark are you and me. This assassin…"
"Could he be sent from the castle?" Shangguan Ru frowned. The thing she
hated most was her parents secretly sending people to aid her - she wanted to
make it entirely on her own.
Gu Shenwei shook his head assertively. If it was someone from Stone Castle,
it would be Tenth Young Master who was protected. The assassin would
certainly not have interfered in the duel between a killer and a swordsman.
There was another reason why he did not kill Ye Silang, which he only
revealed to Maid Lotus. "It would have been a waste to kill an exceptional
master like him."
Maid Lotus was the only person who could understand the meaning of this
sentence anyway. Death Scripture relied on successive battles to be advanced
to a higher level - a master like Ye Silang was of the greatest use to the
killer's sword practice.
Above all, because he was still alive, the duel was postponed for an indefinite
period.
The people who thought the duel would end the war between the two
societies would quickly be disappointed. Because of the ceaseless quarrels
regarding who won, who lost, who played fair, and who played dirty, the war
resumed on the morrow of the duel. The machetemen fought brazenly on the
streets in broad daylight, and when evening arrived, both sides dispatched
assassins to assassinate each other's members.
Shangguan Ru remained dissatisfied that Gu Shenwei did not take the
opportunity to kill Ye Silang. To appease her and regain her trust, he made
plans for an important assassination.
The target was the Machete God, known as the team's treasure, who Horned
Dragon Society had spent half a month to handpick.
His real name was Huang Shi'an, and he was part of the bright young
generation which emerged from Soldiers Camp. After more than half a year
in Jade City, he remained a nobody and could not even find someone who
appreciated him. All this changed when he made his mark in the Machete
God Contest.
His machete technique was unconventional but not particularly aesthetic.

Defense was his specialty; at the start of a contest, he often concealed his
strength and took backward steps until he figured out his opponent, at which
time he would deliver a single winning blow.
Gu Shenwei had seen this Machete God's performance in a tournament and

felt that his reputation was certainly deserved. However, Tuo Nengya, who
watched the performance beside him, had a different opinion. "There's no
problem with his machete skills, but something's wrong with his personality."
Huang Shi'an's weakness was that his heart was not ruthless enough.
Throughout the competition to become the Machete God, he did not kill a
single person, and would stop fighting upon making contact with the
opponent. Several times, he merely knocked off his opponent's weapon.
He was a handsome-looking and good-natured young man, and his amiable

and cheerful personality made him more popular than Sword Sacrificer Ye
Silang. Prior to entering Stone Castle, Gu Shenwei would have, like the
majority of people, regarded Huang Shi'an as an idol. However, the latter was
only an assassination target to him at present.
Huang Shi'an was considered a team's treasure and rarely participated in

fights between the two societies. Initially, he was kept safe in North City, but
after Marquis Gao's assassination, Horned Dragon Society assigned him to
South City, where he carried out garrison activities at the society's
machetemen stronghold.
As he was the symbol of Horned Dragon Society, killing him would naturally
be a heavy blow to the society.
Horned Dragon Society's stronghold in South City was located in the east,
close to the river which flowed through Jade City. From its rooftop, one
could see North City, with its neat and clean streets, across the river. More
than a hundred machetemen were stationed here, while many more of them
resided in the surrounding streets and lanes. The guard was watertight;
nobody from Kun Society had ever been able to step foot inside alive.
As this was an assassination rather than an open fight, Gu Shenwei selected

only five killers to be part of the squad. These people were Maid Lotus,
Liuhua, two other people, and himself. Liuhua was a reluctant choice - he
was the most proficient at crossbows, and the squad happened to need
someone like that.
This was a quintessential assassination campaign by Golden Roc Fort. Before

everything else, Tuo Nengya first sent a macheteman to tap on his hometown
connections to bribe a macheteman from Horned Dragon Society for
information regarding the layout of the residence, the situation of the guards,
and Huang Shi'an's daily routine.
Next, the bribed macheteman was assigned a further task - he would attempt
to bribe the chef and make the latter add poison to the target's food.
There were too many variables involved in a poisoning attempt, and that was
why it was not Stone Castle's preferred means for an assassination. Gu
Shenwei's rationale for this move was to confuse the opponent. If Horned
Dragon Society discovered the presence of a mole, it would falsely believe
that the assassination was still being prepared.
Two days after the abortion of the duel, in the evening of the eleventh day of
the first lunar month, the poisoning plan was carried out. The five killers set
off in their full outfits and gear, unbeknownst to anyone else.
Their journey began slightly past 9:30 p.m., and it would be nearly five hours
later when they entered Horned Dragon Society's stronghold. They did not
attract attention from a single person along the way. The two anonymous
killers would keep watch while Maid Lotus performed the main task, Liuhua
made up for any slight errors, and Gu Shenwei coordinated the overall
situation.
Dark clouds covered the sky and obscured the moonlight. This was a killer's
favorite sort of night. There was not the slightest hint of failure in the cold
air.
Maid Lotus was about to jump off the roof and sneak her way into Huang
Shi'an's room when Gu Shenwei, almost deliberately, had a bad feeling at this
time.
Some areas seemed a little odd. The courtyard was too quiet - there was not a
single guard on duty, and it had been very well cleaned up. Although he
could not see everything clearly, he could confirm that there was hardly any
junk in the courtyard.
Gu Shenwei recalled his impression of the Machete God Huang Shi'an. The
teenager was accompanied by a gang of machetemen whenever he went. He
was chatty and humorous, and never seemed like someone who enjoyed
quietude. The owner of this courtyard, however, seemed to be a monk who
had little earthly desires.
This was not the first time Gu Shenwei worked on intuition. He believed in
its accuracy, and so, with a gentle shake of his head, called off the
assassination.
Though Maid Lotus was surprised, she obeyed the order and retreated
towards him. Liuhua remained at his spot and only followed behind when the
two of them had walked past him.
The first killer on lookout was called Slave Jing. He was keeping guard on a
rooftop, and also followed behind after the prior three had walked past.
The second killer on lookout was Slave Yuan, and he hid on a courtyard wall.
These two killers were former members of the Tattooed Arm Gang, and were
people whom Gu Shenwei trusted.
Slave Yuan was dead.
He laid on top of the wall in the same way he would if he was alive. The
moment Gu Shenwei past by the body, he knew the latter was dead.
The fatal wound was at the back of his head. It was extremely small and did
not bleed much. Slave Yuan did not feel any pain.
The four killers took turns to carry the body back to the stronghold. Lighting
a few candles, they stood round the corpse silently, while bouts of uncertainty
and fear arose in their hearts.
It was a sword wound once again.
It seemed as if, overnight, all of Jade City's assassins had switched to learning
swordcraft instead.
Slave Huan was certainly not a mediocre killer. Otherwise, he would not
have survived the mutual killings during the apprentice years, and
furthermore, would not be chosen by Shangguan Ru.
The person who killed him had to be an elite master adept at assassination.
The scariest thing was that Slave Yuan did not know, up to his death, that
someone had got close to him.
Gu Shenwei was still wearing a mask on his face, and so did the other three
killers. Nobody said a word.
Someone had "helped" Yang Huan to stab Ye Silang, and yet this time,
someone else had turned around and "helped" Horned Dragon Society to
eliminate a killer. These matters were becoming increasingly complicated.
Slave Yuan's death was kept private such that few people in South City knew
about it. However, in the morning after the assassination campaign, a human
head was displayed on the gate of Kun Society's messuage. It belonged to the
hidden traitor whom Tuo Nengya had bribed.
The image which Gu Shenwei had painstakingly built up was destroyed
overnight. Within Golden Roc Fort, the life of a killer was considered
cheaper than an ant's, but outside of the stone walls, it was more valuable
than that of a hundred machetemen. The campaign which Slave Huan had
planned not only yielded anything, but also cost the life of a companion. This
was an extremely severe offense.
Gu Shenwei went alone to North City to admit his guilt.
Shangguan Yushi intended to punish Slave Huan according to Stone Castle's

rules by chopping off one of his fingers, but was stopped by Shangguan Ru.
She was also displeased - she only had ten killers under her command, and
with one dead, she was left with nine. This was two less than her brother
Shangguan Fei. However, instead of blaming Slave Huan, she ejected
everyone else from the room and kept him back for a one-to-one talk.
On the way out, Shangguan Yushi revealed a spiteful look, and when she
reached the door even turned back and commented, "Tenth Young Master,
please consider carefully. If your heart is soft now, it'll ache in the future."
Shangguan Ru nodded in response. When the room was left with only two
people, she peered at Slave Huan with her jet black eyes. "For some time
now, you've been speaking in half sentences. I'll like to know what you were
thinking."
"There's a mole among us." Gu Shenwei had not planned to say this because
he knew it sounded like he was deflecting responsibility, but Shangguan Ru
had read his mind and thus he could only speak frankly. "And that person is
one of Tenth Young Master's killers."
Subsequently, however, Gu Shenwei did not know how to prove to

Shangguan Ru that he believed the mole was Shangguan Yushi.
Chapter 162 - An Unexpected
Teacher
Chapter 162: An Unexpected Teacher
There were many signs which pointed to the presence of a traitor within Kun
Society, and furthermore that he or she was of an important position.
Gu Shenwei had already reached this conclusion after Shangguan Ru was

abducted in the deserted village. The mole had to be very familiar with Tenth
Young Master and Slave Huan to know that there was a great disparity in
their Lightness Skills.
Subsequently, during the duel in Rouge Forest, the assailant apparently

understood Slave Huan's tactics and waited patiently nearby.
Even fewer people knew about the campaign to assassinate the Machete God
Huang Shi'an, yet the squad still fell into the enemy's trap. Had Gu Shenwei
not called off the mission at the last possible moment, the casualties would
perhaps not have been limited to one killer.
The first person whom Gu Shenwei suspected was Shangguan Yushi.
Master Yu naturally would not think about harming or kidnapping Tenth

Young Master; her motive was to lead Slave Huan to commit an unforgivable
mistake, and thereupon use Stone Castle's power to get rid of him or cause
him to completely lose Shangguan Ru's trust.
In the middle of all this, however, there was something which Gu Shenwei
could not make sense of, and that was the question of why the assassin
wanted to kill Ye Silang in Rouge Forest.
There seemed to be a connection between these matters when they were

understood together, yet there also appeared to be contrasting motives. Gu
Shenwei was unable to come up with a holistic explanation, and so he did not
reveal all of his suspicions to Tenth Young Master.
"Allow me to find out who the mole is."
Moles and traitors were the types of people whom Shangguan Ru hated the
most. However, she was somewhat hesitant this time. Gu Shenwei could tell
that, in Tenth Young Master's eyes, the status of "Slave Huan" was currently
declining.
"Alright, but keep it a secret. I don't want everyone to become suspicious of

each other."
Gu Shenwei bowed and accepted the instructions. "I'll conduct the

investigation alone."
When he returned to South City, Gu Shenwei thought through everything

several times. He realized that he had very few clues at hand, and did not
even know where to begin from.
Maid Lotus and the Xu siblings had kept up the covert investigation of the
deaths of Marquis Gao and Zhou Huan, and although they found out a fair bit
of information, there was nothing useful to identify the true murderer or even
ascertain the existence of one.
Male prostitutes were very popular in Jade City. Most of the rich sons in
North City owned such a plaything or two. Zhou Huan was a little different
from the others; he was already in his twenties, which was slightly old for a
male prostitute, yet his relationship with Marquis Gao remained strong and
stable. The latter had even helped him to buy Heng Sheng Riceshop.
Shopkeeper Mi's claim that contradictions arose between them was indeed
true. Like most ordinary couples, they often bickered. The main contradiction
was Marquis Gao's philandering heart - he was attracted to both males and
females. The last quarrel between them was more intense than usual, and it
happened on the last day of the twelveth lunar month, when Marquis Gao
secretly entered South City.
On that day, Marquis Gao came to visit Zhou Huan, but after a quarrel, he
went to find a female prostitute.
Nobody had witnessed the quarrel, but a few people who entered Heng Sheng
Riceshop after the fact discovered that the whole shop appeared to have been
ransacked by robbers, and there were debris and rice grains scattered all over
the floor. Zhou Huan was seen sitting on a rice barrel giggling foolishly, and
when he noticed the visitors, he flew into a rage and drove all of them out.
Based on these accounts, it seemed likely that Zhou Huan had indeed
committed homicide and suicide in a heat of passion.
But Gu Shenwei remained skeptical. He had seen Zhou Huan's body with his
own eyes; the wound on the neck was very deep, and did not seem possible to
be inflicted upon oneself. However, because he had not seen the corpses of
other suicide cases, he dared not confirm the accuracy of his judgment.
He had to do a little something.
When the commandant Zhong Heng received the killer Yang Huan's
invitation to visit Xu Yanwei's house in the afternoon the next day, he, as
usual, agreed and brought along two junior officers.
They were already "old friends", and always had interesting conversations.
The banquet swiftly began. Because Gu Shenwei was a terrible drinker, he
enlisted Tuo Nengya, together with the Xu siblings, to make sure that the
guests drank to their hearts' content.
During the dinner, Gu Shenwei thanked Commandant Zhong for his support
towards Kun Society, then gradually changed the topic to Marquis Gao's
death. Having drunk a little too much, Xu Xiaoyi was not his usual cautious
and meticulous self. He unexpectedly thumped the table and stood up. "I
simply don't believe that Marquis Gao was murdered by Zhou Huan. It's not
as if they hadn't quarreled before. How could things escalate to the extent of
murder this time?"
Zhong Heng placed his glass down. "I'm also not convinced."
Gu Shenwei was slightly surprised. "Ah, what flaw has Commandant Zhong
noticed in the evidence?"
Stroking his thin beard, Zhong Heng appeared hesitant about whether or not
to speak the truth. "A large part of it is based on my experience. I've been
involved in many homicide cases in which the murderers committed suicide
out of guilt or fear of punishment. However, I've rarely seen a case like Zhou
Huan's where the murderer only takes his own life a few days after his crime.
Suicide is a very difficult thing to do for most people, and is either done
when emotions are at their most intense or not at all."
Gu Shenwei felt that this explanation was very reasonable. He had discovered
the corpse on the fifth day of the first lunar month, and many experienced
machetemen surmised that Zhou Huan had died two or three days prior,
which meant his death took place on the second or third day of the first lunar
month. This was three or four days removed from Marquis Gao's death.
Xu Yanwei held on to her robe horrifiedly. "This means a murderer killed

both of them. That's terrible! And to think Marquis Gao was such a nice
person."
The female prostitutes were never much bothered by their clients' keeping of
male prostitutes - there was no direct competition between them anyway.
"Marquis Gao was too careless with money." These words of Zhong Heng
ended the discussion. An officer promptly changed the subject to something
more trivial, and the banquet resumed an atmosphere of jocosity.
The two officers were first to take their leave. Conversely, Commandant
Zhong was adamant not to leave this soon having stepped foot into a brothel.
What's more, Xu Yanwei had given him several hints throughout the banquet.
She eventually succumbed to the liquor and was staggering about. Had the
commandant not held her up in time, she might even have fallen on the floor.
He carried her into her bedroom, and when he reemerged, everyone knew it
was time to end the banquet.
Zhong Heng was done with a perfect day, and he was beginning to feel as if
his bones were dissolving. He finally realized why the bunch of playboys
from North City loved coming to South City. It was not only the cleanest and
safest city but also had the filthiest of places where people could come to
unwind.
"Beauty and ugliness go hand in hand." "The place where the most beautiful
things exist is also where the ugliest things are found." In his half-asleep
state, the commandant came up with several such abstruse thoughts, and felt
that he was beginning to think like Laozi himself. With that, he calmly drifted
off to sleep.
One can, therefore, imagine the horror when Zhong Heng woke up and
realized his hands were tied behind his back.
He laid on the bed with his back resting against several pillows. The beauties
who spent the night with him were gone. The room was pitch-dark, and the
only thing he could sense clearly was the numbing pain from the ropes
pressing against his skin. He struggled a few times tryingly and quickly
sobered up. "Manager Yang, what are you up to?", he cried.
In reality, of course, the title of "manager" was not the killer Yang Huan's
true identity. This commandant was the only person who took it seriously and
used it regularly.
Gu Shenwei sat in a corner observing the captive on the bed.
The present scene was somewhat similar to a previous scene in another

brothel, except that the positions were changed and one of the bodies was
now tied up in ropes.
"Please forgive me, Commandant," Gu Shenwei said unemotionally, without

a sense of repentance in his voice.
"Forgive? Forgive what? Faster release me!" Zhong Heng burst into rage.
From his perspective, the youth was failing to recognize his greatness. He
had treated the latter with kindness, yet was requited with such indignity.
There was nothing but silence from the corner.

"Hey, young hero, this is something that even Golden Roc Fort wouldn't dare
to do, yet a killer like yourself has done. Since you want to kidnap me, you
shouldn't have allowed the two junior officers to leave. A commandant may
not be considered a high-ranking official, but I can sit at the same table as
people from the Stone Castle. What you're doing is a huge mistake."
"I often make mistakes," Gu Shenwei remained unmoved. "No harm making
one more."
Zhong Heng was full of lines he used whenever he dealt with official affairs,
but not one of them proved to be useful this time. He ruminated for a while
and suddenly understood. Relaxing his body and resting against the pillows,
he said, "Killers and prostitutes are the two most untrustworthy types of
people in the world. I can't believe I've trusted them and even drank with
them. Alright, I've lost this time. Tell me what your demands are."
The person in the corner blinked his eyes and flashed a piercing glance at the
commandant. "Let me ask you, Commandant Zhong, what problem did you
intend to solve when you killed Zhou Huan?"
"Are you kidding? I didn't kill Zhou Huan."
"Commandant, do you remember that when I visited you on the 3rd day of
the month, you offered me a few rice grains as a clue? It was this clue that
allowed me to find Zhou Huan's body."
"What does this explain? Is it wrong of me to give you clues with good
intent?"
"It doesn't explain anything, but it's too coincidental. Zhou Huan hadn't died
very long when you offered me the clue, it was as if you knew in advance.
What's more, even the people in South City who're the best at digging for
information hadn't heard of such an important clue. It just seems very odd."
"Hah, how old are you this year? Eighteen? Why are you as suspecting as an
eighty-something old man?"
"Commandant Zhong is an expert at 'solving problems'. I just don't believe

you would casually offer a clue like this."
Zhong Heng remained silent for some time, busy assessing the severity of the
situation. "You… you aren't serious, right?"
"How different are the offenses of kidnapping a commandant and killing

one?'"
Zhong Heng strenuously swallowed a gulp of saliva. "This youth is mad,

but… a mad child is sometimes scarier than a mad adult. Especially when
he's a killer." "Will you let me go?"
"I will once I hear the truth."
"Are you not afraid I'll take revenge?"
"I'll offer you a compensation proposal which I'm sure you'll be highly
satisfied with, and you won't want me to die early then."
"Hurr." Zhong Heng cackled, beginning to suspect if the youth in the corner
was truly in his teens. "You're right, I already knew about Zhou Huan's death
by the third day of the month. I purposely led you and Tenth Young Master
to discover the body. I came up with the story about the rice grains myself."
This was the first true sentence. Gu Shenwei nodded his head and awaited
even more truth.
"I didn't kill Zhou Huan, and Marquis Gao's death had even less to do with
me. Though I may often only think about 'solving problems', I remain
interested in the truth. Because I knew about Zhou Huan's relationship with
Marquis Gao, I went to find him shortly after the latter's death. Zhou Huan
was very animated. He said he knew who killed Marquis Gao, but flatly
refused to say the name. Like most people, he didn't trust a commandant, and
wanted to take revenge by himself. When I went to find him again on the
second day of the month, he was already dead. This is what happened."
"I'm sure you have already made a reasonable guess who it was."
"Conjectures are worthless."

"Not always. Listening to you has taught me a lot. The weight of your
guesses is naturally different from other people's."
A wry smile appeared on Zhong Heng's face. He quietly felt that the price of
teaching this killer had already been too great. "My guess is Fifth Young
Master Meng. Marquis Gao had cheated him of a fair bit of money, and he
was very angry when he found out. Aye, I now know how it's like when a
young man is angry. In the days before Marquis Gao's death, the Meng
family demanded a large portion of the debt be repaid. I believe it's no
coincidence that they are the creditors who've suffered the least losses."
Gu Shenwei's guess was the same, but he wanted to find out even more.
Chapter 163 - Seeking Protection
Chapter 163: Seeking Protection
The youthfull killer really gave the commandant a replacement suggestion

which he could not refuse.
"Two thousand taels as a basic monthly salary and as long as I'm alive, this
source of income will always be there."
Zhong Heng was trying to move his cramped up legs and stopped when he
heard this statement. 24 thousand taels of silver annually were just about the
right amount to compensate for a shaming that no one saw - not too much and
not too little. He really was reluctant for this child to die too soon. He said,
"Are you aware that the positions of Commandant and Governor change
every three years, and after a few more months my term of office will end?"
There was a Governor of the Jade City who existed only in name and his
popularity was not even on par with that of a small protector in the South
City. Gu Shenwei had heard a little of him but did not pay too much attention
to it. "As long as you, Sir, are in the Western Region, this amount of money
will be delivered to you on time."
"I don't even know if I should believe you."
"Please, believe me, Sir, for you did not earn this sum of money because of
your official post but due to your experience and insight. I'll be back to learn
from you again."
This sounded a little audacious but also like an ingenious way of flattering
the Commandant. Zhong Heng thought for a little but settled for the latter
impression. He said mirthfully, "Whoever knew that a mediocre official like
me would be looked upon so highly by others? Hey, I believe you."
It was just dawn as Gu Shenwei escorted Zhong Heng downstairs and the
commandant hurriedly left. At the entrance, he turned around and said, "I did
not further investigate this case at that time, but if I were looking for leads, I
would put in a lot of effort to find Marquis Gao's personal servant."
The Xu siblings were also on their way downstairs from their sleeping
quarters and had quite a shock - to kidnap the commandant was not in the
plan they heard before.
"You are alright, correct?" Xu Xiaoyi tried to look as if he had nothing to

fear, but his voice did not feel bold in any way.
"Everything's fine." Gu Shenwei's voice portrayed serenity, but even he did

not have full confidence in receiving Zhong Heng's forgiveness. He did not
know how much of an effect the silver would have nor did he know how high
ranking the position of commandant in the Jade City was, and it was a rash
action he took this time.
"Mister Zhong is a good man…" said Xu Yanwei timidly, as if implying that

all of the customers she had were good men.
"Marquis Gao had a personal servant when he came to the South City.
Xiaoyi, go gather information and find out where he is, but do not alarm
him."
Zhong Heng's reminder was valuable as Gu Shenwei had overlooked this

lead. Even though he had been enslaved for over two years, his thoughts and
habits still had the mark of Master Gu. Servants were an unfamiliar group of
people to him and he rarely gave consideration to them - just the same way
the masters in the Stone Castle treated him.
Xu Xiaoyi was out gathering information for the entire day but surprisingly,
no one knew his whereabouts. Logically, he would not have the financial
capability to stay in the North City after his master's death and definitely
would have been lodging at the South City. However, he had vanished, and it
felt as if he did not care about his master's death or put in effort to look for
his next master.
"Or he could have had backing and defected to a new master at the North
City," deduced Xu Xiaoyi.
Gu Shenwei thought that this was possible and was even more convinced that
this servant had secrets to hide, thus he went into hiding. He requested for Xu
Xiaoyi to continue gathering information while he returned to the stronghold
of the Kun Society to handle the day to day tasks with Tuo Nengya.
The war was still going on and the Kun Society still had strong momentum.
Only a few noticed that they were starting to show signs of losing, and Tuo
Nengya was one of them. He said, "For three days consecutively there have
been no new merchants defecting to us and all available resources have
already been depleted. If this continues, I'm afraid we will not have much
spending money left."
The monthly expenditure for the over 100 machetemen hired at a high rate
was over 20 thousand taels of silver. There were also various expenditures
which amounted to about 30 thousand taels of silver. On the other hand, the
Kun Society had only managed to gather 20 thousand taels for funds through
various channels. Gu Shenwei was using Tie Hanfeng's inheritance to top up
the difference now but it would not be viable in the long term.
"We have to give a thought to the cessation of hostilities," suggested Tuo

Nengya. "If we manage to do that, we can move on to legitimate armed
escorting and largely reduce the number of machetemen hired."
"This is a decision to be made by the Tenth Young Master." Gu Shenwei did

not care about money and wished that this war would continue on forever. He
wished for it to grow larger in scale too; the larger the better - if the mole
could be found, it would greatly stir up the fighting spirit of Shangguan Ru.
After the matter of the machetemen was settled, Maid Lotus brought an
unexpected piece of news which made Gu Shenwei simultaneously both
excited and puzzled.
"Slave Jing wants to meet you; he has words for you."
Among the 10 killer youths selected by the Tenth Young Master, Wildhorse
had formed his own gang with five others. Liuhua was alone and the former
"Tattooed Arm Gang", which could be considered as another faction, had
four members. With the death of Slave Yuan, there were only three of them
left.
Slave Jing waited until between nine to eleven o'clock in the night before
sneaking in to meet Slave Huan. There were only the two of them in the room
and, as a huge sign of respect, he immediately went down on one knee upon
meeting Slave Huan - as if the person standing in front of him was a Young
Master of the Shangguan clan.
One had to be careful when dealing with killers, even more so when they
were from your own faction. You had to show that you were unfazed when
receiving flattery or humiliation. Gu Shenwei nodded and uttered an 'Um'
sound as a sign that he had accepted the other party's show of respect.
However, he made a side step and gave up his position to show that he did
not have the authority to accept such formalities.
"Slave Huan, you have to save me." Slave Jing rose and was awfully anxious,
even to the point that he did not seem to resemble a killer.
"Tell me, what happened?" Gu Shenwei asked. Maid Lotus was only
responsible for passing the message and Slave Jing did not divulge the details
to her.
"Someone killed Slave Yuan and wants to kill me."
Gu Shenwei wrinkled his eyebrows slightly. A killer kills as a profession and

naturally would be in the predicament of being assassinated many a time. If
one was not clear on this, he or she was not fit to be a killer. He wished his
followers to be strong and not pitiful beings being scared of death.
"I will protect you as long as you tell the truth."
"It's Master Yu."
Gu Shenwei felt sudden shock but his expression did not betray his feelings.
He waited for Slave Jing to continue speaking.
"One night the year before, I was with Slave Yuan carrying out a mission.
When we came back, we saw… heard that there were people speaking in the
alley outside. It was very late then and we were a little suspicious, so we
eavesdropped a little of their conversation. One of them was Master Yu - I
could recognize her voice - and the other was male, someone who I could not
identify. At first, the two of them spoke softly but they ended up arguing.
Shortly after they started arguing, Master Yu sensed that there were other
people in the vicinity and asked the other man to stop talking. Me and Slave
Yuan then began to scurry away."
"What was Master Yu and that man arguing about?" This was the question
that Gu Shenwei was most concerned about.
"I don't know, they were speaking too fast and I couldn't really understand
them. It seemed to have been about money."
"Okay, so the two of you ran. What next?"
"I thought that Master Yu had not seen the both of us; however, on the
second day, she came looking for us and fervently praised us, requesting for
us to monitor your movements."
Gu Shenwei did not make his thoughts known; it was right to not trust
anyone. Slave Jing and Slave Huan used to be core members of the 'Tattooed
Arm Gang' and after the massacre of the apprentices, they still displayed
great loyalty. However, under the influence of Master Yu, they could still
have turned into renegades.
Slave Jing did not mention how they had replied to Master Yu, and Gu
Shenwei did not pursue the matter further.
"Continue speaking."
"After that was the assassination operation of the past few days, we… told
Master Yu and who knew she wanted to kill off everyone. If it were not for
you deciding in the spur of the moment to cancel the operation, the second
person to die would have been me."
"You can't suspect Master Yu without evidence." Gu Shenwei said
indifferently, knowing that a big gift had been delivered to his doorstep.
"I did not make wild guesses based off of random speculation. It was after
Slave Yuan had died when Master Yu came looking for me again, saying
hypocritically that it was such a shame to lose Slave Yuan and even credited
it to your incompetence in direction, saying that the planning for the entire
operation was done too hastily and was full of loopholes. Slave Huan, we are
both killers and we know how to spot false friendship. Once she spoke, I
understood that she wanted to temporarily calm me down and was looking
for the right opportunity to strike."
Gu Shenwei did not remind Slave Jing that the first time Master Yu applied
false friendship, she tricked two people into trusting her.
"What do you want me to do? Help you to pass this message to the Tenth
Young Master? But you don't have any evidence."
"No, no, I don't wish for the Tenth Young Master to know about this matter.
She and Master Yu are so close that they could be the same person. I only
wish to seek your protection."
"I don't have such capability."
"You do." Slave Jing went down on one knee again and lifted his head to
look at Slave Huan, an expression of warmness emanating from his eyes. It
was as if a faithful worshipper had received a reply from the gods. "Slave
Huan, the things that you did may not be known to others, but they are known
to us. It is you that Master Yu had wanted to kill but was unable to. It was
you that could earn the trust of the Tenth Young Master. I am willing to
pledge my service to you, and I am willing to put my life in your hands rather
than being covertly assassinated by Master Yu."
A killer would have never pledged loyalty to another killer. This was not in
tune with the rules of the Stone Castle and if the masters of the Shangguan
Family found out, such an action was punishable by death.
Gu Shenwei side-stepped again and evaded Slave Jing's show of respect. He

had not made up his mind as to whether to trust the other party yet.
"I can protect you."
Slave Jing wanted to kneel again in a fit of happiness and Gu Shenwei

prevented him just in time. "But you have to understand, this is akin to
openly challenging Master Yu and she would be all the more keen to strike.
Furthermore, you have passed on your danger to me and Maid Lotus."
"Then there's only one way, isn't there?"
There was something in Slave Jing's expression that Gu Shenwei disliked - a

craziness that did not care about anything. This craziness was so strong that it
could destroy one and cause harm to others.
"You don't have to come up with ideas; the only thing you have to do is to
follow me. From now on, you will be a killer in my small team. Other than
Maid Lotus and myself, do not trust anyone else. If anyone says that the
Tenth Young Master has called for you, let that person see me. If anyone says
some Young Master has summoned you back to the Castle, let that person see
me too. If you are to be under my protection, you have to listen to me. Also,
do not act until I give you the approval to do so, do you understand?"
"I understand." Slave Jing finally calmed down. The nature of a killer took
effect, and now that there was someone willing to be responsible for his life,
he could go back to killing without a worry again.
Slave Jing had brought a crucial piece of information which he himself did
not fully know the importance of. Gu Shenwei had not managed to decipher
the message in such a short period of time as well. He knew he had a lead
which would allow him to uncover all the hidden mysteries, and the key was
how to make use of this lead to let Master Yu show her true colors.
Slave Jing's defection was akin to openly cutting all ties with Master Yu and
Slave Huan's acceptance of his defection was even more intensely taunting.
The balance which Gu Shenwei had maintained so carefully was shattered
just like this.
Master Yu had already shown her hand and it was now time for Slave Huan
to counter-attack. He did not have too many chances to try, therefore he had
to make sure to hit his target in one strike.
(Please save and share)

Chapter 164 - The Teahouse
Chapter 164: The Teahouse
It did not matter that whether Slave Huan wanted to kill Master Yu or
whether it was the other way around. The important question was not about
how to carry out the killing, it was how to avoid Shangguan Ru's suspicions.
The two of them had sworn an oath in the presence of the Tenth Young
Master to never fight again. Both had kept their word superficially over a
long period of time - no one wished for it to end with losses on both sides.
Gu Shenwei had always remembered the words of his Master Shifu Tie
Hanfeng - if you wished to 'safely kill somebody', then before you kill that
person you have to cut off the target's 'relationships'. Another way of looking
at this statement was that if you could not cut off the target's 'relationships',
then you had to remove 'suspicions' related to yourself, to not let anyone have
any doubts about you.
Shangguan Yushi managed to accomplish this. If she succeeded in her plans,

everyone would have thought that Slave Huan had died in the struggle
between the Kun and Horned Dragon Societies, and that his death had
nothing to do with her at all.
Gu Shenwei decided to use a more traditional method. If only he could

present evidence to Shangguan Ru showing that Master Yu had secretly
conspired with the Horned Dragon Society and had broken the seemingly
unbreakable bond between the two young women, his problem would be
solved.
The stronger the love, the deeper the hatred.
Gu Shenwei forced Slave Yuan to recount the situation during the

eavesdropping again and again, hoping to find the tiniest clues from his re-
enactment. In the end he came up with the conclusion that the man who was
arguing with Master Yu was not of high rank; he seemed to listen more than
he spoke, and Gu Shenwei felt as though the man was a little afraid of the
demoness.
Arguments and money; these two words danced around in his mind.
Shangguan Yushi's family was of average wealth; when she was in school,
she came up with all sorts of methods to get money from her classmates.
Could it be that she had borrowed money from the Meng Family? Or were
they debts owed by her brother when he was alive? If Meng Mingshi had
used this fact to humiliate Shangguan Yushi, Gu Shenwei did not feel
surprised at all. But it did not seem likely that Meng could have used this to
blackmail her into betraying the Tenth Young Master. Furthermore, Master
Yu seemed to be reprimanding the other party at that time, and this did not
seem like the sort of attitude a debtor would display towards a creditor.
Money - Marquis Gao's death was related to debts and the Meng Family as
well. Gu Shenwei naturally linked both cases together, and what delighted
him was that Xu Xiaoyi had managed to inquire about another important
lead.
"The servant who accompanied Marquis Gao into the South City was called
Qi Tian, which was pretty scary name, but in actual fact he was a honest man.
He did not have a choice and had to be called whatever his master had chosen
for him as his name. Everyone knew him as Qi Da, hey, which was just
removing a stroke from the character 'Tian'…", Xu Xiaoyi beat around the
bush before coming back to the main point. "He was hiding in Hope Alley,
and other than me, who could have found out about his whereabouts? Even
for someone like me, I had to expend so much effort…"
On the afternoon of the 15th day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar, Gu
Shenwei brought Xu Xiaoyi along with him to Hope Alley, while Slave Jing
was never far from his side. The three of them walked around in a big circle
before going to their destination.
Xu Xiaoyi harbored deep seated fear about this deserted alley. Many years
ago, he had travelled all around the South City and this was the only place he
had not explored. At first, he looked for all sorts of reasons not to enter the
alley and when his efforts were futile, he began to become anxious and
afraid. He said, "Brother Huan, I think you should not let me go further. I do
not know kung fu, and would be a burden if I went. Furthermore, wouldn't a
beautiful youth like me, who looks handsome, be swallowed alive upon
entering the Hope Alley?"
Hope Alley was situated due south of the South City and was the place of
'men'. Men who were castrated amounted to the thousands there and dealt in
all sorts of business. It was a small town in its own right.
Gu Shenwei had heard of this place before. At the very beginning, when the
Kun Society tried to rope in merchants to get protection money, Tuo Nengya
had warned him to not waste his efforts on Hope Alley. "That is the dirtiest
place in the entire Jade City and no one wishes to go near it. It is also the only
alley with no affiliation with the Stone Castle or the Meng Family, everyone
who lives in that alley are all evil in nature. It would firstly be very difficult
and secondly a joke in the eyes of others if you tried to collect protection
money from them," said Tuo.
Tuo Nengya was not entirely correct. There were still people who willingly
went nearby and even entered Hope Alley. What Xu Xiaoyi was afraid of
was the preferences of some of these people.
Even though Hope Alley lacked nothing, the trade which had supported its
continual growth was the same as Pleasure Alley.
"I heard that the people here have evil secrets, and specifically kidnap
beautiful young boys. Some castrate the boys with one stroke of the knife to
be the same as themselves, while other boys suffer an even worse fate and are
eaten alive, in the belief that doing so would grant eternal youth and beauty to
one…".
Upon entering Hope Alley, Xu Xiaoyi clung onto the elbow of Brother Huan
as if his life depended on it. He was afraid to let go because the horror stories
that he had heard during his childhood was now occupying his entire
thoughts.
Slave Jing did not look quite right either; once the fear of death had sunk in
its hooks, it was hard to shake it off. He felt like a frightened bird fleeing
from an archer, and the crowded Hope Alley with its mix of the good and the
bad seemed like the perfect place for Master Yu to send people to assassinate
him.
Gu Shenwei did not believe all these baseless rumors. Furthermore, the
residents of Hope Alley did not seem any different, some of them even grew
facial hair and did not look like eunuchs in the slightest bit. The only
difference was the expression in their eyes; they seemed to possess a certain
special ability to recognise an outsider in one glance. As soon as Gu
Shenwei's party of three stepped into Hope Alley, they started drawing the
attention of many.
Xu Xiaoyi grew more afraid and was literally hanging on to Brother Huan's
elbow as he walked. Gu Shenwei had to bring him along as only this child
could recognise the personal servant of the late Marquis Gao, Qi Da.
Hope Alley stretched a long distance with many twists in between. As one
entered deeper into it, its uniqueness started to become more apparent. The
number of shops became fewer and the houses lining the streets were mostly
without any signboards but there were one or two men outside of their doors.
To call them men would be a stretch, as the amount of make up they applied
was even more than that of the prostitutes of Pleasure Alley. Amongst them
were a few who were so beautiful without any equal, and no one would ever
suspect a thing if they were to be identified as women.
The two killers and the youth hung their heads down as they walked and did
not respond to the suggestive or open advances that were made towards them.
Xu Xiaoyi's intelligence had pointed out that Qi Da was hiding in the Joy
Pavilion, situated at the heart of the Hope Alley. All they had to do was to
continue walking in the same direction towards it.
"Keep alert and do not let Qi Da slip away from you," reminded Gu Shenwei.
Xu Xiaoyi lifted his head and swept his eyes around after taking a few steps.
He quickly grew nervous and afraid, and he muttered, "I'm the ugliest, please
don't take a fancy to me…".
There were three stories to the Joy Pavilion, and it was a mix of various
weird establishments in one place: on the first story was a teahouse, which
was not entirely unheard of in the South Jade City, but rarely seen, on the
second story was an area to wait before being called for, while a bunch of
fortune tellers was living on the third story.
A signboard with four large words which meant 'Be pleased till you are at a
loss for words' hung on the building.
"It is said that the fortune tellers here are the most accurate. There is a living
immortal who can describe your entire life clearly to you. Let's give it a try
later."
They did not encounter any form of danger on their way and Xu Xiaoyi
began to feel more confident and he started to feel concerned about his own
future.
"You do not have to go for any fortune telling, as you will be serving
prostitutes and killers for your entire life."
Xu Xiaoyi retorted earnestly, "Who knows, no one says that my sister cannot
turn over a new leaf and stop being a prostitute."
The teahouse was filled with customers and the three newcomers managed to
find an empty table after some effort. After they sat down, they started
observing the guests.
The guests consisted of the weird and the grotesque. There was old folk so
wrinkled that you could not guess their age, grotesque creatures who had
facial birth defects and looked frightening and many cripples with
amputations. The common characteristic of all of them was that they seemed
generally uninterested and without a care for the world, focusing all their
attention on drinking the tea that was placed in front of them.
The counterjumpers were normal looking though, but they purposely

overlooked serving the new guests, keeping a distance away from them.
"Where is Qi Da?"
"I don't know. It is said that he hides here, but no one said whether he was
drinking tea on the first story or having his fortune told on the third story."
"Call the counterjumper to come over here."
The reluctant Xu Xiaoyi stood up, and after a while, managed to call a
reluctant counterjumper over to their table.
"What is it?" From the tone of the counterjumper, it was as if he was a

supervisor in the Stone Castle with real authority.
Gu Shenwei placed a gold nugget on the table and said, "I'm looking for Qi
Da."
The counterjumper glanced at the gold nugget and said, "Wait a moment." He
turned and left them, as if the guest had just told him the name of a dish.
Gu Shenwei was a little taken aback that things would be so easy.
The counterjumper was gone for a while before appearing again with a man
who was over thirty years old. The man had applied a thick layer of powder
on his face and had a pair of naturally worrisome eyes which seemed filled
with rage at this moment.
Xu Xiaoyi shook his head, indicating that this was not Qi Da.
"Get out, you lot are not welcome here," said the man with make up loudly.
The other guests acted as if they had not heard a thing and did not even
bother to avert their gazes from the commotion.
"I'm looking for Qi Da." Gu Shenwei repeated his request while placing a
gold nugget on the table again.
"He is not here, search for him somewhere else."
Gu Shenwei thought in his heart that someone else had already came looking
for Qi Da. He placed his saber beside the gold nugget and said, "Why don't
you think again, perhaps he is in this very building."
The man with makeup took two steps back and pursed his lips tightly shut.
Three guests sitting nearby suddenly stood up and stared at the youthful killer
in silence.
The three guests had each lost their entire right arm and one of even them had
a slight limp. They drew their short knives as if they were performing a
magic trick. The short knives were wide and sharp.
Xu Xiaoyi sensibly shut his eyes and lied flat on the table. He was
experienced in such situations and knew that Brother Huan's machete skills
were first class; after lying still for a while, he would see three corpses when
he opened his eyes.
But Xu Xiaoyi had thought wrong, and there was not a sound from the
surroundings. He sat up straight and noticed that the three one-armed
machetemen were still silently facing off against the two youthful killers, as
if no one had any intention to make the first move.
Gu Shenwei knew that he had been careless. As no one had mentioned that
there were kung fu masters in Hope Alley, he had treated the place like a
Pleasure Alley that was replaced with men, and never would he have thought
that he would meet masters here.
The three one-armed men were highly skilled, and not those common
machetemen who were only good at fighting, but experts in killing.
Slave Jing drew his machete first, and as his hands made its first movements,
Gu Shenwei drew his as well. From the view of an onlooker, the two youths
had made their moves at the same time.
As so it was that both of them were suppressed at the same time as well.
Their machetes were only drawn out of their scabbards for a few inches
before being returned back in.
Gu Shenwei and Slave Jing had channelled their Internal Breaths while
drawing their machetes, and felt as if a massive rising tide of lake water had
faced obstructions and gushed back immediately. Their bodies shook a little
and they nearly fell over, a red glow starting to appear on their faces. They
only managed to return back to their original state after channelling their
Internal Breaths for a few cycles.
A youth who was of over twenty years of age stood in front of the two
youthful killers. He was decked entirely in pale purple, and looked
handsome, classy and demure. He had female-like features but did not apply
any makeup on his face. The killers stayed fully alert, entirely unaware of
when he had made his appearance.
The youth withdrew his hands and took a step back, giving a slight bow.
"Tonight an unlucky constellation is in the skies, and it is not suitable for
violence."
Gu Shenwei had never met anyone with such a high level of kung fu and felt
feelings stirring up inside him. He could not find his tongue for a long while.
The man with makeup applied and the three one-armed men treated the youth
with the utmost respect, and showed their respects with a deep bow behind
his back. They kept their machetes and retreated at the same time.
The youth looked at the faces of the three guests one by one and studied them
for a while before saying, "Immortal Peng wanted to call for one of you, but
did not mention whom, I guess - it is you."

Chapter 165 - Dressed in Purple
Chapter 165: Dressed in Purple
Doctor Sun of the North City and Immortal Peng of the South City were
famous within the walls of the Jade City, and while one needed fame and
riches before being able to pay a visit to the Doctor, one could only rely on
fate to meet Immortal Peng.
There were not many who were destined to meet him, and most who had such
an opportunity would be extremely delighted. It was unheard of for one to be
so afraid, like Xu Xiaoyi who nearly wet his pants.
"Me?"
"Um, you."
"No, no, you've got it wrong. I, I am just a follower. He is the master."
Xu Xiaoyi lifted his hand halfway and brought it back down, glancing
quickly at Brother Huan.
The youth was very certain and said, "It's definitely you."
Gu Shenwei nodded, implying that Xu Xiaoyi could see Immortal Peng; as

Xu did not know kung fu, he did not have to worry about any incident that
could happen.
Xu Xiaoyi got up nervously, and walked up the stairs at the youth's gesture.
The youth stayed behind and lowered his gaze, turning from a kung fu master
into an obedient slave in an instant.
The peaceful atmosphere lasted for half an hour. While Xu Xiaoyi had not
come back downstairs, a magical mutual understanding was established
between the two killers, who had not even exchanged glances.
Slave Jing suddenly made a move again, and was suppressed by the youth
once more when his saber was drawn halfway.
Gu Shenwei waited for the optimal moment to make his move, and that was
when the youth had finished making his move and had not yet turned his
attention toward him.
The saber opened a shallow wound in a line across the youth's neck. Gu
Shenwei felt regretful, as if he had used a sword, he could have killed this
kung fu expert and brought his swordsmanship up to the next level.
The youth staggered thrice, and this time everyone in the teahouse felt
shocked turning in sync to face the killer. Many of them reached under their
tables.
There were 29 different variations recorded in the Death Scripture but there's
only one move. If the opponent was of an average skill level in kung fu, Gu
Shenwei could keep striking repeatedly without considering about defence,
but his opponent was an expert, and he could only wait for the next
opportunity.
"Good machete technique," praised the youth. He did not even bother about
the wound on his neck and the female-like demure expression did not change.
The other guests turned back to their tea once more.
Gu Shenwei laid the drawn saber across his knees and said, "It's still a bit
lacking."
"I am Chu Yangjun, and I have yet to get your esteemed name yet, Sir." The
youth spoke presented himself as if they had just met, and gave his name. His
attitude had turned more cordial as well.
"I have come to look for someone, and only wish to ask a few questions."
Killers did not have the habit of announcing their names or affiliations. Gu
Shenwei still stuck to this initial request.
The man who had applied makeup came close and whispered a few words
into Chu Yangjun's ear.
"So you are Yang Huan, the killer from the Kun Society. I have long admired
your great fame."
"You flatter me. I am not here to look for trouble, but only wish to ask a few
simple questions. If he wishes to answer me he can, if he does not wish to it's
also fine. I do not wish to force him."
Chu Yangjun lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying,
"Fine, but I have one condition."
"Pray tell."
"The person you are looking for is sitting right here, Manager Yang can look
for him and question him, but you only have one chance, is that all right?"
Gu Shenwei nodded, still holding on to his saber and sitting at the same spot.
After a while, he got up and walked up to a hunched back old man who had
white hair, wrinkly and coarse skin and a lump growing on his head. He said
to the old man,"If I were you, I would not go too heavy on the disguise, nor
would I keep looking around."
The old man helplessly looked at Chu Yangjun once and sighed as he
straightened his back. "I know what you wish to ask, but I really do not have
anything to say, Marquis Gao's death has nothing to do with me. I really did
not witness anything, and when Zhou Huan died I was already back here. All
the more, it does not have anything to do with me."
"Can we speak in private?"
Chu Yangjun cut in to refute before the disguised Qi Da had a chance to

speak. "I'm afraid that's not possible. If others knew that he spoke in private
with you, it would bring more trouble."
"Then we shall talk here. I believe your words, that you have nothing to do
with Marquis Gao's death." Gu Shenwei paused for a while before throwing
out the question that was bugging him, "How did Marquis Gao get into
trouble with that special master, and cause you to get yelled at?"
While Qi Da's face was covered in many layers of disguise and no one could
detect any change in his facial expression, his mouth was agape and he was
speechless. Gu Shenwei knew that he had guessed correctly, and that Qi Da
was the man arguing with and getting an earful from Master Yu from the
conversation that Slave Jing had overheard.
"I-I…"
"I said I would not force anyone. If you do not wish to speak, that's fine, but
you have to consider whether other people would believe you."
Gu Shenwei did not know which of his words had provoked Qi Da, and the
latter suddenly became steadfast. "I do not know anything, nor do I
understand what you are talking about. If you know the rules, do not ask
another question," said Qi Da.
Gu Shenwei retreated back to his original position, and said to Chu Yangjun,
"And just like this, I have finished my questioning."
"It's for the best." Chu Yangjun seemed to become more curious about this
killer, as he stared at him without breaking his gaze. "Do you use a sword?"
"I don't, the sword was a gift from somebody else."
"That's right, Ye Silang said you were a swordsman, but during your duel
with him you did not use a sword, and neither did you today."
Xu Xiaoyi walked down the stairs with a strange expression on his face,
looking like the survivor of some great disaster, as he felt a mixture of
happiness and grief. It was as if the way the entire world looked had changed
in his eyes.
As soon as they stepped out of the Joy Pavilion, Xu Xiaoyi could not wait to
share his life's fortune with the others. "Immortal Peng is a real, living deity,
he…"
To his disappointment, Brother Huan was not even a little bit interested in
this matter and dragged him to be on their way. "You can speak of it later,"
he said.
What surprised and frightened him was that Brother Huan made a sudden
change of direction and unexpectedly ran straight towards the path of a
gorgeously dressed man. The man was leaning against his door and was
seemingly taken aback by this business opportunity. He said, "I only receive
one customer at a time, if there are three of you…"
Without waiting for him to finish, Gu Shenwei pushed the man and dragged
Xu Xiaoyi into the room.
"Oh, you don't have to be so hasty," said the man who was a little unhappy.
"The two of you stay here, no one is supposed to go outside."
Gu Shenwei gave his instructions, pushed the back window open and leapt
out.
Xu Xiaoyi and the man were shocked speachless and looked at each other.
When they were about to voice out their questions at the same time, Slave
Jing drew out his saber, and there was immediate silence in the room.
There was a stretch of high wall a few feet away from the back of the room,
separating Hope Alley from the other places. The ground around it was
strewn with refuse and even an entire winter's snowfall could not hide it.
Gu Shenwei walked quickly forward against the wall, all the way till he
reached the back of the Joy Pavilion. No one noticed him in the end.
The last sentence Qi Da spoke seemed to point towards some clue, and Gu
Shenwei felt that he had not guessed wrongly. Therefore he walked once
around while looking carefully and found what he was looking for at a spot
located at the foot of the wall.
Someone had used water from the snow to write a few lines, and it was very
written very lightly. If Gu Shenwei had come slightly later, he estimated that
the words would have been gone.
"Marquis Gao wanted money from the master, the master said it had been
given before and asked for Marquis Gao to know his limits. Nothing further."
This was what Qi Da wanted to tell the killer Yang Huan, and it was the
content of his argument with Master Yu on that night.
Gu Shenwei was a little surprised, he had thought that the person asking for
money would have been Shangguan Yushi. He was perplexed as to where did
Shangguan Yushi get the money to give Marquis Gao, and also why she
wanted to give it to him.
He picked up a handful of snow, wiped off the words and retraced his steps.
After walking for a short distance, he noticed that the path in front of him
was blocked.
The purple-clad Chu Yangjun stood on a small snowpack, and it looked as if

his feet were not touching the ground and had avoided the huge amount of
refuse. He held a sword in his hand.
Yet another swordsman.
"A swordsman is like a chess player; if two of them meet and did not play a
round together, it would lead to eternal regret for them. Please enlighten me."
Gu Shenwei grasped the hilt of his machete.
"There is no other person here, would you not want to use a sword, Sir?"
Gu Shenwei had his own set of principles, and against a challenger who came
looking for him on his own accord, he did not wish to show his real kung fu.
"The sword is a useless piece of equipment."
Chu Yangjun was unmoved by this taunt and did not again request for the
killer to use a sword. His sleeves flapped in the wind and it seemed as if he
would levitate at any moment.
Both of them were surprised. They could not detect any killing intent from
the other party, and it was as if neither was ready to make the first move.
Gu Shenwei was looking for the living energy from this opponent, but Chu
Yangjin was different from the others. his 'Qi' was clearer yet flowed faster,
and any flaw that presented itself quickly disappeared in a flash. Gu Shenwei
could not actually find the right moment to strike.
This duel ended abruptly. It was not certain why Chu Yangjin changed his
mind. He only said, 'I'm taking my leave', before leaping up onto the roof and
vanishing.
Gu Shenwei turned his head and saw that a window on the third story of the
Joy Pavilion was open. He was very certain that the window had been closed.
Gu Shenwei felt that his Internal Breath was not running smoothly. Upon
using the Death Scripture sword craft, one had to focus all of their
concentration, and once this state reached its peak but was not released, it
would cause great harm to one's body. He had faced qigong deviation
because of this before, and lately he had been in situations where he should
have struck but did not make his move.
In between his Baihui and Xuanji pressure points, there were still two
portions of Peripheral Force which were not broken through over these few
months. Gu Shenwei hoped that they would not complicate matters at this
juncture.
Gu Shenwei left the man in heavy makeup a silver ingot, and left Hope Alley
with Slave Jing and Xu Xiaoyi in tow. He had gotten important information,
but, instead of answering his questions, the doubts in his heart had increased.
To think that a Marquis would have requested for money from a female
master from the Stone Castle, and even got what he wished for once. Gu
Shenwei could not fathom the logic behind it, and even suspected that
commandant Zhong Heng had made use of him again. The leads given by
that old fox were all given for a reason.
The leads that he could chase down had become much fewer, but he was only
a small half step away from the truth.
Gu Shenwei was full of deep thoughts, and even two incidents of

machetemen fights which he encountered on the way back did not manage to
draw his attention. It was until when they were near the stronghold of the
Kun Society, and the shouts and screams came in from afar, that he reacted,
dismissing Xu Xiaoyi and sprinting with Slave Jing back towards the
residence.
The battle of the largest scale between both the Kun and Horned Dragon
Societies was in progress.
The battle took place in an unnamed alley, and the attacking party was the
Horned Dragon Society. Hundreds of machetemen swarmed forth, wave upon
wave pushing forward. Fifth Young Master Meng must have made a
tempting offer of reward to be able to cause his men to willingly sacrifice
their lives and become undaunted by danger. When every enemy was struck
down, they had to follow the practice of the Stone Castle and decapitate the
opponent.
The path back to the stronghold was blocked, and both killers leapt up onto
the roof to join the fray.
Unless one's hand was forced, experienced killers and machetemen would
never willingly jump into the heart of a battle, it was too crowded in there,
and no matter how good one's kung fu was, there would be no space to
unleash it. They ran around the surroundings and only picked off the
stragglers, acting as if they were predators hunting a large pack of prey. They
retreated once they had succeeded, and killed far more using this method than
those unproficient machetemen who were shouting until they had become
hoarse.
This was a mass melee that no one could control, and there were only a few
machetemen left who were struggling to maintain the machete formation that
Tuo Nengya had trained them in. The others were trapped and surrounded.
The battle continued late into the night. But none of the lanterns were lit in
the South City because it was the 15th day of the first month of the Lunar
Calendar, when there was a full moon.
More than a hundred corpses were left strewn on the streets. The merchants
of the South City did not open their stores for business for three consecutive
days, and every family had shut and locked their doors. No matter whether it
was night or day, there was hardly anyone to be found on the street and, all of
a sudden, the bustling South City had turned into a ghost town.
Gu Shenwei had released his long pent up killing desire, making a few ghosts
out of his saber, but he had also lost an important companion. What he gained
could not offset what he had lost.
Slave Jing was dead.

Chapter 166 - Sword Injuries
Chapter 166: Sword Injuries
Slave Jing had died due to a flurry of blows. There were wounds all over his
body, but his head was left intact miraculously.
He should have stayed with Slave Huan. It was unknown to him where they
lost contact with each other. There was murder everywhere, be it the roof or
the ground. Enemies kept popping up out of nowhere. When Gu Shenwei
noticed that Slave Jing was missing, it was already dark and there was no
way to look for him again.
Slave Jing became the second killer to die while under the Tenth Young
Master's command.
On the surface, it seemed like the Horned Dragon Society had suffered
greater losses, as they had over a hundred casualties. However, that was only
a quarter of their total strength. Even though the Kun Society had only 50 or
so dead, it was about half of all their machetemen.
After this cruel battle, both parties found it difficult to hire any more
machetemen. There were even some that left without a word, even though
they had been hired. Some of them didn't even want to receive their salary for
that month before they left.
Their lives were more important than money.
This time, everyone could predict the final winner. Even though it was
difficult to hire new machetemen, the Horned Dragon Society could still
make up for their shortfall with the riches of the Meng family. The Kun
Society, however, was running out of silver. Even if Tie Hanfeng's entire
inheritance was used, there was no way to compete with the enemy.
This was the first time Gu Shenwei felt truly alienated.
Although the outcome of this huge battle was not something that Slave Huan
could change, he, as the leader of the society, went missing and was nowhere
to be seen at such a crucial time. He joined the battle halfway through and the
killer he led into battle was also killed, all of which would become
imperfections in his record that he could not hide.
The killers maintained their distance from him. The machetemen no longer
trusted him. Even the Xu siblings panicked when they heard the news. They
remained respectful on the surface but had started to secretly accumulate their
silver. If the Kun Society suffered a crushing defeat in the end, they had to
spend money to look for new backing.
Maid Lotus was the only who remained unaffected by outside forces. She
even expressed her concern that there might be a plot leading to Slave Jing's
death, even before Slave Huan could say anything, saying, "Slave Jing wasn't
known to be rash, how could he have jumped into the fray just to be cut down
by so many blows?"
Gu Shenwei knew more than anyone else that the circumstances leading to
Slave Jing's death were unclear, but he still held himself accountable. He had
known that Slave Jing's life was hanging by a thread. Slave Jing was a key
figure in uncovering the truth, yet he had not stuck around closely to guard
Slave Jing.
The most difficult hurdle to overcome was to visit the North City and meet
Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Yushi stood beside the Tenth Young Master. She took part in the
battle and knew what went down. However, she did not criticise Slave Huan's
performance, which was a very rare occurence. She was smart. She knew
what to say and what not to say.
"Why was there not a hint of information before? We were caught completely
unaware."
Gu Shenwei had no explanation to Shangguan Ru's query. Even though there

was no clear segregation of duties, intelligence had always been his
responsibility. By being unaware of such a large scale attack by the Horned
Dragon Society, he had failed to carry out his duty.
"It's my fault. Your subject knows that he is guilty. Please punish me as you
see fit, Tenth Young Master."
Gu Shenwei could only admit to his mistake. This made him extremely
frustrated, as he knew that there was a conspiracy behind all these incidents.
However, he could not produce any evidence nor bring the matter up, as
Shangguan Ru would have felt that he was trying to frame Master Yu.
This situation brought back memories of the Giant Rock Cliff from a few
years back, when Shangguan Yushi tried to assassinate Slave Huan. Her
methods had become more matured and thoughtful as time passed. She was
now more careful of leaving behind any evidence that would indict her for
the crime. Slave Huan's opportunities to counter-attack were reducing.
"It's not your fault. I was too simple-minded. How could I have thought of
everything while being in the North City, separated from the situation by a
wall and a river?"
Shangguan Ru treated this statement as something a master with a

responsible attitude would say, but it felt like utter humiliation to Gu
Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei stayed behind in the North City. He claimed that he wanted to

meditate on his wrongdoings behind closed doors, but he sneaked out secretly
that evening. He went to pay Ye Silang a visit. He had nowhere else to go,
and could only try looking for answers from every outlet that he knows of.
Ye Silang's residence was situated at a small alley in the North City.

Compared to his neighbours, it looked a little shabby. He was a swordsman
with no other means of living. He depended entirely upon the financial
assistance of his admirers. Therefore, his income fluctuates with their moods.
Luckily, he did not have any special demands nor did he have any peculiar
tastes, therefore he managed to stay in the North City for this long.
Ye Silang sat on a soft couch and the front of his chest was still covered in
bandages. His upper body was naked and he placed his long sword beside
him. He was one of the few people in the North CIty with the permission to
carry a sword.
Perhaps it was due to the influence of Hope Alley, Gu Shenwei started

thinking about Ye Silang's perfect physique unconsciously. Even someone
with no interest in men had to be in awe as well. Even though he was still
recovering from his injuries, he looked like he is full of energy. The layers of
bandages seemed like it was only an accessory.
The only old slave of the Ye Family served tea and left in a hurry. It was only
then that Ye Silang spoke, "You saved me." There was not a hint of gratitude
in his voice. It felt more like sarcasm and indignation.
"You don't have to repay me. I have my own motives, and I wish to know
who it was that tried to kill you."
It was as though Ye Silang had not heard what the killer said. Ye Silang
stared at him without moving, and said, "I'm a swordsman, not a killer. No
matter what you think, I have to pay you back with a life."
Gu Shenwei had lived in the Stone Castle for far too long. He had nearly
forgotten that there were another set of rules which were different from that
of killers'. "There's no need to pay me back with a life. I have no use for that.
Tell me who wished to kill you, and we'll be even."
"That's my business. What does it have to do with you?"
"Whether or not it has anything to do with me, say it and we'll know."
"Hey, I've heard much about you. You like to stick your nose up the affairs of
others, and this isn't what a Golden Roc killer should be like. I'll repay the
favor of you saving my life, but how I repay it is up to me."
As the master had made an order to chase away the visitor, Gu Shenwei took
his leave. He circled around the outside, and returned to the entrance of the
alley. After waiting for a while, he saw the old servant of the Ye Residence
walking out, carrying a lantern and limping into a grand mansion through the
side gate.
The grand mansion was the Meng's residence. In the spur of the moment, Gu
Shenwei wanted to sneak into the mansion to check it out. After some
consideration, he gave up. He was not carrying a weapon with him and could
not extricate himself from any trap. Furthermore, it was not a good idea to
break into houses in the North City. Once this was discovered, the Golden
Roc Fort would not spare him from any punishment.
Gu Shenwei turned around and returned to the Ye Residence. The door to the
yard had only been partially closed, and he went in uninvited.
Ye Silang was practising his swordplay in the yard. When the cold moonlight
shone on his flawless skin, it looked as though an aura of a young deity was
emanating from him. It seemed like the aura had grown three heads and six
arms, and was wielding countless long swords.
Gu Shenwei watched silently; this was not a sword that has been crafted to
kill, yet one would still be enraptured by it.
Ye Silang sheathed his long sword and removed the bandages from his chest,
saying, "This isn't the first time that I've been injured."
"You'll get used to it sooner or later."
Gu Shenwei's body bore countless scars of various sizes. Every one of them
was more ghastly than those on the swordsman.
"I have a lot of things to get used to. This world has already been turned
upside down. My most loyal servant reports my every action to some rich
person, yet a killer is trying his hardest to find out who tried to kill me. Do
you know? All of this disgusts me, you and my servant."
"I don't see your purple cape." Gu Shenwei said casually, with no intention of
entering into a debate about what the world was supposed to be like with the
swordsman.
"Cape?"
"Yes, cape. I saw someone in the South City, who loves the color purple just
like you. I think…"
Ye Silang demonstrated another type of swordsmanship. Without seemingly

moving his body, he came face to face with the killer. The long sword
pierced into the killer's chest by about an inch. With just a little more force,
he could have killed this irritating youth. "Shut up!" The swordsman's face
was malevolent and had lost all its god-like lustre from earlier.
Gu Shenwei looked down upon the sword which had pierced his chest and
said, "This isn't the first time that I've been injured."
Ye Silang retracted his sword, and said with a face full of scorn and disgust,
"You should count yourself lucky that I'm a swordsman, and that this is the
North City. Sooner or later I'll repay you with a life, and then kill you
myself."
"Just like killing Marquis Gao?"
Once he spoke, Gu Shenwei knew that he had made a very incorrect guess.
Ye Silang lifted his head, which made his already tall stature to grow taller.
The youth in front of him seemed like a primary school student who was
guilty of something. He said, "You're a killer right to the bone, and will never
understand what it means to be a swordsman. A swordsman may kill, and
may even kill for profit, but will never kill someone behind their backs."
How could Gu Shenwei have understood what it meant to be a swordsman?

He had only known a few swordsmen, and even so they all appeared within
these few days. He said, "Lately, I've seen many who have died under a
sword, and every single case was an assassination."
As long as there was no mention of the purple-clad man from the South City,
Ye Silang could keep his emotions under better control. He lowered his long
sword, and there was even a faint smile appearing across his lips. "I've never
seen his wounds, but I know that Marquis Gao wasn't killed by a
swordsman."
Gu Shenwei did not immediately catch the hidden meaning of this statement,
and said, "Many have confirmed that the wounds on Marquis Gao's body
were caused by a sword, and you said it yourself before."
"They were sword wounds, but not the doing of a swordsman."
Gu Shenwei was enlightened all of a sudden. The type of kung fu that he was
most well versed in was sword craft, but he knew very little about the sword
craft which exists in the world. Even though Zhang Ji had loaned him many
swordbooks, they were all useless. He had never studied them in detail.
Therefore, his knowledge was far more shallow compared to this famous
swordsman, Ye Silang.
That's right, someone who kills with a sword does not necessarily need to be
a swordsman. Gu Shenwei now understands where his error in deduction
came from. Many issues now made sense to him, but there were still a few
details that remained unclear to him.
"So was that why you identified me as the murderer?"
"Not entirely. Marquis Go was a good friend of mine. I have a duty to avenge
his death. As for seeking you out for a duel, it was because someone wanted
your head. I've said that a swordsman would also kill for money."
Gu Shenwei was very sure that he knew who was it that wanted Slave Huan's
head. "What about the assassin in the Rouge Forest? Was he not a true
swordsman as well?"
"You still refuse to let go of this matter. That man is a swordsman, and an
expert who is hard to find. However, he is no match for me, and I'll seek my
own revenge. This has nothing to do with you."
The old servant of the Ye Residence pushed the door open and entered the
yard. He was shocked to see his master standing at the yard with his sword.
He immediately bowed down and said, "Fourth Master, you're not asleep
yet?".
Ye Silang nodded, while looking at the old servant who was quivering as he
entered the house. His heart was filled with hatred for the entire Jade City.
Gu Shenwei returned to the residence in the North City. Shangguan Ru was

still awake, and she asked him about his day's progress.
"I have some leads. I think everything will be made known in a few days'
time."
Gu Shenwei did not wish to divulge all of the information to the Tenth
Young Master. The next day, he returned to the South City. Firstly, he
ordered the Xu siblings to gather information on Chu Yangjun from the Hope
Alley. After that, he called for Maid Lotus. This was the only companion that
he could trust, and he had to remind her that danger was near.
"Be aware of Wildhorse. Marquis Gao, Zhou Huan, Slave Yuan and Slave
Jing were all killed by him. His next target would either be you or me."

Chapter 167 - The Praying Mantis
Chapter 167: The Praying Mantis
Marquis Gao, Zhou Huan, Slave Jing, and Slave Yuan were all murdered by
a killer. This was a pretty obvious fact. But because of their sword wounds,
this fact was ignored.
Swords and daggers were similar, and a top-rate macheteman would not
become weaker by using a sword. Moreover, there was not a single master
among the four who were dead.
Wildhorse had already thrown in with Shangguan Yushi. His hatred for the
"Tattooed Arm Gang" had never diminished.
Gu Shenwei gradually understood Master Yu's entire plan. Unless Slave

Huan and Maid Lotus all died under the sword, all the suspicions would fall
on Ye Silang. Moreover, there was also Chu Yangjun to consider. Who
would believe that a swordsman would not also like assassination? The
Golden Roc Fort's Shangguan Ru would definitely not believe this.
But Gu Shenwei still had a few unresolved issues. For instance, who was the
assassin of Rouge Forest? That person's swordcraft was excellent, and it
couldn't have been faked by Wildhorse. Also, how did Master Yu actually
contact the Horned Dragon Society? Why did he need to give Marquis Gao
money?
Gu Shenwei didn't have a lot of time to decipher these matters. Master Yu

and Wildhorse's plans were to begin.
This plan was indeed of ingenious design. On the surface, Gu Shenwei and
Maid Lotus seemed to be "walking into the devil's lair" on their own accord.
A macheteman received the news that Horned Dragon Society's Machete God
Huang Shi'an was still a gambler. Every two or three days, he would visit the
casino called "Thousand Eyes" for a bout.
Gu Shenwei was still responsible for collecting intelligence. Hence, such

news was automatically reported to him. He then had to journey to North
City to pass valuable information to Shangguan Ru.
The first assassination attempt of Huang Shi'an had been organised by Slave
Huan. Because of his failure, he had to fight to secure the second operation.
Slave Huan and Master Yu had a small dispute before the Tenth Young
Master. In the end, Shangguan Ru still gave the task to Slave Huan. This was
because Slave Huan needed to land a perfect operation to restore his
reputation and status in Kun Society.
To outsiders, Slave Huan's suspiciousness seemed to reach the level of

paranoia. Apart from Maid Lotus, he refused any other helpers. Even the
preliminary reconnaissance had been done by two people following in secret.
In other words, no one was allowed to know the details of this assassination.
Even so, Gu Shenwei was a hundred percent certain that he and Maid Lotus
were walking into a well-laid trap. Killers understood killers, and their
assassination plans were sure to be anticipated by Wildhorse.
This time though, he wanted to be prepared for battle.
On the third day of intelligence gathering, everything was going as planned.

Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus entered the North City in the evening. After
visiting the Tenth Young Master, he expressed his doubts. "This is a trap and
I suspect that Maid Lotus is the target."
Shangguan Ru sat cross-legged on the soft couch, an expression of serious

contemplation. Gu Shenwei could not help but think that this expression did
not suit the young girl before him. She was too young, and was used to being
pampered. She had no experience in living through the cruelties of war. She
would not know about how to handle such a complicated situation properly.
But Shangguan Ru used the oldest trick in the book to end the bitter rivalry
between Master Yu and Slave Huan. However, she did not know that any
civility on the surface had already been shattered. Their struggle had not only
destabilized their masters' position, but also destroyed the very foundation of
Kun Society from the inside.
Unless one of them died.
"Do you still believe Kun Society has a hidden traitor?"
"Yes. This night, the person who will attack Maid Lotus is a hidden traitor."
"Who do you suspect? I know you have someone in mind."
"Oh, I believe it's one of the killers. Someone held on to their grudge since
the apprenticeship days."
Gu Shenwei was very careful not to mention Master Yu. He believed it was
the same for Shangguan Yushi as well. The rivalry between the two was
intense, even as they looked amicable on the outside.
Shangguan Ru breathed a sigh of relief. She had been afraid that Slave Huan
would suspect Master Yu. This way, no matter whether the suspicion was
true or false, she would have to make a choice between the two. If it was a
case of hatred between killers, she could uphold justice without the slightest
hesitation.
As such, the matter was settled. Slave Huan and Maid Lotus went on their
assassination operation as planned. At the same time, they were to catch the
hidden traitor.
The two, dressed in black and wearing black masks, left straight from North
City. They did not travel the usual route but jumped over the high walls.
Then, they crossed the frozen river, walking towards South City. Meanwhile,
the killer, grasping a sword and dagger in each hands, readied himself, having
waited in anticipation for so long.
Judging from the sole act of assassination itself, the operation seemed simple.
Huang Shi'an was a gambler through and through. The intelligence that Gu
Shenwei had collected from various channels all suggested that before
Machete God had become famous, he was already fond of gambling. This
was why he had not received the favour of his patrons in the past.
Thousand Eyes was located in Chengdong. This was a casino protected by

the Horned Dragon Society. It was not far from the base camp and was very
safe.
Huang Shi'an often went to this betting arena, bringing seven to eight
machetemen. He liked the bustle, and liked to cheer on the crowds.
Gu Shenwei knew that this trap wasn't entirely mere speculation. From Xu
Xiaoyi's intelligence, he knew that the Machete God had been going to the
Thousand Eyes almost everyday. He had even become bolder in placing his
bets. "In less than ten days, this betting arena would collect tens of thousands
of silver. Tens of thousands! My God, these people are completely immersed
in the game."
Gu Shenwei thought immediately of the "rice and flour trade" game which
the great Protector Sack Zhou played. This was a game when the silver was
transferred from the left to the right hand. Horned Dragon Society used this
method to attract the attention of Kun Society without spending a single cent.
There was a small alley opposite Thousand Eyes and Huang Shi'an would
travel down this particular street after betting, heading for home. Gu Shenwei
and Maid Lotus had watched for three consecutive days, and both agreed that
this was the best spot for an ambush.
The plan was this: Gu Shenwei would perch on the rooftop of a house in the
alley and would use his advantage of higher ground to ambush the people
below using bow and arrow. Once spotted by the enemy he was to escape
immediately. The men of Horned Dragon Society would definitely jump atop
the roof to give chase and Huang Shi'an's kung fu greatly surpassed all the
others. About eight or nine would run to the front where Maid Lotus would
ambush them in the middle of the road. When Huang Shi'an passed by, she
would kill him with one blow of the sword without intercepting the others.
However, this method of assassination was not foolproof. Its success
depended highly upon the enemy's reaction. However, it allowed them to
avoid traps on the ground.
Maid Lotus set up her ambush. Gu Shenwei went alone to the alleyway,
watching the main door of the Thousand Eyes from the rooftop, crouched on
all fours.
After a quarter of an hour, Huang Shi'an and seven machetemen appeared

together. From their expressions, one could hardly tell the odds of victory.
Machete God looked happy as always. Even if he'd just lost an entire month's
worth of salary, he would not be scowling.
Gu Shenwei was going to go ahead with his second plan. Assassination was
secondary. Catching the hidden traitor was the key objective tonight.
He used the snow on the roof to build a figure of a man crouching on fours.
He covered it with a black coat and left his bow and arrow there. In the
darkness, bending as low as he could, he circled back to where Maid Lotus
was supposed to lay her ambush.
This was what the two agreed on. From Gu Shenwei's current position, it
didn't matter if the enemy's target was Slave Huan or Maid Lotus, he would
be able to find out.
The praying mantis catches the cicada but the yellow finch lies in wait behind
it. Only now, a praying mantis had run to the back of the yellow finch.
The machetemen of the Horned Dragon Society's hearty laughter floated

through the silent night, and Huang Shi'an's throaty laughter could be heard
from afar.
If Gu Shenwei was that finch, he would have chosen to strike the moment the
assassination operation of Machete God was in play. That was the moment
when Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were concentrating intently and neglecting
their backs.
The killer appeared. Approaching Maid Lotus from the other direction, it
appeared as a vague dark silhouette, but Gu Shenwei could still recognise the
distinct traits of the killer from the Golden Roc Fort. In the East Castle, he
had observed the apprentices' movements in the countless dark times and was
extremely familiar with their actions.
This killer did not hide his tracks deliberately but moved quickly. Gu
Shenwei sized this person up quickly: he was dressed in all black, masked,
and carried a knife and a sword under his waist.
It was exactly the same as Slave Huan's.
It was he who had killed Slave Yuan and Slave Jing, having dressed up as
one of their most trusted men. Even if the resemblance was not complete, it
was still hidden by the darkness.
There was no time to wait. Gu Shenwei's priority was Maid Lotus' safety.
Two "Slave Huan" stood facing each other. No one moved. They were
stupefied by this incident.
In the alley below, Machete God and his companions could be heard, their
voices getting louder and louder. They were probably wondering why the
expected assassination had not happened.
"That's him?" Maid Lotus asked from her position.
The two "Slave Huan" nodded at the same time. Immediately, as one of them
made an attack, the other pulled out his sword, someone who did not know
machete skills would have found these two killers exceedingly weak. They
kept trading straight blows. These moves were too simple and
unsophisticated.
However, in this match, the outcome had already been decided. One of the
men's hands was severed and it fell with his saber onto the ground. With a
moan, he turned to the east and ran.
Machetemen in the alley pricked up their ears at the sound. Someone

shouted, "There's an assassin!" Numerous shadows quickly jumped onto the
rooftop, chasing after the man in black.
The plot to assassinate Huang Shi'an had lost its meaning. Gu Shenwei
nodded his head, and with Maid Lotus, ran West, in the opposite direction of
fake slave. The two had planned their escape route way in advance and
quickly ditched their pursuers.
"Are you not going to chase him?" Maid Lotus was a little surprised.
"There's no need. If he is truly a killer, there's only one place he can go."
The killers of the Tenth Young Master all lived in the stronghold of the Kun
Society in the South City. Fake Slave Huan had lost a hand and it was only
natural that he sought help from his master. Running east was only a trick to
hide his true destination.
Gu Shenwei believed it must have been Shangguan Yushi who had given the
order, and the person who had lost his hand must be Wildhorse.
Even though Slave Huan's machete skills had improved greatly with the help
of the "Death Scripture", Wildhorse's machete skills were comparable. He
had only slipped in that unexpected encounter, losing his momentum.
The two men in black returned to theKun Society stronghold. They did not
enter immediately, but waited on a roof in the South. One monitored what
was above, and the other watched the ground.
The entrance and exits of the Kun Society's stronghold were in the East, but
the killers never took that route in the night. They would always circle around
to the south.
Almost four more days had passed when a dark shadow stumbled out.
The two watchmen waited until the target entered the courtyard. They waited
for a little more before entering and quickly made for the bedroom of Master
Yu.
Shangguan Yushi might have been wide awake or might have just been
extremely alert. The two men in black had only just arrived at the door when
it flew open, a saber in hand. She asked loudly: "You two. Where is the
Machete God's head?"
Maid Lotus tore off her mask, saying: "It's me."
"Tenth Young Master!" Shangguan Yushi cried out hoarsely, and loosened
her grip on the saber.
"There really is a mole. He's injured and has just returned. Let's ferret him out
now."
Gu Shenwei stood silently in the corner, waiting to see how Master Yu would
reply. It would be strange if Wildhorse was not hiding in her house.
And it really was strange.

Chapter 168 - An Appointment
Chapter 168: An Appointment
Shangguan Ru insisted on catching the traitor by herself. After two had been
killed, she only had a total of ten subordinates left. She needed to know
exactly who was responsible for this. Was it due to Slave Huan's
ineffectiveness, or did one of her men do it?
She had not come to doubt Master Yu. She only wished to root out the traitor
with her best friend.
"Yes?" Shangguan Yushi's answered, voice wavering. He went out of the

room, turning and closing the door behind him. "Who is it?"
When Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru had entered the house, they had
deliberately not hidden their tracks. Soon enough, patrolling machetemen
discovered them. Tuo Nengya ran over immediately. "What happened?"
"There's a hidden traitor in the house. He has lost a hand and sealed all the
exits, until…" Gu Shenwei rushed to give orders. He had to ensure that the
man in Master Yu's house would not escape. But the words died on his lips
when Wildhorse himself appeared.
Wildhorse. His towering forehead and eyes spread so widely apart. Traits so
distinctive that no one else could pretend to be him. Once Tuo Nengya had
appeared, even if he only had half a tongue left, his hands and feet were still
intact.
Gu Shenwei felt bewildered for the moment.
But he was not entirely wrong. Especially for Shangguan Ru, she had only
heard a part of the guess. It turned out that Slave Huan had guessed most
accurately.
Wildhorse brought in a man dressed in black. His palm was severed, and his
mask was lifted, revealing a visage of pain.
"Black snake!" The Tenth Young Master and Master Yu cried in unison.
Gu Shenwei quickly realized where he had gone wrong.
Black Snake was not always been called Black Snake. During the
apprenticeship killings, he had stood with the "Snow Mountain Gang" led by
Wildhorse. In order to express his loyalty, he had cut off half of his tongue
voluntarily, changed his name, and kept in line with other members.
Black Snake was a master but for reasons unknown, he had never earned
Wildhorse's complete trust. Gu Shenwei believed this to be Wildhorse's trick.
Keeping his men at an arm's length, he could ensure that men like Black
Snake would be more loyal and hardworking.
The connection that had been clear at first now became blurred. Gu Shenwei
thought that Master Yu must be the mastermind, but the evidence he had
collected had suddenly become useless.
Wildhorse went down on one knee and made a series of gestures.
Shangguan Ru did not understand this sign language. Master Yu explained,

"Black Snake confessed. He had liked Maid Lotus but was rebuffed. So, he
wanted to kill her to exact revenge. Slave Huan probably heard of this
matter?"
With a casually said a word, Shangguan Yushi reversed the situation and put
Gu Shenwei in an awkward spot.
This had originally a ploy to trap the traitor, but turned out to be a decoy used
by Slave Huan to get rid of his rival in love.
Gu Shenwei shook his head. He said nothing and accepted this failure.
Black Snake knelt down, first kowtowing to Wildhorse. Wildhorse ignored

him. He then made a kowtow to the Tenth Young Master, and later pulled out
the saber he always carried. Plunging it into his heart, he ended his own life.
No one stopped him. No matter the reason behind assassinating Maid Lotus,
his actions had warranted the death penalty.
Black Snake had been willing to die for Wildhorse. Gu Shenwei was even
slightly jealous. He was not able to find someone like that. Even if it was for
Maid Lotus, he would not have been able to make such a sacrifice so easily.
"Perhaps these things did not have any meaning," Gu Shenwei thought.
"Black Snakehad was loyal, but he still died. To him, Wildhorse no longer
meant anything."
After the operation to find the traitor had hastily been tied up, Gu Shenwei
felt that the Tenth Young Master was almost reluctant to expand the scope of
looking for the spy.
Shangguan Ru stayed in Master Yu's house for the night. Early the next
morning, under the protection of about ten machetemen, she returned to the
North City. Before leaving, she summoned Slave Huan privately. Because of
that, Gu Shenwei knew that the plan to find the mole was still on.
"Continue to pursue the matter. Keep a watch on Wildhorse."
Shangguan Ru had not completely believed Black Snake's confession. This

comforted Gu Shenwei a little. "Yes."
"I was at the scene. We all know that the Horned Dragon Society had made
plans for this assassination. Black Snake and Wildhorse did not explain this
matter clearly."
This was a secret order. Shangguan Ru forbid Slave Huan from revealing this
secret to any outsiders. "Perhaps you could ask Maid Lotus to let her help
you." Shangguan Ru winked, smiling slyly.
Even as they had gained the trust of the Tenth Young Master , the events that
followed were extremely puzzling. The operation to hunt down the slave had
already revealed Slave Huan's vigilance. Gu Shenwei believed that for a short
period of time, Master Yu would not be making any moves.
Gu Shenwei did not have any evidence. People close to him were dying off
one by one. Unless Master Yu and Wildhorse exposed themselves
voluntarily, he had no means of uncovering their plot.
He told Maid Lotus everything. After discussing it amongst themselves, they

ultimately decided to wait patiently. Master Yu's hatred for Slave Huan, and
Wildhorse's hatred for the Tattooed Arm Gang would not be so easily
extinguished. The two will definitely take action again.
At present, the two were more worried about the situation in the South City.
The Kun Society was now in shambles. Merchants who were not loyal had
gradually distanced themselves from Kun Society and started to betray the
society. They presented their protection fees to the Horned Dragon Society,
and under the Tenth Young Master's name, the territory began to shrink day
by day. In the end, only a small territory in the West remained. The whole
territory in the East only had the Blacksmith Village and the rice and flour
noodle shop that had not publicly admitted the protectors' failure.
The number of fleeing machetemen increased. Their numbers dwindled to

below thirty. Most of the devoted members were the machetemen led by Tuo
Nengya.
To make matters worse, one day, near the end of the month, Ye Silang
entered the South City.
Ye Silang had recovered from his injury long ago. It was told that he had shut
his door for days and repeatedly asked himself why he had not been able to
avoid the surprise attack. After everything had become clear, he crossed the
checkpoint between the North and South cities, carrying his sword. He had
not set off for the base camp of the Horned Dragon Society but had rented a
little house here. He lived alone without his servants.
Then, he challenged killer Yang Huan to a match that would take place in the
South City. There would be no time limit, which meant killing could take
place as soon as they met.
Everyone regarded this challenge as the Horned Dragon Society's last

declaration of a general attack. The death of the killer Yang Huan would spell
the tragic failure of the Kun Society.
But Ye Silang would spare Yang Huan in order to repay his opponent sparing
his life at Rouge Forest. "I'll give him a chance to kill me. He can use any
means and I'll spare his life."
Killer Yang Huan did not respond. He seemed to be struck with fear. The
machetemen hiding behind him did not dare to engage the fight and did not
show his face for several days.
Gu Shenwei could only tell Maid Lotus the truth. "I'm not his opponent."
Both he and Ye Silang had three opportunities for attack. Each time,
however, it eroded his confidence. Ye Silang's swordcraft and "Death
Scripture" was different. It was not as lethal, not as elaborate but equally
flawless. Gu Shenwei had tried seeking out the "energy flowing through all
living things" in his enemies but this time, it was useless. Ye Silang had too
few flaws, and they disappeared too quickly. He could not catch them.
"If you don't consider yourself his opponent, then you truly aren't."
Having practised the same kung fu, Maid Lotus understood Slave Huan's
weakness. The swordcraft of Death Scripture required the swordman's
complete confidence in his skills. As long as his heart was not strong, his
power would diminish greatly. The perfect scenario was achieved when the
one wieldning the sword did not even know what he had done when he was
killing. Just as Gu Shenwei had unwittingly dug the big hole in the snow, he
could not even reduplicate such a feat.
If they were to start attacking the instant they met, winning would have to
come without any preparation. The Death Scripture and the world's kung fu
were polar opposites. For the Death Scripture, ironically, the less you
understood your enemy, the greater the chances you had of winning.
"He must have a weak point." Gu Shenwei tried to persuade himself. "The
assassins of Rouge Forest once managed to attack him when he was
distracted."
However, Ye Silang claimed that he had already thought of how to deal with
any sudden attacks. Gu Shenwei could not feign ignorance.
"Then there's only one way. You get his attention. I'll attack."
Apart from Gu Shenwei, no one had seen Lotus Maid use her sword. No one
knew how advanced her kung fu was or believed she could use her
swordcraft. Her attack would hence be devastatingly unexpected.
But Gu Shenwei was also struck with a thought. "Your swordcraft is slightly
lacking. What if he has truly found a way to deal with the opponent?"
"Don't undermine my confidence." Maid Lotus smiled. "How do I compare

with the assassin in Rouge Forest?"
Gu Shenwei thought carefully. "You're stronger than him. Actually, come to

think about it, that assassin's swordcraft was truly similar to ours."
"Then it's fine! The assassin will use a surprise attack to ambush Ye Silang,
and I'll be able to kill him."
But Gu Shenwei was still reassured. "No, I've thought of how Ye Silang
might stop the attack."
"Oh?"
"There's a master who protects him in secret."
Gu Shenwei was bothered that he had not thought about Chu Yangjun earlier.
That swordsman who liked the colour purple. He was definitely the one
secretly protecting Ye Silang from attacks.
"Even still, its worth taking a risk. Anyway, you have a 'chance'."
"But you don't."

"If you die, I would die too."
"Gu Shenwei never understood the meaning in Maid Lotus' words. It was as
though she was expressing her love, but her tone was as bland as water.
Perhaps she was pointing out an obvious fact: Wildhorse would act quickly
after Slave Huan's death, swiftly removing the second top figure of the
former "Tattooed Arm Gang".
"No, none of us will die." Gu Shenwei was suddenly filled with confidence
even though he could not tell why. He had faith in the "Divine Will" that had
brought him thus far.
Xu Xiaoyi brought the message of Chu Yangjun, an illustrious swordsman.

Since the age of ten, he had served Peng Xianren at Joy Pavilion. Until now,
he seldom left Hope Alley, where people respected him, not for his kung fu
but because of his proximity to Immortal Peng.
That was all most knew about Chu Yangjun.
Xu Xiaoyi had never heard about the meeting between Chu Yangjun and Ye
Silang. Neither had Gu Shenwei asked him to specifically inquire about it.
But Xu Xiaoyi had heard of Ye Silang's challenge and this time, unlike the
others, he was confident in Brother Huan. "Ye Silang's here to die. Too bad
there's no one here to gamble with me. I would place all my bets on you."
"It's rare for you to put your trust in me."
"Don't forget. You know how to use the sword." Xu Xiaoyi whispered
mysteriously. Gu Shenwei had forgotten that he had once tested his sword
skills on Xu Xiaoyi. "But I will not tell anyone. But I assure you, if this gets
out, everyone will bet on you."
"Tell me. I'm most in need of assurance at this juncture."
Xu Xiaoyi held her smile. She peered into the distance, blinking her eyes, as
if these very words would reduce ten years of her life. "Immortal Peng once
told my fortune but he talked about you. He said that you would win."
Xu Xiaoyi nodded solemnly, as if that fate were already set in stone. Brother
Huan's skills didn't matter because Gu Shenwei would win anyway.

Chapter 169 - Dressed in Red
Chapter 169: Dressed in Red
Gu Shenwei would rather believe in the illusory meaning of the "Will of the
Divine" than pin his hopes on the fortune teller.
"Don't you want to listen to everything? Immortal Peng said a lot; I've written
everything down." Brother Huan had an expression of indifference. Xu
Xiaoyi became anxious.
"Next time." Gu Shenwei was not really interested. "Don't go out and wander
about these days. Don't ask anyone for any information wherever you go.
Stay at home."
"Oh." Xu Xiaoyi jumped off her chair, walking out dejectedly. With a foot
out of the door, she turned around and said, "Your sword skills aren't better
than his, but you'll win the kill."
This definitely did not sound like something that Xu Xiaoyi can come up
with. Immortal Peng might just be a trickster, but he definitely made some
sense.
Gu Shenwei thought for a long time, his confidence gradually being restored.
He found Lotus Maid and expressed his own thoughts. "According to your
plan, I'll attract Ye Silang's attention. You will kill him, but first, you have to
kill another person."
"Who?"
"Machete God."
The sword craft of Death Scripture could only be elevated through countless
killings. The higher the skill, the harder it was to find targets. Machete God
Huang Shi'an was an ideal target. His skills were high-level, but did not
compare with Ye Silang's. This was like climbing steps- if you could step
onto the corpse of the men before you, you'd have a greater chance of killing
the men behind you.
"You could also do it yourself." Maid Lotus understood Slave Huan's

intentions so she urged him to take on this rare opportunity.
"No, my heart isn't ready. I'll think of other ways to solve it."
This was the fifth day when Ye Silang entered the South City to issue his
challenge. The two killers made plans to kill Machete God Huang Shi'an for
the third time.
After several hours, Shuang Shi'an sat opposite the Zhuang family. His face
revealed a smile. But deep inside, he grew increasingly uncertain. He forgot
how much money he had lost. He'd already fallen into the bottomless pit of
the Meng family. No amount of loyalty will be able to fill this void. Only life
alone can repay all his debts.
He still remembered his mother's words to him when he left home. "You only
have two items of worth on your body; Your life and your machete skills. So
you should never incur debts, especially those that you'll never be able to
return even with your machete skills."
This was the fate of every macheteman.
At the throw of every dice, he loses not just his money, but also his life.
"Earn it back, earn it all back." Machete God prayed in his heart, a smile of
indifference painted on his face. He yelled and had a great time with his
brothers around him. Boasting became his only source of comfort. "Come on,
flush! Damn, that broken hand. If I weren't using that to wield my knife, I'd
be cutting it down."
The casino was severely overcrowded. But it was safe. Everyone was
screened and Huang Shi'an need not worry about the killers of Kun Society.
He was even slightly sorry that he hadn't even had the time to accrue any
success. And the war would soon be over. If he could only carry with him a
string of severed heads to meet the Fifth Young Master, he probably wouldn't
have to repay his debts with his life.
No one gave him this opportunity. Huang Shi'an thought angrily. Even as the
Machete God of Jade City, he had not joined many battles. Sitting in a large
house surrounded by machetemen every day, his only pleasure came from
gambling at Thousand Eyes. Occasionally, he would be used to attract killers
as bait. He felt that all was unfair and unreasonable. He was clearly capable
of leading a group of men to storm the Kun Society with pride and kill
everyone entirely.
He was never afraid of any killer.
Huang Shi'an threw his dice forcefully, cursing Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang
under his breath. That flashy empty vessel whose skills were just mediocre.
How could he have had the guts to go shouting, running into the South City.
It was as though no one was a worthy rival of killer Yang Huan and had to
wait for him to make the first move. However, even after shouting for a few
days, no one saw him approaching Kun Society a single step.
The smile on Machete God's face vanished like a deflated balloon. He leaned
on his chair, closed his eyes, and let darkness engulf him. His brothers were
shouting excitedly, but not even these deafening sounds could excite him.
He then opened his eyes and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen
in his life.
There had never been a lack of women in the betting arena. Machete God was
somewhat famous. Ten thousand taels, and the Horned Dragon Society's rich
reward had made him the object of many women's attention.
He was a normal man. In good spirits after winning big bets, he would spend
them lavishly on women he liked. Though, this was the first time that he
could be moved by a woman after losing a bet.
The woman was dressed in red, like a piece of gleaming jade in a fiery
furnace. Her face was covered with beautiful makeup. Strangely, the same
makeup would have appeared gaudy on another woman. On her, it was
extraordinary, and even held a whiff of authority.
That woman in red had just walked into the betting arena, and she had caught
everyone's attention. Men forgot to throw their dices, and the women- they
raised their eyebrows, hoping this competitor would choose her target
quickly.
"Who is she?" Many asked softly in unison, shaking their heads in confusion.
"Old Mrs. Li's new girl." Someone in the crowd recognized her, but no one
knew her name.
Many brothels in the vicinity would come to the casino for a gamble- a
publicity stunt for their services.
The shock from the mesmerizing woman was only momentary. This was a
betting arena. Everyone knew that no one could be as attractive or
mesmerizing as pure gold and silver.
Even so, the Machete God could not take his eyes off her. That lady in red
was also looking at him, smiling shyly.
Other women were relieved. These two were a perfect match. Machete God
had better bring her upstairs. That way the rest could continue doing their
business.
Machete God had lost badly tonight. And he lost his usual attractiveness.
That lady in red did not seem to understand her work very well. She stood at
the door hesitating. But then she stepped forward, and the next instant, a tipsy
brute who has made some winnings for the night rushed out, grabbed her by
the waist, and kissed her roughly on the face. He pulled her into his arms, and
with a voice that reached everyone in the betting arena, called: "Wine!
Money! Woman! I'm going to get all tonight!"
That woman in red was frail and helpless. She could hardly be able to move a
single finger of the brute even if she'd wanted to. Clearly, she did not like this
customer very much, but she could not refuse. She looked secretly at
Machete God, showing him a look of quiet desperation.
Huang Shi'an turned his head. Machetemen beside him urged him. "Brother.
That's a beautiful flower. Don't let anyone take that away from you."
"I don't feel lucky tonight. I don't want to touch any woman." Huang Shi'an
said gloomily. He shook his dice in the air for a long before throwing them.
When he looked up again, that brute and the lady in red had disappeared.
Machete God felt deflated. His luck did not improve.
Business at the betting arena continued.
Not long, a strange voice came down from upstairs. Someone was curious
and ran up to listen. He came down with a coy smile, and the women in the
betting arena smiled in schadenfreude. "She's just unlucky to have gotten her
first customer like Elder Song the Third. I don't think she'll be able to stand
up properly for several days."
The sounds grew louder, a booming deep masculine voice accompanied with
slapping sounds. Occasionally, it was punctuated by a woman's pleas, and for
the people downstairs in the betting arena, such was divine entertainment.
Spirits of the gamblers soared, and they placed bigger debts and threw
smaller points.
Huang Shi'an could no longer see the count of the dices. His mind was no
longer at the gambling arena, and anger grew in his heart. Finally, it
exploded.
Machete God stood up. He took great strides and plodded up the stairs.
"Damn, what's the noise? How are people going to play like this?"
Everyone stopped. They raised their heads to look at Machete God, waiting
for an exciting scene. Machetemen looked at him expectantly, saying, "Beat
him up! Throw him out of the window!"
No one thought of helping or protecting Machete God.
Huang Shi'an raised his legs to kick the door of the room open. He barged in,
and in the next moment, there was silence. Fighting sounds erupted and
thereafter, one figure flew out from the room, dropping heavily onto the floor
down below. The people around him avoided him, only by rolling and
crawling away.
The women shrieked. It was a dead body. Elder Song the Third was covered
all over in blood. His eyes were wide-open. Beer, money, women. He did not
lack anything, but what he had achieved at the end of everything was death.
"Don't shout. What's killing a person to Machete God? If you want revenge,
get it from Horned Dragon Society!" Machetemen pulled out their daggers,
shouting at the crowds. No one dared to breathe a word. The two
machetemen lifted the dead body, threw it outside, and the matter was thus
ended.
Elder Song the Third was not any big shot. He was lucky to be dying in
Machete God's hands.
The betting arena regained normalcy. Dice throwing and flirting continued
among the men and women. After half an hour has passed, someone thought
of Machete God. "Hey, Machete God is really great tonight. He persisted for
such a long time. Usually, he wouldn't even last a single minute."
The machetemen were indifferent at first. Later, he appeared a little puzzled.

Someone bold crept up the stairs lightly. A couple walked out of the adjacent
room at the same moment. "Go and look at what's happening inside. It has
been quiet for quite a while."
"Brother God…" The machetemen knocked on the door. The door was ajar
and opened with a single push. Machetemen poked their heads in, and after a
single glance, went downstairs immediately. They whispered a few words to
their companions.
Four machetemen ran upstairs. They pulled their knives and waited outside
the door. They did not let anyone do any snooping and did not answer any
questions. The other few men ran out of the betting arena and not long after,
brought in more machetemen.
The curious customers had not even found out what was going on before they
were all told to get out of the betting arena. However, in the morning the next
day, the customers in betting arena in the night; and even all the residents of
Jade City had heard about the assassination of Machete God Huang Shi'an.
Machete God had died under the blade. The assassin was a woman. This
embarrassed the Horned Dragon Society and made him a laughingstock.
Their hard-earned reputation had vanished completely in an instant.
The next unlucky victim was the brothel's madam, Old Mrs. Li. She kneeled
on the ground and swore weakly to a group of sinister machetemen that she
had never received any woman dressed in red. She had never seen her, no,
absolutely not.
Machetemen turned the brothel upside down. Several prostitutes were

stripped bare and shivered in the winter cold. And after everything returned
to peace, Old Mrs. Li fell greatly ill. After her recovery, she joined the Kun
Society.
That night, only two people knew about the details of the assassination. Gu
Shenwei looked at a scarcely recognizable Maid Lotus and asked: "Was he a
good macheteman?"
Maid Lotus nodded.
Through the assassination of Machete God Huang Shi'an, Maid Lotus'

swordcraft leveled up. Now, Slave Huan needs to improve his skills.

Chapter 170 - Last Words
Chapter 170: Last Words
Maid Lotus demonstrated the numerous assassination techniques she had

learned in Carvewood Academy. These were things which Gu Shenwei
would never be able to learn, having missed out the first time.
In addition to kungfu, Carvewood Academy taught ten special arts, including

disguise, tracking, interrogation, vocal imitation, etc. The apprentices could
choose several of these to practice based on their personal preferences and
abilities. Nobody was able to learn every one of them, but neither was there
anyone so stupid as to not learn a single skill.
Though Maid Lotus was not masked, she was practically unrecognizable by
virtue of her thick makeup. Gu Shenwei could not believe his eyes, this being
the first time he saw her in red clothing.
It was not only her appearance but also her temperament which had changed.
Maid Lotus was a different person in and out; her glance was smooth and her
demeanor was as gentle as water. She did not resemble a killer in the least bit.
"Could this be another of Carvewood Academy's special arts?" Gu Shenwei

had to admit that this was a very useful skill. Who would guess that a lady of
such elegance and beauty would have a lethal blade concealed under her
skirt?
Elder Song the Third's insensibility had nearly ruined the entire assassination
plan, but it also increased the believability of Maid Lotus' disguise as a
prostitute.
Once she entered the small room upstairs, Maid Lotus pulled a dagger out
from her sleeve and killed the burly man. The subsequent noises would be
solely of her doing.
There was something in the Machete God Huang Shi'an's eyes which
convinced Maid Lotus that he would come to the rescue of the damsel in
distress. That thing was perhaps called "chivalry" or "dignity". Or it could
purely be his desire to prove his masculinity, just as seen in the fights to the
death which male animals would engage in over females.
Maid Lotus was putting on a one-person show in hopes that her prey would
take the bait. If the hero who came forth was not Huang Shi'an but another
man, she would be forced to kill yet another innocent person and quickly flee
the scene.
It was the longest fifteen minutes which Maid Lotus ever experienced. She,
like Slave Huan, was a greenhorn killer. Though she knew she possessed
immense strength, she had no idea how this compared to her opponents. As
of yet, each successful battle served to consolidate her self-confidence.
The Machete God Huang Shi'an came upstairs and pushed open the door. He
was taken aback when he discovered the room was not lit.
"Close the door." A soft female voice ordered from across the room.
Huang Shi'an closed the door but immediately pulled out his weapon. As an
elite macheteman, he was able to perceive danger quickly and accurately. His
arrogance meant he was unafraid of killers, and certainly not a female one.
"I hope, in a while, you'll still have energy for something else."
These were the final words of the Machete God of Horned Dragon Society. A
tide-like mass of killing intent surged from the darkness, choking him and
causing his limbs to turn weak.
However, he was still able to strike out with his machete at the killing intent,
which bore down on him like an avalanche, so as to cut open a breathing vent
for himself.
Soon, he no longer needed to breathe.

Knowing that death was imminent after he felt a mild prick that left no
wound on his chest, two thoughts flashed across his mind: "I don't even know
who this woman is; the debts I owe no longer have to be repaid."
Maid Lotus was just that little faster than the Machete God. The latter's
weapon was approximately an inch away from hitting her when her own
sword struck him, causing his strength to dissipate in a split second. Pressing
against her arm, he collapsed on the floor.
She had not exercised a comprehensive means of assassination. After all, she
needed the Machete God to attain his best form so that she could make good
use of his assassination to elevate her swordcraft.
Turning her clothing inside out, she became an unidentifiable person wearing
a hood and a black cape. After slicing off his head, she walked out of the
room, slowly made her way downstairs while nobody was noticing, and
calmly exited the building.
She did not arouse any suspicions, being dressed in a style commonly seen in
South City. The few drops of blood she dripped were only discovered much
later.
The story of the female killer in red spread rapidly, yet suspicions never fell
on Maid Lotus. Few people in Jade City even knew of her existence. It was
the two female masters of the Shangguan family whom everyone suspected
instead.
Shangguan Yushi was first to be suspected of being the incomparably

beautiful and elegant female killer. However, because she was significantly
taller than the killer was described to be, many people's suspicions shifted
towards Shangguan Ru.
The latter did not mind being suspected and was even highly intrigued by the
affair. Conversely, the former was a little offended. "Would I disguise myself
as that sort of woman? I…"
She was unable to complete her sentence and express her dissatisfaction
further. This was because the methods employed by Maid Lotus were entirely
learned from Golden Roc Fort, of which one of the precepts for killers was to
use unscrupulous tactics. A person who cared too much about things like
dignity and appearance could never become an outstanding killer.
Without meaning to, the female master of the Shangguan family had let slip
that she was not a real killer.
Many people could smell the storm that was brewing. However, the expected
battle between the Kun and Horned Dragon societies did not immediately
arise.
Horned Dragon Society regretted designating the Machete God as a "team's

treasure", and swallowed the bitter pill which was of their own creation.
Despite not participating in many battles, Huang Shi'an was the psychological
pillar of every macheteman of the society. His death struck fear into their
hearts such that, for some time, they dared not step outdoors in groups of less
than five.
Although Ye Silang refused to go to war in the name of Horned Dragon

Society, he went several times, accompanied only by his sword and a large
group of tailing busybodies, to Kun Society. Each time, however, he was told
that the killer Yang Huan was not around.
Horned Dragon Society expended a significant amount of effort to find out

the whereabouts of Slave Huan, through means such as investigation work
and bribery. As such, many people who barely had connections with the slave
acquired a small fortune overnight, or otherwise were subjected to
intimidation by knives and swords. However, the only information which
could be certified was that Slave Huan was neither in Kun Society nor North
City.
Gu Shenwei, together with Maid Lotus, was actively evading battle and
hiding somewhere apart from Kun Society. The Protector of the rice and flour
trade, Shopkeeper Mi, had used someone else's name to rent, for the two
killers, a small house on the edge of the city. It was here where they hid while
plotting their next step.
Gu Shenwei had made up his mind. No matter what others thought, he would
continue to operate in the dark and would never accept a public challenge.
There was no glory attached to the battle with Ye Silang anyway. He was
merely a mercenary engaged to remove the thorn in the flesh of Fifth Young
Master Meng.
The reputation of the killer Yang Huan had plummeted to rock bottom. He
was, at present, seen as nothing but a dastardly and incompetent weakling
who could only preserve his disgraceful existence in a dark corner.
Gu Shenwei did not explain matters to anyone, or even go to North City to

meet Tenth Young Master. He spent his days discussing swordcraft with
Maid Lotus, while at night, the two killers took turns to monitor Ye Silang's
residence.
Gu Shenwei guessed that a Protector was hiding by Ye Silang's side. This

conjecture was confirmed after a few successive days of observation.
"His Lightness Skill is great." Maid Lotus made this assessment of Chu
Yangjun upon noticing his traces for the first time.
"You would lose at a contest of swords, but win at a contest of killing." Gu

Shenwei repeated this line in a low voice several times. He was already
interested in Immortal Peng despite having not met.
Engaging Chu Yangjun to secretly protect him was the biggest concession
which Ye Siling, as a conceited swordsman, had ever made in exchange for
his personal security. If no assassins showed up, Chu Yangjun would not
reveal himself. The two men considered themselves to be above underhand
tricks, and therefore would certainly disapprove of Horned Dragon Society
making use of Ye Silang to set a trap.
Gu Shenwei felt that he himself, along with Maid Lotus, had already won.
The imminent war between the two societies, which was still taking its time
to transpire, had already unnerved the entire South City before it began.
Every day in every tavern, there would be gossip based on "conclusive"
evidence predicting that war would begin as soon as night arrived.
One of these taverns was only half a street's distance from Ye Silang's
residence. Squeezed in the middle of a heap of grand-looking brothels and
betting arenas, it was inconspicuously squalid and small. There were never
many patrons, and it was even emptier during the day. However, in recent
days, a return patron had arrived.
This particular patron would appear in the morning every day. The manager
would personally serve him a flask of homebrewed rice wine, a small plate of
braised peanuts, and a plate of cooked beef, always prepared in the same
style. Although the portions were not large, the patron would spend a long
time to finish them before returning to his rented room for a short nap. The
room was exceptionally tidy and contained nothing save for a bed. The patron
would depart in the evening and not return throughout the night, and, on
occasion, would also disappear for a period of time during the day.
He was always dressed in a drooping black robe and kept his face hidden in
his hood even when he was eating. He never conversed with anyone, and
even the manager did not actively interact with him except for serving up
wine and food.
This person was Chu Yangjun. He would keep guard near Ye Silang every
night, and if the latter went outdoors during the day, he would blend in with
the following crowd and take note of every slight movement in the vicinity so
as to prevent assassins from succeeding for the second time.
He never thought that he himself would be the target of an assassination.
On the evening of the fifth day of the second lunar month, the streets were
packed with people. South City was like a revived giant beast stretching its
body and emitting a continuous roar. Chu Yangjun walked towards Ye
Silang's residence, ready to carry out the task which he was most willing and
almost too happy to take on.
As they say, everyone has a face which can change into a totally different one
based on how the wind blows, whether from indifferent to warm, joyous to
irate, or tender to abhorrent. A particular face was, without warning, about to
change into that of a killer.
A steel dart was shot out from amidst a crowd, tearing a hole in a man's
clothes and brushing past the raised arm of a woman. Both people proceeded
on their way as if they did not feel anything.
Because Chu Yangjun's body was turned slightly sideways, the dart flew past
his cape and struck his scabbard.
He quickly caught sight of the assassin, who was wearing a similar black
cape. He knew it was a woman because, at the moment when she swung her
arm to throw the dart, she revealed a section of her scarlet clothes.
Chu Yangjun deftly squeezed his way through the crowd and tailed the
woman in red from a ten steps' distance. He was not about to casually admit
defeat if someone wanted a contest of Lightness Skill.
The woman in red skedaddled in varying directions and exhausted every

possible means but was not able to shake off her chaser. Thus, she took a few
successive bends and entered an alley which was nearly deserted.
This was exactly what Chu Yangjun hoped for. He picked up speed and
planned to capture the assassin alive within twenty steps.
The woman in red appeared as if she had unwittingly been compelled to trap
herself in a dead end. Just as it seemed she had nowhere left to hide, she
nimbly leaped on to the roof and prepared to scamper off. Chu Yangjun
followed her and leaped upwards, but was swiftly met by a sword that came
out of nowhere.
With his soles three feet off the ground, Chu Yangjun knew he had been set
up. Remaining calm and undaunted, he leaped up a further three feet and
pulled out his long sword. By the time half of his body was above the roof, he
had already thrust his sword towards his target. Anyone who thought Chu
Yangjun could not strike with his sword at any time would be gravely
mistaken.
When his sword struck its target, he could feel, traveling from its tip, a tremor
caused by muscle contractions. It was like the last withered leaf of late
autumn landing on the surface of a calm lake - the ripple it caused was barely
visible but could continue to travel until it reached the opposite bank.
The swordsman would not allow the sword he was holding to remain in the
enemy's body. The keeping of his sword was just as important as the
thrusting.
Chu Yangjun's heart soured, as if the rich red color of a flower he fancied had
completely faded and brought with it a momentary sense of loss and grief. He
relaxed his grip on the sword shaft, and, without keeping his sword, he
plunged downwards and fell on the dirty snow, which was one of the things
he hated most.
He looked up and saw that the assassin in black was stood on the rooftop
looking back at him. His long sword continued to vacillate up and down on
the assassin's chest. Upon identifying the latter as a killer, he revealed a final
smile. There was not a trace of resentment on his face, which had become as
demure as a housewife's.
"Tell Silang to bury me under a peach blossom tree."
Gu Shenwei heard the swordsman's dying words but did not see his smile and
facial expression.

Chapter 171 - Fights of Vengeance
Chapter 171: Fights of Vengeance
Chu Yangjun was considerably better at kungfu than the Machete God Huang
Shi'an. It was for this reason that Gu Shenwei could only kill him by means
of assassination. Even so, the killer was unable to avert a counterblow from
the swordsman.
The latter's long sword had sunk deep into the killer's chest. It would have
proved fatal if it went just a little bit deeper.
Gu Shenwei's swordcraft was elevated in a way he could not describe in

words. In essence, his confidence steeply increased and he began to believe
himself capable of killing Ye Silang.
The best time to kill Ye Silang was right now while he was still unaware of
his Protector's death.
Gu Shenwei wanted to pull the sword out of his chest. However, not only
were his arms strengthless, but the sword was too long for him to reach its
shaft.
Maid Lotus ran over, pulled the sword out, and tossed it on the ground. She
then tore a little cloth from her skirt to dress the wound. Thanks to her
deftness, Gu Shenwei did not lose much blood, albeit his face turned pale. He
sat down languidly, and had no more energy to carry out the second
assassination.
Maid Lotus leaped on to the ground and pulled out her knife, ready to slice
off Chu Yangjun's head.
"Keep his head intact."

Slave Huan ordered from above. Surprised, Maid Lotus raised her head and
took a quick look at the former, but did not challenge his words. Using her
saber, she swiftly stabbed the neck of the corpse to enlarge the tiny yet fatal
wound so that nobody could tell that Chu Yangjun died by a sword.
The two killers made their way back to their hiding place. Gu Shenwei laid
down on his bed as soon as he got back, unable to bear the pain any longer.
The cloth covering his wound was visibly soaked with blood.
This was not the most severe injury Gu Shenwei had ever suffered. As such,
he was able to maintain consciousness and rationality, and could even smile
to express his gratitude while Maid Lotus cleaned his body, applied
medication, and redressed his wound. The world in front of his eyes
gradually underwent a strange transformation. It felt as though he had been
struggling to remain sober under the influence of liquor but eventually
yielded to it. Something seemed to click in his brain, causing him to ease his
inner tensions and enter an ethereal and ephemeral fantasy world.
The scenes which Gu Shenwei could remember were few. Some of them
were the expected scenes of things, family members, and his old house in the
Central Plain. He could not recall the names of his childhood playmates and
other things which he never took much notice of. The last scene he
remembered was a boundless sea of pink and white flowers that glistened
under the sun. He guessed that the flowers were peach blossoms.
Opening his eyes once again, he felt exhausted like never before, as if his
Internal Strength and viscera had been entirely hollowed, and all that was left
of him was his outer shell.
Maid Lotus was sat beside him, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Her
expressionless face suggested that she had been repeating the same task on a
daily basis.
"What day and time is it?"
"The seventh day of the second lunar month, afternoon."
He had been unconscious for two days and two nights.

"What did I say and do while in the unbounded fantasy realm? Did I
accidentally divulge the most important secret?" Gu Shenwei felt a sense of
anxiety and unconsciously reached his hand to his waist. It was his habit to
grasp his knife or sword whenever he was nervous.
But there was nothing; no knife, sword, or even clothes. The only thing
covering his body was a layer of bedding. He felt embarrassed at once. This
was not something a killer should mind, but even so, there remained certain
things which a killer could not control. From this point of view, the person
most suited to being a killer was Tie Hanfeng, for he saw everything as
child's play.
Maid Lotus, remaining expressionless, placed the towel down. "It's time for
you to get up. Many people are expecting you."
These frosty words were, in fact, what Gu Shenwei needed to calm down. "I
must have said many things which were out of order."
"Yes, but the only person who would understand what you said is yourself."
Maid Lotus gave a dubious response before she stood up while keeping her
eyes on Slave Huan lying on the bed. "Deep inside, every killer hates Stone
Castle. There's nothing to hide since everyone's the same."
Gu Shenwei felt bewildered, and could not discern the real meaning of Maid
Lotus' words. Perhaps every killer indeed hated Golden Roc Fort bitterly, but
he was the only one who harbored sinister motives and transformed his hate
into concrete action.
"Should I trust the girl in front of me?" After a brief period of inner struggle,
Gu Shenwei finally replied, "Thank you."
"Alright. Come, our troubles haven't all been resolved."
There was a load of troubles awaiting the two of them.
Chu Yangjun's death did not cause as much as a ripple in South City. Few
people even knew his formal name, while those who were more familiar with
him simply wondered how one of the best-looking men in Hope Alley could
run into a fatal mishap in the ditches. Even fewer people connected the
discovered corpse to Kun Society. Most people guessed it was a crime of
passion, and lost their curiosity in the matter after just half a day.
What attracted the attention of Jade City's residents more so than Chu
Yangjun's death was the disappearance of Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang.
The renowned swordsman could not be found anywhere - not in North City,
South City, or his abode, nor in the countless betting arenas, taverns, or
brothels.
Horned Dragon Society was dealt yet another huge blow. Although Ye Silang
professed that he was not a member of said society, the person he wanted to
kill was its archenemy, and naturally, he was regarded as its ally. Now that he
had suddenly gone missing and could possibly even be dead, Kun Society,
which had retreated into a corner, could bare its powerful and sharp fangs
once again.
Consequently, the large battle between the Kun and Horned Dragon societies,
which everyone had long awaited yet feared, finally began.
Overnight, Tuo Nengya was able to recruit more than a hundred machetemen,
most of whom came forth and offered their services on their own accord.
This allowed him to once again build an invincible formation.
However, the formation still needed more time to take shape. Because the
matter had escalated way too suddenly, neither society was able to draw up a
thorough scheme of attack, and thus the war which fell upon the entire South
City was a messy one.
It was unclear which side first started a particular trend which rapidly caught
on - the machetemen of Kun Society wore a yellow band around their arms,
while those of Horned Dragon Society wore a red band on their foreheads. A
ferocious battle would erupt every time yellow met red.
In South City, machetemen were as common as cowhair, and the grievances

among them were highly complicated. Every one of them believed that this
round of battle between the two societies would be the final and decisive one,
and thus, they hastily seized this opportunity to settle personal scores. Many
claimed to be a member of a particular society when, in fact, their names had
never been registered in the society's books and they were not paid. They
might wear a yellow band on one day to kill a foe, and the next day change to
a red band to attack someone else. Switching societies was as casual and easy
as having a meal.
The large battle was unrestrained from the very start. It was not only the
merchants who were adversely affected and thus voiced their discontents
everywhere; the leaders of the two societies immediately realized that they
were being made use of, and that if the situation continued to develop
unchecked, both sides would fall at the hands of machetemen settling
personal scores.
Therefore, by the second day of the large battle, both sides began striving to
end this meaningless conflict as quickly as possible.
It was under these circumstances which Shangguan Ru dispatched people to

look for the killer Yang Huan everywhere.
Upon receiving the news, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus headed directly to
North City. Shangguan Ru was pacing back and forth excitedly in the
entrance hall. "You two killed Ye Silang?" These were her first words when
she saw the most capable killer under her charge.
"No, only Huang Shi'an," Gu Shenwei replied. His omission of Chu Yangjun
was not deliberate, but rather because the swordsman was not of much
significance to the Tenth Young Master.
Shangguan Ru exhaled a sigh of disappointment, but quickly snapped out of

it. "I've agreed to negotiate with the little rascal of the Meng family. I mean,
why not? The first round of negotiations will take place on the day after
tomorrow. Slave Huan, you shall be attending. But I want to launch a large-
scale counteroffensive before the negotiations, so as to let Horned Dragon
Society know we aren't the ones suing for peace. Master Yu, you shall be in
charge of this."
Shangguan Ru issued her orders rapidly with a clear and distinct train of
thought that seemed beyond a girl who just turned fourteen. She only asked
about Slave Huan's whereabouts in the past few days after making sure that
everything had been properly arranged.
Gu Shenwei gave a brief account of the two assassinations while playing

down the injury he sustained during the process.
Shangguan Ru clenched her right fist and thumped it on her left palm when
she heard that Chu Yangjun was Ye Silang's guard. "I see. Ye Silang must be
too afraid to show his face, hah! You shall continue to search for him
together with Maid Lotus. It'll be wonderful if his head can be displayed
during the negotiations, haha."
These were but Shangguan Ru's own fantasy thoughts.
Gu Shenwei had not reminded the Tenth Young Master that Ye Silang's
disappearance was not because he was afraid. The swordsman was,
presumably, at this moment searching maniacally for the killer Yang Huan to
avenge Chu Yangjun.
It was Gu Shenwei's intention not to participate in the counteroffensive

organized by Master Yu. What he wanted was to see which side the young
demoness would choose between the two societies.
After dismissing everyone else from the hall, Shangguan Ru conversed alone
with Slave Huan. "I intend to separate you and Maid Lotus from Wildhorse.
Has he done anything recently?"
"No. I think he's more prudent nowadays."
"Hmm. I shall task Master Yu to keep watch on him. This counteroffensive is

just a test. Master Yu will lay down two sets of plans, of which Wildhorse
will only know one. If there's even the slightest hint that Wildhorse has
colluded with the enemy and divulged confidential information, his head
shall also be displayed in front of Little Meng tomorrow night."
"This is truly a good plan." Gu Shenwei complimented insincerely.

Wildhorse would certainly not be exposed with Shangguan Yushi around.
Furthermore, he was simply not the person colluding with Horned Dragon
Society.
Shangguan Ru reached out her fist and thumped softly on Slave Huan's arm.
With a shadow of a smile on her face, she held her head high and proclaimed,
"I want Ye Silang's head."
"Tenth Young Master shall see it by midnight tomorrow."
Gu Shenwei abruptly felt a little frustrated. Shangguan Ru was increasingly

treating him like a homekept killer. Undoubtedly, she still thought highly of
Slave Huan and regarded him as her right-hand man, but the relationship was
no longer that of childhood playmates. Those somewhat naive methods to
ensnare people's hearts were evidence that the girl had grown up. Her spotless
innocence had been replaced by the leadership traits passed down the
generations of the Shangguan family.
Gu Shenwei snorted in his heart and haughtily tossed his inner

disappointment aside. "Shangguan Ru was never my playmate or even a
friend. In fact, she's among the top of my hit list."
The young killer felt an upsurge of emotion as he visualized the scene of him
stabbing the the Tenth Young Master's neck with a sharp sword.
The plan to assassinate Ye Silang had been crafted long ago by Gu Shenwei
and Maid Lotus. Though they missed out on a golden opportunity, they had
already succeeded in enraging the swordsman and thus possessed a definite
advantage.
They decided to simply wait for him to show up. Gu Shenwei would invite
Ye Silang's long sword while Maid Lotus delivered a fatal strike from the
darkness. This method was identical to that of Chu Yangjun's assassination,
albeit their roles were swapped.
Only mutually trusting killers could employ such an assassination method

whereby they entrusted their lives to each other.
They returned, as usual, to their small rented abode in South City. Having
taken a trip to North City, their whereabouts were already exposed, and there
was no doubt that, at this moment, Ye Silang knew where to find his foe.
Therefore, they did not have to deliberately spread information.
Eventually, however, the night passed peacefully. Ye Silang did not appear,
and no machetemen from Horned Dragon Society came to snoop around.
It seemed as though the swordsman was truly missing, to the great surprise of
the killers.
Chapter 172 - Peach Forest
Chapter 172: Peach Forest
There was a garden on the outskirts of South City. Its earliest owner was
surnamed Gui, and therefore it was known as Gui Garden.
The garden took up more than six hectares and was grown full of peach trees.
With the cold winter still going on, the garden remained covered in thick
snow, and there was still some time before flowers blossomed once again.
There was a newly-built small grave deep among the peach trees. A
swordsman draped in a purple cape had stayed by here for three days and
nights thus far. After all, the person in the grave used to guard him day and
night.
After catching wind of it, Gu Shenwei arrived at the peach garden early in the
morning and saw his target from afar.
"The pain brought about by death can only be ended by death" , Gu Shenwei
thought. He had felt sorry for Chu Yangjun's death for a moment but had cast
it to the back of his mind by now.
"If I have two hearts, I'll use one to remember him and the other to figure out
how to kill you. But I only have one, and can't afford to waste it on you."
Leaning against a tree, Ye Silang spoke facing the grave and did not look
back at the killer behind him.
"Killing this affectionate yet foolish swordsman may be easier than I

thought." Gu Shenwei, standing at a distance of more than twenty steps from
the swordsman, loosened his right-hand grip on the sword shaft. "That would
be great for you. I wouldn't know how to kill you if you have two hearts."
As if not hearing the killer's gibe, Ye Silang continued to speak without
looking back. It seemed, perhaps, that he had been talking to himself all
along, and the killer's presence was simply a coincidence. "We learnt
swordcraft together. Before that, I had already trained under different
teachers while he had never learnt kung fu, and so I made him suffer quite a
bit. This peach forest was his favorite place, and he would secretly come here
to cry each time he lost a fight. As his swordcraft improved, there were
occasions when even I became no match for him. But we made it a point to
come here to play whenever it was the season the peach blossoms were in full
bloom. Our days were spent with a lot of other people, while at night, only
the two of us would sneak here. Even if we couldn't see anything, we could at
least smell the fragrance of the flowers."
"Now's a good time to act." Gu Shenwei clutched his sword shaft once again
and knew that Maid Lotus, who was dressed in white and hiding on a
different tree, probably thought the same. But he was unable to strike, as if
something was impeding him and causing him not to focus all of his attention
on his sword.
"That shameless person, Gao Zhen, actually conceived evil thoughts towards
him, and in doing so nettled and often quarreled with the little fella in the rice
shop. Well, I would have killed that wretch if no one else did it."
"But because you were using Marquis Gao's money, you were a little
reluctant to kill him." Gu Shenwei deliberately provoked the swordsman,
hoping the latter would attack first.
"That's right, money, it's all because of money. All kinds of fascinating
realms can be seen by learning swordcraft, but the one thing lacking about it
is money. Though Gao Zhen was killed, he did me a great service. Someone
offered me a hundred thousand taels to kill you and frame you for his murder,
and I agreed. With this sum of money, we could have left Jade City, bought a
piece of land, grow a few peach trees, and never get involved in jianghu
conflicts ever again."
Ye Silang's thoughts remained fixed upon the person in the grave, and there
was no malice in his tone.
"You're the most valuable killer I've ever seen. Fifth Young Master Meng
must really think too highly of me."
"I'm not a killer and neither is he. We are swordsmen who may have killed
for money, but would never act behind the back." Ye Silang's voice suddenly
became serious and his posture became straight.
"I'm a killer, and not a swordsman. I may kill for any reason, and absolutely
not by standing in front of an expert and waiting for him to attack."
Gu Shenwei was fully prepared. He had previously sensed a killing intent

which was filled with weariness on Ye Silang's body, but it now became
aroused and fervent like a volcano which had been dormant for too long and
could erupt at any time.
"But why did you want to kill him? He wasn't a threat to you."
When Ye Silang turned his body, Gu Shenwei was slightly shocked. He

looked a completely different man; his face was haggard and no longer had
that godlike radiance. The only distinctive features were his red eyes that
exuded a fierce glare, upon seeing which even the most ferocious of wild
beasts would retreat in fear.
But Gu Shenwei was a killer and not a wild beast. He had practiced Death
Scripture, which taught that killing was one's purpose, and had walked the
way of "self-deconstruction".
"Because of you. With him around, I wouldn't be able to kill you, while you
would be able to kill me. You shouldn't have made him obstruct me, and
shouldn't be surprised by his death after allowing him to engage in a life-and-
death battle, in which all was fair and it was either me or him."
Gu Shenwei imagined that the opportunity he was waiting for was about to
arrive. He would strike back mercilessly at the swordsman when the latter
attacked with his full might, but the real slayer would be Maid Lotus atop a
tree.
The three swords would fly at an unbelievable pace, and the fight would end
in a briefer period of time than it took for a peach blossom to fall off a
branch. Someone would live and someone would die. The only differential
depended on who was that tiny, imperceptible bit faster than the other.
But he was wrong once again. Ye Silang did not attack, his hand not even
reaching for his sword shaft. "I said I would return you a life, and today's the
day for that. I'll spare you this time, but we'll meet again very soon."
Gu Shenwei did not respond to this "kind gesture". He maintained a firm grip
on his sword shaft while Internal Breath spread throughout his whole body,
and began to feel an upsurge in killing desire. The greedy monster in him
would only be satisfied after seeing fresh blood.
A vigilance grew in Ye Silang's heart. Without touching his sword, he moved

his fingers a little and took a step back. "I see that you're well-prepared. I
shall have to find another time to return you a life. You may attack now. The
person on the tree and you have one chance to kill me, and there'll be no
second chance come tomorrow."
Gu Shenwei had full confidence of killing the swordsman standing opposite

him. Although he might once again be wounded, there was no chance that
two killers who had learned the swordcraft of Death Scripture would lose to a
haughty swordsman.
But he simply could not attack. There was something elusive and
unidentifiable which was exerting a weak blocking effect on him. He
suddenly understood that he was hesitating, and it was because Chu
Yangjun's pre-death facial expression had quietly popped up in his mind and
disturbed his thoughts.
It was all the weirder because he did not get a good look at Chu Yangjun's
expression at that time. He only heard a line of last words which needed no
passing on.
This would be a fatal error rather than a golden opportunity to kill. The minor
disturbance was sufficient to cause his movements to be a tad slower than
usual, which could spell the difference between life and death. While he
wished to kill the swordsman, he did not want to suffer the same fate at this
time.
"Tomorrow."
Gu Shenwei took a step back as well.
"Tomorrow."
Ye Silang remained stood on the same spot. He had cleared his "debt" by
giving the killer a chance to escape, and if the latter refused to take it, the
sword in his hand would not be at fault.
Gu Shenwei, together with Maid Lotus, ran out of the peach forest. Neither of
them spoke a word until they reached their lodging, when the former finally
offered an explanation. "I had a minor problem."
Maid Lotus simply nodded her head without questioning or consoling him.
The problem was Slave Huan's inner demons which he needed to conquer by
himself. All she had to do was wait.
It was around noon when Gu Shenwei arrived in North City. He subsequently

confessed to Tenth Young Master that he was unable to bring Ye Silang's
head back by night time. "I've decided to act tomorrow instead."
"Tomorrow? You have to attend the negotiations with Horned Dragon

Society tomorrow."
The negotiations between the two societies were split into two rounds. Gu
Shenwei's task was to reach an agreement for a short truce and confirm the
time and venue of the next round of negotiation. The final peace treaty would
be left to the two masters of the Shangguan and Meng family to resolve.
"Tomorrow's negotiations shall be my life-and-death battle with Ye Silang."
Shangguan Ru suddenly had a realization. "To think the little b*stard still
wants to cause trouble. I'm sure he'll do something on the way."
Ye Silang had revealed a little conspiracy to the killer to repay the latter's
"mercy". Meng Mingshi's plan was really smart. By professing himself not a
member of Horned Dragon Society, Ye Silang would not be breaking any
rules if he killed Yang Huan either before or after the negotiations.
"So, I'll bring his head back tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" Shangguan Ru had reason to be suspicious. Her confidence

was affected by the fact that Slave Huan had already held back when facing
Ye Silang on several occasions.
"Yes."
There was a thoughtful look in Shangguan Ru's jet black eyes before she
revealed a smile. "I believe you, but surely you aren't thinking of handling
him alone? Just tell me how many people you need. There's no problem even
if you want to take all of the machetemen, as well as the killers, with you. We
shall know if Wildhorse is a traitor after tonight."
Kun Society's counteroffensive was set to begin that night. If it was

successful, it would serve as a significant bargaining chip at the next day's
negotiations. This was similar to the Meng family's "little b*stard" plan,
albeit the targets were different.
"I may need a few people, but first, I need to know who brought about these
negotiations."
"The commandant Zhong Heng. Do you suspect him of being a part of the
conspiracy too?"
"I don't know. I'll have to go investigate."
Gu Shenwei could not determine whether Zhong Heng was a friend or foe.
The latter used to provide critical advice to the young killers, but had also
often shifted responsibility for difficult problems on to them. Futhermore, Gu
Shenwei had bribed and kidnapped him before, and thereby the relationship
between them had become complicated.
Zhong Heng's scholarly face made him look simple and pure. The
commandant, as in the past, warmly received the young killer and exchanged
pleasantries for some time before they got down to the point. "It's time for it
to end. The young masters of Stone Castle have all grown up and shall have
to display their abilities in South City. The amount of activity this time has
been the biggest thus far, ho ho. Tenth Young Master has truly excelled her
master. I hope tomorrow's negotiations will proceed completely smoothly.
Everything else should be left to the leaders of the two societies to discuss,
while we get to sheathe our knives. Speaking of which, Stone Castle and the
Meng family are actually one family…"
Hoping to dig out some clues from within, Gu Shenwei listened with patience
as Commandant Zhong spoke in his bureaucratic tone. However, his efforts
failed in the face of a tactful old fox. He was thereby compelled to cut right to
the chase and launch a verbal attack when the latter stopped talking. He had
successfully pulled off such a trick many times before.
"How much is the Meng family willing to pay commandant Sir?"
"Come again?" The shock on Zhong Heng's face seemed genuine. "You…
what… do you mean? Does Manager Yang suspect I was bribed?"
Zhong Heng was filled with righteous indignation.
"Commandant, please forgive lowly me for my moment of disrespect." Gu

Shenwei immediately apologized.
"There's no crime in that. A little caution is always good." Zhong Heng's

attitude rapidly changed and returned to its former amiability.
"Commandant, your basic salary will be doubled from two thousand taels to
four thousand taels starting next month."
This was a private conversation between an officer and a killer. Zhong Heng,
who had only received a salary once before, seemed a little perplexed that it
was going to be doubled. "Manager Yang, it's not good to be rewarded for
nothing…"
"I've said that I'll keep asking you for advice. Commandant, your every
advice has benefited lowly me a great deal."
Zhong Heng laughed knowingly while leaning back on his chair. As he
nudged his beard, a vacant expression appeared on his face, indicating that he
was about to order the guest to leave. He then began to speak, with his eyes
looking diagonally upwards, as if he was conversing with an invisible guest.
"Though I know little, I do know that a person who grows flowers will steal
flowers, a person who harvests rice will steal rice, and a person who provides
protection from danger is often a dangerous person himself."
Gu Shenwei took his leave and returned to meet Tenth Young Master. He
waited until he was alone with her before he asked, "Whose territory will
tomorrow's negotiations be held on?"
"Ninth Young Master's. You don't have to worry. I'll never forgive him if he
dares to do something."
Gu Shenwei revealed an expression of relief, but in his heart, he understood

everything: his life would be in the hands of Shangguan Fei tomorrow.
Chapter 173 - Flames
Chapter 173: Flames
The Shangguan family had two grown-up masters, one of whom was
conferred the title "Young Master". However, their situations were as
different as heaven and earth. As the Kun-Horned Dragon war raged on, the
Ninth Young Master Shangguan Fei was nearly forgotten.
He controlled the least territory and had recruited barely a few machetemen.
The only consolation was that his eleven killers were all alive and kicking,
whereas three of his younger sister Shangguan Ru's killers had perished.
The decision to hold the negotiations on Shangguan Fei's territory received

the approval of both sides. Shangguan Ru trusted her elder brother while
Meng Mingshi had a rather good opinion of the Ninth Young Master.
During the negotiations, each side would send forth one person who was not
allowed to carry weapons. The other machetemen could only keep guard at
both ends of the lane. Shangguan Fei would also dispatch three killers to
guarantee the negotiators' safety.
Gu Shenwei should have thought about this sooner, but he had been
preoccupied with thinking about how to kill the swordsman Ye Silang that he
overlooked the most obvious fact. It was only when the commandant
reminded him that he finally understood.
Fifth Young Master wanted this assassination to proceed seamlessly, and thus
would not only send forth his best swordsman but also make sure that the
three overlooking killers stood by and did nothing.
Shangguan Ru thought that the assassination would take place on the way to
the negotiations because she overly trusted her elder brother and never
imagined he would "betray" her.
This was the first time Gu Shenwei conscientiously examined the relationship
between the twins. He discovered that while they remained friendly on the
outside, they had long become divided at heart. The animosity between them
had been growing since the game of "stealing" the Black Jade Palm a year
back.
At that time, four "raiders" were trapped in a house by Mister Guo. To save
Slave Huan and Master Yu, Shangguan Ru falsely placed a knife at her elder
brother's throat. Though she did not go through with it, Shangguan Fei was
nonetheless scared out of his wits.
Since then, Shangguan Fei no longer clung on to his younger sister and
Master Yu. Shangguan Ru was not only unaware of it but felt pleased.
But nobody imagined that Shangguan Fei's resentment would continue to

grow in the dark to the extent that he viewed his younger sister as an enemy.
This was like an intricate spider web in which the tug of any thread would
shake the entire situation. Gu Shenwei was merely a tiny insect stuck on it,
but his position just so happened to be in the way of the masters, and as a
result, his life and death became pivotal to the whole affair.
No matter how many people would die, this was all a game to the Shangguan
family. The Supreme King was using this method to train his children; the
principle behind it was the same as having the apprentices kill each other,
except that this time, the players themselves were not at risk, and instead it
would be a bunch of nobodies who paid with their lives.
Gu Shenwei pondered alone for some time to comprehend the rules of this
game. The names of and relationships among Shangguan Fei, Shangguan Ru,
Meng Mingshi, and Shangguan Yushi flew about in his mind.
When he heard a noise from outside, he opened the door and went out to take
a look. Tenth Young Master was standing in the middle of the courtyard,
surrounded by four lantern-carrying servants, while a continuous stream of
messengers entered through the gate to report the circumstances to her.
"It has begun!" Shangguan Ru lifted her head high and spoke excitedly to
Slave Huan. "Let's go and watch the fun together."
The lantern-carrying slaves walked in front while Gu Shenwei walked

alongside Shangguan Ru, further escorted by a dozen or so attendants. The
Tenth Young Master had not deliberately increased her number of servants,
but people from the Inner Residence of Stone Castle had unknowingly come
to North City in quick succession. She had become accustomed to seeing
them whenever she opened her eyes.
The group arrived at a tower next to a border wall of North City. Slave Huan
followed Shangguan Ru upstairs while the attendants kept guard below.
There were many people gathered upstairs already. With the south-facing
windows left wide open, many people complained of the cold and instructed
their servants to bring them thicker coats and hand warmers.
Shangguan Ru's arrival caused a minor stir. Her acquaintances came over to
offer greetings, while several strangers asked others to help introduce. Gu
Shenwei saw Shangguan Fei walk over to his younger sister and whisper a
few sentences to her ear, and they laughed at the same time in a manner no
different from regular siblings. Fifth Young Master Meng was also present,
but with a grim face, he pretended not to see her and did not come forth to
greet.
The place was filled with the noble children of North City, or otherwise their
personal servants, who carried lanterns, kept watching on their masters'
actions, and performed errands for them.
"Look, there's movement!" Someone shouted. Everyone hastily clustered by

the window and peered towards South City, which was across a river.
It was Horned Dragon Society's stronghold on the other side. There was a
faint flickering of flames in the surrounding streets, and suddenly, yelling
noises that became increasingly high-pitched, loud, and confusing were
heard. They were followed by noises of weapons colliding, curses,
commands, and strange cries.
Kun Society's great counteroffensive at the eleventh hour was taking place
under the eyes of the many nobles.
"It sounds intense but we can't see anything," someone grumbled.
"You'll be able to see clearly in a while," Shangguan Ru replied brusquely.
The first stage of the battle was disadvantageous to Kun Society. There was
practically no movement within Horned Dragon Society's stronghold as all of
the fighting took place outside its perimeters. This meant that the offensive
was not going well, thereby explaining the Tenth Young Master's irritation.
Fifth Young Master Meng was chatting and laughing together with several
Horned Dragon Society members. They were discussing some licentious
topics and deliberately speaking loudly, as if they were not concerned about
the life-and-death brawl in South City.
From across the river, a small group of people ran on to the frozen riverway,
raised their heads, and shouted up towards the tower. "The enemy has been
defeated. We pursued them and destroyed fourteen of their units!"
Fifth Young Master Meng's attendants stuck their heads out of the window
and waved their lanterns at the people below, who quickly retreated.
This slightly shook the spirits of the watching crowd. Somebody who had no
regard for the Tenth Young Master's feelings commented loudly in
disappointment, "Surely it can't end so soon? All that waiting seems a little
not worth it now."
"Don't blame Horned Dragon Society. We complied with the rules and half of
our machetemen didn't even get involved," Meng Mingshi replied in a
surprisingly dejected tone, drawing the "coordinated" laughs of many people.
Gu Shenwei, carrying a lantern, stood behind Shangguan Ru. He could see

that she remained calm, perhaps predicting that the machetemen of Horned
Dragon Society were about to fall into the trap.
Indeed, less than fifteen minutes later, the shouting noises from below began
to abate. The attention of the people in the tower had turned towards their
discussions before someone suddenly pointed out of the window and
exclaimed, "Eek, there's a fire! Look, where's that?"
It was Horned Dragon Society's stronghold. The fire was premeditated and
had been set off simultaneously from a dozen or so places surrounding the
camp. The fiery blazes quickly joined together and lit up the entire street as
bright as day.
"Now, everyone can see clearly," Shangguan Ru said languidly in a tone Gu

Shenwei had never heard her use before.
The observers stared with their mouths open. The design of the fire was
totally ingenious. Horned Dragon Society was trapped on three sides, leaving
only a narrow opening for them to escape. The machetemen of Kun Society
had long regrouped and arranged themselves neatly into a compact formation
to massacre the panic-stricken machetemen of Horned Dragon Society as
they fled.
The neat rows of glimmers from the machetes could be distinctly seen even
from up in the tower. Not to mention the motionless corpses, the trails of
gushing blood, and the flying heads.
As they witnessed this hell-like scene, everyone in the room lost their wits,
yet were too fascinated to take their eyes off it. Some were even so afraid of
missing out on small details that they tried to wrench the window bars out.
More people simply uttered meaningless noises, unable to verbalize their
shock and excitement.
Shangguan Ru revealed a smile on her face as she shot a glance across the
room at the ghastly pale-faced Meng Mingshi. As a child of the Shangguan
family, she had witnessed murder scenes since young, and thus looked down
upon these noble masters who were fussing over nothing much at all.
She turned and said softly to Slave Huan, "The old macheteman you recruited
has been truly worth the money. This was his plan after all. I guess Wildhorse
is alright."
Gu Shenwei bowed to express his admiration and did not reveal any doubt
regarding Wildhorse's matter. Things had gone as he expected. There was
only one thing he could not understand - how did Shangguan Yushi organize
the counteroffensive without any information of it leaking out? Looking at
Fifth Young Master Meng, he seemed to be caught completely unaware,
thereby allowing Kun Society's fire offensive to disarray his forces
completely.
Gu Shenwei had long become uninterested in killing scenes and thus did not
look across the river. Instead, he spent the time observing the Ninth Young
Master Shangguan Fei.
The latter was astutely positioned between Fifth Young Master Meng and
Shangguan Ru, while slightly closer to his younger sister. Appearing
perfectly calm and collected, he would smile at his younger sister and also
nod indicatively at Meng Mingshi every so often.
Although Gu Shenwei could only observe from the back, he was able to
gauge that the Ninth Young Master was very different from a few months
ago. At that time, the latter required Slave Huan's assistance to stab a saber
into his elder brother's body. But now, he even seemed bored by the blazing
massacre.
This affirmed Gu Shenwei's belief that the Ninth Young Master was siding
with Horned Dragon Society, and that Ye Silang would make an appearance
at the negotiation venue.
As the massacre continued for an extensive period of time, it became insipid

even to the most curious onlookers. Horned Dragon Society's defeat was
inevitable. By daybreak, their stronghold in South City would be reduced to
ruins, and few of their expensively-recruited machetemen would survive.
Shangguan Ru bade her elder brother farewell and was the first person to go
downstairs. She did not need to watch the outcome play out, having achieved
her objective already.
As she walked on the wide and tidy streets of North City, she began to
contemplate other matters. "Maybe there isn't a mole. No information leaked
out during the assassination of the Machete God either. Horned Dragon
Society was using him as a bait and kept waiting for us to make a move."
"That makes sense, Tenth Young Master," Gu Shenwei replied without

attempting to convince Shangguan Ru. He had no evidence at hand, and
baseless conjectures would only make him seem overly suspicious and
jealous.
After thinking for a little longer, Shangguan Ru too began to feel that there
remained some things she could not explain. She put on a smiling face and
discarded her worries. "In any case, things are about to end. I'll properly deal
with the little fella of the Meng family during the second round of
negotiations. Hmph, let's see how Horned Dragon Society goes around
'begging' for help."
"Tenth Young Master, tell me what instructions you have for the second
round of negotiations so that I may propose the demands tomorrow."
"Mm, it's simple actually. The negotiation venue will remain the same, while
the time is up to you all to decide. When the time comes, I'll go to South City,
and so will my elder brother. This is all that old macheteman's plan. He says I
should pull my brother towards Kun Society to pressure Horned Dragon
Society together, and only afterward settle our differences in private. I feel
that this idea is quite brilliant. With age does comes rich experience indeed.
Although he formerly served my elder brother, he has been rather loyal to
me."
Amidst her enthusiasm, Shangguan Ru spoke on and on, and even began to
predict the future of Kun Society. "After Eighth Brother wipes out the evil
women in the desert, Mother will no longer have to worry about my safety.
When the time comes, we'll be able to expand our power outwards. The
world is so big, yet how few places have I visited?"
Gu Shenwei would occasionally put in a word to make Shangguan Ru feel

even happier. His thoughts were, however, preoccupied with the next day's
affairs, which he was determined not to ask her for help upon.
He conceived of another way to help himself. It was similar to the plan

sometime back in which he followed a rope and climbed towards Six Kills
Temple. He would fall into a bottomless abyss if he showed the least bit of
carelessness or if the wind blew a little too strongly.
Chapter 174 - Night Talks
Chapter 174: Night Talks
Shangguan Fei had never been to the South City. He was not interested in
that place at all. Its lanes were messy and narrow, and the crowds were
boorish. One looked at it was enough. He'd rather stay at Stone Castle.
Staying at North City gave him a feeling of abandonment.
The rivalry with his sister left him exceedingly embarrassed. If he were to
win, people might say that since the Ninth Young Master a boy, it was
natural for him to win. If he were to lose though, people might start to
question his masculinity or make some other humiliating remark.
In short, no one respected him. In the eyes of his father, mother, brothers,
sisters, and even the servants; there was only the Tenth Young Master.
Midnight has passed. Shangguan Fei had not entered the house to sleep. He
stayed in the courtyard trading blows with two killers with wooden sabers.
Seeing the scene of massacre upstairs earlier caused him a great deal of
alarm. His sister's laughter, light and unencumbered, left him feeling even
greater jealousy and hatred.
He poured out his feelings on the wooden saber, waving it forcefully. The
two killers on the receiving end stepped backwards. Suddenly, he grew
dejected again and the killers pretended to be unable to resist.
Shangguan Fei threw the wooden saber away. Feelings of frustration grew in
his chest. He wanted to raise his head to the skies and let off a long shout, but
was afraid that others would laugh at him.
The two killers maintained their vigilance. Before their master had sensed
any danger, the two had rushed before him with wooden sabers aimed at him.
The killers could kill with any weapon.
Shangguan Fei turned his head and saw a masked man dressed fully in black.
The uninvited guest kneeled on the floor, not speaking.
"You two, retreat."
Shangguan Fei coldly gave the order. The killer nodded his head slightly and
retreated out of the courtyard. They were responsible for protecting their
master but would not interfere in their master's personal affairs.
"The killer Yang Huan pays his respects to the Ninth Young Master."
"The Tenth Young Master made you come? Is there anything that she can't
say in person? Why did she send you to throw a glance at me?"
Shangguan Fei had been waiting for the slave for a long time. In reality, he
was looking forward to meeting Slave Huan. Slave Huan held a trump card
that could kill anyone in this conspiracy that was Shangguan Fei's very first.
Moreover, he was someone important; seeing an unsuspecting prey, he
trembled with excitement.
"Your servant's visit has nothing to do with the Tenth Young Master."
"Ha, you're a killer, not a slave. You're not allowed to call yourself a slave."
Shangguan Fei was enjoying issuing orders from a position of authority,
especially to his sister's servant who once belonged to him. She had snatched
him away.
"Yes, sir."
"Well, are you here of your own accord?"
"Yes, it's for myself. It's also for the Ninth Young Master's safety."
Shangguan Fei could hardly stifle his laughter. This slave sure has a way with
words. This must be how he won his sister over in the past. "What does the
Tenth Young Master want to steal from me? The last few betting arenas? Or
are her killers are not enough for her?"
When Gu Shenwei was signaling his goodwill to Shangguan Fei from

upstairs, he had not thought of how to gain the Ninth Young Master's trust.
Shangguan Ru's words gave him an idea, even if that would implicate another
person. "No, it has nothing to do with the Tenth Young Master. Someone
wants to kill the Ninth Young Master, and this plan is underway."
Shangguan Fei was shaken. Slave Huan might be Janus-faced, but he

wouldn't dare to lie. "Go on."
"Great Young Master left some machetemen. The leader is named Tuo
Nengya. This person has plans for revenge with his target being you, Ninth
Young Master."
"Haha." Shangguan Fei laughed wryly. "You say a macheteman? Impossible.

Machetemen kill for money. You must have seen for yourself. They are not
loyal. Killings happen all the time in Stone Castle and I've never heard of any
macheteman killing someone to avenge their master. Rushing to support a
new master is more like it."
This was another of Gu Shenwei's weaknesses. He had only speculation and

no evidence. But he believed that persuading the Ninth Young Master
shouldn't be too difficult. "I received verifiable intelligence that the
machetemen led by Tuo Nengya will attack in the second negotiation. Once
Ninth Young Master appears at South City, you will be at risk."
"They are not afraid of death?" Shangguan Fei seemed to be convinced. Slave
Huan's serious tone made him treat this matter seriously. The machetemen
trained by Tuo Nengya was also a force to be reckoned with, which struck
fear in Shangguan Ru's heart.
"There would always be a few machetemen who are different from the rest."
Someone who killed the son of the Supreme King will be driven to the ends
of the Earth. Tuo Nengya naturally understood this but Gu Shenwei had once
seen the helplessness in the eyes of the old macheteman.
"So you say that my sister's macheteman wants to assassinate me?"
Shangguan Fei found it hard to believe.
"This has nothing to do with the Tenth Young Master. Tuo Nengya was only
using the Tenth Young Master for shelter, and to get closer to the Ninth
Young Master."
Shangguan Fei hung his head in silence. He was expecting the slave to
shower him with praises. But he had not expected to hear such an important
news. Later, he thought of something. "That Tuo Nengya and machetemen,
aren't they employed personally by you?"
"Yes, sir."
Shangguan Fei was alert. He regretted sending away his killers. He only had
to open his mouth, and the killers would jump out. But he had seen Slave
Huan's kung fu too…
Shangguan Fei squashed thoughts of wanting to flee. He said, "You have

seen that the machetemen had plans of their own?"
"Yes, hence I had the thought that instead of letting the enemy hide in the
dark, let's keep them under our nose. That way we can notice them at all
times."
Shangguan Fei opened his eyes wide. He remembered how he'd once heard of
something similar. He forgot whether it came from his father or a teacher. "In
the end, you discovered that they wanted to kill me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Just because I planted a knife in my big brother's back?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then I should kill you too. Many people saw how you added a bit of
strength to that knife."
Gu Shenwei had been looking down. This time he raised his head, looking at
a furious Ninth Young Master. "They'll kill me because I belong to the Ninth
Young Master."
Shangguan Fei wanted to laugh but felt that he should remain calm. In the
face of such absurdity, he didn't know how he should react. Those old killers
and the old man had taught much useless knowledge. But they had not taught
him how to refute nonsense from a bold slave. "You say you belong to me?"
Shangguan Fei had been asking questions the whole night. This deeply
annoyed him, but he still had grave doubts.
"Yes, I'm a slave of the Ninth Young Master. I've never forgotten how the
Eighth Young Master had first gifted me to you."
This was something that made Shangguan Fei angry. He didn't care about a
slave. He was angry with his sister's insolence.
As long as it's something worthwhile, she would steal it away. Shangguan Fei
was almost exploding with anger. He cocked his head looking at Slave Huan.
He thought of the past. Indeed, that slave had always seemed polite in front
of him. Occasionally he would be so bold and full of himself but he had
never looked down on him. Who he hated was his sister and Master Yu,
especially Master Yu, who with the help of his sister even dared to treat the
Supreme King's son rudely.
Slave Huan had once plunged a saber into the chest of his Big Brother.
According to the tradition of Stone Castle, this was a highly symbolic act.
"Why didn't you come back earlier to serve me?"
Shangguan Fei sounded indignant. Gu Shenwei relaxed. He was reaching his

goal.
"Because I'm still on the side of the Tenth Young Master. If it weren't for
something so urgent, I probably wouldn't be seeing the Ninth Young Master
tonight."
"But you'll still be with her. Do you dare to leave her? She'll treat you as a
traitor."
"There're some things that I shouldn't say."
"Say. Since you're already my man. There's nothing that you can't say to me."
"The Tenth Young Master… She's a woman."
Shangguan Fei could just hug Slave Huan this very moment. Why can't
anyone see this simple fact? Be it the Supreme King or the beggar in the
streets, everyone treated her as a boy. It was as if she could inherit the throne.
But she was a girl nonetheless. "So what if she's a woman? Now women have
authority in the Stone Castle."
Shangguan Fei was even angry with his own mother.
"But women will eventually remarry and leave Stone Castle. And I'm a killer
of Golden Fort. I'll never leave Stone Castle."
Shangguan Fei suddenly realized that this slave was only trying to plan for
himself. He's smart. The Ninth Young Master's anger dissipated a little.
"True, just wait for a few more years. Many like Slave Huan will see the
situation as it is between the twins, and recognize who the real son of
Supreme King is."
"I see. Keep quiet and leave now." Shangguan Fei said stridently. He thought
of erroneous political ways. He could not let the slave see through the
master's true thoughts. Let them guess among themselves, and use such
torture to mold their loyalty.
"Yes, sir."
Gu Shenwei rose and walked slowly towards the end of the wall. His heart
beat wildly. He did not come here to pledge his allegiance.
"Wait." Shangguan Fei called out. He had important things that he hadn't told
this new loyal slave.
Shangguan Fei would only leave the Ninth Young Master four days later.
Without waiting for the gate to open, he climbed over the boundary wall,
crossed the river and entered the South City. He found Maid Lotus, assigned
tasks to her and later left the gate to return to North City. He took leave from
Shangguan Ru and prepared to participate in the negotiations.
The Kun Society was filled with a happy atmosphere. The machetemen were
all elated. They had earned their victories; The war was going to be over. The
living will have a chance to enjoy a rich reward.
In the great war the last night, the Horned Dragon Society had killed close to
200 people. Kun Society had only lost 30 men. The victory was considered
perfect. Shangguan Yu could hardly conceal her elation. She was even kinder
to Slave Huan. When he said he wanted to take most of the machetemen, she
wasn't even against it.
Gu Shenwei summoned Tuo Nengya to let him organize the machetemen and
prepare to participate in the talks.
Tuo Nengya was effective as usual. He was the only person who seemed
indifferent to the victory of last night. Gu Shenwei carefully scrutinized his
behavior, hoping to add a little more evidence to his speculations.
Tuo Nengya had no flaws. Only something arrested the teen killer's attention.
He realized that the over 20 machetemen led by Tuo Nengya in Rouge Forest
had been through many cruel blood battles. Not a single one died and no one
had ever escaped. They were loyal towards the old macheteman, just like
how the Golden Fort killers were loyal to the Shangguan family. After
becoming a loyal backbone of the Kun Society, they never asked for a single
reward.
People who had no love for money usually harbored some deep desire for
revenge. Gu Shenwei speculated based on his own experience.
Chapter 175 - Negotiations
Chapter 175: Negotiations
One could still feel the heat emanating from the house that burned down last
night. The corpses scattered all over the ground had not been dealt with. The
two societies were preparing to negotiate for peace. To the people of the
North City, this was a planned affair. The people of the South City were
however, worried. They didn't understand what these machetemen were up
to.
The casino was selected as the location for the negotiations. The master's was
surnamed Sa, and the place was thus called Sa Casino. Since the wee hours of
the morning, there had been machetemen gathering around here. They were
all vagabonds and all wanted different things. Some were here to watch the
commotion while others were here hoping to find a job. Still, some did not
believe that peace could be easily achieved, and wanted to fish in troubled
waters.
Half an hour before noon, people from the two societies started arriving at
about the same time. One side was enthusiastic, while the other looked
gloomy. The Horned Dragon Society suffered grave losses and the surviving
machetemen's hatred could not be easily quelled. From the looks of it, it
seemed possible that they were not here for negotiations. They looked like
they were here taking a last stand.
Shangguan Fei sent out all 50 of his machetemen which were led by seven
killers. They separated the two groups of rivals and blocked off a long alley
so that no one could enter. Both the merchants and the occupants had been
removed from their homes that morning. The machetemen guarded both ends
of the narrow alley and forbade anyone from entering.
Both sides sent a number of swordsmen without any weapons to check on the
security of the Sa Casino and its surroundings. When all was clear, the
representatives entered the casino.
Gu Shenwei did not bring any weapons. He walked into the alley alone. He
was being watched by the crowd that was present. Both Gu Shenwei and the
Horned Dragon Society's representative arrived at the same time.
Gu Shenwei did not recognize this macheteman. The other person did not
introduce himself either. Both men's tasks were simple. They sat down on
opposite sides of the table. Three killers stood at the door and two secretaries
presided over the negotiations.
Gu Shenwei had thought that the negotiations would be simple. However, it

turned out that the other person was serious. He was extremely particular
about the time, location and names. He nitpicked on every little detail. Gu
Shenwei was really worried that he would be trapped.
The negotiations went on for over an hour. Both sides finally agreed that a
temporary truce would start at three this afternoon and will last for 36 hours.
The second round of negotiations would take place the next day. The leaders
of both societies would take part and the negotiations would be hosted by the
Ninth Young Master of the Golden Roc Fort, Shangguan Fei. The location
would be at Sa Casino.
The negotiations had finally ended. There was still 15 minutes before the
temporary truce took effect. The representative of the Horned Dragon Society
let out a sigh of relief. He then carried a scroll with the written agreement and
ran out of the casino without saying a word.
The two secretaries had also ran outside, leaving only the three killers to
watch over Slave Huan. They left and closed the doors to the casino from the
outside.
Gu Shenwei moved to the end of the table. He took out a hidden sword from
under the table. He turned around to face Ye Silang, who was just exiting the
inner room.
Both men had been waiting for this moment. After staying silent in several
standoffs, the two men were exhausted. No one spoke. What's said has
already been said. To someone who was about to get killed, words not only
seemed unnecessary, they were an insult.
Both of them pulled out their swords and took a step forward at the same
time. There was not a hint of hatred present in this encounter. Their only goal
was to kill the other party. That was all.
Ye Silang's took a glimpse at one of the beams in the room, where Maid
Lotus was hiding, lying in wait to carry out an ambush.
Ninth Young Master Shangguan Fei had satisfied both Fifth Young Master
and Slave Huan's requests. He allowed two people to enter. Those
machetemen would not be able to find them while the three killers received
an order to ignore them.
Two killers would face one swordsman.
The swordsman took a step forward. They calculated each oncoming blow
with precision. If the enemy thought that moves in the Rouge Forest were
being used again, they would regret it.
Gu Shenwei stood firmly, looked down and closed his eyes. He looked like a
coward who was awaiting his death.
Ye Silang stabbed. He was clearly over ten steps away from the killer, but the
killer had suddenly closed in on him. His body was bent like a new moon and
the sword in his hands gleamed like the moon.
The moment he unsheathed his sword, the swordsman swivelled to the right.
With a swift move, he would be able to kill the first killer in a single blow.
The sword would then swing upwards to block a blow that came from the
top.
That was only if everything was as he expected.
Gu Shenwei leaned forward. He held a backhanded sword in his right hand

and kept his arms close to his body. The tip of the sword was only a few
inches above his head. It seemed like he wanted to deflect the swordsman's
deadly attack with his head.
The tip of both swords clashed. They parted just as quickly as they came into
contact. Gu Shenwei felt like he took a huge blow to his head. He took a few
steps back to maintain his frontward-leaning posture.
Gu Shenwei did not die, but his sword had broken into pieces.
Ye Silang's sword was intact, but he died. He died due to the sword that came
down from above. He thought that he would be able to fend it off
successfully, but alas.
As a result, his sword did not pierce into the flesh of his opponent. It clashed
with another sword instead.
The two masters engaged each other in this duel. They advanced and
retreated, advanced and retreated. When their weapons hit their target, they
retreated, not allowing the opponent to lash out as he struggled. Ye Silang
was planning to pierce his opponent's neck with his sword, and then turning it
upwards towards his head. But when the two swords collide, the force that
came was greater than what the swordsman was ready for.
Everything had been thought out. The amount of force used to attack, to
change up the moves and to defend. Ye Silang's calculations were precise but
because of how his sword clashed with the other sword, his plan was botched.
The long sword broke the killer's sword. He then immediately changed its
direction to confront the assassin, but it was a little slower.
What Maid Lotus needed was this little bit of time. Her sword gently hit the
head of the macheteman and repelled him backwards by ten steps.
The duel had finally ended. There was no audience. Only two killers and one
swordsman were present.
Gu Shenwei held the broken sword in his hand. He maintained an inaccurate

squatting posture which looked ridiculous, but he looked serious.
Maid Lotus stood in a corner, masked and dressed in black. The tip of her
sword was pointing towards the ground. The blade was smooth and gleamed.
It had not been tainted with even a single drop of blood.
Ye Silang lifted his long sword which made him look like a statue that was
directing the sword towards the sky. It looked like he was going to punch a
hole in the roof with just a little more effort.
The swordsmen moved slightly and fell forward. There was not a single trace
of love or hate in his empty eyes.
Gu Shenwei rushed over, and grabbed the swordsman's hair. With the
remaining half of his sword, he beheaded the swordsman. The corpse fell to
the ground. Gu Shenwei's moves were smooth and experienced. Even if the
dead Tie Hanfeng was here, he would not be able to find any mistakes.
Swordsman, peach blossoms, affection, ruthlessness- the killer abandoned

them all. He no longer cared for any of them.
Gu Shenwei threw the broken sword to Maid Lotus. He took out a piece of
black cloth and wrapped the head in it. He took out a saber from under the
table and nodded towards Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus picked up several pieces of the broken sword that were lying on
the ground. She then leaped back onto the beam of the house.
Gu Shenwei carried the head that was wrapped in black cloth and picked up
the agreement of the truce. He walked towards the door of the casino and
knocked on the door.
The three killers opened the door. They bowed and made way for Gu
Shenwei. It was as if they had already expected him. They were not surprised
at all. They too were Dragon Year apprentices and were familiar with Slave
Huan. No matter what their master came up with, they all believed that Slave
Huan would win.
It was now three. The truce was now in effect.

On the streets, the representative of the Horned Dragon Society peered into
the distance. Seeing the killer approach, he hopped onto his horse
immediately and galloped away. He did not care about the outcome. His only
task was to deliver the news of the outcome on time.
The situation outside seemed a little tensed. The crowds of machetemen had
now dwindled to half. The remaining people were talking among themselves
with excitement. It looked as though something big had happened.
Most of Tuo Nengya's machetemen from the Kun Society had left. Only five
of them remained. One of them came up to Gu Shenwei to deliver a piece of
bad news. "Kun Society is under siege. Master Yu had been gravely injured."
Shangguan Ru had made a move to counter attacks on the first night of the
negotiations. Kun Society was planning to give him a taste of his medicine.
15 minutes before the truce, they launched a surprise attack. No one would
have thought that their target would be Shangguan Yushi.
There were about 50 machetemen that had a red sash tied around their
foreheads. They wore masks that children usually play with to cover their
faces. They were holding longbows and sharp arrows. They had suddenly
appeared at the meeting point of the Kun Society. They stood on rooftops and
walls. They fired upon Master Yu and the few killers who were there.
This happened just as the representative of the Horned Dragon Society was
leaving the casino.
The machetemen fired three rounds of arrows and retreated immediately.

There was no scuffle and no one was injured either.
Wildhorse and several other killers tried their best to protect Master Yu but
there was still one arrow that managed to hit her chest.
After rushing back to Kun Society, Gu Shenwei saw that the alley outside of
the courtyard was packed with people. Someone recognised killer Yang Huan
and shouted at him, "Revenge? Count me in. 500 taels for the head of one
enemy!"
This caused a commotion in the crowd. Many machetemen had the same
idea. They smelled blood and like moths drawn to fire, they were not afraid
of death at all.
Gu Shenwei squeezed through the crowd. There were dozens of machetemen

lining the courtyard of the Kun Society. Tuo Nengya guarded the entrance of
the grand courtyard. As Gu Shenwei passed him, he bowed meekly and said
in a soft voice: "I've sent men to inform the Tenth Young Master. There're 50
people protecting her."
Shangguan Ru would definitely rush to the South City without a moment's

hesitation. So, Tuo Nengya's plans were very well thought out. Gu Shenwei
nodded and walked into the grand courtyard. He placed the severed head and
truce agreement on a chair.
Wildhorse and three other killers lined up. They knelt before a couch and
placed their sabers close to them. They heard a voice from behind and turned
around at the same time. Wildhorse grabbed his saber and his wide-spread
eyes filled with rage.
The leaders of the two teenage killers stared at each other. For a while, no
one moved. Wildhorse seemed to get the hint. He put down his saber and
moved to the side to make room.
Gu Shenwei knelt before the couch on one knee, looking at the teenage girl
lying on the couch.
The arrow was still in her body and her chest heaved weakly. Shangguan
Yushi, dressed in men's attire, was pale. She was showing an unexpected
unique charm of a girl. There was no hint of rebelliousness and arrogance at
all.
She stared at Slave Huan for a while as if she had trouble recognizing him.
Her expressions changed rapidly. Memories of anger, hurt, joy, melancholy,
and other emotions flooded her mind. These memories all seemed to be
leaving her just as quickly.
She had so little time left and she didn't know whether she should spend it
reminiscing her friendship, or vent the hatred in her heart.
Shangguan Yushi raised her hand and grasped Slave Huan's hand tightly. He
was her last source of strength. The two did not say a word but they
understood what the other was thinking.
The two were like partners who fell into the water together. They had
clutched onto a piece of wood, drifting and bobbing on the water surface.
They had both desired to monopolize that piece of wood and to kick the other
down the water.
Gu Shenwei was sure that Master Yu had planned all kinds of schemes so
that Gu Shenwei could die. And to achieve that, she had no qualms
supporting the Horned Dragon Society either.
Shangguan Yushi finally understood everything. The ambush laid by the

Horned Dragon Society was too coincidental. It was this slave, this wretched
slave, who planted the arrow in her chest.
"You've won."
Shangguan Yushi spoke in a scarcely audible whisper. Only Gu Shenwei

himself could understand what she said by reading her lips.

Chapter 176 - Leaving
Chapter 176: Leaving
The whole Jade City was shocked by the death of Sword Sacrificer Ye
Silang. Even the Kun Society had won; it was immersed in an atmosphere of
grief.
"She was waiting for you." Gu Shenwei told Shangguan Ru, who had just
rushed here. His hand was still being held by the deceased. He needed
Shangguan Ru to gently pry off the fingers one by one to get rid of the
corpse.
Shangguan Ru was trying to act stoic. She did not cry but sat cross-legged
before the bed instead. Both of her hands held on to Shangguan Yushi's hand.
The hand used to tightly cling to Slave Huan so as to drag him down into hell
with it.
The killers had all reached the hall. Maid Lotus had also arrived and Liuhua
who was normally absent was also seen in a corner. All of the machetemen
stayed in the courtyard, outside the hall while holding onto the handle of their
swords tightly.
Before nighttime arrived, no one dared to utter even a single word.

Shangguan Ru took a deep breath, just like someone who had just woken up.
She rose, turned her head and with a calm expression on her face, said, "I
want Meng Mingshi's head."
To everyone, Meng Mingshi seemed like the most obvious culprit, but Gu
Shenwei had his reservations.
Before Shangguan Yushi died, she had put all the blame on Slave Huan
because she recognized the hatred and desire to kill in him.
Gu Shenwei had always wanted to kill Master Yu, but he had nothing to do
with this circumstance.
Shangguan Fei had indeed supported the Horned Dragon Society. He

revealed how Meng Mingshi had employed Ye Silang and agreed to let Slave
Huan bring one more person into the betting arena. Gu Shenwei knew he was
walking on a tightrope, so he was being extra careful. He did not make any
more requests to the Ninth Young Master.
The Horned Dragon Society had chosen Shangguan Yushi as their target. Gu
Shenwei was as shocked as everyone else.
Perhaps the counterattack last night had finally riled up the Fifth Young
Master. He was very suspicious of Shangguan Yushi's loyalty. Perhaps the
surviving machetemen of the Horned Dragon Society wanted to exact
revenge on their own accord. Or it could be that Shangguan Fei wanted to use
the chaos to his advantage.
Gu Shenwei had so many doubts in his heart. Answers would be difficult to

obtain with Master Yu's death.
The killers bowed down to the Tenth Young Master, indicating that they have
accepted the order. Gu Shenwei felt the need to remind them that they had a
ceasefire agreement.
Shangguan Ru stared at Slave Huan. Her eyes were as dark as charcoal and
sparkled with faint sparks before finally dimming. "The South City is under a
truce but the North City is not."
Meng Mingshi hid in his house. If anyone wanted to kill him, they could only
do so by waging a war in the North City. However, this would violate the
unspoken rules of the two societies and Golden Roc Fort's desire to keep the
North City death free.
Therefore, Gu Shenwei felt that the only way to deal with this difficult
situation was to accept it. He pulled out his saber and drew a line on the
ground. This was the killer's way of saying that they would not give up before
achieving their goal. The other killers followed suit and drew the same line
on the ground.
The death of the closest friend brought forth the will and intelligence of the
Tenth Young Master. She was not consumed with anger and did not leave all
matters in her subordinate's hands, simply waiting for the outcome. She was
in deep thought for a long while. She considered all the risks and difficulty of
the entire plan.
"Let's do it tonight. Since everyone has assumed that the armistice has come
into effect, let's surprise them. We'll drag Meng Mingshi to the South City. I
want to behead him myself and present it to Master Yu."
Seven killers gathered together. They set aside their grudges and personal
interests temporarily. Wildhorse was extremely concerned about the death of
Master Yu. His desire for revenge was just as strong as the Tenth Young
Master's. He came up with a plan quickly and used his fingers to signal it.
Everyone understood his intentions.
Shangguan Ru led five killers and returned to the North City. Slave Huan and
Maid Lotus would stay in the South City.
During the third watch of the night, two killers from South City sneaked
under the wall that divided the two cities. Above their heads was the tower
that overlooked the South City. On the opposite side of the tower was the
base camp of the Horned Dragon Society. It was now a pile of rubble.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus wore outfits befitting killers. They hid in the
shadows under the walls. Their task was simple. They only had to wait for
their prey to hang from above.
Kidnapping a person in the North City was very difficult. Moreover, this
person was the master of the Meng Family. This made things difficult. Gu
Shenwei felt that Shangguan Ru's plan was too reckless, but he had no
control over this matter. Wildhorse had promised to shoulder all the
responsibilities and seemed to be hell-bent on making this work.
Everyone had a best friend. At this train of thought, Gu Shenwei suddenly

thought of Maid Lotus and felt a strong bond of friendship with her. He
wanted to open up and confide such feelings to Maid Lotus. He was sure that
she would understand him and help him.
But he was a killer and he learned the Death Scripture. As such intense
feelings wash over him, he would not be moved. The desire for revenge was
still strong, and the look in his eyes did not sway even a single bit from his
goal of revenge.
Maid Lotus, who was standing so close to Gu Shenwei, would never have
imagined that there was a moment when the teen was so close to her in mind
and spirit.
It was still very dark nearly at the fifth watch. Something dangled down from
above the wall. Shangguan Ru and Wildhorse had actually succeeded. Gu
Shenwei was speechless. Was the North City not as well guarded as he
thought, or was the Fifth Young Master so foolish that he did not guard
himself adequately? The victim should knew too well of the relationship
between the two masters.
Wrapped within multiple layers of cloth was the body of a person. It was soft
to the touch. Gu Shenwei slung it over his shoulders and left without a word
with Maid Lotus. They did not return to Kun Society, but instead sped
towards Pleasure Alley.
At Pleasure Alley, Xu Xiaoyi opened the door of the house. It was dark but
he could vaguely see the silhouettes of the people inside.
"Got it?" Tuo Nengya asked.
"Yes." Gu Shenwei responded, putting the captured victim on the ground.
"Mr. Huan, would you care to explain why these men are here when they are
not here to sleep or to pay? Do they think that this is a brothel?" Xu Yanwei
complained from upstairs.
"Return to your room." Gu Shenwei ordered. Xu Yanwei felt a little

intimidated by him now. She snorted and quickly returned to her bedroom.
About 2 dozen machetemen took action. Before long, they had put together a
makeshift mourning hall. The corpse of Master Yu was placed in the middle.
Candles and incense paper were prepared but they were not lit.
Xu Xiaoyi sensed that something was amiss. But he did not dare to say
anything. He crept silently up the stairs and went into his sister's room. Both
siblings understood the gravity of the situation and looked at each other. They
were too afraid to think of the outcome.
Downstairs, the machetemen swarmed out of the house. They guarded the
entrance and the back of the house. Some even climbed onto the roof. One
could say that the brothel has now been hermetically sealed.
As dawn approaches, Shangguan Ru led the machetemen to the place. They

had passed by through the checkpoints and seemingly had nothing to do with
Fifth Young Master's disappearance.
Maid Lotus lit candles and Gu Shenwei opened the wrapped package. He
doused water on the person inside to wake him up.
The Fifth Young Master was simply too careless. On the night when he killed
Master Yu, he did not stay in his house. Instead, he went out drinking. There
were only a few taverns in the North City. There was only one that had a
much more elegant atmosphere compared to the rest and Meng Mingshi had
been there. He did not notice that he had been followed the moment he
stepped out of his house.
It seemed like Shangguan Ru and Wildhorse had no use for such a

complicated plan that they came up with. Shangguan Ru put his hands
together, thanking Master Yu's spirit for blessing them from Heaven.
Wildhorse and Shangguan Ru jumped onto the roof of the tavern. Fifth
Young Master was actually drinking alone, to their amusement. Even his
servants had been taken outside and no one dared enter.
Meng Mingshi was so drunk that the two kidnappers only had to put some
knockout powder in his mouth before carrying him out through the window.
No one was disturbed and they did not have to kill anyone. This went
unexpectedly well. When they reached downstairs, Shangguan Ru pulled
Meng Mingshi by the hair and looked at his face. She was making sure that
she had not caught the wrong person.
When the servants realized that their master was missing, the unconscious
Meng Mingshi was already in South City. The anxious servants ran back to
Meng's residence, shivering with fear, contemplating whether they should
awaken the great master. But in South City, Shangguan Ru was already
standing before the Fifth Young Master's body, his hands holding a blade. He
was prepared to behead the said person.
After this incident, explanations would be given out as followed: Fifth Young
Master had assumed that the South City had entered a truce. Hence, he had
secretly run to a familiar brothel in Pleasure Alley but he ended up falling
into Shangguan Ru's hands.
As for the agreement of the truce, Shangguan Ru also had a set of

explanations. She was not afraid of the fact that the Meng family might resent
her. Nobody would dare to touch her if a plausible explanation was provided.
Moreover, the Horned Dragon Society had once kidnapped the Tenth Young
Master and had thought of killing her. However, they did not succeed.
Meng Mingshi opened his eyes. He was hungover. It felt like all his bones
had been broken and somehow reattached again. He did not realize where he
was for a long time. When he could clearly see the sword in Shangguan Ru's
hands, he was startled and immediately sat up. He quickly sobered up too.
"You… who are you? Where is this place? What are you doing? Don't do
anything stupid. I will call for help…" There were only masked killers in the
house. One thing that he knew for sure was that this was Pleasure Alley.
Meng Mingshi could not be more familiar with the layout of the house.
However, he did not know whose house this was. "We… we're currently in a
truce."
Shangguan Ru knew that Meng Mingshi would say this. She yelled at the
door. "Who's outside?"
"Machetemen of the Kun Society." Tuo Nengya replied loudly.

"Who is the leader of the Kun Society?"
"Tuo Nengya."
"What about Shangguan Ru?"
"Has been removed from the member's list."
"Yang Huan?"
Shangguan Ru repeated every single one of the killers' names. The only reply
that he got was: "They have been removed from the members' list."
"Kun Society and the Horned Dragon Society may have agreed to a ceasefire,
but we're no longer members of Kun Society."
Meng Mingshi felt that Shangguan Ru was obviously insisting on something

absurd. But he could not think of anything to refute him. "You… I'll go back
and tell my grandmother. The Meng Family is not done with Stone Castle
yet."
"You can't go back. Grandmother's good grandson will be leaving her first."
Meng Mingshi had only just understood what Shangguan Ru meant now. He
turned pale. "No, no. You can't kill me. I…"
The anger that Shangguan Ru had been suppressing for a long time finally
exploded. "I can't kill you? I can't kill you! How dare you! If you wanted that,
you shouldn't have killed Master Yu."
"Master Yu?" Meng Mingshi came to his senses. When he saw the corpse of
Shangguan Yushi, his face changed. He clambered towards the body with an
unexpected energy and lifted one of her hands, as if to ascertain if she was
really dead.
"Let go of her!" Shangguan Ru was both astonished and angry at the same
time.
Meng Mingshi turned his head. The grief on his face stunned Shangguan Ru.
"Don't you know already? It was not me that sent men to kill her. How could
I have killed her? I love her, and she loves me. Tenth Young Master, we have
both been in love for a very long time."
Chapter 177 - Brother
Chapter 177: Brother
Meng Mingshi and Shangguan Yushi were actually lovers. This fact was
extremely shocking.
Gu Shenwei was shocked. Many doubts were finally resolved. He felt that he
was really dense as he could not figure out their relationship earlier.
However, it wasn't Gu Shenwei's fault as he hadn't been in such a relationship
before so he couldn't understand such a subtle feeling.
Meng Mingshi and Shangguan Ru were like water and fire as they would
quarrel whenever they met. However, Meng Mingshi was always courteous
to Shangguan Yushi. Fifth Young Master Meng liked Master Yu ever since
their first meeting. Thus, he would assist her discreetly. This was why
Shangguan Yushi dared to kill the machetemen from the Horned Dragon
Society without fear of revenge.
The lives of the machetemen were insignificant to the nobles in North City. It
would be all worthwhile if they could make a beautiful woman smile.
As for the death of Marquis Gao, Gu Shenwei finally understood the reason
behind it. The poor Marquis had known about their relationship, so he used
that fact to extort money. Even though Shangguan Yushi gave him the
money, the money didn't belong to her. Instead, it belonged to the Mengs.
Hence, Marquis Gao was killed when he extorted money for the second time.
Shangguan Ru didn't think so much. She held onto her saber. Her face was
red and her black pupils dilated. She paused for a long time and finally said,
"You're lying."
Meng Mingshi fished out a jade pendant and showed it to Shangguan Ru.
The pendant was carved into a shape of a deer. Apart from its green eyes, the
pendant was white in color. However, it didn't seem particularly precious.
Shangguan Ru flinched as though she was struck by a sledgehammer. She

stared at the pendant for a long time before taking out her own pendent.
The two jade pendants appeared to be almost exactly the same.
For a moment, tears welled up in her eyes and she was about to cry. Then,
she withdrew her emotions, kept the pendant, raised her saber and said,
"Impossible. You must have stolen it. If not, you must have made one. Master
Yu couldn't …"
Meng Mingshi dropped his arms and stared at Shangguan Yushi's corpse. His
deep emotions could even be felt by the most ruthless killer.
"Nothing is impossible. All of you, who lived in the Stone Castle, always
thought that she should be Tenth Young Master's follower since her birth.
However, she was much smarter than you and was more qualified to be the
Young Master. We had set up a perfect plan and we almost succeeded."
"Plan?" Shangguan Ru repeated and her hand, which held her saber, started to
tremble.
"Horned Dragon Society was established because of her, so that we could

play a realistic game with you. Meanwhile, we can get rid of those whom we
disliked such as Slave Huan. Then, we would think of a way to send you back
to Stone Castle. I will control Horned Dragon Society and she will control
Kun Society. Both of us will start our career. By then, no one will claim that
I'm a useless wastrel and she has a lowly status…"
"Shut up!" Shangguan Ru shouted. Her tears dropped uncontrollably. She

said, "Master Yu won't betray me."
"She certainly won't betray you. She needs you but she feels that you are still
too young and not suitable for the job. Hence, she wants to expand the
society on your behalf. She'll return a powerful Kun society, which could
terrorize the Western Region back to you when she got married into the
Meng family."
Shangguan Ru couldn't believe his words and her mind was in a whirl. She
was reminded of Master Yu's sweet nothings, "She said that she didn't want
to get married."
Meng Mingshi looked at the lifeless face of Shangguan Yushi with affection
and replied, "She said she regretted making such an oath."
Shangguan Ru stumbled back into a chair and sat down powerlessly. She
dropped her saber and curled up, behaving as though she was a little girl who
was abandoned by her parents. She mumbled, "Impossible." Suddenly, she
jumped up and shouted, "If it isn't you, then who killed Master Yu?"
Meng Mingshi seemed to have just thought about this issue. His eyes looked
hesitant. He then pointed at Slave Huan and said, "It is him. It must have
been his doing."
Shangguan Ru was totally confused. She asked without much thinking, "Is it
you? Did you kill her because of the deep hatred between both of you?"
"It's not me. I can't command that many machetemen."
Gu Shen could already guess who was the mastermind but he didn't have the
power to reveal the truth.
Shangguan Ru finally realized that Meng Mingshi's allegations were too far-
fetched. As there was no way an ordinary killer would be able to command
dozens of machetemen, she said, "Those machetemen were from the Horned
Dragon Society."
"I can't figure it out. There is a chance that they're members of the society,
but I hadn't given out any order and no macheteman had admitted to it. I have
sent some men to check it out and there hasn't been any news as of now. If I
can't find out what has happened, I'll kill all of them."
Meng Mingshi was not a qualified master. When Shangguan Yushi died, he
would only drink to his sorrow and didn't formulate a plan for revenge.
Both of them were deep in thought and were thinking hard about this matter.
Shangguan Ru knew nothing so it was acceptable if she couldn't understand.

However, Meng Mingshi had plenty of clues. Gu Shenwei wanted to crack
open his skull and put the idea straight into his brain.
"I get it," Meng Mingshi said as he had finally gotten rid of the influence of
drunkenness and sadness. Meng Mingshi finally understood what was going
on. He exclaimed, "It's your brother. Shangguan Fei's order!"
Shangguan Ru stared at Meng Mingshi like a fool. Just when she was about
to rebut, Tuo Nengya's voice was heard from outside, "Who are you?"
"Golden Roc Fort," a cold voice replied.
Tuo Nengya must have believed his claims. Hence, instead of blocking off all
outsiders as per Shangguan Ru's order, he pushed the door open and allowed
dozens of men in black clothing to come in.
They were indeed Golden Roc killers. They were dressed in black and each
of them wore a red belt. They weren't inexperienced youths, but rather, they
were experienced strong man. After entering the house, they immediately
dispersed to every corner of the house.
No one could act rashly.
Meng Mingshi did not know what those people were up to and was trembling
in fear. Shangguan Ru was stunned and asked, "Who do these rude killers
belong to?"
A short man, who was dressed in black, was standing by the door. He lifted
his hood and answered, "Sister, you have blown this matter up. Stone Castle
had to send their men here to clear up the mess."
It was Shangguan Fei.
Shangguan Ru looked at her brother in surprise. Both Shangguan Ru and

Meng Mingshi asked almost at the same time, "Have you sent someone to kill
her?"
Shangguan Fei didn't answer the question. He had waited for this moment for
a long time, but he was willing to wait for a little while longer. He moved a
few steps forward, grabbed onto Fifth Young Master Meng and said, "Fifth
Young Master, you have suffered a lot. Come and send Fifth Young Master
back home."
Two black killers grabbed onto Meng Mingshi and brought him out of the
house. Meng Mingshi was grief-stricken and furious. He didn't have the
strength to do anything and was easily manipulated. Upon reaching the door,
he straightened his body and accused, "You. It must have been you. How
could I …"
The killers didn't hesitate. They grabbed onto Fifth Young Master Meng and
quickly departed.
Shangguan Fei smiled as he watched Meng Mingshi leave. Now, both the
Mengs and Horned Dragon Society had owed him a big favor. Next, he
would deal with Kun Society.
In a swift action, Shangguan Ru swung her saber and held it in front of

Shangguan Fei's chest. Shangguan Ru was like an angry cat. She arched her
back and her pupil became dilated.
"Why?"
A killer came over to save his master but Shangguan Fei sent him off with a
shake of his hand. He previously cried in fear because of his sister's saber, but
not anymore. He replied, "Do you want to kill me again? Sister, you always
forget that I'm not your slave."
"Because of this? You killed Master Yu just because you hated me?"
Shangguan Ru couldn't believe that the youth standing in front of her was her
twin brother. Her hand, which was holding onto the saber, started trembling
again.
"I don't hate you. I admire you," Shangguan Fei replied. He was extremely
calm and he didn't seem as incompetent and weak as people thought he would
be. He said, "Both mother and father like you. Father treats you far better
than all of your brothers. But I hate Shangguan Yushi. Who is she? How
could she be so disrespectful towards me?"
Shangguan Fei became angry. His eyes were burning with anger as he leaned
forward. Shangguan Ru unconsciously moved back while moving her saber
away from her brother's chest. He shouted, "I am the son of the Supreme
King! She is just a poor relative that comes from nowhere. Her status is only
slightly higher than that of a slave. Why should I endure her wrath?"
"She didn't… We didn't…" Shangguan Ru cried. She couldn't control her

emotions. She couldn't handle all of the many unexpected events that had
occurred.
"Oh. Indeed, all of you didn't bully me. What do you treat me as? Followers
and slaves. Sometimes, I feel like I am worse than a slave. How does teasing
constitute to 'bullying' as you give face to slaves by teasing them. Do you
know that? Sister, I feel that all slaves hate their master."
Shangguan Fei looked at Shangguan Yushi's corpse and sneered, "Master Yu

is rather ambitious. She wants to take your position by removing you so that
she can control Kun Society all by herself. Look, sister. This is your best
friend. She found herself a man. Then, she betrays you faster than a slave
betraying his master."
"Shut up!"
Shangguan Ru placed her saber at her brother's chest as she was no longer
trembling.
"Come on. Haven't you ever placed your saber at my neck in order to save the
two slaves? Now that Master Yu is dead, come and take your revenge. It's a
tradition of Stone Castle for family members to kill each other. I have killed
Big Brother, and you can kill me, your elder brother. Father will like you
more."
Shangguan Fei was slightly deranged. No killer in the house dared to step
forward to dissuade him.
The saber in Shangguan Ru's hand felt heavy as she couldn't decide whether
she should stab her brother or retract her saber back.
Shangguan Fei took over the saber and tossed it on the floor. He said coldly,
"Is it so difficult to kill someone? You weren't like this when you were killing
machetemen from the Horned Dragon Society two nights ago. Could you
remember? You were composed and nonchalant as if they were just ants.
Don't they have siblings? Don't they have someone they love? No, everyone
has. Sister, do you understand the rules of Stone Castle? If you're unable to
kill your older brother, how will you be able to kill the person you loved,
respected and hated?"
Shangguan Fei looked at his sister cruelly as his cheeks flushed with
excitement. This current moment of revenge was even better than what he
imagined. If he could, he wanted to stay at this moment forever.
Shangguan Ru stood still in a dazed manner. Her small body resembled a

baby leopard which had just left its mother. She looked confused and guarded
against everyone who was in the house. She said, "You're not my brother.
Both of you and she had betrayed me."
"You have never once treated me like an older brother," Shangguan Fei said,
as he held onto a blade. He was piercing his blade into Shangguan Ru's body.
Instead of piercing her in a quick motion, he slowly sliced her skin, cut her
flesh up and stirred her internal organs.
Loud noises could be heard from the outside as though a fierce fight was
taking place there. Shangguan Fei let out a smile and looked at Slave Huan,
who was standing at the side. While delivering his final stab, he said, "Sister.
Open your eyes. Everyone around you is betraying you."
Gu Shenwei was shocked. He had been interacting with the masters of Stone
Castle cautiously, but he still underestimated the capability of the Ninth
Young Master. Although he was prepared to betray, he had not thought of
how to deal with Shangguan Ru's grief and indignation.

Chapter 178 - Synergy
Chapter 178: Synergy
It turned out to be a false alarm for Gu Shenwei. Shangguan Fei had become
clever and had not exposed Slave Huan. His gaze flitted away from Slave
Huan and said, "Your killers have ulterior motives. That Tuo Nengya wanted
to kill me."
Shangguan Ru remained as still as a statue, looking dejected as though she

had not heard what her brother had said.
Shangguan Fei stopped talking and pricked up his ears to listen. The fight
outside had ended very quickly. Suddenly, the door swung open revealing a
young killer kneeling on one leg at the doorstep. He said, "Ninth Young
Master, we have killed sixteen people but seven ran away. We are in pursuit."
There was a small flaw in this tremendous victory. Shangguan Fei's face sank
and he unsheathed his saber. He asked, "Where is Tuo Nengya?"
"He… He escaped."
Tuo Nengya was an old and experienced old macheteman. Once he saw
killers in black robe, he knew that something was not right. He had secretly
set up a formation to counter them. However, the killers were more capable
than the machetemen. After the first attack, the formation had crumbled. In
order to preserve time, six machetemen protected Boss Tuo by escaping into
the maze of nearby streets and lanes. As they were familiar with the streets of
South City and the young killers could not catch up with them.
Shangguan Fei chopped off the young killer's left hand using his saber.
Lifting his head, he commanded coldly, "I want to see Tuo Nengya's head
before dusk. If not, I will kill you."
"Yes", the young killer replied as he retreated in pain.
Shangguan Fei's good mood was ruined. His sister had become lifeless like a
zombie. He was uninterested in torturing her any further. "Bring Tenth
Young Master to North City. If she is hurt, all of you will die." He instructed.
Shangguan Ru's seven killers knelt on one leg and accepted Ninth Young
Master's orders respectfully. Then, they got up. Maid Lotus supported
Shangguan Ru and two other killers carried Master Yu's corpse as they left.
This was the sorrow of Tenth Young Master and the young killers' bitter
defeat.
When Gu Shenwei brushed past Shangguan Fei, both of them looked into
each other's eyes and understood each other's mind. Since Ninth Young
Master had gotten ahold of incriminating information against Slave Huan, it
would not do to be duplicitous. This was one of the reasons why Shangguan
Fei didn't betray him immediately.
Gu Shenwei could not remember how many masters he had vowed to, but
none of them had been sincere. He firmly remembered what Mister Zhang Ji
had taught him: The slave is the most ideal betrayer.
Shangguan Fei always thought that he knew what slaves were thinking about,
but it was merely indulging the delusion he had whenever he suffered a
setback.
Shangguan Fei was delighted to see the other black-robed killers retreating.
He was alone in the house, enjoying his victory when he raised his head and
saw a young woman standing at the top of the stairs. She eyes were round
and fearful. She trembled as if quivering under Shangguan Fei's intense gaze.
Xu Yanwei, who had been standing upstairs, heard everything. She was
attracted to the cruelty and ruthlessness of the youth. He was younger than
her brother but it was inconsequential to her. The capability of a man was not
related to his age.
Xu Yanwei beckoned Shangguan Fei invitingly. Dazed yet excited, he

hesitated for a second before climbing up the stairs. Xu Xiaoyi leaped like a
rabbit past Ninth Young Master and escaped the building.
The war which had lasted for many days and had caused hundreds of deaths
finally ended in an unexpected manner.
Tenth Young Master Shangguan Ru was depressed. By participating in the

kidnapping in North City, it had directly involved Stone Castle and she was
placed under house arrest in the North City residence.
Meng Mingshi had not only lost his money, his machetemen and his lover,
but also had to "thank" Golden Roc Fort Ninth Young Master for saving his
life. He was also similarly depressed and fell seriously ill resulting in him
being bedridden for months.
The undistinguished Ninth Young Master suddenly became the biggest

winner. The Kun Society disintegrated and became an empty shell.
Shangguan Fei kept its name so as to control the terrorities and merchants
that Kun Society once owned. Horned Dragon Society came under the same
master. Till now, it was the first time that most people realized Shangguan
Fei was one of the founders of Horned Dragon Society.
Since then, Shangguan Fei made use of Horned Dragon Society to attract
children of wealthy families from the North City and recruited many
protectors and merchants into Kun Society. He controlled those machetemen
and killers with a firm hand and he became a formidable force in Jade City.
This was beyond the expectations of Lady Meng and the Supreme King,
attracting the attention of his brothers.
It was a sweeping victory except for one flaw. Old macheteman Tuo Nengya
remained missing. He had blended into South City like a piece of mud and
had yet to reveal himself.
Shangguan Fei personally killed the killer but it was a futile effort. Even
though those six machetemen who accompanied Boss Tuo during his escape
had gotten captured, the person that Shangguan Fei wanted to catch still
remained missing. Because of this, Shangguan Fei was furious and did not
dare to visit South City for a long time.
Not only had two leaders of the societies been defeated by Shangguan Fei,
one young killer had also been defeated by Shangguan Fei. This fact had
remained unknown to everyone. Gu Shenwei's efforts to build a strong
independent force were in vain. Not only had he spent a large amount of Tie
Hanfeng's inheritance, he had also become Ninth Young Master's pawn.
His only achievement was that his swordcraft had been improved, but his
sword was broken into several pieces. Tofool others, he kept up a pretence by
leaving his broken sword in its scabbard.
The members of Shangguan family always exceed his expectations, Gu

Shenwei reflected deeply. On many occasions, he had paid a price because he
had underestimated his enemies.
The only reliable thing he had was his sword; it had never once failed him.
Shangguan Ru seemed unable to return back to her old self. She hid herself in
the room and refused to meet anyone. She would occasionally regain her
energy and summon her seven killers. She often talked about regrouping but
could not produce any concrete and detailed plans.
Taking advantage of Shangguan Ru's fleeting enthusiasm, Gu Shenwei

requested to return to South City to gather some information. When he was
permitted to return, he went and took Maid Lotus with him.
Shangguan Ru was absent-minded, but Wildhorse and the others understood

that Slave Huan and Maid Lotus intended to abandon Tenth Young Master. It
was tantamount to betrayal.
The fact is, Gu Shenwei had paid a discreet visit to Shangguan Fei and
proved his loyalty to Shangguan Fei. Shangguan Ru might have risen again,
but Gu Shenwei did not want to place his bets on one person.
Betrayal was common in Golden Roc Fort so Gu Shenwei was not ashamed
of his behavior. On the other hand, the Shangguan family required all of their
killers to be loyal to them percisely because loyalty was extremely rare to
find.
According to the principles of Golden Roc Fort, if the slaves did not pledge
their loyalty to their masters on their own accord, they would be forced to do
so.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus returned back to South City. First, they went to
Blacksmith Village to fix their sword. Then, they rented two apartments at
the backyard of Southwall Tavern. Although Shopkeeper Lyu had pledged
his allegiance to Shangguan Fei, he did not dare to offend the two young
killers. He had already made up his mind to never participate in a fight
between killers.
The Xu siblings were the only brothel owners in South City that didn't side
with any party. Both of them still relied on the protection of Slave Huan and
Shangguan Fei acquiesced to it.
Five days later, the new sword was sent back. Xu Xiaoyi had also returned
with the information that Brother Huan requested.
Gu Shenwei had not returned to South City to rebuild Kun Society nor to
serve Ninth and Tenth Young Master. He had another motive.
Even after the war between the two societies, a few doubts remained.
Although others had seemed to bury them at the back of their minds, Gu
Shenwei could not forget them. The assassin that assasinated Ye Siliang at
Rogue Forest had not been found and the mystery of how Immortal Peng had
Xu Xiaoyi to relay the message had yet to be explained.
Both Ye Siliang and Chu Yangjun had been apprentices of Immortal Peng,
but they had not received any assistance from their master.
According to Xu Xiaoyi's information, Immortal Peng was an eccentric

person. Everyone in South City knew about him, but no one knew about his
background exactly. The information seemed contradictory. Just in his age
alone, there was no consensus; it ranged from sixty to two hundred.
Hope Alley had been established around the same time as the birth of
Immortal Peng. Ever since he was born, he had never left that place. Some
said that Immortal Peng was a foreigner. He had come to Jade City and
established Hope Alley.
Immortal Peng's occupation was fortune telling, but he seldom showed up in

person. Joy Pavilion had numerous bizarre characters. Every day, there were
countless people who received the guidance of Immortal Peng and
miraculously gained the ability to fortune tell. They would then ascend to the
third level and serve those who came to have their fortune told. However,
their words did not come from them. It came from Immortal Peng. Once that
day ended, their temporary powers were lost and a new batch of people
would gain this fleeting power.
Few knew that Immortal Peng knew kung fu, and fewer knew that he was the
master of Ye Siliang and Chu Yangjun. Gu Shenwei had suspected but
ultimately made the wrong guess.
Xu Xiaoyi had gone upstairs, but he had not seen Immortal Peng in person.
However, just like other people, he was awed by the fortune-telling
experience. He said, "Immortal Peng is a living immortal as he knows
everything. He could even remind you of events that you have completely
forgotten."
"Is that so? What did he say about my past?", Gu Shenwei asked in disbelief.
Gu Shenwei would only be impressed if Immortal Peng knew his real
identity.
"Er… Immortal Peng didn't talk about your past. He mentioned about my
past and your future."
"Did he say if I would kill those two swordsmen?"
"Immortal Peng would not have been so explicit. He said, 'In terms of
swordscraft, you will lose. However, in terms of killing, you will win.' He
even said, 'Relentlessness beats sentimentality. With emotions, you can learn
faster but take a longer time to master. Without emotions …' "
Because of the delay, Xu Xiaoyi could not recall the original words. He said,
"But he was very accurate when he mentioned about my past. He said that I
was born with an ability to subdue and end an elder's life."
Gu Shenwei sent Xu Xiaoyi away and started to discuss Immortal Peng with
Maid Lotus, who had emerged out from nowhere.
"Is Immortal Peng the assasin in Rogue Forest? He doesn't seem to care about
the lives of his apprentices and seems to be counting on me to kill them off."
Gu Shenwei raised his speculation. As swordcraft was his most reliable

method of taking revenge, he would need to know more details about the
other swordcraft master.
"I feel that he wants you to pay him to visit."
Maid Lotus felt that something was amiss and Slave Huan was going to fall
into yet another trap.
Gu Shenwei could have ignored Immortal Peng completely. At his present

level of swordcraft, it was impossible for him to kill off all his enemies.
However, it was possible to kill off some key enemies secretly.
Immortal Peng did not interfere with the youths' plan for revenge. In fact, this
mysterious fortune teller was likely using the war to meet his own ends. Once
both of his apprentices died, the matter would be over.
There was no need for Gu Shenwei to seek trouble. That night, he put on a
black coat and covered his face. As he proceeded to Hope Alley, his mind
was occupied by one thought.

Chapter 179 - Immortal Peng
Chapter 179: Immortal Peng
There was a pile of dirty snow remaining from the late winter at the corner of
a wall. Under the bright moonlight, the snow mounds looked like severely
decayed corpses that would nourish new life at springtime.
A teenager was sitting upright on the top of a wall in Hope Alley. He finally
realized why he felt that he had to come and see Immortal Peng.
He cradled the newly-forged sword in his arms as if he was embracing a

long-lost lover. Although he did not know how to love people, he already had
feelings of affection for his sword. He felt that the sword had meant
everything to him.
He was like a child who had just learned to speak. He liked to speak on every
occasion just to prove that he could.
He suddenly woke up. What Immortal Peng had wanted Xu Xiaoyi to convey
was not a prophecy, but was actually a challenge from one swordman to
another.
Gu Shenwei stood up again and he jumped from one wall to another like a
hunting wildcat. Soon, he arrived at the back of Joy Pavilion. From there, he
could vaguely see the peach forest in Gui Garden which was not far away
outside the wall.
All the lights on the first and second floor had been extinguished. The only
thing that could be seen was the flickering light of a lamp on the third floor.
Just when the young killer was wondering about how to climb up, someone
came and opened a small window on the third floor. It had once prevented
Chu Yangjun from competing with Gu Shenwei in swordsmanship.
A man stuck his head out of the window. His face was pockmarked, his
eyelids were folded outward, and one of his nostrils was missing. It made him
appear as if he had been burnt in hot water. He was so ugly that even the
moonlight was shocked.
"Why did you come so late?" the ugly man asked before he jumped out and
deftly landed onto the top of the wall. He slightly bent his legs and stretched
out his arms to reveal two short swords.
Gu Shenwei knew that there were many strange people in Joy Pavilion, so he
asked, "Are you Immortal Peng?"
"Yes."
To Gu Shenwei's surprise, Immortal Peng did not look like a sage at all. On
the contrary, he turned out to be an ugly man who had no demeanor.
Since they met for a sword fight, they did not waste any time to talk
nonsense. They focused all their attention on their swords. He was Ye Silang
and Chu Yangjun's Master Shifu. If Gu Shenwei wanted to kill him and
improve his swordsmanship then Immortal Peng had to be taken seriously.
Like a spider, Maid Lotus was attached to the wall and was waiting for an
opportunity to take action. She had agreed with Slave Huan that they would,
at the same time, both openly and secretly hunt for the top martial artist.
As killers, they would do whatever they can to kill their opponent and to
improve their own swordsmanship.
"You're no match for him," someone else on the third floor said while
showing his face, which was just as ugly as his partner.
The second ugly man jumped out of the window and landed behind Gu
Shenwei. He also held two short swords. It was exactly the same as the first
ugly man's.
"Who're you?" Gu Shenwei was a bit confused and became vigilant. If this
was a trap, then he and Maid Lotus would execute the backup plan—fleeing
to the peach forest.
"Immortal Peng," the second ugly man answered in an impatient tone. It was
as if he blamed Gu Shenwei for having asked the question despite knowing
the answer.
Gu Shenwei became more confused. " Is he playing tricks on me? What's the
point of doing so? Is the fortune teller playing a game?"
A series of thoughts had flashed through Gu Shenwei's mind before he

suddenly realized that it was stupid of him to obsess about these when he was
confronted with an enemy. Therefore, he decided to adopt the simplest
solution.
He unsheathed his blade and tried to stab the first ugly man since his living
energy was clearly visible and more obvious than Ye Silang's and Chu
Yangjun's. Gu Shenwei was confident that he could defeat the man in one
strike, and he felt that he did not even need Maid Lotus' assistance.
He planned to jump over the first ugly man, stab him in the back, and then
use his corpse as a shield against the second ugly man so that he could buy
some time for breathing and for preparing the next strike.
Everything happened as he had expected. Like a crow, he flew above the first
ugly man and landed precisely behind the enemies, however, the blade in his
hand was gone. The first ugly man did not die, and he turned around. His
arms were hanging down with short swords in his hands and his fierce eyes
were filled with a hint of admiration. He looked as if he had watched a
monkey perform movements that only human beings could make.
Someone had snatched his sword. Gu Shenwei was so stunned that he took a
few steps back.
The two ugly men were not the ones who had taken his sword away, but
rather it was a third person who had appeared at the window on the third
floor. Dressed in a white robe, the man had a square face, thick dagger-
shaped eyebrows, and a long whisker reaching his chest. He held a white rope
in the right hand and the killer's sword in the left.
"Come upstairs," the white-robed man said in a commanding tone.
Although he did not intend to threaten anybody, he made it difficult for Gu

Shenwei to refuse.
"Who are you?"
Gu Shenwei made up his mind to escape at the moment when the white-robed
man was distracted while answering his question. It turned out that he was
too reckless on this visit because the situation in Joy Pavilion was much more
complex than he had imagined. However, what the white-robed man said
next made him stay.
"Immortal Peng."
The young killer no longer treated it as a game. He felt peeved, but he could
not sense the danger.
The two ugly men jumped off the high wall, pushed the back door open, and
entered the first floor.
They left the door open for the killer.
Gu Shenwei had always been a skeptical person, but somehow, he trusted

"Immortal Peng". Like an obsessed person who had solved half of a puzzle,
he felt like continuing on regardless of what the price might be.
Gu Shenwei stamped his foot and also leaped down from the high wall before
entering Joy Pavilion. After receiving the hint, Maid Lotus would secretly
leave. It would be wiser to let Gu Shenwei go inside alone just in case there
was a trap in there.
There was no one on the first floor, where the tea utensils were neatly
arranged. The second floor was similarly empty, there was only a circle of
chairs that were placed near the wall. The third floor, however, was crowded
with people.
It was a large room. In the middle stood a slender bronze statue, which
vaguely resembled a flying female celestial. One of the statue's arms was
raised high while holding a small lamp.
All of the light in the entirety of Joy Pavilion came from it.
There were about 30 or 40 people either sitting or standing around. Most of

them were ugly and physically handicapped. Gu Shenwei had seen several of
them on the first floor of the teahouse before. There were four or five other
people who were particularly handsome. For example, the demeanor of the
white-robed man with a long whisker and a white rope was comparable to Ye
Silang and Chu Yangjun.
In other words, there was not a single ordinary-looking man on the third
floor. They were either extremely ugly or extremely handsome.
At the far end of the room, there was a huge screen full of Chinese characters,
but Gu Shenwei could not clearly read any of them. This reminded him of
Luo Ningcha who had never shown her true face.
The white-robed man came forward, bowed slightly while holding the sword
with both hands, and returned it to its owner.
Gu Shenwei took the sword, hesitated for a moment before putting it back
into his scabbard. No one spoke, and he did not speak either. But in his heart,
he began to doubt whether his decision was right or not.
"Your swordsmanship is quite good. Who did you learn it from?" asked a
one-legged man.
"My swordsmanship is not good enough, otherwise my sword would not have
been snatched away," replied Gu Shenwei.
"No, no. Your swordsmanship is good. It's a pity that you're not learning it
right and you don't have a strong will. That's why you lost your sword," a
cman said.
"Who, who are you?"

"I've told you many times. I'm Immortal Peng." This time the speaker was a
handsome young man.
Gu Shenwei felt as if there was a disgusting and creepy reptile crawling

around in his heart. He had seen mutilated corpses and mounds of dead
people, but he had never felt as uneasy as he was now.
"You…" Gu Shenwei's eyes scanned the faces of dozens of people and

finally fell on the screen. The real Immortal Peng was behind it and the others
were just his mouthpieces. As he realized this, he was no longer as afraid as
he had been previously, although he still felt that it was a little weird.
"Hey, Your Excellency is really good at fooling people," Gu Shenwei said so

while he was actually thinking about Xu Xiaoyi. That boy was here before
and had been making inquiries for several days, but he did not report such an
important piece of information.
"Those who knew me said I was sad at heart. Those who didn't know me said
I was seeking for something."
Gu Shenwei stared at the screen and ignored whichever strange person was
talking this time. He replied, "You seem to have expected me to come."
"Hmm, I thought you'd be here a long time ago, but you were too skeptical
and had wasted a lot of time."
"Haven't you told your own fortune?"
"If you believe in fortune-telling, then it's true. If you don't believe in it, then
it's nothing. Others believe in it when I tell their fortune. I don't believe in it,
so I never tell my own fortune."
Immortal Peng was frank. Gu Shenwei realized that his alertness was
constantly diminishing. As long as he relaxed a bit, he would unwittingly feel
at ease. Although he was surrounded by dozens of people, all of whom
seemed to be top-notch experts, he did not feel nervous at all. He was very
certain that no one would hurt him.
"Well, I'm here. What do you want from me?"
"You killed Ye Silang and Chu Yangjun."
"Humph, were they your disciples?"
"No, they're just people who learned swordsmanship from me and then left
me."
In Gu Shenwei's eyes, Immortal Peng was deliberately mystifying things

again. However, he soon understood that he had learnt a lot of martial arts
skills from Mama Xue, but they were not master and disciple.
"So you had used me to kill them." Gu Shenwei was not afraid to think of
others in a most unkind way and he was rarely wrong.
"I didn't mean to kill them or to use you. It was just a competition between
two styles of swordsmanship. I just wanted to know the result."
It was a creepy conversation. Each time Immortal Peng spoke, he used a

different voice which could come from any direction. Gu Shenwei stared at
the screen and imagined that the other side to be a top-notch ventriloquist so
that he could feel a little bit more normal. He said, "The murderous sword
defeated the dueling sword."
"To me, the Emotionless Sword has surpassed the Affectionate Sword."
"Haha." Gu Shenwei raised his head and laughed. Suddenly, before his
laughter ceased, he dashed toward the screen in an attempt to see Immortal
Peng's true face.
A man appeared from nowhere to block his way.
Gu Shenwei immediately retreated. He should have changed his direction and

rushed forward again, but he was startled by the look of the person in his
way. His Internal Breath stalled for a bit, and he missed a good opportunity to
attack.
The one that came out from behind the screen was a teenager whose face
appeared to be immature, but his eyebrows and eyes strongly resembled Chu
Yangjun's. It made him appear as gentle and tranquil as a woman.
"You are… Chu Yangjun's younger brother?"
"I'm Immortal Peng." The teenager still repeated the same answer.
Gu Shenwei was startled and puzzled. Before he even knew it, he was
gripped by the teenager on one wrist. Their hands seemed to stick together,
regardless of how hard he struggled to free himself. He attempted to draw his
saber with the other hand, but it was also held by another person.
The men who were gripping his wrists were holding hands with the others.
Thus, they were connected to each other as they formed a circle.
Again, the killer lost his ability to detect the danger. It was as if he knew that
everyone had no intentions to harm to him and that Immortal Peng was
helping him.
A pitch-black cane, which seemed to be made from either iron or wood,

slowly protruded from behind the screen, and was gently laid on the
teenager's shoulder.
A current of gentle Internal Breath entered his left arm and exited his right
three times before everyone loosened their grip. Someone retracted the crutch
and the teenager drew back behind the screen.
"So that's why. Now I see," Immortal Peng said again using someone's
mouth. "That's quite something. You've mastered such a swordsmanship
despite having to keep the Peripheral Force suppressed."
"Can you remove it?" Gu Shenwei blurt out with a trembling voice. The
Peripheral Force was both an internal injury and his sore spot. He tried not to
think about it, but the three-year period set by Mama Xue was drawing to an
end and he was looking forward to a miracle.
"Yes, I can." An old voice full of authority rang out. Gu Shenwei was startled
by it even though he had no reason to be startled.
Chapter 180 - Back to the Fort
Chapter 180: Back to the Fort
"This is so unlike me," the young killer's inner voice reminded himself. He
had never been so careless that he had broken into an unknown place, without
even knowing whether the people within were his friends or foes. Neither had
he been so gullible that he had regarded every word that others had said as
goodwill.
After Immortal Peng had said, "I can," Gu Shenwei immediately asked, "But,
do you have some conditions?"
"There is no condition. I can dispel the Peripheral Force and guide you on
your swordcraft in order to develop and promote Emotionless Swords,
Murderous Swords and Fatal Swords. I only want to see the results."
Although Gu Shenwei heard a young man's voice, he somehow pictured a

greedy old man in his mind. The old man seemed to be dazed yet passionate
and his saliva was dripping out from his mouth. His long bony hand was
slowly stretching out …
Gu Shenwei retreated to the window. Between thirty to forty grotesque

people turned to look at him, but no one stopped him.
Fear surged like spring water. The killer shouted as he jumped out of the
small window. He fell onto a pile of residual snow, rolled over and got up.
Then, he ran for his life.
"He will be back," a white-robed elder said coldly.
"He will be back," the Uglies repeated. Then, everyone in the room coldly
repeated these words, but in completely different tones.
Gu Shenwei jumped onto the wall of Hope Alley. He met Maid Lotus soon
afterwards. Both of them didn't say anything and continued to run together
until they returned to the apartment, which they had rented from Southwall
Tavern. Gu Shenwei took off his black mask, gasped for breath and shook his
head hard. It seemed that he finally got rid of the dirty things that were
attached to him. He then said, "That guy, that Immortal Peng, seemed to
know about the Death Scripture."
The Death Scripture was said to be brought up from a deep abyss by a

golden-crowned roc, but the disciples of Barren Sect had never heard of this
story. Gu Shenwei always believed that this was a secret that would never be
revealed, however Immortal Peng had seen through the killer's swordcraft.
At the moment when Gu Shenwei had thrown himself at the screen, but was
blocked, he had seen something behind the screen. He didn't pay attention to
it back then. He finally realized that it was a head with its hair that loosely
hung down. The crown of the head could be seen.
If he didn't recognize it wrongly, it looked like Ye Silang.
He had brought Ye Silang's skull back to Kun Society, but he didn't pay
attention to it. He didn't realize that Immortal Peng had gotten hold of it.
There was a fatal sword wound that had been left behind by Maid Lotus. At
that time, both of them were careless as they had not followed their usual
practice of destroying the wound. Hence, Immortal Peng must have detected
something.
Immortal Peng sacrificed two disciples because he probably wanted to find

out about what type of swordcraft that the killer was using. Gu Shenwei
shuddered at the thought of it and was in a daze for some time before
recovering.
"You are a little strange." Maid Lotus observed Slave Huan for a while and
was surprised by Slave Huan's expression.
"It's not me, it's Joy Pavilion and those people."

Gu Shenwei narrated his experience, especially the strange feeling at that
time, "I seemed … to be under some sort of control and I involuntarily
relaxed my vigilance.
"It sounds like some kind of evil secrets. Is New Moon Hall behind this?"
The women in New Moon Hall specialized in evil secrets and Gu Shenwei
had experienced it before. However, Immortal Peng didn't seem to specialize
in such arts. Gu Shenwei replied, "It is highly unlikely. Immortal Peng lived
in Jade City for many years and was reputable. if he was from New Moon
Hall, then the Stone Castle would know about it."
This was something that both of them didn't know. Gu Shenwei decided not
to go to Hope Alley again. Xu Xiaoyi's initial reminder about the strange
people there was right. Although Immortal Peng knew about the Death
Scripture, it seemed that he wouldn't leak it out easily.
Both of them returned to North City at dawn. Shangguan Ru hadn't recovered

from the shock and didn't even come out from the house to listen to Slave
Huan's report.
Gu Shenwei spent a few days doing nothing. On one hand, he was pondering
about Immortal Peng's intentions while on the other hand, he was thinking
about how to pull Shangguan Ru together without arousing Shangguan Fei's
antipathy. He could not afford to lose his backer.
Towards the end of February, the Stone Castle sent men to summon Slave
Huan back. This gave him an opportunity to change the situation.
The siege campaign by the coalition of Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu

and Bighead Kingpin had proceeded smoothly. After a long period of
planning and reconnaissance, they had sent many troops into Gobi Desert and
had finally found several important strongholds of New Moon Hall after the
new year. They had killed many enemies and had captured some alive. The
prisoners of war were brought back to Golden Roc Fort.
One of the prisoners looked similar to a mysterious woman, just like the one
that Slave Huan had described. Hence, Slave Huan was summoned back to
the Castle to identify her.
Tenth Young Master Shangguan Ru and other killers' chests were once
secretly fingered by a mysterious woman from New Moon Hall, thus causing
all of them to black out. Although they sought treatment at Four Truths
Temple and there was no relapse, no one was sure that they had completely
recovered. They needed to find her as she was the one who could completely
cure them. It would be very useful if this prisoner was the mysterious woman.
There were twenty female prisoners and they were imprisoned at Heart
Cleansing Yard. They were of different ages, mostly naked and scarred. It
was obvious that they had been tortured and their gazes seemed lifeless. They
didn't look like human beings. However, some tried to hold their heads high
and looked at those people who were alive with a strong gaze, as though they
were hungry wolves.
These women were indeed disciples of New Moon Hall. Gu Shenwei could
recognize them when he saw their gaze. Although they learnt from the same
master, the disciples of Barren Sect seemed more normal. The disciples of
New Moon Hall were like strange creatures who had never interacted with
other human beings from a young age and their gazes were different from
those of ordinary people.
The torturer in Heart Cleansing Yard didn't give any hints. Gu Shenwei soon
found the woman he wanted to identify.
The woman was of a tall build. Her clothes were intact when compared to
that of other prisoners and there was not much blood on her face. Hence, one
could clearly see her face.
She wasn't the mysterious woman. Although it was a surreal glimpse, Gu

Shenwei had a deep impression of her. This woman had a similar build, but
was uglier than the mysterious woman. Most importantly, her gaze was full
of madness, which was unique to that of New Moon Hall's disciples.
However, the gaze of the mysterious woman appeared normal and she looked
gentle when she smiled.
"Very similar." Gu Shenwei stood in front of the prisoner and stared at her
without blinking. He said, "It has been some time and I couldn't remember
clearly. However, she looked very similar."
"Let Golden Roc Fort make this careless mistake," Gu Shenwei thought to
himself. This matter had nothing to do with him. It was better to let
Shangguan Nu claim the credit, so that he would stop sieging New Moon
Hall.
"Take a closer look." The torturer hoped to get a confirmation.
"I think she is the one, but I've only seen the mysterious woman once so I
can't remember clearly."
Gu Shenwei was sent out of the execution room. Before the door was closed,
he could hear them groaning in pain.
Slave Huan's mission was over, but there were several people who wanted to
see him. The first person was the mother of the twins, Lady Meng.
According to tradition, when a mature child of the Supreme King left home
for a year, he was considered to be independent and would seldom return
home. Shangguan Ru initially wanted to leave the mountain at all costs
because she didn't want to be ridiculed by others. Shangguan Fei missed the
life in the Inner Residence but he couldn't return casually.
Lady Meng couldn't easily break this tradition, hence Slave Huan had a
worthy trip back to the Fort.
Gu Shenwei felt somewhat uneasy. He was Shangguan Ru's most trusted

killer and had to bear unshirkable responsibility for the fiasco of the Tenth
Young Master. Lady Meng had high expectations for her daughter and was
unhappy about the current situation.
To his surprise, Lady Meng showed no sign of anger. She was as kind as a
mother of a close friend. Not only did she offer him a seat, but she also asked
the maid to offer him drinks and cakes. Gu Shenwei's hands were occupied,
and he wasn't able to take another item.
Lady Meng was totally different from her resolute self at the moment when
she had killed the First Young Master a few months ago. She was now a
mother of the twins and was deeply concerned with their lives. She asked
about every detail. However, Gu Shenwei couldn't answer some of the
questions, hence he tried to answer them in a positive way.
After talking for an hour, Lady Meng came to the main topic. She first
sighed, and said, "Yushi had a pitiful death. Her mother invited me everyday,
but she didn't say anything. She was probably resenting Fei'er."
"Master Yu volunteered to guard South City. The Ninth Young Master had
predicted everything. Thus, no one could lay the blame on anyone. Please
forgive my straightforwardness. I knew this day would come when I had
decided to be a killer."
"Well, that's what it should be. After all, I watched them grow up. They will
be affected by Master Yu's death. Ru'er will be greatly affected as Ru'er and
Yushi were close friends."
"The Tenth Young Master is strong. She will overcome this difficulty."
"I know about her temperament. Even the highest mountain is supported by
earth and stone. It worries me as she doesn't have any support…"
Gu Shenwei knew Lady Meng's intention, and immediately knelt down on

one leg. He then placed the item in his hand on the stool, and said, "Madam,
please rest assured. Since I am a killer under the Tenth Young Master and I
am in gratitude of Madam, I will do whatever I can to repay you."
"It is good that you have such an intention. Please help me take care of Ru'er.
She is my lifeblood, as well as Fei'er. I can't take it if something happens to
them."
This ended the conversation. Lady Meng had not made a specific request. A
maid then brought Slave Huan to the penthouse and wrapped up the cakes
and jewelry that were given by Lady Meng, for Slave Huan to take away.
While working, the maid said without lifting her head, "Do you understand
Madam's intention?"
"Sister, please enlighten me."
"Madam hoped that the Tenth Young Master would live well, but she didn't
want the Ninth Young Master to feel sad. As both of them are twins, they are
unlike other siblings and must not kill each other. The world, even Jade City
is big. Why should they fight over the First Young Master's territory? The
young one has grown up and need some opportunites to train. So the elder
brother has to give in. In short, no one will starve to death. Madam has never
said this before, but even with my stupidity, I know that the young masters
will have their own territories. They wont't be bothered by the small
businesses in South City, especially the Eighth Young Master, who is busy
sieging New Moon Hall. She should follow Bighead Kingpin as the future is
bright. Why bother about the little interest in South City? You were originally
under the Eighth Young Master. Why don't you help your master?"
Gu Shenwei now understood. Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu was Lady

Meng's ally but now he was getting closer to Bighead Kingpin. This aroused
Madam's suspicion. She wanted to use this method to test Shangguan Nu's
reaction and also to give her daughter a chance to make a comeback.
Kill two birds with one stone.
Gu Shenwei thanked the maid for her reminder. He left the jewelry behind
and took the useless cakes with him.
As soon as he left the Inner Residence, a slave who was guarding the door
called Slave Huan to head over to the Eight Young Master's residence. The
slave said that the Eighth Young Master had a message for him.
Gu Shenwei wasn't surprised. This was obviously Luo Ningcha's idea.

Chapter 181 - Foresee
Chapter 181: Foresee
Shangguan Nu had built a special conference room for his wife. The hostess
and guests were separated by a square-hollowed wooden wall.
Three killers were waiting to pass on the orders. It was nothing more than
performing his duty and to support Shangguan Ru well. Of course, Gu
Shenwei accepted the orders at once, while thinking that now that Eighth
Young Master was a fat sheep to Lady Meng, the best he could do was put
him on a butcher's block.
The killers soon left Slave Huan alone with Luo Ningcha behind the wall.
Just as they stepped out the door, she broke the silence by smashing some
cups, prompting Maid Cui to gasp painfully.
As always, Miss was angry again.
"You foul, nasty bastard. Your nasty plan got me into big trouble. Do you
think you can walk away?"
Gu Shenwei had to set aside all his contempts ever since Shangguan Fei's rise
to power, including his contempt of Luo Ningcha. Maybe someday she would
achieve something, although unlikely, but it may be worth the wait. Thus he
patiently explained himself. "I've been loyal and running around for Your
Grace's well-being."
"How moving! Do you want me to bestow you with this blind maid? Well,
tell me, what have you done for me?"
"Haven't Your Grace heard that the two masters are tangled in a fight in
South City? Her Majesty is very hurt."
"This is credited to you?"
"Your humble servant wouldn't take the full credit. But, alas, I did get some
work done."
He was not completely lying. He did drive the wedge, just not for her.
Luo Ningcha fell into silence behind the wall, reflected on the servant's
loyalty and asked, "Even if you did something right, why don't you report to
me? I have to bring it up in front of the wicked one."
"The wicked one" was another name for Lady Meng. Every time she
mentioned her mother-in-law, Luo Ningcha would be complaining about how
she had been bullied. Here she went again, snapping. "It's all your fault. Why
did you have to save that trash, Shangguan Hong? I'm over my head now.
Besides, Madam Yang hates me and she won't talk to me. She's too busy
running around sucking up to that wicked one."
"In my humble opinion, Your Grace, she's secretly grateful to you, definitely
not hateful."
"So what? Now she becomes a pet of that wicked one. She's no longer loyal
to me."
Gu Shenwei decided to assign a task to distract her so she wouldn't be

concerned about this issue. Thu he persuaded. "The more loyal she acts, the
more likely she's going to betray. No matter how hard she tries, Madam Yang
wouldn't be pardoned. If given an opportunity, she will fall away from their
group."
"How will she fall away? Anyone can act like that. I won't worry about that."
"Well, the Sixth Mistress can help us."
"Don't you know that the Sixth Mistress also comes from Meng Family?
She's also the wicked one's pet."
"Maybe not."
Luo Ningcha seemed to realize, stopped Gu Shenwei and then signaled him
to continue. "I've covered the maid's ears. You can say it now."
"It hasn't happened yet, but as long as Your Grace wishes, I will try to make
it happen."
"I will do anything to make that wicked one weep."
"Here is the situation. The twins picked up a fight in South City, it turned out
the Ninth Young Master won, and thus, the Tenth Young Master badly
needed revenge. So I encouraged her to trash Sixth Young Master's place in
South City, in order to drive a wedge between the Sixth Mistress and Her
Majesty."
"Can you do it?" Luo Ningcha was not that stupid, instead, she was skeptical
of Slave Huan.
"I've already made her trust me, she listens to me."
"Perfect!" Luo Ningcha raised her voice, even startling Gu Shenwei. She
continued, "Do it now. I'll see how close they are."
"But I still need Your Grace's help."
"Just say it, money or people?"
"I cannot be too obvious on this, in case Her Majesty suspects us. Hence, I'd
have her rob from both Sixth Young Master and Eighth Young Master. But I
am, after all, Eighth Young Master's servant; I just don't know what the
Eighth Young Master would think about the plan."
"Simple, no matter how much gold my husband lost in South City, I'll have
Bighead Kingpin make it up to him. Don't worry, I have you covered."
This was what Gu Shenwei had been waiting for, and next, he would
encourage her to do another thing. He opened his mouth, but no words were
uttered. He fainted.
After a few months, he had a qigong deviation attack again.
Since he achieved Yin and Yang Strength by sped-up technique in Leftslope

Vihara, Gu Shenwei had never fainted again. Until today, his Dantian
Internal Breath was strong enough to suppress the lurking Force in Baihui
and Xuanji acupoints. He even had dreamed that the Force was under control
and it would be as irrelevant as a wart on the skin.
But without any warning, he was woken up to reality. The Qigong deviation
never went away, it stood out to declare its existence.
The duration was short because he came around hearing Miss's voice. "…Get
up, I order you. Don't you dare scare me like that."
"Yes, Your Grace." Gu Shenwei rose up, his heart wildly beating. He now
had a desperate desire to fight and draw blood.
"What… what game are you playing at?" Miss spoke with fear, but only
because of the fear that she might be infected.
"It was that my Internal Breath went into disorder. There's no need to worry."
Miss knew nothing about kung fu, and also doubted Slave Huan's words. But
as long as he looked normal, she would give out orders. "I see. But still, be
decent, don't do that again in front of me. Go call a physician to cure it. I
don't want my business to be delayed."
Gu Shenwei expressed his gratitude for Miss's concern while he suppressed

his anger. Then, he brought up another topic. "You Grace should ally with the
Eighth Young Master's three killers."
"Why? Do I even have to suck up to my husband, who leaves me alone at

home for months? I hate him, just as much as I hate the bad, ungrateful
Bighead Kingpin."
Luo Ningcha was about to lose it again. Thus, Gu Shenwei had to again
preach that a woman relied on her father and husband, and etc. Yet, he was
interrupted by Miss. "I know, I know. Stop it. Just tell me, why do I have to
ally with them?"
"Bighead Kingpin once revealed he wanted to build a permanent camp at the

border of Jade City, which needed support from Golden Roc Fort. I thought it
was hard for Bighead Kingpin to bring it up, thus we could make the three
killers suggest it to Eighth Young Master, and then the Master brings it up to
Supreme King. This would be a big favor. Wouldn't it be good for Your
Grace if Bighead Kingpin is camped near Jade City?"
"He has such plans? Let me think."
Gu Shenwei did not worry about it. Miss would do as she said afterward.
Actually, he simply asked a counselor to predict Bighead Kingpin's moves. If
the three killers mentioned such suggestions in front of their master, they
would get into trouble.
Gu Shenwei had to do something about the three killers because the hands of
two of them had been chopped off.
During the Gu Family slaughter, a child target had slipped through their net.
It resulted in Shangguan Nu' hand being chopped off by his father, thus, the
enraged Shangguan Nu did the same to his subordinates.
Those who bore only one hand was the Gu Family's archenemy.
Gu Shenwei had always known that they survived. But after seeing them, he
decided to make them suffer.
If Gu Shenwei did not guess wrongly, Golden Roc Fort would never be
willing to become neighbors with Bighead Kingpin of Iron Mountain.
Since most killers loved money and did not care about the situation in
Western Region, they would be persuaded. Miss was not eloquent enough,
yet she had enough money.
At the moment, it never occurred to him that his words would bring about a
storm that would drag in so many people, including himself.
Slave Qing was the third person that came to Slave Huan. Slave Qing's rank
was low among the hundreds of butlers in Stone Castle. He used to be an
attendant during Young Master's childhood, and had accompanied Shangguan
Ru in Iron Mountain camps. He had endured hardships but had not gained
any credit.
Slave Qing thought back and forth and asked many seniors where he went
wrong. Finally, he knew that being an attendant, he never really "played"
with masters. In master's eyes, he was an ordinary servant who would restrict
them.
Thus, Slave Qing managed to get out of Stone Castle to serve Shangguan Fei
via his connections. But it was too late, by the time he arrived downhill, the
Ninth Young Master had already risen to power. Thus, Slave Qing had again
failed to grasp an opportunity.
Thus, in Slave Qing's eyes, Slave Huan was no longer an annoying attendant,
a sparring partner, but rather a well-experienced opportunist artist. They both
started as a servant, moreover, Slave Huan was lower than Slave Qing in the
beginning. But now Slave Huan managed to succeed on his own. Slave Qing
desperately needed to learn some tricks from Slave Huan.
Therefore, something happened that Gu Shenwei had never expected: He

would bask in flattery from Slave Qing, which was unsettling.
Gu Shenwei detailed the situation and mentioned some things to be aware of

in South City, and then paused deliberately. As Slave Qing was still very
good at analyzing the circumstances, he fetched 500 taels silvers he prepared
earlier, and reluctantly handed them to Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei snatched the silvers. It was not that he wanted the money, but
only by doing this could he make Slave Qing take his words seriously. Gu
Shenwei said, "The Ninth Young Master had grown up, he doesn't need that
children stuff anymore. South City has the busiest streets in Western Region
with so many streets and alleys. His Highness just need a guide."
Slave Qing finally realized the hint and thanked Slave Huan many times. Gu
Shenwei casually mentioned Xu Yanwei's name and left Slave Qing
guessing.
It hasn't been three days since Gu Shenwei had returned to Stone Castle, but
he foresaw before anyone else that the recently restored peace was about to
break down.
Chapter 182 - Tactics
Chapter 182: Tactics
Merchants in Jade City sought protection from different forces.
Only a few of them were directly protected by the Golden Roc Fort and the
Meng family. These merchants had to pay the two powerful families at least
tens of thousands of taels of silver a month in exchange for their protection.
The majority of merchants in Jade City sought protection from young masters
of Golden Roc Fort and several other gangs, which were affiliated with the
Shangguan or Meng families.
As for remaining small vendors and business owners in the city, they all had
their own protectors on the streets as well. Most of these protectors could
only be considered as middlemen. They collected money from various small
vendors and business owners and used it in turn to pay for the protection of
the gangs or the young masters of Golden Roc Fort.
Some protectors, such as Tie Hanfeng and Tuo Nengya, worked

independently. These independent protectors did not have their own gangs,
but they were in close touch with the Shangguan or Meng family. Sometimes,
such an independent protector with connections could be called upon to solve
a sticky problem rather than an ordinary gang.
Gu Shenwei spent quite a few days probing into the current situation of South
City. Xu Yanwei and Xu Xiaoyi helped him a lot during this process. This
investigation revealed that gaining a firm footing and collecting protection
money in South City was not an easy job at all.
Traditionally, young masters of Golden Roc Fort had to undergo a one-year

probationary period when they turned 13. During this probationary period,
they would establish their own gangs and expand their own business in South
City. They would return to work in the Stone Castle after finishing their
probation. After which, they would assist their father in managing the Golden
Roc Fort and partake in the assassination tasks. If a young master performed
well at his job, after working two to three years inside the fort, he would be
permitted by the Supreme King to strike out on his own outside the fort. As
for the young masters who failed to gain their father' recognition within this
period of time, they would have to work inside the fort for a longer while, or
possibly even spend their whole life inside it.
Usually, the Supreme King would send a young master who had won his
approval to another kingdom in the Western Region. The young master and
his killers would be stationed in the capital of this kingdom, providing armed
escort and mercenary services for the country. One of the Golden Roc Fort's
main sources of income was from such activities.
In many kingdoms of Western Region, the nobles and the people in power
liked to hire these professional killers to work as their body guards, for fear
of being assassinated. They were unable to sleep well at night without some
Golden Roc Fort killers standing guard outside their bedrooms.
The young masters could earn a lot of money from their activities in the
foreign countries. Compared to that, their business in South City was nothing.
However, none of them would easily abandon their gangs and networks in the
city.
All the young masters were well aware that their power came from their
father, the Supreme King. They needed to plant some loyal servants in the
city, who could keep tabs on the Supreme King and update them with the
latest news from the city and the fort.
"Lady Meng just sent a maid to give me this task, as if occupying territory
and collecting protection money in South City were just a piece of cake for
us. Maybe she has no idea how important this city is for the other young
masters. Or maybe she just wants to test my ability," Gu Shenwei thought to
himself.
Anyhow, he was determined to wage war against the other young masters
inside South City. He could not wait to create more conflicts within the
Shangguan family.
To achieve that goal, firstly, he had to cheer Shangguan Ru up. Shangguan

Yushi's betrayal broke her heart and made her lose interest in gaining control
over South City. She still behaved like a child and considered the gang wars
as games. She had enjoyed playing this game with her best friend in the past,
but now she did not want any part in it after her friend was gone.
Gu Shenwei was a little disappointed. He had once firmly believed that he

himself would have become Master Ru's best friend after the death of Master
Yu. Beyond his expectations, Master Ru treated him coldly after Master Yu's
death. Gu Shenwei was a bright boy, but he really had no idea what
Shangguan Ru was thinking now.
Given that, he sent Maid Lotus to help Shangguan Ru overcome her sadness.
Shangguan Ru already trusted Maid Lotus very much, and as Maid Lotus was
now spending a lot of time accompanying her, she began gradually to treat
her like a friend. Soon enough, they began to live and eat together.
Gu Shenwei was amazed by that and could not help wondering, "Will Maid
Lotus become another Master Yu?"
Maid Lotus dispelled his doubts by explaining Master Ru's thoughts to him.
"What hurt Master Ru most wasn't the collapse of the Kun Society or the fact
that Master Yu fell in love with Fifth Young Master Meng. She was
particularly saddened by the fact that Master Yu lied to her."
"Are you saying that she feels hurt because Master Yu betrayed her?"
Maid Lotus smiled and shook her head helplessly. She was a little surprised
that even a clever boy like Slave Huan could not understand a girl's heart.
"No, I'm saying that Master Ru felt hurt because Master Yu lied to her about
Mr. Meng Mingshi. Master Ru never despised Master Yu on account of her
humble origin. She respected her wholeheartedly and looked upon her as her
best friend. She hoped that Master Yu could treat her in the same way. If
Master Yu had completely trusted Master Ru and told her the truth in the
beginning, Master Ru would've been very happy. She would've even tried her
best to help get them married."
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei thought of the night when he had come to ask
Shangguan Ru for help before casting the rope down the cliff for the Barren
Sect. "I had no choice but to trust Master Ru at that time, and she did take my
request seriously. After that incident, she seemed to trust me even more. I
guess that Maid Lotus does have a point there," Gu Shenwei thought to
himself.
He was greatly surprised that Maid Lotus knew Shangguan Ru this well and
asked her what she did to figure Master Ru out.
"Only a girl can truly understand another girl," she replied.
Her explanation made Gu Shenwei confused, but after a moment of thought,

he came to understand the reason for his bewilderment. He had thought that
all girls were like Xu Yanwei and had never looked upon Maid Lotus and
Shangguan Ru as girls.
After discovering the cause of Shangguan Ru's depression, Gu Shenwei and

Maid Lotus still could not figure out a way to help the girl stop feeling sad.
When they believed that they had no choice except to let Master Ru recover
from her sadness by herself, Wildhorse suddenly volunteered to help Master
Ru.
This mute killer had treated Shangguan Yushi as his real master and had done
many things for her. No one else in this killer team knew the girl better than
him. Gu Shenwei believed that Wildhorse might really know how to help
Shangguan Ru make a clean break with the past.
As Shangguan Ru was unable to understand the Snow Mountain Gang's sign

language, Wildhorse asked Maid Lotus to work as his interpreter. He
sincerely apologized to her for having sent Black Snake to assassinate her. He
told Maid Lotus that it was nothing personal but that he was acting on Master
Yu's orders.
Maid Lotus accepted his apology and promised to work as his interpreter.
Wildhorse had heard of Maid Lotus and Slave Huan's relationship. He was
pretty sure that she would tell Slave Huan everything that he said during his
conversation with Master Ru, so he did not ask her to keep the content of the
conversation confidential.
At the beginning of the conversation, Wildhorse confessed to Master Ru that

Master Yu had gotten in touch with him and some other apprentices long
before the gang wars in East Castle and had worked hard to win his loyalty
after his duel with Slave Huan. He contended that although he had sworn an
oath of allegiance to Master Yu after the duel, he had not done anything for
her until joining Master Ru's killer team.
He did not explain why he had chosen to serve Shangguan Yushi at that time.
He simply told Master Ru that it was his hatred toward the Tattooed Arm
Gang that gradually brought him closer to Master Yu. He admitted that he
had assassinated Marquis Gao and had sent some other killers to kill Zhou
Huan and Slave Yuan. He also confessed that he had lured Slave Jing into the
trap.
After that, Wildhorse risked his life to tell Master Ru that it was Master Yu
who had ordered Meng Mingshi to kidnap her. "Master Ru, Master Yu just
wanted to frame Slave Huan by doing that. She made Meng Mingshi swear to
the gods that he would never harm you before the action began."
Upon hearing that, Shangguan Ru was not irritated. Instead, she was
impressed by the mute killer's frankness and believed what he said even
more.
Wildhorse went on to explain Shangguan Yushi and Meng Mingshi's

relationship to Shangguan Ru. "The Fifth Young Master Meng fell in love
with Master Yu a long time ago. He had never seen any girl like her before
and was determined to win her affection. He hoped to get close to her by
traveling together with us to the camp of the Iron Mountain Gang, however,
he ended up losing her respect. Master Yu would never fall in love with a
coward like him. She just wanted to use this wealthy young master to
actualize her secret plan."
Wildhorse contended that Shangguan Yushi had secretly planned to kill Slave
Huan and use Meng Mingshi to swindle a large sum of money out of the
Meng family. According to him, she intended to invest the money in the Kun
Society to help it become the largest gang in the whole of South City.
"Meng Mingshi never discovered that Master Yu had been lying to him all
this time, but Master Yu didn't feel ashamed of her behavior since she
believed that a professional killer should try all means to achieve his or her
goal. Unfortunately, she never paid any attention to Master Fei and got
assassinated by him before she could fulfill her plan. That's why Meng
Mingshi still believes that Master Yu loves him."
Wildhorse was also 100-percent sure that Master Yu had never planned to
marry Meng Mingshi. He told Shangguan Ru that she had already made a
plan to get rid of Meng Mingshi after she got the money. "Meng Mingshi is a
faithless man and a frequent visitor to the brothels. Master Yu intended to
hire a beautiful prostitute to seduce him after she got the money. She would
find a chance to go to the prostitute's place to catch him cheating and break
up with him. After that, she would give you the money and tell you her entire
plan. Master Ru, Master Yu was only loyal to you. Meng Mingshi said that
Master Yu wanted to make you her puppet. That's not true. Master Yu just
tricked him into believing that. She just wanted to protect you. In her eyes,
you're the only good person in Golden Roc Fort. She hoped to keep you away
from this kind of filth forever. That's why she didn't tell you her plan
beforehand."
Afterwards Maid Lotus told Slave Huan what Wildhorse had said during the
conversation. Both of them reckoned that the mute killer's story was
implausible. However, Shangguan Ru believed it and even forgave the mute
killer for murdering the members of the Kun Society.
Gu Shenwei was never a close friend to Shangguan Yushi, but he believed

that compared to Shangguan Ru, he had more insight into the psychology of
Master Yu.
"Shangguan Yushi was a social climber and always felt insecure about her
future. She probably did not love the Fifth Young Master Meng, but she was
not absolutely loyal to Shangguan Ru either. Wildhorse claimed that
Shangguan Yushi just wanted to keep Shangguan Ru away from filth, but all
the deals of a gang are quite dirty. Given that, it's just another way of saying
she wanted Shangguan Ru to be a puppet." Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
Neither Gu Shenwei nor Maid Lotus believed Wildhorse's story, but they had
no chance to dig out the truth now, since Shangguan Yushi was dead already.
They guessed that Shangguan Yushi might have lied to Wildhorse. They
reckoned that she might have just told everyone what they wanted to hear to
safeguard her own interests.
Gradually, Shangguan Ru recovered from her sadness. Gu Shenwei was

delighted to see that since he could not wait to return to South City. He had
already made a plan to help the Kun Society regain its standing.
Chapter 183 - Return to South City
Chapter 183: Return to South City
Wildhorse's story made Gu Shenwei realize that truth was illusory and people
just believed what they wished to believe.
In the meantime, he also had a suspicion that Wildhorse might have just
made up a story to cheer Shangguan Ru up. "That mute teenager is a natural
born killer and has a strong desire for blood. He wants a capable leader, so he
can't stand by watching Master Ru slide into a depression," Gu Shenwei
thought to himself.
Although Shangguan Ru lived in North City now, her killers still worked on a
shift basis to keep watch at night. One night, Gu Shenwei was on the first
shift. He wore a black cape and hid himself in a tree in the middle of the yard.
When seen from a distance, he looked like a bulge in the trunk or an empty
nest in the tree.
As this residence was not very large, he was able to see everything inside it
while staying up in the tree. That night, he could even keep an eye on the
situation in the streets nearby, for the moon was exceptionally bright.
Compared to South City, North City was much quieter at night. He could not
see any pedestrian on the streets or hear anyone shouting or playing music
after 9 pm. During this hour, the city looked as if it was empty.
Despite that, he still strictly carried out his mission and focused on observing
everything around him. He was a professional killer, who knew when to
think, observe or kill.
To his great surprise, Shangguan Ru quietly walked out of her room all of a
sudden.
She was dressed in a long white robe, her long hair tied into a ponytail. In the
moonlight, she looked like a wandering fairy.
Upon seeing her, Gu Shenwei immediately tensed up. He thought that she
was going to sneak out of the residence. He decided to follow her to keep her
safe and also to prevent her from doing something foolish in North City.
However, beyond all his expectations, Shangguan Ru did not go anywhere.

She took off her robe in the yard, revealing a black outfit, and then she drew
out her wooden saber and began to practice a saber routine beside the tree
where Gu Shenwei hid.
She moved very fast, making her saber whistle. However, this routine still
looked more like a workout routine than a combat routine.
Gu Shenwei had never seen this workout routine before. He considered that it
was probably due to the fact that children of the Shangguan family were
taught more kung fu skills in the Golden Roc Fort.
After watching her practicing for some time, he gradually realized that she
was practicing saber skills with an imaginary partner, Shangguan Yushi.
A moment later, Shangguan Ru stopped practicing and went over to lean

against the tree trunk. She looked up at the starry sky and asked, "Can you
identify constellations in the sky?"
"No," Gu Shenwei blurted out. After a while, he added, "I can only identify
the seven bright stars of the Big Dipper."
"The saber routine that I practiced just now is called Seven Stars, since it has
seven variations. My favorite move in this routine is the one named Ursae
Majoris. I like its name. I also like another one called Alkaid."
"Yeah, nice names."
Shangguan Ru continued to talk about many other things, and Gu Shenwei

just kept listening.
"Does Master Ru just want to talk about Master Yu? Or, does she want me to
pledge my eternal loyalty to her again?" Gu Shenwei wondered.
"Do you know any other stories of burglars? I mean those cool burglars who
always work alone." Shangguan Ru suddenly changed the subject.
Gu Shenwei was surprised that she still remembered the story of Red Bat
Lady, which he had told her years ago. Back then, he had just wanted to goad
her into breaking into Six Kills Temple by telling her this story.
"There are not many such burglars. A burglar usually works for an
organization behind the scene and is backed by a secret power. Even a top
burglar like Red Bat Lady was unable work on her own and always go her
own way."
Gu Shenwei was no longer a child. He did not believe that the Red Bat Lady
could sneak into the palace without relying on anyone else to help her.
"Not many, but there are still some of them, aren't there?"
"Yes, there are." Gu Shenwei racked his brain and finally thought of a
jianghu tale that he had heard during his childhood. "Many years ago, there
was a renowned burglar named Hairless Specter."
"Hairless Specter? What a weird name," Shangguan Ru interrupted.
"Yes, this name is very weird, but this burglar is legendary. No one was able
to catch Hairless Specter. No one knew if the burglar was a man or a
woman."
"Are you suggesting that this Hairless Specter is even more legendary than
the Red Bat Lady?"
"It's impossible to compare Hairless Specter to Red Bat Lady, although

Hairless Specter's kung fu was also quite good. Hairless Specter just worked
for himself and only stole items which were more peculiar. The officials
didn't work very hard to hunt him down."
"What did Hairless Specter steal?"

"Hair."
"Hair? Are you saying that the burglar stole hairs on a human head?"
"Yes. Hairless Specter liked to sneak into the homes of others in the night to
cut hair, regardless of sex. Many people's hair was cut by the burglar."
"Hahaha, that's nonsense. You must be kidding."
"It's true. I knew a guy whose hair was cut off by the Hairless Specter. He
wore a hat to cover his head for days."
Shangguan Ru returned to her bedroom after midnight, feeling much better.
Gu Shenwei was still up in the tree. He looked into the distance and felt lost.
He discovered that he was only able to recollect little about his life in the
Central Plain.
A moment later, Maid Lotus came out for her shift. When she jumped up to
the tree, Gu Shenwei told her, "Let's get ready. We'll return to South City
very soon."
The next morning, Shangguan Ru summoned a meeting. She ordered all the
servants to return to Golden Roc Fort immediately and never to leave it
again.
When a few servants insisted that they should stay, Shangguan Ru asked her
killers to step out and drive them away.
The seven young killers were dressed in black and looked grim. Although
they were not equipped with real sabers, they still successfully frightened the
servants off.
After the servants' departure, the residence looked much more spacious.
"Let's return to South City and avenge Master Yu's death," Shangguan Ru
looked at her killers and said.
The seven teenagers drew out their wooden sabers to draw a line on the
ground and then knelt down in front of Shangguan Ru. They had been
waiting for this day for a long time. As killers, they wanted to fight, not to
guard a residence.
Shangguan Ru wanted to break into Shangguan Fei's residence in North City

and force him to give the Kun Society back to her.
Gu Shenwei decided to stop Shangguan Ru from carrying out this plan, since
he had promised Lady Meng to prevent the twins from hurting each other and
had secretly sworn an oath of loyalty to Shangguan Fei. "It's useless to take
back the Kun Society now. It's just a name. We'd better get back our territory
and business in South City first." After that, he told Master Ru what he had
recently found out about the gangs and the other forces in South City.
"How much money do we have now?"
"About 130,000 taels of silver."
This money was left by Tie Hanfeng. Shangguan Ru's team had not spent
much of it recently since most of Tuo Nengya's machetemen had been killed
during the previous fight against the Horned Dragon Society.
"It seems that we can only ask my brothers to lend me some money, if we fail
to restart our business."
In the following days, the seven young killers worked hard to restart their
business. They rented a house in South City again and hired new employees.
They also went to visit their old customers and the other gangs.
Gu Shenwei was eagerly anticipating gangs wars and conflicts to break out
amongst the young masters of the Shangguan family, however, things did not
turn out as he had expected.
The third day after Shangguan Ru's announcement of her return to South
City, Shangguan Nu divided his territory in South City into two parts, and
gave them to the twins.
Soon, the other young masters also followed Shangguan Nu's example and
gave their territories to the twins. As a result, the twins quickly expanded
their territories and got lots of protection money within several days. What
they had occupied in these days was way more than what they had earned in
the past few months.
The whole Jade City was stunned. Residents of the city had never seen any
generation of the Shangguan family act in such a friendly way.
Gu Shenwei was bitterly disappointed, since now he could not find an excuse
to start gang wars and kill more young masters of the Shanguan family. He
was also confused by the other young masters' decisions at first, but
gradually, he realized why they did that.
"During the past few months, Shangguan Fei showed his true potential as a
leader, but Shangguan Ru revealed her weaknesses. Lady Meng must be
planning a conspiracy now to help her daughter prove herself. As she doesn't
want to see the twins fighting each other, she's probably planning to ask
Shangguan Ru to fight against or even kill another young master of Golden
Roc Fort. The other young masters still remember how Lady Meng plotted
against the eldest Young Master in the past, so this time, none of them want
to become a victim of her scheming. Given that, they decide to pacify Lady
Meng by giving the twins all their territories in South City."
In order to reward their brothers' kindness, the twins decided to accept all
their brothers' gangs. They let them continue to manage their old territories.
The gangs gave the twins protection money but refused to let the twins or
their killers get involved in their internal affairs. As a result, the actual
controllers of those gangs were still the other young masters of Golden Roc
Fort. The twins were dissatisfied with such an arrangement, but they had no
choice except to accept it, for they themselves did not have enough
manpower to take over all the territories from the gangs.
Shangguan Ru easily achieved her goal of expanding her business and

building up strength in South City, but the gangs did not consider her as their
real boss.
Fortunately, Master Ru did not need to worry about money anymore. The
first month after she accepted her brothers' territories and gangs she received
nearly 100,000 taels of silver. In the future, she would receive 70,000 to
80,000 taels of silver every month from the gangs.
Now that Shangguan Ru's problems about territory and money were settled,
Gu Shenwei began to worry that she would sneak out someday to attack
Shangguan Fei to avenge Master Yu's death. He decided to pay close
attention to her in the coming days.
It was mid-March now. The wind became warm and the streets of South City
became caked with mush from melted snow, but North City was still as tidy
as always.
One morning, Shangguan Ru took a walk with Slave Huan and Maid Lotus in
North City, chatting merrily with them all along the way. It appeared that she
had totally recovered from her sadness. Nevertheless, when they had lunch
together in a restaurant, Gu Shenwei noticed that Shangguan Ru was a little
absent-minded. He suggested going home after lunch, and Shangguan Ru
agreed.
However, right after they stepped out of the restaurant, Shangguan Ru

resolutely headed for Shangguan Fei's residence.
Gu Shenwei exchanged a look with Maid Lotus. None of them were sure that
they could stop Master Ru at this moment, so they decided to let her do what
she wanted.
Shangguan Fei had lots of servants. Most of them were from Inner Residence
of Golden Roc Fort and knew the twins very well. When the servants at the
gate of Shangguan Fei's residence spotted Shangguan Ru in the distance, they
immediately sent a servant into the house to report to their supervisor.
"Alas, Master Ru. Master Fei is out. Do you want to come in to wait for him
or let me pass your message to him?" Slave Qing hurriedly came to the gate
and said to Shangguan Ru, his face covered in sweat. He still acted
obsequiously toward Master Ru, although he was already Master Fei's butler
now.
Shangguan Ru carefully looked at Shangguan Fei's residence. This place was
much more commodious than the residence offered by Slave Huan. It was
also very clean and well kept.
"I'll stay here and wait for him," Shangguan Ru replied and then entered the
front yard of Shangguan Fei's residence.
Upon hearing that, Slave Qing perspired even more heavily. He winked at
Slave Huan, hoping that the young killer could help him out. However, Slave
Huan and Maid Lotus just followed Master Ru into the front yard without
saying a word.
Shangguan Ru strutted around as if she owned this place. No one dared to

stop her. However, when she was about to step into the back yard, Slave Qing
hastily went over to block her way. "Master Ru, you can't go into the back
yard," he said.
"Why?"
"Well… A bunch of machetemen live in the back yard now. You know,
they're smelly and dirty."
"Oh, I see," Shangguan Ru turned around and said. Upon hearing that, Slave
Qing heaved a long sigh of relief. However, in the next moment, Shangguan
Ru turned back again and rushed into the back yard.
"Shangguan Fei, get out!" she shouted in the yard.
"What? Do you have another girl here?" A female voice came out of a room
in the east wing of the house.
Gu Shenwei recognized that voice. He felt really awkward now.

Chapter 184 - Military Counsellor
Chapter 184: Military Counsellor
Weapons as well as prostitution were banned in the North City. Strictly

speaking, prostitutes were prohibited from entering North City, but
occasionally, the guards at the city gates would not mind letting one or two of
them get into the city. In the eyes of the guards, these girls posed no danger
to public safety.
Recently, Slave Qing had acted upon Slave Huan's advice and tried to
become Shangguan Fei's guide in South City. However, Master Fei worried
that Tuo Nengya was waiting for a chance to assassinate him in South City
and refused to go there. Every time someone invited him to go to South City,
he would become suspicious of that person's intentions.
Fortunately, sometimes he would tell Slave Qing that he wanted to meet Xu

Yanwei. Every time he made such a request, Slave Qing would hurriedly go
out to bribe the guards to get the girl into North City.
After breaking into the back yard of Shangguan Fei's residence, Shangguan
Ru happened to stand just outside Shangguan Fei's bedroom.
As Xu Yanwei and Shangguan Ru had only met once before, they failed to
recognize each other's voice. Master Ru frowned upon hearing a woman in
her brother's room questioning him.
Without knowing what her brother was doing in his room, Shangguan Ru
dashed to the door and kicked it open.
"What're you doing here? Who allowed you to come in?" Shangguan Fei
shouted grumpily as he hastily put on his clothes and walked out to block her
entry into the room.
He sounded combative. His recent victory had greatly boosted his
confidence.
"Who else is inside your room?" Shangguan Ru sounded aggressive as well.
"There's no one else inside my room… and it's none of your business."
Shangguan Ru suddenly realized something. She turned around and walked

out of the room, letting Shangguan Fei finish dressing. A moment later, she
turned back and said, "The Kun Society is mine. I forbid you to use that
name."
Shangguan Fei stepped out of the room and then closed the door behind him.
He deliberately paused for a moment and then said to Shangguan Ru
smilingly, "My little sister, I can't agree to do that. This is like gambling; I
won and you lost. Now the Kun Society is mine. You can't blame anyone for
that matter."
Shangguan Ru came to her brother's place more or less on a whim. She had
not prepared herself for such a situation beforehand. Although she knew that
she was being unreasonable at this moment, she still refused to back down.
She suddenly stretched out her hand to tweak Shangguan Fei's ear.
Shangguan Fei's kung fu was quite good but weaker than his sister. He raised
his hands to block Shangguan Ru's attack but failed. He then instinctively
turned his head away, trying to dodge the attack. Unfortunately, he only
managed to bump his head into the other hand of Shangguan Ru.
"Who told you that I'm gambling with you?" Shangguan Ru asked and
twisted her brother's ear with much force, making him scream. "You
launched a surprise attack on me and succeeded. That's a nice move, but the
issue is far from over. I haven't struck back."
"Let me go! Can someone come here and help me?" Shangguan Fei was
overcome with anger and shame.
Slave Qing came to the twins but had no idea what to do. He kept walking
around them anxiously, while repeatedly imploring Master Ru to release
Master Fei.
Shangguan Fei's killers also came out. They wanted to assist Master Fei, but
they were afraid that once they came to blows they would accidentally hurt
Master Ru. As a result, they just stood around the twins, not sure what to do.
"What an embarrassing situation," Gu Shenwei thought to himself while

shaking his head. He walked forward to the twins with Maid Lotus, planning
to dissuade Master Ru from tweaking her brother's ear. However, before they
said anything, Shangguan Ru suddenly released Shangguan Fei and said,
"Well, I shall let you go now. I've come here today to challenge you to a duel.
I'll win my Kun Society back. Are you going to fight against me by yourself
or send one of your killers to duel with me?"
Shangguan Fei was flushed with shame and anger. He rubbed his ear and
screeched, "I won't duel with you. I… I'm a leader. I'll only engage you in a
battle of wits, not of physical might. The Kun Society is mine. You can't
wrench it out of my hands. Shangguan Yushi is dead and no one will help
you now."
Upon hearing Master Yu's name, Shangguan Ru felt a sharp pain in her chest.
She rushed back to Shangguan Fei, trying to tweak his ear again.
Shangguan Fei was prepared for that. He swiftly dodged behind Slave Qing.
When Shangguan Ru went over to Slave Qing, he quickly rushed to hide
behind the killers. Both Slave Qing and the killers stood still in the yard,
observing the twins running about.
After Shangguan Fei escaped from Shangguan Ru's grasp several times in a
row, Master Ru flared up and decided to play rough. She directly shoved two
killlers who stood between her and her brother to the ground. Just as she was
about to catch her brother, she bumped into a very tall and strong man who
stood in her way.
Shangguan Ru felt as if she had run into a wall. She quickly took several
steps backward and finally could see the man's face. He was in his early 20s
and had thick eyebrows with narrow eyes. Although he was young, he looked
very masculine and mature. "Piss off," Shangguan Ru shouted to the man.
The man bowed to Shangguan Ru and replied peacefully, "Master Ru, nice to
meet you. I'm Guan Houlin. 'Hou' as in profundity, and 'Lin' as in a legendary
unicorn…"
"Who cares if you're a unicorn or a bug. Just get out of my way," said
Shangguan Ru, grumpily.
Shangguan Fei felt very secure hiding behind this tall and strong man. He
grabbed the man's belt to stop him from leaving the place and then stuck his
head out to say, "He's my military counsellor and only takes orders from me."
Upon hearing the words "military counsellor", Shangguan Ru thought of her

own military counsellor, Shangguan Yushi. She felt heartache again, her face
grim. She rushed to Guan Houlin, pretending to launch an attack. Deceived
by the feint, the young man raised his right arm to block her. In the blink of
an eye, Shangguan Ru caught hold of the meridian points in his right hand
and got behind him.
She raised his right hand up high, forcing the man to bend down.
Upon seeing that, Shangguan Fei instantly ran to the front of the man and
squatted under him as cover.
"Look at your military counsellor. He's stupid, and his kung fu sucks,"
Shangguan Ru said.
Guan Houlin's face turned red upon hearing her taunts. He groaned and
suddenly stood up, dislocating his right shoulder in the process.
Shangguan Ru was stunned and immediately released the man's hand. She
had never expected him to be so tough. "Why did you do that?" she
exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Master Ru. I can't back down. I have to protect my master."
Deeply moved by Guan Houlin's words, Shangguan Fei finally plucked up

his courage. He stood up, pointed at his killers and shouted, "Are you dead?
Why did you just stand by and watch me being chased around?"
Upon hearing that, the killers quickly ran to stand between the twins. They
lined up in front of Shangguan Fei to protect him.
However, Shangguan Ru had little interest in this fight now. She turned
around and headed for the front yard. At the gate, she turned back and
announced, "Shangguan Fei, You thought you've won, but Iet me tell you,
this game isn't over. I'll get my Kun Society back sooner or later."
After successfully assassinating Shangguan Yushi and taking over the Kun
Society, Shangguan Fei was much more confident than before, but he had
gotten used to giving in to his twin sister's demands for all these years. When
he was about to open his mouth to promise her that he would give the Kun
Society back to her, Guan Houlin suddenly said, "Goodbye, Master Ru.
We're ready to accept any challenge."
This man suffered a dislocated shoulder, but he still sounded calm and
assertive.
Shangguan Ru stared at him for a while and then left without saying a word.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus followed closely after her.
When they came out of Shangguan Fei's residence, Shangguan Ru seemed a

little preoccupied with thoughts of her own. After walking on the street for
some time, she suddenly said, "That Guan Houlin, I've never heard of him.
Do you think that it was his idea?"
Gu Shenwei immediately realized what Shangguan Ru was talking about. He

did not believe that Shangguan Fei was able to think of such a sophisticated
plan to assassinate Shangguan Yushi either, but in the meantime, he also
thought that Guan Houlin did not look like a military counsellor.
"Shangguan Ru can't kill her brother to avenge Master Yu's death, but if it's
really Guan Houlin's idea to assassinate Master Yu, Master Ru can do
anything she wants to have her revenge."
With that in mind, he replied, "I've never heard of him either. His kung fu
seems ordinary. I'll find out more about him."
"Uhm," Shangguan Ru said, and then she dropped her head down and
remained silent. When they came back to their own place, she suddenly
raised her head up and said, "When Shangguan Fei opened his door, I saw a
girl in his room. She looks like that girl named Xu…"
"Xu Yanwei," Gu Shenwei added.
"Did you know that she was there?"
"Yes, I did."
Shangguan Ru looked at him with reproach. Gu Shenwei did not evade her
gaze and went on to explain. "It's within her own right to conduct business,
and it's not for me to interfere."
Shangguan Ru did not seem to totally believe what he said, but when they
entered the yard, she somehow decided to let it go. "You're right. My brother
is just one of her clients. I thought too much into it just now. I hope you won't
mind it."
Shangguan Ru was eager to win back the Kun Society. She planned to hire
more machetemen so that she could openly challenge Shangguan Fei. This
time, she would lead the team personally to defeat her brother.
Upon hearing Shangguan Ru's plan, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus

immediately worked together to stop her from making such an impulsive
decision.
They recommended Master Ru to take it slow. They had learnt their lesson
and decided that it was wiser to strike with a single, decisive blow after they
found out the weak point of their enemies.
Gu Shenwei asked around, but no one in North City knew much about Guan
Houlin. Most people in South City were also unfamiliar with this name. Even
Xu Yanwei, who had been to Shangguan Fei's residence many times, had
never seen the tall, strong man before.
In the end, it was Xu Xiaoyi who found out something about Guan Houlin.
According to the little boy, Guan Houlin had come to South City several
years ago and tried to work as a macheteman. "At first, many bosses in the
city wanted to hire this strong young man, but gradually, they found out that
his kung fu was not good and refused to offer him any work. He had to
support himself in the city, so he made a decision which surprised everyone.
He went to work in Hope Alley," Xu Xiaoyi told the killer.
The boy said that Guan Houlin had spent about a year inside Hope Alley, but
he did not know what exactly the man had done for a living during the year.
"He wasn't hired to work as a male prostitute there; I bet few clients in Hope
Alley would like him. He wasn't hired as a macheteman either. However,
when he left the alley, he somehow became a go-between for the alley and
other clients who couldn't go there for whatsoever reason. He made a living
by working as a middleman until he joined the Ninth Young Master's team as
a macheteman last winter. He got that job because his salary requirement was
low, demanding only 50 taels of silver per month. During the previous fight
between the Horned Dragon Society and the Kun Society, all the
machetemen demanded for higher pay, except him."
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei was more confident about his judgment of
Guan Houlin's ability. "Before you and Master Ru broke into Master Fei's
residence, he was a nobody in the Ninth Young Master's team. The Ninth
Young Master probably just called him military counsellor on a whim," said
Xu Xiaoyi.
Gu Shenwei concluded from his investigation that Guan Houlin was not
worth paying special attention to, but something unexpected happened, which
made him decide to return to Hope Alley again.
He had another qigong deviation attack. Fortunately, only Maid Lotus was
present when it happened. When he woke up from his coma, she told him that
she passed out more frequently than him, but as she managed to keep it a
secret, no one knew anything about it.
Gu Shenwei was frightened, as he had just had a qigong deviation attack only
less than 20 days ago.
Such frequent qigong deviation attacks meant that Mama Xue's Peripheral
Force was going to kill him soon.
Gu Shenwei was faced with only two choices now. One was taking a risk to
act now and assassinate Shangguan Nu with a few other young masters of the
Shangguan family. The other was going back to Joy Pavilion to ask Immortal
Peng for help. He was not very confident about his ability to execute the first
option successfully, so he guessed that he had better pay Immortal Peng
another visit.
"Immortal Peng must have some ulterior motive for offering to help me, but
anyhow, he said assuredly that he could cure my qigong deviation," Gu
Shenwei thought to himself.
Chapter 185 - Secrets of Love
Chapter 185: Secrets of Love
Gu Shenwei was pretty sure that youths his age would most likely consider
death a remote possibility and some of them would even be able to compose
beautiful poems about it. Unfortunately, he could not see the poetic side of it
at all, as his death was just around the corner. Every time he thought about it,
he would tremble with fear as if he was going to fall off the cliff and into the
dark abyss of death any minute.
In Gu Shenwei's eyes, the core concept of Death Scripture was self-

deconstruction. In the past, he had constantly applied this concept when
practicing his kung fu and believed that he could possibly be throwing his life
away at any time. However, the two recent qigong deviation attacks reminded
him how dreadfully frightened he was of dying. Mama Xue's dull and sallow
face kept sneaking back into his mind, making him restless.
He did not want to die, especially when all his enemies were still alive and
well. He considered assassinating them now, but he quickly realized that he
could at most manage to only kill the twins at this moment. Shangguan Nu,
the man who had slaughtered his entire family, was far away and surrounded
by numerous killers and bandits. Shangguan Fa, the Supreme King and a
superb kung fu master, now lived inside the Inner Residence and was
protected by black-masked assassins.
Deep inside his heart, Gu Shenwei did not want to perish together with his
enemies. He wished that he would live in peace after killing all of them.
Although it was just a dim and distant dream, he still enjoyed imagining it
coming true, since it would make him feel better.
After a long period of indecision, Gu Shenwei finally made up his mind to

visit Immortal Peng again. Although the immortal seemed really weird, he
was still willing to give the immortal Death Scripture in exchange for saving
his life.
Before leaving, he needed to give each of the twins a proper explanation for
his visit to South City. He went to meet Shangguan Ru first. In front of
Master Ru, he exaggerated Guan Houlin's importance and described the
young man as cunning and sinister. He asked her to allow him to investigate
the man carefully in South City. "We can deliver a knockout blow to Master
Fei by defeating Guan Houlin," he said to Master Ru.
After that, he went to visit Shangguan Fei privately. Upon seeing the killer,
Master Fei gave him a good tongue lashing. When he finally calmed down,
Gu Shenwei told him that Shangguan Ru was secretly planning some
conspiracy against him. Gu Shenwei asked Master Fei to give him some time
to figure the whole thing out.
After both of the twins agreed to his requests, he went to discuss with Maid
Lotus and finalized all the details in his plan: Slave Huan would go to deal
with Immortal Peng, and Maid Lotus would cover him from the shadows. He
promised her that once he discovered that Immortal Peng was really capable
of removing the Peripheral Force from him, he would let Maid Lotus receive
the same treatment.
Gu Shenwei went to Joy Pavilion at night. The last time he had visited this
place was one month ago.
He threw a stone at the window on the third floor of the pavilion while
standing on the top of a wall nearby.
Soon, the window was opened, and the old man who was always dressed in a
white robe stuck his head out of it. He stared at the young killer for a while
and then cast down a long chain. Gu Shenwei grabbed it and easily jumped
up into the room through the window, as the old man was helping him by
pulling on the chain at the other end.
Tonight, this place did not look as crowded as before, since there were only
several people inside the room.
"Have you decided?"
Gu Shenwei deliberately ignored the speaker and walked directly to the

screen inside the room. He stopped a few steps away from the screen, put his
saber and sword on the ground and said, "Yes, I've made up my mind, but I
must speak to you in person. Otherwise, I won't give you anything."
Upon hearing his request, everybody inside the room fell silent, which made
Gu Shenwei feel uneasy. "Should I take my words back? Immortal Peng is
not an ordinary person. He'll probably refuse to talk personally to a mortal
man like me." He hesitated for a while, but then he still decided to remain
persistent in his demand.
"Well, I'll talk to you in person."
In the next moment, Immortal Peng's disciples went downstairs one after
another, and the screen slid to one side, revealing the immortal.
Gu Shenwei was speechless. Immortal Peng turned out to be a dwarf, who

was less than one meter tall. His chubby legs and arms made him look like a
baby, but the wrinkles on his forehead indicated that he was indeed an old
man. The immortal was almost bald and had no facial hair, but his eyes were
bright. This made his visage look exceptionally weird. He held a crutch in his
left hand, which was about three times higher than himself. Beside him stood
the child who looked like Chu Yangjun.
"No wonder Immortal Peng refuses to meet anyone. He looks like a cheaply
made, ugly doll," Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
Despite that, he still bowed deeply to the immortal.
"If you want to talk with me, you must let this boy stay here," Immortal Peng
put his right hand on his throat and talked through the child beside him.
"Can you cure my qigong deviation?"
"Yes, I can."
"What do you want from me?"

"I want your swordcraft."
Gu Shenwei felt much relieved after knowing that Immortal Peng did want
Death Scripture, as his scripture was his only bargaining chip during this
negotiation. "Have you heard of my swordcraft?"
"Maha Bodhi, Dajue Book of Swordcraft. I heard about it a long time ago,"
Immortal Peng replied assertedly.
Gu Shenwei could tell that Immortal Peng told him the truth. He guessed that
Maha Bodhi, Dajue Book of Swordcraft might be the original name of Death
Scripture. "I'll give you the scripture after you cure my qigong deviation," Gu
Shenwei said.
Immortal Peng lifted up his crutch and turned one of its ends toward the
killer. Upon seeing that, Gu Shenwei automatically walked forward until he
suddenly felt the end of the crutch against his chest. He was startled and
thought, "Why did I act so credulously."
"Your problem will be solved once you master my secret skills." With these
words, Immortal Peng took back his crutch and closed his eyes.
Gu Shenwei was confused. "What does that mean? Did he agree to my

terms?"
The child who stood beside Immortal Peng stretched out his hand, inviting
the killer to go downstairs. "Let's go to the second floor. The immortal needs
to get some rest now."
This time, the child spoke for himself. This was the first time Gu Shenwei
had heard the boy's own voice. It took him a moment to react. He stared at
Immortal Peng for a while, then picked up his sword and saber and went
downstairs.
The child pushed the screen back to its original place and followed the killer
to the second floor.
As usual, nobody was there on the second floor despite that the many empty
chairs.
The child went to open the window to allow the moonlight in. He then turned
to face the killer and said, "You killed my brother."
"Is Chu Yangjun your brother?" Gu Shenwei asked.
"Yes."
"What's your name?"
"Chu Nanping."
"Well, Chu Nanping, if you want to avenge your brother's death…"
"Why should I avenge his death?" asked Chu Nanping, surprisedly.
Gu Shenwei was stunned, as it was evident that Chu Nanping was not
kidding. "Are you saying that you don't want to kill me to avenge your
brother's death?' he asked in surprise.
"He left Joy Pavilion before he mastered the swordcraft. It's not surprising
that he got killed by you or someone else," Chu Nanping explained.
"What a cold, unfeeling child. I bet the Golden Roc Fort will like him very
much," Gu Shenwei thought to himself. "Alright. Do you come to negotiate
with me on behalf of Immortal Peng?" he asked the boy.
"Yes, the immortal wants your Dajue Book of Swordcraft. He'll teach you
Secrets of Love in exchange for you giving him the book," replied Chu
Nanping.
"Wait, wait. I come here to remove the Peripheral Force from my body, not to
learn some secrets."
"The immortal had already mentioned that your problem will be solved once
you master the Secrets of Love."
"Secrets of Love… What's it?" Gu Shenwei asked while feeling really

worried about himself. He noticed that nearly everybody inside Joy Pavilion
had no facial hair, except for the white-robed old man and a few other guys.
"Secrets of Love sounds like a term referring to some weird tricks of the
castrated in Hope Alley. I don't want to learn such a kind of skill."
"Secrets of Love is a set of advanced kung fu skills."
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei was much relieved.
"Love doesn't only refer to the affection between lovers, friends or relatives.
It's a broad concept. From a Buddhist perspective, human beings and all the
other sentient beings in the world are full of love. Secrets of Love can also be
seen as secrets of the mysterious energy that follows through all the sentient
beings," Chu Nanping explained.
Gu Shenwei was not interested in the doctrines of Buddha, but he was

intrigued when Chu Naning came to the part about how to learn Secrets of
Love. The boy told him that as Secrets of Love could be interpreted in many
different ways, there were 64 different ways to master Secrets of Love and all
the ways lead to mastery of a similar level of kung fu upon completion.
This reminded Gu Shenwei how he and Maid Lotus practiced the swordcraft
in Death Scripture. They had very different opinions on the text of the book
and had no idea who was right and who was wrong. However, that did not
prevent them from improving their sword skills.
Gu Shenwei began to understand why Immortal Peng was interested in Death

Scripture.
What made Secrets of Love different as compared to Death Scripture, which

focused on swordcraft, was that it included various types of kung fu such as
swordcraft, machete skills, unarmed combat techniques, Internal Strength
skills, Lightness Skills and even hidden weapon techniques.
Chu Nanping went on to explain that no matter which kind of kung fu skill
one chose to learn to master Secrets of Love, he had to practice it with a
partner.
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei immediately realized that Ye Silang and Chu
Yangjun were practice partners and they had been practicing the Heartful
Swords skill to master Secrets of Love.
Thinking of those two young men, Gu Shenwei began to worry again. He felt
really uncomfortable picturing himself practicing "Heartful Swords" with
another man.
When Chu Nanping told him that Immortal Peng did not plan to ask him to
practice "Heartful Swords" since his brother and Ye Silang had already tried
it out, he felt greatly relieved.
According to the boy, Immortal Peng intended to try out all the 64 ways and
had found suitable ones to practice nearly all the kung ku skills depicted in
Secrets of Love except for "Emotionless Swords". "The reason that Immortal
Peng hasn't tried out 'Emotionless Swords' is that he couldn't find two
qualified people to practice this sword skill in the past. He got his eyes on
you because of your cold-heartedness," said Chu Nanping.
"If I promise to learn 'Emotionless Swords", whom I'm going to practice this
technique with?" Gu Shenwei asked when he had already guessed the answer.
"Me," replied Chu Nanping.
"How long will it take?"
"That depends. Some people can master it in a few months while others just
can't get it in their whole lives."
"How many years have you practised sword skills?" Gu Shenwei asked Chu
Nanping with an incredulous look on his face. He looked at the boy and said
in his heart, "When I was your age, I only mastered a few workout-type kung
fu routines, which weren't practical in real fights. I don't think that you're
eligible to become my practice partner."
"Three years. You have to learn the basics before practicing 'Emotionless
Swords' with me."
Gu Shenwei snorted in contempt. He was sure that he could defeat any of the
disciples of Immortal Peng during one-on-one combat. He was even
confident to kill the white-robed old man, who had once successfully
snatched his sword from his hand, not to mention this little boy who looked
like a girl.
"You have to enhance your Internal Strength and Lightness Skills first," Chu
Nanping added.
Gu Shenwei was struck speechless by what the boy had just said. He could
not deny that Internal Strength and Lightness Skills were his weaknesses.
After introducing Secrets of Love to the killer, Chu Nanping told the killer
that Immortal Peng wanted him to write down a part of Dajue Book of
Swordcraft every day and to finish the whole book within 30 days.
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei shook his head and said, "I need one year to
write down all the content of the book. Besides, who knows how long it'll
take to master 'Emotionless Swords'."
After bargaining with each other for a long time, the boy and the killer finally
reached an agreement. According to it, Gu Shenwei had to finish writing the
book within 100 days. He was dissatisfied with the outcome of the
negotiation, since deep inside his heart, he did not want to share Death
Scripture with anyone. The longer he practiced the sword technique in the
book, the more he wished to keep it to himself. Sometimes, he even regretted
that he had shown Maid Lotus this book.
Nevertheless, he had no choice but to give Immortal Peng Death Scripture,

since his top priority now was to save his own life.
That night, Gu Shenwei wrote down about several hundred characters for
Immortal Peng, which were the last part of Death Scripture. This part did not
make sense at all, so he decided to give the immortal this part first.
After writing down those characters, he followed Chu Nanping to the room
on the third floor. When they entered the room, Immortal Peng was gone. Gu
Shenwei went over to push the screen closer to the oil lamp so that he and
Chu Nanping could read the characters written on it. They contained the text
of Secrets of Love and a series of explanatory notes.
Compared to Death Scripture, the text of Secrets of Love was much shorter
but much more archaic and abstruse. The notes were the 64 ways to master
Secrets of Love. Gu Shenwei did not have time to read all of them carefully,
so he decided to focus on the part about Emotionless Swords. He asked many
questions about Secrets of Love and Emotionless Swords, and Chu Nanping
answered each of them patiently.
Hearful Swords was entirely opposite to Emotionless Swords. The practice

partners who mastered the former would be able to closely cooperate with
each other during a fight and become an invincible team. However, to master
the latter, the practice partners had to fight each other until one of them was
killed.
"Immortal Peng is right to choose Emotionless Swords technique for Chu

Nanping. To master this swordcraft, he'll have to kill me someday. By doing
so, he'll also avenge his brother's death." With that thought in mind, Gu
Shenwei somehow felt much better being around Chu Nanping.
Chapter 186 - Drinking Tea
Chapter 186: Drinking Tea
Searching for two people who would be willing to learn the Emotionless
Swordsmanship was very hard. Chu Nanping had already turned 11 years old.
Three years ago, she became a servant for the Immortal Peng in her brother's
stead. Since then she had been learning the basics of the Secrets of Love .
After passing many tests, she was then able to become the first candidate for
the Emotionless Swordsmanship.
It took a year to meet the killer Yang Huan.
Stone Castle had many cruel and cold-blooded killers, and South City was
also full of machetemen who killed without batting an eye. However, none of
them were qualified as "heartless."
"Heartless killers kill without bloodlust." A youth, younger than the teenager
Gu Shenwei by many years, named Chu Nanping, was explaining seriously,
"Being heartless, it's natural to kill without mercy, but there is also no feeling
of excitement or joy. To be heartless is to be emotionless."
Gu Shenwei had killed many people due to various reasons, but he had never
become addicted to killing and he even hated the sight of freshly spilled
blood. This "flaw" had never been corrected, but he had never claimed
himself to be "emotionless." He could still feel anger and grief; especially
when it came to the vengeance of his loved ones. This was the complete
opposite for Chu Nanping - this child was even indifferent to the death of his
brother.
"You're just a baby who still needs to learn the ropes." Chu Nanping said
while appearing to be a little saint who had been cultivating in the path of
immortality.
Gu Shenwei's first step to "learning the ropes" was how to drink tea properly.
Joy Pavillion was a teahouse but it was not open to the public. Gu Shenwei
was sitting with 30 other hideous people of the "same sect" and in front of
each person was a cup of tea, with a very strong color, being sipped on so
slowly that it would take about an hour just to finish one cup. These cups
would immediately be refilled by the waiters, and they would drink about 3
to 6 cups a day.
The tea was very bitter, causing Gu Shenwei to almost throw up after his first
sip. However, this was also a part of practicing martial arts; it had to be drunk
with nothing left in the cup. In fact, every mouthful of the tea had to sit in his
mouth until the bitterness receded before he could swallow it.
Everything became different after getting used to the taste of bitterness.
It was as though a bucket of warm water had been poured down from the top
of his head: making his whole body feel light and soft; allowing him to
peacefully breathe; he felt as though he was floating in the air, and his
nervous heart was put completely at ease. At this moment, even if someone
was shouting and cursing from across the room, Gu Shenwei would just react
with a smile.
He was prepared to accept any sorts of teachings, without question and

without fear - he would believe whatever people told him. Suddenly, he heard
a heavenly melody.
The sound was coming from the floor above. It was monotonously weak, so
one had to listen very attentively. The rhythm was quite unique: every hour
would either have intervals as little as a dozen or as many as a few hundred.
Hearing this melody for the first time, Gu Shenwei's heart began to beat
violently and his face flushed blood red. He almost fell off his chair. Chu
Nanping had once informed him of a special method within the "Secrets of
Love," and showed him a unique practice. Though Gu Shenwei did not
understand it at all, he still followed along. To his surprise, his heartbeat
returned to normal.
Gu Shenwei drank a total of three days worth of tea before he managed to
touch the tip of the iceberg that was the path of Drinking Tea kung fu. The
melody was coming from Immortal Peng's walking stick up on the third floor.
To ordinary people, these sounds were just sounds, but to those practicing
Drinking Tea kung fu, these very natural sounds would cause their
acupuncture points to suddenly pulsate.
After his heartbeat was able to keep up with the rhythm of the melody, Gu
Shenwei entered a trance.
Gu Shenwei's first time feeling a pulsation was at the Shaochong acupoint on

his finger. After beating 10 times, it started moving upward in accordance
with the Heart's Meridian along the hands and arms. The number of beatings
at each acupuncture point was different; some beat as little as three or four
times, others as many as a few dozens. After the pulsation ended, he began to
feel his pores open and blood circulate all over his body - as if his acupoints
transformed from ponds to lakes, and his meridians expanded from small
creeks to rivers.
Gu Shenwei had never heard of this practice method for internal strength. He
was feeling curious and uneasy; he felt as if there was a vine from the third
floor crawling down the walls, entangling everyone's legs, wrapping around
the legs of every table, and lastly reaching out its tentacles - drilling into the
hearts of the tea drinkers.
Since his face to face conversation with Immortal Peng, Gu Shenwei had not
seen him. However, with the progress of practicing the Secrets of Love, he
felt some connection with the dwarf. As the vine grew thicker and thicker,
cutting it off would become harder and harder.
Whenever anxiety arose within, the bitter tea would spread pleasant
sensations and cleanse the body of any agitations.
Gu Shenwei was like a disheartened pessimist who would walk step by step
into the deep water, completely aware of the imminent danger, and not stop
himself.
Gu Shenwei spent five days opening the acupoints within the Heart's
Meridian. According to Chu Nanping, this was relatively fast. Next was the
Meridian of the Large Intestines, which only took three days. At last, the
Kidney Meridian took the longest eight days. After one month, he was able to
open all Twelve Primary Meridians.
This was followed by the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, starting from the
Yang Heel Vessel to the Governing Vessel, in which he spent half a month's
time.
When the Eight Extraordinary Meridians communicates with the Twelve

Primary Meridians, the results would then achieve grand circulation. Internal
breathing would flow through all the acupoints without obstructions. Only
two acupoints were the exceptions: the Hundred Meetings and the Jade
Rotator. These two acupoints were occupied by the Peripheral Force and
were not affected by Immortal Peng's melody. There was no response at all.
With basic skills, one could not remove the hidden dangers yet.
As time passed day by day, Gu Shenwei indulged in the bittersweet taste of

the tea. As if addicted, he would feel unpleasant if he did not drink it every
day.
In fact, this practice method was not very important to him. The Peripheral
Force had been limiting his internal energy, and he had already achieved
harmony between the forces within very quickly. He was still able to increase
all of his powers, but the flow of the meridians greatly helped to maintain
internal circulation - just like a horse that runs faster on a flat and wide road
with zero obstructions. Gu Shenwei felt that his reaction time was much
faster than ever before.
The feeling of a light pulsation from the acupoints was wonderful. Gu

Shenwei was experiencing a kind of rebirth. Even if it was useless, he did not
want the feeling to stop.
There was no end to the kung fu of Tea Drinking. After all of the acupoints
open, it would keep repeating until the "path" had been further widened.
Tea Drinking was only one of the basic skills. For the rest of the time, Gu
Shenwei was learning the Lightness Skills from Chu Nanping.
Emotionless Swordsmanship from the "Secrets of Love" had seven different
realms. The first being "Lighter than the Sword," lightness skills were the
most important here and Chu Nanping already accomplished this step. He
was able to run a full circle around the peace trees behind the Joy Pavilion
without his feet ever touching the ground.
Practicing the art of harmony was not very suitable to learn the lightness
skills. Gu Shenwei's progress was very slow. In the first month, he was like a
big clumsy bear chasing a swift little rabbit, thus he was often disdained by
Chu Nanping.
Gu Shenwei felt that it was unfair; his internal strength was far stronger than
this heartless little kid. With such deep roots, how did the leaves on the
branches not flourish?
Only until he directed the blood flow of his lower limbs to the Yang Heel
Vessel to open up this acupoint, was he able to advance by leaps and bounds.
He quickly made his progress and was even able to slightly pass Chu
Nanping.
Heartless Swordsmanship's second realm was "Sword Heavier than

Mountains." Ordinary kung fu teachings usually were "from heavy to
buoyant", but this swordsmanship was the complete opposite, to achieve
"from buoyant to heavy." Chu Nanping was also starting to grasp his stage.
These two "heartless people" finally converged and were able to jointly study
this swordsmanship together.
As time went by, Gu Shenwei was nearing an emotionless state. He had

forgotten the internal struggle between the twins and the Shangguan family,
and he had even forgotten to meet Maid Lotus. He didn't even notice that the
strange words of the Death Scriptures had finished being written, because he
was pouring his heart out practicing the most important part of the sword
book.
He often reminded himself that this was a mutual transaction, remembering

the other purpose of being here. He would occasionally keep a state of peace
in his mind and observed Joy Pavilion, discovering many hidden secrets.
The person in charge of the teahouse was a 30-year-old man, his face was
often covered with a thick layer of powdered makeup, and he had a pair of
naturally dreary eyes. Gu Shenwei had seen him the first time he came to Joy
Pavilion, though he had only recently discovered that his name was Tang Ji.
Tang Ji and the other workers were not kung fu practitioners. Their only duty
was to serve tea, refill tea, and to serve the guests that came to this location
for fortune-telling.
Immortal Peng's fame was not due to his kung fu, but it was due to his
amazing fortune-telling. He would predict 15 people's fortunes every single
day. Appointments had to be made in advance for those who sought their
fortunes to be told. Unfortunately, those who had made appointments would
still have to wait on the second floor that very same day - waiting to be
consulted immediately or even having to wait until night.
The fortune teller was Immortal Peng, but the one who always spoke were
the puppets. Many people did not know this; they all thought that the one
speaking to them was the living God himself. After leaving Hope Valley,
these people vowed to describe the Immortal's appearance to outsiders. As a
result, Joy Pavilion gained a reputation of mysteriousness.
During the process of fortune-telling, Gu Shenwei had gradually figured out

the background of Immortal Peng: he was a top-class master who specialized
in hypnosis. He could not only use his disciples' mouths to speak for him, but
he could also even force those who had come to him to seek their fortunes, to
willingly speak of their past as well as their future wishes. This was how the
reputation of the "Living God" came to pass.
Tea drinking to increase your internal energy was also related to hypnotism.
Those bitter teas can make anyone fall into a state of excitement and
confusion, in which they are more likely to accept the control of Immortal
Peng.
After discovering this, Gu Shenwei became vigilant and feared that, in the
end, he would also unknowingly fall under the control of Immortal Peng and
become one of his puppets.
These concerns were completely unnecessary. Although Gu Shenwei was
drinking his tea in the Joy Pavilion, he was never called to the third floor to
speak for Immortal Peng like one of his puppets. The disciples in the building
were in fact coming and going freely, like Ye Silang who had already left
much earlier. He pretended to have returned from conquering the world and
his name became famous all over Jade City. Joy Pavilion had never actually
provided him help when he was in danger, but they have also never revealed
the truth.
Of the bizarre and disoriented disciples, some were disfigured. Gu Shenwei

did not know their real identities even at the end.
Gu Shenwei completely trusted this transaction; he felt that it was a good

bargain. He also believed that sooner or later, the Baihui and the Xuanji
acupoints would also follow along with the melody and pulsate, and the two
acupoints would be freed of Peripheral Force's influence. As the practitioners
of the Emotionless Swordsmanship had to have one die, in the end, he did not
think about this at all.
Gu Shenwei was already caught deep in the web and gave up all struggles.
This had been his plan since the very beginning. Now, he just needed a
powerful awakening.
Chapter 187 - The Solitary Light
Chapter 187: The Solitary Light
It was impossible for a killer of Golden Roc Fort to 'live in seclusion' in Joy
Pavilion. Just as Gu Shenwei was concentrating on getting his Internal
Energy to flow through all of his meridians for a second time, people and
trouble away from Hope Alley came looking for him.
First, unwelcome visitors who he knew, but had no direct connection to him,
came uninvited to the Pavilion.
They did not recognize him as he had followed the example of those around
him, and disguised himself by drawing many 'wounds' across his face.
They were led by Shangguan Fei's 'military counsellor', Guan Houlin. He

chatted with Tang Ji, the supervisor of the teahouse, for a while, and both
parties ended the conversation on bad terms.
Upon seeing Guan Houlin, Gu Shenwei abruptly remembered that the reason
he had given Shangguan Ru for coming to this place was to investigate Guan
Houlin's background. Fortunately, he quickly got the information he wanted
from the disciples of Immortal Peng. He was familiar with them now, and
they were no different from ordinary people once they were not under
Immortal Peng's control.
According to the disciples, Guan Houlin had wanted to become a disciple of

Immortal Peng when he had been a broke macheteman, but he had been
rejected by the immortal due to his inaptitude. Now, Guan Houlin came back
to Joy Pavilion again as the military counsellor for Shangguan Fei who
owned the largest gang in South City, asking for protection money.
Hope Alley was never any gang's territory. Residents of the alley never
accepted any outsider's protection or pay protection money to anyone. Thus,
Guan Houlin's request was immediately being rejected.
Everyone in Joy Pavilion remained calm and thought of the incident as

trivial. Gu Shenwei felt a little pity for Shangguan Fei. There were many
skilled kung fu masters in the pavilion and Hope Alley, and the Ninth Young
Master would surely lose badly if he came looking for trouble. There was a
reason why the Alley was not under the control of any power in the City.
On an evening in the fourth month of the year, not long after Guan Houlin's
visit to Hope Alley, Gu Shenwei encountered another group of people as he
was practicing kung fu in the peach forest. This time, they came looking for
him specifically.
Gu Shenwei was alone at that time, as Chu Nanping was Immortal Peng's
servant and could only leave when the immortal was resting.
Around eight people dressed in black leapt down from the peach trees in
succession and they each took up different positions around Yang Huan,
surrounding him closely.
Gu Shenwei felt irritated as he looked coldly at these familiar faces, with his
long sword in his hand. He was immersed in the world of sword craft now,
and did not like to be disturbed.
Shangguan Ru walked in a semi-circle around her own subordinate, asking,

"Are you practising swordcraft?"
"Yes, I am," he replied bluntly.
Shangguan Ru had not expected such a reply from him, and was stunned for a
moment. Gu Shenwei was also amazed by his own tone and quickly came to
his senses. He immediately went down onto one knee, released his grip on his
sword, and asked for forgiveness with his head down, "I'm sorry, Master
Ru…"
"How should I explain all of this? " Gu Shenwei thought. He could not think
of any reasonable excuse.
Instead of becoming angry, a look of pity came across Shangguan Ru's face
as she said, "I should have gotten you out sooner, you've fallen for the
'Immortal's Rope'."
"I what?" Gu Shenwei lifted his head in bewilderment.
"The Immortal's Rope is a form of Immortal Peng's sorcery, once you've

fallen for it, you would come to believe anything he says and stay by his side
willingly, never leaving him. Luckily, you haven't been under its influence
for too long, and still can be saved. Leave with me now."
"No, no, I did not fall for the Immortal's Rope, I can leave anytime, but I'm
already so close to…"
Gu Shenwei stopped talking but looked like that he had something to tell the
Tenth Young Master in private. Shangguan Ru waved off the other killers
and got him to stand up and continue talking.
"Immortal Peng can remove the Peripheral Force from my body, and is close
to succeeding."
"You're still not cured of it yet?" It was Shangguan Ru's turn to be amazed.
She thought that Slave Huan had been fully cured of the force after the
Barren Sect was destroyed.
"I thought I was, at that time. It came back again."
"You kept it from me all along."
"There are many things for you to worry about, and I don't wish to add to
your troubles. I thought I could be cured in a few days, and never knew I
would be delayed here for so long."
"I have to remind you that Immortal Peng is highly skilled, but is also very
dangerous. You should be wary of him."
Gu Shenwei was surprised that the Tenth Young Master was not mad at him
for being 'missing in action' for the past two months. He replied, "Yes, I'll
leave Joy Pavilion soon. No one is holding me back. In fact, Ye Silang
walked out of here of his own will too."
Shangguan Ru nodded. She looked as if to be wrestling with her emotions

before sighing and saying to Gu Shenwei, "Fine, stay here for the moment,
but remember what I told you. Once you fall under the influence of the
Immortal's Rope, you'll find a reason to stay here. I believe that what you told
me is true."
Gu Shenwei kneeled again before his master. His reason for staying in Joy
Pavilion was of course genuine. He did not have much time to cure his
qigong deviation now, so he had to stay here to save his own life.
When he lifted his head again, Shangguan Ru had already left.
That day's sword craft practice did not go down smoothly. Gu Shenwei and
Chu Nanping were practicing the second stage of the 'Sword is Heavier than
Mountain' condition, and had each placed a piece of heavy metal flat on their
swords. Not only did they have to channel their Internal Breaths to ensure
that their swords would not break under the pressure, but they had to prevent
the metal pieces from flying off when they brandishing their swords quickly.
Gu Shenwei was not concentrating properly and his sword play was
uncertain. As a result, the metal piece came off his sword continuously.
Although Chu Nanping was younger, he was blunt and did not hold back in
criticising his practice partner. He sheathed his own sword, turned around and
left, while saying, "You're getting emotional. It's a waste of time."
Gu Shenwei was seized by a sudden rage upon being reprimanded by an 11-

year-old child. Without thinking, he picked his sword up and chased after
Chu Nanping. He struck at Chu's neck when he was close behind.
He was not using the Emotionless Sword technique but rather sword craft
from the Death Scripture. It was the kung fu that Gu Shenwei was most
familiar with, and he could always kill his target with it.
This time though, he would be disappointed.
While the tip of Gu's sword was still one foot away from its target, Chu
Nanping had already turned around, and struck out with his own sword. Gu
Shenwei was forced to retreat, and was left standing against the trunk of a
tree, with the young child's sword held against his chest.
The Death Scripture taught to strike with only a blow, and if it failed, the
opponent would have the upper hand.
"Rage is also an emotion, therefore to be emotionless you cannot be angry.

What's the matter with you today?"
Gu Shenwei pushed Chu Nanping's sword away and walked out of the peach
forest without saying a word. He needed time to think alone.
He had only begun to notice after so long that Secrets of Love and Death
Scripture were two completely different types of kung fu. The former was
grand and encompassed many variations, while the latter was subtle and
taught to strike with only one blow. Without him noticing, his original kung
fu had been weaker after he had begun to practice the Emotionless
Swordsmanship.
Gu Shenwei was walking aimlessly towards the outskirts of Hope Alley, and
started feeling frustrated after a short while. As he looked back, he saw a
solitary light in the room on the third floor of Joy Pavilion. He felt a sudden
impulse to look for Immortal Peng directly. He wanted to know why the
immortal was interested in the Death Scripture when the scripture was
obviously the direct opposite of Secrets of Love.
Gu Shenwei continued walking forward. Even though his sword craft had
become weaker, his Lightness Skill had improved and his walking speed had
greatly increased. Soon enough, he was already out of Hope Alley, and it was
the first time he had entered a different region of South City after learning
Secrets of Love.
There seemed to be no change to the streets, except that the snow had already
melted off and they had become dirtier.
He met Maid Lotus in a room at the backyard of the Southwall Tavern. She
had come to the peach forest with the Tenth Young Master to see him
previously, but did not have a chance to speak to him then.
"What went wrong?"
Maid Lotus' tone was always calm as still water, but this time, a hint of
concern came from her voice. Slave Huan was supposed to meet up with her
once every three days, according to the original plan, but this was the first
time they had met at the pre-determined location in two months. She had
watched him from afar while silently in hiding many times, but had never
shown herself before.
"I don't know."
Gu Shenwei's restlessness was more evident the farther he was away from
Joy Pavilion. It was as if there were a murder of crows nesting in his heart
and were flying in all directions as they sensed impending doom. He wanted
to return to his place of quiet and peace.
He slumped down, surprised at and despising his own weakness.
Maid Lotus came towards him and placed a palm on his shoulder. "I'll help
you," she said gently.
Gu Shenwei lifted his head to look at the teenage woman whom he was most
familiar with. He was surprised that her voice could sound so sweet. Even
though he did not drink, he felt intoxicated by these four simple words she
said.
Before being aware of his actions, he had already wrapped his arms around
her waist and placed his face on her flat lower abdomen, keeping silent.
Maid Lotus was surprised and lifted her hand, seeming to want to push Gu
Shenwei away. At last, however, she rested her hand on his head, lightly
caressing it. After a while, she said to him, "Tell me everything."
Gu Shenwei felt much calmer when he made his return to Joy Pavilion. He
had also felt a tinge of guilt, as he was never so intimate with a woman
before. This made him question himself as to whether he was still a killer.
Maid Lotus had recorded with brush and paper as he dictated to her the
detailed process of his training, and also what he remembered of Secrets of
Love. However, he did not have complete memory of it, as out of all 64
different techniques, he had only scrutinised the Heartless Swords technique.
Gu Shenwei felt that he had gained a new form of strength, and that he could
use it to counter Immortal Peng's sorcery, no matter whether it was called
hypnosis or the Immortal's Rope.
He did not return to his room which was near Joy Pavilion to rest, but went to
the empty Pavilion, walking up the stairs with big steps.
The solitary light on the third level was still burning brightly. He drew the
screen closer to the light and read every word on it carefully.
There was no doubt about the fact that 64 different methods of practicing the
Secrets of Love meant that it comprised of 64 different kung fu techniques. If
Death Scripture was just different to practioners of different ways of
interpretation and different skill levels, the Secrets of Love was like a huge
melting pot comprising of everything.
Unknowingly, he was fascinated again with the Heartless Swords technique

portion.
The technique consisted of seven different states: Becoming Lighter than the
Sword, the Sword is Heavier than the Mountain, Becoming One with the
Sword, Intention Follows the Movement of the Sword, Heart and Intent are
One, Containing Emotion in the Heart and Not Allowing Emotions in the
Heart. Each state dealt with a different type of kung fu, targeting the
practioner's Lightness Skill, strength, speed, concentration, reaction, killing
intent and determination. In the end, one would become an extension of one's
sword when striking.
Gu Shenwei never considered the final stage of practising this sword craft
technique. He was a 'heartless person', and had to be decisive and firm.
"Do not control your feelings, unleash them. Those are a redundant part of
your heart, therefore expose it and then remove it. To be heartless you need
to love first, by killing off the love in your heart, is to become heartless," Gu
Shenwei muttered to himself.
He was aware that he had said these words involuntarily without any thought.
Gu Shenwei had not noticed that the short Immortal was not more than 10
steps away from him, tall crutch in hand.
"How did Ye Silang leave Joy Pavilion?" croaked Gu Shenwei. It was as if he

had lost control of his vocal chords and had to expend much effort to use
them.
He then answered his own question in a voice that was slightly stiff.
However, he spoke fluently, telling a story that he himself had never heard
before.

Chapter 188 - Trembling
Chapter 188: Trembling
Ye Silang had escaped from the clutches of Immortal Peng, not because he
possessed extraordinary willpower, but because he quitted before completing
his training.
Both the Heartful and Emotionless Sword techniques comprised of seven

stages, and both Ye Silang and Chu Yangjun had stopped learning after
mastering the fourth stage. Therefore, even though their sword craft was very
good, it was still far from the very best. They would not have fallen under the
killer's sword if they had mastered all seven stages of their training.
As with Gu Shenwei, Ye Silang had already been trained in other forms of

kung fu before coming under Immortal Peng's tutelage. Ye Silang had always
been tied down by worldly concerns and had left the pavilion once he felt that
his sword craft was good enough for him to survive in jianghu, on the pretext
that he would return after his travels. Instead, he had returned to North City.
Immortal Peng did not agree that he had made any of his disciples stay
behind against their own will. "What influenced them to stay was their love
for kung fu and not me. The scope of Secrets of Love is so wide that anyone
who starts learning it would become obsessed. Ye Silang's lack of willpower
ruined himself and Chu Yangjun as well. Without his practice partner, Chu
Yangjun's sword craft could not improve further. They could well have
finished mastering the seventh stage before leaving the pavilion; if they did,
no one would have been able to kill them."
"Did anyone finish mastering the seventh stage?"
"Yes, there was more than one person who did, and all of them have left the
Joy Pavilion."
"So, I can leave any time I want to?"
"Of course, no one is stopping you."
"I can do anything I want?"
"Yes, you're free to do so."
"I'm free to do so," said Gu Shenwei to himself.
As Gu Shenwei felt more doubtful, he decided to test Immortal Peng's

credibility.
He drew his sword and came at the immortal with the Death Scripture
technique.
Gu Shenwei was confident that his stroke embodied the highest standard of
sword craft he could produce. He was truly emotionless and there was
nothing holding him back - he only thought of killing his opponent. However,
he would be surprised at what came next. There were many other types of
kung fu which exceeded his imagination existed in the world, and he was too
confident of his own abilities.
The thrust should have struck the immortal on his neck, but it was blocked by
the huge metal dragon head on his crutch; Gu Shenwei was unable to move
his sword forward by the least bit. He swore that he had not taken his eyes off
the immortal, yet he could not catch the latter's movements.
Death Scripture taught to strike only with one blow, and as it was Gu
Shenwei's second unsuccessful attempt to hit his opponent, the damage done
to his body was much more serious. The Internal Breath which was
channelled onto his sword flowed back into his body. He felt as if a huge tide
had come gushing back into him.
It froze him to his spot for a moment, with his sword in hand. Then, he began
staggering backwards, feeling nauseous with each step. Luckily, there was no
vomitus coming out of his mouth. He could only stabilise himself upon
leaning against the walls. His insides were churning and he could not
straighten himself up for a long while.
"This is the seventh stage."
As Gu Shenwei's Internal Breath finally stabilised, Immortal Peng started to

speak through him again.
Gu Shenwei was speechless. Previously, he had only learnt sword craft meant
for killing, and this was the first time that he saw kung fu that granted the
practitioner a wider range of skills - Immortal Peng seemed to be able to do
whatever he wished.
He was still a little indignant, so he shut his eyes and made a second thrust at
the immortal.
He could sense Immortal Peng's living energy very clearly, it was like an
unmoving mass in front of him. The flaws in his stance were also very
obvious to Gu Shenwei, even more so than a normal opponent. He seemed to
have given up resistance and was waiting for the fatal blow to be struck.
Still, Gu Shenwei missed.
It was unbelievable to him. The distance between him and the immortal
remained at around 10 steps, no matter what he did. It was just the right
distance for his blows to miss their target; it negated the many flaws in the
immortal's stance. The weird thing was that he did not feel that the immortal
was dodging him, it seemed as if he himself was retreating.
Gu Shenwei gave up and drew down his sword. He opened his eyes and
spoke hoarsely, "I want to master the technique up till its seventh stage."
Immortal Peng reached his crutch out and touched the killer's shoulder with
it. He had demonstrated a level of kung fu that was so great it could grant its
practitioner the ability to kill as he or she wished as well and to tackle
multiple opponents at once.
Gu Shenwei felt like a blind man who was, with external aid, able to see for
an instant; he could never go back to live in the dark anymore and would give
anything for the ability to see again.
Hypnotism played only a minor part in influencing Gu Shenwei to make up

his mind to stay behind and master all seven stages of the Emotionless
Swords technique. To him now, it was a hundred times better than the sword
craft from Death Scripture. With it, he would no longer need to plot behind
the scenes to get his revenge. Once he had mastered the technique, all of the
Shangguan Family would be sitting ducks for him to strike down at ease.
After Immortal Peng left, Gu Shenwei stood in front of the screen and studied
the words of the Emotionless Swords technique with unbridled passion. It
was only when dawn came that he could collect himself.
Even though he had previously promised Maid Lotus that he would memorise
all the content of Secrets of Love, he had been enthralled by the Emotionless
Swords technique all night, and did not have the mind to memorise any other
content other than that.
After his meeting with the immortal, he was spurred on to train even harder
than Chu Nanping. Finally, there was camaraderie between both 'Heartless
Men' and they pushed each other on. Their skill in sword craft increased
swiftly, and it was not long before they had progressed from the second to the
fourth stage - 'The Sword Moves as Intended'. Their concentration had also
increased tremendously, and they cared for nothing other than their swords.
At the end of the 100th day, Gu Shenwei had already completed inscribing
Death Scripture, but there were still remnants of the Peripheral Force left in
his body. However, he did not think much about it. He was pre-occupied with
improving his sword craft and to master all seven stages of the Emotionless
Swords technique. He wanted to reach the immortal's level of kung fu.
That said, both he and Chu Nanping were unable to break through to the fifth
stage, no matter how hard they tried. One night during the end of Spring, they
decided to seek the advice of the immortal.
Immortal Peng only gave them a few words of advice. "The first four stages
of Secrets of Love train your body, while the rest trains your heart. The
reason both of you haven't made any breakthrough is that there are still
obstacles in your heart holding you back. The only way is to kill it off."
He left the two practice partners to think it over. Chu Nanping seemed to
know that they would be facing such a problem sooner or later, and it was as
though he was waiting for this moment to tell his partner, "We have to kill
someone whom we do not wish to."
Gu Shenwei also came to the same conclusion about the immortal's advice. It
was stated very clearly in the text of the Emotionless Swords technique, and
they had avoided the inevitable until now.
"Who is the person I don't wish to kill the most?" thought Gu Shenwei. The
first person that came to his mind was Shangguan Ru, but he quickly pushed
that thought aside. As a member of the Shangguan family, she was on his kill
list. Finally, he came to the conclusion that there was only one person he did
not wish to kill - Maid Lotus.
Just the thought of killing her personally gave him goosebumps. She was his
only loyal supporter, and by killing her, it would mean he would forever be
alone, without anyone he could trust.
However, this was the essence of the Emotionless Swords technique.
Still, he made up his mind to do it. Chu Nanping seemed to have decided
earlier than him that he would also follow through with the plan. The both of
them parted ways in the peach forest, each looking to kill someone dear to
them.
Gu Shenwei felt a little curious as to who his practice partner would kill. Chu
Nanping had been conditioned to be emotionless at a young age and did not
seem to have any feelings for anyone.
The moment of curiosity soon passed, and he re-focused on his own plan.
Maid Lotus was no easy target. She was also skilled in the swordcraft from
Death Scripture, and would be sure to not hesitate when striking, what with
her strong killing intent. As for himself, he was stuck in the learning stage of
the Emotionless Swords technique and his original skills had diminished. It
was an embarrassing situation for him, and he was not sure whether he would
be Maid Lotus' match.
Thus, he decided that he could only leverage on her trust in him and
assassinate her.
Gu Shenwei walked determinedly to his rendezvous point. He paid no

attention to the sounds of the street around him. The commotion from the
taverns, the laughter from the brothels and the noise from the gambling dens
all did not affect him in the least bit.
He saw the light coming from her room in the backyard of Southwall Tavern
as he approached.
Gu Shenwei observed from the roof of the opposite room, going through his
plan for assassination again mentally.
"It's my own choice," he said to himself in his heart without any reason. He
leapt down the roof and approached her door, knocking twice.
Maid Lotus was examining what he had written down of Secrets of Love
from his last visit. Since that time, he did not meet up with her once every
three days according to plan, and it made her increasingly worried. She had
thus wished to discover the loopholes in Immortal Peng's sorcery from the
manual.
She was surprised by his visit out of the blue, and could sense a slight
difference in him. She could not describe it but felt that he looked a little off
color even though he did not seem to be under anyone's control.
She went straight to the point as usual. "Immortal Peng's kung fu seems to be
a little weird."
"Is that so?" replied Slave Huan indifferently. It seemed as if he was pre-
occupied with other thoughts and was not interested in the statement made by
Maid Lotus.
She turned and stared at him. The feeling of peculiarity he brought with him
grew by the minute. Physically, he looked unchanged, yet she felt he had
become a different person. His reply made him seem like a stranger, and the
rapport which they had was not present today. It made her seem as though
she was being overly close to him.
"Have you come to kill me?"
Her words came like a sharp arrow and pierced through all his thoughts. He
trembled slightly and shifted his right hand to the shaft of his sword. This was
the prime opportunity to strike, but instead he spoke. "I… don't know."
Maid Lotus turned her gaze back to the manual. She had already found a big
flaw in Secrets of Love and hoped it would help Slave Huan snap back to
reality. He had been over confident of his ability to resist the immortal's
charms and had fallen under his influence. She would show him the truth
about that dwarf.
"Consider it carefully."
Her calmness was an antidote to his enchantment and made him come back to
his senses. He shook even harder, and his hand could not even hold on to the
sword shaft. He sat down on the chair and held his head in his arms. He
wished that he could come up with something, anything, but at that moment
he could only feel his head hurting.
The light flickered in the room, as the sounds of enjoyment from the tavern
slowly came to nothing. They did not speak to each other for a long while.
"I won't kill you," he finally said, his voice steady but his mind still
undecided. Part of him still wanted to kill this teenage girl in front of him to
master the Emotionless Sword technique, which he now believed was the
best sword craft in the entire world. He did not notice that he was
unconsciously clenching and unclenching his fist. His sword shaft not one
feet away seemed to calling for his grasp.
Maid Lotus turned to face him, the manual in her hands. "Immortal Peng is a
charlatan, and you fell for his lies."
"What?"
"There are no 64 methods of training. Although both Secrets of Love and the
Emotionless Swords techniques are real, they are not connected with each
other. Do you understand? What he means by 64 different methods of
training just means 64 different types of kung fu. These different types of
kung fu are not similar at all. The Secrets of Love is just an Internal Strength
technique and the other kung fu skills don't serve as a way of interpreting it."
Gu Shenwei went from a state of blankness to confusion. "But the seven

stages…"
The Emotionless Swords technique is indeed a good kung fu technique, but

how can it be compared to Death Scripture? You've been tricked. The
immortal has offered the least he could in exchange for your most prized
skill."
She suddenly struck at Slave Huan with her sword, and her killing intent
enveloped the entire room.
Chapter 189 - The Killing of the
Immortal
Chapter 189: The Killing of the Immortal
Gu Shenwei did not expect Maid Lotus to make the first move. He
instinctively drew his sword to counter-attack, but he was already stabbed in
the chest before he could complete his move.
Her sword entered his chest by a few inches, and was close to his heart.
"Now, do you understand?" Maid Lotus asked as she kept her sword. She had
examined the Secrets of Love thoroughly but had only touched on the
Heartless Swords technique out of the 64 types of kung fu. As such, she was
not completely sure of her deduction, but she had to look confident as it was
the only chance for her to let Slave Huan see the truth.
Gu Shenwei sheathed his sword as well. He looked pale as a ghost, and felt as
though a worm was crawling inside his heart, trying to burrow out of its
cocoon. "Why? Why did I not see it before?"
"You cannot be blamed, the Immortal's Rope has enchanted more than a few
people. Not many can escape from the Immortal's clutches once he has talked
about his visionary theories. Even somebody like me, who has never met
him, had to spend a long time before I could spot any loopholes in it."
"So there aren't 64 methods of training?"
"Of course not, it's just a wild theory thrown around by him. Even if there are
different methods of training in a type of kung fu, they would end up serving
the same purpose. There could never be a mix of sword craft, machete
technique and boxing skills in just one type of kung fu."
Maid Lotus' explanation was very easy to understand, yet Gu Shenwei was at
a loss. He was starting to see the truth.
The Immortal was indeed a great hypnotist. His words and teachings were
mainly true, but a small part of the key points were not. It had convinced Gu
Shenwei to go against his better judgement and unknowingly, he had fallen
into the Immortal's trap.
"The Heartless Swords technique… is not invincible?"
Maid Lotus laughed coldly. She knew that she could not make him snap out
of his funk just by talking. She drew her sword again and pointed it at his
chest, saying sternly, "I did not use all of my skills just now. Look at you,
thinking that your sword craft has improved by leaps and bounds. Now, you
are just a pawn to the Immortal. Think about Ye Silang, if there was indeed a
set of sword craft that would make its practitioner undefeatable, would he
have given up halfway?"
Gu Shenwei got up abruptly. "I'm leaving," he said.
"Are you up to it?," Maid Lotus asked.
He nodded his head, opened the door and stepped out into the night.
She sheathed her sword again. It was useless to try to make him stay. He
would have to come to his senses on his own anyway.
Gu Shenwei returned to the third storey of the Joy Pavilion. He noticed that
there was someone there, reading the texts on the screen.
It was Chu Nanping. He was staring at the screen fixatedly, while mumbling
to himself and drawing in the air with his fingers.
So, he did not kill someone that he 'did not want to kill' too, thought Gu
Shenwei.
He felt a little sympathy for the child, but nothing beyond that. Even though
they were practice partners, they seldom interacted beyond their practice
sessions. They had not reached the stage where they were able to trust each
other yet.
Gu Shenwei stood behind Chu Nanping as he quickly gave the entire Secrets
of Love a look once again. He could not control himself and let out a chuckle
as he thought about how true Maid Lotus was. Also, the text containing the
so-called 64 different methods of training were badly grafted onto the main
body of the Secrets of Love. He was sure that he would have spotted it if he
had studied the content on the screens without any 'guidance' from the
Immortal.
In truth, there were more than ten types of different kung fu techniques and
each of them was top notch. If he had not already learned the Death Scripture,
he was sure that he would have been drawn to them. He realised that he had
made a grave error in giving away the Death Scripture so easily to the
Immortal.
However, he kept some of its contents secret from Immortal Peng - the 29
diagrams. He had memorised them by heart, but did not draw them out for
the Immortal. This was done as he could not draw, and it was also a strategy
that he and Maid Lotus had come up with together. They wanted to beat the
Immortal at his own game.
Gu Shenwei chuckled again. As he tilted his head towards his practice

partner, he realised that Chu Nanping was staring at him angrily. He was
extremely unhappy with Gu Shenwei for breaking his concentration, and
showed hostility towards him. He had forgotten that to be emotionless, one
could not be angry.
"I am going to rest, continue studying and train at your own pace," said Gu
Shenwei flippantly.
He turned and walked down the stairs, returning to his room to sleep.
Chu Nanping sensed that there was something not right with the mocking and
sarcastic tone of his practice partner. However, he was soon drawn back
towards the contents on the screen, and resumed studying the words
carefully. He did not know what had gone wrong, and why he was unable to
strike.
As Gu Shenwei fell asleep, it was very clear that he only wanted one thing. I
cannot let the Immortal get the Death Scripture so easily. I'll make that dwarf
pay, he thought to himself.
However, when dawn arrived, he soon became unsure again. He had indeed
got some benefits from listening to the Immortal. The meridians across his
entire body were now functioning better than before, and the most obvious
improvement was to his Lightness Skill. He had even circumvented the
inherent vice of his family's Internal Strength technique, and was able to scale
the walls easily now.
Even though the Immortal's theory of the 64 different training methods was a
lie, the techniques by themselves were truly top notch. There was also no
question about Ye Silang and Chu Yangjun's high level of sword craft - if
Maid Lotus had not worked with him, he would not have been their match.
He was also sure that he was no match for many skilled denizens in the Joy
Pavilion, even before he had fallen under the influence of the Immortal. And
he did not even have to consider the skill level of the Immortal himself. The
dwarf had achieved perfection with his kung fu, and Gu Shenwei did not
even notice when he had moved during their previous encounter.
Who could say that the seventh stage of the Heartless Swords technique
would not be equal to the Death Scripture? He thought.
Gu Shenwei stuck to his routine of waking up early to practice sword craft in

the peach forest with Chu Nanping. Neither of them mentioned their failure
to kill the previous night. After the practice session had concluded, they had
their breakfast, and the boy went up to serve Immortal Peng while the youth
remained on the first storey, sipping his tea.
I have to wait for a better opportunity, if I make my move on Immortal Peng

now, it will be to my disadvantage. It wasn't an illusion when he showed me
that his level of kung fu was much higher than mine, he thought.
However, Maid Lotus' admonishment that he had been tricked kept replaying
in his mind. He now has an image of her as a stern teacher nagging at him
continuously. Gradually, he grew angrier as he thought about her. He began
considering how he would kill his only trustworthy companion again.
After making up his mind, he returned to sipping his tea and enjoyed the
pleasure of having his acupoints beating along with the percussion
instruments.
He had fallen into the Immortal's trap again. It was not until it was nearly
evening when he changed his mind again.
His Baihui and Xuanji acupoints had beat at the same time, something which
had not happened before.
In the past, when he channelled his Internal Breath throughout his meridians
while drinking tea, there was no reaction from these two acupoints. He had
also never experienced two acupoints beating at the same time before.
As the sounds from the percussion instruments stopped, the two acupoints
kept beating as if they were two miniature drums. They belonged to the Ren
and Du meridians and soon enough, all acupoints along these two meridians
were beating. Before the next round of sounds came from the percussion
instruments, all of the acupoints along Gu Shenwei's twelve meridians and
eight extra meridians were beating as if they were insects jumping in a hot
wok.
As the acupoints on his body kept beating, the Internal Breath in his Dantian
circulated so quickly as if it were a wild horse which had just broken free
from its reins. It had completed a grand circulation in no time.
Gu Shenwei tried to stabilise himself with great effort, placing all of his
weight on his right palm which was on the table. He could see about 10 or so
denizens looking alarmingly at him. He knew that something extraordinary
must have happened to his appearance.
He was unaware that he was shaking so violently that the fake scars that he
had pasted onto his face came falling off, and he had reverted to his original
appearance. His face turned red and pale alternatively. It was no wonder that
the others were looking at him.
The sounds of the percussion instruments began again after half an hour, and
all but his Baihui and Xuanju acupoints stopped beating with it. However, the
speed at which they were beating at was slowing down at last.
Gu Shenwei had broke out a sweat and soaked several layers of his clothing.
He stood up and began walking up the stairs briskly. No one was sure what
he planned on doing.
The second storey of the Pavilion was already empty, and the last visitor who
had come to have his fortune told was already heading downstairs. He was
shaking his head and muttering to himself, "This is amazing. Things are
going to get better."
Gu Shenwei made way for the visitor and continued up towards the third
storey. The eight puppets who usually spoke on behalf of the Immortal were
seated at different positions and were unmoved by the sudden appearance of
the youth. They looked like life-like wax figures.
At this moment, the screen was pushed away and the real Immortal Peng
appeared.
Chu Nanping acted as the Immortal's mouthpiece and spoke, "You're courting
your own death."
The dwarf had already sensed the youth's killing intent, even though others
who were present had no idea what the youth was planning to do.
The Immortal's disciples who were drinking tea at the first storey realised
something was amiss when the last few percussive sounds did not come.
They swarmed up the stairs and formed a semi-circle in front of the Immortal.
They looked at the youth in horror. There were always people who came and
went from the Pavilion, but no one has ever dared to challenge the Immortal.
Gu Shenwei remained silent. He never liked talking too much when he was
on a killing mission.
The beatings of his Baihui and Xuanji acupoints were gradually slowing
down, and the moment to strike was slipping away from him.
His blow was simple and ungrand. No one would have thought that it would
manage to hit a top notch martial arts master like the Immortal himself.
Yet, it hit its intended target. The Immortal threw his crutch away and
pressed his fat and tender hands against his neck. There was no blood that
was gushing out yet, but his hands would turn red very soon.
"It's impossible!" exclaimed Chu Nanping. He spoke of his own accord,

startled by what he had just seen. He kneeled down and supported the dwarf,
who was going to fall.
More than ten disciples were stunned and looked as if they had just seen the
sky fall down. Some of them sat lifelessly on the floor while the others wiped
off their disguises. As Gu Shenwei saw their true faces for the first time, he
realised that most of them were not as ugly as they made themselves up to be.
There were even familiar faces amongst them.
The Immortal was still alive, but had lost his ability of ventriloquism. He
looks like he is full of rage and bewilderment. He could not understand why
he was defeated by the youth.
"I have forgotten all of the kung fu that you have taught me."
Even Chu Nanping, who was fully aware of the deal that the youth made with
Immortal Peng, could not understand the real meaning behind Gu Shenwei's
words.
Only Immortal Peng understood what he meant. His eyeballs looked as if

they would have leapt out of their sockets. He released his bloodied hand
from his neck and tried to grasp at the youth. However, his body failed him
and he sagged down on his servant's arm. Soon, he stopped moving.
As Gu Shenwei looked at the dwarf's corpse, he felt relieved. His Baihui and
Xuanji acupoints were not beating anymore. The Peripheral Force in his body
used to carry the danger of qigong deviation, but it had saved him at his most
dire moment.
The evil secrets of the Barren Sect was so potent that it had prevented another
force from controlling its host.
Immortal Peng died as a result of his own treachery.
Gu Shenwei's level of kung fu had diminished greatly when he started

practicing the Secrets of Love and the Heartless Swords techniques; likewise,
the Immortal's skills had become much lower when he began practicing the
Death Scripture. He had not noticed this change in himself, and it led to his
own death at the hands of the youth.
As Gu Shenwei turned to face the panic-stricken disciples, he noticed that a

number of them showed an obvious desire to kill him.
The youth had rid himself of all distracting thoughts, and was back to being a
killer again.
Chapter 190 - Drawing the Snake
Out
Chapter 190: Drawing the Snake Out
The first to react was an old man with a long beard that was in a white robe.
He took out his long chain as he shouted at Gu Shenwei, looking agitated.
"You killed the Immortal!"
Gu Shenwei convinced himself that he was mostly right to have wanted to

stay at the Pavilion. He had not come out empty-handed from his deal with
the Immortal. His ability to channel the Internal Breath and the Lightness
Skill had both increased greatly, further increasing his confidence in the
sword craft that he learned from the Death Scripture.
Self-confidence was the the most important pre-requisite to kill in one blow.
"He is a fake immortal," said Gu Shenwei as he walked up to the screen,

looking at its contents. "These so-called 64 methods of training are not even
the equal of a single supreme technique."
He knocked the screen down with force, smashing it into pieces.
This act enraged the other disciples and soon enough, they drew out their
weapons. Although the Immortal was dead, they were still living under the
illusion that everything he said was the truth.
Gu Shenwei stood tall and faced all of them with his sword drawn. Even
though he had come up with a plan to kill the Immortal, he was not sure as to
how he would deal with all these highly skilled disciples.
At this point in time, he had only thought about killing. He had been caught
in the Immortal's web of deceit for more than a hundred days. Now that he
had snapped out of his funk, he wanted to kill to satiate his anger.
"He is right," said someone from the crowd. It turned out that the youth had
his own supporters.
It was none other than Tuo Nengya. There were still some remnants of his
disguise on his face. He stepped forward and spoke up for Gu Shenwei, "The
Immortal was deceiving all of us all this while. We do not need his advice to
learn all these kung fu."
"Both of you know nothing," said the old man in the white robe. He was even
more agitated than before. "So what if he deceived us? It was his way of
getting us to concentrate on our training. Without his aid, how could we have
learned more complex kung fu techniques?"
Everyone who fell for the Immortal's hypnosis had their own reasons to
believe him, and they would not be swayed easily.
Tuo Nengya had left his signature twin scimitars behind when he went
undercover in the Joy Pavilion. He drew his machete and prompted Gu
Shenwei to escape. "Leave, what are you still staying behind for?" he said to
the youth.
Gu Shenwei walked towards the edge of the window. He did not understand
why Tuo Nengya wanted to help him, but it was the right moment for him to
escape. The disciples were still in a state of shock and disarray. If he
continued to stay, he could have to deal with all of them at the same time.
The old man's long chain flew towards Gu Shenwei. It was the same exact
move which the old man had used to snatch his sword away before. However,
he was no longer the killer that came a few months ago. Even though the
level of his sword craft had not improved much, his reaction time and agility
was much better. Furthermore, his action of walking towards the window was
just a feint.
He could not leave the Pavilion before destroying the copy of the Death
Scripture that he had given to the Immortal.
Gu Shenwei did not jump out of the window as the long chain drew nearer to
him. Instead, he took a huge step back and landed on the soft couch. He
snatched the dwarf's body away from Chu Nanping and lifted it up, shouting,
"No one is to come near me!"
Even though the Immortal was dead, his sacred standing in their hearts was
not diminished. They gave off cries of alarm and were unsure of the youth's
intentions. They took one step forward and two steps backwards in unison,
worried that the youth would desecrate the Immortal's corpse.
Gu Shenwei shifted towards the window again, throwing a glance at Tuo

Nengya, hinting at him that they should leave together.
Tuo Nengya moved towards the window as well.
"Leave the Immortal's body behind!" someone shouted in grief and

indignation.
As he lifted the corpse with one hand, his other hand was already searching
the body. Soon, he found what he was looking for. The Death Scripture was
too important to the Immortal and it did not take a genius to guess that he
would have carried it with himself.
"You can have it back," said Gu Shenwei as he tossed the corpse towards the
disciples.
He then leapt out of the window along with Tuo Nengya. They landed on the
high wall, and went over it into the peach forest. They only stopped after
running for several miles, leaving the peach forest behind them.
They were surrounded by the wilderness now. They had to make a big cirle
around before they could return to Jade City.
All the denizens of the Joy Pavilion were mourning the passing of the
Immortal, with the exception of one person. He remained in close pursuit of
Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei was a little surprised to see Chu Nanping. He told the boy, "You
are a 'heartless person', therefore there is no need for you to exact revenge on
the behalf of the Immortal."
Chu Nanping looked as callous as usual. He replied, "I'm not here for
revenge."
"What are you here for then?"
"We have not completed our mastery of the Heartless Swords technique."
To Gu Shenwei who is now free from the Immortal's influence, Chu Nanping
is now just a child and had no right to rebuke him. He unsheathed his sword
and looked coldly at Chu Nanping's short figure. "I already have my own set
of sword craft. It allows me to kill, and I do not have the need to continue
learning whatever heartless or emotional sword craft. Find your own private
place to continue practicing. If you have yet to free yourself from the
Immortal's lies after a few years, come find me to take revenge on his behalf.
Better yet, if you are already of clear mind, you can also look for me to seek
justice for your brother's death. I'll be ready for you."
Chu Nanping remained silent and looked at Gu Shenwei without flinching. It

was as if he could not understand the words of an adult. When he finally
spoke, he stuck to the same topic. "We'll soon be learning the fifth stage -
within three days, I'll be sure to kill someone that 'I do not wish to kill'."
"Then go, and return after you have done so."
Chu Nanping nodded solemnly and walked back towards the peach forest.
Gu Shenwei did not care who the boy wanted to kill. He only wanted to get
rid of Chu Nanping.
He turned his attention to Tuo Nengya. "You saved my life, but I have
nothing to repay you with," said Gu Shenwei bluntly to the old macheteman.
He was a killer, and did not know how to show his gratitude.
"Hey, even if I had not stepped out, you would have been able to escape on
your own. That lot would have come to their senses after a while. I followed
you out for another reason." Tuo Nengya understood the mentality of a killer
and played down his role in the escape.
"You still wish to take revenge for the Eldest Young Master."
"It's my duty. I was so close to paying off my debt to him, but then he was
found murdered. I don't have any another choice, other than to avenge him."
"Are you aware that I also contributed to his death?"
"I'll pick someone my own size. You are just a killer, a knife for hire if you
will. Why would I seek revenge from a mercenary?"
"The Ninth Young Master is no 'soft target' as well."
"Who I get my revenge from is my own business. Tell the Tenth Young
Master that I mean her no harm. If she wishes to revive the Kun Society, I
can help her. My contacts with machetemen do not amount to only the 20 or
so which I brought previously."
"You do not need get involved in the matters of the Ninth and Tenth Young
Master." Gu Shenwei held onto his sword shaft as he retreated. He had many
reasons to wish for the twins to not fight amongst themselves.
"You don't command me. If you wish to stop me, now is the time to do so."
The old macheteman replied, his hand on the hilt of his machete as well.
Gu Shenwei continued retreating. He left Tuo Nengya with a few parting

words as he turned and returned to Jade City. "Next time then. You better
have more men with you."
When he was sure that he was alone, Gu Shenwei took out the stack of paper
that he had retrieved from the Immortal's corpse. It was indeed his copy of
the Death Scripture Just as he was about to tear it into pieces, he noticed that
there were some tiny scribblings on the white spaces of the notes.
It seemed that Immortal Peng had made his own notations on some parts of
the Scripture.
It was getting darker and harder for him to read. Reluctantly, Gu Shenwei
kept the notes again.
As he walked down the dirty streets of the South City, Gu Shenwei felt that it
was ages ago since he first went to the Pavilion. He had wasted a few months
of his precious time and was not any closer to getting his revenge. However,
he bizarrely ended up with a dead 'immortal' on his hands. He had once
thought highly of his own willpower, and would never have thought that he
had to rely on the Peripheral Force in his body to keep him from acting under
the influence of the Immortal's hypnosis.
As the time limit of three years draws closer, he realised that his plan of
exterminating the entire Golden Roc Fort was impossible now. He should
have killed off a few masters of the Shangguan Family before he would die
from qigong deviation. Top on his list was Shangguan Nu, the Eighth Young
Master who was still at the border of the desert, busy plotting the fall of the
New Moon Hall.
He did not find Maid Lotus in her room at the backyard of the Southwall
Tavern. It was not their rendezvous day, so she must have remained by
Shangguan Ru's side.
As he could not get to Maid Lotus, he went into the tavern to look for the
manager. Shopkeeper Lyu was extremely surprised to see Yang Huan, and
hid his hand with the missing finger behind his back while he welcomed this
harbinger of doom awkwardly.
Gu Shenwei managed to get the news from the past few months from the
manager.
He came to know that Shangguan Ru had requested for the reins of Kun
Society back from her brother.
Not long after Slave Huan had left for Hope Alley, Shangguan Ru paid a visit
to her twin brother along with six killers. Shangguan Fei was prepared for it,
and mobilised all of his killers, along with 50 or so machetemen from the
South City. Even though no one present was armed, Shangguan Fei had made
a bigger show of force.
Everyone in the City thought that another mass brawl would break out. The
commandant stood guard outside the residence of the Ninth Young Master,
along with about a hundred of his soldiers and guards from the Stone Castle,
to maintain order in case anything happened.
To everyone's surprise, Shangguan Ru did not lose her temper. She treated
her brother with respect, as she would to a true power in the City. She
requested for the Kun Society in exchange for all the territories she held.
Even though the territories were only hers in name, as they were bequeathed
to her by their elder brothers, the income generated from them was
substantial. It was many times more than the money that was given by the
merchants under the protection of the Kun Society.
Shangguan Fei agreed, and a deal was struck.
Shangguan Ru entered the South City that very day, and spent the next few
days visiting the merchants under the Kun Society's protection. Amongst
them was the Southwall Tavern.
"The Tenth Young Master is a good person who understands the issues of us
businessmen. She was extremely courteous to me and even suggested that I
contribute less every month, as long as I keep business coming her way. Of
course, I agreed. She is a far-sighted person and the Kun Society's territory
will definitely grow under her command," he told Yang Huan.
This was just wishful thinking on his part. In reality, the Kun Society's
territory was diminishing everyday. This happened as the Ninth Young
Master had directed all profitable ventures towards the Horned Dragon
Society, cannibalising his sister's share of the spoils.
"The Horned Dragon Society is growing stronger. As businessmen, we

cannot afford to not partner up with them. Honestly speaking, I have
frequently received advice to switch sides…"
Gu Shenwei hurried to the stronghold of the Kun Society upon hearing this.
Shangguan Ru was dictating something to two secretaries in the hall as he

entered. She broke out into a grin upon seeing Slave Huan. It was as if he was
by her side all along for these few months, and had came back to report to her
after completing a mission.
She had changed a little since their last meeting in the forest. A lot of the
childishness was gone from her face, and those jet black pupils of hers
contained neither innocence nor curiosity. They were replaced by a
scrutinizing look.
She had also seemed to have become less trusting.
After she sent the secretaries away, she spoke to him. "Are you cured of your
sickness now?"
"More or less," he replied. The two Peripheral Forces still remained in his
body and he was not sure what condition he was in.
"Can you start working again?"
"Yes."
"Are you aware of Kun Society's present situation?"
"I'm aware of it, yes."
"How do you envision our future to be like?"
"We need to draw the snake out of its hiding place."
Shangguan Ru brightened up and broke into a smile as she heard his reply. "I
know that waiting for you to return was the right decision."
Gu Shenwei understood what Shangguan Ru's was thinking. She did not
forget about Master Yu's death, and was willing to present herself as weak to
the public to draw Shangguan Fei to the South City.
The end of the was between the twins was still nowhere in sight. Gu Shenwei
came up with an idea on his way to see Shangguan Ru. Rather than allowing
Shangguan Fei to blackmail him, he thought it would be a better idea to get
rid of him first. "Have you made up your mind?" he asked Shangguan Ru.
She nodded, and it was the first time he had seen the desire to kill in her eyes.
Chapter 191 - The Murder of an
Immortal
Chapter 191: The Murder of an Immortal
In fact, Shangguan Ru had made her move before Slave Huan's return, and
she had already tried all sorts of methods to entice her twin brother to enter
the South City.
Her first option was to make use of Xu Yanwei, who Shangguan Fei was very
fond of. As she was also under the protection of Slave Huan, she would be
the perfect person to serve as a bridge between both camps and for
convincing him to enter the South City.
However, she quickly killed off the idea because Xu Yanwei had informed
her that the Ninth Young Master had already replaced her with another
woman. Xu Yanwei was devastated as she had, yet again, failed in her
lifelong mission to marry into a rich family.
Next, Shangguan Ru had come up with the idea of bribing Slave Qing, who
was always by her brother's side. This also came to naught because Slave
Qing had also lost the trust of Shangguan Fei and she sounded even more
resentful than Xu Yanwei. Shangguan Ru came to understand that Slave Qing
had not even seen her master for as much as five days.
It seemed that the only person who the Ninth Young Master really trusted
now was Guan Houlin, his huge military counselor. However, Shangguan Ru
doubted that he could be bribed as he had just been promoted and was now in
his master's good books.
She had considered kidnapping him as he could be frequently seen flaunting

his authority at the South City, and his kung fu was ordinary. After some
consideration, she decided against carrying out this plan because she was
worried that it would scare off Shangguan Fei and drive him deeper into
hiding.
Shangguan Fei was no fool and he did not let his guard down, even when his
twin sister continued to display her weakness in public after her return to the
Kun Society. He was not only worried about her, but also had to contend with
the missing Tuo Nengya. He would never be able to rest in peace as long as
the old macheteman was still alive.
The last plan she had thought about was exactly the same as the kidnapping
of Meng Mingshi. She considered striking directly at her brother in the North
City. However, the level of precautions he took was much more than Meng
Mingshi. His residence was crawling with security, and the city guards were
also keeping a close eye on her. They would openly monitor her movements
whenever she entered the North City.
Shangguan Ru was becoming impatient. The death of Master Yu and the

terrible losses inflicted upon the Kun Society had greatly impacted her. She
wanted, not only to get her revenge, but also to deal a fatal blow to her
brother.
"What about Fifth Young Master Meng? Perhaps we could join forces with
him. Doesn't he want revenge as well?" Gu Shenwei suggested.
Although he had not considered the animosity between Meng Mingshi and
Master Ru, to his surprise, she was not angry that he had harbored such a
thought. In truth, she had also considered it. "It won't work, as the Meng
Family has forbidden him… from getting involved in the matters of my
family anymore."
Gu Shenwei thought that the Meng Family were right to issue the order to
their Fifth Young Master because Meng Mingshi would have ended up as a
pawn regardless of which side he joined. Such a situation would not be
beneficial to the Meng Family, regardless of which of the twins was the final
victor.
At the moment, all the paths available to them seemed to be filled with
roadblocks.
Gu Shenwei changed the subject by passing a message to his master. "Tuo
Nengya said that he remains loyal to you."
She did not show any expression upon receiving this piece of news. Gu
Shenwei knew that she had learnt how to hide her real feelings from others.
"It's pointless talk. He would have been better to the Kun Society if he was
dead."
Shangguan Fei would let his guard down at least a little if he knew that Tuo
Nengya was dead, thought Gu Shenwei as he observed her eyes. He wanted
to know if she was joking or hinting for him to act. "It's not impossible for
him to be dead," he said.
"Do you know where he is hiding?"
"When we last met, he was hiding in the Joy Pavilion. Now that his cover has
been blown, he can only be hiding amongst the machetemen."
Shangguan Ru gave a faint smile as she heard what he said. She replied,
"Then let him remain in hiding. He might be useful, but let's not get him
involved unless if it is necessary."
She was concerned about Tuo Nengya's motives. He wanted to avenge the
Eldest Young Master's death, and the act of her joining forces with him
would be bigger than her conflict with her twin brother. It would arouse the
displeasure of many within the Stone Castle, including her own mother.
Finally, he came to the part about how he had killed the Immortal. The Kun
Society had ears everywhere, and Shangguan Ru had already knew about it.
She advised Slave Huan, "You should also go into hiding. I heard that many
people are looking to avenge the Immortal's death. It's funny. I had always
thought of the Immortal as an extraordinary existence, but to think that he
was actually so mediocre."
That night, as Gu Shenwei was sleeping peacefully at the base of the Kun
Society, the news of his exploits had spread across much of Jade City. He had
made history, and everyone was talking about how an ordinary killer like
Yang Huan had done the impossible.
Fame was the bane of killers, and Gu Shenwei felt that he had become too
famous overnight.
On the morning of the next day, he began to examine Immortal Peng's

notations on the Death Scripture manual. After he had finished doing so, he
kept a few pages which he thought were worthy of further examination in his
clothes and burnt the rest.
From his notes, it seemed that the Immortal was well aware of the presence
of the Death Scripture, as he had called it the Maha Bodhi scripture or the
Dajue Book of Swordcraft. He seemed to have a thorough understanding of
its contents as well.
There were many ways of learning the Death Scripture, which had been
proven by both Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei. After when he finished his
reading of the Death Scripture, Immortal Peng was inspired by it to come up
with his lies on the 64 different training methods for the Secrets of Love.
From his notes, he seemed to be extremely excited as he had written down

much of his personal insights of the Scripture on the manual. He was so
consumed by it that he even wrote down his feelings, such as: How do you
explain the fact that there seems to be flaws in the technique? How?
Gu Shenwei knew that no matter what method that a practitioner of the Death
Scripture chose to train in, he or she needed to improve his or her skill by
killing. It was no wonder that the Immortal had not understood this secret of
the technique, as he did not have the time to practice as much as Gu Shenwei
did. The youth had spotted this 'flaw' in the Scripture as well, but he was
proven wrong with time.
The Immortal had become a meaningless memory to Gu Shenwei, and he was

sure that the people of the Joy Pavilion would soon come to their senses
about having been living under a lie for all this time, and that they would
thank him for saving them.
Now, the only thought on his mind was about how to deal with Shangguan
Fei. He could feel that the Tenth Young Master was serious about getting her
revenge. He decided to risk Lady Meng's wrath and began to plot Shangguan
Fei's death. He did not like the fact that the Ninth Young Master could
blackmail him if he wanted to. After his experience with Mama Xue, he did
not want something similar to happen again.
Gu Shenwei felt that he knew what Shangguan Ru was really thinking about,
so he decided to act before she had issued any orders to her killers.
First, he went to visit Maid Lotus at her room at the Southwall Tavern. She
was waiting for him. She had been monitoring the movements of the Horned
Dragon Society since the night before, and had just concluded her
surveillance.
They did not talk much. She warned him that there were still bound to be
admirers of Immortal Peng in the South City, despite the fact that the
denizens of the Hope Alley had little contact with the outside world. This was
because Immortal Peng was not a hermit who lived in complete seclusion.
She told him that he had a new nickname - the 'Immortal's Murderer', and it
did not bode well for his safety.
Everyone in the tavern recognised him as he entered. They all looked at him
strangely, either with fright, vengefulness or admiration. Those from the last
group had apparently transferred their admiration for the Immortal onto him.
Gu Shenwei admitted to himself that he had killed the Immortal out of a

moment of impulse. Before the fateful encounter at the Pavilion, he had
planned to kill the Immortal in secret, without anyone noticing.
Shopkeeper Lyu actions betrayed the fact that he already knew of the
Immortal's death. He spoke nervously to Yang Huan, "Manager Yang, Mr.
Huan, let's talk in private."
He led Yang Huan into a room full of weapons and brought out a plate
stacked with about 400 taels of silver, saying, "This is with the compliments
of the house."
Gu Shenwei did not receive the gift. Shopkeeper Lyu's face turned more pale
under his glare, and could not speak properly. It was only after a while, and
with some effort, that Shopkeeper Lyu managed to explain the reason for this
gift. "Or how about a drink in the backyard? Since you have a room there, I
can send some counterjumpers to serve you."
"Speak your mind. Are you afraid that someone will damage your tavern
while looking for me to avenge the Immortal's death?"
The shopkeeper scratched his ears nervously and laughed, trying to cajole the
killer. "No, no, who would have dared to seek revenge from you in the South
City? But, but…"
"But what?"
"But the citizens of South City had put considerable faith in the Immortal, not
including me of course. Now that you have killed him…"
Gu Shenwei understood what the shopkeeper was getting at. "Fine, I'll not
disrupt your business. Just make sure you keep an eye on my money." There
was still over 10 thousand taels of silver from Tie Hanfeng's inheritance that
was being kept in the Tavern.
Shopkeeper Lyu felt as though a heavy burden was lifted from his chest. He
kept saying "No problem" to the killer.
Gu Shenwei felt that it would be more prudent to take precautions for a sneak
attack rather than regretting about his own actions. Now that he needed to
behave cautiously, he obtained a cape from the room in the backyard and put
it on before leaving the Tavern.
He circled the streets and arrived at Pleasure Alley.
As he walked into the brothel, Xu Xiaoyi thought at first that it was just
another customer. When he realised it has Brother Huan who had been gone
for such a long while, he felt taken aback and pleasantly surprised at the same
time. He hurriedly came towards Yang Huan and shut the door behind them.
It looked like he was not accepting any more visitors for his sister.
"Did you really kill the Immortal?"
"He isn't immortal."

"But his fortune telling… is really pretty accurate."
"Well, he could not fortell his own death at my hands."
"This, this… was because immortals never tell their own fortune. Or perhaps,
he did, and since he was immortal, he could have used his 'death' at your
hands to take his rightful place in the heavens."
Gu Shenwei knew with complete certainty that the Immortal had not faced
his death as calmly as the child suggested. "Never mind him. Get your sister
to come down."
Xu Yanwei was already stretching lazily upstairs. Ever since she knew that
her new master did not lust for her, she stopped pretending to be demure in
front of him. She ocassionally behaved as if nobody was watching her,
showing behavior that would not be acceptable in front of a customer.
"Oh, I'm too lazy to walk down the stairs. Speak if you have anything to say,
I can hear you just fine."
There was no one else in the building because the siblings had not kept any
maids or elderly servants in their service. They had made a decision to not
unnecessarily spend money. Before their deal of three years with the killer
expired, they wanted to save up enough money so that they could leave this
undesirable place for good afterwards.
"What's going on between you and the Ninth Young Master?"
"You can't blame me, I have used all of the tricks at my disposal. Even so, he
has given me up for someone else, what can I possibly do about it?"
"So, who is his new favorite girl?"
Xu Yanwei rested her elbows on the raling and it was hard to discern whether
she was smiling or not. She sighed deeply and replied, "I do not know who
she is, but I did keep something from the Tenth Young Master. I felt that, as a
young woman, she should not hear about such things. The Ninth Young
Master-"
She dragged the last word, without continuing further. She had wanted to add
some theatrical quality to her speech, but after noticing that the killer was
unmoved, she kept talking. "He's changed his tastes, and does not favor
women anymore. He likes… well, you know what I mean."
"Are you sure?" Gu Shenwei was a little shocked. The first possible person
he thought of was the military counselor, Guan Houlin, but quickly decided
that it was unlikely as he did not seem to be into such things.
"What haven't I seen before? I knew it the first time I had slept with him.
Hey, hey, he has me to thank for teaching him about the joys of intercourse.
If I had not let him feel completely relaxed during our sessions, he would
never have realised his true inclinations. You don't have to be pertubed. Eight
or nine out of ten men who come from rich families in the North City have
such a liking. Sigh, now you know about how hard my job is. Not only do I
have to compete with women, but with men as well."
Gu Shenwei was sure that Lady Meng would not have thanked Xu Yanwei if
she had known about this.
Chapter 192 - Friends
Chapter 192: Friends
Gu Shenwei was still thinking about what this piece of information could be
used for when Xu Yanwei spoke again. "Don't only be thinking about your
own master. You should take care of my little brother from time to time as
well."
Xu Yanwei had long lost interest in Shangguan Fei. The only man that truly
mattered to her now was her brother.
"I'm alright, I don't need looking after," interrupted Xu Xiaoyi. He was peach
red.
"He has also fallen under the spell of a man," said Xu Yanwei
disapprovingly. When she spoke of the Ninth Young Master's fetish earlier,
she did not seem to care as much as she did now.
Xu Xiaoyi was of small built and did have some qualities of a male prostitute.
As Gu Shenwei had personally seen many of such men in South City, he did
not really mind if the boy had indeed become one. "Have you presented him
to the Ninth Young Master yet?" he asked Xu Yanwei.
"What do you treat us as?" She replied vehemently, smacking the railing hard
as she spoke.
Before Gu Shenwei could reply, Xu Xiaoyi hurriedly explained, "She doesn't

mean that I've intimate relations with another man. Instead, I've found a
friend."
As he spoke of making a new friend, he straightened his back and spoke in a

very formal tone. This made Gu Shenwei believe that Xu Xiaoyi was indeed
not intimate with this 'new friend' of his. "Isn't that good, with a friend to
support you, you don't need my backing anymore."
Now, both sister and brother wanted to speak. Xu Yanwei was faster than her
brother. "But his friend is weird. Just the night before, he came running here
in the middle of the night, saying that he had to kill Xiaoyi. He looked as if
he was about to do it, but he ended up just talking about it and ran off by
himself in the end. From what I saw, he's not normal, and Xiaoyi would be
better off staying away from him."
Gu Shenwei's first thought was, "It cannot be so coincidental" , but in the

next moment, he remembered that Xu Xiaoyi had been summoned to have his
fortune told when they went to Joy Pavilion together several months ago. He
knew then that this could not be a coincidence. "What did the boy look like?"
he asked.
"Um, he looked like—" Xu Xiaoyi was interrupted by his sister before he

could find proper adjectives to describe his friend. "He looked like a girl, and
the first time I saw him, I thought that Xiaoyi had finally became a man."
"His name is Chu Nanping, and he's from Joy Pavilion," added Gu Shenwei.
"Eeh, how did you know? Could he have informed others when he told me to
keep it a secret?" exclaimed Xu Xiaoyi in a tone of surprise.
Xu Yanwei started laughing so hard that she was doubling over. "So, it's a
boy from Hope Alley. No wonder. Treat him well, my brother. Sigh, at the
rate this is going, we prostitutes are going to lose our jobs."
Of all three present, only Gu Shenwei did not find it funny. The siblings were
taken aback by his stern expression. "That boy is no ordinary person," he
said.
"Oh yes, his kung fu is very good. He's a particular way… of speaking as
well. He's different from anyone I've ever met," replied Xu Xiaoyi happily,
not knowing that he was in danger.
"He's Immortal Peng's servant."

Xu Xiaoyi became blank for a while. He had been to the third storey of Joy
Pavilion, but he had never seen the faces of Immortal Peng and his servant
before, as they were behind the screen. He had thought that his friend was a
son of a smith from Hope Alley all along.
"He wasn't joking about killing you either."
Xu Xiaoyi laughed. "You must be joking…" But after realising that Brother
Huan never joked, he continued, "Are you for real?"
"He wants to kill you to complete his mastery of a certain kung fu technique."
"Kill me to master his technique? I'm no stronger than a rat, what technique
does he hope to master by killing me?"
"It's only natural that his learning method is not normal, as he's a disciple of
an 'immortal'."
The Xu siblings believed him now as they realised what he said was entirely
possible, their mouths agape from their shock. Xu Yanwei could not think of
any solution, and let off a sound of indignation before turning to her room.
Soon, she came running back out of it and pointed at the killer as she spoke,
"The two of us have done so much for you. You have to protect us."
Gu Shenwei shook his head and replied, "I'm a killer, not a bodyguard."
Xu Xiaoyi was already scared speechless. His sister quickly changed tack and
started giggling demurely. "Mr. Huan, there's negligible difference between a
killer and a bodyguard. Don't they both use machetes? Even though Xiaoyi
can be hard to control, he's still at least a little useful. Isn't it better to have
him continue bringing you information?"
"I said that I'm a killer, but I didn't say I wouldn't protect him."
Xu Yanwei reverted back to her original self. She was frowning and stamping
her feet in protest as she replied, "Making a fool of us."
"If I kill Chu Nanping, in turn, he cannot kill Xiaoyi."

Such was his plan, and it was simple and direct. Even though Chu Nanping
was a child, Gu Shenwei knew that he would become a thorn in his side
sooner or later. It was best to get rid of him at an early stage.
"It doesn't have to result in you killing him," rebutted Xu Xiaoyi bravely.
"It's either him or you."
Xu Xiaoyi cast his head down dejectedly. He had never got to make friends
with anyone, and even Brother Huan was just a better master to him; Chu
Nanping was different. He could still remember how bashful Chu Nanping
had been the first time he tried to make conversation. However, when the boy
spoke, he was blunt, and it made him seem as if he lacked social interaction.
After their first encounter, Chu Nanping came frequently to look for him to
play together. Xu Xiaoyi was the elder by a few years, but as their height was
the same, and they both looked immature, they seemed to be of the same age
to bystanders.
Xu Xiaoyi knew the South City like the back of his hand, and was the chief
instigator for their adventures. As Chu Nanping was not wise in the ways of
the city, everything was new to him. He never rejected any of Xu Xiaoyi's
ideas, which included stealing from the tavern, fighting with unruly children
and eavesdropping on the sounds of pleasure from the roof of the brothel.
The past two months spent with Chu Nanping had been the best time of Xu
Xiaoyi's life.
While he was still basking in his wonderful memories, Gu Shenwei was

already thinking of how he would go about killing Chu Nanping. "Don't
accept any customer these two days, and stay indoors as well," he ordered the
siblings.
"Don't accept any business? I've just managed to hook a rich regular with
much effort, and he's coming back tonight."
"Let your brother die then."

She stamped her feet indignantly again, and agreed after pondering for a
while. "Alright, I shall listen to you. Sigh, he would have brought me a few
hundred taels of silver. I'm sure now he'll be spending it on some other
woman."
As she returned to her room, she realized she was at a loss. She did not know
what to do for the next two days. Her routine would be disrupted if she was
not going to receive any customer.
Toward evening, several dishes were delivered to Xu Yanwei's brothel, as the

Xu siblings had planned to receive a guest tonight and ordered a meal from
chefs in Pleasure Alley. Xu Xiaoyi did not reject the food. Instead, he ate
them together with his Brother Huan.
Night time was the peak period for brothels in Pleasure Alley. Upon hearing
someone knocking on the door, Gu Shenwei immediately hid beside the door,
saber in hand. Xu Xiaoyi opened the door slightly and repeatedly apologised
to the customer outside. The customer was extremely unhappy at being
turned away. "Is she looking down on me? What sort of illness does she have
that she can't even meet me? I want to see for myself. I think it's more likely
that she's serving some other rich customer."
"No, no, you should know, Sir, it's the usual sickness. I don't wish for you to
waste your silver as well, Sir."
It took much effort to convince the customer to leave. Xu Xiaoyi let out a
large sigh of relief.
"So, the regular your sister mentioned just now is Guan Houlin?" Gu
Shenwei asked as he returned to the table.
Xu Xiaoyi rubbed his ear, trying to re-collect his memories. His sister
received a regular once every few days, and they came and went quickly. He
could never remember all of them.
"That's him indeed." Xu Yanwei had re-appeared above the stairs and seemed
to have made up her mind not to walk down to her brother and Gu Shenwei.
She was chewing on melon seeds and had placed their husks carefully on the
railing in a row. "All slaves covet the women their masters have slept with
before. Especially the slaves with a little money."
"When he comes back again—"
"We've offended him. Now he may or may not be coming back to me again."
"He will. When he comes back, ask him who… the Ninth Young Master
favors now."
"Ha, ha, so is the 'person he favors' a new term for a male prostitute? Fine, I'll
ask him for you."
"Don't let him know why you're asking."
"Tsk, do you believe that I have the ability to make him tell me all his secrets
and not remember afterwards?"
Gu Shenwei did not answer. He only wanted results from her, and was not
concerned what sort of method she used to get the information he wanted.
As it got later, Xu Yanwei picked up the seed husks and wrapped them in her
handkerchief. She muttered to herself as she returned to her room, "How can
I fall asleep so early? I have two men with me, but one is useless while I can't
use the other. Sigh, what a night…"
Xu Xiaoyi kept himself pre-occupied by tidying up, never stopping once to

rest. Gu Shenwei knew that he was afraid and said to him, "Soon, it'll be
over. He said that he would kill you within three days, and the latest this
would drag on would be till tomorrow."
"Can I try to convince him to stop learning such an unhealthy technique?

Who knows whether he would change his mind. He listened to me all this
while."
"He could, or maybe he could kill you too. If you should try to reason with
him, there's no way I can guarantee your safety."
Xu Xiaoyi sighed as he thought, "There's indeed something wrong with

everyone in Hope Alley. The first time I went there, I was worried that
anyone there would take a fancy to me. Who knows, someone really did.
However, he only wants to kill me, and it's really weird that he has to make
friends with me before killing me."
The streets were starting to become less crowded as it reached midnight. Xu

Xiaoyi dozed off a number of times as he sat on the stool. Gu Shenwei
remained still as he hid in a dark spot at the corner of the walls.
Suddenly, they heard Xu Yanwei screaming.
As Xu Xiaoyi lifted his head, he noticed that Yang Huan was gone from his
spot. He forgot about his fear and shouted at the top of his voice, "Run, Litte
Chu! There's a killer!"
Gu Shenwei had leapt up to the second storey and dashed into Xu Yanwei's
room immediately after he heard her scream.
He saw a black figure standing beside her bed, saber in hand.
Before her scream had stopped, and immediately after Xu Xiaoyi started
shouting, Gu Shenwei's sword had already pierced the neck of the assailant.
When the body of the assailant fell to the side of the bed, Xu Yanwei finally
controlled herself from screaming. She trembled as she asked, "Didn't he
come for Xiaoyi? Why was his target me instead?"
"It's not Chu Nanping."
The assailant was obviously an adult, and not a boy about to enter his teens.
As Gu Shenwei lit the oil lamp for a better look, he noticed Xu Yanwei was
nude. "Why are you not dressed?"
She pulled up her sheets to cover herself up, replying, "Of course I'm not
dressed, I'm sleeping."
Gu Shenwei brought the lamp closer to the corpse. It was nobody he knew,
and seemed to be an ordinary macheteman for hire.
He dragged the body out of her room and tossed it near the entrance of the
brothel. He then used his saber to hack at the wound, to disguise the fact that
it was made by a sword. He then extinguished the flame of the lamp and
returned to wait at the corner of the wall.
"It's not him?" asked a pale Xu Xiaoyi.
"No."
"Hey, hey, i just… I couldn't control myself."
"It's alright. I could've killed him even with your warning."
Gu Shenwei was even more confident in Death Scripture after his adventure
in Joy Pavilion. To him, Chu Nanping was just a child and could not even be
considered as a kung fu master.
After taking a while to dress, Xu Yanwei also came down the stairs. "What's
going on now, who's this man, and why does he want to kill me?"
No one answered her. Gu Shenwei could roughly understand what had just
happened but could not come up with a concrete explanation.
Someone was knocking on the door again. It could not be a customer or

another assassin. Xu Xiaoyi grew pale again as he remembered that Chu
Nanping frequently came looking for him at this hour.
Gu Shenwei rushed to open the door, and it turned out to be Maid Lotus. Xu
Xiaoyi could calm down again upon seeing that it was not Chu Nanping. He
did not know how much more fright he could take in one night.
"Someone came to kill you," Maid Lotus observed. She had glanced upstairs
upon entering the brothel. She was a killer with sharp instincts, and could
sense a dead body when she was near one. "It's rumored that you've stolen
Immortal Peng's treasure, and now everybody is coming for their share."
Chapter 193 - Stealing the treasure
Chapter 193: Stealing the treasure
Nobody would have expected the consequences of Immortal Peng's death.

Perhaps no one wanted to avenge him but everyone wanted to know about the
truth behind his death. Everyone did not believe that this was a spontaneous
decision of the killers, and they suspected that his death had something to do
with the treasure of the Xian family.
Words spread from mouth to mouth like wildfire. Like wildfire, it's path was
unpredictable and in this process, speculations turned into gossip, and gossip
became rumors. In the end, everyone believed what was said.
"Immortal's treasure?" Eyes of the Hsu siblings brightened.
"Yes, I grabbed the immortal's treasure. Killing people is now easier than
before."
Gu Shenwei did not speak in a kind tone. The siblings became silent
immediately and dared not speak a word.
Gu Shenwei did not like this situation. Because of some absurd reason danger
seemed to be lurking everywhere. Gu Shenwei didn't even know who the
enemy was. He thought again of Master Shifu Tie Hanfeng's teachings.
Because he knew little about Immortal Peng's relations, killing him would be
a grave mistake.
"The Tenth Young Master would be going to Stone Castle to explain things.
She said this was her own idea." Maid Lotus felt that her news was received
too favorably. "Only fools would believe in such a rumor though. We have to
kill more people."
Maid Lotus' words came true. That night, there were 11 people who died in
the brothel. Only the first was killed by Gu Shenwei.
At the time when several people spoke, a dull thump rang from upstairs. It
sounded as if something had fallen.
Xu Yanwei clutched her chest and looked up at her bedroom in terror. She
was relieved that she was not upstairs.
Gu Shenwei nodded to Maid Lotus. She pulled out her saber and guarded the
floor downstairs. Gu Shenwei crept upstairs stealthily.
Just halfway through, a dead body was thrown out from the bedroom. It leant
weakly on the railing. Xu Yanwei fainted in shock. She turned and held her
brother's shoulders tightly. Xu Xiaoyi was afraid but he also wanted to know
who the dead person was. The dead body was curled up but its eyes were
wide open.
Gu Shenwei returned from the path that he traveled just now. "Someone is
standing on guard upstairs."
"Did the Tenth Young Master send someone?" Xu Yanwei asked expectantly
but did not get a reply.
The two killers were each assigned different tasks. Gu Shenwei sat on a chair,
his saber balanced across his knees. A sharp sword leant against his leg. He
could use his swordcraft openly now. He only had to explain that it was
imparted to him by Immortal Peng. But he was still used to bringing two
types of weapons with him.
Maid Lotus hid in the shadows. The Hsu siblings turned their eyes. When
they looked again, they did not see the female killer anymore.
The person upstairs was a master. He willingly worked for killers and was a
man of few words. Before dawn came, he flung out ten corpses from inside,
and the pile of corpses became higher than the railings.
Most of the dead did not utter a word. One called out before he died: "Ah, it's
you!"
Xu Yanwei was reaching her limits. She was used to seeing happy men
walking out of her bedroom. This time, seeing them come out inert was a
total humiliation to her. "Come out. You people upstairs!"
No one came out and no one answered.
Knock, knock. The door rang again. Xu Yanwei was deeply moved by the
fact that there was someone who still remembered to come in by the main
door. Immediately however, the attitude of the person outside the brothel
dampened her spirits.
"Open the door. Damn, I saw that wild man upstairs. Want to lie to me? I'll
crush you with my silver, you b*tch."
"Why did he come back?" Xu Yanwei had really hoped that this was a
nightmare and that all her problems would vanish when she opened her eyes.
The two siblings did not dare to open the door. Gu Shenwei rose and walked
to the door. He held a sword in his hands and after listening for a moment,
pulled the door open.
The door was immediately knocked open and a group of people swarmed in.
All of them stumbled as they came in; obviously they had drunk too much.
"Not receiving a customer? But isn't that a customer? Why is it you?" Guan
Houlin wanted to straighten his body but he ended up bending backwards. He
cocked his head like a stone figure that was about to collapse.
"I'm the master of this place."
"Oh, yes, I've heard. This… your prostitute is atrocious. She didn't want to
accept this grand master's money. And those wild men keep coming up one
by one. You- do you look down on me or the Ninth Young Master?"
"There's no wild man here."
"Stop fooling me."

"I saw it with my own eyes. It can't be fake." The machetemen swarming the
entrance of the door joined in.
Guan Houlin pushed Gu Shenwei away. He did not see Xu Yanwei who was
standing at a corner of the wall. He wanted to run up the steps to catch the
adulterers. His massive body shook the entire building slightly.
"Come out, you stinking prostitute. I'll show you who is master today.
Today…" Upstairs, Guan Houlin had only finished half of his sentence
before he froze. It was as if master Shangguan Fei had suddenly appeared
before him.
"Big Brother Huan, what's wrong?" Machetemen swarmed into the building.
They looked up, trying to see what that black lump on the railing was.
Guan Houlin only went up a step. He stretched his neck to make sure that he
hadn't seen wrongly. He was immediately shaken from his stupor. This was a
brothel run by a killer. He immediately composed himself as he just realized
that the teen downstairs was a cold-blooded killer.
Guan Houlin turned around and walked slowly down the stairs. His steps
were heavy and his body did not shake. He walked in front of the killer and
cleared his throat. "I've drunk a little too much. Please forgive me and send
my respects to the Tenth Young Master."
Guan Houlin opened his arms and pushed the machetemen out of the brothel
like they were a bunch of chicks. He closed the door himself and even bowed
slightly to the teen who was standing inside.
The twins of the Shangguan family had always maintained a calm facade.
However, in these few months, Guan Houlin felt afraid of the killers of Kun
Society.
It was almost daybreak. Gu Shenwei shouted upstairs. "Come out, let's get
things done."
The man who was upstairs hesitated for a while before walking out of the
bedroom. He stood beside the pile of corpses, holding a sword in his hand.
"Little Chu, it's you!" Xu Xiaoyi jumped up excitedly. "You're not here to kill
me but to protect me right?"
This was all nothing more than Xu Xiaoyi's imagination. If it were true, he
would have burst into tears of joy.
"No, I'm here to kill you. I'm protecting him. I can't let anyone kill him."
Xu Xiaoyi was greatly disappointed and felt extremely confused. Pointing to

Gu Shenwei, he said: "He's a killer and he wants to kill you."
"That would be the best. Swordcraft is practised this way. But it's a bit too
early now."
Xu Xiaoyi was confused. He did not understand a single word of what Chu
Nanping said. He only wanted to make friends with him. Why had things
turned out this way? He couldn't help but be overcome with sorrow. He sat on
the ground and cried loudly.
"This can't be true. Why would you want to kill me? I was so good to you.
I've never offended you. Aren't we good friends?"
Chu Nanping creased his eyebrows slightly and explained patiently. "We're
friends. That's why I have to kill you to destroy all ties of friendship. This
would allow me to enter the fifth realm. That's how the Heartless Swords
technique is trained."
Xu Xiaoyi cried even louder.
Among the disciples of Immortal Peng, Chu Nanping was the youngest and
the most innocent. Thus, the effects of training in the ways of the Death
Scriptures were greatest on him.
Gu Shenwei had no experience in persuading others. However, he was more

skilled at scheming and murder. He felt the latter would be most effective in
dealing with Chu Nanping.
"I can't let you kill him. So I have to kill you now."
Chu Nanping shook his head just like before. He tried to be patient and
explained to his practice partner. "There's no use in killing me. To reach the
seventh realm, we only have one battle of life and death."
"I'm backing out. Like Ye Silang, I don't want to practice the Heartless Sword
technique anymore."
Chu Nanping pursed his lips like an unloved child. This was his real identity.
"You'ill change your mind."
Gu Shenwei held onto the shaft of his sword. He did not want to kill this
child. There was no feud between them even though Chu Nanping had killed
Chu Yangjun and Immortal Peng. However, Chu Nanping was a ruthless
person without feelings - there was not even hatred in him.
But Chu Nanping was perhaps not as ruthless as Gu Shenwei had thought. He
thought for a while and smiled, as if he had cast off all his burdens. "Fine.
Then I won't have to kill Xu Xiaoyi for now. Xiaoyi, I'll come to find you
tonight."
Chu Nanping returned to his bedroom and left quietly.
Xu Xiaoyi stopped crying. There was even more confusion in his heart.
"What does he want to do?"
Gu Shenwei wondered if he was doing the right thing by letting Chu Nanping
go. "He wants to be friends with you again."
"Damn, if I were to be friends with him again, I'd be the biggest fool in the
world."
"You're a fool in the first place." Xu Yanwei said. The night was finally
coming to an end and her brother was not in any danger for the time being.
She had to think of a way to send those two killers away as soon as possible.
"Mr. Huan, you're tired already. You should go home for some rest. I'll look
after Xiaoyi and not let him see that child again."
Gu Shenwei draped a cloak over his shoulders and looked upstairs. Maid
Lotus walked out from behind the pile of corpses. She was guarding Chu
Nanping closely and could have killed him with only a single strike of her
sword. That ruthless child did not know how closely he had stood from the
edge of death.
The corpses were left in the care of the Hsu family. There were plenty of
corpse bearers in the Jade City. As long as they were paid, they would take
care of matters with no questions asked. Such matters would never affect the
business of the brothel. Gu Shenwei was not worried about it.
"What do we do now?" Maid Lotus asked while walking on the cold streets.
"I have to take a trip to Hope Alley." That was the place that Gu Shenwei
hated to return to. "Only Joy Pavilion can prove that I did not steal any
treasure. That place will let me know who the Ninth Young Master's new
lover is."
Hope Alley was not the only place in South City where there were male
prostitutes. However, it was the most crowded. Gu Shenwei decided to start
from here. This was the best way to fool Shangguan Fei into moving out of
the North City.
Maid Lotus went with him. The two went around the peach trees and jumped
onto the high wall behind Joy Pavilion. They guarded each other on both the
left and right sides.
Joy Pavilion did not change much. Through the window, Gu Shenwei could
even see some unsightly people drinking tea. It was business as usual.
The person who came to steal the treasure was not a disciple from Joy
Pavilion. Gu Shenwei thought that they had probably come to their senses.
A window on the third floor opened, revealing a savage face. "You're here."
Gu Shenwei had a feeling of amorousness. Immortal Peng was already dead.

However, these weird creatures were speaking in gibberish, as if they, like
Chu Nanping, were still immersed in the 64 practices of the Secrets of Love .
"I'm here."
"Immortal Peng invites you to go upstairs." The ferocious face said in a calm
tone. After saying so, he disappeared and withdrew from the window.
Chapter 194 - A Bargain
Chapter 194: A Bargain
The dwarf's death remained vivid in Gu Shenwei's mind. Gu Shenwei was

not intimidated by that terrifying visage's deceiving words. He was also
unmoved by Immortal Peng's enrapturing influence. "Let him come to the
window."
Gu Shenwei would not walk into the trap.
There was no response coming from the window on the third floor. The
disciples who were drinking tea on the first floor had just walked out. Some
of them carried weapons in their hands. They looked up and saw the two
killers on the wall.
Gu Shenwei decided not to confront the group alone. He glanced at Maid

Lotus and the two were prepared to escape into the peach forest.
The window on the third floor revealed another face. It was that white-robed
elderly man with a long beard. He had once tried to take revenge for
Immortal Peng. "Leave."
This order was uttered for his own people. The disciples obeyed and returned
to the teahouse. After a while, one hunched disciple with a heavily pitted face
walked out. He dragged a tray that was carrying tea and leaped up the wall.
He did not spill the tea. Later, he retreated and turned to face Joy Pavilion. He
raised his two hands high and was about ten steps away from the killer.
The white-robed elder jumped out from the window on the third floor. He
landed beside the hunched disciple. His qing gong was very good. However,
what surprised everyone was that he was very slow and did not seem to have
"jumped" but rather he had "floated". His entire body seemed to be as light as
a feather.
"Please drink some tea."
Gu Shenwei shook his head. He was wary of the elder. In his heart, he made
plans to escape. He was here to negotiate but he had to prepare for the worst.
The elder did not seem to have noticed the killer's movements. He raised his
hand to tap lightly on one teacup. The teacup flew out and drew a beautiful
arc in the air. It bypassed Gu Shenwei and arrived beside Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus reached out to catch the cup. Her body shook a little.
The elder flicked a second cup and it flew directly towards Gu Shenwei.
Like Maid Lotus, Gu Shenwei reached out to catch the tea cup. His body did
not shake but his heart was pounding fiercely. The elder's Internal Strength
was very deep. He was a rival to be reckoned with.
"There aren't many cups left of this fine Tianshan snow tea. Please have
some."
"I'm not here to drink tea." Gu Shenwei did not know the kung fu of flying
teacups. He loosed his grip immediately and the teacup dropped to the floor.
It was still inches from the top of the wall when Gu Shenwei raised the tip of
his feet to catch it gently. The teacup dropped to the ground. The tea was still
in it.
"You are a fine tea master." The white-robed elder smiled faintly and took a
sip of his tea.
"You know why I came."
"I was waiting for you."
The white-robed elder had the killing desire. However, this time, he seemed
to have thought things through.
"Let's talk then. I don't want anybody to suspect me of stealing any 'treasure'
from Immortal Peng." Gu Shenwei did not believe in coincidences. Rumors
must have originated from someone. Joy Pavilion could not be innocent in
this matter.
"I don't want anyone to claim that an Immortal was killed. Immortals never
die." The elder looked at Gu Shenwei and laid out his request pointedly.
In order to stop one lie, another lie had to be said. Gu Shenwei couldn't help
but cleared his throat. "So you got yourself another Immortal Peng?"
"No. Immortal soul-delivering. This means they will abandon their flesh and
enter into a new body."
"So you're the new Immortal Peng."
"There's no old or new. I'm Immortal Peng."
The white-robed elder's expression was serious when he said this. Gu

Shenwei even felt a tinge of admiration for him. This was what commandant
Zhong Heng meant by "solving the problem". "So, I'm just a small fry who
was used by Immortal Peng- I mean you- to complete your soul transfer?"
"Yes."
"So, it's impossible for me to steal your treasure?"
"That's correct."
It seemed that this was a deal that would benefit both sides. Gu Shenwei
smiled. "Immortal Peng has made a great calculation. I'm humbled."
"Your Excellency's swordcraft is divine. This immortal is also humbled."
"Joy Pavilion is still Joy Pavilion."
The new Peng Immortal nodded his head. "Tomorrow noon the immortal will
rise to heaven in his flesh. Sir, please refrain from coming to the scene."
"Definitely."
The white-robed Immortal Peng did not do anything. The hunched man rose
up and walked beside Gu Shenwei. He raised his teacup and with a shake of
his body, bypassed the killer and arrived beside Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus didn't know how to flaunt her kung fu. She placed her teacup in
the tray honestly.
The white-robed Immortal Peng "floated" to the third floor. Gu Shenwei saw
clearly that there was a long and almost transparent long chain in the
immortal's hand.
"See you tomorrow."
Since there was no mortal danger and Gu Shenwei did not want to leave so
quickly, he said. "I want to meet Tang Ji."
Tang Ji was the supervisor of the first floor of the teahouse. His kung fu was
lowly. In Joy Pavilion, he was only a servant. The white-robed Immortal
Peng certainly did not anticipate this killer's request. He blinked and did not
say anything. He turned and vanished. Not long after, Tang Ji walked out
from the back door.
Compared to the disciples of Joy Pavilion, Tang Ji, whose face was smeared
with rouge, seemed relatively sadder towards the death of Immortal Peng.
The scars made by the tears streaming down his face were visible. His
animosity towards the killer on the top of the wall was also clear. They
looked at each other in anguish and did not say a word.
"I want to ask you about something."
"I won't tell you anything."
"This isn't very good." Gu Shenwei said. However, that person had already
jumped down from the top of the wall and come up to Tang Ji. "I had just
spoken to Immortal Peng about a transaction. I don't want to talk about the
conditions so quickly."
Tang Ji understood what the killer meant. Joy Pavilion had just changed its
owner. He didn't want to get into trouble and after thinking for a moment,
said stiffly: "You can ask me about it but I might not know."
"Are there people in Hope Alley who are particularly familiar with the Ninth
Young Master from Stone Castle?"
"What do you mean?" Tang Ji's expression changed. "What do you take me
for?"
"Someone who is very familiar with Hope Alley."
"Go ask the Ninth Young Master himself."
"A slave won't try to find out anything from his master."
"Oh, are you a slave too?"
Gu Shenwei did not reply and Tang Ji did not speak again. The two looked at
each other for a while.
Maid Lotus also jumped down while holding the hilt of her saber in her right
hand. Suddenly, Tang Ji shuddered and shrunk his body instinctively. His
body was slanted to a side and he came up close to Gu Shenwei, almost as if
he wanted to seek his protection. "No, there's no one who is familiar with the
Ninth Young Master in Hope Alley. The Ninth Young Master won't like
people like us."
Tang Ji's kung fu was not advanced but one could feel its murderous feeling.
That beautiful woman who had a calm expression on her face actually
revealed an aura that shocked him. After speaking, he turned to run back to
the house and grabbed a cup of bitter tea. He tipped his head, downed it and
did not regain his energy until after half a day had passed."
Shangguan Fei was meticulous. He will not let his scandals leak out so easily.
Gu Shenwei believed that Tang Ji was speaking the truth.
The two traversed through the peach forest. Maid Lotus, who had just
threatened her rival with her murderous feeling, commented: "Look, the
flowers have fallen."
The pink flower blossoms fell and scattered all over the floor. Gu Shenwei
looked at them blankly. He hadn't noticed the flowers blossoming. He also
felt nothing when the flowers fell.
He saw a little figure standing between two piles of dirt.
That was the tomb of Ye Silang and Chu Yangjun.
Gu Shenwei was a bit surprised. In the past few months, he had been
practising with Chu Nanping in the peach forest nearly every day. He had
never seen this child show any interest in his brother's tomb. He passed by
occasionally but ignored it.
Chu Nanping was holding swords of disproportionate lengths in his hands.

He turned his head to look at the killer, who looked as similarly dazed as him.
"Someone wants to kill you."
A faint breeze stirred, scattering peach blossoms all over the ground. The
naive assassins were not fearful of an assassination. They walked out from
behind the tree and blocked the way of the two killers.
With a face full of marks, bulging eyes, and disfigured noses, the two uglies
who looked almost identical held four short daggers in their four short hands.
"Immortal Peng asked you to come?" Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus held onto
their sword shafts. The person in front of them was an expert and was a
suitable target for their sword practice.
"He isn't Immortal."
"Immortal was killed by you."
"You even took a scroll from Immortal."
"We want to avenge his death and reclaim his treasure."
The two uglies took turns to speak. Their meaning was clear.
Joy Pavilion was split up. One was ready to accept the new Immortal Peng
and to continue the fantasy of life as before; the others wanted to choose their
own destinies.
There was nothing left to be said. What's left was only to kill and be killed.
Chu Nanping walked over and stood in between the two rivals. He pulled out
his long sword and faced the uglies. "You can't kill him."
The Uglies' shocked expressions made them look even more hideous.
"Chu Nanping, what are you doing? You said you wanted to kill Yang
Huan."
"I want to kill him. You can't do that."
"Nonsense. Get out of the way!"
Chu Nanping used his long sword in reply. He did not understand the word
"nonsense".
The 64 types of training methods in the "Secrets of Love" are a complete

nonsense but the kung fu itself was real and isn't weak at all. Once the four
swords are taken out, Chu Nanping would be immediately defeated. If the
two uglies hadn't shown any mercy, he would have no means of looking for
Xu Xiaoyi to "play".
Gu Shenwei rushed over and one ugly immediately gave up on Chu Nanping
to face this killer's challenge.
Gu Shenwei's advance was as quick as his retreat. The two uglies did not let
him go at all. They had barely pursued five steps before they seemed to trip
over a stone. They fell forwards heavily and never rose again.
Maid Lotus appeared beside Gu Shenwei.
The other ugly man roared loudly as he pressed his swords strongly against
Chu Nanping. He swept his sword at the female killer.
Maid Lotus also retreated and the second ugly man also fell forwards like the
first.
Gu Shenwei's sword had also tasted fresh blood.
From how Chu Nanping saw it, the sword skills of the two killers were
incredibly high and they killed with ease. The ugly man looked like a brute
who didn't know any kung fu and who fell on his own sword.
He was supposed to be a "heartless man" who wouldn't reveal his emotions

easily. This time he gaped in astonishment too. In his mind, the sword craft of
killer Yang Huan was close to his and he would often go to seek advice from
him.
The Death Scripture was not an easy form of sword craft. Gu Shenwei gave it
his all for Maid Lotus. Were it not for Chu Nanping who disturbed the two
uglies and threw them into disarray, they could have left several wounds on
the killers. These wounds might have been fatal.
The gap between the masters was very small but the outcome was a matter of
life and death.
This was the first time an outsider had seen Maid Lotus use her sword craft.
She looked towards Slave Huan and wanted to know what he thought.
"My sword craft is better than yours." Gu Shenwei looked at Chu Nanping
and had an idea in his mind.
"This is strange. It's not like Heartless Swords at all." Chu Nanping was
obsessed with his own kung fu.
"So, do you still want to block the assassin for me?"
Chu Nanping nodded his head solemnly. "Immortal Peng will die and you
will also die. I have to guarantee that the person who will kill you is me."
"Well, then just follow me. There're many people who want to kill me. When
you're willing, you can try to kill me."
Gu Shenwei had Maid Lotus by his side but did not mind having another
person protecting him.
Chu Nanping was not an expert but he would grow into one eventually.
The two killers broke the wounds as usual and headed toward the outside the
forest. Chu Nanping did not respond to the killer's words but hesitantly
followed behind him as if he was not clear of his own role.
When they had reached the edge of the peach forest, he found that he had
been surrounded. Scores of machetemen were lined in small groups and they
walked neatly into the peach forest, blades gleaming and brimming with
murderous intentions.
Chapter 195 - A Battle in the Forest
Chapter 195: A Battle in the Forest
As the sun set, the peach trees welcomed another lively night.
Groups of machetemen ran past the two killers and a small swordsman but
did not seem to take notice of them. They continued to advance while
brandishing their swords.
"What are you doing here?" Someone asked in a quiet voice. His large
physique seemed to have blocked the last rays of sunlight.
"I'm here to collect information," Gu Shenwei answered as he recognized that

this person was Guan Houlin.
"That's not necessary. Joy Pavilion will turn into ashes immediately. Hope
Alley will no longer be a paradise and, from now on, it will have to pay every
month."
Guan Houlin still did not forget how he was looked down at in Joy Pavilion.
The only person he was jealous of was Immortal Peng. He wanted to use this
opportunity to exact revenge.
Gu Shenwei led the way and did not say what was on his mind. If he could
place his bets on this ambush, he would stake them on Hope Alley. Joy
Pavilion might be divided with only thirty over disciples left. However, every
single one of them was a martial arts expert. Those more than 200
machetemen were here only for the money and probably wouldn't be their
match.
Guan Houlin couldn't think of these. He only saw one group of customers
from the teahouse who were here to die. He never knew that they were
learners of martial arts. He was sure that this was a battle that he would win
and that he would score a victory for the Ninth Young Master.
"If you want to watch the show, you are welcome. Tuo Nengya couldn 't
escape again this time."
Gu Shenwei would not tell the other party that the old macheteman had
already left Joy Pavilion. "Congratulations to you for all of your wonderful
work. The Ninth Young Master would be relying on you in the future."
"Haha, I'm not bragging. The Ninth Young Master relies on me for many
things. Oh yes, how did you manage to kill Immortal Peng?"
"He was terribly old. People couldn't see this. I just took my chance."
"Just as I thought." Guan Houlin did not believe the killer's words entirely.
He regretted not being bolder because even he could be capable of killing that
elusive old fellow. "What a pity. A killer can't change his master. If not for
this, I would have asked the Ninth Young Master to keep all of you. I don't
look down on her but, I mean, a woman is still a woman. Kun Society might
still be fine without her?"
Gu Shenwei smiled slightly and did not argue with him. Maid Lotus and Chu
Nanping did not respond at all. One was indifferent and the other was
heartless. They did not care about what others said at all. Chu Nanping did
not even care about the safety of Joy Pavilion. He was still considering the
killer's suggestion.
As the machetemen had all entered the peach forest, Guan Houlin was
preparing for battle. "Hey, we're visiting the lass at Xu family tomorrow. You
won't put a dead person in her house again, will you?"
"I won't."
"That's good. A brothel is still a brothel. Don't turn it into a coffin shop."
Guan Houlin treated his killers as his subordinates. He had over 200
machetemen and there was nothing that he was afraid of.
Shangguan Fei's "military counsellor" commanded the offense. Gu Shenwei
followed him from afar.
This was a battle that began with a sneak attack. Guan Houlin was not
completely ignorant. The 50 machetemen carried their bows and with at the
command of the military commander, lit their arrows and fired together.
The arrows left their bows with a whizz and subsequently their sounds
became fainter like a group of meteors. They flew high and fell in the
direction of Joy Pavilion.
Inside Joy Pavilion, there was a lone burning lamp, as if it knew nothing
about the ambush.
"Prepare the ladder."
The burning arrows were still in its trajectory in midair when Guan Houlin
issued the second order. It's time to start the massacre and to take care of the
mess.
However, things turned out slightly differently from what he'd expected. The
50 burning arrows had just flown over the top of the wall before hitting a
large invisible net. They promptly fell onto the ground.
One group of grotesque looking men leapt up onto the top of the wall,
carrying all sorts of weapons in their hands. Without hesitation, they moved
towards the ladder to kill the machetemen who were ready to attack.
This was indeed a massacre. However, the target seemed to have changed.
After a few terrible cries, the machetemen seemed to be thrown into disarray.
They were told that this was going to be an easy ambush and so they were not
prepared for a difficult fight. Moreover, they did not want to lose their lives
for no reason. The battle had only just started when Joy Pavilion showed its
teeth and the machetemen began to flee for their lives.
Guan Houlin was stunned by the counter-attack of Joy Pavilion. After a long
moment, he roared in anger and pulled out the dagger on his waist. He
blocked the machetemen who were attempting to flee in all directions. "Stop,
you fools. They're few in numbers, and we're…"
The military counselor's voice was overwhelmed by the terrible screaming

that did not end.
In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn down, the neat
formation of machetemen had become disarrayed. It was no longer a
competition of machete skills, it was about who could run away the fastest.
Guan Houlin's defeat was so complete that he was dumbfounded. Upon

recovering his senses, the first thing he wanted to do was to run away. He
took big strides and even threw away the knives in his hands.
This was Joy Pavilion's first killing frenzy in so many years. Its disciples
were like alcohol addicts who had not drunk wine for many years. Now,
tasting the fragrance of wine again, they seemed to enter into a state of
frenzy. This was the real rebirth of Immortal Peng. Even the strongest
hypnotism might not be able to stop these people now.
The peach forest became a slaughterhouse. Only the lucky and the quick-
footed could escape out of it.
Guan Houlin was obviously not the latter kind of person. However, he was
lucky because there were two killers who were watching this ambush that had
started spectacularly but ended in failure.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus rushed to Guan Houlin's side. With each one
supporting either side of his arms, they dragged him out of the forest.
The machetemen were either slaughtered or had escaped from the forest
alone. Not a single one of them followed the military counselor.
The exhuberance of Joy Pavilion's disciples was calmed down at the fringes
of the peach forest. They were not killers and did not follow the principle of
completely exterminating their enemy.
Guan Houlin kneeled onto the ground, looking at the ink-dark peach trees.
This should have been his place of victory. He muttered repeatedly, "How
could this be?"
Gu Shenwei did not reveal an expression of glee but he reminded Guan

Houlin of a most important matter. "The Ninth Young Master might not be
happy."
Guan Houlin was most afraid of hearing this. He had completely forgotten
that the killer was his savior. He straightened his back and spoke
authoritatively, chastising: "It was all your fault. You knew this would have
happened, didn't you? I'm going to tell Ninth Young Master that you caused
this."
"Do you take the Ninth Young Master for a fool?" Gu Shenwei's tone turned
cold.
Guan Houlin was definitely clear about this. This time, the reason why the
attack on Joy Pavilion had failed was because the disciples of Joy Pavilion
were all experts. However one looked at it, Gu Shenwei could not be blamed.
No one knew this better than the astute Shangguan Fei.
"He'll kill me!" Guan Houlin covered his face and sobbed like a child.
"Someone can protect you." Gu Shenwei had spent all this time observing
that battle and waiting for its predetermined outcome, just for the sake of this
very opportunity.
Guan Houlin lowered both of his hands and raised his thick eyebrows. He
expression appeared to be slightly angry but also confounded at the same
time. He seemed to understand things after a while and said, "You want to
bribe me? Forget it. I, Guan Houlin, am not a macheteman who will betray
his master."
Gu Shenwei had learnt something from Immortal Peng. Everyone would find
reasons to persuade themselves and there was no need for too much
persuasion. Hence, he did not argue, explain or refute him but only stared
coldly at the strong and tall macheteman.
"I won't betray him!" Guan Houlin said with every step that he took
backwards. His voice faded and became smaller and grew less confident.
There were few loyal machetemen like Tuo Nengya. They were as few as
outdated antiques.
"Can the Tenth Young Master really protect me?"
"I didn't mention the Tenth Young Master."
Guan Houlin was shocked. He looked at the killer and then at the female
killer beside him and the child behind her who was carrying a long sword.
Somehow, he thought of how these three looked ridiculous standing beside
each other. His mind immediately focused on himself again. "The Ninth
Young Master has treated me with much grace. I'll never turn against him."
"I'm a killer of Stone Castle and I won't ever attack my master. The Tenth
Young Master wouldn't do that too. They're biological siblings and twins.
Any conflict between them is just a game."
Guan Houlin shifted his eyes. Thinking about the killer's words, his
expression turned serious, as if he had understood everything. "I won't betray
him. I want to seek forgiveness from the Ninth Young Master. He'll forgive
me. I'm different from the rest; he'll forgive me."
Guan Houlin didn't want to stay together with a killer belonging to the Tenth
Young Master. He ambled around and ran towards the South City. Not long
afterward, he vanished into the dark night.
"He'll complain about you to the Ninth Young Master," Maid Lotus wanted
to silence Guan Houlin.
Gu Shenwei had other plans. "The Ninth Young Master isn't a simpleton. I'll
meet him personally."
It turned out that the person who gave Shangguan Fei ideas wasn't Guan
Houlin but the little master who had once followed behind his sister. That
person had truly grown into a sinister Young Master of Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei couldn't bear to have his weakness fall into the hands of
Shangguan Fei. If he wasn't able to kill this person of the Shangguan family
immediately, he needed to take countermeasures.
It was too late to go to the North City. On the second day in the afternoon, Gu
Shenwei went alone to visit the Ninth Young Master. Maid Lotus returned to
Kun Society to report to Shangguan Ru. Chu Nanping decided not to return
to Joy Pavilion. He hadn't decided if he should become a "protector" of the
killer. Hence, he went to visit his "friend", hoping to get some advice. Gu
Shenwei was extremely curious. He wondered if the shocked Xu Xiaoyi
would still dare to meet this strange child again.
The defeat of the Horned Dragon Society in the hands of the Joy Pavilion
was news that had spread all over Jade City. Many people came to
understand that there was actually a martial arts expert in Hope Alley.
Immortal Peng instantly became even more "divine" and his death became
increasingly mysterious.
Under such circumstances, the white-robed Immortal Peng's "rebirth" gained

widespread recognition.
Gu Shenwei entered Hope Alley in the afternoon openly and took part in
Immortal Peng's flesh ascension ceremony. The dwarf's corpse was placed on
the pile of firewood in front of Joy Pavilion and set alight by fire.
Many residents outside of Hope Alley participated in this ceremony and even
joined the ranks of those who were competing for the possessions of the dead
Immortal.
The killer and the white-robed Immortal Peng were known to be friends.
People who saw this scene swore and assured their close friends that the
killer had never killed Immortal Peng. He had only helped the Immortal in
his soul-delivery. They then explained the term "soul-delivery" to those who
did not understand. "Soul-delivery… hmm… you'd think he was dead but in
reality he isn't dead. He has become immortal. Immortal Peng couldn't bear to
leave Jade City and so he borrowed a fleshly body. In fact, he hadn't died. He
didn't mean to die and he hasn't died."
Joy Pavilion became famous. However, the Horned Dragon Society was
unlucky and they became the fools who proved the existence of the immortal.
They deserved to die by being the grasshopper that tried to block the horse
cart.
Hence, that afternoon when Gu Shenwei went to see Shangguan Fei, he knew
that the Ninth Young Master would definitely not be happy. If he had killed
the military counselor over this, Gu Shenwei would not be surprised.
The military counselor would definitely push all of the responsibility to

someone else, especially the killer Yang Huan who had appeared fortuitously
and who persuaded him to rebel.
"You wretched two-faced slave!" Indeed, upon seeing Slave Huan,

Shangguan Fei blew up and his face turned red in anger. "I'll let everyone
know your true colors. My sister wouldn't kill you but Stone Castle definitely
will."
Gu Shenwei knelt down on one knee according to tradition. He wondered if

the message that he had received would be able to suppress the Ninth Young
Master who looked fierce on the outside but who was actually weak on the
inside.
(Please keep and give recommendations.)

Chapter 196 - Breach
Chapter 196: Breach
There were only three people inside the room: Shangguan Fei, Guan Houlin,
and the killer Yang Huan.
Shangguan Fei was a coward who did not even dare to go to South City.
However, being so accustomed to living in the Stone Castle, even for a
coward like him did not fear the killers who were also servants of his
household. Never would he ever fathom the thought that Slave Huan
concealed murderous intent within his heart.
"You dare?" Shangguan Fei stood beside a big and tall military counselor,
who had to bend over to look at Slave Huan. It looked like he was towering
over a dwarf.
"I don't understand Ninth Young Master's intentions," said Gu Shenwei with
a peaceful expression. After hurrying through the formality of half kneeling,
he was standing still, almost irreverently.
Shangguan Fei was not mentally prepared for Slave Huan's impudence, and
he flushed angrily. He did not even have words to use to express his outrage
and thunderous fury. Instead, he took a step back and pushed Guan Houlin
with one hand; as if preparing himself to hide behind his body. "You
deliberately watched the downfall of the Horned Dragon Society and even
bribed my military counselor. Do you deny it?"
"It was just doing him a good turn, and counselor Guan seemed so scared at
the time."
"Nonsense!" Guan Houlin boomed, making Shangguan Fei to knit his brows.
However, he showed his fawning self. He needed such a slave, not a kung fu
expert and feebleminded, to have the boldness and courage that he himself
lacked. Guan Houlin took a step forward as if he had been greatly insulted.
Full of righteous indignation, he scowled, "You scumbag! I have never been
scared of anything before. It was your wishful thinking, thinking that you
could bribe me."
"You dare come and meet me?" Shangguan Fei drew courage from the giant
and followed suit by taking a step forward. "You are a traitor yourself, so you
want everyone to be just like you. I want to punish you and tell my sister the
truth. Hey hey, I have to thank you. If it weren't for you coming to me and
begging for mercy, I would never have thought that the best opportunity to
kill Master Yu had come. A 'flash of genius,' this is what a 'flash of genius' is.
My sister will definitely love this."
Shangguan Fei's eyes glimmered with excitement as he imagined himself

once again tormenting his sister and making her suffer. He felt as if he was
flying he was so happy.
"It's better not to do this." Gu Shenwei said calmly. The kind of calmness that
was easily mistaken for weakness or timidity.
"Ha, did you hear that?" Did you say 'It's better not to do this'? This f*cking
slave is actually threatening me." Shangguan Fei laughed out loud as if he
heard a joke. Guan Houlin solemnly nodded his head, responding to his
master's reaction with approval and admiration. "I spared my sister's life once
before at a brothel. When she entered South City, she didn't even eliminate
the Leviathan Society. I have already fulfilled my brotherly duties, but still
she wouldn't give up. Now she's digging into my little corner too? It's time
for me to teach her a lesson!"
But Shangguan Fei had exaggerated his kindness. In Xu Yanwei's home, the
person accompanying him to save the Meng's Fifth Young Master was a
killer from the Stone Castle. No one would dare to lay their hands on the
Tenth Young Master right under their noses. Waiting for Shangguan Ru to
assume command of the Leviathan Society in South City before killing her
would be a high-priced victory with no guarantee of success. Shangguan Ru
could escape back to North City any time.
Shangguan Fei was always waiting for the ideal opportunity to strike. These
days the most obvious target was Tuo Nengya. Shangguan Ru and her
Leviathan Society had better get in the back of the line.
"Ninth Young Master, you have really disappointed me. If you continue to
fool around like this, I will have to file a formal complain to the Missus."
Shangguan Fei laughed so hard, he ran out of breath. It was a pity that the
Ninth Young Master was no longer a child. Slave Huan put on a straight-face
and spoke in a grave tone, "You fool, Mother hoped that the two of us would
be ruthless to each other, the more ruthless the better. She's said before that
every person in the Stone Castle are enemies. Every member of the
Shangguan household relies on killing each other in order to achieve the
highest kung fu and the crafty mind. Of course, she also hoped that my sister
and I would unify against outsiders. As the Missus, this is at odds with her
benevolence. Go file the formal complaint, Slave. Let's see who's still capable
of keeping me in check."
Gu Shenwei patiently listened to the Ninth Young Master's "declaration".

"The Missus was hoping for you to be as ruthless as possible is in the hopes
that you would become a real man; not for you to 'love' men."
Shangguan Fei did not think Slave Huan would use this against him and he
flushed scarlet. Rage instantly burned away all caution. He pulled a wooden
saber and levelled it at Slave Huan, "Son of a b*tch, you've crossed the line
this time. Some affairs are not for a slave to speak of, or even think of."
"What living slaves dare not say, dying slaves dare to."
Slave Huan's attitude had crossed the fundamental boundaries of master and
slave. Not even Guan Houlin could accept that. He stood in front of his
master, hulking figure over the disrespectful slave as he cracked his knuckles
loudly to intimidate him. "A dead slave can't do anything, and certainly can't
run back to the Missus to spout nonsense."
Meanwhile, Shangguan Fei seemed to have figured something out. He stuck

his head out from behind the military counselor and said, "Go file the
complaint, you f*cking slave, I'm not scared. I'm a young master of Golden
Roc Fort. I can like whoever I want. Even if I'm going to sponsor a few male
prostitutes, so what? Which young masters from North City hasn't sponsored
one or two themselves? Meng household members are no strangers to kind of
matter. You want to catch fish with a broken net? Keep dreaming. Once you
die, no one else will be able to harm even a single strand of hair on my body.
Gu Shenwei sighed. He knew that he had poked a hornets' nest, but he didn't
care. He would be happy when swarms of hornets covered the entire Jade
City. "What's wrong with sponsoring a few male prostitutes? The problem is
becoming one. The young masters of North City don't seem to have this
preference."
Gu Shenwei had used a lethal move. It had been the teahouse supervisor from
Joy Pavilion who had reminded him that "the Ninth Young Master won't like
our kind." These may just have been words that Tang Ji said in passing, but it
helped Gu Shenwei look the issue from a different angle.
He had made an educated guess and speculated that this was the only
possibility and wanted immediate confirmation. Shangguan Fei may have
been smart, but he would never go to the extent of putting himself in the face
of danger.
"You have betrayed me?!" Shangguan Fei's voice was filled with grief and
indignation. His eyes were not staring at Slave Huan, but at the military
counselor, Guan Houlin.
Guan Houlin gre even more flustered than his master. He seemed to shrink to
the same height as Shangguan Fei's as he reached out with both his hands and
pleaded, "No, no, no, It wasn't me. It was someone else. I have always kept
my mouth shut."
The Ninth Young Master and the military counselor appeared to be

performing a short scene from a tragicomedy, one filled with accusations,
heartbreak, despair, and suffering. Gu Shenwei did not intend to keep
watching, so he turned away and left.
"I'm going to kill you!" Shangguan Fei's howl could be heard all the way
from the main gate of the city. No one knew whether this "you" referred to
Slave Huan or the military counselor.
Gu Shenwei had publicly severed ties with one of the masters of the
Shangguan household. But both sides mutually held on to each other and any
brief harmonious cooperation between them was more fragile than cobwebs
in a rainstorm.
Returning to the Leviathan Society, Gu Shenwei requested to see Shangguan

Ru in private to explain his plans in detail.
The crisis caused by Immortal Peng's death had been quickly dealt with.
Shangguan Ru was thrilled hearing this news, and now her concerns lay with
Slave Huan's plans. "Are you certain? If you act rashly and alert the enemy,
you'll no longer be able to fool them."
"Nothing good will happen if we keep waiting, it is better to take the risk."
As Shangguan Ru stared at Slave Huan, a wave of strange feelings rose from

within her heart. It was as if she was watching a cute pet from childhood
suddenly grown and now a fierce predator with sharp teeth and claws.
When she had been determined to take revenge for Master Yu, not one killer
or slave dared to support her idea openly. Everyone avoided her like the
plague, for fear of becoming the sacrificial lamb to the twins. Even
Wildhorse, who had been loyal to Master Yu, was apathetic. It seemed as if
they had just wanted to quickly forget about the past sorrows.
Only Slave Huan had enthusiastically joined in. Within a few days, he had
drawn up a plan to lure the snake out of its hole.
A scene of herself as a child, sprinting across the walls of the Stone Castle
appeared in Shangguan Ru's mind and she sat down slowly. It was as if she
had realised the truth for the first time: At fourteen-years-old, she had entered
the world of adults. In the past, she had practiced killing in games, now
killing was the game.
"Let's go. Let's end this."

Gu Shenwei retreated. He was in a hurry to exact his revenge and could not
stay in hiding any longer. The deadline for the Qi Deviation was this year. He
had to act as quickly as possible.
He bought Maid Lotus and even called upon Chu Nanping from the brothel.
From this day on, he decided never to act alone.
Xu Xiaoyi forgave his "good friend." In fact, he was delighted about the
arrival of Chu Nanping. He brought out all sorts of delicious food, and
inquired in great detail about the contents of the Heartless Swordsmanship.
"I've heard that to break through the Fourth Realm, one must kill a "person
who does not want to kill"," he questioned.
Xu Xiaoyi did not practice kung fu, so his questions were naturally all over
the place. However, Chu Nanping answered sincerely, wanting to prove
necessity of sacrificing good friends, "I'm just waiting for Yang Huan, as
long as he changes his mind and returns to practice the swordsmanship, I will
kill you."
When Gu Shenwei arrived, the debate between the two was still unresolved.
Xu Xiaoyu's face was dripping with sweat, but still he refused to
acknowledge his defeat. "No, no, that's not right," he said. "The person you
don't want to kill the most is definitely yourself. Unless committing suicide
would help you reach an ungodly level? That won't happen if you commit
suicide, and it definitely won't happen if you killed me."
For a moment, Chu Nanping could not think of any retort. He stuffed his
mouth with desserts, and grabbing his sword, readied himself to "protect" his
practice partner. "You said something very reasonable, I will think it over.
However, the sword is never wrong. I guarantee it."
As he left the brothel, Chu Nanping extended a hand. "I agree," he said.
"What?"
"I'm going to be your protector."
Gu Shenwei gripped of his wrist, but did not seem as serious as the other
person. "There is no force binding you to this exchange, and you can leave at
any time."
"No, I'm not leaving until I am able to kill you."
Gu Shenwei laughed, his life had been paid in advance to Mama Xue in
advance. There were also many others fiercely eyeing them. He was afraid
that this little swordsman would never get a chance to act.
The three came to the Rouge Forest after dark, with Maid Lotus concealing
their trail. Chu Nanping followed her ten steps behind while holding his
sword, and he scrutinized at the passing machetemen warily.
Even at night, the Rogue Forest was not deserted, and crackling sounds came
from nearby campfires. The Blood Saber Contest was ongoing as per usual,
with homeless machetemen betting on their companions hoping to double
their money.
Gu Shenwei circled the forest, observing a group of machetemen battling but

did not place any bets. He was tired, and walked deep into the woods and sat
under a big tree to rest.
After midnight, the Blood Saber Contest came to an end. A black-robed

machetemen walked by and stood under the tree opposite of Gu Shenwei.
"Did the Tenth Young Master send you?"
"Yes, you and her have a common enemy. You both want to lure them out."
The old machetemen, Tuo Nengya, was silent for a moment. "Is she
determined to kill her brother?"
"She is someone from the Shangguan Family." Gu Shenwei felt like that was
explanation enough.
"What suggestions do you have?"
"To lure the snake out of its hole, we need your head as bait."
Gu Shenwei unsheathed his sword.

Chapter 197 - Interlocking
Chapter 197: Interlocking
Gu Shenwei returned to the backyard of the Southwall Tavern at midnight.

There was already an anxious guest waiting inside the room.
He had covered himself in a cape in the same way as those who wanted to
hide their identity. But he was too big for this cape. He said, "You have to
rescue me."
The decoration in Gu Shenwei's room was simple. Only a bed, a desk, and
two chairs. He sat down and wearily sighed. "Well, what happened?"
Guan Houlin glimpsed at the child who was sitting at the corner. He looked
handsome and held a sword in his hands, but, his tilted head made him look
listless, cold and uninterested in anything. He was more like a ghost, and this
disturbed Guan Houlin. "I want to talk in private."
"That's not necessary. He doesn't have a big mouth."
With some hesitation, Guan Houlin said, "The Ninth Young Master wants me
dead." He was cornered and had nowhere else to go.
"You escaped. That's incredible."
"No, the Ninth Young Master hasn't decided to kill me. But I know him better
than anyone. He'll first kill me, and then you. We share the same fate."
"I can't save myself, nor can I save you."
"You can, you're the only one who can do that. I saw your bravery. Those
killers in the fort, including the subordinates of the Ninth Young Master,
they're weak. But you, you have the killing desire, you'll fight against them
instead of waiting for death. Is that right? You'll fight."
Gu Houlin's words sounded chaotic and full of expectation. If Yang Huan

was not the guy he expected, then he would be greatly disappointed.
"How should I save you? Should I help you hide or escape?"
These two beat around the bush for a while. Finally, Guan Houlin spoke out,
"Those will not work. This will only end in either his death or my death." But
his words did not surprise Yang Huan, so he had to make it clearer. "We'll
never be safe unless we kill the Ninth Young Master."
"First of all, it's impossible to kill him; secondly, killing him will put us in
even more danger. He is the son of the Supreme King!"
Guan Houlin anxiously pushed forward. "Yes! So we have to borrow the

power of the Tenth Young Master. She wants to take revenge, doesn't she?
This will be an internal strife, and we won't be involved."
Gu Shenwei grasped his sword and remained silent and cold. Guan Houlin
stopped as he felt that he might have said something wrong. "Go on, what do
you think?"
His words relieved Gu Houlin. "Well, the Ninth Young Master feared Tuo
Nengya the most. He had failed to murder him several times. If he can find
Tuo Nengya's trail, he'll personally lead his team to kill him. We can seize the
opportunity and…"
"Okay, then where should I find Tuo Nengya? You had wasted several
months trying to track him down."
"We know he hides in Hope Alley. When Immortal Peng was still alive, those
machetemen did not dare to enter inside. We have to work quickly. This time,
we can't let the Ninth Young Master take the lead."
Gu Shenwei considered his sincerity for a moment, then he said, "Tuo

Nengya is no longer in Hope Alley."
"Have you already found him?" Gu Houlin was surprised.

"Yep."
"Then how about my plan?"
"Wait for my instruction, I have to discuss it with the Tenth Young Master."
"Alright, but please tell me soon. I don't even know if I can survive today."
"It's time for you to take the risk. Go back to your master and meet me at nine
o'clock tonight. Then send the message to him afterwards."
Gu Houlin was not so confident about his future. Even so, he stopped trying
to persuade further. He cloaked himself and bid farewell to the killer. "Be
vigilant, you're the Ninth Young Master's most hated person."
Gu Shenwei nodded and watched him leave.
"He is frightened," said Chu Nanping, who had been standing in the corner.
This child could also see the complicated emotions of other people.
"He is frightened indeed because if he can't fool me, he will surely die."
Gu Shenwei stood up, and paced to and fro. Now he had to take Gu Houlin
into his consideration. He then called out to Maid Lotus and they went to see
the Tenth Young Master together.
Shangguan Ru also thought that Guan Houlin was using the ruse of self-
injury. "He wants to use us to find Tuo Nengya and then humiliate me
afterwards." She could clearly see her brother's plots when she calmly
pondered over the problem.
"We can make use of his ruse."
After their meeting, Gu Shenwei left the Kun Society to go to the Southwall
Tavern. Since Immortal Peng came back again, Shopkeeper Lyu would not
be troubled by Gu Shenwei's appearance anymore. In order to make up for
his previous attitude, he personally held a glass of wine and chatted with him.
Gu Shenwei did not drink. He accepted the wine only because he could calm
his mind by staring at the blood-like liquid.
Shopkeeper Lyu introduced some customers to the killer. Gu Shenwei bought

them several cups of wine and tried to collect some information from them.
The macheteman of the Horned Dragon Society went to mop up the Rouge
Forest, had a few quarrels with the people out there, and eventually made
those people leave. Meanwhile, the Horned Dragon Society expanded the
enrolment of the machetemen. This time they were generous, and they
seemed to be trying to attract all the machetemen with the high salary.
But strangely, those machetemen who had always sought money were now
holding themselves aloof. Many of them refused the invitation of the Ninth
Young Master. As for those who were lured, they were continuously
threatened. After some fights among them, though blood had not been shed
for now, the atmosphere in the South City became tense.
Xu Xiaoyi also came after the brothel was harassed. A bunch of the
machetemen had broken into the house and they searched everywhere. They
had just left.
Xu Xiaoyi took Chu Nanping with him and left. Of course, it was under the
permission of Brother Huan. He wanted this little swordman to see his
intelligence gathering abilities.
Many people felt that the war between the two societies had restarted.
Gu Shenwei went to see the Tenth Young Maste. There was one thing he had
not figured out. "Who is discouraging those machetemen?"
"Wild Horse." Shangguan Ru only said a name and did not elaborate. Wild
Horse's relationship with Slave Huan was bad, he had even tried to murder
Slave Huan. Thus she gave them different tasks and working environments.
Gu Shenwei could understand her intentions. Wild Horse, who was a

naturally born leader, was the best candidate for this task. He had proven it
during the slaguhter. During these months, he must have earned the respect of
the machetemen in the South City, and now all he needed was a smart
interpreter.
What made Gu Shenwei wary was that Shangguan Ru did not show him all
of her plans. Everyone had their own interests and wanted to make use of the
others. Gu Shenwei himself was not an exception.
When he returned to the Southwall Tavern, Gu Shenwei asked about Wild

Horse. But there was barely anyone who had heard of him, nor did anyone
saw a teenager with strange eyes. Xu Xiaoyi also could not find anything
about Wild Horse.
He has hidden himself so well.
But Xu Xiaoyi acquired some other piece of information. "The Horned

Dragon Society bought a house near the checkpoint. Nominally, it was to
provide a gathering place for businessmen, however the real tenants there
were the machetemen."
"Is this information accurate?"
"Absolutely." Xu Xiaoyi kept his eyes open and it seemed as if he had been
humiliated. "I checked that place with Little Chu. We messed around with
some children out there, and had a fight with them. After the adults came and
drove us off, Little Chu had traded blows with one of them."
Chu Nanping nodded, with his face flushed. "There were 15 people, and they
all knew some kung fu. Some of them looked like you."
"Looked like me?"
"They were young and were like the killers in the fort."
Guan Houlin arrived at nine in the evening. He looked even more anxious
than he was last night. His body shook around like a bear in a cage, and it
seemed as if he intended to knock down all the things in the house.
"Now what? I can't wait any longer. Soon they'll split me in two!"
"Okay, then we'll stick to your plan. Use Tuo Nengya to lure the Ninth
Young Master. But there's one more thing."
"And what's that?"
"Tuo Nengya had already died."
Gu Shenwei took a wooden box from the floor and placed it on the desk."
Guan Houlin approached close to it and observe it carefully. That was indeed
the head of Boss Tuo. He had met Boss Tuo several times when he was only
an ordinary macheteman, so he wouldn't be mistaken about it.
"How could that be?"
"I killed him two nights ago, so that I can cheat on our target. But your plan is
better."
"But since he is dead, how can we implement the plan?"
"Use a fake one. Now you go back and tell the master, that after two days, at
three o'clock in the middle of the night, at the wasteland outside the peach
forests of Gui Garden, the Tenth Young Master will negotiate with Tuo
Nengya about their union. They won't take many servants. Your people could
only hide in the forests. Try to persuade your master to bring his men. Leave
the other things to me."
"What about the source of my intelligence?"
"Just say the information was provided by me."
"You?"
"I serve the Tenth Young Master, but I also don't want to be the enemy of the
Ninth Young Master because I bear some responsibility to the both of them.
Beside, there is always someone who can take notice of our meeting."
Guan Houlin nodded his head. "Let's do it."

In the next room, Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were waiting for Gu
Shenwei's reply.
"Will he swallow the bait?"
Shangguan Ru was not that sure now. "It's hard to say. My brother may know
that this negotiation is a trap, and that Tuo Nengya's head is a fake. He may
use this opportunity to eliminate all of us in a single sweep."
Gu Shenwei took some time to fake Boss Tuo's head. This was the reason for
why he asked Guan Houlin to come at night. This trick will make the Ninth
Young Master truly believe in the information about the union of Tuo
Nengya and the Tenth Young Master.
"So he'll set up an ambush in the peach forest?"
"No, he knows that Guan Houolin can't fool me, so that ambush will be a
fake. The house, however, will be the real one."
Shangguan Ru frowned, but then she smiled. "The game between you two is
always very complicated. You set a trap, and he set another one based on
yours. In this way, maybe the house was the third trap, while the real one was
at somewhere else."
"That's possible." But Gu Shenwei was also a little confused. This intrigue
was a hurricane, and the upper parts were far bigger than the lower ones.
"I don't care about the traps. All I need to know is the location of his shelter."
"He's not that bold to show up on the battlefield. But he wants to solve all the
problems at the same time, so he'll definitely lead this action personally."
Finally Gu Shenwei's eyes grew wide. The Ninth Young Master was clever,
but it was also his biggest disadvantage. Now he had exposed his
whereabouts.
Chapter 198 - Surrounded
Chapter 198: Surrounded
The two each thought that they had seen through the other's schemes. All this
time, they believed that they were several steps ahead of the other, while also
assuming that their own plans hadn't been seen through.
As Shangguan Ru had returned to the Kun Society, Gu Shenwei was still in

deep thought while going over the whole plan to check for any flaws. Maid
Lotus had been standing there the entire time, quietly spectating. She then felt
that it was necessary for her to remind Slave Huan about some of the most
fundamental problems.
"I can't figure out what the Ninth Young Master is thinking; I don't
understand. He clearly knows that you didn't set any traps, why does he want
you to entertain him? Why must he come to South City? He has always been
very cautious."
Gu Shenwei shook his head. Many things that appeared normal to him were
things that other people aren't able to even comprehend. He pondered for a
while before answering Maid Lotus' query, "Although the Ninth Young
Master is very sinister and cunning, he's a very cowardly person. He says he's
not scared of his mother or his sister, but he's probably scared to death. He
wouldn't dare take the initiative to strike the Tenth Young Master either and
has most likely been waiting for an opportunity. Likely waiting for the Tenth
Young Master to make the first move so that his counter-attack would seem
to be perfectly logical and reasonable. He is definitely trying to be the victim
here. Hmm, he's probably already thought of an excuse to explain his sister's
death to his mother. Something like, "it was dear sister who is trying to kill
me. I had no choice but to defend myself."
Gu Shenwei's imitation of the Ninth Young Master's voice was

indistinguishable from the original. Acting shamelessly while in a dignified
manner at the same time, he seemed like a completely different person. Maid
Lotus could not help but giggle, but Chu Nanping looked utterly puzzled as
he reached for the handle of his sword.
"The Ninth Young Master has always felt that he was a victim and that his
sister betrayed him." Gu Shenwei continued so that he could straighten out
his ideas, "Just like the way Master Yu died, he likes solutions that no one
would expect. Through this game, he's hoping that the Tenth Young Master,
Tuo Nengya, and I, all killed. So… "
As Gu Shenwei continued to speak, he felt that the more he did, the more he
saw through Shangguan Fei's intentions.
During the following day, Horned Dragon Society continued to recruit more
machetemen. Gold coins eventually reveal its lasting and enormous power,
even sounds of troublemakers were getting weaker and weaker. Wildhorse's
efforts to prevent the Horned Dragon Society's growing influence seemed to
have failed.
Gu Shenwei had been sitting in the tavern for a while since early morning,
before heading to the Kun Society under Shangguan Ru's orders.
The Kun Society consisted of seven killers, 50 machetemen, and about two
dozen servants. Their forces were pitifully weaker compared to the Horned
Dragon Society. Four of the killers, including Wildhorse, did not show up,
leaving only Slave Huan, Maid Lotus, Liuhua, and the machetemen, who
were mostly old and weak. They were confused because they heard about the
rumors of an impending war between the two sides.
The whole plan was this: the meeting outside the peach forest was a "trap" set
by the Kun Society. The trap would probably be three servants wearing
cloaks and pretending to be the Tenth Young Master, killer Yang Huan, and
Maid Lotus, another three machetemen disguising as Tuo Nengya and his
servants. Inside the peach forest was an ambush set up by the Ninth Young
Master, which will have ten machetemen leading ten servants to "fall into the
trap." There was no real danger at the two sites; it was all purely acting.
The real "trap" and the checkpoint was located at the courtyard that was
recently purchased by the Horned Dragon Society. There, the Tenth Young
Master would personally lead her team to challenge her brother.
Machetemen only accepts missions and never asked about the details, but
they all understood that a decisive battle was about to begin.
That afternoon, Wildhorse, who hadn't been seen for a long time, came back
and with him was one hundred strong and powerful machetemen. This lifted
the spirits of the members of the Kun Society, and confidence returned to
those who were terrified and changed their minds about running away.
Every person was dressed like a killer, black masked with a red band tied to
their heads.
At midnight, the Kun Society's members set out one-by-one to their

designated positions to be on standby.
Dusk was the quietest and most desolate time in South City. The night was
thick, noisy guests were now exhausted and casually looking for a place to
sleep. Groups of black masks hid behind many dark street corners, as if they
were one with the night, while quietly waiting for the signal.
There were no night watchmen in South City, but that night was not like any
other night because there was a sound of banging gongs.
Near the checkpoint, there was a secluded residence surrounded by rundown

brothels and small casinos near the riverbank.
From the sounds of gongs, many shadows appeared on the rooftops of the
brothels and casinos. There were roughly 50 people, each holding sabers,
traveling with soft footsteps that made little to no sounds. Those asleep would
assume any noise were mice running around.
Groups of ten machetemen jumped into the residence and left some people
outside to keep watch.
Slight noises were coming from the courtyard as if someone was cutting
fabric with a pair of scissors.
Soon, the machetemen jumped out from the yard; many were holding human
heads in their hands.
"Nothing."
"Nothing."
This word came from every member. The men in black inquired each other
and seemed to be at a loss. As they were preparing to leave, they found that
the roads had been blocked. A large number of ambushers were on the streets
and rooftops; they were dressed the same as the other men in black except the
red belts weren't tied to their heads, but tied to their arms.
The ambushers had been hiding inside the brothels and casinos, waiting for
the enemies to fall into their trap. They were higher in number, over 200, four
times that of their opponents.
All of the ambushers held their bows, and with a single order, the fifty
machetemen in black were dead or wounded. Those who survived would not
escape the second round of arrows.
"Wait, wait." A machetemen in black in the middle of the ambushed group

spoke as he removed his mask. Some recognized this to be Kun Society's
killer Yang Huan. "Golden Roc Fort's Tenth Young Master is here. Don't be
rash."
A tall figure appeared on the rooftop said in a condescending and low voice,
"Put down your sabers and surrender. If even one person has a saber in their
hands, we'll immediately release the arrows."
"You really are a liar."
"Hey hey, same as you. If you believed me earlier, you would've been at the
peach forest. Why come here?" Guan Houlin was delighted and did not forget
this was to the credit of his master. "Ninth Young Master's foresight is
beyond anyone else's. Slave Huan, you're no match for him. Lay down your
weapons!"
There was nothing on the streets that could block the rain of arrows;
surrendering was the only option. Without waiting for Gu Shenwei's orders,
the machetemen had laid down their weapons. The machetemen that were
holding heads in their hands were especially nervous as they placed the heads
down and kicked them far away.
"Where's Boss Tuo, and the Tenth Young Master? Come out and meet me."
"Mind your words. You don't have the rights to speak to the Tenth Young
Master."
In the silent night, miserable screams came one after another; it was clear and
distant, but quickly subsided. Guan Houlin laughed and did not give his
orders for his men to put down their bows and arrows.
"Hey, you knew that the Ninth Young Master might not be hiding here, so
you must've launched attacks at several other locations. It's a pity, the places
you predicted are all wrong. The Ninth Young Master is hiding somewhere
you would never think of. Admit defeat, and prepare--"
Guan Houlin's words were long-winded. The machetemen below him became
flustered.
"You dare to touch the Tenth Young Master?"
"Who doesn't dare? The Tenth Young Master wants to kill my Ninth Young
Master, and we would naturally fight back."
"I advise you to wait a little while."
Guan Houlin was taken aback; killer Yang Huan was not expressing the fear
that he led on. Moreover, he still has not seen the Tenth Young Master.
"Bring the Tenth Young Master out here!"
From within the group of machetemen, one person walked out. Her body was
slender, and she took off her mask, it was a middle-aged machetewoman.
"It's not her." Guan Houlin became furious. He was in control of this whole
ordeal, and yet Yang Huan dared to play tricks in front of him.
The machetewoman turned and pulled someone else from their ranks; a
shorter person, and took off their mask. It was still not Shangguan Ru, but a
maid scared out of her wits.
Guan Houlin commanded his men to monitor this group of ambushers. He

definitely saw at least two women among them, surely one of them must be
the Tenth Young Master. He did not expect to be deceived and were furious.
"Sly kid, without the Tenth Young Master, you'll die faster. Release the--"
Before the word "arrows" came out of his mouth, suddenly a sharp whistle
came from the distance. The sound pierced through the sky, and could be
heard throughout South City.
The whistle seemed to be coming from Hope Alley. Guan Houlin's face paled
because this was not the signal he was waiting for.
"I did advise you to wait for a while."
"You, you… "
"I know where the Ninth Young Master is, he's in the hands of the Tenth
Young Master. So, you'd better not release those arrows. If we die, the Tenth
Young Master will surely avenge us."
Guan Houlin's body trembled. "You don't know. You're lying to me."
"Ninth Young Master was hiding inside the peach forest, am I right?"
As soon as the whistle was heard, Gu Shenwei knew that he did not guess
wrong.
Shangguan Fei wanted to take everyone by surprise. He speculated that both

sides would believe that the peach forest was an insignificant stage.
Swallowing his usual cowardly demeanor, he led a few men to hide within
the peach forest. After this ordeal, he could proudly promote his new found
bravery.
Shangguan Ru assigned the mission to Kun Society, deliberately concealing

it, letting any spies believe that the Tenth Young Master had been fooled and
was preparing to leave with the main forces to the checkpoint to attack the
Ninth Young Master. In actuality, the real Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus had
secretly swapped out of the team and headed toward the peach forest.
Guan Houlin did not stand firm. His foot slipped and he almost fell. A tile fell
to the floor, making a clear shattering sound.
"Put down the bows and arrows." Gu Shenwei slowed his speech. Although
the Ninth Young Master should have already fallen into their trap, he and
dozens of machetemen were still in the middle of danger. "You should think
about the future."
The archers were confused by the exchange of words between the two. They
stared at the military counselor, awaiting his orders.
Guan Houlin was not good at dealing with these complex and unexpected
situations. He needed the Ninth Young Master's instructions. However, the
Ninth Young Master had fallen into their trap, and his life was now in
someone else's hands.
"I, I don't want to die."
The words spoken by the military counselor made the archers feel deeply
ashamed. They did not wait for his orders and lowered their bows. Some with
foreboding feelings about the situation had secretly slipped away.
Gu Shenwei slowing bent down and picked up his saber, the other
machetemen followed suit and also rearmed themselves.
"Why don't you come with me to see the Ninth Young Master?"
"You're just going to kill me."
"No, the Tenth Young Master has promised that she wouldn't kill you,
because you're still of use to her."
"I'm still of use to her?"
"En, you can prove that the Ninth Young Master's death wasn't unjustified."
Guan Houlin only understood these words. He looked around, the archers
began to retreat under his gaze. Those under their employers never had deep
loyalties, the general trend was that no one was willing to die in vain.
"I'll go with you, but I don't want to see the Ninth Young Master."
His last remaining self-esteem had made him unwilling to face his old master.
Gu Shenwei nodded and waited for Guan Houlin to jump dow to lead the
machetemen to return to Gui Garden's peach forest.
At this moment, at the edge of the peach forest, a group of people stood
indistinctly in a circle. In the middle, a saber was placed on the neck of the
Ninth Young Master and a coffin was placed beside him.
"Apologize to Master Yu," the person holding the saber ordered.

Chapter 199 - The Twins
Chapter 199: The Twins
Shangguan Fei did not understand how things turned out this way.
The six men outside the peach forest should have been unimportant
characters. In the peach forest, the soldiers of the Horned Dragon Society
were split into two teams. The first team was pawns, and only after when the
Kun Society had sent the same pawns to encircle their rivals would
Shangguan Fei send the second team of machetemen to appear suddenly. The
latter would have encircled the enemy easily. Only after when everything was
over would he be able to brag that he had appeared on the battlefield himself.
Who would have dared to say that he didn't have any courage?
His younger sister, Slave Huan, and Tuo Nengya; these three people should
have been far away on the corner of the South City. They should have fallen
into the trap and been killed by that fool, Guan Houlin. If his mother had
chided him, he would be able to put all blame on the military counselor, or
have brought the head of the military counselor to ask his mother for
forgiveness. The big man might have been good in the past. Though he had
been able to give Shangguan Fei the security that Shangguan Fei needed
most; lately, Guan Houlin revealed more and more of his stupidity and could
not be trusted anymore.
This was actually a perfect plan. It was as perfect as the plans of assassinating
Master Yu and usurping the authority of the two societies. However, he had
fallen into a trap.
Of the six negotiators, there were his sister Shangguan Ru and the old
macheteman Tuo Nengya. Those people were not pawns either. They were
the skilled experts of Kun Society led by Wildhorse and there was also the
elite machetemen whom Tuo Nengya had hidden deep in the peach forest.
Shangguan Fei and the small number of machetemen that he led were not
their match. They surrendered almost immediately at the moment when both
sides clashed.
Shangguan Fei was shocked when he saw the coffin.
"I apologize to Master Yu." Shangguan Ru's saber was placed on her
brother's neck. She did not know the feeling in her heart. There was no joy of
revenge and neither was there the slightest mercy.
"I'm sorry," Shangguan Fei's head was in complete chaos. He did not know
how he had been seen through and neither could he foresee how his sister
was going to deal with him. "I didn't think of killing her. We were just
playing. As always, I would never have thought that anyone would die. It's
those machetemen who didn't take my advice. My sister, please spare me. I'm
your twin brother. Mother will be angry. Please don't kill me…"
Shangguan Fei pleaded while bursting into tears.
Shangguan Ru raised her head and looked at the people crowded around
them. The masked Wildhorse had a glimmer of the desire to kill in his eyes.
The old macheteman Tuo Nengya's eyes were sharp and he nodded
encouragingly.
They were all waiting for her to kill Shangguan Fei. Only she had the
qualifications to kill a son of the Supreme King.
Shangguan Ru raised her dagger but did not let it fall. Instead, she took
several steps backwards and took another saber from Maid Lotus' hands. She
threw it to her brother. "Don't say that I didn't give you a chance. Let's duel.
The loser will die and the winner will live."
The circle of onlookers widened and made space for the twins.
Shangguan Fei looked at the blade on the floor. His body shivered, as if that
blade was a poisonous snake at his feet. He rushed to the side of the coffin
and clung tightly onto one corner. "I won't duel. I won't duel. Spare me, my
sister. I'll not fight with you. Master Yu, my sister wants to kill me. Please
talk to her…"
Shangguan Fei rested his head on the coffin and buried his head in his arms.
Before, in the Stone Castle, although Shangguan Yushi and his sister had
often bullied him, when the bullying went overboard, it was Yushi who had
always persuaded his sister.
Shangguan Fei was so flustered that he sobbed out the words: "Master Yu".
This did not arouse sympathy in his sister but instead it angered her even
further.
Shangguan Ru waved her knife the second time, and spoke sharply.
"Shangguan Fei, go ask Master Yu for help in Hell!"
The saber swung downwards and Shangguan Fei fell.
Wildhorse appeared very shocked. Tuo Nengya sighed softly. Maid Lotus
held the Tenth Young Master and wished that Slave Huan could arrive as
soon as possible. Without him, no one could calm down Shangguan Ru's
killing desire.
Shangguan Fei did not die. He only fainted in shock. When he opened his
eyes, he saw that his sister was in tears.
"Oh, did you know? I'd never kill you! You actually hate me because of such
a matter?" Shangguan Ru's tears flowed more rapidly.
The hatred between the two siblings had naturally accumulated over a very
long time. It only exploded because of how Shangguan Ru had once held the
blade of her saber against her brother's neck, threatening Mister Guo in order
to protect Slave Huan and Master Yu.
Shangguan Fei was unaware of whether he was alive or dead. The words of
his sister that entered his ears were as meaningless as the leaves on the trees
that blew in the wind. "Sister, you've killed me. I 'm going to tell mother.
She'll avenge me. Sister, you're always bullying me. This time, you won't be
able to do that."
Shangguan Ru cried even louder. She wanted to appear stronger and people
who watched her included not only the killers of Stone Castle, it was also the
machetemen of Kun Society, and outsiders like Tuo Nengya. All the
education that she had received told her that she had to appear cold and
heartless at this moment. Any moment of weakness would have encouraged
her enemies and would bring misfortune upon herself. However, she could
not bear it any longer. She didn't have the heart to kill her own brother with
her saber either.
At this moment, Shangguan Fei finally realised that he hadn't died. There was
also not a single wound on his body.
"Sister," he simply couldn't stand up. He hugged the leg of his sister and cried
loudly in tears. He was also so tongue-tied that he couldn't even plead for
mercy.
Maid Lotus supported the Tenth Young Master and cast a glance at
Wildhorse. Wildhorse's eyes were burning with fire and he loosened and
unloosened his grip on the handle of his saber. After repeating the action
thrice, he finally hung his head to avoid the gaze of Maid Lotus.
The second person who she looked at was Tuo Nengya. Slave Huan
anticipated that the Tenth Young Master might not be hardened enough to
kill her brother. Thus, he insisted on letting Tuo Nengya join in this action in
the peach forest. Within this circle of people, only this old macheteman
would dare to kill the son of the Supreme King.
Tuo Nengya's expression was rigid. He gripped his saber tightly.
Gu Shenwei was advancing extremely rapidly. However, as he was leading a

group of machetemen while also carrying Guan Houlin who was as inert as a
zombie, he simply could not quicken his pace.
Guan Houlin felt that he was definitely going to die and in the other moment,
he felt that Slave Huan was deceiving him. After traveling for two streets, he
collapsed onto the ground and did not stand up. "I'm not going. Let me go.
I'm going to a place far away and I'm never coming back."
Gu Shenwei only ordered the few machetemen to take turns carrying the
strong brute and continued to move forwards.
He did not sense a killer's resolve from Shangguan Ru. After the death of
Master Yu, the young lady had been changing everyday. She seemed more
and more unlike a master of Stone Castle. The killers who saw her on a
regular basis did not seem to have noticed such changes. However, Gu
Shenwei, who had not seen her for months, was very aware of these changes.
However, he could not appear in the peach forest. This would have aroused
the suspicion of the enemy and brought on the bad reputation of a "killer
leader". Regarding this point, he could not appear at the scene of the murder.
Both he and Shangguan Fei had thought about this point.
Their only hope was pinned on Tuo Nengya. That old macheteman was a
man of principle. He would do anything for revenge. Golden Roc Fort could
not scare him.
Just as Gu Shenwei was deep in thought, Maid Lotus knew that he had
miscalculated. They were all killers of Stone Castle. They had become used
to seeing everyone from a killer's perspective. However, Tuo Nengya was a
macheteman and had his own set of rules.
Tuo Nengya was moved by the Tenth Young Master. Maid Lotus did not
understand why but she could tell that the old macheteman was truly moved.
He would not kill Shangguan Fei in front of the Tenth Young Master even if
this was this only chance for revenge despite knowing that Shangguan Fei
would kill him after the day was over.
When Gu Shenwei finally arrived, he only saw the end.
Wildhorse lifted Master Yu's casket in despair. After several months, it was
ready for the burial.
Shangguan Ru stopped her tears and looked at Gu Shenwei who had just
arrived. Her tears were about to fall again and Gu Shenwei felt the
disappointment in his chest. He walked over and spoke softly. "Everything
has gone smoothly. We've fought a victorious battle."
Shangguan Ru smiled apologetically. She had let many people down,
especially Slave Huan.
The men of Kun Society had left. Gu Shenwei let the machetemen protect the
Tenth Young Master. He stayed to take care of the aftermath but he did not
let Guan Houlin go.
"You won't have to return the Young Master's favor," Gu Shenwei said
coldly.
Tuo Nengya raised his head and was not moved by the teenager's sarcasm. "I
kill wild beasts and not rabbits. I kill men and not weaklings. I'll still take
revenge for my hatred of the great Young Master. However, only the
Supreme Master is worthy of being the target for my revenge."
From how the old macheteman saw it, Shangguan Fei was only a child who
was terrified. He was not a man at all.
Gu Shenwei laughed coldly. He thought about how foolish he was. This

macheteman was as stupid and stubborn as the swordsmen from the Great
Snow Mountain. Despite knowing how killers were unscrupulous, he still
wished to fight honorably and openly. Tuo Nengya created a goal that he
would never be able to achieve in order to make himself look great and
righteous. From the eyes of a killer, he was simply shirking his responsibility.
"When do you plan to attack Stone Castle?" Gu Shenwei's hatred burned in

his chest and his words became sharper.
Tuo Nengya was still quiet. "You'll see it. As long as you don't go around
stirring trouble, you'll see it in ten years."
Gu Shenwei did not even know if he lived beyond this year. He had the
impulse to vent his anger by killing the person in front of him but eventually,
he controlled himself. "You want to leave the Jade City?"
"Well, I want to roam the Western Region and gather a team that will be able
to defeat the troops of the Golden Roc Fort. Not everyone is afraid of the
Supreme King."
"Bring him away."
Guan Houlin had not met the Ninth Young Master. However, he suspected
that he had been deceived. That old macheteman who had said that he wanted
to roam the ends of the earth and to escape was now quitting. "No, no. I'm not
leaving. I'm going to ask for forgiveness from the Ninth Young Master. He'll
forgive me. You lied to me. You won't lie to me for a second time."
This was perhaps the most foolish military counselor in the whole world, Gu
Shenwei thought. "The Ninth Young Master did not kill you. He only used
you to make me fall for the trap. Now you're worthless. The first thing he'd
do would be to kill you. That's even faster than killing me."
A weird smile appeared on Guan Houlin's face as if the killer was a good
friend. Deliberately, he teased him with harsh words: "Haha, I'm not going to
fall for the trap. The Ninth Young Master wouldn't kill me on account of our
relationship… You know, he wouldn't kill me."
Gu Shenwei pulled out his saber and, before the smile on the tall and big teen
had vanished, he plunged his saber into his chest and pulled it out
immediately. The huge body crashed down onto the floor.
"I want to let people see that he had escaped out of Jade City alive."
"No problem." Tuo Nengya readily agreed.
Gu Shenwei returned to Kun Society by himself, thinking of the current

situation in his mind.
Now, Shangguan Ru would never become a master. Everyone became all too
aware that the vulnerability she had shown was a great taboo of the Golden
Roc Fort. By allowing herself to assume the role of a weak character, she was
encouraging wolves from both within and outside Stone Castle to tear her
into bits sooner or later.
Her usefulness was diminishing. Gu Shenwei was no longer able to carry out
his revenge through her.
Perhaps he should kill her now.
Chapter 200 - Night Travels
Chapter 200: Night Travels
Dawn was arriving and the residents of Jade City who had arisen early
realised that the battle between the twins- the great battle of the two societies-
had not taken place. Indeed, more than ten machetemen had died, a military
counselor had defected and the location of Boss Tuo remained a mystery.
Even so, there was neither bloodshed nor a raging fire.
Many people were deeply disappointed. They remembered the last time a war
was fought- fighting was the style of the Stone Castle. The several Young
Masters had also been fighting among themselves. Previously, when the
current Supreme Master was 13 or 14 years old, the situation was truly like a
volatile inferno- the wandering machetemen in South City had quickly
dwindled to half of their numbers and the shops had not opened for business
for a month.
The twins of the Golden Roc Fort actually cared about their kinship. In the
tavern, everyone talked about this.
Shangguan Fei fled into the North City. He brought in scores of machetemen
and did not give out any orders. It seemed as if he was overwhelmed by
shock. However, it was actually because he had forgiven his sister.
Shangguan Ru hid in her room for the whole day. She seemed to be hurt as
much as her brother.
The killers who were subordinates of the twins were at a loss. They were
used to heeding orders and killing people. They were not used to figuring out
what their masters were thinking about.
They had originally belonged to other masters and were only sent to the twins
to help the two build up their careers. Now however, many of them were
considering about re-investing in their former owners.
According to the usual practice, after the first year of the master's trials,
killers had a choice. Most of them would stay by the side of their little
masters. After all, they had gone through hardships and danger together. By
then, there would be closer bonds of trust between them and their masters. As
for this group of young killers, they had lost confidence in their current
masters.
Gu Shenwei was safe for now. Shangguan Fei had lost his bearings and did
not retaliate immediately. However, no one knew how long this situation
would last.
The seven subordinate killers of Shangguan Ru discussed their present

predicament collectively. Even the elusive Liuhua turned up. Wildhorse
nodded frankly to Slave Huan and made a hand gesture of peace and
reconciliation.
Gu Shenwei had once believed in this distinctive looking killer and thought
that he was a trustworthy man. However, he had fallen into his plot. He
nodded his head and smiled brightly to show how he didn't seem to mind.
A killer would be a killer. They were different from a macheteman. Aside

from killing unscrupulously, they had no other goals in life.
This gathering was initiated by Wildhorse. His motive was very simple. He
hoped that Slave Huan would be able to fan the ambitions of the Tenth
Young Master. After the death of Master Yu, Slave Huan was now the only
person in her heart.
"The Tenth Young Master needs fresh blood. We will find fresh blood for
her. The crux is for her to toughen up. Kun Society is still very weak and
small. The Horned Dragon Society is in the midst of such a mess and it is a
rare opportunity. We have to strike as soon as possible."
Wildhorse's gestures were too complicated and had to be translated by Maid

Lotus.
Gu Shenwei did not agree immediately. Instead, he tried to use this
opportunity to ask about where Wildhorse had been in the past few months.
Wildhorse had led three killers to head for the villages where the machetemen
were gathered. He went here to find influential machetemen like Tuo
Nengya. Most of them were low-key and rarely participated in the fights in
the South City. However, they were greatly admired by many young
machetemen.
The visits usually took place in secret. Many refused to see the killers of
Stone Castle. However, some of them were young at heart and reciprocated
Wildhorse's enthusiasm.
In short, after several months of hard work, Wildhorse has established

extensive contacts among the veteran machetemen of the South City. As long
as he could raise enough money, he would be able to quickly gather a team of
machetemen that was larger than the Horned Dragon Society's. Moreover, the
loyalty of these men would surpass a team that was hastily formed.
"He was able to form between ten to fifty teams. Each one of them would be
the same as that was initially formed by Tuo Nengya. Every team would be
led by one or two veteran machetemen. There would be between 20 to 100 in
each team and the loyalties of the men would be assured by the veteran
machetemen. The veteran machetemen's family assets are in the South City
so they're unlikely to betray us." Maid Lotus continued to act as an
interpreter.
Wildhorse had invested a great amount of effort into developing this grand
plan. He would have hated to give up halfway. The Tenth Young Master was
highly interested in this plan but now her spirits had sunk to the bottom. Kun
Society lacked money. This was a problem that caused Wildhorse much
anxiety.
In order to obtain Slave Huan's support, Wildhorse came up with a

suggestion. No matter how many teams of machetemen he would establish,
he would divide the number of machetemen equally into seven. Each team
would be led by one killer.
There were four members in Wildhorse's "Snow Mountain Gang". There
were only two members left in the "Tattooed Arm Gang". Hence, Wildhorse
still had the upper hand. As for the neutral Liuhua, he would not change the
balance of power no matter who he supported.
Gu Shenwei was entirely capable of achieving the same wealth and power as
Wildhorse. However, he nodded and agreed readily. This not only threw
Wildhorse off his feet but also shocked Maid Lotus.
Afterwards, Gu Shenwei explained his motives to Maid Lotus. Wildhorse

wanted manpower but he himself wanted money. The loyalty of the men that
the veteran machetemen had introduced was not in question. Even so, these
machetemen ultimately wanted money.
That night, Gu Shenwei, shouldering the hopes of the other six killers, went
to visit the Tenth Young Master.
Hearing a knock on the door, Shangguan Ru said immediately: "Come in."
Lunch and dinner were still set on the table untouched. Shangguan Ru's face
had regained her normal expression. There was no pain or vulnerability on
her face. Instead, there was a mischevious smile on her face that Gu Shenwei
was so familiar with.
"Are you here to be an advocate?"
"Yes."
Shangguan Ru was initially teasing and she was waiting for Slave Huan to
deny it. Unexpectedly, Slave Huan admitted it. Hence, she sighed and said:
"You can speak now. I'm listening."
"I have nothing to say."
Shangguan Ru raised her head in bewilderment.
"After all, it's your own decision. If I could sway you with my words, it won't
be befitting of a son of the Supreme King."
"Son of the Supreme King." Shangguan Ru repeated these words softly.
"It's dark," Gu Shenwei said casually.
"Hm."
"When the South City's most bustling, do you want to go shopping? We

won't take any guards with us."
"Ah, this is the best opportunity for our enemies to kill us." Even with these
words, Shangguan Ru was already too eager to try.
"Give them a chance then. The odds of killing others and being killed should
always be equal."
However, they didn't go shopping like normal people. Like two years ago,
when they played the assassination game, they displayed their qing gong
skills by jumping from one roof to the next. They hid in every dark corner,
wandering all over the place without any purpose. To them, South City was
like an enlarged Stone Castle.
Listen.
The tavern was booming with cacophonous sounds of pleasure and

entertainment. Under the influence of alcohol, people were letting loose all
their emotions that were both genuine and for show. They were bursting into
tears or getting into arguments with each other.
The cacophony in the tavern was filled with rhythm, silence, the shaking of
the dice, and terrible screams. They died down and repeated again.
Occasionally, there were gamblers who walked into the streets, their faces
were as pale as ghosts. They wandered aimlessly in the streets and later
joined the teams of gamblers.
The sounds in the brothel were even more peculiar. Shangguan Ru wanted to
know why. Gu Shenwei mustered all his strength to pull her away from the
place.
Most areas in the South City had already been shrouded in darkness and these
three places were not the only places of entertainment for the depraved. After
toiling for a day, ordinary residents went quietly to sleep. The depraved came
to the South City not for pleasure but to make money.
On the rooftops of the few houses that were lit by small lamps, the two
teenagers heard the sounds of jingling coins and the clanking of silver. A
couple excitedly counted their earnings for the day. If things kept up, they
would be able to leave Jade City forever, return home and live a life of bliss.
The fire was raging in Blacksmith Village. The disciples who struggled to
open their eyes pulled the bellows with all their might while being
admonished by their Master Shifu.
The two youths walked around in a big circle and, under the strong urging of
Shangguan Ru, they came to Hope Alley. That place of great taboo was of
interest to everyone. Shangguan Ru had only seen its walls from the peach
forest.
There were no women in Hope Alley, but instead there were men dressed in
luxuriant costumes conversing with those customers with capes on their
shoulders. Shangguan Ru could hardly control her laughter. She found that
this world was simply too strange. Eventually, they entered the peach forest
and she finally burst into laughter.
The sounds of laughter gradually ceased and she felt as if she was immersed
in a dream and everything she heard of was bizzare. "Someone told me that
sword skills were everything. But you see, there're so many people who have
nothing to do with these weapons in a Jade City as small as this. The city out
there is so big; how much land can the sword hold power over?"
"The blacksmith beats the iron and the tavern sells wine. Iron and beer are
everything to them. Hence, to a killer, the sword is everything."
"Yes, I'm a killer." Shangguan Ru's voice fell as if she had just awoken from
a dream.
Gu Shenwei stood silently by her side. This world was equal, he thought, and
he had to be equally cruel to everyone.
"Who is it?" Gu Shenwei asked in a whisper as he pulled out his sword.
Shangguan Ru pulled out her sword at the same time.
Something approached them quickly and approached their side in the blink of
an eye. The teenagers flashed their swords and sabers at a lightning fast
speed.
It was a soft cord that came and retreated like a nimble poisonous snake.
On the trees and on the ground, there were people everywhere. They
separated and surrounded Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru.
"Joy Pavilion," Gu Shenwei whispered softly.
"I'm Shangguan Ru from the Golden Roc Fort. Let Immortal Peng speak."
Shangguan Ru hollered. She wanted to know why the newly minted Immortal
Peng wanted to attack her for no reason.
"It was her indeed," a hoarse voice spoke with hatred.
"Kill!"
The encirclement shrunk. Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru were standing with

their backs leaning against each other as they prepared to face a ferocious
battle. People in Joy Pavilion were experts and were not easy to deal with.
At this instant, the clear and cloudless night was suddenly filled with the
pitter patter of rain.
The two opposing sides looked around them. No one seemed to understand,
for a moment, where these sounds were coming from.
A gust of wild wind, swirling countless broken branches instantly rushed

towards the crowd and broke through the encirclement. It surrounded the two
teenagers who were encircled and attacked the men of Joy Pavilion.
More than ten experts had lost their bearings. "Madman Wu, are you crazy?"
The person who had spoken probably realised that he had said something
wrong. He muttered, hastily blocking a pile of leaves.
"Let her go," said a pleading voice from behind the trees not far away. The
voice was shaking with fear.
"They had just killed Tang Ji. Don't tell me you're going to let them off just
like that?" The men of Joy Pavilion asked angrily. Tang Ji was the supervisor
of the teahouse. Although his kung fu was inferior, it was a pity for him to
die.
"Nonsense. We haven't been here for a long time. How can we be killing
people?"
"Not you but the killer who you had sent."
Gu Shenwei turned and met Shangguan Ru's eyes. He didn't know how this
misunderstanding occurred.
Chapter 201 - Betrayal
Chapter 201: Betrayal
There were a series of misfortunate events. Joy Pavilion claimed that the
Tenth Young Master had killed someone without rhyme or reason. They had
no idea who the rescuer was. He was highly skilled but he was so timid that
he dared not show up.
"I have no grudges against Joy Pavilion. Why would I want to kill Tang Ji?"
Shangguan Ru asked angrily. She hated being framed. It was second only to
being betrayed.
"Aren't you the Tenth Young Master? When the killer ran away, he said, 'Get
your revenge from the Tenth Young Master.'"
"You people from Kun Society want to occupy Hope Alley. So you're
attacking Joy Pavilion first, isn't that right?"
"We could, but we would never do that for fear of the consequences."
Many people huddled together in Joy Pavilion, criticizing Shangguan Ru. Gu

Shenwei felt that with the dwarf Immortal Peng's death, the personalities of
the disciples seemed to have changed. The white-robed Immortal Peng
seemed to have lost the ability to control their minds.
Shangguan Ru blushed and waved her saber. "So what if it's me? If you want
revenge, come and get it from me."
The disciples of Joy Pavilion eagerly prepared for attack again. That Madman
Wu who had once attacked spoke from behind the tree again. "They didn't
kill anyone. I saw everything. I've been following them. Let them go." That
voice was pleading.
Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru looked at each other again. Both of them

were experts in light work kung fu and like killers, were vigilant. Yet, they
had not realised that they had been followed.
"Madman Wu, don't you understand? The Tenth Young Master had sent men
to assassinate Tang Ji. These two had definitely come to check out the
situation."
Madman Wu did not seem to understand. He kept repeating: "Let them go."
The people of Joy Pavilion were befuddled. They simply had to convince
Madman Wu. If not, they could simply argue indefinitely.
Gu Shenwei did not intend to listen to this nonsense in such times of danger.
He grasped Shangguan Ru's hand firmly and jumped onto the nearest peach
tree with his light work kung fu, out through the hole created by Madman
Wu.
Shangguan Ru threw a tantrum and wanted to argue her ground. However,

she was pulled away from the scene quickly by Slave Huan.
Behind them, the voices of the disciples of Joy Pavilion rose and fell in
anguish. After a while, the two had run out far and stepped onto firm ground
again. They left the peach trees like a whisp of smoke.
"What on earth went on back there?" Shangguan Ru asked, panting.
"A bunch of madmen."
"Haha."
"That could have been a trap laid by someone."
Shangguan Ru did not laugh. Someone had posed as one of the Tenth Young
Master's killers and assassinated Tang Ji. That person did this to provoke a
fight between the Tenth Young Master and Joy Pavilion. Clearly, whoever
did this wanted to use Joy Pavilion for his agenda.
Shangguan Ru knew clearly in her heart who the culprit was.
"So it seems someone must have been following us all this while."
Gu Shenwei nodded.
If this hadn't been a trap but simply a misunderstanding, then that fight would
have been humorous. Shangguan Ru tried to force a laughter, wanting to
express how she was not afraid of anything.
Something however, was approaching them speedily, counterattacking with

sword and dagger at the same time.
It was two leaves in the scattered moonlight. The two could faintly see the
silhouette of the leaves.
Someone walked out from behind the tree. He walked up to the youth without
the sound of footsteps. It was as if he was floating on grass.
The two leaves that had been hit flew up again and returned to this person's
hands.
"Those machete skills aren't bad. Your sword craft is first-rate." That sounded
like Madman Wu. His voice still sounded a little timid.
One leaf was almost cleaved into half and the other was entirely intact. Gu
Shenwei had struck too quickly. The force of his weapon had retracted from
one of the leaves too quickly and thus did not cause any damage.
This person was above 30 years of age. He was dressed in white overalls and
looked slightly similar to the new Immortal Peng of Joy Pavilion. Only, he
had no facial hair on his chin and his face was ghostly pale as if it had not
seen the sunlight before. Even the moonlight seemed dimmer in comparison.
His white robes were dirty and it appeared as though they had not been
washed in a very long time.
Madman Wu did not give off dangerous vibes. However, Gu Shenwei still
maintained his vigilance. "Mister, are you also a disciple of Joy Pavilion?"
Gu Shenwei did not remember seeing this person. However, even if the
disciples of Joy Pavilion had described him, Gu Shenwei would not be able
to recognize him.
"Perhaps." The white-robed man answered absent-mindedly as if he had not

understood a single word of what the other party was saying. He kept staring
at Shangguan Ru. "Are you a master of the Shangguan family?"
"Yes. Who are you?" Shangguan Ru was not as wary as Gu Shenwei. She had
good feelings about this strange man who had just appeared. After all, this
person had once spoken up for her.
"Then you know Master Yun?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then can you help me ask him if Parro is still alive? I won't be alive much
longer. I want to see him before I die."
"Parro? Like the bird? Who on earth are you?"
Shangguan Ru threw forth a series of questions but that man in white had
already turned around and left. He looked as ethereal as when he had
appeared.
Gu Shenwei did not let Shangguan Ru catch up with him. There had to be a
limit to risk taking. It's best to keep a distance with the men of Joy Pavilion.
"Who is Master Yun?" The Shangguan family had so many disciples. Gu

Shenwei had not heard of many of them.
"That's my Third Brother." Shangguan Gu's voice became as weak as the

white-robed man's. "He was locked up by my father for many years."
Gu Shenwei had discovered long ago that there was a strange master in the
Shangguan family. That had to be the third Young Master Shangguan Yun.
The Shangguan Family revolved around Lady Meng and was divided into
two major factions. Only this Third Young Master did not belong to any
faction. He was also the least known.
Tie Hanfeng was the subordinate killer of the Third Young Master. However,
that he was "borrowed" caused the Eighth Young Master much anger. Tie
Hanfeng never spoke about his former master.
Shangguan Yun was only an unremarkable name on the hit list. Apart from
this, he was of no interest to Gu Shenwei. It was rather, Madman Wu who
sparked his interest.
Afterwards, he asked to learn more about this person from Chu Nanping.
Madman Wu was originally named Wu Shengqing. He was in his thirties and

was once a disciple of Immortal Peng. He had turned half mad very long ago.
From morning till night he had been roaming about in Hope Alley. His mind
would turn from clarity in one moment to confusion the other. He had only
survived until now on the food given to him by kind souls.
Chu Nanping knew all this. However, he was never a curious person and he
had never cared about Madman Wu's background.
Now that matters have gone so far, Gu Shenwei did not plan to investigate
further. He did not have the time.
The men of Joy Pavilion did not come to take revenge. They did not wish to
leave Hope Alley.
That night, he escorted Shangguan Ru back to Kun Society. On the way, the
two scarcely mentioned Joy Pavilion. Shangguan Ru realised that it was her
brother's scheming plot and thus she did not want to discuss it anymore.
Gu Shenwei returned to his own room. There were several killers waiting for
him. Only one had not returned from his vigil.
"Someone is causing trouble. Our plan has failed and we must think of a new
one." Gu Shenwei said.
In this very evening, Shangguan Ru should have died before his eyes.
This was Wildhorse's idea. Slave Huan would lead the Tenth Young Master
to Hope Alley. He and Liuhua would kill a random person from Joy Pavilion.
Tang Ji's kung fu was the lousiest and he was unlucky. This would anger the
disciples of Immortal Peng and provoke them into killing Shangguan Ru.
Thereafter, the killers would seek "revenge" for their master. Later, they
would get the chance to return to their former master.
Under usual circumstances, killers have to die for their masters. However,
Shangguan Ru had not attained the title of "master". Thus, she did not have
such a privilege.
However, this was still a dangerous plan and even if it succeeded, the killers
could be killed by Lady Meng's wrath. Even so, they did not wish to continue
serving a weak master. Kun Society was weak and Shangguan Ru did not
have the will to fight at all. She would be killed by the Ninth Young Master
and the killers under her authority would still be dead when that happened.
After thinking coldly and dispassionately through their options, they decided
to take a risk.
The person who was most at risk was Slave Huan. If his master had died, he
would have had to assume responsibility that he could not escape from
because he was always by her side. In reality, Gu Shenwei accepted this role
with the only caveat being Wildhorse and the other men would have to
assassinate Shangguan Fei next.
Wildhorse had agreed. As long as he did not have to be the one killing, he
was willing to cooperate. This was a form of revenge for Master Yu.
After the death of the twins, Gu Shenwei could escape to his former master,
Shangguan Nu, to seek shelter and protection.
Gu Shenwei was willing to walk this tightrope for revenge. However, the
incident that happened next made him think of a better plan. Coming to think
of it, he realised that he had been a little impatient and had lost his level-
headedness.
The killers had landed themselves in a quandary. If they had wanted to
continue to assassinate their master, they could lose their footing. Hence, they
wished to give up. However, no one dared to be the first to raise this up for
fear of being suspected of wanting to tell the secret.
In the end, Liuhua broke the stalemate. "Wait. There must be an opportunity.
Everyone must swear to keep this a secret. There're seven of us here.
Whoever tells the secret would be the mastermind and the other six would
have to concede."
Liuhua's suggestion was accepted.
After the gathering had ended, Maid Lotus returned alone. "Wildhorse
suspects you."
Gu Shenwei knew that of course. He was regarded as Shangguan Ru's

confidante and he was always with her. It would seem as if he had wished to
sabotage the killers' plan. "Even if this plan succeeds, he would doubt me."
Killers were not credible. This was the conclusion that Gu Shenwei drew
after becoming a killer. They had learnt too many dirty tricks and
unscrupulous theories in Stone Castle. One day, they could be using it on
their masters. Golden Roc Fort had thus come up with a strict rule: killers had
to be loyal to their masters on the pain of death.
"Let's start now? I'm confident of pulling Liuhua over to our side."
Liuhua had once tried to assassinate Maid Lotus but Gu Shenwei firmly
believed still in Maid Lotus' abilities. The current problem did not lie in
Wildhorse alone. They had to kill all four men in Wildhorse's faction at the
same time.
"It's the only way."
That could be the only way for now. The two were very clear that at this
moment, Wildhorse was executing his plans to eliminate his enemies. He
might also be contemplating getting Liuhua over to his side.
This was the principle of the killers. Even if the plan to kill Tenth Young
Master had succeeded tonight, both parties would still have had to think of a
way to silence those who knew about the plan.
This could not be what Tie Hanfeng meant by "safe killing". Not a single
word could be leaked about the matter before it happened and not a single
suspicion raised after it had transpired. Hence, both sides would have wanted
to wait for the best opportunity to direct the suspicion to someone else.
In the morning of the second day, the Tenth Young Master got out of bed.
She had no idea that the trouble of yesterday was an act of betrayal by all of
her own killers. On the contrary, she felt that she had already escaped from
her troubles and sadness and was ready to rally her house again for another
fight.
"You must destroy Kun Society and let Shangguan Fei go running back to
Stone Castle to complain to Mother," she said to herself.
As usual, the killers prepared their scheme. However, they no longer believed
that this little girl could be a ruthless commander-in-chief.
If the commander-in-chief showed any mercy, her subordinate killers would

be in danger.
Very quickly, the killers would get a great opportunity. This would allow
them to kill their master and their accomplices at the same time.

Chapter 202: Bribery
Everything started from an unexpected invitation that the twins received.
On the first day of May, in the Fairyland Pavilion of the North City,
commandant Zhong Heng invited the master of the Horned Dragon Society,
Shangguan Fei, and the master of Kun Society, Shangguan Ru, to a
gathering.
There was an unspoken rule on the invitation: the master of the society could
only bring one servant. This was verbally delivered by the officer who sent
the invitation.
This invitation was unexpected because the commandant occupied a sinecure

post. He had never interfered in the battles of South City. Moreover, on the
surface, the twins had looked like they had reconciled. They wouldn't need an
authoritative figure like him to resolve their rivalry.
Surprisingly, the twins rejected the invitation unanimously. The Stone Castle
soon sent men to remind the Ninth Young Master and the Tenth Young
Master that it would be better to go to the gathering at Fairyland Pavilion.
Out of everyone who knew about the invitation, Gu Shenwei was the most
surprised. He had talked to Zhong Heng several times. He had also been
sending the basic salary of several thousand taels in his own name to Zhong
Heng. Hence, he knew very clearly the nature of this commandant. This
commandant would always avoid conflict and would not hesitate to direct his
responsibilities to others. Getting involved in the twins' conflict was very
unlike him.
That evening, the two twins arrived at the venue on the invitation. This was
the first time they met each other after the battle in the Peach Forest. They
were both awkward and kept giving way to each other. They were so polite
that they didn't seem like family members at all. Later, they both sat in
separate corners and never looked at each other again. Both maintained
vigilance and were scared that the other would be up to something.
Gu Shenwei happens to be Shangguan Ru's servant but in front of his master,

he had no right to take a seat. Zhong Heng hid his smile and nodded at him.
He then started his long speech.
Gu Shenwei had seen Zhong Heng's ability to beat about the bush and speak
nonsense. However, his speech was exceptionally long this time. After
holding out for two hours, Gu Shenwei finally fainted. He did not understand
what the commandant had in mind.
The twins had already lost interest. There was an expression of tolerance on
their faces. If it hadn't been for the Stone Castle's hint on the importance of
this meeting, the two would have left the gathering long ago.
"Ah, Lord Zhong, please be direct. Was it the Governor who sent you?" Due
to his relations with the Horned Dragon Society, Shangguan Fei knew a little
more about what was going on.
"Yes, yes." Zhong Heng laughed and expressed his agreement. His "being
direct" still took 15 minutes. However, what he arrived at finally was a
simple message.
Jade City had a high ranked sinecure administrative official- the Governor. A
new Governer was appointed every three years. The Central Plain, Norland
and Shu-lik took turns appointing the new governer.
The current Governor was someone from the Central Plains. His term was
about to end. According to the usual practice, all the forces of Jade City had
to send a "Protective Talisman" to him, which is just gold and silver.
It was called the "Protective Talisman" because after receiving the money
and relinquishing his duties, the Governor would write a memorandum of
praise when he returned to his country. He would praise Jade City for its
peacefulness. This way, the big powers won't interfere in the matters of this
city directly.
"So this is how it is. How much do you need? Commandant, just say the
word."
Shangguan Fei had plenty of money and would not take this "bribery" to
heart. However, the sum that Zhong Heng said startled him.
"Oh, it's like this. In such matters, you have to be willing to donate and it
depends on how much you are able to give. Of course, there are precedents.
Take the Tenth Young Master's Kun Society for instance, donating 150,000
would be enough. The Ninth Young Master's Horned Dragon Society has
more power. I expect it to be perhaps more generous. If you don't have a
problem, donating a million would be sufficient."
"What!" The twins stood up immediately. Shangguan Ru still owed Slave

Huan money and after much trouble, Shangguan Fei had managed to accrue
hundreds of thousand taels. To think that it was still not enough! The two
decided to use that money to expand their influence and strength. However,
they did not wish to waste it on the Governor. They didn't even know the
Governor's name or what he looked like.
"Why does the Horned Dragon Society need to give that much?"
"Currently, the territories of several masters from Stone Castle have all been
merged with the Horned Dragon Society's territory. Hence… if the territories
were to be split, more could be donated."
The twins finally understood what their brother meant. On the surface, he
seemed to be relinquishing his power in the South City. In reality, he was
exchanging it for a hot potato. Shangguan Ru used all of her territory to
exchange for Kun Society. It turned out to be a blessing due to a misfortune.
"No." Shangguan Ru flat out refused.
"I'm not giving either." Shangguan Fei was not very bold but he was not
afraid of the officials in the Jade City.
Zhong Heng was not angry and his face did not turn red either. He took his
time and after much coaxing, he saw that the gathering could possibly end on
a sour note. He took out his trump card. "Ninth Young Master and Tenth
Young Master, let's not sour our relations. I'm only a messenger and to be
honest, I won't be enjoying any of the silver so why am I so concerned? I've
spent much of my youth in the Western Region. My kung fu and
accomplishments aren't worth mentioning. However, I have accrued enough
experience over the years. So, here's a piece of advice: don't be too hasty in
your refusals. Ask around when you're back and solicit the opinions of others,
especially the elders under your authority. If you don't trust me, you can
always trust them."
The twins did not trust anyone. Those "elders" handed over their money but
not their authority. In name, they seemed to be subordinates of the Ninth
Young Master but in reality, they were still loyal to their former masters.
The two muttered their retreat hastily. They scolded the Governor as they
went downstairs, regardless of whether he could hear them or not.
After exiting the restaurant, the two siblings remembered that they were now
enemies. They looked at each other coldly and left without saying goodbye.
Less than three days later, the twins realised that things were not that simple.
This "Protective Talisman" had to be paid and it should not even be a single
tael short.
Lady Meng had never interfered in the twins' matters directly. This time, she
sent their confidantes to visit the twins to tell them the importance of the
bribe.
In Jade City, Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family were indisputable rulers.
In the Western Region, they also had considerable might and influence.
However, there were several other higher powers in the world. Jade City had
never belonged to any country for many years. It relied not only on killers
and weapons, but also a large amount gold and silver.
This a test for the twins. They had to raise enough taels for the Governor. If
they failed, Golden Roc Fort would help raise the remainder but the twins'
abilities would be questioned.
No one told the twins in advance that such a thing existed. Even to Lady
Meng, this was something new. She vented her anger on the several masters.
She questioned why the Second, Sixth and Eighth Young Master had not
reminded her of the bribe. Lady Meng forgot that it was her who had forced
the Young Masters to give up their territory.
The Stone Castle had its fair share of rivalries. This gave the twins another
chance to prove themselves against each other.
Kun Society was very poor. The fees that it received every month could only
barely meet its expenditures. If Slave Huan allowed it, the hundreds of
thousands left behind by Tie Hanfeng could fill in the gap. In contrast, the
Horned Dragon Society, even with its many men, was still short of two to
three hundred thousand taels from their goal of a million.
Shangguan Fei wanted to collect the protection fees for this month in
advance. However, he was opposed by most of his subordinates. These
people were originally the subordinates of other masters. They were still loyal
to their former masters and came up with several reasons to oppose the Ninth
Young Master's plans.
Shangguan Fei flew into a rage. The only thing he could do would be to fire a
large group of machetemen to save money.
Both sides needed a large sum of money. Suddenly, victory no longer

depended on who had the most men but in the party who could still expand
after forking out the bribe for the Governor.
In this context, a great opportunity to make money presented itself.
Xu Xiaoyi had been gathering intelligence for Gu Shenwei for a long time.
Even though Xu Yanwei made a promise with the killers, she quickly lost her
initial enthusiasm and now places her focus receiving guests to earn money.
This time, she was meritorious.
"This is a generous customer. I have to hold onto him tightly. No girl from
Pleasure Alley should even think about snatching him away."
As usual, Xu Yanwei talked about her own business and later alluded to what
Gu Shenwei was interested in. "Once, he drank too much and had too much
fun. He started speaking nonsense and completely forgot about it after that.
He wanted to buy a grand mansion in the North City and even asked me to
live there with him in the future. He didn't seem like royalty so I asked him
where he got his money from. He laughed for half a day and finally said he
was a robber. He retired and wanted to spend the rest of his life in safety."
The robber who paid a visit to the wrong prostitute couldn't keep his mouth
and. He wrapped his arm around Xu Yanwei and divulged all his secrets to
her.
A group of lucky robbers, about 30 of them, did not do away with the silver
that they had robbed immediately. They hid the money which had amounted
to half a million taels. The leader and several of his associates killed all of
their companions, leaving only five behind. They had decided to retire in
Jade City.
Sending the untraceable silver to Jade City was too dangerous. They were
very cautious of their peers and decided to send one person to the South City.
That person's task was to find a reliable bank and negotiate the fees for
depositing the silver.
The bank had several branches throughout the Western Region. The robbers
only had to deposit their silver at the nearest branch. They could go to the
South City empty-handed and withdraw their money anytime they wanted.
Half a million taels of white silver would be a godsent to the cash-strapped

Kun Society. With this money, not only would the "Protective Talisman" not
be a problem, even Wildhorse's plan of gathering a team of macheteman
could be achieved partially.
A boastful robber would probably not stop at only showing off in front of
prostitutes. Gu Shenwei spent a whole day gathering intelligence, which had
almost cost a thousand taels. There were also several other gangs trying to get
their hands on these 500,000 silver taels, including the Horned Dragon
Society.
Shangguan Ru expressed strong interest in this. This sum of money could not
only resolve the cash-strapped situation of Kun Society but also deal a huge
blow to the Horned Dragon Society. This was because Shangguan Fei had
already regarded this money as her own treasure and had decided to use it to
pay for the "Protective Talisman".
It was impossible to compete with the Horned Dragon Society directly.

Shangguan Ru thought of an idea. The whole Kun Society would pretend to
be unaware of the money and the robbers. Xu Yanwei received an order and
had been arguing with a bunch of boisterous customers. She sent a piece of
lamb to other prostitutes, getting a gift from Kun Society in return.
Unexpectedly, the robber was immediately taken away by a famous prostitute

sent by the Horned Dragon Society.
In the following days, the Horned Dragon Society launched a series of

operations, be it obvious or covert, to scare off other forces. Shangguan Fei
wanted to obtain half a million taels all by himself.
Gu Shenwei spent every ounce of energy to collect information. He wanted to

know where the loot of the robbers was kept hidden and where it would be
shipped to.
This was definitely information that Kun Society did not know about. That
robber had told Xu Yanwei everything but kept the most important piece of
information a secret.
Shangguan Ru's plan was to follow the Horned Dragon Society and intercept
the silver.
The killer's plan was to take advantage of the fight between the twins in order
to find out which master they should eliminate.
Slave Huan and Wildhorse's plan was to eliminate their accomplices who
were insiders while they killed their masters at the same time. Silencing the
witnesses would bring peace.
(Please keep and give recommendations.)
Chapter 203 - The Village
Chapter 203: The Village
Slave Qing was drowning his sorrows in the wine cup, complaining about the
unfairness in life. He had paid a steep price - money, time, flattery, face - but
in the end, gotten nothing.
Master Shangguan Fei did not hate him or like him; neither did he trust him
nor suspect him either. In any case, he had become an easily-overlooked
butler doing the most trivial things. From the looks of it, he would never
achieve big things in life.
Hence, when the Tenth Young Master approached him, he leaped at the
chance of a new master immediately. He was not a killer and did not have to
stay loyal for life. Moreover, he needed money.
However, Slave Qing was not entitled to partake in the secrets but Shangguan
Ru's request was also uncomplicated, precisely so that he could focus on the
killers under the Ninth Young Master. This was to let their movements be as
conspicuous as possible.
Shangguan Fei would not mobilize his forces in person, but he would surely
designate his most trusted killer to perform the robbery mission.
On the fifth day of the fifth month, an important message came from Slave
Qing: Nine killers had prepared 18 horses to set off at three o'clock in the
morning. Their destination was the west of Jade City.
Slave Qing knew all these. However, he did not dare fish for more
information. If Shangguan Fei discovered something amiss, he would kill
him.
Before two o'clock in the morning, Shangguan Ru set out with seven killers.
They had made a series of disguises before departing, in order to fool
outsiders into thinking that the main forces of Kun Society were still within
the city. Chu Nanping walked around in circles outside an empty hut,
pretending he was protecting his own practice partner. The little swordsman
had not wished to do this but he was glad to have Xu Xiaoyi, once again,
accompany him during surveillance.
No matter who it was, it was impossible to rob the Golden Roc Fort from
within. The five robbers had huge caches of money and were not prepared to
bring their silver into Jade City. Hence, the target of the Horned Dragon
Society killer must be outside the boundary.
Gu Shenwei remembered that path along the boundary of Golden Roc Fort.
He had been robbed at precisely that spot and turned into a slave. In addition,
he had once followed Tie Hanfeng and robbed a rich master in a spot not far
from there.
The land to the West of the path belonged to Shu-lik in name but they did not
station troops there. In reality, it had become an ungoverned territory and
after the Gu Family of the Central Plain had been slaughtered, the number of
roving bandits in that area had increased. To use this path to travel to Shu-lik
City short in distance but posed a great risk. Gu Shenwei guessed that the
robbers' treasure would not be buried here. Shangguan Fei would also not
choose to carry out his plan here.
All the way to the North, past the mountain pass, it was fertile land as far as
the eye could see. As one continued North, they met the unending grasslands
that belonged to Norland and the Xiaowan Kingdom wedged at the foot of
the mountain.
The Xiaowan kingdom was weak prosperous. Lady Meng owned a bank
there and it was possible that the robbers kept their money there.
Shangguan Ru, together with seven killers, split into four teams. The first
team would hide in the vicinity of the mountain pass to survey the Ninth
Young Master killers' movements. If they had actually entered Shu-lik, they
would send one person to report to Shangguan Ru immediately and the other
person would continue to observe them discreetly.
Shangguan Ru and Liuhua were both in the second team stationed by the
small road to the north of the mountain. If everything went smoothly, the two
of them would see the nine killers but would let them go on their way.
Wildhorse and another killer were in the third team. They lay the ambush in a
road leading up to the cliff. That place was one of the best locations to spring
an attack. However, they were to wait to see the silver before making their
attack.
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus acted as roving forces for the operation, shuttling
back and forth between the three teams. They were to prepare for any
unexpected emergencies that arose.
Three days later, the first target that appeared was the big-mouthed robber.
He had finished his task but had been held back by prostitutes for another two
days. Eventually, he reluctantly left his warm hometown to return to his
chief, saying how the glitter and riches of Jade City were alluring. He had to
send the silver to Xiaowan City quickly before he could start living an honest
life.
He had kept his lips sealed and had not spoken about the silver to anyone.
But being relaxed, he failed to notice anything curious about the palm imprint
on the iron saddle of his horse. Yet, the hoofprints he left behind would
reveal his whereabouts to his enemies.
The two killers under Shangguan Fei followed closely behind while the other
seven followed from a distance.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were sandwiched between these two groups of
killers.
The robber did not enter the deep mountains but into a small village.
The small village had over 30 houses who had constructed an earthen wall
circling it. This was a courier station that stood exactly a day's journey on
horseback away from Xiaowan City. The robbers had used this place to hide
their money. Indeed, it was a clever choice. No one would have thought that
this poor village would harbor half a million taels of silver.
That night, the village was calm as always. The two groups of killers had
hidden in their respective places, waiting for the cover of night to start their
operations.
Shangguan Ru, to make up for the weakness she had previously shown, made
a cold-blooded decision: When Shangguan Fei's killers had stolen back the
silver, she would kill all of them.
Even though the eight men of Kun Society were outnumbered by one, Kun
Society's killers were much more highly skilled.
The place of ambush was the cliff that Wildhorse had chosen. It was up to
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus to mark the nine killers.
Even when everything had been arranged to perfection, the outcome still
came as surprise.
The sky was very dark as Gu Shenwei crept quietly to the side of the village's
earthen walls. He watched the movements of the nine killers, with Maid
Lotus close by his side. He understood the men's tactics could guess their
general plan of action.
A killer first entered the village. In the day, he had disguised himself as a
normal passersby, entering the village asking for a bowl of water. In so
doing, he gathered some intelligence and when night fell, he wanted to
confirm what his suspicions.
When the killer came out of the village, the two other killers entered the
village from two different directions. Their target was the small mud hut in
the heart of the village. They were in charge of surrounding the mud hut and
preventing anyone from escaping.
Five other killers entered the village to deal with the five robbers. As long as
this part of the plan succeded, half of the operation would have been
completed.
The remaining two killers would wait outside the village walls to keep a
lookout. These men were only ten paces away and Gu Shenwei and Maid
Lotus quieted their breaths, covering their tracks.
From the looks of it, the operation would be simple and quick. The last step
was for the killers to move the silver.
The five killers entered the hut and not long later, there were muffled sounds
of a blade slicing some cloth. It was faint, and only a person who was
listening intently and was familiar with such sounds would have heard it.
The two killers standing watch outside the village shifted slightly, as if
breathing sighs of relief.
"Ahhhh-" A heart-rending scream pierced the night sky and the chirping of
insects fell silent at that moment, but quickly resumed. However, those killers
froze in their place, without moving.
The whole village heard the screams and a few houses lit up, but the lights
were put out shortly after. However, someone ran out, boldly shouting:
"What on earth is happening? Who was shouting?"
Gu Shenwei looked at those two killers who were on watch, thinking how if
he had been in their place, he would have run away long ago.
The men on watch finally came to their senses. They prepared to retreat but it
was too late.
That villager who had run out to investigate the scream was carrying an
assortment of weapons in his hands. And as he shouted at the top of his lungs
as he ran to catch up with the killers. From two neighboring houses, men
rushed out and blocked the killers' escape path. Three of the killers had
escaped.
"Catch them alive." Someone ordered.
The killers pulled out their sabers without a word, preparing to defend
themselves to the end.
The two killers who were responsible for intercepting the villagers had
already been cut off. Weapons clashed and not long later, someone yelled:
"They are down!"
The two killers on watch pulled out their knives preparing to attack. They
wanted to clear a path to escape but only after trading three blows, the two
began to stumble like a pair of drunkards. They fell down onto the floor
helplessly.
"How many have you caught?"
"Four. I killed five."
"Okay. Get ready to depart immediately. We will use them in the sacrificial
ritual to Long Feidu."
This was a well-designed trap. The robbers had not numbered only five but
ten. They brought out horses from the houses and prepared to leave the
village.
However, as the robbers were tending to their horses, Gu Shenwei and Maid
Lotus returned quickly to report the Tenth Young Master: "Kun Society and
the Horned Dragon Society have been deceived. There were no 500,000 taels
of silver at all. That robber pretended to leak the "secret" in order to bait us."
"Who could it be?" Shangguan Ru was a little surprised. Her biggest rival
was her brother Shangguan Fei but the person who set this trap could not
possibly be him.
Gu Shenwei thought for a moment. He had seen something that prompted

him to make a guess. "It must be the swordsman from the Great Snow
Mountain."
Those robbers were equipped with long and broad big swords. Gu Shenwei
had seen them before and knew that they were the signature of the Great
Snow Mountain tribe, especially "Long Feidu" whom the robbers had talked
about. He was the swordsman who had previously died in the T-junction.
"Snow Mountain?" Shangguan Ru was even more surprised. Those boorish
and arrogant swordsmen had never been good at conspiracy. Designing such
an ingenious trap truly exceeded her expectations.
There was not much time left. Gu Shenwei knew the destination that the
swordsmen had in mind. They were headed for the T-junction to worship
Long Feidu. They would soon be riding by on their horses, towards the place
of ambush prepared for them.
"What should I do? They are coming. They are coming straight away." Gu
Shenwei knew what the Tenth Young Master meant. Should he save the nine
killers? They the core of Shangguan Fei's power.
Shangguan Ru made a decisive choice. "The Great Snow Mountain is Golden

Roc Fort's enemy. We cannot let them succeed in their conspiracy. How
many people do they have? How strong are they?"
"About 25. Their strength is unknown." Gu Shenwei recalled meeting the

swordsman from the Great Snow Mountain, Long Feidu, two years ago and
remembered feeling that something was not quite right. "They have knockout
powder. We must be careful."
The whole thing appeared very strange to Gu Shenwei. The swordsmen from
the Great Snow Mountain not only crafted an elaborate plan but they also
used knockout powder. These were two things that they thought beneath
them.
But Shangguan Ru did not have time to consider these things. She ordered
them to prepare the ambush immediately. Her target was about over 20 men.
To the eight killers, this proved a challenge.
The galloping sounds approached. The swordsmen from the Great Snow
Mountain, holding their captive, reached the destination. At about four
o'clock in the morning, they entered the place of ambush. The horses trotted
onwards, their riders oblivious to the ambush awaiting them.
With a loud crash, several huge boulders fell from the sky. The team of
machetemen was thrown into disarray. Horses neighed and men screamed.
These sounds of distress were punctuated by a sharp cry of pain. Someone
had been hit by a boulder.
Only one killer was on the cliff monitoring the ambush. The other eight were
hidden below the cliff.
Liuhua was the first to attack. She fired three shots in succession and three
men fell.
The swordsmen reacted surprisingly quickly and quickly regrouped into their
formation. They slapped their horses and retreated from onslaught of arrows.
However, merely ten over steps away, they were hit by an attack from the
side.
Two killers rushed out and jumped over the head of the swordsman leading
the charge. Two heads rolled.
The killers continued running, their legs pumping furiously. The swordsmen
were consumed with rage and they turned their horses to chase after the
killers.
This was the killers' strategy all along: to overwhelm the enemy even though
they were outnumbered. They would kill and then withdraw in order to
provoke the remaining machetemen to chase after them. Thus, they would
lure the machetemen to the next place of ambush.
The killers' plan was unfolding without a hitch when they heard a plaintive
voice muttering weakly from the rubble. "Please save me; I am the Ninth
Young Master, Shangguan Fei."

Chapter 204 - A Second Duel
Chapter 204: A Second Duel
Shangguan Ru did not understand how this could have happened.
She had seen countless bloody scenes in Stone Castle and had never felt
afraid. She even felt some enthusiasm towards violence. Before she had even
learnt how to speak, she had already been in her mother's arms clapping and
laughing at the killers. This pleased her father greatly. He had joked that this
must be the real child of the Supreme King.
She had killed people. She would stand on the stairs and watch as the flames
engulfed the Horned Dragon Society. She had witnessed people getting their
heads cut off and had felt nothing in her heart.
However, she couldn't even bring herself to kill a swordsman from the Great
Snow Mountain that she didn't even know.
Every single one of her blows missed the vital areas of her victims. She
couldn't bear to see a living creature lose its vitality and life force.
When Master Yu had died, he had taken not only the friendship between
them but also her ruthlessness with him .
Now that her brother, Shangguan Fei, had appeared amidst the rubble, she
felt extremely flustered. He was the last person she had wanted to see,
especially since they were engaged in a life-and-death battle. She could feel
the killers' expectations of her and she didn't know if she could meet those
expectations.
The stones that fell from the cliff hurt several people and the remaining
swordsmen were in disarray after their team was diminished by half. They
stopped running after the killers. The remaining five to six swordsmen fled
on their horses and the killers stopped chasing after them.
The sky was brightening and Shangguan Fei's desperate pleas continued.
"Sister, is that you? Come and save me! I am buried by the rubble. My
legs…"
Shangguan Ru kept her sword. She felt very conflicted. She had to decide
whether she was going to kill him. She felt a great irritation in her heart. If it
weren't for her emotional turmoil, she would have discovered the danger
behind her.
She felt that something was amiss. Holding her blade, she turned around and
saw one of her killers coming after her with a saber.
This killer was one of her most trusted subordinates and he currently wanted
to kill this unworthy master.
Shangguan Ru's heart was like a heavy stone that dragged her down into the
abyss. Although she still had time to block with her sword, her hands were
frozen.
At that very moment, she didn't think of her parents, Master Yu, Slave Huan,
and those people who were close to her. She didn't even think of the good or
bad times. The only thing on her mind was that death would be so terrible.
Death had passed her like it did the swordsman.
The killer who was determined to kill his master raised his saber high.
However, his waist suddenly shuddered and he fell sharply. An arrow had
plunged through his back and came out his chest.
Liuhua came over from afar. He still carried a bow.
Her brother's cries for help still rang in her ears but, she heard nothing. What
had happened was completely incomprehensible. She could only watch.
Slave Huan rushed forward and whispered something that she was not able to
understand. "Wildhorse wants to kill you."
Had Wildhorse really betrayed her? Shangguan Ru turned her head to look at
the odd-looking killer. He had once been loyal to Master Yu and had been
forgiven by Shangguan Ru for killing other killers. Was he really going to
kill his master?
Wildhorse pulled off his mask. There was anger and confusion evident across
his face. He gripped his sword and glanced at Liuhua and Shangguan Ru.
He was angry that he had been betrayed by Slave Huan. The original plan
was to use this opportunity to kill Shangguan Ru and send the loot to the
swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain. Because of this, they had let
several people go so they could kill them afterwards as targets of "revenge".
As for Shangguan Fei, he was an unexpected prize. Yes, they had plans of
dealing with Slave Huan after everything was over but never had they
expected that Slave Huan would have acted first.
What he didn't understand was why Liuhua had chosen to support Slave
Huan. Wildhorse himself was the real leader of the killers. He was also much
more powerful than his opponents. Liuhua had personally promised him that
he would support him at the last moment, however, that turned out to be a lie.
He had never been betrayed before so this act of betrayal caused him much
pain.
He could have pretended that he knew nothing about what was going on but
his expression betrayed his thoughts.
In this moment of indecision, Maid Lotus had already killed another killer
and only one killer remained. He prepared to escape but was shot by Liuhua.
He fell amongst the corpses.
Wildhorse was left to Slave Huan. They had an unfinished duel to settle.
Wildhorse raised his head. He would not flinch nor escape and he wouldn't
feel guilty about the plot. He had never regarded anyone as his master in his
heart and Master Yu was no exception.
Even if he could speak, he would not expose Slave Huan's motives at this
time. It was this slave who had betrayed everybody and what Wildhorse
wanted to do now was kill Slave Huan.
He had his chance. In the monthly test, he had dealt Slave Huan a blow with
his dagger. If he had delivered a more powerful blow, he would have been
able to save himself from this duel, however, Wildhorse was not exactly
regretful. He gripped his dagger and walked towards his enemy.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had talked and decided that Wildhorse was a
greater threat than Shangguan Ru. The Snow Mountain Gang's plan to
exterminate the Tattooed Arm Gang had never changed and no matter how
much Wildhorse apologized, they felt that he would strike and sabotage their
interests eventually.
On the surface, the two seemed nonchalant about Wildhorse's actions but
secretly, they had already decided to strike before he did.
Liuhua was a wildcard. This marksman would be a great ally to whoever

whom he had decided to support. The reason that Maid Lotus had been able
to win him over was simple. Because the Snow Mountain Gang was already
very powerful, Liuhua would not have made a discernible impact even if he
had joined the gang. However, things would be different if he were to join the
weak Tattooed Arm Gang. He would be seen as a prized ally.
Gu Shenwei also pulled his mask down. There was no need for him to hide
his kung fu skills any longer. Though Wildhorse was not his sworn enemy,
Gu Shenwei desired to have this duel. The scar that Wildhorse had left on
him was still on his chest abd it was a deep wound that would never fully
heal.
Shangguan Ru looked at her two most skilled killers approach each other
coldly. A deathly shadow passed over her face as she lost all capability to
make a decision. Strangely, both of them seemed to walk towards each other
casually. It was almost as though they did not know each other at all. Even
more strangely, killing each other did not seem to be on their minds.
Time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye from the moment the first assassin
fell. Shangguan Fei was completely unaware of everything that had happened
around him. Buried under the rubble, he kept calling "sister" over and over
again.
Shangguan Ru came to with a start. She had to save her brother now. Just as
this idea had come into her mind, Slave Huan and Wildhorse attacked at the
same time.
Even though they were both schooled in the kung fu of the Golden Roc Fort,
Wildhorse's machete skills put the Tenth Young Master's to shame.
Practitioners like humans were flexible and creative, unlike kung fu

techniques, which were inherently rigid. From one practitioner to the other,
there were a hundred variations and levels. Wildhorse apparently belonged to
the most elite. There were no major variations in his kung fu but he was
incredibly quick.
Slave Huan's sword skills left Shangguan Ru gaping in astonishment. It was

as if none of his moves even appeared in the textbooks and every blow
seemed to echo a missing memory. The two most fleeting moments that were
captured was Slave Huan gripping his sword and piercing his enemy.
The two killers traded a blow and distanced themselves from each other
immediately.
Shangguan Ru did not see their moves clearly, but she knew who won.
Slave Huan looked at the wound on his shoulder. Blood flowed out from the
wound but compared to the gash dealt by Wildhorse earlier, it was nothing of
note.
Wildhorse patted his neck. He wasn't dead, but he felt something sting him.
There was no blood but he felt very strange. It was as though there had been
something very important in him, something strung by a line, that had
snapped.
Wildhorse staggered backwards and huffed. Suddenly, a portion of his

Internal Breath in his Dantian left his body. He started to panic inside. How
could Slave Huan have dissipated his Internal Strength? What kind of terrible
wicked sword craft was this?
Gu Shenwei was also panicking as he only had a set of sword craft. He hadn't
been able to kill Wildhorse with a single blow. That only meant that in the
next blow, he could die under Wildhorse's dagger. All of his opponents had
died after a single blow. He had no idea whether he had destroyed
Wildhorse's Internal Strength.
Shangguan Ru ignored her brother's pleas for the moment. She walked
toward the killers and stood between them. She faced Wildhorse and stared
him in the eye. "You can go now."
"No." Liuhua shouted. His hand still held a bow. He was confident of killing
the most elite of the Dragon Year apprentices. Wiping his enemy out at its
roots was a principle that had been deeply instilled in him.
Shangguan Ru stared at Wildhorse. "Let me decide. Let this traitor go. I don't
want to kill anyone anymore."
She was just like a child who had grown tired of a game. She had decided to
withdraw, no matter how enthusiastic the others had been and there was no
turning back.
She was just a child.
Gu Shenwei looked at her and secretly sighed a breath of relief. They were
both 14 years of age, however, unlike the disciples of Stone Castle,
Shangguan Ru could still return to being a child. This was different from how
killers of Stone Castle could only run single-mindedly toward their death.
Wildhorse couldn't say anything. Even if he had been able to speak, he would
not thank the Tenth Young Master. He was a traitor but he was also betrayed.
This master was weak and stupid. She had failed to see how all her followers
had ulterior motives. Not telling her anything would be the greatest form of
punishment for her. As for Slave Huan, their duel had not ended.
Wildhorse turned around toward the grasslands of the North. He put his saber
into his scabbard and did not put up his guard. His Internal Strength became
weaker with every breath he took. If someone had caught up with him, he
would not have had the strength to resist.
Wildhorse walked further and further into the distance.
Maid Lotus looked at Gu Shenwei. This was a great opportunity. They could
kill the twins and Wildhorse now while it was not too late. Then they could
go support Shangguan Nu. The Eighth Young Master would likely protect
them. He had long since lost trust in his former ally, Lady Meng.
Gu Shenwei nodded his head. With the twins dead, they could have a firmer
grip on things. They could prove themselves through this incident and
continue climbing upward. Perhaps they could get closer to the Supreme
King through Lady Meng. The Supreme King was the mastermind behind the
Gu Family's death.
Neither of the twins smelt betrayal in the air.
Shangguan Fei was almost shouting himself hoarse. Shangguan Ru finally

came up to him. "Sister, my dear sister, please save me, I will give everything
to you and I will not fight with you over anything anymore."
A huge boulder had landed upon Shangguan Fei's right leg and at that
moment, he had no chance of living.
"Why are you here?" Shangguan Ru knew that she should be saving her
brother but in her heart, she hesitated.
"I…I want to achieve something so that no one would look down on me and
say that I am a weakling. Even the killers themselves were secretly saying
this among themselves. Sister, they are all wolves- all of them. If the master
wasn't like a tiger, they would devour you. I am afraid, sister, I want to return
to Stone Castle…"
Shangguan Fei had only cared about his wound but did not realize that at that
moment, Shangguan Ru was actually convinced. She had trusted Wildhorse
so much, but he had betrayed her.
Killers were all wolves. They would come attacking the instant their masters
revealed some form of weakness. Shangguan Ru could hardly bear to look at
the three remaining killers. At that instant, she could hardly tell whether they
were human beings or wolves.
Shangguan Fei held his own leg and wanted to pull it out under the rock,
however, he was afraid of the pain and his tears kept flowing down his
cheeks. "Sister, quick, save me. Let's get out here immediately. The person
who set the trap was fourth brother. He is still in that village. He'll be coming
for us soon."
Chapter 205 - Fraud
Chapter 205: Fraud
The stone on Shangguan Fei's legs wasn't heavy. He could have pushed it
away if he was calmer and had a higher pain threshold.
Three killers removed the stone and Shangguan Ru helped to sloppily

bandage her brother's wound. Liuhua went to fetch the horse which was
hidden in the nearby valley and supported Ninth Young Master up onto the
horse.
"I'll stay. All of you should go," Gu Shenwei said. They needed one person to
stop the possible pursuit by the soldiers.
"No, we shall all go together," Shangguan Ru replied. She was even more
determined than Slave Huan.
"Hurry up. We can't stay here as Fourth Brother will catch up to us anytime,"
Shangguan Fei said. He was more anxious than anyone else as he wanted to
rush back to Stone Castle.
Maid Lotus looked at Slave Huan and said, "Let's go. He knows what he is
doing. He'll be fine." Both Maid Lotus and Liuhua headed to the east while
protecting the twins.
Gu Shenwei looked to the west and saw a Young Master. He could kill him
and he would likely not receive any punishment.
After waiting for such a long time, he could finally take revenge!
He left the horse to graze the field and stained himself with some blood from
a corpse. Then, he lay beside another corpse and covered his face. He was
holding onto his sword and stared at the sky. His mind was blank until he
heard rapid clattering of horses.
Dozens of well-dressed people arrived at the scene. Some of them had large
swords. The rest not only had large swords with them, they were also
equipped with a saber.
A man jumped off the horse and said gruffly, "Shangguan Ru. Please explain
what's going on. The Great Snowmountain isn't easily deceived."
A cold voice spoke disdainfully. He felt that it was easy to fool the Great
Snowmountain. He said, "Can't all of you see that I've lost a few men? This is
done by a top killer. If it wasn't for your mistake, Stone Castle won't have
been alerted. If all of you had listened to me, there won't have been an
accident."
"No", another voice retorted. He said,"Even though the killers had their faces
covered, I feel that they're very young and there's another girl with them.
They're as young as Shangguan Fei's killers."
Shangguan Fei's killers had died among a heap of rocks and they were the
four masked "corpses". A swordsman walked over, pulled off a mask and
said, "All of them are children. What happened? How did they die?"
A swordsman who had fled back to the village made some strange noises in
surprise and said, "This is weird. When I left, none of them were dead."
"When you fled," the gruff voice said while emphasizing on the correction. It
was shameful for a swordsman of Great Snowmountain to flee for his life.
Shangguan Ruo scorned coldly. Even though their clan was almost wiped
out, they were still bickering over such trivial matter. They might even start a
brawl among themselves and some might just lose their life. The enemies
need not lift their fingers to kill them off.
He urged his horse closer to check on these corpses. Indeed, these killers had
died not long ago. He said, "These're Shangguan Fei's killers." He finally
understood. "The twins came here before and they managed to catch…"
The "corpse" was alive.
The horse let out a warm damp breath. Gu Shenwei seemed dazed, but he
wasn't using his eyes to locate the most important enemy.
The key of 29 Styles of Swordsmanship was to stab at the same target from
different angles. Even though Gu Shenwei was lying on the ground and his
target was far from him, it didn't affect his attack manoeuvre.
He attacked quickly. He couldn't even get a good look at Fourth Young

Master Shangguan Ruo.
After the attack, Gu Shenwei headed straight for his horse. Just when he was
making his escape, he felt that someone was chasing him.
Gu Shenwei was guarded against this assasin as every Young Master of the
Shangguan Family had one black-masked assasin protecting him.
Gu Shenwei needed more time. This was one of the minor holes in the
swordscraft of Death Scripture . After one attack, he had to regain his Internal
Breath. If his next opponent was weak, there wouldn't be any problem. If his
opponent was strong, he had to let his Internal Breath complete one grand
circulation before attacking again.
He didn't continue running forward. When he jumped, he left behind some

space. He returned back to his original position just when his toes made
contact with the ground.
Gu Shenwei brushed past the black-masked assassin. That emotionless mask

resembled the Grim Reaper.
No one had the time to attack.
Shangguan Ruo was sitting on his horse motionlessly. He looked indifferent

and it seemed as if he was detached from the world. He seemed uninterested
the fight happening before him.
Several killers and swordsmen had yet to recover from that "fake corpse"
incident. They held on to their weapons but they had yet to pull it out.
The fight happened too fast. In the still background, they were the only ones
moving around. They exchanged blows but no one could get a good look at
it.
The youth leapt forward, then one drop of blood fell to the ground. A
moment later, the killers and swordsmen had just pulled out their weapons.
The youth leapt forward again and there were two more drops of blood on the
ground. The killers' and swordsmen's horses raised their front foot.
The youth jumped onto the horse, which was grazing. There were three drops
of blood on the ground. The black-masked assassin fell forward just like an
unstable wooden stick. The Great Snowmountain swordsmen shouted. Those
who were nimble had thrown out their throwing knives at Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei lied flat on the horse's back and galloped away.
Both the killers and the swordsmen looked at Shangguan Ruo and waited for
his instructions. It was after when the youth made his escape that they
realised the motionless Golden Roc Fort Fourth Young Master was dead.
Gu Shenwei's only regret was that he didn't cut off his head.
He caught up to Shangguan Ru and the others at the mountain pass.
"Is it successful?" Shangguan Ru asked.
"Yes," Gu Shenwei nodded.
"I'll explain everything to Stone Castle."
"Ok!"
Gu Shenwei had personally killed a Young Master. Tenth Young Master was
the only one who could resolve this matter. Even though the killers had lost
their respect for Tenth Young Master, she was still the favorite child of
Supreme King.
The four of them travelled for days and they returned back to Jade City after
two days. They realized that there were rumors spreading all around Jade
City.
The whole city heard that the twins of Stone Castle were ambushed by Great
Snowmountain swordsmen and were killed. The Supreme King was furious
and was gathering all his killers to attack Great Snowmountain.
The twins survived. Many people were shocked and some were greatly
disappointed.
Lady Meng immediately sent her men down the mountain to inquire about
the situation. She sent Doctor Sun from North City to treat Shangguan Fei's
legs. She rejected her son's request to return back to the castle because it was
a crucial period. Even if he broke both of his legs, he couldn't return home
before the end of his trial period.
The loyal servants wouldn't deliver the bad news hence Lady Meng wasn't
able to learn about the real status of the twins, let alone knowing that her son
had lost his fighting spirit.
Shangguan Fei isolated himself in his North City residence. The first thing he
did when he recovered was to send Slave Qing to make peace with his
younger sister. He was willing to give up all his terrority and join Kun
Society. In return, he wanted his sister to protect him.
Shangguan Fei had lost eight killers. The only surviving killer was the one
who guarded Jade City. He was worried that he would be assassinated as his
ruthless brothers were capable of doing anything. He would rather give up
everything as this would prove that he had given up on the contest for power.
On the surface, Shangguan Ru's state seemed to be better as she did not look
frightened. However, the daughter of Supreme King had become sick of
killing people. Only three killers knew about it and they would not reveal this
secret.
She stayed in South City and sent envoys to Stone Castle. She bore all
responsibilities including the killing of Fourth Young Master.
Her intention was to protect Slave Huan. As a result, she had built up an
unprecedented reputation.
"'The battle for the throne' has begun," the residents of Jade City whispered
excitedly. Everyone wanted to converse with older citizens as they wanted to
know the details of the previous war.
The incumbent Supreme King was a tough character when he was young. All
those who went through the previous war supported this ruthless Young
Master. In order to be the Supreme King, he had to be cruel towards his
family. Tenth Young Master had a good start and she could be the first
female ruler of the Fort.
Those who were insightful disdained these ignorant comments. They shared
their views to those who were genuinely interested. They said, "It's too early
to start the war. The incumbent king is wealthy and young. Who dares to
challenge him? Who has the capability to fight for the throne? It's even more
ridiculous for a female to be the Supreme King. Even if the Supreme King
will allow it, thousands of killers won't agree to it. Look, this accidental event
won't lead to a war. Fourth Young Master had died in vain."
This minority was certainly correct. The so-called "battle for the throne"
didn't occur. As Fourth Young Master was Lady Meng's rival, his death
would greatly weaken First Young Master's influence and he would not be
able to counterattack.
Lady Meng hoped that the twins could launch a large-scale revenge.
However, Shangguan Fei isolated himself in his room and no one could
fathom Shangguan Ru's thoughts.
Tenth Young Master took over her brother's terrority. Kun Society and
Horned Dragon Society merged once again, however, it didn't seem as
impressive as it looked. This meant that she had to look after 1.15 million
taels.
The three killers helped her carry out her duties. Gu Shenwei leveraged on
Tenth Young Master "remaining authority" and brought twenty of the best
machetemen with him to cover all of the strongholds in South City that
belonged to the Young Masters.
Even though these strongholds technically belonged to the twins, they were
controlled by the other Young Masters. They not only refused to hand over
their control of the strongholds, but they also refused to pay the monthly
salary in advance.
On every occasion, Gu Shenwei would bring an extra blade and would place
it on the supervisor's table. He patiently explained Tenth Young Master's
order to the supervisor, "Either you die or you hand the stronghold over to
me."
The first to surrender was the stronghold of Fourth Young Master. As their
master had died, those who survived did not need to stay any longer. After
withdrawing from the stronghold, they joined Kun Society and the remaining
taels were handed over to Gu Shenwei.
The strongholds of the other Young Masters took a tougher stance and they
resisted fiercely. Things went smoothly when Gu Shenwei killed a
supervisor.
Before anyone could detect the change in Tenth Young Master, Gu Shenwei
wanted to make use of the opportunity to expand his influence by using Kun
Society as leverage. He remembered Wildhorse's plan, which was to build a
team of machetemen and he planned to execute it. Once Kun Society
managed to accumulate 1.15 million taels, he had formulated some ideas on
how to spend the money.
He was ready to confront the money collector.

Chapter 206 - Wei Family
Chapter 206: Wei Family
Shangguan Ru allowed her killers to act freely by leveraging on her authority.
Gu Shenwei realized that he made a wise move of not killing Shangguan Ru

at that point in time as this was the best opportunity to act freely without the
need to bear much responsibility.
In the eyes of outsiders, Stone Castle's Tenth Young Master seemed to

become stranger, tougher and more ruthless as though she wanted to take
over the entire South City. However, only three killers knew the truth.
Shangguan Ru became fearful and she was unable to overcome this ordeal.
On some occasions, she wanted to stay away from killing people. On other
occasions, she became overcome with ambition and wanted to do something
extraordinary. This was the main reason why she stayed in South City even
though she did not do much there.
The killers knew what they needed to do. Maid Lotus stood by Shangguan
Ru's side so as to prevent other machetemen and servants from learning about
Shangguan Ru's emotions. Liuhua played the role of a Shadow Guard and
protected her master secretly. Slave Huan focused on expanding the influence
and power of Kun Society.
The three of them reached a consensus. Even though their master was
depressed, they would want to build a strong front. Although Gu Shenwei
didn't really trust Liuhua, both he and Maid Lotus became more vigilant so to
prevent further complications.
Wildhorse's strategy was useful. Gu Shenwei revisited those influential old

swordsmen, especially those who were more reputable. He recruited the best
machetemen through their recommendation and they ensured Gu Shenwei of
the machetemen's loyalty. Gu Shenwei didn't hire stragglers. Through this
method, it not only ensured the stability of the society, but also built up
multiple forces within the society. This prevented any party from dominating
in the society.
After Gu Shenwei gathered ten teams, which was approximately three

hundred machetemen, the behavior Kun Society caught the attention of
many. Some praised its actions, some became alerted and still others were
baffled. The first who visited them was Commandant Zhong Heng.
As usual, Zhong Heng made merry. He then hinted that Kun Society had to
hand over the Protective Talisman, which was 1.15 million taels, in a few
days time. However, he felt that Kun Society had been spending much money
recently and it might not have much left.
"Please be assured, Lord Zhong. Please assure Lord Governor when you get
back. I'll ensure that everyone is happy."
Zhong Heng left without worry. He visited again once every two or three
days. He would come for a chat. On some occasions, he would head to Xu
Yanwei's place to stay for the night as if he was an evasive supervisor.
Gu Shenwei investigated the origin of the Governor. However, not many

people in South City knew about the Governor. He could only obtain some
information from North City.
The incumbent Governor came from the Central Plain. His surname was Wei
and his name was Song. He came to the Western Region to broaden his
horizon. Unlike Zhong Heng who stayed in Western Region after he stepped
down, Lord Wei would return back to Central Plain after three years. He
would then likely be promoted to Duke.
Gu Shenwei didn't care much about it initially. After a few days, he suddenly
felt that the name Wei Song sounded familiar.
He lived in the Central Plain for twelve years. As he was too young then, he
could only remember a few good friends' surnames, but none of them
surnamed Wei. He thought, since Wei Song was the emperor, he might have
known his father Gu Lun. It was normal to have a little impression.
He did not have a good impression of the Governor. When Wei Song was in
power, it was one or two months after the annihilation of the Gu family. He
had never heard of Master Wei seeking redress for the citizens of Central
Plain. Master Wei was not as righteous as Marshal Yang.
He had to rely on himself especially when it came to taking revenge. He

regarded the governorship as a form of influence and he could use this
influence to suppress Golden Roc Fort.
It was less than ten days till the return of the "Protective Talisman" when a
famous man visited Jade City. He caused much trouble for Gu Shenwei, but
he reminded Gu Shenwei of his past.
This man was Governor Wei Song's son, Wei Lingmiao. His name sounded
feminine, but he was very handsome.
He was more famous than his father, especially in South City.
The first time Gu Shenwei heard about him was through Xu Yanwei.
Xu Yanwei became excited when Wei Lingmiao was mentioned as though

both of them were old friends. However, neither of them had met before. She
said, "I was little when he visited Jade City. I knew nothing. Pot-bellied
Buddha wanted to marry me off but he couldn't find any way to do so. Sigh.
That was my only regret. If Master Wei wanted to marry me, I would now be
living at the Central Plain."
Gu Shenwei couldn't help but snort. As Wei Lingmiao was a lustful person,
his love for Xu Yanwei would be short-lived. He laughed, "You would
probably live in one of the brothels in Central Plains."
"What about it? I'm a prostitute. I would be better off staying anywhere else
instead of this city."
Upon mentioning about South City, Xu Yanwei' anger began to boil. She
continued speaking after she vented her frustration. She said, "By the way,
Master Wei is rumored to be young, handsome, humorous, romantic, rich and
generous. Compared to him, those poor machetemen are nothing."
Gu Shenwei snorted again. The Weis was obviously rich. Their bribes
amounted to millions and the entire Jade City had to accumulate four to five
million taels so to bribe the Governor.
"If you have the ability, you should make Master Wei spend a million taels
on you."
"Hmph. Do you think that I'm incapable and not worth a million taels? Your
crippled master said that if I could control my temper I'll be the best
prostitute in Pleasure Alley. I can control myself in front of a gentle master."
She heaved a sigh. "I don't know if I have a chance to see him."
"I may be able to send you to him."
"Really?" Xu Yanwei replied. Her eyes glittered and jumped up as she almost
embraced her master.
"However, I'm afraid that you will follow him back to Central Plain. Our
three-year pact has yet to expire."
"That's a small matter. I can compensate you. Furthermore, Xiaoyi can stay
behind."
Xu Xiaoyi was engrossed in the conversation. Upon hearing this sentence, he

frowned with his brows and said, "Sister, you're too heartless. You're
deserting me here if you leave Jade City."
"You can find me at Central Plain after three years. By then, I would have
bought you a house and chosen a few wives for you."
Xu Xiaoyi laughed, "I would only want the house. I would rather choose my
own wife as I don't trust your judgment."
The siblings got happier just by thinking of it. Xu Xiaoyi hadn't forgotten of
his good friend and said, "Little Chu, you should come with me when time is
ripe. You have no reason to stay here."
Chu Nanping listened intently. He appeared indifferent as though he couldn't
manage to understand. He said, "No, I want to stay with Gu Shenwei to
practice Heartless Swords."
"What if I go?"
"You won't go. I'll kill you first."
The conversation was getting off topic. Gu Shenwei interrupted, "I didn't say
that I'll definitely send you over."
Xu Yanwei frowned and was about to throw a tantrum. She then let out a
sweet smile and said, "Mr. Huan, please don't play with me. I know you have
certain conditions. Say it and I'll agree to all of them."
In fact, Xu Yanwei was already chosen. Even though Wei Lingmiao hadn't
arrived at the city, the person who was responsible for receiving him had
started making preparations by finding the best prostitute in South City. Xu
Yanwei was highly recommendated especially by Fifth Young Master Meng
and Commandant Zhong Heng. They all had praise for her.
"It's very simple. I want to know all kinds of information about Master Wei,
such as his temper, hobby and schedule."
Xu Yanwei blushed and tilted her head slightly. Her big eyes glanced to one
side as though she didn't want to answer the question. She appeared slightly
embarrassed. This was how she seduced men. She whispered, "Do I have to
tell you what he does? What do you think he does when he is with me?"
Gu Shenwei took Chu Nanping with him and left immediately. He was
uninterested in Wei Lingmiao and knew that Wei Lingmiao was finding a
way not to pay bribes. Similar to the most conservative killers, Gu Shenwei
hated lustful people. Killers like Tie Hanfeng were of a special kind and they
were not respected by other killers.
One of the influential people from North City who was in charge of receiving
Wei Lingmiao was Fifth Young Master Meng Mingshi. He finally recovered
from his grief of losing Master Yu. Half a month ago, he resumed making
merry at South City.
Gu Shenwei visited this enemy who always wanted to kill him and agreed to
let Xu Yanwei serve Master Wei.
Meng Mingshi changed slightly. He became more tactful and less arrogant.
He had also lost his infatuation. He said, "Ah. Master Wei is an interesting
person. The person who received him during his last visit was my older
brother as I was too young then…"
This was the second time Gu Shenwei heard such a story. He couldn't help
but become curious. He wondered what kind of person Master Wei was as he
was so well-liked.
"It was two or three years ago when Master Wei was playing a lot tricks in
the city. Do you still remember the marriage of Stone Castle's Eighth Young
Master? He came just before that. I heard that both Master Wei and Eighth
Young Master had planned to take a good look at the daughter of Bighead
Kingpin. They wanted to know if she was as beautiful as what the rumors
said. I'm not sure if they have succeeded. It was a pity that Marquis Gao died.
Both of them are best friends."
Gu Shenwei was able to guarantee that Master Wei didn't succeed as the
daughter of Bighead Kingpin would have screamed so loudly that the entire
Golden Roc Fort could hear if someone saw her.
Meng Mingshi received Slave Huan politely and enthusiastically. He even

personally sent Gu Shenwei him out. It was as though he wanted to end the
rivalry between both of them. He said, "Slave Huan, we're old friends. I hope
you won't linger on the past?"
"I wouldn't dare. Fifth Young Master thinks so highly of me."
Mingshi chuckled. "We became friends after we exchanged blows. Now that
you're owner of half of South City, both of us should plan and prepare well
for the reception of Master Wei."
Fifth Young Master Meng treated a slave as his brother. Gu Shenwei was
flattered and replied, "Fifth Young Master Meng should call the shots. I'll
listen to your orders and serve you."
The meeting should have come to an end, but Gu Shenwei felt that he had
overlooked something very important. He then remembered and asked, "Oh
yes. As the Governor hadn't stepped up to his position when Eighth Young
Master got married, why did Master Wei visit Jade City then?"
The question seemed slightly abrupt. Meng Mingshi was stunned

momentarily and thought about it. He said, "I don't know. He probably
helped his father to manage the outpost. Oh, I had an impression. It was
rumored that he came to fetch the bride, but he didn't take the bride with him
when he left. He brought back many concubines though."
Gu Shenwei had a good laugh with Mingshi over this, then he left. He
realized why he had an impression of Wei Song and Wei Lingmiao. Wei
Lingmiao was supposed to be his brother-in-law and the Weis family was
supposed to his in-laws.
Chapter 207 - Heart of the Lake
Chapter 207: Heart of the Lake
Memory was like a dog eager to please its owner. As long as you something
to chew on, it would come back with something in its mouth.
Gu Shenwei had a strong feeling that he had met the Weis before, but he
couldn't remember the exact details. He doubted his memory. To him, even
though he spent nearly three years working in Stone Castle, it seemed longer
than a lifetime. Recollecting the events that occurred three years ago was
harder than crossing the widest river alone.
But he still believed that he would get a few basic facts right.
He had only been six or seven years old when his sister Cuilan got married.
He knew nothing, only to blindly address him "brother-in-law". Until he
realized that his sister had married into the Wei family rather than his
brother-in-law joining the Gu family, he had little impression of his "brother-
in-law" and had no intention to get to know him.
Gu Shenwei was unfamiliar with the name "Wei Lingmiao". However, he

was convinced that his prospective in-laws were the Weis.
He had a niggling sense of familiarity towards "Wei Song". Someone had

once mentioned this name and he even felt that he had seen this name before.
The reception for Wei Lingmiao would be a gathering for the upper class of
Jade City. Fifth Young Master Meng had overestimated Slave Huan's status.
Kun Society had to attend this gathering but Fifth Young Master Meng would
never allow a slave-born killer to stand in the same room with the other
noblemen. Shangguan Ru was uninterested in such gatherings and asked her
brother to take her place.
Shangguan Fei was willing to do his sister a turn but he had a small wish. He
hoped that through this gathering, his brothers' would no longer hate him
anymore. If that worked out, he would swear that he would not vie for the
position of Supreme King.
The gathering was held in the early summer of mid-May at the Bodhi Garden
in the Meng Residence, North City. Gu Shenwei attended the gathering as the
bodyguard of Ninth Young Master. This was the first time he met Master
Wei Lingmiao, who was supposed to be his brother-in-law.
There was a benefit of being a bodyguard - he did not need to socialise or

drink with the guests.
Shangguan Fei was the youngest among the noblemen, however his gloomy
expression and flustered actions made others feel like he was aged and that
something was wrong with him.
There was definitely something wrong with Shangguan Fei. His leg, which
had been crushed by a rock before being cured by a doctor, was still slightly
disabled. No one could detect anything when Shangguan Fei walked slowly
but when he walked faster, he seemed unbalanced. From then onwards, he
had developed a habit of looking at people from the corner of his eye.
Unlike other noblemen, Shangguan Fei remained behind the table at all times
and did not greet any far-away visitors. He was uninterested in the guests, be
it the Governor's son or those ambassadors who were only interested in
having fun. He cared only about his personal safety and he suspected that his
sister had sent Slave Huan to monitor him instead of protecting him.
After hearing so many rumors, Gu Shenwei was disappointed when he saw

Wei Lingmiao.
Master Wei was only about twenty four or twenty five years old. He was tall
and handsome, but other than that, he did not seem to have other talents. He
was not as wanton and unrestrained as the others had described. Instead, he
was gentle and elegant. He greeted everyone coolly and even stopped
momentarily at Ninth Young Master's table and greeted him.
The banquet began in the evening. Apart from the fact that several noblemen
were drunk, everything seemed normal. It appeared that this would be like
every other boring and insipid party.
Around nine o'clock at night, several older noblemen left and Wei Lingmiao
dismissed his followers. Then, the real party began.
"Marquis Gao was a womanizer and died for love. We are saddened yet
envious. Everyone, let us toast him on this special occasion."
This was the first toast made by Wei Lingmiao this evening. Everyone stood
up. The atmosphere seemed heavy when they paid tribute to the Marquis,
who had died young. Master Wei led everyone in the toast and all of them
smashed their cups on the floor.
"Lao Si, bring out all the prostitutes! It's so boring."
Master Wei's words swept away any vestiges of the gloomy mood and
everyone cheered. The noblemen had not attended the gathering because they
wanted to please the Governor, but because they wanted to see what kind of
tricks the flirtatious Master would bring from the Central Plain.
"Lao Si" was Fourth Young Master Meng, who was the older brother of
Meng Mingshi. Both of them were old friends. He slammed the table and
said, "Damn it. Delay any longer and those prostitutes would have become
old maids."
In the blink of an eye, the gentlemanly Master transformed into a crude

lecher.
Pairs of strong men, each carried gigantic plates with a naked woman on
lying atop of every plate. There were nineteen of them, one for each of the
remaining nineteen guests.
After the gigantic plates were placed in the middle of the hall, the strong men
retreated.
Apart from woman, there were also wine jugs and cups on the plate. The
women smiled invitingly, in all sorts of seductive poses to attract the
attention of the noblemen, especially Wei Lingmiao. To win his favor, each
woman tried her best to stand out from the rest.
Everyone was staring at the women. Then, another batch of women entered
the hall and danced among the plates. They slowly took off their clothes and
remained with the other women.
Crash! A cup from one of the noblemen' hands fell onto the floor. There was
then a round of applause. No one was interested in the food in front of them.
Even Shangguan Fei, who was uninterested in women, wore a lustful

expression and could not help grunting.
Gu Shenwei suspected that Ninth Young Master was trying to blend in with
the others. He had no business in the hall so he quietly left. He headed to the
lake and stood silently by the fence.
The moonlight was bright. The famous colorful lotuses of Bodhi Garden
closed up during night time and they looked like little unlit lamps swaying
peacefully on the surface of the lake. There was a huge contrast between the
noisy hall and the peaceful lake.
"It was fortunate that Sister didn't marry him, if not I would have had to kill
him", Gu Shenwei thought. His heart felt as tranquil as the lake.
Meanwhile, the performance in the hall was still going on. Once a batch of
women exited another would enter. It looked like many noblemen had
prepared some entertainment. It looked to be a wild night of debauchery.
A group of women chattered as they walked past, excitedly discussing the

nobles whose attention they had caught. Gu Shenwei had nowhere to hide so
he just stood at his original position and pretended to guard the Meng'
residence. He gazed the little boats floating at the centre of the lake.
"Hey, Yang Huan, why are you here?"
Someone had recognized him. Gu Shen turned his head, saying, "Oh,
nothing. It's chaos inside and I'm technically not a guest."
Xu Yanwei was covered in a piece of thin clothing. Her face seemed redder
than usual, which could be because of too much powder or from performing
too hard. She replied, "That's true. You must have felt uncomfortable
watching the others choosing women. If you want, I can play with you."
Xu Yanwei batted her eyelashes and laughed. She was in a good mood and
did not care about the killer's gloomy appearance. She asked, "Did you see
me just now?"
Gu Shenwei shook his head. He really had not seen her and all the women
looked similar. It was difficult to distinguish each of them. Although
admittedly, he was a man just like any other and it was difficult to pay
attention to only the face.
"Master Wei had taken a fancy to me. I dare say that he will sleep with me
tonight. Yang Huan, lets meet again at Central Plain."
Xu Yanwei spun around, not caring that her body was bare under the
moonlight. Laughing, she left. She was one step closer to reaching her goal
and had even dared to call Mr. Huan by name.
This prostitute with the tragic backstory was certainly optimistic. Gu Shenwei
looked at her retreating back and couldn't help but laugh. However, he didn't
believe that Wei Lingmiao would take her with him when he returned to
Central Plain. That Master was a womanizer and he surely would not be
enamoured by a prostitute
The ruckus from the hall became louder, as though some noblemen's lusts
could no longer be contained. The sound was similar to what one heard along
Pleasure Alley.
The sounds of animals in the heat. Servants rushing around. The chilld of the
moonlit air. The ethereal beauty of holy lotus flowers. Gu Shenwei felt like
he was standing between the two contrasting worlds. He missed his blade and
sword. It was forbidden to bring weapons into the Bodhi Garden and he
crouched, rubbing blades of grass between his finger, as if trying to conjure
something out of nothing.
"A bunch of fools", a lazy voice said. This man leaned against the fence as he
sized up the young killer.
Gu Shenwei was taken by surprise and did not know how to respond to
Master Wei. He hesitated for a moment, dipped his head and said, "Master
Wei, why did you come out alone?"
"No reason", Wei Lingmiao replied as he pursed his lips and whistled,
signalling the little boat in the centre of the lake. He said, "It had been years
since I came here. I thought there would be new people in Jade City but it
looks like nothing has changed. Even though the people are different, they
still use the same old tricks. Prostitutes nowadays are not as hardworking as
those in the past."
"Master Wei had seen much. Surely you would obviously not be attracted to
these cheap tricks", Gu Shenwei said. He thought Xu Yanwei would feel
disappointed.
"Cheap tricks can be alluring but only in moderation. Few women knew this
and even fewer men. Everyone is just wasting their live, just like pigs and
dogs."
Gu Shenwei found that he could not maintain a conversation with Master

Wei. They were on different wavelengths. Fortunately, the boat docked so he
need not reply to Master Wei.
The captain was a young woman dressed in rags. Despite being casually
dressed, her familiar smile revealed her true identity. She, too, was from
South City.
Wei Lingmiao went to the pier and boarded the boat with the help of the
woman. Then he turned back, "Come with me to and watch the moon. Let us
stay far away from them."
"Me?" Gu Shenwei replied. Gu Shenwei was only a bodyguard but had had a
fortuitous chance of speaking to Master Wei. He felt that he was not worthy
to even be invited onto the boat, let alone play on it.
"Yes, why not? A killer is also a person. Are you not drawn by this beautiful
scenery?"
Gu Shenwei's heart skipped a beat. There were numerous bodyguards in

Bodhi Garden but he was the only killer. Wei Lingmiao must have known his
identity when he said that.
Then, Gu Shenwei remembered the 1.15 million taels and thought that this
invitation could be related to that. Hence, he boarded the boat, preparing to
fight it out with Master Wei.
The young woman pushed the boat from shore and Wei Lingmiao entered the
cabin. He then took out a bottle of wine and two ceramic bowls. Half sitting
at the bow, he closed his eyes and hummed a little tune.
Gu Shenwei instinctively took up the bottle and poured the wine into the two
bowls. He knelt at the side while waiting for Master Wei to ask him about the
money.
Suddenly, flute sounds could be heard from the stern of the boat. It was in
harmony with Master Wei's humming. Evidently, there was a songstress
onboard.
The boat circled around the reflection of the moon at the heart of the lake,
disturbing the lilies. They seemed to be shaking their head in dissatisfaction.
The music stopped.
Wei Lingmiao opened his eyes and smiled at the killer. He asked, "How is
your owner?"
Gu Shenwei almost punched Wei Lingmiao's handsome, arrogant face.

Master Wei, who came from Central Plain, had almost became his brother-in-
law. He had gotten tired of playing with all the prosititutes in Jade City and
he was now interested in Golden Roc Fort Tenth Young Master. To him, the
name Gu Cuilan had probably never existed before.
Chapter 208 - Roping in
Chapter 208: Roping in
Wei Lingmiao had heard of the Golden Roc Fort's Tenth Young Master. The
last time he visited Jade City, Shangguan Ru had been a teenager, and hence,
he had been uninterested. Now that he was back in Jade City, he had heard
many stories about Tenth Young Master. He was unconcerned about who
would be the Supreme King, but wanted to get to know more about this
extraordinary fourteen-year-old ruler of South City.
"She's alright", Gu Shenwei replied indifferently. He had worked out a plan

on how to mention the money, but was not expecting to talk about the Tenth
Young Master.
Wei Lingmiao quirked his lips and smiled. The smile was gentle but
flamboyant, attracting the glance of the female captain.
"I have met your master before. During Eighth Young Master's wedding, she
was running around in boys' clothes because she wanted to see how the bride
looked. I wanted to as well and both of us worked together to flip over the
bride's veil before Eight Young Master. However, we failed. Who would
have thought that there was another thick veil underneath? Haha."
Gu Shenwei had not expected Wei Lingmiao to know Shangguan Ru. He

replied, "The Eighth Young Master must not have been very happy."
"Who knows? At that time, the Eight Young Master was socializing with all
the big shots from the Western Region and he probably did not even notice
us. The Eighth Young Mistress probably didn't know who we were. Ah, it's
funny to think about it."
Gu Shenwei was fuming. The marriage of Shangguan Nu and the massacre of

the Gu family had only been approximately one month apart. The Wei family
must have heard of this tragedy but Wei Lingmiao still had the mood to tease
the bride.
"The Eighth Young Mistress still wears a veil", Gu Shenwei replied casually,
as if making a side point.
"I guess her good reputation was overstated. If not, why would the Eighth
Young Master rather stay in the desert and not go home? I heard that
Shangguan Ru was growing more and more beautiful."
His comments seemed lustful. Gu Shenwei was quiet and did not reply. He
felt that Shangguan Ru had not changed much. Apart from the fact that she
had grown slightly taller, her appearance remained the same.
Wei Lingmiao smiled again as he picked up the wine jug. He said, "You are a
loyal killer."
"All killers are loyal." Gu Shenwei replied. Even as he spoke those words, he
felt hypocritical. Several of them had discussed how to kill the twins not long
ago.
Wei Lingmiao shook his head and did not say a word. The conversation was
still about Shangguan Ru. Wei Lingmiao said, "I saw the Ninth Young
Master just now. Both of them are twins but the Tenth Young Master must
look different from him by now."
"Not quite the same."
Wei Lingmiao looked relieved. "That's good." He muttered.
Several small boats approached them. The noblemen in the hall who have
discovered that their main guest was missing had caught up.
"Miao'er, why did you abandon us? The girls are crying." Meng Mingshi
said. Meng Mingshi and Wei Lingmiao were like old friends when they first
met each other. Meng Mingshi learned from his older brother quickly and
called Wei Lingmiao by his nickname.
"If we were to talk about tears, I believe this lake is filled with women's
tears."
"Women's tears? This is a good idea. Let me come back with a whip and I'll
increase the size of the lake."
"Lao Wu, I thought you would be faithful. Weren't you once deeply in love
with a female killer? I have said before, that if there's a Fifth Young Master
in the Meng family, the women will feel blessed. I never thought that you
would be so ruthless."
Meng Mingshi shouted at Shangguan Fei, who was on another boat. "Master,
can't you see? Miao'er is interested in your killer. Give Master Wei your
killer as soon as possible."
Before the arrival of Wei Lingmiao, Gu Shenwei was observing the

expressions of the two siblings. Meng Mingshi might have either forgotten
about Master Yu or become more mature as he did not show any trace of
hatred but instead, acted affectionately to Shangguan Fei.
Shangguan Fei was afraid of water and held onto the handrail of the boat
tightly. He grumbled. "What's good about a killer? His body is full of scars.
Your hands might get hurt touching them."
Everyone became quiet. No one could tell if the Ninth Young Master was
joking or being sarcastic, but everyone started laughing when Wei Lingmiao
laughed. The atmosphere eased up.
At dawn, the party ended. Gu Shenwei did not know which women had got
picked to serve Wei Lingmiao. Both he and Shangguan Fei left early.
Once they reached home, Shangguan Fei sent away all other slaves and
questioned Slave Huan. "Why did he come to you?"
"We were talking casually. We hadn't talked about much before all of you
arrived."
Shangguan Fei did not really believe Slave Huan. Both of them knew each
other's secrets after all and both of them were cautious of the other. He said,
"You are a killer. It's fine if you play sides within these walls, but collude
with an outsider, it guarantees your death."
"I've always been loyal to Golden Roc Fort. My guess is that Master Wei just
wanted that 'Protective Talisman'."
Shangguan Fei stopped asking. The one million taels of silver troubled him
greatly, as though it was a mountain that was constantly pressing onto him. It
was not easy to have got rid of them; he did not want anything to do with
them anymore.
The banquet for receiving Master Wei lasted for three days and each night
was similar. Wei Lingmiao seemed to be uninterested in the money. Instead,
he was always looking for opportunities to ask about the Tenth Young
Master. However, Gu Shenwei always gave perfunctory responses.
Wei Lingmiao would probably know that, in order to get close to Shangguan
Ru, he would have to get past Slave Huan. Thus he was not bothered by the
killer's cold attitude. Instead, he responded with sincerity. On the last day at
Bodhi Garden, Master Wei treated Gu Shenwei extremely well.
After horsing around for three days, Master Wei finally got down to business.
Commandant Zhong Heng, who was in charge of the meeting, invited the
Ninth Young Master over to discuss a private matter. The Ninth Young
Master naturally understood what this private matter was. He calmly admitted
the merger of the Horned Dragon Society and Kun Society and mentioned
that the Tenth Young Master was calling the shots. Should there be a need to
discuss any further, the best person to speak to was killer Yang Huan.
Just like that, Gu Shenwei had a private meeting with Wei Lingmiao and
Zhong Heng in a study in Bodhi Garden.
"Manager Yang, the day after tomorrow is d-day. I believe the Tenth Young
Master has prepared the money." Zhong Heng said frankly.
Gu Shenwei shook his head and said, "No, you will have to wait for another
month."
Zhong Heng was not easily ruffled and continued smiling. He looked at Wei
Lingmiao. That flirtatious master appeared indifferent and was rifling through
the books that no one had read before. He did not say a word.
Zhong Heng shook his head. "Manager Yang, this is not what we have agreed
on."
Gu Shenwei wanted to push the Governor's boundaries and said, "Well, you
can't say that. At this juncture, I have no other choice. I don't have enough
money and I can't produce money out of nowhere."
Zhong Heng's smile was almost gone. He had made a few deals with the
young killer previously, and had even received his monthly basic salary. He
felt that Yang Huan was sensible, but he had never thought that Yang Huan
would breach a contract. He said, "If the Tenth Young Master has difficulties,
we can't help her either. However, she could ask Stone Castle for help."
This seemed like a threat. Gu Shenwei played dumb and replied, "The Tenth
Young Master will never ask anyone for help. Either you reduce the amount,
or you wait for another month. There's no other way."
"Does the Tenth Young Master want this?" Zhong Heng asked. He was
surprised and angry as Yang Huan had embarrassed him in front of Master
Wei.
"This is all her idea," Gu Shenwei said with certainty. In fact, Shangguan Ru
did not even care about this matter at all. Slave Huan had been given free rein
to handle this issue.
The atmosphere became still. Gu Shenwei had planned to aggravate the

Governor and then observe the reaction of Stone Castle, so that he could find
out how the two parties communicated. He wanted to know how much
influence this obscure Governor had. When the massacre of Gu family had
occurred, Wei Song had not appeared concerned. There must either have
been unforeseen circumstances or some other reason.
Golden Roc Fort was an organization of killers. In the Gu family massacre,

the client that requested the massacre remained unknown. Gu Shenwei felt
that the relationship between Governor, Wei Song, and his family was a
major clue.
Wei Lingmiao suddenly turned around and absently said, "It is plausible to
wait for another month."
"Master…" Zhong Heng said. Even though Zhong Heng would not pocket
the bribe, he was subject to the Governor and did not want to bore the blame
of acceding to Gu Shenwei.
Wei Lingmiao waved his hands as though he knew what he was doing. He
said, "But, there are some conditions."
"What conditions?" Gu Shenwei asked coldly.
Wei Lingmiao coughed sharply and Zhong Heng immediately retreated.
"You should know what I'm thinking about."
Gu Shenwei knew what he meant but Gu Shenwei did not want to help. Gu
Shenwei said, "I'm just a killer. I know nothing except for killing people."
Wei Lingmiao laughed. He was not as easily provoked as Zhong Heng.

"Alright," he said, "we can delay the transaction if you help me kill a person."
"Who?" Gu Shenwei asked casually. He had not expected Master Wei to

actually come to him with such a request.
"I've never considered that. Let me think about it. I'll let you know in two
days. I believe that killing people is easy for you, right?"
"I'm ready all the time." Gu Shenwei said. Though nodding his head slightly,
he wished he had a knife with him so that he could have threatened Master
Wei for the truth.
Gu Shenwei returned back to South City, but Xu Yanwei remained at Bodhi

Garden. She might have stood a chance of serving Master Wei, but the
competition was fierce. There would be many prostitutes left behind and no
one dared to boast that she had captured Master Wei's full attention.
Gu Shenwei noticed a carriage in front of the entrance of Kun Society.
Several servants were moving presents which were wrapped in silk to the
courtyard.
Accompanied by Maid Lotus, Shangguan Ru was practicing her writing in

the study. She saw Slave Huan entering and asked, "What is going on? Wei
Lingmiao has been sending items over everyday. Isn't he here to ask for
money? Why is he being so generous?"
"He likes you, Master." Gu Shenwei answered honestly.
Shangguan Ru was shocked. Maid Lotus withdrew backward, as if she could

blend into the wall and disappear.
"Bold and shameless fella. Aren't all the women in Jade City enough for
him?"
Gu Shenwei had expected Shangguan Ru to react with such vehemence.

Then, an idea sprang up in his mind. "Master Wei will not give up so easily,"
he said.
Even though Shangguan Ru had lost her will as a killer, it hardly meant that
she was a weak or easily deceived woman. She commented. "Oh really? Then
let's do something 'difficult' so that he will give up."
"He is the son of the Governor."
"So what? I didn't even want to hand out the 'Protective Talisman'. It's time to
teach the father and his son a lesson."
"It surely is." Gu Shenwei thought. But Gu Shenwei wondered that to what
extent the lesson should be.
Chapter 209 - Seeking an Audience
Chapter 209: Seeking an Audience
Shangguan Ru's threat about teaching the Wei father and son a lesson was
merely due to a slip of her tongue. Although the Governor was an
insignificant figure, the Central Plains that he represented was colossal. This
piece of information was undoubtedly known to the Tenth Young Master.
If it were not for Wei Lingmiao doing something so outrageous, she would
have lost her patience.
The philandering Young Master Wei Lingmiao came to the Stone Castle
from tens of thousands of miles away. He did not fancy any of the famous
prostitutes in South City; instead, he had fallen for the Tenth Young Master.
As if he was obsessed, he had sent presents every day to ask her to grant him
an audience. This matter was somehow leaked and was quickly spread
throughout the city.
"You mean the Stone Castle's Tenth Young Master? The leader of the
Leviathan Society? That little devil that kills people without blinking an eye?
The Overlord that owns half of the businesses in South City? Please stop
joking around."
This would had been people's initial reaction.
"It can't be wrong. Why don't you go to to the front gate of the Leviathan
Society and see for yourself? Boxes upon boxes of gifts, all the treasures are
from the Central Plains. It's a shower of gold, you know? A shower of gold!
Even if you gather all of the famous prostitutes in South City together, they
wouldn't even be worth this price."
The person who spoke these words one day had their tongues cut off. Since
then, no one dared to compare the Tenth Young Master to prostitutes.
That day when Wei Lingmiao personally came to visit the Tenth Young
Master in South City, many onlookers followed him and were blocking the
entire street. Everyone praised in their hearts that this Young Master Wei was
truly one of a kind in this world. He had a daring passion and a unique taste.
He actually fell in love with not just a female killer, but also the leader of
killers.
The people still remembered the last person who had fallen in love with the
female killer. What happened to the Meng's Fifth Young Master wasn't worth
anyone's envy. Not only did the women who loved him all died, but also a
large sum of money had been squandered away. The money even somehow
ended up paying for the wedding dress for the Shangguan family's twins.
Young Master Wei's appearance and demeanor were many levels higher than
that of Meng Mingshi; therefore as he arrived on horseback, he was greeted
with a commotion of praise.
The guards held the people back and pushed the dense crowd apart to form a
narrow passage.
Wei Lingmiao did not care about the crowd's gazes and indications. With a
pensive smile on his face, he behaved as if he was strolling through the
courtyard of his own home. His dismount from his horse was as smooth as
floating clouds and as natural as flowing water, prompting cheers from the
crowd.
A personal servant entered to announce his arrival.
The gatekeepers were shocked by Young Master Wei's demeanor as they

stared at each other uneasily and their smiles became strained.
Soon, the personal servant was kicked out.
His whole body was forcibly rushing towards Wei Lingmiao at the gate, one
of the gatekeepers reached out and pushed the concealed human figure away,
allowing the servant to land safely and then immediately withdrew.
Wei Lingmiao knocked the fan into the palm of his hand with a sigh before
raising his voice and shouted, "Tenth Young Master, an old friend has come
for a visit, why not come out and meet me?"
Shangguan Ru held a saber with a dissatisfied expression. Under the

deterrence of Maid Lotus, she did not charge out to slay him. This Young
Master Wei was indeed a scoundrel. Brazenly arriving without prior notice, it
was as if she was the one waiting for his arrival.
Gu Shenwei went out to order the machetemen to drive the onlookers away
and to persuade Wei Lingmiao to leave. "The Tenth Young Master can't meet
with any guests today. Young Master Wei, please pardon us."
A small setback could not sway Young Master Wei. "Report this to the Tenth
Young Master: From now on, I'll come tomorrow and every day after." Then
he vigorous winked at the killer, as if there were some tacit secret.
Young Master Wei left, but Shangguan Ru's rage did not diminish. She
finally made the resolution to punish this womanizer.
The next day, Wei Lingmiao came again. This time, the front gate was tightly
shut; even servants were refused entry.
Leaving his gifts at the door, Wei Lingmiao left with a sigh.
For five consecutive days, Young Master Wei came every single day.
Although there were fewer and fewer onlookers, he became more and more
spirited; and even his gifts were becoming more and more unique. One
evening, he also hired a fireworks performance; even those who were located
at the top of the Golden Roc Fort towers could see it.
On the sixth day, Young Master Wei did not show a disheartened expression,
but he felt that his life was becoming somewhat tedious and some
adjustments needed to be made.
Aside from the Tenth Young Master, which other women in South City were
worthy enough for Wei Lingmiao to visit them in person.
There was only one.
Not anyone could just summon South City's top prostitute and treated her like
smoke in the air.
Pleasure Alley has never forced anyone to stay. The prostitutes were
regularly rotated in and out; even those who became famous were forgotten.
Only Xiao Fengchai had been standing firm as the most famous for the
longest time. She also became the leader of the cosmetic community within
Jade City.
Those who never had the chance to see Xiao Fengchai would often say, "that
prostitute was just ordinary, and she isn't very young anymore. If it wasn't for
the Meng family's investments, who would line up for her services? Fame is
hard to achieve alone."
After hearing such words, those who had seen Xiao Fengchai always sneered
with a sense of superiority and held their heads high as they took their leave;
behaving in an aloof manner in front of their peers.
Wei Lingmiao had met with Xiao Fengchai before. The last time he visited
the Jade City, he had stayed at Xiao Fengchai's home for ten days, becoming
the man who stayed with her the longest. You should know that Xiao
Fengchai picked her guests. If she disliked you, even if you offered a fortune,
you could only sit with her for a chat and to drink tea; wanting to stay any
longer was dependent on one's nature.
Therefore, Wei Lingmiao felt that coming here would give him great
comfort.
He became unhappy when a maid had made such a distinguished guest like
him wait.
However, Wei Lingmiao quickly relaxed because Xiao Fengchai was Xiao
Fengchai after all. It was worth the wait. When he first came to visit, he was
also not brought upstairs immediately. Like everyone else, he had to go
through three trials.
The first trial was money. Xiao Fengchai picks people, not money. If you
want to see her, the monetary gift can't be less than a thousand taels. Adding
a few fashionable trinkets would increase your chances. Wei Lingmiao had
already prepared a monetary donation of three thousand taels with a dozen or
so gifts that were rejected by the Leviathan Society as his offering for the first
trial.
The second trial was the person. After drinking tea downstairs for a quarter of
an hour, Wei Lingmiao was finally invited to the living area of the second
floor. The decoration here was extremely luxurious; rugs from the Western
Region, calligraphy paintings from the Central Plains, Buddha statues from
the Fourth Truths Temple, sandalwood from the Ocean Country--everything
one could wish for was on display--there were even a few maids that were
national beauties strolling around. If the guests, upon arriving on this floor,
revealed even a hint of being dazzled by these things, then they could forget
about seeing Xiao Fengchai herself.
What had Wei Lingmiao not seen before? The decor on this floor was of no
interest to him, except for a calligraphy painting. He stood in front of this
masterpiece, knowing full well that Xiao Fengchai was watching him closely.
The third trial was patience. Wei Lingmiao drank tea for another half an hour
on the second floor, reluctantly suppressing his frustration. Being treated like
any other first-time guest was tolerable, but this was his second time visiting-
-did their tender affection from his previous visit mean nothing?
Wei Lingmiao thought in this heart that a prostitute was just a prostitute after
all; forever using the same know-how.
The wait was finally over when two stunning maids rolled up the beaded
curtains, and Wei Lingmiao knew that he could enter.
The woman sitting by the window was the Xiao Fengchai from his memory.
It had almost been three years since he had last seen her. Even without
makeup, her beauty had barely faded. She was wearing an elegant light
yellow dress, stilling looking out the window as if she hadn't heard anyone
coming in.
After smelling the refreshing fragrance in the room, all of Wei Lingmiao's
dissatisfaction immediately vanished, and his heart swayed. "Fengchai… "
Bang! Wei Lingmiao felt pain from the back of his head before everything
went dark. His last thoughts were, "Prostitutes are heartless."
Capturing Wei Lingmiao was no easy task. Coming to a place such as South
City, he had dozens of guards by his side with quite a few experts among
them. Without blood splattering the streets, forget about even getting close to
this Noble Young Master.
Since Xiao Fengchai has seen many things in her life, she turned with an
apathetic expression on her face. The three young killers did not even phase
her. Even during the times of Leviathan Society's fiercest war, no one dared
to run amok at her place--until today.
"Which one of you is the Tenth Young Master?"
"I am." Shangguan Ru took a step forward. Since the other side has already
guessed her identity, there was no need to hide it any longer. She pulled
down her mask to show her aggressive appearance. "En, you're quite a
beauty. The rumors were true."
Xiao Fengchai smiled. "You're also very beautiful, no wonder Miao'er has
been infatuated with you."
"It's just his wishful thinking," Shangguan Ru said bitterly.
The other two killers were still covering their faces; one of them was a
woman, and the other was a man. Xiao Fengchai stopped smiling. "Men
aren't allowed in here."
These words being said by a prostitute was somewhat ironic and hypocritical.
However, what Xiao Fengchai said was the truth. These three killers snuck in
here from the neighboring Xu Yanwei's home, which frightened her. At this
time, she wanted to end this game.
Gu Shenwei heard of many rumors from Tie Hanfeng involving Xiao

Fengchai. In particular, incidents of her helping the wealthy hide their golds
and silvers and could not help suspect that Wei Lingmiao was here for that
very purpose.
"You don't mind us stealing away your customer, right?" Shangguan Ru took
a liking to this prostitute, because of her being so cooperative and saving her
a lot of trouble.
"I don't mind, and I don't want to see him today. I have no taste for insincere
guests. Want me to humor him while his heart is somewhere else? I don't do
such things; therefore he's not my guest. Also, don't use the word 'steal'
because others will misunderstand."
A naughty smile flashed on Xiao Fengchai's face as if a big sister was having
a conversation with her younger sister. Shangguan Ru did not get angry. She
also had a smile on her face as she left with the killers and the captive.
Although Xu Yanwei was still in North City, her bedroom was empty. The
distance between Xiao Fengchai's window and the rear window next door
was about ten feet apart. Naturally, this distance was not tricky for killers
from the Golden Roc Fort. They used grappling hooks to hook onto the
awnings, and with a slight swing, they were inside Xu Yanwei's home. The
security guards on duty were unaware of these events, still envying their
master's luck with women.
Wei Lingmiao made a few noises as Gu Shenwei put him down on the floor,
and was about to wake up.
This was planned by Gu Shenwei after bribing one of Young Master Wei's
followers and inquired about his hobbies. He concluded that Wei Lingmiao
was definitely going to visit Xiao Fengchai.
Shangguan Ru, Maid Lotus, and Slave Huan had waited in Xu Yanwei's
home for three days, just for this opportunity.
"What now?" Gu Shenwei asked as he and Maid Lotus stared at Shangguan

Ru.
Shangguan Ru was holding her saber, but she did not want to kill anyone, and
she had no plans to kill anyone. "This person is filthy, so he really needs a
good wash."
Wei Lingmiao woke up and groaned. He opened his eyes but discovered that
a black cloth was covering them, and his mouth was stuffed with a rag. He
became very frightened, thinking that he had come to Jade City in pursuit of
ambitious plans but he would only end up being killed for no apparent reason
while in a brothel?
Chapter 210 - Picking Lotuses
Chapter 210: Picking Lotuses
Wei Lingmiao had been thoroughly washed, but it was unclear if he was
cleaner than before.
Tied to a log, and floating down the river. His eyes covered, and mouth
stuffed; unable to see nor call out for help. He didn't know where he was, and
could only to feel water all around him. It seemed as if he would be washed
off the cliff at any moment. The guards finally discovered the Governor's son
in the river and anxiously jumped in to save him.
Wei Lingmiao had suffered quite an ordeal and luckily returned to North City
safe and sound. After calming his nerves, he declared the adventure to be a
mere lovers' quarrel. "'The falling flowers are yearning for love, but the
heartless brook ripples on.' This old line isn't untrue at all."
Those who wanted to laugh at him were thoroughly impressed. They thought
that Young Master Wei was indeed one of a kind, and Stone Castle's Tenth
Young Master was merely spoiling the fun.
Even if Young Master Wei never saw the real abductors with his own eyes,
and also as Xiao Fenchai claimed she had no relations with the culprits that
broke into her home, every resident of Jade City knew the truth full well.
Wei Lingmiao forgave the Tenth Young Master, but he severely punished his
guards. For dozens of guards to not notice their master abducted was of the
highest negligence of their duties.
Now he had a new plan: to protect his own safety and to get closer to the
Tenth Young Master, Wei Lingmiao used his deep connections and influence
within the Roc Fort to put in a request for a killer to join his security detail--
precisely the killer, Yang Huan.
Of course, Shangguan Ru refused the request. "He knows that you

participated in his abduction, he must be using this ploy to exact his revenge."
"Before the one million or so taels of silver arrive, he wouldn't do anything to

me." Gu Shenwei was willing to accept the request because he knew that
there was some valuable information he could get out of Young Master Wei.
The first thing Wei Lingmiao said after seeing the killer was, "Who else
better to protect me from killers than a killer?"
"One's status is more useful than a killer," Gu Shenwei replied indifferently.

If Wei Lingmiao were not the son of the Governor, his corpse would have
sunk to the bottom of that river by now.
Wei Lingmiao did not mind the killer's retort, for he had a purpose of his
own: "With the Tenth Young Master's most trusted killer by my side, the
little lady would not dare to play any more tricks on me," he thought.
Gu Shenwei became Wei Lingmiao's temporary personal bodyguard. His first

task was to escort Young Master Wei to pay a visit to all the big shots all
over North City. During the day, Young Master Wei was refined and
courteous with an elegant demeanor; while in the evening, he went to South
City to fool around--charging through the brothels and forcing himself on the
prostitutes, even those who were already entertaining other guests.
Furthermore, he persistently brought gifts to the Leviathan Society every day
to woo the Ten Young Master.
Gu Shenwei only understood one thing: Wei Lingmiao didn't have any
specific preferences in women. He was merely an enthusiastic collector, in
search of all the unique treasures he could find; ranging from their height to
their sizes, even from their beauty to their wealth. He wanted to explore them
all.
Gu Shenwei's hatred grew deeper and deeper for this person who had almost
become his brother-in-law.
Although he never had a chance to bring up the past, he never thought that
Wei Lingmiao would take the initiative to do so.
After not being able to see the Tenth Young Master for a while, a few days
before deciding to leave Jade City, Wei Lingmiao decided to pay a visit to the
Four Truths Temple; to burn incense and pray to Buddha for a spiritual wish.
He disappeared for the entire day; he did not drink alcohol, or sleep with any
women. After bathing in several incense baths, his whole temperament had
gone through a transformation; seemingly spiritless, gaining solemnity, and
even had a trace of extraordinary refinement.
That evening in the Bodhi Garden, Wei Lingmiao sat quietly under the
pavilion admiring the moon. The only person with him was the killer, Yang
Huan. He had not spoken for a while, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he
asked a very unexpected question, "Rumor has it that you have a sword, and
on its hilt is engraved a woman's name."
"It's of no significance." Gu Shenwei slightly bowed. There was indeed the

character "Yun" carved on the hilt of his sword, and it was the name Maid
Lotus had before she became a slave. The two used this method to avert the
eyes and ears of others, discreetly.
"Hey, whatever reason it may be, even if you admit to it or not, maybe you
haven't discovered it yet; it's still significant." Young Master Wei was
seemingly more energetic discussing love and woman. "For example: for the
person you think you love; you're willing to go through innumerable trials
and hardships for them, to lose complete interest after. And the person you've
been trying your hardest to forget is always showing up in your sights, even
in your dreams, and unable to tell if she is there or not."
Gu Shenwen could not understand Wei Lingmiao's feelings at all. He felt that
he had no such conflicting emotions. Love is love, and hate is hate; they are
completely distinct. "The Tenth Young Master is probably not fond of these
words."
"Haha, you're indeed loyal. I wasn't talking about her, but thinking how the
current The Young Master is quite cute, but also fierce. Maybe like other
women after marriage, she'll be 'like a little bird that rests on a man.'"
Gu Shenwei did not answer and gazed upon the lake.
Wei Lingmiao kept staring at him, "You know, I should hate you."
"I was only following orders." Gu Shenwei thought that Young Master Wei
was holding a grudge for the abduction.
"No, that was just a harmless joke. Don't worry about it. Were you born in the
Golden Roc Fort?"
"No, I entered the Roc Fort only a few years ago."
"Then you must know that the Golden Roc Fort killed a family named Gu."
"Sounds familiar." Gu Shenwei nearly choked as he answered.
"The Gu family's daughter was my fiancee, and we were supposed to wed in

a few months. I've always thought that if she were still alive, I'd be a
completely different person than I am now. I'm not saying I wouldn't like
other women anymore, just that I'd be more responsible and know what I
want. She was a good girl; dignified and sincere since her youth, and also
kind-hearted. I've never met anyone like her since."
Wei Lingmiao confided in an unfamiliar person, who was also a killer, with
these words that seemed to have been lying within his heart for a very long
time. Seemingly disheartened with a bit of anger, his gaze on the killer
sharpened. "Golden Roc Fort killed my woman; not only do I not seek
revenge, I cozy up with them. Don't you think I'm a joke? Must killers take
revenge as well?"
"Killers do not take revenge, only kill." Gu Shenwei forced himself to calm
down with an old saying of the Stone Castle . Like any other old saying, you
can deceive any layman.
Wei Lingmiao recited the sentence twice, appearing to have yielded

sentiment. He then smiled, "Revenge is to have your enemy feel pain, but to
be killed without pain, isn't that right?"
"Yes." Gu Shenwei's agitation within the depths of his heart was becoming
more and more violent. If not for the many years of suspicion within the
Stone Castle, he would've confessed everything.
The Wei family had intentions of revenge. Gu Shenwei understood this

through Wei Lingmiao's implications. However, he did not understand the
reason why the man had said all of this for him to hear. He was a killer of the
Golden Roc Fort and was one of Young Master Wei's "targets" for revenge.
"You're a special killer." Wei Lingmiao seemed to be roping in the killer, and
gradually nearing the real topic of interest. "Commander Zhong has said
many things of you."
"Commander Zhong overpraised, I can't even assemble a 'Protective

Talisman.'"
"A trivial matter." Wei Lingmiao shook his head, "You have your own
beliefs, unwilling to be strung along by others. Moreover, you're always
thinking on your feet; this is true ability. A person like you ought to be
exercising your talents on a much bigger stage.
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that Young Master Wei's whole purpose was
not to get close to the Tenth Young Master but to convince and recruit killers
to rebel against the Stone Castle. Had the Wei family really been quietly
preparing to take revenge for the Gu family? "The Stone Castle is big enough
for me, as a killer."
Gu Shenwei decided to feign ignorance, and Wei Lingmiao did not attempt to
dig any deeper. Instead, he changed the topic with some miscellaneous small
talk, even speaking of the next day's trip to the Four Truths Temple. "Killer,
pick some lotus flowers on my behalf. I want to give them to my late fiancee;
her ashes rest within the temple. This is the only thing I can do for her at this
time."
There was a hint of ridicule in Wei Lingmiao's tone, and Gu Shenwei did not
like it. However, hearing the whereabouts of her sister's ashes caused his
heart to skip a beat. "You should bring her back to the Central Plains."
"Then she wouldn't be able to see the things I'll do in Jade City."
The conversation came to an end. Gu Shenwei no longer inquired, and Wei
Lingmiao no longer explained.
Young Master Wei and the killer's thoughts were not so different from the
beginning; this man still loved his sister and had never forgotten in these
three years, continuing to plot his revenge.
The influence of the Central Plains was powerful, but it was beyond the reach
of Jade City. There were only a hundred garrison troops stationed in the city,
symbolically meaningless, and not a single soldier more for thousands of
miles. Gu Shenwei understood the difficulties of the Wei's father and son at
the time. Wei Song was the Governor, so he naturally could not act on his
personal feelings, just like Gu Shenwei himself, who had to change his name
and live in shame before he's gained any strength to exact revenge.
"What methods will Wei Lingmiao use for revenge? He doesn't know kung
fu, so he could only rely on the Central Plains. If only the Central Plains
would send their soldiers." Gu Shenwei contemplated more and more until he
felt waves of emotions surging within; deciding to clear up this matter before
Young Master Wei left.
The next day, Wei Lingmiao led an immense force out of the city toward the
Fourth Truths Temple, followed by Commandant Zhong Heng. He was
probably ordered to purposely approach the killer and strongly suggesting
that they have a chat in private.
Gu Shenwei's suspicions had doused his enthusiasm. Governor Wei Song was
retiring from office and Young Master Wei wanted to use this sudden turn of
events to try and bribe the killers from Stone Castle. However, this was no
easy task. He must be careful with his family's plans for revenge and not risk
any chance of exposing himself.
Only a handful of people could enter the Four Truths Temple. Gu Shenwei
took out a four-colored lotus flower he picked and stayed outside the
mountain gate with the other guards. He kept thinking of the words that
Young Master Wei said over and over.
"Amitabha, benefactor, you have come."

Gu Shenwei turned around in surprise and saw a lofty monk. He later
recognized that this was Monk Lianye, who was highly skilled in kung fu.
Usually, he did not separate from his senior, Lianhua, so seeing him alone
was a rare occasion.
"Monk, how are you?"
"Not good, not good. Senior brother is bed-ridden, how can I be good?"
"Master Lianhua is sick?" Gu Shenwei had entrusted the great monk to

translate the Death Scriptures , however he had forgotten about this matter.
He did not expect the monk's death to near so soon. Unfortunately, there was
no one else in this world that could read the scriptures except for him.
"Yes, benefactor, follow me. If you accept senior brother as your master, you
can practice the Breaking Obsession and remove your killing desire; fulfilling
these two masters' wishes.
"I'm sorry, I have matters to attend to and cannot leave."
Lianye roared and frightened all the guards around; causing everyone to think
that he was an eminent monk of the temple. No one dared to step forward to
calm him.
"He's almost dead, what else is more important? Follow me."
Lianye suddenly took action; Gu Shenwei had prepared for it. However, he
did not carry his usual saber this time. The saber he borrowed temporarily
took a bit of getting used to and was slow. The monk's kung fu still surpassed
his imagination. With one finger, he successfully blocked his acupoint.
Gu Shenwei's body slumped and was already on the monk's shoulders.

Lianye pushed the crowd away, and with giant strides, he ran towards the top
of the hillside of the temple.
All of the guards were dumbfounded, and no one stepped forward to

intervene. Instead, they all whispered to each other and felt that killers of the
Golden Rock Fort were nothing more than this.
Chapter 212 - Decoding the
Scripture
Chapter 212: Decoding the Scripture
Killing someone in a real-life combat was very different from fighting against
someone during a kung fu contest. For example, in a real fight, an ordinary
guy motivated by a strong desire to kill would probably succeed in
assassinating an unprepared kung fu master.
On the contrary, without a killing intent, even a seasoned killer would appear
mediocre during kung fu technique competition. Gu Shenwei did not intend
to kill Lianye and thus easily got caught by the monk.
The monk carried the killer on his shoulder and ran toward Leftslope Vihara.
Gu Shenwei looked at the ground with a wry smile on his face. He knew that
it was useless to reason with Lianye since this monk was a little bit insane.
He was confident that once he met Lianhua, he would be able to find a way to
talk himself out of trouble.
After Tiger Monk's death, the monks of Four Truths Temple had worked hard
to purify this vihara and appease Tiger Monk's soul.
However, when Gu Shenwei reopened his meridian pointed by Lianye and

got into Lianhua's meditation room, he was greatly surprised to see that the
tiger, which had eaten half of Tiger Monk's body, returned to this place.
At this moment, it was lying on its stomach like a cat, with its mouth open
and its tongue hanging out.
Beside the tiger sat a dried-up corpse.
It seemed to be Lianhua's corpse. Gu Shenwei was pretty sure that this man
had died a long time ago.
He placed his hand on his saber shaft and thought, "Lianye forced me to take
a dead man as my teacher. He must be crazy. It's useless to talk to such a
lunatic. It looks like I can only kill him to get out of here."
Lianye did not notice what the young killer was doing. He directly went over
to kneel in front of Lianhua and said respectfully, "Brother Lianhua, I bring
the boy to you. He's willing to become a monk and take you as his teacher.
We can fulfill Lianxin's wish now."
Gu Shenwei inhaled shallowly and tightly held his saber shaft. When he was
about to launch an attack, the dried-up corpse suddenly opened his eyes and
exclaimed, "It's so difficult. Why do I get stuck? What goes wrong with this
method?"
Gu Shenwei was stunned at the sight. He had seen countless dead bodies but
had never seen anyone like this monk before. He found it hard to believe that
someone that skinny was still alive.
Upon hearing Lianhua's reply, Lianye, who was a very tall and strong man,
began crying like a baby. Lianhua remained unmoved. He picked up a paper
beside him and meditatively looked at the red characters on it.
Gu Shenwei pulled Lianye up from the floor and signaled the monk to talk
with him outside the vihara.
Lianye followed the young killer outside and told the killer what had
happened to Lianhua.
"Not long after you wrote down Death Scripture with blood and gave it to
Brother Lianhua, he decoded it with the help of the notes left by Tiger Monk,
but the first decoded version didn't make much sense. He continued to work
on it for some time and successfully decoded the first 1,000 characters of the
scripture. However, the remaining part of it was difficult, especially the last
1,000 characters. Master Lianhua got stuck there and then he read Lianxin's
notes again and again and often missed meals and sleep," said Lianye.
"One day, he suddenly told me that it was a sin for a monk to be so obsessed
with a non-Buddhist scripture. He asked me to stay away from him and
recited Breaking Obsession and some other Buddhist scriptures all night long.
At that time, I thought he decided to give up studying Death Scripture, but
the next day, I saw that he picked up the scripture again while calling it
Nanke Goes Woodchopping. Since that day, he's been studying the scripture
at daytime and repenting his sin at night. Gradually, he becomes thinner and
thinner from overwork and lack of rest."
"Lianhua is such a doctrinaire person. Why does he have to torture himself

like that? If he wants to study Death Scripture, he can focus on studying it. If
he thinks it's wrong to do so, he can give up," Gu Shenwei said in his heart.
Right at this moment, Commandant Zhong came to Leftslope Vihara. He

heard that the killer had been carried away by a monk and came here to check
the situation.
He greeted Lianye politely and then chatted casually with the monk for a
moment. After ensuring that the killer did not get into trouble, he said
goodbye to them and left the place.
Lianye had never met Commandant Zhong. He thought that this man was just
an ordinary pilgrim and hurriedly sent the man away. After that, he continued
to force the young killer to become a monk.
"I want to read the decoded scripture first," said Gu Shenwei.
"Come on, boy. You won't understand it. Even brother Lianhua can't decipher
the meaning of it," said Lianye.
Despite that, the monk still went back into Lianhua's meditation room and
took out several papers, which were filled with small, closely-written
characters. Gu Shenwei received the papers and then sat on the ground to
read them.
He was very familiar with the openning sentences in the scripture: "The soul
rises to the Ninth Heaven, and the spirit falls to the Ninth Abysse. The living
suffer in grief, and the dead settle in peace." The following 300 to 400
characters were similar verses about death. After these verses came a part
elaborating the sword technique.
Gu Shenwei was very surprised to discover that both his and Maid Lotus'
understanding of the swordcraft were correct. According to the scripture,
there were altogether 29 different ways to interpret and master the Death
Scripture. Unlike Immortal Peng's Secrets of Love, which was different types
of kung fu patched together, all the 29 ways mentioned in Death Scripture
focused on swordcraft.
The scripture required the practitioners of the sword craft to improve their
skills by killing opponents who were at least as strong as themselves. It also
warned that if a practitioner failed to kill a person as strong as himself within
a year, he would be harmed by his own killing intent, and that if he failed to
so do for a longer time, he would lose his mind and commit suicide.
The way to "invincibility" was also the way to "self-destruction". A

practitioner of this sword craft might sooner or later reach a state where he
had to kill an opponent who was strong as himself to prevent his own killing
intent from hurting himself but was unable to find such a rival.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were far from reaching such an invincible state,
but they were killers who had lots of opportunities to kill people and improve
their sword skills. According to the scripture, such rapid progress would do
them more harm than good.
The scripture suggested the practitioners gradually improve their sword

technique by killing one person a year. In this way, the practitioners needed
50 or even 60 years to master the technique, but once they succeeded, their
killing intent would never be able to do much harm to their bodies anymore.
After reading this part, Gu Shenwei sneered and thought, "No wonder that
book was thrown off the cliff. The one who invented this swordcraft and
wrote this book probably had some sinister motives. If he put his suggestion
and the side effect of this sword craft in the beginning part of the book, no
one would be interested in practicing it. Everyone who learns kung fu wants
to improve his skills rapidly. Otherwise, how can he protect himself and kill
his enemies during real fights? If he can only slowly upgrade his skill year by
year, he'll probably get killed within a few years. What a ridiculous
suggestion."
In the meantime, Gu Shenwei also felt a little sad. He found out that besides
the Peripheral Force inside his body, the swordcraft that he practiced could
also lead to early death.
He guessed that he might be doomed to perish together with his enemies.

"Alas, that's perhaps the 'Will of the Divine'," he sighed in his heart.
Gu Shenwei continued to read the remaining part of the decoded scripture,

but the last part had so many errors that it did not make any sense. Given that,
he stopped reading and began to meditate, with each of his hands grabbing a
few pages of the scripture.
Towards evening, he suddenly stood up and walked back into Lianhua's

meditation room, leaving Lianye standing dumbfounded outside.
Lianhua and the young killer talked for a long time inside the room. Inspired
by the notes left by Immortal Peng, Lianhua finally found a way to decipher
the last part of the scripture.
Surprisingly, compared to Lianhua and Lianxin, who had studied Death

Scripture for years, the dead immortal seemed to have a much deeper
understanding of the scripture. Although Immortal Peng had not deciphered
the whole scripture, he had written down some notes explaining how to
decode it.
Gu Shenwei felt so lucky that he had kept these notes left by Immortal Peng
and always carried them with himself.
These notes, which were above the killer's comprehension, enlightened

Lianhua.
The young killer was pretty sure that he could not offer any help other than
giving Lianhua Immortal Peng's notes, so he left the meditation room to
avoid disturbing the monk. He prayed that in the last part of the scripture, he
would find another method which could be used to prevent the side effect of
practicing the swordcraft.
Seeing Lianhua engrossed in decoding the scripture again, Lianye felt

worried. He knew it was impossible to persuade Lianhua to give up the job,
so he put all the blame on the killer.
Gu Shenwei gave no response to Lianye. He just paced back and forth,

absorbed in thought. "Is this sword craft really that powerful? Is it true that
the one who masters it will find no match for himself in the entire world and
thus can only kill himself? All the authors of kung fu manuals like to brag.
Maybe the description of the swordcraft in Death Scripture is also
exaggerated."
After a while, the tiger walked out of the meditation room and yawned.
Lianye took out some buns from his pocket in the front of his shirt and threw
them to it. It chewed and swallowed down the buns listlessly, evidently
getting bored with this a kind of food.
"Wow, there's really a tiger in here."
Wei Lingmiao said while standing at a distance and being followed by seven
or eight armed guards who were on full alert.
"Don't make any noise here. Master Lianhua is meditating," Lianye shouted
at Wei Lingmiao. He did not know or care if the young man was the
Governor's son.
Wei Lingmiao did not want to make a fuss over such a trifle with a monk. He
beckoned the killer to come over and said, "You've been absent from work
for quite a long time."
"Master Wei, please forgive me. I was…"
"I was kidding. Don't take it seriously. I'll go back to Jade City tomorrow
morning. I have to get ready to leave this city. Do you still remember what
you've promised me?"
"Yes."
Wei Lingmiao had permitted the Kun Society to turn in its "Protective
Talisman" late in exchange for Yang Huan assassinating a person for him, but
he never said who he was planning to kill.
"Good. Come to find me when you return to the city. You know, you've
another option." With these words, Wei Lingmiao winked at the killer and
went down the hill smilingly. Gu Shenwei knew that the other option
mentioned by Master Wei was helping him meet Shangguan Ru.
Gu Shenwei felt that he had better leave together with Master Wei to show
his loyalty. Besides, he also wished to figure out what Master Wei was
thinking. Nevertheless, after a moment's hesitation, he still decided to stay,
since his top priority now was to discover the true meaning of Death
Scripture.
When it was getting dark, Lianye shooed the tiger back into the room as if
shooing a chicken. "Go back into the room. It's dark now. You coward, even
a bird scares you so much. Who says that you're the king of animals."
"What bird?" Gu Shenwei asked.
"The big bird from Golden Roc Fort. It appeared again and killed many
animals. It also ate two monks. It's such a pity that I never got a chance to
fight it," Lianye snorted and said.
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei looked up into the night sky searching for the
giant red-crowned roc. He really missed his old friend.
To his disappointment, the bird did not show up that night, but the next
morning, he received good news from Lianhua. The monk had corrected all
the errors in the last part of the scripture last night. When the monk asked
Lianye to bring him some porridge while holding the doorframe with
shivering hands, Gu Shenwei started to read the last part which had more
than 5,000 characters.
After reading that part, Gu Shenwei understood why Kang Wenhui had
mistaken Death Scripture for Wayless Book when she heard the last lines of
the scripture at Leftslope Vihara. Those lines turned out to be the opening
lines of the Wayless Book. He also discovered that besides improving their
skills too fast, he and Maid Lotus had made another big mistake in practicing
the swordcraft. It turned out that they had started to practice it too early.
The last part of the scripture explained that besides improving the sword skill
year by year, there was another way for practitioners of the sword technique
to avoid being harmed by their own killing intent. This way was mastering
Wayless Qigong, an Internal Strength technique recorded in Wayless Book.
Wayless Qigong was the basis of the swordcraft. It would not do a
practitioner any harm if he only practiced Wayless Qigong, but it would be
really dangerous if he practiced the sword craft before mastering the Internal
Strength technique.
Gu Shenwei felt great. Thanks to the Barren Sect, he had already known
where Wayless Book was.
Chapter 213 - Trust
Chapter 213: Trust
Gu Shenwei had lots of things to do today. He could only handle them one by
one.
He rapidly rode back to Jade City and went directly to the Kun Society to
report to Shangguan Ru. After that, he had a private conversation with Maid
Lotus.
When he told her everything about the side effect of practicing the swordcraft
recorded in the Death Scripture, Maid Lotus was shocked, but still optimistic.
"Wayless Book, Wayless Book, we can save ourselves, if we manage to get
the book. Wayless Qigong may even help us get rid of Mama Xue's
Peripheral Force," she said excitedly.
"Oh, yes! Why hadn't I thought of it?" Gu Shenwei exclaimed, when he

remembered that Mama Xue had also injected Peripheral Force into Maid
Lotus and given her only three years to live.
The Internal Strength technique depicted in Wayless Book was the basis for
the swordcraft recorded in Death Scripture. In the meantime, it also seemed
to be of great importance to the other kung fu skills.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus guessed that the Barren Sect's qigong and the
qigong technique that the Golden Roc Fort taught its killers were both
derived from Wayless Qigong, but the Barren Sect did not have a complete
copy of Wayless Book. They believed that this was why the sect was so keen
on stealing the book.
Kang Wenhui, Managing Master of the Barren Sect, had once told them that
there were only two ways to remove Mama Xue's Peripheral Force from their
bodies. The first one was that Mama Xue herself removed the force from
them, which was impossible since she was dead. The second one was
mastering the Barren Sect's qigong. Once their own Internal Strength was
stronger that Mama Xue's, they would be able to drive Mama Xue's
Peripheral Force out of their bodies.
They thought that if they guessed right, by mastering Wayless Qigong, they
would be able to get rid of the Peripheral Force, which put heavy pressure on
them. This thought thrilled them.
They knew where Wayless Book was. In fact, it was not a written text. It was
stored in a man's brain, and the man was the temple guard of Six Kills
Temple. Gu Shenwei had met him once. If they want to get Wayless Book,
they had to find a way to make the temple guard recite the book to them.
The teenagers were eager to return to the fort to get Wayless Book, but as
Master Ru's killers, they could not return to the fort before Master Ru's one-
year probationary period concluded. They felt anxious since they would be
killed by the Peripheral Force inside their bodies before Master Ru's trial
period was over.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus forced themselves to calm down. They kept
telling themselves that they still had enough time to figure out a solution.
After a while, Gu Shenwei decided to leave for Bodhi Garden, and Maid
Lotus promised him that she would try to persuade Master Ru to come back
to Golden Roc Fort once she got a chance.
Upon realizing that Wayless Qigong might be able to cure his qigong
deviation, Gu Shenwei was overjoyed. A few months ago, he had thought
that he could at most kill a few young masters of the Shangguan family, but
now he believed that he would have ample time to totally destroy the Golden
Roc Fort.
"Golden Roc Fort murdered my entire family, so I have to make the whole
Shangguan family pay with their lives. I'll kill them all." Gu Shenwei walked
out of the gate, deeply absorbed in thought. Xu Xiaoyi, who had waited
outside the Kun Society for the killer for a long time, hurriedly came to him.
"Brother Huan, help me. I'm worried to death," the boy said anxiously.
"What happened?"
"I'm worried about my sister. Since she entered Bodhi Garden, she's never
contacted me."
"Don't worry. Perhaps she's just too busy," Gu Shenwei replied. He had met
Xu Yanwei on the first night of the welcoming party for Master Wei.
"No, no, I don't feel quite right. Brother Huan, didn't you ask her to collect
information for you? She promised me that she would come to the city gate
to give me a letter or tell me some information every three days. However,
she's never showed up or sent anyone to deliver a letter to me in the past 10
days."
Gu Shenwei did not know what Xu Yanwei had been doing recently, but he
could hear the sounds of revelry inside Bodhi Garden every night. He thought
that she might be alright, so he promised Xu Xiaoyi. "Well, I'll go to Bodhi
Garden to look for her."
Xu Xiaoyi still looked nervous, which aroused Gu Shenwei' suspicion. "Xu

Xiaoyi and his sister are very crafty. Are they plotting something behind me
again?" Gu Shenwei wondered. "Xiaoyi, what're you worrying about?" he
asked.
"Alas, it's my fault. I failed to dissuade her from doing that. Brother Huan,
you know it. My sister is best at… that thing," Xu Xiaoyi said, his hands
trembling.
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei realized what made Xu Xiaoyi feel so

uneasy. Xu Yanwei was good at playing a masochist. She had been forced by
Pot-bellied Buddha to sleep with some sadists to make money. This was the
main reason behind the siblings' decision to kill their own father.
"She wants to leave with Master Wei so badly. She said she would get the
opportunity to go to the Central Plain at all costs. I'm afraid that she… tried
too hard. Or, some young master got excessively abusive when he got drunk.
Such accidents happened before. Most prostitutes of Pot-bellied Buddha died
because of these accidents. You know, there are many weird guys in Jade
City, and the young masters in North City love to try all kinds of new
tricks…"
"I'll find your sister. I promise," Gu Shenwei interrupted Xu Xiaoyi. He had

occasionally heard women screaming during the past days in Bodhi Garden,
but he had not heard of any accident yet.
After saying goodbye to Xu Xiaoyi, Gu Shenwei rode to Bodhi Garden.

Before he went to find Xu Yanwei, he had to pay Wei Lingmiao a visit.
When Gu Shenwei saw Master Wei, the young master and several of his
friends were talking about the political situation in Western Region. They all
lay down on couches, and each of them was accompanied by two beautiful
maids. A young master could rest his head on the lap of a maid while asking
the other one to feed him food and drinks. When Wei Lingmiao and his
friends sat up and spoke in turn, Gu Shenwei quickly scanned across the
scene. He found out that Meng Mingshi was not here. He guessed that was
probably because the Fifth Young Master Meng was not interested in such a
complicated and boring topic. He also looked at the maids carefully but did
not find Xu Yanwei.
The moment Wei Lingmiao spotted the killer, he just smiled at him while
lying on the couch. When it was Master Wei's turn to speak, he sat up and
said, "The kingdoms in the Western Region will never unite together. They
can only depend on big countries to ensure their own safety. Now that
Norland splits, the Central Plain will become the greatest power in Western
Region."
Gu Shenwei had once heard a professional counselor analyse the political

situation in Weastern Region. He was amazed to discover that the young
masters here had similar views. "Maybe these young masters aren't as stupid
as I thought," he thought to himself.
After Wei Lingmiao's friends departed in the late afternoon, Master Wei
ordered all the servants to leave the room and then invited the killer in. "I
hope you're not sickened after hearing such a long and boring conversation.
Those guys were nobles exiled from their own kingdoms. They're eager to
reclaim their domains. I can't refuse to talk to them," Wei Lingmiao said after
a big yawn.
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei just bowed to Master Wei slightly without
saying a word. He was well aware that a professional killer should never pry
into his client's personal affairs.
"How are things going with you and that monk?"
"It's alright."
"What did I want you to do? Erm, let me think. Oh, yes, I want you to
assassinate a person for me."
"Master Wei, please tell me who you want to kill. I'm always ready."
"Um, good. And I don't want anyone to suspect that the person is murdered."
"I see. I'll make the person's death look like an accident."
"That's good."
With these words, Wei Lingmiao bent his right leg and then rested his right
arm on his right knee. He gently shook a flagon in his hand and looked at the
killer smilingly for a long time without saying a word.
Gu Shenwei stood beside him with his head down, waiting patiently for his
order.
"Before you go to kill that person, I want you to do something else for me."
"Please tell me what it is."
"Go to talk with Commandant Zhong. You can believe his words. It's not
only his idea, but also what my father and I want you to do."
Gu Shenwei's sixth sense told him that Wei Lingmiao was brewing a plot, but
he still promised to meet Zhong Heng without asking a question.
"Then you can create an 'accident' to kill him," Wei Lingmiao said casually,
as if he was joking.
"I see," Gu Shenwei replied calmly. He was suspicious about Wei Lingmiao,
but as a professional killer, he had to hide all his emotions and thoughts from
others.
"Don't you want to ask why I want to kill him?" Wei Lingmiao was a little bit
surprised by the killer's reaction.
"A killer will never ask his client such a question."
"Do you think that it's reasonable to kill him in exchange for a month's delay
in turning in the 'Protective Talisman'?"
"I can also win your trust, so it's a reasonable deal."
Upon hearing that, Wei Lingmiao laughed and sat up on his couch. He
slipped his feet into his shoes and scuffed to the killer to pat his shoulder.
"You'll get more trust. It's not from me, but from a person who's much more
powerful than me."
Gu Shenwei was bewildered by Wei Lingmiao excessively friendly attitude.

"What does Wei Lingmiao want from me? Evidently, he doesn't just intend to
get close to Shangguan Ru through me. He seems to expect much more than
that. Maybe Zhong Heng can tell me what this young master wants. Why
does he send Commandant Zhong to talk with me on his behalf when he
plans to kill the commandant? What did that cunning man do to offend Wei
Lingmiao?"
After accepting the assassination task, Gu Shenwei told Wei Lingmiao that
he wanted to meet Xu Yanwei. Upon hearing this request, Master Wei knitted
his eyebrows. He thought for a long time and finally remembered who Xu
Yanwei was. After knowing that the killer was the prostitute's boss, he
laughed again and walked out of the room while repeatedly saying, "What a
perfect match!"
Not long after Wei Lingmiao's departure, Xu Yanwei came into the room.
She was unhurt but looked grumpy. "Why did you come here to find me?
Now that Master Wei knows that you're my boss, he probably won't bring me
to the Central Plain. All the prostitutes here work hard for the opportunity.
Don't hinder me."
"I've never agreed to let you go."
Upon hearing such a direct refusal, Xu Yanwei regretted being so rude. She
always forgot that the youth was a ruthless killer who had mercilessly
murdered his own Master Shifu. After realizing that she could not butt heads
with this tough young killer, she immediately began to act in a gentle manner.
"Mr. Huan, please let me go. What's the point of keeping me here in South
City? Xiaoyi can collect information for you in the city by himself. I've
earned more than 10,000 taels of silver. I'll leave all my money to you when I
leave the city," she approached the killer and said softly.
"I don't want your money. I need your information now."
"What do you want to know about Master Wei? Don't tell me that you are
interested in all his daily doings."
"About three years ago, Golden Roc Fort assassinated a family whose
surname was Gu. A young woman in the family was Wei Lingmiao's fiancée.
He was here in Jade City when his fiancée and her family got slaughtered. I
want to know why he came here at that time."
Xu Yanwei nodded and then repeated what the killer had just said to ensure
that she got everything right. "Trust me. I'm sure that I can figure it out."
"Be careful. Don't arouse his suspicion."
"Tut, who am I? Please rest assured."
"Your brother is really worried about you."
"Alas, what an impatient boy. Tell him to meet me at the city gate
tomorrow."
After talking with Xu Yanwei, Gu Shenwei went to say goodbye to Wei

Lingmiao and then left Bodhi Garden. At night, he went to South City to
make some arrangement. It was not an easy job to create a perfect accident to
kill someone. People in this city enjoyed gossip and had a sharp nose for
conspiracy. He had to make sure that every detail in the accident would
withstand close analysis.
Gu Shenwei believed that the Governor of Jade City, namely Commandant

Zhong's direct supervisor and Wei Lingmiao's father, would never make
trouble for him because of Zhong Heng's death, since Wei Lingmiao had
implied that it was his father's decision to kill Zhong Heng.
Personally, he felt reluctant to kill Commandant Zhong, as this shrewd man

had taught him many useful things. Compared to Zhong Heng, he distrusted
Wei Lingmiao and the Governor even more. He had a strong feeling that they
must have something to do with his family's death.
Chapter 214 - Cooperation
Chapter 214: Cooperation
Flowery Pavilion was a low-end brothel. Different from its high-class

counterparts in Pleasure Alley, it kept many cheap prostitutes in the house.
Low prices and a wide variety of choices here attracted lots of customers.
When Zhong Heng came to this place to meet the killer, Yang Huan, he was
also quite satisfied with the services here. Although the prostitutes here were
not as good-looking as the ones in Pleasure Alley, he still felt great to have
several girls serving him at the same time.
Commandant Zhong and the two junior officers who followed him spent the
whole day drinking and playing inside the brothel. They were leaving Jade
City within a few months, so they decided to enjoy themselves in South City
as much as possible before leaving their posts.
In the evening, Zhong Heng sent his officers and prostitutes away and went
to have a private conversation with the killer. Commandant Zhong, who
always talked in a roundabout way, seem to be pretty straightforward today.
"Brother Yang, can I call you like that?"
Zhong Heng had a red face after drinking. He appeared to be slightly drunk
and talked to the killer in a warm, friendly tone.
"Yes." Gu Shenwei replied.
"When we first met, I knew that you would become a good killer. You're
smart, knowledgeable, and… ambitious."
"Commandant Zhong, you're flattering me. I'm just an ordinary killer," Gu

Shenwei said smilingly. Everybody in Jade City admired ambitious people,
but no one in this city knew this young killer's true ambition.
"I told the truth. You're being too modest." Zhong Heng paused for a moment
and then he asked, "Brother Yang, have you ever thought for yourself?"
"I don't quite understand your question. Commandant Zhong," replied Gu

Shenwei.
Zhong Heng approached the killer to whisper beside his ear, "You've killed
two sons of the Supreme King." Commandant Zhong had already known that
it was Yang Huan who had assassinated Shangguan Ruo and helped
Shangguan Fei kill Shangguan Chui.
"It's not my call. I just carried out my masters' commands." Gu Shenwei said.
"Huh, brother Yang, you're a clever person. You should know an old saying:
'After the cunning hare dies, the hounds are boiled.' You do all the dirty jobs
for your masters and let them reap all the benefits. However, they'll probably
kill you someday to whitewash their own names," Zhong Heng explained.
Gu Shenwei knew what Zhong Heng was talking about, but he continued to
play dumb. "Fortunately, Golden Roc Fort hasn't attached any blame to me
for the death of the two young masters." In fact, Gu Shenwei had to thank the
twins for this result. As they were young and immature, it was easy to
manipulate them. In the Stone Castle, he could not find any other young
master like the twins. That was why he felt hesitant to kill them.
Upon hearing what the killer said, Zhong Heng chuckled to himself for a
while, and then he picked up his teacup and took a sip of his tea. "Have you
ever noticed anything unusual within Golden Roc Fort during the past few
months?"
"What do you mean?" Gu Shenwei felt intrigued and asked.
"Lady Meng dictates in the fort, the New Moon Hall resurges in the desert
and the young masters of the fort have started to kill each other. However, the
Supreme King remains aloof from these things. Why?" said Zhong Heng.
When Lady Meng had stricken back at the eldest young master months ago,
Gu Shenwei had had the same question in mind. However, as time went by,
he gradually got used to the Supreme King's absence. Zhong Heng's question
aroused his curiosity again. "Commandant Zhong, if you trust me, please tell
me what you've discovered directly."
Before telling the killer what he had founded out about the Supreme King,
Zhong Heng asked the youth another question. "Brother Yang, can you tell
me who your real boss is in the Stone Castle?"
Although Gu Shenwei had worked for many people in the fort in the past, he
had never considered anyone of them his real boss. At first, he wanted to
make up a story to deceive Commandant Zhong, but after a moment of
thought, he gave up on that idea. He was pretty sure that this well-informed
man had already known quite a lot about himself. Besides, he thought it was
unnecessary to lie to a man who was going to die very soon. "To be frank,
I've no boss now. It's not easy for a killer to survive in the fort. I have to find
a reliable master for myself," Gu Shenwei said to Zhong Heng.
"Haha." Zhong Heng laughed with satisfaction and then he said with a
solemn face, "It's very wise to choose a master by yourself. However, there
are only a few powerful masters. When everyone rushes to seek protection
from a great power, you've already missed the best chance to pledge loyalty
to this power."
Although this idea was not new to Gu Shenwei, he still thanked Commandant
Zhong for this piece of advice.
"To ensure a bright future for yourself, you have to pay close attention to
your current boss. Once he shows a sign of weakness, you'll have to get ready
to find another boss," Zhong Heng said, implying that the Supreme King was
not well.
In Gu Shenwei's eyes, information from Zhong Heng should never be taken

lightly. This man was not just a common officer in Jade City. He also
gathered intelligence on Western Region for the Central Plain. "Commandant
Zhong, are you saying that—"
"The Supreme King is sick for a long time. He's stopped managing the
Golden Roc Fort since last winter," Zhong Heng interrupted.
Gu Shenwei had seen the Supreme King only twice: the first time at the Giant
Rock Cliff, and the second time at Shangguan Chui's funeral. At the cliff, the
Supreme King had easily slapped a black-masked assassin to death when he
had failed to catch the giant golden-crowned rocs alive. When he had
appeared on the funeral surrounded by many killers, he still looked alright.
"Really?" Gu Shenwei asked in surprise. He searched his memory but failed

to find any sign that the Supreme King was ill.
"I need you to verify this information. By doing this thing, you can also help
yourself," Zhong Heng said assertively.
"Zhong Heng is a crafty man. He never makes a commitment and always

gives others dubious replies. Nevertheless, this time he directly said that it
was he who needed my help. He sounded so assertive. He must have been
speaking on behalf of the Governor," Gu Shenwei thought to himself. "I'm
afraid that I can't help you. We're not allowed to gossip about the Supreme
King inside the Stone Castle. More importantly, I can't return to the fort
without permission during the Tenth Young Master's probationary year," he
said to Commandant Zhong.
Zhong Heng lowered his head to blow his tea. "The Tenth Young Master is
the Supreme King's favorite child. Now that her father seems to be ill, she
should return to the fort to pay him a visit," Commandant Zhong said
casually without looking up.
"Shangguan Ru, again. Obviously, I'm not the only one who plans to use her.
She's fed up with killing and scheming, but as the Supreme King's daughter,
she can never stay away from those things. She probably has never expected
that her identity will bring her so much trouble," Gu Shenwei thought for a
while and then said to Commandant Zhong, "That's not a good idea. It'll kill
me instead of doing me any good."
Zhong Heng could tell that the killer had already been intrigued, so he
continued to persuade him. "You don't have to worry about your own safety.
Now the political situation in Western Region is different. Golden Roc Fort's
influence on this region is already past its peak, and the Central Plain will
return to Jade City sooner or later. Thirty years ago, this city was our military
base, and 10,000 soldiers were stationed here. Now our emperor intends to
send an army here to reclaim this city. Backed by such a great power, you've
nothing to worry about."
In Zhong Heng's view, Yang Huan was the best person for this job. He
believed that this killer, who had killed two young masters of the Shangguan
family, was eager to seek protection from a power that could resist the
Golden Roc Fort. He thought all he needed to do now was to make the killer
believe that it was a wise choice to work as a spy for the Central Plain.
Gu Shenwei did not mind betraying the Golden Roc Fort at all. He just
wanted to make sure that this thing was not a trap. He wanted to see Zhong
Heng's sincerity and also planned to charge more for his service. Given that,
he pretended to be hesitant, waiting for Zhong Heng to raise his offer bit by
bit.
After negotiating for an hour, the killer and the commandant finally agreed
on all the details of the deal. The killer promised to pry into the Supreme
King's health situation, and Zhong Heng assured the killer that he would
protect him and give him half of the 'Protective Talisman' that the Kun
Society turned in.
The reason that Gu Shenwei spent so much time talking with Zhong Heng,
whom he was going to kill tonight, was that Commandant Zhong's final offer
was the Governor's final offer. Knowing this, he would be able to further his
own interests when he went to negotiate with Wei Lingmiao again.
He was willing to help all the foes of Golden Roc Fort, but he did not want to
passively submit to them. He had to gain the initiative to ensure his own
interests.
After he said goodbye to Zhong Heng at around 9 pm, he deliberately went to

talk with the owner of the brothel at the gate and then took a walk on a
bustling street, letting many people see him in the street. As he was in charge
of the Kun Society's Outer Hall, many shop owners on the street knew him.
Toward midnight, he masked his face, jumped onto the roof of a house and
sneaked back to the roof top of Flowery Pavilion. He did not tell Shangguan
Ru this assassination task, so he had to plan and carry it out all by himself.
As Zhong Heng's kung fu was just mediocre, Gu Shenwei was confident that
he could easily kill him with his bare hands after using some knockout
powder on him.
However, he did not want to kill Commandant Zhong that fast. He wanted to
find out what the commandant had done to offend Wei Lingmiao.
The brothel was full of customers at this moment. After waiting on the roof
for quite a long time, Gu Shenwei finally identified an opportunity to get
down to the ground. As he had already paid the prostitute inside Zhong
Heng's room for leaving the door unlatched tonight, he easily pushed the door
half-open and quickly slipped into the room.
Everything went as smoothly as he had expected except one thing: Zhong

Heng was sitting on the bed instead of lying in it.
As this room was only dimly lit by light filtering in from the windows, Gu
Shenwei could only vaguely see the things inside it.
"Do you come back to kill me?"
"Yes."
"How will I die?"
"You'll die from too much sex."
"Haha, that's ridiculous. This prostitute is so bad looking. I've killed her
already."
Gu Shenwei was pretty sure that Zhong Heng did not lie, for he could see a
woman lying deathly still on the bed. Commandant Zhong had seen through
his trick, but he still had a plan B. He could stab Zhong Heng's neck to kill
him now, and then the three machetemen next door would break into this
room at an agreed signal. They would chop the commandant's dead body into
pieces to cover up the fact that he was killed by a sword. After that, they
would contend that this fight was caused by a prostitute. People in South City
were accustomed to seeing a brothel's clients fighting one another for a
prostitute.
Gu Shenwei decided to talk with Commandant Zhong before carrying out his
plan B. "How did you know that I planned to kill you?" he asked.
"Your eyes betrayed you. During our previous conversation, you kept looking
me up and down in a subconscious attempt to search for my vulnerable
points, so I guess that you're planning to kill me. Your favorite point is the
neck, isn't it?"
Gu Shenwei was deeply impressed by Zhong Heng's agile mind. He liked

Commandant Zhong, although this man was slippery as a snake. "This is a
problem. We have to solve it," the killer went over to sit in a chair and said
smilingly.
Zhong Heng had taught the killer to solve a problem instead of looking for
the truth before. Now it was his turn to solve a problem.
"Yes. After the cunning hare dies, the hounds are boiled. I just never
expected that Master Wei would want to boil me first. What did he promise
you?" asked Zhong Heng.
"One-month delay in turning in the 'Protective Talisman'. It means nothing to

me," replied Gu Shenwei.
"Huh, that's not a good deal at all."
"Erm, I believe you can give me a better price for your own life.
Commandant Zhong."
Zhong Heng was well aware that he could never rely on his kung fu to
survive in Jade City. He had never planned to fight against the young killer
and thus had left his weapon at the door of the room before the killer coming
back. He intended to talk himself out of trouble.
"If you want others to cooperate with you, you must give them what they
want or have something on them. I'm telling you this from my own
experience," said Zhong Heng.
Gu Shenwei had similar experiences. He had successfully manipulated Luo

Ningcha and Shangguan Fei because he knew their secrets. Given that, he
immediately realized what Zhong Heng was talking about and asked the
commandant. "Are you saying that you have something on Master Wei?"
"I won't tell it to you. You'll kill me after you get the secret."
"Well, if you don't tell me I'll kill you right now. I can't sit here for the whole
night."
"Alright, I can tell it to you. Please remember that I've more than one secret.
Don't kill me right after you get Master Wei's secret."
"Relax, I'll let you know before I kill you."
Zhong Heng swallowed hard and did not feel as confident as before. This was
the first time he had seen the merciless side of the young killer. "Master Wei
has a guilty conscience. He killed his fiancée," Zhong Heng cleared his throat
and said.
Chapter 215 - Rumor
Chapter 215: Rumor
Zhong Heng told Gu Shenwei the whole story:
Wei Lingmiao came to Jade City three years ago, before his father, the
current governor, had taken office. He hanged out with a group of dandies in
the city and showed great interest in killers and their business. As he
repeatedly expressed his desire to witness the process of an assassination, one
of his friends, the Fourth Young Master Meng, decided to help him fulfill his
wish and introduced him to the Eighth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort,
Shangguan Nu. The details of their relationship were unclear, but what was
known was that Wei Lingmiao partook in an assassination mission.
Shangguan Nu intended to impress Master Wei with his perfect assassination
skills, so he deliberately slowed down the process. Unfortunately, this
decision allowed some of his targets to flee. Master Wei chased them along
with Shangguan Nu, as the Eight Young Master promised to let him kill his
own fiancée, Gu Cuilan.
"I don't know if Master Wei knew beforehand that Shangguan Nu's targets
were his fiancée and her family, but I'm pretty sure that he didn't do anything
to save them. Gu Cuilan recognized Master Wei and cursed him viciously
before her death, and her curse haunted him. After killing her, he had trouble
falling asleep and kept having nightmares," Zhong Heng told Gu Shenwei.
Three years ago, when Zhong Heng had arrived in Jade City with the
Governor, Wei Lingmiao had not yet recovered from the incident.
Commandant Zhong managed to piece the whole story together from the
incoherent ramblings of the young master, which he overheard during the
countless number of times spent trying to soothe Wei Lingmiao's frayed
nerves.
Since then, Zhong Heng had kept this secret buried in his heart.
Shortly after Wei Lingmiao came to Jade City again to help his father collect
the "Protective Talisman", an informant who worked for Commandant Zhong
came to him with good news: Master Wei was in Jade City for another
important purpose, which was going to Four Truths Temple to appease Gu
Cuilan's vengeful spirit.
"I'm sure that Master Wei hasn't completely gotten over that incident. He
wants to keep it secret forever to protect his reputation. I asked him to pay me
100,000 taels of silver as hush money. Compared to the 'Protective Talisman'
and the money he gives to prostitutes, that's nothing. I never expected that he
would want to kill me for blackmailing him," said Zhong Heng.
Gu Shenwei knew Wei Lingmiao's secret now, but feigned surprise to hide
his real emotions from Commandant Zhong. In the meantime, he thought, "I
should count myself lucky for not telling Wei Lingmiao who I really am.
However, why did he tell me that he still missed his fiancée? Did he think
that I would tell it to Shangguan Ru and she would be moved by his love
story? Or, perhaps, he just makes up this story to deceive himself and make
himself feel less guilty about what he did." A moment later, Gu Shenwei said
to Commandant Zhong, "I see, that's his secret, but the truth isn't important. I
guess I still have to kill you to solve my problem."
Upon hearing that, Zhong Heng smiled ruefully at the killer, regretting that
he had taught the killer to focus on solving a problem instead of digging out
the truth. "Wait, that secret is just a gift for you. Now you also have
something on Master Wei. My last bit of information is much more valuable
than that," he said.
Gu Shenwei waited for the commandant to continue telling him the last
secret, with his saber in hand. Nevertheless, Commandant Zhong just shook
his head and said, "That's privileged information. I won't tell it to you unless
my safety is guaranteed. Even if you torture me, you still won't get this
information out of me. If you don't believe, you can try."
"Alright, I agree to let you go, but where should I find you to get that
privileged information?" Gu Shenwei released his grip on his saber shaft and
said.
"Go to find the Eighth Young Master of the Golden Roc Fort. I'll stay with
him, waiting for you," Zhong Heng replied.
Upon hearing that Zhong Heng had already gotten in touch with Shangguan
Nu, Gu Shenwei was stunned. "It looks like you've prepared yourself for such
a situation, Commandant Zhong."
"I'm just a minor official. My superiors always think that they have a
complete control over me, but just like you, I don't consider anyone my real
boss. I have to rely on myself to survive," said Zhong Heng.
Gu Shenwei stood up and went to knock three times on a wall. A moment

later, three machetemen pushed the door opened and entered the room. Two
of them carried something contained in a large cloth bag into the room, and
the other one walked in with a small cloth bag in hand.
Commandant Zhang looked on as the machetemen emptied the contents of

the bags. When he saw what was in them, he was so frightened that he nearly
fell off the bed. The object in the large cloth bag turned out to be a headless
body, while a human head was in the small bag. Under the dim light, he
could see that the dead man looked just like himself. The cadaver seemed to
be glaring at him with its mouth open, but its eyes were already dull and
glassy. After a moment, Zhong Heng came back to his senses and said,
"Brother Yang, it looks like you've prepared for such a situation too."
"I give you thousands of taels of silver every month. I want to get my
money's worth, so I can't let you die that easily," said Gu Shenwei.
Zhong Heng and the killer looked at each other smilingly. They did not trust
each other, but that did not prevent them from cooperating with each other.
In fact, Gu Shenwei had never planned to strictly carry out Master Wei's
orders. After he had gotten the young master's order to assassinate Zhong
Heng, he immediately hired a craftsman to make a human head with wax.
When Zhong Heng drank in the brothel during the day, the craftsman was
observing his features as he sat nearby.
Gu Shenwei knew that this wax head could not withstand close observation,
but he was sure that Master Wei would never want to come close to a dead
body.
Gu Shenwei decided to spare Zhong Heng's life for the time being, but he
would not hesitate to kill the commandant if he found out that he had been
lied to.
After changing his official uniform for civilian attire made from blue cloth,
Zhong Heng sneaked out of the brothel with the killer. The three machetemen
chopped the headless body into pieces and then made some wounds on the
dead prostitute's body, turning the room into a scene of a crime of passion.
As Zhong Heng had to flee Jade City as soon as possible, Gu Shenwei

provided him some money and a horse. Before leaving, Commandant Zhong
stood on the avenue, looked back at the city and sighed. "I left nothing
behind. Brother Yang, when Master Wei leaves the city, you should escort
him."
"I will."
Even if Zhong Heng did not say that, Gu Shenwei would still find a chance to
follow Master Wei when he left Jade City. As the young master and his
entourage had to travel through the Iron Mountain Gang's territory to return
to the Central Plain, Gu Shenwei decided to take this chance to find Zhong
Heng at Shangguan Nu's camp to obtain the last bit of 'privileged
information'.
"Xu Yanwei is a good girl. Tell her not to follow Master Wei back to the
Central Plain."
With these words, Commandant Zhong mounted the horse and galloped
away.
As Gu Shenwei had expected, the discovery of the 'commandant's' corpse in a

brothel gave rise to many rumors. Residents of Jade City believed that the
one behind the assassination of the commandant must have been the Kun
Society or the Meng family. No one suspected that it was Master Wei who
wanted to kill Zhong Heng. However, after two days, public interest died
down, and no one talked about the incident again.
Master Wei had no informants in South City and never got to examine Zhong
Heng's dead body. As a result, Gu Shenwei successfully fooled him with a
wax head.
Compared to Master Wei, Gu Shenwei was much better informed about the
things that happened inside Jade City. He quickly knew that three junior
officers in the Governor's Mansion were arrested after Zhong Heng's death.
Those three officers were accused of corruption and flogged to death.
Gu Shenwei was pretty sure that these unlucky officers had once worked
together with Zhong Heng to blackmail Wei Lingmiao.
Wei Lingmiao, who had been brought up in a powerful family, always took
his servants' obedience as a natural thing. He had never expected that the
killer would have colluded with the commandant to deceive him. When the
killer returned to Bodhi Garden, he received him in a study and continued
their negotiation.
"I'll figure out what's wrong with the Supreme King, but I want all of the one
and a half million taels of silver," Gu Shenwei told Wei Lingmiao.
He knew that the Governor was eager to know about the Supreme King's
current state of health and believed that the more greedy he appeared to be,
the more Wei Lingmiao would trust him.
Master Wei agreed to the killer's request. He then informed the killer that one
of his trusted subordinates would be the killer's future point of contact, as he
was leaving Jade City. He also told the killer that his father, the Governor,
would never want to meet him. This was so obvious that the killer could
never have solid evidence as to who the mastermind of the entire plot was.
Everything went smoothly for the young killer, except for his conversation
with Xu Yanwei. He met her again in Bodhi Garden and ordered her to stay.
He knew that he could not tell her the truth.
Xu Yanwei was determined to leave with Master Wei. "I've worked so hard
to get the opportunity to go to the Central Plain. I'll never give it up." She
begged the killer, while bawling unabashedly and pitifully.
Gu Shenwei had no choice but to let her leave. He thought that by persuading
her to stay, he had already fulfilled his duty as Xu Yanwei's boss. "Even if
you end up getting killed, you can't blame me. It's your own choice," Gu
Shenwei said in his heart.
Xu Yanwei was not the only prostitute that Wei Lingmiao brought back to
the Central Plain.
It was rumored that Master Wei had bought hundreds of pretty women in
Jade City with several million taels of silver, including prostitutes and even
maidens who had yet to start working as prostitutes. People in the city
believed that Master Wei would bring the women back to the Central Plain to
distribute as gifts.
All the men in the city felt bitter at the mass exodus of working ladies, and
complained that there would not be anymore left for the coming three years.
For them, the only consolation was that Xiao Fengchai, the icon of Pleasure
Alley, would not leave with Master Wei. Apart from spending one night with
her, Master Wei had not received any special treatment from Lady Xiao
during his stay in Jade City.
After investigation, Gu Shenwei discovered that the rumor was completely

false. There were only 50 prostitutes, who volunteered to leave with Master
Wei. Just like Xu Yanwei, most of them had bought their own freedom with
personal savings. They were tired of their lives in South City and wished to
seek for other opportunities in the Central Plain. In their eyes, serving Master
Wei, a handsome and considerate gentleman, was much better than serving
the abusive young masters that came from North City.
The Governor's Mansion supplied Wei Lingmiao with 50 carriages to

transport the women, and they were parked at an inn outside of the east city
gate for all to see. The design of the carriages was exquisite and of high
craftsmanship. It was said that craftsmen from South City had worked day
and night to build them, and they had cost at least tens of thousands of taels
of silver.
As residents of Jade City were focused on the spectacle of Master Wei's

return to his homeland, the news about a demonic giant roc appearing within
the Golden Roc Fort's territory quickly got buried. It was only when the last
carriages carrying the women were completely out of their sight, the terror
wrought by the roc started to spread among them.
The giant roc had been very active. It was first found in the wilderness
attacking wild animals and eating their eyeballs. Soon, people discovered that
the bird had a weird habit of exhuming graves and consuming corpses. This
habit earned it the title of the "Demon Bird".
Gradually, the Demon Bird started to attack living people, and thus Four
Truths Temple sent out monks who knew kung fu to subdue it. However,
they could not track it down, and news of the roc killing people started to
spread to even more places. Someone recorded the time and place of each
appearance of the bird and found out that it seemed to be circling Jade City,
gradually drawing closer to its walls.
When most people in Jade City considered the news about the Demon Bird as
a fictitious horror story, Master Wei showed a keen interest in the bird. "It'll
be great if I can catch the bird and give it to the emperor. I heard that the
Stone Castle has two giant roc specimens. Is it true?" he asked the killer.
"It's true," Gu Shenwei replied. He had been on the scene when the two giant
golden-crowned rocs got caught. Back then, the Supreme King had made
every effort to catch the rocs, but now when another giant roc appeared, he
seemed to have no interest in it. Gu Shenwei took this as a sign that the
Supreme King was ill.
He wished that he could return to Stone Castle as soon as possible to get

Wayless Book for himself, and also to figure out what had happened to the
Supreme King. Nevertheless, before that, he had to find a chance to follow
Wei Lingmiao to the camp of the Iron Mountain Gang, for Zhong Heng had
hinted that he should go there to obtain the piece of valuable secret.
Out of courtesy to the family of the Governor, the Kun Society and the Meng
family were required to send representatives to accompany the young master
as he passed through the Golden Roc Fort's territory on his way home. Meng
Mingshi was chosen to represent the Meng family, but none of the young
masters of the Kun Society wanted to take up the task. Shangguan Ru refused
to meet Wei Lingmiao and Shangguan Fei declined to leave North City. As a
result, Gu Shenwei got this chance to escort Master Wei without even having
to request for it.
Apart from meeting Zhong Heng, he had another important reason to be

accompanying Wei Lingmiao.
He hated Wei Lingmiao even more than he did Tie Hanfeng, who had raped
his sister. He could not get over the fact that Wei Lingmiao had killed his
own fiancée. He was determined to avenge his sister's death at all costs. He
did not care even when there was a possibility that his cover could be blown.
Chapter 216 - Business
Chapter 216: Business
In the end, Wei Lingmiao never got to see Shangguan Ru. All that was left
was an image he had of an 11-year-old maiden, and it was refined by the
descriptions of her beauty from other people. Master Wei considered it a
great pity, and even traveling together with 50 pretty women could not make
up for that.
Compared to Master Wei, Gu Shenwei was much luckier, since he would

soon get a chance to meet his old friend, the giant red-crowned roc, again.
After traveling for two days, Wei Lingmiao and his entourage came to a
place, which was said to be the haunt of the Demon Bird. This legendary bird
intrigued Master Wei and a few other young masters, who came to
accompany Wei Lingmiao on the trip. They ordered the whole team to camp
by the roadside at evening and waited until it was pitch dark, hoping to catch
a glimpse of the bird. To their disappointment, the bird did not appear at all.
When all the people in the camp were fast asleep, Gu Shenwei sneaked out
and wandered around the surrounding area. He had a strong feeling that the
giant red-crowned roc would come to find him.
As he had expected, the bird came to him that night. As it flew down to the
ground, the flapping of its wings stirred up the air, producing gusts of dust.
Gu Shenwei could not see its black feathers clearly in the darkness, and the
red feather on its head also looked dim at night. However, its red eyes were
glowing under the moonlight, and one could see them even at a distance.
Gu Shenwei went over to hug the bird. Although he was not sure if the bird
could understand him, he still told it what he had been through all these
years, while facing away from the camp. The bird had spent a lot of time
searching for Gu Shenwei, but it did not appear very excited after finding
him. It just pecked at the killer while listening. Before the bird flew away, Gu
Shenwei warned it to stay as far away as possible from humans in the future.
Master Wei had a large entourage. Apart from anything else, there were as
many as 50 horse-drawn carriages for the prostitutes. As those women
habitually went to bed late at night and got up late in the morning, the team
could not travel as fast as planned. Master Wei did not mind it at all. He was
in no hurry and partied with his friends every night during the trip. As a
result, the time they spent traveling from Jade City to the eastern border of
Golden Roc Fort's territory was twice as much as expected. After that, the
team spent another 10 days to get to Bighead Kingpin and Shangguan Nu's
base camp.
This camp was located near the mountain pass in the northeast. At this place,
Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru had once been besieged by the Barren Sect
and nearly gotten killed.
The Bighead Kingpin and Shangguan Nu knew beforehand that Wei

Lingmiao would pass their camp on his way back to the Central Plain and
prepared a grand reception for him. Overwhelmed by the warm welcome,
Master Wei decided to spend three days in the camp. By doing so, he could
also party with his friends for a few more days before they going back to Jade
City. To repay the Bighead Kingpin and Shangguan Nu's hospitality, Wei
Lingmiao sent the 50 prostitutes who were traveling with him to entertain the
men in the camp. These men spent the next three days chasing the prostitutes
around inside the camp and fought with each other over the women on
various occasions, behaving like stags in heat.
The Bighead Kingpin was in favor of Wei Lingmiao's arrangement, as he

valued strength and aggressiveness.
As for Shangguan Nu, he was supposedly the other leader of the camp but in
reality it was different. The Bighead Kingpin was tall and strong and always
cast a shade on Shangguan Nu when they stood beside each other. On the day
when Wei Lingmiao and his entourage had first met with the Bighead
Kingpin and Shangguan Nu, no one noticed Shangguan Nu until his father-
in-law dragged him out as if he were a small chick. He had been standing
beside the Bighead Kingpin all the while but was obscured from the view of
the guests by the huge arm of his father-in-law. Anyone who was observant
could tell from that meeting that the Bighead Kingpin was the real leader of
the camp.
Shangguan Nu had been hoping to strike out on his own outside Golden Roc
Fort all these years. Unfortunately, when he finally got such a chance, he
ended up being controlled by a man who was even more tyrannical than the
Supreme King.
The Bighead Kingpin did not want to share his power with anyone. In his
eyes, Shangguan Nu, his son-in-law, should always obey him without
question.
Shangguan Nu had brought 100 killers and 500 macheteman along with him
when he came to the Bighead Kingpin's camp. Compared to the several
thousand warriors of the Iron Mountain Gang, Shangguan Nu's troops were
small in number, thus they ended up being assimilated into the Bighead
Kingpin's forces without Shangguan Nu's prior approval.
Every time Shangguan Nu expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that he
was never consulted before his men were taking orders from the Bighead
Kingpin, his father-in-law would bang his fist on Shangguan Nu's shoulder
and say while breaking out into guffaws, "Don't say that. We're family.
What's mine is yours and vice versa. That's why the Supreme King sent you
here to work together with me. Once we eliminate the New Moon Hall, the
credit will be all yours. If you're not my son-in-law, do you think that I'll give
a da*n about those crazy women in the desert?"
After several failed attempts to communicate with the Bighead Kingpin,

Shangguan Nu gave up on trying to get back his men, but he still held a
grudge against his father-in-law. In fact, Shangguan Nu was a little afraid of
Bighead Kingpin, and so were his killers and machetemen. No one dared to
act against the will of the giant.
Shangguan Nu could not turn to the Supreme King for help even when faced
with such a problem. In his eyes, this action against the New Moon Hall was
a test for him and it would not do him any good if his father knew that he
failed to wrest over control from the Bighead Kingpin.
Gu Shenwei had a different perspective on the action taken against the New
Moon Hall. He thought that Bighead Kingpin just planned to use it as an
excuse to permanently station his troops in this place. He knew that Bighead
Kingpin would never be satisfied with just leading a gang of bandits. He was
certain that the giant wanted a domain of his own and wished to be
recognised as a real lord, just like the Supreme King did.
The first time Gu Shenwei had come to this region in the northeast, it had
been a barren, lawless place, but this time, to his great surprise, he spotted
many small villages along the way. He heard that Bighead Kingpin had
driven the roving bandits out of this district and strictly prohibited his
warriors from robbing the residents. By doing so, Bighead Kingpin turned
this region into a safe area and thus attracted many refugees to settle down in
this place.
Gu Shenwei was delighted to see the rise and expansion of another major
power right at the eastern border of the Golden Roc Fort's territory, but at this
moment, he was more concerned about another person.
He had gone to visit the Eighth Young Master privately shortly after arriving,
but he did not get a chance to meet with Zhong Heng until the last day of
Master Wei's stay in the camp.
"Brother Yang, are you interested in doing a major business deal?" Zhong
Heng asked right after he sneaked into the killer's tent at midnight.
Seeing Zhong Heng dressed like a Golden Roc Fort killer, Gu Shenwei asked
nonchalantly, "Commandant Zhong, do you miss your officer's uniform?" He
was cold to Zhong Heng on purpose, as he knew that this man was never so
straightforward, and that the commandant was also good at manipulating
others to do his dirty work.
"Hee-hee, I don't care much about what I wear."
After chatting for a while, Zhong Heng asked the killer if he wanted to do a
major business deal again.
"Let the big business wait for a moment. Commandant Zhong, I came for the
secret."
"It's the same thing. The secret is the big business opportunity I mentioned
earlier."
Every governor of Jade City would get a "Protective Talisman", namely a

substantial sum of money, when he completed his term and returned home.
Wei Song was exceptionally greedy and had accumulated a huge sum of
money in the city as his 'Protective Talisman'. According to Zhong Heng,
although this money was an open secret in Jade City, it would get Wei Song
impeached in the Central Plain.
"Wei Song can't openly carry that much money back to the Central Plain. Nor
can he launder the money through banks like bandits. There are altogether
millions of taels of silver. The banks are unable to handle such a large
transaction. Besides, there's the problem of confidentiality. For all these
reasons, Wei Song figured out another way to take the money back home. He
asked his son to come to Jade City to play, but in fact Wei Lingmiao came
here to help his father transport the money," Zhong Heng told the killer.
"Wait, I don't understand. The Kun Society hasn't given its one and a half
million taels of silver to the Governor yet," said Gu Shenwei, bewildered.
"This fact proves their intelligence. Wei Song and his son deliberately let the
whole city know that they've not finished collecting all the money for the
'Protective Talisman', so no one expected that Wei Lingmiao would be
transporting millions of taels of silver back to the Central Plain."
"But where's the silver?" asked Gu Shenwei.
He had been traveling together with Wei Lingmiao's team all these days. This
team had many horse-drawn carriages, but more than half of them were taken
up by the prostitutes. Gu Shenwei remembered clearly that Wei Lingmiao did
not have much luggage.
"That's my last secret. They changed the silver into gold, and now the women
are sitting right on top of the gold."
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that the bottom plates of
the carriages were gold plates wrapped in thin wooden coverings. "I bet none
of the prostitutes have expected that their carriages would be so expensive,
not even in their wildest dreams." Gu Shenwei thought to himself.
"Wouldn't Master Wei feel that it's too conspicuous to be traveling back to
the Central Plain with 50 prostitutes?"
"The Central Plain is far away from Jade City. No one there knows what
Master Wei did here, and before entering the Central Plain's domain, Master
Wei will…"
Zhong Heng made a throat-cutting gesture.
Even a seasoned killer like Gu Shenwei, who had engaged in murders and
schemes for years, was shocked by the viciousness of this plan.
"Commandant Zhong, I guess this is why they want to kill you. Am I right?"
"Alas, you're right. At that time, I was clear that the Governor was just using
me to do all his dirty jobs, and I had no choice but to obey my superior
officer. I knew he wanted to keep this a secret, so I tried to blackmail him
into paying me 100,000 taels of silver as hush money. I planned to retire and
live in seclusion in Western Region after I got the money. However, the
Governor doesn't want to give me such a chance."
"It looks like Commandant Zhong is interested in the gold."
"There's nothing wrong with robbing them of their ill-gotten gains." Zhong
Heng, who had been a slick politician a month ago, was now talking like the
bandits from the Iron Mountain Gang. "Brother Yang, aren't you interested in
it? You spared my life, and now I come to repay you with this bit of
information," Zhong Heng asked with a subtle smile on his face.
Gu Shenwei knew that Zhong Heng was planning to use him to kill Wei
Lingmiao and this was exactly what he intended to do during this trip.
Nevertheless, he still did not promise Zhong Heng anything. He was
suspicious of Zhong Heng's intention, for he was not acting like himself
today. "I'm still young and not that ambitious. I don't know how to handle
that much money. Besides, the Eighth Young Master is here. Why don't you
ask him to do this business?"
Zhong Heng had expected the killer to ask such a question and decided to be
frank with the youth. "The Eighth Young Master wants to do this business
but he can't, since the Bighead Kingpin always keeps a close watch on him
and his killers."
Thinking of the way Bighead Kingpin treated Shangguan Nu in public, Gu

Shenwei was pretty sure that Zhong Heng told the truth, but he was still a
little suspicious. "Commandant Zhong, you can do it by yourself, can't you?"
he asked.
"Me? No, I can't. Master Wei is protected by several kung fu masters. They'll
kill me before I even get close to the young master," Zhong Heng replied.
"I see. Well, I'll do it."
Zhong Heng was a little surprised. He thought before that he would have
spent a long time persuading the young killer, however, the killer quickly
agreed to do this business with unexpected readiness. "How many people do
you need? The Eighth Young Master can't send his killers out, but he can
give you as many machetemen as you want. The Bighead Kingpin doesn't
pay much attention to the machetemen," he asked the killer.
"No, thanks. I've prepared for such a situation."
Gu Shenwei sounded as if he had secretly brought a team here, which deeply

impressed Zhong Heng. While nodding admiringly at the young killer, Zhong
Heng said, "Five days later, Master Wei will arrive at a courier station of the
Central Plain. If you ride at a fast speed, you'll get there within two days.
Master Wei will kill the prostitutes before arriving at that courier station.
You'd best take action before he gets there."
Gu Shenwei nodded to show that he understood and then he asked,

"Commandant Zhong, how much money do you want? I should thank you for
giving me such a good opportunity."
"I want 20% of the gold. I'm broke now. To be honest, I don't like this feeling
I have now. Besides, the Eighth Young Master also wants in. He'll protect
and support you in exchange for 40% of the gold. The remaining 40% will be
all yours, Brother Yang."
Gu Shenwei was amazed by this offer. He doubted that his original master
Shangguan Nu was content with receiving a reward which was the same
amount for a servant for such an operation. Despite that, he still agreed to do
this business. He was determined to take this chance to kill Wei Lingmiao.
He could not wait to kill Master Wei and to question the young master about
the reason for the murder of the entire Gu family. This thought had kept him
wide awake every night during this trip.
Zhong Heng had once told Gu Shenwei that Master Wei had gotten involved
in the assassination by pure chance, but the young killer did not believe it.
Chapter 217 - Interrogation
Chapter 217: Interrogation
Seeing as Bighead Kingpin had once again prepared a huge bundle of gifts
for his daughter, Shangguan Nu knew he had to offer some form of gesture to
his family as well. Hence, after Meng Mingshi and the rest of the sendoff
crowd left, Gu Shenwei stayed behind to take charge of convoying the gifts.
Led by Master Wei, the fifty beauties began their journey. Xu Yanwei,
surprisingly, felt teary that she was about to leave her hometown forever. She
had hated the place where she grew up and never thought she would have
strong feelings for it.
On the road, she sought every opportunity to talk to Gu Shenwei. While her
initial joy turned into melancholy and subsequently into tears, she was
determined never to turn back.
"Take care of Xiaoyi. I can rest easy knowing he's with a good person like
you."
This was the first time Gu Shenwei was called a "good person" and thus he
felt a little awkward. As a killer, the phrase even sounded like a mockery. But
because he was more of a listener than a talker, he simply nodded in
response.
"Since you're no longer my master, I can tell you that you're the best person
I've ever met."
As per habit, Gu Shenwei tried to rationalize these words. It was probably for
her younger brother's sake that Xu Yanwei was licking his boots right now.
Therefore, he replied bluntly, "I'll protect Xu Xiaoyi so long as he continues
to find out information for me."
Straightening her body, Xu Yanwei seemed as though she was going to lose
her temper, but instead, she simply muttered, "You don't know who you are."
Gu Shenwei laughed inside. He was no more than someone who wanted

revenge. He felt that Xu Yanwei would be of some use to him for the
moment, but would not force her to serve him, let alone repeatedly seek her
allegiance.
When Gu Shenwei saw Xu Yanwei at the sendoff the day after Zhong Heng
revealed the secret, he was completely indifferent to her unrestrained wailing.
He simply felt she was unlucky that none of the men she chose were
trustworthy and her road was coming to an end. For better or worse, she had,
at last, fulfilled her biggest wish by leaving Jade City.
Gu Shenwei remained in the big camp for two days to examine the pile of
gifts together with a registrar. The second day afternoon, a couple of
machetemen he was not too familiar with invited him for a drink, and he
ended up getting into a drunken mess and vomiting everywhere, thereby
becoming the laughingstock of the entire camp.
That night, he quietly left the camp and went to the arranged location where
two steeds were tied. One would be used for riding while the other fetched
water, food, and weapons.
Gu Shenwei had left his saber and sword back in the camp. If necessary,
someone would impersonate him in black clothes and a mask so that the
bandits of Iron Mountain would not suspect he had gone anywhere.
Not long after he set off, a giant red-crowned roc flew towards him, bringing
with it a gale which frightened his two horses so much that he nearly fell off
the one he was riding. He had no choice but to signal with his hands for the
roc to fly slightly higher.
All of a sudden, he conceived a strange idea: would it not be faster to ride on

the roc? Thus, he tied the two horses to a small tree and found two pieces of
black cloth to cover their eyes with. He subsequently had to run a mile or so
ahead before he could call the giant roc to fly down.
Gu Shen tried several methods to get on the roc's back, including sneaking
on, entreating, ordering, and threatening. On his most successful attempt, he
was able to grab the feathers on the roc's back, but was immediately tossed on
to the ground once again. It was only then when he came to the realization
that the roc would not allow anyone or anything to ride on it.
It certainly liked him, and on his human body was a scent it had known since
young, but that was all. It was not a pet like a cat or a dog, nor was it an
animal like a bull or a horse which accepted being ridden on and dominated
by humans.
Furthermore, it did not have an owner, and would not recognize one.
"Alright, you shall be free. But are you willing to go kill with me?"
In an habitual manner, the giant roc tilted its head to look at the human before
it suddenly soared high.
Killing was its favorite activity, and it did not need to be taught how.
Gu Shenwei scooted on horseback for several nights and days. He discovered

a camp by the roadside, three days after Wei Lingmiao's journey had begun.
The latter had chosen a desolate place, where there was no trace of human
life within a hundred miles in every direction, to set up camp.
Gu Shenwei immediately hid himself and waited for nighttime before he

made a move. At around 9 pm, he snuck up near to the camp and inspected
its perimeters, discovering two sentry posts in the process. Without alerting
them, he weaved his way between them to close in on the camp so as to
observe the situation inside.
Apart from the fifty beauties, Wei Lingmiao's contingent comprised of forty-
two people, of which twenty were guards while the rest were handymen.
There was a bonfire burning in the middle of the camp. More than thirty men
were digging a huge pit under the supervision of several guards. Though Gu
Shenwei did not actually see them, he could see dozens of shovels flinging
soil outwards.
There were about ten women standing by the side and making laughing
noises every so often. They were yet to find out who the pit was dug for.
Not long later, the people in the pit leaped out, tossed their iron shovels
down, and joked with the women, pretending as if the pit was just a trifle
which Master Wei decided to build on a whim.
Soon, the other women were also called over. It was time for the massacre to
begin.
The vast majority of the women had no time to scream or even alter their
facial expressions before they were beheaded and fell on the ground.
Gu Shenwei watched the entire scene from a far distance. He thought about
waiting for the guards to return to their tents, where they would let their
vigilance down, before he acted one-versus-forty two without sparing a single
one of them. As far as he was concerned, the only way was to assassinate
them in silence.
Having observed them carefully before, he knew exactly how to deal with
them.
However, his plan would be disrupted by the giant roc. The strong smell of
blood was irresistible to it, and so it swooped down from the sky without
being called.
As wind began to sweep up the sand, the people on the ground looked in all
directions to search for its source. Nobody raised their heads until the first
human shrill was heard. Only then did the rest respond by hastily pulling out
their sabers to fight back.
Gu Shenwei acted immediately. He returned stealthily to where the two

sentry posts were and killed all four guards stationed there. They were
completely unaware of the killer's approach because they were busy
observing the disturbance within the camp.
Instead of dashing into the camp and competing with the roc for work, he hid
near the manger, knowing that the guards would run here provided they had
not lost their wits.
As expected, after the roc killed more than ten people, the survivors finally
understood that human strength was no match for a demon bird's, and so they
scattered in all directions, with the majority running towards the horses.
Gu Shenwei drew his saber and began to act, but not before letting three
people off.
The crowd was in extreme panic. Nobody reacted at first when the killer
suddenly appeared as they mistook him for just another companion. They
only realized that the giant roc had an accomplice after he had downed five
people, forcing them to turn and run once again. Though some of the guards
were decent at kung fu, they could only think of fleeing rather than fighting
after fear sank in.
The three people he let off mounted a horse each, but in their hysteria, they
actually forgot to unhitch the horses, which had suffered more shock than the
humans as a result of the roc's arrival. Prancing and neighing, the animals
flung the men off their backs. Before Gu Shenwei could act, dozens of horses
had trampled the three into minced meat.
The second massacre of the night would end half an hour later. The few
people who were able to run relatively far away were also caught up by the
giant roc and killed.
While this was not the silent assassination Gu Shenwei had hoped for, the
time it took was less than he had planned. He did a quick count of the
corpses. There were forty of them excluding the women, meaning that two
people survived, and one of them was Wei Lingmiao. The governor's son had
not shown up at all.
On the other hand, the giant roc was very contented and happy. It spread its
wings and frisked about, looking like a clumsy barbarian performing a
comical war dance, or a youth barely out of childhood expending his excess
energy.
Gu Shenwei walked up to the main tent and listened through the drape. All of
a sudden, he jabbed a knife through the door and took three quick steps
backward.
The tip of another knife prodded out from inside the tent. It slid downwards
and cut a huge opening in the door, through which the knife holder fell out.
This person had also tried to kill Gu Shenwei through the drape but was just a
split second too slow.
Gu Shenwei slit the neck of the corpse before he stepped across it and entered
the tent. He could see the conditions inside clearly as the bonfire outside was
still blazing.
Wei Lingmiao was sitting on a couch and could still smile faintly at the
masked killer. "That's a truly formidable bird. Your Excellency deserves
admiration for being able to tame such a fine beast."
When Gu Shenwei tore off his mask, Wei Lingmiao's expression changed a
little but quickly returned to normal. "Is it Golden Roc Fort or Kun Society?"
"Neither."
"Then it must be a personal grudge."
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"Why, Zhong Heng is indeed a crafty old scoundrel to have harmed me."
"He's not dead."
Wei Lingmiao raised his head and laughed loudly as if he was a poet who had
come up with a gem of a sentence after many days of deep rumination. "Ay,
looks like I truly belittled the commandant. Do you know it was him who
strongly recommended you to me by telling me how much of an inborn
badass you are, and that you deserve to be roped in? I didn't expect him to
have thrust a sharp knife at me. Alright, tell me, how has the Wei family
offended you? I hope it wasn't because I snatched your woman."
He was trying to bait the killer into speaking too much. He knew that if there
was one thing which could defuse hatred, it was money, and thankfully, that
was something he was not lacking in.
"I am surnamed Gu, and called Gu Shenwei."
Wei Lingmiao's face turned ghastly pale at once. This time, it did not return
to normal. "You… that's impossible."
"I have a few questions to ask."
"No, no, though it was my fault not to save your elder sister back then, I've
always wanted to avenge her, and so did my father, who wanted to avenge
your entire family. Once I return to the Central Plain, I'll urge the emperor to
send out the troops and conquer Golden Roc Fort within a year. I've brought a
lot of gold and silver to bribe the dynastic officials…"
Gu Shenwei allowed Wei Lingmiao to speak on until his patience wore thin.
He had thought that seeing his enemy in such a panicked state would provide
him with some vengeful delight, but this was not the case. Instead, his killer
instincts told him that this was a waste of time.
"What did you come to do in Jade City three years ago?"
"I… I came to escort my bride."
Wei Lingmiao was lying. Gu Shenwei vividly remembered that, at that time,
the Gu family intended to send their girl all the way to the Central Plain, and
never mentioned that their future son-in-law would be coming to escort his
bride.
He raised his knife and chopped off one of Wei Lingmiao's fingers.
Wei Lingmiao only felt a sharp pain after seeing the knife flashing past and
his finger falling lightly on to the floor. A real fear was incited in him. "If you
kill me, the Central Plain wouldn't send out any troops. Do you intend to
avenge your family on your own?"
Gu Shenwei's face became malevolent yet miserable without him knowing.

"Why did you kill my elder sister? She was your wife-to-be."
"No, I didn't. Don't listen to Zhong Heng's nonsense…" Wei Lingmiao's first
reaction was to deny the allegation, but his words practically confirmed that
Zhong Heng had spoken the truth. "I… I really didn't know she was your
elder sister all this time."
He began to cry, unable to find another reason to calm down.
"You even allowed other men to rape her. I guess after you yourself did so?"
"No, no, I didn't… they were killers just like you, and I couldn't do anything
when they didn't listen to me. Really, believe me, let me avenge your elder
sister. I can bring the large army of the Central Plain."
Gu Shenwei raised his knife. For the first time, he did not want to kill his
enemy in a single strike, and instead he wanted to slowly torture the man in
front of him.
"Spare me, Shenwei. The Central Plain truly intends to wipe out Golden Roc
Fort! First will be Bighead Kingpin, followed by the Supreme King."
"If that's the case, sparing you would be even more unnecessary."
Gu Shenwei slowly stabbed his knife across.

Chapter 218 - Eavesdropping
Chapter 218: Eavesdropping
Wei Lingmiao became an experiment into how strong a human's endurance

was. Using as much time as he usually took to kill forty people, Gu Shenwei
extracted everything through the former's mouth.
Three years ago, Wei Lingmiao came to break off the engagement.
There was originally already some marriage incompatibility between the Wei
and Gu families, which was greatly exacerbated when Gu Lun retired to the
Western Region. Both father and son of the Wei family wanted to call off the
marriage.
Though it was true that Wei Lingmiao did not know initially that the target of
the assassination campaign he took part in was his future father-in-law's
family, he quickly found out yet did nothing to stop it. Instead, he merely
raised a request to enjoy his woman, Gu Cuilan, before she died.
After cutting open Wei Lingmiao's stomach, Gu Shenwei sliced the flesh off
the former's body piece by piece, and was finally able to ascertain that the
former was not the person who recruited the killers of Golden Roc Fort.
"Nobody else knew, including Shangguan Nu. It was only the Supreme King
who knew everything, while my father might have known a little. Kill me, I
beg of you." At this point in time, Wei Lingmiao was wishing for death and
was even willing to betray his father.
Gu Shenwei turned around and summoned the giant roc. Over the past few
days of interaction, he had discovered that the roc could understand whistles,
and so he opted to use this means of communication with it.
The giant red-crowned roc leaped into the air and tore the tent canvas with
both claws before landing in front of Wei Lingmiao and staring into his eyes
with a look of covetousness.
Despite wanting death, Wei Lingmiao was seized by an uncontrollable fear.

Using the last bit of energy in his body, he raised his right arm to defend
himself. All that remained of this hand, which had fondled the bodies of
countless women, were a few dense white bones and traces of flesh and
blood.
Before the giant roc could peck at him with its sharp beak, Wei Lingmiao
was already dead.
Outside the tent, dozens of chariots were lined up in a row. Without chopping
open the wooden boards to check their insides, Gu Shenwei simply figured
from their weight that these chariots were uniquely designed. With the giant
roc's assistance, he pushed the chariots one by one into the pit.
After pushing in more than thirty chariots, he unexpectedly saw a person

inside the pit. In response, he immediately pulled out his saber, while at the
same time regretted being negligent. He had counted forty-two people at the
start of the expedition and seen forty-two people when he reached this camp,
but there was yet a possibility that someone had come to meet Master Wei.
However, the person was not a man.
All this while, Xu Yanwei did not realize that the devil who wrecked the
camp was an acquaintance, and she was even more horrified by the giant roc.
Holding her head and cuddling herself into a heap, she knew only to scream
"Don't kill me!".
Gu Shenwei recognized her through her voice. "How are you not dead?"
Xu Yanwei raised her head and was stunned for a moment. She then burst out
weeping as she jumped onto her feet and ran over to hug Mr. Huan. With her
crying became even more intense, she rubbed her tears and snivel on his body
and did not say a single word.
Gu Shenwei had to push her away before he once again asked her why she
was not dead.
"I… I slept with a guard, and he told me that t… tonight would be t… the
end."
Xu Yanwei offered her explanation sobbingly. Many years of living in South

City had given her an instinctive presentiment towards danger. A single loose
sentence let slip by a guard had aroused her suspicions. During the digging,
she found a chariot to hide under and subsequently watched as her
unsuspecting sisters were brutally massacred.
"I should have listened to you earlier. You came to save me, right?"
Gu Shenwei did not reply. There was still plenty of work for him to do.
Xu Yanwei wished she could cling on to Mr. Huan forever. However, she
was terrified to death of the giant bird and had to keep a far distance from it.
Nonetheless, she could not stop talking about how good a person Mr. Huan
and how silly herself was.
After all of the chariots were pushed into the pit, where they broke into
different parts, it was time to cover them with the near-hundred corpses. The
job was made considerably easier with the assistance of the giant roc, who
treated it as a game, and would peck every corpse several times before
tossing them into the pit. Xu Yanwei took several more steps back and
continued to chastise herself, albeit her voice was no longer audible.
It was day by the time the ground was leveled. Gu Shenwei released the large
team of horses and train of camels, knowing that if anyone came to search for
clues, they would follow the hoofprints and be led far away.
Next, he smashed the wine jars and set them on fire.
He had to leave immediately but still did not know what to do with Xu
Yanwei.
He had not thought about rescuing anyone in coming here. It was a complete
accident that Xu Yanwei was able to live. Had the giant roc showed up a
moment later than it did, the guards would have realized that the female
corpses did not add up, and would have quickly found and killed her.
While she saw everything take place, the one thing she did not know was that
the chariots were loaded with gold.
Gu Shenwei walked over to her with his saber in hand. As her sense of
danger had already subsided, she scampered towards him joyfully while
making a series of pledges that she would never act on her own accord ever
again. "I'll listen to you, completely listen to you."
What saved Xu Yanwei's life was not her tears or promises, but a plan which
Gu Shenwei suddenly thought of in which she could be of use.
The two people got on horses and traveled day and night on the same route
they came from. While Gu Shenwei was accustomed to such a physically
demanding course, Xu Yanwei had never suffered such heavy bumps before,
yet strangely enough, she gritted her teeth and persisted without complaining
or even asking for a rest.
When there was still a half day's journey back to the big camp in Iron
Mountain, Gu Shenwei made a turn into the wilderness, where he bade
farewell to the giant roc and allowed it to fly high and away.
The giant red-crowned roc had long become fed up of following the sluggish
pace of human beings. Before Gu Shenwei could say anything, and had only
waved his hands, it had already disappeared into the clouds.
Gu Shenwei felt that the bird was a little callous. Conversely, Xu Yanwei
admired him almost to the point of worship. "Gee, to think you raised it!
You're truly… a deity on earth."
There was a slight change in the way Xu Yanwei looked at him. She had
always felt an unspeakable attraction towards macho tough guys. But Gu
Shenwei dispelled her fantasy. "Stay here. The food and water should be
enough for two days. Don't go anywhere or light a fire to get people's
attention."
They were in the middle of nowhere, and the surroundings were full of
bushes and weeds, while there could even be wild beasts nearby. In the past,
Xu Yanwei would definitely have clarified, "Why should I remain here? Who
shall protect me? When will someone come to fetch me?" This time,
however, she simply nodded her head several times to indicate that she would
absolutely not contravene the orders.
At night, Gu Shenwei slipped back into the big camp but did not return to his
own tent. Instead, he cautiously made his way to the outside of Shangguan
Nu's tent. He could not afford to waste a golden opportunity to kill one of his
biggest enemies and frame either Bighead Kingpin or New Moon Hall.
This was a plan which he had come up with long ago. Killing the Fourth
Young Master Shangguan Ruo and the black-masked assassin had given him
tremendous confidence that he was ready to take revenge.
It would not be easy to evade the attention of a head killer and a black-
masked assassin at the same time. Gu Shenwei had not slept for several days,
but the fervent desire for revenge kept him going. Moving in circles, he
approached the tent slowly and searched for the assassin's hiding spot.
The hiding spot was slightly unexpected. Instead of guarding on the roof of
the Eighth Young Master's tent, the black-masked assassin was lying prone
on top of an adjacent and bigger tent. He was wearing a cloak which was the
exact same color as the tent, and was able to wrap himself completely in it.
Gu Shenwei discovered the assassin because when a gust of wind blew past,
the roofs of the tents rose and fell with regularity, whereas only the hiding
spot did not correspond.
"What is the assassin doing on the roof of Bighead Kingpin's tent? Could
Shangguan Nu be thinking of harming his father-in-law?" Gu Shenwei
thought, but promptly realized that his conjecture was false. The assassin was
not guarding by his master's side because Shangguan Nu was discussing a
private matter which he did not want anyone to hear.
Everyone had the potential to betray him, and even the black-masked
assassin, who had to die before he could leave his master, was no exception.
Gu Shenwei first thought about killing the assassin but changed his mind.
Instead, he moved round to the blind angle of the assassin's line of sight and
carefully made his way to the back of Shangguan Nu's tent. Lying prone on
the ground, he used his dagger to puncture a hole in the tent, on which he
placed an ear and listened in on the conversation attentively.
There were two people inside - Shangguan Nu and Zhong Heng. Gu Shenwei
was only able to hear a few broken lines as they were speaking very softly.
Subsequently, he returned to his own tent, where a macheteman was waiting
for his return. Without saying anything, the macheteman nodded at him and
left at once.
Gu Shenwei felt asleep as soon as he shut his eyes. He only had a few hours
to eliminate the fatigue of the past few days.
He had changed his mind and not killed Shangguan Nu because the words he
heard made him conceive an even greater plan which could allow him to kill
even more members of the Shangguan family.
Early in the morning the next day, the killer Yang Huan, who had been "plied
with wine" by the machetemen in his own tent for several consecutive days,
finally sobered up. The gifts to be delivered to Stone Castle were also
adequately prepared and ready to be sent out at any time.
While Shangguan Nu never came by to visit, Zhong Heng did so once. Gu

Shenwei informed him that the gold was already well-kept and could be
divided after the limelight had faded, to which the commandant did not
object.
Master Wei and his entourage had died in the most desolate of places, and
thus it would take several days before the news reached the big camp. All
things considered, Gu Shenwei had managed to get ahead of the rumors.
The gifts which Bighead Kingpin prepared for his daughter included not just
rare treasures but also twenty female slaves which he had specially purchased
according to his daughter's request. Allegedly, Luo Ningcha was feeling
lonely in the Stone Castle and wanted more people to accompany her.
The evening before setting off, Gu Shenwei went to have a look at the twenty
female slaves and chose one of them to follow him. The registrar and guards
understood tacitly what was going on and authorized her release, while the
slave herself was also very compliant. Once out of the tent, she clung on to
the killer and asked him many questions in her unpolished Central Plains
Chinese.
Gu Shenwei requested two horses, one for the slave and one for himself, and
left the camp under the cover of night. Though this appeared a little strange,
nobody asked too many questions. The two of them were not from Iron
Mountain, and nobody felt it was necessary to be a busybody.
Xu Yanwei had suffered a fair bit hiding in the wilderness for two days. The
rustling of leaves in the wind terrified her, and so she had eaten only a few
mouthfuls of the food and had not dared to sleep much. When she heard the
clattering of the galloping horses, she quickly hid herself in the tall grass and
only climbed out after hearing Mr. Huan's voice.
"Who is this?" Xu Yanwei questioned in surprise.
The female slave was also very surprised. "Go, let's go back to the big camp."
Gu Shenwei pulled out his knife and cleanly stabbed it into the female slave,
who fell on the ground practically without bleeding.
Xu Yanwei's eyes stared wide open, yet she did not dare to scream, and
almost stuck her entire fist into her mouth.
"Put on the clothes."
Gu Shenwei turned his back. Although Xu Yanwei was becoming

increasingly aware that things were odd, she had made up her mind not to ask
any questions and instead leave everything to Mr. Huan to decide.
After midnight, the killer Yang Huan returned to the camp with his "female
slave" and kept her in his own tent. He only "returned" her the next morning
when the gift-sending contingent was about to set off.
The accompanying female slaves felt that she had changed slightly, but
because every one of them was purchased from different places, nobody
would fuss over a trifle like this.
By sending Xu Yanwei to Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei intended not only to

keep a survivor with first-hand information alive but also for her to do
something for him.
Gu Shenwei felt that it should be a simple task because he had overheard two
important pieces of information from Shangguan Nu:
The Central Plain was indeed planning to act against Bighead Kingpin, and it
would be within a few months' time.
Eighth Youth Master had already betrayed his father and Golden Roc Fort.
Chapter 219 - Back to the City
Chapter 219: Back to the City
Gu Shenwei guessed that the seeds of betrayal were probably planted when
Shangguan Fa sliced off one of his Eighth Son's palms.
In the Western Region, there was a one-legged king but not a "one-handed
king". After losing his palm, Shangguan Nu was doomed to be unqualified
for the highest position in the castle. There seemed to be only two roads
ahead of him: die in an internal struggle or find an alternative way out.
History often operated in cycles. Shangguan Fa had cruelly eliminated all of

his competitors yet was unable to be equally merciless with his own son.
Perhaps, he knew that his Eighth Son's future had hit a dead end, and keeping
the latter alive was merely so that his stronger sons would have someone to
target.
Based on the snippets of private conversation he overheard from within the

tent, Gu Shenwei could confirm that Shangguan Nu had long been acquainted
with Zhong Heng, and had decided to cross over to the Central Plain's side
through the commandant. This was one of the matters which the young killer
was extremely puzzled by. The position of governor was higher, and Zhong
Heng even had to feign death in order to evade the manhunt. Why would the
Eighth Young Master choose such a fallen officer to be his backer?
Everyone in Jade City had their secrets, and so Gu Shenwei was not overly
concerned. All he needed to know was that Golden Roc Fort was going to
suffer a heavy blow, and that the knives of the Central Plain would begin
with one of the Supreme King's arms.
Bighead Kingpin was an important ally of Shangguan Fa, and, like the Meng
family of North City, was one of the Stone Castle's pillars. His death would
cause an upheaval throughout the entire Western Region.
Gu Shenwei's opportunity for revenge was right here.
When in the big camp of Iron Mountain, he always took precaution against
Zhong Heng and Shangguan Nu. It was only until he convoyed the fleet to
Golden Roc Fort that he was able to relax slightly. For the time being, the
two men had no intention of killing any witnesses.
Gu Shenwei was, however, slower than the spread of rumors this time. The
news of Master Wei's murder had already disseminated to every corner of
Jade City.
Before the Iron Mountain Flag entered the city gate, a stir had already started.
Hundreds of people flocked to have a look because, according to the rumors,
the prime suspect was no other than Bighead Kingpin.
"It took place in the territory of Iron Mountain."
"The governor was on bad terms with Bighead Kingpin."
"It was all because of money."
Because of the vicious spread of rumors, the Iron Mountain underlings

practically beseeched the killer Yang Huan to deliver the gifts to Golden Roc
Fort on their behalf. Without even entering the city, they swiftly hurried back
to the big camp to report the situation to Bighead Kingpin.
The closer it was to Jade City, the more exaggerated the rumors were.
Naturally, Golden Roc Fort itself could not escape suspicion.
"Who's Bighead Kingpin? He's just a pawn in the mountains. Who do you
think instructed him to do something like this?"
"It must be the Tenth Young Master. She's certainly very cruel, and even
more powerful than her previous generation. It's just that people like her and
find her useful… Forget it, I shan't say anymore."
After analyzing all of the possibilities, everyone would add the same final
comment, "Those fifty beauties are such a pity. This is Jade City's loss.
Bighead Kingpin is too ruthless."
The gifts were left at the eastern city gate, where they awaited inspection
before being delivered by the guards to the northern city gate. Gu Shenwei
had not dismounted his horse when Xu Xiaoyi squeezed his way out of the
crowd and came forth. His last hope was shattered when he saw that Brother
Huan was alone, and thus he could not help but burst into loud sobbing. He
had imagined that his elder sister might have changed her mind and returned.
Chu Nanping rarely had a chance like this to feel the sentiments of a good
friend. He shifted close to Gu Shenwei and muttered, "He's very sad."
Gu Shenwei did not reveal the truth, nor did he allow Xu Yanwei to show her
face. This was a matter which had to be kept strictly confidential. He had
repeatedly explained to Xu Yanwei that because she was the only survivor
with first-hand information, she would certainly be killed if she was found
out.
He did not tell her, however, that the first person who wanted to silence her
was himself.
He returned to Kun Society, where, upon seeing him, the first thing
Shangguan Ru said was, "He deserved to die." She did not have the resolve to
kill, and thus was glad that someone else had done the job on her behalf.
However, because she had been busy assigning tasks, she did not pay close
attention to the matter and heard few rumors about it. "Our business has been
plentiful," Shangguan Ru proudly boasted, "Everyone is terrified and wants
to hire a bodyguard. This has been good for us. I'll be able to return the taels
of silver to you in less than a year if this goes on."
Shangguan Ru seemed as though she was gradually reverting to her

personality of bygone days. Gu Shenwei only found out that this was a false
front after he met in private with Maid Lotus. "Tenth Young Master would
often sit in a daze alone at night as if she was considering some issue.
Sometimes, she would ask me, "There'll always be someone sad when a
person dies, right?"
However, this was an advantage as far as encouraging Tenth Young Master

to return to Stone Castle in advance was concerned. All that Maid Lotus
needed was a suitable opportunity.
Gu Shenwei had come back this time with many new secrets albeit he did not
tell any one of them to Maid Lotus. It was not because he did not trust her,
but because he felt that these matters had nothing to do with her and thus
there was no need to drag her into them.
After convoying the gifts up the mountain, Gu Shenwei remained for less
than a day in the Stone Castle and immediately descended the mountain after
paying respects to Luo Ningcha. He was afraid that Lady Meng would
summon him while there remained many things which he would not be able
to explain clearly.
Gu Shenwei recommended a female slave to Luo Ningcha and asked the

latter to take good care of the slave. Luo Ningcha had a stomachful of
concerns she wanted to confide in the "conspiracy teacher", and was very
displeased when she could not do so. "Where did Bighead Kingpin purchase
this little goblin from? She doesn't look like a proper person at all, and you
want to me take care of her? Hmph, fine, I shall take very good care of her."
What needed to be said had already been said. It would be up to Xu Yanwei's

own ability whether she could win the favor of the mistress. The blind and
tongueless maid standing beside Luo Ningcha could perhaps offer her some
inspiration.
Gu Shenwei signaled to Xu Yanwei to exit the room. Luo Ningcha

understood this tacitly and also ordered her maids to leave, while covering up
Maid Cui's ears.
"Honestly, was that girl your… lover?"
Luo Ningcha sounded very harsh, causing Gu Shenwei to be a little shocked.

It was, in principle, not right for her to ask this kind of question, and
furthermore, it had nothing to do with her even if the girl was his lover. "No,
I brought her to the castle so that it'll be easier for me to send word in the
future."
Luo Ningcha seemed not quite convinced. However, because she had
something significant to brag about, she put off the interrogation temporarily.
"You know, I've done many things in recent times…"
Gu Shenwei was in no mood to hear her out as he had to descend the

mountain as soon as possible. "Listen, there's an important matter which I'll
need you to investigate for me."
"What can be more important than what I was going to say?" Luo Ningcha
raised her voice even higher.
"It concerns the lord," Gu Shenwei replied in a low tone.
There was no sound behind the wooden walls for a moment. When Luo
Ningcha resumed speaking, her voice was noticeably lowered, "What
happened to the lord?"
"Rumor has it that he's fallen ill, and quite seriously so for a long time
already."
"Really?" Luo Ningcha cried but quickly broke off. "No wonder that wench
surnamed Meng has been able to stay as she pleases in the Inner Residence,
and nobody bothers about her agony. I finally understand."
She used to call Lady Meng "b*tch" but had switched to "wench" this time.
"This is just a rumor and so don't tell anyone about it, not even to the men
sent by Bighead Kingpin."
"Certainly. Do you think I don't know the importance of keeping secrets? Let
me tell you, I'm hiding a lot of things in my heart right now which will shock
you if I spoke of them…"
Gu Shenwei decided that he would leave this "shock" to be felt at a later time,
and immediately cut short the mistress. "Find a way to clarify this rumor. Is
the lord truly sick? What sort of sickness? What's his condition? This will be
important information both to yourself and Bighead Kingpin."
Luo Ningcha's sole backer, Bighead Kingpin, would be toppled before long.
Gu Shenwei knew he had to make use of her value while she still had some.
Although the Wei family wanted to find out information through Tenth
Young Master, Gu Shenwei did not think it was a good idea. He had other
plans for Shangguan Ru.
He hurriedly took his leave and descended the mountain. Angry that she did
not get the chance to brag, Luo Ningcha smashed several porcelains.
Fortunately, Bighead Kingpin had sent more new items.
Gu Shenwei encountered a thorny problem once he returned to Kun Society.

The Governor's Mansion had sent men to collect the "Protective Talisman"
again.
The newly-appointed commandant was not as tactful as Zhong Heng, and

demanded the money right away. His insolence nearly reignited Shangguan
Ru's killing desire. Gu Shenwei verbally held her back and offered to visit the
governor himself to explain the situation.
He knew clearly that the demand for payment was just an excuse. In actual
fact, the sum of money had already been used to purchase the killer Yang
Huan. The governor finally wanted to meet him.
Though the Governor's Mansion was not the biggest and most magnificent
building in North City, it was situated in the city center, and the streets in
front of it were wider than everywhere else, giving it a special feel.
Governor Wei Song was a short man with a fair complexion and a trimmed
beard. His posture was perfectly straight, and despite being dressed in official
clothing, he had the manner of a general about him. He was totally different
from his romantic-to-a-fault son.
After offering a bow, Gu Shenwei kept his head down. For a long while, Wei
Song did not speak either, and continued to stare at the young man as if
sizing him up. "Two people had recommended you, and both of them are
dead."
Zhong Heng and Wei Lingmiao. Gu Shenwei was unsure how to reply, but he
was not here to "pay respects", and instead came to negotiate on an equal
footing. This was the study, where there no one except the governor and him.
"Being close to a killer is always a dangerous thing. People have told me that
I have an infectious evil spirit on me."
Wei Song laughed in a seemingly forced manner. "My son didn't die of any
evil spirit but a conspiracy. I want to take revenge and thus hope you can tell
me who the enemy is."
"I've heard that it's Bighead Kingpin, but nobody appears to have any
evidence."
"Ah, evidence. Only people who aren't able to exact revenge would go
around finding evidence to justify their own incompetence."
"Governor, you know who the enemy is already?"
Wei Song stared at the killer who stared back. The two men were searching
for clues on each other's face to ascertain the extent to which they could trust
the other.
"Lingmiao told me that you aren't a talkative person."
"As a killer, I never ask more than I need to."
"Alright, you're a killer right now, and I want to hire you to kill someone."
"I shall obey your command."
"My request is very fair. There's nothing more painful on earth than the fact
that my favorite son is dead. I want my enemy to suffer the same pain as I
am."
Gu Shenwei patiently waited as Wei Song paused for a moment.
"Meng Yuzun has five sons. Go kill one of them, anyone will do."
"Yes," Gu Shenwei replied curtly. He did not expect Wei Song to name the
Meng family and not Bighead Kingpin as his enemy.
While the killer indeed did not ask much, Wei Song could not resist offering
a line of explanation. "The Meng family wants to collect back its money and
believes it can place the blame on others."
This sentence would sound confusing to someone who was uninformed, but
Gu Shenwei understood it very well. The Meng family definitely had a hand
in producing those chariots of gold. However, he expressed an appropriate
amount of doubt and waited until Wei Song's expression returned to a calm
state before he said, "The members of the Meng family aren't easy to kill.
What price are you offering?"
"Do you prefer the Central Plain or Western Region?"
"Western Region."
"Alright. Since you're already very rich, I shall offer you an official position
in any country which the Central Plain controls. Prime Minister or General,
whichever you like."
As the Wei family's fortunes had all been stolen, the governor was trying to
use empty titles to recruit a killer. Gu Shenwei knew he had to express some
unwillingness.
"Believe me, you won't be able to stay much longer in Jade City. There's a
major change on the way that'll affect everyone, and you'll need a safe place
to go. My promise will be worth a million gold pieces then."
Gu Shenwei acquiesced while making his reluctance apparent.
As he left the Governor's Mansion, Gu Shenwei was not as much interested

in the Meng family as he was in the governor himself. When he looked at
Wei Song, he had not only felt a sudden sense of familiarity but also recalled
something even more important.
During the campaign to massacre the Gu family of the Central Plain, a

detective named Han Shiqi, sent by Golden Roc Fort, sneaked into the Gu
manor with a reference letter. Gu Shenwei had not been able to recall who
authored the letter, but now, the author's name appeared unmistakably in
front of his eyes.
Chapter 220 - Lifesaver
Chapter 220: Lifesaver
The slave market of South City became busy and lively as summer arrived.
Though it was called a market, there was in fact not a single proper street in
it. Myriad vans were parked in two rows facing each other on a stretch of
barren land, leaving a narrow and bending channel in between where slaves
and livestock were mixed together for the convenience of customers to
choose.
Many people had been waiting for this annual market. The rich required
dexterous servants, the brothels needed good-looking girls, the shops needed
capable hands and bodies, while Golden Roc Fort's requirements were even
more particular.
The killer apprentices in the Stone Castle came from very diverse sources, of
which one of the most important was the slave market. Every year, the young
masters would send men here to select and purchase young children, who
would then be trained for several years outside before entering the Stone
Castle when they were slightly older. As this was one of the key steps in
developing future power, nobody would miss out on it, and fights often arose
among them because of it.
This year was much more peaceful than usual. The Tenth Young Master
appeared to be on a roll and had gained control of half of South City, causing
the other masters to avoid her knowingly. Gu Shenwei practically did not
come across any fights when he went to make purchases.
He visited the market for five successive days and bought a varying number
of slaves each time. All of the traffickers knew who he was, and would
recommend to him the most robust and brutal children, as they had done in
previous years.
Another person, like the killer, who arrived every day was a master of the
Meng family.
Mingxian was the name of Fourth Young Master Meng. Had it not been for
the many troubles caused by his younger brother, Meng Mingshi, over the
past two years that overshadowed his own deeds, he would have been Jade
City's number one playboy.
Gu Shenwei had met the Fourth Young Master in the Bodhi Garden, and the
latter had even joked about him before. In the killer's impression, this was a
warm, cheerful, and banterous master.
Gu Shenwei would bow and give way every time they ran into each other at
the market. Conversely, Meng Mingxian would ride his horse straight past
the former with such a blank look that even his eyelids did not move. Most of
the time, the master's servants would also not acknowledge the killer, save for
a few occasions when a servant would come up to offer a perfunctory line or
two.
Meng Mingxian did not care about his younger brother Meng Mingshi's
grievances and did not hate the killer Yang Huan. It was rather that he truly
did not see the killer paying respects. He did not give a hoot about the entire
South City, let alone an ordinary killer from Stone Castle.
Governor Wei Song firmly believed that the Meng family was the enemy
who killed his son. He wanted the killer to kill a master of the Meng family
on his behalf before the forces of the Central Plain returned to Jade City.
Gu Shenwei had two choices, namely Meng Mingxian and Meng Mingshi,
who both loved to seek fun in South City. After weighing the choices, the
killer decided upon the former.
Killing Meng Mingshi would have prompted suspicions toward Kun Society.
Gu Shenwei's goal was to instead cause outsiders, or at least the Meng
family, to suspect the governor.
As a result of this messy reasoning, Meng Mingxian became the target of an
assassination plot he had absolutely no idea about.
Fourth Young Master Meng's purchases at the slave market were mostly
young girls of around ten years old. The Meng family possessed many
concubines and preferred to foster them from young, much like the killers in
Stone Castle. However, there was a saying in the market that the Meng
family's vicious methods caused the deaths of many of the girls they bought.
Therefore, every time the master arrived at the market, the traffickers would
swarm up to him while the slaves would try to look as unkempt as possible
and hid at the back.
The "good stuff" sold in the market were running out by the fifth day, but
Meng Mingxian came once again and picked even more stringently than
before. Those who were familiar with his practices in previous years knew he
was buying for himself.
The moment of Meng Mingxian's assassination took place during the period
when the market was most crowded. The dozens of servants and guards who
accompanied him could only manage to cordon off a small space around
which they stood shoulder to shoulder and faced outwards to prevent other
people from getting near to their master.
More than a hundred steps away, the killer was busy bargaining with a
trafficker. The ten or so machetemen who accompanied him traded glances
with the master's contingent.
With no concern for the huge crowd of people around, Meng Mingxian's eyes
lit up as he took a fancy to a young boy, and he grumbled at the trafficker for
not laying out this sort of quality earlier.
The trafficker was anxious to quickly conclude this transaction. He put on a

smile to hide his inner doubts as to why the slave had appeared, and replied,
"I was keeping him especially for you, Fourth Young Master."
The more Meng Mingxian looked at the boy, the greater his adoration grew.
He fished out a handkerchief to gently wipe away the dirt on the slave's face,
revealing a layer of fine white skin which he wished he could take a bite out
of right there and then.
The slave seemed very afraid and suddenly jumped off the van, bumping into
the Fourth Young Master in the process, before he deftly slipped underneath
the van. He had appeared very well-behaved initially, and thus nobody was
prepared for this abrupt turn of events.
The trafficker tried methods of persuasion and then intimidation to get the
slave to come out. Finally, he knelt down to drag the disobedient slave out by
himself.
But there was nothing underneath the van. The child had run away without
making a sound or shadow.
The trafficker was extremely shocked and felt that the matter had exceeded
the limits of his comprehension. He stood up laboriously, but before he could
think of a way to explain to the Fourth Young Master, the forced smile on his
face froze at once.
There was a dagger stabbed into Meng Mingxian's heart. The master stood
still, already dead.
Gu Shenwei had, with a lot of difficulties, persuaded Chu Nanping to do this

for him. The obstinate young swordsman flatly refused to perform the role of
the killer. "I shall only protect your safety and nothing more."
"What if I practice Emotionless Swordsmanship with you?"
"Oh, then alright."
Chu Nanping was as obstinate as a mule, and thus Gu Shenwei had to fully
consider the consequences which his demands would bring. "We'll begin the
practice after you've helped me to do ten things."
"Ten? That's a deal. Tell me what they are."
Gu Shenwei only spoke of one, and that was for Chu Nanping to disguise
himself as a filthy slave and blend into the market where he would await an
opportunity to kill Meng Mingxian.
After spending several days at the market, Gu Shenwei had acquired a
complete understanding of Fourth Young Master Meng's habits.
When the market was in a great confusion, Gu Shenwei squeezed his way
through the crowd to have a look. Chu Nanping had thrust the dagger so
precisely that Meng Mingxian died on the spot. The killer helped to search
for the assassin and found nothing. The slave trafficker crumpled to the
ground and swore by the heavens that the young slave was not his, but
nobody believed him. The master's attendants, who were eager to find a
scapegoat, beat the trafficker until he was half dead, and carried him back
together with the corpse to report in.
Gu Shenwei returned to Kun Society where he waited for Xu Xiaoyi's news.
Xu Xiaoyi had already freed himself from the grief of his elder sister's death
and was once again roaming the streets. "Everyone's saying that Fourth
Young Master Meng died too strangely. His murder comes not long after
Master Wei's departure, as if he couldn't bear to part with his good friend."
This was sufficient for Gu Shenwei. Although nobody had openly suspected
that the assassination was ordered by the governor, it would not be long
before everyone guessed in this direction.
Xu Xiaoyi, who did not know that Chu Nanping was the assassin, laughingly
commented, "People are saying that the master was killed by a young child.
I'm guessing it could be you."
Chu Nanping was a bad liar and thus did not dare open his mouth. Gu
Shenwei reminded the two of them, "Now that a member of the Meng family
has died, it may not be safe for children outside. It's best if both of you
remain at home and not go out for the time being."
As if comprehending something, Xu Xiaoyi blinked his eyes and replied,

"Understood. I'll take care of Little Chu too."
Now that his sister was gone, the little building in Pleasure Alley naturally
lost its purpose. Xu Xiaoyi had rented a cheaper house which was very out-
of-the-way.
It had not been a flawless assassination. Sooner or later, someone would

suspect the little swordsman from Joy Pavilion. Thus, Gu Shenwei decided to
act upon Governor Wei Song as soon as possible so that everyone's attention
would be diverted towards the vendetta between the Wei and Meng families.
In the evening on the day after Meng Mingxian's death, Gu Shenwei,

equipped with a grappling hook and a short-saber commonly used by
machetemen, swam across the border river and scaled the high border wall so
as to sneak into North City. He reckoned that he would be able to kill Wei
Song with an ordinary knife because the governor seemed to not know any
kung fu.
While North City was usually quiet, there was an apparent increase in the
number of patrols on this night. The shock caused upon North City by Fourth
Young Master Meng's death greatly exceeded that caused by Wei Lingmiao's.
The former had been someone close whereas the latter had always been a
distant figure. Aside from being sad at the loss of one of their kind, the rich
families also became worried for their own safety.
Conversely, there were no changes at the Governor's Mansion. Gu Shenwei

did not discover any hidden sentries after observing many locations around it.
This was going to be a reckless assassination for which Gu Shenwei had not
done much homework beforehand. He had only been to the mansion once and
did not have much of an understanding of its internal conditions.
Although Gu Shenwei's Lightness Skill was considerably better than before,

he still slowly climbed up the wall by digging his fingers into its cracks,
knowing that he had to keep a close watch on every move he made while
inside the compound. As long as he could capture someone alive to extract
information from, it should be easy to find out which room in the backcourt
was the governor currently resting in.
In the end, however, Gu Shenwei would suffer a surprise attack in the

forecourt. The assailant's machete technique had a distinct Golden Roc Fort
style. He attacked swiftly and effectively from the back, making absolutely
no noise.
Gu Shenwei was unable to ward off the attack, but managed to leap forward
and rolled several rounds on the floor. When he stood back up, he was finally
able to face the assailant, but a knife was already right before his eyes.
The failure of one of his movements caused his subsequent movements to be

constantly a step behind his opponent's. Unable to exert his true strength, he
could only take steps backward as the danger against him grew.
After the assailant had struck out nine times with his saber, a second saber
appeared.
Gu Shenwei, who had been barely able to evade the first assailant, was struck
on his back by the second one.
To be cautious was a principle which one could not refrain from violating
once after abiding a hundred times. Gu Shenwei had committed many
mistakes, and each time it was only when the lesson was hard enough that the
relevant principle would be etched in his mind forever.
At present, he did not have the time or energy to consider all these. There was
only one thought in his mind: avoid the next blow .
One of the assailants suddenly turned away, as if he had been struck, and his
steps became a little clumsy. As he turned his back, he revealed an arrow on
his shoulder, upon seeing which the other assailant slowed down his attack.
This was Gu Shenwei's only chance. Swinging his knife, he warded off the
blow from the second assailant, caught his breath, jumped on to a wall, and
fled towards the east.
Strangely enough, the assailants did not come chasing out of the Governor's
Mansion.
Gu Shenwei ran into a secluded alley and leaned firmly against a wall.
Hiding in the shadows, he did not allow the moonlight to shine upon him. It
was only at this time that his composure suddenly disappeared and his heart
began to pound rapidly.
The two assailants were true-blue killers from Golden Roc Fort. Their
machete techniques were first-rate, such that if the fight had continued for
just a little longer, Gu Shenwei would have died to them without being able
to exert even half of his own kung fu.
The person who had saved him in the dark was even more unexpected.
Although the person did so from a position of various advantages, he still
needed to be a terrific marksman to be able to hit a killer from Golden Roc
Fort.
Gu Shenwei returned to Kun Society in South City as quickly as he could.

After changing into his night suit, he equipped his saber and sword and
headed out once again. This time, he came to Liuhua's residence and knocked
on the door.
Liuhua emerged from the unlit house, wearing a full set of attire. He looked
aloof and did not say a word.
This was not a clue. Killers often did not take off their attire before they slept.
"Do I have to thank you?"
"You should make your words clear."
Liuhua expressed a trace of displeasure and abhorrence. At this point, even if

he was indeed Gu Shenwei's lifesaver, the latter would not quite believe it.
"Did you go out tonight?"
"Tenth Young Master sent you to ask?"
Liuhua's meaning was very clear. As they were equally-ranked killers, he

would not answer any of Slave Huan's questions unless there were orders
from Shangguan Ru.
For no apparent reason, his expressions suddenly became extremely angry

and his entire face turned distorted and blood-red, as if he was about to
devour the slave facing him.
Gu Shenwei immediately clutched his sword shaft but released it almost as

quickly. He would not have a chance to utilize his skills on this night.
With his body as stiff as a piece of slate, Liuhua collapsed on the floor,
spurting a white foam from his mouth.
Not far away, a dull thud was heard from Shangguan Ru's room, as if
something had dropped on the floor.
Chapter 221 - Dark Secret
Chapter 221: Dark Secret
The assassination attempt in the Governor's Mansion practically did not set
off any alarm bells. The fight between Gu Shenwei and the two assailants
lasted for a very short time and did not attract attention from the patrolling
soldiers.
But at the first glimmer of dawn, five assassins in black turned up at Kun
Society.
With Maid Lotus and Slave Huan standing behind her, a pale-faced and tired-
looking Shangguan Ru was leaning by her bedroom door. "What's the
matter?"
"There's a small matter we'll like to verify with Liuhua and Slave Huan."
"Since it's a small matter, there's no need to disturb me."
The speaking killer appeared a little awkward. "It's not that small a matter.
Someone tried to assassinate an important person in North City last night. We
want to…"
"Now it sounds serious. I'm certain it has nothing to do with my people."
"About this… we're merely acting under orders."
"It was certainly not ordered by me."
"Uh, did Liuhua and Slave Huan not leave Kun Society last night?"
"Nope."
With an extremely unrelenting attitude, Shangguan Ru dismissed the Golden
Roc Fort killers, but immediately after, her body turned soft and collapsed
into Maid Lotus' arms.
This was the second time Shangguan Ru and Liuhua were "possessed", which
few people understood. Furthermore, the symptoms this time were different
from that of the previous time, and the condition lasted for a much longer
duration. For three consecutive days, both of them could only lay in their
beds weak all over, and could not stand up without assistance.
Neither Gu Shenwei nor Maid Lotus could do anything to help regarding this
matter. As they did not want to bring in a physician who probably knew as
much about the condition as them, they could only wait it out. On the other
hand, an opportunity, perhaps the only opportunity there was ever going to
be, to return to the Stone Castle and steal the Wayless Book arose. After the
end of winter, their three-year deadline would not be far away.
Gu Shenwei still wanted to assassinate Wei Song, but not before questioning
him why he assisted in the massacre of the entire Gu family. The killer also
wanted to find out whether the person who saved him was Liuhua. However,
for the time being, these objectives had to be put on hold. The Governor's
Mansion was being heavily guarded, and crashing his way in would not do
any good.
Shangguan Ru was sent back secretly to Stone Castle, such that even her
elder brother Shangguan Fei was unaware.
Gu Shenwei falsely claimed that Bighead Kingpin had sent gifts once more.
Riding a chariot together with Maid Lotus, he fetched the Tenth Young
Master to the court of the Eighth Young Master. For a subsequent period of
time, Shangguan Ru stayed together with Luo Ningcha.
This was a difficult compromise which Gu Shenwei expended a great deal of

effort in order to achieve.
The first sticking point was Shangguan Ru herself, who would rather have
died than agree to return in advance to Stone Castle and become a
laughingstock. However, Gu Shenwei had already passed information to the
Inner Residence, and as a result, Lady Meng dispatched her most trusted
maid to beseech her daughter to return to the castle or else the lady herself
would personally descend the mountain to invite her daughter back.
Shangguan Ru had to relent.
Lady Meng subsequently approved Gu Shenwei's plan for the secret return
when he followed the maid up the mountain and met her.
The most difficult person to persuade was Miss Luo Ningcha. She did not
have a good opinion of either Lady Meng or the twins, and naturally refused
to help. Gu Shenwei spent an entire afternoon explaining to her the principle
of being adaptable to circumstances, and the benefits she would gain from
this compromise. "You can't always allow your enemy to be guarded against
you. The best time to attack your enemy is when they have let their guard
down."
"Why do I feel that the things you ask me to do always benefit you but not
always me?" Luo Ningcha was a little irresolute, but she was considerably
smarter than before and could see that there were a few hidden things
involved.
"Miss Luo, please think. If I openly stand on your side, I will, in fact, become
useless to you. I have to protect myself first before I can serve you."
"Humph. In any case, you're making use of me. Mama Xue was right. You're
a sinister and cunning fella. Alright, I shall agree, but you'll have to give me a
chance to make use of you."
"I'm ready to carry out your orders at any time. I'm like a saber in your
hands."
Nobody would have guessed that Shangguan Ru was hiding by the Eighth
Young Mistress' side. In fact, not many among Lady Meng's personal maids
knew about it.
In the name of preparing gifts for her father and husband, Luo Ningcha
recalled Maid Lotus and Slave Huan. The former would attend to Shangguan
Ru while the latter served as the killer protecting the court.
Although Liuhua had been similarly "possessed", his importance was much
less. He was the only one of the three killers to remain in Kun Society of
South City, where he continued to "protect" the absent Tenth Young Master
and handled daily affairs on her behalf.
On the first night after returning to the castle, Maid Lotus accompanied
Shangguan Ru secretly into the Inner Residence to meet Lady Meng.
Luo Ningcha summoned Slave Huan to the court of the Eighth Young
Master, and upon seeing him, ordered her maids to torture him. "Pull his ears,
and don't you dare be soft."
Xu Yanwei, who was one of the maids, seemed to have become very familiar
with the mistress. She came forth and tugged the Gu Shenwei's ears a few
times before asking to be pardoned. "Miss Luo, Slave Huan is a killer. I'm a
bit scared."
After the uninvolved people left the room, Luo Ningcha habitually threw a
few teacups and appeared to be in a foul mood. "Audacious slave, what do
you take me for to order me like that?"
Gu Shenwei could not tell where the mistress' anger came from. To welcome
Shangguan Ru was something which they had agreed upon. Could she be
going back on her word already? "Miss Luo, nobody on Earth dares to order
you."
"It's you who keeps asking me to do this and that, and after I've done what
you said, you don't even listen to me and I have to wait for your next idea."
Gu Shenwei finally realized that the mistress' grievance had nothing to do

with Shangguan Ru. "Miss Luo, you've got something on Lady Meng?"
"Hee, that ogress thinks I'm stupid. I want her to suffer a shock."
Luo Ningcha once more had a new name for Lady Meng. Gu Shenwei
listened quietly and did not interrupt her, but she became unhappy again.
"You have to ask me questions, otherwise how would I have the interest to
speak on?"
"Yes, Miss Luo, what have you discovered that can cause Lady Meng a
shock?"
"Don't fret, I shall tell you all about it." Luo Ningcha was pleased. She took a
sip of her tea and prepared to narrate the most intriguing part of the story. By
her side were placed several tea sets which Maid Cui would replace as soon
as a sound was heard.
"Miss Luo, say it now. I can't wait," Gu Shenwei replied, although his mind
was actually preoccupied with thinking of how to pry the Wayless Book
secret manuscript from the temple guards.
"The ogress has a woman surnamed Tong by her side. Do you know her?"
"I might have met her."
"Well, she has voluntarily pledged allegiance to me and now does as I

command."
Gu Shenwei was truly astonished. Serving Lady Meng were several people
she had brought with her from her parents' home and thus favored and
trusted. One of the twins was called "Aunt Tong". It was this woman who ran
back and forth and attempted to rescue Shanggu Ru and the other people.
when they were trapped in the house by Mister Guo. She was apparently a
highly trusted subordinate.
"She's the…"
"That's right, it's her. There's only one person serving the ogress whose
surname is Tong. There can't be a mistake."
"How can it be?" Gu Shenwei shuffled through his mind rapidly. He

suddenly recalled that during the process of killing Eldest Young Master
Shangguan Chui, it was indeed strange that Aunt Tong never appeared beside
the lady.
Luo Ningcha had succeeded in piquing Slave Huan's curiosity and became
even more pleased. She wished she could pull Slave Huan over to her side
and tell him everything softly and in the most mysterious tone. "When that
Tong-surnamed woman was pregnant, the ogress got rid of the child and even
asked her to sweep the floor. She hates the ogress to death, and said that she's
willing to pledge loyalty to me because I'm the only person in all of Stone
Castle who can stand up to the ogress."
"Could it be a ploy?"
"You think I haven't thought of that? I've inquired about it already. The story
of the child is definitely true. Many people saw her pregnant belly."
This Aunt Tong certainly had enough nerve that she dared to do this sort of
thing in the Stone Castle. Gu Shenwei even felt that Lady Meng's anger was
justified. "Whose child was it?"
"Haha, it seems that you also have times when your mind is a little slow.
Who else could it be? Unless someone wanted to die?"
"The lord!" Gu Shenwei exclaimed in a low voice.
This was exactly the reaction that Luo Ningcha hoped for. She had, on
several occasions, wanted to talk about this issue, but had been unable to do
so. The satisfaction and relief in her heart were difficult to describe in words.
Finally, she could not refrain from standing up and walking over to a wooden
wall. "Come over here."
Gu Shenwei walked over and sniffed a delicate fragrance. He immediately

held his breath and turned his body sideways.
Luo Ningcha was about to resume speaking when she turned her body and
plugged the ears of Maid Cui. She had forgotten to do this earlier due to
carelessness. She then continued in a very soft voice, "The lord is a dirty old
man. In order to preserve her status, the ogress offered him all of her maids,
and even asked her parents to choose beautiful women to send over
periodically. But if anyone became pregnant, she would force them to abort
the baby, and sometimes would kill the mother along with the child."
There was an irrepressible excitement in Luo Ningcha's voice which enabled

her to narrate such a tragic story in a high spirited manner.
Gu Shenwei suddenly understood why the Meng family purchased young

female slaves every year, and also why there were rumors that the slaves did
not live long. They were actually all sent to the Stone Castle. Lady Meng
could certainly be said to spare no efforts in order to ensure that her twins
were the Supreme King's final children.
But the killer was not really excited. This matter was not of much use to the
revenge. Even if it was spread, the Supreme King's reputation would not be
affected a whole lot. Shangguan Fa was one of the overlords of Western
Region, and thus nobody would dare to do anything even if he was openly
lecherous.
"So… that's why you asked Bighead Kingpin to send those female slaves?"
There were twenty female slaves among the gifts sent by Big Head Kingpin,
and Xu Yanwei was one of them.
"You finally understand. If the ogress can send women, why can't I? The
ogress doesn't want the lord to have any more kids. I'll absolutely make sure
that these women give birth to a whole generation of them."
Gu Shenwei was both shocked and amused. The information which Luo
Ningcha had uncovered certainly surprised him. However, the idea she came
up with was simply too childish. Even if she raised the most beautiful girls in
Western Region, they would never come into contact with the Supreme King
when Lady Meng was around, let alone bear the lord's children.
"Miss Luo, you can't be reckless about this matter."
Luo Ningcha thumped heavily on the wooden wall. "Cautious, cautious,

cautious, when do I have to be cautious until? I have to make good use of this
opportunity while the ogress' daughter is in my hands."
Gu Shenwei did not try to persuade her further. From her perspective, there
were indeed not many opportunities left. Bighead Kingpin was currently
facing the betrayal of his son-in-law and a conspiracy from the Central Plain.
Once he toppled, Luo Ningcha would immediately fall from the clouds into
the mud, and might not even preserve her life.
Gu Shenwei decided that he would distance himself from this woman as

much as possible so that he would not be connected to her plan of offering
beauties.
"By the way, that Maid Wan whom you sent has indeed been a great help.
What did she do originally? She seems to be adept at flattering men."
Maid Wan was Xu Yanwei's new name in the castle. Though Luo Ningcha
had called her not a "proper person" the first time they met, it was actually
just a casual comment not based on any genuine flaws in her appearance.
"Prostitute." Gu Shenwei had no intention to hide the truth.
"Oh." Luo Ningcha did not get angry. Instead, her response could be taken to
mean "So that's how a prostitute looks like."
"Have you found out anything about the Lord's illness?" After listening to the
mistress for half a day, this was actually the only question Gu Shenwei was
concerned of.
"No, it's too soon. However, the Lord has indeed become more reclusive than
before. Few people have seen him over the past few months."
As if someone had recited a curse, a maid cried out from outside as soon as
Luo Ningcha finished speaking. "The Inner Residence has sent men to see
Slave Huan."
"What's the matter?" Luo Ningcha was displeased at being interrupted while
she was still waiting for Slave Huan's advice.
"The lord wants to meet him."
In Gu Shenwei's impression, the Supreme King summoning an ordinary killer

to meet him was something which had never happened before.
Chapter 222 - Dungeon
Chapter 222: Dungeon
The room was dimly candlelit. Even though it was midsummer, the windows,
as well as the door, were covered using cotton quilts. Four huge copper
furnaces were placed in different corners of the room and were burning hot.
The moment Gu Shenwei entered the room, he felt an onrushing wave of heat
which nearly choked him.
The killer knelt down on one leg and lowered his head to pay respects. He
had concealed a dagger in his thigh area to give himself a fighting chance if
circumstances became desperate.
"Killer Yang Huan pays respects to the lord."
The Supreme King was wearing a baggy white robe. He stood more than ten
steps away from the killer and was making panting noises as if he was a male
lion which had just chased after a prey.
The panting continued for some time before the Supreme King began to talk.
His voice sounded soft and weak, causing him to lose a large part of his
dignity of former days and to seem rather more indifferent and weary.
"What's the taste of the fresh blood of the Shangguan Family? I've almost
forgotten it myself, but since you've just tasted it, you can probably tell me
about it. My son is beginning to collapse, and thus, as the first person to
attack him, you should speak up."
Gu Shenwei had come with a fearless mindset which was prepared for death.
Yet, he involuntarily shuddered when he felt a chilly sensation rushing from
his back to the top of his head, while the room became so hot that the air was
beginning to feel thicker.
"I…" As the furnaces whirred, the puffs made by the Supreme King seemed
to spray directly on to the killer's face. Gu Shenwei was suddenly able to snap
out of it. His tone became calm, and the chilly sensation bounced out of his
head and never returned. "… didn't taste anything."
Shangguan Fa took a step back. He felt that it must have been due to his
increasing age that he was unable to intimidate a young killer. His fiery
killing desire was becoming unfamiliar together with the entire world, as if
nothing had ever belonged to him, and everything was just illusory memories
stuffed into his mind by other people. "Raise your head."
Gu Shenwei did as he was told and exchanged eye contact with the Supreme
King. He was not thinking of the latter as his enemy or the leader of the
Golden Roc Fort. All he saw was a lonely old man who was trapped in a
body which no longer listened to its owner, and who was futilely trying to
push it to be as robust and agile as it used to be.
"Take revenge!" A fervent cry sounded from the bottom of his heart, as if a
group of people was shouting up at him from the bottom of a cliff.
"Doesn't seem so. Did you kill Immortal Peng?"
Shangguan Fa had changed the topic. After a brief daze, Gu Shenwei was
able to suppress the fervent thought and replied, "Indeed."
"What weapon did you use?"
"A sword."
"How many movements did it take?"
"One."
"You're lying."
"Immortal Peng's kung fu wasn't as good as it used to be. I was simply able to
take advantage of an opportune time."
Shangguan Fa remained speechless for a long time, as if he believed the

killer's explanation, or otherwise because he was no longer interested in
talking. Subsequently, he plodded over to the killer and pressed a finger on
the latter's forehead. Although the force was not great, it was as hard as iron,
causing Gu Shenwei to think of Mama Xue.
The killer's heart pounded rapidly. He had seen the Supreme King's kungfu
when even a modicum of it was unfathomably powerful. Instead, he could
not feel the same pressure that was as heavy as a mountain coming from the
body of this old man. They were like two completely different individuals;
the former was all-powerful and tyrannical, while the latter was weak and
resigned to death.
Every sign attested that the Supreme King was sick. A fervor rekindled in the
bottom of the killer's heart, and his strength began to concentrate upon his
right fingertip. In the blink of an eye, he could tear his trousers to pull out the
dagger and stab it into the old man's gut. This would not require excellent
swordcraft or coercive killing intent, but simply courage.
Shangguan Fa did not find any killing intent on the killer's body. What he
saw was a dauntless pair of eyes which was honest and bright, which he had
only seen several decades back when he became an ordinary human being
and yearned for friendship.
When he realized that it was a youngster who was trying to compete on equal
footing with him, Shangguan Fa's weary heart was triggered and he was
finally able to rouse himself from his slump. When he straightened his body,
he became a lot taller and bigger, such that he nearly filled up the entire
room.
"You may have learned how to kill, but not how to use a knife."
This was a judgment and perhaps also a signal, albeit one which Gu Shenwei
did not comprehend and paid no attention to. With the twitch of the lord's
fingers, two rigid masks appeared from the shadows.
"It's all over," Gu Shenwei thought. He had placed his focus entirely on
Shangguan Fa and did not realize there were other enemies close by. They
were both black-masked assassins and their kung fu levels were a mix of
good and bad. It was the people by the Supreme King's side who were the
most powerful assassins.
A soft voice was heard from outside the door, breaking the silence and
murderous mood in the room. "Father, I've come to see you."
Shangguan Fa inhaled a deep breath and seemed as if his soul had returned to
his body after a brief adventure outside. "Ru'er? Don't come in, it's hot in
here."
The black-masked assassins who had just revealed themselves quickly

vanished.
"Yes, father. How's your Divine Skill practice going?"
"Don't worry, it'll be completed soon."
"Oh. Let me kowtow to you from outside."
"Alright."
"Father, do you need me to do anything on your behalf?"
"No, I don't."
Shangguan Ru remained silent for a moment. "Father, is my killer with you?

Did he do something wrong? Allow me to punish him."
"No. I was merely asking him a few questions. You may bring him away."
The Supreme King's mystifying summoning of the killer ended just like this.
Gu Shenwei bowed and exited the room, feeling the summer night wind
blowing in his face at once. The pleasantly cool sensation made him feel
reborn.
Shangguan Ru was wearing a full set of killer's black clothes and a mask. To
an unknowing person, she would appear no different from any ordinary
female killer. Maid Lotus had gone somewhere and was not by her side.
The two walked out of the courtyard and went to a secluded spot, where
Shangguan Ru whispered, "Never leave my side when in the Stone Castle
ever again, no matter who's looking for you."
"Yes, Tenth Young Master." Gu Shenwei did not question her. They both
understood that the Supreme King's killing intention had been aroused once
more. What the killer could not understand was how he had not died just
moments ago. A few sentences by the Tenth Young Master should not have
been sufficient to change the lord's mind. Shangguan Fa's intentions were
simply incomprehensible.
Shangguan Ru quietly led the way and came to an inspection point. She
swiftly flashed her waist token and did not say a word. Gu Shenwei soon
realized that they were not taking the route out of the Inner Residence.
However, he simply followed without asking questions.
They took an increasingly devious path until they finally reached a place
which seemed like an uncultivated garden. A dozen or so torches stood at
irregular spots all over the place, which was somewhere near the border of
the peak, and from where the high city walls could be seen.
Four killers appeared from the shadows. Shangguan Ru, who was prepared
for this, fished out another waist token at once. One of the killers came forth
to examine it under the torchlight, before turning towards his companions and
nodding his head.
The quartet bent their waists and picked up two iron chains from the barren
ground. Working together, they hauled up an iron door which had blended
into its surrounding environment.
The night was becoming more and more bizarre, as if a special moment was
imminent. The members of the Shangguan family were all behaving oddly
and never offered any explanation.
Gu Shenwei followed as Shangguan Ru led the way down the underground

steps.
At the bottom of the steps was a long passageway which had only a faint light
coming from its innermost. Seeming a little timid, Shangguan Ru stood and
waited for a brief while before she walked towards the light.
This was a dungeon which had only one cell. A small torch was hung on the
wall outside it, illuminating only a very small spot. The beak-nosed jailer
vigilantly received the waist token from Shangguan Ru's hands and examined
it for a long time before grumpily taking out the keys and opening the cell
door.
The door was immediately locked from outside once the two visitors entered.
"Knock on the door a little strongly when you want to come out." The jailer
departed as soon as he threw down these words, clearly not wanting to listen
to the conversations that were about to take place inside.
The cell was directly dug out from the walls of a cave. It was approximately a
dozen steps square in area, which made it not very big. There were no
facilities save for a stone bed, a chamber pot, and a close stool. However, the
place was very clean and tidy, and there was no unpleasant odor.
There was a window at a spot where the wall was only about a person's
height. Several iron bars, which were as thick as a wrist, were erected within
it, and through their gaps passed the night breeze and the moonlight which
the prisoner was reveling in with so much pleasure that he did not notice the
visitors behind him.
"Third Brother," Shangguan Ru murmured.
Gu Shenwei was slightly shocked when the prisoner turned his body. Among
the children of the Supreme King he had seen before, it was this Third Young
Master, Shangguan Yun, who resembled their father the most. With his
narrow long face and sunken eyes, he seemed practically like a younger
Shangguan Fa, albeit his expressions were completely different. The corners
of his mouth were slightly arched upwards to reveal a mischievous smile, as
if he was a thirty-something-year-old child.
The smile did not seem to be revealed to welcome the visitors. Shangguan
Yun appeared very satisfied with everything in his surroundings, particularly
the moonlight which provided him with ecstatic delight. Gu Shenwei had
never seen a similar expression throughout Golden Roc Fort and the entire
Jade City. His feeling was right; the members of the Shangguan family were
all behaving oddly on this night. As he had personally just escaped from the
menace intent of the Supreme King, the smile seemed increasingly
inauthentic the more he looked at it.
"Long time no see, Younger Sister Ru. You've grown a lot taller and still love
wearing boys' clothes. Where is Master Yu? Why didn't he follow you here?
And who's this? A new friend?"
Shangguan Yun offered up a series of questions which Shangguan Ru did not

reply to at all. She took off her mask and sat on the stone bed. "Third Brother,
I've fallen ill. Mother has allowed me to seek your help."
Gu Shenwei guessed that Lady Meng would absolutely not have allowed her
daughter to make a request so bluntly. However, Shangguan Ru was not one
to beat around the bush.
Shangguan Yun took a stride forward, eliciting a clanking sound from the
chains around his ankles. "But I'm not a doctor," he replied in a tender voice
as if treating his younger sister like an eight-year-old child.
"Someone from the New Moon Hall cast a force on my body. Mother says
the only thing that can save me is the book our family has handed down."
It suddenly hit Gu Shenwei that Lady Meng had ordered Shangguan Ru to

return to the castle the moment she heard that her daughter had been
"possessed" because she knew the severity of the condition and how to treat
it. "The book handed down" was probably referring to the Wayless Book
which both New Moon Hall and Barren Sect wanted to steal at all costs.
He had never imagined that Shangguan Ru needed the same "antidote" as

himself. This offered him a great sense of relief. The book should be much
easier to steal with the Tenth Young Master's assistance.
Although maintaining the smile on his face, Shangguan Yun shook his head
resolutely. "No, she's wrong. The book cannot save you and will instead harm
you. Never learn it."
Shangguan Ru exhaled a breath calmly. "I guessed as much. In any case,
there's no need to worry because I won't die so soon."
Gu Shenwei was a little worried even if she was not. "Tenth Young Master,
you've gone through two qigong deviations already. I'm afraid you can't wait
too long."
Shangguan Yun looked at the killer, and without being annoyed by the latter's
impudence, he explained with great patience, "Wayless Qigong is a truly
terrible technique. Anyone who practices it would find that their strength
would completely disappear at regular intervals, causing their bodies to
become as frail as a baby's, and making it difficult for them to even stay
alive."
Gu Shenwei felt a click in his heart. He finally understood what illness the
Supreme King was suffering from.
Chapter 223 - The Convict
Chapter 223: The Convict
The changes to Shangguan Ru occurred gradually. The death of Master Yu

was only the beginning, and when she found out that the murderer was her
own brother, Shangguan Fei, it was as if something had died inside her.
In the past, she had erected a mental barrier in her mind, and within that
barrier, she treated killing as a game. The victims were no different from
tools, target boards or flora - when they were killed, they did not suffer even
a little bit.
However, outside of this barrier, she believed that all beings had feelings, and
towards these beings, she felt the same amount of pain that was inflicted on
them.
From this point onwards, Shangguan Ru could never rouse her killing desire
again - she could not bring herself to strike the mortal blow even if it was
towards her most hated enemy. The feeling of joy when one's weapon pierced
into the target's flesh was lost to her forever.
That being said, one aspect that didn't change was that she still wanted to be
strong and did not like to lose. She thought of her weakness as a type of
sickness and wished to be cured of it someday. She did not care much about
the threat of qigong deviation.
She had known since a young age that the Third Brother was the rebellious
one in the Shangguan Family. It was said that during his saber awarding
ceremony when he was 13 years of age, Shangguan Yun openly declared that
his saber would never be drawn from its scabbard. It infuriated his father so
much that he had nearly killed his worthless son with his own hands.
When Shangguan Yun left the mountains for his pilgrimage, he did not stay
in the South City to apply his abilities according to tradition. Instead, he
brought along the 10 killers assigned to himself and went wandering in the
jianghu and did not return to the Fort after the usual one year period. When
he finally returned home, seven years had already passed. His travels brought
him as far the Central Plain, and he had indeed never used his saber. The
killers who went with him had also returned in good health.
The Third Young Master continued to drift along aimlessly in life, choosing
not to gather machetemen to form his own Society, nor to compete with his
siblings. He kept a distance away from his own family while leading a
chaotic lifestyle in the Jade City. What was extraordinary was that the 10
killers who had gone along with him on his pilgrimage remained steadfastly
loyal to him. They never left him, even when they had a chance to return to
their original masters.
Even an experienced killer like Tie Hanfeng, who was much older than
Shangguan Yun and had been through many tough situations with the
Supreme King, also could not help but fall under the influence of his new
master. He became more worldly, as his image as a killer slowly faded away.
Shangguan Ru first met her Third Brother six years ago, when she was eight.
It was the day he was to be confined in the underground dungeon. She had
never known the reason why he was imprisoned, and at that time she was not
really concerned - she felt that Third Brother must have done something
wrong and earned the displeasure of their father.
She had visited him along with Master Yu a few times, out of curiosity. She
was quickly enchanted by her elder brother's easy-going attitude, but was
soon forbidden by Lady Meng to visit him again when she learned that the
siblings were getting along a little too well - she had wanted her daughter to
get to know about Shangguan Yun and treat him as a negative role model.
Shangguan Ru sighed while she realized that the last time she had paid her
Third Elder Brother a visit was two years ago. She was already weary of the
world in less than a year into her training and only at the young age of 14.
Lately, she had been thinking about Shangguan Yun, and she would have
found a way to see him again, even without her mother's approval.
Gu Shenwei had hoped that the two siblings would discuss more about the
Wayless Book, but after a few words, their conversation strayed away from
the topic and became aimless chatter.
"Both Eldest Brother and Fourth Brother are dead," Shangguan Ru said.
"So it has begun? Who killed them?" asked Shangguan Yun, the smile on his
face fading a little but not completely disappearing.
"Eldest brother died in the hands of Shangguan Fei, while I allowed him to
kill Fourth Brother," she said while directing her brother's attention to Gu
Shenwei.
For the first time, Shangguan Yun looked taken aback and he looked at Gu
Shenwei, while firing off a series of questions. "Tsk, tsk, what is your name?
How old are you? Who taught you kung fu? You must be highly regarded by
the Stone Castle, right?"
Shuangguan Yun had suffered the side effects of not having conversed with
anyone for too long, leading to him speak impatiently. Because he was
imprisoned deep underground, he did not know anything about what went on
above in the Stone Castle.
"I'm known as Yang Huan, 17 years of age, my Master Shifu is Tie Hanfeng,
and the Tenth Young Master thinks highly of me," said Gu Shenwei without
missing a beat. He felt the need to follow up with another statement. "Tie
Hanfeng was also killed by me," he added.
"A model killer."
Shangguan Yun's tone did not change in the slightest bit while giving his
judgement, but Gu Shenwei felt that it was laced with sarcasm. He did not
speak again. He did not envy these two unconventional siblings - one of them
ended up living the rest of his life aimlessly in an underground dungeon
while the other ended up being used by everyone around her and was hanging
on to her life by a thread.
"He saved my life many times," emphasized Shangguan Ru, but it did not
change her brother's image of the killer.
Shangguan Yun said while looking at his sister, "Have you also started to
fight for the fake title of the Lord as well?" There seemed to be a slight tinge
of pity and regret in his expression.
The title of Supreme King was not one of a true Lord, and was not
recognized by every country. However no one spoke about or even dared to
imply this fact in the Stone Castle.
"I don't know," Shangguan Ru shook her head while saying. "I want to
compete for it, but… I can't bring myself to take action."
"Haven't you already killed Fourth Brother?"
"There were some things that I could bring myself to do in the past but not
now. I can't even kill a dog or a cat now. Third Elder Brother, do you have a
way to cure me of this sickness?" asked Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Yun began laughing again, this time sounding even happier than
before. He said, "Sister Ru, you do not have any illness, it's the complete
opposite, you have cured yourself of your sickness. To be killing is the true
sickness, and only you and I are truly normal in our family."
Gu Shenwei lightly gave a disapproving 'Hrumph'. As Shangguan Yun did

not display any form of authority and was confined in the underground
dungeon, he was not in awe of the Third Young Master.
"Despise me as you wish, you promising killer. However, I do have to say

that you are already incurable."
A true killer should never be ruffled, and should not even have the thought of
retorting, never mind entering a debate. However Gu Shenwei was converted
into one midway through his life, and still could not control the occasional
impulse to give killers a better reputation. He asked the Third Young Master,
"Let's say if someone you loved was murdered, would you witness it then not
seek revenge? How about if you had taken a blow from a machete, would you
let the attacker kill you and not strike back?"
"That's different, being forced to kill and to kill for a living are not the same
things."
"There is always specialization in every industry. Someone who occasionally

uses the forge will not be in the same league as a blacksmith, while a bunch
of hooligans cannot be compared with the same number of soldiers. If you do
not practice, when it comes to time where you are 'forced to kill', how could
you defeat someone who 'kills for a living'?"
For the first time, Shangguan Yun gave the killer serious consideration. He
said to the youth, "It seems I was wrong to call you a model killer just now.
As a killer, you do seem a little too talkative."
"Third Elder Brother, you should answer his question and not evade it," said
Shangguan Ru with a gleam in her eyes. She had still not made up her mind,
and felt that there was truth to Slave Huan's words.
"I'm a normal person and cannot imagine myself in such an extreme situation.
If you do not like the water, why do you have to you pick up swimming for
fear of drowning?"
Gu Shenwei now truly despised this Third Young Master. He blurted out,
"Somebody by the name of Wu Shengqing says he does not have long to live.
He wishes to ask you, is Parro still alive?" He would not have acted so rashly,
even in the company of people he trusted the most. However, Shangguan
Yun had a strange quality which made those around him unconsciously lower
their guard.
Shangguan Yun's expression changed drastically. He retreated a few steps

and leaned against the stone wall, seemingly being unable to stand by
himself.
Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru had met Madman Wu when they were in

danger at the Gui Garden. Wu had said a few baffling words to them at that
time. Now, Gu Shenwei deduced that Wu Shengqing and Shangguan Yun
must have been connected inextricably.
Shangguan Ru stood up and blinked once towards Slave Huan, signalling for
him to stop speaking. She then went up to the side of her brother and asked,
"Who is Parro? Madman Wu… Wu Shengqing saved my life once, who is he
as well?"
Shangguan Yun turned around and continued stepping backwards until he

could see the lonely crescent moon hanging in the night sky, muttering the
word "Parro" again and again. After a while, he spoke, "Wu Shengqing
mastered the Unstoppable Wind together with me, and Parro was the woman
that we both fell for."
Parro's surname was Chen, and her father was a big protector of the satin
trade. She had chanced upon Shangguan Yun and Wu Shengqing while
admiring the flowers in the Gui Garden during the spring season. From then
on, their lives were intertwined together.
Both men tried all means to woo her. They respectively sent her flowers in
the night, stood outside her window and serenaded her with the flute,
pretended to have met her by chance on the street or begged her maid to pass
her a personal message. When Parro had decided to be with one of them, the
other swore that he would remain single for the rest of his life, and willingly
became her guardian.
"Who did she choose? It was you, wasn't it?" asked Shangguan Ru anxiously.
"How I wished that the person she chose was not me," said Shangguan Yun
softly. The smile was gone from his face. When he squinted his eyes slightly,
he became a splitting image of his father, Shangguan Fa. Gu Shenwei felt
fearful, and regretted his earlier verbosity.
"And then?" Shangguan Ru's voice slightly trembled as she asked. She had
the feeling that her brother's reply would break her heart.
"I brought her back to the Castle, where she was raped by that old animal. I
wanted to kill him, and ended up being imprisoned here."
The blurry images in her memory of that fateful day became clearer now to
an ashen-faced Shangguan Ru. She had even begun to remember what Parro
looked like, but she had not known about her relationship to her Third Elder
Brother, nor about the role her father had played in the incident.
Gu Shenwei had wanted to mention to the Third Young Master that this was
the sorrow one would feel, to be incapable of killing. He decided not to
speak, and just like a true killer who would not draw attention to himself, he
retreated into the shadows, leaving the two siblings to their conversation.
"Maybe you're right, maybe I have yet to completely separate myself from
the Stone Castle. However, both being unable to take revenge and killing
people are just different forms of suffering. When fate comes calling,
whatever you decide to do will be wrong anyway," Shangguan Yun turned
his gaze to the killer, his expression gradually becoming warmer.
Gu Shenwei remained silent. He felt his heart becoming more resolute - he

had only known the insufferable pain of being unable to take revenge, and
had never felt the pain of killing another before.
"Did Wu Shengqing turn insane because of this incident?" Shangguan Ru did

not want to question her brother any further, but felt she needed to know how
it ended.
"Partly because of it. He was only in rage and not of clear mind then, but not
insane. It was Immortal Peng - he controlled Wu's feelings, and thought it
would be a good opportunity to force Wu to complete his training in the
Unstoppable Wind technique, but it ended up driving him crazy."
Gu Shenwei would have guessed that Immortal Peng definitely tried to play
his 'Having Feelings' and 'No Feelings' trick again.
"Immortal Peng is already dead, it was also… him that killed Peng," said
Shangguan Ru, bringing her brother's attention to the killer once more.
Shangguan Yun was stunned. Then he began to laugh loudly and said, "It's
good that he's dead, he had it coming." When he thought about it a little
more, his mind was filled with questions, so he asked Gu Shenwei, "I would
never have thought that your kung fu is so good, that it was good enough to
kill Immortal Peng with your own hands. But why did the Supreme King not
have you killed? That is very strange."
"Did our father know Immortal Peng? How come I have never heard about
this before?" a curious Shangguan Ru asked.
"They were more than mere acquaintances - they had studied the 'Secrets of
Love' together before. The dwarf had given him many things, and in return
the Supreme King did not interfere in the matters of Hope Alley, leaving it to
run its own course under the hands of that bunch of weird people."
Gu Shenwei finally understood that Shangguan Fa had wanted to kill him

because of Immortal Peng, and not to take revenge for both of his sons.
However, this was not an important issue to him - his real motive was the
Wayless Book. "Is Parro still alive?" he asked, emerging from the shadows.
"She's still alive," said the siblings in unison.
"We should let her leave the Stone Castle as Wu Shengqing would very much
like to meet her."
This statement struck a chord with Shangguan Ru, and she looked joyfully at
Slave Huan.
"Do you have the ability to make it happen?" After he said it, Shangguan Yun
immediately changed tack and continued, "You should have, since you have
killed so many people."
"It shall be known whether I have the ability or not once I am put to the test.
However, you have to pass on the Wayless Qigong technique to the Tenth
Young Master."
Gu Shenwei surmised that it would be easier to get the Wayless Book from
Shangguan Yun than trying to force it from the temple guard. It would be his
new plan.
Shangguan Yun felt that he had made himself absolutely clear, and was
surprised by the conditions that the killer had raised.
"I've already said that Wayless Qigong is a technique that should never be
learnt. I love my sister, and I do not wish for her to suffer an early death."
Before Gu Shenwei could use any one of his hundreds of reasons to convince
Shangguan Yun, his sister interrupted him. "It's ok, Third Elder Brother, I
will think of a way to bring Parro down the mountain. You don't have to
teach me the Wayless Qigong technique."
"Other than causing the person to lose his strength and become feeble from
time to time, are there any more hidden risks in learning Wayless Qigong?"
Gu Shenwei had great need for the Wayless Book and could not allow this
opportunity to slip from his hands. He looked at the Tenth Young Master,
knowing that she thought his urgent requests for her brother to teach her the
technique was out of concern. She had not realized that she was being made
use of.
"There are no other risks. But this alone risks your life."
"So if one were to take precautions, would it not be fine?"
"No no, it's not as simple as you think. Whoever learns Wayless Qigong has
practiced it frequently, killing countless people and making many enemies.
No matter how many precautions you take, there is always going to be
something you overlook."
"But the Supreme King remains fine," said Gu Shenwei after a moment of
silence. He did not want to mention this, as risked showing others he knew
the Lord's weakness.
Shangguan Yun also became silent. Evidently, this piece of news was not
totally unexpected to him. He finally said, "So, he has finally come to this."
"Yes, I just came from his place."
"Mother mentioned that Father was training in some special technique, so this
was it?" Shangguan Ru felt it odd that she knew less than Slave Huan, even
though she was the Supreme King's daughter.
Shangguan Yun's flicked to his sister as he said, "He has been practicing it
for many years now. The Supreme King has the privilege of learning it
because only he has the privilege of the tightest security. So, it's all up to you
to decide."
Shangguan Ru was a little indecisive and swept her eyes across Slave Huan's
face before making up her mind. "I will help Parro leave without, no
questions asked, but I also wish to learn Wayless Qigong."
Shangguan Yun laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "Fine, I will teach you,
but you have to swear an oath that you will never pass it on to anyone else -
especially the killer beside you."
Shangguan Ru nodded and said, "I swear."
Gu Shenwei realized that he had been too hasty and Shangguan Yun had seen
through his motives. Instead of trying to justify himself, he asked, "If the
Wayless Qigong technique is the privilege of the Supreme King, how did you
come to learn it?"
Shangguan Yun lifted his chin slightly and for the first time, looked as how a
master should. "I never said that I knew Wayless Qigong. And you had better
act as a real killer - turn around, don't ask any questions. Don't even think
about it."
Gu Shenwei obeyed, and turned to face the cell door.

A rustling sound came from behind him, as if something was scraping the
stone wall, sharp and piercing. Gu Shenwei thought to himself - He cannot
possibly be carving the entire Wayless Book on the stone wall, right? It
would take more than all night, and even so, Tenth Young Master could not
manage to memorize all of it.
However, the rustling sound quickly stopped, after ten or so words were
carved. Shangguan Yun asked, "Have you remembered it?"
"I remember."
There was the sound of rubbing, and finally Shangguan Yun warned his
younger sister, "Be wary of this killer, he is no simpleton."
Shangguan Ru knocked on the door. Gu Shenwei turned around and fixed his
eyes on Shangguan Yun, anger flaring as he thought of this Third Young
Master who had grown up amongst killers yet despised them.
"Assure me that Parro will be fine," said Shangguan Yun softly. He looked
stern and even more like the Supreme King at his prime.
Gu Shenwei was at a loss for words for a while. He realized then that
Shangguan Yun knew that his sister would not be able to accomplish the
rescue mission by herself, and that he was trusting the killer to get it done.
"She will be fine," said Gu Shenwei flatly, "but I cannot guarantee anything."
On their way back, Shangguan Ru was silent, as if deep in thought. Upon

reaching the Eighth Young Master's front yard, she asked, "What's your
plan?"
"At the moment, I have none."
"You must have come up with one," she replied, as a smile creeping across
her tense face.
"One has to deliberate on this. Slowly."
"Do you need me to spell it out for you? I'm learning the Wayless Qigong
technique for you. No matter what Third Elder Brother said, I will definitely
teach it to you - after all, you are my 'disciple'."
It had been a while since they had addressed each other as master and
disciple. Gu Shenwei was familiar with Shangguan Ru's behavior and
laughed as he said, "To be honest, I really do need to learn Wayless Qigong.
The Peripheral Force still remains in my body and it won't be long before it
erupts."
"Can the Wayless Qigong technique cure you?"
"Yes," said Gu Shenwei resolutely, even though as he himself was not

certain. He and Maid Lotus had guessed that it would cure him, but neither of
them knew just how it would work out.
"That's what I thought. That book… anyway, it's pointless to speak of it, I
shall tell you about it in a few days' time."
As they were conversing in the room, Maid Lotus knocked on the door from
the outside. "Tenth Young Master, Miss would like to invite you back to
rest."
Shangguan Ru mischievously stuck out her tongue. "Eighth Sister-in-law is

so strict. I'll take my leave but you need to think of an idea quickly. The most
important thing is that we rescue Parro," she said.
It would be no easy task to sneak Parro out of the Castle, as she was the
concubine of the Supreme King and living in the Inner Residence. Gu
Shenwei recalled that there had been an incident when two slaves had tried to
sneak out of the Stone Castle by hiding in water barrels, but they were
quickly caught.
But he was more concerned about the Wayless Book. It seemed like
Shangguan Yun had not actually learnt the technique and had only given his
sister some clues. If those clues were identical to the clues he already knew,
he would wind up on the losing end of the deal.
Gu Shenwei let his mind wander, and it was when he was about to doze off
when he came up with a plan for the rescue.
Shangguan Ru came knocking on his door early the next day morning. She
had also come up with a plan, but abandoned it once she had heard Slave
Huan's. "Your plan is more reliable, but more difficult to carry out. It's a
miracle that Eighth Sister-in-law agreed to take me in, I don't think she will
agree to take part in this."
"I'll convince her, you go get Lady Meng's help."
"Mother would definitely help. She can't wait to rid of a few more women in
the Inner Residence."
Gu Shenwei did not point out to her that if Luo Ningcha's intelligence was
correct, Lady Meng herself had brought in a substantial number of women
into the Inner Residence.
As predicted, it took much effort to convince Luo Ningcha to participate in

their plan. She had grown tired of doing things for Slave Huan - she felt that
she did not get anything in return. However, at the moment, she could come
up with anything for Slave Huan to do to repay her, other than some
impractical assassination requests. Gu Shenwei simply concealed Lady
Meng's important role in his plan from her, saying "Miss, think about it, as a
lady of the Inner Residence, if Parro were to go missing, Lady Meng would
naturally lose face…"
Luo Ningcha seemed swayed by his statement. However, something had been
preoccupying her thoughts and she laid it out to him. "Slave Huan, how is it
that lately you have always been involved with women lately? If it's not
sending women to me, it's trying to sneak other women away? Don't forget
that you have sworn an oath of loyalty to me. I haven't even won yet, so you
shouldn't be caught up in your own matters right now."
Every time Luo Ningcha self-righteously requested something of him, Gu

Shenwei felt a surge of anger rising within him. However, it a went away
quickly. He knew that this woman did not have long to act high and mighty.
In fact, she probably even had less time than the three-year time limit of his
own qigong deviation.
Gu Shenwei casually rattled off a few oaths. In the end, he won over the
support of Miss Luo.
"I do want to see what this parrot or mynah looks like, for so many men to be
fighting over her."
In comparison, it was much easier to win over Lady Meng. Shangguan Ru

hid the fact that she had wanted to help her Third Elder Brother and that he
had told her about the 'reward' beforehand. Rather, she described it as purely
a transactional deal, and this easily earned her mother's understanding.
Once they had enlisted the help of Lady Meng, it became much easier for Gu
Shenwei to carry out his plan.
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were summoned back to the Castle, under the
pretense that Luo Ningcha was returning the favor after receiving gifts from
her father. Ten carts of gifts were prepared and it seemed like all was going
according to plan. The Eighth Young Mistress had not learnt her lesson, and
prepared to send four maids to the Bighead Kingpin - those she had sent
previously had ended up being killed by her father.
The night the gifts left the Castle, a minor incident occurred in the Inner
Residence. A concubine of the Lord committed suicide by jumping off a cliff.
As it was customary to not gossip about such personal issues of the Inner
Residence, most people did not even know the name of the deceased
concubine.
Once the gifts passed through the gates of the East Castle, Slave Huan and
Maid Lotus would have completed their task. They passed on the
responsibility of escorting the gifts back to the Iron Mountain to the fifty
machetemen sent by the Kun Society.
The day after the suicide, people in Hope Alley began to notice that Madman
Wu, who was always seen wandering around the streets, had gone missing.
He did not appear for the next few days. Everyone said "He's dead" when
asked, and some claimed that he had shown signs of approaching death. The
mystery of his absent corpse matched his mysterious nature when he was still
alive.
Gu Shenwei's small residence at the North City became occupied once more
when Xu Xiaoyi and Chu Nanping moved in. The neighbours only saw the
two children going in and out of the residence and no one knew if there was
anyone else who lived there as well.
Of all the people involved in the rescue, only Gu Shenwei had never laid eyes
on Parro. He did not visit her, even when she insisted on thanking her rescuer
personally. He only wished for the mission to be completed and for
Shangguan Yun's information on the Wayless Qigong technique to be of
value.
Since he had already left the Castle, Gu Shenwei also had to attend to another
matter. It was time for the Kun Society to give their 'Protective Talisman',
and he was in charge of handing over the silver. The responsibility made him
a little more proactive.
The Kun Society was gaining momentum, but the hundreds of machetemen
under their hire was no small burden. Even after the accountants had made
preparations, there were only 900 thousand taels of silver in their coffers. If
would be no easy task to gather one million and 150 thousand taels of silver.
Gu Shenwei took a banknote equivalent to 800 thousand taels of silver with

him, claiming that he could convince the governor to accept a smaller tribute.
But even before he went to see the governor, he went around to understand
more about the situation within the city. It seemed like the deaths of Wei
Lingmiao and Meng Mingxian was still the subject of gossip on the streets,
and as his expectation proved, more people were beginning to link both cases
together. Only this time, what was on everyone's mind was not friendship, but
revenge.
The Meng Family did not comment on this issue, and this only affirmed the
beliefs of the people.
Because of that, Gu Shenwei felt confident to win the trust of Wei Song, even
before meeting. Never would he have anticipated that someone had already
interfered in this matter, and was waiting for the killer to fall into the trap.
Chapter 225 - Payback
Chapter 225: Payback
The death scene of the Stone Castle's Eldest Young Master, Shangguan Chui,
had left a lasting impression on Shen Liang. He especially could not forget
the machete techniques of the two youthful killers.
As the Heart Cleansing Yard was the Golden Roc Fort's internal justice
department, once the news of Fourth Young Master Meng's murder and the
discovery of assassins within the Governor's Mansion traveled back to the
Stone Castle, investigations into both cases fell under Blademaster Shen
Liang's responsibility. No matter what the residents of Jade City talked about,
a true expert could see traces of a Golden Roc killer's handiwork in both
cases.
Even though Gu Shenwei was alarmed to see the Blademaster at the

Governor's Mansion, he calmly paid his respects.
Wei Song sat at the position of the host and nodded half-heartedly in return.
There was wariness in his eyes and he did not say a word, hinting that Shen
Liang would be in-charge of all matters.
"You are known as Yang Huan, yes?"
"Yes." Gu Shenwei noticed that Shen Liang had brought 10 killers along with
him.
"On the 3rd night of the seventh month, where were you?"
"I was at the South City with the Kun Society," replied Gu Shenwei after a
moment's thought,
"You remember very clearly."
"I have to, as there was some incident that happened that day."
"What incident?"
"I'm afraid I can't say."
Shen Liang's gaze turned harsh. He knew that this killer's original master was
his own nephew Shangguan Nu, but was no longer under his care as Yang
Huan now belonged to the Tenth Young Master.
"As the Blademaster of the Heart Cleansing Yard, I order you to speak
truthfully."
"I seek the forgiveness of the Blademaster, but I still cannot talk about it."
Wei Song witnessed this interrogation with an inscrutable expression. He felt

that there was no one he could trust here.
Shen Liang felt a flash of anger. No one dared to disrespect him within
Golden Roc Fort. "Unless… it was Lady Meng." He became hesitant. If what
Yang Huan could not speak about was linked to the twins, he did not want to
push further.
A killer came forward and suggested, "Blademaster, the assassin took a blow
on his or her back that night, and the wound could not have disappeared so
quickly."
Shen Liang understood what his killer had meant. "Yang Huan, do you agree
to disrobe for an examination?" This time, his tone was warmer.
Gu Shenwei lowered his head and thought for a moment. He then removed a
stack of banknotes and some accessories from the front of this shirt, then
quickly removed it. He turned around and stood back facing the others.
It was all quiet in the room, and Wei Song turned away after a glance at the
youth's back. Even though the others who were present were all killers, and
specialized in using torture on their victims, none of them had seen so many
scars on a living person's body before.
There were simply too many scars on his back, and even the most
experienced person could not have differentiated the old from the new scars.
The examination could neither prove nor eliminate the possibility that Yang
Huan was the assassin.
Shen Liang felt overcome by embarrassment. He had sharp instincts, and

believed that both assassinations had something to do with this killer.
However, he did not have any proof. If it was just an ordinary assassin in
front of him, he could use the cruelest forms of torture to make the killer
speak. But as to Yang Huan, he had to consider that Lady Meng could be
possibly backing him.
Wei Song believed that this was all a show by the Golden Roc Fort and that it
had finished. After all, how could it be possible for them to truly want to
protect a Governor sent from the Central Plain? He decided to play along. "I
believe that the assassin isn't this Yang Huan. I believe that the true assassin
has suffered a setback, and would never dare to return as long as the Golden
Roc Fort is here to protect my mansion."
Shen Liang took his leave in embarrassment. It was at this moment that he
decided to find out the truth - even if he could not officially disclose it in the
end. He wanted to know everything about Yang Huan. He wanted the youth
to know that it was a huge mistake to be faking it in front of him.
Gu Shenwei felt that it was a farce as well, except that Shen Liang and Wei
Song were the ones putting it up - the Central Plain was plotting behind the
Golden Roc Fort to destroy it, yet these two were still trying to put up a front
of giving and receiving protection.
When only the Governor and the killer were left, Wei Song spoke,
"Blademaster Shen wanted to come, and I could not bring myself to reject
him. However, I've never thought of you as the assassin. The most basic
reason being, why would you kill me without having gotten the reward for
your actions?"
"Please check, your Honor." Gu Shenwei presented the banknotes with both
hands to the Governor.
Wei Song did not receive the notes as they did not belong to him. He replied,
"Keep it, when you go out later, somebody will give you a proof of receipt.
What about the information that I asked for?"
Gu Shenwei kept the bank notes collectedly and replied, "There's no mistake
about it, and it seems rather serious, leading nearly to the total loss of kung
fu."
"Are you absolutely positive?"
"I've seen it with my own eyes."
Wei Song slightly leaned his body, and a tinge of excitement showed on his
cold, hard face. "What evidence do you have?"
"There can be no evidence for such a thing. Your Honor would know that I'm
speaking the truth by finding out more about the Wayless Qigong technique
or the Wayless Book. A practitioner of such a technique suffers from periodic
total loss of power."
"Wayless Qigong," repeated Wei Song softly, evidently not having heard of
the technique.
"Good, you've done a good job. You've already accepted the money, what
about the official post that I promised you, when would you want it?"
"When will your Honor leave Jade City?"
"One month later."
"I wish to go along with your Honor."
It would not be a good idea being caught trying to assassinate the Governor
in the North City, therefore Gu Shenwei decided to change his plans.
"It won't be a problem. I guess you won't have an easy time with Blademaster
Shen keeping a close watch on you. I'll leave my post on the 13th day of the
eighth month, and you had best arrive here punctually."
Gu Shenwei felt that there was more than enough time for him. He planned to
get the Wayless Book before dealing with the Governor.
Gu Shenwei lifted his head and gave the governor a glance when he retreated.
He could not help but think, "Wei Song looks familiar to me, yet he couldn't
recognize the youngest child of his in-laws' family anymore."
Little did he know that Wei Song had felt his heart stir when he met the
young killer. However, Wei felt that something so coincidental could never
have happened and had quickly cast the thought to the back of his mind.
"Now that you have the money, I have to be careful of you."
What was meant as a joke by Wei Song came as a warning to Gu Shenwei.

After leaving the mansion, he thought carefully about the governor's current
position and decided to set up surveillance teams to monitor his movements.
Now that the governor had got the intelligence he wanted, there was a
possibility that he could flee from Jade City before his term was up.
It turned out that the Wei Song was not the only one who wanted to flee.
When Gu Shenwei returned to his residence at the North City, Xu Xiaoyi
came to inform him that Wu Shengqing had left with Parro, "I tried to
persuade them to stay, but they would not listen to me. She said that it wasn't
safe for them to stay, and it would bring trouble to you, while he said that he
couldn't thank you enough for your kindness. Whatever it is, they've left
without planning to repay you."
Chu Nanping, who was concentrating on carving a suitable wooden sword,

lifted his head to interrupt, "Madman Wu does not seem mad anymore." His
long sword was confiscated upon entering the North City, and this had made
him uneasy to no end.
Gu Shenwei could not refrain from shaking his head. "It was remarkable that
a woman could have so much influence over a man. To be heartless like a
killer is the right thing to do. If you miss somebody else all the time, how
could you kill and remain at peace with yourself?"
Gu Shenwei reminded the two youths not to go wandering about for the time
being, as Blademaster Shen Liang was searching for leads on the assassins
throughout the entire city; the danger period was not over yet.
He then made a trip back to the Kun Society in the South City, making some
arrangements with capable machetemen that he trusted. He bypassed Liuhua,
who was overseeing the Kun Society on behalf of the Tenth Young Master.
He kept the marksman in the dark as to his actions.
Back at the Stone Castle, the person who was the most delighted to see him
was Shangguan Ru. She questioned Slave Huan over every detail and seemed
to think that doing good deeds was better than being a killer. When she heard
that Wu Shengqing had fled Jade City with Parro, she clasped her palms
together and prayed for them to have a safe and peaceful journey.
Gu Shenwei felt that there was an ominous tone to Shangguan Ru's well
wishes. In the Stone Castle, only the dead were 'peaceful'.
Shangguan Ru finally was willing to pass on the secret to the Wayless

Qigong technique after what had been promised was accomplished. However,
she would not directly break her oath of secrecy to her brother, and purposely
left behind a written message for her Eighth Sister-in-law to bring to Gu
Shenwei.
"What does it mean? What're you two up to?" Luo Ningcha questioned as she
placed the note in a slot of the wooden wall. She was increasingly displeased
at being made use of. There was only one line on the note: 'The day of recital
is the 15th day of the seventh month'.
Gu Shenwei understood the hidden meaning of this sentence.
Since Slave Huan had already uncovered the secret, Shangguan Ru could
begin to explain in greater detail to him. "The Wayless Qigong technique is
remembered by heart by the temple guard. As even a few wrong words could
lead to qigong deviation for the practitioner, they've come up with a way to
make sure that the guard does not remember the wrong words. On the 15th
day of the seventh month of every year, the temple guard will recite it once.
There are 15 Sacred Masters in Six Kills Temple each of whom has
mmemorizeda portion of the technique. They'll take turns to corroborate their
parts with the temple guard. Once there's any deviation, even if it's just one
word, they'll have to request the lord to personally verify which version is
correct."
It was a complicated and tedious way to keep a secret, and the only benefit
was that it was extremely safe.
Gu Shenwei had snuck into Six Kills Temple with Shangguan Ru and the
others before, but it could not be considered a success, as they had been
spotted from the beginning and only managed to steal what they came for
because Mister Guo wanted to catch them in the act.
The second time anyone snuck into Six Kills Temple was when the Barren
Sect came to kidnap the temple guard. They could not be considered to be
successful as well, as Gu Shenwei had spilled the beans before they acted,
and the Supreme King let them grab the fake temple guard to follow their
trail.
This time around, there would be no more holding back - from either the
trespassers or the guardians of the temple. The recital day as of prime
importance and sensitivity to Six Kills Temple, and security would
expectedly be tight. It would be impossibly difficult to get close to the temple
guard.
Gu Shenwei felt that Shangguan Yun's leaked intelligence did not amount to
much, and he had only one chance to strike. He would most probably be dead
on the 15th day of the seventh month next year…
"Why don't we kidnap the temple guard before the recital day, and force him
to divulge the technique," suggested Gu Shenwei. His plan was not to act so
covertly, and it was similar to that of the Barren Sect.
"It won't do," said Shangguan Ru enthusiastically. She still preferred this type
of adrenaline-inducing game which did not involve killing anybody. "The
temple guard has sworn an oath to not leak a word of the technique to anyone
other than the Lord, even under the threat of death."
Gu Shenwei himself did not think much of oaths, but he was aware that there
were killers in the Golden Roc Fort who stuck to them. The temple guard
came from a killer's background, and torture or death would probably not
scare him much.
While Gu Shenwei was busy with the rescue the past few days, Shangguan
Ru had not kept idle. She had thought of a plan, which was largely inspired
by him.
The plan was workable, but its problem was that it involved too many people.
This would increase the probability that someone would spill the beans. This
mission was different from rescuing a concubine of the Supreme King, as no
one, not even Lady Meng herself, could bear the responsibility of being
involved with eavesdropping on the recital of the Wayless Qigong technique.
Maid Lotus was listening at the side all the while, as she also had a role to
play in Shangguan Ru's plan. When the other two were hesitating, she
interrupted, "Not everyone involved has to know the entire story. I have a
way to keep our secret safe, and it can also allow Miss Luo and Lady Meng
to patch things back up."
After Maid Lotus touched up a crucial part of the plan, the three youths went
their separate ways and begun preparing. At this time, there were only six
days left to the 15th day of the seventh month.
Chapter 226 - Making Peace
Chapter 226: Making Peace
The news that Lady Meng and the Eighth Young Mistress were patching up
had spread across the entire Golden Roc Fort and the whole of Jade City at a
speed that was faster than a gust of wind. The accompanying shockwaves
were even greater than when the news of the two master's death had broken
out.
Many people outside the Castle were suspicious of the accuracy of this piece
of information, and until both women officially made their peace at the Six
Kills Temples, there would also be doubts about whether it was true.
However, nothing could stop the countless theories that had begun to spring
out. Everyone wanted to know: Who had blinked first?
When Luo Ningcha questioned Slave Huan, the issue of public perception
was also her main concern. "You want me to make peace with her? Dream
on. People will say that I could not win and had to beg for forgiveness."
Gu Shenwei had came prepared with a reason for her, "Miss, this is not
compromise, but rather it is to retreat first to give yourself options for a future
attack…"
"To retreat first? I have taken in her daughter, and I even co-operated in the
rescue. What more do you want? I'm already at the cliff's edge, and if I were
to retreat further, I would fall off the cliff."
"Miss, what is your motive in requesting for the 20 female slaves from the
Bighead Kingpin?"
"It was for… You already know, so why ask?"

"You will eventually have to let the Lord see them, otherwise what is the
point of keeping them? Now, this path is controlled by Lady Meng, and if
you don't make peace with her, it will never be open to you. This is to retreat
first to strike later."
Luo Ningcha thought for a moment before she said, "Slave Huan, I know you
are close to that little girl, perhaps too close. Tell me the truth, what's going
on between you two?"
Gu Shenwei had not considered that Miss Luo would have changed the
subject, and was speechless for a while. He gave a few coughs before he
managed to say, "She is my master, and I am her killer, that's all."
"Humph, don't think that you are the only smart person here. I'm no fool
either. I know very clearly that all this rescuing and making peace were all
her ideas, and that so many people would be helping her without anything to
gain. As for me, other than some false glory, I will earn nothing. No, you
have to tell me the truth. What are you two trying to achieve? I want in if
there are any benefits to be gained."
Gu Shenwei could only manage to cook up a story to counter her, "It is

because there is a secret hidden in the Six Kills Temple…"
"The map leading to the hidden treasure in the Stone Castle!" exclaimed Luo
Ningcha, her breathing becoming heavier. Although she was rich, she would
never reject an offer to make herself richer.
"Maybe." Gu Shenwei could only continue to play along.
Luo Ningcha immediately gave her conditions. "I want half of it."
"Regarding this, I have to get the approval of Lady Meng," replied Gu

Shenwei. He continued to lie to make his words seem more convincing. He
was not afraid of getting into Luo Ningcha's bad books because she would
not remain useful for long.
The next day, Gu Shenwei came back to Miss Luo and told her that Lady
Meng could only agree to a 60 - 40 split between herself and the younger
lady. Luo Ningcha finally agreed to it after a long period of consideration.
As for Lady Meng, firstly, she was willing to do anything for her daughter,
and secondly, she had never regarded Luo Ningcha as a worthy adversary.
Thus, she was willing to take this opportunity to make peace.
This was the inside story of the reconciliation between mother and daughter-
in-law.
The Six Kills Temple was the ancestral shrine of the Shangguan Family and,
as a show of sincerity for both of them, Lady Meng chose it as the place to
put aside her differences with her daughter-in-law. However, they were
women and were thus prohibited from entering the main hall - they could
only pay respects to the ancestors by burning incense at the entrance of the
hall.
All women who had some title were invited, and who amongst them would
miss such an opportunity?
On the 14th day of the seventh month, even elderly ladies, who were between
70 to 80 years of age and had to be supported by their maids, insisted on
coming to witness the event. No less than 300 people, including masters and
servants, formed up on the steps to the main hall's entrance in accordance
with their title. Those that could not squeeze in could only peek from the
bottom.
Lady Meng looked as poised and gorgeous as usual. She held onto her
daughter-in-law's hand and, with an amiable smile across her face, they
burned incense and prayed together in front of the Six Kills tablet.
Those that had thought that the Eighth Young Mistress would have changed
her habits were disappointed. Luo Ningcha was still wearing a thick veil
which hung down below her waist. As such, many felt both of them had
fought to a standstill and that that the younger woman might even have had a
slight upper hand.
The two ladies at the hall of the Temple were without a doubt the focus of
everyone's attention. Even the Sacred Masters who were pure of mind and
standing a distance away could not help but a steal a few glances in their
direction. The killers who provided security for the hall were, however, not
so bold, and basically stood outside the walls. They only did a thorough
search after everyone had left, and they picked up many trinkets such as
handkerchiefs and jewelry.
Under such circumstances, no one who has noticed that a maid had gone
missing.
The original plan was to have three people to eavesdrop during the recital -
Slave Huan, Maid Lotus and Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru was not able to participate because of her mother's

disapproval. Once Lady Meng heard that her daughter would be suspended
on a cliff for three days and two nights, she immediately forbade her daughter
to take part. Lady Meng said, "Let the killers do it, as it's their job. You are
the Tenth Young Master, how could you take such a risk?"
As for Gu Shenwei, he felt he would have trouble if he tried to sneak into a

group of women. Furthermore, he was under surveillance and his movements
were severely restricted.
Even though Blademaster Shen Liang was still personally in the city to
investigate both assassinations, he did not become less vigilant on the
movements of the young killer at the Castle. The Heart Cleansing Yard had
the Eighth Young Master's main yard on surveillance, and there would be
several people tailing Gu Shenwei whenever he stepped out of its doors.
Therefore, he decided to remain in the residence so as to avoid raising any
suspicion.
Therefore all of the burden fell on Maid Lotus.
When everyone's attention was on Luo Ningcha and Lady Meng, Maid Lotus
sneaked up to the cliff on the east side of the Temple. She began to climb up
until she reached a blindspot at the north side of the main hall. She had to
hide there for three days and two nights. When the recital began on the 15th
day of the seventh month, she planned to sneak to the open windows to her
east or west and record what she heard.
The only safety precaution she took was to use a very thin rope. Other than
that, there would be no one to help her, so she had to take care of herself,
regardless of whether she was caught in a torrential rain or a lightning storm.
The reason she gave for accepting this mission was simple and
straightforward, "This would save my life too."
They had to find a way for her to make a record; using paper and brush was
out of the question. She would most definitely not be able to write with a
brush when she was busy fighting with gravity. Then they finally came with
an idea. They found a few soft wooden planks and cut them into many pieces.
After that, they ground out fine tips on two metal pieces for her to carve with.
Maid Lotus had practiced writing with them for a few days. To prepare her
for the possibility that the recital could be in the night, and she even had to
learn to write with her eyes blindfolded.
In order for them to safely exfiltrate Maid Lotus, the show of Lady Meng and
Luo Ningcha making peace had to last for three days. On the first day, the
daughter-in-law would express her goodwill while Lady Meng would return
the favor on the second. Finally, on the last day, both of them would offer a
sacrifice to the ancestors of the Shangguan Family together.
While Maid Lotus was carrying out her potentially fatal mission, the others
were waiting anxiously. Every few hours, Shangguan Ru would come
running to Slave Huan to ask him questions, such as: Was Maid Lotus' rope
sturdy? What if she was noticed? Is the wind out there too strong? Gu
Shenwei could only answer that Maid Lotus was very nimble, and would
definitely be all right. However, he was not too sure himself.
Fortunately, Luo Ningcha did not cause any trouble, and was waiting
patiently for her huge monetary reward. To keep her happy, Gu Shenwei
reminded the Tenth Young Master to not expose his lie.
Two incidents occurred on the 15th day of the seventh month. As Shangguan
Ru was extremely worried, she insisted on dressing up one of Luo Ningcha's
maids and had gone along to the Six Kills Temple. Just after the ladies had
left, people from the Heart Cleansing Yard came to look for Slave Huan.
Shangguan Ru had reminded him not to follow anyone back to the Stone
Castle. However, this yellow-belt torturer had come with a gift. Gu Shenwei
received him at the front yard.
"The Blademaster asked me to pass these two items to you," said the yellow-
belt torturer. He closely observed for any changes in Slave Huan's expression
as he opened his palm to reveal the items.
It was a gold hairpin and a jade ornament. Gu Shenwei did not receive them.
He replied, "These are not my things."
"A madman known as Wu Shengqing had abducted a woman, and now they
are dead. These two items were left behind by the woman, and the
Blademaster said that you may be able to identify them, as they had come
from the Inner Residence."
Gu Shenwei took a closer look and said, "No, I don't recognize them. And
also, I'm not familiar with the Inner Residence. I believe Blademaster Shen
must have been confused."
The torturer clasped his palms together and replied, "That is possible. I shall
let him know that you said 'You don't recognize them'."
"That's fine."
This was an intimidation technique meant to test him. If Gu Shenwei was not
able to remain calm, he would have given himself away. He did not
understand why Shen Liang had wanted to keep a close watch on him; there
was no cause for animosity between them - they did not even have any small
arguments before.
After the ceremony was over, Luo Ningcha explained the reason to him.
"You are always not in the Castle, and are not aware of many things. Sheng
Liang and Lady Meng used to be in cahoots, but are now not on good terms.
It was all due to them fighting for spoils. Shen Liang had wanted one of his
own people to take over Mister Guo's position, and had wanted to gather
more killers for my husband, but was unsuccessful on both counts. It's most
likely because you are a killer for the Tenth Young Master, and he wants to
make things difficult for you and strike at her at the same time. Tsk, tsk, it
should be like this. So you see, I have become more observant than before…"
Shangguan Ru became blank for a long while after she heard about the death
of Wu Shengqing and Parro. After she came to, she asked, "Should we let
Third Elder Brother know?"
"If you don't tell him now, he will hate you if he knows about it later."
Shangguan Ru could not bear to tell her Third Brother in person, so she sent
Slave Huan with her mother's waist token to pass on the bad news. "How
should we tell him? He would be devastated."
"Did you see whether Parro was happy when she left the Stone Castle?"
"She was happy, I've never seen somebody who was so emotional. I… I feel
that the Stone Castle has owed her too much."
"Wu Shengqing was also very happy. That was enough, nobody can be happy
for his or her entire life."
Shangguan Yun reacted much more calmly than his sister did. He sat on his
bed of stone, and looked at the full moon outside his cell. "It has always been
the case that no one could escape from the Stone Castle. You have already
achieved a feat by letting the two of them meet," he said. After a momentary
pause, he added, "Thank you."
Gu Shenwei did not feel the usual anger or sorrow after getting to know that
the love of his life and his best friend had been killed. As he looked at the
moon, the same mysterious and yet mischievous smile came across his face
again. It was as if he no longer felt any emotions, and he had even become
unsound and mad.
Gu Shenwei walked to the edge of the wall, and felt around the area where
Shangguan Yun had written the words for his sister. There were no tools in
the cell, and Shangguan Yun had used his fingers to carve the words, and his
palm to wipe them off- all of which were done on stone. The level of his
Internal Strength stunned Gu Shenwei and also made him feel at ease.
Before leaving, Gu Shenwei passed something to Shangguan Yun as he
clasped his hand.
It was a small piece of a compass saw, and it could be used to saw off the
chains from his legs.
Shangguan Yun looked in bewilderment at the killer as he left. He thought

about it for so long that the full moon had moved beyond the view of his tiny
window. He finally understood that the killer was giving him a chance to take
revenge. He had tried it once, but it was unsuccessful, which resulted in his
imprisonment. Now, he had a golden opportunity to do it again as the 'old
animal' did not have any Internal Strength in him now.
As he stood outside the underground dungeon, Gu Shenwei's thoughts were

not about Shangguan Yun's reaction. Instead, he was thinking about Maid
Lotus, and if she had been successful, about how she would be busily
inscribing the Wayless Qigong now.
Chapter 227 - Spoiling the Plan
Chapter 227: Spoiling the Plan
Gu Shenwei was beginning to feel the incredible aura of vigilance permeating

the Golden Roc Fort. In the past, he had hidden behind the scenes and
managed to put the blame for his killings on natural disasters or other people.
However, after the assassination of Meng Mingxian and the attack on the
Governor, he failed to hide his tracks, and the Blademaster Shen Liang had
started to keep a close watch on him.
All of a sudden, Gu Shenwei felt that there was trouble brewing all around
him. The surveillance by the Heart Cleansing Yard, the murderous intent of
the Supreme King and Lady Meng's controlled vengefulness - he was aware
of all these potential problems, but he never would have thought that the
person who would spoil the plan would be Luo Ningcha.
The show of daughter and mother-in-law making peace would come to an

abrupt end on the 16th day of the seventh month.
No one could tell what Luo Ningcha had in mind by looking at her; the thick
veil she wore became her best disguise. She must have plotted for a long
time, as she appeared to be very calm, self-assured and polite - just the way a
virtuous daughter-in-law would behave. The act she put up was so good that
even Lady Meng bought it. There was even a part of her that believed Luo
Ningcha would really change her temper.
Shangguan Ru and Xu Yanwei were already waiting for Maid Lotus as she
rejoined the group. They discreetly cleaned the dirt away on her and helped
to touch up her make-up, while supporting her up.
As the sacrificial ceremony outside the hall drew to an end, the maids waiting
behind came forward to their masters. It was a slightly chaotic scene. When
Luo Ningcha came back surrounded by her maids, she placed one hand
around the shoulder of the maid leading the way, and nonchalantly used the
other to take away one of the wooden slabs which were filled with carvings
from Maid Lotus' hand.
There were a total of ten wooden slabs. Maid Lotus had covered them with a
piece of green silk as she held them with both hands, seeming to any
onlooker to be a spare accessory box.
Maid Lotus had not caught any shut-eye for all three days and two nights
while she was on the cliff. If she had not undergone the tough training of a
killer before, she would have collapsed by now. Her mind and body had
become slow to react. Even though she had tried her best to hold the slabs
tightly, she was still unable to stop Luo Ningcha from taking one of them.
As the piece of green silk was about to fall off, Shangguan Ru quickly got
hold of it and covered the slabs again. Luo Ningcha had acted differently
from their plan, and both the Tenth Young Master and Maid Lotus were
caught with surprise.
Luo Ningcha's veil served as the perfect cover as she hid the hand holding on
to the slab under it. Seeing that, Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus guessed that
she probably was doing this to help carrying the slabs, and both breathed a
sigh of relief.
They never expected that what happened next would cause them to gasp in
shock.
Luo Ningcha turned around abruptly and said in a voice that was not too
loud, but could be heard by everyone in the surrounding area. "Isn't this the
Tenth Young Master? You are indeed mischievous to have gone so far as to
dress up as a maid to join us here."
As she finished, Luo Ningcha walked slowly down the stairs and left. Still,
no one managed to catch her expression.
As Luo Ningcha's maid, Maid Lotus could only leave with Miss Luo's
entourage. Shangguan Ru was left to face the aftermath of Luo's surprise
attack alone.
Not all out of the hundreds of women present were perceptive enough to
understand the hidden meaning behind the Eighth Young Mistress' words.
Some of them, giddy with excitement, went up to see for themselves.
Pleasantly surprised that Shangguan Ru was present all along, they did not
hesitate to point out that she was in disguise, "Oh, it really is the Tenth
Young Master, her make-up was so good that if the Eighth Young Mistress
hadn't mentioned anything, I wouldn't have noticed it was her. When did you
arrive, Tenth Young Master? It must be tough leaving the Castle! The lady
must be delighted…"
Lady Meng never thought that Luo Ningcha, someone whom she did not
think highly of, would have counter-attacked at this time. The younger
woman's actions caused irreparable damage to their relationship right after
the ceremony which was supposed to signify their peace-making.
"Ru'er, come over here to support me." Lady Meng had on the slight smile of
a loving mother on her face, as she called her distraught daughter to her side.
"It's really true when people say it's better to have daughters rather than sons.
See, now that I'm ill, it's my daughter that insists on coming to see me, while
my son is gallivanting around mindlessly as if he doesn't know me," she
continued.
The news of Lady Meng's illness caused a shockwave to spread through the
crowd. The women all came forward to offer words of concern or to assist
Lady Meng in walking. They swarmed forward, pushing Lady Meng's maids
away from their positions.
As most of the women were not familiar with the rules of the Stone Castle,
they did not realize what a great damage Luo Ningcha had caused to the
Tenth Young Master's future by pointing her out in the crowd. Instead, they
just kept praising the Tenth Young Master's filial piety instead, saying things
like what a good daughter she was. When the killers heard the news, they
immediately understood that the Eighth Young Mistress had made it even
harder for the Shangguan Ru to earn the title of 'Young Master'.
Even with Lady Meng's damage control, the fact that Shangguan Ru had
returned to the castle before her training was complete still became public
news. Even though there was no rule stating that the training of a young
master outside of the castle had to last up till a year, it had become a tradition
and an unwritten expectation of the young masters. In this instance, the
tradition influenced opinions more than written laws. In others' eyes, by
returning to the castle before a year had passed, Shangguan Ru was almost
openly declaring that she was not willing to earn the title of "Young Master".
Lady Meng kept up her calm demeanor until she returned to her chambers
and dismissed the women who were concerned about her illness. When they
were alone, she said darkly to her daughter, "I've always raised you as if you
were my son, and you've never let me down. You should know how a son of
the Shangguan family would react to the challenge issued by the Eighth
Young Mistress today."
Amongst all involved in the matter, Maid Lotus was the most struck
dumbfounded and the most self-critical. On the way back, all of her thoughts
were focused on the slab of wood in Luo Ningcha's hands. However, she
could not snatch it back in front of the crowd, and Miss Luo also was wary of
her, only allowing her to follow from the back. Fortunately, Luo Ningcha did
not think of taking the remaining slabs from Maid Lotus.
This was the news Gu Shenwei got after waiting anxiously for so long.
As he knew that Lady Meng was not certain where he and Maid Lotus stood
in all this mess, and had them as well as Luo Ningcha in her sights, Gu
Shenwei wanted to appease her quickly. He let Maid Lotus make a copy of
the contents on the remaining nine wooden slabs first before sending them to
Then, he went to see Luo Ningcha himself.
Luo Ningcha received Slave Huan in her private chamber. A screen was
erected in front of her, and only Maid Cui and Xu Yanwei were left behind to
serve her. Her demeanor and speech were overflowing with pride from her
'victory' over Lady Meng, so much so that she was unable to sit still, and was
pacing to and fro. When she spoke, she sound livelier than before. "I've
waited so long for this day, I feel so at ease now. What do you think of my
move, Slave Huan? Even you were fooled, weren't you? Haha, that that old
b*tch wanted to hide her daughter in the castle. I would never have let her
have her way with it. You've contributed well this time, I followed your
advice to 'Retreat first to strike later' and to 'Strike after gaining the trust of
the enemy'. It was so much fun!"
Gu Shenwei had to suppress the rage building up inside him. This woman
had put him in a very dangerous situation from which there could possibly be
no return, yet she was still proud of herself. "Miss Luo is indeed smart. I just
gave a few words of casual advice, yet you could apply it to real situations.
May I ask where's the wooden slab you took?"
"I've hidden it."
"Can I take a look?"
"No." Came Luo Ningcha's steadfast refusal. She then laughed continuously
before adding, "Poor little Slave Huan, do you think your story about treasure
fooled me? I knew the thing you lot were eyeing could not have been simple
as a treasure map. Even that old b*tch is willing to make peace with me for
this thing. My husband is incapable but full of ambition. He told me that he
would take over the position of the Supreme King sooner or later, and had
wanted to learn various kung fu techniques, such as Wayless Qigong.
However, the lord was not fond of him, and as such, he never even knew
where the manuals to the techniques were being kept at. Imagine now that I
have the Wayless Qigong in my hands."
Gu Shenwei wanted to tell this woman that her father would be finished soon
and she would be losing her backing. The aftermath of the Bighead Kingpin's
end would be stirring up so much dirt that it would be enough to bury her ten
times over.
"Miss, you've done great service in the name of the Eighth Young Master,"
said Gu Shenwei nonchalantly. He knew that if Luo Ningcha knew that the
lives of three people were dependent on the wooden slab in her hands, she
would not have wanted to give it up even more.
"Humph, I didn't do it for him."

"Do you plan to learn it yourself?"
"Pfft, I don't have the time to learn kung fu."
"So, you've another smart move up your sleeve, Miss."
"Hehe, do that old b*tch and the little girl want this wooden slab very badly?"
"I believe so."
"Don't give me all that, if you dare to come up with something to trick me,
Slave Huan, I'll… exchange this wooden slab for your life."
After hearing this, Gu Shenwei felt relieved instead of fear. He now knew
that Luo Ningcha did not have any plan in mind as to how to use this wooden
slab. He realized that she probably just had taken it to spite and taunt Lady
Meng. He was getting more confused as to whether she was too foolish or too
smart.
"Miss, you're too sharp, I can't hide anything from you. I shall tell you the
truth then. There's a rule within the Stone Castle that only the lord can learn
the Wayless Qigong technique. Lady Meng stole the manual as she wanted
one of her twins to be the next Supreme King. However, she was ambushed
by your sneak attack, and now you have her in the palm of your hand."
"Are you suggesting that she would agree to any demand of mine?"
"Of course, as long as you hand over the wooden slab."
"Um, I shall consider it seriously. I'm too excited today and can't think of
anything. Tell that old b*tch to continue waiting and not to play any dirty
tricks. I hid the slab in a secure location, and even Maid Cui and Maid Wan
don't know where it is, so none of you lot will be able to find it. If I'm
threatened, I'll spill all the beans out to the public, and let the lord know that
you lot have stolen the manual to the technique."
Gu Shenwei had to admit that Luo Ningcha had everything in control now.
He knew that he had to coax her slowly to listen to his reasoning, as she
never considered the consequences of her actions. Even though she was
simple-minded and her motives were easy to understand, it was impossible to
predict what she would do next.
Lady Meng did not receive Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus when they came to
the Inner Residence with the other nine wooden slabs, in the pretense of
being ill. Shangguan Ru, however, had already recovered from the incident
and felt a mix of anger and humor out of it all. She asked the two killers,
"What does Eighth Sister-in-Law actually want?"
After listening to Gu Shenwei's brief explanation on Luo Ningcha's ideas,

Shangguan Ru was even more confused than before. "She hadn't even
thought about her conditions before she decided to take one of the slabs to
blackmail us?"
Luo Ningcha was like the rapids. Even though you could see clearly into the
water, the force of its flow was ferocious and no one could predict the
direction of the currents.
"Miss Luo… does have a strange temper," said Gu Shenwei helplessly.
"It's all because of me," said Maid Lotus. She had not broke free of the web
of self-criticism. "If only I had held on more tightly… or if only I could've
remembered the words better," she added.
"How could you be blamed? You hadn't got any rest over three days, it would
be impossible to remember so many words. I should be blamed, for not
carrying the slabs for you at that time."
The two teenage women took turns to take the blame, and Gu Shenwei said
after listening to them for a while, "We have to think of a way for Miss Luo
to give up the wooden slab."
The three of them read the contents of the remaining nine slabs. Maid Lotus
had inscribed very neatly in very compact and small script; it was hard to
think that she had done it in the dark of the night.
The contents of the first two slabs were familar to them, as it was the last
portion of the strange script in the Death Scripture. Shangguan Ru had only
learnt up till the first thousand words and was surprised to read them here.
What followed next was a complex set of Internal Strength mantra. While
reading it, Shangguan Ru kept exclaiming in delightful surprise, "I know this
part!" However, the contents grew unfamiliar for her when they came to the
sixth slab.
The Internal Strength technique taught within the Golden Roc Fort was
derived from the Wayless Book, and improvised from a small portion of it.
The true Wayless Qigong technique was many times stronger in comparison,
and each Supreme King managed to rule over all his killers because of this
fact.
They looked at each other after they had finished reading all the slabs. Luo
Ningcha had coincidentally took the last one, and they could still start
practicing the technique even without it; but they could not finish learning it.
As she knew that Luo Ningcha's importance was diminished substantially due
to this reason, Shangguan Ru thought of her mother's words: What would a
man of the Shangguan Family do?
Chapter 228 - Slave Xin
Chapter 228: Slave Xin
After a whole night of pondering, Luo Ningcha put forth three conditions to
Lady Meng for the exchange of the wooden slab. The conditions were: One,
she wanted both Slave Huan and Maid Lotus to return to her; these two were
initially her servants when she married the Eighth Young Master, and they
should not be serving others. Two, she wanted to move to a big mansion, and
never have to visit her mother-in-law in the morning again. Three, brought
the Eighth Young Master back as she no longer wanted to live like a widow.
Lady Meng found the first two conditions acceptable and can be fulfilled
easily but was completely baffled by the third one. Every young master
wanted to live independently and increase their strength without any help
from the fort. The Eighth Young Master's returning was entirely up to
Shangguan Nu himself.
Gu Shenwei pointed this out to Luo Ningcha, which made her furious. "My
father is Bighead Kingpin, and I am his only daughter. His position as the
leader of the Iron Mountain will naturally be conferred to my future husband.
What is there left for Shangguan Nu to do? Just stay with me for a few years,
and we can return to the Iron Mountain to claim the throne. This is the most
reasonable plan."
Gu Shenwei had been a messenger for both sides, while Maid Lotus was
searching for the whereabouts of the wooden slab among the maids, but in
vain. After returning home, no one ever saw it again, not even the maid that
was always with Luo Ningcha; she must have hidden it very well.
Lady Meng had finally met Slave Huan. Setting aside past resentments, she
did not send words by maids, instead, she sincerely chatted with him. Finally,
she asked, "You're always with Ru'er and are her most trusted killer. Now
that she is facing a crisis, do you have any solutions?"
Lady Meng's attitude alerted Gu Shenwei. He had never followed her orders
to ease the tension between the twins. Instead, he had been adding fuel to the
fire. Seemingly, she was good-natured, but she clearly has great resentments
towards him deep down.
"As a killer, I follow my master's will. Even if the bottomless abyss were in
front of me, I would still jump in without hesitation."
"I'm not asking you to jump into the bottomless abyss right now; I want you
to come up with some ideas." Lady Meng was very different from Luo
Ningcha. A couple of oath was not going to convince her.
However, Lady Meng did not show even the slightest hint of her mind.
"Madam, forgive me for being a little dim. In my opinion, there were no
special motives when Eight Young Mistress took the wooden slab from you.
How about pretending to agree? Afterall, retrieving the wooden slab and
curing the Tenth Young Master's illness should be our top priority."
Lady Meng sighed and said disappointedly, "Ever since that child Yushi died,
Ru'er has never been the same. I have been relying on you to keep her
clearheaded. Who would've thought that you're a fool just like her? Do you
think we can compromise in the Stone Castle? My Eight Daughter-in-law is
greedy. If I met her demands, would the twins and I have any future in the
castle?"
Her intentions were obvious. Gu Shenwei immediately knelt on one leg. "I
am the Tenth Young Master's killer. It is my duty to protect my master at all
costs. If anyone threatens the Tenth Young Master, I'll launch a preemptive
strike against him!"
Lady Meng was not very satisfied with his reaction. Thus, she said again with
a sigh, "None of these two kids is sensible, especially Fei'er, who can't do
anything without his mother. He asks me about everything. I read his letters,
they're almost amusing. He said quite a few about you. He even blamed his
failure on you. I wrote to tell him that he's the master; he can't put the blame
on his killers and servants instead of working hard. If Slave Huan was that
capable, why would he watch someone else bully his master? How was that
going to benefit him? Slave Huan, I don't care who your previous master is
but I think you are very clear on who you should be following."
Lady Meng's words were almost threatening, but Gu Shenwei was not afraid.
Lady Meng saw Slave Huan as an opportunist for his pledging to two
masters. Little did she know about his real motives.
As long as he got the "Wayless Book" and got rid of his Peripheral Force, Gu
Shenwei would be able to exact his revenge with no restrictions at all. Lady
Meng would have never guessed that this servant's ambition was to kill every
member of the Shangguan family.
Lady Meng wanted Slave Huan to kill Luo Ningcha. However, she could not
say these words herself. Gu Shenwei could only spare the trouble for her.
"Madam, please give me just a few days, I will give Madam and the Tenth
Young Master a very satisfying result."
Gu Shenwei roughly knew what would happen in these few days.
Lady Meng claimed to be in the process of accepting the terms to appease her
daughter-in-law: Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were returned to the Eight
Young Mistress nominally, and the grand mansion was being tidied up. The
only thing left was the Eighth Young Master's return, but that was a little
tricky.
Luo Ningcha had decided that she had achieved a great victory; she did not
consider any of the consequences of her explicit provocations. Additionally,
she had two killers taken turns guarding her day and night. She did not need
bodyguards in case of assassinations; she only wanted to flaunt her victory.
She more or less knew that she needed to win people's hearts over: As a
statement, she gave the two killers a servant. It was this new servant that has
caused Gu Shenwei some headaches.
Gu Shenwei's new servant could be called an acquaintance of sorts, named

Slave Xin; who was one of the ten teenagers that had entered the family
through marriage at that time and carried corpses in the Firewood Yard for
quite a while. Until now, he finally got out of the horrible place.
As soon as Slave Xin saw Slave Huan, he bowed and called "Lord Yang"
with a strange smile on his face, as if he was reuniting with an old friend.
The ten teenagers had sworn to be brothers, but times have changed. "Who
would still be honoring such a half-hearted pact from that long ago?" Gu
Shenwei was puzzled but did not say anything.
Slave Xin rubbed his hands nervously. He first praised Slave Huan's
achievements over the years and then dwelled on his failures, trying to bring
up the past.
Gu Shenwei had to broke in. "Slave Xin, do you have something to say to
me?"
Slave Xin's eyes sparkled; as if he was moved to tears. Gu Shenwei

remembered that he was not like this. He could not help but feel a bit
disgusted, but he immediately felt relieved. He realized that life in the Stone
Castle was not an easy one, Slave Xin's change was entirely reasonable.
"Lord Yang… I… I shouldn't have said this…"
"Speak as you like. Although the Miss sent you as my servant, we were
friends since a long time ago. There's no need for you to hold back."
Slave Xin said several "yes", rubbing his hands harder. "You do know that I
have previously helped you out, right? I'm not trying to gain any merit here,
but I feel like I should tell you this…"
"Oh?" Gu Shenwei replied faintly as he pictured his younger self back at the
Firewood Yard, isolated and helpless.
"Do you still remember… that white handkerchief?"
Gu Shenwei stopped cleaning the blade of his sword to get a good look at
Slave Xin for the first time. "So, it was you."
Written on the handkerchief was Gu Family's sped-up technique of the Yin

and Yang Strength. Gu Shenwei went through a lot of trouble to find it. He
even went as far as killing Slave Yao. Afterward, this handkerchief was
secretly returned, and Gu Shenwei had always thought the person who
returned this was the deceased Slave Qian. He could not believe that it was
the very cowardly Slave Xin.
"Hehe, it was me. I've always kept this secret for you, never saying a word to
anyone."
Slave Xin was illiterate, and the white handkerchief was thrown off the cliff.
Not worrying about him blowing the whistle, he continued to clean his blade.
"It's not such a secret thing. It was just a small keepsake left for me to
remember my family by, and I have no clue where it is."
Slave Xin was stunned. The only reason why he dared to say this secret out
loud was to receive gratitude but he was left disappointed. Not caring for his
last bit of self-esteem, Slave Xin plopped down on his hands and knees and
said in tears, "Slave Huan, no, Lord Yang, let me make a blood oath to you. I
will forever be loyal to you."
Slave Xin's behavior was utterly unexpected. The blood oath was
traditionally among killers, not for servants. Moreover, this was the first day
of their reunion; there was hardly any room for loyalty.
Gu Shenwei put his sword down and said, "What is going on? Get up. If you
have something to say, say it."
Slave Xin refused to get up, but he decided to speak up. "I, I don't want to
die."
"Who wants to kill you?" If it was Luo Ningcha, then Gu Shenwei thought he
could ask her to spare his life.
"No… no one wants to kill me, but it's… those who have offended you would
die: Slave Xiao, Slave Yao, Slave Qian, they all died like this, even Slave
San and the others too. In the past, they have all talked about you behind your
back. Once you were gone; they either couldn't stand the mistreatments and
committed suicide or were killed by a big bird. There were a total of ten who
followed the Miss, and now I'm the only one left… no, and you, Lord Yang."
Gu Shenwei had been haunted by "evil" back then and did not think that
Slave Xin would still obsess over such a thing in the past. "It's not like you
have offended me, so there is nothing to worry about."
Slave Xin was truly frightened, to the point of banging his head a few times
causing his forehead to turn purple. Gu Shenwei asked him coldly, "Who did
you tell about the handkerchief to?"
"You know I wouldn't say anything, even if I was tortured, but I had no
choice! I had to leave the Firewood Yard. You know the Firewood Yard is
not humane… so when he asked, I just answered."
"He? Who's he?" Gu Shenwei interrupted.
"The Blade Master of the Heart Cleansing Yard, Shen."
Slave Xin originally wanted to keep the truth to himself, but after witnessing
the death of every one of his companions and the reason behind their deaths
all seemed to be related to Slave Huan, he could not hide it any longer. He
was too afraid of the "evil" and trembled with fear at the sight of Slave Huan,
even to the point of stuttering.
After the death of the first Young Master Shangguan Chui, Shen Liang
launched a thorough investigation into Slave Huan's and Maid Lotus'
background. Maid Lotus had a simple and clean background, nothing
suspicious was found. However, Slave Huan's background was obscure.
Although the information he gave seemed normal, it did not hold water. Shen
Liang was even more baffled by the white handkerchief Slave Xin
mentioned. Unfortunately, Slave Xin was illiterate and could not tell him
what was written on it.
Gu Shenwei finally understood why Shen Liang could not keep his eyes off
of him. "And then?"
"And then? There's nothing more. I left Firewood Yard right after and came
to work for the Miss. I didn't expect her to assign me to you."
"Blademaster Shen didn't have you collected information for him?"
Slave Xin repeatedly bowed his head. "Blademaster Shen forced me and
wanted me to get some information about you from the Miss, but I have yet
to see her, let alone talking to her. You must believe me."
Luo Ningcha knew that Slave Huan got into the Golden Roc Fort to exact
revenge for his family. If Shen Liang were to learn of this, it would be the
end of Slave Huan.
"Okay, I forgive you," said Gu Shenwei. He originally wanted to wait for the
complete collapse of the Iron Mountain Gang to take care of Luo Ningcha
and the "Wayless Book", but the circumstances had changed. Now, he had to
act before Shen Liang discovered his secrets.
Chapter 229 - Father and Son
Chapter 229: Father and Son
On the same night when the Third Young Master escaped from the dungeons,
Gu Shenwei was preparing to force Luo Ningcha to give up the wooden slab.
In the second half of that night, the chirpings of the crickets had gradually
subsided. Gu Shenwei was sitting on his bed wearing the full night suit and
was pondering about what was the best method to use for dealing with Luo
Ningcha. Suddenly, a not-so-clear sound of a whistle was heard. This was a
universal signal that was exchanged by the Stone Castle's killers.
Gu Shenwei leaped out of the house as soon as he heard this signal. Maid
Lotus appeared almost at the same time as he did, and since it was her turn to
protect the Missus, Gu Shenwei said, "You stay behind." He vaulted onto the
rooftop and headed for the Inner Residence.
The sound of the whistle quickly stopped, and it did not alert many people.
There was not much of a reaction from the Inner Residence. Only those who
were trained in the discipline of killers and with patient observation skills
would be able to spot multiple moving shadows that were all rushing off in
one direction.
This was the moment when Gu Shenwei realized that Shangguan Ru's
jailbreak had set off the alarms. He had no idea why it took the Third Young
Master this long to break out of his cell ever since he had sent the compass
saw to him five days ago.
Luo Ningcha must be lucky tonight to be able to keep dreaming in her sleep,
not knowing that a crisis was averted as Gu Shenwei had a sudden change of
plans. He made his way into Shangguan Fa's courtyard to wait for Shangguan
Yun before taking any further actions. It was more important to wait than to
obtain the "Wayless Book".
The whistling alarms had just lured away a few more killers, but the personal
guard of the Supreme King was still diligently guarding his post step by step.
The next thing that this guard did surprise Gu Shenwei into thinking that this
guard was not as stern as he had believed: after checking every possible
ambush point and ensuring the safety of the king, he climbed up to the
rooftop, blended into the shadows and disappeared without a trace.
Was Shangguan Yun here for revenge, was he here for something long-term,
or had he merely fled? Although Gu Shenwei had only met the Third Young
Master twice and did not know him very well, he was still very sure that
Shangguan Yun would choose the first option.
All of the forces were successfully lured away; there could not be a better
time than this to exact his revenge. Gu Shenwei was hoping that Shangguan
Yun would do it on his behalf. If not, then the least he could do was to
investigate Shangguan Fa's background for him.
If this was three years ago, Gu Shenwei would kill his enemies with his own
hands. But now that he has matured and sees through the eyes of a real killer,
it was better for him to kill any person by using the safest possible method.
Gu Shenwei observed the surrounding with great concentration for a while

but he still could not find any traces of Shangguan Yun's whereabouts. But
when he finally discovered the Third Young Master, he had no clue about
how long he had been standing there right under the tree in the middle of the
courtyard.
Shangguan Yun was still wearing the old prison outfit, resting one hand on
the tree while looking at his father's residential "hot chambers."
The killers in charge of guarding the residence finally noticed that something
was wrong. They were not the type to ask questions, or even scream and
shout. These three unsheathed their sabers and slowly approached Shangguan
Yun from behind while brandishing their blades.
Shangguan Yun was motionless and seemed to be oblivious of his

surroundings until the killers reached within seven feet from him. When they
were about to attack, he countered with a preemptive attack.
Shangguan Yun spread out his arms and spun reflexively, creating a gust of
wind that blew up some leaves from the ground and caused the leaves still on
the tree's branches to rustle wildly.
The killers were hit by the storm of leaves and flew backward, causing them
to fall heavily onto the ground. They were unable to get back up.
Although he was a little far away and the moonlight was not very bright, Gu
Shenwei was still able to see that the killers were not dead; they had either
fainted or were struck at the precise acupoints that stopped their movements.
It was evident that Shangguan Yun was still not ready to kill anyone yet. Gu
Shenwei determined that he would probably have to personally pick up the
pieces in the end.
This seemingly small battle had alerted many people. Dark shadows
approached from all directions. Two killers were just a few feet away from
Gu Shenwei. Good thing that all of their attention directed at the man
standing in the courtyard and no one was able to notice the lurker within
close proximity.
"Retreat," ordered a voice coming from the 'hot chambers.' It was the
Supreme King. The killers quickly withdrew as dexterously as they had
arrived. In a blink of an eye, there were only two people in sight: one
standing in the courtyard and the other on the rooftop; both with hearts
fuming with revenge.
"You're still as soft as ever."
The Supreme King pushed open the doors. He was wearing a large robe that
gave off a majestic look even though his complexion was past one's prime.
Gu Shenwei had a high impression of Shangguan Fa. The last time they had
met, he was like an unwavering tower that filled up the entire room. But
today, looking from afar, this was just an ordinary old man with thin bones
and a weak frame that needed strong support.
'This was the perfect time to take action, without delay and without speaking
any nonsense,' these were the thoughts that the killer on the rooftop wanted to
implant into the avenger standing under the tree. Unfortunately, the precious
opportunity went to waste; Shangguan Yun still opened his mouth with his
voice filled with hatred.
"Parro is dead."
"Parro? Is that a person or a bird?" Shangguan Fa seemed impatient. As if he

was a scholar facing his long-awaited rival and the first words that his
opponent uttered was a bunch of nonsense that made him feel greatly
disappointed.
"You don't remember her?"
"I remember now, that woman? The same woman whose son was the reason
you wanted to kill your father then? After all these years, you still love her?
"Not then." Shangguan Yun's sleeves swelled up like balloons. The leaves
swooshed, and everything else started to float in the air.
The Supreme King did not retreat. Instead, he stepped forward in response,
"This little amount of killing intent can't even match up to the apprentices in
the East Castle. Aren't you embarrassed at all, Shangguan Yun?"
Shangguan Yun made his move. Numerous rocks were propelled by the
turbulent wind and were shot toward the Supreme King.
Gu Shenwei was delighted for just a moment before realizing that it was just
a feint attack. The stones had brushed past Shangguan Fa and struck the
doors and windows. They had great momentum, but they were not lethal.
Shangguan Fa stared at his son with a little contempt. "In a month, you will
lose any chance to kill me. Aren't you touched?"
Shangguan Yun calmed down in the face of his father's provocation. His
voice returned to its normal state, gentle and peaceful with a hint of cynicism.
Gu Shenwei had a mischievous smirk on his face and contemplated whether
or not he should kill the Supreme King with his own hands instead.
"There will always be chances, and you can always kill me. Aren't you
softhearted?"
"My dream is the Complete Ten Sons."
"Ha ha, 'The King of the Cross,' Do you still believe in the fairytale from
Immortal Peng?"
Gu Shenwei remembered that Shangguan Yun had told him before that the
Supreme King used to practice martial arts with the dwarf. He couldn't help
but wonder, 'so Shangguan Fa's superstitions had come from Immortal Peng.
But why did he not kill me back then? Was it because of his daughter's plea
to spare my life? That doesn't sound like the conduct of the Supreme King.'
"That Immortal Peng is a con man, but his fortune-telling is still top-notch."
"Big brother is dead, the fourth younger brother is dead, and that fortune
telling Immortal Peng is also dead. Have you still not awoken from your
dream?"
"I know my dream means nothing now, but I can still have more children.
That youth was heartless and cruel; I wish that even one of my children will
be like him."
The father and son were talking about Slave Huan, causing Gu Shenwei's
heart to beat frantically.
"Heh. If one of your children were like the killer, the first thing he would do
is kill you and take the throne."
"Would our Shangguan family be afraid of such a thing? I am only afraid of

my children not being malicious enough and being unable to secure the title
of the Supreme King."
Shangguan Yun's voice turned serious and said, "is that why you wanted to
torment and force me to become as cold-hearted as you?" Gu Shenwei
remembered that the Third Young Master's appearance was exactly the same
as the Supreme King.
"Correct, among all of my children, you are the most similar to me. Not just
in appearance, but your temper was also the same as when I was young.
Therefore, I indulged you to wander the Jiang Hu and lead you to enter the
Joy Pavilion with the hope that you would follow in my footsteps.
Unfortunately, you wanted to live a comfortable life and had even fallen in
love with a woman."
"Don't you dare mention her!" Shangguan Yun's sleeves swelled once again.
"Why can't I? What was that woman's name again? Parro? I'm starting to
remember her face now; her skin was as tender as water. She was constantly
pleading in my arms, it was alright at first but started getting annoying after a
while, so I punished her a little… "
The fierce wind suddenly rose, even the killer standing on the rooftop was
able to feel the breeze.
Shangguan Yun revealed his madness and challenged the Supreme King in
the open, instead of secretly assassinating him. Just as Gu Shenwei
anticipated, Shangguan Yu had missed the chance of a lifetime. Perhaps he
never had the opportunity at all.
Four black-masked assassins suddenly appeared as if they came out of the

walls. They waved their sabers in front of the Supreme King and suddenly
vanished.
Shangguan Yun had indeed gone in for the kill: he missed his first attack and
immediately went for his second attack, but before he could even lift a finger,
several black-masked assassins appeared out of nowhere and stopped him.
One black-masked assassin who concealed himself on top of a tree was a

death dealer. Although his blade was a bit slow and did not cut the head, he
was still able to inflict a fatal deep wound on the enemy's chest.
Shangguan Yun hit a black-masked assassin in the face with his palm,
shattering the mask. The assassin fell backward and paused in the air for a
moment before landing heavily on the ground.
Fresh blood splatted out from his chest. Shangguan Yun's legs gave out and
staggered before kneeling on the ground. No one can kill the Supreme King.
Even if he lost his powers, there were loyal and devoted black-masked
assassins guarding him.
"You are the only person who had two chances to kill me." Shangguan Fa
coldly said as his son was no longer able to speak. "You should be grateful
that my self-destruction has diminished my killing desire. Unlike in the past
when I would have killed anyone I wanted to kill. But, watching you finally
able to break your abstinence from killing makes me very happy. I am
somewhat disappointed in your kung fu not improving at all ever since one of
the black-masked assassins had injured you. Cherish your life and return to
the dungeons, don't let me see you again."
Shangguan Yun shook his head a few times and slowly fell, with his head
landing on top of the corpse of one of the black-masked assassins.
Gu Shenwei did not make a move for a long time. He waited until Shangguan
Fa had returned to his residence and for the other killers to leave the area. It
wasn't until just before the break of dawn did he make his move and returned
to the Eighth Young Master's courtyard.
Gu Shenwei now had to come up with another solution to kill the Supreme
King. He must come up with a way to bypass the black-masked assassins.
It was now Slave Huan's shift to "protect" the Missus. Maid Lotus gave him a
nod indicating that she was able to take on another shift. Maid Lotus has
never questioned Slave Huan about his whereabouts; she was the ideal aide.
Before falling asleep, Gu Shenwei began contemplating about whether or not

he should ask Maid Lotus for help. There was only one month left until the
Supreme King recovers his powers; this was the golden opportunity that he
could not miss. Gu Shenwei would never forgive himself if he lets this slip
by, he had to try at least once. He needed to lure the Supreme King out of the
inner residence… His thoughts wandered on and on and he remembered that,
during the death of the First Young Master, Shangguan Fa had made an
appearance at the funeral but he didn't appear for the Fourth Young Master's
funeral.
Gu Shenwei sorted out every possibility. What he lacked was a proper bait.
Chapter 230 - Trapped
Chapter 230: Trapped
Once Slave Xin opened the door, Gu Shenwei woke up.
Slave Xin felt that he had gained Slave Huan's understanding and he wouldn't
be disturbed by "evil spirits". He had recovered as his complexion improved,
though he seemed flustered this time. He said, "Bad news. Bad news."
Gu Shenwei sat up awkwardly while holding onto his sword shaft.
"Heart… Heart Cleansing Yard has surrounded… surrounded us", Slave Xin
said. He was hardly able to handle such a crisis, and his body was trembling
like a sieve. When he finally calmed down, Slave Huan had disappeared.
Slave Xin's description was exaggerated. There were ten torturers from Heart
Cleansing Yard, who were wearing yellow belts, standing politely at the door
of the courtyard. They requested to meet Yang Huan and Maid Lotus was
dealing with them.
Gu Shenwei didn't know exactly which matter had gone wrong. Once he
stepped out from the door, one torturer pointed at him and said, "Yang Huan
has come. Please come with us."
"What's the matter?"
"You will know once we get there", the torturer said. It was the tradition of
Heart Cleansing Yard whereby the person involved won't be informed of the
agenda beforehand. It would make the person involved feel uneasy as he
speculated about the agenda.
Gu Shenwei had much to speculate about so he was unwilling to head for

Heart Cleansing Yard. He said, "Wait a minute. Let me ask Miss about this."
"It's not necessary", the torturer said harshly, "I will let others notify Eighth
Young Mistress."
"I'm sorry. I am responsible for protecting the safety of Miss, so I can't leave
my post."
Ten torturers held onto their swords simultaneously. They were ordered to
bring Yang Huan back, by hook or by crook. In their opinion, this matter was
a breeze and was being overdone.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus also held onto their swords.
"Who are the ones quarrelling so loudly early in the morning?" Xu Yanwei
asked as she walked out. She stood naturally in between the two parties.
Her current name was Maid Wan. The torturers did not recognize her and
shouted, "Go away."
Xu Yanwei laughed at the torturers and said gently, "Please move to one
side."
The smile stunned all of the torturers. They had a mind to escort her back and
torture her.
However, they lowered their head and moved to one side obediently.
Not only the torturers, both Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus stepped aside as
well. Luo Ningcha, who was covered in her veil came out and the Tenth
Young Master Shangguan Ru was guiding her.
"Who are these people? Why are they standing at the door?" Luo Ningcha
asked as she was not used to people getting in her way.
"We are from Heart Cleansing Yard…", a torturer said. Then Xu Yanwei
interrupted, "How dare you. Miss didn't ask you anything so why are you
responding?"
The torturer flinched and was embarrassed.
Xu Yanwei turned to Luo Ningcha and said, "Miss, they claimed that they are
from Heart Cleansing Yard but they didn't know what items to cleanse here."
"Then, you should ask them. This house is too old. They can cleanse
whatever they want after I move out two days from now."
Xu Yanwei smiled in acknowledgement. However, when she turned back,

she appeared indifferent. She said coldly, "Miss said that you can come over
two days later and cleanse whatever you want."
"We are not here to cleanse things, but to make arrests!" one tortured shouted
as he could no longer tolerate any further nonsense. He took a step forward
and drew his saber midway. In Golden Roc Fort, few dared to disrespect
Heart Cleansing Yard.
It just so happened that there were two bold masters standing in front of him.
"They want to kill me!", Luo Ningcha exclaimed. She faltered back and
several maids went up to support her. Shangguan Ru shouted, "Who dares to
disrespect Eighth Sister-in-law?" as she went up to the rude torturer and
placed her saber at his neck.
The torturer suddenly realized that he had overdone it when Shangguan Ru

threatened him. He was hesitating on how to deal with the situation. His
companions reacted quickly and made him kneel on the floor. They said,
"Zhang You, you must be crazy. How could you draw your sword out in front
of Tenth Young Master and Eighth Young Mistress?"
The situation became slightly chaotic. Maid Lotus made a signal and Gu
Shenwei went back into the courtyard while the group of women blocked the
doorway.
The torturers left crestfallen. After a while, the torturer who had drawn his
sword came back. He asked for forgiveness by kneeling on the ground. He
was forgiven in the evening.
When Shangguan Ru learned in advance that Heart Cleansing Yard was
coming to arrest Slave Huan, she came early in the morning to stop them.
Even though she and Eighth Young Mistress were enemies, both of them
worked together on this matter.
Shen Liang fearlessly sent men to arrest Slave Huan as he had captured Chu
Nanping.
Shangguan Ru only had a rough grasp of the situation. She had seen that soft-
looking boy and had a deep impression of him. She said, "Chu Nanping was
captured yesterday night at Hope Alley. I heard that Chu Nanping had
admitted to the assassination of Meng Mingxian."
Chu Nanping didn't heed Gu Shenwei's advice, which was to stay in North
City. He missed the real long sword and the acquaintances at Joy Pavilion.
This was why he was caught.
Gu Shenwei knew Chu Nanping wouldn't betray him, but his greatest flaw
was that he couldn't lie. He would only either answer questions truthfully or
not answer at all. He would divulge secrets in front of the old sly Shen Liang.
Gu Shenwei was more worried about Xu Xiaoyi as he was unable to
withstand the torture of Heart Cleansing Yard. However, according to
Shangguan Ru, he wasn't captured. Even though he didn't know kung fu, he
was very clever and he would have found a hiding spot.
Shangguan Ru asked Slave Huan secretly whether he got Chu Nanping to kill
Meng Mingxian and Gu Shenwei acknowledged. After thinking for some
time, she said, "You have gotten into big trouble. The Mengs will take
revenge. I will plead with Second Brother and you should stay by Eighth
Young Mistress' side. She will protect you."
Shangguan Ru didn't ask Slave Huan for the reason as she probably felt that
this was another thing Slave Huan wanted to do for himself.
Gu Shenwei naturally wouldn't expose his plans. He just felt that the world
was changing too fast. He was forcing Luo Ningcha to hand over the planks
last night, and now he had to seek protection from her.
People in Stone Castle fought fiercely among one another because of Slave
Huan.
Shen Liang wanted to capture Slave Huan so as to please the Mengs and to
push the blame to Tenth Young Master. As Kun Society had seized half of
South City's territory, Shangguan Ru's brothers started to view her as their
enemy.
In contrast, Lady Meng naturally hoped that her daughter wouldn't be

involved in the fight. Although she didn't openly express her stance, she let
Shangguan Ru deal with the threat by herself.
As the current Stone Castle chief was Second Young Master Shangguan
Tian, both Shen Liang and Shangguan Ru lobbied him. He didn't want to
offend any party, so he had been perfunctory for three days and finally said,
"It will be best to have a witness for this matter."
Shangguan Ru had the upper hand. Although Chu Nanping admitted to the
assassination, he didn't reveal who the mastermind was and even the most
seasoned torturer couldn't sound him out.
During the three days that Shangguan Tian was hesitating, it was the best
time for Shen Liang to act. He just had to capture Slave Huan as he wasn't
afraid that Slave Huan wouldn't admit to the assassination. Against his
expectations however, the biggest obstacle would be Eighth Young Mistress.
He wanted to tell that stupid woman that everything he did was for her
husband, Shangguan Nu. If she was rational, she would hand Slave Huan
over.
Luo Ningcha had a simple plan. As Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were
returned back to her, anyone who wanted to arrest them would have to get
past her even if they used Shangguan Nu as an excuse.
Furthermore, she was proud that she had the ability to protect a killer.
Everytime she saw Slave Huan, she would remind him, "You have created a
lot of trouble for me. Do you know how many people I've had to offend in
order to protect you?"
Gu Shenwei tried to recall his vows. He would modify and exaggerate his
vows and then swore on them. Luo Ningcha liked it. She even made the maid
write his vows down on several occasions and made Slave Huan
acknowledge by fixing his thumbprint on it.
Gu Shenwei was trapped in Eighth Young Master's residence and didn't dare
to step out of the door. Shen Liang had mobilized all his men to capture Slave
Huan once he made an appearance.
Having such authority, Luo Ningcha was satisfied and became greedy. She
said, "When my husband returns, I will make him present these women to the
Lord. Unlike the Procuress of Meng family, I wouldn't be doing such things.
With my assistance, my husband will become Iron Mountain's leader and the
Supreme King. Till then, no one will dare despise me. Slave Huan. Since you
are so free, you can help me think of several strategies so that I can keep
them for later."
In fact, Gu Shenwei did not have the time to help Miss to think of strategies
as he had a lot to think about for himself. The first thing was whether he
should save Chu Nanping. He discussed with Maid Lotus and both of them
felt that they shouldn't act rashly. Shen Liang might have laid a trap, and was
waiting for Slave Huan to jump in.
The second matter was about practicing Wayless Qigong.
Although there were some words missing on the last plank, it didn't affect the
initial practice. Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus had started practicing but Gu
Shenwei had not even started.
His Yin and Yang Strength became his stumbling block.
Gu Shenwei was rejected when he was sent to East Castle for the first time as
the Internal Strength which he practiced was in conflict with Golden Roc Fort
Internal Strength. Wayless Book was the origin of Stone Castle kungfu and
was naturally more overbearing. From the very start, it emphasized that the
practitioners had to disperse all other Internal Strength before learning the
one from Wayless Book, if not it would be life-threatening.
Now that there were dangers everywhere, Gu Shenwei didn't dare to disperse
his Internal Strength. In addition, he had another secret, that he hoped to take
revenge for the Gus before Supreme King recovered his skills. As he could
not master Wayless Qigong in a few days, he was reluctant to give this
opportunity up.
This was tormenting. With the close monitoring of Heart Cleansing Yard, Gu
Shenwei couldn't move around much within Stone Castle, let alone lure
Supreme King to leave.
The major event that Gu Shenwei had long awaited happened at the end of
July. Overnight, there was a great shift in influence in Stone Castle. Gu
Shenwei realized that all troubles and conspiracies could be resolved by this
major event.
Iron Mountain Camp was attacked by Central Plain. Nobody could believe
when the news came until messengers rushed into Jade City one by one.
Everyone finally accepted the fact that war had broken out.
Slave Huan's matter had become insignificant. No one came to arrest him and
he didn't need anyone to protect him.
The former enemies, Shen Liang and Luo Ningcha became allies. The fate of
Bighead Kingpin and Shangguan Nu directly affected their fate in Stone
Castle.
Unfortunately, before the allies had the time to exchange ideas, there was a
piece of news that shocked the whole of Jade City. Golden Roc Fort's Eighth
Young Master Shangguan Nu had betrayed his father-in-law and sought
refuge in Central Plain.
Luo Ningcha couldn't believe that her husband killed her father and Bighead
Kingpin would die.
This was a heaven-sent opportunity for Gu Shenwei.

Chapter 231 - No Leader
Chapter 231: No Leader
Ever since a long time ago, the Central Plains had been making plans to wipe
out the Iron Mountain. To justify their actions, the Central Plains had used
the death of Wei Lingmiao as a reason to attack Iron Mountain.
Wei Song pushed the blame toward the North City's Meng family, but the
Central Plains claimed that the mastermind was Bighead Kingpin. Their
argument seemed trivial as the forces in Western Region had often accused
each other. However, they would not go beyond verbal threats. But this time,
the Central Plains had followed up on their threats. On one hand, they had
exchanged letters, but on the other hand, they had secretly mobilized their
troops.
In less than two months after the death of Wei Lingmiao, five thousand
troops were sent to the battlefield on July of this year. Sixteen other vassal
nations had also provided the same amount of military support.
Bighead Kingpin still believed that a war wouldn't break out at this point in
time. Although the Central Plains had deployed ten thousand soldiers, Iron
Mountain had more than five thousand bandits. Furthermore, Iron Mountain's
troops were all well nourished and could take it easy and wait for their
enemies to become exhausted. Golden Roc Fort's killers and machetemen
were included in the Iron Mountain's troops, so they were a force that could
not be taken lightly. He felt that he could explain to the Central Plains that the
Iron Mountain had nothing to do with Wei Lingmiao's death.
But at this critical moment, Shangguan Nu had betrayed his father-in-law.

There were different speculations about the betrayal. Some said that Bighead
Kingpin was assassinated on the night when both of them were arguing.
Others said that both of them weren't arguing, they were instead discussing
about how to confront the enemy together during the day. Their relationship
was close. It was during the discussions when the Eighth Young Master
suddenly staged a coup. A hundred killers rushed into the tent and killed
Bighead Kingpin and the other Iron Mountain leaders.
In any case, it was certain that Bighead Kingpin had been killed by the Eighth
Young Master regardless. It was probable that Shangguan Nu didn't kill
Bighead Kingpin personally because Bighead Kingpin was rumored to be
extremely brave. Apparently, with only his iron spear, he fought hundreds of
enemies head on before being finally hacked to death.
With the death of Bighead Kingpin, the Iron Mountain gang had become
leaderless. The bandits either fled or surrendered. The biggest bandit gang,
which had controlled Western Region for nearly two decades, had now
disbanded.
However, the details were always exaggerated. On the contrary, Gu Shenwei

believed that Shangguan Nu would use the safest method to assassinate
Bighead Kingpin. Shangguan Nu might have even drugged Bighead Kingpin
beforehand.
During the collapse of Iron Mountain, the Central Plains troops had suddenly
arrived at the border of Jade City. This was the first time in many years that
something like this had happened. Many people now finally realized that the
bandit gang had been protecting the city all along.
The Central Plains didn't immediately withdraw its troops and they didn't
announce their next move. Jade City was in total chaos. Rumors about them
planning to wipe out the entire city were rampant and some even evacuated
with their families to the nearby Shu-lik. Other people chose to wait for
Golden Roc Fort's response.
Unexpectedly, Golden Roc Fort had remained silent. It was as if this matter
had nothing to do with them. The citizens gathered at Stone Castle to make a
petition and to make inquiries, but the Supreme King did not respond. For
five consecutive days, all of Jade City was agonized by the imminent crisis.
Gu Shenwei could have done many things within these five days. As he had
known about Shangguan Nu's betrayal and the attack on Iron Mountain, he
had plenty of time to think about the consequences. Hence, he was able to
react faster than everyone else.
When the news of Bighead Kingpin's death was confirmed, Luo Ningcha
went into a state of hysterical madness. She cried from morning till night and
she smashed all that items that she could get her hands on. On one occasion,
she would beat all her servants. At another occasion, she would plead with
everybody to ask them to protect her.
After having caused many troubles for Slave Huan and Maid Lotus, both of
them had now become Luo Ningcha's most trusted allies. She forced them to
swear an oath saying that they would stay by her side. Then, she ordered
them to head to the Iron Mountain's camp to look for Bighead Kingpin, who
might still be alive.
On the next day, there was more news about Shangguan Nu's killing of
Bighead Kingpin. Luo Ningcha was devastated by the news. She silently hid
her room and she even lowered her voice whenever she spoke. Then a strange
idea came to her. She thought that the entire incident was a conspiracy
created by Golden Roc Fort. She would become the next target after the death
of her father.
Luo Ningcha forbade those killers and maids assigned by Stone Castle from
entering the backyard. She summoned those people who she had brought
from her maiden family and assigned them to guard the house. Several
personal maids and two killers were arranged to stay in the house. Every once
a while, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus would have to head to the roof and
check for any signs of a possible assassin. It was only after that when the
Miss would then feel at ease.
In fact, Luo Ningcha did not need to worry about her personal safety because
almost everyone had forgotten about her. Golden Roc Fort had not intended
to stay silent. Just like the others, Second Young Master Shangguan Tian was
stunned by the news. In the midst of his panic, he had issued many
conflicting orders. At one moment, he wanted to denounce Shangguan Nu as
a traitor. At another moment, he wanted to negotiate with the Central Plains
through the Eighth Young Master. The killers were deployed aimlessly. The
counselor of Whitehouse Academy had to suppress these ridiculous plans in
order to protect Golden Roc Fort's image.
Among all of his plans, Shangguan Tian had only one logical plan, which
was to wait for his father's instructions.
Even though Supreme King had not yet recovered his skills, he had to
personally resolve this imminent crisis. Although he didn't make an
appearance, he had been observing the situation and had secretly made
arrangements. During the five days when the Supreme King was making his
observations, Golden Roc Fort had remained silent. Gu Shenwei made use of
this opportunity to resolve many problems.
The first thing he did was to save Chu Nanping.
The news about the Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu seeking refuge at
the Central Plains had arrived that afternoon. As the uncle of Shangguan Nu,
Shen Liang was stripped of his position as a blademaster. In the eyes of
Second Young Master Shangguan Tian, Shen Liang was a hidden traitor who
was placed in the fort by the Central Plains.
In the midst of the chaos, Shangguan Ru had managed to obtain a decree to

release a prisoner. She went to Heart Cleansing Yard prison with Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei was able to leave Luo Ningcha behind by using the name of a
safety inspection.
The attitude of the torturers immediately changed as soon as the blademaster

was removed. They excessively fawned over the Tenth Young Master.
Before they entered the torture chamber, Gu Shenwei had heard a familiar
voice, "Hey, what's wrong with you today? Come and attend to me. I'm
itching all over. Little Chu, are you itching as well?"
"I'm not itchy but I'm slightly hungry."
"I'm mocking them. Can't you cooperate?"
"Oh, I'm slightly itchy, but I don't want to be tortured again."

"Do you want to confess?"
"I won't confess but I don't want to be tortured."
Xu Xiaoyi was actually here. Gu Shenwei understood immediately that Shen

Liang had intentionally concealed this news. He wanted to wait until the last
moment to throw Xu Xiaoyi out. He didn't expect that something would go
wrong and that he would be detained.
Both of them were badly tortured. Xu Xiaoyi's eyes were swollen and he
initially couldn't recognize Brother Huan. In just a few days, the number of
scars on Chu Nanping was no less than that on a killer.
When he recognized Brother Huan, the first sentence that Xu Xiaoyi said
was, "Both me and Little Chu didn't confess anything."
"I know", Gu Shenwei said. He requested for some cloaks to cover both of
them. He then personally sent them down the hill in a carriage and entrusted
them to his most trusted people.
After persisting for a few days, Xu Xiaoyi could finally relax and doze off in
the carriage. Before he slept, he asked Chu Nanping, "We're now buddies. Do
you still want to kill me?"
Chu Nanping seriously thought about it for a while and replied, "According
to Heartless Swords, the more I find it more heartbreaking to kill you, the
more thoroughly will our relationship break apart. It will be more beneficial
for me when I practice swordcraft. If Yang Huan is willing to practice
swordcraft, I'll still have to kill you."
Fortunately, Xu Xiaoyi didn't hear such unfeeling words. He fell asleep when
Little Chu was analyzing his emotions.
It was late at night when Gu Shenwei returned to Stone Castle. Luo Ningcha
was about to go crazy because she didn't see him for a few hours. She thought
that he had fallen for the enemies' plot, or that he had betrayed her. She burst
into tears in front of many maids and scolded Slave Huan for being an
ingrate. She then happily welcomed him back.
Gu Shenwei said a lot of insincere words to comfort her. When she calmed
down, he signalled the maids to retreat except for Maid Lotus and Maid Cui.
Despite such a sorrowful moment, Luo Ningcha still remembered to wear her
veil and to sit behind a screen. Gu Shenwei could only see her silhouette.
"Miss, now is not the time to feel sad. We still need to think about how to
protect ourselves."
"Do you have another solution? You said that a woman's status depends on
her father and husband. However, my husband killed my father. I have
nothing left and can be easily taken advantage of. It's all your fault. You
taught all kinds of nonsense and thus offended everyone in the fort. Everyone
wants me dead and no one wants to protect me", Luo Ningcha said angrily.
She was being irrational and "offended" the last few people who were serving
her.
"That's why we have to think of a solution", Gu Shenwei said patiently.
"Come up with the solution then!" Luo Ningcha shouted. She suddenly stood
up and said in an unprecedented gentle tone, "You have a solution, don't you?
Please tell me, Slave Huan. I'll give you all of my money."
"The first thing to do is to obtain Lady Meng's understanding. She has the
authority and is able to determine your fate."
"Yes, tell Madam that I'm willing to apologize. I can do a public apology."
"I can tell Madam now, but Miss has to hand over that plank first."
If it were someone else, they would know that the plank was the only
bargaining chip. They would be helpless if they gave up the plank. However,
Luo Ningcha's mind was a mess. She didn't consider any precautions and
quickly agreed, "It's with Elderly Zhang. I let him hide it in the stable."
Luo Ningcha's state of mind had been fluctuating. Gu Shenwei was surprised
by her actions. As Horsekeeper Elderly Zhang was a servant in Stone Castle,
who would have thought that the Eighth Young Mistress would pass him the
plank for safekeeping? It was also incredible that Elderly Zhang could gain
the trust of Miss.
"I'll be back soon", Gu Shenwei said while looking at Maid Lotus. He let her
stay behind.
Even though it's late at night, Elderly Zhang hadn't slept yet. He was alone in
the stable and was taking care of the remaining two horses. The other horses
were taken away by the Eighth Young Master and he didn't know if those
horses would ever return.
"Elderly Zhang, I'm here to collect the item that Miss had passed to you", Gu
Shenwei said. As Elderly Zhang had helped him before, Gu Shenwei felt that
Elderly Zhang was one of the few good people in Stone Castle. He was polite
and didn't force him with kung fu.
Elderly Zhang didn't lift his head nor did he speak. He searched the stable for
a while and then handed over the last plank.
Gu Shenwei received the plank and thanked him.
The plank was wrapped in several layers, with yellow silk, linen, soft paper
and cloth. Elderly Zhang had protected this plank with great care.
While staring at Elderly Zhang for a while, Gu Shenwei came up with a

thought. He held the plank in his arms and returned the layers of fabric to
Elderly Zhang. Gu Shenwei said, "I don't need these things."
Elderly Zhang didn't say anything and swiftly took back the fabric. He kept
the fabric and threw the other items aside.
"Have you taken a good look at Miss before?"
"None of your business," Elderly Zhang replied harshly while studiously

mixing the feed. His face blushed. "It was an accident. The Eighth Young
Mistress wanted to ride a horse, I… It's none of your business," he said.
Gu Shenwei felt more secure. Not only had he found a solution for Luo
Ningcha, he had also filled in an important part of the plan which he had been
developing.
Chapter 232 - Defending the servant
Chapter 232: Defending the servant
The horsekeeper Elderly Zhang was an ideal servant. He was loyal,

trustworthy and tight-lipped. He would only acknowledge Shangguan Nu as
his master. His only love in life was caring for the horses and he never made
any friends.
It was such a person who actually attracted the Mistress' attention. He gladly
did anything for her. Whenever he saw her, his heart would beat wildly and
his face become flushed with teenage embarrassment.
Elderly Zhang was a lonely man. After contemplating for some time, Gu
Shenwei could understand why he acted in the way he did. However, he
could not understand Luo Ningcha's actions. Even though she had not
punished Elderly Zhang, letting him go was akin to showing mercy to a
killer. This was unprecedented.
Gu Shenwei returned the wooden board and passed it to Maid Lotus. The two
shared such a close bond that they needed no words to understand each other.
Maid Lotus took her leave. On the surface, it seemed as if she was going to
return the wooden board. However, she was going to copy the inscriptions on
the board and keep it later. She would never give it to Lady Meng or
Shangguan Ru.
The Golden Roc Fort experienced some turbulent times. This piece of
wooden board could save one's life. It was an important bargaining chip; they
had to hold on firmly to it.
Luo Ningcha was not in a stable condition. Gu Shenwei was quiet that night.
After Maid Lotus had returned, she claimed that Lady Meng was in happy
spirits and that Miss would not need to doubt her personal safety. Luo
Ningcha was relieved but he gave a strange order. Maid Lotus was to stay
outside. Slave Huan would have to stay in the house.
Gu Shenwei was embarrassed; he was not a child anymore. He was already

17 years old. If he were to stay in his lady master's room the whole night, it
would invite much criticism. It would not be good for Luo Ningcha's current
situation.
Luo Ningcha did not care about all of this. In her eyes, men, women and
children were all the same. Since Gu Shenwei was a servant, he would have
to listen to her orders. She had already treated Slave Huan as a substitute for
Mama Xue. She would be relying on him to protect her in the most dangerous
situations.
That night, Gu Shenwei stayed because of this very reason. Miss and Maid
Cui laid on the bed, with the front of the bed acting as a screen. The killers
first left and then returned secretly. They did this in order to keep themselves
from being seen or heard by other people. They stood in the corner of the
room all night, protecting their master.
He started to understand that being a maid of the Miss must be a terrible

experience. Luo Ningcha woke up several times in the night and Maid Cui
practically kept her eyes open the whole time. She was prepared to help her
master arrange the corners of her blanket, massage her waist and bring tea at
any time. It was pitch-dark in the house but Maid Cui seemed to move with
ease.
Gu Shenwei was not spared from the uncomfortable experience either. Luo
Ningcha would wake up in shock at random times, calling: "Are you there?"
Following which, she would only go back to sleep when Slave Huan replied
in the affirmative.
The next day, Gu Shenwei had not mentioned his own plan. Luo Ningcha
seemed to be in a confused state of mind. She would agree to everything that
Gu Shenwei said. However, Gu Shenwei would rather wait for the situation
to stabilize--when Luo Ningcha had understood the conditions facing her--
before trying to persuade her.
He wanted not a hasty act but a decisive course of action that would end the
battle. Moreover, the Eighth Young Master had only been forgotten
temporarily. He would have to deal with attacks that would come at anytime.
In the afternoon, Lady Meng sent one of her men asking Slave Huan to meet
her.
Luo Ningcha would have preferred Slave Huan to stay by her side and not go
anywhere else. However, she was terrified of Lady Meng. Before leaving, she
ordered: "Go tell Lady Meng that I am extremely saddened by my father's
death. When I am feeling better, I will pay my respects to her at the Inner
Residence personally. Slave Huan, you are best at reading people's
expressions. You must find out what the Lady is thinking. Does she want to
take revenge against me? I have already returned the wooden board…"
After listening to the Miss' rantings, Gu Shenwei went to meet Lady Meng.
At the moment he entered the Inner Residence, Shangguan Ru came up to
him. She greeted him with a smile and later said in a small voice: "Follow me
closely. Don't fall behind."
That time when the Supreme King was gripped by a killing desire,
Shangguan Ru also reminded him in this manner. Gu Shenwei thus
understood that Lady Meng did not have simple intentions in asking to meet
him.
Lady Meng stopped pretending to be friendly. She told the killer that she had
known everything. Shangguan Fei had written a letter to her explaining
everything. This included how Slave Huan had played a two-handed game
between Shangguan Fei and his sister. Moreover, Lady Meng was angry with
Slave Huan for not killing the Eighth Young Mistress when news of Bighead
Kingpin's death came.
"I thought you were a smarter than that." Lady Meng started. She did not ask
Shangguan Ru to leave. She had decided to expose Slave Huan's true
intentions in front of her daughter. "I trusted you and gave you a chance. I
entrusted my dearest daughter to you but you have let me down."
Gu Shenwei sat quietly on the floor. He knew that arguing with Lady Meng
would be useless. This woman was not Luo Ningcha and would not be
swayed by a few words. However, if Gu Shenwei was so willing, he could
have killed everyone in the house. He did not do this. Instead, he chose to
seek Shangguan Ru's protection.
Before meeting Lady Meng, Gu Shenwei simply went up to Shangguan Ru

admitting that he had once betrayed her. He confessed that before the
negotiations with the Horned Dragon Society he had pledged loyalty to
Shangguan Fei and asked him for his help in killing Ye Silang at the place of
negotiations.
Even so, Shangguan Ru cared only about one thing. "Master Yu…"
"I knew nothing about that." Gu Shenwei denied immediately. He was

speaking the truth. No one could have predicted Shangguan Fei's move. "I
was Master Yu's archenemy, but I remembered my promise--I have never
thought of killing him." However, this was a lie. He had never made a move
because he hadn't had the right chance.
When Shangguan Yushi first tried to assassinate Slave Huan, Shangguan Ru

had made the two swear never to fight each other again. The "promise" Gu
Shenwei mentioned pointed to this matter.
"But he went back on her promise and tried to use Wildhorse and Meng
Mingshi to kill you several times." Shangguan Ru said faintly. Without
knowing it herself, she had excused Slave Huan. However, her heart ached
terribly whenever she thought about Master Yu.
"So I could only have gone to seek the Ninth Young Master for help. I
couldn't have let Master Yu know about my plan."
Shangguan Ru forgave Slave Huan. She started to trust him even more than
before. She had lost Master Yu and Slave Huan was the only person left
whom she felt she could trust. Hence, she treasured him greatly. She started
finding reasons for Slave Huan's actions and was oblivious to the dubious
nature his explanations.
Thus, when Lady Meng exposed Slave Huan's betrayal and dishonesty, her
daughter defended him.
Gu Shenwei hung his head and felt slightly guilty. He had lied to Shangguan
Ru and used her as a protective shield. However, he quickly quashed such
thoughts. Compared to the years of torment and humiliation that he had
suffered, Shangguan Ru's little sacrifice was nothing.
Lady Meng was livid. Her daughter actually stood up for Slave Huan. This
was inexplicable to her. From her perspective, this act was also a form of
betrayal. "Shangguan Ru, do you still regard me as your mother?"
"Mother," Shangguan Ru spoke in a soft but firm voice. "Let Slave Huan go.
We have plenty of enemies around. Why would we still have to kill one of
our own?"
"One of our own? If he was indeed one of ours, he wouldn't have tried to sow
discord between you and Shangguan Fei; he wouldn't have pledged his
loyalty to the second master; and he would already have brought the old
Eighth daughter-in-law's head to me a few days ago."
Shangguan Ru stood beside Slave Huan. Her killing desire had vanished a
long time ago and was almost non-existent. However, her temper was as
quick as before. "Mother, brother hates me and that has nothing to do with
other people. I know everything about what Slave Huan had done. He had
simply followed my orders and had no will of his own. The Eighth Sister-in-
law has had her bases destroyed completely, so why do you still have to kill
her? Moreover, she is still holding on to something that we need. We can't
kill her for this very reason."
"Outrageous." Lady Meng was not one to act on her emotions. She had
already made preparations to eliminate Slave Huan. The only thing that she
did not anticipate was how her daughter was actually standing in the way at
that very moment. She was speaking up for an outsider and had not
appreciated her mother's care for her.
The five masked killers got the hint and they appeared at the same time. The
three surrounded Slave Huan and Shangguan Ru. The other two stood before
Lady Meng to protect her from any harm.
Shangguan Ru's exploded in vehemence just like the time she and the others
were trapped in Mister Guo's house. She would had rather died than fail to
protect the ones whom she loved. She pulled out her saber in front of the
killers and said: "Don't you dare to come any closer."
The killers did not dare to hurt the Tenth Young Master but neither did they
want to be cut by her blade. They thus waited for Lady Meng's orders. As
long as she gave her approval, there was no person whom they could not kill.
For the first time ever, Lady Meng softened and relented. "Ru'er, I'm
aggrieved. How did you turn out to be like this? Is Shangguan Yushi really
that important?"
Shangguan Ru wished that her mother had never mentioned this name.
Shangguan Yushi mattered, yes, but what's more important was the fog that
clouded her vision. Her love affair with Meng Mingshi and his feelings for
her were all true to her. The opinions of the others were varied and only
confused her.
Shangguan Ru then sent Slave Huan out of the Inner Residence personally,
reminding him to be careful. "Let the Eighth Sister-in-law hide the best piece
of the wooden board. Your life depends on it."
Gu Shenwei had just escaped from the Blademaster Shen Liang. Now, he had
to confront an even stronger enemy. The longer he stayed in the Stone Castle,
the harder it would be to keep his secret. He started to think of an escape
plan. However, before that, he had to carry out his plan to assassinate the
Supreme King.
There was only one such opportunity. He thought that as long as he was still
alive, he would continue to hide.
Luo Ningcha waited impatiently. As soon as he had seen Slave Huan, he

asked: "How are things? Will the Madam let me off?"
"No way, she even wanted to kill me."
"But…but I have already returned the board."

"The Lady is cruel and vengeful. I would advise Miss to not mention
anything about the board from now onwards. Maid Lotus and I will ensure
your safety."
"Can you really protect me? The Lady has all the killers at her disposal."
"Miss, you need not be too worried. Not everyone listens to Lady Meng. The
Stone Castle belongs to the Lord and not to her. We still have a chance."
"A chance? The Bighead Kingpin is dead. What sort of a chance do I still
have?" Luo Ningcha started to cry. She felt like a cornered rat. She was
beseiged by pain and terror and she had no means of defending herself or
escaping." Take me away then, Slave Huan. Take me away from this cold
Stone Castle. I've never liked it. I have countless treasures. We can all
escape."
Indeed, Gu Shenwei had plans to escape. However, now was not the time for
escape.
Chapter 233 - The Supreme Kings
Words
Chapter 233: The Supreme King's Words
Luo Ningcha had suggested leaving Golden Roc Fort on a whim. Gu Shenwei
could only persuade her to give up on this idea. Moreover, he had almost
accidentally revealed his own plans. It was best to wait for a while more.
There was only one chance to assassinate the Supreme King and it had to be
perfect.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were especially careful on that night. However,
no killers had confronted them. After all, Luo Ningcha and Slave Huan were
two minor characters in Stone Castle. They were not worth Lady Meng's
efforts and resources because she had a bigger enemy to deal with.
This time, as the Supreme King left the Stone Castle to resolve a dispute,
turmoil was developing inside the Fort.
The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Young Masters had returned to the Stone Castle
together. The Fifth and Seventh Young Masters were originally from
Shangguan Chui's faction. The Sixth Young Master had supported Lady
Meng in the past. However, as of now, the situation had completely changed.
The three masters had no idea how they had ended up being in the same
faction to cause mischief for the Second Young Master Shangguan Tian.
Moreover, Lady Meng and Shangguan Tian were especially astonished that
these three young masters did not stay in that distant garrison. Instead, they
had been secretly hiding in Jade City. When Bighead Kingpin was killed and
the Eighth Young Master had betrayed them, the three young masters did not
immediately appear. Instead, they waited until the situation deteriorated and
the Second Young Master had lost control over the situation, before going up
the mountain to contest for control.
This very matter had drained much of Lady Meng's strength and she was
forced to let Luo Ningcha and Slave Huan go for now.
On the very same day, news arrived at Jade City that Governor Wei Song had
disappeared.
Gu Shenwei had once asked men from Kun Society to monitor the
Governor's Mansion. They had reported that Wei Song must have made his
plans to escape a long time ago. He had escaped as soon as the Central Plains
had prepared to encircle Iron Mountain. Most likely, he had been disguised as
someone carrying out errands and left directly through the city gates.
Everyone had been fooled - his guard, and the macheteman from Kun Society
who had been watching him.
However, they couldn't be blamed for the Governor's disappearance. When

Wei Song had fled the Central Plains, the troops had not been on alert at that
time. No one thought that the Governor would have fled. However, what
made them lose their jobs was that they had only discovered the matter five
to six days later. By that time, it was already too late to catch up with him.
Wei Song and the killer Yang Huan had agreed to leave Jade City on the 13th
of August. Gu Shenwei had guessed that the Governor was unhappy and must
have already had plans for his escape. However, Gu Shenwei was stuck in the
Stone Castle and had let this important figure slip away.
On the same day, Gu Shenwei received an unexpected invitation.
Mr. Zhang, a teacher in the Stone Castle, had invited Yang Huan for a
gathering in the afternoon.
Zhang Ji had been giving Gu Shenwei the cold shoulder ever since when Gu
Shenwei had killed Tie Hanfeng. Although Gu Shenwei had sent wine to
Zhang Ji on a regular basis, he had not visited Zhang Ji for a long period of
time.
It was not easy for Gu Shenwei to free himself from the Miss but eventually,
he still decided to go to the school. He was hoping to learn more about the
Stone Castle's history from Zhang Ji.
Gu Shenwei was surprised that Zhang Ji, who had always stayed away from
the affairs of the Stone Castle, had actually been "bought over" by someone.
Moreover, Zhang Ji was blind. It was Shangguan Hong who had wanted to
meet Slave Huan.
Shangguan Hong was originally named Shangguan Hongye. Just a few

months ago, the Supreme King hadn't wanted to acknowledge him as his son.
However, almost suddenly, Shangguan Hong had become Shangguan Fa's
illegitimate son and this caused his social status to rapidly increase. However,
this was only an illusion. Even though he had changed his name, Shangguan
Hong did not enjoy the privilege that the sons of the Supreme King had
access to. He was much older than the twins but no one had ever suggested
calling him "master". He had become insignificant. He was only important
for Lady Meng's ends.
Gu Shenwei had felt that Zhang Ji had not chosen a strong backer. He had
traded blows with Shangguan Hong several times and knew the background
of this Supreme King's son. He was, in reality, an empty vessel.
Shangguan Hong had not changed much. Just like before, he alternated
between pride and low self-esteem. When he raised his head to meet Gu
Shenwei, he ended up patting him on the shoulder instead. While he had
hoped to create an amiable and casual atmosphere, he actually ended up
appearing to be blunt and awkward.
Shangguan Hong had wanted to win Slave Huan over but he felt that he had
no means of doing so. "Let us face the facts. The Tenth Young Master and
the Eighth Young Master are no longer capable of achieving success. Slave
Huan, have you never thought of giving yourself a chance?"
According to the Stone Castle's standards, Luo Ningcha was not considered
to be a person of any influence at all, therefore Shangguan Hong simply did
not mention her.
"The Eighth Young Mistress is now my master."
Shangguan Hong was a little taken aback by Slave Huan's reply. He turned
his head to look at Zhang Ji, hoping to receive a hint. Zhang Ji only coughed
and said, "Slave Huan is a smart person. He'll choose whichever path he
wants for himself. Let us drink."
Evidently, Shangguan Hong did not understand what the teacher meant. His
face turned a little red and he lowered his head to drink the wine in silence.
Zhang Ji chatted with Slave Huan and turned the conversation towards the
issue of the Stone Castle. "if you were to ask me, I think the Stone Castle is in
dire straits. The Supreme King has lived up to his name in having amassed
such great territory. However, the next generation has declined greatly in
power. His sons are all quite unlike him. The Great Young Master does not
seem promising, the Second Young Master lacks ambition while the Third
Young Master, while capable, is unfortunately locked up in the dungeon.
Moreover, the Fourth Young Master is too calculating, the Fifth Young
Master is reckless, the Sixth Young Master is only a trickster, the Seventh
Young Master sits on the fence on almost everything, the Eighth Young
Master is too hot-headed and the Ninth Young Master is simply too weak.
Sigh, if anything bad were to happen to the Lord, Golden Roc Fort would be
in grave danger."
Gu Shenwei knew that Zhang Ji wanted to recommend Shangguan Hong, so

he played along. "What about Master Hong?"
"Master Hong is a good-for-nothing. He has all the flaws of the nine young
masters."
Shangguan Hong had been waiting for his teacher's praise. He was taken
aback by such a blunt criticism. He hotly rose to his feet but did not dare to
express his anger. He then struggled to think of an excuse for the teacher's
criticism but he could not think of anything. His face turned red and he did
not know what to do.
Zhang Ji coldly looked at him and said, "Sit down, I haven't finished
speaking."
Shangguan Hong uneasily sat down like a dog that was being trained. Even
though he felt highly indignant, he did not let it be apparent.
"He has only one admirable quality, and that is his obedience." Zhang Ji
continued in his conversation with Slave Huan. "He listens to the opinions of
others despite having such a social status. If you support other masters, you'd
be an average killer for your entire life. In that situation, you'd only be able to
slowly gain success. However, if establishing a great career is your objective,
then Master Hong would be your best bet."
Zhang Ji's words were simple and direct but it revealed a powerful truth.
Shangguan Hong would naturally be at a disadvantage when it came to
competing with the other masters and powerful figures. However, because
the other candidates were equally weak, Shangguan Hong's malleable
disposition was turned into a winning trait. He'd follow a strong man who'd
be willing to assist him."
If he did not have any other motives in mind, Gu Shenwei would have gladly
accepted Zhang Ji's advice. Actually, Gu Shenwei did not consider
Shangguan Hong to be of any value but rather he held Zhang Ji in high
regard.
"Let me think about it." Gu Shenwei did not reject at the outset. "The
situation is too chaotic right now. I have to reconsider a few things."
Zhang Ji knowingly raised his glass but did not say a word. Shangguan Hong
felt unsettled. "You won't reveal the secret, right?" He blurted.
"No, I won't."
Zhang Ji snorted, chiding his disciple, "Don't be foolish. If he had truly

wanted to tell the secret, he wouldn't have said it. And even if he were to
reveal the secret, what could you possibly do about it?"
Gu Shenwei had not expected that the situation in the Stone Castle to have
stabilized so quickly, such that it had almost disrupted his entire plan.
After the quarrels between the several masters and Shangguan Hong's attempt
at winning Slave Huan over, the Supreme King had finally made a speech.
"The Eighth brother has won a victory." Shangguan Fa immediately erased

Shangguan Nu's label of being a 'traitor'. "He removed Golden Roc Fort's
mortal enemy. Bighead Kingpin is ambitious and big-headed and would have
become a scourge sooner or later. The Eighth brother understood me best. He
has achieved something great for me."
The several masters were gaping in astonishment. After some time, they
recovered and started to praise the Eighth brother for his foresight. The
smarter ones attributed the victory to their father, saying how the Eighth
brother was clearly only following the Supreme King's instructions. Everyone
else had been kept in the dark.
"The Central Plains is a friend, not an enemy." These words completely

reframed the relations between Golden Roc Fort and Jade City. There was no
big army. A battle between them was now completely out of the question.
"Second son, go build good relations with the great general of the Central
Plains in my name. Tell your Eighth brother that he is my good son. New
Moon Hall has not been exterminated. Let him continue to work hard."
Shangguan Fa personally sent his second son out of the city. This squashed
rumours about how he was suffering from a debilitating illness that caused
him to lose all his martial arts abilities. Only a small number of people knew
that his personal servants were all first-rate black-masked assassins. Unless it
was an army, no person could have come within ten steps of the Supreme
King to cause him any harm.
During the days when the Second Young Master Shangguan Tian was
fretting over how to carry out his father's instructions, Shangguan Fa had
already sent messengers to different parts of the Western Region to proclaim
the news. Some of them had already succeeded in their mission while others
were still on their way.
Hence, the 16-nation alliance was disbanded for a very simple reason. "The
Iron Mountain bandits have already been annihilated. There's no need to stay
here any longer."
The Central Plains only had 5,000 troops. It relied on the alliance for
resources and all forms of support. The General of the army knew that the
time was not ripe. He had thought that the Supreme King was heavily ill and
that Golden Roc Fort would fall from infighting. However, it had turned out
that the Supreme King was healthy and so it would be unwise to pick a fight
now.
The Central Plains accepted Golden Roc Fort's tribute and this meant that
both sides have re-established normal friendly relations. Initially, the
annihilation of Iron Mountain was not a loss to the Stone Castle. It was
actually a form of victory. Residents of Jade City breathed a sigh of relief.
However, only a few had noticed a catch: the troops of the Central Plains
have not retreated. They still remained in the big camp of Iron Mountain.
Furthermore, the Eighth Young Master, who had just been praised by his
father, had not returned to the Stone Castle in this calm period.
The dust had settled. There can only be one winner, but his status was still
unclear.
As Bighead Kingpin was declared to be the enemy of the Supreme King, Luo
Ningcha would have naturally become the enemy's daughter. However,
because of Shangguan Nu's feat of scoring the "first victory", the Eighth
Young Mistress should be receiving her husband's honor.
However, contrary to what Luo Ningcha had expected, she was only a small
fry in the Stone Castle. Hence, no one bothered her for a few days. As long as
the Supreme King had not said anything about it, everybody behaved as
though the problem did not exist.
Neglect felt sharper than hatred. The pain that it caused would permeate
through the entire body and crush the spirit. How much had Luo Ningcha
wanted to run into the Inner Residence to stir up a havoc!
If Shangguan Nu had truly cared about his wife, Gu Shenwei felt that his plan
might not have succeeded. However, the Eighth Young Master's "pet" had
not given the Eighth Young Mistress any protection. Gu Shenwei felt that this
situation might become the status quo and thus he felt that the time was
finally ripe.
Chapter 234 - Secret Plot
Chapter 234: Secret Plot
Luo Ningcha officially took her veil off on the day when Bighead Kingpin's
coffin was brought into Jade City. She had never worn it since then.
The Supreme King declared that the Iron Mountain was Golden Roc Fort's
for. Furthermore, he also announced that a proper burial ceremony would be
held for Bighead Kingpin. Shangguan Nu had followed his father's orders. He
had not only delivered Bighead Kingpin's corpse but also a considerable
amount of Iron Mountain's wealth back to Stone Castle. This act signified his
loyalty.
The father and son used this method to prove to naysayers that Golden Roc
Fort was not suffering from any internal discord.
The amount of people that surged onto the streets were ten times more than
the time when Luo Ningcha was married to Golden Roc Fort. The onlookers
were curious when they saw the enormous coffin of the Bighead Kingpin.
The city gates were usually half opened, however, the gates were wide open
today.
Eight strong, healthy oxen walked slowly into Jade City and they appeared to
be sad. Dozens of coffin bearers looked solemn and every one of them was
carrying a giant flag of Iron Mountain. The flag waved in the wind and the
spear that was emblazoned on the flag was moving like a snake.
The residents seemed to be infected by the atmosphere as they showed their

reverence toward him. They involuntarily took several steps back and bowed
to pay their respects. They had heard about outlandish rumours like how
Bighead Kingpin had to eat several humans daily. However, he was now
being remembered as a warrior who had died on the battlefield. Some even
shed tears.
As soon as Bighead Kingpin's coffin arrived at the city center, the sad
atmosphere was disrupted by a commotion.
The commotion started at the North City gates and started to quickly spread
onto the streets, as if it was a burning rope. At that moment, no one was
interested in Bighead Kingpin's coffin. Everyone stretched their heads to look
behind and whispered: "That woman has finally shown her bare face."
From this day on, these terms, "that woman" and "that woman of the Stone
Castle", belonged exclusively to Luo Ningcha.
She was walking alone on the cobbled path without her attendants. Her
servants and followers were trailing ten steps behind her. There were people
on both sides of the street and they were quiet. This was her first time taking
off her mask in public and it felt as if she was walking on the streets while
naked. The people were glancing at her and their gaze was like daggers which
could tear her skin and pierce her heart. Every step she made was sapping
much of her strength. Yet, the future still seemed bleak.
The men were silent yet excited, but the women were ashamed and jealous.
The nearly two hundred thousand residents had the same idea that Lady
Meng must have been severely mistaken. How could she have abused
someone who looked like a fairy? The woman before their eyes looked
surreal. How was it possible for her to commit evil?
Luo Ningcha saw the coffin in which her father was lying inside. He was her
backer, her support, her everything but now he was dead. His corpse was cold
and emotionless, just like the walls of the Stone Castle.
Luo Ningcha had been feeling terrified recently as she had felt nothing
towards her father's death. But now, the feelings of longing and grief surged
when she saw the massive coffin. She seemed to be greatly affected by her
father's death as the image of Bighead Kingpin seemed to appear before her.
Her father was truly dead. Luo Ningcha's body trembled and the crowd cried
in sympathy. Countless hands stretched out for their master, hoping to
support this battered woman.
However, Luo Ningcha steeled herself. Her pale and weak fingers caressed
the coffin as she slowly walked around the coffin. She took a deep breath,
lifted her head, escorted her father's coffin through the Northern Gate and
walked towards Golden Roc Fort.
It was a long journey. Several determined residents followed it all the way up
until where their path was blocked by the stone bridge of Golden Roc Fort.
Many were lingering around at night so they can catch a whiff of the
fragrance that had been left behind by "that woman".
As soon as she entered the Stone Castle, Luo Ningcha collapsed into the arms
of her servants. She proudly turned her head to look at the killers behind her,
then she closed her eyes and slept.
She had completed Slave Huan's task.
On the night when the Supreme King was dealing with a crisis, Gu Shenwei
and Luo Ningcha had a deep conversation. There were only the two of them
in the house as Maid Lotus had brought the blind and mute Maid Cui out of
the house.
"Miss, you have no other option." Gu Shenwei did not use the term "we"
because he knew that Luo Ningcha did not care about anyone except herself.
Luo Ningcha kept her composure. However, she wasn't calm. She was like a
small beast, which had been cornered. She was stunned. "My husband…"
"Eighth Young Master would never return to the Stone Castle ever again.
Everyone knows that he has betrayed the Supreme King. The Lord's praise
was only a delaying tactic."
"Should I leave the Stone Castle? Bighead Kingpin has left me a large
amount of inheritance."
"Firstly, the Stone Castle will never let you go. Secondly, without the
protection of the Stone Castle, Bighead Kingpin's inheritance will only spell
disaster."
Luo Ningcha slumped onto the bed and sobbed. Selfishness often caused her
to misjudge. However, she was not stupid as she knew that Slave Huan was
speaking the truth. Both her father and husband, who were her pillars of
support, had collapsed at the same time. She was really at her wits end.
Currently, Lady Meng was busy augmenting her power, but soon, she will
take her revenge on Luo Ningcha.
Gu Shenwei waited until she stopped crying and said: "There is a chance to
turn the tide. Do Miss have the courage to make a last stand?"
Luo Ningcha, who was behind the screen stood up. "What do you mean? Do I
still have a chance to protect myself?"
"Yes." Gu Shenwei had deliberated for a long time before uttering this word.
This made Miss ecstatic.
Luo Ningcha stood up. "Slave Huan. Good Slave Huan. Quickly tell me your
plan!"
"Some people are in power but that power does not belong to them. There is
always a source and that source would be more reliable than your father or
husband."
"You mean… the Lord?"
"Yes."
"But, he will never protect me. Without Bighead Kingpin, why would he
protect a helpless woman?" Luo Ningcha did not understand.
"Lady Meng has an average relationship with her husband's family but she is
favored by the Lord."
"The twenty slaves that father had sent! If only we could use them to gain the
Lord's favor…" Luo Ningcha slightly raised her voice as she became excited.
"Lady Meng would not let them be seen by the Lord," Gu Shenwei said. He
had initially wanted to use those twenty slaves, but now he changed his mind.
"What should I do now?"
Gu Shenwei was silent for a moment. "Please forgive this Slave Huan's bold
suggestion."
"Speak. You can ask for anything." Luo Ningcha spoke hurriedly as though
she was drowning and was grabbing onto a piece of wood.
"Could Miss walk out of the screen and take down your veil?" After saying
this, Gu Shenwei went down on one knee immediately. He looked down as if
he was asking for forgiveness.
There was a long period of silence behind the screen. Luo Ningcha gradually
understood Slave Huan's plan. Initially she was angry, then shameful, and
finally humiliated. She finally understood that everything in this world was
an illusion. She could only rely on her father for a short while and wasn't able
to rely on her husband at all. The only person whom she could rely on for life
was not these two people nor Slave Huan nor the Lord, but was herself.
Gu Shenwei heard a rustling of the veil and fine footsteps. Then, a very light
voice spoke. It was different from the Miss' usual tone. "Lift your head up,"
she said.
Gu Shenwei raised his head and gazed at Luo Ningcha who was standing
under the lamp. He lowered his head again after a long time. "Those twenty
slaves could not compare with a single strand of Miss' hair."
Luo Ningcha felt light-headed after removing her thick veil. She felt lighter.
Apart from her father and her husband, Slave Huan was the third man who
made her feel jumpy.
"The problem still remains. I'm still unable to meet the Lord."
Gu Shenwei's confidence increased tremendously. "Man proposes, God

disposes. Miss, you need not worry. I have my plans. However, I still have to
ask you a few questions."
"Just ask. You will call the shots, as long as you can save me from this
predicament."
"That Elderly Zhang…"
"Haha," Luo Ningcha laughed. "Haven't you told me that 'the most loyal
people are often the best betrayers'? Elderly Zhang was the most loyal to
Shangguan Nu so I tested this logic out on him. It seemed that you were right.
He pledged loyalty to me when I removed the first layer of my veil.
However, he's just a horsekeeper. He is useless. I could only get him to help
me hide something."
Gu Shenwei had once imparted the knowledge, which was taught by Zhang
Ji, to Luo Ningcha. He had forgotten much of the details and hadn't expected
that Miss would take him so seriously.
"I want to hear the details of the secret, which Miss had been keeping from
Bighead Kingpin."
Gu Shenwei had learnt about one of Luo Ningcha's secrets and he knew that
she had killed someone who was very important to Bighead Kingpin.
However, he was not very sure about the details. Hence, he took this
opportunity to ask about it.
"Didn't you know about it?" Luo Ningcha was alerted as Slave Huan had
once claimed that he knew everything.
"Yes, but I want the details."
"Is this related to the plan that we are talking about now?"
"Once the news regarding me plotting something for Miss gets out, I'll not be
spared from death. Hence, I hope that Miss could prove that you fully trust
me."
Luo Ningcha retreated behind the screen. Habits died hard as she felt more
relaxed behind the screen. "There are no details. I have a brother who
Bighead Kingpin was very fond of. I wasn't happy so Mama Xue killed him.
She then told me that she had killed him for me. However, she was actually
trying to use this method to control me."
Luo Ningcha's voice turned cold, as if she was narrating someone else's story.
Gu Shenwei guessed that Mama Xue had kind intentions but Luo Ningcha
must have been very supportive of Mama Xue's actions. Luo Ningcha was
indeed a member of the Shangguan family.
"It's similar to what Mama Xue had told me," Gu Shenwei lied. Luo Ningcha
was fickle-minded and easily irritable, hence it was hard to handle her. Gu
Shenwei had to be like Mama Xue, whereby he had to use Luo Ningcha's
secrets to control her.
"It's time for you to tell me about your plan on how to let the Lord see me."
Luo Ningcha was very proud of her own looks and was now more confident
than Slave Huan.
"It's difficult for the Lord to see you. It's almost impossible. We have to let
him 'hear' you."
Luo Ningcha was lost in thought. "Is it that simple?"
"Of course not. The Lord has countless women. Is Miss able to capture his
heart?" Gu Shenwei had to ask this question. Shangguan Nu had met Luo
Ningcha before and was infatuated with her for a while. However, he still left
her in the end as he was not worried about betraying the Stone Castle and his
father.
Gu Shenwei seemed to be too blunt. Luo Ningcha flared up, and asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Miss needs a master." Gu Shenwei wasn't bothered about all these as he was
ruthless in all his strategems. He wouldn't be able to achieve anything if he
was shy. As for the "Master", he already had a suitable person in mind. He
had initially sent Xu Yanwei to the Stone Castle to save her life and to use
her to deliver information. But now, she has more uses.
Chapter 235 - Surprise
Chapter 235: Surprise
The plot to assassinate the Supreme King was not successful. Although the
people in the Fort had investigated for a long time, they failed to understand
why it had developed into a massacre.
In West Castle, there was an alley that was close to the Eighth Young
Master's residence. Many counselors from Whiterobe Academy were living
there. Like the killers, they were following different owners and were the
spokesperson for their respective young masters.
By the time when the Supreme King had fended off the assassins, half of
Stone Castle could already hear Luo Ningcha's screams. Three of the most
important counselors had heard of a piece of news: the Lord was
assassinated.
Luo Ningcha was terrified and continued to scream. She became a direct
footnote to the mysterious person's reminder.
Luo Ningcha's initial reaction wasn't due to the assassination of the Lord.
Instead, she thought that Lady Meng had sent people to kill her. She was
throwing tantrums and fearfully shouted, "She wants to kill me."
This was the first time that Shangguan Fa had seen Luo Ningcha's real
character. He was surprised yet disgusted. He could finally understand why
his Eighth Son, Shangguan Nu, would abandon such a beautiful wife and
desert Golden Roc Fort. However, Luo Ningcha's misbehavior had saved her
life as Shangguan Fa didn't think that she was the mastermind.
Shangguan Fa had even wasted some precious time to comfort the Eighth
Young Mistress before he left. Although it was an open secret in the Fort that
the Supreme King was lustful, he still had to keep his image in mind.
The situation had developed beyond Shangguan Fa's expectations.
He returned to the Inner Residence, and as usual, he secretly issued orders

and inspected the fort. However he didn't expect that the news of the dead
Supreme King would spread so quickly and that many people would believe
it.
The Second, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Young Masters didn't regard Stone
Castle as a safe home. They were guarding against one another and they felt
beleaguered. Collusion and betrayal could happen at any moment. Some
casual words and the meeting of each other's gazes could spark a fertile
imagination and would cause them to fight among themselves. They relied on
the Supreme King's ban on killing to maintain the delicate balance.
Not everyone believed the news that the Supreme King was assassinated. In
fact, there were many suspicious things even before they saw the corpse.
However, they were worried that someone would use the news to make
preemptive strikes, so they had to strike first.
It was total chaos. The Fifth Young Master attacked the Second Young
Master, the Sixth Young Master ambushed the Fifth Young Master, the
Seventh Young Master charged into the Inner Residence to kill Lady Meng
and Lady Meng wanted to kill everyone else.
When the Supreme King realized that the situation had gone out of control,
the killing spree was already in the middle of being carried out, and he
couldn't stop any of the orders. Shangguan Fa sent out many elite killers and
several black-masked assassins around the city to announce that the Lord was
still alive. Those who disobeyed would be cruelly suppressed.
The chaos in the Fort had died down at around midnight. Dozens of people,
including the Sixth and Seventh Young Masters, had died in this ridiculous
killing spree.
The Supreme King was furious. He imprisoned the Second and Fifth Young
Masters and stripped Lady Meng of her authority. He found out that the
culprit was that assassin, but he escaped unscathed and was nowhere to be
found.
Gu Shenwei survived, partly due to his luck and partly due to the help of
others.
Shangguan Fa was held back by Luo Ningcha, thus allowing the assassin to
escape from the bedroom. A black-masked assassin saw Gu Shenwei just
when he had jumped onto the roof. At the time, Gu Shenwei had not wanted
to test his machete skills, so he fled. The black-masked assassin had closely
followed behind him. It was as if he was Gu Shenwei's shadow.
Gu Shenwei couldn't outrun the assassin, but he was saved by an unexpected

person.
As usual, Horsekeeper Elderly Zhang was still in the stable late at night. Luo
Ningcha's scream made him quiver. For the first time in his life, he wanted to
save a damsel in distress. So, he took a sickle and fiercely ran outside. He
was slightly slow so he had let the assassin run past him, but he managed to
stop the black-masked assassin.
The black-masked assassin killed elderly Zhang just like that. The old him
would have silently stayed in the stable. He lost his life just because the lady
had lifted her veil. The person who he wanted to save didn't require his help,
but the person who he didn't want to save had managed to survive.
The black-masked assassin was delayed for only a moment. Although he had
barely stopped for a short time, the assassin still managed to escape from
him.
Gu Shenwei was grateful to Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi as they had

played a game of "assassination" two years ago. As they had covered every
corner of Stone Castle, he knew every street and was more familiar of the
area than the locals.
Gu Shenwei jumped from a low wall into a courtyard and shook off the
black-masked assassin, who had been chasing after him. He then returned to
the Eighth Young Master's residence. Just when he was about to enter his
house, he saw Maid Lotus waving at him.
There were too many unexpected things this evening. Gu Shenwei entered
Maid Lotus's house without much of a thought.
"Get on the bed," Maid Lotus whispered.
Gu Shenwei jumped onto the bed. When he was under the blanket, he
removed his night suit and mask, and threw them at Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus was unfazed and neatly folded the outfit. Then, she placed them
together with her clothes.
"My sword … is still in the backyard."
"Leave it."
After Maid Lotus finished her sentence, a group of people poured into the
courtyard. Someone shouted, "Stay in the house! No one is allowed to come
out!"
At this time, the fighting among the Young Masters haven't begun yet.
Shangguan Fa was bent on finding the assassin. The night watchmen who
heard the news first investigated the Eighth Young Master's residence.
"Where is Slave Huan? Why is he not in his room?"
Maid Lotus walked to the door and said, "He's with me."
The door was brutally pushed open and two of the night watchmen saw that
Slave Huan was on the bed. They loosened their grip on their swords. They
had seen too many illicit affairs between killers, so they weren't surprised.
"What happened? I heard noises in the backyard and was about to head over,"
Gu Shenwei said. He pretended to sit up in a fluster. He covered his body
with the blanket and was looking around for his saber.
"That's none of your concern," one of the night watchman replied. He then
turned back and asked, "Was Slave Huan here all along?"
Slave Xin peeked out and he seemed to be uneasy. He said, "Yes, I came at 9
pm and wanted to ask Master Yang if he had any orders. He wasn't around, so
I stayed in his house."
Gu Shenwei realized that Maid Lotus must have known that Slave Xin was
sleeping next door, so she made him enter her house. Without her help, his
whereabouts would've been exposed by Slave Xin, and the timid slave
wouldn't have covered up for the master.
"He's been with me this whole time," Maid Lotus said calmly. After that, she
closed the door in front of the night watchmen.
Both of them didn't talk as they listened to the conversation that was taking
place outside the room. They waited for the other places to erupt into chaos.
The Eighth Young Master's residence quietened down when the night
watchmen left to suppress the riot. As Lady Meng and the Young Masters
were vying for the throne, they didn't think that Luo Ningcha would pose a
threat to them. Hence, no one wanted to kill her.
Luo Ningcha was still in shock. When the night watchmen had just left, she
ordered Slave Huan and Maid Lotus to immediately go to the backyard to
protect her.
Gu Shenwei couldn't find an opportunity to explain to Maid Lotus, and she

didn't ask him for an explanation. In the midst of the chaos, she had even
retrieved his sword that was at the pillar and returned it to him.
Teacher Zhang Ji was smarter than what Gu Shenwei had imagined. The
intelligent counselor had made use of the news released by Slave Huan and
planned the killing spree. He helped Shangguan Hong eliminate both of his
two older brothers and effortlessly suppressed the other competitors.
Just like that, excluding Gu Shenwei, there were at least two people in Stone
Castle who knew about the identity of the assassin. He believed that Maid
Lotus was unsure about Zhang Ji.
Zhang Ji used a simple method to prove to the killers that he could keep
secrets. Every few days, a part-time businessman in the Fort would send him
a pot of fine wine from Southwall Tavern. This businessman had received
lots of silver taels, and it was sufficient to get a year's worth of wine. Zhang
Ji would tend to accept the gifts. But this time, he had sent his young personal
attendant to deliver a letter. His message was beautifully crafted as he
thanked his disciples for their respect.
Zhang Ji hoped that there would be a killer who would want to follow
Shangguan Hong because this Supreme King's son who he was assisting was
too weak. The killing spree last night could have yielded better results, but
Shangguan Hong couldn't display his ability. He could only cautiously stay
by Lady Meng's side and displayed his loyalty and support to her.
After the killing spree, Shangguan Hong didn't receive many rewards. The
Supreme King didn't even notice Shangguan Hong's existence. Lady Meng
didn't require Shangguan Hong's help even though she had been suppressed
by the Lord, just like the other Young Masters.
Gu Shenwei was slightly relieved.
The Supreme King didn't believe that the assassin's target was Luo Ningcha,
but he still assigned ten killers and twenty machetemen to protect her. Hence,
the Eighth Young Master's residence became one of the safest places in Stone
Castle. Gu Shenwei managed to spend two days peacefully at the Eighth
Young Master's residence until when Shen Liang came by.
Shangguan Fa had sworn to find the assassin and the mastermind. To this
end, he released Heart Cleansing Yard's Blademaster Shen Liang.
The Supreme King only had superficial praises for his Eighth Son,
Shangguan Nu, so he had imprisoned Shen Liang. However, when it came to
solving conspiracies and finding murderers, Blademaster Shen was the best.
Because of this, Shen Liang had managed to regain his freedom.
Shen Liang took over Heart Cleansing Yard again. He quickly launched
operations and captured many people. Even though he had his eyes on Slave
Huan, he was cautious and didn't act immediately as the Eighth Young
Mistress had gained some influence. He waited for two days before going
over to personally interrogate them.
Luo Ningcha must have been pressured as she didn't ban anyone from Heart
Cleansing Yard. She wanted the interrogations to take place in the Eighth
Young Master's residence. It would be good if there was nothing wrong with
Slave Huan. Otherwise, she hoped that Blademaster Shen could resolve it.
Shen Liang naturally understood the intention of the Eighth Young Mistress.
Although he gave his promise, he had a plan to get all of the information
from Slave Huan before he died.
"This is a routine interrogation. Everyone in the Fort has to undergo this,"

Shen Liang said confidently.
"Ok," Gu Shenwei answered indifferently. He was banned from carrying his

sword. It was the equivalent of him losing half of his kung fu.
"Where were you when the Lord was assassinated?"
"I was in Maid Lotus' room"
"What were you doing?" Shen Liang asked. He seemed to be asking the
obvious, but he was well prepared. He believed that he could sound Slave
Huan out, but he didn't expect to hear the following reply.
"I was experiencing qigong deviation. She had been trying to find different
ways to treat me."
"What?"
Shen Liang grabbed onto the killer's shoulder and immediately realized that
something was wrong. This killer had a weak Internal Strength. It could not
measure up to the Internal Strength of an ordinary killer, let alone a Golden
Roc killer.
It was true that Gu Shenwei was experiencing qigong deviation. He didn't

expect that certain things would occur, such as the simultaneous implosion of
two Peripheral Forces, which had almost took away his life.
This qigong deviation was directly related to the slap from Shangguan Fa.
Chapter 236 - Seven Chapt ers
Chapter 236: Seven Chapt ers
Gu Shenwei's qigong deviation was proof that he was not involved in the
assassination.
Gu Shenwei didn't expect that the Supreme King had regained his Internal
Strength two nights ago. He had no choice but to use all of his Internal Breath
to counter the sudden slap.
His Dantian was nearly shattered. Fortunately, the Supreme King hadn't fully
recovered. Furthermore, the Supreme King wasn't able to use all of his
strength because it had happened so suddenly. Hence, Gu Shenwei wasn't
seriously injured. However, he lost much of his Internal Strength and his
Peripheral Force was discharged from his Baihui and Xuanji acupoints. The
rate of discharge gradually became faster and faster. By noon on the day after
the assassination, Gu Shenwei could no longer control the force of the qigong
deviation.
Barren Sect Managing Master Kang Wenhui had reminded Gu Shenwei that
he would definitely die when both of the Peripheral Forces had completely
discharged. He had no choice, but to dispel his Internal Strength and start
practising Wayless Qigong.
Maid Lotus was the only one who knew the truth. While it appeared that the
two killers were protecting Luo Ningcha, in fact, Maid Lotus was the only
one protecting Gu Shenwei and Luo Ningcha.
There was an independent chapter in Wayless Book about the dispelling of

Internal Strength . As both Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus practised Golden
Roc Fort Internal Strength, they do not need to go through this step and
experience the excruciating pain.
When one dispelled his Internal Strength, one would have to endure
excruciating pain, which was similar to having his bones ripped out from his
body while still being alive.
For two consecutive nights, Gu Shenwei was dispelling his Internal Strength
in a room in the backyard. Maid Lotus was guarding outside in order to
prevent anyone from disturbing Gu Shenwei. They were afraid that Miss
would have an errand for them as it was impossible to interrupt the process of
dispelling Internal Strength.
Fortunately, there were ten killers and twenty machetemen guarding Luo
Ningcha. Hence, Luo Ningcha was able to sleep well. As she was mindful of
how others gossip about her, she didn't allow the killers to stand on guard
inside the house.
It took three days to dispel Internal Strength and, by the time Shen Liang
came, Gu Shenwei had managed to dispel most of his Internal Strength.
When the Heart Cleansing Yard Blademaster grabbed him, he seemed very
weak and said, "Blademaster Shen. Please be patient. I may commit suicide a
few days later."
Shen Liang exerted too much force as he almost broke Slave Huan's bone. He
loosened his grip. The original plan was completely disrupted. "How long has
it been?" he asked.
"About ten days."
"Why didn't you mention about it earlier?"
"I don't want to trouble the Fort."
"Do you think that just the two of you could cure qigong deviation?"
"We will try every method. I may even recover without any treatment."
Shen Liang felt that Slave Huan was lying, but it was true that he lost his
Internal Strength. It was unnecessary for a blademaster to mobilize his men
for a killer. Shen Liang hoped that he could make use of Slave Huan to
diminish Lady Meng's influence, hence he wanted conclusive evidence.
However, there was a loophole in the current evidence.
"Very good," Shen Liang said, "Recuperate well. I think you'll get better
soon."
Shen Liang left and didn't reveal all of his information. He wanted to
thoroughly investigate this matter.
Just when Gu Shenwei was relieved, a series of trouble came.
The news that Slave Huan was experiencing qigong deviation and losing
Internal Strength had quickly spread out. Luo Ningcha was the first one who
reacted. She said, "Oh my. I have allowed him to protect me. Is qigong
deviation similar to being possessed?"
She still remembered the scenario of Slave Yao experiencing qigong

deviation and was terrified. She didn't meet Slave Huan. Instead, she got
Maid Lotus to relay a message, saying that Slave Huan had to move out.
For Luo Ningcha, this action was considered to be extremely compassionate

and generous. She still remembered their past friendship. Otherwise, she
would have sent Slave Huan to Firewood Yard and let him die there.
Gu Shenwei complied and moved to East Castle. There were many small
yards, which were specially made for killers to stay in. He wasn't
disappointed as he didn't have much expectations in the first place.
Slave Xin was unexpectedly willing to leave with the killer. He said, "Miss
had allowed me to serve Master Yang so I can't abandon you."
Gu Shenwei pretended to accept Slave Xin. Yet he was still on guard against
the servant.
It wasn't suitable to train in East Castle. A new batch of apprentices was

enthusiastically practising for the annual competition. Some were
unconvinced by Slave Huan's reputation so they viewed him as a competitor.
Maid Lotus was unable to help Gu Shenwei because she had to stay by Luo
Ningcha's side. Gu Shenwei's progress was delayed by two days until
Shangguan Ru came to help.
Shangguan Ru met Eighth Sister-in-law. As she wanted to take Slave Huan

back, she said indirectly, "Maid Lotus will stay with you."
Luo Ningcha wanted to send the "possessed" servant out. She almost agreed,
but at the last moment, she vehemently rejected, "We will become a laughing
stock if we are fighting over a killer. He can stay with me. I can lend him to
you whenever Sister has a lack of manpower."
The desperate situation and the newly learnt skills had once rendered Luo
Ningcha in a state where she was unable to control her feelings. When the
Supreme King made a visit and she became more confident, then that action
could be used against her. She would feel insecure if she were to return Slave
Huan back to Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru "borrowed" Slave Huan. Only both she and Maid Lotus knew
what qigong deviation actually was.
Gu Shenwei moved to Kun Yard. Apart from Inner Residence, Kun Yard was
where the Tenth Young Master resided at. It was very quiet and far away
from the murderous new apprentices of East Castle.
The place was big. Gu Shenwei sent Slave Xin to another yard so he could
live alone. Gu Shenwei managed to complete the third dissipation of Internal
Strength, and then started to practice Wayless Qigong.
He originally wanted to kill the Supreme King and escape when Golden Roc
Fort was in chaos. However, the Supreme King didn't die. The escape plan
was useless because it only took half a night to suppress the riot. Though it
was dangerous, it was still much safer than being pursued.
There were seven chapters in the Wayless book. Gu Shenwei immediately

noticed that the relationship between this number and Immortal Peng.
Shangguan Ru must have revealed much of the contents to the dwarf in the
past.
The Supreme King had never looked for Slave Huan ever since the time
when his daughter had tried to interrupt him. It seemed that he became cold
and indifferent after his powers had been restored. He was no longer
saddened by the death of Immortal Peng and had lost his desire for revenge.
The dispelling of Internal Strength had an unexpected benefit. The two

Peripheral Forces at Baihui and Xuanji acupoints were also dispelled. Even
before he practised Wayless Qigong, he had recovered from the ailment,
which had been troubling him for more than two years.
Gu Shenwei initially didn't believe it. When Maid Lotus visited him and
heard this news, she checked him by using her Internal Strength and
discovered that both of his acupoints were empty. There were no hidden
external forces in the acupoints anymore. She said with surprise, "I haven't
dispelled the last bit of force in my body."
Even though Maid Lotus was surprised, she didn't want to dispel Internal
Strength, which was a drastic measure to treat qigong deviation. She would
rather treat the deviation slowly through practicing Wayless Qigong.
They inspired each other in a manner similar to how both of them had
practiced swordcraft in the past. She gave many useful reminders to Gu
Shenwei during the initial few days.
The method of practicing Wayless Qigong was different from how one
practiced other Internal Strength. For other Internal Strength, one could only
progress to the next chapter after mastering the current chapter. However, for
Wayless Qigong, one had to practice one chapter every day. After completing
all seven chapters, one would start from the first chapter again. The cycle
continued endlessly. The progress was dependent on one's aptitude and level
of hard work as there was no such thing as the highest level.
The most peculiar thing was that it was acceptable to miss out on a few
chapters. As long as one started from the first chapter, two chapters could
form a cycle. Even though the training speed was naturally slower, it's
prowess wouldn't be affected if one persisted for a sufficiently long period of
time.
Gu Shenwei started from scratch. After more than ten days, he could only
feel that his body became lighter, but his Dantian was still empty and there
was no Internal Strength. But this matter couldn't be rushed as it was a slow
process.
After practicing seven chapters for the second time, Gu Shenwei realized a
problem and asked, "Do you think that these seven chapters of Wayless
Qigong feel incomplete?"
His words lit up Maid Lotus's eyes. She had the same feeling and thought
about it for a few days. She said, "Yes. However, I have copied down
everything. The temple guard said it slowly and there were fifteen people
checking against him. There was no mistake. Could there be another hidden
chapter?"
"It is possible that Golden Roc Fort didn't get the full copy."
They discussed for a long time, but they still had no clue. Since it didn't affect
their practice, they placed the matter aside for now.
Gu Shenwei was rarely disturbed in Kun Yard. Shen Liang didn't disappoint
as he closed the assasination case. The Stone Castle's past order and security
were restored.
Second Young Master Shangguan Tian became the scapegoat for the events
because there were many pieces of evidence which showed that Shangguan
Tian was disgruntled. He bribed a master and secretly brought him into the
Stone Castle. He didn't admit that he was the mastermind of the assasination
of the Lord. However, the masters who Shangguan Tian bribed couldn't stand
the torture and confessed that they were responsible for the assasination.
Their targets included the Lord and Lady Meng.
This was sufficient. Shangguan Tian was imprisoned in a dungeon and most
of his subordinates were executed. It appeared that another crisis was quickly
resolved.
Gu Shenwei knew that it was an illusion. Shangguan Tian might have wanted
to kill his father but the assasination of the Supreme King foiled his plan.
Blademaster Shen Liang would probably know the truth and quickly dealt
with the Second Young Master. On one hand, he could suppress the enemy
and on the other hand, he could protect the reputation of Golden Roc Fort. It
would be very shameful if he couldn't find the mastermind of the riot.
Investigations had been going on secretly and many people, including Slave
Huan, were being watched. Gu Shenwei ran into stalkers on several occasions
whenever he went out with Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru cared about the safety of Slave Huan so she visited him almost
every day. When Gu Shenwei had made steady progress and had more free
time, they started to wander around the fort just like what they did in the past.
They "invented" a new game. As they were familiar with the area, they would
often "disappear" and suddenly appeared behind the stalkers to scare them.
This game didn't last long because there were no stalkers a few days later.
Gu Shenwei didn't understand Shangguan Ru's intentions. As they weren't

children anymore, they had lost the initial fun in wandering around the fort.
Gradually, he realized that Shangguan Ru was trying to find traces of Master
Yu. Whenever she went to a location, she would remember certain scenes
and Shangguan Yushi would always be involved in it.
One day in August, Gu Shenwei followed Shangguan Ru to Giant Rock Cliff

to reminisce about the past. They often came here over the past few days.
This was a very secluded place in the past, however, it became less secluded
after the arrow tower at Reincarnation Cliff was built. One could enjoy the
unobstructed view when one stood at the top of the cliff.
Fortunately, there were few people on duty at the arrow tower. Hence, they
weren't worried about being seen.
Recently, Gu Shenwei felt that Shangguan Ru was becoming more and more
troubled. He thought that it was related to Shangguan Yushi so he rarely
comforted her.
Today was no exception. Shangguan Ru stood at the edge of the cliff and
looked into the distance while holding onto a giant stone. She didn't speak for
a long time. Suddenly, she turned around and gave him a mysterious smile.
She was holding onto a few pieces of paper as she said, "This is for you."
Gu Shenwei glanced at it and knew that it was the seventh chapter of

Wayless Book. He asked, "Why did you have it?"
Luo Ningcha handed over the last plank. Both Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus
kept it and didn't give it to Lady Meng.
"It's none of your business. A complet edition is better than an incomplete

one. Well, you better keep it a secret."
"Yes, I will."
Gu Shenwei felt slightly guilty, but was then surprised. He didn't read it
closely, but after glancing over the first few sentences, he realized that the
content was very different from the text on the planks.
Chapter 237 - The Thing
Chapter 237: The Thing
Gu Shenwei was 17 now. During the past few years, he had been exposed to
many erotic visual images and verbal descriptions in South City but had
never been romantically involved with any woman. Therefore, he did not
have a deep insight into the power of beauty and was not very confident
about his plan.
He had successfully persuaded Luo Ningcha to work together with him, but
he still felt uncertain and kept worrying about all the minor details. "The
Supreme King may not come to sleep with Luo Ningcha, since she's his
daughter-in-law. Or, he won't come unless his Internel Strength recovers.
When Shangguan Fa's kung fu is back to its normal levels, I'll be no match
for him. I can only assassinate him when he has no Internal Strength."
Compared to Slave Huan, Xu Yanwei was far more confident in Luo

Ningcha's charm and ability to seduce a man. Although she did not know
Slave Huan's real intentions, she truly enjoyed instructing Luo Ningcha and
taught her everything. After seeing Miss Luo's face with her own eyes and
instructing her for a few days, she asked Slave Huan, "Do you want Miss Luo
to seduce a Buddha or something? My goodness, compared to her, even Xiao
Fengchai looks like a village girl."
Comparing a woman to Xiao Fengchai, who was generally acknowledged as

the most charming prostitute in Pleasure Alley, was the highest praise Xu
Yanwei could think of.
Upon knowing that the Bighead Kingpin's coffin would be transported to

Jade City in several days, Luo Ningcha suddenly became secretive and asked
most of her servants in the backyard to move into the front yard. Only a few
of them that she trusted the most were allowed to stay in the backyard to
serve her. During those days, she kept asking for Xu Yanwei's advice on how
to walk, talk and express herself with her eyes. She felt enlightened by the
views of the prostitute and sighed, "If I had mastered these tricks before,
Shangguan Nu might not have left me alone in this Stone Castle."
Xu Yanwei was never a first-rate prostitute. She was not always able to
control her temper in the presence of her clients and would even offend them
sometimes. Nevertheless, she turned out to be a good teacher who was adept
at instructing her student to control her temper. "All men are the same. They
enjoyed being looked up to and being implored to. The more cuddly and
pitiful you appear, the more generous they'll be to you," she said to Luo
Ningcha.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were put in charge of Luo Ningcha's safety,
which made Gu Shenwei even more anxious. "Both Luo Ningcha's and mine
personal enemies may launch sneak attacks on us at any time. When that
happens, Maid Lotus and I won't be able to take on so many enemies."
Fortunately, the Supreme King keenly sensed that there were some plots
brewing inside the fort and issued an order, which said that whatever the
reason, the one who killed a person in the fort without authorization would be
executed. To maintain his ruling status in Golden Roc Fort, a place packed
with bloodthirsty and merciless killers, the Supreme King never tolerated any
killer acting in defiance of his orders. Given that, Gu Shenwei was pretty sure
that he did not have to worry too much about their safety now.
As the most staunch supporter of the lord's no-kill order, Shangguan Ru also
helped him a lot. She came to visit her Eighth Sister-in-law almost every day.
Although she did not bear any grudge against Luo Ningcha for her past
behaviors, Gu Shenwei still carefully monitor their conversations, in case that
they mentioned the wooden board.
Maid Lotus deduced that Slave Huan and Miss Luo were up to something,
but she never asked him about it. Occasionally, she would persuade him to
practice Wayless Qigong. "Your death caused by the qigong deviation will
arrive earlier than mine. I'm sure that you'll benefit a lot from practicing
Wayless Qigong."
"I'm afraid that I have to wait." He always answered her this way, without
further explanation. He wished to get rid of Peripheral Force as soon as
possible, but unlike Maid Lotus who could start the practice right away, he
had to complete the self-destruction process, namely draining away all of his
Internal Strength, before practicing Wayless Qigong. At such a crucial
moment, he did not want to lose all of his Internal Strength.
He foresaw that the assassination of the Supreme King would cause a tempest
in the fort. "To avoid being drawn into this storm, I have to flee from the fort
right after the assassination. As for Wyaless Qigong, I'll begin practicing it
when I get to somewhere safe. I'll leave Luo Ningcha to her own fate and tell
Xu Yanwei how to save her own life before my departure. I can't protect
them or take them away, so that's all I can do," thought Gu Shenwei.
After a while, he came to realize that he truely wished to take Maid Lotus
along with himself. "Given the tacit understanding I have with her, I'd better
ask her to escape together with me. As a killer, I need such a partner to
protect my rear. Although I can't divulge my plan to her at this moment,
when the Supreme King is killed in the Eighth Young Master's residence, it'll
be a natural choice for her, a killer of the Eighth Young Master, to flee to
protect herself."
Gu Shenwei was sure that he had gotten everything ready, now he only
needed to see if Luo Ningcha could succeed in attracting people's attention in
Jade City during her first outing without wearing a veil.
The truth was that Luo Ningcha had achieved a smashing success, which far
exceeded Gu Shenwei's expectations. She caused such a sensation that all the
people in Jade City heard of her new title "the most beautiful woman in the
world" within a short time. When she was heading back toward Stone Castle,
the security checkpoint that she was going to pass were already packed with
tens of thousands of people, who wished to get a glimpse of the beauty. The
guards at the checkpoint had to resort to force to resolve the traffic
congestion and to keep her adoring fans at bay, which nearly caused a riot.
Before her return, all the people in Golden Roc Fort had heard of the
sensation, and more than a hundred of them had already crammed into the
alley in front of the entrance of the Eighth Young Master's residence, waiting
for her. Some of them just came to join the fun, while the others secretly
planned to make troubles to embarrass her as a way to please Lady Meng.
However, the moment Luo Ningcha got out of her carriage while being
supported by her maids, all the people in the alley spontaneously made way
for her. They were taken by her beauty, so much so that they would rather
hold their breath than say anything to disturb her. After she entered the
residence, they finally got their breath back and sighed simultaneously,
feeling a kind of emptiness in the absence of the beauty.
Gu Shenwei and Luo Ningcha had intended to attract only the Supreme King.
Beyond their expectations, they first attracted a group of flirtatious men of
the Shangguan family, and some of them were still students of the school.
They flocked to Shangguan Nu's residence with the excuses of expressing
sympathy to their Eighth Aunt-in-law, Eighth Sister-in-law or even Eighth
Granddaughter-in-law. Gu Shenwei had never seen this place so crowded
before.
As he planned to maintain Luo Ningcha's mystery after her first outing

without wearing a veil, he allowed no one to enter the residence and thus
offended quite a lot of people. Shangguan Hong came here too, but he
quickly fled the place when he saw Slave Huan.
In the end, only Shangguan Ru managed to squash into the residence and
finally met her Eighth Sister-in-law in person. She expressed her condolence
and then had a short conversation with Luo Ningcha, who did not wear a veil
anymore. After that, she walked out, shaking her head and clicking her
tongue in wonder. "Now, you bear such a heavy responsibility, Slave Huan.
Be careful and take good care of her. Otherwise, my Eighth Brother won't let
you off easily," Shangguan Ru said smilingly.
Gu Shenwei smiled back at her without saying a word, while thinking, "
Shangguan Ru still doesn't realize that Shangguan Nu will never be able to
return to Stone Castle as long as the Supreme King is alive."
Everyone was tired out after the busy day and went to bed early in the
evening. As Luo Ningcha still had not fully recovered from her anxiety,
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus had to take turns to stand guard at night inside
her room. Only with a guard being around, Miss Luo could feel secure as if
sleeping with a saber under her pillow.
Today, it was Gu Shenwei's turn to keep guard for Luo Ningcha, and the
thing just happened when both of them were unprepared.
Today's outing had exhausted Luo Ningcha's energy, but when she lay on her
bed at night and recalled what had happened during the day, she felt thrilled.
She finally knew how attractive she was, and this made her think back to the
first few months after getting married to Shangguan Nu. Back then, her
husband had been madly in love with her but she had always dreaded seeing
his hand hook and thus seldom showed affection to him. At the moment, Luo
Ningcha believed that this was the reason for Shangguan Nu's decision to
walk out on her and betray the Golden Roc Fort.
She felt somewhat stifled and confined on her bed, which was big enough for
two people, and asked Maid Cui, who was lying at her foot and forever on
call, to get out of her bed.
After sending Maid Cui away, she still could not fall asleep. Like a little girl
who was excited about a new toy, Luo Ningcha had just discovered her
glamor and was fascinated by it.
"Are you still here?" asked Luo Ningcha.
"Yes, I am," replied Gu Shenwei.
"Come here."
Miss Luo sounded differently. Her voice had never been so sweet when she
had been practicing speaking with Xu Yanwei before, but now she suddenly
got the trick without her teacher's guidance.
Gu Shenwei's heart skipped a beat, and at the same time, he had an unusual
feeling. He had occasionally felt this way back in South City and every time
he could easily suppress this urge. However, this time, he discovered that it
had already grown into a monster, which was roaring and struggling, trying
to break the shackles on itself.
He could not help moving his feet. Soon enough, he went behind the screen
and stopped beside Miss Luo's bed, his mind completely blank.
"Do you find me attractive?" asked Luo Ningcha.
"Uhm," Gu Shenwei mumbled, while continuing fighting against his desire.

As her face had already been imprinted on his mind, now he felt as if he
could see it in this pitch-dark room.
"Why don't you show any interest in me?"
"I'm a killer."
"So is he."
Upon realizing that Luo Ningcha was referring to the Supreme King, Gu
Shenwei became clear-headed and thought, " I should not come in here. If the
Supreme King can't wait any longer and come here tonight, it'll be me instead
of my foe being killed in this bed."
When he was about to retreat, his right hand, which was gripping his saber
shaft, was grabbed by a soft, cold and trembling hand.
"If I can't make you fall for me, how can I satisfy him?" asked Luo Ningcha.
If she had said these words to any other man, the man would have felt being
insulted. However, for the killer, these words happened to give him a
reasonable explanation.
He accepted that hand's guidance, took off his clothes and went to the bed.
Luo Ningcha slowly slid a finger from his arm to his chest. "You have so
many scars," she exclaimed.
Her husband, Shangguan Nu was also a killer, but he did not have any scar on
his body except for his severed hand.
Gu Shenwei remained silent, as he was fighting against the monster in his
heart. That monster was urging him to throw himself on top of the woman,
choke her and tear her into pieces. That monster wanted him to merge
together with the woman, while he just wished to keep calm. He hoped to be
a professional killer, who could enjoy the passion without being controlled by
it.
Luo Ningcha was somehow aroused by his rough skin and scars. She felt a
flow of warmth circulating inside her body and surging inside her lower
abdomen.
As the young killer was inexperienced, she had to take the initiative to seduce
him. She tried all the tricks she had recently learned on him, while feeling
half excited and half ashamed.
They clumsily tried out all the theories they knew and did their best to hide
their ignorance. As a result, both of them could not relax themselves.
Luo Ningcha had never enjoyed making love to Shangguan Nu, as she really
feared and loathed his hand hook. She even found it repellent to stay in the
same room with that man.
However, now she somehow felt an intense pleasure and waves of

excitement. She wanted to call out and was unafraid to let the waves inundate
her.
Gu Shenwei, who had despised Tie Hanfeng for his habit of raping a woman
before killing her, now yielded to his desire for Luo Ningcha, who was his
enemy's wife and the sacrificial lamb in his plan. "It's a double pleasure. I can
not only satisfy myself but also retaliate against Shangguan Nu by making
love to her," thought Gu Shenwei. He guessed that he must have been subtly
influenced by his Master Shifu and thus subconsciously accepted his idea.
Nevertheless, his first attempt to gain such a double pleasure ended in the
most embarrassing way. He was disappointed to find out that even a killer
who was good at disciplining himself was unable to control everything in his
life.
Upon discovering that he had ended the thing prematurely, Luo Ningcha did
not say anything to comfort him. Instead, she jeered at him and said, "Maid
Wan is right. It's your first time, isn't it? She told me that men always end up
like this during their first experience. You've spent quite a long time in South
City. How come you don't have any experience? How about Maid Lotus? I
heard that you're romanticly involved with her."
"Shut up," Gu Shenwei said harshly.
"How dare you!" Luo Ningcha was about to lose control of her temper.
"If I were the Supreme King, I would hush you up." Gu Shenwei explained.
With these words, he forced himself on her again, full of anger. He forgot
about all the tricks and just did everything that the monster in his heart
wanted him to do.
He came to understand that the best way to overcome his desire was to give
vent to it.
Gu Shenwei and Luo Ningcha, who had been awkward a while ago, had an
awesome, memorable experience this time. They reached the climax together
and then gradually slid into an abyss. They felt that it came like a violent gust
of wind or a bolt of lightning. The felt as if they were traveling as freely as
light in the void.
Since then, Luo Ningcha and Gu Shenwei had shared one more secret with
each other.
Throughout the night, Gu Shenwei had been worried that if the Supreme
King would have suddenly come in here, but facts proved that his worries
were entirely unnecessary. Rumors about Luo Ningcha's beauty did spark the
Supreme King's romantic interest in his own daughter-in-law, but he was not
an ordinary man and would never sneak into a woman room covertly.
When a strange old killer came to see the Eighth Young Mistress and offered
condolence to her on behalf of the Supreme King, Gu Shenwei knew that his
plan worked.
He quickly forgot about the temporary pleasure he had with Luo Ningcha and
concentrated on his assassination plan. Now, he was a cold-blooded killer
again, who was always ready to strike his saber and sword at his targets.
Chapter 238 - Dagger
Chapter 238: Dagger
The seventh chapter of Wayless Book had two versions. Gu Shenwei's heart
was racing. He asked about the origins of the text while he pretended to be
concerned about Shangguan Ru's safety.
"Alright, it's okay to tell you," Shangguan Ru said. She could not dissuade
Slave Huan and had to say the truth, "The text on Eighth Sister-in-law's plank
was relatively short and Fifteenth Sacred Master was responsible for reciting
it. Mother pressured him a little bit…"
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that there was a special method to preserve the
Wayless Book. A temple guard had to memorize the entire content and
fifteen sacred masters would memorize different parts of the book to prevent
any error and forgetfulness. They would check against one another annually.
The temple guard would never casually leak out the contents and it was even
more difficult to get the sacred masters to reveal them. However was still
possible to make them reveal the contents by pressuring one of these masters,
especially the last master. Hence, the "little pressure" applied by Lady Meng
seemed to be effective.
"Did the Sacred Master recite the text to you?"
"No. After mother obtained the text, she handed it over to me," Shangguan
Ru answered. She stared into Gu Shenwei's eyes and looked slightly
confused. Slave Huan should be thrilled since he had received the text.
Gu Shenwei then revealed a warm smile and said, "This is great. I'm finally
not restrained by the Missus. She can keep that plank."
Shangguan Ru smiled. This was what she expected. She said, "Eighth Sister-
in-law is too petty. She wants to get hold of everything." She paused and
asked again, "Was my father really in her…room that night?"
"It's better for you to feign ignorance."
Shangguan Ru kicked the boulder angrily and appeared to be in pain.

Different people had different impressions of the Supreme King. In
Shangguan Ru's eyes, he was a strict but loving father. Few dared to gossip
about the Supreme King in front of her. However, her father suddenly
changed. Her third brother was the first to tell her about how unacceptable
their father was. Then, it was followed by the incident concerning Eighth
Sister-in-law.
Since the death of Master Yu, Shangguan Ru's world was gradually
collapsing, but it was far from over.
"Killers are always like this," Gu Shenwei said. He could not think of any
words to comfort her. Suddenly, without rhyme or reason, he thought of the
crippled killer Tie Hanfeng and started talking about his past. He finally said,
"Forgetfulness is a type of ruthlessness, and promiscuousness is also
ruthlessness."
Shangguan Ru felt that it was extremely unacceptable to kill people.

However, she could come to terms with it. Little did she know, that was just
the tip of the iceberg. There were too many unacceptable things that were
beyond her imagination. She was disappointed, but she quickly detached
herself away from it. She was unable to think so much as she was only
fourteen.
"Hey, could you teach me swordcraft?" Shangguan Ru asked in order to

change the subject so she could get rid of such meaningless thoughts. As if
she was surrounded by a sea of evil, she hoped to isolate herself on a lonely
island and stay like this forever.
"Swordcraft?" Gu Shenwei asked. Shangguan Ru changed the topic of

conversation too abruptly and Gu Shenwei could not keep up with her.
"Didn't you learn swordcraft at Joy Pavilion?"

"Those things," Gu Shenwei said contemptuously, "Alright, I'll teach you."
There was a conflict between Emotionless Swordsmanship and swordcraft of

Death Scripture. Gu Shenwei had not practiced Emotionless Swordsmanship
for a long time. He used a wooden saber in place of a real sword and taught
Shangguan Ru move by move.
Emotionless Swordsmanship appeared to be flamboyant without the

cooperation of Secrets of Love. They seemed to be having fun, and they
weren't bothered by it.
Gu Shenwei didn't practice Wayless Qigong that night. Instead, he was

comparing the contents between the two versions of the seventh chapter of
Wayless Book.
It was indeed different. Most of the contents were the same, but there were
some keywords, which were completely the opposite. One wrote "Congealing
Qi," and the other wrote "Dispelling Qi." One wrote "From Yin to Yang," and
the other wrote, "From Yang to Yin." It was obvious that it was not an act of
negligence, but rather, it was a deliberate forgery.
Although Gu Shenwei had a few suspects in mind, he calmly reconsidered all

the possibilities.
The first suspects were the temple guard and the sacred masters. They had no
reason to forge the contents as they knew if someone were to overhear any of
the contents, they would just silence the person. There was no need to
complicate things.
The second suspect was Maid Lotus; however, she had no reason to do it. She
had numerous chances and methods to kill Slave Huan. Hence, she did not
need to come up with a set of fake Internal Strength. Furthermore, she was
suspended in the air while memorizing the content. It would be difficult for
her to change the words within.
The next suspect was Shangguan Ru. However, she knew that Slave Huan
had lost all his skills and could easily kill him.
The last suspects were Lady Meng and the Fifteenth Sacred Master. One of
them must be the one who forged the contents. If the culprit was Lady Meng,
she would first harm her daughter then Slave Huan. Therefore, Lady Meng
was less likely to be the culprit. As for that Sacred Master, he was likely to
forge the contents as he was pressured to say them, but he didn't want to
break his oath.
Thus, Shangguan Ru was the only victim.
Gu Shenwei hid both versions and didn't mention about them to Maid Lotus.
He hesitated whether to tell Shangguan Ru the truth. At this moment, he did
not understand the hidden meaning behind the hesitation. A few days later, he
realized that he had unconsciously changed.
Both of them continued to practice their swordcraft at the Giant Rock Cliff.
Even though they knew the swordcraft was not very powerful, they still
practiced diligently.
That afternoon, the autumn chill damaged a few fallen leaves. Shangguan Ru
practiced slightly harder and her cheeks were flushed. Her mood was good
and she had a naughty and dazzling smile on her face as though she could
hum a tune at any moment.
At this moment, Gu Shenwei felt a sudden impulse to tell Shangguan Ru that

there were some issues with her Wayless Qigong.
"What's wrong with you?" Shangguan Ru asked with concern. She felt that
there was something wrong with Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei reminded himself that she was the daughter of his enemy. His
hatred was like the tide on the ocean. But he couldn't reignite it regardless
how hard he tried. He said, "I'm a little tired."
"Oh. I always forget that you currently have no Internal Strength. Let's call it
a day. How long have you been under the self-destruction for? Haven't you
recovered yet?"
"It's been half a month. I think it's almost over."

Both of them left together. Shangguan Ru was hopping all the way as though
she had returned to her old self. When they separated, she whispered, "I will
give you the same gift tomorrow."
Gu Shenwei became so afraid that he didn't even eat his dinner. He was alone
in the house and banned Slave Xin from entering. He was thinking, but he
didn't understand what was wrong with him and why he felt apologetic
towards Shangguan Ru.
This was the first time. He felt more and more guilty ever since he obtained
the fake seventh chapter. He often found himself defending Shangguan Ru so
that he could prove that she wasn't his enemy.
Indeed, what did Shangguan Ru do to hurt him? No, nothing at all.

Shangguan Nu wiped out the Gus Family, but what does it have to do with
Shangguan Ru? She neither participated in nor planned the killing.
The entire Golden Roc Fort was also innocent. They were an organization of
killers and were employed to kill people. Now, it seemed that the employer
was probably his in-law Wei Song. There was no difference between the
Stone Castle and the saber, which was used to kill people.
Such thoughts scared Gu Shenwei.
Time was like running water and hatred was like a tough towering stone. As
water flowed, the stone would be eroded. This was the first time Gu Shenwei
felt that his hatred was being eroded in these three years. It had been the only
thing that supported him, but now it became unfamiliar and distant.
No one, excluding himself, had ever called the name "Gu Shenwei" for a long
time. The killer began to worry if he had completely became Slave Huan.
Maid Lotus visited him the next morning. Gu Shenwei, who stayed up all
night, could not stand it any longer. He poured out some of his worries to her,
but he didn't mention the annihilation of the Gus Family. He said, "Killers
need hatred, but I can't seem to hate anything."
Maid Lotus thought for a while and stretched out her hand to press against his
forehead. Although she was indifferent, her palm felt warm and soft. Gu
Shenwei realized that not only had he forgotten about his hatred, he had
become more affectionate. Even though he often worked with Maid Lotus, he
rarely felt something for her. However, he had an impulse to embrace her
forcefully today.
Maid Lotus felt that there was nothing strange about Slave Huan and said, "I
think that it is related to the lack of practicing the Death Scripture after you
have dispelled your Internal Strength."
"What do you mean?" Gu Shenwei asked eagerly. He hoped for an

explanation and wished that his changes were caused by external forces.
"I heard from a killer mentor said that both the desire and the kung fu
constitute the killing desire." Maid Lotus pondered and recalled what she
heard at that time, "The weak have no killing desire. The stronger the person,
the stronger the killing desire. The killing desire and one's strength are
correlated. Although he had mentioned killing desire, it seemed appropriate
for your current situation."
Gu Shenwei gained a slight understanding but had another concern. Maid

Lotus was implying that the Death Scripture was controlling him, instead of
Gu Shenwei practicing it. What was the difference between this and Immortal
Peng's trick?
Gu Shenwei had once experienced true hatred. That feeling was strong, but it
often made him lose his rationality. He would go all out for the sake of
killing people. his hatred became more and more stable as he improved his
kung fu. He could finally control it and often relied on it.
His hatred and killing desire diminished with the momentary loss of his kung
fu. He had little true hatred left in him.
After Maid Lotus left, Gu Shenwei was still confused, but he couldn't
extricate himself from the confusion. He tried many ways to reignite the
hatred, but he would give up halfway each time. It continued until Shangguan
Ru arrived as promised, and she brought him a present.
"This was given to me by Eighth Brother a few years ago. I like it very much
and have treasured it. It just so happened that you use a sword, so I decided to
… give it to you," Shangguan Ru said. She reluctantly handed the dagger to
Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei received it. He drew the sword out and looked at it. He said,
"This is a good sword, but I don't have any present for you."
"You could probably give me a sword that has a name engraved on it?"
Shangguan Ru asked as she laughed.
Gu Shenwei smiled, but he felt like someone was stabbing his heart. Instead
of blood, hatred was surging out like a volcano eruption. The deep intense
hatred, which he thought had been eroded away by time, suddenly emerged
ferociously.
Regardless of who the employer was, Golden Roc Fort was still his enemy.
Hadn't Shangguan Ru hurt him before? She had betrayed the two giant rocs.
Gu Shenwei tightly gripped the dagger. He became less empathetic and

fearful. Should he tell the truth? It was a ridiculous idea. He wanted to watch
Shangguan Ru practice the wrong Wayless Qigong until she died painfully.
Gu Lun gave this dagger to his youngest son and the young personal
attendant kept possession of it. After the attendant was killed by Young
Master Gu, Shangguan Nu got hold of the dagger, which was then given to
his sister, Shangguan Ru.
The Will of the Divine didn't want to further weaken the killer, hence it made
Shangguan Ru bring his most familiar dagger.
Chapter 239 - Bedroom
Chapter 239: Bedroom
Shangguan Fa had been romantically involved with countless women. Even

he himself could not tell the approximate number of women he had slept
with. Nor did he bother to remember those women of little importance.
The Supreme King felt enticed by pretty women the same as an emperor was
tempted by land. Although all the mountains and rivers under the sky looked
almost the same, the vast expanse of land always seemed to be stretching to
infinity. Faced with such an endless land, an emperor could never cease to
conquer.
The Supreme King never stopped conquering, either. In his eyes, every
woman he had slept with was like a piece of land he had seized. Driven by an
indescribable desire, he pressed ahead, conquering continuously, and seldom
cast a glance backward. This desire was not a lust for women, since he had
lost interest in this kind of thing a long time ago. Nor was it an urge to gratify
his vanity, for he disdained to do so.
When he became more mature and saw most of his sons reach adulthood, he
finally understood what the desire was. He realized that deep inside his heart,
he believed that he was born to be a king, a real king. He was confident that
even if he began as a king of a very small country, he would be able to
expand his domain to compete with or even annex Norland and the Central
Plain.
To his great disappointment, he was only the Supreme King, and it was just a
jianghu title instead of a royal title. Although his Golden Roc Fort was
widely-recognized as the most powerful force in Western Regions, his
territory had not yet been officially acknowledged as a country. Unable to
fulfill his ambition for power, he could only satisfy his desire to possess and
conquer by sleeping with more and more women.
In the past, Shangguan Fa had been totally uninterested in Luo Ningcha for a
reason. As this women never showed her face to anyone, he deduced that the
only reason she had won those praises for her beauty was that the people who
lived in dread of the Iron Mountain Gang tried to flatter Bighead Kingpin by
bragging about how beautiful his daughter was. Given her father's looks, the
Supreme King did not believe that Luo Ningcha could live up to her
reputation.
Therefore, when the whole Jade City was amazed by her beauty, Shangguan
Fa felt, for the first time in years, the temptation of a woman. After
conquering lots of "places", he surprisingly discovered that a paradise-like
place right behind his base had not yet been merged into his domain.
The elderly killer sent by the Supreme King did not announce his name when
he came to visit Luo Ningcha. After chatting with the Eighth Young Mistress
for a while, he went out to check the situation in the backyard and then
ordered all the maids and killers living in the yard to move into the front
yard, by saying "The Eighth Young Mistress need peace and quiet." Upon
hearing his words, all the people in the backyard knew for sure that
something was going to happen tonight.
The elderly killer's words reassured Gu Shenwei that his plan worked and he
finally got the chance that he had dreamed of for years. He could not help
thinking, "Tonight, everything will come to an end. Zhang Ji is right about
the Supreme King's sons. None of them are competent enough to manage the
Golden Roc Fort. Once Shangguan Fa is dead, the fort will soon collapse."
Gu Shenwei felt for the first time that he was so close to his goal of avenging
his family's death. He felt that now the goal was like a ripe fruit hanging from
a tree and he only needed to lift his arm to pick it off.
"Luo Ningcha will be killed too. Once the others know that the lord dies
inside her bedroom, they'll immediately kill her to avenge the lord's death, no
matter what she says."
Gu Shenwei searched his conscience and glad to see that he was not jealous
of the Supreme King or sorry for causing Luo Ningcha's death. He and Luo
Ningcha had never fallen in love with each other, even when they were in
complete harmony with each other in bed.
Both of them were unable to fall in love with anyone.
A killer only wanted to maintain a strong killing intent and regarded the other
desires as hidden danger, which needed to be restrained or even destroyed.
Even when a killer occasionally took a risk to satisfy those desires, he or she
just did this to appease them, just like a professional animal trainer throwing
a piece of meat to an animal to make it quiet.
As for Luo Ningcha, she only loved herself. Countless people were enchanted
by her appearance and believed her to be a nice and kind lady like a gracious
goddess. Nevertheless, her beautiful face was just another mask she wore
under her veil, and only a few people who were close to her were able to
discover her selfishness and cruelty. Unfortunately, Gu Shenwei was one of
these people.
Before this day, he had spent three days living a seclusive life with her.
During those three days, they vented their lustful desires and satisfied each
other so much so that they could just get over each other after those days.
Now in the front yard, which was crammed with all the servants of the
residence, Gu Shenwei began to prepare for his assassination mission in a
small bedroom that was assigned to him.
He folded his night suit neatly and then kept wiping his saber and sword until
they could not be more shiny. Although he had a servant now, he still did
many of those trivial things by himself.
For a killer, a perfect assassination plan had to include retreat planning. Gu

Shenwei hoped that the Golden Roc Fort would hurtle into chaos and
unprecedented violence after he killed the Supreme King, so he went to chat
with Zhang Ji that afternoon and before his departure, he deliberately said to
the teacher, "I find the current situation in the fort very unstable. As the
young masters are fighting endlessly against one another, I guess that a
commotion is going to break out very soon. Given this, you can make some
preparations for Master Hong."
"Very soon? When? " Zhang Ji immediately asked.
"Maybe tonight, tomorrow night or the night after that," replied Gu Shenwei.
He could not talk about this any further, as in this Stone Castle, trusting
anyone might turn out to be a fatal mistake.
By talking ambiguously to Zhang Ji, he intended to delude the teacher into

believing that it was one of the young masters who would deliberately create
chaos in the Golden Roc Fort. Despite that the Supreme King had already
resolved the Central Plains crisis, his sons still remained in the fort and
competed against one another for their father's favor. Under such
circumstances, Gu Shenwei believed that it would be perfectly natural for
Zhang Ji to suspect the young masters' real motives.
After getting everything ready, he returned to the Eighth Young Mistress'

residence. He felt that it took a particularly long time to get dark after the
sunset today and got increasingly nervous as time went by. He had never felt
this way since he had become an apprentice in East Castle. This reminded
him of the night three years ago, when he and his friends, all equipped with
inferior kung fu skills, had been anxiously preparing to assassinate Han Shiqi.
He placed his saber and sword in front of himself and wiped both of them
once again. In the end, however, he decided to carry only the saber with
himself, as he thought, "The only reason I'm able to kill the Supreme King is
that he has lost all of his Internal Strength. Using a sword to kill him may
expose my identity and ruin my escape plan."
When it finally got dark, all the servants in the front yard went to bed earlier
than usual, as they knew that the Supreme King would probably come to visit
Luo Ningcha tonight. Even the most curious people in here could only
secretly think about this thing to themselves for a moment. Although they
could not fall asleep at this hour, they still made some loud snoring sounds,
lest being accused of peeping at the Supreme King.
Gu Shenwei quietly left his bedroom and sneaked into the backyard, planning
to hide himself well before the lord's black-masked assassins sealed the yard.
The hiding place he chose for himself was Luo Ningcha's reception room.
This room was separated into two parts by a wooden wall and on the hostess'
side, there was a door leading to her bedroom.
He placed himself on the beam that supported the roof structure, for he could
easily cross the wooden wall from this place.
As he came into his place earlier than he had expected, he could hear Luo
Ningcha anxiously pacing back and forth inside her room now. Suddenly, he
began to reminisce about the good time he had inside that room. Just the
night before, they had stayed up all night making love tirelessly, obsessed
with trying all kinds of tricks on each other. Only a dozen hours later, the
killer regarded her as nothing but a sacrificial lamb.
He felt hesitant for a moment and then resolutely banished those thoughts. "If
I can't subdue my lust for a woman, how can I be counted as a professional
killer?" thought Gu Shenwei. Although he himself had never been trained in
the Carvewood Academy, he had heard that all the apprentices in the
academy, both boys and girls, would lose their virginity there and that this
was actually a part of their training. Once the apprentices grew accustomed to
this kind of thing, they would become someone like Maid Lotus, who would
never hesitate to seduce their assassination targets if there was a need.
Gradually, his feelings for Luo Ningcha and even his anxiety for the
assassination mission subsided. He now waited patiently and whole-
heartedly, while breathing extremely gently and making no sounds.
Suddenly, he felt that someone entered the room, although he did not see it or
hear it.
"It must be a black-masked assassin," thought Gu Shenwei. Like a hunting

dog, the assassin immediately began nosing around after it entered the room.
Gu Shenwei held his breath and finally caught a glimpse of the black-masked
assassin when he felt a gust of breeze blowing across him. He saw the
assassin appear and disappear an inch away, like a phantom in the night.
For the rest of the night, the assassin remained hiding in a corner of the room,
and Gu Shenwei kept breathing at the same rate as the invisible enemy,
vigilantly guarding against him. As he concentrated all his energies and
thoughts on the assassin, he did not notice what was going on in the adjacent
bedroom.
As a result, he did not get a chance to assassinate the Supreme King and
could only let him leave safely that night.
He could have killed the black-masked assassin prematurely, but by doing so,
he would have alerted the Supreme King and the other black-masked
assassins who stayed somewhere around.
He did not want to waste a good opportunity. Nor did he want to spoil it.
He had confidence in Luo Ningcha's charm and firmly believed that the
Supreme King would come to visit her again.
As he had expected, on the second day, the servants were still banned to enter
the backyard, except for Maid Cui and a few other maids of Luo Ningcha.
Gu Shenwei spent the entire day considering how to get rid of the black-
masked assassin that would follow the Supreme King into Luo Ningcha's
room. The simplest option was to kill that assassin when he was nosing
around in the room, and the moment he brushed past the beam was the best
chance. However, after thinking about this plan for a long time, Gu Shenwei
still decided to give it up, since killing the assassin might alert the Supreme
King and the other assassins before he got close to the lord.
Gu Shenwei was left with only one choice: sneaking into Luo Ningcha's
bedroom before the coming of the Supreme King and his assassin. He had
planned to accomplish this assassination mission all by himself before, but
now he had to ask someone else for help, since he could not let Luo Ningcha
know that he was going to hide in her bedroom.
In the evening, Xu Yanwei went to the backyard and required to meet Miss
Luo. Among all the maids, only she dared to do so, since now she was the
most trusted maid of Miss Luo. After giving Miss. Luo some tips for the
night, she quickly left the backyard.
She did this at Yang Huan's request without knowing his real intentions. She
had made up her mind a long time ago that she would always follow Mr.
Huan's instructions.
With the help of Xu Yanwei, Gu Shenwei successfully sneaked into Luo

Ningcha's bedroom and hid under her bed, planning to repeat his success of
using a knife to kill his target from under the bed.
To his intense disappointment, the Supreme King did not come that night,
and all his efforts were thus wasted.
Compared to the disappointed killer hiding under the bed, the young lady
lying on the bed appeared even more agitated. She felt that she was betrayed
by everyone and kept cursing all the traitors, including the Supreme King and
Slave Huan, in a low, angry voice until late night. When she finally fell sound
asleep, Gu Shenwei stealthily left her room, without being detected by her at
all.
He was well aware that he could not play the same trick again, so on the third
night, he decided to kill the Supreme King's black-masked assassin first and
thus carried both his sword and his saber with himself.
That night, his patience finally paid off. The Supreme King left all of his
black-masked assassins outside and entered Luo Ningcha's room alone. This
was probably because of his increased confidence in the security here and the
fact that he did not want anyone to stay nearby and eavesdrop on him when
he was making love to a woman.
As Shangguan Fa walked very quietly, Gu Shenwei had not noticed him

coming until he heard Luo Ningcha' joyful voice coming through the wooden
wall. "Xu Yanwei taught her well," Gu Shenwei thought, as he left his sword
on the beam. He quietly climbed down the wooden wall to get into the
hostess' side of the reception room. After that, he opened the door a crack and
sneaked into Luo Ningcha's bedroom.
The room was illuminated by a single lamp, which was placed beside Luo
Ningcha's bed. Now, she and the Supreme King were passionately making
out.
"The Supreme King has already lost all of his Internal Strength," With this in
mind, Gu Shenwei quickly calmed himself down. In the next moment, he
took one step forward to get into a proper stance, readying to leap forward
and stab the Supreme King to death.
Suddenly, he felt somewhat anxious, as if there was something standing in

his way, hindering him from advancing and warning him that there was
danger looming ahead.
Despite that, he still jumped up with his saber in hand.
In the meantime, Luo Ningcha was wheezing in her bed, but suddenly, she
discovered that the man on top of her was missing. She felt as if she was
having a nice dream which abruptly stopped at the happiest moment.
The next minute, when she turned her head to the side, her sweet dream
turned into a nightmare. She saw that a black-clothed, masked assassin
appeared under the light, and the naked Supreme King struck on the
assassin's chest with his palm. Shangguan Fa was surprised to find out that
this reckless assassin had great kung fu. Instead of being killed on the spot,
he made use of the backward momentum and leaped out of the room after
smashing the door open.
Shangguan Fa had lied to everyone including his son, Shanggyan Yun. His
Internal Strength had already gone back to normal levels several days ago.
Luo Ningcha finally woke up from her "dreams". She sensed the danger and
screamed at top of her lungs regardless of anything.
Chapter 240 - Pregnancy
Chapter 240: Pregnancy
After his self-destruction, Gu Shenwei became weak. However, this enabled

him to comprehend Death Scripture swordcraft better.
This swordcraft was a bloody art. Users could only improve themselves
through ceaseless killing. The more proficient they were, the greater their
killing desire, and vice versa. The quintessence of "self-deconstruction" and
"life-destruction" led to the same destination, which was to be conquered by
the Murderous Swords, and became a part of it.
When facing one's desire, one's obedience would be one's victory. Emotion,
sword and killing were all one's desire.
Initially, Gu Shenwei felt uneasy about being controlled by the Death

Scripture. However, he now wanted to embrace it.
He had already practiced Wayless Qigong four times. Though his Internal
Strength had not recovered completely, he could feel a strong Internal Breath
moving quickly through his meridians. It disappeared after several weeks, as
though it was a river in a desert.
He believed that he would soon be able to keep the Breath in his Dantian.
He saw the changes in Maid Lotus and Shangguan Ru. Shangguan Ru was
progressing fast although she practiced the wrong skill. She was also well
trained in Emotionless Swords due to her powerful Internal Strength. Gu
Shenwei was left far behind.
Similar to what Gu Shenwei did when Slave Yao was experiencing qigong
deviation, he looked on coldly at Shangguan Ru. There were symptoms
occasionally. Shangguan Ru would sometimes feel tightness in her chest. She
even thought that it was caused by the remnant hazard, which was left by the
master of New Moon Hall.
His days in the fort would have been like this whereby he would practice
Wayless Qigong secretly, watch Shangguan Ru die of qigong deviation,
assassinate the Supreme King, and mess up Golden Roc Fort. Then, he would
find Wei Song to find out all the facts. Unfortunately, his whole plan was
destroyed by a nobody even before it started.
It all started when Luo Ningcha suddenly summoned Slave Huan. It had been
nearly a month since the last time he stepped into the Eighth Young Master's
residence. He even thought that he had nothing to do with this woman
anymore.
Luo Ningcha's attitude alerted the killer. She seemed to have changed into
another person. She was concerned with Slave Huan's "possession" and spoke
many comforting words. She felt slightly out of place new disposition, and
talked nonsense. "You have survived for a month. It seemed that you have a
chance to fully recover. Why not find a monk to conduct a rite for you? I'll
pay for it."
There were other maids in the room, thus Gu Shenwei had to be grateful for
her. He claimed that Miss was extremely kind to her servants and that he was
recovering well.
After talking for a while, Luo Ningcha found an excuse to send all of maids
off and walked out of the screen. She asked in the tone of Xu Yanwei, "Do
you miss me?"
Gu Shenwei didn't miss her. Thus, he gave an ambiguous answer. "I dare
not."
Luo Ningcha took his reply as flattery. She wanted to display her charms, but
then she could not help but raise her hands and gently stroke the killer's face.
"As compared to the father and son, I like you more."
Gu Shenwei felt disgusted. His control over his emotions weakened as he no

longer had his Internal Strength or the Death Scripture. He stepped back to
avoid her hands. "Does Miss have anything for me?"
Luo Ningcha's expression suddenly changed. She shook her hands and went
behind the screen. Though she was not wearing her veil anymore, some of
her habits were unchanged. "Slave Huan, you are ungrateful. Don't you know
that you're a nobody? I can ask the Lord to kill you anytime."
This was the woman Gu Shenwei was familiar with. "If I'm not loyal to Miss,
I'll kill myself at your command."
Luo Ningcha loved to hear this. She remained silent for a while behind the
screen and then said, "I want you to do something for me."
"Please instruct."
"Well, although you have lost your Internal Strength, you haven't lost your
intelligence. Although there are counselors and military counselors in Stone
Castle, you can help me come up with stratagems. I can support you forever,
even if you have lost your kung fu."
"Who's your enemy?"
"Humph, who dares?" Luo Ningcha sounded confident and arrogant. She then
murmured something, but Gu Shenwei could not hear it clearly.
"What did you say?"
"I'm pregnant."
Gu Shenwei had prepared humself fully, but he hadn't expected such a thing.
He was stunned and his facial expression shifted. "Who…?"
"Hee. Don't be silly, it's only been half a month and it has nothing to do with
you."
Gu Shenwei was relieved. This made Miss unhappy again. "It's right to say
that you are ungrateful. It seemed almost as if I spared your life when I say
that it's unrelated to you. Are you that cowardly?"
Gu Shenwei had understood her intention and ignored her accusation. He
said, "Does Miss want me to think of an idea to cover this matter up?"
"Exactly." Luo Ningcha said excitedly. "You're so clever."
"Does the Lord know?"
"I have yet told him. The elderly woman Meng loves to kill pregnant women
in Stone Castle so I didn't reveal this news. But, they'll know sooner or later.
You have to help me think of a way to resolve this. Similar to … Shangguan
Hong, people thought that he was the nephew of the Lord for dozens of years.
But, he was the Lord's illegitimate child. This is the effect I want."
Due to Luo Ningcha's scream that night, people knew that the Lord had
visited his daughter-in-law. However, the fort had to maintain its reputation.
Gu Shenwei thought for a while, and said, "You don't need to wait further.
You tell the people tomorrow that Eighth Young Master had came back
unnoticed when Bighead Kingpin's coffin was sent here."
"Will this work?" Luo Ningcha was unsatisfied with his suggestion. "It has
been half a month. Besides, what if Shangguan Nu doesn't agree? I'll be even
more embarrassed."
"The time difference is insignificant. As for Eighth Young Master, if I'm

right, he won't deny your request, or at least he won't deny it in public"
Luo Ningcha was not stupid. She finally understood after Slave Huan's
clarified. "You're right. Shangguan Nu has yet broken away from Lord. He's
not afraid of me, but he is afraid of the Lord, so… you little imp. That little
girl, Shangguan Ru wants you back, but I won't let her. From now on, you
shall assist me. We will destroy the Meng family. When my child becomes
the Supreme King, I'll make you… What do you want to be?"
"I'll be satisfied as long as I can stay by Miss's side."
"Humph, Slave Huan, you have a glib tongue."
Luo Ningcha's voice became sweet and gentle again. Gu Shenwei was in a
hurry to leave as he stepped out of the house regardless whether Miss agreed.
It was getting dark and there was no one in the backyard. Gu Shenwei heaved
a sigh of relief. He felt that he had to find a way to get rid of Luo Ningcha.
She'll foil his plan sooner or later. Furthermore, she had bore a child for the
Shangguan family so he would have one more enemy.
Before Gu Shenwei could come up with a plan, he saw someone hiding

behind the pillar. His vision and hearing were weakened with the loss of his
Internal Strength. However, he was still very alert. He could guess the
identity of the person with one glance. "Slave Xin, shall we leave together?"
Slave Xin walked out and acted as though he had only just saw Slave Huan.
He looked surprised. "Master Yang, you are out so soon. I thought I would
have to wait longer."
"Well, Miss has nothing much for me. Why did you come? You know that
you can't enter the backyard any time you wish."
"Yes, I know. The weather is cold, so I have brought you a garment. For a
moment, I forgot the rules for a moment."
Slave Xin did bring a robe and helped to put it on for Gu Shenwei. Gu
Shenwei took a few steps and suddenly stopped. "I'm so foolish. Miss had
asked me to take the incense burner out. Come with me."
"Miss said this?" Slave Xin sounded surprised. He then found something
wrong in his words and added hurriedly, "Master Yang, the truth is that I'm
just a lowly slave, so I'm slightly… afraid of her."
"It's ok. Miss has changed. Just remember not to look at her directly." After
saying this, Gu Shenwei walked towards Miss's room.
Slave Xin stood there and hesitated for a while. He then followed Slave
Huan.
Luo Ningcha had lost her affection. She was unhappy with Gu Shenwei for
returning and for knocking on her door. "What do you want? I'm going to
sleep. Call the maid over."
"Miss, you have forgotton that I haven't yet took the incense burner out."
"What…?"
As soon as Luo Ningcha spoke her first word, Gu Shenwei barged in. There
was a timid slave following him. The slave hunched over and his head could
almost touch the ground. She seemed to understand Gu Shenwei's intention.
"You can take the burner out tomorrow."
"Since I'm here, I can do it now…" While talking, Gu Shenwei went past
Slave Xin and closed the door. Then, he suddenly turned over and hit Slave
Xin's neck.
However, Gu Shenwei had forgotten that he had lost his Internal Strength.
His strength was stronger than his same-aged counterparts. Slave Xin fell
onto the floor, but remained conscious. He only hurt his forehead. He rolled
to one side, and sat up. He supported his body with an arm and looked at
Slave Huan in surprise. "Master Yang, you are…"
"What have you heard?"
"I did not… No, I didn't even hear… Master Yang, what do you mean?"
Gu Shenwei had never believed in Slave Xin. After Shen Liang's visit, he
knew that Slave Xin was a surveillant from Heart Cleansing Yard. Thus, he
didn't let Slave Xin serve him. He did not expect that Slave Xin was getting
bolder as he dared to eavesdrop on their conversation.
As Gu Shenwei did not have the Internal Breath, Luo Ningcha did not know
any kung fu, and other killers including Maid Lotus were guarding the front
yard, no one noticed this spy.
"You're Miss's servant. You better tell me the truth. Miss will forgive you,
and also protect you."
"I really did not…"

"You report to Heart Cleansing Yard every day. Shen Liang must have given
you many benefits."
"No, no…"
"How much you knew about Miss? What did you report to Shen Liang? What
is Shen Liang's intention behind this surveillance? Is he unsatisfied with
Miss? Or does he want to harm the Lord?"
"I did not say anything about Miss." Slave Xin was frightened and shocked.
Gu Shenwei's questions made him dizzy. "Blademaster Shen had already
learned that you're from the Gu family. Miss, I did not say anything about
you. I …"
Luo Ningcha stood at the side silently, with her hands hidden behind her.
Then, she suddenly she raised her right hand, and threw a jade paperweight.
Slave Xin reacted fast and dodged. He knew his life was at risk and would
lose his life if he continued act timidly. Thus, he jumped up as he tried to
rush out through the door, after which, he could shout for help and attract the
attention of the killers of Heart Cleansing Yard. This was the only way that
he could save his life.
Gu Shenwei was guarding against Slave Xin. He stepped forward and

blocked the doorway. But he had overestimated his power. Slave Xin was
like a trapped beast who wanted to escape. Gu Shenwei was then knocked
down by Slave Xin.
Chapter 241 - Caught
Chapter 241: Caught
After losing his Internal Strength, Gu Shenwei realized that he couldn't

control his strength. Except for his swordcraft practices with Shangguan Ru,
he didn't enter into a fight with another person.
Gu Shenwei got knocked over by Slave Xin and could not do anything except
to clasp onto Slave Xin's ankle. He made Slave Xin fall and thus, both of
them started fighting. Luo Ningcha tried to separate the two by using a
paperweight to hit them, but she missed. She was breathless as she had
overexerted herself and had nearly fell over. She was furious as she lifted up
the paperweight and aimed for Slave Xin from among the two combatants.
Gu Shenwei finally realized the struggles of the weak. Even if he had a strong
killing desire, he couldn't help much. He had to squeeze every ounce of
strength out of his body to block one of Slave Xin's desperate attacks. After
rolling around on the ground for a while, he was finally able to get on top of
Slave Xin with both of his hands strangling Slave Huan's neck. Slave Huan's
face turned red with his eyes bulged and veins swollen.
Gu Shenwei did not want to kill Slave Xin in this manner. He was prepared
to interrogate Slave Xin. In particular, he wanted to know what Slave Xin
meant when he said, "You're from the Gu Family." Had he been exposed or
was Slave Xin pointing out that Slave Huan was the son of the Gu Family's
old servant, Yang Zheng?
However, Slave Xin was struggling hard and was trying to call for help. As
the Supreme King's killers were in the outer court, Gu Shenwei didn't want
them to be alerted.
Blood rushed to his head losing all sense of reason, only thinking that his
demise was inevitable if he doesn't kill the person in front of his eyes and put
all his strength into his hands and squeezed.
The process of killing seemed to take a long time without the use of his
Internal Strength and the swordcraft from the Death Scriptures. Gu Shenwei
was feeling exhausted and he hoped for this to end quickly, but Slave Xin
was still struggling as he ripped apart Gu Shenwei's clothes.
Boom!
A copper incense burner smashed onto Slave Xin's head, and fresh blood
oozed out. He was no longer struggling.
Gu Shenwei was out of breath as he released his grip and sat on the ground. If
he had another choice, he would rather experience qigong deviation than to
dispel his Internal Strength.
He was also surprised by Luo Ningcha. Usually, she could only throw some
cups and pots, but this time, she was able to lift up a heavy incense burner.
Luo Ningcha was pale and asked blankly, "Is he dead?" She was definitely
not used to killing someone personally.
"Yes."
Both of them were saying a few words when someone outside asked,
"Mistress, do you need anything?"
"No… " Luo Ningcha spat out in a panic. Gu Shenwei interrupted, "A slave
was moving the incense burner, but it fell onto him. Come in and carry him
away."
Luo Ningcha quickly withdrew behind the screen. Gu Shenwei hurriedly put
on his robes and opened the door.
Two killers entered and saw that the incense burner had landed on someone's
head. They did not make a fuss as they understood that such an incident could
happen. "Mistress was not startled, wasn't she?"
"Take this clumsy guy away. Slave Huan, call the maid over and get her to
clean this mess up."
The two killers carried the corpse and the incense burner away while Gu
Shenwei went to the front yard to call for the maid. Then, he ran back to Kun
Yard.
He thought he had concealed himself well and that it was safe within the
Stone Castle. Unfortunately, it seemed that Shen Liang had figured out his
background. However, he hadn't made any actions as he wanted to maximize
his gains.
After calming down, he guessed that Slave Xin probably did not know the
name 'Gu Shenwei.' Luo Ningcha knew that he was posing as Yang Zheng's
son. She probably revealed this information on accident and Slave Xin had
heard about it.
The need to escape had never been so urgent. Gu Shenwei was helpless due
to the temporary loss of his Internal Energy, and there was nowhere to run.
Even after the time for a column of incense to burn out had elapsed, Slave
Huan had yet to regulate his breathing. Maid Lotus arrived. She pushed open
the doors a little bit and slid in. She was wearing her killer's outfit.
Gu Shenwei didn't turn the lights on. He knew that it was Maid Lotus just by
his feelings.
"There are people monitoring you. I think the people from Heart Cleansing
Yard will come for you soon."
Gu Shenwei was prepared for this.
Currently, there were only two people who could save him. The first person
was Luo Ningcha. Even though both of them did not have a close
relationship, they knew many of each other's secrets. Hence, they had to
"trust" each other. The second person was Shangguan Ru. That simple and
naive girl from the Stone Castle was his most reliable talisman.
"Go and find the Tenth Young Master," Gu Shenwei said to Maid Lotus. He
had made his final decision. Luo Ningcha was too unpredictable. Even
though she could help him, she might silence him midway.
Maid Lotus nodded and quickly departed. She had already abandoned her
post when she met with Slave Huan. If she wanted to meet the Tenth Young
Master at the Inner Residence, she had to sneak in while avoiding the night
watchmen. Even though she would be committing a major crime, she did not
utter a word and complied with Slave Huan's request.
News of Slave Xin's death had reached Shen Liang. 'Would Heart Cleansing
Yard's blademaster continue to wait or take action?' Gu Shenwei wondered.
As he was wondering about it, the answer came.
Two masked men, who were dressed in black, came straight in. Gu Shenwei
realized that these two weren't the torturers in yellow belts. They were killers
in red belts. Things were not going the way he wanted.
One man in black guarded the entrance, while the other moved towards Slave
Huan.
"What is going on?" Gu Shenwei asked calmly. He pretended that he was

unaware of what was happening.
The man did not speak. He merely raised his right hand and slapped Slave
Huan's neck. The power exceeded Gu Shenwei's current strength. He saw it
coming and thought of how to dodge the attack, but he could not react in time
because his body was as slow as a snail.
Gu Shenwei fainted. Before he lost his consciousness, his last thought was
that, if he had a choice, he would rather die than to dispel his Internal
Strength.
When he opened his eyes again, he realized that his hands and feet were tied
to a chair. There was a small lamp on a table beside him, which was
illuminating a small circle around him. He soon realized that he was in an
ordinary stone house, instead of the torture chamber within the Heart
Cleansing Yard.
There were other people in the room. They were standing in the dark and
were watching the killer who was tied up.
Gu Shenwei recognized one of them but did not know whether he should
feign ignorance or be straightforward. Thus, he called out ambiguously,
"Blademaster Shen."
"Yang Huan," Shen Liang called out. Every word sounded short, yet forceful
as though this name belonged to someone famous. However, this was the first
time that Shen Liang met the owner of this name.
Gu Shenwei was in a disadvantageous position, so he didn't make any sound

and allowed the other party to make the first move.
"A small killer…" Shen Liang continued with traces of admiration in his
voice, "can cause so much trouble in the Stone Castle right under his master's
nose and not give yourself away. You have made this Heart Cleansing Yard's
blademaster lose face."
"Blademaster Shen would be flattering me if you are talking about me."
"No, no," Shen Liang said. He shook his head while walking out from the
darkness. He went up to Slave Huan and observed Slave Huan's facial
expressions carefully. "It was no flattery. I know about everything that you've
done. You shouldn't have killed Slave Xin. You could have concealed
yourself for a while longer if he were still around."
Gu Shenwei looked directly into Shen Liang's eyes and revealed a sarcastic
smile. If Shen Liang knew everything, he wouldn't have bothered to kidnap
Gu Shenwei. Instead, he would've brought Gu Shenwei to the Supreme King
or had him killed already.
Shen Liang was not irritated by the smile. He straightened himself up and
said, as though he was mumbling, "Yang Huan, son of the old servant, Yang
Zheng, of the Gu Family from the Central Plains, painstakingly followed the
Eighth Young Mistress into the Stone Castle, and then followed many
different masters, sowed dissensions, and killed many people. The Golden
Roc Fort's influence is far-reaching, which ranges from the deserts to the
Snow Mountains, but you crawled into its heart like a small bug.
Because of the death of the killer Han Shiqi, Gu Shenwei and other youths
were tortured in the Heart Cleansing Yard three years ago. Since then, he
learned that, in order to hide greater secrets, he had to admit to some less
essential secrets. Therefore, he appeared slightly flustered, turned his head
and said, "My father's name is not Yang Zheng."
This was the only truth that Gu Shenwei had revealed all evening, but Shen
Liang did not understand the true meaning behind it. Shen Liang sneered,
"You have taken much revenge. Unfortunately, you haven't taken revenge on
the Eight Young Master as he is out of your reach. You even killed Wei
Lingmiao so that you could push all the blame on him, right?"
What Shen Liang knew was all superficial; thus Gu Shenwei felt slightly
calmer.
"After returning to the city, you sowed discord between the Governor and the
Meng family, hoping to create chaos in Jade City so that you could kill more
people in the midst of the chaos. Yang Huan, you are too ambitious. You
have defeated yourself, instead of your enemies."
"It seems like Blademaster Shen wants to be my teacher. You talk so much."
Shen Liang was not concerned with Slave Huan's sarcasm. Instead, he
laughed and said, "What, am I not qualified to be your teacher? I have
sufficient evidence to have condemn you to death."
"Please continue your commentary. Let me see if there are any loopholes
within these 'ambitions.'"
"It's such a pity that I am not a very patient teacher. Let's summarize. You are
a smart kid, who hides behind the Tenth Young Master. Firstly, you gained
her trust. You took advantage of this to gradually bring her under your
control. You used her name to kill the other young masters of the Shangguan
family. I know all of this, but I want the details. I hope you can tell me to
what extent had the Tenth Young Master knew about your plan."
"It's better for you to ask the Tenth Young Master directly," Gu Shenwei
answered. He knew that his confession would cost Shangguan Ru her life and
she was his last hope. Luo Ningcha was like a piece of hot yam. One might
incur the wrath of the Lord if one were to offend her. Therefore, no one dared
to offend her.
"It doesn't matter. Everyone is the same. Initially, they don't want to speak,
but soon they will talk incessantly. You'll have to restrain yourself then and
not say any nonsense. I only want to know about the details regarding the
Tenth Young Master."
Shen Liang retreated to the entrance and knocked twice. A short and thin man
walked in. His face was wrinkled and dried, and he looked like a talking
monkey.
The 'monkey' was carrying a parcel under his arms. He bowed at Shen Liang
when he entered the room.
"I'm leaving this person to you." Shen Liang turned back and said to the
killer, "This is ridiculous. I can't stand the sight of a bloody scene, so I'll be
leaving."
The 'monkey' bowed with great respect as he sent the Lord Blademaster off.
He then turned around. He still had that charming smile on his face as he
placed the parcel down.
"A killer," he said while tearing the prisoner's clothes apart. He saw the scars
all over Gu Shenwei's body and nodded with satisfaction. "You are definitely
different from ordinary people. You can tolerate more excruciating pains,
which is exactly my favorite type of person. I don't know how to kill people
as that's not my expertise. But, torturing is a different story. To date, no one
has died in my hands."
"I hope your torturing techniques are not as annoying as you are."
Gu Shenwei had to tolerate the torture. He hoped that Maid Lotus and
Shangguan Ru could find this place quickly.
Chapter 242 - Torture
Chapter 242: Torture
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus arrived at the Heart Cleansing Yard but they
discovered that Slave Huan was not there. They knew that something was
wrong.
A torturer warmly received the Tenth Young Master and vowed that he did
not arrest anyone. The torturer would not agree to allow Shangguan Ru to go
in and check. "Tenth Young Master, it's not that I dare to stop you, but this
kind of place is not suitable for someone of your status."
"Let her go in." Shangguan Ru pointed at the assassin in black by her side.
Without waiting for the torturer to open his mouth to agree, Maid Lotus
rushed past him and headed straight to the underground torture chamber. She
shook her head when she came out, there were many prison cells in the Heart
Cleansing Yard. Some of them were hidden deep down. Without a torturer to
lead the way, she could not find her way around at all.
The torturer spread out his hands. "As I said before, the people of the Heart
Cleansing Yard must record each case and hand it in regularly. You see,
tonight's records are blank."
Shangguan Ru seized the book, and indeed, there was no text on the page for
the day.
"Go find Eighth Sister-in-law. Slave Huan belongs to her, so ask her to think
of a way. After half an hour, we shall meet in Kun Yard." Shangguan Ru
ordered them when they were outside the Heart Cleansing Yard. Although
she had lost her killing desire, she was not a person who was in a state of
panic. Her mind had quickly drawn up several plans, and any one of them
would be effective for rescuing Slave Huan.
Infighting was beginning to rage around the killer. Someone was busy asking
for evidence. Someone was busy destroying the evidence.
Upon entering the backyard, Maid Lotus saw a few pale-faced maids were
struggling to scrub the floor. They did not even dare to lift their heads. When
she left, Slave Xin's blood stains were just about to be wiped clean. It looked
like someone else has suffered.
Luo Ningcha was yelling in the room next door. "You are ungrateful, you are
all ungrateful! Even the mute and the blind dare to betray me. Go to hell with
your mean lover!"
Maid Lotus's heart sank. There was a large basket next to the working maids,
and its contents were revealed to be very similar to the clothing that Maid Cui
usually wore.
Maid Cui was a good friend of Maid Lotus. The two had met in the slave
carriage of the slave trader. One was sold to the Bighead Kingpin, and the
other was the dowry to the Stone Castle. After what happened to Maid Cui,
the friendship between them had not diminished, but rather it had grown day
by day.
Maid Cui was poor; Miss had her eyes dug out and her tongue cut off, and
afterward, Maid Cui had to serve this vicious woman, who always abused
her. Therefore, if someone was kind to her, she hoped to return their kindness
tenfold. Slave Xin was probably taking this advantage to approach Maid Cui
for getting some secrets between her gestures.
Maid Lotus had warned Maid Cui not to trust Slave Xin, but in the fort, even
false affection was extremely rare. Maid Cui could not refuse Slave Xin's
sweet talk and had not expected they would be discovered by Miss.
Maid Lotus became furious and clenched the sword shaft uncontrollably. She
was a killer people expected to be good at emotion management. But she so
hated the woman in the room, even the hate was not a way to stirp up her
strength, instead, it was a blind hate that solely pushed the owner to act.
"Maid Lotus! Where have you been that you have come back just now? I
have so many dead people here and I have not seen you coming to protect
me. Why should I keep you any longer?" Luo Ningcha saw Maid Lotus
outside the room and started to snap at her.
Maid Lotus loosened the hilt and allowed the hatred to ferment. It would
become the mellow wine of revenge sooner or later.
"Miss, Slave Huan was taken away." Maid Lotus entered the house and
whispered the news.
Luo Ningcha was stunned. "By whom?"
"It may be Blademaster Shen Liang, but the Heart Cleansing Yard did not
admit it. They said there was no arrest tonight."
"Isn't Shen Liang my husband's uncle? What's he doing with my killer?" Luo
Ningcha slowly sat down as her complexion changed. She had too many
secrets in Slave Huan's hands, and some of them would be enough to draw
death upon her again.
"I don't know at the moment. I haven't seen Blademaster Shen. He seems to
be in hiding."
Luo Ningcha regretted letting Slave Huan leave. It was the best to have him
stay by her side. After thinking for a while, she removed a ring from her
fingers. "Take this to find Shen Liang and demand that he come to see me…
No, tell him… the Lord is with me and summons him, he must come at
once."
When Maid Lotus took the ring, she uttered a "yes". As she turned to leave,
Luo Ningcha halted her and gestured for the other maids to withdraw. When
there were only the two of them left, she whispered, "Maid Lotus, you are
loyal to me, right?"
"Yes, miss, I'm willing to go through hell and back for you." If they could
speak, everyone serving under Luo Ningcha had to recite a few vows. Maid
Lotus was no exception.
"Then you tell me the truth. What is going on between you and Slave Huan? I
heard that he has spent the night in your room."
"We are both Miss's people. We must rely on each other in the Fort and help
each other. There is nothing else to it. He was in my room because he was
undergoing a qigong deviation and asked me for help."
"OK." Luo Ningcha could not confirm the answer, and she lowered her voice
again. "Well then, find Slave Huan and bring me his head."
Maid Lotus looked up. She knew the secrets of Miss and Slave Huan, but she
could not expect that Luo Ningcha would be so vicious.
"What, you can't do it?"
Luo Ningcha slightly widened her eyes, even when she was being cruel and
ruthless, her expression was still impeccable. Maid Lotus was not the first to
think of it, nor was she the only person who thought so: God must have made
mistakes before she put the heart of a demon into the skin of a god.
"Yes, Miss." Maid Lotus' reply was as calm as usual.
Luo Ningcha was satisfied but was feeling a little shame for Slave Huan, but
servants had to protect themselves. When a servant had been arrested and
caught by others, he would imperil his master and she could only give up.
"This is what you taught me." Luo Ningcha whispered and felt a sudden chill
on her body. From the moment when she had entered the fortress and lived
high above at the top of others, she has never felt warm again.
Maid Lotus went to Shen Liang's home but did not find anyone. Due to the
fact that she did not have a corresponding waist token, she could not
randomly go through the fort at night so she had to go back to Kun Yard.
Shangguan Ru was already waiting. "How is it?"
Maid Lotus shook her head and did not say that the Eighth Young Mistress
was now the enemy of Slave Huan.
Shangguan Ru had expected this, but it was only one of her plans. It did not
affect the overall situation. "I have already received a decree for his release.
I'm just waiting for the news."
Shangguan Ru did not say what the news was, and Maid Lotus did not ask.
She clearly knew what her position should be. The edict was certainly fishy,
but she did not need to worry about it.
At the end of the day, a killer came to Kun Yard and, after saluting the Tenth
Young Master, said, "Of the three torturers of the Heart Cleansing Yard, only
Liao Qing was away. I asked the night watchman and found that he went to
the East Castle Pyrowork Academy."
Maid Lotus suddenly realized that compared with the administrative torturers
in the Heart Cleansing Yard, those who were really good at torture were the
working torturers. Shangguan Ru did not look for the whereabouts of Shen
Liang, but sought the whereabouts of the working torturers. It was indeed
clever.
In fact, Shangguan Ru had come up with more than just this plan. She sent
out a few people to look for Slave Huan in different ways. Shen Liang was
still on her radar, but finding the torturer way first worked.
"You two will take the edict and go to the East Castle."Shangguan Ru
ordered, she still had to stay here for others to report back.
Maid Lotus followed the killer and set off. Only Shangguan Ru was left in
the yard. She knew that there was a killer protecting her in a certain corner,
but she still felt lonely deep in her bones. She felt as if the entire Stone Castle
was empty. "I won't let him die," the little girl whispered to herself.
Within the stone-walled house, Gu Shenwei was "chatting" with the torturer.
"How old are you?"
Torturer Liao Qing's wrinkled face was glowing with strange brilliance under
the lights. He had caused countless wounds on the prisoner. The blood
trickling to the ground, but he still did not get a serious answer. This made
him both surprised and excited. With a gradual and orderly punishment, most
people cannot tolerate it for a long time. In light of this, he saw the possibility
of using high-level techniques on Slave Huan.
"I'm 62!" Liao Qing also answered as if they were chatting.
"I thought you were eighty." Gu Shenwei was still quivering a little despite
his efforts to shifted his attention away from the pain.
"I look old."
"How long have you been doing this?"
"Well, from the moment I opened a pig's stomach… It's been about forty
years." Liao Qing picked up a small knife and flashed it before the prisoner.
He would alway let the prisoners see the process of his torture, as this would
cause them to suffer deeper pain and fear.
"You surely don't have a wife and children."
"Oh, no way. If there was someone by my side, I would always want to cut
her alive. Who would marry me? I'll use this for your nails. I don't like to pull
it out. It's too fast. "
"I hope you can go slower. I have ten fingers; it's enough to keep you busy."
"Oh, I'm not in a hurry. No one knows you're here. The Lord Blademaster
hadn't given me a time limit, so you don't have to confess too early. We're
both…"
The "friendship" between the two was mercilessly interrupted. Maid Lotus
smashed opened the door with a saber in one hand and the edict in the other.
"Release him." She demanded.
"Who are you? I only listen to…"
Maid Lotus's saber was about to move, but Gu Shenwei stopped her. "The old
guy doesn't have much blood in his body. Let him live."
Maid Lotus raised her saber and cut off the rope on Slave Huan. She gently
picked him up and walked toward the outside.
"You can't go." Liao Qing was anxious and called out while holding a knife.
Maid Lotus flew up and kicked the torturer into the corner.
The killer who led the way quietly urged them to go. "Come on, I heard
someone coming."
Gu Shenwei escaped from the final torture but trying to find a safe place in
the Stone Castle was way too hard. Shangguan Ru looked at the cuts and
bruises that covered Slave Huan and immediately made a decision. "Bring
him to my residence."
This evening, Maid Lotus was in the house of the Tenth Young Master. She
could no longer go back to see her mistress because she did not cut off Slave
Huan's head.
The two girls stayed up all night to care for the wounded Slave Huan.
The struggle was far from over. The Heart Cleansing Yard would not stop
there. Shangguan Ru had rescued Slave Huan but that had caused her to fall
into Shen Liang's trap: Her behavior had just confirmed that she was an
insider of all of Yang Huan's plots.
Gu Shenwei did not sleep either, for his brain was running rapidly. When it
was nearly dawn, he decided to take a risky move. "Tenth Young Master, I
want to see Lady Meng."
Chapter 243 - Farewell
Chapter 243: Farewell
Shangguan Ru was very surprised because Slave Huan wanted to see Lady
Meng. Her mother was very dissatisfied with this killer, and her heart was
filled with killing intent. Slave Huan also knew this. Despite this, she still
followed the advice to contact her mother.
There were only two people left. When they were in bed, Gu Shenwei said to
Maid Lotus: "I know it's very abrupt, but I have to run away from the Stone
Castle and go far away. It is no longer a place for me to stay."
Maid Lotus was still as plain as usual. It was as if Slave Huan had only
casually said a word, and she continued to support him as always. "This was
never my place to be."
This was enough. Gu Shenwei knew that Maid Lotus could be trusted, and
was the only credible person in Stone Castle. After they escape together, he
will tell her the whole truth. He had already made a grand plan in his heart
and he needed this reliable assistant.
Maid Lotus did not know the true thoughts of Slave Huan but she only
thought that this was their closest moment ever since the two had met.
The world surrounding Shangguan Ru was collapsing. Gu Shenwei's entire

plan for hiding was also falling, and at a faster speed. He had been hiding
behind the twins, Luo Ningcha, and rarely had direct clashes with the big
men in the fort. But when he was at the most vulnerable part of Golden Roc
Fort, he had ignored the airtight net that was over his head.
When he started bypassing the protectors to make his claim, this big net
immediately tightened around him. Gu Shenwei finally understood that he
could not break the Stone Castle on his own. That's right, he saw the huge
cracks and used these cracks. Something was done, but it did not damage
Golden Roc Fort.
Although several of the Supreme King's sons had died, he would give birth to
more, and the foundations of the Stone Castle had not wavered. The killer
who only wanted to take revenge had even inadvertently become the sweeper
of the Stone Castle and a tool for eliminating the weak.
It was all over. Gu Shenwei decided to make use of the cracks in the Stone
Castle for one last time. Then he had to change the method and make a more
direct and violent blow from outside the castle. This was his future plan.
When Shangguan Ru returned, Gu Shenwei reluctantly got up and dragged

his broken body to meet Lady Meng.
Like her daughter, Lady Meng was very surprised to see Slave Huan. She
thought that this two-faced boy should have already been far away. She had
temporarily lost her power because of the turmoil a month ago. They would
return to her sooner or later, but until then, she could not kill anyone.
In front of the mother and daughter, Gu Shenwei calmly stated the facts that
have already been known: Yang Huan was the son of Yang Zheng, a servant
of the Gu family in the Central Plains, and that he had infiltrated the Stone
Castle for revenge.
He said that he had already exacted his revenge, but Shen Liang refused to let
go of him, and used him by 'follow the vine to get to the melon' to get to the
Tenth Young Master and then to Lady Meng.
There were very few lies in this passage, and Lady Meng silently listened to
him. There were obviously many things that she had already knew about.
Shangguan Ru was astonished that he was originally a slave who she had
snatched away from her brother. However, he was like a skillful face changer
as he kept removing one mask after another. The pillars in her world had
already crumbled, and only the pillar of Slave Huan was still barely standing.
She suddenly felt terrified and feared that this was another collapse of the
sky.
In order to temporarily ignore Shangguan Ru's feelings, Gu Shenwei had to

fight to obtain Lady Meng's support.
"Some people say that you had been using my Ru'er and Fei'er to kill the
other children of my Shangguan family." Lady Meng's views were similar to
the views of Shen Liang.
Gu Shenwei had already thought that Lady Meng would have this question. "I
have been around the Tenth Young Master. Have I ever touched even a
strand of her hair?"
"And he had saved me several times. If he wanted to kill me for revenge, he

wouldn't need to do anything but sit back and watch," Shangguan Ru said. He
did not harm her even once regardless of how many masks he had.
Lady Meng Meng sighed. She did not expect that the daughter who she had
raised as a boy since birth would act like such a simpleton. He did not
necessarily save her life in good faith, he could have done it with ill
intentions. However, her daughter had already fallen for him and a few words
wouldn't be enough to pull her out.
"This Shen Liang has some guts." Although Lady Meng did not believe in
Slave Huan's loyalty, she believed what he said because there were many
things that she already knew.
"Blademaster Shen Liang must have found a new backer." Gu Shenwei knew
very well that he could only challenge him and would never dare to challenge
the Tenth Young Master and Lady Meng.
"A new backer? All of the young masters are in disorder and they are either
dead or imprisoned. Even old Eight had abandoned his wife and wouldn't
return to the Stone Castle. Can he still find any backers?"
"The Mistress is losing power. Whoever benefits the most is the person who
is his new backer."
Lady Meng looked at Slave Huan, and she suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. If
her son had such cleverness, she would not be left alone and have to solve
everything by herself.
"The second, third and fifth oldest sons were left in the fort. They were all
kept in jail. The second son is one of my people. This time, I was the worst
hit. The third oldest child had no roots. That leaves the fifth eldest."
Gu Shenwei remembered Zhang Ji's evaluation of the Fifth Young Master

when he said, "Reckless and unmotivated." He almost said that there was also
a Shangguan Hong, but closed his mouth at the last moment as there was no
need to cause an even bigger mess. What he wanted was just an opportunity
to escape.
"What my lady said is correct."
Lady Meng's face became resolute. Her struggle in the Stone Castle was
never relaxed and was always restless. She was always ready to attack
regardless of whether it was at the peak of her favor or at the bottom of her
fall.
Gu Shenwei knew that he should retreat. Lady Meng will not tell him a
detailed plan, but regardless of what she thinks in her heart, Shen Liang will
bear the brunt of the attack, which will be enough to give him a moment of
respite.
"You shouldn't stay at Ru'er's anymore. It's inappropriate." Lady Meng did
not ignore such details even in such a critical moment. "Go find Master Hong
and hide at his place."
"Yes, my lady." When Gu Shenwei had retreated to the door, the name of
Shangguan Hong has appeared in his mind for the third time. Suddenly he
realized that he and Lady Meng have committed a common mistake. "It may
not be the Fifth Young Master."
"What?"
"Blademaster Shen's backer may not be the Fifth Young Master."

"What are you thinking?" Lady Meng was a little interested.
"My lady has lost her powers. The people who would benefit the most can
not be the Fifth Young Master. He has always been his wife's rival. His
temper is reckless, and the king does not like him much. Shen Liang would
not choose him as his backer."
"Shangguan Tian," Lady Meng said the name of the Second Young Master.
She suddenly became enlightened by Slave Huan's reminder. The second
child was the biggest beneficiary. Although he had always supported himself,
he must have borne a grudge against her because she did not help him when
he was in trouble.
"Wasn't second elder brother caught by Shen Liang? Shen Liang pushed all
of his responsibilities to assassinate father onto second elder brother."
Shangguan Ru did not understand the intentions of her mother and Slave
Huan.
Gu Shenwei went out of the house to let the mother and daughter speak in
private. In fact, everything was clear. Shen Liang framed Shangguan Tian
and then pledged loyalty to him. By using a loss for a win, the Second Young
Master had become firmly held in their hands. Zhang Ji said that Second
Young Master did not have a great talents and bold visions, which was
exactly the qualities that the ambitious Shen Liang had wanted in a puppet.
The place where Shangguan Hong lived was not far from Lady Meng. On the
surface, she was taking care of him, but she was actually putting him under
surveillance.
It was a very small yard. At the front of the court was a rock garden and a
small forest. It was almost impossible to see the situation inside while
walking down the road. This was in accordance to Lady Meng's arrangements
with Shangguan Hong.
The maid left after saying a few words, and Shangguan Hong was stunned
and intimidated. It was as if his own plot was about to be exposed. After the
maid had gone away, he kept talking to Slave Huan about what Lady Meng
had been saying. Without any particular hints, he decided that he was only
providing accommodations and had no other responsibilities. He was greatly
relieved and was a little more enthusiastic about receiving Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei did not understand Zhang Ji's thoughts. Although Shangguan

Hong was easily controlled, it was too bad as it was incomplete. Even a
person who is 100 times more clever than Zhang Ji could hardly bring this
son of the Supreme King up to any decent standard.
Gu Shenwei did not intend to care about other people's affairs and he
repeatedly thought about his escape plan. He had nothing to do, and can only
wait. The key to success was Maid Lotus. She must watch the movements
within the fortress at all times, obtain a waist token, and choose the best time
to find Slave Huan and escape together.
The sooner the better, Gu Shenwei thought. His words were always full of
loopholes. Apart from Shangguan Ru, no one would believe it too much.
After Lady Meng's removal of Shen Liang, she would certainly not let go of
Slave Huan. He only hoped that he could be on the very bottom of the list of
deaths.
This was the result of the lack of power in one's hands. He formulated the
plan, but he could not control the direction of the plan's development and was
at the mercy of chance.
This time, "chance" did not favor Gu Shenwei as it once did.
On the next day, everything in the Stone Castle was as usual, and nothing had
happened for the whole day. Lady Meng did not make the first move to take
revenge on Shen Liang. Lady Meng, the Second Young Master, and Shen
Liang did not search for the escaped prisoner either. All the conspiracies were
carried out in secret.
As the darkness fell, the conspiracy began to surface as it opened its mouth
and prepared for a large meal.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus did not appear for the whole day, and came
together in the evening.
Shangguan Hong flattered the Tenth Young Master on her arrival but he
wavered during his greeting. Calling her "Tenth Young Master" would cause
the Supreme King to lose face, but calling her "younger sister" seemed too
casual. He didn't know what to think and finally blurted out "Young Master
Sister."
Shangguan Ru pushed the elder brother out of the way. "You're not allowed
to eavesdrop while we chat."
Shangguan Hong was often bullied by Shangguan Ru and Master Yu in

school, so he willingly complied and obediently loitered outside. Zhang Ji
had told him that the farther he was away from whatever conspiracy, the
better. If it was possible, he would rather be hiding in the foothills of Jade
City.
Shangguan Ru brought out a waist token, a saber, and two swords; these were
all items that Slave Huan needed. The things she wants to say were simple:
"Run away, my mother will betray you. She has already gone to see father to
prove that everything you have done had was by Eighth brother, and that
Shen Liang was your accomplice. I overheard it."
The thing that Gu Shen Wei was most worried about had happened. Lady
Meng not only pushed him to the very top of the death list but also used him
to wipe out her other enemies.
He looked into Shangguan Ru's dark eyes and stared. He was afraid of what
he would find and he wanted to look away. He was also afraid that he might
miss something. He suddenly realized that this was farewell.
He hadn't made a perfect lie to explain to her about a lot of things, however,
she would still choose to unconditionally believe it.
"Everyone has the chance to trust another person in their life and I give this
opportunity to you." This was what Shangguan Ru had used to say to Slave
Huan, and Gu Shenwei was in the midst of a surge of emotions. Suddenly
there was an uncontrollable impulse of wanting to tell Shangguan Ru about
the truth, especially that the seventh chapter of Wayless Qigong that she had
in her hands was fake.
Chapter 244 - Chilliness
Chapter 244: Chilliness
Gu Shenwei kept silent, as he could not allow his emotions to affect his
decisions, not when Maid Lotus was beside him. Shangguang Ru was an
excellent example: The servants would not hestitate to bite back once the
master became weak.
Maid Lotus was not his servant, but it was mostly due to his calm and
heartless characteristics of a killer that made her willing to follow him. He
could not lose these.
What an ordinary farewell it was, it was as if they would meet again the next
morning. Shangguan Ru felt as if she had much that she wanted to say, but it
seemed too simple to even mention it once she tried to put it into words. She
merely did not want him to die. Just like that time when they were
surrounded in the house; in order to protect the people around her, she would
even put a knife against her neck. That was all.
Preparing to set off, he changed into a full set of killer gear, with a sabre and
two swords snuck under his arm. Gu Shenwei again looked towards that pair
of jet black eyes and said, "I am leaving."
Shangguan Ru nodded her head. Watching her two remaining killers leave,
she suddenly felt the urge to cry. But she's a killer, not a child. Even if she
could not kill, she would not become emotional. Taking in a deep breath, she
stopped her tears from falling.
Even though they have the waist token, it was no easy feat trying to escape
from the Stone Castle. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus formulated a plan and
did not tell Shangguan Ru about it.
The duo left the Inner Residence as normal, and soon noticed that there was
someone tailing behind. Maid Lotus had to pull Gu Shenwei forward as he
lost his Internal Strength entirely. Circling around the maze-like alleys, and
with their familiarity of the area, they managed to shake off the tail after 15
mintutes.
Assured that they were safe, with Slave Huan on her back, Maid Lotus
carefully avoided the night watchman and purposely chose to take the quiet
side path. After walking in a big circle, they came to the Reincarnation Cliff
at the easternmost point of the Stone Castle.
In the beginning, tall arrow towers were built around the Stone Castle to kill
the Giant Red-crowned Roc due to the nuisance it created. As the Giant Roc
rarely appeared, and with the Supreme King living in seclusion, these towers
gradually slackened their defenses, many arrow towers were no longer
guarded, turning into abandoned buildings.
There were reasons as to why Gu Shenwei chose the arrow tower on the
Reincarnation Cliff as his hiding place. First of all, not many people tended to
go there unless they had to dump corpses. Secondly, he need to retrieve some
things from the Giant Rock Cliff nearby.
Maid Lotus settled Slave Huan in the arrow tower and soon left to execute
the second part of their plan: Someone would have to "escape"from the Stone
Castle so as to draw Shen Liang and Lady Meng's attention toward Jade City.
There were still members of the former Tattooed Arm Gang in the Little Flag
Battalion who were still loyal towards Slave Huan and Maid Lotus. Not
knowing that Slave Huan is currently in a unfavorable situation, a member
was willing to assist in faking a "great escape".
As soon as Maid Lotus left, Gu Shenwei came out of the tower and went
towards the Giant Rock Cliff. There were a few things that he hid in there.
This might seemed like child's play, but there is was no other place in the
Stone Castle as safe as the Giant Rock Castle.
Both the Death Scripture and the Wayless Book were there. After some
contemplation, Gu Shenwei put the Death Scripture back to where it was
originally. The Wayless Book was the origin of the Golden Roc Fort qigong,
but the Death Scripture belonged to him. If the hiding plan failed, Gu
Shenwei would not want the Supreme King to get hold of the secret
manuscript.
Once he was back in the arrow tower, Gu Shenwei looked through the
balistraria, watching the dark night sky. Touching the copied Wayless Book
in his arms, along with the fake seventh chapter that was given by Shangguan
Ru, Gu Shenwei could not hold in his guilt any longer. He had lost the final
chance, and this parting might very well be the last farewell.
Shangguan Ru was his enemy and she betrayed the Giant Golden-crowned
Roc. This was something that he would never forgive. However, her trust was
a price too costly, and this fact weighed heavily and unshakably on Gu
Shenwei conscience.
Due to the lack of Internal Strength, he was temporarily not influenced by the
Death Scripture, and therefore he was becoming weak. This was how Gu
Shenwei tried to defend himself. Beside him, the short sword leaning against
the wall that was unexpectedly returned to him by Shangguan Ru was a
reminder to Gu Shenwei about his revenge of his broken home. Slowly, he
turned hard-hearted.
There was still a long way to go before Maid Lotus could sneak back.
Clearing his mind, he started practising the Wayless Qigong. He was
practicing the fourth chapter tonight.
After some time, a sudden gust of chilliness sent Gu Shenwei a slight shiver.
He opened his eyes to sober up from the mediation.
It was merely mid-autumn. Although the summit was colder compared to the
foot of the mountain, it was not cold to the extend of making one shiver.
An impossible thought then appeared in Gu Shenwei's mind. He first pressed

the Xuanji acupoint on his head followed by the Baihui acupoint on his chest.
There was no response. The Peripheral Force had been removed entirely from
these two areas. Lastly, he pressed on his Dantian.
An aching pain started from inward to outward and in a moment spread
throughout his body. Gu Shenwei almost screamed, but he gritted his teeth
and managed to bear the pain.
The killer was terribly disheartened. His qigong deviation was not removed.
The Peripheral Force actually managed to moved away from the two
acupoints into his Dantian. Previously he was not able to retain his Internal
Breath, therefore he did not realize it. Today, a faint Internal Breath finally
went to his Dantian after several circles, reevoking the Peripheral Force
within him.
Gu Shenwei thought that it was all so ironic. His mind was still filled with
lofty visions and causes to defeat the Golden Roc Fort, yet his life was
hanging by a thread.
A Maid Lotus in disguise and the apprentice pretending to be Slave Huan

returned to the Stone Castle openly in the early morning. The apprentice was
very excited even though he obviously did not have any idea about the
motive of this strange operation. Maid Lotus had no choice but to kill him
from the back, then proceed to dumped his body at the East Castle to let
people assume he was killed from the killings among the apprentices.
This was not a perfect plan. But as long as the pursuers assumed that both
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus had escaped from the Stone Castle, they would
not question the gatekeepers meticulously about the entering and exiting of
the gates. The two killers were safe for the time being.
Maid Lotus snuck back to the arrow tower on the Reincarnation Cliff during
the early morning as there were less people at that hour. She saw Slave Huan
in crumpled spirits.
"What happened?" Maid Lotus asked as she wiped off the disguise on her
face.
"The Peripheral Force went to my Dantian." He had been waiting for Maid
Lotus to return, as both of them were in similar situations. If Maid Lotus did
not fully remove the Peripheral Force as well, then that would mean it was a
complete failure.
Using the Wayless Qigong to remove the Peripheral Force was a guess from
the duo, and there was always a possibility that it was in vain.
Maid Lotus walked over to Slave Huan's side and pressed onto his abdomen
for a moment, "I think this is just temporary. When Wayless Qigong gets
stronger, it will remove the Peripheral Force entirely."
"Is it the same for you as well?"
"No, it's not like that for me, but I did not have self-destruction as well, so
maybe that is where the problem lies."
Gu Shenwei was nervous and flustered for a moment, as he had not thought it
through carefully. The reminder from Maid Lotus cheered him up slightly.
She was right. It must be due to the self-destruction. He should not resign
himself to self-loathing, but continue to practice qigong until he regained his
power.
"I was slightly scared." He admitted bashfully.
"It's alright. Before I got the Wayless Qigong, there was a period of time
when I couldn't fall asleep."
Gu Shenwei laughed, it was hard to imagine Maid Lotus, who was always
calm, to lose sleep due to fear of qigong deviation.
The day passed peacefully. An apprentice came over to dump a corpse. He

was not aware of the people in the arrow tower, kneeling at the cliff side,
trembling for a while. It looked like the apprentice was crying, before
standing up reluctantly and returning, pretending to look strong and tough.
Killers dumping the corpses themselves was a tradition that Gu Shenwei

started and that was continued in the East Castle.
Apart from this, the duo did not know what was going on in the castle.
During the nightime, Maid Lotus went out to explore one round. She saw
many killers leaving the castle in a hurry. Their diversion plan worked. Shen
Liang and Lady Meng both assumed that Slave Huan and Maid Lotus had
escaped the Stone Castle and sent men to capture them.
After eating the food that Maid Lotus stole from the kitchen, they practiced
Wayless Qigong separately.
Gu Shenwei was slightly anxious. The Death Scripture relied on the Internal
Breath to make a swift and deadly attack, he could only regain his kung fu
and ward off attacks when his Internal Strength returned.
Maid Lotus was a good killer and assistant, but he could not possibly rely on
her protection alone. They are partners, and partners should protect each
other.
They hid in the arrow tower for five days in a row. The duo mostly did
nothing during the day and practice qigong during the night. Maid Lotus
would go and patrol around every night, bringing back food and bits of
information.
The atmosphere in the Stone Castle was getting tenser by the day. The
Supreme King was not concerned about who should be held accountable for
Slave Huan, but how two normal killers could actually escaped the Golden
Roc Fort without any trace.
It was worrying for Gu Shenwei as well. Soon, people would think to search
the Stone Castle for the runaways. He needed to regain his Internal Strength
as fast as possible.
He felt that the moment was coming soon.
Although Immortal Peng was a liar, he did possess some genuine knowledge.
That kind of hypnosis after collective practice of the Secrets of Love was like
no other. It helped Gu Shenwei to open the meridians in his body, and this
was very helpful in practicing any type of qigong.
Once he finished a chapter of Wayless Qigong, the Internal Breath circling in

his body would strengthen slightly. Although it would disappear after a few
days of circulation, the duration tended to be sustained for longer and a faint
portion of it would remain in the Dantian.
The only thing that worried Gu Shenwei was the chilliness that he felt within
his body. It was also getting stronger by the day. Deep from the Dantian
spread waves after waves of aching pain, and he once fainted due to it as
well. Maid Lotus was helping him to wipe his sweat when he woke up. Gu
Shenwei was shivering from the cold, but his forehead was damp.
This was a fight for time against the qigong deviation. Gu Shenwei would
need to practice harder and let his qigong advance faster, so that it could
overcome the Peripheral Force in the Dantian.
On the evening of the sixth day, Gu Shenwei felt particularly good. Even
before he started practicing, there were signs of Internal Breath flowing
through his meridians. This was an auspicious sign, showing that he was
going to regain part of his qigong, and maybe even remove the dangers in his
body.
Like always, Maid Lotus went out to steal some food and snoop for news. Gu
Shenwei was left alone in the arrow tower, silently reciting the contents of the
seventh chapter. He still felt that the Wayless Book was incomplete, there
was definitely more chapters behind.
"Maybe only the Supreme King could grasp the secret within." Gu Shenwei
thought. Unsure of how long that person had been waiting there, he turned
around, and saw someone standing opposite on the ballista staring at himself.
"Liuhua!" Gu Shenwei exclaimed in surprise. Liuhua was supposed to stay in

the South City to help Shangguan Ru take charge of Kun Society. What was
he doing here?
"Are you ready?"
"For what?"
"Ready for your death. I've been going crazy waiting for this day."
Chapter 245 - Liuhua
Chapter 245: Liuhua
Liuhua was carrying his bow and arrows, but there was a sword hanging
under his waist.
Gu Shenwei looked at him. He was wondering how he had offended this

marksman and how Liuhua managed to find him. Gu Shenwei said, "You
have done a great job. Who will reward you, Shen Liang or Lady Meng?"
Liuhua snorted contemptuously. He appeared slightly agitated, but was trying

to keep calm. He was different from his usual indifferent self. He said, "I'm
not like you, who willingly plays the obedient lackey for the Tenth Young
Master. I have no master and I work for myself."
"So you are a stray dog."
"Hm. You know, I always feel that your skill of speech is better than your
swordcraft."
"Alright. Let's not talk nonsense. Why haven't you acted yet? You don't look
like a killer."
In an instant, Liuhua stared straight at Slave Huan and his gaze was like a
laser penetrating through the darkness. He said, "I can't vent my hatred by
just killing you. I will let you know the reason."
"I'm all ears." He was willing to delay a bit. Maid Lotus would arrive any
moment and only she could save him.
"I have always been protecting you." While replying, Liuhua gnashed his
teeth as though he were chewing and swallowing his hatred.
"So you were the one who saved me at Governor's Mansion."
"That's correct."
"You were the one who killed Ye Silang at Rogue Forest."
"So you remembered."
Gu Shenwei had not forgotten. He felt uneasy when he fought against Ye

Silang for the first time. Suddenly, a mysterious swordsman came out from
nowhere and stabbed Ye Silang. The duel had to come to an end and the
swordsman somewhat helped him out. However, he had never imagined that
Liuhua was the one who helped him. How could Liuhua the Silencer have
such superb swordcraft when he only has average machete skills?
Unless Maid Lotus…
Gu Shenwei realized something. His mind was in a whirl and had to lean
against the wall just to stand.
"You have begun to understand." Liuhua was like a cat torturing its prey. He
let out a cruel smile and his tone sounded desperate as though he wanted to
rip open Gu Shenwei's chest to see his broken heart.
"You are the one who killed Maid Lotus's Master." Gu Shenwei's voice
became hoarse. He seemed to have exhausted all his strength when he tried to
say those few words.
It happened during the time when the disciples of Barren Sect stole the
Wayless Qigong. There were many cases of death in South City and the
earliest incident was the death of Maid Lotus's Master, Wu Ling. He was
killed at the brothel as the sword pierced through his eyes. Gu Shenwei felt
that it was similar to Death Scripture's swordcraft. After the incident, Liuhua
tried to push the blame to New Moon Hall and Barren Sect.
"That old, lewd, shameless thing. He should have died earlier. I regret not
killing him earlier." Liuhua was still resentful even though it had been so
long.
Gu Shenwei was silent for a while. He had to gradually digest the facts
thrown out by Liuhua.
"So you have been in love with her."
There were signs of it. Maid Lotus brought Liuhua over when the relationship
of Slave Huan and Wildhorse broke down and were in a disadvantageous
position. He should have known then. However, Liuhua attempted to
assasinate Maid Lotus. No one would have believed that both of them had an
affair.
"I love her and will love her forever. I wouldn't have protected you if it
weren't for her request." Liuhua said resentfully.
Gu Shenwei couldn't stand any longer and his mind was in a whirl. The chill
that would occur after practicing Internal Strength came earlier than
expected, so he had to sit down slowly.
He was not only jealous, but was also greatly disappointed. The only person
which he thought was credible also had secrets. Maid Lotus and Liuhua must
have had a close relationship, if not, Maid Lotus wouldn't have taught Liuhua
the Death Scripture swordcraft so easily. It should be a secret between the
two of them.
However, he himself was not truthful towards Maid Lotus either. He hid
many secrets from her, but Maid Lotus appeared not to mind.
"You must be thinking that 'Maid Lotus loved me so much that she got
Liuhua to protect me', right?" Liuhua teased sarcastically. He wanted to savor
this taste of revenge and victory, hence he approached Slave Huan so to see
Slave Huan's expression clearly.
Gu Shenwei didn't know how he should think about it. Maid Lotus
occasionally treated Gu Shenwei as a lover instead of a partner, but such a
feeling was fleeting. Now, it seemed more like a… conspiracy for Maid
Lotus to protect Slave Huan.
"I hope you don't overthink." Slave Huan didn't speak, so Liuhua continued
talking. When taking revenge, insulting the other party was more effective
than fighting and bloodshed. Hence, Liuhua wanted to make use of this
opportunity to insult Slave Huan. "She said that darkness is a friend of the
weak. You hid behind Tenth Young Master, Maid Lotus hid behind you and I
hid behind Maid Lotus. In order not to arouse the suspicion of others, we
planned an assasination together. Hm, shooting her was the most difficult
decision in my life. Now, as long as you die, no one will discover our true
motive."
"Wayless Qigong," Gu Shenwei muttered. It was Wayless Qigong. All the

conspiracies and tricks were designed for it.
"She has already gotten hold of it. Hence, you are useless." Liuhua drew out
his sword. Death Scripture swordcraft was the most appropriate method to
kill Slave Huan with as he was the one who first discovered this set of kung
fu. It seemed all too appropriate.
"Why didn't she kill me personally?" Gu Shenwei asked coldly. After he

calmed down, he realized the truth, which he knew all along. No one in the
world was trustworthy. His initial feeling towards Maid Lotus was accurate.
It was probably the reason why he had not spoken much to her.
"She has a strange idea. She wanted you to…"
Just when he started speaking, Liuhua's body was lifted up strangely as

though someone had tickled him. However, he didn't laugh. He slowly turned
around and knelt down slowly.
Maid Lotus was standing behind him and was holding onto a sword. She had
that usual indifferent look and said, "You shouldn't be here."
Liuhua was speechless and did not have the strength to change his facial
expression. He had a confused and sad gaze as his death was imminent. The
memories that came to his mind were related to the young girl who had killed
him. When he was bullied and ostracized in Carvewood Academy, she was
the only one who befriended him secretly and suggested to him that he should
master archery. Since then, he decided to follow her willingly and hid behind
her quietly.
This was a difficult path, which was filled with pain and jealousy. The
weaker students were bullied by the killer mentor and the stronger students.
None could escape. Although he could endure the torture that was imposed
on him, he couldn't stand anyone insulting Maid Lotus. Hatred was his
driving force and he spent more effort to improve on his archery skills until
the apprentice's slaughter.
Everyone said that "Liuhua the Silencer" killed people for the sake of his own
hatred, but no one understood that he killed people for Maid Lotus.
Then, Slave Huan appeared. Liuhua believed that she had worked out a
wonderful plan, but he couldn't accept that both of them were getting closer
and closer. From her silent gaze at Slave Huan, Liuhua saw a familiar thing.
It was the same subtle emotion that he had when he looked at her.
Jealousy was stronger than hatred. He had to use a strong will to repress his
impulse to shoot Slave Huan whenever he followed the ignorant Slave Huan.
It was against his will to perform this task, which was to protect Slave Huan.
Now that everything was over, he finally failed to hold back and stood in
front of her. It was probably his mistake. Liuhua's gaze became dull and
lifeless. He had experienced taking revenge through the use of words and
could no longer kill people.
Maid Lotus carried Liuhua's corpse out from piles of arrows and threw it out.
It was a vast abyss outside. As Liuhua was a Golden Roc killer, he would
share the same fate.
Gu Shenwei was looking at her while Maid Lotus was doing these things. As
Liuhua only said a few words, he was still perplexed and confused.
"Liuhua likes you very much."
"We don't accept male disciples."
"So you joined Barren Sect." Gu Shenwei gradually understood the entire
development.
"Mama Xue likes me," Maid Lotus replied indifferently as though their
relationship hadn't change.
However, the Barren Sect was annihilated."
"Barren Sect was just a branch of New Moon Hall."
Gu Shenwei laughed bitterly, "What a surprise. So you were a disciple of

New Moon Hall. They accepted you so easily?"
"Mama Xue injected Peripheral Force into my Yinbai acupoint so the

manager knew as soon as he touched it."
The word "Yinbai" was not only a pun, but it was also an unimportant
acupoint, which was located the toes. Mama Xue hid the Peripheral Force
there as she trusted Maid Lotus.
"Is that woman the manager?"
"Yes."
There was a tall woman who once injected evil energy into Shangguan Ru
and others. Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were spared as they had Peripheral
Force in their bodies. Gu Shenwei felt silly as he had not realized such an
obvious fact earlier. He said, "You have been waiting for Tenth Young
Master to fall ill, waiting for her to steal Wayless Qigong and waiting for her
to ask for your help."
"No, she will ask you for help."
"Oh, then I will ask you for help."
"Yes."
Gu Shenwei let out another bitter laugh. He made use of Shangguan Ru and
Maid Lotus was making use of him. His heart ached painfully. He suddenly
realized why the death of Master Yu had a huge impact on Shangguan Ru.
This was how it felt to be betrayed.
After a long while, he said slowly, "However, you tried to kill Tenth Young
Master on several occasions."
"I have to put on an act. Liuhua is always neaby, and he will help whenever
necessary. Luckily, his help is not needed. I also know that you don't want to
kill Shangguan Ru at all."
Gu Shenwei remained silent as it was unnecessary to say more. Initially, he

didn't intend to let Maid Lotus know of the truth, and now, Gu Shenwei was
even more reluctant to tell her truth. He wanted Shangguan Ru to die,
however he didn't want to kill her directly. He wanted to "conceal" the truth
and make Shangguan Ru die from qigong deviation. He didn't expect that
Shangguan Ru would give him the correct version of the seventh chapter.
Maid Lotus gave him the wrong version and Gu Shenwei himself was the one
undergoing qigong deviation.
Maid Lotus brought over two steamed buns and placed them on the floor. She
then wiped them on Slave Huan's forehead and pressed them against his
lower abdomen. She said, "You should eat something. It will be more painful
in the future."
Even though he knew that it was useless, Gu Shenwei couldn't help, but
asked, "Since you have gotten the Wayless Qigong, why don't you escape and
return to New Moon Hall to get credit?"
"There is still unfinished business."
Gu Shenwei admired Maid Lotus's calmness, but it became the root of his
hatred. He said, "You want to see me die from qigong deviation?"
"Yes."
"In that case, why did you give me Wayless Qigong to dispel Peripheral
Force?"
"Peripheral Force was given to you by someone else. I want to make you
undergo qigong deviation myself."
"Why?"
"Because of Slave Yao."

Chapter 246 - Arrow Tower
Chapter 246: Arrow Tower
The death of Slave Yao was the first death that Slave Huan caused in Stone
Castle. Gu Shenwei had never forgotten that pointy-faced teenager, especially
the scene where he died of qigong deviation.
Slave Yao was on the brink of death and was lying on his death bed. He was
staring at Slave Huan, looking confused and puzzled. His face flushed, then
subsided. His chest was heaving violently and both of his arms were shaking
heavily. He was banging against his bed. Suddenly, he started to laugh
hysterically.
Slave Yao was in delirium. His face would flush, then subside, then flush
again. He would sometimes gather his strength to talk, but it was mostly
nonsensical. He had forgotten about Golden Roc Fort and those people and
things that he mentioned came from his past experience. He would boast for a
while, then curse and then plead as though he were acting out a monologue
while performing many roles.
"Slave Huan, you can't escape. I will be waiting for you in hell." Just before
his death, Slave Yao gathered his last bit of strength to threaten Slave Huan.
He was looking forward to it.
Gu Shenwei didn't know that the messenger sent by Slave Yao from hell
would be Maid Lotus.
There were hints, but Gu Shenwei never noticed them.
Slave Yao liked to exaggerate and was proud that he would become a killer
apprentice. He would show off every day when he returned home from Mama
Xue's, but he didn't mention anything about Maid Lotus, who always
practiced with him. He, who experienced puppy love, would regard her as a
unique secret and was unwilling to share it with anyone else.
Although Maid Lotus wasn't an enthusiastic person, she had her own
attractive side. She made many friends in Carvewood Academy. She brought
in many apprentices from different backgrounds and formed the "Tattooed
Arm Gang" then. However, she was jealous of Slave Huan when she first saw
him. Gu Shenwei thought she wanted to be the only disciple of Mama Xue
and he finally understood all the reasons.
In a moment, Gu Shenwei was no longer jealous, disappointed, resentful or

sad.
Revenge was one of the most legitimate rights in the world. He sought
revenge from Golden Roc Fort and killed countless people. It was natural for
someone to seek revenge from him, and Maid Lotus was only the first.
"He is good at pleasing you." Gu Shenwei calmed down. Slave Yao had the
ability to please anyone if he was willing to do so. Slave Yao was the only
comfort for Maid Lotus, who just entered Stone Castle and lived under the
oppression of Luo Ningcha and Mama Xue.
"Probably. I hardly even remember what he looked like." Maid Lotus didn't
seem to be lying and there was no need for her to lie. She frowned slightly as
she recalled, but finally shook her head. She said, "Now that I think about it,
he seems average. Even if you didn't cause his death, he would probably die
in Carvewood Academy in less than one month's time."
"But, you still wanted to avenge him." Gu Shenwei, who had known
everything, became confused again. This was the first time he thought like a
mature man, and knew that no one could fathom women's thoughts.
"A dead person is forgotten, but the hatred stays forever." Maid Lotus pressed
against her heart, and said, "This is the true meaning of Death Scripture. You
should understand."
Gu Shenwei definitely understood since he had some personal experience.

The strongest enemy of hatred was time, as time could change anyone.
Hatred was like an awkward boulder, which lay in the heart and could be
eroded away. Maid Lotus couldn't even remember Slave Yao, so when did he
ever remember his family clearly? The looks of his parents, brothers and
sisters had long been blurred in three years time and turned into memory. It
was the reason why his hatred was diminishing.
However, his hatred had yet faded away. It lasted for a long time because of
the Death Scripture. It blocked the attack of time and allowed him to kill
people without any burden in the name of hatred. It was only after he
dispelled his Internal Strength and wasn't able to practice Death Scripture that
his hatred weakened temporarily.
When the two unsuspecting youths decided to practice Death Scripture, they
had fixated their hatred in their hearts and they could no longer resolve it.
Maid Lotus had figured it out earlier than Gu Shenwei, hence her thoughts
became messier and contradictory.
Gu Shenwei looked at the girl in front of him and experienced a sudden

telepathy with her. They always had great chemistry and could understand
each other's intention even after they became enemies.
Neither of them spoke for a while. Maid Lotus jumped onto the bed, which
faced the entrance and sat with her knees clasped. She looked at the night sky
outside and seemed to have forgotten about Slave Huan, who was ten steps
away from her.
"You must have put forth much effort to make me undergo qigong
deviation." This was Gu Shenwei's heartfelt admiration. He had plotted many
tricks, but none was comparable to this.
"This is nothing. If weren't for your Death Scripture, I couldn't plan out such
plot with my superficial knowledge of Internal Strength."
"So is the Wayless Book entirely fake?"
"I had only modified the last chapter, but the rest was real. As obtaining the
Wayless Qigong was my most important mission, I couldn't amend it
casually."
"You bought an additional plank secretly and re-carved the modified seventh
chapter?"
Maid Lotus nodded. She had hidden the correct chapter underneath her skirt
and no one found out. She said, "Luo Ningcha startled me. That stupid
woman snatched my plank away and almost foiled my plans."
"I didn't know that she would accidentally save my life. Ironically, I wanted
the board back for myself."
Maid Lotus seemed unwilling to talk about this topic. However, after a while
she took out a ring and waved it under the moonlight. She said, "She asked
me to chop off your head."
Gu Shenwei smiled as he became relaxed. He said, "That woman, I knew she

would be like this."
"But you still… went to bed with her."
Maid Lotus was still calm, but her voice changed slightly. This made Gu
Shenwei suddenly feel that she was a cute young girl instead of a cold-
blooded, cruel killer. He asked, "Are you jealous?"
"I'm not…" Maid Lotus denied too quickly. She felt that she was being
untruthful. She then sneered and admitted to it. She said, "So what if I'm
jealous? I will still kill you."
"So you have chosen the hardest and slowest method to kill me." Gu Shenwei
didn't say "the most painful". Even though he became colder, he pretended to
be indifferent. He said, "You still couldn't bear to kill me. You said that
Death Scripture made you unable to forget hatred, but you didn't act
according to what the book said, which was to kill me in one shot."
"Aren't you the same? There were several occasions that you could have
killed Tenth Young Master, but you always find some excuse to miss the
opportunity."
Both of them became silent as their chemistry vanished. They resumed
talking after a long while.
"My real name is Gu Shenwei."
"I know that."
Gu Shenwei had talked nonsense during that time when Gu Shenwei fell into
a coma due to his injury. Maid Lotus took care of him all night and heard
everything.
"This is the dagger Shangguan Ru gave me." Gu Shenwei took out a dagger
from a parcel beside him. He said, "It originally belonged to me as it was a
gift from my father. Shangguan Nu killed my family and took this dagger
away. He then gave it to Shangguan Ru."
Gu Shenwei recited this story in order to prove that it was impossible for him
to like Shangguan Ru. Maid Lotus understood his intention, but wasn't
touched. She said, "There is nothing wrong with liking someone. If you are
able to toughen up and kill all the people who you loved, you will be
victorious. You have failed, and I will not."
For a moment, Gu Shenwei wanted to plead with her. He even thought that
the real reason behind all this trouble was for him to plead Maid Lotus for
forgiveness and express his love for her. However, he didn't plead. As he had
endured years of humiliation, he didn't want to lose his dignity at the last
moment.
"New Moon Hall will destroy Golden Roc Fort?"
"Of course."
"When you kill Shangguan Fa and Shangguan Nu, please tell them my real
name if possible. And Governor Wei Song. He is my enemy, but I don't know
who is the mastermind."
Maid Lotus twisted her head as to look at Gu Shenwei and said, "I will kill all
your enemies, and will find out who the mastermind is. Whenever I kill a
person, I will tell him that you are the descendant of the Central Plain Gu
Family, and you are the one who asked me to take revenge." Her voice was
unprecedently gentle.
"Thank you."
"No, Thank you. After you die, I will need a new source of hatred so that the
Death Scripture swordcraft won't be affected."
Gu Shenwei recalled the eleven-year-old Chu Nanping. He wanted to master

Heartless Swords, but could not bear to kill the friends that he just made. The
girl in front of him was the best candidate to practice Heartless Swords.
They stopped talking and moving. They allowed the night to settle in as
though there were an iron wall separating them.
The chill in his body penetrated into his bones, and Gu Shenwei tried to
remain silent. Maid Lotus wanted to watch him die of qigong deviation, but
he didn't want to be like Slave Yao, who lost control.
A ray of sunshine of dawn shone past Maid Lotus's head and landed on Gu
Shenwei. He didn't feel any warmth, but was moved by the scene before him.
He couldn't help but said, "You are so beautiful."
Maid Lotus was enveloped in the ineffable light. She looked like the very
first flower in the world, which was free from pollution. Even the air that she
took in was the freshest.
Maid Lotus turned her head in amazement. With the change in the angle of
the light, she returned to her usual appearance. She was still very beautiful,
but she had lost that holiness, which others looked up to. She appeared
slightly different, as if she had… cried.
There was no better chance than this. The estrangement between both of them
disappeared completely. A sentence from the youth could possibly defeat the
powers of Death Scripture and turn hate into love.
A dark cloud moved past and its shadow covered the entrance. Maid Lotus
suddenly jumped off from the bed, as though she were ambushed. She pulled
the bow as she was suddenly on high alert. After a long time, she was
relieved. She became highly sensitive to her surroundings.
The opportunity had passed but Gu Shenwei had yet spoken. Death Scripture
had little influence on him now and he could think clearly. He was tired of
endless killing and was willing to pass this difficult task to others.
He would soon die of qigong deviation, but he was sympathetic and thankful
towards the mastermind of this plot, Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus grasped her sword shaft tightly and was suppressing her feelings.
She was on the verge of collapse. She understood all Gu Shenwei's thoughts
as though his mind were transparent. She then felt very proud. She not only
wanted to kill the person whom she loved, but also to avenge him.
This pride made her push all reasons of hatred to the Death Scripture. She
carefully avoided her true intention. Her hatred was caused by Slave Huan's
delay in reciprocating her love.
A small group of killers approached Reincarnation Cliff early in the morning.

Maid Lotus's facial expression changed and she said, "Foolish Liuhua. He
had been followed."
Liuhua's whereabouts were revealed. Those killers who discovered him

hadn't fully understand the importance of this incident.
Chapter 247 - At the Same Time
Chapter 247: At the Same Time
The team of three killers thought that this mission would be unfruitful. If
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus had not suicided off the cliff, they would be
hiding in an unknown place within Jade City. It was impossible that they
were still in the Stone Castle, where there were surveillance round the clock
and no place for them to hide.
The team, however, had spent an entire night searching East Castle for a
killer named Liuhua. The last area they had not searched was Reincarnation
Cliff, after searching which they knew they would probably face reprimand
because it was likely that Liuhua had also suicided off the cliff, meaning that
they would return empty-handed.
They first checked Reincarnation Cliff and Giant Rock Cliff, within which
they combed through every single possible hiding spot. They did not do
things half-heartedly despite it being a pointless mission.
Finally, they searched the Arrow Tower.
As per their usual practice, one killer guarded the door while the other two
entered the tower. They found nothing except dust on the ground floor, and
subsequently climbed the stairs in a single file to reach one of the upper
floors.
Slave Huan was sitting beneath a road-facing window and smiling at them.
The killers were startled and pulled their sabers out in unison. "Where's Maid
Lotus?", one of them questioned.
"Behind you."
Before Gu Shenwei had completed his answer, one of the killers' face had
already stiffened. Just as the other killer turned his head, his expressions
froze as well.
Maid Lotus disappeared for a while but quickly returned to the upper floor.
Right as she did so, the two killers collapsed and tumbled to the bottom of the
tower.
Maid Lotus' concealment ability was all along better than Gu Shenwei's. To
most people, she was merely a rather outstanding female killer. Few knew
that her swordcraft was of the highest level. The three killers were caught
completely off guard and assassinated.
"We have to find another place."
As Maid Lotus carried Gu Shenwei on to her back, she caught a glance of the
saber and two swords leaning against a wall. She took the sword carved with
the word "Yun", which she had given to Slave Huan, and left the other
weapons where they were. She knew that there was no need to destroy the
evidence - they would be quickly and completely exposed now that the three
killers were dead.
Gu Shenwei took a final look at his saber and sword.
As it was currently daytime, they would not able to elude the guards in the
castle no matter how good their Lightness Skills were. Maid Lotus thus chose
a dangerous route. She walked towards the south along the edge of the peak,
of which there were several sections which they needed to climb the cliff
walls to pass through. There was a moment when Gu Shenwei thought about
dragging her off the cliff and dying together, but it was nothing more than a
passing thought, for he still needed her to take revenge on his behalf.
The southeastern section of Stone Castle was relatively desolate and

contained several portions of wasteland. From here, Maid Lotus turned to
travel towards the west. The southwestern section was where the compound
inhabited by the servants was, and the large number of people there meant
that the duo would be more likely to be seen. Maid Lotus snappily lowered
Slave Huan on to the ground and the duo proceeded shoulder to shoulder. As
they had put on the killers' black clothes, nobody dared to check on them or
recognized these two seemingly ordinary killers.
When they reached the western side of the cliff, Maid Lotus raised Gu
Shenwei on to her back once again and took a turn towards the north. Gu
Shenwei finally understood what her destination was.
The duo had taken a huge detour from the easternmost Reincarnation Cliff to
the westernmost Ghost Cliff.
The place contained symbolic meaning for both of them. Firewood Yard was
only a wall away from here, while Slave Yao, who suffered from qigong
deviation, had died here and his body was thrown off the cliff.
Gu Shenwei had taken great pains to purge the Peripheral Forces from his
body. Despite being afraid of death, he seemed completely indifferent now
that death was at hand, and even felt considerably more relaxed and easy.
Maid Lotus was a little exhausted from the non-stop journeying. Gu Shenwei
saw as a layer of fine sweat seeped out from her neck when he suddenly
suffered from a prankish impulse. Just as she stepped on to the ground of
Ghost Cliff, he gently kissed her on the neck.
As if she was the one who suffered a qigong deviation, Maid Lotus reacted
like she had been sneak attacked by a snake. She instantly flung the youth on
to the ground and pulled out her sword. "You…"
"I couldn't control myself, but you don't have to spare my life for that."
Maid Lotus had a frosty look on her face. "It would be useless even if I do,
for I cannot resolve your qigong deviation."
Gu Shenwei walked to the edge of the cliff with his back facing Maid Lotus,
and smiled as he peered at the cloudy mist in the distance. Having received
special training in Carvewood Academy, Maid Lotus was certainly not
sensitive to physical contact with the opposite sex. What her reaction did
reveal was her true feelings toward him.
She remained silent behind him, but when she opened her mouth once again,
she was ablaze with anger, unlike her usual calm and collected demeanor. "I
shall go kill Luo Ningcha."
Gu Shenwei turned around in surprise, and could not understand where her
abrupt anger came from.
"She killed Maid Cui. I cannot let her off just like that."
Maid Lotus offered a completely unnecessary explanation and subsequently

ran off without waiting for Gu Shenwei's response. She leaped on to the roof
of Firewood Yard and made her way towards the Eighth Young Master's
forecourt to perform a kill in broad daylight.
Gu Shenwei could only roughly understand what was weighing on her mind,
but he had no time to ponder over it. He took out the Wayless Book the
moment she disappeared. The seventh chapter, which Shangguan Ru had
sent, was still intact. He carefully read through it and memorized an outline.
There would probably be a chance to save himself if he practiced it for the

coming month or so. Gu Shenwei's heart began to palpitate. He would have
calmly accepted his fate if he had no choices to make. But he did not want to
sit and await death, seeing as there was a possibility to live on.
Maid Lotus was at ease about leaving him alone on Ghost Cliff because she
was certain that he would not dare to seek help from people in the castle, and
furthermore, because he did not have the Internal Strength to run away.
After deliberating for a while over whether to begin practice or to find an

escape route, Gu Shenwei decided on the former. Running away would be
futile if the qigong deviation truly could not be resolved any further. He
could only rely on himself as there was nobody to trust.
While this was going on, the Supreme King Shangguan Fa was filled with
wrath and bewilderment as he observed the corpses of the three killers which
had been sent to him.
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus were two names he was not too familiar with.
These insignificant youths had actually been hiding in Stone Castle all this
time while a large group of killers was turning Jade City upside down in
search of them. Golden Roc Fort became something of a laughingstock at
once.
Shangguan Fa suspected that there remained incompetent subordinates in the

castle. For a simple manhunt like this, it was only on the seventh day that a
clue was accidentally found. He had, in recent years, distributed his power to
many people, and now realized what a big mistake this was. The people
whom he entrusted his power to used their allocation of power to fight with
each other instead of augmenting the influence of Golden Roc Fort.
"This policy should end, for there's nobody worthy of trust," he thought. He
could clearly see through the plot by Shen Liang and Lady Meng, and there
was still time to salvage everything. There was nothing too regrettable about
the fact that his weak and incapable sons had died. The prophecy of "The
King of the Cross" would eventually be realized anyway.
He carefully examined for some time the fatal wounds on the three corpses,
and even touched them with his own finger. The swordcraft of the two
runaway killers had surpassed his expectations, and even seemed a little
similar to that found in the legendary Dajue Book of Swordcraft.
"Within the next two hours, I want to see these two people. Alive."
After the Supreme King gave his instructions, the panicky crowd of killers
and counselors bowed in compliance and exited the hall. They proceeded to
direct orders to their subordinates as fast as they could. Many of them had not
shaken off the habits developed during the internal strife and thought that this
was yet another competition to see who could find the two escaped killers
first.
This was a moment which required swift and ruthless action. Shangguan Fa's
priority was to deal with a most blatantly guilty person, whereas the powers
of Shen Liang and Lady Meng could be sorted out later on.
The novelty which Luo Ningcha had brought had already faded, and the
Supreme King was sick of her wilful arrogance, flamboyance, and stupidity.
It was she who brought the two killers into Stone Castle, and it was at her
place where he was subjected to an assassination attempt. According to Shen
Liang's explanation, the assassin was definitely one of the two killers.
Miss Luo was just a woman, and she no longer had the backing of Bighead
Kingpin or the concern of Eighth Young Master. The Supreme King decided
to personally settle this matter as a means of giving preferential treatment to
the beauty.
Meanwhile, with Gu Shenwei to her north and the Supreme King to her
south, Luo Ningcha was pacing back and forth anxiously in the court of the
Eighth Young Master. She had been cursing "Ungrateful fools!" for three
successive days since the escape of Slave Huan and Maid Lotus. Every
servant in the residence was punished for this matter, and was told to slap
each other's cheeks until they bled.
When her fury finally subsided, fear took its place.
There were two bad omens. The first was the escape of the dowry servants
she had brought in, while the second was the fact that the Supreme King had
not visited for seven days already. She had sent people to check on the
situation in the Inner Residence, but they could not even get through the
entrance. The women who had once turned to her side would, at this delicate
moment, rather be flies on the wall than precipitately offer help to the Eighth
Young Mistress.
She once again felt that her world was on the verge of collapse, and was
extremely terrified. She was terrified of death, terrified of not being anyone's
pet, terrified of being despised, and terrified of being neglected by the
lowliest of persons. She once had a powerful father and a set of multi-layered
veils, and cherished the memory of these like a baby cherished her mother's
embrace.
"Things would have been fine if Slave Huan is still around. He would always
provide me with good ideas." Luo Ningcha's thoughts began to drift before
she remembered that Slave Huan was the main cause of this disaster.
She forced herself to calm down, and told herself that she had to be self-
reliant as there was nobody she could trust.
"Slave Huan would say, "Miss Luo, you aren't completely done for. The baby
in your womb is the child of the Supreme King and will arrive at the right
time. Several sons of the Supreme King have already died. Can there be any
better present or sign of your loyalty?""
Even Luo Ningcha was annoyed by her own foolishness. It had taken her a
full seven days to understand such a simple matter, while the rest of the time
had been wasted on anger and fear.
"That's right, I have the Lord's child." Luo Ningcha became relaxed at once.
It was, without a doubt, a son this time. She wanted to report this piece of
good news to the Lord. She would protect the child with her own life and
ensure that no woman from the Inner Residence ever touch him. Every meal
she ate would have to be sampled for safety first. She would double the
number of guards protecting the court, and bar everyone except her personal
maids and the Lord from entering the backcourt. Even a physician would
have to sign a death-as-punishment liability agreement before being allowed
to enter.
It was her son who would be the future Supreme King.
While Luo Ningcha was in an euphoria, someone else was distressedly

praying to the heavens.
Shangguan Ru had been counting the days. Seven days were sufficient for
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus to have escaped from the boundaries of Golden
Roc Fort, yet unexpectedly, they remained in the Stone Castle. This was a
risky plan but also a clever trick. It was definitely an idea which Slave Huan
came up with.
She tightened her clothes and picked up her saber. She was not praying for
the two killers to escape safely, but for herself to have the strength to protect
them.
When she turned around, she saw her mother standing in the doorway with a
sorrowful expression which made her shudder.
"Don't you want your own life anymore?"
"Mother." Shangguan Ru acknowledged heartfeltly. She walked over to her

mother, hoping that her words would be able to convince the latter. "This is
something I must do."
"We all have things we must do."
Lady Meng's heartache was no less severe than her daughter's. Many years of
painstaking anticipation had evaporated in one day. The twins were supposed
to be her aides and shields, but instead, they became burdens and threats. In
the end, she had no one she could trust.
Before Shangguan Ru understood her mother's meaning, she felt somebody

press a finger below her ribs. The figure of her mother gradually faded into
the darkness. The gods had answered her prayers in an unexpected way.
Shangguan Ru collapsed into the arms of an assassin in black, who took away
her saber and handed it to Lady Meng.
This was the first time Lady Meng held one of the Stone Castle's standard
weapons. It was heavy just like her heart was, and ice cold just like her heart
was as well.
This was her "Tenth Young Master". Or at least, she used to be but no longer
would be.
Chapter 248 - Up and Down
Chapter 248: Up and Down
Standing by the edge of Ghost Cliff, Gu Shenwei managed to get his head
together with much difficulty and began to practice the seventh chapter of
Wayless Qigong.
The chill within his body, nevertheless, did not abate as a result. Instead, the
rapid circulation of Genuine Qi in his meridians caused a frigid pain. Gu
Shenwei clenched his teeth and endured for some time, but was finally unable
to hold on any longer and fell headlong on the ground.
When he woke up, he saw Maid Lotus kneeling beside him while wiping
sweat off him using a silk handkerchief. Her hair was somewhat messy and
she looked deeply concerned, as if she was in as much pain as him.
"I'll let you die now if you beg me to," Maid Lotus said in a soft and soothing
voice. Her other hand was clutching her sword shaft.
Gu Shenwei felt that his nasal passages were finally clear once again. He
forcefully inhaled the chilly air of the peak such that his chest began to
undulate violently. However, his mind was still in a numb and dazed state,
and thereby the girl in front of him was a stranger. He gawked at her and
understood neither the reason why she was sad nor the meaning of her words.
As his memory gradually recovered, the young girl's face turned indifferent,
as if the earlier scene was just his hallucination. He would "rather die" than
beg her for anything.
"Have you killed her?"
Maid Lotus took out Luo Ningcha's ring and tossed it off the cliff. "She was
struck by my throwing knife. It now depends on her luck."
This was the reason why concealed weapons and crossbows were not valued
by killers. Because of their long distance, it was impossible to tell whether
the target stayed alive or died. Accidents happened all the time. But there
were too many guards beside Luo Ningcha, and thus Maid Lotus did not want
to take the risk of rushing in.
Gu Shenwei was unconcerned about that woman's death or otherwise. The

chill was becoming increasingly severe, and a giant block of ice seemed to
have formed in his abdomen. He tried to conceal his pain but his body began
to tremble involuntarily. He had suffered a qigong deviation because of his
inverse practice of the seventh chapter of Wayless Qigong. He subsequently
sought to rectify this through the standard practice, but the result was
contrary to what he wanted.
Maid Lotus hesitated for a while before she held him in her arms. She knew
very little kung fu and did not know how to transmit Internal Breath to
relieve his pain, and thereby could only use her body temperature to help
reduce his chill.
A solitary deep horn was heard. As the Golden Roc killers mostly
communicated through whistles, this was the first time Gu Shenwei heard a
sound like this in Stone Castle.
"They're coming." Maid Lotus turned her head towards the castle.
What the two young killers did not know was that the horn was Stone Castle's
highest level alert. This was the first time it had been sounded in the castle
since Shangguan Fa became the Supreme King. Even the black-masked
assassins who were hiding in the deepest places were summoned towards the
designated location to await orders.
"I'm sorry, I may not be able to withstand the qigong deviation." Gu Shenwei
too looked towards the castle, his emotions stirring. For no reason, he thought
back to a day three years ago when he was riding a pony near his manor, so
excitedly chasing after the hares and birds that he forgot the time. As the sun
began to set, he peered at the silhouette of his manor and felt that his home
was distant and unreal. Yet, his heart was filled with a strange sense of
affinity as a result.
"Nobody can kill you except me." Maid Lotus' tone became cold and flat, and
she seemed to have made up her mind. She drew the Golden Roc Fort saber
and threw it off the cliff. Next, she pulled out Gu Shenwei's "Yun" sword and
stuck it in the ground. "This is for killing you." Finally, she grasped her own
"Huan" sword. "And this is for killing them and myself."
A large group of killers would be surging towards them any time now. They
had nowhere left to run.
"It isn't worth it to die like this after all that trouble stealing Wayless Book."
"I've delivered it already. Sooner or later, New Moon Hall will invade Stone
Castle to take revenge for me as well as for you."
Gu Shenwei's enemy was not Golden Roc Fort, but he did not say anything
further. This was a delicate moment when there was no enmity, and instead
only an inexplicable compassion and a tacit understanding, between the
killing side and the killed one.
The Golden Roc killers did not immediately arrive, and thus Maid Lotus had
time to shift Gu Shenwei under a tree beside which she guarded. She
suddenly asked without cause, "Why are you called Gu Shenwei? It's such an
odd name."
Gu Shenwei remained dazed for some time as he thought, before replying, "It
came from a line in an ancient text. 'A gentleman should be cautious of doing
(shen wei) good, for doing good naturally garners fame, which naturally
creates personal benefits, which naturally causes disputes.'"
"'Do good with caution'? It turns out that your father intended for you to
never do good things from the time he came up with this name."
Gu Shenwei laughed and did not explain further that the meaning of the line
was not what she thought it was. As a matter of fact, he did not quite like the
name himself, but his father considered it to be highly appropriate.
"How about yourself? What's the saying behind the name 'Huo Yun'?"
"Nothing. It's a very common name."
The duo was chatting casually when the gate of Firewood Yard suddenly
opened, and out ran someone who looked in all directions but did not see the
two killers behind the tree and thus had no choice but to shout loudly, "Yang
Huan! Are you here?"
Surprisingly, it was Xu Yanwei. Gu Shenwei had initially intended to secretly

send her to Stone Castle to meet Xu Xiaoyi but eventually forgot about it.
"I'm over here."
Gu Shenwei stood up and waved his hands while Maid Lotus leaped up the
tree and hid. As before, she was responsible for covertly protecting Gu
Shenwei when he was meeting someone.
Xu Yanwei frantically hurried over, and did not stop to knock the dust off
when she fell down on the way. She reached the tree in a few steps and
handed a cloth bundle to Gu Shenwei, her cheeks flushed and her breathing
difficult. "Tenth Young Master gives this to you and Maid Lotus."
Gu Shenwei opened the bundle astoundedly. Inside were two sets of black
clothes, a waist token with the highest-level inscription "Du", and a few
disguise tools. "She… how did you know I'm here?"
Xu Yanwei shook her head and inhaled a deep breath before explaining
incoherently, "Tenth Young Master passed these to me last night. She said
that you two might still be in Stone Castle, but because she was being
watched closely, that I should hand them to you on her behalf. Everyone has
been talking about you two since the attack on her. I heard the killers saying
that they're ready to surround Firewood Yard, and so quickly ran here with
her waist token in hopes that I'm still in time."
Gu Shenwei was a little touched. She was undoubtedly taking a bold risk to
run here at this critical point in time, and it was extremely rare for her to do
something like this, even if her actions would come to nothing for it was
impossible to deceive the killers or to save his life.
As he neared death, he became somewhat more emotional than usual.
"Your younger brother…" Gu Shenwei wanted to tell her about Xu Xiaoyi's

whereabouts so that the siblings could reunite, but it was too late. The
assassins in black came pouring out of Firewood Yard one after another.
They were not in a hurry to catch their prey. Instead, they fanned out and
surrounded the youth.
"Is Miss Ru dead?"
"Not yet, but her injury is serious." Xu Yanwei's voice began to quiver. She
had already exhausted her courage, and was thereby frightened out of her
wits, like a mouse among a destruction of cats, as she faced the dozens of
killers who remained in grave silence.
"Go find her. If she isn't dead, beg her to protect you. And remember this: she
needs you."
Xu Yanwei did not know whether she would remain alive to see the mistress,
or even why she ran all the way here only to cause trouble for herself. She
walked towards the people in black with her body as if already fallen into
pieces, such that before every step she took, she had to reassemble her limbs,
bones, and viscera.
Treating the frightened girl as if she was invisible, the killers watched
apathetically as she walked towards them with her body tottering and close to
collapse. But when she reached the gate of Firewood Yard, one of them
pressed on her shoulders, causing her body to buckle and fall on to him at
once.
Gu Shenwei took backward steps until he neared the edge of the cliff, while
at the same time, more and more killers continued to join the surround. He
had never seen so many men in black appear together like this before. Every
one of them kept silent, as if their sole purpose for being here was to form a
human wall.
Blademaster Shen Liang walked out from among the crowd with a smile on
his face. This was his victory. The impact of Slave Huan's arrival was greater
than he had imagined. The wrath of the Supreme King would deal a heavy
blow to Lady Meng, who was so greedy that she wanted to concentrate all
power in her hands. She absolutely would not have thought that she would
fall out of favor because of a young killer.
Gu Shenwei was slightly disappointed that Shangguan Fa did not show up in

person. Moreover, he thought that Shen Liang would say a few words,
whether to reprimand or to humiliate him, but instead nothing was heard. The
veteran blademaster would by no means waste his breath on an ordinary
killer.
Gu Shenwei had several things to talk about himself - his real identity, his
deepest hatred, and to curse viciously, as was a common thing to do. But his
many years of training as a killer eventually prevailed. Spreading his arms, he
decided that he had no need to speak.
Speaking might make one feel cathartic, but the satisfaction it provided was
illusory and unreal. Even if he verbally vilified Golden Roc Fort and the
Shangguan family with all the righteous indignation in the world, his words
would just be empty rhetoric with no effect whatsoever.
There was nothing strange about the fact that some people succeeded at
taking revenge while others failed.
Within the six great divisions in the wheel of karma, there was never enough
to kill, and also never enough to hate. He considered himself to have done
something world breaking by destroying the enemy who killed his family, but
it was in actual fact nothing more than a regular activity in Golden Roc Fort,
and it left no impression on the Supreme King at all.
He raised his head and looked at Maid Lotus who was hiding in the tree
above. This peculiar girl had pulled out all the stops to make him undergo
qigong deviation and die, yet at the final moment staked everything on a
"Huan" sword to preserve the last vestiges of his life. This showed that hatred
was just one of the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures, and that even
the strongest of hatreds could not control a person's entire heart. There would
always be other emotions hiding in the recesses of one's heart which could
surge up powerfully at any given time.
He subsequently lowered his head and looked towards the bottom of the cliff,
only to see two men in black clinging on to the cliff wall. The killers had to
set up an escape-proof net because the Supreme King wanted to catch him
alive.
Once they realized they had been discovered, the two killers leaped back on
to the top of the cliff and grabbed hold of the resistance-less youth.
Maid Lotus swooped down from the tree unhesitatingly the moment she
turned her head and saw what was going on.
With two clean strikes of her sword, Maid Lotus performed her first openly-
seen killings. This was also the first time the swordcraft from Death Scripture
was witnessed by living but unknowing people. Her name would be forever
remembered by every Golden Roc killer from this moment onwards.
The smile disappeared from Shen Liang's face. He certainly had to comply
with the Lord's orders to capture the youth alive. Nine out of ten times, the
two highly-experienced killers who hid on the cliff wall would have done the
job. But with this girl and this swordcraft…
Maid Lotus pulled the "Huan" sword out of the ground using her left hand
and looked at the youth who was standing by the cliff. This was not her ideal
ending, but an even better one than that.
There was a smile on Gu Shenwei's face. At this point, he felt that this was
the final smile of his life, and that no person or thing would interest him
henceforth.
Aside from the Wayless Book in his arms and the Death Scripture in his
heart, he possessed nothing in Stone Castle and therefore had nothing to lose.
Furthermore, he had nothing left to want from people and therefore had no
more debts to repay.
The youth inclined his body and fell into the abyss.
The "Huan" sword in Maid Lotus' hand had been an inch away from his body
but did not pierce into him after all. A moment later, she too made the jump.
"No!" Shen Liang bellowed.
The crowd of killers did not remain expressionless this time. Having failed to
complete their Lord's orders for a live capture, an ominous panic began to
grow in their and the blademaster's hearts.
They ran towards the edge of the cliff, when all of a sudden, a gale began to
sweep up sand and stones all around them. Everyone halted their footsteps
involuntarily and used their hands to protect their eyes as they witnessed an
unbelievable sight: a giant black bird soared high into the sky and entered the
clouds, and on its back kneeling on one leg was the youth, expressionless.
Many years later, people would still remember this scene, and would even
consider it to be an omen of all turbulent events and killings. At this time,
however, it was only a fleeting spectacle, and the killers standing at the back
did not even get to see it for themselves.
"Look, there's a rope!" A killer exclaimed.
Indeed, a fine rope was tied around the tree next to the cliff, while its other
end dangled towards the bottom of the cliff.
The two young killers had escaped from Stone Castle, one after the other.
(End of Volume I)
I want to thank every book pal, for it is your clicks, recommendations, and
reviews which have enabled the continued writing of this novel.
A special shoutout to those who have cast evaluation votes. Your support has
comforted me during times when the numbers remained bleak.
Finally, I want to thank those who have helped to promote this novel in
forums. The only way I can repay you is to continue writing, whether the
novel receives an A rating or otherwise.
Because a promise is often the beginning of a lie, I shall not make any. What
I can say, however, is that I shall begin work on Volume II today.
Chapter 249 - A Year
Chapter 249: A Year
Leaning on his five feet long saber, Zhuang Heng watched as his brothers
plundered wantonly, and felt a warmth in his heart as though he was
watching his children playing and having fun.
He had only two beliefs in life: sabers were his life blood, and his brothers
were his family. He was thus nicknamed the "Long Machete God" in the
jianghu. To him, gold and silver were like dirt, while women were nothing
more than lust-satisfying objects which could talk, and which often annoyed
him when they talked too much.
Five carriages were overturned along the roadside. The horses laid in the
pools of blood gasping feebly for air while a dozen or so human corpses were
scattered amidst the tall grass. This had been an all-too-common transaction.
If he had not been paid for it, Zhuang Heng would not have bothered to make
this trip.
Having more "dirt" was always welcomed. To the bandits, this served as food
which they could never have enough of.
His twelve brothers had already heaped together all of the items found in the
carriages, and were currently searching the corpses one-by-one for money
and valuables. They were not a big gang, and thus every cent and item
mattered to them. If they saw that one of the corpses was wearing a
comfortable pair of boots, they would consider it a huge waste not to take it
off.
"Hey, look what I've found!" The stubbly Elder Du was carrying a young girl
of around ten years old, and was eager to receive the approval of his boss.
Elder Du was an imperceptive person who could not discriminate what was
valuable and what was not. A young girl like this was not yet a woman, and
could not even be used by his brothers to release their urges upon. But
Zhuang Heng was in no mood to educate him and lazily waved him off.
Disappointed and despondent, Elder Du placed the girl down and pulled a
short sword out from beneath his waist. He always hoped to own a five feet
long saber like his boss', for it was more powerful at scything people and
looked more imposing, but he did not have the courage to ask for one. His
current short sword was decent as well. At its best, it could chop down a tree
which was as thick as the rim of a bowl.
The young girl raised her head and gazed at the bandit. Her slim and fragile
neck was certainly not as thick as the rim of a bowl.
Perhaps because she had been scared silly, the young girl neither cried nor
whined, and showed no intention of running away. Instead, she seemed to be
waiting for the adult to give her sweets.
"Lower your head," Elder Du ordered. He wanted to chop her head off with
one perfect stroke such that her head would roll over to his boss's feet while
her body remained standing upright. He had witnessed a scene like this
before and always wanted to imitate it at least once.
The final wish of Elder Du's life would, however, be impolitely interrupted
by an intruder.
Everyone turned their sights toward the wilderness, starting from the boss
Zhuang Heng, followed by the brothers who were searching through the
corpses, and finally Elder Du who was taking careful aim at the young girl's
neck. Only the young girl remained unconcerned and continued to stare
fixedly at the bandit.
A pure black horse ambled its way toward the crowd. It was ridden by a pale-
faced young knight who looked like a lost traveler. He appeared calm and
unperturbed despite having barged into a group of bandits in his
disorientation. Like the little girl, he seemed to not understand the cruel
reality of the situation.
As the bandits brandished their shiny swords, several of them moved toward
the flanks and prepared to encircle the prey which had arrived on its own.
Although the horse was a fine specimen, the knight himself did not carry
much luggage. Zhuang Heng felt that a fool like this was too insignificant for
him to get worked up over.
The knight stopped ten steps away from Zhuang Heng, unbothered by the
movement behind him. Without saying a word, he performed an action which
confounded the bandits. He took out a piece of black cloth and rubbed it
gently on the horse's cheek several times before he covered the horse's eyes
with it. The animal was apparently accustomed to this practice and did not
display any sign of resistance.
The knight leaped off the horse, revealing the saber and sword which were
attached to his waist.
"Are you Zhuang Heng?"
The knight's sickly pale face suggested that he had just arrived from a frozen
land, but it was currently early autumn and the sunshine provided a pleasant
warmth. The bandits, who had been busy for half a day, were even sweating
profusely.
"Yes." Zhuang Heng bucked his spirits up slightly, albeit he still did not take
seriously the knight who had appeared from nowhere.
"You can't be like this." The knight shook his head in some disappointment.
"What?"
"You aren't worthy of being slain by my sword in your current state."
Zhuang Heng was taken aback for a moment before he and his brothers broke
into laughter. The solemn and murderous atmosphere evaporated faster than
the droplets of water on the grass did. There were always a few machetemen
and swordsmen in this world who highly rated their own kungfu and
considered the bandits to be a bunch of incompetent goons. They would then
seek to kill these bandits in order to make a name for themselves. Like the
pale-faced knight, this type of people would speak profoundly and abstrusely
at the start, but would become all flustered and overwhelmed when the action
started. Subsequently, they would either die horrifically or escape through
sheer luck. In the latter case, they would then grumble, while shuddering with
terror, that the bandits were breaking the rules of the jianghu by
outnumbering their enemies. The one thing which these people would never
mention was that they had initiated the challenge themselves.
This was yet another swordsman who came to court his own death. Zhuang
Heng increasingly felt that this was a day for fun and game, and thereupon
pulled his long-saber out of the ground and rested it on his shoulder. "Come,
let's fight while I'm still slightly interested. We have to be on our way soon,
unlike you with all that spare time."
The knight did not react to the derisory laughter. With his pale face remaining
expressionless, he pulled his sword out and slowly drew nearer to his enemy.
Zhuang Heng felt a quake in his heart the moment the knight took his first
step forward. Even though there was no perceptible killing intent or swift
offensive from the latter, the bandit leader began to tense up involuntarily. He
grasped his saber shaft forcefully and lowered his center of gravity, as if he
was facing a formidable opponent.
Unable to sense their boss's frame of mind, the twelve brothers were bored
stiff as they watched the duel play out. While awaiting the impending
outcome, they were strenuously estimating their total yield for the day. A few
quick-thinking ones among them were already eyeing the pure black horse.
By the bandits' principles, whoever touched a particular piece of loot first
would get to claim it as his own.
Therefore, most of the bandits were not paying attention to what was going
on on scene, and did not know that the duel had already ended in the blink of
an eye. Only the simple-minded Elder Du clenched his fists excitedly and
prepared to applaud and cheer. He never got tired of watching his boss use a
two-handed saber to kill.
But his applauses and cheers would never be heard. Though he had been
watching, Elder Du did not understand what was going on. It felt the same as
when one entered a different dream while halfway through a dream; because
the contents of the two dreams were completely unrelated and the dislocation
between them was ludicrous, one would even murmur to one's self within the
dream that this was impossible.
Zhuang Heng's long-saber was resting on his shoulder as before. What the
brothers would never find out was that the long-saber had moved away from
his shoulder for a short time and been a flash away from scything the enemy,
but his rapid technique was not fast enough today.
Feeling that killing one person a year with it was enough, the knight sheathed
his sword and took his saber out instead. It was only now that the bandits
fixed their attentions on him. They recognized the weapon for what it was - a
saber exclusively used by Golden Roc killers as well as a few daredevil
impostors.
As Zhuang Heng remained motionless, everyone gradually recognized the

fact that their boss was dead.
In contrast to many bandit gangs, they were a group of people with affection
and loyalty for each other, and would not hold back from taking revenge
against, let alone run away from, a strong opponent. Like a wounded wolf,
Elder Du howled toward the heavens and became wildly ferocious as he led
the mass charge toward the knight.
It was twelve versus one, with the only bystander being the little girl standing
transfixed in the tall grass. The bloodshed caused by the bandits during the
robbery had already petrified her. In comparison, the killing which was
currently taking place in front of her eyes was relatively simple, and did not
showcase any horrific scene which could rouse her from her daze.
The knight looked like he was dancing as he fought. Every action he

performed, whether it be advancing, retreating, turning, or striking, was
executed efficiently and seemed to have been rehearsed. The bandits also
exhibited their good teamwork as they met him head-on, pursued, struck, and
eventually collapsed. They seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as a
dog was when chasing after a bone.
The young girl slowly comprehended the scene in front of her eyes. Instead
of twelve bandits encircling a knight, it was the exact opposite. The knight
would never rush into the group to hack and slash, but would rather maintain
continuous movement to keep himself positioned on its periphery.
Throughout this process, the bandits were always at different distances away
from him, such that there was always one of them face-to-face with him
alone, whom he would kill with a lightning-fast swing of his saber, while
their companions were always a step too slow to rescue their brother or to
catch hold of him.
The last surviving bandit was Elder Du, who was utterly oblivious to the
collapse of his brothers. As he remained wholeheartedly focused on avenging
his boss, his howling became increasingly monotonous. This was because
there was a strong buildup of force in his heart, but he never had an
opportunity to exert it upon the quick-footed knight. The buildup continued
to a point when it urgently needed to be released. "I can chop a tree as thick
as the rim of a bowl," he thought to himself right before he suffered a strike
on the neck. His thoughts immediately disintegrated as silently as silk.
He happened to be standing a few steps away from the young girl, while still
raising his saber, when he keeled over in a perfectly straight posture, with the
tip of his saber narrowly missing her legs by several inches. Yet, she
continued to remain motionless.
The knight sheathed his saber and gestured toward the young girl to cover her
eyes.
Having seemed to be petrified, the young girl reacted very quickly instead at
this moment. She immediately raised both hands to cover her eyes. Soon, she
heard a strange whistle, and a gale which nearly knocked her off her feet
arose abruptly. A puffing sound was then heard after the gale stopped.
Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she made a tiny gap in her fingers
and peeked outward. She was unable to close her eyes thenceforth.
A giant black bird which was a head taller than the pale-faced knight, with
red feathers and eyes, was gleefully pecking on the eyeballs of the dead
bandits. After every two pecks, it would make a little hop with alternate legs
to express its immense joy and satisfaction.
She finally understood why the knight had covered the horse's eyes, albeit she
could not bring herself to close the gap in her fingers.
The bird leaped towards Elder Du's body and ate its favorite food in two
successive pecks. It then turned to face the little girl and saw through the gap
in her fingers that her pupils were green in color and sparkling like a
gemstone reflecting the moonlight.
Shrouded by the shadow of the giant roc, the little girl imagined that its pair
of crimson eyes could shoot blazing fireballs at any time. Although she was
astonished to the point that she forgot to breathe, she was not the least bit
afraid. In fact, she believed that the bird was the most beautiful living thing
she had ever seen, and thus slowly reached out her hand, hoping to get a
touch of its body of silky smooth black feathers.
The giant roc soared up and leaped over the young girl's head, before
continuing to peck on the eyeballs of the corpses. It was not an animal which
would casually allow humans to touch it.
"What's its name?" The girl was completely fascinated by the giant black
bird, and began asking the knight questions about it.
"It isn't a pet, and so it doesn't have a name. But some people call it the giant
red-crowned roc, while others call it the Demon Bird."
The girl nodded her head thoughtfully.
When the giant roc had eaten enough snacks for the day, it hopped towards
the knight and pecked gently on his body twice before it soared high up,
produced a gust of wind, and quickly disappeared into the sky.
The knight mounted his horse, and after removing its blinkers, he turned it
towards the direction of the route he came from and slowly advanced forth.
After a brief hesitation, the young girl took the short saber from Elder Du's
hands and used it to unshackle her slender calves. She then followed a few
dozen steps behind the knight.
As the sky became darker, the black-clothed knight riding on a black horse
was on the verge of blending into the night. The young girl accidentally
tripped over and could no longer see where the knight was when she raised
her head once again. "Wait for me!" she cried out, but her voice disappeared
into the wilderness and did not even echo.
The young girl raised the short saber and shuddered. Had she not vowed to
never cry ever again, her entire face would be soaked in tears already.
Nevertheless, a teardrop formed in her eye, and she had to put in all effort to
prevent it from flowing down.
"Why are you following me?" a voice asked from above her. A moment or so
ago, the knight had returned to her side, yet she did not even hear the
clattering of the horse's hooves.
"I… my parents were murdered and I was later sold to somebody else. But I
want to take revenge and hope that you can… help me."
"I won't help anyone to take revenge when I have yet to take my own."
"You can teach me kung fu and I'll take revenge myself."
"I also don't teach kung fu. Killing is very simple. You have a saber in your
hand, just swing it across."
The knight departed once again.
The girl trotted and followed him closely. Based on an intuition which only
children possessed and which she had not completely lost, she knew that the
knight would not forsake her.
"The bird doesn't have a name, but do you?"
"I'm… called Yang Huan." The knight provided one of his two names.
"I also have a name. I'm called…"
"I know your name."

"You know? How?" The girl widened her eyes in surprise and nearly tripped
once more.
"You take your maternal grandfather's surname Tie and your maternal
grandmother's name Linglong, right?
The girl named Tie Linglong paused her footsteps, her green eyes fixed upon
the knight whom she had never heard of. All of a sudden, she began to sob,
flinging to the four winds her promise to never cry ever again.
Chapter 250 - Second Year
Chapter 250: Second Year
Long Qinying was approaching seventy years old. Among the males in the
Great Snowmountain, his longevity was considered rare already. His luck,
however, was not quite as good: the body of his last grandson was placed in
front of him, entailing that the chief of the Luoshen tribe would not have a
successor.
He reached a hand out to close the eyes of his grandson before he stood up
and used the same hand to grasp a long and broad greatsword. His hand was
covered in wrinkles and its joints were showing, resembling a withered
branch. Only those people who had touched or felt it before knew that it was
still very powerful.
He walked outdoors from the low and dingy house. This was the coldest
season of the year in the Great Snowmountain, such that the breath he
exhaled would turn into ice. However, he felt dry and hot all over his body,
and almost wanted to strip off his clothes and roll in the snow like he did
when he was young.
Sunlight bounced off the snowy surface and caused him to squint his eyes.
Inhaling a deep breath of the piercingly cold fresh air, he doubted that he
could live more than a day without snow. He swept a glance through the
faces of his few remaining tribesmen. He not only recognized every one of
them, but also remembered their names and even the years which they were
born in.
Standing sparsely in the snow were two hundred or so people, of which more
than half were women and elderly people, less than fifty were young people
who could lift a heavy sword, and only a handful were children.
This was the story of the decline of Luoshen Peak, which was the head of the
Great Snowmountain's five peaks. Even if Long Qinying's final grandson was
still alive and there were not groups of enemies shutting them in, they would
nonetheless eventually perish in the desolate and barren valleys, with frozen
blood vessels and no descendants to succeed their bloodline.
Long Qinying raised his heavy sword high and wanted to say a few sentences
to boost the tribe's morale, but when he saw the expressions of silent
perseverance in the eyes of his tribesmen, he knew there was no need to
waste his breath. The sons of the Great Snowmountain were never good at
words and innately only knew how to fight. Even if only one of them was
left, he would fight to the death without needing to be motivated by pleasant
words or promises of wealth.
"Weng…" Long Qinying raised his head and emitted from his chest a heavy
humming noise which was continuous and increasingly high-pitched.
Starting with the able-bodied males and subsequently the women and the
elderly, everyone mimicked the old chief by raising their heads and emitting
the same noise. The Roar of the Benevolent and Forgiving Dragon
reverberated across the valleys and lingered ceaselessly.
An even more powerful medley of noises was soon heard, and it quickly
drowned out the chanting of the people of Luoshen Peak. It was made up of
the roars of an uncountable number of beasts, and it sounded as if a powerful
and large army was drawing near.
Long Qinying placed his heavy sword down and waved toward the crowd.
Five children between the ages of six and ten, comprising of three boys and
two girls, walked up to the old chief, each of them carrying a sword which
was almost as long as their bodies. Their determined expressions were
sufficient proof that they were of pure Luoshen blood.
Several hundreds of years ago, it was also five people who first entered the
Great Snowmountain and established the Luoshen ancestry. Their children
and grandchildren would fill up every livable valley.
"Anyone can die, but not them." Long Qinying declared. This was an order as
well as a wish and a prayer.
The roars from outside the valleys gradually subsided. A large group of
swordsmen, whose bodies were without exception wrapped in hide, slowly
approached the peak. Placed flat on their shoulders were huge heavy swords
which gleamed under the sunlight. Like a giant moving iceberg, they
swooped in to kill the remaining tribesmen of Luoshen Peak.
Long Qinyang cast off the fur cape he was wearing and led the charge toward
the enemies. Behind him were fifty or so primary swordsmen, while further
back were elders who could still lift a heavy sword. Though the elders'
swords were already ridden with rust, they longed for the stain of fresh blood
all the same. The women held short swords which were relatively much
lighter. These short swords had been used to bleed the necks of the last tamed
animals in Luoshen Peak, and were certainly capable of puncturing holes in
the bodies of the present enemies as well.
The five children remained at the very back. Although they wished to charge
toward the front, they were held back by the adults and could only look down
from the mountain slope anxiously.
The enemy was comprised of three to four hundred swordsmen, every one of
them a physically robust male. Their leader was a middle-aged man of more
than forty years old who wore a black cloak made from pieces of hide. He
had a large and powerful jaw and eyes which, like those of the residents of
the Great Snowmountain, were always squinting. The heavy sword in his
hand seemed to be as light as a feather.
The two groups of people halted their footsteps approximately fifty steps
away from each other, with the Luoshen tribe on slightly higher terrain.
After so many years, the warfare among the tribes of the Great
Snowmountain's five peaks was finally coming to an end. As the victor, the
chief of Danduo Peak, Long Xiaoshi, had plenty to say. "Lay down your
swords, and your women and children under ten years old shall be allowed to
live."
"Live on as slaves of Danduo Peak?" Long Qinying preferred to commence

the fighting immediately, but in the Great Snowmountain, there were a few
rules which needed to be observed at all times.
"The descendants of the Five Dragons will only become swordsmen, and
never slaves."
"Is that so? Were those missing children carried away by wild beasts?"
"Regardless of who carried them away, it was definitely not me."
Long Qinying turned his head back toward his silent tribesmen. He did not
understand the point of this nonsensical exchange of words. Raising his
heavy sword with both hands, he thereby declared war. "Long Qinying of
Luoshen Peak seeks battle."
The old man took calm and steady steps toward the space between the two
groups of swordsmen. His spirits instantly invigorated and the sword he was
holding became much lighter.
Long Xiaoshi snorted grimly. He could have ordered his men to swarm upon
the remaining strength of Luoshen Peak and spare no one, but instead, he
decided to play by the rules so as to prove a point to those people who still
doubted that he was worthy of being the overlord of the five peaks.
He would not enter the battlefield himself. After all, killing a moribund old
man would bring him no honor whatsoever.
A twenty-something-year-old swordsman led the attack. He was so eager to

gain the honor of killing the Luoshen tribe chief to the extent that nothing
else mattered to him. If anyone reminded him to be careful, he would rage
and turn hostile at that person. To him, the most embarrassing thing was to be
unable to finish off a nearly seventy-year-old man within ten strokes.
"I am Danduo…"
"Come at me!"
The entire valley seemed to tremor when the old man bawled. The young
swordsman's words abruptly ceased, and his face reddened involuntarily.
Making a low groan, he charged forth with his sword in hand.
Long Qinying counted the opponent's steps, and when the time was about
right, he took a powerful stride forward and sprang high into the air on his
second stride. His heavy sword preempted his opponent's weapon and swung
towards the young swordsman with such brutality that nobody could believe
it was being exerted by a moribund old man.
The young swordsman parried the first blow, albeit his legs sank deeply into
the snow in doing so. His body was still shaking when the second strike from
the old man came swiftly at him. He parried once more, but this time fell on
his bottom. Refusing to give up, he gnashed his teeth and held on tightly to
his heavy sword with both hands.
Hot blood was flowing rapidly beneath Long Qinying's loose skin, and his
heart felt like it was bursting out of him.
On his third stroke, he cleaved his opponent's sword and one side of his
opponent's body. Red blood rapidly spread all over the white snow,
resembling a bright flower in this drab valley.
His hot blood cooled down quicker than expected, such that he suddenly had
difficulty even lifting up his heavy sword. But he could not back down or
admit defeat, for behind him were every remaining tribesman of Luoshen
Peak. He had to persist on even if he could only protect them for a little while
longer.
He raised his heavy sword in the air once again. A trail of blood was
meandering down the icy smooth blade.
Long Xiaoshi's face darkened. Realizing that the old man was as persistent as
before, he knew that he could not send his tribesmen one by one to their
deaths henceforth. He thus turned his head and took a look at the guest beside
him.
The guest nodded his head and took off his thick and heavy cape. He then
pulled a short sword out from his waist area and walked towards the old
swordsman standing in the middle of the battlefield.
He did not waste any time on self-introductions, and duly sped up and
charged toward Long Qinying, who was already bracing himself. The latter
could tell with one look that this person was not a son of the Great
Snowmountain and seemed to be an expert.
When there was nearly ten steps between the two swordsmen, and their
swords were on the verge of meeting, a snowball suddenly flew diagonally
toward the guest.
The guest halted his footsteps at once and used his weapon to deflect the
snowball. Changing countenance, he asked, "Has Luoshen Peak also learned
to sneak attack?"
Long Qinying was as surprised as his opponent. He was outraged at the

accusation and was about to refute it, but a voice from the mountain slope on
the left preceded his. "Sneak attacks are the forte of Golden Roc Fort, and
aren't easy for others to learn."
A young man who was not yet twenty years old appeared. He was dressed in
all-white and had been hiding in the snow without being discovered all this
time. His face was just as white, and at his waist were a saber and a sword.
None of the swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain knew who he was.
"A Golden Roc killer!" someone cried out in alarm after recognizing that one
of the weapons was a saber.
Both swordsmen who were on the verge of a showdown howled at the same
time. No matter how deep their mutual enmity was, it could not compare to
their shared abhorrence for the Golden Roc Fort. It was none other than that
unscrupulous and dishonorable organization of killers which had blocked the
way out of the Great Snowmountain, and abducted innocent children from
the tribes every year.
While the strife among the tribes of the Great Snowmountain's five peaks
went on year after year ceaselessly, each tribe's slogan for peace was to unite
in the fight against Golden Roc Fort.
"My name is Yang Huan. I'm a defector from Golden Roc Fort. It's this man
who's a real Golden Roc killer." The youth only explained himself after the
howls from both swordsmen had completely stopped.
Few people had ever heard the name "Yang Huan", but many had heard about
the "defector from Golden Roc Fort." The traceless disappearance of two
young killers in full view had become a terrible humiliation of the Supreme
King, and the story had spread throughout the entire Western Region.
"Haha." The sword-wielding guest laughed disdainfully. "If you can call me a
Golden Roc killer, I can just as easily call you a spy. You really think just
based on the one line that you can prove that Danduo Peak is colluding with a
foreign enemy?"
The guest had deftly shifted the youth's accusation towards the chief of
Danduo Peak, Long Xiaoshi, who was standing behind him.
The youth was not here for a verbal dispute. Pulling the sword out from
beneath his waist, he leaped like the most agile of deers toward the guest.
Regardless of which tribe they were from, nobody from the Great
Snowmountain would intervene in this fair contest. Long Qinying even took
a few steps back to give up the battlefield.
The guest bent his legs slightly and waited for the perfect time for a sudden
leap toward the rear of his opponent.
The youth reached near to the guest within a few hops and swept past him
like a gust of wind. However, as if struck by fear on the spot, the youth ran
away without appearing to have exchanged blows. Only when he was a dozen
steps away did he stop and turn back to face the now-motionless guest.
"There's a Golden Roc Fort waist token on his body. This is the item they use
to recognize each other." The youth sheathed his sword, implying that the
fight was already over.
Only a few people, including Long Qinying, had seen through the youth's
swordmanship. The old man was the closest person to the body and so he
walked over to it. It collapsed on the snow the moment his hand made
contact. He bent down and fumbled for a while before fishing out a faint
yellow oval-shaped jade token which he subsequently raised up high to show
to everyone.
Every swordsman of the Great Snowmountain recognized the Golden Roc

Fort waist token.
Nobody trusted the white-clothed youth who had appeared from nowhere. On
the other hand, no matter whether they were friend or foe, everyone believed
the chief of the Luoshen tribe, Long Qinying.
Even Long Xiaoshi did not dare to accuse the old swordsman of fraudulence.
Instead, he pointed the finger at the youth. "You sure have quick hands. It's
truly in line with Golden Roc Fort's practices to plant a waist token on
someone so as to frame and alienate him."
"Why, you also know that Golden Roc Fort is good at driving a wedge
between people." The youth raised his voice so that everyone in the valley
could hear him. "Aren't you ashamed that the men of the Great
Snowmountain only know how to fight against each other and not how to join
hands to resist the common enemy?"
The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were not used to criticism,
regardless of whether it was offered out of good or bad will. The two groups
of people thus turned toward the youth and loudly rebuked him at the same
time. A few short-tempered people even charged toward him with their
swords.
Strangely, it was Long Xiaoshi who held back his tribesmen. His objective
for today was to wipe out the people of Luoshen Peak, and he did not want
there to be any complications. "You may be a small boy but you certainly
have some nerve. What right do you have to say this?"
The youth looked toward Long Qinying instead of the questioner. "I was
friends with Long Tao and Long Hai. They entrusted me with reforming the
five peaks of the the Great Snowmountain before their deaths."
Although Long Qinying had long known that the outcome would be like this,
his body shuddered nonetheless. "Those two grandsons of mine are dead?"
"Yes. They killed a Golden Roc killer in Stone Castle and were consequently
retaliated against."
"Good!" Long Qinying cheered. To kill a person in Golden Roc Fort was
something which nobody else from the Great Snowmountain had been able to
do.
Long Xiaoshi snorted grimly once again. Although Luoshen Peak now had an
extra swordsman helping them, this did not affect the battle situation. In fact,
the white-clothed youth's interference in the battle would save him
considerable trouble.
Long Xiaoshi raised his heavy sword and shouted from the deepest part of his
abdomen, "Kill!"
The two factions bellowed as they charged at each other. They never enjoyed
verbal debates, and only knew how to engage in bloody fights.
A melee was about to take place with the white-clothed swordsman

sandwiched in the middle. He thus pinched his lips and emitted a sharp
whistling sound.
A dark cloud suddenly appeared in the clear sky and rapidly drifted over
everyone's head.
A giant red-crowned roc descended from the sky, and with its first attack, it
pecked off one of Long Xiaoshi's eyeballs. It subsequently flew up again
before landing behind the white-clothed youth. Spreading its giant wings to
protect him, it raised its head and swallowed what was in its mouth before
looking left and right.
The swordsmen of both factions gasped astonishedly in unison, effectively

drowning out Long Xiaoshi's screams of pain.
According to the old legend, giant rocs fed mainly on dragons. As

descendants of the Five Dragons, this was the living thing these swordsmen
should dread the most. They never imagined that this legendary bird would
truly exist in this world.
Chapter 251 - Third Year
Chapter 251: Third Year
Blademaster Shen Liang opened a corner of the drapes so that he could take a
peep outside. He hoped with all his heart that three years of running about
was henceforth over. In less than half a month, he would be able to return to
Stone Castle where he could possibly regain the Lord's favor and trust.
Whenever he thought of the two young killers who escaped in front of his
eyes, he would fly into a rage, of which some was directed at the escapees
and himself, while a small portion was directed at the Lord. He had acted
before Lady Meng did and surrounded the defecting killers with his men, yet
the result was a total catastrophe.
Who would have thought that Slave Huan would fly away on a giant roc?
This was totally beyond the scope of human control.
Perhaps he should have predicted that Maid Lotus would escape by jumping
off the cliff. The area around the Ghost Cliff had been the Barren Sect
disciples' secret route to reach the top of the mountain. Although the iron
nails fixed into the cliff walls had long been removed, the holes remained.
However, he never imagined that the young female killer's Lightness Skill
would be good enough for her to slide down a rope and later to dig her
fingers in the holes as she scaled down the mountain. By the time he realized
what was going on, it was already too late.
The only remedial measures which Stone Castle could employ after the fact
was to plug the nail holes and to set up an Arrow Tower on the Ghost Cliff.
In order to make up partially for his mistakes, Shen Liang had fastened a fine
rope around his waist and personally went down the cliff wall to check that
most of the nail holes had been filled with dirt. Although some could still be
forcibly dug into, even a person with amazing Lightness Skill would be
terrified by the risks. As long as the person took one uneven breath, he or she
would fall and be smashed into pieces.
Therefore, between the two escapees, Shen Liang admired Maid Lotus more.
The female killer was not only decisive but also brave without being reckless.
She had shrewdly decided not to Slave Huan, and descended the cliff alone at
the last possible moment. Evidently, she felt that he was a burden who could
very likely have caused both of them to die.
What Shen Liang could not understand was why she wanted to defect. A
killer as outstanding as her would never be moved by love.
Furthermore, there had been no trace of her since her disappearance, unlike
Slave Huan who went around killing people and even allowed his giant roc to
leave a distinctive mark - that of the eyeless corpses - everywhere.
Shen Liang viewed Slave Huan's actions as an open challenge toward him
and Golden Roc Fort. He had sent people to where the eyeless corpses were
and had covered practically every country in the Western Region, yet after
dispatching teams upon teams of killers, the youth would somehow manage
to slip away every single time.
Shen Liang had a feeling that Maid Lotus was hiding beside Slave Huan, and
that as long as the latter fell into the trap today, he would be able to dispose
of both defected killers.
It was currently the early hours of the morning. The camp was extremely
quiet, such that the footsteps and the swaying of the weapons of the patrolling
soldiers were clearly audible. Everything was proceeding normally. What
even the soldiers did not know was that in this tent were hidden the best
killers of Golden Roc Fort.
Shen Liang lowered the drapes and turned his head back to look at the three
distressed people.
One of them was an old man with a dark face, thick arms, and a slightly
hunched back. He was one of the most famous blacksmiths in Shu-lik, and
was especially skilled at making swords. The other two people were his
young disciples. They were bashful and uneasy to the extent that they did not
even dare to raise their heads and take a glimpse of the killer standing in the
doorway.
In a letter, Slave Huan had brazenly demanded Shu-lik's military camp to

hand the blacksmith over to him. Shen Liang had thought, at one point, that
this was a trap, until he personally read the letter that was worded brusquely
and arrogantly:
Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks hereby orders every one
of you to retreat three hundred miles within five days while leaving behind
Daga the blacksmith.
Although there was no signature or Slave Huan's name on the letter, Shen
Liang knew it was written by him. News of the unrest on the Great
Snowmountain had long reached Golden Roc Fort.
Seven or eight months ago, the killer had fled into the Great Snowmountain
and killed dozens of Danduo Peak's swordsmen with the assistance of a giant
roc. He thereupon forced the chief, Long Xiaoshi, to make peace with the old
enemy Luoshen Peak. Subsequently, a series of battles involving Greatsword
Peak, Smallsword Peak, and Canopy Peak broke out. The intensity of these
battles exceeded the results attained by Golden Roc Fort's many years of
sowing discord.
The undercover Golden Roc killers either fled the Great Snowmountain or
were killed. However, news of the conflicts continued ceaselessly and
showed no sign of end. Shen Liang had made the prudent decision to remain
as a bystander, but that was only until this "Chief of the Dragons and Leader
of the Five Peaks" suddenly popped up.
Shen Liang could not help but let out a disdainful snort. "The defected killer
and son of a servant dares to call himself a chief and leader. Slave Huan must
have gone mad."
Upon hearing the snort, the two blacksmith disciples startled up as if they had
accidentally stepped on burning charcoal. They covertly gazed at their master
for a moment before lowering their heads back down, afraid that an
inappropriate expression in their eyes would invite death upon themselves or
their master.
Twenty killers were hiding within the same small tent. Nonetheless, the
blacksmith and his disciples did not see even the slightest trace of them.
The only killer who did not hide was Blademaster Shen Liang himself. He
was certain that Slave Huan and Maid Lotus would arrive to perform a sneak
raid. Both of them were killers trained by Golden Roc Fort after all. Even
though they had defected, their behavioral patterns could not have deviated
from that of killers.
Everything would end today.
Four days after the threat from the Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the
Five Peaks, when the sun had just risen and the dewdrops had yet to
evaporate, the guards spotted in the distance a knight slowly riding his way
out of the pass of the Great Snowmountain. The strange thing was that their
forward scouts and sentries did not provide a single notification.
As the news rapidly traveled up, more and more people gathered in front of
the camp to get a view of the knight and his black horse.
"Is he the 'Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks'?" the general
asked in astonishment. He felt that the Golden Roc killers had made a
mountain out of a molehill and had wasted their efforts setting up an ambush.
The person whom they wanted to kill was coming directly toward them
alone.
"Could it be that everyone in the Great Snowmountain has died, leaving him
to proclaim himself as king?" Laughter broke out when someone made this
conjecture.
"But where are the scouts?" Someone else raised this cautious suspicion, but
his voice was drowned out by the uproar around him.
A bodyguard soldier beside the general drew his bow and shot an arrow at the
knight. The arrow scraped the knight's arm and landed on the ground, causing
the knight to rein in his horse.
The laughter in the camp grew even louder. Most of it was to ridicule the
soldier's archery technique.
Shen Liang was a little skeptical of the news, but when the noise outside
became ever more clamorous, he felt obliged to come out and investigate.
The killers remained lying in wait in their original positions, in case the
enemy was just feinting to divert attention.
"Is that the person you seek?" the general asked.
Shen Liang nodded his head with a gloomy look on his face. "Yes."
It was indeed Slave Huan. Shen Liang was able to recognize him even though
he was still a far distance away. The once-childish face had matured a little,
but it had not acquired too many scars over three years of running about and
away. The only thing was that his complexion was paler than Shen Liang
remembered, as if he had been constantly hiding underground.
"Prepare the arrows," the general ordered. For several days past, he had been
infected by the anxiety of the Golden Roc killers, and did not expect that the
"Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks" would be a lunatic like
this.
"Wait a moment." Shen Liang remained doubtful, for he saw only Slave
Huan but not Maid Lotus. Although the former had killed many people, he
did so with the assistance of the giant red-crowned roc. In Shen Liang's eyes,
Maid Lotus' swordcraft was more impressive.
The general was a little displeased. This was Shu-lik's military camp, in
which the Golden Roc killers were merely guests, yet his orders were
interfered with. Nevertheless, he swallowed his dissatisfaction. With twenty
killers hiding within the camp, he had no choice but to act carefully.
Shen Liang summoned ten of the killers. There was no longer a need to keep
them secret at this stage. They walked out of the camp and spread themselves
out as they charged toward the knight. They had separate duties. Three of
them would be responsible for killing the man while seven of them would
monitor the skies. The giant bird was the target which they were taking more
precaution against.
The killers each carried a saber in one hand and a quick crossbow in the
other. The bolts were smeared with enough Antiaris poison to kill an
elephant.
The Shu-lik soldiers could not resist slyly curling their lips. They were not in
Jade City, and over here, the practice of outnumbering the enemy was ill-
accepted and even somewhat looked down upon.
Without dismounting his horse, the knight slowly raised up a saber which
was exclusive to Golden Roc Fort, and blew upon the horn which hung on his
chest.
The officers and soldiers of Shu-lik were astounded. They had never heard
such a high-pitched call before.
The ten killers nervously halted their footsteps and raised their heads to
search the skies for a giant roc which looked like a dark cloud.
Before the bugle call ended, more knights surged out of the mountain pass.
Heavy swords rested on their shoulders as they silently spurred their horses
on. Only the convergent rumbling of the horses' hooves upon the ground
accompanied the sound of the bugle.
The general and his soldiers abruptly changed countenance. "Just how many
knights does the Great Snowmountain have? A thousand or two? Or even
more?" They had never seen so many swordsmen appearing at the same time.
These uncouth mountain people engaged in endless fights from the time they
were born. To be able to gather a few hundreds of them as a team was in
itself a remarkable achievement.
There were, in total, less than a thousand soldiers in the military camp. They
were usually more than enough to intercept individual or small groups of
swordsmen. However, compared to a large cavalry army which came rolling
down from the snow mountain, they were effectively like an egg against a
stone.
The horses picked up speed and the heavy swords began to move away from
the swordsmen's shoulders. A murderous atmosphere pervaded throughout
heaven and earth, such that the smell of death filled up everyone's noses.
The ten killers standing in front were like a few lonely treelings situated in
the wilderness while facing them was a furious thunderstorm which would
uproot every one of them.
Unable to decide whether to continue carrying out their orders or to run for
their lives, the killers quickly lost the chance to choose.
The swordsmen did not even need to use their swords. The horses stomped
the ten killers into pieces as they sped past.
"Arrows! Arrows!" The general bellowed as a premonition of his destruction

arose in his heart.
The soldiers frantically moved into formation and drew their bows.
A dark cloud drifted past over their heads.
"Demon Bird!"
The moment this terrifying name was mentioned, a soldier was already lifted
into the sky, and just as quickly, he was heard screaming in agony as he fell
out of the air. His voice was so chilling that half of the soldiers immediately
discarded their weapons and prepared to flee.
Shen Liang did not dare to believe what he was seeing. The person was well
and truly Slave Huan. How could he have become the "Chief of the Dragons
and Leader of the Five Peaks" for real?
The blademaster staggered his way towards the tent, pushing aside any
soldier who blocked his way. Even if the current operation was a failure, the
blacksmith had to be killed so that Slave Huan would not obtain him.
As the camp was in chaos and everyone was scrambling to get on the horses,
the general ordered his bodyguards to create a way out for him by killing
their fellow soldiers.
Nobody paid attention to what was going on in the tent. When Shen Liang
dashed into it, he saw that there were two new people protecting the
blacksmith and his disciples.
One was a gentle yet cold youth who was holding a long sword, while the
other was a green-eyed girl who wielded a saber.
The remaining ten killers were nowhere to be found.
Shen Liang hastily exited the tent. He had already lost the will to fight, and
wanted to run away together with everyone else.
The swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain charged into the camp like a
flood submerging every living thing on the road. Meanwhile, the giant red-
crowned roc was busy flying up and down like a child happily playing his
favorite game.
Amidst the crowd, Shen Liang saw Slave Huan dismount his horse, before
sheathing his saber and pulling his sword out. The onrushing knights
automatically gave way to the "Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five
Peaks", so that the two men who possessed sabers could have an isolated
space for a life-and-death duel.
Shen Liang pulled his saber out. As the blademaster of Heart Cleansing Yard,
he was certainly a very well-known figure.
Within the tent, while his two disciples were trembling with fear, Daga the
blacksmith remained calm as he spoke. "I'll need fifty kilograms of Wushan
refined iron if I am to forge the world's sharpest sword for your master."
Chapter 252 - Counselor
Chapter 252: Counselor
Fang Wenshi had not expected that he would be so poverty-stricken. The first
thing that he thought of when he opened his eyes every morning was about
how he could use a few grains of rice to feed his hunger. He had once been
respected by many of his neighbors because he was a man of poetry, was well
versed in many books, and can hold conversations about philosophical
matters. Even the local wealthy man had wanted him to marry his daughter.
However, he had rejected the offer. A real man's aspirations should be
endless- why should he be afraid about not having a wife? When he had
traveled around the country for four or five years and had returned to his
hometown without any success, he had been greeted by the same rich man.
He rejoiced in secret for several days.
Today's Fang Wenshi was like an invisible person in the village. The once
familiar neighbors had either pretended to be blind or had been hiding away
from him because they were afraid that he would ask them to borrow money.
As if his bad luck hadn't already peaked, he had been blocked by two
strangers in the yard today.
At that time, Fang Wenshi had been at his older brother's house next door. He
had used his silver tongue; he begged, intimidated, and induced. One would
have had heard sublime words with deep meanings, as well as knowledge of
Astronomy and Geography. He had used whatever techniques he had thought
of and the Devil of Hell would had been moved. However, his sister-in-law
had not even blinked a wink, and had kept on feeding the chicken in the yard
as usual. Not even a grain of rice had been allowed to be "borrowed." To her,
her brother-in-law's voice was no different than the noises that were made by
cicadas.
With a parched mouth and a starving heart, Fang Wenshi thought that he was
not needed and that there was no need to return. Suddenly, two unfamiliar
fellows pushed open the door and entered without permission. They had
apparently heard reliable information and, upon seeing the scholar in rags,
they asked, "Are you called Fang Wenshi?"
The big fellows were wearing travel-stained felt clothing. Their faces were
rough and their tone was blunt. They looked like the kidnappers who had
kidnapped him a few years ago. Fang Wenshi had an ominous feeling and he
hurriedly shook his head.
The reaction of his sister-in-law, who had not spoken the whole time, was
surprisingly quick. She said preemptively, "It is him."
The black cloth bag descended from the sky. Fang Wenshi had a mind of
prowess, but not a single ounce of strength to parry against the rough rugged
men. His head was covered and there was darkness before him. Then, he was
lifted up to be carried away. This was start of the last part of his unfortunate
life.
Fang Wenshi's sister-in-law breathed a long sigh of relief as if she had

recovered from many years of a stubborn illness. However, it had occured to
her that her husband might ask her about this in the future. Hence, after
waiting for the big fellows to leave for some time, she shouted in tears,
"kidnappers!"
The neighbors left their homes and watched. They only had time to see the
dust raised by the horses. They wondered in their hearts, 'Who would be so
blind as to kidnap a poor man? Besides, why kidnap him? Just ask for help,
and the villagers would happily tie the scholar up and send him to you. If
someone will provide food, then Fang Wenshi himself would probably be
willing to go.'
The two big fellows carried Fang Wenshi and moved forward without
stopping. They had rested for only a short time each day. On the first day,
Fang Wenshi felt that the bones of his body had been torn apart. When a big
fellow had taken out some rations, he had still grabbed it and gobbled it up,
without even asking where they were going.
The big fellow was shocked and had thought that this scholar must have had
been a bit of a doormat.
Fang Wenshi had guessed that they were going westward. However, it had
been strange that the big fellows had not chosen the safest and most
unobstructed path- the Tianshan South Road, which passed through Jade City
and was protected by Golden Roc Fort. Instead, they had taken the wilderness
north of the mountains, where sometimes there were no roads.
After filling his stomach, Fang Wenshi began to worry about his safety. He
politely asked the two "pals" for some answers but the reply he received was
to be gagged with rags. The two big fellows did not speak much to each
other. There were only the monotonous sounds of horse hooves that went on
nonstop, day and night, which even lingered in their dreams.
After more than half a month, the journey was finally over. The cloth bag on
his head was removed and the rags in his mouth were taken out. Fang Wenshi
felt that he was still floating on a turbulent horse. His feet had felt like they
had stepped into a heap of cotton flowers. As soon as the big fellow had let
go of him, he fell to the ground and laid there for half a day.
This was a large tent with not much illumination. It had simple decorations
and felt rugs that were laid out. There were a dozen rough men sitting or
standing on either side, each with short or long heavy swords hanging by
their sides. Fang Wenshi had a feeling that the status of these people was
proportional to the size of their swords.
However, his first impression soon fell apart. A young man was sitting cross-
legged on the inside of the shortest couch. From his point of view, he should
had been the leader; but the sword by his side was the shortest.
The young man's face was pale, and he seemed to have an illness. The face
should have had been handsome, but it was covered by a gloomy expression.
There was a guard standing on both the left and right sides of the low couch.
On the left was a very handsome teenager. Fang Wenshi couldn't help but
glance at him a second time. On the right of the couch was a teenage girl.
Fang Wenshi swallowed some saliva and said the words that he had longed
prepared in his heart, "Your majesty, please spare my life. This lowly little
scholar has no money and no potential. The two big brothers must've grabbed
the wrong person."
The young man in the low couch spoke up. His voice was cold and slightly
lazy, but there was a kind of dignity that felt murderous so Fang Wenshi
completely believed that he was the "king".
"Fang Wenshi, don't you recognize me?"
Fang Wenshi lifted his head and thoroughly looked at him for a while. His
mind quickly churned. He hoped that he could think of something. Then his
eyes lit up. "It's you, eh, why didn't you say so sooner? Has brother been
well? Is your family well?"
The young man waited for him to finish. "Four years ago, at Iron Mountain
Camp, does Mr. Fang still remember the man who had given you the horse?"
With this reminder, Fang Wenshi finally recognized the young man in front
of him, but he still couldn't remember this person's name. "It's you! You…
how…aren't you…where is this place?"
"This is the mountain pass of the Great Snow Mountain. My name is Yang
Huan, and I am no longer a killer from Golden Roc Fort."
The Great Snowmountain! Fang Wenshi was shocked. This was at least
thousands of miles away from his hometown; he was actually captured man
around and brought to this hellhole. There was no need to ask, the ferocious
men around him must be the legendary swordsmen from the Great
Snowmountain.
From the secluded countryside, news of the swordsmen rushing out of the
Great Snowmountain against the border of Shu-lik country had not yet
reached the ears of Fang Wenshi, but he vaguely had an impression of the
name "Yang Huan". He remembered that this person had defected from
Golden Roc Fort a few years ago. If he didn't remember, then he would never
have associated this person with the killer apprentice that he had met several
years ago.
"Brother Yang." Fang Wenshi spoke out but then changed his mind. "Lord
Yang …"
A one-eyed man corrected him coldly, "The Chief of the Dragons, the Leader
of Five Peaks."
Fang Wenshi was startled. This name was too long so it was a little hard for
him to spell out. The one-eyed man gave him an abbreviation: "Dragon
King".
"Your majesty, the Dragon King." Fang Wenshi saluted respectfully and
bowed. He felt that the young man and the killer apprentice he had met were
not the same person.
"Not 'Your Majesty', just the 'Dragon King'." The one-eyed man was
tirelessly teaching the scholar who seemed to not understand anything.
"Dragon King." Fang Wenshi felt that the title was very strange but his mind
had calmed down and could cover up his true emotions well. "This lowly one
receives your summons. What are your orders?"
"Mr. Fang must have still remembered the promise that we had made back
then. Now I have 5,000 people and I'm looking for your counsel." Gu
Shenwei did not like the title of "Dragon King," but this title was conferred
by the Chief of the Five Peaks several days ago. He could only accept it.
Fang Wenshi was of course, unable to remember even a word from back
then. However, it was after all, a good thing to have had someone seeking
counsel from him. This was perhaps the turning point which he had waited 20
years for. "Oh, of course, of course. 5,000 men, not bad, not bad."
Gu Shenwei understood Fang Wenshi was also just a man. "Mr. Fang must be
fatigued from the journey and may wish to retire. Let's continue our talk
tomorrow."
Although there were not many kinds of dishes at the banquet, it was very
lavish; if it weren't big chunks of meat, then it was cooled milk and wine.
Fang Wenshi was eating the heartiest meal he ever had for the past few years.
He carefully observed the young "Dragon King" and his savage swordsmen
until his belly bulged high and could no longer fit in any more food.
For one to want Fang Wenshi's counsel, he must have a strong foundation.
Fang Wenshi would not willing to become the military counselor to a group
of rabble.
The result of Fang Wenshi's observation was not very optimistic. The
swordsmen were silent and were powerful indeed. However, they were very
guarded against each other. They always had one hand grabbing the meat,
and the other hand was placed not far from their heavy swords.
Dragon King Yang Huan was served by two teenagers. Each dish was tested
by one of them every time .
There was no established set of rules here. The swordsmen entering and
leaving did not need to give any notification; they simply lifted the curtains
as they made their way out. There were no obligatory rites of bowing or
bending the knee to the Dragon King, just a simple nod was acceptable.
However, Fang Wenshi felt very clearly that everyone was afraid of the
young Dragon King, and that this fear came from the bottom of their hearts.
No one except for the two servants had dared to approach him too closely.
After the meal, when Fang Wenshi was going to his designated tent, what he
saw and heard in the camp confused him even more.
There were a lot of swordsmen coming and going, but there were definitely
not 5,000 people. A large part of them were teenagers or children and old
people who were between 50 to 60 years old. They were also divided into
groups with their own leaders in each individual tents. The tense atmosphere
was very obvious.
Only fear, which was stronger than hatred, can subdue these people.
Fang Wenshi was very disappointed with the swordsmen of the Great
Snowmountain. He grew increasingly curious about the young Dragon King.
What kind of ability does that young man have to quell all these wild
animalistic swordsmen, such that all of them had bowed their heads to call
him "king"?
That night, Fang Wenshi had an upset stomach. He tossed and turned and
could not sleep well. So he simply got up, paced back and forth, went to the
toilet several times, and reorganized the knowledge in his head- knowledge
that he would never use. Just when he had become a little hungry, an idea
formed in his heart.
The next day, the Dragon King did not summon him. Fang Wenshi just
walked around the camp and chatted with swordsmen everywhere. He
learned a lot of useful information.
Although the swordsmen were rough, the different tribes were roughly
similar in their ways. They were very welcoming to the guest. They answered
his questions and never lied. Thus, Fang Wenshi gained some confidence.
On the third night, the Dragon King summoned the counselor alone; aside
from these two, there were also the two teenage servants in the tent.
Fang Wenshi was well-informed and did not beat around the bush. At the
moment when they met, he immediately asked, "Dragon King, please tell me
the truth. If you were truly an enemy of Golden Roc Fort: would you want to
take revenge, or would you want to be the Overlord of the Western Region?"
"What's the difference?"
"Revenge is a private matter. Not everyone in the Western Region is like the
Great Snowmountain's swordsmen. Not everyone has such deep-seated hatred
towards Golden Roc Fort. You have formed an alliance here easily. There are
also people outside this mountain who will be willing to risk their lives for
you. But if all you want is revenge? If that is so, then I don't want to. On the
other hand, the struggle for the Overlord of the Western Region is a fight for
kingship. It carries great risks, but also huge benefits. The participants fight
for the name, power, and wealth. The people in the world will all be raring to
partake in a portion of this victory. So, ah, if it's revenge that you want, I
won't be able to help you. It would be better to let me go back to farming.
However, ah, if it's hegemony, I'll be willing to give you some pointers."
Gu Shenwei had not expected that Fang Wenshi would have said such a
thing. He bowed his head for a moment. "There is still killing involved in the
fight for hegemony, isn't there?"
"You can kill countless people."
"I want to be the Overlord of the Western Region."

Chapter 253 - Victory or Defeat
Chapter 253: Victory or Defeat
Gu Shenwei talked with Fang Wenshi all night long. The little girl, Tie
Linglong, was so sleepy that she fell asleep on the low couch while Chu
Nanping vigilantly kept his guard. He could not understand what the Dragon
King and his counselor were saying, so his ears were used to listen to the
sound outside the tent.
There was a natural reason for the tension within Chu Nanping, the Dragon
King suffered an assassination once or twice. Thus, he swore that he would
never let this fellow practitioner die in the hands of others.
In the afternoon of the next day, Gu Shenwei called together the five chiefs to
discuss important matters. Fang Wenshi, for the first time in his life, spoke as
a military counselor. His excitement kept his eyes open and his mind was full
of ideas, without feeling sleepy at all. When he analyzed the situation to the
several somber Great Snowmountain chiefs, it seemed that the world was in
his hands.
"The Great Snowmountain is in danger. If you don't make preparations early,

you will be defeated within this year." Fang Wenshi took the advice from the
Dragon King, and when he opened his mouth, the first thing he said was a
shocking statement to attract their attention.
The five chiefs laughed in disdain at these words. The one-eyed chief, Long
Xiaoshi of the Danduo Peak was first to make a rebuttal. One of his eyes was
pecked out by the Legendary Giant Bird and caused his position to advance,
thus giving him the right to speak in front of the Dragon King. "Destruction
of the whole army? As you can see, in the past two months, Great
Snowmountain defeated the army of Shu-lik three times and killed numerous
enemies; there were very few losses in our army. Golden Roc killers had
dozens of plots, all came with none able to leave. A string of heads are still
hanging at the gates of this camp."
Fang Wenshi listened to his voice and showed respect for the chief of
Danduo Peak, and then asked, "In that case, why does Great Snowmountain
not march to Shu-lik? Instead, are staying at the mountain pass and waiting
for the offensive?"
"Only waiting for the Dragon King to give an order." Long Xiaoshi hit his
fist on the low table in front of him.
"Because we don't plan on leaving Great Snowmountain," The oldest among

them, the Luoshen tribe's chief, Long Qinying, argued. The remaining three
chiefs had their inclinations, thus did not speak and only nodded.
Only Fang Wenshi shook his head again and again. "Oh, you think that Great
Snowmountain is victorious, but I believe that Great Snowmountain had
actually been defeated. What is victory and what is defeat? This cannot be
determined by a single instance…"
The military counselor's words were a bit puzzling and angered the five
chiefs. Long Xiaoshi raised his heavy sword and shouted, "Victory is victory,
defeat is defeat, and it is clear that there is a time and a place. How is it
possible that Great Snowmountain killed countless enemies on the battlefield,
but are still the defeated?"
Great Snowmountain swordsmen does not necessarily want to kill people.

Many times it was just a way of expressing their emotions. Fang Wenshi was
aware of this and his heart was still a bit uneasy, pretending to bow his head
and carrying his hands, taking a few steps away from the Long Xiaoshi and
said:"Let me make an analogy. In the past few years, the five peaks of Great
Snowmountain has struggled endlessly with each other, winning and losing.
Compared this with the enemy, the Golden Roc Fort, is it not a crushing
defeat? Even the so-called winner…"
Fang Wenshi had not finished his words, the five chiefs flashed their heavy
swords together and shouted in unison. Fang Wenshi knew that he had made
a mistake and rushed to the side of the Dragon King, and could only swallow
down the remaining half of his words.
Gu Shenwei raised his hand to stop the angered chiefs. "Ignorance can be
forgiven." Then he turned to the frightened military counselor. "Fang
Wenshi, the Great Snowmountain has five peaks. The past cannot be
mentioned again. I forgive you for your ignorance this time. However,
commit this offense again, you will be condemned to death."
Fang Wenshi submissively apologized, but he suddenly came to an awkward

realization that he had to deal with this group of barbarous mountain people.
He must be careful to not die due for such a ridiculous reason before the
hegemony had even started. "Let me give another example: A and B, two
countries. A, who has one hundred thousand elite soldiers, sends 10,000, and
B with 20,000 elite soldiers, also sends 10,000. After the war, the whole
country of A undergoes complete destruction, and B loses 5,000. Who wins?"
This sounds more like an arithmetic problem. The chiefs scoffed at it, and
Long Xiaoshi replied, "Of course country B wins, even if there is only one
person remaining. The entire country of the enemy had faced complete
destruction, so naturally, country B wins."
"But only 10% of the elite soldiers in country A were lost, while the 20,000
troops in country B lost one-fourth. Although this battle is successful, what
will happen during the second battle, the third battle, and the fourth battle?"
The chiefs felt that the counselor's words were somewhat reasonable, but also
seemed sophisticated. They all bowed their heads and wondered how to
refute them.
Fang Wenshi took advantage of his victory and continued to speak. "For
example, a country charges straight into the enemy country, burning and
looting. The earn a lot of loot, but at the loss of half the troops, resulting in
the loss of strength to send more troops in the next year. Is this victory or
defeat? Another example is that if a country has elite soldiers, it will win
every battle. Although the strength of the enemy's troops is weak, there are
countless amounts of money. After each defeat, a new army is formed
immediately. In the long run, who wins and who loses?"
The chiefs were gradually beginning to understand the meaning of the
military counselor's anecdotes. The Luoshen tribe's chief, Long Qinying
opened his mouth much more politely and said, "Mr. Fang no longer needs to
give any more 'examples', let us talk about Great Snowmountain and Golden
Roc Fort and the Shu-lik country."
Fang Wenshi's victory in the early stages of the war led to a sharp increase in
confidence. He glanced at the calm and collected Dragon King and
continued, "Great Snowmountain has won three consecutive battles, but has
gained nothing. Shu-lik is a big country in the Western Regions. The loss of
thousands of soldiers is not a big deal for them. They can still recruit more
for the next ten battles and even one hundred battles. What about Great
Snowmountain? Dozens of people have died in each battle, and we will
continue to fight. How many will remain in the end? Forgive me if I am
being too blunt, but the so-called five-thousand people, is this an 'accurate'
number?"
The Great Snowmountain swordsmen are not used to lying. They were asked
just one question by Fang Wenshi and were embarrassed. Long Xiaoshi
coughed twice and said, "Not five thousand, probably more like three
thousand."
"Three thousand? Is this an estimate or is it an accurate count?"
Long Xiaoshi could not say a word and lowered his head. Gu Shenwei spoke
the following words: "There are actually 1,200 people, 1,500 horses,
sometimes more and sometimes less."
Fang Wenshi was talking with the Dragon King last night about most of the
Western Region and the overall situation, but did not understand the details
clearly. Hearing such a small number caused his heart to beat like a drum,
and then he thought, 'I have not been so appreciated for many years, although
I am unable to show my potential to the fullest, it is still possible to wet my
feet.' He shook his head and said, "With more than a thousand troops against
the Shu-lik country, I am afraid that you will never have the opportunity to
even cross paths with the Golden Roc Fort. It's better to just disband here.
There are thousands of miles within the Great Snowmountain. Everyone has
been the same as always, hiding and waiting for old age, isn't this better?"
The chiefs seldom argued with the counselor, but at this slight provocation,
they all brandished their heavy swords again and fulminated. The chief of the
Greatsword Peak was a strong and prosperous man, and his temper was
fierce. He had been holding it in for the respect of the Dragon King and the
chief of Luoshen Peak, Long Qinying. At this moment, he could resist no
longer. With one big slap to the table, he stood straight up with frowning
brows and angry eyes, and said, "Kid, are you looking down on our Great
Snowmountain? Let's make a bet. If I fail to mount Golden Roc Fort within
three years time, I will give you my head; if I succeed, then you give me your
head!"
Fang Wenshi moved closer to the Dragon King again, thinking that he should
set some rules for these swordsmen. Otherwise, he would be a scholar who
has not even the ability to tie-up a chicken with his hands. Mingling with this
bunch was rather dangerous, so he made sure to show no fear. Thus, he raised
his head and laughed, "This gamble is too easy. As long as you become a
captive, you'll naturally have the opportunity to board Golden Roc Fort."
The chief of Greatsword Peak angrily stood up with one hand holding his
heavy sword and howled. He wanted to chop up the military counselor who
had just taken office less than a day ago. Fang Wenshi had indeed overly
taunted and even frightened himself. He then jumped one step closer to the
Dragon King. The beautiful teen, Chu Nanping, brandished his long sword
and stood beside the military counselor.
The Dragon King did not speak, and the chief of Luoshen Peak hurried to get
up and blocked the furious chief of Greatsword Peak. "Have you lost your
mind? Have you forgotten the oath we've all taken?"
The chief of Greatsword Peak's heart suddenly jolted. They once swore to the
gods, pledging their loyalty to the Dragon King. One of the pledges was to
never kill anyone inside the Dragon King's tent. Thus, he dropped his heavy
sword down, and mumbled to himself. The Great Snowmountain swordsmen
did not know how to properly apologize, they just spoke so low that no one
else could hear them.
The Dragon King still did not speak, and the small storm easily passed. Fang
Wenshi's heart was slightly at ease. As he turned his head and saw Chu
Nanping standing still and holding his sword, he imagined he was looking at
himself.
Chu Nanping said coldly, "Only five steps allowed from the Dragon King."
Fang Wenshi originally thought that there were no rules in Great

Snowmountain. At this time, he discovered that he was actually not familiar
with the rules here. When he remembered talking all of last night, the Dragon
King kept a distance with himself, so he awkwardly retreated a few steps
back and coughed in embarrassment trying to gather his interrupted thoughts.
The one-eyed chief of the Danduo Peak, Long Xiaoshi, spoke out to smooth
things over. "Let's listen to the military counselor's meaning, he must have
some good ideas to penetrate Golden Roc Fort."
"There is no good idea." Fang Wenshi was never able to cure the faults in his
choices of words and has always regretted every word he has ever spoken. He
then busily added, "But there probably are some. May I ask, between Shu-lik
and Golden Roc Fort, who does Great Snowmountain hold the deeper hatred
for?"
Although Fang Wenshi claimed that he did not participate in acts of revenge,
he also knew how to deal with revenge, and it was useless to say "hegemony"
to the Great Snowmountain swordsmen; he must say "revenge".
"Of course it is Golden Roc Fort. Every family in Great Snowmountain had
their relatives killed by the Golden Roc killers, or their children were taken
away." The response of Long Xiaoshi was endorsed by several other chiefs
and nodded as they revealed expressions of sadness and hatred.
Although the Shu-lik sent troops to block the most important mountain pass
of Great Snowmountain, their purpose was simple. It was only to prevent
mountain people from invading the border. Unlike Golden Roc Fort, it sent a
large number of spies and killers to the mountains to interfere in the battles of
the tribes.
"In this case, the confrontation between Great Snowmountain and Shu-lik
country is a big mistake. It is a waste of strength, but it does not harm Golden
Roc Fort at all."
"What can we do then? Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort are
separated across the entire Shu-lik country. If we want to attack Golden Roc
Fort, we must first defeat the Shu-lik," Long Xiaoshi assessed, gesturing with
both hands and thinking this was simply the truth.
"Not so true, not so true." Fang Wenshi shook his head again and again.
"Shu-lik is a big country. How easy is it to defeat it? What I want to say is
that, instead of holding onto impractical ideas, it is better to take a step back
and have peace-talks with the Shu-lik, then, encroach towards Golden Roc
Fort."
"You mean to surrender to the Shu-lik?"The chief of the Greatsword Peak

again wanted to take the spotlight and arose. He found that the table in front
of him had become pieces of debris, and simply gestured pressing the attack
with his palm.
"Of course not, for example, if you are practicing swordsmanship, don't you
practice with the lightest sword first, then gradually work up to the heavier
swords, and finally to the most heavy sword? The Shu-lik are like the
overweight sword. Great Snowmountain wants to swing it. The first thing to
do is to take this ordinarily heavy sword known as Golden Roc Fort."
Fang Wenshi's "for example" had once again been effective, and the chief of
the Greatsword Peak did utter a word. The chief of Luoshen Peak, Long
Qinying, opened his mouth and said, "What Mr. Fang said makes sense, but
the Shu-lik is currently at war with Great Snowmountain, and Golden Roc
Fort are just around the corner. How could they possibly give in to our
demands?"
Fang Wenshi stood straight with his head high and chest out. If this little
problem cannot be solved, then how can he be called a persuader and
counselor? "This lowly Fang has no talents, but is willing to enter the Shu-lik
country alone and persuade their King to halt their troops and end the war,
and even allow us to peacefully pass through."
The five chiefs looked at each other in disbelief, and they did not believe in
the overzealous words from the poor scholar. Long Xiaoshi frowned and said,
"With that mouth of yours?"
"Of course, but I also have a few small demands."
"Please say." The five chiefs spoke at the same time.
"A carriage, ten guards, and ten thousand gold taels."

Chapter 254 - A Rich Man
Chapter 254: A Rich Man
Two days ago, Fang Wenshi had made big promises to the Dragon King and
the tribal chiefs of the Great Snowmountain and presented a list of demands
to them. Today, he got more than what he had demanded.
The Great Snowmountain offered him a comfortable carriage, 18 guards and

10,000 taels of gold, but he had to go to the capital of Shu-lik to get the
money.
Fang Wenshi was quite satisfied with this arrangement, except for one thing:
the Dragon King would go to Shu-lik together with him.
He recalled all the legendary stories he had read about counselors but failed
to find any historic precedent for a situation like this. Usually, a counselor
would go alone to lobby the enemies of his lord and return after achieving
success several days later. As no one would be able to know what the
counselor did during the several days, the counselor could always brag about
his prowess as a lobbyist. As to the financial support offered by the lord, the
counselor could spend the money as he wished and even keep part of it for
himself. However, with the Dragon King around, Fang Wenshi was pretty
sure that he would not be able to earn a lot during this trip.
"Erm, Dragon King, please forgive my bluntness. I think it's not a good idea
for you to leave the Great Snowmountain now, since the situation here isn't
very stable," Fang Wenshi said to the Dragon King, trying to persuade him to
stay behind.
"Counselor, it's not that I want to supervise your activities. It's just that I have
to be personally present in the city to withdraw the 10,000 taels of gold," said
Gu Shenwei.
Fang Wenshi could not refute such an argument, so he stopped talking. As for
the unstable situation in the Great Snowmountain, Gu Shenwei had already
thought it over and made arrangements accordingly.
With the help of the giant red-crowned roc and his superb kung fu skills, Gu
Shenwei had brought the five tribes of the Great Snowmountain together a
few months ago, but he was well aware that the swordsmen from different
tribes still held grudges against one another. Once he left, a trivial
disagreement among the swordsmen might lead to the restart of tribal wars.
Despite that, Gu Shenwei still decided to leave for Shu-lik, since he had
compelling reasons to do so. First of all, no one else could withdraw the
10,000 taels of gold. Secondly, he had to find a way to ensure there would be
adequate military supplies for his army. Last but not least, he could not fully
trust Fang Wenshi.
He had made up his mind not to trust anyone a few years ago.
Before his departure, he appointed Long Xiaoshi, chief of the Danduo tribe,
as temporary Commander-in-Chief. As Danduo Peak had the largest number
of swordsmen and was the strongest of all the five tribes, the other tribal
chiefs had no objection to this decision. After that, Gu Shenwei designated
Long Qinying, chief of the Luoshen tribe, as supervisor of the army and gave
him only one task, which was to ensure that the army would stay inside the
camp and never go out to fight the Shu-lik army, no matter how the enemy
tried to provoke them.
Gu Shenwei also ordered each chief to assign his most important direct
descendant to join this trip. These young people would work as his guards,
and in the meantime, Gu Shenwei could hold them as hostages. As all of
Long Qinying's direct descendants had been killed during the previous tribal
wars, he picked a capable young man from his tribe and publicly designated
the man as his successor before sending him to accompany the Dragon King
on his journey.
Apart from the successors of the trial chiefs, Gu Shenwei asked each tribe to
select two children under 10 to follow him to the capital of Shu-lik. "The
Golden Roc Fort likes to steal children from the Great Snowmountain and
train them to be professional killers. Why can't we train our own killers and
let our children fight for the Great Snowmountain?" said Gu Shenwei.
Soon, many children volunteered to receive the killer training. Gu Shenwei

selected 10 of them to accompany him.
All in all, there were 18 guards traveling with Fang Wenshi and they
consisted of the successors of the five tribal chiefs, 10 future killers, the
Dragon King and his two teenage guards. None of them would take orders
from Fang Wenshi. Even the coachman was also a fierce-looking swordsman.
He spoke little and did nothing for the counselor except driving the horse-
drawn carriage.
Everyone on the team had to carry his own food during the journey. Fang
Wenshi had to sit beside his food, which was a pile of jerky, inside his
carriage. This kind of food was smelly and hard to chew, and he already had
enough of it during his stay in the Dragon King's base camp. A few days ago
he had still been on the verge of starvation, but after becoming the military
counselor of the Great Snowmountain, he immediately had much higher
standards for his food.
After losing three battles, Shu-lik was busy amassing new troops and did not
have any plan to attack the Great Snowmountain for the moment. Given that,
the Dragon King and his team traveled peacefully in the wilderness for two
days. On the third day of their trip, when they stepped onto the main road,
they had to hide their heavy swords inside the carriage since there were many
other travelers on that road.
With the swords placed inside, the free space inside the carriage became
much lesser. Fang Wenshi had to sit still to avoid being wounded by the
weapons.
When they arrived at a town, Gu Shenwei hired two carriages to transport the
ten children. Beyond his expectations, this caused a little trouble for him. The
children from the Great Snowmountain were ashamed of traveling by
coaches and insisted on walking by themselves. In the end, it was the five
future tribe leaders who persuaded them using all possible means and finally
got all of them into the carriages.
Fang Wenshi, who eagerly looked forward to working as a lobbyist, took all
these temporary frustrations as blessings in disguise, except for one thing: the
silence in the team. Sometimes, he found it really hard to endure the trip, for
he had no one to talk to. The Dragon King was a man of few words, and so
were his swordsmen. They could travel for a whole day without saying a
word. Only Tie Linglong, a lively girl, often chatted with the military
counsellor, but a little girl like her could not understand Fang Wenshi's
political and military analysis. As she was more interested in the roadside
flowers, Fang Wenshi searched his memory for quaint names and made up
many stories about them to intrigue the girl. Apart from talking to Tie
Linglong, he could only keep his mouth busy by chewing on his jerky.
On the 13th day of their trip, the team finally saw the capital of Shu-lik in
distance. After finishing eating his last piece of jerky, Fang Wenshi said to
his lord, "Dragon King, please forgive me for being so blunt, but we really
can't enter the city like this."
"Why?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"Look at all these people, excluding you, of course. Everyone can tell at a
glance that they're from the Great Snowmountain. I'm afraid that we'll be put
into prison before we meet any powerful people in this country."
"Don't worry. I've prepared for such a situation."
Upon hearing that, Fang Wenshi could not ask any further questions
regarding this situation, but he still doubted that his young lord had got
everything ready beforehand.
That day, the team did not enter the city. Instead, they went to a secluded
manor in the suburbs. Before they arrived at the manor, the servants there had
already prepared new clothes and a rich banquet for them.
The team members took a bath and then put on their new clothes. People
from the Great Snowmountain looked very uncomfortable in these clothes
since they were not used to wearing these soft cotton clothes. They kept
rubbing their bare necks or pulling the corners of their garments, feeling that
this kind of fabric was not so good as felt and leather.
Only Fang Wen felt much better after changing into his new clothes. He
thought that now he finally looked like a professional counsellor. He had new
clothes, new shoes, and a feather fan. He also enjoyed the banquet very
much. In his eyes, the dishes served during the banquet were far more tasty
than jerky. However, he did not get carried away in the moment. After the
banquet, he immediately went back into his own room to practice his
debating skills and body language in front of a mirror, for he had not debated
with anyone for a long time.
In the evening, he went to meet with the Dragon King and a famous merchant
who would provide him 10,000 taels of gold.
That merchant was Xu Xiaoyi, who had come to the capital of Shu-lik two
years ago. He frequently used his original name Xu Yi now, and had become
a tycoon in the city.
Even though he was a tycoon now, he was still tiny. In order to make himself
look more mature, he grew a mustache, but his small figure still clearly
indicated that he was a young man. Fooled by his appearance, many people
believed that they could easily deceive this youth, but they always ended up
losing money to him.
Xu Xiaoyi had known who were in this team beforehand and prepared
presents for everyone. He especially prepared more gifts for the military
counsellor to show his respect, however, when the counsellor asked him for
the 10,000 taels of gold, he frowned and looked hesitant. "There's a slight
problem. We've spent a lot on the military supplies, and we still need money
to bribe the guards at the city gates. The furs and herbal medicines from the
Great Snowmountain aren't worth very much. If we take that much money
out of our account, Brother Huan, we won't have enough money to do
business."
Fang Wenshi had expected the merchant to be reluctant to accede to such a

request. After all, 10,000 taels of gold was a staggering sum of money for any
merchant. He had prepared himself for this situation and figured out a way to
persuade the wealthy man beforehand. "From a business perspective, fighting
for regional hegemony is also a profitable business. If we invested 10,000
taels of gold in it now, we'll possibly earn 20,000 or even 100,000 taels of
gold the next year."
"I'm sure we can earn 15,000 tales of gold if we invest the money in my
business. We can use it to buy some spices and jade, and then we can
transport them to the Central Plain to be sold. After that we can use the
money to buy silks in the Central Plain and bring them back here to sell," said
Xu Xiaoyi. Now, he was a shrewd businessman who was adept at controlling
risks and had no interests in the things that could "possibly" happen.
Personally, Gu Shenwei did not care much about money, but as a leader, he
had to take this thing into consideration. "Give Mr. Fang 10,000 taels of gold.
I'll find a way to pay you back," said the Dragon King.
Xu Xiaoyi accepted the order without any complaint, but he still felt a little
resistant to the idea. Although all his start-up capital was provided by his
Brother Huan, he had earned a lot of money with it from his own effort in the
past few years. Fang Wenshi noticed that the rich man seemed to be very
close to the Dragon King, so he decided to further explain the situation to win
the merchant's favor. "Mr. Xu, please rest assured. I'll put the money to good
use. Now that the younger brother of the king is the most powerful official in
this country, we have to bribe him to get a chance to meet the king. He's a
venal and lecherous man. I'm afraid that 10,000 taels of gold is a must."
"Lecherous? Alas, I really wish that my sister was here right now," sighed Xu
Xiaoyi, still feeling reluctant to give the counselor 10,000 taels of gold.
Fang Wenshi was not sure if the rich man was just joking, so he made no
response.
Suddenly, Xu Xiaoyi patted his own forehead and asked, "Counselor, the
younger brother of the king that you mentioned just now is Prime Minister
Shi, isn't he?"
"Yes, what I was talking about is Shi Xian, Prime Minister Shi. In Shu-lik,
half of the government decrees are his decisions," said Fang Wenshi,
assertively, although he had just heard about this thing from others.
Much to the counsellor's relief, Xu Xiaoyi did not continue to talk about Shi
Xian, as he thought of another thing. "If it's him, I think 10,000 taels of gold
isn't very much. I heard that the Golden Roc Fort sent a team to Shu-lik, and
now the team members are living in the Prime Minister's mansion," said Xu
Xiaoyi.
"Who are the team members?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"I've not gotten the name list yet, but I'm sure that the Second Young Master
Shangguan Tian came here. I also heard that there's another young master,
who seems to be called Master Hong. What a coincidence. They came to this
city almost at the same time as you guys. They arrived in the city yesterday."
Gu Shenwei was not afraid of Shangguan Tian and Shangguan Hong at all.
He cared more about another person. "Is Zhang Ji in that team?" asked Gu
Shenwei.
"I don't know, but please rest assured. Some of my people are working on it.
I'll get the name list tomorrow morning."
"Is Zhang Ji a skilled killer?" asked Fang Wenshi, worriedly. He was

confident in his own ability to talk himself out of trouble at any time except
when faced with a ruthless killer, who would never talk to him.
"No, Zhang Ji is also a counselor," replied Gu Shenwei. Back in Golden Roc

Fort, Zhang Ji had once taught him many useful things, but now he could not
determine whether Zhang Ji was a friend or a foe.
Upon hearing that Zhang Ji was just a counselor, Fang Wenshi felt much
relaxed. He patted his chest and said boldly, "Trust me, Dragon King, I'll…"
Before Fang Wenshi finished his sentence, the Dragon King's face changed,
and he dashed out of the room, leaving the counselor speaking to empty air.
Xu Xiaoyi, who had undergone similar experiences before, immediately blew

out the candle and hid under the table. Compared to his property, he cared
more about his own life.
Fang Wenshi, who did not have much jianghu experience, was more curious
than afraid at this moment. He sneaked to the door and looked outside.
Surprisingly, he did not see anyone in the yard not even the Dragon King.
He felt bewildered. Suddenly, a person appeared out of nowhere, and what

happened subsequently frightened him so much that he did not dare to see the
Dragon King fighting anymore.
Gu Shenwei had been hiding behind a potted plant all this while and darted
toward the person as soon as that person popped out. He cut off the person's
head with one strike, leaving the headless body standing in the place. After a
large amount of blood gushed out of the person's neck, the body finally fell
down to the ground.
After killing the person in the yard, Gu Shenwei saw Chu Nanping appear on
the roof, with a human head in his hand. The boy gave him a nod to confirm
that they had already killed all the intruders.
Although neither of the two intruders were kung fu masters, Gu Shenwei still
felt great after this fight. He just missed the feeling of killing someone in a
fight. Now he felt as if he was a wanderer who was finally returning to his
hometown. He was very excited to feel like this again.
"Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks" was just a mask he
sometimes wore. Now he was a killer again.
Chapter 255 - Nerve
Chapter 255: Nerve
The main reason Gu Shenwei had sent Xu Xiaoyi to Shu-lik two years ago
was that Shu-lik was one of the few kingdoms in Western Region which
could resist the Golden Roc Fort. There were not many killers in this country.
Gu Shenwei had never been to Shu-lik City during the past two years, but Xu
Xiaoyi had been working there all this while to collect intelligence for him.
The Golden Roc Fort owned a security agency in Shu-lik city, which had
more than 100 armed escorts and was engaged in ordinary business activities.
However, it was rumored that there were many killers hiding inside the
security agency. Xu Xiaoyi had already found the truth about this matter for
the Dragon King. He raised a hand with all the five fingers extended and said,
"Five, there are only five killers in the security agency. A minister told me
this. It can't be wrong. Those five killers aren't ordinary ones. One of them is
a blademaster from the Stone Castle. His name is Xiang Kai. Although he
doesn't show up in the security agency very often, he's the agency's actual
controller. The chief of the armed escorts is just a boss in name."
Xu Xiaoyi believed that the two assassins who had sneaked into the manor
just now were sent out by Blademaster Xiang Kai. "Xiang Kai has an
intelligence team. They've kept a close watch on me recently. I'm afraid that
they didn't come here for you, but for me," said Xu Xiaoyi.
In Gu Shenwei's eyes, no matter who the assassins' target was, their

appearance indicated that this manor was not a safe place anymore. All their
enemies had to do would be to ask around in the neighborhood and they
would soon discover that a group of strangers were staying inside this manor.
Given that, Gu Shenwei decided to leave this place with his team as soon as
possible.
As this manor was just a rental, Xu Xiaoyi did not mind giving it up. That
night, he took the ten children away to a secret base, whose location was only
known to himself and the Dragon King. They would train these children to be
killers at that base. Gu Shenwei and the remaining team members split into
several groups and went to check in at an inn in the suburbs in turns,
pretending that they did not know one another.
Fang Wenshi had hardly recovered from the shock after witnessing the
Dragon King slay an intruder. This incident made him fear the Dragon King
even more, but it did not increase his respect for the young lord. In his eyes, a
good killer was not necessarily a capable leader. He thought that it still
remained to be seen if this young man was a wise lord.
When the Dragon King asked him about the political situation in Shu-lik, he
simply replied, "The King of Shu-lik prefers enjoying his life to dealing with
governmental affairs, so he gives most of his job to his brother Shi Xian, the
current Prime Minister. To achieve our goal, we can only bribe the greedy
Prime Minister. If we don't give the 10,000 taels of gold to him, he won't
introduce us to the king, not to mention persuading the king to help us attack
the Golden Roc Fort."
"Are you certain that you can persuade him to help us?" asked Gu Shenwei.
He had some doubt as to whether the counselor could get the outcome he
expected to get. Since Shangguan Tian was living inside the Prime Minister's
mansion now, Gu Shenwei assumed that the Prime Minister was probably a
close friend of the Golden Roc Fort. "Although it only has a small number of
killers in Shu-lik, as a main power in Western Region, the Golden Roc Fort
must have an extensive network in this country. Otherwise, when Lady Meng
murdered the eldest young master a few years ago, the other young masters
of the Golden Roc Fort would've never fled to this country to seek
protection," thought Gu Shenwei.
Fang Wenshi thought that the Dragon King was questioning his ability, so he
immediately lifted his right hand, doing an affirmative gesture. "If I tell you
that I'm 100-percent sure, you'll think that I'm bragging. I can promise you
now that I'm 90-percent sure since I'm well-prepared. Besides, as the military
counselor of the Great Snowmountain, I'd be killed if I fail to win Prime
Minister Shi's support. Do you still think that I won't take this thing
seriously?"
Gu Shenwei lowered his head apologetically and said, "You're right, Mr.
Fang. I look forward to hearing good news from you soon."
The next morning, when Gu Shenwei entered Shu-lik city, he discovered that
the atmosphere in the city had changed.
In recent months, Shu-lik had been at war with the Great Snowmountain, but
it was just a small-scale war which did not affect the lives of the ordinary
citizens much. However, all of a sudden, the officers and soldiers of Shu-lik
city were acting in a paranoid manner. They were heavily armed and
patrolled everywhere in the city. Guests of inns and hotels had to show their
travel documents to the officers and told the officers their purpose of travel
and length of stay in the city.
Fortunately, Xu Xiaoyi had prepared everything for the Dragon King's team
members beforehand, which included endorsed travel documents and several
packages of goods which they were supposedly selling. He had asked them to
tell the officers that they were merchants when being questioned.
As it was easy to identify those swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain by

their rugged faces, they could only hide inside their rooms to avoid meeting
the officers and let Fang Wenshi handle everything for them. The counselor
successfully completed this task, as he had mastered various tricks of dealing
with officers when he was travelling to different kingdoms of Western
Region in the past. During that time, he had made countless attempts to bribe
the guards and officers at the residences of many influential people, in the
hope that he would get to meet them. That was how he had gotten broke.
In the afternoon, Xu Xiaoyi secretly met with Gu Shenwei and brought him
an intelligence report: it was the Prime Minister who ordered the officers to
launch a citywide search for swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, as
his guests from the Golden Roc Fort told him that the Great Snowmountain
had already sent some people to Shu-lik City.
Upon hearing this news, Gu Shenwei wanted to know more about this Prime
Minister Shi, so he asked Xu Xiaoyi for his opinion on the Prime Minister.
Compared to Fang Wenshi, Xu Xiaoyi seemed to think much better of Prime
Minister Shi. Although he had never met the Prime Minister, he had good
personal relationships with some other ministers in Shu-lik. Given that, Gu
Shenwei had more faith in his words. "The Prime Minister is a little bit
greedy for money, but he's also very benevolent to people in need. He always
quickly exhausts the money he collects. Every time when there's a diaster,
he'll offer relief food assistance to refugees. Usually, the Prime Minister's
mansion will react even faster than the government under such
circumstances. I bet every resident of this city has once received help from
the Prime Minister. As to his lechery, that's not a big deal. After all, every
man is… oh no, you're not lustful, but he's the Prime Minister. It's not a
strange thing for such a high-ranked official to have dozens of concubines,"
said Xu Xiaoyi.
"Are you suggesting that Prime Minister Shi is a person of impeccable

character?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"No, he's not," said Xu Xiaoyi. After a moment's thought, he added, "Prime
Minister Shi has a strange habit. He's very approachable to ordinary people,
but quite arrogant to the privileged ones. Given that, ordinary people like him
but the other ministers… You know, he's the Prime Minister, so no official
dares to criticize him. Mr. Fang was right about one thing. Prime Minister Shi
does have a say in most of the governmental affairs."
"Prime Minister Shi seems to be an ambitious politician. Such a person won't

randomly betray his ally. Now that the Golden Roc Fort is his ally, he
probably won't accept bribery from the Great Snowmountain." With this
thought in his mind, Gu Shenwei sighed, "It looks like he won't be moved by
the 10,000 taels of gold."
"That's what I'm worried about," said Xu Xiaoyi, his eyes brightened. He did
not want to waste the money and thus offered another suggestion. "I can bribe
a counselor of the General to get the army of the Great Snowmountain into
Shu-lik, and I need only 5,000 taels of gold."
Gu Shenwei shook his head without saying a word. This matter was not as
easy as Xu Xiaoyi thought. If the army of the Great Snowmountain sneaked
into Shu-lik without the kingdom's authorization, it would probably be caught
in a squeeze between the Golden Roc Fort and Shu-lik and would be under
attack from both sides. Gu Shenwei agreed to Fang Wenshi's plan to win
Shu-lik's support before sending troops out to attack the Golden Roc Fort.
However he doubted that Fang Wenshi could successfully persuade the Prime
Minister, an ally of the Golden Roc Fort, with only 10,000 taels of gold.
"Does Prime Minister Shi… have enough nerve?" asked Gu Shenwei.
Xu Xiaoyi was not sure what his Brother Huan was asking about. He
scratched his head, revealing a confused expression. At this moment, even
the mustache could not disguise his childish look. After thinking for a while,
he replied, 'I'm not sure if Prime Minister Shi is a brave man, but every time
he goes out, he's accompanied by lots of people. He hires many guards. It's
said that Blademaster Xiang Kai often works as his body guard."
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei had some idea about how to achieve his goal.
After that, he asked Xu Xiaoyi a question that he had asked the boy
yesterday. "Did Zhang Ji come here together with Shangguan Tian?"
"No. Is this Zhang Ji hard to deal with?" asked Xu Xiaoyi, while handing a
hand-written name list to his Brother Huan. Gu Shenwei received the list and
gave it a glance. There were more than 30 names on it, but Zhang Ji was not
here.
"It's hard to say," Gu Shenwei replied briefly. In his eyes, Zhang Ji was a
better counselor than Fang Wenshi. If he had a chance, he would like to hire
Zhang Ji as his military counselor.
Unfortunately, he did not have such an opportunity. At this moment, he had

no choice but to trust Fang Wenshi, a boastful scholar, who had claimed that
he had a way to persuade Prime Minister Shi to cooperate with the Great
Snowmountain. Gu Shenwei had to lead his army out of the mountain.
Otherwise, he would never be able to avenge his family's death or contend for
hegemony.
Fang Wenshi grew increasingly anxious in his room at the inn. He had been
in Shu-lik city for three days but still did not get the gold. To make matters
worse, the Dragon King had been absent since telling him to wait here for a
message three days ago.
"The Dragon King didn't tell me what kind of message he would deliver to
me or when he would send the message back. That's probably because he still
can't fully trust me, but it's not a big deal. No counselor can win his lord's
trust before attaining outstanding success. When I succeed in persuading
Prime Minister Shi to help us, both the Dragon King and the swordsmen from
the Great Snowmountain will be deeply impressed."
Fang Wenshi felt much consoled by that thought and then he silently recited
the speech he had prepared one more time. "My logic is irrefutable. Who will
continue to support the Golden Roc Fort after hearing my speech? No one
else has such a deep insight into the political situation in Western Region like
me."
"Hahaha!" Fang Wenshi felt thrilled and laughed. A moment later, picturing
how surprised the Dragon King and the swordsmen would be when he
succeeded, he began to sneer, "Hee-hee." When he turned around, he was
astonished to find out that there was a swordsman standing at his door and
looking at him in surprise. "The Dragon King wants to meet you," said the
swordsman.
Fang Wenshi was greatly displeased. "These swordsmen just don't know how
to behave themselves. They always speak coldly to me and enter my room
without knocking on the door first."
Upon his return from the city, Gu Shenwei summoned his military counselor.
"Mr. Fang. Are you a brave man?" asked Gu Shenwei the moment he met
Fang Wenshi.
"Of course, I'm a counselor. We counselors are powerless, but we dare to

argue with kings. Do you still think that I don't have enough nerve?" replied
Fang Wenshi.
"That's good. I've prepared everything for you. Now, you can go to the Prime
Minister's mansion. The moment you entered the city, someone will give you
the gold."
Fang Wenshi cupped one of his hands in the other before his chest to accept
this command and said, "Dragon King, please wait here for good news." In
fact, he felt a little nervous about going to the Prime Minister's mansion at
such short notice, but he did not want to appear hesitant since he had just
boasted that he was a brave man. Besides, he believed that he could perform
well since he had practiced for several days.
"Much obliged for your assistance, Mr. Fang," Gu Shenwei nodded and said.
Fang Wenshi and a swordsman, who worked as his guard and servant,
mounted their horses and rode to the city. When they arrived at the city gate,
they saw Xu Xiaoyi waiting there. Behind Xu Xiaoyi, stood 10 burly men
who carried five large wooden boxes.
Although Fang Wenshi could not see the contents of the boxes, he still felt
excited. "Those boxes must be filled with gold." Usually, a counselor could
spend the money given to him as he wished and keep a portion of the money
for himself. Nevertheless, Fang Wenshi did not get such a chance.
He comforted himself by thinking, "This is the first step. Just like doing
business, I have to invest first and then I can make a profit,"
Toward evening, when they came to the gate of the Prime Minister's
mansion, a butler immediately walked out to receive them. Xu Xiaoyi
stopped at the door and did not follow the others into the mansion.
After the butler ushered them into a reception room, an eunuch-in-chief came
out to receive them. Fang Wenshi could not help sighing in his heart, "That's
the power of money." In the past, he had tried to bribe servants with five or
ten taels of silver at the gates of some powerful people, but this could not
earn him a chance to meet the powerful people, not even their butlers.
About half an hour later, Prime Minister Shi stepped into the room. He was a
natural leader who had a commanding presence and an amiable tone of voice.
Fang Wenshi had such a good time talking with him. The counselor always
hoped to assist a leader like Prime Minister Shi in contending for hegemony
in Western Region. "Unfortunately, I can only work for a former Golden Roc
Fort killer now," Fang Wenshi sighed secretly.
However, things did not turn out as the counselor had planned. The Prime
Minister subtly avoided talking about the Great Snowmountain during the
conversation and concluded the meeting in less than 15 minutes, promising
the counselor that he would find a proper time to introduce them to the King
of Shu-lik. Throughout the meeting, Prime Minister Shi gave no clear
indication of when he would introduce them to the king, but he still received
their gold and ordered his servants to carry the boxes away. He did not even
treat his visitors to a meal before sending them away.
When Fang Wenshi listlessly walked out of the reception room, he began to
hate that hypocritical Prime Minister who had fooled him during the meeting.
In the meantime, he was worried that he would not be able to give the Dragon
King a reasonable explanation. He had heard numerous perfunctory promises
like this one and was pretty sure that Prime Minster Shi would never
introduce them to the King of Shu-lik.
Fang Wenshi walked toward the gate of the Prime Minister's mansion, deeply
absorbed in thoughts. When he was about to walk out of the gate, someone
shouted behind, "Stop him!"
Upon hearing that, a dozen guards at the gate simultaneously unsheathed

their weapons. Fang Wenshi was startled, and his swordsman immediately
stepped forward to protect the counselor. The swordsman had not brought his
heavy sword with himself, so he could only fight with bare hands. It was
obvious that he had no chance to defeat the guards.
The eunuch-in-chief hurriedly ran to the gate and spluttered, 'How dare you!
Arrest them!"
When the guards surrounded them, Fang Wenshi plucked up his courage to
ask, "Chief, is there anything wrong? As a common saying goes, 'When two
countries are at war, the envoys are never executed.' Given that, you can't…"
"Who cares about some f*cking common saying!" the eunuch-in-chief

cursed, his face flushed with anger. "Why is there half a human head inside
the box? Who did this?"
The eunuch's words staggered Fang Wenshi. He was so shocked that he

nearly fell to the ground. Now he finally understood what the Dragon King
meant by asking whether he was a brave man.
Chapter 256 - Half a Head
Chapter 256: Half a Head
Gu Shenwei had been tailing Blademaster Xiang Kai for three days in a row,
and every time he mingled with the crowd or crouched on a roof, he would
somehow think of his previous partner.
Chu Nanping, his present partner, was a good swordsman. Gu Shenwei had
taught him the first five chapters of Wayless Book and some sword skills
from Death Scripture to help him improve his kung fu. Now, Chu Nanping
was a good servant and guard, but he was still not a killer. Gu Shenwei felt
that the boy had no tacit understanding with him when they were required to
make on-the-spot decisions.
"Maybe it's not Chu Nanping's fault but mine. Now that I'm unable to fully
trust anyone, I shouldn't expect others to trust me completely," thought Gu
Shenwei.
In the next moment, he banished those unwanted thoughts and focused on the
current task. He and Chu Nanping would assassinate Blademaster Xiang Kai
today.
A few days ago, when Shangguan Tian had arrived in Shu-lik City, Xiang
Kai had moved into the Prime Minister's mansion together with the Second
Young Master. As the actual controller of Golden Roc Security Agency, he
had to go to a teahouse located directly opposite the security agency every
day to hear reports from his subordinates. After meeting with his men, Xiang
Kai would have some rest in a room on the second storey of the teahouse
before going down to have lunch at noon. After lunch, he would return to the
Prime Minister's mansion. He usually would not change his daily routine
unless there was an emergency.
Gu Shenwei planned to assassinate Xiang Kai when the blademaster rested
inside his room on the second floor. Its door was facing the Golden Roc
Security Agency and it had a semi-open corridor at the front, thus Xiang
Kai's room was always under the watchful eyes of the security agency during
daytime. Given that, Gu Shenwei and Chu Nanping chose to sneak to this
room before dawn.
Gu Shenwei had learned from his observation that Xiang Kai habitually
stopped for a moment at the door every time before entering the room, so he
did not directly push the door open. Instead, he gently traced the edges of the
door with his fingers until he felt a small piece of paper stuck in the crack
between the door and its frame, which would fall off once the door was
opened.
He drew out his dagger and pressed its tip onto the paper to prevent it from
moving away, and then he asked Chu Nanping to unlock the door with a key,
which was bought from an elderly locksmith. This key cost Xu Xiaoyi lots of
money, since the locksmith contended that it could open roughly half of the
locks used in the neighborhood of the security agency. He boasted that nearly
all the locks used in this region were made by him.
After a "Clack", the door was opened. "It looks like that elderly locksmith
didn't brag to us. This key is indeed worthy of 100 taels of silver," thought
Gu Shenwei.
After that, he slipped into the room while having Chu Nanping hold the
dagger for him, and then they closed the door, making sure that the piece of
paper was in its original place. The next thing that they had to do was to wait,
which was a common step in all assassination tasks.
During an assassination mission, a professional killer would spend at least

half of his time monitoring the target and collecting intelligence. The rest of
his time would be spent on waiting for the best opportunity to launch an
attack, and when it came, he would usually kill his target with one blow. No
matter how superb the target's kung fu was, the killer would always stand a
good chance to kill him, since it was the killer who launched the preemptive
first strike.
Gu Shenwei leapt up to grab onto a beam, which held the roof of the room.
He gently moved his hand on its upper surface to ensure that there were no
booby traps before he lifted his whole body up to lie on it. He would have to
hide in here for about one or two hours before he could strike.
Recently, Xiang Kai had been very busy since he had gotten a strange
intelligence report, which said that Yang Huan, leader of the bandits in the
Great Snowmountain had sneaked into Shu-lik City. He was skeptical about
this piece of information, for now the Great Snowmountain was at war with
Shu-lik. In his eyes, as "Chief of the Dragons", Yang Huan should not leave
his army at such a critical moment.
As soon as Xiang Kai arrived at the teahouse this morning, one of his
subordinates came to him with a verified intelligence report: the Great
Snowmountain had sent a messenger to Shu-lik City to make peace with Shu-
lik, and Prime Minister Shi had already promised to meet the messenger. He
also told Xiang Kai that it was a merchant named Xu Yi who had helped
arrange this meeting between the Great Snowmountain's messenger and the
Prime Minister.
"It's such a pity that this isn't Jade City. Back in the city, such minor
problems could easily be solved," Xiang Kai secretly sighed. He was a
seasoned killer and a first-rate saber user, but his kung fu and killer tactics
could not be used here in Shu-lik.
"Ironically, I live in the Prime Minister's mansion now with the Second
Young Master, but I've never heard anything about the Prime Minister's plan
to meet a messenger from the Great Snowmountain. That's urgent business.
I'd better go back as soon as possible to report to the young master." With this
thought in his mind, Xiang Kai stood up, preparing to leave. Just at this
moment, his other subordinates came in here to report to him.
After hearing all their reports, Xiang Kai changed his mind and decided to
have a rest in the teahouse before returning to the Prime Minister's mansion.
"Maybe this thing isn't as urgent as I imagined. I heard nothing about the
Prime Minster's plan to meet the messenger, but this doesn't necessarily mean
that the Second Young Master doesn't know it."
When he stood in front of his room on the second storey, he could see that the
lock was intact and the piece of paper was still in its original position. His
servant went into the room first to check everything for him. A moment later,
the servant walked out and nodded to him to show that everything inside was
alright before going downstairs.
Xiang Kai entered the room and closed the door. Only in this room could he
relax a little. Sometimes, he felt that this room was too extravagant for a
killer, who should always stay alert.
Strangely enough, he could not relax himself in this room today, as his sixth
sense told him that there was something wrong in here. He felt as if he had
stepped into a wrong room, since all furnishings inside this room seemed so
strange.
He held onto the shaft of his saber, his gaze sweeping across the room.
Upon discovering that Xiang Kai sensed his presence, Gu Shenwei had to
admit that after he had spents several months in the Great Snowmountain as
"Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks", his assassination skills
were not as good as before.
Despite that, Gu Shenwei still attacked. When Xiang Kai lifted up his face
toward the ceiling, he saw a saber heading straight towards him from above.
When the sharp point of the saber pierced through Xiang Kai's clothes and
skin with unstoppable momentum, Gu Shenwei reminded himself that as a
killer, he should retreat the moment he killed his target to prevent himself
from being wounded by the target's counterblow.
Nevertheless, Gu Shenwei just could not help himself during this moment.
He felt as if his saber had suddenly become greedy for human blood and
eagerly hoped to cut the man in half. As a result, Gu Shenwei failed to retreat
as fast as he wanted.
After inflicting a wound on Gu Shenwei's ribs with his saber, Xiang Kai fell
to the ground on his knees, his back arching in the process and his forehead
was touching the ground, forming a weird arc.
Gu Shenwei did not care about the injury, but he was astonished that his
killer skills had regressed so much in just a few months. He immediately
thought of Shangguan Fa. "How does the Supreme King manage to keep a
sharp sixth sense and superb killer skills while being a lord for decades?"
He engraved this matter on his mind and was determined to figure it out in
the future.
He chopped Xiang Kai's head off, put it in a bag and then sneaked out of the
room to avoid being noticed by the people in Golden Roc Security Agency
across the street. He swiftly walked out of the teahouse and then left together
with Chu Nanping, who had been waiting for him on the street all this while.
Some pedestrians on the street spotted blood stains on Gu Shenwei, but
before they could express any suspicion about this man, they had already lost
track of him.
News of Xiang Kai's death had already spread to the Prime Minister's
mansion before Fang Wenshi went to visit Prime Minister Shi.
Upon hearing this news, Shangguan Tian maintained that it must have been
Yang Huan who had murdered Xiang Kai and asked Prime Minister Shi to
issue an arrest warrant on the Dragon King. However, the Prime Minister did
not assent to Shangguan Tian's request. He was well aware that Xiang Kai
was a first-rate killer of the Golden Roc Fort and could not help but doubt its
strength upon hearing that Xiang Kai was assassinated by the Dragon King.
"This Yang Huan seems to be quite interesting. As for the Golden Roc Fort, it
still remains to be seen whether it's a strong ally." With that thought in mind,
Prime Minister Shi decided to do nothing about Xiang Kai's death before he
learned more about the Great Snowmountain by meeting with its messenger.
When meeting with the messenger, the Prime Minister was a little
disappointed, as this scholar appeared a little pompous and pedantic. For the
sake of the 10,000 taels of gold, he gave the messenger a perfunctory promise
before sending him away. After the meeting, he ordered one of his men to
shadow the messenger, as a way to find out where the Dragon King was.
He did this out of curiosity and never expected himself to get involved in this
competition between the Golden Roc Fort and the Dragon King.
Not long after he had asked his servants to carry the gold to the back of the
reception room, the eunuch-in-chief hurriedly ran back into the room in a
panic, bringing back some implausibly frightening news: the boxes were
indeed filled with gold, but there was half a human head in one of them.
Prime Minister Shi immediately went to check the situation, and the scene in
there nearly made him throw up. At first, he had mixed feelings about this
matter, but then, he flared up. He was the Prime Minister of Shu-lik and the
king's brother. No one in this country or in any other countries of Western
Region dared to threaten him like this.
In the past, he had thought that people from the Great Snowmountain were
simple and uncommunicative, so he decided to act kindly toward them.
However, now he considered them as a group of scoundrels and was
determined to teach them some lessons.
Seeing the messenger and his attendant being driven back into the reception
room by the guards, Prime Minister Shi made up his mind to kill them.
He drew out a scimitar stuck in his attendant's belt from its sheath and rushed
toward the messenger while shouting, "You bast*rd! How dare you!" The
servants of the minister all came forward to support him, worrying that he
would accidentally hurt himself during this process.
Fang Wenshi, who had encountered countless difficulties and dangers during
his wandering life, had never been so frightened before. At this moment, he
could not feel where his legs were and even wetted himself. As surprise
nailed him to the spot, he kept cursing the Dragon King in his heart.
After swearing at the insidious killer, Fang Wenshi felt much calmer. He
plucked up his courage and decided to try his best to talk himself out of
trouble. He lifted up his head while flinging a corner of his garment to cover
his wet pants, and then he said, "Let's not talk about how a leader should treat
a messenger sent out by his enemy. I don't think it would be right for you to
kill me after you accepted my money."
"Your money?" asked Prime Minister Shi, furiously. He held the scimitar to
the messenger's throat and continued, "Why is there half a head inside the
box? Are you trying to threaten me or something? You unruly hooligans, do
you think you can frighten me, the Prime Minister of Shu-lik, with such a
low-grade trick? I'll chop off Yang Huan's head tonight and conquer the
Great Snowmountain in a month."
Fang Wenshi had no idea about the head thing, but he still managed to remain
calm and cool. "Are the boxes all filled with gold?" he sneered and asked.
Prime Minister Shi was stunned. He had immediately turned his head away
the moment he saw the head. The eunuch-in-chief, who had checked all the
boxes for the Prime Minister, nodded to him to show that what the messenger
said was true.
Prime Minister Shi was bewildered. "Why did the Dragon King send me real
gold if he really wants to threaten me? Did he think that he can intimidate me,
the Prime Minister of Shu-lik by hiding half a head among the gold?" After a
moment's thought, he said, "Anyway, I'll still kill you and your master."
Upon knowing that the gold was real, Fang Wenshi felt much relieved.
"Prime Minister, take it easy. How about checking the head first?"
"Who is it? Tell me now."
Fang Wenshi pretended to know everything and replied, "Prime Minister, you
can find it out by yourself. Maybe it's a person you hate, and my master just
wants to send the head to you as a present."
Fang Wenshi sincerely hoped that he guessed right, but evidently he failed to
convince the Prime Minister. He did not know that except for Yang Huan,
who had just offended Prime Minister Shi, all the people hated by the Prime
Minister were already dead.
Besides, there was only half a head inside the box, which was a bloody mess.
No one was able to recognize who it was.
"If you tell me where Yang Huan is, perhaps I'll spare your life," Prime
Minister Shi still refused to put down his scimitar. He thought that if he did
not kill Yang Huan and his messenger, he would become a subject of derision
in Shu-lik.
"I'm sorry, Prime Minister. I don't know where the Dragon King is. Plus, I
advice you not to search for my master given the Golden Roc Fort's many
failed attempts to capture him during the past three years. Shu-lik is a great
country, but it's not necessarily better at hunting a killer than the Golden Roc
Fort. If you want to behead me to give vent to your anger, go ahead and do it
now, but I'm afraid that you'll regret it later."
"I only regret that I didn't kill all the bast*rds in the Great Snowmountain
earlier."
"Hehe." Fang Wenshi smirked to cover the fact that he was busy racking his
brain for a solution to his current problem. In the meantime he could not help
complaining in his heart, "Sigh, Dragon King, why did you do this without
telling me beforehand?" A moment later, he said, "Bas… swordsmen from
the Great Snowmountain are tough. It's not an easy thing to eliminate them.
Besides, please forgive my bluntness, Prime Minister. Your own life is in
danger now. Do you still think that you can kill the swordsmen?"
Fang Wenshi just said it to win more time for himself, but Prime Minister Shi
believed it and felt shocked. "What danger?"
Fang Wenshi did not know what to say, so he continued to sneer, feeling
anxious and lost. At this critical moment, a guard hurriedly ran into the room.
The guard just whispered a few words beside the Prime Minister's ear, and
the latter's face suddenly changed and his hand holding the scimitar also
began to tremble.
Chapter 257 - Five Days
Chapter 257: Five Days
Fang Wenshi and the swordsman who worked as his guard were shut away in
a room inside the Prime Minister's mansion until midnight.
When they finally walked out of the mansion, they worried that they would
have to live in the street tonight. They could not return to the inn since all the
gates of the city were closed at this moment. Fortunately, Xu Xiaoyi had sent
someone to bring them to a hotel when they came out.
After entering his room, Fang Wenshi immediately closed the door and took
off his wet pants. After heaving a long sigh of relief, he began to shout curses
at his lord, as if the Dragon King was standing right in front of himself now.
The counselor swore to the gods that he would never work for such a cruel
wretch anymore and would set out to return to his hometown tomorrow
morning without bidding farewell to Yang Huan.
Gu Shenwei did not hear these words, and Fang Wen did not leave in the end.
It was not money or power that made him change his mind. He decided to
stay because of a woman.
That woman directly pushed the door open, and then she leaned against the
doorframe while looking the scholar up and down. When she found out that
the scholar had already taken off his pants, she sneered, "Tut-tut, what an
impatient client. I've never seen any client like you before."
"Who are you?" asked Fang Wenshi, his face flushed with embarrassment.
He crouched, trying to use his shirt to cover his lower body.
"Someone paid me to serve you. What's the matter? Are you unhappy with
me?" asked the woman.
Fang Wenshi stood agape, and the women smiled at him. He was not sure if
he had said anything funny to the women. He just smiled back at her and did
not want to leave anymore.
That night, Fang Wenshi did not have any time to ask others what had
happened inside the Prime Minister's mansion during the day, which
frightened Prime Minister Shi so much and made him release the hostages.
The next morning, when Xu Xiaoyi came to the hotel to console him, he
finally got a chance to ask the merchant for more details about the incident.
Xu Xiaoyi told the counselor all the information that he knew. "One of the
wooden boxes sent to the Prime Minister's mansion contained half a human
head, while the other four were just filled with gold, so the servants carried
them to the warehouse. The warehouse supervisor weighed and recorded the
amount of gold received. He then opened the door of the warehouse,
preparing to put the gold into it. However, the moment the door was opened,
all the people at the scene saw half of a head hanging down from a ceiling
beam inside the warehouse."
"Since it was tied to the beam with a thin rope, it kept swaying slightly. Upon
seeing it, all of them were frightened to death. One of them passed out, and
another two became paralyzed with fear. Three of them started to vomit and
four of them got cold feet and couldn't move. In the end, only one of the
servants managed to run away to call the guards," said Xu Xiaoyi.
"When the guards came, they put the two halves of the head together and
recognized that this man is the Golden Roc Fort killer named Xiang Kai,
who's a frequent visitor to the Prime Minister's mansion."
According to Xu Xiaoyi, Prime Minister Shi had also been shocked when he
heard the news, since the warehouse was the most heavily guarded place in
his mansion. "Prime Minister Shi found it hard to believe that someone could
sneak into his warehouse. He probably also suspected that there was a spy
inside his residence. No matter what, that half of the head proved to him that
the Dragon King could sneak into his mansion to kill anyone at any time."
Upon hearing that, Fang Wenshi realized that the half of the head hidden
inside the wooden box was just a reminder, and the other half of it hanging
inside the warehouse was the real threatening message.
Xu Xiaoyi told Fang Wenshi that Prime Minister Shi had been frightened and
irritated, and had hesitated for a long time before making a decision. "The
Prime Minister decided to release you and the swordsman in the end. After
your departure, he invited Shangguan Tian to have a talk with him. He
politely asked the young master to bring the Dragon King's head to his
mansion within five days. He contended that if Shangguan Tian failed to do
so, he would introduce the Great Snowmountain's messenger to the King of
Shu-lik," said Xu Xiaoyi.
After talking with Xu Xiaoyi, Fang Wenshi rubbed his neck and thought,
"What a risky plan. I nearly got killed yesterday. However, if the Dragon
King hadn't taken this risk, it would've been really difficult to persuade Prime
Minister Shi to give up the Golden Roc Fort by relying solely on the 10,000
taels of gold. Now that the Dragon King has to depend on himself. As long as
he can survive the coming five days, we'll be able to meet the King of Shu-
lik."
Gu Shenwei was not content with just hiding for the next five days. He
planned to prove his strength further to Shu-lik.
In a sense, this competition between him and Shangguan Tian was a close
match. No matter how powerful the Golden Roc Fort was, it could only offer
limited help to its Second Young Master within Shu-lik. The Dragon King, a
former killer of the Golden Roc Fort, was very familiar with all the means
and tactics used by the killers. As to Prime Minister Shi, he had already
declared that he would not help either party in this competition.
On the first day, both parties adopted a similar strategy. The Dragon King
and his guard, Chu Nanping, hid in a place that remained unknown to
everyone. Even Xu Xiaoyi had no idea where they were. Shangguan Tian and
Shangguan Hong moved out of the Prime Minister's mansion and disappeared
too. Their servants and killers all moved to the Golden Roc Security Agency.
The first day was peaceful. Although both parties were well aware that killers
would never expose themselves to rescue anyone, each of them still sent out
scouts to monitor the other party's movements in case that someone in their
own team was kidnapped. Knowing this, Fang Wenshi felt secure. He was
pretty sure that he would be safe and be able to enjoy himself with that
woman as much as he could during these days.
The second day, Golden Roc Security Agency send out all of its staff to
search for Yang Huan and promised to give 50,000 taels of silver to the one
who offered correct location of Yang Huan and 100,000 taels of silver to the
one who brought Yang Huan's head to the security agency.
Everyone in the city was motivated and began to ask around for the pale-
looking young killer. The locations of Fang Wenshi, Xu Xiaoyi and a few of
the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain all got exposed. A few
hooligans kept coming to the inn, intending to kidnap some of Yang Huan's
friends to force the killer to show up. As a result, Xu Xiaoyi had to ask
everyone in the team to stay together and hired some machetemen, who had
no connection to the Golden Roc Fort, to protect them.
The Shu-lik government sent out troops to stop the hooligans, as the Prime
Minister ordered that this competition was just between the killers.
Both parties of the competition had achieved nothing on the second day.
However, from that day on, residents of the city showed more respect to
Yang Huan, since they all heard about how he had threatened Prime Minister
Shi with a Golden Roc Fort killer's head a few days ago. Now, every time
when they talked about the pale-looking young killer, they would refer to him
as the Dragon King.
On the third day, when all the hooligans in the city continued to hunt for the
Dragon King, Golden Roc Security Agency suddenly recalled all of its armed
escorts and kept them inside the agency for a whole day.
This move made many people believe that the Golden Roc Fort had already
found the Dragon King. They guessed that the armed escorts were busy
preparing for an attack right now.
Fang Wenshi and Xu Xiaoyi were a little fidgety, as their lives and futures
were closely bound with the fate of the young killer. If the Dragon King was
killed, they would immediately lose everything they had now.
Only Tie Linglong was perfectly calm and collected. She practiced her saber
skills as usual and then consoled the other members of the team. "Don't
worry. The dragon king will be alright even if they find him. He'll kill them
all."
Unfortunately, the little girl failed to convince anyone in the team, and even
the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain also began praying for the
giant roc to appear again and come to the rescue of the Dragon King.
Upon hearing the swordsmen's prayers, Tie Linglong solemnly explained,

"The roc isn't the Dragon King's pet. Nobody can control it. It comes and
goes as it likes. Even the Dragon King can't summon it."
Tie Linglong's words further undermined the team members' confidence.

Upon hearing that, Fang Wenshi thought to himself, "If things are getting
bad, I have to persuade Xu Yi to make some arrangements as soon as
possible. Maybe I can earn some money during this process."
On the fourth day, when the Golden Roc Fort launched an attack, the team
members' confidence hit rock bottom.
As the Dragon King needed someone to collect intelligence for him, he sent
Chu Nanping out. Although the teenage swordsman had used some make-up
to change his looks before going out, the Golden Roc Fort killers still
recognized him. They followed him to a small inn and had him surrounded at
around 9 pm.
This time, Shangguan Tian had sent out 30 killers. Such a team would be
enough to eliminate a small gang. Upon hearing this news, many people in
the city guessed that Shangguan Tian had found the Dragon King and Chu
Nanping long before this day. They thought that the Second Young Master
had just pretended to have no idea about where the Dragon King hid while
secretly assembling his killer team.
Few of them witnessed the fight that night, but on the next day, many
described the scene in detail as if they had seen the whole process.
It was said that two killers had sneaked into the teenage swordsman's room
last night, trying to catch the youth alive, but in the end the boy was
somehow alarmed by the killers and then jumped out of the room through the
window.
Chu Nanping was said to have escaped without a scratch from the inn after
exchanging blows with four or five killers. Many people found it difficult to
believe that the youth could have broken through the ranks of the killers.
Someone who was familiar with the Golden Roc Fort's style contended that it
must have been Shangguan Tian's scheme. "The Second Young Master
must've let the boy escape on purpose. He must've sent his killers to follow
him. The Dragon King is probably being surrounded by the killers now."
Rumors were flying everywhere on the fifth day, and there were as many as
ten versions of rumors regarding the death of the Dragon King. Even Tie
Linglong could not remain calm and cool that day. She was in no mood to
practice her saber skills and spent the entire day listening to different
intelligence reports together with Xu Xiaoyi, no matter how absurd these
reports sounded.
"The Dragon King is alright as long as we don't see his head," Tie Linglong
said to herself. Every time someone hurriedly ran into the inn, she would feel
that her heart had skipped a beat.
The whole city was eagerly waiting for the final result of this competition.
The hooligans, who had been busy searching for the Dragon King in the past
few days, felt very disappointed. They believed that they were used by the
Golden Roc Fort killers. Given that, they began to openly support the Dragon
King and hoped that the pale-looking young man could survive the last day of
this competition.
Usually, Golden Roc Fort killers never took actions during the daytime, but
on the fifth day of the competition, all the armed escorts of Golden Roc
Security Agency went out to surround a place which was said to be the
Dragon King's hiding place. Once they spotted an unfamiliar face among the
people entering and leaving this place, they would follow or interrogate that
person. Although these armed escorts were not soldiers sent by the
government, no one dared to resist them.
Residents of the city were greatly surprised since the place surrounded by the
armed escorts was the Prime Minister's mansion and its surrounding area, but
on second thought, they realized that this place was indeed the ideal hiding
place. Besides the king's palace, the Prime Minister's mansion was the safest
place in the whole Shu-lik City.
Two days ago, Prime Minister Shi had left the city on the pretext of going
hunting in the suburbs. Although he did not mind letting the killers fight
inside his mansion, he announced that once anything in his residence was
damaged, he would refuse to recognise the result of this competition.
Everyone in the city wished to watch this fight between the killers that night,
but the armed escorts did not allow miscellaneous personnel to enter that
place. Even the government also sent troops to help Golden Roc Security
Agency seal off that area. The servants in the Prime Minister's mansion were
so excited. As servants of Prime Minister Shi, they did not have to worry
about their own safety, and meanwhile they could get a chance to watch the
fight. They could brag about such an experience in the months to come.
As night fell, hundreds of people gathered outside the Prime Minister's

mansion. They did not expect to see or hear what happened inside the
mansion. They only wanted to know the result in real time.
Soon they got bored, since the mansion was too quiet. At this moment, a man
who claimed to be very familiar with killers' style said to the crowd, "Killers
are always as quiet as mouses during a fight. Only soldiers in the army and
bandits will fight noisely like cats and dogs."
Some soldiers in the troop heard that and beat the man. With a bloody nose
and a swollen face, the man still refused to leave and started to murmur,
"Let's wait and see. The Dragon King is tough. He's the nemesis of the
Golden Roc Fort. Even 100 killers can't…"
Before he finished his sentence, some armed escorts beat him. After that, the
crowd was as quiet as the Prime Minister's mansion.
People began to leave one after another after around 9 pm. Shortly after
midnight, there were only a few who stayed behind. The armed escorts and
soldiers also relaxed their vigilance. Everyone was wondering if there were
really any killers fighting inside the mansion.
At dawn, two servants opened the door of the mansion while yawning.
Before they closed their mouth, they were shocked to find out that they were
already surrounded by a curious crowd. The people eagerly asked about the
fight last night, but the servants just shook their heads repeatedly and said,
"No, all the dogs inside the mansion were quiet last night. There were no
killers fighting here."
Now that all the five days had passed, residents of the city could not wait to
know the result. Finally, at noon, they got a message from the suburbs of the
city: the Dragon King had won the competition and Shangguan Tian had
become his captive.
Chapter 258 - Victory
Chapter 258: Victory
Gu Shenwei was able to successfully capture Shangguan Tian alive because

he got a clear understanding of a fact: Prime Minister Shi hated and feared
the Dragon King and would not easily sever his own relations with Golden
Roc Fort.
Therefore, as soon as Shangguan Tian disappeared, he deduced that the

Second Young Master was still hiding near Prime Minister Shi.
Under such circumstances, he had to figure out a way to make Shangguan

Tian surrender and admit defeat without disturbing Prime Minister Shi.
Chu Nanping successfully attracted the Golden Roc Fort killers' attention,
and even though he was in a dangerous situation, Gu Shenwei was certain
that before the killers found out where he was, they would never kill or harm
Chu Nanping.
In the meantime, he deliberately left some blurred tracks inside the Prime
Minister's mansion, which were invisible to untrained eyes but would
successfully mislead the Golden Roc Fort killers into believing that the
Dragon King was hiding inside the mansion.
Shangguan Tian was dressed in a servant's uniform, drinking alone in the

tent. He was confident that his killers would return with good news very
soon, but he still felt depressed.
He did not doubt his killers' ability. After all, there were 30 of them. It should
be a piece of cake for them to kill a former slave boy of the Golden Roc Fort.
The reason he was unhappy was that as the Second Young Master of Golden
Roc Fort, the most likely successor of the Supreme King after the deaths of
his brothers, he was not shown due respect in Shu-lik, and was even asked to
prove his own strength by the Prime Minister, who had taken so much
bribery. In his eye, what Prime Minister Shi did to him was public
humiliation.
Shangguan Tian had no choice but to tolerate this insult, as he was sent here
on a mission, which was to lobby Prime Minister Shi against the Great Snow
Mountain. The Golden Roc Fort intended to spur Shu-lik on to crush the
swordsmen in the mountain as a way to eliminate its traitor, Yang Huan.
Because of the tribal hostilities among the swordsmen, their army would
quickly disintegrate once they lost a battle.
Shangguan Tian was well aware that if he failed to fulfill such a simple task,
his father would question his ability again.
Thinking about the troubles from inside and outside the Golden Roc Fort
these past few years caused Shangguan Tian to have a lingering fear in his
heart.
All the internal strifes that happened within the Golden Roc Fort ended up in
a lose-lose situation, so was the one between the Second Young Master and
Lady Meng. As the Supreme King had lost patience with the endless
infighting, they had to make peace and privately negotiate with each other.
According to their agreement, Lady Meng would let Shangguan Tian inherit
the title from the Supreme King, and Shangguan Tian would give Shangguan
Fei a large number of territories and killers.
Shangguan Tian was pretty sure that this was just a stalling tactic of Lady
Meng. He believed that she was waiting for her son to grow older.
The Second Young Master was an indecisive man, but this time he was
determined to destroy his enemy once and for all. In order to become the next
Supreme King, Shangguan Tian planned to draw support from a powerful
foreign country. That was the reason he volunteered to come to Shu-lik as the
messenger of the Golden Roc Fort.
Shangguan Tian was sitting next to the candlelight, thinking about what he
should say to Prime Minister Shi after getting Yang Huan's head. All of a
sudden, he froze, "I'm here all by myself, but how come there are two
shadows on the ground?"
If Shangguan Tian had been a seasoned killer or an apprentice who had

survived the gang wars, he would have attacked right away before thinking
instead of looking back.
However, the Second Young Master's knee-jerk response was to turn his head
back. He regretted it shortly after turning his head halfway as he realized that
his saber was hidden in a parcel three steps away. When he was about to get
up to grab his weapon, a saber from behind was already against his throat.
He slightly lifted his head up from the blade, while hastily searching through
his memories for proper words to say. Many thoughts flashed across his
mind, and he was pretty sure that he knew what to say during such a moment
as a young master of the Golden Roc Fort. Nevertheless, the words that he
blurted out in the end while trembling was,"Don't kill me."
If Gu Shenwei had intended to kill the Second Young Master tonight, he

would have never played such a trick on Shangguan Tian. He wished to kill
everyone surnamed Shangguan, but he needed to give Prime Minister Shi an
out. "Send your servant to invite the Prime Minister here," said Gu Shenwei.
"Slave Ya, go and invite the Prime Minister. Just say I have something
important to tell him," Shangguan Tian ordered. A minute ago, he was
thinking about becoming the next Supreme King, but now he was willing to
do everything for the blade to distance away from his neck.
"Yes," someone replied from outside. In order to hide himself among the
Prime Minister's servants, Shangguan Tian had sent all his servants away
except Slave Ya, his most loyal servant. It was because of this slave that Gu
Shenwei was able to quickly discovered Shangguan Tian's tent.
Slave Ya noticed that Shangguan Tian had emphasized the word "something"
slightly, and understood what his master meant, so he hurriedly went to ask
Prime Minister Shi for help.
Upon hearing Slave Ya's request, the Prime Minister knitted his eyebrows.
"My impression of Golden Roc Fort was that they were widely known as an
expert in solving problems, yet this Second Young Master is an expert in
causing problems instead. How can he deem himself a professional killer if
he needs me to rescue him?"
Despite that, Prime Minister Shi still sent out a dozen soldiers to surround
Shangguan Tian's tent. He believed that Yang Huan was a very dangerous
man and planned to take this chance to kill the Dragon King, even when there
was a possibility that a young master of the Golden Roc Fort would be
harmed or even killed during this process.
Slave Ya was stunned upon seeing a dozen archers aiming their arrows at the
Second Young Master's tent. "If they all shoot together, my master will die
along with the assassin as well," thought the slave worriedly.
To Slave Ya's great relief, the Prime Minister was cautious and did not order
his bowmen to launch an attack. He nodded to one of his guards, who then
drew out his scimitar and approached the tent and announced, "Second
Young Master, the Prime Minister is here." With these words, the guard
entered the tent.
A moment later, he came out, a strange expression on his face. He was

bewildered yet could not help but laugh. It seemed like he had seen
something ridiculous inside, "Prime Minister, please come in. There's no
danger," said the guard.
Prime Minister Shi appeared hesitant in the beginning, but he chose to

believe his guard and walked into the tent, which was encircled by his
archers.
The next thing he saw was Shangguan Tian sitting on his bed looking up at
the ceiling dazedly, his hands trembling in front of his chest. There was a
saber against his throat. However, there was no one behind the young master.
The saber was tied to a wooden stick erected on the bed.
Upon seeing this, Prime Minister Shi laughed so hard that he ended up in
tears. From this moment on, he decided to take Dragon King of the Great
Snowmountain seriously.
In fact, right after Slave Ya left to invite the Prime Minister, Gu Shenwei had
sneaked out of the tent through an opening at the back. He despised this son
of the Supreme King very much. In his eyes, Shangguan Tian had good kung
fu, perhaps even stronger than most killers, but he was unable to even show
half of the kung fu skills he had learned due to the lack of a real killer's sharp
sixth sense.
This competition between the two groups of killers came to a dramatic end.
Since then, most of the residents in Shu-lik City had acknowledged Yang
Huan as the Dragon King. As for Shangguan Tian, rumors had it that he was
so frightened that he wetted his pants and his slightly dark facial complexion
turned as pale as Dragon King's face and remained pale all the time after this
incident.
Prime Minister Shi publicly admitted the Dragon King's victory and invited
the messenger of the Great Snowmountain into his mansion again.
Upon hearing this news, Fang Wenshi felt much relieved. He immediately
began to prepare for the second visit to the Prime Minister's mansion and
asked Xu Xiaoyi to buy various things for him. The swordsmen who had
accompanied Fang Wenshi to the Prime Minister's mansion several days ago
told everyone how brave the counselor had been in the face of danger. This
story totally transformed how others viewed the counselor. Now Fang
Wenshi was very respected among them and thus all his requirements were
satisfied. Soon, he got new hats, clothes, and footwear, a luxurious carriage to
replace the old one and even a slave boy to serve him. The five swordsmen
from the Great Snowmountain also received new outfits after getting back
their heavy swords. This time, all five swordsmen would follow the counselor
to the Prime Minister's mansion again.
The Prime Minister's attitude toward Fang Wenshi had changed as well. This
time, the Prime Minister invited him into a study for a private talk.
Fang Wenshi seized this chance to elaborate his carefully considered plan to
Prime Minister Shi, and the Prime Minister frequently nodded in agreement.
After Fang Wenshi finished talking, the Prime Minister expressed his doubts.
"Mr. Fang's speech is very impressive, but I don't have a say on this matter.
You still need to ask His Majesty for permission. You'll get a chance to meet
His Majesty within three days if everything goes well. During which you will
be challenged by the other ministers. Are you sure that you can win this
debate, Mr. Fang?"
Fang Wenshi stood up and bowed deeply to the Prime Minister in gratitude.
He said assertively, "I know I'm just an obscure scholar, but I sincerely hoped
to have a chance to debate. No matter if I win or lose, it is still my doing.
Please rest assured, Prime Minister."
After that, Prime Minister Shi gave Fang Wenshi a brief introduction of all
the ministers and their stance toward the Golden Roc Fort and told the
counselor how to behave himself in front of the king to avoid offending His
Majesty.
Fang Wenshi benefited enormously from the Prime Minister's advice and
thanked him repeatedly, all the while thinking, "The Dragon King's risky
trick is indeed effective."
Prime Minister Shi also requested to meet the Dragon King towards the end
of their meeting.
Fang Wenshi readily promised him but was at a loss after leaving the Prime
Minister's mansion. He himself had not seen the Dragon King for days on
end.
As soon as he returned to the inn, he immediately asked Xu Xiaoyi for help.

Unfortunately, Xu Xiaoyi had no idea where the Dragon King was either. He
told the counselor, "It's always the Dragon King who comes to find me
usually. I never know where he is."
Toward midnight, Gu Shenwei sneaked into Fang Wenshi's bedroom and

woke up the counselor without awakening anyone else in the inn.
If Fang Wenshi had met Gu Shenwei a few days earlier, he would have
grumbled that the Dragon King had put his life at risk by sending Xiang Kai's
head to Prime Minister Shi. However, now he was pleasantly surprised to see
this young man and did not complain about the sending of Xiang Kai's head
at all.
Gu Shenwei shared the same concern as the Prime Minister. Fang Wenshi
was eloquent from the perspective of the Great Snowmountain. But most of
the officials would prioritize the interests of Shu-lik during the debate, and
many of them probably would never support the Great Snowmountain for
there was also Golden Roc Fort in the background. He was worried that the
counselor was unable to handle so many officials when they take turns to
debate with him.
According to Xu Xiaoyi, although Prime Minister Shi won the hearts of the
residents of Shu-lik, many officials considered him their political enemy.
Evidently, it was not enough to have only the Prime Minister's support.
However, now it was too late for them to lobby the other officials in Shu-lik
City. Recently, Shangguan Tian had been very active going around bribing
many officials in the city. The Second Young Master, who was humiliated
during the previous competition, was determined to defeat the messenger of
the Great Snowmountain during the debate in front of the King of Shu-lik.
Gu Shenwei believed that he had done everything he could to help the

counselor, and now he could only hope that Fang Wenshi would deliver an
excellent speech during the debate. The two of them are still in the process of
testing waters and had not attained full trust with each other yet.
To show his determination to win the debate, Fang Wenshi solemnly swore,
"I guarantee that I'll persuade the King of Shu-lik to help the Great
Snowmountain. I'll swear to you on…" Fang Wenshi was about to say that he
could swear on his own life but suddenly realized that the Dragon King was a
killer who takes such oaths seriously. After pausing for a moment, he
continued, "I can swear on the lives of my entire family."
Fang Wenshi's elder brother and sister-in-law were heartless to him, so he

decided to drag them in as well.
"Don't say that, Counselor. Even if you fail to win Shu-lik's support for the
Great Snowmountain, I'll still need your assistance in the future," said Gu
Shenwei.
Fang Wenshi felt much relieved and said other things to assure Dragon King
of his success. He finally added that Prime Minister Shi requested a meeting
with Dragon King.
"Tell the Prime Minister that I'll meet with him when you go to the palace for
the debate," said Gu Shenwei cautiously. He did not want to make a public
appearance before Fang Wenshi won the debate.
The next day, Fang Wenshi was invited into the Prime Minister's mansion for
the third time.
Prime Minister Shi informed him that the King of Shu-lik will summon the
messenger of the Great Snowmountain in the main hall of the palace on the
third day of the eighth month.
Fang Wenshi was thrilled by the news. He had succeeded in persuading many
people, but most of them, including the tribal chiefs of the five peaks of the
Great Snowmountain, were ineloquent and thus could not be considered as
real debate opponents. Given that, the meeting with the king of Shu-lik two
days later would be the first time for Fang Wenshi to fulfill his long-
cherished dream of distinguishing himself in front of a ruler during a debate.
Fang Wenshi felt so exhilarated that he could not fall asleep. If it weren't for
the important debate, he would have wanted to sleep with a prostitute to calm
his nerves.
Chapter 259 - The Court Session
Chapter 259: The Court Session
Prime Minister Shi's pre-emptive warning came as a great boon for Fang
Wenshi. Upon arriving at the main hall, he started to identify his key
opponents from the rows of officials.
The King of Shu-lik was over forty and sat with a perfect upright posture,
looking quite authoritative. He did not speak throughout the entire court
session, preferring the eunuch at his side to moderate the entire debate.
Fang Wenshi presented his strategy to the king as the messenger of the Great
Snowmountain, representing the 'Leader of the Dragons, and the Master of
the Five Peaks". He had strategically replaced Gu Shenwei's title of 'King' to
'Master', following the Prime Minister's advice, to avoid belittling the King of
Shu-lik. Naturally, Gu Shenwei had no use for mere titles and did not hesitate
to agree with the change.
It took a while for the ceremony of greeting the king to end, and the eunuch
invited the messenger from the Great Snowmountain to speak once the
officials were done taking turns to pay their respects and everyone were all
seated.
Fang Wenshi had specially brought along a duster shaped like a feathered-fan
for this occasion. It was all the rage in the Central Plain, and was used during
debates. One would hold it to signify that one was about to speak, or place it
down on a table to show that one was going to listen carefully to the
esteemed opinion of the other speaker.
First, he bowed to the king as a sign of respect, duster in his hand. He then
turned towards the twenty or so officials and swept his gaze across each of
them, finally coming to one of them who had a great white beard. This man
was Moyang, the chief minister of Shu-lik, and he was known as 'the Master'.
He was Prime Minister Shi's biggest rival, and had originally not approved of
Shu-lik cosying up to the Golden Roc Fort. However, after one of his sons
was killed by a swordsman from the Great Snowmountain, he became eager
to exterminate the entire faction.
Moyang was a big influence on the King of Shu-lik, and as he was never
close to the Golden Roc Fort, his views carried even more weight in the
current debate. It was for this reason that he was also the person Prime
Minister Shi was most wary of.
Fang Wenshi began his speech. "I've come here today to talk about a matter
concerning the survival of Shu-lik. In times like this, warnings often fall on
deaf ears…"
He had wanted to use his old strategy of scaring his audience into his corner
by warning them about an impending disaster. He did not expect that officials
in Shu-lik did not follow the usual debate protocols of the Central Plain. He
had only begun to speak, and was still holding onto duster, when a dark-faced
official interrupted him. The official could not contain himself and issued his
rebuke to Fang Wenshi, "Nonsense, you're a messenger from the Great
Snowmountain, what right do you have to interfere in the matters of our
country? I think you've come here bearing ill will."
Fang Wenshi shook his head and smiled slightly. When the official lost
momentum and returned to his seat, Fang Wenshi began speaking again, "The
Great Snowmountain and Shu-lik are heavily reliant on each other to prosper.
Should any one of us be attacked, it'll be detrimental to survival of the other
as well. As such, how can I not be worried about the security of your
country?"
"What a joke this is. You just joined the ranks of the Great Snowmountain
only a month ago, and cannot even be considered as one of them. You have
no right to speak for them. What rights do you have to talk about the reliance
of both countries on each other?" Another pale-faced official rebutted. They
were taking turns to debate with Fang Wenshi. All this while, Moyang sat
still and remained silent.
"The joke is on you. Shu-lik has always opened its borders. Haven't Shu-lik
traded for silk from the Central Plains, fine iron from Wushan and horses
from Norland? Haven't this country welcomed merchants from all over the
world to conduct business in its land? Why then do you expect that a
counselor has to be a native of the country he or she represents? I'm only here
to perform my duty as a messenger and counselor. If you should wish to
debate with a swordsman from the Great Snowmountain instead, I have five
of them waiting outside the hall. I can summon them in if you should wish."
The officials knew that men from the mountains were not keen to talk, and
would not hesitate to attack if they could not win in a debate. None of them
wished to involve the swordsmen.
As the other officials remained silent, Moyang gave off two coughs and
began to defuse the situation. "There's no need for verbosity. Since you've
come here prepared, speak your mind."
Fang Wenshi absent-mindedly swished his duster before realising that it had
not served its intended purpose. He decided that he should keep his arms
behind his back instead. He continued his speech. "Shu-lik, Norland and the
Central Plain are the three dominant powers in Western Region. Each has
maintained its foothold peacefully for decades. Now, imagine that each
country is a leg of a tripod, which represents the current balance. If one leg is
broken, the entire tripod would collapse. Now, Norland is pre-occupied with
its own chaotic situation, and the Central Plain is growing increasingly
ambitious, with plans to bring the entire Western Region under its control.
Shu-lik is in an increasingly precarious situation, and I'm afraid that all of
you Sirs would be unable to enjoy peace for long."
The officials had expected the messenger from the Great Snowmountain to
come with an offer of peace, and had not foreseen that he would have started
his speech with a message of Shu-lik's impending doom. Moyang replied
without getting up from his seat, "You've indeed come with a 'prophecy of
doom', and I'm truly 'absorbed' by it. However, even though Norland is
embroiled in civil war, it'll be quelled in a few years' time; its state can
therefore not be considered as a 'broken leg of the tripod.' Moving on, even
though the Central Plain is indeed ambitious, it's far away from us, and
separated from us by a desert. The troops they've stationed in the Western
Region amount to only 20 or 30 thousand soldiers. Even though Shu-lik
cannot be compared to other big nations, we do have our own crack troops
which are 50 thousand strong. We do not fear their army."
Fang Wenshi knew that there could not be so many elite troops in Shu-lik,
but he did not call Moyang's bluff. "You're not correct, Master. Even though
the Central Plain hasn't stationed many of its soldiers in Western Region, it
has maintained a presence here for centuries. Each country in Western
Region has people from the Central Plain. Take Shu-lik for example, there
must be at least 10 thousand of them here. Furthermore, as a major power, the
Central Plain enjoys the support of many other countries in the east,
supporting it with supplies and troops for every military campaign it enters.
With a decree, the Emperor of the Central Plain could summon retainers from
Western Region which could amount to ten times its stationed troops and at
least hundred times of that of its own citizens living in the region. May I ask
if your '50 thousand' crack troops are able to withstand such an attack?"
The other officials remained silent as Moyang smirked. "From what I hear,
you're saying that neither Shu-lik nor Norland can withstand the ambition of
the Central Plain. Would you care to explain to me again your concept of the
'tripod representing the balance' between the three countries?"
The debate was heading in the direction Fang Wenshi expected. He began
growing confident. He could not help himself and began swishing his duster
again, before continuing. "You're mistaken. You're referring to the Central
Plain's 'power' and not its 'strength'. I consider its 30 thousand troops
stationed in the Western Regin as its strength, as they belong solely to the
Central Plain. The other countries in the east can be classified as minor
powers which can be utilized by the Central Plain at a price. Now, the
millions of its citizens in Western Region are a major power, and how each
country uses them should be scrutinized. With proper handling, they would
be willing to serve any country in a war."
Upon hearing this, the dark-faced official spoke up angrily again "You might
as well not have spoken, everything you say hinges on some other
possibility."
Fang Wenshi waited for the official to return to his seat again before replying,
"The future of Shu-lik is still up for debate, while that of the Central Plain
and Norland has already been decided. This is what I meant previously about
survival."
The dark-faced official was about to get up again before Moyang signalled
for him to remain still. Moyang replied, "What you mean by the fate of
Norland and the Central Plain's future refers to the civil unrest in the former
and the ambition of the latter, am I right?"
"Yes."
"Do you have proof then, or are they just empty words?"
"The proof is Jade City."
"What do you mean?"
"It's said that three years ago, when the Supreme King was extremely ill, the
Central Plain took the opportunity to eradicate the Iron Mountain Gang. This
was a minor incident but of prime importance to Western Region. It's a pity
that none of the countries in the region have properly analysed it. The Iron
Mountain Gang's camp was situated at the north of Tian Shan, close to the
border of Jade City. It was the same place where Norland grazed its horses.
The 5,000 elite soldiers sent by the Central Plain never left after they
completed their mission and have been stockpiling supplies ever since. Now,
they've already become a deep-seated problem. Norland chose to not react,
and it's exactly this act of allowing its enemy to set up a camp so close to its
heart shows that its civil unrest has still not been quelled. After the Supreme
King recovered from his illness, not only did he not counter-attack, instead he
chose to belittle himself and work with the enemy, in the name of 'eradicating
bandits in unison'. As such, the balance in Western Region has shifted. The
Central Plain has yet to act because it's storing up its might. Once it has
enough manpower and resources, the first step it takes will be taking over
Jade City, then making Shu-lik submit to its will. Once it has Shu-lik, the
entire Western Region would be controlled by the Central Plain. Norland is
already out of the picture, what with its ongoing civil war. Its millions of
mounted troops would have no say in maintaining its foothold in Western
Region. When that time comes, it'll be a long while before Shu-lik can have
any real hope of restoring the balance of three powers in the region again."
After they had listened to Fang Wenshi's long discourse, the officials could
be seen either nodding or shaking their heads. All of them, however, had a
question in their minds, and it was the pale-faced official who spoke on their
behalf. "You have made a good speech, but the thing is this. Even though the
Golden Roc Fort does represent an obstacle to the future progress of Shu-lik,
and your description of 'inter-reliance' is indeed apt, but you're a messenger
of the Great Snowmountain, are you not? This…"
Fang Wenshi was just about to use the official's question as a reason to start
talking about the Golden Roc Fort, when the eunuch moderating the debate
interrupted. "This court session is adjourned for a lunch break. We invite our
guest, who has come all the way over from the Snowmountain, to have a
meal with us."
Fang Wenshi was already on track to win the debate before he was
interrupted by the eunuch. This had made him extremely unhappy. However,
as the eunuch was representing the King of Shu-lik, he could not protest.
Besides, after growing accustomed to eating jerky for the past month at the
Great Snowmountain, his usual love of good food was greatly diminished.
In the past, he would have been overjoyed to be invited to eat food cooked by
royal chefs, but now he barely touched the food in front of him, still pre-
occupied with plotting the fall of the Golden Roc Fort and making an alliance
between Shu-lik and the Great Snowmountain.
When Prime Minister Shi arrived to visit him, he saw Fang Wenshi pacing to
and fro, deep in thought. He congratulated the counselor on the good start in
the earlier debate, and told him that the second court session would not be
held in the hall, but rather the royal study room. Also, there would only be
two participants - Fang Wenshi and Moyang.
Fang Wenshi kept himself up to date on the affairs of the world, but was not
familiar with customs of the court. Fearing something was amiss, he
hurriedly asked, "What does his Majesty mean by making this change of
venue?" Prime Minister Shi did not directly answer his question, but rather he
smiled and told the counselor to not worry.
Both of them chatted idly before the Prime Minister took his leave.
Gu Shenwei believed that the safest place for him to be in Shu-lik City was
its royal palace, and had disguised himself as one of the five swordsmen from
the Great Snowmountain accompanying Fang Wenshi.
Just as the Prime Minister was about to make his move, Gu Shenwei
approached him and whispered, "It's a pleasure to be able to meet you, Prime
Minister. I'm Yang Huan."
Prime Minister Shi was extremely surprised. His sole motive for the visit was
to pass the King's message to Fang Wenshi, and had not anticipated that he
would meet the Dragon King. He recovered quickly and grasped the killer's
elbow as he said, "A real master knows how to conceal his true identity.
You've indeed hid yourself well."
Gu Shenwei gave a nod to his military counselor, signalling for Fang Wenshi
to leave with the other four swordsmen. The counselor understood what he
meant and left the Dragon King and the Prime Minister in privacy. He stood
guard outside the room with the swordsmen while pretending to admire the
great view of the palace.
The Prime Minister was not prepared to speak to Gu Shenwei under such
circumstances, but he knew he could not allow such a rare opportunity to slip
away. He started off with the usual pleasantries, while Gu Shenwei remained
mostly silent. He was waiting for the Prime Minister to broach the main
subject.
"Did you hear about what happened during the court session just now,
Dragon King?"
"Briefly."
"What do you think about Mr. Fang's chances of winning the debate?"
"It's still too early to say, as the session has yet to be concluded."
"Hey, you still have doubts, and are not telling me what you really think."
Gu Shenwei paused for a moment while he thought about how to best reply
the Prime Minister. "Master Moyang was just questioning Counselor Fang
just now, and didn't make his stand clear. I fear that the momentum of the
debate would swing away from us at the imperial study."
Prime Minister Shi nodded, expression turning serious. He seemed to be

gauging how trustworthy the Dragon King was, as he stood looking at Gu
Shenwei. "I'm certain that would happen later. I've already received
information that Moyang plans to give it all he's got later. He plans on getting
the king to reject the offer of peace, and would even chase your messenger
away. What's worse is that he wants the king to order an attack on the Great
Snowmountain with 50 thousand troops."
There were only a thousand swordsmen in the Great Snowmountain, and

even if Shu-lik came at them with half their men, it would be impossible for
the swordsmen to prevail.
"We really need your assistance now, Prime Minister. If you could lend us a
helping hand, we from the Great Snowmountain will never forget your
kindness."
"You could say we started off as rivals but ended up mutually respecting each
other," the Prime Minister said as he shifted his gaze away from Gu Shenwei.
His attitude had become a little indifferent as he continued. "The Golden Roc
Fort lacks real leadership, as Shangguan Tian is cowardly and incompetent.
I'm now on your side, but the political situation in Shu-lik is extremely
complex and I'm on my own here. Our path is fraught with obstacles, and you
have to put in the effort as well to help us navigate safely to the exit."
"Could you point me in the right direction, Prime Minister?"
"We shall talk again after the second debate, where you'll know I'm telling
the truth."
Prime Minister Shi did not want to be staying at the Great Snowmountain
camp for too long, and took his leave again.
Gu Shenwei could already guess what Prime Minister Shi wanted. He was
only not sure which target the Prime Minister would give him: His nemesis
Moyang, or his own brother, the King of Shu-lik.
Chapter 260 - Counterattack
Chapter 260: Counterattack
That afternoon's debate in the Imperial Study went just as Prime Minister said
it would - sparks flew the moment it started.
Moyang was keen on firing the first salvo. "Your Majesty, your humble
subject was already aware of this messenger's motive. He wants to convince
you that the Jade City is in a precarious situation, and that the Golden Roc
Fort would either ally itself with the Central Plain or Norland, endangering
Shu-lik's national security in the process. He wishes to replace the Supreme
King with the Great Snow Mountain, and 'borrow' our money, supplies, and
soldiers along with free passage through our lands with Your Majesty's
blessings. I say 'borrow' with inverted commas as I believe that they will
never pay us back for what they owe."
Fang Wenshi was shocked upon hearing Moyang's opening statement. This
old fellow has correctly deduced almost all of my intentions. So, that's why
he did not rebut in the first debate session; he wanted to probe into it more, he
thought. He gently waved his duster and replied with a smile, "Let's not
discuss my motives first. Do you feel that the Golden Roc Fort is in a very
stable position, Sir?"
"Whether or not the Golden Roc Fort is in a stable position, our King will
have a way to handle any issues that come our way. Now let's talk about you
- how can we expect a mercenary such as yourself to have the best interests
of Shu-lik at heart? Your Majesty, don't for a moment doubt that this man is
devious and wishes to scare us into submitting to his will, thereby profiting
from our fear. You should chase him away now. Let's see if he is still loyal to
the Great Snow Mountain after our great army has exterminated the Snow
Mountain Gang," said Moyang.
The King of Shu-lik did not reply. He had been trained since a young age,
and knew the importance of remaining silent in such situations.
Fang Wenshi clapped and shouted, "Good, good, good!" His voice was so
loud that it shocked Moyang and the King, the latter even shaking a little.
The counselor did not have any reason to behave in this manner, but he
needed time to re-think his strategy. "You, Sir, are indeed worthy of the title
'Master'. You are right. There are some things which cannot be said in court. I
shall speak plainly now, since there are only three of us, and there is no scribe
here to record everything. There is no doubt that I would want to be repaid
after studying hard for so many years. Yes, I have sold my services to the
Great Snow Mountain. I am speaking up on its behalf here today, but none of
what I said were 'lies'. There is a saying that goes 'To benefit others is to
benefit yourself', and I would not have spoke today if my ideas would not
help Shu-lik as well."
"Hrumph," Moyang grunted, and was about to rebut when Fang Wenshi
quickly cut him off by continuing, "A loyal subject might not give the best
advice to his king. The world is like a chess set, and the audience would have
a more objective view as compared to the players. To be so particular about
the concept of loyalty, and to not be receptive of ideas which are not to your
taste, thereby shutting yourself off from the opinions of others, do you, as the
'Master', imply that to be loyal is to shield His Majesty from other sources of
ideas and to only listen to you?"
Moyang's face grew red upon hearing Fang Wenshi's statement. He pointed at
the counselor and chastised, "Are you saying that I am preventing the
Majesty from hearing the opinions of others?"
Fang Wenshi bowed slightly as a sign of apology before continuing. "Of

course not, I meant that you, Sir, always have the best interests of His
Majesty at heart, but may not always choose the best options available. By
focusing too much on loyalty, you may have filtered out crucial information
from His Majesty."
Moyang flew into a rage, but managed to calm himself down quickly. He
laughed sarcastically before replying, "How clever of you to turn my loyalty
against myself. I suppose that you will now be saying the 'hard truths'?"
"One can only decide which is the best option after considering multiple
ideas. There are also benefits of hearing the 'hard truth'," replied Fang
Wenshi.
Moyang glanced at the King before tilting his head away. "Let's see what you
can come up with."
Fang Wenshi coughed a little to clear his throat, before continuing his train of
thought in the earlier debate session. "Jade City is located strategically at the
heart of the Western Region. To its west, you have the Kingdom of Shu-lik,
Norland to its north, the Central Plain to its east and about 20 other small to
big countries, to its south. The Golden Roc Fort sprang up as a force to be
reckoned with during the past few decades of war amongst the various
countries, securing a foothold with its killers. After peace was achieved, there
was still conflict over who should govern the city. The Central Plain and
Norland nearly fought over it, and it was the late King of Shu-lik who
managed to prevent such a border conflict by stepping in with the suggestion
that all three countries should take turns governing the Jade City. This,
however, caused the power of the Golden Roc Fort to grow exponentially,
allowing it to control land amounting to a hundred miles. Today, it only lacks
the official title of a kingdom, but in reality it can already be considered as
one."
"By recounting such a history, you have proved yourself as a scholar,"

interrupted Moyang sarcastically. He could not really come up with any
rebuttal as the opponent had not broached his main topic.
Fang Wenshi continued. "In reality, the alternating governance of the Jade
City became that of non-governance. Everyone knows that the post of
Governor of Jade City is a position whereby one does nothing but becomes
very rich at the end of three years. The Supreme King is taking advantage of
the fact that Shu-lik, Norland and the Central Plain are curtailing each other's
influence in the region. It is for this reason that he grows uneasy when any of
the three nations make an unexpected move. You, Sir, are not entirely correct
when you said that the Golden Roc Fort will ally itself with either the Central
Plain or Norland. You have underestimated the Supreme King's ambition. All
signs have shown that the Shangguan Family wishes to take control of the
Jade City and be officially considered as royalty before chaos breaks out in
the Western Region. During that time, Norland can rely on its natural
advantage in Tianshan mountain, while the Central Plain will be protected by
the vast expanse of the desert. Only Shu-lik will be stuck in the middle of the
chaos, and to make matters worse, another power - the Golden Roc Fort -
would have sprung up, becoming another force to contend with."
"The Supreme King wishes to become a real king? Haha, what a joke that is.
His title of 'King' is similar to that of your master - the 'King' of the five
peaks. Both titles are only recognised by its own base, and no country would
ever recognise the Supreme King as a true king. Shu-lik would be the first to
reject such an idea." Moyang grew confident that Fang Wenshi was only
beating around the bush and had nothing concrete to present.
Fang Wenshi replied coldly, "What if Norland has already officially

recognised him as a real king?"
"That is even less likely than Shu-lik and the Central Plain recognising the
Golden Roc Fort as an official kingdom. When our late king alternating
governance over Jade City, Norland was the party that was strongly opposed
it. You have also mentioned that Norland has the strategic buffer of Tianshan
from the other countries in the Western Region. If Shangguan Fa wishes to
establish the Golden Roc Fort as a kingdom, he will need to block off the two
mountain passes from his east and west. The Central Plain could still reach
him by crossing the Gobi desert, but Norland would have been blocked off
from the West Region without having any access to the passes. It has no
reason to acknowledge him as a true king," Moyang replied while shaking his
head continuously, growing increasingly confident.
Fang Wenshi smiled faintly. He turned towards the silent King of Shu-lik
before continuing, "What a coincidence. I had the same idea as the Master.
However, I came to a conclusion which is entirely in opposition to this
theory. The old Khan of Norland is now severely ill, and his sons are openly
fighting to take his place. Norland is now embroiled in civil war, and is
unable to compete with the Central Plain. Now, what would be its best option
to maintain a foothold in the Western Region? Naturally, it would be to
support a vassal nation who can protect its passage throughout the two
mountain passes. Which party in the entire Western Region, other than the
Golden Roc Fort, has a vested interest in Central Plain's influence in the Jade
City? It's entirely logical that both of them would enter into an alliance - one
wishes to be officially recognised, while the other needs the benefit the Fort
can offer. You, old Sir, feel that my warnings are distasteful, but you are not
aware that the enemy is already eyeing Shu-lik. Once Shangguan Fa is
officially recognised as a king, he would definitely move westwards, and at
that time, Shu-lik would be in danger."
"Hrumph, it seems that Mr. Fang is indeed 'concerned' about the security of
Shu-lik. You continuously speak about our nation's impending doom - in the
earlier session, you spoke of the danger the Central Plain poses to us. Now,
you are warning us about the Golden Roc Fort becoming a kingdom of its
own. It makes it seem as if Shu-lik is here for the taking and powerless to
defend itself. Do you have any solid evidence that Shangguan Fa wishes to be
recognised as a real king?"
"Evidence?" asked Fang Wenshi derisively, his chest puffed out. "The current
governor of Jady City is from Shu-lik, and will return soon after his three-
year term has been completed. Your Majesty can then find out from him, as
to whether the 'Protective Talisman' he got was far more than any other
governor in the past? There's your evidence. Furthermore, all three countries
have previously sent nobles who were living idly to fill the post of governor,
a glorified position which was not involved in any actual politics. If what I've
guessed is correct, for the next three years, Norland will send somebody from
the royal family with actual political power to fill this role."
Moyang continued shaking his head and turned to face the King as well.
"Your Majesty, according to this man, all nations, even the Golden Roc Fort
which has yet to be officially recognised as one, are our enemies. Isn't this
trying kicking up a fuss just to scare us? Even if Shu-lik's national security is
indeed threatened, can a bunch of barbarians from the Great Snow Mountain
change the political situation in the Western Region?"
"The current political climate is complicated. One move can affect all parties
that are involved. Now, it's a given that the Great Snow Mountain cannot
change the political situation in the Western Region'. However, if we
intervene at the right moment and do the right thing, we can help Shu-lik
achieve 30 years of stability."
Just as Moyang was about to counter, the King of Shu-lik, who had remained
silent all this while, raised his right hand and stopped his chief minister,
allowing the counselor to continue.
Even though the King always had the final say in such matters, he rarely took
sides or intervened in debates. Therefore, Moyang was surprised by his
actions. Fang Wenshi, however, was greatly encouraged and took the
opportunity to continue. "Since Jade City is crucial to the entire situation, the
Central Plain would definitely make the first move, once it has gathered its
forces. This would return the Western Region back under the influence of the
Emperor of the Central Plain. Shangguan Fa would be officially recognised
as a king, and turn his back on Norland, thereby stirring up even more unrest.
If the Great Snow Mountain removes the Golden Roc Fort from the picture,
the situation in the Region would remain as it is, and Shu-lik would be the
biggest beneficiary."
"Are you saying that the Golden Roc Fort is ambitious, but not the Great
Snow Mountain?"
Fang Wenshi snickered before replying, "Yes, everyone is ambitious, but not
everybody gets to realise their ambitions. Take the Golden Roc Fort for
example. It has maintained its monopoly over the Jade City for over 30 years,
but it is only now that Shangguan Fa dares to take concrete steps to be
recognised as a real king. If the Great Snow Mountain was to make a move
on the Golden Roc Fort, it would be from a thousand of miles away, and with
the backing and control of Shu-lik. Even if we have any ambition, how would
we dare to realise it? Your Majesty, please examine my words for any lies. It
has always been wiser to have information that can be used against your
opponent, rather than declaring 'permanent alliances'. Now, Your Majesty has
the Great Snow Mountain eating out of your hands."
Moyang wanted to mock the counselor, but decided against it. He said to the
King, "Your Majesty, this person's words are covered with lies, please do not
be deceived by him. The situation now is very clear to us that the Great
Snowmountain is a thorn in our side; if we do not get rid of it, we cannot turn
our attention to other issues. Now that the five peaks have been united, it is
the perfect moment to eradicate them once and for all. With 50 thousand
soldiers, we can get the job done. They are weak and cannot stand against the
Golden Roc Fort on their own. If we give them the means to do so, we will be
creating a future enemy, without any glory or benefits to ourselves. Please do
not agree to do so, Your Majesty."
"The Master is wrong to say so. Shu-lik is the weakest out of the three major
powers in the Western Region. The other two players can take Jade City by
force, but not Shu-lik. This will be akin to courting your own doom. The
Great Snow Mountain will act in the name of revenge…"
Fang Wenshi had a lot more to say, but was disrupted again by the eunuch.
"It's late, and we would like to invite the messenger to rest now. We shall this
discuss further in three days' time."
The messenger from the Great Snow Mountain was thus ushered out of the
imperial study, leaving Moyang behind to talk to the King of Shu-lik in
private.
Fang Wenshi gazed at the bright sun as he stepped out of the study, no longer
as confident as before. Once he and his entourage were out of the palace, he
said to the Dragon King, who was still disguised as one of the accompanying
swordsmen, "The King was convinced, but I am worried that Moyang will be
a problem."
The debate had went exactly as how the Prime Minister had warned it would
be. The path ahead for Gu Shenwei was fraught with obstacles, and he knew
he had to get the swordsmen to leave the Great Snow Mountain. If they
remained there, they would be wiped out, and they would not have gotten any
closer to getting rid of the Golden Roc Fort anyway.
In the afternoon, Xu Xiaoyi came bearing a message from the Prime

Minister, requesting a private meeting with Gu Shenwei between nine to 11
in the night. It would be a risk for both of them to meet in person, so the
Prime Minister had prepared a secret room for that purpose as a sign of good
faith. They talked long into the night, with the Prime Minister confiding in
the Dragon King and analysing the current situation in detail with him,
leaving the latter no choice but to agree with his plan.
When Gu Shenwei took his leave from the Prime Minister, it was already
past midnight. Still, he woke his military counselor up, and they discussed
whether or npt they could trust the Prime Minister.
Fang Wenshi did not change out of his pyjamas, and paced to and fro while
considering the matter. After a long while, he finally said, "I'm afraid this is
the only option."
Gu Shenwei knew that too, but he could instinctively sense a conspiracy from
someone's suggestion. There was something not quite right with the Prime
Minister's request to kill both the King of Shu-lik and Moyang at the same
time.
Chapter 261 - Borrowed Blade
Chapter 261: Borrowed Blade
On the surface, Prime Minister Shi controlled the government of Shu-lik.

However, there were definitely great dangers hidden within.
He didn't agree with the other ministers, but he didn't care. The Prince stood
on the side of those ministers which caused the situation to be different.
Although the King of Shu-lik was only in his forties, his physical condition
was not good. Prime Minister Shi was worried that, once the king died, the
Prince would succeed the throne. This would be unfavorable to him, so his
idea was to preemptively become the king himself.
The original collaborator that decided this was Shangguan Tian, but he did
not yet announced his temptations. The Second Young Master of Golden Roc
Fort had suffered a crushing defeat in the competition with the Dragon King.
Therefore, Prime Minister Shi quickly changed his mind.
He gave a promise in a secret conversation with the Dragon King: he would

fully support the Great Snowmountain after usurping the throne. He will, not
only allow passage across their roads, he will also supply grains for the
horses, weapons, and armor, however he could not lend them troops. The
Shu-lik country could not publicly stand on the side of the Great
Snowmountain.
Gu Shenwei asked his military counselor, "How trustworthy are the words of
the Prime Minister?"
Fang Wenshi recalled every detail of his meeting with Prime Minister Shi. "I
want to say that this matter is concluded. Prime Minister Shi has been
persuaded by me. If he becomes king, there are eight or nine times out of ten
that he will regard Golden Roc Fort as his enemy."
"What I mean is that this isn't going to be a plot to kill someone, right?"
"Oh." Fang Wenshi tend to focus on the grand scheme of things, thinking less
about details and conscientiously thought for a while before continuing, "He
wants to usurp the throne, this cannot be fake. Hence, he invites you as a
killer. It should be sincere, but you must prevent the possibility that he may
blame the regicide on the Great Snowmountain after he successfully
accomplished his plans."
This was exactly what Gu Shenwei was worried about. No one is willing to
bear the charge of killing their brothers. If Prime Minister Shi turns on them,
then the Great Snowmountain would face imminent danger.
After dawn, Fang Wenshi, on behalf of the Dragon King, was to see Prime
Minister Shi and brought with him a specific assassination plan. He also put
forward two requirements: First, Prime Minister Shi has to write down his
promises in black ink on white paper and stamp them with public and private
seals. Second, he must provide the details of the guards of the palace. The
Dragon King did not want any accidents to occur during the assassination.
Prime Minister Shi quickly agreed to the second article. His own henchmen
were among the guards in the palace. He had clearly revealed the guard patrol
routes, the times when their shifts will change, the position of the alarms, and
so on. After Prime Minister Shi finished writing it all down, he handed it over
to Fang Wenshi.
As for the first article, Prime Minister Shi was a bit ambiguous. The Dragon
King could not completely trust him, but the Prime Minister also did not want
to be so easily handled by others. Furthermore, his commitment to write
everything on paper and stamp it with his seal would be ironclad evidence of
his rebellion. If any of this ends up in the hands of the King of Shu-lik then it
would bring great calamity.
The two bargained like businessmen. Take a step back and I'll let a foot. They
struggled for a long time before finally reaching a compromise. Prime
Minister Shi wrote all the promises and stamped it with his seal, but did not
give it to Fang Wenshi. However, he agreed to hand it over on the day when
the assassination plan has been completed.
One hand handed over the money while the other hand received the delivery.
Thus, the assassination of the King of Shu-lik was set in motion. The time
was set for after the second round of Breaking Obsession in two days and the
location was the main hall of the palace.
The Prime Minister's mansion aside, Gu Shenwei was not idle and was
running around all day long.
He first went to Xu Xiaoyi. He did not talk about the assassination plan as he
only came to inquire for intelligence.
Xu Xiaoyi had received news that Shangguan Tian had lost trust in the Prime
Minister, but he did not give up. He immediately sided with the other
ministers. Moyang was originally part of the opposition party against Golden
Roc Fort, but he became a supporter with the efforts of Shangguan Tian.
Compared with the Great Snowmountain's messenger, he held a huge
advantage, that is, he could talk privately with the King of Shu-lik. Even if
Fang Wenshi was irrefutable, Shangguan Tian was incapable of admiring the
subtle influence of the military counselor.
Helping Prime Minister Shi seems to be really the only choice.
After having said that, Xu Xiaoyi secretly lowered his voice. "Someone
wants to see you. Who would you never think of?"
Xu Xiaoyi revealed a hint of smug and felt that it was very rare for Brother
Huan to have such a hard time.
"Shangguan Hong."
Xu Xiaoyi was taken aback at the name that Gu Shenwei had said. "You…
How did you know… have you met him?"
In fact, Xu Xiaoyi showed his own prowess. His expression showed that the
person who saw him was a person whom Gu Shenwei was acquainted with.
With a little intuition, Gu Shenwei thought of Shangguan Hong almost
instantaneously. In fact, he was just the person he wanted to see.
Whether in Golden Roc Fort or in Shu-lik, Shangguan Hong's status was
embarrassing. He had been recognized as the son of the Supreme King for
several years, yet he still did not receive the title of Young Master. Everyone
considered him to be a chess piece within the hands of Lady Meng, and an
insignificant piece that was occasionally picked up and used, and then
discarded immediately afterwards.
He had followed his second brother to the Shu-lik country, and also took the
position of an overseer. Shangguan Tian was so cold to his brother and even
treated him like a slave. When he competed with the Dragon King,
Shangguan Tian had been hiding beside Prime Minister Shi. Shangguan
Hong stayed with the Golden Roc security agency, just like everyone else.
Even the slaves and servants did not take care of this "Master Hong", and no
one wanted to provoke the Second Young Master's suspicions.
This brought a benefit. Shangguan Hong was a lonely man, and no one paid
any attention to anything he does. Because of this, he was able to secretly go
see Xu Xiaoyi and ask for the Dragon King, killer Yang Huan. He did not
recognize that this man with a small mustache grown across his face was a
teenager that came out of Jade City, and even thought that he was one of the
Dragon King's men.
There was a small pub in a narrow alley behind the Golden Roc security
agency. Shangguan Hong avoided everyone to drink here every day. Since
childhood, he was known as a trust-fund baby. Even being a son of the
Supreme King had failed to change him. The cheapest and worst quality of
wines was on the table, as well as a dish of peanuts as snacks. When he tasted
the wine, he was reminded of Zhang Ji's teachings of personal examples and
verbal instructions over the past few years.
But this day was far from over. Shangguan Hong felt that his patience was
about to pass the limit. Zhang Ji kept saying that time was not ripe and that it
was best for him to keep a low profile. The old bookkeeper had hidden
himself throughout his whole life and was naturally full of patience, but he
still wanted to have a good time with the youngsters.
The patron with black and thin whiskers at the table across from them have
been chatting with the manager. When the manager went to collect the bill,
he probably thought that working by himself was too boring so, while
carrying snacks and wines and without being invited, he sat opposite
Shangguan Hong.
"What?" Shangguan Hong was already drunk, squinting his eyes to size up
the uninteresting guest.
"One drunk person is not as good as two drunk people. The more the
merrier."
There was a fat fish in the dishes that this guest had brought. Shangguan
Hong was touched by it but then he secretly despised himself. If Zhang Ji saw
him like this, he would certainly be scolded again. "That old thing,"
Shangguan Hong cursed in his heart and raised his chopsticks and furiously
picked at the fat fish.
Shangguan Hong ate quickly for a while and found that the guest sitting
across him did not move his chopsticks, so he pushed over the peanuts on his
side and said, "Here, have a taste."
The guest shook his head and asked, "Is Mister Zhang Ji doing well?"
Shangguan Hong's chopsticks halted in the air as he opened his mouth.

Suddenly he felt embarrassed beyond words. If Zhang Ji had not repeatedly
insisted, he would not want to meet with the killer Yang Huan. In his mind,
this was Slave Huan.
His association with Slave Huan was already not right from the beginning,
and have not been seen since. He was also a master by name, but he always
took money from the slaves and worked for the slaves.
"Oh, he's well. I didn't expect you to come today," answered Shangguan
Hong.
Gu Shenwei came here as soon as he received the message from Xu Xiaoyi.

He had been observing for a long time before deciding to reveal himself after
he confirmed that there were no traps. After seeing Shangguan Hong, he once
again started to feel his initial doubts. Zhang Ji was such a deeply profound
counselor, why did you choose the most incompetent son of the Supreme
King to assist him?
"I hope that you have brought me some useful information," said Gu
Shenwei.
This sentence was rather condescending and it roused Shangguan Hong's

hatred as it surged within his heart. However, after years of submissive
humiliation by Lady Meng, he was able to skillfully hide his emotions. His
face revealed a meaningful smile and said, "It's definitely useful, but it's not
quite appropriate here."
Gu Shenwei said, "There is this Old Charm restaurant about three blocks
away. Have you heard of it?"
Shangguan Hong nodded.
Gu Shenwei continued, "After half an hour, go there and find a guest named
Gu."
Shangguan Hong nodded again, and there was a sense of excitement in his
heart. What Zhang Ji said was right, conspiracies are the most interesting
games in this world. It secretly determined the fate of all beings. It is the
power of the strong. Chopping and killing were nothing more than tools for
the strong to achieve their goals.
Old Charm restaurant provided quiet and secluded private dining rooms,
which was a good place to prevent eavesdropping. However, Shangguan
Hong still spoke in a low voice and whispered, "Mister Zhang said that the
Second Young Master must have different ambitions. With the Lord secretly
voting for Norland and the Eighth Young Master surrendering to the Central
Plains, the Second Young Master could only receive help from the Shu-lik
country. This visit was to exterminate the Great Snowmountain only in name,
but they actually want to borrow troops--"
Shangguan Hong made a slashing action. Gu Shenwei stayed calm and

collected, thinking that as the number of sons of the Supreme King was
becoming fewer and fewer, their ambitions were becoming bigger and bigger.
He didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing for his revenge. He
then said, "You should report this to Lady Meng and the Lord. It would be a
great contribution."
"How can this be carelessly said? I don't even have any evidence,"
Shangguan Hong said while being puzzled by Slave Huan's cold reaction.
Zhang Ji has said that Slave Huan would definitely be interested in this. Gu
Shenwei explained, "You still don't understand? If the Second Young Master
borrows a big army from the Shu-lik country, then the first ones to suffer
would be the Great Snowmountain. The Shu-lik must extinguish them first to
eradicate any future worries. Only then will they send their troops to attack
Jade City. Mister Zhang said that friends and enemies are all things at one
time and one place. At this moment, we should form an alliance and jointly
deal with Shangguan Tian."
Shangguan Hong was too anxious. Before he waited for the other party's
response, he already said everything in his heart. Therefore, Gu Shenwei
believed his words about eight or nine out of ten. Then he asked, "What is
Shangguan Tian's specific plan?"
"I don't know, but I heard that he had hooked up with the chief minister
named Moyang and was conspiring against the Great Snowmountain and
Golden Roc Fort," answered Shangguan Hong.
"What does Zhang Ji want me to do?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"Hey, you are a killer, what else is there for you to do?" Shangguan Hong
said while drooping his head and feeling a little embarrassed. Then looked up
at Slave Huan again as he hoped to show a firm will.
It was another plan to kill a person with a borrowed blade. Zhang Ji wanted
to take this opportunity to get rid of the Second Young Master and pave the
way for the future of Shangguan Hong. Gu Shenwei was well aware of this.
He then said, "I will think this over. We're in the Shu-lik country, I can't
casually kill people here."
Shangguan Hong did not understand the meaning behind his words. He
thought that Slave Huan did not believe in himself, and hurriedly threw out
the last piece of information, "You don't want to kill, but people want to kill
you. Those killers that arrived a few days ago haven't left yet, and have been
staying at the Golden Roc security agency. Who do you think their target is?
It's definitely you. He who strikes first gains the advantage, and those
afterwards will suffer. Zhang Ji has said that this is the only choice if you and
the Great Snowmountain want to survive."
For the second time in two days, Gu Shenwei heard the phrase "the only
choice" and he couldn't help but wonder if he really only had one choice.
Chapter 262 - Beard
Chapter 262: Beard
Xu Xiaoyi tried his best to control his expression. After several years of
arduous training and hard work in Shu-lik, he consciously trained himself to
contain his feelings. But he was always like invisible to Brother Huan, thus
he was very upset and decided to try saying, "There's someone else here that
wants to see you, guess who?"
This time his intuition did not help. Gu Shenwei thought that it would be
Shangguan Tian at first, but when he saw Xu Xiaoyi's tense face with great
surprise concealed; he changed his mind and thought about it again.
"Moyang."
The surprise in Xu Xiaoyi's heart spilled and he shook his head saying,
"Nothing can hide from you. If you run the business, how much more money
will we make?"
Doing business and reading people's minds were not the same. Letting Gu
Shenwei manage their money would cause them to lose even their
investments.
He had already vaguely understood Moyang's intentions, but he still went to a

manor outside the city under the invitation. He decided to visit the biggest
obstacle on the way to persuade the King of Shu-lik.
Moyang looked old and weak, and he was not very enthusiastic when he saw
the Dragon King. He nodded slightly and didn't even stand up. The "Chief of
the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks" was just a bandit chieftain of the
Snow Mountain Gang. "Do you know why I am looking for you for?" said
Moyang.
Gu Shenwei shook his head, did not sit down, and distanced himself from the
tyrannical old man. No one dared to see a killer so rashly in Jade City. In the
Shu-lik country, an official who did not even practice kung fu treated the
killer as any other random macheteman. He not only bravely met the killer
alone, but also in a disdainful manner.
Which world was more normal, Gu Shenwei was a bit unclear.
"Everyone says you are a smart person." Moyang took a sip of tea and said
with his eyes dropped.
"Smart people don't guess other people's minds," Gu Shenwei said with his
hand on the hilt.
"Well, yes, I have something to say. The talkative scholar you hired may be
able to persuade His Majesty, but as long as I am here, you will never reach
your goals. As for the reasons, I dare to say that it has nothing to do with the
situation in the Western Region and the national security. This is simply a
personal revenge. My favorite third son died in the hands of the Snow
Mountain Gang people. For this, I have vowed I'll slaughter these savages,
regardless of men, women, or children. Unfortunately, no one in Shu-lik is
willing to enter the Great Snowmountain. Now, you have helped me a lot;
you unified the Snow Mountain Gang and led them to challenge the Shu-lik
country. You gave me the once in a lifetime chance to watch all of you
perish," Moyang said as his tone was getting higher and higher, and in the
end, it was almost as if he was cursing in anger.
"There's no need to find me if you just want to say these," said Gu Shenwei.
"I hope that there is only this," Moyang said while suppressing his voice. The
following words were obviously contrary to his original intention, so he was
quite reluctant to say, "Time changes everything. The situation is different
now, and I can't live like this holding onto what happened years ago. Right
now, I'll give you a chance: Agree, and I will move aside, letting that scholar
of yours persuade His Majesty. Disagree, and I will deploy another plan,
absolutely better than yours that even His Majesty would not refuse. The life
and death of Great Snowmountain depend on your choice."
"Agreeing seems to be my only choice."
"Yes," Moyang answered directly. He was holding the lifeline of the Dragon
King. He believed that he had the advantage and did not need unnecessary
compromises.
"Even so, I have to know what your 'other plan' is."
"I have a way to get half of the territory of Jade City." Throwing out this
sentence, Moyang picked up the teacup again. This was enough; there was no
need for a killer to know everything.
It turned out that this was the price of Shangguan Tian's borrowing troops
from the Shu-lik. He was willing to become half of what the Supreme King
was and even risked instant betrayal. Gu Shenwei thought that the King of
Shu-lik would not so easily buy the plan. The attack on the Golden Roc
Fortwould would cause intense reactions from the Central Plains and the
Norlands. The Shu-lik could not withstand the pressure.
However, with Moyang the situation would be different. The land was always
an irresistible temptation to monarchs, as elite weapons were to kung fu
masters. Under the encouragement of the military counselor, King of Shu-lik
was likely to make short-sighted choices.
"You want me to kill for you."
"This is like what a smart person should say. I want you to kill someone for
me, but this is simply a preemptive strike to protect myself. You understand
what I mean."
"The prime minister is now a supporter of Great Snowmountain."
"Of course, you gave him 10,000 taels of gold. Everyone knows this. Even
His Majesty has heard of it. Maybe you promised to kill for him. However,
you have to understand one thing. The support of the prime minister is half-
hearted. My opposition will spare no effort. Even if I toss away this old life
of mine, I must stop your persuader. So, choose."
Gu Shenwei was speechless, he was thinking about the connection between

these three borrowed-blade murders.
"I hope that you are not thinking about how to kill me. Prime Minister Shi
has always had this idea." Moyang misunderstood the silence of the killer.
"Someone knows that you will come to see me. When I die, His Majesty will
immediately send troops to Great Snowmountain and avenge me. I at least,
am worth this much value in his heart."
"I agree." Gu Shenwei said as he held the three "only choices" in his hand,
and this had just given him some leeway between his choices.
"The day after tomorrow is the second round of Breaking Obsession.

Afterward, I will hold a private talk with His Majesty. If I haven't received
the news I've been waiting for then this whole operation will be canceled."
Gu Shenwei did not say any farewells and directly left. As things became
more and more complicated, he needed to find the military counselor for a
consultation.
When he returned to his residence, it was completely dark. Gu Shenwei

jumped over the wall into the courtyard. He had not properly gone through
doors for many years.
Chu Nanping emerged from the shadows. He volunteered for the

responsibility of guard duty and had never slacked off. "You're back."
"Yes." Gu Shenwei waited for the young swordsman to speak, knowing that
he would not appear to just say hello.
"You should care more about Tie Linglong."
"What's up with her?"
"She has been practicing with her saber a bit too much these days as if
something is weighing on her mind."
Gu Shenwei looked at Chu Nanping and wondered if he also had something
weighing on his mind. "When it comes to concern, you should talk to Xu
Xiaoyi. He takes your friendship deeply seriously."
"No." As soon as Xu Xiaoyi was mentioned, Chu Nanping's voice became

stern. "As long as he still has that beard, I won't talk to him."
"That beard…" Gu Shenwei's words just left his mouth, and Chu Nanping
had already disappeared.
This youth was a good swordsman but was not a good killer. Gu Shenwei
was only using the contents from the Death Scripture to help him improve his
swordcraft but had not taught him the whole scripture. This was one of the
most important reasons: Chu Nanping claimed himself emotionless. In fact,
he had rich emotions that countered to the fundamental concept of the Death
Scripture.
The fallout between the two good friends stemmed from a joke made in last
year.
Xu Xiaoyi drank a little too much then, and Chu Nanping also drank quite a
lot. He had a strange principle: He thought that friends should advance
together and retreat together. No matter what Xu Xiaoyi had ever said, he had
always done it diligently, even if it was not something he liked. For example,
drinking.
Chu Nanping's cheeks became rosy red, looking more and more like a
gorgeous girl, Xu Xiaoyi jokingly blurted out the following words that left
his good friend furious. "Little Chu, all the prostitutes from Pleasure Alley
added together can't even compare to one of your fingers. All women should
feel inferior in your presence."
Xu Xiaoyi grew up in a brothel. In his opinion, this was a sincere

compliment, but he forgot that Chu Nanping was a swordsman.
Chu Nanping had already pulled out his long sword to almost complete the
Emotionless Swordsmanship "killing friends and chopping affections."
Suddenly, he realized that he was acting in a fit of anger, which did not meet
the original intentions of the swordcraft. Thus, he put away his sword and
retorted with a cold remark. "Don't you think yourself a man just because you
wear a small mustache!"
The pair fell out because of this little thing. They had not said anything to
each other over the past year. Xu Xiaoyi made apologies for a few times, but
he strongly refused to take off his beard. This beard was meaningful to him.
Taking it off was like taking off all his clothing.
Gu Shenwei decided not to meditate; this was a child's play and he did not
bother himself.
He came to the backyard and saw that Tie Linglong was dancing with her
blade. The little girl had been practicing for three years, and her machete
skills were already very different. She had also learned the Wayless Qigong,
although fewer than that of Chu Nanping, with only four chapters. Moreover,
she had never learned from the Death Scripture.
At the time Gu Shenwei saved the granddaughter of Tie Hanfeng, he thought

that she would be a good young killer. However, it turned out that he was
wrong. Tie Linglong's heart was full of hate, and she could not control the
power, just like now. Ever since entering Shu-lik City, she had been
desperately working to practice the sword art, completely without a killer's
calmness.
Perhaps this was not a problem with Tie Linglong and Chu Nanping. Gu
Shenwei thought that maybe it was his training method that was improper. He
had not experienced the basic training of the Carvewood Academy. This
missing segment could not be made up anyway, and it was more impossible
to teach to others.
He did not ask Tie Linglong what went wrong; he did not even know how to
phrase himself. In the killer's opinion, being occasionally controlled by
vengeful hatred might be a good thing.
Fang Wenshi was anxiously waiting for the Dragon King. After hearing of
the three borrowed-blade murder plans, he became extremely confused and
said, "This… is such a coincidence."
Gu Shenwei could not help but thought that if it was Zhang Ji, he would
definitely be able to see through the hidden plots at once. "No, it's probably
not coincidental and actually logical."
"What do you mean?"
"If you want to kill someone and don't want to be exposed, there is only one
way to do it and that is to put the blame on others. Hence, the 'others' would
be better off having an adequate motive to kill."
Fang Wenshi was gradually realizing. He could see the world's general
picture, but he had never been qualified to participate in a specific scheme. In
this regard, he reacted slowly. "You are the Snow Mountain Dragon King, the
enemy of Shu-lik. So, of course, Prime Minister Shi would use you to murder
to king; you are the killer Yang Huan, the sworn enemy of Golden Roc Fort,
so of course Shangguan Hong would use you to kill his brother; you've sent
Prime Minister Shi heads and became enemies of him, that's why Moyang
use you to kill his rival. After each party achieves their goals, they will all put
the blame on you. Even if anyone suspects otherwise, no one would discover
anything."
Gu Shenwei nodded. Great Snowmountain was still too weak, and the killer
Yang Huan was just a small fish that Golden Roc Fort let slip through its net.
Everyone thought he was disposable.
"What to do? We have to choose one, especially Prime Minister Shi and
Moyang, these two people's requirements are opposites. However, both
would benefit Great Snowmountain. It's more or less good news."
"I have all agreed."
"What… what are you going to do?"
"Accomplish everyone's goals and then achieve mine."
Gu Shenwei had a partially organized plan in his mind. The core of a

conspiracy was not whether it would succeed or fail, but who had the right to
be in control. In that way, even if the conspiracy failed, the mastermind
behind the scenes would benefit from it. Gu Shenwei had suffered from it
before and had a deep understanding of this.
He wanted to seize back control.

Chapter 263 - Three Plans
Chapter 263: Three Plans
In early August, the second round of the Breaking Obsession was conducted.
The sky was clear, and Prime Minister Shi performed divination for the
guests in his mansion. Mo Yang was flipping through an almanac from the
Central Plains. Shangguan Hong had drawn a mark in front of the small
Buddha statue that was in the house. They found that all things were going
well today and it would continue to be a perfect day.
Gu Shenwei got up early and put on clothes from his entourage. He also put
on make-up and a disguise with the help of Tie Linglong. He also carefully
hid his saber. Then, he sat down and carefully thought of his plan. All plans
have the possibility of failure and the risks would increase exponentially for
every added accident.
He did not beg the spirits because he felt that he had already minimized the
risks.
Fang Wenshi did not know what the details of the Dragon King's plan was,
but there was a sense of ominousness in his heart. However, he calmed down
before he departed as he had a well thought-out plan. He believed that even if
there was interference due to personal grievances, he could still persuade the
King of Shu-lik.
As usual, Chu Nanping dressed fancily and could not understand why
everyone was so interested in his appearance that he often had to cover up.
His sword was the thing that he cared the most about.
Xu Xiaoyi knew a bit more about Brother Huan's plans. His worries had also
deepened. Brother Huan was always rescued from desperate situations, but
nobody knew which desperate situation would be the last time. He looked at
Chu Nanping, the beautiful youth that had turned into an ordinary person. He
felt that there were some words that he had to say.
Then, he carefully ripped off the fake beard around his lips while he frowned,
"I look like this without a beard."
Chu Nanping personally kept his long sword hidden. Chu Nanping was
surprised by Xu Xiaoyi's sudden obedience, even though Xu Xiaoyi had only
done something simple. Looking at Xiaoyi's appearance, it seemed like life-
and-death had no boundaries.
"It will be fine. You should just stay back."
"You're not angry with me?"
"I don't know." Chu Nanping said truthfully. He was never that good at
analyzing emotions. "But I am very happy."
Xu Xiaoyi smiled and carefully stuck his beard back on.
The only unhappy person was Tie Linglong. "Why can't I go, haven't I killed
anyone? Are my machete skills not good enough?"
If she was a killer, she would not ask these pointless questions. Gu Shenwei
thought for a while and patiently explained, "This operation does not require
you. You have your own mission."
Tie Linglong pursed her lips and quickly retracted her words. She did not
want to look like a child, but the Dragon King's explanation was the same as
if he didn't say anything at all, so she was very upset.
A group of people from the Great Snowmountain entered the palace after
going through detailed inspections.
Fang Wenshi apologized to the Officials the day before. The Great
Snowmountain prepared gifts for the King of Shu-lik, but it had been
delayed. They had just arrived and could only offer it before the second
round of the Breaking Obsession.
The gifts included a number of silks, gold and silver jades, spices, and twenty
handsome boys and girls.
The venue for the second round of Breaking Obsession was changed back to
the main hall. There were also fewer ministers involved. There were only a
dozen of them, and their leader was still Moyang.
Before the formal debate, the messenger of the Great Snowmountain read out
the list of gifts. The list was very long, so he brought in one of his followers.
Gu Shenwei was holding a roll of map that had a dagger hidden inside it.
This was an ancient strategy that will prove its effectiveness once again.
As for the other weapons, they were hidden in a box that was guarded by Chu
Nanping. When he hears the signal, he would rush in with it.
Prime Minister Shi was the first to recognize the true identity of his follower
and immediately turned his face to nod in agreement with the other ministers.
Moyang soon saw through the disguise of the killer and stared at him for a
while. Gu Shenwei pretended to look at the items that was held in his hand
and nodded at the military counselor.
Three borrowed blade murder plans. Everyone had been informed of a set of
plans by Gu Shenwei:
Prime Minister Shi thought that the Dragon King would carry out his plans at
the end of the Breaking Obsession. After killing the king, he would take
Prime Minister Shi as a hostage and demand all of their guards to withdraw
and simultaneously take away the letter of commitment.
The plan that Moyang had heard of was a completely different version. After
the end of the Breaking Obsession, the Dragon King would be among the
teenagers who were sent as gifts and secretly stay in the palace to assassinate
Prime Minister Shi. If it was successful, the news would immediately reach
his ears.
As for Shangguan Hong, the only thing he knows is that Slave Huan will start
sooner or later, but the time and place were not clear to him.
The eunuch announced the start of the Breaking Obsession.
Fang Wenshi felt that something was going to happen in the main hall, but
his task was to persuade the King of Shu-lik as much as he can. He didn't
have time to think about other things. The scholar coughed twice and walked
towards the king and the ministers, to pay his respect. "Balance of the
Western Region is the most important matter for the Shu-lik country. The
Central Plains and the Norlands, regardless of which country are the largest,
would swallow up the Shu-lik. A storm is coming, and each party is just
lacking the suitable excuses and opportunities. It is the biggest opportunity to
change the balance of power for Shangguan Fa to claim the throne. Today,
the best way to delay his claim to the throne is to cut the weeds and dig up its
roots, and exterminate the Golden Roc Fort."
Fang Wenshi stopped and waited for the ministers to refute. As a result, no
one spoke. It seemed that everyone already knows the results of today's
meeting and there was no need for unnecessary arguments. Fang Wenshi's
heart sunk slightly, but he quickly adjusted his mindset and continued to say,
"While the three countries are big, they have mutual jealousy and have no
choice but to prepare themselves. Anyone who attacks the Jade City will
retaliate against the other two parties. Among them, the Shu-lik is the
weakest. As long as one single solder enters the boundaries of Jade City, it
will cause the Central Plains army to march, which is the best outcome."
Shangguan Tian exchanged half of the land of the Jade City for the Shu-lik
country to send troops. This was the plan that Moyang would use to persuade
the King of Shu-lik. Fang Wenshi refuted in advance, but Moyang still does
not speak. Instead, a black-faced minister was instructed to get up and say,
"What the Mister said was grand but it would be for naught. Since he is a
messenger of the Great Snowmountain, he does not need to care about other
countries' affairs. Just talk about the Great Snowmountain."
Fang Wenshi smiled and shook his head. "A country's life and death are often
determined by other countries. Without seeking outside help, how does one
protect themselves? However, it is true that I should talk about the Great
Snowmountain. You must think that this Fang is very strange, the Great
Snowmountain and the Golden Roc Fort are currently feuding. The
grievances cannot be washed away like melted snow that easily. Why does he
want the Shu-lik to send troops to attack? Although there are thousands of
miles of in the Great Snowmountain area, it is snowy all the year round. It is
not suitable for human habitation. It is nothing more than a wedding dress for
Golden Roc Fort. In the case of defeat, it would be a laugh for the world."
The black-faced minister felt that he was being provoked and got up again.
"The Snowmountain Gang is nothing but a small group. How dare they think
that they can defeat the Shu-lik? Snowmountain swordsmen are barbaric and
rude. They often steal the livestock and loot the citizens of our country. The
Shu-lik are constantly besieged by the Great Snowmountain. It is not wise to
open our border. It's designed to protect our land and our people."
Fang Wenshi opened his hands and said, "Then it would be much simpler.
The Great Snowmountain is bent on seeking revenge against the Golden Roc
Fort. Why not lend a path and let the two sides fight decisively?"
"Sounds good, but nobody knows if the Great Snowmountain has any ulterior
motives. As soon as the Shu-lik country lends a path, it would be the same as
letting a wolf into the room." The black-faced minister was determined to
answer the question.
"Hehe, this Fang remembers that someone said that the Shu-lik country has
500,000 soldiers during the last Breaking Obsession. Why would you be
afraid of 10,000 swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain? To say the least,
a swordsman relies on their own roots and can't compete with the brave
soldiers of Shu-lik. Once they leave the Great Snowmountain, former allies
are no longer reinforcements. Food and fodder are controlled by the Shu-lik,
which is the most important thing in the hearts of the people. Therefore, they
are more afraid of the Shu-lik country being dishonest and retaliating."
The black-faced minister sneered. "Do you think our Shu-lik is like the
Golden Roc Fort, treacherous and unscrupulous?"
"Well said. Treacherous and unscrupulous. These words are engraved on the
gates of Golden Roc Fort. Surely you don't mean that the great Shu-lik
country is working for the Supreme King, right?"
The two men were at loggerheads with each other and attracted everyone's
attention in the hall. Only Prime Minister Shi seemed to be uninterested. He
looked indifferent and occasionally yawned. He was the younger brother of
King of Shu-lik. He did not pay much attention to the Breaking Obsession
ceremony. Just as it reached its climax, he seemed to have remembered
something very important. The eunuch who was rushing to the king nodded
and sneaked out behind the ministers.
Gu Shenwei received hints from Prime Minister Shi's eyes.
Moyang has been staring at Fang Wenshi, but he kept Prime Minister Shi
within his peripheral vision and suddenly said, "Prime Minister Shi, what do
you think?"
Fang Wenshi was arguing with the black-faced minister, both going back and
forth with their arguments. They could only pause and feel uncomfortable.
Prime Minister Shi was still more than ten steps away from the entrance of
the main hall and stopped embarrassedly to say, "Hey, this Great
Snowmountain messenger is recommended by me. It's better to avoid
unfounded suspicions. The views of the ministers are the same as my views."
Moyang took advantage of his status as the military counselor, not caring
about etiquette. He walked over and grabbed the sleeves of Prime Minister
Shi. Moyang took him back to his original place. "This is a national event,
there are no suspicions. As a country's prime minister, it is always necessary
to say a few words in regards to the Great Snowmountain that has asked to
borrow our roads to attack the Golden Roc Fort. Is this appropriate or
inappropriate?"
Prime Minister Shi was unhappy and broke free from Moyang's hands.
"Lending a path is not going to be a problem, but the five peaks of the Great
Snowmountain have only joined hands for a mere few months. It is still at the
beginning of its creation. It seems that they are not worthy opponents of the
Golden Roc Fort, and the Shu-lik has no reason to offend its neighbors."
Fang Wenshi was prepared for this. He raised his finger and pointed in the
direction of the area that is northwest of the Great Snowmountain. "The
10,000 swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain faced the soldiers of Shu-lik
in three wars and won all three wars. They do not fear nor are concerned of
your 500,000 man army, not to mention the jianghu. It has been three years
since my leader, the Dragon King has forsaken the darkness for the light. The
Golden Roc Fort is called the strongest killer organization in the Western
Region, but it has never been able to harm the Dragon King. The Dragon
King is familiar with the inside and outside of the Golden Roc Fort. One
blow is sure to win. What he lacked in the past was only the manpower. Now
with numerous swordsmen and soldiers, how are we not the opponent of the
Golden Roc Fort? "
Gu Shenwei blushed at Fang Wenshi's boasting. The killer did not care about
lying but he was not used to boasting. The counselor was the opposite, telling
lies would cause his face and ears to redden. However, he was poised when
exaggerating his master's strength.
"Please allow this Fang to demonstrate the situation of Shu-lik country's

eastern borders and the topography of the Jade City to His Majesty. Bring me
the map," Fang Wenshi ordered.
This was the moment that Gu Shenwei had been waiting for.
Prime Minister Shi pretended to make way and took a few steps away. He
kept his distance from Moyang.
Gu Shenwei spread the map on the ground and stepped back slowly.
The map was getting more and more complete, the scrolls were getting
smaller and smaller. The ministers were watching intently, and the King of
Shu-lik was also sat up straight.
"The checkpoint here…"
The most important act in Fang Wenshi's life ends here.
Gu Shenwei pulled out the dagger and rushed to the target of assassination.
Before anyone cried out alarmingly, the mission has been completed.
At the same time, there was a loud noise outside the hall. A group of people
wanted to rush in and clashed with the temple guards.
Gu Shenwei had only one thing left to do, to ensure the safety of himself and
his military counselor.
Chapter 264 - Murder in the Hall
Chapter 264: Murder in the Hall
The King of Shu-lik fell in a pool of blood. The killer stood before the throne
and lifted the dagger that was still dripping with blood. He then kicked the
eunuch down the steps.
At that moment, everything within the main hall froze and everyone stood
still. The first person to react was Prime Minister Shi. He had been waiting
for this moment and instead of being in accordance with the agreement of
"taking the initiative" to be a hostage, he ran out of the hall hurriedly.
Fang Wenshi was the second to react. The Dragon King had carried out the
worst one out of the three borrowed blade murders. However, the scholar did
not have a choice, his life was linked to this bloodthirsty killer. Thus, he
could only follow his movements and ran towards the throne in a panic.
The eunuch who was kicked to the ground was in utter confusion. He felt as
if someone had run past him and hugged the enemy's legs while shouting,
"Protect His Majesty." It was Fang Wenshi who was randomly shuffling
around and pretending to stop the assailant.
More than ten ministers circled around. They were screaming like women
and had lost all their senses. Moyang was stunned. He stared at the killer for a
while before suddenly turning around and pointed at Prime Minister Shi, who
was running away. "It's you! Prime Minister Shi killed the King! Prime
Minister Shi killed the King!"
The six temple guards rushed in with long axes. When they heard Moyang's
words, they were at a loss and didn't know who to attack.
Prime Minister Shi stood in front of the doors. He grabbed his clothes with
one hand and pointed at Moyang with the other. "The military counselor is
the mastermind, kill him!"
The killer was still standing in front of the corpse of the King of Shu-lik,
holding the weapon in his hand. However, he only got a little amount of
attention. Both parties were anxious to push the crime as the mastermind of
the regicide onto the other party, completely ignoring the existence of the
actual killer.
A group of guards of more than 30 people ran in from the outside of the hall,
holding scimitars. They rushed in without saying a word and cut down the
guards holding the axes. They then stood in front of Prime Minister Shi,
waiting for his orders.
The scene became more and more chaotic, and the timid ministers looked
around for places to hide. Moyang used all his strength to yell, "Someone
come! Someone come!"
There was another group of people that rushed into the main hall before the
guards who were protecting Prime Minister Shi established their footing.
These people took the advantage of the disorder and came in through the gaps
of the chaos. Some were standing on the steps leading up to the throne, while
holding their blades with its edge facing outwards. They even managed to
save the drowning mouse, Fang Wenshi.
Chu Nanping brought more than a dozen teenagers and arrived just in time.
He threw a saber at the Dragon King that stood before the throne while
holding a long sword himself.
Half of the 20 teenagers who came from the Great Snowmountain were
killers that received secret training from Gu Shenwei for two years. This was
the first time that they were brought into the spotlight. Some were excited,
some were nervous, and some were even trembling.
"Kill the rebel party." Prime Minister Shi shouted with a shaking voice, but
his expression was fierce.
The guards brandished their blades and were about to act. Suddenly, sounds
of drums came from outside the main hall along with uniformed shouting. It
was an obvious gathering of troops.
Prime Minister Shi's face suddenly changed, and the guards around him also
looked around and paused.
A general clad in full armor strode into the main hall. There were nearly 200
soldiers that followed him from behind and surrounded everyone. "Protect
His Majesty! Protect His Majesty!" the general commanded.
The eunuch reacted like he was seeing his parents for the first time in a while.
He kneeled on the ground and crawled towards the general, crying, "Your
Royal Highness, you just missed it. His Majesty has been assassinated."
Prime Minister Shi was thoroughly shocked. He had clearly sent someone to
monitor the Prince. While the action was taken on this side, an assassin had
also been planted to assassinate the Prince on the other side. How is it
possible for His Highness to be in the main hall with all of these soldiers? It
was too late to think about such pressing matters, thus Prime Minister Shi
immediately went beside the Prince, full of grief and said, "Nephew, the
Great Snowmountain's assassin was instructed by Moyang to assassinate my
royal brother, His Majesty. You have come at the right time, you must
avenge my royal brother. "
Moyang was filled with indignation and shivered. "Such slander, the people
from the Great Snowmountain are endorsed by you. How could it be that I
incited them?"
"The night before, you met with the Dragon King of the Great Snowmountain
secretly in your countryside manor. Was this not true? I thought you were
merely blackmailing him, but I didn't expect it to be…" Prime Minister Shi
was extremely invested in his acting, sobbing profusely and unable to speak
any further.
The prince held his scimitar and screamed, "Everyone shut up!" He then
glanced at the assassin who was still standing in front of the throne.
"Everyone put down your weapons."
The teenagers brought by Gu Shenwei were not calm and collected enough.
All of them put down their blades one by one. The only one who still held
onto his sword was Chu Nanping.
The prince pointed at the guards behind the prime minister and commanded.
"You too."
The guards looked at each other and no one disarmed.
Prime Minister Shi said, "Your Highness, they are my people. The assassins'
kungfu is extremely strong, so they can be very helpful."
The Prince was unwaveringly cold. As more than 200 soldiers advanced at
the same time, Prime Minister Shi thought about the matter in his heart
before looking back to his guards and saying, "lay them down."
The guards obeyed and laid down their scimitars. They looked very hesitant
and looked at each other.
Aside from the Prince and the guards, there were only two people in the
entire main hall that were still holding their weapons, Gu Shenwei and Chu
Nanping.
"You are the Great Snowmountain's Dragon King?" the prince asked quietly.
"Yes, that's me."
"You have no way to escape."
"Right."
"Who is the true culprit?"
Both Prime Minister Shi and Moyang listened diligently because the words of
the Dragon King would determine who won and who lost, or who lived and
who died.
"Golden Roc Fort."

The Dragon King's answer was not what everyone expected. Even Fang
Wenshi looked back at him with uncertainty.
"There are no people here that are from Golden Roc Fort here," the Prince
said. As a man whose father had just died, he seemed unusually calm.
"He is," Gu Shenwei said as he pointed to someone among the guards of

Prime Minister Shi. "Second Young Master Shangguan Tian, this is the end
of the matter, reveal yourself."
The guard panicked and said, "I am not." After saying this, he made a fatal
mistake and unconsciously turned his head to ask for help, hoping to get a
hint.
This group of guards looked around several times. Gu Shenwei had roughly
guessed which person was Shangguan Tian. This lost guard gave him the
final piece of evidence. Only the Dragon King had noticed it at first, but now
everyone else has also turned their attention to his unattractive face.
"Are you sure?" the Prince pulled out his scimitar.
"Yes, it was Moyang who told me."
Moyang had received unwarranted accusations repeatedly, and he could

hardly say anything. He pointed at the Dragon King and trembled for a
moment before saying, "You are talking nonsense, I don't know Shangguan
Tian was here. He, he should not be here, we agreed on this."
"What did you say?" Gu Shenwei immediately asked.
"I… you… what the hell is going on?" Moyang suddenly felt that something
was wrong, the Dragon King was too calm, and the Prince was also too calm.
"I ordered you to answer this question." A majestic voice sounded behind Gu
Shenwei.
The King of Shu-lik stood up while covered in blood.
The crowd was completely shocked. Most of the people in the main hall were
kneeling down after the Prince kneeled down. Even the soldiers were of no
exception. Only Gu Shenwei remained standing instead of kneeling. By his
side, Chu Nanping was also not kneeling and stood guard beside the Dragon
King.
"Moyang, obey the royal command," said the King of Shu-lik. Although his
clothes were bloody, he did not lose his aura as an emperor.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I… I took Shangguan Tian's money and promised to

persuade Your Majesty to attack Golden Roc Fort."
The next thing happened very quickly, and many people even wondered what
had happened at the time.
The guard flew out and threw himself at the Prince who was not so far away
from him, with a dagger in his hand.
Chu Nanping reacted at the same time as he did, and stabbed with his long
sword. The two immediately exchanged three or four moves before
separated.
Twenty of the 30 or so guards quickly picked up their scimitars from the

ground, and the soldiers armed with halberds swarmed. The main hall was
once again in complete chaos. Chu Nanping wanted to fight Shangguan Tian
properly, but he was nowhere to be found.
The chants of "protect His Majesty, protect His Majesty" came and went, as
everyone wanted to be in front of the throne. But they interfered with each
other and caused even more confusion among themselves.
The prince rushed to the side of his father, blocking the front and commanded
the soldiers to prepare for battle.
The bloody battle lasted for about a quarter of an hour. In the end, the main
hall was covered in a layer of blood. There were dozens of corpses laid and
spread all around.
"There is no Shangguan Tian." After the soldiers quickly counted the bodies,
they reported to the King of Shu-lik. "The Dragon King is also gone."
"Shangguan Tian is here." With that voice, a human head flew in from
outside the main hall. It rolled on the ground a few times before hitting one of
the corpses and stopped.
Some people recognized that this was the head of that guard. A soldier
grabbed and picked up the head, wiped it a few times, and then wiped off the
disguise before presenting it to the King of Shu-lik and the Prince.
"Is it him?" asked the King of Shu-lik.
"Yes," Moyang replied weakly.
At the beginning of the battle, Prime Minister Shi lied down behind the
pillars and started crawling towards the throne. "Royal brother, you are not
dead. This is good. This is so good. It's all thanks to the Prince who saw
through Moyang's schemes."
"Moyang's schemes? How can Shangguan Tian and those from the Golden
Roc Fort become your guards?" Within the tone of the voice of the King of
Shu-lik, there was an unbearable wrath.
"Royal brother, listen to me. I was framed. I don't know anything. I

thought… "
"Take him away, don't let me see his face again," King of Shu-lik said
disgustedly.
Several soldiers arrested Prime Minister Shi and walked outside of the main
hall. Prime Minister Shi wanted to ask for mercy, but his mind was in a mess.
He didn't understand how that killer designed this play with the King of Shu-
lik. The palace was filled with his eyes and ears. The details of the guards
that he gave the Dragon King were also not entirely true, and it was
absolutely impossible to sneak into the palace unnoticed.
"Where is the Dragon King?" It was not just Prime Minister Shi, but the King
of Shu-lik was also curious about his whereabouts.
Fang Wenshi was protected by Chu Nanping, but he was shocked since he
could only be the mastermind on paper. The scene of the killing really
happened in front of him and he could not stand it. However, the counselor's
dream supported him as he stood in the midst of the confusion and said, "The
Dragon King has left, and everything involving the Great Snowmountain will
be under my responsibility."
Although there was no clear explanation that was given to him in advance,
Fang Wenshi believed that this was the task that the Dragon King has given
to him.
"Let's have a talk in the royal study room." After King of Shu-lik finished, he
turned and left. The eunuch followed him closely from behind, like a dog that
had just jumped out of the water.
The prince stayed behind to clean up the mess in the main hall. The ministers
understood something and they stood in front of him to express their loyalty.
The Prince pushed the ministers aside and said to Moyang, "Shangguan Tian
gave you a lot of money, just go home with this money as your pension."
Moyang understood. He had saved his own life, but his authority had been
reduced to ashes. However, like Prime Minister Shi, he didn't understand
exactly how this little Snowmountain Gang chieftain was able to meet with
the King and the Prince.
During the first Breaking Obsession, Gu Shenwei once met with the King of
Shu-lik, and he immediately noticed that the eyes of the king were green.
Although there were many blond haired and blue eyed barbarians in the
Western Regions, green eyes were extremely rare.
Chapter 265 - Scandal
Chapter 265: Scandal
It was purely by chance that Gu Shenwei had managed to locate Tie

Hanfeng's granddaughter as well as being able to save her life.
Three years ago, Xu Xiaoyi and Chu Nanping were captured in the Stone
Castle. At that time, Gu Shenwei already made the resolve to defect and he
decided to make some preparations in advance. So after rescuing the two, he
immediately sent them to the Shu-lik country overnight. This move was later
proven to be correct. When Shen Liang regained power and wanted to
capture the witnesses again, he could not find any clues that remained in Jade
City.
No one could think that an ordinary killer would have so much money.
Golden Roc Fort had never investigated into this matter.
The pair of good friends came to Shu-lik City with childish appearances.
They were carrying large stacks of silver notes, which amounted to more than
one million taels. No one would dare to cash in too many silver notes in an
unfamiliar place, as they would inevitably feel fearful.
Xu Xiaoyi decided to start from the field he was most familiar with. He
brought Chu Nanping along with him and they both went to the square of the
Shu-lik City brothel, where he had spent half a year there, and enjoyed all the
happiness that gold and silver could buy.
While Xu Xiaoyi was indulging himself, Chu Nanping was practicing his
swordcraft in the yard. The strange thing was that he was not influenced at
all, as his state of mind was pure. The Hope Alley where he used to live was
not a paradise. The sensual pleasures did not appeal to the youth swordsman's
emotionless heart at all.
After disappearing for half a year, Yang Huan, the killer who flew out of the
Stone Castle on a Giant Red-crowned Roc, had re-emerged in the jianghu and
had challenged the Golden Roc killers at several locations. The horrifying
legends that spawned from it had reached all the way to Shu-lik City and it
became the main topic of gossips. Everyone was more interested in the Man-
eating Demon Bird and felt that the killer had been relying on its power to
survive up until now.
Only Xu Xiaoyi was afraid of the killer. He was so frightened that, on that
same day, he moved out of the brothel and took out the remaining silver notes
to count. He realized that he couldn't explain his indulgent behavior to his
Brother Huan, but it was a good thing that he became very familiar with the
ins and outs of Shu-lik City. He was confident enough that, if he started a
business, then he would earn back the initial investments and earn even more
profits within one year. However, this was not enough. He reorganized all the
information he had heard during his time in the brothel, mainly because he
felt that Brother Huan would be very interested in his intelligence gathering;
this explanation should be enough to temporarily deal with this issue.
Not long afterward, someone really came to find Xu and Chu to give them a
designated location to go and see "an old acquaintance".
Xu Xiaoyi felt uneasy as he went there, because he did not want to mention
about the money. He threw out the collected intelligence, including the gossip
of the King of Shu-lik's love affair that was circulating within small areas of
the brothel industry.
It was said that the King of Shu-lik was once privately served by a famous
prostitute, who even gave birth to an illegitimate child. The mother of the
famous prostitute was also very famous. In the early years, she had moved
from Jade City to this local area. Her name was Zi Linglong.
This name flashed in Gu Shenwei's mind until Xu Xiaoyi kept saying an

assortment of random information. He suddenly remembered. "Didn't Master
Shifu Tie Hanfeng previously say something about having affectionate
memories for a woman with that name?"
Gu Shenwei was very interested in this matter despite being unclear in his
thoughts about it. He did not believe in the gossip about the King of Shu-lik.
Prostitutes often made up some stories to raise their own prices. Actually, Xu
Xiaoyi did not believe it either. The only reason he said it was in order to
make his intelligence appear "important".
Xu Xiaoyi received instructions to continue to snoop around for news of this

Zi Linglong pair of mother and daughter.
Zi Linglong had already passed away. The daughter had been a prostitute for
a while. Later she married a good man. There was indeed a daughter who had
been hiding in the house all the year round. None of the neighbors had seen
much of this little lady. They only knew that she was named Tie Linglong,
which did not follow her father's surname.
Xu Xiaoyi really couldn't find out anything else. This family was ordinary. In
his opinion, it was impossible to have a relationship with the royal family.
Just when he was about to give up, this ordinary family encountered an
unusual misfortune: At night, a group of bandits had broken in and they
killed the husband and wife as well as many servants. They also captured the
little girl.
Xu Xiaoyi smelled the scent of a conspiracy. He became extremely excited

and investigated everywhere. Finally, he found out that it was not a simple
burglary. The objective of the bandits was clear, that was, to kill. The little
girl should have been killed, but this group was very unprofessional. They
failed to live up to the trust of the employer by kidnapping the little girl with
the aim of selling her to human traffickers for an even larger sum of money.
Subsequently, the second group of bandits was hired and were given the
order to chase and kill the human trafficker and all the slaves, and to not
leave anyone alive. There was no specific mention of the little girl. The
bandits were very dedicated. When they had almost completed the task, they
were interrupted by the killer who had arrived just in time.
Xu Xiaoyi had not figured out who the mastermind was behind the scenes.
As for Tie Linglong, she believed that her own biological parents had been
killed, but her knowledge of the reasons was not clear.
Gu Shenwei did not bother to find her enemies for her because it was Tie
Linglong's own business. She should have hatred in her heart so that she
would grow into a real killer and then avenge herself.
It was not until when he saw that the King of Shu-lik also had green eyes,
when he realized that the little girl who he had rescued on a whim might have
helped save his life. The rumors of the King privately visiting the brothels
may have been true after all. These three borrowed blade murders were the
reasons for Gu Shenwei's discovery.
Xu Xiaoyi had not been able to provide more information. Gu Shenwei

seriously asked Tie Linglong for the first time, "Why do you follow your
grandfather's surname if you have a father?"
Tie Linglong couldn't explain since she had only seen her parents and two or
three servants until she was ten years old. She wouldn't know how strange it
was to not follow her father's surname, so she never questioned it. She only
knew from her mother's words that her grandfather was a well-known killer
who was living in Jade City.
Her childhood memories were a complete blur. Under Gu Shenwei's

guidance, Tie Linglong tried hard to remember, and then she finally
remembered a small detail during that ordinary life. When she was five or six
years old, there was a young man with the same green eyes who often visited
her. This person claimed to be her "brother" and had given her many gifts for
about a year, and this "brother" never came back again.
On the day before the second assembly, Gu Shenwei and Xu Xiaoyi

purposefully mined for intelligence and quickly pieced together the following
facts: The eyes of King of Shu-lik and the Prince were all green, but Prime
Minister Shi's eyes were not the same. He had the same parents as the king,
but his appearance was quite different. The mother of the King of Shu-lik
came from a distant western country; hence his appearance was very different
from the locals of the Shu-lik country.
There were too many eyes and ears of the prime minister around the King of
Shu-lik. Thus, Gu Shenwei decided to start with the Prince to break the
balance of the three plots.
The Prince had always been wary of his uncle, Prime Minister Shi. The
people around him had been chosen by thousands of people to ensure that
they were not part of his uncle's surveillance network. Xu Xiaoyi sent a letter
to the Prince through personal contacts to set up a meeting with him that
night. There was only one sentence in the letter: "Green-eyed sister wants to
see her brother."
Gu Shenwei came to the appointed place with Tie Linglong, and the little girl
could not recognize the "brother" in a hood. After a while, she was ordered to
conduct a safety patrol outside.
The prince confessed to the Dragon King that the King of Shu-lik had an
affair with Tie Linglong's mother. This caused a stir in the palace, although it
didn't take long to subside. The king didn't even know that he had an
illegitimate daughter outside the palace.
A few years later, the Queen had heard some rumors and ordered the Prince
to investigate. The Prince found that he had a younger sister. He had not told
his mother and he also had not disclosed it to his father. Instead, he had
secretly taken care of the family and had warned them not to let the daughter
appear in front of any outsiders.
After a few more years, the Queen had heard from other sources that there
was a little girl with green eyes in the city. The mother was that shameless
woman. Hence, she had been so angry that she hired two assassins to cut
down the weeds and dig out its roots. By the time the Prince discovered this,
it was too late to stop it.
This was Tie Linglong's life story. Gu Shenwei also revealed some secrets,
and after a discussion with the Prince, they reached an agreement: The Prince
would help the Dragon King borrow a tool for the Great Snowmountain.
After that, he would prepare the proper arrangements for his sister to protect
her from all harms again. Lastly, the Dragon King must keep Tie Linglong's
existence a secret and not spread out this royal scandal.
It was not an easy task to accuse two of the most important ministers of being
treacherous as well as convincing the King of Shu-lik to believe any of that.
The Prince secretly entered the palace to persuade the king to act out a play.
This scene did not meet the requirements of royal etiquette, but it was the
quickest way to obtain evidence.
In this way, everything went according to plan. Gu Shenwei killed

Shangguan Tian in the chaos, and then left the palace at the moment when the
guards left their posts, so as to prevent the king and the prince from wanting
to kill.
He didn't go back to his place of residence, and he didn't see anyone. He left
Shu-lik City and left the finishing touches to Fang Wenshi. He wanted to
return to the Great Snowmountain as soon as possible in order to lead the
swordsmen to make a surprise attack before Golden Roc Fort was fully
prepared.
He had to meet someone in a small inn, which was a dozen miles away from
Shu-lik City.
The killers in the Golden Roc security agency suddenly disappeared.

Shangguan Hong knew that what he had expected would happen. Thus, he
took all the money, took a horse, and lied about going out on a stroll. In fact,
he quickly made his escape from Shu-lik City.
Shangguan Tian and the people in the security agency did not take this
Master Hong seriously, but Gu Shenwei wanted to talk with him.
Shangguan Hong had not yet left the city very far before he was stopped by
five Great Snowmountain swordsmen. He had never received training in
high-level kung fu, thus his skills were not as good as an ordinary
macheteman. After two or three moves, he was dragged down from his horse
and was kidnapped away to the small inn, where they waited for the Dragon
King to come and interrogate him.
Pressed for time, Gu Shenwei pulled out a saber as soon as he entered the
house. He understood the nature of Master Hong and did not intend to beat
around the bush. "Shangguan Tian is already dead."
"Yes." Shangguan Hong's brain did not turn on for a moment, and he thought
that he was an accomplice to Slave Huan and did not understand the threat in
this sentence.
"Your surname is Shangguan, I have to kill you."
Shangguan Hong smiled. This was not a calm smile, but a tacit smile. "Mister
Zhang reminded me to tell you. "Why do you want to kill Master Hong? He
is your most useful ally within Golden Roc Fort.' Really, Slave Huan, I am
willing to help you. You want revenge, and I… have little ambition. The
people of Shangguan family are really just obstacles to me."
Shangguan Hong was an obedient person. Sometimes he was too obedient.

Gu Shenwei thought about it, he felt that Zhang Ji was also playing the trick
of killing a person with a borrowed blade and simply did not want Master
Hong to return to Golden Roc Fort alive.
The old-fashioned Zhang Ji hid his true purpose deeply. Gu Shenwei was
unable to think for a while, but he did not want to become a scapegoat for
anyone, so he placed the saber on Shangguan Hong's shoulder. "You may be
useful, but you have to give me some leverage so that I can believe you."
Shangguan Hong remembered many horrifying legends about the killings

made by Slave Huan and finally realized that the cold-headed youth was not a
slave who he was familiar with. He immediately said what Zhang Ji taught
him. "I, Zhang Ji and I arranged the plan that killed the Fifth Young Master,
Shangguan Yi. This is a secret that no one else knows."
Gu Shenwei had been paying attention to the movements of Golden Roc Fort.
He knew that Shangguan Yi had committed suicide a year ago. It was not
necessary to know whether or not it was related to Shangguan Hong. "This
secret is useless. Even if I said it out loud, it would cause the Supreme King
to like you even more."
The saber slightly tilted. The sharp edge of the blade cut through the fabric of
his clothes and on to his skin, which caused a small stream of fresh blood to
flow along the blade.
In Shangguan Hong's mind, Zhang Ji's predictions had always been accurate.
Why did it fail this time? Slave Huan should believe him, and even hug him,
"Wait, wait."
"OK."
"I have another secret."
Gu Shenwei just scared Master Hong a little, and he has already decided to
open his mouth to stay alive. He did not expect for him to squeeze out
another secret at all and said, "Speak."
"It's Lady Meng, she has a secret."Shangguan Hong looked straight at the
killer and completely forgot the differences between their past identities.
Chapter 266 - Divine Troops
Chapter 266: Divine Troops
Shangguan Hong had given up all the secrets and was held for many days
before he was released. After he had fled, the hatred in his heart for Slave
Huan became deeply rooted.
Gu Shenwei left with his unexpected gains. He had not found a way to utilize
this information. However, the most important thing that he had to do now
was to bring the over 1,000 swordsmen away from the Great Snow Mountain
as quickly as possible.
News of the peace talks between the Great Snow Mountain and Shu-lik had
not yet reached the frontlines. However, the troops of Shu-lik had received
orders to lie low for now. The Great Snow Mountain had also been strictly
following the orders left by the Dragon King before he had left the country.
The two sides maintained a tense peace.
The situation remained this way from the time when Gu Shenwei went
around the blockade and returned to the mountain pass via the small road.
The threats from the outside had been resolved, but those from within
remained.
Many things awaited the Dragon King's attention, and of them, a few were
particularly pressing.
First of all, several nearby groups of bandits had come to join in the activity.
They did not have clear motives. Some had a feud with the Golden Roc Fort
or Shu-lik while others wanted to fish in troubled waters. Yet others wanted
to find shelter in these times of trouble. These men offended the honest
sensibilities of the Snow Mountain swordsmen, who promptly chased them
away out of their own accord.
Secondly, there was a severe divide within the Great Snow Mountain. This
division had nothing to do with the feud with the Five Peaks. All the
swordsmen were debating about a single problem: whether they should leave
the Great Snow Mountain.
The old chief of Luoshen Peak, Long Qinying, was one of the loyal
supporters of the Dragon King. However, he did not want to leave, regardless
of whether he was alive or dead. "I'm old," he had said. He was deeply
apologetic towards the Dragon King who had rushed back under the night
sky. "My arms can lift a sword, but my legs can barely move. The Great
Snow Mountain is my home. I must die here."
There were many people who had the same mindset as Long Qinying. Most
of them were old swordsmen. The Five Peaks of the Great Snow Mountain
had only gathered about a thousand and two hundred people. These men
comprised about a third of the people. The remaining younger swordsmen
had not left their homes. They were all gripped in panic under the influence
of their elders. "If we were to leave now, we might never be able to come
back ever again." This was the thoughts of many of them.
Gu Shenwei had never thought that, at the most crucial juncture, their
sentimentality for their own hometown would defeat their desire for revenge.
He lived for revenge and would die for revenge. He could not understand
what these swordsmen were thinking about.
Gu Shenwei did not express his thoughts on the first day. He gathered the
other chiefs from the other four peaks. Everyone had discussed that, if they
were to attack the Golden Roc Fort, then the number of their troops must
exceed a thousand. Someone even suggested to forcibly abduct the Luoshen
tribe.
Finally, there was a matter of the state that Gu Shenwei could not decide was
big or small. However, it had been affecting many residents of the mountains
extensively.
A few months ago, Gu Shenwei had snatched away a blacksmith by the name
of Daga from the Shu-lik military camp. He had done it in order to forge even
more weapons. Daga had wanted a hundred jin of Wushan refined iron while
Xu Xiaoyi had sent a thousand jin.
Daga was originally a rather well-known blacksmith in Shu-lik. However,

because he had killed someone by accident, he had been cast out of the
country and sent to the borders. He continued his career in the military camp,
and his fame grew due to his high standards of workmanship.
Daga's obsession with iron and fire and his standards would not pale in
comparison with Chu Nanping's standards on swordcraft. He did not care
about who he was manufacturing weapons for. He would not stop working as
long as he had a furnace, anvil and other materials by his side.
Aside from a thousand jin of refined iron from Wushan, Daga had also asked
for a long list of items. He had specifically requested for materials that he
would have needed: charcoal from a certain country produced during a
certain month, clear waters from a certain part of a certain river, stones from
a certain hole and only the fats of a quencher. Also, he had chosen the wild
bison produced from the Great Snow Mountain and had specified that it had
to be male.
Xu Xiaoyi was stunned when he saw the list of items. However, he proved
his capabilities with his own actions. After a month of hurrying to and fro, he
had gathered all the materials that were required. Slowly, inch by inch, he
entered the Great Snow Mountain via the small road.
The blacksmith Daga was satisfied. This was all that he had dreamed of and
all his materials were laid out in front of him- not a single one was missing.
He started murmuring the words, "Every book has its own beauty," every day
dumbly like a nerd. It was as if a beautiful woman had appeared before him
when he had least expected it. His heart was joyful beyond what words could
describe.
He built a house in the hidden valley and led two disciples and several other
helpers to produce weapons during the day and night. Very soon, his
disciples and helpers had become acclimated to such tireless work. They took
turns to help each other out.
Daga had not caught a single wink of sleep. He wished to witness the birth of
his life's greatest masterpiece.
The first sword was scrapped. It could not even cut a burning piece of wood.
Daga threw it wordlessly into the furnace and immediately proceeded to the
greater phase of his work: creating nine swords simultaneously.
"Nine," he murmured this number repeatedly. "This is my favorite number.

It's a mysterious number. It's him. You will see it."
God knows who he had been talking to.
The two disciples were extremely afraid. The villagers from the mountains
who had been sent over to help the weapons production talked in hushed
tones among themselves. From bewilderment to panic, they gradually grew a
form of respect towards the process.
"The blacksmith is divine!" These words quickly spread throughout the Great
Snow Mountain at a speed that was faster than a galloping horse.
Also, because of a small incident that had occurred, the two disciples had
come to believe that their master was certainly someone who had attained
divine qualities.
Daga was a methodical blacksmith. He was extremely strict about where the
various materials were being placed. Hammers, anvils and other tools had to
be placed within reach. However, one day, one of his disciples had placed the
hammer in the wrong place. Daga had reached out for it, and when he didn't
find it, he turned around from his work and searched high and low all over
the whole place. It was only after he had spent a long time before he had
found the item.
From this episode, the two disciples discovered that their master had turned
blind.
This incident had happened when Gu Shenwei was hurrying towards Shu-lik.
Previously, he had only heard that the blacksmith's actions had become
stranger and stranger. Upon arriving at the Great Snow Mountain, someone
told him something weirder.
On a certain night, the valley where Daga had been working in suddenly
emitted a red light. The light raged and spurted like a long tongue reaching
for the heavens. On the second day, many claimed that they had witnessed
this incredible phenomenon. However, their testimonies were wildly
different; there were talks of gods, ghosts, and demons.
For the first time in several months, Daga walked out of the house and
proclaimed that the production of the weapons had been completed. "The
Dragon King will be the first person to see them." From then on, he sat at the
doorstep. He didn't eat; he only occasionally drank, with a mysterious smile
on his face.
More and more residents from the mountains became moved by this
phenomenon. A gradually number of residents joined the team that was
guarding the door. This was because there were rumors of people who
wanted to steal these nine magical weapons. These swords and blades have
become a big part of the Great Snow Mountain. They became a sacred part.
This incident happened three days ago. Gu Shenwei had many things to
resolve, however, this incident had been placed first. Already, there had been
many men and women of different ages guarding the valley to wait for the
Dragon King to examine the weapons.
This was a ceremony that was hastily organized. The five tribal chiefs had
already invited three warlocks from the deepest reaches of the mountains.
They had offered sacrifices to the Empyrean after the Dragon King's return.
There were nine horses, nine cows, nine sheep. Their blood spilled on the
snow that had not changed for years. Some were spread on the Dragon King's
naked body. Their flesh were cleanly burnt while their organs were buried
under the ground after a careful examination.
The warlocks announced that, after dawn the next day, they would deliver the
prophecies that were crucial to the Great Snow Mountain. Before that, the
Dragon King would receive the nine divine weapons.
Gu Shenwei could hardly touch his food all day long. The dried blood on his
body also remained uncleaned, and he tossed and turned in bed the whole
night. He was unable to sleep, so instead, he sat up in his tent and waited for
dawn to arrive. There was no metal weapon beside him. At the same time, the
villagers of the mountains were drinking wine as they wildly celebrated
around the fire.
Gu Shenwei did not think about whether this practice was credible or not. His
position as the Dragon King of the Great Snow Mountain was, to a large
degree, due to the villagers' fear and respect toward the Giant Red-crowned
Roc. He had to follow the customs of the locals.
The Golden Roc Fort did not believe in any faith. Hence, they were amassing
their troops at this very moment, in preparation for a great battle with the
Great Snow Mountain. That was all. Gu Shenwei did not want to keep
thinking about this issue.
In the later half of the night, five assassins secretly crept into the tent in the
hopes of assassinating the unarmed Dragon King. However, they were
ambushed. Four of them were killed while the final man was taken alive.
Gu Shenwei's suspicions were useful. The more than ten assassins had hidden
inside the tent. They could not bring weapons so they were holding wooden
sticks and oxen bones. Even so, the assassins tried to flee when they
discovered the ambush. This made them die even sooner.
The five assassins came from the bandit gang that they supported. The
swordsmen who learned about the killing flew into a rage. Before Gu
Shenwei had given out his orders, they had massacred almost half of the
bandits who had come from foreign places. Those who were still alive had
been tied up to await the Dragon King's judgment.
Following which, the five chiefs took turns to visit the Dragon King,
explaining to him the process of the ceremony and things to take note of.
In the early hours of the morning, there had already been over a thousand
people gathered within and outside the blacksmith's valley. Villagers from
distant mountains had also arrived one after another. Everyone had felt that
this must be the most important day of the Great Snow Mountain in many
years.
The viscous blood of the sheep and cattle formed a thick cake over the snow,
which created a visage of scorched earth. Gu Shenwei was extremely
uncomfortable. However, he felt compelled to hold his head high and his
back straight. He took solemn steps out of the tent and walked, while naked,
towards a peak in the vicinity of the blacksmith's valley. Over ten thousand
mountain villagers followed behind him.
The peak of the mountain was still covered with a thick layer of snow. Three
warlocks had started to wait at this spot since last night.
The first ray of sunlight lit the mountain peak and the warlocks prophesied in
unison. "The weapons given by the gods will cut the weapons of mortals. The
villagers of the Great Snow Mountain can leave their homeland. The heavens
are above. This order cannot be violated."
Each of the five peaks tribes chose a virgin and cleaned the blood stains on
the Dragon King's body with snow. Afterward, the five chiefs placed a black
robe over the Dragon King's body together.
Following which, the team was led by the blind blacksmith Daga and his
disciples. The eight elite swordsmen carried a large bucket and walked
through the thick crowd. They walked up to the mountain peak with the
bucket which was filled with the fat of wild bison and urine. The nine swords
were buried inside.
Gu Shenwei reached his hands into the wooden barrel and took out a sword
from inside. He said loudly: "The Luoshen sword is thick and heavy."
The Luoshen tribe's chief held out his own sword.
Gu Shenwei swung the sword downward with force. The sword in the
Luoshen chief's hands sharply broke. The crowds on the hillside who looked
on cheered in unison.
"The Danduo sword is big and sturdy."

"The Daxue sword is broad and wide."
"The Xiaoxue sword is refined and experienced."
"The Huagai sword is sharp and precise."
Gu Shenwei examined the sword of every single tribal chief. Cries of

adulation came from the hillside which grew louder. Even the elderly, women
and children had felt the calling of the gods. Their spirits were heavily
bolstered and they became determined to join the Dragon King in his fight
against the Golden Roc Fort.
"The Five Peaks Saber." Gu Shenwei raised the sixth military weapon. Its
design was exactly the same as that of the Golden Roc Fort's saber. "Drink
the blood of the enemy."
The swordsmen pushed the lone captured assassin through the crowds. He
landed before the Dragon King.
The assassin had become greatly disoriented by the wild crowd. He knelt
down obediently. He did not feel any pain at all when the saber pierced
through his heart.
The saber pierced deeply through him. It went in him so deeply that not a
single inch of the blade was left hanging out of him. The whole body of the
saber was soaked with fresh blood.
Gu Shenwei pulled out the Five Peaks Saber and planted it into the snow.
With both hands, he reached deep into the wooden barrel and took out two
knives which both had the same handles. "The left and right protective knives
will only protect the virtuous."
The last handle was a sword that was not more than three feet long and not
more than three inches wide. Gu Shenwei lifted it up high. His heart, which
had usually been closed, now seemed to be infected by a certain strength that
entered his body. This magnified his voice to be ten times louder for no
apparent reason at all.
"The Dragon King sword will taste its master's blood first." He then made a
small cut on his forearm.
The five chiefs took the lead. More than 10,000 villagers of the Great Snow
Mountain knelt down in rows. This was their custom of paying respect to the
gods.
Gu Shenwei breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had not wasted too

much time.
Chapter 267 - Black Flag
Chapter 267: Black Flag
More than 3,000 swordsmen gathered in the Great Snowmountain overnight.

Many of whom were women and children, who could barely hold up the
heavy swords. The five chiefs checked through all of them one by one and a
lot of them were dismissed. There were about 2,000 people left after that.
The people of the Great Snowmountain had never felt so confident before.
All of them felt that the future war would be an overwhelming victory.
Long Qinying, the chief of Luoshen Peak, changed his mind. He was willing
to bring along the remaining few of his tribe to follow the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei decided that it was better for him to remain behind and guard the
Great Snowmountain. He announced that Long Qinying would be acting on
behalf of him as "Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks", taking
charge of all matters, and would continue to provide at least 100 swordsmen
to the frontline every three months until Golden Roc Fort perishes.
Gu Shenwei then pardoned the remaining people who sought refuge. He

ordered them to either leave immediately or swear loyalty towards the Great
Snowmountain. The original bandit gang was also broken up and dispersed
among the five peaks by Gu Shenwei. Many opportunists does not like how
things were going and escaped right after. Only a little more than 100 people
remained.
All of these took up three days' worth of time. Unable to wait any longer, Gu
Shenwei ordered the chiefs to carefully select a total of 200 swordsmen, 400
horses, and provisions adequate for five-day's worth in proportion. He was
going to lead this vanguard personally and advance towards the border of
Jade City, securing an advantageous position.
As luck would have it, news of the successful peace negotiations between
Shu-lik and the Great Snowmountain arrived that night. The military camp of
Shu-lik requested the Great Snowmountain to send a messenger the next day
to further discuss the details of path borrowing, and to agree on setting a
specific route. The Shu-lik army would closely follow and supervise the
whole process.
There was no way to violate the agreement once it was signed. Gu Shenwei
and the 200 swordsmen set off after midnight, rushing to pass through the
guarded checkpoint before the signing of the negotiation agreement.
Assuming that the war had ended, the Shu-lik's army guarding the checkpoint
was lax. They did not expect the surprise arrival and could only helplessly
watch as the group of troops galloped away.
After daybreak, the Great Snowmountain sent several messengers who

brought bulks of gifts to the Shu-lik army, explaining that it was a bunch of
runaway bandits escaping.
The vanguard of the Great Snowmountain followed the mountains headed in

the direction of east, before leaning near south two days later and continuing
eastward for another two days. It was untouched wilderness everywhere
throughout the journey. In order to bypass the eastern checkpoint of Shu-lik,
they even climbed over a rugged mountain on the last day.
On the afternoon of the seventh day, the vanguard finally arrived at the
eastern region of Shu-lik. The men were fatigued and the horses were spent.
Even the fiercest swordsman was teetering on his horse saddle. Only half of
the 400 horse mounts were left, and some people had to share a horse
together.
Gu Shenwei ordered everyone to rest on the spot and brought three

swordsmen with him to conduct reconnaissance about the enemy situation.
The Golden Roc Fort had already assembled an army and occupied a well-
positioned mountain valley.
However, the army exhibited signs of hastiness and hurriedness. The soldiers
were all machetemen who had been hired in a short amount of time. The
camp was built halfway, and many materials were still stacked on the ground.
They would rather brandish their sabres and make a show of one's force, than
to do menial labor of timber nailing.
No scouts were spotted along the way until Gu Shenwei was about two to
three miles away from the campground. There were about 10 or more
machetemen gathered around a pile of fire.
The machetemen were complaining about the drudgeries of their job,

reminiscing about the neverending flow of good wine in the camp and started
competing to find out as to who can boast the most.
"A 100 taels if you slay a swordsman from the Great Snowmountain. I would
like to earn about 20000 taels or so, to save up for the second-half of my
life."
"Knock it off man, based on your machete skills, it would be a relief if you
can prevent yourself from getting killed. Even if you were given 10,000 taels,
you will spend it all on Pleasure Alley in less than a month. Didn't you
mentioned you've always taken a liking to someone? Who was it again?"
"Haha, well said. If it's me, I wouldn't even bother with the Great
Snowmountain or whatever, I'll just look for that killer straightaway. The
bounty on his head is worth 100,000 taels, even if I remained in Pleasure
Alley, it's enough for a year's worth of it."
"Yang Huan the killer."
"Dragon King of the Great Snowmountain."
"The Demon Bird Swordsman."
"Chief of the Dragons, the King of something."
"That bastard, he sure has many titles for just one head."
The crowd burst into laughter, not knowing that the "bastard" was hiding in
the bushes just 10 steps away from them.
Gu Shenwei made several hand gestures towards the three swordsmen behind
him. Perplexed by his hand gestures, Gu Shenwei then lowered his voice and
told them: "Do not move. Wait for my whistle, then charge towards them."
The swordsmen nodded immediately.
Gu Shenwei went around to the opposite side and pulled out the Five Peaks
Saber made by Daga, the blacksmith. He whistled, short but lightly.
As if acting in unison, the swordsmen waited for a moment before rushing

out. They leaped out of the grass all at once, wielding their heavy swords
towards the machetemen near the fire.
The machetemen took notice once they heard the whistle. They pulled out
their sabers one after another, while looking in the direction of Gu Shenwei.
They were shocked when three swordsmen rushed out, roaring from behind.
The swordsmen were fierce and courageous. They charged right into the
middle of the machetemen and started hacking away vigorously.
Even after living with them for a year, Gu Shenwei still could not accept this
type of attack style, hoping that the swordsmen could lower their voices so
that they could look out for one another.
This was the moment that Gu Shenwei was waiting for as the machetemen
fought with their sabers. He quietly snuck out of the bushes and circled
around the group of machetemen. There was a blow every three to four steps.
The Five Peaks Saber was an irresistible force. Most of them were down
before they could even react. Those who were about to fend off with their
sabers were all cut in half, both the person and the weapon.
The three swordsmen killed one or two of the machetemen on their own,
while the killer had already killed off eight of them. Only one man was still
alive. The man was scared stiff, his legs shaking in fear. He threw away the
short sword and dropped to his knees in a heartbeat, kowtowing profusely,
"Mr. Yang, Mr. Yang, Dragon King, spare my life, it's me, I'm Xiao Ning."
The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain despised people who to
surrender at the last moment due to fear the most. Gu Shenwei stopped them
as they raised their heavy swords. He does not recall the name Xiao Ning, but
would like to question him.
"Do you recognize me?"
Kneeling upright on his knees, Xiao Ning the macheteman thumped his chest
relentlessly like an orangutan, and said eagerly, "It's me, Xiao Ning. Don't
you remember, Dragon King? I was a macheteman for Kun Society, and was
a guard for the Tenth Young Master. I fought several tough battles against
you."
"Right, but you are my enemy now."
Xiao Ning's face turned white as he remembered the boasting among the
machetemen just now, "Mr. Yang, Dragon King, I was forced to. The Golden
Roc Fort sent out all of the machetemen in the city. I have old and young
ones to take care of. There is no other way. It's true, I am willing to follow
you. Please accept me."
Machetemen only recognized money. Everything that he said now was a pack
of lies, but Gu Shenwei was not planning to call him out for it. "How many
people are there in the campground?" he asked.
"600? 800, there are definitely 800 of them. They are all machetemen from
the city. Hired for 300 taels every month. There are people coming in every
day. I didnt expect that you to arrive so early, Dragon King."
"Who is the commander?"
"Commander?" This term was unfamiliar to Xiao Ning, he stared blankly for
a while before saying, "There is a blademaster in the fort. His name is, is
Shangguan Qingqi."
Gu Shenwei was familiar with Shangguan Qingqi. Shangguan Qingqi could

count as one of the close relatives of the Supreme King, they addressed each
other as brothers. He is currently the acting as the chief for the Pyrowork
Academy, and is also in charge of the killer apprentices. It was said that he
has good machete skills, but Gu Shenwei never had the chance to experience
it.
Putting Shangguan Qingqi in charge of the machetemen goes to shows that

the Golden Roc Fort was slighting the Great Snowmountain, using the
swordsmen as an opportunity to train the apprentices.
"Are there any more people coming to stand watch tonight?"
"No, it's just us. Vigil duty is for the whole night." After finishing his
sentence, Xiao Ning suddenly realized that this might put him in a dangerous
situation, so he added: "Someone will come around to patrol. I'm not sure
what time, but someone is definitely coming."
Gu Shenwei ordered the three swordsmen to remain and hide the corpses by
disposing them into the bushes. They were to watch over Xiao Ning strictly.
If there was really someone patrolling, let Xiao Ning handle it.
The 200 swordsmen were still resting at the back. Gu Shenwei woke a few of
them up and let them meet the three swordsmen in front.
As tired as he was, Gu Shenwei could not sleep. Like always, his mind was
preoccupied with the battle that was about to erupt. This was a much larger
scale of assassination. Maybe ambush would be a better word, but it was
difficult for the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain to do this. All of
them were fearless in attacking, sometimes even too fierce and courageous.
They preferred fighting by themselves, therefore it was easy to besiege them.
Gu Shenwei woke everyone up in the middle of the night. After eating

quickly, everyone discarded everything unnecessary. They tightened their
girth and was lightly armored. About 50 men without horse mounts were not
included as part of the forward charge. They were ordered to set off early to
their allocated locations for the ambush.
Gu Shenwei has a Weapon Carrier whose duty was to help the Dragon King
carry the two long-sabers and his personal belongings. The Weapon Carrier
followed the Dragon King's instructions and took out the black robe given by
the five chiefs. He tied it onto a seven-foot-long wooden pole and used it as a
flag.
It was still dark. The swordsmen could only faintly see the swaying of the
flag.
"Everybody, bite the whip horizontally in your mouth."
The Dragon King's first order was very strange. The swordsmen were
puzzled. As the Dragon King was regarded as a demigod, they did not
hesitate and carried out the order.
"No yelling allowed. If the whip fell out of anyone's mouths, your sword will
be seized."
"Seizing the sword" was a humiliating punishment for the swordsmen from
the Great Snowmountain. If the heavy sword was seized, one could only
reclaim his weapon after killing an enemy with his bare hands. Even if they
were ridiculed during this period, they could not fight back.
The swordsmen nodded solemnly. They bit the whip tightly even though it
does not taste good.
"Later when dawn arrives, we will charge forward. You can spit out the whip
when I command 'Kill'. Only then, you can shout as loud as you want." Gu
Shenwei raised his voice, "Everyone will see the flag and follow it. Killing is
not important. My order for you will be to follow the flag until the war ends.
I do not care how many you killed. Anyone who falls behind will be
beheaded."
The swordsmen raised their heavy swords up in unison and made bleating
noises as their mouths bit the whips.
Under the lead of the Dragon King, about 140 remaining swordsmen charged
towards the Golden Roc Fort campground on their horses.
The fire was about to die out soon, Xiao Ning and the few swordsmen were
still standing guard there. Xiao Ning's face turned green as he looked towards
the group of swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain in the dark. He
started groveling on all fours, shaking from head to toe, "Dragon King", was
all he could said.
He won't get the sympathy of the swordsmen in this manner.
"Flag sacrifice." Gu Shenwei commanded.
Not knowing what these two words meant or that it related to himself, the
fear in Xiao Ning's heart suddenly rose like a flood, but it was stuck in his
throat. He was unable to get a word out.
The Weapon Carrier leaped from his horse. He was unable to get a word out
as he was biting the whip as well. But there was nothing that needed saying.
Laying the flag down in front of the macheteman, he then raised up his heavy
sword and slashed mercilessly.
Xiao Ning watched the whole process. It was as if there was a bubble in his
heart, getting bigger and bigger, larger and larger, which then shattered with a
"pop".
The head falls off, as fresh blood splattered onto the flag.
The swordsmen who were standing guard at the fire followed their
counterparts, bit their whips, and leaped onto their horses.
Faint sunshine covered all of the earth in the morning, hiding the war flag of
the Great Snowmountain.
Blood covered the black war flag, along with the coward's head stuck on top.
The first war between the Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort was
about to begin.
Chapter 268 - Charge
Chapter 268: Charge
The warhorses trotted through the meadow without encountering any

resistance. Then they galloped through the woods, and the Golden Roc Fort
camp that was at the entrance of the valley came into sight.
The swordsmen were arranged in groups of four to five, with the Dragon
King at the forefront. A weapon carrier was behind him while the others
following closely behind him. They were carrying a makeshift Black Blood
Flag that was made from long robes.
The warhorses neighed with uneasiness. They were heavily breathing as their
hooves dug deep into the ground and loosened the soil. They were fully
rested and were waiting for their owners to loosen the reins for them to run
wild.
The machetemen had been binge drinking for two days. In this remote and
backward place, they could only find enjoyment from drinking superb wines.
The enemy was far away, so why not enjoy themselves a little?
Fighting for life and death, was it all not for this? Several machetemen woke
up early with hangovers. They hazily saw a group of men who were at a far
distance away from the camp. "Hey, more have come again. If we don't take
them down, then we aren't manly men."
A thin layer of smog was shrouding the area all around them, and the black
flag that was slightly flying in the morning breeze seemed to go unnoticed.
"Who are they? They don't look like machetemen from the city."
Gu Shenwei sheathed his saber. This type of saber was too short and was
unsuited for riding into battle on horseback. He pulled out a guardian saber
from the weapon carrier's back. Its length was five foot and four inches, and
its handle was nearly one foot long.
He looked back at his soldiers. No matter how many shortcomings these

swordsmen had, they were born and bred warriors: eager to fight, eager for
blood, eager for glory, and there was no need for words to motivate them. He
only needed to point them in the direction of the enemy.
He patted the horse's buttocks with the saber, and the warhorse spread its four
hooves and gradually accelerated toward the enemy camp.
The sounds of horse hooves galloping forth became clearer and finally woke
up the few machetemen that got up early. They hadn't even had their trousers
on, so they frantically ran to their tents to get dressed. Heart tearing, lung
spitting screams rippled throughout the camp, "The Dragon King is coming!"
"Kill--" Gu Shenwei's high-pitched roar drowned out the outcries within the
camp. The ending syllable prolonged, and gradually became a clear whistle.
The swordsmen cracked their horsewhips, and the excitement that had been
suppressed within their hearts were crying out like roaring thunder.
The machetemen who were still in their sleep suddenly woke up and heard
the sounds of their enemy's ambush. They felt that they were completely
surrounded. Most people didn't even bother to pick up their sabers. They
rushed out of their tents only to be completely confused and disoriented,
before fleeing in all directions.
This was the creed of machetemen: Grab all the merits when you can, but run
when you encounter danger. A dead macheteman can never make money, but
a living macheteman, no matter how cowardly they are, can always be hired.
Gu Shenwei knew their temperament well.
The cavalry brandished their heavy swords like huge pikes, as they deeply
pierced into the camp of the Golden Roc Fort. The tents were torn like skin,
and blood was splashing around like the frantic crowd.
They charged all the way to the end of the camp before immediately turning
their horses around with Gu Shenwei leading the assault. This charge was
perfect, the swordsmen strictly adhered to the Dragon King's orders and there
were no stragglers at all. Only a few people's warhorses were tripped over,
but they continued to swing their heavy swords to kill the enemies as they
followed the Dragon King's Black Blood Flag on foot.
The first round of the charge tore the camp in half. After turning around, the
second round started from east to west, but the tents in this path were more
condensed.
A group of shadowy figures that Gu Shenwei was familiar with came out of a
tent in front of him. It was a small number of people and their slender bodies
were fully clothed in black. The iconic brown belts were attached to their
waist and their faces were covered. Each person was holding a saber in their
hands.
This was a group of more than 30 brown belt killers. They were slightly
higher in rank than the apprentices but they have yet to accomplish the title of
official killers.
At this moment, Gu Shenwei understood the strong fighting desires of the

Great Snowmountain swordsmen. Seeing the men in black wielding their
sabers, his first reaction was to switch to the Five Peaks Saber, jump off his
horse, and contest with his juniors.
However, he was no longer a killer. Instead, he was the Dragon King who
was leading an assault battalion of more than one hundred people.
"Kill--" He screamed again. The swordsmen's shouts were higher and longer
lasting than the first time. Their heavy swords cut down and, as long as
something was blocking their path, they would be cut into two. It didn't
matter if it were people or objects.
This was the first time these teenage brown belt killers had encountered this
kind of battle. How did their training compare to these opponents? They had
never seen the fierce cavalry that had flooded in. If they were experienced old
killers, they would have run faster than the machetemen and judge the
situation from afar until it was safe for them to turn around. Unfortunately,
these teenagers were hesitant between greeting the enemy and fleeing from
the enemy.
The galloping warhorses didn't give them time to think. Hundreds of iron
hooves slam the lives and dreams of the brown belt killers into the dirt. Some
people leaped high and collided into the dense forest of swords. It was a
scene of a lonely boat being swallowed by giant waves.
Gu Shenwei saw that a few swordsmen had fallen off their horses, but he did
not lead the team to rescue them. Instead, he once again changed direction
and rushed toward the west of the camp.
After three assaults, the sky was completely bright. There were more than a
hundred swordsmen riding behind the Dragon King. The dozens of
swordsmen on foot could not catch up with the Black Blood Flag, so they
wielded their heavy swords and chased after the machetemen who had not
been able to run away.
A great number of machetemen had escaped; only a few were able to mount
their horses while others had fled on foot.
The camp was a complete mess, and it looked as if a hurricane had swept by.
Gu Shenwei continued to chase the fugitives, but the battle was not over yet.
The number of people from Great Snowmountain was too small to
completely eliminate the enemy, but they were capable of killing as many as
possible, and thus, instilling great fear into Golden Roc Fort.
The fleeing machetemen knew that the safest direction to run toward is the
east. Dozens of horsemen in the forefront ran ahead a few miles, and a group
of swordsmen on foot was killed in their spurs. The swordsmen, who were
already impatient, were hot on their tail and became irritated the screams of
their comrades that were cut down.
Fifty stalks of the heavy swords cut down, and only a few people made it out
on horseback. Most of the others were killed and only a few had resisted.
Most of the feeling machetemen had no intentions to fight. In spite of their

greed for money: those who could run, ran; those who could not run, either
plead for mercy or fought for their lives.
When the cavalry led by Gu Shenwei caught up to them, the two sides were
already in fierce combat. Gu Shenwei still hadn't dismounted, so he continued
the chase until he saw the crossroads at the western boundary of Jade City.
He then turned back to kill the overtaken machetemen.
Countless bodies littered along the main road one after the other like a
wandering serpent.
The battle ended when he returned to the ambush point of the swordsmen on
foot. The 30 or more surviving swordsmen gazed at the corpses and killed
those who were still breathing.
Only one wounded person was spared.
This man was dressed in black and he wore a red belt. It was a killer who was
rarely seen in the Golden Roc Army.
Shangguan Qingqi's right leg was injured and he could only be supported by
his left leg. He leaned forward and stood still. He knew that his life was
coming to an end. His heart was a little nervous, and he felt empty inside as if
all of his viscera was missing. However, he remained calm with a trace of
pride.
His surname is Shangguan, and as a blademaster, he should maintain his

dignity in front of a defected killer.
Gu Shenwei returned the long-saber to the Weapon Carrier, dismounted the

horse, and the swordsmen gave way to him.
The killer and the blademaster had no contact in the Stone Castle. There was
just a very unclear impression of each other between them. Shangguan
Qingqi appeared to be somewhat old. His had passed his prime and his
instincts had dulled, but his ability to kill was still very good.
Gu Shenwei drew out his saber and walked toward Shangguan Qingqi before
stopping five steps away. The blademaster had stood on one leg for a while,
causing it to go numb. His body could not help but sway as if it was
displaying his weakness. He felt deeply ashamed and said, "Traitor, you will
always… "
The saber passed through his throat, which prevented him from completing
his sentence.
Shangguan Qingqi covered the wound with his hands, and the blood flowed
down the fingers. He didn't feel the pain, but he was becoming colder and
colder. His heart sank like a stone falling into the water, and the darkness
quickly drowned him.
At the entrance of the Golden Roc Fort camp, dozens of swordsmen placed
their heavy swords on the ground and waited for their punishment. They had
not followed the Black Blood Flag and had violated the orders of the Dragon
King.
"Those who fell down from their horses are acquitted of their crimes." Gu
Shenwei forgave everyone. The swordsmen were delighted and immediately
picked up their swords. They were not afraid of death, but they were afraid of
losing face in front of their companions.
In this campaign: more than 200 Golden Roc machetemen were killed, more
than 70 were imprisoned, and hundreds had fled; Half of the camp was still
intact with many usable supplies, and Great Snowmountain only lost a little
more than ten people. This was a great victory.
The captives were gathered in a pile and their faces paled. The legend of the
killings of the Dragon King and the Demon Bird were repeating in their
thoughts. Thankfully, there were no dark clouds drifting through the sky this
time, so their eyes would be preserved even if they died.
"Go back and tell the Supreme King that I have returned. Tell the
machetemen in the city: don't die for money."
The Dragon King threw the head of Shangguan Qingqi at the captives. They
almost fainted at the sight, and barely stood straight with each other's support.
The swordsmen gave way, and the captives realized that they had preserved
their lives. They trembled in fear as they walked out of the camp slowly, and
ran as soon as they reached the exit.
A young swordsman with tears in his eyes came with a brown belt killer's
body, and hoarsely said, "Dragon King, this is my brother."
Golden Roc Fort was fond of children from Great Snowmountain. Every
year, they would abduct a large number of people and trained them to
become killers. Then they would be ordered to kill their former relatives.
"His death was caused by Golden Roc Fort." Gu Shenwei closed the eyes of
the corpse and comforted the sorrowful swordsmen. "We will avenge him."
"Revenge! Revenge! "The swordsmen shouted in unison to symbolize the end

of the first battle.
Gu Shenwei looked up to the hillside deep in the valley. He also had hatred.
It used to be his home. The ruins of the Gu family's manor still stood in the
same place.
Three days later, panic spread across the entire Jade City. Golden Roc Fort
doubled the salary but they still could not recruit several machetemen.
Five days later, another army arrived. Thousands of people were stationed at
the west side of the mountain pass, while the Great Snowmountain had set up
camp half a day's distance away. Both sides were very cautious and were
busy building strong camps as well as sending out scouts to test each other.
No one launch a large-scale offensive.
Gu Shenwei was waiting for the arrival of his main troops, but he wanted to
know what Golden Roc Fort was waiting for.
Ten days later, the main force of Great Snowmountain arrived. Fang Wenshi
waited for others to join their advance from Shu-lik City. Then, scouts came
back with news that Golden Roc Fort's army had also increased in numbers
by about three to four thousand.
A great war was brewing. The military counselor Fang Wenshi, despite being
covered in dust, asked for a private audience with the Dragon King as soon as
he arrived. He didn't like to fight, he really didn't like it at all, so much that he
proposed a strategy that everyone could not accept.
Chapter 269 - Array
Chapter 269: Array
From the beginning, Fang Weishi's main strategy was to convince the Dragon
King to negotiate for peace with the Golden Roc Fort.
"Now is the best time. The Great Snowmountain had won the first battle and
proved its strength. With such prestige, I am sure that the Golden Roc Fort
would be open for negotiations," said Fang Wenshi, as he excitedly walked
around in the tent. The fatigue of these past few days seemed to have been
swept away.
"Let's wait, this is just a sneak attack, we haven't confronted the Golden Roc
Fort head on."
"This is what we agreed on since the beginning, Dragon King, you're not
changing your mind are you?" Fang Wenshi looked at the Dragon King with
suspicion. This master was still too young. He was still lacking in the
temperament of ruthlessness as well as foresight.
"No, I hope for another victory for easier negotiations."
Fang Wenshi shook his head. He was precise with small details, but he could
also clearly see the big picture. "Dragon King, you should know that the more
you win, the harder it is to negotiate. The victory will cause the confidence of
the Great Snowmountain swordsmen to inflate. How can they agree to
negotiate then?"
Gu Shenwei was silent, what the military counselor said was exactly what he
had in mind. In these past few months, he had been fighting alongside these
swordsmen, which gradually gave him a more in-depth understanding of
these people. Their hatred for the Golden Roc Fort was no less than his own,
but this was also maintained at such a strong momentum due to Golden Roc
killers adding fuel to the fire each day.
This was a large group of wild bison that could destroy everything in their
path. It was almost impossible to turn their direction unless there were
mountains and rivers in front of them.
Gu Shenwei was not afraid to talk about underhanded ploys, but he also did
not know how to explain these tactics to some of the fighters. The
negotiations for peace were only a temporary means to expand their strength.
The ultimate goal was still to annihilate the Golden Roc Fort. He understood
that the Great Snowmountain swordsmen wouldn't understand this.
"Let me speak with them." Fang Wenshi understood that the Dragon King
was in a tight spot, thus he volunteered to persuade the Great Snowmountain
swordsmen. His experiences in Shu-lik has increased his confidence. "As
long as several chiefs nod, the rest will be easy."
Gu Shenwei still did not speak a word. The military counselor knew too little
of the Great Snow Mountain. Chiefs were not kings. Although their status
was high, they had no absolute power. The mountain people followed their
orders out of respect, not obedience. Even the Dragon King had to borrow
"divine powers" in order for everyone to follow him out of the Great
Snowmountain.
"We cannot be hesitant about this." Fang Wenshi was a little anxious. Some
words that he had already said to the Dragon King needed to be repeated
again, "The Great Snowmountain is now sandwiched between the Golden
Roc Fort and the Shu-lik Country. This is too dangerous, one wrong move
and we can lose everything. The Shu-lik are using us as their sharp knife for
killing by opening their roads for us to pass. They're hoping to see losses on
both sides: the Great Snowmountain would be completed exhausted, and
Golden Roc Fort's power and influence to decline. We can only survive
through the gaps by patching up all our flaws as soon as possible. Dragon
King, you know all these things. You have said that you want to fight for the
Western Region, not for a personal vendetta."
Gu Shenwei has never hesitated like this. After thinking about it, he was not
like a decisive killer. He admired the military counselor very much and felt
that he had not found the wrong person. Fang Wenshi's words were
extravagantly clear and were logically said to the King of Shu-lik. However,
he was willing to betray the original agreement with an arrogant heart and not
a hint of embarrassment could be found.
"Just one battle," Gu Shenwei decided as he could no longer hesitate. The

military counselor laughed, "The Great Snowmountain will have to face an
open head-on battle with the Golden Roc Fort, and then I will persuade
everyone afterwards."
Fang Wenshi was sighing and could only accept the Dragon King's order.
"We must win this battle no matter what, at least we must not lose.
Otherwise, no one will take the Great Snowmountain seriously, and
negotiations for peace won't even be mentioned."
"We must win this battle." Gu Shenwei fully grasped their situation. He had
once led two hundred cavalrymen to break through the barracks of eight
hundred machetemen. Now that he had gathered two thousand swordsmen,
he was not afraid of the four to five thousand enemies.
Scouts had been able to find out that the Golden Roc Fort army was still
dominated by machetemen. These machetemen came from all around the
world. Many of them had low level kung fu and were not even qualified to
live in Jade City. These days, they had been training in the camp. Although
their numbers were high, they did not dare to make a challenge.
The swordsmen who joined later were strong, but the glory of the 200
pioneers made them green with envy. After just resting for one day, several
chiefs came to see the Dragon King together and strongly demanded an
immediate battle.
"We can't wait any longer. With our current momentum, we would be able to
charge into the Golden Roc Fort within ten days." Even the usually composed
one-eyed chief, Long Xiaoshi, was full of confidence and seemed impatient.
Fang Wenshi was on the sidelines and secretly shook his head. If this battle
was victorious, the biggest resistance to the negotiations for peace would not
be the Golden Roc Fort, but rather, it would be the swordsmen from the Great
Snowmountain.
Gu Shenwei waited for another three days to allow the tired swordsmen from
afar to rest. At the same time, he arranged for tight security in the camp. They
had to guard against the Golden Roc Fort's specialty in assassinations.
Just as the Great Snowmountain was ready to go to war, the commander of

the Golden Roc Fort was the first to send a letter of challenge.
There were about a thousand words written in the letter, and the letter was
written in a convoluted manner. Only Fang Wenshi could understand it, and
he even praised its contents. Then he explained to everyone, "The morning
after tomorrow, both sides are to engage in an array of battles 30 miles from
their camps. 'To hunt' means to battle."
The chiefs were stunned and scrambled to be the main attacking force.
Everyone wanted to take the merits for defeating the main force of the
Golden Roc Fort.
The Golden Roc Fort's commander was named Dugu Xian, and he was also a
barbarian. Gu Shenwei has never heard of such a person in the fort. It was
rumored that Dugu Xian was a general of a small country who had been
recruited by the Stone Castle. He was quite formidable in the art of military
formations.
No one within the Great Snowmountain, including Gu Shenwei, paid any

attention or value to this opponent. Fang Wenshi praised this person's literary
talent, but he did not regard him as a great general.
The battle site was a flat and narrow grassland. The north side was close off
by the towering Sky Mountains. There was a large river flowing along the
south, which was called the Peacock River. On the other side, the grassland
gradually transitioned into the Gobi Desert.
In order to figure out how to fight this battle, Gu Shenwei listened to the
opinions of many people but ultimately decided to follow his own ideas. The
swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain did not understand the art of war,
and Fang Wenshi had many battle arrays in mind, all of which were learned
from ancient books. One was more complicated than the previous one, which
caused Gu Shenwei's brain to swim in confusion, not to mention the simple
swordsmen.
This was his arrangement: The left wing, that is, the place closest to the
mountains, with swordsmen from the Greatsword Peak and the Smallsword
Peak with a total of about 600 people; The right wing, close to the riverside,
would be guarded by the Danduo Peak of more than 600; More than 400
from the Canopy Peak to be sandwiched in the middle. A total of 1,600
cavalrymen, each of them was equipped with a round shield that can protect
the upper body. This was because the Golden Roc Fort was likely to have a
large number of archers.
Gu Shenwei wanted to personally participate in the battle. This was the duty
of the leader of the Great Snowmountain. However, under the strong
suggestion of Fang Wenshi, he stayed on a small hill less than half a mile
behind.
"This is the confrontation between the two military armies, not gangs from
the jiang hu." Fang Wenshi was bitterly persuading the Dragon King. "The
commander-in-chief has to control the overall situation, and there is sufficient
reserve power on hand. You would only be able to take on about 100 on your
own if you charged in, you can't guarantee victory for the entire army with
this."
After riding up the hill, he was able to clearly see the whole battlefield.
However, Gu Shenwei had only 100 or so from the Luoshen Peak as guards
and for protecting the commander-in-chief's banner. The banner was made
from Gu Shenwei's black robes that had been stained with blood, which was
recognized as a sacred object in the hearts of all the swordsmen, and was
attached to a thick and long flagpole.
There were still more than 300 swordsmen staying in the military camp. As
this kind of embarrassing task was not willing taken up, it could only be
decided by lottery.
The swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain obeyed their traditions. The

children of the Long family and the most courageous warriors were on the
front lines. Behind them were the swordsmen of other surnames. There was
no clear front line, but everyone decided how much space they needed.
The opposing army was more formal.
Gu Shenwei was looking from far away. The Golden Roc Fort had more
numbers than the Great Snowmountain, about 4,000 total. Their formation
was extremely neat. The first two rows were archers. The last five rows were
infantry with pikes. On the left wing, they arranged a team of light cavalry.
Their numbers were small, estimated about six or seven hundred with
hundreds of flags of different colors fluttering in the wind.
Commanding a war was completely different from being a killer. Gu

Shenwei believed that the Great Snowmountain would definitely win, but his
heart was not at ease. He hoped to be at the front line. Although observing
from the sidelines was necessary, it led him to have a feeling that things were
not under control. He was not used to being on the sidelines as he greatly
preferred the style of surprise attacks and pursuits.
Fang Wenshi said to him that the art of war was extraordinary and ordinary.
The Dragon King's plans belonged to "extraordinary" and cannot be used all
the time, it was still the "ordinary" that ultimately determined the victor.
Gu Shenwei thought that the military counselor was right.
The swordsmen were already a little anxious, and they were shouting loudly
at the opposing army. Heavy swords banged on shields with the other side
following up with banging from their drums, which caused loud uproars.
The Golden Roc Fort was set up in a defensive formation as they waited for
the Great Snowmountain to launch their offense.
"Would you like to make a bet?" Gu Shenwei asked the military counselor
beside him. "I can guarantee that we can break through the Golden Roc Fort's
formation with just one charge."
Fang Wenshi stretched his neck and looked in front. "Not necessarily, I can
see that Dugu Xian's military formation does have holes. Although it is still
not comparable to those famous ones from ancient and modern times, it is
still not so easily disrupted with just one charge. I'll bet with you… one
hundred taels. I only have this little money, I am the cheapest counselor in
the world, and you are the stingiest master."
If he hadn't forgotten how to smile, Gu Shenwei would laugh out at this

moment. "You'll definitely lose. Perhaps Dugu Xian is very capable in the art
of military formations, but he doesn't understand these machetemen. It won't
take long for us to break through them. Machetemen would not risk their
lives so easily, they would shoot two rounds of arrows from their bows and
turn to flee."
It was about time, the screams of the Great Snowmountain swordsmen were
getting louder and louder, and Gu Shenwei took a deep breath and blew into
the horn which was hanging from his chest.
The low-pitched horn sounded like a gentle and powerful wind, and it felt as
if the breath of the gods had whisked through the crowd. More than 1,600
cavalrymen galloped, trampling the innocent ground as they rushed toward
the enemy. 1,600 round shields protected their masters, and 1,600 heavy
swords swung from their masters' hands. It seemed as if a behemoth was
opening its giant mouth to swallow its prey.
On the first day of September, at the foot of the Sky Mountains by the
Peacock River, both the Great Snowmountain and the Golden Roc Fort
launched their first frontal battle. The 37 years of peace in the Western
Region was broken on this day, and a few people thought that the impact of
this small-scale campaign would be so great.
Chapter 270 - Reinforcements
Chapter 270: Reinforcements
Gu Shenwei felt that the battle unfolding not too far away from him was an
illusion and had nothing to with himself. The adrenaline rush he had felt
before the start of the battle was suddenly gone.
He could not be moved by the battle cries, neighing horses and the incredible
amount of arrows whizzing about. After sounding the horn, it was as if he
had become a bystander and was not involved in the battle at all. Soon, this
feeling of being an onlooker was also replaced with a feeling that he was
listening to someone else recounting a battle, and that he was only re-
enacting the battle scenes in his mind.
This made him feel a little guilty, as the mounted troops facing the arrows
were his soldiers and fighting for him. However, it did grant him the ability
to calmly observe the battle from afar. He knew that his military counselor
had won them the battle even though the mounted troops had only covered
two-thirds of the distance between themselves and the enemy.
The machetemen converted into bowmen and pikemen in the opposition

forces were not what he expected, and they seemed to be bolder or driven by
some unknown terror after being trained by Dugu Xian. The archers did not
panic when facing the fierce mounted assault. Two ranks of archers calmly
released the first volley of arrows only when the riders were a hundred steps
away from them. After three volleys, they formed up, retreated behind the
cover of the pikes and drew their machetes.
Many riders from the Great Snow Mountain were shot down by the arrows
raining down from the sky, and some were trampled to death by their own
brothers. Those that survived continued to rush towards the enemy, and there
were even some who did so while completely unarmed.
Five rows of pikes were formed up and pointed towards them, and they
seemed to be rushing towards a giant porcupine that did not offer any
opening.
However, the swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain were a force to be
reckoned with. Even as the horses of the first wave of riders impaled
themselves on the pikes and threw the riders onto the ground, they got up and
started hacking at their enemies with their heavy swords, without
discriminating between beast, foe or pike, as they cut anything in their path
into two. They had forced an opening into the body of the 'porcupine'.
The riders behind them could not halt their advance, and simply leapt out of
their saddles as they held their round shields in front of them to form a solid
wall. They overtook the swordsmen in front of them and viciously smashed
their shields into the rows of pikes facing them.
The mounted assault had turned into a mass melee.
"Sigh, I'm going to lose. If this continues on, the Great Snow Mountain will
be sure to win." Fang Wenshi shook his head in defeat. He was not sure
whether he was happy or dismayed. The swordsmen were undisciplined and
impetuous, but their ferocity exceeded his imagination.
Gu Shenwei did not tell his counselor that he had won. The Dragon King did
not intend or planned for his swordsmen to enter into a melee, because they
were a valuable resource and were hard to replace.
After the terrible fighting continued on for about 30 minutes, the swordsmen
from Luoshen Peak had visibly won their battle on the right flank. They had
crushed the mounted soldiers and pikemen on the Golden Roc Fort's left
flank, and the archers who had switched to melee combat with their machetes
did not really put up a fight. They gave a few symbolic shouts before they
fled.
The swordsmen from the Smallsword Peak were still engaged in a life and
death struggle with the enemy on Gu Shenwei's left flank. It was still difficult
to see which side would eventually prevail.
However, in the center of the battlefield, the swordsmen from the Canopy
Peak were facing heavy losses, and they did not seem to be able to last for
much longer.
The benefit of observing all the chaos from afar was that it allowed Gu
Shenwei to have an overview of the entire battlefield, which would have been
impossible if he had entered the fray. If he had joined the battle, he would
only have been able to observe his surroundings - if his comrades were dying,
it would signify that they were losing, and if the enemy had been routed, it
would mean that they would be winning. He would not have been able to
make any tactical adjustments, and the final victory could only be earned
through sheer force and luck.
However, it was useless to continue to observe if the situation demanded him

to act.
Gu Shenwei nodded to the Weapon Carrier beside him, and took the long-
saber from the latter's hands. He tilted his head and glanced at the 100 or so
remaining swordsmen from the Luoshen Peak who were with him. All of
them were ready - they were grasping their sword shafts while staring at the
enemy, and their bodies were taut with tension. It was as if they were also
engaged in battle. They felt the same way as the Dragon King; they were full
of desire to go and join their fellow brothers in battle.
"Dragon King, you cannot…" cautioned Fang Wenshi in shock. Before he

could even complete his sentence, Gu Shenwei had already spurred his horse
forward. The remaining swordsmen shouted in unison, and rode behind the
Dragon King. Their charge was like a gale blowing across the battlefield.
Fang Wenshi could not stop shaking his head in disapproval. He circled
around on his horse before returning to his original spot. He was a counselor,
and his worth to the Great Snow Mountain was his tactical acumen. He could
only think properly if he was a safe distance from the fighting; if he was close
the bloodshed, he would have been scared stiff even before anyone attacked
him. He would have been useless then.
"Sigh, impetuous, too impetuous," muttered Fang Wenshi. He could not help
but think: Why did no true king wish to secure my services? The King of
Shu-lik had witnessed his talent first hand, but had not shown any signs of
admiration. "I was born in the wrong time," he continued grudgingly. When
he finally raised his head to observe the battle again, he could see a plume of
dust coming from a spot far away from the ensuing melee.
He could sense that something was amiss, and carefully stood up while
balancing on his stirrups. He shielded his eyes with his right hand, which was
holding on to his whip.
As the dust settled, he could see no less than 3000 riders charging towards the
battlefield.
Fang Wenshi was shocked speechless. He had only received word from his
scouts that the enemy forces would amount to at most 5000 men, and he had
no idea where these riders had come from. He immediately realised that the
Great Snow Mountain had been set up, and he did not know what method
Dugu Xian had used to hide such a large force from his scouts and spies.
The Great Snow Mountain had committed all its forces into the battle. They
would definitely not be able to withstand the onslaught of the Golden Roc
Fort's reinforcements.
He instinctively rode forward by about 10 steps before reining in his horse.

He then turned his horse around as he knew that it was useless for him to try
to warn the others. He would just be courting his own death, and it would be
better to 'conserve his energy'.
The counselor rode his horse westwards while his heart was beating rapidly.
He felt frightened as he despaired at his poor luck. His ability had just been
recognized, but now his master was going to die in a reckless assault.
Meanwhile, Gu Shenwei and all of the swordsmen from the Great Snow
Mountain had no way of knowing that their end was near. All they could see
around them were the enemies, weapons and blood. The dust was also
affecting their vision. As most of them were feeling the rush of battle, they
could not even differentiate between friend or foe, not to mention being able
to notice the sudden appearance of reinforcements.
Gu Shenwei chose not to reinforce his left flank or to help the swordsmen
from the Canopy Peak who were losing their battle in the middle of the
battlefield. He was clear that, with only 100 or so men with him, he could not
act on all three fronts at the same time. Therefore, he threw himself into the
right flank, which was already about to be won by the swordsmen from the
Luoshen Peak. His strategy was to quickly route the enemy on his right and
then quickly sweep to his left flank in one go.
He realised that it would not be as simple as he thought once he entered the

battle. The swordsmen had already broken ranks when charging into the
pikes, and now they were in a state of disarray as they were fighting as
individuals instead of fighting in any type of formation. The men from the
Luoshen Peak who had come with him were soon caught up in the battle and
spread themselves out across the battlefield; only about eight of them
remained close behind him.
In such a situation, the Death Scripture swordcraft and the Golden Roc Fort
machete skills were rendered useless because there were simply too many
bodies surrounding him. It did not matter whose kung fu was better, but
rather it was about who had the most energy and the best weapon.
Gu Shenwei held his long-saber with both hands and an enemy's head would
fall down every time it sliced down. He ordered any swordsman from the
Great Snow Mountain he met along the way to follow him. In this manner, he
gathered a few hundred men very quickly. They were an unstoppable force of
ferocity, and after both flanks were secured, they rushed to assist their
brothers in the middle of the battlefield.
Victory was close at hand. More and more swordsmen were signalling to
each other as they gathered on the right flank and followed the Dragon King,
as well as engaging the enemy in the middle of the battlefield. Thus, the
tables were turned for the swordsmen of the Canopy Peak who were
originally losing.
The combatants were suddenly shaken to their senses by the foreign and
incomprehensible sound of thundering hooves charging towards them. They
could feel the ground tremor beneath them. Both sides stopped fighting and
turned simultaneously to look eastwards at the new entrants to the battlefield.
Gu Shenwei was enjoying his adrenaline rush and only realised something
was not right after killing three more enemies.
The riders were equipped with sharp pikes and wore black leather armor. To
witness their charge was akin to observing an avalanche of black snow
coming your way, and the dust that stirred in their wake had effectively
blocked out the sun. The only thing that could be clearly seen were the
numerous odd sized flags which bore the insignia of the Golden Roc Fort.
The Great Snow Mountain would not be in a dire situation now if the
swordsmen had maintained formation, and if they had pikes to counter the
charge. It would also help if the Dragon King could call on reinforcements of
his own as well.
However, they did not have any of that. They could only rely on their
fighting spirit and ferocity.
Gu Shenwei drew a second long-saber from the Weapon Carrier who had
remained by his side. Wielding a long-saber in each hand, he lifted both his
arms just like how a giant red-crowned roc would spread its wings. He bent
slightly forward and let loose a wolf-like howl from his diaphragm.
Gu Shenwei had it all planned out, and he knew he could not correct the
mistakes in his strategy once the battle had begun. His father, Gu Lun, was
not a general who had led troops in battles, but had witnessed and took part in
his fair share of war. Even if he did not study the art of war, he had derived a
theory from his experiences and conversations with others: in most situations,
there were far more soldiers who were killed while fleeing than the number
of soldiers who were killed while fighting.
This was the same as the golden rule applicable to killers: It is always easier
and safer to strike from the back of the target than from the front of your
target.
Gu Shenwei only knew a bit about the art of war, but he decided to stick to
his principle of never turning his back to the enemy.
Therefore, it would be impossible for him to sound the retreat.

The swordsmen would also never accept such an order, even if it came from
the god-like Dragon King. No one could coerce them to flee from their
enemies.
They were already exhausted, as one would expend more energy while
fighting on the battlefield than compared with carrying out an assassination.
However, the Dragon King's howl triggered their instinct for survival and
gave them renewed strength. Their shouts, which made them sound like wild
beasts, spread across both flanks from the middle of the battlefield, and
dwarfed even the sounds of the hoove beats from the riders.
The men from the Golden Roc Fort who were already engaged in battle
entered into a state of panic. They were frightened by the shouts and the
charge of the reinforcements. The riders were formed into tight ranks and
seemed to be pointing their pikes at them. It did not look as if they would
care as to whether they committed fratricide or not.
They fled either by jumping into the Peacock River, or by forcing themselves
up the cliff using the weeds which grew on its wall. Those that did not flee
prostrated themselves on the ground, hugging their heads and praying to
whichever deity they believed in for divine intervention.
Gu Shenwei seemed like an indestructible, walking windmill as he wielded

both sabers. He hacked at everything in his way, and something fell with each
strike of his blades, be it pikes, horses or men. He could no longer see what
he hit, but he knew that he was surrounded on three sides by enemies, so he
continued to slash.
He felt as if he was bashing his way through a thick growth of thorns which
grew back again whenever he looked back, which made his efforts seem
futile.
He had a fleeting moment whereby he thought his end was near, but quickly
threw it aside as he continued to slash. Everyone's fate was determined, and
no one's death could stop the Earth from spinning.
The Weapon Carrier remained by his side, and his scabbards were now
empty. He was holding on to the dirty and ragged looking Black Blood Flag,
the head which was stuck on it had long shrivelled up. The skull was
observing the carnage on the battlefield with its empty eye sockets.
Gu Shenwei passed one of the long-sabers to the Weapon Carrier so that he

could defend himself. He wielded the remaining saber in both hands again
and continued to hack at the riders.
"Kill-" Sharp battle cries rang out. They did not come from either the Dragon
King or the swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain, and it caused even
more chaos then the sudden emergence of the riders.
The cries came from behind the swordsmen.

Chapter 271 - The Gift of the Saber
Chapter 271: The Gift of the Saber
A few years ago, a middle-aged macheteman had made a declaration to a

young killer. The former gave himself 10 years to travel around Western
Region and gather a team capable of defeating the Golden Roc Fort. He
claimed that not everyone was afraid of the Supreme King and felt that there
would be others willing to join his cause. The two of them would meet again
this very day on the battlefield.
The middle-aged macheteman was none other than Tuo Nengya, and the
killer called himself Yang Huan. Within three years, Tuo Nengya had built
up a sizable team. He drilled them well, and the team was capable of
maintaining a giant formation. Even so, he knew that he had too few men to
be competing with the Supreme King, and thus he sent out trusted men to
foreign lands with the purpose of gathering more funds and manpower, all the
while keeping the presence of his team secret. It was thus that he got to hear
about Yang Huan's remarkable achievement of uniting the people from the
different peaks of the Great Snowmountain.
Tuo Nengya had observed the Great Snowmountain for over a month before
he decided to get in touch with Yang Huan, the Dragon King. He wanted to
be sure that Yang Huan really had things under control and that he would be
supporting the correct person. After he was convinced that the peaks of the
Great Snowmountain were truly united, he led his men to meet up with Yang
Huan.
He had never forgotten about the killer.
He gave the order to his trusted men, who were scattered all over Western
Region, to gather at Shu-lik. This took a lot of time, as his messengers were
not familiar with the route to the Great Snowmountain, and were stopped by
the Shu-lik army beyond their blockade. When the machetemen finally
arrived at the Great Snowmountain, they realised that the main body of its
swordsmen had already set off for the battlefield.
More and more machetemen came answering Tuo Nengya's call to arms, till
at last there were more than 1,500 of them. Tuo Nengya had originally
wanted to lead them to the Great Snowmountain, but changed his course
midway there when he heard that the Dragon King and his swordsmen were
already headed to the eastern border of Shu-lik. It took them a few days'
journey to meet up with the Dragon King's forces as they had to take evasive
measures to avoid being intercepted by the Shu-lik army.
The sudden appearance of such large, armed group created much panic in
Shu-lik, and everyone in the country began preparing for a possible invasion.
They stood down only when the machetemen were far from Shu-lik's borders.
As for Fang Wenshi, he was fleeing westwards after the appearance of the
Golden Roc Fort's reinforcements at the battlefield, but changed his mind
after having rode one and a half kilometers. He thought about how he had
waited for almost 30 years to have a chance of establishing a name for
himself as a military counselor, and he knew that he might not have another
shot at it if he gave up on the Dragon King now. He did not want to follow in
the footsteps of the legendary Jiang Ziya, who only found a suitable person to
serve at a ripe old age. He was also afraid of having no income—to him, it
was a feeling worse that dying.
To avoid that, he knew that he had to ensure that the Dragon King would
survive the battle, even if it would cost him all the swordsmen of the Great
Snowmountain. With this in mind, he rode back in a hurry to the Great
Snowmountain's base camp. Once there, he summoned the 400 over
remaining swordsmen who were guarding the camp to address them. He only
managed to say, "The Dragon King is in danger." Without waiting for him to
finish, the swordsmen swarmed out of their camp and rushed to the scene of
the battle.
Just as the swordsmen were leaving their camp, Tuo Nengya and his
machetemen arrived. The two parties nearly got into blows as they did not
know each other, and it was Boss Tuo who managed to prevent any
bloodshed before they even got to the battlefield. He explained to the
swordsmen who he was and why he had brought his men here.
Fang Wenshi was delighted beyond words. He could not help lifting his head
towards the sky, secretly feeling grateful and lucky that he did not desert the
Dragon King. He did not mention to anyone that the Dragon King and the
main body of the Great Snowmountain were losing badly and in grave danger
of perishing on the battlefield. All he said was that they were engaged in
combat with the enemy, and that the forces of the Golden Roc Fort were
slowly retreating, therefore he had come back to gather more men, so that
they would have a chance to contribute.
If he had more time to prepare and tidy himself up, they might have believed
him. However, he was unkempt and ragged looking, not to mention sweating
profusely. The swordsmen knew that the Dragon King was in dire need of
their assistance, and once they heard that the machetemen were not their
enemy, they hurried onwards to the battlefield without even bothering to
greet their allies.
Tuo Nengya understood that he had to reach the Dragon King quickly as
well. He ordered the 500 or so mounted machetemen to follow his lead and
the rest who were on foot to proceed on a forced march to the scene of the
battle.
The mounted machetemen soon overtook the swordsmen and arrived first at
the battlefield. They could see both sides engaged in close combat and the
forces of the Great Snowmountain were losing badly.
They quickly dismounted, as they were not accustomed to mounted warfare.

Next, they formed a huge formation made up of seven mini formations and
entered the fray, shouting 'Kill' in unison.
These 500 machetemen saved the lives of the Dragon King and the main
body of the Great Snowmountain that day. If the machetemen had not come
to their assistance, the Dragon King and his men would have been wiped out.
Even though there were not many swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain
left, the appearance of the machetemen proved that they still had
reinforcements available. As more ground troops could be spotted coming to
their assistance, the Golden Roc Fort decided to retreat and regroup.
It took Gu Shenwei a while before he could identify who his reinforcements

were. He quickly got on a horse and rode up and down the battlefield,
shouting orders to his swordsmen not to chase after the retreating enemy.
The commander of the Golden Roc Fort was much better than Gu Shenwei
thought, and he was worried that his men would be falling into another
ambush by chasing after their opponents. Intelligence provided after the
battle proved that his deduction was correct—Dugu Xian had at least a 1,000
archers regrouped and ready to rain death on their pursuers.
The battle was basically over when the machetemen and swordsmen who
were on foot arrived. They saw the survivors from the main body walking
towards them, carrying the bodies of the fallen comrades.
Neither side declared itself as the victor, as both sides suffered heavy losses.
The Great Snowmountain suffered about 700 casualties—about one third of

their troops. Gu Shenwei knew that even though he had won the battle, he
had lost the war with the Golden Roc Fort so far. Even though his men had
inflicted greater losses on the enemy, they would be able to replenish their
ranks quickly.
Once the Dragon King and his swordsmen arrived at their camp, the first
thing they did was not to commemorate their fallen comrades, but to thank
the machetemen who had come to assist them in battle.
The Dragon King gave the long-saber he was still holding on to as a gift to
Tuo Nengya, presenting it to the macheteman with both hands, as a sign of
respect. All the swordsmen began taking out their most precious items, aside
from their swords, and stacked them into a pile. They allowed the
machetemen to pick and keep those items they wanted, and even gave up the
best tent for their newfound allies to rest in.
In the past, Gu Shenwei had dismissed Tuo Nengya's idea of forming a team
of machetemen to fight the Golden Roc Fort as unrealistic. Little did he know
that Tuo Nengya would have brought his men to save him and the entire
Great Snowmountain from annihilation today. The little bit of admiration he
always had for the macheteman became true respect—Tuo Nengya had stuck
to his word and accomplished something seemingly impossible.
The long-saber was made of steel whiter than snow, and there was not a
single nick or drop of coagulated blood on it, even after Gu Shenwei had used
it to slay many enemies. Anyone could see that it was a weapon of rare
quality.
Tuo Nengya went down on one knee and received the long-saber with both
hands. At the same time, he pledged his loyalty to the young Dragon King.
He believed in the killer's ability and wisdom, and he placed even more trust
in their hatred of the common enemy. He had sensed the hate in the young
killer when they met three years ago, but it was only recently that he knew
they had the same target.
The Dragon King helped Tuo Nengya up and raised his voice as he addressed
the entire camp. "These are the sixth brothers from the Great Snowmountain
—Luoshen Peak, Danduo Peak, Greatsword Peak, Smallsword Peak, Canopy
Peak, and now we have the Machetemen Peak as well."
The men from the Great Snowmountain cheered loudly as they welcomed the
machetemen, treating them as their own tribesmen.
After that, came the burial of the dead. According to the customs of the Great
Snowmountain, the corpses were sent deep into the Snowmountain and
buried under the ice and snow to preserve the looks of the dead. However,
they were now far from the Snowmountain now, and there was not much
snow or ice around them. Therefore, they had to break from tradition and
make do with what they had.
They made a clearing on a slope in the valley, where the Gu family's manor
used to stand. Pieces of wood were stacked on the ground and the corpses
were placed on top of the firewood. They continued stacking layers of
firewood and corpses in the same manner until a tall tower-like structure was
formed.
The warlocks, who had accompanied them, began praying to the heavens for
its blessings and laid curses on their enemies. After they were done, the
Dragon King set fire to the pyre and they watched as it burned to ashes.
The living grief, while the dead rest in peace," he chanted continuously as the
ashes spiralled up into the skies.
More and more joined him in chanting, and these words soon became the
Great Snowmountain's eulogy for their dead.
The Golden Roc Fort sent men to challenge the Great Snowmountain to
another battle, but the Dragon King ordered his men to not react.
After the first battle, Gu Shenwei understood the difference between warfare
and assassination. Dugu Xian, who remained hidden behind the scenes, had
taught him a valuable lesson that he could not have learnt in the past few
months, when fighting against the small forces that Shu-lik sent to suppress
the Great Snowmountain.
That night, he summoned his military counselor for a private meeting. He

apologized sincerely to Fang Wenshi, and said that he should have listened to
his counselor's advice. The Dragon King knew now that contending for
power in Western Region was different from taking revenge. The former
required him to focus on building up his strength and consider killing as a
means to that end. Whereas the latter spurred him on to crush his enemy even
at the risk of perishing together with the enemy.
Fang Wenshi did not show any pride at having won over this master, even if
he felt pleased with himself. "There are always a victor and a loser in
warfare," he said. Even though 700 of the swordsmen had perished in the first
battle, their leader was still alive and they had new allies in the machetemen.
Fang Wenshi felt that things were still looking good for them. "Also, the
battle was not for nothing. We didn't lose, and displayed our strength for all
to see. The Golden Roc Fort, however, made a grave mistake."
"Their cavalry which came as reinforcements definitely were not put together
at the last minute. They were well trained, and in his haste, the Supreme King
exposed his ambition and strength to everyone to see. This would in turn give
us an opening for suggesting a peace deal," the counselor continued.
As he began giving serious consideration to making peace with the Golden

Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei realised how hard it was to go against his original
conviction. He had struggled and survived till now, fuelled by his need to
exact vengeance. To ask him to give that thought up, even temporarily, made
him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Fine." He felt a heavy burden was lifted from his soul as he said it. He could
not remember whether it was his Master Shifu Tie Hanfeng who had told him
before that even if hatred was a source of energy, one should control it and
not be controlled by it instead. He trusted in his ability to consider the big
picture and keep his own hatred of the Shangguan family in check. "Let's
begin the peace process now," he continued.
He summoned Tuo Nengya to get his opinion on the issue. The macheteman
was experienced in the ways of the jianghu, and immediately understood the
Dragon King's motives once he heard what he had to say. He made no
comments but raised two concerns. "It won't be easy trying to make peace
with the Supreme King, and I'm afraid Shu-lik would be displeased as well."
Upon hearing this, Fang Wenshi immediately had a much more favorable
opinion of Tuo Nengya. He felt that the macheteman and himself were of
similar thought. "That's right!" he exclaimed, unable to control his own
excitement at having found a soul mate. His reaction scared Tuo Nengya a
little. "This is the crucial part of our plan to gain a foothold in Western
Region," Fang Wenshi continued.
Gu Shenwei decided to listen instead of speaking up, sensing that his

counselor was eager to express himself.
"The Supreme King would definitely not want to make peace with us. The
Golden Roc Fort has the upper hand now, and even a few thousand of our
swordsmen are nothing in his eyes. Besides, it would diminish his authority
and give us time to regroup by entering into a peace deal with us. On the
surface, this negotiation is between the Golden Roc Fort and us, but in fact,
we'll involve the Central Plain as our negotiation partner."
Tuo Nengya wrinkled his eyebrows, puzzled at how the Central Plain was in
the picture at all.
"The Central Plain has been consolidating troops to the east of Jade City all
these years, but it's a very slow process, and they're not able to conquer the
entire Western Region in one go as yet. Therefore, it would want to maintain
the status quo, and would especially not wish for Shangguan Fa to become a
legitimate king and claim Jade City for himself. Having to contend with the
Great Snowmountain to its west, Shangguan Fa's conspiracy with Norland
and coronation would definitely be delayed and affected. Using this fact, I'm
confident of convincing the Central Plain to step in and force the Supreme
King to make peace with us. Furthermore, I've heard that there's a rising force
in Jade City gathering under the name of 'to Stop all Killing' and is anti-war.
Its leader is the Four Truths Temple, and from our current situation, I feel it's
also an important boost to our aim of achieving peace."
"What about Shu-lik? Wouldn't our actions anger them and lead their army to
attack us?" Tuo Nengya asked.
"Never," said Fang Wenshi triumphantly. He emphasized each of his words

as he continued, "The King of Shu-lik is a sheep in wolf's clothing. He'll
support the winning side. If we lose badly, he'll definitely take advantage of
our weakness and inflict greater losses on us, to earn the forgiveness of the
Golden Roc Fort. If we win the support of the Central Plain, he won't dare to
react. The strong get stronger, and if Shu-lik wants us to do their dirty work,
we'll aim to profit at their expense."
This was Fang Wenshi's strategy and he split the duties with the Dragon King
after concluding the meeting. He would pay a visit to the highest ranking
official from the Central Plain residing in Western Region, while his lord
would sneak into Jade City and link up with the anti-war factions. It would be
the first time in three years Gu Shenwei re-entered Jade City, ever since his
rebellion.
The only problem left was to convince the swordsmen from the Great
Snowmountain.
Chapter 272 - Heavenly Protection
Chapter 272: Heavenly Protection
Gu Shenwei summoned several chiefs and important people within the tribes
to his tent, for an important discussion. There were about thirty of them.
Fang Wenshi volunteered to persuade the swordsmen. Dragon King could

push the blame to his military counselor if Fang Wenshi failed. "At the worst
case scenario, they would not kill me, would they?" he asked nervously.
Gu Shenwei refused and decided that he would do the convincing himself.

Fang Wenshi kept reminding him of what to take note of and what to avoid
saying, but Dragon King threw all caution to the wind with his first sentence.
"Everyone, I've decided to cease battle with Golden Roc Fort and we'll make
peace with them."
This statement caused a huge uproar in the tent.
Fang Wenshi tried to signal Gu Shenwei by wincing, blinking and shaking

his head vigorously. Due to the constant shaking of his head, he earned the
nickname of 'Head-shaking Military Counselor'. News of his actions soon
spread throughout the camp.
Long Xiaoshi, the one-eyed chief of Danduo Peak, who was injured, stood
up. This affected his wound and he winced in pain. "Cease fire? Dragon
King, what do you mean?"
The chief of Luoshen tribe did not attend the meeting, but a young man in his
twenties came on the priest's behalf. The man stood up as well. He then
realized that he was in no position to speak, so he sat down in a huff. He used
so much force that he nearly fell over his seat.
Like the military counselor, the chief of Smallsword Peak shook his head
continuously. He said "impossible" every time he shook his head.
The irascible chief of Greatsword Peak screamed. He could feel his blood
pressure rising, and coupled with the fact that he hadn't recovered from his
injury, he fainted and fell from his seat.
The other swordsmen were dissatisfied. They drew their swords to show their
displeasure.
The late chief of Canopy Peak had perished on the battlefield and was
succeeded by his son, Long Fanyun, who was also the Dragon King's
Weapon Carrier. He had just received a saber from Dragon King, so he did
not voice out his displeasure out of loyalty. However, his face flushed. It was
obvious that he disagreed with Gu Shenwei's suggestion.
Gu Shenwei spoke after everyone had vented their frustration. "As the 'Chief
of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks', I plead with all empyrean
children to give me three years. If I can't destroy Golden Roc Fort and
Shangguan Family within three years, I am willing to accept heaven's
punishment and offer my life as an apology for my failure."
The people of Great Snowmountain claimed to be descendants of the

Empyrean, and were extremely afraid of 'heavenly punishment'. This was the
most sincere pleading as Dragon King made such strong vows.
Everyone was speechless momentarily.
The chief of Greatsword Peak was beginning to come to as he heard Dragon

King. He felt indignified and sad. "Dragon King, Dragon King, why did you
make such a vow? Why did you give in to the enemies? Had our lack of
bravery let you down? Were you deluded by the enemies after you had left
the icy sanctuary?"
Tuo Nengya was silent, while Fang Wenshi turned red from guilt. He wanted
to rebut but he kept quiet after glancing at Dragon King.
"The courage of the people from Great Snowmountain is unmatched," Gu

Shenwei replied. He had thought of many ways to convince the swordsmen,
but he finally decided to be open and honest. These swordsmen were the core
of his strength and were his most valuable resource. If they did not stand
together with him, all his plans would have come to naught.
"Each swordsman is a gift from the Empyrean, thus I can't let you die in vain.
The comrades that have died, and those that will die, are losses which I don't
want to bear. I want all of you to live and become the most distinguished
group of people in the world. When you step on the ruins of the Golden Roc
Fort, the entire Western Region will be kowtowing to you. This is my
promise, Dragon King's promise to you. To achieve this, I will have to play
dirty. This is our enemy's best trick, and now, I'm going to let them have a
taste of their own medicine. I will not hide anything from you, and I hope to
have your trust and agreement. Should any swordsman in the tent disagree
with my proposal, I will not do it."
There was a long silence. Everyone kept their heads down as they swallowed
their bitterness. They had to keep their feeling of pain and loss in check for
Dragon King. It was Long Xiaoshi who broke the silence with a sigh. "There
are so many swordsmen in Great Snowmountain, who have a grudge against
Golden Roc Fort. How should we break the news to them?" he asked.
"Let the gods say."
Just as the chiefs predicted, the hatred the swordsmen felt was at its peak
after the terrible battle. When the chiefs announced that they would be
making peace with Golden Roc Fort, it caused a huge commotion in the
camp.
Gu Shenwei gathered all of them at a clearing and repeated what he had told
the chiefs earlier to the other swordsmen. Finally, he asked, "Let me ask all of
you now. Are you willing to hand over the right to negotiate to the
Empyrean?"
No one was in favor of the negotiation, but no one objected to it as well.

They had sworn an oath to serve the Dragon King faithfully, as he had ended
the civil war in Five Peaks and united everyone. He even led them out of
Great Snowmountain. The swordsmen would never go against their oath.
"Let the gods decide," somebody said. Soon, everyone was agreeing with
him.
The three warlocks, who came with the army, were prepared to slaughter nine
horses, nine cows, and nine sheep. The animals were sacrificial offerings to
the spirits. They then burned the carcasses at a nearby peak and threw the
innards on the ground. They tried to interpret the intention of the Empyrean.
Fang Wenshi did not believe in divination, so he asked Dragon King

privately, "This is a superstition. Will it work? If the warlocks spout some
nonsense, we will have no more room left to manoeuvre."
"The Empyrean always takes care of me." Gu Shenwei was extremely certain
that things would go his way. He was more confident in the 'gods' than the
swordsmen of Great Snowmountain. He had some secrets that he would not
tell anyone.
At daybreak next day, the warlocks announced a decree publicly. The

message was short and sweet - "The heavens bless Dragon King".
Cries of "Dragon King, Dragon King" broke out, and even Tuo Nengya's
machetemen cheered along. The sounds from Great Snowmountain camp
traveled all the way to the enemy's camp which was 10 li away. The troops of
Golden Roc Fort were startled and thought that they were ambushed. They
scrambled to their stations only to realize that it was a false alarm.
Just like this, the negotiation was settled. However, there were much to
prepare for.
First of all, the news had to be kept secret. Once the news is spread, Shu-lik
would be furious as they were deceived. Shu-lik would retaliate by sealing
off their exit route and might even attack them. Great Snowmountain had to
make use of this last period of alliance with Shu-lik to gather as many
supplies as they could for the winter. They had to be prepared to defend their
camp for a long period of time.
Golden Roc Fort had inadvertently helped Great Snowmountain. Supreme

King had originally planned to establish a stronghold in the valley. Thus, he
wanted to store a large number of supplies there. Gu Shenwei knew about it
and got two hundreds cavalries to ambush eight hundred machetemen from
Golden Roc Fort. Not only did they disrupt Supreme King's plans, but they
also managed to snatch the supplies away.
Xu Xiaoyi and Long Qinying managed to transport many supplies over

quickly from Shu-lik City and Great Snowmountain respectively. It was
estimated that the supplies were enough to last three thousand men for at least
four to five months. The supplies could last until the next spring.
Next, they had to decide who to represent Great Snowmountain for the
negotiation. Golden Roc Fort would definitely do everything in their ability
to stop Great Snowmountain from allying with other forces. Their
representative would be in danger right after he left the camp.
Fang Wenshi decided to go to the residence of the Commanding Officer of

Central Plain in Western Region to convince the officer alone. It was his
dream as a counselor to take on such a task. He wanted to ask for some
allowance. Even the simple-minded swordsmen were worried that he would
run away with the money. He might join the mightier Central Plain Army or
return to his hometown.
Gu Shenwei's decision to give Fang Wenshi the money was not because he
trusted the military counselor, but because he happened to have some gold
hidden in the East. "Take this letter, and look for a man called Zhong Heng in
the Central Plain Army. He will take care of you and give you what you
need."
Fang Wenshi had no choice but to take over and hide the letter. He doubted
whether Dragon King had so much clout, for an officer to fork out tens of
thousands of gold with just a letter. He lamented his fate once again for
following a stingy master. It was so hard for him to get a bit more money
from such stingy master.
Gu Shenwei only took Chu Nanping with him when he left for Jade City. It
was easier to get himself exposed if he brought more people with him.
Furthermore, his task was much easier. After he had gotten the support of
various forces in Jade City, he could return to the camp in the West anytime.
The last problem was how to pass the customs. Dugu Xian had already
blocked off the entire route, and there was full of checkpoints. It was
impossible to bash their way through.
Fang Wenshi solved this problem as he was already prepared it when he was
in Shu-lik city.
One day in mid-September, a Shu-lik merchant caravan past by Great

Snowmountain camp. Three ordinary looking slaves then sneaked on board.
Their names were on an official list, which was endorsed by Shu-lik
authorities, and the owners recognized them. Xu Xiaoyi had spent tens of
thousands of silver taels for this list.
Shu-lik lent its road to Great Snowmountain. However, they were still
maintaining a cordial relationship with Golden Roc Fort on the surface.
Hence, the team of merchants was allowed to pass the border. It took an
entire day to inspect every single goods and person on the caravan. They
were then released.
After the first checkpoint, they were inspected by soldiers in almost every
village, where they were resting in. After the inspection, the soldiers would
stamp on the list.
This situation lasted for three days. The caravan traveled so slowly that it was
almost caught up by a team behind.
The governor of Jade City could only hold power for three days and the three
major nations took turns to appoint the governor. This year, the governor was
appointed by Norland.
Fang Wenshi once speculated in front of King of Shu-lik that Norland would
go against its tradition by appointing an important person to take up the post
of Governor, so to get Golden Roc Fort's support.
He was right.
The Governor from Norland was named Mo Chu. Even though the Mos
wasn't the royal family, the Mos was one of the important noble families. Mo
Chu was in his sixties and had once served as a minister. He retired a few
years ago and dozens of his children and grandchildren held high posts.
The act of the bed-ridden Khan from Norland sending someone who used to
be an important official to govern Jade City showed a subtle attitude. Even
the merchants could sense that there was something unusual. There were
many speculations and many even felt that Norland did not trust Supreme
King.
Mo Chu was an important figure regardless. Judging from the influence he

had in Norland, his status was greater than that of most kings of smaller
nations in the Western Region.
His clout was evident from the scale of his entourage. He had brought about
five hundred people with him from Norland. There were about two hundred
servants, two hundred guards, dozens of clerks and dozen of his favorite
concubines. He was definitely young at heart.
There was a merchant among the team of merchants from Shu-lik who had
dealings with the Mo family before. Therefore, he was represented to pay
respects to the newly appointed governor. He offered a lot of gifts to Mo
Chu.
The two teams then traveled together. The rest of their journey was
unimpeded and they didn't encounter any inspections.
They finally arrived at Jade City in late September. They rested for a day
before they continued on their journey. During this time, two servants,
unfortunately, passed away due to a disease. Their names were removed from
the list.
Gu Shenwei then returned to Jade City. He was here for a different purpose.
In the past, he wanted to kill people. This time, he wanted to stop the killing.
However, he was still wanted. Many would come after him if his cover was
blown.
He took out his Dragon Head Sword and Five Peaks Saber, which were
hidden throughout the journey. He believed that they would come in handy in
the next few days to come.
Chapter 273 - The Old Friend
Chapter 273: The Old Friend
It seemed that this place had not changed at all in the last three years.
Pleasure Valley was still the hottest place for famous prostitutes, and
Southwall Tavern was still the best tavern in the city. The most popular
prostitute was still Xiao Fengchai, and everyone was still gossiping about the
real age of this woman.
But for Gu Shenwei, everything seemed to have changed. This city used to be
the hunting ground for this young killer, but now he was being chased like
prey. He did not dare to even show his real identity. Everything that had been
connected to him was wiped out from this city.
Kun Society was still there, and its leader was Shangguan Fei again. This
man was always hiding in North City and he gave orders to this organization
of machetemen from there. Meng family was becoming more and more
wealthy. They had purchased Gui Garden's peach forest in the south of Hope
Alley, which was surrounded by high walls to keep unauthorized personnel at
bay.
Endless killing was still a common occurrence in South City. No matter big
or small, the Protectors kept disappearing and reappearing. Now Gu Shenwei
could only recognize a few of them.
The war at the western border had only become a topic of conversation for
the citizens. What was different was that "that killer" now had a proper name,
Yang Huan, the Dragon King of the Great Snowmountains. It was the same
as "that woman", which was the Eighth Young Mistress in the fort.
"That killer is nothing without the Demon Bird. He's just a bandit chieftain.
I'll bet the Snow Mountain Gang won't even survive until the end of the
year."
That was what Gu Shenwei heard when he entered a tavern. Everyone around
the speaker also voiced their agreement.
"Don't speak about such things so easily. That killer was good at plotting
schemes, remember? So many sons of the Supreme King had died because of
him. Not to mention that all those killers in the Stone Castle couldn't even
find a trace of him after all these years. Besides, the fort had been attacked by
him. He's a tough one, I'll give him that." But this man who defended the
Dragon King did not win much support.
Shopkeeper Lyu, who had lost a finger, stood by the counter and looked at
the customers coldly. He was bored even though those men were making his
business prosper. Compared to another much more profitable business, that
wine-selling business was a waste of time, although the wine was the best.
However, it was a good cover for him.
Shopkeeper Lyu noticed the cloaked guest immediately when he came in. He
found two things: First, this man hid his weapon in the cloak and managed to
fool the guards; second, this man had a familiar temperament to him.
This man's face was a little dark. He has a thick beard and the corners of his
eyes were tilted, which was the symbol of a man in the Western Region. He
must have endured the hardship of the journey, and acted like a businessman
who just walked out of the desert by running to the tavern before he even
found a place to rest.
"A cup of wine." However, this anxious guest only asked for so little.
Though the counterjumper was disappointed, Shopkeeper Lyu was surprised

and nearly dropped his pen. He signaled the counterjumper with a wink. The
counterjumper understood and changed his attitude. He cautiously invited the
guest to the private room.
Shopkeeper Lyu kept vigilant when he stood in the private room. Not many
people had the chance to communicate with Yang Huan, and he was one of
them. Though he was motivated by his curiosity, he was still frightened to
come face to face with this killer.
Three years ago, he had helped Xu Xiaoyi and Chu Naping leave Jade City
and had helped Gu Shenwei transfer more than a million taels to Shu-lik.
This deal was profitable. Gu Shenwei gave him a commission of 20 percent.
But If Golden Roc Fort knew about this deal, then he would not have earned
a dime.
Thus through this deal, Shopkeeper Lyu discovered a brand new way to earn
money: transfer the money to those who did not want to show off. Lucky for
him, numerous people in Jade City had the need.
Of course, a high risk will yield a high reward. Those who wanted to transfer
their property often had a bad relationship with Golden Roc Fort. Shopkeeper
Lyu had to take precautions all the time against the killers.
"You should not have come to South City now," Shopkeep Lyu said. He was
not sure of his attitude toward the Dragon King since he had not seen him for
three years. Though this man was a king, in this city, Yang Huan was only an
outlaw. However, he was much more than any ordinary Protector and had
countless access to resources.
The killer pulled open his cloak and revealed the saber and the sword.
Shopkeeper Lyu seemed to feel the pain of his lost finger again when he saw
that. He immediately changed his attitude and smiled consciously. "Of
course, you're safe in my place."
"I trust you." Who Gu Shenwei really trusted was not Lyu or his own
weapon, but Xu Xiaoyi, who was Lyu's most important partner.
"Am I supposed to call you— Dragon King, now?" Shopkeeper Lyu asked
tentatively.
"Yes."
The killer is serious, thought Shopkeeper Lyu. He then straightened his face
and said, "How can I help you, Dragon King?"
"I came here to negotiate peace with Golden Roc Fort."
His words were so abrupt and surprising that Shopkeeper Lyu, an

experienced cunning old fox, could not comprehend and react. "What?
Negotiate…peace? Do you propose to make peace and then…assassinate
them?"
"No assassination, just negotiation."
Lyu was stunned. His eyebrows wrinkled and loosened, and wrinkled again.
Finally, he asked, "Are you serious?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"Well, that's…that's good. But I don't think I can help you. My words don't
carry much weight in the fort." Shopkeeper Lyu reacted and said the worst
thing first.
"You don't need to talk with Golden Roc Fort. Do you like war?"
"Me? Of course not. Actually, most of the businessmen don't like war. Our
businesses will definitely be affected once there is a war. Only some of these
people can benefit from it."
"Hence, you merchants must support this negotiation."
Shopkeeper Lyu was enlighted. "I got it. But regardless of whether we like it
or not, we won't speak out about it. Who wants to mess with the fort?"
"You don't need to speak. Soon there'll be someone coming to ask about your
attitude, and all you need to do is to tell them the truth. But I hope that all the
merchants can make preparations in advance. Otherwise, you might be fooled
and be manipulated by others."
It was the Dragon King who wanted to manipulate the merchants, and
Shopkeeper Lyu knew it well. But for him, everything was business. Thus he
showed reluctance in his face, and said, "This will be difficult and risky. You
know how many spies the fort has…"
"You'll get paid, and it'll be worth your while."
Though Shopkeeper Lyu did not ask for the exact payment, he understood
that he will not be treated badly, based on the numerous deals he had made
with the Dragon King through Xu Xiaoyi." I can guarantee you that the
businessmen in all walks of Jade City will become solid supporters of your
negotiation."
"I heard that there's a 'Stop Kills Society' that had appeared in the city?"
Since Gu Shenwei had completed the major task, he started to make another
inquiry.
"Yes, but it can't be depended on."
"Why?"
"It was just a deceptive thing. It's like… um… the guild of the machetemen.
Yeah, a guild, with a flag of so-called 'stop killing'. It also collects fees from
the machetemen. But all they do is bury the dead after a killing. Just think
about it, how can the machetemen live if they really 'stop killing'?"
Shopkeeper Lyu only made bad comments about this society. Gu Shenwei
visited another person this night. He wanted to know more.
Not many people had heard of Zhao Tong. He was called "Little Four" at first
and then became "Old Four" in his twenties. In his thirties, he was "Uncle
Four", and now, he was fifty years old, everyone called him "Father Four".
Now, he was influential among the machetemen and did not need to work
himself to the bone. Although he did not manage to become "Master Four",
he was satisfied with his present life.
Mister Zhao was cautious against this unfamiliar guest. But this man gave
him the original holograph of Boss Tuo, so he enthusiastically invited the
guest to come inside and for a private talk.
"I'm flattered that Boss Tuo is considerate of my worn-out bones. How

should I address you?" This guest looked ordinary, but Mister Zhao was sure
that he had something special according to his experience.
Gu Shenwei showed his saber and sword again. "Mister Zhao, do you
remember the killer who had visited you three years ago?"
Three years ago, Gu Shenwei was still running hither and thither for the
building of the machetemen teams. He had nearly visited every old
macheteman in the city and had the chance to meet Mister Zhao. Mister Zhao
had refused his invitation, but he introduced several good machetemen for Gu
Shenwei.
Mister Zhao's face suddenly changed. "Wait." He walked out of the room and
closed the gate. He then came back and shut the door of the room. "I'm
honored to be in your presence, Dragon King."
Gu Shenwei held Mister Zhao's body before he kneeled down. This old
macheteman would be more trustworthy than Shopkeeper Lyu because he
had been assured by Boss Tuo.
Gu Shenwei wanted to know how the machetemen had reacted to the war.
Mister Zhao thought for while and gave him this answer: "Actually, as long
as the fort is willing to pay the money, the young machetemen will attend the
war. After all, they have a family to feed. To tell you the truth, Dragon King,
people in this city did not hear much about your prestige."
The old macheteman said it very politely. In fact, Gu Shenwei did not have
more influence than that flash-in-the-pan Giant Red-crowned Roc.
However, in contrast to Shopkeeper Lyu, Mister Zhao gave an absolutely

different answer regarding "Stop Kills Society". "That society is like a home
to the machetemen. Even I paid the membership fee. Stopping killing is not
practical, that's true. But the society did save many people. Those orphans
and widows no longer have to live in the street. If the Dragon King wants the
machete men to support the negotiation, then you must go to the society.
There was a reason why Gu Shenwei chose not to contact the "Stop Kills
Society" from the beginning. The creator of the society were several monks
from the Four Truths Temple. Master Lianhua was one of them. But those
monks did not supervise the affairs. Joy Pavillion in Hope Alley was the real
supervisor.
Why would those monks have a relationship with the freaks of Joy Pavillion?
Gu Shenwei was confused. He had been thinking about this ever since he had
heard of this society a year ago. He thought that there must be some secrets
behind it.
Besides, Gu Shenwei had once killed an Immortal Peng and did not trust the
new Immortal Peng. Thus he decided to let Chu Nanping contact Joy
Pavillion and he stayed in the dark.
It was late. Gu Shenwei navigated through the crowds and went back to his
residence on the city border. This was the third day since he had returned to
Jade City. He walked out of his house and discovered that he was being
followed when he was passing a street with many casinos and taverns.
Chapter 274 - Memory
Chapter 274: Memory
Gu Shenwei walked into a quiet valley. The stalker was very careful as he
always kept a distance of a dozen steps away from Gu Shenwei. He could
keep a close eye on Gu Shenwei by relying on the lights from the houses
along the street.
This stalker was experienced. If Gu Shenwei was not that suspicious, then he
would not have discovered the stalker.
The gate of a house in front of Gu Shenwei was unlatched. He stopped at the

gate, checked his surroundings, pushed open the gate, entered the yard and
closed the gate gently behind him. He stuck himself to the gate and listened
for any sounds as he grabbed his sword hilt with his right hand.
Gu Shenwei could hear the sound of people laughing inside the house. This
was a prostitute's house and she was entertaining her customer. The servant
had forgotten to close the gate.
Gu Shenwei waited for a while. Then he suddenly pushed the gate forward.
He reached his left arm out and pulled in a person. He then placed his saber at
the person's neck with his right hand.
That man was holding onto a limestone in his right hand as he was about to
make a sign on the door. He couldn't even react and he froze in his original
posture. A chill ran down his spine. His body softened, but he managed to
stand straight with his mouth wide open due to the presence of a saber at his
neck. He didn't even dare to breathe.
"What is your name?" Gu Shenwei whispered. The laughter from the house
was gradually becoming louder and it made for a good cover.
"Wang…Wang Cheng."
"Who is your master?"
"I…I can't say."
Gu Shenwei exerted a little strength and the saber sliced through a layer of
the stalker's skin.
Wang Cheng did not have much courage despite the fact that he was an
experienced stalker. All of a sudden, his eyes dilated, his limbs twitched and
his mouth was foaming.
Gu Shenwei loosened his grip. Wang Cheng kept convulsing as he slowly sat
down. He was dead, but the blood that was flowing out from his neck was not
even enough to feed a mosquito.
He had bitten the toxic pill inside his mouth and committed suicide.
Gu Shenwei bent down and observed him for a while. He did not know much
about poisons so he could not find any clue. There was nothing special on his
body, so Gu Shenwei sheathed his saber. He pushed open the gate and left
quickly. He left the body behind for the prostitute and her customer.
There were quite a few people in South City who appeared to have no
connection with Golden Roc Fort, but in fact, they were working for the fort.
However, Wang Cheng was not one of them. He was just a stalker. There was
no need for him to poison himself upon being caught.
Gu Shenwei returned home with his suspicions. He suspected that

Shopkeeper Lyu and Mister Zhao was involved because he was followed
when he left his house for the first time in three days. The problem must lie
with the two of them, but he wasn't sure who was the one.
This small yard was located in a developing village on the border of South
City. The residents here were mostly poor machetemen and businessmen. Xu
Xiaoyi bought this yard through someone else a year ago and had asked an
old servant to guard it. The guard only recognized Xu Xiaoyi's seal. The
nearby residents often changed, hence they wouldn't pay much attention to
their neighbors.
Xu Xiaoyi had rented or bought seven to eight similar apartments in different

locations. They were bought or rented in preparation for Gu Shenwei's return.
Chu Nanping came at midnight. They patrolled around the house and did not
find any stalkers.
The second Immortal Peng almost couldn't wait to meet killer Yang Huan.
When he saw Chu Nanping, he figured out that the Dragon King must have
entered Jade City.
"He said that Joy Pavilion can protect us." Chu Nanping was simple-minded
and naive, and he trusted Immortal Peng's words. "We don't need to stay here.
Golden Roc Fort wouldn't dare to create trouble because there are many
masters in Joy Pavilion."
Gu Shenwei did not want to move to Hope Valley. In fact, he changed his
residence at dawn in the next morning. Both him and Chu Nanping also
disguised themselves.
Gu Shenwei was relaxed since Immortal Peng was in a hurry to see him. For
the next three days, he disguised himself as a hired macheteman who wanted
to avenge his master and inquired about Wang Cheng. Even though Wang
Cheng was so cowardly, he had been willing to kill himself over a small
incident. He was definitely being controlled by someone powerful.
But no one knew Wang Cheng. There were only two Wang Chengs in Jade
City, and both of them were living well. They had nothing to do with the
stalker.
Gu Shenwei visited Mister Zhao and Shopkeeper Lyu again. Although Chu
Nanping was on the lookout, he hadn't detected any stalker on both
occasions. Gu Shenwei thought that the problem might lie with Chu Nanping.
No matter how the teenager was dressed up, he still had the temperament of a
swordsman, hence Chu Nanping could be easily identified by experienced
stalkers.
Gu Shenwei temporarily put this matter aside and went to meet Immortal
Peng one evening.
The previous Immortal Peng was an ugly dwarf, but now he was replaced by
a slightly bearded, white-faced scholar. The scholar's style was very different
from that of his predecessor. Besides, he had no screen to cover him. He was
sitting cross-legged on a hard wooden bed, and there were two boys standing
on both sides. One of them held a sword, while another held a miniature
Buddha. The incense burner was emitting dense smoke into the air, which
enveloped Immortal Peng in a mysterious atmosphere.
Without a strong hypnotism, the second generation Immortal Peng was less
mystifying than his predecessor. However, his words were just as mystifying.
"Everyone will return to Joy Pavilion." This was his first sentence.
Gu Shenwei had previously learned the Secrets of Love at Joy pavilion, so he

was regarded as a disciple of Joy Pavilion. He did not want to be tangled up
in this issue and asked directly, "I heard you are in a hurry to see me?"
"I heard that you want to negotiate with Stone Castle?" Immortal Peng asked.
Gu Shenwei once reminded Chu Nanping not to say too much. However, Chu
Nanping had treated Joy Pavilion as his second home, so it was difficult for
him to stay vigilant here. Chu Nanping revealed all of the Dragon King's
plans when Immortal Peng had shown his goodwill. But he didn't even realize
that he had leaked the information.
"Well, I am tired of killing. I don't want to bleed anymore nor do I want to let
anyone die for me."
"Do you think that Stop Kills Society can help you reach an agreement?"
Gu Shenwei did not have such high expectations but he nodded. He said,
"But I don't know whether the society can do it."
"Ha ha." Immortal Peng smiled kindly as though he was an almighty god who
was facing an innocent, naive child. "There's nothing that Joy Pavilion can't
do."
"Joy Pavilion or Stop Kills Society?"
"Joy Pavilion is Stop Kills Society and Stop Kills Society is Joy Pavilion.
Times have changed, Yang Huan. The divine power of Immortal Peng has
now exceeded that of Hope Valley and now, the entire Jade City has to listen
to him. If you want to negotiate, then he'll see it through."
The white-faced scholar seemed to have a cognitive bias towards his identity.
Though he claimed to be Immortal Peng, he used terms like "Immortal Peng"
and "he" instead of "I" to express his opinions after some time. It seemed that
he was possessed by the dwarf. Although he was just a messenger, his way of
speaking would often awe the listeners.
However, Gu Shenwei was not affected by it. He knew that the dwarf
Immortal Peng would not talk to him in such a calm manner. "But 'he' has
some conditions. Tell me. An open discussion is important for cooperation."
Immortal Peng smiled, but he did not say anything. The two boys bowed and
left. Chu Nanping also retreated. After his return to Joy Pavilion, the Dragon
King was no longer the only one who could command him.
The immortal and the killer were the only ones remaining on the third floor
of Joy Pavilion.
Immortal Peng took out a white handkerchief, which was as big as a quilt.
There were many tiny characters on it. He touched the handkerchief in a
loving manner, and then looked up and said, "Do you remember this thing?"
"The screen."
There was once a giant screen in this room, which was used to cover the
dwarf Immortal Peng. The Secrets of Love and the so-called sixty-four
training methods were recorded on it. After when Gu Shenwei had killed the
immortal and smashed the screen, the disciples rewrote the notes on the
handkerchief based on their memory. The size of the handkerchief was the
same as the screen.
"Most of Immortal Peng's efforts were on this handkerchief, and you had
nearly destroyed it."
"Immortal Peng had already reincarnated, so he wouldn't care about it."
"He doesn't care. But it's time for you to return a part of his memory."
Gu Shenwei was prepared to deal with Immortal Peng's nonsense, but he was
still confused when he heard this sentence. He said, "I will return it if I have
it. But I don't have it."
"You have it." Although Immortal Peng was calm, he seemed to be a little
urgent. "When you had killed him, you had taken a roll of paper away. That
was his memory and everyone witnessed it."
That roll of paper was contained in the Death Scripture which was written by
Gu Shenwei when he was deluded. It was not Immortal Peng's memory. "Oh,
I have an impression of it."
"Yes, that's it. Return it to him, and Immortal Peng will make your dream
come true." There was a tinge of urgency in Immortal Peng's tone.
Three years ago, there were two disciples of Joy Pavilion who had wanted to
take that roll of paper back from the killer. The white-faced Immortal Peng
had taken a long time to realize this because he had been spending a lot of
time to practice the Secrets of Love and the sixty-four methods. In the end, he
still failed to practice collectively nor have a mental connection with his
disciples. He had to speak through the mouth of others. That was how he
knew that his predecessor had not recorded the entire manual on the screen.
The lost manuals must be that roll of paper, which had been taken away by
the killer. The disciples of Joy Pavilion were convinced that, if it weren't for
their fear and distrust towards the outside world, they would have searched
the entire Western Region to hunt down Yang Huan.
"Please prove the capability of Stop Kills Society before we discuss the
return of the 'memory'." Gu Shenwei held onto his sword hilt and was
prepared to leave. He wanted to head to Four Truths Temple to find Master
Lianxin. It would probably be more helpful.
"We can prove our capability anytime!" Immortal Peng became dignified and
ruthless. His deep voice swayed the candlelight.
A dozen strange-looking disciples of Joy Pavilion suddenly appeared from

the windows and downstairs. They were holding onto different weapons and
surrounded the killer.
Chu Nanping was late by one step. He jumped to the Dragon King's side and
drew out his long sword without saying a word.
"Chu Nanping, this man killed your brother," a disciple with a tumor on his
forehead said sternly.
"No one can kill him before I have mastered Emotionless Swordsmanship."
Chu Nanping's swordsmanship was improving rapidly under Gu Shenwei's
guidance. However, he still could not forget about Emotionless
Swordsmanship, which he would never be able to master.
The disciples were eager to attack, so Gu Shenwei drew out his saber. He
would only kill one person with his sword every year, meaning that the quota
for this year had already been used.
The two sides calmly confronted each other and waited for an opportunity.
The disciple who stood at the stairway was the first to discover something
strange. He blurted out, "The peach forest is on fire."
Sure enough, red light from the flames was reflected in Joy Pavilion. The
thunderous burning sound was mixed with some crackling sound. It sounded
as if a giant monster was growling.
This fire was extremely strange but timely. All the disciples couldn't help but
look back. Seizing this opportunity, Gu Shenwei took Chu Nanping with him
and jumped out from the window. They jumped several times along the high
wall and disappeared into the darkness.
Gu Shenwei did not know the importance of this fire until the next day. He
only noticed one thing that night, and it was that someone was stalking him
again.
This time, Gu Shenwei brought this tail to his real residence.

Chapter 275 - String
Chapter 275: String
Gu Shenwei was followed for the second time. This stalker's skill was much
better than Wang Cheng and his hiding skills were better than Wang Cheng.
If it weren't for the peach forest fire in Gui Garden, which revealed his
shadow, Gu Shenwei would not be able to detect his traces so quickly.
After returning to his residence, Gu Shenwei made Chu Nanping stay in the
house. He then took off his robe and put on the black cloak. He jumped out
from the rear window and concealed himself on the roof so that he could spy
on that stalker.
The stalker did not know that he was being watched. He was monitoring all
night up until when two other people came to take over before daybreak. He
then left.
Gu Shenwei didn't care about the two newcomers and followed the first
stalker. His Lightness Skill and techniques were better, so he was not
detected.
At daybreak, the ignorant stalker entered a residence in the city and did not
come out again.
Gu Shenwei walked around the nearby area, but he did not find any
ambusher. When he returned for the third time, a middle-aged woman was
walking out from the residence with a basket in her hand. She seemed to be
going to buy some groceries.
However, she went directly to the city center. It was full of brothels, taverns,
and betting arenas, but there was no market.
Gu Shenwei followed her from a distance.
This woman didn't seem to know kung fu. Though she was vigilant and often
looked back, she did not find anything unusual. She had been some people in
black cloaks, but this was South City. Such attire was common.
The woman seemed to be walking around aimlessly. Gu Shenwei began to

wonder if he might have been fooled. In the late morning, she finally stepped
up her pace and headed straight to her destination.
She went to Pleasure Alley, where there was barely anyone. She then walked
into a house which had exceeded Gu Shenwei imagination.
It was Xiao Fengchai's house.
For many years, Xiao Fengchai was the most famous prostitute in Pleasure
Alley or even in the entire Jade City. Most people could not understand why,
but they were still fascinated by it.
Gu Shenwei had met her once when he kidnapped Wei Lingmiao with
Shangguan Ru. At that time, he had been wearing a mask and didn't speak at
all, so he believed that Xiao Fengchai would definitely not remember him.
Therefore, things were even more strange.
The small building beside where Xu Yanwei lived had changed ownership,
so Gu Shenwei had nowhere to go. Thus, he did not stay there. He just
needed to know who the mastermind was. He had to observe for a while
longer and then decide on his future actions.
Since he had already gotten rid of the stalker, Gu Shenwei decided to make
use of this opportunity to go to Four Truths Temple. Master Lianxin must
have been responsible for the "stop killing". Gu Shenwei could make use of
him to win the machetemen's support.
People could rent horses at the eastern market of South City. The market was
already open early in the morning. Gu Shenwei left a deposit, rented a strong
horse and headed toward the temple outside the city.
The first place he went to was Leftslope Vihara, which was located near Four
Truth Temple. No one was there. The thatched meditation hall had long been
deserted.
There were many male and female pilgrims at the entrance of Four Truths
Temple. Although they were pilgrims, they were eager as though they were
watching some fun.
"Buddha's blessings, I hope that the woman will come," a man with a greasy
face muttered excitedly.
Gu Shenwei came at a good time. The ladies of the new Governor were here
to offer incense and give alms. They were accompanied by the ladies of the
Shangguan and Meng families. They had arrived yesterday and lived in the
temple. However, few knew about this news. They were returning back to the
city today, so many people came here upon hearing the news. They wanted to
have a good look at them.
The citizens of Jade City still remembered how gorgeous Luo Ningcha was
when she had showed up three years ago.
"Did she come?" Some kept asking this question, but they didn't get a definite
answer. Some even wanted to bribe the receptionist at the gate, but they were
sternly refused.
Ordinary pilgrims were not allowed to enter Four Truths Temple today. Gu
Shenwei wanted to meet Master Lianxin, but the receptionist refused to
inform the master. Gu Shenwei said he wanted to give alms, but the
receptionist thought that Gu Shenwei was a playboy who wanted to peep at
the female donors. Thus, the receptionist said coldly, "Come tomorrow. We
don't accept silver tickets here."
Gu Shenwei was about to lead the horse and leave when a commotion broke
out. The crowd shouted, "They came out, they came out."
A bunch of guards who were carrying swords rushed outside. They drove the
crowds away and carved out a broad pathway. The onlookers were very
excited even though the ladies had hurriedly left.
"Where is she? Where?" The men craned their necks impudently. The women
looked at them disdainfully, but they didn't miss any detail.
"Oh, no. No, it's not her."
"Is she in the carriage?"
"No, no, she is the daughter of Bighead Kingpin. She must be riding on a
horse."
"Here comes the rider. No … eh … who is she? Pretty …"
"The Tenth Young Master, isn't that the Tenth Young Master from Stone
Castle? She hasn't gone down the mountain for a long time, has she?"
"Yes. Who would have imagined that, when she wore women's clothing, she
could be so…"
No one knew how to describe their feelings.
Gu Shenwei stood at the periphery of the crowd and saw Shangguan Ru

riding past him at a distance.
The last time he saw her in women's clothing was when they were visiting
Master Tiger Monk at Four Truths Temple. At that time, she had felt very
uncomfortable in women's clothing as though she was a bashful boy. Now,
she had already gotten used to it. She had even changed her horseriding
posture. Currently, her giant horse and her indescribable air made her stand
out from the others around her.
Even though she was really a young girl, she also had a feminine aura.
Women were envious of her and men were attracted to her.
This was a special kind of beauty that had always existed in her, but few
could detect it. Only the veteran lover, Wei Lingmiao, had known how to
appreciate it when she was only eleven. However, they were not able to meet
three years later.
Gu Shenwei didn't appreciate it as much as that of ordinary people.

During the three years of escape, Gu Shenwei had been monitoring Stone
Castle and would occasionally hear about Shangguan Ru.
On the same day when he was rescued by the Giant Red-crowned Roc, Lady
Meng confiscated her daughter's saber, forced her to wear women's clothing,
and placed her under house arrest. From then on, the term "the Tenth Young
Master" no longer existed. Only the citizens of Jade City would still use this
name out of habit when they mentioned her.
The reason why Gu Shenwei was unfamiliar with the girl who rode past, was
either due to the long distance, the strong initial impression of her or her
attire. A thin line in his mind suddenly snapped.
That thin line was connected to some good times of the past. Those moments
faded out as time went by. It was finally broken by the harsh reality and there
was no longer any emotional support.
For three years, he never cared how much he had changed, thus he did not
expect for her to change. The little girl who he used to play with, venture out
with and start a career with, had already become a part of his memory.
"Ah——"
"Wow——"
The onlookers hadn't thought of anything to describe the Tenth Young Master
who appeared for the first time in three years. They could only make
meaningless noises from their throats.
"It's worth it." The man with a greasy face looked around with a satisfied
smile on his face. "She's not worse than that woman. I think she is even
better."
"Yes." The crowds were still whispering excitedly even though Shangguan
Ru had already disappeared. They were not interested in the ladies at the back
of the group. Some men even closed their eyes to reminisce about the view
that they just saw. They knew that the appearance of the Tenth Young Master
would be the hottest topic in Jade City for days or months. As an onlooker,
they would be interrogated. Thus, they needed to remember every single
detail.
Gu Shenwei rode back to the city and followed the pilgrims. He didn't catch
up. He was thinking about how to find Master Lianxin and how to deal with
Xiao Fengchai.
After entering South City and returning the horse, he had come up with a
plan. It was simple. There was no need for him to think for such a long time,
but he felt that he had to keep thinking to keep himself awake.
Soon, a large amount of information came and occupied his mind.
Initially, he did not notice what the citizens were talking about, until an
insane beggar ran in and shouted ambiguously, "The Dragon King killed …
wipe out Jade City … everyone died, everyone died! Haha, they all died!"
"He dares to assassinate the Governor? The Dragon King is crazy," said a
man who was watching the beggar making a scene.
Gu Shenwei deeply felt that his ability to collect intelligence was much
weaker than Xu Xiaoyi's ability. It took him such a long time before he took
notice of what the people around him were saying.
The fire in Gui Garden's peach forest last night was not an accident. Some
assassins had attacked the new Governor and lit the haystack when they fled.
Autumn was the dry season, hence there were only a few peach trees left. The
Meng family, who bought this garden last year, had only one chance to watch
the peach blossoms blooming.
There was nothing much to see this season, but the Governor's favorite
concubine insisted on seeing the scenery. Thus, the Governor, Mo Chu stayed
over for a night at the garden. In the end, he could truly experience the
customs of Jade City.
In the end, this pampered troublemaking concubine had saved Mo Chu's life.
On that night, the spoiled woman had wanted to wear the Governor's clothing
to show off. It was probably Mo Chu's idea to build the atmosphere. Anyway,
the assassin had killed the wrong person under the dim light.
The Governor was shocked and passed out. He immediately returned to

North City after he woke up. He cursed and vowed that he would arrest the
assassins and skin them alive.
If this was Norland, countless officials and soldiers would have been
deployed that night. However, in Jade City, the Governor could only directly
command hundreds of men. This was not even enough to protect the
Governor, let alone to comb the city for the assassins.
The ladies who were at Four Truths Temple offering incense had heard the
news and returned ahead of schedule. All of the other forces had gathered at
the Governor's Mansion and discussed how to avenge the old Governor.
Hence, South City was not affected for the time being. Everyone regarded
this assassination as a piece of strange news.
From the Governor to the peddlers selling vegetables, they were absolutely
sure that the assassin was that killer— the Dragon King, Yang Huan.
When Gu Shenwei returned to his residence, he saw that those two stalkers
were still there. They were sitting by a tree and were pretending to play chess.
Chu Nanping stayed in the house as instructed by the Dragon King and never
came out.
Gu Shenwei passed by them and deliberately paused for a moment. He then

pushed the door and entered the courtyard.
The two surveillants were shocked and exchanged glances. One of them
threw the chess pieces angrily, turned and ran to report the situation to their
boss.
That night, all the surveillants were evacuated.
Gu Shenwei had originally planned to personally visit Xiao Fengchai at night

to inquire about her motive. She did not expose him to Golden Roc Fort,
which means that she had another purpose. However, he changed his mind.
He moved again with Chu Nanping and disguised himself again.
He then went to a nearby tavern and bought some wine. However, he did not
drink it. He sat around through the night. He did not hear any worthwhile
news. Those drinkers simply treated the news about the assassination as a
dish to go with the wine. Soon, they did not even mention it.
Gu Shenwei returned to his new residence. He carefully checked it out. He

went to bed after confirming that there were no surveillants.
As he closed his eyes, the image of Shangguan Ru in women's clothing

appeared in front of his eyes without warning. That broken line miraculously
returned to its original state. The new image replaced that boyish girl as
though she had been like this as a child.
Chapter 276 - Deception
Chapter 276: Deception
Gu Shenwei was surprised that someone was knocking on his door. He just
moved in last night. He thought, "Am I being followed again? Did the stalker
evade my repeated inspections?"
If this was the case, the stalker was not only skillful, but also bold. He dared
to visit in broad daylight.
Gu Shenwei opened the door personally. Chu Nanping was standing against
the wall and was five steps away from the Dragon King.
There were three machetemen at the door. The leader was in his thirties and
was robust. The other two machetemen were relatively younger and skinnier.
Although they had a sword hanging at their waist, the weapon seemed to be
unnecessary because it looked like an excessively large accessory.
As soon as the door opened, the three of them came in and stood in the
courtyard. They started to look around. When they turned around and saw a
swordsman by the wall, they were slightly surprised but weren't alerted.
Gu Shenwei moved two steps back and created a feint with Chu Nanping by
surrounding the machetemen. If the other party were experienced
machetemen, they would have been alerted and would have already reacted.
However, the three of them were more interested in the house and didn't
realize that they were in danger.
Normally, the other party would ask in surprise when the three of them
entered anyone's house. However, these two guys didn't say anything and
acted like blockheads. The built macheteman coughed. Then, a thin
macheteman raised his head and asked, "Are both of you new here?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"This is Boss Mo. All the machetemen here are under him. He has something
to say to you."
Gu Shenwei had never heard that there was a leader who was "managing" the
new machetemen before. However, he kept quiet. He held onto his sword
shaft as he kept his guard up.
When the robust Boss Mo reached out his arm to rest on Gu Shenwei's
shoulder, Gu Shenwei almost drew out his sword. Chu Nanping had even
diverted his Internal Breath to his fingers. No one could casually touch the
Dragon King even though he had not carried out the five steps ban on special
occasions. However, the Dragon King didn't react, so Chu Nanping didn't
draw out his sword.
The three swordsmen still didn't realize anything.
Boss Mo did not have any evil intention and said earnestly in a hoarse voice,
"Friend, it is hard to earn a livelihood. This is Jade City. There are thousands
of people who earn their livelihoods by killing people. You think you are
unique and have superb machete skills. But, no one knows you. You need
someone to recommend you. He will guide you along and give you work to
do."
"Are you the recommender?"
"Yes." Boss Mo turned around and looked at his two subordinates and said,
"This friend is experienced and promising."
Just when Gu Shenwei was about to open his mouth to send the three men
away, Boss Mo asked, "Have you heard of Stop Kills Society?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"Have you heard of the holy monk who protects the blade?"
"It's Master Lianhua of Four Truths Temple."

"Eh, you know a lot. Then you must have known that the holy monk has great
powers and could protect us from difficulties. He is our guardian. You will
have good luck after listening to his preaching. Your enemies won't be able to
harm you. He will also bless your sword. Your kung fu will improve and you
will be invincible. I think you are an honest man. You have just arrived in
Jade City and are unfamiliar with the place, so I am telling you this piece of
news out of goodwill. The holy monk will be preaching this afternoon and it
will cause a stir in the whole city. Thousands of machetemen will want to
listen to him. I have a few slots left. Do you want to go and listen?"
Gu Shenwei was surprised that Master Lianhua, who was once pedantic, was
working with this jianghu swindler. However, Gu Shenwei still wanted to
meet Master Lianhua. Hence, he nodded and answered, "Yes."
Boss Mo held out his palm and said, "A slot for ten silver taels, no bargain."
He only wanted the money and didn't care about the other party's name.
Holy monk Master Lianhua's conference would be held in an abandoned

garden in the suburbs this afternoon.
There were more than two hundred people in the audience, and most of them
looked dazed. They were obviously newcomers.
When the hour arrived, the familiar Master Lianhua went up to the altar and
started to preach. Monk Lianye was at his side to protect him.
Unsurprisingly, the monk spoke platitudes, recited a paragraph of Breaking

Obsession and preached. Initially, the machetemen tried to listen, but
gradually they couldn't keep up with the Master. They started yawning and
became bored. Hence, they talked to one another in the hopes of making use
of this opportunity to make some new friends.
Gu Shenwei was prepared. At the moment when he heard Breaking

Obsession, he immediately stuffed his ears with cotton balls. He had been
previously hurt by it so he didn't dare to listen to it again.
Master Lianhua finished his preaching in the evening. Then, the robust
swordsman, Boss Mo came forward again and boasted about the
effectiveness of Master Lianhua's preaching. He then said, "After listening to
his preaching, you will have good luck. Of course, the duration will vary
according to your fate. Even if you have the least fate, no weapon can harm
you for now. If you don't believe me, you can test it out."
Nobody was willing to be stabbed for no reason. Thus, they just looked at
one another and laughed. It seemed that they didn't believe Boss Mo's words.
"Tell you what. I believe that I have a little fate. Anyone can come and hack
me. If anyone can injure me, I will blame it on myself. If no one is able to
injure me, then you can treat it as a form of entertainment."
Boss Mo had a jianghu tone, and it seemed that he was trying to sell
something. He said, "Anyone? Anyone? Oh, shouldn't you have the courage
to hack people, since you are now earning a livelihood in South City?"
A macheteman who looked strong couldn't withstand the insults and shouted,
"I will try." He squeezed out from the crowd and drew out an enormous long
saber. He wandered a few steps in front of Boss Mo, then he suddenly
shouted and hacked at Boss Mo. The audience watched intensely as the saber
was heading towards Boss Mo's head. However, the saber tilted midway
involuntarily, brushed past his shoulders and landed on the floor. Boss Mo
wasn't hurt at all.
The swordsman touched Boss Mo's head and looked puzzled. The audience
started talking among themselves. Some began to believe, however some
thought that the swordsman had colluded with Boss Mo.
After which, there were five machetemen who also didn't believe it so they
volunteered to hack at Boss Mo. However, the results were still the same. All
of them missed their targets as their sabers tilted and brushed past him.
Now, everyone became excited. Machetemen rushed up as they wanted to try

it out. However, Boss Mo quitted and said, "Stop, I have used up most of my
fate and dared not to try again. Anyone who thinks he has a strong fate can
try for themselves."
No one was paying attention when the monk was preaching just now. Hence,
no one thought that they had strong fate. However, they believed most of
Boss Mo's words. They then shouted, "Preach again, preach again."
Boss Mo raised both of his hands and suppressed the shouting. He said,
"Listen to me. The holy monk will preach once every ten days. If you want to
listen again, you can register with me tomorrow at Fortune Tavern. One slot
for fifty silver taels."
The price increased five folds, but the machetemen didn't feel that it was
expensive. Some wanted to sign up on the spot, however Boss Mo rejected all
of them. Those who wanted to sign up had to do so tomorrow. Boss Mo then
said, "The holy monk will bless your weapon later, at a cost of eighty silver
taels. The effect can last for two to ten days as it varies with your fate.
Furthermore, Stop Kills Society is founded by the holy monk. Those who are
interested to join have to prepare a hundred silver taels. Members can enjoy a
20% discount for future preaching sessions and weapon blessings."
Most swordsmen had just arrived in Jade City, so they had little money.
Hence, they left bitterly. However, twenty people stayed behind and formed a
line. They were holding onto their sword in one hand and the silver taels in
another. They first had to apply through Boss Mo to join Stop Kills Society,
then they could respectfully ask the monk to bless their weapons.
The sky became darker. Only Gu Shenwei was able to see through the trick.
Boss Mo was standing at a strategic position where his right shoulder was
facing Lianye. Whenever someone attacked him, Lianye's arm would move
slightly and flicked out a small stone. It would then hit the blade. The monk
had strong Internal Breath and his calculation was very precise, thus the
attacker couldn't feel anything.
Gu Shenwei felt that it was strange of Master Lianhua who was on the altar to
turn a blind eye to such deception. There was a great difference between him
and the monk in Gu Shenwei's impression of him.
He wanted to talk to the monk when there were fewer people around, but he
changed his mind. He walked out of the garden, jumped over a low wall, hid
behind a tree and observed in secret.
The swordsmen who had their weapons blessed left in contentment. They
wanted to try out their weapon while the effect was still there.
Boss Mo bowed reverently to the monk and took all the silver taels away.
Liuhua and Lianye packed up. When they saw there was no one around, they
then put on their capes and hoods. They hurriedly left the garden in the dark,
as they wanted to leave for North City before the city gate was closed.
Gu Shenwei didn't follow them.
Gu Shenwei became more and more unfamiliar with Jade City.
Now was the time when Pleasure Alley was the most lively. Even if one
didn't have enough money, one could go over and stroll around in droves and
look at beautiful famous prosititues. One could take this wonderful
impression with him and look for other women. "Looking at the meat on
other people's plates while eating our own steamed buns and pickles is also a
mean of economic survival." Tie Hanfeng had brilliant summarized this
phenomenon.
Gu Shenwei knocked on Xiao Fengchai's door directly.
A beautiful yet emotionless maid opened the door and said, "Guest came at
the wrong time. Madam doesn't want to serve anyone today."
Gu Shenwei grabbed the door and said, "She will definitely see me."
"Who are you?"
"I am the person who Madam is waiting for."
The maid was hesitant. She didn't know who Madam was waiting for.
Usually, the guests would crowd around, but Gu Shenwei came alone and
didn't seem to have much money. However, Gu Shenwei's voice sounded
somewhat authoritative, and it was hard to refuse him.
"Wait for a moment," she said. She hesitated for a moment, opened the door
and let the guest in. "Wait here."
The maid hurried upstairs and left several elderly women behind to vigilantly
watch the strange guest.
Gu Shenwei took off his hood and black cape, and placed them in front of his
chest. He hid his right hand in the clothing and held onto sword shaft out of
habit. It had been a few days since he drew his sword, hence he felt slightly
anxious.
The maid came down and looked surprised. She became respectful and said,
"Guest, please go upstairs."
Gu Shenwei waited a little longer in a small living room on the second level
before being allowed to enter the inner room.
If he knew a little about the rules here, he would realize that it was unusual
for him to be able to meet Xiao Fengchai in such short amount of time. Few
could enjoy this kind of treatment among the men who met the famous
prostitute in Jade City.
As time had brought about great changes and everything in Jade City was not
what it used to be, the prostitutes here were the only thing that didn't change.
Gu Shenwei couldn't help but to think about it.
Xiao Fengchai who was under the light looked the same as three years ago.
Her elegant attire and the luxurious decoration complemented each other
even though it didn't match well.
"You look like you've seen me before."
"I kidnapped Wei Lingmiao here."
"Oh." Xiao Fengchai lifted her head slightly, "You are one of the two killers,
who were brought over by the little girl from Stone Castle. Yes, your name is
Yang Huan, and you are initially a subordinate of the Tenth Young Master."
Gu Shenwei was shocked. He drew out his sword. He then inhaled some
colorless and odourless powder. His body shook and his hand, which was
holding onto his sword, relaxed involuntarily.
Chapter 277 - Competition
Chapter 277: Competition
There were no blood stains despite the fact that a corpse was lying on the
floor.
"It's rare for you to think of me. Now the maids would not need to exert a lot
of effort to clean the carpet." Xiao Fengchai commented emotionlessly as
though she was used to seeing the scene of a murder. She didn't know kung
fu so she wanted to let the Dragon King exhaust his Internal Strength.
However, the killer who she arranged had made a mistake. She said, "I wish
that my machetemen were as competent as you."
She gently knocked twice on the table and two hunched elderly women came
in. They carried the body away without saying anything.
"I really can't control my machete skills," Gu Shenwei explained, but he

didn't intend to apologize. The person had wanted to ambush Gu Shenwei
with anonymous knockout powder from Golden Roc Fort. However, since a
few years ago, Gu Shenwei had been taking in a certain dosage of such
powder on a regular basis. Therefore, he was immune to it. He only felt weak
for a moment, but he didn't spare any effort to show mercy.
The strong had various choices, but the weak only have two options: to kill or
be killed.
"You are as uncontrollable as your machete skills, " Xiao Fengchai said with
a laugh. Her teasing seemed just right because it could be understood as
either a compliment or a sarcasm.
"Say. How can I help you?" Gu Shenwei didn't respond to her goodwill. The
killer was on alert because this woman had a certain air which could infatuate
other men. To control or be controlled. He had suffered a lot in this aspect in
the past so he was deeply concerned about it.
Xiao Fengchai's expression had not changed. However, she was more
interested in looking into the killer's eyes. She said, "One small thing."
"You are making a great fuss over nothing by spending so much effort, just
so you could find me for such a small matter."
"Spending much effort? Haha, it's not really true. My people have been
watching Lyu Qiying from Southwall Tavern, and they found a strange
young swordsman. He was disguised but appeared slightly nervous, hence
they followed him from far behind. Then, they saw you. He didn't know you
were the famous the Dragon King of the Great Snowmountain. I realized you
were the Dragon King when you got rid of the stalkers and startled two of my
men. I thought you would come last night, but I didn't expect that someone
would stand me up."
Unconsciously, Xiao Fengchai changed her attitude and became

approachable, as though she was an old friend of the Dragon King who hadn't
seen him for many years. That silent meeting through the mask suddenly
became a memorable affair.
This was her skill. She could detect the hidden feelings of the other party
through the smallest details, and adjust her attitude accordingly. A single
expression wouldn't be able to please all men.
Gu Shenwei didn't realize that his wariness was gradually diminishing. By

the time he realized, he had loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword.
"People usually find me to kill for them. Who do you want me to kill?"
Although Gu Shenwei was less wary, he was still unwilling to waste his time
here.
"The Dragon King is so direct. You make me feel a little embarrassed. The
person I want to kill … is related to the Dragon King."
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized how extraordinary Xiao Fengchai was. She

hadn't displayed this side of herself when they first met three years ago and
he didn't pay special attention to her either.
Xiao Fengchai's eyes were more alluring than her appearance and
temperament, even more so than all the other prostitutes in Pleasure Alley.
Gu Shenwei had seen many prostitutes. They all had their own special skills
and tricks to seduce men. However, most of them either had a poor
performance or a fixed expression. Xu Yanwei was like most of them as she
could only seduce inexperienced clients with her pitiful looks. She was
unable to serve experienced clients.
Their eyes revealed their true feelings. A casual glance could show their
displeasure towards the guest and their desire for money.
Xiao Fengchai's gaze and attitude were in harmony. When she acted noble,
her gaze looked indifferent. When she acted amicably, her gaze looked
playful. When she acted elegantly, her gaze looked empty. When she was
praising the client, her eyes showed respect. When she acted flirtatiously, her
eyes interacted with the client. All of her emotions were completely genuine.
Gu Shenwei came to a realization and raised his guard against her. Although
he didn't grab onto his sword hilt, he defended against her in his heart. Years
of killing had made him understand a truth: Killers did not need to use a
sword to kill. Counselors used their mouth to kill and women used their
hearts to kill.
"Shopkeeper Lyu." Gu Shenwei knew the reason, but he still asked, "How did
he offend you?"
"The Dragon King should know that I am a little woman who makes a living
through small dealings in this chaotic world. To be honest, I don't like
competition. Lyu Qiying probably didn't know that he had been snatching
away more and more of my business. I can't sleep because of this."
"You should have a lot of good killers. You don't need me."
"I have good killers, but Lyu Qiying has them too. It had become too late
when I discovered it. Now, it is a problem. I need a brilliant killer like the
Dragon King to help me eliminate the problem."
Gu Shenwei remained silent. There were many loopholes in Xiao Fengchai's

words, so he wanted to hear her explanation.
Xiao Fengchai smiled slightly brighter as her eyes looked slightly aggrieved.
She asked, "Doesn't the Dragon King believe me?"
"I have reasons not to believe you."
Xiao Fengchai adjusted her demeanor again. This time, she became
straightforward as though she was making a business deal. She was also
respectful towards the Dragon King. She said, "Yes. Why wouldn't Xiao
Fengchai approach Golden Roc Fort? Who is more suitable than a Golden
Roc killer in terms of killing a person in Jade City?"
Xiao Fengchai asked some questions and then answered them after a
momentary pause. She explained, "I have said that it was too late when I
found out that Lyu Qiying was my competitor. He has almost everything that
I have. Do you think he is in contact with Golden Roc Fort? Like all
businessmen, he has to pay a large amount of protection money to Golden
Roc Fort. Hence, if I ask Golden Roc Fort to kill him, I will have to pay a
huge price. I may have to bear the monthly payment for him. The most
important thing is that I know Lyu Qiying is doing business with the Dragon
King, so I was hoping to replace him. This cannot be made known to Golden
Roc Fort."
The relationship between this woman and the various forces in Jade City had
always been a mystery. Gu Shenwei didn't know how much trust he should
place in her. He asked, "Aren't you afraid that I will be killed by Golden Roc
Fort?"
"As long as the Dragon King is willing to cooperate with me, I can guarantee
you that no one in South City can kill you. Xiao Fengchai may not know how
to kill people, but she knows how to protect people." Xiao Fengchai sounded
very confident. Her gaze became as sharp as that of men. She said, "Golden
Roc Fort is the god of Jade City. However, due to its superiority, it had
distanced themselves from the ground. If you could maintain a low profile,
you will not be caught by the Supreme King."
Gu Shenwei had sounded Xiao Fengchai out and there was no need for him
to stay any further. Hence, he retreated towards the door and said, "I will
have to reject your proposal. However, I have to remind you that if Lyu
Qiying dies, you will not be safe either."
Xiao Fengchai was still smiling as though she was sure of her victory even
after being rejected. She said, "I am not in a rush. This is just a suggestion. I
hope the Dragon King can first think of my proposal when he needs a safe
hiding spot in Jade City."
The killer had left, but Xiao Fengchai was still smiling and pondering
interestingly. She believed that this meeting was still fruitful because she
knew more than the Dragon King. She was always the winner.
There were not many pedestrians on the street. Gu Shenwei was wearing a
hood while he was walking in the darkness. He didn't have an answer to his
biggest doubt. The first person who followed him was not sent by Xiao
Fengchai. The person who swallowed drugs and committed suicide had a
different background. Xiao Fengchai didn't know the existence of this person.
He went to his neighborhood, but he didn't enter the alley. Instead, he jumped
onto a roof from afar as though he was a killer on a mission. He laid low and
moved about at the dark side of the roof.
Xiao Fengchai hadn't said much, but Gu Shenwei guessed some of them. He
guessed that Golden Roc Fort had known that the Dragon King had infiltrated
South City and that they were secretly mobilizing killers to kill him.
He knew the tricks of Golden Roc Fort. Usually, killers didn't search the city
with great fanfare. They loved to search for targets secretly and then kill the
enemy discreetly.
This time was no exception.
After secretly moving around for a while, Gu Shenwei discovered the traces
of killers.
Two groups of killers were hiding in two houses, which were located in a
street behind him. They were guarding the entrance and the exit of the alley.
They were on standby, but they didn't want to alert the enemy.
There were two killers lying in ambush near Gu Shenwei's house, and they
were responsible for delivering information. There was a third killer on the
roof opposite the residence, and he was monitoring for movements in the
courtyard. Once the target appeared, he would send a signal to the two
messengers. Then, the two messengers would inform the other killers to
surround the house.
This was a standard assassination operation. If Gu Shenwei hadn't started his

inspection from the outermost periphery, then it would be very difficult to
find any clues.
Gu Shenwei didn't want to alert the enemy, but Chu Nanping was still in the
residence. He had to save this young swordsman.
The two assassins who were responsible for delivering information had to
change their positions regularly. They would move around the target's
residence, as this method would eliminate any blind spots.
After figuring out their pattern, Gu Shenwei laid in ambush at one of the
killer's path. He pulled out his saber and waited in silence.
A hunched killer came over quietly. He was staring at the house under the
moonlight, but he didn't notice the small shadow at the side.
Even though the distance was a little far, Gu Shenwei rushed toward the
killer with his saber and jumped like a cat.
The killer's head was hanging on the roof and made a slight noise. Gu
Shenwei pressed against his body and waited for a while before slowly
moving away.
Gu Shenwei touched the back of the second killer directly. The killer was
alerted and quickly turned around. He was already holding on to his saber.
However, he was slightly slower and was stabbed in his neck.
Under normal circumstances, Gu Shenwei had to retreat quickly after killing

a person. However, Gu Shenwei couldn't do that this time. Gu Shenwei was
holding onto a corpse in one hand while he caught the other killer's saber
with the other hand. He gently laid the killer down so as not to make too
much noise.
The killer who was responsible for the surveillance remained. He hadn't
moved for half a night. Usually, the killer who performed this role was the
best as he must have enough patience and keen judgement.
Gu Shenwei didn't want to take the risk of killing this killer. He went behind
the house, picked up three small stones from the ground and threw them at
the rear window. He threw two stones, paused for a moment and then threw
the last stone.
Chu Nanping heard the signal and quickly jumped out from the rear window.
Both of them quickly fled into the complex streets of South City.
The surveillant saw the both of them, but both of the messengers were dead.
It would be too late if the surveillant personally went to inform the huge
group of killers. Also, as he was alone, it was too risky for him to pursue the
Dragon King. Hence, he could only watch the targets disappear.
Xu Xiaoyi had a few houses in South City, but Gu Shenwei knew that none
of them was safe. He was betrayed and his whereabouts were exposed. As
Xiao Fengchai had said, he needed a safe hiding spot and had to maintain a
low profile.
He must find a secluded place to hide for twelve hours as now was the time
when he would experience the once-in-a-few-months qigong deviation.
Chapter 278 - Reward
Chapter 278: Reward
Gu Shenwei was tricked by Maid Lotus three years ago. Maid Lotus had
tampered with the seventh chapter of Wayless Qigong. Thus, Gu Shenwei
had practiced with the incorrect version. Till now, the Frosty Qi in his
Dantian had not been completely removed.
If it was possible, Gu Shenwei would never want to remember that six

months after fleeing from the Stone Castle.
He and the Giant Red-crowned Roc were hiding in the mountains while
avoiding all strangers. They had led a savage life. The Giant Roc had to fly
far away to get food.
The chill in his Dantian was constantly getting stronger. Although it was
summer, he felt as cold as if it was winter.
Apart from eating, he had spent many sleepless nights on practicing the
correct version of Wayless Qigong. He was fighting for time against qigong
deviation. He could temporarily suppress the chill as long as his Internal
Strength was strong enough.
He was able to survive, thanks to dwarf Immortal Peng. By practicing the

Secrets of Love at Joy Pavilion, his meridians were unblocked and he quickly
recovered his skills. He was able to counterbalance the Frosty Qi in his
Dantian after a few days.
However, the chill was becoming worse. Under the torture of the endless
chill, his face became pale and was unable to return to its original state.
There was a bitter war occurring in Gu Shenwei's Dantain. As a result, he

was unable to sleep well. If he didn't practice his skills for two hours, the
Frosty Qi would penetrate into his bone marrow and make him shiver. It
forced him to wake up.
At that time, he didn't know when such a hellish life would end. He often
wanted to end his life, but the Giant Red-crowned Roc dissuaded him from
doing so.
The Giant Roc knew that this human was in great pain, but it was willing to
protect, feed and console him. It chased away all wild animals within a five
kilometers radius and it flew far away to get all kinds of food, just like what
its parents had done before. It carefully thought of the human's tastes and
changed recipes constantly.
When the human became weak and wanted to end his life, it would flap its
wings and danced awkwardly to entertain him. When the human became
cold, it would use its feathers and body to warm him up so it could reduce his
pain slightly.
However, it didn't allow human beings to climb onto its back. There was one
time when it carried him on its back, but it was a critical moment and there
were no other options. There would never be a second time. It was a holy
giant bird and it was neither a pet nor a mount.
Gu Shenwei was exposed to the elements as he lived like a wild animal

during the last two months. He was almost naked.
He persevered and survived. However, he hadn't removed the root of the

problem. The chill in his Dantian would relapse every one to three months
and he would experience hell for the next twelve hours. He had to use all of
his energy to counterbalance the chill throughout its entire duration.
Only Chu Nanping knew a little about Gu Shenwei's condition. When the
Dragon King was fighting against the chill, he needed a protector. The Giant
Red-crowned Roc used to take on this role, but due to its unparalleled love
for freedom, it would disappear for seven to eight months. Hence, the young
swordsman had to take up this role.
"Dragon King, are you recuperating again?" Chu Nanping asked. Gu
Shenwei's face was paler than usual. This was the indication that the moment
was coming.
"Yes. Within three days."
Both of them had just escaped the killers' encirclement and were running
through the narrow streets of South City. They had to choose those deserted
paths and to avoid the faint moonlight.
There were no safe spots in Jade City, and Gu Shenwei didn't want to hide in
the mountains so soon. He wanted to do something as there were still three
days left. At the very least, he wanted to find the person who betrayed him.
It was either Shopkeeper Lyu, Mister Zhao or Immortal Peng who betrayed
the Dragon King. He temporarily excluded Xiao Fengchai as she was the
latest one who knew about the Dragon King's infiltration. Golden Roc Fort
might have even learnt of this news earlier than her.
At dawn, the Dragon King's whereabouts were exposed and everyone knew
about the Dragon King's escape. Spies who were sent by the various forces in
Jade City mushroomed. They were wandering around in their respective
spheres of influence and gave out wanted posters. Whenever they saw a
stranger, they would interrogate him even if he was a beggar.
Strangely, there were six to seven different kinds of rewards in the city at one
time. Golden Roc Fort, North City Meng Family, and other unknown
mysterious forces were the sponsors of the search. The monetary rewards
ranged from ten thousand to fifty thousand silver taels. Meng Family was not
the one who offered the most money. It was Stop Kills Society who offered
the most rewards. Furthermore, they wanted to capture the Dragon King
alive.
Gu Shenwei removed Immortal Peng from his list of suspects due to the
reward offered by Stop Kills Society. The scholar obviously had no intention
to share his information with Golden Roc Fort.
The other rewards weren't concerned about the Dragon King's fate. One of
them caught Gu Shenwei's attention. It specifically mentioned the Dragon
King's swords and even knew their names: Dragon Head Sword and Five
Peaks Saber.
The sponsor didn't reveal his name, but he said that he would contact the
person with the sword. The reward was twenty thousand taels.
After Gu Shenwei disguised himself again, he was wandering around in the

most lively places in South City. He was drinking tea and chatting with the
people. The new Governor, the two women in Stone Castle and the hunt for
the Dragon King were the three hottest conversation topics in town. Gu
Shenwei usually didn't talk much, but now he became talkative. Gu Shenwei
had to thank Tie Hanfeng for his guidance. He knew how to say pleasant
rhetoric.
Chu Nanping hid outside the city. His swordcraft was good but his conduct
was no different from that of an eleven-year-old. Thus, he would be easily
identified.
Chatting was useful as Gu Shenwei managed to integrate with the residents in

the city. After two hours, no one regarded him as a stranger and several
machetemen went past him without paying any attention to him.
Two swordsmen came to drink tea at noon. They ran all morning and were
getting tired. They hadn't seen the Dragon King and had only collected a pile
of conflicting news.
"I heard that he was arrested at Pleasure Alley."
"But others said that he went to North City to kill someone."
"He may be dead, and the killer is thinking about which reward he should
get."
"What is there to think about? Give Golden Roc Fort his head and wait for
the sponsor to collect the swords. Both rewards are greater than that of Stop
Kills Society. It's so simple."
"Sigh. I hope that I can find the Dragon King."
"Can you kill him?"
"That depends. If he is being hunted down and run past me coincidentally, I

will trip and stab him. Ta-da. I have enough money for the rest of my life."
The crowd laughed and no one took it seriously. It was similar to having gold
to fall from the sky and land on him. Everyone could imagine that. Even the
old man who didn't know kungfu was also staring at the rewards. He said, "If
I knew the whereabouts of the Dragon King, I would inform the sponsor and
get half the rewards."
"I don't want the Dragon King. I hope that he will throw his swords at my
feet when he dies. One cannot be so greedy. I will be satisfied if I can
exchange the swords for twenty thousand taels," a cheeky teenager
interrupted. He reminded Gu Shenwei of Xu Xiaoyi, who was in Shu-lik
City.
To the residents of Jade City, their impression of the Dragon King was a
large windfall.
What Mister Zhao said at the first meeting was right. Jade City residents
hadn't heard much about the Dragon King. Although the Dragon King had
killed countless people and had confronted Golden Roc army hundreds of
miles away, it had little influence in Jade City. Few believed that the defector
from Golden Roc Fort could match up to his former master.
Before the Dragon King had entered Jade City, the military counselor Fang
Wenshi had once urged him not to kill people there. It was better for him to
build a good rapport with all parties and get the support of Stop Kills Society.
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that the military counselor's suggestion was

not entirely feasible. He had to build his own influence so that his words
would be meaningful.
That stab at Xiao Fengchai's house probably aroused the killer's desire for
blood. That was the desire he hated, but he couldn't get rid of it. It was
secretly influencing its master to find a reason to resume killing people.
That night, Gu Shenwei headed to Southwall Tavern first. He discovered two

watchmen. In order to avoid their attention, he went to the backyard and
sneaked into Shopkeeper Lyu's bedroom. Shopkeeper Lyu was his first
suspect.
At dawn, Shopkeeper Lyu had just finished his business and was startled by
the unexpected appearance of the Dragon King. He almost called in all the
guards that were outside the room. Shopkeeper Lyu blew out the oil lamp and
proposed some suggestions to the Dragon King in the dark. He suggested that
the Dragon King should either flee back to the Western Region, hide in Hope
Alley or approach Four Truths Temple for help. He didn't want the Dragon
King to stay in Southwall Tavern.
Gu Shenwei asked a few simple questions. He didn't tell Shopkeeper Lyu

about Xiao Fengchai's threat. He then left secretly. Lyu Qiying wasn't the
informer as the informer would think of ways to dissuade the Dragon King
from leaving instead of sending him off.
Gu Shenwei was slightly disappointed. Mister Zhao was recommended by

Boss Tuo and was respected by South City machetemen. He hoped that
Mister Zhao was credible.
Gu Shenwei arrived at Mister Zhao's house at daybreak. It seemed that the

house wasn't under surveillance. He would rather wait until the sun had risen
before jumping over the wall to enter the house. Everyone was less alert at
this time of the day.
Mister Zhao lived alone. He was old and slept uneasily. He vaguely realized
that there was a person standing before his bed. He opened his eyes and
recognized the disguised Dragon King from his swords.
"Dragon King? Why … Why are you here?"
"Many people are coming after me. I have no place to go."
"Yes." Mister Zhao sat up, put on his clothes slowly and lowered his head.
He was obviously thinking of an idea. He then said, "I know of a place, but it
may not be entirely safe. It is possible to hide there for two to three days. If
the Dragon King doesn't…"
Mister Zhao then kept quiet. He was surprised that the Dragon King had
drawn his saber out and was pointing it at his bony chest.
That single sentence was insufficient to conclude that Mister Zhao was the
informer. If the other party was Shopkeeper Lyu, then Gu Shenwei would not
have hesitated to kill him. He wouldn't have any regrets even if he killed the
wrong person. However, he had to be impeccable because he was now facing
an old macheteman, who was recommended by Boss Tuo.
"I still don't believe what that killer said," Gu Shenwei lied.
Mister Zhao's flabby cheeks flushed as though he became angry after being
insulted. He quickly regained his composure and gave up on unnecessary lies
and self-protection. He said, "Tell Boss Tuo that the machetemen now are not
the same as before."
This was a lament and also a genuine confession.
Gu Shenwei accurately stabbed Mister Zhao's heart with his saber. Blood
slowly flowed out. He pulled the saber out after the tension at the initial
stages of death was lost.
This was the first person who the Dragon King had intentionally killed. He
would kill more people in the next few days. It would not only shock the
entire Jade City but would also create panic.
Chapter 279 - Raising the Flag
Chapter 279: Raising the Flag
The first reaction the citizens of Jade City had upon hearing about Mister Zao
Tong's death was indignation.
The old macheteman was already semi-retired and rarely involved in matters
of jianghu. How could one not grieve over his death after knowing that he
was brutally murdered in his twilight years?
There was no doubt in everybody's mind that the murderer was the Dragon
King.
On the night of Mister Zhao's death, a black flag was put up on a wall of his
house, and none of his neighbors understood its significance. The next day
when a curious soul went over for a closer examination of the flag, he found
out that the red blotches on it seemed to be made of blood. Sensing that
something was amiss, he broke into the house, only to find Mister Zhao's
corpse sprawled on the bed.
A large laceration stretched from Zhao Tong's chest to his abdomen, and his
bed sheets were covered with blood.
His death stirred up feelings of chivalry amongst the machetemen, and about
half of them now were willing to join in the search for the Dragon King.
Previously, only a few of them were willing to do it, and it was for the pay
too. The streets and alleys of South City were now filled with reckless youths
carrying machetes, and they spent their time eyeballing pedestrians who
walked past them intently, hoping to nail the Dragon King.
The Dragon King's raising of the Black Blood Flag was as good as a
declaration of war with the entire Jade City. What was puzzling was that all
was quiet for the next two days, and there were only a few minor incidents of
the grieving machetemen causing injuries to some citizens by accident. It was
as if the Dragon King had hidden himself deep under the depths of the sea,
and there was no trace of him at all.
Gu Shenwei had accomplished his first objective of killing the traitor, and his
actions caused everyone else to focus their attention on South City. Taking
advantage of this fact, he hid himself in a valley away from the city—he
needed 12 hours to commit himself fully to withstanding the piercing cold
caused by his qigong deviation.
Just like this, with only Chu Nanping's protection, he survived his first
qigong deviation since his return to Jade City with no hiccups.
On the third day after the murder of Mister Zhao, news of him leaking the
movements of the Dragon King to the Stone Castle began spreading around,
and the citizens began debating about it. It was also on this day that another
Black Blood Flag was raised.
The Kun Society had more than a thousand machetemen, and it was the
largest gang affiliated with the Golden Roc Fort in South City. It also had a
monopoly over most of the armed escort business. At the time of Mister
Zhao's death, its master, Shangguan Fei, was hiding in North City and a
blademaster was supervising its operations in South City.
The blademaster was known as Zhang Yan, and he was one of the few widely
known killers around the city. He had a nickname, 'Murderous Saber', but
everyone called him 'Merciless Saber' when speaking with him.
Zhang Yan was murdered even more brutally than Mister Zhao. He was
decapitated and his head was impaled on the pointed shaft carrying the Black
Blood Flag. It looked as if it was looking down on the entire Kun Society
base from high above. It was only after dawn when sentries and a few
neighbors who woke up early that day realized that the Kun Society's flag
was replaced. Investigations later revealed that Zhang Yan was murdered at
least four to six hours earlier.
The offensive flag with Zhang Yan's head stuck onto it was immediately
removed, but news of the horrifying scene had already spread amongst the
citizens of Jade City. The image was so vivid that it soon became deeply
rooted in their minds, and everytime they thought about it, the memory made
them feel afraid and strangely excited at the same time.
It had been a long time since there was any faction in Jade City capable of
going against the might of the Stone Castle, and the citizens had a feeling that
the struggle between the Golden Roc Fort and the Dragon King would be
much more intense than the earlier competition between the young masters.
They were soon proven to be correct. The Dragon King struck again, without
waiting for the shock from the news of Blademaster Zhang's death to die
down. This time, his target was in North City.
The Governor's mansion was protected by around 200 guards who came from
Norland, and they did regular patrols around the compound. There were also
an unknown number of assassins from the Golden Roc Fort providing an
extra layer of security, and they were never seen in the open.
On the second day after Zhang Yan's death, a Black Blood Flag was spotted
flying above the Governor's mansion. It had replaced Norland's White Horse
Flag, and two heads were impaled on the tip of its shaft. The victims were not
the guards from Norland—they were killers from the Golden Roc Fort.
The last time a criminal offense was committed in North City was when the
Tenth Young Master kidnapped Meng Mingshi. As for the last murder that
occurred in the city, the citizens could only recall one which happened more
than 10 years ago.
The Dragon King had picked his targets well and chosen the perfect locations
to strike, and his actions created a wave of panic on a scale that the citizens of
Jade City have never felt before. North City and the Governor's mansion were
among the least likely places one could find a victim of a murder, and killers
of the Golden Roc Fort were the most unlikely person to be assassinated.
The first person to be driven close to insanity from the intense atmosphere
was not the governor, Mo Chu, but the Ninth Young Master of the Stone
Castle, Shangguan Fei. In his hysteria, he claimed that he himself was going
to be the Dragon King's next target, and returned to the fort on the very same
morning when the latest murder was discovered, against the advice of his
subordinates. He would refuse to step out of the Stone Castle ever again.
Mo Chu felt that his authority had been repeatedly challenged by the Dragon
King not even half a month into his term as the governor, and he swore that
he would get his revenge. He publicly announced that he was going to
summon 10,000 elite troops from Norland, to first destroy the Great
Snowmountain's base camp and then to uncover the location of the
Snowmountain Gang's chieftain. He planned to let his troops loose in Jade
City and was even prepared to sacrifice the lives of innocent civilians to find
the Dragon King.
However, his staff quickly brought him to his senses. They warned him that
his plan could not be executed, as the Central Plain would send more troops
to Western Region if Norland moved first, which would cause undesirable
outcomes. They strongly advised the governor relying on the help of the
Golden Roc Fort to capture the Dragon King in Jade City.
To everyone's surprise, the Dragon King struck again not even two days after
Mo Chu was dissuaded from taking actions against the Great Snowmountain
by his staff. At that time, Shangguan Fei was just beginning to feel a
modicum of safety staying inside the Inner Residence, another Black Blood
Flag was raised on the watchtower at the peak of the Stone Castle.
This act made the Golden Roc Fort lose a lot of face.
The Dragon King had not actually caused any substantial damage to the
Golden Roc Fort by raising Black Blood Flags throughout the city, and the
blademaster and killers who were murdered by him were expendable. Image
wise, however, the Fort had taken a huge beating. It was like a clumsy giant
picking a fight with a buzzing fly, swinging wildly but never able to hit its
target. Not only could they not find the Dragon King, it was starting to look
like they might even lose this game against the Dragon King.
Rumors began spreading throughout the city that the Dragon King was no
longer alone, and that he had a team of more than a hundred killers with him,
ready to challenge the assassins of the Supreme King. They said that the
battle between both sides would take place in Jade City, and that once the real
fight begins, at least half of the population in the city would be wiped out.
As the rumors grew more terrible in nature, they spread even wider. Some
citizens who were timider even moved their entire family to villages at the
outskirts of the city, and many merchants began packing for emergency
evacuation.
Thus, Gu Shenwei achieved his second objective—to strike terror within Jade
City so that he had a pretext for peace talks.
This achievement came at a huge price though. Although it seemed to

outsiders as if the Dragon King was able to enter and leave Jade City as he
wished, and that he could do anything he wanted, he himself knew that with
every strike, his space to roam shrank by a huge margin. Killers from the
Golden Roc Fort were beginning to corner him into a dead end.
His act of raising a Black Blood Flag in the Stone Castle was especially
dangerous, even though it got the best results. Gu Shenwei did not intend to
try it again.
To enter the Stone Castle, which was situated at the peak, he hid in the
undercarriage of a water delivery cart, and just as it was nearing the stone
bridge at the entrance of the fort, he quickly released himself from the cart
and hid in the nearby bushes. He remained there until late night, when he
climbed the wall of the cliff until he reached the bottom of the bridge. When
the guard was slacking off, he shifted to the side of the bridge, and began
climbing slowly and spider-like to the opposite end, using potholes as his
handholds.
He was above a deep ravine, and if he slipped he would be falling to his

death. Even Gu Shenwei himself felt that it was remarkable for his climb to
be entirely accident-free.
The penultimate act of killing and planting the flag was the easiest part of his
mission, as the Stone Castle was huge, and not all sentries were kung fu
masters. The two guards at the watchtower were not even killers, and they
were not even alarmed when Gu Shenwei was climbing up the wall of the
watchtower and accidentally stepped on a loose piece of rock.
After he replaced the Golden Roc Flag, Gu Shenwei stood gazing towards the
interior of the Stone Castle, his hand tightly gripping the shaft of the flag
pole. He felt a strong impulse to rush inside and kill the inhabitants of this
hated place.
However, he knew that security would be tighter the further he went into the
castle. He controlled his impulse and left the same way he came from.
On his way back, he nearly met with disaster. When climbing back across the
stone bridge, his fingers slipped and he nearly fell. Luckily, he managed to
grip onto a small pothole with one hand. He clung on and remained
suspended from his fall in this manner for a while, not daring to move.
While he managed to accomplish his mission and people began to think that
he could do anything he wanted, after his close shave, Gu Shenwei decided
that he would never sneak into the Stone Castle in this manner ever again.
He struck in the dead of the night, picking his targets and planting more flags
around the city. During the day, he would 'hide' by openly mingling in the
busiest teahouse in South City.
The guests in the teahouse soon became familiar with him, and they thought
that he was living nearby. No one bothered to consider the fact that he was a
stranger who only began appearing a few days ago.
He was pleased with the reactions of the citizens in Jade City. Even though
most of them were fearful of the impending battle between the Dragon King
and the Golden Roc Fort, quite a number of them felt that it would just be a
spectacle of a bigger scale then they had ever seen before, and that it would
not affect them personally. "Let them kill each other, what does it have to do
with us? I don't know any kung fu, and don't wish to claim the bounty on the
Dragon King anyway," was the prevailing train of thought.
The bounties were doubled, but the amount of people who were willing to try
to claim them grew lesser substantially.
Next, Gu Shenwei changed his strategy of only targeting killers from the
Golden Roc Fort. That night, he struck again, this time at a few inns situated
at the outskirts of East City. The next morning, when four merchant caravans
got ready to move off from the inns they were staying at, they noticed that a
Black Blood Flag was struck on each of their cargo carriage. The blood on
each flag came from the head of security of each caravan, and they were
machetemen from the Kun Society who were paid to act as armed escorts.
Gu Shenwei was so efficient that the team mates of the victims, who were all
sleeping near each other, did not even wake up when they were murdered and
decapitated. They only noticed that their leaders were murdered upon waking
up, and it led them to shout hysterically in panic, totally unconscious of
losing their image as battle-hardened machetemen.
None of the four caravans dared to move off that day.
Trading was an important source of income for Jade City. A substantial

portion of earnings of the Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family came from
it, and the lives of the ordinary citizens were also closely interlinked with
trade. The Dragon King was causing major disruption to the daily flow of
everyone's lives by his actions.
What made matters worse was that some machetemen began following the
Dragon King's example—they started to kill and plant Black Blood Flags
after the deed. Some of them were caught but found to have no connection
whatsoever with the Dragon King and the Great Snowmountain, while others
managed to avoid detection just as Gu Shenwei did.
The struggle was an exercise in subtlety.
Gu Shenwei's motive was to stir up panic in Jade City, which would lead to
dialogue amongst each party involved in the situation, as well as allowing
them to anticipate what was to come. However, he had to maintain close
observation of public opinion on the ground. He knew he had to hold back his
killings at some point in time, before he managed to offend everyone.
On the 18th day after he raised the first flag, when he thought everything was
going smoothly, his luck ran out.
At this juncture, even he had to admit that it was no longer kung fu or smarts
that allowed him to single-handedly cause so much disruption and panic in
Jade City. Luck played an important part in his success.
That very afternoon, he was chatting idly as usual with 'familiar faces' in the
teahouse, unaware that danger was nearby.
The hot topic of that afternoon was when would the Dragon King stop killing
or be killed himself.
"It'll never end," said a middle-aged man. He sounded as if he was a

soothsayer bemoaning the fate of mankind and the entire universe. "It's Jade
City's doom, and no one can escape from it," he continued.
His statement set the tone for the afternoon's discussion, and the others
started sounding more and more pessimistic.
"Jade City has been around for a few centuries, hasn't it? Is it going to fall
because of the Dragon King?"
"If this continues, no one will be able to conduct business, so how can the
city survive? What do we have of our own? Even our grains and food are
imported from far away."
"Why not we let the Dragon King and the Supreme King duel amongst
themselves. Whoever survives wins, and we'll get the peace we want,"
suggested someone boldly. No one took the speaker seriously.
The guests soon began talking about other matters to avoid dampening their
moods by continuing with the heavy topic about the city's impending doom.
Out of nowhere, an old man, who Gu Shenwei had noticed the first day he
had started to mingle in the teahouse, spoke up. "Business in other parts of
the city has been affected, but this teahouse has profited from it. Everyone
comes here when they have nothing to do, and there are new guests here
everyday."
The manager was all smiles as he nodded, agreeing that business was indeed
brisk these few days.
"New guests."
Gu Shenwei's expression became serious, as his right hand reached into his
long robe for his Five Peaks Saber.
Killers of the Golden Roc Fort had successfully trapped the Dragon King.
Chapter 280 - Bow and Arrow
Chapter 280: Bow and Arrow
Gu Shenwei's tracks had been discovered five days ago, and the killers from
the Golden Roc Fort took their time to prepare a perfect trap for him.
A few of them snuck into the teahouse everyday, acting like friendly
neighbors by greeting the other guests warmly and joining in every
conversation. In this way, 17 of them were already lying in wait for the
Dragon King when it came to them for them to act.
Of course, real citizens could recognize which of the guests were not from the
neighborhood, but they did not pay any special attention to strangers, as there
would definitely be guests from out of town in a teahouse. Gu Shenwei was a
fake 'neighbor', and thus could not tell the difference between strangers and
citizens.
The old man's idle conversation with the manager alerted the Dragon King,
so the killers had no choice but to execute their plan prematurely. What
happened next stunned the old man to such a great extent that he remained
speechless afterward for a few days.
The rest of the guests and the manager were so frightened that they hid under
the tables. They could only hear the never ending sounds coming from the
clash of weapons, but miraculously, after the incident, they all claimed that
they saw what happened.
"There were blood and pieces of flesh flying across the teahouse, and human
heads were raining down upon the floor. There was one head that fell before
me, and I'm not bluffing, I swear it even grinned at me."
"None of the 20 killers were left alive."

"All 50 killers perished in the fight."
"A hundred killers…"
The rumors became more and more exaggerated, but only a few people truly
knew what happened that afternoon.
Gu Shenwei cut down seven of his opponents with 24 strokes of his saber,
however he caught three blows and nearly lost his life in the teahouse.
He had just drawn the Five Peaks Saber, when a saber came slashing at him
from underneath the table. He lifted the table using a palm and struck down
the 'guest' on his left with the saber. At the same time, he was cut at his left
waist.
The wound was not deep, and it did not cause him much pain. He continued
hacking at his opponents.
The interior of the teahouse was not very spacious, and there were obstacles
all around it. Gu Shenwei could not circle his enemies and pick them off one
by one. He could only take them on directly and he had to be wary of sneak
attacks on his exposed back as well.
Chu Nanping did not enter the city with the Dragon King, as he was not
suited for stealth missions, even though he was highly skilled in kung fu. He
would have been exposed too easily.
The fight in the teahouse was a chaotic melee that did not suit either side, and
it was especially disadvantageous for Gu Shenwei. Just as he killed his sixth
opponent, another one made a long slash on his back. Blood poured out from
his wound and half of his torso was soon covered in it.
That said, he still managed to bash out an escape path. He had no intention of
being stuck in a prolonged fight.
He leapt out of the teahouse after striking down another opponent with two
more strokes of his saber, closely followed by the remaining killers, who kept
him within five steps.
The fight ended as abruptly as it had started. Pedestrians outside of the
teahouse were still bustling about, minding their own business. The bloodied
Dragon King knocked into one of them as he rushed into the crowd, and
nearly fell after losing his balance. This momentary pause led to the killers
catching up with him, and three sabers came slashing at him.
Two of them missed their mark, but the last one drew a shallow wound on Gu
Shenwei's right arm.
It was at this moment when three masked archers, who were lying in wait on
the room opposite the teahouse, released an arrow each, taking down the
three killers. They saved the Dragon King's life.
The pedestrians were beginning to realize what was going on. "The Dragon
King is coming!" someone shouted as everyone panicked, the entire street
descending into a state of chaos.
Gu Shenwei did not even have time to see who had saved him, since there
were still seven killers hot on his heels, and he had to run even faster if he
wished to escape from them. He took advantage of the chaos and snuck into
an empty alley by following the crowd. He leaned against a wall and caught
his breath, thinking hard about how to escape from South City. He was sure
that the 17 killers had back up, and any misstep would lead into another trap
again.
As he was deep in thought, two masked archers leapt down from the roof,
short bow in hand.
He brandished his saber in front of him, and it made him feel the wound on
his shoulder. He did not feel anything earlier because of the adrenaline rush
from the fight, but could sense a bone piercing pain now.
"Follow me," a masked archer said. The voice was evidently that of a woman.
The two archers were holding on to unloaded bows and did not seem to pose
any threat to him. Gu Shenwei nodded and lowered his saber, still holding
onto it just in case.
The three of them ran deep into the alley, made a few turns and came to a
small yard. They leapt over its walls, and there were three black capes ready
for them to wear in a room. As the two archers removed their masks, Gu
Shenwei could see that they were women who were about 17 to 18 years of
age.
He could not recognize any of them.
It was not the time for introductions, however. They quickly donned their
capes, and one of the women started feeling around the floor boards. She
opened a trap door, revealing a hidden underground passage. She leapt in,
followed by Gu Shenwei and the other archer.
The passage was not long, but when they emerged from it, they were already
in another room a few streets away. There was a carriage waiting for them
outside the room, and the two women leapt into it, followed by Gu Shenwei.
The horsekeeper gave a shout to get the horses moving, and directed them
forward.
As the wheels of the carriage began moving, Gu Shenwei could finally have a
moment of respite to tend to his wounds. He removed his cape, tore away
part of his sleeve to bandage up his wounds. The two women just sat looking
at him and did not offer to help.
After he was done, he began wondering about the events of the last half an
hour.
"The killers from the Golden Roc Fort had me surrounded, and nearly
succeeded in killing me. However, their plan was foiled by some masked
archers."
The archers' shortbows made him think of somebody he knew—Liuhua the

Silencer, the marksman from the Dragon Year apprentices.
He then thought about someone else he was familiar with as well.
Gripping his Five Peaks Saber, he turned to his 'saviors' and asked coldly,
"Who's your master?"
Both women shook their heads simultaneously, and one of them replied, "It's
not time to reveal our master yet. Follow us, Dragon King, and our master
will talk to you personally."
The next moment, the carriage hit a hump, and Gu Shenwei seized this
chance to leap out of the carriage through its back door, merging quickly into
the crowd. The two women did not have any chance to stop him, and the
horsekeeper was oblivious to what was going on behind him.
It did not matter who his 'savior' was, Gu Shenwei did not want to meet him
or her without knowing anything about who he or she was. He knew that this
person would have no difficulty finding him, should he or she wish to meet
him again. After all, he or she knew about the Golden Roc Fort's trap before
he even realized it.
Just the thought that his savior could be that woman that he was so familiar
with gave him the chills.
Gu Shenwei prided himself on having good sources of information, but he

did not expect that Maid Lotus and the New Moon Hall would disappear off
the grid for the past three years. Even though Shangguan Nu was still seemed
to be at the border of the desert, busy with wiping out the New Moon Hall, he
had not been achieving any real progress for a protracted period of time.
Both he and Maid Lotus knew each other's deepest secrets—that his real
name was Gu Shenwei and she stole the Wayless Book for the New Moon
Hall. Even though they had never made a pact to keep their secrets to
themselves, neither of them leaked the other's secret to a third party.
He could see traces of Maid Lotus' method of handling things from the
sudden emergence of the archers. Maid Lotus had allowed Liuhua to shadow
her previously, and there was no doubt that she would know how to utilize
archers as well.
He felt his Dragon Head Sowrd hanging at his waist. Out of nine exceptional
weapons crafted by the blacksmith Daga, only this sword had not yet tasted
the blood of its enemies.
He was preoccupied with thoughts about the impending final battle between
the two of them, both similarly trained in the Wayless Book and the Death
Scripture, and did not notice where he was heading to.
Even though she could have been the one who had saved his life this time, it
was not enough to settle their differences.
Unknowingly, he had walked into Pleasure Alley. It was not far from the
teahouse, and news of the fight between the Dragon King and the killers had
already spread like wildfire. Scores of stern-looking machetemen were
patrolling the streets, inspecting each brothel one by one. Passers-by were
also frequently stopped and interrogated crudely.
Business in Pleasure Alley was affected negatively as a result of the actions

of the machetemen. The prostitutes, their maids and elderly women servants
either stood at the streets or peeked out from their windows mocking the
ineptitude of the killers and the machetemen. There were even a few famous
prostitutes amongst them, and the men prowling the streets—even some of
the machetemen who had a task to accomplish—could not help but keep
turning their attention to the eye candy.
Gu Shenwei walked into a corner between two walls and wiped off the make
up from his face vigorously with his cape when he saw that no one was
looking. He was unafraid of being recognized after removing his disguise,
since he was sure that no one in Pleasure Alley would remember a killer
named Yang Huan who used to own a brothel in the alley.
He removed his hood and became just like any other man, walking on the
streets while looking at the ladies occasionally. The women began mocking
the machetemen more enthusiastically, as their audience grew larger.
"Oh, isn't that old man Li? Just two nights ago, you swore that you would kill
the Dragon King by yourself, and split the bounty with me. What happened
today then? Did the Dragon King slip from you? You look like your wife has
died, you bastard. You should be happy if your wife's dead…"
The man being recognized as "Old Man Li" had more than 10 machetemen
with him, and did not lift his head to acknowledge the woman calling him
out. He was prepared to start a fight with whoever was laughing the hardest at
him, and did not notice a pale and sickly looking youth passing him by. The
youth looked nothing like the Dragon King who had escaped from the
teahouse earlier that afternoon.
Gu Shenwei walked slowly to the center of the street, and lifted his head to
see a very pretty prostitute giving off all kinds of signals to the men looking
at her from below. She was using the opportunity to promote herself.
She had to do so, as she was facing heavy competition. Xiao Fengchai's
brothel was just next to hers.
Xiao Fengchai would never show her face under such circumstances, even if
most of the men were queuing up outside her house.
Gu Shenwei knocked on the door of the pretty prostitute's house, and a few
men who were in the vicinity gave him knowing smiles.
A maid opened the door and invited him in enthusiastically. She brought him
tea and began talking to him in a perfunctory manner, trying to get a measure
of his wealth. Understanding what she was trying to do, Gu Shenwei fished
out a small gold nugget, and the maid immediately promised to invite her
mistress out.
This was previously Xu Yanwei's house, and even if there had been some
slight changes he could still remember its layout very clearly. Just as the
maid stepped into the bedroom on the second floor, he placed his teacup
down, took a few steps to the bottom of the staircase, and leapt up without
making a sound. He clutched at the floorboards of the second storey with his
left hand, and remained hanging there in this position.
"The esteemed guest is here…" The prostitute's tone turned from sweet to
cold before she even finished her sentence. "Where's he? The guest? Where's
the guest with the gold?"
"Eeh, he was here just a moment ago."
The two ladies hurriedly came down the stairs in search of the mischievous
customer, and Gu Shenwei leapt up from the other side of the stairs. He went
quickly into the bedroom once he landed on the second storey.
The window facing the street was only partially shut. He walked up to the
rear window, unlatched it and pushed it open gently. He then closed it back
again after leaping out of the window. He knew that the ladies would not
notice anything strange for the time being.
He was now standing close to Xiao Fengchai's house. In the past, he had to
swing across using a rope, but with his skills now, he could cross over with
just a leap.
The first window of her house, which led into her bedroom, was tightly shut,
and Gu Shenwei did not want to be directly entering her bedroom, therefore
he leapt to the second window. He listened carefully for any signs of
movement before drawing his dagger and using it to pry open the latch on the
window. He then opened a gap just wide enough for himself and entered the
house.
There was no one in the guest hall on the second storey, as most of the maids
were downstairs waiting for their orders.
Gu Shenwei could hear that there was someone else other than Xiao Fengcha
in her bedroom. He crept to the door of the room and heard a man saying,
"This is a huge deal for us. We have to find the Dragon King before the Stone
Castle gets to him."
Chapter 281 - A Transaction
Chapter 281: A Transaction
It was common for there to be men in Xiao Fengchai's room. However, it was
unusual for this man to care about the whereabouts of the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei quietly eavesdropped.
"Rest assured that as long as Dragon King is still in South city, my people
will definitely find him. Maybe he will come to find us himself," Xiao
Fengchai said.
"Don't be careless. I heard that the Dragon King is already surrounded. That
gave me a shock. If he dies, our plans will fall apart," the man said.
"I don't think the Dragon King will die so easily. I have never seen a more
paranoid and cautious person."
"Yes, this is for the best. I have to go."
"There are many people outside. Are you not afraid of being recognized?"
"The presence of many people is the best cover."
Gu Shenwei was hiding behind a table, with only a small oil lamp in the
living room. He wore a black cape and stood against the wall, completely
blending in with the shadows.
Another man wearing a cape emerged. Xiao Fengchai sent him to the stairs
and watched him go downstairs, and then returned to the room. She did not
notice that there was one more person in the living room.
After a while, the maid came up and said that two or three machetemen had
arrived downstairs, but were sent away. Xiao Fengchai hummed and did not
speak.
After the maid left, there was only Gu Shenwei left in the living room.
"Is the Dragon King planning to come in, or do you want me to go out?" Xiao
Fengchai said softly. Her voice was clear in the quiet room.
Gu Shenwei walked into the bedroom. This time there was no macheteman
hiding behind the door.
"I hope the Dragon King did not have to wait for long."
"Fortunately."
Seeing the Dragon King's wary face, Xiao Fengchai smiled slightly. "The
Dragon King doesn't have to worry too much. The girl next door is one of my
people. She told the maid that a strange guest had just arrived, and I guessed
it was you."
Gu Shenwei had not heard the maid say this. The master and servant must
have another way of communication. "I came to make a deal."
"I don't seem to see Lu Qiying's head," Xiao Fengchai said flatly. She had
given him a proposal: The Dragon King was to kill Shopkeeper Lyu of
Southwall Tavern. In return, she would provide him with a secure hideout.
"A different deal." Gu Shenwei refused Xiao Fengchai's initial proposal and
would not change his mind just because he had nowhere else to go.
Xiao Fengchai put an arm on the table. Her body was stiff and she looked
dignified, like the lady of a big family. She already knew how to deal with
the Dragon King: There was no need for anything complicated, it was best to
get straight to the point. This was a man with great ambition who was not
easily tempted by women.
"Did the Dragon King hear my discussion with my second brother?"
Gu Shenwei nodded. He had only heard a few words, but decided not to
admit it.
"Well, is the Dragon King interested in this deal?"
"I want to listen to the details."
A shallow smile passed across Xiao Fengchai's face. "Are you coaxing me to
talk? Why don't you speak first?"
"Shopkeeper Lyu should not die, nor does he need to die." The reason why
Gu Shenwei came to Xiao Fengchai was not to eavesdrop on her
conversations, but for a deal that had been on his mind. "The Great
Snowmountain's wealth is deep enough to accommodate two more people."
"Does the Dragon King want to partner with me?"
"No, not partner with you; just make a deal. You want to make money, and I
wish to avoid the Meng family. We all want money to flow smoothly,
nothing more."
Xiao Fengchai lowered her head and thought for a while. "This deal with
Dragon King is very risky."
"The profits are worth the risk, it's 20%."
"That is worth the risk then." Xiao Fengchai smiled. "But I have a big
appetite, and I don't do business for less than one million taels."
"As long as you are willing, then you can have as much as you want," Gu
Shenwei lied calmly. He estimated that the amount of money in Xu Xiaoyi's
hands did not amount to more than one million taels. In order to arm the
swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, he had already spent a lot of
money; it was not enough to share between Shopkeeper Lyu and Xiao
Fengchai.
"That is great. For the sake of money, I am willing to offend the Golden Roc
Fort. You can stay with me, I will guarantee your safety."
As soon as she finished her sentence, a maid came in and hurriedly said,
"Madam, a group of swordsmen have come again and are demanding to come
upstairs."
"I see, let them come up after a while."
"Yes."
Xiao Fengchai got up and opened a tapestry on the wall to reveal a small door
that came up to half his body. "I hope the Dragon King doesn't mind being
too cramped."
The small door opened to a narrow staircase that perfectly fit inside the wall.
After going straight down, Gu Shenwei arrived at a small room with a bed, a
table, and a lit oil lamp. Judging by the height of the stairs, he guessed that he
was currently underground.
After a quarter of an hour, the small door above opened again. Xiao Fengchai
walked down carrying bandages, ointment medication, and other things. "The
machetemen have already left, they were just here for some silvers. Not many
people really want to capture the Dragon King. They are all taking the
opportunity to make some money. They won't cause any trouble if they are
paid."
"Where's the expert you raised?"
"Experts are used for more complicated matters, something as small as that
can easily be resolved by some money. Take off your clothes."
The last statement was more like an order, and Gu Shenwei hesitated before
untying his cape and taking off his shirt. His wounds were only wrapped in
cloth, which had started to bleed again.
If most people, including men, saw the Dragon King's crisscrossed scars, they
would gasp in horror. However, Xiao Fengchai did not even flinch, or
perhaps she just concealed it well. Her hands were also very stable as she
wiped the blood, poured on the medical powder, and carefully wrapped up
the three wounds.
"To tell the truth, I am a bit surprised. The Dragon King actually trusted me
so quickly." Xiao Fengchai put down the items in her hands and sat down
across from Gu Shenwei.
"I don't trust anyone; I just think this deal is worthwhile."
"Well, the Dragon King's deal is very attractive to me, but since Dragon King
heard my conversation with my second brother, you should know that we
also have a deal."
"What does the Second Young Master Meng want the Great Snowmountain
to do for him?" Gu Shenwei had already thought of who the man was—Meng
Mingshu, the second young master of the Meng family of North City. He
vaguely remembered seeing this person from afar a few years ago. Xiao
Fengchai's calling him "second brother" enabled him to finally grasp that
vague glimmer of memory.
"The Meng family has business all over the Western Region, but these
businesses will fall into Meng Mingkuan's hands sooner or later."
Meng Mingkuan was the eldest young master and the heir of the Meng
family. Everyone in the Western Region knew this name.
"The second Young Master Meng must not be too happy."
"Who said that he wasn't? They are brothers of the same womb. The first-
born gets everything and the younger one gets nothing at all."
"Does the Second Young Master want to be the boss?"
"He is not that cruel." There was an edge in Xiao Fengchai's voice. "He only
wants what he deserves. The Shu-lik country is one of Meng family's most
important business partners. There are five banks there. I hope… we hope
that the Dragon King will shut down these banks' business until my second
brother comes to their rescue."
The Meng family controlled more than half of the Western Region's
transactions. Offending the Meng family meant that, in the future, one could
only secretly transfer the golds and silvers for a high price. Other than the
Dragon King, you could not find any other person who would dare to do this
kind of thing.
"How do I benefit from this?"
"The same as before, 20%. Even 20% of the Meng family's total wealth in the
Shu-lik country is a big fortune. I'll even give a concession of 10% for doing
business with me." Xiao Fengchai's face revealed a strange smile, which
made the cold numbers seem heart-warming.
"I will think about it." Gu Shenwei only wanted to find a temporary hiding
place. He did not intend to participate in the conspiracy and the feud within
the Meng family so soon.
"I am not in a hurry. Please have some rest. I will take care of the things
outside," said Xiao Fengchai. As she walked up to the stairs, she suddenly
stopped, saying, "I'm sleeping right upstairs. Let me know if there's anything
you need."
This might have been a hint, but Xiao Fengchai's face seemed too serious. Gu
Shenwei only nodded without saying anything.
Early in the next morning, Gu Shenwei went upstairs and jumped out through
the window. Xiao Fengchai was still sound sleep. She muttered something at
the noise.
After nearly 20 days of struggling in Jade City, Gu Shenwei felt that it was
time to negotiate. He certainly could not just appear and speak the words. It
was best to leave this task to a party with great influence in the entire
Western Region.
Gu Shenwei wandered around all day with his real face, listened to the
residents chatting, and ate some food. Not until nighttime did he cross the
border walls and enter North City.
There was an ordinary-sized temple in North City, with only one main hall
and four or five rooms. Aside from the abbot, only two monks resided there.
Gu Shenwei was looking for them.
The Four Truths Temple held a special status in Jade City and throughout the
Western Regions. Agreements signed there were sacred and could not be
violated. Since Master Lianhua was a Holy Monk, it would be the best if he
could bring up the negotiation.
Gu Shenwei walked around the temple and found no signs of ambush, so he

climbed over the wall and entered.
Monks mingled with jianghu charlatans. It baffled Gu Shenwei. He thought

for a long time and felt that there must be some hidden reason that he had to
get to the bottom of.
He quietly walked around in the yard. The abbot slept soundly, snoring
sonorously; while no sounds came from the opposite room. He had come here
a few days ago, and had gotten to know Lianhua and Lianye who lived here.
But at that time, he had not shown himself.
Gu Shenwei knocked on the door but he suddenly felt that something was
wrong. He stepped back two steps and took hold of the Five Peaks Saber. The
room was too quiet, even a Holy Monk should have made some noise.
The door shattered into pieces without warning, and a suffocating gust of
wind rushed out.
Gu Shenwei did not retreat; he swung his saber as fast as lightning. A silver
ball emerged in his hands, hitting all of the wooden pieces flying at him. In
that instant, a monk charged through the broken doors and attacked.
The killer retreated to the opposite side of the courtyard. The monk stood in
the same place, swinging left and right like a drunkard. Both men moved in
the air. The monk's large robes fluttered and spread widely; he looked like a
giant gray bat under the moonlight.
"What happened?" a strange voice asked from behind Gu Shenwei.
The sleeping abbot had been woken up by sounds of the broken door and
came out to see what was going on.
Gu Shenwei turned around with a palm and struck the abbot's neck. The fat
monk collapsed softly.
The monk heard these sounds and growled. Like a fierce tiger, he pounced
across the yard and single-handly smashed the pillars into half.
Gu Shenwei hid again at a distance. This strange monk was clearly Monk
Lianye. He had no scars on his body, but his expression was both sorrowful
and panicky. He did not use his eyes to see, but rather, he turned his head
sideways to listen; he was obviously blind.
The monk relied on listening to the wind to find the enemy, but Gu Shenwei
slowed his breathing and remained completely motionless.
"Dragon King, I know it is you." The tone of Lianye's voice seemed to

contain deep hatred. "Was it not enough to kill my senior brothers, but you
have to come and destroy the body as well?"
Gu Shenwei turned to look around. There was a flag on the South wall.
Although he could not see the shape and color, he knew that it was definitely
the Black Blood Flag of the Dragon King of the Great Snowmountain.
Chapter 282 - Frame-up
Chapter 282: Frame-up
Gu Shenwei kicked a piece of wood with the tip of his foot toward the pillars
that were a few steps away.
Lianye rushed toward the sound. Gu Shenwei waited for him to pass and
immediately stabbed him with his blade. He then raised his left hand and
mercilessly chopped down on the thick neck of the monk.
He only learned the basics of acupoint kung fu, so he did not dare to use it on
those Internal Strength experts, such as Lianye. All he could do was to stab
him first and knock him out.
In the house, Lianhua's body was lying on the bed. Half of his face was
stained with blood, which made this monk appear less gracious and more
ferocious.
A small incense burner was lying in a pool of dark blood at the door. This
was the crime scene as well as the murder weapon.
Master Lianhua just died a few moments ago, and the Black Blood Flag
mounted on the wall of the courtyard unmistakably indicated that the
murderer wanted to frame the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei found two ropes in the utility room next to the main hall. He tied
up the two fainted monks respectively. He then brought the abbot to the
bedroom and took Lianye to Lianxin's bedside.
Lianye faintly woke up and deathly stared at the Dragon King, muttering,
"Why? Why have you killed my senior brother?"
"Will your eyes get better?" Gu Shenwei aimed the saber at the monk to
prevent him from suddenly breaking the rope.
"My eyes?" Lianye seemed to have forgotten that he had been blind for some
time. He then thought for while and said, "My eyes are fine, why did you
come back? Do you want to kill me? Do it then."
"There is a Black Blood Flag on the wall. Do I still need to kill?"
"You, you…" Lianye's mind was a little confused. "Then why did you come
back?"
"I just arrived. Master Lianhua was not killed by me."
"It was you!" Lianye roared. He struggled and the rope tied around him made
crisp sounds of tearing, but it also touched the wound on his waist which
made him scream in pain.
"I don't want to kill you, but you better stop moving." Gu Shenwei pointed
the saber closely at the chest of the monk, "Now tell me, what exactly was
going on."
"What do you mean? You came to see our senior apprentice. He was so
happy he invited you into the house for a chat and told me to guard outside.
But … but … you started an argument and then you pounded senior brother
to death…" Lianye sorrowfully said. He then fearlessly sat up, ignoring the
blade which was pressing against his body.
Gu Shenwei slightly withdrew his saber. "Did you see me at that time?"
"I did."
"But you were blind back then!"
"It was you killing the senior apprentice that blinded me! When you first
came, I was perfectly fine. I saw you pretty clearly that time, and it was
exactly who you are now. Dragon King, Yang Huan, I will never let you off,
and neither will the Four Truths Temple. There are so many masters in the
world. Don't think that just because you had once stayed in the Golden Roc
Fort that it makes you powerful."
The more the monk said, the more excited he was. Thus Gu Shenwei hit his
mouth with the side of the blade. "You heard me talking at that time?"
The monk was stupefied, "What tricks are you playing at? How would I dare
to listen to your talk with the senior apprentice?"
"Didn't you see 'me'? Did 'I' talk to you?"
Lianye became more and more confused, and his voice gradually weakened.
"No, you nodded at me. I recognized you, so I called senior apprentice to
come out."
Gu Shenwei took a step back. "Let's talk about something else. What's with
Linghua giving those lectures? Are you willing to help a liar?"
"Senior apprentice is not a liar!" Lianye roared angrily again. With a kaboom,
he broke free from the tightropes. Barely moving his body, he had already
rushed in front of the killer.
But the killer moved faster than him. Before the monk even said a word, Gu
Shenwei had already shot out of the room and jumped over the wall.
This was an elaborate frame-up.
Gu Shenwei was deeply disturbed. He was not afraid of being framed, but the
culprit was obviously familiar with his appearance and was knowledgeable
about all of his whereabouts. This man even knew what he was thinking, thus
he was able to stay a step ahead of him to kill Lianxin.
This must have been done by a former acquaintance.
Gu Shenwei had several candidates in mind, but everyone had no motive to

kill Lianye: The enemies of Maid Lotus were Golden Roc Fort and the
Dragon King, who have nothing to do with the monk; The enemy of the
Golden Roc Fort was the Great Snowmountain. If those killers were able to
guess the whereabouts of the Dragon King, then they would definitely make a
direct attack. There was no need to play such complicated games.
Gu Shenwei felt uneasy when he thought that there might be a spy who knew
him well and could completely conceal their presence.
He made several circles on the lonely and unoccupied streets of the North
City, like a ghost who only appeared on a moonlit night and was searching
for his long-lost body.
On several occasions, he suddenly turned back on the same route but he still
didn't find anything. If there was a spy, then the spy seemed to be invisible.
Dawn had not yet come, but the news of Saint Lianhua's death had spread
throughout Jade City. The Dragon King immediately became the target of
public criticism. The sorrow and anger had overwhelmed the fear. Although
Great Snowmountain still wanted to negotiate for peace, the machetemen and
the vast majority of residents of the city would not support it.
The favorable atmosphere created by Gu Shenwei's painstaking efforts had

turned into the most unfavorable testimony overnight. Even if there were no
survivor or Black Blood Flag at the scene, after these days of killing,
everyone assumed that the murderer must be the Dragon King. Except for
him, who else would dare to kill anyone in the North City? Not to mention
that the victim was a saint monk.
Gu Shenwei was looking for the real murderer that killed Lianhua. If Lianye
was unwilling to cooperate, then he had to proceed from another way.
He didn't like being spied on or being impersonated. Darkness was his friend
and he didn't want to share it with the others.
Boss Mo, who cooperated with the monk to swindle the wealth of
machetemen, should know something.
Fortune Tavern was a small shop where there were only three tables. Most of
the guests could only stand while they drank and picked some salty peanuts
as wine dishes. Boss Mo once mentioned that this was his stronghold.
Gu Shenwei changed his appearance again. He invited a macheteman for a

drink. After drinking two bowls of wine, he managed to acquire information
about Boss Mo's residence from him.
Boss Mo's home was very old and shabby, which didn't match the money he
earned from those lectures. Gu Shenwei knocked on the door but had no
response. The neighbor said that Boss Mo went out early. "Everyone, as long
as they have sabers, had gone to catch the Dragon King."
Gu Shenwei returned to Fortune Tavern, where a group of machetemen was

enthusiastically discussing the reasons why the Dragon King killed the Saint.
"The Dragon King became infuriated, then he killed everyone in his sight."
"The Dragon King doesn't like machetemen. He must be challenging all the
machetemen in Jade City. Um, and the Four Truths Temple as well. The
Dragon King certainly doesn't like monks either."
"Could it be that the people of Stop Kills Society offended the Dragon King,
so the Dragon King took out his frustrations on the saint monk?"
"Then he should go to the Joy Pavilion first. The saint monk was the guardian
of the Stop Kills Society. The Joy Pavilion has the real power."
While everyone was gossiping enthusiastically, a horrifying cry suddenly

came from outside. "The Dragon King is killing someone, he is killing
someone!"
More than a dozen machetemen pulled out their sabers and rushed out of the
tavern. Gu Shenwei was mixed in with them.
There was a corpse lying on the street, and the pedestrians stayed far away
from it. The screams were coming from two young scraggy machetemen who
depressingly stood beside the corpse.
"Where is the Dragon King?" a middle-aged macheteman asked.
"I…I don't know," a thin macheteman trembled as he replied. "He ran away
after he killed this man."
"Did you see the Dragon King?"
"No… no, he attacked in the dark."
The middle-aged macheteman frowned, put away his saber and flipped the
corpse over.
It was Boss Mo. His mouth was full of white foam, and his face was ghastly
pale.
"It was not the Dragon King. He was killed by poison."
"Then it must be the Dragon King. He must have poisoned Boss Mo." The
thin macheteman adhered to his opinion and said it with absolute certainty.
The middle-aged swordsman did not refute it. He did not know who was the
real murderer. After all, this matter had nothing to do with him and Boss Mo
was not his friend.
Then another macheteman screamed in a panic, "Look, it's the Dragon King's
banner!"
Everyone turned back and didn't know when a black flag was erected on the
roof of Fortune Tavern. The bloodstain on it could be seen clearly.
The manager of the tavern collapsed on the street. "Why me? I didn't offend
the Dragon King! I've never said anything bad!"
The people on the street stared at the ominous flag, and no one had noticed
that an ordinary macheteman suddenly turned around and ran into the nearby
alley at an incredible speed.
Gu Shenwei saw that the person who raised the flag was a masked man. But
when he chased him into the alley, he lost sight of that man. Several
pedestrians were looking at the black blood flag above the tavern in horror. It
seemed that they did not notice any masked man running past them.
In order to find Boss Mo at the tavern, Gu Shenwei had traveled around the
surrounding area once, so he was familiar with the nearby streets and
alleyways. He considered it for a while, and then immediately turned around
and ran toward the streets ahead at the fastest speed. He hurdled over a
number of walls. He must capture the person who raised the flag.
He soon came to a narrow alley, and could not see even anyone in this empty
space. It was the quietest place in this district. His intuition told him that the
person who raised that flag would escape from here.
He recalled those masked women who had saved people yesterday. They had
fled to a few streets away by the tunnel and had succeeded in escaping from
Golden Roc Fort's encirclement. This man was likely to repeat the same
tactic.
Gu Shenwei stood on a high wall over the alley, where he could see the front
and the back.
A man walked out of a nearby yard. He was dressed like an ordinary

macheteman, but he looked around as soon as he came out. Clearly, he did
not want to attract any attention.
The man walked toward Gu Shenwei's direction. Gu Shenwei suddenly

jumped off the high wall and placed his saber on this man's neck.
The man was thoroughly shocked. His hand had already held the handle of
his saber, but he slowly released his grip. "You have confused me for
someone else, your lordship."
"No, it's definitely you." Gu Shenwei used his saber to force the man to lean
against the wall. "Who made you raise the Black Blood Flag?"
"What Black Blood Flag…" The man pretended to be confused, but his
performance was overdone. The Black Blood Flag was well known in Jade
City. Upon realizing this, he immediately changed his words, "Oh, you mean
the Dragon King Flag. You must be mistaken. When I came out… "
Gu Shenwei exerted a little more pressure on the blade.
There was more and more fear in the eyes of this man. "You, you…" He said
a number of "you" and suddenly his eyes violently opened, his limbs
twitched, and his mouth began to foam.
Gu Shenwei removed his saber and the man slowly fell to the ground as he
died.
Another one.
The Dragon King's first stalker also poisoned himself just like this. These two
people were obviously timid, but they were not afraid to end their lives. Gu
Shenwei once again thought that the forces behind them must be very
formidable.
He felt more and more anxious. There was a net in the darkness, and he was
getting closer and closer. However, he had no lead. He had too many enemies
to identify which was the real target.
It must be the New Moon Hal l, he thought. This gang of women was the best
at evil secrets. But what would they gain from posing as the Dragon King?
The Dragon King was already the enemy of the Golden Roc Fort, so there
was no need to sow discord between these two sides.
Gu Shenwei walked out of the alley with his saber. He wanted to kill the first
person he bumps into so that he could lighten his mood.
The first one he met was a child. He was only five or six years old, with a
baked roll in his right hand and snot on his lips. Though he saw the killer
holding the saber, he was not afraid. He then raised his left hand toward the
sky and turned around several times, excitedly cried, "Flags, flags are
everywhere."
Gu Shenwei jumped several times and came to the top of a nearby rooftop.
Many people, like him, stood on high places and were horrified at the sight.
Looking around, the entire South City was filled with Black Blood Flags,
with a total number of not less than one hundred. They were like the giant
ravens which rested on a corpse that was going to rot.
Chapter 283 - Ambush
Chapter 283: Ambush
Jade City has never felt such deep hysteria ever since the era of the diverse
warfare in the Western Regions which had occurred decades ago. But even
that had not impacted Jade City as much as this.
The Black Blood Flags were fluttering all around, like a scary prophecy
which was gradually revealing all of its contents to the people. Everyone felt
pressured by it.
This time, the Golden Roc Fort responded quickly. Even the killers who
rarely made public appearances were fully geared. They were frantically
hurrying all throughout the streets in broad daylight.
In some people's eyes, the Golden Roc killers could assure their safety. For
others, they were a source of disaster. Some people even begged the killers
not to remove their family's Black Blood Flag. "What if the Dragon King
seeks revenge after you take it? I have families…"
Their begging was useless and, in less than an hour, all the Black Blood Flag
in the city were taken down. Not one remained. They even captured a dozen
flag-bearers who were all dead. These people seemed to be possessed by
demons. Once they were surrounded, they would rather commit suicide by
swallowing poison than be captured.
The killers could only carry a string of heads through the streets, hoping that
the residents could rest assured.
No one could feel relaxed. The Dragon King was still missing, and there
seemed to be no end to the killings.
Jade City had numerous thrilling days. The machetemen of all parties were
arresting people everywhere, including those who looked like flag-bearing
spies working for the Dragon King. Several open fights happened. Even the
Golden Roc killers were often besieged. Everyone must publicly prove that
they were not the Dragon King in disguise.
At the same time, the "Dragon King" was still committing crimes. The targets
of murder were gradually expanding: First, they were the killers and
machetemen, then the merchants in South City, and finally the rich people in
the North City. The Black Blood Flags were like weeds in the spring. Cutting
and burning it were both useless.
In just ten days, more than 50 people had died in Jade City. Although the
number was not big, it spread a city-wide panic. Hundreds and thousands of
people fled outside the city with their valuables, and even frantically escaped
to the southern countries.
Hence, upon hearing that a messenger from the Great Snowmountain wanted
to come to Jade City, most of the people were angry at first, but then they
sighed in relief.
"Hurry up and end this." Even the machetemen said this in private.
Fang Wenshi had achieved great success in persuading the governor of the
Central Plains who was stationed in the Western Regions. He headed toward
Jade City with a special emissary of the Central Plains.
While on the road, he heard the news about the situation in Jade City, which
was continuously coming. He was very confused and a little dissatisfied. The
Dragon King had gone too far. The terrified atmosphere had a subtle limit.
Within the limit, he could force the other side to sit down and negotiate for
peace. Outside the limit, the Great Snowmountain would become the public
enemy of the Western Region.
As the news increased, he was even more confused. The Dragon King had
erected hundreds of Black Blood Flags at the same time? The Dragon King
was not a god. Even if he joined forces with Chu Nanping, the two did not
have the skills to pull off such a feat. The flag-bearers committed suicide
when they were caught? If this was not just a rumor, then it did not sound like
the Dragon King's style.
Fang Wenshi was convinced to assure the special emissary from the Central
Plains that the incident in Jade City was not done by the Dragon King.
"Someone is sabotaging the peace talks. There must be a conspiracy in all
this."
This was both his opinion and his hope. He did not know enough about the
Dragon King. That young man has a deep hatred in his heart and he could
cause all sorts of problems at any time.
When they were still a day's journey away from Jade City, Chu Nanping
came to the camp at night to see him. His words reassured the military
counselor. "Someone is framing the Dragon King. He is currently looking for
the mastermind behind the scenes."
Fang Wenshi immediately took Chu Nanping to meet with the special
emissary from the Central Plains. He made every effort to convince the other
party to believe that someone in Jade City was posing as the Dragon King.
The special emissary from the Central Plains believed in the Dragon King's
good faith. However, it was still difficult to hold peace talks when there were
a series of assassinations going on.
A group of people entered the North City, and they first met with the Norland
Governor. Mo Chu was still angry, and he almost ordered people to drag the
Great Snowmountain's messenger to cut off his head and show it to the
public. After he saw the face of the special emissary from the Central Plains,
he decided to let him go. Then he harshly said, "Either the Dragon King pay
for his sins with death, or capture the so-called 'impersonator', otherwise the
Norlands will never negotiate."
The next day they went to the Four Truths Temple. The monks were very
polite and supported the peace talks, but their opinions were similar to those
of the Governor. "The Dragon King killed Master Lianhua, and this sin has
triggered the wrath of the heavens and the people of the Western Regions.
Our temple demands an explanation from the Dragon King. If there really is
an impersonator, the Dragon King must come out to explain."
Next were the Meng family in the North City. The patriarch Meng Yuzun
personally met with the two messenger. He held onto his big belly and said,
"Someone told me that my fourth child was killed by the Dragon King, but
that was a few years ago though. The Meng family was incompetent, we
couldn't' find the evidence, so I won't pursue this matter any further.
However, I am unwilling to help him. As for the peace talks, I won't object to
nor support it."
Fang Wenshi immediately realized that the Meng family's attitude was no
different from objection.
On the fourth day, Golden Roc Fort sent people down the mountain and
respectfully said to the special emissary from the Central Plains, "When all of
the Great Snowmountain swordsmen in the western borders have gone and
Jade City's assassins' heads have all fallen, the Lord will talk with the Dragon
King."
There was a reason for the Golden Roc Fort to refuse to negotiate at this time.
There were more and more people killed by the "Dragon King". There were
also many flag-bearers who were captured by the Golden Roc killers.
Although these people committed suicide as soon as they were arrested, there
were still some people being captured alive. Some had no time to swallow
their poisons so they became prisoners.
It was said that the Golden Roc Fort wasted no time in interrogating these
captives, and they believed soon they would find the Dragon King's hideout
in Jade City.
The situation in front of Fang Wenshi was like this: He had managed to win
the support of the Central Plains, but the results were ruined by the fake
Dragon King's violent acts.
The Central Plains had a strong influence in the Western Regions, but it
could not go against all the forces. Thus the Special Envoy went to talk with
many parties to listen to their demands.
Finally, he announced the only option to the Great Snowmountain's
messenger. "The Dragon King said that someone has been impersonating
him. I believe him, but you better bring out the impostors now. At least point
out who these people are. I think there must be a time limit for this, let's say,
ten days."
The special emissary from the Central Plains had equivalently given the final
ultimatum. Fang Wenshi anxiously urged Chu Nanping to find the Dragon
King and tell him about the urgency of the matter. However, the young
swordsman was in no hurry at all. "I don't know where the Dragon King is,
he told me to protect you during these days and he didn't tell me where he
would be hiding."
Fang Wenshi naturally hoped to be protected. Jade City was in deep

resentment against the Dragon King. It was inevitable for it to affect the
Great Snowmountain's messenger. However, what he worried about the most
was not his own safety, but the Dragon King's course. The time is limited.
The special emissary from the Central Plains was to leave in ten days. After
that, the conquest that the Dragon King had just initiated would be gone in
flames.
No one could find the Dragon King, because Gu Shenwei was hiding in a
place that he himself could not even imagine.
He did not go to Xiao Fengchai again. She was a businesswoman; she only
did business with the strong. If the Dragon King became a street rat and lost
his value, she would not hesitate to sell him out.
Every location you could think of was filled with dangers: Joy Pavilion, the
Four Truths Temple, and North City.
The female archer came to the Dragon King's aid in time again.
At the time, Gu Shenwei was chasing two of Boss Mo's followers.
Boss Mo, Lianhua and Lianye swindled money out of the new machetemen.
When the Dragon King was about to find him, he fell to the ground and died
like the flag-bearers who committed suicide.
Of course, this could not be a coincidence. Gu Shenwei believed that, by
following this man, he will surely find the mastermind behind the scenes who
impersonated the Dragon King and killed the Saint.
Although Boss Mo had died, the two thin followers were still alive. Gu
Shenwei did not expect for the two to know about inside secrets, but he was
hoping to dig out some valuable facts.
These two were very easy to find. After Gu Shenwei found that the whole
city was dotted with Black Blood Flags, he immediately returned to the crime
scene. The body was still lying in the same place, and the flags left the
followers in shock. They looked around in fear and no longer dared to speak
the words "Dragon King".
When everyone recovered from the shock, the two followers realized: If their
backer was dead, then staying here was not only pointless, but also might
cause troubles.
The two looked at each other, blended into the crowd and went to hide at
home. They were blood-related brothers and lived together.
Those who had killed Boss Mo might come back to kill these two followers.
Gu Shenwei watched for two days and two nights straight, and he hoped that
the enemies in the dark would give themselves away.
The two followers lived in seclusion. They occasionally went out without
their sabers, as if they had completely given up their status as machetemen.
No one had come to kill them until on the third day; several machetemen
asked the two brothers some questions. However, they quickly left and did
not seem to get an answer, nor did they embarrass the brothers.
Gu Shenwei felt that the moment he awaited was about to come, because he
recognized that these machetemen were from the Kun Society. There was a
fish-shaped pattern on their clothes. It was a logo invented by someone after
he escaped from the Golden Roc Fort.
In the middle of the night, a murder occurred at the Blacksmith Village in the
easternmost part of South City. A Black Blood Flag was erected, which
attracted many killers and machetemen to swoop in. Soon afterward, an
assassin in black barged into the brothers' home to cut the weeds and dig up
its roots.
The two could not believe that being followers of a third-rated macheteman
would bring fatal disaster upon them.
Gu Shenwei did not stop the act; instead, he switched his target to the
assassin in black and followed him.
The assassin probably felt that the mission was very easy. Afterward, he
casually put up a Black Blood Flag and immediately fled into the night.
The brothers were not important, so the Black Blood Flag in their home
would not be discovered until the next day.
The assassin leaped onto the roofs and vaulted over the walls at an incredible
speed. After a few detours, he suddenly jumped into an alley.
Gu Shenwei had encountered an ambush in this very alley.
This was definitely a trap that had been set up long ago. Just as he landed,
four sabers stabbed toward him.
Gu Shenwei was vigilant. With his body still in the air, he pulled out his
saber and even acted a little ahead of the attackers.
The two attackers immediately fell to the ground, but more masked men
appeared from both sides of the alley. No one was shouting as they silently
rushed toward their target.
The Dragon King's speed clearly exceeded what the attackers had expected.
After the fourth person fell, the others were still a few steps away. Gu
Shenwei took the opportunity to vault back onto the wall.
He was not trying to escape, but rather, he was trying to escape from being
surrounded by the pursuing forces. In the past few years, he had encountered
countless ambushes and he was more experienced in escaping than anyone
else.
More than a dozen attackers followed closely.
Before he killed the attacker he had been following, the female archers
appeared, not one or two, but in groups. They shot arrows toward the
attackers and killed most of them at the first time.
Someone finally noticed the battle on the roof. He hid in the corners and
banged the gong to warn everyone.
A female archer once again invited. "Dragon King, please follow us."
Gu Shenwei did not intend to run away halfway this time. He wanted to know
who the masters of the female archers were, and why they clearly knew about
the trap for the assassination of the Dragon King.
Chapter 284 - Tianji
Chapter 284: Tianji
A total of ten female archers had suddenly appeared. Every arrow had hit
their targets. More than a dozen ambushers were wiped out in just two
volleys. Gu Shenwei did not even have time to catch one alive.
Even so, he still hurriedly checked it again. Unlike what he had imagined,
these ambushers were not the accomplices of Boss Mo. They were Golden
Roc machetemen. Their Golden Roc logo was not on the shoulder of their
coats, but it was hidden under their collars.
"Dragon King, please follow us," the leader of the group of female archers
said as she took the lead and jumped off the roof.
Gu Shenwei followed silently. He became more and more uneasy. These

women knew too much about Golden Roc Fort's plans as they could have laid
in ambush at the periphery all the time.
The group of people came to a nearby residence. The female archers put
down their bows and arrows, quickly changed into their black suits, covered
their faces, and picked up their sabers.
Someone threw Gu Shenwei a set, and he also changed into it. The Five
Peaks Saber was exactly the same as the Golden Roc Fort Saber, therefore
there was no need to change it.
Soon, eleven people transformed into Golden Roc killers. They even had the
Golden Roc logo on their shoulders. Gu Shenwei even received a fake killer
waist token.
One could walk freely in Jade City with this disguise and the waist token.
The female lead archer nodded and said, "Dragon King, please."
Gu Shenwei walked past her and suddenly drew out his saber. Before the
other women could react, he was behind the chief and had his saber on her
neck.
The nine women pulled out their sabers simultaneously and surrounded him.
"Put down your sabers. The Dragon King means no harm," the female chief
ordered. The nine subordinates withdrew their sabers obediently, but they
were still surrounding the Dragon King.
"No harm? I'm not sure about that." Gu Shenwei would never follow people
who he was unfamiliar with, especially those who were obviously related to
Golden Roc Fort.
"Master said that this might happen." The female chief was not nervous at all.
"I have a keepsake."
"Keepsake?" Gu Shenwei exerted slightly more force and the female leader
had to raise her head.
"Yes, a keepsake. Bring it over." The female chief did not dare to open her
mouth and could only squeeze out a few words from her throat.
A woman came over. She was holding onto a sword in its scabbard with two
hands.
Gu Shenwei did not let go. He had no impression of this sword.
The woman slowly pulled out the sword in front of the Dragon King. It was a
short, thin sword.
Gu Shenwei was shocked.
"Does the Dragon King believe me now?" the female chief asked.
Gu Shenwei still had many doubts, which were unexplained. He said, "How
could she…"
"It's a long story. Does the Dragon King want to talk about it here or after we
have reached a safe place?"
Gu Shenwei sheathed the Five Peaks Saber. He wouldn't believe anyone

easily, but he was familiar with the short sword that the female archer showed
him. It was the gift that he had received from his father when he was a child.
It was first stolen by Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu and then it was
passed on to Shangguan Ru. Shangguan Ru then returned it to him. When he
fled from Golden Roc Fort, it was abandoned at the Reincarnation Cliff arrow
tower.
Had Shangguan Ru sent someone to save him?
Gu Shenwei was puzzled. Shangguan Ru should have been placed under

house arrest by her mother for a while. Even Kun Society had fallen back into
the hands of Shangguan Fei. When did she form such a female archer team?
"Is it the Tenth Young Master?" he couldn't help but ask.
"It is the Tenth Young Master. It is not advisable to stay here for a long time.
Dragon King, please."
Gu Shenwei was still skeptical, but he still decided to follow them.
This trip from the South City to the North City was quite far. The checkpoint
was already closed for passage, but the guards let them pass reluctantly
because the female chief had a "sole" waist token.
The final destination exceeded Gu Shenwei's expectations as it was the Meng

family's Bodhi Garden in North City. The garden was completely desolate as
the famous four-colored lotus flowers had passed its blooming season.
The group of people arrived at a rock garden at the southeast of the pond.
Two women uncovered the withered vines to reveal the iron gates within.
They knocked several times rhythmically. The iron gates were pushed open
from the inside.
Gu Shenwei suspected that it might be dangerous, so he couldn't go any

further. Even if Shangguan Ru appeared, he wouldn't believe it entirely.
Three years was enough to completely forget a person, let alone her
personality and preferences.
"I think it is safe enough here."
No one could have imagined that the Dragon King would hide in the Meng
family's Bodhi Garden. It would be relatively safe here as long as there was
no thorough search being carried out.
The female chief took off her mask and smiled, "Dragon King still refuses to
believe me completely."
"You haven't said anything yet."
The female chief nodded at her subordinates and the nine of them entered the
iron gate and closed it from the inside. The Dragon King and the chief were
left outside.
"My name is Guan Shang, the Shang in a businessman." The female chief
revealed her name as the first step to win the trust of the Dragon King. She
then briefly summarized the experiences of what Tenth Young Master
Shangguan Ru had been through in the past three years.
Lady Meng had confiscated her daughter's saber, placed her under house
arrest and forced her to wear women's clothing, but she could never give up
the "Tenth Young Master" in her heart.
Shangguan Ru's kung fu, ambition and intelligence exceeded Shangguan

Fei's. Lady Meng had high hopes for her. She hoped that her daughter could,
not only be independent, but also to help her brother in winning the position
of the Supreme King. Unfortunately, after the death of Shangguan Yushi, she
had changed to a completely different person, and she was no longer as
ruthless as she once was. She was even willing to betray her own family for
the sake of a slave.
The cowardly personality of Shangguan Fei really disappointed Lady Meng.

All his intelligence and wisdom seemed to have disappeared after he had
schemed to kill Master Yu. He took refuge in North City and entrusted all his
affairs to others. In the long run, his influence would only be limited to the
Kun Society of South City. In comparison to his surviving brothers, he
couldn't even protect himself, let alone have a chance to compete for the
throne.
There were fewer and fewer people who Lady Meng could trust and rely on.
She had to consider grooming her daughter again.
After Shangguan Ru was placed under house arrest for a year, Lady Meng
released her secretly. Almost no one in Stone Castle knew about this, let
alone any outsiders.
Shangguan Ru was only fifteen years old that year, and it was possible to
remodel her.
This was a very secretive plan. Even the Lord was unaware of this.
Before her release and the maturation of the twins, Lady Meng had started to
implement these plans.
On the surface, Lady Meng had an ordinary relationship with her family.
However, in the eyes of Patriarch Meng Yuzun, this distant niece was closer
than his own daughter. He knew very well that it would be a great help to the
Meng family if Lady Meng was in power in Stone Castle.
Meng Yuzun had been acquiring suitable girls from the Western Region.
Some of them had been trained and were given by Lady Meng to the
Supreme King. The rest remained in North City and were secretly trained as
killers.
This team of female killers had begun to take shape when Shangguan Ru was
released. After two years, she became the leader of the team and named it
"Tianji Society".
It was more difficult for women to train with sabers. Even though they were
supported by strong Internal Strength, they were still inferior to men who
started at the same time. Under the advice of Shangguan Ru, they focused on
practicing the bow and arrow in order to make up for their own shortcomings.
"We all swore allegiance to the Tenth Young Master." Guan Shang was full
of respect when she mentioned the Tenth Young Master. "We do not accept
the command of anyone aside from the Tenth Young Master and Lady Meng.
Even the Lord couldn't order us directly."
Gu Shenwei was very surprised. Shangguan Ru had lost her killing desire
three years ago and was no longer suitable to become a killer. However, she
had received more than ten years of education for males. With such ambitious
aspirations, it was very likely for her to restore her old self with the help of
her mother.
He remembered that glimpse in front of Four Truths Temple. Shangguan Ru

was riding on a glorious steed in women's clothing. She hadn't expressed any
tinge of coyness.
"Is she here?"
"No, the Tenth Young Master would only come once in three to five days.
But, she ordered me to help the Dragon King at all costs."
"Had Lady Meng allowed the Tenth Young Master to do so?"
Guan Shang was silent for a while, then she said, "Lady Meng did not know
about the order given by the Tenth Young Master, and would not know about
it in the future as well."
Gu Shenwei still couldn't quite believe Guan Shang's story. In the end, the
short sword was the one which touched him. No one should know about the
story of Shangguan Ru giving away the sword.
There were many caves in the artificial mountain. There were countless
crisscrossed paths, which led to different rooms, and some of the rooms were
quite spacious. As he passed by, Gu Shenwei saw many women and girls
who were practicing their sabers and shooting arrows.
The Meng family must have spent a lot of effort on creating this secret base,
and they were certainly unwilling to use this just to protect the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei could not help but think about exactly how much control
Shangguan Ru had of this place.
The room that was assigned to him for resting in was a stone room. There
were no windows because it was deep underground. There was an iron grid
on the door panel for easy ventilation, but it looked similar to a cell.
The door of the "cell" was not locked so Gu Shenwei could enter and exit
freely. However, the paths were too complicated. It was easy to get lost
without a guide, therefore he rarely went out.
It was difficult to tell the time as he was living in a place where there was no
daylight. Gu Shenwei waited for Shangguan Ru, but she never came.
"The lord suspected that there was a traitor in the fort, so he was conducting a
thorough investigation. The Tenth Young Master was unable to go down the
mountain for a while." Guan Shang came every day. She answered every one
of his questions and also brought news from the outside at the same time.
Cases of the Dragon King's imposter killing people and placing flags were
continually emerging. Golden Roc Fort was exhausted, but they had only
killed a few nobodies. Most people still thought that the Dragon King was the
mastermind. No one believed that he was fighting alone.
Through Lady Meng, the Tianji Society had very accurate and timely sources
of information in Stone Castle. All traces of the Dragon King had
disappeared in these few days. The Supreme King was puzzled and had sent
more Golden Roc killers to search the city. The safest place within the entire
Jade City was probably the underground of Bodhi Garden.
The female killers of Tianji Society were very interested in the Dragon King.
Even though Gu Shenwei had lived there for less than a day, he found that
people were often peeking at him. To these women who had been receiving
secret training, the Dragon King was a legendary figure because only the
greatest killer had the ability to escape from dozens of arrest attempts from
On the third day or so, there was finally a courageous female archer who
quietly approached the Dragon King's room. She first gave the Dragon King
some small gifts and fine snacks, and slowly began to talk to him.
Almost overnight, Gu Shenwei found himself becoming a story-telling

grandfather and was forced to recall his training and escape career to a group
of ten to fifteen-year-old girls. There were occasional, exaggerated cheers.
Unknowingly, the girls began to ask for pointers on machete skills. Among
all of their naive questions, there were a few which had great insights and Gu
Shenwei was surprised by these questions.
However, he still believed that these people would not become qualified
killers. He also believed that the Tianji Society was a team that belonged to
Shangguan Ru. These women, like Shangguan Ru, lacked ruthless killing
desires.
Maid Lotus was a real female killer.
Gu Shenwei suddenly thought of her. It was also because of the image of

Maid Lotus that he could see the flaws in Guan Shang's story.
Chapter 285 - Underground
Chambers
Chapter 285: Underground Chambers
Gu Shenwei had never received training at Carvewood Academy. His

understanding of a killer's primary training mainly came from his
observations of Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus had undergone tremendous changes after a mere 10 months stint
at Carvewood Academy. Other than her improved kung fu skills, she was
also better at concealing her feelings compared to before. Her hatred for
Slave Huan could not be noticed at all.
In contrast, the female killers of the Tianji Society seemed to be too naive.
They were no different from a group of ordinary little girls crowding around
their idol as they kept asking questions left and right.
Guan Shang mentioned that Shangguan Ru had taken over the Tianji Society
two years ago. Even after the change of ownership, the trainer would not
possibly be the Tenth Young Master herself. The training tutors should be
familiar with all the methods taught in Golden Roc Fort and would never
have groomed such unqualified apprentices.
Guan Shang and the few female archers under her seemed more like killers.
It was a rude awakening as Gu Shenwei realized that these little girls who
"worshiped" the Dragon King were a ruse in order to deceive him and gain
his trust.
The Bodhi Garden underground chambers seemed like a trap as Shangguan

Ru refused to show up after so long.
Showing no emotions, Gu Shenwei continued to tell stories to the curious

ones while also giving guidance on some machete techniques. Stretching
lazily, he said, "It's getting boring. Who can show me around the place?"
Seven or eight little girls got up as they scrambled to be the guide.
The underground chambers covered a wide area, some of which were even
deep under the lake. All of the passages and rooms were illuminated by
torches and candles. The inadequate lighting was enough to simulate the
night environment.
Nighttime was the killers' favorite period of time, and they were also the most
active during this hour.
Gu Shenwei estimated that there were hundreds of people living in the

underground chambers. He noticed many adult killers, both male and female,
who were training the apprentices. The skills and temperament of these
apprentices were not the same as the seven or eight little girls around him.
The differences were barely noticeable, but he was able to see things more
clearly since he had his suspicions.
Killer apprentices tend to be more silent, they observed more but asked less.
They were usually taciturn and stern, especially in front of people who were
in higher standings. During sparring sessions, these apprentices would
ruthlessly attack as if they had a profound hatred towards the other person.
A normal killer would not trust others. Likewise, it was also difficult for him
to win the trust of others.
Finally, the group arrived at a place with complicated paths, with nothing but
a lit torch in sight much further away. Gu Shenwei remembered that this was
not far from the entrance. "Let's go out for a breath, it's really stuffy in here."
"Okay, but we can't go out because we don't have the keys." A little girl
seemed to be very disappointed. "I've been here for almost five months but I
have never gone outside."
All of them nodded. The duration that they entered the underground
chambers varied from a few months to six or seven months. Memories of the
outside world were still fresh in their minds and they missed it very much.
Gu Shenwei was a little confused when he returned to his place of residence.

He might have been too overly suspicious of the girls. They probably have
not experienced formal training, and therefore still retained their innocent
personalities. They have nothing to do with traps or conspiracies.
He pretended to rest and sent all of them away. After closing his eyes to sleep
for a while, he quietly got up and tried to recall the path toward the entrance
of the underground chambers. He was holding a small stone in his hand
which he used to carved marks on the many intersections that he had passed
when he was strolling around just now.
He should be able to leave the underground chambers unhindered if there

were no traps.
But the result was that he became lost.
The markings were still there, but the place where the intersection was
supposed to be not long ago had turned into a thick wall. This was not
something that can be pushed away by mere human strength. Gu Shenwei
was forced to take a detour. Soon, he could not find a way out and forgot the
way he came from. It was not until he stumbled into a training room that a
female apprentice helped to send the Dragon King back to his residence.
The apprentices were silent and had obvious alertness in their expressions. It
was apparent that these fifteen or sixteen years old had shown signs of being
trained in the Golden Roc Fort killer's forms.
Guan Shang came and replaced the candle before it burned out. She brought
back many news, a few of which were not so good.
"The Governor's family is coming to visit the Bodhi Garden. We might not be
able to go out for a while. But it is safe here so please stay at ease, Dragon
King."
Guan Shang mentioned this casually among the many other news as if it was
the least important thing. From this, Gu Shenwei finally confirmed that he
had fallen into a trap. "The Governor's family seemed to prefer to visit the
garden when it was out of season."
"Isn't it so? There is nothing here in the Bodhi Garden at this time. It's not
much different from a wasteland."
The conversation about going out of the underground chambers ended so fast,
and they quickly moved on to other topics.
The search in Jade City by the Golden Roc killers had become much more
thorough, including many areas that were rarely involved in the past. Places
such as Hope Alley and the Four Truths Temple had also been harassed to
varying degrees.
The imitation Dragon King's acts had dropped drastically, but now the
assassinations were targeting people who were of a much higher status. The
corpse of a big Protector of Blacksmith Village was strewn across the street,
with a Black Blood Flag stuck onto his stomach. An exiled aristocrat in North
City was found dead naked on his bed, with dozens of brutally inflicted
wounds on his body.
Guan Shang finally mentioned Shangguan Ru when she said, "The Tenth
Young Master will not be able to come down from the mountain for a while.
The castle is holding a martial arts tournament to examine the skills of the
Shangguan family's children. The Lady hopes that the Tenth Young Master
will use this opportunity to regain the Lord's favor, and is urging her to train
hard. She will not be able to leave the fort for the time being."
"The Tenth Young Master has very good kung fu. Surely, she will be
crowned champion."
"Yes, the Tenth Young Master's machete skills and internal strength are the
best in the fort for someone so young. Even old killers who had been
practicing for decades cannot compete with her. There are several good rising
stars in the family, but they still pale in comparison with the Tenth Young
Master."
Gu Shenwei thought that Guan Shang was going to continue talking about the
competition, but she left it as it is, and started talking about other things. She
did not mention another word about it up until she left.
But this was just a trick to confuse the Dragon King, in order to prevent him
from becoming suspicious too early.
Guan Shang's expression was not very natural when she came by the next
time. It seemed like there was something worrying her. Gu Shenwei knew
that she was waiting for him to speak about it first, so he asked, "Did
something happen to the Tenth Young Master?"
"No." Guan Shang replied immediately. After a while, as if contrary to her

thoughts, she said reluctantly: "Who could have thought that there were two
experts among the younger generation of the Shangguan family. It seems that
it won't be easy for the Tenth Young Master to win the championship."
"Oh, who are these experts?"
"You might not have heard of them, Dragon King. The experts are brothers.
The older brother is called Dewei, he is 18 years old. The younger brother is
named Dezhi, and he is 16 years old. I don't know how they trained, but they
were quite unknown and suddenly become really powerful. The old killers
who observed them said that these two brothers are the top disciples of the
Shangguan family."
"I don't think they are rivals of the Tenth Young Master."
Shangguan Ru practiced the Wayless Qigong, and this was a huge gap that
others had no chance of overcoming.
"Yes, the Tenth Young Master… In fact, I shouldn't say this… But, Dragon
King surely know that the Tenth Young Master has no problems with kung
fu, it's the lack of killing desire. The others are kept in the dark about this. It
is likely that she will be lenient in a crucial timing, whereas the two brothers
are quite ruthless. I'm afraid… "
"The Tenth Young Master will produce sufficient killing desires when it
comes to life and death situations."
"I hope so. Oh well, it would be great if there was a way to let the Tenth
Young Master's killing desires become stronger. The Tenth Young Master is
a good leader. If she was defeated, Lady Meng would most likely replace her
with someone else to take charge of Tianji Society. "
Guan Shang purposedly did not fully disclose the information as she was
waiting for the Dragon King to come to a realization about the implications
of her words. If the Tenth Young Master lost the power to command the
Tianji Society, then the Dragon King's safety in the underground chambers
could not be guaranteed.
Gu Shenwei did not pick up the cue until Guan Shang announced that she
was ready to leave. He said, "I hope that the Tenth Young Master can come
here."
"The Tenth Young Master is currently…"
"I know, she is preparing for the tournament. It won't take up too much of her
time. It is something important and I have to tell her personally."
Guan Shang hesitated for a while before saying, "Is it really important?"
"Very important."
"You can trust me, Dragon King."
"I do trust you, but I can only tell this to the Tenth Young Master herself."
"Ok, I will get someone to bring a message to the Tenth Young Master, but
it's up to Lady Meng whether or not she can come down the mountain."
The Tenth Young Master will definitely come down the mountain. Gu
Shenwei was very convinced now, but it was hard to determine who this
"Tenth Young Master" could be.
He waited for two more days. Guan Shang brought back different kinds of
news each time. One day the Tenth Young Master would be able to come and
then the next, she could not. It was as if she was fiercely fighting against the
obstructing forces in the fort.
Guan Shang came with good news this time when she returned. "Please
follow me, Dragon King."
This whole ordeal seemed quite mysterious as she did not mention the Tenth
Young Master.
Gu Shenwei made an expression of tacit understanding and nodded. He

carried his saber and followed Guan Shang to meet with the Tenth Young
Master.
The path was becoming more and more narrow. Several areas could only
barely fit one person through it. Gu Shenwei felt that they were currently
headed towards an area that was underneath the lake.
There was a long corridor that was quite unusual. As soon as they
approached, the saber and dagger on Gu Shenwei started to become restless
and floated up into the air. It tried to leave its master's grasp.
"Apologies, Dragon King, this corridor is made up of magnets. It is

inconvenient to bring weapons. We better leave them outside."
Guan Shang removed her saber, but Gu Shenwei was not willing to surrender
his weapons. After some consideration, he handed them over to Guan Shang.
She kept them at the nearby stone room for safe keeping.
After passing through the magnetic corridor, two of them entered a spacious
room.
The person inside turned out to be Shangguan Ru indeed.
The lights were slightly dimmed, but the person sitting at the table was
definitely her. She was wearing a light yellow dress, and her appearance was
exactly similar to when Gu Shenwei had seen her in front of the Four Truths
Temple.
Guan Shang bowed and left the room.
"Tenth Young Master." Gu Shenwei slightly nodded, he felt very

uncomfortable. He was the Dragon King now and was no longer a slave of
"Slave Huan." Shangguan Ru addressed him by his former name. Her voice
was very low as though she also felt as uncomfortable as Gu Shenwei. "I
didn't expect to see you again."
"Yes, I never thought that you would send people to save me twice."
"You are my best… friend, I won't let anyone hurt you."
"I have always remembered the words that you said."
"I never forgot it as well."
The room was quiet for a moment, both of them seemed to be reminiscing
about the past, slowly immersing in the joy of their reunion.
Gu Shenwei remembered that the 11-year-old Shangguan Ru had given the

only chance of trust to Slave Huan, but he did not give her the same promise.
"You still can't kill."
"I don't know what happened to me either. It has been like this even after
three years."
"I have a way to help you regain the killing desire, but you have to be
willing."
"I… I am very torn. I don't want to kill, but others want to kill me."
"Yes, there is no way to survive in the castle without the killing desire. It's
not that you want to kill, but you have to kill."
Gu Shenwei approached closer to her as he spoke.
"Don't come over." Shangguan Ru turned away slightly and seemed to be a

little shy. "We are not children anymore. Others will misunderstand."
"Right," Gu Shenwei responded respectfully. It was like back in the past,
when she was the master and he was the slave.
Suddenly he rushed over, with his left arm tightly strangled around
Shangguan Ru's neck, his right hand held a sharpened chopstick against her
throat. "Ninth Young Master, it seems that you really prefer being a woman."
Shangguan Fei was holding a dagger, but his arm was stiff in midair.
Chapter 286 - Cheat
Chapter 286: Cheat
Everyone thought that the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort was a
coward, and even Shangguan Fei himself admits it. Because of this, he had
hesitated for a few days before he agreed to pretend to be his sister in order to
deceive Slave Huan.
The brother and sister duo originally looked very similar to each other. Add
on some crafty disguise, and they would be almost flawlessly identical to
each other. All he had to do was to suppress his voice and try not to stand up
because he was taller than his sister.
Shangguan Fei had a hidden dagger, but Slave Huan did not have any
weapons.
This should have been a low-risk operation which should have went
smoothly, but he didn't understand how he still fell into the hands of Slave
Huan with his neck being pressed against the deadly and sharp weapon.
"Let's talk it out," Shangguan Fei said in his own voice. He was no longer
able to keep his cool. In fact, it happened so quickly that he didn't have the
time to feel fear.
Gu Shenwei stared at Shangguan Fei's fragile skin. Even though he only had
sharpened chopsticks in his hand, he could still easily kill the enemy in front
of him.
"Call your black-masked assassin to come out."
"What black-masked assassin? I do not have… "

"Lying is no way to 'talk it out', but no matter. It will be the black-masked
assassin's funeral anyway once you're dead." After their first year of
experience, each young master would be assigned a black-masked assassin to
serve as their personal guard. Gu Shenwei believed that someone like
Shangguan Fei, who was as timid as a mouse, was no exception.
"Kill, kill me, and you'll die here as well," Shangguan Fei threatened while
trembling. After the initial calm, his instincts of fear was gradually
increasing. His brain became numb, and the dagger in his hand dropped to the
ground.
Gu Shenwei applied a little force and the chopsticks pricked into the skin. A
drop of ruby-like blood dripped out.
"Black-masked assassin! Black-masked assassin!" Shangguan Fei

immediately screamed once he felt pain. It was unclear whether he was
ordering the black-masked assassin to reveal himself, or summoning the
black-masked assassin to save him.
Gu Shenwei felt a chill behind him and said, "Walk to the front."
Guan Shang came out from behind the two. She was holding a saber in her
right hand and the Dragon King's saber in the other.
This was the first time that Gu Shenwei had ever seen a female black-masked
assassin. "Prove it to me."
Guan Shang turned her head, but a stiff mask appeared on her face when she
turned around. At that moment, the female killer, with both a name and a
surname, has become a ruthless assassin.
Gu Shenwei believed that she was the black-masked assassin. The proof was
not the mask, but the rising tension in his heart.
"Okay, let's go back above ground now." Gu Shenwei had many doubts in his
heart, but he did not intend to do an interrogation here.
"The exit is behind here." Shangguan Fei was as eager to return above ground
as Slave Huan was. He never liked the underground chambers. It was like a
complicated prison that was sealed from the inside, but it did not provide any
sense of security.
Gu Shenwei held on to Shangguan Fei's neck, and turned a quarter of a circle

around. He used his peripheral vision and saw that there was indeed a "door."
There was a curtain, and its colors were mixed in with the surrounding walls.
This was where Guan Shang had sneaked in from.
"You go in front," Gu Shenwei ordered. No one wanted an expert such as a

black-masked assassin behind them.
Guan Shang nodded, her mask disappeared into thin air. "Dragon King, it is
not so easy to fool you…"
"Let's go outside before we speak." Gu Shenwei knew what Guan Shang

wanted to do. She was merely buying time to rescue the Ninth Young Master.
Guan Shang paused for a second and finally realized that she was unable to
deceive the Dragon King. She took the lead and walked in front, and tore off
the curtain before passing through. This move showed that she had
completely given up on saving her master.
There was a long and tortuous narrow passage behind the curtained door,
which was interlaced with other small roads. Some road sections did not even
have a light and were pitch black. The only advantage was that you didn't
need to worry about threats from either side, only what's behind you.
Following this passage, the three quickly came to a spacious stone room that
was another exit out of the Bodhi Garden underground chambers, and it was
connected by two passages.
A small wooden frame stood on the doorway and there was a copper plaque
hanging from it.
In order to reassure the Dragon King, every move that Guan Shang made was
very slow. She raised her saber and gently tapped on the gong with the
handle.
The sound echoed throughout the walls and passed toward the depths of the
underground chambers.
"The gatekeeper has the key. He will be here soon," Guan Shang explained.
"You won't kill me right?" Shangguan Fei knew that these words were
useless nonsense, but he still couldn't help but ask. He hated being controlled
by others. He was willing to do anything as long as he could get rid of the
weapon on his neck.
"It's hard to say. I can't let you go unless I feel safe."
"No, no, you will be safe. I promise, for… my sister's sake, don't kill me.
Otherwise, she will hate you forever. She would also hate me if I killed you."
"Hey, do you think I really care?" Gu Shenwei said. The people of Golden
Roc Fort always habitually regard him as a slave, and couldn't understand his
ambition to slaughter the Shangguan family.
"You do not care? Because of you, my sister hadn't said anything to her own
mother for three years. She doesn't talk to anyone, she would rather be mute.
Even so, you don't care?"
Killers should not say too much nonsense. Gu Shenwei answered Shangguan
Fei's question with two words, "Shut up."
Shangguan Fei didn't want to shut up. He suddenly understood that his life
was not in Slave Huan's hands, but his sister's. "Do you remember? My sister
said that she will never kill me."
In the Gui Garden peach forest, Shangguan Ru once had a chance to kill her
brother to avenge Master Yu. She had said this sentence out of grief, but
Shangguan Fei had forgotten it and Gu Shenwei was not present at the time.
He mentioned Shangguan Ru again and again, which only made Gu Shenwei

angry and anxious. Then he applied more force into the chopsticks in his
hand.
Suddenly, there was a series of "Ho Ho" sounds coming from Shangguan
Fei's throat, as if he was choking on something. Two hands pulled against
Slave Huan's iron arms in vain.
"Have mercy, have mercy," someone shouted while gasping.
Gu Shenwei suddenly woke up. If he killed Shangguan Fei, then he would be

trapped and would die in the underground palace. The chopsticks moved a
little away, but Shangguan Fei was still struggling. He had unexpectedly used
a substantial amount of strength.
Then, a fatty came running from another passage. His body was thick and fat,
and it looked bigger than the narrow passage. It was a miracle that he could
fit inside.
"Dragon King, have mercy," The fatty said it again as he waved his hand to
wipe the sweat from his face. Two machetemen were behind him. Those two
standing together were almost as wide as this fatty was.
"Old Meng, save me!" Shangguan Fei gave up his struggle and shouted at this
new savior to save him.
Gu Shenwei knew who this fat man was. He was Meng Yuzun, the patriarch
of the Meng family of North City. Although he had never met this man, Gu
Shenwei has long heard of his "fat" name.
Meng Yuzun was Lady Meng's elder, but they were not close relatives.
Shangguan Fei normally called him "Old Meng."
"Open the door." Gu Shenwei only wanted to leave the underground

chambers as soon as possible. It doesn't matter what was the name of the fat
man. As for Shangguan Fei, since he had fallen into his hands, he couldn't
just let him go so easily.
Meng Yuzun was really obese, and running this passage had exceeded his
stamina. He was hunched over with both hands on his knees, panting like a
wild ox. He straightened himself up after catching his breath and said, "No,
we cannot open the door."
It was not Gu Shenwei that was surprised by his words, but Shangguan Fei.
His hatred for Slave Huan was diverted to the fatty. "Old Meng, Slave Huan
wants to, wants to kill me. Hurry and open the door for him."
Meng Yuzun took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the sweat off of his face.
"Even if we open the door, the Dragon King may not let you go. Moreover, it
was not easy to invite the Dragon King into Tianji Society. It would be
unfortunate to let him go so easily."
Shangguan Fei was stunned and couldn't speak.
Gu Shenwei knew that he has encountered another problem. "Unfortunate

indeed, that's what Lady Meng would probably say if she saw her son's
corpse."
Slave Huan's words caused Shangguan Fei's heart to sink. "Old Meng, my
mother will not spare you if I die."
Meng Yuzun laughed a few times. The people in the Shangguan family were
always like this: They think that killing people can make everyone afraid.
"Don't worry, Ninth Young Master, the Dragon King will let you go."
Meng Yuzun then gave the Dragon King a proposal, "Dragon King, I am a
businessman who will never be willing to trade at a loss. The Ninth Young
Master is in your hands. You want to exchange his freedom for us to open the
exit, sure, but you have to provide a guarantee to us of your good faith.
Otherwise, if you leave and decide to not let him go, won't you keep using
him to make more demands? Won't I be at a loss then?"
"Good faith? Do you want his ear or finger?"
Shangguan Fei's face paled. He didn't want to be missing any parts of

himself.
Meng Yuzun laughed again, "It's best to keep the Ninth Young Master in one
piece. What I meant by 'in good faith' was that the Dragon King has to give
us something."
Gu Shenwei already guessed the other party's purpose, so he did not say
anything and waited for him to continue.
"The Dragon King has seen it too. Tianji Society has raised a group of female
killers. These women cost me a lot of money and effort, but they are still not
quite as skilled they should be. Experts have said that the training methods
were not the problem. It was their level of kung fu which made it impossible
for them to ever become masters. I heard that, when Dragon King left Stone
Castle, he had taken away a lot of secret kung fu manuscripts. Hand over one
or two, and give Tianji Society some hope. This is what I mean by 'good
faith', hehe."
"You also want the Dajue Book of Swordcraft?" Shangguan Fei screamed in
even more surprise than Slave Huan.
"Is it called 'Dajue Book of Swordcraft'? I don't have any knowledge about it.
Golden Roc Fort has a lot of high-level kung fu and this was one of them,
right?"
"You, you don't even practice martial arts, why do you want this?"
Shangguan Fei still couldn't understand Old Meng's intentions.
"Hehe, this, the Ninth Young Master should understand. Your mother thinks
that the reason why you are such a coward was because of your low kung fu
level. Thus, I hope to cheat the Dajue Book of Swordcraft out from the
Dragon King with this proposal. As for me, I don't know kung fu. I was more
afraid than you are when I saw the chaos occurring in the Western Region.
It's too late for me to learn kung fu, but I had always wanted to train a few
masters to block a few blades for me and whatnot."
"Dajue Book of Swordcraft" was another name for "Death Scripture." Gu

Shenwei was amazed. He couldn't figure out how his secret was leaked. It
was reasonable to say that only Maid Lotus has ever read this book in this
world.
"How about it, Dragon King? I will immediately let you go as long as you
hand over the scripture. From then on, I will become friends with the Dragon
King. You could even kill my son, and I would not blink. I would even fully
support Great Snowmountain's negotiations."
Meng Yuzun chattered on and on. No one could have thought of how he
issued a secret order. The two guards by his side suddenly made their move
and put out the torch in the stone room.
Next, an even more unexpected thing happened.
Meng Yuzun, who in everyone's eyes was not a kung fu practitioner, swiftly
attacked the Dragon King. His speed was completely inconsistent with his
obesity. His attacks were so ruthless that he seemed to completely disregard
whether Shangguan Fei lived or died.
At the same time, the black-masked assassin, Guan Shang, also attacked.
Although she was holding three swords in two hands, that did not affect her
skills at all.
Surprisingly the target of her attacks turned out to be Meng Yuzun.
Gu Shenwei flew up and killed the two guards.
When the stone room fell into darkness, it became confusing to tell apart
friend from foe.
Chapter 287 - Hidden Traitor
Chapter 287: Hidden Traitor
It was pitch dark and was as silent as a stone wall. It seemed that no one had
survived.
The survivors were holding their breath. Instead of comparing their kung fu,
everyone here was trying not to be the first person to make a mistake.
Gu Shenwei couldn't see but he knew that one of Meng Yuzun's guards was
lying five steps away from him with a bleeding neck. Another guard was
hiding in the dark. Just like everyone else, the guard was waiting for an
opportunity to strike.
He didn't know the fates of Shangguan Fei, Meng Yuzun, and Guan Shang.
There were many unexpected things, but he had no time to consider them.
Death Scripture could detect the living energy of the survivors, but Gu
Shenwei only had half a chopstick in his hand. Thus, he didn't dare to try.
Both sword and chopstick could kill people, but this couldn't eliminate their
differences. Gu Shenwei couldn't display his Death Scripture swordcraft with
chopsticks.
He had once used the saber in place of his sword. He then incorporated Death
Scripture into his machete skills. However, these two methods were
unsatisfactory as they had less power. He was even less confident now that
his weapon was just a pair of chopsticks.
This was a strange phenomenon. It felt similar to a person who had used
chopsticks for decades, who knew how to move his fingers without even
thinking about it. However, his fingers would immediately become clumsy
when either he only had a pair of extremely short wooden strips or had
nothing in his hands. The harder he tried, the more his movements would
become serious.
All kungfu had to rely on weapons such as hands, knives, swords, poles,
spears, etc. Without them, kungfu wouldn't exist.
To Gu Shenwei, Death Scripture would always be a swordcraft.
Some people couldn't help but breathe. A slight sound was like a leaf falling
slowly onto the surface of a lake. People might not hear it, but the ripples it
caused could travel a far distance.
Gu Shenwei didn't react immediately.
Another man rushed up and the two blades struck each other. It created a
spark and generated a fleeting faint flash.
The one who breathed was Meng Yuzun's guard, and the attacker was Guan
Shang. Gu Shenwei needed to choose one of these two as a target.
He also rushed forward. He thrust his chopsticks into someone's neck and
then returned to his original position.
It became dark and silent once again. After a while, Guan Shang said, "I want
to light up the place."
"Ok," Gu Shenwei said.
There was a sound of flint hitting each other and the torch on the wall lit up
soon afterward.
Both of Meng Yuzun's guards were dead. The fat man was lying on
Shangguan Fei.
Guan Shang carefully placed her saber into her scabbard and picked up the
Dragon King's sword with both hands. She said, "This is yours."
Gu Shenwei carefully took back his sword. He then felt relieved. He was a
complete killer as long as he was holding onto his familiar sword hilt.
Guan Shang took out a dagger and also returned it to the Dragon King. She
said, "I am not your enemy."
"Nor a black-masked assassin?" Gu Shenwei thought that Guan Shang was

just an ordinary killer and he didn't expect that she had such a complicated
identity.
"Let's talk outside."
Guan Shang turned over Meng Yuzun's fat body and took a key from him.
Meng Yuzun didn't die. He was struck at his acupoints and was holding onto
his breath. He persevered longer than his guards.
Shangguan Fei didn't die either. He passed out from fear, and his breathing
was weak. He was also blocked by the fat man. Thus, it seemed like he wasn't
breathing.
Both of them had set up a trap, but they were caught in it and were rendered
helpless. Meng Yuzun was experiencing a shortness of breath. He couldn't
say anything and his eyes were moving around. He wanted to use this method
to beg for mercy.
"Can I say something?" Guan Shang knew that the Dragon King was still
doubtful of her, so she was respectful.
"You don't want me to kill these two men."
"Yes, I have my reasons."
Obviously, Meng Yuzun mustn't learn of the reason. Gu Shenwei didn't know
much about acupoints so he knocked the fat man out by kicking him.
"It was not easy for us to position some of our men around Meng Yuzun and
the Ninth Young Master. Our efforts will be in vain if both of them died.
They will be at loggerheads after today's incident. Instead of killing them, it
will be better to let them fight each other."
Gu Shenwei flashed through many possibilities in his mind. He said, "You
are a disciple of New Moon Hall."
"Does the Dragon King want to talk about the details here or outside?"
This was the second time that Guan Shang said something similar.
Previously, Gu Shenwei was led to the underground chamber of Tianji
Society by this remark. This time, he didn't know where he would be led to.
"Let's talk outside." Gu Shenwei also wanted to leave this place as soon as
possible.
Guan Shang used the key to unlock the door and pulled open the heavy metal
door with much effort. She then gestured for the Dragon King to leave first.
It was dark outside. Bodhi Garden was no different from the wilderness in
early winter, and there was a layer of snow on the ground. Gu Shenwei
couldn't figure out how many days he had been hiding in the underground
chamber.
Guan Shang dragged Shangguan Fei out and placed him on the snow. She
then turned and closed the door. Subsequently, she explained, "The one who
wakes up earlier will kill the other person. He will then push the blame onto
the Dragon King. It is better to separate them first."
Gu Shenwei nodded in agreement. In fact, at this crucial juncture when Great

Snowmountain wanted to make peace with Golden Roc Fort, even without
Guan Shang's persuasion, he wouldn't have killed any member of the
Shangguan and Meng families.
Shangguan Fei was dressed in women's clothing and he looked very similar
to his sister. He snorted in the snow. Gu Shenwei went up and kicked him.
"The Dragon King, please come with me."
"No, you come with me."
The Dragon King wasn't holding onto his swords, but Guan Shang couldn't
question his words. Guan Shang hesitated a little bit and said, "The Dragon
King, please lead the way."
Out of all the apartments Xu Xiaoyi bought in Jade City, one was located in
North City. It was an independent apartment in a grand mansion. There were
also other tenants. The owner of the mansion was a relative to the king of a
nation and had the nominal ownership. Because of this, the owner would
receive his monthly rent and turn a blind eye to anything that was happening
in the mansion.
That was his last hiding spot. Gu Shenwei wouldn't use it unless the situation
had become extremely dangerous.
Even so, he and Guan Shang still checked the surroundings carefully. They
entered after having made sure that there was no danger.
Guan Shang was an excellent killer. Gu Shenwei couldn't help but think that
he needed such a killer.
Before the Dragon King could ask, Guan Shang started to narrate a story,
"New Moon Hall didn't disappear. On the contrary, the leader brought the
majority of the disciples out from the desert. For many years, I have been
working hard to penetrate into the various forces of Jade City, especially that
of Golden Roc Fort. I shouldn't have exposed my identity this early, but it is
my priority to protect the Dragon King."
"Are you really the black-masked assassin?" Gu Shenwei had his doubts. The
assassins he knew were extremely loyal to their masters as if they were their
masters' shadow. They were very different from Guan Shang.
"I am. I was trained in Golden Roc Fort ever since when I was able to
remember things. I had been leading a monotonous life for twenty-eight
years. The leader enlightened me and made me understand that I was no
different from a zombie. I switched over to New Moon Hall two years ago.
From then on, I only had one goal and the leader was like my parent."
Guan Shang's words made Gu Shenwei feel more suspicious.
It was said that New Moon Hall was good at making knockout powder and
specialized in evil secrets. If Guan Shang didn't have other motives, then he
might be controlled by the evil secrets. Ordinary Golden Roc killers, let alone
black-masked assassins, were unlikely to be swayed by a few words. Gu
Shenwei knew that he and Maid Lotus were the only two defectors in many
years.
"It doesn't matter if the Dragon King doesn't believe me. The leader will
explain everything to you after you have met her."
Gu Shenwei had seen the leader of New Moon Hall. She was a tall beautiful
woman and she was the one who inserted the "evil spirits" into Shangguan
Ru's body and the others. Her methods were more powerful and were more
evil than that of Mama Xue. It was beyond Gu Shenwei's understanding. He
only knew about swords, so he was definitely unwilling to deal with that kind
of woman.
Gu Shenwei had seen the disciples of Barren Sect and New Moon Hall
before, and none of them were normal. Even Maid Lotus showed her
madness which was deep inside her during the last moment of her escape.
Gu Shenwei thought that the word "crazy" was the most appropriate term to
describe these women.
"I am not in a rush to meet your leader."
"The Dragon King had misunderstood our New Moon Hall," Guan Shang
laughed. "Whatever, both New Moon Hall and Great Snowmountain have the
same goal, which is to destroy Golden Roc Fort."
"Is that the reason why you kill people in my name so that the negotiations
will be disrupted?"
"The purpose of the Great Snowmountain peace treaty is to preserve and

strengthen its capacity. It works the same way as the concealment of New
Moon Hall. Why would we ruin the Dragon King's plan? The imposter is
someone else."
"Oh?"
"I heard a lot of insider information from Stone Castle. The news that is
reported to the Dragon King on a daily basis is true, so …"
"The imposter came from Golden Roc Fort." Gu Shenwei had known about
this. He wanted to sound Guan Shang out by accusing New Moon Hall.
"I haven't found any concrete evidence, but these imposters have something
to do with Stone Castle. Those who were killed either had a dispute with
Stone Castle or were useless machetemen. Stone Castle made use of this
opportunity to simultaneously wipe out dissidents and disrupt the
negotiations.
Gu Shenwei reminded himself that New Moon Hall was good at sowing
discord and would thus benefit from it. Gu Shenwei couldn't completely
believe Guan Shang's words.
"Do you have other clues?"
"Well, that's for the time being. It is better for the leader to explain to you in
more detail."
"Yes."
Gu Shenwei slapped Guan Shang on her neck and knocked her out. He then
found a rope to tie her up and placed her on the bed.
It was too late for Gu Shenwei to learn about acupoints pressure. He thought
to himself that he would have to bring some tough ropes along with him in
the future.
Guan Shang said that she had no clue, but Gu Shenwei was doubtful of her
words. Gu Shenwei had one clue.
The reward for the swords and the successive assassinations reminded Gu
Shenwei of a place: Blacksmith Village. It was located in the easternmost
part of South City.
The imposters of the Dragon King had committed crimes in many places, but
there were many cases which happened in Blacksmith Village. Many people,
including the Big Protector, blacksmiths and apprentices were killed. There
must be a reason behind this.
Gu Shenwei put on his cape and took Guan Shang's waist token. He entered
South City through the checkpoint in the morning.
It was now when the Great Snowmountain's negotiation had fallen through. It
was the seventh day of the ten-day ultimatum, which had been delivered by
the Special Emissary from the Central Plains. Fang Wenshi was very anxious
and prayed that the Dragon King would soon appear and solve all the current
problems.
It happened four hours after Shangguan Fei had gotten up from the snow. He
hastily left Bodhi Garden in fear and anger and turned to his mother for help.
Golden Roc Fort heard the news and deployed many men. Golden Roc Fort
made a vow that they will kill the Dragon King and the black-masked
assassin who betrayed them within three days.
Chapter 288 - Tianshan
Chapter 288: Tianshan
It was an ordinary day at Blacksmith Village, although it was shrouded in an

unfortunate atmosphere. The temperature had plummeted and business was
poor. A seventeen-year-old apprentice had been killed last night. A Black
Blood Flag was placed at the doorstep of a shop and the blood on the flag
was frozen.
More than sixty blacksmiths came together in a small house that afternoon to
discuss countermeasures. However, no one had any ideas and they were only
here to chat. Most didn't even have a seat and they had to squeeze in and
squat around.
"Seven blacksmiths had died."
"Twelve apprentices had died too. I don't have enough people, but no one in
South City dares to take up this job."
"Why does the Dragon King hate blacksmiths? We didn't offend him."
"Mr. Hong. Please say something."
Mr. Hong was a hunched, well-built old man who had been lowering his
head. Out of the dozens of blacksmiths, he was the only one who hadn't
spoken at all. He barely raised his head when his name was called. He then
said, "I don't know."
"Are you the one who initially made weapons for the Dragon King?"
After hearing this sentence, everyone looked at him. Mr. Hong's mouth was
sealed and looked stubborn. After a while, he said, "I have made two swords
for him a few years ago. What's the matter? If he is unsatisfied, he can just
come and kill me."
This wasn't a big deal but everyone looked surprised. This was the only
relationship between Blacksmith Village and the Dragon King that they knew
of. The reason why the Dragon King was angry and wanted to take revenge
after so many years was due to either Mr. Hong pocketing more money
during that time or there were problems with the sword.
The Dragon King was someone who bore grudges. Wasn't his motive for
coming into Jade City to take revenge on Golden Roc Fort?
Mr. Hong lowered his head again, but he couldn't avoid those gazes. They
were like countless fine needles which made Mr. Hong feel uncomfortable. It
seemed as if he had committed a shameful crime and was accepting the
public's silent criticism. Hence, he stood up, pushed the door and walked out
of the room.
"What … is going on? He hadn't made himself clear," a blacksmith said

discontentedly. Others were nodding their heads.
Soon, they heard a hoarse scream from the street. Blacksmith Mr. Hong used
such a method to explain himself. He shouted, "Damn you, Dragon King!
Come and kill me, you coward! I will be waiting here!"
The blacksmiths dispersed and no one dared to persuade Mr. Hong.
The hunched old man stood up straight. He watched his counterparts running
away, pedestrians rushed off and the shops on both sides of the street closed.
He couldn't help but sigh.
Blacksmiths could forge the sharpest weapons, but they couldn't control how
the weapon can be used. When they were attacked, they were as helpless as
ordinary people and would panic.
Mr. Hong walked back to his small shop. Two young disciples looked at their
master in panic. One said, "Master, my mother is ill …", the other said, "My
sister is going to get married."
"Leave. All of you, leave."
There was one person left, but Mr. Hong felt at ease. He took off his robe,
picked up his hammer and struck the iron plate on the anvil. Sparks were
flying and he felt more at ease.
What was terrible about death? Something might even grow on the tomb after
he was buried in the soil.
Night fell. Blacksmith Village, which was usually noisy and had furnaces
burning, was surprisingly quiet now. Mr. Hong sat down next to the anvil. He
was looking at the shanty wooden door and was not doing anything. He
wasn't hungry, but he felt slightly cold, so he put on his robe again.
When he looked up again, there was one more person at the door. The person
was masked in black and was holding onto a saber.
Mr. Hong glanced at him, lowered his head and showed his neck. He said,
"Come and kill me in one strike."
The man in black took a step forward and raised his saber. He took another
step forward, but he suddenly stopped. He realized that there was something
wrong.
A large net fell from the beam of the house. Five men jumped down onto the
ground and each of them pulled at a corner.
The man in black swung his saber twice, but he was still caught in the net.
"Don't let him swallow poison!" one of the ambushers shouted. The group
rushed up and suppressed the man in black. They hurriedly pinched his nose
and opened his mouth. They took something out from his mouth.
"Alright. We caught him alive!" a twenty-year-old young man exclaimed

excitedly. He was holding a small pill in his hand for blacksmith Mr. Hong to
check.
Mr. Hong nodded.

The young man grabbed the prisoner and tore his mask off. "Mr. Hong, is this
him?"
"Hmm, will the real Dragon King be caught so easily? Ask him where he
came from." Mr. Hong's tone sounded strict. The hunched, incompetent
blacksmith suddenly became a decisive leader.
The young man kicked the prisoner and said, "Mr. Hong is asking you a
question. Say something."
The prisoner was a thin middle-aged man. He sneered and turned away. He
didn't reply to Mr. Hong.
The young man wanted to lift his foot again. Mr. Hong then said, "Don't
interrogate him here. Bring him to a safe place and interrogate him there."
The other four men carried the prisoner and the young man pushed open the
door and looked around for a while. When the coast was clear, he turned
around and the group of people left quietly.
The young man looked at the old blacksmith with a little bit of concern. He
said, "Mr. Hong, I will stay and protect you."
"Go, I don't need to be protected." Mr. Hong's tone sounded stiff, as though
the young man had offended him.
The young man's face flushed slightly and he hurried outside to catch up to
his companions.
Mr. Hong patted off the non-existent dust on his body. He then stood up and
was preparing to strike the iron plate. He still had to do his job regardless of
how many people wanted to kill him or whether there were any guests.
Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in the back of his head. Mr. Hong fell into
darkness as he "plopped" forward.
When Mr. Hong slowly woke up, there were "tinkling" sounds in his ear,
which made him think that he was in a blacksmith's shop. However, the
sound disappeared when the scene became clearer.
He was leaning against a coffin in a mourning hall.
Mr. Hong was surprised and stood up in a hurry. He recognized that this was
the mourning hall which was set up for Big Protector who had been killed a
few days ago. His wife and children fled the city in less than three days after
Big Protector's death. It had been a long time since someone stayed in the
hall. Those blacksmiths who were familiar with Big Protector would light up
two candles every day.
There was a young man standing at the door and he looked surprisingly pale.
It was as if he was a terminally ill patient who was going to die. He was
peering out into the cold night through a gap.
"The Dragon King?" Mr. Hong vaguely recognized his face, but he looked
very different from that teenager a few years back. He didn't seem to be the
same person.
"Someone was using my name to kill people." Gu Shenwei was laying in

ambush in Blacksmith Village for twelve to fourteen hours and had watched
coldly as Mr. Hong set up a trap to capture someone alive. He didn't follow
the prisoner because he felt that Mr. Hong would know more.
"I guessed so." Mr. Hong stood up as he tried to straighten his hunched back.
He was calmer than most competent killers when facing the Dragon King.
"It's time for you to tell me something." Gu Shenwei turned around and
looked at the blacksmith who had once made the "Huan" and "Yun" blade for
him and Maid Lotus.
"I have nothing to say." Mr. Hong was stubborn. He would have the same
attitude even if he was standing in front of the Supreme King.
"That Lin Xiaoshan. Is he your son?" Gu Shenwei was hiding in a blind spot
when he was observing Mr. Hong. He could guess some secrets from Mr.
Hong's eyes.
Lin Xiaoshan was the young man who wanted to stay behind to protect Mr.
Hong.
After Gu Shenwei made that remark, Mr. Hong's facial expression changed.
His muscles twitched, and it seemed as if flames were about to burst out from
his eyes. He shouted, "No, but you are not allowed to touch him!"
"Are you able to command me?"
The flames in Mr. Hong's eyes gradually died down. Mr. Hong then lowered
his head and said, "The imposter was killing Tianshan Sect, instead of the
blacksmiths."
"What?" Gu Shenwei doubted that he had heard wrongly.
"Tianshan."
Gu Shenwei immediately thought of Elderly Dragon who was wearing a

cotton-padded jacket and peddling fantasies to swordsmen. Tianshan Sect
was the first small gang, whom Elderly Dragon participated in the massacre
of as a killer apprentice. It was more commonly referred to as the "Ten-
Dragon Gang".
However, both Elderly Dragon and Tianshan Sect were swindlers. They
would collect admission fees and say big words. It was similar to the
preaching of the holy monk. The backbone of the gang, including Elderly
Dragon, were all dead.
Gu Shenwei never imagined that he would hear the name of this gang again,
but he soon realized, "Are you one of the ten dragons of Tianshan Sect?"
"The Ten Dragons is a scam. Elderly Dragon was too anxious, so he had died
a terrible death."
"He is a liar," Gu Shenwei said coldly.
"Yes, Elderly Dragon is a liar and so is the Ten-Dragon Gang. Mr. Hong
readily admitted, "However, Tianshan Sect isn't. Golden Roc Fort thought
that they have destroyed Tianshan Sect, but we have been developing in
secret. Some information was leaked when a traitor had betrayed Tianshan
Sect a month ago."
"So, was Golden Roc Fort using my name to destroy Tianshan Sect again?"
"This is why it is so strange. The traitor didn't seek refuge in Golden Roc
Fort. The Supreme King probably still thought that Tianshan Sect had already
perished."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, the influence of Tianshan Sect is bigger than what you think. I heard
that you have seen Immortal Peng from Joy Pavilion before. His Stop Kills
Society is a scam. Tianshan Sect is the one who is managing the
machetemen."
The light that just appeared dimmed again. Guan Shang, who was a disciple
of New Moon Hall, believed that the imposter was a Golden Roc killer. The
imposter should be related to Stone Castle. Gu Shenwei originally thought so,
but that was directly denied by Mr. Hong.
Gu Shenwei wasn't concerned about whether Stop Kills Society was a scam.
"If it's not Golden Roc Fort, who will it be?"
"We also don't know. That's why we had to capture prisoners and interrogate
them. However, we may not get much information because we couldn't sound
them out. They were in awe of their mastermind and will rather die than leak
any information out. We will design another trap and use these prisoners to
lure bigger targets. The mastermind will be exposed sooner or later."
Mr. Hong spoke much. This was completely different from his usual temper.
He was surprised. He said, "That's all. Tianshan Sect won't make a fuss even
though the Dragon King had once participated in the massacre of the Ten-
Dragon Gang. Both of us don't hate each other. If the Dragon King is willing,
then we can join hands."
"I will look for you when you have news." Gu Shenwei wanted the support of
Tianshan Sect, but he was more used to being alone. It might be a wrong
move for him to believe anyone, especially at this moment.
"We will be waiting. However, please don't knock my head and ask me
directly." Mr. Hong was rubbing the back of his head as it still felt painful.
"Are you the chief?" Gu Shenwei asked.
"Hey. There is no need for the Dragon King to sound me out because I won't
tell you. There are too many different kinds of people in Jade City, so the
chief will never reveal himself. In short, it is not me. He is a great man and
the Dragon King will meet him soon …"
Mr. Hong spoke a little too much about the chief. It seemed as if the Dragon
King's punch has changed Mr. Hong's character and made him more
talkative.
The Dragon King left before Mr. Hong has finished speaking. He darted out
of the door and disappeared.
The clue was broken again. This matter became very confusing as the motive
of the imposter was unclear.
Gu Shenwei flipped over the boundary wall and quickly returned to North
City. He wanted to reinterrogate Guan Shang because there was something
wrong with her words.
Chapter 289 - Crows
Chapter 289: Crows
The courtyard looked very safe. Gu Shenwei observed for two hours before
entering. By this time, it was almost daybreak.
Guan Shang was still lying in bed. She looked at the Dragon King helplessly,
who returned a day later.
Gu Shenwei cut off the leather rope for her leather and took a few steps back.
"I have something to ask you."
"And then knock me out again?"
"That depends."
The Dragon King was serious. Guan Shang sat up and rubbed her arms.
"Please ask."
"You mentioned that the people who were killed by the imposter had grudges
against Golden Roc Fort. What about the people in Blacksmith Village who
were killed? Did they offend Golden Roc Fort as well?"
"Blacksmiths? No, they had no grudges against Golden Roc Fort. It was a
tactic to take advantage of a confusing situation. Many people were killed by
the imposter to create chaos so that they can make use of the opportunity to
kill off the real target. The Lord wanted to kill several major Protectors as
some of them dominated certain businesses and their influence was getting
larger. They were even competing with Golden Roc Fort secretly."
"A major Protector in Blacksmith Village was killed as well."
"He might either be the real target or someone who died in vain. I cannot be
sure. The Stone Castle kept this confidential and it was impossible for me to
know."
"What do you know about Master Lianhua?"
"That holy monk who was killed? As far as I know, his death was not part of
Golden Roc Fort's plan. Because after hearing about his death, they were both
excited and surprised by it."
"Didn't the killers capture a few prisoners? Did they confess?"
"I don't know anything about that. However, there's something strange. There
are some people in the fort who seemed to be very interested in the poison
that was swallowed by the imposters. They collected a few pills and even
took some corpses away."
Gu Shenwei understood why Golden Roc Fort would be interested in the

poison. This method of suicide was similar to what New Moon Hall would
do. Supreme King would definitely want to get to the bottom of it. However,
as a disciple of New Moon Hall, Guan Shang couldn't understand why they
were making a big fuss about it.
"Does New Moon Hall concoct all kinds of poison often?"
Guan Shang understood what the Dragon King meant and shook her head.
She said, "Our Sect is good at making poisons, but there is no need for a
suicide poison. Every disciple is loyal and will never reveal any information
even if they are caught."
Gu Shenwei had seen how the ladies of New Moon Hall would rather die
than to submit. Guan Shang was initially a loyal black-masked assassin who
would never betray, yet she was roped in by New Moon Hall. He said, "The
Master must have done something to you right?"
"I'm ashamed. I am not qualified to accept the Master's skills."
Gu Shenwei snorted slightly. She was forced to pledge her allegiance to New
Moon Hall so naturally she was compelled to lie as well. His trust in Guan
Shang was greatly reduced.
"Take me to meet the Master."
Upon hearing Dragon King's request, Guan Shang seemed a bit surprised.
She said, "Alright, but you will have to wait for seven days."
"You seemed to be in a hurry to let me meet her yesterday."
"Yes, I could only get information once every week and yesterday was
supposed to be it. Since I didn't get the information, I would have to wait for
another week."
Gu Shenwei was confused by Guan Shang and Mr. Hong's conflicting

statements. There seemed to be many clues, but none of them were useful.
He stood by the door and pondered over the matter, while Guan Shang sat on
the edge of the bed motionlessly. She was staring at her saber, which was
placed on a table a few steps away. She could grab it if she stood up, but she
didn't dare to do it in front of Dragon King.
"You are free," Gu Shenwei said suddenly. Guan Shang was no longer of use
to him.
"I can help the Dragon King."
"No," Gu Shenwei refused directly. He only needed intelligence, not

assistance.
Guan Shang stood up and picked up her saber. She cautiously walked past
Dragon King and said, "After a week, I will tell Master that the Dragon King
wants to meet her."
Guan Shang disappeared into the brief darkness before daybreak. Like the
Dragon King, she was also being hunted down by Golden Roc Fort and needs
to find a safe hiding spot.
Gu Shenwei followed her from a distance.

North City appears to have wide walkways, but there were many obstacles.
Many overt and undercover officers continued to keep watch around the
place. It was like a deep forest for those who were familiar with the situation.
There were only a few areas were not monitored or seldom monitored. These
areas formed a disconnected forested path.
Both Gu Shenwei and Guan Shang knew these paths. Hence, he could
determine her path beforehand and was able to follow her from a distance. If
it was the chaotic South City, he would need to follow her more closely.
Guan Shang returned to Bodhi Garden.
It was very clever of her to hide in a place where Golden Roc Fort would
never expect her to be in, or perhaps she had an ulterior motive to inform her
master about the situation after deceiving the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei did not enter.
Gu Shenwei took a risk and used Guan Shang's killer waist token again as he
exited the city through the eastern gate. He rented a horse and rode it around
the nearby streets. After confirming that there was no one tailing him, he sped
up and headed towards the southern suburbs.
There was a small hill to the south of Jade City and it was full of rocks. Only
a few tender blades of grass could grow in the rainy season. The residents of
Jade City named it Reincarnation Hill.
This was where corpses were dumped. Any unclaimed corpses would be
carried to this place and buried hastily. On many occasions, there was no soil
covering the corpses.
Gu Shenwei saw a large group of crows flying up and down from a distance.
Golden Roc Fort was interested in the poison swallowed by the suiciders. Gu
Shenwei initially thought that Supreme King wanted to dig out traces of New
Moon Hall. After pondering for some time, he felt that he should not jump to
conclusions. There might be some hidden clues, so he wanted to investigate
as well.
Most of the corpses who committed suicide would be dumped at
Reincarnation Hill.
However, Gu Shenwei changed his mind after seeing the crows. He turned
back and headed towards South City.
He was very lucky. He saw a carriage just as he was leaving the hill.
There were several corpses on the carriage. The two coachmen covered their
faces with black cloth. However, they were dressed shabbily, as though they
were doing a poor imitation of killers.
They were corpse transporters and had no interest in killers. They covered
their faces for two reasons. Firstly, it was to block off the foul smell of the
corpses. Secondly, they wanted to keep their identities hidden as this was not
a profession worth showing off.
The transporters were shocked as the strange knight offered to walk with
them all the way. People often paid them to dispose of the corpses as soon as
possible, no one was willing to watch them work.
Twenty silver taels and the flashing of the killer waist token resolved all
doubts.
The group of crows was very familiar with the transporters. They started
dancing and chattering excitedly. Some of them even landed on the carriage
eagerly.
The transporters waved their whip and drove the hungry birds away. They
then dumped the corpses on the side of the road and shoveled some earth
onto the corpses symbolically. They were ready to return to the city.
"The winter soil is too hard. We could only do this," one of the corpse
transporters explained to the knight.
The knight looked indifferent. Shocked, the transporters hurried down the
hill. They didn't dare to ask anymore. After they traveled for some distance,
both of them looked back and analyzed the knight's purpose for going to
Reincarnation Hill.
The crows were not afraid of the living. As soon as the corpse transporters
left, the crows flew past Gu Shenwei and landed on the corpses like a dark
cloud. Two of the birds even had the audacity to peck on Gu Shenwei's ears.
Gu Shenwei drew out his Five Peaks Saber and struck across. Several crows
fell to the ground, but it did not even affect the appetite of other birds.
Instead of heading down the hill, he urged the nervous horse to head up the
hill. There was no more road upwards, only heaps of rocks.
Three men who were lying in ambush jumped out like lithe lynxes pouncing
on the prey on horseback.
Gu Shenwei leaped into the air. He looked like a giant crow as his black cape
spread open. The first strike slits a person's throat and the second strike
pierced another's heart.
He then landed back on the ground.
The third person missed his target and looked at his companions' corpses in
disbelief. He seemed to have realized something. Before he could act, the
black knight rushed towards him and gripped his throat.
Gu Shenwei forced the last person to spit the poison out. He took out a
leather rope and tied the person before pushing him to the ground.
The crows nearby cocked their heads and their gazes were filled with greed.
"I won't say anything." The captive looked flustered, but his tone was still
unyielding.
"Let them interrogate you."
Gu Shenwei held onto the horse and slowly retreated. Encouraged, the crows
hopped towards the human who was tied up.
The first crow jumped onto the human's chest and pecked him lightly on the
face. Dozens of crows came forward simultaneously.
The captive screamed loudly, his body writhing like a fish that had been
thrown ashore.
The crows dispersed and swarmed towards him again.
"I will talk, I will talk. Hurry up and get rid of them!"
Gu Shenwei rushed into the flock of birds and swung his Five Peaks Saber
swiftly. There were more dead birds on the ground. The remaining crows
finally sensed the danger and retreated, growling discontentedly.
Gu Shenwei were grateful for these crows. From afar, he was able to guess
that there were people at the top of the hill as crows were flying up and down.
The captive's face was pale, "You are the Dragon King?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"Hey, your head must be spinning, right? Let your crows come over. I'm not
afraid of death. Someone will avenge me." The captive who was just begging
for mercy suddenly became bold. He closed his eyes, moved his lips and
murmured softly. He appeared frightened yet fearless.
"Someone will be taking over your shift at night?" Gu Shenwei asked.
The captive opened his eyes suddenly, but Dragon King was no longer in
sight. Swarms of black crows were heading his way. They seemed to
understand that they were permitted to enjoy this good meal without
hesitation.
The shrieks stopped quickly.
Gu Shenwei released the frightened horse and stood beside the crows. Jade
City was enveloped in dark winter clouds. No crow dared to approach this
human being as he looked from afar.
Gu Shenwei knew that the Special Emissary from the Central Plains would
leave Jade City the day after tomorrow. Great Snow Mountain only had a
little more than a day left. He needs to find out who the mastermind behind
the imposter was so that the negotiations could continue.
The purpose of killing was to stop killing. The purpose of a peace negotiation
was to violate the negotiation. Gu Shenwei held onto his sword shaft with
confidence.
Three shadows went up Reincarnation Hill at nightfall.
One of them whistled, but there was no response.
The bright moon was hanging high in the sky, illuminating the entire area.
They found three familiar knives and three sets of fresh skeletons.
The three men looked at one another, speechless. They immediately pulled
out their sabers and looked around in horror. They leaned towards one
another and retreated. They would jump in fear whenever they heard a bird
call.
After retreating back to the foot of the hill, they ran around the wilderness
like rabbits and fled towards South City, looking back frequently as they
were afraid that the crows would catch up to them anytime.
These three panicky machetemen were unable to detect the presence of the
Dragon King.
Three of them fled into the burnt peach forest in Gui Garden. Arriving at the
rear wall of Joy Pavilion, they knelt down on one leg and shouted in unison,
"Lord, Lord."
There was another person on the wall. He was well built, but ugly. His brow
ridge was bulged high, like a horn that had been cut into two. His eyes were
covered by the shadow. Holding onto a saber at his waist, he looked as
solemn as a king.
More and more people appeared. Some were standing on the wall, some were
standing in the peach forest. They formed several circles around the ugly
man, facing him as they knelt on one leg.
Gu Shenwei saw several familiar faces. He saw Wang Cheng, the first person
who tailed him after he entered the city and Boss Mo, the swindler who
collaborated with the holy monk. They should be dead since they swallowed
the poison. However, these people were revived and were kneeling along
with other people.
Gu Shenwei finally knew who the mastermind behind the imposter was.
Chapter 290 - The Meeting
Chapter 290: The Meeting
Fang Wenshi was restless.
The Special Emissary from the Central Plains was growing impatient. If
Dragon King did not show up and expose the imposter, the negotiation would
most certainly fall through.
The Great Snowmountain and Tuo Nengya together only counted to about
three thousand people. It was impossible for them to last through the winter.
Fang Wenshi liked things to be orderly and under his control. However, it
was hard for the counselor to fathom the Dragon King's thoughts as he was
consistently unconventional in his behavior.
Bad news continued to arrive, one after the other. Golden Roc Fort hinted
that they had found Dragon King and would capture him alive any moment.
Four Truths Temple and the many machetemen from Jade City were furious
about the death of the holy monk and wanted to avenge the monk themselves.
The Norland governor, Mo Chu, simply added fuel to the flames, publicly
claiming that he would push for Norland and the Central Plain to send a
coalition to take over Jade City if Dragon King was not punished for his
crimes.
As luck would have it, Shu-lik had also sent a messenger to Jade City.
The peace negotiations between the Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc
Fort was practically a form of betrayal towards Shu-lik. Fang Wenshi had
spent endless words trying to convince the King of Shu-lik that Dragon King
would battle it out with Supreme King. But now, only after two mediocre
wars were fought, they planned to call for a truce. Shu-lik had lent their
roads, land and even supplied part of the resources to the Great
Snowmountain, but just as raising a tiger invites calamity, indulging one's
enemy was surely asking for trouble.
Fang Wenshi had originally thought that the peace negotiations would be
completed before winter arrived. Shu-lik would acknowledge the negotiations
as long as they had the support of Central Plains and agreement from
Norland.
However, the negotiation process was greatly delayed due to the mess made
by the imposter Dragon King.
Shu-lik must be up to something if they sent a messenger over at this time.
The Shu-lik messenger was named Shi Ying. He was a relative of the King of
Shu-lik and served as one of his minister. Fang Wenshi remembered him. He
was the black-faced minister who had always been at loggerheads with him
during the court session, opposed to the lending of roads to Great
Snowmountain.
Fang Wenshi gritted his teeth and reluctantly went to pay respects to Shi
Ying but was politely refused a visit. It was evident that Shu-lik intended to
disrupt the peace talks.
Fang Wenshi felt helpless. He had observed how Dragon King resolved
issues at the last moment; he could only hope that Dragon King would
succeed again this time.
The "10 days deadline" was up. Fang Wenshi asked Chu Nanping whether he
knew where Dragon King had been, but the young swordsman only shook his
head.
Fang Wenshi went to meet the Special Emissary from the Central Plains with
a heavy heart. He believed that his counselor's dream was about to be
shattered. However, he quickly raised his spirits. Now that he had made a
name for himself, he could always find another person who would recognize
his worth even if he were to leave Dragon King.
The Special Emissary from the Central Plains also invited Governor Mo Chu,
the messenger from Shu-lik, a chief from the Whiterobe Academy of Golden
Roc Fort, a young master from Meng family and a monk from Four Truths
Temple. This was not a formal meeting as the purpose was to reach a
consensus on one thing: Would the Central Plain support the peace
negotiations?
Everyone knew the answer. If Dragon King continued to indiscriminately kill

people in Jade City, it would mean that Great Snowmountain was not sincere
about the peace negotiations, and there would not need to talk about support
from the Central Plains.
The seven of them exchanged pleasant greetings, before Fang Wenshi

realized that he was being left out. Except for the Special Emissary from the
Central Plains, no one was talking to him. The messenger from Shu-lik, Shi
Ying, pretended not to know him, while Mo Chu actively glared at him.
Dragon King had provoked him twice, causing one of his favored concubines
to die, so naturally, he was still bitter.
The representative that Meng Family sent was Second Master, Mingshu. He
was the first to bring up the main topic. He coughed and said, "The Great
Snowmountain wants to make peace with Golden Roc Fort. This matter is of
great concern and should be settled by today."
Xuan Sheng the monk spoke, "It is best to make peace. However, Dragon
King has still not shown up. He has secretly killed countless people, with
Master Lianhua counting among one of the victims. It is hardly believable
that Dragon King is sincere about making peace."
The chief from Golden Roc Fort was a skinny old man. He looked like a
scholar who knew nothing about martial arts, but his voice was as grating as
metal on metal. He said, "Everyone is aware that Great Snowmountain has
invaded us repeatedly and Yang Huan's killing desire is ever burning. Thus,
Golden Roc Fort had no choice but to deploy soldiers to protect ourselves.
However, we assure you that the head of Dragon King will be on this table in
two days' time. The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain will vanish
from the Western Region by next spring. There is absolutely no need to
discuss peace negotiations."
No one spoke after that. The Special Emissary from the Central Plains looked
at Fang Wenshi and said, "Mr. Fang is the messenger from the Great
Snowmountain. Do you have anything to say?"
Fang Wenshi was caught off-guard. He blurted, "Dragon King bears the
burden of avenging his father. However, in order not to disrupt the lives of
the people within the Western Region, he is willing to forsake his hatred and
make peace with Golden Roc Fort. He is very sincere about it. I can assure
you that the recent killings in Jade City have nothing to do with Dragon King
and the Great Snowmountain."
"What use is your assurance?" It was the first time the chief from Golden Roc
Fort had spoken to the Great Snowmountain messenger and it was extremely
disdainful. "Let Yang Huan come and speak for himself."
"Hey, Golden Roc Fort has long schemed to send Dragon King to his doom.
How can he show up so easily?"
"Yes, Yang Huan doesn't dare to show up. He has always sent his men to
represent him, even asking his men to kill people for him." The disgust was
plain on the chief of Golden Roc Fort's face.
"This is where the problem lies." Fang Wenshi had to restrain himself,
remarking in a confused tone, "Dragon King entered the city alone with no
one following him. He could not possibly be in two places at once either.
Where did these 'men' come from?"
"He dares to act, but not take responsibility? Didn't Yang Huan once claim
that he had thousands of soldiers? It is no big deal sacrificing a few men. He
said that he entered the city alone, but who knows? There might be a group of
men alongside him."
"I heard that Golden Roc Fort caught several captives?" Fang Wenshi turned
the tables back on the chief of Golden Roc Fort.
"Yes."
"Did they admit to being the Dragon King's subordinates?"

"Of course. Is there a need to ask?"
"And they killed people using the Golden Roc saber?"
"Stop pushing the blame to Stone Castle. It is normal for Yang Huan to use a
saber since he was once a Golden Roc killer."
"That was not what I meant." Fang Wenshi said cheerfully even though he
was still uncertain. He said, "Dragon King is used to using the Golden Roc
saber, but all his men are swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain. They
are not used to using this type of weapon."
"This gentleman is good at arguing, but he is a little forgetful. There are more
than one thousand machetemen in the Great Snowmountain military camp.
These people are also under Yang Huan."
"Well, I am a little forgetful and I don't know any kung fu, but I do know one
thing. No matter where you are from, machetemen are terrible at using the
Golden Roc saber. Just look at the name itself, Golden Roc saber, who else
would be specialized in using it? Why would Dragon King let his men use
weapons that they were unfamiliar with?"
"What do you mean? Are you saying that Golden Roc Fort impersonated as
Yang Huan's men and killed our own men?" The veins on the chief of Golden
Roc's neck bulged, and he stood to his feet. His posture clearly showed that
he knew kung fu and was skilled.
Fang Wenshi shook his head repeatedly as he took advantage of this

loophole. He hoped that he could try to buy some time for Dragon King. "I
have no evidence, so I will not accuse anyone. I only want to let everyone
know that if Dragon King raises his flag, he will acknowledge his doings. If
he denies any killings, he will not raise his flag. The current situation is
obviously a conspiracy. Some people clearly hope that the negotiations will
fall through so that they can take advantage of the chaos."
The chief of Golden Roc Fort mentioned from the start that he was unwilling
to go through with the peace negotiations. Therefore, he felt that the
messenger from the Great Snowmountain messenger was talking about
himself. He then took a step forward and said sternly, "Chaos? Ha, the Great
Snowmountain overestimates itself. You are not worthy to compete with
Golden Roc Fort yet!"
Fang Wenshi was unsettled. He gritted his teeth and took a step forward
boldly. He laughed and said, "Golden Roc Fort claimed that they could get
the head of Dragon King in two days' time and wipe out the Great
Snowmountain by next spring. However, I do not recall that Dragon King
suffering any injury in the past three years and the Great Snowmountain was
victorious in the last two wars fought. They have high morale, you know?"
The chief of Golden Roc Fort touched his hip out of habit before
remembering that he was unarmed. "What high morale indeed. We shall wait
and see then, Sir."
Governor Mo Chu was irritated by their verbal exchange. He considered

himself to be the highest ranked among all present. Banging the table, he
growled, "Cut the crap and let Dragon King come and explain everything
himself."
Fang Wenshi bowed towards the Governor and said, "Sir Governor, it is not
that Dragon King doesn't want to come, but the Golden Roc Fort killers are
closing in on him. It is impossible for him to come."
"What's there to be afraid of? I can guarantee his safety." Mo Chu patted his
chest, his thick white beard swinging back and forth, "I cannot protect him
forever but if anyone dares to lay a finger on Dragon King today, that person
will be regarded as an enemy of Norland."
After Mo Chu finished speaking, everyone looked at the chief of Golden Roc
Fort. The chief bowed in response and said, "Since Lord Mo has spoken,
Golden Roc Fort will obey your orders. Yang Huan will be safe for today."
Everyone then fixed their gaze on the messenger from the Great
Snowmountain. Fang Wenshi found himself in a predicament. He did not
know the whereabouts of Dragon King so he could neither accept nor refuse
the offer.
Just when Fang Wenshi was running out of ideas, Shi Ying, the quiet
messenger from Shu-lik spoke, "I would like to say something."
"Lord Shi, please speak," said the Special Emissary from the Central Plains
politely.
"I have a message from Dragon King. If the Governor and the Special
Emissary from the Central Plains can guarantee his safety, he is willing to
show up and explain everything."
Everybody was shocked. Everyone thought that the messenger from Shu-lik
was here to disrupt the negotiations. No one could have imagined that Shi
Ying would be relaying a message from Dragon King himself. Fang Wenshi
was the most surprised out of them all. He had no idea that his words had
actually matched the intentions of Dragon King. However, he was displeased
that he was kept in the dark once again.
Mo Chu smoothed his beard and coughed. He said, "Of course, as I said, I
will guarantee his safety for today. I believe the messenger from the Central
Plain has the same intention as well?"
"Yes, Lord Mo is right. For the sake of the Western Region, it is necessary
for Dragon King to show up and explain himself. Likewise, the Central Plain
is also willing to guarantee his safety. From now on till midnight, anyone
who dares to harm Dragon King is not only an enemy of Norland, but also an
enemy of the Central Plain as well."
"Good." Shi Ying agreed, but he did not seem too happy. "Mr. Fang, please
go to the door and let Dragon King in. He trusts your words."
Fang Wenshi was perplexed. He walked to the door and saw the servants
standing outside. Chu Nanping was among them, but there was no one else
beside him.
"Dragon King, you can show up now. Norland and the Central Plain have
guaranteed your safety."
The dozens of servants within earshot were surprised and started looking
around in all directions.
One of the servants for the messenger of Shu-lik stepped out from the crowd,
wiping the paint off his face with a handkerchief. He was Yang Huan,
Dragon King.
The other servants whispered among one another. Chu Nanping looked very
excited. Only Fang Wenshi felt uneasy, and whispered, "Did you find the
imposter?"
Gu Shenwei nodded and walked into the room. He did not kneel down. He
looked at everyone and said, "I have found the imposter."
"Who is it?" Governor Mo Chu was the first to ask.
"An exiled Golden Roc killer. His name is Wildhorse."

Chapter 291 - Evidence
Chapter 291: Evidence
"Wildhorse is the imposter." Gu Shenwei walked into the hall and said this
sentence in front of the representatives of the various forces. He then
observed their reactions.
The special emissary from the Central Plains and the monk from Four Truths
Temple obviously didn't know who Wildhorse was. They frowned and looked
around in confusion.
Shu-lik's messenger, Shi Ying, did not express any emotion. He didn't dare to
oppose the Dragon King because he was forced to bring him here. However,
he would never support the Dragon King.
Mingshu, the second young master of the Meng Family, lowered his head and
pretended not to know the Dragon King. He was determined to be an outsider
and refused to have anything to do with the discussion today.
Governor Mo Chu looked away, as though he didn't hear nor see the Dragon
King.
The chief from Golden Roc Fort sneered at him. He thought for a while
before saying, "You are good at choosing people. Wildhorse was exiled by
the Tenth Young Master a few years ago. We don't even know if he is alive.
Of course, you can say whatever you want."
Gu Shenwei was confident because now Mo Chu and Golden Roc's chief had
gone too far in their behavior, and this proved that both of them knew the
truth.
"Words alone can't prove anything. I have evidence. If everyone wants to see
it, then I can bring it out immediately."
"Amitabha." The monk from Four Truths Temple spoke, "Did Wildhorse kill
Master Lianhua?"
"Yes," Gu Shenwei answered with great certainty.
"But … why did he pretend to be the Dragon King and kill people in Jade
City?" The monk seemed puzzled.
"Wildhorse was defeated by me. He wanted to take revenge and he also had
other ambitions. He had infiltrated Jade City for some time and was hoping
that Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort would fight it out. He would
then reap the benefits."
"What a joke." Golden Roc's chief hadn't thought of a rebuttal, so he had to

use a disdainful tone to cover it up.
Fang Wenshi didn't know who Wildhorse was. In fact, both of them had once
met each other at Iron Mountain camp, but Fang Wenshi couldn't recall it.
However, he reacted quickly. He became more confident when he saw that
the Dragon King was making an accusation in such a confident manner. He
said sternly, "No wonder. This explains why these imposters are good at
using sabers. Wildhorse must have taught them."
"The Dragon King had also learned Golden Roc machete skills," the chief
immediately rebutted.
"However, the Dragon King was being hunted down by Golden Roc Fort. He
only found a foothold at Great Snowmountain a few months ago. How was
there time for him to pass on the machete skills?"
Fang Wenshi's words weren't entirely true. Gu Shenwei had been secretly
grooming killers in Shu-lik even when he was fleeing. Although it wasn't
very successful, very few people had known about it.
Indeed, Golden Roc's chief didn't know about it. The chief sneered. The
special emissary from the Central Plains stood up as he felt that it was up to
him to break the stalemate. He said, "This is simple. Since the Dragon King
claims that he has evidence, then please bring it out for everyone to see. It
will save us these unnecessary arguments."
No one made an objection. Gu Shenwei nodded slightly and said, "I can
present the evidence immediately, but I want to say something first."
Golden Roc's chief snorted and hinted to the crowd that the Dragon King was
up to something.
Gu Shenwei ignored him and went on to say, "Wildhorse wanted to disturb

Jade City so that he could gather strong backers and supporters. If I take the
evidence out now, it will eradicate Wildhorse's influence. However, it will
also alert the enemy and the enemy will go into hiding. If I am given some
time to investigate, I promise that I will find out the forces behind these
killings."
Gu Shenwei looked at everyone and asked slowly, "Does everyone want to

get rid of Wildhorse now or wait for a while?"
The special emissary from the Central Plains felt that the Dragon King should
present the evidence immediately. However, he wasn't in a good position to
take a stance on this matter, so he looked at the Governor and asked, "What
do you think of this, Lord Mo?"
Mo Chu hummed in acknowledgment. He thought for a while and said, "The

holy monk from Four Truths Temple was killed. Let's hear from the Master
first."
"Er. If there's a mastermind, then it is best to catch him altogether. However,

the Dragon King's casual statement couldn't convince the crowd, so it is
better to bring the evidence out." The monk proposed a compromise which
immediately won the approval of the special emissary from the Central
Plains.
"Alright. Everyone, including the entire Jade City, will see the evidence
before midnight. However, this is only a part of it. There is still more
evidence, but I was hoping to wait until when everything is cleared up before
bringing it out."
"That would be the best." The monk nodded continuously, "What do you
think, Golden Roc Fort? After all, you are involved in the conflict."
Golden Roc's chief obviously didn't expect things to develop in this manner.
He seemed uneasy as he looked at Mo Chu. However, he didn't get any hint
from the Governor. He said, "I can't make the decision. I will have to ask the
Lord for instructions."
Mo Chu started to lose his temper and said sternly, "Why can't you make a
decision? The Dragon King, please present part of the evidence by midnight,
so as to at least prove the existence of Wildhorse's and his ability to create
chaos in Jade City. Then, you shall present all of the evidence within ten
days…"
"One month." Gu Shenwei interrupted.
"It has to be a month." Fang Wenshi explained on behalf of the Dragon King,
"Wildhorse should have strong backers and supporters. It will be very
difficult to investigate them."
"One month it is then," said Mo Chu angrily, as if everyone in the room had
offended him. "I will speak to the Supreme King about this. I think he will
approve this on my account."
The others had nothing to add. Shu-lik's messenger, Shi Ying, and Meng
Mingshu didn't say anything as they let the others come to a decision.
Golden Roc's chief immediately left. He was returning to the mountain to

report the situation to the Lord. The others left one after another, while Gu
Shenwei stayed with the special emissary from the Central Plains. Since
Governor Mo Chu said that he would guarantee the safety of Dragon King,
he left several guards behind to protect the Dragon King.
The special emissary from the Central Plains knew that the Dragon King had
something to say to the military counselor so he returned to his room after
exchanging greetings.
"Is there really such a person called Wildhorse? Is he impersonating the
Dragon King?" Fang Wenshi immediately asked the Dragon King when both
of them were the only ones left. He didn't even greet the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei nodded.
Fang Wenshi breathed a sigh of relief as things were starting to change.

However, he didn't know whether he could endure such ups and downs. He
probably needed a strong heart to assist the Dragon King. He then asked,
"Had he sent his men to kill people? Was he the one who erected the flags?"
"No. The first few cases were done by me."
"Well, it doesn't matter. No one will care about it as long as we catch

Wildhorse. Alright. Let me see the evidence first."
"I have no evidence now."
Fang Wenshi nearly jumped up and asked, "No evidence?"
"As I said, the entire Jade City will see it by midnight. I don't have it now."
"This." Fang Wenshi shook his head excessively and said, "The Dragon
King, please tell me the truth. Do you have the evidence?"
"Of course. I have made an appearance. What's the use of getting to this point
by cheating?"
Fang Wenshi began to believe the Dragon King's words. However, he had
more doubts. He said, " You claimed that there was a mastermind. Are you
referring to Golden Roc Fort? The Lord certainly didn't want to proceed with
the negotiations."
"He is one of them."
"One of them? And … Norland? It is unlikely. Mo Chu was the target of an

assassination just when he had entered the city … Er, is the Dragon King the
assassin?"
"No. In fact, it is obvious that Wildhorse will never kill the wrong person.
Wildhorse and Governor Mo Chu were in cahoots. They created a
smokescreen that Wildhorse had accidentally killed the concubine in officer's
clothing."
"I see. Both Golden Roc Fort and the Governor are the masterminds behind
this. But it's strange. Why did Mo Chu allow the Dragon King to continue to
investigate?"
"Because he needs time to hide the evidence so that I can't find anything."
"Then what should we do?"
Gu Shenwei raised his head slightly and the military advisor roughly
understood. The advisor seemed to be bad at plots and tricks. Gu Shenwei
replied, "If he didn't hide it, how could I find the evidence?"
Fang Wenshi was enlightened. He could not help smiling. He said, "Would
the Dragon King reveal the entire truth?"
"No, what I want isn't the truth. I want the Governor and the Supreme King to
agree to the negotiations and give Great Snowmountain a break."
Fang Wenshi admired this young chap. He finally believed that the Dragon
King was not only a killer but was also qualified to dominate the Western
Region. He asked, "Whose idea was it to kill the holy monk? Four Truths
Temple will not spare him."
"There is something wrong with this matter."
"What's wrong?"
"Wildhorse didn't kill Master Lianhua. I had seen the scene, and it wasn't
done by a killer."
"Ah? But you just said …"
"Yes, I said that it was Wildhorse. Apart from him, I haven't found anyone
else who could have been the murderer for the time being."
Fang Wenshi didn't really know what to say. Lying with a straight face was
one of the essential qualities that an ambitious and ruthless character must
have. In this way, the Dragon King was praiseworthy, but — "What if the
real murderer is exposed in the future?"
"By that time, Great Snowmountain may be at war with Golden Roc Fort
again. It doesn't matter what others will think."
Fang Wenshi was shocked at how indifferent the Dragon King was when the
Dragon King talked about war.
"I think the Dragon King should reveal some evidence to the special emissary
from the Central Plains. He is the strongest supporter of Great
Snowmountain."
"Well, how much did it cost?"
Fang Wenshi blushed. It was customary for counselors to make their own
decisions when they spent money, but he didn't dare to tell the Dragon King
about this. He answered, "Three thousand taels. General Zhong said that there
were another thousand taels with him."
"Is he a general?" asked Gu Shenwei curiously.
"He's a low ranking general. I don't think many soldiers respect him."
Zhong Heng was good at plots and tricks. Gu Shenwei thought that Zhong
Heng wasn't appreciated was probably because of this reason.
As it was getting dark, Gu Shenwei didn't visit the special emissary from the
Central Plains. Since money could be used to get support, there was no need
to maintain the relationship through discussions. Fang Wenshi went to the
backyard twice and assured the emissary that the Dragon King would keep
his promise.
After 9 pm, Fang Wenshi couldn't sit still. He kept running to the door as he
thought that he could see the evidence fall from the sky.
Neither Chu Nanping nor the Dragon King was enthusiastic people. Although
they hadn't met for days, they only nodded to each other. The young
swordsman became the Dragon King's guard once again.
It was thirty minutes to midnight and Fang Wenshi couldn't hold it in

anymore. He said, "The Dragon King, please tell me, this evidence …"
Before Fang Wenshi finished speaking, a person who was hanging upside
down suddenly appeared at the door, which was left ajar, and startled Fang
Wenshi. He then recognized the person. She was Tie Linglong. He asked,
"Eh, how did you …?"
Tie Linglong jumped onto the ground before Fang Wenshi finished talking.
She walked into the hall, smiled and said, "Why am I here? I walked here.
Then, the Dragon King got me to run an errand. The guards outside were
really bad. I just came in casually and no one noticed me."
Tie Linglong was proud. She gave the Dragon King a saber and a sword.
Fang Wenshi then realized that the Dragon King was unarmed.
Gu Shenwei took the weapons and asked, "Is it done?"
"Well, Tianshan had laid an ambush and will attack Joy Pavilion soon."
Fang Wenshi didn't understand the meaning behind this sentence, because the
Dragon King didn't explain it to him. The Dragon King held onto his sword
hilt tightly and said, "It will be midnight soon. We need to prepare to
welcome the guests."
Fang Wenshi then realized that the deadline set by Norland and the Central
Plains would soon be approaching.
Chapter 292 - Attack the Camp
Chapter 292: Attack the Camp
The sound of drums was heard in the dead of night, and each drum beat felt
like knocks on Fang Wenshi's heart.
A military counselor should share weal and woe with their master, and a
master should take their military counselor's strength in advisement.
However, the Dragon King did not open his mouth, forcing Fang Wenshi to
make the decisions himself. He slowly retreated to the back door, in his heart,
convincing himself, "You don't know kung fu, so you'll only get in the way if
you stay here. The Dragon King hasn't been able to think of anything, what
say yourself?
The Dragon King, holding the Five Peaks Saber, stood freely in the middle of
the hall. He seemed completely oblivious to impending assassination, closing
his eyes in repose.
Tie Linglong showed calmness that did not match her age. Only the gently
shaking fingers of her left hand showed a trace of nervousness and
excitement. She glanced at the young swordsman and said, "Little Chu, let's
compete."
Chu Nanping thought for a while before only spitting out an "okay."
The three of them stood seven paces apart, tense and guarded.
Fang Wenshi was even more convinced that there was no place for him here.
He calmly retreated to the back door. Just as he was about to leave through
the curtain, he changed his mind. Fang Wenshi shook his head and thought to
himself again, It's not every day that I get the chance to show my loyalty. Let
me take a gamble.
Countless shadowy forms of Taoists emerged from the ground and rushed
into the hall.
Fang Wenshi sighed. Since he decided to stay, he only had one choice: to
keep his head down and squat under the table.
The first attack from Chu Nanping was not to cut the enemy, but to cut the
wick of the only lighted oil lamp in the hall. The last flame struggled on the
tip of the sword before extinguishing leaving the hall in darkness.
Gu Shenwei opened his eyes. He was used to the darkness, and he saw more
clearly in the faint moonlight.
Unless he was on the battlefield against an army of thousands, he would

never rush into the battle. There was not much room to maneuver in the hall,
so he had to use another tactic - bounding lightfootedly around the periphery
of the assassins, just like a nimble grasshopper, and ambushing the enemy.
In order to keep up with the Dragon King, the assassins also jumped,
scattering their team. This only helped Gu Shenwei to pick off them off in the
air one by one.
Fang Wenshi was silently prayed: Let the Dragon King win quickly. This is
the only chance to show loyalty, the next time won't come so soon.
Sharp sounds of clashing weapons and wet sounds of blood being drawn
could be heard. The impact of heavy objects falling made Fang Wenshi
tremble in fear. There were no screams of injury and death, but that only
made it more terrifying.
He dictated the deaths of millions on a battlefield without hesitation, but

could not stand the sight of killing.
Internally, he rationalized: Just like a gentleman should stay out of the

kitchen, the counselor should keep a distance from the killings. If he was
always fearing for his death, how could he ever think about the bigger
picture?
Fang Wenshi's feelings did not last long as the sound of the fight suddenly
stopped. Fang Wenshi did not dare to even blink, let alone move, until
someone patted him on the shoulder.
Fang Wenshi broke out in cold sweat. Peeking his head out from the bottom
of the table, he let out a bloodcurdling scream - the only scream of this
killing.
He wriggled out from the bottom of the table and saw the oil lamp had been
relit. There were seven or eight bodies lying in the hall, most of them were
decapitated. Tie Linglong was laughing at herself. Fang Wenshi leaned on the
table, nauseous and pretended, "I ate something bad last night."
Then he remembered that he had not eaten last night, causing his face to
blush red. Hurriedly, he said, "Who are these people? Were they sent by
Golden Roc Fort or the Governor?"
"They are the people of the Meng family." From the brief confrontation, Gu
Shenwei had already ascertained the origins of these people. Only Meng
Mingshu, who did not know kung fu, would send assassins to assassinate the
Dragon King.
"Meng family?" Fang Wenshi's surprise drove away any feeling of nausea.
"Is there still someone who still supports the Great Snowmountain in Jade
City?"
"Yes."
Gu Shenwei took the lead and walked out of the hall, leaping to the rooftop.
Tie Linglong and Chu Nanping carried the military counselor and followed.
In addition to not liking the sight of blood, Fang Wenshi found that he did not
like heights either. Standing on the uneven tiles, there was no sense of
stability. However, the sight in front of him made him forget all about it.
A raging fire ignited at the farthest part of South City, illuminating half of the
sky.
"This, this…" Fang Wenshi really hoped that the Dragon King would
disclose news in advance, any news, instead of letting his military counselor
feel that he had been kept in the dark.
"That's Joy Pavilion. Wildhorse is currently surrounded."
"By the Tianshan Sect?"
"Not just Tianshan Sect, but also Golden Roc killers and machetemen of the
city."
"This…how is it possible?" Fang Wenshi had too many questions, and his
tone couldn't help but bear a hint of resentment.
"It's all my hard work," Tie Linglong hurriedly said. She had not had the
chance to kill just now, so she did not mention the competition with Chu
Nanping. "I took the Dragon King's sword and went to see… someone in
Tianshan Sect. They have been secretly monitoring Joy Pavilion since last
night, and have been guarding all the exits."
Tie Linglong was speaking too rushed. She took a deep breath before
continuing, "Tianshan Sect secretly informed the machetemen in the city that
they would gather at the vicinity of Joy Pavilion in the dead of night, and set
fire to get rid of Wildhorse and his people."
Fang Wenshi could only shake his head. The Dragon King always changed
the paradigm when cornered. Eventually, he would slip up, but at leaste the
current crisis had finally passed. "In any case, that Wildhorse is finally done
for."
"No, Wildhorse has already escaped," Gu Shenwei corrected the military

counselor.
"Why?" Fang Wenshi wished that he had also practiced kung fu and could
compel the Dragon King to tell him the truth, even just once.
"Wildhorse is a wise man, he will have definitely escaped in advance. But

this is also beneficial, Golden Roc Fort has gained another enemy."
"Great Snowmountain had also gained another enemy," Fang Wenshi
muttered.
The fire at Joy Pavilion woke the entire Jade City and Gui Garden, which was
just separated by a wall. Many people connected the two fires together, sure
that they were caused by the haunting of ghosts and gods.
News of the event was released after dawn. It turned out that there had been
many foreign machetemen in Joy Pavilion. It was these men who, in the
name of the Dragon King, had killed many people and erected the black
blood flags.
Many machetemen in South City had received mysterious information to

gather. Last night, thousands of machetemen rushed into Hope Alley and the
abandoned Gui Garden, attacking Joy Pavilion from all sides before setting
them on fire.
Naturally, such actions could not be strictly kept secret. The dozens of
disciples, including Immortal Peng, had escaped. More than a hundred
foreign machetemen had been killed in the chaos. Afterwards, people found
many resurrected flag bearers who had committed suicide by swallowing
poison within the heap of corpses.
There was no survivors, but Tianshan Sect had previously captured a

prisoner. After learning that their accomplices had all been wiped out, the
captive had finally revealed everything, admitting that they had been
impersonating the Dragon King.
Even so, the residents of Jade City were skeptical. The name "Tianshan Sect"
had not been heard before. It was a secret organization among the
machetemen. It was hard to convince anyone that they had just spontaneously
appeared.
However, at noon on the day of the fire, Golden Roc Fort made a speech. The
Golden Roc killers had "caught" several prisoners who confessed that the act
of killings and raising the flags had been under Wildhorse's command, and
had nothing to do with the Dragon King.
In an instant, the public enemy of Jade City that had been Yang Huan, the
Dragon King, became Wildhorse.
The name of Wildhorse was immediately familiar to all, and quickly became
the target of public resentment. Unfortunately, as Gu Shenwei had predicted,
Wildhorse escaped. He was not found in the hundreds of corpses.
Gu Shenwei obviously did not reveal that the first few raised flag killings had
been committed by him, because he had achieved his goal, with even better
results than he had expected. The residents of Jade City, who had once been
tortured by the Dragon King, were tired of living on edge. Negotiations for
peace became the most talked-about topic in the streets, and almost everyone
expressed their support.
The negotiation was a matter between Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc
Fort. Outsiders had no right to speak of it, but their attitudes played a part to
promote it.
The Special Emissary from the Central Plains first stated that he did not want
to see the hard-won stability of the Western Regions destroyed. The Central
Plains was willing to act as a mediator and guarante the safety of the Dragon
King and his entourage before the negotiation began.
The Four Truths Temple then held the dharma assembly in public. Hundreds
of monks chanted and prayed for Jade City. They hoped that the Dragon King
and the Supreme King would be able to lay down the butcher knife for the
sake of the people.
The Meng family also supported the negotiations for peace. Although
seeming insincere, Meng Yuzun claimed that it was best for both sides to lay
down their weapons. However, he did not intend to participate in this matter.
Unexpectedly, the Shu-lik also supported the negotiations for peace. The
camp occupied by Great Snowmountain was nominally their country's
territory and they were prepared to make some demands for it.
Golden Roc Fort was reluctant to express their position. Three days later,
news came from the West. Dugu Xian had gathered 10,000 people to attack
the Great Snowmountain's camp.
This was the Supreme King's plan: to eliminate the Great Snowmountain as
quickly as possible, rendering the peace negotiations meaningless.
The situation was obvious in a glance. If Golden Roc Fort could win in a few
days, the Dragon King would be cut off from everyone. There was no need to
mention anything more. If the war continued, there would be far more deaths
and injuries. Then, Golden Roc Fort would lose the support of allies and
more likely to accept or even propose peace…
In those few days, the residents of Jade City paid attention to the war in the
West in an unprecedented interest. Every day, large groups of people braved
the cold and waited at the western city gate. When they saw someone quickly
riding in on a horse, they would shout out their questions.
Gu Shenwei had no time to return to the camp. He could only wait for news.
Fang Wenshi was talked without end, as if comforting the Dragon King,
when he was in fact, he was cheering himself up. "The Supreme King must
have calculated wrongly this time. It's already winter, everyone that has read
the art of war should know that this is the least suitable time to attack. Ha,
that Dugu Xian. I thought he was a bit talented but turns out, he is a coward.
Dragon King, you can rest assured that the Great Snowmountain camp is
impregnable. They can definitely defend against the attacks."
Two days later, Fang Wenshi's tone changed. "Dragon King, the Great
Snowmountain's defenses will hold, right?"
On the fourth day, Fang Wenshi paced back and forth in front of the Dragon
King. "No, I have to let the Central Plains give pressure and force Golden
Roc Fort to retreat."
However, the Special Emissary from the Central Plains was powerless. The
Supreme King refused to meet them, giving various excuses. Even the
Governor of the Norlands, Mo Chu, was sent, but they seemed to be playing a
game of hide-and-seek, with the Supreme King nowhere to be found for days.
Everyone felt that the war had gone on for too long. Finally, on the seventh
day, shocking news came from the west: Golden Roc Fort's front-line
commander, Dugu Xian, had sent people back to the city and publicly
advised the Supreme King to negotiate peace.
Chapter 293 - Holding Position
Chapter 293: Holding Position
The thing that worried Gu Shenwei most when he left the Great
Snowmountain camp was Golden Roc Fort army attacking the camp by force.
Dugu Xian had a military background and was more than familiar with
battles, whereas the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain seldom had
experience in battles involving more than a thousand of people. They were
courageous and full of valor when fighting alone, but were as good as a
rabble when put together.
Out of the entire camp, he could only rely on Tuo Nengya, the old
macheteman.
Although Tuo Nengya's machete formations could only accommodate up to

200 or 300 people, it was already taking shape of a formidable army worthy
to fight against Dugu Xian.
Moreover, Gu Shenwei trusted the old macheteman very much. Even though
they had not met for the last three years, his trust in him was greater than that
of the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain who had fought alongside
him.
To Gu Shenwei, Tuo Nengya was an odd person. He had pledged allegiance

to Young Master Shangguan Chui solely because of a small kindness he had
received from him. And he had been adamant on avenging him when the
Young Master died. Yet when the opportunity to kill the murderer,
Shangguan Fei, had arrived, he then changed his mind because he thought
him weak and wanted to seek revenge on someone stronger than Shangguan
Fei. Afterward, Tuo Nengya declared that he would travel all over the
Western Region to raise money and recruit more machetemen to prepare for a
battle with the Supreme King.
It was highly possible that even the Supreme King was not aware of his
existence.
Gu Shenwei had scoffed at Tuo Nengya's actions at that time, however, he

was also the first person he thought of when he was looking for someone
trustworthy.
There was a fine line between holding on to foolishness and perseverance --

after all, they both wore a mask of weakness. But when Tuo Nengya came to
pledge his allegiance to Dragon King with over a 1000 machetemen, and
openly declared enemies with Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei understood
then, that the old macheteman was clinging onto his perseverance.
During a long talk late one night, Gu Shenwei asked, "What should we do if
Dugu Xian decides to attack by force?"
Tuo Nengya had already considered about this issue. "There is a certain
advantage for the Great Snowmountain to keep on defending instead of
attacking. My machete formation that consists of 1500 men is more than
enough to handle the skirmish if the enemy dispatched less than 5000 troops.
But anything more than that… I'm afraid we are not their match."
There were about 5000 troops in the Golden Roc Fort army and they were
adding to their numbers day by day. Gathering 10000 troops would not be a
problem for them. Gu Shenwei asked again: "My army still has about 1000
swordsmen, is it possible to use them?"
Tuo Nengya thought for some time before answering, "The vigor that the
swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain possessed certainly exceeds that of
my men. The only problem is that they are arrogant and unyielding. I am
afraid that they would jump into battle rashly, without careful consideration,
and compromise my machete formation."
The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were exactly like that -- they
needed no encouragement for attacking but you would need all sorts of tricks
up your sleeve to hold them down to defend.
Gu Shenwei then summoned Long Fanyun, the chief of Canopy Peak. This
young man had once served as his Weapon Carrier and was bestowed the
long-saber during the battle, taking over as the chief of Canopy Peak when
his father died in battle. He served Dragon King with utmost loyalty.
Gu Shenwei had requested that after he was gone, Long Fanyun must support
Tuo Nengya at all times and follow the old macheteman's orders, especially
when facing an attack from the enemy.
Long Fanyun swore to the Empyrean that he would obey Tuo Nengya like
how he obeyed Dragon King. The young chief actually held the old
macheteman in high esteem. That was because Tuo Nengya had led his
machetemen to arrive in the nick of time, thus preventing the Great
Snowmountain from being wiped out.
After more than a month, Golden Roc Fort launched an attack as predicted.
The Great Snowmountain had some internal dissension over how they should
approach the battle. All the swordsmen were bored from defending and
wanted to go out and face the enemy. Only Tuo Nengya maintained his
stance of defending.
Long Fanyun did not disappoint Dragon King. He openly showed his support
for Tuo Nengya at the chiefs' meeting, and even persuaded Smallsword Peak
and Luoshen Peak privately, making it three against two in a decisive
moment, thus vetoing the suggestion of going into battle.
The opening of the valley where the camp was located was wide and difficult
to defend. Tuo Nengya's plan was to lure the enemy in deep. After the first
few days of tentative confrontations, he voluntarily surrendered the outer
perimeter of the camp gates and withdrew the troops to a well-fortified
narrow valley that was easy to defend.
The Golden Roc Fort Commander Dugu Xian was a cautious general but
more than half of his troops consisted of machetemen hired by Golden Roc
Fort. These men were eager to claim the heads of their enemies for esteem
and reward. Seeing the enemy retreat, they clamored for permission to pursue
and attack.
The pursuit attack proved to be disastrous. The main force of Golden Roc
Fort ran up against the machete formation consisting of 1500 machetemen.
With the narrow terrain and slippery ground from the freezing winter, it was
very difficult to maneuver. Troops at the front could not continue further, and
the troops at the back could not move forward.
Halfway through the battle, swordsmen from the five peaks of the Great
Snowmountain suddenly appeared from both sides of the hillside. Like a tiger
charging into a herd of sheep, after days of mindless defending, the
swordsmen released their pent-up energy at the trapped Golden Roc Fort
army.
Even though Dugu Xian managed to call for a retreat in time, they still
suffered about 3000 casualties. Many machetemen fled during the night after
noticing that things were not looking good. Overnight, Dugu Xian's army,
which originally had enough men to surround the enemy, became one that
needed to focus on self-preservation instead.
It was under such a circumstance that Dugu Xian sent out a messenger to
Supreme King to ask for immediate peace negotiations so that he could have
time to reorganize the army.
Gu Shenwei finally felt relieved. He was sure that even if he had remained at
the camp, he could not have done it better than Tuo Nengya.
Fang Wenshi was beyond thrilled. After repeatedly saying, "Wonderful!", he

continued, "This victory came too timely, and at such an important time as
well. This will surely be the foundation for all of your future
accomplishments and ambitions."
No one knew what was the Supreme King really thinking. Governor Mo Chu
finally appeared on the third day after Dugu Xian sent out the messenger. He
first summoned the Special Emissary from the Central Plains and expressed
that he would be willing to work together with the Central Plain as mediators
to urge for peace negotiations between Golden Roc Fort and the Great
Snowmountain.
Just like that, the peace negotiations that residents of Jade City had been
hoping for began.
Peace negotiation was a complicated and delicate matter. Not even the
sharpest saber or a highly skilled killer could do much this time. Times like
these were opportunities for Fang Wenshi to show his expertise.
The first step of the peace negotiations was to ensure that both sides
maintained the status quo. No one was allowed to provoke a conflict. This
meant no more battles on the western border for Golden Roc Fort and to the
Great Snowmountain, it also meant that Dragon King's safety in Jade City
was ensured.
The preliminary agreement was soon reached: a temporary cessation of

hostilities for a period of three months. Any party who violated the truce
would be punished jointly by Norland and the Central Plain.
The second step was the start of the long process of peace negotiations. Some
of the issues were rather perplexing:
Concerning the statuses of the Great Snowmountain and Dragon King, were
they simply bandits or a force with rising influence?
What about the land which the Great Snowmountain were staked on, who did
it really belong to? What made the situation even more complicated was that
Shu-lik had claimed ownership as well.
Lastly, should Dragon King, along with his swordmen and machetemen,
return to the Great Snowmountain?
Fang Wenshi argued and debated with all sides, talking more in those days
than Chu Nanping had had for an entire year. That was how his reputation
came about, other than "Head-shaking Military Counselor", another
nickname for him was "the quick-tongued Fang who talked like a continuous
volley of arrows".
Gu Shenwei let the military counselor handle the peace negotiations as he

busied himself trying to establish a foothold in Jade City.
Although North City was safe, it was impossible for him to live there as no
weapons were allowed in the city. It was very inconvenient for him to
constantly hide his weapons everytime he entered. Moreover, he had also
killed several assassins in the residence of the Special Emissary from the
Central Plains the night Joy Pavilion caught fire. This had caused the wealthy
merchants and nobles to be fearful and they did not want Dragon King as a
neighbor.
Therefore, he bought a large mansion on the westernmost side of South City

to establish himself. Soon, the residents of Jade City would refer to the
mansion as the "Residence of Dragon King".
It was similar to the time when he set up Kun Society, just that everything
now was done on a larger scale. The Great Snowmountain, however, had to
minimize on recruiting machetemen as they still needed to provide for a troop
of over 3000 men in the western border of Jade City and therefore did not
have extra resources to spare.
Tianshan Sect had helped a lot during this period. This secret organization
among the machetemen of South City were now somewhat public. Only Mr.
Hong the blacksmith knew their leader. He lent several machetemen to
Dragon King and said that remuneration could be worked out at a later time.
Along with that, a total of 20 young swordsmen and 10 young girls traveled
all the way from the Great Snowmountain and arrive safely at Jade City just
in time for the armistice truce to come into play. They were sent by Long
Qinying, chief of Luoshen Peak to Gu Shenwei. The swordsmen would serve
as guards and the young girls would wait on Dragon King.
Gu Shen Wei was held up by these trivial matters until Xu Xiaoyi came to
rescue him.
Xu Xiaoyi had a prior agreement with Dragon King. He had immediately

headed to Jade City to help Gu Shenwei out once he caught wind about the
peace negotiations in Shu-lik City. Xu Xiaoyi managed to run the Residence
of Dragon King smoothly and orderly thus freeing Gu Shenwei up to handle
more pressing matters.
He was waiting for the Master of Xiaoyue Hall.
Among the various influences in Jade City, Gu Shenwei believed that New
Moon Hall was the only ally that could fight against Golden Roc Fort. Their
long-standing deep hatred, ruthless methods as well as their well-concealed
identities would assist the Great Snowmountain as a reinforcement.
Gu Shenwei had struggled with accepting New Moon Hall as an ally because
Maid Lotus was a disciple of New Moon Hall, and might be hiding
somewhere in Jade City right now.
Gu Shenwei always felt conflicted when thinking about Maid Lotus. She was
the one who had modified the seventh chapter of Wayless Book and caused
him to suffer for more than half a year of qigong deviation. It was impossible
to remove it entirely, not to mention that the condition continued to occur
every one to three months.
A strong desire to kill would surface in his heart ever since he had endured
the freezing pain that penetrated into his bones. At this time, he would be
stroking the Dragon Head Sword instead of the Five Peaks Saber with his
right hand.
But she was also the partner who he coordinated with the best.
Both Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong could fight alongside him, but neither of
them was killers to begin with, and would never be in the future as well.
There was no one to rely on but himself during crucial moments.
During times like these, he would miss that cold and indifferent girl.
Guan Shang, the female black-masked assassin had mentioned that she would
convey Dragon King's wish to meet the Master of Xiaoyue Hall after seven
days. But two weeks had passed since then, and there was still no sign of the
Master and Guan Shang.
New Moon Hall truly seemed to prefer hiding behind the scenes.
Gu Shenwei could not just keep on waiting. He had already spent too much
time meeting the main influences of Jade City while helping to expand Xu
Xiaoyi's businesses. If not for the supplies that Golden Roc Fort had left
behind at the Great Snowmountain camp, his money alone could not have
even lasted a month.
No one was willing to openly support Dragon King since the situation was
still hazy as the peace negotiations were still in process. Even Lyu Qiying,
the manager of Southwall Tavern, would only agree to meet Gu Shenwei in
utmost secrecy.
However, no matter what, the Great Snowmountain would still survive this
winter. Gu Shenwei believed that the following months would only consist of
influences secretly pitting against each other, and there would be little
opportunity to involve sabers. He would be able to come up with a solution to
settle all the problems come next spring.
The residents of Jade City shared the same sentiments as well, and their topic
for conversations quickly went back to fine wine and women. Therefore,
when the news of Miss Ru from the Stone Castle was about to get married
arrived, it immediately overtook the peace negotiations and became the hot
topic.
Fang Wenshi came back with this piece of news and told Dragon King about
it as a trivial matter.
"Miss Ru?" Initially, Gu Shenwei had no idea who she was.
"Shangguan Ru, she used to be known as the Tenth Young Master. If I recall,
you used to be her killer in the past."
"Yeah." Gu Shenwei replied coldly, wishing to end this topic at once.
Fang Wenshi, however, clicked his tongue in amazement and continued,

"This is so unexpected. Really unexpected indeed. I would never have
imagined that Supreme King would give Miss Ru's hand in marriage to Fifth
Young Master Meng! They were like sworn enemies in the past! To think,
sworn enemies will be married as husband and wife, haha, just the thought of
it spells trouble!"
Chapter 294 - Something Odd
Chapter 294: Something Odd
Shangguan Ru, who recently celebrated her 17th birthday, had failed to
become a Young Master and was instead, being used as a pawn for Golden
Roc Fort's collaboration strategy. She was going to be married off to the
Meng family.
The residents of Jade City had witnessed and was more than familiar with the
feuds between Shangguan Ru and Meng Mingshi. Many people still
remembered the battle between Kun Society and Horned Dragon Society, so
they were not very optimistic about the marriage. This topic was constantly
brought up for discussion around the city.
"Looking at these two, who do you think will hold the reins in the
relationship?"
"Do you even need to ask? Whoever won the battle between the two societies
at that time will call the shots in the marriage!"
The gossiping residents laughed knowingly. Rumor had it that Fifth Young
Master Meng was going to marry into the Stone Castle. This rumor was,
however, quickly denied. Meng family had decided to vacate the whole
Bodhi Garden so that the newly married couple could live in it. The Bodhi
Garden would be the newlyweds' living quarters from now on. Outsiders and
even the Meng family themselves could not casually enter to admire the four-
colored lotus flowers even if they wanted to.
Shangguan Ru had previously appeared at the Four Truths Temple after three
years of not leaving the mountain. It was the Tenth Young Master's first
public appearance and she had been seen standing together with the women
of the Meng family. Many people then came to the realization that this was
obviously an opportunity for the women of the Meng family to observe their
future daughter-in-law.
This marriage between Stone Castle and Meng family must have secretly
been in the works for a long time.
These two families had maintained the tradition of intermarriage all along.
Lady Meng and several daughters-in-law of Supreme King came from Meng
family, while his sisters and several daughters had also married into the Meng
family. This, in turn, had caused a mix-up of the positions in the family
hierarchy. Take Shangguan Ru and Meng Mingshi for example. Technically
speaking, they were one generation apart. However, the residents of Jade City
were quite accustomed to this and did not talk about it.
Everyone was more concerned about the reaction of the two families. Any bit
of insider information would quickly spread to both North and South cities as
well.
Shangguan Ru's side seemed to be very calm as there was almost no news
coming from the Stone Castle. Even when the slaves going down the
mountain were asked about it, they just stared blankly and replied, "It's quite
alright. Miss did not cry or made a fuss about it. She is currently preparing
her dowry, together with Lady Meng!"
Many people, therefore, came to the conclusion that the former Tenth Young
Master had really turned into Miss Ru. This was not due to Lady Meng's
strict discipline, but the power of time instead. "It is always the case for
women! Mischievous when they are young, but they become more demure as
they grow up, isn't it so? She is still a woman in the end. Sigh, what a pity.
Such a beautiful and fine woman is too good for Meng the Fifth!"
Even by the standards of South City, Meng was not a good candidate for a
husband as he indulged too much in wastefulness and debauchery.
The death of Shangguan Yushi had either caused Meng Mingshi too much
grief or that the only feelings he was capable of feeling had all been spent on
her. Anyway, he returned to his old ways less than six months after her death,
with a renewed recklessness. He would always be found dead drunk in
brothels in South City, the attendants and owners were so afraid of him that
they almost closed their businesses and fled with whatever money they had.
Several brothels owned by the Meng family were shut down as a result.
An experienced slave was then assigned to watch over the fifth young master,
but even the slave was unable to stop him from sneaking out of the mansion.
Climbing over walls, digging a hole, and putting on disguises were just some
of the methods the young master used to sneak into South City.
Contrary to Shangguan Fei who was so terrified of South City, Meng

Mingshi would rather rot in the filth of South City than lie on his comfortable
bed in North City.
In the end, except for his grandmother who doted on him the most, his family
had given up hope on trying to save this good-for-nothing son. He could do
whatever he wanted so long as he did not embarrass the Meng family by
dying in the hands of prostitutes and machetemen.
Rumor had it that the old lady of the Meng family did not like Miss Ru from
the Stone Castle very much. The only reason she had agreed to this marriage
was due to Meng Yuzun's persistent persuasion, and because she still
harbored hope that this would be an opportunity to set her grandson back to
the right path.
Wasn't the former Tenth Young Master the only person Meng Mingshi was
afraid of? So let her come and handle him then.
One could only imagine how violent Meng Mingshi's opposition towards this
marriage would be.
For several days in a row, the first question that the residents of Jade City
asked as they entered teahouses was: "What did Meng the Fifth do again?"
Meng Mingshi first tried to hang himself, followed by jumping into the river,
and even holding a saber up to his neck in front of his grandmother, but none
of it worked. The hanging rope was either too thin or the ice in the river
waters was too thick. His body was too weak from his indulgent lifestyle that
he could not even hold a saber up against his neck for long.
After that, he tried to run away. He tried to escape in every direction possible
except for the high mountain in the north side acting as a barrier. The furthest
he managed to go was 30 miles away, before being spotted by a passerby,
lying at the side of the road after collapsing from exhaustion and was sent
back to North City.
The passerby was rewarded with hundreds of taels of silver. Once the news
broke out, countless idle people were helping the Meng family to watch over
the fifth young master, hoping that they themselves could also have the
opportunity to "save" him just once.
Drained and exhausted, Meng Mingshi finally succumbed. After giving up,
word had it that he told his grandmother with great sadness, "Just wait and
see, Grandma, just wait to collect my corpse for me. She will kill me on our
wedding night."
They had hugged and cried on each other's shoulders.
Gu Shenwei was more surprised than others upon hearing the news because
he had seen Meng Yuzun and Shangguan Fei become enemies. He thought
that would surely form an irreparable rift between the two families, but he
didn't expect that they would end up closer instead.
Fang Wenshi the military counselor was not aware of the inside story but
managed to see through to the real meaning of the marriage in a single
glance. He said: "For the Meng family to agree to a marriage at this time only
goes to show that they are willing to be bound together with Golden Roc
Fort. The Supreme King can now act without worries in monetary aspects."
Fang Wenshi then sighed with envy. These past few days in his presence had
made him realize that Dragon King was actually a poor man. He added, "As
the military counselor, I have to remind you that you should not interfere in
this matter, Dragon King."
"Why should I intervene in this matter?"
Fang Wenshi was a little confused since Dragon King seemed very angry.
His impression of the Dragon King was someone who masked his emotions
very well. He replied blankly, "Um, I just felt that Dragon King seemed to
like… meddling in other people's businesses. The Great Snowmountain needs
the Meng family just like Golden Roc Fort does. If we cannot win the support
of Meng Yuzun, we should at least try not to offend him too much."
Gu Shenwei realized that he lost his cool, so he eased the tension in his voice
and said, "I understand that it is unnecessary to interfere in this matter. Meng
family and Shangguan family will eventually come together."
Fang Wenshi nodded and did not speak of the matter again. To him, the
peace negotiations were the most important thing at the moment, and he
believed the Dragon King was wise enough to not make foolish mistakes like
these.
That was what Gu Shenwei thought as well, but he was unable to fall asleep
at night. Something was definitely off with this marriage , he thought. Gu
Shenwei even wanted to tell Fang Wenshi about what happened in the
underground chamber of Bodhi Garden, so that he could hear the military
counselor's views on the matter. But he quickly decided that it was best not to
say anything about it. Fang Wenshi was already preoccupied with the peace
negotiations and had no time for other trivial matters.
Almost everybody, including Fang Wenshi, felt that the marriage was part of
the Supreme King's scheme which he had planned for a long time, but Gu
Shenwei had a vague sense that Lady Meng had a lot to do with it.
There was definitely something odd about this. His desire to find out the truth
grew stronger by the minute. He even knew who was the best candidate to
dig information from.
Shangguan Hong was so insignificant in the Stone Castle that when Second
Young Master Shangguan Tian died in Shu-lik, he did not receive any
punishment after fleeing back to Jade City.
As the illegitimate child of the Supreme King, he had always lived in the
Inner Residence. Similarly, because Lady Meng kept a close watch over him,
he was able to spy on her as well.
Gu Shenwei decided to try his luck with Shangguan Hong.
After returning to Jade City, Xu Xiaoyi had quickly established a secret team
to collect intelligence. There were always people in South City willing to take
a risk and work for Golden Roc Fort's enemy for money. Although the
intelligence team was far from covering the whole city, it was still useful.
Therefore, Gu Shenwei knew of Shangguan Hong's whereabouts as early as a

few days ago.
After years of ordeals, Shangguan Hong had finally gained a bit of Lady
Meng's trust. He now helped her run a few errands here and there.
This afternoon, Shangguan Hong had come to South City to collect a sum of
money and decided to drop by a close prostitute's home to catch up. He knew
Mr. Zhang Ji would say something along the lines of, "If you cannot endure
hardships for a moment, how can you build up an empire that lasts forever?"
But Shangguan Hong had had enough. Just two hours of relaxation was
sufficient for him to return to Stone Castle and endure for another half a
month.
Shangguan Hong was very afraid to bump into Dragon King again. Back in
Shu-lik, he had been forced into divulging an important secret to Slave Huan.
But he could not disobey Lady Meng's instructions, and he did miss that
hypocritical woman as well.
Therefore, Shangguan Hong was not very surprised when Dragon King
appeared with his saber at his waist as the prostitute left the room with the
excuse of using the loo. His face turned pale, and the wine quickly tasted
soured in his mouth but he managed to remain calm as he spoke, "Dragon…
Dragon King, let's have a drink together."
Gu Shenwei shook his head and replied, "I don't drink."
"Yes, right, that's my impression as well." Shangguan Hong wanted to stand

up to Slave Huan as an equal, but his conviction was waning as he spoke, and
he didn't know where to put his hands, so he continued saying, "Zhang Ji,
Mister Zhang mentioned that he wished to meet you."
"Tell Mister Zhang I am always waiting for him."
"Sure, I will tell him. Why not… sit down and eat something."
Gu Shenwei sat down, but he did not touch the food on the table. It was a
shabby brothel and paled in comparison to Pleasure Alley. The dishes were
mediocre. "I came to ask you about something."
"Please ask away, Dragon King." Shangguan Hong said. He couldn't help
himself, his tone was becoming more and more courteous.
"The marriage of Shangguan Ru and Meng Mingshi is Lady Meng's idea, am

I right?"
Shangguan Hong pretended to think about it but the guise soon faltered under
Dragon King's cold and relentless gaze. Regretfully, he began revealing
everything that he knew about the matter. He should not have divulged the
secret to Gu Shenwei at the start. Now he was always going to be at the whim
of Dragon King.
"Yes, it's Lady Meng's idea. It happened the day the Ninth Young Master
came back complaining that he almost died at Meng Yuzun's hands. Meng
Yuzun knows kung fu and was interested in the secret manuscript that
Dragon King has. You know about this already. Lady Meng was furious and
went to settle the score with Old Meng. But somehow, it ended up in Miss Ru
getting married to Meng Mingshi."
Gu Shenwei knew very well that Shangguan Hong knew exactly what had
transpired despite his ignorant appearance. So he kept quiet and let him
continue.
"Afterwards I heard, this is just what I heard… Apparently, Meng Yuzun

spent a lot of money trying to settle the matter and reached an agreement with
Lady Meng. They would snatch the secret manuscript from Dragon King's
hands together. Then… then, the Ninth Young Master had an idea. He said
that Dragon King would definitely interfere in the matter if his younger sister
was married off, and they would catch you alive then…"
Shangguan Hong stole a look at Dragon King, wondering if what he said was
correct.
Chapter 295 - Delicacy and Force
Chapter 295: Delicacy and Force
Wildhorse used a fake brow ridge to change his looks. Under the shadow of
the bulging brow ridge, his widely-separated eyes were not very evident on
his face. However, Gu Shenwei still recognized him at first sight by his regal
gesture and the way he gripped his saber hilt.
Gu Shenwei and Wildhorse had been enemies for years. Even a pair of
intimate friends could not know each other better than they did each other.
They had duelled for three times. The first time, they had been cut off in
midstream, and the second time, Gu Shenwei had suffered a total defeat. As
for the third time, if Shangguan Ru had not deliberately let Wildhorse go, he
would have been killed in the wilderness a long time ago.
Now, Wildhorse returned to Jade City, but Gu Shenwei did not intend to
challenge the killer into another duel. He was in Wildhorse's territory now
and did not want to expose himself when he was uncertain about the current
situation. He swiftly left the peach forest while thinking, " Wildhorse will
soon realize that I'm hiding somewhere around him. So, let him search
around here."
After discovering that it was Wildhorse who had been impersonating the
Dragon King, Gu Shenwei understood many things that had happened
recently but he still could not figure out what Wildhorse and the Joy Pavilion
wanted by doing so. It seemed to him that this would do no good to them at
all. He knew that he still needed to find out more evidence to support his
reasoning.
The first person he went to visit after leaving the peach forest was Mr. Hong
in Blacksmith Village.
Mr. Hong was greatly surprised that the Dragon King came to see him again
after such a short interval, but he still answered all of his questions truthfully.
"Does the Stop Kills Society know the existence of the Tianshan Sect?" asked
Gu Shenwei.
"No, the Stop Kills Society is just a group of con men. They're good at
deceiving others instead of intelligence gathering," replied Mr. Hong.
"You've been deceived by them."
"What? What do you mean? Dragon King."
As Gu Shenwei did not have much time to explain everything to Mr. Hong,
he just continued to ask, "You've told me that there was a traitor in the
Tianshan Sect. Where did he take refuge in the end? "
Mr. Hong seemed a little unwillingly to answer this question in the

beginning, but after a moment's hesitation, he decided to be honest with the
Dragon King. "To be frank, we don't know much about it except that it wasn't
the Golden Roc Fort. Someone spotted him in the north after he escaped from
the city. That's all we know about him. We've found out that most people
who have been killed in Blacksmith Village recently were our sect members,
and that all the dead members' names were known to the traitor. Given this,
we reckon that the whole thing must have something to do with him."
During the whole conversation, Mr. Hong cautiously avoided mentioning this
traitor's name.
"Keep a close watch on the Joy Pavilion and the Stop Kills Society. They're
your enemies. I'll come back to you very soon."
With these words, Gu Shenwei quickly left Mr. Hong's place. The elderly
man felt bewildered and wanted to ask further, but the Dragon King did not
give him such a chance.
He had to solve many problems during the night and could not afford to
waste any more time in Blacksmith Village.
After leaving the village, he went to Pleasure Alley to visit Xiao Fengchai.
Xiao Fengchai had not received many guests recently, as she had to run a
bigger business and did not have enough energy to entertain the clients in her
brothel.
However, tonight, a "guest" suddenly turned up uninvited.
Deep in the night, when the Dragon King broke into Xiao Fengchai's
bedroom, she wore only a next-to-skin garment but she did not grab any other
clothes to cover up her curvaceous body. "You just don't like to walk through
the door, do you? Tell me, Dragon King, which window do you like best? I'll
leave it open for you in the future," she smiled up at him and said.
"No, don't bother. I prefer to take a different route every time I come here,"
replied Gu Shenwei.
"Well, I welcome you at any time," Xiao Fengcha said with her arms open.
"I have a question for you."
"We're business partners, Dragon King. We should be honest with each other.
You can ask me anything."
"That night, I heard Meng Mingshu say that if I died, your plan would be
ruined. Can you tell me what this 'plan' is?"
"Why do you ask me this question? You know the answer, don't you? The
Second Young Master Meng told you that he wanted you to help him take
over the Meng Family's business in Shu-lik," Xiao Fengchai said while
looking at the Dragon King with big, serious eyes and appearing to be very
surprised and even a little discontent.
"Just as I expected, Xiao Fengchai is not as candid as Mr. Hong," thought Gu

Shenwei, as he drew his saber and approached her. "You know, the Dragon
King kills people regardless of age and gender," said Gu Shenwei.
Xiao Fengchai smiled slightly. She had seen many different men and
believed that the Dragon King was just another guy. She pulled her collar
down a little to reveal a part of her white chest and let the tip of his saber
touch it. "You know, men can do whatever they want at my place," said Xiao
Fengchai.
She never knew that the Dragon King was not just another guy but a man
who had solidified his hatred in his heart and would never let it go.
He looked into her eyes and slowly pushed his saber forward. They were very
different from each other. One was as hard as nails, while the other was
flexible like water. Both of them were confident and refused to back down.
Soon enough, the tip of his saber pierced through her skin, and she quickly
gave up the battle before blood oozing from the wound.
"Alright, alright, you won." She felt somewhat offended, and her face was
peach red. No matter how old she actually was, she behaved like an
embarrassed little girl at this moment.
When Gu Shenwei withdrew his saber, Xiao Fengchai lowered her head to
look at her chest and saw a red spot on it. She felt irritated and immediately
pulled her collar up. After that, she picked up a robe and wrapped it tightly
around herself. For the first time in her life, she had felt frustrated. "You must
be dead inside or deeply in love with some woman."
"You'd better hire some real kung fu masters to protect you," Gu Shenwei
said coldly to change the subject, as he knew that this woman would never
easily admit defeat and once she spotted a chance, she would strike back.
"It's not easy to find real kung fu masters, especially for me. I'm only a weak
woman and know nothing about kung fu. How can I tell who has superb kung
fu," said Xiao Fengchai.
"Go on." He prompted her to continue, knowing that what she was going to
say must have something to do with the plan of the Second Young Master
Meng.
"Well, upon seeing that you, the Dragon King, become a kung fu master at
such a young age, everybody is envious and… curious. The Second Young
Master Meng heard that you took a manual from Immortal Peng. It's said that
once a person masters the kung fu skills recorded in the manual, he or she
will become a Peerless Ace."
"Does Meng Mingshu also want to become a Peerless Ace?" Gu Shenwei

asked sarcastically, while wondering, "How come those rich guys in the
Meng family suddenly become interested in kung fu?"
"No, he doesn't. He knows his limitations. He just wants to give that manual
to his father as a present. Tell you a secret, Meng Yuzun knows kung fu and
his kung fu is quite good, but he forbids his sons to learn it."
As the Dragon King had already known that Meng Yuzun was a kung fu
master, he was not very surprised by the secret but he was glad that Xiao
Fengchai had already begun to tell the truth.
"The Second Young Master Meng said that he wanted me to help him in
taking over the business in Shu-lik City. It's a trap, isn't it?"
"No. To be frank, it's my plan." With these words, Xiao Fengchai slightly
lifted up her chin, fear and admiration evident on her face, but this did not
undermine her grace. "I'm not interested in kung fu. I just want to make more
money at that time, but now I see how ridiculous I was. I can make lots of
money, but it doesn't mean that I can protect my money. I used to think that
Meng Mingshu would be able to protect me, but now I see that he isn't a big
shot. I…"
Xiao Fengchai's voice got increasingly soft, and the admiration in her eyes
was gradually replaced by a dreamy look. She looked as if she had lost her
mind under the influence of some sorcery and was going to collapse there at
any minute. At this moment, she was just a physically attractive body, and
her apathy and elegance could only further stimulate a man's desire to force
himself on her.
Gu Shenwei walked backward step by step, believing that he had already

gotten enough evidence to understand and explain the current situation.
The next moment, he left the warm bedroom, embraced the cold winter night
and inhaled deeply. The air was cold and refreshing.
"Xiao Fengchai is indeed worthy of her legendary name. Even I couldn't

remain unmoved when staying with her. However, my hate is stronger than
anything, and it's the source of my powers," he thought, while feeling proud
that he could possess and use such a great power.
After the Dragon King's departure, Xiao Fengchai still remained immersed in
her romantic fantasy. She floppily lay down in her bed and curled up while
gently moaning. Different from the other prostitutes, Xiao Fengchai never
deliberately made a gesture or gave a superficial performance. For her, every
face she put on revealed a part of her nature, as she believed that she had to
deceive herself first to deceive others. Gradually, she drifted into a light
sleep, while thinking proudly and confidently that the Dragon King would
fall for her feminine charms sooner or later.
It was already late at night, and day would break within a few hours.
Nevertheless, Gu Shenwei still had several places to go. After a moment of
thought, he decided to pay the messenger of Shu-lik a visit first.
The messenger lived in a residence in North City. It was a property owned by

Shu-lik and located near to the Governor's Mansion. Among all the places
that Gu Shenwei wanted to go tonight, only this place was least guarded. At
that time, no one, not even the messenger himself, expected that the Dragon
King would ask Shu-lik for help.
When Gu Shenwei arrived at the residence, all the guards there had already
left their positions to sleep. He entered the backyard of the residence without
much efforts, planning to persuade or even bully Shi Yin into bringing him to
the Special Emissary from the Central Plains, but beyond his expectations, he
came across an old acquaintance in the yard, who would help him easily
achieve his goal.
That person was practicing saber skills in the darkness. After a while, she
paused and murmured to herself, "Why does my saber technique improve so
slowly?"
"It's because your hatred is not deep-seated enough," said Gu Shenwei.
"Dragon King!" Tie Linglong shouted excitedly. The next minute, she
lowered her voice and asked, "Is it really you?"
Gu Shenwei revealed himself to her, and she ran toward him with her arms
open cheerfully. When she was about to hug him, she recalled that the
Dragon King was cool as ice and disliked such enthusiastic responses and she
embarrassedly stopped.
"Why did you come here?" The Dragon King sounded as calmly as always,
seemingly nonchalant about reuniting with the little girl.
"You tell me, why did you leave me behind in Shu-lik City? You still think
that my saber skills are not good enough and I can't protect you like Little
Chu does, don't you?" asked Tie Linglong.
"The Prince is your brother," replied Gu Shenwei.
"I don't want a brother. I want revenge, but he always declines to reveal who
killed my family. He knows it, but he just refuses to tell me," Tie Linglong
said grumpily.
Gu Shenwei knew who killed her parents, but he did not want to tell her
either. "When this little girl grows up, she'll figure the whole thing out and
discover that it was her half-brother's mother who had her parents killed," Gu
Shenwei thought to himself and then he said, "I killed your grandfather, you
can take revenge on me."
"No, that's different. My grandfather was a killer. He killed people and

people would kill him. That's the way of doing killer business. However, my
parents were common people, and they even did not know any kung fu…"
Tie Linglong could not help sobbing. She quickly lifted up her hand to wipe
her tears away as she thought, "I shouldn't cry. The Dragon King used to tell
me that a killer had to be cold and unfeeling, but I just couldn't control it. I
never expected that the Dragon would suddenly appear in this place. It's his
fault. He caught me unprepared."
Upon seeing this, Gu Shenwei sighed in his heart, "Tie Linglong has been
practicing the first four chapters of Wayless Qigong all this while. She'll
definitely become a kung fu master someday but she can never make a
qualified killer. What's the reason for this? Is there anything wrong with my
training methods? Or, is she just not endowed with the qualities needed for a
killer?"
"So, why did you come here?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"I've come here to look for you," Tie Linglong stopped sobbing and replied
smilingly. She was delighted to see the Dragon King suddenly appear in front
of her. "I planned to find Little Chu first, but my brother forbade me to…"
"Your brother is here?" Gu Shenwei cut her off and asked astonishingly.
"Yes, he is, but he told me not to tell the others that he's here. Only the black-
faced messenger and I know it. It's alright to tell you this, since he wants to
meet you here," replied Tie Linglong.
Gu Shenwei had a guilty conscience since he had betrayed Shu-lik. Upon

hearing that the prince wanted to meet him, he suddenly felt much relieved.
"The prince still seems to trust me. As long as he's the prince of Shu-lik, the
country won't treat the Great Snowmountain as an enemy."
"Bring me to meet him," Gu Shenwei said to Tie Linglong.
He had discovered enough facts, but he always bore in mind that "looking for
the truth" and "solving the problem" are completely different concepts.
He was faced with lots of problems and had to deal with the Golden Roc
Fort, the Governor and Four Truths Temple at the same time. He was well
aware that all he needed to do was to offer them enough solid evidence while
concealing a part of the truth.
Chapter 296 - Reciprocation
Chapter 296: Reciprocation
It was pitch dark the moment Gu Shenwei returned to his temporary home,
which was now widely known as Residence of Dragon King. Although it was
his own place, he still persisted in his old habit of quietly sneaking into a
residence at night and leapt over the wall to get into the compound.
He had to be prudent since Wildhorse and Immortal Peng were not bound by
the three-month truce agreement. As for the other disciples of the Joy
Pavilion, who were particularly fascinated by the three-storey building, they
would definitely want to take revenge on him for the destruction of the
pavilion.
Gu Shenwei easily dodged the guards who were patrolling the courtyard and
returned to his room. The moment he entered it, he sensed something amiss
and took hold of his saber shaft.
Without his permission, no one was allowed to enter his room, but at this
moment, he clearly felt that someone else was inside it.
"This person is breathing evenly, seemingly not making any effort to hide
himself or herself. It looks like he or she is—sleeping."
With this thought in mind, Gu Shenwei quietly unsheathed his saber and
gently drew his bed curtain open.
Behind the curtain, there was a fully-clothed girl who curled up in his bed.
Under the dim light, he could see that she was fast asleep and had a smile on
her face. He guessed that she was probably dreaming of something good.
He recognized that she was one of the maids from the Great Snowmountain,
but he did not know her name. "Ahem," Gu Shenwei coughed lightly.
The young girl woke up with a start. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and
suddenly saw the Dragon King standing beside her with Five Peaks Saber in
hand. She was scared as well as ashamed, her cheeks turning bright red from
blushing. She jumped out of the bed and said incoherently, "Dragon King… I
was… You… I didn't know… Please forgive me."
Like all the other people from the Great Snowmountain, this girl did not have
the habit of kowtowing to her superiors, so she just huddled at the bedside
and awkwardly begged for mercy.
"What's your name?" Gu Shenwei asked nonchalantly while bringing his

saber down, but not sheathing his weapon.
"Jiang," replied the girl, who was frightened.
It took Gu Shenwei a minute to understand that "Jiang" was her name instead
of a cry of fear. "So your surname is Long?" asked Gu Shenwei.
Most residents of the Great Snowmountain were surnamed Long, but this
convention did not apply to the girl. She shook her head in disagreement
while saying, "No, I'm from the Qin Valley clan of Luoshen Peak."
Each of the five tribes of the Great Snowmountain was divided into several
clans. A person from the Qin Vally clan usually was surnamed Qin.
"Qin Jiang?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"No, just Jiang," the girl shook her head again and said.
Despite that Gu Shenwei was respected as "Chief of the Dragons and Leader
of the Five Peaks", he did not know much about the customs of the Great
Snowmountain. He guessed that the probable reason this girl had such a
strange name was that women were not allowed to use a surname in her clan.
"What're you doing here?"asked Gu Shenwei.
As the Dragon King spoke softly this time, the girl named Jiang did not seem
to be so scared anymore, although her face was still red. She revealed a
childlike smile and said, "I came here to serve you, Dragon King."
"I've never asked you to come here."
"But my tribal chief ordered me to serve you. He instructed that I should

make sure that you get a good rest and…"
"I nullify all the commands that he gave you."
"But… But…" Jiang stuttered, feeling confused. She felt that she had to
follow her tribal chief's order, but at the same time she dared not to act
against the Dragon King's will.
"Go back to your room. I'll call you if I need you," Gu Shenwei said in a low
voice, trying his best not to sound too harsh.
"Um," Jiang replied and then walked toward the door. After walking a few
steps, she hurried back to pick up her shoes on the ground and then swiftly
ran out of the room. Her face was redder than before, and it appeared that she
was working hard to hold her tears back.
Gu Shenwei had decided long before that he would never keep a servant in
his bedroom, for he knew that the betrayal of such a servant would lead to
serious consequences. He thought of Jiang's intrusion as an accident and did
not pay much attention to it.
He quickly forgot about the girl, sheathed his saber and sat on the bed,
thinking about the information divulged by Shangguan Hong.
"Using Shangguan Ru as bait to lure me into a trap indeed sounds like a plan
made by Lady Meng and Shangguan Fei."
Gu Shenwei snorted and continued to think, "Master Fei, you underestimate

me. You consider this thing as a childish game—who's whose friend, and
who's whose foe. I'll never fall into your trap."
With this thought in mind, Gu Shenwei fell into his bed, sinking into sleep
with his saber in hand. He fought numerous people in his dream that night.
The next day, he had to deal with a lot of chores and thus did not go out.
Xu Xiaoyi came into his room to remind him that he had to find a way to
replenish their capital, as they had spent a lot recently and it was hard even
for any shrewd merchant to support an army of thousands with so little
money.
Xu Xiaoyi also told him that someone had spotted the Joy Pavilion's disciples
in a valley outside the city and promised to find their whereabouts within
three days.
When Xu Xiaoyi was reporting to the Dragon King, Chu Nanping and Tie
Linglong were fighting each other with wooden sabers on the other side of
the room. Tie Linglong was very talkative and kept commenting on Little
Chu's moves, as if she was his tutor. The teenage swordsman listened
attentively to the girl and only made responses to her comments occasionally.
Gu Shenwei listened to Xu Xiaoyi's report, while watching Chu Nanping

fighting against Tie Linglong. Suddenly, he asked, "Chu Nanping, where do
you think the Joy Pavilion's disciples would be hiding?"
Chu Nanping thought for a moment and replied, "No, I don't know. Even if I
know, I'll never tell you."
Gu Shenwei believed that the youth had answered truthfully. The boy's last
sentence sounded quite blunt, but that was his style and Gu Shenwei had
already got accustomed to it. "Did Immortal Peng ask you anything about
your new sword techniques?" asked Gu Shenwei.
He had taught Chu Nanping some Death Scripture sword skills and was a
little worried that the straightforward teenager might tell Immortal Peng all
the skills that he had learned if being asked.
"Yes, he did. I told him that I learned these swords skills from you, and he
didn't ask any more questions about it."
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei felt much relieved and thought, "The white-
faced Immortal Peng thinks that I stole the hypnosis manual from the dwarf
Immortal Peng, so he wouldn't be interested in the swordcraft. Disciples of
the Joy Pavilion are kung fu masters but they're not smart. I don't need to
worry about them. Only Wildhorse deserves special attention."
When Gu Shenwei was thinking about his own business, a swordsman came
in and reported, "Mr. Xu Xiaoyi, a person has come to our gate and is asking
to meet you for something urgent."
Xu Xiaoyi was stunned, since his informers always met with him in secret
and none of them had ever come to Residence of Dragon King to find him
before. He hurriedly walked out to check the situation with the swordsman.
Gu Shenwei nodded to Chu Nanping, hinting that he should follow Xu

Xiaoyi.
Tie Linglong put her wooden saber down, feeling reluctant to let her practice
partner go. "Dragon King, when will you let me perform an assassination
alone?"
"When you can tie with Little Chu in a fight."
"I've just tied with him in our fight. Haven't you seen it?"
"He deliberately let you win."
"Humm, I'll force him to take me seriously the next time," said Tie Linglong,
while brandishing her wooden saber.
"Ouch!" someone suddenly screamed outside, and it sounded like Xu Xiaoyi.

Gu Shenwei was startled and immediately rushed out of the room, drawing
the Five Peaks Saber in hand. Tie Linglong was extremely thrilled to get a
chance to fight. She swiftly picked up her saber from a corner of the room
and ran out.
In the next moment, she saw a woman in a cloak grabbing Xu Xiaoyi by his
ear, dragging him into the yard. Chu Nanping was walking beside them, but
surprisingly, he did not do anything to help Xu Xiaoyi. The swordsmen at the
gate all tensed up and grabbed their sword shafts, waiting for the Dragon
King's order, but they quickly relaxed their vigilance, as the Dragon King
nodded to them to show that everything was alright.
Gu Shenwei knew for sure who this woman was. No one else dared to treat
Xu Xiaoyi like that except for his own sister.
"You brat, you came back to Jade City without paying me a visit. Didn't the
Dragon King tell you that I'm still alive? And how old are you? How come
you're growing a moustache?"
"I'm 19. As for my moustache…aw."
Before Xu Xiaoyi finished his sentence, Xu Yanwei had already torn his
moustache off. "I knew it. It's fake. Ah, Mr. Huan. What should I call you
now?"
"Call me Dragon King."
"Hee-hee." Xu Yanwei sneered and then she released her brother's ear. She
took off her hood and looked around. "Your residence looks great, but its
location is not so good," said Xu Yanwei, still refusing to refer to Gu
Shenwei as the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei had saved Xu Yanwei's life for many times and sent her to serve
Luo Ningcha in Golden Roc Fort a few years ago. "It looks like serving the
cruel Miss Luo hasn't changed her a lot. Xu Yanwei is just like before. She's
straightforward most of the time and only pretends to be amiable and mild
when there's a need to," thought Gu Shenwei.
"I came here for you," Xu Yanwei said to Gu Shenwei.
"What? Didn't you tell the swordsman that you came here for me?" asked Xu
Xiaoyi, while rubbing his red ear with one hand and glueing the moustache to
his face with the other hand.
"That's just an excuse for meeting you. You look great. I can rest assured
now," replied Xu Yanwei.
Among all the people in the yard, only Tie Linglong had never met Xu
Yanwei before. She vigilantly looked at the woman, saber in hand.
Xu Yanwei was certainly not scared by the little girl. She gazed at her and
then said to Gu Shenwei, "She's pretty, although her eye color is a little bit
strange. I'm sure clients will like her. Do you want to restart your old
business?"
Several years ago, Tie Hanfeng, Gu Shenwei's Master Shifu, had opened a
brothel under his name, but now he did not want to mention it anymore and
suggested, "Let's talk inside the room."
The moment they entered the room, Xu Yanwei said to Gu Shenwei, "I need
to talk with you privately."
"These three people are my most trusted friends," said Gu Shenwei. He

assumed that Xu Yanwei must have come to deliver a message for Luo
Ningcha, so he refused her request at once; he did not need to cosy up to the
Bighead Kingpin's daughter anymore.
"Alright, I've come here to tell you that Miss Ru is going to get married.
What're you going to do?" said Xu Yanwei.
Gu Shenwei was struck speechless, as he had never expected that Xu Yanwei

would have come here to speak for Shangguan Ru.
"Who're you? How dare you talk to the Dragon King like that! What does this
Miss Ru's marriage have to do with the Dragon King?" Tie Linglong blurted
out.
She had been quite pleased when Xu Yanwei praised her beauty, but after a
while she realized that it was not a compliment and even felt a little offended.
"Who am I?" said Xu Yanwei with her right hand supporting her waist. "He's
seen me nude and shared blood wine with me. How about you?"
Tie Linglong frowned in disbelief, but she could not refute Xu Yanwei's
argument, as she knew nothing about the Dragon King's past. In the end, she
just stuttered, "No matter who you are, now you're… a traitor, since now
you're speaking for Miss Ru of the Golden Roc Fort."
Upon seeing a quarrel developing between them, Xu Xiaoyi hurriedly

stepped forward to stop them.
At this moment, Gu Shenwei also recovered from the surprise and said, "Xu
Yanwei, no matter who sent you here, I want you to return to the Stone Castle
to tell her that now I'm an enemy of the Golden Roc Fort. Now that the
Supreme King and I have signed a three-month truce agreement, I'll stick to it
and keep my promise not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Golden Roc
Fort."
Xu Yanwei was surprised and irritated at Gu Shenwei's reply, her big eyes
widening further in anger. "Do you think that I come here because of
someone else's command? No, I come here of my own free will. She's Miss
Ru of the Golden Roc Fort, and she worried and prayed for you everyday
during the past three years. She's been waiting for you all this time. She even
saved your life a few years ago. Don't you plan to reciprocate her kindness to
you?"
"All the people in the Shangguan family are my enemies. I don't owe them
anything. Instead, I'll ask them to pay me back with my saber and sword," Gu
Shenwei suppressed his anger and retorted in a deep voice.
Xu Yanwei was so furious that she could hardly speak.
Although Tie Linglong was just 13 years old, she incisively recognized the
change in the Dragon King's mood. She was surprised, since she had never
seen him being irritated by anyone or anything before.
She was pretty sure that this Miss Ru was not just a casual acquaintance of
the Dragon King.
Chapter 297 - A Precious Weapon
Chapter 297: A Precious Weapon
Gu Shenwei regretted having this talk with Xu Yanwei in front of Xu Xiaoyi,

Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong.
Upon hearing his sister's words, Xu Xiaoyi slightly curled his lips and nodded
his head, while thinking, "It looks like even the Dragon King can't rise above
ordinary desires."
Chu Nanping remained unmoved by Xu Yanwei's words, but he could not

help frowning in bewilderment.
Tie Linglong gazed at the Dragon King and opened her mouth, seemingly
wishing to say something, but in the next minute, she somehow changed her
mind and did not utter a single word.
"Are you really going to tell that to Miss Ru?" Xu Yanwei asked in a
trembling voice.
"Yes," replied Gu Shenwei, coldly and assertively. "Now that you work for
the Golden Roc Fort, I don't want to see you anymore."
Xu Yanwei was about to take her leave in a fit of anger, but she quickly
changed her mind before she made any move. She put on a frightened face
and placed her hand on her chest, as if she was too scared to stand steadily.
"Dragon King, I've sworn to take you as my master. How can I betray you?
Besides, my brother still works for you. How can I leave like this? If you
don't want to help Miss. Ru, I won't force you to do it. I don't care about it
very much. After all, it's none of my business," said Xu Yanwei, in a soft
voice.
Gu Shenwei was pretty that Xu Yanwei was lying, but he could not kick her
out in front of her brother. "Alright, you can stay here. Don't go back to the
Stone Castle anymore," said Gu Shenwei.
"Great," Xu Yanwei clapped her hands and said. "I'll stay here. Dragon King,
you've no idea how difficult it is to serve the Eighth Young Mistress. I've had
enough of it."
"Uhm." Gu Shenwei did not want to talk about Luo Ningcha. He knew how
cantankerous the woman was. He assumed that she must have become even
more bad-tempered after surviving the assassination attempt by Maid Lotus
three years ago.
Xu Yanwei took off her cloak and threw it to her brother while saying, "Give
me the best room." After that, she turned around to look at Chu Nanping and
said smilingly, "Little Chu, you're still so good-looking. Sigh, women like me
are going to lose our jobs."
Chu Nanping moved his lips but failed to utter a word, his cheeks flushed
with embarrassment. Right at this moment, he found out that Tie Linglong
was looking at him angrily, and his face instantly became redder.
Soon enough, Gu Shenwei discovered that it was a mistake to let Xu Yanwei

stay inside his residence.
In less than half a day, all the people in his residence, including his
machetemen, swordsmen and even handymen, heard the story about him and
his childhood sweetheart in the Stone Castle, but he could not find any
evidence that Xu Yanwei was deliberately spreading the rumor.
Tie Linglong took all this very seriously and she seemed to feel that she was
obligated to take care of the Dragon King's emotional needs. She was dressed
in an outfit meant for combat all day long and stayed with him almost all the
time, with a polished saber in her hand. It looked as if she was ready to
perform a task at any minute. Every time she discovered that the Dragon
King appeared to be in a good mood, she would say with infinite care, "The
Great Snowmountain has a vast expanse of land. It's not a difficult thing for
us to hide a person inside the mountain…"
Gu Shenwei had no choice but to forbid her from entering his room again.
Xu Xiaoyi was smart and diplomatic and never mentioned Shangguan Ru in

front of the Dragon King during the whole day. Chu Nanping was extremely
confused in the first place and spent quite a long time thinking about this
thing. In the end, he believed that he figured it out and asked the Dragon
King, "Dragon King, you're planning to continue your Emotionless
Swordsmanship practice, aren't you? That Miss Ru is the one you intend to
kill for the mastery of the sword technique, isn't she? "
Thrilled at the thought of being able to continue practicing Emotionless

Swordsmanship techniques, Chu Nanping cast a meaningful glance at Xu
Xiaoyi. Xu Xiaoyi swiftly ran away, as he knew that he was the one that Chu
Nanping wanted to kill to master Emotionless Swordsmanship.
Gu Shenwei had enough of it and decide to prohibit everyone from entering

his room except his military counselor.
To keep the Dragon King fully briefed on the negotiating process, Fang
Wenshi had to report to his lord everyday after he returned from his
meetings. This evening, he was exceptionally talkative. He started with his
political analysis and then he began to talk about the past kings and lords,
telling the Dragon King how their lechery had ruined their futures. Fang
Wenshi talked in such a roundabout way for a long time, trying to make his
view amply clear to his lord, which was women were the root of all troubles.
Gu Shenwei treated all of them coldly, believing that they would quickly
forget about this rumor. Contrary to his expectation, everyone thought that he
must have put on such a cold face to hide his worries, since they had never
seen him being so moody in the past.
Gu Shenwei was adept at scheming, but not good at coping with the
emotional stuff. He even had a sneaking suspicion that Xu Yanwei had
already been bribed by Lady Meng and had come here to lure him into a trap.
Shangguan Hong had told him that the Golden Roc Fort planned to use
Shangguan Ru's marriage to strengthen its relationship with the Meng family
and in the meantime it also intended to use her as a bait to lure him into a
trap. Gu Shenwei believed Shangguan Hong's words, but by far he had not
divulged this piece of information to anyone else.
The next morning, Gu Shenwei woke up, feeling confident that nobody
would talk about Shangguan Ru again. He believed that what he had done
yesterday had already expressed his stand clearly. However, the moment he
got up, he discovered that some people were standing in front of his door.
They were the elderly tribal chief, Long Qinying, 20 swordsmen and 10 girls
from the Great Snowmountain. Gu Shenwei invited them to come into his
room, but they refused. Given that, he could only have a talk with them while
standing together with them in front of his room.
"Dragon King, we don't mean to offend you, but we have to ask you a
question," A young swordsman in his 20s spoke on behalf of these people.
While he was saying this, he appeared very nervous and his hand kept
stroking his sword shaft restlessly.
"Alright, go ahead and ask me," said Gu Shenwei. Every time he talked with
the people from the Great Snowmountain, he had to be extra careful, trying to
appear approachable as well as authoritative.
"Well, it's just that we heard a rumor. It's said that you fell in love with a girl
from the Golden Roc Fort and are planning to snatch her from the fort and
elope with her," said the young swordsman.
"It must be Xu Yanwei who made up this story and started this rumor," Gu
Shenwei thought with anger, but as he had to control his temper in front of
his people, he just solemnly said, "That's not true. I swear to the Empyrean
that I'll spend my whole life destroying the Golden Roc Fort."
Everybody looked delighted upon hearing the Dragon King's reply, but they
did not leave right after this. "Here's another thing. We hope you'll gratify a
wish of the Empyrean's people," said the young swordsman.
"What's that?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"We hope you can let Jiang stay inside your bedroom, as she's designated by
the Empyrean to be your servant."
When the young swordsman was saying this, Jiang was hiding behind the
crowd, her face turning scarlet with embarrassment.
"I see. I'll let Jiang stay inside my bedroom," Gu Shenwei immediately
promised them, as he thought, "People from the Great Snowmountain are
simple and honest and have a strong faith in the Empyrean. Before coming to
Jade City, they must have performed some ceremony to appoint Jiang as my
servant. I'd better not argue with them over this matter."
The crowd was satisfied with the Dragon King's reply. When they took their
leave, they even slightly bowed to their lord, appearing more respectful than
before.
Jiang was left behind by the crowd. She lowered her head and nervously
wrung her hands together, her face still red.
Gu Shenwei could predict that she would never become a qualified maid,
since girls from the Great Snowmountain did not know how to work as one.
Although all the tribes in the mountain regarded women as inferior to men,
no one, not even their tribal chiefs, kept a maid at home. Women from the
Great Snowmountain were brave and hardworking. They knew how to hunt,
how to build a house and how to graze and butcher their cattle, but none of
them knew how to serve another person.
"You can clean the room first," said Gu Shenwei.
He tried his best to be nice to Jiang, but the girl was still startled upon hearing
him speaking to her. She clumsily used her sleeve to wipe a table in the room,
but she overexerted and accidentally smashed a vase.
Embarrassed by her own clumsiness, Jiang was about to cry. Gu Shenwei

immediately comforted her by saying, "Relax, it's not a big deal. Just throw
those broken pieces away."
Gu Shenwei decided to leave Jiang alone, giving her some time to get
familiar with her new job. He summoned Chu Nanping, Tie Linglong and a
macheteman, prepared to set off on a mission. Before his departure, he told
Xu Xiaoyi, "Keep an eye on your sister. If she continues to spread rumors
about me, I'll cut her tongue out."
The four mounted their horses, galloped through South City and stopped at
the Rouge Forest on the eastern outskirts of Jade City. This place was a
regular haunt for masterless machetemen, but Gu Shenwei had not come here
for them. He was looking for Wildhorse and the disciples of the Joy Pavilion.
According to intelligence provided by Xu Xiaoyi, some suspicious-looking

people had suddenly appeared at this place and they looked like disciples of
the Joy Pavilion.
Gu Shenwei wanted to check out the real situation by himself.
The moment he arrived at the Rouge Forest, he was amazed. "I've never seen
so many wandering machetemen here before, and the Golden Roc Fort has
just hired lots of them. How come there are still so many here? Have all the
machetemen in Western Region come to Jade City recently?"
Gu Shenwei brought a Tianshan Sect macheteman named Lin Xiaoshan with

him. This man was a few years his senior and muscular as a leopard, but
because he had a round face like a baby, he did not look very mature.
Lin Xiaoshan was also greatly surprised by the number of the machetemen in
the Rouge Forest and exclaimed, "Why are there so many machetemen here?"
"Don't you know the reason? You're from the Tianshan Sect," said Gu
Shenwei. He thought that the Tianshan Sect must have known the reason as it
was a semi-public guild of the machetemen in Jade City.
"I'll ask around to figure out what happened."
With these words, Lin Xiaoshan dismounted from his horse and walked into
the forest. After a while, he returned and said, "Some rich men from North
City organized a Machete God Contest here. Today is the opening day of the
contest."
Gu Shenwei still remembered the previous Machete God Contest, which had
been held a few years ago. That contest was a part of the gang war between
the Kun Society and the Horned Dragon Society, and the previous Machete
God ended up being killed by Maid Lotus.
"What about the organizers' background?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"Curiously enough, they're just a bunch of retired machetemen. I haven't seen

them for years and I haven't heard anyone or any organization support them.
It seems to be a pure kung fu contest. The winner will win the title of
'Machete God' and a precious weapon."
"What weapon?" asked Tie Linglong, her eyes brightened with excitement.
She had long wished to replace her ordinary saber with a precious weapon
like the Five Peaks Saber.
"Melon-hilted Scimitar. Just like the Dragon King's saber and sword, it's also
made by the famous Shu-lik blacksmith, Daga."
Daga was one of the most well-known blacksmiths in the Western Region.
Every weapon he crafted after he entered his 40s was of extraordinary
quality.
Upon hearing Lin Xiaoshan's reply, Gu Shenwei felt intrigued. "Before the
Supreme King and I signed the truce agreement, quite a lot of people in Jade
City put bounty on my head. Someone even offered a reward of 200,000 taels
of silver for my Five Peaks Saber and Dragon Head Sword. I used to think
that this person must have some connection with the Blacksmith Village, but
Mr. Hong swore to me that this incident had nothing to do with the
Blacksmith Village and the Tianshan Sect."
The four of them walked into the Rouge Forest after leaving their horses
outside of it.
Gu Shenwei was wearing a cloak but he did not use any make-up to change
his looks. Despite that the Dragon King had already become a household
name in Jade City by now, only a few people in the city had met him before.
He was not worried that he was going to be recognized here.
There were several stages set up in an open space inside the forest, which
were about 2 meters in height. Crowds of machetemen and ordinary people
gathered around the stages, enthusiastically watching the fights on the them.
Several machetemen paced around the area and invited the other machetemen
to partake in the contest, like peddlers crying their wares. "Melon-hilted
Scimitar, you must've heard of it. It's a precious scimitar made by Daga. It
can effortlessly cut through metal and a strand a hair would be sliced into two
just being blown across its sharp edge. This precious scimitar together with
3,000 taels of silver will be awarded to the Machete God. Come here and sign
up for the contest quickly. Once you become the Machete God, you'll become
a household name."
When Gu Shenwei brushed past a middle-aged macheteman who was

advertising the contest, the man recognized the Dragon King at first glance.
He suddenly stopped peddling and shouted excitedly, "The Dragon King! The
Dragon King has come to attend our Machete God Contest!"
Upon hearing this, all the contestants on the stages simultaneously stopped
fighting and everyone at the scene shifted their gaze toward Gu Shenwei.
Chapter 298 - Staged Fights
Chapter 298: Staged Fights
The machetemen of Jade City had mixed feelings about the Dragon King.
Many machetemen considered him a hero, since he dared to defy the Golden
Roc Fort and even led swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain into a battle
against it. Most of the machetemen bore a grudge against the Golden Roc
Fort, who was one of their biggest employer for ages, but none of them had
succeeded in revolting against it.
In the meantime, some machetemen and their friends and families thought of
the Dragon King as the Devil, for he had slaughtered many of them during
his career as a killer and in his war against the Golden Roc Fort.
Despite their different opinions on the Dragon King, all the people at the
scene now shifted their gaze toward the young man.
Gu Shenwei saw hatred, contempt and admiration in their eyes. He had not
intended to compete for the Machete God title before, but now he changed
his mind.
"As a killer, I have to be very low-key, but as the Dragon King, I'd best grab
every opportunity to show my strength in front of everyone. Besides, I'm
quite interested in the origin of the Melon-hilted Scimitar."
With this in mind, Gu Shenwei announced, "Yes, I've come here to

participate in the Machete God Contest." His voice was not loud but every
word he said was distinct. Upon hearing that, all the people at the scene
began to whisper to one another. A moment later, someone began to applaud
and the others quickly followed suit.
"I'll participate in this contest too!" said Tie Linglong, and then she asked Lin
Xiaoshan and Chu Nanping, "How about you guys?"
Lin Xiaoshan shook his head smilingly. He did not want to step on the stage
to fight because of his inferior kung fu skills. Chu Nanping thought for a
while and replied, "No, I'm a swordsman, so I can't participate in the Machete
God Contest."
Tie Linglong did not hear what Chu Nanping had said. When the young
swordsman was still thinking about how to answer the girl's question, she had
already gone with the Dragon King to sign up for the contest.
The news that the Dragon King would compete in the Machete God Contest
quickly got around. Soon enough, several thousand people flocked to the
Dragon King's fighting stage in the Rouge Forest. Even the small vendors all
stopped doing business and joined the crowd.
Everyone gathered around the Dragon King's stage, leaving the other stages
with no audience at all.
Five of the seven organizers of the Machete God Contest, who used to work
as machetemen, admired the Dragon King's achievements very much. To
show their respect for the Dragon King, they decided to change the rules of
the contest for the young man. After some deliberation, they announced that
the Dragon King did not have to participate in the knockout rounds and
would compete in the final round for the Machete God title three days later.
As for Tie Linglong, she did not get to receive such special treatment, but she
did not mind it, as she cared more about fighting in the contest than winning
the title. "Wow, I'll fight against the Dragon King in the final round!"
exclaimed the little girl excitedly, her green eyes as bright as gems.
In the following two hours, the number of contestants increased several

dozen fold. Although the Dragon King was widely known as a superb saber
user, most newly enrolled contestants still thought that they could possibly
defeat the former Golden Roc killer in this kung fu competition. In their eyes,
a killer only had the expertise to assassinate someone in the dark but could
never bring his or her kung fu skills into full play when fighting an opponent
in the open.
When Tie Linglong stepped on the stage, she discovered that this match was
quite different from what she had expected, as the contestants could only use
wooden sabers in this fight. "What? Why don't we use real sabers or
machetes during the Machete God Contest?" asked Tie Linglong.
"As the usage of real sabers and machetes caused too many casualties in the
previous contests, we decide to use wooden sabers this year. We emphasize
friendship over competition this time," one of the organizers of the contest
explained to her.
Tie Linglong practiced her skills with a wooden saber everyday, but she felt
that it was not enough to fight with wooden sabers during a contest. "How
can you decide who's the winner if there's no one get wounded in the match?"
asked Tie Linglong.
"We've invited experienced judges for the contest," replied the organizer.
Before each stage sat three old machetemen, who would work as judges for
the matches on the stage.
Tie Linglong cast a doubtful glance at the three old men in front of her stage,
while complaining in her heart, "Who knows if they can see my moves
clearly."
Those old men quickly proved themselves to the girl. When Tie Linglong
struck her 11th blow at her opponent, they declared her the winner of the
match.
Tie Linglong took part in a total of three matches on that day and won all of
them, which excited her very much. On the way back to the city, she kept
describing to Chu Nanping what moves she had adopted to defeat her
opponents.
Chu Nanping was liked by many people as he was such a good listener.
Every time someone talked to him, even in a casual conversation about daily
meals, he would attentively listen to the person and then give responses after
careful consideration.
When Tie Linglong was talking about her third match, he was still
commenting on her first match. Surprisingly, he was able to clearly
remember all the questions from the girl and answer them in perfect order.
During the latter half of their trip back to the city, when Tie Linglong stopped
talking, the young swordsman still continued answering the girl's questions
by saying, "Yes", "No", or "Well, it's possible".
Gu Shenwei had decided to partake in the Machete God Contest on the spur
of the moment and never expected his military counselor Fang Wenshi to be
so fully supportive of his decision, especially when the counselor heard that
all the contestants had to use wooden sabers in this event. "Dragon King, if I
had heard of this event before, I would've encouraged you to join it a long
time ago. What a great opportunity to win the machetemen's support and
build up a positive image for yourself!" exclaimed Fang Wenshi, excitedly.
Just like Tie Linglong, he found it hard to restrain his excitement at this
moment. While pacing back and forth inside the room, he rambled on about
his plan. "Many machetemen have been holding a grudge against the Golden
Roc Fort for a long time, for it has suppressed and exploited them all this
while. In the past, they couldn't find a capable leader, so they dared not
openly revolt against the Golden Roc Fort. However, now they have you, the
Dragon King. Here's my plan. You have to be the opposite of the Supreme
King in every way. For example, he's widely known as a man with no morals;
you should be as chivalrous as often as possible. He prefers to use
unscrupulous tactics, and you should deal with everything aboveboard…"
Gu Shenwei was stumped by his counselor's request. He had dreamed of

becoming a chivalrous hero since childhood, but this dream was over when
he was 14. The three years in the Golden Roc Fort had turned him into a
totally different person, making him forget how to achieve his goals in a
moral and honest way. In addition, he still had a vivid memory of what had
happened to Marshal Yang. "I can't defeat the Supreme King if I handle
everything aboveboard," said Gu Shenwei.
"Hee-hee, do you think all unscrupulous actions are sneaky? If that's true,
how come there's no dynasty in the history established by killers? The
Golden Roc Fort's unscrupulousness is now known to everyone and it won't
do the Supreme King any good in the future. In my eyes, he's very politically
naive. The Golden Roc Fort had its moment during the turbulent days when
its killers rampaged across Western Region, but now the situation in this
region is different. Look at the Central Plain and Norland. Both of them claim
to be safeguarding humanity, justice and morality. Do you believe they really
care about the stability and prosperity of Western Region? No, they just say
this to win the people's support. They're openly lying to achieve their own
goals."
Gu Shenwei was once again convinced by his military counselor, and

meanwhile, he could not help thinking of Zhang Ji, the teacher in the Stone
Castle. He was sure that Fang Wenshi and Zhang Ji would enjoy talking with
each other if they had a chance.
Since the Dragon King had been spotted shortly after he entered the Rouge
Forest, he did not have the chance to search for the Joy Pavilion's disciples by
himself. However, when he announced his participation in the Machete God
Contest, he already had a plan in his head.
Ordered by the Dragon King, Xu Xiaoyi and Lin Xiaoshan motivated all their
people to investigate the other participants of the event. Just as the Dragon
King had expected, they discovered several people backed by the Joy
Pavilion among the ones who had registered as contestants in the afternoon
after the news that the Dragon King would partake in the contest spread
around.
Upon knowing this, Gu Shenwei became more confident about his plan.
When he returned to his bedroom, he found it spotlessly clean, but several

ceramic art works were gone. Jiang blushed while admitting that she had
accidentally smashed those ceramics when she was cleaning up the room.
Her face was extremely red. It looked as if her complexion would never be
able to return to its normal tone in the future.
She set up a small bed near the entrance of the room, planning to serve the
Dragon King day and night. Gu Shenwei did not raise any objection upon
seeing it. Neither did he refuse Jiang when she came to assist him in taking
off his coat. Nevertheless, when she was about to take hold of his saber and
sword, he said in a crisp and authoritative tone, "Don't ever touch my saber
and sword."
Jiang nervously nodded her head and retreated to her bedside in a flustered
manner, but she dared not to sit down when the Dragon King was inside the
room.
Gu Shenwei did not say anything to comfort her, since this was a part of her
job as a maid and she had no choice but to gradually get used to it.
Right at this moment, Xu Yanwei stepped into the room without being called
upon. Upon seeing the small bed and the bewildered look on Jiang's face, she
twitched her mouth, revealing a knowing expression.
Gu Shenwei earnestly wished that she would misunderstand the relationship

between Jiang and him and leave his room as soon as possible, so he did not
even bother to explain the situation to her before asking, "Do you want to see
me about something important?"
"No. I just come here to chat with you. It's just that I haven't seen you for a
long time. Where's Maid Lotus? She's been with you all the time, hasn't she?"
asked Xu Yanwei.
She did not know that Gu Shenwei had already parted ways with Maid Lotus
a few years ago, for Gu Shenwei had never divulged any information
regarding his relations with Maid Lotus to third parties.
"I can't tell you," replied Gu Shenwei.
"You're still so secretive just like before." Xu Yanwei did not care much
about Maid Lotus, so she quickly changed the subject to keep the
conversation going. "I heard that you're going to fight in the Machete God
Contest."
"Yes," replied Gu Shenwei.

"Do you think you'll definitely win?"
"Yes."
"You just like kung fu competition, don't you? Someone told me lots of
stories about how you liked to participate in such kind of competitions in the
past."
"Get out," said Gu Shenwei, sharply.
"You really have a heart of stone," Xu Yanwei said bitterly. She turned
around and prepared to take her leave, while adding, "I've never seen anyone
like her. She's completely infatuated with the man she loves. During the past
three years, she seldom spoke to her family. She could only share her feelings
with me. Most of the time, she just kept telling me stories about a silly little
boy."
Gu Shenwei drew out his Five Peaks Saber. Upon seeing that, Xu Yanwei
swiftly ran away.
He hoped to be alone for some time, but he could not drive Jiang out, since
he feared that it would cause dissatisfaction among the people from the Great
Snowmountain. In the end, he just lay on his bed, fully clothed, while trying
to calm himself down by gripping his saber shaft.
"Even if the Golden Roc Fort hadn't slaughtered my family, I still can't
forgive her, for she caused the death of the two giant golden-crowned rocs."
Gu Shenwei knew that his reasoning sounded quite childish, but it worked.
By thinking about the giant golden-crowned rocs, he quickly forgot about
Shangguan Ru.
Upon seeing that the Dragon King fell asleep, Jiang slowly slid down into a
side-lying position on her small bed. She could vaguely see one side of the
Dragon King's face while lying in her bed, and her face, which had just
returned to its normal color, became red again.
"She must be as pretty as a fairy," Jiang closed her eyes and thought. While
picturing a beautiful fairy in her head, she fell into sleep with a sweet smile
on her face.
Jiang only had good dreams.
The next day, Tie Linglong dragged Chu Nanping out, making him
accompany her to the contest inside the Rouge Forest. Just like yesterday, she
won all the three matches, which gave her a thrill. The moment she met the
Dragon King, she began boasting about her performance in the matches.
"Today I fought an opponent, who's at least 150 kilograms! I kept beating
him with my wooden saber, and he ended up begging for mercy with his head
buried in his arms. The audience nearly died laughing. Hahaha, Little Chu, do
you remember?"
"Yes, some of the audience laughed, but I didn't," replied Chu Nanping.
On the third day of the contest, Tie Linglong's winning streak came to an end.
She deemed it terribly embarrassing to lose to this opponent, since he
defeated her with bare hands. He did not even use a wooden saber.
Before anyone asked her about the match, she started complaining with
indignation, "He cheated. He used… evil tricks. This is a Machete God
Contest. How could he… not use any weapon?"
That being said, Tie Linglong knew in her heart that the man's kung fu would
not be weakened if he had used a weapon. "Dragon King, teach him a lesson
tomorrow. Only you can defeat him," said Tie Linglong.
Before Tie Linglong and Chu Nanping came back, Gu Shenwei had already
received an intelligence report, which informed him that the opponent that he
was going to fight tomorrow would be a monk from Four Truths Temple and
this monk was named Lianye.
Although the Dragon King had shifted all blame for the murders in Jade City
on Wildhorse, Lianye still firmly believed that it was Yang Huan who had
assassinated Lianhua.
"Lianye has superb kung fu, and his Internal Strength is exceptionally
strong." With this in mind, Gu Shenwei believed that a wooden saber would
be far from enough for tomorrow's match against the monk.
Chapter 299 - Snores
Chapter 299: Snores
Monk Lianye allowed the macheteman to strike him with the wooden saber
without resistance, before shattering the weapon with his body.
The move created a controversy among the three judges and hundreds of
spectators. What if it was a real saber instead of a wooden one? The monk
would have been split in half. This was the Machete God Contest. The monk
had somewhat violated the rules for not using a saber in the contest. It was
difficult to convince the public that Monk Lianye won the contest just by
shattering a wooden saber.
Master Lianye became angry. Only his senior, Lianhua's chanting could
subdue this vigorous force within him. However, he had no qualms
restraining himself since his senior had passed away. "Bring over a real
saber!" His loud voice echoed across the arena like a booming thunder
roaring above everybody's heads. Those timid spectators wanted to cower in
fear.
The three judges were still hesitating. Then, someone threw a saber onto the
stage.
The macheteman picked up the saber and looked at the monk. He had already
suffered a terrible defeat and was thinking of a way to save some face. "You
asked for it, monk."
"Come at me!"
Lianye shouted out every single word. The macheteman was terrified. He
wanted to hop off the arena and admit defeat, but he was holding onto a real
saber. Hence, he could only bite the bullet and attack the monk.
"Receive my moves," the macheteman shouted. As compared to the monk's
roar, his voice was akin to a child's squabble.
The monk didn't budge when the saber came towards him. When the blade
touched his body, he suddenly shouted, "Go!"
Although the macheteman readied himself for the monk's roar, the roar still
made him feel lightheaded. Even though the saber landed on the monk's
chest, the move did not have much strength.
Lianye's internal breath was akin to that of an avalanche and a tsunami. The
weak short sword was caught in the powerful force. In a moment, the sword
which was made of fine steel was shattered into three pieces, leaving only the
handle in the macheteman's hands.
The macheteman was stunned. Even though he didn't use much strength, the
saber was destroyed purely by the monk's Internal Strength. He murmured,
"Holy monk," admitting defeat in public and exclaimed, "Holy monk!"
This was the contest after Tie Linglong's defeat. Lin Xiaoshan, the
macheteman witnessed the entire process. Like all the other spectators, he
was awestruck. "Lianye had mastered the body of Diamond Sutra. Some even
said that there was an apparition of Holy Monk Lianhua. The holy monk
protected his junior from harm."
Gu Shenwei did not believe it. He had once stabbed Lianye with his Five
Peaks Saber so he was sure that the monk was a mere human.
"All the machetemen are going crazy about it. Dragon King, let's use real
sabers since Lianye is not afraid of them. Five Peaks Saber is a rare weapon.
I'm sure it can penetrate the monk's kung fu."
Gu Shenwei found himself in a difficult position. Both the Five Peaks Saber
and the Dragon Head Sword could penetrate Lianye's kung fu, but it would
portray him as a coward. However, he was not certain if he could win by
using a wooden saber.
This time, Lianye caught on to the Dragon King's weakness.

Gu Shenwei remembered what Mama Xue once said when she was teaching
him kungfu. She said that his fists were the foundation, but it could never win
against weapons. Killers used sabers to win against both sabers and bare fists.
All these made a lot of sense to him at that time. However, he did not expect
that there would come a day whereby he had to do away with his identity as a
killer and resort to fighting with his bare fists.
Fang Wenshi knew nothing about martial arts, so he didn't think about it
much. He simply assumed that Dragon King would definitely win. The key
was how he would win. "You cannot let the Four Truths Temple lose face.
You need to achieve a balance. You need to win beautifully and let the monk
save his face. Do you know what I mean, Dragon King?"
The military counselor was of no help. Gu Shenwei ordered everyone to

leave the room as he tried to come up with a solution.
He still remembered the scene when Lianye fought with the expert from
Barren Sect. He knew that once the wooden saber was broken, he had to face
Lianye with his bare fists. He would likely lose.
It seemed like the only way to solve this problem was to use the Five Peaks
Saber shamelessly.
Gu Shenwei still hoped that he could convince Lianye. Only the monk could
explain away the doubts that he had.
Jiang was carefully wiping the cabinet on one side. She was now able to use a
cloth and her face did not blush as much as before. Gu Shenwei looked at her
and thought of something. He asked, "Do you know kung fu, Jiang?"
Upon hearing Dragon King's question, Jiang was shocked. The cloth in her
hands dropped onto the floor. She picked it up hurriedly and blushed. She
then said in a soft voice, "I don't know."
Gu Shenwei was somewhat disappointed. He had once recalled seeing

women of Great Snow Mountain fighting fiercely with one another in close
combat, and their valor was comparable to swordsmen. He was hoping to
learn a few techniques, but Jiang appeared bashful and didn't seem like a
person who know how to fight.
Gu Shenwei stood up. Jiang knew his habits very well now. Knowing that
Dragon King was going to head out in the night again, she quickly passed
him his black cape.
Gu Shenwei did not alarm anybody in the residence. He sneaked into North
City by himself.
There was something that he should have solved some time ago. He had been
procrastinating till now. It couldn't wait any longer.
He came to the small temple where Lianhua was killed. Like always, he
would climb over the wall and enter the premises after inspecting the
surroundings.
No one was in the west wing. A faint breathing sound could be heard from
the east wing.
This was not a wasted trip, Gu Shenwei thought to himself. He took out a
dagger, pried open the lock and entered the room silently.
Lying on the bed was an overweight monk, who was sleeping soundly. He
was the abbot who Gu Shenwei knocked out the last time.
Gu Shenwei kept his dagger and drew out his Five Peaks Saber. He then
tapped the monk's face with the saber.
The monk waved it off but did not wake up.
Gu Shenwei tapped with more force. The monk then opened his eyes
dazedly. He noticed someone holding a saber in front of him, so he sat up
straight immediately. He wanted to scream loudly but he did not dare to do
so.
"Do you know who I am?"
The monk first shook his head, then nodded, "Dragon … Dragon King."
"I have a few questions for you."
"Yes. Dragon King, please ask. I won't hide anything."
"What did you see on the night when Master Lianhua was killed?"
"I … I saw Dragon King fighting with Master Lianye."
"Before that."
"I was sleeping at that time, so I didn't know anything."
Gu Shenwei pressed the Five Peaks Saber against the monk's sturdy chest. "It
seemed like you didn't have a regular snoring pattern. You were snoring
really loudly the other time. However, you weren't snoring this time round."
The monk's face changed, "I … I … Is it … I don't even know when I snore."
"Master Lianye was grief-stricken when Master Lianhua was killed. He must
have made a lot of noise then. Didn't that rouse you up?"
"I didn't know. I was sleeping soundly."
"There are many kinds of machete skills. I can kill people in one blow or
hundreds of blows. All of these are considered to be top machete techniques.
Which one do you prefer?"
The monk did not understand what Gu Shenwei meant initially. He soon
realized what Gu Shenwei meant by using multiple blows. It was used to
torture a person instead of killing him. His face turned green as he started
sweating profusely. He could not imagine how many blows his fat body had
to undertake. "Don't, Dragon King, don't, I … I will tell you the truth."
"I want the real truth."
"Yes, the real truth. That day … that afternoon, Liu Qi came to me and gave
me 20 silver taels. He wanted me to put something into both monks' food. I
refused, but he pressured me. He said that it wasn't poison and wasn't deadly.
Never did I thought that the drug would cause Master Lianye to lose his sight
temporarily and Master Lianhua to be assassinated. If I knew that this would
harm someone's life, I would have never done such a wicked thing. As a
monk …"
Gu Shenwei interrupted him, "who is Liu Qi?"
"He … he…" The fat monk was trying to think of a way that best describes
Liu Qi's origins. He finally decided to use a simple method. He said, "He was
a slave from the castle. His name was Slave Qing. Dragon King would
probably know him."
Gu Shenwei definitely knew Slave Qing.
Slave Qing used to be a companion for the twins. He then came down from
the mountain to serve as a butler for Ninth Young Master, Shangguan Fei.
Gu Shenwei was extremely startled. Why would Shangguan Fei kill Master
Lianhua, and tried to push the blame onto Dragon King? It didn't benefit him.
"What did you know about Master Lianhua preaching to the machetemen at
South City?"
"I really didn't know about this. The two masters were only staying here
temporarily and didn't really talk to me."
Recognising the hidden meaning in the monk's words, Gu Shenwei raised his
head and asked, "What did you hear?"
"Regarding this, there was once when I heard Master Lianye sobbing hard.
He said that he had caused harm to Master Lianhua and would punish himself
by committing suicide. Master Lianhua didn't allow it and even reprimanded
him. Really, that's all. Dragon King, that's all I know."
Gu Shenwei spared the abbot's life. As Great Snowmountain was currently in

the middle of a peace negotiation, killing someone now would give Golden
Roc Fort a cause for objection.
There was not enough time to find Slave Qing. Gu Shenwei returned to the
Residence of Dragon King and pondered what Lianye had done to implicate
Master Lianhua.
It was already late at night. Other than Jiang, there was someone else in his
room.
Xu Yanwei was determined to pester Dragon King. She did not persuade him
to do something directly. However, as long as she found a chance, she would
beat around the bush and mention Shangguan Ru. Gu Shenwei once forbade
Xu Yanwei from entering his room. Her ability to please people was further
honed after serving Luo Ningcha for a few years, hence Dragon King's orders
were often not executed.
This was the case tonight.
Once Jiang noticed Dragon King, she stood up immediately and spoke
fearfully, "Dragon King, it was my fault. I shouldn't have let Sister Xu come
in …"
Xu Yanwei smiled and said cheerfully, "Don't blame her. I insisted on

coming in. She wasn't as strong as me so she was unable to stop me."
Xu Yanwei might be slightly older, but she was as petite as her brother. All
her strength would not even measure up to an arm strength of a girl from
Great Snowmountain.
Gu Shenwei did not bother entertaining her, nor did he drive her out. He
removed his cape and passed it to Jiang. He then leaped onto the bed and
closed his eyes.
"Would you like to enter Stone Castle, Jiang?" Xu Yanwei took the Great
Snow Mountain girl by the arm and continued chatting.
"I had never thought about it." Jiang lowered her voice.
"Just look for me if you want to enter Stone Castle. I can guarantee that you
can enter and leave the castle safely. You can even bring someone out.
Nobody will suspect anything …"
Jumping off the bed, Gu Shenwei carried Xu Yanwei from the small bed and
threw her out of the room.
"That person weighs about the same as me." Xu Yanwei kindly reminded him
from the outside. "And she knows how to leap onto roofs and vault over
walls, so you won't have to carry her."
Gu Shenwei blew the lights out and slept. Jiang helped tuck his blanket
corners and went back to sit on her small bed before lying down to sleep.
The next morning, Gu Shenwei brought ten swordsmen, ten machetemen,

along with Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong to the Rouge Forest.
The spectacular occasion had reminded him of the duel that he had with
Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang a few years back. That match was fought
according to the ways of killers. The entire forest was the fighting ground.
Today, he would be following the rules, which were laid out by the
machetemen and would battle it out, face to face against a strong rival in a
small arena.
Gu Shenwei did not sleep much last night, but he was quite refreshed. He had
thought through several important matters and that gave him much more
confidence in today's match.
Chapter 300 - Internal Strength
Chapter 300: Internal Strength
Carrying a cinerary urn in his arms, Monk Lianye went unaccompanied into
Rouge Forest. The crowd automatically parted a narrow walkway and bowed
their heads in respect as he passed. Many machetemen held up their weapons,
hoping that the holy monk could bless it.
The anger in Lianye did not diminish, but reproached himself for enjoying
the this feeling of being held in high regard, even indulging in the fond
memory of leaving home to become a monk.
He ha once been an infamous bandit in the Western Region. Lianye had

killed, robbed and stopped at nothing until he was cornered by his enemies.
He had sought refuge in Four Truths Temple and had converted to Buddhism
under his senior, Lianhua's, influence.
He was a tiger beside Master Lianhua. Although he possessed a heart of

Buddhism, his claws still remained.
With Lianhua gone, the claws of the rash monk gradually lost their steel.
The thought of revenge tormented him to the point of insanity. It was like a
tiger drawn to the scent of blood again, eager for the taste of fresh blood and
the feeling of biting.
Dragon King had not arrived yet. Lianye walked up to the arena and placed
his senior, Lianhua's, cinerary urn respectfully at the side. He then sat cross-
legged and began chanting quietly as if there was no one around.
It was as though a sacred halo was radiating from the fierce-looking and
brusque monk. Everyone thought they heard a low chanting voice. Devout
believers knelt down first. More and more people joined in the worshipping
crowd, making the others who were still standing feel uneasy, as if they were
committing some offense. They too, knelt down involuntarily.
This was the scene that Gu Shenwei and his entourage were greeted by when
they arrived at Rouge Forest.
"Things don't look so good." Lin Xiaoshan, the macheteman, was slightly
worried, "This is just a competition organized by several wealthy
organizations. Dragon King … It's alright if you don't want to participate."
" Go about your business." Gu Shenwei would never run away at the last
moment. The military counselor, Fang Wenshi, reminded him, in order to win
the hearts of people and unite all forces to fight against Golden Roc Fort, he
needed to be the exact opposite of what Supreme King was.
"Fair, honest and magnificent." Gu Shenwei muttered these strange words

while contemplating whether there were any loopholes in today's plan.
Lin Xiaoshan bowed to accept the order and quickly disappeared into the
crowd.
Dragon King's arrival caused a stir among the crowd, like ripples in the
ocean. The people who had knelt stood up once again and gave way to a
much wider pathway. They stretched their necks and tiptoed so as to catch a
glimpse of Dragon King's real appearance.
"He's really young." Most of them shared the same first impression, before
speculating about his sickly appearance. "Look how weak he is. I doubt he'll
be able to block a punch from the holy monk."
Gu Shenwei went to the stage and handed his sword and saber to Chu
Nanping before going up the arena.
Lianye stood up and clasped his palms together. He muttered a few more
words to the cinerary urn before turning to face Dragon King. There was
nothing left of the Buddhist halo. Now, he was just a ferocious tiger with
ruffled hair.
An old renowned macheteman said a few words on stage. He emphasized the
purpose of "meeting friends with martial arts, stopping when appropriate".
The spectators were tired of it. They had come to watch the duel between the
holy monk and Dragon King. If there was no bloodshed or death, what was
the point of watching?
This was the same group of people who had, after kneeling down to worship
the ways of Buddhism, cheered at the sight of massacre.
Someone brought two sabers up to the stage and the old macheteman raised
his voice to announce the start of the duel. Applause and cheers were heard
from the spectators, as they surged forward.
Lianye took the wooden saber, broke it apart and threw it down the stage. He
took off his sleeve and revealed his muscular right arm. This caused the
spectators to cheer loudly again.
Gu Shenwei held the wooden saber in his hands. He could not muster that
feeling of being true to life as he had during practice. Without the weight and
chill of the steel, he felt his kung fu had deteriorated drastically.
Both of them stared at each other. No one wanted to make the first move. The
spectators grew impatient and started to jeer.
"You shouldn't have killed Senior. You were indebted to him." The audience
could not hear a word as Lianye spoke softly.
Gu Shenwei had already explained everything that night and did not intend to
repeat himself. So he replied, "Do monks avenge by killing as well? It
seemed like Master Lianhua's Breaking Obsession did not have an effect on
you."
Breaking Obsession was a scripture, which was written by Lianhua and his
brother, Lianxin. Frequent reciting of the scripture could weaken the killing
desire. Gu Shenwei had once fell victim to it. Lianye spent years reciting it,
but his competitiveness and desire to excel was not so easily removed. Gu
Shenwei rubbing salt on Lianye's wound only made him angrier. The monk
let out a bellow before attacking.
The duel had begun. The excited yells of the spectators rustled the trees and
caused the snow to fall.
However, they would be disappointed.
Many people still remembered the match between Killer Yang Huan and
Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang a few years back. It had also happened in winter,
with the entire Rouge Forest as the arena. The spectators suffered from the
cold but saw nothing exciting. In the end, the killer carried the injured
swordsman out of the forest.
This time, was an open duel. Everybody thought it would be a story worth
spreading. The rash Monk Lianye had already proved his invincible body and
Dragon King was known to kill without batting an eye. It should be an
exciting fight.
But as they looked on, the monk had never made any more powerful moves
apart from that roar. His pace was as slow as an old cow as though he was
carrying a mountain. Even a child could easily avoid him.
However, Dragon King did not take this opportunity to attack. Instead, he
squared his shoulders and merely brandished the wooden saber. He refused to
approach the monk.
Both of them circled the arena a few times without making a single move.
They did not even touch each other.
"What is this!" Finally, someone yelled discontentedly, "I can put up a better
fight if you let me go up."
"Quick, go for it!" More and more people egged on.
Gu Shenwei had pushed all the blame for the past month of killings to
Wildhorse. Although he no longer bore the hatred of the residents of Jade
City, it also had its side effects: the fear of the real Dragon King was gone.
"Dragon King. Don't run!"
"Quickly block him, monk!"

"Coward."
The spectators were more and more rude to Dragon King.
Dragon King heard the spectators' jeers, and finally took the initiative to
attack. He swung his weapon towards the steady monk.
Although this move was unremarkable, the way Dragon King moved was as
fast as a bolt of black lightning. Not many spectators could achieve this, so
they applauded and cheered.
Just like that, the emotions of the crowd were stirred up once again, before it
was extinguished without fanfarey. Lianye grabbed the tip of the blade with
his left hand but the wooden saber didn't split in half. The duo stood
motionlessly as they stopped circling the arena.
"What are they doing?" This question spread through the crowd.
"It seems like… they are competing with their Internal Strength." The answer
was quickly relayed back to everyone's ears, and the crowd nodded in
agreement.
The two of them had fought against each other before. Therefore, they knew
their opponent's limit well.
Even though Gu Shenwei was holding a wooden saber, Lianye was fearful of
Dragon King's machete skills. Hence, Lianye had to be careful and wanted to
kill his enemy in as few moves as possible.
Gu Shenwei knew that he could never win the monk by using his bare fists,
so he decided to fight using Internal Strength from the very beginning.
Gu Shenwei had a taste of Lianye's deep-seated Internal Strength. However,

things were no longer what they used to be. His Internal Strength had
improved tremendously after diligently practicing Wayless Qigong. He was
confident that he could compete against the monk.
Lianye's Internal Breath was akin to a bowl of warm water, not domineering
but flowing endlessly. It was guided through the wooden saber into Gu
Shenwei's body. Meanwhile, his right hand flicked blows of Internal Breath
at Dragon King's Dantian directly.
Gu Shenwei soon realized that he had underestimated Lianye.
Lianye was as horrified as Dragon King. His Internal Strength had already
been quite profound before becoming a monk. It was further improved after
he meeting a brilliant master at Four Truths Temple. He had practiced for
decades. It was hard to comprehend how Dragon King had already achieved
such strong Internal Strength when he was only in his twenties.
Dragon King's Internal Breath was extremely unique. It was as though

countless tiny ice cones were pouring into Lianye's body like a crumbling
iceberg. He could feel the chill in his body gradually intensify.
"Look, the monk is losing!" Someone among the listless crowd finally
noticed what was happening.
"Rather, the monk is going to turn to ice soon."
His bare arm trembled slightly and Lianye's fluffy beard was covered with a
layer of frost.
The spectators gestured wildly in excitement and surprise. They had never
seen kungfu like this before. The crowd had finally gotten something worthy
to talk about for the next few days. Dragon King certainly did have what it
took.
Everyone thought that Dragon King was about to win; only Gu Shenwei
knew that he was about to lose.
Although Lianye's skin was frozen, his vital organs were still well protected.
The Internal Breath that flowed through the wooden saber had drained most
of Gu Shenwei's strength. Furthermore, the blows of invisible Internal Breath
that the monk was firing had intensified. Gu Shenwei could only use his
Dantian to put up in resistance.
Like dripping water penetrating through stone, constant perseverance would
yield success.
It was about time. "Monk hasn't removed the Peripheral Force implanted by
Barren Sect yet, have you?", Gu Shenwei whispered.
A few years ago, Lianye had fought with a disciple from the Barren Sect
using Internal Strength on Gu Shenwei's body. A momentary oversight had
resulted in him being implanted with the Peripheral Force. Even though the
Force was negligible at that time, it had grown stronger in recent years. It had
become a lingering evil that did not go away.
Lianye's face changed abruptly as his Internal Breath became chaotic. Gu

Shenwei intensified his attack, and continued saying, "Because of such a
small injury, you managed to be controlled, even implicating your senior…"
"Shut up!" Lianye shouted. His voice was deafening thunder that swept
through Rouge Forest, startling the unsuspecting spectators.
The roar had been to scare. Lianye's Internal Breath became more erratic.
Although it was extremely powerful, it was gradually being exhausted.
Gu Shenwei had been waiting for this opportunity all along. All of a sudden,
he released the wooden saber and nimbly appeared behind the monk. He
punched the monk's neck and back.
Lianye spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
Only Dragon King was left standing on the arena, empty-handed.
The crowd was momentarily stunned by the duel ending so abruptly and
stood in silence; no one spoke a single word.
The silence lasted for a short time before an arrow shot through the air
towards Dragon King, who was still in the arena.
"Kill." With this command, more arrows shot towards the arena.
Chaos erupted. Half of the spectators were idlers who had no knowledge of
martial arts. The unexpected change of events had them fleeing the scene in
fear. The machetemen grasped the handle of their sabers and observed the
situation. They would rather stay neutral and act as if this had nothing to do
with them.
At the same time the first arrow was shot, more than a hundred machetemen
in long capes jumped out from all corners and pounced on different targets.
They shouted, "Get Joy Pavilion! Get Joy Pavilion!"
Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong leapt onto the stage. The youth drew his
sword out of the scabbard with one hand and handed Dragon King the Five
Peaks Saber with the other.
The first public showdown between Dragon King of Great Snowmountain

and Wildhorse of Joy Pavilion would begin.
Chapter 301 - Blame Me
Chapter 301: Blame Me
The disturbance in the Rouge Forest was directed at the Dragon King, but it
ended up with a battle between the Joy Pavilion and the Tianshan Sect.
Many members of the Tianshan Sect were killed by the Dragon King
imposter, and the other members of the sect had not let go of their hatred.
They were searching far and wide for Wildhorse and the disciples of the Joy
Pavilion, far more enthusiastically than the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei knew that Lianye's registering to take part in the Machete God
Contest was most likely Wildhorse's idea, and deduced that the killer would
send men into the Rouge Forest secretly.
He proposed to the Tianshan Sect, via Lin Xiaoshan, for them to work
together.
Thus, the sect sent out more than 100 of its most trusted and skilled
machetemen, and they hid amongst the audience as well, observing behind
the scenes.
Most of Wildhorse's men were discovered when they drew their hidden
crossbows and fired at the Dragon King. After their first volley, they threw
down their weapons and wanted to escape, but were surrounded by the
machetemen from the Tianshan Sect.
There were about 30 of them, and five of them were disciples from the Joy
Pavilion. They did not flee when they realised that they were trapped, but
drew out their weapons and charged at the Dragon King who was on the
stage.
Fights were breaking out everywhere between both sides, and onlookers who
did not know any kung fu started scattering everywhere, screaming and
baying as they ran. More than half of the machetemen who had come to
watch the contest decided to retreat from the affected area and watch from
afar, while the others stood with the Tianshan Sect and helped to surround
and pick off the assassins sent by Wildhorse.
It was also on this fateful day when people no longer differentiated between
Wildhorse and the Joy Pavilion disciples. From that day onwards, they were
known collectively as the 'Wildhorse Gang', and to everyone, Wildhorse was
a far better representative of this ragtag bunch of grotesque beings than
Immortal Peng ever was.
Gu Shenwei regained his confidence when he gripped the Five Peaks Saber.
It was a confidence that allowed him to kill remorselessly.
It was a pity that most of the audience was scattered by then, and not many
got to watch the Dragon King take on five highly skilled opponents.
Chu Nanping blocked away the incoming arrows directed at the Dragon
King, but hesitated to strike upon seeing familiar faces from the Joy Pavilion.
He overcame his indecisiveness and went forward, trying to force them away.
Tie Linglong had her chance now. She charged at an ugly-looking elderly
woman wielding two short swords, and they were soon entangled.
Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong had only managed to engage with their
opponents for a short while before the Dragon King struck.
He cut down the five Joy Pavilion disciples with only 11 strokes of his saber,
and his speed was remarkable. When he was done with the last one, the first
opponent was still shaking in a standing position—he had not even fell to the
ground.
A few of the old machetemen who were lucky enough to witness the fight
were shocked beyond words. They had never seen such a machete technique
before—it was so simple and direct that there was no stance to speak of, and
its only uniqueness was its speed. Every stroke was aimed at a vital part of
the enemy.
"The Dragon King wins," announced an old macheteman as he stood up,

entirely oblivious to the fact that there was no audience left.
Monk Lianye had not seen the Dragon King cutting down the Joy Pavilion
disciples, since he was lying half-unconsciously on the stage with a streak of
blood coming from the corner of his mouth all this while. When he heard the
old macheteman's words, he thought the macheteman was announcing the
result of the match between him and the Dragon King. He firmly believed
that the Dragon King must have used deception to defeat him.
When he finally came to his senses and sat up, he realized that he was lying
on a soft bed, and saw a maid whose cheeks were flushed red holding a green
porcelain bowl. She was surprised by him suddenly sitting up, and gave a
loud cry. At least half of the medicinal drink in the bowl she was holding
spilled out onto the floor.
"Where's Yang Huan?" asked the monk sternly. The maid did not know
anyone by the name of Yang Huan, and stared blankly back at him.
"I'm here," replied the Dragon King.
He had brought Lianye back to the his residence.
The Tianshan Sect had won a decisive victory—they killed more than 10 and
captured six of their enemies. Only a few of the Wildhorse Gang managed to
escape during all the chaos.
Lianye jumped down from the bed and channelled his Internal Breath once.
He relaxed upon sensing nothing out of the ordinary. "Come, let's fight
again," he said while giving the Dragon King a death stare.
"We'll speak of it again when you have removed the Peripheral Force in your
body."
Lianye's face became as flushed as the maid. "How did you know?" he asked.
He then thought about the duel he had with Yang Huan.
"The New Moon Hall is controlling you via the Force, isn't it?"
"New Moon Hall?" Lianye was perplexed. "Haven't they been wiped out?
What do they have to do with this?"
Gu Shenwei knew that he had guessed incorrectly that the New Moon Hall
was involved. He quickly changed the subject, "Wildhorse forced you and
Master Lianhua to cheat by saying that he would remove the Peripheral Force
from you, you…"
"Brother Lianhua did not cheat!" roared Lianye, his fists clenched tightly and
his breath becoming faster. Jiang was frightened by him and took a few steps
back.
Gu Shenwei did not counter, but merely continued looking at the monk.
Soon, Lianye calmed down and sat unsteadily. "The person who cheated was
me, brother Lianhua was just… just espousing his mantra. He believed that
Breaking Obsession could remove killing desire from people, therefore he
was willing to explain his mantra to the machetemen. Those taels of silver…
he never kept any of it."
As Lianye spoke about Lianhua, he grew agitated and began hitting his head
with his fists. "I'm to blame, I'm to blame, if not because he wanted to cure
me, he wouldn't have…"
Kung fu from the Barren Sect was known to work in strange ways.
Originally, Lianye had only received a little of the Peripheral Force on his
Shanzhong acupoint, and there was no visible harm done then. He thought it
would be a piece of cake for him to drive the force out, but things worked
exactly opposite as how he thought it would. The little bit of Peripheral Force
in him was like a speck of dust floating around in his body, hard even to get
hold of, much less remove. Once he let his guard down, it began growing
until finally it became an ineradicable disease.
Gu Shenwei waited for the monk to vent out all his frustration, before he
asked the question bugging him. "Can Wildhorse remove the Peripheral
Force in you?"
"He can, his Internal Strength is nearly at the same level as that woman,"
replied Lianye confidently.
'That woman' was not referring to Luo Ningcha, but rather the Barren Sect's
disciple, Kang Wenhui. It was she that infused that little bit of Peripheral
Force into Lianye.
Gu Shenwei did not express the surprise he felt. "Wildhorse is a killer trained
by the Golden Roc Fort, how did he learn kung fu from the Barren Sect?
Furthermore, the Barren Sect has nearly been wiped out, and the New Moon
Hall does not accept male disciples. Wildhorse must have had a serendipitous
encounter with someone during these few years, but Lianye would surely not
know anything about it," thought Gu Shenwei.
"If that is the case, Lianhua died because of you, and you should avenge his
death."
Lianye stood up again and took a step towards the Dragon King. "You're
right, Lianhua was killed by you. I'll take my revenge."
Gu Shenwei lifted his head proudly as he said, "If you're not so foolish,
perhaps Master Lianhua would still be alive today."
"Me, foolish? I…"
"You're not aware that someone poisoned your food, isn't that foolishness?"
"Poison? What're you talking about?"
"Why did you suddenly lose your sight on that day? If I'm not wrong, you
lost your Internal Strength momentarily too, and were therefore unable to
grab hold of the assassin on the spot."
Lianye began shaking and he looked as if he might collapse. "I thought that
was the result of the Peripheral Force's outbreak. Was I really poisoned that
day? Can it be that… you really did not kill Lianhua?"
"No, it wasn't me, and I still know who the poisoner is."
"Who's it?"
"Slave Qing, Shangguan Fei's butler in North City."
Lianye grew increasingly perplexed. "Shangguan Fei is the Ninth Young

Master of the Stone Castle, why would he harm Lianhua when they haven't
even met each other?"
"I don't know, maybe you can find out. He used an unnamed knockout
powder from the Golden Roc Fort, but he mixed too large a dosage, and not
only did that cause you to lose your Internal Strength momentarily, you lost
your sight for a while too." Gu Shenwei told the monk everything he knew.
Slave Qing was from the Fort, and he could not break the truce now. He
would leave Lianye to take care of matters.
"You're not lying to me?"
"Whether or not I'm lying to you, you can find out by asking around."
Lianye thought about it for a while, then began walking out of the room. He
paused at the entrance, saying, "Dragon King, if what you say is true, you're
my savior."
"You don't have to repay me," replied Gu Shenwei in his customary calm
tone. "You just have to tell me the outcome as well as the whereabouts of
Wildhorse."
Lianye hesitated before replying, "I'll make the final decision as to whether
I'll repay your kindness or get my revenge. Allow me to add that your
Internal Strength is not quite right, and you had better not engage in any form
of Internal Strength competition in the future."
The monk left after he finished speaking. Gu Shenwei was surprised by

Lianye's sudden statement, and knew that the monk had discovered the
concealed danger his Internal Strength posed. After a moment's hesitation, he
suppressed his urge to chase after Lianye and kill the monk to prevent his
secret from being leaked out and made up his mind to follow Lianye's advice.
Jiang was still holding on to what was left of the medicinal drink as she felt
the need to say a few comforting words to the Dragon King, but did not know
how to start.
A lot happened over the course of the day. A few old machetemen from
North City came visiting, bringing along 3,000 taels of silver and a wooden
signboard with the words 'Number One Machete God' inscribed on it.
However, they did not bring the Melon-hilted Scimitar with them. "The
Scimitar is enshrined in the Shenxu Shrine, and we would like to invite
Dragon King to personally make a trip there," they explained.
Shenxu Shrine was situated in North City and could not be considered as
huge, but it was the most important Taoist temple in the entire Jade City.
Gu Shenwei agreed and made an appointment to receive the scimitar on the

next day's morning.
Scores of machetemen were crowding outside the Residence of the Dragon

King, some of them looking to be employed, while many were looking to
become a disciple of the Dragon King.
As Gu Shenwei appeared before them while sending the old machetemen out,
the crowd surged forward and everyone began shouting incoherently.
"Take me as your disciple, Dragon King, my machete skills are good and I've
killed a few hundred people."
"He's lying, take me instead, I'm rich, and can give you the amount you
want."
"I'm willing to serve you, Dragon King, the pay is not important as long as
I've enough to eat."
Xu Xiaoyi was extremely delighted by the enthusiasm displayed by the

machetemen. "We need more men, and this is our chance. They're offering
their services on their own accord."
"Don't bother about them first," replied Gu Shenwei. He knew that their
enthusiasm would not last long. "Let's wait till after three or five days before
really considering their offers."
As Gu Shenwei walked back into the compound, he could see Xu Yanwei

talking softly to Tie Linglong. He hurriedly called the latter over, worried that
she would be influenced by Xu Yanwei.
At first, Tie Linglong did not have a good impression of Xu Yanwei, but they
had become close recently, and she was referring to Xu Yanwei as 'Big Sister
Xu' now. "Big Sister Xu is such a good person, she tells me all sorts of
things."
Gu Shenwei could not help but look at Tie Linglong again. She was just
about to enter her teens, and he felt that is was inappropriate of her to mix
with Xu Yanwei. "Don't speak to her again," he cautioned.
"Why, Big Sister Xu…"
"If you wish to improve your kung fu skills, you cannot be distracted. She
doesn't know any kung fu, and whatever she tells you is of no benefit to your
saber skills."
Tie Linglong did not push the matter further, but seemed a little indignant—
she could be caught muttering softly to herself.
It was midnight when Lianye reported back. Gu Shenwei had already

dismissed Jiang and told her to retire to another room. He wanted to speak to
the monk in privacy.
Lianye looked a little off color, and did not bother to greet the Dragon King
as he entered the room. He went straight for a chair, and lowered his head
into his arms as he gathered his thoughts. After a while, he lifted his head and
said, "Slave Qing is dead."
"When was that?" Gu Shenwei was also shocked at hearing about Slave
Qing's death. At the same time, he blamed himself for being careless. He
should have gotten Xu Xiaoyi to scout ahead and gather such basic
information first.
"It was on the second day after Lianhua's death. Shangguan Fei declared him
as a traitor and had him killed."
It was obviously done to silence Slave Qing, but Gu Shenwei could not point
out the obvious. If he did so, the monk would definitely suspect that the
Dragon King was using the dead man as a scapegoat for his own crime.
"I believe you," Lianye said after a long pause. He seemed to have made up
his mind as he continued, "I'll tell you where Wildhorse is hiding. Will you
be willing to avenge Lianhua's death on my behalf?"
Gu Shenwei had been waiting for the monk to ask. He pretended to think
about it for a moment, then nodded slightly and replied, "Yes."
Chapter 302 - Obsessed with Riches
Chapter 302: Obsessed with Riches
The melon-hilted scimitar was three feet and one inch long, and the end of its
hilt was shaped exquisitely like a melon, hence its name.
One could clearly observe that its blade was curved, making it similar in style
to the scimitars favored by the barbarians in the Western Region. It was
heavy, such that one's hand would droop when carrying it, and it was so keen
that it gave the wielder confidence to slice through metal or stone without
using much strength.
The eldest machete man was known as Liu. He was scrawny and skeletal-
like. In fact, he looked so frail that it seemed he might collapse and die at any
moment. However, life works in mysterious ways, and this old man - who
had difficulty even with grasping a saber - was the most senior of all the
machete men and highly respected, so much so that everyone called him "Liu
Zu".
Liu Zu drew the melon-hilted scimitar and presented it with both hands
(while trembling slightly) to the Dragon King. It was the ultimate prize for
winning the Machete God Contest.
Gu Shenwei received the scimitar from the old man and silently marveled at
its quality. He examined it for a while before sheathing it again. Liu Zu
personally placed it in a wooden box and applied a seal over the container.
They were in North City, and everyone was forbidden to carry weapons
openly in these parts without permission.
A few of the older machete men were looking eagerly at the Dragon King,
their gaze carrying a mixture of adulation, anticipation, and awe in equal
parts. However, there was also a tinge of craftiness in the way they were
looking at him.
Gu Shenwei could sense that they wanted something from him. There had to
be a reason why these old machete men, who had already made a name for
themselves and were already living a life of luxury in North City, would
organize the Machete God Contest. He placed the wooden box on the table
and waited for them to speak first.
In the end, it was Liu Zu who spoke up on behalf of the machete men. He
chose not to go straight to the point but started off with a story instead.
"The melon-hilted scimitar has an extraordinary history. I don't know

whether you have heard about it before, Dragon King?"
Liu Zu laughed softly, causing his throat to give out heavy breathing sounds.
It seemed as if the laugh was too much for him to take. "To be honest with
you, Dragon King, this scimitar is known to bring bad luck to its owner. All
of its previous 22 owners died in a terrible manner, and none of them had
possessed it for more than a year."
In fact, seven of its previous owners died under the sword, six died from
drowning, four from burns, another three fell to their deaths and the
remaining two died from poisoning. Out of all the weapons forged by Daga,
the scimitar could only be considered as of a normal standard and it was of
good but not uncomparable quality. It was infamous because of the terrible
fate suffered by its owners.
Liu Zu did not intend to use the scimitar's history with its owners to scare
Dragon King, as he came quickly to explain. Its previous owners were all
bandits and he had no reason to believe that Dragon King would end up like
them too. It was rare for someone in their line of work to leave this world
peacefully.
"Your predecessor was called Chihe, and he was commonly known as the
'Butcher of Tianshan'. After every robbery he committed, he would kill off all
witnesses, regardless of age or gender. Sigh, it took so much effort from us to
get rid of him."
Gu Shenwei had heard of the Butcher of Tianshan before, and knew about his
ruthlessness. There were huge bounties on him in many countries, and it was
known that he had a younger brother, Chipo, who was even more ruthless.
Chipo had a scary nickname - the Hearteater - and it was said that he would
rip out the heart of his victims and eat it on the spot. It was reported that he
claimed this would increase his skills.
Gu Shenwei knew where this was going, but he wanted the machete men to
broach the subject.
Liu Zu sighed, then smiled as he continued. "Even though us old men have
already left the jianghu, we still wish to grow our retirement funds. With this
in mind, we pooled together to start a modest business, and we do not know
why but this drew Chihe's attention and he started looking for trouble with us.
We took it in stride for a long time and had to hire someone to get rid of him
only when it started getting out of hand. To us, it's all part of the game, but
his brother, the Hearteater Chipo, publicly announced that he would avenge
his brother's death."
"You can always look for the person who got rid of Chihe to take care of his
brother too," replied Gu Shenwei unenthusiastically. He did not want to show
any interest in this matter.
The machete men laughed bitterly. Liu Zu replied, "He's already been killed,
and Chipo said that we would be next. Unless… unless we cough up one
million taels of silver to appease him."
"Where can we find such an amount of money," interrupted another old

machete man indignantly.
"So, your intention is…"
The other machete men followed Liu Zu's lead and their smiles became even
more adulatory in nature as they replied, "We wanted to select the person
with the best machete techniques and get this Machete God to take care of
Chipo. Beyond our wildest dreams, you came to join the contest, and not only
did this make us unbelievably happy, but we also secretly think that we no
longer have to worry about the Hearteater anymore."
"I have not agreed to anything yet," Gu Shenwei reminded the old
moneybags. He was sure that they would be able to fork out one million taels
of silver to pay for his services.
"That's right, that's right. We should consider the Machete God Contest and
the offer to kill Chipo as two separate cases."
Gu Shenwei had more pressing matters to attend to and did not wish to be
involved in the vendetta between the machete men and Chipo. He stood up,
took the melon-hilted scimitar and prepared to leave. "I've never seen Chipo
before, and I bear no grudges against him. The Great Snow Mountain is also
not involved in jianghu matters. You should look elsewhere for a killer."
The old men were flustered, upon seeing that the Dragon King was leaving.
They quickly surrounded him, and each began trying to convince Gu
Shenwei to take up the job.
"Please stay, Dragon King."
"Now that the melon-hilted scimitar is in your possession, Dragon King,

Chipo will definitely be looking for you. Why don't we join forces?"
"Dragon King, we will pay you, one million… two million… no, no, four
million taels of silver."
In the end, it was Liu Zu who understood the Dragon King the most. He
waved his hand at the others, signaling for them to be quiet, before speaking,
"Dragon King, you should know that the Hearteater, Chipo, has joined the
Golden Roc Fort."
Gu Shenwei stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at the trembling Liu Zu

and paused for a moment before replying, "That is even more reason for me
to not get involved in the affairs of Chipo. The Great Snow Mountain and the
Golden Roc Fort are in a ceasefire deal now, and I will not break it."
Gu Shenwei left after speaking, leaving the other machete men complaining
to Liu Zu that he had spoken too soon. The old man sniggered and
straightened his body, replying, "Wait and see, I dare to guarantee that the
Dragon King will take an interest in our offer."
He was right, and Gu Shenwei's interest was indeed sparked by the old man's
words. He was not interested in the well-being of the machete men, but rather
why the Golden Roc Fort had roped in a bandit such as Chipo, who was a
lone wolf and had no prior connection to it.
He knew that the Fort would not bring its operations to a complete standstill
during the temporary ceasefire, and that the reason he could remain in
relative safety in Jade City was because of the Central Plain and Norland's
guarantee, and more importantly because the Supreme King had his hands
full with other issues at the moment.
The Great Snow Mountain's sole objective was to destroy the Golden Roc
Fort, but to the Supreme King, the Dragon King and his swordsmen were
only one of his many problems.
It was already in the afternoon when Gu Shenwei arrived back at his

residence, and he had invited the blacksmith Mr. Hong over. After the Battle
of the Rouge Forest, Tianshan Sect's reputation had grown far and wide, but
its core group of leaders continued to keep their identities secret, with the
exception of Mr. Hong.
He was adept at forging weapons but did not know how to use them.
However, he had secured connections with many machete men from his job
as a blacksmith and managed to rope in many of them into the sect.
There were only three participants in the meeting at Dragon King's Residence
- Mr. Hong, the Dragon King himself and the monk Lianye.
Lianye had decided to turn against Wildhorse, even at the expense of the fact
that the Peripheral Force in his body would forever remain within him. He
spoke up first, "Wildhorse is hiding in the Seventh Machete Village, and
from what I know, there are members of his gang in nearly every village."
The blacksmith was surprised to hear this. There were about 10 villages made
up of machete men in the outskirts of South City, and they were each
appointed a number based on their geographical location from east to west.
"Our sect has many eyes in that area, how could we not notice this?" he
asked.
"Wildhorse has a group of loyal followers who took great pains to hide him."
Mr. Hong was skeptical of the monk's claims and turned his head to the
Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei nodded and replied, "I've sent men to check on the Seventh
Machete Village, and it does seem that there is something not quite right
about it."
The blacksmith pounded his own knee, saying, "The deaths of our sect
members will not be vain, and as long as there are still survivors of the
Wildhorse gang, we will fight till the end. Speak, Dragon King, and let me
know how many men do you need from us this time?"
"I don't need as many men as the last battle, 50 will do this time. What's more
important is that we have to keep our movements secret, as Wildhorse is no
easy target. I'm a little worried that he has already moved to another location
as we speak."
"No matter where he shifts, he is bound to be in one of the villages of the

machete men," suggested Lianye. He was coerced into engaging in fraud and
had also roped in inexperienced machete men for Wildhorse, and bore no
small hatred towards the killer. "As long as we cast our net wide enough, we
will eventually manage to capture him."
Mr. Hong took his leave after the three of them decided on a detailed plan of
action, returning to his base of operations to gather his machete men and
prepare them for what was to come.
Gu Shenwei still could not determine who Wildhorse was working for -
between the Golden Roc Fort, Norland, and the Meng family, but he had a
good feeling that there was someone behind the scenes directing the actions
of the regal-looking mute killer.
No matter what, the Wildhorse Gang was not part of the ceasefire agreement,
and both Gu Shenwei and his military counselor Fang Wenshi agreed, after
discussing in detail, that they had to quickly get rid of this faction.
Xu Xiaoyi came looking for the Dragon King just after Mr. Hong had left. As
always, he was concerned about monetary issues. "We have some trouble,
Dragon King. The camp at the western border has sent a request for 2000
crossbows and 40,000 arrows, along with other miscellaneous items. We will
be spending all of our money soon."
Gu Shenwei had not come up with a solution for their lack of funds. The
Great Snowmountain was still at an obvious disadvantage and most of the
rich people in Jade City were not willing to openly support the Dragon King.
At the moment, only Liu Zu and his group of old machetemen were willing to
pay tens of thousands of taels of silver to hire his services.
"Supply them with as many bows and arrows as you can first. As for the
other supplies, hold them off for 2 days, and I will get the money for them."
Xu Xiaoyi knew it was pointless to convince him otherwise, and took his
leave to prepare, his heart still feeling heavy.
Gu Shenwei began making preparations for the battle that would be taking
place that night. As there could be many disciples of the late Immortal Peng
with Wildhorse, he did not allow Chu Nanping to take part, to prevent any
conflict of interest. It was just as well, as his staying behind would create a
false image that the Dragon King was still in his residence. For the same
reason, Tie Linglong was also made to stay behind.
Xu Yanwei sneaked in, just as he was issuing orders to the machete men and
swordsmen that would be going with him to the village. She gave a slight
cough to announce her presence after the Dragon King was left alone.
"What do you want to say now?", asked Gu Shenwei nonchalantly.
"Nothing much. I'm thinking that since I've nothing to do, why don't you rent
a room in Pleasure Alley for me again, and we'll split my earnings 50-50?"
Even though Gu Shenwei was in dire need of money, he had decided long
ago that he would never engage in the prostitution business again. "Go ask
your brother. I can loan you 5000 taels of silver, and I'm fine as long as you
repay me within half a year. There's no need to split your earnings with me."
"5000 taels? What a stingy person. You are the Dragon King, yet you are not
even as generous a wealthy landlord from North City."
"Feel free to look for any of them for help."
"Hehe, even if they want to help me, I won't fancy it. However, 5000 taels are
too small a sum, it's alright if you have financial constraints. I'll go find…
Meng Mingshi, there's only a month left till his wedding with Miss Ru. If I
offer my congratulations to him and based on our relationship…"
Gu Shenwei vowed to never show his temper to Xu Yanwei ever again, but
he could not control his anger this time. He felt a wave of anger rising in him,
and before he came to his senses, he had already drawn the Five Peaks Saber
and had very nearly struck at her.
Xu Yanwei ran off quickly, saying as she ran, "One month, there's only one
month left."
Gu Shenwei had the urge to vent his anger by killing a few more people
tonight.
Chapter 303 - Chipo
Chapter 303: Chipo
On the second night, there were hardly any pedestrians or lights in the
Seventh Machete Village. It seemed deserted. At this point in time, all the
swordsmen were in the taverns. There are only a few women and children
who went to bed early in the village.
Pointing at the house, Lianye whispered: "There's a secret room downstairs.

Wildhorse usually hides in there."
The moonlights that were reflected by the thick blanket of snow lit up the
night in a strange way. Everyone's every move was extremely conspicuous.
The swordmen of the Tianshan Sect were all very capable. Some of them
were even comparable to Golden Roc Fort's killers. However, they were not
as good as Golden Roc Fort's killers at hiding their tracks. Therefore, Gu
Shenwei believed that Wildhorse would notice immediately if they entered
the village.
Yet, nobody came out to fight.
The swordmen were divided into three groups. In each group, half of the men
were standing guard outside the door and the other half rushed in while
brandishing their sabers. Soon, the sounds of furious fighting came from
inside, which was then followed by the rumbling of a collapsing floor.
There were some families nearby who lit their lamps. Some men ran out,
carrying sabers. One of the swordmen from the Tianshan Sect cried out loud,
"This is personal, it has nothing to do with outsiders."
The men returned to their homes. Soon, the lights went out.
There was about ten figures who jumped out of the room and fled in every
direction. However, they were stopped by the swordmen that was just outside
the door.
Gu Shenwei pulled out his Five Peaks Saber and started chasing the fastest
one among them.
The man turned around and received the Dragon King's saber with his long
sword. Gu Shenwei recognized him. He was Immortal Peng, from the Joy
Pavillion.
The Immortal Peng used to fight with a rope, but then he started learning how
to use the sword. He improved at an incredibly fast pace. Compared to his
kung fu skills three years ago, his kung fu skills now were way better.
The two men exchanged four or five strokes in an instant. When they were
separated by mistake, Immortal Peng spat out a few words,"You stole
something from him. Sooner or later, you must return what you have taken."
Gu Shenwei replied with a saber that is even more rapid and violent.
Immortal Peng was worthy of his sword, but less than a year has passed by
and he would rather keep using the saber.
A man rushed out. After waving around a heavy iron bar, he smashed it into
Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei stopped suddenly and put his knife behind his back. He then slit
the neck of the sneak attacker. Even though he had been slightly obstructed,
Immortal Peng was already fleeing to the city.
Tianshan Sect prevailed, but since there was not any sign of Wildhorse
anywhere, Gu Shenwei decided to chase Immortal Peng all the way.
Both of them had incredible Lightness Skills, they leapt onto roofs and
vaulted over walls. They proceeded through the South City. Nothing could
block their way.
In order to get rid of Gu Shenwei, Immortal Peng even jumped onto the
bustling street several times, where many people were scared to death by
those two blistering figures.
Just when Gu Shenwei thought that Immortal Peng was almost in his hands,
he found out that something was wrong.
A pedestrian who nearly got hit shouted, "Are you blind? Can't you see where
you're going?"
Immortal Peng went everywhere, but no matter how many times he changed
his way, it seems like he wanted to lead Dragon King away from the West.
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that he could have been deceived by his

enemy.
With this thought in mind, he stopped chasing Immortal Peng and ran
towards the Western side of the Residence of Dragon King in the South City.
In the Residence of Dragon King, a brutal fight had just concluded.
There were only seven people who managed to break into the Residence, but
all of them were amongst the best fighters in the world. While six of them
were mounting a sneak attack on the front courtyard, one of them managed to
kill three sabermen and one swordsman, alone. They waited for Chu Nanping
and Tie Linglong to come and meet them. The seventh man, then slipped into
the back courtyard, killed two servants and snatched the Melon-hilted
Scimitar.
Young Lady Jiang did everything she could, but her forehead was lacerated
by a saber. If it was not for the saberman Lin Xiaoshan, she would have
certainly been one of the victims.
The robber was incredibly arrogant. He called for his men to retreat from the
top of the building. He then said, "Tell Dragon King that 'Hearteater' Chipo
came to visit him and to return the Melon-hilted Scimitar back to its rightful
owner! Ahahah!"
When Gu Shenwei came back, people were bandaging the wounds of the
victim. Tie Linglong and Lin Xiaoshan told him what happened. With a
white cloth covering her head, Jiang asked Dragon King's forgiveness for not
being able to protect the Melon-hilted Scimitar.
"This is not your fault", Gu Shenwei comforted her, "You are already lucky
enough to still be alive, I am not used to fighting with a scimitar anyway, it's
not a big deal."
Fang Wenshi hid himself every time he heard a noise coming from the
outside. This time, he ran in front of Dragon King, "This doesn't work,
Dragon King. The Great Snowmountain is really shameless! I don't like
attacking people with the sword, but this time is different. You must get rid
of this Hearteater Chipo as soon as possible."
Lin Xiaoshan, whispering, reminded the Dragon King, "This is clearly a

diversion, that monk can't be a mole."
Gu Shenwei also had his suspicions, but when Lianye came back, his doubts
cleared up. The monk have yet to understand that there was a link between
the ambush at the Residence of Dragon King and the Seventh Machete
Village. He had believed that Chipo got lucky.
This was just blatant provocation, just as Fang Wenshi said. If Dragon King
could not solve this matter immediately, the Great Snowmountain's fame
would be swept away.
The news that Hearteater Chipo had snatched the Melon-hilted Scimitar away
soon arrived at the Jade City. Not at all surprised, the old saberman from the
North City, Liu Zu, sent one of his men to welcome Dragon King the day
after, at dawn.
Several wealthy people believed that the Dragon King has no other choices,
but to cooperate with them if he wanted to kill the lone robber, Chipo.
However, Gu Shenwei refused to meet them again. He sent Xu Xiaoyi to

make an unexpected proposal: if they were willing to pay one million taels,
Dragon King would agree to exchange Chipo's head with them.
Both Liu Zu and Xu Xiaoyi thought that Dragon King's proposal was not
reliable, "If they are willing to pay one million taels, wouldn't it be better to
just give it to Chipo and save themselves? Why would they give it to us?"
"Just tell them what I said, don't worry about the rest. With this million taels,
the Great Snowmountain will be able to survive for a little longer."
Xu Xiaoyi nodded without conviction. Even though he thought that Dragon

King's ideas were becoming weirder and weirder, he still trusted Brother
Huan and would obey his orders. "We have already found where Chipo and
those robbers who used to come to Jade City are. I really don't get all these
people, who are of similar personalities."
After Gu Shenwei brought back the Melon-hilted Scimitar from North City,
he made Xu Xiaoyi pay close attention to Chipo's whereabouts. The attack
last night exposed the solitary robber.
The situation was not something that surprised Xu Xiaoyi. Liu Zu was very
surprised by Dragon King's proposal. He almost didn't believe his own ears.
He even doubted what Xu Xiaoyi was telling him, believing it to be some
fake news. After finally making sure that it was true, Liu Zu becomes very
stubborn, "Tell Dragon King that if people respect him, he must respect them
too. If he's so hungry, let him go to Chipo and ask for money."
That night, Gu Shenwei really took Chu Nanping to Chipo and "ask for
money".
Chipo liked a comfortable life, no matter how much the bounty on his head
was. Every year he would spend one month in the Jade City and squander all
of his savings.
All the money that he snatched through robberies had to be spent. This was
one of his few beliefs.
Some people said Chipo was fearless, but he knew how to avoid Golden Roc
Fort. As for Dragon King, Chipo does not even consider him as a threat. Even
if the enemy suddenly broke through the door with the Five Peaks Saber in
his hand, he would not show any signs of astonishment or fear.
Chipo looked very confident with the Melon-hilted Scimitar in his hand. On
the contrary, the half-naked prostitute next to him was as white as a ghost.
She shrieked and threw herself into Chipo's arms.
Chipo grabbed the prostitute's hair only to throw her aside. He took out his
saber, "News about Dragon King is true then, and he's already here. I thought
I would have to wait a little longer for him."
"You owe me six lives and a saber." Gu Shenwei said, keeping a distance of
seven or eight steps from Chipo's bed.
Chipo pointed at the prostitute on the other side of the bed, "Does this one
count?"
As he uttered these words, he unsheathed the Melon-hilted Scimitar. The

blade shined before being impaled into the prostitute's chest. Fresh blood
gushed out as she fell down onto the bed. The blood rapidly soaked the
bedsheet, coming close to Chipo, but he did not care. He calmly put the saber
away, "Stinky whore, I bet even you heart stinks. How dare you sell me out
and then take my money?"
Chipo was about thirty years old. His body was well built, his arms muscular,
everything in him was full of strength. Even though he was very handsome,
there was a kind of madness in his eyes that sees human lives as something
trifle, which gave him a frightening and ugly look.
Chipo was right. Xu Xiaoyi's lackeys heard the news from the prostitute.
Gu Shenwei did not interfere, then placidly shook his head, "No, this one
doesn't count."
Chipo burst into laughter, but his smile suddenly disappeared from his face.
The fierce look in his eyes could have scared a timid person to death, "In this
case, I shall give you another life."
Chipo had just uttered these words when something flew through the window
and fell onto the floor, spinning.
They were the two heads of Chipo's servants. Last night they took part in the
attack on the Residence of Dragon King with their master, and then they
sought pleasure with the prostitutes next door. This resulted with their heads
on the floor.
Last night's battle only lasted for a short period of time, Chu Nanping did not
have many chances to fight back. Even though he could finally prove his
swordcraft this time , he just stayed outside, without entering the room.
Red Spirit glanced at the heads on the floor without changing his expression.
He then took out his saber for the second time.
He was still sitting on the bed when he pulled out the saber. He was already
in front of Dragon King when the scimitar had just been completely
unsheathed.
At that moment, four men entered the room, blocking Dragon King's retreat
with their sabers.
Gu Shenwei took a step back. Thanks to this simple and swift move, he
avoided Chipo's saber just in time. Futhermore, he was already standing
behind the four interceptors. No one saw how he managed to do it clearly.
The four men stared at him blankly and then jumped into the jaws of death.
Gu Shenwei killed the four of them and then used their bodies as a shield to
protect himself from Chipo's attack.
Chipo was furious. He cried out and waved his scimitar around, smashing
everything that was in his way. His already dead mates were of no exception.
What once was a place of tenderness became a place of carnage. Chipo was a
mad devil. Only one thing could calm him down — a saber on his neck.
Chipo's kung fu was remarkable, but he could not control himself. Usually,
his enemy would be scared by his madness, and this, in turn, would make him
even wilder. This time, however, his enemy was like an iceberg.
Chipo gasped, "I underestimated you. Just seven lives, you have earned one
more. Take it."
"You can also pay your debts in other ways."
"Do you want money?"
"Yes, but it would not be enough."
Chipo finally understood why Dragon King did not kill him, "Do you want
me to betray Wildhorse?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
Chipo burst out into laughter, he did not care about the saber on his neck, "I
underestimated you. But you made the same mistake. Let's fight, Dragon
King."
Gu Shenwei moved the Five Peaks Saber away from Chipo's neck slowly, "I
have a better idea."
Chapter 304 - Selling Men
Chapter 304: Selling Men
News of the robber Chipo being captured by Dragon King spread even faster
than the news of Chipo breaking into the Residence of Dragon King.
Messengers from the seven Western Region countries in Jade City made
requests for Dragon King to release Chipo to them, promising a great reward,
but all of them were rejected.
" The price for Chipo is one million taels of silver." That was the answer of
Xu Xiaoyi to every messenger that came to him.
After that, the rumors about the Dragon King selling people spread very
quickly. "Dragon King said that even if it's Wildhorse, if one can pay a
million taels of silvers, he would release him. He is so crazy about money. A
killer burglar is worth so much money?"
Everybody felt surprised about the Dragon King's move, including Fang
Wenshi. He personally confronted Dragon King and asked, "You are Dragon
King. Doing that kind of thing, isn't it kind of…?"
Fang Wenshi did not continue. In his opinion, since Chipo was taken a
prisoner, they would have to act decently, giving Chipo to the country that
was hunting him down, even without any reward in return. It would create a
positive image.
But Gu Shenwei had other plans and said, "The Great Snowmountain needs
money, therefore I cannnot let any possible source of money go away. As for
those small countries, I can assure you that if they get Chipo, they will
immediately let him go."
"What if Wildhorse pays? Do you really want to give Chipo to him? He's the
greatest enemy of the Great Snowmountain."
Xu Xiaoyi cheerfully interrupted the conversation. "In this matter, I support

Dragon King. The military counselor can rest assured. In the end, the people
who pay will be neither Wildhorse nor those small countries."
Fang Wenshi felt that Dragon King was hiding something from him and felt
very discomfitted, so he dawdled, reluctant to leave. Xu Xiaoyi realised the
military counselor's intention and withdrew, planning how to spend the
silvers that he would soon acquire.
As soon as Xu Xiaoyi left, Fang Wenshi immediately continued, "Dragon

King, since you invited me to be the military counselor, I have the right to
know everything… or… uh… most of the things. If you hide things from me,
I will only give foolish ideas."
"My military counselor is responsible for many things. I do not want to

bother you anymore; however, I have never deliberately concealed anything.
If my military counselor wants to know anything, feel free to ask."
With many questions in mind, Fang Wengshi thought for a long time before
asking, "How much money does the Great Snowmountain have?"
"A little more than 870,000 taels of silvers. However, it's always easier to
spend money than to earn it."
That sounded like the truth. Fang Wenshi's heart sank. That was less than
what he thought. No wonder Dragon King was so stingy, "Very well. With
money, there is always a way to solve any problem. Now I want to know
what happened to these forces in Jade City. Wildhorse, Tianshan Sect, the
Meng family, and Joy Pavillion - I want to know who is the enemy and who
the friend is. Apart from the Golden Roc Fort, I am not sure of anyone."
Indeed, Fang Wenshi felt aggrieved. He was wary of Norland and the Central
Plains, and faintly concerned about Golden Roc Fort and Meng family but he
was not clear about the other small forces.
"Wildhorse and I were rivals during the apprenticeship. I almost died in his
hand, and he almost died in mine." Gu Shenwei had not figured out how their
hatred was formed. Their very natures seemed to be different. "According to
my information, Wildhorse was expelled from the Golden Roc Fort three
years ago and somehow managed to win the recognition of Norland."
"Norland? You say that Wildhorse is from Norland? I thought he was just
hired to do the Governor's work."
Gu Shenwei shook his head: Tianshan sect had gathered some details about
Wildhorse, not all of it, but enough to deduce some things. "Wildhorse is a
very powerful man, but without the support of Norland, he could not have
formed his team."
"So, the force of Norland has actually extended into the territory of Jade
City." Once Fang Wenshi understood the pros and cons, he immediately
realised that what Dragon King had said was right.
"Exactly. Norland won't recognize the relationship with Wildhorse. So,

Wildhorse can fight for power in Jade City without the restraints of the
Agreement."
"In the end, these powers will fall into the hands of Norland."
Gu Shenwei nodded, "Yes, but Wildhorse is basically still independent. He

returned to Jade City before me and visited the Joy Pavillion. He was trusted
by Immortal Peng. He recruited the entire Joy Pavillion into his gang. Then
based on this, he established strong or weak ties with the Meng family and
Golden Roc Fort."
Fang Wenshi finally understood Norland's arrangement in Jade City. "Since

Norland secretly supports Wildhorse gang, the Central Plain will definitely
interfere. Is it possible that…?"
"I haven't found any evidence yet, but I presume Tianshan Sect has always
been supported by the Central Plain."
"So Tianshan Sect will help Dragon King, because we all have the same
patron."
"I believe they will. After them, the Meng family is the most important ally
of the Golden Roc Fort, but there is also a fissure between the two parties.
Meng Yuzun is actually a master in kung fu. He cooperated with Lady Meng
and secretly trained a team of female killers, called Tianji Society. I am still
not sure about the purpose. But in short, Tianji Society doesn't serve the
Supreme King."
That surprised the military counselor. "Meng Yuzun? That fatty? He can do
kung fu?"
"I've seen it with my own eyes. The fatty's kung fu is not weak."
"This is good. Meng Yuzun and Supreme King have disagreements; we could
use it to our own advantage."
"Maybe. As off now, this friction is not being used."
"What about Your Majesty? What is your position in these forces?"
"Me? To put it simply, Wildhorse wanted to kill me, but Meng Yuzun and
Lady Meng did not. They wanted secret manuscripts about kung fu from me,
so Wildhorse just pretended to be me to force me into a bad position. After
the truth was exposed, he didn't attack immediately, but hid and harassed
from time to time. In reality, he was waiting for the opportunity."
Fang Wenshi wanted to ask what kung fu manuscripts had intrigued Meng
Yuzung, but hesitated. Such an important thing was surely the secret of
Dragon King, it wasn't appropriate to ask.
"What about Chipo? Xu Xiaoyi said that it isn't Wildhorse or the small
countries that will finally pay for him."
"Actually Chipo was bought by Golden Roc Fort, it has nothing to do with
Wildhorse."
Fang Wenshi was lost again. "What… what is going on?"

"Chipo is a smart man. Even with a knife on his neck, he is not saying that he
is a lackey of Golden Rock Fort; instead, he claims to be a man of Wildhorse.
I was just playing along to threaten the old moneygrubbers of North City to
hand out money."
"Chipo broke into the Residence of Dragon King at night. He killed people
and snatched the saber. That's why he doesn't dare to admit he's the man of
Golden Roc Fort." Fang Wenshi smiled and said, "I am going to use that to
my advantage in the peace conference."
Dragon King trusted him completely, and Fang Wenshi was very comfortable
with it. He began setting plans for the Great Snowmountain, "The Great
Snowmountain lacks money, and Meng family has it. Can you find a way to
get some money from Meng Yuzun?"
"I have been thinking about it." Gu Shenwei told the truth, "The Great
Snowmountain's biggest enemy now is Meng Yuzun. Money is an important
matter, that's why the Meng family has an influence over Western Region
situations."
Fang Wenshi fully agreed, and then immediately looked at Dragon King with
suspicion, saying, "Your Majesty, do you want to stop the marriage, and
destroy the union of Meng family with Golden Roc Fort?"
Gu Shenwei's eyes cooled. Fang Wenshi knew that he made a mistake and
hurriedly apologized. "Forgive your humble servant, I am hasty in my
words." Then he added, "The relationship of Meng family and Golden Roc
Fort is rock-solid, and destroying their marriage will only result in their union
against one common enemy. Your Majesty definitely knows about that."
Fang Wenshi withdrew, satisfied, oblivious to the fact that Dragon King still
concealed something from him.
New Moon Hall had already infiltrated Jade City, even into the Golden Roc
Fort. But Gu Shenwei had not been able to decide whether they were friend
or foe for a long time, because Maid Lotus was among them.
Maid Lotus had stolen "Wayless book"; she was probably already an
important person in New Moon Hall. Gu Shenwei sometimes felt a chill
prickle the back of his neck, as if she was hiding nearby. But he could not
find her anywhere; he suspected that she was plotting something in the dark.
On the third day after Chipo was arrested, rumors spread in Jade City that
Wildhorse had sent his men to Dragon King to discuss the ransom for Chipo.
The famous thief was said to be the right hand of Wildhorse, so regardless of
the price, he would save him.
Gu Shenwei and Xu Xiaoyi had guessed right. Machetemen in North City

could not sit still. If Chipo was released, they would be in trouble, and one
million taels of silver of Wildhorse most likely fall on their shoulders.
Liu Zu personally paid Dragon King a visit. The skinny old macheteman
smiled like a child of a few years. "The Dragon King is worthy of the title
Dragon King, easily catching that small thief, Chipo."
Xu Xiaoyi exchanged a few words with him for Dragon King, waiting for the
old man to voice his intentions.
"We old fellows have talked. Chipo has done bad things and is a blight on the
Western Regions. We want to enforce the justice and ask Dragon King to
remove him."
"He who pays one million taels of silver will have Chipo." Xu Xiaoyi
repeated.
Gu Shenwei sat cross-legged on a hard wooden bed, without speaking from

beginning to end.
Sweat beaded on Liu Zu's forehead. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine, we have
one million."
"Hand over the money, we will hand him over."
"Tomorrow. He must be alive."
After Liu Zu left, Xu Xiaoyi jumped up in excitement, "It's such easy money,
more profitable than any other deal."
Gu Shenwei was not as delighted. "It feels like a scam."
"A scam?" Xu Xiaoyi asked with a great surprise, completely at odds with the
formidable mustache on his face.
"Liu Zu knows that Chipo was brought by Golden Roc Fort, so he didn't dare
to find a Golden Roc killer to help. Instead he played dumb, hoping to get
Chipo killed by other ways. At this time, he wants to exchange one million
for a living Chipo, not his head. What does it mean?"
Xu Xiaoyi immediately understood and said, "The old man is doing it for
Golden Roc Fort, it's possible that one million is coming from Golden Roc
Fort."
"Right."
"Then what shall we do? Keep the person or take the money?"
"The money. Go and see Liu Zu in the afternoon and raise the price to two
million taels."
Xu Xiaoyi jumped again. "Good, good. Since Golden Roc Fort come to us,
they deserve to be ruthlessly ripped off. I am just afraid that Golden Roc Fort
will not find it worthwhile and refuse to pay that high price."
"They will." Gu Shenwei said firmly. He realized that Chipo had many
secrets that were important to Golden Roc Fort. He must dig it out before he
was released.
Chapter 305 - Banks
Chapter 305: Banks
Chipo was a tough man and refused to divulge any information to the Great
Snowmountain. Two swordsmen had beaten him so hard that they had broken
a wooden cudgel each, but he just continued taunting them as he wished, after
spitting out teeth and blood.
"Harder, why do you have less strength than a whore from Pleasure Alley?
I'm not enjoying it enough."
The two swordsmen were already panting from their exertions. Nevertheless,
upon hearing his taunt, they lifted up what was left of their cudgels and
wanted to work Chipo again. They were only stopped when Gu Shenwei,
who was observing from the sideline, ordered them to stop. He instructed
them to leave him alone with Chipo, as he wanted to speak privately to the
bandit.
Chipo was covered in his own blood and looked cheekily at the Dragon King,
the ferocity of his gaze undiminished even after his ordeal. "It's so easy to be
called a king nowadays. I'll get myself such a title one of these days. Since
you're the Dragon King, I shall be known as the Dragon Slaying King, ha,
ha."
Gu Shenwei was unaffected by his taunt. Other than Xu Yanwei, nobody

could get him angry. He waited for Chipo to stop laughing before replying,
"You can call yourself king of whatever for all I care. Since you're unwilling
to admit to conspiracy with the Golden Roc Fort, I have to make a wild
guess."
"As you wish. You can even assume I had an affair with women of the Fort
for all I care."
"The Golden Roc Fort's willingness to cough up large amounts of money in
return for your life proves that your value to the Supreme King lies beyond
your machete skills."
"Are you suggesting that my machete skills are inferior? I was careless
before, let's have another fight."
"There's no need to. Your machete skills are alright, but not worth one or two
million taels of silver. You operate alone, with only a few men, and are
known for being a spendthrift. No one has noticed you ever hoarding your
money. Therefore, I can say the Supreme King neither values your skills nor
your wealth."
"Of course, why should I hoard my money? Money only has spenders and not
owners. Hey, Dragon King, why don't I introduce some whores to you?
They're guaranteed to be worth it and once you've tried their services, I'll be
sure that you'll be the same as me—spending all your money away in no
time."
Gu Shenwei stared at the bandit, who was immensely pleased with himself.
The Dragon King wrinkled his eyes slightly and said, "Why would the
Supreme King spend so much effort to rescue someone so useless?"
"Are you calling me useless?" Chipo stared angrily, puffing up his body. The
cowhide rope which bound him pressed deep into his muscles, but he did not
seem to care. "You really think you're a king after earning the loyalty of a
few thousand swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain? How dare you call
me useless. The joke's on you. With a single call, I can summon ten times
your number of men. Yang Huan, you're just a killer on the run and no
different from a rat scampering across the street. Kill me now if you dare, we
shall see how much longer than me you have to live. Aren't you cruel and
ruthless, capable of any methods…"
Chipo had let his secret slip and was frantically trying to cover it up by
spouting a bunch of gibberish. However, it was too late and the Dragon King
had already caught on to him. The information on Chipo collected by Xu
Xiaoyi and the Tianshan Sect checked out with what the bandit himself was
saying and basically confirmed Gu Shenwei's suspicions.
"Summon more than 10 times the swordsmen of the Great Snow Mountain,"
Gu Shenwei repeated what the bandit said. "Hearteater Chipo, the bandit who
acts alone, travels across each nation in Western Region and likes to make
friends with his fellow bandits. The amount you've spent to secure your
connections is a hundred times more than what you've spent in Pleasure
Alley."
Chipo's looks changed a little and he tried to cover it up by laughing loudly.

"You're right, every bandit camp I visit, I'm treated as a VIP. What about
swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain? Bunch of fools with snowy
mush on your legs you all are. Even if you invited me to go, I would never set
foot in such a miserable place. Hey, you'd better kill me now, before every
bandit in the world comes looking for you."
"What benefits does the Supreme King grant you for helping him to garner
the support of the bandits?"
Chipo remained calm faced with the Dragon King's unexpected question. The
only sign that he was worried was his laughter, which had become a little
hoarser. "Ha, ha, you really like to joke, Dragon King. Are you a joker? What
a pity that I don't have any women or booze around me now."
Gu Shenwei knew he could not squeeze out any more information from the
bandit. "I'll let you walk out of here alive. After that, I'll send people to
establish contact with bandits all around the land. Soon, news will spread that
both the Great Snow Mountain and the Golden Roc Fort are competing to
gather the most support from bandit gangs in the Western Region, as well as
news that I have a list of all the gangs that have secretly allied themselves
with the Supreme King. Don't you think that everyone will wonder how I got
hold of this list?"
Gu Shenwei walked out of the room, leaving Chipo to ponder the answer to
his question alone.
"You, you despicable, treacherous, nasty person!" Chipo shouted, finally

unable to keep his act up. "It won't be so easy to frame me. The Supreme
King would not believe your lies, and I will come for you sooner or later to
take my revenge."
That afternoon, Xu Xiaoyi came back with the old machete man Liu Zu,
smiles on both their faces. The former was genuinely happy and could not
control himself, while the latter's expression was so stiff and unnatural that
even the loose skin on his face was all stiff. When he greeted the Dragon
King, it seemed that his throat was filled was phlegm.
Gu Shenwei was sure that the old moneybags had to cough up some of their
personal savings to contribute to the ransom; there was nothing unnatural
about the hate in Liu Zu's eyes.
Gu Shenwei nodded nonchalantly and let Xu Xiaoyi handle the transaction on

his behalf.
Chipo was gagged tightly and escorted by 10 swordsmen from the residence
of the Dragon King to Liu Zu's residence in South City. It was impossible for
an infamous bandit such as Chipo to enter North City openly.
The next day, the severed head of 'Chipo' was hung high up for all to see,
inviting many people to crowd around it. They had not come to see the head
of an infamous bandit, but rather a valuable object that was worth two million
taels of silver.
"This is the most expensive head in the whole world, isn't it?", observed
many amongst the crowd. Thus, the reputation of the old machete men who
were one foot in the grave spread so far that there was always someone trying
to visit them nearly every day, either to offer their services or to secure a loan
from the old men.
Later, Xu Xiaoyi went to inspect the severed head personally, and came back
reporting, "It's pretty identical, but the hair is still intact."
The two swordsmen had pulled off a clump of Chipo's hair when
interrogating him, upon receiving the secret instructions of the Dragon King.
A little of the bandit's scalp was thus exposed, and as he was being beaten at
that time, he took no extra notice of the pain emanating from his head and did
not know that there was another identifying mark on his head now.
Gu Shenwei's guess about Liu Zu's link with the Golden Roc Fort was proven
correct by the old man's act of using a fake head to deceive others into
thinking that Chipo was dead.
After another day had passed, news that the Great Snow Mountain and the
Golden Roc Fort were competing to garner the support of the bandit gangs
started to surface, resulting in a series of events.
Trade was the bedrock of Jade City's economy, and its businessmen, big and
small, hated the countless number of bandit gangs to the core. They were
distraught upon hearing that both the Great Snow Mountain and Golden Roc
Fort were getting friendly with the gangs, and were worried whether the
leaders of both factions would sacrifice the livelihoods of the merchants for
the support of the bandits.
Fang Wenshi immediately rose to the challenge and did his best to make the
Great Snow Mountain's stance on the matter clear. He spoke up during the
peace talks and at all sorts of occasions, earnestly vowing that the Great
Snow Mountain was not a bandit gang itself, and stating that its swordsmen
had never engaged in arson, murder or robbery, nor would they ally
themselves with unlawful criminals. He gave a lot of supporting evidence to
hint that the Golden Roc Fort was, instead, the protector of the bandits.
The issue soon blew out of proportion, and the Golden Roc Fort was slow to
react. It only sent out a chief from the White Robe Academy a few days later
to clear the air and was forced to promise that they would send out their
killers to take part in each country's bandit extermination operation.
Gu Shenwei had achieved his goal but was soon faced with another problem.
Liu Zu had issued a bank note for the two million taels of silver he owed, and
they could only cash it out from a bank owned by the Meng family. Gu
Shenwei was unwilling to leave his money in the hands of his enemy, but
when Xu Xiaoyi went to transfer the silver to another bank, all the banks
owned by the Meng family rejected his request, saying that the amount was
too large for them to handle and told him to the deal directly with the Meng
residence.
At the same time, the smaller banks were also pressured into rejecting the
transfer, and even underground bankers like Shopkeeper Lyu and Xiao
Fengchai dared not announce that they would accept it.
These small bankers had no other choice but to deal with the Meng family if
they wanted their business to progress, so they had to obey the Meng family's
order.
The two million taels of silver had become a useless source of funds which
they could not tap into. From the way things looked, it was necessary for the
Dragon King to personally deal with the Meng family.
Gu Shenwei knew what Meng Yuzun's motive was. It seemed that the fat
man was still coveting the Dajue Book of Swordcraft.
That very night when Xu Xiaoyi's request to cash out the silver was rejected,
the Dragon King summoned him, the military counselor and Lin Xiaoshan
for a meeting on how to solve their problem.
Xu Yanwei had also snuck in and she spoke up with conviction when the
Dragon King tried to banish her. "Even though I'm not as smart as all of you,
I know about many things—no matter what, I've been in the Stone Castle for
three years. Who knows, maybe I can come up with some simple solutions to
your problems."
Gu Shenwei had no choice but to let her remain, but not before warning her,
"You're not allowed to speak unless I ask you a question."
Xu Yanwei nodded vigorously in agreement and she indeed kept to her word.
Gu Shenwei spoke first. He had the intention of declaring war on the Meng
family. Even though it was allied with the Golden Roc Fort, it was not part of
the ceasefire deal, and the fort could not interfere even if the Dragon King
attacked the Meng family at this point in time.
"Meng Yuzun will never betray the Supreme King, so why not take this
chance to get rid of him," said Gu Shenwei.
Upon hearing the Dragon King's proposal, Lin Xiaoshan made no response,
except for lowering his head, and the Xu siblings nodded solemnly in
agreement. Fang Wenshi remained still for a while before he spoke, "This
won't work out. The Meng family is a big clan, and even if we get rid of that
fat man, it won't affect their influence on the entire Western Region's banks.
We will also have another tough opponent to handle, and it will adversely
affect our ability to get funds in the future."
"Then we'll keep killing until one of them is willing to give in," said Gu
Shenwei.
Fang Wenshi felt that the statement was even more incredulous. He was so
agitated that his face had turned red. "I don't agree. As your military
counselor, I'll never agree to such a strategy. The most important task for us
now is to achieve peace for the Great Snow Mountain, and then we have to
carve out our own territory and gain a foothold in the region. As for money,
once peace is achieved, we can request for financial aid from the Central
Plain. They need a pawn in the Western Region and therefore will be bound
to help us financially."
He calmed down after realizing that he should not lose his cool as a
counselor. He took a deep breath and continued in a softer tone, "Please look
at the big picture, Dragon King, and prioritize our plan to achieve ascendancy
for the Great Snow Mountain over matters of the heart. There are many
beautiful women in the world, and once you secure your position in the
region, you can have your pick of them. Why should you be so eager now?"
Gu Shenwei lifted his head slightly while he replied, "You're over thinking it,
military counselor. I have no ulterior motives for getting rid of Meng Yuzun.
The Meng family is like a noose slowly tightening over our necks, and if we
don't get rid of it, it'll surely become a problem for us in the future."
Fang Wenshi still shook his head and said, "Sometimes, a moment's restraint
can lead to great accomplishments. Dragon King, we cannot touch the Meng
family now. If you have the ability to strike, why not use it to exterminate the
Wildhorse gang?"
Gu Shenwei lowered his head and remained silent while considering the
counselor's suggestion.
Xu Xiaoyi and Lin Xiaoshan were tactful and kept quiet upon seeing that the
Dragon King and his counselor were deep in debate. However, Xu Yanwei
was increasingly infuriated, and stood up with a flourish, after receiving no
reaction from her brother despite repeated eye signals. "Even if the Dragon
King wants to behead me, I still have to speak now."
Upon hearing that, the Dragon King did not ask for her head and only looked
coldly at her. She took it as tacit encouragement for her to continue, and
pointed at Fang Wenshi as she said, "Ungrateful fellow, what did you
promise me when you lay with me? You sure change attitudes real quickly.
Do you think I slept with you expecting nothing in return?"
Fang Wenshi's face was peach red and could no longer maintain his image as
a military counselor. He replied, obviously exasperated, "You, you, how
could you say such a thing? And in the presence of the Dragon King
furthermore."
"Since you can act in this manner, I can talk like this," Xu Yanwei rebutted,
both hands on her hips and eyebrows raised. Even though she was short, her
presence outgrew the counselor at this moment.
Xu Xiaoyi's face was as red as Fang Wenshi's, and his tone showed as much
exasperation as the counselor's. "You, you, how dare you get intimate with
my sister? Are you trying to take advantage of her? She's stopped working in
the flesh trade a long time ago…"
"Incorrect, incorrect, it was she that came into my room…" retorted Fang
Wenshi.
Just like this, the serious atmosphere of the meeting was spoiled, and Gu
Shenwei had to chase everyone out. He continued thinking about the entire
matter in private and came to a decision to go against his military counselor's
prudent strategy.
As he gripped the hilt of his saber, he realized that it was increasingly

difficult to control the desire to kill deep inside himself.
Chapter 306 - Missing
Chapter 306: Missing
Tie Linglong and Chu Nanping were already gone for four hours before Gu
Shenwei knew that they were planning to break into the Golden Roc Fort. Xu
Yanwei was full of confidence as she told him about her plan, "With my
advice, nothing will happen to them. They'll even be able to bring back
some…thing."
Gu Shenwei had underestimated her will and also her ability to convince
other people. When he was not around, she used a variety of ways to bring
everyone in the residence to her side. Even the swordsmen from the Great
Snowmountain, who hated the Golden Roc Fort to the core, were pitying
Shangguan Ru, who was trapped in the Stone Castle, and felt that the Dragon
King had a duty to rescue her after Xu Yanwei was done speaking to them.
Most of the people in the residence, however, kept their pity to themselves
and did not dare to voice out their concerns to the Dragon King. As for Fang
Wenshi, even though he had received some 'benefits' from Xu Yanwei, he felt
that it was one of the perks of being a military counselor and that he did not
owe her anything. He, too, did not speak to the Dragon King about advancing
Xu Yanwei's cause.
Tie Linglong was the only one truly moved by Xu Yanwei.
She was 14, the age where girls like to fantasize the most, and her pity
extended beyond Shangguan Ru to the Dragon King. "He never smiles and
doesn't seem to be interested in women. I always thought that he must have
someone close to his heart to be acting in this manner," she said to Xu
Yanwei.
Xu Yanwei took the opportunity to drive her point through to the younger
girl. "You're right. He grew up together with Miss Ru, and they're a perfect
match for each other. They should've been a couple. It's a pity that fate makes
a fool of us all. However, we can trick fate too. He wants to rescue her, but
cannot do so due to his position as the leader of the Great Snowmountain and
because of his pride. If we try to convince him, I believe he'll agree with us
immediately."
Tie Linglong was young, but she was of a meticulous nature. "It's no good. I
understand his behavior, the more someone tries to convince him otherwise,
the more stubborn he gets. Once he makes up his mind, he won't go back
against his word."
However, even as she understood the Dragon King's behavior, this little girl
still oversimplified the problem and underestimated the risks involved with
her plan. "If he doesn't want to go rescue her, why don't I go? I don't think
he'll reject her if she's brought to him," said Tie Linglong.
If it were someone else hearing about such a plan, they would immediately
feel that it was not the right solution. However, Xu Yanwei was already close
to being driven mad by constantly thinking of any means to rescue
Shangguan Ru, and she felt that it was the light at the end of the tunnel for
her. The only question she had for the young girl was, "Is your kung fu up to
it?"
Tie Linglong cocked her head proudly as she replied, "There are at least 80
people, if not 100, to have fallen under my saber. Only the Dragon King, and
er, that monk, is more than a match for me. However, when I fought the
monk, I was using a wooden saber. If I had a real one…"
Xu Yanwei believed her but felt that it was dangerous for the girl to venture
into the fort alone. She came up with a solution, "Let's rope Little Chu in, his
swordcraft is not too bad. And both of you will be able to look after each
other."
Tie Linglong agreed that it was a sound idea.
Both of them went looking for Chu Nanping, but the youth was not interested
in being part of the rescue mission. "I'm not going. She's the Dragon King's
love, and why should we go rescue her if he hasn't requested for us to?"
Xu Yanwei began indoctrinating the swordsman. "He's too shy to speak up,
but he secretly wishes for you to go. Case in point—he obviously knows
what I'm here for, and I've made him angry a few times, but has he chased me
away? This is his way of hinting. Having followed him for so long, you
should understand how he hints. If you don't, he won't favor you or practice
that 'Sentimental Sword Craft' with you."
"You mean 'Emotionless Swordsmanship'."
"Yes, that. So, are you in or out?"
Chu Nanping shook his head, not getting what Xu Yanwei was about.
This made Xu Yanwei mad, and Tie Linglong became angry as well. "Fine,
I'll go mysel. Even if there's no one covering my back, I'll go. Even if I'm
stabbed to death from the back, I'll not blame you," the young girl said.
Chu Nanping lowered his head and gazed at the long sword in his hand, while
saying, "Fine, but first, we have to come up with a detailed plan."
The 'detailed plan' was finalized within 15 minutes. Xu Yanwei went through
with the two youths on how they could sneak into the Stone Castle, avoid
detection from the guards, sneak into the Inner Residence and find Miss Ru.
She had thought about this for a long time and felt that it was foolproof.
Tie Linglong could not remember much of it, but Chu Nanping had
memorized every word of what Xu Yanwei said with a serious look on his
face. He could even recite Xu Yanwei's instructions out, earning her praise.
Just as the Dragon King was discussing with the others on how they should
tackle the Meng family, his two young guards had left their post without
instructions and were headed to the Golden Roc Fort.
Xu Yanwei had already prepared all the necessities for their journey. Both
youths were dressed as killer apprentices and wore matching waist tokens.
Just like this, they successfully entered North City and went up the mountain
once they received their weapons at the north gate of the city.
Chu Nanping had gone into the Stone Castle once before but as a captive. As
for Tie Linglong, she only had the chance to gaze at it from afar at the foot of
the mountain. Both of them did not know the way up, but luckily for them,
there was only one path leading toward the castle. They arrived at the stone
bridge outside the castle about midnight and were stopped there by a group of
guards.
They trusted in Xu Yanwei's plan and were therefore unafraid of what they
were about to do. They felt that they had nothing to hide, and calmly
displayed their waist tokens and were willingly interrogated and searched by
the guards.
This was the first key factor as to why they could successfully sneak into the
Stone Castle.
Luck was on their side as well, as a bunch of apprentices had indeed gone
down the mountain that morning. As such, the guards did not pay extra
attention to the youths.
The nature of the plan itself also worked in their favor, as it was simply
crude. No one who wanted to sneak into the castle would come up with such
a sloppy and brazen plan to dress as apprentices and hope to walk in. The
guards did not believe that anyone would be so foolish to try and therefore
were not suspicious of Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong.
Chu Nanping softly recited directions as per Xu Yanwei's roadmap, and Tie
Linglong took charge of navigation. However, they became lost after walking
past about eight crossings upon entering the castle.
Both of them had a small argument on how to proceed, and just at this time, a
guard who had been in hiding showed up and ordered them back to East
Castle. Tie Linglong insolently replied that she had orders to report to the
Inner Residence.
The guard became flustered, as he had never encountered such a person

before, who could still be indignant when obviously flouting the night curfew
law. In a moment of muddle-headedness, he gave the young girl directions to
In this way, they managed to enter the Inner Residence, but all contact was
lost with them afterward, and it was as if they had been swallowed by the
fort.
Finally, Xu Yanwei grew uneasy after the two youths did not come back at
the appointed time. She had no choice but to tell the truth to the Dragon King
(albeit rather euphemistically). "I'm afraid that something has gone wrong,
Dragon King. Little Chu and Little Lyu went to the Stone Castle to rescue
Miss Ru, and have yet to return."
Tie Linglong's eyes were green, and thus Xu Yanwei called her 'Little Lyu'.
(Lyu means green in Mandarin)
Gu Shenwei got a huge shock upon receiving the news. He knew that both of
them acted on their own accord sometimes, but it did not cross his mind that
they would dare to break into the Golden Roc Fort. "What's going on? Did
you incite them into doing it?"
"No," Xu Yanwei denied immediately. "You're to blame, Dragon King. Since

you've not made yourself clear at the beginning, they could have interpreted
you wrongly and thought that you wanted them to go…"
At this moment, Gu Shenwei sincerely regretted having saved her life so

many times a few years ago.
It was an extremely delicate situation for him. Both youths were his personal
bodyguards, and if they were caught sneaking into Golden Roc Fort, it was as
good as the Great Snowmountain signifying that they had every intention to
rip the temporary cease-fire agreement into shreds.
Fang Wenshi was extremely irritated. He had no come back if the Golden
Roc Fort wanted to seize the opportunity to cause trouble again. Not only
would the hard work of the past few months be for naught, the Special Envoy
from the Central Plain would also have doubts about the ability of the Dragon
King to control the situation.
He found it surprising, however, that the Golden Roc Fort did not use this
opportunity to immediately cancel the cease-fire deal. Everything went on as
per usual, and it was as if nothing had happened.
Xu Xiaoyi only managed to hear about how 'two apprentices' went into the
Stone Castle even after trying to gather information from everywhere and
tried his best to guess and re-trace the steps of Chu Nanping and Tie
Linglong. Surprisingly, he found out that no one from the Golden Roc Fort
was punished due to this extraordinary lapse in security. It was as if no one
from the castle had discovered them.
Fang Wenshi knew that there was something not quite right about the entire
situation. "Not right, everything seems not right," he said, arms crossed
behind his back and pacing back and forth in front of the Dragon King, his
eyebrows furrowed together. "What is the Supreme King thinking about
exactly?"
Xu Yanwei was extremely uneasy, but she was naturally optimistic. "Who
knows, maybe Miss Ru is keeping them with her, and she's looking for an
opportunity to bring them down the mountain?"
That being said, she herself could not have believed that this perfect ending
would come true. She laughed drily and stood behind the chair, trying her
best to avoid the Dragon King's line of sight.
Gu Shenwei had to try very hard to control his anger. "I've received news that
Lady Meng used her daughter as bait, and set a trap for us. I believe Little
Chu and Linglong are in her hands now."
"Oh, why didn't you say so earlier?" Xu Yanwei could not help but interrupt.
"If I had known that it was a trap, I would not have got them to go in the
fort."
This statement exposed her role in the entire incident, and she tried to cover
up by deriding herself. She quickly snuck out of the room before the Dragon
King got angry with her again, and it was only after a few days later when
she dared to show her face.
"This time, we can only be passive," said the counselor. He turned his palms
up and shook his head helplessly. "The Golden Roc Fort can take this as a
chance to break off from the ceasefire agreement anytime they want. I don't
have any more tricks up my sleeve."
"I'll rescue them," replied Gu Shenwei resolutely. "Continue with the

negotiations, counselor, and leave such matters to me."
Fang Wenshi sighed, for there was nothing much he could do for such a
rescue mission. "It would be best if we can rescue them, but if not, you have
to think of a way to sever all connections to them."
Gu Shenwei understood what he meant and nodded.
On the third day after Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong had gone missing,
Meng Yuzun sent a messenger to invite the Dragon King for a meeting. On
the surface, it would be about the two million taels of silver, but Gu Shenwei
was pretty certain that the fat man was acting at the behest of Lady Meng.
He did not trust Meng Yuzun, and therefore selected a brothel in South City
as the meeting point.
Xiao Fengchai was their mutual acquaintance, and both parties trusted her.
She was also willing to host the meeting.
As soon as the Dragon King's arrival was announced, Meng Yuzun

personally went downstairs to receive the young man. He acted so warmly as
if he was receiving an old friend in his own home. Any outsider who
witnessed the scene would not have imagined that the two of them had faced
off in Bodhi Garden previously.
They were ushered into an elegantly built study on the second story, and Xiao
Fengchai tactfully retreated with her maids after paying her respects. Meng
Yuzun dismissed all of his followers and stopped smiling after they left. He
spoke as if he were confiding in the Dragon King, "My thanks for not killing
me the last time around and not spreading the news about the Tianji Society;
I'm extremely grateful to you."
Gu Shenwei was gripping the shaft of his saber with his right hand out of
habit. He trusted Xiao Fengchai, but not to the extent where he could let his
guard down. "Since you have no intention of harming me, Sir, I, too, have no
intention of killing you."
Meng Yuzun sniggered as he replied, "Let's not be on ceremony here, Dragon

King. You can address me as Old Meng."
Gu Shenwei nodded slightly but did not reply.
Meng Yuzun wiped away the sweat from his forehead. It was a sign of self-
confidence and not anxiety. "Er, there aren't any outsiders here, so I'll be to
the point. I have two people with me that the Dragon King might be
interested in. My request, or rather Lady Meng's request, is very simple—all
you have to do is to exchange the Dajue Book of Swordcraft for them. It'll be
as if the entire incident did not happen, and the Supreme King would never
know about it. Hur, hur, if it's up to me to decide, since you've already
learned it, there's no point keeping it with you. It's an extremely good deal for
you."
Meng Yuzun was all smiles as he waited for the Dragon King's reply. He was
confident that victory was at hand.
Gu Shenwei remained expressionless and he pondered for a moment before

replying. "My request is also very simple. Release the two of them, and I'll
continue to keep Lady Meng's secret safe with me."
"Secret? What secret?" The smile was now gone from the fat man's face, and
more beads of sweat started to form on it.
"Go ask Lady Meng."
Gu Shenwei started walking towards the door and paused at the doorstep
before adding, "If I fail to receive the two million taels of silver tomorrow, I'll
act myself after the deadline."
It was time to leverage on the secret that Shangguan Hong had divulged to
him, and Gu Shenwei felt that he still had a chance to win.
Chapter 307 - Pile of Silver
Chapter 307: Pile of Silver
After blustering out a threat to Lady Meng and Meng Yuzun who was
muddle-headed about the lady's secret, Gu Shenwei got a response on the
following day.
In the afternoon, the citizens of South City got to witness a rare spectacle:
more than 10 carriages, carrying two million taels of silver, were being
transported to the Residence of the Dragon King in broad daylight.
The sole responsibility of the men sent by Meng Yuzun was to ensure that the
silver was delivered; they even wanted to collect the boxes back. As such, the
silver had to be stacked in the Dragon King's front yard after being weighed,
and it literally became a mountain of silver. The taels of silver were so shiny
that one would get dizzy just by looking at them. Everyone in the residence
crowded around to see for themselves, their mouths agape in amazement.
More than 10 pairs of eyes could be noticed peeking unblinkingly and

greedily at the silver from the door seams and over the wall of the front yard.
Fang Wenshi was also gazing at the pile of silver with his mouth wide open,
and had to control his strong urge to throw himself on it. He had seen through
the cunning ploy of the Meng family. "This was obviously done to cause
trouble in the residence. How many people would come in hope of snatching
it for their own use? This move by the fat man is indeed ruthless."
Gu Shenwei did not order the silver to be moved. Instead, he made the
swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain erect a flag near it. Fang Wenshi
suggested against using the Black Blood Flag as it had a somber reputation
now, and Gu Shenwei had to re-design another one.
The murder of crows on the Reincarnation Hill had left an indelible
impression in Gu Shenwei's mind, therefore the new flag he designed for the
Great Snowmountain was black based with a crudely drawn side portrait of a
red crow in the middle of it.
Fang Wenshi did not really like this design, but grudgingly accepted it in the
end.
Xu Xiaoyi had secretly contacted many underground banks in the hope that
someone would accept the deposit of two million taels of silver, but none of
them dared to. "It's too conspicuous. It'll be akin to openly going against the
Meng Family by accepting your deposit. Furthermore, I don't have the
resources to store it securely," replied Shopkeeper Lyu of Southwall Tavern.
He was heartbroken to have to pass over a deal like this; he wanted to do it
but was also extremely afraid of the Meng family.
That very night, the robbers came, just as was expected.
Greed overcame fear, and there were at least five groups of bandits loitering
around the residence of the Dragon King once night came. They were already
fighting amongst themselves even before laying eyes on the silver, and only
calmed down after one of them was struck dead. They came up with a plan
by dividing the residence into different parts and made a deal to launch a
multi-pronged attack. It was up to the individual bandit to grab as much of
the silver as he or she could.
They were still somewhat wary of the Dragon King, and dared not aim to
grab all of the two million taels of silver; they only wished to get part of it
amongst the chaos.
The atmosphere within the residence of the Dragon King had suddenly grown
tense.
Those who did not know any kung fu were made to stay in the backyard, and
they were separated by gender into two different rooms. Four machetemen,
four swordsmen and Lianye stood guard over them. Lianye did not wish to
take part in guarding the silver because of his status as a monk and
volunteered to help guard the backyard instead.
The remaining 30 over machetemen from the Tianshan Sect and swordsmen
from the Great Snowmountain were responsible for guarding the front yard
with the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei only allocated two men to stand guard under the Red Raven
Flag. The other people were dispersed throughout the surrounding area and
stationed themselves in the various rooms, waiting for their orders. A lantern
was hung under each corner of the roof.
The anxious bandits finally struck when it was close to midnight, and snow
was beginning to fall.
The first wave consisted of three groups, each made up of five to eight
bandits. They came leaping onto the roof from the east, west, and north.
Some of them had concealed their faces but some did not bother to do so.
The three groups of bandits stood hesitating on the roof. The silver was just
below them, but none of them dared to make the first move. It was only after
15 minutes and when the snow started to get heavier, when a bandit shouted,
"I'm Ma Er, Dragon King. My finances are a little tight right now, and I've
come here to borrow some money. Please be generous. We can be friends. If
you have any request, feel free to look for me from now on."
After the 'pleasantries' were over, more than 20 of the bandits leaped into the
yard, seemingly simultaneously. They had drawn their sabers and advanced
gingerly through the shallow snow towards the pile of silver.
The two swordsmen standing guard under the Red Raven Flag drew their
heavy swords and readied themselves for battle.
However, it did not start immediately, as bandits always waited for someone
else to start a fight; they were always looking to grab the loot when the others
were fighting. Slowly, their steps became smaller and smaller until they were
almost marching on the spot.
Snowflakes were starting to cover the sky, and the light emanating from the
four lanterns was soon not enough to pierce through the snow in the air. It
was pitch black around the pile of silver, which was at the center of the yard,
but it did not matter to the bandits; it was why they were here.
Soon, the second wave of bandits was already on the roof. They were no less
than 60. A muscular bandit gave a loud roar as he raised the scimitar in his
hand. "The Dragon King has fewer men than us. Let's go!"
Thus, the battle began.
As the second wave of bandits leaped into the yard, the first wave rushed
towards the pile of silver. The guards of the front yard came rushing out of
the various rooms, and soon there were more than a hundred people
congregating in the yard. The battleground immediately looked smaller, and
this resulted in extremely brutal close combat.
As shouts from the front yard kept ringing out, those seeking refuge in the
backyard trembled and huddled together. Fang Wenshi closed his eyes and
quietly prayed. "I'll be fine, the Dragon King will be fine, and the silver will
also be fine."
As the battle just began, someone had extinguished the flame from all the
lanterns. The combatants were soon plunged into the pitch black night and
never ending snow. There were only countless cries to be heard.
"Don't slash, it's me!"
"I've got the silver, let's go!"
"Grab a little more."
"Hurry, hurry."
"Dragon King! Dragon King…"
All of a sudden, a few torches were lit, and one could see the bodies dropping
like flies. There were people continually being cut down and the blood from
their wounds froze before it could splatter or gush out. This did not diminish
the draw of the pile of silver, however. More and more bandits surged
forward with a raging desire for the money. They hacked a bloody path
towards the mountain of silver, not discriminating between friend or foe.
Once they got there, they threw themselves on the silver and started stuffing
their pockets and sacks full of it. They then turned back and tried to hack
their way out again.
Gu Shenwei had never slaughtered bandits so easily before. Lin Xiaoshan

was carrying a torch and darting around the combatants, and Gu Shenwei
followed closely by his side. With the aid of the light from the torch, he killed
a bandit with every single stroke of his saber. It was nearly a massacre
without resistance, and only a few of his opponents tried to block his attacks.
The power of the silver was ten times more than he had imagined.
The battle ended around midnight, and there was not a single tael of silver
missing. However, the pile of silver had been covered by blood and snow,
and could not shine as brightly as before.
There were many corpses left behind in the yard, and only a few of the
bandits came to their senses at the very last minute, leaving the silver behind
and fleeing for their lives.
The lanterns were re-lit and everyone took inventory. A few of the
machetemen and swordsmen were wounded and were sent to the backyard
for treatment.
Gu Shenwei saw that there was a youth about 13 years of age standing at the
now open main entrance, and asked, "Who's that?"
A swordsman replied, "He wants to be a disciple of the Dragon King, and

he's the only one to stay behind; all the others have left."
When Gu Shenwei won the title of Machete God, a group of people had
gathered at his doorstep, wishing to learn his machete technique. He had not
accepted any of them, and all of them took it as a sign for them to leave,
except for the youth who remained waiting stubbornly outside the main
entrance.
His clothes were thin, and his face was red from the frost. He was hugging a
short-saber and did not show any sign of fear upon seeing the corpses strewn
in the yard, his gaze fixed steadily at the Dragon King.
"Bring him to me, if he's still here tomorrow," Gu Shenwei instructed the
swordsman who had replied to him, before returning to his room to rest.
The first battle was over, but there would be stronger enemies coming their
way.
The first two waves of bandits were probably machetemen from the city who
had made a last minute career switch. Their methods were amateurish and
disorderly. Real bandits would have got other people to attack first and only
appear when they got a grasp on the enemy's strength. They were only
looking for riches, but would never sacrifice their lives for it if possible.
Gu Shenwei had predicted the arrival of more bandits, but he had not
predicted that his qigong deviation would attack at this critical time.
Previously, he would have a premonition two to three days before each attack
—his body would feel cold for no particular reason at all. This time, it was
sudden and came without prior warning.
He had felt a little cold when standing in the yard after getting rid of the first
two waves of bandits, but he attributed it to the snow. It was only when he
returned to his quarters and felt that the coldness was getting stronger instead
of diminishing, that he knew all was not well.
"Get monk Lianye to come," he ordered Lin Xiaoshan.
Lin Xiaoshan could see that the Dragon King was even paler than before, and
knew that something was amiss. He bowed to the Dragon King as a sign that
he understood the order, with a tinge of uncertainty in his eyes, and then he
went to the backyard to fetch Lianye.
Once the monk stepped into the Dragon King's room, he immediately made it
clear that he was not willing to take innocent lives, "Wildhorse forced brother
Lianhua and me into working for him and I want to kill him to avenge my
senior's death. However, I won't kill to protect your silver, Dragon King,
you…"
He stopped himself upon seeing that Gu Shenwei did not look quite right.
Gu Shenwei could not delay his resistance to the qigong deviation attack any
longer, as it was extremely strong. He had to begin channeling his internal
energy but was worried that there would still be people trying to get their
hands on the silver when it got closer to midnight. He ordered Lin Xiaoshan,
"Bring everyone to the backyard, and no matter what happens in the front
yard, don't come over."
"Go to the backyard? What if there are bandits?" Lin Xiaoshan could not
understand the logic behind the Dragon King's order. However, the Dragon
King looked serious and did not seem like he was spouting nonsense. Lin
Xiaoshan felt that he could only carry it out, but not before asking further,
"Everyone?"
"Everyone. No one is to come to the front yard until dawn."
Lin Xiaoshan went to convey the Dragon King's order to the other
machetemen and swordsmen. Gu Shenwei turned his attention to Lianye. He
had no other choice left but to trust the monk. "There's been a slight problem
with my internal breath, and I need to channel my internal energy to drive it
away. I hope that you can be my guardian while I'm at it, Master."
Lianye had already detected an anomaly to the Dragon King's internal breath
earlier at the Machete God Contest, and he had undergone the torment of
qigong deviation before as well. As such, he understood Gu Shenwei's pain
and brought his palms together as he said, "I humbly accept this post.
However, I have to make it clear that I'll only protect you, Dragon King. I'll
not be protecting the pile of silver in the yard."
Gu Shenwei nodded in agreement. The chill in his Dantian was growing

stronger, and he no longer had the energy to worry about the silver. As such,
he had simply sent Lin Xiaoshan and his other men to the backyard to protect
the defenseless residents. It would be great if the next wave of bandits
thought that the empty front yard was a trap and went away, but if not, he
could only forsake the silver and place more emphasis on his personal safety.
A person who was withstanding a qigong deviation attack could not be

disturbed in the slightest bit. Lianye walked out of the room and stood guard
at the door, while Gu Shenwei stuffed his ears with cotton wool, closed his
eyes and began channeling his internal breath.
However, it took him quite a while to enter a state of absolute concentration.

He would be close to defenseless for the next 12 hours, and in the past, he
had fought against the attacks by hiding in uninhabited areas, with Chu
Nanping as his guardian. Now, he was in the bustling South City, and the two
million taels of silver that everyone had eyes on was only about 10 steps
away from him. What was more, he no longer had the loyal youth as his
guardian, but a monk whom he did not know very well.
There was too much for him to worry about, and he could not relax entirely.
His saber and sword were just beside him, and he hesitated for a while before
placing the Dragon Head Sword within easy reach. He felt that only the
swordcraft from Death Scripture could save him if he was forced to act.
The chill was spreading towards his limbs and bones and he began to shiver
slightly. He forced himself to concentrate and focus all his energy on
withstanding the iciness in his body.
As he entered a state of absolute concentration, he could not be disturbed by

any sound other than thunder or if someone was charging towards him.
Therefore, he could consider himself lucky that he could not hear a voice
coming from the front yard.
"Come on out, Dragon King, and receive your death! The Five Warlords of
Tianshan are here to avenge Chipo's death!"
Chapter 308 - Snow Night
Chapter 308: Snow Night
Lianye had been a solitary bandit before he became a monk. Although he

rarely participated in jianghu affairs after becoming a monk, he was still very
well-informed. He had never heard of the name "Five Warlords of Tianshan".
He then quickly realized that the people who had come up with that name and
claimed that they were seeking for revenge, were actually after the silver
taels.
"Amitabha," Lianye chanted. Other than avenging his senior, he did not plan
on fighting anyone else. "If you are here for the silver, please take it. Both
Dragon King and I will not stop you."
The monk spoke the truth, but the five people on the roof did not believe him.
They had been observing nearby for a while and had already discovered that
the machetemen and swordsmen, who were initially in the front yard, had
moved to the backyard. The gate of Dragon King's residence was open and it
made them feel more wary.
All five of them were covered in black from head to toe, and each wielded
different weapons: a saber, a sword, a spear, an axe and a bow.
The one with the saber appeared to be their leader as he was the one who
spoke on the behalf of the group. "Hey, we will seek our revenge and take our
taels. These taels were obtained by betraying Chipo. Dragon King should not
have taken these taels. Get him to come out. We want to test Dragon King's
machete skills."
Lianye shook his head and said, "Taels are worldly items and Dragon King is
unwilling to hurt the innocent. The taels are in front of you. You are free to
take as much as you need."
The monk was extremely honest. The five people on the roof felt uneasy,
thinking there was a trap in the courtyard. The leader simply ignored Lianye
and shouted, "Dragon King, are you a coward? We are good brothers of
Chipo and are here tonight to avenge him. Stop playing tricks and come out
quickly."
There was no sound in the house. Monk Lianye knew that there was no use
speaking further, and lowering his head, started chanting softly.
The snow on the ground was piling up and had completely covered the silver
taels in the courtyard. The monk was also covered with snow.
The man with the axe lost his patience first. He said, "Dragon King is a
coward. Big Brother, let me go and kill him."
The eldest brother, the one with the saber, was more cautious. During the first
half of the night, he had seen the fate of seventy plus bandits. Although he
believed that the five of them were more capable than the bandits, they still
had to be on guard against Dragon King's tricks. He said, "Fifth Brother,
shoot an arrow at Dragon King."
"Fifth Brother" drew his bow and notched an arrow. Kneeling on one leg, he
aimed at the monk and fired.
In the split second before the arrow reached the monk, it suddenly split into
three pieces, each aimed at the monk's head, chest, and abdomen.
Lianye took a breath, clenched his fists and grunted. No matter whether it had
been one or three arrows, they snapped into pieces under Lianye's Internal
Strength.
The leader laughed and said, "You are indeed worthy to be the holy monk of
Four Truths Temple. You have great skills. It is a pity that you are willing to
be a slave to Dragon King just because of your defeat at the Machete God
Contest. You have insulted the name "Holy Monk" and have embarrassed
Four Truths Temple."
Lianye's killing desire had been suppressed by years of mediation and

Breaking Obsession. But oce his killing desire was ignited, it would not be
controlled, like a prowling tiger on the loose. He shouted, "What is there to
talk about? Come and fight me."
The leader took the lead and the Five Warlords of Tianshan jumped onto the
ground. They had basic courtesy not to crowd the monk. The well-built man
with the ax stepped forward and said, "Monk, let's fight."
The handle of the ax was less than two feet long, but the ax was bigger than
his head. When the ax was held up, wind rushed around them, blowing snow
in swirls.
Lianye was already losing his patience. He jumped towards the enemy
without any weapon and slapped him without even a word of warning.
The two of them exchanged blows and the four people watching the match
were stunned. The monk's capability exceeded their expectations - he could
force the built man into a retreat with his bare hands. The most astounding
thing was that even though the monk made huge movements, the snow on his
head and shoulders did not move as though it was firmly attached to him.
"Let's go together," the leader shouted. Dragon King had not appeared and
the four of them were confident. They ignored the jianghu rules, which was
to fight one on one.
Lianye became more and more at ease. He did not bother to evade his
opponent's attack but focused on attacking the opponent. Although the built
man was strong, he had no power to retaliate. He had to block every attack
with his ax as he knew any strike from the monk could be fatal.
Just when the four other warlords launched their assault on the monk, the
monk shouted and the snow on his body fell off. He punched directly at the
ax. The power was so strong that it knocked the well-built man off his feet,
despositing him on the pile of silver taels in the courtyard.
The man vomited blood and he couldn't move his ax away from his body.
Although he was not dead, he was badly injured.
After Lianye had injured one person, his killing desire was was inflamed.
Before the four people could reach him, he rushed at them and began
attacking first, throwing them into confusion.
Before Lianye had became a monk, his kungfu was already good. Although
he practiced Buddhist doctrines at the Four Truths Temple, his skills didn't
deteriorate. Under the guidance of a teacher, his Internal Strength had became
stronger. If Dragon King had not revealed the secrets of Peripheral Force at
the Machete God Contest, he would not be thrown off and he would probably
have won when they had competed with their Internal Strength.
The monk's robe sleeves danced around and his moves were as fast as
lightning. Their weapons could not even get close to the monk and the archer
could not shoot his arrows as he could not get a good shot.
Mama Xue once told Gu Shenwei that it was difficult to use bare fists to fight
against weapons. Gu Lun had also said something similar to his son. They
were right, but there was a pre-requisite: the two sides had to be evenly
matched.
Gu Shenwei's Internal Strength was not as good as the monk, and his melee
attacks were much weaker, but Gu Shenwei's chance of winning increased
exponentially when he had a weapon. "Five Warlords of Tianshan" were
second-rate bandits. Even if they had weapons, they would still lose.
The leader became more and more frantic as the fight progressed. He wanted
to use his best move. He swung his saber several times, jumped out from the
fight and shouted, "Monk, don't you want to dispel your Peripheral Force?
Just surrender!"
This move was similar to that used by Gu Shenwei at the Machete God
Contest, but the effect was the opposite.
The reason why Lianye was controlled by Wildhorse was not that he was
afraid of death, but because he had not wanted his junior to suffer. As he also
wanted to promote Breaking Obsession, he was willing to speak of law and
was hence duped by the swindlers.
As Lianye wanted to seek revenge, he still cooperated with Wildhorse at the
Machete God Contest. He had not expected Dragon King to know his
predicament. He lost as he been distracted at the crucial moment when they
were competing with Internal Strength. In the same way, he was now
collaborating with Dragon King in order to seek revenge. He knew that
Wildhorse would leak the secret, and was prepared. Upon hearing the leader's
threat, he was not afraid, instead, he was furious.
"All of you will die!" The monk shouted. His movements did not slow.
Before he had even finished speaking, he had snatched the sword. He turned
to avoid the spear and stabbed the person with the spear in the heart.
The leader saw that his best move had backfired. His face turned white and
said, "What a crazy monk. We shall fight another time." Before he had
finished his first sentence, he was already at the gate. By the time anyone
heard his next sentence, he had already disappeared.
The leader had escaped. The archer was even more terrified, and jumping
onto the roof, he ran in the other direction.
Only the man with the sword was left. His weapon was snatched away. He
stared at the monk, dazed, momentarily forgetting to flee.
Lianye sighed. His late senior would know that he had started killing people
and blame himself. His heart clenched and he threw down the sword. He said,
"Leave. Take the both of them away. Don't come back."
The man only then, responded, saying "Thank you Holy monk for sparing my
life."He carried the corpse of the man with the spear, supported the man with
the ax and staggered out from the gate as quickly as he could.
Snow was still falling. The monk was alone in the courtyard as he started to
chant the Breaking Obsession. He blamed himself for igniting his killing
desire.
Someone peeked out from the gate of Dragon King's residence. He was the
leader with the saber who escaped earlier on. He said, "Monk. Master
Lianhua had died of a terrible death. Don't you want to avenge him?"
After spending much effort to calm down, he was irritated. He asked, "What
do you know?"
"I know that Lianhua was murdered and the killer hid well. You were
completely kept in the dark."
"I know who the murderer is." Lianye almost said Shangguan Fei's name. He
held it back. Slave Qing had been killed that night by poison, so there was no
basis to accuse Stone Castle Ninth Young Master. The only possibility of
revenge would occur when Dragon King was at war with Golden Roc Fort.
"Hey. You thought you knew, but you don't know anything. Lianhua had died
of a terrible death, and he had left behind a stupid junior. You want to avenge
your senior, but you can't find the murderer."
The leader disappeared immediately after saying those words.
Lianye knew that it might be a trick, but his patience could not withstand
another blow, otherwise, he wouldn't have such a ridiculous nickname. He
turned around and looked at Dragon King's room, thinking that he would
capture the leader easily and still have the time to rush back to protect Dragon
King after interrogating him. With that, he rushed out into the snow.
When the monk left, it began to snow heavily. The snowing subsided only
when the snow on the ground was one foot thick. The four lanterns hanging
around the yard had burnt out and was dark.
The snowing suddenly stopped. The moon was hanging high and illuminated
the entire area.
Another person peered out from gate of Dragon King's residence.
A red-faced, young macheteman sneaked into the courtyard, leaving deep

footprints.
He passed the pile of silver taels in the middle of the yard. He glanced at the
taels and ax, which were covered by thick snow. He was tempted, but
continued walking. Then, he felt something amiss. He turned around and
gazed at the top of the tall Red Raven Flag.
There was a person standing at the top of the flag.
The young macheteman blicked his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was
seeing. The top of the flagpole was less than half a foot long and swayed in
the wind. How could anyone stand on it?
However, it was a person. He jumped down and snapped open his cape. His
cape looked like giant wings. He landed silently and with almost no trace on
the snow.
The person was covered in black and his weapon was concealed in his cape,
hidden from the young macheteman's view.
The cloaked man placed his index finger on his lips.
The young macheteman had a little jianghu experience. Even though he was
stunned, he did not show it. He just nodded his head.
The cloaked man pointed at Dragon King's room and said softly, "Check it
out."
This was an unusual instruction, but the young macheteman was controlled
by the cloaked man who descended from the sky. He nodded again and
walked towards the room.
Dragon King's door was in front of him. The roof had not been able to
withstand the heavy snow there was half a foot of snow at the doorstep.
The young macheteman gently pushed the door open and saw Dragon King
sitting cross-legged on the bed. Dragon King was motionless, just like an ice
statue. His stiff face showed that Dragon King was in great pain.
The young macheteman was unable to move.

Chapter 309 - Fear
Chapter 309: Fear
It was as if there were millions of ice needles that were pricking the inside of
Gu Shenwei's body. The pricking sensation emanated from his viscera
towards the surface of his body. The chilliness ebbed away bit by bit every
time the pricking sensation hits his skin, but not for long before a new wave
of ice needles began forming in his Dantian again. Even though Gu Shenwei
protected the pulse of his heart, it did not numb the sensation of pain. On the
contrary, it only further intensified and the excruciating pain that he had to
endure was increased by twofold.
He could not hear anything as his ears were stuffed with cotton wool.
However, he would still open his eyes involuntarily whenever danger
approached.
There was a panic-stricken young macheteman who stood by the door. His
face was so red that it could even be clearly seen in the night.
It was the sixth hour of exorcism. The most difficult period had passed. Gu
Shenwei still needed to persevere for six more hours, but he was able to
devote some of his energy to his surroundings.
The young macheteman seemed to be saying something indignantly as he

approached Gu Shenwei. He couldn't hear anything, but he was able to feel a
strong animosity from the young man's face.
The young macheteman did not pose the greatest threat. Instead, it was
someone outside that posed the greatest threat.
The footprints left by the young macheteman were barely visible in the thick
snow. Gu Shenwei was able to sense someone else hiding in the dark. The
killing intent emanating from that person was weak but unshakable.
The young macheteman was filled with grief and indignation. He was
discouraged. Like what the rumors would suggest, Dragon King seemed to be
in a state of qigong deviation. However, even though Dragon King was in
such a state, this demon still paid him no attention, as though his existence
was insignificant.
"… I am here to seek revenge. I had initially hoped to be your disciple and
kill you after learning your kung fu. However, God is fair; I currently have
the opportunity to exact my revenge as you are currently incapacitated…"
Dragon King remained silent. The pained expression on his face subsided a
little bit. His gaze was cold and empty. This made the youth even more
furious.
The short sword that the youth unsheathed seemed a little too big for him.
The youth thought that he could reach and kill Dragon King within three
steps. However, it was as though there was an invisible net in front of him.
The more he tried to move forward, the greater the resistance.
The youth was afraid. All the stories of Dragon King and the scene that he
had witnessed of Dragon King killing the bandits during the first half of the
night terrified him. This fear was like a heavy boulder that was weighing
down on his small shoulders. His arms were shaking; his heart pounding and
his legs were giving way.
He hated how incompetent he is. He couldn't move any closer, even though
his blade was just three feet away from Dragon King.
A shadow appeared behind him and grabbed his arm with a strong and
forceful hand. There was a hypnotizing cold voice that spoke above his head.
"Do you want to live your whole life with regret?"
The youth bit his lips till it bled. He seemed to have gained strength from the
mysterious cloaked man and took a step forward gently. The short sword in
his hand was pointed at Dragon King's heart.
Dragon King was like an ice sculpture. It was as though he did not even have
the strength to roll his eyes.
Like a hungry stray cat, the youth pounced on his target recklessly, without
accounting for the difference in capabilities.
The cloaked man took a step back when the youth pounced forward. He was
a very cautious man. Considering that this opportunity to kill Dragon King
seemed to be too easy and much of a coincidence, he was being very vigilant.
However, things did not play out as it would.
The desperate young man had already exhausted all of his strength when the
tip of the blade touched Dragon King's heart. The ice-like statue suddenly
attacked and stabbed the cautious cloaked man behind the young
macheteman.
All three of them were injured.
The feeble youth knelt on the ground, shivering. His short sword had been
thrown aside. He did not manage to see what had happened above his head.
The cloaked man retreated hastily to the door, while holding his neck. He was
horrified. It was as though he had seen a ghost, but he was still alive. He
slumped over the doorstep.
Gu Shenwei's were the most injured. Most of his Internal Strength had been
used to protect his heart pulse against the effects of the continuously
emerging ice needles. The Death Scripture required its practitioners to use all
of their strength to kill in one blow. Even though that move was only within a
moment, it still diverted a lot of his Internal Strength.
The chilliness in his body took advantage of this and damaged several vital
meridians concurrently. Gu Shenwei was barely able to hold back a mouthful
of blood that rushed to his throat, but he was greatly shaken. He realized that
the qigong deviation this time would cause him great harm.
"Such an evil swordcraft." The cloaked man was both impressed and
frightened at the same time. He was still alive, but the Internal Breath in his
Dantian evaporated rapidly like snow in spring. It escaped through every pore
of his skin.
"Hey, crybaby! Get up." The cloaked man was unable to get up, so he tried to
encourage the young macheteman instead. "Don't you want to exact your
revenge? Your enemy is right in front of you. Do you know how many
people in the world are hoping for such an opportunity? Yet you got it.
Quickly pick up the sword and kill him."
"I… I dare not." The young man cried. Shameful tears welled up in his eyes.
In his plan, revenge would be a long process. He didn't expect the opportunity
to come so soon.
"It is normal to be afraid since he's the Dragon King. Everyone will be
nervous when they try to kill someone for the first time. It's alright. Stand up.
With just one blow, you will be the person who killed Dragon King. You will
be famous." The cloaked man persuaded patiently.
The youth knelt on the ground and shook his head desperately. He said, "No,
I can't. My legs…"
"You coward. You have no guts!" The cloaked man failed to persuade the
youth so he tried to provoke him instead. "Have you forgotten how your
uncle was killed? He was stabbed in the back. Your young cousin was also
stabbed to death. Your aunt who had no kung fu was raped and murdered.
Have you forgotten all about it? Get up, you good for nothing!"
Gu Shenwei did not hear what the youth in front of him said, but the cloaked
man heard it loud and clear from outside the house.
The taunting was effective. The youth picked up the short sword and stood up
with a jerk. Wiping away his incompetent tears, he said, "Yes, I must kill
you, Dragon King. Even if I will be killed when I step out of here, I want to
kill you off right now."
Gu Shenwei could not hear what the youth said. There was no need for the
Death Scripture swordcraft. He could just grab the Dragon Head Sword that
was nearby and kill off the weak opponent. But even so, he would need to
divert a little Internal Strength, and this alone was enough for him to be
completely controlled by qigong deviation. Even if he survives, he would
most likely be paralyzed.
Gu Shenwei was also amused by the fact that the renowned Dragon King of
the Great Snow Mountain would actually be killed by a nobody.
"Hey, who are you people? What are you trying to do?" Jiang appeared at the
doorstep.
Jiang faithfully carried out the Dragon King's order to stop anyone from
entering the front yard till dawn. At first light, she was the first to check on
the situation despite the dissuasion of others.
The cloaked man was shocked. He was so focused on Dragon King that he
didn't notice any outsiders approaching him. However, he was too weak to
get up and could only pin his hope on the youth. "Hurry up and do it!" He
shouted.
Jiang's questioning had unnerved the youth, but he did not falter. Although
his sword kept shaking, he still managed to accurately stab Dragon King's
heart.
Jiang was taken aback. She leaped over the stranger at the doorstep and
pounced on the youth. She pushed him aside and fought him for his weapon.
The short sword slit Dragon King's chest.
"Let go of me, I want to exact my revenge!"
The weak youth struggled desperately, but he was no match for Jiang, who
was a girl from the Great Snow Mountain. Although she didn't know kung fu,
she was still much stronger than other girls. Concerned about the safety of
Dragon King, she exerted even more force.
Jiang snatched the short sword and stood guard in front of Dragon King.
Panting, she said, "Do not come any closer." She then shouted loudly,
"Somebody, come here quickly! There are assassins here!"
Like a ball that was bouncing back up, the cloaked man stood up suddenly. In
an instant, Jiang was pushed to the corner of the wall. Her head banged
against the wall and she passed out.
"The loss of Internal Strength was only temporary." The cloaked man
breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but grin nastily. There was not a lot
of time, but it was enough for him to kill Dragon King and escape.
Gu Shenwei knew that he had no other choice but to grab the Dragon Head
Sword.
Both weapons struck at the same time.
For the first time, he slipped up while using the Death Scripture swordcraft.
As the Dragon Head Sword struck the short sword, the cloaked man retreated
three steps forcefully and shot a hidden weapon towards Dragon King's chest.
Dragon King bent over, lying on the bed.
The hidden weapon was poisonous. The cloaked man thought to himself,
"Dragon King is definitely going to die." Just as he was about to check on
Dragon King, the guards of the Residence of Dragon King rushed into the
front yard after hearing Jiang's shouts.
"He must be dead." The cloaked man thought to himself again and left the
room, jumping onto the roof and escaping towards the city.
Gu Shenwei was still alive, but he was in a state that was no different from
being dead.
The cotton wool in his ears was removed. Even the slightest noise would
rattle his ears, yet he was unable to make out a single sound. He opened his
eyes but everything he saw seemed surreal.
Why was the monk thumping his chest and stamping his feet? Why was the
red-faced young girl crying? Why were the Xu siblings as pale as paper?
Gradually, the sounds and scenes finally merged, and the world became real.
"It's my fault, it's all my fault." Lianye was blaming himself. "I was tricked. I
went around in circles. After spending so much effort catching the person, he
didn't know anything at all. This is all my fault."
"Dragon King is awake," Xu Yanwei said, pleasantly surprised.
"How am I alive?" Gu Shenwei asked softly. He remembered that he had

fallen into a deep icy abyss and his entire body was numb. There should be
no way to save him.
"Master Lianye saved Dragon King," Lin Xiaoshan said as he stepped

forward from the outermost of the crowd.
Lianye had pulled Dragon King back from the gates of hell; he used his
Internal Strength to help Dragon King dispel most of the poison and
stabilized his heart pulse. However, the monk still felt guilty and kept on
repeating. "It's my fault."
Gu Shenwei tried to gather his Qi and was disheartened to realize that his
Internal Breath had coagulated like glue. Although he didn't die, he couldn't
even gather his Qi. He was only barely speaking and didn't even have the
strength to raise his hand.
"Dragon King had just woken up. Let's not disturb him and leave him to rest.
Jiang, please stay with him," Xu Yanwei said softly. Everyone nodded and
left the room.
Lin Xiaoshan was behind the pack and was already at the door. He seemed
indecisive about something. Hence, he turned around again and said, "Dragon
King, there is something…"
"Dragon King is already in this state…" Jiang said angrily.
Lin Xiaoshan blushed slightly, but he still insisted on staying.
"Speak up," Gu Shenwei said weakly. He had never felt so frail before.
"The Meng family sent someone over to meet Dragon King. He claimed that
he also represents Lady Meng."
Gu Shenwei had threatened Lady Meng with a "secret" and now she is trying
to find out how much he knew. "Tell him to let Shangguan Hong come
instead." Gu Shenwei replied.
Lin Xiaoshan froze. He had no idea how this matter was related to Supreme
King's illegitimate son but he still acknowledged it in a low voice.
Gu Shenwei believed that by using Shangguan Hong's name, he would be

able to convince Lady Meng that the secret was indeed with him.
Just when Lin Xiaoshan was about to leave, Gu Shenwei asked, "Who is that
youth?"
"He said that he's Nie Zeng. He claimed that Dragon King killed his uncle,
Nie Qing, and his family a few years ago. I had already locked him up and
will wait for your instructions."
Gu Shenwei remembered it immediately. He and his master, Tie Hanfeng had

killed a family of three a few years ago. The macheteman in the family was
called Nie Qing.
"Release him," Gu Shenwei said. He was neither softhearted nor

contemptuous, "Everyone has the right to seek revenge."
Chapter 310 - Enemies
Chapter 310: Enemies
The residents of Jade City and various forces were deeply shocked when they
heard Dragon King had been attacked by an assassin while paralyzed on his
bed.
Respondng to inquiries by those who werecurious or with ulterior motives,

Fang Wenshi shot down the rumor seriously, "There's no such thing. Dragon
King is fine. How could he be paralyzed?"
However, for the past few days, the military counselor would conclude the
negotiations early and return the Dragon King's residence in South City
before dark. Hence, everyone knew that there was something wrong with
Dragon King.
Indeed, Gu Shenwei could not get out of bed. His chest injury was minor and
the state of his Internal Breath in his Dantian had also improved, but he could
not move anything from waist down. The poison in the hidden weapon was
the biggest problem. Although Lianye had driven out most of the poison, the
little that remained was hard to remove.
Lianye felt that he had unintentionally caused Dragon King's injury and was
deeply disturbed. Hence, he used his Internal Strength to heal Dragon King
every day and refused to leave Dragon King's residence.
The injury would gradually recover but everyone was worried about whether
Dragon King had the time.
The cloaked man who had escaped was a deadly threat. He knew better than
anyone that Dragon King was vulnerable at this time and would probably
come back again.
Tianshan Sect sent many swordsmen reinforcing Dragon King's residence
with more than a hundred guards. It was sufficient to fend off an ordinary
attack, but there were still loopholes that a real master could make use of.
Fang Wenshi suggested Dragon King move into the residence of the special
emissary from the Central Plains in North City, but Dragon King declined.
One couldn't bring weapons into North City. Hence, Dragon King would be a
more precarious situation. North City could not hold off those who wanted to
get rid of Dragon King.
Nothing much happened in the first two days. Shangguan Hong came upon
invitation on the third day.
It was obvious that Shangguan Hong had not intented to visit Dragon King.
He wore a thick and long cape as if he was a thief. He arrived at Dragon
King's residence in the evening and looked around warily after he entered the
house, as though there would be an ambush.
The others retreated. Shangguan Hong took off his hood and asked nervously,
"Why did you summon me? Aren't you revealing who I am?"
"I saved your life." Gu Shenwei was propped up with a pillow and his tone
was weak and old.
"Saved my life?" Shangguan Hong did not understand Dragon King's

meaning.
"Lady Meng must have known that you were the one who leaked the secret.
The reason why I summoned you was to remind her not to silence anyone,
otherwise, I will disclose the secret."
Shangguan Hong hummed in acknowledgment. He knew Dragon King was

right, but didn't want to admit it. He asked, "Will you disclose it?"
"If I am going to die, why would I keep the secret?"
Shangguan Hong seemed uneasy and paced up and down. He said, "What do
you want? Lady Meng will never let your two men off. She said that unless
you gave her the secret manuscript, she struggle with all her might.
Furthermore, both of us didn't have any evidence and you knew that the Lord
listens to her."
Gu Shenwei coughed feebly, "I'm not worried. Tell Lady Meng that I'm
living well. Otherwise, she wouldn't have a chance to struggle. I have already
collected the evidence."
"You have?" Shangguan Hong was startled.
Gu Shenwei stopped talking.
"That's all?" Shangguan Hong was even more nervous.
"Yes." Gu Shenwei looked at Shangguan Hong. He suddenly asked, "Did

Zhang Ji get you to kill me?"
Shangguan Hong jumped and his face turned pale. He replied, "No. Mr.
Zhang said that he would want to meet you again if the opportunity arose. I
… I will take my leave if there's nothing else."
Before Dragon King could reply, Shangguan Hong pushed open the door and
left Dragon King's residence hurriedly. He was afraid the guards would stop
him.
The talk was concluded hastily. Gu Shenwei stared at the door until he could
no longer see Shangguan Hong's shadow.
Monk Lianye entered the room looking very serious.
"Does he look similar?" Gu Shenwei asked.
"Yes." Lianye voice was a mixture of grief and fury and clenched his fist. "I
don't understand why it is him."
"Although I didn't kill Master Lianhua, he died because of me. Shangguan

Hong wanted to silence me, but he didn't dare to attack me. Hence, he pushed
the blame to me. He hoped that Four Truths Temple and killers in the fort
would erupt into a rage. Of course, this is my guess. Now, some people saw
Master Hong leaving Dragon King's residence in one piece. So, you are now
free to move around."
"Amitabha." Lianye bowed with his palms together. "I will be back as soon
as possible."
"No. Don't come back. Shangguan Hong is the son of Supreme King. Great
Snowmountain will not meddle in your personal grudges. Please come back
after you have settled it."
Lianye nodded solemnly. He turned around and left the house, disappearing
into the twilight.
Gu Shenwei had doubts about the cloaked assassin who had appeared three
days ago but had finally resolved his doubts when he met Shangguan Hong
just now. He also understood the reason behind Lianhua's death.
Meng Yuzun, Lady Meng, Joy Pavilion and Wildhorse all wanted the Death
Scripture. They didn't want Dragon King to die now. Golden Roc Fort and
Governor had great influence. If they had sent assassins, it would not just be
one person.
Lianhua's assassination was also very strange. He was slightly pedantic and
would not have offended the various forces in Jade City. It seemed that the
mastermind wanted to push the blame to Dragon King. However, he had been
crushed by a censer and had his rice poisoned. Such killing methods were
completely unlike those used by Dragon King.
Slave Qing was Shangguan Fei's steward. Gu Shenwei would think that the
mastermind was Ninth Young Master, but he had some doubts. Shangguan
Fei knew that Wildhorse would impersonate Dragon King. Why would he
risk killing Lianhua before Wildhorse?
It was only until Lin Xiaoshan had said that Lady Meng had sent someone
over to negotiate and Gu Shenwei blurted out Shangguan Hong's name, when
he realized that his enemies were not only those powerful forces but also
those insignificant nobodies.
Shangguan Hong was one of them. Gu Shenwei had gotten hold of his secrets
in Shu-lik. He must have asked Zhang Ji for help after returning to Golden
Roc Fort. Zhang Ji must be Dragon King's hidden enemy.
The teacher who had helped Slave Huan would never betray Golden Roc Fort
for anonymous student.
With this in mind, Gu Shenwei remembered that Shangguan Hong's figure

resembled his own. He could easily disguise him, impersonate Dragon King
and deceive Lianye.
As for the cloaked assassin, Shangguan Hong and Zhang Ji must have
thought a way to hire him. The two of them were uninterested in the Death
Scripture and they might not even know its existence. They only wanted to
silence Dragon King, but they were not very competent and could not hire
many masters.
Even after sending Monk Lianye after Shangguan Hong, Gu Shenwei felt
slightly regretful. He had hoped that he could get Zhang Ji to support Great
Snowmountain. However, now that he knew about the matter, it would be
impossible to get Zhang Ji's support.
It was already completely dark. Gu Shenwei lifted the quilt, jumped out of
bed and placed his swords at his belt.
The young maid Jiang came in. She was pleasantly surprised to see Dragon
King off the bed. She said, "Dragon King …"
Gu Shenwei raised his forefinger and motioned her to speak softly. Jiang
lowered her voice and asked, "Have you recovered?"
Gu Shenwei shook his head. He had not fully recovered as there was some
poison left in his body. He couldn't move his Internal Breath smoothly, but he
could stand up and move his swords.
"Don't let anyone in tonight," he said to Jiang. "If someone barges in, don't
block him. Stay in bed and don't move."
Jiang widened her eyes and nodded. She detected a hint of danger in Dragon
King's tone and whispered, "Will there be assassins tonight?"
Gu Shenwei nodded his head.
He had foreseen the danger from Shangguan Hong's eager posture. Although
this illegitimate child of the Supreme King had the best counselor to help
him, he was inexperienced and could not hide his secrets.
Gu Shenwei jumped onto the table and then leaped onto the roof. He would
try not to use his Internal Strength.
Jiang pushed her little bed next to the big bed. She blew out the candle, put
on her gown and lay on the bed. She held her breath and kept her eyes wide
open. She didn't dare to move, lest she disturb Dragon King, who was hiding
on the roof.
The night grew deeper. Gu Shenwei had regained the feeling of being a killer
once again. How much time did killers spend waiting? He couldn't figure it
out. The time spent waiting might be longer than the time spent sleeping.
Eventually, Jiang could not bear it any longer and fell into a deep sleep. Her
breathing was steady as if dreaming sweet dreams.
He felt that she should not stay with him let alone come to Jade City. He
needed to get rid of these meaningless thoughts. Too many things had
happened that should not have and he couldn't be bothered with any of these
thoughts.
"Pong." There was a slight noise from the window as though the snow on the
roof fell to the ground. The killer who was lying on the beam was instantly
alert. The assassin he had been waiting for had arrived.
Gu Shenwei gripped his sword tightly. As he had little Internal Strength to

use, he had to make the first strike and kill the enemy in one blow.
However, the assassin seemed too cautious. He hadn't even entered the house.
Gu Shenwei pricked up his ears. Apart from Jiang's gentle breathing, he

couldn't hear anything. It seemed that the sound was caused by the falling
snow.
He thought that there had been an accident outside but did nto jump down to
check, wary for any traps.
A burst of footsteps passed by the door. It belonged to the guards of Dragon

King's residence, who were patrolling.
In order to hide his intention, Gu Shenwei had not given any special
instructions to the guards tonight. Everything was as usual.
Those machetemen and swordsmen couldn't fend off a real assassin. The
sound of footsteps went away; it seemed that no one found anything out of
sorts.
Gu Shenwei still believed the sound was created by an assassin who had
come and gone, instead of falling snow.
He thought the assassin was here to reconnoiter the area. He was slightly
nervous as this would mean that there might be more than one assassin
tonight.
Who did Zhang Ji and Shangguan Hong send? They had no money and
power. They could only rely on Zhang Ji's glib tongue and it seemed unlikely
that they had convinced any capable Golden Roc killer, unless it was a retired
killer who had left Golden Roc Fort.
Killers usually reached their peak before they turned forty. They could only
seek some idle job, teach young killers or voluntarily give up the title of
Golden Roc killer. Or, like vagrant machetemen, they could look for clients.
Gu Shenwei suddenly remembered who the cloaked man was. He had met the
cloaked man once, but had not thought about it as it had happened a long
time ago.
Another enemy came. There was no sound this time, but a sudden shadow
flashed across the window.
A tiny hole was poked through the paper window. An assassin was listening
attentively. Gu Shenwei made breathing sound, which was consistent with
Jiang's breathing sound to indicate that there were two people in the house.
The shadow disappeared for a while. Then, a small wooden pipe was stuck
into the room and a thin stream of smoke drifted in.
It wasn't the knockout powder, which was commonly used by Golden Roc
Fort. The assassin obviously didn't want to leave any evidence relating him to
Golden Roc Fort.
After fifteen minutes, a dagger was stuck through the crack in the door, as it
tried to unlock the door.
However, the dagger stopped moving when its tip appeared on the other side
of the door. The person outside seemed to be hesitating.
Gu Shenwei was extremely nervous. He was in a very dangerous situation.

His right hand gripped the sword shaft tightly. He might have to run the risk
of aggravating his wound and use Death Scripture swordcraft.
The threat had not gone. The assassin outside had suddenly disappeared. Gu
Shenwei even doubted that he had heard it wrong. The dagger was left at the
door. Then, it moved up without warning.
The feeling of impending danger grew stronger. Gu Shenwei had not been so
nervous in a long time and this nervousness had nothing to do with his injury.
The door cracked open. It was only wide enough for a gust of wind to enter,
but a person managed to slip through the small gap.
A woman in a plain dress looked up when she entered the room, right at the
place where Dragon King was hiding.
The chill in Gu Shenwei's body suddenly intensified and he found himself

trembling. Then, he fell off the beam.
Chapter 311 - Cooperation
Chapter 311: Cooperation
Gu Shenwei had imagined a variety of ways to meet Maid Lotus again, but
none of it was like this: Holding a sword in his hand, he wanted to move, but
he held himself back, knowing that he would be defeated as iciness gripped at
his Dantian.
He fell off the beam. His landing was wobbly but he managed to stand
firmly.
They stared at each other in silent, wary of each other. Each had no intention
to speak up first.
Suddenly, a series of exclamations came from outside. "Are you alright,

Dragon King?" Lin Xiaoshan asked urgently.
"I'm alright." His gaze still remained on Maid Lotus. "How many were
killed?"
"Five, and two of them belonged to Joy Pavilion."
"Alright, I got it." A total of four assassins were heard by Gu Shenwei, but he
was still missing one.
Lin Xiaoshan was full of doubts but did not dare to ask. Then, he cleaned up
the corpses along with the guards and left.
"So, you are called Dragon King now?" Maid Lotus spoke first, her hostility
and vigilance suddenly disappeared. She even smiled faintly, as if they were
still good partners, just like before.
"So, have you came to save me again?" Gu Shenwei replied sarcastically. The
hostility was gone but he still kept his vigilance. He had had a taste of Maid
Lotus' tricks and knew that she would never help him kill five assassins for
no reason.
"It is New Moon Hall who saved you, not me."
After not seeing Maid Lotus for three years, Gu Shenwei noticed that she had
changed. It was very subtle, but he realized that the quiet girl who had often
been overlooked in the past now possessed a sense of confidence and grace,
so much so that it was somewhat aggressive.
Maid Lotus had accomplished a huge deed for New Moon Hall, naturally, she
would be held in high regards by the Master of Xiaoyue Hall. Her
temperament would surely be different now that she was of a different status.
Unknowingly, Gu Shenwei became defiant and cocked his head slightly. "If
that's the case, then let the Master of Xiaoyue Hall come and speak to me."
Maid Lotus somehow noticed the change in his attitude and relaxed her
stance. "Just consider me as the messenger from New Moon Hall. You should
at least talk to the messenger briefly before meeting the Master."
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that he was giving in to his personal feelings.

No matter what Maid Lotus' real intentions were, the Great Snowmountain
and New Moon Hall were natural allies as they shared a common enemy.
One acted in the open and another in secret, but this actually complemented
each other. Slowly, he eased his tone and released his grip on the hilt of his
sword.
"Are we discussing it here right now?"
Maid Lotus glanced over at Jiang, who was sleeping soundly. She had
breathed in quite a significant amount of the knockout powder and was in a
deep slumber, oblivious to the conversation going on beside her.
"No, go to Doctor Sun's at North City after daybreak. We will talk there."
Even though Gu Shenwei was aware that New Moon Hall had planted many
spies in Jade City, he was still taken aback. He would never have thought that
Doctor Sun, who was well renowned, would pledge his allegiance to New
Moon Hall. He immediately felt that he had done far too little these few
years.
Maid Lotus took out a small wooden box and pass to him, "Take one pill
every morning and night. It acts as an antidote for the poison in your chest."
Gu Shenwei took the wooden box but did not open it.
"You know I won't hurt you."
She smiled softly and left without waiting for Gu Shenwei to answer.
There was some bawls outside the room before Lin Xiaoshan barged in. He
had noticed that something was amiss, so he let the guards continue their
patrolling while he remained guarded outside the room. But in a blink of an
eye, the person who came out of Dragon King's room leaped onto the roof
and was gone before he could even catch up.
Relieved that Dragon King was unscathed, he saw Jiang on the small bed and
was a bit embarrassed. He stammered, "Please pardon me, Dragon King… I
didn't know…"
"It's okay, she's… a friend from the past."
Lin Xiaoshan was slightly suspicious but took his leave. Gu Shenwei played
with the wooden box for a long time before opening it. Inside was two small
pills with an unusually bright shade of red.
Gu Shenwei closed the lid without touching what was inside.
After daybreak, Gu Shenwei headed toward North City, accompanied by Lin

Xiaoshan and 10 other guards. This was not really necessary since the news
of five assassins killed in the residence had already spread to the whole of
Jade City. Everybody now believed that Dragon King had never been hurt in
the first place, let alone paralyzed.
Lin Xiaoshan and others waited outside the residence of Doctor Sun while
Gu Shenwei entered alone.
The tall and robust Doctor Sun remained unchanged, only balder than before
and his beard bushier. "The last time I diagnosed you, you were still a killer
apprentice. Today, you are Dragon King. The affairs of the world are
constantly changing, no?"
Doctor Sun gazed at Gu Shenwei curiously, as though he was a rare case

waiting to be examined.
"A lot of things are not how you would expect it to be, isn't it?"
"Well, there's no need to think about it if it's going to be unexpected. Come,

let me check your pulse."
The doctor reached over with his slender fingers and Gu Shenwei did not
move away. He knew Doctor Sun was excellent in kung fu.
Doctor Sun's brows furrowed sharply as the minutes ticked by. Soon, nearly
an hour had passed. He had completely forgotten that Dragon King had come
here today with the purpose of meeting Maid Lotus as a messenger of New
Moon Hall. When he finally spoke, his tone carried a sense of bewilderment,
like someone at their wits' end. "Difficult, this is indeed difficult. Dragon
King, how could you possibly practice your Internal Strength to this extent?
Both positive and negative exist within, and your yin and yang are not in
harmony. To think you could actually withstand it…"
Doctor Sun could not help but shake his head. Clicking his tongue, he said,
"If Dragon King doesn't mind shortening your lifespan by 30 years, I actually
have a solution that you can try. But no promises that it'll work out."
"I am not here to see a doctor." Gu Shenwei replied coldly. "If I was able to
endure it before, I can endure it in the future as well."
Doctor Sun stared at Dragon King in surprise. His haughty demeanor had
been replaced with one that seemed like a child making a mountain of a
molehill. Bowing slightly, he said, "As Dragon King wishes, I apologize for
meddling. One moment, please."
Doctor Sun took his leave. Gu Shenwei waited alone until suddenly, the
bookshelf near the wall split open and Maid Lotus emerged.
Seeing Maid Lotus in daylight made him realize how much she had really
changed.
In the past, she had been a quiet and amiable girl. Although she did not attract
attention, she was able to gain the trust of others easily. Now, even though
her looks remained unchanged, there was something in her gaze that people
could not possibly ignore.
Gu Shenwei suddenly missed that quiet girl. He quickly cleared his thoughts
and said, "When can I see your Master?"
"Soon, but not now." Maid Lotus' gaze was making him uncomfortable.
"Master is not in Jade City right now, she has other matters to attend to."
"If that's the case, does that mean you are the one who makes decisions in
Jade City now?"
Maid Lotus smiled before lifting her hands in front of her and clapping twice.
Guan Shang, the former black-masked assassin from Golden Roc Fort came
in upon hearing the summon. She bowed respectfully toward Maid Lotus and
asked, "What can I do for you, Managing Master?"
"Convey to him what Master said."
"Yes." In the presence of Managing Master who was younger than her by a
few years, Guan Shang's nervousness was akin to a killer apprentice who had
just entered the East Castle. Her tense expression eased as she turned toward
Dragon King.
"Dragon King would like to wipe out the Shangguan family, and New Moon
Hall would like to occupy the castle on the mountain top. Since Golden Roc
Fort is the common enemy, Master hoped that we could cooperate and work
together. With the Great Snowmountain in the open, and New Moon Hall in
secret, this is a match made in heaven."
Gu Shenwei tensed slightly at the words 'match made in heaven', but showed
nothing.
Maid Lotus waved a hand in dismissal, and Guan Shang bowed as she left the
room.
"What do you think?" Maid Lotus asked.
"Working together is a good thing." Gu Shenwei suppressed his true

emotions and decided to consider the proposal in his role as Dragon King.
"Let's be honest and talk about what we both want."
"We only want to take over Golden Roc Fort as it was the original home of
New Moon Hall."
"The Great Snowmountain wants to take over the entire Jade City, all 800
miles from east to west."
"The Great Snowmountain can have all territories as long as you provide
New Moon Hall an escape route."
"How many people are there in New Moon Hall? Where are they
distributed?"
The answer to that question was classified information. However, Maid Lotus
did not hesitate and answered immediately, "167 people. 121 of them are in
Jade City. We have seven people in Meng Family, one in Joy Pavilion,
another in Four Truths Temple and 18 of them in Golden Roc Fort. The rest
are dispersed in different areas. It is alright to assume that New Moon Hall
had insiders planted in all the forces within the Jade City."
Gu Shenwei was surprised and delighted. New Moon Hall was indeed the
assistance that he needed. In the past three years, when he had been hunted
and forced to flee to the Western Region, New Moon Hall had quietly shifted
their influence from the desert to Jade City. It was even possible that
Supreme King had no idea that his enemies were so close to him.
"Are your people reliable? Take Guan Shang for instance."

"People are never reliable." There was a hint of coldness from Maid Lotus'
voice. "What is reliable is the means to control them."
A green pill, similar to the one that she gave to Gu Shenwei, appeared in
Maid Lotus' hand. "The Blood Coagulation Pill was made with the blood of
the drug maker and mixed with 81 types of herbs and poisons. It is necessary
to consume one every year. If you miss the timing, within seven days, you
will go berserk and die. And the state when you are dying… it's better not to
say."
Her calm tone carried a tinge of pride, as though the pill in her hands was an
elixir that could bring back life.
"You consume it as well?" He could not help but ask, relieved that he had not
taken the pills given by Maid Lotus yesterday.
"People are never reliable." Maid Lotus repeated, not answering Gu

Shenwei's question directly. "I know a lot of things in New Moon Hall, for
example, Supreme King used pills like that to control the black-masked
assassins. Golden Roc Fort has sworn to never use the occult sciences from
New Moon Hall, but he still kept some of it. He didn't even dare to name the
pills. But those are just imitations. Their effectiveness pales in comparison to
the authentic ones that we have in New Moon Hall."
Gu Shenwei finally understood why Guan Shang had defected from Golden
Roc Fort. He cannot help but shudder at the allegiance established through
fear by these pills. But then he remembered the crazed women and believed
Maid Lotus' words. The reverence she had towards the Blood Coagulation
pills was also tinged with a trace of craziness. Gu Shenwei heightened his
alertness.
"With such tactics, New Moon Hall should be able to penetrate Golden Roc
Fort from within any time."
Maid Lotus shook her head and put away the green pill. "The Blood
Coagulation Pill is very rare and precious. You cannot use it on just anybody.
If we want to capture Golden Roc Fort, it's better to rely on true strength, like
the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain that you led."
Gu Shenwei became vigilant and slowly drew out the Dragon Head Sword,
pointing it at a slant to the ground.
Maid Lotus pulled out her sword nonchalantly and crossed it together with
Gu Shenwei's weapon.
With this as a symbol, the two of them began their second cooperation.
Gu Shenwei recognized that Maid Lotus' weapon had not changed, it was still
the "Huan" sword.
Chapter 312 - Starting a war
Chapter 312: Starting a war
Fang Wenshi was wary about New Moon Hall's proposal to work together,
"New Moon Hall? Sounds familiar, where are they from?"
Fang Wenshi was in the Iron Mountain Camp when Golden Roc Fort and
Bighead Kingpin declared war on New Moon Hall, but he could not
remember much until Gu Shenwei mentioned the vicious women who looked
like black birds. He shuddered as the color drained from his face. "Those
women are even more vicious than the Golden Roc Fort killers…"
Fang Wenshi swiveled around, remarking, "I think it's better to stay away
from them."
"How could they defeat Golden Roc Fort if they are less vicious than
killers?"
Fang Wenshi turned toward Dragon King, "Are you thinking about revenge
again, Dragon King?"
Gu Shenwei shook his head but he was lying. Hatred was already a part of
him, and it would never diminish. His experiences after returning to Jade City
only made his hatred grow. "You said it yourself, countless people die in a
power struggle. I am only trying to help the Great Snowmountain to find the
sharpest saber."
"I'm afraid this saber might be too sharp." Fang Wenshi screwed up his face.
"Hegemony is a great cause to undertake in a long time. But you would need
at least three to five years to establish your grounding. Now, if you really
want to make it big, you will need about seven to eight years or even ten
years. Of course, you are still young, there is no need to rush into things…"
Gu Shenwei silenced the military counselor's doubts with his reply,"I'm
afraid if we don't work with New Moon Hall, the Great Snowmountain will
have yet another strong enemy."
Fang Wenshi shuddered again, he could never see these demonic female
killers as part of the conquering strategies that he'd studied. "I suppose… that
is the only way out. But you must promise that they will operate in secret,
Dragon King. If they show up in public, I am afraid the Great Snowmountain
will lose the support of the Central Plain as well."
Fang Wenshi had experienced firsthand how the Barren Sect women killed
people at night and were appropriately terrified of them. However, after
seeing Maid Lotus in the morning the next day, he was stunned into silence.
How could this quiet and demure girl who smiled warmly be one of those
women killers?
Fang Wenshi could not recognize Maid Lotus even though they had met
before. He was at a loss for words, but every misgivings of his vanished
when he met her. He then remembered his status as the military counselor of
the Great Snowmountain, and coughed slightly, before solemnly welcoming
the messenger from New Moon Hall.
The Xu siblings still recognized Maid Lotus and were shocked at her change.
They were not aware of the feud between Dragon King and Maid Lotus and
had assumed that she was in hiding, only to have returned again, so they were
very friendly toward her.
Xu Yanwei tried to reiterate the idea of saving Shangguan Ru to Maid Lotus

when Dragon King was not paying attention, but unknownst to her, her
actions were having the opposite effect instead.
Gu Shenwei had planned to observe for a few more days and wait for his
injuries to recover fully before launching a counterattack toward the enemy,
but something unexpected happened and kickstart the war in advance.
He did not consume the pills given by Maid Lotus but took an antidote
prescription from Doctor Sun to remove the remaining poison, he also used
his Internal Strength to slowly dissolve the tangled state of his Dantian.
Just when he was halfway through fully restoring his kung fu, both Xu
Xiaoyi and Lin Xiaoshan simultaneously brought back a piece of news:
Monk Lianye was dead.
Lianye had died three days ago. He was tracking Shangguan Hong at that
time, and Gu Shenwei thought that the monk was not in danger. He even
reminded him not to return so soon.
The monk had three major wounds on his back. His corpse had been thrown
into the frozen border river in between the North and South Cities and was
accidentally discovered by someone three days later.
Two monks from the Four Truths Temple was killed one after another had
shocked the entire city. But this time around, few assumed that Dragon King
was the murderer. It was evident from the wounds on the monk's body that
this was not Dragon King's style, and there was no Black Blood Flag or Red
Raven Flag around the scene.
But the Great Snowmountain was deeply embroiled for what happened next.
Initially, several assassinations in Tianshan Sect had happened in a single

night. Even a few senior members who were always hidden in secret had not
been spared. Mr. Hong who had no kung fu skills managed to dodge a bullet
because he was being closely protected.
Following this, the target turned to the military counselor of the Great
Snowmountain afterward.
Fang Wenshi followed a regular routine in his daily life. He would wake up
and enjoy a wonderful meal, before heading to North City, accompanied by
10 guards. Even though he had not taken breakfast for a few years, his
lifestyle demands had not changed.
The residence of the Special Emissary from the Central Plains was where the
peace negotiations were held. It had now reached the critical juncture:
whether the Great Snowmountain should withdraw from the west of Jade
City, where should they withdraw to, etc. Neither side could manage to
convince the other.
Fang Wenshi thought that the odds were in his favor, firstly due to the public
support from the Special Emissary from the Central Plains, and secondly, that
campground had originally belonged to the Gu family's manor. Now that the
Gu family was all dead, and Yang Huan was the son of the Gu family's close
friend who sought to avenge the Gu family, the land should naturally fall into
Yang Huan, Dragon King's possession as he had the right to it.
He hoped to propose the second reason the next day but was kidnapped not
long after he left North City.
The 10 guards should not be blamed as they were conscientious and almost
never leave the military counselor alone. However, they had no choice but to
obey when the military counselor was insisted on visiting a confidante.
The short intimacy between Fang Wenshi and Xu Yanwei had ended long
ago. After enduring a dull and insipid life for more than 20 years, he was in
need of someone's consolation and even his willpower could not tame down
this intense fire within him. He could only pretend to refuse as he gave in to
his desires.
Prostitutes are heartless, this simple yet rustic truth was confirmed again by
Fang Wenshi himself.
The guards waited till evening until they felt that the military counselor had
spent far too much time inside. Once they barged in, they only saw the
prostitute tied to the bed and a few items of clothing scattered around, the
military counselor nowhere to be seen.
The prostitute must have been bought off. But she could only provide very
little information. Some unassuming men in black had left her with about 100
taels of silver. She was not even sure how many of them were there.
The body of the military counselor did not appear, nor did the kidnapper
made any demands. Dragon King led a total of 50 machetemen from
Tianshan Sect and 15 swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain and swept
through all the villages of the machetemen on the outskirts of North and
South Cities late that night.
Gu Shenwei had collected intelligence beforehand so the goal of this night
attack was clear. More than 30 members of Wildhorse gang were killed.
Among them, three were disciples from Joy Pavilion.
Gu Shenwei believed that the Wildhorse gang must be behind the

assassinations of the members of Tianshan Sect, and the kidnapping of the
military counselor of the Great Snowmountain. This was because only the
Wildhorse gang was not bound by the agreement of the peace negotiations in
Jade City, and dared to challenge Dragon King.
The Central Plain laid no restrictions on Wildhorse and the Governor did not
admit the links between Norland and Wildhorse. This meant that the
guarantee of Dragon King's safety by the two countries was meaningless.
Gu Shenwei could only rely on his own strength to fight against Wildhorse.
Just like the apprentice killings years ago, the leaders remained unchanged,
but the grounds for battle had changed from East Castle to Jade City below
the mountain.
Furthermore, not even the Supreme King could stop the fight between the
two of them this time.
The assassinations that occurred between two sides carried on for nearly 10
days and killings happened every night. Most of it occurred in remote areas
near the edge of South City, resembling half of a bloodied necklace wrapped
around the chest of Jade City.
The Residence of Dragon King was located at the westernmost part of South
City and happened to be part of the half chain of killings, but it was never
attacked.
Five top assassins who were killed in the Residence of Dragon King had
made Wildhorse wary of the traps within. His strategy was clear; to eradicate
the Tianshan Sect and strike a deadly blow when Dragon King was left high
and dry.
Gu Shenwei's plan was to draw the snake out of its hole and lure the enemy
deep into the trap. His secret weapon was New Moon Hall. Maid Lotus and
her people did not partake the first 10 days of assassinations as they were still
hidden away. Gu Shenwei hoped to draw Wildhorse out by carefully
exposing his weakness.
News of the deterioration of the Dragon King's machete skills had begun to
spread among a small group of people.
Gu Shenwei did not make it up. His kung fu was recovering slowly, but it
was far from being fully recovered. Therefore, his machete skills were truly
not as exquisite as before.
But as far as the machetemen and swordsmen who were with Dragon King
could tell, Dragon King was still invincible. He seldom needed more than 10
strokes to kill people and he had a strange habit of destroying the corpses
either by burning or chopping them up in order to get rid of all traces.
However not all corpses were destroyed, and one or two people managed to
escape after sustaining injuries. From there, the real experts realized the
problem: Dragon King's machete skills had not slowed, but the control of
strength was no longer as precise. The wounds were either too deep or too
shallow, which indicated that there was something wrong in his control of
Internal Strength.
Fang Wenshi was released after being kidnapped for three days. He was
disheveled and barefooted on the snow as he ran back to the Residence of
Dragon King.
The kidnapper turned out to be Wildhorse indeed. Fang Wenshi brought a

word to Dragon King from Wildhorse, "Hand over the secret manuscript of
Immortal Peng."
No threats or trades, just a simple sentence. Wildhorse had been influenced

by Joy Pavilion into believing that the machete skills of Dragon King were
unique from the rest due to the fact that he had stolen a secret manuscript
from Immortal Peng.
The release of Fang Wenshi had no effect on the battle between the two of
them. Wildhorse had spared Fang Wenshi's life simply because the military
counselor of the Great Snowmountain did not know kung fu, and therefore,
did not pose a threat to him.
Gu Shenwei was only concerned about one thing. Fang Wenshi knew about
New Moon Hall's involvement, and his plan of luring the enemy would be
spoiled if this was leaked.
Fang Wenshi swore to the skies that he was loyal to Dragon King throughout
his ordeal. Perhaps such a resolute image was unlike himself, he added, "I
begged for mercy. The saber was against my neck, and I don't know any kung
fu, but I did not speak carelessly. It's true."
The next day, after most of the shock had dissipated, Fang Wenshi admitted
to Dragon King that he had been too frightened during that time that he did
not even remember New Moon Hall's involvement, so naturally, it was
impossible for him to spill the beans.
With the peace negotiations suspended, Fang Wenshi did not leave the
Residence of Dragon King for more than 10 days.
At first, the residents of Jade City were frightened and kept vigilant for any
mishaps, but after three to five days, they realized that the Great
Snowmountain and Wildhorse gang were skilled killers and unnecessary
killings or injuries seldom happened. No one tried to take advantage of the
situation as well, hence most people felt at ease.
This war in the city ended on the 13th day, with the final battle taking place
at the Residence of Dragon King. Maid Lotus appeared with a group of
female killers and this quickly became the most sensational news in Jade
City, even overtaking the incident of the Dragon King imposter.
It was through this battle that Gu Shenwei realized their divergence was more
prominent than ever. After three years of not seeing Maid Lotus, the girl who
practiced Death Scripture with him, he noticed that they no longer arrived at
the same end by different means, rather, their methods seemed to be
diverging further and further.
Chapter 313 - Luring the Enemy
Chapter 313: Luring the Enemy
By the first night of the 12th lunar month, the pile of taels of silver in the
front yard of the Residence of Dragon King was still not cleared yet. The
thick snow accumulated had frozen into a hard shell around the taels, and the
Red Raven Flag drooped from where it hung beside it.
On this day, the Wildhorse gang launched a major attack.
Over the past 10 days or so, both parties had suffered heavy losses. The
Wildhorse gang had around 50 casualties, Tianshan Sect lost around 30 men,
and about 10 swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were killed.
There was little left for the Dragon King to use.
The Tianshan Sect became fearful. They were originally a secret

organization, hoping to unite most machetemen in South City to one day, win
by sheer quantity. To fight head to head with the enemy, and oppose them
with equal harshness, did not align with the founder's strategy. Moreover,
rumors of the deterioration of Dragon King's machete skills also caused
several Sect members to lose faith.
"I am very sorry, Dragon King." The blacksmith, Mr. Hong, had specially
made a trip to the Residence of the Dragon King to explain the difficult
situation in Tianshan Sect. "We cannot continue like this. We decided to
withdraw our men and hide among the machetemen. It's okay for me since
my identity has been exposed, but the other members cannot publicly help the
Dragon King anymore."
Gu Shenwei could not blame Mr. Hong. He should be the one apologizing
instead, as he had never told Tianshan Sect that the last few days of killings
were just a ploy to lure out the enemy.
Only fewer than 50 machetemen's identities in Tianshan Sect had been

exposed. Most of them chose to remain in Blacksmith Village in the east and
did not station themselves at the Residence of Dragon King in the west.
Only Lin Xiaoshan and the few other machetemen that he led remained
voluntarily, "We are willing to live and die together with the the Dragon
King."
Mr. Hong was unable to change Lin Xiaoshan's decision. He sighed, wanting
to say something, but he was aware that the current situation was beyond his
control. He could only leave Lin Xiaoshan with a short sword that he made,
saying, "It's not a precious saber, but it has never been used before. Let it be
stained with blood."
The Great Snowmountain camp sent another 40 swordsmen over, as they

could not afford more. Anything more than this would raise objections from
the Golden Roc Fort. As a result, the fighting force in the Residence of
Dragon King was only about 50 people or so.
Gu Shenwei then summoned the people in the residence who were not skilled
at kung fu: the slaves were sent away; Fang Wenshi and Xu Xiaoyi took
Jiang and the rest to stay in North City. With the protection from the Special
Emissary from the Central Plains, they would be relatively safe.
Xu Xiaoyi trusted the Dragon King but Fang Wenshi was nervous and
uneasy. His fate was tied firmly together with the Dragon King, they were
bound together for better or for worse. He asked, "You know what to do,
right, Dragon King?"
Gu Shenwei nodded. Fang Wenshi was able to talk eloquently in imperial

courts and argue for the interests of the Great Snowmountain, but he was not
suited to be involved in close combat battles like these. Gu Shenwei was very
aware of this point and did not tell Fang Wenshi about his plan of luring the
enemy.
The last person he dealt with was Xu Yanwei, "It's either you go back to the
Golden Roc Fort, or leave together with your brother. No matter where you
go, you are not allowed to enter the Residence of Dragon King ever again."
"You want to banish me? Why?" Xu Yanwei asked in surprise. She felt that
she did not deserve this treatment.
"No reason why. This is my order." Gu Shenwei was hesitant all along but he
finally made up his mind to sever all ties with the Golden Roc Fort.
Seeing the Dragon King expressionless, Xu Yanwei felt nervous. It was

under this gaze, years ago, that she made a blood oath to the youth. "No, I
won't go back to the Golden Roc Fort. That woman is too difficult to handle.
I won't go to North City either."
A killing intent flashed through Gu Shenwei's eyes. Xu Yanwei shrank

involuntarily and hurriedly said, "I think I will go to Pleasure Alley instead.
You mentioned that you will give me a few thousand taels of silver. I shall
continue to collect intelligence for you there."
"Whatever, go take it from the front yard." Gu Shenwei thought that perhaps
Xu Yanwei would still be useful in a way.
Xu Yanwei cheerfully went to the front yard. Knowing that she was not
strong enough, she quickly chose two slaves who had been dismissed to pry
away the snow and break apart the taels.
Xu Xiaoyi followed his sister and urged her quietly, hoping to change her
mind. The siblings trusted the Dragon King fully with their hearts and did not
think that there were any risks in this final battle.
But Gu Shenwei was not entirely sure.
The Wildhorse gang was more powerful than what Gu Shenwei had initially
estimated. There were still a lot of them left. Among them were about 20 to
30 experts in Joy Pavilion, and people in the Residence of Dragon King were
definitely not their match.
After sacrificing dozens of lives, Gu Shenwei placed all his hopes of

defeating the Wildhorse gang on New Moon Hall.
Because of the betrayal of the black-masked assassin, Guan Shang, there was
a possibility that Golden Roc Fort had discovered the existence of New Moon
Hall. This piece of news would naturally reach Wildhorse as well. But Maid
Lotus and her men had an advantage; they were in possession of Wayless
Book and had practiced it for three years, naturally, a group of experts that
the world had not yet seen were cultivated.
Not even Gu Shenwei had seen their skills.
The greater hidden danger was Maid Lotus. Gu Shenwei felt a pang of
sorrow every time he saw her, but the chilliness in his Dantian reminded him
not to believe this woman again.
The New Moon Hall's ambition would not stop at just taking over the Golden
Roc Fort. Deliberately planting their men within every force only meant that
there was bound to be a bigger scheme.
Gu Shenwei agreed to cooperate with New Moon Hall for the moment but
continued deliberating about it over the next few days. In the end, he
concluded that it was better to keep Maid Lotus close rather than letting her
hide in the shadows.
The attack toward the Wildhorse gang was a test: If New Moon Hall was
willing to go all out, their cooperation could still continue for a period of
time, or even until the fall of Golden Roc Fort.
Tianshan Sect had ceased all activities and retreated from the war on their
own initiative, but the Wildhorse gang did not accept it immediately. Instead,
they sent people to assassinate several machetemen from Tianshan Sect
before setting their sights on the Residence of Dragon King.
On the first day of the 12th lunar month, a windless chill settled on Jade City.
The icy shell on the mountain of taels of silver was as hard as steel, and the
hole pried by Xu Yanwei was still there, gaping like an ugly mouth.
At midnight, upon hearing the news, some wandering swordsmen and several
groups of bandits came to surround the Residence of Dragon King.
What drew them was not the honor of killing Dragon King but the pile of
silver taels.
After Wildhorse gang's efforts to persuade them, many believed that the
Dragon King's machete skills had deteriorated. They even heard that the final
battle would happen in the latter half of the night on the first day of the 12th
lunar month. There would be no more opportunities to rob the taels if they
did not go earlier.
The threat of spilled blood was not enough to overcome the temptation for
money, and many people were enticed by it. In total, there were about 200
men gathered in front of the residence.
The background of the thieves was complicated but they managed to organize
themselves under the intimidation of several big bosses. As midnight fell,
they threw fire torches into the front yard, melting the icy shell around the
mountain of silver and closed in from several directions.
The Red Raven Flag caught fire and became a pillar of flame, making the pile
of taels shined even more brightly.
No one from the Residence of Dragon King came out to stop them. Truth be
told, Gu Shenwei and the 50 guards were guarding the backyard. He could
not afford to waste his strength on this rabble.
The bandits were extremely excited. This proved that the rumor was indeed
correct, Dragon King's machete skills had weakened and he had no strength
or energy to spare to protect these two million taels of silver.
The silver mountain was soon plundered. The thieves began to fight among
themselves, and not even the bosses skilled in kung fu were able to control
the situation. There were a dozen corpses left on the front yard when the
bandits finally left.
However, some bandits returned after hiding their taels. Encouraged by

Dragon King's weakness, they became even more ambitious. They want to
kill the Dragon King and seize the two weapons that all martial arts
practitioners dreamed of - the Five Peaks Saber and the Dragon Head Sword.
The bandits' attack was cautious at first. After realizing that the guards of the
Residence of Dragon King were guarding the backyard and Dragon King was
reluctant to show himself, they then launched a brazen large-scale attack.
Almost immediately, the Dragon King appeared. His machete skills had
deteriorated but he was still able to handle a group of arrogant bandits.
He killed three people in a row, during which the heavy swords from the
swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain flew across and killed more than 10
people in an instant.
The bandits who thought they could take advantage of the situation
immediately scattered like birds. Most of them went back to count their taels.
Only a small group lurked nearby, hoping to catch a glimpse of the final
battle between the Great Snowmountain and the Wildhorse gang.
This would definitely be a rare and exciting battle.
The Wildhorse gang was very good at keeping composed. 90 of the most elite
members of Wildhorse gang only appeared in the early morning, as most
bandits, unable to endure the biting cold, had retreated one after another.
Wildhorse did not come to the battlefield. Instead, the person leading the
charge was the current Immortal Peng of Joy Pavilion.
The white-faced Immortal Peng held a long sword and stood on the roof of
the front yard. With the weak light from the morning shining on him as his
white clothes fluttered in the breeze, he looked like a real immortal. "Capture
Yang Huan alive." He ordered.
The battle began with those few words.
A scuffle was what Gu Shenwei disliked the most. He could only run atop the
roofs to bait the enemy to pursue him as there was no more space on the
ground and occasionally strike a blow behind him, killing those who ran too
fast and got separated from the group. It was impossible for him to help the
guards who were standing guard for the Residence of Dragon King.
Soon, he was targeted by Immortal Peng and realized that he could not shake
him off. It was not long before he was surrounded by the disciples of Joy
Pavilion.
Gu Shenwei actually wanted to wait for Wildhorse to show himself before

summoning the disciples of New Moon Hall. He had no choice but to
summon them after seeing the number of casualties on the ground increased
as time passed.
He suddenly changed direction and leaped toward the front yard, no longer
circling the roofs on the backyard.
"The Dragon King is escaping!"
"Stay!"
Immortal Peng was determined to capture the Dragon King alive and had
planted a few disciples from Joy Pavilion to block his way.
This was the time for Maid Lotus to show up. Just like before, one would be
responsible for luring the enemy into the trap while the other would lie in
ambush to strike and kill.
Maid Lotus had only brought nine people. Nine people who were
coldblooded and killed quickly without mercy.
Ever since the first day, both Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei had practiced the
Death Scripture differently. She was solely focused on "killing" blindly, so
much so that even Gu Shenwei was frightened when her killing intent was
unleashed.
She had been practicing diligently for these past three years, constantly
striving for perfection. Her killing intent was even colder than the bone-
numbing chill in the early morning.
Faced with the sudden appearance of the female killers, a disciple from Joy
Pavilion even forgot to escape and was killed right where he stood.
Death Scripture had a fatal flaw. It required practitioners to improve their

skills by killing an expert with skills on par with oneself. When their
swordcraft reached an unrivaled level, the person could only "commit
suicide". Because of this, Gu Shenwei only used a sword to kill one person
each year. He also incorporated some of the swordcraft into machete skills to
delay the improvement of his swordcraft.
But Maid Lotus used a sword, and it was the "Huan" sword that she had
never changed. She leaped forward and killed with a single blow, not at all
worried about the swordcraft backfiring on her.
Gu Shenwei was taken aback, looking at this stance, it was clear that he was
not Maid Lotus' match even if his Internal Strength was not damaged.
He could not understand why was it so.

Chapter 314 - Trust
Chapter 314: Trust
Maid Lotus and nine disciples of the New Moon Hall she had brought proved
their prowess. Not until they had emerged and killed several Joy Pavilion's
disciples in the front yard did Immortal Peng and others catch up.
Only Immortal Peng in the Wildhorse Gang recognized the saber technique
concealed in Maid Lotus's attack. Instead of being afraid, he showed surprise
in his face. "That's it, that's it," Without regard to anything else, he darted
towards Maid Lotus.
Gu Shenwei had never seen such a foolish master before— to put up

desperate fight with his opponent without understanding the situation.
Immortal Peng might be a master, but the sword craft of the Death Scripture
was about how to kill a master in one move.
Immortal Peng might have had a chance to escape the blade if he hadn't been
so excited. Like a moth to a flame, he died without regret. "The invincible…"
Immortal Peng collapsed before Maid Lotus, his unfinished sentence of his
lips.
Maid Lotus cut off Immortal Peng's head before the corpse had landed.
Jumping to the roof, she held up the head, showing off her trophy to all the
people in the backyard in the illuminated dawn.
Pretty soon, the Wildhorse Gang realized the terrifying situation on the roof.
Everyone's first reaction was to flee. Immortal Peng had the most powerful
kung fu among them, and his death symbolized their failure.
The entrapment of one side became the hunting of the other.

Gu Shenwei went around his residence, killing every fugitive he met.
The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain and the several machetemen
led by Lin Xiaoshan looked at those unexpected reinforcements in surprise,
especially since those reinforcements were all women.
The swordsmen couldn't wrap their minds around it at first. They roared in
unison and chased the fleeing enemies. There was only one thought in their
minds—they must kill more people than these women did.
Many of Wildhorse Gang's members had escaped from the Residence of

Dragon King, but they were ambushed again on the way. In addition, another
20 disciples of the New Moon Hall had hidden themselves in the nearby
streets. Although there were not many of them, they would not let a single
enemy escape.
With the rising of the sun, corpses laid around the Residence of Dragon King,
making the place a veritable graveyard. The Wildhorse Gang had put in all
their effort to launch an attack, but had suffered a catastrophe. In this attack,
nearly 100 people were killed and very few were able to escape.
Unfortunately, Wildhorse himself had not appeared at all. It seemed that he

anticipated the plot. He had appointed disciples to fight, but he chose not to
reveal himself.
Standing on the roof between the front and the backyard, Gu Shenwei gazed
at the scorched but not fallen falgpole, a sort of joy bubbling in his breast.
This was the kind of battle he liked, plot after plot, ambush after ambush, and
all within his control.
However, he was not the mastermind of this victory today.
Maid Lotus and other 29 disciples of the New Moon Hall came back to the
Residence of Dragon King, they were the pivotal ones in this fight.
Gu Shenwei looked at Maid Lotus, waiting for her to react.
The surviving guards of the Residence of Dragon King also looked at those
fearsome women who were dressed in black skirt and jacket and covered
with black gauze. Even the most powerful swordsman from the Great
Snowmountain felt his hair stand on end.
Except for Maid Lotus, the disciples of the New Moon Hall all held a saber in
their hands. The way they killed was simple—once making a move,
regardless of danger, they made sure to hit the enemy's vital. Not waiting for
the body to fall, they would immediately cut the enemy's head and throw it
aside.
Only Maid Lotus had not covered her face with black gauze. She smiled
nonchalently, without any trace of killing intent, as if nothing had happened.
Led by Maid Lotus, all disciples of the New Moon Hall knelt on one knee
and shouted in unison, "My Dragon King."
This fight had major repercussions. Fang Wenshi, who was in the North City,
was the first to realize that something had happened. The roadblocks he had
met at the negotiating conference were suddenly resolved. It seemed that the
Golden Roc Fort was urgent to reach a permanent armistice.
No one knew that New Moon Hall was involved.
Gu Shenwei was the only one who knew that Maid Lotus had joined New
Moon Hall with the Wayless Book. Some people still remembered this gentle
woman and thought that she was the partner of Yang Huan the killer, just the
same as before. Some also assumed that the reason why Maid Lotus had not
appeared in recent years was because she had been requested by Dragon King
to train female killers.
Dragon King had become so famous that Tianshan Sect had changed the
attitude. Tianshan Sect wanted to ally with Dragon King, even if its disciples
were to be treated as victims to lure the enemies.
The New Moon Hall wouldn't appear in public before the Golden Roc Fort
was overthrown. This was the agreement between Gu Shenwei and Maid
Lotus. The New Moon Hall had over a hundred disciples, but only 30 people
paid allegiance to Residence of Dragon King publicly.
Xu Xiaoyi immediately rushed back to the Residence of Dragon King from
North City after hearing the news, lamenting the 2 million taels of silver, "If I
knew this in advance, I would have let my sister take more."
Xu Yanwei also rushed back, eyes narrowed and hands on her hips, not
caring a whit about Dragon King's injuries -- Dragon King's victory was
surely set in stone anyway. Furious, she berated, "Dragon King, you… you
are too ruthless. You gave me fake silver, and I was almost killed by other
people."
Xu Xiaoyi's eyes lit up,"The silver is fake? Where is the real silver? Does the
Meng family…No, I personally verified the silver when the Meng family sent
it. It was pure silver."
"This money is important to the Great Snowmountain, of course I couldn't

just let bandits plunder the money," Gu Shenwei said slightly. Money was the
foundation of hegemony and could not be easily taken by other people. A few
days ago, he had asked Lin Xiaoshan and three trusted people to move the
silver. Under the ice shell, they successfully replaced the silver with a pile of
painted galvanized iron.
Xu Yanwei smiled happily, "Then, where is the real silver? Dragon King, I
am working for you, this…"
"Take 10,000 taels of silver from Xiaoyi."
Xu Yanwei jumped up, intending to give the Dragon King a hug, but she
dared not do it. To return to the Residence of Dragon King was to forfeit her
life, and she knew she couldn't ask for more.
Gu Shenwei already solemn face grew graver, "If you cannot provide useful
information for a consecutive month, I will take back all the money and
require you to pay rent."
"Ok, it's a deal," she said, "I have an information now." Xu Yanwei was very
confident in her ability to obtain useful information from men.
Gu Shenwei knew what Xu Yanwei was going to say. However, before he

could stop her, she was already speaking, "The day after tomorrow is the
wedding day. She will belong to another man if no one saves her. What kind
of person is Meng Mingshi? He doesn't deserve to marry me, let alone…"
The Dragon King turned around and left because he worried that he would
lose control and draw his sword. For him, there were few people who
deserved his trust. The swordsman from the Great Snowmountain followed
the Dragon King reverently. But for a demigod for the Dragon King, they
were but humans. Only Xu Weiyan and her brother, Chu Nanping, and Tie
Linglong were like his families and friends to some extent.
Although killing made him excited, the people he didn't actually feel like
killing brought his heart peace.
Maid Lotus waited for Dragon King in the study because they had a lot of
things to make clear. The cooperation between them in the morning was just
a courtesy.
Having thought about one thing for the past few days, Gu Shenwei asked
Maid Lotus as soon as they met, "Before, was it the New Moon Hall who
offered a reward for my saber?"
Maid Lotus nodded frankly, "The Master thought that magic weapons
couldn't be wasted. But it turned out that the Dragon King was safe, so she
changed her mind and got ready to join hands with you."
"What about you? What's your purpose?" Gu Shenwei asked. In his mind, the
most dreadful person wasn't the tall and beautiful Master, but the reserved
and introverted woman in front of him," You stole the Wayless Book and
gave it to the New Moon Hall, and you passed on the Death Scripture. You
must be a great donor. The Master thinks highly of you, doesn't she?"
"The Master trusts me, and she lets me preside over Jade City's affairs. As for
why I want to cooperate with you, it is because I need your help."
Gu Shenwei raised his head slightly and paid attention to Maid Lotus's words.
"You still suffer from qigong deviation, right?"Maid Lotus changed the topic
suddenly.
Gu Shenwei suddenly felt filled with a cold rage, and he almost drew his
sword. He had the urge to fight with this woman right now. "Yes," he said
with a flat tone, "it flares up every one to three months."
Maid Lotus did not show any regret at all. She cast down her eyes and said,
"The Wayless Qigong is sorcery on Internal Strength. You secretly worry
about underlying qigong deviation but I have the ability to get rid of it
completely. "
Gu Shenwei knew the meaning in Maid Lotus's words. One would risk self-
destruction in several months or sooner if he practiced the Wayless Qigong.
During that period, there would be no sign of Internal Breath, making one
just like an ordinary person. He wouldn't even be able to defeat an ordinary
swordsman.
He had personally witnessed the Supreme King Shangguan Fa experience

such a thing.
"Do you mean that you want me to protect you when you self-destruct?" Gu
Shenwei asked. He hd not expected that Maid Lotus would propose this idea.
The situation forced them to cooperate, but they were still enemies. Sooner or
later, they would meet with sabers.
Maid Lotus nodded, "This is a reciprocal arrangement. If you help me, I will
also protect you when you suffer from qigong deviation."
"Have we established enough trust for this?"Gu Shenwei couldn't resist

asking sarcastically.
"This is not trust." Maid Lotus corrected. Just like before, Slave Huan had
made a plan, and she was responsible for fixing the bugs of the plan. "This is
the only choice. Jade City is full of enemies and traps. Do you have a safe
place to hide and trusted people by your side when you suffer from qigong
deviation?"
Maid Lotus's words struck a nerve in Gu Shenwei. Truthfully, there was no

one he could rely on when he suffered qigong deviation, as proven by the
experience in recent days. Even Chu Nanping wasn't an ideal protector. As a
young swordsman, Chu Nanping was short of the temper and lacked the habit
of being a killer, making his protection unreliable.
However, Gu Shenwei couldn't trust Maid Lotus. At least not now.
"You know, I will not kill you and I will not allow others to kill you either."
Maid Lotus's tone changed, bearing a trace of sadness and emotion. "I have
never changed my mind. I want to watch you die because of qigong
deviation, but I will not do anything to prevent you from fighting the qigong
deviation."
Gu Shenwei felt that he was already adept at controlling his emotions, but the
anger was so strong that he almost lost his mind. His hand was already on the
sword hilt, but he loosened his grip again. He has not fully recovered and he
could not defeat her. He couldn't be impulsive , Gu Shenwei warned himself.
Maid Lotus realized the mood of Dragon King shifting and backed down
before slowly saying, "Who better to believe than a persistent enemy?"
Gui Shenwei said, "Why would you believe me? The New Moon Hall is full
of masters."
"Yes, but they only do things for Blood Coagulation Pill. How dare I accept
their protection when I have no strength to resist?"
"That is true," Gu Shenwei said. He neither agreed nor objected.
Maid Lotus thought they had reached a consensus, so she didn't say more but
asked, "What's next? The Wildhorse Gang can't be able to make a comeback
in a short time. Who is our next target?"
Gu Shenwei had been thinking about the next target for a long time. He
looked at Maid Lotus and said, "The Meng family."
Maid Lotus raised her eyebrows slightly. Just like before, she knew Slave
Huan's ideas, but she would not voice her own so easily.
Chapter 315 - Surprise Attack
Chapter 315: Surprise Attack
Gu Shenwei decided that he would be the first to get rid of the threat from the
Meng family, even though he knew very well that many would oppose. But
he was ready to justify himself to even the most ardent opponents.
However, there was no need to explain to Maid Lotus, who was willing to
follow Dragon King anywhere. The more time they spent together, the more
they became indifferent and calm, as they were in the past. Maid Lotus would
never reveal anything in her mind.
As one could well imagine, it was the military counselor Fang Wenshi who
raised the strongest objection, saying "This… Your Highness, we had a deal.
How can you change your mind so quickly? Allow me to be frank, you are
not even remotely eligible for the hegemony, let alone succeeding in
acquiring it. Be patient and wait for several years. Do not get yourself in
trouble."
"We spent a long time in preparing for the plan. The Prince of Shu-lik and I
had agreed on it, and this has nothing to do with anyone else. I am sorry I did
not inform you before carrying out the plan," Gu Shenwei answered.
Fang Wenshi hoped he could control his facial expression better but he could
not conceal the look of indignation and worry. He did not understand what
tricks Dragon King was playing and how the prince of Shu-lik was involved.
In the last few days after the fake Dragon King incident, Shu-lik sent
messengers to Jade City, with the prince disguised himself as one of them. He
brought his sister Tie Linglong with him and wanted to have a conversation
with Dragon King.
The prince was a practical person. He did not care about the Great
Snowmountain's immediate "betrayal" after traversing Shu-lik territory, or at
least he did not show it. "Considering that the Western Region is a mess,
Shu-lik hopes to make more friends instead of enemies."
That night, the Prince suggested: after today, Dragon King could take up Jade
City, as long as the mountain pass in the west was ceded to Shu-lik.
There were mountain passes on both the eastern and western border of Jade
City. Being the most important passage to enter the Western Region from the
north, the two mountain passes had been the biggest concern to Shu-lik for
many years, especially the one on the west, which was next to Shu-lik's
border. Once the Norland army reached the pass, they could drive directly to
the heart of Shu-lik.
Therefore, to obtain the western mountain pass was the principal but
concealed agenda of Shu-lik. Neither the Norland nor the Central Plain would
allow Shu-lik to occupy the fortress just like that.
"I see", Fang Wenshi suddenly understood and blushed. He always thought
that he had succeeded in giving an opportunity for the Great Snowmountain
to use the mountain pass by virtue of his glib tongue. He had not expected
that Shu-lik had ulterior motives.
It was with the excuse of surveilling the swordsman of the Great

Snowmountain that Shu-lik had sent an army of thousands of men near the
western mountain pass. This army, in the name of preventing the war from
spreading to Shu-lik, was actually eyeing covetously the strategic fortress.
Fang Wenshi suddenly doubted on his own ability, and said, "The King of
Shu-lik and the Prince are really crafty. I'm afraid the ministers are still in the
dark."
"A country's actions are all justifiable," Gu Shenwei said. He did not think
that Shu-lik had gone too far. On the contrary, it gave him more confidence
to seek hegemony in the Western Region. Meanwhile, Gu Shenwei did not
think there was anything wrong with the military counselor's ability, and he
said so, "If it had not been for your eloquence, Shu-lik could not have sent an
army there without showing its true intentions."
Fang Wenshi was much relieved and grinned shyly. "Well," he said, "there
must be something special about Shu-lik that made it the biggest country in
Western Region… Alas, I profess to be a counselor, how did not anticipate
that my efforts were highjacked by Shu-lik?"
Then he recalled that the original conversation had been about getting rid of
the threat of the Meng family, and asked, "How about the Meng family?
What was it that caused hatred between them and Shu-lik?"
It was actually Gu Shenwei's idea to remove the Meng family's threat. He had
long understood that the Great Snowmountain was running short of capital,
and had not choice but to pay a high price to avoid the Meng family's
surveillance. This had become the Great Snowmountain's Achilles' heel.
But when he opened his mouth, the words and emerged were different. The
military counselor had never supported the idea of attacking the Meng
family, he used to say that in order to attack, it was necessary to have
"justified reason". Therefore, Gu Shenwei said, "It's known to all that the
relationship between Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family is complicated. If
Shu-lik wants to take hold of the western mountain pass, it faces the threat of
the Meng family's blocking the commercial routes."
"So do we really need to take action against the Meng family now?" Fang
Wenshi asked, somewhat frustrated. He could not help but have some
admiration for rich men, especially the richest one in the Western Region.
Gu Shenwei nodded, and he said, "In fact, the war has already begun. It just
needs more time for the news to reach Jade City."
The "news" mentioned by Dragon King spread through the streets at noon the
next day, and people were worked themselves into a frenzy to find out every
detail about the war.
At the same time, several banks and shops of the Meng family in Shu-lik,
were attacked by a group of unknown bandits. People were killed, houses
were burned, and most of the gold and silver looted. As a result, the exchange
of bank notes was put on hold for a long time.
Before everyone could understand what happened, more news came in the
evening.
It was not only the banks and shops in Shu-lik that had been attacked but also
nearly 60 of the Meng family's properties distributed in more than 20
countries in the Western Region. In total, one-third of the family's properties
had been burnt to ash, amounting to unfathomable losses.
It was said that Meng Yuzun, the forefather of the Meng family, was furious
when he heard the news. He blamed it on Dragon King, announcing, "He will
come to a tragic end!"
However, there was no evidence to link these attacks with Dragon King and
the Great Snowmountain. The attackers, who looked like typical bandits,
were at least seven or eight, at most 20 or 30, bouncing around with the main
aim to rob.
However, the attacks took place one after another that it seemed like it had
been pre-planned, with the news spreading to Jade City the same day. It was
beyond mere roving bandits' ability to do.
Fang Wenshi was also puzzled by this, and he asked, "Your Highness, how
did you find these people?"
"Tuo Nengya," Gu Shenwei explained briefly, "as soon as the temporary

armistice reached its end, sent some machetemen in batches to Shu-lik as the
Prince had instructed. The machetemen went to different places and took
action at the appointed time."
Fang Wenshi shook his head with a wry smile, feeling that he had been given
the cold shoulder again, but he believed that Dragon King had his reasons.
Anyway, the most important task of the military counselor was the peace
negotiation, he did not spare any effort in making more plans.
Meng Yuzun would not extinguish his rage easily. He had long been
pondering how to obtain the secret manuscript from Dragon King, and now,
the desire for revenge went beyond everything else.
That night, the Residence of Dragon King was attacked three times.
The first attack included the money-faced machetemen and bandits, most of
whom were involved in the last robbery of the Residence of Dragon King.
They had suffered terribly in the last incident with the fake money and were
mocked in taverns, brothels and betting arenas.
It was the same people who attacked the Residence of Dragon King again
after accepting some of gold and silver of unknown origin. This time they
came in greater number and with a larger goal--They came not only for
money, but also for lives.
However, having encountered Wildhorse's gang in the past, these attackers

did not plan to fight but were only shouted to demonstrate their power. Once
they were met by the fierce attack of the guards of Residence of Dragon
King, they immediately dispersed, hiding in the nearby streets for half an
hour, and then snuck away.
Meng Yuzun had made a mistake. He shouldn't have paid them in advance.
The second round of attack was much fiercer, and in consequence, the end
was even more tragic.
Due to the armistice, the regular killers of Golden Roc Fort could not openly
attack Dragon King. Therefore, Meng Yuzun hired a group of retired killers,
who were still very skilled and had abilities was far beyond the average
macheteman, despite the fact that they were past their peak.
There were only around 70 retired killers. They were divided into three
groups, which took turns to lure the guards of the Residence of Dragon King
into battle, while the idle groups attacked from behind.
That was a fierce battle. Both the attacking and defending groups used almost
the same tactic: lure and attack.
Meng Yuzun had made another mistake. His desire for revenge was so strong
that he launched an attack impatiently before the enemy had let down their
guard. Therefore, the guards of the Residence of Dragon King still had high
morale and the best strategies.
Even so, the guards of the Residence of Dragon King suffered heavy
casualties. It was not until Maid Lotus and the disciples of New Moon Hall
under her lead appeared at the last moment that the situation was reversed.
Among the more than 70 retired killers, fewer than 10 managed to escape
with their lives.
Before the battlefield was cleared, the third round of attack began.
Meng Yuzun wanted so desperately to kill Dragon King that he even sent out
a group of hidden female killer of the Tianji Society.
It turned out that this was the most serious mistake he had made that night.
Tianji Society's training methods were strict. There was only one problem: in
order to keep assassinations confidential, members of Tianji Society had little
practical experience. Neither Lady Meng, who lived a secluded life in the
Stone Castle and knew nothing about kung fu, nor Meng Yuzun, who
stealthily cultivated kung fu and rarely showed it to others, had ever
anticipated the fatal flaw.
The corpses and cut-off heads rolling everywhere messed up the female
killers' plan and left no space for them to stand. The frightening guards of the
Residence of Dragon King and ferocious disciples of the New Moon Hall
scared them to death.
The battle ended quickly. Members of the Tianji Society, established by

Meng Yuzun and Lady Meng, proved to be far from the level of real killers.
When the morning came, and from that day on, experienced residents of Jade
City regarded Dragon King and the Great Snowmountain as a powerful force.
They said, "No one could rival Dragon King except the Stone Castle killers.
Old Meng fell into a pit this time."
No one knew Meng Yuzun's feeling. This gave him great shame, but he still
had to force a smile and carry out the day's most important task.
Meng Mingshi's marriage with Shangguan Ru was to be held as scheduled,

before noon.
Now Meng Yuzun needed the support of the Supreme King more than ever.
This marriage was of great significance to him.
This was also what military counselor Fang Wenshi worried about the most.
"We are pushing the Meng family to the Golden Roc Fort" he said, sighed
and shook his head. But to his relief, Dragon King seemed to have no
intention of interfering with the wedding. Dragon King looked calm as if he
had already accepted the fact.
Fang Wenshi did not care about offending the Meng family. But he had a
strict principle: Counselors could indulge in women and wine, but the
masters had to be free from desires. Acting impulsively for any woman
would never bring good results.
Residents of Jade City swung between watching the Dragon King's slaughter
and the grand wedding ceremony. In the end, most people still thought the
wedding ceremony more entertaining and flocked to the main streets of North
City to watch the most sensational wedding reception. The last time the
whole city happened to be so excited was for Shangguan Nu's wedding with
Luo Ningcha.
The Meng family's wedding procession lasted for several miles. The leading
percussion band had already reached the center of North City, when the end
of the procession had not yet completely left the Meng's residence.
Meng Mingshi rode on his horse, in low spirits and surrounded by Golden
Roc killers as guards. He did not show any joy of being the bridegroom on
his face, nor did he respond to the onlookers' cheers.
Chapter 316 - Poisoned
Chapter 316: Poisoned
There could be nothing more conceptually different than slaughters and

weddings, yet nothing else could make the citizens of Jade City more excited
than these two polar extremes. Now that a wedding was taking place after all
that carnage in the city, they could not stop talking.
No matter how depressing Fifth Young Master Meng was looking as he sat
on the back of his horse, even he could not spoil the grand atmosphere of the
wedding made possible by the presence of a huge amount of riches
accompanying the procession. They were stored in boxes made of ironwood,
and even the most honest onlooker could not help but be envious.
"I guess only the Dragon King would have the guts to rob the procession," a
young man said while squinting. An old man beside him immediately
covered the young man's mouth with his hands.
There were many eyes from the Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family
hidden in the crowds standing on both sides of the street, and the more
experienced residents of Jade City could naturally spot the strangers easily.
However, the curiosity of the people was getting stronger from all the recent
events - the Dragon King's declaration of war towards the Meng family (even
though Gu Shenwei never did openly declare war with the Meng family,
everyone firmly believed that he was the mastermind behind the recent
attacks on their banks, as did Meng Yuzun), the counter attacks by the Meng
family over the past few nights and the grand wedding ceremony. No one
could remain indifferent in the face of such an intensive barrage of news.
Everyone in the crowd was voicing his or her opinion about the recent
incidents, and the lookouts were busy trying to identify the dissenters. In the
end, they could only admit defeat, as voices of dissent against the Golden
Roc Fort and the Meng family were everywhere and it was an
insurmountable task. They left the crowd to their gossip and analyses on the
recent attacks.
"When do you think the Dragon King will strike against the Meng's residence
in North City?", asked someone excitedly, eyes brimming with intent. It
seemed as if the speaker wished to pour salt on the Meng family's wounds.
"Dream on. Do you think he will enjoy continued success after only one
successful strike? Let me tell you, the number of killers from the Golden Roc
Fort stationed in the Meng's residence now could be even more than that of
the Stone Castle, waiting for the fool to fall into their trap."
"Well, he's the Dragon King. The way I see it, old Meng will suffer this time,
not only has his banks been attacked, maybe the wedding would even be
disrupted," the speaker glanced carefully to his sides to see if anyone was
observing him, before lowering his voice and continuing in a mysterious
tone, "The Dragon King used to be a killer working under the Tenth Young
Master, and I've heard that… hehe… there was something suspicious going
on between the both of them."
Such inane talk was soon drowned in a torrent of rebuttals.
"The Dragon King never left South City and he's still sitting comfortably in
his residence. What's the point of kidnapping the bride after she has
consummated her marriage?"
"Even the Dragon King would not dare to strike in North City, that's if he
wishes to continue with the peace negotiations. Once he steps out of North
City, he is within the territory of the Stone Castle. More reason for him to not
show up, isn't it?"
The speaker who had exposed the 'scandal' was nearly drowned in the spittle
from his fellow residents. Although he was indignant, he could not produce
any evidence to support his claims and could only mutter apprehensively,
"I'm just saying. Who knows what's going on in the mind of the Dragon King,
he's always full of tricks."
The long wedding procession snaked its way through the gates of North City,
advancing towards the Stone Castle at the top of the mountain. Golden Roc
Fort had increased its level of vigilance, and only a few had permission to
follow the procession from behind.
As such, it was only the permitted few who got to 'witness' the unfolding of
the biggest news of the day.
It was a stretch for them to claim to have witnessed the entire proceedings, as
they were following far behind, and the mountain passage was narrow. With
the addition of the Golden Roc killers providing security for the procession, it
would be impossible for even the most dedicated person to rush up to the
front.
They were only a medium for the disturbance that followed. As waves after
waves of rumors started to trickle down to them, they could not helped but be
caught up and swayed by it.
"Why has the procession halted?"
"The music has also stopped?"
"Something has happened, something has happened."
"Brother killer, in front of us…"
"Quick, look quickly, why are people running down from the mountain?"
"What on earth is going on?"
"The wedding procession is under attack!"
"Who is leading the attack? Is it the Dragon King? It must be him!"
"No, no."
"No one attacked, but… Fifth Young Master Meng is dead."
Meng Mingshi thought that he would die at the hands of Shangguan Ru on

their wedding night, but alas, he did not even make it to the wedding
ceremony.
It was only until the next day when news of the entire incident that took place
at the entrance to the Stone Castle traveled down to the city.
There was a narrow stone bridge in front of the gates to the Golden Roc Fort,
and according to customs, all who arrived on horseback had to dismount to
cross the bridge. Not only was it a sign of respect towards the Supreme King,
it was also to ensure the safety of the visitor.
When the procession arrived before the bridge, the guards dismounted,
leaving only Fifth Young Master Meng seated on his saddle, not moving at
all. He hung his head and looked as sullen as when he just left the Meng's
residence.
A personal attendant went up to him and tried to persuade his master to

dismount, "We've arrived, Fifth Young Master."
Little did he know that Meng Mingshi had arrived at a different place - the
Gates of Hell. As the attendant touched him gently, his body slumped onto
the back of his horse.
A few authority figures with close ties to the Meng family began propagating
this theory that the Fifth Young Master was poisoned to death.
However, there was not a single clue pointing to who did the poisoning.
Of course, the Dragon King was one of the prime suspects, but even Meng
Yuzun himself did not think that it was possible for him to extend his reach to
the Meng's residence in North City.
The next suspect was Shangguan Ru. It was a widely known fact that she was
not willing to be married to Meng Mingshi, but just like the Dragon King, she
did not have the capability to strike in the Meng's residence from afar.
Therefore, the most logical explanation for many people was that Fifth
Young Master Meng was so resistant and fearful of his impending wedding
that he took his own life with poison.
Next came another piece of news from the Meng's residence: Before setting
off for the Stone Castle, Fifth Young Master Meng had drunk a bowl of soup
to freshen himself. It was the only possible opportunity to poison him that
day, and he had personally ordered the soup to be served. The soup was
brought to him by his most trusted attendant.
It seemed to corroborate the news that Meng Mingshi had taken his own life.
The Meng's residence was extremely chaotic; there were crying and bawling
everywhere. Nowhere else to vent his anger, Meng Yuzun killed dozens of
slaves who could be linked, however slightly, to the bowl of soup Meng
Mingshi drank.
That day, the reaction of Golden Roc Fort, the other party involved in this
tragedy, was pretty intriguing.
The Supreme King, who rarely showed himself to the public these few years,
came to visit his old friend Meng Yuzun personally. He publicly announced
that his Ru'er would be part of the Meng family. "No matter whether the
wedding ceremony was completed or not, she would also be considered as
Fifth Young Mistress Meng."
That very afternoon after Supreme King's visit, a splendidly dressed

Shangguan Ru was sent to the Bodhi Garden in North City. She was thus
condemned to a life of solitude in the empty garden.
The residents of Jade City were united in their pity for Shangguan Ru, which
was a rarity. None of them suspected that she was the murderer anymore.
They believed that having a useless husband was even better than spending
the rest of her life as a widow.
As the wedding ceremony was not completed, many did not acknowledge her
as the Fifth Young Mistress of the Meng family and still addressed her as the
'Tenth Young Master' out of habit.
The person who was the most uneasy over the entire incident was Fang
Wenshi. He spent nearly all of his time at the Residence of the Dragon King
in South City, trying to find out who was the actual poisoner. "You have to
tell me the truth, Dragon King. Are they… you ordered someone to do it, and
I know those women are adept in the use of poisons. They would do anything
for you."
The existence of the New Moon Hall was still a secret for the time being, and
as such Fang Wenshi addressed them as 'those women'.
"It's better if you don't know anything about this," replied the Dragon King
nonchalantly. His calmness, however, made his military counselor even more
uneasy.
"You ordered it, didn't you?", Fang Wenshi continued questioning. "All
because of a woman? To tell you the truth, I'm a little disappointed."
Gu Shenwei lowered his head in thought before replying. "I respect your
knowledge and strategies, counselor. However, if you do not even have this
little bit of trust in me, I believe it would be better for us to part ways here."
The expression on Fang Wenshi's face immediately changed. He knew that

he had gone overboard; this young man was the Dragon King of the Great
Snowmountain, not one of his students. "You are being too serious, Dragon
King. Hehe, of course, I trust you, even more than I trust anybody else. We
still have to work hand in hand to achieve our goal of regional hegemony."
The counselor did not bring up the issue again. Facing questions from other
people, he answered righteously, "How could it be possible? It was definitely
not the Dragon King's doing. It must be someone with ulterior motives trying
to smear him. He had not entered North City for the longest time, and
besides, he does not know a thing about poisons."
The first phase of the war with the Meng family was just over, and only
dozens of their banks and shops had been destroyed; it was not enough to
topple the foundation of the Mengs.
Two days after the death of Meng Mingshi, the Residence of the Dragon
King was suddenly crowded as many came, hoping to visit the Dragon King.
The ability demonstrated by the Dragon King, as well as the countless
amount of gold and silver being produced finally convinced a bunch of major
and small protectors, and some desperate people who were willing to take the
risk to publicly announce their intent to co-operate with the Great
Snowmountain, hoping to get a slice of the pie.
It was quieter on the evening of the third day. The visitors from the day had
already left and the Dragon King was not accepting any more guests.
Tonight, he had set aside time for discussions with the two most important
people for his plans.
Lyu Qiying, the manager of the Southwall Tavern, was so excited over the
past two days that he could not sleep well. He had made up his mind that,
regardless of the risks involved, he would do business with the Dragon King.
With the millions, and possibly even tens of millions of taels of silver I could
earn from doing business with him, I would have more than enough to spend
for the rest of my life just from the commission alone , he thought.
The other guest was a character who was rarely seen. If anyone saw the
famous prostitute Xiao Fengchai leaving Pleasure Alley at night with only a
maid to pay a visit to the Dragon King personally, he or she would definitely
be left standing agape in bewilderment. No matter the time of the day, the
onlooker would still spread the news all around Jade City.
Shopkeeper Lyu did not know that he was once on Xiao Fengchai's hit list.
He was a little beside himself at being able to see the most famous woman in
South City in person and seemed overly eager and toady. "Oh my, imagine
being able to meet Madam Xiao here. It's a real honor, a real honor I say."
Xiao Fengchai smiled indifferently and quickly classified Lyu Qiying as the
type of man not worthy of her attention. She did not want to bring herself
down during her visit, but the pull of the two million taels of silver and with
more possibly coming from robbing the Meng family's banks and shops was
too strong for her to resist, so much so that she could not even pretend to
reject accepting them.
Aside from the money, she had another reason for meeting the Dragon King
personally: Xu Yanwei had leased five small blocks situated just opposite her
house. They occupied a tract of land even bigger than Xiao Fengchai's and
she was prepared to start operating the biggest brothel in Pleasure Alley.
Xiao Fengchai would be lying if she claimed to not be envious. She wanted
to know how much money the Dragon King was exactly hiding since he
could afford to be so generous when assisting a down-and-out third-rate
prostitute.
However, the Dragon King would not divulge much. No matter how hard
Lyu Qiying and Xiao Fengchai tried to dig, he would not give them any
substantial information on the exact amount of money in his hands.
Furthermore, the terms he offered were disappointing. "I want to bring down
the commission offered to both of you. Two percent is too much, I feel that
zero point five percent is enough."
"Zero point five percent?", exclaimed Lyu Qiying and Xiao Fengchai
simultaneously. They could not believe their ears; they were here to make
money, not become bankrupt.
"Yes," replied the Dragon King. His tone was extremely calm, yet carrying
an obvious steely quality. "The amount of money both of you would be
making would not decrease, but increase as a result."
The two competitors gave each other a glance and remained silent, waiting
for the Dragon King to explain how things actually stood for both of them.
"I want to establish another network of merchants in the Western Region,

bigger in scale than even that of the Meng family's and also worth more in
money than theirs. I'm willing to give this chance to the both of you."
Xiao Fengchai and Shopkeeper Lyu looked at each other in dismay. Establish
another network of merchants? Bigger in scale than even that of the Meng
family's? He either must be insane or has not told us everything yet , they
thought.
However, if the Dragon King was to fulfill his ambition… they would
become the next 'Meng family' and have countless riches, not to mention
gaining a strong foothold in the Western Region in the process.
For a long while, neither of them spoke.
Gu Shenwei waited patiently for their reply, but he was thinking of

something else. Just as it was getting dark, a caped stranger came bearing a
letter stating that both Tie Linglong and Chu Nanping were currently in
Bodhi Garden.
Chapter 317 - Meng the Second
Chapter 317: Meng the Second
Maid Lotus wished to regain the same feeling they once had.
The Slave Huan then had progressed from always being on his guard around
her, to conditionally co-operating with her, to eventually trusting her
completely, albeit slowly and over a long period of time.
It will be the same this time, she thought.
She even felt that the present Dragon King had trusted her far too early. Not
only had she been immediately assigned to protect him covertly, she even had
the opportunity to take part in planning each plot of his.
As such, she witnessed wave after wave of people coming from all places to
pander themselves to the Dragon King. She also saw Xiao Fengchai and
Shopkeeper Lyu bow to his will, as all the others did, albeit with some
resistance at first. They were willing to work for him now, and left harboring
dreams of building themselves a huge business network.
She even saw a mysterious stranger handing him a note that evening, stating
that both Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong were currently imprisoned in Bodhi
Garden and that the Dragon King was invited to retrieve both youths.
But there were things which she did not entirely know as well. For example,
she had supplied the Dragon King with the tasteless and colorless poison, but
she did not know how he had managed to get Meng Mingshi to consume it.
She appeared just as he was seated behind his desk, absorbed in thought and
exposed. She felt that she was experiencing deja-vu and it moved her so
much so that it felt so surreal.
"It's a trap, you know." Her tone was gentle and unhurried, showing that she
was neither trying to persuade him nor analyze the situation, but just stating a
simple fact.
Gu Shenwei knew what she was talking about, even though he had not shown
any excitement when he saw the note. He could never hide his feelings from
her.
"The trap is too obvious. The Golden Roc Fort should know that I would
never fall for it." His tone was not as calm as hers. He was trying to find an
excuse to risk the trip to Bodhi Garden.
"You are always so suspicious of everything, why are you so convinced this
time? There is no lack of people who understand how you think in the
Golden Roc Fort. Perhaps, the sender is trying to use the simplest form of
trickery to deceive you."
Gu Shenwei remained silent. Maid Lotus was right. His customary practice
was to unearth any signs of a plot from seemingly ordinary matters, but it was
not like him to try to disprove a conspiracy.
Maid Lotus was extremely surprised. Even though it had been more than
three years since they had last co-operated, she could still accurately sense
this man's every thought. It did not, however, make her feel any better to be
left in the dark on his plans. "Those two people are extremely important to
you," she said simply.
Those were the words he had been waiting to hear."Yes, they've passed my
test of loyalty," he replied.
He had not realized that his words would wound her. Maid Lotus' heart
trembled slightly as she heard his reply, but managed to hide her emotions
from him; she had done it so many times that it was like second nature to her.
In this aspect, she had always been better than him. "Maybe we can avoid
their trap and rescue the two of them at the same time," she replied.
Gu Shenwei lifted his head to look at Maid Lotus. He realized that he had
gone against his original intentions and was starting to warm up to her again.
He had never experienced the same level of rapport with anyone else; talking
to her was almost like speaking to himself. It was a feeling that he had longed
for but never experienced these past three years.
"The military counselor would not agree," said Gu Shenwei. In actual fact, he
did not really care about what Fang Wenshi thought, but this time around, it
was different. There could be killers from the Golden Roc Fort waiting to
ambush him in Bodhi Garden, and his breaking in would give the Supreme
King an excuse to call off the temporary ceasefire.
"We have no intention of letting anyone know," she replied, ending their
discussion.
As such, they sneaked into North City. Other than Jiang, no one else noticed
their absence. After the decisive battle with Wildhorse had concluded, she
had insisted on returning to the residence of the Dragon King from North
City. As such, she was the best person to cover the Dragon King's tracks.
Gu Shenwei did not go to Bodhi Garden directly but took the long route
around before arriving at a small house at the edge of East City. After
inspecting the surrounding area for a while, he leaped into the house alone,
leaving her standing guard outside its walls.
Maid Lotus and the other disciples of the New Moon Hall had been operating
in Jade City for a long time, and she was extremely familiar with the goings-
on in the city. As such, she knew exactly who the owner of the house was. At
the same time, she understood who had poisoned Fifth Young Master Meng.
Meng Yuzun had killed dozens of innocent slaves, but it never occurred to
him that the real murderer was another of his sons.
Meng Mingshu, or Second Young Master Meng, was Xiao Fengchai's most
steady customer. He had practically never dealt with the Dragon King in the
past, and Gu Shenwei had only seen him in the famous prostitute's home once
before. It was from her that he came to know Meng Mingshu was a man of
ambition.
Even though it was an ambition that the Second Young Master kept well
hidden, Gu Shenwei had an acute feeling that it just needed a little spark to be
set ablaze.
The Meng family had the backing of the Golden Roc Fort and posed an
insurmountable obstacle. If Gu Shenwei wanted to defeat them, he would
have to target the cracks in the organization. This type of tactic was second
nature to him.
Meng Mingshu was handsome and he exuded an aura that was entirely
different from this arrogant fourth brother or his debaucherous fifth brother;
he was serious and reserved in nature. As such, when the Dragon King
suddenly appeared, he did not panic, and could even guess roughly what the
intruder's intentions were.
That negotiation went smoothly, as neither party disguised his intentions.

They spoke openly, and although they did not make any concrete plans to
work together, each of them found a source of energy in the other that was
lacking in himself. As such, they left with a good impression of each other.
A few days earlier, Gu Shenwei made his second visit to Meng Mingshu.
This time around, they discussed their plans in greater detail, each of them
proposing their own conditions.
Gu Shenwei wanted Meng Mingshi dead. His reason was that he wanted to
teach Meng Yuzun a lesson and strike a firm blow to the close relationship
between the Meng family and the Stone Castle at the same time.
Neither the Dragon King nor the Great Snow Mountain could be seen taking
part in this plan, as Meng Mingshi, who was about to marry Shangguan Ru,
could already be considered a part of the Golden Roc Fort.
The Dragon King needed the help of Second Young Master to execute his
plan.
Meng Mingshu wanted his elder brother dead, and his reason was even more
simple. He wanted to inherit the immense industries of the Meng family.
After his first meeting with the Dragon King, his ambition grew by the day
and he had made up his mind to realize it, everything else was damned.
Meng Mingshu and his elder brother Meng Mingkuan were born to the same
parents but the former was younger by just a year. He was capable too, but
the inheritance he was allocated was less than a tenth of his elder brother's.
This left him lamenting the unfairness of fate.
Similarly, he could not be caught taking part in the murder of his elder
brother. His father Meng Yuzun was no fool, and if his elder son were to die
from any kind of accident, his first suspect would be Meng Mingshu.
The Meng family did not observe the same rules as the Golden Roc Fort and
there was no reward for killing one's own brother, only punishment.
Thus, he needed the Dragon King's assistance as well. The Great Snow
Mountain was a known opponent of the Meng family, and he would not be a
suspect if Meng Mingkuan was killed by the Dragon King.
The only problem was that they could not be seen working together. Meng
Mingshu did not tell anyone about their co-operation, even Xiao Fengchai.
Therefore, he was extremely surprised when the Dragon King appeared in

front of him for the third time. However, he quickly regained his composure,
for there was something he wished to ask anyway, "I heard from Fengchai
that you are planning to build a second business network in the Western
Region which will be comparable to that of the Meng family."
"Right."
"Don't you forget about our deal," Meng Mingshi replied. He felt a little
anxious; he wanted to inherit the entirety of his family's industries and not
just a family name with no substance.
"The day you take over, you'll find that you can easily settle these conflicts
and your position will be even more secure."
Meng Mingshu was doubtful. He was beginning to grow wary of the Dragon
King's methods; this man, who was younger than him by more than 10 years,
was even more astute than his father. "I hope this day will come soon, and I
hope that when the time comes, the industries of the Meng family will still
largely be intact."
"Your wish will come true," replied Gu Shenwei. He believed that he had
firm control over Second Young Master Meng's lifeline. "I wish to know
whether there is a trap waiting for me in Bodhi Garden."
Meng Mingshu smiled sardonically. He was not mocking the Dragon King,
but rather, his father. "Father knew you would come to Bodhi Garden sooner
or later. Therefore, he spent a lot of effort setting up a trap for you,
mobilizing hundreds of people. I'm not sure of the details, but he has offered
a bounty of one million taels of silver for anyone who manages to captures
the Dragon King alive and 500 thousand taels of silver for the person who
manages to kill you."
"I'm going to Bodhi Garden tonight."
Meng Mingshu had felt that the Dragon King would not fall for his father's
trap even without his warning. As such, he did not know how to react for a
moment after hearing the statement. This was not the image he had of the
Dragon King, who was full of cunning. "What are you going to Bodhi Garden
for, Dragon King?", he asked.
The Second Young Master could not help but think of all the gossip that he
had brushed off in the past. If the Dragon King paid this much attention to
women, he would have to reconsider their deal; he wished to rely on
somebody who was ruthless and decisive, not someone immature and willing
to forsake personal interests for women.
"Two of my important helpers are imprisoned in Bodhi Garden."
His calmness helped to dispel some of Meng Mingshu's concern. "It's a little
risky, but you can try," replied Meng. He did not know the details about the
trap and could only describe the situation in Bodhi Garden in general.
Gu Shenwei left after listening to Meng Mingshu. He met up with Maid

Lotus outside the house and both of them arrived at Bodhi Garden before
midnight.
She did not have any questions for him on their way to the garden.
A lady wearing a black cape was waiting anxiously for the Dragon King at a
rock garden to the north-east of Bodhi Garden. It was she who had passed the
note to Gu Shenwei that evening, requesting to meet him at this very spot.
"Is it you?", she asked softly, seeing the silhouette of someone carrying two
weapons approach.
Gu Shenwei nodded, appearing alone. Maid Lotus, meanwhile, was hiding

nearby.
"Ah, Miss said you would come. She received news that there's a labyrinth in
the garden, and that there are two people are imprisoned inside. After much
effort, she managed to get hold of…"
Gu Shenwei abruptly drew his Five Peaks Saber and placed it against her
neck.
"Dragon King…" the woman's eyes were filled with fear.
"You shouldn't have called her 'Miss'," said Gu Shenwei coldly. He believed
that even after more than three years of dressing up as a woman, Shangguan
Ru would still dislike being called 'Miss', and her gracing the entrance of the
Four Truths Temple was proof of that.
"I…" The woman's voice started to tremble.
"Where is she staying?"
The woman seemed reluctant to answer the question until the Dragon King
increased the pressure of the Five Peaks Saber on her neck. She pointed to the
south-west, replying, "Lotus Yard. I'm not lying, Dragon King…"
Gu Shenwei sheathed his saber upon getting his answer. The women
crumpled to the ground, a small wound on her neck.
Meng Mingshu did not know the exact location of Shangguan Ru, but from
what he had gathered, Meng Yuzun had set up his trap far from where she
was staying at. He did not dare to let her get wind of his plans; he knew that
she was his daughter-in-law purely in name and that she was rebellious.
Just as they had thought, Meng Yuzun had hoped to draw the Dragon King to
the underground chamber at the Center Lake, but Shangguan Ru's quarters at
the Lotus Yard was situated at the south-west corner of Bodhi Garden.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus retreated from the garden and took a long way
round till they were outside Lotus Yard. They lay in wait on a roof, peering
into the interior of the yard over the wall.
It was extremely dark and the courtyard was silent and still.
All of a sudden, Gu Shenwei did not know why he had come here. If the
news of the Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong being imprisoned in Bodhi
Garden was just meant to lure him into a trap, he should, in fact, leave as
quickly as he could.
Maid Lotus managed to guess what he was thinking again. She urged him on
softly, "After all, you killed her husband. You should at least give her an
explanation in person."
Chapter 318 - Reunion
Chapter 318: Reunion
Gu Shenwei did not move and at the last minute, suspicion flooded its head
again, trying to convince him to abort the mission. Even Shangguan Ru could
very well be part of the trap now.
Three years ago she was still a child who loved to dream, and who knows
what she has become after three years of house arrest and being out of favor?
, he thought. When he saw her at the entrance of the Four Truths Temple, she
was astride a big horse and looked formidable; it seemed like she still
retained her lofty aspirations from the past.
Besides, he knew that people with ambitions were never afraid to change
themselves in order to fulfill their dreams.
There was a commotion in Lotus Yard - a place across from them - as Gu

Shenwei remained indecisive on the rooftop.
Armed with sabers, a group of men in black was surrounding Shangguan Ru's
quarters. There were at least 50 of them and some were only dozens of steps
away from Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus.
The female corpse on the rock garden had been discovered.
After they had finished setting up the ambush around the house, a few of
them went up to knock on its door.
With all of this happening at a distance from Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus,
coupled with the dark night, they were not able to clearly see what was
happening. There seemed to be an argument occurring, but the figures clad in
black still managed to enter the room in the end; however, they quickly
returned in a state of panic as if they had been taught a lesson.
In spite of this, they managed to confirm that the Dragon King was absent
and therefore signaled their companions to retreat.
It was already past midnight, and would soon be daybreak.
"I'll go and look over there," Maid Lotus said softly before quietly
disappearing into the night.
Gu Shenwei leaped onto and landed on the ground. He dashed across the
walkways swiftly and jumped onto the wall of the Lotus Yard, observing his
surroundings for a while. He noticed there was light coming from one of the
rooms and a blurry figure was reflected through the windows.
All of a sudden, another scene from a different night flashed across his mind.
It was still midsummer and the air was filled with the fragrance of flora as he
leaped into the yard. Picking up a pebble under the Hai Tang tree, he used it
to knock on Shangguan Ru's window.
There was also a tree planted in Lotus Yard. Subconsciously, Gu Shenwei

walked up to it, grabbed a small fistful of hard snow and flicked it lightly
onto the window of the lit room.
Unlike last time, no one was peeking out from the window; they were still
groggy with sleep. The shadow of the figure was motionless, but weirdly, the
door opened slightly with a crack and woke Gu Shenwei from his
imagination.
He waited for a while before inching towards the door, entering the room
swiftly with his saber in hand and paying close attention to any sign of
movement.
Shangguan Ru was seated at her desk and resting her chin on one hand. Her
other hand was tracing absentmindedly on the table top, and she was gazing
listlessly at the flickering candle flame. The expression on her face was a mix
of the familiar immatureness and mischievousness from three years ago, yet
it exuded the elegance and aloofness of a teenage girl as well. She did not
seem to have noticed that a man had entered the room with her now.
Gu Shenwei immensely regretted his decision. Although there was no trap

here, it was entirely different from what he had pictured and how he secretly
hoped their reunion would be; however, he had to say something, so he spoke
up, "I've come…"
He stopped midway, not knowing what exactly he had come for.
"Little Chu and Miss Tie are with me."
Gu Shenwei was surprised beyond words; he thought that the news of Chu
Nanping and Tie Linglong in Bodhi Garden was a lie intended to lure him
into a trap. Never would he have imagined that it was true.
"Take them away with you later," she continued, still not looking at him. It
seemed as though an important secret was contained within the flickering
flame, making it a must for her to keep staring at it. "They are not familiar
with North City, therefore I'm not comfortable letting them wander about on
their own."
"Thank you," said Gu Shenwei with much difficulty, feeling relieved to have
got it out.
"Yeah," replied Shangguan Ru, her tone neither warm nor cold. Her gaze had
not shifted away from the flame by even an inch, and all Gu Shenwei could
see in her eyes was the dance of the flickering light.
The two of them did not speak for a while and Shangguan Ru did not
summon Chu Nanping nor Tie Linglong either. She seemed preoccupied with
her own thoughts and treated the Dragon King just like how she used to treat
Slave Huan in the past: as a trusted slave who did not require any special
attention, instead of as the Dragon King who was now feared throughout Jade
City.
Gu Shenwei felt the rage welling up inside him, so he cocked his head and
said coldly, "Let them come out. I'll repay the favor; however, don't expect
too much in return."
"Am I your enemy as well since my family name is Shangguan?"
"Yes, you're right. You're my enemy, not only because of your family name
but also because you betrayed the two giant rocs. They were family to me as
well."
Shangguan Ru seemed unmoved by what he said, but she stopped tracing on

the table. After a while, she replied, "I've always wanted to apologize to you
for that. I would also like to apologize to the giant red-crowned roc who was
always with you. I guess it was their child, right? At that time, I didn't know a
thing about the cruelty of death. Killings brought my father joy and it made
me happy as well, in the past; however, these aren't important. You have the
right to take revenge and you can act now; I promise that no one will come
and stop you."
Gu Shenwei gripped the handle of his saber tightly, yet he could not find it in
himself to move it by even an inch; it was as though the saber itself had
grown roots like how a rock left in its place over the years would. "I won't
kill you today in return for you handing over Chu Nanping and Tie
Linglong," he said, finally finding a suitable excuse for himself.
Shangguan Ru averted her gaze from the flame all of a sudden and looked at
Slave Huan - or rather the Dragon King as everyone called him now - for the
first time since their reunion. She showed him the smile that he was so
familiar with, saying, "Is this the real you? You were pretending all along in
the past, weren't you? It must have been terrible living in the same castle as
your foes, serving the daughter of your enemy."
It felt like a brazen attempt to taunt him and Gu Shenwei felt a sincere desire
to kill Shangguan Ru for the first time in his life. He replied, "I could endure
it because I knew that I would eventually be able to get my revenge."
Shangguan Ru looked apologetic after saying those words; she did not
understand why she said something so hurtful. Perhaps, she was still bitter
about the fact that she gave him her trust when she was young and ignorant.
It was the only chance in her life to trust somebody and she had chosen to
give it to Slave Huan, only for him to turn into the pale-faced male stranger
standing in front of her now.
Despite being forced against her will to get used to dressing as a woman,
even though she had never held a real saber for more than three years now,
the pride was still within her. As her apologetic feelings soon passed, she
said, "This is what I wanted to tell you as well. You can have your revenge -
but within limits. I won't allow you to take innocent lives; not everybody
named Shangguan is guilty."
Gu Shenwei found her words laughable as his initial anger subsided. Perhaps
the past three years of being under house arrest had trapped her forever in the
temperament of a 14-year-old. Here she was, thinking that she was still the
Tenth Young Master and he was still Slave Huan who was always at her beck
and call. "I have forgotten about that fact that you had been practicing
Wayless Qigong all this while. I hope your kung fu has not deteriorated and
that I will still have a worthy opponent when the time comes for us to fight a
decisive battle to the death."
Upon hearing his sarcasm, Shangguan Ru's eyes revealed a tinge of pity. It
was unclear to whom the pity was addressed to; however, she said, "I don't
kill and I will not kill anybody. I've already tasted enough of the pain that
comes with killing. I only hope that you'll come to understand this one day -
not now, not when you've yet to avenge your family, but I don't want you to
pass the point of no return."
"No one can stop me," replied Gu Shenwei. He raised his voice unknowingly,
and his face became stern - this was the demeanor that left the swordsmen of
the Great Snowmountain in awe of him. "The path of vengeance is never-
ending, and only death can stop all of this from happening."
The man before Shangguan Ru was scary and unfamiliar, and it was hard for
Shangguan Ru to believe he used to be Slave Huan. His words, however, had
stirred up her pride and ambition. She was unable to kill, but that did not
mean she would bow down to any threat posed to her. Standing up, she
replied in a tone nearly as cold as his, "I will prove to you that there are other
alternative paths in this world."
The two of them glared at each other, the flame dancing about in their eyes
ready to burst forth at any moment.
Shangguan Ru was the first to stop staring as she began to laugh. This was
not the Slave Huan she was familiar with, but another character who was
even more interesting. It had been years since she had last felt so elated.
However, Gu Shenwei was infuriated by her abnormal reaction. "Do you not
believe that I will kill you?" he asked.
It was a foolish question, and he regretted it the moment the words left his
mouth. He understood the absurdity of empty threats many years ago but did
not expect himself to actually use one at such an inappropriate moment.
"I believe you," Shangguan Ru replied, still looking amused despite no longer
laughing. This made her resemble herself from three years ago. "You are the
Dragon King who kills like it is second nature, right? I'll be waiting for you
to strike. Take your people away and tell them to never break into the Stone
Castle again. I don't recall us doing such a rash and foolish thing at their age."
Shangguan Ru was no more than two or three years older than Tie Linglong
and Chu Nanping but spoke as if she was a Jianghu veteran herself.
Furthermore, Gu Shenwei could clearly remember the times when she had
committed many foolish acts in the past and a lot of them were even more
rash than what the two youths did.
Gu Shenwei's pale and stiff face trembled slightly, a sign that he was trying
hard to control his laughter. It made him seem a little weird, but he quickly
regained his composure. "Why would Lady Meng allow you to bring them
down the mountain?" he asked.
"Let the two of them tell you."
The sounds of footsteps sounded from outside the door, and before the
attendant showed herself Shangguan Ru quickly added, "Thank you for
helping me to solve such a huge problem."
Gu Shenwei wanted to ask what she would do if Meng Mingshi had not died
back there - at the gates of the Golden Roc Fort. Since you're incapable of
killing, would you try to run away? He thought to himself.
At this moment, the door opened and a maid brought Chu Nanping and Tie
Linglong in, thus he had no other option but to hold back his questions.
The two of them looked very strange. Tie Linglong was dressed as a male
servant from Golden Roc Fort, and she would have looked somewhat similar
to the young Shangguan Ru if not for her green eyes. Chu Nanping, on the
other hand, was dressed in female clothes, and it actually looked good on him
- so much so that Gu Shenwei didn't recognize him at first glance.
Chu Nanping was uneasy and extremely embarrassed by his outfit.
However, Tie Linglong did not seem to care what she was wearing. Upon
seeing the Dragon King, she gave a cry of surprise and suppressed her voice
before saying, "I knew you would come, Dragon King."
Gu Shenwei wanted to give them a harsh scolding but now was not the time
to do so. As such, he merely ordered, "Follow me."
Tie Linglong cheered softly at first, but upon seeing Shangguan Ru still
sitting at her table, she was dismayed and surprised. "Isn't Sister Ru coming
with us?" she asked.
"No," replied Shangguan Ru with a slight smile. "This is my home, and

besides, I am enemies with the Dragon King," she continued.
"Enemies?" Tie Linglong was increasingly surprised. "How is it possible?

Hasn't the Dragon King come for you…"
"Let's go," said Gu Shenwei, leading the way out of the room with Chu
Nanping following closely behind.
Tie Linglong looked around and hurriedly said to Shangguan Ru before

leaving, "I'll convince the Dragon King to change his mind."
Once they had leaped over the walls of the yard, Chu Nanping immediately
removed the ornaments from his head. Just when he was about to throw them
away, he was stopped by Tie Linglong, who had hurried over and snatched
them away from him. "Don't just throw them anywhere. Do you want to leave
evidence behind?" she asked.
Maid Lotus did not show herself, but Gu Shenwei knew she was observing
nearby. As a result, he did not try to look for her and quickly took the two
youths out of North City.
Security in North City was tight, and without someone who was familiar with
its details - like Gu Shenwei - leading the way, it would definitely be difficult
for Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong to safe escape.
The three of them remained silent on their way back. Tie Linglong was
anxious to tell the Dragon King about her adventures with Chu Nanping, but
Gu Shenwei was in no mood to listen to her. Dawn was breaking over the
horizon, dispersing the dark night away just as they arrived back at the
Residence of the Dragon King. The border between South and North City
was exposed in its entirety, leaving nowhere for anybody to sneak around.
Shangguan Ru was right, Gu Shenwei thought. He had known all along that
they were enemies, but it was hard for him to accept that fact sometimes.
Chapter 319 - Rescued
Chapter 319: Rescued
It was not entirely due to random chance or by accident that Chu Nanping
and Tie Linglong managed to sneak into the Golden Roc Fort. They were
already marked as suspicious characters at the gates of North City and their
identities as the personal bodyguards of the Dragon King were confirmed
when they were at the foot of the stone bridge.
However, the news of them trying to enter the fort was reported directly to
Lady Meng instead of the Supreme King.
Just like this, the two confident youths fell into a trap set up for them. They
were captured once they set foot in the Inner Residence and did not even
have time to find their bearings around the place.
Lady Meng was disappointed that it was not the Dragon King himself who
had been lured into the trap, but two of his subordinates instead - not to
mention that they were just teenagers. She understood him and knew that he
would not give up the secret manuscript just for Chu Nanping and Tie
Linglong, but she still informed Meng Yuzun that the youths were in her
hands; this would allow him to use them as bargaining chips in his
negotiations with the Dragon King.
The two teenagers did not suffer much during their captivity; in fact, they
were rescued before the negotiations even began.
Shangguan Fei was exaggerating when he told the Dragon King that his sister
was not speaking to anyone and that she would rather be mute. However, it
was true that she had not talked to her mother for three years.
Shangguan Ru was only on partial house arrest and could still move freely
within the Inner Residence. Moreover, she still enjoyed the love and loyalty
of many within the fort. As such, her sources brought her even more
information compared to what her mother and brother knew about.
Very quickly, she got to know about the capture of the two teenagers and
understood that they had come to 'rescue' her.
The way things turned out in the end, Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong were
the ones who required rescuing instead.
Shangguan Ru knew very well that it would be easy to rescue both of them:
Lady Meng did not want the Supreme King to know about the teenagers and
therefore had them imprisoned in a stone hut instead of the heavily guarded
underground dungeon.
Springing them from the hut would be one thing, but it would be next to
impossible to send them safely down the mountain. Security in the Golden
Roc Fort had gradually become stronger all these years after the rebellion of
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus. Even Shangguan Ru was unable to escape from
the castle herself, let alone the two youths who were unfamiliar with the
territory.
The only option would be to find a safe place to hide them temporarily -
Shangguan Ru thought.
But that would be nearly impossible, she concluded. There were only a few
places in the Stone Castle that were out of Lady Meng's reach - basically, the
houses frequented by the Supreme King, including the residence of the
Eighth Young Mistress, Luo Ningcha.
After managing to survive the assassination attempt, she had her wish
fulfilled: she gave birth to a son. Her quarters in the Inner Residence was a
grand mansion which was relatively independent of the other houses. She
kept a distance away from Lady Meng and was also situated far away from
the Supreme King, Her mansion can be considered as somewhat shielded
from public eyes , Shangguan Ru thought to herself.
Luo Ningcha did not allow Lady Meng to get involved in anything pertaining
to her 'territory' and only she dared to (and gladly) partake in everything that
would lead to the displeasure of the matron.
As such, Shangguan Ru sent the two brash youths to her Eighth Sister-in-
law's residence.
Luo Ningcha immediately agreed to take them in, as she had a somewhat
good impression of Shangguan Ru. Another reason was that she heard that
Lady Meng kept their presence in the fort a secret from the Supreme King
and intended to use them to threaten Slave Huan.
Shangguan Ru knew the inherent danger of her actions and warned Luo
Ningcha against presenting the two youths to the Supreme King: they were
the trusted subjects of the Dragon King, and he would come looking for
revenge if any harm came to them.
Luo Ningcha was not afraid of the Dragon King's vengeance, but she
promised to keep the presence of the two youths a secret. However, she made
it very clear that she wanted Slave Huan, instead of Shangguan Ru, to repay
the favor in future.
Thus, Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong spent the next 20 over days in the
"residence of the Eighth Young Master". Luo Ningcha was the one who came
up with the sudden and weird idea of forcing Chu Nanping to dress as a girl
and making Tie Linglong constantly squint her eyes to conceal those emerald
pupils, so as to hide their true identities from the spies of Lady Meng; the girl
was also dressed as the opposite gender, albeit without force.
Even though the two youths were a little resistant to the cross-dressing and
squinting, they could still bear with it. What was insufferable for them was
the constant nagging of Luo Ningcha.
"At least three times every day," Tie Linglong said.
She was in charge of recounting their adventure to the Dragon King. Her
eyebrows wrinkled together as she thought about Luo Ningcha's nagging; just
the thought of it was unbearable.
"We had to swear that she was our savior. Luckily, she did not want us to
repay the favor. She wanted us to inform you, Dragon King, that she was
taking a huge risk and that you are obliged to repay her."
This was exactly the Luo Ningcha that Gu Shenwei knew. "Don't worry, I
have a way to handle her," he replied.
Even though there were times when Gu Shenwei had underestimated Luo
Ningcha, his impression of her was merely an extremely selfish woman and
had never viewed of her as an opponent that should be treated seriously.
"Right, then it's all good, I guess." Tie Linglong felt relieved. Even though
Luo Ningcha could be considered as her savior, she was unable to get herself
to like the woman. She then asked curiously, "Are you familiar with her,
Dragon King? She seemed… to know you pretty well."
"I was working under her and that's how I entered the Golden Roc Fort in the
past," replied Gu Shenwei indifferently with a calm tone. He believed that no
matter how foolish Luo Ningcha was, she would not speak irresponsibly
about their past.
Tie Linglong and Chu Nanping nodded at the same time as a mystery
clouding their thoughts was solved. They were young and knew little about
the ways of the world; if a more worldly adult was in their place, surely he or
she would be more suspicious after hearing what the Dragon King had said.
As for Lady Meng, she went off her rocker upon discovering that her two
captives, who she had spent so much effort to catch, were missing. She
suspected that her daughter was involved but could not find any evidence
leading directly to her. Furthermore, she could not openly start a search for
the two teenagers as well. As such, she issued a gag order, hoping that the
Dragon King would still believe that they were in her custody.
Both of them had actually followed Shangguan Ru down the mountain as part
of her entourage of slaves during her wedding.
Every family in the fort contributed a gift for the young lady who was getting
married. Even though many of the Supreme King's sons were dead now, his
grandchildren were still around. Under the supervision of their mothers, they
still had to pay tribute to Lady Meng, who held real power, on behalf of their
fathers.
Luo Ningcha was the Eighth Young Mistress in name and she followed the
Bighead Kingpin's tradition of sending gold, silver and precious jewels as
well as slaves for the wedding gift. Among the five pairs of slaves from both
sexes were Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong, who were, of course, dressed as
the opposite sex.
No one in the entourage expected Meng Mingshi to die before even crossing
the stone bridge to the castle, and the two youths were almost detained in the
fort once again. It was only when the Supreme King insisted that the
marriage was valid regardless of Meng Mingshi's death that they managed to
leave the mountain with Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru did not let the two of them leave immediately when they
arrived at Lotus Yard for fear that they would be exposed in North City due
to their unfamiliarity with the place, but she also had other reasons for letting
them stay.
"She did not say it directly, but she knew you would come looking for her,
Dragon King," said Tie Linglong, displaying the natural instincts of a woman
in matters of the heart. "And it was true. You came eventually," she
continued.
"The words 'we are enemies' came from her, and she was very right about
that," Gu Shenwei reminded the young girl.
No matter how good her instincts or smarts were, Tie Linglong had no
comeback for the Dragon King. She tried very hard to figure out the meaning
of Shangguan Ru's statement but did not even know where to begin.
Therefore, she changed the subject of their conversation. She started

describing Shangguan Ru's plans to tackle the problem of her marriage. She
had come up with a few plans but did not manage to execute them due to the
sudden death of Meng Mingshi.
The simplest of them was that she would hold Fifth Young Master Meng
hostage in public once she arrived at the Meng's residence, thereby forcing
him to annul the marriage. Shangguan Ru expected this to be very easy, as
Meng Mingshi was terrified of her, and was similarly reluctant to be married
together.
As for the most complicated plan, it would be to secretly switch places with a
loyal maid and forcing Meng Mingshi to keep it a secret. The fake bride
would find an excuse not to show herself for a few days, while the real
Shangguan Ru would take this opportunity to flee. As for what she would do
after escaping, Shangguan Ru did not say that she would go and find the
Dragon King, but rather she mentioned that she wanted to wander around the
world.
Shangguan Ru felt that her plans were very carefully considered; she had
even thought of a way out for the maid who was going to switch places with
her. If her double was willing, she would consummate the 'marriage' with
Meng Mingshi. If not, she would bring some valuables with her to look for
the Dragon King. With Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong around, Shangguan
Ru believed that the Dragon King would not mistreat the maid.
No matter what plan would be carried out eventually, Shangguan Ru had

decided that first, she would have to get out of the fort and down the
mountain so that the two teenagers could be on their way.
Gu Shenwei thought that Shangguan Ru was still as child-like as before. If he

had not managed to poison Meng Mingshi, none of her tricks would have
worked. Even so, she was even full of confidence that she could prevent him
from 'going overboard in his quest for vengeance'.
"Hrumph," said Gu Shenwei softly. He could not decide whether he found

her behavior absurd or not.
Even though Tie Linglong did not manage to accomplish her original
objective, her experience had been an adventure so far. Furthermore, she got
to see for herself the girl that Xu Yanwei had described more or less like a
deity, and she felt that it was not a wasted trip at all. After she had finished
speaking, she lifted her head and looked excitedly at the Dragon King,
waiting to hear his praises.
The stern voice of the Dragon King quickly killed her hopes. "You two did
not follow my orders and left your posts on your own accord. From today
onwards, both of you shall be placed under house arrest for a month."
Tie Linglong was surprised beyond words. Even the normally silent Chu
Nanping tried to defend himself, "I was being forced. She said…"
The Dragon King cut him off, "You are a swordsman, and yet it just took a
few words to convince you. Where is your 'emotionless heart'?"
Unable to speak any further, Chu Nanping was flushed with embarrassment.
When Tie Linglong reprimanded him for 'betraying' her as they left
dejectedly, he found it even harder to try to come up with a reply.
It was Xu Xiaoyi who consoled them in the end. "The Dragon King has his
reasons. Think about it, Miss Ru has just come down from the mountain a
few days ago. If the two of you began showing yourselves in public, wouldn't
you be selling her out to Lady Meng?", he suggested.
Tie Linglong was enlightened by his words and accepted her house arrest
with no further complaints.
However, Chu Nanping was still moody. "I heard that the Dragon King had
all of the people from the Joy Pavilion killed," he said.
He used to be the servant of the dwarf Immortal Peng, and even though he
practiced Emotionless Swordsmanship, he had quite a lot of feelings towards
the pavilion. Xu Xiaoyi was surprised to hear his question and did not know
how to answer. After hemming and hawing for a long time, he replied, "In
reality, it was not the Dragon King who struck first. Most of the disciples
were killed by that bunch of women…"
"The Dragon King is right. I am practicing Emotionless Swordsmanship, yet

there is always something holding me back. I can't be thinking of that Joy
Pavilion anymore now--"
Xu Xiaoyi breathed a sigh of relief. However, Chu Nanping was not quite
finished yet. He swept his gaze across the faces of Xu Xiaoyi and Tie
Linglong, his two best friends.
"Also, I want to cut off all ties with the both of you."
Xu Xiaoyi was speechless. He did not understand how the death of the
disciples of the Joy Pavilion had anything to do with him.
"With pleasure", said Tie Linglong. She then cocked her head proudly and
stormed back to her room to begin her house arrest.
Gu Shenwei did not spend too much time thinking about the bickering
teenagers. He was discussing a matter of importance with Maid Lotus in a
separate room -- however, not a word was spoken about Shangguan Ru.
Second Young Master Meng had kept to his part of the promise and poisoned
his brother; now was the time for the Dragon King to fulfill his part of the
deal. He had to murder Meng Mingkuan, the successor of the Meng family.
Gu Shenwei had already secretly gathered some intelligence -- and although

it was not as comprehensive as that of the New Moon Hall, the conclusion
from their preliminary discussion was that it would be extremely hard to
assassinate First Young Master Meng; the difficulty of carrying out the hit
could possibly even rival that of a mission targeting Meng Yuzun.
"Therefore, it would be a fatal blow to Old Meng," Gu Shenwei concluded.

He had made up his mind to stick to the deal. Since he had already declared
war on the Meng family, he could not back out of it halfway.
Chapter 320 - Information
Chapter 320: Information
The Meng family kept the news of Gu Shenwei killing the woman in the
Bodhi Garden in North City a secret. After fighting for a few days, the two
sides entered a temporarily cooling-off period.
Many Golden Roc's killers and machetemen had already been sent to
different parts of the Western Region to protect the Meng family's property
and to chase the bandits. At this point, Gu Shenwei still believed it was best
to be prudent.
However, he also thought that, after provoking Old Meng's anger, he could
not be overcautious. His next target would be First Young Master Meng,
Meng Mingkuan.
Meng Mingkuan was about thirty, young, vigorous and well-known. His
behavior, unexpectedly, was very discreet. He rarely showed up except when
he was with his father.
He lived in a small house next to the Meng's residence, with doors which
connected the buildings. Every morning, he would go to pay respect to his
father, and deal with business for him in the studio, and in case of important
matters, he would wait until noon to personally ask him for instructions.
365 days a year, wind or rain, frost or snow, First Young Master Meng would
never neglect his duty. He would not let his father worry in the slightest.
Even when he fell ill, he would take medicine and carry on working.
Thanks to the efficiency of his eldest son, Meng Yuzun had the energy and
time to enjoy himself and also deal with more important matters. For this
reason, there was no need to question who Meng Yuzun's successor would
be.
Only his death could clear the way for the ambitious second son of the
Meng's family.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus spent almost an entire day combing through the
information they had obtained. In the end, however, they came up empty.
This First Young Master Meng was truly impeccable. He was not addicted to
alcohol, not lascivious, not fond of gambling, and for many years he had
hardly ever stepped into South City. They could not use the traditional killer's
method to assassinate him.
First Young Master Meng exerted an extremely stringent control over his
subordinates. Those who he really trusted numbered no more than ten and he
tempered justice with mercy towards them. He would offer them rewards, but
one mistake, and he would never employ them again. Buying a traitor from
within was not entirely impossible, but it would need time and would most
definitely be expensive.
There was still a problem with getting rid of First Young Master Meng: they
could not be too ostentatious about it, but they also had not to be too quiet. If
they draw suspicion away from Meng's secondborn, they had to let
everybody know it was Dragon King's handwriting, but at the same time,
they had to be careful not to leak any information and to publicly blame the
Great Snowmountain of cheating on peace talks.
For two days in a row, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus failed to come up with
any plan and kept delaying action.
Finally, breakthrough emerged as unexpected news form Xu Yanwei.
Xu Yanwei spent ten thousand taels to buy a five-stores brothel. It was far
from being the biggest in South City, but it was without a doubt the first in
Pleasure Alley, where land was more precious than gold, and still bigger than
Xiao Fengchai's one in front of it.
This was her great idea: Since the prostitutes in Pleasure Alley were the ones
who earned the most money, why not open a bigger brothel and hire some
women?
As a result, the ten thousand taels she received from her younger brother, Xu
Xiaoyi, were spent in a blink of an eye. They had just enough to pay the rent
for the first month. Additionally, the three girls she knew were not even
enough to fill a single room.
In Jade City, they believed in miracles. Xu Yanwei made up a lie about the
places he had been to in the previous years and how he rose from the dead
and nobody doubted it, or at least, nobody cared to check the details.
In short, Xu Yanwei did not have any money and Xu Xiaoyi did not dare to
give her more, leaving her with the only solution to go to Dragon King.
Xu Yanwei did not know yet that the two men had already been saved and
she was still harboring guilt over their imprisonment. Being afraid of seeing
Dragon King, she hesitated before scraping together some information and
finally deciding to report in.
"I have important news, we don't have time to delay." Xu Yanwei told the
guards whom Dragon King had ordered to not let her in.
Only after being stuck at the gate for almost half an hour was Xu Yanwei
allowed to meet Dragon King in the hall. She was upset about it, but
ultimately, it was by her efforts that Dragon King decided to break that
unhappy marriage. Although she had not thought about killing Meng Wu, she
still contributed to Dragon King's mysterious poisoning.
She was full of complaints, as soon as she entered the hall, she beamed with
joy. She did not mention her "merits", nor the money problem, but gave him
all the information as sincerely as she could.
The merchants were asking where all the money stolen from the Meng family
in the Western Region was. The machetemen were curious about who
Dragon King's next victim would be. The protectors cared about the next
conflict between Stone Castle and Dragon King. An old nobleman in exile, in
his fifties, having lost his entire fortune and unexpectedly still wanted to stay
at Xiao Fengchai's house, was sent to the checkpoint between South and
North Cities, and, when thrown on a bridge, cried all day. When the old
servant of Miss Xiao Ju's house talked about Dragon King, she did not show
any sign of respect and even called him "Yang Huan". In those days, all the
people in the Pleasure Alley were regular guests, but that day, there was no
one around.
The pieces of information were becoming more and more trivial, but since
Gu Shenwei had never made it explicitly clear what he wanted, he could not
blame her.
After being stuck in the freezing cold for half and hour, Xu Yanwei spitefully
decided to nag at him for that same amount of time. She wanted Dragon King
to lose patience before telling him about the money so that he would agree to
anything just to be left in peace.
Just like every other brothel, prices for the prostitutes at Pleasure Alley were
fixed. It did not matter how high or how low the prices were, the prostitute
would make the guest happy. The only important thing was that the tip left by
the guest was usually higher than the fee.
Xu Yanwei was not an expert in negotiation, but that that day was just a
disaster. Dragon King patiently listened to her nagging, nodding absently,
just like one of those patronizing old women listening at the feet of their
masters.
In the end, Xu Yanwei gave up. Since the first time she met Dragon King,
back when he was still called "Slave Huan", none of her moves had ever
succeeded.
"That's all." Xu Yanwei took a long sip of tea to soothe her dry throat,
"Dragon King, do you think it is useful?"
To Xu Yanwei's surprise, Dragon King nodded, pondered for a while before

asking her: "Is Jin Quan a guest of Pleasure Alley?"
"Yes, he is. He has been with Xiao Ju for almost half a year now. He used to
say that he would redeem himself and start a life with her, but I have not seen
him recently. I keep telling Xiao Ju, she can't take the words of her guests
seriously."
Despite her hoarse voice, Xu Yanwei wanted to go on, but Gu Shenwei

interrupted her and ordered her, "Find out what Jin Quan is busy with and
inform me immediately."
"No problem." Xu Yanwei brightened again, jumped up to move, but as she

took a step, she turned around again and said softly: "Dragon King, I don't
have money."
Xu Yanwei left the Residence of Dragon King very satisfied. She had
obtained other ten thousand taels, enough to cover the expenses for another
month. If only the luck of the brothel turned, she was sure that money would
not be a problem soon.
Although she was only in her early twenties, Xu Yanwei believed she was
past her prime: the old tricks she had once used were pathetic would not work
anymore, so she decided to become a Procuress and to devote herself to teach
and foster a new generation of famous prostitutes.
The twenty thousand taels from Dragon King was a good start.
In only two months, three at most, the money could double, she thought
happily. As she arrived at Pleasure Alley, she immediately jumped into action
and in less than four hours, she had all the news Dragon King needed.
Gu Shenwei was especially interested in Jin Quan. He had discovered long

ago that he was First Young Master Meng's housekeeper.
Now he wanted to know whether Jin Quan could be bought, but the news he
received from Xu Yanwei was even better than expected.
Jin Quan had not actually abandoned Miss Xiao Ju, but he had been
preparing to leave for a long trip to deal with some important matters.
Xu Yanwei was extremely excited with her newly acquired ten thousand
taels, and proved herself better than her younger brother at finding out some
news, almost guessing the real intentions of Dragon King. She ran from
brothel to brothel, to call on Procuresses and gossip with them. After
gathering information, she reached this conclusion: it was First Young Master
Meng himself who was ready to leave for a long trip, Jin Quan was only
following his master to help him in his business.
First Young Master Meng, Meng Mingkuan, was almost impeccable. He was
going to inherit a huge property, but he could not demand as much from his
subordinates as his father had. They were loyal to their master, but at the
same time, they also wanted to enjoy their lives.
When they were indulging with the women of Pleasure Alley, there was no
man who could keep his mouth shut. Although everyone was confident that
they had not revealed the whole situation, a few words were enough for a
clever prostitute, only, most of the time, they did not care about these kinds
of information. All they really wanted was to extort more money from their
guests.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus made an effort to keep on the investigation

under wraps without leaving any trace. Finally, in the New Moon Hall, in the
Meng's residence, they received the most explicit piece of information: in
three days, Meng Mingkuan would leave for Shu-lik.
The machetemen of Tuo Nengya's subordinates had seriously damaged the

Meng family's network of the merchants, especially those from Shu-lik,
which was almost completely paralysed.
Shu-lik was the largest country in the Western Region, and its importance
could not be overlooked. First Young Master Meng had received two orders
from his father. First, to bring a big sum of money to alleviate the economic
crisis. Even though the losses were only temporary, they could not damage
the Meng family's reputation and prestige. Second, to buy over some
ministers from Chaozhong, and sort out the story for this grievous plunder.
Meng Yuzun had already smelled the conspiracy in Shu-lik: he suspected that
someone must have been secretly collaborating with Dragon King, otherwise,
the looting would not have been successful and the event would have been
void of evidence.
The Meng family already had many steady supporters in Shu-lik. Now it was
their turn to stand for the Meng family.
Meng Ziyun hoped that the news of his eldest son leaving Jade City for Shu-
lik remained a secret, but he was also worried for his safety. Therefore, he
made sure to prepare on both sides.
Golden Roc Fort sent to Shu-lik thirty killers and one hundred machetemen,
who were hired in name to protect Meng family's property, but whose task
was in fact, to protect First Young Master Meng along the way.
Meanwhile, many of the machetemen in South City had begun to stir

restlessly, hanging around Dragon King's surveilling, which made Old Meng
have no more illusions the matter. He also wanted to give the impression of a
surprise attack against Dragon King. In this way, he thought, he would trap
Dragon King in his residence, leaving him without the energy to do anything
else.
But once he understood the facts, all the events at the Meng's residence and
the Golden Roc Fort became just clear evidence to Gu Shenwei.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill. That very night, Gu

Shenwei and Maid Lotus started to formulate a plan and the following day
they set out to prepare.
As First Young Master Meng had the close protection from Golden Roc's
killers, whose assassination methods could be predicted. However, since The
Agreement between the two killers could not be broken, they decided to
adopt a less conventional method.
Chapter 321 - Giant Crossbow
Chapter 321: Giant Crossbow
Something had occurred in South City recently, but because it was neither a
huge matter nor was it a small issue, not a lot of people seemed to care.
However, it was a topic for discussion among those who drank.
The manager of the Southwall Tavern of many years, Lyu Qiying, more
commonly known as Shopkeeper Lyu, had officially announced that he
would sell off the tavern as he was heading to Shu-lik for retirement.
Shopkeeper Lyu, who was in his fifties, was not considered that old. He was
in the prime of his life as his business was booming with enormous profits
each day. Hence, it was indeed unexpected that he chose to retire at this time.
It went without saying that the drinkers were more concerned about their fine
wine -- they were worried that there would be a change in the taste of the
wines when Shopkeeper Lyu retired. It was only until the new manager
publicly announced that everything in the tavern, from the supply channels to
the preservation methods and prices, would remain the same, did the drinkers
relax. After the drinkers bid farewell and well wishes to Shopkeeper Lyu, no
one was interested in this matter anymore.
The way Lyu Qiying had departed so hastily also caused some speculations
among people. It was as though he was fleeing something as he had left
without even bidding farewell to all his relatives or friends. "I saw he visited
Dragon King secretly the other day. Perhaps things didn't work out and he
was afraid, that's why he left in such a hurry?"
Being relieved of his managerial position in the tavern made Lyu Qiying a
little worried. But his fear was directed to the enemies of Dragon King, not
Dragon King. As of right now, he was feeling more excited than afraid.
He was about to embark on a newer and bigger career.
Dragon King had plans to build up a business network in the Western

Region, with Xiao Fengchai in charge of Jade City and Lyu Qiying
responsible for establishing several strongholds in various other countries.
The first stop was Shu-lik, the largest country in the Western Region.
He needed only to establish a solid foothold here and his career would
already be semi-successful.
Lyu Qiying picked 37 out of over 100 machetemen who worked for him.
They would protect him and his years of savings, traveling together to a land
with broad prospects. These men were those who had followed him for a long
time and were trustworthy and loyal.
It was a huge gamble but Lyu Qiying was as excited as a young man seeing
the world for the first time, sitting in the carriage with a smile on his face
even though he was already in his fifties. He only regained his composure
when he looked at the missing finger on his hand.
It had been cut off by Dragon King several years ago, when Dragon King was
still Slave Huan.
The hope of his success and the risk of his failure were closely linked to this
cool-faced young man, but Lyu Qiying was not quite sure how to deal with
this merciless Devil Emperor.
Dragon King was also present, hiding among the 37 guards.
Dragon King's absence was kept strictly confidential within Jade City. The
Residence of Dragon King was not peaceful these days. Bold machetemen
spied from afar and had even come closer to start provocations at timeswage
small attacks, shouting and cursing in the dark and sending out hidden
weapons. All this made people believe that the Dragon King was still in his
residence, ready for any provocation.
Even the guards of the Residence of Dragon King thought that their master
was in the backyard since Jiang served tea and water on time every day, and
Xu Xiaoyi came to report as well. Things went on as usual, and the Dragon
King still remained as mysterious as no one saw him.
With their cleverly machined plans, Gu Shenwei, together with Maid Lotus
and 11 disciples from the New Moon Hall, left Jade City hiding in Lyu
Qiying's team.
Except for Maid Lotus, the disciples of the New Moon Hall were all scattered
around Jade City and seldom appeared. Only Maid Lotus was able to find
them any time.
After the first night of camping, three guards went missing from Lyu Qiying's
team, but almost no one noticed it, and neither did Lyu Qiying. The journey
continued the next morning, with 10 female killers in the team, making Lyu
Qiying feel at ease.
Gu Shenwei, Maid Lotus, and Guan Shang hid in the mountain nearby as
they waited for First Young Master Meng, who would arrive one day later.
Among these three people, the former black-masked assassin Guan Shang
from the Golden Roc Fort was the main assassin.
Normally, Golden Roc killers preferred to use their swords when killing in
close proximity, before cutting off the heads afterward, just to be on the safe
side. However, things were different this time. They had to kill people
stealthily and not hurt the guards, but at the same time publicize it. Therefore,
Gu Shenwei decided to launch a long-range attack using a crossbow.
Guan Shang was the best at crossbow among the three of them.
They brought with them a huge crossbow, so tall that it was almost the height
of a grown man when straightened. It required the combined strength of five
ordinary people to even notch the bowstring. The effective range was up to
several hundreds of steps away, but the most effective distance was within
200 steps.
As Maid Lotus was in charge of monitoring the route, Guan Shang was
practicing how to use the huge crossbow. Gu Shenwei helped her to stretch
the bowstring and observed the effects, periodically giving her advice.
They had been doing the same thing all day. It was tiring and tedious but the
three of them were killers who had underwent strict training and were,
therefore, used to it. Especially Guan Shang, who had gone through the
complete set of training for a black-masked assassin. She was definitely more
refined in terms of technique and mentality than the other two.
Gu Shenwei secretly pondered what kind of evil medicine was the so-called
"Blood Coagulation Pill" that made someone like Guan Shang switch
allegiance. Or was this yet another double ploy? But. Maid Lotus seemed to
trust Guan Shang.
Although she rarely revealed her true thoughts, Gu Shenwei knew that Maid
Lotus was just as suspicious as he was.
First Young Master Meng's entourage finally arrived that evening.
The outskirts of Jade City were barren and desolate, and there were few
places suitable for camping. It was not surprising that First Young Master
Meng set up camp in the same area as Lyu Qiying.
The best time to assassinate was naturally before dark, when the line of sight
was more ideal, the camp slightly more disorganized and the guard
perimeters not completely set up.
Gu Shenwei and Guan Shang draped snow-white capes over themselves as

they hid on the mountain while Maid Lotus lurked on the side of the road to
surveil closely. All three of them observed First Young Master Meng. There
were several excellent opportunities to assassinate but they did not strike.
Golden Roc Fort had sent 30 killers and 100 machetemen to protect First
Young Master Meng, it was quite a powerful force and Gu Shenwei knew he
would not be able to break through this line of defense even if he led all his
people to attack.
Besides, they were also a very experienced force.

Before they set up the camp, five killers and 10 machetemen had already
arrived earlier to search the camp and the nearby hillside. Anything out of the
ordinary was not spared.
The area where Guan Shang had practiced the crossbow was just several
miles away from the camp, and there were messy footprints and traces of
damage that could not be have been caused by ordinary crossbows.
Gu Shenwei soon realized that he had not been not careful enough. He should
have chosen a place farther away. Luckily, it was a narrow escape for them as
the machetemen did not advance further to the crossbow practicing grounds.
They had apparently decided that the search had extended far enough.
Despite this, Gu Shenwei still kept this in mind, marking it down as a

mistake.
There was a huge boulder on the hillside about 200 steps away from the
camp. That was the place Guan Shang chose for the assassination attempt, it
was also the place where the Golden Roc killers inspected most carefully.
Two of the killers somehow did not seem very satisfied with this area as they
came back to patrol a few more times, before sending a macheteman to stand
guard there. It was this macheteman who created the biggest headache.
Gu Shenwei and his team hid well without a trace. But they could not carry
out the assassination before dark as it was impossible to get into attack
position. The only thing they could do was wait, which was the most
fundamental task of killers.
When night fell, the macheteman guarding on the stone of the hillside lit a
fire to stay warm. It also acted as a way to communicate with other
machetemen at the foot of the mountain.
Soon, the people in the camp were preparing to go into their tents to rest.
There was not much time left for the three assassins.
When they had discussed the assassination plan earlier, Gu Shenwei suddenly
recalled how Shangguan Ru's shadow had been reflected on the window, and
drew up a backup plan based on this: if they had no chance launch an attack
before dark, they would wait until First Young Master Meng returned to the
tent, and kill First Young Master Meng by aiming at his shadow.
There were a lot of loopholes in this plan. What if the First Young Master
Meng decided to rest right after he entered the tent without even lighting a
lamp? Not to mention, it was very difficult to judge a person's exact position
just according to where the shadow was.
But Gu Shenwei was still wanted to give it a try. He had no more plans
except this one. Otherwise, he would conceed to return to Jade City with
Maid Lotus and Guan Shang right away, and allow First Young Master Meng
to live for another one or two months.
But even if they were to carry out this backup plan now, they still faced
another obstacle: the macheteman guarding the giant stone.
The macheteman was from Golden Roc Fort and they could not kill him.
Maid Lotus sneaked back and reported that First Young Master Meng had
already lighted a lamp in his tent. They should take action as soon as
possible.
After whispering and perfecting the whole plan quickly, they launched into
action.
Gu Shenwei suddenly felt excited. It was a long-lost but familiar feeling. He

had no choice but to admit that cooperating with Maid Lotus had rejuvenated
him. If the people beside him had been Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong, he
would have no choice but to give up on the assassination.
Once again, he realized that he had failed in training killers.
Gu Shenwei quietly approached the macheteman on the giant stone. When

the macheteman was yawning, it gave Gu Shenwei an opening to appear and
spread the poison. He quickly took off his cape and stood still, completing all
of these in the blink of an eye. The macheteman fell, and Dragon King took
over his guard duty. Even if someone had been monitoring from the camp at
the foothill, he would just assume that he had been seeing things for a
moment.
New Moon Hall was skilled in concocting poison, making it easy to swiftly
knock out a macheteman.
From a distance, Gu Shenwei was no different from a macheteman as he was

wearing black clothes under his snow-white cape.
He noticed a vague shadow casting on First Young Master Meng's tent. It

was too large to make it out clearly, hence it was difficult to judge the
location of the master based on this.
But he decided to give it a go anyway. He could not waste this opportunity.
Guan Shang came up behind him. Holding the huge crossbow, she crouched
low and wait for Dragon King's command. Gu Shenwei was also waiting for
the signal.
A faint light lit up at the foot of the mountain. No one would have noticed it
if they were not looking closely.
"Up."
Just a brief word and Guan Shang immediately stood up. She set up the huge
crossbow on Dragon King's extended left arm and aimed at the blurred
shadow on the tent.
Gu Shenwei was quietly counting down while Guan Shang was carefully
calibrating. They would only have one chance at this. Whether they
succeeded or not, they would have to withdraw immediately.
Maid Lotus was at the edge of the camp at this moment and had a clearer
picture of the situation. The people in the tent stood up as a group of guards
passed by. Maid Lotus blew on a piece of tinder that had been ignited ahead
of time, immediately extinguishing it before retreating.
Gu Shenwei counted to 10 for Maid Lotus to get to a safe place.
Guan Shang pulled the trigger and an iron arrow of about five or six feet flew
out.
They immediately discarded the huge crossbow and quickly climbed down
the mountain.
The guards in the camp were immediately alerted and blew the whistle.
But the arrow was already on its way.
When the iron arrow reached the target and dozens of people in the camp
headed for the huge stone, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were already headed
for Jade City that very night. Guan Shang stayed behind to confirm the final
outcome.
Chapter 322 - Humble Apology
Chapter 322: Humble Apology
Guan Shang was extremely respectful towards Maid Lotus, to the point that it
was bordering on fear instead. She would not even dare to raise her head or
utter any other word, except for"Yes" when Maid Lotus was in her presence.
Gu Shenwei could feel that Guan Shang was slightly relaxed when they were
using the huge crossbow on a mountain, but she became stiff again as soon as
Maid Lotus appeared.
Gu Shenwei took notice of these interactions, keeping in mind that there were
still a lot of questions about Maid Lotus that was unanswered. However, he
would rather observe in secret than ask her about it.
Especially the fact that she could actually use the sword without any
inhibitions. How did she manage it?
It was not just the swordcraft that made Gu Shenwei curious and even a little
jealous.
They were like two deer spirits who were full of energy and vigor back there.
Leaping forward in the pure winter night, stepping onto the solid snow road.
At first, they just wanted to hurry as fast as they could, but it slowly led to a
competitive race.
Gu Shenwei had already recovered most of his Internal Strength. Although he

was like a galloping horse at his fastest when he was using about 70 to 80
percent of his strength, Maid Lotus could always keep up with him. She only
lagged behind slightly as a sign of respect, not because he was beyond her
abilities.
Gu Shenwei gave up trying to compete against her just as they were
approaching Jade City. He acknowledged that his Lightness Skills were
slightly inferior to Maid Lotus' skills.
While Gu Shenwei wasted about six months of his time fighting against
qigong deviation, Maid Lotus had been practicing the correct version of the
Wayless Qigong all these while. It was only natural that his progress was
slower compared to hers.
A dull anger arose in his heart again.
"What will Old Meng do if First Young Master Meng dies?", Maid Lotus
asked suddenly. It was still before daybreak and they were already back in
the Residence of Dragon King.
"If he's as foolish as before, he will organize a large-scale attack. But if he's
smart…"
Gu Shenwei's anger was interrupted by her sudden question but he had no

idea what "clever Old Meng" would actually do.
Unlike foolery, which was often similar, cleverness could be unexpected, and
sometimes even full of surprises.
Meng Yuzun's actions were definitely unexpected this time.
Almost nobody believed it when news of First Young Master Meng being
assassinated broke out in Jade City. That was because not much people knew
that he had left for Shu-lik, some of them even met him just two days ago.
But it was proven to be true as more news arrived. The First Young Master
Meng was assassinated within a hundred miles of the city. What made it even
more incredible was the fact that he was found dead with a woman.
In everybody's eyes, the First Young Master Meng had always kept a
respectful distance from women. He hardly ever touched another woman
except for his wife. "Women are just a source of calamity, you need one to
give birth to children, but anything more than that is just risking it." This was
what he usually said as he advised his acquaintances.
The First Young Master Meng whose desires were like that of a monk, was
found hugging a half-naked prostitute. Their bodies were pierced by a long
iron arrow and their blood blended together. It was difficult to separate the
bodies for days on end.
That prostitute was not even famous. She was just working in a small alley
within South City and weren't even qualified to work as a maid in Pleasure
Alley.
Those who heard the news lamented at the fact that, for someone who had
worked hard for all of his life, the woman that the poor First Young Master
Meng had been found with was not as good as his housekeeper.
All of a sudden, Dragon King's reputation rose again. In addition to that,

there was no evidence to prove that it was Dragon King's doing. Many people
swore that they saw Dragon King strolling in South City with their own eyes
when the incident happened. Therefore, it could not be him. But the death of
First Young Master Meng was inevitably linked to Dragon King.
As a result, a legend was secretly born. After some gossip was spread by
word of mouth, people in Jade City were divided into two factions. The
conservative faction that believed that Dragon King had raised a team of
killers, like the black-masked assassins of Golden Roc Fort. The fantasy
faction, instead, was certain that Dragon King had already learned some
doppelganger skill to deal with many things at the same time and he could
summon his sword to kill people, "And don't forget, there's still the Demon
Bird. Dragon King could just ride it and go anywhere he wants quickly."
Gu Shenwei did not care about these rumors, he was still waiting for Guan
Shang's news.
In the end, Guan Shang brought back the most accurate information. While
more than one hundred killers and machetemen almost turned up in full force
looking for the traces of the assassin in the surroundings but could not find
anything, Guan Shang took this opportunity to infiltrate the empty camp and
took a look at the situation from up close.
First Young Master Meng died, the arrow was shot through both his and the
woman's waist, linking them together. Guan Shang would not be able to
shoot it so accurately even in the daylight.
Gu Shenwei was waiting for Meng Yuzun's counterattack. As long as Golden

Roc's killers were not helping out, the Meng family could hire all the
machetemen from South City they wanted to, in order to take revenge against
Dragon King. In any case, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus knew how to deal
with it.
To their surprise and to all of Jade City's surprise, Old Meng admitted defeat.
He apologized so profusely that Gu Shenwei was somewhat at a loss.
On the morning of the third day after First Young Master Meng's death, a
surreal peace prevailed around the Residence of Dragon King. All of those
unknown machetemen who came looking for trouble were gone.
That day, Fang Wenshi did not attend the meeting for the peace negotiations,
instead, he frantically ran to the Residence of Dragon King, bringing with
him a piece of astonishing news, "Meng Yuzun is coming to seek peace, he'll
be here in a moment."
The military counselor was out of breath, his lips trembled as he spoke. He,
himself was also puzzled by this news.
As predicted, before Fang Wenshi even calmed down from the adrenaline
rush, the guards already announced a visit from Meng Yuzun.
The patriarch of the Meng family from North City, the richest man in the
Western Region, dragged his fat body along while carrying a twig of a chaste
tree behind his back. He walked out of his house and completely ignored the
questioning of others. His actions created doubts in North City, which was
then followed by a big commotion in South City.
A humble apology. Old Meng wanted to offer a humble apology to Dragon

King. This news reached the incredulous ears of people at an incredible
speed. A quarter of an hour later, thousands of people poured into the streets,
following Old Meng at a distance.
Meng Yuzun came alone without even a single attendant following him from
behind. He entered the enemy's territory completely defenseless. Opening his
arms, and with a grief and humble expression on his fat face, he said: "I
surrender to Dragon King."
Old Meng stood under the newly erected Red Raven Flag that was in the
middle of the front yard. He put his right hand on his heart, and bowed
profoundly, uttering words of defeat. He then lifted the edge of his robe and
was prepared to kneel.
Gu Shenwei did not expect such a scene to occur. In all his experience as a
killer, there has never been an end to the fight between two enemies. The
fights were usually to the death of either party. Apart from the good-for-
nothing Shangguan Fei, he has never met a person who would beg for
forgiveness and admit defeat so profusely as this one.
Gu Shenwei grabbed Old Meng's arm and help him stand up before he could
kneel down.He did so while hiding his strength and guarding against a sneak
attack. Despite being very capable at kung fu, Old Meng did not have any
intention to sneak an attack. Right now, Meng Yuzun was just a father who
was suffering from the loss of his child.
"It's my fault. This is all my fault." Meng Yuzun was covered in tears, "It was
me who provoke Dragon King at first. I even set up a plan to imprison him. I
am a foolish old man who only saw the money in my hands and failed to
notice that there were more powerful forces around me. I lost my child. I
have learned my lesson."
His words and expression seemed so sincere that the swordsmen from the
Great Snow Mountain could not bear to look on. They went away one by one.
"Today, I stand in front of Dragon King, begging for forgiveness and also
hoping to end the war." He continued talking, as humble as a deferential
mountaineer who has just met the king, "but I do not dare to beg for my life.
My life, my family's property, all I have now belongs to Dragon King. You
can do whatever you want. I only hope that Dragon King could spare the
lives of my other two sons. They haven't taken part in any action against
Dragon King. I am willing to exchange my life for theirs."
Jiang was already wiping away her tears as she looked at Dragon King from
the back. She would rather kneel down and beg for mercy herself, but she did
not dare to do so.
Thousands of residents from Jade City crowded the streets outside the gate.
Old Meng's words were relayed exactly. Even those who initially wanted to
see the drama were moved to tears. Everybody was absolutely quiet, listening
attentively to Dragon King's reply.
Countless pairs of eyes were staring at the expressionless Dragon King.
Dragon King took three steps back very slowly. The spectators were
trembling with fear. Meng Yuzun could not understand as well.
Dragon King then bowed profoundly to return the bow from Old Meng. He
moved forward to remove the twig of the chaste tree on Old Meng's back
with his own hands and threw it aside. He then raised his voice so that
everyone, even the people outside the residence could hear. He said: "The
Great Snow Mountain and the Meng family have no hatred, Dragon King is
willing to make an enduring fraternal bond with the Meng family."
There was silence, which was then followed by sudden deafening applause.
Dragon King and Old Meng turned from enemies into good friends in a short
amount of time. This was even more sensational than the simultaneous
marriage of the ten sons of the Supreme King. Even when a prostitute was
doing the deed with her customer, this topic was all he could talk about.
Meng Yuzun set up a banquet and Dragon King invited him back. The
Governor congratulated him by holding a banquet as well, and so did the
Special Emissary from the Central Plains. One by one, it went on like this for
seven days.
The whole of Jade City was immersed in a joy of peace.

After all the outsiders were completely gone on the day when Old Meng
sought peace, Fang Wenshi went to Dragon King to congratulate him on his
victory and praised him for his appropriate response that noon. "To tell you
the truth, I was still a bit worried back there, hahaha." He confessed.
Gu Shenwei, however, was not so happy. He asked for the military

counselor's opinion on Old Meng's sudden move. After thinking about it for a
while, he uttered the same sentence he once said to Dragon King, "As long as
you reach your goal, being aboveboard or by hook by crook doesn't matter. "
Gu Shenwei shared the same sentiments.
Looking back suddenly, he realized that everything had been going on too
smoothly lately. The main reason was that Golden Roc Fort faithfully abided
the temporary armistice agreement and did not challenge the Great Snow
Mountain. This was not exactly Supreme King's style. There must be
something big hidden within their obedience.
The Meng family from North City was known as one of the most important
allies of Golden Roc Fort. The Meng family could even be considered as the
pillar for Golden Roc Fort. For them to admit defeat publicly and not actually
seeking any help from the Supreme King really rang several alert bells for the
constantly suspicious Dragon King.
But he could not find a flaw.
He used all his strength. New Moon Hall had already let Guan Shang expose
herself in advance in order to save Dragon King. They took another risk and
demanded their people inside the castle to dig out any information, which
resulted in nothing.
Everything was normal at Golden Roc Fort. Whether if they were common
slaves or high-positioned chiefs, everyone was deeply shocked by Meng
Yuzun's action. Rumor has it that Lady Meng almost fainted when she heard
about the news.
Many people advised the Supreme King to resolve the situation between
Dragon King and the Great Snow Mountain as soon as possible, but he
always beats around the bush on the pretext that he could not break the peace
negotiation agreement.
There was only one month left until the end of the three-month temporary
armistice, but a permanent peace negotiation was almost near. It seemed that
the Supreme King was losing his last chance to eliminate future problems.
Gu Shenwei could not figure out what kind of game Supreme King was
playing. The fawning attitude of Meng Yuzun made him extremely uneasy.
He of all people knew exactly what it means to endure a moment of
humiliation.
It was about two weeks before the New Year when Fang Wenshi received a
piece of news that clear up some of the doubts Gu Shenwei had regarding his
enemy's strategy.
The princess of a small country in the Western Region had reached the age to
get married, and she was choosing the Emperor's son-in-law.
Fang Wenshi received a confirmed information from the Special Emissary

from the Central Plains, which revealed that the Supreme King's son,
Shangguan Fei, was also on the list of the possible candidates.
"Supreme King wants to become a real King this time!" said Fang Wenshi,
all worked up.
Chapter 323 - Turn around
Chapter 323: Turn around
This place was even more shabby than that chaotic machetemen village; there
were houses of mud and straw that followed one after another with their
interconnecting doors. Strangers entered and left, but nobody seemed to care.
There was nothing of value worth to be stolen or robbed in those houses.
Gu Shenwei passed through one mud hut after another, also passing by a thin
and weak boy; an old shivering woman; two men in a deep sleep; a flock of
chickens; some cows and sheep leisurely chewing lay. Finally he found his
target.
A skinny man was laying on his heated brick bed, and his skin was sallow
and flabby as if he had not eaten for a long time. Only his eyes, still bright
and shiny, gave him the expression of a sick lion ready to jump off to hunt at
any moment.
In his hand, there was a saber with the scabbard, which was as battered as this
room, and could barely cover the knife.
As this person was not very famous in Jade City and recently almost vanished
without a trace, Xu Xiaoyi had to spend a lot of energy to locate his
whereabouts.
Gu Shenwei sized him up for a while, but still could not recognize him, so he
asked, "Are you Hu Shining?"
The skinny man seemed already dead; he did not have any reaction. Only
after a while did he roll his eyes and look suspiciously at his visitor, sighing
slightly.
"Are you the training tutor of the East Castle's Carvewood Academy?" Gu
Shenwei could not refrain from asking another question. He really could not
associate this skeleton man with the strong master Hu.
A few years ago, Hu Shining was a training tutor of Golden Roc Fort,
specialized in training a dozen teenagers who wanted to become killers. It
was him who regretted that Salve Huan once refused a complete initial
training and recommended this unusual disciple to Tie Hanfeng.
A year later, however, he lost the position as training tutor.
As usual, the castle of the killers was full of complicated personal fights. Hu
Shining was thought to be part of Young Master's faction, thus once
Shangguan Chui died, he would be purged too.
He could choose to retain the name of Golden Roc's killer, live in a small
house on the side of the mountain, receive a basic monthly salary, and spend
his last years in this way. At that time though he was not yet even forty, and
as many killers don't accept their age, he voluntarily refused to have any
connection with Stone Castle, becoming a wandering macheteman.
The first two years passed by without any problems and Stone Castle's killers
were part of the same circle and helped him a lot; however, they had an
unwritten rule: Never take part in a fight with Golden Roc Fort. Therefore, at
the time of the kunqiu war, these middle age killers chose to stay aloof.
During the following years, however, Hu Shining began to experience bad

luck and misfortune one after another. First, he had a serious disease and had
spent almost all his savings, then the two missions he took part in did not go
very well and thus he lost his client. He began to be marginalized even in the
circle since everybody believed that as training tutor, he lacked real fight
experience, and he did not deserve to stay with the other killers.
The second time he lost a personal battle, he became a completely vagrant

macheteman. Common machetemen though also had many kinds of circles
related to sects, families, acquaintances, and money. There was no one like
him and after accidentally having offended some small Protectors, he became
an unwelcomed macheteman.
In this way, he gradually ended up in the poorest corner of South City where
even bandits could not find the way, eating dull and waiting for his end.
During all this time, Hu Shining did not receive any information and thus did
not know anything about the outside world. He didn't even know that the man
standing there was the legendary Dragon King. Furthermore, he could not
recognize that this was that Slave Huan who was so determined in becoming
a killer.
This was probably someone who came to kill me for revenge, he thought,
hoping that he would attack soon.
Gu Shenwei thought that the kindest way to treat this middle-age

macheteman, who had lost his fighting spirit and his vitality, was to give him
a saber, but he said, "I've got a job for you."
Hu Shining twisted his neck and looked at this pale young man with
astonishment. Then, recognizing some characteristics that only Golden Roc's
killers had, he asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Yang Huan."
"Yang Huan?" Hu Shining repeated his name, but it did not ring any bells in
his mind. "I don't even have a saber, so I'm afraid I can't help you."
That young man was clearly related to Golden Roc Fort. He was definitely
starving to death and to avoid any trouble he did not want to be involved in
any fight with Golden Roc Fort.
"Think about it. Whenever you want you can find me at my residence." Gu
Shenwei was a bit disappointed and felt that he found the wrong person.
Gu Shenwei turned around and took two steps when, Hu Shining, still lying
on the brick heated bed, suddenly uttered a sentence, "You always turn right,
this is not good."
Gu Shenwei stared blankly for a while; he had never noticed this detail of
always turning right. Since he entered the room he had only turned around
once, so how could that man say "always turn right"? Gu Shenwei suddenly
regained interest in the half-dead Gu Shining.
"If you want, this is your job." Gu Shenwei added before going away,
"Correct young people's mistakes."
Gu Shenwei was standing at the entrance of the courtyard, after having

passed again through the poor and indifferent residents. He was thinking
about his habit of turning right when he suddenly took his hand out and
grabbed a teenager from a bundle of straw mats leaning against the wall.
Just as the other poor people who lived there, the young man was dressed like
a beggar, and on his dirty face there were frostbites, yet his hand was holding
a short sword.
The short sword was shiny and sharp, even spotless - in deep contrast with its
owner.
It had been a while since Gu Shenwei had discovered he had a little stalker,
for whom he almost felt a kind of admiration, but his eyes were as cold as
ever. Most people would panic and beg for forgiveness under the gaze of
these kinds of eyes.
The young man instead looked bravely into Dragon King's eyes, without
drawing back even a step. "I'm not afraid of you," he said with a slightly
trembling voice.
Gu Shenwei threw the young man in the corner. "If you really weren't afraid
of me, you wouldn't say it out loud. Often the words coming from people's
mouths are the opposite of those in their heart."
"I, I…" the young man was confused by Dragon King's words and did not
know what to say.
The young man was called Nie Zeng and was only thirteen years old. He
arrived at Jade City to avenge his uncle's family - the three of them died,
killed by Tie Hanfeng and Slave Huan.
He had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to avenge himself at the Residence of
Dragon King, but he missed the opportunity because he was too timid. Even
though Dragon King did not kill him, he felt so ashamed that he wanted to
throw himself into a river.
Nie Zeng had been wandering about the Residence of Dragon King for a long
time, hoping to have another opportunity, and this time he would not hesitate.
Dragon King seldom went out through the main gate. Nie Zeng kept on
walking around the Residence of Dragon King with an incredible
perseverance and only one thought in mind, "Meeting by chance with Dragon
King."
That day, finally happened this "by chance".
But Dragon King was no more in the situation of the qigong deviation and
almost did not have a chance to make a move.
"Do you want revenge?"
"I want revenge."
"Do you know how difficult it is to take revenge on someone?"
"I know, but I don't care how hard it will be. Nothing will stop me from
seeking revenge. Unless you don't kill me now."
"I've been preparing for revenge since I was 14 years old. It's been more than
six years now and I haven't done anything yet. For how long can you bear it?"
Nie Zeng leaned against the wall and stared at Dragon King's pale face,
speechless. He had heard that Dragon King wanted to seek revenge against
Golden Roc Fort but had never thought about what this revenge had in
common with his. He suddenly felt ashamed by Dragon King's words and, in
a low voice, said, "I'm not like you. You have Master Shifu. From whom do I
learn kung fu?"
"Over there, there's a man called Hu Shining. You can learn from him."
Nie Zeng watched Dragon King disappear at the corner of the street without
moving. This was not like Dragon King. Wasn't he the one who killed in a
wink? How come that his own head was still on his neck?"
Gu Shenwei went back to the Residence of Dragon King, where Maid Lotus
said, "That child has got a savage character. He is indeed a good young
successor. I'm just afraid that one day he will seek revenge on you."
Maid Lotus was following him everywhere, but most of the time she would
not show up.
"It doesn't matter. On my back, I've got a needle which can keep me on alert."
Hatred is such a powerful force. This was one of the most important lessons
Gu Shenwei had learned from Golden Roc Fort. As long as well trained, one
could control this force and direct it outside but not inside.
After that, Lotus Maid did not say a word. In silence, she was pondering
about what role she had next to Dragon King. It was like a needle in her
heart, sad yet proud.
Fang Wenshi was already waiting for Dragon King. During those two days,
he had lost his mind and had been analyzing Golden Roc Fort's intention to
marry the Princess. What's more, from the Special Emissary from the Central
Plains, he received some big news which suddenly cleared up his mind.
"The Supreme King really is a wily old fox. He's faking this peace
negotiation only to get his son married to the Princess." Fang Wenshi began
to say, "Do you know how perfect the Princess is?"
Gu Shenwei did not know it, but Fang Wenshi was not looking for an answer
and kept on talking by himself, "She's the King's younger sister. The King
hasn't got any children and has been sick for many years. People say he will
live only for a few years and after his death, the royal family will cease to
exist. According to the Western Region's tradition, only the Princess' son is
the eligible one to the throne, do you understand?"
Fang Wenshi kept beating his left hand with his right fist, "All the countries
in the Western Region are going crazy. This is clear: whoever marries the
Princess will acquire the country. The only thing left then is giving birth to a
child. Who would not be jealous? I heard there are 70-80 kings who want to
propose."
Fang Wenshi beat faster and faster, and his mind became clearer and clearer,
"The Supreme King wants his nephew to become the king, then…then leave
the throne to him! Jade City is long and narrow on the western-eastern side
but is quite wide on the north-south line. Once someone has captured Stone
Kingdom, then nobody can stop them from becoming the king."
In the Stone Kingdom, in Gu Shenwei's mind appeared the image of a weak

thin young man. When he was younger, Slave Huan had been involved in the
conspiracy against the royal family, during which the king had been killed
and the final winner resulted in the second born Prince, the current king of
Stone Kingdom.
Gu Shenwei had a premonition that the Supreme King wanted to be

connected with the Stone Kingdom by marriage. This was not an improvised
plan since it had probably already been several years since Golden Roc Fort
was secretly involved with the Stone Kingdom, and at that time he even
unintentionally helped the Supreme King a lot.
Fang Wenshi stopped beating his hand and stretched his arms. There was
something he had been waiting to tell Dragon King for a long time. "You
can't let the Supreme King achieve his goals, but the only way to stop Golden
Roc Fort, Dragon King, is marrying the Princess."
Chapter 324 - Despondent
Chapter 324: Despondent
In the evening, two men, one old and one young, both dressed like beggars,
appeared at the Residence of Dragon King. They were immediately discretely
brought to the back courtyard.
The first thing they received when they arrived was a full meal. They were
eating in a very different way: The young one devoured ravenously, he had
not even swallowed the first bite when the second piece was already in his
mouth. The old man was calmer. He drank some wine, took some food, and
are, repeating these three movements methodically. He seemed slower, but he
ate more than his young companion.
Tie Linglu, at the other side of the table, looked at the two uninvited guests,
especially at the young one, as he had heard that had had once wanted to kill
Dragon King.
Afraid that his stomach would explode, Nie Zeng stopped eating and took a
deep breath, raising his head for the first time.
"What do you want?" Nie Zeng told ruthlessly to the green-eyed girl,
thinking that she was the monster accompanying Dragon King.
Tie Linglong, shocked, sat up straight. His impression of that beggar was
even worse, "Are you looking for revenge?"
"That's right."
"I am Dragon King's personal guard, you'll have to go through me."
Nie Zeng sneered disdainfully, not caring a whit.

"I'll give you a chance right now. Come and fight. "Tie Linlong was furious.
Standing up, she pulled out her saber.
Nie Zeng took one look at the new recognized "Master Shifu". Hu Shining, as
if he had not heard anything, did not stop eating and did not give any advice.
Nie Zeng patted his stomach, stood up and pulled out his short sword.
His short sword was actually long and large, and it did not seem to suit him.
Tie Linglong snorted again. Before the young beggar could stand firmly, she
suddenly slashed out with her blade before retreating.
Nie Zeng's sword fell to the ground. He looked down and saw a wound on his
chest, one-foot long. At first, only a few drops of blood seeped out, but soon,
more and more blood flowed, soaking his clothes and dripping onto the floor.
"You, you cheated." Nie Zeng terrified put both his hands on the wound,
hoping to stop the bleeding.
"You idiot." Tie Linlong coldly gave a lesson to the untactful beggar,
"Machete skills are to kill people, there's no such thing as cheating."
Nie Zeng's face alternated between red and white, and looked again at his
Master Shifu.
Hu Shining, finally satisfied, spit out, "You are indeed an idiot, it's true what
they say about you." After reprimanding Nie Zeng, he turned to the young
lady, "And you are not smart either. Machete skills are used to kill people,
why do you want to watch him bleed? You wasted such a good chance to
kill."
Tie Linglong wanted to explain why she had shown mercy but realized that
this would contradict what she said before. She swallowed what she wanted
to say, her impression of the old beggar even worse.
Hu Shining picked up a pot of wine, and looking up, poured it into his mouth,
then pulled Nie Zeng's hands apart, sprayed a mouthful on the wound, then
poured all the rest of the wine in the pot onto the wound to wash it.
Nie Zeng gritted his teeth through the pain, but Tie Linglong looked cheerful.
Hu Shining moved fast, before any new blood had gushed out. Pulling out a
paper bag, as if by magic, he drew out and Jinchuang ointment and spread
some on Nie Zeng's chest, and then bound the wound up with a piece of the
young man's clothes.
Chu Nanping, who had been standing in a corner all this time, came over and
asked, "Dragon King, will you be our Master Shifu?"
Hu Shining sat back on his chair, "I don't know. Maybe, anyway I can't do
anything else either."
"Is your technique good?" Tie Linglong asked immediately, as if doubtful of

Dragon King's decision.
"Not so good, maybe not even as good as yours." Hu Shining replied

honestly.
"Then how can you be my Master Shifu?"
"Three days after becoming my disciple, I guarantee you'll never ask such a
stupid question again."
Tie Linglong's face was red. Dragon King was severe, but he had never called
her stupid. With her hand on the saber's handle, she thought about
challenging the old beggar to a duel.
Chu Nanping stood between them, "If Dragon King invited him, it means that
he must be something extraordinary."
Tie Linglong's face became even stiffer, "We are still breaking up, I never
promised I would make peace with you." But she did not pull out the saber
and turned away.
Chu Nanping had a melancholy expression. He regretted breaking up with his

two good friends. Xu Xiaoyi forgave him easily, but Tie Linglong did not
seem to have any intention to do so.
Nie Zeng covered the wound with his hand, "What a boorish woman!"
Hu Shining did not agree, "If well trained, she will become even stronger
than the two of you."
Tie Linglong circled around the courtyard to go to the Dragon King's office.
She wanted to confirm if the old beggar was going to become her master. She
was a disciple of Dragon King himself, what more did she need?
As she reached the office, she heard the "Shaking-Head" military counselor's
voice.
For the last two days, the military counselor was always bothering Dragon
King, "Dragon King, this is not your personal affair. When the Supreme King
became the king, the Great Snowmountain lost their chance to fight with
him."
"How about the Central Plain, what's their opinion?"
"They agree with me. They hope that Dragon King will take on this
responsibility. You know, the Central Plain is gathering their strengths, it is
not suitable for a public conflict."
Dragon King did not reply. Fang Wenshi decided to risk provoking his
master, "Dragon King, you are still thinking about Shangguan Ru, aren't you?
Now she is Meng Wu's wife. It doesn't matter what other people say, the
Meng family and the Shang family have recognized it too, and you should
think for yourself now. The other party is Stone Kingdom's Princess, she is of
high enough status that your own will not be compromised."
"Please, don't mention her again." Dragon King's voice became cold.
"Counselor Fang knows his guilt, please forgive him." There was no fear in
Fang Wenshi's voice. "I heard that the Princess of Stone Kingdom is still very
beautiful. And even if she's a bit uglier, what are you afraid of? After a few
years, you will get a whole country. Even if it was to a monkey, everybody
would like to marry her."
Tie Linglong could not bear to listen any longer. She pushed open the door
and said, severely, "No."
Gu Shenwei had already heard Tie Linglong's footsteps, though Fang Wenshi
had not noticed and was slightly shocked, "Who are you, how dare you to say
'No'? This is a matter of national importance, not a child playing house. Get
out."
Tie Linglong was not afraid of the military counselor, and took two steps
forward, "You are a bad military counselor, specialized in coming up with
bad ideas. When Dragon King wanted to save sister Ru, you did not agree.
Now sister Ru had come down the mountain, but you still urge him to marry
another woman, is sister Ru your enemy?"
Fang Wenshi was a glib, but he was puzzled by the girl's words, "This is
ridiculous, why should we be enemies? I… Who are you anyway? What do
you care who Dragon King is going to marry?"
"I…" Tie Linglong did not know what to say.
She was that child saved by Dragon King. She had learnt how to use a saber
with him, even if they could not be called master and disciple. The first day
he taught her kung fu, Dragon King clearly said that he had personally killed
her grandfather Tie Hanfeng.
But she did not bear any resentment towards Dragon King, and Dragon King
had never suspected her.
"I am Dragon King's personal guard." Tie Linglong finally thought what she
could say, "So… so it's natural that I care about who Dragon King is going to
marry, otherwise, when they are squabbling, how can I fulfill my duty?"
At these half-comprehensible words, Fang Wenshi burst into laughter. Not

only Dragon King did not thank her for her help, but he even sent her out, "I
have already invited the best training tutor. You and Little Chu won't be my
personal guards anymore. Go back and learn how to be a killer again."
"I saw the old man. I… I don't like him. And I don't like his kid."
"You don't need to like him." Dragon King's cold voice was stern. "You just
have to learn what he teaches you. At this level, there's no way you can be
my guard."
Tie Linglong felt so aggrieved that tears came to her eyes. She turned around,
ran to her room and pulling out her saber, started to swing it wildly.
"This was just a temporary careless. At the Golden Roc Fort she fell into the
trap, why was Dragon King so angry? Become a killer, become a killer,
hadn't she killed too?"
But Tie Linglong sat on the bed and remembered that she had not actually
killed anyone. She sighed deeply, suddenly remorseful, and even began to
doubt her strengths.
Following that, something else happened that further revealed her weakness.
She raised her head and noticed that there was someone else in the room, and
she had not detected a thing.
Tie Linglong jumped out of the bed and grabbed the saber when she
recognized that it was Dragon King's new personal guard, Maid Lotus.
Tie Linglong did not like Maid Lotus either. This woman who always hiding
in the shadows made Tie Linglong feel uncomfortable. Like now, she
suddenly appeared without saying a word. Furthermore, it had been Maid
Lotus who had replaced her and Chu Nanping as Dragon King's personal
guard.
Without her… Tie Linglong felt things would be different.
"What are you doing in my room?" Tie Linglong asked stiffly, not bothering
disguise her hostility.
"Just looking at you."
Maid Lotus' voice was not loud and almost flat, but hearing it made people
feel comfortable. Even though her face though was not smiling, her eyes
were full of tenderness, making her look like an older sister.
Somehow, Tie Linglong began to like her, "But… You and I, we're not
friends."
"Women are always familiar with each other. You just forgot."
Tie Linglong has never heard something like that. She did not completely
understand, but now, even the last trace of wariness towards Maid Lotus had
disappeared, "You are like a fairy."
Maid Lotus was indeed like a fairy, mysterious and ethereal. Even if standing
in the dark, there seemed to be a light shining from her body.
"What about Shangguan Ru?"
"Sister Ru is a fairy too, but… you two are different, she is like … morning
sunshine, you are like … evening sunset." Tie Linglong finish her sentence
haltingly, then immediately added, "You are both beautiful."
Maid Lotus smiled, "You are a lovely girl. Tell me, why are you sad?"
Tie Linglong was not so naive that she would open up to a stranger, but with
Maid Lotus, she had a strong desire to reveal everything. "Because Dragon
King thinks I'm not good enough at kung fu and wants me to start from the
beginning. And because Dragon King wants to marry a princess, but he
should marry Sister Ru."
"Do you feel helpless?"
Tie Linglong nodded, suddenly her eyes brightened again, "You have a plan,
don't you?"
"I have a plan. But I can't carry it out."
"Just tell me, I can do it. And even if Dragon King is not happy, he won't kill
me." Tie Linglong's green eyes flashed with strange light, she could not wait
to run into Maid Lotus' arms.
"Actually, it's quite simple. Once your kung fu is good enough, you won't
need to bow to Master Shifu. What more, if the Princess no longer exists,
Dragon King can't marry her."
Tie Linglong suddenly understood, she was a killer, she has just complained
that she has not killed enough people, but who most worthy to kill than the
Princess? However -- "My technique is not good enough, even if I start
training now, there won't be enough time."
"I can help you."
"Can you? But Dragon King said that the sword technique depends entirely
on me…"
"You said I was like a fairy. Well, fairies naturally have some unique kung fu
training methods."
"Then, will you help me? I will do everything you ask of me. You are too
kind." Tie Linglong's breath came in gasps.
Lotus Maid raised her right hand, holding a yellow pill in three fingers, "Take
my elixir, it'll protect you as you practice and advance. This will surely make
Dragon King sit up and take notice. Once you are done, killing will be a piece
of cake."
Chapter 325 - Meet Me
Chapter 325: Meet Me
Zhang Ji, a teacher from the Golden Roc Fort, sent a messenger to invite the
Dragon King to a gathering at the Southwall Tavern.
Shangguan Hong had mentioned Zhang Ji's wish to meet Gu Shenwei several
times, but Gu Shenwei had not really expected to receive the invitation. He
was, after all, the arch-enemy of the Supreme King. No one in Golden Roc
Fort would dare to have anything to do with him. Zhang Ji had a lot of
courage to choose to meet in such a crowded place like the Southwall Tavern.
Gu Shenwei actually wanted to meet the teacher as well. They were enemies
now and had even crossed paths before. Shangguan Hong had killed Master
Lianxin by disguising as Dragon King, and later, murdered Monk Lianye as
well. It was very likely that he had done all these under the advisement of
Zhang Ji.
The old teacher's appearance had not changed much, he was just as serious
and severe as before, as if he perpetually had a yardstick to pull out. Upon
seeing Dragon King, he nodded slightly and motioned him to sit on the
opposite side.
It was early morning and there weren't many customers in the tavern except
for the tired shop assistant sprawled on the table a distance away, fast asleep.
"No one else sends me fine wine anymore since you left the Stone Castle."
Zhang Ji remarked, recalling fondly about the old times.
"The Southwall Tavern is completely free of charge for Mister Zhang from
today onwards," Gu Shenwei offered generously. He still harbored a glimmer
of hope in his heart that he could bring Zhang Ji over to his side.
"I heard that your people had taken over the tavern from Shopkeeper Lyu."
"Yes."
"Alas…" Zhang Ji said as he looked around, his expression was like a son
who was about to leave home. "What a pity! I cannot come again."
By saying these words, Zhang Ji declared his hostility against Dragon King.
His face became serious as he said, "You are a wise man, and I am not stupid
either. Let's go straight to the point."
"That would be best," Dragon King replied.
Zhang Ji looked at the silent Dragon King and recalled Slave Huan, who had
always come to ask for his advice. Deeply understanding the mercilessness of
time, he knew that a stubborn old man like him had no more room to change,
while young people would thrive, one generation after another.
They would all be crushed to pieces on the old stone, he thought, and said, "I
came to ask for a favor. In return, I will tell you a secret."
"Please go ahead, Mr. Zhang."
"Are you going to the Stone Kingdom to seek a marriage alliance on behalf
of the Great Snowmountain?"
Gu Shenwei nodded his head. Fang Wenshi had succeeded, at least partly, in
persuading Dragon King to join the team of them seeking marriage, with the
purpose of prohibiting Shangguan Fei from being the bridegroom instead of
becoming one himself.
In Fang Wenshi's eyes, it would be advantageous for the Great

Snowmountain and their hegemony goal for Dragon King to marry the
Princess and inherit the throne of the Stone Kingdom. Even if they failed to
marry the Princess, simply ensuring that Golden Roc Fort's could not secure
the marriage was good enough.
This had already spread around the Jade City. People began to argue over
who would be the winner between Dragon King and the Ninth Young Master.
Zhang Ji paused briefly, as if to show reluctance, but his tone was cold and
ruthless when he spoke. "Master Hong will accompany the Ninth Young
Master to the Stone Kingdom. If you can kill Master Hong during the
journey, I will tell you a crucial secret."
Gu Shen had several hunches about Zhang Ji's goal, but this was beyond his
expectation. Shangguan Hong possessed neither the ambition nor potential to
become the next Supreme King. Zhang Ji should have known clearly when he
decided to assist Shangguan Hong from the beginning. Getting rid of him
only after three years did not seem like Zhang Ji's way of handling things.
This could be another conspiracy.
Gu Shenwei knew the importance of pretending in front of the enemy, so he

said, "Apologies, the Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort are holding
a temporary armistice right now. I will never break the agreement by killing
someone from the Golden Roc Fort."
Zhang Ji smiled grimly, "If only Master Hong were half as talented as you, he
would be able to hold up his head today."
He stood up, not intending to persuade Dragon King any further. Instead, he
said, "The secret is with Master Hong himself. It is up to you to decide
whether you want to know the secret, and how to obtain it."
This was the first time Zhang Ji addressed Gu Shenwei as "Dragon King"
since they met. He uttered the word with a slightly slower tone which seemed
to show both respect and irony at the same time. Finally the senior glanced
around the familiar tavern of South City and left without even bidding
farewell to his former disciple.
Zhang Ji is exactly the type of military counselor I want. Gu Shenwei thought

to himself. Someone who can make plans, implement them, and is confident
and concise.
He definitely wanted to know what secret Shangguan Hong possessed, and

also why Zhang Ji wanted to kill the master that he worked for. But he did
not intend to get his answer by doing as Zhang Ji wished.
In the backyard of the Residence of Dragon King, Hu Shining was training

the three teenagers. They were not allowed to use sabers but only allowed to
hit each other on their backs with their legs.
Tie Linglong managed to hit Nie Zeng to the ground every time, and then
raised her head to at the training tutor in defiance. She refused to train with
Chu Nanping and when Hu Shining forced her to do so, she would just stand
still instead.
Gu Shenwei agreed with Hu Shining that the young girl had the potential to
become an excellent killer.
Hu Shining had taken up office in the Residence of Dragon King once

reaching a dead end, but he made a demand as well, "I am only in charge of
training the killers. I don't care what Dragon King uses them for. However,
Jade City belongs to the Lord's territory, and I want to leave this place
eventually."
Gu Shenwei agreed. He had already built a secret base in Shu-lik, but the
killers trained there were too unskilled and were in need of reorganization.
Hu Shining was perfect for this job.
Dragon King set out for the Stone Kingdom after New Year, during which
Hu Shining also took the three teenagers to Shu-lik to train. This was what
they agreed on. Nie Zeng only desired to be stronger than Dragon King. Chu
Nanping did not really care for anything but Tie Linglong found it
humiliating. However, she did not raise any objections. It seemed like she
had accepted her fate.
Shortly after Gu Shenwei entered his bedroom, Jiang brought him a letter.
Although she had been serving Dragon King for many days, she still could
not stop herself from blushing and would often break things by mistake.
There were only a few pieces of porcelain in Dragon King's room that were
still intact.
This time there was no exception. The letter slipped from her hands but Gu
Shenwei managed to catch it swiftly. Jiang apologized repeatedly and hastily
ran to the other side of the room to wipe the already stainless table.
"Who sent this letter?"
"It was Sister Yanwei's maid," Jiang muttered when she realized she had
failed to mention such a simple thing when she delivered the letter. Her face
blushed deeply once again.
Gu Shenwei guessed that half of the blood in her body was concentrated on
her head, which explained why she was so clumsy.
The letterhead was sealed with red wax, without any mark on it. Gu Shenwei
cut the letter open carefully from the other side with his dagger and pulled
out the folded white paper.
There were only three scrawled words written on the letter, which seemed
like the handwriting of a little child. It said "Come and meet me."
This did not look like Xu Yanwei's handwriting, much less her tone.
"Do you know the maid who delivered the letter?"
"Yes, it was Little Mei. She has come here several times." Jiang's eyes
opened wide, confused at Dragon King's doubts.
Gu Shenwei was busy with several other matters before he made his way to
Pleasure Alley. He just happened to have business with Xu Yanwei.
The Stone Kingdom's current king had taken to Xu Yanwei when he was
exiled in Jade City. He even wanted to bring her back to his country,
although, he wanted to take her life afterward.
Gu Shenwei realized that Xu Yanwei might be useful somehow, so he

decided to take her to the Stone Kingdom with him. But he had not discussed
it with her yet.
The "Number 1 largest brothel in Pleasure Alley" was already opened for
business, and business was surprisingly good. The customers there were fond
of holding a lady in each arm, and they would open the windows even in the
cold winter just to show off to the famous prostitute Xiao Fengchai, who was
staying in the opposite building.
Xiao Fengchai had been a highly sought-after prostitute for a long time,
which offended many of her peers and men who could not afford to be her
customers.
This day, the "Number 1 largest brothel" had little business. It was not
because the customers had gotten bored, but the owner had decided to take a
day off and refused to serve the customers. Even the women worked for her
were hidden away.
"How many days was it even opened for? Are you looking down on us just
because you are the largest around here?" The rejected customers complained
bitterly as they were forced to leave the brothel.
Gu Shenwei came in through the back door. Maid Little Mei was flustered
upon noticing him and immediately went to greet him. She said, "Thank
goodness, you finally arrived, Dragon King. Please hurry upstairs."
"Where is your master?" Gu Shenwei did not like this place, and he wanted to
make it quick.
"She's serving the customer upstairs." Little Mei replied, pointing to the
upper floor.
Gu Shenwei frowned, to think, Xu Yanwei was still serving a customer when

she wanted him to meet her. This was really…
Little Mei lamented in a low voice, "I don't know the background of the
customer, but I've never seen Madam Xu so scared. The customer was so
demanding!"
Xu Yanwei followed the example of Xiao Fengchai and let her staff
addressed her as "Madam" as well.
Gu Shenwei was already on the stairs when he realized what Little Mei had
said. He suddenly knew who had written the letter. He stopped immediately.
He did not want to see her at all.
"Dragon King is here." Little Mei announced loudly.
Gu Shenwei had no choice but to continue walking upstairs.
Xu Yanwei was kneeling in front of a screen, and before she left the room,
she made a face at Dragon King. Judging from the sweat beading her
forehead, Xu Yanwei must have suffered a lot.
Behind the screen, a familiar voice called to Gu Shenwei, "You brat, how
bold of you that you dare to come and meet me."
Luo Ningcha walked out from behind the screen. She had not changed much
in the last three years, except that she looked even more overbearing now. It
was as if the whole world had succumbed to her beauty and even Gu Shenwei
had to admit that she looked even more attractive and alluring now.
It was a pity that Maid Lotus's hidden weapon had failed to kill her that time.
Gu Shenwei shrugged indifferently, "It's unwise for the Eighth Young
Mistress to come here. If the Supreme King hears about this, he will
explode."
"I'm not afraid of him." Luo Ningcha smiled smugly, and then frowned and
said, "What did you just call me?"
Luo Ningcha did not like to be addressed as the "Eighth Young Mistress". All
the people who worked for her had to call her "Miss".
"Miss," Gu Shenwei did not intend to argue with her over these trivial
matters, but his tone was getting colder and even more unfriendly.
Luo Ningcha did not detect his impatience. She looked over at him and shook
her head, sighing, "What happened to you? You don't look so good. Your
face is as pale as… Is the Great Snowmountain really so cold?"
"What did you want to see me about, Miss?"

Luo Ningcha became more arrogant, almost suffocating Gu Shenwei with her
oppressive air. She said, "I saved your two young underlings."
"And I thank you for that."
"Thank you? A "thank you" is not enough. I am here for repayment for the
deed that I did. Do you think that I would do anything for you for nothing?"
"What do you want in return? Just name it, Miss."
Luo Ningcha seemed to lose her temper again. Gu Shenwei could even tell
from her breath that she was seething. Surprisingly, she restrained herself
from venting her rage and smiled instead, "So, you are the Dragon King
now?"
"Yes."
"And you trained thousands of people in preparation to fight against Golden

Roc Fort?"
"Something like that." Gu Shenwei did not want to lie nor tell the truth.
Having run out of patience, Luo Ningcha grabbed a teacup from the table and
threw it at Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shen did not avoid it. The teacup brushed past him, falling to the ground
and smashing to pieces.
"I don't care!" Luo Ningcha lost her temper. "No matter what, you belonged
to me, and you need work for me. I have even given you my body, isn't that
enough? You ungrateful brat, you should be on your knees!"
Knowing that Maid Lotus was hiding nearby, Gu Shenwei wondered if it was
time to signal for her to come out now. Even if this was reason enough for the
Supreme King to launch a war, he would not hesitate to do so.
Chapter 326 - Break Off
Chapter 326: Break Off
"How could you negotiate peace with Golden Roc Fort?"
Luo Ningcha did not sense the danger lurking at all, and although she did not
insist Dragon King to "crawl over", her tone sounded like she was
reprimanding a slave.
"The Lord still has two sons alive. You need to kill them off so that Cheng'er
could succeed to the throne. Then we can discuss the peace negotiations, isn't
it better this way?"
While Luo Ningcha was happily talking by herself, Gu Shenwei was

somewhat confused by her words. The Supreme King still had four sons left,
perhaps she only acknowledged both Shangguan Nu and Shangguan Fei and
excluded Shangguan Hong the illegitimate son and Third Young Master
Shangguan Yun, who was imprisoned. As for Cheng'er, that should be the
son that Luo Ningcha gave birth to.
Luo Ningcha even softened her tone at the mention of "Cheng'er", which was
something that Gu Shenwei found exceptionally rare.
"He's only two years old but he's already grabbing a wooden saber and
running about, even the Lord praised him about it! Cheng'er is the 10th son of
the Lord, and his name is 'Cheng', which echoes the prophecy of '10 sons
becoming king'! I have a hunch that Cheng'er is going to become the
Supreme King, and I will be there to witness it. Golden Roc Fort belongs to
him - it belongs to us both, mother and son."
"He's still so young, there's no need to rush." Gu Shenwei couldn't hold

himself back and reminded her, but soon regretted his words. Luo Ningcha
was especially sensitive about this topic and immediately started to rattle on
about it after being challenged.
"He's not young at all. Evil people will start to lay hands on him once he's
older. I need to strike first to thwart the enemy and help my son to remove his
obstacles. Anybody standing in his way will be eliminated."
"Slave Huan." Luo Ningcha spoke anxiously, calling the former name of
Dragon King out of habit. "You have to help me. Help me think of new ideas.
You are the most reliable person for us to depend on, and once Cheng'er
becomes Supreme King, he will have the power of life and death over many
people. You can seek revenge and kill whoever you want."
"I want to seek revenge on Golden Roc Fort, therefore your son is my enemy
as well. I won't help you." Gu Shenwei stated matter-of-factly; he wanted to
cut ties off with this woman using this plain and outright rejection. Also, how
could anyone possibly fail to understand such a simple logic?
Luo Ningcha narrowed her eyes as she was planning to throw something at
Gu Shenwei but instead walked towards him. "Cheng'er is your child." She
said, so close that Gu Shenwei could feel her breath on his face.
Gu Shenwei was shocked. He must have had a really weird expression on his
face as his mind ran wild. He also noticed something even weirder in Luo
Ningcha's eyes.
Luo Ningcha kept a straight face and was unprecedentedly serious. Then she
let out a laugh, clutching her stomach, and was soon laughing until she was
almost out of breath.
Gu Shenwei was furious. As Dragon King, he had never been teased like this
before. His hand involuntarily went towards the handle of his saber.
Luo Ningcha had a hard time trying to stop her laughter. She still didn't sense
the danger lurking around her. Turning around and walking towards the
screen, she said, "In your dreams! How old were you back then? You expect
me to give you a son? Is it even possible? Even if I count my 10 fingers…"
Gu Shenwei carried Luo Ningcha from behind and threw her onto the bed.
Luo Ningcha screamed, "You want to…"
Gu Shenwei didn't want anything. He straddled atop her and tore her clothes
off.
Luo Ningcha struggled as she tried to resist. Lashing out at him in a low
voice, she said, "Let go of me, you jerk. You are my slave. Don't you dare
touch me without my permission."
Her words angered Dragon King even more, and there was only one way to
release this fury. He gave her a slap on the face without exerting too much
force, but it still caused a rough flush.
Luo Ningcha froze for a moment before she clenched her teeth and attacked
the man on top of her like crazy. She strangled, bit, scratched and grabbed
him, resorting to every conceivable way possible.
Gu Shenwei was not tender to her as well. Like a silent wolf, his actions were
rough and forceful. He left patches of bruises on the delicate woman, rubbing
and squeezing her like a soft dough.
Like the snow of black and red colors mixing together, their clothes were torn
into pieces during the fierce wrestling.
Even while doing the deed, Luo Ningcha did not give up struggling. She
added countless tiny bloodstains to Gu Shenwei's already scarred body.
Gu Shenwei was very surprised that he still retained a strong memory of her
body, and knew how to fit in with her in order to get pleasure from it.
After the first time, the two of them laid side by side on the bed, with nothing
on their minds. And then, acting simultaneously without prior agreement,
they did it again for the second time.
After the deed, Gu Shenwei realized he had no clothes to wear. Just as he was
thinking about it, two sets of clothes were thrown in through the crack of the
door.
Xu Yanwei was very sharp when it came to such affairs.
Luo Ningcha pointed to a small scar above her right breast, "This was
stabbed by Maid Lotus, that traitor. I heard that she is still following you."
"Yes." Gu Shenwei replied, neither satisfied nor guilty. His anger was gone
and he was calm again as he slowly put his clothes on.
"Avenge me," Luo Ningcha spat out these words, her tone brief and forceful,
as though this was an order that could not be refused.
"No," Gu Shenwei answered briefly and forcefully as well.
"What did you say?" Luo Ningcha sat up all of a sudden. She even forgot to
cover herself with the quilt.
"I said no." Gu Shenwei replied coldly as he put his saber on his belt.
Luo Ningcha was capricious, "How dare you…"
"I dare to because I am no longer your slave, and the same goes for Maid
Lotus. I won't do anything for you. You are a foolish woman, and you have
always been. You are not worthy of my service."
Luo Ningcha was dumbfounded. The last time she was so frightened was
when she heard about the death of Bighead Kingpin. After that, she had never
been this afraid even when facing the Supreme King.
Gu Shenwei was about to leave. He wanted her to wake up from all her
fantasies, so he said, "Continue to let your son grow up. I won't kill him until
he reaches the age of 14."
Luo Ningcha could not recognize the man in front of her. In terms of looks,
he was similar to Slave Huan, yet he completely turned into another person
when he started talking. She did not know what or how to feel and actually
said these words with a pleading tone, "Slave Huan, you are the only one in
my heart. It's true, ever since I was pregnant, I did not let the Lord touch me
again."
Gu Shenwei looked at this woman: she was the most famous and beautiful
woman in Jade City, his former master, the Miss who had brought him
endless humiliation. His face was as cold as frost, then he said, "That means
nothing to me," and turned to leave. She was no different from anyone who
could be killed by a saber and he felt nothing within his heart for her.
Luo Ningcha collapsed on the bed and sobbed uncontrollably. She did not
understand how had Slave Huan become so ruthless. What about the pleasure
they had just now, was it all a dream?
Her world was extremely simple; it was built swiftly and, therefore, it
collapsed as easily as well.
Xu Yanwei tiptoed into the room quietly and sat on the edge of the bed. Her
resentment towards the Miss had disappeared, and her compassion for her
overflowed excessively like a river. "Men are all like this," she consoled.
"But even him! Even he wants to betray me?" Luo Ningcha still could not
accept what had just happened.
"Dragon King is a man as well, and men are never loyal to women.
Especially for men like Dragon King! They kill, fight, and conquer. Only
sabers, blood, territories, and titles matter to them. Women are not a part of it.
Never."
Xu Yanwei did not give much thought to her words when she tried to console
the Miss. But she also felt that her words were quite reasonable after she
finished talking. Dragon King was probably already ambitious back then
when he refused to sleep with her , she thought to herself.
Luo Ningcha looked up at Xu Yanwei, who was immersed in her thoughts.

Such an expression really did not suit her; however, she was moved by Xu
Yanwei's remarks. "But women will always have a way to take revenge for
themselves. Right?"
Xu Yanwei herself already failed to keep up with her own train of thoughts.
Startled from her deep thoughts, she said, "What? Revenge? Our revenge as
women is to see these men killing each other. Just wait for the winner to give
us the most money. We don't need to do anything. "
"You're right. Men will always kill one another, I am so stupid," Luo
Ningcha said as she suddenly came to a realization. "Why should I beg him?
If they can settle for peace negotiations today, they might start fighting again
tomorrow. Go and kill, then. Kill everybody off."
Xu Yanwei had nothing more to say, so she let the Miss rest on her lap as she
continued crying.
Even the Miss could not have everything as she wished, Xu Yanwei thought
to herself. Suddenly she doubted herself as well; was she getting on in age,
why was she so sentimental all of a sudden?
Maid Lotus made no comment on what Dragon King had done. She seemed
to have completely severed her own feelings and cooperated with Dragon
King purely as the Managing Master of New Moon Hall.
Gu Shenwei carefully observed her every move but did not find anything
unusual about Maid Lotus.
Fang Wenshi came running in during the evening with some bad news. "We
underestimated the Supreme King indeed. He must have planned to seek a
marriage with the Stone Kingdom for a long time. I heard that all of Stone
Kingdom was bought over by Golden Roc Fort, even the servants sweeping
the palace floors are on Supreme King's side. The King of Stone Kingdom
was weak and sick, and it's probably not by chance that he has no children.
This is the day that the Supreme King has been waiting for after so many
years of painstaking effort."
Gu Shenwei thought about his Master Shifu. Tie Hanfeng had spent 10 years
"raising" a major Protector, only to kill and rob him of all his property when
he retired.
Golden Roc Fort had their own style of handling matters, and the methods
used by Tie Hanfeng and the Supreme King were similar, just that the scale
varied greatly.
"The Stone Kingdom is very important." Fang Wenshi was very sour about it.
He did not count on Dragon King to marry the princess, but it was still a great
victory as long as Golden Roc Fort's plan was ruined. He still could not bear
to give up that piece of territory. "The five kingdoms of Xiaoyao Lake; with
the Stone Kingdom strategically located at the opening of imports and
exports, taking down a kingdom would mean occupying all five kingdoms.
This could save at least 10 years of time in hegemony for the Western
Region."
"I won't let the Supreme King have his way." Gu Shenwei comforted the
military counselor, as a rough plan already formed in his mind.
"It's good that we have the support of the Central Plain. The five kingdoms of
Xiaoyao Lake are friendly with the Central Plain and this can help offset
some of the influence from Supreme King. The Central Plain will send out
another Special Envoy to Xiaoyao Lake. You can join hands with him and
tackle Golden Roc Fort. Shangguan Fei is incompetent so there's nothing
fearful about him. It's a pity I still have to handle the peace negotiations and
cannot accompany you, Dragon King."
He could not conclude too early whether Shangguan Fei was incompetent or
not. Gu Shenwei then told the military counselor his plan. Fang Wenshi
pondered for a moment after listening and actually nodded his head in
agreement for once. "I think this could work."
Tie Hanfeng robbed and killed the major Protector that he had cultivated for
10 years. The final beneficiary was not himself though, but his disciple, Slave
Huan. Gu Shenwei gained a lot of inspiration from this story.
Chapter 327 - Small Village
Chapter 327: Small Village
There were only a few drinkers in the small, filthy and dim tavern. Like a
group of lions who had already eaten their fill, they would stare at every
customer who walked in until they sat down, joining in as onlookers with the
rest of the crowd to the next customer who walked in after.
As soon as Gu Shenwei walked in, he noticed that traditions here were

completely different from Jade City. These people were rude, and they lacked
danger awareness, not knowing that their stares might actually get themselves
killed.
Zhong Heng waved at him from the innermost corner that was dimmer than
usual.
“Quite a good place you chose, yeah,” Gu Shenwei spoke as he sat down, no
longer being stared at by others.
“No choice, there’s only this tavern around here,” Zhong Heng replied,
smacking his lips with a dreamy expression on his face. “Close your eyes and
imagine here as Southwall. I haven’t gone back to that place for more than
three years, and I really miss the fine wine there.”
Gu Shenwei noticed that Zhong Heng used the word ‘back’. For someone
who was not a resident of Jade City, but from the Central Plain, he had
actually regarded Jade City as his home.
Zhong Heng was the assistant of the Special Envoy sent by the Central Plain
to Xiaoyao Lake. He met Dragon King in private as old friends.
It had been almost 10 days since Gu Shenwei left Jade City.

Located at the east of Jade City, this place was called Shuangquan Village. It
was the last courier station towards the south before entering the desert, but it
was still within the border of the city. It would take about five to seven days
to travel through the desert as it wasn’t very big, and right across from it was
Xiaoyao Lake.
All the forces traveling toward the five kingdoms of Xiaoyao Lake would
need to reorganize here. They could rest, store up clean water, and hire guides
if needed.
It was here that Gu Shenwei joined the Special Envoy sent by the Central
Plain as they prepared to leave for Xiaoyao Lake together.
To him, Zhong Heng was glib and experienced when it came to officialdom,
therefore Gu Shenwei was slightly surprised when he noticed Zhong Heng
looked somewhat shabby as if he had experienced some difficult times. He
said, “The fine wine in Southwall is still the same as before, but Lord Zhong,
you seem to have changed a lot.”
“Haha, yes, it’s getting worse by the day, but who could have imagined,
Dragon King, gee,” Zhong Heng said in amazement. As if they had just met
for the first time, his gaze was locked on Dragon King’s face the whole time.
“I haven’t thanked Lord Zhong yet. I heard from the military counselor that
you helped a lot.” Gu Shenwei didn’t really enjoy Zhong Heng’s gaze and
was perplexed because he wasn’t so rude before.
“Hey, the gold belonged to you anyway. I was just helping to take care of it. I
was beyond elated when you were willing to give me 20 percent as a
remuneration. Dragon King, you are really smart. If you didn’t write to tell
me about the whereabouts of the gold, I would have thought you had
transferred it all away, instead of it being buried underground.”
Gu Shenwei once assassinated Wei Lingmiao and buried carriages of gold

into a big pit within the camp. According to the agreement, the gold was split
into four-four-two parts, among himself, Shangguan Nu and Zhong Heng
respectively.
Two years ago, when Gu Shenwei was on the run, he heard that Shangguan
Nu was very shocked by Slave Huan’s origin and had the intention to join
hands with his father to hunt the renegade down. He sent a letter to Zhong
Heng and entrusted him to dig out the gold, offering it to Shangguan Nu as a
form of goodwill.
At that time, Gu Shenwei had already decided that he could not allow the
crack in Golden Roc Fort to heal again. If Shangguan Nu was a small enemy
to him, then his greatest enemy was Shangguan Fa.
“It ought to be so. I will need to rely on your help once again, Lord Zhong.”
Zhong Heng looked around and said in a low voice, “Don’t expect too much
from me, Dragon King, let alone the other guy.”
“The other guy” here referred to the Special Envoy for Xiaoyao Lake. The
reason Zhong Heng asked to meet Dragon King in private was to let him
know more details about the Special Envoy. His motive for doing so was due
to the 2000 taels of silver that Zhong Heng received every month from
Dragon King without fail for a few years now. If there was a lapse in
payment, it would also be supplemented afterward.
“Oh?” Gu Shenwei already felt that the Special Envoy for Xiaoyao Lake had
a lukewarm approach towards him, but he did not know the reason for it.
“He is a close friend of Lord Wei and is very mindful of Dragon King.”
“Wei Song is back in the Western Region again?” Gu Shenwei’s heart raced
as he asked. Half of the revenge for the massacre of the Gu family was
related to Golden Roc Fort, and another half was related to Wei Song. He had
always wanted to understand the truth behind it; however, that year, Gu
Shenwei did not manage to seize him in time as Wei Song fled to Shu-lik and
borrowed paths from Norland and return back to the Central Plain.
Zhong Heng nodded and answered, “Yes, you need to be careful, Dragon
King. Mr. Wei is now the Commanding Officer for the Western Region. He
is in control of the major political affairs in the Western Region now. It’s
hard to say what is the Central Plain’s approach towards Dragon King.”
Zhong Heng was also extremely vigilant towards Wei Song. When he was
still the commandant under the Governor, he almost died at the hands of Wei
Lingmiao. He faked his death and escaped from Jade City with the help of
Slave Huan. Finally, just when he was getting on track in the Central Plain
army, he knew his future would be unstable again upon knowing that Wei
Song took on the role of Commanding Officer for the Western Region.
“Will he let the Central Plain change their approach to support Golden Roc
Fort instead?”
“Of course not. The Central Plain will not change their main strategy, but
honestly, he’s not that supportive of Dragon King and the Great
Snowmountain.”
The two of them chatted for a while more before they walked out of the
tavern one after another as Zhong Heng footed the bill.
Fang Wenshi mentioned that there would be a lot of obstacles on this trip. His
biggest assurance was banking on the support of the Central Plain, but even
this was shot down unexpectedly. Not to mention that Gu Shenwei had not
even stepped into the territory of Stone Kingdom yet.
Shuangquan Village was a very small village, with only about 30 to 40

households. The livelihood of the whole village was to provide clean water
and guides for business trips that come and go. Winter was usually the off-
peak season, however, this year’s winter seemed different. Within a few days,
there were already seven to eight teams gathered here and the numbers were
increasing by the day.
Several monks lined up and passed by the front of the tavern. Zhong Heng
suddenly let out a sigh. “The King of Stone Kingdom is probably bogged
down as we speak.”
“They are the monks from the Four Truths Temple.” Gu Shenwei
remembered that there were no monks here yesterday.
“Four Truths Temple has a great influence on the five kingdoms of Xiaoyao
Lake. Several kings become monks at the temple after abdication. I bet these
monks are going to the Stone Kingdom as well.”
This was yet another ominous sign that Golden Roc Fort was determined to
get the throne of Stone Kingdom.
The two of them bypassed the tavern and saw the Golden Roc Flag waving
high in the wind within steps.
The Ninth Young Master Shangguan Fei had arrived.
Compared to the small troop that Gu Shenwei brought, Shangguan Fei was
almost bringing along a small army.
Golden Roc Fort set up their camp just outside of the village, but their scale
was almost like that of a village. Gu Shenwei bid farewell to Zhong Heng and
went back. Lin Xiaoshan immediately came to report that there was a total of
200 people from Golden Roc Fort, and among them were 100 guards, with
the rest being handymen for transporting the dowry.
The monks from the Four Truths Temple came with Shangguan Fei as
expected.
After Lin Xiaoshan left, Maid Lotus came with updated news: There were 50
killers in Shangguan Fei’s camp, meant to protect the Young Master full-
time.
Even if 10 Princesses were waiting in the Stone Kingdom, Shangguan Fei

would never leave North City or the Stone Castle if he was given a choice. In
order to make him rest assured, Lady Meng even sent out all the guards
available within her power. 50 killers and 50 machetemen were more than
enough to start a mutiny in the Stone Kingdom.
Gu Shenwei brought 30 men, and most of them were swordsmen. Only Maid
Lotus and Guan Shang came from New Moon Hall, while the rest remained
in Jade City to deal with possible attacks.
Gu Shenwei still had to guard against Wildhorse as he was still at large.
That evening, Gu Shenwei unexpectedly received an invitation from

Shangguan Fei to meet him.
The meeting place was chosen by Dragon King to show no signs of malice.
Gu Shenwei chose the small tavern at the front of the village as the distance
between their accommodations was almost the same.
Everybody, from the manager to the customers was ousted out of the tavern.
The place belonged to the border of Golden Roc Fort so the orders from the
assassins in black carried a lot of weight.
Shangguan Fei seemed very nervous. He wanted to laugh freely but could
only get some hollow laughter out of his throat. “I didn’t expect that we
would be competitors, Dragon King.”
Both parties could bring an attendant according to the agreement, so

Shangguan Fei brought Shangguan Hong along. Although they were half-
siblings, looking at the way Shangguan Hong carefully stood with his hands
at his sides, there was no difference between him and a slave.
Zhang Ji already harbored intentions to abandon this unqualified master and

Gu Shenwei actually felt a little sympathy for the guy as he was probably
oblivious of it.
Shangguan Hong pretended that he did not know Dragon King at all, and did
not bother to even lift his head.
Gu Shenwei’s attendant, Lin Xiaoshan, stood dutifully behind Dragon King.
“I really didn’t expect it.” Gu Shenwei felt that it was a wrong move for the
Supreme King to let his ninth son asked for the Princess’ hand in marriage. “I
didn’t expect that you would actually be interested in the Princess.”
Shangguan Fei blushed; only very few people know that he didn’t like
women, and unfortunately, Gu Shenwei was one of them… and he knew it
very well.
“The peace negotiations are currently ongoing between the Great

Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort. For now, we are at a temporary
armistice,” Shangguan Fei said suddenly, sounding somewhat impatient.
That’s right. There is still half a month left before the temporary armistice
ends.”
“By that time, the peace negotiations will definitely be successful, without a
break in between.” Shangguan Fei added immediately.
“I hope so.”
“No matter what, the temporary armistice is now in effect.”
“Yes.”
“Not just in Jade City, but also in Stone Kingdom as well.”
“Yes.”
Feeling a little relieved, Shangguan Fei said, “I believe in you, Dragon King.
So, we are… competing uprightly, no using of ploys or schemes.”
“Yes, no ploys or schemes, everything has to be under the sun, above board
and forthright.”
Shangguan Fei was deeply puzzled when Dragon King answered so readily
until he understood what he actually meant. Compared to Dragon King, he
was unable to be “above board and forthright”, that was his weakness.
Shangguan Fei looked similar to his sister in terms of appearance, thus he

should be quite good-looking if not for his shifty eyes and constantly evasive
gaze. Gu Shenwei was perplexed; how could the difference be so vast
between this pair of siblings?
“Let’s make a deal, Dragon King.” Shangguan Fei hesitated for a moment,
before finally deciding to state his real purpose.
Gu Shenwei made no comment. Opposite him, Shangguan Hong got the hint
and retreated out of the tavern. After glancing at Dragon King, Lin Xiaoshan
soon followed as well.
With just the two of them left, Shangguan Fei was even more nervous. He
kept looking at the saber on Dragon King’s waist. Then he said, “You know,
I have never once thought of becoming the prince consort or whatever, but
these are the Lord’s orders. I cannot defy him.”
Gu Shenwei kept silent. He could not fathom what deal Shangguan Fei could
offer him.
“As for me, in fact, I have no ambition. All I wanted was to continue to be
the Ninth Young Master safely and have no ambition to inherit the throne.
Don’t listen to the nonsense that people had been spreading.”
The Supreme King had only five sons left: one was in prison, another one
turned traitor, another was illegitimate, and one more could not be publicly
announced. Only Shangguan Fei seemed normal on the outside and the
throne did seem like it should belong to him. But Shangguan Fei was most
afraid of being targeted from all sides.
“What are you trying to say?” Gu Shenwei was becoming impatient.

Shangguan Fei seemed to treat him as Slave Huan still, which made him
angrier by the minute.
“Very simple,” Shangguan Fei said as he took a step back. “Give up the idea
of killing me, and don’t stop me from marrying the Princess, I’ll… give you
my sister.”
Looking at the furious expression on Dragon King’s face, he immediately

added, “You can see her anytime. She’s in the camp as well.”
Chapter 328 - Warning
Chapter 328: Warning
Gu Shenwei sneered coldly.
Although he himself embraced and benefited a lot from the Shangguan

family’s motto “Do anything to achieve your goals”, Gu Shenwei could not
help despising the Ninth Young Master upon hearing his ridiculous offer. He
knew Shangguan Ru well. She was obviously not the kind of woman who
could be given to someone as a gift.
Shangguan Fei mistook the Dragon King’s sneer for a sign of distrust and
continued to explain. “I can figure out a way to let my sister leave with you
without being noticed. You just need to find a place to hide her.”
“You’re a son of the Supreme King.” Gu Shenwei reminded Shangguan Fei

of his identity.
“I know, but it’s not my choice. I’d rather be a son of an ordinary man. I wish
to spend my life in peace instead of fighting my brothers to death for a
meaningless title,” said Shangguan Fei.
“I don’t believe you,” Gu Shenwei said bluntly. He had never forgotten how
the Ninth Young Master, an expert at pretending to be weak while preparing
for a surprise attack, had assassinated Shangguan Yushi.
“Well, I understand. I lied to you inside the underground chamber of Bodhi

Garden, but this time it’s different. You’ll have enough time to wait and see
how this thing will play itself out. I can offer you more information right
now. Once the princess of the Stone Kingdom gets married, the king will give
up his throne and become a monk. Have you seen the monks? They’re going
to shave his head. This has been decided a long time ago,” said Shangguan
Fei.
In Gu Shenwei’s eyes, it was just a foregone conclusion that the king of the
Stone Kingdom would abdicate after the princess’s wedding, so he just
replied matter-of-factly, “Well, it’s good news for the future husband of the
princess.”
“Yes, but it’s me who’ll become the princess’s consort. To be frank, I’m not
interested in the princess; I’m just following my father’s command. If I fail to
complete this task, my life will be in jeopardy. You’re different. No one will
kill you if you fail to marry the princess. I might as well tell you that my
father has prepared for this marriage for years. The king of the Stone
Kingdom won’t dare to allow anyone else to marry his sister. This thing is set
in stone.”
Upon noticing that the Dragon King looked displeased, Shangguan Fei
immediately added, “I’m not threatening you. I’m just telling you a fact, and
I don’t want to compete with you even when I’m sure to win this
competition. Look, giving up this competition now won’t cost you a thing,
and you’ll get my sister for free. I promise you that she’s 100 times better
than the princess.”
Gu Shenwei would never trust Shangguan Fei no matter how sincere he

appeared, but at the same time, he felt that it was not a bad idea to make
peace with Master Fei for now. “I might as well tell you a secret. The Golden
Roc Fort thinks it has something on the king of the Stone Kingdom, but in
fact, it’s not the only one who knows the king’s secret. You may not know
that it was me who solved the murder case years ago,” said Gu Shenwei.
Several years ago, when Gu Shenwei had been a killer apprentice of the
Golden Roc fort, he had accused Guard Ju of murdering Prince Ju Gaotai to
cover up the fact that the real murderer was the prince’s younger brother,
namely the current king of the Stone Kingdom.
“The Golden Roc Fort must have been using this thing to blackmail the king
of the Stone Kingdom and push him around all this while,” thought Gu
Shenwei.
He knew that his guess was correct, since Shangguan Fei revealed a
frightened expression when he mentioned the murder case.
“That’s not the whole story,” Shangguan Fei said hastily and seemingly in
false bravado. He looked worried. “I know some other secret stuff about the
king. The Stone Kingdom has borrowed a huge amount of money from the
Meng family. The country can never pay off its debts. In short, the king
won’t have enough nerve to let the princess marry anyone else except me.”
“Even a coward can pluck up his courage when he’s cornered; you should
know best,” said Gu Shenwei.
Shangguan Fei’s cheeks flushed red and looked as if he was about to lose
control of his emotions at any minute. He suddenly threw up his hands and
asked, “What do you want? Do you have to kill me? It wasn’t me who killed
your father. I don’t even know who he is. Come on, think about it. How old
was I when your father got murdered? I was still studying in the school at that
time. Be reasonable, Dragon King. I’m even willing to give you my sister.
What else do you want? Just tell me.”
“I want a lot of things,” said Gu Shenwei, feeling that it was the time to end
this conversation. “Think again, what can you give me that is equal to the
princess and her dowry?”
“My sister…” Shangguan Fei stuttered.
Gu Shenwei shook his head and walked toward the door.
Shangguan Fei knew what the Dragon King wanted—a country, which was
not something he had to give someone else. Even so, he still held on to a
small shred of hope as he said to the Dragon King, “You can come to visit
my sister at any time. She’s been thinking about you all these years.” While
he was saying this, the Dragon King had already walked out of the tavern.
Shangguan Fei slumped down on the ground and buried his head between his
arms, while repeatedly murmuring to himself “I have to survive”. After a
while, he lifted up his head, revealing a blank expression. He seemed to have
made up his mind and announced, “I’ll be alive and well.”
It was pitch dark outside, except for a few lonely lights flickering weakly in
the surroundings. When Gu Shenwei was walking toward the inn with Lin
Xiaoshan, he saw two monks suddenly come out from behind a mud hut. The
monks quickly left after giving the Dragon King a glance, seemingly very
wary of his presence.
“You go first,” Gu Shenwei said to Lin Xiaoshan.
Lin Xiaoshan nodded in agreement and went back to the inn by himself. He
knew that the Dragon King was a very secretive person and a first-rate kung
fu master who did not need his protection.
Gu Shenwei watched the monks walking away and then saw Shangguan Fei
come out of the tavern. Failing to find Shangguan Hong waiting for him
outside the tavern, Master Fei stomped angrily and then headed for his camp
outside the village.
After the Ninth Young Master’s departure, Gu Shenwei went behind the mud
hut. There were two people waiting for him.
Maid Lotus stood beside Shangguan Hong with a sword in hand. “The monks
interrogated him just now. I heard them mention your name,” Maid Lotus
said to the Dragon King.
Shangguan Hong looked as if he was drunk and nauseous. To support his

trembling body, he leant against a wall and put his hands on his knees. He
raised his head to cast a glance at the Dragon King, while saying, “They want
to avenge Lianhua and Lianye’s death.”
“Strange enough, they’ve waited for such a long time before taking revenge
on me,” said Gu Shenwei nonchalantly. It seemed that he was not surprised at
all to hear that even monks could not let go of their hate.
Shangguan Hong was somewhat irritated by the Dragon King’s indifferent

attitude and said, “The monks just want to find evidence first. Besides, they
won’t let you off easily.”
“I didn’t kill the monk,” retorted Gu Shenwei.

“Well, but they believe that you caused the death of those two monks.
They’re determined to hold you accountable,” said Shangguan Hong.
“Wow, they’re indeed monks from the Four Truths Temple; it’s typically
overbearing of them. What about you? Did you tell them everything?” asked
Gu Shenwei.
“Tell them what?” Shangguan Hong was still trying to tough it out.
Gu Shenwei approached him and whispered into his ear, “You didn’t work to
kill Slave Qing quickly enough. He told me lots of things.”
These words staggered Shangguan Hong. He held the wall and looked as if
he was about to throw up at any minute. When he finally straightened his
back, he was pale and listless. “So you know everything?”
Gu Shenwei did not reply to Shangguan Hong’s question. He would never

tell Shangguan Hong the truth—He had no chance to ask Slave Qing any
question when he realized that it was the slave who had poisoned the monks.
“That’s Zhang Ji’s idea,” Shangguan Hong was vexed and began to ramble.
“I told him that you knew about our secret, so he asked me to kill you. He
suggested that I should achieve that goal with the help of the powerful Four
Truths Temple.”
“So you pretended to be me and killed Master Lianhua in North City. Before
that, you paid Slave Qing to poison the monks. After the incident, you
managed to set Shangguan Fei against Slave Qing and tricked him into
killing the slave for you,” said Gu Shenwei.
Shangguan Hong slapped himself hard across the face and said, “I’m such an
idiot to believe that Zhang Ji’s plan was perfect. It didn’t work at all.”
“Is it Zhang Ji’s idea to kill Lianye?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“Yes, when you requested to meet me, Zhang Ji said that you must’ve noticed
something. To ensure our success, he asked me to appeal to Lady Meng for
help. Lady Meng sent three killers to protect me. They killed Lianye.”
Most of the information provided by Shangguan Hong matched Gu
Shenwei’s deductions, but none of them were what he really cared about. “I
met with Zhang Ji before leaving the city.”
“I knew about that,” Shangguan Hong replied, seemingly not bothered it.
“He asked me to kill you and he told me that you possess an important
secret.”
Upon hearing that, Shangguan Hong’s mouth was agape. Suddenly, he

chuckled and said, “It’s so funny.”
“What’s so funny?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“Before I left the city, Zhang Ji warned me that you might want to drive a
wedge between him and me. I’m surprised that he’s right. This old man is so
smart,” said Shangguan Hong.
Gu Shenwei decided to give up this conversation after hearing Shangguan

Hong’s words. Evidently, Shangguan Hong would not believe him no matter
what he said. He had to admit that Zhang Ji outsmarted him this time. If he
wanted to get the secret, he could only kill Shangguan Hong as Zhang Ji had
requested.
“Believe it or not, I won’t kill you,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Of course, I’m still useful to you,” Shangguan Hong winked at the Dragon
King and said. “You want to marry the princess. I think I can help you, and if
everything goes smoothly, I’ll tell you the secret mentioned by Zhang Ji.
Given this, you’d better help me out when the monks take actions against
me.”
With these words, Shangguan Hong melded into the darkness. After returning
to the inn, Gu Shenwei still could not figure out what Zhang Ji was playing
at; he could not even be sure if the old teacher really wanted Shangguan
Hong dead.
“The monks have great kung fu,” said Maid Lotus, who had been staying
beside him all this while. Her words wakened him from his deep thought.
“How many monks can you take on at a time?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“Three,” replied Maid Lotus.
Gu Shenwei had seen a total of 12 monks during the day. If all of them could
be deemed as kung fu masters by Maid Lotus, the team of monks would be
second only to the Golden Roc Fort’s team in terms of combat capability
among all the teams here.
Gu Shenwei felt that it would be prudent to have a discussion with the

monks. After all, he did not kill Lianhua and Lianye and should not be
considered an enemy by the monks.
Surprisingly, the monks came to him instead.
Two monks carried a heavily wounded man into his room, while the other
two guarded the front and back of the group.
“He wants to meet the Dragon King,” said a middle-aged monk gruffly. He
looked as if he did not want to come here at all.
“I don’t know this guy,” said Gu Shenwei, after giving the wounded man a
glance. The man was dressed in ordinary clothes, but Gu Shenwei was sure
that this man was a killer.
“That’s none of our business. We discovered him outside the village, and he
insisted on meeting the Dragon King. That’s why we brought him to you,”
said the middle-aged monk, while getting increasingly impatient. He gestured
for the other monks to put the wounded man down at the Dragon King’s door
and turned around, preparing to leave this place. Before his departure, he
added, “I’m Lianqing. Lianhua and Lianye are my seniors.”
“Both of them are my friends,” said Gu Shenwei.
“I don’t think so,” Lianqing replied, putting heavy stress on each word and
then strode away.
Gu Shenwei lowered his head to look at the wounded man. He was 100-
percent sure that he had never met this man before.
The man was unconscious and had several deep wounds on his back, which
had been patched up by the monks. At this moment, there was some blood
oozing out of the wounds again.
Maid Lotus walked out of the darkness and whispered to Gu Shenwei, “He
works for me.”
The New Moon Hall had planted a dozen spies inside the Golden Roc Fort,
and this man was one of them.
Upon seeing the Dragon King and Maid Lotus carrying the man into the
room, Lin Xiaoshan immediately led the other people out.
Maid Lotus swiftly fished out a green pill from the front of her coat. This was
Blood Coagulation Pill, which was used by the New Moon Hall to control its
disciples.
Poisonous substances could often be used as an effective antidote under

certain conditions. Shortly after Maid Lotus made the man swallow the pill,
he came back to his senses. However, his eyes were glassy, and it looked as if
he was unable to recognize the woman in front of him.
“Speak,” ordered Maid Lotus. At this moment, she was playing the role of
Managing Master of the New Moon Hall instead of the Dragon King’s friend
and guard.
Upon hearing Maid Lotus’ order, the man’s eyes brightened. “Don’t go…”
While saying this, he seemed to think of something more important and
jumped to another intelligence report. “The Supreme King plans to
exterminate…”
Before he finished his sentence, blood gushed out of his mouth; not even an
elixir of life could not save him now.
Chapter 329 - Suing for Peace
Chapter 329: Suing for Peace
Gu Shenwei sat on horseback at a small mound as he gazed far ahead in the

direction of the desert. Behind him, the 10 teams were forming up and
leaving Shuangquan Village in a long procession. It was the first day of their
journey to the Stone Kingdom.
Suddenly, the children who had been running and giggling beside him
stopped playing and pointed their fingers at the sky while shouting, “Eagle!
There’s an eagle!”
Gu Shenwei looked up and saw a black eagle flying unsteadily above in the
sky. It looked as if it was about to lose its balance and fall to the ground at
any minute.
“It’s injured,” said some child.
“No, it has been entangled by a snake,” said an elderly man. He was the most
experienced guide in this village and would be leading the teams across the
desert.
Upon hearing the elderly man’s words, the children all looked up while
shading their eyes with their hands. They quickly spotted a colorful snake in
the eagle’s beak. The snake refused to give in to the bird and tightly wrapped
itself around the eagle’s body.
During such a life-and-death struggle, the victory would always belong to the
one who was more persistent.
“It’s not a good omen,” the guide muttered to himself. “We shouldn’t take
this route during this season.”
“Omens themselves are neutral; one man’s meat is another man’s poison,”
Gu Shenwei said while watching the eagle fighting the snake.
The guide was deeply impressed by the Dragon King’s words and bowed to
him while saying, “You’re right, Dragon King. Let’s hope that it’s a good
omen for us.”
Before the outcome of their fight was decided, the eagle had flown away
from the scene with the snake in its beak.
The team dispatched by the Golden Roc Fort took its position at the head of
the procession and was leading the other teams out of the village. Gu
Shenwei did not see anyone who looked like Shangguan Ru in the team. He
thought that she must have disguised herself.
After the Golden Roc Fort’s team came the Special Emissary from the
Central Plains and his entourage. The Special Envoy warmly greeted the
Dragon King, while Zhong Heng, who was also on the Special Envoy’s team,
just slightly nodded to the youth without saying a word.
Behind them were several merchant caravans, followed by monks from the
Four Truths Temple. All of the monks traveled by foot with big bags on their
backs. They had come to Shuangquan Villiage together with the Golden Roc
Fort’s team, but surprisingly, they did not team up today.
Amongst them was an elderly monk who was thin but looked hale and hearty.
He walked with his fellow monks while carrying a package on his back.
According to the news that Gu Shenwei had gotten beforehand, this monk
was named Fayan and he was the Master Shifu of Lianhua, Lianxin and
Lianye. Gu Shenwei was not sure whether this monk joined this journey on
purpose or by accident.
Unlike the other monks, who deliberately ignored the Dragon King, Fayan, a
total stranger to the young man, nodded to him while walking past.
At the end of the procession, was the Great Snowmountain’s team led by Lin
Xiaoshan, which consisted of more than 30 people. Guan Shang had used
some make-up to change her looks, allowing herself to blend in with the
crowd.
Maid Lotus was the last to leave the village. She rode up to Gu Shenwei
saying, “Many people in the six caravans have suspicious backgrounds, but
none of them look like killers from the Golden Roc Fort.”
“The Supreme King won’t send any killers to assassinate me here. He’ll
never want to bear the blame for breaching the truce agreement,” said Gu
Shenwei.
“No matter whom he has sent here, we won’t have enough manpower to cope
with them,” said Maid Lotus.
Among the 30 team members of the Great Snowmountain, only three people
had great kung fu. Compared to the Golden Roc Fort, the Dragon King did
have a rather weak team here.
“Given that, we can only strike first to gain the initiative,” said Gu Shenwei.
Upon hearing this, Maid Lotus smiled, since this was exactly what she was
thinking about. She quickly determined the first target and said, “We can start
with that small caravan. It has only 15 people, and they look more anxious
than the others.”
Gu Shenwei agreed since he himself had also noticed this strange team.
Although all the members of the team were dressed in long robes like
ordinary businessmen, their riding posture, their strong and steady hands and
the looks on their faces clearly indicated that they were not common people.
“Let’s act tonight,” said Gu Shenwei.
It was winter. When night fell, it was particularly cold and quiet in the desert.
The 10 teams pitched camp together for the night and the tents of the Golden
Roc Fort’s team occupied nearly half of the camp ground.
Toward midnight, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus sneaked out of their tent and
went to meet with Guan Shang, who had been keeping watch on the small
caravan for them all this while in the northeastern corner of the camp. When
they arrived, Guan Shang nodded to them, signifying that everything was
alright and there was no trap.
After having fulfilled her responsibilities, Guan Shang retreated to her own
tent, leaving matters to the two killers.
The 15 members of the small caravan were split evenly into three tents. Gu
Shenwei and Maid Lotus intended to use knockout powder on them before
sneaking into their tents to cut off their heads.
Before they took action, they spent a little bit of time observing their target
out of habit. What happened next proved that this was prudent.
Fourteen people crept out of the three tents in groups of two or three, their
faces concealed. They nodded to one another and then headed for the
southeastern corner of the camp.
That corner was occupied by the Great Snowmountain’s team. It seemed that
these masked men also planned to launch an attack tonight.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus exchanged a knowing look with each other and
then took a detour to the southeastern corner, preparing to block and
eliminate their enemies when they retreated from that place.
To their great surprise, when they arrived, they discovered that the target of
the 14 masked men was not the Great Snowmountain’s team but the monks
from Four Truths Temple.
The 12 monks, who were planning to meditate through the night, did not need
too much space. Therefore, they had pitched only two tents.
The masked men left two men standing guard outside each tent, and then the
rest of them split into two teams and rushed into the two respective tents.
This was an amateur assassination technqiue which could only succeed when
used on ordinary victims. Against the 12 highly skilled monks, it was akin to
courting their own death.
The fight in the tents had lasted for a very short period of time before the
defeated masked men dashed out of the tents and fled.
Upon hearing the noises from the fight, the people in the neighboring tents
woke up with a start and ran out to check the situation. Such chaos happened
to provide coverage for the masked men.
At this moment, the middle-aged monk named Lianqing stepped out of his
tent and said in a loud voice, “Don’t panic. It’s just a group of hooligans
sneaking into our tents. We’ve already defeated them and driven them away.
Everybody in our tents is fine.”
The chaos quickly died down before reaching a climax, but no one in the
camp actually believed Lianqing’s explanation. As they were in an
uninhabited desert now and with a Golden Roc flag fluttering over their
camp, everyone was clear that no hooligan would dare to approach and that it
must have been some people inside the camp who had attacked the monks.
However, as Lianqing had made it very clear that the monks did not want to
track down the intruders, nobody wished to trouble himself.
The moment the masked men had broken into the monks’ tents, Gu Shenwei
and Maid Lotus had sneaked back to the northeastern corner of the camp to
hide, waiting for the masked men to come back. About one hour later, the
masked men returned to their tents. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus could hear
them discussing together in whispers.
“I’ve never expected the monks to have such great kung fu.”
“What can we do now? How about turning back? We’re only one day’s
journey away from the village.”
“But we’ve received the money. How can we report back to our client
without getting the thing.”
“Let’s wait for another opportunity. We’ve been too hasty this time. The
Golden Roc Fort, the Dragon King, the monks and Zhuang Qiang, no one in
this camp is easy to deal with. Once they fight against one another, we’ll get
a chance to acquire the thing in the chaos.”
“Yeah, that’s right. We don’t need to exert ourselves.”

…
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus gave up their attempt to kill the masked men
and returned to their tent. Guan Shang was there, waiting for them. “After
your departure, two batches of people successively came here to spy on us.
Both left this place quickly. It’s probably because they found out that you had
left this tent,” Guan Shang said in a low voice.
“I know who’s hired by the Golden Roc Fort to kill me—Zhuang Qiang. I
killed his brother, Zhuang Heng,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Long Machete God” Zhuang Heng, leader of a small gang of bandits, had
fallen under Gu Shenwei’s saber two years ago.
His brother, Zhuang Qiang, who was also a leader of a bandit gang, had once
openly claimed that he would have avenged Zhuang Heng’s death by killing
Yang Huan. However, Gu Shenwei had never encountered the bandit during
the past few years and neither had he heard any information about this man
after becoming the Dragon King.
“Zhuang Qiang is not a first-rate kung fu master. His sabers skills are
noticeably inferior to his brother,” added Maid Lotus. As Managing Master
of the New Moon Hall, she knew many kung fu masters in Western Region.
“That’s why he waited until today. He only dares to take his revenge on me
when he’s backed by a powerful person,” said Gu Shenwei.
Both Maid Lotus and he were more interested in Zhuang Qiang and did not
care much about the fight between the masked men and the monks.
The next morning, the 10 teams continued to travel together. Lin Xiaoshan,
who knew many machetemen in this procession, spent the whole day
collecting information upon the orders of the Dragon King but he still failed
to find any clue about the whereabouts of Zhuang Qiang.
In the evening, when the teams pitched camp, Shangguan Hong came to visit
Gu Shenwei.
He was sent here by Shangguan Fei. Although he hated this job, he dared not
reject the Ninth Young Master. “Dragon King, the Ninth Young Master is
looking forward to your response. His offer to you is still valid,” said
Shangguan Hong.
“Tell him that I’m still thinking about it,” replied Gu Shenwei.
“We don’t have much time left. Er, I mean, this is what the Ninth Young
Master said to me. Once we arrive in the Stone Kingdom, you’ll have little
choice,” said Shangguan Hong.
“I know.” Gu Shenwei still refused to give a clear answer.
After delivering the message to the Dragon King, Shangguan Hong heaved a
sigh of relief, and then he looked at the Dragon King while saying, “To be
honest, I’m very grateful to you. I told you all my important secrets, and
you’ve kept them for me all this while, even when you were being pushed so
hard by Lady Meng. You really saved my life.”
“I’m always cautious in my speech,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Yes, and you always keep your promises. Dragon King, please tell me the
truth. Do you really want to kill everyone in the Shangguan family…
including me?” asked Shangguan Hong.
“As long as the truce agreement is valid, I won’t kill anyone from the Golden
Roc Fort,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Yes, but everyone knows that the so-called peace talks are just a cover. The
lord agreed to a cease-fire because he wants to make a good impression on
the countries of Western Region. As such, the Ninth Young Master can
successfully marry the princess. As for you, the Dragon King, you just use
the peace talks as a ploy to gain time and advantage. You intend to
accumulate strength and launch a counterattack on the Golden Roc Fort. Am
I right?” asked Shangguan Hong.
“If you think that you already know everything, why bother to ask?” replied
Gu Shenwei.
“It’s just that I don’t believe you really want to kill all members of the
Shangguan family. At least, I know that you can’t kill someone in our
family,” Shangguan Hong smiled knowingly at the Dragon King and said. “I
hope that I can also become a person that you’re unwilling to kill.”
“What happened in the Stone Castle? What makes you guys, sons of the
Supreme King, suddenly become so eager to betray the Golden Roc Fort?”
asked Gu Shenwei.
“Nothing happened. Everything has not changed.” Shangguan Hong appeared

somewhat irritated and said, “I’m still the same old me, except for my given
name, which has been changed from Hongye to Hong. Zhang Ji has been
working hard for the past three years but still failed to build me up. To be
honest, I’m tired of all this, especially that old woman, who treats me like a
slave, yells at me and even forces me to serve her son.”
Shangguan Hong breathed a long sigh and continued, “I don’t even have the
chance to take an oath of loyalty to the Supreme King. How can I betray
him? I just want to… find my own way out.”
“I’m always ready to offer you such a way,” Gu Shenwei replied in a calm
tone as if he was talking to a desperate fugitive.
Shangguan Hong’s face lit up, and he hurriedly added, “I’m also willing to
work for you. To show my sincerity, I can give you a piece of information
now. The Ninth Young Master plans to trap you in this desert tomorrow or
the day after tomorrow.”
With these words, Shangguan Hong excused himself.
Gu Shenwei was deeply perplexed at why Shangguan Hong and Shangguan

Fei, sons of the Supreme King, feared him so such. “These two young
masters are guarded by lots of professional killers and machetemen, but both
of them seem to firmly believe that they’ll be assassinated during this
journey. They even kept imploring me to be gracious to them. What a strange
thing.”
Bound by the terms of the truce agreement, the Dragon King could not
assassinate anyone from the Golden Roc Fort during this competition to win
the princess’ favor. This was a fact known to all.
Given that, it seemed very ridiculous that these two young masters of the
Shangguan Family dreaded him so much.
The piece of information that Shangguan Hong had leaked to the Dragon
King quickly proved to be true. The next day, the Great Snowmountain’s
team did run into trouble.
Chapter 330 - Retaliation
Chapter 330: Retaliation
Monk Fayan was the type of person who somehow always appeared superior
to you. If you were a beggar, you would feel inferior to him. If you were a
king, you would still look up to him with veneration. He was always a notch
better than you, no matter who you were or what you did.
In the meantime, he naturally maintained an approachable attitude without

being condescending.
Gu Shenwei felt somewhat nervous in front of this monk.
He never dreaded fierce-looking opponents, such as Lianqing, as he believed

that he could always take them on. Nevertheless, when confronted with
Fanyan, he felt helpless as if he were an exhausted leopard chasing a prey
who always managed to stay one step away.
The moment Gu Shenwei stepped into Fayan’s tent, the skinny monk smiled
knowingly at him, seemingly having predicted the young man’s arrival a long
time ago. Gu Shenwei disliked the monk’s attitude very much, as the monk
behaved as if he already had everything under his control.
Lianqing was standing beside Fayan, breathing heavily as growls emanated

from his throat. He looked like a fierce guard dog which was ready to open
its mouth and tear the intruder into pieces at any minute on behalf of his
master.
“Lianqing, relax. The Dragon King bears no ill will,” said Fayan.
Surprisingly, the skinny monk had a very soft and gentle voice.
Upon hearing his Master Shifu’s remarks, Lianqing put his palms together,
bowed to Fayan and drew aside to join the meditating monks. There were 6
monks inside this tent. Fayan sat in the middle, with two monks sitting on his
left and three on his right. Lianqing was now sitting on the second meditation
cushion on the right.
For a moment, Gu Shenwei really wished to tell the monks bluntly that he
was indeed bearing some ill will, but he quickly banished the thought away
since he did not want to act in such a juvenile manner. He nodded slightly to
Fayan and said, “I’ve come to meet you, Master Fayan. I want to make a deal
with you.”
In Gu Shenwei’s eyes, everything could be discussed. He needed to win the

monks over as temporary allies, so he came here to visit Fayan right after
Shangguan Hong’s departure.
“Ah, it’s a good deal, but we can’t agree to it.” Fayan firmly refused the
Dragon King before hearing the young man’s proposal and acted as if he had
seen through the Dragon King’s mind.
Gu Shenwei had intended to work together with the monks to fight the
bandits, since some of these bandits planned to kill him, and the others
wanted to snatch something from the monks.
“Master Fayan, do you think that I’ll be defeated?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“No, I believe you can defeat all your enemies, Dragon King. However,
you’ve a particularly strong killing intent. I dare not get too close to you,”
said Fayan.
Gu Shenwei glanced at the monks who were meditating beside Fayan and
mocking them, “I’m pretty sure that they’ll display strong killing intents too
once they get pissed off.”
“They’re different from you, Dragon King. Your killing intent keeps growing
stronger while theirs has already showed signs of abating.”
Gu Shenwei was well aware that Fayan was just packaging his refusal in a
friendly manner and said, “Well, masters, I have to excuse myself. Have a
good rest.”
With these words, Gu Shenwei stepped backward toward the entrance of the
tent. Fayan smiled and fixed his eyes on the young man, as if he had already
known what the Dragon King was going to do next.
Gu Shenwei did not believe that this monk was really able to read his mind.
He promptly drew out his Five Peaks Saber and stabbed at Lianqing, who
was sitting in a meditation position beside Fayan with his eyes closed.
This strike was enough to kill a first-rate kung fu master in jianghu, but it was
stopped by someone using only a few fingers.
Fayan moved even faster than the Dragon King and used three fingers to stop
his saber. “Dragon King’s saber is impressively quick, Dragon King,” said
Fayan.
“You indeed have incredible Internal Strength, Monk,” said Gu Shenwei. He

did not feel much energy coming through the monks’ fingers, but no matter
how hard he tried, his saber still could not pierce through the defence of the
monk.
“Impressive,” Gu Shenwei praised Fayan’s kung fu, before suddenly drawing

back his saber and stepping to the right to strike at Lianqing again.
Lianqing remained in deep meditation with his eyes closed, seemingly

oblivious to his surroundings. However, his eyebrows began to knit together
at this moment.
Fayan quickly moved to stop the Dragon King and used the same move to
block the young man’s saber once again. Just as he was about to speak, he
realized that he had been set up.
He suddenly heard a sharp weapon ripping the tent wall behind him and then
saw a dark shadow darting toward him. Before the other monks realized what
was going on, the shadow retreated as fast as the wind, leaving only an open
gash in the tent.
Fayan released the saber and retreated to his meditation cushion. As he took a
seat on the cushion, he said, “Congratulations to you, Dragon King. Your
assistant has superb kung fu.”
The five monks sitting beside Fayan could no longer focus their minds on
meditation. They opened their eyes and discovered that the part of garment
covering Fayan’s ribs had already turned red with blood.
Upon seeing this, Lianqing roared with anger. When he was about to spring
at the Dragon King, Fayan stopped him by saying, “No, Lianqing. I’ve told
you that the Dragon King bears no ill will.”
“But, Master Shifu…” Lianqing did not want to let the Dragon King off so
easily.
“The Dragon King has already recognized you. It’s a good thing for you.
Now you don’t need to conceal your identity anymore,” said Fayan.
Suddenly, Lianqing’s face changed. “Master Shifu, I…” he stuttered.
Gu Shenwei stood at the entrance of the tent with unsheathed Five Peaks
Saber in hand and said, “You’ve sacrificed a lot for your revenge plan during
the past two years. You even shaved your head and became a monk for it.”
Ever since hearing the name “Zhuang Qiang”, Gu Shenwei could sense that
someone’s face kept coming up in his mind. After spending a whole day
recollecting his memories, he finally realized that it was that of Lianqing.
According to Shangguan Hong, the monks from Four Truths Temple planned
to kill him during this journey to avenge the death of Lianhua and Lianye, but
he could not understand why the monks hated him so much, since those two
monks’ death was not directly caused by him. However, as a person who had
also suffered from the pain of losing his close relatives, he could recognize
the intense hatred in Lianqing’s eyes when he first met the monk.
Gu Shenwei believed that Shangguan Fei must have been planning to use
Lianqing to kill him in this desert and he had better strike first. That was why
he had asked Maid Lotus to work together with him to kill Fayan, the monk’s
protector.
Beyond his expectations, Maid Lotus failed to kill Fayan with one blow. She
withdrew immediately after wounding the elderly monk. This was a habit she
had developed during her killer career. Gu Shenwei knew that now she was
probably hiding somewhere nearby, preparing to launch another attack.
“Very impressive, Dragon King,” Lianqing said coldly. “You’ve seen

through my disguise. I was indeed known as Zhuang Qiang before becoming
a monk.”
By now, the other monks had already finished dressing Fayan’s wound. A
dull red flush suffused the skinny monk’s face when he asked, “Lianqing,
now the murderer of your brother is standing right in front of you. What’re
you going to do?”
Lianqing turned around to bow to his Master Shifu and his seniors and then
said, “I’m deeply grateful to you for teaching me so much during the past two
years, Master Shifu, but I still can’t let go of my hate. I’m really sorry to let
you down.”
Fayan still looked as calm as before, as if he did not feel disappointed at all.
The flush on his face began to fade away, which meant that his wound was
alright now. “You’re no match for the Dragon King,” said Fayan.
“I don’t care. He killed my brother, so I have to kill him!” Lianqing glared at

the Dragon King and shouted. In this moment, he completely forgot about his
Master Shifu’s teachings. He was not Monk Lianqing but Bandit Zhuang
Qiang now.
Gu Shenwei could have launched a surprise attack on Lianqing and killed

him when he was speaking, but he did not strike and instead walked out of
the tent, waiting in the open for the monk.
Lianqing tore up his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body and a tattoo of a
dragon engaged in fierce combat with a tiger covering his chest. He then
drew a long knife out of his backpack, which was used by the monks to make
clothes, and strode out of the tent, determined to fight the Dragon King till
death.
Upon hearing the noise, all the monks in the neighboring tent came out. They
were shocked at the scene before their eyes, but they could not interfere in
this situation as their Master Shifu Fayan did not give them any order. In the
end, they just pushed up the flap covering the entrance of the tent to let their
Master Shifu watch the fight happening outside.
A dozen “businessmen” also came to watch the fight. They maintained quite
some distance from Lianqing and the Dragon King and each of them reached
into his own robe to grab his weapon, preparing to join the fight at any
minute.
“Did my brother offend you before?” Lianqing asked harshly. After having
suppressed his anger for more than two years, he wanted to ask the Dragon
King all the questions he had about his brother’s death.
“No, I’d never met him before I killed him,” Gu Shenwei shook his head and
replied.
“Did he block your path?”
“No, it was me who came at him, and not the other way around.”
“Then why did you kill him?” Lianqing raised his voice. Their conversation
attracted more and more on-lookers. Upon seeing this, those “businessmen”
removed their hands from their robes.
“Because he had great kung fu. I needed to kill such a kung fu master to
improve my swordcraft.” Gu Shenwei continued to speak in a calm and
neutral tone, as if everything he said was a grain of common sense.
“Haha.” Lianqing flared with anger and then said with a laugh, “To improve
your swordcraft? What a reasonable explanation. Today, I’ll kill you to
improve my machete skills.”
Usually, Gu Shenwei never talked so much with his opponent, but when he
glanced across at Fayan, who seemed to be reciting some Buddhist
incantation inside the tent, he decided to continue this conversation.
“Did you and your brother always kill people for very valid reasons?”
“Of course,” shouted Lianqing, but almost immediately he realized how

hypocritical he sounded, so he added, “My brother and I were bandits. If we
didn’t kill anyone, how could we get our loot?”
“I’m a killer. If I don’t kill anyone, how can I improve my skills?” said Gu
Shenwei.
Lianqing was struck speechless. “Now, you’re a monk. If you can’t let go of
your own hate, why bother to pray to Buddha everyday?” asked Fayan, who
still remained inside the tent.
“I…” Lianqing had no reply. Two years ago, he had chosen to become a
monk in Four Truths Temple because he planned to seek for opportunities to
kill the Dragon King under the cover of this prestigious temple. He had never
expected that he would have been so deeply influenced by the Buddhist
doctrines. Now he sincerely hoped to become a Buddhist, but he still could
not give up the thought of avenging his brother’s death.
Suddenly, some on-looker sneered coldly, “What’re you waiting for? It’s
your divine right to avenge your brother’s death. If you don’t do so, you’ll be
despised by the others.”
Upon hearing that, Lianqing felt no more hesitation. He lifted up his long
knife and charged toward the Dragon King.
Lianqing took three big steps forward while the Dragon King took three
small steps backward. In the blink of an eye, the monk was only about two
meters away from the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei carefully calculated the distance between them. When he took

the third step, he just touched the ground with the toes of his back foot, and
then he leapt forward and raised his saber to strike at Lianqing. When the
Dragon King launched his attack, the monk had not yet firmly pressed his
front foot on the ground, so his stance was not very steady.
Gu Shenwei brushed past Lianqing and then continued to run several steps
under the influence of inertia. The moment he stopped and turned around, a
drop of blood slid down his Five Peaks Saber.
Lianqing had practiced for days to prepare himself for this duel against the
Dragon King. He had never expected that he would have lost the fight
because of one false move. It made him change from the offensive to a
defensive during the very last minute of the fight. Although he managed to
protect most of the vulnerable parts of his body by doing so, he still failed to
dodge the Dragon King’s saber. He got stabbed in his ribs just like Fayan.
“Your kung fu is not so good as your brother’s,” Gu Shenwei said matter-of-

factly. He failed to kill Lianqing with one blow since this time he had used a
saber instead of a sword. Compared to the saber techniques he was using
now, the sword skill that he had used to kill Lianqing’s brother, Zhuang
Heng, was much more powerful.
“Killing is so meaningless,” said Lianqing, as the warm energy inside his

body as well as his hatred toward the Dragon King were gradually dripping
away. Now he knew how death felt like and realized how absurd his urge for
revenge was. He slowly sat down on the ground in a meditation position and
continued repeating those four words “Killing is so meaningless”.
Gu Shenwei sheathed his saber and nodded to Fayan. It turned out that their
failure to strike a deal did not prevent them from achieving their respective
goals.
After that, he walked toward the tents of the Great Snowmountain. All the
on-lookers in his way simultaneously stepped aside to let him pass.
He spotted a familiar pair of eyes in the crowd, but these big and black eyes
were on a shallow male face.
He and the “man” looked at each other for a moment, but neither of them said
a word.
Gu Shenwei heaved a sigh of relief when he returned to his tent. Many people
in this camp had come here to assist Lianqing, but they had never anticipated
that the Dragon King would have struck first to spoil their original plan. They
could have worked together to kill him when the duel ended, but none of
them had the courage to do so and thus missed this chance. They did not
know that the Dragon King’s guard was not around.
Maid Lotus should have returned to her job after injuring Fayan, but Gu
Shenwei had not sensed her presence all this while.
Now he found out that she was sitting on the carpet inside the tent and her
face was as pale as his. Apparently, she was severely wounded.
Chapter 331 - Backfire
Chapter 331: Backfire
The Death Scripture swordcraft backfired on Maid Lotus.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had planned to dominate the situation by

striking first, but now they ended up placing themselves in jeopardy.
The sword skill from Death Scripture required its practioners to charge
forward without hesitation and to kill with only one stroke. During this
process, one would have no time to think or maneuver. Maid Lotus had never
expected Fayan to have such powerful kung fu until she broke into the tent to
attack him. Instead of killing the monk with one blow, she only managed to
wound him, and at the same time, she was jarred by his Internal Strength. The
monk’s internal strength swiftly rushed toward her Dantian, carrying along
her own energy that she had infused her sword with.
As a result, she was now suffering almost the same pain as Gu Shenwei did
during his qigong deviation attacks.
“I’m running out of time,” Maid Lotus said in a trembling voice while trying
her best to remain calm. Her lips had become white from the chill inside her
body.
“You feel so much pain that you’d rather die, don’t you?”said Gu Shenwei,
“The pain will grow worse, and at the most painful moment, you won’t get
enough strength to kill yourself.” Gu Shenwei did not feel much sympathy
for her, as it was Maid Lotus who had caused his periodical paralysis, which
would make him feel as if he was continuously stabbed by icicles.
Upon hearing the Dragon King’s cold remarks, Maid Lotus looked up at him,
her eyes clear and peaceful. She looked as if she wanted to say something,
but she was too weak to do so, as she had to concentrate all her efforts on
fighting against the icy energy surging out of her Dantian.
The two of them gazed at each other for a while, and then Gu Shenwei knelt
down beside Maid Lotus and whispered, “Focus on guarding your heart
meridian and give up on the other meridians. This will increase your pain, but
only in this way can you save your own life.”
Maid Lotus stared at him for a moment and then she suddenly stretched out
her cold and shaky hands to hold his hands, while saying, “Guan Shang.”
She was unable to say anything after saying this name, but Gu Shenwei
immediately understood her meaning and said, “I won’t let Guan Shang get
close to you. I’ll always stay by your side and protect you.”
Maid Lotus had once told Gu Shenwei that she did not trust anyone from the
New Moon Hall. Upon hearing Gu Shenwei’s promise, she finally felt
relieved. She released his hands and closed her eyes. Her pain was becoming
increasingly evident on her face.
Gu Shenwei fished out two small clumps of cotton wool and stuffed them
into Maid Lotus’ ears.
Maid Lotus had suggested that they work as each others’ protectors before,
but back then Gu Shenwei had not made his stand known regarding this
proposal. Neither had he expected that it would have been Maid Lotus who
needed help first.
As he watched Maid Lotus channeling her Internal Strength with a pained

expression on her face, he could not help thinking what a good opportunity
he had at this moment. The Great Snowmountain’s alliance with the New
Moon Hall was just temporary, and Maid Lotus and he would become
enemies again sooner or later. If he did not take this chance to kill Maid
Lotus, who had already surpassed him in swordcraft, he would have endless
trouble in the future.
Besides, she would never know who murdered her, since now she was
suffering from severe qigong deviation caused by her swordcraft backfiring.
Gu Shenwei gripped the hilt of his Five Peaks Saber, while imagining the
feeling of cutting her throat with it.
He continued kneeling beside Maid Lotus and gradually suppressed his urge
to kill her. He reminded himself that he had to learn to coexist with his foes
and that at present, Maid Lotus and the New Moon Hall were still his
irreplaceable allies.
Apart from that, there was so much that he wanted to find out about Maid
Lotus, such as the reason for her frequent and random use of the Death
Scripture swordcraft.
In accordance with Gu Shenwei’s previous experiences, it would take at least

12 hours to recover from such a qigong deviation, and the first four hours
would be the most critical period. During these four hours, Maid Lotus had to
shut her eyes since she could not be disturbed or interrupted. Nevertheless,
after four hours, when the day broke, Maid Lotus did not open her eyes,
which meant the backfire caused more damage than Gu Shenwei had
imagined.
At this moment, the other teams in the camp were busy preparing to set out.
Lin Xiaoshan and Guan Shang repeatedly came to the Dragon King’s tent to
ask for instructions but failed to get any order from him.
After the Golden Roc Fort’s team left the camp, Gu Shenwei finally walked
out of his tent and summoned Lin Xiaoshan and Guan Shang, commanding
them to go first with the Great Snowmountain’s team.
The two were very surprised. Guan Shang seemed to gather immediately that
something was amiss, but she just tactfully bowed to the Dragon King to
accept the order and left. After her departure, Lin Xiaoshan could not help
but ask, “Dragon King, what happened? Do you want me to leave some
people behind for you?”
“No. You just need to escort her to the Stone Kingdom safely,” replied Gu
Shenwei.
The Dragon King had asked Lin Xiaoshan to secretly bring Xu Yanwei and
Jiang, who would work as Xu Yanwei’s maid during the journey, to the Stone
Kingdom. These two young women did not know any kung fu, so Gu
Shenwei decided to let them stay away from this dangerous place.
Lin Xiaoshan still had some doubts, but he did not inquire further. Instead, he
immediately went back to order the swordsmen to leave the camp. Before
their departure, they left four horses for the Dragon King and tied them up in
front of the Dragon King’s tent.
When the teams packed their belongings and left the camp one after another,
many people found it quite suspicious that the Dragon King’s tent was still
intact and began to exchange whispers.
The Dragon King was not the only one who stayed behind. Not far away
from his tent, stood two tents, which belonged to the monks from Four Truths
Temple. The monks could not hit the road today, since Fayan and Lianqing
were both seriously injured.
By noon, Maid Lotus had not opened her eyes yet.
Gu Shenwei had stayed by her side for the whole morning and during this
period of time, he had only drank two mouthfuls of water. He also kept his
eyes closed for all this while to have some rest and get himself ready for the
attack that would come sooner or later.
Nevertheless, the first guest he got was a monk from one of his neighboring
tents. “Dragon King, my Master Shifu invites you to come to our tent.”
Gu Shenwei walked to the entrance of his tent, and then he looked back at
Maid Lotus and said in a low voice, “I’m sorry, I can’t leave this tent.”
The monk outside snorted grumpily and left.
After a while, Fayan came to the Dragon King’s tent and asked, “Dragon
King, how’s your friend’s internal injury?” To Gu Shenwei’s great surprise,
the monk, who sustained a severe injury in his ribs, sounded very energetic
and did not seem to have any difficulties in movement.
Fayan knew for sure that he had injured the assassin. Gu Shenwei was unable
to conceal the fact, so he replied, “Well, my friend will recover after a short
rest.”
“Although I’m just an old monk, I think I may be able to offer your friend
some help,” said Fayan.
The monk’s extraordinary Internal Strength might be very helpful to Maid

Lotus’ qigong deviation, but Gu Shenwei did not dare to agree to the monk’s
request. Both Maid Lotus and he are extremely skeptical people, and they
would never easily accept the help of others. “Thank you, Master. She’s
alright. We don’t dare to bother you with such a trifling matter,” said Gu
Shenwei.
“Well, Dragon King, please feel free to tell me if you need my help,” said
Fayan.
Fayan had firmly refused to ally with the Dragon King last night, but today
he suddenly came over to show his kindness. Such an abrupt change in his
attitude alerted Gu Shenwei.
“Well, I’ll inform you if we need help,” said Gu Shenwei. Soon, he heard
Fayan leave the place.
Shortly after noon, nearly 20 people came to the camp.
The “businessmen”, who had gotten here first to watch the fight between the
Dragon King and Monk Lianqing last night, were also among them. These
people had followed the other teams to leave this place early in the morning,
and now they returned to this place and no longer concealed their intentions.
The entrance of Gu Shenwei’s tent was covered by a flap. He walked to it,

opened it a little and peeped outside. He saw the group of “businessmen” stop
at a spot about 100 steps away from the monks’ tents and then he saw a
bearded man ride out of the group quickly. “Zhuang Qiang, are you still
alive?” asked the bearded man.
“Be quiet. We’re treating his wound,” a monk went out and replied stiffly.
The bearded man snorted and then shouted toward Lianqing’s tent, “Zhuang
Qiang, do you still want to avenge your brother’ death? The Dragon King is
injured and hiding inside his tent now. What a heaven-sent chance for you. If
you don’t want your brother to die in vain, come out like a man!”
Lianqing made no response and continued staying inside the tent. The monk
outside the tent took three steps forward, carrying a long staff in hand. He
said, “I told you to be quiet.”
The bearded man snorted again, but he did not want to irritate the monk.
“Alright, we’ve come here to kill the Dragon King. Masters from Four Truth
Temple, do you want to watch our fight or plan to stop us?” asked the man.
“We won’t watch your fight. Neither will we interfere in your affairs,” the
monk replied bluntly and then he returned to his tent. He secured the flap of
the tent tightly to show their determination to not take part in the entire affair.
Gu Shenwei felt quite relieved as the enemies were not as many as he had
expected and apparently they believed that it was the Dragon King who was
injured. He believed that he could take advantage of their misunderstanding
to win this fight.
The bearded man turned to the Dragon King’s tent and said in a loud voice,
“Dragon King, I think I’d best tell you the reason before killing you. We’re
friends of Hearteater Chipo, and today we’ll kill you to avenge his death. I’m
‘Flying Machete’ Ma Teng. Come out and face your death.”
Gu Shenwei remained in his tent and unsheathed his Five Peaks Saber
silently while thinking, “Haven’t these bandits discovered that Chipo faked
his own death? Or, do they just intend to use his death as an excuse to kill
me?”
Emboldened by the Dragon King’s silence, Ma Teng began insulting the

Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei never responded to such verbal provocation, but the monks in

the nearby tents could no longer stand it. The monk, who had talked with the
bearded man just now, poked his head out of his tent and shouted, “Be quiet!
Just fight if you want to kill the Dragon King. If you don’t want to fight, just
leave.”
Ma Teng blushed and snorted loudly, but he did not have the courage to
offend the monks. He looked back at his comrades and upon receiving their
encouragement, drew out his scimitar and charged toward the Dragon King’s
tent.
Just as Ma Teng’s horse was about to crash into the tent, Gu Shenwei opened
a crack in the flap and dashed out with the Five Peaks Saber in his arms. His
right shoulder struck the side of the horse’s chest and he stabbed at Ma Teng
with his saber at the same time. After that, he quickly retreated back into his
tent.
The horse stumbled and fell, but it was not injured. It struggled to stand up
while neighing continuously. It then carried Ma Teng’s dead body all the way
back to the group of bandits.
The bandits were shocked when they found out that Ma Teng was stabbed in
the neck. This fatal wound must have been inflicted by the Dragon King, but
none of them had seen the Dragon King appear.
“Then it must’ve been that woman,” Someone bandit whispered and the
others simultaneously nodded their heads in agreement.
The Dragon King had once been paralyzed in Jade City, which was a story
known to all the people in the city. Prejudiced by that incident, all the bandits
firmly believed that now Dragon King was paralyzed again and protected by
Maid Lotus, whose sword technique looked very similar to that of the Dragon
King.
“She can only rely on herself.”
“We have enough manpower.”
“We can’t wait any longer. Once the Dragon King recovers, we won’t have a
chance.”
After some deliberation, the bandits split into two teams, which consisted of
8 and 9 people respectively, and planned to besiege Maid Lotus and the
Dragon King. The nine-person team set out first and took a detour to
approach the back of the Dragon King’s tent.
Gu Shenwei observed his enemies inside the tent. When the nine-person team
was halfway down, he rushed out and mounted one of the steeds tied to the
front of his tent. He severed the reins tethering the horse and kept his upper
body down and close to the back of the horse while charging toward the
eight-person team.
He moved so fast that the bandits did not have much time to react. Before
they realized what had happened, the Dragon King had already got close to
them. He quickly leaped up and killed a person with a slash of his saber.
“The Dragon King. It’s the Dragon King!” The bandits all turned pale with
fear and hurriedly rode away.
Gu Shenwei leapt up three more times to kill three more bandits, and then he
mounted his horse and galloped back to his tent.
Upon seeing that the Dragon King was not injured, the bandits panicked. The
nine-person team gave up their plan and withdrew nearly 1.5 kilometers to
meet up with their comrades. All of them had no idea what to do at this
moment.
Gu Shenwei went to check Maid Lotus. She still could not open her eyes.
That meant she was still in the most painful first stage of suffering.
Gu Shenwei was pretty sure that the bandits would not easily give up their
attempt to kill him. Once more enemies or more powerful opponents came
here, he would get into real trouble. Given that, he began to consider how
much he really cared about saving Maid Lotus’ life.
The answer seemed obvious. Gu Shenwei would never want to die in vain in
this desert, as his campaign of revenge had just begun. Nevertheless, when he
looked at Maid Lotus’ colorless face, he felt hesitant.
“If I were the one sitting there and fighting against a qigong deviation, what
would she do?” thought Gu Shenwei. He recalled what had happened at the
Ghost Cliff a few years ago—Maid Lotus was determined to protect Slave
Huan at any price, even when she was confronted with a crowd of Golden
Roc Fort killers.
Gu Shenwei quickly banished those thoughts and decided to act according to

the changing circumstances. In any case, he would not let himself die in this
place.
A moment later, he heard the trampling of horses’ hooves and peeped outside
again. This time, he discovered that he was surrounded by nearly 100 people.
They were 7 or 8 gangs of bandits, and the gang who had been driven away
by him in the previous fight was also among them.
A short fat man announced loudly. “The Dragon Slaying Contest begins. The
one who kills the Dragon King will be recognized as the Bandit King, and all
bandits in Western Region will have to obey his orders!”
Chapter 332 - Duels
Chapter 332: Duels
The bandits felt conflicted about this “Dragon Slaying Contest”. In

accordance with the existing rules of their trade, the loot always belonged to
the one who got it first, but this time, the one who led the charge would
definitely take the most risk. Given that, no one wanted to risk his own life to
pave the way for others.
The title “Bandit King” rather appealed to the bandits, but they were also
clear that if they fell under the Dragon King’s saber, no one would even
remember their names.
Therefore, after the short fat man announcing the beginning of “Dragon
Slaying Contest”, all of the different groups of bandits reacted nonchalantly
and modestly declined to lead the charge.
They could not figure out why the Dragon King stayed behind in the desert
when he was not injured. They were particularly worried about falling into a
trap set by the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei felt that it was unnecessary to continue observing the hesitant

bandits, so he tightened the flap to securely close the tent and sat beside Maid
Lotus. He put his Five Peaks Saber down beside himself and then gripped the
Dragon Head Sword.
He had no choice but to use his sword now, as there were so many enemies
outside and some of them probably had superb kung fu; Maid Lotus would be
killed if there was so much as a slight delay in his actions.
He sincerely hoped that there were no kung fu masters like Fayan among the
bandits, since the swordcraft of Death Scripture had a fatal defect—the
backfire effect. Several years ago, when Maid Lotus and he had just begun
practicing this sword technique and only occasionally failed to kill their
targets, the backfires would not cause them any severe qigong deviation.
Nevertheless, the backfire effect had been getting more and more harmful to
them since they had started practicing Wayless Qigong to rapidly improve
their sword skills. Now, they could no longer easily recover from such a
qigong deviation caused by the backfire.
Maid Lotus had been sitting still for a whole day. Even a senior monk who
was deeply absorbed in a meditation could not hold this position for such a
long time. Now, she was oblivious to her surroundings and unable to fight
back when being attacked. Even a small child can easily kill her at this
moment.
The frayed edge of the carpet beside her was already covered with frost.
Gu Shenwei closed his eyes and channelled his Internal Breath to increase his
sensitivity to his surroundings. Once a living being came within 3.3 meters of
him, he would be able to spot its living energy. At first, he only sensed Maid
Lotus’ energy. It “looked” like an extremely thin thread or fibre, which
would break at a touch.
Soon enough, he felt that the first wave of ‘contestants’ were swiftly
approaching his tent in a very unique way.
They came from three different directions and were traveling toward his tent
at a high speed. If he had used his eyes to track his enemies, he would have
never been able to immediately spot them and kill them without disturbing
Maid Lotus.
With his eyes closed, he could clearly sense their living energy at this
moment.
He stabbed three times with his sword and each time he hit the target
accurately.
The next moment, he opened his eyes and saw three fountains of blood
spewing out of the sand in his tent.
Evidently, the first wave of attackers had planned to use “Sand Tunneling
Skill” to sneak into the tent.
When blood stopped gushing out, Gu Shenwei picked up the Five Peaks
Saber and inserted it into the ground. He gently ran the saber through the
sand and then inserted his hand into the sand to pull out three heads. After he
threw them out, the other bandits outside immediately withdrew 1.5
kilometers.
Gradually, night began to fall. As winter in the desert was particularly cold,
Gu Shenwei was unable to maintain the fast circulation of his Internal Breath
for a very long time. He needed some rest now.
However, his enemies would never give him such a chance.
“Dragon King, please come out. Let’s have a talk,” a bandit shouted outside
Gu Shenwei’s tent.
“I can hear you in the tent,” Gu Shenwei said, while standing behind the
curtain at the entrance of his tent, with his Five Peaks Saber in hand.
He heard the bandit exchange some whispers with the other 6 or 7 people
outside, and a moment later, the bandit said, “Dragon King, let’s get straight
to the point. We’ve come here to avenge Chipo’s death. You can’t blame
anyone else for this. After all, it was you who handed him over to those
machetemen. According to our rules, you have to pay with your life for
sending him to his death.”
“Chipo is still alive.”
The bandits outside the tent paused for a moment.
“Dragon King, are you kidding us?” asked the bandit.
“Chipo didn’t die. The Golden Roc Fort saved him. The head it hung up was
just a fake human head,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Haha.” “Hur Hur.” “Hee-hee.” The bandits sneered. “Dragon King, are you
trying to persuade us to spare your life? Do you think we’ll buy your story?”
“Well, you won’t be able to hear any story in this world very soon,” said Gu
Shenwei.
He did not want to waste time explaining to the bandits. In his eyes, they
were either idiots being used by the Golden Roc Fort or wicked guys who
intended to acquire the “Bandit King” title on the pretext of avenging Chipo’s
death.
The bandits took the Dragon King’s provocation very seriously and no one
was laughing this time. They were quiet for a moment, before the same
bandit who had spoken up for the others said, “Dragon King, I’m He Sancai,
widely known as ‘Invincible Machete of Tianshan’. Today, my counterparts
and I have come here to challenge you to a fight. They are known as: ‘Sand
Devil’ Zheng Tai, ‘Tiger on the Hill’ Ouyang Jing, ‘Fierce Spear’ Shi Dazhi,
‘Single-Armed Machete’ Zhang Xin, ‘Old Reaper’ Deng Xiaoyuan and
‘Duansheng Taoist’.”
These names were familiar to Gu Shenwei. The first five men were widely-
known bandit gang leaders and the last two were notorious burglars. During
the past few years, he had traveled to many different places to evade his
pursuers before getting into the Great Snowmountain. Although he had never
met these people before, he had heard lots of tales about them.
“Alright, just come at me,” Gu Shenwei looked back at Maid Lotus and said.
Surprisingly, the seven bandits did not attack the Dragon King together.
Instead, they complied with the rules of dueling and were prepared to take
turns fighting him. The first of them was Shi Dazhi. “Try taking a blow of my
spear, Dragon King!” he shouted.
Gu Shenwei swiftly stepped aside as Shi Dazhi’s spear shot into his tent. It
was moving in a sideways fashion like a giant python, but Shi Dazhi himself
did not break into the tent, seemingly fearful that there was a trap for him
inside it.
As it was very dark inside the tent, Gu Shenwei could only rely on his
hearing to determine where the spear was. He kept dodging the spear until he
seized a chance to grasp it with his hand. He took advantage of Shi Dazhi’s
forward momentum and pulled him into the tent.
Shi Dazhi was a tall strong man. Due to his own inertia, he continued rushing
forward with his spear in hand after entering the tent, towards Maid Lotus.
Gu Shenwei immediately lifted up his Five Peaks Saber and used its hilt to
knock Shi Dazhi out. He then took the man’s spear and threw it aside.
Right at this moment, another challenger came forth.
“Here comes ‘Old Reaper’,” said Deng Xiaoyuan. He began to strike when
he was still a dozen steps away from the Dragon King’s tent.
“If I remember correctly, Old Reaper is expert at using hidden weapons,”

thought Gu Shenwei. Suddenly, the tent collapsed, disrupting his train of
thought. In the meantime, several knives thrown out by Old Reaper were
rapidly approaching him.
Deng Xiaoyuan kept throwing weapons as he was running toward the Dragon
King’s tent. Some of the weapons severed the ropes holding down the tent
while the others pierced into the tent.
Gu Shenwei brandished his saber with one hand to fend off those weapons,
and at the same time, he picked up Shi Dazhi’s spear with the other hand and
inserted it into the ground to support the roof of the tent which had already
fallen halfway down. After that, he rushed out of the tent to confront “Old
Reaper”.
Deng Xiaoyuan was a lean, middle-aged man. He moved very fast and
managed to stay at least ten steps away from the Dragon King during the
fight. Under the moonlight, he appeared like a phantom sliding on the sand.
He would throw several weapons at his opponent with every step he took.
To protect Maid Lotus, who was not far behind himself, Gu Shenwei could
not move around to dodge the weapons thrown by Deng Xiaoyuan. He could
only block them with his saber.
Deng Xiaoyuan had already thrown 30 or 40 weapons during the past few
minutes, and seemingly had suppressed the Dragon King better than “Fierce
Spear” Shi Dazhi did.
Upon seeing that, the other bandits felt quite relieved. However, the tables
were turned all of a sudden. Before they realized what had happened, the
Dragon King had already gotten close to Deng Xiaoyuan.
In the next moment, Deng Xiaoyuan’s head fell to the ground as the Dragon
King retreated to his original position. What was left of his body continued
taking three steps forward before also falling to the ground. There was not
blood traces left on the ground as the sand quickly absorbed his blood.
After witnessing this dreadful sight, even the merciless bandits could not help
but feel chilled to the bones.
“Who’s next?” Gu Shenwei asked coldly, with the blood-stained Five Peaks
Saber in hand. His passion for killing had already been aroused and he could
not wait to fight another duel.
Gu Shenwei managed to control of his own power and killing intent when
fighting against Shi Dazhi and defeated his opponent without killing him
because he could only be considered as a borderline good user of the spear.
However, when faced with “Old Reaper”, a first-rate kung fu master, he had
no choice but to fight with all his strength and ended up killing the man as a
result of losing control of his killing intent.
He Sancai, the short fat man who announced the beginning of the “Dragon
Slaying Contest”, stepped forward with a long-saber on his back, which
looked almost as tall as the man himself.
“You’re venerated as Machete God of Jade City, Dragon King. You do live
up to your reputation. I hope to be the next one to duel with you,” said He
Sancai.
Gu Shenwei agreed. At this moment, he totally forgot about his original plan
and fell under the control of his own killing intent. He had chosen to use his
saber instead of his sword and knock Shi Dazhi out instead of killing him,
since he had originally planned to avoid killing any bandit when fighting
against them. However, killing Deng Xiaoyuan sent him back into the world
of killers, where death was the solution to all the problems
He Sancai untied his long-saber, lifted it high over his head and brandished it
slowly. The saber reflected the moonlight and looked like the shimmering
surface of a lake.
Gradually, it twirled faster and faster and ended up looking like a beam of
light shining above He Sancai’s head. No one could clearly see how He
Sancai’s hands moved at this moment. In the meantime, He Sancai quickened
his steps, and then he threw himself to the ground. In a flash instant, it looked
as if he turned himself into a bright light ball as he rolled toward the Dragon
King.
“Very impressive ‘Earth Combing Skill’. He didn’t brag about himself. This
‘Invincible Machete of Tianshan’ is indeed a kung fu master,” thought Gu
Shenwei.
Confronted with the light ball, Gu Shenwei just kept observing it while
moving backward to dodge its attack; he was searching for weak spots.
As more and more sand was stirred up into the air by He Sancai’s saber, the
light ball quickly doubled in size and looked even more formidable than
before.
When Gu Shenwei took his 15th step backward, he struck his saber at the
light ball and then quickly stepped aside.
It seemed that He Sancai had suddenly lost his bearings; the light ball was
still intact, but it was now rapidly heading away from the Dragon King.
When he was about 20 steps away from the Dragon King, he finally stopped
twirling his saber and stood up, his face pale and his mouth corner stained
with blood. He walked back, leaving a thin blood trail behind himself, and
then he said to the Dragon King, “Great saber. Excellent saber skills. You
deserve the reputation you enjoy.”
He Sancai raised his long-saber and spotted an obvious dent on it with the
help of moonlight.
Gu Shenwei had won not only in saber skills but also in the quality of
weapons. If the Five Peaks Saber had not been this sharp, Gu Shenwei would
have never been able to easily break the “Earth Combing Skill”.
He Sancai walked back to his comrades while dragging his long-saber behind
himself. He said, “Let’s withdraw. We have to figure out another way.”
The other three bandits all considered him as their leader and agreed, but the
independent burglar “Duansheng Taoist” disagreed and retorted, “There are
seven of us coming here to fight the Dragon King, and the four of us haven’t
even tried once.”
He Sancai glanced sideways at the burglar and said while shaking his head,
“You’re an excellent sword user, ‘Duansheng Taoist’, but… What a pity.”
With these words, he led the other three bandits back toward the large bandit
troop.
Upon hearing He Sancai’s words, Duansheng Taoist’s face changed. Instead

of challenging the Dragon King to another fight, he also left the place, but he
walked in a different direction from the four bandits.
After their departure, Gu Shenwei tied the ropes severed by Deng Xiaoyuan
to fix his tent, and then he looked at the monks’ two tents nearby, while
thinking,“These monks did keep their promises. They didn’t interfere in the
fights. Neither did they emit a sound during the whole process.”
When he entered his tent, he found out that Shi Dazhi was still lying
unconscious on the floor. He did not mind killing one more person at this
moment and thought it was unnecessary to spare this man’s life. When he
raised his saber, preparing to kill the man, Maid Lotus suddenly spoke,
“Wait, I need him.”
She finally passed through the first phase of her qigong deviation, but was
still far from full recovery. Now she could just barely open her mouth to
speak.
She took the clumps of cotton wool out of her ears and then fished out two
wooden boxes from the front of her coat. She opened them and put them
down beside her.
One of the wooden boxes was filled with a dozen red pills and the other with
a dozen yellow pills.
She swallowed a red pill, channelled her internal breath for a while and then
took a yellow pill. She repeated this process for seven times and quickly
consumed most pills in her boxes. After that, her complexion was visibly
better.
“I don’t want you to watch me using this kind of kung fu,” she said to Gu
Shenwei.
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei walked out of the tent and then he spotted
some firelight in the distance. At this moment, the bandits were discussing
how to kill the Dragon King. By far, they had sticked to the rules of jiang hu,
but they would change their mind before dawn, since they were currently left
with only one choice: by sheer numbers.
Suddenly, heart-wrenching screams came out of the tent and began to

resound through the desert. Gu Shenwei could clearly see that firelight in the
distance was beginning to flicker.
The tent beside him was opened a crack, revealing Fayan’s compassionate
face.
Chapter 333 - Evil Kung Fu
Chapter 333: Evil Kung Fu
“I didn’t expect that.” The old monk Fayan walked out of the tent with his
ribs wrapped in bandages as repeated, “I didn’t expect that.”
Despite not having any reason for it, Gu Shenwei had a profound hatred for
the monk. He glared at him holding the saber and did not say a word.
Fayan’s deep essence seemed to be concentrated in his penetrating eyes. He

looked at Dragon King the way an elder looked at a naughty young man,
“Has the Great Snowmountain cooperated with New Moon Hall?”
Gu Shenwei was shocked. Few people knew that Maid Lotus had joined New
Moon Hall, but the old monk could guess the truth just from one shriek.
Fayan turned his sight from Dragon King to the tent. The shrieks inside had
stopped. “Excuse me, who is the master of New Moon Hall?”
Maid Lotus walked out of the tent. She did not look very well and her steps
were not steady yet, but she could walk on her own feet.
Gu Shenwei was shocked again. Every time he resisted his Internal Demons,
he could not even get up after the first stage of torture. He had to continue to
exercise and cure himself. It was beyond his expectation that Maid Lotus
could move freely so soon.
“Does Master know New Moon Hall’s master?” Despite her weak voice,
Maid Lotus was clearly vigilant and she instinctively hated the old monk.
Fayan stared blankly at her. During the fight the previous night, Maid Lotus
was wearing a mask on her face and her movements were so fast that the
monk did not see what she looked like. When he found out that it was
actually a young woman who was walking out of the tent, he was astonished.
He asked, “Was the patroness’ surname Kang or Han?”
“My surname is Huo.” Maid Lotus was originally named Huo Yun, and few
people knew her last name.
Fayan was even more astonished. He shook his head and then nodded, “Has
New Moon Hall begun to accept disciples of other surnames since it returned
to Jianghu? Forgive me for being ignorant, but how has Master Han been?”
“Master Han has been very good, but she hasn’t mentioned Master.”
“Master Han has rarely travelled through Jianghu. I’ve only heard about her
and have not seen her personally. Naturally, she would not know my name.”
Fayan seemed to be increasingly interested in Maid Lotus. The way he stared

at her was impolite, even for ordinary people, but he did not care, “How long
has it been since the patroness had practiced the Divine Rotation?”
“This Monk knows a lot, and he even recognizes these occult sciences”, said
Maid Lotus, standing firm and with a calm voice, growing more and more
cautious. She was gathering her strength to prepare for an attack.
Fayan had not sensed the danger. Instead, he thought about it for a while
raising his head and then went on talking by himself, “There are three evil
kung fu styles: the Wayless Book, the Dajue Book of Swordcraft and the
Divine Rotation. I am afraid that no one has succeeded in cultivating them at
the same time for nearly a hundred years. Yet the Patroness, at such a young
age, unexpectedly…”
“Evil kung fu?” Maid Lotus sneered, both divine kung fu and evil kung fu
kill people, what’s the difference between the evil and the divine kung fu?”
Although Maid Lotus wanted to kill the monk, she was truly afraid of the old
monk and did not dare to do anything against him.
Gu Shenwei had heard of many secret techniques in the New Moon Hall, but
he did not know that, in the past three years, Maid Lotus had learned some of
them. Apparently, her incredible ability with the swordcraft of the Death
Scripture had something to do with it.
As they were all used to kill people, Gu Shenwei agreed with Maid Lotus that
there was no difference between the evil and the divine kung fu styles. Just
like the two brothers Lianhua and Lianxin, Fayan was an eminent monk of
the Four Truths Temple, who believed that only by eliminating the killing
desire deeply rooted in people’s heart, an adherence to old ideas could arise.
Fayan put his palms together devoutly and mouthed a few prayers. Then
raised his head and said, “There is still some difference. These three evil
kung fu styles…”
The monk suddenly stopped. At the same time, Gu Shenwei rushed into the
tent with Maid Lotus.
The weapons crushed, making a crisp sound. A figure broke through the top
of the tent and rose up. After landing, it jumped three times in a row and
stopped ten steps away.
Gu Shenwei sliced the tent with his saber and walked out with Maid Lotus.
The man was able to escape under the siege of two killers, so he must have
been extraordinary at kung fu.
The moonlight was glistening over the sky. Gu Shenwei glanced at Shi
Dazhi, who was used to practicing kung fu with Maid Lotus. There was no
wound on the man’s strong body, but his face was extremely distorted, his
eyes widely opened, and his lips closed to his ears, covered with a layer of
frost.
He seemed to be scared to death in a cold environment.
Gu Shenwei just glanced at him and then looked at the master who sneaked
into the tent.
Dressed in a Taoist costume, with three long strands of beards and a three-
foot-long sword in his hand, the Taoist Duansheng, who had left alone,
secretly returned.
The Taoist Duansheng was still terrified after fleeing at a time of imminent
peril, but on his face, there was an evil smile, “It’s a pity that the three divine
kung fu styles fell into the hands of a little girl. Heaven doesn’t have eyes,
but your grandpa is not convinced.”
Maid Lotus had not yet recovered and could not use the sword, but she was
not afraid. She stood up and said, “If you are not convinced, come and take it.
Defeat me and the divine kung fu will naturally belong to you.”
Fighting with Maid Lotus, Taoist Duansheng discovered that her internal
strength had been injured, but Dragon King was still next to her. He was not
confident in winning even if the two of them acted together. Therefore, he
turned to Fayan, “Monk, it’s a Buddhist disciple’s duty to subdue demons
and devils. Now the two devils’ heads are here in front of you, why are you
just watching them? Kill them or you’ll regret it.”
“Amitabha, the devil is born from the heart and must be removed from the
heart. The two benefactors have not completely succumbed to the devil
spirits, thus they can still be saved.”
Taoist Duansheng burst into laughter, waving his sword in the air. “What a
merciful monk! If you do not regard common people, you will only avoid
your responsibility. Let the Taoist do the tiring work of killing the demons.”
As the Taoist Duansheng pronounced these words, he had already made up

his mind that if Dragon King and Maid Lotus joined their forces against him,
he would never get into the fight.
To his delight, Maid Lotus came out alone.
Maid Lotus glanced at Gu Shenwei, meaning that she was fine. She stepped
forward, with her sword hanging beside her waist and empty hands. “The
devil is here. Now the Taoist can come here to kill the devil.”
All the monks in the tent came out, including the severely injured Lianqing -
he was standing behind Fayan, supporting his elder brother and watching the
battle.
Fayan bowed his head and recited the sutra in a low voice. It seemed that he
had no interest in the duel.
Gu Shenwei observed carefully how Maid Lotus had improved her kung fu.
Taoist Duansheng grinned grimly. A long sword struck the ground, stirring
up a sand curtain, which rose more than one person high and suddenly
attacked Maid Lotus like a huge sword.
The long sword of Taoist Duansheng kept slicing, rolling up the sand curtain
layer by layer, converging into a storm and rushing toward his target.
Maid Lotus’s Internal Strength had not recovered yet, so she could not fight
back directly but had to rely on the Lightness Skills to dodge the sand
curtains.
More and more flying sand and stones gathered as they surrounded Maid
Lotus. By contrast, the Invincible Machete of Tianshan He Sancai’s Earth
Combing Skill was not on the same level.
The Taoist Duansheng coveted the three evil kung fu. He did not immediately
use all of his strength, but instead, he slowly increased his strength overtime,
hoping to exhaust Maid Lotus’s internal strength and capture her alive.
Soon, he regretted his decision.
A group of bandits holding torches approached slowly in the distance and

discovered that there was a battle.
Maid Lotus launched a sudden counterattack. Originally, she was like a boat
floating on the stormy waves. Suddenly, she turned into a sword in the
twinkling of an eye and broke through the sand curtains, stretching out her
hand to pat the enemy.
Though already prepared, Taoist Duansheng’s reaction was still slow. He was
hit on the chest, which caused him to retreat more than ten steps. Feeling that
this slap was weak and did not cause any serious injury, he relaxed.
When the sand curtain fell to the ground, Maid Lotus stood where she was,
sweating profusely. It seemed that the hit had consumed all her strength.
Taoist Duansheng brushed his chest and grinned. “What do you want?
Flirting with the old Taoist…”
He has not finished talking yet before he suddenly fell short and
unexpectedly knelt down unconscious, his mouth foaming. His hands were
scratching his body and he immediately blushed like blood, rolling on the
ground like crazy.
Monks who were watching the battle looked at each other and Fayan recited
the sutra even faster.
Gu Shenwei saw the shadow of the Peripheral Force from Maid Lotus’hit;
however, she did it so easily and the effect came out so fast, and it was so
different from Mama Xue.
Taoist Duansheng felt like burning all over his body and there was extreme
tingling everywhere. Meanwhile, the itching became unbearable and he had
to rub himself on the ground. He finally understood what was the right thing
to do, asking desperately for mercy, “Miss, please forgive me. I am a bastard.
I was blind, forgive me, forgive me, please!”
The voice sounded so miserable - it somewhat resembled that of Shi Dazhi

before he died.
The approaching bandits stopped in the distance again.
Maid Lotus looked indifferent at the whining and begging Taoist Duansheng.
She turned back with her eyes fixed on Gu Shenwei. There was even a hint of
provocation in her eyes.
At this point, she was not the Shadow Guard of Dragon King, but the
Managing Master of New Moon Hall, who possessed three divine kung fu
and many other extraordinary skills.
Gu Shenwei raised his head slightly and was indifferent to the shrieks that
were filling his ears. The devil girl under the moonlight instead could not
help but feel excited. He understood that the monk was right. The Wayless
Book and the Death Scripture were all evil kung fu. Gu Shenwei and Maid
Lotus had succumbed to the devils and even enjoyed it.
They were different from the common people.
Maid Lotus smiled, and she knew that this man would be the only person in
the world who understood her.
They were similar to each other.
“Amitabha,” a Buddhist voice raised between the two people.
Perhaps the monks had found that they could no longer be saved. Gu
Shenwei and Maid Lotus had the same thought as they approached each other
and stood side by side facing the twelve monks.
“Bliss Needle, the benefactor patroness had good luck. You should have
received Master Han’s generous instruction.”
There was a trick in Maid Lotus’ strike on Taoist Duansheng. With a

poisonous needle between her two fingers, she stabbed one of his most
important acupuncture points. In fact, there was nothing in common with the
Peripheral Force.
“The Monk seemed to be very familiar with New Moon Hall.”
“I have spent half of my life to studying the secret techniques of New Moon
Hall, hence I know a little bit about the Bliss Needle. It is said that the pain
will last for seven days and seven nights.”
“You’re right.”
Taoist Duansheng heard clearly what they said and was scared to death. At
this moment, the Taoist’s robe had been torn to pieces. He rolled on the
ground as he crawled toward Maid Lotus, begging for mercy.
“Is the patroness not going to save him?”

“Why should I do that?”
Fayan sighed. “May I propose a battle to you, to see what New Moon Hall’s
divine kung fu is capable of? What do you think?”
It was the first time that Maid Lotus heard such a polite request. She
understood that the monk was excellent at kung fu, but she was not afraid of
him. Instead, she was desperate to take revenge. She said, “Agreed.”
Maid Lotus looked at Gu Shenwei and did not know whether because he was
being impulsive or he had other purposes, and she whispered, “I’ll tell you
everything.”
Chapter 334 - Divine Kung Fu
Chapter 334: Divine Kung Fu
The battle was more like a solo performance by Maid Lotus.
She dared not to use the swordcraft of the Death Scripture again. Since the
beginning, she used a variety of tricks, such as slap, point, claw, punch, pat,
poke, scratch and hammer. Before the monk could become familiar with it,
she would immediately change to the next one.
There was nothing new about Maid Lotus’s tricks since New Moon Hall was
good at strange evil secrets. In terms of punching and kicking, they were not
even as good as the derived Barren Sect. In the seemingly innocent actions of
Maid Lotus, there were actually hidden all kinds of things, such as needles
and poisons. Sometimes she would shoot out subtly hidden weapons as if she
was juggling.
On the contrary, Fayan responded with only one trick: he punched straight
ahead, without any variation.
The old monk was skinny and his fist was not much bigger than a child’s. He
seemed to have little strength and his punch was not swift; however, each
punch was effective, making it difficult for Maid Lotus to approach.
Being a killer, Maid Lotus did not have any advantage in the face-to-face
battle. Besides, her Internal Strength had recovered by only 30 to 40 percent.
She could thus do nothing but retreat under the enemy’s pressing offensive.
After more than ten moves, she was seven or eight steps away from the
monk. Unless she pulled out a sword, she could not hurt the monk in any
way.
Gu Shenwei could vaguely recognize Fayan’s tricks, which were the same as
Lianye’s. The old monk used the strength that passed the empty space, which
meant that although the fist did not touch the target, the strength inside had
been transmitted to the other side.
Gu Shenwei was gathering strength in his hands and was ready to hold the
saber’s handle, waiting for the signal from Maid Lotus. The plan was that as
they glanced at each other before the battle, Maid Lotus would lure Fayan
into Gu Shenwei’s attacking range, and then he would suddenly attack.
However, Maid Lotus seemed to be forced to retreat in one direction, leaving

Fayan farther and farther away from Gu Shenwei.
Maid Lotus suddenly stopped and knelt down on one leg. “Master is so
formidable and I am willing to admit defeat.”
Gu Shenwei moved his finger slightly. He was more than ten steps away
from Fayan, which was not the best distance, but he had no choice; he should
either take action now or battle with the old monk face to face like Maid
Lotus had done.
Several monks leaned forward, so Gu Shenwei had to give up his plan to

attack. The enemies were tightly guarded, leaving no chance of success for
him.
Then he discovered that Maid Lotus sincerely admitted defeat.
“Is benefactor feeling better?”
“Master was so magnanimous, I have now recovered by 60 to 70 percent. ”
The monks who were watching the battle were very surprised by his words.
Gu Shenwei was even more shocked. Relying on pills and the Divine
Rotation, Maid Lotus managed only with difficulty to stop the qigong
deviation. But her Internal Strength was greatly damaged, thus how could she
recover so fast after the fight with the old monk?
“This old monk is so bold to ask a favor from you.”

Knowing what Fayan meant, Maid Lotus stood up and walked up to Taoist
Duansheng who had bruises all over owing to the itch, then she took out a pill
and said, “Open your mouth.”
Despite the pain, Taoist Duansheng tried to kneel down and open his mouth
and let Maid Lotus throw the pills in.
Gu Shenwei noticed that the pill seemed green, exactly the same as the Blood
Coagulation Pill.
The drug worked immediately. Taoist Duansheng was safe from the inch and
pain; however, he was exhausted and could only lay on the ground groaning
in a low voice.
Saving Taoist Duansheng was contrary to Maid Lotus’ original intentions.

She said to the monk, “This man is a lone bandit who burns, kills, rapes,
loots, and commits any imaginable misdeed. Why is Master still giving him a
chance to live?”
Fayan smiled without saying a word, and Maid Lotus suddenly understood
what he meant. She was a devil who killed people unrelentingly herself, yet
the monk had spared her life, let alone a lone bandit.
“There are no evil people in the world.”
It took a while before the old monk spoke again. Maid Lotus kept quiet, but
Gu Shenwei could not help but say, “If there are no evil people, who
committed such evil things? Did those innocent people really deserve to die?”
This was a strange conversation. The “wicked” in the eyes of ordinary people
were Dragon King and Maid Lotus, while the “good” was Fayan; however,
the latter was defending the “evil”.
Fayan shook his head gently, “Nobody deserves to die. There are always
countless evils in this world, but people who are evil often have good
thoughts. Those who rob may think to use the money to support their
mothers, those who bully may have even more kindness and benevolence for
their brothers, and what a general wants is to end the war which killed
thousands of soldiers.”
The old monk paused briefly and continued talking, “Those who feel
resentful, will love more deeply. They hate because they love. People do evil
things for love, but no one does evil things for evil. Everyone has a
benevolent heart, and sometimes they are bewitched by the evil spirit and
misinterpret the meaning of love, hence they do evil things. As the Buddhist
doctrines say, ‘Lay down your blade and become a Buddha.’ ”
Gu Shenwei knew what brought about his aversion to Fayan. When you force
yourself to do something contrary to your intention, you have someone who
understands the situation, just like a mirror. Though not interfering with you,
it reflects all of your nastiness, so how can you not be angry with that mirror?
“It’s all the same.” Out of control, with his veins visible on his face, Gu
Shenwei said, “Those who don’t deserve to die are dead, and those who
deserve to be killed still have to be killed.”
He made eye contact with Maid Lotus and the anger in his heart disappeared
immediately.
Maid Lotus looked so calm that she seemed to have accepted the old monk’s
statement wholeheartedly, but she also seemed indifferent. Gu Shenwei found
himself in the trap - undue anger was an indication of defeat. He could not do
as Fayan pleased anymore.
“You are right, I was rude,” Gu Shenwei apologized sincerely. “What Master
said was abstruse and profound, thus I can’t understand it. I still have to think
about it.”
Fayan lowered his sight and bent down slightly. He accepted Dragon King’s
apology, but he was aware that the two evil spirits would not lay down the
blade just for a few words.
On the other side, Taoist Duanshang was normal again. He was in rags and
his hair was unkempt, and it seemed that he was a crazy beggar instead of a
Taoist.
Dragon King’s eyes were filled with anger, so clearly, Fayan’s words exerted
no influence on him. After having dashed into the desert for several li,
Dragon King shouted, “We will meet again!”
Maid Lotus muttered, “It won’t be long.”
Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei were just pretending to be polite with the old
monk, while a disciple who stood behind Fayan was deeply moved. “Master
Shifu, I still think about the brotherly love, which is good. But I also want to
kill Dragon King for revenge, which is evil. This is how good turns into evil.”
Fayan extended his hand and pressed it on the disciple’s head, saying
nothing.
Lianqing understood something but was also confused. He wanted to put

down his blade, but seeing Dragon King standing there, he could not suppress
his rage. Finally, he roared and suddenly knelt down on his knees. “Your
disciple is incompetent and does not understand anything. Please punish me.”
Fayan sighed. “Now that you are able to walk again, let’s continue our
journey.”
Lianqing understood what Master Shifu meant and did not want to provoke
him too much. So he stood up, nodded silently, entered the tent, then
shouldered up the heavy luggage, and headed for the South, not even looking
back once.
The monks were really swift; they tore down the two tents quickly and passed
through them.
Fayan was the last one to leave. Before he left, he bowed and said, “Please do
me a favor and try not to harm innocent people.”
To the old monk, the two young men in front of him were better than over a
hundred bandits miles away.
Gu Shenwei did not say a word. Before the monk was about to leave, Maid
Lotus asked, “Is it the divine kung fu Sumeru Mustard that the Master had
used?”
“It is not much of a divine kung fu, but its name is indeed ‘Sumeru Mustard
Mantra’.”
After having pronounced these words, the old monk looked at the two men as
if saying something profound. Following the disciples, he gradually
disappeared in the night.
“The monk’s Internal Strength is good for us. I have seen the description of
the divine kung fu Sumeru Mustard in a book in New Moon Hall, but I didn’t
expect it had so many advantages, and that it was complemental to the
Wayless Qigong.”
After the monks had walked away, Maid Lotus explained to Gu Shenwei that
she felt a warm air entering her Dantian every time she received a punch from
the distance by the monk. It was the punch that saved her from the ice cold
she suffered. After the battle ended, not only was she not injured, but she also
recovered a lot.
Gu Shenwei understood what Maid Lotus meant. She was interested in the
monk’s divine kung fu, and so was Gu Shenwei actually. “Be careful,” he
warned. “Don’t be fooled by the monk’s trick. I’ve got the Breaking
Obsession theory.”
The Breaking Obsession was a scripture written by master Lianxin. It was

capable of removing the killing desire. Being the disciples of Fayan, Lian Xin
and other monks had one thing in common. They were fond of meddling in
others’ business. They often accepted the evils as disciples since Lianxin
used to raise tigers and Lianye and Lianqing were renowned bandits. Gu
Shenwei had to take precautions against Fayan.
“We could find a way to get the real divine kung fu,” Maid Lotus had made
up her mind since she had just suffered the qigong deviation, she desired the
recipe more than Gu Shenwei did.
“Your Divine Rotation was not bad either and is very helpful for recovering.”
Gu Shenwei wanted to seize the opportunity and find out as much as
possible. Although Maid Lotus promised to tell him everything, it was
possible that she would soon change her mind.
“I made great contributions by stealing the Wayless Book. The Master of

New Moon Hall passed the manual to me, which made me recover very
quickly. If…there were people around now, I would write the manual down
and give it to you as soon as we left the desert.
Maid Lotus had a sincere look. Gu Shenwei placed too much trust on her
before that he excised the Wayless Qigong without being cautious, and that
made him suffer the qigong deviation. Therefore, he simply replied, “Ok.”
They packed their luggage and were going to ride their horses to break
through the bandits’ attack. Though the bandits would not harass the monks,
they would not let Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus go.
A figure flashed out, kneeling on the ground far away, “Please fairy forgive
me! Help me, please!”
It was Taoist Duansheng who was in rags. He felt something wrong with his
Internal Breath not long after running away. Knowing that he was set up by
his opponent when he was in a panic, he ran back to beg for mercy after
much hesitation.
Maid Lotus was sitting on a horse, feeling regret for the Blood Coagulation
Pill. Had it not been for the old monk, she would never have wasted such a
rare pill on Taoist Duansheng.
“I am Dragon King’s guard, what are you asking me for mercy for?”
The Taoist Duansheng immediately understood what she meant and ran in
front of Dragon King’s horse on his knees. “Dragon King, please let me join
the Great Snowmountain. Taoist Duansheng will be your slave from now on,
and will do whatever you want me to do.”
Taoist Duansheng was a renowned bandit, so he should be humble after

taking a pill. Gu Shenwei became more cautious of New Moon Hall’s evil
secrets. “If you want to join the Great Snowmountain, tell the truth first.
What benefits have Golden Roc Fort given to you to send you to kill me?”
“Golden Roc Fort?” Taoist Duansheng raised his head and showed a
surprised look. “I haven’t heard that people from Golden Roc Fort
participated in slaughtering Dragon King… It was He Sancai who incited the
action. He said that after obtaining the title of “Bandit King” he could win the
acknowledgment of some party. Though he did not give more details, we all
believe that this party was either the Central Plain or the Norland.”
Gu Shenwei knew which one it was.

Chapter 335 - Surrender
Chapter 335: Surrender
Maid Lotus turned around and asked Gu Shenwei in a low voice, “Do you
want the bandits dead or alive?”
If it was an hour ago, Gu Shenwei would not hesitate and would say he
wanted them dead. Now that he had regained his composure, he started to
think things through from the perspective of hegemony rather than a killer.
These bandits, who were miles away, were merely tools used by the enemy.
Even if they were all killed, it would not weaken the enemy, but it would be
useful if he could rope them in.
“You have a way to make them listen to you?”
Maid Lotus nodded and looked at Taoist Duansheng who was kneeling on the
ground as she said, “The Dragon King spared your life, but you need to show
your loyalty by doing some deeds of merit.”
“Yes, sure. Please tell me what to do, Fairy. I am willing to go through

anything for you.”
“Make the bandits surrender and convince them to join the Great
Snowmountain.”
Taoist Duansheng turned glum when he heard what she said, and he dared
not accept the order. Although he was renown, he was merely a solitary
bandit, and just his words alone were impossible to persuade those outlaws.
Maid Lotus then took out a small silk pouch and carefully pulled out three
thin steel needles that were about two or three inches long. They were as thin
as a hairspring and were hardly visible under the moonlight.
“I believe these three Bliss Needles are more than enough to attack six
people. In order to round up bandits, one must catch their ringleader first. Do
this and wait for the Dragon King. He expects to see six people rolling on the
ground when he comes by.”
Taoist Duansheng had suffered under the hands of the Bliss Needle and knew
what it was like. Afraid yet pleased, he repeatedly answered “Yes” and
accepted the needles with his both hands carefully. However, he did not get
up and leave immediately.
“Lift your head up,” Maid Lotus ordered before she struck his forehead with
a flying kick.
Taoist Duansheng’s face lit up as he tried to channel his Qi. “Thank you so
much, Fairy,” he said.
“Don’t assume that you are safe. If you dare to have other thoughts, I can
make you feel like dying is better than living.”
Taoist Duansheng held the steel needles and kowtowed to Maid Lotus, before
doing so to the Dragon King as well. “I wouldn’t dare to, I wouldn’t dare. I
swear to heaven, I will forever be loyal to the Dragon King and you, Fairy,”
Taoist Duansheng said as he stood up and retreated, his back hunched the
whole time. After several steps, he turned and put away the needles and ran
toward the bandits who were miles away.
“And now you are known as ‘Fairy’?” Gu Shenwei felt that there were some
changes in Maid Lotus after she recovered from her qigong deviation.
“He just blurts it out without thinking. If you don’t like it, I will forbid him to
address me as that again later.”
“No need for that, it’s quite a good title. ” Gu Shenwei looked at Maid Lotus
and added, “You are worthy of this name as well.”
The corners of Maid Lotus’ mouth slightly turned up. She looked away, her
face blushing a little as she did so.
Gu Shenwei realized what was different about her. Maid Lotus was more
eager to help him and even seemed slightly impatient, as though she was in a
hurry to repay his kindness.
He stayed by her when she was experiencing qigong deviation, and it seemed
to have broken down a wall in her heart.
But Gu Shenwei warned himself to be careful, as Maid Lotus’ thoughts were

as unfathomable as the depths of the ocean and he could never be sure.
Therefore, he quickly changed the subject by saying, “The Blood
Coagulation Pill is indeed a good way to control people.”
“It’s a pity to use it on him, but at least he is smart. He immediately returned

to ask for mercy after realizing that his Internal Breath was unstable. Using it
to order him to get some things done is still worth it, I suppose.”
The two of them rode slowly on their horses. During which, Maid Lotus
revealed all kinds of occult sciences from New Moon Hall without Gu
Shenwei even asking. “The Blood Coagulation Pill, once consumed, will stir
up the Internal Breath of the person and cause his body to be heaty, the pain
even more excruciating than that of the Bliss Needle; however, the person
will not die. His Internal Strength will slowly disappear bit by bit within 49
days, followed by atrophy of the muscles, until he’s only just a bag of skin.
He can’t do anything except swallowing food.”
There was a tinge of pride in her expression as she continued, “In order to
remove the pain and protect your Internal Strength, you would need to
receive the Jueyin Touch within 49 days. What’s funny is that the Jueyin
Touch is also another means to control a person, but it counteracts with
Blood Coagulation Pill when used together.”
“Just like Mama Xue’s Peripheral Force?”
Maid Lotus nodded, “Yeah, something like that. The Barren Sect was a
branch from the New Moon Hall and specialized in kung fu from other non-
mainstream schools; however, they are lacking in skill in the occult sciences
when compared to us.”
She also introduced several other strange occult sciences that Gu Shenwei
had never heard of. “It’s no wonder that the Golden Roc Fort vowed not to
use them again when they signed The Agreement with New Moon Hall.”
“The Golden Roc Fort was short-sighted to remove one of its capabilities just
to win the support of various powers. With their kung fu, they would
naturally be invincible if they worked together with the New Moon Hall and
its occult sciences. They could even take the emperor’s throne if they wanted
to.”
Holding her head high, Maid Lotus looked confident as she talked about
these details. Gu Shenwei’s heart stirred - he seemed to have touched a bit on
the New Moon Hall’s true ambitions. Maid Lotus would not be so confident
for no reason and must have been unconsciously influenced by her Master as
well.
Realizing that she must have spoken too much, she smiled apologetically to
him and said, “Now that the old monk knows that New Moon Hall and the
Great Snowmountain are working together, I’m afraid the Four Truths
Temple and other Taoists won’t be happy about it. If you feel that this is
inappropriate, we can remain in hiding and assist you in secret.”
Many years ago, Golden Roc Fort and New Moon Hall signed The
Agreement, whereby it was stated that the former would have to give up the
occult sciences they had learned, and the latter would retreat into the desert
and never leave.
Now that New Moon Hall returned to jianghu again, and was planning to use
these occult sciences that were hated by the people of jianghu in broad
daylight, they would definitely encounter heavy opposition and even hatred.
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Gu Shenwei said. As time went by, very few
people could actually remember how terrible the secret techniques of the
New Moon Hall could be. Gu Shenwei was definitely not one of them, so he
said, “Everyone will have nothing to say as long as Golden Roc Fort is
defeated.”
Maid Lotus deeply agreed.

Neither of them realized the great impact that the words “secret techniques of
the New Moon Hall” would bring back then. Fayan knew everything but he
did not explain to them about the risks and benefits. It was not because the
old monk intended to hide anything from them, but he knew that the two of
them were already deeply obsessed and therefore did not want to waste his
breath.
Shrill shrieks came from the front, one after another, as though somebody
was screaming just beside one’s ears.
“It succeeded. That Taoist sure have some use.”
Maid Lotus urged her horse forward. Gu Shenwei wanted to remind her that
it might be a trap, but the shrill shrieks did not seem like how humans would
sound and were by no means an imitation, so he sped up his horse as well.
Taoist Duansheng had performed his tasks dutifully. He draped on a robe

borrowed from somewhere as he held a long sword and talked to the group of
bandits with fervor and assurance. Six people were writhing around beside
him like fish thrown ashore, but with the added effect of shocking shrill
shrieks.
“Everybody, do not believe in He Sancai anymore; he was bought off by the

Central Plain. The “Bandit King” was just a scam to fool you guys. They are
officials, and we are bandits, how can we even be one family? The Central
Plain just wants to use the opportunity to exterminate us. He Sancai betrayed
his friends for personal gain! I have already joined the Great Snowmountain
and pledged allegiance to the Dragon King. What are you all waiting for?”
The bandits were both shocked and furious. They could not understand how
Taoist Duansheng had changed his tune so suddenly. It was not long ago that
they heard his screams when he was being tortured, yet in the twinkling of an
eye, he actually went to pledged his allegiance to the Great Snowmountain.
However, no one dared to come forward. The six people writhing on the
ground were leaders of their own gang. Usually, they would not even make a
noise when they were slashed by others, yet now they were shrieking and
screaming just because of a needle prick. It brought deep fear to all of their
underlings.
Judging from Maid Lotus’ temper, Taoist Duansheng knew that it was better
to please Dragon King than to please her, so upon hearing the galloping
sounds behind him, he turned to the six men shrieking on the ground and
said, “Do you know the power of the Bliss Needle now? Hurry and beg the
Dragon King for mercy, only he can save all of you.”
Gu Shenwei took a closer look under the moonlight to confirm that Taoist
Duansheng was not up to any tricks. He looked at the six people who were
pricked. There was He Sancai the Invincible Machete of Tianshan, Zheng Tai
the Sand Devil, Ouyang Jing from Tiger on the Hill, and Zhang Xin the One-
armed Saber. He didn’t know who the other two were and assumed they were
probably a prominent figure in some other smaller gangs.
Already unable to bear the torture of the itching pain, not only would these
people surrender, they would even be willing to kill each other off if asked to
do so. As such, they rolled and crawled in front of Dragon King, “Mercy!”,”I
surrender!”, were all they could say desperately.
Gu Shenwei turned a blind eye to them and looked around at the bandits,
waiting for them to declare their stand.
Although these bandits were not large in number - about 100 men in total -
there were still many gangs among them. He Sancai’s men, along with the
underlings of the other five men, was merely half of the total number.
Terrified by the shrieks of their leaders, they quickly put down their weapons,
wanting to surrender; however, only a few people expressed their intentions
while the others still seemed hesitant.
A bandit raised his torch and shouted loudly, “What’s there to be scared of?
Let’s capture both the Dragon King and that b*tch and force them to hand
over the antidote!”
These words indeed expressed the thoughts of some people. Taoist

Duansheng was eager to perform in front of Maid Lotus, so without waiting
for Dragon King to speak, he already rushed over and cut off the head of the
man who spoke with his sword.
He was a well-known solitary bandit within the Western Region, and just his
kung fu alone was almost on par with Maid Lotus. His sword moved so
rapidly that the head had just landed on the ground when he returned to his
original position.
“People who show disrespect towards the Dragon King will be beheaded!
Same goes for people who show disrespect to the Fairy! Off with their
heads!” Taoist Duansheng stood upright as he held his sword, showing his
“loyalty”.
He Sancai was recognized as the leader of the bandits, but even he was
unable to withstand the pain from the Bliss Needle. He had long cast his
ambitions to the winds, rolling around, he shouted, “Surrender… All…
Surrender… Dragon King, have mercy…”
A large number of bandits gradually begin to kneel down on one leg upon
hearing that. The first few were somewhat hesitant, but the rest did so more
readily afterward. “Respects to Dragon King”, “Long live the Dragon King”,
“Dragon King, have mercy” were some of the cries from them.
There were also more than ten bandits who were unwilling to surrender and
did not care about the lives of He Sancai and the rest. They leaped onto their
horses, preparing to leave.
“Let none of them live,” Gu Shenwei issued his first order. From his
experience as king of the Great Snowmountain, he knew very well that if
these unwilling bandits were spared, half of the bandits kneeling before him
would escape before dawn.
Maid Lotus galloped swiftly and threw out hidden weapons continuously.
These bandits, more than 10 in number, fell from their horses without even
having the time to disperse. Their whole bodies were twitching about and it
did not look like they would not live for long.
Taoist Duansheng’s face was as pale as ash as he watched on. Maid Lotus’
skills were even better than he imagined. He finally realized that he could
never escape from her grasp, so he said, “The Dragon King is invincible. The
Fairy is invincible!”
He was the first one to kneel on both knees and kowtowed. The other bandits
were shocked by the vicious killing methods of Maid Lotus as well and put
their other knee down, formally kowtowing to the Dragon King.
The shrieks continued but Gu Shenwei was not in a rush to save them. Maid
Lotus had just shown him a way to quickly strengthen his force, and he
needed to make good use of it. These people might never be as loyal as the
swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain, but they could also be an asset for
him.
What he could not be certain of was the extent to which Maid Lotus and New
Moon Hall were willing to be used.
Chapter 336 - The Guest
Chapter 336: The Guest
Power in the Stone Kingdom essentially belonged to two families: Ju and

Yang. For years, the Ju family had claimed the throne, with the Yang family
as their subject; there had never been any deviation. But this road was soon
nearing its end.
Upheaval was coming, and it would be at a scale that the nation had never
seen before. Prime Minister Yang Dou felt deeply worried just thining about
it - the influence he retained, along with the lives of his family depended on
how he handled the events of the next few days. If it turned out well, the
Yangs would continue to be in charge of the government in the Stone
Kingdom. If not, perhaps even the Stone Kingdom itself would soon become
a fading memory.
Yang Dou was quickly nearing 60. When he had taken over the position of
Prime Minister from his father, he had experienced several big incidents
during his tenure but none that made him feel as helpless as he did now.
More than 10 years ago, when the old King Ju passed on and his brother had
usurped the throne, the Yangs had supported the usurper and exiled the young
Crown Prince. But very soon, the Yangs realized that the new King was not
such an easily controlled puppet that they had desired. After tolerating him
silently for a few years, the usurper died mysteriously. Yang Dou had never
dig into the details, but he would definitely not try to rake up the past as well.
Yang Dou personally went to Jade City to escort the Crown Prince back to
the kingdom, and that experience was still fresh in his mind.
The Crown Prince was a disappointing weasel. Rash and ignorant, he did not
understand the importance of compromise that needed to rule a kingdom. His
resentment towards the Yangs was undisguised, having already thought about
seeking revenge for his exile before even sitting on the throne.
It is always better to prevent trouble before it comes, Yang Dou decided. And
his wish came true as the Prince was soon found murdered in a brothel; his
reputation destroyed. The Second Prince was a smart man, and he was
willing to make major concessions in exchange for the throne. Therefore,
Yang Dou quickly reached a private agreement with him.
In the following years, Yang Dou and his clan rose to a height of power they
had not achieved for the past dozens of years. He held absolute power in his
hands and was like a regent of the kingdom.
The long war of attrition had exhausted the Ju family bloodline. As the royal
family, they plotted and killed each other for the ridiculous puppet throne,
and the dwindling number of family members had created a situation where,
for the first time, there was no heir in line for the throne.
The Second Prince had already been in poor health even before he ascended
the throne. This was also a major reason why he was willing to cede most of
his power to the Prime Minister. But he was more than willing to bear a son
for the Ju family. It was a pity then, that the heavens failed to grant his
wishes, as the Queen still did not showing signs of pregnancy even after four
years. Even the women who had been secretly sent into the palace did not
manage to conceive as well.
This should have been the perfect opportunity for the Yangs. But Yang Dou
had not expected that this situation had also lured several opportunistic
suitors to the Stone Kingdom, each of them wielding even more influence
than his own clan.
Today, he would be meeting these suitors.
He would have to focus all his energy on the meeting. If he handled the
situation well, perhaps he could still secure the independence of Stone
Kingdom and maintain the standing of the Yangs. An even better victory for
the Yangs, of course, was to chase away all these suitors who were eyeing the
throne of the Stone Kingdom as well.
Immersed in his fantasy, Yang Dou let out a sigh. He knew very well that the
only choice for the Yangs right now was to choose a less ruthless master
among these suitors. Perhaps, he might be able to get some of the leftovers
after the new heir apparent had had his fill, renewing the bitter struggle
between his clan and the royal family.
The guests were slowly arriving, one after another. Yang Dou dismissed his
fantasies and summoned the composure of a Prime Minister before going out
to greet the guests.
The Prince of Kang Kingdom was the first to arrive. He was a boorish-
looking young man, and he did not look too pleased. Yang Dou met his
rudeness with a flattering smile and invited him into the Council Chamber; he
understood where his anger was coming from.
Xiaoyao Lake was a big lake surrounded by five small kingdoms that were
comprised of the Stone, the Kang, the An, the Sha and the Hui Kingdoms
respectively. These five kingdoms were linked by common rivers and
mountains and were closely connected to each other. By convention, the
royal families practiced intermarriage. For example, the current Queen of
Stone Kingdom was from the Hui Kingdom.
As one could imagine, the Stone Kingdom’s decision to choose the Princess’
husband from the entire Western Region had caused great dissatisfaction
among the other four kingdoms, especially the Kang Kingdom. The Prince of
the Kang Kingdom was of suitable age and unmarried. He had long regarded
the Princess of Stone Kingdom as his own fiancee and had harbored the
thought of taking over the throne of Stone Kingdom. He never imagined that
he would need to compete with a other suitors, some of which were not even
of royal descent.
“Prime Minister, since when did the royal families of Xiaoyao Lake decided
to mix their bloodline with impure blood?” asked the Prince of Kang
Kingdom as he walking in furiously, wanting to clarify the situation.
“Please calm down, Your Highness. Our kingdom has had no choice but to
resort to this. The five kingdoms have been intermarrying for many years
now and although it’s a good thing to cement our kingdoms’ relationships
with one another… Your Highness, as the Princess’ uncle, this is
somewhat…”
“So what? Didn’t the King of the An Kingdom marry his aunt as well?
What’s wrong with me marrying my sister’s daughter?”
“It’s not always a good thing to be so closed off, and it’s not like Your
Highness doesn’t stand a chance…”
“This is an insult to the Kang Kingdom, as well as towards the royal families
of the five kingdoms. Prime Minister, I don’t need to remind you that the
coalition forces of the four kingdoms are just stationed at your nation’s
border, right? It must be me who marries the Princess.”
Yang Dou continued smiling, but his heart was full of contempt for the
Prince of the Kang Kingdom. Even though the Kang Kingdom was not the
weakest among those that had surrounded the Stone Kingdom, they did not
have what it took to compete with the strongest contender. They were no
better than the Stone Kingdom. The coalition forces of the four kingdoms
were probably made up of hired machetemen from Golden Roc Fort, using
money from the Meng family of Jade City as well. Yang Dou scoffed
inwardly.
Yang Dou tried his best to appease the Prince of the Kang Kingdom without
telling him the truth, wanting to let this young man learn his lesson by
himself.
The second and third guests arrived almost at the same time, and after
exchanging greetings at the doorstep, they entered together, hand in hand.
Yang Dou could not help but tense up once he noticed the Special Envoys
from the Central Plain and Norland. They were the main contendors and it
was because of their interference that the Stone Kingdom was now in a
dilemma. One Princess was indeed not enough to save the kingdom.
It would be ideal if the two countries could send a Prince each from their
homeland to ask for the Princess’ hand in marriage, ensuring that the
remaining four kingdoms would not dare to oppose to it as well. What made
Yang Dou resentful was the fact that the two bigger countries would rather
hide behind the scenes and choose to pick a candidate instead, and now the
Stone Kingdom was caught in between each side.
The biggest disaster to a small kingdom would be to be the target of large

countries. Even now, Yang Dou was at a loss to who to greet first when the
two Special Envoys walked in together. He could only extend his arms and
pretend to be overjoyed at the sight of them together, exchanging greetings
like old friends. He had act informally and go against normal diplomatic
protocol so as to not offend either party.
Unlike the Prince of the Kang Kingdom, the two Special Envoys had
communicated with Yang Dou before -making their own speeches and
issuing their threats. Today, the purpose of their visit was more to judge and
supervise the competition for the princess.
Despite facing the messengers from the big countries, the Prince of Kang
Kingdom did not mask his displeasure. It was as though everyone was his
enemy and was trying to snatch the Princess away from him. This made Yang
Dou suspect that the next kingdom to fall among the five kingdoms would be
the Kang Kingdom.
The guests who arrived after that were much easier to handle as they were all
here to ask for the princess’s hand. There were three Princes from faraway
countries, and even the Prime Minister was confused as to how they managed
to get hold of the news of the marriage. Five chiefs from nearby tribes had
also sent their sons. Compared to the five of them, the Prince of the Kang
Kingdom appeared refined and cultured. There were also several sons of
wealthy businessmen, but rather than propose, they were primarily here to
catch a glimpse of the Princess’ beauty so that they would have something to
talk about.
These people were like dancers in an arena of beasts, helping the bloody
scene appear less savage.
The Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort arrived and Prime Minister
Yang Dou went to greet this unusual suitor with mixed feelings.
The Golden Roc Fort had once been the best ally of the Yang family.
Although Yang Dou detested the killing profession, he was very satisfied
with the assassins from the Golden Roc Fort after working together with
them on a few occasions.
At that time, the Golden Roc Fort had been very professional and seemed to
take on work only for money. It did not appear to harbor any improper
thoughts of expanding its influence.
It was not until the Supreme King sent someone to reveal his plans for the
Princess to become his daughter-in-law that Yang Dou realized his long-time
partner was already on the offensive. The Supreme King not only wanted
money, but the title of a real king as well.
Even if Norland no longer supported Golden Roc Fort, the Stone Kingdom
would probably not be able to reject the marriage proposal. The Stone
Kingdom only had a guard force of fewer than 300 men, one-third of which
was provided by Golden Roc Fort. The large sums of money spent by the Ju’s
and Yang’s were borrowed from the Meng family under the guarantee of the
Golden Roc Fort as well.
Now, the Stone Kingdom would have to pay for their short-sightedness and
greed.
In all fairness, Yang Dou would have picked the Ninth Young Master of
Golden Roc Fort out of all the suitors. Not only would the problem of the
huge debt be solved, it would bring the support of a major power for the
Stone Kingdom as well. Yang Dou was familiar with how the Golden Roc
Fort worked and strongly believed that the Yangs would still survive under
the wing of the Supreme King.
The only problem was Shangguan Fei’s lack of enthusiasm. He did not seem
very interested in becoming the Stone Kingdom Emperor’s son-in-law, or
sitting on the throne that would come with it. It was said that the Ninth
Young Master was cowardly and useless, and Yang Dou could not help but
agree with that description. The few times they had met, he had spoken
incoherently, or not at all, apart from conveying his father’s orders.
Shangguan Fei seemed like the odd one out when he entered the Council
Chamber. After greeting the Special Envoy from Norland, he sat
daydreaming in his seat, expressionless. Even when the Prince of the Kang
Kingdom glared at him, Shangguan Fei did not seem to care.
At least he’s not ugly and somewhat worthy of the Princess, Yang Dou
comforted himself.
Finally, the last guest arrived.
Yang Dou once thought that Dragon King would never reach the Stone
Kingdom, and thus save him from being in a dilemma. But the suitor who
suddenly appeared was merely late for a few days. Not only that, his killing
intent was strong as he entered the room. It was said that he and a female
bodyguard had killed almost a thousand bandits in the desert and escaped
unscathed.
Xiaoyao Lake and Jade City were separated by a desert, but communication
between them had never been disrupted. The stories about the Dragon King
were exaggerated as they spread, and by the time they reached the Stone
Kingdom, they had become horror stories.
It was said that the Dragon King had killed tens of thousands of people
within a short span of three years, and this alone was enough to make the
people of Stone Kingdom terrified beyond words; the population of the Stone
Kingdom was only about 40000 to 50000 people. The population of Stone
Kingdom itself was not enough for the Dragon King to kill in the next few
years.
It was only after more and more real news spread to the Stone Kingdom that
Yang Dou realized he had actually met Dragon King a few times before. It
was he who had cracked the murder of the First Prince. Not only did he
manage to force the murderer, who tried to attack him, to surrender, but also
managed to salvage the reputations of all parties involved.
The incident had left a deep impression on Yang Dou, but he would never
have expected that the smart young man would actually choose to become an
enemy of the Golden Roc Fort.
However, Yang Dou was still unwilling to let the Princess marry the Dragon
King. The Great Snowmountain was still a fairly new power and their future
was uncertain. It would be a huge risk to tie the fate of the Stone Kingdom
together with that of the Great Snowmountain .
Because of this, Yang Dou was warmer towards the Dragon King than to any
other suitor. If someone would offend the Dragon King, he hoped it would
not be himself.
Gu Shenwei walked into the Council Chamber and swept his eyes over the
crowd. Everybody quietened down and gazed at the monster in the their
legends.
Gu Shenwei did not care about the others and only nodded his head in the
direction of the Special Envoy from the Central Plains.
Everybody believed that the Central Plain supported the Great

Snowmountain, but only Gu Shenwei knew that the Central Plain had just
planned an assassination attack against him.
Chapter 337 - Sound Out
Chapter 337: Sound Out
After a night in the desert and two more nights dealing with the group of
bandits, Gu Shenwei arrived in the Stone Kingdom three days later than the
others. A lot of people were surprised to see him arrive at the courier station
of the Stone Kingdom, but they skillfully masked their shock.
Maid Lotus did not bring a lot of Blood Coagulation Pills with her and was
unwilling to use them on the bandits, thus she used the Jueyin Touch to help
them remove the effects of the Bliss Needle.
Jueyin Touch was similar to Mama Xue’s Peripheral Force. Although it

would not take effect immediately, the latent danger of qigong deviation had
already taken root in the body. As a result, the six bandits had no choice but
to listen to Maid Lotus.
Moreover, the newly subdued bandits were very unreliable. Gu Shenwei dealt
with them for two days and pried out a lot of information from He Sancai’s
mouth. He ordered a dozen of them who were relatively trustworthy to
contact more of their fellow people to come to the Stone Kingdom, while the
rest continued to hide in the desert on standby.
On the second day after arriving in the Stone Kingdom, he went to visit Yang
Dou - the Prime Minister - along with other suitors.
Yang Dou was shrewd and crafty. Although there was already a certain
someone in mind for the Emperor’s son-in-law, he still put on a flawless act
that nobody could see through. On behalf of the king, he proposed five
criteria for choosing a son-in-law: family background, literary talent, kung fu,
wealth, and character.
Everybody quickly measured their own advantages and disadvantages with
others and put forward questions and demands one after another. The Prince
of the Kang Kingdom insisted that “family background” should be the most
important criteria, while others felt that “literary talent” or “character” should
be the core of the criteria instead. No one touched on “kung fu” and “wealth”
because they knew that among the suitors, nobody could win against Dragon
King in terms of kung fu, and nobody could win against the Ninth Young
Master of Golden Roc Fort in terms of wealth.
But these two men did not say a word from start to end and just let everybody
else fight it out.
Both Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Fei were very clear that the person who
could decide on the choice of the prince consort was not Prime Minister Yang
Dou, nor was it the Princess herself or the King of the Stone Kingdom; it was
up to the two Special Envoys from Norland and the Central Plain.
Faced with the complicated situation, Yang Dou displayed his ability and
persuaded every suitor who put forward different opinions one by one. He
ensured that the whole process of choosing the prince consort would be fair
and reasonable, giving everyone a chance.
The whole morning was spent in quarrels as the suitors engaged in a battle of
words with each other. In the end, Yang Dou emerged as the winner because
none of the five criteria for choosing a son-in-law were changed despite the
heated discussions.
At noon, the palace hosted a banquet for all the guests to enjoy.
The King of Stone Kingdom only showed his face briefly at the banquet and
did not say much. After drinking a glass of wine symbolically, he left his seat
and the banquet was instead hosted by the Prime Minister.
The king was different from the memory that Gu Shenwei had of the Second
Prince. He was much older and his already thin body looked even frailer now.
Like a candle in the wind, it seemed like he could collapse anytime.
All suitors stayed in the courier station outside of the city, and the real
competition would begin after meeting with one another this time.
On that night, Gu Shenwei draped a cape and paid a visit to the Special
Envoy from the Central Plain.
On the surface, the Central Plain remained a supporter of Dragon King and
Gu Shenwei did not intend to fall out with him too soon. Moreover, from
what He Sancai confessed, it was Wei Song - the Commanding Officer of the
Western Region - who instigated the assassination of Dragon King. It was
still not clear whether the Special Envoy was aware of it.
The Special Envoy from the Central Plain was named Lin Tao and he was a
military commander. After working as an official in the Western Region for
many years, his words were filled with nostalgia for the Central Plain, and all
he wanted was to retire and return back to his country. “I am a southern man,
Every time I close my eyes, images of regions abound with rivers and lakes,
as well as boats floating in the watery towns, fill my mind. Yet, when I open
my eyes, there is nothing but yellow sand all around me. I would never come
to the Western Region ever again in my next life. Hehe, I heard that Dragon
King is from the Central Plain as well. Where’s your hometown? I’ve long
heard of General Gu’s reputation, but it’s a pity I lack fate to meet him…”
Gu Shenwei humored him carefully as he was not very good at dealing with
such figures from the officialdom. He thought that Zhong Heng could be a
very useful advisor if he was worthy of his trust.
Next, Lin Tao talked about the bandits in the desert, “They’ve overestimated
themselves! These people, how dare they lay their hands on the Dragon King!
But Dragon King, you are too polite indeed. If you knew that there were
people trying to block your way, why didn’t you let me know then? Although
I didn’t have a lot of men under me and they only had average abilities, it
would still have been possible for them to help you keep a lookout, you
know, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei thanked Mr. Lin sincerely for his concern and naturally pinned
Golden Roc Fort as the instigator of the bandits. “Supreme King had always
wanted to get rid of me, but he’s afraid of the wrath of the large countries and
hasn’t dared to send his own people. It’s shameless that he actually
encouraged these unpopular bandits to trap me to death in the desert.”
“Shameless indeed,” Lin Tao said sternly after listening to what Dragon King
said, vouching firmly to him. “The Central Plain will guarantee the safety of
the Dragon King, and this is by no means empty talk or intimidation. As long
as we have explicit evidence that Golden Roc Fort is behind this, we will
send our troops to the Supreme King. No matter how good his kung fu is, it’s
impossible for him to defeat the tens and thousands of troops that we have!”
For Lin Tao to actually give out such a clear threat as the Special Envoy of
the Central Plain, it goes to show that as the confidant of Wei Song - the
Commanding Officer of the Western Region - he was definitely aware of this
“shameless” attack.
The two talked again, and Lin Tao slowly moved onto the real business. His
mood was not very optimistic as he said, “The Stone Kingdom is very
important, isn’t it? The Stone Kingdom guards one of the two major entries
of Xiaoyao Lake. Once you obtain the Stone Kingdom, you will acquire the
entirety of Xiaoyao Lake - these words were indeed true. Although the five
kingdoms are not big, they are rich in resources, especially the refined iron
from Wushan; it’s unparalleled in this world…”
Lin Tao leaned towards Dragon King and then said, “Golden Roc Fort is
determined to win the marriage proposal this time and they have the backing
of Norland. The five criteria listed by Prime Minister Yang were obviously
more advantageous for Golden Roc Fort as well. Do you have any
countermeasures, Dragon King?”
Gu Shenwei prepared several plans but he did not intend to tell Lin Tao about
it, therefore he beat around the bush and first talked about the hatred between
the Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort. After that, he talked about
how the support of the Central Plain was important to them. All in all, it was
just a common conversation, until, finally, he said, “The Great
Snowmountain has just been recently established, thus we are still weak in
strength and are also nearly a thousand miles away from Xiaoyao Lake. We
don’t have any foundation here as well - in fact, there is no need for it. My
purpose for coming here was not to become the prince consort but to stop
Golden Roc Fort from growing their wings.”
Lin Tao bowed his head in deep thought and was somewhat surprised,
saying, “I see. Actually, Dragon King does have what it takes to be the prince
consort of the Stone Kingdom. Look at all these people coming to ask for the
marriage in hand: they are all princes. How are they comparable to you,
Dragon King? Haha, but since the Dragon King has no intention of vying for
the throne, I should not force you. I feel that, however, Dragon King should
choose a competitor who is well-matched in strength and can be pit against
Golden Roc Fort, and then fully support him. As long as he becomes the
prince consort, Golden Roc Fort naturally won’t be able to get what they
want.”
Gu Shenwei was clearly aware that this was the true intention of the Special
Envoy of the Central Plain. It was also a major reason why Wei Song - the
Commanding Officer of the Western Region - dared to assassinate Dragon
King and was not afraid of ruining the strategy of the Central Plain.
There was little use for weapons in this secret struggle. After thinking for a
moment, Gu Shenwei said, “In fact, I was thinking about this for a long time
as well. Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with the many countries of the
Western Region, and therefore don’t know which of these suitors is worth
manipulating. Mr. Lin, you’ve been an official in the Western Region for a
long time, so perhaps you can offer me some advice?”
Appearing to be vexed as though he could not make up his mind right now,
Lin Tao said, “It’s indeed difficult to find another suitor who can compete
with Golden Roc Fort other than Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei was intending to sound out his opinion, so he asked, “What

about the Prince of the Kang Kingdom? I understand that the two countries
had made marriage engagements in private.”
At this juncture, the experienced and vicious Lin Tao revealed part of his true
self. Without thinking, he quickly objected to Dragon King’s suggestion and
said, “No, that’s not good. The Kang Kingdom is weak and has always been
under the covert control of Golden Roc Fort and the Meng family. It’s highly
possible that he will go back on his word at the last minute, and this will ruin
your plans, Dragon King.”
The two of them did not come to a conclusion that night. Lin Tao claimed
that he would still need to understand the situation before giving Dragon
King a more specific suggestion.
Gu Shenwei returned to the accommodations that the courier station had

arranged for the Great Snowmountain. He first summoned Lin Xiaoshan and
inquired about Xu Yanwei.
“She has been sent to the palace and nobody noticed.”
Gu Shenwei nodded. The most advantageous weapon in his hand for this
marriage proposal battle was probably Xu Yanwei. She was very confident in
being able to persuade the King of the Stone Kingdom and even seemed very
happy to see him again. She said, “The Second Prince is a very nice man;
he’s gentle and considerate. Alas, if only I had followed him to the Stone
Kingdom, my life would have been very different, wouldn’t it?”
Xu Yanwei never once remembered the bad things done by her customers.
Even when the Second Prince had once sent someone to kill her, she did not
resent him. Being a little afraid, she asked, “He won’t do anything to me
again, will he?”
Gu Shenwei let Jiang follow as a maid and sent Guan Shang as a guard to
ensure Xu Yanwei’s safety.
Gu Shenwei believed that the King of the Stone Kingdom was unable to
protect even himself. The sudden appearance of Xu Yanwei would only give
rise to more suspicion, and he would not dare to lay his hands on her at all.
Lin Xiaoshan seemed quite worried, so he said, “There are a lot of spies
planted by Golden Roc Fort in the palace and I am afraid that they might
harm Madam Xu, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei looked at Lin Xiaoshan and pondered over his words. The
macheteman blushed slightly under Gu Shenwei’s stare.
“Rest assured, there are suitors from all countries residing outside the city.
Even if the people in the palace realize who Xu Yanwei is, they will not dare
to lay their hands on her.”
Lin Xiaoshan agreed without saying much and excused himself.
In the afternoon of the next day, Zhong Heng came to visit. He conveyed Lin
Tao’s suggestion and said, “Prince of the Loulan Kingdom: he has a noble
family background and is skilled in both literary and martial talents. Great
wealth resides in his kingdom and his character is impeccable. He can be the
strongest competitor against Golden Roc Fort, and Mr. Lin hoped that
Dragon King could find a chance to meet with him.”
“The Loulan Kingdom,” Gu Shenwei repeated in a low voice.
The Loulan Kingdom was the closest kingdom to the Central Plain out of all
the countries in the Western Region. They had been a loyal spokesman for
the Central Plain forces for many years. The kingdom was thousands of miles
away from Xiaoyao Lake and was separated by a vast gobi desert even, thus
for them to even know about the news of the Princess seeking a husband and
appearing on the list of suitors was a miracle in itself, so to speak.
Golden Roc Fort and Norland were adamant, but the Central Plain was a
force to be reckoned with as well.
Dragon King did not express his views for quite some time. Zhong Heng,
who was usually the best in beating around the bush, suddenly become very
direct and said, “May I know how I should report back to Mr. Lin, Dragon
King?”
“Say I completely agree with it, and please let Mr. Lin arrange for us to meet
as soon as possible.”
By right, the meeting should have ended by now, but Zhong Heng did not
leave the room. After rambling for a while, he finally stated his true intention,
“Has the Dragon King ever had doubts that perhaps Golden Roc Fort was not
the instigator for the bandits in the desert?”
Every month, Zhong Heng would receive a sum of taels from Dragon King.
Likewise, he also had grudges with Wei Song - the Commanding Officer of
the Western Region; however, Gu Shenwei still couldn’t trust him
completely, so he probed, “What do you mean, Lord Zhong?”
Beating around the bush like this could take up a lot of time and Zhong Heng
was fully aware that he would need to show his sincerity first in this game, so
he put his cards on the table and said, “Lord Wei would never let you off,
Dragon King, and he would never let me off either. He knew the culprit
behind the death of Master Wei Lingmiao. If I guessed correctly, once the
marriage of the Princess of the Stone Kingdom is settled, the two of us would
be met with mishaps, Dragon King.”
Chapter 338 - Pledging Allegiance
Chapter 338: Pledging Allegiance
Zhong Heng was smart, sometimes too smart. All his previous bosses knew
that none of their private matters escaped him, thus made sure that he was not
frequently promoted and at last, his ambitions died. In his own words, he now
wanted nothing more than to get rich and find a peaceful place to live his last
years.
To him, pouring out his heart to someone was not only ridiculous but also
dangerous. However, he decided to trust Dragon King, if only for the chance
of fortune and security for the rest of his days. “I pledge allegiance to you, to
help you become a real king and even claim the entire Western Region.”
Gu Shenwei was slightly taken aback. He had always appreciated Zhong

Heng and had learned many useful principles from him. Therefore, he found
it hard to imagine that someone as slippery as him would take their chances
with him, whose status was not yet established. “Commandant Zhong is an
Officer from the Central Plain.”
Zhong Heng gave out a wry smile. “I am indeed, but the Superior Officer of
the Central Plain wants me dead! Wei Song is crafty, he must have known
who killed Wei Lingmiao and that I’m involved. Before, he was in the
Central Plain giving a report of his work and could not do anything about me.
Now he’s the powerful Commanding Officer of the Western Region. How
am I supposed to compete with that? To be honest, I have nowhere to go but
to Dragon King.”
It sounded like a perfect reason, but Gu Shenwei still did not accept it
immediately. For those who volunteered information too readily, there was a
fine line between being too enthusiastic and invoking arrogance, and being
too suspicious and making them disheartened. Gu Shenwei could not say that
he could navigate it well; he could only try to get close.
“What about Shangguan Nu? He was also involved in the murder of Wei
Lingmiao; isn’t he worried about Wei Song’s revenge?”
“He’s a different matter entirely. He now holds an important position and is

an indispensable pawn of Central Plain. In my opinion, if Jade City is in
turmoil, and the Central Plain army is not ready to fight, Shangguan Nu will
likely be made Supreme King. In the case of that, even if Wei Song knows
Shangguan Nu is an accomplice, he can only play dumb.”
“Doesn’t Shangguan Nu protect you?”
“Well, we never talk about it. But it’s obvious. He has nothing to worry
about, he is not on the same boat as me. Why would he protect me? But, if I
am on the same boat with the Dragon King, we can help each other. No, you
are the one steering; I’ll help you row.”
Gu Shenwei was impressed. In truth, he had known Zhong Heng was at a

crossroads; he just wanted Zhong Heng to say it out loud.
Words were magical, when they were buried in one’s heart, they could grow
into whatever form their owner wanted; but once they were spoken aloud,
these fleeting syllables would take on a fixed form that would shape their
owner instead.
Pledging allegiance was similar. When it was just an idea, betrayal and
loyalty were just amorphous concepts, it could take on any form it liked. But,
when it was spoken, it was binding.
The shaping could be modest, but also unbreakable. But no matter what, it
began its work.
Gu Shenwei was familiar with both pledging and receiving an allegiance. He

knew that the frequent pledges that Luo Ningcha required were only
guaranteed by the power of words. Yet, at the same time, without prescribed
rules, any allegiance could be untrustworthy.
He stood up and spoke the words that he had been pondering. He was not
fully satisfied with them, but it was the best he could do. “In my heart,
Commandant Zhong has been a good friend and teacher. You have taught me
a lot. Now that we have the same enemy, I’d like to fight against them beside
you.”
Zhong Heng knew what he had to do. He knelt on one leg, bowed his head
and said, “Dragon King, please accept my allegiance.”
This was a simple ceremony. The two sides did not completely trust each
other. But it had been an important step because they would not have to
investigate each other but could go straight to business.
Zhong Heng wanted riches and Gu Shenwei desired information and advice.
“According to my estimation, in two more years, the provisions and supplies

that the Central Plain will have stored in the Western Region will be able to
feed an army of 100,000 soldiers. When countries like the Loulan Kingdom
come to their aid, the army will expand to almost 150,000 soldiers. At that
time, their only rival in the Western Region will be Norland.”
It was only now that Gu Shenwei knew how dire the situation was. All these
years, the Central Plain had been expanding slowly in the Western Region,
giving the impression that they would not act in the near future. But it had
been a facade. Their soldiers could march into the Western Region anytime.
What would finally cripple the Western Region was their supplies, and
Central Plain had been secretly hoarding supplies, in order to get the Western
Region under control once for all.
If the Great Snowmountain wanted to become independent, they had to

possess a piece of land first. Fang Wenshi’s plan to get the throne in five to
ten years was far too optimistic.
“The Central Plain’s only concern is Norland.” Zhong Heng continued.

Having lived in the Western Region for years, he was accustomed to the
mindset and felt indifferent to the country. “Khan is badly sick and will die at
any time. I guess the Central Plain is waiting for him to die and for Norland
to go into turmoil. When they can’t attend the Western Region in the south,
the Central Plain will simply march through the main passage to the Western
Region or even go up north.”
When the Central Plain seized the Western Region, Dragon King and his
Great Snowmountain would become redundant.
Zhong Heng was a junior officer and had no access to confidential

information. He could only speculate and had not developed any plans. Still,
Gu Shenwei was in need of a resourceful counselor like Fang Wenshi.
But the threat of the Western Region was still far off. The nearest danger was
from Wei Song. “Special Envoy Mr. Lin has brought 50 guard troops, 10 of
them are not local, they came from the Central Plain. I would say the bandits
in the desert are just pawns, the real master is among the 10.”
“They were sent by the Central Plain?”
“I’m not sure, perhaps you might be able to tell. I’ll arrange for you to meet
them.”
Though Wei Song had evil intentions, Gu Shenwei did not want to fight him
in the open, and definitely not so soon. The Central Plain was the Great
Snowmountain’s biggest benefactor. Though not entirely definitively, it
could easily scare away other forces in the Western Region. “It’s best that we
don’t do it the antagonistic way. I don’t think Wei Song will fight us openly.”
“Yes, you’re right. Mr. Wei is the Commanding Officer of the Western
Region and the alliance with the Great Snowmountain was made by the
previous Commanding Officer, he won’t openly abandon it so soon. In fact, I
have an idea, but I’m not sure how you’ll like it.”
“Go ahead.”
“You have to be the Emperor’s son-in-law.”
Zhong Heng did not elaborate any further, he believed that the Dragon King
knew his meaning.
The Central Plain hoped to use the Stone Kingdom to control the entire
Xiaoyao Lake — it was their basic strategy. Lin Tao had chosen the Loulan
Kingdom Prince as his puppet, but if the Dragon King managed to eke out,
Wei Song would be forced to continue allying with the Dragon King and
Great Snowmountain and would have to abort the assassination.
In the case of Zhong Heng, as long as the Dragon King was alive, Wei Song
would not act so rashly as to kill him.
Gu Shenwei had never liked the Stone Kingdom Princess. Part of what he
told Lin Tao was true; the Xiaoyao Lake was far away from the Great
Snowmountain. Even if he claimed that territory, it was like distant water that
could not quench the present thirst. It would help much in defeating the
Golden Roc Fort.
Now, he needed to think about how to marry the Princess.
Zhong Heng could not stay for long, and after the discussion, he withdrew.
In the evening, Maid Lotus finally returned.
Maid Lotus did not openly present herself to Dragon King in the Stone
Kingdom. Just as she left the desert, she put on a disguise to search for the
Four Truths Temple monks.
The monks did not stay in the royal palace; instead, they had settled at
Nengjue Temple in the city. Nengjue Temple was not big, but it was Stone
Kingdom’s national temple. It was conveniently located close to the royal
palace.
“It’s true that the King is going to abdicate and become a monk.” Maid Lotus
brought back a lot of useful intelligence. “The monks are busy preparing. It
looks like that the King will shave his hair before the Princess gets married.
You have to be the Emperor’s son-in-law; you don’t even need to have a son
to get the throne.”
“I don’t want to be the Emperor’s son-in-law…” Gu Shenwei had not

decided yet, but he would rather not discuss it with Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus did not press. “The good news is that it is not just the old monk
who practices the Sumeru Mustard divine kung fu, some of his disciples
practice it too. But they’re too dumb to master it; I think I can capture one of
them to interrogate.”
Maid Lotus had benefited from Fayan’s Internal Strength and had never
forgotten it since.
“Don’t.” Gu Shenwei thought it was not the top priority at the moment, “I
need you to do something for me.”
“Alright.”
“Special Emissary from the Central Plains has 50 guard troops; the Central
Plain may have planted masters among them. Go and find out, but don’t
engage.”
Maid Lotus did not ask any further. Before leaving, she took out a pile of
papers. “I said I would tell you all the secrets of the New Moon Hall. This is
part of it, I’ll write down the rest. You’d better destroy it afterward; I don’t
want the New Moon Hall people to find out.”
Gu Shenwei put them away and said nothing. After she had left, he carefully
read through them.
The first thing she presented was the New Moon Hall’s most important occult
science, the Divine Rotation.
The Divine Rotation was indeed a wicked kung fu, the practicer would not
gain Internal Strength through it, and must consume others’ to feed himself to
recover his Qi.
Not only the cultivation method was written down in detail, but the pained
reactions of each victim were listed. The inventor of the practice seemed to
relish them.
One of the reactions was letting out continuous bloodcurdling screams. Monk
Fayan had learned it somehow and knew that someone was practicing the
Divine Rotation in the tent.
( Updated by NovelFull.Com )
Even if he fully trusted Maid Lotus, he would not practice such a method. He
held out the paper to the candle but suddenly changed his mind. He folded the
paper and carefully put it away.
It was dark outside, but Gu Shenwei did not intend to sleep. He wanted to
meet Shangguan Fei. He always had the feeling that other than getting the
Stone Kingdom Princess, the Supreme King had a larger plot, a plot that he
was not even close to deciphering.
Chapter 339 - Rumors
Chapter 339: Rumors
Gu Shenwei was ready and believed that he had to overcome many obstacles
before meeting Shangguan Fei.
The Ninth Young Master valued his precious life very much and normally
could be found wishing that there was a way to have all his guards around his
bedside while he slept. Even if that were possible, he would have also wanted
to be able to sleep with eyes wide open and ears pricked up.
Unexpectedly, as Gu Shenwei checked himself into the courier station in the

Stone Kingdom, he found that Shangguan Fei seemed to have complete faith
in the security level there. The guards were so slack that it all felt like a trap.
After observing for a long while, Gu Shenwei decided that he should reveal
himself, so went up openly to call on Shangguan Fei.
It seemed that the attendant at the entrance knew that Dragon King would be
coming and he announced the guest’s arrival loudly to the occupants of the
courier station. After which, he led Dragon King into the main hall
respectfully.
During their meeting with the Prime Minister of Stone Kingdom, Shangguan
Fei was so gloomy that he looked like an old man who was very ill. Now,
however, he was a youth and all smiles, welcoming Dragon King in a
dramatic manner and with too much enthusiasm.
“Dragon King graces us with his presence and livens up our humble
dwelling. Please sit over here. Quick, serve the drinks! Do you drink alcohol,
Dragon King? It’s such a cold night and the perfect time to drink and rejoice
about the good times. Oh, pardon me, pardon me, that’s a name you wish to
forget an affront to you. (Note: The word joy in Mandarin is ‘Huan’ and
Shangguan Fei is referring to the Dragon King’s old name as Slave Huan
here) Oh, you are still as teetotal as before. Say, it’s got me thinking about
the past. Every incident is still so fresh to me and the changes to you, Dragon
King…”
Gu Shenwei had to admit that he was bamboozled by Shangguan Fei. They

were known enemies, and even though both their camps were negotiating for
peace, he did not have to go out of the way to treat the Dragon King as
warmly as he was a good friend.
There were many people in the hall and the attendants rushed about, serving
drinks and snacks. After everything was done, they tactfully left.
Shangguan Hong was also present. His new role was to break the ice and
liven up the atmosphere when both Shangguan Fei and the Dragon King did
not want to talk. “I still remember the scene when you were playing with the
two young masters in the Stone Castle, Dragon King. To be honest, you made
all of us apprentices envious. Even at that time, you already seemed to be
different from the others…”
Gu Shenwei had never been the recipient of such blatant and fawning flattery
before. The swordsmen of the Great Snow Mountain were taciturn, and he
had got used to living with those unyielding men. He was really no match for
such fierce boot-licking.
Throughout the entire conversation, he spoke very little and did not drop his
guard for even a little bit. He would not become smug and complacent even if
he was flattered anymore than this.
Furthermore, Shangguan Ru was at her brother’s side.
She had disguised herself as part of the retinue on the way to the Stone
Kingdom and had reverted back to her original appearance by then. Wearing
a long dress with narrow sleeves made for ease of movement and she also
wore a saber at her waist. She was seated in a dignified manner and was the
only person in the hall not making a big fuss out of the Dragon King’s
presence.
She was as reticent as Gu Shenwei and gazed out of the window, her thoughts
seemingly elsewhere; however, when Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong’s
flattery became further outrageous, to the point where he even began
describing her as Slave Huan’s lackey in the past, she could not take it
anymore. Standing up in a flurry, she grasped the hilt of her saber. “What a
disgrace, is there no place for the dignity of the Shangguan Family in your
hearts?”
She cast her wide, black eyes at Gu Shenwei and it looked as if she wanted to
start a fight; however, the tense moment only lasted for a short while and
very quickly she shifted her gaze somewhere else and stormed out of the hall.
Shangguan Fei displayed a look of incomprehension and surprise. “What’s

the matter with her? Why’s she offended when us old friends are reminiscing
about the past? Pay her no mind, Dragon King - Little sister is unhappy. To
be honest, hehe, she misses you even more than us.”
Gu Shenwei was also becoming a little impatient and said, “Shangguan Fei, I
believe that we are both already very familiar with each other.”
“That’s right, that’s right,” replied Shangguan Fei. He cast Shangguan Hong
a look and the latter tactfully left. He bowed to his master and retreated
backward with small steps - his humility portraying him as a slave of the
lowest rank.
“I guessed that you would come calling within these two days, Dragon
King,” said Shangguan Fei. Even though they were alone now, he was still
trying to worm his way into Gu Shenwei’s good books.
“Right, I’m here now. I wish to discuss that deal with you.”
Previously, in the small tavern of Shuangquan Village, Shangguan Fei had

offered his sister in exchange for the Dragon King to back out from the race
to become the Emperor’s son-in-law. Hearing that the Dragon King wished to
resume discussion about the matter, Shangguan Fei’s eyes lit up. “You’ve
seen my sister, she…”
“It has nothing to do with her,” said replied Gu Shenwei firmly. “I need other
benefits.”
Shangguan Fei appeared slightly puzzled at his statement but very quickly
understood what Dragon King was implying. “Please state your terms,
Dragon King. As long as I can become the Emperor’s son-in-law, I will agree
to any conditions.”
“You can marry the princess, but cannot become King.”
Shangguan Fei looked awkward as he replied, “This, Dragon King, is not up

to me to decide. It’s an arrangement made by his Lord, and regardless of
whether I accept it or not, the King of Stone Kingdom will abdicate the
throne and go into monkhood. It’s pointless to reject it.”
“You don’t have to bother about that. You just have to openly declare that
you will never have designs on the throne.”
“Ah, I know. You wish to have the monk of the Four Truths Temple… after
which, it will be impossible for the King to become a monk,” Shangguan Fei
said, mimicking the pose of an executioner beheading someone.
Gu Shenwei’s reply was the same, “I said, you don’t have to bother about
that.”
Shangguan Fei nodded, seemingly enlightened. “I promise, but I can make

such a declaration now. I vow that I will make the announcement at the same
time when I am anointed as consort to the princess. Nevertheless, I believe
that you surely know that this will make it seem as though I am just biding
my time and not to be believed to the others.”
“This will do just fine,” Gu Shenwei said as he stood up, ready to take his
leave. “A warning for you: Your competitor is not me, but the Prince of
Loulan Kingdom,” he added.
Shangguan Fei immediately understood what Dragon King meant, and said,
“The Special Emissary from the Central Plain…”
Gu Shenwei left the hall. He realized that the courier station was not too big,
and many people had to rest outside in tents. It was no more than a hundred
or so steps from Dragon King’s quarters.
His trip had not cleared all of his doubts. Shangguan Fei was extremely
clever and on the surface, he seemed to be flattering Dragon King, but in
reality, he had managed to keep his intentions well under wraps. Gu Shenwei
still did not understand what the Ninth Young Master was exactly afraid of
and why he had to work with Dragon King. Furthermore, Shangguan Fei was
not afraid that news of their cooperation would leak out to the public.
During the meeting, Shangguan Hong seemed to be competing with his

master over who could ingratiate himself better with the Dragon King. Just as
Gu Shenwei arrived back at his lodgings, Lin Xiaoshan came announcing that
Shangguan Hong was seeking an audience with Dragon King.
Shangguan Hong was more at ease with himself than Shangguan Fei was,
perhaps due to the fact that many of his secrets were already made known to
Gu Shenwei. He did not beat around the bush and spoke immediately after he
entered, “You have to save me, Dragon King.”
“That will depend on how much of what you say is true.”
Shangguan Hong looked as if he was prepared to say the truth. Clasping his
palms together, he paced back and forth with a look of distraught, panic and
worry on his face. He stopped after a while and lifted his head to speak.
“There are reports saying that after the princess has chosen her consort, and
that you have plans to slaughter every suitor coming from Golden Roc Fort.”
“Do you believe that?” asked Gu Shenwei coldly. He felt that Shangguan
Hong was not as composed as Shangguan Fei and there may be a possibility
for him to create an opening here.
Shangguan Hong shook his head and replied, “I don’t believe it.”
“What are you worried about, then?”
“I’m not worried about you, Dragon King. I’m worried about the person
spreading these rumors.”
Gu Shenwei was suddenly enlightened and came to understand the entire
conspiracy; however, he felt that it was too outrageous to be true and thus did
not speak about it, letting Shangguan Hong continue.
“Someone - whether they be a male or female - wishes to cause the ceasefire

between you and Golden Roc Fort to fail, Dragon King. As a result, a few or
maybe even a batch of sacrificial lambs from the fort have to be selected.”
Shangguan Hong was extremely agitated after he finished speaking as he

raised both his arms in an exaggerated manner, looking as though he was
seeking redress from the heavens. “Why is it always me who is the unlucky
one? All I have is the empty title of Supreme King’s son. After all these
years, I have not even earned the right to speak to his Lord, yet when
somebody needs to be sacrificed, I’m chosen.”
“Shangguan Fei is aware of this matter as well?”
“Perhaps. The two of us rarely speak to each other; he’s the master and I am
but merely the ‘slave’,” Shangguan Hong said, the resentment in his tone
undiminished. “You can deduce from his performance that he most likely
knows that this trip will not end well. Isn’t his motive for openly being
friendly with you to let everyone know that you have no reason to kill him?
He believes that by doing so, the scheme cannot be carried out. But what
does he have to worry about? He’s the legitimate son of Supreme King and
the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort. No matter what, he will not be
selected to be sacrificed.”
Gu Shenwei stared at Shangguan Hong, surmising how much of the latter’s

words were true. “Zhang Ji told you all of this.”
Shangguan Hong was agape with surprise, lowering his head as he replied,
“Yes, Mister Zhang warned me to be careful.”
“This is the secret Zhang Ji left with you?”
Shangguan Hong laughed. It was as if he had expected the Dragon King

would be asking him about Zhang Ji’s secret. “Hehe, Dragon King, I can tell
you about anything except for this; however, rest assured that I will let you
know the secret once the princess has chosen her consort. Zhang Ji said…
forget it. I cannot divulge the secret now, it’s my current insurance.”
Gu Shenwei did not continue pressing Shangguan Fei, even though he knew
that the latter would spill everything out once he drew the Five Peaks Saber.
Before he found out what Zhang Ji’s real motives were, he decided not to fall
for Shangguan Fei’s words yet. It seemed that the tutor without any real
authority in Golden Roc Fort was playing an extremely complicated game
here and he was only a secondary character in it.
He walked up to Shangguan Hong, saying, “I wish to help you, but you have
to put in some effort too. Tell me, who exactly was the person spreading the
rumors?”
“I don’t know, I really don’t. But… it’s pretty obvious. You know, other than
his Lord…”
Gu Shenwei knew, and this was exactly the part where he felt it was too
incredible to be true. Why would the Supreme King sacrifice two of his sons
to push the blame of dishonoring the ceasefire agreement onto me? Everyone
knows that there aren’t many males left to carry on the name of the
Shangguan Family, he thought.
The pressure was on Gu Shenwei now, and he felt as if there was a huge
beast drawing nearer to him in the dark; he could hear its breathing but could
not pinpoint where its huge mouth was.
He let Shangguan Hong leave while remaining behind in the room to ponder
over the entire issue. After he was done, he summoned three of his
accompanying swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain and gave them
some instructions. He made them remember the instructions before ordering
them to set off back to their base camp.
If Supreme King truly had any intentions of dishonoring the peace

agreement, the thousands of people in the Great Snow Mountain camp would
be in grave danger.
The next day, Gu Shenwei found an opportunity to meet up with Zhong Heng
and relayed the strange conspiracy to the latter. Zhong Heng considered the
issue from a different angle, and spoke after a long period of deep thought,
“The true motive of this rumor might not be the sacrifice of the two sons of
Supreme King, but of you, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei believed that Zhong Heng’s deduction was somewhat justified

as it made sense out of Golden Roc Fort’s supreme confidence in winning
over the Princess of Stone Kingdom’s hand.
Chapter 340: Bribery
An ominous odor of death pervaded the air around the courier station, as
more and more people heard rumors - through various communication
channels - that the Dragon King was about to slaughter the other competitors.
At the same time, absurd news had begun spreading as well: There were
unknown people planning to get rid of the Dragon King.
These conflicting yet potentially bloody rumors had kept those people who
were not aware of the situation awake at night due to fear. A few suitors who
came from wealthy merchant families were the first to crack under the
pressure and consecutively announced their withdrawal from the royal
consort selection process - even before it begun.
They came here with the purpose of enjoying the atmosphere and did not
wish to die for no reason in a bid to win the Princess’s hand in marriage.
The other suitors were adamant about staying, especially the sons of the five
tribal chiefs. They knew little about the Dragon King and did not care much
about the possibility of bloodshed.
Because of the rumors, Gu Shenwei realized that he had become a harbinger

of doom and he received special attention wherever he went. Many residents
of the capital of Stone Kingdom especially traveled to the entrance of the
courier station just to catch a glimpse of him from afar. Audible gasps from
the crowd could be heard whenever his hand went to the hilt of his saber.
However, less than two days later, the latest update was that Dragon King
had become good friends with the two young masters of Golden Roc Fort.
The previously sworn enemies were even hosting banquets for each other,
and many people had also witnessed it firsthand. There were no signs of each
side wanting to start a fight against the other at all.
This perplexed everyone.
As such, the Special Envoy from the Central Plain, Lin Tao, summoned the
Dragon King for a meeting to discover the reason behind his actions.
“I need to understand the motives of Golden Roc Fort,” Gu Shenwei

explained. “I do not wish to start a massacre in Stone Kingdom, nor do I
really wish to make peace with them.”
At least on the surface, Lin Tao expressed full confidence in Dragon King
and very quickly, he introduced the latter to the Prince of Loulan Kingdom.
Being a youth of about 19 years of age, the Prince of Loulan Kingdom was
handsome and spoke in a refined manner. During the meeting, he also
showed just the right amount of respect to Dragon King.
The two of them did not talk about the Princess of Stone Kingdom but merely
chatted idly and became acquainted with each other. After their initial
meeting, Gu Shenwei felt that the candidate chosen by the Central Plain was
quite an ideal choice as well - if he were the King of Stone Kingdom and
there was no pressure from outside forces, he would definitely pick the Prince
of Loulan Kingdom as the prince consort.
Finally, the consort selection process had officially begun.
The first round was family background. Each suitor had to submit his family
tree for inspection to prove that he was of a noble bloodline from many
generations ago.
Gu Shenwei had always claimed publicly that he was of the Yang clan, and
even though the Yang clan had some bearing amongst the martial arts
community of the Central Plain, its reputation in the Western Region was
close to nothing. Luckily, Fang Wenshi had already prepared for this and
compiled an acceptable family lineage for Dragon King.
Fang Wenshi did not state Dragon King’s origins of the Yang clan, rather, he
listed down the history of the Great Snowmountain instead. The lineage
started from generations mentioned in the legends up until Dragon King took
over from the chiefs. His flamboyant writing proved that the people of the
Great Snowmountain were descendants from the Emperor of the Central
Plain from three dynasties before and they had made the long migration to the
Great Snowmountain and took refuge there. He claimed that the title of
“Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks” was bestowed upon
Dragon King by the gods.
This description of the Dragon King’s genealogy caused many problems for
Prime Minister Yang Dou. He dared not proclaim the contents as false, as it
would be akin to challenging the Dragon King. Yet, he could not certify its
authenticity as well since it would mean that Dragon King was of a more
noble lineage than even the King of the Stone Kingdom himself.
In the end, Yang Dou came up with a solution. He would only pick the best
out of all the family trees submitted and would not comment or rank the
others.
Therefore, the Prince of the Kang Kingdom got what he wished for as his
lineage was proclaimed the noblest out of all the suitors. The reason that
Yang Dou gave the win to him, was that there were numerous intermarriages
between both the Stone and Kang Kingdoms, therefore it was only natural for
the prince to have more points in this aspect.
Along with that, the Stone Kingdom had to give some face to the Prince of
the Kang Kingdom as they were part of the five kingdoms in Xiaoyao Lake
as well.
Next up was a competition of literary talent. Each suitor had to submit an

essay praising the beauty of the Princess.
The sons of the tribal chiefs were flummoxed by this and caused a huge
commotion as they went looking for the Prime Minister. “I want to see the
Princess. How can I write anything without even meeting her?” “It wouldn’t
be a problem to write a few hundred words about her if I can see her just
once.”
Yang Dou spent a lot of effort explaining to them what a competition of
literary talent entailed. “Imagine how the Princess looked like, and if you
really can’t, you may make it up. It’s not a competition about the accuracy of
the description of her looks, but rather whose writing is more elegant,” he
said.
“Elegant writing? Writings are all about the same, do you mean to say that
characters from the language of the Central Plains would look better than
ours?”
Thankfully, Gu Shenwei’s essay did not rank the last, nor did it become a
laughing joke with the help of these people.
The Prince of Loulan Kingdom won first place in this round and everyone
was convinced by the results except for, not surprisingly, the sons of the
tribal chiefs.
The third round was about kung fu. Most of the candidates knew their place
and forfeited the competition except for three sons of the tribal chiefs, who
openly challenged the Dragon King to battle.
More than half of the city’s population came to watch the competition on the
day itself. The first contestant wielded a huge saber, about tens of catties
heavy, and just as he swung it over his head, four of his fingers were already
sliced off by the Dragon King. He withdrew from the competition, howling
loudly from the pain of defeat. Upon seeing this, the other two contestants
immediately forfeited the competition.
It was supposed to be a duel that would go down in history for Stone

Kingdom, yet it concluded in less than 15 minutes from start to end.
The fourth round of the competition was about wealth.
Prime Minister Yang Dou had prepared many huge wooden dippers at the
entrance of the palace, and all the suitors had to do was to pour gold into
them. The one who poured the most would be declared the winner of this
round.
Unfortunately, the Dragon King was ranked last for this round. The gold that
he brought was not enough to even cover the bottom of the dipper fully, and
his results were even shabbier than the sons of the tribal chiefs.
The wealth competition had overtaken the kung fu competition as the most
closely watched round in the consort selection process.
The few sons of the tribal chiefs soon conceded defeat after the Dragon King
had done so; even the richest of them could only fill half a dipper.
The competition waged most intensely amongst three people: Shangguan Fei,
as well as the princes from the Kang and Loulan Kingdoms.
Carriage after carriage carrying gold was shipped from Golden Roc Fort, and
as the competition continued into the evening of the second day, the amount
of gold from Shangguan Fei had already filled up five dippers and weighed
tens of thousands of catties heavy. He had finally defeated the other two
worthy opponents and won a unanimous victory, gaining an important point
for himself.
All of the gold was kept sealed. If the contestant became the prince consort,
the gold that he presented during the competition would serve as a betrothal
gift while everybody else’s gold would be returned as it was.
It was an arrangement that everyone agreed to readily, simply because it was

common knowledge that the consort of the princess would become King of
the Stone Kingdom sooner or later, therefore the ‘betrothal gift’ would
eventually fall back into his hands.
There were four winners from the previous rounds of the competition: Prince
of the Kang Kingdom with the best lineage, Prince of the Loulan Kingdom
who possessed good literary talent, Dragon King who won in kungfu, and
Shangguan Fei, who had the most wealth overall.
They were now left with the last segment of the competition - Character. This
was also the hardest to judge out of the rest. Yang Dou came up with a
splendid idea: All of the 11 suitors, along with the King of the Stone
Kingdom himself, would have to cast a vote each for the person they deemed
to have the best character amongst all the contestants. The person with the
most votes would be declared the winner of the character contest.
His reason was very simple - the person who could win the approval from his
competitors would definitely have the best character amongst them.
If the winner of this round was also one of the winners from the previous four
rounds, then he would be declared the prince consort. If not, Yang Dou
would have to come up with another competition until a suitor won two
rounds of the event.
The brilliant part about the plan was that in the quest to become the prince
consort, the four previous winners who had the best hope of becoming the
prince consort would be forced to use all sorts of means to bribe the other
seven competitors. In this way, almost everyone had something to gain from
and Stone Kingdom would not have to spend a single tael of silver at all.
Yang Dou gave everyone three days to think about who they should vote for.
As such, the open competition had turned into people pitting against each
other in secret. The special envoys from Norland and the Central Plain no
longer concealed their motives and personally visited each suitor as they
attempted to entice or force the voters into voting for the candidate that they
supported.
As an onlooker, Gu Shenwei gained the trust of both parties on the surface.

As a result, he already knew about the vote count for each candidate after the
end of the first day.
Surprisingly, both Shangguan Fei and the Prince of Loulan Kingdom each
claimed to be equal with eight votes each; however, this didn’t add up
because that would mean the total votes were more than the highest possible
count of 12 votes if this was true.
Gu Shenwei knew that if this were the case, that means there were three other
people, aside from himself, who double promised their votes to both Norland
and the Central Plain.
The conflicting counts were soon discovered by both parties and therefore a
new round of alliance-making began. This time, the lobbying became even
bolder.
The Special Envoy from the Central Plain summoned Dragon King for
another meeting and made an exception as he did not beat around the bush
this time. He went straight to the point and said, “I suppose you should know
how important the support of the Central Plain means to the Great
Snowmountain, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei nodded.
“Does that mean I can place my complete faith in you, is it right to say that?
You’ve been very close with Shangguan Fei lately, Dragon King. You
wouldn’t change your mind at the very last minute and vote for him, would
you?”
“The Great Snowmountain knows its place and would never go against our
promise to the Central Plain. Furthermore, Golden Roc Fort will always be
our enemy. I will never help Shangguan Fei,” lied Gu Shenwei, naturally
because he knew that the Special Envoy from the Central Plains was lying as
well.
Maid Lotus had been observing Lin Tao’s guard troops in secret and noticed
that they were all kung fu experts with extraordinary skills who were
purposely dressed as normal guards. They completely matched the list
provided by Zhong Heng and they rarely ventured out, neither did they try to
start fights with anyone, but there were visible traces of their skills reflected
in their behavior. It would be extremely hard for commoners to notice it - but
not for Maid Lotus.
These 10 kung fu experts were the assassins sent by Wei Song to murder
Dragon King and Zhong Heng. Gu Shenwei knew very well that they both
kept secrets from each other, but he pretended that he knew nothing about the
assassins.
“Someone is trying to double-cross me,” said Lin Tao as he squinted and

looked sullen, no longer as composed as before. “I will not show that person
any mercy when I find out who he is,” he continued.
“It’s a crucial period for all of us and you shouldn’t overreact about it, Mr.
Lin. Focus on finding out who these double-crossers are and try to persuade
them.”
Lin Tao nodded in agreement; however, he was extremely cautious and still
refused to give out the specific list of names.
In comparison, Shangguan Fei had much less trust in the Dragon King. He
thought that he would be able to win the competition easily and did not
expect to encounter such a huge obstacle in the process. He asked, “Be honest
with me, Dragon King. You made a promise to both parties to vote for them,
am I right?”
“No,” Gu Shenwei continued to lie. “Why should I vote for the Central Plain
after they had cast us away? Furthermore, if the Prince of Loulan Kingdom
was to become the prince consort, he would definitely accept the throne of
the Stone Kingdom and become a willing puppet of the Central Plain. This
does not bode well for Great Snowmountain.”
“Do you really have a way to prevent the King of the Stone Kingdom from
abdicating his throne?” asked Shangguan Fei anxiously; he was confused by
the Dragon King’s standing as well.
“Yes, but I would need your cooperation. You will be the prince consort and
I will help the Stone Kingdom to maintain its political independence - this is
our deal.”
“Yes, yes. Sigh, it’s not easy to be the prince consort as well. The Lord
apparently said that everything had already been arranged, so why is it still
turning out this way?”
The first person to be revealed as a swing voter was the Prince of the Kang
Kingdom. He had spent a considerable amount of effort to lobby for himself
but was enraged when he realized no one was going to support him.
Therefore, he decided to benefit at the expense of both parties at play; by
getting a large enough monetary reward if he was going to lose. Even when
he was exposed, he was not embarrassed about it and announced publicly that
he would vote for the party who offered more money.
The entire second day was spent in open struggles and covert maneuvering to
get the support of the Prince of the Kang Kingdom. First, threats were issued
followed by the increased number of bribes. The servants who were
responsible for passing messages between the involved parties were as busy
as ants scurrying around different locations.
As it drew closer to midnight, Norland and Golden Roc Fort won the decisive
victory. Shangguan Fei won the vote of the Prince of the Kang Kingdom with
a promise of an unknown monetary reward. He was ahead of the Prince of
Loulan Kingdom by seven to eight votes.
Gu Shenwei felt that this was an unwise move on the Prince of the Kang
Kingdom’s part as it would invite unrest to his kingdom, but his actions had
also drawn everyone’s attention and this, in turn, brought Dragon King some
valuable time to prepare for the final battle.
Chapter 341 - Made Use Of
Chapter 341: Made Use Of
The Prince of Kang Kingdom had been bought over by the Golden Roc Fort,
and this immediately created a huge advantage for Shangguan Fei. Now that
he had eight votes, even without the three unknown voters who could swing
either way, he would still have five confirmed votes. He only needed one
more confirmed vote to end up with at least a tie; two more, and he would
surely be the prince consort.
On the other hand, the Prince of Loulan Kingdom only had seven votes with
three voters who could possibly swing to Shangguan Fei. Unless the prince
could ensure that all three undecided votes were cast on him, he could not
win the contest.
As the contest raged on, the small courier station became a marketplace
festered with conspiracies. It was so tense that even a very ordinary look
from a very ordinary slave could spark off a series of conflicts and
suspicions.
On the last day before the voting, two of the swing voters were revealed.
They were the sons of different tribal chiefs. Even though they were simple-
minded, they were not foolish. They were waiting for their ‘market value’ to
shoot up—the Prince of Kang Kingdom was a good example: if they could
not win over the hand of the princess, they would at least have carved out a
sufficient chunk of money from the two big nations.
The Prince of Loulan Kingdom and the Special Emissary from the Central
Plain found themselves pressed into a corner and worked hard to win more
votes. Since the Golden Roc Fort had spent a significant sum of money
bribing the Prince of Kang Kingdom, after half a day of bargaining, each side
managed to win a vote respectively from a previously undecided voter. The
vote count was now Shangguan Fei’s seven to the Prince of Loulan
Kingdom’s six.
There was one remaining swing vote, and it belonged to someone who was
yet to reveal himself. His choice would determine whether the Golden Roc
Fort would win the contest or both sides would end up with a tie. If it were
the latter, the contest would have to go on.
Gu Shenwei continued to double-cross both sides but he knew that he could

not keep his act up for long: both Norland and the Central Plain were
doubling up their efforts in interrogating each voter, and it would only be a
few hours before he would be revealed as the remaining voter who could
swing either way.
There was not much time left for him to act, therefore, he was the busiest
person for the rest of that day.
The first person he went to visit was Shangguan Fei. Gu Shenwei decided
that he would reveal some very important ‘truths’ to the Ninth Young Master.
“Rumor has it that I plan to slaughter everyone from the Golden Roc Fort,”
he said, giving Shangguan Fei a shock the moment they met.
“That, that’s just a rumor. Of course, you would not move against us,
especially me. Hehe, everyone has seen that we’re as close as brothers…”
“Your thinking is too naive. Others can claim that it’s just a front I’m putting
up to create an alibi for the impending murders.”
Of course, Shangguan Fei knew about this train of thought. He had passed on
the entire responsibility of garnering votes to his attendants and the special
envoy from Norland and had spent the past few days worrying about this
‘rumor’. “What did you hear about, Dragon King?”, he asked.
Gu Shenwei stared at Shangguan Fei and replied only after thinking for a
while, “If I hadn’t been dragged into this conspiracy, I would definitely not
tell you about it.”
Shangguan Fei’s voice trembled as he spoke. “I understand. Even if we’re
enemies, there are times when we’re in the same boat together. We are in
such a situation now.”
Gu Shenwei nodded sternly as he replied, “The Special Emissary from the

Central Plain wants to murder you and put the blame on me. The time he will
act is tomorrow night.”
Shangguan Fei was really surprised now. He had believed that he knew the
entire conspiracy inside out, but the Dragon King’s words had caught him
unaware. “This isn’t possible, the Central Plain…”
Gu Shenwei cut him off harshly, speaking in a tone that did not allow any
questioning. He wanted to forcibly implant the ‘truth’ into Shangguan Fei’s
mind. “You’ve said it that enemies can be in the same boat together at times.
The Central Plain has struck a deal with the Supreme King to make
Shangguan Nu his heir apparent. With this, the Supreme King no longer
needs you and Shangguan Hong, and the Central Plain no longer requires the
assistance of the Great Snowmountain. Murdering both of you and planting
the blame on me is a splendid idea which will kill two birds with one stone.”
“Eighth Brother? Father wants Eighth Brother to…” At first, Shangguan Fei
still refused to believe the Dragon King, but as he spoke, he began
recollecting more and more signs that validate Gu Shenwei’s theory. “You’re
right, Eighth Sister-in-law has been very active and acting very arrogantly
these few days, she must know something. However, how could Eighth
Brother let her off when he’s back in the castle? She had done that with
Father…”
“Everything is about benefits now. Since Shangguan Nu needs Luo Ningcha

to convey messages to the Supreme King, naturally he must have made
plenty of promises to her.”
Shangguan Fei believed at least 70 to 80 percent of what Gu Shenwei said, as

he had guessed that his father wanted to kill him a long time ago. “Ha,” he
laughed drily and nervously. “This is the Shangguan family for you. Brothers
fighting each other, and a father and his sons trying to kill each other. I still
thought that Mother would be able to convince him.”
“Lady Meng’s influence on the Supreme King is no longer the same as it was
before,” Gu Shenwei pointed the cruel fact out, seemingly very
knowledgeable of the happenings in the Stone Castle.
Shangguan Fei’s face had grown pasty white. He sat in stunned silence for a
while before replying, “If that’s the case, no matter how close the both of us
seem to be in public, Fa… The Supreme King and the Central Plain still wish
to move against me?”
Gu Shenwei nodded his head.
“How did you come to know about the entire matter in such great detail,
Dragon King?”, asked Shangguan Fei cautiously. When dealing with the
Dragon King, he was still extremely distrustful.
“Someone close to the Central Plains’ Special Emissary has leaked a secret to
me: The emissary has detailed 10 top kung fu experts from the Central Plains
and has mixed them amongst the 50 guards he brought along. Think about it,
are they hiding their identities just to protect the special emissary from the
shadows? He represents the Central Plains, do you think anyone would dare
to lay a hand on him?”
Shangguan Fei rubbed his sweaty palm against the armrest of his chair, biting
his lip. Suddenly, he lifted his head to speak after a long pause. “You already
have a solution, haven’t you, Dragon King?”
The expression in his eyes was more of pleading rather than hoping.
Gu Shenwei nodded slowly. It was the crucial moment to convince

Shangguan Fei, and he could not allow any flaw to be exposed. “But, I need
your help. This is another reason why I chose to tell you the truth.”
There was a loud slapping sound as Shangguan Fei smacked his palm on the
armrest. He had used too much force and literally smashed half of the chair
into pieces. He got up quickly and laughed awkwardly, replying, “Please
speak, Dragon King. Since we’re already on the same boat, I’ll definitely do
my best to help.”
Gu Shenwei did not reply immediately. He stood up as well and paced to and
fro for a while, considering the issue at hand comprehensively. “At the
moment, the most pressing danger to us is the ten kung fu experts with the
Special Emissary from the Central Plains. They’ll act latest by tomorrow
night, and we have to strike before they do. We have to get rid of them
tonight.”
“Tonight? Kill them in the courier station? Is, isn’t that declaring war with
the Central Plains?”, Shangguan Fei said. He had wanted to sit down, but the
chair was already tilted to one side; he could only support himself on the
table and had to forcibly keep his legs upright.
“Of course, we cannot make our move in the courier station.” Gu Shenwei’s
voice was becoming firmer and his tone was beginning to sound like an
order; he wanted to leave Shangguan Fei with no choice. “I have people by
the Special Emissary of the Central Plains. He’ll flee from the courier station
tonight and try to escape into the palace. If I didn’t guess wrong, many of the
10 kung fu experts will be after him. When that time comes…”
Shangguan Fei was enlightened. “Splendid plan, Dragon King. If the kung fu
masters from the Central Plains get killed in the royal palace of Stone
Kingdom, no one can trace it back to us. The Special Emissary might even
refuse to admit that they were his men.”
“I need your men to set up the trap.”
“Dragon King… can you not move on your own?”, Shangguan Fei suggested,
a crafty look on his face. He was more than willing to not be involved in the
entire matter.
“No, I’ve brought too few men with me and I can’t kill so many kung fu
masters by myself. Besides, I don’t wish to openly break off relations with
the Central Plains yet. It has to be your men, your best killers—your most
trusted subordinates.”
Gu Shenwei’s tone had become extremely harsh, implicitly signifying that he

was reprimanding and unhappy with Shangguan Fei. The latter trembled
slightly as he replied, “I can send out 20 men. They were detailed by my
mother and should be loyal to me.”
“Very good.”
Gu Shenwei gave detailed information on the specific time the mission would
be executed as well as the location of the ambush. Shangguan Fei was
extremely smart and could commit everything to memory after only hearing
it once. However, there was something important that he was worried about.
“Getting rid of the kung fu experts will only stall the inevitable for a while.
Since my father… the Supreme King has decided to kill me and put the
blame on you, Dragon King, I fear he won’t give up so easily.”
“His intention is but to blame me for breaking the ceasefire agreement. It’s
very simple: after the princess has been engaged, the Great Snowmountain
will very quickly declare war once more against the Golden Roc Fort. At that
time, he’ll no longer require any more excuses.”
Shangguan Fei heaved a sigh of relief. He was enemies with the Dragon
King, but could only confess his innermost feelings to him. “I don’t
understand, Father clearly likes me and my sister. Even though Mother is not
as favored by him as before, she has always wielded authority. Why does he
want to act so ruthlessly? Even if he wants to put the blame on you, he
doesn’t have to kill me; he could have chosen any killer or even someone else
— Shangguan Hong, for example.”
“The Supreme King surely has his reason,” Gu Shenwei replied. He knew
exactly what that reason was, but he did not want to tell Shangguan Fei at the
moment.
Shangguan Fei sighed dejectedly. Earlier when he had embarked on the

journey to the Stone Kingdom, he had deduced that his father wanted him
dead from various hints given by his mother and many small signs that he
spotted. Even though he had come up with many plans to tackle the
assassination, there was something that he could never figure out: How could
his father be so ruthless?
“Could it be because I was too weak all these years?” Shangguan Fei thought
indignantly. He was full of loathing for the title of “Son of the Supreme
King” and had to forcibly compose himself. He replied, “I’ll detail the killers.
Please stay awhile, Dragon King. My sister wishes to see you.”
Gu Shenwei was preparing to leave; he had many things to see to. However,
he paused for a moment and surprisingly replied, “Yes.”
Shangguan Ru put on an expressionless face and did not speak for quite a
while. Gu Shenwei wanted to ask her if she knew that she was one of the
sacrificial lambs chosen by the Supreme King, but managed to control his
urge to do so. “You wish to see me?”, he asked.
“Right,” Shangguan Ru said. She pursed her lips together as she looked at the
chair smashed into half by her brother. “I… Can you tell me something
truthfully?”
“What thing is it?”
“What are you and Shangguan Fei getting at? He has an illusion that Father
wishes to kill him. You’re making use of this against him, aren’t you?”
“Make use of him?”, laughed Gu Shenwei coldly. “It’s not that you’ve not
seen his smarts before. It’s not even clear who is making use of who in our
relationship.”
Shangguan Ru looked at Gu Shenwei, her jet black pupils turning from an

expression of coldness to tenderness. Four seasons seemed to flash past in her
eyes, and each left an indelible impression in Gu Shenwei.
“Haven’t you thought of…”
“No,” Gu Shenwei interrupted harshly. He thought that he was ruthless, but

he was unprepared to reply to her question. “I want to fight till the end and
kill all of my enemies. Besides, I want to be the prince consort of the Stone
Kingdom,” he continued.
Gu Shenwei stormed out of the room, the thawing chill of winter blowing
across his face. His heart was filled with brutal pride: he was no longer Slave
Huan, and she was no longer the Tenth Young Master. The killing was
coming and he did not allow himself a single shred of doubt.
Only the heavens knew that he was torturing himself as he tormented her as
well.
Chapter 342 - Running Away
Chapter 342: Running Away
It was a night without peace. Every group was either busy trying to garner
support for themselves or incite discourse between the other factions. As
soon as Gu Shenwei left Shangguan Fei’s reception hall, he traveled to the
courier station and disappeared for nearly four hours.
During that time, several groups of people had come seeking an audience
with Dragon King one after another; however, they were all rejected by Lin
Xiaoshan. “Dragon King is not here. I will report to him as soon as he comes
back,” he told them.
Before Dragon King reappeared, there was a slight commotion at the courier
station. Since it lasted for only a short while and did not affect many, only a
few people had noticed it.
Shortly after nightfall, about an hour after Dragon King disappeared, the
assistant from the Central Plain, Zhong Heng, walked out of the courier
station alone and empty-handed. He nodded his head at the doorman, looking
as if he was going out for a stroll.
However, being away from Stone Kingdom’s capital, the courier station
offered nothing for recreation in the winter. The assistant’s behavior looked
somewhat strange.
Soon, the news reached the Special Emissary from the Central Plain, Lin Tao,
and he immediately realized that something was wrong. As a result, he sent
people to search the assistant’s room. As he expected, Zhong Heng’s weapon
and silver were left behind, but all the documents he had kept were gone.
Lin Tao realized that Lord Wei Song’s secret had been leaked. He dispatched
eight kung fu masters to track down Zhong Heng, saying, “Cut off his head
and bring it to me.”
Lin Tao sat in his room, his head bowed as he pondered over the details of
the past few days. He became more and more suspicious of Dragon King.
From Lin Tao’s point of view, Dragon King was still a naive young man with
merely good kung fu. He felt that Dragon King and his swordsmen from the
Great Snowmountain were just a mob and would only be useful as a pawn;
however, they did not deserve to become allies with the Central Plain.
Two hours later, one of the kung fu masters brought back some news - Zhong
Heng was hiding in Nengjue Temple situated beside the royal palace. Instead
of taking action immediately, the masters returned to seek instructions from
the Special Envoy.
Lin Tao snorted. A small country like the Stone Kingdom could not possibly
protect a fugitive who the Commanding Officer of the Western Region
wanted to kill. “Be quiet and do not alarm the eminent monks of the Four
Truths Temple,” he ordered.
The kung fu master left with his instructions. Lin Tao was still pre-occupied
with the Dragon King. What was he thinking, disappearing at this point? Was
the pale, young man hiding any conspiracy?
About an hour later, Lin Tao’s doubts were answered; Dragon King
reappeared at the courier station. The first thing he did was visit the Special
Emissary from the Central Plain.
“You’re really busy, Dragon King,” Lin Tao chuckled, feeling relieved. The
young man was not with Zhong Heng, which meant there was no collusion
between the two of them. “I sent people to invite you over several times but
couldn’t get you to come.”
“I beg your pardon, Your Honor. There were still several bandits remaining
in the desert and I heard that they were sneaking around and spying, so I went
out to get rid of them.”
“What foolish bandits! How dare they challenge Dragon King!” Lin Tao
rebuked sternly. He actually meant what he said - it was the idea of another
confidant of Wei Song to hire bandits to intercept and kill Dragon King, and
Lin Tao had disagreed from the very beginning. He believed that they should
not kill Dragon King before milking the young man for all his worth; there
was still value in him.
Dragon King’s ‘value’, however, would only last for one more day. After he
voted and the Emperor’s son-in-law was selected, it would be time for him to
disappear forever.
“Er, Dragon King, the reason why I invited you here is that I’ve heard a
rumor that you are double-crossing both parties in this voting contest - that
you’ve promised to vote for Shangguan Fei and the Prince of the Loulan
Kingdom at the same time. Haha, I don’t believe it, but gossip is a terrible
thing…”
“The rumor is true.”
Lin Xia was astonished. He knew that Dragon King was the last swing voter
whose identity had not been revealed, but he did not expect that the youth
would admit to it in such a straightforward manner. Thus, he frowned as he
questioned Dragon King, “I am confused. Could you elaborate?”
“Firstly, please forgive my actions. I did not discuss anything with you before
doing this because I have to keep the entire plan confidential.”
“As long as you have legitimate reasons to act in this manner, Dragon King,”
Lin Tao said, looking amiable; however, he did not want to commit to
anything yet.
“I did this to win Shangguan Fei’s trust as I know that Golden Roc Fort is
plotting a conspiracy which has something to do with your life.”
Lin Tao raised his eyebrows, surprised. “Could it be that Shangguan Fei
actually dares to kill me?”
To Lin Tao’s surprise, Dragon King nodded solemnly. “Shangguan Fei is

cowardly and incompetent - one who treasures his life. The only task
Supreme King had given to him was to marry the Princess at all costs. If he
failed, he would lose his life.”
“What… what does this have to do with me?”
“Shangguan Fei has already deduced that my promise to vote for him was a
lie. If that’s the case, he will have only six votes, just like the Prince of
Loulan Kingdom, and it will result in another competition round after
tomorrow; however, he doesn’t have the confidence or patience to wait for
the next segment and try to win it, so he decided to throw caution to the wind
and assassinate you. If you die, the Prince of the Loulan Kingdom would lose
his support, and the tickets that belonged to him would naturally go to
Shangguan Fei.”
“Is this true?” Lin Tao was skeptical. “By doing so, Shangguan Fei would
actually be declaring war on the Central Plain. Would he be so stupid? The
Supreme King would definitely ask him to pay the price for his actions.”
“I didn’t believe it either, so I endeavored to win Shangguan Fei’s trust. Just

now, I received news that 20 Golden Roc killers stealthily left the courier
station this afternoon and didn’t come back after entering the capital. I asked
Shangguan Fei about it before coming over here. He was complacent and said
to me, ‘Wait and see, before dawn, everything will be reversed and the
Central Plain will never stand in my way again.’ Therefore, I rushed here to
protect you.”
Lin Tao’s expression suddenly changed as he asked, “Shangguan Fei sent

killers to the capital?”
“Yes, although I don’t understand why he did that, I guessed that it must be
part of the plan to murder you, Your Honor.”
Lin Tao still couldn’t believe it. For many years, the various forces in the
Western Region had maintained a delicate balance, and if any of them dared
to break the balance, it should have been a big nation like the Central Plain or
Norland. “This may just be a coincidence; Shangguan Fei didn’t directly say
that he would kill me. You may have overthought it, Dragon King,” he said.
“I hope so, but we can’t be too careful.”
“Yes, you are right,” Lin Tao chuckled twice. “So, you will definitely vote
for the Prince of Loulan Kingdom tomorrow, right?”
“Of course, Shangguan Fei is incompetent. Whatever they contest for, I

believe the Prince of Loulan Kingdom will be the winner.”
Lin Tao showed an expression of relief. They chatted for a moment, and Lin
Tao declined Dragon King’s request to personally act as his guard. After
sending Dragon King off, he immediately sent people to the city to find out
more about the situation.
Gu Shenwei went back to his room to rest for a while. Before he slept, he
said to Lin Xiaoshan, “The Special Emissary from the Central Plain will send
someone to meet me later; wake me up as soon as he arrives.”
Gu Shenwei was sure that there was no way his prediction would fail.
The truth was that the Special Emissary from the Central Plains was even
more anxious than he had imagined. Instead of sending someone to summon
Dragon King, Lin Tao came over personally at around two o’clock. He wore
a cape to prevent anyone from recognizing him.
“Dragon King, you are right,” Lin Tao said emotionally as soon as he entered
the room, trembling with fear. “Zhong Heng betrayed the Central Plain and
colluded with Golden Roc Fort. He lured several of my guard troops into
Nengjue Temple in the capital and killed all of them. Shangguan Fei really
moved against us. No, Shangguan Fei certainly would not dare do this alone.
The Special Envoy of Norland must be the manipulating him behind the
scenes…”
Gu Shenwei sat on the bed and held the handle of his saber without
interrupting Lin Tao, knowing that the special envoy’s fear would lead him to
figure out all the causes and consequences of the actions of each party
involved in the incident; there was no need to persuade him.
“Shangguang Fei is going to strike soon and the killer could very possibly be
hiding outside this house and war could be triggered at any time. You have to
protect me, Dragon King. From now on, this isn’t about the feud between
Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort anymore, but about the war
between the Central Plain and Norland.”
It was time for Gu Shenwei to pretend to be confused. “How did the Special
Envoy of Norland get involved? I thought it was just Shangguan Fei’s idea.”
“Alas, you think too simply.” Lin Tao was anxious and had cast away his
superficial respect for Dragon King, and his tone was as if he were talking to
an ordinary little boy; however, he immediately realized that his life laid in
the hands of Dragon King and he immediately changed his tone. “There’s
something that you don’t know about, Dragon King - the Khan of Norland is
bedridden and could pass away at any time. It’s very possible that he wishes
to start a war before he dies and seize control of the entire Western Region
once and for all.”
Gu Shenwei pretended to be enlightened. “Now I understand. You can rest

assured that as long as I am here, I will ensure your safety, your Honor,” he
said.
However, Lin Tao could not be at ease. Currently, Dragon King was still
unaware of the secret order of Mr. Wei, but the special envoy would need to
watch out for him the most if it were ever leaked to the young man. “It would
be great to be protected by you, Dragon King, but there are too many killers
from Golden Roc Fort, and there would be many casualties on your side in
the event of a fight. I do have a plan, however, to resolve the crisis without
the use of force.”
“I’d like to know about your plan.”
“I am the target of Norland and Shangguan Fei. If I am not here, naturally

they will not take any action. As long as I return to the residence of the
Commanding Officer, they would not dare to act rashly with an army at my
command.”
Gu Shenwei did not expect that things would go so smoothly - Lin Tao’s
train of thought was almost identical to his own plan. “I understand what you
mean. Let me escort you to the residence of Commanding Officer right now,
Your Honor,” he said.
“No, no, we would be letting Shangguan Fei off too easily. I have an idea,
and I would like to seek your opinion about it, Dragon King.”
“Pray tell, Your Honor. We from the Great Snowmountain would gladly
serve the Central Plain.”
“My idea is for you to stay in Stone Kingdom and do your best to help the
Prince of Loulan Kingdom to become the Emperor’s son-in-law, Dragon
King. You can also take some extreme measures if necessary. Also, you
needn’t worry about the armistice agreement; the Central Plain will bear
responsibility for your actions.”
Gu Shenwei sneered in his heart. Even before leaving, Lin Tao was setting
him up - the special envoy was hoping that the Great Snowmountain and
Golden Roc Fort would fight each other so that he would have two weakened
adversaries to deal with in the future.
“The Great Snowmountain has nothing to fear as long as we have the Central
Plain’s support. I will never let Shangguan Fei be the Emperor’s son-in-law.”
Gu Shenwei said, a slight hint of murderous intent showing in his eyes,
causing Lin Tao to be both afraid and relieved.
Gu Shenwei escorted Lin Tao as they left the courier station secretly, the two
remaining kung fu masters of the Special Envoy’s guard troops following
behind.
Along the way, Lin Tao had been encouraging Dragon King to do his best, as
he even overtly implied that he should kill Shangguan Fei and the Special
Envoy of Norland. As they went their separate ways after walking for 10 li,
Lin Tao believed that Dragon King was completely under his control.
As the sun began to rise, Gu Shenwei returned to the courier station. He had
removed the biggest obstacle facing him, and he could carry out the last part
of his plan now: obtain the throne of Stone Kingdom and control the entire
Xiaoyao Lake.
Chapter 343 - The Draw
Chapter 343: The Draw
The close attendant of the Special Emissary from the Central Plain looked
embarrassed as he publicly announced that the Special Envoy was suddenly
caught ill and unable to get out of bed. As such, he could not meet anyone
nor attend the voting that day.
The illness came so coincidentally that not many people bought his excuse.
The Special Envoy of Norland was secretly delighted but he did not show
how he felt; he even sent people to bring medicinal soup to the Special
Emissary so as to show his concern. Shangguan Fei was greatly relieved,
thinking that Dragon King’s preemptive strategy had taken effect and that the
Special Emissary from the Central Plain was no longer a deadly threat.
On the other hand, the Prince of Loulan Kingdom was panicking; without the
Central Plain’s support, he was like a baby who had lost the protection of its
parents. He could hardly make a move, let alone compete for the position of
the Emperor’s son-in-law.
Lin Tao had asked his attendant to leave a message for the Prince of the
Loulan Kingdom: “Find Dragon King; he will take charge of everything.”
Therefore, not long after Gu Shenwei had returned to the courier station, the
Prince of Loulan Kingdom came looking for him. His face was paler than the
youth as he asked, “Dragon King, what happened? Mr. Lin… ”
“Mr. Lin encountered an emergency and has left Stone Kingdom.”
The Prince of Loulan Kingdom was shocked as he asked, “What shall I do

then?”
Gu Shenwei looked the prince up and down as if trying to measure his
capability. “This is a battle of life and death. Your Highness should cheer up
and try your best.”
“A battle of life and death? Why is it so? Mr. Lin… he’s not trying to run
away from his obligations, is he?” The handsome prince looked indignant,
finally realizing that he had been abandoned by his backing.
Gu Shenwei did not answer the question, “Anyway, Your Highness has
arrived at a point of no return. You have to face the issue head-on.”
The Prince of Loulan Kingdom shook his head; he had come to fight for the
position of Emperor’s son-in-law at the request of the Central Plain. Stone
Kingdom was far away from Loulan Kingdom, and even if he succeeded, it
would not be of significance to the Loulan Kingdom. Therefore, he said, “No,
I’m going to quit. I’m going out to announce that they should just let the
candidate from Golden Roc Fort be the Emperor’s son-in-law. It doesn’t
matter to me.”
Gu Shenwei’s expression turned cold and his tone became serious. “Even if
you don’t care, the Central Plain cares. Controlling the Stone Kingdom is an
important strategy of the Central Plain. If you shirk your responsibility, not
only will you get into trouble, but so will the Loulan Kingdom.”
The Prince of Loulan Kingdom sat down dispiritedly. It was less than two
hours before the voting would begin. Indeed, he was in a dilemma. He could
not help feeling vengeful towards the Special Emissary from the Central
Plains. Golden Roc Fort had sent many killers to accompany Shangguan Fei
and Lin Tao must have escaped upon realizing that the situation did not look
good for him, leaving the prince to die.
Gu Shenwei stood there silently while waiting for the Prince of Loulan
Kingdom to realize on his own that there was only one solution available.
The prince was not stupid, but he was used to living in comfort and luxury
and had competent people to take care of everything. As such, he was slow to
react when faced with a crisis on his own.
After having thought for a long time, he raised his head and looked at the
calm Dragon King, enlightened. He finally came up with a way to save his
life. “Fight for the position of Emperor’s son-in-law, Dragon King. I will tell
those involved to vote for you. You aren’t afraid of Golden Roc Fort, right?
Only you… you are from the Central Plain, aren’t you? Dragon King, you
must help me.”
The Prince of Loulan Kingdom was being incoherent, but his intention was
relatively clear. Gu Shenwei thought briefly and said, “This is not good… ”
The Prince of Loulan Kingdom almost jumped in front of Dragon King.

“Well, it’s the best way. I will tell those involved now. Even if our plan fails,
it is the Special Emissary from the Central Plain that should be responsible,
right? He should have remained in Stone Kingdom to oversee things… ”
Before he even finished talking, the prince turned around and ran out. He had
already made up his mind and he was going to pass the hot potato to Dragon
King, no matter whether he agreed to it or not.
Gu Shenwei tidied up his clothes. Everything had been under his control so
far, but he did not feel relaxed; there was still something in his heart that
made him uncomfortable. He pondered over his plan again but could not find
any obvious flaw in it. As such, he decided to suppress the trivial doubt and
stop thinking about it.
Maid Lotus came in and nodded her head at him. She had not been in the
courier station for several days, during which she was out to perform another
important task.
“You got it?”
Maid Lotus raised her hand and was holding a small cotton bag. “It’s here, so
we can take action tonight. I have everything prepared,” she replied.
Gu Shenwei remained deeply vigilant around her, but he had to admit that
there was no one who could reassure him like Maid Lotus did. “OK, let’s
take action tonight,” he said.
Gu Shen was getting ready to set off when Maid Lotus suddenly asked, “Are
you really going to marry the princess?”
Gu Shenwei gave Maid Lotus a surprised look. He had never told her his
plan, but she guessed correctly. “I have to. The Great Snowmountain needs a
place to accommodate its people.”
Gu Shenwei went out of the room after speaking, while Maid Lotus remained
silent and expressionless. In her opinion, Dragon King’s answer was
irrelevant to the question, as it was not necessary to marry the princess to
gain control over the Stone Kingdom.
The vote was still presided over by Prime Minister Yang Dou, who first
expressed regret over the illness of the Special Emissary from the Central
Plain and then thanked each suitor. It was only after he finished his lengthy
talk that the voting began.
To show that nobody would manipulate the votes, the voting was done
publicly. Everyone who had the right to vote had to stand up and declare, “Of
all the people, I think so and so was the best in terms of character and
conduct.”
The King of Stone Kingdom did not show up, thus Yang Dou would vote on
his behalf.
Most of the voters cast their votes according to their promises made to the
two major factions over the past few days. The only change was that those
who had originally pledged to vote for the Prince of Loulan Kingdom
switched to Dragon King instead.
There was no more need for Gu Shenwei to remain on the fence; everyone
knew that he had double-crossed the Central Plain and Golden Roc Fort and
that he would vote for himself at the decisive moment.
As such, Dragon King and Shangguan Fei each won six votes, resulting in a
draw.
Shangguan Fei was relieved and even began generously congratulating

Dragon King; he was willing to compete in the next round, as Yang Dou had
voted publicly for Shangguan Fei on behalf of the King. It was akin to
declaring that he would almost certainly win the position of the Emperor’s
son-in-law.
The others also held the same idea. The Prince of Loulan Kingdom privately
expressed his thanks to Dragon King and had already calmy conceded defeat
in the next round of competition. “We are not to be blamed; the Special
Emissary from the Central Plains has fled. Of course, the King of Stone
Kingdom would know which side he should be on now,” he said.
That evening, Yang Dou announced the specific agenda for the last
competition. It was very simple and further convinced everyone that
Shangguan Fei was bound to be the Emperor’s son-in-law. “At noon
tomorrow, both of you shall report to the palace and the princess will choose
her consort.”
Shangguan Fei was already beginning to accept congratulations. Everyone

knew that the princess could not go against the King’s intentions. Since her
brother had chosen to side with Golden Roc Fort, it was assumed that she
would make the same choice.
The Prince of Loulan Kingdom began packing up impatiently. He planned to

retrieve the gold belonging to his nation and leave Stone Kingdom as soon as
the princess had selected her consort. Even so, he did not forget to complain
to Dragon King, “I will tell the Commanding Officer of the Western Region
what the special envoy has done. It’s all his fault that things have turned out
like this.”
Even after the competition was seemingly over, Dragon King did not show
any intent to begin killing. He remained polite with the Ninth Young Master
of Golden Roc Fort just like they were friends, which made many people
relieved and some a little disappointed. The Prince of Kang Kingdom seemed
to be afraid that he would miss out on the commotion, and he shouted openly
in the courier station, trying to stir things up, “I thought that Dragon King
was courageous, but it seems that he is just someone who bullies the weak
and fears the strong.”
Gu Shenwei faced defeat calmly. After nightfall, he stealthily left the courier
station without anyone noticing.
Not far from the city gate, Maid Lotus was hiding in the bushes and waiting
for him. They remained silent after meeting up and continued to moving
forward before climbing over a high wall and sneaking into the city.
In a remote house, thirty ferocious bandits were waiting for the arrival of
Dragon King and Maid Lotus.
Gu Shenwei had disappeared for four hours last night to meet up with another
group of bandits. At Maid Lotus’s command, nearly 200 bandits had already
entered Stone Kingdom in batches and were staying in different locations.
The leader of the bandits was He Sancai, also known as the Invincible
Machete of Tianshan. He was a short, fat middle-aged man who showed great
respect to Dragon King; however, he was even more afraid of the woman
beside him to the point that he dared not to even look at her directly.
He Sancai led the way and invited Dragon King and Maid Lotus into an
annex. There were three captives inside the room.
There was blood all over the captives; they had obviously been beaten and
had undergone some cruel form of interrogation. Upon seeing that someone
walked into the room, they hurriedly begged for mercy. They recognized
Dragon King and knelt down in front of him as they pleaded, “Please forgive
us, Dragon King. We’ll tell you everything and dare not to conceal anything
from you.”
Gu Shenwei did not ask anything; he had already heard all their confessions
via Maid Lotus. He came here just to see if they were the people he wanted.
Yes, they are, he thought.
On the very first night, they camped in the desert after setting off from
Shuangquan Village. A dozen machetemen dressed up as merchants had
rushed into the tents of the monks from the Four Truths Temple, hoping to
relieve them of a valuable object; however, in the end, they failed and
retreated from the scene.
The three captives belonged to the group of robbers.
They had not given up and followed the monks to Stone Kingdom. They did
not dare to rob them in public and could only keep watch on the monks near
Nengjue Temple. Eventually, they found an opportunity to strike.
A high-ranking monk in the temple had broken his monastic vows and was
having an affair with a married woman in the city. He often went out for
dates in the night and was caught red-handed by the machetemen on such an
occasion. They then forced him to steal an object from Master Fayan.
The monk succumbed to the threats and could only agree to do so. After
returning to the temple and observing for a few days, he finally took action in
the night and stole the object before handing it over to the machetemen who
were waiting outside the temple.
The machetemen were overjoyed and did not expect to have been spied on in
return.
The fifteen machetemen were intercepted by a group of bandits not even

twenty li from the capital of Stone Kingdom. Most of them were killed and
only three were captured alive.
“They were sent by Wildhorse,” Maid Lotus said; she had already heard their
confession earlier.
Gu Shenwei weighed the cotton bag in his hand as he said, “We can begin
talks with them now.”
“Aren’t you going to make use of it? Wildhorse had big plans for it.”
Gu Shenwei shook his head, saying, “My plan is exactly the opposite of his.”
He paused briefly, before repeating what Fang Wenshi had once said,
“Sometimes, being candid is an unscrupulous act.”
They came to Nengjue Temple at midnight. Instead of climbing over the wall,
as usual, they knocked on the door directly.
It seemed that there were people watching over the temple even at midnight.
As soon as the door was knocked on, someone opened it from the inside.
It was not a monk who opened the door, but an imperial guard with a scimitar
hanging at his waist. He whispered, “Please come in, Dragon King. The
Emperor and Holy Monk have been waiting for a long time.”
Gu Shenwei entered the temple as Maid Lotus faded into the night.
Meanwhile, not far from Nengjue Temple, a figure ran into the royal palace
and headed straight for the residence of the princess.
Chapter 344 - The King
Chapter 344: The King
For a period, he thought that he had reached the peak of his life, but all these
years of being a king only seemed to have robbed him of his energy. He was
utterly fatigued, both mentally and physically, and seemed to have aged
several years at once.
He missed the days in Jade City when he was still the exiled Second Prince
from Stone Kingdom.
Sitting on the meditation cushion, as the King listened to the low and gentle
chanting of the sutra by the eminent monk, his mind had drifted thousands of
miles away. He had been so naive at that time, thinking that he would never
be subjected to despise and ridicule by people once he ascended the throne,
but oh, how wrong he was.
During the period that he was absent, the Yang family had formed a
pervasive web in the Stone Kingdom, so thick that it was practically
impenetrable. Lying on the web and waiting for his prey was the giant spider
himself, Prime Minister Yang Dou. The King was merely another insect
trapped in his layers of the web. Unable to move, his only function was to
attract the attention of other prey.
But even so, the disaster was not over. Soon, predators more fearsome than
the spider would appear and when that happened, he might not even be able
to retain his hollow throne.
He could only watch as the great Ju family line, one of the royal families of
the Western Region, come to an end in his hands.
However, the reunion with Xu Yanwei had caused a surge of joy in his heart.
It was as though she was a ray of sunshine, bringing forth long lost light and
piercing through the thick web wrapped around him.
Taken aback by the sight of the King, Xu Yanwei would never have
imagined that the Second Prince, who was still childlike four years ago, had
turned into a dying old man.
In order to produce a descendant for the Ju family, the King often summoned
commoners into the palace, therefore the appearance of Xu Yanwei did not
cause a stir in the palace.
Xu Yanwei’s sympathy spread unchecked like a flood. Disregarding the fact

that the Second Prince had once tried to kill her, she took it upon herself to
arrange his diet, inquire about his medications, and dismiss any nasty people,
while slowly instilling an idea into him: The Stone Kingdom rightfully
belonged to the Ju family, and should continue to belong to the Ju family
even in the future.
Once the timing was ripe, Xu Yanwei admitted that she had been sent by
Dragon King.
The King had already guessed that was the case, but he didn’t mind. Since he
was already surrounded by tigers and wolves, there was no harm in having
another raptor around. Perhaps it could even help him break the encirclement.
Last night, Zhong Heng, the assistant to the Special Envoy of the Central
Plain, entered the palace from Nengjue Temple unexpectedly. He came with
Dragon King’s request for a meeting with the King.
Hence, tonight, protected by his most trusted guard, the King hid from the
watchmen in the palace and secretly came to Nengjue Temple. Together with
Master Fayan, they waited for Dragon King to arrive.
Fayan had gained the mutual trust of both parties. As soon as he arrived in
the Stone Kingdom, the eminent monk advised the King against becoming a
monk. His reason was, “Your Majesty has not yet obliterated your worldly
desires. Even if you shave your head, it will not be beneficial for you.”
At least Fayan’s remarks proved that he was not in cahoots with Golden Roc
Fort.
Although Dragon King and the King had met once, they had no chance to
speak to each other since there were other suitors around at that time.
“Dragon King is always able to do as he wished.” The King spoke first, and
he could not help but show a trace of envy in his tone, “Even when you were
a slave in Golden Roc Fort, it was no exception back then.” He continued.
Gu Shenwei nodded in acknowledgment to Fayan when he arrived and sat on

the other futon. He replied, “This is because I know how to satisfy as many
people as possible.”
The King laughed dryly. Indeed, the people who had conspired to kill the
First Prince back then had managed to get what they wanted, one inherited
the throne as he wished and the other held on to his power as a Prime
Minister. Only the guard who wielded the saber became the sacrifice in the
conspiracy.
“I hope Dragon King can make me satisfied this time as well. Although, I
have to apologize for choosing Shangguan Fei during the day.” The King
said. He then paused for a while before adding grudgingly, “The power of the
King of the Stone Kingdom lies in the hands of the Prime Minister now.”
Prime Minister Yang Dou voted in the King’s stead and merely reported to
the results to the King without even seeking instructions in advance.
“Soon, the royal power will be returned to Your Majesty.”
The King had already learned a painful lesson from his previous experience
with the Prime Minister. He knew that by seeking the help of a stronger
influence, he would end up paying a huge price for it. So he asked, “What
rewards are you seeking, Dragon King?”
“The Stone Kingdom will need a Prime Minister and a strong army
eventually.”
The King sighed, he was unable to escape his fate of being a puppet after all.
But these were not important. He only cared about one thing. “But the King
of the Stone Kingdom must be someone who carries the Ju surname.” He
said.
“There is no need for Your Majesty to be in such a hurry to abdicate. Take

good care of yourself and nurse your body. You still have time to produce a
prince. Even if it’s unfortunate that you are not able to have offspring of your
own, it is still up to Your Majesty to decide who will succeed the throne.”
The King felt the need to state things clearly, so he added, “Dragon King
should know that the Ju family is not without successors, there are still a few
distant relatives around. And they are of a legitimate royal bloodline. If I am
unable to get the blessings of the gods, I will still only appoint a successor
among them. No matter who my sister marries, he has no right to succeed to
the throne, and neither does her offspring as well.”
Gu Shenwei straightened himself up and said, “I am ‘Chief of the Dragons

and Leader of the Five Peaks’, I don’t need other titles.”
The King thought for a long time as he knew verbal agreements like these
were not binding. Even if it was written in black and white on paper, it might
just end up being empty words. But he had already come so far, there was no
point in stopping. After considering the next step, he said, “In that case,
everything will be as you wished, Dragon King.”
The King put his palms together to salute and bowed to Master Fayan before
leaving. He would have to ask Zhong Heng for more specific details after he
returned to the palace.
During the whole negotiation, Fayan had remained aloof and detached from
the conversation. After the King had left for quite some time, he opened his
eyes and smiled. It was a smile that made him seem like he was looking at all
living creatures from a god’s perspective. Looking at Dragon King with his
penetrating eyes, he asked, “When are you planning to return the personnel
file, Dragon King?”
Gu Shenwei was unable to get rid of his disgust and hatred for the monk. He
really wished he could resolve his differences with the monk with a saber, but
he said, “The monk has met some people with ill intentions and your things
were stolen. I happened to bump into them coincidentally and managed to
snatch it from them.”
The smile on Fayan’s face disappeared. After lowering his eyes and reciting a
few words of the sutra, he asked, “How many people were killed?”
“Twelve. Three survived, but probably not for long.”
“And how many people do you plan to kill next, Dragon King?”
After thinking for a moment, Gu Shenwei replied, “Countless.”
The monk recited a few words in silence again, before saying, “Old monk has
some words for you. I hope Dragon King can listen to it.”
Gu Shenwei nodded slightly.
“Great evil must be controlled by great wisdom, and great wisdom itself must
adhere to great events. Great events, however, must be consolidated by great
responsibilities.”
“And which one do you think I lack in, Monk?” Gu Shenwei asked with
sarcasm.
“Great responsibilities,” Fayan answered without hesitation. “Seeking

revenge itself cannot bear the weight of great responsibility. Compared to
Supreme King, your ambitions are too small, Dragon King. So, although you
possess great wisdom, you are not able to do great evil.”
Gu Shenwei suppressed his emotions and sneered, “Supreme King’s ambition

is to be in possession of more women and try to wrangle a real royal crown if
possible. I am indeed inferior compared to him.”
Fayan smiled again, then he said, “It’s alright, as long as you can remember
the words of this old monk. Now, when does Dragon King plan to take out
the personnel file?”
“It’s not with me.” Gu Shenwei said. He knew that the old monk’s Kung Fu
was unfathomable and he probably could not gain the upper hand if they
really fought, so he had given the package wrapped in cotton cloth to Maid
Lotus for safekeeping. “After looking through the file, it seems very
important.”
Everything that Gu Shenwei had said so far was just a ploy to probe the
monk. However, the monk seemed like he had no experience in negotiation;
he did not take precautions against Gu Shenwei and merely said whatever
was on his mind. “Well, it’s nothing much, actually. The file recorded the
names of the kings and nobles of the Western Region before and after
becoming a monk.”
“Imagine if the file was to fall into the hands of people with ulterior motives.
What if they kidnapped some eminent monks from the Four Truths Temple
based on the names in the file and use it to threaten all countries?”
“You overestimate it, Dragon King. Whether he was once a king or a beggar,
he is but a monk after shaving.”
“But these kings are not monks. How can a son not worry if his father is
kidnapped after becoming a monk?”
Gu Shenwei was in a slightly better mood once he was back in control of the
negotiation. He hoped to see the monk reveal his true colors.
“That means it was destined for him to experience such a calamity in his life.
None of these matters. What does Dragon King want from this old monk in
exchange for the personnel file?”
The monk finally brought up the core matter at hand, so Gu Shenwei

demanded coldly, “The Sumeru Mustard Mantra.”
“Dragon King and the lady are in danger because of the qigong deviation.
This manual of mine does provide some help in relieving the problem.”
Gu Shenwei did not speak as he waited for the old monk to make up his
mind.
However, Fayan shook his head unexpectedly. He said, “I’m sorry, the old
monk cannot use the Sumeru Mustard Mantra to exchange for the personnel
file.”
Gu Shenwei stood up and said, “It’s alright. If I can’t exchange it for the
divine kung fu, I might as well sell it for a good price.”
“Goodbye, Dragon King.” Fayan was still unhurried. He said, “Old monk has
a presumptuous request, however. Is Dragon King able…”
“No.” Gu Shenwei refused blatantly. “I don’t kill people, but people will
want to kill me. No one can stop the killing that is going to happen in the
Stone Kingdom.”
Once again, the monk lowered his eyes and recited some sutra under his
breath as Gu Shenwei walked out of the room. He was not in the least bit
worried that the monk would divulge the secret meeting. Fayan regarded
himself as a Holy Monk, and he would never harm a being. Gu Shenwei’s
plans were related to the King’s life and death, and even if the monk
disclosed the secret meeting, he had a way to deal with it.
Maid Lotus appeared once Gu Shenwei left Nengjue Temple. She knew that
things had not gone smoothly from the look on Gu Shenwei’s face. So, she
offered, “How about letting me capture one or two young monks? I can force
them to tell us about the secret of the divine kung fu.”
He shook his head. Just as he approached the city gate, he suddenly realized
something and stopped in his tracks. “Return the personnel file to the monk.”
“What?” Maid Lotus had always able to quickly discern what he was
thinking, but she was caught off guard this time.
“Return it to the monk, go now.”
Maid Lotus accepted the order and withdrew. She did not understand his
intentions, but as always, she was willing to follow orders unconditionally
and would not try to get to the bottom of it.
Gu Shenwei climbed over the city wall and returned to the courier station
outside the city.
Soon it would be morning, and everything had to be settled by today. But his
mind was never free from anxiety. Fayan’s words only helped to increase the
uneasiness within him. He did not understand. Other than wanting to be a
king, what other ambitions did Supreme King have?
Outside the wall of the courier station, Gu Shenwei hesitated again, before
walking towards the nearby tent campgrounds.
Shangguan Ru did not stay in the courier station like her brother. It seemed as
if she had intended to keep a distance with Golden Roc Fort as her tent was
located on the edge of the camp.
He bypassed two hidden sentries and went to the back of the tent. Suddenly,
he did not know why he was here.
Then, he picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it at the tent.
After a while, Shangguan Ru walked out of the tent, her eyes slightly
swollen. It was unclear whether she had not slept well or she had just cried,
but she raised her head slightly and pursed her lips stubbornly into a thin line.
“Your brother wants to kill you, be careful.”
Having said that, the burden in Gu Shenwei’s heart felt even heavier. Without
waiting for Shangguan Ru to reply, he quickly retreated, almost startling the
hidden sentries nearby.
Chapter 345 - The Princess
Chapter 345: The Princess
The news that the Princess would be choosing her own husband attracted a
lot of bystanders. Even if these princes or masters had no hope of winning the
favor of the Princess, still, they tried all sorts of ways to enter the palace,
hoping to catch a glimpse of the Princess.
Since everybody assumed that the ceremony would not be suspenseful, their
attention was solely focused on the Princess for the first time.
The Princess of the Stone Kingdom had recently turned 16. She was still an
infant when she went into exile with her family in Jade City and had no
impression of her homeland. But her two brothers and the wet nurse told her
proudly almost every day, “You are a Princess, and you will marry a King in
the future.”
Having been influenced by their words for many years, the Princess grew
proud of her identity. She had seen with her own eyes, the tragic scene of the
queen mother in exile next door passing on with no one to bury her, and the
situation when a group of rough machetemen with no ties to the royalty
surrounded the Jus’ residence and demanded money, but she still believed
that she would marry a real king someday.
She was even more excited about returning to their motherland than her
second brother who was going to inherit the throne. She was, therefore, even
more disappointed than her second brother soon after.
It turned out that being a princess meant losing her freedom. She was like a
caged bird, reduced to a mere commodity for sale, albeit rare and highly
prized.
On the way back to the kingdom, Prime Minister Yang Dou formally
informed her, “Once Your Highness is of age, you will marry someone from
the Yang family. I will personally choose the most suitable husband for the
Princess.”
The young Princess did not understand. What about a king? Shouldn’t she be
married to a real king? Why would a minister’s son be appointed as her
future husband? At that time, the Princess was still ignorant of power and its
complexities; she even had the audacity to raise her doubts to the Prime
Minister.
She would always remember how the old Prime Minister had laughed
contemptuously, dismissing her. “There are only about thirty or so kings in
the Western region, but hundreds of princesses. Do you really think that all of
you will marry kings? Haha, little girl, soon you will understand that even the
Yangs are out of your reach, and you are marrying above your status.”
Prime Minister Yang Dou was correct. She soon realized that both she and
the King were mere prey caught in the web woven by the Yangs. They were
only kept alive because it was better for the food to remain as fresh as
possible.
She did not even have a chance to see the residents of her kingdom. The
moment she had arrived and alighted from the stifling carriage, she was sent
to a cold and narrow residence. She was forbidden from stepping out of the
residence, even seeing her royal brother required approval from the Prime
Minister himself.
It slowly dawned on her that her only duty was to give birth to a son who
could inherit the throne for the Yangs.
From then onward, she began to hate the title of Princess. It had brought
nothing but bad luck to her.
Soon, a disaster would befall her. But she could only sit in her tiny room and
look on with cold indifference as she waited for the chaos to swallow her.
At first, the Kang Kingdom had used violent force to pressure the Princess
into marrying the Prince of Kang. However, Yang Dou had been able to edge
out his rival by pretending to be polite and subservient.
Next was the Meng family, who presented a thick stack of loan receipts and
offered to “Erase all debt and provide one million taels as dowry. The
Princess could choose any master from the Mengs as her husband.”
When compared to the Mengs, the wealthiest family in Western Region, even
Yang Dou, who was of one of most influential families in Stone Kingdom,
was sweating. He could only come up with a series of lies to stall for time.
The threat from the Meng family was merely a short interlude, or perhaps, a
prelude for what was to come because Golden Roc Fort soon appeared. The
Shangguan family had neither the royal blood like Prince of the Kang
Kingdom, nor the wealth of the Meng family. But the killers and secrets
placed before him were something that Prime Minister Yang Dou could not
refuse.
It was the secret of how the King had conspired with the Prime Minister to
murder the First Prince.
No one had actually mentioned any of these to the Princess, but every scene
of Jade City had run through her mind in those countless hours of solitude.
She already knew her eldest brother’s cause of death long before the suitor
from the Shangguan family appeared on the doorstep of the royal family.
Even the crafty Prime Minister Yang Dou took the bait. The assassination he
had planned contained numerous flaws and loopholes - it was nothing more
than a child’s trick in the eyes of Golden Roc Fort. Despite the incident had
occurred many years ago, the evidence was enough to prove who was the
instigator at that time.
The Princess was more than satisfied to see the Prime Minister weighed
down with this. She did not care who she was going to marry. Since the title
of a Princess was only in name, who could guarantee the authenticity of those
kings? Perhaps the Supreme King’s son was powerful enough and could
protect her.
However, Dragon King’s name suddenly appeared.
“Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks”, the Princess had never
heard of such a title before and found it quite laughable. Even “Supreme
King” sounded more like a real title than that.
Gradually, rumors about Dragon King spread to the ears of the Princess. The
giant roc who swallowed human eyeballs, the Devil Emperor who had killed
countless, thousands of rough and barbaric swordsmen from the Great
Snowmountain, the person set on revenge and was at loggerheads with
Golden Roc Fort. All these rumors led the Princess, who had already lost all
hope toward her future, to pray sincerely in front of the statue of Buddha that
she would not have to marry that wicked man.
Buddha must have heard her prayers but did not act on it. Instead, Dragon
King was pushed closer and closer to her.
In the beginning, Dragon King had shown little promise among all the
suitors, yet he had managed to lead with half of the votes and turn the tide
around. This result was something that the Princess could not have foreseen.
It had also caused her to be even more fearful of this man.
For the first time in her life, the Princess accepted the Prime Minister’s orders
willingly. “Right now, the choice lies in Your Highness’ hands. Needless to
say, I believe the Princess should also understand that choosing the Ninth
Young Master of the Golden Roc Fort will be the most favorable decision for
the Stone Kingdom.” The Prime Minister said.
She quickly nodded and agreed, although the interests of the Stone Kingdom
was not her main priority. She would choose anybody else as long as she did
not need to marry Dragon King, along with that horrible big bird which was
with him.
However, a mysterious woman ruined her mood, which she had just calmed
down.
The woman had been sent by the King’s imperial guard and claimed herself
to be Xu Yanwei. She was glib at talking and soon won the trust of the
Princess. It was only when no one was around that Xu Yanwei took out a
secret letter.
The letter was written by her royal brother personally, with only three words,
“Choose Dragon King.”
“But the Prime Minister…” The Princess said, her heart was about to shatter.
She did not understand why this chaos did not end.
“Dragon King is a good man.” Xu Yanwei said as she instinctively sensed the
Princess’ fear. She began telling the Princess stories about Dragon King,
knowing just what to say and what to avoid mentioning.
“Is he really like what you said… Dragon King?” The Princess was confused.
Dragon King seemed like a deity who was vague and with many sides. Each
story seemed to show a completely different side of him.
“Dragon King is a good man.” Said Xu Yanwei as she nodded solemnly. She
used this sentence as her opening and closing remarks. Following that, she
went on and talked about the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort.
Xu Yanwei knew Shangguan Fei inside out, even better than Dragon King.
She said, “He’s a sinister and timid fellow. You will know it when you see
him. His gaze is abnormal, and he got a bad leg. Even if these are not
important, you should also know for a fact that he… likes men.”
The Princess did not understand the last sentence. Only after Xu Yanwei
explained it in a roundabout manner, she could not believe her ears.”How is it
possible?” She exclaimed.
“Ah, Your Highness is so pure.” Xu Yanwei hugged her shoulders and

envied her naivety from the bottom of her heart. “The world is far more
complicated than you think. It is precise because I have seen many
hypocritical men in my life, therefore I know that Dragon King is a good
man.”
However, the Princess was not quite convinced. Dragon King had long been
a nightmare in her mind that a few words could not easily dispel such
thoughts. “That giant roc which only eats… don’t tell me it’s just a rumor to
deceive others as well?”
Slightly embarrassed, Xu Yanwei regretted not coming to see the Princess

sooner. This was an imaginative Princess who had been isolated for so long
that she had shaped Dragon King into a mythical demon from legend. She
replied, “Well, that part about the giant roc is true. But it has flown away and
has not appeared since.”
The Princess trembled and tears welled up in her eyes upon hearing that, but
she fought her urge to cry. Then she spoke with a determined attitude,
“Alright, as long as brother’s throne is secured, I will marry anyone that he
asks me to.”
Xu Yanwei was easily affected by the Princess’ emotions and her tears
started streaming down her face, “Fate is like that, men are always used by
gods to punish women.”
The only consolation for the Princess was that she would be able to get her
revenge by publicly humiliating the Prime Minister Yang Dou after all these
years of imprisonment.
Yet, she often couldn’t help but think, if only there was a choice, why did the
heavens arrange such a narrow path for her, such that even a simple act of
moving her fingers was difficult?
Therefore, only a tinge of fear flashed her mind when the assassin appeared
from nowhere. The huge rock that had been weighing on her mind was lifted,
and the Princess even smiled as she welcomed the saber about to stab into her
chest.
At noon, the Council Chamber in the palace was filled with people. Many
men who were not eligible to seek for a marriage were able to enter the
palace through all kinds of ways as well. It was said that this was the first
ever appearance of the Princess after all these years, and would probably be
her last appearance as well.
However, there was a little dispute in the chamber. The people who had cast
their votes to Dragon King surrounded the Prince of the Loulan Kingdom,
demanding for their payment.
The Prince of the Loulan Kingdom who handed over the problem to Dragon
King was already clear-headed by now. He explained in a small voice, “You
have to ask Dragon King for the money. You cast your vote to him, didn’t
you? What has it got to do with me?” ( Updated by NovelFull.Com)
“But…” said the people surrounding the Prince, no one dared to look for
Dragon King and ask for the payment. “No, you were the one who made the
promise that time. You were the one who made us switch our votes to Dragon
King on the last day, of course, it’s only natural that we come looking for
you. Don’t tell me you are in cahoots with Dragon King and want to go back
on your word after lying to us?”
Sweat began to trickle from the Loulan Kingdom Prince’s forehead. He

cursed the Special Envoy from the Central Plains over a hundred thousands
of times in his heart. It was because of Lin Tao fleeing at the last moment
which landed him in so much trouble.
On the other side of the chamber, Shangguan Fei spoke to the Special Envoy
from Norland in a low voice. Then, he stood up and pushed through the
crowd, making his way to Dragon King’s side.
The Council Chamber was crowded but no one was surrounding Dragon
King.
“We will just have to wait for the Princess to announce the results.”
Shangguan Fei said, smiling knowingly. He had promised Dragon King that
he would announce that he had no intention of inheriting the throne once he
became the Emperor’s son-in-law.
Gu Shenwei nodded slightly. He was clear that Shangguan Fei had given him
an empty promise. Golden Roc killers were obviously hidden among the
crowd in the Council Chamber. Even if Gu Shenwei closed his eyes, he
would be able to sniff them out.
What made Gu Shenwei uncertain was, were these killers here to protect
Shangguan Fei or to kill him so that they could blame it on Dragon King
instead?
Chapter 346 - Rebellion at the
Palace
Chapter 346: Rebellion at the Palace
It was already noon and everything was quiet in the Council Chamber.
Everyone was holding their breath and looking at the gate in the corner; the
Princess should be walking out from it.
Soon, a lady came out and she looked exactly like a goddess; however…her
age did not seem quite right, as she did not look like a 16-year-old girl.
“Oh, it’s you!” Shangguan Fei cried out. He then closed his mouth and
looked nervously at Dragon King.
Xu Yanwei lowered her head, appearing to be shy with so many men in front
of her, resulting in her bashful actions for a while before she said, “Her
Highness has caught a cold and has to remain in bed. She can’t…”
There was a great stir in the chamber; everyone had come to see the Princess,
and they did not expect to meet a maid.
Yang Dou was even more perplexed as he rushed to the unknown maid and
looked at her coldly, asking, “What’s going on?”
Madam Yang had always kept the King and Princess of Stone Kingdom
under her control without encountering any fierce resistance. As such, in the
past two years, she had become less watchful but had never expected to make
such a careless mistake at the most critical moment.
“Her Highness is really ill, so she asked me to come out to announce the
results.” Xu Yanwei whispered in reply.
Yan Dou’s face recovered a bit of its color. There were too many people
behind him, therefore he could not be too blatant and could only stare at the
maid with a stern look as he told her, “Then let’s hear what the princess truly
wishes for. Who did she choose to be her consort - the Ninth Young Master
of Golden Roc Fort or Dragon King?”
The crowd quieted down again. They could not see the Princess, but at least
they had to know who the Emperor’s son-in-law was going to be. More than
half of them had cast their gazes on Shangguan Fei.
Shangguan Fei did not look like he wanted to be the Emperor’s son-in-law.
He was cowering and had lowered his head, acting like a young man who had
never seen the world. Even the Special Envoy of Norland could not help but
frown, thinking that the Ninth Young Master’s behavior was ruining the
reputation of the Shangguan family.
“Her Highness has already made a decision.” Xu Yanwei raised his voice
slightly as she continued, “Both the Ninth Young Master and the Dragon
King are both extraordinary men. Her Highness is honored to receive their
favor and said that it was really difficult to choose…”
The Prince of Kang Kingdom was impatient and cried out loudly, “First tell
us her decision before you carry on with that crap.”
“Ehm… Her Highness has thought about it for a long time and in the end, she
decided that… the Dragon King is going to be the Emperor’s son-in-law.”
Silence reigned in the Council Chamber. This result was completely contrary
to what they had heard beforehand. Everyone immediately started to think
about the causes and the consequences of this result.
“This is impossible!”
Prime Minister Yang Dou blurted out- his words were heard by the whole
crowd, causing many people to look at him pitifully.
Yang Dou’s face turned white and he hastily tried to explain his gaffe,
“Dragon King, don’t get me wrong, I mean… How is it possible that the
Princess is ill? And… who the hell are you? How is that I’ve never seen you
before?”
“I am the maid of Her Highness. If Your Excellency does not believe me then
you can go and ask the Princess directly.”
There must have been an accident. Yang Dou’s mind was a complete mess;
he could always behave in the most appropriate way, but now, he could not
come up with anything to salvage the situation. He hurriedly ran out of the
corner gate without bothering about how disrespectful leaving his guests
alone would be.
However, when he was at the entrance, he remembered he had to provide an

explanation to Shangguan Fei. Therefore, he turned around and started to
look for the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort - who must have been
furious by this time - amongst the crowd.
Shangguan Fei had disappeared as immediately after the announcement, he

squeezed his way out of the crowd and left from the front gate.
“This, this…” The Special Envoy of Norland remained speechless for a while
before shouting, “Someone is cheating, let the Princess come out. Norland
will never accept this result.”
Gu Shenwei remained indifferent to the news and was keeping a close eye on
seven of Golden Roc’s killers in the crowd.
The killers obviously did not expect this kind of situation to occur. Four of
them left with Shangguan Fei while the other three did not know what to do.
They waited for a while before leaving as well. No one tried to approach the
Dragon King.
The first four killers were Shangguan Fei’s guards. The other three were
those who wanted to assassinate Shangguan Fei.
The original plan was for the Dragon King to kill the Ninth Young Master in
a rage after losing the race to become the Emperor’s son-in-law. It would be
the perfect opportunity to frame him, yet unexpectedly, the Dragon King won
over the Princess’s heart and there was no longer any excuse for bloodshed.
As such, the three killers did not attack.
The crowd was staring at the Dragon King, when suddenly everyone seemed
to have simultaneously recalled that they had some important matters to
attend to at home and rushed out like a swarm of bees, striving to be the first
to leave as if their lives depended upon it.
When there were only two people left, Gu Shenwei asked, “How come it was
you that came out?”
“The princess really had to remain in bed, but not because of a cold. Last
night, some assassins appeared. Luckily, she is fine and just scared.”
“Assassins!” Gu Shenwei cried out in surprise.
“Shhh, you’ll know everything about the incident soon, Dragon King. I have
to go now.”
Gu Shenwei left the Council Chamber too as he still had many things to do.
Finding out the identity of the assassins who attempted to assassinate the
princess was not paramount at the moment.
At quarter-past noon, dozens of imperial guards appeared at the entrance of

the royal palace, all armed with sabers. Interestingly, the guards at the door
did not recognize them.
The crowd who had come to see the princess poured out of the palace,
scattering in every direction. Many of them noticed the frightening imperial
guards and believed that something bad was going to happen, thus they began
running even faster.
One of the King’s personal guards appeared at the entrance of the palace and
announced the imperial decree loudly, “His Majesty has decreed for his son-
in-law to enter the palace to have an audience with him. He also summons the
newly appointed imperial guards to enter the palace and report to His
Majesty.”
The ten guards at the gate were shocked. Since the current king was
coronated, it was the first time they heard him issue a decree; previously, it
was always the Prime Minister who was in charge of matters both within and
outside of the royal palace.
One of the guards boldly asked, “Where is the imperial edict? Where is the
seal?”
The imperial guard replied sternly, “It’s His Majesty’s order, do you dare to
not respect it? ”
Dozens of unidentified guards drew their sabers at the same time and the
matter was settled.
Gu Shenwei had just come out of the palace and nodded to the imperial
guard. He was then led by the guard and escorted by He Sancai and the others
who were pretending to be imperial guards into the palace.
Along the way, they only encountered some small resistance. After the death
of two guards, the other guards discarded their weapons and no one else came
to stop them. The eunuchs and court maids bowed their heads to make way
for the Dragon King and his entourage, daring not to make a sound.
They knew that another coup was about to occur. As usual, no one wanted to
declare their position before knowing who the final victor would be.
The king was anxiously waiting for the arrival of Gu Shenwei. There was
only a court maid assigned by the Dragon King to protect him and he was
feeling very uneasy around this female guard named Guan Shang.
Upon seeing Dragon King lead a group of fearsome guards in, the king
finally managed to allay his worries.
“Is everything alright?”
“His Majesty will see the results very quickly.”
Soon, Dragon King’s words were proven to be true.
Prime Minister Yang Dou was the first person to be brought in by Maid
Lotus. He was powerless like a baby and could not put up any resistance.
Seeing the King, he began to regain some confidence. “Your Majesty,
everything is messed up. This, this…what is all this? Princess…Dragon
King…”, he said.
“Yang Dou, do you know your crime?” the King had spoken these words
thousands of times in his dreams, but he still felt very emotional now that he
had the opportunity to say them in real life; he had been waiting for this
moment for too long.
“No, I don’t know what I am guilty of,” Yang Dou replied, his face turning
red. He felt that was the real master of Stone Kingdom and that this king who
was already on the decline was just his puppet.
“Collaborating with the enemy and forcing the king to abdicate - Yang Dou,
what you have committed is a disgraceful crime worthy of having all your
descendants slain,” the King replied as he stood on the steps. After every
word he uttered, he felt increasingly refreshed. His perennial problem was
apparently solved completely.
Yang Dou was speechless and suddenly turned to Dragon King, “It’s all your
fault, it’s your plot! Your Majesty, don’t believe him. He…he wants to kill
the Ju royal family!”
Dragon King snorted softly and a dozen bandits disguised as imperial guards
pulled out their shining short swords again. The courtyard was immediately
filled with a cold and austere air.
The King’s heart trembled slightly, but he soon regained his calm, “Save
your effort in trying to sow discord, Yang Dou, blame yourself for pushing
me to a dead end and leaving me without any choice.”
Facing the threat of the weapons, Yang Dou knelt down slowly. He did not
understand how Dragon King contacted the king.
More and more people admitted that Dragon King would be the winner of the
coup at the palace and began pledging their loyalty to the king and a few
eunuchs brought the imperial seal over. It was a symbol of power that even
the king had not touched personally since he began his reign.
Most of the imperial guards pleaded guilty and surrendered to the king, while
a dozen others fled away. They were all machetemen sent by Golden Roc
Fort, who, when they heard of Dragon King, stood on the king’s side and
immediately left the city as fast as possible to look for the Ninth Young
Master for protection.
Aside from Madam Yang, many important officials also arrived. Many wept
bitterly, as it was the first time they had seen the king of their own nation.
Gu Shenwei and the bandits placed by Maid Lotus inside and outside the city
attacked simultaneously, capturing almost all of the Yang family in one go
and escorting them to the royal palace.
When Yang Dou saw that even the youngest of his grandson had been
arrested, he completely collapsed and implored the King for mercy. (
Updated by NovelFull.Com)
Seeing that the more or less everything was under control, the king was now
able to manage the situation himself. Gu Shenwei released half of the people
and took the other half with him. He gave the people from Golden Roc Fort
an opportunity to leave Stone Kingdom, but he would be unafraid to fight if
they chose not to surrender.
Residents in the city remained calm and every family kept its door shut. The
king’s herald held the king’s flag up high as he publicly declared the crimes
of Madam Yang and that martial law was in effect.
The courier station outside the city was another story. The special envoy from
Norland and Shangguan Fei hid in a nearby camp belonging to Golden Roc
Fort, while all the princes and their attendants retreated to another camp,
signifying their neutral stance. There were only more than twenty swordsmen
from the Great Snowmountain who remained in the courier station, with Lin
Xiaoshan as their leader. They were prepared for any possible incident.
The group from Golden Roc Fort did not flee nor launch any attack.
Everything seemed to be happening as per normal for them.
Gu Shenwei observed Golden Roc Fort camp for a while before ordering Li
Xiaoshan to enter the city. At the same time, he arranged for some people to
send an invitation to the other neutral nations.
Most of the princes and tribal chief’s sons wanted to enter the city as they
were concerned about their gold which was currently kept in the imperial
palace. As long as it was possible, they were hoping to retrieve the gold they
had presented during the competition of wealth a few days ago.
It was not until evening when Gu Shenwei recalled the attack on the princess.
It was exactly during this time when Guan Shang sent the assassin over to
him.
“If it was not for Sister Xu, I would have killed her,” said Tie Linglong
indignantly; she had lost her weapons. Xu Yanwei prevented her from killing
the Princess and Guan Shang captured her alive. It was that the assassination,
which had been planned for many days, failed.
Chapter 347 - The Throne
Chapter 347: The Throne
Tie Linglong’s preparatory work could be considered as very successful for

an assassination.
She had escaped from the Dragon King’s residence on the second day after
his departure from Jade City. She disguised herself as a teenage slave and
sneaked into a merchant caravan heading to Xiaoyao Lake. She was hiding
close to the Dragon King for many days but had never been discovered.
She continued to lie low when they had arrived in the Stone Kingdom, and it
was during this time that she had gone to the royal palace to conduct some
reconnaissance on the princess. As such, she had some preliminary
understanding of the daily habits of the princess.
“If the Dragon King does not manage to marry the princess, I won’t have to
do anything,” she thought.
On the day of the actual voting, she knew that the Dragon King would
eventually be declared the winner of the entire competition. Therefore, she
decided to make her move.
The assassination should have been carried out easily, except that it was Xu
Yanwei who tried to protect the princess by leaping in front of her. This gave
Tie Linglong a shock and she had no choice but to draw her saber back. Even
though it was a very slight pause, it gave Guan Shang, who was standing
watch outside, enough time to realize what was happening in the room and
rush in.
The two women fought all the way out of the room. Tie Linglong was no
match for Guan Shang and eventually became her captive.
Guan Shang recognized the young girl, but she would never have thought that
the person who incited Tie Linglong to assassinate the princess would turn
out to be Maid Lotus, the Managing Master of the New Moon Hall.
Guan Shang hid the young girl away and lied to the princess that the assassin
had escaped. However, she was still uncertain; she could not comprehend the
Dragon King’s intentions. In the end, it was Xu Yanwei who proved to be the
most understanding; she knew Tie Linglong’s character very well too. “She
must have been acting behind the Dragon King’s back again. It’s all my fault
for having taught her too much nonsensical stuff,” she said.
This was the second time that Tie Linglong had acted without instructions.
The first time was when she sneaked into the Golden Roc Fort with Chu
Nanping, and it had forced the Dragon King to be passive.
As such, Gu Shenwei could not possibly forgive her again. It did not matter
whether she did it out of goodwill or not; it was harmful to his plans.
“I won’t execute you,” said Gu Shenwei. He was not angry nor did he
castigate her, but his tone was firm and his authority unquestionable. “Neither
will I forgive you. From now on, you’re no longer the personal bodyguard of
the Dragon King and a member of the army of the Great Snowmountain,” he
continued.
Tie Linglong looked at the Dragon King in surprise. She knew that she would
be reprimanded and punished, but had never thought that the consequences
were so serious.
Gu Shenwei was not done speaking yet. He continued after a pause, “Return
to Shu-lik and look for your brother; he’ll tell you who your enemy is. You
can already get your revenge with the kung fu you have now. Never appear
before me again, unless you believe your machete technique to be better than
mine.”
Tie Linglong’s green eyes were welling up with tears as she spoke. “Dragon
King, I know I’ve done wrong, but I did it for your own good, in your
heart…”
“Then never do anything for my betterment ever again,” Gu Shenwei cut her
off. “I need soldiers who can follow orders and not opinionated little girls.
Get out,” he continued.
Tie Linglong bit her lips. She could not decide whether to be indignant or to
plead with the Dragon King. She knew that it was useless to beg him for
mercy for he was hard-hearted. As such, she lifted her head and turned
around to leave, trying hard to control her impulse to break into tears.
After she left, Gu Shenwei turned his attention to Lin Xiaoshan and the other
20 or so swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain. “Tie Linglong is no
longer one of us. From now on, all of you are to treat her as you would an
enemy if you meet her. Anyone who tries to communicate with her secretly
will be executed,” he said.
All of them bowed and acknowledged the Dragon King’s orders. No one
dared to try to convince him to go back on his decision; no one remembered
the Dragon King ever being convinced.
Tie Linglong wandered around aimlessly in the city, having no place to go to

and no idea how long she would be walking for. She felt as if something was
trapped inside her and missed her saber terribly. She was left empty-handed
and felt as defenseless as a lion cub who had been declawed.
It was soon night time, and she saw a woman standing in her way. Tie
Linglong knew that she would appear sooner or later, and could no longer
fight back her tears. “The Dragon King doesn’t want me around anymore, he
has chased me back to Shu-lik,” she said tearfully.
Maid Lotus approached her and looked as she continued crying. “The Dragon
King chased me away in the past too, but you can see for yourself that I’m
now back at his side and have won his trust as well,” she said.
Tie Linglong lifted her head to look at Maid Lotus. The latter’s eyes were as
obscure as thick smoke and there seemed to be bits of starlight shimmering in
its depths. It made Tie Linglong intoxicated, and a desire to worship Maid
Lotus grew within her. She had not sold Maid Lotus out to anyone, even the
Dragon King. “How did you do it?” she asked.
“It was because I perfected some exceptional kung fu techniques and am of a
comparable skill level with him. He needs me, as I can help him realize his
ambitions.”
“But I’m too foolish and could never learn any peerless kung fu technique.
Even those pills that you gave me… I did not eat them.”
Maid Lotus laughed sweetly as she replied, “The pills are just an aid. You
still need to put in the hard work to master any unique set of kung fu
techniques.”
“I can put in the hard work, I can endure any hardship,” replied Tie Linglong,
a steely gaze shining from her eyes.
Maid Lotus did not point the young girl in the right direction immediately,
but gazed at her, as if she wanted to look through her entire body right into
the depths of her soul. She then leaned over and whispered some words to Tie
Linglong and fished out a piece of jade shaped as a crescent from her clothes.
“Take it and go to the place which I’ve just mentioned. There are countless
hardships there, and once you’ve endured all of them, you’ll have peerless
kung fu skills,” she said.
Tie Linglong did have some doubts about this arrangement, but somehow she
had come to trust Maid Lotus subconsciously, and she was spurred on by the
cold-heartedness of the Dragon King. She took the crescent-shaped piece of
jade over from Maid Lotus and gripped it tightly in her fist. “However, the
Dragon King is still going to marry the princess,” she said.
“He won’t, I’ll take care of it,” Maid Lotus said gently with a slight smile.
Even so, her authority was as unquestionable as the Dragon King’s.
At the same time, the King of the Stone Kingdom, who finally had real power
in his grasp, was continuously issuing orders to hunt down the remaining
members of the Yang family.
As for the Dragon King, he brought the swordsmen from the Great
Snowmountain up to the castle walls and they stood gazing far away at the
Golden Roc Fort’s camp a few kilometers away from them. It was still all
quiet there; they had not retreated nor made any move.
It was so quiet that it felt abnormal.
As it grew dark, the citizens of the city went to bed early but very few of
them could fall asleep. They were all pricking their ears for any sign of unrest
and seemed to be able to hear sounds emanating from the royal palace.
The king was tired; his health did not allow him to withstand long periods of
intense thinking and to handle large amounts of matters of the state.
However, he still did not wish to go to bed and remained sitting on his throne
in the main hall of the palace, hugging the royal seal closely to his chest.
Before today, he had only sat on this throne once, and it was on the day of his
coronation. After that, the main hall was sealed off, and all matters of the
state were handled in the Prime Minister’s mansion and the discussion hall of
the royal palace.
Finally, the Ju family had regained the throne.
He could not recall how many orders he gave during the day, and many of
them were pertaining to insignificant matters. Under his request, the servants
of the palace were fetching buckets after buckets of clean water to wipe down
every spot that the Prime Minister frequented. The guards had also removed
their weapons and tucked them in their waist sashes.
The King had an extremely peculiar feeling as he watched his orders being
carried out rapidly. He felt that his body was slowing expanding and he was
turning into a giant; even the main hall, which was empty now, would not be
able to contain him very soon.
It was this feeling which made him order everyone out of the main hall and
made him sit on the throne till now. “It’s all mine,” he muttered. He felt so
emotional that he was nearly cried.
When the Dragon King walked into this place with a few men, there were
only a few candles burning in the huge hall. Without the King’s orders, no
one dared to make the room better lit.
The King looked at the armed man in front of him and hugged the royal seal
even more tightly to his chest. A fiery anger grew within him; he had just
issued a decree that no one, without being summoned or having announced
his or her visit, was to be allowed into the hall. However, in the royal palace,
the Dragon King had special status.
His fearsome machete men, who were more than 200 strong, remained the
biggest armed presence in the city. The royal army was lacking in manpower
and unity; they would be no match for a tough adversary.
Besides, the Dragon King had the ability to kill him anytime he wished to.
Very quickly, the King’s rage turned into fear, and he secretly hid the royal
seal in his clothes. He opened his arms to welcome the Dragon King, “Ah,
Dragon King, the savior of the Stone Kingdom, my right-hand man. We’ve
succeeded. Are you here to claim the post of Prime Minister?”
“You’re right. This was the deal between us,” Gu Shenwei replied. He halted
his approach, leaving more than 20 steps between them; he could pick up the
concealed hatred from the honeyed words of the King.
“Yes, yes. It’s my honor to be able to jointly rule the Stone Kingdom with
you, Dragon King. However, I feel that the post of Prime Minister belittles
you,” said the King as his heart raced. He was trying to test the reaction of
the Dragon King.
“I have no intention of becoming the Prime Minister of the Stone Kingdom,”

replied the Dragon King. His words made the king rejoice, but he was not
done speaking. “This man, however, would be the ideal choice for Prime
Minister,” he continued.
Zhong Heng stepped out from behind the Dragon King and bowed
respectfully to the king of the Stone Kingdom. “Your Majesty, I hope that
you’ll be more satisfied with me as compared to Yang Dou,” he said.
“Satisfied, I’m extremely satisfied,” said the king with an unnatural smile
plastered across his face. Once he had got a taste of power, he could not go
without it anymore. However, he did not have the strength to rule his
kingdom on his own and had to ally himself with someone stronger. “I hope
the Central Plain would not mind parting with such a great general,” he
continued.
Gu Shenwei did not wish to discuss matters pertaining to the Central Plain
with the king and changed the subject. “How does Your Majesty wish to take
care of the Yang family?”, he asked.
The Yang family was large, and there were more than a hundred of them,
both sexes included. If he could rule by his own accord, he wished to
eliminate every one of them. That said, he was still a little lucid. “I’m waiting
to discuss this matter with you, Dragon King. They have violated everything
that is sacred and should be severely punished,” he suggested.
“My suggestion is to reduce them to the status of ordinary commoners and

exile a few important members of the clan. The others can decide whether to
stay in the Stone Kingdom or not,” the Dragon King replied.
His suggestion was implicitly final, but the king could not help but counter it.
“That’s all? We should at least behead Yang Dou along with a few of his
sons and display their heads for all to see. None of them are good people,” he
said.
“The Yang family has ruled the Stone Kingdom for many years and has wide
connections. It has secured close relations with many nations in Western
Region, especially in the kingdoms around the Xiaoyao Lake via complicated
intermarriages. You’ll be isolating the Stone Kingdom by exterminating the
entire clan, and might even be risking the revenge of the coalition forces.
Spare him and let him escape; besides pacifying the other nations, we can
also see who amongst them are our true friends.”
The King’s face grew red. The Dragon King had just taught him a lesson and
it made him feel extremely uneasy. “Then let’s follow your suggestion,
Dragon King,” he said. His passion had diminished greatly, and even the
royal seal had lost much of its appeal.
Gu Shenwei walked out of the hall, pondering about how he could move his
army at the western border of Jade City to the Stone Kingdom; he wanted a
solid base for his people where they could grow. It was then, at the entrance
of the royal palace, that he bumped into a few swordsmen who were
escorting someone who had come looking for him.
It was Shangguan Hong; he had not escaped to the Golden Roc Fort’s camp,
as he knew it was not safe there for him.
“Congratulations, Dragon King,” shouted Shangguan Hong, even when they

were still at a distance away from each other.
“What are you here for?”, asked Gu Shenwei, his eyebrows wrinkled into a
frown.
“You’ve forgotten, Dragon King. Mister Zhang left a secret with me. Hehe,
I’ve said before that I would let you know what it is once the princess has
chosen her consort.” / NovelFull.Com
Gu Shenwei had not forgotten about it, but rather he did not pay too much
heed to it. He believed that he had seen through the teacher’s devious trick; it
had to be that he wanted to protect Shangguan Hong.
As such, when he took over the kit from Shangguan Hong, he never imagined
that it would contain a secret which would turn the situation around.
Chapter 348 - Ambition
Chapter 348: Ambition
Zhang Ji held an exquisite wine cup in his right hand and gently twirled it
around. The thick liquid in it sloshed around with his movements but never
spilled out; it always stopped when it had reached the edges, then returned to
the center of the cup.
To him, wine was the best thing in the world. When he was down, it would
give him comfort.
And yet, it was also the worst thing in the world; after a hangover, his
depression would only intensify.
He placed the wine cup on the table and stared at it as if facing off with an
enemy. Suddenly, he chuckled softly and shook his head. “I’ve really got
nothing better to do, to be competing with a cup of wine,” he thought.
Even if his opponent was a cup of wine, he still emerged the victor. He made
up his mind to become teetotal from now on.
The time for boredom was over. To counselors like himself, real battles were
not fought in taverns or classrooms; they viewed the entire world as a chess
game and nations as chess pieces. As for individuals, well, they were but
specks of dust on the chess pieces.
“Slave Huan must already have won the title of prince consort by now,”
Zhang Ji thought. “This person is not a speck of dust, nor is he a pawn. He’s
a disruptor, but he doesn’t know what his objectives are, he’s unaware even
when being made use of.”
“He claimed that he wanted revenge, but revenge? ” Zhang Ji could not
control himself and laughed coldly as he thought about it. “What a laughable
excuse. Revenge is just like concepts such as love, familial bonds and wealth
—they are just but checkpoints in a man’s life journey. It would be too
foolish to be too caught up in them.”
“The final destination of that journey would be power. Everything was

because of power, for without power, what difference would there be
between a man and a walking husk?” Zhang Ji thought, as the ambition of his
days as a youth welled up in him again.
After he finished thinking about Slave Huan, the image of another youth
crept into Zhang Ji’s mind.
This youth was different from the others around him right at a young age.
Only he had dared to challenge the Supreme King and question every rule of
the Stone Castle. He would seek clear explanations for everything he had to
do, and even when the Supreme King flew into a huge rage, he would be
unafraid. Instead, he would explain his actions eloquently.
He was a person with his own way of thinking, and such a person would
never walk the path paved by others for him; he would rather take a long way
round and forge his own path.
As such, he wandered into the jiang hu, made friends, fell in love and even
mastered difficult kung fu techniques. The only thing he did not like was
killing.
Zhang Ji was biding his time as the youth was treading his own path in life.
He knew that the day would come when the youth would mature and see the
light. Then, he would join forces with the teacher to continue on with their
life journeys together.
The youth was the Third Young Master, Shangguan Yun. In Zhang Ji’s eyes,
he was the only one eligible to succeed the mantle of the Supreme King. His
other brothers were harmful to the future of the Stone Castle and should have
been gotten rid of earlier; especially that good-for-nothing, Shangguan Hong.
Zhang Ji was satisfied with the cold manner in which he treated Shangguan
Hong. If it were not for the fact that he had sprung the Third Young Master
out of prison, Zhang Ji would never have so much as cast an eye on him.
It was an extremely long wait and during which he had slowly trained the
useless Master Hong into a person of some capability. He made use of
Shangguan Hong to plead for the Third Young Master’s case to Lady Meng
and slowly change her image of Shangguan Yun, thereby planting the seed
for her to convince the Supreme King as well.
However, the Supreme King, being the Supreme King, saw through the entire
plot. Nevertheless, he was not angry and instead, on an afternoon, decided to
pay a personal visit to the teacher; he wanted to work together to fulfill both
their ambitions.
Zhang Ji’s thoughts were disrupted as a supervisor wearing a yellow-belt

came into his room. The supervisor bowed respectfully to the teacher and
passed him a letter with both hands.
Zhang Ji opened the letter and glanced through it once. “Invite the lord for a
visit,” he said.
The yellow-belt retreated with an expression almost bearing on worship. In

the entire Golden Roc Fort, and very possibly the entire Western Region, no
one could possibly make the Supreme King move a single step. However,
this tall, old man, who was still a stern looking teacher with a ruler in hand
yesterday, had suddenly become the most trusted advisor of the Supreme
King overnight. Even those who were most familiar with the internal matters
of the fort were left dumbfounded.
The Supreme King arrived very quickly.
Seeing the still untouched cup of wine on the table, Shangguan Fa broke into
a knowing grin as he said, “No volume of good wine can fulfill a man’s true
ambitions.”
“The same goes for women,” replied Zhang Ji indifferently, as he bowed

slightly.
The Supreme King had started preparations to realize his ambition much
earlier than the teacher. A few years ago, he began getting intimate with
women on only a few rare occasions; after ‘conquering’ countless women
during his lifetime, he had finally made up his mind that he would do the job
of a true king: conquer the lands and people around him.
“Is there news already?”
Zhang Ji nodded and passed the letter to the Supreme King.
It was a short letter, and Shangguan Fa glanced through it once.

“Everything’s settled to the north, how about the south?”, he asked, his face
expressionless.
“The Dragon King will soon realize that he has no other choice.”
Zhang Ji spread a map open on the table and traced a finger in the north-east
direction from Jade City past a sprawling desert and stopped at where the
Stone Kingdom was marked. “The Dragon King should’ve already won the
title of prince consort. If he’s smart enough, he won’t move against the Ninth
Young Master. However, he’s separated thousands of kilometers away from
the Great Snowmountain, and once news about the situation from the north
reaches him, he’ll bash his way across the obstacles in his path to save his
own army. When it comes to that, he cannot afford to be merciful.”
Zhang Ji continued tracing his finger a little to the west of the Stone
Kingdom and stopped at its border with the Kang Kingdom. “The army of the
Kang Kingdom is already waiting at this location. Once the Dragon King
leaves the Stone Kingdom, they can move, and we can expect the destruction
of the Stone Kingdom to come sometime soon.”
He then traced his finger northwards across the desert to its other side till
where Shuangquan Village was marked. “This will be burial ground of the
Dragon King,” he said.
“He’s stumbled around for so long that it’s time for it to end,” Shangguan Fa
said coldly. It was extremely humiliating for the Supreme King to have a
traitor of the Golden Roc Fort to muster an army so close to the Jade City and
to force him into a peace deal, and he needed a much larger ambition to be
able to take it.
“The Dragon King has his uses,” said Zhang Ji in the tone of a tutor
subconsciously. “If it were not for him vying to become the prince consort in
the Stone Kingdom and thereby drawing away the attention of the various
powers from us, including that of the Central Plain, would the Third Young
Master have been able to succeed in the north?”
“My only regret is that his death will come too swiftly for him.”
Zhang Ji shook his head in disagreement. He felt that the Dragon King was
only a disruptor and could not even be considered to be a pawn in their game
of chess with the other factions in Western Region; there was no need to
accord him too much attention. He traced his finger in a north-east direction
on the map and stopped at the mountain pass to the east of Jade City. This
was where the combined forces of the Central Plain and Shangguan Nu were
stationed at. “I estimate that the Loulan Kingdom will descend into chaos
after three days. This would force the army of the Central Plain to retreat, and
our army can cross the grassy plains of Norland and occupy this spot at the
mountain pass in the name of punishing Shangguan Nu, who has been an
unfilial son. We’ll then be able to take the provisions and fodder stocked up
by the Central Plain over the years for our own use. This will ensure that the
Central Plain will not have the ability to move westwards for the next three to
five years.”
The two men swept their gazes across the entire map as if they had each piece
of land in their grasp. This was a kind of feeling that even the best wine and
the most charming woman in the world could not give them.
Zhang Ji drew a large arc with his finger from the mountain pass on the east
side of Jade City until it reached the other one on the west side. To its north
stood the Xiaowan Kingdom and Norland, while the camp of the Great
Snowmountain stood to its south. In the middle of it all, slightly to the east,
was the camp set up by Dugu Xian.
“Since the Third Young Master has already married the Princess of Xiaowan
Kingdom, it’s only a matter of time before he takes over the throne. Then, the
army that we’ve hidden in that nation can finally be unleashed. 5,000 troops
will attack Shangguan Nu, while another 5,000 will merge with Dugu Xian’s
forces. I estimate that we can completely wipe out the entire Snowmountain
Gang within a month at most.”
The secret army in the Xiaowan Kingdom was the Supreme King’s big
secret, which he had kept hidden for many years. Within the Golden Roc
Fort, only Zhang Ji had managed to guess it correctly from various scraps of
leads he had. From there, he had deduced that the Supreme King was still
ambitious.
The Supreme King’s gaze shot westwards to Shu-lik even before Zhang Ji’s
finger had moved there. It was a huge piece of land, and the Jade City looked
like a prison compared to its landmass. The Golden Roc Fort had been caged
in this prison for all this while.
“Shu-lik can amass an army of at least 50,000,” said Shangguan Fa a little

worriedly. It was an issue that was still troubling him even though he had
discussed many times with Zhang Ji. It was also the hardest part of their plan.
“Their troops are scattered all over the country, and the largest force it can
muster in a single location will only be about seven to eight thousand troops.
If the 10,000 cavalry troops supplied by Norland advance quickly enough,
Shu-lik won’t have any chance of countering. After Dugu Xian has
exterminated the Snowmountain Gang, he’ll be able to supply more than
10,000 troops. His cavalry will advance through Shu-lik while his infantry
holds down the territory he has won. I guess that within six months to a
year’s time Shu-lik will become a part of the Golden Roc Nation.”
“I cannot allow the killers to remain idle in the castle,” added Shangguan Fa.
“They shall create chaos in Shu-lik; even if they cannot withstand the might
of an army, they can make sure it becomes leaderless.”
‘Leaderless’ led both of them to think about the traitor from the Golden Roc
Fort who now called himself ‘Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five
Peaks’ and they both laughed.
Hence, they decided that this would be their plan. There will still some kinks
to be straightened out, and even if they managed to conquer Shu-lik, it would
just be the first step to their plan of hegemony. The Central Plain could come
with their huge army or Norland could suddenly turn ambitious and think of
turning the tables against the Golden Roc Fort; these were things that they
had thought about and come up with some preliminary plans against, but they
were no cause for too much concern at the moment.
“The Ninth and Tenth Young Masters do not really have to die,” said Zhang
Ji after a period of silence. He did not mention Shangguan Hong, as he knew
that the Supreme King did not even consider this unfamiliar youth as his own
son.
A cold light shone from the deep-set eyes of Shangguan Fa. He had kept his
ruthlessness and cruelty hidden for far too long, so much so that the people
around him had already forgotten about these two characteristics of him. He
felt that it was time to let them wake up. “They secretly learned the Wayless
Qigong without my permission and deserve to die,” he said.
It was what Zhang Ji wanted to hear. He did not care about whether the twins
lived or died, but he wanted to be sure that the Supreme King would not
come to regret his decision and ask the tutor to pay in the future. “Lady Meng
would be extremely sad,” he said.
“That lecherous woman,” Shangguan Fa replied, spitting the words out

vehemently. “I’ll let her live before I squeeze all the money from the Meng
family. Once news of the death of the twins reaches the fort, let her know
immediately.”
Zhang Ji was satisfied. Although Lady Meng had been foolish at one time,
she was not to be taken lightly, and the grand plan for the Golden Roc Fort
had only just begun. It could not fail because of her.
His gaze still remained fixed on the map, seemingly pondering something.
“Is there something wrong?”, asked Shangguan Fa.
Zhang Ji pointed to the westernmost part of the Xiaoyao Lake. It was the tiny
Hui Kingdom. He traced a meandering path northwards, past the vast,
sprawling desert until it reached the western border of Jade City, where it was
not far from the camp of the Great Snowmountain. It was a treacherous route
and would require nearly a month to traverse. “I’m wondering whether the
Dragon King will take the risk to return to his camp by this path, instead of
by how he came to the Stone Kingdom,” he said.
Shangguan Fa was pleased to have the opportunity to make his own plans
known to Zhang Ji. “Slave Huan thinks that his kung fu is peerless, but he
doesn’t know that there are other masters in this world with skills that are
beyond his wildest imagination. Rest assured, Mister Zhang. There are eyes
on him. If he returns from the south by where he came, Shangquan Village
will be his burial ground. If he advances westwards, he’ll meet his end even
sooner.”
There was nothing left for Zhang Ji to worry about.
More than a thousand kilometers away, Gu Shenwei was opening the kit
brought by Shangguan Hong to him. There was only a note in it, and on it
was written these few words: The Third Young Master has already become
King of the Xiaowan Kingdom.
Chapter 349 - Siblings
Chapter 349: Siblings
Even though the Golden Roc Fort’s camp outside the capital of the Stone
Kingdom seemed peaceful, everyone in it was on high alert. They kept their
sabers with them at all times and even left them unsheathed and close by so
that it would be easier to strike when the time came.
The attendants who did not know kung fu were even more anxious and most
of them went into hiding. They wished that the ground were softer so that
they could dig a hole and hide in it. Everyone standing guard at their post was
shaking terribly, so much so that it seemed no one would be able to hold a
glass of water without spilling its contents out.
Shangguan Fei was seating in his tent. Like the guards, he had drawn his
saber, and like the attendants, he was trembling. He was forced to take
extraordinary measures as things had gone way south for him and he was in
the worst possible situation currently.
He watched his remaining servants warily, secretly suspicious that everyone

in the world wanted him dead.
He had given the order to break camp and begin the journey back to Jade City
upon his arrival back from the royal palace, but it was not carried out. Most
of the people in the camp remained where they were; it was as if the Ninth
Young Master was invisible and his words muted.
He came to understand that his failure to become prince consort did not
disrupt the Supreme King’s plot to kill him and put the blame on the Dragon
King. He was well aware that the killers sent to this camp by his father were
hiding somewhere nearby and waiting for the prime opportunity to strike.
He was in a state of extreme fear but could still think clearly. He knew that it
was pointless to flee, as many eyes were watching him. He was sure that the
arrows would come flying towards him even before he could escape from the
camp.
Perhaps, the only option available to him could work out.
He had already sent out his killers and was waiting for them to come back
with good news.
It was soon late night, the time when killers loved to roam.
The flap of his tent opened, and the figures who stepped in did not belong to
those killers he had sent out. Even though they were dressed identically in
black and wore masks as well, he could tell them apart at a glance.
There were a total of three of them, and they took up different positions
around the young master, silently watching him. Shangguan Fei guessed that
there were possibly more of them outside the tent.
His servant crumpled to the floor as he hugged his head. He even began
sobbing softly.
Shangguan Fei forced himself to be strong and managed to squeeze out a stiff
smile. “So, you’re moving against me now?” he asked.
The masked figures did not reply. Killing one’s master was inauspicious,
even if the order came from the Supreme King. After a while, one of them
spoke, “Please make a trip with us, Ninth Young Master.”
Shangguan Fei wanted to ask them where they were bringing him to but
quickly came to understand where they would be going. “Where else could
they bring me? My body has to be found in the city for my death to be
blamed on the Dragon King,”he thought.
“I have a solution,” said Shangguan Fei. He felt that he could not maintain
his composure for much longer and had to speak his mind as soon as he
could. “You just wish to frame the Dragon King by falsely accusing him of
killing someone from the Golden Roc Fort, don’t you? There’s an even better
candidate than me to be the sacrificial lamb—my sister.”
“Why would the Dragon King kill me? He’s already become the princess’
fiance, hasn’t he? However, he has every reason to kill Shangguan Ru. He
loves her and even had her soon-to-be husband murdered. Everyone knows
that, so—”
He swept his gaze across the faces of the three killers. “He tried to force
himself on her and killed her by accident. Isn’t it the perfect story? No one
can point out a flaw in it, and the Golden Roc Fort can use it to stop the
ceasefire as planned, thereby being able to launch an attack on the Great
Snowmountain again,” he suggested.
An eager look was plastered all over his face, making him look like a child
who had cleaned up his room on his own accord and who was excitedly
telling his parents about his accomplishment. However, the masked figures
were not his parents, and they remained unmoved. Shangguan Fei grew a
little anxious as he continued, “There’s no benefit to be gained from killing
me; once the lord comes to his senses, he’ll regret it and come looking for
those that killed me. Besides, my mother would never let my murderer off.”
The three masked figures remained silent, but finally, they seemed to be
convinced and retreated out of the tent.
Shangguan Fei let out a breath of air heavily. He felt that his legs had become
as soft as jelly and he needed to sit down.
Another person came walking into his tent, and Shangguan Fei looked as if
he had seen a ghost. He immediately stood up again, as if he had sat on a bed
of pins. “You… what’re you doing here?”, he asked.
Shangguan Ru looked at her brother, a mixture of pity, disappointment,

anger, doubt and detachment, feelings which she could not explain, churning
within her heart. “You don’t even have the courage to kill me yourself, do
you?” she questioned.
Shangguan Fei’s first reaction was denial, but could not find his tongue just
as his mouth was open halfway. The three masked figures were not his
executioners and possibly were not even killers. To begin with, it was a ploy
by his sister to get him to speak.
He was ashamed and angry at the same time. He stared at his sister for a
while before sobbing just like the slave paralyzed on the floor. “I’ve no
choice, little sister. I’ve no choice. I’m afraid, too afraid. I don’t understand
why Father would want to kill me. Forgive me! Besides, it was not my idea to
kill you. It was Mother. Yes, her. She requested for you to follow me. She
didn’t say it explicitly, but…”
Shangguan Ru did not need her brother to explain in detail. After receiving
the Dragon King’s warning, she understood the entire conspiracy; she sent
people to test her brother because she wanted to hear his confession at first
hand.
Other than their mother, no one else could force her to come to the Stone
Kingdom. In truth, she could not help her brother in any manner in his quest
to become the prince consort; her only usefulness was that she could take her
brother’s place as the sacrificial lamb.
This was the reality of life in the Stone Castle—siblings would kill each other
and the sole survivor would take over the mantle of the Supreme King. She
had seen through all of it a long time ago, but when this harsh reality was to
be applied to her own life, she still could not help but feel a heart-wrenching
pain inside.
“Do you think that Father would let you off just by acting in this way?” she
asked softly. She felt her own hatred for her brother slowly dissipating; he
was the weakling of the fort, and everything he did was nearly never of his
own accord.
“I… I don’t know,” said Shangguan Fei blankly; he had stopped crying. He
never dared to consider this possibility. “Mother… she would save me.”
“If she had the ability to save you, she would not have risked sending you
here in the first place. Don’t you get it? She’s lost the favor of our father, and
she no longer has the right to speak to him.”
Shangguan Fei shook his head violently, unwilling to admit this obvious
truth. “Never, never, Mother would never lose the favor of Father, he likes
her so much…”
His voice diminished until it almost disappeared. He was extremely clear that
in the Stone Castle, nothing was forever, other than the stones.
“What should we do now?” Shangguan Fei asked. It was like when they were
young, and he would blurt out the question to his sister without thinking.
“Escape,” Shangguan Ru replied. She was composed in front of her brother;

it was pointless to be grieving or angry. He was of the same blood as her, and
even if he was a scheming brother, she had to save him.
“How can we escape? Father’s killers are lying in wait outside,” he replied.
He regretted coming back to the camp, but knew that it was equally unsafe to
remain in the capital; after all, it had already become the territory of the
Dragon King.
Someone outside the tent said softly, “We can make a move now, Tenth
Young Master.”
Shangguan Ru turned and left the tent. Shangguan Fei hesitated for a while
before following suit, and he turned to look at the trembling servant still lying
on the floor when he reached the entrance of the tent. “You can leave with
me,” he said.
The servant remained trembling and did not reply. He seemed to have been
shocked out of his senses and did not even lift his head up. Shangguan Fei
did not pay any heed to him again.
The chilly wind blowing outside the tent was starting to turn warm, and the
endless night sky was filled with countless stars. Shangguan Fei could not
help but shiver a little and followed closely behind his sister. He disliked
darkness, especially when it was pitch black.
The three masked figures bowed to Shangguan Ru as a show of respect and

retreated backward. Soon, they had disappeared amongst the tents.
“Why have they left?”, Shangguan Fei asked in a trembling voice. He wished
to have as many people with him as possible at this juncture.
“They’re killers, and cannot leave with traitors against the lord.”
“I still have killers, they…”
Shangguan Fei suddenly remembered that he had sent his killers to

assassinate his sister, but they had never returned.
“They could not find their target and have decided to not get involved any
further in this matter. They’re never coming back to see you,” she replied.
Shangguan Fei had spent much effort in stirring up some courage within
himself, but it was gone with the wind now. He had thought that his sister had
some cunning plan up her sleeve, but it turned out to be just for the two of
them to bash their way out of the camp. He wanted to return to his tent,
where there was light. At least, if he was there, he could temporarily distance
himself from the darkness outside.
“Let’s go, follow my lead,” Shangguan Ru said as she drew her weapon from
its scabbard. It turned out to be a wooden saber.
Shangguan Fei’s faith in his sister was diminishing by the seconds; she could
not even bring herself to kill. However, his feet moved of their own accord,
and they gradually brought him further away from the brightly lit tent.
“Rather than feeling afraid myself, why not entrust my life to someone
stronger,” he thought. It was this thought that made him cast away all his
doubts and follow closely behind his sister.
Shangguan Ru was not sneaking out, but walking boldly and openly out of
the camp.
No one came to stop them; it was as if everyone in the camp had gone
missing all of a sudden.
Despite that, Shangguan Fei did not feel secure at all. He knew that many
murderous killers were waiting for him in the dark.
When they were a few dozen steps away from the gate of the camp, his
nightmare came true.
A few black figures dashed out from behind their tents and came rushing at
the siblings from various directions.
Shangguan Ru struck her saber at her opponents. She made a sudden change
of direction just as she began moving, and her saber hit the shoulder of the
opponent on her left. Even though it did not have much killing power, it still
knocked her opponent away.
Her feet did not stop moving, as she leaped around the tents. It was as if she
was playing in the Stone Castle when she was young. Her lightness skills
were top notch and she made frequent changes in direction, but Shangguan
Fei managed to keep up. In a bid to ensure his own survival, he had
stimulated all of his hidden potential in lightness skills.
Shangguan Ru did not seem to have a well-defined escape route and seemed
to be probing different spots of the camp. Shangguan Fei soon caught on to
her; she wanted to flush out all of the hidden killers.
Not everyone in the camp had received orders to kill the twins; less than 20
killers were trying to hem them in. The others remained hidden in their tents,
contented to watch how things would unfold.
The killers chased closely after the twins, and after circling twice around the
camp, there was finally a breach in their ranks. The siblings took their chance
and rushed out of the camp.
Shangguan Ru had already prepared two good horses beforehand, and the
twins leaped onto their mount and spurred them into a gallop.
The killers behind them were still chasing after them but did not seem to be
putting too much effort into it. Shangguan Fei suddenly realized that they
were riding towards the capital of the Stone Kingdom.
“We cannot enter the city,” shouted Shangguan Fei. He dared not reduce
speed for fear of losing his sister. “It’s exactly what Father wants; for us to
die near the Dragon King.”
Shangguan Ru did not reply, but she knew very clearly that under such
circumstances, the Dragon King was very possibly the only person who did
not want the twins dead.
As they neared the capital, its gate was suddenly flung open, but it was not to
welcome the twins.
A column of people came riding quickly out of the gate, and its leader was
the Dragon King himself.
Neither of the siblings knew that their Third Brother had already become the
prince consort of the Xiaowan Kingdom and that in reality, a war had already
begun between the Golden Roc Fort and the Great Snowmountain.
Chapter 350 - Secret
Chapter 350: Secret
A large-scale riot of unknown cause broke out in the Golden Roc Fort’s camp
late in the night. The shouting lasted for about two hours, and the citizens in
the surrounding area could hear them clearly, but none of them dared to
venture forth to witness the commotion that night.
Early on the next morning, some curious citizens finally plucked up their
courage and headed for the campsite, hoping to find out what had happened
last night. However, they only found it deserted when they arrived there.
Dozens of corpses were left behind, and they all belonged to defenseless
slaves in the camp.
The killers and machetemen had broken camp in a haste and left behind a
large number of valuable items, to the benefit of the local good-for-nothings.
Very soon, citizens from the surrounding area, regardless of age or gender,
were hurrying over to get their share of the spoils. When the soldiers from the
city arrived at the scene, even most of the corpses had been stripped of their
clothing.
Most people heard a whisper that it was the Dragon King who had killed the
children of the Supreme King and sparked the panic within the camp last
night, but another rumor had it that it was the killers of the Golden Roc Fort
who had secretly executed their own young master and killed their slaves to
conceal the truth.
No matter what it was, everyone believed the Shangguan twins to be dead by

now, and that the Great Snowmountain and the Golden Roc Fort had renewed
their war with each other. As for the Stone Kingdom, now it had no choice
but to join the side of the Great Snowmountain.
In fact, both the twins and Shangguan Hong were still very much alive and
hiding in the city. Gu Shenwei was still undecided on how to handle them;
there had been too many unexpected accidents lately which disrupted his
plans.
The first surprise for him was Zhang Ji. He racked his brain but still failed to
figure out how did the tutor, who had obscured his talents for so many years
in the fort, get to take part in such a secretive mission and even set him up.
The second person who surprised him was the Third Young Master,
Shangguan Yun. The last time Gu Shenwei had met him, he was imprisoned
in the dungeon, and even attempted to take his father’s life. “Why had his
fortunes reversed all of a sudden, and why was he the only child still favored
by the Supreme King? He was even representing the Golden Roc Fort in the
Xiaowan Kingdom,” Gu Shenwei thought perplexedly.
The note from Zhang Ji, which had been passed to him via Shangguan Hong,
had already given an obvious hint that no matter how the Dragon King
handled the twins, the Golden Roc Fort would come up with an excuse to
renew its war with the Great Snowmountain. As such, his best option was
still to kill the three siblings to fulfill his vow of revenge against the entire
Shangguan Family.
His hatred was thus being used against him.
Even though it was a critical moment for him, Gu Shenwei still decided to
use some of his precious time on a visit to Nengjue Temple. He wanted to
pay Master Fayan a visit; he did not like the monk, but he needed the monk’s
advice. He wanted to have a clear picture of how big the ambition of the
Supreme King actually was.
“I’m extremely grateful for your returning of the personnel file, Dragon
King,” said Fayan. He knew nothing about the happenings of the past two
days, and his expression was still as sorrowful as before.
Gu Shenwei had just paid a heavy price for underestimating his opponent,
and did not want to make the same mistake again. Therefore his attitude
toward the monk had become extremely sincere now. “The personnel file
belongs to this fine temple, and it’s only right for it to return to its original
owner,” he said.
Fayan nodded with a smile on his face but did not reply; Gu Shenwei
remained silent as well. They faced each other in this manner for about 30
minutes before the monk finally broke the silence. The monk somehow knew
what Gu Shenwei wanted to know without evening talking to him and
explained explicitly, “There are two mountain passes outside Jade City. The
one in the west leads to Shu-lik, and the other one in the south to the Xiaoyao
Lake. Once the Golden Roc Fort captures these two places, half of the
territories in Western Region will belong to the Shangguan family. With such
a large piece of land, the Golden Roc Fort will rise to become a power
worthy of comparison with the other big nations.”
Finally, he could sort through the mess of thoughts in his mind and fish out
some leads from them. He had made a mistake which nearly no one could
have avoided: that of overconfidence. He had thought of himself as the
biggest opponent of his enemy.
When in fact, to both Zhang Ji and the Supreme King, he was just a killer
who did not know his place and who was causing a nuisance far away from
the heart of the Golden Roc Fort. Shangguan Fa’s reaction had been weak
thus far because he had greater ambitions in mind and was not willing to
reveal his true strength at such an early stage.
Gu Shenwei had always thought of the Golden Roc Fort as a huge,

immovable force, but it was, in fact, more like a sleeping beast; although
frequently caught napping, it would not be willing to be continually attacked
without fighting back, and when it did, it could easily tear the instigator to
shreds.
As Gu Shenwei was getting ready to take his leave, Fayan said, “I hope that
you can bring that lady over for a visit before you leave, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei bowed and acknowledged the monk’s request before walking

into the royal palace directly from a side gate of Nengjue Temple.
The three Shangguan siblings were facing each other silently in an isolated
room; they had not spoken to each other since meeting.
Gu Shenwei faced them as he spoke, “I want to bring all three of you back to
Jade City. Since everyone says that I’ve killed you, I want to show them that
all of you are alive.”
Shangguan Ru cast her gaze sideways and her twin brother let out a sigh of
relief slowly. Only Shangguan Hong replied, “What’s the point? I estimate
that most of the people from the Great Snowmountain would already be dead
by the time we arrive back at Jade City. If you’re asking me, why not let’s do
it this way: let me go, and I shall sneak back and tell everyone there the truth.
This might still allow us to salvage the situation.”
Shangguan Hong was still under the impression that Zhang Ji wanted him to
pass the kit to the Dragon King as the tutor had some cunning plan to save
him. As such, he preferred not to be seen working together with the Dragon
King.
Gu Shenwei looked at Master Hong, who was completely unaware that he

was being made use of. He despised Shangguan Hong’s foolishness and yet
could empathize with him at the same time. “You’re just like the two of
them: wanted by the Supreme King. If I let you go, you’ll be killed even
before walking out of the desert.”
Shangguan Hong laughed drily and did not really believe the Dragon King’s
words. “I’m just a scapegoat. If the Ninth Young Master survives, I’ll be
targeted, but if everyone believes him to be dead, naturally I would be fine.
The Lord has no reason to kill me now, and he may not even know that I’m
still alive.”
“Have you divulged that secret to Zhang Ji?”
The expression of Shangguan Hong changed as Gu Shenwei’s question took

him by surprise. He quickly glanced at the twins before replying, “What’re
we talking about this for? Er, Zhang Ji… he knows everything; nobody can
fool him.”
“In this way, the Supreme King knows about it too. And it’s because of this
secret that he wants all of you dead.”
Shangguan Hong was agape with shock. He did not understand the intentions
of the Dragon King. “Impossible, impossible, how could Zhang Ji even get an
audience with the lord?”, he asked.
Comparably, the twins were in even greater shock, especially Shangguan Fei.
He still could not figure out why his father intended to kill him, and could not
think of any other reason other than his own cowardice, nor did he dare to
ask. He leaped up from his seat the moment he heard that it could be linked to
Shangguan Hong. “It’s you! What secret is it? Why? You’ve offended Father,
haven’t you? But how could it have links to me?” he questioned.
Shangguan Hong had no counter for Shangguan Fei’s continuous stream of

questions and hurriedly waved his hand, replying, “Don’t spout nonsense, the
Dragon King’s… trying to drive a wedge between us. Don’t believe him.”
“I’m trying to drive a wedge between you three?”, Gu Shenwei countered

coldly. He took out the note from Zhang Ji and showed it to the three
Shangguan siblings.
“Third Brother?” Shangguan Ru asked. She was confused; when they had set
off from Jade City, Shangguan Yun was still imprisoned in the dungeon, and
there were no signs of any impending release for him.
“The Xiaowan Kingdom?” Shangguan Fei was even more bewildered than
his sister. “When did Father take an interest in the Xiaowan Kingdom?”, he
continued asking.
“Third Young Master? Zhang Ji…”, Shangguan Hong said, particularly

unable to fathom the tutor’s intentions.
Gu Shenwei had no other direct evidence besides the note, but he could
already deduce most of the conspiracy from the facts laid out in front of him.
“This is Zhang Ji’s cunning plot, the person he really hopes to assist is
Shangguan Yun; supporting Shangguan Hong was just a way of getting
Shangguan Yun out of the dungeon, am I right?”
The twins knew nothing about this and did not even understand what the
Dragon King meant by saying Zhang Ji had ‘supported’ Shangguan Hong. As
such, they turned to their half-brother, who was turning paler by the minute.
“Yes… yes, but Zhang Ji said that only by releasing Shangguan Yun…
would the various powers in the fort balance out and that this would be
beneficial to me. How could it…”
Shangguan Fei flew into a rage and rushed up to Shangguan Hong, saying,
“So you’ve been harboring a plot all this while. How could I not have seen
through it? To think that I even treated you as a confidant!”
Shangguan Hong’s face turned from pale white to peach red as he stood up as
well. “Confidant? I’m your elder brother, not your most trusted slave from
the Stone Castle!” he exclaimed.
Both of them stared angrily at each other, seemingly about to come to blows
at any instant. Gu Shenwei had to forcibly suppress his urge to kill both of
them as he mocked coldly , “Don’t be hasty. When the Supreme King hears
the news that any of you are still alive, he’ll send killers after you three.”
Upon hearing that, the two half-brothers returned to their respective seats,
still angry with each other. Shangguan Fei continued to question his elder
half-brother in the tone of a master addressing his slave, “Speak, what secret
does Zhang Ji tell to our father? Why did it cause Father to be so angry that
he would want even me and my sister dead?”
Shangguan Hong turned his head away and his lips remained tightly sealed.
His face, though, was as red as when he spoke to Shangguan Fei earlier.
“Stop asking,” interrupted Shangguan Ru. She had been living in the Inner
Residence and could roughly guess what Shangguan Hong’s ‘secret’ was.
“The end result will be the same even if we know what it is,” she continued.
“No. I want to know what it is,” replied Shangguan Fei. Even though he was
cowardly, he was not afraid of Shangguan Hong and was determined to find
out the truth.
Shangguan Hong continued ignoring him and turned to the Dragon King,
“Did Zhang Ji really divulge the secret to the Lord?”
“Think about it. First, he made use of you and Lady Meng to get Shangguan
Yun out. Next, he would have to get rid of potential challengers for
Shangguan Yun, and what better way to do that than leverage on your secret?
You should have understood this the moment you knew the Supreme King
wanted all three of you dead.”
Shangguan Hong grew even redder. It was not that he did not have his
suspicions, but he could not believe that Zhang Ji could have betrayed him.
Now that it was already a fact that the Third Young Master had become the
Prince Consort of Xiaowan Kingdom and obviously the heir apparent of the
Supreme King, what further use could he, an illegitimate son, be of?
“How could this be?”, said Shangguan Hong, irritated. He was restless and
tried to speak a few times but ended up holding himself back. “Is there a need
to tell them?” he finally asked.
“What secret is it exactly?”, Shangguan Fei asked. He was close to flying into
a violent rage, which was something rare for him.
“They’ll get to know it sooner or later. Since all of you are on the same boat
now, it’s best to be honest with each other,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Then you… you tell them since you know everything,” replied Shangguan
Hong as he hung his head. He had still not recovered from the blow of Zhang
Ji’s betrayal.
Shangguan Ru’s expression had turned somber and once had wanted to leave
before returning to her seat again. She hung her head as well.
Only Shangguan Fei was waiting impatiently for the Dragon King to divulge
the secret. Most importantly, he wanted to know whether there was any way
to salvage his diminished reputation in the eyes of his father.
“Shangguan Hong had an affair with Lady Meng,” said Gu Shenwei bluntly.
He had known about this secret long ago but did not expect for it to become a
deadly weapon in Zhang Ji’s hands.
“In the past, the deadliest weapon was a counselor,” recalled Gu Shenwei as
he thought about his previous discussions with the tutor. Now, this old but
deadly weapon was about to be ‘unsheathed’ again.
Shangguan Fei was stunned. He did not seem to understand the Dragon
King’s words and furrowed his eyebrows together like a confused student
trying hard to process new information.
He turned his head and carefully took a measure of the uneasy and bashful
Shangguan Hong. Suddenly, he drew his saber and rushed toward his elder
half-brother with only murder on his mind. His speed was so great that not
only was Shangguan Hong unable to counter, even Gu Shenwei felt that it
was hard for him to interfere.
Chapter 351 - Hesitation
Chapter 351: Hesitation
Shangguan Hong had never understood how things actually happened, but he
insisted that he had no fault in it.
Zhang Ji made him do whatever he could to please Lady Meng, but he never
did say that Shangguan Hong must throw himself at her, and he definitely did
not harbor such thoughts as well. To him, Lady Meng was akin to the Lord
himself, and his impression of them was only fear and pressure.
However, after thinking about it carefully, Shangguan Hong realized that he

had some unique advantages indeed.
First of all, there was not a lot of men in the Inner Residence as most of them
were either handymen or killers. Because of this, Shangguan Hong was above
them all due to the fact that he carried the surname of Shangguan and shared
the same blood as Supreme King.
Moreover, he had always stayed near Lady Meng’s residence and would pay
his respects two times a day like how servants do. Then, he would wait
patiently and try to seize any opportunity to please and flatter Lady Meng
shamelessly.
Perhaps he outdid himself on his ability to please people, Shangguan Hong

sometimes thought. However, the reason Lady Meng chose him seemed to be
related to the Supreme King as well.
Lady Meng was extremely furious about the affair between the Supreme
King and Luo Ningcha. She had even shed tears over it several times. It was
during then when Shangguan Hong noticed that Lady Meng’s attitude
towards him had changed. She would glance more often at him, and there
was some kind of obvious scrutiny coming from her gaze.
“How is it that he has so many women yet his appetite can’t be satisfied?”
Lady Meng once complained in front of Shangguan Hong. “Why must he go
to that woman of all people? That’s his daughter-in-law! Isn’t he ashamed at
all? Must everybody be like pigs in this castle in order to live well?”
Shangguan Hong was terrified and did not dare to answer as he knelt on the
ground. He did not tell Zhang Ji what Lady Meng had said, for fear that he
would be embroiled in a brutal family feud.
In the following year, Shangguan Hong managed to gain more trust from
Lady Meng and began to run errands for her. During this time, he also had
more frequent contact with her as well.
Suddenly on one night, it all unfolded.
Shangguan Hong had no choice. He was too terrified at that time, and his
whole body was limp. However, to his great surprise, only the nether region
was erected.
Naturally, after the first time came the second, and the third time soon
followed…
Shangguan Hong became a toy and a confidant of Lady Meng. He knew the
Supreme King had a change in temperament and started to not give in to
temptations of women and lust from Lady Meng’s mouth. He was also taking
back his authority from Lady Meng bit by bit.
Shangguan Hong kept this secret hidden for a long time and did not mention
a thing to anybody, as Lady Meng also demanded silence on this issue. She
told him directly without hinting, and said, “If any of this leaks, be prepared
to jump down straight from the Reincarnation Cliff with your mother.”
But he could not help himself. Like an inflated balloon, the secret was taking
over his mind and it would explode sooner or later if he did not release it.
Therefore, Shangguan Hong revealed everything to the only person he

trusted.
Zhang Ji’s reaction at that time did not seem like a counselor who harbored
ulterior motives. He merely sneered, neither praising nor objecting and never
spoke of the matter again. But he did request Shangguan Hong to carefully
bring up the topic of Third Young Master in front of Lady Meng.
Zhang Ji managed to instill an idea to Lady Meng through Shangguan Hong’s

mouth: Supreme King hoped to balance the several influences within the
Stone Castle and did not like it when someone controls most of the authority,
therefore Lady Meng should take the initiative and create a “rival” that she
could control.
The Second Young Master was still alive back then, but he was known for
being her lackey, so the best candidate for this “rival” should be the Third
Young Master.
He was kept imprisoned in the dungeons for years and therefore had no
foundation in the castle, plus he had always been at odds with his father, all
these were some of his “advantages” so to speak.
It was a mission that was carried out step by step and Zhang Ji was never in a
rush. Shangguan Hong spent half a year to finally convince Lady Meng and
she took almost as long to let the Supreme King recall that he still had a son
who was imprisoned. A defiant but promising son.
Then the matter was dropped, Zhang Ji no longer urged about it, the affair
between Shangguan Hong and Lady Meng slowly lost interest as well, while
Third Young Master continued to be imprisoned, suffering the fate of being
forgotten once again.
Shangguan Hong did not realize then that Third Young Master was an
important figure when he went to Shu-lik last year and was forced to divulge
the secret to Dragon King.
When Chu Nanping and Tie Linglong were captured in Golden Roc Fort,
Shangguan Hong was immediately suspected once Dragon King claimed that
he was aware of Lady Meng’s secret. But Lady Meng did not act on it right
away and only waited until Shangguan Fei came to the Stone Kingdom to
seek a marriage. It was only then that she sent Shangguan Hong to follow her
son along.
Zhang Ji told him, “Lady Meng is going to kill you, and she will most likely
make use of Dragon King’s saber to do so. Heed my words and you might be
able to return to Jade City alive.”
Zhang Ji then passed Shangguan Hong a kit and asked him to hand it to
Dragon King only after the Stone Kingdom had chosen their prince consort.
He also told Shangguan Hong that he should never peek into the kit and that
Dragon King cannot know about this until everything was settled. “Whether
or not you can survive depends on your determination to hold on until the
end.”
Shangguan Hong managed to persist until the end, but he would never have
imagined that his “teacher” of so many years would actually sell him out to
Dragon King as a “gift”.
This was the most disappointing and saddest thing to him. Dragon King’s
saber was of no importance compared to this betrayal. “I trusted him so
much…”
That moment, the four of them faced each other awkwardly in the room.
Shangguan Ru’s lips were drawn into a thin line. Her world had not stopped
crushing down on her. One by one, her subordinates, friends, brother, and
parents revealing their true colors only served to make her even stronger.
Shangguan Fei tried to strike a blow but was blocked by Dragon King.
Throwing his saber away, he held his head and muttered to himself, “How is
this possible?”
He finally understood that his father was resolute in his intention to kill. Both
his sister and him were pampered because of their mother and naturally
would fall from grace along with their mother. He was filled with resentment
and hated all of them - Shangguan Hong, his mother, his father, his sister, and
Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei was the only one who maintained a calm expression out of the
four of them, yet he was uncertain as well. This small group of people
harbored hatred for one another, but was it possible for them to be bound by a
common hatred for the enemy?
However, he believed that it was better to divulge the secret voluntarily rather
than exposing it unintentionally in the future.
“Think about your future way out,” Gu Shenwei decided to give the three of
them some time to think things through. “You cannot hide here forever,
Supreme King will know the truth sooner or later. Then he will send someone
to kill you when that time comes.”
Shangguan Hong followed Gu Shenwei as he left the room, the last thing that
he wanted was to remain in the same room with the twins.
After settling Shangguan Hong, Gu Shenwei sent someone to summon Zhong

Heng.
Maid Lotus appeared before Zhong Heng arrived, she was always nearby him
and heard everything about the scandal of the Shangguan family, she said,
“You need to think carefully, all of them carried the Shangguan surname.”
Maid Lotus seldom gave suggestions unless Gu Shenwei asked. But this time,
she felt very uneasy about Dragon King’s decision.
Gu Shenwei did not think that Maid Lotus was meddling in his business
because even he himself had not made up his mind completely on this issue,
“Both the Supreme King and Zhang Ji made a mistake. They are accustomed
to how Golden Roc Fort handles matters, and don’t think much about killing
their own children. But that is not the case for others, normal people will not
kill their children. I want to keep the three of them to show the ugliest side of
the Supreme King to the world.”
These words were more for himself instead. Perhaps the military counselor
could understand my intentions, Gu Shenwei thought to himself. Fang
Wenshi had always told Dragon King to be someone who was completely
opposite of Supreme King.
As expected, Maid Lotus was impassive, it seems like she did not really
understand his intentions. She was also a killer cultivated by Golden Roc
Fort, and New Moon Hall’s principles would only serve to reinforce it
further. She felt that Golden Roc Fort’s style of handling things was already
widely known by people, it was also why they could stand firmly in the
Western Region for so many years, therefore it was not necessary to prove it
to the world.
However, she did not voice out her views on the matter. Since Dragon King
had already decided, she would not oppose it. Although she believed that
Shangguan Ru was the real reason that he showed mercy.
Maid Lotus hid again when Zhong Heng arrived.
Now that Zhong Heng was the Prime Minister of the Stone Kingdom, he was
entitled to share the royal seal together with the King. But his position was
very unstable, it was still shaky and could be snatched away at any time.
Hence, he could only rely on Dragon King.
To Gu Shenwei’s relief, Zhong Heng was very supportive of his decision,

“Everybody knows that the Golden Roc Fort is unscrupulous and stops at
nothing, but few people have experienced it personally. This can be an
opportunity to let everyone know that the Supreme King will kill his own
children just for some personal gain.”
However, this could only be carried out in Jade City. Only there could the
humiliation cause the greatest harm toward the Supreme King.
Moreover, both of them agreed that the thousands of troops from the Great
Snowmountain must be relocated to the Stone Kingdom.
The western border of Jade City was narrow, and with Shu-lik at the back
made it unreliable, the Great Snowmountain couldn’t hold on for long.
Entering the Stone Kingdom for them, however, would give them the
strength needed to unify the Xiaoyao Lake and secure a strong base.
“We need to act fast.” Zhong Heng brought over a map and laid it on the
table as he and Dragon King studied it. “I am afraid the Golden Roc Fort had
already declared war with the Great Snowmountain. You would need to bring
them out of there before they are all wiped out, Dragon King.”
This was precisely what Gu Shenwei was most anxious about. Every minute
spent in the Stone Kingdom was a waste of his time, but he had to work out a
detailed and meticulous plan. He had already walked right into the enemy’s
trap and could not allow himself to be led further by their intentions, that
would only make him sink deeper into their trap.
“There are two routes to go back to Jade City and the Great Snowmountain
camp.” Gu Shenwei had thought about it for a long time but was not able to
reach a final decision. “We can head towards the north and take the original
route back to Shuangquan Village, before turning west all the way. That will
take about half a month’s journey to reach Jade City. We can also ride faster
to cut the timing shorter. Or we can just head towards the west straightaway
and pass through the Kang, the Sha, and the Hui Kingdoms, before going
towards the north and cross the desert. Here, we can reach the Great
Snowmountain camp first.”
“The first route is very dangerous. Golden Roc Fort must have already set
traps to intercept you, Dragon King. But the second route will be a hard
traverse, and the journey time might be twice as long.”
This was exactly what Gu Shenwei was hesitating about, “Perhaps I can
sneak around the traps if I don’t bring along any attendants.”
Zhong Heng propped his chin and thought for a moment, “I think you should
still bring along the three Shangguan siblings. Their roles can probably do
more than just letting the Supreme King make a fool of himself.”
Gu Shenwei pointed to the second route, “Then this is the only choice.
Perhaps bringing more horses can save some time.”
“Be careful.” Zhong Heng agreed with Dragon King, but he felt the need to
remind him, “All the people of the Shangguan family are wolf cubs and will
bite back their savior at any time.”
Chapter 352 - Set Out
Chapter 352: Set Out
The sentry at the border of the Stone Kingdom brought back bad news: The
allied forces of the four kingdoms led by the Kang Kingdom were headed
toward the capital with a total of 2000 troops.
The residents of Stone Kingdom had not yet recovered from the coup and
were now made to live in fear of their kingdom’s demise. The capital was
never big to begin with, and it quickly became crowded with residents from
the outer cities moving in.
The situation was very serious as Stone Kingdom only had less than 500 men
in its standing army, some of them were even hired from Golden Roc Fort.
Moreover, many of them deserted after Dragon King was announced as the
prince consort, leaving less than 400 men in the army.
The bandits who had been subdued by Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus in the
desert, along with a few others who had rushed over upon hearing the news,
amounted to less than 200 men.
Taking into account the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain and the
guards from the royal palace, the number of soldiers that Stone Kingdom
could use barely reached 600 men.
The King was even more terrified than his own people and had completely
lost all will to resist. All he ever did was to kneel in front of the ancestors’
tablets, repenting from day to night, complaining about his bad luck and
pushing all blame to others.
Zhong Heng personally took the royal seal from the King and began issuing
orders to prepare the kingdom’s defenses.
Gu Shenwei gathered the three members of the Shangguan family and told
them what he thought, “I am returning to Jade City to save the Great
Snowmountain troops. At the same time, I want to prove that the children of
Supreme King did not die in my hands.”
All of them remained impassive. Gu Shenwei paused before continuing,

“You have two choices. One, stay at Stone Kingdom and wait for the news to
leak, the killers will come knocking at your the door. Or two, come with me.”
Shangguan Ru was the first to speak. She had been lukewarm towards him
ever since they had met again. Her tone was businesslike and impersonal as if
it was a formal negotiation. “You are going to use us to disgrace Supreme
King and make Golden Roc Fort lose moral support.”
She referred to him as “Supreme King” rather than “father”. This was a good
sign for Gu Shenwei, so he admitted frankly, “That’s right. That is why I
won’t kill you. You are still of use here.”
Shangguan Ru did not utter another word and kept her gaze down as if
everything was insignificant to her.
Shangguan Fei secretly sighed with relief. He was safe as long as he could
still be useful to others. He said, “I will come with you. However, you need
to protect… us.”
He had thought it through and realized that Stone Kingdom’s capital was
currently in peril, therefore it was better to go with Dragon King rather than
stay here.
Shangguan Hong did not think for very long as he was only preoccupied with
one thing, “I can come with you but… the two of them need to promise that
they will not assassinate me.”
“I won’t.” Shangguan Fei said, gritting his teeth.
Shangguan Hong immediately realized that there was a loophole in his

words, so he added, “You cannot kill me in the open either, and you have to
promise that you won’t try to kill me in any way.”
“I promise.” Shangguan Fei squeezed out these words from his throat, but his
gaze was void of tolerance.
Shangguan Hong was more than familiar with the credibility of these
“promises” made by the Shangguan family, but it was all he could ask for.
Either way, he made up his mind to stay with Dragon King at all times from
now on.
Everyone’s eyes rested on Shangguan Ru as she still had not made a clear
decision.
“I will leave the Stone Kingdom with you, but not necessarily back to Jade
City.”
She did not know where she really wanted to go. Stone Castle was no longer
her home, and Jade City disgusted her, but Stone Kingdom was a foreign land
to her, she had nowhere else to go.
It was settled then.
Gu Shenwei decided to leave that night. Lin Xiaoshan and over 20

swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain would remain in the Stone
Kingdom and act as Prime Minister Zhong Heng’s bodyguards. The 200
bandits who had been forced into submission were also handed over to him.
In this way, he would possess an independent army and this could help drive
Stone Kingdom’s troops to fight.
Xu Yanwei, Guan Shang and Jiang remained with the Princess at the royal
palace.
Gu Shenwei brought along Maid Lotus, the three Shangguan siblings and five
bandits including He Sancai. He put together 10 people and prepared 20
steeds.
Xu Yanwei came to send them off. Seeing Miss Ru and Dragon King
together again made her very happy. At the same time, she did not forget
about the Princess in the palace. To her, it was normal for Dragon King to
have many wives and concubines.
“You should visit the Princess before you leave, Dragon King. You are the
prince consort now, but you haven’t even met her once.”
“We’ll talk about it when I’m back.” Gu Shenwei replied. He was not in the
mood to see the Princess and had in fact, almost forgotten about her.
Xu Yanwei sighed silently. She felt that the women who were involved with
Dragon King would never be happy, and she was fortunate that she had not
slept with him at that time.
At dusk, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus went to Nengjue Temple to pay

respects to Master Fayan as promised.
The monks from the Four Truths Temple were all packed up and ready to
leave the kingdom the next morning. They would return by the original route
since they would not have to worry about traps.
Fayan promised that he would explain the truth to the chief of the Four
Truths Temple. “Old monk is grateful that Dragon King did not start a killing
frenzy in the Stone Kingdom. Please accept my humble gift.”
Each of them received a small package wrapped in cloth. Once they left the
temple, they unwrapped the cloth to find a booklet inside.
The copied text in the booklet was still fresh, as if the writing had just been
completed. The title was: Sumeru Mustard Mantra.
Fayan had refused to make a deal with Dragon King because he had long
decided to give them the precious mantra that would help them with their
Internal Strength.
The old monk was truly a strange person. Gu Shenwei was able to guess his
thoughts but he was unable to understand him. This set of Internal Strength
had to be a unique and important skill to the Four Truths Temple, yet he had
given it away just like that, especially to people who were known as devils to
the world.
However, their confusion and gratitude soon vanished. First of all, the text
was extremely esoteric and was mixed with a great amount of transliteration
from Sanskrit. Both of them could barely understand it, and they suspected
that this could be another variation of the Breaking Obsession. Perhaps the
old monk was trying to use this to make them remove their killing desire.
Secondly, each of them had only received half of the mantra. Gu Shenwei
had the first volume, and Maid Lotus had the second.
What was the monk’s real intention? Was he trying to sow discord? They
could not understand and did not want to think too much about it. Maid Lotus
gave her volume to Gu Shenwei, “You hold onto it for now since we won’t
have time to practice it for a while.”
Maid Lotus was probably sincere about it, but Gu Shenwei was also aware of
her interest in this divine kung fu. He did not take her volume, but instead
proposed another idea, “Let’s hide it together, and we can take it out again
once we return to Stone Kingdom.”
“Alright.” Maid Lotus said flatly.
It was these kinds of small matters which made them realize that they were
being too polite to one another. Both of them had been acting carefully so as
to not let the other become suspicious.
Perhaps this was Fayan’s intention.
At midnight, when the sky was the darkest, the group of 10 people quietly
left Stone Kingdom’s capital.
Within the group, the bandit Zheng Tai, known as “Sand Devil”, was leading
the group. The five kingdoms of Xiaoyao Lake were his territory and he
knew his way around well. They did not take the main road but went toward
the south for a few miles, before heading west, following the shore of the
lake closely.
Xiaoyao Lake was quite big and extended onto a vast territory. Dark
mountains could be seen looming from the other bank as the sound of the
waves washing on the shore matched the hoofbeats of the galloping horses.
The 10 of them traveled all night and rested for a little while before
continuing their journey again. By the time it grew dark again, they could see
the troops of the Kang Kingdom from a distance.
Gu Shenwei could have snuck into the military camp during the night and
assassinated a few high-ranking military officers but he did not want to waste
any time, so he made a detour and entered the territory of Kang Kingdom at
midnight.
Further west was the Sha and Hui Kingdoms. Out of the five kingdoms, only
the An Kingdom lay on the southern bank of the Xiaoyao Lake, but they did
not need to pass through there.
Zheng Tai tried to take isolated paths as much as possible. Only bandits like
him who had lived in the wild for many years would know about these
deserted paths.
The route was very concealed. The only flaw was that it was not an easy one.
Although the group traveled relentlessly from day till night, by the time they
reached the Hui Kingdom, they had already spent 10 days, rode seven horses
to death and had been forced to abandon some water and food.
After passing through the Hui Kingdom, they would enter the Gobi desert for
a thousand miles and would no longer be able to get supplies during this
period. Therefore, it was necessary to stop and reorganize, as they would
need to buy more horses and stock up on supplies like water and food.
It was easy to stock up water and food but difficult to buy horses as most of
them were being used by Stone Kingdom to prepare for war.
They managed to catch up with the first wave of messengers from the
frontlines who brought news that Stone Kingdom’s capital was surrounded
and would be conquered within a few days.
More bad news for the Great Snowmountain arrived. It was rumored that
Supreme King had hidden tens of thousands of troops and divided them into
two routes, one would attack the Great Snowmountain camp in the west
while the other would go for the “unfilial son” Shangguan Nu in the east.
Gu Shenwei tried his best to be optimistic: With Golden Roc Fort sending
expeditions to both the east and west, it was unlikely for them to send troops
down south. This way, only the four allied forces of the Xiaoyao Lake would
be surrounding Stone Kingdom’s capital. As a result, Zhong Heng could
maintain his defense for a little longer as there were not so many opposing
forces.
Before leaving, Gu Shenwei promised Zhong Heng that he would return to

Stone Kingdom with swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain. Time was
running out.
After much delay, He Sancai finally managed to buy all the necessary
supplies and horses. The others took this opportunity to have a good rest
since they knew that once they entered the Gobi desert, it would be a long
time before they would have soft beds and unrationed clean water.
Gu Shenwei had only slept for a short while before coming out to stand guard
again.
He cannot make any more mistakes now that the war had resumed again. He
had to be vigilant at all times.
Shangguan Hong did not sleep much either. He was waiting for the
opportunity to talk to Dragon King alone. So he snuck to his side and
whispered, “I could be of great service to you. Although I am not any kind of
Young Master, I know many secrets that even the twins have not heard of
before.”
“So you still have ‘secrets’.”
Realizing that Dragon King did not believe him, Shangguan Hong panicked.
He was as pragmatic as any other person in Golden Roc Fort and would not
feel secure unless he was holding onto something important worth
exchanging “It’s true. I didn’t say it at first because I thought it was not
important, but I’ve been thinking for the past two days about what will
interest you. Then I remembered this.”
“Speak.”
“Uh, well, there is a secret passage that can directly lead to Stone Castle from
the foot of the mountain. Technically speaking, it cannot be considered as a
secret passage but it really goes all the way to the top.”
Gu Shenwei was unable to fathom how this secret passage was hidden since
Golden Roc Fort was located on a precipice and all sides of the castle were
bottomless abysses, “You had better not be lying about this.”
“I would never.” Shangguan Hong’s eyes sparkled in excitement, “As soon as

we arrive in Jade City, I will show you the secret passage, Dragon King. This
is my service to you, and it is greater than anybody’s else.”
Shangguan Hong returned to the temporary camp and slept peacefully.
Gu Shenwei noted this in his heart and moved stealthily around the camp. He
discovered a stalker behind He Sancai as he returned with the purchased
supplies.
Chapter 353 - Dug out the Heart
Chapter 353: Dug out the Heart
With the cruel Gobi on the left and the capricious desert on the right, it
seemed like two completely different but equally deadly weapons determined
to torture any creature who passed through.
This route which started in the Hui Kingdom of Xiaoyao Lake slanted
northwestward until it reached the territory of Shu-lik. It was not the shortest
route but it was the only safe passage available to them.
A corpse lay on a blanket, its blood already solidified. His empty chest was
like an abyss, dark and bottomless.
There was one each day and this had been the third victim in three days. The
killer who followed the group was organized, like a connoisseur who had
tasted many delicacies, no matter what he ate, he would chew slowly, bit by
bit.
Gu Shenwei was unable to force the rest to continue their journey. The
relentless traveling throughout day and night to save time and lose their
stalker had resulted in a tragic failure.
Like a shadow, they were unable to detect the killer by sight or sound. Once
the night fell, he would mysteriously appear, kill a person and dig out their
heart, before disappearing once again.
Gu Shenwei tried many defensive measures.
They did not stop to rest and traveled through the first night. However, a
bandit at the rear was quietly killed before dawn. Not even a scream was
heard even as his heart was dug out. He was left still riding on horseback, his
horse trotting obediently behind the group.
It was not until dawn when someone turned around and saw such a strange
sight: a corpse riding on horseback.
Shangguan Hong and Shangguan Fei had vomited on the spot and could
hardly get back up on their horses. Shangguan Ru did not even come over to
look at the sight. Upon seeing the tragic death of their peer, even the
remaining four bandits, who had killed without batting an eye, turned pale as
well.
Gu Shenwei personally carried the body off the horse’s back and leave the
horse behind. He then ordered everybody to continue on their way as he and
Maid Lotus remained at the back.
But nothing happened the entire day.
The following night, as they need to let the horses rest, the remaining nine of
them sat in a circle and faced outward with their weapons drawn out as they
took turns to keep watch. Except for the occasional crackle of a small fire in
the middle and horses’ neighs, nobody noticed anything unusual, and no
warning was raised by any of them.
In the morning, the bandit sitting between He Sancai and Zheng Tai was
dead. His heart was removed, and the two people next to him did not even
realize it.
The two of them admitted that they have fallen asleep at dawn.
That day, they traveled at great speed and no one suggested taking breaks of
any sort. Everybody wanted to escape from the devilish hands that seemed to
always surround them.
It was night again. The deceased was a bandit, his position was in the middle
of the group. Shangguan Ru looked back by sheer chance and noticed a thick
shadow darker than the night and immediately shouted to warn others. That
was how they found the bandit with his heart dug out.
The sky slowly brightened and the blood of the deceased had solidified.
The person traveling behind the decreased was Shangguan Hong. He was
unable to give any clues about what happened. Like a frightened bird, he had
not noticed anything and would even be startled by his own shadow.
There were only seven people left. Gu Shenwei had to stop and solve this
problem. It would take 11 to 12 days to cross the Gobi desert and if this went
on, all of them would be dead even before reaching Shu-lik.
“He has a distinctive way of killing by digging a person’s heart out. I hope
everyone can think it through, what kind of person will actually kill like
that.”
Gu Shenwei had never heard of an expert capable of such means as his eyes
scanned everyone. Maid Lotus and the three Shangguan siblings shook their
heads immediately. He Sancai, the Invincible Machete of Tianshan, thought
for a moment before shaking his head as well.
Everyone’s eyes rested on Zheng Tai. He was the local villain of Xiaoyao
Lake and should be more than familiar with the people in this area.
“Xiaoyao Lake doesn’t really have such powerful experts. With the narrow
lands and tiny population, not to mention poverty, I really can’t think of
anyone with such skills and likes to dig their victim’s heart out.” Everybody’s
hopes fell at Zheng Tai’s words. He too, was in low spirits and in fact,
somewhat afraid.
“It’s a ghost, it must be a ghost. It never appears during the day, and comes
and goes without a trace. What else can it be?” Shangguan Fei added as he
hid behind his sister. His words scared himself as he shrank down further.
Everybody turned slightly pale whether or not they believed in it. The killer
was ruthless and extremely skilled in Kung Fu, it might as well be a ghost.
Gu Shenwei knelt on one knee and checked the corpse carefully once again.
Then he walked toward the horse of the deceased, and touched it back and
forth, before inspecting under the horse’s belly.
“It’s not a ghost, it’s a person.” Gu Shenwei said with certainty.
“Have you found any clues, Dragon King?” Shangguan Hong’s eyes lit up.
Gu Shenwei nodded and closed his eyes. He tried to visualise the killer’s
actions in his mind, then he opened his eyes and said, “He was hiding under
the horse’s belly and jumped up sticking close to the horse. He immediately
escaped after striking a blow and wore specially made black clothes which
were almost the same color as the night sky before dawn.”
“A living person hiding below the horse’s belly yet the rider and horse did
not notice anything?” He Sancai asked in surprise.
“Therefore, this person must be very small and light.” Gu Shenwei reasoned.
Hearing his explanation, everybody turned and looked at He Sancai again,

since he was a short man himself, merely four feet tall. He jumped back, “It’s
not me. I am short, but I am not light at all. Besides, all of you saw me, didn’t
you? I can’t possibly duplicate myself, right? If my Kung Fu was so good,
then I wouldn’t…”
He did not dare to finish his sentence. If he had good kung fu, back in the
desert south of Shuangquan Village, he would not have been defeated by
Dragon King and forced to receive the Jueyin Touch from Maid Lotus, thus
becoming one of their men.
“Let’s continue.” Gu Shenwei was the first to straddle his horse.
Nothing happened during the day and they continued to push on without
stopping in the first half of the night before Gu Shenwei ordered all of them
to rest for the second half of the night.
They did not light a fire this time and Gu Shenwei sat down with his knees in
the middle while the others circled him. No one was allowed to sleep, though
no one was able to fall asleep as well. Everybody was alert as they waited for
the enemy to arrive.
Shangguan Hong was the most nervous among them. His chattering teeth
were extremely distracting to the other people.
As the night deepened, he could not hold it in any longer, so he said, “I think
this person has a regular pattern when he strikes.”
“What’s his pattern?” Shangguan Fei asked. Although he detested his half-
brother, he could not help his curiosity.
“He starts with the person with the weakest Kung Fu and chooses a stronger
target each time.”
“Master Hong’s words seems reasonable.” Zheng Tai, the Sand Devil, said.
The three bandits who had died were his men and he had the most say in their
skill levels.
“I think…” Shangguan Hong swallowed with difficulty as he continued, “I

think tonight, his target will be me.”
Shangguan Fei was sitting beside him but shifted to the side once he heard
what he said.
“Dragon King, you have to protect me! I… I am still of great service to you.”
Shangguan Hong pleaded, his voice trembling. He had pinned all his hopes
onto Dragon King.
“Shut up.” Gu Shenwei needed silence.
Holding the Dragon Head Sword in his hand, he was ready to enter the realm
of no thought and use the Death Scripture swordcraft to end the enemy.
This was an extremely risky move. If he failed, it would backfire on him just
like it did to Maid Lotus, and he might lose his life because of it.
But it was his only choice.
During the day, all those words that he said were all made up. In fact, he was
unable to find any clues and only wanted to reassure the group.
Only Maid Lotus knew how great of a risk Dragon King was taking so she
held her “Huan” sword tightly and stayed even more alert.
It took a lot of energy and Internal Breath to feel the living energy. Gu
Shenwei waited for a while before closing his eyes.
The vital breath of the six people in the group was clear and distinguishable,
the different levels of kung fu resulted in different forms of their vital breath.
Maid Lotus’ vital breath shifted irregularly and it was difficult to grasp a
specific shape. She was a first-class expert.
Gu Shenwei was slightly surprised that Shangguan Fei was one rank inferior
to Maid Lotus. His vital breath was very strong but small compared to other
people as it tried its best to restrain itself; this was a timid expert.
Shangguan Ru had been practicing Wayless Qigong and by default should

possess better Kung Fu than her brother. However, her vital breath shifted
slower than the others and the form barely changed. Her weakness was,
therefore, the most obvious. She had really given up on her killing desire.
He Sancai was a famous bandit leader and his Kung Fu was definitely not
weak. His vital breath was rough and insolent, but he was far from being a
true expert.
The remaining two were almost the same. Judging from their vital breaths,
the person who had the weakest kung fu was Zheng Tai the Sand Devil
instead of Shangguan Hong.
There was no other sign of living breath other than these people.
Gu Shenwei did not know how much time had passed, but just when he could
not hold out for any longer, the mysterious and ruthless killer appeared.
It was a very light vital breath. What was strange was that it did not coagulate
into a ball but instead, took the form of a long, thin strip, like a twisted snake,
which made it difficult for people to detect.
It circled around the group, approaching and retreating rapidly, sometimes far
away sometimes close.
Gu Shenwei restrained himself and silently waited for the enemy to take the
bait.
Unlike Gu Shenwei, this assassin could not possibly have learned the Death
Scripture and feel the living energy around him. But he must have found
another way to sense danger and was extremely alert. There were several
times when he was near the target and ready to strike, yet he retreated again
in a blink of an eye.
Gu Shenwei had plenty of patience but he could not possibly remain in this
state of no thought.
The assassin was the first to lose his cool.
The long strip of vital breath struck before quickly disappearing and the form
curled up from a long strip to a small ball.
Gu Shenwei drew his sword.
The sword struck a perfect blow. It did not backfire on him but struck the
target squarely. Yet, it was not what he had imagined.
One after another, the survivors stood up and were all startled by the scene in
front of them:
More than a foot long of Dragon King’s sword had pierced through Zheng
Tai from the back, through the heart and out on the other side. A heart was
pierced on the tip of the sword, it seemed like it was still beating.
Maid Lotus and Shangguan Ru leaped up one after another and pursued in
different directions but soon returned empty-handed.
Gu Shenwei sheathed the Dragon Head Sword.
“Dragon King, Dragon King…” He Sancai legs gave way and fell to his
knees. He was confused and thought that Dragon King was going to kill him.
“Look, there’s blood!” Shangguan Hong pointed to the ground and cried out.
There were several drops of blood on the gravel in front of Zheng Tai, it
connected and formed a line pointing in the direction that Maid Lotus had
just run towards.
Gu Shenwei had managed to stab the enemy after all.
“He escaped.” Maid Lotus said simply. She had followed the trail of blood
for a hundred steps until the blood trail disappeared and the target was out of
sight.
“The other person ran away as well.” Shangguan Ru said as she held her
wooden saber. There was not a trace of fear on her face. “I saw him, it was
Wildhorse.”
Chapter 354 - Old Man
Chapter 354: Old Man
Shangguan Ru saw Wildhorse. Just as Gu Shenwei drew his sword out,

Wildhorse appeared within mere steps of her. Although it was the darkest
moment before dawn, she still managed to recognize the young man whose
eyes were far apart under the moonlight.
Wildhorse did not wear a mask and was holding on to the saber at his waist.
He took one look at Shangguan Ru and quickly turned to leave, his speed was
so swift that Shangguan Ru was deeply shocked. She remembered that
Wildhorse’s Lightness Skills were never this good years ago.
Dragon King managed to stab the unknown assassin and this had boosted
everybody’s spirits. Only Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus understood that this
move of his could not be used at any time. If the assassin changed the timing
of his appearance, the outcome could likely be immediately reversed
Gu Shenwei hoped that the assassin was frightened enough by the

overwhelming odds against him and retreat.
“He won’t dare to come again, he definitely won’t come again since Dragon
King is around.” Shangguan Hong consciously took on his role as a
bootlicker and was more excited than the rest because he strongly believed
that the next target on the assassin’s list would be him. “Dragon King can kill
him before he even strikes a blow next time.”
“It’s hard to say.” Gu Shenwei did not wish to give them false hope, so he
said, “Let’s hurry and get on our way, it’s best if we can shake them off.”
He Sancai recovered from the shock and understood the real meaning behind
what he saw just now. He knew that Dragon King was not the one who killed
“Sand Devil” Zheng Tai, and the heart that was pierced on the tip of the
sword gave him some hints and reminded him of something.
“Impossible, that’s impossible.” He Sancai muttered to himself, yet it seemed

like he was trying to seek answers from anyone.
“What is impossible? Speak properly.” Shangguan Fei ordered impatiently,

forgetting that the bandit was not his subordinate.
He Sancai was not bothered by the young master’s attitude. He looked at

Dragon King and Maid Lotus and said, “I was reminded of someone, but
he… died many years ago, and was only active in the north when he was still
alive. Why would he appear here?”
“Then he must have resurrected from the dead.” Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus
shared a look with each other as they were reminded of Wildhorse who fled
toward the north.
“Quickly say, who can it be?” Shangguan Fei was getting more and more
impatient. He wanted to know everything about the background of the enemy
right away.
“Old Man Mu.” He Sancai uttered this strange name. Seeing the puzzled
expressions on everybody’s faces, he realized that he was the only one who
knew about the man, so he added, “It was at least more than 10 years ago.
Old Man Mu was active around the north of Tianshan and killed countless.
He was very strange in his manner, and there was no clear purpose as to why
he killed, sometimes he would secretly go and kill somebody if he heard that
that person had great Kung Fu. It’s like he kills purely for fun. In short, he is
evil…”
He Sancai did not manage to resist saying these words and only after he
noticed that both Dragon King and Maid Lotus, who were considered evil by
others, were not angry at what he said, he continued, “After that, he killed too
many people and offended people from both the government and the gangs,
so everybody ganged up and joined forces together to fight against him.
About hundreds of men, who were all Kung Fu experts, surrounded him for
more than two months and finally managed to kill him off. There was a lot of
witnesses for this, so it can’t be wrong. Plus no one has seen him over the
past 10 years.”
“Old Man Mu likes to dig out people’s hearts?” Shangguan Hong shuddered.
He strongly believed that his initial judgment was correct, that the assassin
was a ghost.
“That’s not certain, but Old Man Mu had vicious patterns of killing, and he
was famous for it back then as well. His targets would always be
dismembered somehow.”
“Did you take part in the encirclement back then?” Gu Shenwei needed to
clarify this.
He Sancai turned red, he said, “Uh, no, I was still young at that time, and my
Kung Fu was not as good back then, no one asks me to go.”
“More like you didn’t dare to go, yeah.” Shangguan Fei had a good eye for
such things and guessed the truth correctly.
“I usually do business in the south of Tianshan and the matters in the north is
not under me.” He Sancai quickly defended himself, but he blushed even
harder.
“Hmph, what broken wood, he never dare to come to the territory of Golden
Roc Fort at that time anyway…” Shangguan Fei spoke halfway, before
sighing dejectedly. He could not return to his home even if he wanted to and
could no longer enjoy the protection of the Stone Castle.
“How did Old Man Mu look like?” Maid Lotus finally spoke.
“It was said that he was a white-haired old man. I don’t exactly know how he
looked like, but he seemed to have everything. Some even said that he has
four arms,” He Sancai replied respectfully.
“And his height?” Maid Lotus asked again.
“Normal, he was definitely taller than me, but not particularly tall.”
“It’s not him.” Maid Lotus had chased the assassin for a while back there,
and although she did not manage to capture it, she saw its shadow vaguely,
“The Dragon King was right. The assassin is someone short, very short, like a
child’s height.”
He Sancai breathed out a sigh of relief. He felt bad enough for being
controlled by the two young devils and would never want to encounter the
old devil, Old Man Mu, who had caused upheavals back then in the north and
south of Tianshan. “Then that is great. Perhaps I recalled wrongly.”
“Perhaps it was his apprentice,” Shangguan Hong suggested.
“No matter who he is, it’s best for him to not appear again.” Gu Shenwei
turned and got on his horse. For him, the most urgent thing right now was to
rescue the thousands of people from the Great Snowmountain who were
surrounded by Golden Roc Fort. In his eyes, getting themselves entangled
with the jianghu people was a waste of time.
Everybody straddled their horses and continued on their way.
Zheng Tai, the only one who was able to recognize the roads had died. But
thankfully, the route that followed was not difficult to make out. All they
needed to do was to walk along the boundary line between the desert and
Gobi.
They did not stop to rest all day as all they wanted was to ditch the unknown
assassin off. No one complained though they were all tired. Even Shangguan
Hong who had the weakest Kung Fu among them gritted his teeth and
continued to hold on.
After nightfall, they could only slow down because more and more horses
were starting to feel exhausted. After midnight, Gu Shenwei decided to stop
and rest. Rushing like this would only cause the animals to collapse sooner or
later, which would only delay time even further.
“I can still persevere on.” Shangguan Hong panted. He would much rather
die of fatigue on the road as soon as he thought about the devil who dug out
hearts.
However, Gu Shenwei did not stop for him. While he ordered everybody to
feed the horses, he took the opportunity and told Maid Lotus, “It’s time for us
to work together again.” U.p…dated by BoxNo vel.com
Maid Lotus understood what he meant, so she disappeared when everybody

was resting.
“Where’s Maid Lotus?” Shangguan Fei asked blankly.
Shangguan Ru understood Dragon King’s intentions better than her brother,

so she warned in a low voice, “Don’t ask so much.”
It would be yet another agonizing night, and they had not slept for two days
and two nights. It was still alright when they were riding on horses, but they
could no longer hold on the moment they sat on the ground.
Shangguan Fei was the first to fell down and it shocked Shangguan Hong
who was beside him. He thought that Shangguan Fei had died and was
secretly happy but soon disappointed once he noticed that the Ninth Young
Master was only sleeping.
Gu Shenwei ordered everyone to sleep and would stand guard by himself.
The last days of the winter still remained, and the nights of the desert were
very cold. Not much heat could be felt even though they were next to the pile
of fire.
Gu Shenwei held on to the Dragon Head Sword that he drew out. He felt that
the cold could do some good and at least keep him awake.
Two hours passed but the assassin had not yet appeared. Perhaps he was
waiting for the early morning, or maybe he did not dare to come again after
being injured. It could also be that he was sleeping peacefully knowing that
his enemy was painfully worried.
Gu Shenwei disliked it the most when he was unable to be in control of a

situation. But come to think of it, he was seldom in control as well.
He turned and looked at the four people sleeping soundly. Life was really
unpredictable, of all people, he would never have imagined that he would be
protecting his enemies.
“Seeking revenge itself cannot bear the weight of great responsibility.” The
words of Master Fayan kept lingering in his mind.
In fact, Fang Wenshi had also said something similar. One of his
prerequisites for agreeing to become the military counselor of the Great
Snowmountain was that Dragon King needed to give up on revenge and
focus on hegemony instead.
“I must lose my revenge in order to avenge.”
It was something that was very difficult to think through. Gu Shenwei was
especially afraid that the Death Scripture swordcraft would lose its power
significantly the moment he lost his hatred.
He cleared his mind. At least, he did not need to kill the three people who
carried the Shangguan surname right now, and this made him much more
relaxed.
At this moment, Shangguan Ru was sleeping soundly and curled up like a

baby.
Someone trotted his horse out of the desert and stopped several steps away
from Gu Shenwei. He extended his arms to show that there was no malice.
Gu Shenwei had to give Maid Lotus some time to prepare, so he said to the
person, “Long time no see, Wildhorse.”
The four people who were fast asleep immediately jumped up and drew their
weapons out, Shangguan Fei was slightly dizzy and turned one round before
facing the enemy.
It was indeed Wildhorse, his looks were so distinctive that it would be hard to
mistake him for others.
Then, something strange happened. Wildhorse opened his mouth and spoke,
“The Dajue Book of Swordcraft is indeed reputable.”
Wildhorse clearly only had half a tongue but the words spoken were
articulated clearly and spread into the ears of all present. Only the voice
sounded somewhat old and did not match Wildhorse’s age.
“Playing tricks here and there, are you ashamed to show your face, sir?” Gu
Shenwei said coldly. He already realized that although the voice came from
Wildhorse’s direction, it was not him who had spoken.
“Hehe, You got it right, Dragon King. I’m really ashamed to show my face to
others. It’s a good thing that I have a mute disciple who’s willing to lend me
this body of his.”
The cold winds, chilly moon, and the desolate desert further increased the
creepiness felt by others when they heard these words. Shangguan Hong
could not help but grunt and Shangguan Fei felt that the saber in his hands
was as heavy as a boulder as well. So the two of them moved a few steps
closer to the Dragon King.
“You were really lucky to survive, Old Man Mu. You were besieged by so
many Kung Fu experts, yet they still failed to kill you.”
Gu Shenwei was just trying to make a guess, and the other party suddenly
laughed spookily, “Old man here is not only lucky to survive, but my life is
also very good as well! Not only did I not die, but I also managed to practice
a set of divine kung fu.”
“A divine kung fu that makes you unable to show your face and allow me to
stab your palm.”
“Don’t bother trying to agitate me, you’re still too young. I initially wanted to
have some fun for a few days, but I changed my mind, I want your Dajue
Book of Swordcraft. Give it up and I can let all of you die in a quicker
manner.”
Indeed, Gu Shenwei did intend to stop wasting his effort. Maid Lotus should
be in position by now, and he was ready to face the enemy as well.
Only the sound of wind could be heard in the area.
A horse brayed softly and broke the silence.
He Sancai suddenly leaped high in a graceful posture, far exceeding his usual
skill. He looked up at the moon like a stocky wolf ready to howl.
But he did not make any noise. Something flew out of his body, it was about
the size of a fist and the color was bright red.
It was his heart, held in a hand of a man smaller than him.
Old Man Mu had made his move, he should have been hiding behind
Wildhorse but suddenly he attacked behind them. He should have appeared
like any normal old man, but in reality, he was a dwarf!
Gu Shenwei’s sword struck toward the enemy as Wildhorse rode toward him.
Shangguan Ru held her wooden saber and jumped into the air. Shangguan Fei
was beyond petrified while Shangguan Hong fell to the ground holding his
head.
Like a picture frozen in the air, only Maid Lotus’ sword could destroy this
image now.
Chapter 355 - Demonic Tone
Chapter 355: Demonic Tone
Old Man Mu was indeed an old man. His exposed skin was covered in layers
of wrinkles, yet his forehead was the only part of his skin that was as smooth
as a baby’s, which made him look all the more stranger.
Gu Shenwei’s sword had pierced into He Sancai’s corpse which was used by
Old Man Mu as a shield.
Draped in a dark yellow cape and hidden in a pile of sand, Maid Lotus used
her sword with all her strength as she rose up into the sky.
Expecting an ambush at his feet, Old Man Mu did not hide from it but instead
faced the attack with his bare body.
Maid Lotus’s long sword pierced into the enemy’s chest but it could not enter
an inch further into the body even though the blade was already bent into an
arc. Even an expert like Old Man Mu would actually wear a tight-fitting
armor that protects his body. U.p…dated by Box Novel .com
Although it was only a brief moment when the three of them were in the air,
each of them gathered all of their strength as they striked blows at each other.
Shangguan Ru was late by a step and leaped above the three of them, while
her wooden saber struck the enemy’s forehead.
She has been practicing the Wayless Qigong for a long time, therefore her
attack was also extremely strong despite using a wooden saber.
But her blow was too hesitant.
Old Man Mu was unable to hide from Shangguan Ru’s attack as the vital
forces of the three people were tense at the moment. But once Shangguan Ru
hesitated and thought that a wooden saber could also kill people, Old Man
Mu took the chance and finished channeling his first Internal Breath. As he
generated his second Internal Breath; borrowing the strength of Gu Shenwei
and Maid Lotus, he suddenly leaped up into the sky like a stone thrown out
by a stone thrower and fell just behind Wildhorse.
“Hahaha, these three babies’ kung fu are not bad at all, it will be very
enjoyable to kill you all. Get the Dajue Book of Swordcraft ready, we will
fight again tonight.”
Wildhorse turned around his horse and disappeared into the dark.
As both Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were falling down their swords collided
with each other. Unfortunately the “Huan” sword was no match for the
Dragon Head Sword and broke into two pieces which was heard with a
“clang” sound.
Shangguan Ru fell to the ground right after and did not react upon seeing this
scene. Shangguan Fei, however, did not understand what was going on,
“You, the two of you…”
“It’s okay.” Maid Lotus picked up the broken sword, staring blankly at it for
a while and put it back into the scabbard, she still had another sword with the
character “Yun” written on it that she could use.
“Something” had almost happened to Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus back then.
Old Man Mu’s last leap absorbed most of the strength from the two of them,
and a bit of it still remained on the sword itself. The remaining strength had
to be drained immediately, otherwise, it could trigger a backfire.
“It’s my fault, I acted too late.” Shangguan Ru admitted her mistake, but this
was something that she did not have a choice in. No matter how ruthless Old
Man Mu was, he still was a real person and she could not possibly kill him.
“It doesn’t matter, at least we know more about Old Man Mu now. If we join
forces together, the five of us will be able to kill him.” Gu Shenwei could not
blame Shangguan Ru for this, no one knew her situation better than him.
“Five of us together?” Shangguan Hong jumped off and asked anxiously,
“But I can’t help with anything.”
“Everyone is useful in their own way.” Gu Shenwei finished saying these

words and straddled his horse. He actually doubted that Shangguan Hong
could survive until the next night.
At dawn, the five people with seven horses continued their journey on the
border between the Gobi desert and the Sha Kingdom.
On this day, they did not ride their horses and gallop away, but let them
wander forward slowly instead. The horses were already exhausted and the
five of them were afraid that the horses would not survive for the next few
days if they continued to gallop at full speed.
Shangguan Hong was in the middle of the group, but he was not reassured
and kept looking around anxiously. Hence, he was the first to notice someone
behind them, “Look, Wildhorse is still following us.”
There was indeed a little black dot in the distance, keeping at the same speed
as them.
“They are waiting for nightfall.” Shangguan Fei said gloomily. Resentment
grew inside him since he was now abandoned by his father, had no attendant
to serve him, and was followed by strange people who wanted to kill him,
“Whose turn is it tonight?”
Shangguan Hong almost fell off his horse, “Dragon King said that… the five
of us together can win against Old Man Mu.”
“Huh!” Shangguan Fei sneered grimly as if mocking at Shangguan Hong’s

foolishness.
The group continued to go forward in silence. When the sun was blazing hot
at noon, Shangguan Fei’s anger finally flared, “I mean, Old Man Mu’s targets
are Dragon King and the Dajue Book of Swordcraft. What does it have to do
with us?”
“Stop sprouting nonsense.” Shangguan Hong hurriedly tried to please Dragon
King and quickly rebutted him, “If it was not for Dragon King, you would
already be dead.”
“It is better to die rather than suffer like this. Do you want your heart to be
taken out alive?”
Shangguan Hong wanted to continue and flatter Dragon King, but the
muscles on his face were stiff and he was unable to say a word.
Gu Shenwei did not pay attention to Shangguan Fei’s complaints.
In the afternoon, the group sped up and managed to ditch Wildhorse out of
sight. But walking at the edge of the desert which was as flat as a mat made it
impossible to hide their tracks.
Wildhorse soon caught up with them, though he continued to keep a distance.
“What the hell are they doing? Must they only act at night?” Shangguan
Hong was constantly turning around. Seeing the sun setting made him even
more anxious.
But no one answered his question. Only Shangguan Fei continued to mutter
about how unlucky they were.
In the evening, the group sped up again and only stopped when it was almost
midnight.
Gu Shenwei jumped off from his horse and told the three siblings of the
Shangguan family, “All right, we can part our ways now.”
Shangguan Ru remained expressionless, while Shangguan Fei’s gaze was

evasive and Shangguan Hong was shocked, “This, Dragon King, I really do
trust you, just let Shangguan Fei leave by himself.”
“I can’t spare enough energy to protect the three of you. And neither of you
are of service to me. It’s better to go separate ways. We will meet again when
we are out of the desert.”
Out of the three people, one did not have the killing desire, one was too timid
and one was poor in kung fu. They were indeed of no help.
Then they heard a voice that was both gloomy and joyous in the dark, “The
babies’ morale is scattered, yes? Good to separate then! Separate!”
“I want to stay with Dragon King.” Shangguan Fei quivered and immediately
said, “I might come in handy, just give me the instructions on what to do,
Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei did not insist that they separate their ways again but he ordered
everyone to rest for an hour.
Old Man Mu was a bit too excited and kept on talking, but he still refused to
show himself. His voice could be heard here and there, yet no one could tell
exactly where he was hiding.
From a distance, Wildhorse could still be noticed faintly in the darkness like
a doll figure riding on a horse, away from the five people.
Old Man Mu was telling his killing history to them: one story after another
about all the people he had killed, it was as though he had a booklet full of
details dedicated to record these killings. Especially his voice, it was
changing irregularly as if he was playing different roles: suddenly his tone
was fierce, then it was pleading, and he would even imitate the sound of a
saber breaking a bone, which was even more creepy when combined with the
whistling wind.
But Old Man Mu’s voice became weirder and weirder. Not a sentence could
be finished in a fixed tone, like a group of clumsy drummers, his voice was
recklessly knocking on the eardrums of the five people around him.
Shangguan Hong was the first who could not take it any longer. Covering his
ears, he jumped up and shouted, “Stop it, shut up!”
The twin’s faces were a little pale as well.
“Use your Internal Strength to resist,” Maid Lotus had already understood
what Old Man Mu was doing, so she said, “It’s useless to cover your ears.”
“Eh? The young lady knows what the old man is doing?” Old Man Mu
seemed surprised at what Maid Lotus said.
“Seven Magical Tones, nothing extraordinary.” Maid Lotus replied. She was
someone with few words and even when she occasionally talked, her voice
was always flat, but this time she seemed like a different person. There was a
faint rhythm to her words as her voice fluctuated up and down when she said
it, and it produced the opposite effect from Old Man Mu as it made the rest
felt happy and relaxed.
Maid Lotus motioned everybody to mount their horses as she stayed at the
back.
“So you are a disciple of New Moon Hall. Excellent.” Old Man Mu
immediately guessed Maid Lotus’s identity.
“So you are the disciple who abandoned New Moon Hall. Very bad.” Maid
Lotus ridiculed. The Seven Magical Tones were one of the skills taught by
New Moon Hall and she was using it as well.
It was a strange contest. The two of them kept asking each other questions
using plain words, but their intonation was as strange as it could be as if they
were challenging the limits of the human voice and using it as weapons to
attack and defend.
But it was quite an unpleasant experience for the listeners. One moment their
hearts were beating like a drum as the blood rushed through them, the next
moment they were gasping for breath as though their blood froze. Luckily,
Maid Lotus’s voice was the opposite of Old Man Mu’s and therefore created
a balance to this contest, the rest was able to keep their minds in order relying
on their Internal Breath.
“Ha ha! What does the young lady know, is Han Wuxian well?”
Maid Lotus was slightly surprised. Han Wuxian was the Master of New
Moon Hall and very few people knew her name, yet this strange old man just
said it casually without even thinking.
“The Master is very well, don’t worry about it. Old Man Mu, you have stolen
the occult sciences from us, quickly kill yourself or else New Moon Hall
won’t let you off.”
“Ignorant girl, who has stolen what from who? Go and ask them yourself and
you’ll understand.”
But Old Man Mu seemed to want to defend himself very much and continued
to talk. His tone was slightly excited and destroyed the effects of the Seven
Magical Tones. It was much better for the listeners and Maid Lotus only had
to counterattack occasionally.
“Was it more than ten years ago? Old man doesn’t remember clearly, but
several thousands of cowards from the martial arts world besieged me.”
“What a brag, it was no more than a hundred people.”
“It doesn’t matter how many, but there were a lot of people. We fought all the
way and accidentally entered New Moon Hall’s territory. Old man had killed
and injured many people, but I was stabbed accidentally and almost died.
Those idiots also assumed that I was dead…”
“But, in fact, you were saved by New Moon Hall yet, in return, you avenged
our kindness by stealing the occult sciences.”
“No! That girl Han Wuxian saved me for other purposes. You New Moon
Hall people are experts in the occult sciences but you guys are terrible at
kung fu involving real weapons. She taught me the ‘Manual of Seven Secret
Techniques’ to survive, and I taught her all of my skills. It’s all thanks to me
that her disciples have made great progress in kung fu over the years.”
Maid Lotus only joined New Moon Hall a few years ago so naturally, she
would not know whether all these past events were true or not. But the
“Manual of Seven Secret Techniques” was true and the Seven Magical Tones
was one of the manuals as well, “Braggart, New Moon Hall, however,
doesn’t remember about you.”
“Of course she doesn’t remember!” Old Man Mu became increasingly

indignant and this made his demonic tone lose its effect, “Since when did you
guys from New Moon Hall keep your words? Han Wuxian is the Master so,
of course, she’s the best at cheating people. She taught me the “Manual of
Seven Secret Techniques”, but she did not say which techniques could be
practiced and which ones could not.”
“So you were secretly practicing the Seven Rotation Skill. No wonder you
became a dwarf who dare not see the daylight. But you cannot blame the
Master, ‘practice this with caution’, it was clearly written in the Manual of
Seven Secret Techniques.”
“Fuck her!” Maid Lotus’s words touched his sore spots. Old Man Mu’s anger
broke out, unable to keep calm anymore, he said, “At that time this old man
was tall and handsome, now I am disliked by gods and hated by demons, and
this is all because of New Moon Hall! Accept it, little girl, tonight I’m going
to cut your chest, dig your heart out, and cut it into pieces.”
Shangguan Hong, who was in the middle of the group, breathed a sigh of
relief when he heard these words.
“Go.” Gu Shenwei, who had not spoken all this while, suddenly ordered and
sped up in front.
He wanted to go all out and rush toward the Great Snowmountain camp as he
raced against time with Golden Roc Fort. But now it seemed like he had to
waste some time with Old Man Mu. It would be a disaster if they don’t get
rid of him.
Chapter 356 - Falling into the Trap
Chapter 356: Falling into the Trap
They managed to leave Old Man Mu behind, but not for long as Wildhorse
would bring him when he caught up again.
“Is it true, what he said?” Even in this critical moment, what Shangguan
Hong cared about the most was Old Man Mu’s story. It was no wonder since
his Internal Strength was the weakest among them and the Seven Magical
Tones had the biggest influence on him.
“Maybe.” Maid Lotus returned to her normal indifferent and dull tone. Then,
she looked at Gu Shenwei and explained it specifically to him, “In the Seven
Rotation Skills, bones and muscles are the basis of kung fu practice. It’s
similar to the Divine Rotation and people say that it has the effect of bringing
the dead back to life, but…”
These people saw with their own eyes the result of that “but”. An old man of
normal stature had shrunk into a dwarf. Everyone concurrently thought to
themselves that they would never practice this manual even if they were
killed.
New Moon Hall being an expert in evil secrets had originally been a legend.
But Gu Shenwei honestly felt it now.
“Is digging out someone’s heart kung fu from New Moon Hall as well?”
Shangguan Hong asked. He and the twins had recently found out that Maid
Lotus was a disciple of New Moon Hall and had been both surprised and
awestruck, especially Shangguan Hong. Maid Lotus was raised to almost the
same level as Dragon King in his heart.
“No, I read some notes in one of the Master’s books about the Five Hole
Punch that uses the five elements and when it is practiced to the Fire level, it
aims for the heart. Maybe this is the kung fu used by Old Man Mu.”
Shangguan Hong covered his chest and said, “Maid Lotus, New Moon Hall is
so familiar with Old Man Mu…”
But he was disappointed before he even finished speaking. Old Man Mu and
New Moon Hall were enemies; they had already threatened each other. The
first to be killed would be Maid Lotus and Old Man Mu would never spare
her life.
Shangguan Fei clapped his hands and said, “Everything is becoming clearer
now, Old Man Mu’s targets were only Dragon King and Maid Lotus, so…”
“So it’s better for the three of you to stay away from us.” Gu Shenwei
ordered with a cold voice.
Gu Shenwei’s plan was to fight to win or die.
Wildhorse continued to follow his target steadily. The Gobi desert on his left
and the deserts on his right were completely flat. Slave Huan and the others
had nowhere to escape. Their lives were all in Old Man Mu’s and his hands.
Wildhorse hated the old dwarf hiding in the sack behind his back, but he had
no choice but to rely on Old Man Mu’s kung fu to back him up.
The year that Shangguan Ru had expelled him from Golden Roc Fort, his
Internal Strength had almost been destroyed by Slave Huan’s sword. He had
wandered alone aimlessly towards the north, his heart filled with hatred.
He would always remember how Slave Huan had betrayed him. They had
originally agreed to assassinate the Tenth Young Master who no longer
possessed her killing desire. But Slave Huan had turned on him at the last
moment.
Since the beginning, he and Slave Huan had been nothing but rivals. It was
only until that day when he was expelled from Golden Roc Fort that they
became enemies.
The mute young killer had never once thought about the times when he
secretly harmed Slave Huan, his mind was preoccupied with the dreams that
were destroyed, and the fire of revenge blazed hotly within him from then on.
It was purely by chance that Wildhorse met Old Man Mu.
At the cost of his own kung fu, Old Man Mu had obtained the pills and the
occult sciences from New Moon Hall that could save his life. Since then, he
had practiced in seclusion for more than ten years. When he emerged, he had
already shrunk into an ugly dwarf, afraid of sunlight, and only active at night.
Old Man Mu also harbored a desire for revenge. He wanted to kill all the
people who had besieged him and the disciples of New Moon Hall. It was
because of those crazy women that he had turned into a creature that looked
neither human nor ghost.
But before this, Old Man Mu needed a servant who could take him along
during the day.
He chose Wildhorse, a killer who had been exiled and was unable to talk.
In order to make the servant worthy of himself, Old Man Mu taught

Wildhorse a lot of kung fu. When he found out that this young man was
actually a prodigy in kung fu, he started teaching him with even more
enthusiasm.
They were not master and disciple but they had a real teacher and student
relationship.
Wildhorse was glad to have met such an extraordinary man and cautiously
won his favor. He then slowly imbued his own hatred into Old Man Mu.
After a year, once Wildhorse’s kung fu began to take shape and Old Man Mu
also felt that he had the strength needed to take revenge, the two men
returned back to Jianghu.
At this time, Slave Huan had been fleeing and as his fame was growing day
by day. Wildhorse’s hatred grew deeper and deeper. But his ambition was not
just to revenge. Therefore, he sought shelter in Norland, and thanks to his
unbeatable kung fu skills, he immediately obtained the trust of a prince. He
was then ordered to go to Jade City to secretly build up his influence.
Wildhorse felt the advantage of having a strong backing. Even though he was
a deserter from Golden Roc Fort, he was welcomed by Golden Roc Fort and
was able to move freely in Jade City with their authority.
It was exactly because of Slave Huan that Wildhorse knew that there were
many experts at Joy Pavillion in Hope Alley. He went to visit them and
quickly gained the trust of Immortal Peng. Thanks to this group of eccentric
people, he was able to build up a powerful force.
During the whole process, Old Man Mu was in hiding. Except for Wildhorse,
only one person knew of his existence.
Although Supreme King was hiding his skills in the Stone Castle, his eyes
and ears were not idle. He knew about everything that was happening in Jade
City. Wildhorse returning to Jade City as an expert from Norland had
obviously been reported to him by his men.
At first, Supreme King regarded this as a trivial matter but finally picked up
notice as the news of Wildhorse’s incredible kung fu spread to him time and
time again. He noticed a shadow of New Moon Hall’s training in some of
Wildhorse’s skills.
The results of the investigation were unexpected: Supreme King found out
that Old Man Mu was reduced to a state of neither human nor a ghost.
During those days, Old Man Mu was famous in the Western Region, but he
held Supreme King in such high esteem, to the point that he had never
committed a crime in Golden Roc Fort’s territory. Moreover, they hit it off
easily now that they had a common enemy. Supreme King would help to
keep his secret and in turn, he would provide his services to Supreme King.
Lady Meng and Meng Yuzun was obsessed with seizing Slave Huan’s Dajue
Book of Swordcraft and requested for Wildhorse’s help at that time. The
news reached Old Man Mu’s ears but he did not pay much attention to it. It
was only until he was ordered to kill Dragon King and saw the elusive sword
move for himself that his heart stirred.
The two children did not learn well. If that kind of swordcraft fell into my
hands…Old Man Mu’s heart stirred once again. He still believed that his
kung fu was second to none in this world. Perhaps he was only a little inferior
compared to Supreme King, but he still envied this particularly unusual
swordcraft. Like a fool who collected paintings and calligraphy, once he saw
something special, he could not help but covet it.
This was supposed to be a killing mission, but now he had another purpose.
Not only did Old Man Mu liked killing people, he also deeply enjoyed the
process of doing so. Other people’s fear was a feast to him, and his insatiable
hunger could never be satisfied.
Therefore, he was very happy as he stood on Wildhorse’s shoulders and saw

Dragon King and his entourage had divided into two groups, “The brats of
Supreme King seem really good-for-nothing. No wonder they lost favor.”
Wildhorse was a capable servant. His only shortcoming was that he could not
talk. Old Man Mu, on the other hand, was a garrulous man and was content to
talk by himself, “Which one shall I kill first? Dragon King and that woman
from New Moon Hall or the three babies of the Shangguan family? I told her
I will cut her into pieces. She has definitely already set up a trap together with
Dragon King. Haha, it’s not so easy to fool me, you know. I’ll kill Supreme
King’s daughter first, let’s see if he will come and save her. Then, I’ll kill that
woman. That’s right, that’s right.”
Wildhorse made several gestures.
“Dragon King is tricky and foxy? I think he’s at the end of his tether. He
failed to kill me twice and revealed his background to me instead. Either
something is wrong with the Dajue Book of Swordcraft or he uses it in the
wrong way. Anyway, Dragon King’s unique skill can only be used once. He
must channel his Internal Strength in order to attack a second time. Just this
window of time is enough for me to kill him ten times over.”
After speaking, Old Man Mu jumped nimbly onto the ground. In a few jumps
and bounces, he had already disappeared, faster even than a galloping horse.
Wildhorse made a face of disgust. Even though he had a debt of gratitude

toward Old Man Mu, there was no way Wildhorse could take a liking to this
man who had shrunk himself into a dwarf. He wanted to vomit every time he
came into contact with him.
Wildhorse and Old Man Mu had surprisingly similar definitions of kindness

and hatred.
The small group of five split up. Dragon King and Maid Lotus walked close
to the deserts, while the three siblings of the Shangguan family traveled along
the Gobi desert. They were half a mile away from one another. They would
not arrive in time even if they wanted to help each other.
Old Man Mu quickly caught up with his target. He could not run all night like
a galloping horse, so he jumped onto the sides of a horse that nobody was
riding and tugged the horse belly strap to secure himself and stealthily
watched.
His Lightness Skills had always been very good, but it became even better
after he shrinking into a dwarf.
The three people were obviously frightened and were traveling in a hurry.
The faces of Shangguan Hong and Shangguan Fei were especially pale.
Which one should I kill first? Old Man Mu pondered. Despite his excellent
kung fu, he was still cautious and preferred to kill the easiest opponent first.
Both Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Hong were easy prey since one did not
possess the killing desire and the other had poor kung fu.
As long as one of them was killed, the remaining two would certainly run to
Dragon King for protection. Old Man Mu decided to follow behind them and
take the opportunity to kill the New Moon Hall disciple, thus fulfilling the
promise he made before midnight.
This was his plan.
Old Man Mu decided that his target would be Shangguan Hong.
He was not in a rush. He preferred to do it right before dawn. Other than the
fact that people tended to be more relaxed at that time, he wanted was to
create a killing style that left a deep impression.
Now was the time since he still needed to give the other two enough time to
run to Dragon King for help.
Shangguan Hong looked even more helpless than a baby, but Old Man Mu
didn’t mind. He had killed many people who were physically weak, and the
pleasure was always the same, merely lacking in the thrill when compared to
killing an expert.
The Five Hole Punch was a kung fu where the hands had to be made into
claw-shapes. It was a very powerful kung fu and even more effective than
sabers or swords. Old Man Mu found it outrageous that not many people
wanted to learn it.
He gently jumped off the horse and landed on his four limbs like a fine fox.
He quickly moved in front and burrowed under the belly of another horse.
The rider was Shangguan Ru. He resisted the impulse to remove the girl’s
heart, and sped up to surpass two other horses and caught up with Shangguan
Hong’s horse.
The galloping horse hoofs became the best cover for him. Even the Jianghu
experts were unable to notice a little shadowy figure in the dark, much these
three children who lacked experience.
Flipping over with his right hand and mounting the horse, he struck a blow
and dismounted with his left hand before hiding again.
This was Old Man Mu’s usual technique and he had never once failed. If his
rival was an expert, he could take his heart out from behind, but since it was
Shangguan Hong, he could easily kill him from the front.
Everything went smoothly when he mounted the horse. Shangguan Hong did
not notice anything. However, the unexpected occurred when he struck his
blow. The chest of his target was harder than steel and even his sharp claw
was unable to penetrate it.
Old Man Mu was shocked. Even though it had not worked out as he thought,
he would still need to dismount, but he was unable to move at all as a strong
arm held onto his belly. At the same time, a dagger stabbed into his lower
abdomen. From the strength and the speed of the move, he could tell it was
not an ordinary person with kung fu.
The man was obviously Shangguan Hong, but his skills were like an expert
who had practiced for more than ten years. Old Man Mu was even more
appalled when he realized that he had fallen into a trap.
Chapter 357 - Sunlight
Chapter 357: Sunlight
Old Man Mu had killed many people in his life and had suffered injuries
from many sabers, but none of them had surprised him like this one.
He was not a fool and had long passed the age of reckless ignorance. He was
very well aware of the dispute between Dragon King and the three siblings of
the Shangguan family, therefore, it was expected that they would go on their
separate ways.
Before taking any action though, he had also carefully observed that it was
definitely Dragon King and Maid Lotus who was walking in the desert.
What’s more, he even noticed that Shangguan Hong, whom he had chosen,
looked and acted like himself. Most importantly, after following Shangguan
Hong for a while, he did not sense any strong Internal Breath or killing desire
in this person.
The dagger was still stabbed into the lower abdomen and the arm gripping on
to the belly was still as strong as an iron hoop. Old Man Mu wanted to
channel his Qi to escape but was unable to do so as the dagger was stabbed
right into the middle of his Dantian.
“Suffering a major setback due to carelessness…” Old Man Mu said vaguely

as he was almost leaning into the man’s chest.
“You are too careless indeed.” The voice over his head was without a doubt
Dragon King.
Yesterday at noon, Gu Shenwei thought of this idea when Shangguan Fei

complained for the first time that he was implicated by Dragon King.
Shangguan Hong and Dragon King were similar in age and stature. There
was once when Shangguan Hong even pretended to be Dragon King and
killed Master Lianhua, yet nobody recognized him. Therefore, vice versa, Gu
Shenwei could also impersonate Shangguan Hong as well.
Shangguan Hong, however, was not that willing toward this idea, “Old Man
Mu said that the next one to be killed will be Maid Lotus, leaving me with
her…”
“No, Old Man Mu will definitely kill you first, he wants to play cat and
mouse with you, so he will not take action against Maid Lotus so soon. So
you will be safer if pretend to be me.”
Gu Shenwei was so confident in his tone, it was as if he had already seen

through Old Man Mu’s mind. Shangguan Hong was moved by these words,
after all, he did not have much choice since Dragon King’s orders were
inviolable.
Actually, Gu Shenwei was not completely sure. Old Man Mu tend to kill his
targets from the weakest to the strongest, but that old fellow was also
someone who would do just as he pleases, therefore it was possible that he
would change his mind at the last minute.
So the two of them took on each other’s identities. Maid Lotus and
Shangguan Ru helped them to put on a disguise. Although there was not
enough time to put on a perfect disguise, one could hardly notice any flaw in
the dim night.
Appearance was easy to change, but not so much for temperament. Gu

Shenwei could act out Shangguan Hong’s cowering attitude, but it was hard
for Shangguan Hong to act like Dragon King.
“As long as the enemy managed to notice that something’s slightly off, the
one who will die tonight will be you.” Gu Shenwei could only intimidate
Shangguan Hong to brace himself.
If there was anything that could inspire courage in the men of the Shangguan
family, it was death. Shangguan Hong immediately held his head high. Even
though it was a bit too excessive, he seemed more similar to how Dragon
King would look like.
Afterward, it was necessary that the group went separate ways. Old Man Mu
had looked down on the “little brats” of the Shangguan family. Without
Dragon King and Maid Lotus, his vigilance would slacken and it was
unlikely that he would use all his strength as soon as he appeared.
Old Man Mu’s kung fu was unfathomable and Gu Shenwei hoped to gain a
little advantage on the preparation front.
The Five Hole Punch aimed straight for the heart. That astonishing power,
however, had an obvious shortcoming. Gu Shenwei tied the Dragon Head
Sword and the Five Peaks Saber diagonally to his body and it acts as a
protection for his chest from both front and back. He would be in an
advantageous position as long as he managed to blocked the first move.
The most difficult thing was to hide his Internal Breath and his killing
intention.
Gu Shenwei practiced the “Death Scripture” differently from Maid Lotus, so

his killing intent was never as strong as hers, therefore he just had to control
it more carefully. As for his Internal Breath, he would try to keep it in check
as much as possible. In this way, his gestures would be more similar to
Shangguan Hong who were poor in kung fu.
Even so, if Old Man Mu was a little bit more cautious, he could have noticed
a flaw. Luckily, he was not and acted in a hurry instead.
The twins slowed down and surrounded Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei tied up Old Man Mu with a strong leather rope and threw him on
the ground, the dagger was still quivering vertically from his lower abdomen.
“Kill him.” Shangguan Fei said fervently as he pulled out the saber.
“Maid Lotus wants him alive.” Gu Shenwei had promised her that he would
not kill Old Man Mu.
“Maid Lotus? Isn’t she your slave? Why do you listen to her? This old fellow
is too dangerous. The earlier you kill him, the better.”
Old Man Mu did not dare to exert too much strength, but he still managed to
laugh out loud: “You jerk, your father, the Supreme King, still shows me
respect, you know.”
Gu Shenwei still disagreed. He knew very well that Maid Lotus was not
anybody’s slave.
As soon as the horse stopped on this side, Maid Lotus and Shangguan Hong
who were half a mile away immediately rode their horses over.
Seeing the small shadow on the ground, Shangguan Hong almost tumbled
down his horse. Even though he looked like Dragon King, his expression and
temperament were completely different, “Great job, Dragon King, this is a
very clever plot, Old Man Mu is just so-so, I guess.”
“I’m not dead yet, you know.” Old Man Mu was not happy at all being
belittled in this manner, “Back in those days, more than a thousand kung fu
experts besieged me and yet I managed to survived. So I will survive this
time as well. Spout more nonsense and I will finish you first the next time.”
Upon hearing that, Shangguan Hong’s face changed, then he asked the same
question as Shangguan Fei, “Why are we not killing him? His death will end
all of our troubles.”
“He still has some use.” Maid Lotus simply replied.
Gu Shenwei understood what Maid Lotus meant. It could possibly be true

that Old Man Mu claimed to have helped New Moon Hall to improve their
kung fu skills. But he must have held back a trick or two. Maid Lotus was
familiar with the kung fu style of her sect and was well aware of all this, but
she wanted to know more about all his skills.
Maid Lotus had already reached one of the highest levels of kung fu, and
sooner or later she would even surpass Old Man Mu if she continued to
practice the swordcraft of the “Death Scripture”. Gu Shenwei did not truly
understand her greed in this, but he did not want to interfere.
“Exactly, I am still useful. But will any of you be so kind to pull out this
dagger from my stomach? I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold on for much
longer and I will kill myself if I’m agitated.”
No one wanted to pull out the dagger. Even Gu Shenwei believed that it was
better to leave the dagger in Old Man Mu’s stomach.
Wildhorse was watching from a distance and did not come forward to rescue
him. Shangguan Fei looked back at him with great anxiety and continued to
instigate Dragon King, “Let him die. Once he’s dead, even Wildhorse will
leave us in peace, and we can travel faster.”
Among all of them, only Maid Lotus needed him alive. She jumped off from
her horse, took out the green pills and said: “Do you know what this is?”
Despite the darkness, Old Man Mu recognized what Maid Lotus had in her
hand at a glance, “Blood Coagulation Pill, one of the seven pills specially
made by New Moon Hall, they can save lives or torment people and is made
with the blood of the drug maker herself. If you consume it, you’ll become a
slave for good. Come one, give me one of those pills.”
Maid Lotus looked at him distractedly, but she believed in the specially-made
pills of her sect, so she flicked one pill and let it fall into Old Man Mu’s
mouth.
Old Man Mu ate it like it was fried beans, chewing and swallowing it down,
he quipped, ” Not bad, still the same taste, but one pill is not satisfying
enough, give me one more.”
However, Maid Lotus could not afford to give him another one, the Blood
Coagulation Pills were too precious and they were not snacks that could be
given to just anybody.
Poof, the dagger popped out of Old Man Mu’s stomach and fresh blood
gushed out, he snorted, and channeled his Qi to stop the bleeding. The ropes
tied on his body snapped and broke into pieces.
Several sabers pointed at Old Man Mu’s vital points at the same time.
“Blood coagulation pills are the best to save a life.” Old Man Mu said licking
his lips, as if he still had not had enough of it, not caring about the weapons
around him.
Gu Shenwei took out a few more pieces of rope and bounded Old Man Mu in
several circles until he was completely wrapped into a ball. Then he placed
him on a horse and led him as he continued his journey.
Meanwhile, Wildhorse was still following them, he was not too far and not
too close and did not seem like he was in a rush to rescue the old fellow.
Although Old Man Mu was seriously injured, it did not stop him from talking
idly. He had something to say about every single thing, “Bunch of idiots, is
there no one who knows acupoints? Must you tie me up so tightly?”
“Dragon King, how could you? You are lucky you tied your swords on your
chest to deceive me. I still haven’t practiced the highest level of the Five Hole
Punch yet.”
“The Five Hole Punch concerns the Five Elements and the Five Organs. The
Heart belongs to the Fire level, and I had just finished practicing it. You guys
saw how I dug out people’s hearts, right? Actually, with just a punch to the
body, the person’s heart and veins were already broken. I took his heart out to
see if it was completely broken. But this was not the highest level, the Five
Hole Earth Punch is the highest level, not only could it hurt the spleen, but it
will also shatter the five internal organs.”
Everyone was silent but Shangguan Fei was fed up listening to him, “You
can kill someone with just any moves of any of the five organs, what’s the
use of learning the skill with the shattering of the five internal organs?”
“It’s not the same! It’s not the same!” Finally, someone replied Old Man Mu
and he was very happy, but his face changed upon seeing the sun coming out,
“Damn, quickly, cover me with a thick cloth, I can’t see the sunlight.”
“Don’t worry about him.” Maid Lotus walked on the other side of Old Man
Mu as she controlled the ropes with her left hand, and continued to press her
sword shaft with her right hand. She said, “The Seven Rotation Skill was
practiced in reverse, therefore the yin and yang are upside down. The sun will
damage his Internal Strength, but he won’t die from it.”
No one wanted to help him at first, and now even lesser people would offer to
help.
As the sun rose, Old Man Mu seemed to look ten years older. Even his
forehead, the only smooth part on his body, was slowly showing some
wrinkles. He began to swear and his voice was booming. At least, for the first
two hours, he did not sound like someone whose Internal Strength was
damaged.
Old Man Mu spouted a lot of obscenities and Shangguan Ru had to plug her
ears, before moving to the front.
The cursing did not have any effect and the sun was getting more and more
blazing during the day. As Old Man Mu’s voice gradually became weaker, he
changed his tune and started to ask for mercy instead, “Dragon King, and
you, what’s your name, Maid Lotus, spare my life, or you can kill me. I’m
suffering too much, I’m drying out, at least cover me with just one layer, I,
I…”
Then, Old Man Mu’s head askew aside, and no sound came from him.
Maid Lotus rode with him and felt for his breath, before saying, “It’s okay,
we can keep him in the sun for at least seven days.”
“And after seven days?” Shangguan Fei was still hoping to kill Old Man Mu.
“He will be disabled and it would be impossible to recover.”
“It’s such a crooked…” Shangguan Fei began to say but swallowed down the
other half of his sentence. The Seven Rotation Skill was one of New Moon
Hall’s occult science and he was a little afraid of Maid Lotus, the former
killer of his family.
Around noon, Old Man Mu woke up, his voice was getting increasingly
weary and hissed like a snake, he also seemed almost unconscious when he
said, “Thirsty, thirsty… little baby is really cute… kill… don’t chase me…
spare my life…”
Everybody else was indifferent. Only Shangguan Ru was unable to tolerate it

any longer. She had already pulled out the cotton wadding from her ears, and
after hearing Old Man Mu pleading, she became even more sympathetic
toward him.
She did not talk to Dragon King but turned to Maid Lotus instead, “Do you
have to torture him like this? At least cover his head with something!”
This was an awkward moment as Maid Lotus and Shangguan Ru had not
talked at all since the reunion. In the past, they were master and servant, and
Maid Lotus could not pretend to ignore Shangguan Ru’s request, so she
glanced at Dragon King and said: “If he recovers his skills, we are not his
opponents.”
Then, after pausing for a moment, Maid Lotus still could not overcome her
old habit, so she added, “We can cover his head with a cloth, he will suffer
less pain.”
Chapter 358 - Parting
Chapter 358: Parting
Only on the 7th day after departing Hui Kingdom and entering the boundary
between the desert and Gobi Desert, did they find the a water source. It was a
small spring, named Lifesaver Spring.
They stoppd to rest, particularly for the sake of the horses, who needed to
regain their strength before the next five to six day trek.
Wildhorse had been following them, keeping a distance of one or two miles
during the day and less than one mile at night. He neither put forward any
requests nor lent a hand to rescue people, even occasionally disappearing for
an hour or two before reappearing again.
After two days of being in the sun, Old Man Mu looked worse for wear. His
skin draped loosely over his body like a ragdoll, and only after the sun set did
he regain some energy.
As long as he had the strength to open his mouth, he never stopped babbling,
boasting about his excellent kung fu, commenting on all kinds of stunts and
coercing people to release him. Sometimes he would even stealthily use
Seven Magical Tones to make Shangguan Hong uneasy.
Maid Lotus spared Old Man Mu’s life so that his knowledge could be used to
perfect New Moon Hall’s kungfu. She had little to worry about. After another
five days under the sun, Old Man Mu would lose all his force and skill, and
then he would naturally succumb to her control.
Except for Shangguan Ru, the three men in the team were looking forward to
the death of Old Man Mu. It was at her request that Maid Lotus allowed him
to put on a thin black gauze during the day to marginally relieve the pain.
At dusk, when the team arrived in the Lifesaver Spring, Gu Shenwei and
Maid Lotus stood guard against Wildhorse while Shangguan Hong filled each
member’s water bag with clean water. Shangguan Fei, who could not stand
Old Man Mu’s nagging, went to sleep a distance away.
He was so exhausted that fall asleep immediately, dreaming that he was still
the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort, and was being served by the
slaves in Stone Castle.
Old Man Mu was left with Shangguan Ru alone. In a hoarse voice, he

whispered, “Is your name Shangguan Ru?”
Shangguan Ru ignored him. Although she could not bear to watch Old Man
Mu suffer, she was quietly aware that he was a vicious demon.
“I really can’t tell that you are the daughter of Supreme King.” Old Man Mu
was used to talking to himself, so he did not feel embarrassed at all. “It is said
that Supreme King has 9 sons and 8 daughters, among them, the Tenth
Young Master resembles her father the most. However, looking at you, I
don’t think that you are… ruthless enough.”
Only a few people were aware that the the killing desire of Shangguan Ru
had disappered. To the residents of Jade City, Tenth Young Master was still
the fake boy who desired to be the Young Master. Many people thought that
the reason why she was forced to put on women’s clothing and placced under
house arrest was because her killing intent was too strong.
Shangguan Ru remained silent. Dragon King and others would come back
soo, Old Man Mu did not have much time. “An old man like me knows the
most about little girl’s inner thoughts, I am quite experienced at my age.
Dragon King had an affair with that woman, and you feel wretched, don’t
you?”
Shangguan Ru blushed rosily, immediately opening her mouth to refute, “No,

that’s nonsense.”
Old Man Mu chuckled. Over the past two days, his eyes had not spared a
single detail. He clearly saw the personalities of and complicated
relationships between the five people.
“Just take it that I’m talking nonsense. With you is Dragon King, with tens of
thousands of swordsmen under him, and the other is the high-ranking
member of New Moon Hall, who has exquisite sword craft and can keep pace
with Dragon King. Furthermore, she will have learned the occult sciences by
now, and is a suitable companion of Dragon King. Ah, they were born a pair.
It will be difficult for them to seperate in the future. They will give birth to a
lot of sons and daughters, and might even creat a small Golden Roc Fort… ”
Shangguan Ru thought that she should be angry, but she only felt sad, “You
are talking nonsense. Dragon King… will marry the Princess.”
“Yes, the Princess, but he is Dragon King. It will not be strange for him to
have dozens of wives. But it is unfortunate that some will not even be among
that dozen.”
Old Man Mu’s humiliation had gone too far. The flush on Shangguan Ru’s
face faded away and she said coldly, “I am what I am. Nobody is qualified to
criticise. If you want me to save you, forget about it. You are a devil who
kills people without blinking an eye. I will never let you do evil to the world
again. You deserve your suffering. Think about those who were killed by
you, and their relatives and friends.”
” I’ve been thinking about it.” Old Man Mu argued, “These two days, I’ve
only managed to survive relying on imaging their look of horror when they
died. Little girl, you don’t know the pleasure of killing people. Let me tell
you… ”
Shangguan Ru did not wish to listen any further and turned round to leave.
Old Man Mu changed the subject quickly. He had misjudged. This little girl
was not what he imagined, she could not be persuaded by sordid affairs.
Desperately, he called, “Wait a minute. I’ll be serious.”
As Shangguan Ru was the only guardian, she could not go too far. Hearing
the words, she stopped.
“Look at your skill, you must have learnt Wayless Qigong. Did you learn it
secretly?”
Wayless Qigong was one of the top manuals in Golden Roc Fort. It had
always been kept hidden and only passed on to the King’s successor. Old
Man Mu must have guessed that Shangguan Ru had not acquired her skill
from a formal way.
“It’s none of your business.”
“Yes, I don’t care whether. Golden Roc Fort has Wayless Qigong, and my
manual is not bad either, but I did not expect that Dragon King and Maid
Lotus’s Dajue Book of Swordcraft was so powerful. It is said that this sword
craft was originally a unique skill in the Fort. Why aren’t you capable of it?”
Shangguan Ru did not reply.
Old Man Mu’s words must have hit home and he spoke with more
confidence, “Alas, Dragon King and Maid Lotus are traitors of Golden Roc
Fort, that they should know more kung fu than the daughter of Supreme
King. This is unreasonable.”
“What is unreasonable is that people like you are still alive, just like…
Golden Roc Fort.”
“Yes, yes, you are right. But I feel bad for you.”
Shangguan Ru turned around and saw Dragon King and Maid Lotus walking
shoulder to shoulder through the dusk. On her other side, Shangguan Hong
stumbled back, bringing a dozen water sacks.
“The two of them, having learnt seven chapters of Wayless Qigong, thought
that they were invincible. That’s ridiculous. If it hadn’t been for my
carelessness, hum… ” Old Man Mu was still rambling.
Shangguan Ru was slightly surprised by how much Old Man Mu knew about
Wayless Qigong.
“In fact, it’s only half — or the greater part - of the divine kung fu. There are
still several chapters behind it. Only after learning all of it can one be truly
invincible. I feared that manual, that is why I did not dare to come to Golden
Roc Fort to start a fight.”
Shangguan Ru looked at Old Man Mu skeptically. The seven chapters of

“Wayless Book” did not seem to be finished, but there were only seven
chapters in Golden Roc Fort.
Old Man Mu chuckled again, knowing that the following words would shock
the little girl, “There are 8 chapters in Golden Roc Fort, don’t you know?
Supreme King has another chapter in his hand. He thought that he was the
only one who knew the secret. But I know and I just keep a distance to avoid
starting a fight.”
Shangguan Ru’s doubts vanished. Her killing desire was already gone, what
more did she care about how many chapters Wayless Qigong had?
Dragon King and Maid Lotus were approaching. Old Man Mu had no more
time to beat around the bush. He said eagerly, “Let me go, I will help you get
chapter 8. With your current foundation, you are bound to surpass them in a
year’s practice. By then, will Dragon King not come to grovel like a dog?”
Old Man Mu had overestimated his persuasion. Shangguan Ru paid no heed.
In the middle of the night, Gu Shenwei asked everyone to get up and hurry on
with the journey. The camp of Great Snowmountain was likely to come under
siege. He must take the survivors out of danger before the camp was broken
into and more people died.
Even though knowing that Wildhorse would not fall for it, Maid Lotus still
sprinkled short-acting poison into the spring. The contaminated spring water
would kill people within three days.
The next few days passed without disturbance. Like a stubborn child,
Wildhorse followed them all the way, keeping an appropriate distance, and
never taking any action. When pursued, he retreated.
Old Man Mu was getting weaker and weaker. Although he still did not give
up persuading the people in the team to set him free, he slowly lost the
strength to speak. Five days later, he could only glance at the five faces one
by one with hope, especially Shangguan Ru, who was his greatest hope.
Shangguan Ru became more silent and did not say a word for several days.
The five people in the team had known each other since an early age, but the
other four could not a shadow of the Tenth Young Master.
But everyone was hurrying on with the journey, and nobody took it too
seriously.
Six days after Old Man Mu was captured, the team finally walked out of the
deserts. There was still no human being in sight, but clusters of shrubs
gradually appeared, a faint burst of green struggling in the late winter.
That afternoon, when the setting sun was still shining, Shangguan Ru spoke
for the first time in a few days, saying she would leave the team.
“I go until here. I have to leave.”
“Where to?” Gu Shenwei blurted out in surprise. He thought she wanted to

return to Jade City too.
The bumpy path led to the northwest, but Shangguan Ru looked south, “Over
there, I’ve always wanted to travel.”
Wandering Jianghu had been Shangguan Ru’s dream since she was a child.
Gu Shenwei suddenly recalled that he had once gone down the mountain,
carrying her on his back, before sending her back to Stone Castle again. He
said, “I hope you… ”
“Don’t forget, we are enemies.” Shangguan Ru interrupted his words.
“Sister, you are penniless. How far you can go? Why don’t you come back to
Jade City with me? Maybe… ” Shangguan Fei still had bore the faint hope
that they could earn their father’s forgiveness, but his persuasion was half-
hearted. Shangguan Ru shook her head and did not say a word.
Shangguan Hong opened his mouth, then hesitated, feeling that this matter
had nothing to do with himself. He swallowed and said nothing.
Gu Shenwei seemed to have a lot of words to say, but he said nothing.
Shangguan Ru rode on a horse. She had already made up her mind a few days
ago. Her gaze moved from Dragon King’s face to Maid Lotus’, and she only
said one sentence, “Congratulations, for acquiring the Wayless Qigong.”
With that, she spurred the horse and rode away.
Gu Shenwei suddenly understood.
Old Man Mu had recognized that Maid Lotus was a master of New Moon
Hall. It was at this point that Shangguan Ru realized that everything had just
been a plot. Slave Huan and Maid Lotus had used her to steal the Wayless
Qigong.
Shangguan Ru had not even considered Slave Huan, who had hidden his
surname and defected to fort Jin Peng, traitorous. But stealing the Wayless
Book was undoubtedly a betrayal.
She had put her trust in Slave Huan, which proved to be the wrong choice.
Gu Shenwei made no excuses though he knew that Shangguan Ru had

misunderstood him.
“Let’s go,” he said. His voice was so cold and hard that it could not fool
anyone, even Shangguan Hong, who pursed her lips and gazed at the
direction which Shangguan Ru had left.
“Ah.” Old Man Mu who had barely spoken the whole day, heaved a sigh.
That same night, Old Man Mu, who had not been able to recover his ability,
magically disappeared.
Chapter 359 - Separate Paths
Chapter 359: Separate Paths
After six days of exposure, Old Man Mu had already lost most of his force
and skill. He no longer posed a threat to them. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus
began to focus their defences towards combatting Wildhorse. Since the
journey was about to end, Wildhorse was likely to carry out his plan at any
time.
At this moment, Old Man Mu, who had barely enough energy to last a day,
escaped.
It was not until early the next morning as they were about to set off that they
found Old Man Mu had disappeared, leaving the empty leather ropes.
Nobody had realized that Old Man Mu had run away.
For the past ten days, everyone had been focusing on keeping up, and with
only a little rest each day. Their vigor and physical strength had slackened,
and so had their vigilance. Even Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had almost run
out of patience. All of this had created conditions that facilitated Old Man
Mu’s escape.
But it was still a mystery how he managed to get out of the ropes.
Old Man Mu had suffered great insult, he would surely come back for
revenge sooner or later. Shangguan Fei kept insinuating that Maid Lotus
made the wrong decision, she should have listened to him and killed the old
devil, but Shangguan Hong was more afraid. He was so worried that he paced
up and down, muttering “What should we do… What should we do?”
“Old Man Mu’s force and skill has not recovered. It is not too late to go and
find him now. But let’s not make the same mistake and be compassionate this
time.” Shangguan Fei said commandingly.
“Yes, yes, the Ninth Young Master is right. How long will it take for him to
recover?”
Maid Lotus was searching for clues with Dragon King. She had not spoken
much but piped up to answer, “About 30 days or so.”
“Well, we still have enough time.” Shangguan Hong breathed a small sigh of
relief.
“Although he will take more than 30 days to fully recover, Old Man Mu only
needs about 50 to 60 percent of his force and skill to kill us all. That will only
take several days. Alas, one wrong step will lead to the wrong track.”
Shangguan Fei complained, not heeding the others’ expressions. In reality, he
was exaggerating. Old Man Mu’s kung fu was more powerful than Dragon
King’s or Maid Lotus’s, but the gap was not that large. Besides, he had just
suffered torture, and would never dare to take action rashly before he
recovered fully.
Gu Shenwei , who was carefully scrutinising the rope, suddenly got up and
said, “Someone has helped Old Man Mu.”
“You mean one of us helped him?” Shangguan Hong asked in amazement.
The Shangguan brothers looked at each other. Among the four people,
Dragon King and Maid Lotus had no reason to let go of Old Man Mu.
Naturally, the two of them were the only suspects.
At the same time, they pointed at each other accusingly, “It’s you!”
Erupting into a heated argument, they each listed the reasons for the other’s
betrayal. Finally, Shangguan Fei stopped the futile debate and asked Dragon
King, “How do you know that he got help from someone?”
Gu Shenwei held up the rope and carefully picked up two lengths of leather
rope from the base. Obviously, these two pieces were originally from the
same piece of rope that had been cut by someone with sharp tools. That was
how Old Man Mu escaped.
“It wasn’t me.” Shangguan Fei took the initiative to defend himself, “I slept
all night long last night and did not get up. It must be Shangguan Hong. I saw
him get up at night and move around for quite a while after coming back.
Who knows what he was doing?”
Shangguan Hong blushed, “Nonsense, it wasn’t me, why would I set him
free?”
“Old Man Mu said that anyone who set him free would be taught the
unrivaled kung fu skills he has. You are the worst in kung fu among us, of
course you would be tempted by his offer.”
Shangguan Hong blushed deeply, “Shouldn’t I have run away with him if I
let him go?”
“You are bad at kung fu and hence you were afraid of attracting the attention
of others. Therefore, you would likely find an excuse to leave in several days
instead, and then go to the appointed place to acknowledge Old Man Mu as
your teacher. It must be like this.”
Although they were both cowards, Shangguan Fei was smarter. His
description of Shangguan Hong’s betrayal was convincing.
When it came to Shangguan Hong, he could not say anything to defend for
himself but “It wasn’t me” repeatedly. Maid Lotus, who had been scoping the
suroundings, returned and reported, “He was heading south.”
Both the two brothers closed their mouths and looked at the south, as if they
could see Old Man Mu’s figure in the distance. Shangguan Fei looked
gloomy. Shangguan Hong thought for a moment, suddenly enlightened, “It
was Shangguan Ru!”
Yesterday afternoon, Shangguan Ru had headed for the south after parting
with them. The other three had already thought of this but just had not put the
idea forward.
Shangguan Hong thought he had solved the mystery and exclaimed excitedly,
“It must be her. I remember that she had been alone with Old Man Mu
several times and they seemed to have a lot to discuss. When someone else
approached, they stopped talking. They might have reached an agreement
then. Then… she cut off the rope, and excused herself to leave first last night.
Old Man Mu escaped after midnight and they met at the appointed place. It
was flawless, who would have expected that the Tenth Young Master was so
crafty?”
Shangguan Hong had not forgotten Shangguan Fei, and gave him the side-
eye, “Maybe they left a spy here to smear others.”
The two brothers began to quarrel again until Gu Shenwei commanded in a

low voice, “Shut up.”
Dragon King looked ferocious, and the two brothers’ hearts were gripped
with fear. Neither dared to say a word.
It was hard for Gu Shenwei to believe that Shangguan Ru should have done
such kind of thing. But really, who in this world was trustworthy?
He had hurt her, and deliberately ignored her these past few days. The
disheartened look on her face when they separated the day before was still
etched in his mind.
Shangguan Ru was not a weak woman, she might have lost the killing desire,
but she would never admit defeat so easily.
Gu Shenwei did not want to think about this anymore. He glanced over the
two brothers of the Shangguan family, hoping to find a more reasonable
traitor.
Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong cowered like rabbits under a tiger’s
gaze. They were so stupefied that they stood still and did not even defend
themselves.
“We have to find Old Man Mu.” Gu Shenwei said. He knew that finding the
traitor was not the most urgent task at this moment.
Shangguan Hong inserted, “It’s dawn now, Old Man Mu can’t be far. He
must be hiding nearby.”
“But why hasn’t Wildhorse left?”
Shangguan Fei pointed to a small black spot in the southeast. It was

Wildhorse, who did not know that Old Man Mu had escaped, or perhaps he
did not care, still following them stubbornly.
Old Man Mu was not likely to be far. Gu Shenwei could not waste time on
this. He had to get to the Great Snowmountain’s camp as soon as possible.
Maid Lotus understood Dragon King as soon as she caught his eyes, “I will
go to find Old Man Mu. Since it was me who wanted to keep him alive, let
me solve this problem.”
Therefore, Maid Lotus was the second to leave the team after Shangguan Ru.
It would take about 30 days for Old Man Mu to fully recover his force and
skill, hence the first few days were the golden time to kill him. Therefore,
Maid Lotus and Dragon King agreed to regroup in one month, no matter the
outcome.
Gu Shenwei continued his journey with Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong.
Wildhorse did not care about the left of Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus, and
did not give up following them even after finding remains of the rope on the
ground.
Gu Shenwei wanted to shake off this tail, but did not have time to set
complicated traps. While he hastened on the journey all day long, he thought
about what to do. Finally, he came up with an idea and felt that it was worth a
try that night.
This idea required Shangguan Fei’s cooperation.
After speeding up suddenly at dusk and losing Wildhorse for a while, the
three of them stopped for a short rest. Gu Shenwei laid out his plan, “If there
are no accidents, there will most certainly be an ambush up ahead.”
“Why?” the Shangguan brothers asked simultaneous. They had imagined that
there would be no more danger for a while.
“Wildhorse has been following us, but he never took any action. He must be
waiting for opportunity. My guess is that he has already deployed an ambush
at the end of the road.”
“That’s possible.” Shangguan Fei thought briefly and agreed with Dragon
King.
“What should we do? Change the route?”
There was no second route, since the guide had been killed. Running around
in the wild would only waste more time. So Gu Shenwei rejected Shangguan
Hong’s suggestion, “No, we have to get rid of Wildhorse, in case we are
attacked from the front and behind.”
Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong made a eye contact again. This time
they had the same thought. One of them said, “Dragon King has a wonderful
plan. ” And the other said, “I will be waiting for good news.”
As soon as Gu Shenwei spoke out his plan, Shangguan Fei shook his head,
“No, I can’t do this. If I am exposed, that would ruin Dragon King’s plan.
And this trick was played a few days ago, it won’t deceive Wildhorse again.”
Gu Shenwei knew what could make Shangguan Fei willing to take the risk,
“If you don’t cooperate, I won’t be able to get rid of Wildhorse. Let’s
continue our journey, and when we meet the ambush, let’s run away
separately. Their goal is probably to just eliminate some of us, and the
irrelevant one isn’t likely to be pursued.”
Shangguan Fei gritted his teeth, “Okay, I will do it.”
In Shangguan Fei’s view, he was more important than Dragon King. Since
Wildhorse worked for Supreme King, it was likely that he was the target of
Wildhorse rather than Dragon King.
Shangguan Hong, who was not involved in the plan, was greatly relieved and
encouraged his half-brother, “It will do, you are a twin, as long as you…”
Shangguan Fei gave him a hostile glare, and Shangguan Hong quickly shut
up.
At midnight, the three men stopped again, lit their fire, and rested on the spot,
looking into the distance. Two of them fell asleep while one was guarded
nearby.
About a mile away, Wildhorse got down from his horse and rested. He did
not light a fire or sleep, but laid a small carpet on the ground, knelt on it, held
the handle of his knife, and stayed alert of the noises around him.
In the dim light of night, a man riding a horse came slowly from the south.
The horse rode the soil that had just begun to thaw, and though it did not
make a loud sound, it was enough to make Wildhorse rise and pull out his
saber.
To his surprise, it was Shangguan Ru. Although her appearance was distant
and fuzzy, he had once been a killer her Shangguan Ru and was confident
that he was not seeing the wrong people.
The saber in Wildhorse’s hand lowered several inches, but he remained

vigilant.
Shangguan Ru stopped at 20 steps away, then urged the horse forward a few
steps forward gestured that she wanted to talk with Wildhorse.
Wildhorse nodded and took a few steps forward. They were less than ten
steps apart.
Wildhorse made the first move. He was not gullible, and at this point, he
would never be cheated by a fake Shangguan Ru.
He guessed that it was Shangguan Fei in disguise, with Dragon King was
hiding nearby. So he decided to kill Shangguan Fei by surprise, and then run
away on the horse, giving Dragon King no chance to take action.
However, to his complete surprise, Shangguan Ru blocked his first stab.

Moreover, Shuangguan Ru even snapped off the weapon in his hand.
Killers would never get into a dogfight with anyone. Although Wildhorse
was shocked, he quickly retreated, holding half of the saber, and jumped onto
his horse.
At this moment, the fatal stab was made.
Shangguanfei, who was in women’s clothing, looked pale, and his heart was
racing.
A few years ago, after Shangguan Ru and her accomplices had stolen the
Wayless Book, Lady Meng, who naturally would not forget her son,
transcribed one for him. Shangguan Fei secretly practiced it, improving
Internal Strength greatly, even though, his timidity did not diminish a bit.
Only under the pressure of death did he even dare to try.
Even so, he required more assurance and borrowed the Five Peaks Saber
from Dragon King.
What a nice saber! He thought, as he watched one of Wildhorse’s are separate

from his body and blood gush, a good ten steps away.
Chapter 360 - Shaking
Chapter 360: Shaking
Wildhorse fell into the trap. He used a small percentage of his strength to
attack Shangguan Fei, while the majority of it was channeled towards
defending against Dragon King. However, Shangguan Fei was stronger than
he had thought, and the way he retreated was just as Dragon King expected.
Wildhorse had run out of escape routes and could only exchange his left arm
for his life. He immediately jumped off the horse and ran away.
“We can still catch up with him.” Shangguan Fei urged himself, urging his
horse faster. However, this brave idea was just as fleeting as Wildhorse was
fleetfooted. He tightened his reins.
“You won’t be able to catch up with him.” Gu Shenwei sheathed the Dragon
Head Sword. Though Wildhorse head did not learn the Wayless Book or
Death Scripture, his kung fu had advanced by leaps and bounds, especially
his Lightness Skills, which was more proficient than even Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei knew what his weaknesses were, which was why he needed a
helper like Maid Lotus. Wildhorse would never have escaped if she had been
there.
Several days ago, Gu Shenwei was hurrying along the journey, and did not
think of this assassination plan.
Gu Shenwei rode on Wildhorse’s horse, and came up to Shangguan Fei.
Shangguan Fei held the scabbard of Five Peaks Saber and was reluctant to
return it to Dragon King “It really is a nice saber!”
Gu Shenwei snatched it back immediately. Shangguan Fei’s cowardice was
inborn. No matter how sharp the weapon was, it would not give a coward
courage.
When the two returned to the resting place, the fire was still alight, but
Shangguan Hong was gone, along with one horse.
“I knew it was him!” Shangguan Fei shouted angrily, “It was him that set Old
Man Mu free instead of my sister. He must have left to get his reward.”
“Don’t worry about him.” Gu Shenwei was not worried at all. He took out a
few pieces of dry food from a pack tied to the horse and shared it with
Shangguan Fei. They set off again after finishing their food.
Shangguan Fei hoped to have a rest; it seemed that there was relatively little
danger, especially since Wildhorse had run away. However, he did not dare
to voice it. The longer he had spent in the presence of Dragon King, the more
unconsciously he obeyed the master-servant arrangement.
Dragon King’s calmness was not without reason. Shangguan Hong caught up
late in the morning, gasping and sweat dripping down his brow, “Alas, why
did you two leave first? I had to relieve myself…”
This excuse was surely too far-fetched, even Shangguan Hong did not expect
that anyone would believe it. Instead, he chuckled ingratiatingly, “Dragon
King, please forgive me, I won’t do it again.”
Shangguan Fei was shocked and immediately asked, “Tell us, did you go to
see Old Man Mu? Where is he hiding? Confess quickly.”
“No, no, I have nothing to do with Old Man Mu.” Shangguan Hong defended
himself though his face was pale. However, only telling the truth would get
rid of the suspicion, “I didn’t think… I didn’t expect… that we would
encounter so many dangers following Dragon King. When we reach the
Great Snowmountain, it will be even more dangerous. I’m poor in kung fu
and clumsy, and I can’t help you, so… ”
“So you ran away!” Shangguan Fei was indignant. Supreme King’s
acknowledged son had not run, while the illegitimate son fled. “Why do you
come back?”
Shangguan Hong put up a pathetic face and looked at the silent Dragon King,
begging for mercy, “Dragon King, it’s all my fault. I’m a coward, I’m
treacherous, I’m shameless and contemptible…”
Shangguan Hong rebuked himself with a dozen words consecutively.

Thinking that was enough, Gu Shenwei took a piece of dry food from the
pack and threw it to him.
Shangguan Hong, like a hungry dog, caught the dry food with both hands,
stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it without chewing.
Shangguan Fei suddenly realized something, pointing to Dragon King,

“You… you… did you put poison in the dry food?”
To be precise, it was Maid Lotus who had poisoned the food. The Blood
Coagulation Pill was too precious to waste on these two people, so she had
used the poison used commonly in New Moon Hall. After taking the poison
for a while, he would occasionally experience abdominal pains. The method
to relieve it was simple: one way was to suppress it, and he would recover
after a few days. The other way was to continue to take the poison.
Shangguan Hong did not know the first method. The moment he felt
abdominal pain, he knew that he had been tricked and pleaded Dragon King
to give him the antidote.
“You won’t die.” Gu Shenwei always Zhong Heng’s warning that all the
people in the Shangguan family were wolves on his mind, and knew he must
possess the skill for training wolves.
Shangguan Fei’s face changed, “Dragon King, you are too cruel. I trusted you
so much. Was my sister …”
For sure, Gu Shenwei would not treat them differently. He knew that
Shangguan Ru would not die, the abdominal pain would disappear
completely after several rounds. It did not even hurt that much. However, he
certainly would not tell them the truth, so he simply nodded his head.
Shangguan Fei did not become enraged. On the contrary, his anger seemed to
dissipate suddenly. All he had for Dragon King was respect and worship, so
he changed his tone and repeated. “Dragon King, you are too cruel.”
Shangguan Hong was eager to change Dragon King’s impression of him and
said, “How can you be a killer if you are not cruel? How could you compete
with Golden Roc Fort?”
From then on, the two competed to win Dragon King’s favor. They tried
flattery, eyes constantly scanning on the parcel that stored the dry food.
Shangguan Fei privately despised Shangguan Hong: Why did he run away
empty-handed, he should at least have taken water and dry food.
Gu Shenwei also became more vigilant. He kept the real poisonous powder
hidden in his sleeve, and each time he took out some dry food, he would
spread a little on it.
The tail who had been following them finally disappeared. The whole day of
traveling passed without a hitch. Gu Shenwei decided to rest early this night
to be more energised. They set off before dawn the next day and saw
Tianshan rising in the north. Soon, they would enter the territory of Shu-lik.
Gu Shenwei was right. He had guessed Wildhorse would set an ambush at the
end of the road.
However, no fight occurred. Wildhorse’s disappearance obviously

unexpected. As soon as Dragon King drew near, they fled. No one came out
to challenge him.
The ten men, who were hidden in a large bush by the road, fled like
frightened animals.
The road ahead was bumpy. That afternoon, the three of them finally drew
near to Shu-lik’s border and could see the country from a distance. Having
just escaped danger, they still did not feel at ease.
They stopped on a hill. Shu-lik’s border post several miles away was now a
mere pile of burnt debris, the ashes lay smoldering.
When the three of them rode up on their horse, stopping to survey the
expanse of smoke and dust that continued to wind east of the road.
The three jumped off the horse with Gu Shenwei taking the lead. They hid
the horse under the small hill, and hid themselves behind the bushes on the
top of the hill, observing from a distance.
“That’s Norland’s army! Has Norland invaded the Western Region?”

Shangguan Fei cried out in surprise.
Gu Shenwei also recognized the white wolf flag of Norland. The army had a
total of 1,000 people, advancing at full speed, with no scouts. Obviously, this
was not the first cavalry to have entered Shu-lik.
“They were sent by Supreme King.” Gu Shenwei finally believed understood

Master Fayan’s analysis. Supreme King’s ambition was beyond his own. He
had wanted to invade a territory bigger than his own and borrowed troops to
occupy Shu-lik.
As the map indicated, the Great Snowmountain’s campsite was 30 miles

away in the east. Gu Shenwei had to face a cruel fact that 3,000 swordsmen
and machetemen were possibly dead. All his efforts might be in vain.
Meanwhile, Jade City, several hundreds of miles away, was in turmoil. There
was also a man, just like Dragon King, who was worried about the fate of
Great Snowmountain’s campsite.
Fang Wenshi had experienced the biggest storm in his life. The peace
negotiation was going to end and the outcome was good. The night before, he
had been preparing for the signing ceremony to be hosted in the Four Truths
Temple the next day. The eminent monk there would be the witness.
However, Xu Xiaoyi knocked at the door just before dawn, waking Fang
Wenshi from his sweet dream. “Damn it! News has been circulating around
that Dragon King failed in the contest to be Emperor’s son-in-law, so he
started a slaughter, cutting off the heads of the Ninth Young Master, the
Tenth Young Master and more.”
Fang Wenshi shot up, dressed in his underwear and paced back and forth
several times, and then pat himeself on the forehead. He smiled, “Nonsense, I
was almost scared by you. Think for a moment, it takes at least 10 days to go
from Stone Kingdom to Jade City. Rumors cannot reach here so fast unless
they can fly. Dragon King just arrived Stone Kingdom ten days ago, and the
contest for being the Emperor’s son-in-law would have just begun. Hence, it
hasn’t been decided who will be the emperor’s son-in-law, why would he kill
anyone?
Fang Wenshi shook his head repeatedly. Although he had not spent much
time with Dragon King, he believed that Dragon King would not kill anyone
and undermine the hard-won peace negotiation even if he failed to be the
Emperor’s son-in-law.
Xu Xiaoyi smiled, thankful that it was probably nothing, but could not help
but still feel uneasy, “Would it be a conspiracy of Golden Roc Fort?”
Fang Wenshi pondered for a while and shook his head again. “Probably not.
They were quite earnest during the negotiation and scrutinised every detail. It
doesn’t seem likely that they will start a war.”
In reality, Fang Wenshi was being too optimistic. Though Golden Roc Fort
did not have any intention of starting a war, and was skeptical about the
rumors, they did delay signing the agreement.
This caused a problem because the three-month-long temporary armistice had

come to an end. Theoretically, Golden Roc Fort and the Great Snowmountain
were at war again.
Fang Wenshi sensed that something had gone terribly wrong.
Golden Roc Fort had put on a dazzling show, evolving from disdain to
hesitation, and finally the rage and shock after discovering the evidence.
Supreme King had made an alternation from the offender to the prosecutor.
Initially, citizens of Jade City unanimously believed that Dragon King killed
people. In their minds, Dragon King was a demon who did not bat an eye
when killing people.
Not until even more shocking news spread did some people begin to suspect
that Golden Roc Fort was involved in a big conspiracy. But no one dared to
speak.
Third Young Master Shangguan Yun, who had nearly faded out of people’s
memory, suddenly became the Emperor’s son-in-law of the Xiaowan
Kingdom in the north of Tianshan. Moreover, he was likely to succeed to the
throne.
A serious riot irrupted in the Loulan Kingdom of the east. A large group of
bandits joined forces to invade the capital of the Loulan Kingdom. Troops
stationed in all part of the Central Plain rushed to the capital at night to aid
them.
Next, an unknown army set off from the Xiaowan Kingdom and went straight
to Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu at the eastern border, with the excuse
of revenge for Bighead Kingpin. Supreme King’s attitude toward Bighead
Kingpin had undergone a complete reversal overnight.
That night, another army joined forces with the troops stationed at the
western border, and they launched an attack on the Great Snowmountain’s
campsite.
A few days later, the whole Western Region was shaken by an upheaval that
had not happened in a thousand years: thousands of Norland cavalry marched
southwards, through the western mountain pass and into Shu-lik, claiming
that King of Shu-lik sent assassins to assassinate Khan.
As the situation exacerbated, everyone felt that the world was turning upside
down. It was no longer important whether Dragon King had killed Supreme
King’s sons and daughters.
On the seventh day after the rumor, Fang Wenshi was imprisoned at his
residence. Golden Roc Fort kept him alive in order to force him to admit that
it was Dragon King who had triggered the war.
For the first time, Fang Wenshi saw personally how unscrupulous Golden
Roc Fort was. His fury became unprecedented courage as he firmly rejected
the threats and promises of Golden Roc Fort.
There was no news of Dragon King’s death, and that became the greatest
consolation for Fang Wenshi. For more than ten days, he had worried about
the Great Snowmountain campsite. With 3,000 people there, it was the
foundation for Dragon King power. If the entire army collapsed, there was no
way back even if Dragon King grew three heads and six arms.
Chapter 361 - A Decisive Battle
Chapter 361: A Decisive Battle
Having experienced three large-scale attacks and countless strikes launched

by killers, the impregnable Great Snowmountain was the Golden Roc Fort’s
most formidable enemy. This exceeded Supreme King and Zhang Ji’s
expectations.
In the grand strategy drawn up by the two of them, the critical part was
invading Shu-lik by borrowing soldiers, followed by occupying the Central
Plain stronghold near the eastern border. Eliminating the Snow Mountain
Gang was a minor distraction. According to the plan, the assault would end
within half a month.
Til now, the first two plans were going well. Third Young Master Shangguan
Yun, leading a troop of 5,000 soldiers and horses, had marched thousands of
miles towards the Central Plain stronghold. They failed in the first foray.
Shangguan Nu, who was hiding in the stronghold, escaped upon hearing the
news, leaving several years worth supplies accumulated by the Central Plain
in the hands of Golden Roc Fort. Shangguan Yun was recruiting laborers to
build an invincible city in the eastern border, in anticipation of Central Plain
retaliating.
The 10,000 cavalry of Norland was even more overwhelming. They won
every war and were slowly approaching the capital of Shu-lik, continuously
strengthening their forces at the same time.
The Great Snowmountain campsite, located at the eastern entrance of Shu-lik,

occupied an important position. Dugu Xian led tens of thousands of people to
besiege it. They should occupy it as early as possible, and then lead the
troops into Shu-lik to occupy the city after Norland army. Twenty days
passed, however, and the Great Snowmountain campsite still resisted. Dugu
Xian could only spare a few soldiers to send into Shu-lik, which greatly
disrupted Zhang Ji’s grand plan.
Norland was like a tiger, and Golden Roc Fort, a wolf compared to it. Even if
they worked together, as long as the wolf exposed its weakness, the tiger was
very likely to swallow its prey and kick the wolf away. This was what Zhang
Ji worried about the most.
The pressure upon Dugu Xian grew. He prepared for the fourth attack, which
would be the last attack as well, at least for Dugu Xian.
The Great Snowmountain campsite remained impregnable, but it suffered

heavy losses and faced major internal discord.
Over the past few months, the number of swordsman from the Great
Snowmountain had gradually increased to more than 2,000, and including the
swordsmen brought by machetemen Tuo Nengya, it amounted to around
3,500. After three rounds of war, they had lost almost one-third of the troops.
Moreover, the first two defensive lines had all been broken through. Only one
was left. Many people doubted that they could withstand the next attack.
However, the swordsman’s morale did not diminish. Having been in hiding
for months, everyone was reserving back their strength. Now, they would
rather rush out to die in battle rather than wait for death while defending the
camp.
Among many high-ranking military officers, Tuo Nengya was the only one
who insisted on a defensive strategy. He had once saved the Great
Snowmountain at a critical point; that was why he was highly respected.
However, his status had declined recently. This was not his fault. As soon as
the war had started, many machetemen fled or turned, greatly damaging the
swordsmen’s impression of the old machetemen.
That night, Tuo Nengya walked through the last snowfall of the winter and
headed for the main tent. He intended to discuss military affairs with the chief
of the Five Peaks to decide whether they would defend or attack. Till now,
the 50-year-old macheteman had refused to accept that he was too old. At this
moment, however, he felt that his strength did not match his desire, and he
sensed that he might lose this negotiation.
But he was still convinced that Dragon King would create miracles and
reverse the situation once again.
When Gu Shenwei was in Stone Kingdom, he had suspected that Golden Roc
Fort might find an excuse to start the war again, so he sent three swordsman
to ride through the night and return to the Great Snowmountain campsite with
a warning. They arrived two days before the war started. Therefore, the Great
Snowmountain earned precious time to respond, which was the main reason
why they could resist the three strong attacks.
And that was also why Tuo Nengya believed that Dragon King would come
back to save the army. All they needed to do were to defend the campsite and
maintain their strength.
He entered the main tent. After glancing at the people inside, he knew that
this was a fight he would not win.
The chiefs had arrived early. It seemed like they had already reached a
agreement.
There were five chiefs in the Great Snowmountain, of which the highest-
ranking, Long Qinying, chief of the Luoshen tribe who guarded in the
mountain, had appointed a young man of his tribe to perform the duty on
behalf of the chief. He seldom expressed his opinions, and he always
followed the decisions of the other four chiefs.
The chief of Danduo Peak Long Xiaoshi, who had one of his eyes pecked
away by the giant red-crowned roc, was the most influential figure among the
five chiefs. The chiefs of Greatsword Peak and Smallsword Peak ceded to his
orders.
The chief of Canopy Peak Long Fanyun was a young man. He and Tuo
Nengya had once been rewarded by Dragon King the patronus’s saber. He
had always been a supporter of the old machetemen. Tonight, however, he
lowered his head and avoided eye contact with Tuo Nengya.
Long Xiaoshi stood up and spoke on behalf of all the swordsmen of Five
Peaks. “We have held back for too long. The men of the Great
Snowmountain do not want to be cowards any more. Even if all the troops of
Western Region are outside, we will charge and fight.”
Long Xiaoshi’s words made it clear that there was no more room for
negotiation. Tuo Nengya did not reply. Long Xiaoshi paused shortly, and
then continued, “We understand that the machetemen have different ideas
from us, and we will not force them. In the final battle, the swordsmen will
rush to the forefront. As for others, they can choose whether to fight or
leave.”
Finishing his speech, he sat back.
Tuo Nengya took off the patronus’s saber given by Dragon King from his
back and held it respectfully in his arms. He said, “Although some have
escaped and some have turned, please don’t lay blame on those here. Have
they not fought shoulder to shoulder with you and killed the enemy? Did they
not show courage when fighting the army of Golden Roc Fort? Are they not
loyal to Dragon King, just like you?”
The five chiefs in the Great Snowmountain looked embarrassed. The young
chief of the Canopy Peak Long Fanyun even blushed.
Long Xiaoshi stood up again, holding out his hands in a respectful fist and
apologized to the old machetemen. “I am a rude man who is not good at
speaking, please forgive me, Boss Tuo. To me, every macheteman who
fought shoulder to shoulder with us is as good as any man in the Great
Snowmountain. However, we are still somewhat different from you. We only
know how to attack, and do not know how to defend. We are born to die on
the battlefield.”
Tuo Nengya silently sighed to himself. Dragon King had found a group of the
bravest soldiers, but not a competent commander. The chiefs could not do it,
neither could he.
” I do not oppose war.” As Tuo Nengya said this, the people in the tent
beamed, relieved. He added, “I have only one request.”
“Please tell us, Boss Tuo.” Long Xiaoshi said politely.
“All signs indicate that Golden Roc Fort is preparing for its fourth attack,
which will probably happen tomorrow. Let’s defend one more time to
discourage the enemy. After that, I will be the first to lead the charge.”
This was not what the chiefs had agreed on. All people fixed their eyes on
Long Xiaoshi. Now that Dragon King was not here, he was the leader of the
Great Snowmountain. Long Xiaoshi lowered his head and did not say a word.
“There will be a fight sooner or later, why should we have to wait again?
When Golden Roc Fort comes, why not charge and kill them just as we
desire?” The chief of the Greatsword Peak had a quick temper, and was eager
to say what was on his mind.
The chief of the Canopy Peak Long Fanyun flushed and said, “I think Boss
Tuo speaks reason. Defending one more time will act to discourage Golden
Roc Fort.”
The chief of the Greatsword Peak slapped on his knee and shouted angrily,
“Golden Roc Fort is as timid as a mouse. They only kill people stealthily. Are
the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain afraid of them?”
Long Fanyun blushed deeply, but refused to concede. “I didn’t say we were
afraid of Golden Roc Fort. I just don’t want our people to die in vain.”
The two glared at each other, which was common in Great Snowmountain.
Long Xiaoshi knew that fight themselves bloody if he did not say anything,
so he spread out his arms, and said, “Ok, keep your fire for the battlefield.
Why not defend first and attack later, and take Golden Roc Fort by surprise?”
The plan was settled. Tuo Nengya could not change the chiefs’ minds, and
simply agreed.
Back in his residence, Tuo Nengya antsy, like on pins and needles. He
couldn’t explain why but felt that something was wrong. Later, he would
recall that each time Golden Roc Fort had launched a strong attack, they
would send a number of killers to sneak into the camp to create chaos.
However, these two days had been peaceful, not a single sneak attack.
The attack tomorrow would be fierce. Tuo Nengya was worried that it would
be difficult to defend, let alone launch an attack instead.
Before dawn the next day, all troops in the camp began to prepare for the
war. The Five Peaks of the Great Snowmountain and Tuo Nengya
volunteered half of their machetemen as the main force to defend, leaving the
rest for the attack during the second half.
After breakfast, with the drums beating their resounding beat, Golden Roc
Fort’s army launched their fourth attack.
Unlike what Tuo Nengya had expected, this attack was not as formidable as
the previous three attacks. The defending army repelled several attacks only
with their bows and arrows.
Dugu Xian seemed to be at his wits end and could only take advantage of
sheer numbers to launch one attack after another to break the last defence line
of the Great Snowmountain campsite.
However, the attack this time lasted far longer than the previous attacks. It
raged from morning to noon Piles of corpse were lay in front of the camp,
dyeing the soil red.
The defenders were exhausted and quickly running out off their arrows.
Behind them, the other half of swordsmen were waiting impatiently for their
turn to attack. The chief of the Greatsword Peak unsheathed his heavy sword,
pleading Long Xiaoshi to launch the attack.
Tuo Nengya felt that it still was not the appropriate time. It seemed that
Golden Roc Fort had not used up all their forces. However, the plea for the
final attack was getting louder and louder, he could not ignore it any longer.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, Long Xiaoshi ordered the gate of the camp
open and lead the entire army to charge.
The sound of the low drum beat and the shrill horn intertwined in the valley.
The bravest group of swordsmen in the Great Snowmountain took the lead in
rushing out of the camp, stepping over the enemy’s corpses and blood,
heading for the enemy who outnumbered them.
Even the exhausted defending army were drawn into the battlefield, putting
down their bows and arrows, taking up their swords, and rushing out before
receiving the order.
In the distance, the Commander of Golden Roc Fort Dugu Xian finally felt
relieved.
Three thousand heavy cavalries, all heavily armed, gathered at the foot of the
mountain, pointed their lance forward. Propelled by the battle drum, they
hastened their pace and rushed towards the enemy.
Tuo Nengya was still a macheteman inside. Once he rushed out of the
campsite and held up the patronus’s saber, he no longer thought about
winning or losing. Even when he saw the unexpected heavy cavalry, he did
not care. There was only one thought in his mind: Never let the swordsmen
from the Great Snowmountain win. Even if he were to die, he would kill as
many people as possible.
Meanwhile, dozens of masked killers emerged from where they were hiding,
and jumped into the Great Snowmountain campsite, which was almost
deserted.
That was what Gu Shenwei saw when he returned to the campsite after his
ordeal.
Chapter 362 - Charge
Chapter 362: Charge
It was pitch dark at this moment, but Gu Shenwei easily recognized the
Golden Roc Fort’s military camp when he gazed far ahead, since it was
brilliantly illuminated by firelights and looked like a 1,000-meter-long light
strip as bright as the Milky Way in the sky. This light strip tightly blocked the
entrance of a valley, and inside the valley stood the Great Snowmountain’s
camp, which was only dimly lit. If Gu Shenwei had not been very familiar
with the terrain here, he would have never been able to find out where the
Great Snowmountain’s camp was.
Upon seeing that, Gu Shenwei comforted himself by thinking, “Perhaps they

just reduced the amount of light in the camp to guard against the killers’
sneak attacks at night.”
Shangguan Fei was deeply impressed by the scene before his eyes and
exclaimed, “This is our Golden Roc Fort’s…”
He suddenly stopped and sighed. The Golden Roc Fort had already scaled
new heights, but he was only a stepping-stone and a sacrificial lamb for it and
was forced to join the losing side.
“Dragon King, what shall we do?” asked Shangguan Hong, in a very modest
tone. Since his failed attempt to escape, he had become more and more
humble in front of the Dragon King, as if he was the young lord’s slave.
Since leaving the Stone Kingdom, Gu Shenwei had been thinking about this
question all along the way. He already had a plan and but he was not very
sure about it. Nevertheless, now it seemed that he was left with no other
choice.
“The two of you, come here. It’s time for you to do something for me,” Gu
Shenwei said to the excited-looking Shangguan Fei and the worried-looking
Shangguan Hong.
The two boys were well aware that the Dragon King did not just want to
prove to everyone that he had not slaughtered the Supreme King’s children
by bringing them back here. They had expected this to happen a long time
ago, but now when the Dragon King was about to send them out on a
mission, they felt somewhat reluctant to work for him.
“Hur Hur, Dragon King, I’ve assisted you in ambushing Wildhorse, and it
was not my fault that you failed to kill him. Given that, I think it’s someone
else’s turn this time.” Shangguan Fei hoped to remind the Dragon King of his
“credit”.
Shangguan Hong patted his chest and said proudly, “Please tell me what to
do, Dragon King. Now, I’m all yours, as long as you don’t despise my poor
kung fu.” That being said, Shangguan Hong was praying deep inside his heart
that the Dragon King would ditch him for this mission because of his inferior
kung fu.
Gu Shenwei knew that only great fear could drive these two cowards to take
action, so he patted the parcel containing their dry food and said, “You’ve
been eating Intestine Severing Powder these days. It’s one of the seven
specially-made medicines of the New Moon Hall and is very good for your
health.”
“Yeah, yeah, Dragon King, you’re so kind to us. Both of us want to find a
chance to repay your generosity.” Shangguan Fei lied because he dared not
reveal his real thought to the Dragon King. In the meantime, he missed his
authority as the Ninth Young Master of the Golden Roc Fort even more.
“You’ll benefit from this mission, too,” said Gu Shenwei while pointing at
the Golden Roc Fort’s military camp. “You two go to meet with Dugu Xian
at noon tomorrow. Don’t postpone or bring forward the time. You’ll tell him
that you’ve just escaped death, and then you shall summon all the killers in
the camp and order them to remove Dugu Xian from his post. After that,
you’ll withdraw the army 5 kilometers to make way for the Great
Snowmountain’s soldiers. You’ll tell everyone that it’s the Supreme King’s
command.”
Upon hearing the Dragon King’s “simple” request, Shangguan Fei and
Shangguan Hong gazed at each other in speechless despair. In their eyes, it
really went beyond their current level of competence. Although both of them
had taken part in many schemes before, for most of the time they had been
hiding behind the scenes and sent others to carry out their orders.
“Well, how will we benefit from this mission?” Shangguan Fei asked bluntly.
“If you two made a public appearance in Jade City now, the Supreme King
would soon have you assassinated and tell everyone that you’re impostors.
However, if you first appear here, a place beyond the Supreme King’s reach,
your safety will be guaranteed. The more people witness your return, the
better your future safety will be ensured.”
The Shangguan brothers could not deny that the Dragon King’s analysis
sounded quite reasonable, but they still felt hesitant, especially Shangguan
Fei. He instinctively rejected all actions that required his personal
involvement, “What if Dugu Xian knew the lord’s plan and had both of us
instantly killed?”
“He won’t kill you guys,” Gu Shenwei said assertively. He knew for sure that
a hired commander like Dugu Xian would never be allowed to know the top
secrets of the Golden Roc Fort.
Shangguan Hong appeared much braver than Shangguan Fei and patted his
chest again, while saying, “No problem, Dragon King. Just wait for our good
news.” With these words, he turned to Shangguan Fei and said, “Brother,
don’t be so nervous. It’s just a simple mission. Besides, Dragon King has
saved our lives. We should try our best to repay him, right?”
Shangguan Fei was stunned when Shangguan Hong called him “Brother”. He
was not used to it and even felt somewhat irritated by it. He snorted and said
to the Dragon King, “Alright, I’ll go, but I’ve a request. Once we complete
this mission, you’ll give us the antidote for that Intestine Severing Powder.
No matter how great it is for my health, I don’t want to have it anymore.”
Gu Shenwei solemnly agreed and then reminded them. “You’ll have 12 hours
to remove Dugu Xian from his post after going into the Golden Roc Fort’s
camp. I want to see the ground outside the valley to be empty by midnight.”
Both Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong were usually considered as

cowards by others, who were incapable of fulfilling any crucial task.
Nevertheless, Gu Shenwei entrusted them with this important mission, since
he believed that they were as cunning as the other members of the Shangguan
family. Shangguan Fei had once pretended to be Shangguan Ru to deceive
him, and Shangguan Hong had once killed a famous monk to frame him. He
was clear that once these two cowards were cornered, they would become
capable of anything.
As for Gu Shenwei himself, tonight he would make a detour around the

Golden Roc Fort’s army to get into the Great Snowmountain’s camp from the
back of it.
The Great Snowmountain’s camp happened to stand in the place of the

former Gu family’s manor, and Gu Shenwei could still recall the terrain here.
However, this trip turned out to be far more difficult than he had ever
imagined. The mountain path was rugged, and there were many killers lying
in wait along the way. To avoid these killers, he could only take more
detours.
Not even in their wildest dreams had Tuo Nengya and the tribal chiefs
expected the Dragon King to be slowly approaching their camp in the
mountain while they were discussing military affairs.
By divine coincidence, when Gu Shenwei arrived at the camp, it was already

too late to stop his army from rushing out of the camp for a charge, but he
happened to bump into the dozens of killers who sneaked into the camp.
Confronted with the Golden Roc Fort killers who suddenly appeared in the
camp, the 300 to 400 wounded soldiers did not have much power to fight
back.
In order to boost their morale, Gu Shenwei decided to change his usual

fighting style. Instead of ambushing the stragglers, he held his Five Peaks
Saber high and rushed into the crowd of killers to engage them in close
combat while shouting, “The Dragon King is here.”
Upon hearing that, the killers were struck with fear. Although the Dragon
King was also a killer trained by the Golden Roc Fort, they all considered
him as a legendary figure and believed that his kung fu was much better than
theirs. The injured soldiers of the Great Snowmountain, however, were
pleasantly surprised to hear the Dragon King’s voice. When they saw with
their own eyes that it was indeed the Dragon King, they were thrilled. More
than a hundred wounded warriors immediately struggled to stand up and
joined the fight.
Killers never liked a melee. Gu Shenwei was forced to start one, and the other
killers quickly retreated to avoid it. For them, this was the only correct choice
under such circumstances.
The fight ended quickly, and Gu Shenwei did not send anyone to chase after
the killers. Instead, he asked immediately, “Where are the other soldiers?”
“They all went out of the camp to battle against the Golden Roc Fort,” a
wounded soldier replied, his eyes filled with indescribable joy. He and his
comrades all firmly believed that once the Dragon King appeared, they would
definitely win the battle.
Gu Shenwei climbed up a ladder to get a view of the battlefield outside the

camp wall and saw 3,000 heavily armored cavalrymen charging into the
battlefield.
He recalled that Dugu Xian had once sent out a well-trained cavalry troop
during the battle that happened right after he and his army captured this
campground. He deeply regretted for not having sent anyone to investigate
the source of the cavalry troop at that time. He realized that if he had tracked
it down, he would have been able to uncover the Supreme King’s scheme in
the Xiaowan Kingdom a long time ago.
Compared to that of the previous battle, the cavalry regiment that appeared
today was much more disciplined and much better equipped. In an instant,
they had easily broken through the Great Snowmountain’s defense line, and
were now steering their horses back and regrouping, preparing to launch a
second charge.
They would quickly wipe out all the soldiers of the Great Snowmountain in a
few more charges.
“Tell them to retreat,” Gu Shenwei commanded, and almost immediately he

saw the bewildered look on the wounded soldiers’ faces and realized that he
had made a stupid mistake. Horns of the Great Snowmountain were only used
to send out signals for charge and never for withdrawal.
He jumped back to the ground, took hold of a horse that looked strong and
said to the wounded soldiers who were barely able to rise to their feet.
“Defend the camp and never step out of it.”
After that, he straddled the horse, circled around inside the camp and in the
end, decided to leave with a battle flag in hand. It was a black flag with a side
portrait of a red crow in the center. He had designed this flag during his stay
in Jade City.
Gu Shenwei galloped out of the camp, planning to try his best to rescue his
brave and loyal warriors. If they were annihilated, he would lose everything
he had built up along with the trust of the people left behind in the Great
Snowmountain.
The ground was red outside the camp and scattered with numerous bodies.
Among them, many severely wounded and dying people were crying and
wailing like helpless children.
Gu Shenwei’s mount was galloping as fast as it could, but he still felt that it
was too slow. The heavily armored cavalry regiment ahead of him had
already begun charging for the second time. They looked like a fast-moving
iron wall, and he would never catch up with it no matter how hard he tried.
Even if he managed to keep up with the cavalrymen, he would never be able

to stop them by himself.
In front of the cavalry regiment, the soldiers of the Great Snowmountain were
engaged in close combat against the infantry of the Golden Roc Fort and thus
were unable to pay any heed to the situation behind themselves.
When the heavily armored cavalrymen swept across the battleground,

numerous infantrymen from both sides were knocked down like wheat being
harvested by a huge sickle.
It seemed that Dugu Xian did not mind sacrificing his own infantrymen while
trying to destroy the Great Snowmountain’s soldiers.
Gu Shenwei galloped into the battlefield and shouted loudly, “The Dragon
King is here. Gather under the flag!”
The appearance of the Dragon King boosted the morale of his machetemen
and swordsmen. They cheered and quickly gathered under his flag. The
Golden Roc Fort’s infantrymen began to waver, but their heavily armored
cavalrymen remained unafraid. They turned around and regrouped again,
preparing for the third charge.
Countless warriors of the Great Snowmountain had already died before the
arrival of the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei swept his gaze across the crowd and found out that there were
only less than 2,000 people gathering under his flag.
“The injured ones leave first, and the others cover their withdrawal. Let’s
retreat into the camp!” Gu Shenwei commanded.
The machetemen swiftly executed the order, but the swordsmen all stood
agape. They had thought that Dragon King had come here to join the battle
against the Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei held the Red Crow Flag aloft and shouted with an
unquestionable tone, “It’s the Dragon King’s order. Everyone has to obey!”
Upon hearing that, the swordsmen all looked dejected like a group of children
being scolded by their seniors, but they finally began to retreat toward the
camp.
Gu Shenwei jumped off his horse to stand in a line with nearly 1,000 soldiers,
still holding the battle flag in his hand. They would work together to block
the narrow entrance of the valley to cover their comrades.
“Strike at the horse legs!” Gu Shenwei said, and these five words were
quickly passed down by the soldiers standing on both sides of the Dragon
King. After receiving the order, the swordsmen all half squatted and held
their heavy swords with both hands, ready to strike at the horses.
When the cavalrymen came at the swordsmen, the swordsmen’s defense line
sustained the impact and only a few dozen cavalrymen had managed to break
through it. The whole scene looked like a hammer being caught up in a soft
fishing net.
The third round of cavalry charge was thus thwarted by the swordsmen.
Well-trained cavalrymen never engaged in a close combat against infantry, so

they immediately retreated, planning to charge again when they got enough
distance between themselves and the enemy.
The warriors of the Great Snowmountain fought while withdrawing and paid
a heavy price to block several cavalry charges. Toward evening, they finally
made it to their camp.
Gu Shenwei was soaked with blood and looked as red as the crow on his flag
when he returned to the camp.
His army was not utterly destroyed in the battle, but he was not glad. Based
on his previous experiences, he suspected that there was a plot behind this
battle, and his sixth sense also told him that someone in the camp was
secretly pleased with the defeat at this moment. He swore that he would find
out the hidden traitor in his army.
Chapter 363 - Withdrawal
Westward
Chapter 363: Withdrawal Westward
The remorse for their own mistakes and the pain of losing their comrades in
arms compounded the misery of the survivors of the battle.
When the fight was over, the morale of the Great Snowmountain soldiers
began to fade away. They kept looking around blankly, searching in vain for
their best friends, until the grief of seeing familiar faces among the pile of
corpses wrenched their hearts. After that, these hard-bitten warriors, who
would rather die than surrender before the enemy, would slump down on the
ground with the most vacant expression on their face, their minds completely
blank.
Before long, they would begin to ponder, “Why did we fail to win this battle?
And why did we fight this battle?”
The soldiers were suffering from low morale caused by the huge loss, so
much so that even the appearance of the Dragon King failed to cheer them
up.
All the tribal chiefs were seriously wounded, and more than 1,000
swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were killed.
Tuo Nengya, the battle-seasoned macheteman, had dozens of wounds on his

body and became soaked in his own blood. He stared at the Dragon King but
was unable to utter a word. His reputation was untarnished, but he did not
know whether there was still any chance that he would be able to use his
patronus’ saber again in the future.
The machetemen troop he had worked so hard to build up now only had less
than 500 people. The machetemen quietly gathered around their leader,
seemingly wanting to bring more vitality to him in this way.
Amongst the four battles during the past 20 days or so, the fourth one caused
the most damage to the Great Snowmountain. Among the 4,000 soldiers of
the army, only 1,600 survived the battles and nearly half of them were
injured.
Gu Shenwei walked past all the survivors, full of grief and anger. He swept
his gaze across their faces, some of which were unfamiliar to him, and
gradually subdued his anger.
He firmly believed that there was a hidden traitor in his army and it was
probably one of the five tribal chiefs. This traitor had made use of the bravery
and arrogance of the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, and spurred
them to launch this suicide attack.
Neither the simple-minded swordsmen nor the proud middle-aged

macheteman had suspected that there was a scheme behind the whole thing,
but Gu Shenwei, who had grown up in a world of intrigue, was keenly aware
of this possibility.
Nevertheless, now the top priority was not finding out the hidden traitor,
since it might further shatter the morale of the army.
Gu Shenwei was well aware that justice must be served in an appropriate

way, otherwise it would do more harm than good to his army.
After banishing the thought of tracking down the hidden traitor right now, Gu
Shenwei summoned all the important figures in his army to meet together.
The Great Snowmountain consisted of five peaks, which were equivalent to

five tribes. Each peak was further divided into many different valleys, and
each valley had a leader, who did not have much real power. In accordance
with the current rules of the Great Snowmountain, all the matters within a
tribe were determined by the tribal chief, and the leaders of the valleys were
just in charge of delivering messages and carrying out orders from their
chiefs. However, this time, Gu Shenwei decided to break these rules.
Beside the five tribal chiefs and Tuo Nengya, who were carried by others to
the meeting, Gu Shenwei also invited all the 70 valley leaders of the Great
Snowmountain and 23 leaders at all levels from the machetemen to the
meeting. As such, there were a total of 100 people, including the Dragon
King, at the meeting.
These 100 people would determine the fate of the army.
The Dragon King’s main tent was not big enough, so he chose an empty
slope for the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, all the participants
knelt down to mourn for the dead. After that, they all sat on the ground and
listened to the Dragon King’s speech. Gu Shenwei stood on top of the slope
and once again called on everyone to leave with him.
Pressed for time, he did not summon any warlock or use any ornate language
to persuade his soldiers this time around. He explicitly told them, “I’ve just
come back from the Xiaoyao Lake in the southeast. It’s a beautiful and
prosperous place, and a natural choke point. The locals down there are
worried that the Golden Roc Fort is going to expand to the south, so they
invite us, the soldiers of the Great Snowmountain to fight side by side against
a common enemy.”
Nobody had expected the Dragon King to make such a request. The tribal
chiefs and the valley leaders began whispering to each other, “Aren’t we
going back to the Great Snowmountain?” The leaders of the machetemen all
lowered their heads and remained silent, while thinking, “Now things look
awfully bleak for us. It’s better for us to disband and go into hiding at
different places, waiting for another chance to come back.”
Gu Shenwei could notice their doubts about him and continued, “Now, the
situation in Western Region is totally different. The Golden Roc Fort is in
league with Norland and their armies are busy making war all over the
region. A succession of cavalrymen is rapidly advancing toward Shu-lik in
the west. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Only kingdoms around the Xiaoyao
Lake in the south are not occupied by our enemies, since that place is isolated
by deserts. This is our only chance. Once we occupy that land, we’ll be
hunted no more and we’ll gain a firm footing in Western Region.”
As these words were intended for the leaders of the machetemen, Gu
Shenwei quickly continued, trying to argue the swordsmen into supporting
his decision. “I’m your Dragon King. I’ve promised you that I’ll capture
Golden Roc Fort within three years, and this promise is still valid. I implore
you, the people of the Empyrean, the swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain,
to continue fighting together with me. Don’t be depressed by this momentary
defeat. The Empyrean has appointed me to unite the five peaks of the Great
Snowmountain. It won’t abandon me when we’re faced with formidable
enemies and it’ll never let the five peaks split again.”
Gu Shenwei did not tell them the whole truth, but his speech still touched
many people. Firstly, it was the swordsmen who stood up and cheered in
agreement, and then the machetemen quickly followed suit.
At this moment, several senior leaders of the swordsmen asked whether they
were obligated to offer sacrifice for the Empyrean and pray for a blessing.
The Dragon King flatly refused to hold such a ceremony, since there was no
time to lose. “Everyone gets ready to leave this camp as soon as possible. Let
the injured ones mount the horses, and the others travel by foot. Bring as
much hay and water as possible, and leave the other things behind. We’ll set
out at any minute,” Gu Shenwei commanded.
Most soldiers in the camp had no idea how they were going to step out of this
camp, as the Golden Roc Fort’s army had already blocked up the only exit of
the valley. Despite that, they still moved swiftly to carry out the Dragon
King’s order on such short notice.
Gu Shenwei climbed up a watch tower to observe the military camp of the

Golden Roc Fort.
It was nearing midnight, but the camp was still brightly lit, showing no sign
of retreat.
He had already sent out some scouts to investigate the situation, but none of
them had come back by far.
He had ordered the Shangguan brothers to meet Dugu Xian at noon, but he
had never expected Dugu Xian to withdraw his army only by late afternoon.
“If they only got the chance to meet the commander when he returned to the
camp, they probably would not have ample time to complete the task,”
thought Gu Shenwei worriedly.
He was getting increasingly unsure that the Golden Roc Fort’s army would
retreat toward the east before midnight, but this was not his main worry, since
it would be alright if they just delayed their withdrawal. What concerned him
most was that they saw through the brothers’ scheme. He feared that he had
pushed the cowardly brothers too hard and stressed them out. Under such
circumstances, they might make mistakes when trying to finish the task in a
hurry.
Time passed, and around midnight the soldiers of the Great Snowmountain
all got fully equipped to start a journey. As they had lost most of their horses
during the previous battles, only the most severely wounded ones could get
mounts. They were ordered to leave no one behind, and even prepared to
carry the unconscious ones with themselves.
“We’ll only be able to travel at a very low speed,” Gu Shenwei sighed

secretly, but he could not command his soldiers to ditch their wounded
comrades. The swordsmen of the Great Snowmountain were different from
the Golden Roc Fort killers and would not tolerate any despicable behavior
from their leader, not to mention that they all considered their Dragon King a
demigod.
There was no water clock in his camp, but Gu Shenwei was able to tell the
time by the position of the moon and the stars. He was pretty sure that
midnight had already passed.
At this moment, the firelight in the camp of the Golden Roc Fort was as
bright as before.
“Dragon King, the Golden Roc Fort’s army has withdrawn. They’ve left,” a
scout ran back to report, while panting heavily.
Gu Shenwei suspected that this might be a trap. “Shangguan Hong and

Shangguan Fei probably plan to win back their father’s favor by luring my
army into an ambush. As for the antidote for the Intestine Severing Powder,
they probably don’t care much about it. Perhaps they believe that their father
is always able to find a way to save them.”
To find out what had happened, Gu Shenwei personally led his vanguard,
which consisted of 500 soldiers, to cross the battleground and sneak into the
military camp of the Golden Roc Fort.
They vigilantly scanned their surroundings but saw no one in this camp,
although the tents, camp fire and weapons were all left intact.
Gu Shenwei forbade his soldiers from touching anything in the camp and
focused on checking the marks left by horseshoes. The tracks were still fresh,
clearly indicating that the Golden Roc Fort’s army had already retreated
toward the east.
Gu Shenwei was pleased to know that Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong
proved themselves competent during their first cooperation.
He led his troops to march toward the west, and after traveling a few
kilometers, he was pretty sure that there were no enemies waiting in an
ambush for his army. He sent out scouts to investigate the situation ahead of
and behind his troops, and messengers to summon the other troops to follow
up.
Soon enough, the remaining 1,600 or so soldiers of the Dragon King gathered
together and regrouped into three parts: 500 people taking the lead, another
500 at the rear and the wounded soldiers and pack animals traveling in the
middle. The Dragon King led his army quietly toward the west, and just after
daybreak they were already far away from their camp. As they left in a hurry,
many dead bodies of their comrades had been left behind.
As Gu Shenwei had expected, the Great Snowmountain troops could only

travel at a very slow pace, which was about a dozen kilometers a day, while
carrying a large number of wounded soldiers. Besides, they also lacked
horses.
He was worried, not only because the Golden Roc Fort would discover the
Shangguan brothers’ deception sooner or later but also because now they
were marching on the road, which had been used by the cavalrymen of
Norland when they went to invade Shu-lik. If they appeared again on this
road, the Great Snowmountain troops would incur a heavy loss.
Gu Shenwei prayed sincerely, asking the Empyrean for help for the first time.
This time, luck was indeed on his side.
On the third day of their journey, the Great Snowmountain troops arrived at a
burned-down sentry post of Shu-lik. From this point on, they were going to
travel toward the southeast, following the route between the desert and Gobi,
and if everything went smoothly, they would reach the Xiaoyao Lake 23 days
later.
It was going to be a difficult journey, so Gu Shenwei wanted his soldiers to

rest for a day and be well prepared for it. He ordered his men to pitch camp
here, take care of the injured ones and graze their horses nearby.
Toward evening, Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong returned to the Dragon
King’s army at the agreed time. They even brought back a captive—Dugu
Xian, the commander of the Golden Roc Fort’s army. Dugu Xian did not
understand what the Shangguan brothers had done to him until he met the
Dragon King.
Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong were overjoyed that they had
successfully completed the mission. Apart from claiming their respective
credits, they even praised each other in front of the Dragon King, showing
unprecedented friendship.
“The Ninth Young Master is such a genius. All the killers were convinced by
him, and one of them even said that he had found Dugu Xian suspicious a
long time ago and anticipated the lord to remove him from his post someday.
Haha,” said Shangguan Hong.
“Master Hong was very helpful. He deluded them into believing that
Norland’s cavalrymen were lying in wait in the west. He told them that once
the soldiers of the Great Snowmountain began to flee, they would be
eliminated in the ambush,” said Shangguan Fei.
Gu Shenwei gave them two red pills and claimed that they were an antidote
for Intestine Severing Powder. He had received these pills from Maid Lotus
when he had been severely wounded at one time. Regardless of the fact that
Maid Lotus had contended that they were nontoxic and had good curative
effect, Gu Shenwei still refused to take them or use them on his own
warriors.
“Now, you can return to Jade City,” said Gu Shenwei.
The Shangguan brothers exchanged a look with each other and then said
simultaneously, “No, Dragon King. We want to stay with you.”
There had been no justifiable reason for Supreme King’s decision to kill
them, but at present, the obvious fact that they had assisted the Great
Snowmountain troops to escape offered an adequate explanation for their
father’s cruel decision. Once they showed up in Jade City, the Supreme King
would openly hunt and kill them.
Given that, both of them were clear that in the entire Western Region, only
the Dragon King could protect them.
After nightfall, the Dragon King and his army ran out of luck. Their scouts
returned and reported, “The Golden Roc Fort’s army has been chasing after
us at top speed since uncovering the deceit. They took a short-cut and have
already blocked the way leading to the Xiaoyao Lake.”
“That’s not a big deal. We’ve a hostage,” said Shangguan Fei. Surprisingly,
this time, he was collected in the presence of danger.
Gu Shenwei gave a glance at Dugu Xian who stayed in the corner of his tent
and wondered, “Does this commander carry enough importance? Are we
really be able to stop the Golden Roc Fort’s army by taking him hostage?”
Chapter 364 - Release the
Commander
Chapter 364: Release the Commander
Dugu Xian was in his early 30s. He was a tall man with a masculine face and
had all the fine qualities of a military man. He had an abundant amount of
military experience, which enabled him to become a commander of an army
at such a young age.
When he had been a young nobleman of the Xiaowan Kingdom, he traveled

widely and served in the armies of the Central Plain and Norland
respectively. Although he did not read many military books, he gained a lot
of experience from real battles.
Unfortunately, when he returned to the Xiaowan Kingdom, he found out that

his expertise was useless in his country.
The Xiaowan Kingdom was the most loyal vassal of Norland, and the great
power controlled all major and even minor matters in the kingdom. The king
of Xiaowan did not even have the right to appoint the guards at the gate of his
own royal palace, and the whole country’s standing army only had less than
300 soldiers. The most probable reason Xiaowan still existed as an
independent country was that Norland wanted to prove that it had no
ambition to annex all the territory north of Tianshan.
When the Golden Roc Fort expressed its intent to hire Dugu Xian to secretly
train an army in the country, he readily agreed.
Like most people in Western Region, he did not have a strong sense of
national identity and just wanted to get a chance to use his talents. That was
why he did not mind serving the Golden Roc Fort.
When the Supreme King resolved to wipe out the Great Snowmountain
troops, it was a natural progression for him to serve as commander-in-chief of
the army. He returned to the battlefield, full of expectation that he would
establish his reputation as a talented military commander, but soon he was
disappointed.
During the entire process of the siege, Dugu Xian and the Golden Roc Fort
were riven by contradictions.
Dugu Xian planned to amass a large army, which had three or even five times
as many soldiers as the Great Snowmoutnain troops, before launching the
first siege battle. Nevertheless, the Supreme King sent a messenger to him
before he was fully prepared, asking him to wage war against the Great
Snowmountain and overrun their military camp as soon as possible.
Dugu Xian had no choice but to execute the Supreme King’s order. As a
result, both sides suffered heavy losses in that battle, but the Great
Snowmountain’s military camp still stood intact.
Not long after the battle, when the Dragon King was seeking opportunities
for peace talks in Jade City, Dugu Xian wanted to grasp this chance to trap
the Great Snowmountain swordsmen to death by completely blocking all
roads linking the camp to the outside world. The Supreme King, however,
vetoed this suggestion.
He had another plan, which he could not divulge to a hired general.
As such, Dugu Xian halted the troops and waited. When the winter was about
to be over, the Supreme King suddenly sent 5,000 soldiers to merge with the
5,000 men under Dugu Xian’s command, asking him to conquer the Great
Snowmountain’s camp within half a month.
It was not a good season to start a siege, as the weather was cold and the
roads were muddy. Given this situation, Dugu Xian had planned to lure the
Great Snowmountain troops out of their camp by sending a small troop to
feinting to attack the swordsmen’s homeland. Nevertheless, as the Supreme
King refused to give him ample time to carry out his original plan, he ended
up having to give up the plan and gave orders to take the Great
Snowmountain’s camp by force.
During the siege, the Golden Roc Fort’s army only managed to break through
two unimportant defense lines at great cost. The deeper they went into the
valley, the more difficult it would be for them to advance further.
Displeased with the result, the Supreme King, who had always maintained a
modest attitude in front of Dugu Xian before, revealed another side of
himself to the commander. He threatened to fire or even kill the general if he
failed to seize the Great Snowmountain camp during the next battle.
There were many Golden Roc Fort killers in the army. They were under
direct command of a blademaster trusted by the Supreme King and would
never take orders from Dugu Xian.
Their presence made the commander-in-chief feel worried about his own life.
Under such pressure, he decided to take the risk to buy over a hidden traitor
inside the Great Snowmountain’s army and then asked this traitor to
encourage the swordsmen to leave the camp.
People in Western Region all considered swordsmen from the Great

Snowmountain to be inflexible and tough-minded. Being involved in a
scheme obviously did not conform to this stereotype, but Dugu Xian found
out that they could also be bought over as long as the offer was lucrative
enough.
He just had never expected that the Dragon King would have suddenly
appeared during the battle and brought the remaining soldiers of the Great
Snowswordsman back to the camp.
Dugu Xian felt that the young man known as the Dragon King always
brought him back luck, but he never expected that several hours after the
battle, another two young men would make his life even worse.
When first meeting with Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong, Dugu Xian
was not alert at all. He was very excited and received them warmly, for he
believed that finding these two sons of the Supreme King would make up for
his failure to capture the Great Snowmountain’s camp.
He had never expected that these two young masters would have broken into
his tent with a group of black-clothed killers in the middle of the night. They
tied him up and publicly announced that he colluded with the Great
Snowmountain Gang.
Since the Supreme King had repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with
Dugu Xian before, everyone in the Golden Roc Fort’s camp firmly believed
that the Ninth Young Master was executing his father’s order. Even Dugu
Xian himself had never anticipated the Shangguan brothers doing this for the
Dragon King.
Even when Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong, who had claimed to bring
him back to the Golden Roc Fort, suddenly changed their route after leaving
the camp, he still did not doubt their behavior.
When he discovered that he was brought to meet the Dragon King, he finally
came to understand the whole situation.
He ruefully admitted that he was such a fool.
At this moment, when he was faced with the Dragon King, who was more
than 10 years his junior, he lowered his head dejectedly without saying a
word, as a way of admitting his defeat.
Outside the Dragon King’s tent, a crowd of swordsmen blocked the entrance,
planning to bite a piece of meat from Dugu Xian when he came out. They
hated this man’s guts, since it was under his command that the Golden Roc
Fort’s army had slaughtered numerous soldiers from the Great
Snowmountain.
As for the sons of the Supreme King, who had caught Dugu Xian and sent
him here, they were quickly forgiven by the swordsmen and even made
friends with some of them.
Gu Shenwei was pleasantly surprised when seeing this important captive.

After ordering the other people to leave the tent, he personally interrogated
Dugu Xian.
In the beginning, the commander just kept his head down quietly, and Gu
Shenwei also remained silent while staring at him.
They faced each other like this for a while and then Dugu Xian could no
longer stand the silence. Despite the fact that he had already been ‘demoted’
to a captive, he still managed to maintain his dignity. He lifted up his head
and said, “I was not killed in the battle. What a pity.”
“I’m pretty sure that I’ve never seen you during any previous battle,” Gu
Shenwei mocked coldly, while sounding perfectly calm and rational.
“Humph.” Dugu Xian snorted and then retorted, “Battles of professional

soldiers are different from street fights of machetemen. A general has his own
duties. The one always leading the charge is not necessarily a good general.”
Gu Shenwei did not want to waste time bickering over military affairs. He
wanted to get straight to the point as long as Dugu Xian began to speak.
“That’s right. A general must stick to his duties, and killing a general won’t
destroy his army. Given that, I decide to release you,” said Gu Shenwei.
Dugu Xian was shocked into silence. He had heard many tales about the
Dragon King’s hideous brutality. Although he did not believe all of those
lurid stories, he never expected to walk out of this tent alive. After a while, he
realized something and asked, “What do you want from me?”
“Who’s the hidden traitor of the Great Snowmountain? Let me know,”

replied Gu Shenwei.
Dugu Xian looked the young man over with an appraising eye for the first
time, while thinking, “I used to think that this guy just relied on luck or
someone else’s help to spoil my plans, but now it seems that he’s quite smart
himself. I’ve kept my liaison with the hidden traitor a top secret all this while.
Most of my subordinates in the Golden Roc Fort’s army have no idea about
it, let alone the soldiers of the Great Snowmountain. Should I expose the
hidden traitor to save myself or stick to my principle of trustworthiness?”
After pondering the question for a moment, Dugu Xian made a decision and
said, “You’ll never get even half a word out of me.”
“Are you willing to sacrifice your own life to save a traitor?” asked Gu
Shenwei.
“I don’t care about him. It’s just that I can’t break my promise,” replied Dugu
Xian. He also told this to himself.
Upon hearing this unexpected answer, Gu Shenwei snorted contemptuously.

He knew that once he placed his Five Peaks Saber against the general’s
throat, he would quickly change that stance, but on second thought, Gu
Shenwei changed his mind. He had a better way to deal with Dugu Xian.
“Anyway, I’ll still release you,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Why?” Dugu Xian asked, feeling even more astonished. After a minute, he
realized how stupid he had sounded just now. “What… What do you want?”
he stuttered.
“Well, I’ll send you away and then tell everyone that you’re going to give the
traitor away when you’re released outside the camp. I guess that the traitor
will want to escape upon hearing this news. I’ll only need to send some
people to lie in wait around the camp to catch him,” said Gu Shenwei.
Dugu Xian felt embarrassed at having behaved in such a childish way. He

blushed with shame like an inexperienced young man while saying, “You’re
doing this to undermine my reputation.”
Gu Shenwei shook his head and said, “I’m just like you. You don’t care
about the traitor, and I don’t care about you, a lapdog of the Golden Roc Fort.
I’ll try all means to find out the traitor.”
With these words, he stopped conversing with Dugu Xian and stuffed the
commander’s mouth up to keep him silent. After that, he called two
swordsmen and two machetemen into his tent and asked them to take the
captive out and release him when they were at least 5 kilometers away from
the camp.
The Dragon King’s order was totally beyond the four soldiers’ expectations,
but they still carried it out without a question. Unlike them, the other people
in the camp were agitated about this decision of the Dragon King, and the
five wounded tribal chiefs even immediately got out of their beds to question
the Dragon King. Tuo Nengya also sent one of his confidants to inquire about
the situation.
Gu Shenwei had expected this to happen and replied with a question. “The
Golden Roc Fort’s army has already caught up with us and blocked the road
leading to the Xiaoyao Lake. Are you ready for the upcoming battle?” This
was not a lie, and he just wanted to take this chance to inform them of his
strategy against the enemies.
The tribal chiefs were stunned by the Dragon King’s question, and then Long
Xiaoshi, chief of the Luoshen tribe, said, “Please rest assured, Dragon King.
We’re actively preparing for it. Men from the Great Snowmountain are
always ready for a battle. All of us will go to the battleground, even if we’re
badly injured and have to walk on all fours.”
“Good. I deliberately let Dugu Xian see us preparing for the battle. This will
make him concentrate his forces in the road when he returns to his army.
However, we won’t battle against them. Nor will we take that road. I’ll lead
you to advance southward, avoiding confronting the enemies,” said Gu
Shenwei.
The chiefs’ mouths were agape. Fleeing the battlefield to avoid enemies did
not conform to the tradition of the Great Snowmountain at all.
“We can’t let our enemies pick the battlefield. Really brave warriors always
pick the time and sites of their battles by themselves.” Gu Shenwei explained
further to persuade the chiefs.
Upon hearing that, the chiefs were struck speechless and took their leave
embarrassedly, while still feeling reluctant to accept such a military decision.
The hidden traitor dared not insist on confronting the enemy head-on in front
of the Dragon King, thus he did not give himself away during this meeting.
Gu Shenwei had a plan and thus was in no hurry to find out the traitor at this
moment. After quite a long time, when he estimated that Dugu Xian was at
least a few kilometers away from the camp, he summoned Shangguan Fei and
Shangguan Hong and gave them a simple task.
Due to their great efforts, a rumor quickly began circulating among a small
group of people, which said that Dugu Xian had admitted that there was a
hidden traitor in the Great Snowmountain’s army and had promised to offer
this traitor’s name to the Dragon King in exchange for his own freedom.
The brothers successfully deluded the soldiers into believing that the
swordsmen and machetemen, who were in charge of escorting Dugu Xian,
would bring back the commander’s words within less than 4 hours.
The soldiers in the camp were loyal to the Dragon King, but they also
venerated their leaders of their respective peaks. Soon enough, Tuo Nengya
and all the five tribal chiefs of the Great Snowmountain knew the rumor.
Most of them did not take it seriously, but one of them was alarmed at
receiving this news.
Gu Shenwei secretly sent out a mixed team, which consisted of 10

swordsmen and 10 machetemen, to complete a confidential mission. They
would patrol around the camp and report back to him once they noticed
something unusual.
He never expected that the hidden traitor would turn himself in instead of
escaping this place.
Chapter 365 - The Hidden Traitor
Chapter 365: The Hidden Traitor
Long Haiying was tall and sturdy; he even kept getting bigger after age 30.
Now, he was 56 and looked roughly the same size of two swordsmen of the
Great Snowmountain put together.
He was widely-known for his bravery and reckless behavior. Once, he had
rushed into a crowd of 100 enemies and slaughtered half of them before
scaring the other half away.
“I have a son.” Long Haiying started with this sentence when he went to
confess his crime to the Dragon King.
The reason he betrayed the Dragon King was just that he wanted to leave his
son a strong and prosperous Greatsword Peak. To achieve that goal, he
needed to remove two obstacles.
The first one was the Luoshen Peak and its chief, Long Qinying. As the
eldest tribal chief in the entire Great Snowmountain, Long Qinying enjoyed
high prestige among the locals.
The other one was the Danduo Peak, who had the most men in the Great
Snowmountain. Its tribal chief, Long Xiaoshi, had long been venerated as a
leader of the swordsmen and his status was second only to the Dragon King.
Among the five peaks, the Greatsword Peak was not the weakest one, but it
could only be considered to be average. In the foreseeable future, it was
impossible for the Greatsword Peak to surpass the two powerful tribes unless
the two peaks declined by their own doing.
In the Dragon King’s army, the Greatsword Peak still could not compete with
the Danduo Peak and the Luoshen Peak. The former had the most swordsmen
in the army and the latter had mobilized all the young men of the tribe to join
the army, while on the other hand, Long Haiying had only taken half of his
swordsmen to join the expedition and left the other half with his son in the
Greatsword Peak of the Great Snowmountain.
“I don’t know what happened. It must have been a devil who put this idea
into my mind. I think that even if this army is wiped out and even if I die, my
son with the young swordsmen that I’ve left with him will still be able to
outshine the other four tribes in strength and thus the Greatsword Peak will
become the strongest force in the Great Snowmountain.”
Long Haiying admitted that he was the hidden traitor. However, he did not
look or sound regretful, as if he had just made a small mistake.
Gu Shenwei had already roughly guessed what was on Long Haiying’s mind.
He kept calm and quiet and even gazed at the sturdy swordsman with a little
respect.
“I’ve never thought of betraying you, Dragon King. You saved the Great
Snowmountain. You’re our guide and our leader. Even when the Greatsword
Peak becomes the strongest tribe in the Great Snowmountain, we’ll still be
loyal to you.”
With these words, Long Haiying untied his heavy sword and went down on
one knee. “I’ve committed an unforgivable crime. Please kill me with my
sword, Dragon King. It’s my own idea and has nothing to do with the others,”
he said while holding his sword up high with both hands.
It took a lot of nerve for Long Haiying to make such a request. Based on the
Great Snowmountain’s tradition, killing a swordsman with his own sword
was a supreme insult to him.
Beyond the tribal chief’s expectations, the Dragon King declined to receive
his sword. He kept waiting for a while before lifting up his head. His face
blushed, and his eyes were full of sorrow and disappointment. “Isn’t it
enough to make up for the things I’ve done wrong?” asked Long Haiying.
“More than a thousand soldiers died because of you,” Gu Shenwei said in a
harsh tone. Long Haiying was old enough to be his grandfather, but he could
not forgive this man just because of his old age. “The Great Snowmountain
has the bravest young men in the world, but has always suffered the fate of
being bullied by foreign tribes. Why? It’s because of constant internal
struggles,” added Gu Shenwei.
Long Haiying placed his other knee on the ground and kowtowed to the
Dragon King, while holding his heavy sword with both hands. “Please punish
me any way you like, Dragon King. I’ll accept it without complaint,” Long
Haiying said in a trembling voice.
Gu Shenwei took one step backward and said, “Since you’ve no regrets about
it, tell me the whole truth. Don’t put the blame on some evil spirit. Let me
know who gave you this piece of advice.”
Gu Shenwei knew his swordsmen well. He believed that Long Haiying

himself could never think of colluding with the Golden Roc Fort no matter
how much he wanted to help his son.
Upon hearing the Dragon King’s demand, Long Haiying was shivering all
over. In his eyes, betraying another person was worse than death, even if this
person had once deceived him.
Gu Shenwei refused to back down. His army could not afford another serious
setback caused by betrayal, since they would have to undergo all sorts of
hardships and danger in the near future.
“Lu, Lu Huan.”
Long Haiying seemed to have exhausted all his strength to utter that name.
After saying it, his whole head sank down between his broad shoulders.
Gu Shenwei felt that his heart had just skipped a beat when he heard the
name. Lu Huan was not a swordsman but a macheteman under the command
of Tuo Nengya.
“Someone outside the Greatsword Peak was also involved in the betrayal.
This is the worst possible outcome,” Gu Shenwei sighed in his heart and then
he thought of Zhong Heng’s words, “‘Looking for the truth’ and ‘solving the
problem’ are completely different concepts.”
“Stand up,” Gu Shenwei commanded.
Long Haiying managed to get up, his body still shaking.
“I want someone to attack the Golden Roc Fort’s army in the southeast. By
doing so, we can delude our enemies into believing that we’re advancing
toward the southeast and gain more time for our main body to retreat
southward,” said Gu Shenwei.
Long Haiying’s gaze brightened at these words. He stopped shivering and

doubtfully looked at the Dragon King for a moment. After that, he knelt again
and said, “I’ll never forget your kindness, Dragon King.”
Long Haiying was a typical swordsman and not good at expressing his
gratitude with words.
He knew that the Dragon King was planning to sacrifice his life to save his
and the Greatsword Peak’s reputation.
The Dragon King could not execute a tribal leader without announcing his
crime. Given that, if Gu Shenwei directly executed Long Haiying, everyone
would know the tribal leader’s wrong deeds and keep cursing him for years
after his death. The Greatsword Peak would also be disgraced by his conduct.
However, if Long Haiying ended up dying on the battlefield, he would be

remembered as a martyr instead of a traitor.
“Don’t take too many people with you,” said Gu Shenwei. He had to send
some innocent soldiers to accompany Long Haiying on this mission while
knowing for sure that they would never be able to come back alive.
He had no choice but to sacrifice them for the future of the entire army.
Long Haiying left the tent with tears of gratitude and went back to his own
tribe to pick out some swordsmen for the mission. He got so many volunteers
that he found it very difficult to dissuade many of them from following
himself.
Lu Huan was a subordinate of Tuo Nengya. When Gu Shenwei was

pondering about how to break this to the elderly macheteman, a swordsman
and a macheteman walked into his tent with a captive and then shoved the
captive to the floor in front of him. They nodded to him without saying a
word, turned around and walked out.
Swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain did not care much about social
etiquette, and now the machetemen in the army began to follow suit.
The captive looked pale and crouched low to the ground, shivering. Different
from Long Haiying, it was not the shame but his fear that gave him the
shivers.
“Dra-Dragon King…” he stuttered.
Lu Huan, who was in his early 20s, did not look like a spy at all. With his
round face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, he looked more like a little boy, and
thus could easily win the trust of others.
“Tell me the truth. To be dead or alive, it’s up to you,” Gu Shen deliberately

said something ambiguous to get the young man to talk.
“I’m a professional macheteman hired by the Golden Roc Fort, and my whole
family has been taken hostage by the Supreme King. I’ve no choice. If I
didn’t follow the lord’s order, my entire family would be killed. Dragon
King, please forgive me. I don’t want to die. I’ve two children…”
Lu Huan rambled a lot about his personal life, but Gu Shenwei did not want
to hear this. He was well aware how good an experienced macheteman was at
lying. Furthermore, even if what Lu Huan said was true, he would never let a
traitor off. “Boss Tuo helped you a lot,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Boss Tuo?” Lu Huan said, and uncertainty flickered in his eyes. He quickly
concealed whatever might be showing on his face and added, “Yes, Yes, it
was Boss Tuo who told me to…”
“That’s enough,” thought Gu Shenwei, while drawing his Five Peaks Saber to
cut Lu Huan’s throat. The young man’s reaction had clearly showed that Tuo
Nengya had nothing to do with this incident of betrayal . Before Lu Huan’s
dead body fell to the ground, Gu Shenwei had already sheathed his saber and
stepped out of his tent.
The swordsmen outside looked bewildered; they had just finished

preparations for battle and now they were asked to get ready to flee. Shortly
after that, the tribal chief of the Greatsword Peak came out, announcing that
he was going to lead a team to fight against the Golden Roc Fort’s army but
selected only less than 20 soldiers to join his team—it was all very
bewildering.
Under the astonished gaze of the swordsmen, Long Haiying gathered his men
and mounted his horse. When this team was about to take its leave, Gu
Shenwei walked to Long Haiying, slightly bowed to the elderly swordsman
and then turned around to face the soldiers gathering nearby. “The tribal chief
of the Greatsword Peak and these 16 swordsmen are going to sacrifice
themselves to protect us. Please remember that. Our foe is the Golden Roc
Fort. We’re going to take revenge on it some day in the future.”
Upon hearing the Dragon King’s words, every swordsman present

immediately unsheathed his heavy sword to pay his respect to Long Haiying
and the 16 swordsmen. They held their sword hilts with both hands, brought
their sword tips down to touch the ground and lowered their heads toward the
team.
Long Haiying cast a grateful glance at the Dragon King, while feeling that he
had a lot to say to the young lord. On second thought, he considered that
there was no need to say such words at all.
“May heaven bless you, Dragon King! May heaven bless the Great
Snowmountain!” Long Haiying shouted, while squeezing his horse’s sides
with his legs, and then he led his suicide squad consisting of only 16 soldiers
to gallop out of the camp, heading toward the Golden Roc Fort’s army in the
southeast.
“Break camp,” commanded Gu Shenwei. He would lead the remaining 1,600

or so soldiers to travel deep into the wilderness in the south and make a
detour to reach the Xiaoyao Lake
This route only existed in legends. Gu Shenwei had heard about it from some
elderly machetemen who had rich jianghu experience. After talking to them
for several days, he finally found three men who could work as guides for the
journey.
These three guides did not know the exact route, but all of them earnestly
assured that besides the two routes in the desert, there was another one in the
mountains, which also led to the Xiaoyao Lake.
Gu Shenwei was determined to take that route to avoid being trapped in a

battle against the Golden Roc Fort at this place, which he probably could not
win easily. Besides, Norland’s cavalrymen were running rampant in Shu-lik
now and could steer their troops to catch up and eliminate the Great
Snowmountain troops at any moment.
The Great Snowmountain troops quickly finished preparing themselves for

the expedition to the south.
When the army hit the road, Gu Shenwei came to the machetemen troop.
Tuo Nengya was carried on a stretcher by two machetemen, since he had just
recovered some health and the ability to speak.
Gu Shenwei held his hand and walked beside his stretcher silently for a long
time.
“Who’s the hidden traitor?” Tuo Nengya suddenly asked. Unlike the simple-
minded swordsmen, he could intuit the Dragon King’s thoughts sometimes.
“Lu Huan. But that problem is already solved. You don’t have to worry about
it anymore,” replied Gu Shenwei.
Upon hearing that, Tuo Nengya immediately knew what the facts were. “As
an ordinary macheteman, Lu Huan could never have incited the swordsmen
to fight a head-on battle against the Golden Roc Fort’s army without the help
of a powerful person. The tribal chief of the Greatsword Peak, who
volunteered for a suicide mission, is probably the one that got used by him.
The Dragon King just wanted to express his confidence in me by coming here
and telling me not to worry.”
“That’s good,” said Tuo Nengya, while thinking that this was perhaps the
best solution to the problem.
Like a junior fulfilling his filial duties to the elderly macheteman, Gu

Shenwei walked a long way while holding Tuo Nengya’s hand.
Three days later, when the Golden Roc Fort’s army discovered that the
remaining 1,600 or so soldiers of the Great Snowmountain had already
sneaked into the barren mountains in the south, they were astonished. They
had gotten accustomed to the swordsmen’s usual fighting style, which was
“only advance, never retreat”, and never expected them to flee.
They had only met the tribal chief of the Greatsword Peak and 16 swordsmen
on the battleground, but such a small team could not satisfy their appetite and
was quickly annihilated.
When Dugu Xian examined the dead bodies after that battle, he recognized
Long Haiying and knew that he had been outwitted by the Dragon King.
“That youth is more cunning than a sophisticated con man.” From that
moment on, Dugu Xian began to see the young man differently.
After that battle, Dugu Xian led his elite cavalry units to chase after the Great
Snowmountain troops. Five days later, when his vanguard units discovered
the trace of the Great Snowmountain troops, a snow storm suddenly arrived
and completely blocked the way leading to the south.
Everyone in Du Xian’s cavalry troop firmly believed that the Dragon King
and his soldiers were killed in the unexpected snow storm; this was further
substantiated by the discovery of a large number of corpses when the snow
stopped. They brought those dead bodies back to Jade City as proof that the
Snowmountain soldiers had all perished in the snow storm.
In the following six months, almost all the people maintained that the Great
Snowmountain was no longer a major power in Western Region.
Chapter 366 - Forest
Chapter 366: Forest
News reached the army of the Golden Roc Fort every day. To the west, a new
fort in Shu-lik had been conquered, and to the east, a checkpoint had been
built at the mountain pass with incredible speed. Another kingdom of the
Xiaoyao Lake had surrendered to the Supreme King, and the Third Young
Master, Shangguan Yun, was about to become King of the Xiaowan
Kingdom. Shangguan Fa himself was highly likely to be crowned as a true
king by Norland…
To cover his failure up, Dugu Xian publicly insisted that the army of the
Great Snowmountain had been completely wiped out; privately, he wished
for it to be true.
Just like this, the Dragon King and the Great Snowmountain were forgotten
amidst all the continuous stream of huge events happening throughout the
entire Western Region. Only a few still remembered the army that had been
buried by the last blizzard of the winter and believed that there were
survivors.
The blizzard had wrecked great havoc on the soldiers from the Great
Snowmountain. More than 300 soldiers who were heavily wounded did not
manage to survive the terrible weather; they froze to death in the icy
wilderness.
It was, also, a savior for the people of the Great Snowmountain. Other than
removing the dead weight, albeit in the cruelest way, it completely covered
their tracks.
The survivors struggled to advance, so much so that they did not even have a
chance to bid their dead comrades farewell.
The traveled southward for a month, passing through unpopulated, arid
landscapes and deserts and fighting their way through swamps laden with
traps. As spring finally came, they were suddenly greeted with lush, green
landscapes everywhere. The Dragon King had led them to the border of an
uncharted forest.
It was vast and endless, seeming like a rough ocean, filled with wariness and
animosity towards the strange visitors.
Gu Shenwei did not dare to venture into the forest rashly, and thus gave the
order for his people to set up camp outside of it. He wanted to use the rare
break to rest their weary bodies and breed some livestock, as well as settle
many of their internal issues.
The swordsmen soon began to miss the Great Snowmountain with its four
seasons of snow. Even though it was also impoverished, they were familiar
with the ways of their land. The deserts, swamps, and forests they were
facing now were strange to them and made them feel uneasy.
At first, their sense of longing for the Great Snowmountain only lingered in
their minds, but gradually, as more and more of them began voicing out their
thoughts, their pleas to return back to their homeland was soon building up
into a crescendo.
The machetemen under Tuo Nengya were even more unsettled; even though
they had pledged allegiance to Boss Tuo and the Dragon King, they still
retained their mercenary nature and wished to be repaid for their services, the
sooner the better.
Their current situation, however, made the idea seem imaginary.
Even so, the survivors, amounting to a little more than a thousand people, had
still not splintered into different factions due to a couple of reasons. Firstly,
they were loyal to and in awe of the Dragon King, and secondly, they had no
other way to turn to; no one was willing to head back and re-experience the
hardships of the past month.
Gu Shenwei, however, became more resolute in his beliefs and stubbornly

hung on to the thought that if they continued advancing, they would soon
come to the secret mountain pass that led to the Xiaoyao Lake.
Even when their guides were already disheartened and admitted to losing
their way, Gu Shenwei was not shaken by the least bit. He felt that the
Golden Roc Fort’s power was at a high now and that the Great
Snowmountain had to avoid taking it head-on. Even if they could not reach
the Xiaoyao Lake eventually, he wanted his people to remain in hiding in the
south for at least a year or so.
Once again, Gu Shenwei prayed to the Heavens for divine assistance.
The three warlocks who had been accompanying the army of the Great
Snowmountain began offering livestock as sacrifices on a mountain slope.
They tossed the innards of the animals on the ground and burned their fat for
divine signs which turned out to be unclear.
“The Heavens want us to continue southward,” the first warlock said as he

tried to predict the future from the pattern displayed by the innards splayed
out on the ground. “But… there are surprises and disasters ahead of us,” he
continued.
“I see death, countless number of deaths,” said the second warlock as he

observed the rising plumes of smoke. “However, there stands a gigantic deity
clad in golden armor behind the dead… they will not be forgotten… great
honor.”
“Pick up your weapons,” said the third warlock as he tried to predict the
future by meditating. His advice was the most straightforward and was also
the first to be proven correct.
On the third day after the army from the Great Snowmountain had set up
camp outside of the forest, curious eyes could be spotted peeping at them
from the gaps between the trees. Soon, more of them could be seen, and the
animosity towards the intruders became more obvious.
The fugitive army had encountered the legendary forest residents.

They were a savage people and clothed themselves with animal skins and
leaves. They used wooden longbows and javelins as weapons and spoke a
strange language that only they could understand.
At first, Gu Shenwei tried to handle them by making a show of friendship. He

sent the forest residents a few horses and dozens of metal weapons, hoping to
garner their support and get a guide familiar with the land in the process.
However, the ways and thoughts of the savages were distinctly different from
others and Gu Shenwei could not figure them out. In the end, he did not even
know how he managed to offend the forest residents.
The savages began organizing raids and snuck into the Great
Snowmountain’s camp in the night after killing the sentries, or they would
hide in the thick bushes near water sources and attack with their sharp
wooden arrows. Their familiarity with the techniques and the mysteriousness
of their movements were comparable to top-level killers from the Golden Roc
Fort.
Gu Shenwei gave up his plan of forming an alliance after the 10th casualty
from the Great Snowmountain camp. He decided to garner their support
forcibly.
He formed the swordsmen and machetemen under his command into 20 or so

50-person teams. They would enter the forest in waves and support each
other, covering each other’s flanks and advancing slowly. They surrounded
each tree and engaged in close combat with the savages.
The frustration of the soldiers was pent up for too long, and they did not
show any mercy. Within five days, they had killed more than a hundred
savages and finally advanced their way to the village where the savages lived
in.
The youths of the village were either killed by the intruders or escaped deeper
into the forest.
The soldiers were engulfed by bloodlust and each of them had the intention to
massacre all the villagers. Even Gu Shenwei’s desire to kill was aroused, but
he managed to compose himself at the critical moment. In the end, they only
snatched away a portion of the food stored by the villagers, as well as five
elderly savages and a dozen children.
It proved extremely difficult trying to communicate with the elderly forest

residents, and it was only after 10 whole days that both parties could have
some semblance of understanding as to what each other meant through hand
signs and guesses.
The old folks had never heard of any place resembling the Xiaoyao Lake, and
they only knew that there were fewer villages as one progressed deeper into
the forest. However, the savages would be increasingly violent in nature.
Gu Shenwei gave the order to break camp and advance into the forest. He
sent an advance party of 20 soldiers and two old forest residents who were
familiar with the land to set off one day before the main body. Their
responsibility would be to give a simple instruction to each village they
encountered: provide some food and send 10 to 20 of their young men to join
the army, otherwise, it would be considered as the enemy.
The first two villages they encountered were tougher, and not only did they
refuse the terms, they even killed one of the messengers. After which, they
ventured out of their villages to fight the invaders.
Each time, Gu Shenwei managed to resolve the fight quickly by sending out
only about four of his 50-person teams. The weapons and equipment used by
the savages were too rudimentary, and even though they were familiar with
the land, they were no match for the battle-hardened soldiers.
After the first two battles, the remaining journey of the invaders into the
forest went much smoother. As the forest residents got wind of a huge,
unknown army invading their land, they either fled or obediently acceded to
the invading army’s requests.
This became another problem for the Dragon King and his army, however.
They could not advance in a straight line and had to move from village to
village. It was a journey that sometimes forced them to walk around in
circles.
They did not have any other choice, as they were a huge group and had to
depend on the villages for food. Without the forest residents providing their
sustenance, they would not last for more than a few days in the forest.
Even so, everyone, including the Dragon King, had to ration their food. The
villages were small, and the number of provisions they could provide were
limited.
The fortunes of the invaders got better after conscripting the savages into
their army, Even though they were additional mouths to feed, they were
familiar with the ways of the forest, and could always manage to hunt down
some prey or gather other types of food. Although the food they provided
might not be tasty, it helped to prevent the others from starving.
The forest was vast, and even the savages had limited knowledge of its entire
expanse or the way out of it. Other than directing the army to nearby villages,
they could not help much with navigating.
The army wandered in the forest in this manner for three months, raiding
dozens of villages and relying on whatever meager tribute they were given as
sustenance. The vengefulness of the soldiers grew increasingly obvious, and
as they were afraid to voice out their frustration, they began venting it out in
other ways. Once, a team of 50 soldiers massacred an entire village of forest
residents, not discriminating by gender or age. It was sparked off merely
because one of the soldiers had been attacked by arrows from a savage in
hiding.
Gu Shenwei could only humiliate the offenders by confiscating their

weapons; he could not mete out punishment according to the military law of
the Great Snowmountain under such circumstances.
The forest had become an extremely restrictive piece of garment constricting

the movements of the soldiers; it would always cause restrictions to outsiders.
They were driven close to the brink of insanity by the ancient fauna which
blocked out all sunlight and the swarms of poisonous insects.
If this carried on, even the authority of the Dragon King would not be able to
contain the pent-up resentment of his soldiers.
Gu Shenwei had no intention of turning back and kept searching for a way
out of the forest. To this end, he specifically selected a few machetemen who
were literate and had them map out each village and record down the myths
of the savages. In this way, he finally managed to produce a rough sketch of
the entire forest.
He then sent out 10 groups of scouts to perform reconnaissance in different

directions. He ordered them to turn back the moment they came to a dead
end, and even if they did not, they had to return back to camp after five days
at most.
Most of the scouts came back before five days; they met with either deep
gorges or insurmountable mountains and could not advance any further.
There was only one team which brought back a glimmer of hope for the
Dragon King. They reported that it was possible to advance in a southwest
direction, and even though they would be obstructed by a mountain, there
was a small passage through it.
According to the myths of the savages, there were no villages in the

southwest cluster of mountains, but it was the prowling ground of strange
beasts. As such, Gu Shenwei felt that it was most possible that it would lead
to a way out of the forest.
He garrisoned his troops in separate locations to gather as many provisions as

they could. After 10 days, he gathered them, and they advanced southwest-
ward.
The mountain pass was extremely windy and hard to traverse, and even the
conscripted savages were fearful; some of them even deserted the army.
However, the soldiers were generally excited at the thought of being able to
leave the forest.
Spring was drawing to a close. On an afternoon when the sun shone gently,
and just as their stores of food were about to be depleted and the few
remaining livestock were already slaughtered for food, the army from the
Great Snowmountain finally managed to break free from the clutches of the
forest.
In front of them was a paradise-like place. After walking for so long in the
ancient forest which was completely obscured from sunlight, everyone was
stunned to see stretches after stretches of beautiful flora and countless fauna
of all types.
No one knew who started it, but very quickly everyone was shouting “Dragon
King”. Their doubts had been banished, and even if they could not arrive at
the Xiaoyao Lake, they knew that their journey southward had not been in
vain.
However, the conscripted savages were increasingly panicky; it was the first
time many of them had been out in the open.
Gu Shenwei gave them a choice: either remain in the army and get to learn
about a bigger world that they had ever known, or return back to the forest.
Their panic, however, had aroused the ambition of many of the savages, and
more than half of them were willing to remain behind. These forest residents
amounted to more than 300 in number and became another source of
manpower for the Great Snowmountain army. Gu Shenwei formed them up
into a special unit under his direct command.
Their good fortune continued, and on the third day after they had left the
forest, the scouts from the advance party came back with a piece of news that
created a wave of excitement throughout the troops: more than 30 miles away
lay a fort.
They had stumbled upon an isolated country by accident and came to know
its name after establishing contact with its leaders.
It was known as the Land of Fragrance, and legend had it that it was a place
of many peculiar flora and people. Many years ago, Gu Shenwei had heard
about this country from a highly skilled doctor, but he had never imagined
that he would personally step foot on it one day.
He could also never imagine that the fate of both himself and his army would
take a huge turn for the worse here.
Chapter 367 - The Tryst
Chapter 367: The Tryst
After the last line of cruel and muddle-headed kings of the Land of Fragrance
had passed away without leaving any offspring behind, its citizens cut off all
ties with the outside world. More than 100 years had since passed, and its
people thought that outsiders had already forgotten about them.
It was a vast, isolated and peaceful place which was sparsely populated. Its
citizens were free to choose the ideal locations for their homes, and only the
royal palace was left untended to. The glory of years past was long gone, and
only vast patches of weeds were left. Now, it had become a place for beasts
and children to prowl.
The citizens had long since stopped electing a King. Instead they were
separated into 10 different tribes and practiced self-autonomy. Each tribe had
a leader, and the post was rotated amongst all the members of the tribe.
The sudden arrival of a large army of close to 2000 soldiers from the forest
immediately caused immense upheaval in the Land of Fragrance. The 10
tribal leaders, who were usually idle, were now faced with an immense task
of handling the visitors. After a long discussion which lasted throughout the
night, the 10 of them decided to represent all of the citizens in negotiations
with the foreign army, who looked barbaric and hungry.
About three miles from the capital of the Land of Fragrance, Gu Shenwei
ordered his troops to set up camp with their back facing a small river. He then
received the messengers in the main tent.
They could be considered as the most gentle and cultivated people in the
world. All of them were uniformly dressed in long robes of light color which
were loose fitting. Other than ornate belts, they did not wear any other
accessories but gave off fragrances. Their mannerisms were poised and
proper, and their voices soothing and clear. Even though they spoke a foreign
language, one could immediately sense their goodwill.
There was a large disparity between the ages of the ten tribal leaders, and the
youngest of them was only about 20 something years of age. He was
inexperienced and seemed a little nervous. The eldest had white hair and a
white beard, and he was holding onto a crutch of about the same color.
There were of similar status, and normally the eldest tribal leader spoke on
behalf of the others.
After listening to a few sentences from the tribal leaders, Gu Shenwei could
only understand one phrase - that the eldest tribal leader was called Shili
Molo. As such, he summoned a machete man who was multi-lingual to act as
his interpreter, and after much guessing, some of it wild, compounded with
all sorts of complicated hand gestures, both parties came to a rough
understanding of what each other’s intentions were.
Shili Molo said that his country was sparsely populated and that its citizens
amounted to less than 6000. Over the previous centuries, the country had
rarely got in contact with outsiders and had especially never seen warriors
and so many kinds of weapons before. As such, they were susceptible to
shock, and the tribal leader urged the Dragon King sincerely to control his
soldiers. He wanted them to be prohibited from entering the capital, but they
could set up camp anywhere outside of the city grounds and were free to stay
as long as they wished.
As a token of appreciation for their cooperation, the citizens were glad to

provide sufficient food every day.
Gu Shenwei agreed to their terms; it was a mutually beneficial deal - the

citizens wanted to be safe, and the soldiers wanted sufficient rest.
Gu Shenwei then asked his interpreter to ask Shili Molo the way toward the
Xiaoyao Lake, but the old man knew nothing about it. However, he said that
there was an old map passed down from generations of kings past, and he
would send his men to bring it over to the Dragon King once he went back
into the city.
Just like this, the negotiations were concluded.
There were many soldiers crowding around the outside of the main tent,
watching the strange men who were giving off a nice fragrance. After the
messengers left, Shangguan Fei, who was watching from a corner, twitched
his mouth and laughed. “What a convincing act,” he said.
Gu Shenwei understood what he meant. Out of the 10 messengers, including

Shili Molo, at least three of them could understand the Central Plains Chinese
language. However, they acted as if they could not, but they overdid it, and
naturally, this could not fool the Dragon King and Shangguan Fei, who were
embroiled in conspiracies all the time.
Shangguan Hong, who was also standing outside the tent, did not manage to
detect any abnormality in the messengers. At a loss, he asked, “What act?
Are you saying that they smell as good as women?”
The other two did not bother replying him. Although Gu Shenwei could see
that that the people of the Land of Fragrance were not as simple as they
portrayed themselves to be, he did not wish to uncover their secret
immediately. He thought that perhaps they were only fearful of his army and
were trying to use the lack of mutual understanding of each other’s language
as a way to not let the visitors know too much about them.
However, the presence of Central Plains Chinese speakers in their population

showed that they were not entirely isolated from the rest of the world.
Later during that day, Shili Molo kept to his promise and sent people carrying
an old map over to the Dragon King. Pests had bitten many holes in its fabric,
but the map was still largely intact. However, it was marked in a strange
script that even the translator could not understand.
There was a large lake marked out on it, and it was very possibly the Xiaoyao
Lake from its position on the map. However, there were no paths leading
from the Land of Fragrance to it, and the other areas of the Western Region
were marked extremely inaccurately on the map. As such, it did not have
much value.
Gu Shenwei felt that something was not quite right. The citizens of any other
nation would definitely be in a hurry to send a foreign army away from their
land, but Shili Molo and the other tribal leaders did not seem to be impatient.
He temporarily cast the thought aside and turned his attention to security.
Even though he had found an ideal hiding place for his army, as the Golden
Roc Fort was busy with its campaign in the Western Region, he still ordered
his men to set up a few more sentries both inside and outside of their camp, to
prevent sneak attacks.
Both parties lived in peace over the next fortnight. The citizens from the city
kept to their promise and sent their visitors huge amounts of fruit and food
made from wheat flour every day. Even though there was no meat provided,
it was enough to keep all 1600 of the soldiers fully fed.
Gu Shenwei kept his side of the bargain as well. He gave strict orders to his
men and forbade them to get near to the capital of the Land of Fragrance. He
then sent out dozens of scouts to venture in a northeast direction, hoping to
discover a path to the Xiaoyao Lake.
He spent most of his free time training the conscripted savages, who
amounted to more than 300 people.
The savages were far from their natural habitat and relatives and found it hard
to adapt to their new surroundings. The food did not suit them and they also
had difficulty accepting regimentation in the military camp.
That said, very few of them deserted, as they were enticed by the incredibly
sharp metal weapons that they were given; they would rather die before
giving them up.
Few of them had seen steel before, and when they realized that even the most
ordinary steel saber could effortlessly slice their wooden javelins into two,
they immediately grew to love their new weapons so much that they could
not part with them; they even had to hug the weapons to sleep.
At first, they were repulsed by the idea of protective gear. They were not used
to being encumbered by gear and thought that it was cowardly to require
protection. It was only until when they witnessed a personal demonstration
by the Dragon King, where he put on a breastplate which blocked attacks
from wooden and even steel arrows, that they began scrambling to wear
armor.
As Tuo Nengya’s wounds were nearly healed, Gu Shenwei directed the old
machete man and the chief of Small Sword Peak to teach the savages how to
handle sabers and swords. He also had other people to teach them to speak
Central Plains Chinese.
The savages were trained in archery from a young age, and after they were
given bows and arrows of better quality, their shooting power was greatly
increased. Few among the machete men and swordsmen were their equal.
If it were not for Shangguan Fei, who noticed something peculiar, the Dragon
King would be spending a few more months with the savages.
The Ninth Young Master had endured much hardship. Following the Dragon
King was much tougher than he had imagined, but if there was a way back
for him into the Golden Roc Fort, he would not hesitate to be the first to
desert.
He was the happiest to have arrived at the Land of Fragrance and the only
thing which he was unhappy about was still his half-brother, Shangguan
Hong.
There was some point in time during their journey that their relationship grew
slightly better, but as they spent more time together, their mutual hatred grew
even faster than weeds in spring. Shangguan Fei could never accept the fact
that his slave-like half-brother had an affair with his own mother, and even
the thought of it disgusted him.
As such, he took note of Shangguan Hong’s movements at all times, just like
how he would monitor an enemy.
“Shangguan Hong has turned against us,” Shangguan Fei revealed to the
Dragon King one evening, in an especially mysterious tone.
“Is that so?” asked Gu Shenwei calmly, seeming not to mind.
“It’s true.” Shangguan Fei was getting impatient. “I saw it with my own eyes
- he was fooling around with a woman from the city just at the riverside. That
kid is in such a beautiful mood now that he would even betray Mother, much
less you, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei finally took an interest in Shangguan Fei’s information.
“Shili Molo was strongly against the soldiers entering the city, so why would
he allow women from the tribes out?” Gu Shenwei thought.
“Come over and let me know the next time he leaves camp,” he said.
Shangguan Fei was delighted to receive and continuously acknowledged the

Dragon King’s orders. Before leaving, he even remembered to add, “It’s time
to tighten up our military discipline. You can’t be soft again this time,
Dragon King.”
The campsite of the soldiers from the Great Snow Mountain was situated
near the banks of a river, and the men usually drew their water from
upstream. Shangguan Hong and the woman from the city were, however,
having their trysts at a location which was downstream; it was closer to the
capital.
Getting to and from the tryst seemed to be a walk in the park for Shangguan
Hong; he even knew where the potholes concealed by weeds were. However,
he did not seem to have realized that he was being followed.
Just as Shangguan Fei said, a foreign woman was awaiting his arrival. She
wore a light colored long robe not too different in style from that of the tribal
chiefs, but it was made from thinner material. Other than a sash made of cloth
on her waist, she did not wear any accessories.
The lovers behaved intimately and very soon they were hidden by a thick
bush.
“Now’s the time to catch both of them in the act,” said Shangguan Fei
excitedly in a soft voice. The Dragon King got hold of him just as he was
about to stand up.
“Let’s return to camp first,” replied Gu Shenwei. He did not believe the entire
issue to be as simple as two lovers having a secret rendezvous.
Shangguan Fei was surprised at first but nodded knowingly after a while. He
knew that the Dragon King acted more ruthlessly the longer he waited to
strike, and it was to his liking.
On the other hand, Gu Shenwei was not thinking of Shangguan Fei. He had
noticed many spots where weeds had been trampled upon on their way to
observe the two lovers, and it was obvious that Shangguan Hong was not the
only one getting intimate with women from the city.
After returning to camp, he circled around the campsite, making idle talk with
common soldiers. He was surprised to find that the swordsmen, who had
been incredibly homesick, and the machete men, who were gloomy, were
now happy and contented.
He was suddenly enlightened. This past month, he had heard few complaints
from his men, and they were too few to be normal.
All of a sudden, he found that he could not completely trust even the
swordsmen, who were the most loyal to him.
Gu Shenwei gave a task to Shangguan Fei; he knew that this was the only
man in his camp who would not succumb to the wiles of the women.
“Tomorrow, you shall go to the riverside as well. If any woman waves to
you, you are to chat with her properly.”
“Dragon King, you know that I don’t like…”
“I know, therefore I trust you.”
“But I don’t understand the language of this place.”
“You just have to get them to answer a very simple question: how many
people are there actually in the city?”
Shili Molo claimed that the population of the Land of Fragrance was lesser
than 6000, yet they could provide 1600 soldiers with sufficient food without
any difficulty. Gu Shenwei grew increasingly suspicious of the country and
its people.
Shangguan Fei was pulling a face; he was not too willing to accept the
mission.
The next evening, he came back to debrief the Dragon King. “The woman did
not divulge anything. She knew what I meant but kept acting dumb. Unless I
grab and interrogate her, I don’t have any other means to get her to talk.”
To make up for his failure, he tried to dig deeper into the issue at hand.
Before reporting to the Dragon King, he confirmed his suspicions with a few
soldiers whom he was close to. “This Land of Fragrance is practically a huge
brothel. As long as it’s not raining, at least dozens of these women will be
circling around the perimeter of the camp, solely waiting for men to come.
They don’t reject any comers and don’t collect any money; they are literally
doing it at a loss. All the men in our camp, with the exception of the savages,
have redeemed their ‘privileges’, and only you are not in the know, Dragon
King.”
What seemed like a harmless paradise filled with fresh flowers had suddenly
become a treacherous place covered with booby traps. Gu Shenwei was still
unable to figure out what benefit the Land of Fragrance stood to gain by
having a foreign army stay in their land. “We have to enter the city,” he said.
“We?” asked Shangguan Fei. He was never one for adventure but was even
more afraid of the consequences of going against the Dragon King’s orders.
“Hehe, let’s go then. Let’s see what the old procurers of this country look
like.”
Chapter 368 - Sacrifice
Chapter 368: Sacrifice
For as many centuries back as the people of the Land of Fragrance could
remember, their country had never been invaded. The castle walls of the
capital, which were full of vines and in a state of disrepair, were proof of this.
There weren’t many citizens living in the city; Shili Molo seemed to not have
lied. The entire population of the country amounted to only a few thousand
people. What was strange was that Gu Shenwei noticed, while observing
from the shadows, that the women walking on the streets of the city seemed
to attach much importance to their waist sashes. The beauty of theirs was
comparable to that of the 10 tribal chiefs who he had met with earlier - this
was strikingly dissimilar from the simple waist sashes that the women at the
riverside wore.
From the perspective of a killer, the interior layout of the city was a paradise
for assassins. Its streets were narrow and winding, and there was luxuriant
vegetation growing everywhere. The entire city seemed to be cloaked with a
colorful cape and it would be easy to hide an army of a few hundred people
inside it.
Gu Shenwei did not notice anyone carrying weapons openly in the city. In
fact, he had not even seen any athletic looking males in the city but his
suspicious nature kicked in. He continued observing the city from the
shadows for a short while and quickly returned to his camp.
“The women at the river are either poor or forced to take part in the trysts.
However, the first theory looks plausible on paper, but it doesn’t make sense
that they don’t accept payment for their ‘services’. It could be the second
theory, as they are unwilling to dress up or simply want to avoid detection. If
it were so, then why do the messengers intend to keep a huge, foreign
military presence in their land? Supplying food and water for 2000 people is
no small matter…” , Gu Shenwei thought.
The doubts kept growing in his mind and he summoned the chiefs of the five
peaks along with Tuo Nengya for a discussion.
The others did not think that there was any conspiracy and focused more of
their attention as to whether the romantic encounters were moral or not. They
were a little embarrassed about their actions as they had tried kept the trysts a
secret from the Dragon King until now, when he found out about them by
himself.
“I guess it’s part of the local customs. It isn’t strange actually, judging from
the fewer number of males compared to females in this city,” observed Long
Xiaoshi, the chief of Danduo Peak. He had heard rumors of the trysts much
earlier before, but he was not too bothered by them. “All of us did not report
to the Dragon King before not because of any particular reason but because…
you, Dragon King… this… you’re a little too young for us to be discussing
such matters with you.”
Gu Shenwei turned to the young chief of Canopy Peak, Long Fanyun, next.
He was the most ardent supporter of the Dragon King, but was blushing
terribly now. It was evident that he had experienced the tenderness of the
women as well. He was getting incredibly uneasy as he felt the Dragon
King’s gaze fall on him. He coughed a few times and said, “It has been an
extremely tough few months for everyone… the people here are not even
armed… how big a danger can the women pose…”
His voice grew increasingly softer until in the end all that came out from him
were incoherent mutterings.
Even Tuo Nengya, who was experienced, did not think it was a big deal.
“Think about it. A big group of men who were first trapped in a valley
covered in ice and snow, then made to trek through the wilderness for months
- it’s a miracle that they haven’t rushed into the city and taken the women by
force. I believe it’s a sign that they have already tried hard to control their
urges. If the Dragon King doesn’t like the men to partake in such affairs, we
will issue warnings to them. After which, we should try to leave this place
quickly.”
“There’s no need for that. Maybe I’ve thought too much. All of you don’t
have to say anything to the men upon returning to your respective tents.”
The meeting was thus dismissed. Gradually, Gu Shenwei came to understand

why his views were different from the others: upon arriving at the Land of
Fragrance, he had spent all his time with the savages, whereas the swordsmen
and machete men had daily interactions with the residents of the city which
was their source of food. As such, they had got used to the cultured and
refined natives and naturally would be unwary of them.
He did not want to seem as being too harsh without clear evidence backing
up his theory. As such, he did not summon any of his common soldiers for
questioning again. Instead, he requested for Shangguan Hong to come - he
wanted to find out what the motives of the women were.
Shangguan Hong was not in the least bashful. He openly admitted to being
part of the trysts, “I didn’t start it. Half of the camp have already done it
while the other half is queuing up for a try.”
He offered a simple explanation as to the motives of the women. “Look at the

men in this land - all of them are wearing make up, and the fragrance emitted
by them is even stronger than that of the noble women of Jade City. They are
just particularly lacking in masculinity. Then look at us - a group of tough
men. Of course we would be attractive to the ladies.”
All of the soldiers believed the locals were weak and harmless. Even
Shangguan Hong, who was usually timid and had an inferiority complex, was
full of confidence now.
“They didn’t want anything? And they didn’t make any request either?”,
questioned Gu Shenwei. He still could not believe it. Even though the theory
that the women were acting as per their local customs could explain away
many of his doubts, he was still pretty sure it was more plausible that they
were trying to gain some sort of benefit.
Shangguan Hong carefully re-collected his adventures for a while before

replying, “No. Actually… hehe… we didn’t spend too much effort on
talking.”
Aside from the Dragon King, Shangguan Fei was the only other person who
felt that there was something peculiar about the entire matter. He came
looking for the Dragon King after Shangguan Hong had left - he had
something to tell. “There’s definitely something fishy. I made contact with
one of the women upon your orders, Dragon King. To be honest, it’s not my
cup of tea and the woman did not seem to be enjoying it either. If she wasn’t
forced to do it, I might as well be blind.”
With this, Gu Shenwei sneaked into the capital of the Land of Fragrance for
the second time to gather intelligence. This time round, he followed a woman
who was returning from the river.
The woman parted ways with the swordsman who she just had a tryst with
and stopped smiling after she thought there was nobody else around her. She
walked with her head looking down and there was not even a little bit of joy
in her expression. Shangguan Fei was spot on. This woman also did not seem
to be acting on her own accord. Furthermore, she seemed to have completed a
task she was not willing to undertake.
Only Shangguan Fei, who was also an unwilling participant in the trysts,
could have noticed this. All of the other men were blinded by their
excitement.
She did not enter the city from the main gate but took the long way around
instead and went into the southern part of the city from a crack in the city
walls. There were many people coming and going from the same spot as the
woman did, and Gu Shenwei waited till it was dark before sneaking into the
capital.
There was flora growing all over the Land of Fragrance except this corner of
the city. It was full of crude and simply built houses. The division of wealth
in this country was as similar to that of Jade City, where the rich stayed in
North City while the poor squeezed themselves into South City.
It was extremely crowded in the area of the poor in South City. Gu Shenwei
roughly estimated that there were four to five thousand people there.
Evidently, when Shili Molo claimed that the population of this country did
not even amount to 6000 citizens, he had not included these people in his
calculations.
Gu Shenwei still decided not to travel too deep inside the city. He secretly
went around South City before returning to his camp.
He had previously sent out scouts in the east and north directions and he
decided to send out other reconnaissance teams in the directions as well. He
wanted to find out how many more people this country was hiding from him.
When he arrived back at his tent, someone was already waiting there for him
without having been summoned.
The person was not a warrior under his command but was capable of much
‘damage’ as well.
She was an extremely beautiful woman and she stood in front of his bed,
smiling gently at him. She only had an extremely thin and translucent yarn
dress on, and her long hair, which hung down to her waist, was the only thing
on her that could serve to cover her up.
They were not in the main tent used for discussion pertaining to matters of
the military, but Gu Shenwei’s resting quarters. As there were times when he
would have to channel his internal energy in privacy to fight off the chills in
his body, he forbade anyone else to enter, even when there was nothing
wrong with him.
Someone from his inner circle had sent one of the women at the river side to
him in a bid to remove his suspicions.
The woman spoke a few words to him softly in an extremely gentle and
intimate voice. It did not matter whether one was familiar with the local
language; if one were a man, one would understand what she was getting at.
Even so, she explained herself further. Her hands brushed her thin dress over
her shoulders and it cascaded slowly down her body to the ground, lying in a
pile at her feet.
Since she was so direct, Gu Shenwei did not wish to beat around the bush as
well -
He slowly drew the Five Peaks Saber, purposely grinding the blade on the
inner walls of its scabbard, creating a slight but piercing sound.
The woman’s smile froze. She seemed to be in disbelief that her move had
failed to work, and it spurred her on. She lifted her feet from the dress on the
ground and twirled around, her hair moving along with her. She then slid
across to the Dragon King as if she was walking on ice.
Her throat was moving towards the sharp end of the Five Peaks Saber, and it
was only three to four inches away from the blade.
Gu Shenwei stared directly into her eyes, his expression cold, not wanting her
to have a chance to feel lucky or misunderstand him. “I know you can
interpret Central Plains Chinese and very possibly speak it. I shall give you a
suggestion - it’s best to start speaking now.”
The woman gradually wiped the smile from her face. There was an instance
where she seemed to not have given up and wished to continue her attempts
in charming the Dragon King. She even puffed her chest up, wishing to
counter the cold glare of the blade with her limitless tenderness. In the end,
she gave up at the very last minute, her heels raising then falling back to the
floor again.
“You’re not a man,” she said. Indeed, she knew how to speak Central Plains
Chinese. Even though there was resentment in her tone and her accent made
it sound stiff, it was still easily understandable.
“It’s not important,” Gu Shenwei replied, his saber still not moving away
from her throat.
There were many different kinds of threats in the world, and there were many
myriad ways of duelling. Gu Shenwei was only skilled with the saber and the
sword, and it was the only way he knew how to handle his problems.
“What do you wish to know?”
Gu Shenwei immediately spotted his opponent’s trick. While she had seemed
to acknowledge defeat, she still made no attempt to cover herself up and
instead nonchalantly swept her long hair back with her hands, exposing even
more of herself to him.
She was still trying to turn the tables against him.
“Who let you in?”
“He did not introduce himself, but I heard everyone calling him ‘Master
Hong’,” she replied, not shy to betray the men of the foreign army.
“Are you residing in South or North City?”
The woman was a little surprised to hear his question. She hesitated for a
while before replying, “I live in Back City, which is probably the South City
you are talking about.”
She was a poor person.
“Who sent you here?”
“Master.”
He reached the saber forward another two inches. Its pointed edge was now
resting on the skin covering her throat.
“I can’t say the Master’s name,” she immediately said, visibly in a state of
panic.
“You can’t or don’t want to say it?”
“I… we are forbidden to speak his name,” she replied, getting increasingly
panicky. Still, she refused to say her master’s name, as if there was some sort
of mysterious enchantment preventing her from doing so.
“Shili Molo,” Gu Shenwei suggested. It was the only name he knew among
all the people in this land.
She took a step back and glanced to her sides. She seemed to be even more
afraid of the name than the blade right in front of her. She nervously nodded
in acknowledgement.
Gu Shenwei sheathed the saber, grabbed one of his long robes and tossed it to
her.
For the next three days, the beauty stayed in the Dragon King’s tent and did
not take even a step out of it. The Dragon King himself ventured out very
rarely as well. The soldiers from the Great Snow Mountain grinned to
themselves as they knew about it; they felt that he Dragon King was more
personable now.
Gu Shenwei did not punish Shangguan Hong for sending the beauty to his
tent without permission. Publicly he seemed to have dropped his suspicions
but he did not lay a finger on the woman throughout the three days. Instead,
he raised a lot of questions, trying as best he could to understand the inner
workings of the Land of Fragrance.
She was just a slave who was not acting on her own volition and extremely
afraid of her master. As such, there were many things which she could not
speak about, but she still managed to divulge huge amounts of valuable
intelligence to him.
On the morning of the fourth day, he instructed Shangguan Fei to protect the
woman in his tent, while he led 10 of the conscripted savages out of camp in
the name of a hunting trip.
The ruling class of the Land of Fragrance were known as ‘Master Citizens’. It
was the day when an imporant ritual was to be held and more than half of the
residents of the city would be going to the altar situated in the southeast of
the outskirts of the city. It was a prime opportunity to observe how the
country worked.
Gu Shenwei instructed the savages to hide amongst the bushes a few miles
away from the altar before advancing stealthily on his own. He lay hidden on
the top of a mound and peeped ahead.
The altar was a huge piece of architecture and its base was in the shape of a
square which gradually shrank in size as it rose up. Its top was a platform
only about ten feet wide and the entire structure was about 35 metres high.
The area around the altar was surrounded by citizens of the Land of
Fragrance. It was possible to determine their social class from the position
they were standing at and the quality of their waist sashes: the inner rings of
the crowd were of higher social standing, and they were standing and
swaying sideways rhythmically while singing softly; the other rings were
filled with slaves wearing simple waist sashes prostrate on the ground. They
looked like fallen stone sculptures because they did not move even by a bit.
All together, there were about more than 10000 slaves and their masters.
Huge amounts of firewood were already stacked on top of the platform. It

was said that five people would be offered to the deities as sacrifices today.
Unexpectedly, the cultured and refined people of the Land of Fragrance were
practicing life sacrifices.
10 women supported the five sacrificial lambs slowly up the altar. They
stopped after every step up the stairs to the platform, their movements
solemn.
The sacrificial lambs were also young women dressed in long robes. They
wore extremely exquisite waist sashes and seemed to have taken knockout
powder; even though they willingly moved up the steps with their assistants,
their heads were hanging listlessly to a side.
Upon reaching the top platform, the five women turned around, readying
themselves to be burnt alive.
Gu Shenwei was in for a shock.
Even though he was a distance away, he could recognize Shangguan Ru and

Maid Lotus were among the five women!
As she took in the desolate land and strange sights around her, a mixture of
joy and fear grew in Shangguan Ru.
From a young age, it was her dream to wander in jiang hu. In her dreams, she
would always be leaving the Stone Castle in a blaze of glory and returning
triumphantly, but now, she was alone and without support. She had no
direction and was like a migrant bird who had left its flock.
There was a short while where she felt that the world was unfair to her. She
had done nothing wrong, yet her family and friends treated her terribly and
she was surrounded by lies and conspiracies since she was young.
As such, the seeds of hatred were very nearly sown in the young woman’s
heart.
At this moment, the chilly winds of cold, early Spring blew across and her
mood suddenly became carefree. The wind had completely blown the seeds
of hatred away.
However, when she recalled her past, the carefree feeling soon went away as
quickly as the slight warmth in the wind.
She began to think that she was not completely innocent. She was only used
to being pampered, and even if she had harmed somebody in the past without
meaning to, she would be completely clueless until she experienced the same
kind of hurt herself. Only then, would she understand how much pain she had
caused others in the past.
She had happily tortured the slaves in the fort in the past and believed their
smiles to represent their true feelings. She had even informed against Slave
Huan to her father, causing the deaths of the two giant golden-crowned rocs,
who were like family to Slave Huan. At that time, she was proud of her own
actions, but Slave Huan dared not show that he was displeased in the least.
“There’s a cause and effect to everything,” she continued thinking. “I have to

find out the real reason behind my tragic situation today.”
Her thoughts led to Shangguan Yushi, who was her closest friend and with
whom she seemed to be completely open with. She could now recall that
their conversations were never about her friend and they only talked about
herself.“What did Master Yu like? What did she hate? How could I not know
anything about them?” she thought.
The 18-year-old Shangguan Ru was like an old person who was self-aware of
her own impending death as she tried to recollect every moment in her life.
She felt increasingly detached from her previous self the more she
remembered.“How could that spoilt brat be me?” she thought.
She would have been driven insane if she kept at it. Luckily, a very simple
need dragged her out from the depths of self-pity.
She was hungry till the point where her stomach was slightly hurting.
She fished out some dry rations, and her hunger subsided as she ate a little.
Her abdominal pain, however, kept growing stronger. She felt as if someone
was poking and stirring up her insides with a pair of blunt scissors.
Eventually, it grew to a point where she was unable to continue riding her
horse.
She had to dismount to rest. She channelled her Internal Strength in a bid to
contain the pain, but it made matters worse. She felt as though her internal
energy had become thousands of tiny steel needles threading their way
through her meridians. Every inch they moved caused her to feel even more
immense pain.
Eventually, she gave up. She sat on a rock, hugging her knees close to her
chest, comforted by the idea that she was about to die.
She was certain of the source of poison - someone had put it in her food.
“Was it Slave Huan or Maid Lotus? It doesn’t matter. Both of them are as
good as one,” she thought.
Sweat droplets the size of beans began rolling off her forehead onto the
ground in front of her toes. The dry earth absorbed them up instantly, leaving
no traces behind.
“Perhaps, a handful of grass will sprout here someday,” she thought, her
nonsensical ideas still not yet completely stopped. She continued thinking
that her corpse would probably provide sufficient nutrients for a small tree.
Her pain gradually stopped after two hours. She felt a little regretful that she
was still alive.
“As long as I’m not dead, I have to continue living,” she thought.
She led the horse by its reins, wandering about the wilderness without any
hurry. She only wanted to head southwards, as far away from her previous
life as possible.
She did not travel far that entire day. The pain in her abdomen kept coming
back every four to six hours and when it flared up, she had to stop and curl up
with her knees close to her chest as much as possible for the pain to slowly
subside.
The option of heading back to get the antidote from Slave Huan did not even
cross her mind.
That night, she erected a small tent. She kept her ears peeled to the calls of
the wild outside as she lay inside. She tried to bear the pain in her abdomen
but it kept her awake throughout the entire night.
On the morning of the next day, she felt incredibly tired but did not wish to
stop at her current spot. As such, she dismantled her tent and decided that she
would travel for as far she could.
The sack for the tent was left outside the entire night, tied to a sturdy piece of
rock. Just as Shangguan Ru was about to keep the folded felt tent, she noticed
that there was something unexpected inside.
At first, she was shocked as she thought that it was a wild creature that had
crawled into the sack in the middle of the night to escape from the cold.
When she took a closer look, she discovered that it was not a creature but
seemed to be a small child. It was curled up into a ball like a porcupine and
looked as if it was trying to bear an abdominal pain like hers.
Shangguan Ru grabbed and lifted the intruder by its hair. She soon
recognized the creased, extremely ugly face of Old Man Mu.
Her first reaction was to fling him dozens of steps away and draw her
wooden saber, readying herself for a fight.
Old Man Mu tumbled around a few times after hitting the ground. He was
still curled up like a shrivelled up piece of meat and he did not shout in pain
or move. He seemed to have been dead for a while.
Shangguan Ru’s heart was racing. As she began thinking about his terrible
kung fu technique which specialized in ripping out the hearts of his
opponents, it began beating even faster.
After exactly 15 minutes, she slowly moved towards Old Man Mu. She
prodded him with her wooden saber for a few times with increasing force.
Eventually, he gave out a weak groan, proving that he was still alive but had
lost the ability to react.
Multiple questions came to her mind. Shangguan Ru did not understand how
he had escaped or come to be hiding in the sack, but the most pressing
question was how she should handle him.
To most people, the easiest solution would be to kill him when he was
powerless to react. However, Shangguan Ru could not bring herself to do it.
Her disgust for killing had far exceeded her fear of being killed by the old
man.
The other option most people would choose would be to leave him here to his
own fate. She had heard from Maid Lotus that Old Man Mu practiced the
Seven Rotation Skill and was most afraid of sunlight. She did not even have
to lift a finger and his kung fu would be removed on its own. If that
happened, he would never be able to harm anyone in this world again.
She had already packed her belongings up and led her horse away for a few
dozen steps before realizing that she was unexpectedly unable to leave with
peace of mind. She did not understand why.
Old Man Mu was like a discarded newborn baby now.
She turned back and threw out a few items from her sack which were of no
use to her at the moment. She then picked him up and stuffed him into the
sack.
“It’s a mistake,” a voice said to Shangguan Ru. “Old Man Mu is not someone
who knows how to repay kindness. Once he has regained his power, the very
first thing he does could very possibly be to rip out your heart.”
Shangguan Ru knew that she was making a big mistake but still kept the old
man in her sack.
During the noon hour, she experienced another episodic abdominal attack and
had to sit down, but it was not as painful the other day, when she had felt like
dying. After the attack, she even had the mood to consume some dry rations.
She did not care even if they were possibly poisoned as well.
Since arriving at this place, she had not seen any flora or fauna around. She
was sure that she would starve to death once she finished her supply of dry
rations.“No matter how skilled Old Man Mu was, he could not possibly
defeat hunger in the end.” This thought calmed her down significantly, but
then she felt that it was comedic. She did not know if she was saving or
killing the old man.
Compared to her, Old Man Mu was much more clear-headed about the entire
matter.
“Young lady, don’t keep sitting and admiring the scenery. If you don’t
continue walking, we’ll both die here.”
Old Man Mu’s weak voice came out from the sack.
“It doesn’t matter where one dies, it’s still dying. It’s alright here anyway,”
Shangguan Ru replied. She was still hugging her knees to her chest, unafraid
of death.
Old Man Mu was silent for a while. When he resumed speaking, his tone had
turned extremely angry. “Fool, you wish to die, but I don’t. Don’t try to
practice Zen at such a young age. If everyone is as unafraid to die like you,
what pleasure would there be in killing?”
“Leave yourself then. I didn’t want to bring you along anyway, and I don’t
wish to see you start killing once you’ve recovered.”
Old Man Mu changed his tone again. “Young lady, I can hear from your
words that you are no ordinary person. Who knows, maybe you’ll be able to
attain enlightenment and become a bodhisattva some day. However, you
should go all the way if you intend to save somebody. It’s broad daylight
now, how do you expect me to walk by myself?”
Shangguan Ru was not in a hurry to go anywhere, however. “How did you

escape from… the Dragon King?” she asked.
“Hehe, I have many excellent moves up my sleeve. I miscalculated once and

decided to play along with you young people. After I had my share of fun, I
used the Bone Shrinking Skill and easily escaped, leaving a fake ‘double’
behind.”
Shangguan Ru did not believe him as he was already extremely small in size.
“So that’s what happened. Then, you should use one of your incredible skills
and escape on your own.”
Old Man Mu knew he had over exaggerated, so much so that even he himself
found his own words hard to believe. “To be honest, I didn’t know what
happened either. Someone cut the rope binding me and I managed to escape
with the help of the slack.”
Shangguan Ru felt a little pity for Slave Huan. He always seemed to be knee
deep in countless conspiracies and plots and would probably never be able to
extricate himself.
She was deep in thought and neither spoke nor got up to start moving again.
Old Man Mu got a little anxious. “Young lady, don’t say later that I didn’t
remind you. That woman, Maid Lotus, is now searching around for me and
will discover our tracks sooner or later. She isn’t as soft hearted as you. After
killing me, I bet she’ll kill you as well.”
“Why would she kill me?” Shangguan Ru shook her head, unconvinced.
“Of course it would be because she wants to get rid of the source of her
problems and eliminate any future threat. Once you’re dead, the Dragon King
will not think of you again and will belong exclusively to her.”
Shangguan Ru did not wish to be discussing about Slave Huan with anybody
else at this point in time but could not stop herself from rebutting. “The
person he misses is not me. He only wishes to be able to kill me one day to
take revenge for his family and the giant rocs.”
“Silly girl. You’ve been fooled by the Dragon King’s tricks,” Old Man Mu
replied. He sounded extremely sincere and earnest, as if he was speaking to
his granddaughter. “Don’t be fooled by his act of calling himself ‘Dragon
King’. In reality, he’s just an immature kid who lacks any technique to handle
the woman he loves but can’t be together with. He thinks that his act of
pushing you away can fool everyone, but let me tell you, the person who
appears the coldest is usually the most romantic. I can see it clearly, even
Maid Lotus…”
“Enough,” said Shangguan Ru. She had expended a lot of effort to compose
her thoughts but was now confused again. She got up and continued leading
her horse on, rebutting Old Man Mu’s words with one reason after another.
As long as Shangguan Ru kept moving, Old Man Mu was happy to keep

quiet. He hid in the sack, conserving his energy.
As night came, he became more energetic. Even though he had not regained
his power yet, it did not stop him from taking a look around their resting spot.
He was constantly moving throughout the entire night and woke Shangguan
Ru, who was sleeping in the tent, up before the sun was up. “You are
extremely careless to leave so many traces behind. Even if Maid Lotus were
blind, she would catch up with us within two to three days. Let’s quickly get
moving!”
Shangguan Ru did not believe in the least that Maid Lotus would want to kill
her. As such, she turned away from the old man and covered her ears,
continuing to sleep till it was dawn.
Her abdominal pain grew weaker with each attack, and she finally realized
that she was not given a deadly poison. She was in no hurry, and no matter
how hard Old Man Mu urged her on, she continued to stroll on foot, leading
her horse by its reins.
For the second half of the day, Old Man Mu unusually remained silent,
seemingly having passed out again. It was either that or he was coming up
with some plot again.
In reality, he was thinking of something else. No matter how fast Shangguan

Ru moved, she could not possibly shake the killer chasing after them. The
reason Maid Lotus had not caught up was that she had to search for their
tracks in the vast wilderness, but it would not take her too long. Also, he
needed more than a month to regain his power.
Escape was not a solution to his problem.
That night, Old Man Mu presented his well-thought-out plan to Shangguan

Ru. “Young lady, you’re in luck. I’ve decided to go against my master’s
teachings and break tradition by taking you as my disciple. Come, kowtow to
me now.”
Chapter 370 - Taking in Disciples
Chapter 370: Taking in Disciples
Old Man Mu had never expected that accepting a disciple would be so

difficult. He was on the verge of pleading, but Shangguan Ru was simply not
the least interested. No matter how many reasons and advantages he put
forward, she did not respond most of the time but lay sleeping soundly in the
tent.
“If you learn my martial arts, you will be invincible. Everyone will fear you.
Even just a suggestion of your skill and that Dragon King, or Monkey King,
all of them will come running like a dog to please you.”
“Doesn’t Maid Lotus feel that she is very powerful? She won’t even be able
to receive ten blows from you.”
“Think about it, you will reign across jianghu, you can either take your
revenge or repay any favors. You can do whatever you want. You will have it
all. You will hold power over the life and death of everyone like an emperor,
but without the responsibility of governing the world. All beings are like ants
to you and you are the god. Anyone who disobeys you will die. Even the ones
who follow your lead will have to die too if they are not pleasing to your
eye…”
Old Man Mu grew excited the more he talked and completely forgot that
Shangguan Ru had a deep-seated hatred for all this stuff. When he finally
realized this, it was even harder for him to take her in as a disciple.
After midnight, Old Man Mu quietened down for a while, but he started
nagging again as soon as he hid into the luggage the next morning. This time,
he changed his strategy and used thinly veiled threats instead of patient and
earnest persuasion.
“Little girl, I know that you don’t like to kill. But I have to remind you that
my hobby is killing. Especially when I am in a bad mood, I have to kill to
vent my anger. You are now making me unhappy. When I recover my Kung
Fu, the first thing I will do is to kill a hundred people, regardless of age or
gender. I will kill every single person I see and it will all on you. Since you
wouldn’t take me as your Master Shifu, all of them will die because of
you…”
Old Man Mu’s threat had an effect, but it was not the effect that he wanted.
Shangguan Ru stopped walking and she pulled Old Man Mu out of his
luggage and threw him to a few feet away. “Walk by yourself. Don’t follow
me. I won’t protect you and I won’t learn your Kung Fu. We are not the
same. Just come and find me the next time you want to kill me.”
Old Man Mu was most afraid of the sunlight. He covered his head with both
hands and ran like the wind toward the shade of the horse’s belly. In agony,
he begged for mercy. “Oh, you really have a hot temper, little girl. I was just
kidding. We are in the middle of nowhere. Not even a rat is in sight, where
can I go to kill people? Good girl, kind girl, the most beautiful girl in the
world, put me back into the luggage, please! I can’t hold on any longer if this
continues.”
Old Man Mu returned to the safety of the luggage as he wished and stayed
quiet for a while. But instead of giving up, he changed his tactics once again.
“I have an idea.”
Shangguan Ru continued walking forward and simply ignored him. Now that
her abdominal pain had disappeared, she only wanted to get as far south as
possible.
“I was moved by you.” Old Man Mu’s fingers wavered in the air in the
luggage as if he was really remorseful. “Really, I have never seen anyone like
you. You are highly skilled in Kung Fu but reluctant to kill. You would even
give a helping hand to such a devil like me. Your kindness makes me feel
ashamed of myself.”
However, his flattery had no effect on Shangguan Ru.

“I have made a decision. I will never kill anybody anymore even if I could
recover all my Kung Fu. Just like you, Old Man Mu wants to be a good
person, a nice person, a saint.”
Shangguan Ru gave a snort of contempt. She obviously did not believe him.
But Old Man Mu was certain that he finally found what this little girl liked to
hear.
“I want to kill people and people naturally want to kill me as well. The heroes
of the world are not few and there are so many experts among them. There’s
bound to be someone who is much stronger than me. Just like Dragon King
and Maid Lotus. Within three years, if they join forces, they can defeat me. In
another ten years, if they attain a higher level in Wayless Qigong and Dajue
Book of Swordcraft, I won’t even be able to beat one of them.”
Among the many things that Old Man Mu had said, only these sentences
made some sense. Shangguan Ru was a little surprised but still did not say
anything.
“That is why I want to stop killing. I want to learn from good girl and repay
evil with good. I hope to bury all my grudges in this life.”
Old Man Mu’s words seemed hypocritical, but he was very serious when he
said all these. Then, he paused for a while and added very solemnly: “But I
need your help.”
After saying this, Old Man Mu no longer spoke. Shangguan Ru waited for 15
minutes, then she couldn’t help but ask: ” What are you up to again? Whether
you want to kill or not is totally your own business. How can I help in this?”
Old Man Mu felt smug when he heard Shangguan Ru speak. But he

continued to maintain a serious tone. “It’s not easy to quit killing. It’s alright
if you don’t have the capability. But if you can kill by using a finger, it is
very hard to resist the urge. Like a habitual thief standing in front of
unguarded treasures. Don’t you think it’s extremely difficult to quit?”
“It’s not that hard. Just put yourself in other people’s position. Be
compassionate and considerate, naturally, you will feel that killing is wrong.”
“Little girl, you forgot that we are not the same. You are from heaven and I
am from hell. The things that come very naturally to you, for me, it is even
more challenging than ascending to heaven.”
Old Man Mu stopped talking once again, so Shangguan Ru could only take
the initiative to ask, “Don’t keep me guessing. Go on! What can I do to help
you? Destroy your Kung Fu for you?”
Old Man Mu was shocked by her words. For the past few days, he had been
weak and fragile and at the mercy of Shangguan Ru. He would rather die than
be an ordinary person. So he hurriedly said: “No! No! My Kung Fu is kind of
special. If you destroy it, I will be dead as well. What I mean to say is, how
about you supervise me instead? If I have the killing desire, you can quell it
right away. After I get used to it, it would be much easier to quit killing
eventually.”
“I am not your match.” Shangguan Ru pointed out the obvious loophole in

Old Man Mu’s plan.
“You are practicing the Wayless Qigong. If you learn some moves from me,
you will be able to defeat me.”
After beating around the bush for so long, Old Man Mu finally returned to his
original goal.
“I won’t learn from you.” Shangguan Ru bluntly refused. “Your Kung Fu is

cruel and domineering. It is better if it disappears completely.”
Deep down, Old Man Mu had plenty of unspoken criticism for this little girl,
but he kept them to himself and said instead: “Not all of them, for example…
Lightness Skills. I have good Lightness Skills, right? You can run or fight as
you wish if you learn it. It can be a little domineering but it is not cruel at all.
When I have the urge to kill, you can take away the person whom I want to
kill and run without a trace. This way, you can save lives and do me a favor
as well.”
Shangguan Ru knew Old Man Mu’s intentions. He wanted her to learn

Lightness Skills so that they could escape from Maid Lotus at any critical
moment. But Old Man Mu’s Lightness Skills was remarkable indeed. He
could move faster than a running horse and make no sound at the same time.
There was no harm in learning it. “Mastering Kung Fu will take some time
since I need to study and practice diligently. Even if you teach me now, I
won’t be able to master it in a short time. I still won’t be able to help you. If
Maid Lotus catches up with us, let me talk to her. Maybe I can save your life
without using force. But you have to promise that from now on, you will not
kill people anymore.”
“Absolutely no more killing. I promise. But that woman is hard to deal with.
We should have an alternative plan, right? Your foundation for Internal
Strength is pretty good. For the others, it may take a year but you can make a
breakthrough within a few days. ”
Shangguan Ru thought about it for a long time and finally said, “Okay.”
Old Man Mu was exhilarated and almost jumped out of the luggage. He
couldn’t maintain his reserved manner anymore. “I will teach you now.”
“Wait, let me get this clear. I don’t want to take you as my Master Shifu.”
“It is a pity, but you can have it your way. Wildhorse wants to take me as his
Master Shifu and I didn’t accept him as a disciple, but I still teach him Kung
Fu anyway.”
“You… make a vow that you will not kill people anymore.”
Shangguan Ru didn’t really believe Old Man Mu’s words. Betrayals and
broken promises were a common occurrence in her life, however, she still
wanted to hear some promises.
“I, Old Man Mu, swear that I will not kill anyone from now on. I want to be a
good old man who is willing to help others. If I break this vow, I will die
without a burial place and will never see the wife of my master ever again for
generations to come.”
It was the first time that Shangguan Ru heard someone sworn on “the wife of
my master” in a vow. She was very surprised and asked, “What happened to
the wife of your master?”
“Alas.” Old Man Mu sighed. These words seemed to be more true than the
previous thousand speeches. “In order to express my sincerity, I will tell you
about it. But you can never disclose it to anyone else.”
“Yeah, I won’t.” Shangguan Ru’s curiosity was aroused.
“In the past, I was tall and handsome. We were meant for each other. But my
Master Shifu, that bastard, forcefully broke us up and injured me greatly.
Then he used all means possible to torture her right in front of me. No part of
her body was left unhurt when she finally died. It was then that I made a vow
to avenge her with more cruel means on the world.”
Shangguan Ru was stunned by his story but she believed most of it. “But
your enemy is only your Master Shifu. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”
“There are only two people in this world, me and the rest of the world. If one
person hurts me, it is equivalent to the whole world hurting me. And if one
person saves me, that is equivalent to the whole world saving me. So help me
so that I will not kill anyone.”
Old Man Mu way of thinking was far too odd. Shangguan Ru was confused
but judging by his tone, she felt that it might be true.
Old Man Mu seemed to be dwelling on the death of his love; it was rare to
not hear him say a word for half a day.
“Teach me Lightness Skills, then.” This time, Shangguan Ru took the

initiative to speak first.
“Oh right, we have some serious work to do. Okay, I will teach you Foxlike
Movement Skill first. This set of Lightness Skills will improve your speed in
running for a period of time. You can use it for escaping for for pursuing
people. Either way, it is a perfect choice…”
“Foxlike Movement Skill? Is that the Lightness Skill whereby I will be on all
fours when I use it?”
Shangguan Ru seen Old Man Mu escaping from the Dragon King’s sword
before. That scene flashed across her mind immediately.
“Yes, it is. You may not be able to hold on for long when you just started
learning it. But it will be more than enough for you to get rid of your pursuers
at critical moments…”
“I don’t want to learn it.” Shangguan Ru refused before he could say more.
“Why?”
“It… it’s too ugly to be on all fours.”
It was the most unexpected reason. Old Man Mu was so surprised that he
couldn’t respond. It took him some time before he asked confusedly: “Ugly?
This is the best set of Lightness Skills in the world. Wildhorse begged me to
teach him for dozens of times but I always refused him!”
“Anyway, I don’t want to learn it.” Shangguan Ru’s face was flushed. She
had been raised as a boy since young, but her thoughts had gradually evolved
after putting on women’s clothing, and she was very opposed to indecent
behaviors.
Old Man Mu still could not understand, “This… you… don’t want to learn
anything cruel, don’t want to learn anything ugly. Did you really grow up in
Golden Roc Fort?”
Shangguan Ru pursed her lips and refused to change her mind. So Old Man
Mu had to compromise again. “Okay. All right. Fortunately, I know a lot of
Kung Fu. Otherwise, I would be really stumped by you. Uh, let me think…
let me think… Yes, I’ll teach you another type of Lightness Skills. Although
it cannot help you run fast, it can make your body flexible and it is best for
evading attacks from enemies. It is not cruel, and it is very pretty. You know
it just by the name - Subtle Shadow Lightness Skill…”
Suddenly, Shangguan Ru stopped walking, and the horse stopped too. Old
Man Mu, who was in the luggage, realized that something was wrong. “What
happened?”
“There are smoke and dust rising in the distance, maybe… Maid Lotus is
catching up.”
Chapter 371 - The Lunatic
Chapter 371: The Lunatic
That gust of dust appeared near, but it was actually quite a distance away. It
was likely just a random gust of whirlwind and nothing to do with Maid
Lotus. Old Man Mu, however, was terrified and hid in the luggage bags.
“Good girl, come, get on the horse as well. Let’s run away quickly. This
horse is plump and sturdy, it can withstand both our weights.”
Shangguan Ru was not afraid of Maid Lotus, but she did not want to see her
either.
The relationship between the two of them was still awkward, and Dragon
King was just one of the many reasons why.
Maid Lotus was one of the most trusted killers under the Tenth Young
Master, yet as her subordinate, she had secretly stolen the Wayless Book and
presented it to Golden Roc Fort’s nemesis, New Moon Hall. She was not the
most unexpected traitor, but her actions made Shangguan Ru felt apologetic
toward the Stone Castle and understood her father’s intentions in wanting to
kill her off.
Shangguan Ru’s horse was just of a normal breed and it was no longer plump
and strong after traveling in the Gobi desert for many days. By dusk, his pace
was unsteady and he constantly lost his footing. It seemed like the horse
would not endure for much longer.
They were no longer traveling in the wilderness, in front of them was endless
marshland. Many of the pits were still dry as the rainy season had not arrived
yet.
Shangguan Ru dismounted and unloaded the luggage, bags, and harness,
before letting the beast go off. “Go, eat some grass and drink up on water,
you are now free.”
Old Man Mu had yet to fully regain his Internal Strength and needed to rely
on Shangguan Ru for protection. But he resisted the thought of criticizing her
and said, “Good girl, aren’t you too kind? Letting go of the horse means you
will have to carry me and walk from now on. Although I am small in size, I
still weigh quite a bit, you know? What’s more, we are almost done with the
dry food, the horse meat…”
“I have my ways.”
Shangguan Ru looked through the items in the luggage and threw away those
that were not needed. She separated the remaining items into two bags, one
was bigger than the other, then she took out her dagger and cut two slits at the
bottom of the luggage that Old Man Mu was hiding in, and tightened the
luggage opening with a thin rope tied to it. She held on to the thin rope and
said, “Follow me, you can now walk on your own.”
Old Man Mu spread out his arms in the luggage, “Do you think I look good
like this? You refuse to learn the Lightness Skill because the posture looks
ugly. Do you not consider my feelings as well?”
Shangguan Ru picked up the bigger bag which held the tent and dry food,
without saying a word, she tied it to Old Man Mu’s back. She said, “You
have to do something too, you can’t just let me help you.”
With that, she carried the smaller bag, held the thin rope and walked into the
swamp.
Old Man Mu managed to refrain from exploding. Like a top-heavy

mushroom monster, he followed closely behind Shangguan Ru. But after
falling a few times along the way, he started to complain, “Little girl, I think I
was wrong about you. You are not as kind as I imagined.”
“Yeah.”
“I am an old man, you know! Plus, I am seriously ill right now, how can you
abuse me? Wildhorse would never be like this. He’s very obedient and would
not voice a single complaint even if I sheet on his head.”
“Then learn from Wildhorse and stop nitpicking.”
Old Man Mu was lost for words. Wildhorse was willing to endure harsh
treatment simply because he wished to learn extraordinary Kung Fu from
him. But the tables had now turned and Old Man Mu would need to get on
her good side and lie in order for this girl to learn his Kung Fu.
Fortunately, the sky soon darkened and Old Man Mu was able to get out of
the luggage bag. He did not stumble and fall as often as before even though
he was still carrying a big bag.
Neither of them knew the way. They only chose paths that were dry and tried
not to leave tracks behind them.
It was not until after midnight that they stopped to rest at a marshland.
Old Man Mu slumped to the ground, panting hard. He did not even have the
energy to complain. He finally managed to get his bearings when Shangguan
Ru finished setting up the tent and was about to go to sleep. He said, “See?
This is the disadvantage of not knowing Kung Fu, or if you are weak in Kung
Fu. You tend to walk slower, unable to carry things, will be hunted down by
others and need to constantly hide from them. I really don’t know how
ordinary people live.”
“Now that you know, then you should not treat human lives like dirt in the
future.”
“Yes, yes, good girl, you are right. I can now empathize with them. No
wonder you let me carry such a big bag. You have good intentions, I…”
“Clang!” Something jumped out from the grass nearby. Old Man Mu was so
badly frightened that he quickly rushed toward the tent. Just as half of his
head had entered the tent, Shangguan Ru slapped him away. “Do not come
in.”
Old Man Mu somersaulted away. He was beyond relieved when he realized it
just was a wild boar passing that he did not mind Shangguan Ru’s brusque
actions. “Scared me to death, I thought Maid Lotus had caught up with us.”
“I thought you are not afraid of anything. In fact, Maid Lotus…”, Shangguan
Ru broke off midway, not knowing how to continue with her words. The
Maid Lotus whom she knew was a fake persona, she knew nothing about the
real Maid Lotus.
“It’s not her that I am afraid of.” Old Man Mu tried to explain himself. You
could say anything you want about him, but cowardice was something that he
could not accept. “The point is… She’s a disciple of New Moon Hall. You
know about New Moon Hall, right?”
” I know a little about them.”
“I know all about them. They are definitely a group of crazy women. Even if
you used to be normal, just one year inside will make you go crazy. Back in
those days, why do you think I wanted to escape from New Moon Hall by
any means possible? Find somewhere isolated and recover from my wounds?
It’s because I didn’t want to end up a lunatic like them.”
Yet, Old Man Mu himself was nothing but a crazy devil in Shangguan Ru’s
eyes. So she said, “Not Maid Lotus, she looks… quite normal.”
“You are blinded, and Dragon King is even more muddle-headed than you!
Let me tell you, New Moon Hall trains their disciples by driving them mad at
first, and the methods that they use - Forget it, you are too pure. You will go
crazy if you hear about them. Then, they see who can control the craziness
within them, and these people are accepted as real disciples. So when you see
a disciple from New Moon Hall, the more normal she looks on the outside,
the crazier she is on the inside and the higher level her Kung Fu will be. This
Maid Lotus is not simple. If she is able to learn the highest level of the Seven
Circles Kung Fu at such a young age, that must mean she is crazy on a whole
other level. Gee, I really don’t know what Han Wuxian is thinking.”
Shangguan Ru did not refute Old Man Mu’s words. Years ago, she had also
been captured by New Moon Hall and had seen their disciples before. It was
exactly like what Old Man Mu said, many of them seemed like lunatics at
first glance while the people who held a higher status and had more powerful
Kung Fu skills seemed much more normal.
“Maid Lotus… Dragon King…” Shangguan Ru realized that she was worried
for Slave Huan and quickly quieted down. He was now the Dragon King, and
his wits and Kung Fu were far superior compared to ordinary people. There
was no need for her to worry.
Old Man Mu did not notice the change in her voice and went on, “The Master
of Xiaoyue Hall, Han Wuxian herself is an incurable lunatic. Her looks and
temperament are like that of an immortal. But her thoughts are beyond our
comprehension. Do you know how she wanted to make use of me back
then?”
Old Man Mu was fuming mad and spat on the ground. Without waiting for
the girl in the tent to ask, he went on vehemently, “She thought I possessed
good bone structure, so she wanted all the women in New Moon Hall to sleep
with me and conceive children. If it was a boy, they would dispose of the
baby. Then they will take care of the young girls until they reached 10. They
will be accepted as disciples if they were able to inherit the bone structure,
but kill the rest who were not able to do so.”
Shangguan Ru listened on with horror, Golden Roc Fort also had many cruel
training methods that were extreme, such as encouraging apprentices to kill
each other, but they would not go so far as to lay hands on babies.
“You also feel that this is too much, don’t you?” Old Man Mu was resentful.
“Using me as a breeding sow! Sure, I am a man, I don’t care about this.
But… you have to let me have a choice, isn’t it? Not all disciples of New
Moon Hall are pretty women like Han Wuxian or Maid Lotus. There are so
many ugly women, not to mention, plenty of old women as well, and I am
supposed to accept all of them as they come! I, Old Man Mu…”
“I want to sleep, so stop talking.” Shangguan Ru hurriedly stopped him from

talking further. Old Man Mu was someone who spoke without a care, and it
would only become more unbearable the more he went on.
“Alright, I won’t say no more. But you should not sleep. I have not yet taught
you the Lightness Skills and Maid Lotus is right behind us. You better learn
the Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills, we are depending on this to save our
lives.”
“I’m sleepy, let’s talk about it tomorrow.” Shangguan Ru was not interested
in learning any type of kung fu, and she felt that the only life that needed
saving was Old Man Mu’s.
Old Man Mu knew what would tick her off, so he did not rush her. He put his
hands behind his back and said, “I am really worried for Dragon King. His
Kung Fu, looks, and bone structure were comparable to me back then, about
70-80% similar. Since Han Wuxian is unable to catch me, I’m guessing she
will settle for second best…”
Shangguan Ru walked out of the tent with a cold expression, holding the
wooden saber. She said, “Once I master it, I will run away myself.”
Old Man Mu knew his scheme had succeeded and felt proud. He smiled and
said, “It’s not important how many people can run away, the important thing
here is that someone learns my unique art.”
Old Man Mu was a murderous devil who had reigned over the Western
Region. People fawned over him wherever he went. But back when he was
still trying to seek a Master Shifu to learn Kung Fu, he had bootlicked his
Master Shifu every day. He would never forget how to pander to others, so it
was not a hard feat using it on Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru obviously did not believe a word of his, she only wanted to
shut him up by learning the Kung Fu, and stop him from mentioning Dragon
King especially.
Only when she really began to practice the Kung Fu did she realize that this
set of Kung Fu suited her well.
Unlike Old Man Mu’s Kung Fu that was either too cruel or ugly, Subtle
Shadow Lightness Skills was mainly used to avoid the enemy’s attack and
would not inflict any damage. The moves were also graceful and the pace and
direction was often unexpected.
“This set of Lightness Skills was a life-saving trick that I used in my early
years. Later on, I tend to use it less when it was mostly me killing others and
no one was trying to kill me.”Old Man Mu gazed at Shangguan Ru’s lithe
figure dodging attacks and could not help but let out a sigh. He was overcome
by a strange feeling because his Master Shifu’s wife was the one who had
taught him Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills. Shangguan Ru might not be as
capable as her, but she vaguely resembled her in a way.
Old Man Mu shook his head and cleared his mind of useless thoughts, “Learn
it well and use it now. You are definitely not Maid Lotus’ match, but if you
use it unexpectedly, it may just save your life.”
Shangguan Ru spent about two hours learning the gist of it. She would need a
few months’ time to perfect the skill. But she noticed a problem as well.
“Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills requires light footsteps and Qi to spread
throughout the whole body. In this case… I won’t be able to take you with
me and escape.”
Old Man Mu grinned, “Good girl is kind-hearted indeed. You even thought
about this. Even if you were to take me with you, we won’t be able to escape
either. Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills works best in narrow places. You will
definitely lose if you use this in a stretch of flat land with an opponent.”
Shangguan Ru knew that Old Man Mu had already prepared something else,
so she did not bother asking and waited for him to bring it up.
Old Man Mu lowered his head and thought for a while, then he said, “You
can’t just hide from her, it’s better if you can subdue her without injuring her.
How about this? I will teach you one more set of acupoint technique.”
Old Man Mu had an innocent look on his face, but Shangguan Ru was certain
that there was more to this set of acupoint technique, it was not simply used
to subdue someone.
Chapter 372 - Food
Chapter 372: Food
As a matter of fact, Old Man Mu was well aware of Shangguan Ru’s

suspicions, so he quickly explained the acupoint technique that he was about
to teach, “Don’t get me wrong. The acupoint technique that I will be teaching
you is the Finger of Immobilisation. Other than paralyzing the opponent for 2
to 4 hours, there is no other harm to this Kung Fu.”
“I don’t know how to recognize acupoints.”
Golden Roc Fort had focused more on killing methods and looked down on
other types of manuals. Shangguan Ru could only recognize some of the
more important acupoints and did not even know the names for the rest of
them.
Old Man Mu eyes gleamed, with a satisfied expression, he said, “This is the
subtlety of the Finger of Immobilisation, you don’t need to recognize the
acupoints so long as you hit within five inches of the Xuanji acupoint on the
opponent’s chest. Your strength alone will penetrate the opponent’s body,
and it will naturally find the right acupoints and keep them immobilized.”
Although Golden Roc Fort did not focus on acupoints, they did have some
general knowledge as required. Shangguan Ru knew a little about it, but it
was the first time she ever heard of such an acupoint technique called Finger
of Immobilisation. “How is it possible? You just want to trick me into
learning Kung Fu that kills people, don’t you?”
Old Man Mu stared back, eyes wide as if he had just been insulted. He said,
“How can I be so shameless? Besides, your Kung Fu is much better than me
now, if I trick you into killing people and reignite that killing desire within
you, won’t you come and kill me next? That’s like bringing trouble onto
myself, losing more than I can gain, isn’t it?”
Seeing as the sky was becoming brighter and Shangguan Ru still did not trust
him, Old Man Mu had no choice but offered her a solution instead, “I guess
there is only one way for you to believe me. I will teach you the acupoint
technique and then you can use it on me. Poke me and see if I stop moving or
die.”
This seemed feasible, “Okay then.” Shangguan Ru said reluctantly.
Old Man Mu shook his head and muttered in a low voice, “You won’t find
such a miserable Master Shifu like me, who volunteer to be the test subject,
and even has to humbly plead his student to learn from him.”
“Nonsense, you are not my Master Shifu.”
“Right, right, it’s all my wishful thinking. Good girl wants to be a Buddha,
the reason she is learning from me is also to save people…”
Old Man Mu continued to flatter her before explaining the details of the
acupoint technique, what she should look out for, which areas were prone to
mistakes, etc. Everything was articulated clearly.
The Finger of Immobilisation sounded easy, but it was much more

complicated than the Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills. The moment your Qi
was channeled wrongly, the effect would be gone and it would, in turn,
weaken your defenses and you might fall into the enemies’ hands.
Shangguan Ru managed to remember the key points just before daybreak. At

first, she tried poking her fingers in the air to practice before trying a few
times on Old Man Mu’s chest, but she kept making mistakes and did not even
cause him any pain.
At dawn, as the two of them continued their journey, Old Man Mu wore the
luggage over his body and only revealed two feet for walking. He was led by
Shangguan Ru as they went deeper into the swamp.
Shangguan Ru practiced the Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills and Finger of

Immobilisation as she walked, and when she encountered any problems, she
would turn to Old Man Mu for advice. The day passed by quickly in a blink
of an eye and the sky soon turned dark again.
Right now, the two of them were faced with an important problem: They had
run out of dry food.
“If only we had managed to get that wild boar from last night.” Old Man
Mu’s stomach growled with hunger, and he kept swallowing, “Look around,
if there was one wild boar, there must be another one around.”
There were not many animals in the swamp. A “second wild boar” did not
appear, though there were some birds which flew past them from time to
time.
Old Man Mu crawled out from the luggage and looked up at the dark sky,
licking his lips. He said, “Normally, I can shoot a few birds down with just a
leaf.”
He turned his head and saw Shangguan Ru with her head lowered, apparently
pondering about something, her fingers were eager to try out the moves. Old
Man Mu was secretly pleased, he knew that the young girl was fascinated by
the amazing Kung Fu. But he was unable to suppress his hunger any longer,
so he coughed twice to interrupt her thoughts and said, “Lady Buddha, it is
time to kill something small to save this old fellow. Find something for us to
roast and eat, even a mouse is alright.”
However, Shangguan Ru appeared to not have heard what he said, her brows
were slightly furrowed and it was obvious that she had some unaddressed
doubts in her heart.
Old Man Mu’s patience was running out. With such an omniscient Master
Shifu like himself around, what else did she need to think about? Wanting to
rouse her, he stretched out his arm and tapped on Shangguan Ru’s leg.
Shangguan Ru, as if by instinct, jabbed the Xuanji acupoint on Old Man

Mu’s chest.
Old Man Mu saw clearly that it was the Finger of Immobilisation and that the
Kung Fu was still far from perfect; he could have easily avoided it by leaning
slightly to one side, but he had no command over his body since his Internal
Strength was weak. He was able to foresee everything but unable to do
anything about it.
Old Man Mu really froze there like a block of wood. Except for his eyeballs,
his whole body was immobilized, his face turning redder by the minute.
“Oh, did I use it on you?” Shangguan Ru was deeply apologetic. “I’m sorry,
but this is what you requested as well.”
Old Man Mu couldn’t open his mouth, so he tried his best to squeeze out his
voice, “Yes, I did request for it. Now restore the acupoints for me.”
Old Man Mu had taught her the Kung Fu along with a way to restore the
pressed acupoints, but Shangguan Ru had practiced the acupoint technique
the whole day, and could only try and learn to restore the acupoints hands on.
After more than 10 times of trying, with Old Man Mu’s face almost turning
purple did she manage to restore his acupoints and relieve him of the
immobilization.
Old Man Mu finally regained his mobility. Sitting on the ground, he panted
profusely and was unable to utter a word for half a day.
Shangguan Ru looked at her own finger, “You said the Finger of

Immobilisation wouldn’t harm people, but you…”
Old Man Mu regained some color on his complexion, so he smiled wryly and
said, “Good girl, I mean, you attacked me when I was caught off guard just
now! I wasn’t able to channel my Qi in time and my acupoints were blocked,
of course, I would suffocate! Wait till I’m ready then you can strike again, it
will just be immobilization of the body with no other harm.”
“Then get ready.”
“Right now?”
“I only tried it once, and there are still many things that I don’t understand.”
Old Man Mu rubbed his belly and said, “Let’s eat first, shall we? The Finger
of Immobilisation cannot possibly keep us full, right? I will be so
uncomfortable if I am immobilized with an empty stomach.”
“Alright.”
Now that they had reached a consensus, the old and young looked at each
other, not understanding why the other continued to stand still.
“Why aren’t you cooking?” The two of them asked at the same time.
“I don’t know how.” Both answered in unison.
Old Man Mu had been the devil who reigned across the regions and had
always dismissed trivial matters such as cooking.
On the other hand, as the Tenth Young Master of the Golden Roc Fort,
Shangguan Ru had led a life of luxury and privilege and was used to being
waited upon. In her imagination, the extremely arduous jianghu life did not
include finding food for herself.
“It’s very simple. Just hunt a bird, kill it, pluck its feathers and remove the
internal organs, then roast it over the fire.” Old Man Mu replied. After all, he
had more jianghu experience and vaguely knew what the process was like.
Just the thought of it made Shangguan Ru sick, so she said, “I will try to
catch something, you do the rest.”
“I am already so old, and I’m so small in size, plus my Internal Strength is so

weak…”
Old Man Mu gave several excuses but Shangguan Ru was not buying it.
“There are many people who don’t know Kung Fu, but they can still cook
very well.”
Old Man Mu was so hungry that he could only agree. Over and over again, he
told himself to bear with it. In less than a month, he would be the master of
the world again once his Kung Fu was restored.
Shangguan Ru went hunting for food and Old Man Mu stayed behind to
collect firewood to start a fire.
Starting a fire was a dangerous move since Maid Lotus might be somewhere
nearby, but Old Man Mu could not care less about it. Just the thought of
eating the greasy roast meat was enough for him to risk his life.
He tried to comfort himself with thoughts like these: The swamp was big and
perhaps the lunatic had lost her way trying to track them down. So he
daringly lit up a small fire and waited for Shangguan Ru to return.
Shangguan Ru returned with two quails smaller than the size of a palm. Old
Man Mu looked at her, dumbfounded, and said, “This, this is not even
enough for me to fill up my belly.”
“One each.” Shangguan Ru did not bother explaining and threw her catch to
Old Man Mu. Then she walked to a far end and continued to figure out the
two new Kung Fu she had just learned.
Shangguan Ru had tried out the Lightness Skills, Subtle Shadow Lightness
Skills and gained many insights when she was catching the birds. It was a
Kung Fu that went well with the Finger of Immobilisation and she felt that it
suited her so well, she did not even want to use the wooden saber.
Here she was, putting her heart and mind into practicing the Kung Fu and
soon forgot about her hunger. Old Man Mu, on the other hand, was
miserable. He had never once imagined that cleaning up two dead quails were
even harder than killing people.
He took an hour to clean up the quails and hurriedly roast them above the
fire. Seeing as the quails looked even smaller after removing and trimming
away its feathers, he harbored thoughts of devouring the birds by himself.
But after thinking it through, he realized that he would still need to rely on
Shangguan Ru to hunt for food, so he reluctantly called out, “Good girl, come
and taste the old man’s cooking.”
Old Man Mu was too impatient and his method of cooking was wrong as
well, the two quails looked cooked on the surface but the meat was still very
much raw on the inside. He ate a mouthful and red blood oozed from his
mouth.
Seeing this, Shangguan Ru lost her appetite suddenly and said, “You can
have it all, I can still endure the hunger.”
Old Man Mu was a straightforward person and did not wish to lose his food
by being polite, so he happily nodded his head and devoured the two half-
cooked roast quails in a few mouthfuls.
“It doesn’t taste as good as human flesh.” Old Man Mu laid on his back, his
burning hunger not quite satiated so he used his imagination to suppress it.
“You ate humans before?” Shangguan Ru asked in surprise.
“Hehe, I was just lying to you. There are so many delicious foods around in
the world, why would I eat human flesh? But in some wild areas, there really
are tribes who consume human flesh. They have a lot of ways when it comes
to eating them…”
“No, I won’t listen, I won’t, you better stop talking.” Shangguan Ru hurriedly
curbed Old Man Mu’s enthusiasm.
“The Supreme King is quite the man. He is the only person whom I respect
and fear. How did he give birth to a daughter like you? Frankly speaking, are
you…”
Shangguan Ru’s facial expression turned cold, “Am I what?”
“Are you sleepy?” Old Man Mu changed his question in the nick of time. But
he was also curious, if the Supreme King was able to poison his own
children, perhaps it was because they were not his own blood.
Women. Not even the Supreme King could control his own woman, thank
goodness his heart belonged to no one, Old Man Mu sighed ruefully. It was
better to snatch from others than to take care of your own women . The more
he thought about this, the more reasonable it seemed, therefore his desire to
restore his Kung Fu as soon as possible grew more urgent than ever.
The jianghu experience for these two people was vastly different; one was
lacking in it and the other did not care much for it. So they continued to keep
the fire lighted as they slept.
Old Man Mu knew what to expect, so he had a good dream. Countless

beauties surrounded him with all kinds of delicacies in their hands. He ate
nonstop but his hunger was never satisfied. In the end, even the beautiful
women turned into huge portions of chicken, duck, and fish.
He realized that his hunger was still there when he woke up. White smoke
rose up into the hazy night, even the fire next to him had extinguished.
Through the white smoke, he saw a distant woman floating towards him like
an illusion. The woman was somewhat similar to the beautiful women he had
dreamed of, but instead of the mouthwatering delicacies, in her hands was a
sharp sword.
“Hey.” Old Man Mu shouted to the tent. “Good girl, someone is here to offer
us human flesh.”
Chapter 373 - Drew out Her Sword
Chapter 373: Drew out Her Sword
As a well-trained killer, Maid Lotus should have approached secretly and

struck quietly, so Shangguan Ru was somewhat surprised at her
uncharacteristically public appearance.
She had already noticed someone approaching them while Old Man Mu was
still dreaming. But she emerged from her tent holding a lightweight wooden
saber only after Old Man Mu let out a scream.
The ex-master and servant faced each other in silence.
“Tenth Young Master.” Maid Lotus spoke first. For a moment, there was no
killing intent within her. She was as courteous and polite as before, and her
sword lowered a few inches as well.
“Maid Lotus.” Shangguan Ru bowed her head to return the courtesy, no

longer regarding her as her subordinate.
“I think I owe you an explanation.”
Copying the Wayless Book was the common turning point shared by the
teenagers at that time. Because of this, Maid Lotus was able to make a huge
contribution to New Moon Hall while Slave Huan’s justification for revenge
became even stronger. However, as a result, Shangguan Ru had lost her
father’s favor.
Even so, Shangguan Ru did not wish to listen to any explanation. It was
obvious that everybody was just using each other in a way, and she was the
only one kept in the dark, assuming that everybody was working for her. She
was born and raised in the Stone Castle and should have been well aware of
this.
You were too naive, you cannot possibly blame others for being conniving,
she thought. Then she said, “There are always reasons for doing so and the
Stone Castle owes you two so much more, it’s alright if we just let it be.”
“Thank you for your magnanimity, Tenth Young Master.”
The two of them had traveled with each other for many days, yet they rarely
spoke, let alone had eye contact. This conversation exchanged between them
was extremely polite, it did not seem like they were enemies, but neither were
they friends.
Old Man Mu glanced at the two of them. Although Shangguan Ru was not to
his liking, Maid Lotus was disappointing as well. “Hey, what are you two
going on about? This is the moment that you either live or die. Fight! Kill!
Stab her with a sword or fight her with a saber, my life belongs to whoever
who wins. Uh, same goes for Dragon King, he’s…”
The two women turned to look at him together, and their faces were as cold
as frost. Old Man Mu read the atmosphere and swallowed his words.
“Continue your chatting. I… I will count the stars.”
“I would also need to ask the Tenth Young Master to do me a favor.” Maid
Lotus’ tone grew more and more polite.
“You are too polite. There’s nothing I can help you with. And I am no longer
the Tenth Young Master.”
“You will always be the Tenth Young Master in my heart.”
The two of them were silent for a moment and the awkward atmosphere did
not dissipate. There was a thin thread between them, no one wanted to take
the step forward nor did they wish to break the thread themselves.
“I cannot let you kill him.” Shangguan Ru was the first to break the silent
standoff and was amused by the feigned facade she had put on just now.
“I understand that the Tenth Young Master is unwilling to kill, so please

stand aside and I will do it.”
“No way.”
“You should know what kind of person Old Man Mu is, Tenth Young
Master. You saw the way he killed others. If you let him go today, you will
be unleashing the devil.”
“He promised me that he will not kill again in the future and I will supervise
him constantly.”
There was pity in Maid Lotus’ eyes. This was her first time showing anything
other than a servant or a killer in front of Shangguan Ru. She said, “You can’t
trust what Old Man Mu said. He is addicted to killing and will never kick this
habit.”
“I have my own way to stop him from killing again.” Shangguan Ru was
insistent.
Old Man Mu watched them, satisfied. He was excited to see the sparks
between the two women fly, as it might burst into flames at any time.
“Everybody said that you were the one who cut the rope and released him.”
Maid Lotus said, her voice becoming colder. “I don’t believe that and I never
will.”
Shangguan Ru did not wish to defend herself. She even vaguely sensed a
killing intent stirring in her heart. This was something that she had not felt for
years.
Why did she hate Maid Lotus? Shangguan Ru asked herself. Although Maid
Lotus was not loyal to her, she had not betrayed her like how Master Yu,
Slave Huan or even her parents and brother had. This quiet and resourceful
female killer had only done what she had to do.
Her killing desire was like a malnourished seed, withering as soon as it

budded. All of a sudden, Shangguan Ru felt relaxed from the inside out and
was able to speak more candidly.
“Even though Old Man Mu kills people, you have killed as well. Everybody
is killing people, and it is neverending. Just trust me once, Maid Lotus. I will
bring him to the most remote place ever and will never let him have the
opportunity to kill anyone ever again. I can guarantee with my life.”
“I believe you, Tenth Young Master.” Maid Lotus said as she took a step
back. “However, once he regains his Kung Fu, no one in the world will be
able to stop him. There will never be a peaceful day for New Moon Hall and
the Great Snowmountain if I don’t get rid of him.”
“Then, you will have to get through me first.” Shangguan Ru raised her
wooden saber. If it had been a few days ago, she would not hesitate to hand
over Old Man Mu. But after several days of getting to know him, what she
saw was not a demon killer but a small fellow who was poor in Kung Fu,
someone who was forthright and unbashful, merely seeking protection.
Maid Lotus was silent for a moment. Either she seemed to be considering the
options or maybe she was waiting for Shangguan Ru to change her mind.
Then she said, “Sorry if I offend you.”
Shangguan Ru gripped her wooden saber tightly. She knew she was not Maid
Lotus’ match. All she could think about was the two Kung Fu skills that she
recently learned and hoped to achieve good results.
Maid Lotus’ first strike was not directed at her, however.
Old Man Mu only had less than 10% of his Internal Strength left, however,
his eyesight was still sharp. He realized that things were bad as soon as he
saw Maid Lotus drew out her sword, but he could only let out a half shout.
“Ah”.
The sword went through his chest.
Maid Lotus had already retreated several steps away. She was not one to take
risks even when facing an opponent who had lost almost all of their Kung Fu.
Moreover, she was well aware that Old Man Mu wore a thin bulletproof
armor. No one had taken it from him when he was captured since he had been
immediately tied up.
Like a broken doll that had been passed down for several generations, Old
Man Mu staggered to the ground, his right shoulder bleeding profusely. He
tapped his chest and said, “I thought you would stab here instead.”
He did not wear his thin armor but had a breastplate in place. He paid special
attention to protect his own heart since he liked going around digging out
others’ hearts.
The first move from Maid Lotus was just a test. Indeed, Old Man Mu had not
fully recovered his skills, and this would make things much easier.
She moved slowly and her gaze did not fall on either of them. It was as
though she was a girl next door strolling through her garden, having thoughts
of a young girl and not paying particular attention to the people and things
around her.
Then, her second strike came. It was as fast as a lizard’s long tongue swiping
for flies.
Once again, Old Man Mu could clearly preempt it, but there was nothing he
could do about it.
Fortunately, Shangguan Ru finally made a move. She came to Old Man Mu’s
side almost at the same time as Maid Lotus.
But her “almost” could not hold back an expert’s sword and neither could it
save people.
Shangguan Ru had been in cruel battles and went through near-death

experiences, she was also once surrounded by hundreds of thousands of
enemies. However, she had never felt as overwhelmed as she felt now.
Just watching by the side, she still had not felt that Maid Lotus was much
stronger than her. But she realized that the two of them were of different
levels once she really started attacking.
Maid Lotus’ speed was slightly faster than her. To normal people, it was
small enough that it could be ignored, but it was something that Shangguan
Ru could not mend even if she tried her best.
On the other hand, Maid Lotus did not seem to pay much attention to
guarding against Shangguan Ru. She would attack, retreat and observe the
results at her own pace.
The sword struck Old Man Mu’s left calf. Although it did not bleed much, he
still yelped from the pain, “Hehe, this b*tch is ruthless indeed. But you made
the wrong move. Might as well kowtow and beg me if you want to learn my
kung fu. If you are hoping to threaten me by disabling my Kung Fu, why not
use a honey trap on me? I might become enamored and perhaps be willing to
teach you some skills, you know?”
Maid Lotus did not wish to kill Old Man Mu right away, she had merely
damaged his leg tendons and ignored his verbal provocation. Again, she
continued to pace slowly at a dozen paces away.
Somewhat bashful, Shangguan Ru stood in front of Old Man Mu and said,

“You already possess Wayless Book and the occult sciences of New Moon
Hall, why do you still want other people’s Kung Fu?”
Maid Lotus actually did not find it necessary to say anything more to her
former master. Although Shangguan Ru had grown up, she was still a little
girl in her heart. Except for her somewhat disheartened temperament, she was
still as naive as before, therefore there were many things that she would never
understand.
But she still spoke, not so much as to explain to Shangguan Ru, but to
threaten Old Man Mu, “There is no end to learning, there will always be
experts beyond our imagination who exist in this world. Since I am already in
the jianghu, I must always move forward and continue to excel.”
If not for the two painful wounds on his body, Old Man Mu almost wanted to
applaud her explanation. He said, “Yes, you are right. Shangguan Ru, you
should really learn from Maid Lotus.”
Shangguan Ru could not think of anything to rebut, but she was not
convinced by what Maid Lotus said either. She was still very vigilant, hoping
that she could block Maid Lotus’ next move when she drew her sword out.
To the eyes of Shangguan Ru, the third blow from Maid Lotus was without
any warning. Just when she drew out her wooden saber, a grey shadow
passed by and Maid Lotus had already returned to her original position.
This time, the sword damaged the tendons on Old Man Mu’s right wrist. No
matter how powerful his Internal Strength was, two more blows from Maid
Lotus and Old Man Mu’s Kung Fu would be disabled, he would no longer be
able to use Foxlike Movement Skill and Five Hole Punch anymore.
“Hold on.” Old Man Mu started to panic. Losing his Kung Fu was his biggest
nightmare and he had never thought it would happen today. He said, “Just
what kind of Kung Fu do you want to learn? Speak, so that I can think about
it. All these blows one after another, how am I supposed to guess what you
want?”
Maid Lotus paced leisurely and did not seem to be in a rush. Dawn would
soon arrive and she had already predicted that Old Man Mu would comply.
“All of it.” She replied, leaving no room for negotiation.
“Ambitious, ruthless, and smart enough, you are indeed my type. Ever since
your Master, nothing had moved my heart for the past ten years.”
Old Man Mu began to speak lewdly again although it did not bother Maid
Lotus at all. But Shangguan Ru had enough of it, so she said, “Shut up, Old
Man Mu. If you are going to sprout any more nonsense, then you will have to
fight her yourself.”
Old Man Mu, however, was unexpectedly ungrateful, he said, “You still have
the cheek to say, little girl? You promised to protect me but you could not
even block half of her blows. There is no difference with or without you, isn’t
it?”
Shangguan Ru grunted in reply, but she did not move away. Although the
killing desire within her was gone forever, her competitiveness was still
strong. Rather than protecting Old Man Mu, it was more toward the fact that
she could not believe she was unable to block off Maid Lotus’ sword.
“I surrender. All my Kung Fu belongs to you, Maid Lotus.” Old Man Mu
peeked out from behind Shangguan Ru. He did not plan to fight when the
odds were against him.
“Very well.”
“But I have one condition.”
Maid Lotus hesitated slightly; she thought Old Man Mu was going to come
up with some obscene suggestion again, so she said, “Say it.”
“This old man has no other hobbies but have enjoyed killing people my
whole life. I am so bored after not seeing a corpse for more than 10 days. I
can’t kill now, as you know. So how about you kill off this useless little girl
here? Make me happy, and I will teach you my Kung Fu.”
Chapter 374 - Acupoint Technique
Chapter 374: Acupoint Technique
Old Man Mu turned on Shangguan Ru in an instant, intending to kill the one

who had vowed to protect him.
Even though she was accustomed to betrayals, Shangguan Ru could not help
but be slightly annoyed by it. However, she ignored Old Man Mu behind her
and continued to keep her gaze on Maid Lotus’ every move, looking for any
trace as to when Maid Lotus would draw her sword.
This was a duel between the two of them and had nothing to do with others.
Maid Lotus did not answer and Old Man Mu grew impatient, so he urged,
“Answer me, do you agree or disagree with what I suggested?”
TAs the sun was rising from the eastern horizon, the thin night was already
frantically retreating.
Maid Lotus answered with the sword in her hand.
Her fourth blow was still as fast as lightning and her target remained on Old
Man Mu. This time, it was the tendons on his left wrist that was damaged by
the sword.
Maid Lotus did not retreat back to her original spot, however. She deviated
five steps to the right and looked at Shangguan Ru in surprise.
Shangguan Ru had finally caught up with Maid Lotus’ blow. Although she
had been unable to stop Maid Lotus, she had managed to force her to change
direction.
Old Man Mu heaved helplessly, “Sister Maid Lotus, Aunt Maid Lotus, my
Grand Aunt Maid Lotus, just what are you thinking? If you want to speak
your mind, feel free. I am like a lamb being led to slaughter, I am the most
obedient person in the world. You don’t have to cut me into pieces, right?”
For the first time since her first blow, Maid Lotus seriously sized Shangguan
Ru up. But her words were directed to Old Man Mu, “Your Kung Fu is out of
this world and you can go back on your word at any time. No one can restrict
you. I have no choice but to destroy your Kung Fu.”
Old Man Mu’s face was as pale as a sheet of paper, partly due to the pain and
partly due to fear. “If you destroy my Kung Fu… I… I will kill myself!”
Her gaze shifted away from Shangguan Ru as she continued to pace slowly,
circling Old Man Mu, “Without your Kung Fu, you cannot die as you wish.
You should know that better than me. You have tortured many helpless
people, Old Man Mu. It is time for you to pay your debts.”
Sweat began to trickle down Old Man Mu’s forehead. “Can’t I repay my
debts in my next life? Let me reincarnate as a pig, I will be slaughtered at
birth and then eaten as a roast suckling pig.”
Maid Lotus did not speak further, she had no interest in sparring with words.
Both Golden Roc Fort and New Moon Hall had taught her the same principle:
Always be in control of the situation as much as possible.
The promise of the strong was not credible. No matter how sincere his
promise was, once Old Man Mu regained his Kung Fu, the first thing he
would probably do was to kill Maid Lotus in revenge.
Furthermore, the weak had no conditions to speak of. Old Man Mu, whose
limbs and tendons were damaged was at the mercy of others; there was no
need for her to promise him anything.
One more move and the tendons on Old Man Mu’s right leg would be
damaged as well.
Old Man Mu’s gasps were getting heavier. He had met his match. New Moon
Hall was full of crazy people indeed , he thought. He had endured for more
than ten years and returned to Jianghu only to be ruined at the hands of a
New Moon Hall disciple again. “Hey, good girl, If there is still a trace of
kindness in you, just turn around and kill me, yeah? I rather go to hell and fall
into the hands of the King of Hell than suffer under this crazy woman.”
Shangguan Ru did not respond to Old Man Mu’s plea. All her energy was
focused on Maid Lotus. Even her breathing and heartbeat was in synchrony
with hers.
Maid Lotus stopped in her tracks, she said, “Are you really willing to die for
a devil who is a stranger to you?”
Shangguan Ru still did not respond. She was afraid of losing her judgment
toward Maid Lotus once she opened her mouth. She knew in her heart that
she would not die for anybody, and Old Man Mu was frankly not important
for her to protect with her life.
Maid Lotus’ fifth blow was no longer targeted at Old Man Mu.
It was time to end things anyway. She had already done everything that she
could. The Tenth Young Master was not her master and she had never been.
Killing her was just a job that had been delayed for too long. Years ago, the
few killers had already planned to kill their master, but Slave Huan had ended
up giving many reasons to abort the plan. That plan would be realized today.
Through the four blows exchanged just now, Maid Lotus had learned how
Shangguan Ru moved and was very confident in her next move. Therefore,
she was taken aback when the sword completely missed the target.
Shangguan Ru had disappeared.
Old Man Mu had already forgotten about his pain and injuries, he was staring
the situation in front of him with a fixed gaze. Whether or not his carefully
thought plan would come through would depend on their next moves.
Just one more day, he thought, even if it was just a few more hours if
Shangguan Ru could have more time to practice that two sets of kungfu
more, their odds would be better as well.
Shangguan Ru had dodged Maid Lotus’ sword using the Subtle Shadow
Lightness Skills.
Old Man Mu was right. Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills was a Lightness
Skills that was dedicated for fleeing, it would not stop the opponent from
attacking the third party and was only effective when Maid Lotus changed
her target to Shangguan Ru.
Chasing and being chased were two different things. Even if Shangguan Ru
failed to catch up with Maid Lotus, that did not mean that Maid Lotus would
able to catch up with her either.
Maid Lotus struck five to six blows in total, each blow skimming Shangguan
Ru’s clothing, but always half an inch away from hitting the target.
Old Man Mu was nervous. It was no use just trying to avoid the opponent,
Shangguan Ru would always be at a disadvantage if this continued. Once she
slipped up, she would be struck by the sword.
She must defeat Maid Lotus with the Finger of Immobilisation.
“Just one time, just once…” He whispered aloud, unconsciously.
Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills was a rare Lightness Skills in the martial arts
world. Even when Old Man Mu had exchanged his Kung Fu in return for the
specially-made pills for his injuries, he had not taught this manual to them.
To the Master of Xiaoyue Hall, Han Wuxian, there was no point in fleeing
for life.
Therefore, when Maid Lotus saw this illusory and elusive Lightness Skills,
she was confused all of a sudden. But after 10 more blows, she began to
understand the secret behind it, and her sword began to strike closer to
Shangguan Ru.
“Hit!” Old Man Mu could not help but let out a cry.
In that instant, Shangguan Ru took an important step forward and she

managed to come up behind Maid Lotus from an incredible angle. Turning to
face her, she seized that fleeting opportunity and struck Maid Lotus with her
finger.
Maid Lotus practiced the Death Scripture swordcraft and even if she was
using other types of Kung Fu, she would still follow the principles in the
scripture by always attacking and not defending. She did not think that
Shangguan Ru would actually reverse her defense into attack and certainly
did not expect herself to be attacked by her.
Even though that finger acupoint move was extremely light and only went
past her chest, it disrupted Shangguan Ru’s pace. It was then that Maid Lotus
took a step back and thrust her sword. She was certain that her opponent had
nowhere to run.
However, her strength had suddenly disappeared. Maid Lotus thought she
missed a step as the ground under her turned into nothingness. She saw her
sword tip touching Shangguan Ru but the sword was no longer under her
control and it would not move forward.
Impossible , was what Maid Lotus had on her mind before she collapsed.
Shangguan Ru’s face was pale and her hair was disheveled. There was no joy
from the victory she had just won. She did not even understand why she was
enemies with Maid Lotus.
Old Man Mu jumped up excitedly as he supported his whole body with his
only intact right leg. He hopped over on one leg to Maid Lotus’ side and
kicked her with his dangling left leg, “You…”
Even though it was a harmless kick from the frail old man, Shangguan Ru
picked him up and put him aside, “You are not allowed to touch her.”
“She wants to kill me… and you, good girl. You should no longer be
softhearted.”
“Didn’t you want to kill me as well? I still saved you.”
Old Man Mu hopped around to keep his balance and shook his head
repeatedly, “It’s not the same, not the same. I was trying to trick her, I never
really wanted you killed. But this little crazy woman is different! I think she
is trying to get rid of her love rival so that Dragon King…”
Old Man Mu stopped himself in time. This was a taboo topic and there was
no reason to offend Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru looked at Maid Lotus who had collapsed before realizing

something was not right. Maid Lotus was not immobilized and still, but had
collapsed limply instead, her cheeks were also becoming redder as if she had
suffered a serious internal injury.
“What happened to her?” Shangguan Ru asked in surprise. She knelt to one

knee to check for Maid Lotus’ breath and realized that her breath was weak
and scattered, and even showed signs of qigong deviation.
Old Man Mu had already found the knack of standing on one leg and no
longer needed to jump around to balance himself. He bent down to take a
look, before curling his lip and said, “I think she was too temperamental and
too furious that she was defeated by you…”
“Tell the truth!” Shangguan Ru grabbed Maid Lotus’ sword and held it to Old
Man Mu’ chest. She was certain that he was lying.
“Why? Do you want to kill me? Do it then.”
Shangguan Ru was fuming. She was still being used in the end. Even the
deepest part of the wilderness was still full of deception and betrayal. She
said, “You did not teach me the Finger of Immobilisation.”
Old Man Mu was certain that “good girl” would not harm him, but he was
too proud of his plan. After holding it in for a while, he burst out laughing,
only stopping when he was trembling and in danger of losing his balance.
“Haha, good girl. Let me tell you. It’s called the Seven Circles Seven
Apertures Heart Stopping Finger. It’s almost the same as the Finger of
Immobilization. You are blessed to learn it.”
Shangguan Ru had never heard of this Kung Fu before, but since the name
was also part of the “Seven Circles”, it must be one of the evil secrets from
the Manual of Seven Secret Techniques of New Moon Hall.
“You…” She was so furious that she did not know what to say, so she
continued, “Tell me how to save her.” Although she was full of doubt, saving
Maid Lotus was what she was most concerned about right now.
“I taught you how to restore the finger acupoints already. Just do it on her,
and I guarantee she will spring up immediately, even more energetic than
me.” That being said, that delighted expression on Old Man Mu’s face clearly
showed that this was yet another lie of his.
Shangguan Ru glanced at the flushed face of Maid Lotus and an

uncontrollable killing intent rose up in her. It was like a ball of sparks hidden
under ashes that would immediately burst into flames once it came in contact
with dry tinder.
Old Man Mu was more than familiar with such an expression, so he jumped
back and said, “Hey, sober up. Don’t forget you cannot kill people. I’m
already half disabled, you know…”
Shangguan Ru’s dark big eyes showed a hint of crazed desperation, and it
reminded Old Man Mu of the crazy women from New Moon Hall.
“Tell me the truth or else… I will kill you and then commit suicide myself.
Since I have already killed Maid Lotus, it doesn’t matter if I kill one more
person.”
Women are all crazy indeed, no wonder New Moon Hall only accepts female
disciples. Old Man Mu thought to himself as he grasped that realization.
Then, he looked up at Shangguan Ru, trying to gauge her determination.
“Alright, alright. You win, okay? I will tell you how to save her.”
Shangguan Ru’s eyes were moist and almost seemed like she was about to
cry. But Old Man Mu did not soften. He said, “There are many ways to save
a person, but tears are definitely not one of them. You better wait for her to
wake up, then the two of you can hug and weep bitterly together.”
“Speak.”
“Ha, it is actually very simple! Young people like you don’t like to learn and
tend to make a frantic last-minute effort…” Old Man Mu still wanted to nag
for a bit. Shangguan Ru shifted the sword tip and he immediately went
straight to the point. “The two of you practiced the Wayless Qigong and is of
the same spirit. Use your Qi to unclog her meridians and it will be fine.”
Old Man Mu’s words were often half-truths and Shangguan Ru did not know
whether to believe him this time.
Chapter 375 - Getting Fooled
Chapter 375: Getting Fooled
Shangguan Ru carried Maid Lotus into the tent and healed her using Wayless
Qigong. Old Man Mu’s words were not to be trusted, but she had no other
choice.
Old Man Mu hid in the luggage and did not dare to move again. He waited
for Shangguan Ru to help him reattach his broken tendons, but his mouth
simply refused to be idle, not caring if his incessant talking would bother the
two people in the tent.
“This old fellow is so lucky! All the deities and buddhas in the heavens who
bless the wicked will never let me die, haha.”
“How did I even come up with the Seven Circles seven apertures Heart
Stopping Finger? I really admire you, you old fellow!”
“Be it Jueyin Touch or Peripheral Force, compared to me, everyone else are
fireflies vying with the sun and moon for light. I bet Han Wuxian didn’t
expect me to be so clever when she revealed the secret techniques of the New
Moon Hall and asked me to fix their flaws. Not only did I manage to fix the
flaws, I even created a new manual! The Manual of Seven Secret Techniques
has one more unique skill because of me.”
“New Moon Hall likes to plant things into people’s bodies so as to coerce
them to obey. Hehe, I will give them a taste of their own medicine by
inventing the Heart Stopping Finger, specially made to counteract against
New Moon Hall. Plus, it’s easy and simple, just a little force from the fingers
will cause them to suffer from qigong deviation. Maid Lotus will be your
minion from now on, good girl!”
“I wanted that old crazy woman, Han Wuxian, to experience this for the very
first time, but who knew that this little crazy woman robbed her of that
opportunity.”
“Old fellow here really is quite lucky, isn’t it? Good girl, how did you learn
Heart Stopping Finger so quickly if you do not have prior knowledge of
Wayless Qigong? I, myself took three months to master it. You had no idea,
right? Actually, the Manual of Seven Secret Techniques was based on
Wayless Qigong as well. All of the occult sciences of New Moon Hall are
based on it. That is why they had to steal the divine kung fu by all means
necessary. The two sects were originally one family, do you understand?”
“The most interesting thing was that I had just reached the Fire Level of Five
Hole Punch for the heart, and my heart pulse was as solid as a massive rock.
Even if the New Moon Hall disciplines attacked me with the Seven Circles
seven apertures Heart Stopping Finger, it would have had no effect on me.
Haha, good girl, you’ve been fooled. But you scared me as well! Last night, I
almost died when you attacked me with it, you know? Especially since my
Internal Strength has not fully recovered yet.”
“Look, stop helping the little crazy woman and help me attach my tendons
back. There are a total of seven moves for the Heart Stopping Finger and
you’ve only learned two moves. There are still five more moves, you
know…”
The luggage was removed from his body as Shangguan Ru stared down at
him coldly.
The sunlight shone directly on him, and in an instant, his gleeful gloating
evaporated into a wisp of smoke. Old Man Mu immediately shriveled and
raised his arms to cover his face. He let out a series of strange groans and
then pleaded, “Cover me, cover me.”
However, Shangguan Ru hardened her heart and threw the luggage to one
side, letting Old Man Mu writhe painfully in the sun.
“Good girl… spare… please spare me.”

Old Man Mu had no principles: he would terrorize others when he was
formidable but was not ashamed to plead for mercy when he was weak.
Shangguan Ru squatted down and reattached his three broken tendons, then
get up and left. She did not stop until she no longer heard his wailing.
Plants in the marsh had started to bud.
Spring was arriving, but Shangguan Ru’s heart was as heavy as a rock and as
brittle as the cold winter.
Just because she was born in the Stone Castle, did that mean she would never
be able to run away from deception and betrayal? Even in the wilderness and
surrounded by only two people, the scheming and plotting never stopped,
even she was forced to scheme and plot as well. It used to be something she
took pride in, but now it sickened her.
The spring breeze blew past and Shangguan Ru gradually calmed down. She
even felt a hint of joy.
From now on, her life would be used to repay all the evil things that she had
done in the past. The thought that the hardships she was suffering now were
compensation for her previous sins fueled her.
Old Man Mu was still writhing around on the ground when Shangguan Ru
returned to place the luggage over him again.
“You… you…” Old Man Mu was so weak that he almost could not speak.
“You promised me that you would never kill again.” Shangguan Ru’s tone
was calm and she no longer felt remorse for what she was about to do.
“I… I didn’t kill anybody.”
“You almost made me kill Maid Lotus.”
“Is it also counted? You didn’t say so earlier. I thought that as long as I did
not do it with my own hands, it wouldn’t count as breaking the promise. Old
fellow won’t dare to do so again, please don’t torture me anymore.”
“You also mentioned that you would accept my supervision from now on.”
Shangguan Ru continued on her own train of thought.
“Yes. If the good girl doesn’t want me to kill, I won’t even kill a rabbit.”
“But Maid Lotus was right. Your Kung Fu is too powerful. Once you restore
your skills, no one will be able to control you.”
“I can teach you the best Kung Fu, then you will be a hundred times stronger
than me.”
“I don’t want to learn your Kung Fu.”
“Then… what do you want to do?” Old Man Mu asked. He had a bad feeling
about what was going to come next. His voice was no longer haughty but
became suspicious and rigid.
“Very simple. As long as your Kung Fu is not restored, I will be able to

supervise you and prevent you from killing innocent people.”
No sound came from the luggage. Old Man Mu seemed to have turned into a
block of wood.
“From now on, I will need you to bask in the sun every 15 days. This way,
your Kung Fu will only partially recover. Since you don’t want to kill people
anymore, there’s no use having such good Kung Fu skills.”
Shangguan Ru finally finished telling Old Man Mu about her plan. Ever since
bringing Old Man Mu along with her, she had been thinking about this
problem. It was not all empty talk when she told Maid Lotus that she had a
way to control this devil. She had actually been coming up with this plan for
a long time.
But she saw how much he suffered under the sun and was still somewhat
reluctant. It was only after being deceived by him and almost killing Maid
Lotus with the Seven Circles seven apertures Heart Stopping Finger that she
made up her mind to do so.
To Shangguan Ru, it was a difficult decision. To Old Man Mu, the news was
like a thunderbolt out of a clear sky.
He was still in cloud nine after having successfully deceived Shangguan Ru,
but in a twinkling of an eye, he became the one who was fooled. Even Old
Man Mu. who had experienced countless storms and waves, was dizzy from
it.
“You… you…” Old Man Mu was full of indignation; he felt that he was the
most unfortunate person in the world. “How could you do this? This old man
here was dead set on believing that you will not do evils. You are a good
person, you should be the female Buddha, you know. Why did you learn
from evil people like me?”
Shangguan Ru’s face flushed, and her conviction was swayed once again. But
she knew that her decision was final and unwavering, so she said
apologetically: “I never wanted to be a Buddha. But I saved your life. So
from now on, every person that you kill is akin to me killing as well.
Therefore I could only come up with this plan. But rest assured that I will
always take you with me, and will not let you suffer from hunger and cold.”
“Damn you, do you think I am some kitten or puppy? How about I’ll give
you a chain, you might as well chain me up or something.” Old Man Mu was
furious and no longer in the mood to please Shangguan Ru.
“Uh…” Shangguan Ru had thought of that idea as well, just that she was too
shy to voice it out.
Old Man Mu was in despair and started hurling verbal abuse at her. His
language was as colorful as his words of flattery and full of patterns.
Suddenly, the “good girl” Shangguan Ru became a “bad woman” with many
unflattering occupations.
Shangguan Ru could understand his pain, not to mention that she also could
not fully understand most of the swear words, so she said, “Have a good rest,
don’t let your wounds split open again.” Then she went into the tent and let
Old Man Mu vent his anger alone.
In the tent, Maid Lotus was still in a coma, but her condition seemed better
given that her complexion had returned to normal.
If Old Man Mu was right, the lurking danger of qigong deviation had already
been planted in Maid Lotus’ body even though her conditioned had
stabilized.
Shangguan Ru did not wish to control people using such evil means, she
wanted to wait for Old Man Mu to calm down before asking him for a
solution. She wanted to set Maid Lotus free and then find a way to evade her
tracking.
Doing good was always much more difficult than doing evil. Shangguan Ru
recalled the times when both Kun and Qiu society fought against each other
and felt it quite comparable to today’s situation.
Maid Lotus was also a killing devil herself, but Dragon King needed her.
Shangguan Ru agonized over her thoughts and turned a deaf ear to the curses
outside the tent.
Maid Lotus’s sword was still lying on the ground, Shangguan Ru picked it up
and put it back into the scabbard. She noticed that there was a small “Yun”
word carved into the sword shaft. Maid Lotus still owned another sword
which was broken. She had not discarded it and that sword had the word
“Huan” carved on it.
Seeing this, Shangguan Ru was even more determined to save her. She would
return Maid Lotus in good condition back to Dragon King.
Maid Lotus woke up in that evening. Even comatose, she had a general idea
of what had happened and that familiar yet unfamiliar force planted by the
finger explained everything: Once again, she was being controlled.
“You won.” There was not a trace of emotion in Maid Lotus’ voice. “I will
carry out all your orders, and will not pretend to be happy. I won’t waste time
to make excuses.”
“You don’t have to do anything.” Shangguan Ru suddenly had a thought,

even though she felt it ridiculous. “What if I ask you to leave him?”
“Whatever the master says.”
Maid Lotus was still indifferent. However, Shangguan Ru was panicked and
ashamed. “You don’t have to follow my orders. I will try my best to remove
the Heart Stopping Finger.”
The indifference shown by Maid Lotus made her seem inhuman; she was
neither thankful nor doubtful towards Shangguan Ru.
It sent chills down her spine. Shangguan Ru would rather sleep in the
wilderness than stay in the same tent as the female killer.
Outside the tent, there was no noise for a while after Old Man Mu got tired of
cursing.
The night was getting darker, so Shangguan Ru helped him take off the
luggage. She was shocked to see two lines of tears running down his
wrinkled face.
“You…” Shangguan Ru tried to recall the victims whose hearts were dug out
by Old Man Mu so that she could remember that he was really the devil who
terrified the Western Region.
“Do I not have feelings? Can’t I cry?” Old Man Mu seemed not the least bit
embarrassed as more tears flowed down his face. “I trusted you so much and
really thought that you are a good girl, a living Buddha even! But you lied to
me!”
“Since you now know that being cheated doesn’t feel good, then you should
not have deceived so many people.”
“How can that be the same? Everybody knows that being defeated is not a
good feeling, but everybody wants to defeat others. It’s because I’ve deceived
too many people, therefore, I cannot accept being lied to by you.”
Old Man Mu’s words often sounded both logical and ridiculous. Shangguan
Ru knew that it was wrong but she could not argue with him, so she dropped
the whole subject altogether, “The Heart Stopping Finger in Maid Lotus’
body, how can it be removed?”
“Remove? Why do you want to remove it? Even if you have no ambitions,
you can also make her carry your luggage or something. If you don’t like her,
give her to me then.”
“Don’t you worry about what I do. Tell me the method.”
“I won’t say, even if you kill me, I won’t say a thing.”
“At first, I said I will tan you in the sun every 15 days…”
“Haha, you really don’t know how to take a joke. It’s simple. If you want to
remove the Heart Stopping Finger entirely, you will need to learn all of the
seven moves of Heart Stopping Finger, then you will have the power to claim
life or death.”
The thought of learning Kung Fu from Old Man Mu again made Shangguan
Ru very uneasy.
Chapter 376 - Doing Evil
Chapter 376: Doing Evil
It was an odd temporary group in which everybody was wary of one another,
yet for now, they could only depend on one another.
Old Man Mu was injured and could not move for the time being, so for three
days, they remained where they were.
Maid Lotus had already recovered fully except for the Heart Stopping Finger.
She had brought the horse hidden nearby and distributed dry goods and clean
water enough to last the three of them for several days. She also took
initiative and did all of the chores. However, like a submissive invisible
genie, she seldom spoke and would disappear once she finished her work.
Shangguan Ru devoted herself to learning the remaining five moves. She

questioned the usage of each move and even though Old Man Mu told her
everything he knew and was showing off most of the time, the more she
learned about them, the more frightened she was.
Combining the secret techniques of the New Moon Hall and his own wicked
Kung Fu, Old Man Mu had created the set of Heart Stopping Finger based on
the foundation of Jueyin Touch and Peripheral Force. Although it looked
unimpressive on the surface, the Kung Fu itself was dark and vicious. The
opponent would neither die nor live and his heart pulse would either be
immediately damaged or secretly remain as a danger within the body. The
skill was most effective for those who had practiced New Moon Hall’s Kung
Fu.
Although there were only seven moves in total, there were many variations
once it was combined together. Often, there was only a very slight difference
between saving one’s life or killing someone. Just as Old Man Mu said, it all
depended on the person’s mood to either use the moves to kill or to save.
Shangguan Ru secretly vowed to forget this acupoint technique and would

never use it again after helping Maid Lotus to remove the Heart Stopping
Finger.
With the Wayless Qigong as a foundation, Shangguan Ru was a fast learner

and quickly learned six moves in just three days. Although she was far from
skillful, she no longer needed Old Man Mu’s guidance.
Only the third move was difficult for Shangguan Ru to get past.
The move was one that Old Man Mu was proud of. To him, it was a move
that was too easy to learn and use. “What’s there to it? As long as you master
the strength properly, the killing move will become a saving move. Once you
practice more you will naturally be able to understand how to use it correctly.
Just wait till I regain my Kung Fu…”
Old Man Mu would heave endless sighs whenever this matter was brought
up.
It was easy for him to say, but Shangguan Ru did not dare to try the move. To
her, the third move of the Heart Stopping Finger was hard to master because
of the control of strength. If it was too much, the person being attacked by it
would die right away. But if the strength was weak, it would not serve its
purpose. Only when the control of strength was just right, then the heart pulse
would be protected, and the killing move would become one that could save
others.
But how could she just try it out? She could only try to figure it out slowly.
Yet the move was the core to removing the Heart Stopping Finger. She would
not be able to save Maid Lotus if she was unable to master it.
Old Man Mu flung his hands in despair as there was no other way to it. He
said, “It all depends on whether or not you are sincere in saving her. Go
somewhere with more people and try the move on some unlucky person.
Maybe then you’ll find the knack for it at once. Hell, you won’t even have to
kill someone!”
Shangguan Ru sometimes doubted Old Man Mu’s motives and wondered if
he was trying his best to reignite the killing desire within her.
Three days later, they set out on their journey. Both Old Man Mu and Maid
Lotus had no destination in mind, while Shangguan Ru only wished to be as
far away from the Western Region as possible. So they continued to head
down south.
Once the dry goods were eaten, Maid Lotus took on the responsibility to hunt
and make food. Her expertise in this area was as superb as her Kung Fu. Old
Man Mu was full of praise for the grilled meat she provided that he even
forgot about his broken tendons. “I knew there was an advantage in bringing
along a slave. Do you see it, good girl? Can you make such delicious food?
Let me tell you, you will be reluctant to even let her go once you get used to
this.”
Shangguan Ru really wanted to help Maid Lotus remove the Heart Stopping
Finger immediately, but she did not dare to do so when she was still
uncertain.
She confessed the truth about the third move of the Heart Stopping Finger,
but Maid Lotus treated it as a test from her master and did not express much
interest in it, as if she had no complaints about serving the Tenth Young
Master.
Shangguan Ru had no choice but to seek help from Old Man Mu again, “You
mentioned that the Five Hole Punch can protect one’s heart pulse.”
He understood what she was trying to say, so he said, “I did mention it

before, but I don’t have much Kung Fu now. I can perhaps manage to block
off the first move of the Heart Stopping Finger, but I definitely cannot block
the third move. Good girl, you can’t possibly show preference in your
treatment towards us and want to sacrifice me for Maid Lotus, right?
Actually, your worry is uncalled for. Even if you turn Maid Lotus into a fairy
and sent her back, Dragon King will not thank you for it. Men… forget it, I
won’t say anymore.”
However, Old Man Mu’s mouth was never idle. As the 15th day was
approaching, his real motive was also gradually revealed: To make
Shangguan Ru into a villain like himself.
His idea was simple. Most good people were stubborn in their own opinions,
but the villains would act accordingly to changing situations as deemed fit.
Once the good girl turned into a bad girl, he would be able to offer irresistible
conditions in exchange for restoring his Kung Fu.
Teaching the Seven Circles seven apertures Heart Stopping Finger was just a
start. He would still need to exert a subtle influence and change Shangguan
Ru’ prejudice against villains.
“Becoming evil is easy, but it’s not easy when you are trying to become a
villain who is multifaceted.”
That night, Old Man Mu started talking to the tent walls. Only Shangguan Ru
was in the tent, Maid Lotus had gone off somewhere nearby to stand guard
unnecessarily.
Old Man Mu would take it as an acknowledgment whenever there was no

reply and would continue talking to himself, “The low-level villains need to
make up reasons to persuade himself before committing evil. All mortal
beings are like that. For example, ‘This guy owes me’, ‘If people can get it,
then I can take it too!’, or ‘He started it first, that’s why I was evil to him
too.’ These kinds of evil have no standard.”
He felt that Shangguan Ru would not be interested in these low-level villains,

so after coughing twice, Old Man Mu continued to explain, “Intermediate
villains, their reasons are created by others. For example, Dragon King. His
father was killed by Golden Roc Fort, therefore, he would need to be evil in
order to seek revenge.”
This was something that even Shangguan Ru would have no interest in, so he
hastened and said, “The high-level villains, create their own reasons for doing
evil, mind you, it’s creation, not a fabrication. For example, your father the
Supreme King is a good example. He wants to dominate the Western Region
and take over the world, therefore he’s ruthless. It doesn’t matter if you
haven’t offended him, as long as you block his path…”
Shangguan Ru was falling asleep, so Old Man Mu quickly switched to the
main topic and said: “I belonged to the top-level villains, I don’t need a
reason, be it fabricated, or created by others or themselves. I have no reason
and no target, therefore there is no end to my killing. My source of happiness
is derived from people’s pain. There is no end to the suffering of people in
this world, and therefore there is no end to my happiness. So guess, what did
I get?”
Shangguan Ru was not a good listener, and did not even humor him with a
reply. But Old Man Mu had gotten very excited, “Freedom! I got freedom!
Good girl, take a good look at yourself. You want to do good but you are
caught in a dilemma. Can’t do this or that. You don’t even dare to see your
former relatives and can only seek to go somewhere isolated. Why torture
yourself like that? Once you change your perspectives, you will be as free as
I am.”
Like a spring which could not stop bouncing, Old Man Mu limped around
outside the tent talking excitedly, “Top-level villains are hard to be, you need
to have extraordinary Kung Fu. Look at me now, even though I possess a
heart of freedom, but I am still being chased by Maid Lotus like a bereaved
dog and surrendered to you. Good girl, use me as your guide, you have a
good foundation and I can make you invincible in less than three years. Once
you taste that freedom to do whatever you want…”
Shangguan Ru walked out of the tent. Old Man Mu was elated, “The world is
your oyster!”
What Shangguan Ru was holding was not “the world” but a piece of black
cloth instead. Without saying a word, she tied it firmly over his mouth and
turned back into the tent.
Old Man Mu was silent as he stood outside for a moment, then he tore off the
black cloth and mumbled in a low voice, “I don’t believe that you will be
willing to remain an ordinary person once you possess extraordinary Kung
Fu.”
Then he placed the cloth back in its original position and went round to
inspect with his hands at his back. After practicing the Seven Rotation Skill,
his night and day were reversed and he slept mostly in the luggage during the
day; nighttime was when he was active and energetic.
Once my hands and legs are almost recovered and I manage to regain back at
least half of my Kung Fu, would I not escape myself? Old Man Mu was not
worried, this was not the first time he had fallen into such a situation, and he
was confident that he would be able to triumph over the odds this time as
well.
These two women were difficult to deal with, especially Maid Lotus. She was
always so gloomy and seemed to always be hiding some sort of scheme.
Old Man Mu walked to a nearby bush and sat down. He pulled the black
cloth down to his neck and let out a sigh, “It’s a pity that I possess such an
amazing set of unique skills yet I have no one to pass on to. Even if a mouse
passes by, I would also accept it as a disciple and let it reign over the cats.”
Suddenly, Maid Lotus emerged from the shadows clutching her sword shaft
tightly. She was now the most skilled in Kung Fu among the three of them,
even though she was trapped by the Heart Stopping Finger and could not kill
people at will.
The two of them were several steps apart and looked at each other under the
dim night, each trying to guess the other’s real thoughts.
All of a sudden, Old Man Mu burst out laughing, “I rather teach rats than
crazy women. Fat chance!”
Old Man Mu felt that he had made a fool out of Maid Lotus and left feeling
satisfied, but Maid Lotus was not one who was easily angered. She looked at
the tent from afar and tried to figure out a way to escape.
It was not that Maid Lotus did not believe in Shangguan Ru. But years of
experience being a killer had taught her an irrefutable truth: Always try to be
in control of the situation. Pinning hopes on others might succeed ten times,
or perhaps even a hundred times, but just one failure was enough to make
your previous efforts go to naught.
The next night, Old Man Mu made his first escape attempt.
His hands and feet were almost fully recovered by now, but he still pretended
to walk with difficulty, hoping to fool the two girls who were keeping watch
over him.
Old Man Mu felt that he had run out for at least a dozen miles. At dawn, he
hid in a thick bush and carefully fell sleep.
However, when the sun was at its peak at noon, he could no longer sleep so
he opened his eyes and saw a dark thing falling from the sky.
He was back inside the familiar luggage and was led like a livestock by
Shangguan Ru. Maid Lotus’s horse had to carry other things and had no
space for him ride on it.
Just like that, Old Man Mu would try to escape if he could, or he would try to
persuade Shangguan Ru to be a villain like him.
The night before the first 15th day, he had the most intense reaction. He tried
to plead, threaten, lure, act shamelessly and even flee. He tried everything
and even harbored serious thoughts of assassinating Shangguan Ru.
As a result, Shangguan Ru threw him under the sun without an ounce of guilt.
After being in the sun for half a day, Old Man Mu quietened down. Even
Maid Lotus, who was the most vigilant, also assumed that he would not have
the energy to come up with any more tricks.
To their surprise, the weak and feeble Old Man Mu actually managed to
escape that night. Unlike the previous times, he left very few clues. All these
indicated that he had gone into the dense forest.
Chapter 377 - Pursuit After
Chapter 377: Pursuit After
Both Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were led into the Land of Fragrance by
Old Man Mu. As the two of them were chasing him into the forest, they had
not the slightest idea that they were three days ahead of Dragon King, who
was leading the remaining troops of the Great Snowmountain and marching
through the wilderness as well.
Old Man Mu had planned his escape for a long time. All his previous actions,
including the multiple escape attempts, were just a ruse to let the two girls let
their guard down. His Kung Fu had not yet fully recovered, but he was not
lacking in jianghu experiences.
Unlike Old Man Mu, Dragon King and his troops raided the villages where
the savages lived in order to collect supplies. However, Old Man Mu did not
dare approach places with traces of human habitation. He was afraid he
would leave visible trails and specifically chose to walk in secluded places
covered with dense trees and tall grass. Moreover, those areas ensured that
there was not much sunlight during the day so that he was able to travel
through day and night.
Maid Lotus was extremely skilled at tracking. No matter how small the clues
left by Old Man Mu were, she was always able to discover his tracks.
In the beginning, Shangguan Ru was very surprised because almost all the
greenery in her eyes looked the same. Gradually, she came to realize that the
methods used by Maid Lotus had all been taught by the killer mentors in
Golden Roc Fort. Everyone had learned it but not many could remember
when it comes to applying these methods in real life situations.
Due to this, Shangguan Ru’s respect and admiration for Maid Lotus grew.
During a short break, Shangguan Ru gave serious thought about the current
situation of Golden Roc Fort for the first time and came to understand many
things.
The decline of the Stone Castle was inevitable. As the castle continued to
cultivate stronger and powerful killers, the decline of the castle itself would
soon follow as well. This was because while the masters of the Stone Castle
enjoyed the safe environment created by these powerful killers, they
neglected the need to progress and improve along with them.
Compared to the ruthless and cruel experience of the killers, the power
struggle between the Shangguan children really were not worth mentioning.
A killer who grew by leaps and bounds would not endure the weakening
authority of his master forever.
The Stone Castle was like a gigantic rotting corpse, while it nourished worms
and larvae, at the same time, it was also withering increasingly day by day.
There would only be more traitors like Slave Huan and Maid Lotus and it
was only a matter of time when the rotting corpse was completely wiped out.
Shangguan Ru suddenly understood why her father was persistent in wanting

hegemony in the Western Region to fight for the title of King for the
Shangguan family. He wanted to make use of the loyalty shown by these
killers to set up a new empire and create a kingdom that would not rely on
just killers alone.
Rather than letting these killers end the Stone Castle, it was better for the
master to do it himself.
She also came to understand the pathetic and sorrowful behavior of the
current generation of the Shangguan children. They were still having fights
among themselves according to the traditions laid down by previous
generations and were not aware that their most important audience outside
the arena was already restless, their minds long drifting to matters that had
nothing to do with these power struggles.
This was also the reason why the most unusual son of the Supreme King was
suddenly in favor.
Third Young Master Shangguan Yun had always refused to become the
master of the killers. He was the only one among them who had actually
braved the real jianghu and understood the thoughts and needs of the
common people. This was a course that the future successor would need to
learn the most.
Therefore, even without the help of outsiders, the Supreme King would be
reminded of this son sooner or later.
It was as though the blind could see again; Shangguan Ru’s thoughts had
never been so clear and lucid. Moreover, what had triggered all of these was
due to Maid Lotus unconsciously performing the skills used by killers.
When they set out again, Shangguan Ru gave Maid Lotus a sincere smile.
Her resentment, secret or public, had all vanished. She realized that her fate
was neither arranged by gods or anyone else, but bound to the family’s
overall destiny. No one was to blame for this.
However, Maid Lotus was puzzled by her smile and increased her vigilance
toward her.
“To what extent do you think Old Man Mu has recovered his Kung Fu?”
Shangguan Ru asked quietly. In the enclosed forest, strangers tend to lower
their voices to speak, as if they were guests visiting for the first time. Only
the savages who had lived here for a long time spoke loudly, like the master
of this place.
During the several days traveling, they two of them seldom spoke to one
another. Maid Lotus was always the one who found the clues and Shangguan
Ru would follow silently. Therefore, her simple question perplexed Maid
Lotus.
“About 50 percent or so.” Maid Lotus never revealed her uncertainty easily,
so she added, “He is constantly on the road and has no time to practice his
Kung Fu, so his recovery will likely be slower.”
“Will Old Man Mu really lose all of his Internal Strength if he is exposed to
the sun for seven consecutive days?”
“That was what the book recorded.” Maid Lotus pondered for a moment, then
she continued, “They say Old Man Mu is the only one who has practiced the
Seven Rotation Skill in recent decades.”
“I hope you can forgive my mistake. I should have listened to you and tanned
him under the sunlight for seven days straight so that his Kung Fu could be
disabled completely.”
Maid Lotus paused for a moment. She would never have imagined hearing an
apology from the Tenth Young Master herself. “It’s alright. We still have
time to capture him.”
The two of them continued to track down Old Man Mu. It was also from this
day onward that Shangguan Ru’s attitude toward Maid Lotus changed
greatly. She was much warmer toward Maid Lotus as if they were good
friends who had known each other since childhood.
Shangguan Ru wanted to confide in Maid Lotus and let her understand that
all the Golden Roc killers, be it the loyal ones or the traitors, were on their
way to demise. Rather than just sneaking into the Stone Castle and seeking
revenge alone, Slave Huan grew to become Dragon King instead because he
had already realized this,
However, she was unable to find the right moment to say all these. Maid
Lotus’ suspicion was more impregnable than the stone walls of Golden Roc
Fort. It was not something that could be broken down easily, not even by
Shangguan Ru’s cordial attitude.
The two of them entered the Land of Fragrance on the 20th day of Old Man
Mu’s escape.
Dragon King and his soldiers from the Great Snowmountain wandered
around the forest for a few months because they did not know the way out.
Likewise, Old Man Mu chose secluded areas to travel because he did not
know the route as well. However, it only took him less than a month to
traverse through the shrouded maze.
In the remaining days, Old Man Mu’s Kung Fu had evidently improved, as
noticed by fewer traces he left behind. However, the two girls were already
very familiar with his tracks and routines by then. Just by speculating, they
were able to roughly make out his destination and they sped up their pursuit
as well.
They managed to catch up with Old Man Mu at the edge of the forest.
Old Man Mu fled down any path he stumbled upon and assumed that any
route that was remote and difficult to traverse would lead deeper into the
forest. Yet he did not expect the trees starting to become more and more
sparse, and there was an ambush waiting for him.
A total of five people, dressed in white robes and wearing strange masks
were hovering around the trees, emitting creepy, hollow noises.
These must be the strange monsters that the savages were talking about. They
had never dared to come near here because of this, and therefore had no
chance to discover the Land of Fragrance, a country rich in fertile land and
resources.
But in the eyes of Old Man Mu, these were merely rascals with ordinary
Kung Fu - they were just small preys for him to vent his anger.
“Finally, I see living people!” Old Man Mu smacked his lips and was so
excited that he almost wanted to eat these people. He had been living on
berries, grass, and leaves for the past few days and was really famished.
Only savages who had lost their way would occasionally intrude into this
passage, therefore, the five men who were acting creepily did not pay
attention to the small fellow, Old Man Mu. But they would never have
imagined that this small fellow here was a devil who would even kill real
ghosts.
Old Man Mu had already restored about 60-70 percent of his Kung Fu by
now. He was still wary of Maid Lotus but others were just ants to him.
Like a wanderer who had not seen his family for a long time, Old Man Mu let
out a whoop and rushed toward one of the “white mask ghosts”, killing him
with just one move. He held the fresh heart in his hand and shook his head.
“Sigh. It’s too much of a difference.”
The Five Hole Punch of the Fire level required the person to break the
opponent’s heart pulse immediately and the heart dug out should be done as
neatly as possible. Old Man Mu carefully observed the heart he held in his
hands under the moonlight and was unsatisfied the more he looked at it.
The remaining four “white mask ghosts” did not share the same thoughts as
this devil. Even after pretending to be ghosts for years, they were still as
timid as ever. After seeing the real “ghost”, they were much more afraid of
this than the savages in the forest. They let out a scream and quickly ran
away.
Old Man Mu could no longer withstand it once his interest in killing people
was piqued. He quickly chased after them using the Foxlike Movement Skill.
His actions were so rapid that it was really as though some ghost had come
running out from the forest.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus followed the sound of screams and arrived
just as Old Man Mu killed the fourth person.
Shangguan Ru had been slightly impatient and revealed her tracks too early.
Old Man Mu hesitated for a moment and decided to avoid them. Then, he
laughed loudly and rushed out of the forest, crawling into the tall grass.
The two girls followed closely behind. They would never let Old Man Mu
escape from their sight again.
Out of the “white mask ghosts” who were guarding the edge of the forest,
only one had managed to survive. Without even seeing clearly if the two
figures behind him were men or women, human or ghost, his legs went as
soft as dough. The moment he managed to stand up, he escaped to the capital
city and reported that things were not looking good. There were three ghosts
who had emerged from the forest and specially fed on the hearts dug out from
the victims.
The residents were rather dubious about this news but quickly grew pale with
fright upon seeing the four corpses, quickly carrying them back to the city.
No one dared to come to the edge of the forest from then on.
Therefore, a few months later, when the Great Snowmountain army walked
out of the forest, they did not see any “ghosts” as mentioned.
Old Man Mu did not know his way and just ran about aimlessly. He regretted
leaving the forest once the sky began to brighten up. Here, the trees were
scattered and sparse and the weeds were short, there was no way for him to
hide from the sunlight.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus knew that the opportunity to capture Old Man
Mu alive was coming, therefore, they were not in a hurry to chase him up.
They slowly split up, preparing to block him.
Old Man Mu tried to think of a solution, but he was unable to come up with
anything useful and could only make empty threats to intimidate them.
“Listen up, you girls, if you continued to chase me… I will take my pants
off!” This might be effective for Shangguan Ru, but as a strictly trained
killer, Maid Lotus was not affected by his threat at all.
“I will surrender all my Kung Fu and will not hide anything from you all, just
let me go.” This might be tempting to Maid Lotus, but it would not work on
Shangguan Ru. If it was possible, she would rather forget everything she
learned about the Heart Stopping Finger.
Old Man Mu had really run out of ruses. But just when the sun was about to
come out, once again, the gods blessed the wicked.
A forest appeared in front of them.
It was a stretch to call it a forest since most of the plants were tall exotic
flowers and grasses. Although it was not enough to cover and hide the sky,
the shade offered by the plants were more than enough to protect Old Man
Mu from direct sunlight.
At any one time, Old Man Mu and the two girls behind him would never
enter this flower forest rashly because it had obvious hints of being manmade
and artificial. It was also somewhat odd that there were no houses nearby.
However, because Old Man Mu wanted to avoid the sunlight at all costs and
the two girls did not intend to let their target go, the three of them barged into
the unknown flower forest, one after another.
This place was located several miles away from the west of the capital of the
Land of Fragrance, and it contained one of the most important secrets of the
residents of the country.
Chapter 378 - The Priest
Chapter 378: The Priest
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus had already lost track of Old Man Mu even
though they heard his laughter nearby, and when they looked around, they
were unable to find their way out.
As the sun rose, the soft light shone through the leaves and plants in the
flower forest, making the surrounding flora looked like a fairyland, dangers
lurking and hidden from sight.
The flowers in the forest were not packed in a thick grove but seemingly
spread out into clusters of plants randomly. Unknowingly, the two of them
returned to their original starting place as they walked through the grounds.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus tried all sorts of ways; they made markings on
places they passed, threaded thin ropes to mark their paths and even leapt into
the air to get to a higher vantage point to observe their surroundings, but they
still could not walk out of the flower forest. There were several times when
they were clearly going straight but somehow ended up in the place where
they had made their markings less than an hour ago.
Flustered, they decided to remove the obstructing plants. However, Maid

Lotus gave up on that idea right after she cut down the first plant. These
unknown plants released a unique fragrance from the branches and it made
them so dizzy that any more cuts would make them faint.
As a result, the two of them were trapped for three days. They discovered Old
Man Mu’s tracks five times in the flower forest. However, they could no
longer find him after making a few turns, therefore, they decided to remain in
one place instead, for fear of separating from each other.
There were many low-hanging fruit trees in the flower forest, and the fruits
looked sweet and delicious, but they would rather starve than eat them.
On the fourth day, Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus still had not found the way
out and Old Man Mu was still in hiding. But they met another old man
instead.
The flower forest was a maze, it was difficult to walk out but easy to walk
further in.
In the vague centre of the flower forest, a dozen shabby straw huts formed a
circle, just like a small village. There were no women or young men, just an
old man and a dozen children.
Like a pedant who had lived in his study for a long time, the old man looked
thin and weak. He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, lecturing in a
strange language to the children, who were in their teens, and turned a blind
eye to the uninvited visitors.
The scene was even more bizarre than the flower forest maze.
Shangguan Ru approached holding her wooden saber while Maid Lotus hid
in the dark, just in case.
The thin old man who looked weak and vulnerable was actually telling the
children about the ways of martial arts. Shangguan Ru could not understand
him, but she noticed that the children were listening attentively and
gesticulating actively.
After finishing explaining a part of his lecture, the old man looked up and
gave a friendly smile, before saying a few words. The children turned to look
curiously at Shangguan Ru as well.
This was much more reassuring than turning a blind eye to her.
“What is this place? Who are you?” Shangguan Ru asked and gestured,
hoping that the other party would be able to understand her.
The thin old man’s eyes lit up. “Not many people here speak this language.”
He was speaking Central Plains Chinese. Although it was not very fluent, it
was very clear. “This is the Flower Soul Forest of the Land of Fragrance. I
am the High Priest of Flower Soul and I am teaching the ways of
strengthening the body.”
Shangguan Ru still could not understand what he was saying. She had never
heard of the Land of Fragrance before and did not know what kind of person
the High Priest of Flower Soul was. So she said, “Did you set up this maze?”
“No.” The high priest shook his head. “I merely live here.”
“Then, surely you must know how to get out?”
The high priest continued to shake his head, “I have lived here since I was
born and have never once gone out.”
Shangguan Ru was confused as she listened on, “What about the rest of the
village?”
“There is no one else here, only priests like us.”
Shangguan Ru was beginning to wonder whether the other party was

deliberately making a fool out of her, but looking at the high priest’s naive
and innocent expression, he really did not seem like he was trying to be
funny. So she asked, “What about their parents? What about your wife and
children?”
“My parents are outside the forest. I have neither wife nor children.”
Maid Lotus appeared after checking the surroundings thoroughly and making
sure that there were no ambushes lying in wait. She whispered to Shangguan
Ru, “He was here.”
“Have you seen a short old man before?” Shangguan Ru asked.
“No, but a mischievous monkey came here to steal food.”
“Food?” Shangguan Ru’s stomach willfully let out a growl.

The high priest held up a wooden plate beside him filled with brightly
colored fruits. The two of them had already seen these in the forest but had
never dared to eat.
Shangguan Ru was very surprised that such a bloodthirsty devil like Old Man
Mu actually had not laid a hand on the residents here. “Is there anybody
among the children who know the way out?”
The high priest still shook his head.
“Their parents would surely know, right?”
After thinking for a while, the high priest finally nodded his head.
Shangguan Ru looked at Maid Lotus warmly, “When will they come to pick
the children up? Tonight?”
The high priest picked up a wooden board that was used to keep records.
After counting for a while, he pointed to the oldest child nearest to him and
said, “He will be taken away in three years, four months and eight days’ time,
that is the soonest.”
It seemed like they had barged into someone else’s dream. They were not
able to make sense of the surrounding scenery and could not understand what
others were saying.
After seeing the high priest and the children eat the fruits, the hungry girls
could no longer afford to be demure and genteel. They gobbled down five
plates of food in total.
The high priest did not seem surprised at this but the children slowly gathered
around them. They were interested in their clothes, appearance and eating
habits.
Shangguan Ru was a little embarrassed and tried to talk to them, but the
children did not understand Central Plains Chinese. After a difficult round of
communication using hand gestures, they understood what the strange visitor
was trying to say and gave the same answer as the high priest: No one here
could go out on his own unless someone from outside came to pick them up.
After satisfying their hunger, the two of them tried to ask the high priest for
more information again.
The high priest was rather pedantic but he was warm-hearted and would
answer whenever they had questions. Sometimes, he would even ask his
disciples to bring out some ancient books and look for answers.
But there was not much he could do to help. His vision had never extended
beyond this forest and all of his knowledge came from the books. These
books were ancient and profound, they talked about the formation of the
whole world but did not mention anything regarding the Flower Soul Forest
or the Land of Fragrance.
The high priest’s lower limbs were paralyzed and he lived on the meditation
cushion all year round, supported and taken care of by his disciples.
Every few years, people from the outside world would send in some children
as well as varying amounts of items to the forest. At the same time, they
would fetch the children who had completed their learning and ensure that
the high priest always had twelve disciples in total.
This old man, who relied on his disciples to carry him around for his daily
routines was actually teaching real Kung Fu, but he had never practiced any
of it. He was just indulging in empty talk.
After asking a few questions, Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus no longer paid
attention to the Kung Fu in the mysterious flower forest. The high priest was
a kind person but he could be quite stubborn when it came to the knowledge
in the books. He believed in all the unrealistic records, and would often come
up with specious theories to explain the contradictions if there was any.
The two of them decided to focus on finding a way out. A few days later,
however, something happened that caused them to change their impression of
the high priest.
Old Man Mu was here. He was not able to get out of the Flower Soul Forest
as well. Initially, he was not in a hurry and felt that this was a good place to
hide and practice his Kung Fu. But he could not wait to seek revenge on the
girls once he had restored about 80 percent of his Kung Fu. Old Man Mu did
not launch a sneak attack but challenged them in the open instead.
He hated and feared Maid Lotus the most, so he named her as the first one to
fight.
It was a close battle. The Five Hole Punch was brutal and domineering while
the Death Scripture swordcraft was swift and merciless. The 12 children were
stunned when they saw them strike their first blows.
Only the high priest was not surprised by the scene. In his imagination, Kung
Fu should be exaggerated like this. The disciples were unable to reach this
level simply because they did not study hard enough, so he discussed his
views with Shangguan Ru in a light-hearted tone.
“This is the Five Hole Punch and it is a very rare type of fist technique. The
short one is a disciple from Yuqing Sect…”
“This is… Dajue Book of Swordcraft. It is much rarer. Are you two from the
Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak? Then our fate is not shallow after all. ”
“Hey, seems like the two of them did not practice correctly. ‘Through the
hole’, here, it means, to comprehend the meaning thoroughly. It does not
mean making holes in a person. The short one, his moves are too brutal, and
therefore, he loses the original intention of combining the five elements.
Maid Lotus also has some problems with the Dajue Book of Swordcraft.
Although it isn’t too far off, it’s at a lower skill level…”
Shangguan Ru grew more surprised the more she listened to him. She could
not imagine that in such a remote place like the Flower Soul Forest, this high
priest who was pedantic and weak could actually recognize the two unique
Kung Fu of the Western Region and was even able to comment on it.
But she could not be more surprised than the two people who were fighting to
the death. Both Old Man Mu and Maid Lotus heard what the high priest had
said, and after exchanging more than 10 blows, they separated from each
other.
Old Man Mu looked at the high priest, as if he had just seen a ghost, then he
pointed to Shangguan Ru and said, “You told him about the Five Hole
Punch…”
Without waiting for Shangguan Ru to rebut, Old Man Mu denied himself,

“No, I have never once mentioned Yuqing Sect, surely you don’t know about
that.”
Then he turned to the high priest and asked, “Who are you?”
“The High Priest of Flower Soul.”
“What a strange and ugly name. Where did you hear about Yuqing Sect? You
can even recognize my Five Hole Punch?”
“It was written in the book, the five elements are related but it also inhibits
each other, all your moves were never far from your opponent’s heart, that
means you have already mastered until the Fire level, of the heart. Fire can
restrict metal, so your real intention is…”
“Shut up! Shut up!” Old Man Mu cried out, flustered, trying to prevent the
high priest from revealing the most important secret of the Five Hole Punch.
“Old fellow! If you dare to talk again, I will beat you into pulp with one
punch!”
“Beating someone into pulp will only be more inconsistent with the original
intention of the Five Hole Punch.” The high priest did not care about
anything else but would argue about the slightest detail when it came to
martial arts.
In fact, he need not say more. Both Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus suddenly
came to the realization that Old Man Mu’s act of taking out a victim’s heart
was just a ruse, his real deadly attack was aimed at the lungs which were the
metal level.
Although the Five Hole Punch was still very powerful, it was much easier to
ward off the blows once they understood this logic.
Maid Lotus snorted slightly and did not make a move immediately. She was
worried that Old Man Mu would still have other Kung Fu to protect himself.
Old Man Mu retreated several steps, then he pointed to Maid Lotus and asked
the high priest, “What about her? What is the loophole for Dajue Book of
Swordcraft?”
“Why would the Dajue Book of Swordcraft have loopholes?” The high priest
seemed confused.
Old Man Mu’s face flushed with anger. Feeling cheated, he said, “I knew it.
You went to do a background check on me secretly just to scare me. Hehe, I
am not so gullible.”
After he finished speaking, Old Man Mu turned and ran into the flower
forest. He was well aware that the person’s words were all true and he was
not bluffing. The only thing that he was unaware of was, not only was this
high priest physically disabled, he also had no Kung Fu.
Shangguan Ru looked at the thin old man with an incredulous look. “Who are
you… exactly?”
“The High Priest of Flower Soul.”
“But how did you know about the name of Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak?”
It was impossible for Shangguan Ru to not be surprised. Many years ago, the
Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak was the old name for Golden Roc Fort, and this
was something that she heard Zhang Ji, the teacher mentioned unconsciously.
She also remembered Zhang Ji clearly mentioning that this name had already
died out and no one outside the castle would even knew about it.
The high priest had never met someone with such poor knowledge, but he
still explained patiently, “I am the fifth generation High Priest of the Flower
Soul Forest, and also the eleventh successor of the Reborn Fort of Xuandu
Peak, of course, I would know about all these, it’s all written in the books.”
Chapter 379 - Explaining the
Martial Arts
Chapter 379: Explaining the Martial Arts
The High Priest of Flower Soul went on and narrated an absurd story about
the Stone Castle. It was a story very different from the history that
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus knew of. In order to convince them, the High
Priest made his disciples bring along stacks of books and pointed the text out
line by line.
There was no concept of time in ancient books so they could only judge by
the wear and tear of the book itself to know that the books were recorded
many years ago.
At that time, Jade City had just been established and its population was no
more than a few thousand. Even the North and South cities were not
completely segregated as well.
The mountaintop was named Xuandu Peak and the Stone Castle was named
Reborn Fort. The owner’s surname was Feng and people addressed him as
“Holy King”.
Holy King possessed excellent Kung Fu and accepted all kinds of disciples.
According to the characteristics of each person, he established three inner
halls, namely Blazing Sun Hall, New Moon Hall and Lone Star Hall.
The disciples of Blazing Sun Hall were good at cooperating with one another
in collective warfare. New Moon Hall specialized in pill-making and occult
sciences, while Lone Star Hall had the most outstanding disciples. They
never cooperated with others and kept to themselves, performing the most
arduous and secretive tasks.
At Reborn Fort’s heyday, a revolt emerged from within.

The three inner halls believed that they had learned all the Kung Fu from
their master and began to act arrogantly. Unwilling to submit, they joined
forces to revolt against the Holy King.
But they overestimated their own strength. Once Holy King retaliated, the
renegades were defeated immediately and lay down to beg for mercy.
The Holy King forgave his disciples for their momentary rebellion and did
not kill them all, but his kindness only resulted in an even greater betrayal.
New Moon Hall used occult sciences to entrap the loyalty of the servants who
served Holy King and discovered the date of Holy King’s self-destruction.
Blazing Sun Hall banked on their advantage in numbers and besieged the
guards loyal to the Holy King. Lone Star Hall took the opportunity to enter
the secret chamber and was about to commit the crime of killing their master.
However, the Holy King’s Kung Fu was unfathomable. Even in the midst of
self-destruction, he was also able to easily destroy the insurgents.
He killed many people and the survivors were terrified. However, he grew
tired all of a sudden. He looked at the trembling disciples on their knees on
the floor and said, “You all are merely ants, and ants can never bring down
the elephant. But the elephant can easily trample and kill all of you in a step.
However, it won’t have any meaning to the elephant. His strength will not
increase because of your loyalty, nor will it lessen because of your betrayal.
As punishment, all of you will forever lose the chance to become the strong
one.”
Therefore, the Holy King left Xuandu Peak and voluntarily gave up the castle
to the cowardly and incompetent renegades. He knew that once these useless
disciples were no longer under his protection, they would not be able to keep
the Stone Castle and would soon become slaves to their former enemies.
Then, the Holy King came to the Land of Fragrance. Generation after
generation, his prophecy came true. The three inner halls perished one after
another, and the traitors, filled with regret, would always call out the title of
Holy King at the end of their lives.
“The end.” The high priest closed his books and continued, “My surname is
Feng, and I am the Holy King of the 11th generation. He is my successor, the
12th generation Holy King, the sixth generation of High Priest of Flower
Soul.”
“He” referred to a boy aged somewhere between 11 to 12 years old, propping

his chin up and listening with fascination as the high priest told the story. In
truth, he could not understand Central Plains Chinese but he was more than
familiar with the contents of the books. He already knew which paragraph the
high priest was talking about the moment he moved his fingers across the
pages.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus looked at each other. This story might be
fabricated, but there were a lot of true contents about the Stone Castle that
outsiders were unaware of and uninterested in. But there were also many
illogical areas in the story, even if it were true, those who were not from
Stone Castle could easily find many loopholes in the story.
Blazing Sun Hall was obviously known as Golden Roc Fort later on and
although New Moon Hall was in exile, it had not perished. But neither of
them had heard of Lone Star Hall before, and they guessed the black-masked
assassins were most likely what remained of them.
Maid Lotus did not bother to argue, and even though Shangguan Ru did not
have the heart to do so, she still asked, “High Priest, are you training disciples
here to recapture the Stone Castle one day?”
The high priest did not seem to understand what she meant, then he looked
surprised and said, “Did you not heard what I said? Holy King relinquished
Reborn Fort willingly to let the betrayers know their tragic fate without the
protection of the Holy King. We will never go back. I am training my
disciples here to protect the Land of Fragrance. They were honored to receive
guidance from the successors of the Holy King, and each of them will be able
to fight against a hundred people once they complete their studies.”
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus exchanged a look with each other and were
very sympathetic toward the high priest. He obviously knew nothing about
the real situation in the Western Region and believed every word in these
ancient books. He continued to live in a partly true and partly fictional
fantasy world, contented with everything he had.
There was nothing crueler than destroying someone’s fantasy. Shangguan Ru

decided to never bring up Golden Roc Fort again, while Maid Lotus did not
care for it. She was more worried about Old Man Mu, his Kung Fu was
recovering day by day and in a few days’ time, no one would rival him.
Although the high priest was pedantic and simple, Maid Lotus was more
interested in the fact that he had pinpointed the secret of the Five Hole Punch.
The high priest did not hoard information and eagerly asked his disciples to
bring in more books and read out information about the Five Hole Punch
word for word.
But Maid Lotus was slightly disappointed. As it turned out, this was not the
real manual, but just an analysis of the Five Hole Punch made by a certain
Holy King, based on what he saw and heard. Among them, it specifically
mentioned the Earth punch as the highest level of the Five Hole Punch and
there would be no more loopholes once you mastered it.
The high priest also wanted to explain the Dajue Book of Swordcraft to Maid
Lotus but she politely refused and merely glanced through the related books.
Again, no specific content from the scriptures was stated, it was only
discussions made in general terms and divided the practitioner to several
realms of skill levels. Rather than insight, it seemed more like exaggerations
written by a disgruntled scholar who had never seen the true scriptures
before.
Among the piles of books, only a few contained atlases of real Kung Fu, but
Maid Lotus took no interest in any of them.
Like their Master Shifu, these children spent most of their energy reciting
words. They were able to speak knowledgeably on the subject but were no
different from ordinary teenagers when they tried to strike a blow.
One could only imagine the strength of the soldiers trained in this way.
However, the high priest and his disciples had something in common: they
were extremely submissive. From what the two girls had observed, these
people’s submissiveness was to the point of eager flattery; the disciples
would fight to fulfill any request of the two girls. Their enthusiasm was like a
group of dogs focused on pleasing their owners, not caring where they came
from or what their purpose was.
Golden Roc Fort had made great efforts to train obedient slaves but they were
never able to achieve results like this.
If the high priest was really the successor of Reborn Fort, perhaps the Holy
King had overdone in rectifying their behavior. The disciples would never
betray him, but they were also useless.
This was a group of people who possessed no threat, so Shangguan Ru and

Maid Lotus’ thoughts went back to Old Man Mu again.
Old Man Mu was wary of the high priest, so he gave up on challenging

directly and chose to sneak attacks instead, which he was good at.
On the night of the duel with Maid Lotus, he quietly approached the
residence of the high priest and was attacked at the door by Maid Lotus.
Old Man Mu had already prepared himself for it, so he easily avoided her but
stumbled right into Shangguan Ru’s hands.
The most exasperating thing for him was that Shangguan Ru actually used
Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills and preempted him on the path that he took
and performed the Seven Circles seven apertures Heart Stopping Finger on
him. Although the move would not kill him, it was more than enough to
cause internal injuries, and he was unable to strike back for a long time.
Old Man Mu narrowly managed to avoid it but was in a sorry state.
Maid Lotus soon caught up and the two girls joined forces to surround him.
They would not let Old Man Mu escape again.
Old Man Mu regretted attacking them when he had not fully regained his
Kung Fu. He said, “How malicious of you, Shangguan Ru, using the Kung Fu
that I taught you to deal with me. Ungrateful! You are as vicious as snakes
and scorpions, a woman’s heart is the most wicked…”
Old Man Mu refused to shut his mouth. But in the end, it was another mouth
who rescued him from trouble.
When the high priest heard the noises outside, he asked his disciples to carry
him to the door. He gave comments as he watched, “The short one is going to
lose soon. He doesn’t dare to use the Five Hole Punch, now he is using the
Tiger Shape Palm from Yuqing Sect and… Seven Circles Flower Picker from
New Moon Hall. He is quite the daredevil, combining these two sets of Kung
Fu together. But both the Tiger Shape Palm and the Seven Circles Flower
Picker belong to the yin, it’s more than enough to defend but inadequate if he
wants to attack. Don’t tell me he’s a woman as well?”
Old Man Mu cried loudly and wanted to go up to the paralyzed High Priest
several times to teach him a lesson for sprouting nonsense, but he was always
blocked by Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus.
The high priest was impartial and he started explaining the Kung Fu
performed by the other two, “This girl is still using the Dajue Book of
Swordcraft. Wait, no, it’s mixed with the Seven Circles Floating Sword from
New Moon Hall. Yes, this is a smart move. This way, she can reduce the
chances of the swordcraft backfiring on her. But it would also decrease the
power of the moves. The other girl… her Kung Fu is strange. It looks like the
Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills from Yuqing Sect, but the Kung Fu she uses
is not easy to recognize, it seems like it could be from New Moon Hall but
also from Yuqing Sect.”
“Well, the three of you possess good Kung Fu and seem like you were fellow
disciples of the same sect. Why are all your moves so vicious?”
Old Man Mu was trapped by the two girls and could not run away or fight
back. After hearing the sarcastic remarks made by the high priest, he was
fuming with anger. “You wretched cripple! You will still be a cripple in your
next life! If you know everything, then why not tell me how to defeat these
two girls? Even if I cannot defeat them, it will be good if I can escape as
well!”
“The two of them have very good skills. It will be difficult for you to defeat
them, but you can escape easily if you want to.”
Without waiting for Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus to stop him, the high
priest voiced what was on his mind, “I don’t know if you know the Nimble
Sparrow Lightness Skills by Yuqing Sect…”
Old Man Mu silently cursed at himself for being so stupid. Both the Nimble
Sparrow Lightness Skills and Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills were Yuqing
Sect’s unique skills to save oneself. He definitely learned it before, but he had
been killing people for the past few decades and spent another good decade in
hiding to practice the Seven Rotation Skill, therefore he seldom had the
chance to use these two sets of Lightness Skills. He did not remember it at
critical moments like these and even needed a bystander to remind him about
it.
Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills were suitable to use in flat areas, but Nimble
Sparrow Lightness Skills were for flying around at a height.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were not familiar with this Lightness Skill
and by the time they understood, Old Man Mu had already leaped onto the
rooftop and soared like a bird. Although his footing was unstable, he landed
on a flora plant nearby and was able to use it as an assist to jump onto another
plant.
The two of them followed closely on the ground. Suddenly, Shangguan Ru

had a thought: If Old Man Mu was jumping around in high areas like these,
wouldn’t it be easy for him to leave the Flower Soul Forest?
As this idea flashed past her mind, Old Man Mu fell from the sky all of a
sudden and landed heavily on the ground. He let out a scream, “Strange.”
This was not the only strange thing. Shangguan Ru staggered and almost fell
as well. All of a sudden, her Dantian felt empty and it seemed like her Qi had
vanished. Then, she smelled a faint fragrance which was different from the
flower fragrances around her. She felt dizzy and her eyes closed
involuntarily.
Maid Lotus managed to persist for a while longer. She saw about 20 to 30
men wearing long robes walking out from behind the flowers. They were
holding ropes and approaching cautiously.
Chapter 380 - Surrender
Chapter 380: Surrender
Shangguan Ru opened her eyes to see herself lying on a soft, comfortable bed
and wearing a long pale green robe made of lightweight material. She was
shocked and immediately sat up. She calmed down slightly upon realizing
that the internal energy in her Dantian was already back to normal levels and
that her dagger, which she hid close to her body, was still around.
A maid of the same age as Shangguan Ru came running over upon hearing
the sounds from her bed. “Master, you’ve woken up,” she said stiffly in
Central Plains Chinese.
Shangguan Ru only knew that she was still in the Land of Fragrance.
However, the locals were all somewhat weird, and she could not figure them
out. “Who’re you? What’s this place?”
“I’m your slave, Master. This is the capital.”
Shangguan Ru leaped off her bed and saw that her belongings were placed on
a chair nearby. She walked over and picked up her wooden saber, saying,
“Who sent you to me? I want to see him.”
The maid suddenly kneeled down and kept kowtowing uneasily. “Please
forgive your lowly slave, Master,” she pleaded.
Shangguan Ru got a shock from the maid’s reaction. “You… what are you
doing? Get up quickly,” she replied.
“Please forgive your lowly slave, Master. I cannot carry out Master’s orders.”
Shangguan Ru finally understood why the maid was acting in this manner.
“Forget it, I’ll not visit him. I’ll wait for him to come to visit me instead.
Where’s my friend? I can see her, right?” she asked.
Maid Lotus was in the adjoining room.
They discovered that they were still residing in a garden, but the vegetation
growing outside their rooms looked very normal and would not obstruct their
path or give off a fragrance that intoxicated them. Given that, they guessed
that they had probably left the Flower Soul Forest.
The two women found their encounter odd. The maid assigned to them was
clueless about what was going on and seemed to have never spoken to a
normal person in her life before.
Luckily, their questions were soon answered.
The true master of the house was an old man whose hair and beard had
already turned white. He carried a white crutch and called himself Shili Molo.
He was the same Shili Molo who would receive the Dragon King and the
army of the Great Snow Mountain as the representative of the Land of
Fragrance a few months later. During that time, he would pretend to not
understand Central Plains Chinese, but right now, he was conversing with
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus fluently in it.
“The Land of Fragrance is a lowly country with a population of fewer than

6000 people. Our people are docile and not fond of conflict; we don’t even
have weapons. Every year, a few of us will venture to other lands for
business and barter for the daily necessities of our people.”
“Our nation has been isolated from the world for centuries. We don’t wish to
have too many foreigners here, and we wish even more for news of our land
to not spread too far.”
Shili Molo beat around the bush and started introducing the two women to
several local traditions, refusing to make his real intentions clear.
Shangguan Ru could not stand his conversational style which was not to the
point. She bluntly cut him off, saying, “We’re both tracking a bad man and
entered your country by mistake. After we’ve left, we’ll be sure to keep this
place a secret. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Shili Molo smiled gently but still seemed to be a little anxious. Maid Lotus
deduced his real intentions correctly. “They didn’t manage to capture Old
Man Mu and are waiting for us to help,” she said.
Shili Molo nodded awkwardly. Old Man Mu had already become the
nightmare of the people of the Land of Fragrance, and it was a problem he
had which needed to be resolved immediately.
It was two days ago since Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus had fainted in the
Flower Soul Forest.
Old Man Mu cursed as he fell from the air. He was unexpectedly alright and
stood up before leaping onto the flower bed and escaping.
It was a miscalculation on his part. If he had known that the two women had
already fainted and that there were no kung fu masters in the Land of
Fragrance, he would have immediately begun killing.
He still believed the Chief Priest to be a kung fu master who kept his skills
concealed. As such, he did not wish to remain behind in the Flower Soul
Forest and put his Nimble Sparrow Lightness Skills to use, sprinting on high
ground until he was out of the maze.
“The flowers are actually harmless, but I’ve coated their stems… with a bit of
some chemical which can only be found in our country,” Shili Molo said,
sounding very sincere.
Old Man Mu had already killed at least eight people over the previous two
days, and they were all nobles from the city.
The benefit of isolation was that the country was never invaded, but the
disadvantage was that once it was, its natives had already lost the ability to
defend themselves. The most skilled ‘kung fu masters’ amongst them were
all paper tigers like the Chief Priest of the Flower Soul Forest.
It also happened that these paper tigers were the ones who volunteered to
subdue the demonic old man high-spiritedly, and were also the first
casualties.
In reality, there were 6,000 nobles and ten times that of slaves in the Land of
Fragrance. Even though they vastly outnumbered the nobles, the slaves had
been living in isolation and were trained to be obedient and act as tools for
the nobles. They were even proud of their subservience, and when their
masters were at a loss, they would only get more panicky.
Being in a national crisis forced the people sent into the Flower Soul Forest
to capture Old Man Mu to think of all sorts of solutions. They managed to
recollect that he was extremely wary of Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus,
therefore when the two women woke up, they found themselves change from
captives into honored guests.
Shangguan Ru had made a blunder that was not too serious yet not negligible
as well; she had divulged her real intentions much too early to Shili Molo.
Once he heard that the two women had trespassed into the Land of Fragrance
by accident to ‘capture the evil man’, he had some measure of how to handle
them.
Shili Molo had seen the outside world before and was different from the
obedient slaves and simple-minded nobles in his nation. He was the most
important merchant of the Land of Fragrance and had established contact
with the outside world multiple times in the past. As such, he had cultivated a
slick nature.
Shangguan Ru felt guilty because Old Man Mu had regained his powers due
to her mistake. He could kill at will again, and as of now, he had already
taken dozens of lives. She felt that their death was her burden to bear.
Luckily, she did not express her guilt in Shili Molo’s presence. If she had
done so, the Land of Fragrance would not have pleaded with her for help; he
would have manipulated her guilt and made her proactively seek to atone for
her blunder.
Both women did not bear any grudge against Shili Molo and agreed to help
him to capture Old Man Mu within the borders of the Land of Fragrance.
Old Man Mu loved the game of hide-and-seek he was playing with his
pursuers. Even so, he was more cautious than before and spent most of his
time in hiding while trying to regain more of his powers. He surfaced
occasionally but made sure he was far from the two women, taking the
opportunity to kill one or two nobles before going into hiding again.
Shangguan Ru gathered all the disciples previously trained by the Chief

Priest, and there were more than a hundred of them. She planned to give them
some training and let them join in the hunt for Old Man Mu, but it ended up
terribly bad.
The disciples were composed mostly of offspring of the slaves and they were
extremely obedient; they would even not hesitate to take their own lives
should they be ordered to do so. This was their weakness too, however.
Without any orders, they dared not act, and no matter how hard Shangguan
Ru tried to motivate or stimulate them, she could not get them to be more
proactive.
As such, Shangguan Ru went to Shili Molo for help.
The old slick businessman was perturbed by Shangguan Ru’s request. “Since
they’re slaves, how can they act on their own accord? Wouldn’t that be
rebellion? As long as you two heroines can get rid of this problem plaguing
our country, we’re willing to offer 10000 taels of gold as a reward.”
This incident sowed the seeds of discord which led to huge differences
between the two of them.
The longer Shangguan Ru stayed in the Land of Fragrance, the more she felt
that there was something not quite right with the country. All of the nation’s
wealth was concentrated in the hands of the nobles. There were only about
6000 of them, but they ruled over the tens of thousands of slaves like gods.
The slaves were taught to be obedient the moment they entered this world,
and were extremely subservient to their masters; they dared not even mention
their masters’ names casually.
Most of the locals, including many of the nobles, were not even aware that
there were people of different ethnicities and nations living in this world.
They treated Old Man Mu as a demon who had emerged from the forest and
the two heroines as woodland fairies.
Only about two to three hundred merchants, who had traveled out of the Land
of Fragrance before, knew the true identities of the three visitors, but they
kept it a strict secret amongst themselves, refusing to speak a word of it to
their fellow countrymen.
The heroines were soon placed under surveillance, and every person they met
or spoke to had to report their encounter in detail after that. As such,
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus became unwelcome visitors. Wherever they
went, the locals would scatter away, avoiding them like the plague.
This made the hunt for Old Man Mu increasingly difficult.
Old Man Mu regained all of his powers after 20 days, and he began to satiate
his bloodlust.
Even so, he did not move against the two women for the time being. He
changed his mind about killing them and decided to take them as his disciples
instead. He did not know why, but Shangguan Ru, who was completely void
of killing desire was to his liking, and he kept feeling that she would be
suited to take over his mantle. As for Maid Lotus, well, he felt that she was
his female soulmate.
To this end, every time he killed, Old Man Mu would leave a note behind.
There were a few times whereby he wrote it down on paper, but most of the
time, he would scribble it on walls and the surrounding grass with the blood
of his victims.
The contents of his notes were about the same—it spoke of ‘the Way of Evil’.
Occasionally he would even appear very close to their location while

attempting to persuade the women to surrender to him, using his Seven
Magical Tones skill to broadcast his speech. “There’s a limit to my patience.
I’ll only wait for seven days. After that, I’ll kill you as well. To be honest,
I’ve never thought of taking in female disciples at all in the past. I was even
hesitant to receive male ones; I rejected all of Wildhorse’s requests.
Therefore, be secretly pleased, you two. Imagine if the three of us join forces,
who could take us on? We’ll kill whoever we wish to. The Supreme King, the
old Khan of Norland, the Emperor of the Central Plains will all be easy
pickings.”
He did not manage to convince Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus with his
Seven Magical Tones but successfully won over many of the nobles in the
city.
A plot was thus building up behind the back of the two heroines.
Maid Lotus would normally not have fallen for such a trap, but her pride and
aloofness made her underestimate the citizens of the Land of Fragrance, who
seemed to be weak and easily bullied to her. That night, as she and
Shangguan Ru tracked Old Man Mu to the old royal palace, neither of them
were suspicious in the least.
The royal palace was already uninhabited and the former royal garden had
been converted into a maze very similar to the Flower Soul Forests, except
that it was bigger in scale and there was no Chief Priest residing in it.
The Land of Fragrance, under the leadership of Shili Molo, surrendered to

Old Man Mu. They were willing to accept his Way of Evil and lusted after
world dominance upon becoming strong, as this would allow them to forcibly
enslave more people.
On the second day after Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were imprisoned, a
suspicious piece of news came from the forest. After Shili Molo checked its
credibility a few times, he finally confirmed that it was true—an army, a few
thousand strong, was drawing near to the border of the Land of Fragrance.
Old Man Mu was eager to meet the Dragon King again and was ready for a
titanic clash. “He’s caught up with me again, this time with an army of a few
thousand men. It was he who caused all my recent fragility and humiliation.
If I don’t get my revenge, what sort of evil person am I?” he thought.
The Dragon King had the numerical advantage and the Land of Fragrance,
which he had just subdued, was useless in an actual fight. As such, Old Man
Mu decided to go into retreat—he wanted to master the Five Hole Earth
Punch until it was flawless. If he managed to do that, he would have nothing
to fear even if Gu Shenwei brought 10,000 men along with him.
“If the Dragon King arrives, you must keep him and his Great Snowmountain
army here by hook or by crook. Anyway, I will need to kill to master my
technique. If it’s not their lives I take, it shall be yours,” Old Man Mu ordered
Shili Molo. He then prepared to find a place unknown to anyone else for his
retreat.
Shili Molo was entirely captivated by the unshackled and bloodthirsty

demon. He received his orders like a slave, repeatedly saying “Yes”. He then
asked Old Man Mu, “What about the two women, how should we deal with
them?”
The seven day grace period was already over, and Old Man Mu had lost his
passion of trying to take Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus as his disciples. “As
you wish,” he replied, without even a little regret in his heart.
Shili Molo decided to sacrifice the two women. Their acts and words had
infected a considerable number of people, and he felt that it would be a good
opportunity to let the indecisive slaves observe their fate.
Chapter 381 - The Horn
Chapter 381: The Horn
Gu Shenwei stood up. He did not expect to be reunited with the girls under
such circumstances.
They were among the young women who were about to be set on fire on the
altar, which was close to one kilometer away from him, and were in a state of
partial loss of consciousness. The 10 tribal chiefs were encircling the altar
and facing outwards, singing about something in unison.
Below the altar stood the nobles, swaying to the same rhythm with increasing
vigor.
The prostrate slaves were at the perimeter. They were curled up like
porcupines and looked from afar like pieces of stones wearing long robes.
On the altar, the sacrifice was about to begin and both Shangguan Ru and
Maid Lotus, along with the other three women, were about to be immolated.
Gu Shenwei felt a little helpless, as even a flying bird could not cover one
kilometer in an instant. What made matters worse was that he had to fight his
way through thousands of people in the crowd, and even if they did nothing,
they would still form a formidable barrier between him and the altar.
Gu Shenwei was without support; the 10 conscripted savages he had brought

along with him were a few kilometers behind him. He could not summon
them in time. The soldiers from the Great Snow Mountain were even further
behind him and could not possibly be expected to come to his aid in time.
Gradually, on the altar, the singing from the 10 tribal chiefs grew into a
crescendo.
Gu Shenwei had no other option. In this instance, his sword and saber were
useless.
He lifted the cowhide horn from the Snow Mountain slung at his side to his
lips, took a deep breath, and blew into it.
The first blast from the horn drowned out the singing of the tribal chiefs. It
felt as if the low growls of a dragon were traveling toward the altar from afar.
They burst forth from the earth itself, shaking the entire world and shooting
up to the skies. There was no sign that the growls would stop as they
continued reverberating higher and higher upward.
Both the ruling and slave classes of the Land of Fragrance had never heard
such a sound before. They were caught in a moment of connection with their
gods and could suddenly feel that their eardrums and hearts were under
tremendous attack by the noise. To them, even the ground seemed to be
trembling and looked as if it would split open any moment to swallow them
up.
Gu Shenwei did not have time to consider so many things. He only wished
that the sudden blasts from the horn would draw the attention of most of the
locals, earning him some precious time to reach the altar before the burning
began.
The result was totally unexpected by him.
The blasts, which sounded like the growls of a dragon, smashed away
everything in his path. The prostrate slaves were extremely terrified and
pressed themselves flat to the ground, grabbing on to every blade of grass or
piece of rock they could, as if it would help them withstand the might of the
heavens.
The nobles, who had been standing a moment ago, were even more terrified
and either squatted down and hugged their heads or knelt and kowtowed.
None of them dared to check out where the blasts came from.
Gu Shenwei held the horn in one hand and his saber in the other as he ran
down the slope. He stepped over the bodies of the crowd before him and
stopped and lifted his head to continue blowing into the horn after every few
steps he took. He made the blasts follow the echos, creating a continuous
stream of sonic attack.
He did not meet any resistance all the way to the foot of the altar.
Shili Molo was the first to recover from his shock. He pointed to the Dragon
King and shouted, “He’s only one man, stop him! Stop him quickly!”
Dozens of nobles stood up upon hearing his exclamation, daring to look in

the direction of where the blasts came from.
“One man!” shouted several others.
“Stop him!” more nobles began ordering their slaves as they, however,
retreated back to hide. The Five Peaks Saber was glinting in the Dragon
King’s hand and even more terrifying than the horn blasts.
The slaves on the perimeter of the crowd slowly lifted their heads, but none
of them got up.
As slaves, they had no right to get close to the altar, and the honor of
attending today’s ritual was bestowed only upon the most excellent of them.
Most of their class would only be hearing about the altar by word of mouth.
No matter how urgent their masters sounded, none of the slaves dared to
break against tradition which has been passed on for many generations.
The Dragon King looked like a nimble stag, leaping past at least eight or nine
flight of steps with every step he took. Soon enough, he was about to reach
the top of the altar.
Shili Molo panicked. He did not know what the Dragon King intended to do.
Before Old Man Mu went for his retreat, he ordered Shili Molo to hold the
army from the Great Snowmountain back by any means necessary but had
not explained the relationship between the two ‘heroines’ and the Dragon
King.
“People of the ruling class, come! Protect the altar!” implored Shili Molo. He
could only seek for their help now.
The nobles felt that it was an appropriate call for help by their leader, but
each of them also felt that their personal safety was paramount and that his or
her constitution was weaker than everybody else. As such, they remained full
of hope that somebody else would step up.
Gu Shenwei stood on the top of the altar and laid his horn down. He was the
most surprised out of everyone present; the seemingly impenetrable crowd
was even more harmless than the vegetation and rocks in his path on his way
to the rescue.
Till now, Shili Molo kept speaking in his native language, but stopped
pretending to not know Central Plains Chinese at this moment. He stumbled
backward by three steps before managing to say, “Dragon, Dragon King,
you… we did not offend you, so why…”
“Who are these women to be sacrificed to?” Gu Shenwei questioned, moving

closer by another step. The other nine tribal chiefs had retreated a step down
the platform, leaving Shili Molo alone to face the Dragon King.
The 10 women who were supporting the sacrificial lambs also had retreated
along with the other tribal chiefs; they were nobility and it was the first time
they were attending to a slave.
The five women who were nearly sent up the pyre to be burnt alive had been
shocked out of their daze by the horn blasts, but were still experiencing the
effect of the knockout powder they had taken. As such, they were still
standing unsteadily.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus had recognized Gu Shenwei, but both of them
did not feel that he was real. Shangguan Ru even grinned like a young child,
believing herself to be in her own personal sweet dream.
Shili Molo appeared even more feeble without any supporters around him.
“They, they are meant to be sacrificed to all the deities in the heavens. It’s
their honor and they’re… all willing participants.”
“I’m a deity. Sacrifice them to me.”
Shili Molo seemed to grow shorter in stature. He did not believe the Dragon
King and was even more shocked that the young barbaric man would spout
such disgraceful and blasphemous words which exceeded his limits of
tolerance.
“You… aren’t…” The words took up all of the old tribal chief’s remaining
energy, but they came off as incoherent mumblings.
It was not enough to just rush up to Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus, he had to
think of a way to get them out safely. Even though the slaves did not dare to
come near to the altar, they would not permit their enemy to leave easily
under the orders of their masters.
Gu Shenwei lifted the Five Peaks Saber high up and addressed the entire
crowd. He had channelled his Internal Strength into his voice, and it
reverberated far and wide. Everyone surrounding the altar, regardless of
whether he or she was standing or prone, could hear him clearly. “If you wish
to please the gods, very well. I’m a deity and accept your gift. These five
people will now be received by me. I don’t want them to die; I want them
alive.”
Shili Molo flew into an uncontrollable rage for the first time in his life. He
had met the Dragon King before and even negotiated with him. “How could
this man be a god? If I had to choose, I would select the merciless Old Man
Mu to be my deity,”he thought.
“Demon, leave this altar!” shouted Shili Molo, as he raised his crutch, which
was pure white in color, high up with both hands. He suddenly straightened
himself up and charged bravely towards the unwelcome intruder who had
come to disrupt the ritual, showing a side of himself that the people of the
Land of Fragrance had never seen before.
The Five Peaks Saber cut a thin, straight line from the old tribal chief’s
forehead right down to his belly.
His white robe flew open, exposing his emaciated chest covered with white
hair.
Gu Shenwei supported Shili Molo’s back with his other hand and flung his
corpse onto the pyre. He then grabbed a flaming torch from the edge of the
altar and threw it onto the pyre as well.
In no time, a raging fire was burning.
“As you wish,” said Gu Shenwei softly, before raising his voice to continue,
“The demon has left the altar.”
In his desperation, Gu Shenwei had committed a very basic error. He was

speaking with Shili Molo all this while, but had unusually forgotten that most
of the people of the Land of Fragrance could not understand Central Plains
Chinese.
Only a few people among the crowd could understand the Dragon King, but
it was them who did not believe him the most. They started stirring up the
anger of the others, in their native tongue, to avenge the death of the old tribal
leader.
A few thousand nobles gave each other courage as they surrounded the altar
and started advancing up the platform one step at a time.
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were still not completely conscious and just
like the other three women, they were weak and standing unsteadily. They
looked as if they would collapse at any moment.
The fire on the pyre grew larger and he could feel wave after wave of heat
assaulting his back. Gu Shenwei took another deep breath as he lifted the
horn to his lips once again, before blowing into it as hard as he could.
The effect was not as visible as the first time he tried doing the same thing.
Most of the mob halted in their steps but did not fall to their knees as they did
before. They hesitated and were at a loss, waiting for each other to react. It
only took one of them to take up the lead before the entire mob would charge
forward without consideration for personal safety.
Real leaders were born during such times. However, the people of the Land
of Fragrance had enjoyed centuries of peace, and leaders were already
redundant in their society. It would take time for someone to break free of the
bonds of tradition, and for now, they were still waiting on each other to act.
The Dragon King gazed over all of their heads toward a gentle slope far
away. Someone noticed this and looked in the same direction as well. What
followed next was a shout of terror.
The 10 conscripted savages had caught up on their horses. They could

recognize the blasts from the Dragon King’s horn and would only act upon its
direction.
Five of them were armed with sabers while the others wielded swords. They
let out beast-like howls in unison which ranged from sharp to low pitches. It
sounded like 10 different kinds of animals had emerged from the forest and
were competing in a contest of voices.
They then formed up into a single rank and charged into the restless and
noisy crowd.
Their decision was a mistake. Cowards would surrender if they faced an

enemy with impossible odds, but the right amount of stimulation could cause
them to become bold.
Gu Shenwei was not in time to stop the loyal soldiers, and he could not even
if he tried.
The 10 savages were like a sharp spear which was pierced deeply into the
gigantic body of an enemy; it plunged deeply into its body but could not
cause any significant damage due to the sheer size of the opponent.
They were instantly surrounded by the slaves and dragged around and beaten.
Even so, they did not seem to be afraid in the least and did not retreat. They
were stimulated by the horn blasts and seemed to have been bestowed with
divine strength. With every stroke of their weapons, they would shout a
phrase, the first words in Central Plains Chinese they had learned over the
last 10 days or so.
“Dragon King!”
Gu Shenwei looked at Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus, who were standing

beside him. He could not bring himself to look on helplessly as his soldiers
got slaughtered. As such, he resumed blowing on his horn and spread out his
right arm, which was holding onto his saber, like a huge bird with only one
wing, and leaped at the nobles a few steps below him.
Gu Shenwei’s spur-of-the-moment rescue very nearly became a tragedy from

which there was no turning back.
As he leaped into the air, drawing the attention of many people, an even
louder horn blast was heard.
It was not a solitary blast, but a combination of two to three thousand blasts
being grouped into a formidable force, returning the call of the Dragon
King’s horn from afar.
It came just at the right time and it broke the last line of defence of the locals.
Those who could understand Central Plains Chinese and were stirring up the
mob not too long ago became the first to fall to their knees. They mimicked
the tone of the savages as the shouted “Dragon King” loudly.
More and more of the locals followed suit, shouting out the words but
completely unaware of its meaning.
They had already acknowledged him as their god.

Chapter 382 - Conquest
Chapter 382: Conquest
As the blasts from the Dragon King’s horn traveled to their camp, the entire
body of soldiers from the Great Snowmountain cast their chores aside and
came running towards the source of the blasts regardless of where they were.
No matter how many days they had been resting for or how much tender
loving care they received from the local women, they became warriors again
at this moment.
The blasts grew increasingly urgent; the Dragon King seemed to be faced
with a formidable foe.
Tuo Nengya did not have a horn of his own, but it was his suggestion for all
the swordsmen to blow on their horns at the same time, as a reply to the
Dragon King.
The conquest of the Land of Fragrance turned out to be unexpectedly

successful, at least at first glance.
The nine remaining tribal chiefs had already respectfully surrendered to the
Dragon King when the soldiers were still a significant distance away from the
altar. Everyone of the locals, regardless of class, was willing to accept the
Dragon King’s rule. Generations of obedience training allowed them to
switch back to a monarchy very easily.
All of a sudden, the population of the Great Snowmountain grew by tens of

thousands of people. There was an intense debate on how the ‘new citizens’
should be treated.
That night, Gu Shenwei sent out a small force to garrison the capital. They
went around searching and tallying the number of people in the city, as well
as guarding against any probable ambush and selecting a suitable location to
station all the troops.
It was the first time the army of the Great Snowmountain had ever conquered
a country, and even if the Land of Fragance did not have any armed forces,
its population and wealth were significant.
The machetemen under Tuo Nengya were loyal to the Dragon King, but it did
not affect their love for money. It was one of the reasons why they had kept
striving till now. Therefore, they naturally thought of the entire population of
the Land of Fragrance as their captives and felt that they should be distributed
evenly to each soldier as the valuable items and money were.
The machetemen, very prudently, did not bring their request up immediately.
Instead, they took turns inculcating the values of dividing the spoils of war to
the ‘unenlightened’ swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain and the
conscripted savages.
“Every army behaves in the same way. Even larger bandit gangs also have
similar practices.”
“Indeed, we were not part of the actual conquest; the Dragon King conquered
the entire country nearly by himself. However, we’ve fought in many battles
and many of our friends are dead. Even those of us who survived are covered
in wounds now. Furthermore, we’ve always stayed by the Dragon King’s side
and provided him with unwavering loyalty. Shouldn’t we receive some
rewards?”
“As long as the Golden Roc Fort still stands, we’ll have to leave this paradise
to fight again sooner or later. We should enjoy ourselves here while it lasts,
who knows how many of us will die in the next battle?”
After experiencing the hardships of battle and their expedition, the

swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain had fell for the beauty of the local
women and were thus immediately convinced. Furthermore, it was part of
their tradition for the winner to take all the spoils.
Only the conscripted savages who reported directly to the Dragon King were
unmoved. Basically, they could not grasp the concepts of slavery and wealth,
and thus answered each person who tried to coax them with the same words,
“Ask the Dragon King.”
The prayers of the majority of the soldiers were answered. The chiefs and
Tuo Nengya came to visit the Dragon King together, asking him about the
issue of dividing the spoils of conquest.
“We used to be their guests and acted accordingly. However, they attacked
you, Dragon King. Now that we’re enemies, we shouldn’t stand on
ceremony,” said Long Xiaoshi, the chief of Danduo Peak. He was the first to
speak and his thoughts were exactly similar to the other swordsmen. “If it
were up to me, I would conscript all of the able-bodied men and divide them
up into the various tribes. The old and feeble can stay and be left to survive
on their own. As for the women, why don’t we give a few of them to each
soldier. If we manage to produce a bunch of babies, the population of the
Great Snowmountain would boom again.”
Everyone in the main tent roared with laughter. Even though the swordsmen
were unsophisticated, they somewhat despised women. Earlier on, during the
civil war between the five peaks, incidents of snatching and raping the
women folk of their enemies were common.
As usual, the Dragon King did not voice his opinion immediately. Instead, he
let everyone speak their mind first.
The other chiefs were of nearly similar thought to Long Xiaoshi. Only Long
Fanyun, the young chief of Canopy Peak, disagreed. “Let the women remain
behind. We’re an army after all, how can we fight with them accompanying
us?”
“You’re probably afraid that your wife back home would be unhappy,
Fanyun. Don’t worry, we’ll keep your secret safe with us,” Long Xiaoshi
replied, blinking his only good eye. His statement sparked off another round
of uproarious laughter.
The army of the Great Snowmountain had not been in such a jovial
atmosphere for a very long while.
Gu Shenwei hoped that Tuo Nengya would offer a different perspective, but
he was a machete man after all. “The Land of Fragrance is a gift from the
heavens to the Great Snowmountain. We’ll never find another country that is
so easy to conquer. If we don’t take it, the Supreme King will be sure to send
his people over once news reaches him.”
Gu Shenwei had much to say, but could not find the right words all of a
sudden. As such, he requested for everyone to return to their tents and said
that he would give them an answer the next morning.
They were surprised at his indecision but still followed his orders. All of
them went back and informed the soldiers under their command to wait
patiently for the Dragon King’s decision.
Gu Shenwei had many tasks to do, but the most pressing issue was that both
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were still not completely conscious.
The five women who were nearly burnt alive were still in a state of partial
unconsciousness. They could eat, walk, sit and sleep, but had to be attended
to for everything they did. Once their servants left, they were no different
from zombies; they had no reaction to other people and objects.
The remaining nine tribal chiefs of the Land of Fragrance were kept as
hostages in the Great Snowmountain’s military camp. They were also
surprised at the condition of the five women. One of them, who knew Central
Plains Chinese, said carefully to the Dragon King, “They should have
recovered by now. Have they not taken the antidote to the Indra fragrance?”
The nobles did not dare to speak to the Dragon King unless he had questions
for them. It was partly because they were not speaking a common language
and also partly because out of fear. Even if they speak, they would carefully
consider their words before talking.
This held a lot of matters up.

“Indra fragrance? Antidote? Why did no one speak of this before? Hand them
over now,” said Gu Shenwei as he forcibly controlled his anger. “These
people appear to be very cooperative after their surrender, but none of them
took the initiative to tell me about the antidote,” he thought grumpily.
In truth, Gu Shenwei had to bear some responsibility for not being informed
about the cure. He had never paid much attention to the five women publicly,
and only Tuo Nengya and the Shangguan half-brothers in his entire army
knew who Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were. The other soldiers did not
know that the two ladies were people he cared deeply about, much less the
nobles of the Land of Fragrance.
The nine tribal chiefs started to look at each other as they heard the Dragon
King’s words being translated into their local language. Eventually, it was the
tribal chief who could speak Central Plains Chinese who speaked up shakily,
“The antidote… is not with us. The Indra fragrance has been kept by the Shili
family all this while.”
It just happened that the master of the Shili family was Shili Molo, who had
been killed by the Dragon King on the altar.
Other than the nine tribal chiefs, there were many nobles in the camp of the
Great Snowmountain, but none of them was from the Shili family.
The nobles gave themselves up very willingly upon being interrogated. Gu

Shenwei quickly got to know that the Shili family had fled when their master
was killed. All of them escaped from the scene; there were tens of thousands
of people present then and only a few noticed them fleeing.
Gu Shenwei sent Long Fanyun, the chief of Canopy Peak, with a small group
of men into the city to seize the members of the Shili family and get the
antidote.
It was only at this moment that many people came to realize the importance
of the five female sacrificial lambs.
Shangguan Fei just got to know that his sister was nearly burned alive on the
altar, and displayed a little rare love for his sibling. “That bunch of ass. We
should’ve killed all of them,” he said.
After saying these words, he felt that his duties to his sister were done. “I’m
sure you’ll have a solution, Dragon King. There’s no need for me to be
worried for nothing, haha.”
Long Fanyun brought back bad news to the Dragon King. Shili Molo’s sons
had escaped from the capital and their whereabouts were unknown. There
were only frightened women and helpless slaves left behind in his residence
and none of them had the antidote.
Gu Shenwei summoned all of the hostages who were nobles once again into
his tent. He drew the Five Peaks Saber and placed it across his knees as he
sat. Dozens of conscripted savages were standing at his sides as a show of
force. He then ordered the hostages to cough up all the information they had
on the Indra fragrance.
Dozens of them fought for their turn to confess. Two of their tribal chiefs
acted as interpreters and kept on translating their words into Central Plains
Chinese. Gu Shenwei had to rely on his extraordinary ability of analysis to
piece the piecemeal information together.
Nobles of the Land of Fragrance were divided into ten tribes, and not only
was each tribe given a piece of land along with slaves but also a Flower Soul
Forest each. Other than that of the royal palace, which was uninhabited, a
Chief Priest resided in each of the other nine Flower Soul Forests. Each priest
had his own specialty; some were skilled in kung fu while some in medicine.
The Shili family presided over the seventh Flower Soul Forest and its priest
was skilled in the use of various fragrances. In common jianghu parlance, he
knew how to concoct knockout powders.
The Shili family was knowledgeable and full of ideas and they could be
considered as distinct from the other people in the Land of Fragrance. When
the other citizens obediently accepted the rule of their conquerors, the men of
the Shili family fled the capital, seemingly intent on avenging their father’s
death.
There were no words in the language of the Land of Fragrance which could
be used to translate ‘revenge’, and the two interpreters had to take some time
to explain the concept to their fellow hostages. All of them felt that the Shili
family’s choice was inconceivable.
The seventh Flower Soul Forest was situated about three and a half
kilometers to the southwest of the capital. Gu Shenwei sent out his men
during the night to get the antidote. The tribal chiefs had learnt their lesson
and decided to pre-empt the Dragon King by warning him that the forest was
a maze built with vegetation, and that without a guide, his men would either
find it hard to enter or impossible to exit.
The setup of each Flower Soul Forest was basically the same, with only slight
differences. Therefore, Gu Shenwei sent out one of the tribal chiefs to guide
his men.
Having learnt his lesson, Gu Shenwei continued interrogating the hostages.
As he gathered more information, he became increasingly uneasy.
He was not the first to conquer the Land of Fragrance alone. Before he
arrived, Old Man Mu was already “the Uncrowned King”. Nobody knew
where he was hiding now in retreat, and he was planning to practice his new
skills on the Great Snowmountain army after he was done with his retreat.
The nobles had forced their female slaves to seduce the soldiers of the Great
Snowmountain at the river because they wanted to hold them back for Old
Man Mu’s target practice later on.
Gu Shenwei was not afraid of Old Man Mu; he felt that no matter what, one
man was no match for an entire army. That said, he was afraid that Old Man
Mu would not face him openly and choose to engage in guerilla warfare
instead by making sneak attacks on his common soldiers.
Gu Shenwei gave the order for Tuo Nengya to lead 200 men to sweep the
entire Land of Fragrance in search for Old Man Mu. Once spotted, they were
not to engage and had to return back to report to the Dragon King.
Tuo Nengya had heard of the infamous Old Man Mu and therefore treated the
task more seriously than the other soldiers. He immediately set off with his
men to fulfil his orders.
The time of idleness for the army of the Great Snowmountain had now come
to an end. Even though many of them could still not feel it themselves, an
intense atmosphere was spreading throughout the camp from the Dragon
King himself.
The problems kept piling up: how to divide up the spoils of war, retrieving
the antidote in time to save the women and finding out where Old Man Mu
was. Each problem demanded that Gu Shenwei resolved it quickly.
Chapter 383 - Burden
Chapter 383: Burden
Upon learning that the Dragon King had also found a woman he liked, the
soldiers of the Great Snowmoutain army felt much relieved. They rubbed
their hands with glee, eager to rush into the city to get their loot. They were
so excited that most of them were up all night.
That night, Gu Shenwei did not sleep either. He forced himself to temporarily
forget about Shangguan Ru, Maid Lotus and Old Man Mu and concentrate
instead on how to deal with the Land of Fragrance.
Among all the views in the army, only Tuo Nengya’s opinion could be
considered well-founded. The macheteman reminded the Dragon King that
the Land of Fragrance could no longer be cut off from the outside world, as
there was no way to make nearly 2,000 soldiers keep it a secret. Once the
outside world knew about the existence of this richly-endowed country and
the fact that it could be easily conquered, the powerful forces, such as the
Golden Roc Fort, would swoop in, just like a group of predators attracted by
a huge piece of fat meat.
Given that, sparing the people of Land of Fragrance out of mercy would
probably lead to the country being conquered by the Supreme King. When
that happened, the Golden Roc Fort’s strength would be further bolstered.
This was not the result that Gu Shenwei wanted.
However, if he let his men carve up the country, this army he had built up to
fight for supremacy in Western Region would be reduced to a bandit gang.
This was not a result that he desired either, as a bandit gang would never be
able to contend for hegemony with the Golden Roc Fort and Norland. He did
not know much about military tactics and by far, he had led his army solely
depending on his intuition and rudimentary military administration skills that
he had learned back in the Central Plain during his childhood.
As such, he really wished that Fang Wenshi or Zhong Heng had come along
with him and offered him some suggestions at this moment; how to deal with
the easily-won loot in the Land of Fragrance was a test for him. His decision
would determine the future of himself and the Great Snowmountain.
He knew this in his heart but did not how to express himself in words.
Swordsmen, machetemen and savages were the three major manpower

sources of bandits in Western Region. In their eyes, it was a natural thing to
divide the spoils fairly, and they would never understand or even be willing
to understand the Dragon King’s plan and vision for his army. The Dragon
King’s hesitation only made them suspect that he wished to keep all the loot
for himself.
It was daybreak shortly after Gu Shenwei had sent out two teams to search
for the antidote for Indra fragrance and Old Man Mu respectively. The nobles
who were kept as hostages in the camp felt threatened under the greedy,
watchful eye of the soldiers and the two tribal chiefs, who were able to speak
Central Plains Chinese, went to the Dragon King’s tent early in the morning,
begging for an audience.
After their request was approved, the two men walked into the tent on their
knees and then kowtowed many times to the Dragon King, looking like
chickens pecking at rice. They remained kneeling and kowtowed another
dozen times even after he ordered them to get up, and they did so reluctantly.
“Now that we’ve venerated you, the Dragon King, as our lord, we think we
have to show our loyalty by actual deeds instead of speech. Although the
Land of Fragrance is just a small and remote country, we still want to offer
some financial support for your army. We’re willing to give half of our
wealth to you, Dragon King,” one of the noble men said.
Upon seeing that the Dragon King gave no reply to the man, the other noble
believed that the young lord was not satisfied with their offer and added.
“We’ll also send 3,000 slave men and 3,000 slave women to serve you and
your soldiers.”
“How could these nobles reckon that it’s natural to send 6,000 slaves to serve
my army, which is not even 2000 strong? What was the ruling class thinking
when they made their national policies? Did they really believe that just the
surrounding mountains and forests could fend off all their enemies?” Gu
Shenwei thought in astonishment.
Despite that, he still respectfully agreed to receive their presents in a bid to

appease them before asking them to gather all the other nobles kept hostage
in the camp for a meeting with the soldiers.
The excited soldiers were waiting under the rising sun for the Dragon King to
announce his plan on how to distribute the spoils of war.
Gu Shenwei stood in the center of a vacant lot, and behind him were the 50 or
so trembling nobles. He also had the few remaining boxes of gold and silver
carried out and placed at his feet.
Upon seeing this, the soldiers nodded to one another with satisfaction, firmly
believing that the Dragon King was going to divide the loot today. The
hostages turned deathly pale, worrying that the Dragon King was still
dissatisfied with their offer.
Unexpectedly, the Dragon King did not mention anything related to the loot.
Instead, he said to his soldiers, “You’ve rested for such a long time. I want to
see if your kung fu is still as good as before. Now, I want all the swordsmen
to form a team, and the machetemen and guard troops to form another one.
Each team will select 50 candidates for a duel. The winning team will be
awarded, and the losers won’t be punished.”
The guard troops actually consisted of the conscripted savages but they were
referred to as such now as they were under direct command of the Dragon
King.
Engaging in kung fu competitions was one of the soldiers’ favorite activities.

As soon as the order was given, several hundreds of them rushed to their
respective leaders, requesting that to take part in the duel.
Many of them did not understand the Dragon King’s proposal at first, but
when they noticed the frightened look on the hostages’ faces, they deduced
that the Dragon King was planning to cow these nobles into submission.
Soon enough, the two teams picked out 50 soldiers each for the duel, and
each team stood on one side of the Dragon King.
The Dragon King declared the start of the duel and both sides charged toward
each other.
Despite the fact that the Dragon King had just promised not to punish the
losing side, none of these soldiers wanted to lose since they could not tolerate
the humiliation of defeat. More importantly, they assumed that the winning
side would get a larger share of the loot, for the Dragon King had just
promised an award for the winners.
As such, the soldiers took the mock battle very seriously. They fought with
all their might even when confronted with their comrades and for some of
them, even their best friends.
If the Dragon King had really intended to intimidate the hostages, he would
have been very satisfied with the results of his plan: the nobles, who wore
long soft robes and delicate waist belts, were now ashen-faced and trembling,
as if they had been faced with predators. The nobles were so scared that they
could only stand on their feet by holding and supporting one another.
Gu Shenwei and the tribal chiefs of the Great Snowmountain kept their eyes
on the fight. They did not mind that the participants got injured, but they had
to make sure that none of them got killed.
Gu Shenwei stopped the fight when the outcome was starting to be clear.
Not surprisingly, the 50 swordsmen won the fight. The machetemen and the
conscripted savages were not as strong as the swordsmen and they did not
work well with each other, so their defeat was within everyone’s
expectations.
When the winners looked at the Dragon King expectantly, waiting for him to
announce their awards and his plan, he had the gold and silver in the boxes
taken out and roughly divided into 50 shares and said, “Come get your award.
Each of you will get a share of the money together with a hostage. They’re
yours now.”
The soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment; these awards were totally
different from what they had expected. The amount of money offered was
quite good, but it belonged to the army instead of the Land of Fragrance. As
for the hostages, they were just a bunch of feeble men. None of the
swordsmen were interested in them.
On the contrary, the nobles had very high opinions of themselves. They were
the most powerful and wealthy people in the Land of Fragrance and could
hardly imagine working as slaves for the barbarians. They assumed that the
Dragon King must have wanted to squeeze more money out of them by doing
so and wailed as they knelt to beg for his mercy. They offered to pay a
ransom for their release and kept increasing the price until it was several
times more than their own assets.
Upon hearing their pleas, the swordsmen swarmed toward the nobles.
Compared to these super-rich people, the small piles of gold and silver at the
Dragon King’s feet were nothing now.
Gu Shenwei remained unmoved no matter how the noble hostages implored

him. When all of the 50 swordsmen got their hostages and money, he issued a
command which surprised everyone present. “The winners, carry your
hostages on your backs and pick up your money.”
The swordsmen had already packed the gold and silver and held their
packages in hand. However, they were reluctant to carry the hostages.
“Aren’t they our slaves now? Why do we have to carry our slaves on our
backs?” they wondered.
Despite their doubts about the order, the swordsmen still carried it out, one
after another. They were annoyed as the hostages kept crying on their backs;
they really wished to kill these weeping men with their swords.
“Does anyone of you want to give up his awards?” the Dragon King asked
loudly.
The swordsmen all shook their heads, smiling; no one wanted to give up the
awards.
“Good, now you’ll fight another mock battle while carrying your prizes.”
Everyone was stunned by this order from the Dragon King.
With hostages on their backs and money in their hands, the swordsmen could
only fight with one hand. It was not a hard thing for them to wield a heavy
sword with one hand, but when their opponent was not some disorderly mob
but a group of battle-seasoned soldiers, they did not stand any chance of
winning.
All the people in the camp were perplexed about what the Dragon King
wanted to do. The soldiers were struck speechless, and the hostages stopped
wailing.
“The duel begins! Once your hostage and money drops to the ground, you’ll
be deemed a loser.”
Some people in the camp gradually came to understand what the Dragon
King intended to do, but some swordsmen still declined to back down and
rushed forward to fight their opponents with one hand.
The outcome of this fight was easy to predict, as no swordsman could defeat
his opponent while carrying a hostage on back and a package of gold and
silver in hand. They either took the initiative to drop their prizes amid the
fighting or were forced to do so when they could no longer take their
opponents’ attacks.
Gu Shenwei thought that it was time to voice his thought now. “Look, my
soldiers, what’s the point of owning the money and the slaves? They’re a
burden which may cause you to be killed in a battle and they can be snatched
away at any minute.”
His statement dampened the enthusiasm of his soldiers, but he still had to say
something else to raise their spirits. “Our enemy is the Supreme King. I’ve
vowed to the Empyrean that I’ll capture Golden Roc Fort within three years.
One year has already passed by now. Have we achieved our goal? Can you
tell me?”
“No, we haven’t.” Only a few people in the crowd answered the question.
“Do you want to admit defeat and hide forever in this place or wage war
against the Supreme King once again?”
“We want war.” This time, more people replied to the Dragon King’s
question.
“Do you want to go to war while carrying your slaves and money or fight
without any burden on you?”
“We want to fight without burden!” All the soldiers now understood his
meaning and shouted in unison.
The swordsmen left their awards on the ground without looking back at them
at all.
The hostages were the only ones who found it hard to comprehend this
situation. They felt much relieved after being unexpectedly rescued from a
desperate situation, but they did not understand the Dragon King’s words or
his soldiers’ reactions. “Are these barbarians insane? They happily chose to
go to war instead of owning slaves and money,” thought the nobles.
Among the crowd, a daring macheteman, who did not consider the Dragon
King as a god like the swordsmen and the conscripted savages did, asked the
Dragon King, “We’re soldiers and may die in any battle. Why not let us
enjoy ourselves before going to war?”
Gu Shenwei was well aware that not many soldiers could always resist the
temptation of women and money. They might be able to do so, when they
occasionally enjoyed themselves before the battles. Nevertheless, as time
went by, this kind of life-style would morally corrupt them and make even
the most valiant swordsman from the Great Snowmountain feel hesitant to
charge during a battle.
Gu Shenwei had a clear understanding of the issue, but he did not speak it out
directly. He chose another way to persuade his soldiers. “Good question, all
of us may die in a battle. You could. He could. So could I. You can relax
yourself by indulging yourself once in a while, but that’s just temporary. As
long as the Golden Roc Fort still stands, we’ll never be able to enjoy our lives
in peace. Now, you’re faced with a chance. Once we win the war, destroy the
Golden Roc Fort and preside a vast land with a large population, we’ll be
able to enjoy ourselves to the utmost and pass this on to our future
generations. We’re gambling with our lives now. If we lose, we’ll be
slaughtered on the battlefield. If we win, we’ll be able to enjoy a lasting
peace. Are you willing to fight for total victory in war together with me?”
“Yes, yes!” shouted the soldiers. They were completely convinced by the
Dragon King’s potent arguments.
After the shouts subsided, Long Xiaoshi, the tribal chief of Danduo Peak
pointed at the hostages, who had crumbled to the ground, while saying,
“What about them? Are we going to ditch them here?”
Gu Shenwei himself did not want any slave. Neither did he plan to leave the
slaves for someone else.
“All the men aged 15-50 from the Land of Fragrance, noble or slave, must
join the army and learn how to fight in a battle,” said Gu Shenwei.
This was his plan to deal with the Land of Fragrance: turning its obedient
residents into professional soldiers. When that happened, they were no longer
a burden but a rich source of military manpower.
Chapter 384 - New Recruits
Chapter 384: New Recruits
The first batch of soldiers sent out by Gu Shenwei came back to the military
camp, and Long Fanyun, the one in charge of the mission, reported to the
Dragon King, “When we arrived, the sons of Shili Molo had already taken all
their most potent fragrances and their Chief Priest away. We only found a
dozen of disciples of the priest. I’ve already sent some soldiers to track down
the runaways and bring the disciples back.”
Upon arriving at the camp, the young disciples, who had spent their entire
lives living in a Flower Soul Forest isolated from the outside world, were
frightened to death. Surrounded by a group of fierce-looking strangers, they
were too scared to say anything and looked as if they had also inhaled some
intoxicating fragrance and become walking corpses.
After the several tribal chiefs of the Land of Fragrance came to appease them,
they finally recovered from their shock and were able to speak.
Unfortunately, it turned out that none of these young disciples were able to
make an antidote for Indra Fragrance, as all of them were still at the stage
whereby it was required of them to place all their attention on ancient texts
and none of them had any hands-on experience.
The tribal chiefs of the Land of Fragrance were eager to please the Dragon
King, so they immediately sent their men to fetch fragrance makers from
their capital. Before long, nearly 40 fragrance makers were brought to the
camp and all of them were disciples of the Shilli family’s Chief Priest.
Everyone of them was able to make several types of fragrances, but none of
them knew how to make Indra Frangrance and the antidote to it.
According to them, Indra Fragrance was recognized as the king of fragrances,

and only the Chief Priest and his designated successor knew how to make it.
As such, the focus was shifted back to the young disciples again.
The chosen successor of the Shili family’s Chief Priest was a boy aged 14 or
15. Among all the Chief Priest’s disciples, only he was from the ruling class
of the Land of Fragrance. He was handsome but timid; he could not even say
a single word in front of the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei had no choice but to let two tribal chiefs of the Land of
Fragrance question him.
This time, the boy finally told them the whole truth.
Indra Fragrance could put a person under general anaesthesia, and in this
condition, the person would only be partially conscious and unable to feel
any physical pain. As such, those who inhaled Indra Fragrance would never
struggle or fight back when being burned alive or stabbed by a knife.
Under the influence of this drug, the women being burned to death on the
annual sacrifice ceremony of the Land of Fragrance could remain calm and
peaceful throughout the whole process, which greatly increased the solemnity
and sacredness of the ceremony.
Indra Fragrance had long-lasting effects. According to the ancient books, if

someone who had inhaled the fragrance failed to take the antidote in time, he
or she would be stuck in a coma, which would last about a month. During the
process, the person’s symptoms would keep getting worse until he or she died
quietly.
As the Land of Fragrance seldom used the antidote for Indra Fragrance, the
Chief Priest’s successor only knew the formula for the antidote but had never
made it. He expressed that he was willing to try out the formula but it would
take him at least half a month.
Gu Shenwei’s disgust with the entire Land of Fragrance grew steadily.
“The inhabitants here seem to be weak and harmless, but they’re probably
born with a strange mixture of simplicity and cruelty. They behave as if they
were a group of spoiled children and show no respect for other people’s lives.
The nobles here will never take the initiative to save anyone outside their
own class unless someone powerful makes them to do so,” thought Gu
Shenwei.
Things that happened a few days later further confirmed his judgment.
After conquering the Land of Fragrance, the Great Snowmountain troops did
not enter the capital and were still stationed outside the city. If possible, Gu
Shenwei wanted to completely isolate the soldiers from the locals. However,
he was unable to do so.
He had to rely on the city to provide food rations for his army, and he could
not stop the slave women from continuing to sneak out of the city and hook
up with his soldiers. These women, who had been forced to seduce the Great
Snowmountain soldiers previously, seemed to really like his soldiers, who
were exactly the opposite of the men in their own country. Now more and
more of them began to follow suit.
Gu Shenwei turned a blind eye to this. He did not forget about the speech he
had made to his soldiers the other day. He just did not want to be excessively
strict with them. “As I’ve already stopped them from carving up the Land of
Fragrance like bandits, I’d better not ask them to give up the other
‘benefits’,” thought Gu Shenwei.
At present, the real headache for him was the new recruits in his army.
The Land of Fragrance had a population of around 60,000, and nearly 10,000
of its residents were men aged between 15 and 50. Gu Shenwei had
conscripted 6,000 of them into his army, and the remaining men in the
country were craftsmen and men who were old, weak or sick.
At the beginning, Gu Shenwei let the 6,000 men from the Land of Fragrance
form a troop of their own and selected some swordsmen and machetemen to
train them. A few days later, he had to admit that it was a wrong decision.
Over the past few days, the new recruits had tried every way to stay away
from the weapons and some of them even had secretly destroyed the weapons
distributed to them.
There was no iron in the Land of Fragrance, and the Great Snowmountain
troops did not have enough extra weapons for the new recruits. As such, most
of the new soldiers were just equipped with wooden sabers or wooden
swords, which could easily be broken or burnt.
Gu Shenwei decided to correct his mistake by dividing the 6000-person troop

into two parts and asking them to join the swordsmen and machetemen troops
respectively. He hoped that the battle-seasoned swordsmen and machetemen
could exert a subtle influence on the new recruits and make them tough.
This was a risky decision, as the new recruits significantly outnumbered the
veterans in the army. Once the veterans got assimilated by the people from
the Land of Fragrance, the Great Snowmountain would lose more than it
gained.
Soon enough, a more serious problem arose.
Among the 6,000 or so new recruits, 1,200-1,300 new soldiers were nobles of
the Land of Fragrance and the rest of them were slaves. The former openly
refused to fight side by side with the latter. They even loathed training
together with the slaves.
They treated their peers gently and politely and the soldiers of the Great
Snowmountain with profound awe and respect. Nevertheless, they could
never accept their slaves as their equals. On many occasions, these noble
men, who wished to stay away from weapons forever, picked up their
wooden sabers or swords to beat the slave soldiers. They acted so cruelly and
abusively that even the battle-seasoned veterans found their behavior very
shocking.
Gradually, this kind of thing happened more and more often. The noble
soldiers even asked the slave soldiers to serve them like before, which caused
great disturbance to the military training.
Gu Shenwei summoned all the tribal chiefs of the Land of Fragrance and
sternly commanded them to renounce their rights to the slaves and treated all
the soldiers equally.
Nevertheless, these nobles, who had surrendered without putting up any

resistance and given up all their wealth and women to please their conqueror,
resolutely refused to treat the slaves as their equals.
Gu Shenwei finally came to know how stubborn these cowardly men could
be.
They did not give him any reasonable explanation or bargain with him.
Instead, they all knelt down, wailing and begging for the Dragon King’s
mercy. They were willing to accept punishment, but refused to accept their
slaves as their comrades.
When Gu Shenwei expressed that he wanted to kill one of the chiefs to set an
example for the others, all the chiefs rushed to take the responsibility. Upon
seeing that, he knew that this method was useless.
To solve this problem, Gu Shenwei separated the slaves from the nobles. The
former was commanded to join the machetemen troop and the latter was
conscripted into the swordsmen troop. The Dragon King supported the slaves
in gaining equal status with the nobles, but the slaves kept sneaking out of
their own troop to serve their former masters and even took pride in this kind
of behavior. If a slave did not do anything for his former master in three days,
he would be despised by his peers.
This ridiculous situation made Gu Shenwei doubt himself. “I might be wrong

about them. The men in this country can never make qualified soldiers. If I
had followed my soldiers’ advice and made these captives slaves of the army,
the situation would’ve been better. Or, maybe I should lead them to leave this
place as soon as possible. The nobles and slaves may change and stop being
so divided after they see the outside world and fight a few major battles
together.” With this in mind, he put most of his effort into collecting food and
horses for his army.
At the moment, both Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were still unconscious
and thus could not remind the Dragon King that he was repeating their
mistake by having engaged in an irreconcilable clash of interests against the
nobles.
Tuo Nengya returned to the camp. He had searched everywhere in a 50-

kilometer radius around the capital but still failed to find Old Man Mu.
During his mission, he had burnt down all the Flower Soul Forests to the
ground, and thus he brought all the Chief Priests and their disciples in the
forests back to the camp.
Among all the 10 Flower Soul Forests of the Land of Fragrance, only the one
located within the royal palace was uninhabited, and in each of the other nine
forests, lived a Chief Priest. These nine Chief Priests were experts in their
respective fields, which included fragrance making, pharmacy, medicine,
gardening, scriptures, ceremonies, fortune-telling, clothes & accessories and
kung fu.
After exchanging a few words with the Chief Priests, Gu Shenwei were
disappointed to discover that these people were all obedient slaves and
extremely bookish people. In the past 100 years, they had just insisted on a
rigid interpretation of the doctrines in the ancient books and never expanded
on them.
As such, Gu Shenwei kept only the two Chief Priests, who were good at
pharmacy and medicine respectively, and these two priests’ disciples in the
camp. As for the other Chief Priests and their disciples, Gu Shenwei set them
free and allowed them to return to the city or join the army.
He deliberately spent more time talking to the Chief Priest whose expertise
was kung fu, but he got as disappointed as Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus
had been. This old Chief Priest patiently answered all his questions, and some
of the priest’s views did delight him for a moment. However, all of the old
man’s views were from the ancient books. They consisted mainly of
comments and not practical instructions.
That led Gu Shenwei to secretly dub the priest “chicken ribs”—tasteless

when eaten but a pity to throw away. The only reason he decided to keep this
priest in his army was that this old man’s lower body was paralysed. Asking
the priest to leave the camp would be no different from sentencing him to
death.
Gu Shenwei planned to have a good talk with the priest when he had plenty
of time to do so. He still wanted to try to get something useful from the
pedantic man.
Although now building a strong army was the core measure to enhance his
competitiveness against the Golden Roc Fort, he still had to improve his kung
fu skills. Without superb kung fu, he would be unable to command and
subdue his swordsmen and machetemen.
Gu Shenwei was planning to bring his newly recruited soldiers to the outside
world to see what a real war looked like, but before he could do so, someone
brought it to him.
It turned out that the 7 sons of Shili Molo had not just escaped with their
Chief Priest, they had also returned with an army of their own. The Land of
Fragrance was not completely isolated from the outside world, but the
privilege to communicate with the outside world was enjoyed by only a small
group of people, which included Shili Molo and his sons.
According to the scouts, a 3,000-strong army from the northeast was heading
for the capital of the Land of Fragrance and would arrive there three days
later.
Gu Shenwei considered it a great opportunity for him. He was confident that

he would soon be able to find a route to return to Western Region and turn
his new recruits into real soldiers.
He secretly ordered all the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain to keep
a close watch on their slave soldiers and prevent them from contacting their
former masters.
In the meantime, the machetemen were ordered by the Dragon King to

disseminate the news about the Shili family’s rebel troops to the nobles in
their ranks.
As Gu Shenwei had expected, the night before the arrival of the Shili
family’s army, more than half of the nobles made up all kinds of excuses to
return to the city and then defected to the Shili family after leaving the camp.
He did not send any troop to stop them, and in fact, he wanted to see more
defectors. To encourage the remaining 400 or so noble soldiers, who were not
brave enough to escape, to flee, he commanded his troops to withdraw 15
kilometers to the southwest, leaving the capital of the Land of Fragrance to
his enemies. He made this decision, as he intended to fight a perfect battle.
As for his soldiers, they did not understand his decision but still carried out
all his orders dutifully.
Soon enough, the last batch of nobles fled. They even took lots of money and
women away from the city.
“Now, the burden has been shifted to the enemy. It’s time to engage,”
thought Gu Shenwei.
This was going to be the first war fought in the Land of Fragrance in this
century.
Chapter 385 - Facing Off
Chapter 385: Facing Off
Gu Shenwei waited for three more days before agreeing to fight.
During the three days, the 3,000 soldiers of the Shili family’ army, who had
come to the city with only their weapons, horses and dry food, plundered the
city’s treasure and thus accumulated lots of money and slaves. Now, every
soldier in the army owned some slaves and several parcels of valuable items.
The slaves in the city were still loyal to their masters, but the nobles declined
to trust them. They accused them of doing nothing when the thousands of
slave men had been compelled to join the army of the Great Snowmountain
and began to take their revenge on the slaves in the city before the war.
This situation made soldiers of the Great Snowmountain somewhat anxious,

as they always considered the wealth and slaves of the city as their spoils.
Although the Dragon King forbade them from dividing these spoils of war,
they still could not remain calm when seeing their loot and slaves fall into the
hands of the enemy.
Groups of soldiers came to see the Dragon King one after another,
demanding to wage war against the Shili family right now.
The Shili family’s army was eager to take their loot away, and the Great
Snowmountain troops were in a hurry to obtain the loot back. As such, both
of these two belligerent parties wished to fight to see who was the stronger as
soon as possible. This was the backdrop for the battle.
The Shili family, who enjoyed numerical superiority in terms of troops, was
the first one to issue the challenge. The sons of Shili Molo were confident,
since they were well aware that there were only 1,500-1,600 professional
soldiers in the Great Snowmountain troops and all the nobles in the city had
promised them that the slave soldiers of the Great Snowmountain would
change sides amid the war upon hearing their masters’ orders.
Gu Shenwei felt the same way about the slave soldiers as the nobles did.
Given that, he decided to leave the slaves soldiers behind and assigned a
small troop of veterans to supervise them.
The slave soldiers accepted this arrangement obediently and then calmly
waited for the outcome of the war. They did not care much about the
outcome. All they needed to do was to wait for their master to return with
victory, as the winner of the war would surely belong to their master.
The site of the battle was also decided by the Shili family.
This place was not far away from the capital and used to be covered by a
Flower Soul Forest, which had already been burnt to the ground by Tuo
Nengya. As now there were no plants or trees hindering the soldiers’
movement, it was the best place for the two armies to fight a battle.
This place was a piece of low-lying land, and there were slopes on both its
eastern and the western sides. As such, these slopes become natural stands for
the nobles to watch the fight.
The nobles had never intended to fight against the Great Snowmountain
troops by themselves. They had spent a lot to hire their reinforcements and
now they only wanted to observe the battle at a safe distance from the slope
on the eastern side of the battlefield.
The 1,000 or so noble men also invited their wives and children to watch the
fight for a reason that only themselves could understand. These nobles came
to the slope followed by a large group of slaves, who stayed by their side and
held parasols open for them.
The nobles had been dishonest with the Dragon King from the very
beginning, and all the population figures they had provided were incorrect.
Every noble family had tried their best to hide many of their young slaves,
and now they finally could let all of them out.
As for the two armies on the battleground, neither of them had dispatched all
of its soldiers to take part in the battle.
The machetemen troop under the command of Tuo Nengya had been divided
into two parts. One part of it stayed behind to supervise their slave soldiers,
and the other part went to lie in ambush at a place designated by the Dragon
King.
Yesterday, a small troop of swordsmen had launched a surprise attack on the

tribal troops’ military camp. They killed no one but snatched some valuable
items from the camp. This incident made the tribal troops believe that the
Dragon King was coveting their wealth. They got nervous and decided to
leave one third of their men to defend their camp before they left to fight
against the Dragon King’s army.
Under such circumstances, the tribal troops still had 2,000 soldiers joining the
fight and enjoyed numerical superiority over the Great Snowmountain troops
who had only 1,300 soldiers.
Upon seeing that, the nobles of the Land of Fragrance were extremely
excited, as it was going to be the first battle that happened in their nation after
more than a century. None of the noblemen had seen a real battle, but they
had read a lot about wars in the ancient books. Now they all began to show
off their knowledge in front of their wives and children, and some of them
even started to loudly recite some well-written paragraphs about wars from
the books.
They firmly believed that it would be an easy victory for them as their tribal
soldiers significantly outnumbered the Dragon King’s warriors. Besides,
according to their ancient books, the Land of Fragrance had won every war
that had happened here before. They were sure that this war was no
exception.
They hated the Dragon King, for he had violated the greatest taboo in their
culture. They would never accept slaves as their equals.
Before the war, the nobles had held a writing competition which had attracted
more than 100 talented young writers to join. Every participant of this
competition had to write an article to describe the upcoming battle and submit
it to a jury consisting of tribal chiefs and some other elders.
The winner of this competition used metaphorical language to write an epic.

In this work, which the author had spent two days and two nights to
complete, the Dragon King was depicted as a fierce-looking dragon who led
numerous demons to invade the peaceful and civilian Land of Fragrance, and
the 7 sons of the Shili family were described as brave young men who rose to
the challenge and waged war against the evil dragon. He also described the
fighting scenes in detail through a great many pages.
At this moment, the author was reading this story out loud and passionately
to his fellow countrymen and winning rapturous applause from his audience.
When he came to the part where the patron gods of the Land of Fragrance
were moved by the 7 sons of the Shilli family and about to send troops from
heaven to slay the evil dragon, the real battle in the low-lying land began.
The Shili family’s army launched an attack first.
Their army consisted of troops borrowed from a dozen tribes outside the
Land of Fragrance, who did business with the Shili family; they agreed to
join the sons of Shili Molo after being promised ample rewards.
The eldest son of Shili Molo, who was venerated as commander-in-chief of

this army, did not know how to handle military affairs at all and even scorned
to get involved in a battle, so he simply let the tribal troops stand in a line and
allow them to decide when to start a charge and how fast they would charge
toward the enemies. As a result, the Shili family’s army was just a loose
coalition of forces.
As for the army of the Great Snowmountain, its commander-in-chief, the

Dragon King, personally led the soldiers to the battlefield, and the soldiers
were neatly aligned into three sections: the swordsmen from the Great
Snowmountain were placed on the flanks of the battle line, and the 300
conscripted savages who served as bowmen stood in a line in front of the
swordsmen.
Due to the fact that neither side was good at fighting on horseback, no
cavalrymen were involved in this battle. The swordsmen had once fought on
horseback, but their performance could hardly compete with that of
professional cavalrymen. In addition, their heavy swords were not suitable
for this type of fighting.
At this moment, the Dragon King could not help thinking of his military
counselor, Fang Wenshi. “If that scholar was here, he would be strongly
against such an arrangement. He would say that a general should avoid
joining the fight and he must focus on managing the overall process of the
battle and acting according to circumstances. He has a point, but just like the
Chief Priests of the Land of Fragrance, he’s somewhat bookish. My army still
heavily relies on the soldiers’ fighting capacity to win battles. There aren’t
very many soldiers in my army and they can’t work seamlessly and smoothly
together. In this sense, there’s no ‘overall process’ that needed to be
managed. More importantly, my soldiers all wish to see me fighting together
with them.”
The Dragon King needed his soldiers to worship him. This was not out of the
need to gratify his vanity. It was just a necessary way for him to better
control his soldiers.
Besides, he also personally preferred killing enemies with his own saber to
staying behind the battle line.
By now, the battle line of the tribal troops had already been twisted into an
asymmetrical arch line, since both of its flanks had surpassed the troops in
the middle and the left flank was a little bit ahead of the right flank.
The nobles of the Land of Fragrance had a certain responsibility for this
mess, as all of them had followed the Shili family’s example and promised to
pay a double bounty to the tribe who killed the most enemies.
On the other side of the battleground, the conscripted savages felt slightly
nervous, because this was the first time for them to fight a battle on a plain.
Although the Dragon King had ordered them to shoot together, some of them
still shot their arrows ahead of the fixed time. As such, they failed to achieve
the desired effect in the first round of shooting.
Fortunately, the conscripted savages’ excellent archery skills successfully
remedied this fault. They preferred aiming at the targets before shooting to
shooting randomly.
In the first round of shooting, many of their arrows missed their targets
because of the long distance, but in the second round, almost every arrow hit
its target. The right flank of the tribal troops suffered heavy casualties and
soldiers kept falling down to the blackened ground one after another.
The noblemen on the slope all turned pale at the sight, and the noblewomen
turned their heads away from the revolting scene.
The winner of the writing competition continued reading out his work, but his
voice got weaker and weaker. In the meantime, his audience started to flee.
There were no bowmen in the tribal troops, and all the soldiers in the troops
wore only crude leather armors and were even less armored than swordsmen
from the Great Snowmountain. Therefore, the 300 conscripted savages easily
kept the tribal soldiers at least 30 meters away from the Great Snowmountain
troops with their bows and arrows.
The tribal soldiers swiftly retreated backward. After they got out of the range
of the arrows, they stamped their feet with rage while loudly accusing the
Dragon King of playing dirty tricks on them and criticizing that the Great
Snowmountain soldiers were not real men.
Compared to the locals in the Land of Fragrance, these tribal soldiers were
not so ignorant. Most of them had heard various kinds of rumors about the
Dragon King before, but none of them had taken these stories seriously. They
belittled the Dragon King’s achievements even more when they heard that he
had been defeated by the Golden Roc Fort and abandoned his camp to flee
southward.
Upon seeing the tribal soldiers’ reaction, Gu Shenwei ordered his army to get
ready for a close combat. The savages immediately put their bows and arrows
away and picked up their swords and machetes.
The tribal soldiers were thrilled to see their wish come true and could not
wait to show off their power in front of their generous employers. Therefore,
they repeated their mistake and acted independently again. After running only
less than 20 meters forward, they lost their formation. When seen from afar,
their battle line looked like an earthworm struggling on a dry ground.
Contrary to them, swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were all

seasoned warriors.
To maintain their formation, they started by walking.
Gu Shenwei walked in the middle and put most of his time and efforts
marshalling his soldiers instead of observing his enemies, preventing his men
from advancing rashly.
When he saw the tribal soldiers leading the charge come within 10 meters of
his army and was even able to clearly see how many teeth the enemy soldiers
had, he finally lifted up his Five Peaks Saber and blew his horn, which was
tied to a shoulder strap he wore.
Thousands of soldiers from the Great Snowmountain instantly blew their

horns to answer the Dragon King’s call.
The horn sound shook the ground and vibrated the air. This sound had
conquered the Land of Fragrance before, and now it made the people of the
Land of Fragrance start to tremble with fear once again.
The young writer stopped reading his story out and stood agape. His mouth
dropped open, but words no longer came out of it.
Many nobles ordered their slaves to stay here until the battle ended and tell
them the result after the battle, while they themselves stealthily left the place.
The tribal soldiers were also shocked by the horns, but they did not shrink
back. Instead, they emitted various kinds of shouts, trying to psych their
opponents out and build their own courage up.
When the Dragon King and his swordsmen put their horns away, the horn
sounds were still reverberating. After the horn blowing, they all held their
weapons high, making their formation now look like a giant hedgehog who
suddenly erected all of its spines.
The two armies quickly got into a close combat.
No epic in the Land of Fragrance had described such a fighting scene before.
The nobles, who were watching the fight from the slope, all got stressed out
and escaped upon seeing the blood splattering over the battleground. Even
the seven sons of Shili Molo, the nominal commanders of the tribal troops,
also fled and left everything to their slaves who felt their legs getting weaker
at this moment.
A professional general would dismiss the battle as a street brawl but he would
definitely be astonished by the brutality exhibited in the latter half of the
fight.
The tribal soldiers were evidently weaker than the swordsmen from the Great
Snowmountain in terms of kung fu and teamwork skills, and their numerical
superiority could hardly make up for these disadvantages.
As such, the battle soon turned into a massacre. The swordsmen got all the
bad emotions, which had been stored up all this while, out of themselves and
began to slaughter the tribal soldiers.
Due to the large number of the tribal soldiers, this fight might have lasted for
several hours, but someone’s screams suddenly interrupted the battle. “The
Great Snowmountain troops are raiding our camp! They’re raiding the
camp!”
When the tribal soldiers looked back at their military camp where they stored
all their valuable items, they were surprised to see that it was engulfed by
thick smoke.
Upon seeing that, they hurriedly ran toward their camp. As such, the first
battle fought in the Land of Fragrance in this century had lasted for only less
than half an hour until this moment.
However, the battle would not end here, as Gu Shenwei intended to

annihilate all the enemy forces. He wanted to keep his army’s stay in the
Land of Fragrance a secret for a longer time.
Chapter 386 - Reward and
Punishment
Chapter 386: Reward and Punishment
Subsequent battles continued until the end of the night.
The three thousand reinforcements which had been acquired with some
difficulty by the Shili family were completely annihilated. More than half of
them had died in the process of retreating. The survivors surrendered near
their own military camp.
Tuo Nengya and the machetemen had not attacked the military camp at all.
They had just set a fire near the camp and then ambushed nearby. Together
with the main force of the Great Snowmountain, they surrounded and
annihilated a thousand people who remained in the camp and the retreating
remnants.
Such an outcome was completely beyond the expectations of the nobles of

the Land of Fragrance. Therefore, it was no wonder that many people reacted
extremely by sitting down and crying bitterly, kotowing to their gods for help
at the altar and throwing belongings on the streets. Some people even
committed suicide with their own family members.
Only a small number of people quickly fled with the Shili family. Most
people surrendered themselves to the Dragon King for the second time.
Gu Shenwei had no time to respond to the nobles’ second pledge of loyalty.

This evening, he kept giving orders, sending out small forces again and again
to chase down the escaped remnants.
At noon the following day, the seven sons of the Shili family, as well as a
group of followers, were all captured and escorted to the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei was very satisfied with the performance of the warriors. Their
leisurely life for more than a month had not impacted their combat
effectiveness.
Behind him, packages and boxes piled up like a hill. The warriors from the
Great Snowmountain had not needed to move their hands at all. The nobles
and tribal soldiers of the Land of Fragrance had spontaneously “contributed”
them to the Dragon King.
On his left hand, more than 1,600 warriors from the Great Snowmountain
stood upright and proudly. They had only suffered a minimal loss in the
combat. The warriors never looked away from the Dragon King. This victory
overshadowed most of their failures of the past few months. It also enhanced
their reverence for the Dragon King.
On his right hand, there were more than a thousand tribal remnants, looking
at the wealth that they had possessed for a short time. They were all seized
with remorse. Yesterday, they were saviors. Today, their lives were in the
hands of the Dragon King.
More than 4,000 slave soldiers surrounded the prisoners of war. Many of
them replaced their wooden sabers with swords for the first time. When they
received the heavy steel weapons, they were both excited and frightened.
Especially when they saw their former owners kneeling on the ground like
slaves, they felt like the whole world had turned upside down．
The nobles were divided into two groups. The smaller group consisted of
about one hundred people. They were headed by the seven sons of the Shili
family and were kneeling at the forefront. All of them were fugitives who had
been arrested. The other group was much larger. More than 1,000 people
knelt behind them. This was their second surrender. The first time was when
they were a part of the Great Snowmountain. Last time, they were standing,
but this time they were all kneeling down, begging for forgiveness.
A huge quantity did not necessarily mean powerful strength. Sometimes they
could become a cumbersome burden.
Under the supervision of sabers and swords, no one in the entire military
camp dared to speak.
Gu Shenwei had to deal with these nobles and prisoners of war immediately.
He didn’t do it out of revenge. The resistance of these people was
understandable. He didn’t do it to demonstrate his power in front of the
people of the Land of Fragrance. There was no need to enhance their
cowardice. He did so for the sake of the warriors under his command.
For the Dragon King, having this one thousand and six hundred people on his
side was far more important than owning a country. There wouldn’t be any
others like them. They would believe every single word of Dragon King and
unconditionally execute his every order.
Compared with these nobles who were kneeling in front of him, his warriors
were obviously more valuable assets.
Gu Shenwei raised his right hand and pointed to the escaped nobles in the
forefront rows, “Behead.”
Before the nobles understood the meaning of this word, a row of the Great
Snowmountain warriors emerged from the crowd, wielding their sabers and
swords. They struck the necks of the nobles without resistance, like lions and
tigers rushing into a flock of sheep.
Dozens of nobles who had surrendered twice and were kneeling in the back
fainted all at once.
The nobles who had surrendered were equally untrustworthy. They had to be
punished, and they had to prove that they were no longer liabilities. Gu
Shenwei pointed his bloodstained finger at them, “Send them all to the forest
and give them a day’s rations. ” Then he raised voice, ” After five days,
anyone who wants revenge, come out and fight with the Great
Snowmountain. If you want to join the army, prove that you are a man. ”
Gu Shenwei had come up with this method of training killer appretices in

Golden Toc Fort - a brutal survival of the fittest. As for the hatred that might
arise, he paid no heed.
For many nobles, this was worse than being executed on the spot. They cried
out loud saying they were willing to contribute all their possessions, even
their wives and daughters.
Their performance only brought them more contempt and disgust. Two
hundred Great Snowmountain warriors took more than 1,000 nobles out of
the military camp and drove them to the forest in the north.
Then it was the captured tribal soldiers’ turn.
The Dragon King had always just been a distant and vague nightmare for
them. They never expected it to become a reality. Those inconceivable
legends suddenly became credible. Many people looked up nervously,
thinking that the horrible Man-eating Demon Bird was flying in the air.
“You have a choice.” Gu Shenwei used Internal Strength to projecy his voice
so that everyone could hear it. “Go home, prepare to fight again; Or
surrender, fight with the real warriors. ”
“Surrender.” Immediately, a captive opened his mouth, and soon the sound of
surrender became unanimous.
But there were others with a different idea. One of the captives shouted, “No,
I won’t surrender!”
The captives automatically drew back to let him through. He walked to the
front of the crowd and said again: “I have to go home. I will crawl my way
back if needed. Dragon King is a hero. But we are not wusses. I want to fight
again. ”
He was tall with a resolute gaze. He had always been conspicuous standing
amidst the captives. At this moment, he became the focus of everyone’s
attention.
“How did you get captured?” Gu Shenwei asked, admittedly with a little
respect for the bold man. There might be many people who were reluctant to
surrender and wanted to go home but he was the only one who had dared to
defy the majority and speak out in public.
Sometimes, it required even more bravery to voice a contrary view than to
kill enemies on the battlefield.
“They took my weapon away.” The man turned his head and glanced back at
them. His tone was resentful and full of disdain. He had been betrayed by his
own companions, so it was beneath him to surrender with them.
“What’s your name?”
“Ha Chilie. I’m the son of the chief of Dongshan Mountain Tribe, Ha
Shelong.”
“Go back and tell your father and clansmen. Dragon King and the Great
Snowmountain are the co-owners of Western Region. We will soon go out
and fight with the Supreme King. You must make a choice. There is only one
chance to join a side. You are free to go now”
Ha Chilie seemed to be not totally convinced of Dragon King’s words. When

he hadsaid he would not surrender, he was ready to die. Since the Dragon
King had already said so, he did not see the need to be courteous. He turned
back and said to the captives from his clan, “Follow me. Let Dragon King
know, he is not the only real warrior here. ”
No one moved. Everyone thought that the Dragon King was playing a trick
by setting them free. If someone dared to walk out of the military camp, he
would be beheaded immediately. What more, they had completely admitted
defeat. They believed that even if they tried again, they would undoubetedly
be defeated.
Ha Chilong shook his head in disappointment. He looked enviously at the

Great Snowmountain warriors across the road, then headed out of the camp.
He did not even express gratitude to the Dragon King.
Many warriors were deeply angry with this and gripped their swords tightly.
As long as the Dragon King indicated anything with a meaningful glance,
they would rush to attack the ungrateful son of the chief.
The Dragon King never opened his mouth and did indeed set Ha Chilong
free.
Gu Shenwei spoke to those who had surrenderred again, “If you lost your
weapon, you have to grab another with your own skills. Before the next
battle, you have to fight with your bare fists.”
The last thing to deal with was the piles of gold and silver treasures.
Gu Shenwei insisted that they shouldn’t be divided equally. It was not

because that he didn’t think the warriors were worthy of rewards. He didn’t
want to take exclusive possession of everything either. He never had a desire
for fortune.
His experience with Zhong Heng had taught him a principle: drawing
somebody over to one’s side little by little without letting up was far better
than a one-time bribe.
When Gu Shenwei had been a killer of Golden Roc Fort and Zhong Heng had
been the commandant, he had given Zhong Heng a gift every month. The
amount was not too big, but ihe had done it consistently for years. It was
because of this, Zhong Heng’s loyalty gradually lay with the Dragon King.
The Daxueshan warriors were simple and loyal. Even the macheteman under
Tup Nengya’s could stand the test. They would never forsake righteousness
for the sake of gold.
Gu Shenwei cherished this quality, but thought that he could not afford to be
relaxed and sit on this laurels. On the contrary, he had to be careful when
dealing with any warrior. He had to demonstrate the nobility and severity of a
king. Occasionally, he would express trust and gratitude to satisfy them. He
could never make the warriors feel like they were merely his employees.
This was much more difficult and more rewarding than commanding an army
that was simply manipulated with rewards. Gu Shenwei had to use
techniques. As long as he did not go too far, he could secure his position in
the minds of the warriors.
All the gold and silver treasures were divided into two parts equally. One part
was to award all the warriors according to their merits. The other was kept as
future rewards and jointly controlled by Long Xiaoshi, the one-eyed patriarch
of Danduo Peak, and the old macheteman, Tuo Nengya.
The rewards and punishment had been all settled. Gu Shenwei convened
several generals to discuss military affairs.
When Long Xiaoshi entered the main tent, he asked, “That Ha Chilong, how
dare he disrespect Dragon King! Do you want me to send someone to chop
off his head back?”
“No. He abandoned the brothers of his clan and went home alone. He will be
called into question instead of being respected. Let him spread the fear. Send
out my order, we decamp five days later. We will follow the son of the chief
back to the Western Region. ”
Gu Shenwei could ask the captives for directions, but he also wanted to have
an unwitting guide.
The following situation was very complicated. Another group of slaves from
the Land of Fragrance had joined the army. No more young men could be
found inside the city.
But Gu Shenwei couldn’t take away all the young men. This country would
be completely destroyed if it merely consisted of elderly people, women, and
children.
According to his order, only one young man could stay at home in each
family, all the other men must go along and fight with the army. At the same
time, a small number of troops were to remain. They set up checkpoints at
every exit and entrance, preventing foreign enemies from invading.
The Land of Fragrance could not stay isolated from the world anymore.
The hardest part was finding a governor. The nobles were very unreliable, not
to mention they had already been driven into the forest. The slaves had not
yet got rid of their former habits and none of them dared to be a leader.
Gu Shenwei managed to settle this problem by designating several warriors
who had been injured in previous battles to stay in the Land of Fragrance.
Gu Shen kept himself swamped with work, so he would not have to visit the
two women in a semi-conscious state. He didn’t want the warriors to
misunderstand.
The seven sons of the Shili family had already been executed. However, the
High Priest who made frangrances and the antidote did not return to the
country with the tribal warriors. Eventually, good news returned of the heir of
the High Priest finally making the antidote under the strict supervision of
several warriors after nearly 20 days.
The young disciple repeatedly stressed that the effect of the antidote was
unknown, and he could not guarantee that it would work.
Gu Shenwei had no choice but to take a risk. Fortunately, there were five
comatose women in total. He could try the antidote on the others first.
Taking the antidote coincided with the night before the army set out.
Everything happened at the same time. People kept coming in and out of Gu
Shenwei’s main tent without pause. Many things were waiting for him to
settle.
The news about the efficacy of the antidote had not yet arrived. A disturbing
incident happened in the military camp.
Old Man Mu left the training grounds. On the first night, he killed only one
warrior. Although everyone was furious, they did not anticipate how severe
the incident was.
Chapter 387 - Waking from a
Dream
Chapter 387: Waking from a Dream
This dream was going on for far too long. When she was half-awake, reality
and illusion were perfectly combined. The dividing line between them was
completely blurred. Shangguan Ru gradually lost her ability to distinguish
them. Everything in her mind seemed to be real and credible.
Even when the sense of heaviness subsided and the light became glaring, she
did not regain consciousness immediately. She looked at the unfamiliar maid,
“Go on then.”
“Yes, master…” The maid was a slave of the Land of Fragrance. She had
never dared to say “no” to her master, but she was frightened by the
expression of her new master and rushed out for help.
Maid Lotus’ reaction was better. She had remained silent in her semi-
comatose state. After she regaining consciousness, she still did not speak. For
a long time, the maid beside her was not aware that her master was gathering
herself. She also never realized that she was in danger.
This was the second time that Maid Lotus had been drugged in the Land of
Fragrance. As a disciple of New Moon Hall, she was furious. New Moon
Hall was renowned for its secret techniques and pharmacy. However, she had
been drugged with some third-rate intoxicating fragrance from a remote area.
The killing intent had been brewing in her heart for a long time. Her fingers
were eager to kill, even when she was feeling like treading a path in the dark
and gloomy night. However, there was always a thick layer of invisible
netting binding her whole body, keeping her from doing what she wanted.
Now, the net had disappeared. Maid Lotus did not even realize that she had
already come back to the real world. She was still following the path in her
dream and did not hesitate to attack.
The clueless waitress suffered Maid Lotus’ blade right in her chest. Before
her thoughts could catch up with the fact that she had been stabbed, she had
already fallen to the ground and died.
When Gu Shenwei walked into the tent, the first thing he saw was the body
on the ground.
Maid Lotus did not seem to know him. Her whole body was filled with
killing intent. It almost blew up the tent into pieces. Her right hand fumbled
at her waist, searching for her own sword.
In face of a sudden challenge, Gu Shenwei naturally responded by holding

the hilt. His body was like a taut bow which could shoot out a deadly arrow at
any moment.
Maid Lotus finally gained conscious and gently let out a sigh of relief. Her
killing intent quickly dissipated and then disappeared, “What happened?”
“You were drugged with Indra fragrance. You have been in a coma for more
than half a month. Now, you are all right.”
Maid Lotus quickly accepted Gu Shenwei’s statement. She lowered her head
and thought for a while. Then she looked up and said,”Old Man Mu is still
alive. I let you down.”
“He wo’t live for long.” After a pause, Gu Shenwei added, “You brought me
a country.”
If he had not found out that Maid Lotus and Shangguan Ru were to be burned
to death as a sacrifice, Gu Shenwei would not have made up his mind to
attack and occupy the Land of Fragrance. To some extent, it was true that
these two women “brought” him a country.
Maid Lotus got back her own sword. After two days of rest, she returned to
normal. She began to follow Dragon King and took on the responsibility of
imperial bodyguard.
Gu Shenwei had to admit that he was relieved. He still kept the habits of a
killer. He was often overly concerned about what was behind his back. Even
when he was at the center of the Great Snowmountain military camp,
surrounded by the most loyal warriors, he still couldn’t sleep at ease.
Warriors and killers are two kinds of people, the former would never
understand the latter’s instinctive suspiciousness.
The presence of Maid Lotus relieved most of the tension, so much so that Gu
Shenwei sometimes had to remind himself not to trust this woman
completely.
This was the reason why killers were destined for loneliness. They couldn’t
trust anyone, but they were always in need of someone to watch their backs.
Maid Lotus was not interested in the fate of the Land of Fragrance, but she
took the heir of the fragrance-making High Priest and several disciples. She
acquired the formulas of Indra fragrance and other fragrance drugs. She
intended to make them and integrate them with New Moon Hall’s pharmacy.
Shangguan Ru’s recovery took much longer. After five days, she completely
returned to the real world. During that time, she seemed to regard the people
around her as the same person. She kept making the same request, “Go on
then.”
Her dream had been interrupted at the most critical moment. She tried her
best to return to her dream and continue it.
Shangguan Fei had visited his younger sister once but he was not recognized
by her at all. So he left and searched for the Dragon King, “My sister has
probably lost her mind, Dragon King… Can you take a look at her? Maybe
she’ll get better when she sees you. ”
Gu Shenwei had never visited Shangguan Ru because he couldn’t think of

any reason. Unlike Maid Lotus, Shangguan Ru was not only the daughter of
the enemy but also useless to the cause of the Great Snowmountain.
He set high standards for all the warriors, so he had to be restrained by even
higher standards.
At the request of Shangguan Fei, Gu Shenwei went to visit her.
Shangguan Ru seemed to be all right, but she looked defenseless like a child.
The melancholy and maturity of her face since she turned fourteen had
disappeared without a trace.
She recognized Gu Shenwei, but did not regard him as the Dragon King, ”
Slave Huan.” She whispered as if they were hiding in the Stone Castle
playing old tricks, “He will tell the secret. Listen carefully. ”
“Who is he?” Gu Shenwei also lowered his voice to play along with her
eccentric behavior.
“It’s him, but he always stopped halfway, Slave Huan, figure out some way.”
The second half of the sentence was accompanied by a hint of command.
Shangguan Ru regarded herself as the Tenth Young Master again.
Faint flames of fury sprang to Gu Shenwei’s heart. The name of Slave Huan
and the life in Golden Roc Fort were memories that he wanted to forget but
could never quite erase. Sometimes, he felt that the hatred that experience
brought to him even exceeded the calamity of his family’s annihilation.
“Don’t listen to him.” Gu Shenwei repressed his anger and said patiently, “If
you don’t listen, he will continue to speak.”
This was an obviously unreasonable strategy. However, Shangguan Ru

believed it to be true. “Yes, I don’t listen, he will say it…”
She opened her mouth and yawned widely. Although she had been half
asleep, she never really slept. “I have to sleep. Slave Huan, tell me a story.”
“Yeah.” Before Gu Shenwei could come up with a story, Shangguan Ru had

already fallen soundly asleep.
This was the fifth night after taking the antidote. The next morning, she
would wake up normally, only vaguely remembering what happened. She
would not be able to tell if they were true or not. However, there was one
thing she would know soon: Old Man Mu was killing innocent people in her
name.
The Great Snowmountain troops should have set out five days ago, but they
made no move because of Old Man Mu.
On the first night, Old Man Mu killed a peripheral sentinel.
He had changed his techniques and had stopped taking out the bleeding heart.
The dead body was unharmed, without even a drop of blood. It was like a
fatal disease outbreak, a natural death.
Old Man Mu did not want to be an unknown killer. After killing the sentinel,
he yelled at the top of his voice in the wilderness and woke up the entire
camp.
“Nine hundred and ninety-nine! Listen up, Dragon King! Old Man Mu will
kill nine hundred and ninety-nine people in your army! Today is the first one,
the last one will be you. Haha, don’t blame me, it’s all on Shangguan Ru.
That silly girl should never have saved me. I am good at repaying evil for
good. If you want to be free, you have to … ”
Old Man Mu made a long speech excitedly. His voice could not be traced,
and finally stopped at dawn.
Gu Shenwei ordered the defensive circle to tighten and increase patrols day
and night. He was preparing to leave the Land of Fragrance.
The marching speed on the first day was very slow, only a dozen miles per
day. The capital of the Land of Fragrance was still visible if anyone looked
back.
Gu Shenwei set many traps outside the camp, waiting for Old Man Mu to
walk right them.
But Old Man Mu was like a smart and flexible rat. He managed to avoid the
traps and entered the military camp. Three machetemen and three swordsmen
were killed without a sound.
After leaving the military camp, Old Man Mu began to show off again. He
did not know that Shangguan Ru was still in a semi-conscious state, and he
intended to let her hear his words.
“Good girl, now you must regret saving me. Let me tell you, Old Man Mu
may not always take revenge, but I will always return every favor. The
people I killed are all on you. Haha, feel the pain, cry me a river! If you want
to be free, want to be happy forever, just be an evil person like me.”
On the second day, Gu Shenwei decided to suspend the march. Old Man Mu
had already made a huge impact on his army. Both the slave soldiers and the
captives were watching how the Dragon King and the warriors from the
Great Snowmountain would respond. Swordsmen and machetemen were
outraged and eager to seek revenge on this old devil.
It was because of these delays that the Great Snowmountain army took in a
group of nobles.
Around a thousand nobles had suffered five days of forest life. In order to
snatch dry provisions, many people were killed on the first day. As days
passed, more and more people got lost in the forest and could not find their
way out.
Only less than two hundred people survived to escape the forest. They joined
the Great Snowmountain army with resentment. Nevertheless, they pledged
loyalty to the Dragon King.
Most people couldn’t understand the intention of the Dragon King. The vows
of these people were not trustworthy at all. They could betray him at any
moment. It was better to kill them all and save further troubles.
Gu Shenwei insisted on keeping them and added them into the savage guard
troops.
Only Tuo Nengya could understand the Dragon King’s. “This is a needle
stuck in Dragon King’s leg. In this way, he will always stay alert.”
Nonetheless, many people could not understand. However, the warriors
respected the Dragon King and did not question his decision.
Tuo Nengya was only partially correct about Gu Shenwei’s intention.

Actually, it had become another of his habits. The people around him almost
all had reasons to hate him, such as Xu Yanwei, Xu Xiaoyi, Chu Nanping,
Tie Linglong, Shangguan Fei, Shangguan Hong, and so forth.
Surrounded by more than a hundred resentful noble guard troops, Gu Shen

maintained almost complete isolation. Even the black-masked assassin could
not achieve that.
There was also a practical use of the nobles. Gu Shenwei intended to use
them to set an indiscoverable trap for Old Man Mu.
On the third day, Maid Lotus was completely awake and immediately joined
the hunt.
After waiting for another two days, the Dragon King suddenly announced
that several nobles had colluded with enemies. They had planned to
assassinate the Dragon King and hand over the most important secret of the
Land of Fragrance.
Under normal circumstances, Old Man Mu would not rescue anybody.

However, this rescue would strike a heavy blow to the Dragon King, and
obtain vital secrets at the same time.
Gu Shenwei hoped to lure him into the trap since this secret was appealing
enough. He spread a few strange rumours, claiming that the kung fu High
Priest had eight chapters of Wayless Book in his memory.
Chapter 388 - Kidnap
Chapter 388: Kidnap
Shangguan Ru was deeply disturbed at the result of her softheartedness.
On the night as she lay awake, she heard Old Man Mu boasting about the
people he had killed. So far, he had assassinated 25 soldiers from the Great
Snowmountain and nobody had glimpsed his shadow lurking.
“Good girl, today I killed five people for you again! Haha, only the wicked
have freedom…”
Therefore, Shangguan Ru recounted her interaction with Old Man Mu right

from the very beginning. Upon hearing this, Gu Shenwei devised a way to
lure him into a trap.
At that time, Old Man Mu was still being made to bask in the sun every day.
In order to provoke Shangguan Ru to release him, he talked a lot, and all his
words revealed his understanding and admiration of the Wayless Qigong of
Golden Roc Fort.
It was Old Man Mu who divulged that there were eight chapters of the divine
kung fu in the castle.
He was determined to be invincible, and if there was a chance for him to

defeat Supreme King, he would not give it up easily.
Even so, Shangguan Ru felt that Dragon King’s plan was too simple, “Will
he fall for it? He’s very cunning.”
“Yes. Not only is he cunning, he is also very arrogant and underestimates

everybody. He will know full well that this is a trap but he will still fall into
the trap willingly, just to prove that he is able to free himself from it.” Gu
Shenwei was not familiar with Old Man Mu, but he could understand the
heart of that man.
It was settled then.
The nobles who were used as bait were not innocent either. They were indeed
hatching a plot to instigate thousands of slave soldiers in the camp to raise a
mutiny and kill off Dragon King and the soldiers from the Great
Snowmountain. At the very least, they want to drive them all out of the Land
of Fragrance.
The tough life in the forest had not taught them a lesson, for they still thought
that they held supreme authority over the slaves, and the slaves would
naturally respond to their beck and call.
Indeed, the slaves were unable to escape the generations of slavery they were
mired in. Even though they held sabers and swords, and Dragon King had
rmoved the status and names of the slaves, they unconsciously drew a
distinction between masters and slaves. However, to them, their masters were
no longer the weak and useless nobles who were unable to fight on the
battlefield, but the real soldiers from the Great Snowmountain and Dragon
King.
As soon as the mutiny plan was leaked, the news reached Dragon King’s
ears.
Gu Shenwei waited for a few more days. After the nobles who had taken part
in the mutiny gave themselves away, he rounded them up and then used them
to lure Old Man Mu.
Shangguan Ru was very self-conscious in front of Dragon King. With so

many lives taken by his hands, she could no longer justify Old Man Mu’s
existence.
Maid Lotus did not say anything. She expressed her thoughts only when it
was just the two of them, “Your plan is not simple.”
Gu Shenwei nodded his head. He could not hide his plan from Maid Lotus,
nor did he need to hide it , “It goes without saying that Old Man Mu covets
the Wayless Qigong. But he won’t believe that the high priest possesses the
divine kung fu and he will barge into the military camp. However, his target
is not the high priest or the traitors.”
Maid Lotus understood immediately. This was why she assisted Dragon
King. He was always quick to notice the truth of things, while she, like
Shangguan Ru, had been kept in the dark by Old Man Mu.
“The Tenth Young Master.” She said. Old Man Mu was eyeing on the
Wayless Qigong in Shangguan Ru’s mind, but there were still two things she
could not understand, “Old Man Mu did not stop the Land of Fragrance from
killing us, and he did not kidnap the Tenth Young Master even when he came
out from the mountains.”
Gu Shenwei was slightly surprised that Maid Lotus still addressed Shangguan
Ru as “the Tenth Young Master”, but he did not raise it and lowered his head
to ponder about what she said, “It is purported that Old Man Mu’s going into
retreat was to practice the highest level of the Five Hole Punch. If I am not
wrong, he did not succeed this time.”
Old Man Mu had lived in seclusion for more than ten years prior to this. Even
after his injuries had healed, he did not return to the jianghu immediately.
Instead, he practiced his Kung Fu diligently. The impact of the Five Hole
Punch was very powerful and it was a skill which he lived by. Therefore, it
was only natural that the Kung Fu was of utmost importance to him. He
would not have waited until now if he had been able to master it within a
month.
From this, Gu Shenwei assumed that Old Man Mu still had not mastered the
highest level of the Five Hole Earth Punch. The way he killed now, without
removing the victims’ hearts, was probably just a cover-up.
He need not say more as Maid Lotus had already grasped what he meant, so
she said, “But he thought he was able to master it, therefore, he was more
eager to get his hands on Wayless Qigong after he failed.”
“Shangguan Ru must have left a deep impression on him when she managed
to learn both the Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills and Seven Circles seven
apertures Heart Stopping Finger in such a short duration.”
Other than Supreme King himself, there were four people who practiced the
Wayless Qigong. Shangguan Fei seldom displayed his Kung Fu and was
beyond Old Man Mu’s knowledge, while both Dragon King and Maid Lotus
would never compromise. The simpleminded and softhearted Shangguan Ru
was be the best choice for him to get the divine kung fu.
Maid Lotus’ train of thought became clearer, “He didn’t kidnap the Tenth
Young Master immediately but killed people in her name instead so that he
could discredit her and force her to leave the military camp on her own
accord.”
Gu Shenwei nodded. He imagined that Old Man Mu had already harbored

intentions to take Shangguan Ru’s Wayless Qigong, but he did not reveal it
as his Kung Fu had not fully recovered. Something must have happened since
then, to give him the confidence to assume that he was able to master the
highest Earth level of the Five Hole Punch.
After another failure, Wayless Qigong was his main target once again.
This was the only way to explain Old Man Mu’s fickle actions. Gu Shenwei
felt that he was spot-on on his guesses and did not think that the missing link
was important.
“Tonight will be the best time for him to take Shangguan Ru away,” As Gu
Shenwei explained to Maid Lotus. He was also trying to look for possible
flaws in his reasoning. “I have already set up a trap, and the troops will
naturally concentrate around the high priest and the traitors. He will pretend
to fall into the trap and try to divert attention, before taking advantage to
kidnap her. He has already killed more than 20 people. As long as he
threatens to kill the remaining 900 people, it is possible to make Shangguan
Ru reveal something.”
Maid Lotus thought that it was plausible. She wondered if Shangguan Ru

would make up a fake version of the chapters and trick Old Man Mu with
Qigong Deviation. She banished her thoughts and said, “If that is the case,
that means it was not the Tenth Young Master who released Old Man Mu
that time.”
Old Man Mu had escaped the ropes because they were cut off in secret. At
that time, Shangguan Ru had aroused the most suspicion among them.
However, she did not accept him as her Master Shifu, nor did she gave him
the Wayless Qigong. She could never be the rope cutter since it was apparent
that she was not in cahoots with Old Man Mu.
“It was not the Tenth Young Master indeed, because I know who it is.” Gu
Shenwei said flatly, looking at Maid Lotus. He paused for a while and said,
“It was Shangguan Fei.”
Maid Lotus was slightly surprised, “How could it be him?”
“Shangguan Fei had the foolish idea that he will be able to regain his father’s
understanding and love as long as he has made a major contribution. So he
continued to stay by my side and helped me gather my momentum. It is only
worthwhile for him to sell me out once the Great Snowmountain is on par
and can compete with the Supreme King. As he waits for that day to come, he
needs to plant several helpers in advance, and Old Man Mu happens to be one
of them.”
Dragon King was very astute in speculating a person’s true intentions.

Sometimes, even Maid Lotus was concerned if he was too extreme, but she
still chose to believe him unconditionally, “But you still want to keep him
alive.”
“Let’s keep him alive for now. He intends to betray me but I also intend to
make use of him as well.”
This was a complicated game. Indeed, Gu Shenwei did not trust Shangguan
Fei but he did not tell the whole truth as well.
The plan to trap and kill Old Man Mu progressed in an orderly manner.
Hundreds of swordsmen and machetemen hid in ambush. A large number of
conscripted savages acting as archers positioned outside. These soldiers were
unaware of Dragon King’s real plan, so all of them made careful preparation.
Shangguan Ru also participated in the operation. She knew she was unable to
kill people, but hoped she could stall Old Man Mu for some time.
In her heart, she did not want to see anyone die, which included Old Man Mu
as well. But she was well aware of what would happen if she interceded for
him.
Everything was ready by nightfall. The highlight tonight was neither Dragon
King nor Maid Lotus, nor the swordsmen and machetemen who were eager to
seek for revenge, but 300 archers who made up of the conscripted savages.
Gu Shenwei planned to shoot Old Man Mu to death.
The archers didn’t know their responsibilities, but all of them ha dreceived
strict orders that once Dragon King shot a flaming arrow, they would follow
suit and shoot in the direction of the arrow.
Gu Shenwei had positioned Shangguan Ru in an ingenious way such that he

would have to bypass the archers if someone wanted to go near her, and the
soldiers would shoot upon Gu Shenwei’s orders.
He was about to leave his tent when a soldier of nobility knelt outside to seek
an audience with him. Several swordsmen tried to pull him away, but he was
very persistent and refused to leave.
Gu Shenwei could have ordered the soldier to wait until the next day, but the
panic in the soldier’s voice led him to change his mind.
Old Man Mu was used to sneaking attacks during the latter half of the night,
and there was still some time as the sky had just turned dark.
The soldier who was anxious to see Dragon King was called Su Mohua. Like
the rest of the surviving nobles from the Land of Fragrance, he served as
guard troops of Dragon King. These guard troops were placed under strict
surveillance. If it weren’t for the fact that most of the conscripted savages
were involved in the operation tonight, Su Mohua would not have the chance
to approach Dragon King’s tent unimpeded.
Su Mohua was a young man in his twenties. According to the traditional
standards of the Land of Fragrance, his figure was slightly thick, but he
looked frail in the eyes of the soldiers from the Great Snowmountain.
As soon as he entered the tent, he knelt in front of Dragon King and wept
bitterly.
His brother was one of the main organizers who had incited the slaves to
rebel against Dragon King. He had been detained and would be beheaded the
next morning.
“Dragon King, who is as tall and magnanimous as the mountains, please

pardon my brother’s life! He’s a fool, and he was tricked!” Su Mohua could
only speak simple Central Plains Chinese. Although he spoke urgently and
some words jumbled in order, the meaning was still clear.
Gu Shenwei felt that he was merely wasting his time, “Military orders cannot
be changed.”
Tears streamed down Su Mohua’s face. He postrated himself, intended to beg

again. However, after some pondering, he organized his words and said, “I
know the rule of exchanging a life for a life. I am willing… to exchange my
brother’s life for mine.”
Gu Shenwei was deeply surprised that such a righteous person would exist
among the nobles in the Land of Fragrance. Very soon, he realized that he
had misunderstood Su Mohua.
“I will use the Revered Devil’s life to exchange for my brother’s life.” Su
Mohua added, because he was not planning on using his life in exchange.
The “Revered” was an address used by the Land of Fragrance towards older
people who possessed wits and virtuous qualities. “Devil”, was a derogatory
term. It was the first time Gu Shenwei heard these two words were used
together. “Are you referring to Old Man Mu?”, Gu Shenwei was slightly
surprised.
“Yes, him. He’s hiding in the forest, doing goodness knows what, and he’s
planning to do bad things to you. I heard all about it.”
Chapter 389 - Consult
Chapter 389: Consult
All this while, Old Man Mu had been hiding in a corner of the forest that had
never seen the sun. Naturally, the Great Snowmountain had been unable to
track him down since they were searching the Land of Fragrance.
More than 1000 nobles were forced to enter the forest. They wandered
around and soon entered the vicinity where Old Man Mu was. They disrupted
his spiritual retreat and he was furious. He was even more enraged when he
realized that he was unable to master the Five Hole Earth Punch.
The two fits of anger rose in him and he vented it all on the nobles who had
accidentally barged in.
After killing more than a dozen of them, Old Man Mu calmed down and
asked a few of the nobles about the events that had happened in the Land of
Fragrance. He lashed out at the other nobles, including the now deceased
Shili Luomo, “So many of you, yet you were beaten by a defeated army, are
all of you still men even? No, I mean, are all of you still humans?”
He had forgotten that he had subdued the whole country using only cruel
means of killing and some boasting. He began to scold the weak nobles,
saying that they had no guts. The few nobles who unfortunately fallen into
the clutches of the devil trembled as they took the oath, stating that they had
received blood from the “Revered” and would go out of the forest to resist
Dragon King with all of their might.
Old Man Mu’s anger gradually disappeared, he knew that these cowards did
not have what it took to fight against Dragon King, so he plotted a plan for
them, “You bunch of fools, don’t the slaves listen to you the most? Pretend to
surrender to Dragon King and join the army, then encourage those idiots to
rebel.”
Old Man Mu was very proud of his wit. Therefore, these “bunch of fools”
quickly contacted their peers who were unaware of what had happened and
walked out of the forest together to surrender to Dragon King. They were
zealous in ordering the “bunch of idiots” to stage a mutiny.
Su Mohua did not see Old Man Mu, but he heard about what had happened
from his brother. He had been hesitant all along; now that the conspiracy had
revealed so quickly, he need not be in a dilemma any longer.
Gu Shenwei did not hear any important information from Su Mohua. To him,
it was not important who led the mutiny.
“That’s it?” He frowned slightly.
Su Mohua became more and more flustered. He thought hard to see if there
was anything else worth mentioning. It was not his intention to hold back any
information, just that he was unable to differentiate the order of importance
when it came to such matters. Therefore, it was only until the end when he
came to what he thought was unimportant, “And, he wants the high priest,
my brother…”
Gu Shenwei waved his hand to interrupt, “What does Old Man Mu want the
high priest for?”
Gu Shenwei had lied about the high priest possessing Chapter Eight of the
Wayless Book. That pedantic semi-paralyzed old man knew nothing about
high-level Kung Fu, he had merely memorized the records penned by the
ancestors and occasionally blurted out some shocking observations.
“No, I don’t know.” Su Mohua was both elated and nervous that Dragon
King was finally interested in the information that he provided. “I heard that
he had met the high priest before and talked for a long time.”
Gu Shenwei really could not understand what Old Man Mu could get from
the high priest.
Suddenly, he felt that he must meet the high priest and clarify this matter.
Dragon King walked out of the tent. Su Mohua was perplexed. Bracing
himself, he asked, “Dragon King, about my brother…”
“Go and tell them to think hard about what other information can be used to
redeem their lives. Let me know before dawn.”
Gu Shenwei would never forgive the mutinous nobles easily. Moreover, he

was certain that these nobles had withheld many secrets about the Land of
Fragrance that even the slaves were unaware of.
The high priest lived alone in a small tent near to the imprisoned nobles, right
in the heart of where the soldiers were lying in ambush.
He had a young disciple as a servant but that disciple did not stay with him at
night.
The high priest smiled kindly upon seeing Dragon King. He was an easily
contented old man who lived in a world built by ancient books. With the
Flower Soul Forest burnt, and most of his disciples dismissed; even though
he was surrounded by strangers with sabers and swords, all of these
happenings would not change his world. It was as though he still lived in the
straw hut inside the forest.
Beside him piles of ancient books were stacked, these were the only treasures
that he refused to let go of. Gu Shenwei had quickly looked through the
books once, but most of the content was meaningless. There were many
Kung Fu skills mentioned in the books which were already long lost.
There was an old monk from the Four Truths Temple who always had a kind
smile as well, but it was a smile that made him look like an all-knowing god
looking down from up high. The smile of the high priest, however, seemed
like a smile that a child would possess, someone who had not yet grown up
and knew nothing about the world. To put it bluntly, Gu Shenwei felt that the
high priest had not yet matured in terms of intellect.
“Have you met Old Man Mu before?” Gu Shenwei asked calmly. There was
no need, nor was it necessary, to speak harshly to someone like the high
priest.
“You mean that shorty?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, he is very studious.”
It was a very strange judgment. Gu Shenwei was somewhat regretful that he

did not come to clarify earlier. It suddenly occurred to him that during the
few times when he spoke with the high priest, he had not mentioned Old Man
Mu at all. Moreover, the high priest would never take the initiative to start a
topic that was unrelated to Kung Fu.
“What did you guys talk about?”
“He said, ‘Old fellow, your Kung Fu must be quite good to be able to
recognize that I am using the unique skill of Yuqing Sect,’ and I said, ‘Hey
fellow, isn’t it easy? It’s all written in the books.’ Then, he said…”
Gu Shenwei quickly corrected his mistake. If this went on, the high priest
would recount every word that he had said at that time. Although he might
seem odd, the high priest did possess a good memory. It was so good that he
was able to repeat a book he had read decades ago word for word.
“Then he realized that you don’t know Kung Fu.”
“How can I not know Kung Fu?” The high priest was never angry, but there
was a slight surprise in his tone and facial expression. “I know the best Kung
Fu in this world and I even teach it to many disciples.”
The high priest’s meaning of “knowing” was different from how normal
people understood it. Gu Shenwei could only patiently wait for him to finish
speaking before saying, “Sorry, I misspoke. Old Man Mu realized that you
are very good at Kung Fu, so he came to you for advice.”
“Yes, he didn’t believe me at first, but later, he grew in admiration of me and

even wanted to talk to me all night long.”
“Did he asked about the Five Hole Punch?” Gu Shenwei tried to be more
specific in his questions.
“Yes, he said he wanted to test me, so he asked me if I knew how to master

the Five Hole Punch by practicing until the highest level - the Earth Punch
which belonged to the spleen.”
“So you told him.”
“Of course, this is too easy for me,” The high priest revealed his repressed
delight like a child. “The Heart corresponds with Fire, and it begets the
Spleen, which corresponds with Earth. When you reach the Heart Fire level
of the Five Hole Punch, you need to maximize your full potential. However,
the Spleen Earth level is the exact opposite. Earth is the highest virtue that
tolerates all. Your Qi needs to be reserved, and your strength must be
contained and not blow up…”
When the high priest began his lengthy speech. Gu Shenwei knew that he
was reciting the contents of the books again because he had read about the
records of the Five Hole Punch among the pile of ancient books.
Old Man Mu was clever throughout his life, yet he was fooled this time. He
was actually impressed by the naive and pedantic high priest and had gone in
retreat to practice the Five Hole Earth Punch according to what he had said.
Of course, the results were unsuccessful.
Gu Shenwei started worrying for the high priest’s life. It was indeed strange
that Old Man Mu had not killed the high priest off despite entering the camp
several times. “Did he ask you about the Wayless Book?”
“Ah, Wayless Book. That’s the highest secret manuscript of martial arts from
the Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak. No matter how you practice all the Kung Fu
in the world, there is always an end to it. Like the Five Hole Punch, the
highest level is the Spleen Earth level. However, the Wayless Book is
neverending. There is nothing to the way, therefore it is endless, neverending,
limitless and infinite…”
The high priest was immersed in a fantasy of glory and pride and almost
forgot to answer Dragon King’s question. “The shorty did ask about the
Wayless Book. It’s a pity that the Holy King felt that this set of unique art
was too mystical and did not find it fitting to spread it to the world, so he
destroyed it and didn’t bring it to the Land of Fragrance. What a pity.”
The high priest had always respected his distant ancestors. However, he held
an entirely different view from the Holy King on this matter.
The records about the predecessor of Golden Roc Fort on the ancient books
were mostly a mixture of truth and falsehood. Gu Shenwei believed that even
Zhang Ji, who was well informed, would not be able to distinguish the truth
from it. But some things could still be judged according to human nature. Of
course, the Holy King would not destroy the divine kung fu. There must be
some reason as to why he did not bring it out of the Stone Castle. Perhaps the
Holy King himself had not even come to the Land of Fragrance, he could
have been killed by the killers and his descendants who managed to escaped
made up a series of stories about it.
Gu Shenwei decided to end his speculations here. He was not interested in

the history of Stone Castle and it was getting late. Old Man Mu would barge
into the camp any time now. “High Priest, please rest well. I will come back
and consult you again in the future.”
The high priest was somewhat reluctant as Dragon King took his leave. He
finished what he wanted to say in his mind, then mumbled to himself,
“Dragon King is not as studious as that shorty.”
With this information, Gu Shenwei believed that it was quite possible that
Old Man Mu was really interested in the high priest. He only told Maid Lotus
about it while the rest remained in ambush. Regardless of whether Old Man
Mu’s target was Shangguan Ru or the high priest, Gu Shenwei’s plan
remained the same: Old Man Mu will die by the arrows.
The military camp gradually quietened down. Because Old Man Mu would
come and kill every night, the soldiers outside the ambush circle were all on
standby and ready to fight.
Just after midnight, Old Man Mu appeared. But he did not show up in public,
instead, he used another way to make it known that he had accepted Dragon
King’s challenge.
“Dragon King, you little bastard. Even if I die, this old fellow here will never
forget that you once stabbed me in the belly! Clean your belly, I will do the
same and stab you as well!”
Old Man Mu was using the Seven Magical Tones. It made many people
agitated, and although they did not lose control, their hidden tracks were
easily revealed. This was how Old Man Mu managed to discover the men in
ambush.
“Good girl, I will return the remains of Dragon King to you after I am done
with him. Haha, it may not be whole, but I guarantee he will still be alive.”
Old Man Mu had already fully recovered his Kung Fu and no longer needed
Shangguan Ru’s help. He boldly spoke his mind and knew what could
unnerve her the most.
Shangguan Ru turned red all the way up to her ears. Thank goodness the
night sky was able to mask her expression, and even the last trace of
sympathy that she had for Old Man Mu disappeared.
Gu Shenwei was not affected by his words. Old Man Mu had been shouting
similar words for the past few days and these would not offend him.
This was a life-and-death duel. As long as Gu Shenwei adhered to this

principle, he would not entertain foolish thoughts. There were many ways to
kill people. Moreover, in the eyes of killers, every means was legitimate and
reasonable.
Old Man Mu became more and more excited as he talked, and his words
grew more gruesome as well. But he still did not enter the ambush circle.
Even though Old Man Mu thought highly of himself, he was no fool.
There were several occasions where he would try to barge in a few steps and
immediately retreat and disappear into the darkness without waiting for the
soldiers lying in ambush to react.
Gu Shenwei had all the time in the world. He knew that no matter how
imperfect the process of killing was, people would quickly forget all of these
afterward and only remember the glory of the winner and the pitifulness of
the dead.
Old Man Mu spent a long time hassling with them. After two hours, he
finally ran out of words to say and stayed silent. Everybody was relieved.
Less than half an hour later, Old Man Mu’s voice rang again. This time, he
no longer used the Seven Magical Tones, but the excitement in his tone was
undeniable. “Goodbye, Dragon King. I will come and find you again, good
girl!”
He did not kill anyone at all.
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that he had made a grave mistake.
Someone had made a mistake far more grave than him, however. Old Man
Mu’s last words had exposed his position and a figure shot out like an arrow
from ambush.
Shangguan Ru could not stand Old Man Mu’s verbal humiliation any longer,
she had to vent her anger. There were other ways to punish the enemy other
than killing.
Chapter 390 - Unique Skill
Chapter 390: Unique Skill
As Shangguan Ru followed Old Man Mu and disappeared into the night,

several youths who were staying in the tents at the edge of the military camp
cried out, “The Blessed Child is being taken away! He’s being taken away!”
Old Man Mu did come to kidnap someone indeed. His target was neither the
high priest nor Shangguan Ru, but the young disciple who had been
accompanying the high priest.
According to tradition, this disciple was referred as “the Blessed Child”, and
was the heir of the high priest. He would go on to become the “12th
successor of the Reborn Fort of Xuandu Peak and the sixth High Priest of the
Flower Soul Forest” in the future.
He was only 11 or 12 years old and of noble birth. In order to become a high
priest, he was trained to be as submissive as a slave and was usually quiet
around others, as though he didn’t exist. Other disciples were sent home but
he insisted on staying by the high priest’s side and continue to receive
guidance from him.
He wouldn’t even be squeezing in the same tent as the other youths tonight if
it weren’t for the fact that the high priest had to act as a bait.
At that moment, Gu Shenwei came to realize what Old Man Mu was plotting.
He leaped out of the ambush spot, wanting to give chase, but stopped in his
tracks. As the Dragon King, thousands of soldiers were waiting for his
command, he could not possibly take any chances.
But Shangguan Ru was by no means Old Man Mu’s opponent.

Just as Gu Shenwei hesitated, another figure flew out of the military camp.
It was Maid Lotus. Gu Shenwei was somewhat relieved.
Gu Shenwei summoned the soldiers who were lying in ambush and quickly
ordered the whole troop to be divided into four groups and take turns to be on
duty. Even though Old Man Mu had escaped, that did not mean that the
danger had been eliminated.
Afterward, he immediately went to look for the high priest. There was surely
some matters that he had not clarified yet, and the way the people of the Land
of Fragrance talked grated his nerves. The thing about them was that these
people would answer what was asked, but they always said less than
necessary.
What was the secret that the high priest was unaware of but the Blessed Child
knew about?
Gu Shenwei’s doubts were answered immediately. Contrary to what he had

thought, it was a secret that both the master and disciple knew, and Old Man
Mu only needed one of them.
The high priest was dead.
The medical high priest of the Land of Fragrance was in the camp and
quickly came over to take a look. He concluded, “He was poisoned. It was
most likely added into his food and its effects kicked in around midnight.”
Old Man Mu wanted to be the only one who knew about the secret, so he had
killed the high priest who was in charge of Kung Fu and only kept the heir
alive.
But it was impossible for him to poison the food.
The truth soon came to light. The high priest had eaten alone yesterday
evening, and the people who cooked and delivered his meals were all
investigated and questioned. All of their testimonies aligned and their
suspicions pointed toward a noble soldier.
Su Mohua was zealous in serving the high priest and had not aroused
anyone’s suspicion at that time. After pleading with the Dragon King last
night, he went to the edge of the camp and replaced a fellow soldier’s place
for guard duty, waiting nervously for the “Revered” to take him away.
But Su Mohua was stumped after Old Man Mu disappeared. His mind was
blank and he even lost the strength to escape, staying put until he was brought
in front of Dragon King.
It was not that Old Man Mu had forgotten about his loyal slave, nor was he
punishing him, therefore, leaving him behind. He was merely using Su
Mohua to make sure Dragon King knew what had happened and make his
victory even more perfect.
It was very simple. Both Su Mohua and his brother had pledged allegiance to
Old Man Mu under his coercion and had different tasks to carry out.
In fact, Old Man Mu was heavily invested in the mutiny organized by Su

Mohua’s brother and the nobles. The change of attitude from the slaves was
indeed something that he had not expected.
On the other hand, Su Mohua was responsible for another plan. He was
tasked to secretly persuade the high priest and the Blessed Child to escape
from the military camp and seek refuge with the “studious Revered.”
The high priest was someone who resigned himself to adversity. Be it Dragon
King or Old Man Mu, to him, they were no different from the nobles of the
Land of Fragrance. But the high priest lived by a principle - he would never
take the initiative to do anything, anybody could come and take him away,
but nobody could ask him to leave a place by himself.
The high priest was paralyzed and together with the Blessed Child, lived in a
tent not far from Dragon King. Old Man Mu would not want to take the risk
since it would be difficult to bring the two of them out of the camp.
The trap that Gu Shenwei had set up had provided Old Man Mu some
inspiration.
And he had succeeded. The Blessed Child was in his hands and the high
priest had killed by poison. Moreover, he had also led Shangguan Ru out of
the camp in the process. All his goals were achieved.
Old Man Mu’s hatred for Dragon King was not only because of that one
stabbing. The truth was that being deceived by Dragon King was a grudge
that he had long harbored, and he finally felt a little avenged this time.
At dawn, Su Mohua along with the other nobles who were involved in the
mutiny were beheaded in public.
Gu Shenwei sat inside the high priest’s tent, looking through the ancient
books in hopes of finding any possible clues. But there was nothing. That
secret must have been passed down by word of mouth instead of being
recorded in books.
Gu Shenwei felt incredulous that Old Man Mu had only spoken with the high
priest on one occasion and was able to make him divulge the important
secret. So he summoned five noble soldiers who could speak Central Plains
Chinese along with the medical high priest for questioning.
He felt that Old Man Mu probably learned about the secret from the nobles
instead of the high priest.
The impact of beheading in public had not yet disappeared. The six men knelt
as soon as they entered the tent, swearing to Dragon King that they had not
participated in the mutiny.
Gu Shenwei listened for a while before asking them to provide a detailed

introduction and information about the nine high priests of Flower Soul
Forest.
Nobody knew what was Dragon King’s purpose in doing so, so they could
only say what they knew and what they remembered. It pertained to all sorts
of information and mostly irrelevant. In the end, it was the medical high
priest who mentioned something of interest to Dragon King, “I know a
mantra that can bring back the dead, but I will only pass it on to my heir.”
“You can only pass it on to your heir?” Gu Shenwei was not interested in the
mantra, but he was fixed on the mention of the heir.
“You are the master, you can listen to it as well, Dragon King.” The high
priest quickly added, then he said, “But it’s not effective every time…”
Gu Shenwei cut him off and said, “Does that mean that every high priest will
have a unique skill of their own and they will only pass it on to their heirs?”
Only the high priest and his heir knew the antidote to the Indra fragrance,
therefore Gu Shenwei wanted to clarify this.
All five noblemen and the high priest nodded their heads. To them, it was
common sense and they never thought that there was a need to highlight this
information.
“What was the unique skill of the high priest in charge of Kung Fu?”
They all looked at one another, unaware of the answer. A nobleman reacted
quickly and said, “Someone might know, let me call him over.”
The nine high priests corresponded to different tribes, and people who were
not of the same tribe knew very little about the unique skills of other high
priests.
The insider quickly arrived. He was from the tribe of the Kung Fu high priest.
Everybody started asking questions in their language, and he was very
frightened. It took him a while to realize that he was not in trouble.
“The unique skill of the Kung Fu high priest was also a set of mantras, but it
was very long. It was said that those who master the mantra would be
invincible in the world.” The medical high priest translated what the insider
said to Dragon King.
The unique skill was said to be passed down only to their heirs, but some of it
might be circulated among people. The insider happened to remember some
words of the mantra.
Just these few words were enough for Gu Shenwei to know what the unique
skill of the high priest was. At the same time, he regretted that he had missed
out on such an important secret.
Although that few sentences were poorly translated, it was definitely

instructions for Internal Strength and was in line with the contents in the
Wayless Book.
What was even more surprising for him was that these few words were
certainly not within the scope of the seven chapters of Wayless Book that he
had been practicing.
But the Kung Fu high priest had once mentioned that the Holy King had
destroyed the divine kung fu and he did not look like he was lying that time.
The insider only remembered a few words, and only the Blessed Child would
retain all the information now. But he was now in Old Man Mu’s hands.
Gu Shenwei finally realized how big a mistake he had made.
Both Maid Lotus and Shangguan Ru still had not returned by noon, and the
soldiers who were sent out to check on them also did not manage to find any
traces of them.
Gu Shenwei summoned several leaders from the army and ordered Long
Xiaoshi, the chief of Danduo Peak and Tuo Nengya, the old macheteman to
lead the troops and start moving. He would remain behind to search for Old
Man Mu.
Old Man Mu’s threats to kill the remaining 999 soldiers were just a ruse
aimed to disrupt the morale of the army. Gu Shenwei believed that he was in
hiding now, interrogating the Blessed Child for the full incantation.
Old Man Mu was still not much of a trouble for now, but he would become
an even bigger threat if he managed to learn the Wayless Qigong.
Everybody could not understand the severity of this incident, so they found
the Dragon King’s decision unacceptable. Some even suspected that Dragon
King only wanted to save his beloved women, and they unconsciously
lamented over it.
In their eyes, they could have as many women as they want, but it was not
worth taking any risk for any of them.
It was very hard for Gu Shenwei to explain the whole situation, so he simply
did not explain and said, “Three days, then I will catch up with the army.”
No one dared to question Dragon King. The leaders accepted his orders and
left.
Before the army marched out, Gu Shenwei rode a horse and went out of the
camp by himself. He soon found markings left behind by Maid Lotus nearby.
Maid Lotus took a branch from a shrub and rolled it into a ball, and the
remaining branch was pointed in the direction that she went in. Not many
people could notice this marking, except for Gu Shenwei, who was familiar
with her style.
It seemed as though Old Man Mu was trying to shake Maid Lotus and
Shangguan Ru off his tail, as he went around in circles before finally entering
the capital of the Land of Fragrance.
Only the elderly, women and children, and a small number of slave soldiers
remained in the city, and they posed no threat to Old Man Mu at all.
It was getting darker now, so Gu Shenwei left his horse outside the city and
quietly entered without informing the garrison nearby.
Gu Shenwei was able to guess Old Man Mu’s direction even without Maid
Lotus’ markings.
It was probably the only place out of the whole the Land of Fragrance that
was to Old Man Mu’s liking.
There were 10 Flower Soul Forests in total. Nine of them were located
outside the capital and had been burnt to the ground. Only the one in the
palace was spared, and it was the only one that was empty as no high priest
lived there.
The Flower Soul Forest was a maze made up of plants. The branches on the
plants were regularly coated with Indra fragrance to prevent intruders from
destroying the forest in an attempt to find their way out.
But the Land of Fragrance had already subjugated. Nobody had come to care
for the flora and fauna for the past month, and the effect of the drug had worn
off. Both Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei were not afraid of the Indra fragrance
as they kept the antidote for it.
Maid Lotus had hastily broken off the flower branch and left an obvious
marking.
Old Man Mu no longer going around in circles and went deeper into the
Flower Soul Forest.
There were no more markings left by Maid Lotus. Nobody was in sight and
there was no sign of any fighting. The three of them seemed to have
disappeared into the air.
Gu Shenwei believed that this was the end of the path, so he breathed deeply
and challenged Old Man Mu. “Old Man Mu you rat! Come and see me!”
The surroundings were silent as his voice lingered in the air. After a while,
Old Man Mu’s eerie laughter could be heard nearby.
Chapter 391 - Exchanging Skills
Chapter 391: Exchanging Skills
Old Man Mu emerged from behind the shrubs. He had grown and in the dark
night, looked more like a moving bamboo pole.
After looking at the figure for a while, Gu Shenwei realized that Old Man Mu
was standing on the Blessed Child’s shoulders, his legs clamped around the
youth’s head.
Old Man Mu did not weigh much and even youths would be able to handle
his weight. However, the Blessed Child was visibly frightened and tried hard
to keep his body from trembling, occasionally letting out a sob. With his arms
at his sides, he dared not move a single muscle.
It was as though he was being possessed by a demon.
Old Man Mu was very pleased. He opened his arms as though he had wings,
looking like a proud master showing off his residence to visitors, “Welcome,
Dragon King! Everybody is here except for you!”
There was no sign of Shangguan Ru or Maid Lotus.
Although they were still a distance from each other, Gu Shenwei angled his
body slightly forward as if readying himself to face an enemy while slowly
drawing out the Dragon Head Sword. Slowly, he said, “You should know that
you will be defeated. I still thought you would hide further away from me.”
“Hehe, I know Dragon King would not be provoked so easily. Actually, I am

like that as well. All I want is to do as I pleases, instead of being led by the
nose. Nobody can crder or trick me into doing things.”
Old Man Mu spoke in the tone of a King issuing a command. Gu Shenwei
snorted softly and said, “To do as one pleases, how nice indeed. But I heard
that you are scared to death of Supreme King? Trembling and quivering
whenever you see him; you even volunteered to be a pawn for him!”
“Nonsense.” Old Man Mu, who was “not easily provoked” reprimanded, “It
was Wildhorse who accepted Supreme King’s orders, not me. I was merely
just fooling around and killed a few experts along the way.”
“I see. So you never really humbled yourself in front of Supreme King’s

daughter and begged for mercy, or worked for her like a simply pack horse?
Are these nonsense as well?”
A trace of anger flashed past Old Man Mu’s face, but he quickly composed
himself and continued smiling, “So what if it’s true? A great man knows
when to yield and when not to, I imagine Dragon King should be well aware
of this? You used to be that good girl’s slave in the past, right?”
They could continue throwing insults for a long time, and neither of them
was willing to take a step closer to each other. It was as if there was a sinister
undercurrent between them and taking a step forward would put their lives at
risk.
“Takes one to know one. Well, let’s go straight to the point, Old Man Mu.”
“Don’t you want to wait for the girls to come before I say my piece?” Old
Man Mu was not in a rush. He felt very safe and even that he had gained the
upper hand.
“It doesn’t matter whether they come out or not.” Gu Shenwei calmly, as if
they were entirely irrelevant to him.
“Hey, you think I don’t know?” The three of you outnumber me and have
already planned it all out. The two of them don’t have the guts so they are
hiding nearby, waiting for you. And now, you have finally arrived.” Old Man
Mu raised his voice and said, “Good girl, evil girl, hurry come out and fight
for your man!”
Ten steps away from Gu Shenwei, flower shrubs rustled slightly. Shangguan
Ru appeared first followed by Maid Lotus, who emerged another ten steps
away.
The three of them formed a semi-circle, facing Old Man Mu.
Maid Lotus was expressionless. Shangguan Ru, unlike the other two, was
unable to keep a poker face. Old Man Mu was always trying to grate on her
nerves, making her anger harder and harder to contain.
“Alright, everybody is gathered here now.” As Old Man Mu clapped his

hands together, the Blessed Child underneath him swayed slightly. Old Man
Mu still managed to stand firmly, but he used his legs to grip the youth’s
head tightly and scolded, “You idiot! You’d better stand up straight or else I
will eat you alive! Look at you, all soft and tender, you will definitely taste
better than beef or mutton!”
The Blessed Child struggled to stop himself from trembling, but could not
stop his tears from falling.
“Why did you frighten him? He’s just a child.” Shangguan Ru questioned
angrily.
Old Man Mu was very pleased despite being criticized, and he placed his left
leg on top of the Blessed Child’s head, putting his hand on his knee, he said,
“It’s much more interesting to torture innocent kids like him! All his
emotions are shown naturally, it’s refreshing to watch. Once they grow up,
they learn to pretend and hide their emotions, no matter how unwilling they
are on the inside, they still pretend to be respectful and polite on the surface.
Then there’s no point, isn’t it? Just look at Dragon King for example. He
used to be so obedient to you when he was still Slave Huan, but now he is so
good at putting on airs, don’t you find it boring?”
Old Man Mu had an entire set of corrupted theories in his heart and he could
continue talking til dawn if nobody stopped him.
Gu Shenwei took a half step forward and Old Man Mu immediately silenced,
looking at him with interest.
“Do you want to take revenge for that stab? I’m right here waiting for you.”
Gu Shenwei gently shook the Dragon Head Sword, challenging him with
contempt.
“Have all of you seen the cripple’s books yet?” Old Man Mu did not accept
the challenge but answered his own question instead, “Of course, or else
would you dare to come and look for me? Alas, had I known earlier that the
cripple was useless, I would have just killed him right away.”
Among the high priest’s numerous books, there was one which was devoted
to the Kung Fu of Yuqing Sect. It was full of praises for the Five Hole Punch,
while also pointing out several possible flaws.
Maid Lotus had read through the contents but she did not think it would be
helpful at that time. However, while she was in her semi-coma, she had been
in a state of tenseness, ready to fight, and Old Man Mu was one among her
pretend enemies. The description of Five Hole Punch in the book had alway
dangled in front of her, just out of reach, until she finally realized the
problem.
“Straightforward and to the point, the punch will injure all five organs.” This
was the author’s praise given to the unique skill of Yuqing Sect. Maid Lotus
had not thought much of it at first, but later on, she found out that this
comment was completely contrary to Old Man Mu’s style.
Like a killer, Old Man Mu had always killed secretly in ambush or in sneak
attacks. Even when the opponent’s Kung Fu was far weaker than him, he
would never attack in the open. This did not seem like the “straightforward
and to the point” punch style that was mentioned.
According to the book’s records and the high priest’s words, Yuqing Sect
was an orthodox sect in the Central Plain. Their Kung Fu originated from
Taoism and focused on tranquility and passiveness. It was totally different
from Old Man Mu’s bloodthirstiness and his habit of removing his victim’s
heart.
Maid Lotus had abided by her sect’s warning and had never practiced the
Seven Rotation Skill before, but she had seen the contents regarding it in the
manual and could remember the general gist of it. After waking up, she
finally understood something - Old Man Mu had gone overboard in his
practice of the evil arts, not only did his tall, built figure shrunken into a
small, short body, his Kung Fu had also fundamentally changed.
The plain and unpretentious Five Hole Punch had turned into a ruthless
unique killing skill in his hands. Yet, it was also because of this that he was
unable to reach the highest level of Earth Punch, and he could not block the
biggest flaw in this set of fist techniques no matter how hard he tried.
The Five Hole Punch cannot be used continuously.
Both Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus was able to relate because the same
problem was also in the Death Scripture swordcraft. The two of them had
used different methods to solve the issue. Gu Shenwei would use his saber
most of the time and would only use a sword at crucial moments, while Maid
Lotus incorporated a set of swordcraft from New Moon Hall into it. It might
look like the same swordcraft, but was completely different internally.
Both the Death Scripture and Five Hole Punch would require the practitioner
to use all of their might to strike a deadly blow to their enemy. It was no
wonder that there would be similar loopholes.
Old Man Mu’s way of dealing with it was to only kill one person at a time,
and he would move swiftly so as to not let the opponents have a chance to
outnumber him in the battle.
Maid Lotus and Shangguan Ru were waiting for Dragon King. It would be
possible to subdue Old Man Mu if the three of them attacked at the same
time.
Old Man Mu’s regret for not killing the high priest earlier seemed to prove
that Maid Lotus’ speculation was correct.
“It must be hard to do as one pleases.” Gu Shenwei merely took half a step
forward, not willing to go any further. Now that this area was Old Man Mu’s
territory, he would have set up traps instead of attacking them honestly. Gu
Shenwei tried to look for clues but was unable to notice anything unusual.
“Of course it’s hard.” Old Man Mu deliberately ignored the sarcasm in
Dragon King’s words. “Freedom is gained by taking from others. How can
one do as one pleases unless he possess Kung Fu of the highest level? All this
while, this old fellow’s life here, is very close to realizing it, but it’s always
lacking a little something.”
Old Man Mu gestured “a little” using his thumb and forefinger, not caring
whether they were able to make out his gesture in the dark at night. “Wayless
Qigong, Wayless Qigong. It’s because of this that this old man here cannot
truly do what he wants.”
Finally, Old Man Mu revealed his true intention. Gu Shenwei was relieved.
Just as he had expected, the manual that the high priest and the Blessed Child
had memorized as a unique skill was only part of the Wayless Qigong.
Moreover, the first chapter was definitely missing, which explained why they
were unable to practice it for over hundreds of years.
Old Man Mu had not gotten rid of Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus, nor had he
killed them. Instead, he had waited for Dragon King to arrive so that he could
negotiate.
“So, you see. I have a proposal.” Old Man Mu placed his left foot back on the
Blessed Child’s shoulder, away from his head. Speaking like one of the
peddlers in South City, his voice was full of enthusiasm, “The eighth chapter
of the Wayless Qigong is right under my feet. But the previous seven
chapters are memorized in your heads. Let’s cooperate and fulfill each other’s
wishes, how about that?”
Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus did not say anything. Before Dragon King
arrived, Old Man Mu had already expressed the same intention. The two of
them had not wanted to expose themselves at that time so they had kept quiet.
Now that Dragon King was here, they would go along with his decision.
Gu Shenwei took a step back. The grip on his sword loosened, and he let out
a sneer.
“Young man, don’t reject my offer so quickly…” Old Man Mu still believed
that he had the upper hand, so he continued, “Think about it carefully, sooner
or later you will need to face Supreme King if you want to compete with
Golden Roc Fort. You still have a long way to go. You might not be his
opponent even if you master the Dajue Book of Swordcraft. But with Chapter
Eight, you can oust him!”
Of course, Gu Shenwei would want Chapter Eight, but he did not want to
cooperate with Old Man Mu. Once he gathered all eight chapters of the
Wayless Qigong, this double-crossing devil would definitely attack the three
of them.
“Hegemony of the Western Region depends on strategy and military strength.

You are too childish, Old Man Mu.”
“I’m childish? Stop trying to play hard to get, you think this old fellow here
can’t see through it?” Old Man Mu raised his head and looked around, “Let’s
be direct here, shall we? The three of you can work together with me; all four
of us will benefit from it. But I won’t force you either, I won’t reject if any of
you wants to work with me alone. And I will definitely help if you want to
get rid of the other two as well.”
Old Man Mu was openly sowing discord and did not expect this plan to work.
He only wanted to express how determined he was. He never thought that
someone would really agree to it.
“What if one person wants to get rid of the other three? Will you help as
well?”
Shangguan Fei walked out from the flower shrubs behind Old Man Mu,
vigilantly keeping a distance from Dragon King and the other two. Although
his expression was shadowed in the dark night, his voice was undeniably full
of excitement.
Chapter 392 - Choosing A Victim
Chapter 392: Choosing A Victim
The fourth person who secretly learned Wayless Qigong from Golden Roc
Fort appeared as well. Everyone in the Flower Soul Forest, especially Old
Man Mu, was surprised.
He turned and looked at Shangguan Fei, “Hey, aren’t you the weak and
incompetent son of Supreme King? Did you learn the divine kung fu as
well?”
“That’s right. Just like the three of them, I am qualified to make a deal with
you as well.” Shangguan Fei’s eyes flickered around as he said that. He was
usually afraid of the dark, but right now he was thankful for the cover of
darkness. “And I am willing to deal with you alone.”
Old Man Mu had the perfect plan intended for Dragon King and the other
two so he was very displeased at the sudden appearance of Shangguan Fei.
He said, “You mentioned that you know Wayless Qigong. Prove it.”
Shangguan Fei had practiced Wayless Qigong for about three years now but
never dared to show his skills to anyone. Even at this moment, he did not
have the courage to display his Kung Fu in front of Dragon King. “Uh”
Just as he hesitated, Shangguan Ru called out, “Are you crazy, brother? Once
Old Man Mu gets his hands on Wayless Book, he will kill you.”
“No, not at all.” Old Man Mu said with a smile. He squeezed his legs, forcing
the Blessed Child under him to turn around so that he could face everybody.
“For someone who betrayed their close ones and friends, this fellow suits me
so well! Maybe I will even accept you as a disciple if I’m in the mood.”
“I would be more than honored if I have such an opportunity.” Shangguan
Fei bowed to Old Man Mu with his hands wrapped in a fist. Then he
straightened himself and told Shangguan Ru, who was away from him,
“Sister, I am not the one who is crazy. But you should really think it through
and stop being so silly. Our father and Dragon King, they want to kill us
both. If Dragon King wins, he will want to seek revenge. If our father wins,
he will still regard us as his humiliation and get rid of us. We have no other
choice but to save ourselves. Come over to my side, Senior Mu won’t kill
you.”
“No.” Shangguan Ru refused flatly. “Old Man Mu is a murderous devil. I’d

rather die than work with him. And his words cannot be trusted, don’t believe
him.”
Shangguan Fei shook his head. He had been walking on a tightrope all this
while, and even at the end of the tightrope was still an abyss. Old Man Mu
was not someone trustworthy, but he was willing to take a risk and switch to
another tightrope. “Senior Mu, actually I have been helping you all along. I
was the one who secretly cut the rope for you.”
Maid Lotus glanced quickly at Dragon King. Everybody except for Gu

Shenwei at that time had suspected that Shangguan Ru was the one who
helped Old Man Mu escaped, but he had already guessed that it was
Shangguan Fei who cut the rope.
Old Man Mu curled his lip with disapproval. “You are very bold indeed. Did
Supreme King misjudge you? Do you need me to help you plead for
leniency? Supreme King still gives me some face, you know?”
Shangguan Fei’s eyes lit up for a moment before darkening again. He was no
longer a child and was well aware that Old Man Mu was just humoring him.
Moreover, his father would never give face to others. “I appreciate your good
intentions, Senior. I only want to exchange the Wayless Qigong with you. As
for reconciliation with my father, it’s better if I handle it myself.”
“Gee, what a good child. If everybody is as reasonable as you, this old man
here won’t have to spend so much time plotting schemes or conspiracies.
Alas, why can’t the world be simpler?”
Gu Shenwei was not going to stand here and listen to the two of them
exchange hypocritical banter, so he said, “Old Man Mu, now that you have
already found a partner to deal with, do you dare to come out and duel with
me?”
“Don’t worry, we are not in a hurry.” Old Man Mu said readily, “It is indeed
quite tricky for me to handle the three of you. Don’t worry, I will come up
with something, it won’t take much time. Well, Shangguan Fei, show me the
Wayless Qigong, let me see if you have really learned it.”
Wayless Qigong was a set of Internal Strength, and it was hard to display it
without the complement of high-level Kung Fu. Both Dragon King and Maid
Lotus were able to make full use of the potential of the divine kung fu as they
had learned the Death Scripture swordcraft. However, it was somewhat
difficult for Shangguan Ru. Instead of the Kung Fu learned from Golden Roc
Fort, it was actually the Seven Circles seven apertures Heart Stopping Finger
that she learned from Old Man Mu that enabled her to make good use of the
potential of the Wayless Qigong. Compared to them, Shangguan Fei fared the
worst.
Shangguan Fei thought it over, then he smiled and said, “The sky is so dark
right now. It will be hard to gauge whether or not my Internal Strength is real.
Let me recite a paragraph of the manual. You’ve traveled around and are
well-informed. I’m certain you are able to distinguish between real and fake.”
“That’s true. Nobody can try to fool me with fake manuals. There is always
something in common among the Kung Fu in the world. This old fellow here
will be able to tell whether it’s good or bad, highly-skilled or not. Recite then,
boy.”
Shangguan Fei scanned the three of them and decided that as long as
someone started acting suspicious, he would immediately cry for help. Then,
he recited a section of words from the Wayless Book. It was not very long,
about a hundred words or so.
Shangguan Ru’s face turned red. Both Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei
exchanged an undecipherable look.
The words that Shangguan Fei had uttered was the last two sections of
Chapter Seven, it was accurate and not single word was incorrect.
Old Man Mu’s wrinkled brows furrowed as he concentrated on memorizing

it, and he repeated it again in a low voice once Shangguan Fei finished
reciting. For someone his age, he actually managed to memorize everything
perfectly.
Both Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus looked at Dragon King. This was a good
opportunity to attack Old Man Mu.
Gu Shenwei shook his head slowly. There must be a reason for Old Man Mu
to choose this place to meet with them. They would only fall into his trap if
they acted too rashly.
Old Man Mu pondered about the meaning of the words uttered by Shangguan
Fei. Slightly anxious, Shangguan Fei smiled and said, “Senior, this is part of
Chapter Seven of the Wayless Qigong. It is connected to Chapter Eight and it
is really accurate.”
The chapters of the Wayless Qigong was directly connected and one would
need to possess the previous chapter in order to learn the next chapter. This
was why the successor of the Holy King of the Reborn Fort was unable to
learn the Kung Fu even after hundreds of years. Both Gu Shenwei and Maid
Lotus had realized quickly that the scripture was incomplete at first.
“Yes, that’s right.” Old Man Mu seemed to believe him, smiling happily.
Suddenly, like a fallen leaf picked up by the strong wind, Old Man Mu got up
from the Blessed Child’s shoulders and made a few turns before appearing at
Shangguan Fei’s side within moments. Like a young eagle catching a grown
large sheep, he grabbed him by the neck from behind and quickly returned to
his original position, setting his prey down by his side.
This was yet another good opportunity to make a move, but Gu Shenwei was
still unmoved. He was determined to wait for Old Man Mu to strike first.
Shangguan Fei grew pale and was too frantic to display the Wayless Qigong
that he had learned. He shrank involuntarily and said, “Senior, you…”
“Idiot, I’m protecting you. We are now in the same boat, I can’t possibly let
the others get to you, can I?”
“Thank you, Senior…”
Shangguan Fei wanted to say a few more words of gratitude, but Old Man
Mu waved his hand impatiently, “Save it, keep all the bootlicking for later.
Only say it when I want to hear it.”
“Okay.” Shangguan Fei bowed deeply. He even dared to raise his head and
look straight at Dragon King and his sister. “Don’t blame me. I am the most
innocent out of all of us. All of you have ambitions, but I have none. Yet I
always get dragged in because of others.”
Gu Shenwei did not speak. He knew all along that Shangguan Fei harbored
evil designs, but he never would have imagined that of all people, he would
actually pledge allegiance to Old Man Mu. Shangguan Ru was right, once
Old Man Mu gathered all eight chapters of Wayless Book, the first thing he
would do would be to kill off all possible competitors.
“There are three people in front of you, who do you want to kill first?” Old
Man Mu asked exuberantly.
“Uh” Shangguan Fei lowered his head as if embarrassed to look at them, then
he said a name that surprised everybody. “Maid Lotus.”
Even Old Man Mu was puzzled, “Maid Lotus? I would have thought it would
be Dragon King, or maybe your sister if you are more heartless. What grudge
do you have with Maid Lotus? Did you two have a fling and she dumped
you?”
Shangguan Fei disliked such talk even more than Maid Lotus, so he
explained, “No, I just cannot accept it. She was originally a slave in the Stone
Castle, and only became a killer because she was good at currying favor and
gained the trust of her master. But she stole the Wayless Qigong and pledged
allegiance to New Moon Hall, the nemesis of Stone Castle! This is even more
infuriating than Dragon King’s betrayal.”
Before this, back in the desert, when Old Man Mu uncovered Maid Lotus’
real identity, the twins immediately understood what had happened that year.
Because of this, Shangguan Ru became much quieter. Although Shangguan
Fei pretended like he did not care, in his heart, he saw her as an unforgivable
traitor.
Deep down, Shangguan Fei still regarded himself as the Ninth Young Master
of Golden Roc Fort.
The three people in the semicircle stood at ready. Old Man Mu rubbed his
hands together and laughed dryly, “That’s right. You reminded me- the evil
woman is a disciple of New Moon Hall, she’s my enemy! She must be Han
Wuxian’s favorite disciple if she is able to learn the “Manual of Seven Secret
Techniques” at such a young age - I like her too, hehe, I really like her a
lot…”
Old Man Mu struck before he even finished his words. He moved forward in
a strange pattern, jumping from the Blessed Child’s shoulders to the ground
seven steps away. Then, like a bouncing ball, he jumped toward the right and
faced a tall flower tree. His toes tapped lightly on the tree branch as he leaped
toward another flower tree.
Like a lightning bolt out of control, he bounced around the Blessed Child and
Shangguan Fei. At first, there was still a faint shadow visible, soon, only
whooshing sound of wind could be heard and he was hardly seen.
Old Man Mu’s trick did not last long; just when everybody was puzzled, he
launched a sharp attack.
His target was not Maid Lotus in the center, but Shangguan Ru who was
about ten steps away on her left. Gu Shenwei was unable to help since he was
standing on the other side of Maid Lotus.
“A“, Shangguan Fei could only utter half a shout before Old Man Mu
returned to the Blessed Child’s shoulders again, “What a close shave! Dragon
King, you are really something! The two girls teamed up with you so well!”
Old Man Mu had not succeeded in his attempt.
Maid Lotus seemed to have realized Old Man Mu’s real target, so she drew
her sword the same time when he started attacking. She stabbed at the
direction where he would definitely pass by- But she was slightly slower than
Old Man Mu.
Using Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills, Shangguan Ru shifted suddenly and

was almost as fast as Old Man Mu. Although she was still far from mastering
the skill, it was more than enough for her to avoid a fatal attack.
Old Man Mu could only retreat, but he was attacked by Dragon King in the
midst of doing so — Gu Shenwei did not rescue the other two, instead, he
leapt toward Old Man Mu just as he was retreating, hoping to intercept and
kill the enemy.
The three of them had actually discussed this plan beforehand, it would be
the same regardless of who Old Man Mu attacked first.
But Old Man Mu’s swiftness was still beyond imagination. He had suffered
in the hands of the Dragon King, so he was extremely vigilant. He would
rather stop ahead of time than to take a risk, therefore, Gu Shenwei did not
manage to strike a blow to him.
The three of them returned to their original positions, and silently lamented
their fail attempts.
It was the first time that Shangguan Fei experienced Old Man Mu’s empty
promise but he did not dare to complain. He coughed before saying, “Senior
“, and was harshly cut off by Old Man Mu. “Shut up! Didn’t you see me
trying to gain momentum here? Your disruption caused me to lose my
concentration!”
Old Man Mu seemed to be venting his anger on him, and Shangguan Fei was
frightened. He dared not speak again, his face flushed.
But Old Man Mu gave a composed smile once again and said, “My good
grandchild- Look at me, I am more than enough to be your grandfather, right?
Don’t be afraid, I am not treating you like an outsider. What did you want to
say? Say it.”
Shangguan Fei would not dare to deny this “grandfather”, so he swallowed

his saliva and braced himself before saying, “Senior… grandfather, I have
already proved to you that I know the first seven chapters of the Wayless
Qigong, but you…”
Old Man Mu raised his left leg and stepped on the Blessed Child’s head
again, then he said, “My good grandson doesn’t believe in grandfather? Oh
well, this is a business, of course, our goods have to be genuine.” Then he
stepped a little harder and said, “Come, child, recite two paragraphs of
Chapter Eight. 50 words, anything more or less, and I… will eat your little
arm first.”
The Blessed Child was so scared that his teeth were chattering, however,
everybody else was concentrating and listening attentively. They still had not
confirmed if the descendant of the Holy King had really memorized Chapter
Eight completely.
Chapter 393 - Becoming a Disciple
Chapter 393: Becoming a Disciple
The Blessed Child had never received this much attention before and was
afraid of everyone surrounding him. He was fearful and disgusted at Old Man
Mu, who was standing on his shoulders. As for the Dragon King and his
party, including Shangguan Ru, who had pleaded for leniency on his behalf,
they were bloodthirsty and evil people from another world in his eyes.
“I, I…”
“You what? I want you to recite the eighth chapter of Wayless Qigong, is
there ‘I’ in the passage?” asked Old Man Mu as he lifted his feet and stamped
on the child’s shoulder, showing no mercy even to a child of about 12 years
of age.
The Blessed Child could not bear the pain and shouted. Shangguan Ru took a
step forward before managing to control her impulse with considerable effort,
her hatred for Old Man Mu growing even deeper now.
“The, the path of emptiness…” recited the Blessed Child. He was not too
proficient in Central Plains Chinese but he had memorized the chapter by
heart, and once he started speaking, the words kept tumbling out of his
mouth. As he spoke, the anxiety in his heart diminished a little.
The child managed to remember the word limit of 50 words and stopped in
time. He was worried as he did not know if these bloodthirsty demons were
satisfied or not.
Upon Old Man Mu’s kidnapping of the Blessed Child, Shangguan Ru and
Maid Lotus remained in close pursuit and they hid in close proximity to the
kidnapper and his hostage after they had entered the Flower Soul Forest. As
such, Old Man Mu had not got anything of substance from the child, but as
the two women listened, they felt that the few words from the hostage
seemed to link up well with what Shangguan Fei recited.
“How about that? Good grandchild, this is the supreme technique from your
family, isn’t it? If the Supreme King should come to know that the eighth
chapter would be hidden in such a remote corner of the world, he would be
extremely furious, haha.”
Shangguan Ru gave a vague reply. She felt that the words were very similar
to that of her brother’s, but she could not be entirely sure. She looked intently
at the Dragon King, waiting for him to make his judgment.
Gu Shenwei lowered his head in thought before sheathing his Dragon Head
Sword. “Let’s go, there’s no need for us to be wasting time here. Let’s leave
the old man and his ‘grandchild’ to their business.”
The two women did not understand the Dragon King’s intentions but went
along with him. They sheathed their weapons as well, preparing to retreat.
Shangguan Fei’s face grew extremely pale and Old Man Mu’s expression
changed as well before he began laughing loudly. “Dragon King, do you
think you can fool me with your little trick? Do you dare claim that this is not
the eighth chapter?” he asked.
Gu Shenwei had already taken a few steps away before he turned back and
replied coldly, “This is the eighth chapter, but the wrong one.”
Old Man Mu lowered his head to look at the Blessed Child. He then pointed
at the Dragon King and laughed. “Look at you, as if you were speaking the
truth. I was nearly fooled by you. There are four people who have practiced
Wayless Qigong before, what makes you so special that you can tell the
difference just by hearing a few words? Shangguan Fei, speak, is this true or
false?”
Shangguan Fei’s entire body was trembling as he stammered, “It should,

should be true.” He felt that he liked being called “good grandchild” better.
Old Man Mu was looking conceitedly at the Dragon King before he heard
Shangguan Fei add-on, “But it could probably be fake as well.”
Old Man Mu lifted one leg up and swept it across the face of Shangguan Fei,
barely missing it and thereby ensuring that his ‘business partner’ would
continue to live. “Young fool, you dare to make sport of me? This is the
supreme technique of your own family, is it so difficult to tell whether it is
real?”
Shangguan Fei was ashen-faced and stuttered like the Blessed Child, “I, I…”
Gu Shenwei spoke up, rescuing Shangguan Fei, who was having difficulty
expressing himself, in the nick of time. “Coincidentally, I practiced fake
Wayless Qigong before and therefore am better suited to tell the real version
from the fake one. This child has memorized it pretty well, but there are too
many errors in his version. From the dozens of words he said, I can spot at
least six mistakes. I believe that it has been passed on from generations to
generations over the past century and the previous Chief Priests, not
understanding the true meaning of the texts, could’ve made their own
amendments or reductions to it. As such, the errors must have accumulated
over the years.”
Gu Shenwei spread his palms open, signifying that the eighth chapter
memorized by the Blessed Child was already meaningless. He then wanted to
leave again.
Maid Lotus was the one who had caused Gu Shenwei to practice the wrong
version of Wayless Qigong and nearly die from the resulting Qigong
Deviation, but she remained expressionless. Shangguan Ru was a little
surprised and quickly threw Maid Lotus a glance.
“Wait a moment,” said Old Man Mu, growing anxious. He lifted a leg up
before continuing, “Since you’ve said that this child’s version is entirely
wrong, what’s the point of keeping him? I’ll kill him.”
Gu Shenwei did not even bother turning his head back and continued walking
out of the woods. Maid Lotus followed closely behind him, but Shangguan
Ru was hesitant. She knew that the Dragon King was most likely playing a
trick on Old Man Mu, but she also knew that he was ruthless - it was not
impossible for him to sacrifice the young Blessed Child.
Shangguan Ru quickened her pace and caught up with the Dragon King. “The
child might be of use…” she said extremely softly.
Gu Shenwei acted as if he had not heard her and continued walking forward.
Old Man Mu’s eyesight was good and could make out Shangguan Ru
muttering in the dark. “Nice girl, what sweet mutterings are you saying to the
Dragon King? Are you telling him that he’s only slightly less good-looking
than me, or that the child is reciting the real eighth chapter?”
Gu Shenwei increased his pace, and Shangguan Ru did not hesitate any
longer. The three of them soon disappeared into the night.
Old Man Mu stood with his mouth agape and eyes blinking as he looked far
away at the receding figures of the three intruders. A part of himself thought
that his plan had failed, anther part assumed that the other party was up to
something while the rest part of himself was shrouded in doubt.
Shangguan Fei, who was standing beside him, began feeling awkward all of a
sudden and started shifting carefully backward.
Old Man Mu turned his head violently to face him, addressing him in a voice
so sweet that it was nauseous, “Let’s talk, Ninth Young Master.”
“Yes,” replied Shangguan Fei, his legs so wobbly that he nearly sat down on
the ground. “What does Mu, senior Mu want to talk about?”
“Now that my eighth chapter is gone, can you recite the other seven chapters
to me?”
“Of course.”
“Of course what?”
“Of course I can recite them to you, it’s the honor of our Shangguan Family
that you’re taking an interest in our secret techniques, senior. But, to be
honest, Wayless Qigong is never passed on to an outsider. Er, that is if we
exclude the Dragon King and Maid Lotus. They sneaked the texts away.
So…”
Shangguan Fei was beating around the bush. Old Man Mu knew what he was
getting at and interrupted his rambling speech, “You feel that I don’t have
anything to exchange for your Wayless Qigong now, don’t you, Ninth Young
Master?”
“No, no, your skills are otherworldly, senior. In fact, you don’t even need to
learn the divine kung fu of our family.”
“What I need is my business, Ninth Young Master, but I won’t let you make
a loss. Why don’t we do it this way? I’ve many different kung fu techniques,
you just have to tell me what you wish to learn. If one technique is not
enough, two or three are also fine. I’m sure you’re satisfied now.”
Shangguan Fei began thinking quickly. He felt that he would not be safe even
if he managed to master an extremely difficult kung fu technique. He
suddenly kneeled down and said, “Senior, I don’t wish to learn anything. I’ll
give up my family’s divine kung fu willingly to you and only wish that you
take me as your disciple. Allow me to remain by your side to serve you,
senior.”
Old Man Mu frowned; he had never took any disciples before. Even
Wildhorse, who had served him for many years, did not get to become his
disciple. He had wished to take Shangguan Ru in previously, but it was not a
sincere effort. As for Shangguan Fei, he was not to the old man’s liking.
“Your ambition is pretty big, kid - you wish to learn all of my skills. Good
grandchild, why don’t you recognize me as your granddad? You can serve
me as my ‘grandchild’ anyway.”
Shangguan Fei did not seem to bother about status and replied, “Why don’t I
recognize you as my master and granddad, what do you think about that?”
Old Man Mu had a natural liking for despicable people and therefore smiled.
“Good grandchild,” he said.
“Granddad,” replied Shangguan Fei with unrivaled intimacy, as if Old Man

Mu was even more dear to him than his real grandfather.
The Blessed Child got the chills as he heard their nauseating conversation
and shivered even more.
“You can recognize me as your master now. Kneel down and kowtow nine
times to me, then stand up and say in a loud voice, “Heavens, sc*ew your
entire family”. Then we’ll officially be master and disciple.”
It was an unusual and bizarre initiation ceremony for a disciple, but

Shangguan Fei did not mind. After he had finished straining his voice to
curse the heavens, he said, “Master Grandad, you don’t say. After shouting
like this, I feel much more at ease.”
“Hehe, of course, you would. This is one of the secret techniques of our sect.
Right, remember this well—my kung fu has some connection to that of the
Yuqing Sect in the Central Plains, but personally, I do not. You’re entering
the God Slaying Sect, and if you should have a chance to meet the disciples
of the Yuqing Sect in the future, slay them.”
“I acknowledge the Master’s orders,” replied Shangguan Fei, but secretly he

suspected that the so-called ‘God Slaying Sect’ was just a name made up by
Old Man Mu.
“Good disciple and grandchild. You have to give your new Master a gift.
Why don’t you recite the first seven chapters of Wayless Qigong to me, I
don’t want anything else.”
Shangguan Fei glanced at the Blessed Child at the feet of Old Man Mu and
remained silent, seemingly believing that the child was redundant now.
“Let’s keep him here for the time being. The Dragon King wishes to fool me,
but I’m not falling for his trick,” said Old Man Mu before looking down at
the Blessed Child and speaking to him. “Cover your ears, kid. I forbid you to
listen to anything of we are about to say. I’ll devour your tongue directly
from your mouth if you so much as hear a word of it.”
The Blessed Child was extremely quick to react after receiving so many
threats. He hurriedly pressed both hands to his ears, being careful to avoid
hitting the old demon’s legs in the process.
Shangguan Fei looked around and straightened out his clothes. He took a few
deep breaths until he could see that Old Man Mu was visibly impatient. He
then began reciting the manual to Wayless Qigong.
Old Man Mu was extremely knowledgeable about kung fu and knew

Shangguan Fei was indeed reciting qigong instructions of the highest level.
He knew that, however, it was lacking in the most important parts. “Good
disciple and grandchild, what you’re reciting is…”
“The seventh chapter of Wayless Qigong.”
“I have to start learning Wayless Qigong from the first chapter, why are you
reciting the manual from the back?”
Shangguan Fei kneeled down again and respectfully kowtowed another nine
times before replying the bewildered Old Man Mu, “Master Granddad, your
disciple can only remember the seventh chapter as of now.”
Old Man Mu flew into a rage. It turned out that his ‘good grandchild’ was not
well behaved at all. Upon being taken in as his disciple, Shangguan Fei
unexpectedly wanted to hold him hostage with his divine kung fu manual. He
immediately changed tack and forcibly controlled his anger, switching to an
amiable expression. “It’s my mistake. My good disciple has already given me
something, but I have yet to express my gratitude. There are 23 secret
techniques in our sect, which do you want to learn? Lightness Skills? Boxing
skills? Machete techniques or swordcraft?” he asked.
Shangguan Fei repeatedly shook his head, uninterested in all of the

mentioned techniques. “I only wish for you to help me with a task, Master
Granddad,” he replied.
“Speak.”
“Er, it’s your disciple’s wishful thinking to become the king of the Land of
Fragrance.”
This was no small task and it went beyond Old Man Mu’s expectations. “You
want to be king of such a rotten country… hehe. Whatever pleases you, we
shall go now and let all the citizens of this land, regardless of age or gender,
acknowledge you as their king.”
Shangguan Fei kept shaking his head. “I don’t only wish to be king, I hope to
restore the Land of Fragrance to its past glory - isolated from the world and
with slaves completely loyal to their masters, not to mention nobles that have
absolutely zero intention of rebelling.”
Old Man Mu looked in surprise at the Ninth Young Master of the Golden
Roc Fort, who was reputed to be timid as a mouse. “You wish for me to kill
everyone from the Great Snowmountain?”
Shangguan Fei nodded passionately. Only by killing those barbarians that

would never accept the local culture could he ensure that the nation would
revert to its past state. “If you fulfill this wish of mine, your humble disciple
will recite the first six chapters of Wayless Qigong in one go,” he replied.
Old Man Mu’s expression soured immediately as he said harshly, “Foolish

kid, you wish to draw me out of the All Annihilating Formation so that the
Dragon King can kill me?”
Chapter 394 - Hostage
Chapter 394: Hostage
Shangguan Ru was still worried about her brother. The moment they lest the
forest, she asked Dragon King, “My brother is working for you, right?”
“I hope so,” Gu Shenwei replied, halting. He gazed at Shangguan Ru’s face

for a moment before turning back to look at the pitch black forest.
“You… what do you mean?”
“Shangguan Fei is acting on his own accord, nobody knows what he’s really
thinking about,” Gu Shenwei said. He was speaking the truth; he did not
expect Shangguan Fei to tail behind them secretly, and the Ninth Young
Master had concealed himself so well that no one had noticed him along the
way to the forest.
Shangguan Ru was stunned for a moment before replying, “What do you

intend to do next?”
“Maid Lotus would never ask so many questions,” Gu Shenwei could not
help but think.
He hesitated before replying truthfully again, “I’ll set fire to the forest.”
He had left behind a number of his soldiers to manage the capital and could
summon a portion of them at any time he wished to set fire to all corners of
the forest. This would kill off every living thing that resided inside it.
Shangguan Ru’s eyes grew wide with surprise. She had heard numerous
stories of how cruel the Dragon King could be, but even so, she could not
accept what she was hearing with her own ears. “My brother and that kid…”
“Allowing Old Man Mu to escape will only lead to the deaths of more
innocent people.”
To Gu Shenwei, it was a simple choice. With people like Old Man Mu, he
could never speak his terms plainly, the only way to handle them was to
eliminate them.
Shangguan Ru pressed her lips together tightly and her jet black eyes were
like a bottomless abyss; gazing into them made one dizzy. Gu Shenwei
turned his head away again, right into Maid Lotus’ cold gaze.
“The Blessed Child really know the eighth chapter,” Shangguan Ru said. She
knew that it was pointless to plead - the Dragon King was no longer Slave
Huan, and she could only try to convince him with benefits.
Gu Shenwei tried his best to make his tone sound calm as he replied, “Then,
he was purposely reciting the wrong version just now.”
Shangguan Ru grew a little red. She felt the man standing in front of her
grow increasingly unfamiliar to her. “I know this may be hard to believe,
but… when I was in a daze, I kept having the same dream. The Chief Priest
was saying something important but I could not hear clearly…”
That was why she made the same request to anyone she saw after taking the
antidote: “Go on.”
Gu Shenwei did not make fun of her, and this encouraged her to continue
speaking. “When I woke up, I recalled that one night, I did indeed hear the
Chief Priest reciting the incantation, and it was exactly the same as what the
Blessed Child recited just now - it sounded all over the place. I didn’t pay
much attention then and heard only half of it, but I have an idea now - ”
An idea, like a venomous snake, had taken hold of Shangguan Ru and kept
circling in her mind. As she heard the incantation for a second time via the
Blessed Child’s recital, she had suddenly gotten a brainwave. “The contents
of the incantation are not entirely undocumented. In fact, they are written
down in the archived documents kept by the Chief Priest. The only thing is,
they have been separated into different books, so I think…”
Gu Shenwei immediately caught on to her idea: what the Blessed Child was
reciting was not the actual eighth chapter, but a code that would allow one to
discover the original texts from the archived documents.
Shangguan Ru’s deduction seemed to be logical. If this was true, it would

mean that even the Chief Priest and the Blessed Child themselves did not
know about the secret.
The Indra fragrance could make one fall into a partial coma or be
anesthetized, but it could also narrow the thoughts of the person who inhaled
it. Under such circumstances, Shangguan Ru had spent nearly all of the
previous month repeatedly hearing the Chief Priest reciting a portion of the
incantation, and she had finally managed to notice a pattern in it.
However, she had only seen a small part of the archived documents kept by
the Chief Priest, and it was still difficult to know if her deductions were
correct or not.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus exchanged glances while Shangguan Ru said

impatiently, “I know, it’s just a dream. But if I’m right, with that incantation,
we can derive the eighth chapter from the documents.”
To get hold of the eighth chapter in this manner, they would have to give up
their chance of killing Old Man Mu.
Gu Shenwei weighed out his options before shaking his head. “Even if there
is really an eighth chapter to Wayless Qigong, I still have to set fire to the
forest. Old Man Mu poses a big enough threat to us that I cannot allow him to
live any longer.”
Shangguan Ru was aware that what she was about to do was very foolish, but
she still felt that she had to try. “Give me some time, I will bring Old Man
Mu and the Blessed Child to you.”
Gu Shenwei did not reply immediately. She tried again, this time her tone
nearly bordering on pleading, “Believe me this time, it imght be the only
chance for us to get our hands on the eighth chapter.”
The other copy of the eighth chapter only existed in the mind of Supreme
King and nobody could take it from him.
“Alright,” replied Gu Shenwei as he lifted his head to look at the starry night
sky. It was soon going to be midnight. “Once dawn breaks, I will set the fire.
You… should remember to exit the forest in time.”
Shangguan Ru nodded joyously.
Maid Lotus, who had been silent all this while, said, “I’ll go in with you.”
“No, you stay, I can do it alone,” Shangguan Ru replied. She did not want to
explain her plan for fear that the Dragon King would find her immature and
make fun of it.
As such, Shangguan Ru turned back into the forest. Maid Lotus looked at the
Dragon King, awaiting his orders.
“Gather the troops garrisoned in the capital and prepare to set fire to the
forest.”
The sole remaining Flower Soul Forest of the Land of Fragrance would not
escape the fate of being burnt down as well. Old Man Mu, who was still
hiding within it, was clueless about Gu Shenwei’s plan and continued
interrogating Shangguan Fei. He wanted to know Shangguan Fei’s true
motives.
Shangguan Fei had to pluck up a lot of courage before deciding to enter the
forest, but now, every word and glance from Old Man Mu was chipping away
at it. He grew increasingly frightened and knelt down again, pointing to the
heavens while swearing, “Shangguan Fei had no ulterior motives against his
Master Granddad. Should I have any intention to harm you, may I be
punished by the heavens.”
Going against his own oaths was second nature to Old Man Mu and therefore
he thought nothing of those sworn by other people. He was still somewhat
skeptical of the younger man. Sensing this, Shangguan Fei quickly added,
“My request to take over the Land of Fragrance is not urgent at all. Please act
only when you wish to, Master Granddad. Treat it as a test of your
apprentice’s loyalty.”
“You can get up,” replied Old Man Mu. He reluctantly decided to accept
Shangguan Fei’s explanation on account of the seven chapters of Wayless
Qigong that he held. “What’s so good about this rotten country that you need
to have it?”
Shangguan Fei brightened upon hearing the question. In his eyes, the Land of
Fragrance was the ideal nation that he had always dreamt of; there was
nothing bad about it. “Isolated from the rest of the world, a simple local
culture, no wars, citizens that are happy and contented with their lot, easy to
conquer without much planning. I only wish that the Great Snow Mountain’s
influence on this land could be removed as quickly as possible.”
Old Man Mu raised his right index finger to his lips, signaling for Shangguan
Fei to be quiet. He grinned and said softly, “I knew it. The Dragon King was
playing tricks with me, pretending to leave before sneaking back again.
Hehe.” He then suddenly raised his voice and shouted with the Seven
Magical Tones, “Are you the Dragon King or Mouse King? Stop being
sneaky and come on out!”
A figure stepped out from the nearby cluster of flowers, but he or she was not
alone. Dozens of soldiers from the Great Snow Mountain, armed with sabers
and swords, appeared.
Their leader was a swordsman of about 50 years of age. He had been

garrisoned in the capital under the Dragon King’s orders and had only came
to check the situation upon receiving a report that there were strange sounds
emanating from the old royal palace. Unfortunately, they had entered the
Flower Soul Forest from a different direction and had not met the Dragon
King.
The old swordsman recognized Old Man Mu and knew that he had killed
many of his comrades. As such, he lifted up his heavy sword and said in a
deep voice, “Prepare to die, old devil.”
“Old devil? I’m Old Man Mu. Even if you find me old, you should address
me as an Old Mu! Most probably, the Dragon King sent the bunch of you to
draw me out. Just with your abilities…”
The swordsman was not adept at verbal exchanges and gave a loud roar,
leading the charge toward the enemy.
Five other swordsmen followed closely behind him. The others were slave
soldiers and waited for a while before following suit.
Old Man Mu was stunned by the audacity of the soldiers for a moment before
spitting out, “Fools.”. He did not make any move until the soldiers were 20
feet away from him. Then, he lifted his right leg and lightly kicked the back
of the Blessed Child’s head.
The scene that unfolded next would forever be imprinted in Shangguan Fei’s
memory.
From the gound, clusters of flowers and other sharp sounds of objects
whistled through the air as countless hidden weapons flew across them. The
dozens of attackers appeared as if they were being strangled by unseen ghosts
as they all fell heavily to the ground heavily. Their corpses were like human-
shaped water containers that shattered instantly upon hitting the ground,
blood gushing out in all directions like a waterfall.
Old Man Mu was watched in delight before noticing that he was suddenly
closer to the ground. It turned out that the Blessed Child, whose shoulder he
had been standing on, could not take the bloody scene and had fainted.
He kicked the Blessed Child’s body once before saying, “Coward, you aren’t
even fit to be a pack animal.”
“Master Granddad’s… kung fu is just divine,” commented Shangguan Fei.

He felt that he had the responsibility to add ingratiation, but his voice shook
and he could only speak a few words.
“Of course,” Old Man Mu replied, not taking his disciple’s ineloquence to
heart. “It’s called the All Annihilating Formation, do you think it’s just for
show? To set this formation up, you have to use hairs of the best quality that
is also shiny and black - the longer the better - and razor-sharp pieces of steel
- the smaller the better. Then you have to carefully set everything up and be
ingenious with where you place the traps. Even if a deity stumbles into the
formation, he or she would not be able to escape in one piece. A pity that it
has been wasted on these fools. The Dragon King is indeed ruthless to send
his men on a suicide mission to break into my formation. But, if he thinks
that my ability is just limited to such traps, then…”
“He didn’t send them,” a voice said angrily from afar.
“Oh, the good lady is back. What about the Dragon King and Maid Lotus,
where are they hiding?”
“I’m alone,” replied Shangguan Ru as she took a few steps toward Old Man
Mu. She took one look at the bits of flesh and blood splattered all over the
ground and averted her gaze. Her expression turned grim as she continued,
“Did you really have to kill so many people?”
“I still think there are too few dead,” said Old Man Mu, his hands crossed
behind his back, examining the traps that he himself had set. “There are
simply too many people in this world; one can never kill all of them. Isn’t
there a saying in the Golden Roc Fort which goes, “There are Six Paths of
Reincarnation, Killing Never Ceases”? I’ve only killed a dozen people today,
and tomorrow, twice that amount will be born. Tsk, tsk, this is such a heavy
responsibility I bear.”
Shangguan Ru knew that she would only prompt the old man to come up
with more twisted theories the more she spoke. She was already too late to
save these brave and rash soldiers, but she could still rescue the other two
people beside Old Man Mu. “I have a proposal,” she said.
Old Man Mu looked at Shangguan Ru in surprise before breaking into

laughter. “You know how to negotiate now, good lady? It’s better to leave the
trickery and backstabbing to the Dragon King. You’re not suited for it.”
“I’m not lying to you, nor do I wish to lie to you. Let the Blessed Child and
my elder brother go. I will take their place as your hostage.”
Old Man Mu curled his lips as he replied, “You’re too late. Your elder
brother has already recognized me as his master and acknowledged that I’m
his grandfather. He even wishes to hand over the Wayless Qigong willingly.
Isn’t that so, my good disciple and grandson?”
“Yes, Master Granddad. Don’t try to snatch what is mine, sister.”
Shangguan Fei sounded sincere. Shangguan Ru sighed lightly before raising

her voice to say, “My brother knows Wayless Qigong, but what about the
Dajue Book of Swordcraft?”
Old Man Mu’s smile immediately vanished. “Don’t tell me that you have it?”
Shangguan Ru nodded.
Chapter 395 - Incantation
Chapter 395: Incantation
Old Man Mu had a unique definition of freedom.
He did not wish for the divine skills to fly through the skies or travel across
the earth or to be able to perform incredible feats or to be immortal. Once he
thought about how much training monks and Taoists put themselves through,
he firmly believed that even gods and deities themselves did not enjoy much
freedom.
His concept was very simple - the more powerful person would always be the
one with more freedom. Since there were only two types of people in his eyes
- him and everyone else - his way of achieving freedom was to be more
powerful than anyone and everyone in the world.
Despite the saying that there would always a mountain higher than this one,
there had to be somebody who was the most powerful. From the first day Old
Man Mu practiced kung fu, his goal was to be the strongest.
He had been hunted down by many kung fu masters, taken advantage of and
nearly placed under house arrest by the New Moon Hall and dragged along
like an animal by Shangguan Ru, but he did not view of those incidents as
restrictions to his freedom.
He felt that there were only two restrictions to his freedom: the Golden Roc
Fort and the Four Truths Temple.
When he was killing his master, he indignantly questioned the old man,
“Why does the Yuqing Sect have so many secret techniques, yet no proper
qigong cultivation method? Am I going to have no chance of making it in my
entire life?”
His master shifu’s throat was full of blood and he could not answer the
question.
The Seven Rotation Skill had given him hope. Even though the demonic skill
ravaged much of his body, it had improved his Internal Strength by leaps and
bounds, stronger than when he had crossed, unimpeded, over the north of
Tianshan.
It was because of this that he broke with tradition and went with Wildhorse to
Jade City.
He met the Supreme King and immediately understood that he had come too
late. Shangguan Fa had already tided over his period of self-destruction and
his Internal Strength was even stronger as a result of his ordeal. Old Man Mu
knew that he was no match for the Supreme King.
Old Man Mu’s response to not being able to taste freedom was working
willingly for the Supreme King.
The Supreme King thus became a small portion of ‘the other people in this
world’ that was untouchable.
Now, the Wayless Qigong was right in front of him and the twins were
fighting to give it away. Even though it was one chapter less than what the
Supreme King had, Old Man Mu believed that he could overcome the loss of
the eighth chapter with his natural ability.
He even had the Dajue Book of Swordcraft in his grasp. It was a peerless set
of swordcraft, thought to have been lost over time, and both the Dragon King
and Maid Lotus had relied on it to become top class kung fu masters at such a
young age. What was most splendid was that the Supreme King did not have
the technique.
Old Man Mu looked hungrily at Shangguan Ru, wishing that he could crack
open her skull to see if the two sets of otherworldly skills were indeed hidden
in her brain.
Shangguan Ru could see that Old Man Mu’s interest was piqued. “Since
you’ve taught me the Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills and Heart Stopping
Finger, I’ll now repay you with Wayless Qigong and the Dajue Book of
Swordcraft,” she said.
“That’s fair, that’s most fair,” replied Old Man Mu, smiling. That said, he
had not entirely been overcome with happiness at the opportunity being
presented to him right then. “However, you have to prove that you really
know the Dajue Book of Swordcraft.”
“I don’t know it,” replied Shangguan Ru. Old Man Mu’s face grew grim as
she finished speaking. She immediately added, “But I remember its entire
text.”
“Since you remember it, why don’t you practice it?”
“It’s too cruel, and I don’t wish to learn it.”
If it had been someone else who said that, Old Man Mu would not have
believed him. But it was coming from the ‘good lady’, and he felt that there
was a 70 to 80 percent possibility that she was telling the truth.
“Then recite a passage for me to hear.”
Shangguan Ru did as he said, but she did not stop at one passage, she recited
at least three to four hundred words of the manual. However, Old Man Mu
could not understand a single part of it, much less remember it. “What
manner of trick is this?” he asked.
“The instructions to the swordcraft.”
Old Man Mu was bewildered and lifted his head to look at the similarly
doubtful Shangguan Fei. “Have you heard it before?”
“No, Master Grandfather, I…”
“Shut up,” ordered Old Man Mu roughly. With the arrival of the ‘good lady’,
Shangguan Fei’s value had taken a deep dive.
In reality, Shangguan Fei had actually seen this part of the text but had not
heard it read out loud before.
The ending of the Death Scripture was similar to the beginning of the
Wayless Qigong. They were introductions to the texts written in the language
of the Western Region but marked with phonetic symbols in Central Plains
Chinese. They described the link between both techniques and various points
to take note of during practice and were independent of the texts themselves.
As such, they could not be considered as part of the manuals.
This portion of the manuals could be read in many different ways, and
Shangguan Fei had only seen the original texts. Naturally, he was unable to
interpret the words his sister was chanting now.
“Recite it one more time,” said Old Man Mu.
Shangguan Ru recited the last part of the manual again. She did it smoothly,
evidently well versed in it.
Old Man Mu’s trust towards her grew. “Is the Dajue Book of Swordcraft full
of such words? How did the Dragon King and Maid Lotus manage to master
it?”
“No, this is merely an incantation to focus one’s attention on mastering the

technique. I’ve not touched on the actual swordcraft itself.”
“Tell me now.”
“Release them first.”
Shangguan Fei fought to answer before Old Man Mu could. “Wait a minute, I
didn’t say I wanted to leave. I’ve already become your apprentice and
acknowledged you as my grandfather. I will never leave your side from now
on, not even by a single step, Master Grandfather.”
Old Man Mu looked as if he was touched by Shangguan Fei’s words and

patted the thigh of his ‘good grandchild’. Then he leaped up suddenly and
grabbed the young man by the scruff of his neck before walking out of the
All Annihilating Formation, carefully avoiding the booby traps. He tossed
Shangguan Fei dozens of steps away from him before quickly returning to the
center of the formation. “Get further away from me, foolish kid. I don’t even
want a real grandson, what more a fake and useless one like you?”
Shangguan Fei saw stars from his fall, and as his mind cleared, his dream of
becoming King of the Land of Fragrance faded away as well. He scrambled
to his feet and said, “Master Grandfather, don’t fall for my sister’s trick.
She’s lying to you. How could she know about the Dajue Book of
Swordcraft? And she wouldn’t give the Wayless Qigong up either.”
Old Man Mu was more willing to put his trust in Shangguan Ru. “From now
on, if I ever hear you speak another word, I will chop you up into minced
meat and mold it into meatballs and hamburgers before feeding them to all
the cats and dogs of the city as snacks.”
Shangguan Fei did not expect such abrupt hostility from Old Man Mu and
feel silent. He glanced at his sister with hate-filled eyes before turning around
and fleeing the forest.
“There’s still one more left,” said Shangguan Ru as she pointed toward the
Blessed Child, who was still lying unconscious on the ground.
“I have to keep this one with me. Even though you are a good lady, there’s no
saying whether you would lie for the man you love. You have to give me
both the Dajue Book of Swordcraft and Wayless Qigong before I let him go.”
“I can replace him.”
“You’re too stubborn. If I can’t get you to recite the manuals, wouldn’t I
stand to lose a lot?”
“I’ll teach you the incantation for concentration first. Let him go.”
“No way, no way,” replied Old Man Mu as he shook his head repeatedly.
Shangguan Ru remained silent as they remained in a stalemate. Old Man Mu

was the first to concede. “Alright, alright, we’ll do it your way. But you have
to tell me first - what’s the purpose of the incantation for concentration? Why
do I have a feeling that what you recited was all gibberish?”
“You have steel your heart first before you can master swordcraft. The
incantation allows one’s heart to be firm and unmoved by whatever is
happening on the outside.”
Old Man Mu lifted his head as he thought about the mannerisms of both the
Dragon King and Maid Lotus. He felt that there was some logic in
Shangguan Ru’s words. “How do I steel my heart? I couldn’t understand a
single word of what you said.”
“There’s no need to understand the words. The manual itself is hidden in the
tones of the words. In the beginning, recite the incantation loudly. After you
are used to it, you can practice silent reading. It works too.”
“It’s that simple?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, I believe you. You are a good lady after all. Come in.”
Bits of flesh were scattered all over the ground before her, and blood was
splattered all around the area. Shangguan Ru knew that once she had entered
his formation, no one else could get her out of it. Old Man Mu was trying to
test her by making her walk in on her own.
Old Man Mu observed her, amused, as he gave her instructions to walk into
the formation without triggering the booby traps. “Take seven steps forward -
normal steps, not too big or too small - then take three steps to your right.
After which, leap up by five feet and step on the tree branch. Reach your left
hand forward and spring away by six steps…”
Shangguan Ru successfully made it into the formation under his guidance.

She stood opposite him and lowered her gaze to the prone Blessed Child,
feeling a little relieved to see that he was not dead.
“Since you’re in my formation now, let me remind you,” said Old Man Mu.
His attitude had taken a drastic turn - he was treating Shangguan Ru as a
captive now. “I’m not only skilled in killing, I’m even better at torture. I
admire you, but if I find out that you are playing a trick on me, you’d better
think of a way to take your own life, because I’ll make you suffer so much
that you’ll wish you were dead.”
Shangguan Ru was not her brother, Shangguan Fei. When facing the old
man’s threats, she did not cower in fear but lifted her head up defiantly. “Not
everyone is like you,” she retorted.
Old Man Mu patted his chest as he laughed. “That’s good. I wouldn’t be able
to take it if everyone was the same as me,” he said.
He then sized Shangguan Ru up, as if it were the first time he had seen her. It
made her feel extremely uncomfortable. “You claimed to have never
practiced the Dajue Book of Swordcraft before but say that I can learn the
incantation for concentration using the tones of the words. Furthermore, you
can remember its contents word for word…”
“The incantation is just a foundation. If one doesn’t learn swordcraft, it’s

pointless to practice it.”
“There’s some use in it even if the practitioner doesn’t plan to learn

swordcraft. Is your stubbornness a result of practicing the incantation?”
Shangguan Ru had no comeback for him and coughed once before beginning
to recite the entire incantation.
It was extremely long, and Old Man Mu stopped her after she recited over a
thousand words. “Wait, wait. It’s all messed up and now I’m lost. How did
you manage to memorize it?”
“If you read it every day, you’ll memorize it gradually. You can start off by
trying to memorize 500 words, and see how it works out.”
“Makes sense,” replied Old Man Mu. He lifted his head and gave Shangguan
Ru a glance. “It’s going to be daybreak soon; we have to hurry up. If the
Dragon King gets serious and sends hundreds of his minions to break my
formation, I won’t be able to handle them.”
The old man always claimed to be smart and as it turned out, it was not
entirely an exaggeration. After only listening to the five hundred oddly-
sounding words a few times, he unexpectedly could memorize all of them.
“You won’t sneak up on me while I’m practicing, will you?”
“You don’t have to specifically practice the incantation. In fact, you don’t
even have to think about it - all you have to do is to memorize it by heart. It
won’t affect your other activities.”
“That incredible?” Old Man Mu felt it was a little unbelievable. “Why didn’t
you present it to your dad? With it, I believe he would have forgiven all your
transgressions.”
Shangguan Ru refused to reply him and Old Man Mu offered an explanation

on her behalf. “A father who kills without mercy produces a girl without any
killing desire… Sigh, having children can be so unpredictable. Luckily, I’m
not dragged down by all that.”
Old Man Mu continued muttering to himself and began reciting the

incantation that Shangguan Ru taught. He was still a little wary of her and
thus diverted some of his attention in case she tried to move against him.
After repeating the 500 words a few times over, Old Man Mu realized he was
starting to feel something. “Weird, it’s really weird! Why do I… feel more
frustrated the more I recite it? It seems as if I especially dislike the
incantation.”
“It’s always like this when someone starts to practice it.”
Shangguan Ru was also reciting the incantation herself, from beginning to the
end. She did not make a single mistake until now and this further increased
Old Man Mu’s trust in her.
It would soon be dawn and Old Man Mu’s current location was f

Death Sutra

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Death Sutra

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Table of Contents URL: https://novel-bin.net/novel-bin/death-sutra-

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Even if your target is a half-paralyzed beggar, you have to treat him as a

A killer is not a general, so he must be more cunning, more insidious, and

Everyone sympathized with the young master's untimely death. Although

This is the "name".

He was the king of killers in the Western Region.

"Are you really my son? Really?"

"Let Nu be a man like you."

Shanggaun Fa had to do something because his rules had to be obeyed. There

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Gu Lun was very vigilant as he used to be a military officer. He asked the

No one had gotten hurt.

A strong feeling of tension was spreading throughout the whole manor.

Gu Shenwei completely believed in his father, so he did not worry at all. He

In a sleep-filled haze, Gu Shenwei felt someone pushing him hard. He

"Huan'er" was Gu Shenwei's nickname, only close family members would

"Sure." Gu Shenwei promised seriously. He began to picture a scene in his

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

"Sister, don't be afraid. I'll fight the bandits!"

The two men-in-black came at him.

"He was a great Kung Fu master."

"Who was?" asked Gu Shenwei.

"The one who almost got away."

Gu Shenwei was a little dismissive of Master Shifu Yang's excessive caution.

"Sure. Is it related to the bandits?" Gu Shenwei sprang to his feet in

"Reinforcements? Aren't the bandits dead?"

"There may be more bandits."

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

"There is no Marshal Yang in the capital, nor in the entire Shu-lik."

A sense of foreboding was rising in the boy's heart.

"Turn back! Turn back!"

As Gu Shenwei approached, he recognized that it was his Master Shifu, Yang

Gu Shenwei then noticed several dead bodies lying on the ground.

Gu Shenwei jumped on his horse and continued to ride eastward. He wanted

Gu Shenwei suddenly steeled himself. He found a wall brick, kneeled on the

"God is not fair!"

Gu Shenwei could not figure it out. He blamed it all on God. He grabbed a

Gu Shenwei was already exhausted. After throwing the brick, he

A moment later, the cruelty of God became a manifestation of wonder.

He needed the "Will of the Divine" to support the idea of revenge.

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Gu Shenwei stood up abruptly. Without really thinking, he wanted to go out

A whip came in through the darkness, bringing Gu Shenwei to the ground

Understanding the identities of these people, Gu Shenwei suddenly flew into

"What the hell is this?" The bandit was furious.

Suddenly, Gu Shenwei realized something. The oilskin-wrapped book was

"You've got the money, why not let me go?"

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

"Golden Roc Fort wanted to exterminate the Gu family, but why?"

With the clip-clop of hoofbeats approaching, a brown galloping horse came

Seeing a bunch of people with fierce countenances gathering at the roadside,

"Whoosh!" Someone hurled a throwing knife in the direction of the knight.

"A swordsman from the Great Snowmountain!"

"People of the Eagle Gang, step forward."

Eagle knew that he faced an impasse. However, he was a battle-scarred

"My name is Long Feidu."

"I should let you know who is going to kill you."

However, Gu Shenwei had a very good impression of Long Feidu. He tried to

Although it was only a glimpse, this scene was deeply imprinted in Gu

He never expected that his wish would be so hard to achieve. He believed

Beyond Gu Shenwei's expectation, the two teenagers showed no fear at this

"You came from the Great Snowmountain, so you must be a real