Chapter 233: The Supreme King’s Words
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
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.
