Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
Sometimes timing was more important than speed. Gu Shenwei and Chu Nanping exhibited this idea perfectly after seizing the moment and cooperating perfectly.
There were actually some experts next to King Shengri, but the two who had reacted the fastest were blocked by Chu Nanping’s dual swords. And the others had only managed to bend their bows and draw their sabers by the time Gu Shenwei had gotten into position. No one dared to make a move at that point, for fear of injuring the king by mistake.
Although King Shengri was subdued, he appeared calmer than his subordinates. He would not believe that the Dragon King would really dare to use his saber on him, so he raised his hand to stop the senseless shouts of the crowd. “Ever since my tenth birthday, this has been the first time someone has hugged me from behind. Dragon King, do I look like a woman to you? I’m afraid that I’m a bit too old and not as fresh and tender as the kid you’re fostering.”
“To me, King Shengri is more attractive than any woman.”
“Haha, how sweet. Alas, women love it, and so do men.”
The cavalrymen looked at each other in mute amazement. The Dragon King, who was known for killing, and their lord, who was ranked second in the Norland, were actually flirting with each other in public. They did not remember their lord having such a hobby.
Gu Shenwei’s voice was low when he mentioned the disciples of Essence Pavilion before, so his words were completely drowned in the noise. King Shengri was the only one who had heard it. He neither acknowledged nor denied it. Instead, his jokes had changed the atmosphere while also being a hint.
Gu Shenwei jumped off the horse. He had never drawn his saber from beginning to end. “King Shengri needs a better horse.”
“Even the best horse can’t bear two ‘kings.’” King Shengri held up the feather on his helmet, “The Dragon King’s attendant really can’t come with me?”
For the disciples of Essence Pavilion, the most important figure was actually Chu Nanping, who had comprehended how to practice the Emotionless Swordsmanship alone.
Gu Shenwei firmly shook his head. “He’s timid. Unless I forge the way ahead, he’s not going anywhere.”
“What a pampered attendant. The Dragon King is really kind to him.”
“I have no choice. It’s not easy to find an irreplaceable entourage.”
Chu Nanping was used to being judged on his appearance, so he turned a deaf ear to everything and instead focused on decoding the Dragon King’s hint. He knew that he could leave now, so he put away his dual swords and slowly retreated.
The impregnable wall of cavalrymen did not make way for him. They all looked at King Shengri, waiting for his order.
King Shengri kept staring at the Dragon King and finally nodded when Chu Nanping was about to run into a horse in his way. “It’s been an honor to meet the Dragon King.”
The cavalry also understood their lord’s intention and immediately gave way. Chu Nanping melted away into the last bit of dark before dawn and didn’t worry about the Dragon King’s safety at all.
Someone offered a horse to the Dragon King. As they traveled, King Shengri now appeared more genial. He kept making vulgar jokes all the way, and Gu Shenwei responded now and then, which always resulted in King Shengri’s laughter.
If someone hadn’t blocked them on the way, they would have reached the destination in peace and harmony, and the cavalrymen would have thought that the previous tension was just a joke.
It was already bright now, but strangely enough, there were not many pedestrians on the road. They soon understood the reason.
A great troop of cavalry, much larger than that of King Shengri, had blocked the entrance to the slums.
King Riyao, who ranked seventh in the Norland, had also come in person.
Gu Shenwei had met this king once before but they had never had a chance to talk that time. He only knew that he was King Shengri’s younger brother, and that he had been a centrist in the fight for the throne. As the final moment approached, his tendency began to manifest itself. He wholeheartedly supported his nephew, King Kuari.
King Riyao, who was nearly fifty years old, was as stocky as his brother King Shengri but there was no trace of an excessive drinking problem. With a serious look, he said, “Second brother, I’m here to beg you.”
The two kings rode to greet each other with friendly faces. The cavalrymen behind them, however, behaved as if they were facing a formidable enemy, readying themselves for battle.
“Hey little bro, don’t you have any more wine at home? You came to the right person.” King Shengri couldn’t remember how many younger brothers he had, so he called all of them ‘little bro’.
“Hehe, that’s true. Second brother has tons of good wine at home, I’m afraid there’s no one who has more wine than you. But I’m not here to ask for wine, rather a person.”
“That’s also not a problem. All the women in my family, except the princess consort, are at your disposal. I have four or five daughters who are not yet married, and I’m kind of worried right now.”
Wine and women were the two shields of King Shengri. He could use them to fend off all disagreeable topics.
King Riyao didn’t want to beat around the bush anymore. “Second brother, please give the Dragon King to me.”
“Eh? The Dragon King is neither a woman nor a good wine, so why would little bro want him?”
“The Dragon King killed one of my men. I need to know why.”
King Shengri had seemed to know nothing about the corpses on the ground not long ago, but now he seemed to know all about them, “Is it that guy who calls himself Gu Da but his real name is Gu Feng?”
“Exactly. He’s a master who I spent a lot of money to hire and yet he died for no real purpose. Do you think that I don’t care? The Dragon King is our honored guest, and he has promised to not kill …”
King Shengri waved his hand, “Well, little bro, you’re so easily offended. It’s just a warrior, like a dog or horse, there’s no big deal in losing one. I know you have a lot more.”
“It’s not about how many I have. I would have nothing to say if he died in the arena, but …”
King Shengri made up his mind not to let his brother finish, so he waved his hand again while saying, “Well, it’s all about face. I’ve investigated carefully. Gu Feng, with a group of idiots, were planning to assassinate the Dragon King. The Dragon King just wanted to defend himself and didn’t provoke them. I’ve also looked into this matter, and it has nothing to do with you, my brother. But I have to tell you one more thing; you were fooled. That Gu Feng is from the Central Plains. He was being paid by you, a king of the Norland, but worked for others. You’d better go back and check your men, as there could be more spies.”
King Riyao’s facial color vacillated between red and purple. The fact that King Shengri was claiming that Gu Feng was a spy was tantamount to belittling his lack of strict discipline and vision.
Tuo Sai, the son of King Riyao, came out of the crowd to his father. He raised his horsewhip and said indignantly, “King Shengri, my father respects you, but that doesn’t mean you can be insatiable. We must take the Dragon King away.”
King Shengri usually appeared in public as a drunkard and he was the weakest among the ten kings, so even the younger generation didn’t put him in their eye. But today, he seemed to have become a different person. He not only wore his armor, but his temper had also grown. He spat at his disrespectful nephew and cursed, “Who’s this brat, talking like a wild dog? Who took the chain off of his neck?”
Tuo Sai was furious upon hearing this and immediately drew his single saber. But in the blink of an eye, he had fallen to the ground with one of his feet stuck in the stirrups, his weapon thrown aside, and his hands scrambling.
It took him a long while to break free and stand up. Tuo Sai felt shamefully puzzled.
The one who knocked him off the horse was his father King Riyao.
“Little bastard, how did you speak to your uncle? Your uncle said that you are a little brat, and you’ve really lost all face for me.”
Tuo Sai blushed, not understanding why his father had suddenly become courteous to his impotent second uncle. “Uncle, please forgive me …” he muttered.
King Shengri ignored the insincere apology, “Little bro is as valiant as he was then. I’m too weak to slap people off their horses now.”
King Shengri tried to change the subject again, but King Riyao assumed the episode was over and said, “Second brother, please save some face for me. For better or worse, please call the Dragon King out and let me ask him a few questions.”
Gu Shenwei had been looking on. He had finally figured out who was behind Gu Feng. Earlier, he had guessed in his heart, but only now was he sure of it.
King Kuari’s original plan was to isolate the Dragon King completely and force him to flee the Royal Court so that he could claim later that the Dragon King had left a kung fu master like Old Man Mu to assassinate the Khan. But the Dragon King’s reaction had exceeded his expectations, as he had pressed forward step by step instead of running away.
After losing his two key pieces, Kuo Zhen and Shangguan Shaomin, King Kuari had finally made a proactive move.
King Riyao was the spokesman for King Kuari. He had sent Gu Feng to kidnap Chu Nanping so that he could exchange hostages with the Dragon King.
Gu Feng had once fought for King Riyao. In order to cover his trail, he had made the following plan: Find some sabermen to impersonate the Golden Roc killers. If the Dragon King took the bait and went to argue with Golden Roc Castle, he would be accused of false charges and it would be more difficult for him to identify Gu Feng. The sabermen had received strict orders to deliberately pull their punches towards Liman to make him think that the kidnapping had come from King Rizhu whose purpose was to get the Flame Foal back.
Both Liman and Wild Horse were fooled, and the latter had even killed Gu Feng without any doubt.
The plan would have been impeccable, but after two nights’ practice, Chu Nanping’s swordsmanship was beyond Gu Feng’s expectation. The kidnapping failed to succeed quickly, and even the kidnapper was killed and left evidence that was hard to conceal.
King Shengri, who had suddenly come out to intercept the fruit, stuck out even more. All of a sudden, Chu Nanping was no longer important. King Kuari dreaded all those who were qualified to compete for the title of Khan, so he immediately speculated that King Shengri and the Dragon King were colluding with each other.
King Riyao was intent on ridding himself of the suspicion, but in order to take the Dragon King, he had to admit that Gu Feng was his man.
This was the guess in Gu Shenwei’s heart. The complex situation of the Royal Court had gradually revealed itself to his eyes.
“Dragon King, King Riyao would like to ask you a few questions.” King Shengri could not continue to be tough. His troops numbered less than King Riyao’s, so he had to quit while he was ahead and make an appropriate concession.
Gu Shenwei finally got what he wanted. He had turned himself into a hot ticket, which was a very dangerous plan and not in line with his usual style of action. But in the unfamiliar Royal Court, it was basically the only option. Otherwise, he would have to wait in silence for the accusation of the Khan’s assassination to fall on his own head.
Gu Shenwei slapped his horse to trot over. Then he looked King Riyao straight in the eye without any greetings.
“You killed my man.”
“I was defending myself.”
“If there was a misunderstanding, I can understand. Would Dragon King like to talk further in
private?”
“I am now a guest of King Shengri, so I have to respect my host’s wishes.”
King Riyao turned to his elder brother and threatened in a sincere tone, “Second brother, I’m not being demanding at all. Please let the Dragon King say a few words to me in the nearby tent. I’ll keep my promise and return him later. Please, don’t force me into a corner.”
“Why do you say that? It’s as if I’m being inconsiderate. As long as the Dragon King is willing to, what can I say?” In front of someone more powerful, King Shengri could only choose to compromise, “But as you said, you have to send my guest back intact later.
The two kings laughed heartily at the same time, hiding all grievances.
It was no surprise to Gu Shenwei that when he entered the makeshift tent, the one waiting for him was King Kuari.
“I want to apologize to the Dragon King.” On the surface, King Kuari, who was wearing his trademark cordial smile, wasn’t in a hurry at all. “It’s my fault for looking down on the Dragon King; I hope that we can renegotiate.”
“That couldn’t be better, but what are you going to use to negotiate with me?”
King Kuari’s smile grew bigger, “A woman, a woman the Dragon King cares most about.”
