Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
King Shengri found that his perfect day was starting to be shrouded in dark clouds.
Yes, the Dragon King had won a few games, so neatly and swiftly that it had embarrassed him, but it wasn’t completely out of his expectation as the ones the Dragon King had let go were all trivial figures. The plan was still perfect, and the Dragon King had not actually changed his situation.
The sudden appearance of several kings, however, had complicated the matters.
Of all the kings, only King Dari and King Kuari didn’t come. As loutish and unconstrained as usual, King Rizhu rode in the front, followed by his entourage that numbered in the dozens. He galloped all the way to King Shengri before suddenly coming to a halt. Frightened, the horses around them all neighed uneasily. He himself, however, pretended to not have noticed, leaned over, and put his large hand on King Shengri’s shoulder.
“Second King, you really are having a good time here while forgetting to call your brothers to have fun together.”
King Shengri’s face darkened. He shook his shoulder hard to get rid of that annoying large hand but failed. So he could only force himself to let out a burst of harsh laughter. “Well, it’s just a tough task of the Khan’s; you guys didn’t want to take it so it fell onto my head. How am I having fun? Where’s the fun in this?”
The other kings arrived one after another, all of them with their own large entourage. The cavalry and experts of the Central Plains, who had clustered around King Shengri like a myriad river of stars surrounding the moon, were immediately pushed aside.
The scene suddenly turned chaotic. In such an occasion, voices became meaningless noises and were not even as useful as the incessant laughter that expressed oneself. The most effective means of communication was the eyes.
Seeing the arrival of the kings, the kung fu experts immediately ‘made eyes’ at the lords they had pledged allegiance to, expressing their panic, grievance, doubt, expectation, and other feelings. While the followers of different masters stared at each other and drew an invisible line between each group, each occupying an appropriate territory, the kings looked much more restrained yet also absent-minded. It was as if they were looking at everyone, but also at the same time, the distant scenery.
The focus of attention had suddenly changed from the two sides who preparing for the contest on the field to the audience. Standing beside the Dragon King, Old Man Mu curled his mouth, shook his head, and sighed. “Dragon King, have you ever been to a brothel? You know, those big brothels with dozens of bitches and where you can choose whoever you want?”
Gu Shenwei shook his head. He had once owned a brothel but that had been in the Retention Alley of Jade City and it only had one prostitute, Xu Yanwei. Although he had entered low-leveled brothels that focused on their numbers, he had only done so to avoid pursuers and had never slept there.
The nearby Chu Nanping suddenly said, “I’ve been to one.”
Old Man Mu was taken aback and forgot what he had to say. Full of disbelief, he asked, “You’ve been there? You and those women, who whored who?”
“Xu Xiaoyi took me there. The people there were very kind. Sometimes they offered us free food and shelter.”
During the first year of the Dragon King’s escape from Golden Roc Castle, Xu Xiaoyi had hid himself in Shule with Chu Nanping. The two visited almost all the brothels big and small in the city and nearly squandered all the gold and silver accumulated by the Dragon King.
“Judging people by their looks, even bitches are no exception. Back then, I also didn’t have to pay for food and shelter… Forget it.” Old Man Mu didn’t want to talk about his past. “See, these lords are like the courtesans in a brothel, wishing to have everyone’s eyes on them. They always place sisterly affection on the tips of their tongues, but deep in their hearts, they are competing with each other. Their eyes look elusive and drifting, but are actually full of a determination to get rid of each other. Tut tut, it’s not easy for the Khan to act as a pimp. See, this is why I preferred to be alone back then.”
Due to the noises of the crowd, Old Man Mu’s vulgar metaphor did not reach the kings’ ears.
“So you’ll be a loner until you die.” Gu Shenwei was also watching the gathering of the kings not far away but drew a conclusion that was the complete opposite of Old Man Mu’s. All the people around him envied the statuses of the kings, who had garnered the most attention with just a single appearance, much more than the attention the Dragon King had busted his ass to receive.
“Yeah, being alone has always been my goal. What’s the problem with that? Unfortunately, I’ve lost my power and I can’t be a loner even if I want to.”
Gu Shenwei looked down and Old Man Mu looked up. The two stared at each other for a while and both were at a loss for what to say since they both couldn’t understand why the other side would make a mistake on such a simple issue.
“You want to be a courtesan too,” whispered Old Man Mu.
Gu Shenwei did indeed want to be a ‘courtesan.’ As a killer, obscurity was the best cover. But as the Dragon King, he had to attract attention by all means like a prostitute as described by Old Man Mu. He had worked hard for years to succeed in the Western Regions. As a newcomer in the Norland, there was still a huge gap between what he had received and what he wanted.
Fame was a kind of power that no one could directly measure or hold. But when one had enough fame, one would gain twice as much with half as much effort in the struggle for power.
The fact that Golden Roc Castle required their killers to not make a name for themselves was similar to a bandit chief asking his subordinates to not be tempted by money. Because both fame and money were so important that they could only be the exclusive property of the masters.
The next fight would be an opportunity for Gu Shenwei.
The battle of drawing attention amongst the kings of the Norland had come to an end and everyone got their fair share based on their power and positions. King Kuari didn’t come so King Rizhu, the only king with a foreign surname, received the most attention. Just by glancing sideways, he almost overshadowed the leading role of King Shengri. “Are these the opponents that the Second King has chosen for the Dragon King? Let me see. Hmm, Iron Harrier is great, and Silver Condor is even more outstanding. The Norland only has seven Eagle Claws and you’ve got two of them. That is quite impressive.”
King Shengri’s face turned purple with rage. Silver Condor was the most powerful weapon in his hands. He had planned to mix him in with the other kung fu experts and give the Dragon King a surprise attack. But now that it had all been pointed out by King Rizhu, whose voice so loud that it could be heard from afar. Unable to stop the other side, he could only say with a sardonic smile, “Do not say that ‘I’ve got them.’ They’re the Khan’s wing guards and they are not working for me.”
Old Man Mu glanced at the opponents and said, “The one with a piece of white cloth on his head must be the Silver Condor. It’s strange, why isn’t the Iron Harrier wearing a piece of black cloth? Seven Eagle Claws? I never heard of them when I was young. I had once…” He lowered his voice and continued saying, “I had once wandered around the palace and I never saw any experts step out to stop me.”
King Rizhu hadn’t finished his comments yet. He pointed his whip at the five elders of the Jade Pure Sect and said, “I know these Taoists. They are swindlers touting sex techniques. They once came to me to seek refuge but was driven away by my men. How have they fallen into the hands of the Second King? Do you want to have a son again?”
King Shengri’s face turned from purple to black. In front of the crowd, however, he couldn’t say that these five Taoist priests were ‘masters’ invited by the Khan. He hummed and hawed, arguing, “I’m afraid Old Cha misjudged them. These five Taoists are quite capable of fighting, and the Dragon King was internally injured by them last night.”
In a twinkling of an eye, the five elders of the Jade Pure Sect had changed roles from ‘abandoned ones’ to King Shengri’s ‘favorite officers.’
“Who are those two hunchbacks? They can’t even walk well with crutches? Can they also fight?”
“They are the Khan’s men,” said King Shengri coldly. The disciples of the Essence Pavilion had been favored for a long time, and King Rizhu had no reason to not know of them.
There were four more warriors left, and King Rizhu didn’t intend to let them go either. “Who are these fellows? They seem so arrogant. Are they more powerful than the Norland Eagle Claws?
“They are my guards.”
“Oh, so there really are the Second King’s men amongst these thirteen experts.”
King Shengri could no longer bear it. “Chaqueleg, no one asked you to make carping comments about my warriors. This is the Royal Court, not your Naihang Tribe. The thirty thousand cavalries are under my command, you…” King Shengri rebuked, gritting his teeth.
Upon being challenged, King Rizhu laughed instead of becoming angry. He fully played into the role of having a reckless and frank nature, and struck King Shengri’s shoulder with a blow that seemed very intimate but actually nearly knocked the old Second King off his horse. “Good old boy, you are getting grumpy. I’ve just received a batch of good wine from the Central Plains. I’ll send it to your house later as an atonement. So don’t be angry, or I’ll be scared to death.”
King Shengri held onto his horse and swayed several times before stabilizing himself. Then he squeezed out a smile and said, “I’m just kidding. We’re brothers, so how could I be grumpy?”
The officer, who was King Shengri’s confidant and also King Rizhu’s brother-in-law, leaned forward to smooth the matter over. “Your Highnesses are family …”
“Shut the fuck up, little bastard. You are not entitled to talk here.” King Rizhu was not at all kind to his ‘traitorous’ brother-in-law.
Blushing, the officer embarrassedly retreated.
King Rizhu kept his voice down a bit as he asked, “Second King, please do me a favor.”
King Shengri immediately shook his head, “I’m following the Khan’s orders, and I can’t be partial in the presence of so many people.”
“Hey, I will not interfere with your serious business. See that little old man besides the Dragon King? My beloved princess consort was humiliated and committed suicide because of him. My life won’t be worth living if I don’t take my revenge on him! He has joined the Dragon Army so I can’t touch him openly. But now I finally have a chance. Please free up a place for me so I can send someone to kill him. I’ll owe you a big favor.”
King Shengri had been dormant for a long time and had just decided to join the fight for the throne again. So he hadn’t got used to the infighting amongst the kings. Being overwhelmed by King Rizhu’s incessant attack, he just hoped to get rid of his entanglement as soon as possible, so he said ‘okay’ without even thinking about it. When he turned and saw the officer’s anxious looks, he finally understood that he had been tricked. The alliance between King Rizhu and the Dragon King was public knowledge, and it was unnecessary for King Rizhu to ask him if he wanted to kill Old Man Mu.
But it was too late to change his mind because King Rizhu had already beckoned to his warrior. “Go kill Old Man Mu. Don’t bother keeping your another arm if you can’t make it.”
Wild Horse silently nodded and walked into the field with his saber, replacing one of King Shengri’s warriors.
Hearing King Rizhu’s words from afar, Old Man Mu shouted, “Wild Horse, don’t go soft on me. You are my half-disciple. It’s part of our sect’s tradition for the disciple to kill the Master.”
Old Man Mu knew very well that his sect’s ‘tradition’ was outrageous in the eyes of normal people. As long as Wild Horse still cared about his reputation, he would not play too hard in front of the public.
He then turned to Chu Nanping, “Little Chu, the little girl’s future is in this old man’s hands, and this old man’s life is in your hands, so do as you see fit.”
Once again, King Rizhu stole the host’s show and excitedly shouted, “What are you waiting for? Go fight! I’ll reward those who kill the most!”
The thirteen experts of King Shengri’s side marched forward together with heavy killing intent. They all knew that the fight was of great importance and that if they were defeated, it would be a dead end for all of them.
“Line up.”
Gu Shenwei ordered. The ten guards of the Big Snow Mountain immediately formed a closed circle with their grand swords pointing outward.
But the one being protected was neither the Dragon King nor the weakest Old Man Mu, but rather the puzzled Chu Nanping who had drawn his dual swords.
Being isolated from the protection circle, Old Man Mu was dumbfounded. “Good gracious, Dragon King, are you going to kill me with another’s hand?”
