Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shangguan Fei admired Han Wuxian from the bottom of his heart, thinking that only Old Man Mu was worthy of Han Wuxian. When the two joined hand in hand to kill, that must be the two devils’ most affectionate moment.
Han Wuxian had defeated seven opponents in a row since the start of the contest and accordingly left behind seven corpses. So far she hadn’t used more than three moves each time and all of her moves were abnormal. After she strangled someone with a strand of her long hair, no one dared to challenge her anymore.
Han Wuxian, who never touched the ground with her feet, had to jump back on the cane chair after killing people, but Nie Zeng did not obediently wait in the original place. Each time, he would move at the last moment. In the beginning, he did so secretly. On the last two times, however, he did everything he could but still couldn’t shake off the woman on his back.
In the onlookers’ eyes, the two were deliberately showing off their first-rate lightness skills, and only Shangguan Fei knew that Nie Zeng really wanted Han Wuxian to make a fool of herself.
Like a street peddler, Dhuta Kingkong spared no effort in roping in new challengers. ‘One hundred thousand taels of silver,’ ‘glory and wealth,’ as well as ‘the wealthiest sponsor’ were his most commonly used words, but it was becoming less and less effective.
Shangguan Fei gently shook his head and felt that tonight’s contest’s first place could only go to Han Wuxian.
The Khan’s wing guard on the opposite slightly nodded at him.
Shangguan Fei confirmed what he saw but was a bit hesitant because he didn’t like trusting anyone at such times. But when the wing guard slowly retreated behind the crowd, he pretended that he badly needed to use the toilet, and then pushed his way through the crowd.
The two went in half a circle and met in the dark. The wing guard cupped his hands to salute him while saying, “Thank you for not pointing out my identity in public, young hero Shangguan.”
Shangguan Fei felt no hostility and relaxed a lot, as he especially liked the title ‘young hero.’ “It’s nothing, you…”
The Khan was dead so the guards would naturally seek out a new lord now.
“We are like wanding ghosts now; no one wants us.”
“Us?”
“Heh, there are five of the seven wing guards left, living the life of fugitives.”
Shangguan Fei suddenly remembered this man’s name. He had only seen three wing guards: Iron Harrier, who was dead, Silver Condor, the real bodyguard of the Khan, and this Red Kite, who commanded the ordinary guards in guarding the periphery of the palace.
“How can that be?” Shangguan Fei was very surprised. “Brother Kite’s kung fu is beyond ordinary. Not only is it top-notch in the Norland but also in the whole world. The lords should all be fighting over you right now.”
“Alas, the Khan was assassinated. How can we, the wing guards, have the face to seek refuge with the kings?”
Shangguan Fei sympathetically nodded. “In fact, what does this even have to do with the wing guards? I heard that the Khan often hid his whereabouts, and even those who were close to him didn’t know where he was, let alone you guys. Did you also come here to fight for the head?”
“The Khan was very kind to us, and we have a duty to bury him whole,” Red Kite said gloomily. He had lost so much that he might never get it all back.
Shangguan Fei suddenly understood the other side’s purpose. “You want Han Wuxian to give up the first place?”
Red Kite took Shangguan Fei’s arm and looked around, saying, “We don’t want to make enemies with the Dragon King for no reason. If the Dragon King can do us a favor this time, then the wing guards of the Khan will always remember his great kindness. As for young hero Shangguan, you will have really done us a great favor…”
Shangguan Fei’s heart moved. Red Kite wasn’t his type. He wasn’t tall and good-looking, but he was a wing guard and his kung fu was naturally not poor. Although he might not be as good as the Dragon King, his kung fu was certainly far superior to that of Long Fanyun’s.
The point was that he was afraid of misunderstanding the other side. Ever since he had lost his title as the ninth young master of Golden Roc Castle, he had never succeeded in such a thing. “Hmm, the Dragon King is not here, but he has left a word behind…” He finally remembered to hide the Dragon King’s whereabouts.
Red Kite put his right hand on Shangguan Fei’s shoulder and said in a low voice, “Everyone admires the young hero, and I’ve always wanted to make friends with young hero Shangguan. Unfortunately, we left each other in haste in the palace and didn’t have the chance to have a deep conversation …”
Shangguan Fei steeled his heart and said, “I’ll find a way but you must explain to the Dragon King clearly afterward. Do not get me in trouble.”
Red Kite clasped his fists and said with a smile. “The Dragon King needs more helpers now than ever. The five of us are like stray dogs and we hope that the young hero Shangguan will introduce us to the Dragon King later.”
Shangguan Fei ventured to stroke Red Kite’s face and said, “I don’t care about the others as long as you remember me.”
Red Kite didn’t avoid him. The smile on his face could not have been more clearly expressed.
Shangguan Fei took a deep breath and forced himself to turn around and go back to the bonfire. Red Kite looked at his back as his smile faded away and he murmured to himself, “Idiot. The Dragon King must be blind.”
A figure suddenly flashed out of the grass like a ghost and stood behind Red Kite. “Be careful; the Dragon King is nearby.”
“None of them will escape.” Red Kite returned to the kung fu competition field from the other direction.
Han Wuxian had defeated the eighth challenger and added one more corpse on the field. This time, no matter how much Dhuta Kingkong coerced or pleaded, no one dared to fight.
Dhuta Kingkong’s laughter was unable to hide his embarrassment. “Haha, it looks like the title of first place for tonight’s contest will go to the Wise Eye Fairy. We, heroes of Jianghu, are going to be humiliated.”
Even reverse psychology didn’t work anymore. Everyone was quietly asking each other about the Waning Moon Hall and Han Wuxian and even a few words would be discussed for a long while.
Shangguan Fei took the chance to persuade Han Wuxian, “This is the new plan, and you have to follow it.”
As they were surrounded by people, Shangguan Fei kept his voice as low as possible. Han Wuxian, however, wasn’t as careful as he was and asked without even raising her head, “Really, the Dragon…”
“Shh, don’t mention it here.”
Han Wuxian held a strand of her long hair and pointed at Shangguan Fei with the hair tip, smilingly saying, “If you dare lie to me, I’ll stick these into your head.”
“How would I dare?” Shangguan Fei’s heart thumped as he grew scared. But what was done was done; it was too late for him to change his mind now. Without any other choices available, he could only say, “I’d rather lie to the Dragon King than to you.” Then he secretly made up his mind that he would explain the situation to the Dragon King the moment he saw him and that it was better to not let Han Wuxian think he was lying.
Dhuta Kingkong wiped the sweat from his forehead. “If so, the…”
“Wait a moment, I want to challenge her.”
Dhuta Kingkong laughed heartily, “Ninth, tonight’s ninth challenger.”
Red Kite walked out and drew the scimitar at his waist. As the Khan’s wing guard, he seldom wandered around Jianghu, so very few people of the Norland actually knew him, not to mention the sabermen of the Central Plains and the Western Regions.
“I’m Hong Feihan, and I’m here to ask Fairy Han for advice. Please show mercy to me.”
“Heh, I’m afraid that you aren’t able to afford to enjoy the ‘mercy’ of the Waning Moon Hall. Well, you look like an expert, maybe I’ll actually have the chance to use a few more moves.”
As soon as Red Kite made his first move, Shangguan Fei’s heart calmed down a bit. The wing guard did live up to his fame of using a sabersmanship that was both fierce and swift; it wasn’t something the previous eight challengers could compare to. The rumor of a false competition would finally be disproven.
The onlookers were also refreshed. There was finally a man who could potentially defeat this unknown and vicious woman.
At almost the same time, Gu Shenwei found his target on the periphery.
When the golden roc killers had intercepted Ruan Donglai, they had also exposed their whereabouts and now the five of them were the targets of the others.
Gu Shenwei had spent some time concealing his traces, and when he circled back, he had happened to find the praying ‘mantis’ that was ready to hunt the ‘cicada’.
No offense meant no victory, but the moment one attacked was also the moment when one had the weakest defense. And thus, Gu Shenwei was waiting for this moment.
The target acted, and Gu Shenwei instantly threw himself at it.
The competition near the bonfire had attracted everyone’s attention. Even if someone occasionally looked back and saw the scene in the distance, they would think that it was just a frightened resident bird.
Everything happened too fast. The five golden roc killers guarded each other and immediately acted when being attacked, but before they could brandish their sabers, the two figures had disappeared, and the killers couldn’t even distinguish which one of the two had been the Dragon King.
As killers, they were always undaunted and were confident in their assassination techniques, even in the face of someone whose kung fu was superior to theirs. However, they had never been so disoriented and at a loss for what to do. The figures passing by them seemed to belong to another world, a world that was far beyond their capability and reach.
The lightness skill of the target was completely different from the disciples of the Waning Moon Hall. There was no jumping like a blackbird nor any frequent turns, but the movements were rather from side to side like an undulating snake. The dense grass seemed to give way automatically, leaving only faint ripples on the surface, almost no difference from the way a gentle breeze parted the grass.
Gu Shenwei was also crossing the grass in hot pursuit. Long-distance tracking wasn’t his specialty and neither was it consistent with the principles of the killer, but he was just unconvinced. Ever since he had become a killer, this was the first time he had been stimulated and felt the need to overtake the opponent.
His assassinations were not always successful but they have never failed due to the target being alerted the moment he made a move and then escaping under his nose.
The gap between the two had been steadily widening. Gu Shenwei’s lack of skill was his most obvious weakness and he could only rely on his powerful internal energy to maintain his speed.
All of a sudden, his body crouched lower but his speed abruptly quickened. In the blink of an eye, he was within three paces of catching up with the target and he was ready to cut.
Gu Shenwei had unexpectedly used the Foxlike Movement Skill taught to him by Old Man Mu.
On their way to the Royal Court, Old Man Mu had introduced all the martial arts of the Jade Pure Sect to the Dragon King to show his loyalty. When mentioning the Foxlike Movement Skill, he had said, “The good girl is all good except that she cares about her appearance too much. Can you imagine it? She refused to learn the Foxlike Movement Skill, a first-class lightness skills, just because she thought the posture was too ugly.”
Gu Shenwei didn’t know why, but Old Man Mu’s words had stirred his interest in the Foxlike Movement Skill. Every time he thought of Shangguan Ru shaking her head to refuse to learn this lightness skill, he felt like laughing about it, though he never did.
But he had been too busy as whenever he was free he had focused on practicing the Three-in-One Power instead. Although he still knew the form of the Foxlike Movement Skill, he had never actually practiced it.
This was actually his first time trying it out and it had turned out to be surprisingly effective.
The target didn’t turn back though he felt danger approaching. If he ran a few more steps, the Dragon King, who hadn’t mastered yet the Foxlike Movement Skill, would immediately be left further behind. But he didn’t want to run any further and suddenly stopped instead. He turned around and drew his scimitar as if he had always been standing there and had never run away.
The narrow saber and the scimitar collided, letting out a shrieking whistle. In an instant, the two had exchanged over a dozen moves, and were fighting neck to neck.
The two parted and silently looked at each other for a moment as if they were connected by a thin thread that was stretched to the utmost and would break if even a speck of dust landed on it.
It wasn’t dust that broke the string but rather another three sabermen whom all suddenly appeared.
The four wing guards of the Khan had finally surrounded the Dragon King.
