Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
With less than an hour to go before the midnight election, the kings who had entered the camp not long ago were busy wooing the forces of their own tribe while the twelve generals were back in their tents resting. They had done everything they could and only needed to wait for the final result.
Shangguan Ru looked at the tents for a while before retreating into the darkness, whispering in a low voice. “You see, there are no traps.”
She had spent too short a time observing and even if there was a trap, she wouldn’t have found it. Without uttering a sound, Gu Shenwei quickly moved to another hidden position and continued observing the camp.
The camp was full of soldiers mourning in silence, which caused a lot of trouble for the hunters in the night. The upside was that the soldiers were fully absorbed in offering their condolences. They might occasionally whisper to each other for the most part, didn’t even raise their heads. The lighting was also dim and far and in between, leaving plenty of shadows for the nightwalkers.
Ever since she was a little kid, Shangguan Ru hadn’t been a good co-operative killer. And this became even clearer after she stopped her killer’s training for many years. Instead of defending their back back, she watched alongside the Dragon King.
“Liman is very loyal to you; you should save them for his sake.”
Gu Shenwei withdrew to a relatively quiet place. “I’ll go and meet this Commandant Gulun first.”
In the darkness, Gu Shenwei could still feel Shangguan Ru’s happy smile, so he continued, saying, “Wait, there’s a condition.”
“The Dragon King never suffers a loss in any deal.” Shangguan Ru’s muffled voice was full of dry laughter.
“And he’s very stubborn,” added Gu Shenwei.
Shangguan Ru knew right away what the Dragon King’s condition was now, so her smile disappeared just as fast. “Do you have to know everything?”
“That’s one of the main reasons why I’ve survived to this day.”
Shangguan Ru kept silent for a while and seemed very annoyed when she spoke again. “Well, I’ll tell you what Wild Horse’s promise was.”
“Hmm.” Gu Shenwei decided to take it one step a time. He did not like being kept in the dark, and wanted to fully know everything even if the other side was acting in good faith.
Shangguan Ru stayed silent for another period of time before saying very quickly in a low voice, “Wild Horse promised you to me.”
“… What?”
“Wild Horse said he would soon have the ability to kill you but he would spare your life once, and then after that I could make a decision. But I don’t believe he can do that, so…”
The more Shangguan Ru talked, the more annoyed she became. She hated being forced to reveal her secret, and did not want to admit that she had seriously considered Wild Horse’s promise.
“I see. Wild Horse indeed doesn’t have the ability to do that.” In the dark came out a gentle voice, Shangguan Ru almost mistakenly thought that it was Servant Huan rather than the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei didn’t ask any more questions. He turned around and prepared to approach Gulun’s tent. “If you don’t want me to be bought over, you’d better live well,” said Shangguan Ru, who still appeared a bit annoyed.
“Okay.” Gu Shenwei paused slightly before moving on.
Shangguan Ru froze instead of being happy. She suddenly wanted to stop the Dragon King because Gulun’s appeal might really be a trap.
Gulun was sitting upright with his hand holding the saber hilt without any attendants nearby. When he realized that two extra people had appeared in the tent, he raised his head with an expression so solemn it seemed as if he was about to draw his saber at once.
“Can you feel the disappointment and anger of the soldiers?”
“A little bit,” Shangguan Ru replied in a low voice and secretly sighed with relief. There was no trap here after all.
“That’s what they’re showing now, and more emotions are hidden deep in their hearts. How powerful do you think it will it be when they reveal it all?”
“Loyalty will help them control their emotions,” Gu Shenwei replied.
“The person the Court Attendants Army was willing to pledge their allegiance to is gone. In the soldiers’ eyes, the Khan ascended to heaven and became a god. The rumor of assassination is merely a lie made by the kings in order to defeat their opponents. In fact, the Commandant was the one the hundred thousand soldiers really cared about. The one who assassinated him was so stupid that they thought that another obedient commandant would be able to gain the allegiance of the whole army in due course.”
“Is it not so?” Gu Shenwei felt that Gulun had revealed some very important information which coincided with his own ideas, which made him willing to continue listening, even if time was running out.
“The Court Attendants Army is a special army unique throughout the whole prairie. The soldiers here aren’t born to be loyal to any lords, and the reason why the Commandant had gained their trust was not due to his status and identity but was rather because of years of sharing of joys and sorrows. The outsiders didn’t understand it and thought it was because the Commandant was the Khan’s younger brother. Everyone took it for granted that that could be the only explanation. Most of the officers didn’t understand this either. They only serve the army for ten years and are counting the time till they can go home from the day they enter the camp. They spend all their energy on making friends and forming cliques, and never care about what the soldiers really think.”
“The soldiers want revenge for the Commandant?” Shangguan Ru asked with great care in her voice.
“Listen, listen to the silence of the camp.” Gulun’s thin face showed a touch of excitement and fanaticism. “This is the first step of revenge, but the kings and generals see this as obedience, completely unaware of the danger around.”
“Tuershan, he was promoted from ordinary soldiers. He must know the true feelings of…”
“One’s origin doesn’t mean everything. The Commandant came from the royal family but he could become one with the masses. Some people forget their former origins as soon as they take one step forward.”
Gulun didn’t seem to think highly of Tuershan who had been chosen by the officers, which greatly confused Shangguan Ru.
Gulun pulled out a folded strip of paper from his wristguard. “This is the last command that the Commandant gave me. Please take it, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei stepped forward but didn’t take the paper right away. Instead, he asked, “Why me?”
“The Commandant trusted King Riying, and King Riying trusts you. It’s as simple as that.”
Gu Shenwei took the paper and knew clearly what it signified.
Gulun produced another piece of paper and rolled it up. “This is an order I issued under the name of the deputy commandant. With it, the Dragon King can kill anyone in the camp who’s not a member of the Court Attendants Army as long as his position is lower than mine.”
This was an unusual deal because neither side had made a promise. But Gu Shenwei felt that these unspoken promises were more worth keeping than any other. He took the slip of paper with him and turned to walk out of the tent.
Shangguan Ru didn’t move. “Why didn’t you tell the truth to Azheba and other officers?”
“They are also officers and only have Prince Duodun in their mind, not the ordinary soldiers. Even so, they are still the best youths in the Norland and should live on, to leave some hope for the prairie.”
Shangguan Ru was horrified by the smell of death.
Gulun revealed a smile. “Decay and chaos are temporary. The people of the Prairie know how to get through this.”
Shangguan Ru caught up with the Dragon King and could feel the fierce saber aura from a few steps away.
“Go back.”
“No.”
“You have to show them we are still competing in our lightness skills.”
“But …”
“If you have decided to stay away from blood, then don’t near it regardless of your excuses.”
The Dragon King disappeared into the darkness like a wisp of smoke. Shangguan Ru suddenly felt frightened but she immediately adjusted her mindset and ran towards the Dragon King’s tent with her lightness skills.
The reason Gu Shenwei was willing to accept this unexpected task from Gulun was not completely due to Shangguan Ru. In fact, she had played a stimulating role only in the very beginning. When he had decided to take the paper slip, all he had in mind were those five bodyguards.
Those five guards had quietly subdued more than thirty officers. Gu Shenwei felt that they were a threat to him, and decided to settle the matter quietly. There was no need to use Gulun’s order right now.
The captured officers were being held in the vicinity of the main tent. Gu Shenwei didn’t directly go to the rescue but instead went around the camp in a great circle.
Old Man Mu was right. The camp of a hundred thousand people was huge and almost felt like a small city. Gu Shenwei was walking on a planned route so he soon found the help he really needed.
Five teenage killers had sneaked inside the camp as soon as night fell, waiting for the call of the Dragon King.
The solemn sound of the drums was heard, both in tribute to the assassinated commandant and to announce the beginning of the election. More than a hundred chiliarchs and the twelve leading generals could each cast a vote. The kings supervised the whole process and counted votes personally. The result would be announced at dawn.
Old Man Mu stood at the door and shouted to the figure who had passed for the third time, “Dragon King, give up. You’ve won first place in saber and sword, so just leave the first place of lightness skills to the good girl. Everyone has their own strong points. For example, I am smart and Shangguan Fei is stupid. This is destined…”
Gu Shenwei stopped in front of Old Man Mu, “It seems like I still have a lot of things to learn.”
Shangguan Ru returned soon after. “I don’t have the strength to run any longer.”
The three of them had just entered the tent when Fang Wenshi ran all the way to the tent, panting. He wasn’t qualified to enter the main tent and had to wait for the news with the Dragon King. “Some people said that the Dragon King was jumping up and down in the camp, and I said it couldn’t be …”
“It’s true. Instructor Shangguan and I were competing in lightness skills and I lost.”
Fang Wenshi was dumbfounded, “Uh … This is the camp of the Court Attendants Army, it’s kind of … too blatant?”
“No one cared. Some people even cheered for us.” Shangguan Ru smiled.
Fang Wenshi kept shaking his head. He would probably never understand the relationship between the Dragon King and this woman.
A group of people had come in a hurry, seemingly even more anxious than the counselor but not wheezing as hard as he was. The leader was King Riyao’s subordinate, Dhuta Kingkong. “The Dragon King is not… Oh, there you are.”
Seeing Gu Shenwei standing in the tent, Dhuta Kingkong looked very surprised and embarrassed. He coughed twice before asking, “Where did the Dragon King just go after leaving the tent?”
Shangguan Fei rushed to stand out before Old Man Mu. “Baldy Kingkong, even your lord would not dare to be so rude to the Dragon King.”
Dhuta Kingkong blushed and glared at Shangguan Fei but his tone softened. “Please forgive me, Dragon King. I was in a hurry. But this is very important. Has the Dragon King left the tent?”
“Hmm, I was absent for a while.”
“What a coincidence. Five people died in the camp during the period that the Dragon King left.”
“Quite a coincidence indeed. Regardless of who died, please convey my condolences to their master.”
“You didn’t kill those five people?” Dhuta Kingkong was exasperated.
Shangguan Ru interrupted, “The Dragon King and I were competing in lightness skills. A lot of people saw us. How could he have had the time to kill?”
Dhuta Kingkong got fed up and waved his hand. Five followers carried out five corpses and put them on the ground. “Isn’t this the sabersmanship of the Dragon King?”
Old Man Mu took a glance and laughed out loud. “Hey, Baldy. Are you blind? Everyone knows the Dragon King always kills in one stab at the throat. These corpses were cut at least dozens of times and you are saying that that was done by the Dragon King?”
Dhuta Kingkong was furious. He was just about to say that those wounds had been added on after the fact when a messenger came from far away and shouted, “We’ve got trouble. The captives have run away!”
