Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shangguan Ru was quite drunk now. She looked up at the Dragon King with a smile as if she didn’t quite fully understand what he had said. “Then where do you want me to go? Back to the Land of Fragrance?”
Gu Shenwei looked down then immediately stared back at her. “Go back to the Land of Fragrance. Never leave it again.”
“So the Dragon King is going to put me under house arrest?” Shangguan Ru was still wearing a smile as if the Dragon King were just joking with her.
But Gu Shenwei’s expression was so serious that it was even a bit cold. “If you think that it’s house arrest, then that’s what it is.”
“What if I refuse to go back?”
“Then I’ll have to kill you tonight.”
Shangguan Ru laughed heartily, attracting lots of nearby attention. Then she suddenly made a bold move, grabbing Gu Shenwei’s hand and running out of the camp.
The night was deep and dark, but it was strikingly bright after one adjusted to it. It was not as clear as daylight, but felt like a vague whiteness, like diluted milk, had filtered one’s vision. Standing face to face was almost no different from facing each other at a distance.
Shangguan Ru suddenly stopped and let go of Gu Shenwei, bending over to vomit. After a long while, she straightened up and took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth before turning around and smilingly saying, “You are the first person to see me puke. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“You should…” Gu Shenwei wanted to persuade her to drink less, but he felt that he had no right to say that.
Shangguan Ru ran further away into the darkness, and Gu Shenwei followed closely behind.
Tired, she lay on the grass and looked up at the stars. “Are you really the Dragon King?”
Gu Shenwei, who was standing a few paces away, was stunned upon hearing this. “Yes. Some people may be able to disguise themselves as me, but they can’t imitate every move of mine.”
Shangguan Ru sighed and pointed to the Milky Way in the sky. “Look, it’s the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid.”
“Hmm.” Gu Shenwei did not look up. The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid met once a year, but he and Shangguan Ru would never see each other again after this.
But this was not what Shangguan Ru was thinking about at all. “Don’t you think that the Cowherd holds a huge advantage? Although he was punished by the Queen Mother of the West, he transformed from a mortal into an immortal without even having to cultivate. Those Taoist priests and monks must be so jealous of him.”
“You are drunk.” Gu Shenwei was a little annoyed because he couldn’t follow her train of thought.
“You brought me out for a drink, and you didn’t want me to get drunk?” Shangguan Ru turned over and held up her head with her right hand, her face filled with a hearty smile. “You didn’t see me when I was drunker. Old Man Mu can tell you about it in the future.”
“He will follow you back to the Land of Fragrance.”
“No, he doesn’t like that place. He’s more willing to take risks with you. And once he regains his former power, he’ll go around killing people again. I won’t be able to restrain him by that time, so it’s better if I leave that troublesome guy to you.”
Gu Shenwei was glad to return to this topic again. “Many people of the Xiaoyao Lake voluntarily moved to the Land of Fragrance. It should be enough by now. You can close the passage, and I’ll also have the passage in the Wu Mountain destroyed. No more soldiers from the Land of Fragrance will be used from then on.”
“You’ve never really rested, have you?” said Shangguan Ru, half-joking and half-serious. Her ability to rapidly change topics had almost reached the level of Han Fen’s.
“Of course I have. I’m not…”
“Now is the time to rest,” Shangguan Ru interrupte. “I know what you mean, so you don’t have to explain. Why don’t you just relax a bit? If this is going to be the last time we ever meet, then I hope that I’ll remember the stars in the sky right now rather than ones in the Land of Fragrance.”
Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that he was actually the one who was drunk. He had puked out the wine in his stomach, but that wasn’t enough to dispel the drunkenness in his blood. The reason he was obsessed with talking about the Land of Fragrance was nothing but ta way to try to have her understand him better.
It was meaningless. He wanted to return to his true colors as the Dragon King, but the result was that he was running further and further away in the opposite direction.
Gu Shenwei sat down on the grass, stiffly and slowly lying down. The stalks of the summer weeds were prickly and uncomfortable to lie on, but when he lay down completely, he found that it was the most comfortable bed in the world. The wild grass wasn’t completely crushed by his body, causing him to feel that he was being lifted by an invisible force as if he were lying on top of a cloud.
Shangguan Ru laid back again and spread her arms. Gu Shenwei did the same, their fingertips half a foot apart.
“Will Yu Gongzi become a star in the sky?”
Shangguan Ru’s question was complete unexpected yet again. “No,” he replied firmly.
“You really are hard-hearted.”
“If Shangguan Yushi really became a star and saw us lying on the grass like this, she would have fallen from the sky and crushed me, leaving you alone.”
“Haha, how can you say that?!” Shangguan Ru’s laughter did not last for long. “I miss her very much.”
“We all have people we miss.”
“Who do you miss?”
“My father; he was very strict but also very indulging. My mother; she was always ill. My two elder brothers; they often bullied me. And my sister; she was the best person in the world to me.” Gu Shenwei slowly clenched his fists and uprooted two small clumps of weeds.
Shangguan Ru found herself pushing open the wrong door but she decided to venture on. “And the pair of rocs.”
“Hmm, they were like family to me.”
“What if — And I mean, if — the Devil Bird does exist and it’s your roc…”
“I won’t let anyone lay a finger on it.
Shangguan Ru was silent for a while. “Remember how I told you that those old people wanted you to take the bird away?”
“Mmm.”
“They found some bodies of wild animals with their eyes missing.”
“Instead of talking about the Land of Fragrance, you want to talk about the roc?”
“Hee, although there are many beautiful stars, they’re a bit dull. Well, let me think about some happy things instead. Right, eighth sister-in-law… Luo Ningcha came to me and asked me to talk to you about Cheng’er.”
“She likes to come up with stupid ideas, and she can’t speak a single word of truth from her mouth.”
“But she’s also very beautiful. I’ve never met a man who wasn’t interested in her.”
“I had slept with her,” said Gu Shenwei stiffly, thinking that this was not a happy topic at all.
“I know. Xu Yanwei told me, though of course not too bluntly. She probably thought I would not understand.”
“Xu Yanwei can’t keep her mouth shut.”
“She’s a good person, and she’s very, very loyal to you.” Shangguan Ru stressed this point, “And she’s also very chivalrous, even though she doesn’t know kung fu, and is a… prostitute.”
“Do you know what chivalry is?” Gu Shenwei’s tone was a bit disdainful. Golden Roc Castle had never taught this.
“You told me before.” Shangguan Ru’s eyes lit up as he listed off, “Defending the weak from the strong, attempting the impossible, valuing justice more than one’s life…”
“You’re saying that Xu Yanwei is a little nosy, right?”
“Hehe, aren’t all chivalrous people a little nosy?”
Neither of them knew what to say next, so they continued chatting randomly about whatever came into mind. Shangguan Ru suddenly thought of Luo Ningcha again. “The reason Luo Ningcha asked me to talk to you about Cheng’er was probably because of something I said once.”
“What?”
“When I was in the castle, I inadvertently mentioned to her that Cheng’er was not like the people of the Shangguan family. Luo Ningcha was a bit angry at that time and said that he was just a baby and that he would look like them when he grew up.”
“She wanted to imply that the child was mine so that I would be driven by her to help her gain more power.”
“She probably had something else planned to say in front of the Unique King.”
Luo Ningcha was sure to do such a thing, but Gu Shenwei didn’t care. He couldn’t helpabut ask, “You do not mind her at all?”
“Mind about what?”
“Luo Ningcha.”
“I lived comfortably and have nothing to worry about, while you hid in your enemy’s home and might die at any moment, so I don’t mind about anything you’ve ever done,” Shangguan Ru said in a relaxed tone. She had actually cared about it in the past, but had slowly changed her mind after being abandoned by her family. Though even now, she needed a little alcohol to keep herself this calm.
“I approached both you and Shangguan Fei to protect myself and to kill you two when necessary. Shangguan Yushi was actually right to be on guard against me.”
Shangguan Ru turned over and propped her head up with her hand again. Looking at his profile, she said, “I should feel sad that I was deceived by the person I trust the most. But you didn’t kill me and my brother even at the best of opportunities. So I’m also a little proud.”
“Proud?”
“I’m proud that I’ve changed your mind a bit.”
Gu Shenwei abruptly sat up because this was the biggest concern in his mind. “You are not the only one who’s changed a part of me, but no one’s fully changed who I really am. Let me draw the line here. Golden Roc Castle must be destroyed. I once wanted to kill everyone in the castle, even every animal and bug, but now I know that that makes no sense. I’ll kill the Unique King and the green-faced assassins loyal to him. You don’t have to attempt to change me in a roundabout way. I won’t kill innocent people even if he’s surnamed Shangguan. Did you think that you changed my mind? Fang Wenshi, the old Khan, the monk, and Dugu Xian… Everyone around me is qualified to say that line.”
Shangguan Ru looked at him in amazement and then began to feel pity for him as if she were really possessed by the monk Fayan. “You’re lying.”
“Humph.” Gu Shenwei stood up. Although laying on the grass was comfortable, standing up made him feel more at ease. “Do not think that you really know me.”
Shangguan Ru also rose to her feet. She smiled and a tear came out before being quickly wiped away. She said in an aggressive tone as she accused, “Didn’t you lie when you assassinated my future husband? Didn’t you lie when you took me and my brother in at Xiaoyao Lake? Didn’t you lie when you persuaded me to stay in the Land of Fragrance? Didn’t you lie when…?”
Pointing to her lips, she didn’t believe what the Dragon King had said, only believing in the short-lived passion they had shared in the camp of the Court Attendants Army.
The two glared at each other like enemies about to duel.
“And that’s why you are my obstacle. That’s why you must leave here and never show up again.” Gu Shenwei despised his weaknesses. He should have been more callous and directly severed the feelings in his heart, but that had only made it more tangled and messy.
“Do you think that I’m just trying to protect the castle and the innocents of the Shangguan family?” demanded Shangguan Ru with her body stretched tightly like an enraged small beast.
“The Unique King and Shangguan Yun must die.” Gu Shenwei refused to give in.
“Alright.” Shangguan Ru softened her tone before continuing, “Let’s be clear. I have hurt you but also helped you a lot, especially during the battle at Xiaoyao Lake. Without the female soldiers I trained, you would have been utterly defeated.”
“I haven’t forgotten.” Gu Shenwei’s voice also softened. Shangguan Ru had saved him more than once.
“Then can I ask for something in return?”
Gu Shenwei hesitated for a moment before saying, “Yes, as long as it’s within my capabilities.”
“Of course it is.”
“Go ahead.”
“You killed my husband, banished me to the remote Land of Fragrance, and told me so many lies, so…” Shangguan Ru felt she was very bold but there were still some words she could not say out.
Filled with anger and desire, Gu Shenwei strode to her in just two steps.
