Chapter 168: An Appointment
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Shangguan Ru insisted on catching the traitor by herself. After two had been killed, she only had a total of ten subordinates left. She needed to know exactly who was responsible for this. Was it due to Slave Huan’s ineffectiveness, or did one of her men do it?
She had not come to doubt Master Yu. She only wished to root out the traitor with her best friend.
“Yes?” Shangguan Yushi’s answered, voice wavering. He went out of the room, turning and closing the door behind him. “Who is it?”
When Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru had entered the house, they had deliberately not hidden their tracks. Soon enough, patrolling machetemen discovered them. Tuo Nengya ran over immediately. “What happened?”
“There’s a hidden traitor in the house. He has lost a hand and sealed all the exits, until…” Gu Shenwei rushed to give orders. He had to ensure that the man in Master Yu’s house would not escape. But the words died on his lips when Wildhorse himself appeared.
Wildhorse. His towering forehead and eyes spread so widely apart. Traits so distinctive that no one else could pretend to be him. Once Tuo Nengya had appeared, even if he only had half a tongue left, his hands and feet were still intact.
Gu Shenwei felt bewildered for the moment.
But he was not entirely wrong. Especially for Shangguan Ru, she had only heard a part of the guess. It turned out that Slave Huan had guessed most accurately.
Wildhorse brought in a man dressed in black. His palm was severed, and his mask was lifted, revealing a visage of pain.
“Black snake!” The Tenth Young Master and Master Yu cried in unison.
Gu Shenwei quickly realized where he had gone wrong.
Black Snake was not always been called Black Snake. During the apprenticeship killings, he had stood with the “Snow Mountain Gang” led by Wildhorse. In order to express his loyalty, he had cut off half of his tongue voluntarily, changed his name, and kept in line with other members.
Black Snake was a master but for reasons unknown, he had never earned Wildhorse’s complete trust. Gu Shenwei believed this to be Wildhorse’s trick. Keeping his men at an arm’s length, he could ensure that men like Black Snake would be more loyal and hardworking.
The connection that had been clear at first now became blurred. Gu Shenwei thought that Master Yu must be the mastermind, but the evidence he had collected had suddenly become useless.
Wildhorse went down on one knee and made a series of gestures.
Shangguan Ru did not understand this sign language. Master Yu explained, “Black Snake confessed. He had liked Maid Lotus but was rebuffed. So, he wanted to kill her to exact revenge. Slave Huan probably heard of this matter?”
With a casually said a word, Shangguan Yushi reversed the situation and put Gu Shenwei in an awkward spot.
This had originally a ploy to trap the traitor, but turned out to be a decoy used by Slave Huan to get rid of his rival in love.
Gu Shenwei shook his head. He said nothing and accepted this failure.
Black Snake knelt down, first kowtowing to Wildhorse. Wildhorse ignored him. He then made a kowtow to the Tenth Young Master, and later pulled out the saber he always carried. Plunging it into his heart, he ended his own life.
No one stopped him. No matter the reason behind assassinating Maid Lotus, his actions had warranted the death penalty.
Black Snake had been willing to die for Wildhorse. Gu Shenwei was even slightly jealous. He was not able to find someone like that. Even if it was for Maid Lotus, he would not have been able to make such a sacrifice so easily.
“Perhaps these things did not have any meaning,” Gu Shenwei thought. “Black Snakehad was loyal, but he still died. To him, Wildhorse no longer meant anything.”
After the operation to find the traitor had hastily been tied up, Gu Shenwei felt that the Tenth Young Master was almost reluctant to expand the scope of looking for the spy.
Shangguan Ru stayed in Master Yu’s house for the night. Early the next morning, under the protection of about ten machetemen, she returned to the North City. Before leaving, she summoned Slave Huan privately. Because of that, Gu Shenwei knew that the plan to find the mole was still on.
“Continue to pursue the matter. Keep a watch on Wildhorse.”
Shangguan Ru had not completely believed Black Snake’s confession. This comforted Gu Shenwei a little. “Yes.”
“I was at the scene. We all know that the Horned Dragon Society had made plans for this assassination. Black Snake and Wildhorse did not explain this matter clearly.”
This was a secret order. Shangguan Ru forbid Slave Huan from revealing this secret to any outsiders. “Perhaps you could ask Maid Lotus to let her help you.” Shangguan Ru winked, smiling slyly.
Even as they had gained the trust of the Tenth Young Master , the events that followed were extremely puzzling. The operation to hunt down the slave had already revealed Slave Huan’s vigilance. Gu Shenwei believed that for a short period of time, Master Yu would not be making any moves.
Gu Shenwei did not have any evidence. People close to him were dying off one by one. Unless Master Yu and Wildhorse exposed themselves voluntarily, he had no means of uncovering their plot.
He told Maid Lotus everything. After discussing it amongst themselves, they ultimately decided to wait patiently. Master Yu’s hatred for Slave Huan, and Wildhorse’s hatred for the Tattooed Arm Gang would not be so easily extinguished. The two will definitely take action again.
At present, the two were more worried about the situation in the South City.
The Kun Society was now in shambles. Merchants who were not loyal had gradually distanced themselves from Kun Society and started to betray the society. They presented their protection fees to the Horned Dragon Society, and under the Tenth Young Master’s name, the territory began to shrink day by day. In the end, only a small territory in the West remained. The whole territory in the East only had the Blacksmith Village and the rice and flour noodle shop that had not publicly admitted the protectors’ failure.
The number of fleeing machetemen increased. Their numbers dwindled to below thirty. Most of the devoted members were the machetemen led by Tuo Nengya.
To make matters worse, one day, near the end of the month, Ye Silang entered the South City.
Ye Silang had recovered from his injury long ago. It was told that he had shut his door for days and repeatedly asked himself why he had not been able to avoid the surprise attack. After everything had become clear, he crossed the checkpoint between the North and South cities, carrying his sword. He had not set off for the base camp of the Horned Dragon Society but had rented a little house here. He lived alone without his servants.
Then, he challenged killer Yang Huan to a match that would take place in the South City. There would be no time limit, which meant killing could take place as soon as they met.
Everyone regarded this challenge as the Horned Dragon Society’s last declaration of a general attack. The death of the killer Yang Huan would spell the tragic failure of the Kun Society.
But Ye Silang would spare Yang Huan in order to repay his opponent sparing his life at Rouge Forest. “I’ll give him a chance to kill me. He can use any means and I’ll spare his life.”
Killer Yang Huan did not respond. He seemed to be struck with fear. The machetemen hiding behind him did not dare to engage the fight and did not show his face for several days.
Gu Shenwei could only tell Maid Lotus the truth. “I’m not his opponent.”
Both he and Ye Silang had three opportunities for attack. Each time, however, it eroded his confidence. Ye Silang’s swordcraft and “Death Scripture” was different. It was not as lethal, not as elaborate but equally flawless. Gu Shenwei had tried seeking out the “energy flowing through all living things” in his enemies but this time, it was useless. Ye Silang had too few flaws, and they disappeared too quickly. He could not catch them.
“If you don’t consider yourself his opponent, then you truly aren’t.”
Having practised the same kung fu, Maid Lotus understood Slave Huan’s weakness. The swordcraft of Death Scripture required the swordman’s complete confidence in his skills. As long as his heart was not strong, his power would diminish greatly. The perfect scenario was achieved when the one wieldning the sword did not even know what he had done when he was killing. Just as Gu Shenwei had unwittingly dug the big hole in the snow, he could not even reduplicate such a feat.
If they were to start attacking the instant they met, winning would have to come without any preparation. The Death Scripture and the world’s kung fu were polar opposites. For the Death Scripture, ironically, the less you understood your enemy, the greater the chances you had of winning.
“He must have a weak point.” Gu Shenwei tried to persuade himself. “The assassins of Rouge Forest once managed to attack him when he was distracted.”
However, Ye Silang claimed that he had already thought of how to deal with any sudden attacks. Gu Shenwei could not feign ignorance.
“Then there’s only one way. You get his attention. I’ll attack.”
Apart from Gu Shenwei, no one had seen Lotus Maid use her sword. No one knew how advanced her kung fu was or believed she could use her swordcraft. Her attack would hence be devastatingly unexpected.
But Gu Shenwei was also struck with a thought. “Your swordcraft is slightly lacking. What if he has truly found a way to deal with the opponent?”
“Don’t undermine my confidence.” Maid Lotus smiled. “How do I compare with the assassin in Rouge Forest?”
Gu Shenwei thought carefully. “You’re stronger than him. Actually, come to think about it, that assassin’s swordcraft was truly similar to ours.”
“Then it’s fine! The assassin will use a surprise attack to ambush Ye Silang, and I’ll be able to kill him.”
But Gu Shenwei was still reassured. “No, I’ve thought of how Ye Silang might stop the attack.”
“Oh?”
“There’s a master who protects him in secret.”
Gu Shenwei was bothered that he had not thought about Chu Yangjun earlier. That swordsman who liked the colour purple. He was definitely the one secretly protecting Ye Silang from attacks.
“Even still, its worth taking a risk. Anyway, you have a ‘chance’.”
“But you don’t.”
“If you die, I would die too.”
“Gu Shenwei never understood the meaning in Maid Lotus’ words. It was as though she was expressing her love, but her tone was as bland as water. Perhaps she was pointing out an obvious fact: Wildhorse would act quickly after Slave Huan’s death, swiftly removing the second top figure of the former “Tattooed Arm Gang”.
“No, none of us will die.” Gu Shenwei was suddenly filled with confidence even though he could not tell why. He had faith in the “Divine Will” that had brought him thus far.
Xu Xiaoyi brought the message of Chu Yangjun, an illustrious swordsman. Since the age of ten, he had served Peng Xianren at Joy Pavilion. Until now, he seldom left Hope Alley, where people respected him, not for his kung fu but because of his proximity to Immortal Peng.
That was all most knew about Chu Yangjun.
Xu Xiaoyi had never heard about the meeting between Chu Yangjun and Ye Silang. Neither had Gu Shenwei asked him to specifically inquire about it.
But Xu Xiaoyi had heard of Ye Silang’s challenge and this time, unlike the others, he was confident in Brother Huan. “Ye Silang’s here to die. Too bad there’s no one here to gamble with me. I would place all my bets on you.”
“It’s rare for you to put your trust in me.”
“Don’t forget. You know how to use the sword.” Xu Xiaoyi whispered mysteriously. Gu Shenwei had forgotten that he had once tested his sword skills on Xu Xiaoyi. “But I will not tell anyone. But I assure you, if this gets out, everyone will bet on you.”
“Tell me. I’m most in need of assurance at this juncture.”
Xu Xiaoyi held her smile. She peered into the distance, blinking her eyes, as if these very words would reduce ten years of her life. “Immortal Peng once told my fortune but he talked about you. He said that you would win.”
Xu Xiaoyi nodded solemnly, as if that fate were already set in stone. Brother Huan’s skills didn’t matter because Gu Shenwei would win anyway.
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