Chapter 171: Fights of Vengeance
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Chu Yangjun was considerably better at kungfu than the Machete God Huang Shi’an. It was for this reason that Gu Shenwei could only kill him by means of assassination. Even so, the killer was unable to avert a counterblow from the swordsman.
The latter’s long sword had sunk deep into the killer’s chest. It would have proved fatal if it went just a little bit deeper.
Gu Shenwei’s swordcraft was elevated in a way he could not describe in words. In essence, his confidence steeply increased and he began to believe himself capable of killing Ye Silang.
The best time to kill Ye Silang was right now while he was still unaware of his Protector’s death.
Gu Shenwei wanted to pull the sword out of his chest. However, not only were his arms strengthless, but the sword was too long for him to reach its shaft.
Maid Lotus ran over, pulled the sword out, and tossed it on the ground. She then tore a little cloth from her skirt to dress the wound. Thanks to her deftness, Gu Shenwei did not lose much blood, albeit his face turned pale. He sat down languidly, and had no more energy to carry out the second assassination.
Maid Lotus leaped on to the ground and pulled out her knife, ready to slice off Chu Yangjun’s head.
“Keep his head intact.”
Slave Huan ordered from above. Surprised, Maid Lotus raised her head and took a quick look at the former, but did not challenge his words. Using her saber, she swiftly stabbed the neck of the corpse to enlarge the tiny yet fatal wound so that nobody could tell that Chu Yangjun died by a sword.
The two killers made their way back to their hiding place. Gu Shenwei laid down on his bed as soon as he got back, unable to bear the pain any longer. The cloth covering his wound was visibly soaked with blood.
This was not the most severe injury Gu Shenwei had ever suffered. As such, he was able to maintain consciousness and rationality, and could even smile to express his gratitude while Maid Lotus cleaned his body, applied medication, and redressed his wound. The world in front of his eyes gradually underwent a strange transformation. It felt as though he had been struggling to remain sober under the influence of liquor but eventually yielded to it. Something seemed to click in his brain, causing him to ease his inner tensions and enter an ethereal and ephemeral fantasy world.
The scenes which Gu Shenwei could remember were few. Some of them were the expected scenes of things, family members, and his old house in the Central Plain. He could not recall the names of his childhood playmates and other things which he never took much notice of. The last scene he remembered was a boundless sea of pink and white flowers that glistened under the sun. He guessed that the flowers were peach blossoms.
Opening his eyes once again, he felt exhausted like never before, as if his Internal Strength and viscera had been entirely hollowed, and all that was left of him was his outer shell.
Maid Lotus was sat beside him, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Her expressionless face suggested that she had been repeating the same task on a daily basis.
“What day and time is it?”
“The seventh day of the second lunar month, afternoon.”
He had been unconscious for two days and two nights.
“What did I say and do while in the unbounded fantasy realm? Did I accidentally divulge the most important secret?” Gu Shenwei felt a sense of anxiety and unconsciously reached his hand to his waist. It was his habit to grasp his knife or sword whenever he was nervous.
But there was nothing; no knife, sword, or even clothes. The only thing covering his body was a layer of bedding. He felt embarrassed at once. This was not something a killer should mind, but even so, there remained certain things which a killer could not control. From this point of view, the person most suited to being a killer was Tie Hanfeng, for he saw everything as child’s play.
Maid Lotus, remaining expressionless, placed the towel down. “It’s time for you to get up. Many people are expecting you.”
These frosty words were, in fact, what Gu Shenwei needed to calm down. “I must have said many things which were out of order.”
“Yes, but the only person who would understand what you said is yourself.” Maid Lotus gave a dubious response before she stood up while keeping her eyes on Slave Huan lying on the bed. “Deep inside, every killer hates Stone Castle. There’s nothing to hide since everyone’s the same.”
Gu Shenwei felt bewildered, and could not discern the real meaning of Maid Lotus’ words. Perhaps every killer indeed hated Golden Roc Fort bitterly, but he was the only one who harbored sinister motives and transformed his hate into concrete action.
“Should I trust the girl in front of me?” After a brief period of inner struggle, Gu Shenwei finally replied, “Thank you.”
“Alright. Come, our troubles haven’t all been resolved.”
There was a load of troubles awaiting the two of them.
Chu Yangjun’s death did not cause as much as a ripple in South City. Few people even knew his formal name, while those who were more familiar with him simply wondered how one of the best-looking men in Hope Alley could run into a fatal mishap in the ditches. Even fewer people connected the discovered corpse to Kun Society. Most people guessed it was a crime of passion, and lost their curiosity in the matter after just half a day.
What attracted the attention of Jade City’s residents more so than Chu Yangjun’s death was the disappearance of Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang.
The renowned swordsman could not be found anywhere – not in North City, South City, or his abode, nor in the countless betting arenas, taverns, or brothels.
Horned Dragon Society was dealt yet another huge blow. Although Ye Silang professed that he was not a member of said society, the person he wanted to kill was its archenemy, and naturally, he was regarded as its ally. Now that he had suddenly gone missing and could possibly even be dead, Kun Society, which had retreated into a corner, could bare its powerful and sharp fangs once again.
Consequently, the large battle between the Kun and Horned Dragon societies, which everyone had long awaited yet feared, finally began.
Overnight, Tuo Nengya was able to recruit more than a hundred machetemen, most of whom came forth and offered their services on their own accord. This allowed him to once again build an invincible formation.
However, the formation still needed more time to take shape. Because the matter had escalated way too suddenly, neither society was able to draw up a thorough scheme of attack, and thus the war which fell upon the entire South City was a messy one.
It was unclear which side first started a particular trend which rapidly caught on – the machetemen of Kun Society wore a yellow band around their arms, while those of Horned Dragon Society wore a red band on their foreheads. A ferocious battle would erupt every time yellow met red.
In South City, machetemen were as common as cowhair, and the grievances among them were highly complicated. Every one of them believed that this round of battle between the two societies would be the final and decisive one, and thus, they hastily seized this opportunity to settle personal scores. Many claimed to be a member of a particular society when, in fact, their names had never been registered in the society’s books and they were not paid. They might wear a yellow band on one day to kill a foe, and the next day change to a red band to attack someone else. Switching societies was as casual and easy as having a meal.
The large battle was unrestrained from the very start. It was not only the merchants who were adversely affected and thus voiced their discontents everywhere; the leaders of the two societies immediately realized that they were being made use of, and that if the situation continued to develop unchecked, both sides would fall at the hands of machetemen settling personal scores.
Therefore, by the second day of the large battle, both sides began striving to end this meaningless conflict as quickly as possible.
It was under these circumstances which Shangguan Ru dispatched people to look for the killer Yang Huan everywhere.
Upon receiving the news, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus headed directly to North City. Shangguan Ru was pacing back and forth excitedly in the entrance hall. “You two killed Ye Silang?” These were her first words when she saw the most capable killer under her charge.
“No, only Huang Shi’an,” Gu Shenwei replied. His omission of Chu Yangjun was not deliberate, but rather because the swordsman was not of much significance to the Tenth Young Master.
Shangguan Ru exhaled a sigh of disappointment, but quickly snapped out of it. “I’ve agreed to negotiate with the little rascal of the Meng family. I mean, why not? The first round of negotiations will take place on the day after tomorrow. Slave Huan, you shall be attending. But I want to launch a large-scale counteroffensive before the negotiations, so as to let Horned Dragon Society know we aren’t the ones suing for peace. Master Yu, you shall be in charge of this.”
Shangguan Ru issued her orders rapidly with a clear and distinct train of thought that seemed beyond a girl who just turned fourteen. She only asked about Slave Huan’s whereabouts in the past few days after making sure that everything had been properly arranged.
Gu Shenwei gave a brief account of the two assassinations while playing down the injury he sustained during the process.
Shangguan Ru clenched her right fist and thumped it on her left palm when she heard that Chu Yangjun was Ye Silang’s guard. “I see. Ye Silang must be too afraid to show his face, hah! You shall continue to search for him together with Maid Lotus. It’ll be wonderful if his head can be displayed during the negotiations, haha.”
These were but Shangguan Ru’s own fantasy thoughts.
Gu Shenwei had not reminded the Tenth Young Master that Ye Silang’s disappearance was not because he was afraid. The swordsman was, presumably, at this moment searching maniacally for the killer Yang Huan to avenge Chu Yangjun.
It was Gu Shenwei’s intention not to participate in the counteroffensive organized by Master Yu. What he wanted was to see which side the young demoness would choose between the two societies.
After dismissing everyone else from the hall, Shangguan Ru conversed alone with Slave Huan. “I intend to separate you and Maid Lotus from Wildhorse. Has he done anything recently?”
“No. I think he’s more prudent nowadays.”
“Hmm. I shall task Master Yu to keep watch on him. This counteroffensive is just a test. Master Yu will lay down two sets of plans, of which Wildhorse will only know one. If there’s even the slightest hint that Wildhorse has colluded with the enemy and divulged confidential information, his head shall also be displayed in front of Little Meng tomorrow night.”
“This is truly a good plan.” Gu Shenwei complimented insincerely. Wildhorse would certainly not be exposed with Shangguan Yushi around. Furthermore, he was simply not the person colluding with Horned Dragon Society.
Shangguan Ru reached out her fist and thumped softly on Slave Huan’s arm. With a shadow of a smile on her face, she held her head high and proclaimed, “I want Ye Silang’s head.”
“Tenth Young Master shall see it by midnight tomorrow.”
Gu Shenwei abruptly felt a little frustrated. Shangguan Ru was increasingly treating him like a homekept killer. Undoubtedly, she still thought highly of Slave Huan and regarded him as her right-hand man, but the relationship was no longer that of childhood playmates. Those somewhat naive methods to ensnare people’s hearts were evidence that the girl had grown up. Her spotless innocence had been replaced by the leadership traits passed down the generations of the Shangguan family.
Gu Shenwei snorted in his heart and haughtily tossed his inner disappointment aside. “Shangguan Ru was never my playmate or even a friend. In fact, she’s among the top of my hit list.”
The young killer felt an upsurge of emotion as he visualized the scene of him stabbing the the Tenth Young Master’s neck with a sharp sword.
The plan to assassinate Ye Silang had been crafted long ago by Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus. Though they missed out on a golden opportunity, they had already succeeded in enraging the swordsman and thus possessed a definite advantage.
They decided to simply wait for him to show up. Gu Shenwei would invite Ye Silang’s long sword while Maid Lotus delivered a fatal strike from the darkness. This method was identical to that of Chu Yangjun’s assassination, albeit their roles were swapped.
Only mutually trusting killers could employ such an assassination method whereby they entrusted their lives to each other.
They returned, as usual, to their small rented abode in South City. Having taken a trip to North City, their whereabouts were already exposed, and there was no doubt that, at this moment, Ye Silang knew where to find his foe. Therefore, they did not have to deliberately spread information.
Eventually, however, the night passed peacefully. Ye Silang did not appear, and no machetemen from Horned Dragon Society came to snoop around.
It seemed as though the swordsman was truly missing, to the great surprise of the killers.
