Chapter 18: True Words
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Gu Shenwei tiptoed along the wall. Even though it was only around 300 feet from the small yard to Ghost Yard, he cautiously observed his surroundings before every move, as if walking along the edge of a cliff.
Though well-prepared, Gu Shenwei underrated Golden Roc Fort’s security system. He had only taken a dozen steps when someone caught him by the collar and lifted him up.
Like ghosts, night watchmen lurked around, and they always showed up at an unpredictable moment, no matter how cautious one was.
Captured flat-footed, Gu Shenwei calmed himself and he spoke in a low voice. “Let me go.”
The night watchman was not the same one that Gu Shenwei had met previously, and he was a little astonished by Gu Shenwei’s calmness. Even though his face was covered by a black veil, the night watchman’s killing intent lessened.
“You’ve violated the curfew order.”
“I’m on duty.”
“For what?”
“Well…” Gu Shenwei was not able to make up a good excuse immediately.
Suddenly, Slave Yao’s voice rang out. “I did. I arranged for him to go out.” Gu Shenwei had thought that no one had noticed his actions, however, he had been spied on for a while.
The night watchman had not realized that there was a man behind him either. Slave Yao’s appearance surprised him, so he threw Gu Shenwei to the side. His right hand held the hilt and left hand pressed on his scabbard’s sheath.
“Who are you?”
“Slave Yao, serving the Eighth Young Master.” Slave Yao comported himself better than Gu Shenwei, adding a bit of impatience and anger.
“You’ve violated the curfew order, too.”
“I don’t care what the curfew order says, I left something in the Eighth Young Master’s yard, so I asked Slave Huan to get it back. What’s wrong with that?”
Gu Shenwei did not expect Slave Yao to be here helping him to cover up his lie, and he was a little touched. However, it was not easy for Slave Yao to pack up the night watchman and send him off because he also held a low position.
As expected, the night watchman did not take his words seriously and said grimly, “You two follow me to see the on-duty Blademaster.”
Blademasters were the core leaders of Golden Roc Fort. If someone was sent to meet a Blademaster, it meant his or her improper behavior would be recorded, and then harsh punishment would follow.
It would not be a big deal if Gu Shenwei had only snuck from the yard, however, the key he had stolen made things worse. Gu Shenwei would probably be imprisoned in Ghost Yard.
In fact, Gu Shenwei was now half-expecting to be imprisoned, where he would likely get the chance to find out about his elder sister. However, Slave Yao did not think so.
“You must be Killer Liu Xuan. Right? We are both slaves that belong to the Eighth Young Master, so we should work together. In other words, the Eighth Young Mistress has been in bad mood recently. If you send us to the Blademaster, it wouldn’t benefit either side.”
“How did Slave Yao know the night watchman’s name?” Both Gu Shenwei and Liu Xuan were surprised. The night watchmen always wore black clothes and covered their faces in order to hide their identities.
“How… how did you recognize me?”
“Well… take it easy, dude. A while ago, you took the job as a guard in the Eighth Young Master’s yard. I’ve met you a lot of times while learning martial arts from Mama Xue. You know, we serve the same master so we should work with each other.”
Rolling his eyes, the night watchman Liu Xuan hesitated in taking them to the Blademaster. The night watchman hid their identities so that they could enforce discipline impartially. However, he had been recognized by Slave Yao and it was now hard to be “impartial” in this situation. Furthermore, violating the curfew order was not a big deal, and catching them would not further his career.
“Go back right now! Never break the curfew again.”
“But, I need that thing that I left right away.”
“You can’t. Go back now. You serve the Eighth Young Master in his yard every day. There will be plenty of chances to get that thing back. Don’t worry.”
“Alright…” Slave Yao shrugged his shoulders with displeasure. “I’ll get it back tomorrow.” Then he reprimanded Slave Huan. “Go back now. It’s really troublesome letting you do something for me.”
Gu Shenwei answered him vaguely. Then he rushed back to the small yard… The night watchman Liu Xuan had totally blanked because his identity had been recognized. Eventually, he would figure out that Slave Yao was swindling him. But, he had freed them, therefore, it would be unnecessary to pay the two young slaves back.
Slave Yao snatched the key from Gu Shenwei and locked the gate. Later, he would put the key back into Slave Ji’s room. He then came over and pulled Gu Shenwei toward the western gate where they always practiced martial arts. It was the quietest place.
“How dare you? You shouldn’t have snuck out.” Slave Yao sighed and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Thank you. It was fortunate that you recognized the killer.”
“Hush! That was just a lucky guess. At first, I didn’t know who he was until I saw how he held his sword. Everyone has their own characteristics when they hold a sword. This guy, Liu Xuan, doesn’t do Kung Fu very well. But, he does like to show off so he always swings his right hand before holding his sword. Hopefully, he has nine lives. If Liu Xuan ever meets a master, he will be killed while he swings his hand.”
Slave Yao had only been practicing martial arts for two weeks, and he did not have any real fighting experience. However, Gu Shenwei had been astonished by his observation skills and ability to deduce. Later he figured it out. “Mama Xue must have told him and he just repeated it to others. If the person was not familiar with him, they would likely mistakenly regard him as an expert.”
Gu Shenwei thanked Slave Yao sincerely.
Gu Shenwei now had a much better impression of Slave Yao. Moreover, he wanted to be honest with Slave Yao and rely on his assistance for revenge.
Born in the purple, Gu Shenwei had owned many slaves and thought he got along well with them. After becoming a slave, he found out that it had been an illusion. In fact, he had not learned how to survive among slaves, let alone how to build a good relationship with them.
It had been almost a month since Gu Shenwei had entered Golden Roc Fort, and he had only acquired a little information. These young barbarians still could not speak in Central Plains Chinese fluently, and they knew more of the gossip in Golden Roc Fort than him. As for Slave Yao, he was an expert on searching out news and was even more familiar with Golden Roc Fort than an old slave that had been here a decade.
If Gu Shenwei could have such an assistant, it would be much easier for him to seek out his sister and take revenge.
“Slave Yao, I want to tell you something. You’re in danger, but I can help you.”
Gu Shenwei decided to tell Slave Yao the truth, that he had Qigong Deviation. What he said was totally credible—Gu Shenwei definitely could help him, because he had already reached the First Level of Yin Strength.
Although he did not devote himself to martial art training during the 10 years he had been under the professional guidance of his father Gu Lun, he did have a profound foundation in Kung Fu. If he took training himself seriously, Gu Shenwei could make great progress in a short time.
Yin Strength did not improve a practitioner’s Internal Strength. However, it helped the practitioner control their Yang Strength easily. If someone compared Yang Strength to a gateway for entry into their power, accordingly Yin Strength would be the key to controlling it.
Gu Shenwei thought he was capable of rescuing Slave Yao from Qigong Deviation and helping him control it when his Yang Strength arrived once he had achieved the First Level of Yin Strength.
Tutting with his mouth, Slave Yao shook his head and smiled at Gu Shenwei, as if he were a little child talking naively.
“I’m not kidding. You practiced your Yin and Yang Strength too fast and it might cause Qigong Deviation.” Finally, Gu Shenwei told him the truth.
If he had not been afraid of waking people in the yard, Slave Yao would have laughed at him loudly. Even so, he still could not help laughing as he put his right hand on Slave Huan’s shoulder. After a time, he stopped making fun of Gu Shenwei, who was staring at him angrily.
“Don’t make me look down on you. You are not a person who can play tricks. Every time you tell lies, I really want to laugh at you. Telling a lie isn’t your forte. Remember, sometimes being innocent makes you more loveable.”
Gu Shenwei bristled and temporarily gave up the idea of helping Slave Yao with suppressing his Yang Strength. “Well, you helped me. I think it’s better to pay you back. What do you want?”
Slave Yao’s hand was still on his shoulder. “I know you have a secret.”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to know. However, once I tell someone else you have Internal Strength and a secret manuscript, your secret would be exposed to everyone.”
Gu Shenwei shoved Slave Yao’s hand away, feeling alarmed.
It was common for a slave to know Kung Fu in Golden Roc Fort. However, it would make a difference if a slave knew how to practice Internal Strength. Many people in this world could do some Kung Fu by moving their fists and feet. But, few people knew of Internal Strength. This method of practicing Inner Strength was a core secret of the martial arts schools, and it was inherited by their members exclusively, which represented a schools’ uniqueness.
In the view of a martial arts expert, Yin and Yang Strength represented the Gu family from the Central Plains, more reliably than his last name.
“What do you want exactly?”
Slave Yao, who was shorter than him, took a step forward, smiling viciously like a grown man. “I like you very much, all the time.”
“Well.” Gu Shenwei was not fond of him, however.
“I hope you love me back.”
“What are you talking about?” Gu Shenwei stepped back, feeling strange about Slave Yao’s words.
“You still don’t understand?”
“What should I understand?”
“Well, I won’t force you. After you serve Slave Ji’s killer, you’ll realize what I’m saying. Just do the same thing for me. I’m, at least, better than him.”
Hearing these words, Gu Shenwei understood the implied meaning. Han Shiqi was one of his most hated enemies and, to him, the most disgusting person in the world. He knew what Slave Qi and Slave Xie had experienced. Even though dozens of days had passed, the two brothers still carefully concealed their experience, and Slave Xie sometimes woke up screaming in the night.
Gu Shenwei could not imagine what Han Shiqi had done to them. However, one thing was clear—it had been horrendous. Slave Yao now was asking him to do the same thing.
His good impression of Slave Yao and his trust in him quickly dissipated.
Being offended but unable to fight back, full of anger but unable to unleash it, Gu Shenwei deeply felt the pain and weakness of being a slave. During his 14 years of life, all the humiliation he had suffered, added together, could not even be a patch on today’s suffering.
Gu Shenwei totally gave up the idea of saving Slave Yao.
“Damn you,” he said, and then went back to the small yard.
Leaning against the wall, Slave Yao watched the young man’s shadow as it faded. He knew Slave Huan’s life-threatening secret, so the only thing he needed to do was wait.
“You’ll come back and beg me one day,” Slave Yao mumbled.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew and a piercing, mournful wail, like the cry of a beast or the shout of a ghost, came from Death Cliff. Slave Yao rushed back to the small yard in a hurry, and locked the door, thinking, “Why don’t people in Golden Roc Fort close this damn gate?”
