Chapter 197: Interlocking
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Gu Shenwei returned to the backyard of the Southwall Tavern at midnight. There was already an anxious guest waiting inside the room.
He had covered himself in a cape in the same way as those who wanted to hide their identity. But he was too big for this cape. He said, “You have to rescue me.”
The decoration in Gu Shenwei’s room was simple. Only a bed, a desk, and two chairs. He sat down and wearily sighed. “Well, what happened?”
Guan Houlin glimpsed at the child who was sitting at the corner. He looked handsome and held a sword in his hands, but, his tilted head made him look listless, cold and uninterested in anything. He was more like a ghost, and this disturbed Guan Houlin. “I want to talk in private.”
“That’s not necessary. He doesn’t have a big mouth.”
With some hesitation, Guan Houlin said, “The Ninth Young Master wants me dead.” He was cornered and had nowhere else to go.
“You escaped. That’s incredible.”
“No, the Ninth Young Master hasn’t decided to kill me. But I know him better than anyone. He’ll first kill me, and then you. We share the same fate.”
“I can’t save myself, nor can I save you.”
“You can, you’re the only one who can do that. I saw your bravery. Those killers in the fort, including the subordinates of the Ninth Young Master, they’re weak. But you, you have the killing desire, you’ll fight against them instead of waiting for death. Is that right? You’ll fight.”
Gu Houlin’s words sounded chaotic and full of expectation. If Yang Huan was not the guy he expected, then he would be greatly disappointed.
“How should I save you? Should I help you hide or escape?”
These two beat around the bush for a while. Finally, Guan Houlin spoke out, “Those will not work. This will only end in either his death or my death.” But his words did not surprise Yang Huan, so he had to make it clearer. “We’ll never be safe unless we kill the Ninth Young Master.”
“First of all, it’s impossible to kill him; secondly, killing him will put us in even more danger. He is the son of the Supreme King!”
Guan Houlin anxiously pushed forward. “Yes! So we have to borrow the power of the Tenth Young Master. She wants to take revenge, doesn’t she? This will be an internal strife, and we won’t be involved.”
Gu Shenwei grasped his sword and remained silent and cold. Guan Houlin stopped as he felt that he might have said something wrong. “Go on, what do you think?”
His words relieved Gu Houlin. “Well, the Ninth Young Master feared Tuo Nengya the most. He had failed to murder him several times. If he can find Tuo Nengya’s trail, he’ll personally lead his team to kill him. We can seize the opportunity and…”
“Okay, then where should I find Tuo Nengya? You had wasted several months trying to track him down.”
“We know he hides in Hope Alley. When Immortal Peng was still alive, those machetemen did not dare to enter inside. We have to work quickly. This time, we can’t let the Ninth Young Master take the lead.”
Gu Shenwei considered his sincerity for a moment, then he said, “Tuo Nengya is no longer in Hope Alley.”
“Have you already found him?” Gu Houlin was surprised.
“Yep.”
“Then how about my plan?”
“Wait for my instruction, I have to discuss it with the Tenth Young Master.”
“Alright, but please tell me soon. I don’t even know if I can survive today.”
“It’s time for you to take the risk. Go back to your master and meet me at nine o’clock tonight. Then send the message to him afterwards.”
Gu Houlin was not so confident about his future. Even so, he stopped trying to persuade further. He cloaked himself and bid farewell to the killer. “Be vigilant, you’re the Ninth Young Master’s most hated person.”
Gu Shenwei nodded and watched him leave.
“He is frightened,” said Chu Nanping, who had been standing in the corner. This child could also see the complicated emotions of other people.
“He is frightened indeed because if he can’t fool me, he will surely die.”
Gu Shenwei stood up, and paced to and fro. Now he had to take Gu Houlin into his consideration. He then called out to Maid Lotus and they went to see the Tenth Young Master together.
Shangguan Ru also thought that Guan Houlin was using the ruse of self-injury. “He wants to use us to find Tuo Nengya and then humiliate me afterwards.” She could clearly see her brother’s plots when she calmly pondered over the problem.
“We can make use of his ruse.”
After their meeting, Gu Shenwei left the Kun Society to go to the Southwall Tavern. Since Immortal Peng came back again, Shopkeeper Lyu would not be troubled by Gu Shenwei’s appearance anymore. In order to make up for his previous attitude, he personally held a glass of wine and chatted with him.
Gu Shenwei did not drink. He accepted the wine only because he could calm his mind by staring at the blood-like liquid.
Shopkeeper Lyu introduced some customers to the killer. Gu Shenwei bought them several cups of wine and tried to collect some information from them.
The macheteman of the Horned Dragon Society went to mop up the Rouge Forest, had a few quarrels with the people out there, and eventually made those people leave. Meanwhile, the Horned Dragon Society expanded the enrolment of the machetemen. This time they were generous, and they seemed to be trying to attract all the machetemen with the high salary.
But strangely, those machetemen who had always sought money were now holding themselves aloof. Many of them refused the invitation of the Ninth Young Master. As for those who were lured, they were continuously threatened. After some fights among them, though blood had not been shed for now, the atmosphere in the South City became tense.
Xu Xiaoyi also came after the brothel was harassed. A bunch of the machetemen had broken into the house and they searched everywhere. They had just left.
Xu Xiaoyi took Chu Nanping with him and left. Of course, it was under the permission of Brother Huan. He wanted this little swordman to see his intelligence gathering abilities.
Many people felt that the war between the two societies had restarted.
Gu Shenwei went to see the Tenth Young Maste. There was one thing he had not figured out. “Who is discouraging those machetemen?”
“Wild Horse.” Shangguan Ru only said a name and did not elaborate. Wild Horse’s relationship with Slave Huan was bad, he had even tried to murder Slave Huan. Thus she gave them different tasks and working environments.
Gu Shenwei could understand her intentions. Wild Horse, who was a naturally born leader, was the best candidate for this task. He had proven it during the slaguhter. During these months, he must have earned the respect of the machetemen in the South City, and now all he needed was a smart interpreter.
What made Gu Shenwei wary was that Shangguan Ru did not show him all of her plans. Everyone had their own interests and wanted to make use of the others. Gu Shenwei himself was not an exception.
When he returned to the Southwall Tavern, Gu Shenwei asked about Wild Horse. But there was barely anyone who had heard of him, nor did anyone saw a teenager with strange eyes. Xu Xiaoyi also could not find anything about Wild Horse.
He has hidden himself so well.
But Xu Xiaoyi acquired some other piece of information. “The Horned Dragon Society bought a house near the checkpoint. Nominally, it was to provide a gathering place for businessmen, however the real tenants there were the machetemen.”
“Is this information accurate?”
“Absolutely.” Xu Xiaoyi kept his eyes open and it seemed as if he had been humiliated. “I checked that place with Little Chu. We messed around with some children out there, and had a fight with them. After the adults came and drove us off, Little Chu had traded blows with one of them.”
Chu Nanping nodded, with his face flushed. “There were 15 people, and they all knew some kung fu. Some of them looked like you.”
“Looked like me?”
“They were young and were like the killers in the fort.”
Guan Houlin arrived at nine in the evening. He looked even more anxious than he was last night. His body shook around like a bear in a cage, and it seemed as if he intended to knock down all the things in the house.
“Now what? I can’t wait any longer. Soon they’ll split me in two!”
“Okay, then we’ll stick to your plan. Use Tuo Nengya to lure the Ninth Young Master. But there’s one more thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“Tuo Nengya had already died.”
Gu Shenwei took a wooden box from the floor and placed it on the desk.”
Guan Houlin approached close to it and observe it carefully. That was indeed the head of Boss Tuo. He had met Boss Tuo several times when he was only an ordinary macheteman, so he wouldn’t be mistaken about it.
“How could that be?”
“I killed him two nights ago, so that I can cheat on our target. But your plan is better.”
“But since he is dead, how can we implement the plan?”
“Use a fake one. Now you go back and tell the master, that after two days, at three o’clock in the middle of the night, at the wasteland outside the peach forests of Gui Garden, the Tenth Young Master will negotiate with Tuo Nengya about their union. They won’t take many servants. Your people could only hide in the forests. Try to persuade your master to bring his men. Leave the other things to me.”
“What about the source of my intelligence?”
“Just say the information was provided by me.”
“You?”
“I serve the Tenth Young Master, but I also don’t want to be the enemy of the Ninth Young Master because I bear some responsibility to the both of them. Beside, there is always someone who can take notice of our meeting.”
Guan Houlin nodded his head. “Let’s do it.”
In the next room, Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus were waiting for Gu Shenwei’s reply.
“Will he swallow the bait?”
Shangguan Ru was not that sure now. “It’s hard to say. My brother may know that this negotiation is a trap, and that Tuo Nengya’s head is a fake. He may use this opportunity to eliminate all of us in a single sweep.”
Gu Shenwei took some time to fake Boss Tuo’s head. This was the reason for why he asked Guan Houlin to come at night. This trick will make the Ninth Young Master truly believe in the information about the union of Tuo Nengya and the Tenth Young Master.
“So he’ll set up an ambush in the peach forest?”
“No, he knows that Guan Houolin can’t fool me, so that ambush will be a fake. The house, however, will be the real one.”
Shangguan Ru frowned, but then she smiled. “The game between you two is always very complicated. You set a trap, and he set another one based on yours. In this way, maybe the house was the third trap, while the real one was at somewhere else.”
“That’s possible.” But Gu Shenwei was also a little confused. This intrigue was a hurricane, and the upper parts were far bigger than the lower ones.
“I don’t care about the traps. All I need to know is the location of his shelter.”
“He’s not that bold to show up on the battlefield. But he wants to solve all the problems at the same time, so he’ll definitely lead this action personally.”
Finally Gu Shenwei’s eyes grew wide. The Ninth Young Master was clever, but it was also his biggest disadvantage. Now he had exposed his whereabouts.
