Chapter 200: Night Travels
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Dawn was arriving and the residents of Jade City who had arisen early realised that the battle between the twins- the great battle of the two societies- had not taken place. Indeed, more than ten machetemen had died, a military counselor had defected and the location of Boss Tuo remained a mystery. Even so, there was neither bloodshed nor a raging fire.
Many people were deeply disappointed. They remembered the last time a war was fought- fighting was the style of the Stone Castle. The several Young Masters had also been fighting among themselves. Previously, when the current Supreme Master was 13 or 14 years old, the situation was truly like a volatile inferno- the wandering machetemen in South City had quickly dwindled to half of their numbers and the shops had not opened for business for a month.
The twins of the Golden Roc Fort actually cared about their kinship. In the tavern, everyone talked about this.
Shangguan Fei fled into the North City. He brought in scores of machetemen and did not give out any orders. It seemed as if he was overwhelmed by shock. However, it was actually because he had forgiven his sister.
Shangguan Ru hid in her room for the whole day. She seemed to be hurt as much as her brother.
The killers who were subordinates of the twins were at a loss. They were used to heeding orders and killing people. They were not used to figuring out what their masters were thinking about.
They had originally belonged to other masters and were only sent to the twins to help the two build up their careers. Now however, many of them were considering about re-investing in their former owners.
According to the usual practice, after the first year of the master’s trials, killers had a choice. Most of them would stay by the side of their little masters. After all, they had gone through hardships and danger together. By then, there would be closer bonds of trust between them and their masters. As for this group of young killers, they had lost confidence in their current masters.
Gu Shenwei was safe for now. Shangguan Fei had lost his bearings and did not retaliate immediately. However, no one knew how long this situation would last.
The seven subordinate killers of Shangguan Ru discussed their present predicament collectively. Even the elusive Liuhua turned up. Wildhorse nodded frankly to Slave Huan and made a hand gesture of peace and reconciliation.
Gu Shenwei had once believed in this distinctive looking killer and thought that he was a trustworthy man. However, he had fallen into his plot. He nodded his head and smiled brightly to show how he didn’t seem to mind.
A killer would be a killer. They were different from a macheteman. Aside from killing unscrupulously, they had no other goals in life.
This gathering was initiated by Wildhorse. His motive was very simple. He hoped that Slave Huan would be able to fan the ambitions of the Tenth Young Master. After the death of Master Yu, Slave Huan was now the only person in her heart.
“The Tenth Young Master needs fresh blood. We will find fresh blood for her. The crux is for her to toughen up. Kun Society is still very weak and small. The Horned Dragon Society is in the midst of such a mess and it is a rare opportunity. We have to strike as soon as possible.”
Wildhorse’s gestures were too complicated and had to be translated by Maid Lotus.
Gu Shenwei did not agree immediately. Instead, he tried to use this opportunity to ask about where Wildhorse had been in the past few months.
Wildhorse had led three killers to head for the villages where the machetemen were gathered. He went here to find influential machetemen like Tuo Nengya. Most of them were low-key and rarely participated in the fights in the South City. However, they were greatly admired by many young machetemen.
The visits usually took place in secret. Many refused to see the killers of Stone Castle. However, some of them were young at heart and reciprocated Wildhorse’s enthusiasm.
In short, after several months of hard work, Wildhorse has established extensive contacts among the veteran machetemen of the South City. As long as he could raise enough money, he would be able to quickly gather a team of machetemen that was larger than the Horned Dragon Society’s. Moreover, the loyalty of these men would surpass a team that was hastily formed.
“He was able to form between ten to fifty teams. Each one of them would be the same as that was initially formed by Tuo Nengya. Every team would be led by one or two veteran machetemen. There would be between 20 to 100 in each team and the loyalties of the men would be assured by the veteran machetemen. The veteran machetemen’s family assets are in the South City so they’re unlikely to betray us.” Maid Lotus continued to act as an interpreter.
Wildhorse had invested a great amount of effort into developing this grand plan. He would have hated to give up halfway. The Tenth Young Master was highly interested in this plan but now her spirits had sunk to the bottom. Kun Society lacked money. This was a problem that caused Wildhorse much anxiety.
In order to obtain Slave Huan’s support, Wildhorse came up with a suggestion. No matter how many teams of machetemen he would establish, he would divide the number of machetemen equally into seven. Each team would be led by one killer.
There were four members in Wildhorse’s “Snow Mountain Gang”. There were only two members left in the “Tattooed Arm Gang”. Hence, Wildhorse still had the upper hand. As for the neutral Liuhua, he would not change the balance of power no matter who he supported.
Gu Shenwei was entirely capable of achieving the same wealth and power as Wildhorse. However, he nodded and agreed readily. This not only threw Wildhorse off his feet but also shocked Maid Lotus.
Afterwards, Gu Shenwei explained his motives to Maid Lotus. Wildhorse wanted manpower but he himself wanted money. The loyalty of the men that the veteran machetemen had introduced was not in question. Even so, these machetemen ultimately wanted money.
That night, Gu Shenwei, shouldering the hopes of the other six killers, went to visit the Tenth Young Master.
Hearing a knock on the door, Shangguan Ru said immediately: “Come in.”
Lunch and dinner were still set on the table untouched. Shangguan Ru’s face had regained her normal expression. There was no pain or vulnerability on her face. Instead, there was a mischevious smile on her face that Gu Shenwei was so familiar with.
“Are you here to be an advocate?”
“Yes.”
Shangguan Ru was initially teasing and she was waiting for Slave Huan to deny it. Unexpectedly, Slave Huan admitted it. Hence, she sighed and said: “You can speak now. I’m listening.”
“I have nothing to say.”
Shangguan Ru raised her head in bewilderment.
“After all, it’s your own decision. If I could sway you with my words, it won’t be befitting of a son of the Supreme King.”
“Son of the Supreme King.” Shangguan Ru repeated these words softly.
“It’s dark,” Gu Shenwei said casually.
“Hm.”
“When the South City’s most bustling, do you want to go shopping? We won’t take any guards with us.”
“Ah, this is the best opportunity for our enemies to kill us.” Even with these words, Shangguan Ru was already too eager to try.
“Give them a chance then. The odds of killing others and being killed should always be equal.”
However, they didn’t go shopping like normal people. Like two years ago, when they played the assassination game, they displayed their qing gong skills by jumping from one roof to the next. They hid in every dark corner, wandering all over the place without any purpose. To them, South City was like an enlarged Stone Castle.
Listen.
The tavern was booming with cacophonous sounds of pleasure and entertainment. Under the influence of alcohol, people were letting loose all their emotions that were both genuine and for show. They were bursting into tears or getting into arguments with each other.
The cacophony in the tavern was filled with rhythm, silence, the shaking of the dice, and terrible screams. They died down and repeated again. Occasionally, there were gamblers who walked into the streets, their faces were as pale as ghosts. They wandered aimlessly in the streets and later joined the teams of gamblers.
The sounds in the brothel were even more peculiar. Shangguan Ru wanted to know why. Gu Shenwei mustered all his strength to pull her away from the place.
Most areas in the South City had already been shrouded in darkness and these three places were not the only places of entertainment for the depraved. After toiling for a day, ordinary residents went quietly to sleep. The depraved came to the South City not for pleasure but to make money.
On the rooftops of the few houses that were lit by small lamps, the two teenagers heard the sounds of jingling coins and the clanking of silver. A couple excitedly counted their earnings for the day. If things kept up, they would be able to leave Jade City forever, return home and live a life of bliss.
The fire was raging in Blacksmith Village. The disciples who struggled to open their eyes pulled the bellows with all their might while being admonished by their Master Shifu.
The two youths walked around in a big circle and, under the strong urging of Shangguan Ru, they came to Hope Alley. That place of great taboo was of interest to everyone. Shangguan Ru had only seen its walls from the peach forest.
There were no women in Hope Alley, but instead there were men dressed in luxuriant costumes conversing with those customers with capes on their shoulders. Shangguan Ru could hardly control her laughter. She found that this world was simply too strange. Eventually, they entered the peach forest and she finally burst into laughter.
The sounds of laughter gradually ceased and she felt as if she was immersed in a dream and everything she heard of was bizzare. “Someone told me that sword skills were everything. But you see, there’re so many people who have nothing to do with these weapons in a Jade City as small as this. The city out there is so big; how much land can the sword hold power over?”
“The blacksmith beats the iron and the tavern sells wine. Iron and beer are everything to them. Hence, to a killer, the sword is everything.”
“Yes, I’m a killer.” Shangguan Ru’s voice fell as if she had just awoken from a dream.
Gu Shenwei stood silently by her side. This world was equal, he thought, and he had to be equally cruel to everyone.
“Who is it?” Gu Shenwei asked in a whisper as he pulled out his sword.
Shangguan Ru pulled out her sword at the same time.
Something approached them quickly and approached their side in the blink of an eye. The teenagers flashed their swords and sabers at a lightning fast speed.
It was a soft cord that came and retreated like a nimble poisonous snake.
On the trees and on the ground, there were people everywhere. They separated and surrounded Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru.
“Joy Pavilion,” Gu Shenwei whispered softly.
“I’m Shangguan Ru from the Golden Roc Fort. Let Immortal Peng speak.” Shangguan Ru hollered. She wanted to know why the newly minted Immortal Peng wanted to attack her for no reason.
“It was her indeed,” a hoarse voice spoke with hatred.
“Kill!”
The encirclement shrunk. Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru were standing with their backs leaning against each other as they prepared to face a ferocious battle. People in Joy Pavilion were experts and were not easy to deal with.
At this instant, the clear and cloudless night was suddenly filled with the pitter patter of rain.
The two opposing sides looked around them. No one seemed to understand, for a moment, where these sounds were coming from.
A gust of wild wind, swirling countless broken branches instantly rushed towards the crowd and broke through the encirclement. It surrounded the two teenagers who were encircled and attacked the men of Joy Pavilion.
More than ten experts had lost their bearings. “Madman Wu, are you crazy?” The person who had spoken probably realised that he had said something wrong. He muttered, hastily blocking a pile of leaves.
“Let her go,” said a pleading voice from behind the trees not far away. The voice was shaking with fear.
“They had just killed Tang Ji. Don’t tell me you’re going to let them off just like that?” The men of Joy Pavilion asked angrily. Tang Ji was the supervisor of the teahouse. Although his kung fu was inferior, it was a pity for him to die.
“Nonsense. We haven’t been here for a long time. How can we be killing people?”
“Not you but the killer who you had sent.”
Gu Shenwei turned and met Shangguan Ru’s eyes. He didn’t know how this misunderstanding occurred.
