Chapter 273: The Old Friend
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
It seemed that this place had not changed at all in the last three years. Pleasure Valley was still the hottest place for famous prostitutes, and Southwall Tavern was still the best tavern in the city. The most popular prostitute was still Xiao Fengchai, and everyone was still gossiping about the real age of this woman.
But for Gu Shenwei, everything seemed to have changed. This city used to be the hunting ground for this young killer, but now he was being chased like prey. He did not dare to even show his real identity. Everything that had been connected to him was wiped out from this city.
Kun Society was still there, and its leader was Shangguan Fei again. This man was always hiding in North City and he gave orders to this organization of machetemen from there. Meng family was becoming more and more wealthy. They had purchased Gui Garden’s peach forest in the south of Hope Alley, which was surrounded by high walls to keep unauthorized personnel at bay.
Endless killing was still a common occurrence in South City. No matter big or small, the Protectors kept disappearing and reappearing. Now Gu Shenwei could only recognize a few of them.
The war at the western border had only become a topic of conversation for the citizens. What was different was that “that killer” now had a proper name, Yang Huan, the Dragon King of the Great Snowmountains. It was the same as “that woman”, which was the Eighth Young Mistress in the fort.
“That killer is nothing without the Demon Bird. He’s just a bandit chieftain. I’ll bet the Snow Mountain Gang won’t even survive until the end of the year.”
That was what Gu Shenwei heard when he entered a tavern. Everyone around the speaker also voiced their agreement.
“Don’t speak about such things so easily. That killer was good at plotting schemes, remember? So many sons of the Supreme King had died because of him. Not to mention that all those killers in the Stone Castle couldn’t even find a trace of him after all these years. Besides, the fort had been attacked by him. He’s a tough one, I’ll give him that.” But this man who defended the Dragon King did not win much support.
Shopkeeper Lyu, who had lost a finger, stood by the counter and looked at the customers coldly. He was bored even though those men were making his business prosper. Compared to another much more profitable business, that wine-selling business was a waste of time, although the wine was the best.
However, it was a good cover for him.
Shopkeeper Lyu noticed the cloaked guest immediately when he came in. He found two things: First, this man hid his weapon in the cloak and managed to fool the guards; second, this man had a familiar temperament to him.
This man’s face was a little dark. He has a thick beard and the corners of his eyes were tilted, which was the symbol of a man in the Western Region. He must have endured the hardship of the journey, and acted like a businessman who just walked out of the desert by running to the tavern before he even found a place to rest.
“A cup of wine.” However, this anxious guest only asked for so little.
Though the counterjumper was disappointed, Shopkeeper Lyu was surprised and nearly dropped his pen. He signaled the counterjumper with a wink. The counterjumper understood and changed his attitude. He cautiously invited the guest to the private room.
Shopkeeper Lyu kept vigilant when he stood in the private room. Not many people had the chance to communicate with Yang Huan, and he was one of them. Though he was motivated by his curiosity, he was still frightened to come face to face with this killer.
Three years ago, he had helped Xu Xiaoyi and Chu Naping leave Jade City and had helped Gu Shenwei transfer more than a million taels to Shu-lik. This deal was profitable. Gu Shenwei gave him a commission of 20 percent. But If Golden Roc Fort knew about this deal, then he would not have earned a dime.
Thus through this deal, Shopkeeper Lyu discovered a brand new way to earn money: transfer the money to those who did not want to show off. Lucky for him, numerous people in Jade City had the need.
Of course, a high risk will yield a high reward. Those who wanted to transfer their property often had a bad relationship with Golden Roc Fort. Shopkeeper Lyu had to take precautions all the time against the killers.
“You should not have come to South City now,” Shopkeep Lyu said. He was not sure of his attitude toward the Dragon King since he had not seen him for three years. Though this man was a king, in this city, Yang Huan was only an outlaw. However, he was much more than any ordinary Protector and had countless access to resources.
The killer pulled open his cloak and revealed the saber and the sword.
Shopkeeper Lyu seemed to feel the pain of his lost finger again when he saw that. He immediately changed his attitude and smiled consciously. “Of course, you’re safe in my place.”
“I trust you.” Who Gu Shenwei really trusted was not Lyu or his own weapon, but Xu Xiaoyi, who was Lyu’s most important partner.
“Am I supposed to call you— Dragon King, now?” Shopkeeper Lyu asked tentatively.
“Yes.”
The killer is serious, thought Shopkeeper Lyu. He then straightened his face and said, “How can I help you, Dragon King?”
“I came here to negotiate peace with Golden Roc Fort.”
His words were so abrupt and surprising that Shopkeeper Lyu, an experienced cunning old fox, could not comprehend and react. “What? Negotiate…peace? Do you propose to make peace and then…assassinate them?”
“No assassination, just negotiation.”
Lyu was stunned. His eyebrows wrinkled and loosened, and wrinkled again. Finally, he asked, “Are you serious?”
Gu Shenwei nodded.
“Well, that’s…that’s good. But I don’t think I can help you. My words don’t carry much weight in the fort.” Shopkeeper Lyu reacted and said the worst thing first.
“You don’t need to talk with Golden Roc Fort. Do you like war?”
“Me? Of course not. Actually, most of the businessmen don’t like war. Our businesses will definitely be affected once there is a war. Only some of these people can benefit from it.”
“Hence, you merchants must support this negotiation.”
Shopkeeper Lyu was enlighted. “I got it. But regardless of whether we like it or not, we won’t speak out about it. Who wants to mess with the fort?”
“You don’t need to speak. Soon there’ll be someone coming to ask about your attitude, and all you need to do is to tell them the truth. But I hope that all the merchants can make preparations in advance. Otherwise, you might be fooled and be manipulated by others.”
It was the Dragon King who wanted to manipulate the merchants, and Shopkeeper Lyu knew it well. But for him, everything was business. Thus he showed reluctance in his face, and said, “This will be difficult and risky. You know how many spies the fort has…”
“You’ll get paid, and it’ll be worth your while.”
Though Shopkeeper Lyu did not ask for the exact payment, he understood that he will not be treated badly, based on the numerous deals he had made with the Dragon King through Xu Xiaoyi.” I can guarantee you that the businessmen in all walks of Jade City will become solid supporters of your negotiation.”
“I heard that there’s a ‘Stop Kills Society’ that had appeared in the city?” Since Gu Shenwei had completed the major task, he started to make another inquiry.
“Yes, but it can’t be depended on.”
“Why?”
“It was just a deceptive thing. It’s like… um… the guild of the machetemen. Yeah, a guild, with a flag of so-called ‘stop killing’. It also collects fees from the machetemen. But all they do is bury the dead after a killing. Just think about it, how can the machetemen live if they really ‘stop killing’?”
Shopkeeper Lyu only made bad comments about this society. Gu Shenwei visited another person this night. He wanted to know more.
Not many people had heard of Zhao Tong. He was called “Little Four” at first and then became “Old Four” in his twenties. In his thirties, he was “Uncle Four”, and now, he was fifty years old, everyone called him “Father Four”. Now, he was influential among the machetemen and did not need to work himself to the bone. Although he did not manage to become “Master Four”, he was satisfied with his present life.
Mister Zhao was cautious against this unfamiliar guest. But this man gave him the original holograph of Boss Tuo, so he enthusiastically invited the guest to come inside and for a private talk.
“I’m flattered that Boss Tuo is considerate of my worn-out bones. How should I address you?” This guest looked ordinary, but Mister Zhao was sure that he had something special according to his experience.
Gu Shenwei showed his saber and sword again. “Mister Zhao, do you remember the killer who had visited you three years ago?”
Three years ago, Gu Shenwei was still running hither and thither for the building of the machetemen teams. He had nearly visited every old macheteman in the city and had the chance to meet Mister Zhao. Mister Zhao had refused his invitation, but he introduced several good machetemen for Gu Shenwei.
Mister Zhao’s face suddenly changed. “Wait.” He walked out of the room and closed the gate. He then came back and shut the door of the room. “I’m honored to be in your presence, Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei held Mister Zhao’s body before he kneeled down. This old macheteman would be more trustworthy than Shopkeeper Lyu because he had been assured by Boss Tuo.
Gu Shenwei wanted to know how the machetemen had reacted to the war. Mister Zhao thought for while and gave him this answer: “Actually, as long as the fort is willing to pay the money, the young machetemen will attend the war. After all, they have a family to feed. To tell you the truth, Dragon King, people in this city did not hear much about your prestige.”
The old macheteman said it very politely. In fact, Gu Shenwei did not have more influence than that flash-in-the-pan Giant Red-crowned Roc.
However, in contrast to Shopkeeper Lyu, Mister Zhao gave an absolutely different answer regarding “Stop Kills Society”. “That society is like a home to the machetemen. Even I paid the membership fee. Stopping killing is not practical, that’s true. But the society did save many people. Those orphans and widows no longer have to live in the street. If the Dragon King wants the machete men to support the negotiation, then you must go to the society.
There was a reason why Gu Shenwei chose not to contact the “Stop Kills Society” from the beginning. The creator of the society were several monks from the Four Truths Temple. Master Lianhua was one of them. But those monks did not supervise the affairs. Joy Pavillion in Hope Alley was the real supervisor.
Why would those monks have a relationship with the freaks of Joy Pavillion? Gu Shenwei was confused. He had been thinking about this ever since he had heard of this society a year ago. He thought that there must be some secrets behind it.
Besides, Gu Shenwei had once killed an Immortal Peng and did not trust the new Immortal Peng. Thus he decided to let Chu Nanping contact Joy Pavillion and he stayed in the dark.
It was late. Gu Shenwei navigated through the crowds and went back to his residence on the city border. This was the third day since he had returned to Jade City. He walked out of his house and discovered that he was being followed when he was passing a street with many casinos and taverns.
