Chapter 276: Deception
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Gu Shenwei was surprised that someone was knocking on his door. He just moved in last night. He thought, “Am I being followed again? Did the stalker evade my repeated inspections?”
If this was the case, the stalker was not only skillful, but also bold. He dared to visit in broad daylight.
Gu Shenwei opened the door personally. Chu Nanping was standing against the wall and was five steps away from the Dragon King.
There were three machetemen at the door. The leader was in his thirties and was robust. The other two machetemen were relatively younger and skinnier. Although they had a sword hanging at their waist, the weapon seemed to be unnecessary because it looked like an excessively large accessory.
As soon as the door opened, the three of them came in and stood in the courtyard. They started to look around. When they turned around and saw a swordsman by the wall, they were slightly surprised but weren’t alerted.
Gu Shenwei moved two steps back and created a feint with Chu Nanping by surrounding the machetemen. If the other party were experienced machetemen, they would have been alerted and would have already reacted. However, the three of them were more interested in the house and didn’t realize that they were in danger.
Normally, the other party would ask in surprise when the three of them entered anyone’s house. However, these two guys didn’t say anything and acted like blockheads. The built macheteman coughed. Then, a thin macheteman raised his head and asked, “Are both of you new here?”
Gu Shenwei nodded.
“This is Boss Mo. All the machetemen here are under him. He has something to say to you.”
Gu Shenwei had never heard that there was a leader who was “managing” the new machetemen before. However, he kept quiet. He held onto his sword shaft as he kept his guard up.
When the robust Boss Mo reached out his arm to rest on Gu Shenwei’s shoulder, Gu Shenwei almost drew out his sword. Chu Nanping had even diverted his Internal Breath to his fingers. No one could casually touch the Dragon King even though he had not carried out the five steps ban on special occasions. However, the Dragon King didn’t react, so Chu Nanping didn’t draw out his sword.
The three swordsmen still didn’t realize anything.
Boss Mo did not have any evil intention and said earnestly in a hoarse voice, “Friend, it is hard to earn a livelihood. This is Jade City. There are thousands of people who earn their livelihoods by killing people. You think you are unique and have superb machete skills. But, no one knows you. You need someone to recommend you. He will guide you along and give you work to do.”
“Are you the recommender?”
“Yes.” Boss Mo turned around and looked at his two subordinates and said, “This friend is experienced and promising.”
Just when Gu Shenwei was about to open his mouth to send the three men away, Boss Mo asked, “Have you heard of Stop Kills Society?”
Gu Shenwei nodded.
“Have you heard of the holy monk who protects the blade?”
“It’s Master Lianhua of Four Truths Temple.”
“Eh, you know a lot. Then you must have known that the holy monk has great powers and could protect us from difficulties. He is our guardian. You will have good luck after listening to his preaching. Your enemies won’t be able to harm you. He will also bless your sword. Your kung fu will improve and you will be invincible. I think you are an honest man. You have just arrived in Jade City and are unfamiliar with the place, so I am telling you this piece of news out of goodwill. The holy monk will be preaching this afternoon and it will cause a stir in the whole city. Thousands of machetemen will want to listen to him. I have a few slots left. Do you want to go and listen?”
Gu Shenwei was surprised that Master Lianhua, who was once pedantic, was working with this jianghu swindler. However, Gu Shenwei still wanted to meet Master Lianhua. Hence, he nodded and answered, “Yes.”
Boss Mo held out his palm and said, “A slot for ten silver taels, no bargain.” He only wanted the money and didn’t care about the other party’s name.
Holy monk Master Lianhua’s conference would be held in an abandoned garden in the suburbs this afternoon.
There were more than two hundred people in the audience, and most of them looked dazed. They were obviously newcomers.
When the hour arrived, the familiar Master Lianhua went up to the altar and started to preach. Monk Lianye was at his side to protect him.
Unsurprisingly, the monk spoke platitudes, recited a paragraph of Breaking Obsession and preached. Initially, the machetemen tried to listen, but gradually they couldn’t keep up with the Master. They started yawning and became bored. Hence, they talked to one another in the hopes of making use of this opportunity to make some new friends.
Gu Shenwei was prepared. At the moment when he heard Breaking Obsession, he immediately stuffed his ears with cotton balls. He had been previously hurt by it so he didn’t dare to listen to it again.
Master Lianhua finished his preaching in the evening. Then, the robust swordsman, Boss Mo came forward again and boasted about the effectiveness of Master Lianhua’s preaching. He then said, “After listening to his preaching, you will have good luck. Of course, the duration will vary according to your fate. Even if you have the least fate, no weapon can harm you for now. If you don’t believe me, you can test it out.”
Nobody was willing to be stabbed for no reason. Thus, they just looked at one another and laughed. It seemed that they didn’t believe Boss Mo’s words.
“Tell you what. I believe that I have a little fate. Anyone can come and hack me. If anyone can injure me, I will blame it on myself. If no one is able to injure me, then you can treat it as a form of entertainment.”
Boss Mo had a jianghu tone, and it seemed that he was trying to sell something. He said, “Anyone? Anyone? Oh, shouldn’t you have the courage to hack people, since you are now earning a livelihood in South City?”
A macheteman who looked strong couldn’t withstand the insults and shouted, “I will try.” He squeezed out from the crowd and drew out an enormous long saber. He wandered a few steps in front of Boss Mo, then he suddenly shouted and hacked at Boss Mo. The audience watched intensely as the saber was heading towards Boss Mo’s head. However, the saber tilted midway involuntarily, brushed past his shoulders and landed on the floor. Boss Mo wasn’t hurt at all.
The swordsman touched Boss Mo’s head and looked puzzled. The audience started talking among themselves. Some began to believe, however some thought that the swordsman had colluded with Boss Mo.
After which, there were five machetemen who also didn’t believe it so they volunteered to hack at Boss Mo. However, the results were still the same. All of them missed their targets as their sabers tilted and brushed past him.
Now, everyone became excited. Machetemen rushed up as they wanted to try it out. However, Boss Mo quitted and said, “Stop, I have used up most of my fate and dared not to try again. Anyone who thinks he has a strong fate can try for themselves.”
No one was paying attention when the monk was preaching just now. Hence, no one thought that they had strong fate. However, they believed most of Boss Mo’s words. They then shouted, “Preach again, preach again.”
Boss Mo raised both of his hands and suppressed the shouting. He said, “Listen to me. The holy monk will preach once every ten days. If you want to listen again, you can register with me tomorrow at Fortune Tavern. One slot for fifty silver taels.”
The price increased five folds, but the machetemen didn’t feel that it was expensive. Some wanted to sign up on the spot, however Boss Mo rejected all of them. Those who wanted to sign up had to do so tomorrow. Boss Mo then said, “The holy monk will bless your weapon later, at a cost of eighty silver taels. The effect can last for two to ten days as it varies with your fate. Furthermore, Stop Kills Society is founded by the holy monk. Those who are interested to join have to prepare a hundred silver taels. Members can enjoy a 20% discount for future preaching sessions and weapon blessings.”
Most swordsmen had just arrived in Jade City, so they had little money. Hence, they left bitterly. However, twenty people stayed behind and formed a line. They were holding onto their sword in one hand and the silver taels in another. They first had to apply through Boss Mo to join Stop Kills Society, then they could respectfully ask the monk to bless their weapons.
The sky became darker. Only Gu Shenwei was able to see through the trick. Boss Mo was standing at a strategic position where his right shoulder was facing Lianye. Whenever someone attacked him, Lianye’s arm would move slightly and flicked out a small stone. It would then hit the blade. The monk had strong Internal Breath and his calculation was very precise, thus the attacker couldn’t feel anything.
Gu Shenwei felt that it was strange of Master Lianhua who was on the altar to turn a blind eye to such deception. There was a great difference between him and the monk in Gu Shenwei’s impression of him.
He wanted to talk to the monk when there were fewer people around, but he changed his mind. He walked out of the garden, jumped over a low wall, hid behind a tree and observed in secret.
The swordsmen who had their weapons blessed left in contentment. They wanted to try out their weapon while the effect was still there.
Boss Mo bowed reverently to the monk and took all the silver taels away.
Liuhua and Lianye packed up. When they saw there was no one around, they then put on their capes and hoods. They hurriedly left the garden in the dark, as they wanted to leave for North City before the city gate was closed.
Gu Shenwei didn’t follow them.
Gu Shenwei became more and more unfamiliar with Jade City.
Now was the time when Pleasure Alley was the most lively. Even if one didn’t have enough money, one could go over and stroll around in droves and look at beautiful famous prosititues. One could take this wonderful impression with him and look for other women. “Looking at the meat on other people’s plates while eating our own steamed buns and pickles is also a mean of economic survival.” Tie Hanfeng had brilliant summarized this phenomenon.
Gu Shenwei knocked on Xiao Fengchai’s door directly.
A beautiful yet emotionless maid opened the door and said, “Guest came at the wrong time. Madam doesn’t want to serve anyone today.”
Gu Shenwei grabbed the door and said, “She will definitely see me.”
“Who are you?”
“I am the person who Madam is waiting for.”
The maid was hesitant. She didn’t know who Madam was waiting for. Usually, the guests would crowd around, but Gu Shenwei came alone and didn’t seem to have much money. However, Gu Shenwei’s voice sounded somewhat authoritative, and it was hard to refuse him.
“Wait for a moment,” she said. She hesitated for a moment, opened the door and let the guest in. “Wait here.”
The maid hurried upstairs and left several elderly women behind to vigilantly watch the strange guest.
Gu Shenwei took off his hood and black cape, and placed them in front of his chest. He hid his right hand in the clothing and held onto sword shaft out of habit. It had been a few days since he drew his sword, hence he felt slightly anxious.
The maid came down and looked surprised. She became respectful and said, “Guest, please go upstairs.”
Gu Shenwei waited a little longer in a small living room on the second level before being allowed to enter the inner room.
If he knew a little about the rules here, he would realize that it was unusual for him to be able to meet Xiao Fengchai in such short amount of time. Few could enjoy this kind of treatment among the men who met the famous prostitute in Jade City.
As time had brought about great changes and everything in Jade City was not what it used to be, the prostitutes here were the only thing that didn’t change. Gu Shenwei couldn’t help but to think about it.
Xiao Fengchai who was under the light looked the same as three years ago. Her elegant attire and the luxurious decoration complemented each other even though it didn’t match well.
“You look like you’ve seen me before.”
“I kidnapped Wei Lingmiao here.”
“Oh.” Xiao Fengchai lifted her head slightly, “You are one of the two killers, who were brought over by the little girl from Stone Castle. Yes, your name is Yang Huan, and you are initially a subordinate of the Tenth Young Master.”
Gu Shenwei was shocked. He drew out his sword. He then inhaled some colorless and odourless powder. His body shook and his hand, which was holding onto his sword, relaxed involuntarily.
