Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Along with his Queen and favorite concubines, the King of the An Kingdom fled the capital by boat under the escort of several ministers, leaving thousands of residents to Dragon King’s hundred thousand men.
If every country in the Western Region was like the An Kingdom, Gu Shenwei was somewhat reluctant to relinquish the aura of terror that hung over Dragon King.
Since the king had fled, the royal decree was naturally void. After a short discussion, the guards opened the gate and allowed the residents outside to enter. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus followed, as well.
Since then, the gate was kept open. The few guards threw away their weapons and ran with the people toward the pier in North City.
News of the King’s escape had already spread throughout the capital, and the small pier was packed with thousands of people.
But it was too late.
The King took three big ships away. The remaining boats, however big or small, regardless of the owner, were sunk.
Dozens of fishermen were wailing on the shore.
It was a moment of despair, as rumors of unknown origin spread among the crowd one after another.
“Dragon King’s army is 30 miles away from the city!”
“Blood has shed like water outside the city!”
“The Dragon King has ordered to massacre the city, no one will be spared!”
The big ship on which the king and his party were traveling was still faintly visible. Suddenly, several men jumped into the waters and swam hard in a desperate attempt to catch up with the ship. One of them did not know how to swim and disappeared after bobbing for a while in the waters.
The crowd was panicking, and there was no way out in this situation. Just when Gu Shenwei was hoping for someone to take the lead at this moment, a person suddenly came forward.
“Everybody, don’t panic,” shouted a young man in his 20s. He was standing on an abandoned carriage and had three partners about his age standing near him. “Come over and listen to me; I have a way to keep everybody alive,” he said.
The young man had quite a sly look, but his words were like the mantra of the Buddha for the thousands of people on the pier, so everybody crowded around him.
The young man was very glad and coughed twice to clear his throat. “Truth be told, I am very close with Dragon King. As long as I tell him that the people in the city are willing to surrender, I can guarantee that he will not lay hands on you.”
“Surrender? We surrender,” the residents cried noisily. Since the King had already escaped, the loyalty of his people vanished as well.
The young man looked even more satisfied, so he raised his hands to stop the crowds from talking, “But we cannot merely say we want to surrender, we need to prove it with our actions. This is not just my problem, is it? All of you will have to pay for it, and it is not expensive, 100 taels per person. I will write down your name and issue you a guaranteed note. Then you will be safe.”
His partner beside him raised papers and brushes while the other two were waving bundles of red threads. They were prepared all along.
Some immediately rushed forward to pay, for they could afford 100 taels. But for most people with a large family, it would cost up to thousands of taels, which was no small sum.
The An Kingdom, a small and remote country in the Western Region, could in no way be compared to Jade City, which was renowned for gold and money. Many poor souls did not even have a few pieces of silver in their pockets.
As a result, it was chaos on the pier, and one of the young man’s partners had no choice but to help maintain order.
A dozen impatient people had already paid. They were given a simple-looking red thread and their names were scribbled on paper.
Gu Shenwei did not want to stop the scam for it could calm the residents for now. Moreover, in this way, nobody would be guarding the capital, and it was a good thing for the Great Snowmountain army if they were stationed here.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus walked among the crowd to find the traitors from New Moon Hall.
However, some people were dissatisfied with the young man’s behavior, “Huapi, what the hell? When did you come to know Dragon King?”
The young man’s nickname was “Huapi Dog.” Only those who knew him well would address him as “Huapi.” Upon hearing his nickname, he was uneasy. He pretended to be calm and raised his voice, “You are just the guard for the King; of course you had no idea that I befriended Dragon King.”
It was the guard leader who exposed Huapi. He was the one who ordered to open the gates to allow the residents to enter. Moreover, he was the only one who did not remove his machete even after he left the gate tower, it still hung on his waist.
“Do not believe this boy,” the guard leader shouted through the crowd. “He is merely a rascal who hangs around in the back alleys and has never left the capital before. How can he know the Dragon King? Don’t be fooled, everybody. His Majesty will bring back reinforcements to save us. Our city walls are tall and thick, so we can guard the city with just a hundred people. Dragon King is a human…”
Seeing that the large sum of money was about to fly away from his hands, Huapi was infuriated and pointed to the guard leader, “Dragon King will reward handsomely and punish strictly! Those who paid can live. As for those who have no money, you can kill the guards to ensure safety!”
The incitement was extremely effective, and many people immediately looked at the guard leader differently. They formed a circle and slowly closed in around him, for they were afraid of his machete and did not dare to attack rashly.
The guard leader did not appear frightened. Instead, he drew out his machete and waved it in front of him, shouting, “Come forward if you are not afraid of death! You are so frightened by Dragon King, yet you have the courage to kill your own people?”
Huapi made a mistake: His instigation made the remaining guards in the city unite. They had been scattered but soon rallied around the leader in small numbers. Among the unorganized residents, they were the most powerful group.
The guard leader only wanted to expose Huapi’s scam, but the situation was escalating, and he could only move forward. So he walked toward Huapi and gang with his machete drawn. Everybody gave way to him, and nobody dared come forward, no matter if they were rich or not.
Realizing that the situation was not good, Huapi and his cronies quickly jumped off of the carriage and squeezed into the crowd to escape.
Without a word, several guards lifted the guard leader to where Huapi had stood and looked at him expectantly.
Panicked crowds yearn for leaders, just as drowning people need air.
Yet the guard leader had run out of courage. He had never seen such a spectacle before and would prefer carrying out orders, rather than issuing them. “Everybody… Listen to me,” he began.
This was his mantra. Usually, few people would care for these words, but they achieved miraculous results at this moment. The people on the pier immediately forgot about the rogue young man and instead turned their hopes to the guard leader. Even his old neighbors were unconsciously awed by him.
It was quiet once again, save for the occasional cry of a baby.
Even more uneasy, the guard leader said, “I mean, Dragon King is human as well, he is not a god or a demon. He only came here because he was defeated by Supreme King.”
Everybody nodded and felt that his words were reasonable.
Encouraged by the crowds’ responses, the guard leader raised his voice, “The Dragon King doesn’t have a 100,000-strong army. It’s merely a defeated army of thousands or hundreds of men; there is no need to be afraid. We will close the gates and defend with all our might. Dragon King will retreat if he cannot enter. We also have our own army who are attacking the Stone Kingdom as we speak. His Majesty himself went to bring them back for reinforcements. When the time comes, Dragon King can only flee.”
The mood of the crowd was like a school of fish in the sea: They might look magnificent, but they had no fixed route and often changed direction, catching fishermen off-guard.
Just as the residents were assuming that it was the end of the world, they were now encouraged by the guard leader’s words and became excited. Someone then said, “The Dragon King is not scary.” One by one, people followed and began repeating these words as if chanting a mantra.
The guard leader was encouraged and raised his voice, “I will need 100 volunteers, as long as you are young and strong enough to pick up weapons.”
No one answered. The younger men bowed their heads and turned their waists, showing weakness.
A heavy heart weighed on him, but the guard leader continued, “We will also need a commander. Anybody here who’s had experience as an officer? It doesn’t matter if you are slightly older; we will all listen to you. His Majesty will certainly reward you handsomely upon his return.”
After he finished, the momentum that had gathered in the crowd dropped once again. How could the guard leader fight against Dragon King’s army if he was just all words and no action?
“Who is willing to do so? I will bet my life to guarantee that volunteers will be rewarded in the future by the King.”
Still, nobody answered. The guard leader started panicking and paced around nervously atop the carriage.
Maid Lotus whispered to Gu Shenwei, “You should stand up.”
This was an odd idea. The residents of the An Kingdom were looking for people to resist Dragon King’s army, yet Dragon King himself was going to volunteer.
On second thought, Gu Shenwei believed it was a wonderful idea. “I can command,” he shouted.
Such a simple sentence had the power to reverse the situation. Silence fell over the crowd on the pier. Everybody, including the men, women, the old and young, looked toward the direction of the voice.
As Gu Shenwei began walking, the crowd split and a wide passage cleared for him to pass.
The guard leader was very excited, but he felt somewhat apprehensive when he saw that the candidate who came forward was just a sickly-looking man in his twenties.
Just like Dragon King, the young man also carried a sword and a saber. The guard leader thought that the idea was ridiculous and immediately drove it out of his mind. The guard leader asked, “Can I know your name, and where you became an officer?”
“My surname is Gu,” Gu Shenwei said his surname truthfully. In the future, it would be treated as a sudden inspiration for a lie. “I’ve fought battles in many places.”
It was as if what he said was redundant, but the steadiness shown in him was a quality that most people needed right now. “Lord Gu, we will follow your orders,” Someone said.
The guard leader was still cautious, so he said, “Gu… Lord Gu, this is a serious matter. The lives of the people in the city are now in your hands.”
“Don’t worry! No army can easily enter the gate with me around. You are right; Dragon King is also a human, and he had been defeated in battles. There is nothing to be afraid of, as long as everybody is united, we can keep him at bay.”
“The Dragon King has the Demon Bird with him! He can fly here at once” panicked voices shouted from the crowds.
“The Demon Bird is not with the Dragon King. Even if the bird was around, it can only carry one person at a time. There are at least ten thousand people in the city; surely all of you can handle one person,” Gu Shenwei replied.
The guard leader was convinced as well. The young man appeared to have experience in battles. Perhaps he was a savior bestowed by the heavens to the An Kingdom.
“He’s the Dragon King!” A shrill voice pierced the air, causing a frenzy among the people. “He is the Dragon King! Everybody, let’s come together to kill him so that we can keep our capital safe!”
Gu Shenwei knew who was trying to sow discord among the people. In fact, he and Maid Lotus had been waiting for this person to speak up.
