Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Maid Lotus asked everyone to prove their loyalty to the Dragon King.
Six people left the teahouse in batches and reunited in a hidden valley nearby. Like members of a secret group, they stood around and shared their known information with each other. Then Maid Lotus said, “Shangguan Yun likes to bluff, but he must have bought off many people. There may be traitors among us. So, everyone should say the reasons you will not betray the Dragon King. ”
The other five people were all staring at Shangguan Fei. He was Shangguan Yun’s younger brother, and they had been in contact with each other for a long time, seemingly in semi-public collusion.
Shangguan Fei glared at them with surprise, dissatisfaction, and disappointment in his eyes and said, “Why does it have to be me? The Dragon King didn’t doubt me and sent me to do important tasks. Besides, with Shangguan Hong’s experience, I would definitely not seek refuge in Golden Roc Fort. The Supreme King would never forgive me.”
“That is a reason,” Maid Lotus said, approvingly. Shangguan Fei sighed with relief and looked to the others.
Since Shangguan Fei was the first to speak, Long Fanyun standing beside him went next, saying, “I am a swordsman from the Great Snowmountain.” This sentence was enough.
There was once a swordsman who secretly colluded with the enemy. In the end, he conducted a suicidal attack to atone for his crime. He asked only that the Dragon King not disclose his crime. None of the six people knew about that, so they still had full confidence in the words “swordsman from the Great Snowmountain”.
Chu Nanping was next. He thought for a while and then said, “I haven’t finished practicing the swordcraft with the Dragon King yet.”
Everyone was surprised and none of them could understand how this could be a reason. However, Chu Nanping was, indeed, trusted and could not keep secrets. Besides, the Dragon King rarely gave him any particularly important task, so he was of little value to be bribed.
The next one was Han Fen, who was the happiest of the six, like a naughty child who was finally invited to join the game after waiting a long time. “It’s my turn. I won’t betray the Dragon King because… because he is awesome at Kung Fu. He is handsome and likes to talk to me,” she gushed.
Even Han Fen herself could tell from the others’ expressions that her answer was not good. She scratched her temples anxiously and suddenly thought of a new reason. Her face lit up with happiness as she said, “I won’t betray the Dragon King because I never pledged loyalty to him. Without loyalty, there can be no betrayal, right? I am loyal to the Managing Master, and her choice is my choice. ”
Finally, Han Fen’s answer gained approval. She breathed a sigh of relief and immediately pushed Han Xuan next to her, saying, “It’s your turn.”
Han Xuan was not sure what to say, but Han Fen reminded her. “I never pledged loyalty to the Dragon King, either. How can I betray him? Unless he is willing to marry my Miss, but he already has a wife…” she reasoned.
Han Xuan was only a maid in Gulping Wind Gorge. She was of little importance, so Shangguan Yun wouldn’t pay attention to her. That was the best guarantee for her reliability.
The last one was Maid Lotus. “I have had countless opportunities to kill the Dragon King, so why would I have waited until now?” she said simply.
Shangguan Fei felt very indignant. Among the six people, only he gave a solid reason, and the others simply resorted to loose arguments. “It’s no use at all. How can a traitor admit it in public?” he wondered aloud.
“I was checking everyone’s attitude. The next task is the real test,” said Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus’ tone was bland. Shangguan Fei suddenly felt that he had been tricked. Since he had already pledged his loyalty to the Dragon King, he had to accept whatever order Maid Lotus issued in the name of the Dragon King.
This woman was really cunning and unwittingly forced everyone to agree to her plan. In Shangguan Fei’s memory, Maid Lotus was always cold and secretive, hiding around the Dragon King and drawing no attention. She occasionally poked people with the Iron Finger, but was not the kind of person to play tricks.
“What task?” Han Xuan asked, her enthusiasm running out. She had started to lose interest these past few days. It was so boring, and she didn’t have any interest in any “task”. “Don’t take too long. My Miss must be missing me. I have to get to her quickly,” she said.
Maid Lotus had gotten used to Han Xuan’s candour. She answered, “Soon, in a few days, the task will be finished with Shangguan Yun’s death.”
“Kill Shangguan Yun?” Shangguan Fei asked, shocked — not because he was brothers with Shangguan Yun, but because he thought the plan was too risky.
“Well, Shangguan Yun set a trap for the Dragon King. We don’t know the detailed plan, and we can’t find the Dragon King. The simplest solution is to kill the leader, and then his underlings will naturally disperse in an uproar, so the trap will no longer exist,” she explained.
“Um, um, Shangguan Yun has many kung fu masters as guards…” Shangguan Fei reminded her.
“You said you are loyal to the Dragon King,” Maid Lotus said in a slightly harsh tone.
Shangguan Fei already knew that Maid Lotus would shut him up with this sentence. As long as she glared at him, he could feel the pain of practicing kung fu return to his body. He took a step closer to Long Fanyun, and muttered in a low voice, “I didn’t say no. Just be careful…”
No one else had an opposing opinion, especially Han Xuan. She followed Maid Lotus with the purpose of adventure and was looking forward to this assassination plan.
If there was such a plan, that is.
“First of all, we have to figure out Shangguan Yun’s plan as much as possible and find out the loopholes to be able to attack,” Maid Lotus began. Time was limited, and she hadn’t thought of a thorough plan. It was always the Dragon King’s responsibility to make the plans, and she only helped to improve them.
No one wanted to be the first one to speak. Long Fanyun raised his hand to Shangguan Fei, as if to introduce him, but instead he pushed him away, saying “Come on, you have the most ideas. Your guesses are usually quite accurate.”
“Everyone can guess right once or twice,” Shangguan Fei said with a wry smile, regretting having been smug in front of Long Fanyun.
“He is your brother, so you should know his mind,” Maid Lotus said.
“We…we haven’t seen each other more than ten years. He doesn’t treat me as his younger brother,” Shangguan Fei replied.
“At least you know him better than we do,” Han Xuan added, putting more pressure on him.
Shangguan Fei was overwhelmed by their pressure, and responded defensively, “Well, I’ll guess, but it’s only a guess. If I get it wrong, it’s not my intention, so don’t blame me for setting you up in the end.”
Shangguan Fei was good at considering problems from the perspective of others. This capability came from his insecurity deep down inside and a persecutory delusion. After thinking for a while, he outlined the general situation.
“If Shangguan Yun wants to lure the Dragon King into a trap, he must have bait. His best choice is the 3,000 troops Wu Zongheng took away. But the Dragon King has been on the mountain for several days and still hasn’t appeared. It indicates that he is already alert and is probably hiding in the dark to observe things. If this is the case, Shangguan Yun must change the bait,” he mused.
Shangguan Fei stopped talking and looked at the others, except Maid Lotus, one by one. After fully piquing everyone’s curiosity, he continued, “The bait is himself.”
“The current situation is obvious. The Dragon Army wants to win and needs the 3,000 troops. The Dragon King wants to avoid the trap and take over the army. He must pass through Shangguan Yun first. So Shangguan Yun has to use himself as the bait. We have the same idea as the Dragon King. Therefore, assassinating Shangguan Yun at this time is tantamount to walking right into the trap,” he explained.
Shangguan Fei’s speech was a little bit like a puzzle, but everyone understood his point. After beating around the bush, he still opposed the assassination, and any risk was not worth it, in his mind.
“How many prey can you catch with one net?” Maid Lotus asked.
Shangguan Fei knew that Maid Lotus was setting him up again, but he didn’t dare to keep silent, “One or two, but that’s not the same thing…” he answered.
“Let’s kill Shangguan Yun before the Dragon King does. We can break the trap for him.”
“The sacrifice will be huge,” Shangguan Fei said, not understanding why the Dragon King had been so obsessed to enter Wushan willingly. He should have stayed at the Royal Palace of the Hui Kingdom.
“For the sake of the Dragon King,” Long Fanyun said, believing these words could beat any excuse.
“I don’t object, I just hope we can be cautious…” Shangguan Fei said as he lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with everyone, and wishing he could disappear into thin air.
“I have a plan. It’s simple. We divert his attention. One group creates chaos and the other group seeks a chance to assassinate, no matter if he has a trap or not,” Maid Lotus outlined her idea. Although she was not elected, Maid Lotus was undoubtedly the leader of the six, so her plan was immediately approved by the others.
Or rather, approved by everyone, except for Shangguan Fei. Rather, he hoped to avoid Maid Lotus’s attention by hiding behind Long Fanyun.
“But we do need to be careful. The person who is going to assassinate Shangguan Yun must be a person he wants to keep alive. In case the assassination fails, that person will remain safe,” Maid Lotus added.
No matter how much Shangguan Fei shrank his body, all eyes still focused on him.
“Shangguan Yun never treated me as a brother, and he won’t spare me,” Shangguan Fei begged.
“Even though he wants to kill you, he won’t do it immediately. He will take you back to Golden Roc Fort,” Maid Lotus said confidently. The ease of Maid Lotus’s words made Shangguan Fei even more scared. “You don’t have to take this risk alone. I’ll go with you while the others stay outside to create a diversion,” she added.
“But you just escaped, ” Han Xuan couldn’t help saying.
“Shangguan Yun didn’t kill me the first time, he won’t do it this time, either,” Maid Lotus responded assuredly. She was well aware that not everyone could break the trap for the Dragon King. Among those few that could, only her kung fu skills were equal to the Dragon King’s.
“I’m in,” Long Fanyun declared, eager to join.
Before Maid Lotus spoke, Shangguan Fei shook his head. ‘No, Shangguan Yun will definitely kill you. If he threatens me with your life, I…” he began.
Shangguan Fei swallowed the second half of the sentence when he saw the rage in Long Fanyun’s eyes.
“No, two people are enough for the assassination. It is not the style of the Dragon King if we have any more than that,” said Maid Lotus.
The assassination plan was passed, but many details needed to be worked out. The six people took their time to discuss them on their way.
Although Shangguan Yun hadn’t been seen in public, his whereabouts were assumed to be within the military camp of Wu Zongheng. So the six people rushed to the mountains behind the seaside slope.
To the soldiers and civilians outside the mountain, the disappearance of the Dragon King had brought them great disappointment. But to the six people in the mountain, this was a sign of hope, indicating that the Dragon King hadn’t fallen into the trap yet.
Shangguan Yun had arranged everything properly, but the Dragon King was a huge mystery for him. Still, he was not particularly worried. The Dragon King had to make a choice between his own safety and saving the army. Either option would lead to a fiasco.
“Dragon King, Slave Huan,” Shangguan Yun murmured these two names, hoping to combine the two images into one, but never quite capturing the right image.
This was what he was doing when the assassin showed up.
