Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
It was mostly Old Man Mu’s actions that gave the two of them away.
Old Man Mu loved to prattle, and about 80 percent of his words were exaggerations. Therefore, when he described his ‘fellow male junior apprentice’ in a vividly weird way, Gu Shenwei was not suspicious, thinking of that as normal of the old man, but it was something Shangguan Fei said that alerted him.
Shangguan Fei had asked Old Man Mu, “If Taoist Yu is your fellow disciple, why did he save me not you?”
Old Man Mu was thenangry from embarassment but this too was normal of him; he was rarely kind to Shangguan Fei.
Gu Shenwei immediately grew suspicious and tried looking at the entire affair from Old Man Mu’s perspective. That was, the Old Man Mu of the past, the one who had peerless kung fu skills, loved to kill and was bent on achieving complete freedom.
He was suddenly enlightened when he realized where it looked fishy. The previous Old Man Mu would never have allowed a ‘fellow male junior apprentice’ to remain alive, it would be a challenge and restriction for him. Just like when he stubbornly refused to cross over Tianshan when he felt he was no match for the Supreme King, he would not hesitate to kill a fellow disciple who disliked him and even wanted to take revenge for their master.
Gu Shenwei came to understand that Taoist Yu was not the fellow male junior apprentice of Old Man Mu. In fact, it was highly plausible that both of them had never met before. Old Man Mu had used every trick up his sleeve to draw the Dragon King over because he desiredthe Dajue Book of Swordcraft. The talk of creating a fake scripture was just a temporary measure to win over the Dragon King’s trust and as the negotiations went on, he would naturally tempt the Dragon King to hand over the real scripture, at the very least to him.
It was stillspeculation at that time but when Old Man Mu arrived at the Taoist temple and started to shout for Taoist Yu loudly, Gu Shenwei’s doubts were further confirmed. The old man was evidently trying to make sure he did not talk to the wrong ‘Taoist Yu’.
As for the so-called ‘Taoist Yu’, he was obviously a jianghu conman, most probably hired by Old Man Mu to put up an act.
When he was fleeing, Gu Shenwei had encountered all sorts of characters from the Western Region, especially those that formed the underclass of its jianghu. As such, he was no stranger to the act of impersonating an immortal, he even suspected whether Taoist Yu’s white hair was real.
“I will spare whoever confesses to me first,” offered Gu Shenwei whohad made the trip even after suspecting a trap, as he wanted to know how Old Man Mu managed to make contact with the outside world.
“Confess what? Dragon King, if you act like this, my fellow male junior apprentice will be unable to cure Shangguan Fei,” replied Old Man Mu, still trying to keep his act up.
Taoist Yu was lying prone of the ground ashe stared at the right hand of the Dragon King which was on his saber. He said” I swear that I’m Taoist Yu. Take me back to the royal court if you don’t believe me, King Rizhu will vouch for me.”
The Taoist priest’s eyes looked extremely sincere althoughhe was secretly afraid. The aura of an immortal that he had been giving off was already greatly diminished, and he was no more than a classic slippery character of the jianghu now.
Gu Shenwei grew even more distrustful of the two tricksters and just then, the sound of horse hooves came thundering, as if an army drew near their tent.
“Very good. This is the army of King Rizhu, and I believe they will be able to differentiate between the real and fake Taoist Yu. We will even get to fight the kung fu masters in the camp.” Gu Shenweisaid while listening carefully with his head turned toward the sounds, already discovering the identity of the riders even before leaving the tent.
“Dragon King, you…” Old Man Mu was finally showing signs of cracking, his eyeballs turning in anxiety.
“Chu Nanping,” explained Gu Shenwei.
Old Man Mu slapped the back of his own head, replying, “I’m really foolish. Chu Nanping took the Flame Foal with him, and King Rizhu would naturally come asking for his horse back after the youth reappeared. So, the party that had been following us were not King Kuari’s men. I’m really stupid. Alright, Dragon King, I admit defeat.”
Taoist Yu sniggered as he said, “There’s nothing keeping me here now, is there?” He dusted himself off and was just about to stand up when the Dragon King shot him a glance, forcing him to lie on the ground obediently again.
Old Man Mu sighed as the sounds of the horse hooves drew nearer, admitting”I really overestimated my capabilities and tried to trick you, Dragon King. How did you see through our actions?”
“You always had been interested in the Dajue Book of Swordcraft that suddenly you never mentioned, but nowpositioned your ‘fellow male junior apprentice’ as the interested party. I’ve had my doubts about you from long ago nevertheless,” replied Gu Shenwei. He lied slightly that he had not noticed the ploy that early.
It was a useful tactic. Old Man Mu remained silent for a while, evidently believing that the Dragon King had ample time to investigate the matter thoroughly. Hereplied, “In that case, you know about everything?”
Gu Shenwei did not answer, showing with his hand that he had had enough, and it was now time for Old Man Mu to talk instead.
Old Man Mu still lookedlike he wanted to conjure up more lies, but the thundering sound from the horse hooves that drew ever closer made him give up the childish idea. He eked out a smile, believing that it expressed flattery, but it made him look grotesque and devious. He started, “I can’t hide anything from you. Hehe, I don’t have any ill intentions actuallybut I only wish to have a look at the Dajue Book of Swordcraft. Those that love kung fu…”
The Dragon King’s face turned even more grim, leading Old Man Mu to stop his nonsense thus he corrected himself saying, “There are five masters of the Yuqing Sect outside that can really cure someone of Qigong Deviation. They also truly intend to exchange the cure for the Dajue Book of Swordcraft with you, Dragon King. It’s true. If any word I’m saying now is a lie, I’ll be struck down by lightning from the Heavens. Let menever regain my powers and be bullied everyday.”
The last curse sounded more like something the old man feared.
“What about him?” Gu Shenwei askedlooking sharplyat Taoist Yu.
“This esteemed priest is really Taoist Yu. Er, you are, aren’t you?” Old Man Mu asked. He had actually never laid eyes on the priest.
“I am, I am,” replied Taoist Yu, as if he had been greviously wronged. “Perhaps the Dragon King feels that I’m not the real deal, but the people of the North Court, a few lords included, believe me. I don’t have any special talents except for drawing talismans, subduing ghosts and acting as a medium. Those that wish to pass a few words to their dead friends and relatives come to me for help.”
It turned out that the famous immortal ofthe North Courtwas just a warlock from the jianghu. Gu Shenwei was deeply surprised, but still chose to believe the fact. He chalked it down to the fact that the rumors were grossly exaggerated and also due to the simple-mindedness and gullibility of the people of the North Court.
“He’s not your junior apprentice, is he?” The Dragon king asked.
“No, how could I have such a useless fellow disciple?” scoffed Old Man Mu. He had turned against Taoist Yu very quickly and had condemned the conman to trash the moment his act was up. “I had other reasons for making use of him. Firstly, he’s famous, and I thought I could use his fame to trick you, Dragon King. Secondly…”
Before he could give his second reason, the cavalrymen had already arrived at the camp anda rough voice shouted, “Shangguan Fei! Let Shangguan Fei out.”
Old Man Mu’s ‘flattering smile’ was immediately swallowed by wrinkles as he said, “These aren’t King Rizhu’s men.”
Gu Shenwei grunted and was about to continue with his interrogation when Shangguan Fei burst into the tent and hurriedly knelt down. He was momentarily stunned to find someone else groveling even more devotedly beside him, but there was no time to waste. “Dragon King, King Kuari is here to take revenge for his brother. You have to save me.”
“You lied to me, Dragon King!” exclaimed Old Man Mu, full of indignation. He loved lies, as long as they were his own. That said, he hated being lied to the most.
Gu Shenwei could not be bothered with Old Man Mu’s ‘pain’ and walked out of the tent, planning to resolve the problem brewing outside of the tent first.
Shangguan Fei was scared stiff upon hearing somebody calling him out and had immediatelygone to seek the Dragon King’s help without even identifying who it was. In fact, the leader of the riders was not King Kuari, but a young nobleman in his 20s, leading 300 cavalrymen in a face off with the Lotus maid, Shangguan Ru and 20 other people in the Dragon King’s retinue.
“Who are you? How dare you behave so impolitely in the Dragon King’s presence?” questioned Long Fanyun as he stepped in front of the others.
The youth measured the other party disdainfully and had even less respect for the Dragon army after noticing that half of them were women. “I’m Tuo Sai, son of King Riyao, andI’ve come here today to seek revenge for my good friend. I want whoever Shangguan Fei is, to step out now!” he said.
King Riyao was the seventh of the 10 kings ofthe North Court, and he was said to be part of the moderates in the struggle for the title of Khan. His son, Tuo Sai, was very close to King Kuari however, and especially friendly with the king’s brother.
Shangguan Fei hid in the tent, not daring to come out. Taoist Yu felt that there was no need for him to risk an appearance and patted Shangguan Fei on his shoulder in sympathy saying, “Tuo Sai is well known for behaving brashly, don’tworry about him, we’ll remain lying down inside this tent and let the Dragon King handle the matter.”
Old Man Mu followed the Dragon King out,extremely unhappy at having been lied to, but he had divulged most of his secret and still had to rely on the Dragon King’s help in the near future. As such, he stepped ahead of Gu Shenwei and ran in front of Long Fanyun, saying, “Hey, ‘stripped and dried’ (a pun from the Mandarin pronunciation of the youth’s name), get off your horse. The Dragon King is a guest of the Khan, andyou’re just his grandson. What right have youto come hollering? You should worry about getting spanked by your grandfather.”
Old Man Mu had actually wanted to make fun of the royal child, but his words were too vague for Tuo Sai to understand. He glanced at the old man twice before replying, “I’m Tuo Sai, not whatever you’re calling me. You’re Old Man Mu, aren’t you? That’s good. I’ll take care of you today as well for humiliating the royal family of the North Court.”
Old Man Mu was in a hurry to repair his image infront of the Dragon King. “I’ll see how you plan to do that,” he replied and leaped in front of Tuo Sai while clawing at his neck. He planned to grab the young man and throw him to the ground.
Old Man Mu did not manage to grab hold of the youth’s neck, insteadexchanged a blow with an enemy soldier who suddenly leaped forward.
The soldier landed steadily after the exchange and retreated behind Tuo Sai respectfully, with his arms lowered.
Old Man Mu made a few somersaults back to his original spot, evidently surprised. “Eh, you’re a kung fu master. Which sect are you from? Who’s your master? Who are your apprentices? Who’s your wife?”
The soldier, whowas in his 40s and of wiry build was unmoved by Old Man Mu’s taunting and focused on being a cautious servant.
Tuo Sai ignored Old man Mu and turned his eyes to Gu Shenweiand said, “Dragon King, the North Court regards you as an honored guest, but you harbor an enemy of the royal family and allowed your surbodinate to kill a royal child. How do you explain this?”
Gu Shenwei stepped forward to stand beside Long Fanyun andlooked straight at Tuo Sai as he replied, “I didn’t come to the North Court as a friend, so I don’t have to explain myself.”
Shangguan Fei had already sneaked out of the tent by this time, and was greatly encouraged by the Dragon King’s reply. He steeled himself and joined in the conversation, “Yes, what’s there to explain? Show proof of what you claim, that I killed a child of the royal family.”
He still harbored the hope that no one could remember how he looked like as it was dark when the incident happened.
“Stop hiding behind lies if you’re a man. A killer ofFort Jin Peng personally saw you at the scene.”
Shangguan Fei immediately shrank behind his sister. He had forgotten that the recent riot was sparked off by Han Fen’s discovery of a killer of Fort Jin Peng, he had been betrayed once again by the Stone Castle.
Tuo Sai leaped off his horse and walked up close to the Dragon King, saying sternly, “Fine, don’t explain yourself then. We shall have a duel, the winner will get his revenge and the loser will confess to his crimes.”
Gu Shenwei felt a wave of emotions rise within him. Many years ago, his father, Gu Lun, had probably clashed with King Rizhu’s son under similar circumstances.
Old man Mu laughed, “You, win? The Dragon King can crush you with just one finger.”
Tuo Sai may have been famous for being rash, but he was not foolish at all. He said,”It is not I and the Dragon King that shall duel. He’s a guest, and we have orders from the Khan to leave him unharmed. Instead, each party will nominate seven contestants, and the side that clocks four wins first shall win. I have to announce beforehand that we shall not fight with women.”
The Khan’s grandchild had come prepared. Besides Gu Shenwei, the Lotus maid and Shangguan Ru, only Old man Mu, Shangguan Fei, Chu Nanping and Long Fanyun could be considered as kung fu masters. If just one of them lost, the Dragon King’s team wouldn’t stand a chance.
Seven soldiers of the North Court had already dismounted and formed a single file, accepting the offer of a duel on the Dragon King’s behalf.
Gu Shenwei turned his head toward Old man Mu. The old devil at once knew his intention and swallowed his saliva before replying, “This won’t work.”
There were still five kung fu masters hidden in the Taoist temple, but Old man Mu knew that it was entirely impossible to get them to fight on the Dragon King’s team.
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