Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
It was already dark by the time they returned to the Royal Court. Along the way, Shangguan Fei seemed very restless, constantly muttering to himself, saying things like, “The Jade Pure Sect may not get the Grand Enlightenment Sword Sutra. They didn’t even know it existed before. It was Old Man Mu who instilled this idea in them, wasn’t it?”
Old Man Mu, whose scheme had been exposed and whose image was now tarnished in front of the good girl, became very upset. Grumpily, he said, “Yes, the Jade Pure Sect didn’t ask for the Grand Enlightenment Sword Sutra, they only wanted me. But what does that have to do with you? Find a way on your own if you want them to cure you.”
Shangguan Fei’s face instantly paled. He was dependent on others now, and he didn’t have anything of value to offer, even when his life was hanging by a thread. After a quick glance at the Dragon King, he knew that there was no hope, so he could only turn to his sister for help.
Shangguan Ru sighed, “Don’t worry. The Dragon King has had Qi deviation for so many years, yet isn’t he still fine?”
Shangguan Fei now knew why the Dragon King’s face was always pale and bloodless, and couldn’t help but think that just because Dragon King could bear it didn’t mean it was alright. But he didn’t dare to speak what he thought, and he could only whisper, “If mother was…”
Agitated, Shangguan Ru sternly interrupted, “I don’t think that the people of the Jade Pure Sect are good people. Their exchange for the sword sutra is also done to kill and commit evil. Neither of us should make a deal with them, especially you, Old Man Mu. You’d better not think about restoring your power. We’re good now, otherwise…”
Shangguan Ru really didn’t know what she would do otherwise.
Old Man Mu wanted to tell the good girl that this was the trouble that arose when one tried to be a good person; they would make others unhappy and also feeling bad themselves. But what he blurted out instead was, “It’s not up to me anymore. Since I joined the Dragon Army, I’ll just listen to the Dragon King. He’s the one in charge.”
“I’ll find a way.” These were the only words Gu Shenwei had said. He had endured the Qi deviation for many years and didn’t mind waiting a few more days. The secret to being a good negotiator was to not reveal one’s bottom line until the last moment. Gu Shenwei still had several negotiations pending in the Norland and he held the same attitude towards them.
“Ehh, the siege has stopped,” said Han Xuan out loud. She did not even understand what these people were talking about, so she was the first to notice the changes in the Royal Court.
Indeed, most of the soldiers on the outskirts of the slums had been evacuated, leaving only a few people behind. A number of checkpoints had been set up to control the access. It seemed that the old Khan had no intention of punishing all of the peasants in the slums.
Fang Wenshi was anxiously awaiting the Dragon King. “The Royal Court’s Tournament needs all the manpower it can get. Who would supply them with good food and wine and clean the garbage if all the peasants are killed? So the siege stopping is inevitable. What happened there has nothing to do with us. King Kuari has just sent someone here to invite Dragon King to have a meeting tomorrow.”
“He can’t wait.” King Kuari’s importance had gone down in Gu Shenwei’s eyes. Losing patience at such a crucial moment meant that this young king wasn’t mature enough. He might be eloquent and ruthless to the point that even the servants who swept the floors did not dare to say anything randomly, but he still had serious flaws.
“It’s even harder to deal with an impatient king. This is the Royal Court; we don’t have too much room to maneuver.”
“Hmm, what did you say?”
“I took the liberty of saying yes for the Dragon King.”
“Okay.” Gu Shenwei stopped at the tent door, “I’ll go to the appointment tomorrow. Go ahead with what you’re doing.”
Fang Wenshi paused. The Dragon King was actually not anxious at all in the face of such a big matter and even wanted to send him away. “Yes,” Counsellor Fang answered and turned to leave. But before leaving, he looked puzzledly at Old Man Mu and Shangguan Ru behind the Dragon King, not understanding what these two people were doing here.
Old Man Mu grinned and said, “Take care. I’ll discuss some important things with the Dragon King. It’s private, so you’d better go a little further.”
Old Man Mu wouldn’t be smiling soon after.
Gu Shenwei sent all the others away and only allowed Shangguan Ru and Old Man Mu into the tent.
Old Man Mu knew why the two of them had kept him alone, so he took the initiative and spoke first, “Through the grace of Dragon King, I am now able to join the Dragon Army. This old man has nothing to repay the kindness except with a treasure that may interest the Dragon King. I have treasured it for a long time and have never revealed it to others, not even to the good girl.”
Old Man Mu knew very well that the Dragon King might not be satisfied if he pleased Shangguan Ru. But there would be no problem if the Dragon King was satisfied, so it was better for him to flatter the Dragon King.
“So you came to Norland for this treasure?” Shangguan Ru coldly asked. Although she was no longer the Tenth Gongzi and she knew that Old Man Mu was full of cunning tricks, she still did not like to be used.
“It’s only part of the reason. I really came here for your good… Uhh, for a double purpose. Anyways, you’ve got nothing to lose.”
Old Man Mu had met the elders of the Jade Pure Sect at the Thousand Horsemen Pass, which was a happy surprise but not a part of his original plan. So Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Ru were sure that he was keeping other secrets, which they should have guessed long ago. But they had never gotten a chance to force Old Man Mu to tell the truth.
“Tell me more about your treasure.” In Gu Shenwei’s mind, there was nothing that could be called a ‘treasure’. He was actually more concerned about whether Old Man Mu was colluding with the enemy and planning to sabotage the Dragon Army’s grand plan.
As soon as he saw that his plot didn’t work, Old Man Mu changed tactics and straightforwardly told the truth at once. “It’s three pills refined by the Waning Moon Hall. They gave it a wicked name — Bone Shrivelling Pills. Well, I call them Life Sustaining Pills. I stole them when I ran away from Waning Moon Hall, and… Uhh, actually Han Wuxian sent me these pills. There were seven in total, and I ate four and these three are left. They are very effective in treating internal injuries and might cure Dragon King’s Qi deviation.”
Old Man Mu had originally intended to eat them himself but now he could only reluctantly hand them out. Without the Dragon King’s protection, he would immediately die at the hands of countless enemies.
“Give them to me.” Gu Shenwei wouldn’t be too polite with Old Man Mu.
“I haven’t gotten them back yet.” Afraid that the Dragon King didn’t believe him, Old Man Mu even swore to Heaven, “Seriously, I wanted to fetch the pills as soon as I reached the Royal Court, but I never got a good chance. You didn’t let me wander around, and the good girl also kept a close eye on me. I had no chance at all.”
“Where did you hide them?”
Old Man Mu would have nothing left once he told this secret. “Heh heh, even a good guy can be selfish, right? I can’t tell you where I hid them. The Dragon King can go with me to get them. It will be a lot easier for the two of us to work together. Tonight seems to be a good time to do it, so let’s do it.”
“Can you guarantee that Wild Horse won’t act first?”
“Yes yes, it’s my biggest secret, and I wouldn’t spill it even in my sleep.”
“And what’s going on with Wild Horse’s internal energy?”
Wild Horse had received Old Man Mu’s kung fu manual, but that still couldn’t explain why his internal energy had improved so fast.
“I really don’t know.” Under a series of questioning, even Old Man Mu was a little anxious, “Wild Horse must have had other adventures. He learned my techniques but his internal energy is definitely not the same as mine.”
Gu Shenwei was just about to ask again when a guard reported that there was a visitor outside. When he came back, he changed his mind and said to Shangguan Ru, “Keep an eye on him and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
After Shangguan Ru took Old Man Mu back to the camp of the Land of Fragrance, Gu Shenwei called Lotus out immediately and asked her if she knew about the Bone Shrivelling Pills.
“Old Man Mu still has the Bone Shrivelling Pills?” Lotus asked back in surprise, which was tantamount to admitting that there was such a thing in Waning Moon Hall. “The Bone Shrivelling Pill is a holy pill of Waning Moon Hall. It’s said to have the effect of reviving the dead. The refining process is very long and complicated and it usually takes two or three generations of people to make it. That’s where its name comes from. In total there were only seven of them in Waning Moon Hall which were all stolen by Old Man Mu. I thought that he had eaten them all long ago.”
“There are three left.”
“Three is still good stuff. It may be useful in curing your Qi deviation. But be careful, I don’t know much about Bone Shrivelling Pills. It’s hard to say if it has any hidden dangers.”
Gu Shenwei would naturally be very careful with things from Waning Moon Hall, but this was not the matter he cared about most tonight. “Come with me to the slums.”
Lotus nodded without asking anything.
The man who had come to see the Dragon King before was Senior Shou. He was also trapped in the slums and had just been set free. He came to return the deposit. “I can’t take money from you without the deal being done. It’s what you left behind, and I’m giving it back.”
It was the same small leather bag with all the gold in it.
Senior Shou bowed in apology, “I’ve switched trades and bought some cattle and sheep. It’s the third house on the northern street in the livestock market on the east side of the slums. Please don’t ask me again if the Dragon King wants to find someone. I can only help if you want to hold a banquet. I’ll offer the cheapest price if you need fresh groceries.”
Senior Shou took his leave. Gu Shenwei found a note in the small bag with a few scrawled words written on it: Information, Bo Sang.
Bo Sang used to be Senior Shou’s bodyguard. He had sought refuge with the Dragon King after the resignation and the first mission he had received was to go back to the slums to find out what kung fu experts from the Central Plains and the Western Regions had come to join the warrior contest.
It was a reckless act for Bo Sang to entrust his former employer to pass the news along instead of coming in person. Gu Shenwei didn’t even believe this sturdy saberman, let alone Senior Shou who had deceived him before.
But he still decided to find Bo Sang. The riots in the slums were not simple. Something had to be figured out.
Chu Nanping was also called on by Gu Shenwei. This teenage swordsman had shown unexpected martial arts skills and was qualified to serve as his personal guard again.
Cattle and sheep were some of the most important goods in all of the Norland. The livestock market, therefore, played an important role and almost occupied one-third of the slums. It was also one of the important reasons why the siege had been removed.
Senior Shou really seemed to want to change his trade. He had bought several thousand cows and sheep, expanded his corral, and even recruited over a dozen guards. He wanted to take the chance that the Royal Court’s Tournament provided to do big business.
Chu Nanping was in charge of monitoring the tents outside the corral. Gu Shenwei and Lotus circled around the livestock market, searching it twice before finally leaving to look for Bo Sang after making sure there was nobody following them.
Bo Sang’s tent was easy to find. He lived alone in a corner and only he would place a crossed saber and sword above the entrance.
Gu Shenwei entered alone, while Lotus and Chu Nanping stood guard outside.
A small candle was lit in the tent, emitting a dim light. Bo Sang was anxiously pacing back and forth with his sturdy legs. His eyes brightened at the sight of the Dragon King, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
There was another man sitting in the corner who was tied up with his mouth stuffed. He struggled from time to time, appearing extremely angry.
Gu Shenwei didn’t know this person.
Blushed with excitement, Bo Sang whispered, “Dragon King, I’ve got a ‘treasure’ for you. He knows the most about the warrior contest.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s Kuo Zhen, grandson of Khan, and the younger brother of King Kuari. Everyone said that he was dead, but actually, he’s in my hands.”
Gu Shenwei was taken aback and thought that it would be interesting to meet King Kuari tomorrow.
