Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Killers belonged to the night. In the daytime, they did what normal people did and interacted with others normally. But only in the night did they really feel free. They owned the night.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus moved very fast in the night. They were like two fish swimming swiftly and freely in the ocean of the city, able to go almost anywhere they wished, and steering away from any formidable dangers. The biggest danger for them was the Khan’s main tent.
Some smaller tents surrounded the main tent, and lords and nobles of different levels lived in them. Some were well armed, while others were not. Gu Shenwei decided to take down one of those tents that night.
He had a bold hypothesis that the nobles of Norland would kill the Khan and then frame him for the killing. He needed evidence to prove it, so he decided to start at the weakest point.
The weakest link was Fu Yuan.
Fu Yuan had an independent encampment due to special treatment from King Dari. Old Man Mu had peeped into this encampment several times and discovered that Fu Yuan was using ignorant girls to practice evil Kung Fu. The security of his encampment was not very tight.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus reached Fu Yuan’s encampment, which was not far from King Dari’s camp. The security was loose, having only two guards: one in the front, the other at the back. Neither of the guards was vigilant and looked like they were falling asleep while standing.
There was a big tent in the middle, surrounded by seven small tents. Maid Lotus took care of the vigil guards first by putting them into a deep sleep. When they woke up the next morning, they would not remember anything.
A light was on in the big tent, and there were faint voices coming from it. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus lurked in all directions for a while to listen carefully. Finally, they both agreed there were between five to seven people inside.
The ideal situation was that when Fu Yuan fell asleep, the killer would go into the tent to control him. He would be panicked when he woke up.
Gu Shenwei had done this before. But this night he had a big problem: Fu Yuan liked to stay up late. It was past midnight, yet he still did not look like he would be going to sleep anytime soon.
There was no use in using the knockout powder of New Moon Hall, as the drug would dilute quickly in the spacious tent. Not only the efficacy of the drug would be reduced, but the people inside would also be alerted.
After waiting for nearly an hour, Gu Shenwei decided to go into the tent directly.
Maid Lotus stayed outside, hiding near the southeast corner of the tent. If Gu Shenwei got into any danger, he would cut his way out from there.
Gu Shenwei had seen many tents of various styles, ranging from humble ones to luxurious ones. Fu Yuang’s tent was the most bizarre of them all.
The front half of the tent had been changed into a tearoom, with a small, empty space behind it. Fu Yuan was sitting on a chair at the entrance of the tent facing five people in the empty space, and there was a small candle lit near him.
Gu Shenwei lifted the curtain and came inside. To his surprise, nobody in the tent paid attention to him. He stood in the corner and observed for a while, feeling that the tearoom was a bit familiar.
Fu Yuan whispered disappointedly, “It’s too difficult. It’s too difficult.”
Five people stood in front of him: three children, aged eight or nine, and two teenaged girls between 16 and 17. All looked numb, with scars on their faces. Their clothes were torn, as if they had been getting beaten up all the time.
Gu Shenwei did not remember ever hearing any fights.
Fu Yuan silently held up a crutch and touched a boy with it. The boy walked over to another child and said in a strange voice, “I can do anything.”
Then the boy turned to Fu Yuan, raised his hands and scratched himself violently, as if his body did not belong to him at all, without any cries of pain.
This must be the evil kung fu that Old Man Mu had seen.
The boy trembled and stopped the self-mutilation. Fu Yuan withdrew the crutch and muttered to himself again, “It’s too difficult. It’s too difficult.”
“It is, of course, very difficult to practice alone,” Gu Shenwei said, stepping out of the shadows.
Fu Yuan suddenly turned around, surprised, and laughed. “It’s you, Dragon King. Why do you come here at night? Do you know the divine kung fu I practice?” He asked, not at all afraid. He knew that the Dragon King was bound by the agreement and would not dare to kill anyone at the Royal Court.
“The person who taught you didn’t mention me?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“Haha, the Dragon King recognizes my kung fu. He did tell me that the Dragon King was the last disciple of Master Immortal. He also said that you killed the Master and destroyed the Joy Pavilion along with your bright future. The divine kung fu was nearly lost,” said Fu Yuan.
“Nearly?” Gu Shenwei asked, not believing that someone else could inherit the weird kung fu of the dwarf, Immortal Peng.
After he killed Immortal Peng, the disciples in the Joy Pavilion split up into two groups. One group selected a new Master Immortal, while the other group left Jade City. Gu Shenwei did not know that they had come to the Royal Court, recruited disciples, and controlled an obsessed lord.
Most kung fu in the Joy Pavilion needed to be practiced by two people together. Gu Shenwei had observed it for a while, but found no one else in the tent.
“Is the Dragon King disappointed that Immortal Peng’s kung fu was passed down?” Fu Yuan gloated.
“No, I have already killed two. I don’t care to kill a third,” said Gu Shenwei.
Fu Yuan’s face immediately went cold. “We disciples of the Joy Pavilion only want to carry forward the divine kung fu and do not want revenge, but if the Dragon King keeps pushing…” he warned.
Gu Shenwei began “pushing” harder. Hilt in hand, he passed the desks and chairs, and walked quickly towards Fu Yuan until he was within five steps of him. “The Joy Pavilion really likes cutting people,” he said.
“You… you can’t come here. This is the Royal Court, and you promised…” Fu Yuan said, suddenly scared.
“Yes, I promised,” Gu Shenwei said as he pulled out his Five Peaks Saber and laid it flat on the table. “Norland has also made a promise and broken it. Who broke the promise? You know better than I do. So, I am not bound by any restrictions now,” he said.
Fu Yuan looked at the saber on the table, “You dare not…do you want to be called…”
The saber shimmered in the glow of the candle light. Fu Yuan could not say for sure whether or not he was dazzled or if the knife really moved. He felt his face go cold, raised his hand to touch it, and saw his hand was covered in blood.
“I’m not good at, nor do I like, torturing people. My approach is simple, but usually effective. How long can you bear it?” asked Gu Shenwei.
Fu Yuan was trembling, not because of the bleeding, but because of fear and humiliation. He was silent for a moment and then asked coldly, “What do you want to know?”
“Where is he?” Gu Shenwei asked, meaning the partner who was practicing kung fu with Fu Yuan (as there should have been one). Maybe he was hiding in the dark, waiting to strike at the right moment?
“He is not here,” replied Fu Yuan.
“You know how to control the elderly, women, and children, but you don’t know how to answer questions,” Gu Shenwei said, threateningly.
The saber seemed to rise again. Fu Yuan became more humiliated. He answered quickly, “They really aren’t here. They left to perform other tasks,” he answered pitifully.
“How many of them?” asked Gu Shenwei.
Fu Yuan evaded the question and asked warily, “If I tell you the truth, you won’t kill me, will you?”
“No,” answered Gu Shenwei.
“Aren’t you afraid of my lord taking revenge on you?” asked Fu Yuan.
“You and your lord need me to live until the day I die, so why should I be afraid?” asnwered Gu Shenwei.
“Everybody says the Dragon King is not easily fooled, and that’s true, sure enough. Since you already know that, I have nothing to hide,” said Fu Yuan.
After the disciples of the Joy Pavilion had been split up, there was a fight between the two groups. In the end, most people turned to the new Master Immortal. Only eleven of the disciples refused and left. “They were the most powerful ones, and they were the best disciples of Immortal Peng. Had they not left, it wouldn’t have been easy for the Dragon King to destroy the Joy Pavilion,” explained Fu Yuan.
The eleven disciples did not have a clear goal, so they just walked around aimlessly. Gradually, the influence of Immortal Peng on them became weaker and weaker, and they finally began to see the real world instead of the illusion they’d been living in.
They realized that their previous life was a complete hoax.
They discussed what to do next, and then reached an agreement: they should revive Immortal Peng’s tricks. Before long, they stopped calling them “tricks” and renamed them “divine kung fu”.
But first, they needed a place to stay. Just like the other disciples of the Joy Pavilion, they were also eunuchs. So, the best places for them to go were to the various lords’ residences in Norland.
Fu Yuan became one of their disciples in King Dari’s tent. “They collected more than 20 disciples in total. I was the only one that stuck to the end and understood the kung fu. Everyone else failed,” explained Fu Yuan.
Fu Yuan did not mention what had happened to those who had failed. Gu Shenwei did not ask him, either.
Fu Yuan had only learned a little Internal Strength before and did not master other forms of martial arts. Having learned the divine kung fu from the eleven disciples of the Joy Pavilion, he could manipulate others to do things for him. Therefore, it did not matter whether he had other skills or not.
The eleven disciples did not have the ambition to control the world. The biggest reason for choosing King Dari was that the Lord was becoming incompetent and easy to control.
However, divine kung fu was not very helpful for Fu Yuan in manipulating King Dari. Most of the time, he had to please the Lord through sweet talking and observing his needs.
Besides, the eleven disciples had never learned hypnotism directly from Immortal Peng. They could only revive it based upon their memory and understanding. For that reason, Fu Yuan needed naive children and teenaged girls, who were as easy to control as the simple-minded King Dari.
“It’s not very successful. See, they are dull and can’t feel any pain. Except for this, I can’t make them do anything else. We’re talking in front of them, but they are like the blind and deaf — no different from the walking dead,” Fu Yuan said.
Fu Yuan’s words were full of disappointment and regret, as if the five victims were to blame for the failure of the divine kung fu.
He refused to reveal the names and whereabouts of the eleven disciples, saying, “I can’t tell. I won’t tell, even if you kill me. Besides, they never wanted to seek revenge upon the Dragon King. They also had nothing to do with the plan, which is a matter for Golden Roc Fort and the lords to consider.”
“The plan” was to assassinate the Khan and then frame the Dragon King for it.
Gu Shenwei was supposed to keep pursuing for information about the plan, but he could not help but ask a question: “What about the hostage you took? Where did you hide him?”
“Hostage?” Fu Yuan looked very surprised. “Somebody took the Dragon King’s man?” he asked.
“Answer my question first,” demanded Gu Shenwei.
“Dragon King, you are a smart person. How could you misunderstand this? The lords need the Dragon King alive to bear the charges of killing the Khan. None of them would kidnap your man to put you in danger, because nothing good would come from that,” Fu Yuan said.
Gu Shenwei thought he had always been calm, but now he realized he had made a big mistake. The three suspects he had in mind were all wrong, and the major suspect had been omitted all along.
