Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“Can I have my horse back now?” King Rizhu asked. Although he did not want to make an alliance with the Dragon King, he had to accept it. He was well aware that if he did not do it, the second wife of the Khan would do it without him. Since they were allies now, he decided to make his first request as a friend.
“No,”Gu Shenwei said, shaking his head.
“Why not?” King Rizhu asked in surprise.
By then, there were only the two of them in the tent. The second wife of the Khan had left after she got what she wanted.
“As I told you before, I didn’t steal your horse,” insisted Gu Shenwei.
“No, you didn’t, but your people did,” King Rizhu said, quite upset. “I’ve been honest to the Dragon King since the very beginning. I wish the Dragon King would be the same to me. That horse is very important to me. I need it to win the Tournament in two days,” he whined.
“Why do you want to win? Do you want to show the other lords your strength so that they will be appalled and have second thoughts about the assassination plot?” Gu Shenwei asked.
“It’s obvious. It’s the same reason I killed Golden Roc Fort’s woman — to sabotage the enemy’s deal and make them feel that they’d get little to no profit from it,” King Rizhu replied.
Gu Shenwei gave it a thought for a minute, and then shook his head again. “No,” he said.
King Rizhu was known for being hot-tempered. He had been holding it in front of the Dragon King, but now he could not hold it in any longer. He asked the Dragon King furiously, “Does the Dragon King really think he’s that important and irreplaceable?”
“Many people can replace me. That’s why I need to hold onto something that’s not replaceable. If I had Flame Foal, I’d hold it until the deal was completed,” he said.
King Rizhu squinted at the Dragon King like a lion observing its prey, ready to pounce at any time. “The Dragon King seems to like making enemies,” he sneered.
“Enemies help keep my mind clear,” Gu Shenwei said, returning the jewelry box to King Rizhu and walking to the door. He had examined the box. There was an interlayer, and the object in it was gone.
Before Shangguan Ru and Old Man Mu went missing, they had been here and had taken the Bone Shrivelling Pills. Now that King Rizhu would not admit that he had detained Shangguan Ru and Old Man Mu, Gu Shenwei would not admit that he had Flame Foal, either.
Gu Shenwei did like to make enemies. The more enemies he made, the more important people would think he was. He knew he was only regarded as a killer by his enemies. Some took advantage of him, some wanted to get rid of him, but none of them really saw him as an ally. Even the second wife of the Khan was just using him as a sharp sword, even though she was acting like a confidant.
Although killers did not pursue fame, sometimes fame was good for profit and power. In order to keep himself in a controlling position, Gu Shenwei decided to go directly into the center of trouble.
The more enemies the better. In fact, Gu Shenwei did not think he had enough enemies. He needed to make all his enemies reveal themselves, especially those who had been pretending to be neutral.
When Gu Shenwei returned to his encampment, daylight had just broken, and his excitement and safe feelings had gone away with the night. He was not sleepy at all, so he sat in his tent and scrutinized the plans for the next two days.
He needed to get rid of Shangguan Shaomin at once as a gift to his allies. As for King Kuari, actions would be made during the Tournament of the Royal Court.
Fang Wenshi lifted the curtain and was happy to see the Dragon King in the tent. “I thought you might be back,” he said.
“Yeah. I just got back,” Gu Shenwei replied.
Fang Wenshi looked like he had not slept the whole night, either. He was not used to being up all night, like killers. His hair was a mess and his face was bloated.
“I’ve been thinking. I don’t think the second wife of the Khan is trustworthy,” he said.
“I just met her,” said Gu Shenwei.
Fang Wenshi was surprised. “What did she say?” he asked.
Gu Shenwei told him what Luo Ningcha, King Rizhu, and the second wife of the Khan had said. He omitted the part about Shangguan Ru and his father, Gu Lun, though.
“One hundred thousand Norland cavalry in exchange for the Dragon King’s sword, three people to kill, and the third thing will remain secret for now,” Fang Wenshi summarized the deal quickly.
Gu Shenwei nodded and said, “That’s it.”
“Have you agreed?” asked Fang Wenshi.
“Yes,” Gu Shenwei replied.
“With all due respect, the Dragon King shouldn’t have agreed so early. King Rizhu and the second wife of the Khan claim to be protecting the Khan. Who knows whether that is the truth or not? What if they are actually taking advantage of the Dragon King? Maybe after the Dragon King kills their enemies and they become the most powerful, they will still kill the Khan and frame the Dragon King for it,” said Fang Wenshi.
This was why Gu Shenwei needed a person like Fang Wenshi, who was always doubful and thinking ahead. In this way, Fang Wenshi not only helped him with new ideas, but also criticized his ideas from a different perspective.
“Keep going,” encouraged Gu Shenwei.
“Maybe there’s not a third target. Maybe that’s only a trick played they’re playing to ease your mind. Maybe the only person they want to kill is King Kuari, and the death of the Supreme King’s granddaughter is just collateral. The second wife of the Khan made us believe that we’re a part of the big picture, but actually it’s quite simple. It’ll be over once King Kuari is dead,” theorized Fang Wenshi.
“That’s possible,” said Gu Shenwei.
“I even suspect the woman you met was a fake. King Rizhu could’ve easily found a woman to pretend to be the second wife of the Khan. In Norland, a man like King Rizhu is not likely to work for a woman willingly,” Fang Wenshi went on.
Gu Shenwei did not agree with his military counselor on this point. “It’s really the second wife of the Khan,” he affirmed. Average people might be fooled by a fake, but not him. He was quite sure the woman he met was the one with the real power, which could not be faked easily.
“It’s not important whether she is the real wife of the Khan or not. I just think it’s weird. The way she and King Rizhu are protecting the Khan is suspicious. To put it bluntly, it’s to kill the lord who is the most eligible to take the throne,” said Fang Wenshi.
Gu Shenwei pounded his fist on the table and said, “Exactly! But we need to find out one thing first. Both King Rizhu and the Khan’s second wife are not eligible to take the throne. The wife even told me directly that she needed to find a new heir that she could trust, and she would marry that person when time came. We need to find out who that person is and then….”
“Then we can take the initiative,” Fang Wenshi said, picking up where the Dragon King left off. As the Military Counselor, his duty was to solve problems for the Dragon King, although he would have preferred making bigger plans as opposed to weaving through tangled tricks and plots. “Leave it to me. I will find out who this person is. He must be an offspring of the Khan. If the second wife of the Khan has been assisting someone, there must be some evidence,” he said.
“There’s another thing. Go to the livestock market and pick out some cows and sheep from Senior Shou. Tell him you want the best,” said Gu Shenwei.
“Yes, sir,” Fang Wenshi said, understanding the pun. He took the order and left.
Gu Shenwei hoped Senior Shou and Bo Sang had been able to get more information from King Kuari’s brother, who had been under their detention.
Maid Lotus came in immediately after Fang Wenshi left. Gu Shenwei had not noticed that she was back. She came to report her findings about her tracking from the night before.
Soon after Gu Shenwei had left the night before, Luo Ningcha had lit a torch that was placed at the tent’s entrance. Her three maids got the message and rushed to her within a minute. They walked for about half a mile before getting on a coach escorted by ten Norland guards. The coach did not return to the Flower Camp at the north, but entered an encampment in the noble area.
That was the encampment of the Khan’s second wife.
Luo Ningcha did not go to the encampment of the Khan’s second wife directly. She took precautions to change their direction several times along the way.
Maid Lotus knew the three maids. They were among the dowries of Luo Ningcha when she was married. Originally there were four of them—Chen, Xin, Sui, and Yi. Sui had died, and Luo Ningcha took the remaining three as confidants.
If the Supreme King wanted to watch and control his daughter-in-law, he certainly needed to do it through the three maids. Although Luo Ningcha had learned all the tricks and conspiracies from Slave Huan, she never suspected her most-trusted maids, whose loyalty she took for granted.
“Watch the three maids,” Gu Shenwei had said.
“Han Fen has been watching them,” replied Maid Lotus.
When Gu Shenwei was with Maid Lotus for the first time, he used to discuss with her his thoughts. Over time, the two of them had become more and more alike. Despite three years of not seeing each other, their thoughts were even more similar. Most of the time, talking to each other was like talking to themselves.
He told her everything about the three meetings he had had the night before in just a few words.
“Shall we make the move tonight?” Maid Lotus only asked this one question.
No matter whether the second wife of the Khan had other conspiracies with King Rizhu, Gu Shenwei needed to kill Shangguan Shaomin first. Only by doing this could he win the trust of his allies and have a chance to access their deepest, hidden secrets.
“Wait until King Rizhu sends help. I need to think of a safe plan,” he told Maid Lotus.
“Okay,” she replied.
The matter was determined. The assassination they talked about was certainly a breach of the truce agreement, and therefore Gu Shenwei could not do it by himself. Maid Lotus understood what he meant. She would make a safe plan that would keep the Dragon King unconnected to the assassination.
Maid Lotus did not leave as she usually did. She made one more comment, saying, “You promised Shangguan Ru.”
She meant Gu Shenwei had promised Shangguan Ru that he would save Shangguan Shaomin and send her to the Land of Fragrance. Now he was going to break his promise. “That’s true,” he said, not knowing what else to say.
Gu Shenwei then changed the subject. He had made an important decision and wanted to let Made Lotus know. “I think it’s the time to practice three-in-one Qigong,” he said.
“All the problems have been solved?” she asked.
“Not yet,” he admitted.
“If only the Yuquing Sect could help…” Maid Lotus said.
“They wouldn’t be much help. With their help, the problems could be reduced, but not eliminated. I can’t wait any longer. I need to hurry up. Soon the time may come when swords are useless,” Gu Shenwei explained.
Shangguan Fei had only learned the lowest skill of three-in-one Qigong, and he had been able to generate incredible force with only one punch. Gu Shenwei needed to own that kind of power so that he could make a surprise move without using his sword.
“We need to hurry,” Made Lotus said, emphasizing the word “we”.
Three-in-one Qigong could not be practiced by one person alone. The practioner needed a partner, who would use her Wayless Qigong (which was similar to Yin Strength) to force out the practioner’s Sumeru Mustard divine kung fu (which was similar to Yang Strength). However, the Yang Strength must be controlled carefully so that it would not grow too fast. Shangguan Fei failed to control the Yang Strength. That was why his kung fu had advanced quickly, but he had also gotten into Qigong Deviation at an early stage.
Maid Lotus did not just want to be the partner, though. She wanted to practice three-in-one Qigong, too.
Gu Shenwei looked at her. The troubles inside his body had not been removed, so he did not care to add more to them. However, Maid Lotus had almost no troubles in her body, so was far from self-destruction, other than a little Qigong Deviation every once in awhile. The loss would outweigh the gain if she practiced the kung fu, since it was still crude.
“Have you thought it through?” he asked her.
“This is the manual that you and I created together,” Maid Lotus said.
Indeed, Maid Lotus had made a lot of contributions to three-in-one Qigong. She had access to more manuals than Gu Shenwei did, and the secret techniques of the New Moon Hall was a special one amongst them. It had been very enlightening during the creation of three-in-one Qigong.
Maid Lotus insisted on practicing three-in-one Qigong together with Gu Shenwei. It was not because she wanted to take credit for it or that she was greedy, but because she hoped to rebuild the trust between her and Gu Shenwei. They had had the trust before, but then lost it because of betrayal.
Gu Shenwei was not sure if he was ready for that.
