Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
Two years ago, the Unique King was determined to compete for hegemony in the Western Regions instead of continuing to conquer women. Meanwhile, the school teacher Zhang Ji had become the military counselor of Golden Roc Castle. Ever since then, they had been planning and preparing the assassination plan while secretly borrowing troops from the Norland.
In contrast, Gu Shenwei deeply felt that his preparation was too hasty.
Shangguan Shaomin knew nothing about ‘female Gu’. She believed the lies of her coercers and thought that she really was terminally ill and had to take this odd and sometimes creepy medicine. She never could have imagined that her body would be turned into a murder weapon.
Gu Shenwei didn’t go to see her after talking with Lotus. He did not want to deceive her, but neither did he want to tell her the truth.
Lotus only knew a little bit about the ‘female Gu’. She hadn’t even thought of it before Shangguan Shaomin described her experiences in detail. As for treatment, nothing was mentioned in the book that she had read.
“That should be their plan. The refining method of the female Gu is quite unique, and I can’t think of any other possibilities.”
“But then everyone would know the assassin was from Golden Roc Castle; how would they frame the assassination on me?”
Lotus could only guess. “The female Gu may not be effective right away. It could lie dormant for a while before breaking out, during which they would find some way to frame you.”
That was the most probable case. As for the specific method, they couldn’t figure it out at the moment. But those were minor details and didn’t affect Gu Shenwei’s judgment.
Most of King Kuari and Golden Roc Castle’s plan had been revealed thus far. They would use Shangguan Shaomin to assassinate the Khan and create chaos in the Royal Court before deploying troops to suppress the riots and then seize the title of Khan, which could also greatly shorten the natural process of internal fighting.
Gu Shenwei suspected that King Rizhu and the Second Consort might have realized the importance of Shangguan Shaomin but had deliberately treated her as if she were just Golden Roc Castle’s guarantee for a share of the profits in the Norland, an insignificant part of the plot, so that the Dragon King would be more likely to carelessly kill her.
But both Shangguan Shaomin and Kuo Zhen, key figures in the assassination and the eventual mobilization of soldiers, were now in Gu Shenwei’s hands. This was not only the lifeblood of King Kuari which could destroy him but also his reverse scale, which would bring death upon those who touched it.
Dealing with these two people had, therefore, become quite a challenge.
Lotus saw the whole matter coldly from a killer’s perspective. “The easiest way is to kill them. King Kuari will be completely defeated, and the threat will no longer exist.”
“Then King Rizhu and the Second Consort will rise and take the initiative, while I still know too little about their plan.”
“If so, just keep them alive to blackmail Golden Roc Castle and King Kuari. The problem is hiding them well enough so that even if news leaks out, we can handle their retaliation.”
A prince of the Norland was still kept hostage in the Dragon Army camp in the Western Regions but King Kuari, who was determined to seize the throne at any costs, probably wouldn’t care about the life and death of a family member.
In the end, Gu Shenwei decided to keep them alive. His stance was the same as that of the Khan for now. He didn’t want any of the kings to dominate the Royal Court for the time being, because that would be no good in regards to the interests of the Dragon Army.
It was already the second night watch period when he returned to his own camp. The first day of the Tournament of the Royal Court was about to end. Only several small-scale games had been held that day and the results were of no surprise to anyone. What interested everyone was still the big events that would not start until the next few days.
Wild Horse and Liman had been waiting impatiently at the Dragon King’s tent for a long time. As soon as Gu Shenwei appeared, Liman rushed to him, “Dragon King, the thing …”
Seeing Gu Shenwei holding his saber hilt, Liman abruptly stopped, his anger and resentment also reducing a lot. He said in a slow, soft voice, “Dragon King, since we are cooperating, we should have a minimum level of trust.”
“I trust you guys.”
“But you asked us to kill a fake granddaughter of Unique King while you and your men went around competing in kung fu without telling us the reason or what the next step is.”
Gu Shenwei slightly raised his head, “This is the way I do things. I trust you, but I won’t change my ways because of you. Ask Wild Horse, he knows my methods very well.”
Wild Horse nodded, showing that he knew.
After the course of nearly a day and a night’s waiting, Wild Horse’s fury and impatience had gradually faded away as he reflected on the situation in his mind. Compared to the Dragon King, he was like a reckless teenager. He had to turn back into a cool killer, if only so that he could defeat his opponent in a future duel.
So he appeared more restrained than Liman.
Liman calmed down and revealed a conciliatory smile. “Please forgive me, Dragon King. I’m too impatient.”
“Hmm.”
“Then what’s Dragon King’s next plan? Uh, what do we need to do?”
“Come to the kung fu competition with me.”
“Kung fu competition? The warrior contest begins the day after tomorrow.”
“It’s in the slums. I have to continue training my swordsman.”
Liman looked reluctant, “Well, neither Wild Horse nor I are suitable to be seen in public.”
King Rizhu had sent the two to help the Dragon King but didn’t want it to be widely known.
“Hide in the dark, and watch my back.”
Liman’s kung fu wasn’t bad, but he was not a killer. So the one Gu Shenwei was truly relying on was still Wild Horse.
“Where’s Lotus?” Wild Horse gestured.
“She has other duties.”
Liman finally accepted the Dragon King’s style and didn’t ask more. He knew it was a test, and that he and Wild Horse had to use the opportunity to gain the Dragon King’s real trust.
So he could only keep his doubts to himself and carry out the Dragon King’s orders.
The ‘Dual Wielder’ had come again to the slums to challenge people. As soon as the news spread, someone rushed to accept it. Chu Nanping didn’t have to run around this time. He found an open space and patiently waited for his opponents.
Gu Shenwei stood in the dark to watch. After each competition he would call Chu Nanping over and whispered a few words, pointing out some mistakes and flaws.
Liman and Wild Horse stood guard about ten steps behind the Dragon King, back to back, each watching different directions. To prevent them from being recognized, the two of them were wearing long cloaks.
To Liman’s surprise, although the competition had no rewards, there were many participants. And as time went by, the challengers that showed up grew more and more powerful. They were not here to make a name for themselves because the names they announced were all fake. Some of them even made a move as soon as they entered the field and left just as quickly after being defeated, all without saying even a word.
The boy’s sword techniques surprised him even more. Liman had heard about what happened last night, and he thought that Chu Nanping’s sword techniques would be extremely fierce and swift, but what he saw was rather bland and obvious. The teenager randomly waved his sword out of order, but he could still win every time.
Within two hours, Chu Nanping had fought eight rounds and won all of them, but he didn’t kill even one person.
More and more people started to gather. From the pointing and whispering of the onlookers, Liman found that the others had the same doubts as him. Just after one day, why would the teenage swordsman who had fought so ruthlessly yesterday become so polite today?
Chu Nanping was following the Dragon King’s suggestion.
Gu Shenwei had long since given up the Emotionless Swordsmanship. He was instead teaching Chu Nanping a fundamental truth that to really master a power, one must be able to control and use it at will. Chu Nanping had released his power last night to feel its strength, and now he wanted to bring it under control.
This was why he had held it back for each sword move so that he could choose to kill or not kill. Chu Nanping chose to not kill because the Emotionless Swordsmanship required the practitioner to sever all emotions, even the murderous heart.
As Liman’s doubts rose, he almost forgot his duty as a guard. He focused on watching the competition and listening to the crowd, and then asked himself again and again what was so peculiar about the teenager’s swordsmanship? Did the Dragon King have other motivations behind this besides training the swordsman? Among the onlookers, there were many experts who didn’t intend to compete; why they were standing there and wasting time?
Actually, Liman wasn’t able to tell who were real kung fu experts, but he had recognized over a dozen people from the crowd, who were all ‘warriors’ recruited by the kings. Those people didn’t live in the slums. They had come all the way here to watch the fight but didn’t join it.
‘The Dragon King is preparing bait.’ Liman finally came to his senses. But as for the target, he was still confused.
As he looked at the Dragon King who was of a similar age to him, Liman was filled with both curiosity and admiration. He suddenly felt a chill in his heart and regretted every disrespectful gesture he had made before. He had to warn his father and King Rizhu that the Dragon King was not that easy to deal with.
Gu Shenwei wasn’t able to catch the target. There were many people there who harbored ill intentions, but most of them were just watching without acting. The effect caused by Chu Nanping was not big enough.
He called the boy to his side and murmured a few words.
Chu Nanping didn’t say anything, but after the Dragon King left, he went straight to the crowd and pointed to one of them and said, “I want to fight with you.”
The crowd quickly stepped aside, revealing the ninth participant of the evening.
The man, also in a cloak, stood awkwardly where he was. Surprised by his exposure, he coughed and seemed to have no intention of accepting the fight.
Chu Nanping had got the hint from the Dragon King, so he loudly added, “Essence Pavilion Swordsman Chu Nanping would like to challenge Gu Feng of the Qingcheng Sect of the Central Plains. Please enlighten me.”
Gu Feng was a kung fu master invited by King Riyao, and he called himself Gu Da. Several days ago, he had followed the son of King Riyao to challenge the Dragon King’s men under the pretense of avenging the royal prince Kuo Zhen. It was also this Gu Feng who had defeated Long Fanyun and then suggested for the son of King Riyao to admit defeat after watching Chu Nanping’s swordsmanship.
The Qingcheng Sect was one of the most famous sects in the Central Plains, and Gu Feng had earned great fame and was known as the ‘Universal Edict Finger.’ Amongst the spectators, there were many kung fu practitioners from the Central Plains. Upon hearing this name being called out, they all gasped in surprise.
The two countries were on the verge of war, but as a man of the Central Plains, he had actually come to the Norland to fight for a prize. No matter what his purpose was, it wasn’t something pleasant to be known. Gu Feng felt more and more embarrassed and in the end, he steeled himself and untied his cloak, saying, “Let’s have some fun then.”
Amongst the audience, there were several people who were Gu Feng’s acquaintances. They now all quietly retreated to the back of the crowd, fearing that they too would be recognized.
Gu Feng was good at striking acupoints, and his swordsmanship was also superb. He drew out his sword and flicked the body of the sword several times. As the ringing sound of the metal propagated, he said, “The soft can overcome the hard.”
As these strange words finished, he attacked, not with the sword in his hand but rather with a narrow saber appearing out of nowhere. Meanwhile, another person jumped out of the crowd and launched an attack from Chu Nanping’s back.
Those who knew the saber technique exclaimed in unison, “Golden Roc Castle!”
The targets he was expecting had finally shown up. Gripping the saber hilt, Gu Shenwei was fully on guard.
Ten steps away, Liman didn’t find anything abnormal. But he suddenly felt Wild Horse tightening his muscles, which told him that danger was nearby.
