Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
‘Why did they send Gu Feng to kidnap Chu Nanping if they already had Shangguan Ru in their hands?’ Gu Shenwei couldn’t help but ask himself this.
King Kuari didn’t have time to explain all this, but instead offered a direct transaction. “It’s a reasonable trade to exchange a woman of interest to the Dragon King for two people who are useful to me, and I’ll even add on one more privilege: the Dragon King can meet the Khan and leave Norland safely. There will be no charges against you, your throne will be recognized, the five kingdoms of Xiaoyao Lake and the Land of Fragrance will all belong to you, and Golden Roc Castle will make a vow to never invade your land.
If King Kuari had made such a condition at the outset, then Gu Shenwei would be in a dilemma.
Accepting the conditions would mean giving up his hatred. If he clung to the territory and interests he already had, the ones that would oppose his choice the fiercest would be the swordsmen of Big Snow Mountain who were also the core of the Dragon Army.
Rejecting the offer meant continuing to war with little chance of success, resulting in the other soldiers of the Dragon Army becoming dissatisfied. The reason they had attached themselves to the Dragon King was largely due to the fear of reprisals from the Unique King. Once they hear that the opportunity of reconciliation was refused by the Dragon King, the morale of the army would fall greatly.
But right now, it was much easier for Gu Shenwei to make a choice. He shook his head and said, “I suggest that we start with a confidence-building step. Your deal makes perfect sense, but I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to enjoy all of its benefits.”
King Kuari also shook his head, his smile undiminished. “You know, I don’t have to promise anything extra. If the Dragon King really cares about that woman, there will be no other choice.”
“No.” Gu Shenwei’s reply was short and vague. No one knew whether it was a refusal to the deal or a refusal that he ‘cared about that woman’.
“No?”
“No.”
“You have one day to think it over. If I don’t hear anything from you by morning, I’ll have to hurt that woman.” King Kuari didn’t think that the negotiation had completely broken down. “I know it’s despicable and totally against my principles to do this, but please trust me. As long as I still have even a little choice in this, that situation won’t come to pass.”
Gu Shenwei walked towards the door, showing the negotiation was over. King Kuari casually added, “Dragon King, you must be careful if anyone claims to be protecting the Khan. They are merely using your saber.”
The meeting was quite short, and King Riyao had listened to the whole conversation without interrupting. After leaving the tent, he asked, “Does the Dragon King feel that you have got something on King Kuari?”
“I wasn’t sure before, but I am now, considering what you’ve said.”
King Riyao’s temper abruptly flared up, “The Dragon King really knows what to say, but you don’t know much about Norland. Go back and talk it over with your military counselor and listen to his opinions. Also, let me personally remind you; don’t trust eunuchs. They are all selfish monsters.”
It seemed that the eleven disciples of the Essence Pavilion had not fully concealed themselves nor did they remain neutral. They had already involved themselves in the fight for the throne and surprisingly supported the weakest King Shengri, who, except for a nominal second rank, had no reputation and not many troops, resulting in him withdrawing from the competition years ago.
King Shengri had pretended to be worried about the Dragon King and looked him up and down before nodding with satisfaction and saying, “Little bro is really a man of his word. The Dragon King is intact.”
The mission was now complete, so King Riyao immediately turned impolite, saying, “Humph. Second Brother should focus on drinking in the future, not only for your own sake but also for the birds you raise. Won’t you feel heartbroken if your birds are skewered and roasted?”
“Roasted birds? Haha, that’s good advice. Little brother, you can rest assured. My birds won’t be eaten by others. I will eat them all myself before I die.”
King Shengri was well-known in the Royal Court as an avid bird lover. After the brothers threatened each other through the metaphor of birds, they didn’t say another word.
This was court politics. Regardless of north or south, large or small, it was full of internal life-and-death drama. King Riyao thought that the Dragon King knew little about Norland, but Gu Shenwei thought that he had seen too much.
King Shengri then took the Dragon King back to his camp and invited him to the main tent. The feast was already set, but he was the only one sitting with the Dragon King. Around them were dozens of birdcages, large and small, so the conversation was carried on over the background chirping of birds.
Speaking of these birds, King Shengri talked on and on, “I have to say this before we begin. I’m not trying to show off my bird, so don’t steal them as you did to King Rizhu’s horse.”
“The Tournament of the Royal Court doesn’t have a bird game, so I have no interests in your birds.”
“So is the Dragon King going to attend the horse race? Isn’t that today? With Flame Foal, the Dragon King will win for sure. Well, I didn’t hold you up from business, did I?”
“Not at all. A good horse needs a good rider to drive, and since I’m not a good rider, I’ve decided to let others do the work for me.”
“Exactly. There’s no need to concern yourself with everything as a king. As long as you can find the right people, why do you have to do it all by yourself? After all, the power of one’s own is limited, and those who can drive tens of millions of people are true heroes. The Dragon King is a true hero.”
“Heh, the small amount of people I command is not worth mentioning in King Shengri’s eyes.”
“It’s different. Although Norland is big, the people I can move are all our own. But Dragon King has the ability to move even your enemies, and I admire you for this.”
“I can command others, and naturally, someone can also command me. King Shengri, please invite them out.”
“Haha, don’t be in such a hurry. The Dragon King has been busy all night and must be hungry by now. Please help yourself to some food.”
“They won’t be able to catch Chu Nanping.” Tired of the veiled conversation, Gu Shenwei blatantly laid it all out on the table. He had finally managed to force the disciples of the Essence Pavilion to show up on their own initiatives and didn’t want to waste any more time.
“The Dragon King is very confident in your attendant.”
“I would say that I know more about the Essence Pavilion. They don’t have the ability, otherwise, they wouldn’t have run away and taken refuge in Norland.”
“They said …” King Shengri felt like he had been insulted and anxiously explained, but then changed his mind at the last moment, “There’s no use arguing. Let’s just wait and see what the results are.”
Gaining the trust of others and inculcating an idea that they could perform incredible miracles in others’ mind was what the Essence Pavilion was best at. It seemed that King Shengri had been tricked. Gu Shenwei suspected that the reason why this king, who was an alcoholic bird-lover, had suddenly changed his mind and joined the fight for the throne was probably due to this.
The facts showed themselves soon but were not what King Shengri had expected.
The eleven disciples of the Essence Pavilion did not show up together. Instead, they sent two representatives, who had nearly identical hunchbacks, smooth chins, and sparse but black and shiny hair. With similar tall crutches, they moved soundlessly. All one heard was the sound of crutches poking the ground.
“You and he are both disciples of the Essence Pavilion,” said one hunchback, his voice hoarse as if he had a piece of red-hot charcoal in his throat.
Gu Shenwei turned to King Shengri, “See, these are the most presentable disciples of the Essence Pavilion.”
King Shengri regarded the Dragon King’s words as an insult to himself. At one point, he almost burst out but on second thought restrained himself by picking up the bowl of wine. “I’d rather listen to King Riyao’s counsel and focus on drinking.”
King Shengri was calmer than Gu Shenwei expected. He wasn’t enraged, and also didn’t reveal how much he had been influenced by the disciples of the Essence Pavilion.
“You and he are both disciples of the Essence Pavilion,” repeated the other hunchback in a shrill voice, showing the difference between the two.
“Yeah, I remember you two. What’re your names? I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned that.”
“Names don’t matter.”
The two hunchbacks spoke in turn, one with a hoarse voice and the other shrill, which was nearly torture to the listener’s eardrums. Gu Shenwei had to guide his Qi with great concentration to withstand the destructive force of the sound.
“Right, you’re all called Immortal Peng.”
“Immortal Peng is dead.”
“I killed him. It was one of the toughest and best decisions I have ever made.”
“You should be Immortal Peng then, not that white-faced scholar.”
“The people of the Essence Pavilion are all too ugly, I don’t want to be your head.”
“Then hand over Chu Nanping, don’t hide him.”
One of the purposes of Chu Nanping entering the slums to practice kung fu for two nights in a row was to show off his ability to cultivate the Emotionless Swordsmanship without a partner to draw out the disciples of the Essence Pavilion. After completing his task, he immediately followed the escape route set by the Dragon King and quickly disappeared. The disciples of the Essence Pavilion had actually lost track of him.
“He, like me, thinks that you are too ugly to meet.”
The two hunchbacks did not seem to understand what the Dragon King was saying. They showed no reactions to the verbal provocation at all.
“You must hand over Chu Nanping.”
“Give me a reason.”
“We’ll let you see the Khan.”
“So you are eunuchs serving the Khan now?”
“No.”
Gu Shenwei was slightly surprised for the first time since the hunchbacks had shown up.
King Shengri felt that he had to explain a bit, so he put down the bowl and coughed twice before saying, “The immortals are Masters hired by the Khan. Dragon King, please don’t just guess randomly.”
“Masters?” Gu Shenwei was mildly admiring of these Essence Pavilion disciples. It was understandable for the addle-brained King Dari and drunken King Shengri to be tricked, but how could the Khan be deceived as well? From all the rumors he heard, although the Khan was old and ill, his mind was still very clear and sharp.
“We can help the Dragon King bypass all the official procedures and meet the Khan directly,” the hunchback said confidently.
“It seems it was a good thing for you to leave Jade City, but I’m sorry. We all know what Immortal Peng was best at. I can’t give anyone to you until I see the Khan first.”
The two hunchbacks exchanged a glance, which revealed that they hadn’t reached the highest level of minds thinking like one.
“You must hand him over,” one hunchback said.
“You must hand him over,” repeated the other hunchback.
Gu Shenwei kept silent. It was useless to argue with the disciples of the Essence Pavilion. Sooner or later they would have to resolve their conflict with sword and saber.
“The Unique King’s daughter is in our hands,” the hunchback with a hoarse voice continued.
Gu Shenwei couldn’t help but snort. Not long ago, Shangguan Ru’s whereabouts was still a mystery. All of a sudden, King Kuari and the disciples of the Essence Pavilion all claimed to be the kidnapper.
“Really? I won’t believe a word of yours unless I see her.”
The hunchback with a hoarse voice retrieved a saber from behind and threw it at the Dragon King.
Instead of catching it, Gu Shenwei let the saber fall on the desk in front of him.
It was a wooden saber in the style of Golden Roc Castle. It looked rather old and had obviously been used for a long time, just like the one frequently used by Shangguan Ru.
