Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Five men sat in the same tent and blankly stared at one another in silence, each with their own thoughts.
Shangguan Yun was bound with ropes, and his ankles were chained. Even then, he was still smiling and the first to break the silence. “With four experts watching me, there’s no need to tie me up like this, is there?”
Fang Wenshi appeared a bit more nervous than the others. He carefully listened to the sounds outside and jerked up at the slightest noise. “I’m not a kung fu expert. I actually think it’s not tight enough.”
Old Man Mu was the calmest among the five. He took the opportunity to say, “You must be feeling uncomfortable?”
“Of course.” Shangguan Yun smiled bitterly.
“Why not let me retie it? I’ll make you comfortable — no, I’ll make you feel like you’re floating in the air.”
Old Man Mu rubbed his hands while looking up and down. Shangguan Yun felt a chill run down his spine, so he shook his head while maintaining his smile. “Thank you for your kindness, but I’m not qualified to enjoy Old Man Mu’s unique skills.” Then he turned to his younger brother and looked at him for a while before saying, “I don’t know if I remember clearly, but I seem to have saved you once earlier.”
“You, you were trying to use me,” Shangguan Fei refuted, red-faced. The last thing he wanted to do right now was talk to his own brother.
“Right. ‘Using’ you to pass on a message to the Dragon King; you really are useful.”
Shangguan Fei’s face turned even redder and he suddenly saw Old Man Mu shoot him a meaningful look, reminding him to stop being so soft-hearted when he was still being tested by the Dragon King. Old Man Mu was a man who played fast and loose. He might be teaching kung fu with great enthusiasm at one moment and then kill without blinking an eye the next moment. Shangguan Fei would be better off not offering him an excuse. “Shangguan Yun, save it. No one here will sympathize with you, not to mention letting you go. You’ve thrown yourself into a trap and can’t blame others.”
Shangguan Yun didn’t say anything. It was actually Old Man Mu who blamed Shangguan Fei. “Shangguan Fei, do not overact too much. You two are brothers. It’s actually understandable to show some slight affections.”
Shangguan Fei didn’t dare to argue, and he knew that he wasn’t Old Man Mu’s match if he argued. So he just kept his head down without looking at anyone.
Old Man Mu was about to continue nagging at him when Shangguan Yun changed the topic in time and saved his younger brother from embarrassment. “Your Excellency must be Liman, the son of General Zhesu under King Rizhu?”
Liman wasn’t tied up but he appeared much angrier than Shangguan Yun, making a sound with his nose. No one knew it was a ‘hum’ or a ‘hmm.’
“Oh, so you were also caught and brought here. Did the Dragon King break his alliance with King Rizhu? Tsk, life is really unpredictable, but the Dragon King is even more unpredictable.”
“You seem quite talkative. Do you want to mess with me?” Old Man Mu grabbed a piece of rope as he asked.
“How could I have the guts?” Shangguan Yun appropriately showed some surprise. “Before I came here, the Unique King reminded me that the Dragon King is nothing to be afraid of, and that Old Man Mu was the one I should pay attention to, as he has the best kung fu skills and a resourcefulness rarely seen in the world.”
“The Unique King really said that my kung fu is the best in the world?” Old Man Mu knew it was impossible but he still asked with his face beaming full of joy.
“Why would I lie to you?” Shangguan Yun made it sound more and more like a true story. “The Unique King also said that it was really a great fortune of Golden Roc Castle and the people of the world that Old Man Mu doesn’t intend on participating in the fight for hegemony.”
Old Man Mu’s smile grew bigger and his eyes almost disappeared amongst the wrinkles. He got up and walked to Shangguan Yun, saying, “The elder brother is really a talker and the younger brother is as stupid as a turd.” As he finished, he swung his arm and tried to slap Shangguan Yun’s face with force.
Shangguan Yun managed to dodge the sneak attack even though he could only move his head. Old Man Mu looked at his empty palm in amazement as he exclaimed, “You dare dodge?”
“It’s a coincidence. There was a bug on my neck.” Shangguan Yun behaved as humbly as a young man facing his father or teacher.
Old Man Mu did not care. He raised his hand to slap again when all of a sudden a great noise came from outside. It sounded like thousands of troops and horses were galloping over, and the ground was trembling from the sound of the horses’ hooves.
Although they could not see anything, all of them still looked at the door. Old Man Mu’s hand froze in the air, forgetting to hit Shangguan Yun.
The noise grew louder and louder. Fang Wenshi and Shangguan Fei’s expression changed, and the two of them stood up at the same time when the curtain was lifted.
The one who came in was a female officer. “King Rizhu’s cavalry just passed by the gate of the camp.”
“They didn’t harass the camp, did they?” asked Fang Wenshi nervously.
“No.”
Old Man Mu couldn’t refrain himself from interrupting. In order to express his emotions, he even lowered his arm in the air. “Don’t be careless. A thousand female soldiers of the Land of Fragrance are here; what man wouldn’t covet such a place? When the kings finish fighting, they will probably send you to their men as trophies.”
The female officer’s expression changed, then she straightened up and said loudly, “We have bows and arrows in our hands. We are not war trophies.”
“Nobody wants to be a trophy.” Old Man Mu spread out his hands. “We’re all forced to be one.”
Fang Wenshi sternly rebuked, “No more nonsense. This is a war between the lords of the Norland, so what does it have to do with the Land of Fragrance? The Dragon King will act accordingly, and no matter who wins, they have to treat the Dragon Army well.”
Old Man Mu pointed at Fang Wenshi with an expression that seemed as if he had caught a thief red-handed. “Look, this white, fat man is interested in you and in trying to please you. Be careful, as I heard that over a dozen pregnant women are offering a reward in return for him.”
The female officer grunted, “Without the instructor watching you, you are more annoying than before.” And she just walked away after she finished talking.
Old Man Mu looked surprised. “Is she talking about me? I said that with the best of intentions, unlike this white fatty who is full of lecherous ideas.”
Fang Wenshi hadn’t intended to bicker with Old Man Mu, but he couldn’t bear it anymore. “This is all your fault. Why didn’t you just bring the guards of the Dragon King here? Why did you kidnap King Rizhu’s man? It’s all your fault if we land in trouble.”
“Huh, what a wonderful foresight, Counselor Fang. Just blame it all on me if ‘trouble’ really comes to the door. Maybe they’ll give you a few taels of silver as a reward.”
The two glowered at each other, one couldn’t fight while the other didn’t dare to fight, both wanting to defeat the other with their eyes.
Shangguan Yun mediated, saying, “Well well, why not meet each other halfway? We should cherish our fate of staying in one tent. How about this? Let’s play a game so as to reduce the tension and divert ourselves from boredom.”
Old Man Mu was still staring at Fang Wenshi but he couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked, “What game?”
“Hmm, it’s very simple. Let’s guess which side the Dragon King will be on tomorrow morning. King Rizhu? King Kuari? Or another king?”
“Are you saying that the Dragon King is double-faced?” Fang Wenshi was ready to stand firm in defending the reputation of the Dragon King.
“It’s just a game. Can’t we just guess at who’s going to win the Dragon King’s support?”
Fang Wenshi wasn’t in the mood to play any games but Old Man Mu was very excited. He rubbed his hands as if he were holding dice in his palms, saying, “Who’s first?”
“I won’t have you making unverified guesses about the Dragon King.” Fang Wenshi still thought that this game was disrespectful to the Dragon King.
Old Man Mu pointed to Fang Wenshi, declaring, “You go first.”
“I said …”
“Right, you said that we couldn’t make unverified guesses, so make some ‘verified’ guesses. You are the counselor and you know the Dragon King best, unless … heh heh … The Dragon King doesn’t trust you and you don’t know anything, so you dare not play this game.”
Fang Wenshi opened his mouth, about to say something but only snorted in the end, showing that he disdained such accusations.
“I’ll go first.” Liman in the corner was actually the first to join the game, his face still livid. “The Dragon King will definitely join King Rizhu’s side. He will come to apologize to me in person tomorrow morning and punish you for what you’ve all done. Especially you, Old Man Mu.”
Old Man Mu did not care at all. Although this was a game put forward by Shangguan Yun, he had appointed himself as the arbitrator. “This is not enough. You have to give me some reasons.”
“Isn’t that obvious? The two kings will fight and the winner will be the real lord. The Dragon King will naturally follow whomever controls the Royal Court.”
“Well, that makes sense, but it’s still a bit too short-sighted. Shangguan Fei, it’s your turn.”
“Ahh?” Shangguan Fei raised his head, revealing that the blush on his face had not gone away. “I, I have no idea about that. I’ll follow the Dragon King wherever he goes.”
“Don’t try to be opportunistic. You are a bit stupid but you are not a complete fool. How do you have no idea? Come on, don’t make me force you.”
Shangguan Fei was ‘forced’ and became helpless, so he thought for a while before saying, “Neither King Kuari nor King Rizhu can obtain the Dragon King’s support.”
“Why?” The other three didn’t care much, and only Old Man Mu seriously asked to propel the game along.
“Well, it’s just my feeling. I feel that these two kings have lost the favor of the Khan. The Khan’s consent for their fight in the Royal Court is not so much an indulgence as an instigation. The Khan will solve everything himself when the two are worn out.”
Hearing this, Liman was anxious and doubtful while Shangguan Yun began to look at his younger brother with meaningful eyes. Even Fang Wenshi turned to Shangguan Fei and said, “You have a lot of confidence in the Khan.”
“He’s just fallen in love with the Khan and this is his audition to be a concubine,” said Old Man Mu in a knowing tone.
Shangguan Fei’s face, which had just returned to normal, turned red again. “I… didn’t. It’s obvious. The fact that the Khan dealt with the sabermen of the Central Plains and the Western Regions himself is already a warning. The wise kings have all hidden their capacities and are biding their time. King Kuari and King Rizhu must have lost their minds to start a decisive battle at this time.”
“Hey, you know nothing,” Liman refuted. “My lord hasn’t lost his mind, and neither has King Kuari. No matter who wins, they’ll have their own way of dealing with the Khan.”
Old Man Mu liked arguing so he immediately chipped in. “Assassination, what a simple move.”
Shangguan Fei was by no means a ‘fool’ as referred to by Old Man Mu. He actually had lots of thoughts in his mind. “It’s still about fabricating a charge against others. If King Rizhu wins, the murderer will be Golden Roc Castle and if King Kuari wins, it will fall on the Dragon King. The two kings have tried every means to buy over the forces of the Western Regions just for this day, haven’t they?”
Old Man Mu clapped his hands and praised, “Little Feifei said the truth. See, you are getting wiser by staying with me.”
Liman’s facial color vacillated between red and purple. He was not a confidant of King Rizhu, but he had a general guess about his lord’s plans, and it was almost the same as what Shangguan Fei had just said.
“You haven’t told us which side the Dragon King will take.” Old Man Mu hadn’t forgotten the rules of the game.
“The Khan. The Dragon King will definitely choose the real master of the prairie.” Shangguan Fei said confidently.
Old Man Mu looked at Fang Wenshi, “So, feeling itchy? Just say something to prove that you’re the Dragon King’s most trusted counselor.”
Fang Wenshi did have an urge to express his opinion. He hummed several times before saying, “The Dragon King will never accept being controlled by others. The stronger the rule of the Khan, the less chance there is of obtaining the Dragon King’s loyalty.”
“Are you saying that the Dragon King wants to seize the throne himself? That’s impossible; the people of Norland won’t acknowledge him.” Old Man Mu coaxed the counselor to continue talking.
Fang Wenshi knew that the other side was goading him to talk more but he couldn’t help it. “It doesn’t matter if I tell you because everything will be clear tomorrow morning. The Dragon King will ally with the Second Consort. She’s a woman, and thus easier to control. The Dragon King will also receive the maximal benefit through her.”
Fang Wenshi held the bottom line and didn’t mention Duodun and Luoluo.
“Hmm, the Dragon King is good at dealing with women.” Old Man Mu admiringly nodded. “I didn’t expect that his pale face is quite popular with women.”
Without waiting for Fang Wenshi to reprimand him, Old Man Mu had already turned to Shangguan Yun. “This is your game, and now it’s your turn to talk.”
Shangguan Yun coughed and moved a bit to make himself more comfortable. “Mr. Fang is indeed the Dragon King’s most trusted counselor, but you’ve hidden something. Let me point it out. What’s on the Dragon King’s mind is a prince in the Western Regions, a prince who’ll be very important in the future. But he’s very anxious because he fears that the prince won’t be able to escape from the narrow saber of the golden roc killers.”
Fang Wenshi was shocked and blurted out, “So you know!”
Shangguan Yun smiled and nodded.
Shangguan Fei already liked the game so he interrupted, “Do not underestimate the Dragon King, Third Brother. You are forgetting about a person, Long Fanyun, and a horse, the Flame Foal. Golden Roc Castle dares not make a move if the Royal Court is not in chaos. If it really does happen, the news can’t outrun Brother Long, who has already been away for several days.
Shangguan Yun’s smile froze. “Well, if so, then there will be another tough battle.”
The Dragon King did everything for a purpose. The fact that Long Fanyun had ridden the Flame Foal to flee from the field was not just to avoid King Rizhu. “So Golden Roc Castle is planning to seek refuge with the Khan’s grandson in the east? Changing three masters in less than a month, Golden Roc Castle is really hard working.”
“Like the Dragon King, Golden Roc Castle doesn’t like to be controlled by others,” replied Shangguan Yun flatly.
“Hey, don’t change the topic. I haven’t said anything yet. As the wisest man, my guess is different from all of yours.”
When the other four turned to look at him, Old Man Mu became reserved instead. He held his head high with his eyes closed as if he were possessed by an immortal. He finally opened his eyes after a while and said, “You guys are too naive and were fooled by the Dragon King. Actually, he doesn’t care about who will seize the throne at all. All he is thinking about is how to save the good girl and beat the bad girl.”
