Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Looking at King Kuari in the morning sunshine, Lotus said in a low voice, “King Kuari would not be his match even if he were still alive.”
Gu Shenwei stood beside her, three paces apart, as if they were still close partners. “He has fatal flaws too.”
“Hmm, he trusts his men too much and thought that none of them would betray him.”
Standing behind the two, Han Fen stared at their backs and felt that they were a perfect match, and couldn’t help but wear a happy smile on her face.
As Gu Shenwei quietly appreciated the assassination that Lotus had planned, he gradually began competing with her in his mind, secretly thinking about how he would have gotten rid of King Rizhu if he were Lotus.
As soon as the small group of horsemen was recognized, they immediately turned their horses around and fled northward. More than a hundred men of King Rizhu followed closely behind, while another hundred men turned southwest, ready to intercept any assassins.
It was like hunting. Gu Shenwei thought of what Dugu Xian said about the Norland Cavalry and realized that he was right. The fighting style of the Norland army had evolved entirely from their hunting tactics and required little command. Everyone knew their own position and role.
The tents were like dense trees, and the horsemen of King Rizhu were obviously more familiar with the terrain, as they galloped back not long after leaving. “It’s Golden Roc Castle; they were all killed.” The officer reported the result to the king, and the soldiers behind him threw several narrow sabers onto the ground.
“Heh, the people of Golden Roc Castle are really stupid. They have changed several lords but none of them are decent.”
“It’s all thanks to Wild Horse.” The officer didn’t forget the meritorious statesman that had helped them surround the assassins.
Wild Horse came forward on foot and knelt down on one knee to show his respect to the lord.
A bit surprised, King Rizhu waved for the crowd to move on. The battle in the East seemed to have broken out, and the sounds of the fighting could be clearly heard. One of the guards gave Wild Horse a horse and let him ride beside the lord.
King Rizhu raised his right hand with a whip in-hand, wanting to make a few gestures before he suddenly remembered that this mute killer wasn’t deaf. “Done?”
Wild Horse nodded and made several gestures with his single arm. King Rizhu understood the general meaning that the plan was successful.
“Where’s Shangguan Nu and the Dragon King?”
Wild Horse pointed to the camp of King Kuari in the East.
“Heh, those two are really anxious to win back some honor. You came back just in time. Stay with me as a bodyguard.”
The army’s vision was obscured by the forest of tents. Gu Shenwei walked out of his hiding place and admiringly said, “You won Wild Horse over? When did that happen?”
“When you put Wild Horse under my command and we went out to rescue the granddaughter of the Unique King.”
“What terms did you offer him?”
“He’ll be able to set up a real killer organization, pick his own disciples, and train them himself. I’ll provide some disciples of the Waning Moon Hall to help him.”
“That’s his dream.”
“Hmm, he’ll be more successful than Golden Roc Castle.”
“How many people has the Waning Moon Hall placed in the Royal Court?”
“Not too many, only about a hundred people.”
“Much better than me.”
“The Waning Moon Hall wouldn’t have had such a good chance if you hadn’t attracted everyone’s attention and the Norland hadn’t despised women so much.”
The two behaved as courteously as a newly-married couple. They spoke while secretly moving forward. Lotus didn’t say where she was going and Gu Shenwei also didn’t ask. Behind them was Han Fen alone.
After a long silence, Gu Shenwei suddenly said, “King Shengri’s army is too weak and he himself is also unreliable.”
The Dragon King seemed to be thinking from the perspective of the Waning Moon Hall and wasn’t satisfied with the puppet chosen by Lotus.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s just a nominal head. It’s fine as long as he can stir things up when the different parties are about to call truce.”
After that, the three of them no longer spoke and soon arrived at the camp of the Land of Fragrance.
This place was like an island, around which smoke still rose in many places. The torrent of war, which had washed away the surrounding tents, had left it alone and swept past its shores.
The defense of the female soldiers was so tight that King Rizhu didn’t want to divide his forces to draw out the nail for the time being.
Lotus waited for a while, and a disciple of the Waning Moon Hall galloped over. “Wild Horse did it.”
King Rizhu was ‘luckier’ than King Kuari. When he was cut in the throat, what he saw was a victorious army. His guards could only watch him fall from his horse, and even the closest man could not come to his aid.
Wild Horse had chosen the best moment to act – when King Rizhu decided to go to war on his own and was deep in the battlefield. Wild Horse had finally made a move when the king was surrounded by chaos. When he fled, many on the periphery didn’t even know he was an assassin and also didn’t recognize the head in his hand but instead gave way for him to enter the camp of King Riyao.
All of King Rizhu’s men believed that Wild Horse had betrayed their lord to join King Riyao.
It was then that the battle of the kings went out of control as Lotus had predicted.
Although King Riyao wanted to avenge King Kuari, he didn’t lose his reasoning. Zhe Su, the general under King Rizhu, however, was outraged by what he had seen and issued a kill order, the targets of which was exactly Wild Horse and King Riyao.
The newly extinguished fire flared up again and this time it was even more vigorous than the night before. Even the people hiding in their tents in the hopes of escaping from the chaos couldn’t keep their composure anymore. Like a flock of ants whose homes had been trampled apart, they mounted their horses and fled to the outskirts in panic.
There was no need for Lotus and the Dragon King to hide now. People were everywhere and had formed a torrent heading the opposite direction, which also bypassed the camp of the Land of Fragrance in its sweep westward.
“Is this what you wanted? Most of the people who can escape are still men, and the women are left on the battlefield.”
Lotus smiled, “This is exactly what I want; abandoned and injured women. I’ll endow them with the power they desire.”
The three of them walked towards the camp together, and the female soldiers, who remained combat-ready, cheered in unison at the sight of the Dragon King and opened the door to let them in right away.
This was the Dragon King’s territory. As long as Gu Shenwei issued an order, the female soldiers would shoot Lotus and Han Fen without hesitation.
Gu Shenwei believed that the female soldiers had not been bought over by the Waning Moon Hall. They were free and independent and not the type of women that Lotus wanted.
Lotus wasn’t afraid at all. She had hostages in her hand and she was sure the Dragon King dared not act rashly.
Old Man Mu and Shangguan Fei were smilingly greeting them at the door.
“It’s really noisy outside.” Old Man Mu felt itchy to go outside. He was usually the bringer of chaos but today he wasn’t even an onlooker. Very disappointed, he said, “Everyone is so happy that you two returned safely together…”
“Old Man Mu, you disobeyed the order,” said Lotus coldly. According to her plan, Old Man Mu should have been responsible for assassinating King Kuari.
Old Man Mu looked surprised. He glanced at the Dragon King and said, “Already… Made public?”
“You don’t have to pretend anymore.” Gu Shenwei’s voice was even colder and harder than that of Lotus.
“So you guys have decided to help each other forward? Congratulations. Lord Lotus, it’s not that I was loafing on the job; it was just there was an accident last night. Golden Roc Castle wanted to snatch Shangguan Yun away, and they sent several rounds of people at us last night. So I was thinking, which one was Lord Lotus most concerned about? With all due respect, I felt that Shangguan Yun had offended you before and I must keep him intact to give to you, so…”
“Bring him out.”
“Ok. Uhh, Shangguan Yun is tied up tight. Should I carry him out or would you rather go in and teach him a lesson yourself? Would you like me to cut a piece of him off for you first?”
Lotus grunted and looked around. The female soldiers were stationed on the edge of the camp, and hardly anyone could be seen in the tents.
“No rush. I want to have a word with the Dragon King.”
Old Man Mu and Shangguan Fei knowingly stepped aside, bowing while retreating as if they were submissive minions.
“It’s time for you to make a choice.” Lotus decided to not wait any longer.
Gu Shenwei looked around and said, “A lot of things have not been made clear yet.”
“Why stick to the details?” If you want revenge, we can destroy Golden Roc Castle together. If you want to find the mastermind behind the scene, we can kill to the Central Plains together. If you want to seek hegemony, the whole world is at your disposal. This is just the beginning. I can give you anything you want. And you don’t have to join the Waning Moon Hall; we can still be allies.”
It was just that the primary and secondary relationship was the opposite of what it used to be.
Han Fen winked again at the Dragon King, but Gu Shenwei pretended not to notice. “The price I need to pay…”
“That’s not a price at all. Just hand over Han Wuxian to me.”
“Honestly, I haven’t met Han Wuxian yet. I don’t know if it’s appropriate to hand her over to you.”
“The truth is simple. When I joined the Waning Moon Hall, I took the Blood Coagulation Pill. Han Wuxian’s blood is an ingredient that must be used to make the medicine, so she’s very important to me and useless to you unless you want to use her to control me.”
“No one can control you.” Gu Shenwei meant what he said. “And you’ve arrested many people around me.”
“Shangguan Ru, Queen Ju, Xu Yanwei, Red Bat… Well, they’re all in my hands and kept somewhere in the Red Bat. Just think of it as a little game, and when we are allies again, they’ll all be at your disposal.”
Han Fen could no longer bear it, so she came forward and said with a smile, “Let me kill them all. Dragon King, one woman is enough for you …”
The Master Commander’s eyes were so stern that Han Fen couldn’t help but tremble, and her smile vanished. Like a little beast being reprimanded, she flinched and retreated to the back.
“I told you, it’s just a game. As for what you want to do with these women, it’s your own business.”
This wasn’t his ‘own business.’ Gu Shenwei clearly knew in his heart that if he wanted to fully gain Lotus’s trust, he had to get rid of those women.
“What if I refuse to ally with you?”
“Then you are just another ordinary man in the world.”
To fight and be destroyed in chaos was the destiny that Lotus had set for ordinary men.
“You’ve made one mistake.” Gu Shenwei was like a strict teacher who was giving a last evaluation on his favorite pupil, “You created the chaos but you may be not the only one who can benefit from it. ‘The Norland has lost its ruler, and now everyone has a chance to seize the control.’ Your plan is too simple. Dark nights and shadows are a good cover but there are some things that one can never do by hiding in them. What I want is more than killing.”
Han Fen was both surprised and disappointed. If it had not been for the presence of the Master Commander, she would have asked the Dragon King why he had refused such a good thing. She had already clearly told the Dragon King the real intentions of the Master Commander.
A smile slowly appeared on Lotus’s impassive face, unfathomable but gorgeous. “I’m glad that you didn’t lie to me.”
Gu Shenwei had told many lies and might tell many more in the future. It was a part of his entire life, but he was not lying at that moment.
He could have lured Lotus into that tent, but he didn’t.
“Draw your sword and call out your men. Let’s settle this once and for all,” Lotus said proudly, not at all caring that she was surrounded.
The time Gu Shenwei had been biding for had finally came.
