Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
This morning, when it was still cool, several new and old kings started three skirmishes at the ruins of the Royal Court. King Riyao Tuosai’s soldiers won one of these fights which greatly excited him.
“Both of you were smart enough to be on my side first,” he said to the Second Consort and the Dragon King, who were invited to share the fruits of victory and patiently listen to his description of the glorious future. “The Court Attendants Army will fight King Shengri tomorrow and King Shengri will be completely defeated. Oh, don’t ask me why, I just know. Then the Commandant will hand over the army to me and within ten days, I’ll inherit the title of Khan. You actually have done nothing, but I won’t forget your loyalty from before. Second Consort, you will have the priority to decide ranch allocations, your horsemen will be doubled, and you can marry any noble in the Norland that you wish. I can give you whatever you want for a small caveat; you must give up your current title.”
The Second Consort laughed so sincerely and happily as if Tuosai’s promise had far exceeded her expectations. “I’m getting a reward without deserving it. I feel like I’m being really thick-skinned.”
“Choosing the right side is its own merit.” Then Tuosai turned to Gu Shenwei. “As for the Dragon King, honestly, I prefer the unconscious you. Do you think that the Commandant is more powerful? But you forget that he will never succeed the Khan. As the Commander of the Court Attendants Army, he has already publicly sworn to give up the throne. He can only choose the most powerful of the kings, and that’s me.”
“The weaker side has to put the eggs in different baskets. That’s an inevitable truth of life.” Gu Shenwei did not deny it. He had no interest in gaining Tuosai’s trust anymore.
“Well, that only makes sense when everything is still unsettled. Do you still want to be a fence-sitter even now?”
“No,” Gu Shenwei said, shaking his head. “I’ve decided to choose the most promising side.”
The Second Consort chuckled while Tuosai sneered. “Unfortunately, because you are half-hearted, the previous bets have all been canceled. You have to prove your loyalty to me again.”
“I’m happy to, but how?” The more deferential the Dragon King’s attitude, the more subtle the smile of the Second Consort. It seemed like she was fascinated by the show and she herself would even begin to hum a few words along with it.
Tuosai raised his head, a gesture he liked very much now, and pretended to think for a while before saying, “As you’ve heard, the Khan’s head was taken away. Needless to say, someone wants to bring it to the Central Plains to claim credit for the kill. If the head appears in the Central Plains, not only will the Khan be unable to have a dignified burial, but the whole Norland will also suffer great humiliation because of this.”
Tuosai frowned as if he had already become the Khan and was bearing the suffering the humiliation of the Norland alone. “I will never let this happen. I’ll forgive your former infidelity as well as credit you if you can retrieve the head. Although the Western Regions is small, there’s a lot of trouble there and I do need someone to help me manage it.”
Instead of making a promise, Tuosai gave an obvious hint. Then he paused a bit before unnecessarily asking, “You know what I mean?”
Gu Shenwei nodded to show that he had understood. “But it has already been six days since the Khan’s death. I’m afraid that the assassin has already run hundreds of miles away with the head.”
“Then it will depend on the Dragon King’s luck. The first day was a bit chaotic, no one could have stopped him if the assassin truly ran away on that day. But from the next day on, all the parties have been recruiting laborers. I don’t think that any adult man has escaped from the Royal Court yet.”
If an assassin could take the Khan’s head away without being noticed by anyone, it was naturally not that hard to get it out of the chaotic Royal Court either. Gu Shenwei didn’t point out this obvious fact because he knew King Riyao was deliberately giving him a very difficult task.
“I’ve always been lucky and I’ll be even better off now with the protection of King Riyao.”
“This is no joke,” Tuosai said, holding the saber hilt. He was the only man with a weapon in the tent; Gu Shenwei’s saber had been left outside the tent. “Military orders are imperative and cannot be disobeyed. We have to decide the time frame and responsibility.”
“Ten days. If I can’t bring back the head of the Khan by then, I’ll send my own head back.”
Tuosai loosened the handle of the saber and spread his fingers. “Five days.”
On their way back to the camp, the Second Consort beckoned for her entourage to leave so that she could speak to the Dragon King alone. “I didn’t know that Tuosai would be so jealous. Shall I ask Luo Ningcha to help?”
“That would only make Tuosai hate my guts.”
“Right.” The Second Consort smiled and then seriously said, “The Khan’s head is even more important than what Tuosai said. I’m sure that the Dragon King knows this, right?”
“Hmm, I’ve heard that a large number of soldiers from the Court Attendants Army and many people of the palace are hoping to bury the Khan properly. They even let out word that any descendant of the Khan could become the new Khan as long as he retrieved the head and that it didn’t matter whether he was a king or not.”
The Second Consort smiled again and then shook her head, saying, “Tuosai is really silly. He actually thought he could outwit the Dragon King on such a big issue.”
“Anyways, he cares about my head the most.”
“Hehe, the Dragon King is really patient.”
“If you are used to walking on the tip of a saber, you won’t think that the tip of the saber is a scary thing before long. I’ll try my luck, and maybe I can get the head back.”
“The Dragon King isn’t a man to take chances.” The Second Consort was trying to sound the Dragon King out now as she continued asking, “You were in the palace that night. You must have seen something, haven’t you?”
“Hmm, I saw something, but I don’t think that anyone would believe me even if I said it.”
The Second Consort wanted the Dragon King to reveal it but bit her tongue in the end. “In times like these, trust is more precious than all the gold and silver in the Royal Court. But I trust the Dragon King. I’ve already received some news and I’ll ask someone to send it to you later.”
Fang Wenshi looked at the two from afar. When the two groups of people departed, he asked, “The Second Consort also wants the head?”
Gu Shenwei nodded. Because of the words of the Court Attendants Army, the Khan’s head had suddenly become a priceless treasure, and the Second Consort naturally didn’t want to let go of this opportunity. In her mind, the throne of the Khan should, of course, belong to Prince Duodun, who was still far away in the Western Regions.
As one of the very few that knew exactly what Gu Shenwei had experienced in the palace, Counselor Fang had thought it over for several days. “Could the Commandant be lying? The head is not lost at all but rather given to someone he wants to support, like King Riying?”
“It’s possible.”
“Well, anyways, even if the Dragon King can find the head, it’s not much use because you are not a descendant of the Khan. I’ve made a careful investigation, and not only the Court Attendants Army but the generals and soldiers under the lords also all have a very good impression of the Dragon King and think of you as a commander who was able to protect his subordinates, but that’s all. They would never pledge allegiance to an outsider, not even if the sky falls.”
“Even so, I have to find the head and bring it back.”
“To give to King Riyao?” Fang Wenshi was very surprised, “Nevermind the five-day deadline. If there are no accidents, Tuosai will lose in five days. He’s an idiot. He doesn’t have the strongest strength but still wants the best territory. This morning his men won a victory and moved forward a lot. Now they are stuck between the Court Attendants Army to the North and King Shengri’s army to the South. No matter who wins the battle tomorrow, they will take the chance to get rid of him.”
“I at least need to know what’s going on with the head and who has it.” Like the counselor, Gu Shenwei didn’t have a positive view regarding King Riyao’s future and also did not regard this arrogant new king as a noticeable threat. “This is really strange. If the Commandant did not lie and I didn’t take it, and neither did the Waning Moon Hall, then there must have been an accident afterwards.”
Gu Shenwei looked around but saw nothing except the luxuriant grass and tents. “The Waning Moon Hall is hiding in the shadows, and I’m afraid that there’s one more shadow in the Royal Court.”
Fang Wenshi looked up at the sky for a moment. He was so obsessed with his idea that he nearly fell off the horseback. “A suitable puppet, obedient and young with pure blood.”
Gu Shenwei paused a moment, not understanding how the counselor had come up with the idea of ‘puppet.’
Fang Wenshi habitually shook his head and said, “Sorry, I was thinking about something else. The Dragon King can go look for the head, and I’ll try to see if I can find an ideal scion of the Khan, not Tuosai or King Riying. The former is too stupid, and the latter too clever. Neither are a good choice.”
Fang Wenshi didn’t seem quite sure about his idea yet so he didn’t intend to disclose it now, and neither did Gu Shenwei ask any further questions. He had many things on his mind and had to delegate some important tasks to his men.
The Second Consort had kept her promise of sharing information and sent the Red Bat to deliver a message. There was not much valuable information but Gu Shenwei noticed that the Commandant had been secretly looking for the head and had even sent out his cavalry to hunt down any suspects within hundreds of miles, indicating that he had not lied, and that the head was indeed missing.
As soon as the Red Bat took her leave, Shangguan Fei also brought some news.
The temporary alliance between Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Yun was still a secret, and it was still Shangguan Fei who was responsible for delivering messages between them. “It’s true that not all of the people of the Central Plains have left the Royal Court.”
Instead of making full use of the golden roc killers, Gu Shenwei had instead sent them to either assist in the defense of the periphery of the camp or to seek information.
“Most of them have no fixed abode, but there’s a party of twenty or thirty people who meet in different places every night, and the venue of tonight has been determined.”
“Very good.” Long before the meeting with Tuosai, Gu Shenwei had been concerned about the whereabouts of the head and the first thing that had come to his mind was naturally the kung fu practitioners of the Central Plains. The golden roc killers had indeed found a clue.
This would be another busy night. After sending Shangguan Fei away, Gu Shenwei also left the tent and went to another tent after several turns.
The teenage killer at the door nodded slightly to show that nothing had happened inside.
Inside the tent, Nie Zeng, however, did not think so. He was standing in the corner with his right hand tightly holding the saber, not hiding his vigilance at all. The woman opposite, though rescued by them, had tried many times to kill the one who approached her. Now that the chains on her feet had been removed, it only made her all the more dangerous.
Han Wuxian was combing her hair as if no one else was nearby. She did not respond even when the Dragon King walked in.
“There’s a task tonight for the two of you.”
“She can’t walk.” Nie Zeng hoped to use this chance to rid himself of this madwoman.
Han Wuxian’s foot injury had not yet recovered and she could only sit on the bed. Hearing the two speak, she finally turned her head and said, “You can carry me on your back.”
If it were not for the fact that there was no way out behind him, Nie Zeng would have jumped back ten steps. “No, I won’t.”
Han Wuxian seemed not to hear the boy’s refusal. She turned to the Dragon King and softly said, “How many people can I kill? I don’t want to move if it’s less than ten.”
“It’s hard to say but it has something to do with Lotus.”
“Then I can make an exception.” Han Wuxian’s smile bloomed like a morning flower. But when Nie Zheng saw that expression, it only sent chills crawling up his spine.
