Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Gu Shenwei believed that this was all a simple game of pointing out the walnut hidden underneath one of three cups. The game’s schemer must have wanted to lure a target into appearing, but now, it seemed that the prey was following the scent so quickly that it was probably beyond the hunter’s imagination and ability to overcome.
Five golden roc killers and five teenage killers had followed the Dragon King’s order to explore this area before the second night-watch period. Afterwards, Gu Shenwei found them one by one and carefully listened to their reports. He had learned that there were at least seven groups of people hiding in the grass outside the field of the contest. There were seventy or eighty people in total, but the number varied from group to group.
Gu Shenwei ordered the killers to retreat several miles to set up an ambush at two places that he had chosen while he himself would try to approach the trap alone.
As he moved along, Gu Shenwei couldn’t help but wonder if Nie Zeng would act rebelliously again if he saw that the Dragon King was taking risks alone. But the facts were simple. The Dragon King’s martial arts skills were way better than the teenager’s, and the simple truth was that he couldn’t find a suitable partner at the moment.
The void that had been left by Lotus was not something that an average killer could fill.
Gu Shenwei soon found the groups of lurkers. The killer’s judgment had been right. These men didn’t know each other and had various levels of kung fu skills. Some of them were too conspicuous like arranged decoys while some were so secretly hidden that Gu Shenwei wouldn’t have found them in a short time if he had not been warned in advance.
The seven groups of people were acting separately without any communication between them. If this was a formation designed to encircle, there were many loopholes.
The two ambushes that Gu Shenwei had arranged were designed to block the loopholes. Though not all the loopholes would be blocked, the two that he thought were the most likely to be used were covered.
The contest had started in a way that was out of the organizer’s expectations. Gu Shenwei was only halfway there at the moment and still more than a hundred feet away from the campfire.
From afar, the crowd in the firelight had suddenly fallen into chaos and were trying to kill each other like madmen.
Han Wuxian had given a far better-than-expected proof of ability on their first cooperative mission. She was obviously the core cause of the chaos, as nearly half of the sabermen there were chasing her though no one dared to get close. She didn’t seem nervous at all. With an occasional simple wave of her hand, the crowd would immediately retreat several steps.
Gu Shenwei couldn’t see Nie Zeng but estimated the two were cooperating very well. Han Wuxian’s long hair fluttered everywhere, but she was always able to avoid the most concentrated encirclement, which was definitely the work of the youthful killer.
Gu Shenwei soon looked away.
The chaos was clearly beyond the expectations of the seven groups of lurkers, who leaned forward one by one, each trying to figure out what was going on.
Clearly, not all of them professional killers.
Then these people suddenly discovered each other’s presence. Fearing each other, they reached a stalemate and remained silent for a while before someone said in a low voice, “King Shengri.”
So they then all reported their lord’s title one after another, and in the end all were titles of the kings of the Norland. They had reached a tacit agreement and started approaching the chaos of the crowd slowly. A few people even passed by Gu Shenwei without noticing him.
As the seven groups of people drew nearer, one person suddenly fell down, and his companion beside him, shouted ‘hidden weapon’ before pouncing on the nearest groups of lurkers.
This was how the chaos of the outer circle began. The kings were already mortal enemies, and even the slightest disagreement could ignite the flames of war, let alone an assassination.
Gu Shenwei immediately made a move. He clearly saw that the hidden weapon had come from an unaccounted lurker. This person had hid himself very well and hadn’t exposed himself even after shooting out a hidden weapon as he had framed someone else instead. Neither the golden roc killers nor the teenage killers had noticed him.
Both the contest and the trap became a chaotic scuffles, and no one noticed that two figures were flitting across the grass like birds that soon vanished into the darkness.
In less than a mile’s pursuit, Gu Shenwei had been attacked seventeen times. The person in the front of him was like a set of boxes filled with all kinds of strange hidden weapons, bouncing and firing away endlessly. Some of the hidden weapons were even invisible powders; Gu Shenwei would have been drugged if he hadn’t held his breath most of the time during his pursuit.
The pursuit was coming to an end. Gu Shenwei’s lightness skills might not be first-rate, but his judgment was excellent. The more the other side tossed and turned, and changed direction, the less he could escape Gu Shenwei’s grasp.
“I surrender.” The one who spoke out was actually a woman who had suddenly stopped and stretched out her arms to show that she would no longer activate any hidden weapons.
Gu Shenwei pressed his Five Peaks Saber against her throat and asked, “Where’s Lotus?”
Han Fen smilingly looked at the Dragon King as if the deadly hidden weapon was just a harmless joke. “I’m so glad to see you again. You were so well hidden that I didn’t notice you at all.”
“You hid well too, and I wouldn’t have found you if you hadn’t made a move so early on.”
“Those people are really stupid. Dragon King, is the sword wound on your chest all right now?”
“I’m not dead. So you can say that I’m all right.”
“Hmm, that’s good. Can you move your saber a little? Honestly, I’m a little scared.”
“I can only move it forward.”
“Then I’ll be stabbed to death?”
“You won’t feel scared anymore if you’re dead.”
“I’ll be more scared after I’m dead,” Han Fen said with her eyes wide open, obviously taking the question very seriously. “We all go to hell when we die. The people we killed before are waiting for us there. They will avenge themselves before reincarnating.”
“You will die sooner or later.”
“That’s another thing. When I’m ready, I’ll disfigure myself first, and then Master Commander will divide my body into hundreds of pieces and throw each into a different place. Heehee, by that time even the King of Hell won’t recognize me, so how would those evil spirits take revenge on me?”
Gu Shenwei felt a chill crawl up his spine and immediately got rid of the meaningless idea in his mind. He would not be led astray by a madwoman. “Tell me where Lotus is.”
“Will you kill her?”
“Hmm.”
“But she hasn’t recovered yet.”
“Would you kill a wounded man?”
“Yes. Uh, but the Master Commander is another thing. Anyway, I won’t kill her. You don’t know. She was hit by you and hasn’t recovered yet. She could only hide and heal herself. She said that she didn’t trust anyone except for me.”
This seemed like something that Lotus would say. She had suffered through Qi deviation once and would rather believe the newly allied Dragon King than her fellow disciples. As for her new allies such as King Shengri and Wild Horse, it was even less likely that she would trust them.
“Then I shall have to kill you. It will be easier to kill Lotus if your help is removed.”
Han Fen’s eyes widened more and more. “Are you really going to kill me?”
“We are enemies now.”
“Maybe not in the future.”
“Then I’ll burn some paper money to apologize to you.”
Han Fen winked. Gu Shenwei warned her, “Do not move, or I won’t be able to control my saber.”
“But I really can’t tell you the whereabouts of Master Commander.”
“It doesn’t matter. As I said, killing you will make Lotus lose ‘the only person she trusts,’ which is also good.”
“Wait a moment.” Han Fen finally took it a bit seriously. “Don’t kill me, I… I can sleep with you.”
“I’m not interested.”
“Ehh, how come? Men are all interested in this kind of thing. I have a lot of unique skills that are different from the others. After you try it…”
Gu Shenwei slightly pressed the saber forward, and Han Fen followed to lean back and said, “Okay, okay, you are not like other men and you are not interested at all. Let me think about it. I’ll tell you a secret if you don’t kill me.”
“Go ahead.”
“Promise not to kill me first.”
The shouts in the distant suddenly weakened, and the scuffle seemed to have ended. Gu Shenwei didn’t turn to check. “I can’t wait any longer.”
“Well, you won. Umm, do you remember Han Qin?”
“No.”
“She’s also a disciple of the Waning Moon Hall. She’s been having an affair with a man.” Han Fen lowered her voice and whispered the secret in a mysterious tone.
“This is your ‘secret’?”
“Yeah, why don’t you get it? Han Qin slept with a man and didn’t kill him later. That’s so abnormal.”
Gu Shenwei was glad that he had not accepted Han Fen’s first condition to spare her. “This secret cannot save your life.”
“Ahh? You’re not interested in this either? That’s a headache. Master Commander is the same as you. She’s not interested in anything. You two are really a perfect match. Alas—” Han Fen sighed, full of regret and melancholy. “Just wait another moment, I have other secrets… Other secrets…”
The noises around the campfire were completely gone now. The scuffle of two or three hundred people would have never ended so quickly. Gu Shenwei felt that he should take action now. In some ways, Han Fen was a very lovely person but her loyalty to Lotus, combined with her martial arts skills and secret arts, had become a big threat.
“Shangguan Ru!” Han Fen suddenly blurted out.
Gu Shenwei wasn’t fooled; his eyes and the tip of the saber didn’t move at all.
“That little girl is not bad.” Han Fen didn’t seem to be trying to distract the Dragon King, “But she was drugged by Master Commander’s specially made Indra Fragrance and has lost all her internal energy. I can help you get an antidote.”
“There’s no need. She has recovered.”
“How?” Han Fen was taken aback.
Gu Shenwei didn’t know the details but he had met Shangguan Ru and clearly seen that she didn’t seem to have lost her internal energy at all.
Sweat oozed on Han Fen’s forehead. She was like a student who had forgotten the answer when called on the spot. If the one standing in front of her wasn’t the Dragon King, she would have calmly faced death and then found a way to deal with the evil spirits in the hell. But she instinctively felt that the Dragon King wasn’t an enemy which gave her hope. But hope and fear always went together.
“What should I do? What should I do? I only have one secret left. Actually, it’s not a secret. I’m not sure if you are interested in it or not.”
“Tell me about it.” Gu Shenwei knew that Han Fen’s criteria was quite different from normal people, so he decided to hear it out.
“It’s also related to Shangguan Ru. She’s always been going to the Court Attendants Army these days and has formed many friendships with the men, but instead of killing any of them, she has kept them with her… The Dragon King must have known about this a long time ago. What I want to say is — ” Han Fen unconsciously lifted her hand to wipe the sweat off her brow and didn’t even notice that the tip of the saber had left her throat by an inch or two. “King Shengri wanted Shangguan Ru to join him and said that she was very helpful in getting the support of the Court Attendants Army. Wild Horse said, oh, I mean, he gestured that he had an idea. But I really don’t know what method he has. Dragon King, that’s all I know. Please do not kill me. I’ll go back and persuade Master Commander to be friends with you again…”
Gu Shenwei put away his saber.
“You’ll let me go? I promised to persuade Master Commander, but I can’t guarantee that it will work.”
“There’s no need. Just get me an antidote for the Indra Fragrance.”
Han Fen heaved a breath and said, “You should have told me this earlier, Dragon King. You really scared me to death.”
Poof, a puff of smoke spurted out of Han Fen’s mouth and pounced at Gu Shenwei, who was well within its range.
