Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Tu Pianpian was the first one to climb down the rope and as she landed on a rock, her eyes met Old Man Mu’s instantly.
Old Man Mu turned his head to the Dragon King and said, “This is not the bird I asked God for. It’s yours, isn’t it?”
Tu Pianpian sneered. “Looks like I’m in the wrong place. Okay. I’ll go up there and tell them to leave right away.”
Old Man Mu hurriedly stretched his arms out to stop her and with a flattering smile, he said, “Not a bird… a fairy. I must have done many charitable actions recently, so God showed me great mercy by sending you down here. How did you know that we were trapped here?”
Tu Pianpian pointed at the sky, “The Dragon King’s big bird’s been circling around up there, so I decided to come down and check.”
“God’s will!” Old Man Mu assumed a look of melodramatic excitement. “Pianpian, did you feel that? It is God’s will.”
Tu Pianpian’s orange-peel-like cheeks blushed, and yet she soon said in a colder voice, “Get away from me. The Kongtong Sect’s got some unfinished business with you and we’ll deal with that later. Now let me talk to the Dragon King.”
Old Man Mu stepped aside with great respect. As he turned around, he signaled for the Dragon King to try to please the old woman outside like he had.
“What’s your price?” Gu Shenwei asked.
“The Dragon King went straight to the point.”
“Like I always do.”
“Good.” Tu Pianpian’s forthright, severe look reappeared on her face, “I’ll get you out and you’ll give me the Khan’s head.”
“I can’t. Because it’s not mine to give,” Gu Shenwei calmly replied, secretly gauging the distance between him and Tu Pianpian. It was only five feet, but Tu Pianpian was also a kung fu expert, and it would be fairly difficult to catch her in one move.
“Ha.” Tu Pianpian didn’t seem to believe him. But instead of insisting, she made another offer. “All right. No matter what, you did show me mercy once, and you also saved Fan Yongda’s life. I can’t believe that my silly younger brother was foolish enough to pledge allegiance to you. Thus, the moment you go up there, I want you to dismiss Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda and never contact them again – the Kongtong Sect will never have anything to do with the Dragon King from now on.”
“Fair enough. But-”
“But what?” Tu Pianpian widened her eyes and Old Man Mu thought, ‘The old woman would not so ugly if her eyes were a little bigger.’
“But I hope that we can let them choose for themselves.”
“Ha, you’re not hoping that Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda would betray their Sect for you, are you?”
“I know that they won’t betray their sect, but it does no harm for them to have a choice.”
“Deal.” Tu Pianpian raised her palm first.
Gu Shenwei exchanged a clap with her to close the deal. Old Man Mu and Han Fen also stretched out their arms, though they were ignored by Tu Pianpian. The former two exchanged a glance instead to fulfill their wishes.
It was no easy job to break the refined steel paling, and they were terribly short of tools – they had only four chisels in total. Luckily, the disciples of the Kongtong Sect were all very strong. They took turns excavating the wall and their progress was not slow at all.
Old Man Mu suggested that they get the troops – they had all the tools they needed in the army camp and could speed up the excavation considerably. Yet Tu Pianpian pretended to not hear him as she was determined to get the three out, only with the Kongtong Sect.
They kept working and the paling finally loosened in the afternoon. Gu Shenwei and the others pushed with great force and eventually cleared the exit.
Old Man Mu picked up Lü Mian’s body and walked out of the tunnel. Then he took a deep breath, “Ah, why do I feel that even the air’s much fresher past the grate?”
A few disciple of the Kongdong Sect recognized the body and were startled. And the gaze they gave the Dragon King became quite different.
An expanding shadow appeared above their heads. The disciples of the Kongtong Sect were startled once again and leaped several steps backwards at the same time.
Hardly had Old Man Mu raised his head and started talking when the body in his arms was suddenly taken away.
The red-crowned giant roc still remembered this human who had hurt it. It grabbed the body and started tearing, pecking, and stamping at it violently. In a short while, Lü Mian’s corpse had become unrecognizable scraps of flesh mixed with blood.
The disciples of the Kongtong Sect were all shocked. Some of them grabbed the rope and tried to climb up but their strength seemed missing.
Old Man Mu curled his lips. “You see, kids? Make sure you don’t offend the divine bird.”
The disciples of the Kongtong Sect repeatedly nodded their heads in a hurry.
After venting its anger, the red-crowned giant roc rubbed its long bloodstained beak alongside Gu Shenwei’s front and back intimately.
Han Fen finally saw the giant bird and she was so amazed by it that she couldn’t even close her mouth. She stretched her trembling arms outt and slowly moved towards it.
The giant roc stopped its movements abruptly and stared at this bold human with its two eyes that were as red as fire.
Old Man Mu reminded her kindly, “Don’t be silly, Han Fen. It’s not some kind of kitty or puppy that was raised by the Dragon King.”
Yet Han Fen didn’t seem to hear him and was still edging closer to it, muttering, “Let me be your servant. Feeding, bathing, joking, I can do anything. And after I die, you can just tear me apart and toss me to the ends of the earth.”
The giant roc started raising its feathers slowly, and Gu Shenwei felt that the situation was getting a little dangerous. “Han Fen, stop.”
Yet, Han Fen seemed to have lost her sanity and she stretched her arms and tried to touch the feathers on the chest of the giant roc.
The red-crowned giant roc lowered its head and peck once. Then, before Han Fen could react, it flapped its wings, generated a whirlwind, and flew up. It circled a circle once above their heads before flying into the higher further sky.
The back of Han Fen’s left hand was bleeding badly. She cried, but not because of the pain. She asked the Dragon King, “Does it not like me?”
“The people it doesn’t like always die under its sharp beak. You’re still alive, so that means it likes you – I have a scar on my leg myself.”
Han Fen smiled through her tears. She kissed the wound on the back of her hand and declared loudly with her bloodstained mouth, “I’ll remember this wound. The next time we meet, I’ll try to get a second one on the other hand.”
Gu Shenwei didn’t say how long it was going to be before they met the bird again. Nothing could restrain the giant roc and it was now flying far away. No one knew when it would return. Gu Shenwei had also been feeling that it was relying less and less on him and that sooner or later, it would leave him for good.
After arriving at the mountaintop, several dozen disciples of the Kongtong Sect were standing in neat rows and there were also a dozen disciples of other sects present as witnesses. Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda were heading the procession, waiting for the Dragon King to free them from their pledge – Tu Pianpian hadn’t even let them go down to help with the rescue.
“Today, the Kongtong Sect saved me from adversity, which is enough to offset all the enmity between us, so I give my consent to the freedom of Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda. From now on, you no longer have any obligations to serve me.”
Tu Pianpian was very satisfied with the Dragon King’s remarks. “See? What did I tell you? The Dragon King made this decision of his own free will. He’s standing right here right now, and nobody can force him. You two may return to the Kongtong Sect.”
Fan Yongda didn’t hesitate. He bowed to pay respect to Tu Pianpian. “Aunt Master.”
Tu Pianpian smiled, which she didn’t do very often as she replied back, “You are a good disciple of Kongtong Sect who know how to repay your gratitude.”
But Dog Butcher didn’t say anything. Tu Pianpian’s look turned cold as she chastised, “Dog Butcher, what are you waiting for?”
“You said that… the Dragon King would allow me to choose,” Dog Butcher said hesitantly.
“You still want to be the Dragon King’s slave?” Tu Pianpian reprimanded.
“No no,” Dog Butcher denied hurriedly. “I don’t want to be a slave.”
Looking at his younger brother, Tu Pianpian looked relieved. “You’re a grown man now, so you should learn to make your own decisions. This time around, we came to Royal Court. Although we haven’t gotten the Khan’s head yet, Old Man Mu’s clearly no match for you. So many years…”
Old Man Mu chipped in, “Hey, hey, we haven’t even fought yet. How do you know that I’m no match for him? It’s Dog Butcher… he’s timid. Let me have a competition against him right now if you don’t believe me.”
Tu Pianpian ignored him and resumed talking. “So many years’ hard work have not been in vain. Sect Leader will be proud of you when you return to the mountain.”
Dog Butcher nodded repeatedly. Yet after his elder sister finished talking, he said, “I don’t want to go back.”
“What?” Tu Pianpian’s attitude changed drastically, and her crutch sank heavily, by more than a foot, into the ground.
“But I also won’t be anybody’s slave.” Dog Butcher’s face was restlessly switching between red and white, like a disobedient teenager trying to reason with his mother. “I… I… want to spread my wings in the martial arts world.”
Tu Pianpian frowned. She had never expected that her younger brother would say something like this. “But you will be sixty years old next year.”
“I know. But I have been practicing kung fu for so many years, and before coming to Royal Court, the only actual kung fu competition I took part in was against Old Man Mu…”
“That’s not true. You have been in all kinds of kung fu competitions since you were fifteen – they should number at least a hundred, and you won almost all of them. Why do you think people gave you the title ‘Old Immortal Dog Butcher?’”
“That’s different.” Dog Butcher flushed in his anxiety and he couldn’t find the proper words to express his feelings. “What I am talking about are ‘real kung fu competitions’ – the kind that gives me buckets of cold sweat, the kind that I will never forget throughout my whole life.”
Old Man Mu giggled secretly, and said to the Dragon King in a low voice, “Dog Butcher said he ‘would never forget’ me. Ha. Yet I don’t remember a damn thing – except that I once kicked his ass really badly.”
Tu Pianpian frowned more and more tightly, “It’s very simple if you want to spread your wings in the martial arts world. Just come back with me to the Central Plains, and I’ll bring you to visit all the sects and schools.”
Dog Butcher shook his head firmly. “There are too many rules in the Central Plains and that’s not what I want. Elder sister… Senior Sister, please allow me to make my own decision.”
“Nonsense! You’re an old man who’s going to die in a few decades, not a teenager – how could you possibly abdicate your position of Kongdong Sect Elder and talk about such nonsense as ‘spreading your wings in the martial arts world?’ Come back with me.”
Dog Butcher’s head drooped lower and lower, and yet he didn’t move at all. Fan Yongda also ventured at persuading her. “Aunt Master, Uncle Master Dog Butcher’s kung fu is excellent and he can take care of hims—”
“Bullshit! Who allowed you to talk? I’ll deal with you later.” Tu Pianpian was furious and started striding away. After a few steps, she said to those disciples who were confused and adrift, “What are you waiting for? Move!”
The disciples of the Kongtong Sect and other sects followed her hurriedly. Fan Yongda was the last one to leave. He cupped his hands before his chest in a gesture of subordinance and said to the Dragon King, “You saved my life and I may never repay the favor…”
“Like I said, we’re even.”
Fan Yongda still felt guilty. He tightly bit his lower lip with his upper teeth, and finally made up his mind. He walked beside the Dragon King, craned his neck and said in a low voice, “Wei Song seems to have a series of plans for the Western Regions. Dragon King…”
“I’ll be cautious about it.” Gu Shenwei knew what he was hinting at.
Fan Yongda nodded and hurried to catch up with the disciples of his sect.
Gu Shenwei looked at the sinking sun in the distance, wondering how the kung fu competition he had missed had gone. Then he turned to talk to Dog Butcher. “Are you the Dog Butcher who’s about to spread his wings in the martial arts world for the first time?”
“Hmm, that’s me in the flesh,” Dog Butcher puffed out his chest. Although his face still looked a little pale, it was filled with a smile.
“I’m the Dragon King of the Western Regions, and I could use some help. The pay is good, with many perks. Would you like to join me?”
“I’d love to. I don’t care about the pay. Just don’t kick me aside when you go on an adventure.”
In the distance, Tu Pianpian’s voice suddenly came over. “Little doggy, don’t you come back without achieving anything.”
Dog Butcher was deeply embarrassed.
Gu Shenwei glanced at him, and thought ‘It’s nice to have an elder sister.’
