Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Gu Shenwei told the story of the five sabermen trying to borrow his horse and then observed the reactions of the six people.
Han Wuxian would never be loyal to anyone. Her only purpose here was to take back Han Xuan and wipe out the traitors of the Waning Moon Hall. The Dragon King knew her secret, and so as long as there was sufficient opportunity and benefit to doing so, she would definitely choose to betray him.
At the moment, however, she appeared to be the calmest among all the people here. It was as if she had consciously excluded herself from suspicion, and was instead concentrating on combing her hair, with a faint smile on her face as if she were thinking about her proudest achievement.
In contrast, Dog Butcher was more flustered than anyone else. He was a man of the Central Plains and his reasons for following the Dragon King were the most far-fetched — to wander in Jianghu. And he had also joined the Dragon King the most recently. But it was also because of this that his panic was justified. This was the first time in his life that he had ever been suspected face-to-face.
Tie Linglong looked very alert. She considered herself the Dragon King’s bodyguard and would not accept being suspected. She was not guarding against the Dragon King, but rather the other five people, especially Nie Zeng. But she did not directly say anything. After receiving the training of the Waning Moon Hall, she was no longer a simple little girl anymore.
With his head lowered, Nie Zeng did not say a word, but his stubborn look easily communicated his stance. ‘Doubt me if you want, I don’t care.’ He hadn’t given up on the idea of getting revenge yet. Yet even after more than two years of hard practice, the gap between his sabersmanship and the Dragon King’s had barely narrowed, which might have worn away at him and made him more willing to accept a simple solution.
Shangguan Fei’s face vacillated between red and purple, but he still tried to widen his eyes to look back into the Dragon King’s eyes, hoping that his face would remind the Dragon King of his sister’s and ease the Dragon King’s suspicion. He seemed to want to say something to defend himself, but dared not speak out first.
Old Man Mu frowned as if the Dragon King was not questioning him, but rather asking for his insight, so he was the first to respond. “The Dragon King may have thought into it too much. Why do I feel like it’s just a coincidence? If someone did betray the Dragon King, why would they have arranged such a clumsy assassination? Perhaps these five people held grudges against each other since a long ago. After being defeated by the Dragon King, they started blaming each other… Bang! Then one of them got angry, killed the other four, and ran away. And that’s it.”
Dog Butcher looked bewildered. Old Man Mu shouted annoyedly at him, “What? Am I wrong?”
“No.” Dog Butcher blushed. Although his kung fu was better than Old Man Mu’s, his experience in Jianghu was much poorer. And he was naturally a bit timid, especially when everyone else was looking at him. Nervously, he muttered, “I just wanted to ask why there would be such a loud ‘bang’ when someone becomes angry.”
“Naive.” Old Man Mu then impatiently explained, “If there’s really a mole among us, it must be this old dog. He pretended to join the Dragon King but has always been in league with the Kongtong Sect. Didn’t the Dragon King say that the five sabermen were from the Central Plains?”
Upon hearing what Old Man Mu said, Dog Butcher anxiously waved his hand in denial. “No, no… I’m not the kind of person who would snitch on others. Besides, there are many kung fu experts in the Kongtong Sect. Why would it sent five average sabermen to assassinate the Dragon King? I think… I think…” Dog Butcher’s eyes swept over his companions, not knowing who to suspect.
“Maybe Old Man Mu is right. I might’ve thought too much into it. I’ve been to Jade City for several days and haven’t met an assassin yet.” Gu Shenwei’s words immediately saved Dog Butcher who was at a loss for what to say.
Shangguan Fei let out a long breath and patted his chest, saying, “Dragon King, you really scared the shit out of me. I also think that it’s a coincidence. No matter which side learns that the Dragon King is traveling alone, none of them would have sent merely five dumb sabermen to assassinate you. Coincidence, it can only be a coincidence. But better safe than sorry, so it’s normal for the Dragon King to be suspicious…”
Han Wuxian interrupted Shangguan Fei’s flattery and asked, “Dragon King, why did you send all of us all to Jade City? To assassinate the Unique King?”
Shangguan Fei immediately shrank away from the Dragon King. He would not join an assassination that was aimed at his father even if he had to openly provoke the Dragon King. It was not because he still cared about his father; he was just too scared.
“It’s too premature to assassinate the Unique King at the moment.” Gu Shenwei wasn’t that arrogant and ignorant. He had waited for many years and would not suddenly become impatient. “I’ve learned that a large number of kung fu practitioners from the Central Plains have entered the Western Regions and gathered in Jade City. I want to know what their goal is. Dog Butcher and Old Man Mu, I’ll leave that task to the two of you.”
“So easy? I thought that there would be a kung fu competition or something.” Dog Butcher was slightly disappointed. “Honestly, Dragon King, I’m not familiar with the martial arts world of the Central Plains unless the people who came here are those were famous more than a decade ago.”
Old Man Mu behaved far more maturely than Old Man Mu. “Rest assured, Dragon King. I promise to find everything out. Although I have to take this burden with me, it’ll have little effect on me.”
Gu Shenwei murmured in agreement, and then turned to Shangguan Fei. “Golden Roc Castle has been quiet for a long time. Something isn’t right and you’re in charge of that investigation.”
Shangguan Fei’s straightened body immediately recoiled as he pleaded, “Dragon King, I have done so much for you. Besides, the people of the castle all know me. As soon as I show up, they’ll…”
“I believe that you have your own ways. Tie Linglong, you help him.”
Tie Linglong looked at Shangguan Fei with disgust and reluctantly agreed. Shangguan Fei, who hadn’t noticed her eyes, was still staring blankly at the Dragon King. “I… Uh… This is… What does the Dragon King want to know? Could you be more specific?”
“Hmm, I’d like to know where the green-faced assassins of Golden Roc Castle have gone. Why they haven’t they shown up anywhere?”
Shangguan Fei thought for a moment and felt that the task wasn’t too dangerous, so he also accepted it excitedly like Old Man Mu. “I can do this. After hearing what you had to say, I also find it quite strange. When we were back in the Xiaoyao Lake, there were so many killers pursuing the Dragon King, but not many green-faced assassins showed up. By all measures, the Dragon King is qualified to…” Heh heh, Golden Roc Castle probably can’t afford to lose them.”
Gu Shenwei turned to Han Wuxian again and said only one sentence. “Lotus is in Jade City.”
Han Wuxian put down her long hair and took a deep breath as her eyes squinted. “The entire Jade City is filled with the scent of the traitors. The Dragon King’s news is very accurate.”
Gu Shenwei had nothing more to say. “That’s it. We’ll meet every three days. If you are temporarily unavailable, tell Lü Qiying. I’ll find out where you are if so. And do not alert the enemy. I’m just trying to gather information, not kill anyone.”
To the last condition, Shangguan Fei agreed right away. Between Tie Linglong, Dog Butcher, and Old Man Mu, each was more reluctant to agree than the last. Han Wuxian was silent for a while before she suddenly said, “Is the Dragon King waiting for my answer? Alright, I’ll try not to kill anyone.”
“I said ‘do not kill,’ not ‘try not to kill.’” Gu Shenwei didn’t want to leave a loophole regarding this issue.
Han Wuxian seemed to have not heard the Dragon King’s words, smiled with her head lowered for a long time before spitting out a single word. “Okay.”
The crowd dispersed but Tie Linglong and Nie Zeng stayed behind. The two looked at each other, waiting for the other to go first. In the end, it was Nie Zeng who spoke up first. “The Dragon King has not yet given me a task.”
“Your task is to follow me.”
“Yes.” Nie Zeng retreated.
Tie Linglong then asked at once, “Dragon King, why don’t you let me be your guard and let Nie Zeng go help Shangguan Fei?”
“I need someone to keep an eye on Shangguan Fei for me.”
Tie Linglong immediately put on a smile. It turned out thata the Dragon King trusted her more. She solemnly promised, “Hmm, Shangguan Fei can dream of playing tricks in front of me.”
Tie Linglong was just about to leave when Gu Shenwei stopped her. “Wait, are you still holding a grudge against Little Chu?”
“Who cares about him?” huffed Tie Linglong angrily.
Gu Shenwei stared at the little girl’s eyes. Ever since she had escaped from the Waning Moon Hall, the two had not yet had a deep conversation.
“Whether you care or not care, do not deceive yourself. Conquering your emotions is the same process as defeating your enemy. First, you have to admit their existence.”
Tie Linglong raised her head as if to vehemently prove that she really didn’t care. But before she could say anything, her tears uncontrollably burst out. And the more she tried to stop them, the harder they fell. And her voice soon began to choke with sobs. “He, he talked sweetly, but it… it was all lies. I’m not even as important as .. the sword in his hand — What’s… what’s wrong with me?”
Gu Shenwei watched her cry and then in a rare gentle voice, consoled, “You should give him a chance.”
“Give him a chance? Why?” Tie Linglong finally stopped sobbing but her tears still streamed down her cheeks like pearls. She remained unconvinced at heart.
“Chu Nanping is more genuine than everyone else. He felt puzzled so he admitted it and faced it and will eventually overcome it.”
Tie Linglong wiped away her tears. “What if he chooses the sword technique in the end?”
Gu Shenwei couldn’t answer. Chu Nanping couldn’t choose both. It was one of the drawbacks of the Emotionless Swordsmanship and was also a defect in his character. The young swordsman couldn’t hold two equally important things in his heart, and he would only love one of them wholeheartedly.
Tie Linglong sighed and then said, “Dragon King, am I never going to be a real killer?”
The little girl had to admit many obvious truths. Her sabersmanship was stagnating, and Nie Zeng was gradually catching up; she hadn’t learned the secret arts of the Waning Moon Hall well, and her mood was also always fluctuating. All of these evaluations seemed far from the killer’s standard.
“I never wanted you to be a killer.”
“Because I’m not good?” Tie Linglong was very surprised. She had received the Dragon King’s killer training, and even her joining the Waning Moon Hall had been a deliberate arrangement of the Dragon King’s. Therefore, she had always believed that the Dragon King had placed great hopes on her.
“You did a great job, way better than I expected.” For the first time Gu Shenwei praised her sincerely with earnest wishes and suddenly felt himself grow a lot older. “Neither the Waning Moon Hall nor I can turn you into a killer which means that you are very strong. Stop trying to be a killer and your kung fu will improve much faster.”
“But…” Tie Linglong was very puzzled, feeling that everything was becoming surreal.
“The killer is not the strongest fighter, nor is the only way to kill. You should go the other way.”
Tie Linglong’s green eyes flickered, “But I want to go the same way as the Dragon King.”
Gu Shenwei was destined to walk alone. “Your path will not be far away from mine. I’ll teach you something else soon.”
“Is it powerful?”
“Very powerful. It’s something I practiced since I was little. Unfortunately, I didn’t practice it hard when I was a child and didn’t learn it well.”
Tie Linglong hesitated for a moment before asking, “Will I become more powerful than Chu Nanping?”
“I’m not boasting, but you’ll be more powerful than most people after you master it.”
Tie Linglong smiled. “If I can defeat Little Chu, then I’ll give him a chance. But I’ll never forgive him before that.”
As he watched Tie Linglong walk out of the room, Gu Shenwei murmured to a figure in his heart, “Master, I owe you this much.”
Then his heart gradually cooled back to its normal state. “Nie Zeng,” he called as he raised his voice. “Tell Lü Qiying to come to see me when he’s back.”
Gu Shenwei had also assigned himself a task. Meanwhile, he didn’t ease his speculations on the possible traitor.
