Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“I know you,” Lü Qiying said in surprise, his face flushed red and his whole body reeking of alcohol. He had just closed a few big deals and confirmed that his camel caravan would not leave for the Shule Kingdom empty. “You are… the guard that I hired.”
“I’m Gu Shenwei. The Dragon King appointed me to talk to you.” Gu Shenwei effortlessly told a “true lie.”
Lü Qiying stared at the thirty year old man and slowly sobered up. He rubbed his face with his hands and then said, “I heard that the Dragon King is currently in closed-door cultivation?”
“Yes, for a month.”
Slightly relieved, Lü Qiying said in the solemn but false tone of a typical businessman, “Hmm. First, I’d like to thank the Dragon King for his generous help, as he helped me reclaim my stolen money. But, I have to admit that I have nothing with which I can repay him. The Dragon King has the most powerful force in the Western Regions and I am only a camel-keeper with little money that can barely make a living. I don’t know why the Dragon King would choose me.”
“The Dragon King made a deal with you once before.”
“Yes, he asked me to help him transfer money in the Shule Kingdom. Unfortunately, before I could get my feet on the ground, the Shule Kingdom had already fallen, and the Dragon King had also disappeared. I lost all of my business. Alas, I can only say that things don’t always work out as planned. Now, I’ve put all of my money into camels. Even if I wanted to help, I’m unable to do so now.”
Lü Qiying spoke evasively. Even he himself felt that he was overacting so he added, “I only have a hundred camels left now. If the Dragon King wants me to deliver something…”
“That’s exactly what the Dragon King wants,” interjected Gu Shenwei.
Heart quivering, Lü Qiying found that he had been tricked again. “Ah? With so few camels of mine… Unfortunately, I just made a few deals and there aren’t camels available… Uh, but since the Dragon King has opened his mouth, how could I refuse? I’ll make an arrangement and it won’t be a big problem for me to spare ten or twenty camels.”
“You have a hundred and eighty-five camels in total. The Dragon King needs all of them.”
Lü Qiying was stunned. The ‘Gu Shenwei’ in front of him seemed plain in appearance and weak in momentum, but his tone was very tough. Lü Qiying, who had gone through numerous hardships in the past many years as a businessman, was very displeased. His face darkened as he said, “That’s not going to be easy. The camels will only be available after the camel caravan returns to the Shule Kingdom.”
Gu Shenwei took a step back and revealed a subtle disappointed expression which was not particularly noticeable because of the pain on his face. “The Dragon King said that Tavernkeeper Lü was an old friend of his, and that everything was negotiable. It seems that he was wrong. But it doesn’t matter. There’s more than one camel caravan here, so we’ll just try someone else. And I have to thank Tavernkeeper Lü for bringing the Dragon King’s subordinates into Jade City. They’ll move out tomorrow morning and begin their mission.”
“What mission?” Lü Qiying knew that he should not ask, but still could not stop himself from asking.
“Just some ordinary tasks. The Dragon King has many enemies and can’t live a stable life like Tavernkeeper Lü’s. But you may rest assured. The Dragon King will draw a clear line between you and him; no one will think that you are working for him.”
A thin layer of sweat oozed out from Lü Qiying’s forehead, and he completely sobered up from his drunkenness. This man was obviously threatening him. The subordinates of the Dragon King all had distinct characteristics. The robbers who were humiliated would soon figure out the truth. As soon as they found out that he had gone separate ways with the Dragon King, they would definitely pounce on him and tear him into pieces. Meanwhile, Golden Roc Castle would not believe that rumor.
“Heh heh, no wonder the Dragon King sent you here. Brother Gu is really good at talking about business. But you are being too impatient. I was just pretending to refuse, but you actually took it seriously. All right, I’m not going to play that game anymore. To put it bluntly, the Dragon King can take away all my camels if he wants to. If it’s not enough, then I’ll carry it for him myself!”
“The Dragon King will remember the help offered by Tavernkeeper Lü. You may rest assured. This will not be a loss, and nor will it be a small business.”
Things were getting easier. But that was not the end of Gu Shenwei’s plans. He asked Lü Qiying to buy other camels and then buy provisions throughout the Western Regions and transport them all to the capital city of the Xiaowan Kingdom and several other designated places as soon as possible.
This was a grand plan which Lü Qiying didn’t even think could be realized. “This… This needs much money, and I mean a lot more money. Once the news is out, the price of provisions and fodder will go up for sure. The Dragon King has so many armies and territories. Can’t he collect some from the people there?”
“The Western Regions is still unstable. The Dragon Army has commandeered supplies several times last year and it may arouse public resentment if they do it again. Anyway, the Dragon King has his own ideas. Money is not a problem. Go look for Xu Xiaoyi at Heaven’s Pass. He’ll provide all kinds of funds.”
‘Money is not a problem.’ As soon as he heard this, Lü Qiying’s eyes lit up, completely putting thoughts of Golden Roc Castle, the killers, or bandits behind. “At any price? Any quantity?” asked Lü Qiying.
“The more, the better.”
“Fine, I’ll risk my life to help the Dragon King once more. Uh, the Dragon King has many kung fu masters under him. I’m wondering if he could… send someone to protect me? After all, Golden Roc Castle is not something to be trifled with.”
“Xu Xiaoyi will arrange everything.”
Lü Qiying suppressed the excitement in his heart and seriously asked, “So I’ll contact Xu Xiaoyi from now on?”
“Mmm, but you’ll have to stay in Jade City for half a month. Buy this house, establish a fixed warehouse and make sure it can last for awhile.”
“Can you keep me safe?” Lü Qiying had lived in Southern Jade City for many years and his fear towards Golden Roc Castle was deeply rooted. He really felt uneasy at the thought of fighting openly against Golden Roc Castle here.
“You’ll be perfectly safe.”
Lü Qiying asked a lot of detailed questions and finally retreated, satisfied. He began to consider how he should refuse the business he had previously taken on, and how he would take over other camel caravans for a low price.
Nie Zeng had stayed in the room this whole time. After listening to the conversation he felt quite perplexed, but did not ask because he knew that as a killer he should stay silent.
“If you have anything on your mind, I’m listening,” Gu Shenwei encouraged.
Nie Zeng felt a bit embarrassed, then he felt more embarrassed by his embarrassment, and suddenly said loudly, “I think the Dragon King is wasting money.”
“Oh? Tell me about it.”
“Tavernkeeper Lü… Lü Qiying made it very clear that once the news that you’re acquiring grain and grass spreads, the price will rise sharply. Many people may even store up goods to make a good bargain, leaving fewer provisions and fodder in the market.”
“You’re right.” Gu Shenwei put on an odd expression similar to a smile. “I have a question for you then. Who do you think has the largest territory in the Western Regions now?”
Nie Zeng didn’t understand why the Dragon King asked him this. He paused a moment before saying, “Many countries in the eastern area have already joined the Central Plains, so the Central Plains should have the largest territory.”
“And the second-largest?”
“Duodun and Golden Roc Castle have occupied the Shule Kingdom and Jade City, so they have the second-largest territory.”
“And what about me?”
“The Dragon King owns the five kingdoms of the Xiaoyao Lake, and the far away Land of Fragrance. So while the territory is also very large, the Dragon King is far away from the Xiaoyao Lake and does not hold any advantage.”
“You are right. So, if the price of army provisions in the Western Regions shoots up, who do you think will suffer the most?”
Nie Zeng was stunned again. “It turns out the Dragon King isn’t actually trying to collect provisions.”
“No, I am in urgent need of provisions but I might as well take this chance to strike a blow to my enemy. This is what the counselor taught me. He said that the best policy in war was to thwart the enemy by strategy, and this is one of them.”
Nie Zeng felt that he had been suddenly enlightened, but he still had some doubts. “The Central Plains and Golden Roc Castle can forcibly commandeer grain and grass, and thus ignore the price increase of the Dragon King.”
“Maybe. But this can have two possible consequences. First, they will become unpopular among the people. Second, even if they don’t care about it, it will be harder for them to commandeer provisions. As you said, many people will store up goods to get the best bargain. Besides, unlike the Central Plains and the Norland, there are many countries in the Western Regions. It is impossible for all of them to comply to one single order.”
Nie Zeng admired the Dragon King for his crafty plan. Then he suddenly realized that this was the first time he had talked so much with the Dragon King. In a low voice, he said, “The Dragon King doesn’t have to care about my ideas.”
“It doesn’t matter. For the next half a month, you can ask me any questios at will. This is another kind of training.”
“Training?”
“Hmm, I expect you to be more than just a killer.”
Nie Zeng became more puzzled. “Instructor Hu said a killer should focus on improving his killing skills with all his heart and soul, and should dismiss all distracting thoughts.”
“Do you have any distracting thoughts?”
“Yes.” Nie Zeng suddenly became bold and said, “My distracting thought is that I wish to become more powerful than the Dragon King so that one day so I can avenge my uncle’s family.”
“Then you should learn about something else other than kung fu. You know, you probably won’t be able to get close to me once your saber is faster than mine.”
Gu Shenwei understood what this teenager was thinking but did not care. Nie Zeng’s hatred was different from his. It was not that strong and also had not been consolidated by the Death Sutra.
An idea flashed through Nie Zeng’s mind: ‘The Dragon King is playing a trick.’ But he could not think of any potential losses, so he bit his lip and thought for a while before saying, “In fact, I’ve always wanted to ask the Dragon King this. You already have the strength to break into Golden Roc Castle, so why do you not make a move? If I were you, I would have put the disputes of the prairie aside and led the hundred thousand soldiers straight south. I would be able to capture the Unique King alive in two months.”
Looking at the teenager who was quite similar to him, Gu Shenwei replied, “I once had a Master…”
“I know, Tie Hanfeng. In fact, he’s my biggest enemy. Unfortunately, he’s already dead.” Nie Zeng had already learned a lot about the death of his uncle’s family.
“Hmm, so you hate him. I hated him, too. So I killed him myself. But he still taught me many useful things. It was him who told me that killing was simple. Just swing your saber at the enemy, but you have to sever the enemy’s bonds first.”
“Sever the bonds?”
“Most people do not living independently in this world. Everyone has their own role. If you kill someone, that role will temporarily become vacant, and the relevant people will be dissatisfied, and they will seek revenge on you. For example, Tie Hanfeng and I killed your uncle’s family, and you came to get revenge. In that sense, you are a ‘bond’ of your uncle’s family.”
“But you two didn’t kill me,” whispered Nie Zeng, still pondering the truth in the Dragon King’s words.
“Because we didn’t know of your existence. Tie Hanfeng severed all the bonds of your uncle in Jade City. At least at that time, no one took revenge for your uncle.”
“Why did you kill my uncle? Were you hired by someone?”
This was a simple question, and his answer might also ease the hatred in the teenager’s heart, but Gu Shenwei could not answer. Some of the killer’s principles still dominated his habits. “I can’t say.”
If it were two years ago, Nie Zeng would have thought that this was an insult, but now he understood it very well. So he turned his focus to Golden Roc Castle again. “So the Dragon King is trying to sever the connections of Golden Roc Castle?”
“Right. I didn’t have the power to cut them off before. And now, simply killing the Unique King cannot lift the hatred in my heart. I want him to be utterly isolated. Not only will I sever his connections with those powerful countries, but I will also cut off his relations with Jade City, Golden Roc Castle, his wife, and children. This is my ultimate plan.”
The Dragon King’s tone was so flat he could have been arranging an ordinary lunch, but Nie Zeng listened to his words with great trepidation. He even felt a bit ashamed about the small hatred he carried in his heart now.
Nie Zeng had no more questions for the time being so Gu Shenwei said, “Come on, let’s go sever one of the Unique King’s connections and get some more silver.”
