Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Shangguan Ru had outwitted everybody, including Xu Xiaoyi who had bustled around all day — he had no idea that his actions were just a distraction for the enemy.
As the only one that had tended to the Dragon King, Red Bat had disguised herself as a common saberman and left the yard with Gu Shenwei on a previous occasion, coincidentally timed with a change in sentries. Then, they left Heaven’s Pass with a provisions convoy.
Gu Shenwei hadn’t fully recovered from his Qi deviation yet. Actually he could barely use any of his strength. But he shared Shangguan Ru’s opinion that Heaven’s Pass was much too dangerous and that if the Unique King refused to let go of this opportunity and insisted on killing him, then nobody would be able to stop him.
Before all of this had taken place, the Dragon King was just a killer who had betrayed his organization and was on the run. He had been very lucky because at that time, the Unique King had been in the midst of transforming Golden Roc Castle from a group of killers into an army. This transition allowed Gu Shenwei to evade the man-hunt even at its most intense level. Afterwards, Gu Shenwei had gathered hundreds of thousands of troops under his command and was able to form a tight security network, so it became very difficult to assassinate him.
However, the night before, he had gone to the Unique King’s place by himself, and the latter had every reason to seize this opportunity of vengeance.
At that time, in the room, Gu Shenwei had exchanged three consecutive palm attacks with the Unique King, and he had fled immediately after, not even having enough time to whip out his saber. He still had his killer instincts and between fleeing and fighting to the death, he almost always chose the former.
One man sounding the enemy out while another lay in ambush along the enemy’s escape route — this was one of the most common tactics used by Golden Roc killers. Thus, the Unique King hadn’t pursued him as he probably didn’t recognize that the assassin was the Dragon King.
At least five guards had rushed out from dark corners and started pursuing the assassin for the Unique King.
Gu Shenwei speculated that these guards were most likely the green-faced assassins, because he had to spend quite a lot of time to get away, running through more than half of Heaven’s Pass before he managed to successfully lose his pursuers. It was not until daybreak that he managed to return to base. But he didn’t dare go to Shangguan Ru’s place, so he had to turn to Xu Xiaoyi instead.
While Shangguan Ru was unhurriedly tasting the alcohol in the yard and Xu Xiaoyi was bustling around in the city, Gu Shenwei had been sitting on a cart loaded with hay, ruminating on why he had made a decision to take on such a risk all by himself.
Maybe it was because the enemy had been too physically close to him, causing him to lose his mind and give up on his long-term strategy of “severing relations.” In that moment, his yearning to finish the job once and for all had overwhelmed all reason. After all, this was an irresistible temptation for him and it had once completely occupied his mind, only being replaced it with a safer and more practicable plan years later.
Or maybe it was because of his arrogance and conceit. When he had killed Luo Qibai with Lotus in that strange cooperative state, their Death Scriptures had received a spark of inspiration from each other. This spark had improved his sabermanship, giving him the confidence and ambition to challenge the Unique King.
But it turned out that he was still no match for the Unique King.
It didn’t matter much whether he had a chance to use his saber or not. Gu Shenwei couldn’t even sense the existence of his enemy until the Unique King had made his move. Yes, he knew that the Unique King was in the room, but that was more of a speculation than a deduction.
He raised his head and glanced at the long caravan behind him, wondering why he was thinking about these things. As long as he could put an end to the civic strife and surround Jade City, most of the Unique King’s relations would be severed. At that point, regardless of how good the Unique King’s kung fu was, it wouldn’t change anything.
Yet he still couldn’t let it go.
He replayed the three palm attacks of the Unique King in his mind over and over again. At the same time, he also reviewed the general principles of the Daoless Scroll in his mind repeatedly. Those palm attacks and the general principles mutually complemented and completed each other.
Of all the people Gu Shenwei knew that had practiced the Daoless Divine Power, the Unique King was the only one who was experienced with thoroughly dispersing his internal energy. Thus, now not only was the Unique King’s internal energy far more powerful than what he had initially anticipated, but also its nature had also changed — from chilly to erratic, unpredictable, and nearly incomparable.
But Gu Shenwei couldn’t think about this for too long. He had to guide his internal energy and restrain the frosty Qi in his body every so often, lest it strike early.
Red Bat was riding a horse beside him. She was dressed as a common-looking saberwoman who occasionally glanced at her “customer,” but didn’t dare disturb him.
Covered under a thick cape, Gu Shenwei leaned on a stack of hay, looking very feeble as if he was suffering from some kind of incurable disease.
“My master wants to die in his own hometown.” Red Bat would give out this reply if anybody asked her about Gu Shenwei out of curiosity.
Gu Shenwei managed to survive another bout of the frosty Qi’s outbreak, but he suddenly noticed that this Qi deviation was a little strange. Although it was just as piercingly cold as it had been before, the pain in his Dantian, which was usually the most intense during Qi deviation, was not as terrible as before.
A faint warmth had crept into the innermost part of his Dantian this time.
The Sumeru Mustard Divine Power the monk imparted him was taking effect. This yang Qi was not very strong at the moment, but it had somehow managed to hold its ground in Gu Shenwei’s Dantian, refusing to give in no matter how aggressive the frosty Qi was.
Doctor Sun had once said that, when the yin Qi completely converted into yang Qi, Qi deviation would never be a problem again.
Recalling those words, Gu Shenwei finally understood why the Unique King’s Qi had been so different. It was actually himself who was erratic. The Unique King’s Daoless Divine Power had reached a level where he could freely change its nature at any time in order to match and restrain hisopponent.
Light dawned on Gu Shenwei — actually, the Unique King’s internal energy was not that powerful, and it was just that his technique was far better than anyone else’s.
Troops represented raw strength, but the way a general commanded his troops determined how much of the strength would be effective.
Gu Shenwei felt that he had instantly comprehended too many things. His back straightened abruptly and he nearly fell off the cart.
Red Bat got off of her horse hurriedly and walked beside him. In a low voice, she asked, “Do you want to stop?”
Gu Shenwei shook his head and replied, “I just recalled something. Don’t mind me.” Then he lay down on the hay again.
Between the Daoless Scroll, Death Scripture, Sumeru Mustard, Balanced Power, various sabersmanships, his own kung fu, and others’ kung fu, it was as if Gu Shenwei had entered a cluttered room in which he was familiar with every item. Although the items were in a disordered mess, he had the feeling that he could rearrange them, tidy the room up, and organize everything.
Gu Shenwei was extremely excited and he barely noticed the time growing later and the convoy encamping.
It would take more than half a day to ride from Heaven’s Pass to the capital of Xiaowan Kingdom, even with fast horses. And since ox carts and camels were much slower, it would take at least two days.
Gu Shenwei couldn’t ride a horse, so he had no choice but to stop and rest with the other travelers.
This part of the road was relatively safe, so there weren’t any designated security guards keeping watch around the camp. They just routinely arranged the carts in a circle with the livestock in the middle and the rear parts of carts facing the outside.
There were plenty of hitchhikers like Gu Shenwei and Red Bat. Some of them were small business owners, and some were refugees. War was raging across both the Western Regions and the Norland, so many people were fleeing with no definite destinations. Some fled from north to south, and some fled from the Western Regions to the grasslands, but the Xiaowan Kingdom was many people’s first choice.
There was a bonfire. Red Bat had rented a tent, but Gu Shenwei preferred to sit next to the bonfire — there were too many noises in the camp and a tent wouldn’t provide any peace or quiet.
Besides, he liked the background chatter of those people who were from all walks of life: transporters, bodyguards, traders, refugees, and so on. After a few drinks, they soon became familiar with each other and started talking about a large variety of topics. Which one was better — grasslands milk alcohol or Western Region wine? A lone subject like this could cause intense arguments.
But war was always the most popular topic. As if the bonfire were temporarily keeping away the shadow of war, people talked about the war as bystanders, as if they wouldn’t have to experience it themselves.
“The Dragon King’s so rich!” said a voice not far away, immediately receiving a lot of approval from the crowd.
“He’s pouring out silver like crazy. You see, the prices of all of these provisions are double their usual price. My master has been regretting it the whole time. He said that the price will double again in just a few days.”
“Where did the Dragon King get so much money? I mean, even the Meng family of Jade City can’t spend money like he is.”
“I heard that the Dragon King took all the treasures from the Khan’s palace.”
“Don’t be silly. That’s just small potatoes. The Dragon King must have found the Khan’s mausoleum and looted all the treasure, which would be more than enough to buy the entire Western Regions outright.”
“Ah, how I wish he would buy out the Western Regions. Then, there wouldn’t be any wars anymore.”
“Young man, you’ve got arms, legs, and a saber. Why don’t you enlist and win your own coin?”
“I’m not going to do that. You see, all those sabermen, no matter what side they take, Golden Roc Castle or Dragon Army, they will all die a violent death. Things change. God knows who will be the winner next year.”
…
Gradually, the topic shifted. Red Bat looked at the Dragon King and smiled, thinking about how surprised these people would be if they knew that the Dragon King was sitting among them powerlessly, unable to even wield his saber.
Some people drank too much and moved to Red Bat’s side, asking her all kinds of questions. Saberwomen were very rare in any country. Although Red Bat’s looks were mediocre, people were still curious about her.
Red Bat tried to ignore them all, and the occasional responses she gave were cold, so there soon wasn’t anyone left beside her.
If it weren’t for that group of uninvited guests, this could have been a quiet, common night.
The people around the bonfire gradually scattered, and Gu Shenwei also planned to return to the tent and rest. He still had to fight against the frosty Qi and ruminate on the philosophy of martial arts — it was as if he could see a bright path in the distance, but he still had to blaze a trail through all manner of obstacles to get there.
It was at this time that the bandits showed themselves. They had probably entered the camp in small groups, and now they had blocked off all the exits and entrances, eyeing their major targets with sabers.
A resonant voice called out and said, “Please wait a minute, everybody. I want to say something.”
Everybody stopped, and even some of those who were already in their tent came out to watch.
The owner of the voice was tall and strong. He walked beside the bonfire to make sure that everybody could see him. Two men holding a saber were standing at his left and right side, one of them short and the other tall and thin, respectively.
“I’m the Mighty King from the Western Regions,” the tall and strong one introduced, causing immediate panic to sweep through the camp. Those caravan men were experienced, so they quickly crouched down with their hands crossed over their heads, indicating that they had nothing to do with all these people and that the bandits could take whatever they wanted.
The bodyguards hired by the caravan gave a few glances around and soon found that more than a hundred men had surrounded the camp. So, they also crouched down without any qualms, tossing their weapons three steps away.
Upon seeing the bodyguards’ actions, everybody knew what they should do.
Seeing that everybody was willing to cooperate, the Mighty King was very pleased. After a while, he started introducing the other two bandits at his side. “These two are my brothers, Golden Saber and Skyscraping Beast. Originally, we ruled our respective turfs. So why did we come here together today? Because the Dragon King violated the rules and double-crossed us, so we’re here to repay the favor. Tonight, we’re going to make a big, big bonfire with these provisions and we need to make sure that even the people in Xiaowan Kingdom can see it. We’re also going to need you guys to pitch in some travelling expenses for us, as we’ve come a long way and it’s been a tough journey. Anybody got a problem with that?”
Nobody said anything. The Mighty King clapped his hands and continued saying, “Things are going to get really messy when we set up the fire, so I’m going to collect the travelling fees first. Come on, everybody, be smart and open up your packages.”
His last remark caused panic in the camp again. Nobody cared about the provisions, but it would be like cutting a piece of meat off of their bodies if they handed over the several taels of silver they had left.
“I’ve got one,” said a ringing female voice.
Red Bat stepped forward.
