Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Gu Shenwei had been watching for more than an hour now. Shangguan Fei became a bit anxious. He really wanted to tell the Dragon King that there was nothing to worry about as the old house of the Meng family wasn’t the same as Golden Roc Castle and that there weren’t many killers who acted as guards for his mother.
Lady Meng lived in a small, detached courtyard in one corner of the garden, and all of her guards, including the sabermen of the Meng family and several killers of Golden Roc Castle, patrolled the periphery. Everything looked normal. It didn’t seem like a trap at all.
Out of sheer force of habit, Gu Shenwei didn’t go in at once. After another group of guards passed by, he nodded, at last ready to move.
Shangguan Fei was just about to stand up before the Dragon King grabbed him by the arm. He immediately understood that the Dragon King was going to go with him. Shangguan Fei had his doubts about the situation. It didn’t matter if him broke in at midnight to meet Lady Meng because she was his mother, but the Dragon King was neither a relative nor a friend. The lesson of Shangguan Hong was still fresh in his memory.
But Shangguan Fei only hesitated for a moment before he became relieved. This was the Dragon King. Although the relationship between he and his sister was incomprehensible, it was unlikely for him to have any evil intentions.
There were only three rooms in the small courtyard. Two of them were vacant and Lady Meng lived in the middle one. For various reasons, this place was much less extravagant than the one that Lady Meng lived in back at the castle.
Shangguan Fei suddenly felt a bit sad. He went up to the door and rhythmically knocked on it several times, which was actually a signal that he had used to meet with his mother in southern Jade City. This might remind her to prepare herself.
The Dragon King was within three steps of him. Shangguan Fei was a little surprised because it didn’t conform to the Dragon King’s usual practice, and neither did it comply with the killer’s rules of cooperation.
“Who is it?” A moment later, a woman’s voice was heard from the room.
“Aunt Tong, it’s me,” Shangguan Fei said in a low voice.
Aunt Tong, who used to be Lady Meng’s close maidservant and had served her for many years, had been sold as a prostitute in southern Jade City by her hostess because of the whimsical favor of the Unique King. When Shangguan Fei returned to Jade City, he had secretly contacted his mother through her. Because of this meritorious service, she had been able to return to Lady Meng.
The door opened a crack, but Shangguan Fei wasn’t let through at once. “Who’s this man?”
“The Dragon King… A messenger sent by the Dragon King to see my mother.”
“That’s monkey business!” Aunt Tong appeared very dissatisfied. “It’s already dangerous to come to northern Jade City at midnight, and you even brought a strange man with you. What if others find out?”
“No. As long as we keep our mouths shut, no one will find it out.” Shangguan Fei was a bit anxious because the longer they waited outside, the more likely it was that they would be exposed.
“You come in first and have him wait outside for a while. The lady is getting dressed and can’t meet any outsiders at the moment.”
“Hmm.” Shangguan Fei was about to move when he glanced back at the Dragon King and stopped. The Dragon King looked very resolute and would not allow him to stray three steps away from him. “Uh, I’ll wait together with the Dragon King… the Dragon King’s messenger.”
Through the door crack, Gu Shenwei saw a pair of eyes that looked old even in the night. This woman was hesitating.
There was a slight cough in the room and Aunt Tong closed the door.
Shangguan Fei smiled awkwardly at the Dragon King.
The two retreated into the shadows. The Dragon King once again made an exception by staying together with his partner instead of keeping a distance and staying on guard.
The Dragon King didn’t believe Lady Meng. Shangguan Fei was a bit nervous and also angry. He had been with the Dragon King for so long, and his mother had also clearly expressed her support, but they still couldn’t gain the Dragon King’s trust.
‘The Dragon King is paranoid in nature. It will probably be the same even if my sister was leading the way,’ Shangguan Fei thought to comfort himself.
The door was opened again. Aunt Tong walked out and glanced at ‘the Dragon King’s messenger’ before going to another room.
There was a dim light in the room. The window was covered with a thick blanket to prevent the light from leaking out. Lady Meng was sitting at a table with one of her arms on the table. “So it really is the Dragon King. Sorry for being unable to personally go out and welcome you in.”
To Gu Shenwei’s amazement, after all these years, Madam Meng’s appearance and character had barely changed compared to several years ago. Even in the face of the protector of her beloved son, she refused to make a humble gesture.
It was actually Shangguan Fei who became bashful and awkward. Both the Dragon King and his mother were people that he revered yet also feared. He didn’t know which side to stand on. “The situation is quite chaotic at the moment. The Dragon King had no choice but to be careful and pay a visit at night. Mom, I hope that you can understand.”
Shangguan Fei finally decided to stand on the Dragon King’s side as it was always easier to beg for his mother’s forgiveness afterward.
“As it should be. We are all from the castle and are always prepared for this kind of thing.” Lady Meng revealed a smile and nodded slightly to the Dragon King. “I’m glad that I can express my thanks in person for the Dragon King’s great kindness of protecting my son and daughter.”
“The Dragon King was kind to me and even taught me kung fu…” Shangguan Fei felt that his mother wasn’t enthusiastic enough, but he regretted what he said as soon as he had blurted it out. The martial arts skills that the Dragon King had taught him wasn’t pleasant at all and the Dragon King wasn’t here to have a casual chat with his mother. So he shut his mouth and quietly retreated to the side, not far from the Dragon King.
“It wasn’t a great kindness. I protected Shangguan Fei because he was useful to me.”
The Dragon King’s answer broke the set pattern. Shangguan Fei became even more embarrassed. He understood that the Dragon King had always been straightforward, but in front of his mother, he always hoped the atmosphere could be a little more harmonious.
Lady Meng’s reaction, however, was different from her son’s. She rose to her feet and said, “Well said, Dragon King. This is what a man of Golden Roc Castle should be like. We won’t follow the hypocrisy of the Central Plains or the fake forthrightness of the Norland. I’ve wanted to meet with the Dragon King since long ago, hoping to ask you a question in person. How is the Dragon King going to deal with the people of the Shangguan family?”
Gu Shenwei had been asked this question many times, and he had long come up with a standardized answer. “Those who comply with me will thrive and those who resist will perish. I’ll forgive them as long as they are not followers of Shangguan Fa or enemies of the Dragon Army.”
“And what about those who help the Dragon King defeat the Unique King and Golden Roc Castle?”
“I’ll award them according to their contributions like how I treat all the officers and soldiers of the Dragon Army.”
“Good. What kind of contribution does my son need to make to inherit the Unique King’s title?”
Shangguan Fei blushed. The Unique King was a title he wanted yet simultaneously feared. “Mom, the Dragon King has agreed…”
“No, I want to hear him say it with my own ears.”
Gu Shenwei paused for a moment before saying, “The client who entrusted Golden Roc Castle to assassinate the Gu family. I want his name and any relevant records. With this, you can get the title of Unique King. But as I told Shangguan Fei before, you won’t get Golden Roc Castle.”
“I’m not interested in the castle.” Lady Meng looked very satisfied. “The Dragon King can take the castle. The new Unique King will continue to receive your protection from the mountain peak and assume the corresponding responsibilities.”
“Very good.”
Although it was just a confirmation of the existing agreement, Shangguan Fei was very excited as if an additional assurance had been made. “Mom, you can get the records, right?”
“It’s ongoing.” Lady Meng would not make it sound too easy. “The Unique King is very concerned with protecting the information of his clients. He values it more than the Daoless Scroll. My people have to act according to the circumstances. I hope that the Dragon King is not in a hurry.”
“No.”
“Hmm, I beg your pardon for a woman’s wordiness, but you came to me for something else that’s equally important, right?”
Shangguan Fei listened attentively because even he did not know the purpose of the Dragon King’s visit.
“Is the assassin who killed the Central Plains envoy one of your men, I wonder?”
Astonished, Shangguan Fei was just about to refute before shutting his mouth under the stern gaze of his mother.
“Did Shangguan Ru tell the Dragon King this?” Lady Meng didn’t directly answer the Dragon King’s question. “I heard that the Dragon King had just visited the Kun Society during the day.”
“No, she didn’t know anything about it.”
“Hehe, my dear daughter is very smart. She must have told the Dragon King that I’ve taken in some killer disciples, right?”
Lady Meng was also very smart. She had guessed the truth at once. Gu Shenwei could only nod his head.
“It took me a lot of effort to recruit these dozens of disciples.” Lady Meng still did not answer the question directly and instead sighed. “And my only competitor was my own daughter. The Unique King didn’t forgive me and my son, but he did forgive his youngest daughter and doted her more than ever.”
Looking at her son’s face vacillating between red and purple, Lady Meng continued, her voice full of unrestrainable bitterness and sarcasm, “Shangguan Ru doesn’t need to return to the castle. In the face of the Unique King, she even accused the castle’s crimes of being too numerous to record and that it should be burnt to ashes. Then she allied with the monks, rebuilt the Kun Society, and made a clean break with the castle. Even so, the Unique King still loves her and gives her whatever she wants. There were several hundred killer disciples, most of whom didn’t even finish the training at Carving Wood Yard. Even over this group of servants who isn’t much better than waste, my daughter had fought with me. She succeeded. In the end, most of the disciples went to her, and I only got thirty or so people.”
This was an accusation from a mother. Gu Shenwei automatically thought of a rebuttal for Shangguan Ru: she was saving these killer disciples’ lives by helping them off of the killer’s path while Lady Meng would force them to move on until they were killed.
But he didn’t say it. He had a clear purpose here and did not want to meddle in someone else’s business.
Shangguan Fei felt that his sister wasn’t that kind of person, but he would never offend his mother for his sister so he merely bowed his head without a word.
When Lady Meng finished complaining, she sighed and said, “The assassin was one of my killer disciples.”
Shangguan Fei looked up in amazement. “How can that be? Mom… Dragon King, I knew nothing about it.”
“I didn’t tell you because you are not tight-lipped at all,” said Lady Meng sternly. Then she turned to the Dragon King. “The Western Regions is in chaos right now. There are so many powerful forces competing for hegemony. For the sake of safety, I’ve been in touch with some other powerful forces besides the Dragon Army. The Dragon King doesn’t mind, right? Of course, what I’ve done will never affect the interests of the Dragon King.”
“That’s normal. Who hired the assassin?”
“Governor Wei Song.”
Shangguan Fei was frightened by his mother’s words. “Wei… Wei Song? He’s a man of the Central Plains. Why would he kill the envoy of the Central Plains? Mom, how could you…”
“That’s exactly why he wanted to kill the Central Plains envoy. In this way, Wei Song will be in charge of everything in the Western Regions. He can ask the Imperial Court of the Central Plains to send an army into the Western Regions. He came to me because he didn’t trust Golden Roc Castle, so he had to turn to the Meng family for help.”
“But you didn’t keep his secret.” Gu Shenwei was skeptical about the easily obtained answer.
“As I said, my cooperation with other forces will not affect the Dragon King’s interests. Whether it’s the Central Plains people or the Norland people, they will always come and go but the Dragon King will stay in the Western Regions forever. This is my view.”
No matter if the Dragon King believed it or not, she had instilled this idea in his mind, and she believed that the Dragon King would use it and step into her trap sooner or later.
The Dragon King had taken Shangguan Fei hostage, so the best time to kill him had already passed. It was time for the second plan to come into play.
