Chapter 10: Sworn Brothers
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
"They were attempting to run away when I caught them, and that boy meant to join them."
The pointy-faced teenager reported excitedly as he pointed at Gu Shenwei.
Hearing the commotion, other bandits rushed in, torches in their hands. However, seeing that Mama Xue had already gotten the situation under control, they did not take further action.
Gu Shenwei was resolved to seek revenge, by hook or by crook, but now he was not sure what to do exactly.
Therefore, being confronted with the pointy-faced teenager's false accusation, he hesitated momentarily, but he did not defend himself since he did not want to betray the brothers.
In a huff, Mama Xue flung the brothers upward, and then simultaneously slapped them on their backs without saying a word. The two teenagers fell into a dead faint, as they landed on the straw mat.
When the pointy-faced teenager saw that, he became so excited that his eyes glittered. He enjoyed watching others being punished and did not care who the executor was.
Mama Xue silently strode toward Gu Shenwei, and quick as a flash, she poked him in the shoulder with two of her fingers.
Gu Shenwei had been originally sitting on the straw mat, but after the attack, he was lying flat on his back. Feeling the pain penetrate to his marrow, he immediately lost control of his arms and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. He could not help letting out a painful cry, however, he instantly stifled the following groan.
The pointy-faced teenager flushed with excitement, and was on the verge of shouting "bravo".
Mama Xue turned and approached the pointy-faced teenager. The boy knelt on the straw mat, and with great expectation, he eagerly said, "Mama Xue, please rest assured, I..."
...
Mama Xue rose one of her arms and slapped him across the face. The smack was so powerful that the pointy-faced teenager tumbled, falling heavily onto the mat, instantly unconscious.
"Damn you, little snitch."
Mama Xue cursed as she turned around to leave. As much as she hated informers, she still arranged for an underling to keep an eye on the tent.
Neither of the brothers nor the pointy-faced teenager died, and they woke up just before dawn. As for Gu Shenwei, he could move now despite being in immense pain.
The other teenagers tried their best to avoid them since they did not know what had happened. They wanted to keep their distance from the entire affair.
With a clear handprint on his face, the pointy-faced teenager buried his cheek against his hand in utter confusion. Seeing the brothers and Gu Shenwei walking toward him, he immediately sat up.
"Easy now. I did that for your own good. You wouldn't have escaped. You would have been caught and killed.
"I had no choice. We're slaves bought by them. It's our duty to remain loyal to our master. You can also accuse me if I do anything wrong." The boy tried hard to make excuses for himself.
Ignoring him, the brothers uttered a few sentences in their native language. With a furious and scared face, the pointy-faced teenager snapped back. Just then, Mama Xue entered the room.
Since the boys dreaded the skinny woman's fingers, none of them dared to risk getting into trouble in her presence, so they retreated.
Throughout the morning, the 10 teenagers cleaned incense burners outside the tent. Shortly before noon, something happened that almost made Gu Shenwei forget his hatred for the pointy-faced teenager.
Bighead Kingpin came back suddenly and strode toward his daughter's tent. His face looked pale and ghastly, and he wore an expression that only appeared when he wanted to kill someone.
Obviously, the rule that men were forbidden from seeing his daughter did not apply to him.
Everyone felt nervous, as if a storm were brewing. They wiped the brassware harder as they tried to eavesdrop on the people inside. It was on that day, the sixth day since they were made dowry, that they first heard the Miss's voice.
"No. I won't marry him!"
Her voice sounded mellifluous and as soothing as cool water on a hot summer's day, quite different from her father's rough timbre. However, she spoke in a firm and aggressive tone, which no one else would ever dare to use in front of Bighead Kingpin.
Bighead Kingpin lowered his voice, trying his best to persuade his daughter, but he was thwarted by an angrier protest,
"I won't marry a crippled man. Father, break off the engagement."
They could hear neither Bighead Kingpin nor his daughter. Suddenly, an almighty roar came from the tent. The enormous bandit chieftain had finally lost his patience and revealed his true nature.
"Whatever happens, you must marry him! That's an order! Motherfucker!"
Feeling threatened by her own father, the Miss burst into tears.
Bighead Kingpin sagged his upper body as he walked out of the tent. Standing at the entrance, he let out another roar into the sky before returning to his main tent, his footsteps heavy. On the way, leaders of varying levels and handymen avoided encountering him. No one dared to comfort him.
Holding his spear in hand, Bighead Kingpin looked to find someone to vent his anger on. However, he did not see anyone. So, instead, he raised his spear and shouted with rage.
"Go to hell Shangguan Fa! Even if my son-in-law killed the wrong person, you should have just asked him to kill the right one. Why did you have to cut off his hand? I, I..."
Even though he was an influential bandit chieftain in the Western Region, he could do nothing directly to the Supreme King, other than make verbal threats.
"Who the hell is Gu Shenwei? Bring him to me! I'll tear him to shreds!"
Bighead Kingpin's eyes were red and bloodshot.
Upon hearing his name, Gu Shenwei became shocked and scared. He felt a warm airflow rise up to his head so fast that he almost fainted. Suddenly, he knew who his enemy was.
Eagle had been right. It was Golden Roc Fort that had exterminated the entire Gu family, and the one who had led the slaughter was none other than Bighead Kingpin's future son-in-law!
Thank goodness! He had been bought by Bighead Kingpin as a slave, and together with his enemy's fiancée, he would be sent to the enemy's home.
Ultimately, Bighead Kingpin did not find anyone to kill in order to vent his anger. The leader's and daughter's rage continued to pervade the entire camp and everyone felt insecure. Eventually, a slave girl was the one to suffer.
Bighead Kingpin's surname was Luo and so was his daughter's. Her name was Ningcha, which sounded quite strange. Bighead Kingpin forbade men from seeing his daughter, but he did not mind if they mentioned her name throughout their daily lives.
However, Miss Luo Ningcha personally hated that, especially when she was unhappy.
The slave girl got into trouble just because of that. Since she had come from a mountainous area, her dialect made her hard to understand. The girl struggled to adapt to her new environment and worked hard to learn the common language. One of the first expressions she learned had been "Ningcha". It was a pity that she did not know its meaning or the Miss's taboo.
Two days after Bighead Kingpin had quarreled with his daughter, the slave girl had been reciting the few expressions that she knew in Central Plain Chinese. When she mentioned "Ningcha", she sighed and just so happened to be overheard by Miss Luo.
Few knew what exactly happened next. Like the other teenagers, Gu Shenwei had been working outside the tent when he heard a miserable shriek.
The screams lasted for some time before the punished girl was brought out, her face bloody and beaten beyond recognition.
From that day on, she lost her eyes and tongue.
Gu Shenwei did not know what the others thought about it, but it filled him with a righteous indignation. He thought Luo Ningcha was just as brutal as her father, who indiscriminately slaughtered innocent people.
Indignant as he was, he would do nothing about it. Even if he had still been the young Master of the Gu family and did not have to avenge his family's murder, he would not have had the guts to defend the poor girl.
However, the slave girl did not die and after only two days, she returned to the Miss's tent. Even though she could neither speak nor see, she still had to serve the vicious mistress with her ears.
No one, other than Luo Ningcha herself, knew why she had kept the slave girl.
Every time he saw the blind girl, without her tongue and groping her way in and out of the tent, Gu Shenwei felt a cold shiver of fear run through him. He was sorry, terrified, and he believed that the other teenagers shared his emotions.
Maybe the slave girl's miserable suffering reminded the teenagers of their need for solidarity. The third day after the incident, the pointy-faced teenager unexpectedly took the initiative to make peace with Gu Shenwei and the brothers who had previously attempted to escape.
"I came to apologize. I hope you can forgive me for my behavior that night. Since we live, eat, and serve the same master together, we should help each other like brothers."
While saying this, the pointy-faced teenager touched the faint handprint on his cheek and appeared rather sincere. He was apparently capable of changing his attitude so fast that others would mistakenly think they were facing two different people.
He apologized in two languages. Gu Shenwei and the two brothers exchanged knowing glances before they nodded, implying they forgave the pointy-faced teenager for his betrayal.
They had more important secrets to keep, so they did not care much about the pointy-faced teenager's trick.
But, the pointy-faced teenager wanted more than just peace. That evening, he coughed to draw everyone's attention and spoke in a formal tone as the others were about to rest.
He spoke in two barbaric tongues of the Western Region before he finally said in Central Plains Chinese, "Now that you agree with me, let's hold a ceremony to become sworn brothers and swear that we'll share happiness and sorrow in the future."
He cast a seemingly serious glance over all of the boys that were present. Seeing that nobody objected, he then continued in three languages, "I, Lin Yang, will treat all of the people in this tent as my blood brothers. I'll share my food and clothes with you. If I succeed one day, I'll definitely help you to succeed, too."
It was not because they treasured the ties of brotherhood that none of them raised any objection, it was rather they did not know the others' true thoughts due to the language barrier. Therefore, they all kept silent. Moreover, nobody wanted to cause a stir in Bighead Kingpin's camp since both the chieftain and his daughter were in a bad mood and might kill someone at any time.
After a brief silence, one teenager was the first to speak. He stammered out something in his own language, which, judging from Lin Yang's satisfied look, must have been a vow.
The teenagers swore their oaths one after the other, some reluctantly and others passionately. The two brothers, who had been betrayed by Lin Yang, followed suit, though their oaths sounded brief and not very sincere.
As the eight teenagers spoke in the barbaric tongues of the Western Region, Gu Shenwei was not able to understand a word of their vows, not even their names. When it came to his turn, he hesitated for a moment before coldly saying, "I, Yang Huan, will become your sworn brother. May Heaven strike dead whoever plays dirty tricks."
He had not made a solemn vow because Gu Shenwei had not used his real name.
If the same thing happened a few days ago, the young Master of the Gu family would have taken great interest in participating in the ceremony and would have taken everyone's words seriously. Now, however, he made a promise with a lie and was sure that none of the 10 vows had been true.
Lin Yang was also aware of this, but he was satisfied since he knew that he could not expect great changes in such a short time. Once they had entered Golden Roc Fort, he would gradually take control of the small group and become the real leader despite the fact that Miss Luo owned them.
On the fifth day after the ceremony, Miss Luo Ningcha was made to dress for the wedding, and it was on that day that Gu Shenwei saw his enemy Shangguan Nu for the first time.