Chapter 184: Military Counsellor
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Weapons as well as prostitution were banned in the North City. Strictly speaking, prostitutes were prohibited from entering North City, but occasionally, the guards at the city gates would not mind letting one or two of them get into the city. In the eyes of the guards, these girls posed no danger to public safety.
Recently, Slave Qing had acted upon Slave Huan's advice and tried to become Shangguan Fei's guide in South City. However, Master Fei worried that Tuo Nengya was waiting for a chance to assassinate him in South City and refused to go there. Every time someone invited him to go to South City, he would become suspicious of that person's intentions.
Fortunately, sometimes he would tell Slave Qing that he wanted to meet Xu Yanwei. Every time he made such a request, Slave Qing would hurriedly go out to bribe the guards to get the girl into North City.
After breaking into the back yard of Shangguan Fei's residence, Shangguan Ru happened to stand just outside Shangguan Fei's bedroom.
As Xu Yanwei and Shangguan Ru had only met once before, they failed to recognize each other's voice. Master Ru frowned upon hearing a woman in her brother's room questioning him.
Without knowing what her brother was doing in his room, Shangguan Ru dashed to the door and kicked it open.
"What're you doing here? Who allowed you to come in?" Shangguan Fei shouted grumpily as he hastily put on his clothes and walked out to block her entry into the room.
He sounded combative. His recent victory had greatly boosted his confidence.
"Who else is inside your room?" Shangguan Ru sounded aggressive as well.
"There's no one else inside my room... and it's none of your business."
Shangguan Ru suddenly realized something. She turned around and walked out of the room, letting Shangguan Fei finish dressing. A moment later, she turned back and said, "The Kun Society is mine. I forbid you to use that name."
Shangguan Fei stepped out of the room and then closed the door behind him. He deliberately paused for a moment and then said to Shangguan Ru smilingly, "My little sister, I can't agree to do that. This is like gambling; I won and you lost. Now the Kun Society is mine. You can't blame anyone for that matter."
Shangguan Ru came to her brother's place more or less on a whim. She had not prepared herself for such a situation beforehand. Although she knew that she was being unreasonable at this moment, she still refused to back down. She suddenly stretched out her hand to tweak Shangguan Fei's ear.
Shangguan Fei's kung fu was quite good but weaker than his sister. He raised his hands to block Shangguan Ru's attack but failed. He then instinctively turned his head away, trying to dodge the attack. Unfortunately, he only managed to bump his head into the other hand of Shangguan Ru.
"Who told you that I'm gambling with you?" Shangguan Ru asked and twisted her brother's ear with much force, making him scream. "You launched a surprise attack on me and succeeded. That's a nice move, but the issue is far from over. I haven't struck back."
"Let me go! Can someone come here and help me?" Shangguan Fei was overcome with anger and shame.
Slave Qing came to the twins but had no idea what to do. He kept walking around them anxiously, while repeatedly imploring Master Ru to release Master Fei.
Shangguan Fei's killers also came out. They wanted to assist Master Fei, but they were afraid that once they came to blows they would accidentally hurt Master Ru. As a result, they just stood around the twins, not sure what to do.
"What an embarrassing situation," Gu Shenwei thought to himself while shaking his head. He walked forward to the twins with Maid Lotus, planning to dissuade Master Ru from tweaking her brother's ear. However, before they said anything, Shangguan Ru suddenly released Shangguan Fei and said, "Well, I shall let you go now. I've come here today to challenge you to a duel. I'll win my Kun Society back. Are you going to fight against me by yourself or send one of your killers to duel with me?"
Shangguan Fei was flushed with shame and anger. He rubbed his ear and screeched, "I won't duel with you. I... I'm a leader. I'll only engage you in a battle of wits, not of physical might. The Kun Society is mine. You can't wrench it out of my hands. Shangguan Yushi is dead and no one will help you now."
Upon hearing Master Yu's name, Shangguan Ru felt a sharp pain in her chest. She rushed back to Shangguan Fei, trying to tweak his ear again.
Shangguan Fei was prepared for that. He swiftly dodged behind Slave Qing. When Shangguan Ru went over to Slave Qing, he quickly rushed to hide behind the killers. Both Slave Qing and the killers stood still in the yard, observing the twins running about.
After Shangguan Fei escaped from Shangguan Ru's grasp several times in a row, Master Ru flared up and decided to play rough. She directly shoved two killlers who stood between her and her brother to the ground. Just as she was about to catch her brother, she bumped into a very tall and strong man who stood in her way.
Shangguan Ru felt as if she had run into a wall. She quickly took several steps backward and finally could see the man's face. He was in his early 20s and had thick eyebrows with narrow eyes. Although he was young, he looked very masculine and mature. "Piss off," Shangguan Ru shouted to the man.
The man bowed to Shangguan Ru and replied peacefully, "Master Ru, nice to meet you. I'm Guan Houlin. 'Hou' as in profundity, and 'Lin' as in a legendary unicorn..."
"Who cares if you're a unicorn or a bug. Just get out of my way," said Shangguan Ru, grumpily.
Shangguan Fei felt very secure hiding behind this tall and strong man. He grabbed the man's belt to stop him from leaving the place and then stuck his head out to say, "He's my military counsellor and only takes orders from me."
Upon hearing the words "military counsellor", Shangguan Ru thought of her own military counsellor, Shangguan Yushi. She felt heartache again, her face grim. She rushed to Guan Houlin, pretending to launch an attack. Deceived by the feint, the young man raised his right arm to block her. In the blink of an eye, Shangguan Ru caught hold of the meridian points in his right hand and got behind him.
She raised his right hand up high, forcing the man to bend down.
Upon seeing that, Shangguan Fei instantly ran to the front of the man and squatted under him as cover.
"Look at your military counsellor. He's stupid, and his kung fu sucks," Shangguan Ru said.
Guan Houlin's face turned red upon hearing her taunts. He groaned and suddenly stood up, dislocating his right shoulder in the process.
Shangguan Ru was stunned and immediately released the man's hand. She had never expected him to be so tough. "Why did you do that?" she exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, Master Ru. I can't back down. I have to protect my master."
Deeply moved by Guan Houlin's words, Shangguan Fei finally plucked up his courage. He stood up, pointed at his killers and shouted, "Are you dead? Why did you just stand by and watch me being chased around?"
Upon hearing that, the killers quickly ran to stand between the twins. They lined up in front of Shangguan Fei to protect him.
However, Shangguan Ru had little interest in this fight now. She turned around and headed for the front yard. At the gate, she turned back and announced, "Shangguan Fei, You thought you've won, but Iet me tell you, this game isn't over. I'll get my Kun Society back sooner or later."
After successfully assassinating Shangguan Yushi and taking over the Kun Society, Shangguan Fei was much more confident than before, but he had gotten used to giving in to his twin sister's demands for all these years. When he was about to open his mouth to promise her that he would give the Kun Society back to her, Guan Houlin suddenly said, "Goodbye, Master Ru. We're ready to accept any challenge."
This man suffered a dislocated shoulder, but he still sounded calm and assertive.
Shangguan Ru stared at him for a while and then left without saying a word. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus followed closely after her.
When they came out of Shangguan Fei's residence, Shangguan Ru seemed a little preoccupied with thoughts of her own. After walking on the street for some time, she suddenly said, "That Guan Houlin, I've never heard of him. Do you think that it was his idea?"
Gu Shenwei immediately realized what Shangguan Ru was talking about. He did not believe that Shangguan Fei was able to think of such a sophisticated plan to assassinate Shangguan Yushi either, but in the meantime, he also thought that Guan Houlin did not look like a military counsellor.
"Shangguan Ru can't kill her brother to avenge Master Yu's death, but if it's really Guan Houlin's idea to assassinate Master Yu, Master Ru can do anything she wants to have her revenge."
With that in mind, he replied, "I've never heard of him either. His kung fu seems ordinary. I'll find out more about him."
"Uhm," Shangguan Ru said, and then she dropped her head down and remained silent. When they came back to their own place, she suddenly raised her head up and said, "When Shangguan Fei opened his door, I saw a girl in his room. She looks like that girl named Xu…"
"Xu Yanwei," Gu Shenwei added.
"Did you know that she was there?"
"Yes, I did."
Shangguan Ru looked at him with reproach. Gu Shenwei did not evade her gaze and went on to explain. "It's within her own right to conduct business, and it's not for me to interfere."
Shangguan Ru did not seem to totally believe what he said, but when they entered the yard, she somehow decided to let it go. "You're right. My brother is just one of her clients. I thought too much into it just now. I hope you won't mind it."
Shangguan Ru was eager to win back the Kun Society. She planned to hire more machetemen so that she could openly challenge Shangguan Fei. This time, she would lead the team personally to defeat her brother.
Upon hearing Shangguan Ru's plan, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus immediately worked together to stop her from making such an impulsive decision.
They recommended Master Ru to take it slow. They had learnt their lesson and decided that it was wiser to strike with a single, decisive blow after they found out the weak point of their enemies.
Gu Shenwei asked around, but no one in North City knew much about Guan Houlin. Most people in South City were also unfamiliar with this name. Even Xu Yanwei, who had been to Shangguan Fei's residence many times, had never seen the tall, strong man before.
In the end, it was Xu Xiaoyi who found out something about Guan Houlin.
According to the little boy, Guan Houlin had come to South City several years ago and tried to work as a macheteman. "At first, many bosses in the city wanted to hire this strong young man, but gradually, they found out that his kung fu was not good and refused to offer him any work. He had to support himself in the city, so he made a decision which surprised everyone. He went to work in Hope Alley," Xu Xiaoyi told the killer.
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The boy said that Guan Houlin had spent about a year inside Hope Alley, but he did not know what exactly the man had done for a living during the year. "He wasn't hired to work as a male prostitute there; I bet few clients in Hope Alley would like him. He wasn't hired as a macheteman either. However, when he left the alley, he somehow became a go-between for the alley and other clients who couldn't go there for whatsoever reason. He made a living by working as a middleman until he joined the Ninth Young Master's team as a macheteman last winter. He got that job because his salary requirement was low, demanding only 50 taels of silver per month. During the previous fight between the Horned Dragon Society and the Kun Society, all the machetemen demanded for higher pay, except him."
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Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei was more confident about his judgment of Guan Houlin's ability. "Before you and Master Ru broke into Master Fei's residence, he was a nobody in the Ninth Young Master's team. The Ninth Young Master probably just called him military counsellor on a whim," said Xu Xiaoyi.
Gu Shenwei concluded from his investigation that Guan Houlin was not worth paying special attention to, but something unexpected happened, which made him decide to return to Hope Alley again.
He had another qigong deviation attack. Fortunately, only Maid Lotus was present when it happened. When he woke up from his coma, she told him that she passed out more frequently than him, but as she managed to keep it a secret, no one knew anything about it.
Gu Shenwei was frightened, as he had just had a qigong deviation attack only less than 20 days ago.
Such frequent qigong deviation attacks meant that Mama Xue's Peripheral Force was going to kill him soon.
Gu Shenwei was faced with only two choices now. One was taking a risk to act now and assassinate Shangguan Nu with a few other young masters of the Shangguan family. The other was going back to Joy Pavilion to ask Immortal Peng for help. He was not very confident about his ability to execute the first option successfully, so he guessed that he had better pay Immortal Peng another visit.
"Immortal Peng must have some ulterior motive for offering to help me, but anyhow, he said assuredly that he could cure my qigong deviation," Gu Shenwei thought to himself.