Chapter 196: Breach
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
There were only three people inside the room: Shangguan Fei, Guan Houlin, and the killer Yang Huan.
Shangguan Fei was a coward who did not even dare to go to South City. However, being so accustomed to living in the Stone Castle, even for a coward like him did not fear the killers who were also servants of his household. Never would he ever fathom the thought that Slave Huan concealed murderous intent within his heart.
"You dare?" Shangguan Fei stood beside a big and tall military counselor, who had to bend over to look at Slave Huan. It looked like he was towering over a dwarf.
"I don't understand Ninth Young Master's intentions," said Gu Shenwei with a peaceful expression. After hurrying through the formality of half kneeling, he was standing still, almost irreverently.
Shangguan Fei was not mentally prepared for Slave Huan's impudence, and he flushed angrily. He did not even have words to use to express his outrage and thunderous fury. Instead, he took a step back and pushed Guan Houlin with one hand; as if preparing himself to hide behind his body. "You deliberately watched the downfall of the Horned Dragon Society and even bribed my military counselor. Do you deny it?"
"It was just doing him a good turn, and counselor Guan seemed so scared at the time."
"Nonsense!" Guan Houlin boomed, making Shangguan Fei to knit his brows. However, he showed his fawning self. He needed such a slave, not a kung fu expert and feebleminded, to have the boldness and courage that he himself lacked. Guan Houlin took a step forward as if he had been greatly insulted. Full of righteous indignation, he scowled, "You scumbag! I have never been scared of anything before. It was your wishful thinking, thinking that you could bribe me."
"You dare come and meet me?" Shangguan Fei drew courage from the giant and followed suit by taking a step forward. "You are a traitor yourself, so you want everyone to be just like you. I want to punish you and tell my sister the truth. Hey hey, I have to thank you. If it weren't for you coming to me and begging for mercy, I would never have thought that the best opportunity to kill Master Yu had come. A 'flash of genius,' this is what a 'flash of genius' is. My sister will definitely love this."
Shangguan Fei's eyes glimmered with excitement as he imagined himself once again tormenting his sister and making her suffer. He felt as if he was flying he was so happy.
"It's better not to do this." Gu Shenwei said calmly. The kind of calmness that was easily mistaken for weakness or timidity.
"Ha, did you hear that?" Did you say 'It's better not to do this'? This f*cking slave is actually threatening me." Shangguan Fei laughed out loud as if he heard a joke. Guan Houlin solemnly nodded his head, responding to his master's reaction with approval and admiration. "I spared my sister's life once before at a brothel. When she entered South City, she didn't even eliminate the Leviathan Society. I have already fulfilled my brotherly duties, but still she wouldn't give up. Now she's digging into my little corner too? It's time for me to teach her a lesson!"
But Shangguan Fei had exaggerated his kindness. In Xu Yanwei's home, the person accompanying him to save the Meng's Fifth Young Master was a killer from the Stone Castle. No one would dare to lay their hands on the Tenth Young Master right under their noses. Waiting for Shangguan Ru to assume command of the Leviathan Society in South City before killing her would be a high-priced victory with no guarantee of success. Shangguan Ru could escape back to North City any time.
Shangguan Fei was always waiting for the ideal opportunity to strike. These days the most obvious target was Tuo Nengya. Shangguan Ru and her Leviathan Society had better get in the back of the line.
"Ninth Young Master, you have really disappointed me. If you continue to fool around like this, I will have to file a formal complain to the Missus."
Shangguan Fei laughed so hard, he ran out of breath. It was a pity that the Ninth Young Master was no longer a child. Slave Huan put on a straight-face and spoke in a grave tone, "You fool, Mother hoped that the two of us would be ruthless to each other, the more ruthless the better. She's said before that every person in the Stone Castle are enemies. Every member of the Shangguan household relies on killing each other in order to achieve the highest kung fu and the crafty mind. Of course, she also hoped that my sister and I would unify against outsiders. As the Missus, this is at odds with her benevolence. Go file the formal complaint, Slave. Let's see who's still capable of keeping me in check."
Gu Shenwei patiently listened to the Ninth Young Master's "declaration". "The Missus was hoping for you to be as ruthless as possible is in the hopes that you would become a real man; not for you to 'love' men."
Shangguan Fei did not think Slave Huan would use this against him and he flushed scarlet. Rage instantly burned away all caution. He pulled a wooden saber and levelled it at Slave Huan, "Son of a b*tch, you've crossed the line this time. Some affairs are not for a slave to speak of, or even think of."
"What living slaves dare not say, dying slaves dare to."
Slave Huan's attitude had crossed the fundamental boundaries of master and slave. Not even Guan Houlin could accept that. He stood in front of his master, hulking figure over the disrespectful slave as he cracked his knuckles loudly to intimidate him. "A dead slave can't do anything, and certainly can't run back to the Missus to spout nonsense."
Meanwhile, Shangguan Fei seemed to have figured something out. He stuck his head out from behind the military counselor and said, "Go file the complaint, you f*cking slave, I'm not scared. I'm a young master of Golden Roc Fort. I can like whoever I want. Even if I'm going to sponsor a few male prostitutes, so what? Which young masters from North City hasn't sponsored one or two themselves? Meng household members are no strangers to kind of matter. You want to catch fish with a broken net? Keep dreaming. Once you die, no one else will be able to harm even a single strand of hair on my body.
Gu Shenwei sighed. He knew that he had poked a hornets' nest, but he didn't care. He would be happy when swarms of hornets covered the entire Jade City. "What's wrong with sponsoring a few male prostitutes? The problem is becoming one. The young masters of North City don't seem to have this preference."
Gu Shenwei had used a lethal move. It had been the teahouse supervisor from Joy Pavilion who had reminded him that "the Ninth Young Master won't like our kind." These may just have been words that Tang Ji said in passing, but it helped Gu Shenwei look the issue from a different angle.
He had made an educated guess and speculated that this was the only possibility and wanted immediate confirmation. Shangguan Fei may have been smart, but he would never go to the extent of putting himself in the face of danger.
"You have betrayed me?!" Shangguan Fei's voice was filled with grief and indignation. His eyes were not staring at Slave Huan, but at the military counselor, Guan Houlin.
Guan Houlin gre even more flustered than his master. He seemed to shrink to the same height as Shangguan Fei's as he reached out with both his hands and pleaded, "No, no, no, It wasn't me. It was someone else. I have always kept my mouth shut."
The Ninth Young Master and the military counselor appeared to be performing a short scene from a tragicomedy, one filled with accusations, heartbreak, despair, and suffering. Gu Shenwei did not intend to keep watching, so he turned away and left.
"I'm going to kill you!" Shangguan Fei's howl could be heard all the way from the main gate of the city. No one knew whether this "you" referred to Slave Huan or the military counselor.
Gu Shenwei had publicly severed ties with one of the masters of the Shangguan household. But both sides mutually held on to each other and any brief harmonious cooperation between them was more fragile than cobwebs in a rainstorm.
Returning to the Leviathan Society, Gu Shenwei requested to see Shangguan Ru in private to explain his plans in detail.
The crisis caused by Immortal Peng's death had been quickly dealt with. Shangguan Ru was thrilled hearing this news, and now her concerns lay with Slave Huan's plans. "Are you certain? If you act rashly and alert the enemy, you'll no longer be able to fool them."
"Nothing good will happen if we keep waiting, it is better to take the risk."
As Shangguan Ru stared at Slave Huan, a wave of strange feelings rose from within her heart. It was as if she was watching a cute pet from childhood suddenly grown and now a fierce predator with sharp teeth and claws.
When she had been determined to take revenge for Master Yu, not one killer or slave dared to support her idea openly. Everyone avoided her like the plague, for fear of becoming the sacrificial lamb to the twins. Even Wildhorse, who had been loyal to Master Yu, was apathetic. It seemed as if they had just wanted to quickly forget about the past sorrows.
Only Slave Huan had enthusiastically joined in. Within a few days, he had drawn up a plan to lure the snake out of its hole.
A scene of herself as a child, sprinting across the walls of the Stone Castle appeared in Shangguan Ru's mind and she sat down slowly. It was as if she had realised the truth for the first time: At fourteen-years-old, she had entered the world of adults. In the past, she had practiced killing in games, now killing was the game.
"Let's go. Let's end this."
Gu Shenwei retreated. He was in a hurry to exact his revenge and could not stay in hiding any longer. The deadline for the Qi Deviation was this year. He had to act as quickly as possible.
He bought Maid Lotus and even called upon Chu Nanping from the brothel. From this day on, he decided never to act alone.
Xu Xiaoyi forgave his "good friend." In fact, he was delighted about the arrival of Chu Nanping. He brought out all sorts of delicious food, and inquired in great detail about the contents of the Heartless Swordsmanship. "I've heard that to break through the Fourth Realm, one must kill a "person who does not want to kill"," he questioned.
Xu Xiaoyi did not practice kung fu, so his questions were naturally all over the place. However, Chu Nanping answered sincerely, wanting to prove necessity of sacrificing good friends, "I'm just waiting for Yang Huan, as long as he changes his mind and returns to practice the swordsmanship, I will kill you."
When Gu Shenwei arrived, the debate between the two was still unresolved. Xu Xiaoyu's face was dripping with sweat, but still he refused to acknowledge his defeat. "No, no, that's not right," he said. "The person you don't want to kill the most is definitely yourself. Unless committing suicide would help you reach an ungodly level? That won't happen if you commit suicide, and it definitely won't happen if you killed me."
For a moment, Chu Nanping could not think of any retort. He stuffed his mouth with desserts, and grabbing his sword, readied himself to "protect" his practice partner. "You said something very reasonable, I will think it over. However, the sword is never wrong. I guarantee it."
As he left the brothel, Chu Nanping extended a hand. "I agree," he said.
"What?"
"I'm going to be your protector."
Gu Shenwei gripped of his wrist, but did not seem as serious as the other person. "There is no force binding you to this exchange, and you can leave at any time."
"No, I'm not leaving until I am able to kill you."
Gu Shenwei laughed, his life had been paid in advance to Mama Xue in advance. There were also many others fiercely eyeing them. He was afraid that this little swordsman would never get a chance to act.
The three came to the Rouge Forest after dark, with Maid Lotus concealing their trail. Chu Nanping followed her ten steps behind while holding his sword, and he scrutinized at the passing machetemen warily.
Even at night, the Rogue Forest was not deserted, and crackling sounds came from nearby campfires. The Blood Saber Contest was ongoing as per usual, with homeless machetemen betting on their companions hoping to double their money.
Gu Shenwei circled the forest, observing a group of machetemen battling but did not place any bets. He was tired, and walked deep into the woods and sat under a big tree to rest.
After midnight, the Blood Saber Contest came to an end. A black-robed machetemen walked by and stood under the tree opposite of Gu Shenwei. "Did the Tenth Young Master send you?"
"Yes, you and her have a common enemy. You both want to lure them out."
The old machetemen, Tuo Nengya, was silent for a moment. "Is she determined to kill her brother?"
"She is someone from the Shangguan Family." Gu Shenwei felt like that was explanation enough.
"What suggestions do you have?"
"To lure the snake out of its hole, we need your head as bait."
Gu Shenwei unsheathed his sword.