Chapter 203: The Village
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Slave Qing was drowning his sorrows in the wine cup, complaining about the unfairness in life. He had paid a steep price - money, time, flattery, face - but in the end, gotten nothing.
Master Shangguan Fei did not hate him or like him; neither did he trust him nor suspect him either. In any case, he had become an easily-overlooked butler doing the most trivial things. From the looks of it, he would never achieve big things in life.
Hence, when the Tenth Young Master approached him, he leaped at the chance of a new master immediately. He was not a killer and did not have to stay loyal for life. Moreover, he needed money.
However, Slave Qing was not entitled to partake in the secrets but Shangguan Ru's request was also uncomplicated, precisely so that he could focus on the killers under the Ninth Young Master. This was to let their movements be as conspicuous as possible.
Shangguan Fei would not mobilize his forces in person, but he would surely designate his most trusted killer to perform the robbery mission.
On the fifth day of the fifth month, an important message came from Slave Qing: Nine killers had prepared 18 horses to set off at three o'clock in the morning. Their destination was the west of Jade City.
Slave Qing knew all these. However, he did not dare fish for more information. If Shangguan Fei discovered something amiss, he would kill him.
Before two o'clock in the morning, Shangguan Ru set out with seven killers. They had made a series of disguises before departing, in order to fool outsiders into thinking that the main forces of Kun Society were still within the city. Chu Nanping walked around in circles outside an empty hut, pretending he was protecting his own practice partner. The little swordsman had not wished to do this but he was glad to have Xu Xiaoyi, once again, accompany him during surveillance.
No matter who it was, it was impossible to rob the Golden Roc Fort from within. The five robbers had huge caches of money and were not prepared to bring their silver into Jade City. Hence, the target of the Horned Dragon Society killer must be outside the boundary.
Gu Shenwei remembered that path along the boundary of Golden Roc Fort. He had been robbed at precisely that spot and turned into a slave. In addition, he had once followed Tie Hanfeng and robbed a rich master in a spot not far from there.
The land to the West of the path belonged to Shu-lik in name but they did not station troops there. In reality, it had become an ungoverned territory and after the Gu Family of the Central Plain had been slaughtered, the number of roving bandits in that area had increased. To use this path to travel to Shu-lik City short in distance but posed a great risk. Gu Shenwei guessed that the robbers' treasure would not be buried here. Shangguan Fei would also not choose to carry out his plan here.
All the way to the North, past the mountain pass, it was fertile land as far as the eye could see. As one continued North, they met the unending grasslands that belonged to Norland and the Xiaowan Kingdom wedged at the foot of the mountain.
The Xiaowan kingdom was weak prosperous. Lady Meng owned a bank there and it was possible that the robbers kept their money there.
Shangguan Ru, together with seven killers, split into four teams. The first team would hide in the vicinity of the mountain pass to survey the Ninth Young Master killers' movements. If they had actually entered Shu-lik, they would send one person to report to Shangguan Ru immediately and the other person would continue to observe them discreetly.
Shangguan Ru and Liuhua were both in the second team stationed by the small road to the north of the mountain. If everything went smoothly, the two of them would see the nine killers but would let them go on their way.
Wildhorse and another killer were in the third team. They lay the ambush in a road leading up to the cliff. That place was one of the best locations to spring an attack. However, they were to wait to see the silver before making their attack.
Slave Huan and Maid Lotus acted as roving forces for the operation, shuttling back and forth between the three teams. They were to prepare for any unexpected emergencies that arose.
Three days later, the first target that appeared was the big-mouthed robber. He had finished his task but had been held back by prostitutes for another two days. Eventually, he reluctantly left his warm hometown to return to his chief, saying how the glitter and riches of Jade City were alluring. He had to send the silver to Xiaowan City quickly before he could start living an honest life.
He had kept his lips sealed and had not spoken about the silver to anyone. But being relaxed, he failed to notice anything curious about the palm imprint on the iron saddle of his horse. Yet, the hoofprints he left behind would reveal his whereabouts to his enemies.
The two killers under Shangguan Fei followed closely behind while the other seven followed from a distance.
Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus were sandwiched between these two groups of killers.
The robber did not enter the deep mountains but into a small village.
The small village had over 30 houses who had constructed an earthen wall circling it. This was a courier station that stood exactly a day's journey on horseback away from Xiaowan City. The robbers had used this place to hide their money. Indeed, it was a clever choice. No one would have thought that this poor village would harbor half a million taels of silver.
That night, the village was calm as always. The two groups of killers had hidden in their respective places, waiting for the cover of night to start their operations.
Shangguan Ru, to make up for the weakness she had previously shown, made a cold-blooded decision: When Shangguan Fei's killers had stolen back the silver, she would kill all of them.
Even though the eight men of Kun Society were outnumbered by one, Kun Society's killers were much more highly skilled.
The place of ambush was the cliff that Wildhorse had chosen. It was up to Slave Huan and Maid Lotus to mark the nine killers.
Even when everything had been arranged to perfection, the outcome still came as surprise.
The sky was very dark as Gu Shenwei crept quietly to the side of the village's earthen walls. He watched the movements of the nine killers, with Maid Lotus close by his side. He understood the men's tactics could guess their general plan of action.
A killer first entered the village. In the day, he had disguised himself as a normal passersby, entering the village asking for a bowl of water. In so doing, he gathered some intelligence and when night fell, he wanted to confirm what his suspicions.
When the killer came out of the village, the two other killers entered the village from two different directions. Their target was the small mud hut in the heart of the village. They were in charge of surrounding the mud hut and preventing anyone from escaping.
Five other killers entered the village to deal with the five robbers. As long as this part of the plan succeded, half of the operation would have been completed.
The remaining two killers would wait outside the village walls to keep a lookout. These men were only ten paces away and Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus quieted their breaths, covering their tracks.
From the looks of it, the operation would be simple and quick. The last step was for the killers to move the silver.
The five killers entered the hut and not long later, there were muffled sounds of a blade slicing some cloth. It was faint, and only a person who was listening intently and was familiar with such sounds would have heard it.
The two killers standing watch outside the village shifted slightly, as if breathing sighs of relief.
"Ahhhh-" A heart-rending scream pierced the night sky and the chirping of insects fell silent at that moment, but quickly resumed. However, those killers froze in their place, without moving.
The whole village heard the screams and a few houses lit up, but the lights were put out shortly after. However, someone ran out, boldly shouting: "What on earth is happening? Who was shouting?"
Gu Shenwei looked at those two killers who were on watch, thinking how if he had been in their place, he would have run away long ago.
The men on watch finally came to their senses. They prepared to retreat but it was too late.
That villager who had run out to investigate the scream was carrying an assortment of weapons in his hands. And as he shouted at the top of his lungs as he ran to catch up with the killers. From two neighboring houses, men rushed out and blocked the killers' escape path. Three of the killers had escaped.
"Catch them alive." Someone ordered.
The killers pulled out their sabers without a word, preparing to defend themselves to the end.
The two killers who were responsible for intercepting the villagers had already been cut off. Weapons clashed and not long later, someone yelled: "They are down!"
The two killers on watch pulled out their knives preparing to attack. They wanted to clear a path to escape but only after trading three blows, the two began to stumble like a pair of drunkards. They fell down onto the floor helplessly.
"How many have you caught?"
"Four. I killed five."
"Okay. Get ready to depart immediately. We will use them in the sacrificial ritual to Long Feidu."
This was a well-designed trap. The robbers had not numbered only five but ten. They brought out horses from the houses and prepared to leave the village.
However, as the robbers were tending to their horses, Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus returned quickly to report the Tenth Young Master: "Kun Society and the Horned Dragon Society have been deceived. There were no 500,000 taels of silver at all. That robber pretended to leak the "secret" in order to bait us."
"Who could it be?" Shangguan Ru was a little surprised. Her biggest rival was her brother Shangguan Fei but the person who set this trap could not possibly be him.
Gu Shenwei thought for a moment. He had seen something that prompted him to make a guess. "It must be the swordsman from the Great Snow Mountain."
Those robbers were equipped with long and broad big swords. Gu Shenwei had seen them before and knew that they were the signature of the Great Snow Mountain tribe, especially "Long Feidu" whom the robbers had talked about. He was the swordsman who had previously died in the T-junction.
"Snow Mountain?" Shangguan Ru was even more surprised. Those boorish and arrogant swordsmen had never been good at conspiracy. Designing such an ingenious trap truly exceeded her expectations.
There was not much time left. Gu Shenwei knew the destination that the swordsmen had in mind. They were headed for the T-junction to worship Long Feidu. They would soon be riding by on their horses, towards the place of ambush prepared for them.
"What should I do? They are coming. They are coming straight away." Gu Shenwei knew what the Tenth Young Master meant. Should he save the nine killers? They the core of Shangguan Fei's power.
Shangguan Ru made a decisive choice. "The Great Snow Mountain is Golden Roc Fort's enemy. We cannot let them succeed in their conspiracy. How many people do they have? How strong are they?"
"About 25. Their strength is unknown." Gu Shenwei recalled meeting the swordsman from the Great Snow Mountain, Long Feidu, two years ago and remembered feeling that something was not quite right. "They have knockout powder. We must be careful."
The whole thing appeared very strange to Gu Shenwei. The swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain not only crafted an elaborate plan but they also used knockout powder. These were two things that they thought beneath them.
But Shangguan Ru did not have time to consider these things. She ordered them to prepare the ambush immediately. Her target was about over 20 men. To the eight killers, this proved a challenge.
The galloping sounds approached. The swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain, holding their captive, reached the destination. At about four o'clock in the morning, they entered the place of ambush. The horses trotted onwards, their riders oblivious to the ambush awaiting them.
With a loud crash, several huge boulders fell from the sky. The team of machetemen was thrown into disarray. Horses neighed and men screamed. These sounds of distress were punctuated by a sharp cry of pain. Someone had been hit by a boulder.
Only one killer was on the cliff monitoring the ambush. The other eight were hidden below the cliff.
Liuhua was the first to attack. She fired three shots in succession and three men fell.
The swordsmen reacted surprisingly quickly and quickly regrouped into their formation. They slapped their horses and retreated from onslaught of arrows. However, merely ten over steps away, they were hit by an attack from the side.
Two killers rushed out and jumped over the head of the swordsman leading the charge. Two heads rolled.
The killers continued running, their legs pumping furiously. The swordsmen were consumed with rage and they turned their horses to chase after the killers.
This was the killers' strategy all along: to overwhelm the enemy even though they were outnumbered. They would kill and then withdraw in order to provoke the remaining machetemen to chase after them. Thus, they would lure the machetemen to the next place of ambush.
The killers' plan was unfolding without a hitch when they heard a plaintive voice muttering weakly from the rubble. "Please save me; I am the Ninth Young Master, Shangguan Fei."
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