Chapter 298: Staged Fights
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The machetemen of Jade City had mixed feelings about the Dragon King.
Many machetemen considered him a hero, since he dared to defy the Golden Roc Fort and even led swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain into a battle against it. Most of the machetemen bore a grudge against the Golden Roc Fort, who was one of their biggest employer for ages, but none of them had succeeded in revolting against it.
In the meantime, some machetemen and their friends and families thought of the Dragon King as the Devil, for he had slaughtered many of them during his career as a killer and in his war against the Golden Roc Fort.
Despite their different opinions on the Dragon King, all the people at the scene now shifted their gaze toward the young man.
Gu Shenwei saw hatred, contempt and admiration in their eyes. He had not intended to compete for the Machete God title before, but now he changed his mind.
"As a killer, I have to be very low-key, but as the Dragon King, I'd best grab every opportunity to show my strength in front of everyone. Besides, I'm quite interested in the origin of the Melon-hilted Scimitar."
With this in mind, Gu Shenwei announced, "Yes, I've come here to participate in the Machete God Contest." His voice was not loud but every word he said was distinct. Upon hearing that, all the people at the scene began to whisper to one another. A moment later, someone began to applaud and the others quickly followed suit.
"I'll participate in this contest too!" said Tie Linglong, and then she asked Lin Xiaoshan and Chu Nanping, "How about you guys?"
Lin Xiaoshan shook his head smilingly. He did not want to step on the stage to fight because of his inferior kung fu skills. Chu Nanping thought for a while and replied, "No, I'm a swordsman, so I can't participate in the Machete God Contest."
Tie Linglong did not hear what Chu Nanping had said. When the young swordsman was still thinking about how to answer the girl's question, she had already gone with the Dragon King to sign up for the contest.
The news that the Dragon King would compete in the Machete God Contest quickly got around. Soon enough, several thousand people flocked to the Dragon King's fighting stage in the Rouge Forest. Even the small vendors all stopped doing business and joined the crowd.
Everyone gathered around the Dragon King's stage, leaving the other stages with no audience at all.
Five of the seven organizers of the Machete God Contest, who used to work as machetemen, admired the Dragon King's achievements very much. To show their respect for the Dragon King, they decided to change the rules of the contest for the young man. After some deliberation, they announced that the Dragon King did not have to participate in the knockout rounds and would compete in the final round for the Machete God title three days later.
As for Tie Linglong, she did not get to receive such special treatment, but she did not mind it, as she cared more about fighting in the contest than winning the title. "Wow, I'll fight against the Dragon King in the final round!" exclaimed the little girl excitedly, her green eyes as bright as gems.
In the following two hours, the number of contestants increased several dozen fold. Although the Dragon King was widely known as a superb saber user, most newly enrolled contestants still thought that they could possibly defeat the former Golden Roc killer in this kung fu competition. In their eyes, a killer only had the expertise to assassinate someone in the dark but could never bring his or her kung fu skills into full play when fighting an opponent in the open.
When Tie Linglong stepped on the stage, she discovered that this match was quite different from what she had expected, as the contestants could only use wooden sabers in this fight. "What? Why don't we use real sabers or machetes during the Machete God Contest?" asked Tie Linglong.
"As the usage of real sabers and machetes caused too many casualties in the previous contests, we decide to use wooden sabers this year. We emphasize friendship over competition this time," one of the organizers of the contest explained to her.
Tie Linglong practiced her skills with a wooden saber everyday, but she felt that it was not enough to fight with wooden sabers during a contest. "How can you decide who's the winner if there's no one get wounded in the match?" asked Tie Linglong.
"We've invited experienced judges for the contest," replied the organizer.
Before each stage sat three old machetemen, who would work as judges for the matches on the stage.
Tie Linglong cast a doubtful glance at the three old men in front of her stage, while complaining in her heart, "Who knows if they can see my moves clearly."
Those old men quickly proved themselves to the girl. When Tie Linglong struck her 11th blow at her opponent, they declared her the winner of the match.
Tie Linglong took part in a total of three matches on that day and won all of them, which excited her very much. On the way back to the city, she kept describing to Chu Nanping what moves she had adopted to defeat her opponents.
Chu Nanping was liked by many people as he was such a good listener. Every time someone talked to him, even in a casual conversation about daily meals, he would attentively listen to the person and then give responses after careful consideration.
When Tie Linglong was talking about her third match, he was still commenting on her first match. Surprisingly, he was able to clearly remember all the questions from the girl and answer them in perfect order.
During the latter half of their trip back to the city, when Tie Linglong stopped talking, the young swordsman still continued answering the girl's questions by saying, "Yes", "No", or "Well, it's possible".
Gu Shenwei had decided to partake in the Machete God Contest on the spur of the moment and never expected his military counselor Fang Wenshi to be so fully supportive of his decision, especially when the counselor heard that all the contestants had to use wooden sabers in this event. "Dragon King, if I had heard of this event before, I would've encouraged you to join it a long time ago. What a great opportunity to win the machetemen's support and build up a positive image for yourself!" exclaimed Fang Wenshi, excitedly.
Just like Tie Linglong, he found it hard to restrain his excitement at this moment. While pacing back and forth inside the room, he rambled on about his plan. "Many machetemen have been holding a grudge against the Golden Roc Fort for a long time, for it has suppressed and exploited them all this while. In the past, they couldn't find a capable leader, so they dared not openly revolt against the Golden Roc Fort. However, now they have you, the Dragon King. Here's my plan. You have to be the opposite of the Supreme King in every way. For example, he's widely known as a man with no morals; you should be as chivalrous as often as possible. He prefers to use unscrupulous tactics, and you should deal with everything aboveboard..."
Gu Shenwei was stumped by his counselor's request. He had dreamed of becoming a chivalrous hero since childhood, but this dream was over when he was 14. The three years in the Golden Roc Fort had turned him into a totally different person, making him forget how to achieve his goals in a moral and honest way. In addition, he still had a vivid memory of what had happened to Marshal Yang. "I can't defeat the Supreme King if I handle everything aboveboard," said Gu Shenwei.
"Hee-hee, do you think all unscrupulous actions are sneaky? If that's true, how come there's no dynasty in the history established by killers? The Golden Roc Fort's unscrupulousness is now known to everyone and it won't do the Supreme King any good in the future. In my eyes, he's very politically naive. The Golden Roc Fort had its moment during the turbulent days when its killers rampaged across Western Region, but now the situation in this region is different. Look at the Central Plain and Norland. Both of them claim to be safeguarding humanity, justice and morality. Do you believe they really care about the stability and prosperity of Western Region? No, they just say this to win the people's support. They're openly lying to achieve their own goals."
Gu Shenwei was once again convinced by his military counselor, and meanwhile, he could not help thinking of Zhang Ji, the teacher in the Stone Castle. He was sure that Fang Wenshi and Zhang Ji would enjoy talking with each other if they had a chance.
Since the Dragon King had been spotted shortly after he entered the Rouge Forest, he did not have the chance to search for the Joy Pavilion's disciples by himself. However, when he announced his participation in the Machete God Contest, he already had a plan in his head.
Ordered by the Dragon King, Xu Xiaoyi and Lin Xiaoshan motivated all their people to investigate the other participants of the event. Just as the Dragon King had expected, they discovered several people backed by the Joy Pavilion among the ones who had registered as contestants in the afternoon after the news that the Dragon King would partake in the contest spread around.
Upon knowing this, Gu Shenwei became more confident about his plan.
When he returned to his bedroom, he found it spotlessly clean, but several ceramic art works were gone. Jiang blushed while admitting that she had accidentally smashed those ceramics when she was cleaning up the room. Her face was extremely red. It looked as if her complexion would never be able to return to its normal tone in the future.
She set up a small bed near the entrance of the room, planning to serve the Dragon King day and night. Gu Shenwei did not raise any objection upon seeing it. Neither did he refuse Jiang when she came to assist him in taking off his coat. Nevertheless, when she was about to take hold of his saber and sword, he said in a crisp and authoritative tone, "Don't ever touch my saber and sword."
Jiang nervously nodded her head and retreated to her bedside in a flustered manner, but she dared not to sit down when the Dragon King was inside the room.
Gu Shenwei did not say anything to comfort her, since this was a part of her job as a maid and she had no choice but to gradually get used to it.
Right at this moment, Xu Yanwei stepped into the room without being called upon. Upon seeing the small bed and the bewildered look on Jiang's face, she twitched her mouth, revealing a knowing expression.
Gu Shenwei earnestly wished that she would misunderstand the relationship between Jiang and him and leave his room as soon as possible, so he did not even bother to explain the situation to her before asking, "Do you want to see me about something important?"
"No. I just come here to chat with you. It's just that I haven't seen you for a long time. Where's Maid Lotus? She's been with you all the time, hasn't she?" asked Xu Yanwei.
She did not know that Gu Shenwei had already parted ways with Maid Lotus a few years ago, for Gu Shenwei had never divulged any information regarding his relations with Maid Lotus to third parties.
"I can't tell you," replied Gu Shenwei.
"You're still so secretive just like before." Xu Yanwei did not care much about Maid Lotus, so she quickly changed the subject to keep the conversation going. "I heard that you're going to fight in the Machete God Contest."
"Yes," replied Gu Shenwei.
"Do you think you'll definitely win?"
"Yes."
"You just like kung fu competition, don't you? Someone told me lots of stories about how you liked to participate in such kind of competitions in the past."
"Get out," said Gu Shenwei, sharply.
"You really have a heart of stone," Xu Yanwei said bitterly. She turned around and prepared to take her leave, while adding, "I've never seen anyone like her. She's completely infatuated with the man she loves. During the past three years, she seldom spoke to her family. She could only share her feelings with me. Most of the time, she just kept telling me stories about a silly little boy."
Gu Shenwei drew out his Five Peaks Saber. Upon seeing that, Xu Yanwei swiftly ran away.
He hoped to be alone for some time, but he could not drive Jiang out, since he feared that it would cause dissatisfaction among the people from the Great Snowmountain. In the end, he just lay on his bed, fully clothed, while trying to calm himself down by gripping his saber shaft.
"Even if the Golden Roc Fort hadn't slaughtered my family, I still can't forgive her, for she caused the death of the two giant golden-crowned rocs." Gu Shenwei knew that his reasoning sounded quite childish, but it worked. By thinking about the giant golden-crowned rocs, he quickly forgot about Shangguan Ru.
Upon seeing that the Dragon King fell asleep, Jiang slowly slid down into a side-lying position on her small bed. She could vaguely see one side of the Dragon King's face while lying in her bed, and her face, which had just returned to its normal color, became red again.
"She must be as pretty as a fairy," Jiang closed her eyes and thought. While picturing a beautiful fairy in her head, she fell into sleep with a sweet smile on her face.
Jiang only had good dreams.
The next day, Tie Linglong dragged Chu Nanping out, making him accompany her to the contest inside the Rouge Forest. Just like yesterday, she won all the three matches, which gave her a thrill. The moment she met the Dragon King, she began boasting about her performance in the matches. "Today I fought an opponent, who's at least 150 kilograms! I kept beating him with my wooden saber, and he ended up begging for mercy with his head buried in his arms. The audience nearly died laughing. Hahaha, Little Chu, do you remember?"
"Yes, some of the audience laughed, but I didn't," replied Chu Nanping.
On the third day of the contest, Tie Linglong's winning streak came to an end. She deemed it terribly embarrassing to lose to this opponent, since he defeated her with bare hands. He did not even use a wooden saber.
Before anyone asked her about the match, she started complaining with indignation, "He cheated. He used... evil tricks. This is a Machete God Contest. How could he… not use any weapon?"
That being said, Tie Linglong knew in her heart that the man's kung fu would not be weakened if he had used a weapon. "Dragon King, teach him a lesson tomorrow. Only you can defeat him," said Tie Linglong.
Before Tie Linglong and Chu Nanping came back, Gu Shenwei had already received an intelligence report, which informed him that the opponent that he was going to fight tomorrow would be a monk from Four Truths Temple and this monk was named Lianye.
Although the Dragon King had shifted all blame for the murders in Jade City on Wildhorse, Lianye still firmly believed that it was Yang Huan who had assassinated Lianhua.
"Lianye has superb kung fu, and his Internal Strength is exceptionally strong." With this in mind, Gu Shenwei believed that a wooden saber would be far from enough for tomorrow's match against the monk.