The only person New Moon Hall was trying to kill was Maid Lotus. As for Dragon King, they regarded him as an obstructor, whom they would rather avoid than confront head-on.
They set up a series of sophisticated traps to entice Maid Lotus.
The trap began at Gulping Wind Gorge. Because it had been recognized in advance, the “scattering plan” was unsuccessful; therefore, they started to carry out their backup plans.
The traitors were fully committed to their attacks. For them, it was all or nothing. At the courier station, they used incurable poison. At the docks, they incited the crowds to attack Dragon King. They had even poured poison around the capital.
They had succeeded. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had indeed been confused by such madness at the very last minute. They believed that Guan Shang must be the last traitor and had no way to escape.
Even if Gu Shenwei figured out the four maids had feigned their deaths, it would not affect their plans. Their most important tactic was still unbeknownst to Dragon King and Maid Lotus.
The four maids were servants of New Moon Hall, but their Kung Fu was top-notch. Instead of employing the occult sciences that New Moon Hall was so famous for, they relied on their impeccable cooperation to kill their targets.
This strategy was commonly used by the Golden Roc Fort. However, because Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had thought that the maids had come from “New Moon Hall,” they had not considered this possibility.
Gu Shenwei pulled out his saber quickly. He was sure to kill one of the assassins, which left the remaining three to Maid Lotus.
At the same time, Guan Shang made his move. His target was Maid Lotus. They had already made up their minds to kill Maid Lotus, even if this meant that they would all die by the saber of the Dragon King.
Only queen mother Wang remained still in the room. What was happening at the moment was completely beyond her comprehension. She did not know who these people were, especially the four maids. “Aren’t they just common court maids? Why did they jump up from these pools of blood like ghosts to attack the unknown woman?” she wondered.
The queen mother felt a wave of dizziness hit her. Her heart skipped a beat.
She fainted and, before falling into darkness, was shocked to see the unknown woman surrounded by many people, standing still as if she was also shocked.
The Death Scripture sword technique could only kill a single person at a time. This was the way it concentrated its power and was also its weakness. Unless the opponent was weak, the process of regenerating power was Death Scripture’s fatal flaw. This was the reason why Gu Shenwei needed to avoid falling into a tight encirclement at all costs.
Maid Lotus faced the same problem. In order for her to survive, she had to change her style of fighting.
Maid Lotus did not think that the renegades from New Moon Hall would produce four highly skilled opponents. Neither did the opponents expect Maid Lotus to have more tricks up her sleeve.
A faint fragrance wafted in the air. While everyone inhaled a little, no one paid it any mind. Maid Lotus and the renegades all understood each other’s tactics. Before the fight, they had consumed many antidotes, believing this would defend themselves from all the occult sciences of their opponents.
However, they were not aware that Maid Lotus had learned a new type of knockout powder in the past few months.
The fragrance-producing technology in the Land of Fragrance did not compare to that New Moon Hall’s secret techniques. However, few knew the scents. Even Maid Lotus, who entered the Land of Fragrance, had twice in a row been knocked out by Indra incense. Only when she found out the powder’s secret ingredients and made the antidote herself did the powder lose its effectiveness.
The renegades of New Moon Hall had fallen for the trap. The incense did not take effect immediately. The steel needles they wielded were still close to the target, but their motions began to slow down.
Maid Lotus bought the time that she needed. She spun around in a circle, her five fingers brushing across the chests of her five assailants. She did so softly and effortlessly.
Seven turns, seven apertures– the Heart Stopping Finger. Few people knew about the needle technique Old Man Mu had specially invented to deal with the disciples of New Moon Hall.
When Maid Lotus had learned this skill from Shangguan Ru, she had sworn against using it indiscriminately.
Yan Er was the intended target. Maid Lotus had once practiced the finger technique on her. However, this time, she had five more opponents to practice her skills on. It was a good opportunity for her to find out about the different effects the same skill had on different people.
The first assailant died on the spot as if she had been summoned by magic. The magic suddenly disappeared and the body fell to the ground.
As for the second assailant, the needle remained lodged in her neck. She desperately grabbed at the needle; the itchiness seemed nearly unbearable. She continued to scratch at that spot on her neck until she took her last breath.
The third traitor fell from the air and onto the ground. She was on her knees like a drunkard, vomiting uncontrollably; only it was blood, not wine.
The fourth traitor was technically already dead. However, even after taking a blow from Gu Shenwei, she continued after her target. She was immune to the effects of Indra and the Heart Stopping Finger technique.
Maid Lotus dodged the attack just in time.
Only Guan Shang remained alive.
Out of everyone, her kung-fu skills were the best, and her reflexes were the fastest. Her chest had only been grazed by the attacking finger. Moreover, her Internal Strength was not quite trained in the ways of the New Moon Hall. Hence, she had not been affected as severely by the Heart Stopping Finger technique. She had barely saved her life to this critical juncture.
Guan Shang retreated to a corner of the room. The Indra knockout power had only begun to take its effect, and she could scarcely conceal the fear inside of her. Things went beyond expectation. Maid Lotus seemed to transform into a different person– the knockout powder and the kung-fu she used were completely new.
The horror was fleeting, and Guan Shang began to drift into a dream state. In this new realm, she was more concerned about things that had nothing to do with Maid Lotus.
Looking at the corpses on the ground, Gu Shenwei’s heart skipped a beat. He had consumed the antidote to the Indra powder before the fight, however, it had not prepared him for this scene. To prove that she had no intention of harming the Dragon King, she had given the Dragon King all of her antidotes.
“Do you recognize these four people?” Gu Shenwei asked Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus shook her head and said, “I thought that they were single-heartedly interested in practicing their occult magic skills and were not the least bit interested in practicing the advanced martial arts.”
“She may be able to tell us the truth.” Gu Shenwei pointed at Guan Shang, who was standing there, wobbling.
Maid Lotus snatched the knife from Guan Shang’s hands and threw it aside. She nudged her chest with her finger before stuffing the antidote into her mouth.
Guan Shang had not been poisoned for long, and she awakened quickly. After she came to her senses, she felt a wave of panic. She had lost many of her comrades and even so, she had not managed to kill Maid Lotus. Not only had she become a prisoner, but her Internal Strength had also vanished temporarily, and she did not even have a chance to commit suicide.
“What should I do with this one?” Maid Lotus did not ask Guan Shang but pointed at the Queen Mother Wang who had fainted in fear.
“Keep her.” Gu Shenwei felt that killing the queen mother Wang would not do them any good. Keeping her alive might turn out useful.
“Help her to the bed.” Maid Lotus commanded Guan Shang, her tone cool and indifferent as always. It was as if Guan Shang were her subordinate.
However, this time, Guan Shang lowered her head and did not take her order immediately. After hesitating for a while, she walked over, picked up the queen mother and put her onto the bed.
In such a way, Maid Lotus knew that she could let Guan Shang speak. “Where shall we start?” asked Maid Lotus.
Guan Shang lifted her head and responded, “Kill me. I have nothing to say.”
Maid Lotus shook her head slowly. “You have not learned the real secret techniques of the New Moon Hall. However, you should know that death is by far the lightest of our punishments. These four were lucky, but you are not.”
Guan Shang’s face turned pale. At that moment she obeyed the order to lift up the queen mother. Her heart had yielded; this was not her first betrayal.
Betraying Golden Roc Fort, Maid Lotus, and now having to betray her comrade. She had never found a real sense of belonging. “What do you want to know?” she asked.
“What’s going on with these four maids?” Maid Lotus inquired.
“They were skilled experts whom she had trained three years ago to kill you,” replied Guan Shang.
As for “she,” Guan Shang did not mention her name and neither did Maid Lotus ask.
“How many other traitors are there?”
“I don’t know. I came as soon as I received the order. I know nothing else.” Guan Shang admitted.
“Think about it carefully. Maybe you’ll know.”
Maid Lotus leaped before Guan Shang and tapped on her chest. She swiftly returned to her original position.
Guan Shang uttered a strange “Uh-Huh.” However, she seemed to become embarrassed all of a sudden. She then hung her head intently and tidied up her clothes for no reason. “Master, please,” she begged.
Guan Shang’s cries were weak. It was as though she had not awakened from her dream state. Afterward, she began to scratch her body. At first, she tried to resist and clenched her fists. However, she soon yielded and started to scratch herself furiously.
She tore her clothes to pieces.
Gu Shenwei hesitated for a moment before turning to leave the room.
The sky was about to light up, and the city had already fallen into his hands. However, even with this streak of good luck, Gu Shenwei did not feel at ease at all.
There was a reason why the Land of Fragrance, the Wushan tribe, and the An Kingdom had been ignored or even forgotten by the big powers in the Western Regions: Even as a group, they did not provide much strength. It would take less than 2,000 soldiers from the Great Snowmountain to crush them. The Dragon King would only be the underdog when faced with the powerful army of the Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei tried to occupy his mind with military affairs; however, his thoughts unwittingly strayed to Maid Lotus. She had tried to get the Dragon King to leave, in order to interrogate Guan Shang alone.
The New Moon Hall had many ways of getting people to talk; surely there was no need to force Guan Shang to scratch herself to death.
Maid Lotus had claimed that she would reveal all the secrets without reservation.
“Everyone has their own hidden secrets,” Gu Shenwei thought, everyone, including himself.
The terrible screams of Guan Shang echoed clearly from the room. Gu Shenwei thought that it would be better to avoid suspicion completely. Hence, he left the palace quietly in the night.
Shortly after dawn, Maid Lotus returned. She said flatly, “Guan Shang does not know much. There are not many traitors from New Moon Hall left. There is no need to worry about them anymore.”
Gu Shenwei murmured assent. This matter was considered resolved. Regarding Maid Lotus’ secret and what was happening in New Moon Hall, Gu Shenwei decided not to ask anymore questions. He and Maid Lotus preserved a delicate balance in their relationship, and it would be unwise to break it.
At this very moment, a soldier who had been guarding the city ran over hurriedly. He reported seeing a group of troops and horses approaching the south gates, and they seemed to be the “100,000” troops of the Dragon King.
This must have been the vanguard of the Great Snowmountain, led by Long Fanyun. It only consisted of several hundred people.
The army had already arrived, but Gu Shenwei still had one key problem: The free, unfettered sea was in sight, but he had not even a single boat in his hands.