Chapter 49: Miracle
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The experience of escaping from the hand of death was like a ridiculous dream for Gu Shenwei. He still felt that he was dreaming after safely landing on the clifftop. Stone Castle seemingly became small, as if he could crush the castle just by stepping on it.
The two giant rocs admitted that this human being was their son's savior, so their hostility toward him had gone. Meanwhile, the male roc pecked out the other wolf's eyeball and kindly gave it to Gu Shenwei, hoping that he could taste the delicious food.
The little roc had been tyrannical since it was born, and it stretched out its neck like a floating balloon. It wanted to snatch the food from its father's claws.
Gu Shenwei made series of complex gestures to show his gratitude and declined this "good" gift. If the giant rocs misunderstood him, then he would possibly lose his life instantly. But in any case, he could never eat that wolf's bloody eyeball.
The male roc was very smart. It understood his gestures and fed the eyeball to the little bird.
Gu Shenwei gesticulated wildly to show that he loved the beautiful roost, but he had come from the top of the cliff and eagerly wanted to go back.
The giant rocs were intelligent and soon they understood the man's intention. The female bird first flew high, seeming to scout the way. Then, the male roc grabbed Gu Shenwei by the shoulders with its sharp claws and flew below its partner.
The little roc seemed to be a little attached to him. Once Gu Shenwei was in the air, it came over to him and pecked at his feet continuously.
Gu Shenwei's feet hurt, and so did his shoulders, but the wonderful feeling of flying relieved his pain. Like a kitten in a cat's mouth, he did not dare to move or use his strength. The clouds and mist swept past him. For a moment, Gu Shenwei felt like he was not rising, but falling down.
Finally, he landed on the clifftop. The two giant rocs nodded to him majestically and quickly flew away. They seemed to dislike this Stone Castle.
Gu Shenwei was totally paralyzed with fatigue and fear. There was no one on the Giant Rock Cliff. Shangguan Yushi and Shangguan Ru had left, and the scattered stuff on the ground still remained where it was.
Gu Shenwei rested about half an hour on the Giant Rock Cliff. Then, he took a deep breath and struggled up to his feet. He hobbled across the giant rock and headed toward the gate of the East Castle while leaning against the wall.
As he was walking closer to the castle, the world became more and more real to him. His hatred of this place, which had been temporarily covered up by the adventure, now appeared again. He was still the young teenager who carried revenge. Nothing had changed, except that he needed to kill Shangguan Yushi as soon as possible.
After a long hesitation, Gu Shenwei arrived back at the stone house. He immediately fell asleep on the brick bed. Under his current circumstances, it was too difficult for him to scheme to kill someone right now.
When he woke up, it was pitch-black in the room, already midnight. But he had not reported about what had happened today to Mama Xue.
"Mama Xue must be angry," he thought. But then he turned over and quickly fell asleep again.
Gu Shenwei got up on time the next morning. Someone had clumsily bandaged him from head to toe. Of course, it was not a doctor's technique. As he abruptly sat up, the pain was still not relieved, but he now had a clear mind, so he could think and plan something as usual.
Obviously, the man who had bandaged his wounds was Elderly Zhang. This reticent groom had gone to feed the horses, but had put a bowl of rice covered with meat on Slave Huan's bedside.
Gu Shenwei forced himself to eat all of it, and then directly went to the Giant Rock Cliff as usual. Since he was still in Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei would continue to fulfill his duty as Slave Huan.
Standing outside the door, he looked at the stable in the distance. The root of the tree of hostility buried in his heart had been loosening. However, he was immersed in hostility again upon thinking of Shangguan Yushi.
The Giant Rock Cliff still looked like what it was. After picking up several things, Gu Shenwei, who was still seriously wounded, felt exhausted. He just wanted to sit down against the wall and take a rest. When he came back to his mind, it was already noon.
He could not and did not want to see a doctor in Golden Roc Fort. If the doctor were to say that he could not be cured, then he might be sent to Firewood Yard to just wait for death.
However, the nature of sitting here was almost the same.
As he was randomly thinking about his future, three teenagers walked in from outside of the giant rock, chatting and laughing.
They were the attendants who belonged to the twins. Their duty was as same as Slave Huan's—cleaning the platform on the Giant Rock Cliff. They often came late when working, and they did so today.
Seeing Slave Huan sitting in the corner, the smile on their faces instantly disappeared. They surprisingly opened their mouths and stood still like stones, as if they had been rooted in the narrow entrance.
"Oh my God!" Someone cried out loudly. The three teenagers quickly turned and ran away. They huddled together in the narrow entrance and then fell down.
Gu Shenwei felt confused. Then he realized that in the eyes of the others, he had "died" from falling off of the cliff.
Gu Shenwei always thought that the guards were everywhere in Golden Roc Fort, so he should have been found a long time ago when walking to the stone house. So, why did those attendants know nothing about it?
Maybe they were ill-informed, he guessed. The guards probably did not tell them what they had known.
Before long, Gu Shenwei heard many people running from outside. He had just stood up against the wall when Shangguan Ru rushed in.
Just like the three attendants, Shangguan Ru froze as soon as she saw Slave Huan. She stopped running and seemingly was prepared to fight or escape. Many people were looking at from him behind her, however, no one dared to come in.
"You... Are you a man or a ghost?"
Shangguan Ru sternly questioned him but could not conceal her fear from him very well.
"If I were a ghost, I would not need to bandage these wounds."
Gu Shenwei chuckled, feeling that it was hilarious.
"He does have a shadow!" Master Fei cried from outside and squeezed in the crowd. Standing behind his sister, he continuously looked over Slave Huan, as if just seeing him for the first time.
"Why didn't you die?" Shangguan Ru said. She still did not believe that he was alive.
"A tree stopped my fall and I was unconscious for a while. When I climbed back to the ground, you and Master Yu had left."
Gu Shenwei concealed the part about meeting the giant rocs.
Shangguan Ru calmed down and ran over to him with a big smile. She held his hand and said, "Follow me."
They ran outside and the young masters standing at the entrance made way for them. They had not truly believed that Slave Huan was a living man, so they followed Shangguan Ru and Slave Huan far away.
It was anguish for Gu Shenwei to run with Shangguan Ru. He felt that his wounds were rupturing open, but he did not stop and tried to figure out where the Ninth Young Master would go.
Outside the gate of the East Castle, five or six servants, including Slave Qing, were anxiously pacing back and forth. Slave Qing could not persuade the two masters to see the "ghost", Slave Huan. But he did not dare to follow them, so he had ants in his pants.
Shangguan Ru held Slave Huan's hand and jumped over the threshold. They met Slave Qing on the way. On seeing Slave Huan, though he was more than 30 years old, he also cried out, "Oh my God!". His legs gave out and then he collapsed into another slave's arms behind him.
Shangguan Ru laughed loudly without stopping her running. She did not run to the school or the Moonhold Academy, but took Slave Huan into a yard located in a remote corner, which he had never been to.
This small and obsolete yard was situated on the median line of Golden Roc Fort.
Shangguan Ru opened the door and yelled, "Master Yu! Master Yu! Come out. He hasn't died."
Gu Shenwei had wondered why he did not see Shangguan Yushi. In fact, she was hiding here in case the "ghost" would take revenge.
Shangguan Ru shouted three times. A trembling voice came from the east wing room. "Well... Is it true?"
"Of course. Yes, he's still alive. Look! He has a shadow! How could he be a ghost?"
"Creak!" The door slowly opened. Shangguan Yushi cautiously craned forward. Now she looked like an ordinary young, 14-year-old girl who was frightened. Her pride and indifference had disappeared completely.
"Who are you?" She pretended to be tough, but her voice showed her anxiety.
"I'm Slave Huan. Don't you remember me, Master Yu?" Gu Shenwei said.
"What happened? How are you still alive?"
"I fell off the cliff yesterday and was caught by a tree. Later, I felt dizzy for a while. When I woke up, a few people were around me and talked to me, saying that Master Yu was just playing a joke, so I shouldn't take it seriously."
Shangguan Yushi screamed and closed the door before Gu Shenwei finished telling his experience.
Shangguan discontentedly threw aside Slave Huan's hand. "I'm very happy that you're OK. But why do you scare her?"
"Master Ru, what I said is true. I don't dare to frighten Master Yu. Maybe that was just my hallucination because of a serious brain injury."
Shangguan Ru seemed to believe his words and pushed Slave Huan out. She yelled toward the east wing room. "Come out, Master Yu. Otherwise, we'll come in."
Shangguan Yu opened the door and came out. She looked calmer than before. She thought if she must talk to a "ghost", it was safer to stand under the sun rather than stay in a room.
"What do you want?"
Obviously, Gu Shenwei could do nothing in this situation. He took out the knife and respectfully handed it to Shangguan Yushi. "Luckily, I'm still alive. I'll devote the rest of my life to serve Master Fei, Master Ru, and Master Yu. Here you are."
Shangguan Yushi slowly took the knife. Her confusion disappeared the moment that she touched Slave Huan. She now believed that he was a living person rather than a ghost.
"I... Actually... I wouldn't hurt you if the Ninth Childe didn't say..." Master Yu murmured.
"Don't say that. Don't tell him. Slave Huan is alive now, so nothing has changed." Shangguan Ru jumped from Slave Huan's side and held her cousin's arm. She interrupted their talking.
Gu Shenwei did not think so. Actually, things had changed. He was a badly injured slave now. In his mind, his hatred, like a torch burning fiercely, was stronger than ever. If there was something that was unchangeable, it had to be his determination to kill all of the Shangguan family members.
But he was still curious about what Shangguan Ru had said. These words made Shangguan Yushi so jealous and she even wanted to kill him.
However, he did not ask. Superficially, he needed to be a kind servant, who should thank his masters thousands of times for their forgiveness, even though they wanted to kill him. A master apologizing to a slave? That was a daydream.
Shangguan Ru pulled her cousin's arm with one hand and held Slave Huan with the other. She said seriously, "We're in the same assassination team. It's called a team because the three of us are in it. Therefore, we must trust, help, love, and never betray each another. If anyone were to violate the oath, I... I wouldn't talk to him or her forever."
What a childish oath! Gu Shenwei and Shangguan Yushi ostensibly took it seriously and repeated her vow. When speaking to "love each other devotedly", Slave Huan and Shangguan Yu both revealed the feeling that he or she would definitely take revenge on each other. But Shangguan Ru was very pleased, so she did not notice how unreliable her team was.
"An oath?" Gu Shenwei snorted at it in his mind. Over the last year, he had vowed so many times. Only the first oath was true—to kill all of the Shangguan family members.
The miracle of Slave Huan's narrow escape created quite a stir among the youth in Golden Roc Fort. Regardless of Slave Qing's anger, many people came to talk to him on purpose and even touched him by chance to make sure that it was a human body.
But upon meeting Mama Xue, he received a totally different treatment.
Mama Xue did not believe in the ghost story. She was dissatisfied with Slave Huan's offensive action to Shangguan Yushi, as if he should take the whole responsibility for this assassination.
She punished Slave Huan with her Iron Finger, which made his internal injury even more serious.
Hence, the next morning, Gu Shenwei went to the Giant Rock Cliff alone. Now he could do nothing because of his serious injury. Thus, he just lay down under the warm sunshine, wondering how he could secretly pay Shangguan Yushi back for this.
He had never anticipated that one day he would also experience the pain of Qigong Deviation. Thus he felt a little guilty for Slave Yao.