Chapter 289: Crows
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The courtyard looked very safe. Gu Shenwei observed for two hours before entering. By this time, it was almost daybreak.
Guan Shang was still lying in bed. She looked at the Dragon King helplessly, who returned a day later.
Gu Shenwei cut off the leather rope for her leather and took a few steps back. “I have something to ask you.”
“And then knock me out again?”
“That depends.”
The Dragon King was serious. Guan Shang sat up and rubbed her arms. “Please ask.”
“You mentioned that the people who were killed by the imposter had grudges against Golden Roc Fort. What about the people in Blacksmith Village who were killed? Did they offend Golden Roc Fort as well?”
“Blacksmiths? No, they had no grudges against Golden Roc Fort. It was a tactic to take advantage of a confusing situation. Many people were killed by the imposter to create chaos so that they can make use of the opportunity to kill off the real target. The Lord wanted to kill several major Protectors as some of them dominated certain businesses and their influence was getting larger. They were even competing with Golden Roc Fort secretly.”
“A major Protector in Blacksmith Village was killed as well.”
“He might either be the real target or someone who died in vain. I cannot be sure. The Stone Castle kept this confidential and it was impossible for me to know.”
“What do you know about Master Lianhua?”
“That holy monk who was killed? As far as I know, his death was not part of Golden Roc Fort’s plan. Because after hearing about his death, they were both excited and surprised by it.”
“Didn’t the killers capture a few prisoners? Did they confess?”
“I don’t know anything about that. However, there’s something strange. There are some people in the fort who seemed to be very interested in the poison that was swallowed by the imposters. They collected a few pills and even took some corpses away.”
Gu Shenwei understood why Golden Roc Fort would be interested in the poison. This method of suicide was similar to what New Moon Hall would do. Supreme King would definitely want to get to the bottom of it. However, as a disciple of New Moon Hall, Guan Shang couldn’t understand why they were making a big fuss about it.
“Does New Moon Hall concoct all kinds of poison often?”
Guan Shang understood what the Dragon King meant and shook her head. She said, “Our Sect is good at making poisons, but there is no need for a suicide poison. Every disciple is loyal and will never reveal any information even if they are caught.”
Gu Shenwei had seen how the ladies of New Moon Hall would rather die than to submit. Guan Shang was initially a loyal black-masked a.s.sa.s.sin who would never betray, yet she was roped in by New Moon Hall. He said, “The Master must have done something to you right?”
“I’m ashamed. I am not qualified to accept the Master’s skills.”
Gu Shenwei snorted slightly. She was forced to pledge her allegiance to New Moon Hall so naturally she was compelled to lie as well. His trust in Guan Shang was greatly reduced.
“Take me to meet the Master.”
Upon hearing Dragon King’s request, Guan Shang seemed a bit surprised. She said, “Alright, but you will have to wait for seven days.”
“You seemed to be in a hurry to let me meet her yesterday.”
“Yes, I could only get information once every week and yesterday was supposed to be it. Since I didn’t get the information, I would have to wait for another week.”
Gu Shenwei was confused by Guan Shang and Mr. Hong’s conflicting statements. There seemed to be many clues, but none of them were useful.
He stood by the door and pondered over the matter, while Guan Shang sat on the edge of the bed motionlessly. She was staring at her saber, which was placed on a table a few steps away. She could grab it if she stood up, but she didn’t dare to do it in front of Dragon King.
“You are free,” Gu Shenwei said suddenly. Guan Shang was no longer of use to him.
“I can help the Dragon King.”
“No,” Gu Shenwei refused directly. He only needed intelligence, not a.s.sistance.
Guan Shang stood up and picked up her saber. She cautiously walked past Dragon King and said, “After a week, I will tell Master that the Dragon King wants to meet her.”
Guan Shang disappeared into the brief darkness before daybreak. Like the Dragon King, she was also being hunted down by Golden Roc Fort and needs to find a safe hiding spot.
Gu Shenwei followed her from a distance.
North City appears to have wide walkways, but there were many obstacles. Many overt and undercover officers continued to keep watch around the place. It was like a deep forest for those who were familiar with the situation. There were only a few areas were not monitored or seldom monitored. These areas formed a disconnected forested path.
Both Gu Shenwei and Guan Shang knew these paths. Hence, he could determine her path beforehand and was able to follow her from a distance. If it was the chaotic South City, he would need to follow her more closely.
Guan Shang returned to Bodhi Garden.
It was very clever of her to hide in a place where Golden Roc Fort would never expect her to be in, or perhaps she had an ulterior motive to inform her master about the situation after deceiving the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei did not enter.
Gu Shenwei took a risk and used Guan Shang’s killer waist token again as he exited the city through the eastern gate. He rented a horse and rode it around the nearby streets. After confirming that there was no one tailing him, he sped up and headed towards the southern suburbs.
There was a small hill to the south of Jade City and it was full of rocks. Only a few tender blades of gra.s.s could grow in the rainy season. The residents of Jade City named it Reincarnation Hill.
This was where corpses were dumped. Any unclaimed corpses would be carried to this place and buried hastily. On many occasions, there was no soil covering the corpses.
Gu Shenwei saw a large group of crows flying up and down from a distance.
Golden Roc Fort was interested in the poison swallowed by the suiciders. Gu Shenwei initially thought that Supreme King wanted to dig out traces of New Moon Hall. After pondering for some time, he felt that he should not jump to conclusions. There might be some hidden clues, so he wanted to investigate as well.
Most of the corpses who committed suicide would be dumped at Reincarnation Hill.
However, Gu Shenwei changed his mind after seeing the crows. He turned back and headed towards South City.
He was very lucky. He saw a carriage just as he was leaving the hill.
There were several corpses on the carriage. The two coachmen covered their faces with black cloth. However, they were dressed shabbily, as though they were doing a poor imitation of killers.
They were corpse transporters and had no interest in killers. They covered their faces for two reasons. Firstly, it was to block off the foul smell of the corpses. Secondly, they wanted to keep their ident.i.ties hidden as this was not a profession worth showing off.
The transporters were shocked as the strange knight offered to walk with them all the way. People often paid them to dispose of the corpses as soon as possible, no one was willing to watch them work.
Twenty silver taels and the flas.h.i.+ng of the killer waist token resolved all doubts.
The group of crows was very familiar with the transporters. They started dancing and chattering excitedly. Some of them even landed on the carriage eagerly.
The transporters waved their whip and drove the hungry birds away. They then dumped the corpses on the side of the road and shoveled some earth onto the corpses symbolically. They were ready to return to the city.
“The winter soil is too hard. We could only do this,” one of the corpse transporters explained to the knight.
The knight looked indifferent. Shocked, the transporters hurried down the hill. They didn’t dare to ask anymore. After they traveled for some distance, both of them looked back and a.n.a.lyzed the knight’s purpose for going to Reincarnation Hill.
The crows were not afraid of the living. As soon as the corpse transporters left, the crows flew past Gu Shenwei and landed on the corpses like a dark cloud. Two of the birds even had the audacity to peck on Gu Shenwei’s ears.
Gu Shenwei drew out his Five Peaks Saber and struck across. Several crows fell to the ground, but it did not even affect the appet.i.te of other birds.
Instead of heading down the hill, he urged the nervous horse to head up the hill. There was no more road upwards, only heaps of rocks.
Three men who were lying in ambush jumped out like lithe lynxes pouncing on the prey on horseback.
Gu Shenwei leaped into the air. He looked like a giant crow as his black cape spread open. The first strike slits a person’s throat and the second strike pierced another’s heart.
He then landed back on the ground.
The third person missed his target and looked at his companions’ corpses in disbelief. He seemed to have realized something. Before he could act, the black knight rushed towards him and gripped his throat.
Gu Shenwei forced the last person to spit the poison out. He took out a leather rope and tied the person before pus.h.i.+ng him to the ground.
The crows nearby c.o.c.ked their heads and their gazes were filled with greed.
“I won’t say anything.” The captive looked fl.u.s.tered, but his tone was still unyielding.
“Let them interrogate you.”
Gu Shenwei held onto the horse and slowly retreated. Encouraged, the crows hopped towards the human who was tied up.
The first crow jumped onto the human’s chest and pecked him lightly on the face. Dozens of crows came forward simultaneously.
The captive screamed loudly, his body writhing like a fish that had been thrown ash.o.r.e.
The crows dispersed and swarmed towards him again.
“I will talk, I will talk. Hurry up and get rid of them!”
Gu Shenwei rushed into the flock of birds and swung his Five Peaks Saber swiftly. There were more dead birds on the ground. The remaining crows finally sensed the danger and retreated, growling discontentedly.
Gu Shenwei were grateful for these crows. From afar, he was able to guess that there were people at the top of the hill as crows were flying up and down.
The captive’s face was pale, “You are the Dragon King?”
Gu Shenwei nodded.
“Hey, your head must be spinning, right? Let your crows come over. I’m not afraid of death. Someone will avenge me.” The captive who was just begging for mercy suddenly became bold. He closed his eyes, moved his lips and murmured softly. He appeared frightened yet fearless.
“Someone will be taking over your s.h.i.+ft at night?” Gu Shenwei asked.
The captive opened his eyes suddenly, but Dragon King was no longer in sight. Swarms of black crows were heading his way. They seemed to understand that they were permitted to enjoy this good meal without hesitation.
The shrieks stopped quickly.
Gu Shenwei released the frightened horse and stood beside the crows. Jade City was enveloped in dark winter clouds. No crow dared to approach this human being as he looked from afar.
Gu Shenwei knew that the Special Emissary from the Central Plains would leave Jade City the day after tomorrow. Great Snow Mountain only had a little more than a day left. He needs to find out who the mastermind behind the imposter was so that the negotiations could continue.
The purpose of killing was to stop killing. The purpose of a peace negotiation was to violate the negotiation. Gu Shenwei held onto his sword shaft with confidence.
Three shadows went up Reincarnation Hill at nightfall.
One of them whistled, but there was no response.
The bright moon was hanging high in the sky, illuminating the entire area. They found three familiar knives and three sets of fresh skeletons.
The three men looked at one another, speechless. They immediately pulled out their sabers and looked around in horror. They leaned towards one another and retreated. They would jump in fear whenever they heard a bird call.
After retreating back to the foot of the hill, they ran around the wilderness like rabbits and fled towards South City, looking back frequently as they were afraid that the crows would catch up to them anytime.
These three panicky machetemen were unable to detect the presence of the Dragon King.
Three of them fled into the burnt peach forest in Gui Garden. Arriving at the rear wall of Joy Pavilion, they knelt down on one leg and shouted in unison, “Lord, Lord.”
There was another person on the wall. He was well built, but ugly. His brow ridge was bulged high, like a horn that had been cut into two. His eyes were covered by the shadow. Holding onto a saber at his waist, he looked as solemn as a king.
More and more people appeared. Some were standing on the wall, some were standing in the peach forest. They formed several circles around the ugly man, facing him as they knelt on one leg.
Gu Shenwei saw several familiar faces. He saw w.a.n.g Cheng, the first person who tailed him after he entered the city and Boss Mo, the swindler who collaborated with the holy monk. They should be dead since they swallowed the poison. However, these people were revived and were kneeling along with other people.
Gu Shenwei finally knew who the mastermind behind the imposter was.