Chapter 526: Mark
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Shangguan Nu still remembered that afternoon. The youth had been practicing bladesmans.h.i.+p. He turned around, anger and hatred emerging on his face. For a second, it seemed that he was about to dive at Shangguan Nu, but he quickly managed to collect himself as a servant.
They were not well-matched at all in those days. Today, the situation was still the same, only the stronger one had become the weaker one.
“He used to be my servant.” Shangguan Nu reminded himself. He walked into the Dragon King’s room, stood upright, and did not offer his salute. He just stood there, and for a moment, it seemed that he had become the c.o.c.ky Eighth Young Master again.
The Dragon King had invited him. He thought that since he could not run away, he might as well pay him a visit. After all, he had no one on his side now. If it was not the Dragon King, Golden Roc Fort would try to capture him as well.
At the last moment, the fear of death faded away.
Gu Shenwei never considered Shangguan Nu his master. Seeing Shangguan Nu’s face, he was surprised by how old he looked. “Long time no see. I’m glad that you’re alive.”
Shangguan Nu failed to understand the words at first, but then he realized that the Dragon King was threatening him. “You just promised that you wouldn’t kill anyone in Norland.”
Before walking in, Shangguan Nu expected himself to be calm. However, the moment he opened his mouth, he was searching for justifications to keep him alive.
Gu Shenwei had just spoken with the Norland messenger. The messenger tried to close a loophole in the agreement by forbidding the Dragon King from killing randomly in public. Thus, Shangguan Nu would never try to provoke him.
“Indeed,” Gu Shenwei admitted. Thanks to Zhang Ji’s teaching and his reading in the Whiterobe Academy, he could now play with words better than most people, although the ability was often overshadowed by his killing capability. “But that only applies to Norland and Golden Roc Fort. Do you still belong to Golden Roc Fort?”
Shangguan Nu used to dream that he would seize Golden Roc Fort and become the Supreme King with the support of the Central Plains. He thought that he was the refugee master of Stone Castle. However, when the lord showed his exceptional ambition, Shangguan Nu’s dream and his faith both fell apart at the same time. He no longer belonged to Stone Castle.
Golden Roc Fort had been his protection once upon a time. Since then, Shangguan Nu broke away from them. He did not want to complain or give in. Gathering all his courage, he pulled out his saber. “Come on, Slave Huan, let me see if you’re as capable as legend has it.”
Shangguan Nu tried to provoke his opponent with an old name. Killers usually tried provocation first when they had to face an enemy.
However, apparently he was wrong. The Dragon King remained indifferent and did not even draw his saber, as if Shangguan Nu was just a harmless kid waving his toy.
Gu Shenwei rolled up his sleeve and revealed a brand on his right arm. It was an ugly mark, the non-erasable character “Huan”. Regardless of their status, every Golden Roc Fort servant had the same brand but with different characters.
“I look at it every day and find it very funny how Golden Roc Fort thinks that a mark can bind people. Then, I remind myself that I’ll never make the same mistake.”
When they first met, Shangguan Nu did not see the excitement of an upcoming revenge in the Dragon King. Time had changed his face and seemed to have eroded his hatred. But now, Shangguan Nu finally saw that his hatred had been hiding under his skin. He did need not any mark of hatred on the outside.
Shangguan Nu’s left hand was shaking. He held out his right arm, showing his right hand, which had been cut off by the lord. That was his mark; however, he did not dare to look at it twice. The last thing he wanted to do was show it to others because sometimes just a curious glance could provoke his killing desire.
When he first stepped into the room, he had expected to see a servant. Now, he had lost all his confidence. He was not only weaker than him in Kung Fu, but also in willpower. It occurred to him that maybe his failure was due to his weak willpower.
He was not ambitious enough. His wish to return to Golden Roc Fort as the Supreme King was petty compared to his father’s ambition.
His hatred was not deep enough, he even avoided the fact that his hand was cut off. Before the Dragon King’s mountain-like hatred, he was like a small rock. Even just a small force would drive him away.
Shangguan Nu suddenly realized something. Then he laughed hysterically with both madness and sadness. When he stopped, he said, “Killing a man doesn’t have to be complicated. Killing and being killed is actually the same thing. I don’t want to complain, and I don’t need any teaching from you.”
“What if I have a ‘teaching’ that can keep you alive?” Gu Shenwei remained calm no matter how his opponent acted. However, Shangguan Nu could not contain himself anymore. He was no longer a killer.
Shangguan Nu knew that the Dragon King would say something like this. He lowered his saber and stood upright, as if he were a few years younger. “Zhong Heng asked me; two Commanding Officers asked me; many people asked me. My answer is still the same: I won’t tell you who was behind your family’s ma.s.sacre. Even in front of the King of h.e.l.l, even if I have to suffer the entirety of h.e.l.l’s punishment, I won’t tell.”
During a mission, Golden Roc killers did everything to kill their target, and when the mission was completed, loyalty came first. The killers had to be loyal to Stone Castle to keep their employers’ secrets.
In the seaside slope battle, even though they would be beheaded by Stone Castle, the killers still carried Shangguan Jianyi’s corpse to the Supreme King. They probably had been thinking the same as Shangguan Nu was now.
That kind of loyalty was traced back to the first day they entered Golden Roc Fort. After years of enslaving education, loyalty was branded on their hearts.
Maybe it was his last bit of pride. Shangguan Nu had lost everything—his ident.i.ty, status, Kung Fu, and ambitions. Pride was the only thing he had left.
Even so, as long as one used the right kind of methods, you could open up a killer’s mouth. Gu Shenwei had been successful. It was hard to erase the brand on one’s heart, but it was possible.
“You won’t tell me because you don’t know.” Gu Shenwei broke in and continued, “Because, in Shangguan Fa’s eyes, you’re too ordinary. You’re just a blademaster, a tool for his missions. He uses you and doesn’t feel the need to tell you important secrets.”
Shangguan Nu’s face seemed to be on fire. The Dragon King was right. His father’s contempt greatly influenced his fate. Deep down in his heart, he dreamed that his father would cry in front of him, saying that he had misjudged his Eighth Son.
It was his deepest secret, but the Dragon King had just blurted it out.
Shangguan Nu brandished his saber.
It was a strong strike. Time had eroded his looks and mood, but strengthened his saber and arm. Shangguan Nu was in his 30s and had the best physique. His left hand already surpa.s.sed the missing right hand after years of practice.
Finally, he saw the legendary Dragon King’s machete skills. They were simple and fast. One who did not practice Kung Fu would consider them ordinary, and only experienced killers could appreciate them.
Machete skills were just one aspect. Other important qualities of Kung Fu, such as vigilance and timing, could not be acquired by solely practicing machete skills.
Sometimes, being “fast” could be deceptive. A well-timed strike would give one the impression of being slow. It was like catching flies—a random catch seemed faster than aimlessly swinging your hands in the air, even though the former could have just been lucky.
A real Kung Fu master could turn luck into certainty. He could keep the blessing forever with him.
Shangguan Nu thought that luck had never liked him.
His saber fell to the ground and he staggered backward, losing his last bit of confidence. And as the fear of death crept in, he began to savor his last moment.
His blood ran cold and seemed to be pouring out through a large hole. He looked for the scar, but could not find it.
Gu Shenwei walked toward Shangguan Nu and lay the Five Peaks Saber flat on his shoulder.
Shangguan Nu knelt down involuntarily, his last shred of pride finally lost. He was in a daze and could not help looking at the Dragon King. He moved his lips, as if he was going to beg for mercy. However, he did not say a word, but swallowed something in the end.
Gu Shenwei put a pill into his mouth and stepped back, saying, “I’ll let you live today. Next time, I’ll kill you.”
It took Shangguan Nu a while to understand the Dragon King’s words. Then, he scrambled back to his place on all fours. He s.h.i.+vered on his bed and did not even think what that pill might have been.
This was his real self, and Shangguan Nu hated it.
Gu Shenwei had not released Shangguan Nu out of pity, but because of his agreement with Wei Song. Pity was an emotion he had abandoned long ago.
Wei Song arranged for them to meet, but he could only take Shangguan Nu’s life after Khan had been a.s.sa.s.sinated. Any early action meant the end of the agreement.
Though the hatred grew stronger, Gu Shenwei controlled it better than before. Imminent and long-term benefits were always contradictory, and by now he had learned how to make something a priority.
Like Wei Song, Shangguan Nu could not run away from Gu Shenwei either. If Gu Shenwei wanted to kill them, he could make them knock on his door, even if they were a thousand miles away.
Just after Shangguan Nu ran out, the guards reported that Shangguan Fei had requested to meet him.
Shangguan Fei looked surprised. “Is that my Eighth Brother? How did he… He’s changed a lot, I bet my Eighth Sister-in-law wouldn’t even look at him.”
Shangguan Fei always thought little of family ties. He felt more surprise than sympathy toward his Eighth Brother Shangguan Nu.
“What is it?” Gu Shenwei did not remember summoning him.
“What a coincidence! Shangguan Yun is here and wants to visit Norland. He wants to travel with us.” Shangguan Fei acted as their messenger. He was used to the role and did not even need to explain when delivering messages.
“Great.”
“Shangguan Yun brought another person, Zhang Ji, who used to teach at the school. I don’t know if Your Majesty remembers him. He used to be c.o.c.ky, and now he’s more arrogant than ever, saying ‘Bring that Dragon King to me, I want to meet him’. Funny, right?”
On the contrary, Gu Shenwei did not find it funny at all. He became even more vigilant than when he faced the armed Shangguan Nu.