Chapter 224
Chapter 224 Return
Shen Liang was impressed by the scene on the day the big young lord of the castle was killed, and especially by the sabresmanship of the two teenage killers.
The Washing Heart Yard was responsible for executing punishment in Golden Roc Castle. As soon as the two cases of Meng Fourth Gongzi being a.s.sa.s.sinated and the a.s.sa.s.sin being found in the Governor’s office were reported to the castle, Shen Liang, the Sabrelord, was appointed to investigate the matter. No matter what the residents of Jade City said, the real experts had all seen the shadows of Golden Roc killers in the cases.
Gu Shenwei was very surprised to see Shen Liang in the Governor’s office, but he still calmly bowed to show his respect to the Sabrelord and the Governor.
Sitting at the head table, Wei Song looked vigilant. He nodded perfunctorily without a word, indicating that Shen Liang was in charge of everything.
“You are Yang Huan, right?” Shen Liang hadn’t come alone; he had brought ten killers with him.
“Yes.”
“Where were you the night of July the third?”
Gu Shenwei thought for a while and said, “Kun Society of Southern Jade City.”
“You remember it well.”
“Something happened that day, and I must remember it.”
“What?”
“I can’t say.”
Shen Liang’s eyes turned stern. This killer used to be under the command of his nephew Shangguan Nu, but now he belonged to Tenth Gongzi, which meant that he no longer needed to protect him.
“I order you to tell me the truth in the name of the Sabrelord of Washing Heart Yard.”
“Please forgive me, Sabrelord, but I still cannot say.”
Wei Song carefully concealed his true feelings and quietly watched the interrogation nearby. He trusted no one here.
A wave of anger flashed across Shen Liang’s heart. No one would dare disrespect him in Golden Roc Castle, unless it was … Madam Meng. He was a bit hesitant now. If what Yang Huan couldn’t say was related to the twins, he didn’t want to get to the bottom of it.
One killer came forward and suggested, “Sabrelord, the a.s.sa.s.sin was cut in the back that night, and the wound won’t disappear so quickly.”
Shen Liang got what the killer meant, so his tone softened. “Yang Huan, are you willing to undress for inspection?”
Gu Shenwei lowered his head and thought for a while. He first produced a large stack of banknotes and several other items from his robe, and then quickly took off his upper clothes before turning his back to the crowd.
The room suddenly fell silent. Wei Song turned his head after a quick glance. Although the other people were all killers and were best at torturing prisoners, no one had ever seen
such a mess of scars on a living person.
There were so many scars that even the most experienced person couldn’t distinguish which were new wounds and which were old ones. So it could neither prove that Yang Huan was the a.s.sa.s.sin, and nor could it show that he was innocent.
Shen Liang was very embarra.s.sed. His sharp instinct made him believe that this killer was related to the a.s.sa.s.sination of Meng Mingxian and the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination of the Governor, but he had no evidence. If Yang Huan was an average killer, he could use some of the crueler means to pry his mouth open, but now he had to consider the looming Madam Meng behind the killer.
Wei Song felt that he had been fooled, and that this was all a show specially played out for him that should have ended by now. How could Golden Roc Castle wholeheartedly protect a governor from the Central Plains? So he opened his mouth, “I believe the a.s.sa.s.sin is not this Yang Huan. The a.s.sa.s.sin was injured last time, and as long as Golden Roc Castle still protects me, I believe that he would not dare come again.”
Shen Liang went away looking embarra.s.sed. It was at this moment that he had resolved himself to find the truth. Even if in the end he couldn’t make the result public, he still wanted to understand the ins and outs of Yang Huan. This teenager had actually dared to act out in front of him, and he would make him regret his huge mistake one day.
Gu Shenwei also thought it was a show, but the ones acting for him were Shen Liang and Wei Song. The Central Plains was secretly planning to eliminate Golden Roc Castle, but the two were still seriously playacting at offering protection and being protected.
When there were only the Governor and the killer left, Wei Song said, “Sabrelord Shen insisted on coming. I could not refuse him, but I never thought you were the a.s.sa.s.sin. The reason is simple; you haven’t received your payment for the job, so why would you kill me?”
You are very observant, my lord.” Gu Shenwei offered up the bank notes with both hands.
The money didn’t belong to him, so Wei Song didn’t take it. “Put that away, someone will give you a receipt when you leave. What about the information I asked you to inquire about?”
Gu Shenwei accepted the bank notes fully at ease. “It’s true. The Unique King was seriously ill and has lost almost all of his kung fu.”
“Are you sure?”
“I saw it with my own eyes.”
Wei Song leaned forward slightly, his cold hard face showing a trace of excitement. “Any evidence?”
“There can be no
no proof for such things, my lord. You can go inquire about the Daoless Divine Power or Daoless Scroll, and will know that I’m telling the truth. Those who practise this kung fu will lose all of their internal energy regularly.”
“The Daoless Divine Power,” Wei Song repeated in a low voice, apparently not having heard of it before.
“Good, you did a very good job. You already have the money, and I’ve promised you an official position, so when are you going to take it?”
“When will you leave Jade City, my lord?”
“A month later.”
“Then I hope I can go together with you.”
a.s.sa.s.sinating the Governor in Northern Jade City had proved to be a bad idea, so Gu Shenwei decided to change his plan.
“No problem. I’m guessing that you will have a hard time with Sabrelord Shen watching you. The thirteenth day of the eighth month is the day when I leave office, so you’d better come to me on time.”
Gu Shenwei felt that this time was enough for him. He had to get the Daoless Scroll before dealing with this Governor.
He glanced at the Governor when he asked for his leave, but couldn’t help think that although Wei Song looked familiar to him, Wei Song had already forgotten the young lord of his in-laws.
Gu Shenwei didn’t know that Wei Song’s heart had shivered a bit at the sight of him. But Wei Song soon put it behind because, in his mind, it was impossible for Gu Shenwei to still be alive.
“Now that you have the money, I’ll have to keep my guard up against you.”
This was a joke by Wei Song, but Gu Shenwei took it as a warning. He carefully thought about the Governor’s current situation and decided to send someone to spy on him. Since this lord had gotten the information he wanted, he might escape from Jade City in advance.
The ones who wanted to run away were not only Wei Song. When he returned to his living place in Northern Jade City, Xu Xiaoyi had run out and told Brother Huan that Wu Shenqing and Chen Yingwu were gone. “I tried to persuade them to stay, but they didn’t listen. The woman said they’d rather not stay here and get you in trouble. The man said that no words could express his thanks to your great kindness. Anyways, they left, and didn’t even intend to repay you.”
Chu Nanping’s long sword was confiscated when he entered Northern Jade City, which made him very uncomfortable. Now he was concentrating on sharpening a handy wooden sword. He raised his head and added, “Madman Wu doesn’t seem to be mad any more.”
How could a woman have such
have such a magic power? Gu Shenwei couldn’t help but shake his head. It was right for the killer to be ruthless, how could one calmly kill people if he was concerned about another person all the time?
Gu Shenwei warned the two not to go out wandering around in the coming few days. Sabrelord Shen Liang was looking for clues of the a.s.sa.s.sin all over the city, and the case was far from over.
Gu Shenwei went to the Kun Society in Southern Jade City again, and made some arrangements for the capable sabremen he trusted. Liuhua was currently attending garrison duty for Tenth Gongzi. Gu Shenwei bypa.s.sed him and didn’t let the sharpshooter know about his little tricks.
Back in the castle, the happiest person was Shangguan Ru. She seemed to find it more interesting to do good than being a killer. She asked Servant Huan every detail about the matter. Upon hearing that Wu Shenqing and Chen Yingwu had run away from Jade City, she crossed her fingers and prayed that the two could leave smoothly and peacefully.
Gu Shenwei thought that Shangguan Ru’s blessing was somehow ominous because only the dead could ‘settle in peace’ at the castle.
Gu Shenwei had finished what he had promised, so Shangguan Ru finally agreed to tell him the secret of the Daoless Divine Power. But she refused to break her oath by directly saying it. Instead, she deliberately left a piece of paper for her eighth sister-in-law to pick up.
“What the h.e.l.l does this mean? What the h.e.l.l are you up to?” Luo Ningcha put the paper slip in the lattice of the wooden wall and became increasingly dissatisfied with being used. Her annoyance was because there was only one sentence on the paper slip, “July 15th is the Recitation Day.”
Gu Shenwei understood what she meant.
Now that Servant Huan knew the secret, Shangguan Ru could explain it to him in detail. “The Daoless Divine Power is hidden in the temple guardian’s heart, but what if he forgets after a long time? Even an error of a few words may cause the pract.i.tioner to have Qi deviation. So, every year on the fifteenth of July, the guardian will recite it. There are also fifteen ‘spiritual masters’ in the temple, each of whom remembers a part of the divine power. They will take turns reciting it with the guardian of the temple so that if any difference occurs, even if it’s a single word, they can ask the Unique King to confirm what is right and wrong.”
This was a complicated and troublesome way to maintain secrecy, and its only advantage was that it was very safe.
Gu Shenwei had once secretly broken into the Liu Sha temple with Shangguan Ru and others, but that action wasn’t successful at all.successful at all. They were discovered as soon as they moved out, as Guo Xiansheng had only allowed them to steal something for the sake of catching the thief.
The second time someone had broken into the Liu Sha Temple was when the disciples of the Great Desolate Sect had come to s.n.a.t.c.h the guardsman of the temple. They were also unsuccessful. Because Gu Shenwei had snitched on them in advance, the Unique King had taken the chance and deliberately let them kidnap the false guardian.
But this time was different, as no one would pull their punches. For Liu Sha Temple, the fifteenth of July was their most sensitive and important day, so it would definitely be heavily guarded and approaching the guardian of the temple would be as difficult as climbing the heavens.
Gu Shenwei even felt that the information Shangguan Yun had said was good for nothing. Additionally, this was his only chance, as he would probably be dead the next fifteenth of July.
“How about taking the temple guardian out and forcing him to tell the Divine Power before the fifteenth of July?” As it was related to his own life and death, Gu Shenwei didn’t hide it anymore. His plan was the same as the Great Desolate Sect.
“Not good, not good.” Shangguan Ru was high in spirit. She liked games that didn’t require killing anyone but were still exciting. “The temple guardian has made an oath that he would rather die than reveal a word to anyone other than the King Lord.”
Gu Shenwei himself never took oaths seriously, but he knew that some killers in Golden Roc Castle valued it a lot. The guardian of the temple used to be a killer, so he would probably not surrender even under torture and threat of death.
Shangguan Ru didn’t rest idly during the days when Gu Shenwei was busy saving people. She had come up with a plan, which was largely inspired by Servant Huan.
The plan was workable, but the problem was that too many people would get involved and the possibility of disclosure would dramatically increase. Unlike saving a concubine of the Unique King, no one could afford to eavesdrop on the Daoless Divine Power, not even Madam Meng.
Lotus would play an important role in Shangguan Ru’s plan, so she had been listening nearby and didn’t open her mouth until the two hesitated. “It’s unnecessary for everyone to know the full content of the plan, so I have an idea that can not only keep the secret, but also fix the relationship between the Miss and Madam with this opportunity.”
Lotus had perfected the key part of the plan, and the three teenagers began to prepare for it separately. And it was only six days left before the fifteenth of July.