Chapter 240
Chapter 240 Ensnaring
Except for practicing the swordsmanship with Shangguan Ru, Gu Shenwei hadn’t fought with anyone since he lost his internal energy. Thus, he seriously misjudged his own strength and was surprisingly knocked down by Servant Xin. Even as he fell onto the ground, he grabbed Servant Xin’s ankles and dragged the other side down before the two of them could scuffle with each other.
Luo Ningcha aimed the paperweight at Servant Xin but missed, almost falling herself. She was tired and panting, but after hardening her heart, she suddenly found more strength and held the paperweight with both hands, trying to look for Servant Xin’s head between the two.
Gu Shenwei felt the pain of being the weaker one. No matter how vigorous his murderous heart was, it couldn’t help much. He had to squeeze out every bit of strength to block Servant Xin’s desperate attack. After rolling on the ground for quite a while, he finally pressed Servant Xin down and grasped his neck with both hands.
Servant Xin’s face turned red, his eyes bulging and his veins standing out.
Gu Shenwei didn’t want to strangle Servant Xin like this and was ready to interrogate him. Especially, he wanted to know what did the words ‘you are from the Gu family’ meant. Did it mean that his real ident.i.ty was completely exposed? Or Did it mean that Yang Huan was the son of the old servant Yang Zheng?
But as the blood kept pouring into his head, he lost his reason and the only thought he had was to kill the enemy in front of him as if he would die if the other side survived. He concentrated all his strength into his hands.
Without the Death Sutra swordsmanship, he couldn’t even control his inner strength, even if it was only a tiny bit of power.
Gu Shenwei felt that he had almost used up his strength and was anxious to finish it quickly. But Servant Xin was still struggling, and his frantic hands even tore the clothes of Servant Huan.
Bang.
A bronze incense burner fell onto the side of Servant Xin’s head. The blood ran all over the place and he no longer struggled.
Gu Shenwei loosened his hands and sat on the ground, almost out of breath. If he could choose again, he would rather suffer through Qi deviation than disperse his internal energy.
Usually, Luo Ningcha only had the strength to throw cups and pot. To Gu Shenwei’s surprise, she had actually moved the incense burner here, which was as heavy as several dozens of pounds.
“Dead?” Luo Ningcha asked dully, her face pale. She was not used
to doing it herself, as it was the servants who usually did the killing for her.
“Mm.”
The two had just said a word when someone asked outside, “Young mistress, is there anything I can do for you?”
“No …” Luo Ningcha was in a panic. As soon as she blurted out one word, Gu Shenwei rushed to say, “A servant tried to move the incense burner, but smashed himself. Come in and carry him out.”
Luo Ningcha quickly retreated behind the screen. Gu Shenwei got up, put on a long robe, and opened the door.
Two killers entered the room and glanced at the ground. Carrying the incense burner and letting it slip and fall on the head? They ‘understood’ it very well, so they didn’t make a fuss about it. “Are you frightened, young mistress?”
“Clumsy fellow, you two get him out of here. Servant Huan, go and call the maids. Clean up the mess.”
The two killers carried away the corpse and incense burner. Gu Shenwei first went to the front yard to call the maidservants, then ran back directly to the Transforming Kun Yard.
He thought that he had hidden himself well and that it was safe to stay in the castle, but he didn’t expect that Shen Liang already knew his deepest secrets. He must have deliberately hidden the news to fish for a bigger catch.
When he finally calmed down, he guessed that Servant Xin probably didn’t know the name ‘Gu Shenwei’. And it was probably Luo Ningcha who knew that he was Yang Zheng’s son and had accidentally revealed it and was heard by Servant Xin.
He had never felt the urge to flee be so strong before, but he happened to be bound by his hands and feet and had nowhere to escape to.
Within the time it took an incense stick to burn, Lotus came while he was still panting. She pushed open a crack and slipped inside with the killer’s full attire.
Gu Shenwei didn’t light the lamp, as he just knew it was Lotus just by feeling.
“You’ve been watched, I’m afraid the people of Washing Heart Yard will come to catch you soon.”
Gu Shenwei had prepared for this for some time. Killing Servant Xin and throwing the blame onto Luo Ningcha was a compelling choice, but now it seemed too reckless. He should have let go of Servant Xin, pretended to be unaware, and then found a way to escape.
Now, only two people had the ability to save him. The first was Luo Ningcha. Although the two didn’t have even the slightest love between them, they shared many secrets, which was enough
enough for them to ‘trust’ each other. The second was Shangguan Ru. The little girl who appeared naive and simple in the castle was his strongest shield.
“Go find Tenth Gongzi,” Gu Shenwei said to Lotus. He had already made the choice in his heart. Luo Ningcha was very uncontrollable, and she might help, but might also harden her heart to silence him.
Lotus nodded and quickly left. It was already an absence without leave for Lotus to visit Servant Huan. And to go to see Tenth Gongzi in the inner chamber right away, one could only avoid the night watchers and sneak inside, which was also not a small crime. But Lotus immediately carried out Servant Huan’s request without saying anything.
The news of Servant Xin’s death had also reached Shen Liang’s ears. Would the Sabrelord of Washing Heart Yard play the long game or tighten the ring of encirclement right away? Gu Shenwei was still dwelling on it when the answer came to the door itself.
Two masked men in black came straight in side by side. Gu Shenwei’s heart pounded. These were not the yellow-belted executioners, but the red-belted killers. Things were not quite what he had imagined.
One man in black guarded at the door while the other went up to Servant Huan.
“What?” Gu Shenwei pretended to be calm and unaware of what had happened.”
Instead of speaking, the man in black raised his right hand and cut at Servant Huan’s neck, which was much more powerful than Gu Shenwei’s strength. He saw it and also thought of how to dodge it, but his body moved as slowly as a snail’s and didn’t follow his orders at all.
Gu Shenwei fainted, but before losing his conscious, he thought again that if he had another chance, he would rather die than disperse his internal energy.
Gu Shenwei opened his eyes and immediately recognized that this was not the torture chamber of Washing Heart Yard, but an average stone room. His hands and feet were tied to a chair, and beside him was a small table. A small lamp was placed on the table, giving off a small circle of light that could not even reach a few steps away.
There was someone in the room, standing in the dark, and watching the bound killer.
“Sabrelord Shen.” Gu Shenwei recognized the other side but was not sure whether to feign ignorance or to go straight to the point, so he ambiguously called out a t.i.tle.
“Yang Huan.” Shen Liang uttered the name word by word, short and powerful as if the name was a well-known name and he had met its owner for the first time.
Gu Shenwei no
Shenwei no longer spoke anymore. He was in a disadvantageous position, and could only let the other side make a move first.
“An unimportant killer, “ Shen Liang continued, his voice even revealing a trace of admiration, “that stirred up the castle under the lord’s nose without he himself being exposed. You really make me lose my face.”
“If you are talking about me, Sabrelord Shen is really flattering me.”
“No, no.” Shen Liang shook his head, walked out of the darkness, came to the front of Servant Huan, and carefully observed his expression while saying, “I’m not flattering, I know about all the things you have done. You should not have killed Servant Xin. With him around, you could have hidden a little longer.”
Gu Shenwei stared into the other’s eyes and revealed a sarcastic smile. If Shen Liang really knew everything, he would not waste time abducting him. Instead, he would have sent him directly to the Unique King or killed him right away.
Shen Liang, undeterred by Gu Shenwei’s smile, rose to his feet and began speaking as if he were talking to himself. “Yang Huan, son of Yang Zheng, the old servant of the Gu family from the Central Plains, deliberately followed the eighth young mistress and sneaked into the castle, pledged allegiance to different young lords, sowed discord, and killed people through the hands of another. Golden Roc Castle’s power reaches far beyond the desert and snow-capped mountains, but it has happened to miss a little bug that climbed into its heart.”
Three years ago, Gu Shenwei had already been tortured in Washing Heart Yard with the other teenagers because of the death of the killer Han Shiqi. From then on, he had learned that sometimes it was better to opportunely admit a few trivial secrets, so he pretended to be slightly surprised and frightened, turned his head and said, “My father is not Yang Zheng.”
Throughout the whole night, this was the only truth Gu Shenwei told. Shen Liang didn’t understand the true meaning of it and sneered. “You’ve killed several young lords and avenged yourself a lot, except for the eighth young lord. He stays far away and your small, all-persuasive hand can’t reach out to him. You killed Wei Lingmiao for the purpose of framing him?”
What Shen Liang had learned was all superficial, which made Gu Shenwei feel a bit relieved.
“After you returned to the city, you sowed discord between the Governor and the Meng family, hoping to muddle the situation of all of Jade City so that you could kill more people. Yang Huan, your ambition is so big that it’s not the enemy that crushes you, but yourself.”
“Sabrelord Shen seems toShen seems to very much want to be my teacher, why else would you be so talkative.”
Shen Liang seemed to not care about Servant Huan’s sarcasm. Instead, he smiled and said, ”So, do you think I’m not qualified to be your teacher? I have enough evidence to kill you a hundred times.”
“Please continue your comments, so that I can see the failures of my ‘ambition’.”
“It’s a pity that I, as a teacher, am not that patient. Let me sum it up. You are a clever kid, hiding behind Tenth Gongzi, flattering her, and then pushing her down. In this way, you grip her firmly in your hand while killing the scions of the Shangguan family under her name. I know all this, but I want the details and how much Tenth Gongzi knew about your tricks. I hope that you can tell me.”
“You’d better ask Tenth Gongzi herself.” Gu Shenwei was very clear that his confession would bring death to Shangguan Ru, which would mean his only life-saving straw disappearing.
“It doesn’t matter. Everyone is the same; no one is talkative at first but will talk without ceasing soon. By that time you’d better hold back and not talk nonsense. I just want to know about Tenth Gongzi.”
Luo Ningcha was now a hot potato, so striking her would not only bring one no good but also might incur the King Lord’s wrath, so no one wanted to provoke her.
Shen Liang retreated to the door and knocked twice. A man came in from the outside, who was short and thin with a dry face full of wrinkles like a talking monkey.
The ‘monkey’ held a bundle under his arm and bowed to greet Shen Liang as soon as he entered.
“I’ll leave him to you.” Shen Liang then turned to the killer and said, “It sounds ridiculous, but I can’t stand the b.l.o.o.d.y scene, so I won’t stay here.”
The ‘monkey’ bowed respectfully to send the Sabrelord away, then turned around and put down the bundle, his face still wearing a flattering smile.
“A killer,” he said. As he tore off the prisoner’s clothes and saw the body full of scars, he nodded with great satisfaction. “Unlike ordinary people, a killer can bear more pain, which is exactly my type. I don’t know how to kill, as that’s not what I do. I only know how to torture people, and so far, no one has died at my hands.”
“I hope the way you torture people is not as wordy as your mouth.”
Gu Shenwei was ready to bite the bullet, and his only hope in mind was that Lotus and Shangguan Ru could find this place as soon as possible.