Death Sutra

Fang Wenshi and his men arrived at King Kuari"s encampment the day after King Rizhu . Before he could rest, he was given lots of tasks from the Dragon King .

After observing the current situation in the Royal Court, Gu Shenwei started planning to take measures of his own .

He decided to use Fang Wenshi first . Fang Wenshi paid an official visit to the court in Norland on behalf of the Dragon King . The Dragon King"s arrival had been widely known, but it wasn"t until now that he was officially recognized by Norland .

Norland provided a campsite for the Dragon King and his subordinates . Located in the east of the n.o.ble District, the Dragon King"s encampment was next to the craftsmen"s area . His campsite was separated from the Khan"s main tent by many densely packed tents .

The Dragon King"s encampment was south of the road, while the Golden Roc Fort"s was north of the road . Their encampments were divided only by a low, wooden fence . Both parties were close enough that they could stand in front of their camps and wave their hands to greet each other . Of course, no one actually did that .

When Shangguan Ru accepted the invitation from the Khan of Norland"s second wife, she asked that her encampment not be mixed with the Dragon King"s . So, she and her soldiers from the Land of Fragrance lived to the west of the Royal Court . As a result, she kept a distance from both the Dragon King and the Golden Roc Fort .

Gu Shenwei thought that this was a good arrangement .

As soon as Gu Shenwei was given his encampment, he left King Kuari"s camp . Although King Kuari tried to persuade him to stay, he firmly refused .

Fang Wenshi continued to meet with the ministers of Norland . His task was to figure out when the Khan would summon the Dragon King and to get more details about the Tournament of the Royal Court . Gu Shenwei had a hunch that the Tournament would be his first trial in Norland .

Shangguan Fei was sent to the craftsmen"s area and slums to gather information on King Rizhu"s past . Gu Shenwei neither believed King Rizhu"s words nor the rumors, so he resolved to build his own intelligence network in Norland . He knew that Shangguan Fei was a smart guy who seldom lied to him, unless it threatened his self-interests .

However, Shangguan Fei feared to take actions alone . When he heard about the traditions in the slums that were similar to those in the South City of Jade City, he became scared to carry out the tasks alone . Therefore, he decided to ask the Dragon King for one of his bodyguards for help . He asked carefully, "What about Little Chu? Well, he is implementing a task . How about Old Man Mu? He cannot show up in public . Maid Lotus? Never mind . She needs to protect you . Your Highness, please send me several swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain . I heard that Long Fanyun does not have any tasks right now . Last time, we worked well together . "

Shangguan Fei"s plan did not succeed . Gu Shenwei sent Han Fen, a disciple of the New Moon Hall, and Han Xuan to protect him .

"I . . . I . . . I heard that women are despised in Norland . If I take female bodyguards with me, they will . . . " said Shangguan Fei reluctantly, for he was not happy with this arrangement .

"It doesn"t matter . You can disguise yourself as a woman, while they disguise themselves as men," replied Gu Shenwei . He did not care whether or not Shangguan Fei was satisfied with this plan .

"Come on, Your Highness . Don"t make fun of me . . . " said Shangguan Fei in an embarra.s.sed voice .

Han Fen was delighted with the Dragon King"s plan . She winked at the Dragon King to show her content . Han Xuan, however, said with a frown, "I"ve never disguised myself as a man before . I"m not sure if I can do it . "

Han Fen was good at disguises, so she turned to Han Xuan and said confidently, "It"s a piece of cake . I"ll help you . You already look like a man when you frown . "

When Long Fanyun was told that he did not have to help Shangguan Fei, he was very relieved . He waited for a task of his own from the Dragon King .

On their way to Norland, Long Fanyun had shown how similar he was to the people born in Norland . For one thing, he could drink a lot like them . Therefore, Gu Shenwei asked him to stay with the soldiers and n.o.bles of Norland . His task was to discover their opinions, especially King Rizhu"s, on the future Khan . Long Fanyun was not very social, so Gu Shenwei had to remind him to listen carefully without asking too many questions .

The men in Norland talked freely after they drank a lot . Given that, Gu Shenwei believed that Long Fanyun could gather a great amount useful information .

As for Chu Nanping, he and Flame Foal were hiding in a deep corner of the gra.s.slands . He went to the rendezvous point to check daily . He would not enter the Royal Court unless he got orders from the Dragon King .

Gu Shenwei had no intention to meet any dignitaries of Norland before he had gotten enough information .

Fang Wenshi"s mission was the simplest one . He was told that the Khan could not summon the Dragon King to the Royal Court due to sickness . So, he bribed some officers from Norland . It turned out that some big shot had stopped the Khan from meeting the Dragon King .

"I have not traced that man"s ident.i.ty yet . I guess he is most likely King Dari . But I know the reason the Khan refused to meet you . He was told you"d try to a.s.sa.s.sinate him during your meeting," Fang Wenshi reported .

Gu Shenwei gave a snort and thought, "Even if I intended to kill the Khan, I wouldn"t a.s.sa.s.sinate him in public . I"m not a fool . "

"It"s a lame accusation, but many people believed it," Fang Wenshi sighed . "The civilians fear you in the Western Region, but in Norland, people are wary of you," he continued .

Gu Shenwei received many benefits from his terrifying reputation, but now he began to see the downsides of it . When it came to the accusation that Dragon King would kill the Khan, no one doubted its authenticity, even if it was weak and ridiculous .

As for the Tournament of the Royal Court, Fang Wenshi had received lots of intelligence and King Kuari had been the one to leak most of it . "It includes a diverse variety of matches . Horse races, war games and kung fu compet.i.tions are the three most important events . According to the rules, the winners will be summoned by the Khan . Among these three compet.i.tions, you have an advantage in the bravery contest . The Golden Roc Fort will join it, but I don"t know who they will send," Feng Wenshi said .

The Military Counselor did not know any kung fu, so Gu Shenwei could not explain the difference between killing and compet.i.tion . Like other killers from the Golden Roc Fort, the Dragon King excelled in raids and a.s.sa.s.sinations . Once killers fought at a tournament in public, they lost their advantage in real fights, because they exposed their weaknesses during the game .

Gu Shenwei had once partic.i.p.ated in an official compet.i.tion and defeated his opponent . However, his opponent was weak .

"Horse races, war games and kung fu compet.i.tions," Gu Shenwei repeated to himself . All of a sudden, he disovered a problem . He said to Fang Wenshi, "King Rizhu has Flame Foal, so he will take first place in the horse race . With excellent kung fu masters like Wildhorse and Taoist Yu at his disposal, one of them will be the winner of the bravery contest . He"s allowing his soldiers to indulge themselves in eating and drinking so that they will perform well in the war games . Obviously, he intends to take all of the prizes of these three compet.i.tions . Is he being forbidden from meeting the Khan?"

Fang Wenshi realized what the Dragon King said was true . As the Military Counselor, he had failed to think of this . He replied, blushing, "You"re right . King Rizhu is meant to win these matches . That was why he was so furious when we stole his Flame Foal . "

Fang Wenshi paced to and fro in the tent . He thought he was close to the truth . When it came to the relationship between Norland and the Central Plain, he had lots of insightful opinions, but he was bad at a.n.a.lyzing things that dealt with powerful people .

Gu Shenwei came up with an idea, "Perhaps King Rizhu"s motive is not to win the compet.i.tion, but to stop others from winning . In this way, King Dari and King Kuari would become more interested in him . "

It sounded reasonable, but Fang Wenshi still didn"t think that was exactly right . He went on, "It"s an unwise move to threaten the future Khan . If King Rizhu was smart, he woudn"t do it . Does he want to be the Khan? That"s impossible . He has no claim to the throne . What"s he trying to achieve?"

Gu Shenwei was about to reveal to him his real ident.i.ty, but after pondering for a while, he changed his mind . "King Rizhu has a grand plan, which is unlikely to have anything to do with the son of his enemy," he thought .

Fang Wenshi still couldn"t understand King Rizhu"s real reason, even after considering it for a quite awhile . So he changed the subject and said, "King Kuari"s subordinates seem to be unhappy with you . They said . . . "

Fang Wenshi did not continue, for he was afraid of offending the Dragon King . Gu Shenwei followed, "They said that the Dragon King was an ungrateful guy who dared to refuse King Kuari"s advice . "

"More or less," Fang Wenshi replied . In fact, what they had said was more blunt and even more offensive .

"What kind of person do you think King Kuari is?" asked Gu Shenwei .

"King Kuari is inclusive to outsiders but strict to his own men . He is an extremely intelligent, insightful man who is qualified to be a king . However, he acts tyrannically and never listens to other"s advice and suggestions, which has made him many enemies," answered Fang Wenshi .

"But you still think that he will be the future Khan?" asked Gu Shenwei .

"King Kuari"s opponent is weak . King Dari has waited too long, and most of the other compet.i.tors around his age have either died or given up on the throne . He is no longer young, so he cannot defeat his energetic opponent . But that"s not only my opinion -- most of the dignitaries in Norland think that King Kuari will sit on the throne," replied Fang Wenshi .

After meditating for a moment, Gu Shenwei asked, "What about King Shengri?"

"Do you mean King Shengri, who is the second rightful heir?" Fang Wenshi asked in surprise, as he had never thought that the Dragon King would be interested in this lord . "He"s a drunk who keeps more birds than soldiers . He stepped out of the fight for the throne years ago," he continued .

Gu Shenwei had a feeling that King Shengri had not completely lost interest in the throne . However, he could not find proof to support this opinion, so he led the conversation back to King Kuari, asking, "Do you think we should form an alliance with King Kuari?"

"I have said that King Kuari is our only choice if we intend to forge a new alliance in Norland . But if you have another plan, then everything changes," said Fang Wenshi .

"But he wants the Dragon Army and the Golden Roc Fort to make peace with each other," Gu Shenwei went on .

"The Khan has a clever plan," Fang Wenshi said in an admiring tone . "He asked for the Dragon King to reconcile with the Supreme King, but his real purpose was to let King Kuari and King Dari make peace . In my opinion, you cannot disagree," said Fang Wenshi .

"Why?" Gu Shenwei asked, a little surprised, as he thought that Fang Wenshi had been completely convinced by King Kuari .

"If Your Highness made peace with the Supreme King, King Kuari would be the only beneficiary . Meanwhile, it would be a fatal blow to you . The Dragon Army would no longer be a small team of only a few thousand men . Instead, it would consist of tens of thousands of soldiers, most of which would be rebels from the Golden Roc Fort . If we reconciled with the Golden Roc, the soldiers would go home, because they"d feel there was nothing left worth fighting for . If that happened, the only way to keep them around would be by paying them . Your Highness, I do not think you are rich enough to afford that kind of money," explained Fang Wenshi .

When Fang Wenshi had first met the Dragon King, he"d had no idea of the Khan"s plan . Otherwise, he would have never suggested the Dragon King side with King Kuari .

"What should we do next? If we do not make peace with the Supreme King, we can"t get King Kuari"s support . Now, he"s just using me as a p.a.w.n," said Gu Shenwei .

Just Fang Wenshi and the Dragon King were in the tent . Still, Fang Wenshi was on alert . He walked to the exit of the tent and looked out . Then, he came back and said to the Dragon King with a frown, "Your Highness, can you tell me your real thoughts? What are the terms the Central Plain is willing to offer?"

Knowing that Fang Wenshi had not entirely been persuaded by King Kuari, Gu Shenwei decided to tell him without reservation . "They promised to give me an army . They told me that they had a hidden traitor in Norland of high status, and that this person"s army would be mine -- as long as I killed the Khan to make Norland unravel . I don"t know if I can trust them . Besides, they wouldn"t tell me who this "hidden traitor" is," Gu Shenwei revealed .

Fang Wenshi said, his frown disappearing, "I think I know who this "hidden traitor" is . "

"I also have a guess . . . " said Gu Shenwei .

Fang Wenshi put some pens and paper on the table, and said with a smile, "Let"s write down their names and see if we have the same thought . "

Fifteen minutes pa.s.sed, and two pieces of paper were placed on the table . The names on them were different, though . They both thought that each other"s guess was wrong .