Death Sutra

At last, Gu Shenwei turned down .

He did not want to offend the bigwigs in Norland . According to his rule, he never took actions unless he was confident in his plan . He would rather be called a coward than break this rule .

In the meantime, he regarded Shangguan Ru"s request as a personal test . He reminded himself that she was his foe"s daughter . Although he could trust her, he could not cross that invisible and subtle line .

Refusing Shangguan Ru"s request reminded him of that boundary . It was Gu Shenwei"s personal struggle .

"I cannot help you . This is Norland . I cannot take the risk," he said to her .

Shangguan Ru glared at the Dragon King angrily . Before she lost her temper, she overcame her anger . After all, she was not the Tenth Young Master or a little girl anymore . She composed herself as she said, "Why did you risk stealing the horse?"

"That was different," Gu Shenwei replied, as he tried to find a good reason to explain, but failed . In fact, the two matters were very different, indeed .

"I forgot that you are the Dragon King . You never help anyone or do anything unless it benefits you or the Dragon Army," said Shangguan Ru, as she took a deep breath and looked up .

"You"re right," Gu Shenwei responded, as he did not want to explain . What Shangguan Ru said was the real reason that he refused her request .

"Fine," Shangguan Ru said as her eyes turned cold . "What about the archers from the Land of Fragrance? Aren"t they are useful to you?" she asked .

Gu Shenwei was stunned and asked in a panic, "What . . . do you want to do?"

"Even without your a.s.sistance, I will use a thousand female archers to save her," announced Shangguan Ru .

Gu Shenwei had not expected that Shangguan Ru would threaten him with the archers from the Land of Fragrance . He kept silent for quite awhile . Shangguan Ru tightened her lips and looked at the Dragon King with resolute eyes .

The first ray of sunshine broke into the sky .

"You do not own the Land of Fragrance," Gu Shenwei retorted, though he knew his argument was weak .

"I know . Neither the Land of Fragrance nor those archers belong to me . They are part of the Dragon Army, and I am just a . . . coach . However, if I ask them for help, they will not refuse me as you did," she said confidently .

To those female soldiers, Shangguan Ru was not just an archery coach . She was their savior, guardian, and ruler . She could be the Queen of the Land of Fragrance anytime she wanted, with their support .

Gu Shenwei did not think that Shangguan Ru would take the Land of Fragrance from the Dragon Army . However, he could not ignore her threat, for he knew she was serious .

"This is not a game," he said .

"I"m not a little girl anymore . I am . . . a married woman," she said . Shangguan Ru had never admitted that she was the wife of the Fifth Young Master Meng before . Now she announced it deliberately to irritate the Dragon King . She continued, "You killed my husband, so you owe me a debt . "

They had never talked about this before . Both of them were aware who had killed the Fifth Young Master Meng . In Gu Shenwei"s eyes, Shangguan Ru was the one who owed him a debt in this matter .

"Have you made up your mind to save Shaomin?" he asked .

"She is only sixteen . She was terrified when she learned that she would be married off to Norland . If she falls into the hands of Fu Yuan . . she"ll die," she explained .

"I need to see her first," said Gu Shenwei .

"Are you referring to Shaomin?" asked Shangguan Ru .

"Yes . Some people have said that the Shangguan family members are wolves . I need to know what kind of person she is," he answered .

Gu Shenwei"s words were angry and sarcastic, but Shangguan Ru did not get upset . "I promise that she is a little lamb," she answered with a bright smile on her face .

Gu Shenwei doubted Shangguan Ru"s judgment of people . He said with a snort, "You try to buy me some time . I don"t have a plan yet, so I need to observe for a couple of days first . "

"Shaomin is safe up until the beginning of the Tournament of the Royal Court . Third Brother . . . Shangguan Yun will not hand her over easily until he gets Fu Yuan"s promise," Shangguan Ru replied .

It suddenly occurred to Gu Shenwei that he could utilize this opportunity to find out the true ident.i.ty of this yellow-faced servant . He warned Shangguan Ru, "Do not act rashly . Keep an eye on Old Man Mu and do not let him out in public . This is Norland, and he has many enemies here . "

"I will not act rashly," Shangguan Ru replied seriously with a nod, "I will arrange for you to meet Shaomin . "

It was almost dawn . They returned to their encampments the same way they had come . Gu Shenwei took the lead, and Shangguan Ru was ten steps behind him . He could not help but turn around to look at Shangguan Ru, for he thought that she was acting strangely .

She seemed to have turned into the confident, spoiled and innocent girl who aimed to achieve her goals at any cost .

Gu Shenwei still remembered that . When Shangguan Ru was told at Xiaoyao Lake that her parents planned to sacrifice her, she was depressed . Her sad mood didn"t go away, even when she first set foot in the Land of Fragrance .

When he had met Shangguan Ru on the gra.s.sland, she looked better, but still seldom spoke . At that time, she would have never threatened the Dragon King .

"There must be something that changed her," Gu Shenwei thought . He did not want to ask her this, but he was very curious about it . When they reached the border of the Royal Court, he stopped and turned to her to say, "You"ve learned how to threaten others . It must be Old Man Mu"s doing . "

Shangguan Ru seemed to be insulted by his words . She raised her head as she replied with a grave expression, "I will never learn from him . " Then, she pretended to put on an evil look as she added, "Be careful . I could become more wretched if I wanted to . "

She ran away immediately, snuck into a mob of shepherds and then vanished instantly . Her different att.i.tude showed that she seemed to have finally found a proper way to handle the Dragon King .

"What would Shangguan Ru look like if she became more wretched?" Gu Shenwei wondered . He felt his heart beat faster and became thirsty at the thought of this . If he"d had a bowl of wine, he"d have drunk it without hesitation .

When he returned to his encampment, he calmed down . He was ashamed of his rash actions . "I"m a killer and the Dragon King . I not only need to avenge my family, but also take responsibility for those tens of thousands of soldiers of the Dragon Army . If I can"t control my personal emotions, how can I propose strict rules for my followers?" he berated himself .

He needed to solve two problems: firstly, how to free Shangguan Shaomin to satisfy Shangguan Ru; secondly, how to keep the Land of Fragrance under his control . He did not want to be threatened again .

When he entered his tent, he saw Maid Lotus sitting in a chair . The slit he had made with the Five Peaks Saber had been st.i.tched up . Maid Lotus began, "It"s right here . We can try it on someone any time . "

Maid Lotus had not changed at all . She still kept silent and did things without questions . Even so, Gu Shenwei thought Shangguan Ru was more trustworthy than her . No matter how Shangguan Ru changed, he could read her mind . However, Maid Lotus was always a complex woman . If it hadn"t been for her former betrayal, Gu Shenwei would have never figured out Maid Lotus"s thoughts .

A small porcelain bottle was on the table . This bottle only contained a few drops of liquid . A poison similar to this one had been applied to Gu Lun"s saber, which had caused the death of a prince in Norland .

"Mix the water with the poison in a ratio of 10 to one, heat the mixture, and then apply the mixture to the weapon evenly . The poison is effective for three days," explainedd Maid Lotus .

"What about its antidote?" asked Gu Shenwei .

"No need to use any antidote for this poison since it"s not very strong . It will not kill a man if it is sucked out within an hour . This poison"s only merit is that it is not easy to detect, so people can use it in advance," she said .

Gu Shenwei took the porcelain bottle, and observed it for a while . Then, he gave it back to Maid Lotus and said, "Keep it well . We don"t need it right now . "

"Okay," replied Maid Lotus . As she was about to leave, Gu Shenwei called to stop her, "Wait . Did the New Moon Hall send spies to Norland?"

"I have no idea about that, because it was twenty years ago . I doubt it, though . The New Moon Hall has its specific targets: the Golden Roc Fort and Jade City," Maid Lotus said .

"Your Master -- when can I meet her?" asked Gu Shenwei .

Maid Lotus seldom mentioned her . It seemed that the New Moon Hall"s master- Han Wuxian did not exist . All the disciples of the New Moon Hall and its spies in Jade City took orders from the Managing Master, Maid Lotus .

However, that tall and pretty woman had left a deep impression on Gu Shenwei .

"Perhaps soon," Maid Lotus replied, a little surprised . Obviously, she did not expect Gu Shenwei to suddenly mention her Master . She continued, "The Master will not show up until the Golden Roc Fort has no more influence . Like you, she prefers to give her enemy a fatal blow . "

Gu Shenwei did not further push the subject since he did not know Maid Lotus"s real thoughts .

Gu Shenwei thought that Shangguan Ru would bring Shangguan Shaomin to him in a couple of days . To his surprise, he saw Shangguan Shaomin that same afternoon .

A female official from the Land of Fragrance brought him some presents that Shangguan Ru had received from the second wife of the Khan . They had not met yet, so they sent gifts to each other as a greeting .

Shangguan Ru had sent the second wife of the Khan some herbal medicine, fragrances and precious flower seeds . The second wife of the Khan had given her gold, silver, jewelry and lots of food in return .

Shangguan Shaomin was disguised as a female soldier among the female archers from the Land of Fragrance .

An hour earlier, Shangguan Ru had gone to the encampment of the Golden Roc Fort, claiming that she wanted to show her niece around . Shangguan Yun and Zhang Ji had not stopped her .

That afternoon, attendants from the Golden Roc Fort followed Miss Ru and Miss Min at a distance . Shangguan Ru rode while Shangguan Shaomin sat in a carriage . They never thought that Shangguan Shaomin would disappear under their close watch .

Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Shaomin were surrounded by more than a hundred female soldiers . Shangguan Ru attracted the most attention from the attendants, which created a diversion for the real Miss Min to leave .

Shangguan Shaomin was Shangguan Chui"s eldest daughter . As her father had been dead for several years, she had become child-like and timid . She trembled with fear in front of the Dragon King, as if she was more scared of him than the eunuch she would soon serve .

Although Shangguan Fei stabbed Shangguan Chui, Gu Shenwei was the one who had pushed the saber to pierce his heart . Everyone in the Stone Castle knew it .

Their meeting was short . Gu Shenwei only wanted to see if Shangguan Shaomin had learned kung fu and received the training that killers did .

No matter how good an excellent killer was at hiding, he or she would still leave some signs that exposed his or her real ident.i.ty . Gu Shenwei observed Shangguan Shaomin discreetly and found that she was just a common maid . Although she had lived in the castle with killers for sixteen years, she knew nothing about kung fu or killing .

In fact, it was a tradition in the Golden Roc Fort . Only the male descendants of the Shuangguan family were allowed to received training as killers, so the Shangguan family faced a problem: the girls who trained to be killers were difficult to marry off .

Shangguan Ru was an exception . Even though she had been trained as a killer, her training was incomplete .

Another reason for their short meeting was Old Man Mu . Shangguan Ru had asked him to arouse the Dragon King"s compa.s.sion . Therefore, Old Man Mu told the Dragon King, "That yellow-faced eunuch is a monster who uses crueler means than I ever did . He is fond of those highborn ladies and takes pleasure in torturing them . Within a year, six or seven concubines serving him had committed suicide by various means . His means . . . "

Before Gu Shenwei"s sympathy was aroused, Shangguan Shaomin fainted from fear .

Old Man Mu was taken aback when he saw her pa.s.s out . He continued, "I have not even mentioned the worst part . She is too timid . It"s not a bad thing that she pa.s.sed out, though . Now I can speak to Your Highness alone . I did not tell the good girl all the details . Fu Yuan is not a simple guy . He not only uses those women for fun, but he utilizes them to practice some mysterious kung fu . "

His words aroused Gu Shenwei"s interest immediately .

Thanks to the support of all the readers . It was not easy for this book to go this far . It"s not because I have a strong will, but because you are reading this book that I can continue to write it .