Death Sutra

Fu Yuan was a very realistic person . He had profitted a lot with the hypnotism taught by the eleven disciples . He also secretly supported King Kuari, and King Dari had no idea about that .

The eleven disciples only wanted to pa.s.s down their master"s divine kung fu .  They did not care about what purpose it was used for .

"King Dari has no hope . Thanks to me, he didn"t expose the plan to the Khan . But the fact is that he has lost his mind and will only get worse . I can"t put my future in his hands," said Fu Yuan .

Fu Yuan did not feel guilty about his betrayal, saying, "I earned King Kuari"s trust a year ago, but he asked me to stay with King Dari and pretend to be against him . The Khan doesn"t like one lord to be stronger than the others, so King Kuari needs an enemy that looks powerful, but is actually weak . King Dari fits that standard . "

"So, you can understand why King Kuari also wants the Khan to die early . In case King Dari is exposed, King Kuari will have to face the new rival appointed by the Khan . And the newly emerging forces are always difficult to deal with . You, for example, Dragon King," he continued .

As the "confession" went on, Fu Yuan became more and more relaxed . From time to time, he would drink some water or touch a test subject with his crutch to manipulate them to abuse themselves, not caring that the Dragon King was watching . It was like a bored child torturing insects, not for fun, but to kill time .

"s.n.a.t.c.hing the granddaughter of the Supreme King was a show . We planned it for three purposes . First, it would show people that the two lords were still on bad terms with each other . Second, Golden Roc Fort would get a bad reputation from it, which is still better than obscurity . Third, King Kuari and Golden Roc Fort believed that it was about time to let people know that they were allies . As far as I know, Golden Roc Fort has been working for King Kuari for a long time . In my opinion, it must have been Golden Roc Fort"s idea to invite the Dragon King to Norland only to frame the a.s.sa.s.sination on you," Fu Yuan went on .

Golden Roc Fort would certainly benefit a lot from the alliance, but Gu Shenwei could not figure out what King Kuari would gain from it . Fu Yuan swore that he also had no clue, saying, "King Kuari is the only mutual contact in the alliance . He talked with each ally separately, and the allies avoid talking to each other as much as possible to avoid suspicion . "

At last, Fu Yuan advised the Dragon King, as if he were a close friend, "This is how things are . Everything has been arranged and the Khan will not live much longer . Many people, including several lords, are involved in the a.s.sa.s.sination plot . As for the details such as time and means, they have nothing to do with me, and I won"t inquire about them . "

"Dragon King, face the reality . Even if you run away, you will still be suspected of the Khan"s death . It"s well known that you have the best killers . Winning the tournament against the three lords will make you look even more guilty," he advised .

"In my opinion, you"d be better off running away, though . Guilty or not, at least you can save yourself . After the Khan dies, Norland will be in chaos for several years . Everyone will surely talk about revenge, but they will fight against each other first to compete for the crown . The Dragon King will still have time to find a way to protect himself in the chaos .  If I had a good place like the Land of Fragrance like you do, I wouldn"t be afraid of anyone," he continued .

Suddenly Gu Shenwei raised his saber for the second time, and another cut aappeared on Fu Yuan"s face . He was terrified again and cried, "You, you . . . "

"No more tricks! Answer my questions honestly," Gu Shenwei demanded . He was familiar with the tricks of Immortal Peng . Fu Yuan had only learned a little of it and was now trying to use it on the Dragon King, who had seen through him from the very beginning .

Fu Yuan was both angry and scared . He wiped his face with his hand, looking at the blood on his hand and trembling . As King Dari"s favorite eunuch, he was used to special treatment . Even King Kuari treated him with respect in order to win his loyalty .

"What else do you want to know?" Fu Yuan asked, trying to sound tough, but he could not help trembling .

"What"s special about the Tournament of the Royal Court this year? Why does everyone want to be the champion?" asked Gu Shenwei .

Fu Yuan did not want to answer, but the shining saber forced him to . "It"s very simple, in fact . The Dragon King would understand the importance of this year"s tournament if you knew more about the customs of Norland . In the past several hundred years, every time a Khan died, Norland has fallen into division and chaos . There have been no exceptions .  The people on the gra.s.sland respect the strong . Even the heir designated by the Khan needs to prove his strength in a real fight," he answered .

"This year"s Tournament of the Royal Court is a good chance . The champion will win admiration and respect from the Norland people, thereby gaining a huge advantage in the melee that is about to begin . I didn"t understand this kind of thing when I first arrived in Norland, either . But now, I have to preach to King Dari these plat.i.tudes every day and I"m finding that they are really useful . King Dari can"t beat King Kuari, but there are still many people who are unwaveringly loyal to him," he continued .

"But then again, honor, admiration, and respect -- these things only work for the offspring of the Khan . It"s useless for the Dragon King to have them here . In my opinion, the Dragon King has been unwise in challenging the three lords," he concluded .

"King Rizhu is not of the Khan"s bloodline, but he is also very enthusiastic about the Tournament," Gu Shenwei pointed out .

"True, but he is the brother of the Khan"s first wife . The Queen"s family needs him to guarantee their position in the court . I am sure that on King Kuari"s crowning ceremony he will have to announce that he will marry a woman from the Naihang Tribe as his first wife," explained Fu Yuan .

"What about the riots in the slums?" asked Gu Shenwei .

"That was a prelude to the Tournament of the Royal Court . The lords have recruited too many kung fu masters to partic.i.p.ate in the Tournament, and some have to be eliminated in advance," Fu Yuan answered .

"Who was the winner?" asked Gu Shenwei

"Each had his own gains and losses . After all, it was only a prelude . Real masters don"t live in the slums," said Fu Yuan .

"What was King Kuari"s brother, Kuo Zhen, doing in the slums?" Gu Shenwei asked .

"You got me . King Kuari doesn"t tell me everything . I don"t talk to his other allies," said Fu Yuan .

The blood on Fu Yuan"s face was dry now, giving him a ferocious look . He had given up his efforts to control the Dragon King with his tricks . Having been the spokesperson for King Dari for a long time, there was a lord"s tone in his speech . It was as if his statements were all voluntary, rather than being forced out by a saber .

Gu Shenwei decided to stop his questioning . Although he had not gotten all the answers he wanted and was sure that Fu Yuan had not told the complete truth, he had to let it go . If he kept pushing, the eunuch would have to die .

The five victims were still standing there, dumb and stiff . They had been tortured for so long that they would probably never be normal again .

Gu Shenwei raised his saber for the third time, and Fu Yuan"s crutch was broken in two .

Daylight had broken when he returned to the Dragon Army"s encampment . He summoned Fang Wenshi and told him what he had learned from Fu Yuan, omitting that Shangguan Ru was missing . Fu Yuan had no information about that matter, anyway .

Fang Wenshi was convinced that the Dragon King was correct again, but he found some errors in Fu Yuan"s story . "Fu Yuan must have lied . I don"t believe Golden Roc Fort is just a minor factor in their plot . The Supreme King must have bigger ambitions . The lords need someone to kill the Khan, and Golden Roc is the best candidate to do that . The price for the killing must be very high," he said .

"Yeah . Fu Yuan tried to persuade me to run away from Norland . He also tried to talk me out of the Tournament of the Royal Court . It seemed like he had already prepared those words in his mind . And last night"s action was incredibly successful, but probably not because of my luck," said Gu Shenwei .

Fang Wenshi thought for a moment, then said, "So, there won"t be a war between Norland and the Central Plain . "

All the forces in Norland were busy preparing to grab the legacy of the Khan . Under those circ.u.mstances, they wouldn"t want to launch a large-scale war .

"It makes sense," said Gu Shenwei .

"Who is the mole that was bought by the Central Plain?" asked Fang Wenshi .

They had betted against this . Gu Shenwei said it was King Dari and Fu Yuan . Fang Wenshi believed it was King Rizhu . The appointed date had pa.s.sed, and no one had found clear evidence of either .

"Anyway, you won," Gu Shenwei admitted . Their original agreement was that if both of them were wrong, then the Dragon King would lose the bet . Fu Yuan was obviously not a mole, otherwise, he would not have tried to persuade the Dragon King to escape from Norland as soon as possible .

Fang Wenshi smiled without any joy . He was still thinking about the current situation . "It"s such a mess . I actually think Fu Yuan"s words are very reasonable . Maybe fleeing back to the Western Region is, indeed, the only viable option," he reasoned .

"That will only stall the crisis, and make me seem more guilty of the Khan"s death," said Gu Shenwei .

Fang Wenshi shook his head, as if denying some ideas, one after another . Finally, he said, "Then there is only one choice left . "

He looked at the Dragon King, and the Dragon King looked at him . Then both of them said at the same time, "Protect the Khan . "

Fang Wenshi smiled, shook his head, and said, "What are we doing? The so-called "most loyal" Norland people are planning to a.s.sa.s.sinate their own Khan . We outsiders even haven"t met the Khan in person, but we still have to find a way to save him . "

Despite complaining, Fang Wenshi immediately conceived a plan . "The Khan"s second wife wants to bring the Dragon King to her side . The timing is perfect . We should use her to send out a warning message, and with her help maybe we will be able to meet the Khan in person before Golden Roc Fort does," he suggested .

"But she also wants to use me to kill," said Gu Shenwei .

"So what? As long as she does not ask us to kill the Khan, the other people don"t matter .  In a crucial time like this, only extreme measures can be taken . But, we have to take advantage of a woman again . The Dragon King won"t care too much, will he?" said Fang Wenshi .

"I"m not from Norland," replied Gu Shenwei .

Fang Wenshi understood Gu Shenwei"s meaning and smiled . Then he said, "The second wife of the Khan is not a simple person . The Dragon King asked me to inquire about her background, so I have acquired some information about her . At first, n.o.body in Norland dared to talk about her . . . until they saw the money .  Actually, this woman has a small connection to the Dragon King . "

He stopped for a minute to let the Dragon King become more interested, and then continued, "She is the woman who almost became the daughter-in-law of King Rizhu, and the reason why the Seventh Prince of the Central Plain fought against King Rizhu"s son . She also benefited the most from Gu Lun"s murder of w.a.n.g Sun . "

Fang Wenshi still thought that the Dragon King was named Yang Huan and that his father was a servant of the Gu family, so he had not taken this information very seriously .

Gu Shenwei, however, was alerted by the information . He remembered that New Moon Hall"s poison was involved in Gu Lun"s murder case . The woman who had benefited most from the murder was exactly the person he should have suspected .