For years, the Khan"s only disease had been "old age."
He was very old now — too old even to recognize all his great-grandsons. But his body was still strong; even if he was "lying in bed", it was not because he was "ill" but rather because he was fighting a protracted and costly war against death of which he disregarded any costs for his desired outcome.
The main force fighting his "war" was originally famous doctors from all over the world, and this was also coincidentally the main reason why everyone thought the Khan was "seriously sick." Over time, even the Khan himself believed that there was some mysterious disease inside him, a vanguard of death. If he lost to it, he would directly face death; if he could defeat it, it would help stop or even frighten away that cruel enemy.
The "war" was so bitter that after some small victories, those famous doctors of the mortal world began to retreat. Then the "G.o.dly doctors" came on stage, followed by a string of monks, Taoist priests, prophets, and fortune-tellers.
But the Khan had not lost his head through all this. He soon found that most of the people he had invited were charlatans who couldn"t even take good care of themselves, not to mention others. So he applied his rich experience of running a country towards this "war," and sent his most trusted subordinates to countries all over the world to investigate so-called "living immortals." Only those masters who were well-known and well-tested would be offered a large sum of money and invited to Norland.
It was under this sort of situation that the disciples of the Essence Pavilion and the Taoist priests of the Jade Pure Sect had been courteously invited to the Norland. The former had come earlier and thus had a more solid foundation, while the latter was still being tested and was not fully trusted.
As to how the inconspicuous Waning Moon Hall had reached the ears of the Khan, the Second Consort could only make a guess. "The Khan probably learned of it through Golden Roc Castle. He had paid special attention to Waning Moon Hall but the Hall Leader Han Wuxian is very mysterious and very few people have ever seen her. Naturally, he couldn"t find her, so the only one he could invite was Lotus."
At this point, the only thing the Khan cared about was "eternal life," and he had left all the state affairs, even the war with the Central Plains, for several kings and counselors to deal with.
"The Norland was now in a state of co-administration. Ten kings together with three high-ranking counselors decided all the affairs. Everyone has their own ulterior motives, while they fear each other and hold onto each other"s secrets. This is why no one dares to reveal the truth to the Khan because the result of such a revelation would be everyone suffering without exception."
The Second Consort kept her promise and explained the situation in the Royal Court to Gu Shenwei, saying, "In fact, there is no real powerful main contender. King Kuari is young and daring, and he has attracted a large group of people, but their loyalty is very questionable. As far as I know, many of them have even pledged allegiance to multiple lords. There is no doubt that every lord is ambitious, even King Rizhu."
Upon speaking of this king, the Second Consort hesitated for a moment before saying, "He"s not qualified to inherit the t.i.tle of Khan and therefore wants to divide the Norland into two parts, the East and the West. The Khan will still be the supreme ruler and occupy the East while the West will belong to him. He wants to have a t.i.tle like "the Western Khan", which is a little higher than a king in status but a bit lower the Khan."
"Second to the Khan," Gu Shenwei interrupted.
"Exactly, that"s what I mean."
"Which group can help him realize the goal?"
"King Riying"s, but not him personally. It"s his grandson who is also King Rizhu"s grandson. He"s twelve years old, just fit to be manipulated by his two grandfathers."
King Riying was the sixth rightful heir. According to the information Fang Wenshi collected, King Riying had actively involved in the fight for the throne but had been quickly defeated. After that, he remained neutral on the surface but in fact, he had already chosen an ally.
"Is it true about protecting the Khan?"
"Well, the Dragon King doesn"t have to take it so seriously. Even if it"s true, it may be false in the future. Anyway, King Kuari wants Khan to die as soon as possible, and King Rizhu wants to foil his plan. That"s it."
"What about you? What do you really want?"
"As Luo Ningcha told you, I will follow my heart and raise a new Khan, he will marry me as his Main Consort, and I will expand my cavalry to a hundred thousand men. That"s all."
"A female Khan behind the curtains."
"Haha, sort of. I wish that all the men in the world had the Dragon King"s wisdom. Your woman governs the Land of Fragrance well, yet why can"t the women of Norland rule openly? Fortunately, I am not that ambitious to want to change all men"s view. I"ll just sit behind the curtain."
"May I know who is the heir chosen by the Second Consort to inherit the t.i.tle of Khan? It"s always better to please a future Lord of the Prairie sooner."
When uncovering other people"s plots, the Second Consort answered all the questions, but when it came to herself, she was not that straightforward. "You"ll find out sooner or later, and I"m sure you"ll hear of it earlier than others. You can start flattering me if you want to "please" the future Lord of the Prairie."
The Second Consort winked ambiguously at the Dragon King, as clever and lovely as a teenage girl.
"Mm, an alliance is the beginning of flattery." Gu Shenwei cast his eyes slightly down.
"I thought that the Dragon King was an ambitious hero and would never shy away. Why do you avoid looking at me? Am I too old for you? Speak out what you think without pretending to be a saint."
Gu Shenwei didn"t even understand why the topic had turned to this, but the Second Consort was right. As a killer and a man fighting for supremacy, he should not be coy. "You"re a little old for me but amongst the women I"ve met, you are still in the top three. The Khan wasn"t wrong with his choice, but my eyes are only looking at the Western Regions. I have no interest in any woman until I have it firmly grasped in my hand."
"Haha." The Second Consort"s body slightly trembled from laughter. She didn"t think the Dragon King"s words were inappropriate, "Top three? Haha, the Khan praised me as a fairy sent by Heaven, and you only rank me as "top three"? Who are the first two? Shangguan Ru and Lotus? Don"t tell me Luo Ningcha is one of them."
Gu Shenwei refused to answer this question. "Shangguan Ru is not in the hands of the Taoist priests of the Jade Pure Sect. If the Second Consort wants to borrow the female soldiers of the Land of Fragrance, you would be well-advised to help me find her."
The Second Consort stopped laughing and shook her head. "You really don"t like to joke. Well, then let"s talk about Shangguan Ru. It"s really a strange thing. In the Royal Court, even news of a mouse getting married can"t escape from my informants, but this little girl disappeared without a trace. I know that she and that small old man broke into the Office of King Rizhu, and I also know someone sent that old man to the Jade Pure Sect as well as a wooden saber to the Essence Pavilion. But only Shangguan Ru, this little girl, has completely disappeared and remains unfound, dead or alive."
"Golden Roc Castle claimed that they had her." Gu Shenwei then briefly retold Shangguan Yun"s threats, including Shangguan Shaomin"s ident.i.ty as a "female Gu", and the plan that the Khan would die at Shangguan Ru"s side.
The Second Consort thought for a while before saying, "Shangguan Yun either knew sorcery or he was lying. It"s a bit exaggerated to say that I can monitor the whole Royal Court, but Golden Roc Castle, especially those killers, can"t escape from my informant"s eyes and even then, they"re being watched by more than one group of people."
"Did your informants see Lotus take Shangguan Shaomin away?"
"They reported the news to me."
"Hmm, but did they see it by themselves?"
"No, they didn"t."
"Lotus and I used to be Golden Roc killers, though I would not say we were the best. There are other killers in Golden Roc Castle who are better at hiding their tracks than we are."
The Second Consort seemed unconvinced but she smiled without refuting his statement. "Well, I"ll send more people to look for the "Queen." Honestly, I like this little girl too. I"m afraid the Dragon King has placed her in the first rank."
The Second Consort still hadn"t forgotten the "top three," but Gu Shenwei also refused to respond. "King Rizhu and King Kuari want to kill each other, and I"m curious as to which side Second Consort supports?"
"Dragon King already knows I have been allied with King Rizhu for many years and still asks this?"
Gu Shenwei answered from the opposing viewpoint. ""Even if it"s true now, it may be false in the future." Unless I hear it from you myself, I won"t make any guesses about Second Consort"s stance."
The Second Consort revealed a meaningful smile, "Let me tell you my plan first."
"I"m all ears."
"The grandson I"m supporting … Oops, I accidentally let it slip. Well, same like King Rizhu, I have chosen a grandson of the Khan to support. Do not say a grandmother marrying a grandson is incestuous — I have no blood relationship with him. Things like this are rare but not unheard of. The kings of the Western Regions and Emperor of the Central Plains dare to even marry their own sisters."
"I have no cares about this," Gu Shenwei said flatly. He was actually telling the truth. He knew very well that there were many things in the world that he would never do and that there was no need for him to tell others what to do.
"Hey, I don"t care about what other people think. Anyway, I"m secretly supporting a grandson of the Khan, one different from the one chosen by King Rizhu. He"s only twelve years old, so he"s still too young right now. Even if the two kings tell the world they want to be manipulators… Oops, am I narrowing the scope down?"
"The Khan has many grown-up grandchildren."
"Well, take your time then. The grandson I choose is very promising but doesn"t have many achievements at the moment. He needs support, an army and — chaos. You know what I mean, don"t you?"
Gu Shenwei definitely understood. This was also why he had wanted to ally with the Second Consort. The Dragon Army also needed an environment of chaos in order to grow and expand.
The chaos and disunion of the Norland would make the Central Plains the only superpower and thus threaten the survival of the Western Regions. But it was only one aspect of such a situation; if the Dragon Army could draw strength from the dying behemoth, even if only a bit of it, it would be enough for the Dragon Army to compete with the strong enemy. And since this force belonged to the Dragon King alone, he wouldn"t have to rely on others from then on.
This was Gu Shenwei"s idea.
In order to cause this chaos, the Khan had to die, and those powerful kings had to die too.
"I need a visible promise."
"To promise that I won"t betray the Dragon King after this? To promise I"ll keep my promise to give you an army?"
"Hmm."
"You"ll see it, but not now."
"The sooner the better."
"The sooner the better."
Both of them felt a sense of intimacy in their conspiracy, indicating that this was not a false alliance that they were using to deceive each other.
"Right, I said that I was not the only one watching the Royal Court. That Lotus, though I don"t know whether you rank her as first or second, has been found. To save her, you"d better hurry up. If you are even one step behind, she may be sent to the Khan as a gift."