Chapter 339: Rumors

Gu Shenwei was ready and believed that he had to overcome many obstacles before meeting Shangguan Fei.

The Ninth Young Master valued his precious life very much and normally could be found wishing that there was a way to have all his guards around his bedside while he slept. Even if that were possible, he would have also wanted to be able to sleep with eyes wide open and ears pricked up.

Unexpectedly, as Gu Shenwei checked himself into the courier station in the Stone Kingdom, he found that Shangguan Fei seemed to have complete faith in the security level there. The guards were so slack that it all felt like a trap.

After observing for a long while, Gu Shenwei decided that he should reveal himself, so went up openly to call on Shangguan Fei.

It seemed that the attendant at the entrance knew that Dragon King would be coming and he announced the guest’s arrival loudly to the occupants of the courier station. After which, he led Dragon King into the main hall respectfully.

During their meeting with the Prime Minister of Stone Kingdom, Shangguan Fei was so gloomy that he looked like an old man who was very ill. Now, however, he was a youth and all smiles, welcoming Dragon King in a dramatic manner and with too much enthusiasm.

“Dragon King graces us with his presence and livens up our humble dwelling. Please sit over here. Quick, serve the drinks! Do you drink alcohol, Dragon King? It’s such a cold night and the perfect time to drink and rejoice about the good times. Oh, pardon me, pardon me, that’s a name you wish to forget an affront to you. (Note: The word joy in Mandarin is ‘Huan’ and Shangguan Fei is referring to the Dragon King’s old name as Slave Huan here) Oh, you are still as teetotal as before. Say, it’s got me thinking about the past. Every incident is still so fresh to me and the changes to you, Dragon King…”

Gu Shenwei had to admit that he was bamboozled by Shangguan Fei. They were known enemies, and even though both their camps were negotiating for peace, he did not have to go out of the way to treat the Dragon King as warmly as he was a good friend.

There were many people in the hall and the attendants rushed about, serving drinks and snacks. After everything was done, they tactfully left.

Shangguan Hong was also present. His new role was to break the ice and liven up the atmosphere when both Shangguan Fei and the Dragon King did not want to talk. “I still remember the scene when you were playing with the two young masters in the Stone Castle, Dragon King. To be honest, you made all of us apprentices envious. Even at that time, you already seemed to be different from the others…”

Gu Shenwei had never been the recipient of such blatant and fawning flattery before. The swordsmen of the Great Snow Mountain were taciturn, and he had got used to living with those unyielding men. He was really no match for such fierce boot-licking.

Throughout the entire conversation, he spoke very little and did not drop his guard for even a little bit. He would not become smug and complacent even if he was flattered anymore than this.

Furthermore, Shangguan Ru was at her brother’s side.

She had disguised herself as part of the retinue on the way to the Stone Kingdom and had reverted back to her original appearance by then. Wearing a long dress with narrow sleeves made for ease of movement and she also wore a saber at her waist. She was seated in a dignified manner and was the only person in the hall not making a big fuss out of the Dragon King’s presence.

She was as reticent as Gu Shenwei and gazed out of the window, her thoughts seemingly elsewhere; however, when Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong’s flattery became further outrageous, to the point where he even began describing her as Slave Huan’s lackey in the past, she could not take it anymore. Standing up in a flurry, she grasped the hilt of her saber. “What a disgrace, is there no place for the dignity of the Shangguan Family in your hearts?”

She cast her wide, black eyes at Gu Shenwei and it looked as if she wanted to start a fight; however, the tense moment only lasted for a short while and very quickly she shifted her gaze somewhere else and stormed out of the hall.

Shangguan Fei displayed a look of incomprehension and surprise. “What’s the matter with her? Why’s she offended when us old friends are reminiscing about the past? Pay her no mind, Dragon King – Little sister is unhappy. To be honest, hehe, she misses you even more than us.”

Gu Shenwei was also becoming a little impatient and said, “Shangguan Fei, I believe that we are both already very familiar with each other.”

“That’s right, that’s right,” replied Shangguan Fei. He cast Shangguan Hong a look and the latter tactfully left. He bowed to his master and retreated backward with small steps – his humility portraying him as a slave of the lowest rank.

“I guessed that you would come calling within these two days, Dragon King,” said Shangguan Fei. Even though they were alone now, he was still trying to worm his way into Gu Shenwei’s good books.

“Right, I’m here now. I wish to discuss that deal with you.”

Previously, in the small tavern of Shuangquan Village, Shangguan Fei had offered his sister in exchange for the Dragon King to back out from the race to become the Emperor’s son-in-law. Hearing that the Dragon King wished to resume discussion about the matter, Shangguan Fei’s eyes lit up. “You’ve seen my sister, she…”

“It has nothing to do with her,” said replied Gu Shenwei firmly. “I need other benefits.”

Shangguan Fei appeared slightly puzzled at his statement but very quickly understood what Dragon King was implying. “Please state your terms, Dragon King. As long as I can become the Emperor’s son-in-law, I will agree to any conditions.”

“You can marry the princess, but cannot become King.”

Shangguan Fei looked awkward as he replied, “This, Dragon King, is not up to me to decide. It’s an arrangement made by his Lord, and regardless of whether I accept it or not, the King of Stone Kingdom will abdicate the throne and go into monkhood. It’s pointless to reject it.”

“You don’t have to bother about that. You just have to openly declare that you will never have designs on the throne.”

“Ah, I know. You wish to have the monk of the Four Truths Temple… after which, it will be impossible for the King to become a monk,” Shangguan Fei said, mimicking the pose of an executioner beheading someone.

Gu Shenwei’s reply was the same, “I said, you don’t have to bother about that.”

Shangguan Fei nodded, seemingly enlightened. “I promise, but I can make such a declaration now. I vow that I will make the announcement at the same time when I am anointed as consort to the princess. Nevertheless, I believe that you surely know that this will make it seem as though I am just biding my time and not to be believed to the others.”

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“This will do just fine,” Gu Shenwei said as he stood up, ready to take his leave. “A warning for you: Your competitor is not me, but the Prince of Loulan Kingdom,” he added.

Shangguan Fei immediately understood what Dragon King meant, and said, “The Special Emissary from the Central Plain…”

Gu Shenwei left the hall. He realized that the courier station was not too big, and many people had to rest outside in tents. It was no more than a hundred or so steps from Dragon King’s quarters.

His trip had not cleared all of his doubts. Shangguan Fei was extremely clever and on the surface, he seemed to be flattering Dragon King, but in reality, he had managed to keep his intentions well under wraps. Gu Shenwei still did not understand what the Ninth Young Master was exactly afraid of and why he had to work with Dragon King. Furthermore, Shangguan Fei was not afraid that news of their cooperation would leak out to the public.

During the meeting, Shangguan Hong seemed to be competing with his master over who could ingratiate himself better with the Dragon King. Just as Gu Shenwei arrived back at his lodgings, Lin Xiaoshan came announcing that Shangguan Hong was seeking an audience with Dragon King.

Shangguan Hong was more at ease with himself than Shangguan Fei was, perhaps due to the fact that many of his secrets were already made known to Gu Shenwei. He did not beat around the bush and spoke immediately after he entered, “You have to save me, Dragon King.”

“That will depend on how much of what you say is true.”

Shangguan Hong looked as if he was prepared to say the truth. Clasping his palms together, he paced back and forth with a look of distraught, panic and worry on his face. He stopped after a while and lifted his head to speak. “There are reports saying that after the princess has chosen her consort, and that you have plans to slaughter every suitor coming from Golden Roc Fort.”

“Do you believe that?” asked Gu Shenwei coldly. He felt that Shangguan Hong was not as composed as Shangguan Fei and there may be a possibility for him to create an opening here.

Shangguan Hong shook his head and replied, “I don’t believe it.”

“What are you worried about, then?”

“I’m not worried about you, Dragon King. I’m worried about the person spreading these rumors.”

Gu Shenwei was suddenly enlightened and came to understand the entire conspiracy; however, he felt that it was too outrageous to be true and thus did not speak about it, letting Shangguan Hong continue.

“Someone – whether they be a male or female – wishes to cause the ceasefire between you and Golden Roc Fort to fail, Dragon King. As a result, a few or maybe even a batch of sacrificial lambs from the fort have to be selected.”

Shangguan Hong was extremely agitated after he finished speaking as he raised both his arms in an exaggerated manner, looking as though he was seeking redress from the heavens. “Why is it always me who is the unlucky one? All I have is the empty title of Supreme King’s son. After all these years, I have not even earned the right to speak to his Lord, yet when somebody needs to be sacrificed, I’m chosen.”

“Shangguan Fei is aware of this matter as well?”

“Perhaps. The two of us rarely speak to each other; he’s the master and I am but merely the ‘slave’,” Shangguan Hong said, the resentment in his tone undiminished. “You can deduce from his performance that he most likely knows that this trip will not end well. Isn’t his motive for openly being friendly with you to let everyone know that you have no reason to kill him? He believes that by doing so, the scheme cannot be carried out. But what does he have to worry about? He’s the legitimate son of Supreme King and the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort. No matter what, he will not be selected to be sacrificed.”

Gu Shenwei stared at Shangguan Hong, surmising how much of the latter’s words were true. “Zhang Ji told you all of this.”

Shangguan Hong was agape with surprise, lowering his head as he replied, “Yes, Mister Zhang warned me to be careful.”

“This is the secret Zhang Ji left with you?”

Shangguan Hong laughed. It was as if he had expected the Dragon King would be asking him about Zhang Ji’s secret. “Hehe, Dragon King, I can tell you about anything except for this; however, rest assured that I will let you know the secret once the princess has chosen her consort. Zhang Ji said… forget it. I cannot divulge the secret now, it’s my current insurance.”

Gu Shenwei did not continue pressing Shangguan Fei, even though he knew that the latter would spill everything out once he drew the Five Peaks Saber.

Before he found out what Zhang Ji’s real motives were, he decided not to fall for Shangguan Fei’s words yet. It seemed that the tutor without any real authority in Golden Roc Fort was playing an extremely complicated game here and he was only a secondary character in it.

He walked up to Shangguan Hong, saying, “I wish to help you, but you have to put in some effort too. Tell me, who exactly was the person spreading the rumors?”

“I don’t know, I really don’t. But… it’s pretty obvious. You know, other than his Lord…”

Gu Shenwei knew, and this was exactly the part where he felt it was too incredible to be true. Why would the Supreme King sacrifice two of his sons to push the blame of dishonoring the ceasefire agreement onto me? Everyone knows that there aren’t many males left to carry on the name of the Shangguan Family, he thought.

The pressure was on Gu Shenwei now, and he felt as if there was a huge beast drawing nearer to him in the dark; he could hear its breathing but could not pinpoint where its huge mouth was.

He let Shangguan Hong leave while remaining behind in the room to ponder over the entire issue. After he was done, he summoned three of his accompanying swordsmen from the Great Snow Mountain and gave them some instructions. He made them remember the instructions before ordering them to set off back to their base camp.

If Supreme King truly had any intentions of dishonoring the peace agreement, the thousands of people in the Great Snow Mountain camp would be in grave danger.

The next day, Gu Shenwei found an opportunity to meet up with Zhong Heng and relayed the strange conspiracy to the latter. Zhong Heng considered the issue from a different angle, and spoke after a long period of deep thought, “The true motive of this rumor might not be the sacrifice of the two sons of Supreme King, but of you, Dragon King.”

Gu Shenwei believed that Zhong Heng’s deduction was somewhat justified as it made sense out of Golden Roc Fort’s supreme confidence in winning over the Princess of Stone Kingdom’s hand.