Chapter 426: Play-acting

The supply depot of the Great Snow Mountain was situated about 20 kilometers away from the capital of the Stone Kingdom. Its back was facing the Xiaoyao Lake and built on a small pier. To either side of it was a small river that acted as a natural trench. The only way in or out of it was a narrow passageway at its northeast corner.

About five kilometers away from the depot was the spot called the Wild Boar Slope. The slope itself was a piece of wilderness strewn with rocks. It was slightly undulating with a path situated below the slope.

Shangguan Fei gave the excuse that he had to answer the call of nature and ran up the slope. He gazed afar as he urinated, but he was confused by what he saw.

About one to two kilometers away was what seemed to be a barren swampland, covered with potholes of all sizes. It was filled with a thick, viscous black liquid which bubbled slowly and lifelessly.

There were roughly 200 hundred or more people there, their nostrils covered with cloth, who were scooping out pail after pail of the black liquid then loading them onto oxcarts before sending them away towards the capital of the Stone Kingdom.

An unfamiliar and unpleasant odor pervaded the air; Shangguan Fei did not even know how to describe it.

He felt bewildered, but the Dragon King had instructed him to just inform Shangguan Hong what he saw, he need not inquire further “That’s all?” Shangguan Fei thought.

Shangguan Fei knew the Dragon King’s character – he would never divulge his entire plan beforehand. Shangguan Fei curled his lips together and was about to fasten his belt, before something happening in the distance caught his attention.

Someone who looked like a foreman lit a piece of tinder up and threw it into one of the laden pails, seemingly wanting to test the properties of the liquid.

A dazzling column of flames shot up toward the skies and it was about three meters high shocking the surrounding people.

Shangguan Fei got a shock as well. He could roughly guess what the liquid was meant for, but was also doubtful. “Why would the Dragon King want to let the enemy Commander know about such a useful weapon via Shangguan Hong?” he wondered.

“The Dragon King’s plans are always too complicated, and one day he will overthink things,” Shangguan Fei considered secretly. He leaped off the slope and mounted his horse before catching up with the column in front of him. He was not willing to be left behind for long; the Dragon King was right about the possibility that the Golden Roc killers could be waiting for him to be alone.

There was no lack of inventory in the supply depot. It was full of weapons and armor and it seemed to be able to equip an army tens of thousands strong.

Zhong Heng had indeed spent considerable effort at this end.

The Shangguan brothers accompanied the Dragon King because they wanted his protection, not because they wanted to contribute to strategy. As such, they tactfully remained silent.

In a corner of the depot, more than a hundred crafstmen were sweating away as they worked around the clock. The items they were crafting were extremely crude though: narrow strips of wood about two meters long that had seven or eight holes punched at their tips. Wooden spikes about a meter long were then fastened by rivets to the holes and were extremely sharp; many of the craftsmen were wearing bandages.

Typically, Gu Shenwei did not explain what the spikes were to be used for; he only asked the supervisor of the depot, who was beside him, some questions softly. The supervisor, who was slow to catch on, replied loudly, “We tested them on live pigs,” before continuing in a suppressed voice, “They’re quite useful. Though some of them will break off, there will always be a few spikes that will pierce through.”

That day, the Dragon King was occupied with many tasks. After the visit to the depot, he went to check on the training of the slave soldiers. In between all that, he summoned at least seven people to ask them how the preparations for battle was going.

Especially focused on the lay of the surrounding land, he would ask his attendants to take note of every location they passed by that could work in their favor during battle. He even had them to do a rough sketch of the surrounding geography.

As such, the Shangguan brothers had a strong impression that the Great Snow Mountain army was confident about winning the upcoming battle.

It was close to midnight before he returned back to the military camp. His guards split into three parties and went in different directions so that casual onlookers would not be able to deduce the Dragon King’s actual quarters.

Shangguan Fei began thinking about how to pass on the fake to Shangguan Hong information in a clever way; he could not tell him directly as it would only arouse the suspicions of his brother.

Just as he was about to reach the camp, he had an idea . He would attempt to get in the good books of a few swordsmen who were also guards of the Dragon King. He waited for the Dragon King to dismiss them before inviting them over to his tent for a drink.

Shangguan Fei could be a very charming young master, if he was willing. Upon joining the Great Snow Mountain, he had been very focused on building up his relationships with the other swordsmen, and thus his invitation was warmly accepted.

Although the Dragon King had issued many bans in light of the impending battle, he seemed to have forgot to prohibit the drinking of alcholic beverages.

Cautiously, the seven or eight of them suppressed their voices, unwilling to let the Dragon King, who was just residing nearby, hear them. However, when they lost themselves in the moment, at times there would be a few loud noises emitted from their tent.

Also staying in a tent nearby, Shangguan Hong was suffering from their rowdiness. He felt that their chaotic noises were even harder to bear than continuous streams of chatter. Though he could not fall asleep, his sense of hearing grew sharper as the night wore on.

Although Shangguan Fei’s method of passing the information was ingenious, it had a flaw, and that was the he had no idea whether Shangguan Hong could hear him or not. As such, he did not divulge everything and only spoke of what he had seen, leaving out the specific location.

Early the next morning, Shangguan Hong broke tradition and went into his younger brother’s tent. He complained to Shangguan Fei and reprimanded him for preventing him from having a good night’s rest. “What black oil and big fire were you talking about last night? To think you could be spouting such nonsense after a few drinks.”

Shangguan Fei was still hungover from last night but still remembered about his task. “I didn’t spout nonsense. Wildboar Slope… ah, forget it. Why should I tell you something like that,eh? Why are you in my tent? Get out.”

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Shangguan Hong grunted and turned away. His brother called out to him just as he was about to leave, “Why are you wearing new clothing?”

“What’s it to you?” Shangguan Hong replied harshly.

“You’re going to meet Xu Yanwei secretly!” shouted Shangguan Fei, seemingly afraid that those outside his tent could not hear him. “You’re tired of living, aren’t you? How dare you leave the Dragon King’s side at a time like this?”

Shangguan Hong did not seem to be willing to reply such a childish question, but could not resist boasting. “Fool, of course I won’t take the risk. Hehe, I’m not going to visit her, but she came to see me. I wore this last night. Did you think you were the only one with guests here?”

“That whore!” Shangguan Fei scolded, unable to control himself. He envied Shangguan Hong for having a woman to accompany him and was also jealous of Xu Yanwei’s status. She used to be just one of many sex workers in Jade City, so how had she managed to win the trust of the Dragon King, becoming able to enter the palace whenever, however she wished now? He had seen her trying to curry favor and throw tantrums in front of the Dragon King before causing him to believe she was willing to do anything.

“Watch your tongue, she is now a personal maid of the princess.”

“Princess,” spat Shangguan Fei grudgingly. He was getting increasingly jealous. Though he did not fancy women, he still found it difficult to accept that the woman who was supposed to become his bride, was snatched away by the Dragon King.

“How dare you speak ill of the princess, she’s the future Queen of the Great Snow Mountain.”

“Go go go, I want to sleep now.”

Even though it was just to torture his stubborn brother a little, Shangguan Hong definitely would not let such an opportunity slip by. Not only did he not leave, instead, he took a few steps closer towards his brother. Sighing, he said, “Forget about me, in the past, I was no more important than a slave in the Stone Castle. But you, oh Ninth Young Master, were different. You very nearly wedded the princess and became the king of Stone Kingdom. You could have been on par with the Dragon King, but now, you’re not even fit to speak to the maid of the Princess.”

Shangguan Fei sat up in a flurry and ground his teeth in fury as he spoke, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. In the future… hmph, let’s not even go that far. The Dragon King will not marry the princess; he loves my sister. He gave her the entire Land of Fragrance. You and that whore should just give up trying to make use of the princess to get in the Dragon King’s good books.”

Shangguan Hong was about to deal the fatal blow to his brother. “That’s laughable and presumptuous. If the Dragon King really liked your sister that much, why would he pass the princess all the books left behind by the Chief Priest and have her decipher them?”

Shangguan Hong stopped himself in time. His brother was bewildered and asked, “Decipher what? What could be more valuable than the Land of Fragrance?”

“I’m not telling. No matter what, the Dragon King trusts the Princess one hundred percent. Even if he plans to have more than one wife in future, the princess will be his queen. As for your sister, she can be a concubine, haha.”

“She’s also your sister. You’re also a Shangguan,” shouted Shangguan Fei in rage.

Shangguan Hong, who was not particularly proud of his own family name, left contendedly.

In this manner, they both accomplished their tasks.

Shangguan Hong did not haave any suspicions, but after coming up with his own story, he realized that he missed Xu Yanwei a little. “That whore is much more skillful than those wild women of the Land of Fragrance,” he thought. Like most other other johns, he looked down upon the women-of-the-night he got his hands on.

Shangguan Fei was left thinking about much more. Of course, he knew what has hidden in the late Chief Priest’s books, but why such an important secret would be given to the princess, was beyond him? Very quickly, he found his answer – the princess did not know any kung fu nor did she possess the first seven chapters of the Wayless Qigong. As such, it was most appropriate for her to attempt to decipher the books.

The next question he had was why such a piece of information would be passed to him. He knew that the Dragon King would never allow the existence of such a glaring loophole to exist and it increased his wariness of the situation.

At the same time, Gu Shenwei, having only slept a little more than four hours, was already up and discussing military issues with Zhong Heng.

Other than the Dragon King himself, Zhong Heng was the only other person who knew of the plot. Though it was ingenious, it was simultaneously full of flaws. After considering for a long while, Zhong Heng could feel that it was necessary to discusst it again. “Please allow me to continue, Dragon King,” he said.

Gu Shenwei nodded, with Maid Lotus not around, he needed a third party to help tidy up his plans.

“Have you never considered that both of them are actually putting up a front and that there’s no hatred between them? That they are acting like this to fool outsiders?”

“It’s possible,” Gu Shenwei replied, well aware of how the two siblings came to hate each other, although there was also something suspicious about it all. “But it’s not important,” he added.

“All they need to do is to communicate and understand that you’re playing both of them supplying each of them with false information.”

“Not all of it is fake,” Gu Shenwei corrected Zhong Heng; a great plot was one that mixed real information with false. “No matter how we plan it, Shangguan Jianyi will no doubt be suspicious. When he comes to verify the authencity of the information, I will let him see the truth personally. At that time, he’ll have to believe it.”

Zhong Heng could only choose to have faith in the Dragon King. That said, he still had a question for the latter, “How do you know that Shangguan Hong will be the one to escape, Dragon King, and not Shangguan Fei? Or perhaps the both of them could escape together?”

“Shangguan Fei will remain behind. Because his ambition is great,he won’t leave before he gets what he really wants. He’ll do all that he can to win my trust.”

Though not entirely convinced, Zhong Heng was was smart and knew when to remain silent. He understood that the Dragon King would keep some matters from him and in turn, he would never inquire in much detail about them.

Gu Shenwei’s plan was slowly moving forward. However, one night, the first piece of news that came to him was not quite what he expected. Shangguan Hong had indeed attempted to escape, but was assassinated halfway through his journey.