Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Han Wuxian burst into laughter. âSo the Dragon King knows about Lotusâ secrets too. I was hoping that I could make a contribution. It seems that thatâs not going to happen.â
âYou will have plenty of opportunities to make a contribution,â said Gu Shenwei, giving two glances at Wild Horse and the disciple of the Essence Pavilion. âWhich one am I supposed to talk to?â
The disciple of the Essence Pavilion walked up to Wild Horse and stood behind him, saying while helping him heal his wound, âWhenever you gain something, you also lose something else at the same time. The Master Commander is someone above this mortal world, someone you guys will never be able to understand.â
Wild Horse was trying very hard to repress the pain, but there was still a faint pained look on his face, which made his cooperation with the bluff of the disciple of the Essence Pavilion less effective.
âSo thatâs why the Master Commander put you two in charge of this mortal world?â In Gu Shenweiâs opinion, these two people were far more terrible of a liar than the dwarf Immortal Peng.
Han Wuxianâs confidence suddenly surged. âThereâs no need to talk to them. Let me use some other methods. I promise that theyâll tell us everything.â
Wild Horse suddenly knelt down, revealing the perplexed, astonished disciple of the Essence Pavilion.
Han Wuxian eyes brightened meaningfully. âHa-ha. Do you really think that the injury caused by my Jueyin Finger Energy is that easy to heal? Sorry. I forgot to remind you that my finger energy is not in the Purple Palace Acupoint, but rather in the Grim Valley Acupoint. Kneeling is only the beginning. Heâs going to have a lot of âfunâ. Speaking of which, I remember that I once poked you too. You seem to have recovered perfectly.â
That had been many years ago. In order to tempt the Unique King into imparting the Daoless Divine Power to his daughter, Han Wuxian had imbued Shangguan Ru, Wild Horse, as well as a couple of other teenagers with evil Qi. But back then, it was the Tenth Young Master that she cared about, and Wild Horse hadnât concerned her at all. It was not until she performed the Jueyin Finger Energy again and hit him that she discovered the traces of that evil Qi that she had left in him.
The Purple Palace Acupoint was located on the Ren Meridian in the chest. The Grim Valley Acupoint was an affiliate acupoint of the Feet Shaoying Kidney Meridian, and it was at the back side of the knee. Han Wuxianâs Jueyin Finger Energy had launched a two-pronged attack, half of it occupying a frontal acupoint and the other half a hidden one. While Wild Horse and the disciple of the Essence Pavilion had been trying to expel the finger energy in the Purple Palace Acupoint with their full strength, the other energy in the Grim Valley Acupoint had taken this opportunity to invade his body.
Wild Horse clenched his teeth, the muscles on his face quivering, but he could barely stay composed, not to mention standing up.
The disciple of the Essence Pavilion didnât dare to continue helping him recover from the injury. He finally understood the âsecretâ part of the secret arts of the Waning Moon Hall.
âHow did Hall Leader Han learn that Lotus lost all her strength?â asked Gu Shenwei.
âI sat there and had nothing to do, so I did a little thinking. And then, I knew.â Smiling with an amused look in her eyes, Han Wuxian watched Wild Horse struggle. Clearly, she didnât plan to tell the truth. âEek, whereâs my precious baby girl? Why hasnât she come back?â
âHeal Wild Horse,â Gu Shenwei said flatly.
Han Wuxian looked surprised, âWhy should I heal this freak? Only when he is in unbearable pain will he be willing to take us to that goblin Lotus.â
âThis is an order.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Holding the strand of hair cut off by the Dragon King, Han Wuxian said pensively, âDragon King, at least show me some respect. Outside of the city, youâre the supreme commander of hundreds of thousands of troops. But here, the disciples of the Barren Sect are everywhere. Thus, maybe I should be the one giving orders. Do you think so?â
Gu Shenwei thought for a while, âI can show you more respect, but Iâm still the one who gives the orders. Please heal Wild Horse of his wound, Hall Leader Han.â
He emphasized the word âplease,â which made it sound more sarcastic than respectful.
Shangguan Hong felt that the Dragon King was too haughty and that it was no big deal to occasionally act humbly. However, he didnât want to be a busybody. All he wanted to do was find an escape route and flee.
Han Wuxian raised her head and started laughing in an unrestrained manner, but the Dragon King was too composed, which made her suspicious. The laughter gradually stopped. She turned her head aside and glanced in the direction of the depths of the forest of peach trees. It shouldnât take long to intercept Han Xuan and Han Fen, but her âprecious baby girlâ was still nowhere to be seen.
It was completely quiet in the woods. They all stayed silent. Faint sounds of fighting came from the distance. The two girls should have been able to stir up such a ruckus.
Han Wuxianâs face slightly blushed, but the smile on her face became more charming, as if it were tinged with the timidity of a teenage girl, âThe Dragon King is the Dragon King after all. Who dares disobey your order? Fine. Iâll heal him of the Jueyin Finger Energy, but he must promise that he wonât take this opportunity to kill me.â
Gu Shenwei nodded. âBoth of you have seen Hall Leader Hanâs secret arts. She will heal Wild Horse, but I canât guarantee that she will heal him thoroughly. Maybe she will leave something else in him, so-â
âImmortal Peng wonât fight back,â the disciple of the Essence Pavilion said. âAt least not tonight.â
Han Wuxian giggled. She walked forward, poked her fingers in Wild Horseâs chest several times, and then backed off.
Wild Horse grabbed his sword and stood up abruptly, his face full of anger, but he didnât move.
Han Wuxian ignored him. Pricking up her eyes, she affected an air of surprise. âThe Dragon Kingâs subordinates are not fighting with the disciples of the Barren Sect, are they? That would be like a flood dashing against the Temple of the Dragon King. Oh, Iâm not saying that Iâm the âfloodâ. Donât be mad, Dragon King.â
Gu Shenwei raised his head and let out a whistling sound which sounded like a whistle. Han Wuxian raise her right hand, curved a finger and flipped her hand. A green fire shot up into the sky, leaving a trail about five or six feet in length. The straight trail over forty meters high lasted quite a while in the air before dispersing.
The sounds of fighting in the distance died away.
Shangguan Hongâs face also flushed red, but it was not because he was excited. He knew that the Dragon King would never trust anybody easily. The Dragon King had dared to take him to northern Jade City and then to City View Alley, so he must have made some preparations in advance.
A rejoicing voice came from the distance. âDarling, apologize to the Dragon King. Your subordinates actually said that they didnât know who the Dragon King was, so I punished them for you.â
Han Wuxian slightly bent her knees and said to the Dragon King, âPlease forgive me, Dragon King. The disciples of the Barren Sect are not well-educated, and Han Wuxian failed to teach them how to behave. They actually dared to say such disrespectful words.â
âUm. Ignorance can be forgiven. Now, can you tell me how you knew that Lotus lost her strength?â
âHumph. I was nearly tricked by her.â
Han Wuxian disclosed some more details. Her tone was angry, but the smile on her face was just as bright as usual.
âI had thought that Lotus had become invincible after absorbing the internal energy, but my precious daughter told me that Lotus hadnât found the right way to extract the Gu, and that she could only take a small amount of it at a time. After several months, she had only managed to absorb half of the internal energy. But for Lotus, even that was too much, and it caused her Daoless Divine Power to enter the period of dispersing internal energy ahead of schedule. Sheâs like a cunning pixie. I spent so much time sounding her out, but I didnât expect that she would have dispersed her internal energy long ago. She was smart, though. She made an unexpected move and returned Han Xuan, who had less than half of the original internal energy left in her, to me. It turns out that there was no need for me to feel so afraid of her at all.â
This explanation was more reasonable, and Gu Shenwei accepted it. He turned and faced Shangguan Hong. âWhat about your truth? Iâd like to hear it as well.â
Shangguan Hong didnât expected that the Dragon King would suddenly switch targets and ask him a question. He felt a shiver of fear and involuntarily raised the soft sword, but he soon lowered it. After thinking for a while with his head down, he said, âThat night, I did kill the assassin, but Iâm not the one who killed the envoy of the Central Plains. And⦠I was ambushed and I took a sword strike in the waist.â
For Shangguan Hong, that had been an unforgettable night. He had confirmed the strength of his swordsmanship. If it werenât for the fact that he had encountered a sneak attacker whose kung fu was better, and that his confidence had been shattered, he would have rebelled against the Dragon King in public.
He had thought that he was on the top of the mountain, but it turned out that there were even higher mountains right in front of him.
âI really didnât kill the envoy of the Central Plains. I had no idea who was in that carriage. I chose the target randomly. Please believe me, Dragon King,â Shangguan Hong added. Suddenly, a wave of shame flooded him. He despised himself for being so cowardly, but he was powerless to resist his instincts.
Gu Shenwei didnât say whether he believed him or not. He just asked questions, and he wouldnât tell others his thoughts. He then asked the other two people on the other side, âWas the assassin a disciple of the Essence Pavilion?â
Both the Essence Pavilion and Shangguan Hong were under the command of Lotus, but the behavior of the latter was clearly beyond Wild Horseâs control, and he might have killed people on his own side.
Wild Horse fixed his eyes on Han Wuxian, ignoring his cooperation with the disciple of the Essence Pavilion. The skinny, old man had no choice but to say, âThe Master Commander is the only one who knows everything.â
âBring me to her.â
âA month later-â
Gu Shenwei whipped out his saber, leaped forward, and exchanged a move with each of the two people in the twinkling of an eye.
Wild Horse and the disciple of the Essence Pavilion both stroked their faces respectively at the same time. When they saw the blood on their fingertips, they showed different expressions. The look on Wild Horseâs face became even more gloomier, but his anger gradually subsided. A flicker of enthusiasm flashed across the eyes of the skinny old man, but he still stubbornly believed that the Dragon King had learned his kung fu from the first Immortal Peng.
Han Wuxian tried to persuade them. âNeither of you are a match for the Dragon King. Just give up. Even I, Han Wuxian, have to submit to him, so itâs not shameful for you to follow his orders. Even Lotus canât blame you.â
As if he hadnât heard her words, the disciple of the Essence Pavilion enunciated each word slowly and carefully said, âOnly a month later can you meet the Master Commander.â
Some people just couldnât be reasoned with. Gu Shenwei peered at the two people for a while and then decided to kill the skinny old man. Wild Horse held a deeper hatred against him, but he could understand a threat and be threatened while the disciple of the Essence Pavilion was impervious to reason, which meant that his existence would only cloud Wild Horseâs judgement.
Wild Horse sensed the Dragon Kingâs killing intent. Holding his sword, he prepared himself for a fight. A while ago, most of his attention had been paid to Han Wuxian, so he was very unconvinced of that saber strike of the Dragon Kingâs.
Confidence was another basic principle of the Death Scripture, and sometimes, this kind of confidence would enable people to outdo themselves.
âDragon King,â a breathless voice was heard. Before long, Han Fen hurriedly showed up, taking a large detour around Han Wuxian. âGreat. Youâre still here.â
Han Wuxian asked in a tender voice, âHan Fen, where did you take Han Xuan? You didnât hand her over to that Lady Shaomin, did you?â
âHa-ha.â Han Fen hid herself behind the Dragon King, craned her neck, and answered, âHow do I know where Lady Shaomin is? I had no choice but to ask the Master Commander for help. You donât have to worry, Hall Leader. Youâve heard Han Xuan yourself. The Master Commander is good to her.â
Han Wuxian painfully regretted her misjudgment, but she just smiled and said nothing, waiting to see how the Dragon King would react.
âThe Master Commander sent you here?â asked Gu Shenwei.
âYes.â Han Fen walked out. âThe Master Commander said, âthe Dragon King wants to cooperate with me. We can discuss this. As a goodwill gesture, please show some mercy to the disciples of the Essence Pavilion. In particular, donât hurt Immortal Pengâ.â
Han Fen repeated Lotusâ words, but her tone was listless. She didnât like the weird âImmortal Pengâ and she had deliberately slowed down on her way here. But to her disappointment, he was still alive.
âLotus is not far from here,â Han Wuxian suddenly interjected. âWe donât need Han Fen or Immortal Peng. I can find her myself.â
Han Fen moved closer to the Dragon King, lowered her voice, and said, âDonât trust the Hall Leader. She canât find the Master Commander. Um. Arenât you looking for the assassin who killed the envoy of the Central Plains? Neither Waning Moon Hall nor the Essence Pavilion has anything to do with that event. In all of Jade City, the Kun Society is the only organization that has enough young killers skilled at narrow sabers.â
Han Fen made some very coherent remarks, which was rare. She seemed to have forgotten to add the four words âthe Master Commander said.â
Lotus was Gu Shenweiâs enemy. But somehow, he still immediately believed these words.