บท 6: The Swordsman
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
Gu Shenwei had heard a lot about Golden Roc Fort and the Supreme King two years ago when they had just arrived at the frontier from the Central Plains. At that time, he yearned to meet this famous killer organization and see the Supreme King face to face, so much so that his longing became a target for mockery from his second elder brother.
In the Western Region, the Gu family never had any involvement with Golden Roc Fort, and Gu Shenwei soon forgot the gang and its king. However, Gu Shenwei never could have expected that the gang's reappearance would lead to the extermination of the entire Gu family.
As it turned out, the "butcher" his father had so frequently discussed with his brothers after the masked men broke in was actually the "Supreme" (for these two words sound alike in Chinese). Gu Lun had already known of the ill-intentions that Golden Roc Fort had against his manor, therefore, he purposely "chased away" his daughter and youngest son.
"Golden Roc Fort wanted to exterminate the Gu family, but why?"
Gu Shenwei thought it over and over, but he still could not understand. In the past two years, his family had barely made contact with any outsiders in the Western Region, so how could it offend the Western Region's "King of the Killers"?
With the clip-clop of hoofbeats approaching, a brown galloping horse came from the northern mountain pass. A knight in a gray cape sat on the back of the horse. The bandits were happy at first, but soon their happiness was replaced by disappointment. This was not the man they were waiting for. Someone would have surely gone forward and held up this knight for extortion if there was not a ban on crossing the boundaries.
Seeing a bunch of people with fierce countenances gathering at the roadside, the gray-caped knight was neither surprised nor alarmed. He merely hastened the horse to go keep its pace.
"Whoosh!" Someone hurled a throwing knife in the direction of the knight. People could not cross the boundary, but weapons could.
The knight's gray cape floated like a wisp of cloud skimming through the air. He lifted his right arm and caught the throwing knife with his hand. Then he put it inside his leather bag and said, "Received."
As the cape hovered in the air, a long sword was exposed, hanging on one side of the horse.
"A swordsman from the Great Snowmountain!"
Someone in the crowd shouted. Nearly 100 bandits backed up on their horses as if a spell had suddenly pushed them simultaneously. The hurler of the throwing knife did not dare to say a word. The captives on the ground, only some of whom understood the situation, were all infected by the same fear and moved back together.
Gu Shenwei was standing in the back and was almost knocked down by people backing up in front of him, but he still able to peer over on his tiptoes. He had never heard of the "swordsman from the Great Snowmountain", so he had no idea what they were afraid of.
In front of him, there were two teenagers about his age. They lowered their heads and hid behind the adults. Clearly, they knew the terror of the "the Great Snowmountain" as well as the bandits.
A faint smile appeared on the knight's face, which was glowing in the wind, snow, and sunshine. He squinted his eyes habitually, as if he was always looking for something.
"People of the Eagle Gang, step forward."
His voice was measured and he said no harsh words, but he had an irresistible force. Gu Shenwei saw that the face of the scarred bandit, "Eagle", was turning green.
The Eagle Gang was a very small gang with only six people; it was hard to even call them a "gang". Nevertheless, as their leader, Eagle could not back off or act cowardly.
"I'm Eagle. This is Gloden Roc Fort's territory, how dare you say that?"
The gray-caped knight looked back at the wilderness and said, "Still one step away. And did you ever see a man from the Great Snowmountain who was afraid of the 'Butcher'?"
Gu Shenwei was pleased to see that the "Supreme King" also had enemies. He had always thought that Golden Roc Fort had no rival in the Western Region. In this case, Gu Shenwei's hope for revenge seemed much greater. He felt that he should join the Great Snowmountain.
Eagle's face turned even greener and his men gripped their hilts nervously. The east side of the road was the territory of Golden Roc Fort. As bandits, none of them could stride over the boundary, otherwise, they would lose protection.
Eagle clenched his teeth and shouted, "Brothers, why are the 81 gangs of Tianshan so disunited? Shall we remain in silence even in the face of a bully? Will we allow him to humiliate us?"
The other bandits looked at each other without saying a word. As small gangs just scraping out a living, this was the first time they had heard of the "81 gangs of Tianshan". They did not share a bitter hatred of the enemy, nor did they find it necessary to play good Samaritan.
The knight from the Great Snowmountain sneered. "The '81 gangs of Tianshan', what a big name. I'm so scared, but I'm only looking for the 'Eagle Gang' and no one else."
This sentence reassured the other bandits. No one stepped forward. Instead, they all moved further back to distance themselves from the "Eagle Gang".
Eagle knew that he faced an impasse. However, he was a battle-scarred bandit who had experienced the "Golden Age" of thieves and bandits from 10 years ago. Therefore, stubborn ruthlessness was imprinted in his bones. He had to bite the bullet because begging was useless.
Eagle spat, and that was the last dirty thing to come out of his mouth.
He jumped off the horse and drew his sword, and his men did the same. The six of them were lined up, and their shining scimitars made a sharp contrast to their dirty clothes.
The knight from the Great Snowmountain smiled satisfactorily. He took off his cape and placed it on the saddle. Then he jumped off his horse as well and drew the long and mighty sword from the side of the horse.
The body of the sword was almost as wide as an adult's palm. The knight leaned the sword against the ground, and the hilt reached his chest. Obvious cracks and flaws could be seen on the edge as if its owner had used it to chop wood.
"My name is Long Feidu."
"Your name is none of our business, you are from the Great Snowmountain anyway. So either you kill us or we kill you." Eagle led his five men to step forward slowly to form an arc surrounding Long Feidu.
"I should let you know who is going to kill you."
Long Feidu held the sword with two hands, with the tip still against the ground.
The six members of the "Eagle Gang" slowly approached Long Feidu. They did not have a habit of telling the victim their names before killing. The bandits were more inclined to the principle of Golden Roc Fort: Kill the target, regardless of the means.
However, Gu Shenwei had a very good impression of Long Feidu. He tried to stand on his tiptoes to see further, but the two teenagers in front of him seemed to be cowering and always hid behind the adults. Being tied up with the same rope, Gu Shenwei could not stand up straight, therefore, he could not see what was going on.
Someone shouted, and nobody could tell who made the sound. Weapons collided, and soon all the sounds faded into silence. The scene had not sounded at all fierce or intense, but like a blacksmith idly knocking on ironware.
Still, the surrounding bandits and captives all cried out in panic.
Gu Shenwei summoned all his strength and jumped up to look over the heads of the bandits in front of him. He saw that Long Feidu was raising the long sword while five out of the six men from the "Eagle Gang" were falling to the ground. Only their "leader", Eagle, stood there blankly, with his scimitar thrown on the ground. He lifted his left arm in front of his face ridiculously, as if he was going to stop the sword with his flesh.
Although it was only a glimpse, this scene was deeply imprinted in Gu Shenwei's mind. He would not be able to forget it after many years. What impressed him the most was not Long Feidu, who held the sword like a god, but the trembling Eagle, who had lost all consciousness of defense.
At that moment, an idea formed in his mind. "It's so easy to kill someone." Those twists and turns or other skills had not appeared at all, and the fist techniques and bladesmanship he earnestly learned seemed so juvenile and unpractical now.
Gu Shenwei only caught a glimpse before he was dragged down by the two teenagers in front of him. The nearest teenager glared at him, signaling to him not to make any dumb moves.
The muffled sounds made by a sharp sword cutting a blunt object and a body falling down were pretty clear to Gu Shenwei this time.
"I'm Long Feidu from Tanduo Peak of the Great Snowmountain. If anyone wants revenge, they can come for it now or later."
No one wished to avenge the "Eagle Gang". The bandits only pondered that they would never, ever provoke this man. Eagle must have been crazy to become his enemy.
There was a turmoil among the captives in the front. Through the gaps, Gu Shenwei saw that Long Feidu was walking toward them, with the long sword dripping blood onto the ground.
"Will this man kill the captives too?" Gu Shenwei was not as scared as the other captives, instead, he was a little excited. He wanted to tell Long Feidu his story and deep hatred, and he even wanted Long Feidu as his master so that he could seek help from the Great Snowmountain.
He never expected that his wish would be so hard to achieve. He believed that the appearance of the knight from the Great Snowmountain to be part of the "Will of the Divine".
However, the two teenagers in front of him were stooping down so much that they almost dragged down the people behind and in front of them. Gu Shenwei looked at their shaking bodies with surprise. Suddenly, he understood that Long Feidu was coming for the two teenagers, which was clear because they were more panicked than the others.
In Gu Shenwei's eyes, Long Feidu was like a legendary hero who curbed the violent and assisted the weak, so he was quite confused why these two teenagers were acting so scared.
Long Feidu came slowly. Wherever he looked, the surrounding people would bend down immediately. He stopped at the end of the line.
Beyond Gu Shenwei's expectation, the two teenagers showed no fear at this moment and drew themselves up, making them even taller than the adults in front of them. They stared at the sword-bearing knight.
Long Feidu narrowed his eyes into slits, but his facial expression was unchanged. He raised the long sword with both hands.
From such a short distance, the long sword looked especially wide and heavy. It did not even need an edge because it could easily kill anyone with its weight alone.
If he wielded the sword, perhaps a dozen heads would touch the ground. The captives were frightened and stayed motionless, like the dead Eagle. They entrusted God with their lives.
However, Gu Shenwei was not scared at all. He stepped forward and looked at Long Feidu sincerely.
"You came from the Great Snowmountain, so you must be a real swordsman."
Gu Shenwei had never heard of the Great Snowmountain, but it did not affect his judgment of Long Feidu.
"No, I'm just a swordsman."
"Even a swordsman shouldn't kill innocent people willfully. Only... Golden Roc Fort does that."
Long Feidu's eyes suddenly lit up, he seemed to be moved by Gu Shenwei's words. However, that weather-beaten face soon turned as cold as a snow mountain once more. He held his breath and gripped his sword even tighter.
Gu Shenwei was terrified and his heart seemed to stop beating. He was going to die together with these two unknown teenagers just because of some extra words.
Long Feidu wielded his long sword at a slant. This movement would have chopped down more than one head. Nevertheless, he changed his mind midway through and lifted the blade so that it followed the same path back up.
An arrow was cut in half and fell near his feet.
"A hidden attack, eh? You must be a flunky of the Supreme King."
"So audacious. You must be a nobody from the Great Snowmountain."
A knight in black walked from the mountain pass in the north, and two knights followed him, each holding a large banner. The banners featured a black background and red edges, with a golden roc embroidered in the middle.
บท 7: The Assassin
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
Gu Shenwei knew that flag.
It was now two years ago that the entire Gu Family, which included dozens of people, had left the Central Plains and traveled through the desert to the unknown Western Region. They had hired many helpers along the way to assist them in their journey. Among these was a helper who carried the Golden Roc Flag. He was not a guide, though he did always walk in front of the procession. He was not a servant either, for he did not do any chores. He always kept his distance from his employer and made the coachmen and other servants feel uneasy.
The journey to the Western Region was dull, but Gu Shenwei remembered clearly that the family never suffered any attacks from bandits along the way. Their safe travels seemed to confirm Master Gu Lun's good judgment in navigating the Western Region. However, in truth, it had been Golden Roc Fort that had protected them.
Golden Roc Fort was once the protector of the Gu family. This fact added to Gu Shenwei's confusion as to why, two years after the family's journey, the gang had become murderous butchers. He even began to doubt whether the bandit known as Eagle had made a mistake.
The two flag-bearers stood firm as the knight in black approached alone, carried swiftly by his horse. He stopped just over 10 steps away from Long Feidu and dismounted, putting down his longbow without haste, as if he were going to greet an old friend.
"What a rare visitor to Golden Roc Fort. A swordsman from the Snowmountain!
"Hey! You even dare to fight alone. This is indeed a rare sight."
"It seems that I have no choice. But in any case, I've undergone several days of training in the art of combat.
"I'm Long Feidu from Tanduo Peak of the Great Snowmountain."
Long Feidu held the sword in both hands, the blade slanting toward the ground.
"I've heard a lot about you. But I'm a nobody in Golden Roc Fort. It's not even worth mentioning my name."
The assassin in black drew out his blade, which was starkly different from the typical scimitar used by bandits. This knife was flat and narrow, with a blade barely two feet long. It would have looked like a needle placed next to Long Feidu's long sword.
The two combatants drew closer to each other. The onlookers all held their breath, waiting to witness the result of this duel.
Gu Shenwei was anxiously hoping for swordsman's success. He had already made up his mind that no matter how Long Dufei treated the two teenagers, he would not interfere again.
The killer and the swordsman came within three steps of each other, but neither made a move. They stared at each other, nodding as if they were merely acquaintances who would pass by.
Gu Shenwei's heart was in his mouth. He had witnessed and even had participated in a few fights. Both sides would ready themselves at a distance and continually adjust their positions while they came closer. But he had never seen anything quite like what was happening between these two opponents. It was so much like a casual dance that he felt no sense of murderous feelings waiting at the other side of the fight.
The two of them were standing shoulder to shoulder with less than a step's length between them. But they still stood staring at each other. Then, the murderous feeling suddenly burst forth. The long sword and the narrow knife waved simultaneously in the blink of an eye.
Though the onlookers were prepared and did not dare to avert their eyes, they were all shocked and leaned back unconsciously, as if the weapons were aimed at their own vital parts.
The sword and the dagger swung like lightning, but did not touch each other. The assassin in black stepped backward even faster than he wielded his dagger. In the blink of an eye, he already stood five steps away, just at the edge of the long sword's attacking range.
Long Feidu withdrew his move just before the strike reached its full power.
No one seemed to win the first round. Gu Shenwei thought the swordsman had been the stronger contender, but he questioned this assessment as he recalled something that his father had once said.
Gu Lun had always spoiled his youngest son and had never pushed him too hard to practice Kung Fu. However, once when Gu Shenwei was criticizing others' martial arts, Gu Lun became unusually serious. He pointed at his own eyes and hands, and said, "Having sharp eyesight is much more difficult than having skillful hands."
Gu Shenwei had not taken his father's words seriously then, but now he believed them.
Long Feidu had killed six outlaws with just a few maneuvers. The killers from Golden Roc Fort had noiselessly slaughtered dozens of people in the Gu family. Even though the assassin in black in front of him might not have been one of those killers, his Kung Fu skills could not be underestimated. Both of them were top masters. However, at such a crucial moment, their movements were so simple and even seemed a little rough. Each move was quite similar to the servant Yang Zheng's unchanged strike of his lance.
Gu Shenwei had already learned several sets of fist and sword techniques, and could make reasonable comments on the various schools of martial arts of the Central Plains. However, he would not be able to fight against even the most ordinary bandits.
"Superficial." His father once laid this comment on him, smiling and shaking his head.
The assassin and the swordsman crossed swords once again. This time there was no cautious approach. Instead, they dashed out like forceful arrows, or leopards pouncing their prey. In the blink of an eye, their weapons clashed, emitting harsh noises.
The assassin in black stepped back first. This time he retreated further than 10 steps away. He was visibly nervous, every inch of his hair standing on end.
Long Feidu wielded his sword again and stepped forward.
Gu Shenwei felt a flicker of shock, thinking the swordsman would chase his opponent and strike a fatal blow. He was wrong. Long Feidu immediately stopped after a single step. It was a stalemate.
The two opposed each other like statues for a long time, confusing the onlookers. No one dared to applaud. If they stood for the wrong team, they would pay with their lives.
"Mercy Powder. I should have thought of it." Long Feidu suddenly knelt on one leg, the hilt gripped in his hands. It was no longer a weapon but a crutch.
Gu Shenwei had no idea what Mercy Powder was, nor did the other onlookers. However, it was clear to everyone that a scheme had been plotted against the swordsman.
"You swordsmen always say 'I should have thought', but never prepare for it. Humph." The assassin in black scorned the loser without mercy.
"Mercy Powder has no color and no smell, but it's very harmful. The victim becomes weak and feeble. 15 years ago, the Supreme King swore to destroy it and never use it again. Now it appears again. Golden Roc Fort hasn't changed at all, still as untrustworthy as ever."
"Well, as knowledgeable as you seem to be, I'm afraid you're wrong. This is not Mercy Powder, so Lord King hasn't broken his pledge, and Golden Roc Fort maintains its honor, especially in keeping the rule that we never spare any survivors. You can believe that!"
The assassin in black walked behind Long Feidu as he spoke, and put the sharp tip of his blade against the swordsman's shoulder.
"That's it?" Gu Shenwei could not believe it, for he was expecting Long Feidu to fight back. However, it was merely a teenager's wish that good people should win and fairness should defeat trickery. The swordsman "should have thought of it". Nevertheless, "should have" could never become reality.
The assassin in black slowly stabbed the body with his narrow dagger until only the hilt was left outside. Long Feidu did not resist and died in peace. Only the corpse held the sword and knelt there. Not far from him lay the six bandits who he had killed.
The assassin in black held the bloody dagger and turned back to look at those bandits.
He had killed a real swordsman. True, his methods were dirty, but he was still the winner. Everyone knew that they would be able to kill him if they all united. However, in front of a bullying dog, they were like gentle sheep, frightened and submissive, no matter how rude they used to be while stealing other people's belongings and livestock.
The assassin looked at them with scorn and wiped the blood off of his dagger with Long Feidu's body. He slid the dagger into its sheath, walked back, and mounted his horse. After a while, he said grimly, "Finish your business and leave immediately. No one may stay."
The bandits felt relieved and kept nodding their heads to show agreement.
The Snowmountain swordsman had disappointed him, but Gu Shenwei was more contemptuous of the bandits. The dawn of revenge had faded away after shining briefly.
Gu Shenwei could not figure out how to defeat his enemies, the members of Golden Roc Fort. He had originally thought that once he mastered Yin and Yang Strength by practicing the ways taught in the shortcut manual, he would be able to kill all his enemies. Now he realized that it would not be easy.
He also realized something else. His father, his two elder brothers, and Master Shifu Yang would have been able to fight back if they had not been plotted against like Long Feidu had.
The assassin in black rode his horse forward, turned eastward at the intersection and entered the territory of Golden Roc Fort. The two flag-bearers followed him closely, like two female lions following after a male lion who had just defeated an intruder. The onlookers at the west of the intersection were merely frightened wild dogs.
"Finish your business and leave immediately." Gu Shenwei immediately understood the meaning of this sentence, and discovered that he was to be treated as merchandise.
Soon after the assassins of Golden Roc Fort left, a group of traveling merchants came from the northern mountain pass in a long caravan. Some of them rode horses, and some drove carriages. They wore a variety of different clothing, a miscellany of many hundreds of people.
The merchants and the bandits formed two opposite groups with a clear boundary, but they reached a peaceful agreement on this road. Both sides were waiting for each other. The bandits took out goods and people they had robbed, behaving like new salesmen. They sold all they had to the merchants who walked by. In fact, they could not tell the names of most of their goods.
Those merchants loved this kind of business as it was cheap. If they were lucky enough, they might even get a rare treasure from those bandits who knew nothing of its true value. Most importantly, the T-junction was safe. Even the most vicious bandits had to hold back their impulses, not daring to touch one finger of the merchants who carried gold and silver.
They had already paid the protection fee to Golden Roc Fort, the largest gang of bandits in the Western Region. In return, they gained privilege, which protected them from small groups of bandits.
The trade was in full swing. Soon the bloody smell of the seven corpses washed away. When Gu Shenwei peered through the crowd to view the nearby Snowmountain swordsman, he found that the body had fallen on the ground and the long sword had disappeared. Naturally, the corpses had been robbed and nothing was left.
With so many feelings welled up, Gu Shenwei became overwhelmed. By contrast, the two teenagers in front of him did not have many thoughts at all. They had just narrowly escaped, and the assassin of Golden Roc Fort was their unexpected "savior". Now they had to save themselves.
They began to untie the rope using their teeth. The rest of the captives were stupefied for a moment before they all realized that they were now free. Their "masters", the six bandits from the Eagle Gang, were dead.
Unfortunately, "master" was not an uncommon thing at this T-junction dominated by bandits and merchants. Before the captives untied their ropes, a few merchants had already arrived. They commanded their slaves to cut off the ropes and were ready to take all of the "commodities".
Some of the captives submissively followed their new masters while others tried to explain to the merchants.
"I'm not a slave!"
Gu Shenwei cried out at the Big Beard who was coming for him. The other two teenagers also shouted in another language. No matter what languages they used, their cries were only answered with laughter.
The Big Beard put away his short dagger and grabbed one of Gu Shenwei's arms to drag him to a cart. Gu Shenwei was full of anger. Having no other outlet to vent it, he kicked the Big Beard with all his strength.
Although Gu Shenwei was young and his Kung Fu was poor, the power of the kick was not at all weak. The Big Beard cried out in pain and angrily punched Gu Shenwei in his lower abdomen.
This punch was even harder than the kick. Even though Gu Shenwei had thought of how he might defend himself, he was beaten down before he could take any action. The Big Beard hit more heavily than the manor servants of the Gu family.
The Big Beard intended to continue the beating, but a merchant snapped a few words, which probably meant that he should not beat the slave to death, as he was "purchased" goods.
The Big Beard, who had been kicked, happened to bear grudges. He deliberately knocked the teenager's head against a wooden fence when opening the cage. Gu Shenwei felt dizzy as he was thrown into the cage.
Gu Shenwei was not alone in this cage. A person, who was bumped against by him, screamed and kicked him away. Gu Shenwei rolled aside. After a long while, he regained consciousness and found that the trade caravan had started their trip to the east to follow the Golden Roc Flag.
There was more than one cage cart, all following in procession. Oxen with great horns were pulling the carts, and ferocious barbarian knights rode by their sides.
Gu Shenwei looked back inside the cage. A dozen children were huddling in the haystack and all staring at him fearfully. He had no idea who it was that his weight had been thrown upon just now.
The hope for joining the Great Snowmountain was broken, and he had no choice but to start all over again. He reached his hand to his chest for the white handkerchief in order to check whether there were any of those words that he desperately wanted to read.
But the white handkerchief was gone.
Gu Shenwei felt dizzy. He searched his whole body, but could not find it, not even a trace of it in the nearby piles of hay.
ของขวัญ
-- ได้รับของขวัญแล้ว สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
200+ การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
0 หินพลัง คุณอาจชอบ
ความคิดเห็นย่อย