บท 8: The Pointy Face
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
He must have lost the white handkerchief when fighting with the Big Beard. Gu Shenwei clung to the wooden palisade of the cage and looked back, but he could only see a long string of oxcarts. After quite a while, he was able to get a wider view when it made a turn.
The T-junction was out of his sight, and the fleet was already off in the distance.
Gu Shenwei gripped so tightly that his knuckles became pale. He looked back blankly and could not believe that the family's secret manuscript had gone just like that.
"Did you guys... see a piece of white cloth?"
With his last ray of hope, Gu Shenwei turned around and asked the other children in the cage.
However, no one answered or even looked up at this newcomer. Gu Shenwei did not know whether it was because of the language barrier or simply unwillingness.
"A piece of white..."
Gu Shenwei tried to show the size of the white handkerchief with his hands, but he said with less and less confidence. All the children were so skinny in rags. They would not be interested in a piece of cloth at all.
"They didn't understand what you said."
After the oxcart moved some length, a teenager in the corner finally spoke up.
This teenager was probably the same age as Gu Shenwei. He was comely with a pointy face. Compared to the other children, his clothes were clean. The cage was very small, but he occupied an entire corner by himself. Playing with a straw stick in his hands, he was staring at the newcomer inquisitively.
"The white handkerchief, a piece of white cloth. Have you seen it?" Gu Shenwei urgently asked.
The pointy-faced teenager thought for a while and shook his head. "No. Does it matter much?"
Gu Shenwei sat down, disappointed. His mind was going blank.
"Where are we going?" he asked unconsciously after quite a while.
"Jade City."
Gu Shenwei knew this city. It was the major city in the Western Region. As a transportation hub, it attracted numerous trade caravans to gather there. It was a paradise for feasting, but hell for living by using daggers and swords. He had stayed there for one night before, and suddenly thought, "Isn't Golden Roc Fort outside the city?"
Gu Shenwei looked up just in time to meet the pointy-faced teenager's gaze, as if there was something weird about him that could attract the teenager's constant attention.
"Do you know me?" Gu Shenwei asked with a hint of anger. Only the two of them in the cage could speak Central Plains Chinese. However, Gu Shenwei was in no mood for making friends, as he had become a slave, and had also lost the crucial secret manuscript of the Gu family.
"A rich kid." The pointy-faced teenager sneered. His tone was frivolous and full of sarcasm.
"What are you talking about?" A flame of fury sprang to his head, though for the most part, the pointy-faced teenager was not the true source of this anger.
"Nothing. Once we arrive in Jade City, all of us will be sold, but no one will buy you to be a young Master again. I'm kindly reminding you that it's not easy to adjust going from a young Master to a slave. The slaves have their own rules and ways of living. Do you want my advice?"
Gu Shenwei nodded, for his words sounded very reasonable.
"Wash your butt clean."
The pointy-faced teenager said this solemnly and showed a slight smile. His smile became more and more obvious, and finally turned into crazy laughter that carried on and on.
Gu Shenwei could not understand what he meant for a long time and only felt uncomfortable with his presumptuous laughter. He gradually realized the obscenity of it. However, the best time for taking offense had passed. In his limited, extravagant life experience, he had never learned how to deal with this kind of situation.
The pointy-faced teenager gained an advantage by his words and became more impudent. After the roaring laughter, he pretended to be serious and said,
"Take it easy. A young Master like you looks quite clean. When we arrive in Jade City, surely there will be people queuing up to buy you. You'll have a bright future. Haha, your butt will be busy."
That was undoubtedly an insult.
Gu Shenwei leaped forward and pounced at the pointy-faced teenager, but he stumbled over the children in the middle. They rolled up into balls and yelled in pain, which aroused a guard's attention. Without saying a word, he took out a club to randomly thwack at the chaotic scene inside the cage.
The children quickly separated. Each of them got some hits, as did Gu Shenwei. The pointy-faced teenager in the corner, however, was beyond the reach of the stick.
The pointy-faced teenager was trying his best not to laugh. After the guard left, he gave a hearty laugh that shook his belly until he was nearly out of breath.
Gu Shenwei did not expect there to be such an annoying person in the entire world. Besides the assassins in Golden Roc Fort, he had never hated anyone as he hated this pointy-faced teenager.
Gu Shenwei was not the only target of the pointy-faced teenager's teasing. He always kept silent for a moment, and then suddenly blattered. He implicitly or explicitly talked about the miserable experience of becoming a slave, which provoked or scared the listeners into crying.
The pointy-faced teenager could speak several languages. The children in the cage came from different places, but he could talk to almost every one of them. He even made an abundance of various expressions and gestures to match his sensational rumors.
"Some masters even like to eat kids, especially kids at our ages. Every year, these slave traders will pick a group of children with the most tender meat and sell them to the rich who practice such a special hobby. He'll declare that you are disobedient, and that you talk back to your master and have plans of running away. Then he'll tie you uptight and wash your butt clean. He'll torture you while cutting your flesh to eat, slice by slice. He'll roast it or boil it. There're all kinds of ways to eat a slave. When the masters eat you, you'll be still alive, watching helplessly."
The pointy-faced teenager showed his two rows of white teeth, stuck out his tongue, and licked his teeth. "Wash your butts clean" was his favorite pet phrase.
He would not stop until a child at the age of eight or nine cried out. Then he would take a short breath out of satisfaction.
Soon after that, Gu Shenwei got accustomed to the pointy-faced teenager's causticity and chatter. He now felt like a terminal patient. Now that knowing the deadline would come soon, he had given up the will to survive. If he had any expectation at all, it was that death would soon come.
The trade caravan moved very slowly, day and night. The slaves were occasionally released to relieve themselves. Gu Shenwei was like a walking corpse without any resistance and did not even try to escape. He completely lost his confidence. Even the Will of the Divine had abandoned him, no longer giving him any hints.
The atmosphere of the trade caravan became more and more cheerful, as Jade City was right in front of them. There would be wealthy buyers, raptured brothels, and fine liquor. It was all waiting for them. Most crucially, they had entered the territory of Golden Roc Fort, which meant no more danger.
However, this sentiment was broken at noon on the third day. At that time, it would take the caravan only one more day to reach Jade City. The rest of the path was smoother with more green plants, and villages appeared. It did not look like a place where bandits would show up.
At that moment though, a gang of bandits appeared in front of the trade caravan. The people at the back could not see the actual situation, but the bad news was passed along one after another.
"There are some bandits in the way."
"How can there be bandits here?"
"Where's the killer from Golden Roc Fort? Isn't he leading the way for us?"
"Don't worry. We have so many people. There're only a few dozen bandits."
"Bighead Kingpin? It's Bighead Kingpin. Oh my god!"
Gu Shenwei was also somewhat impressed by Bighead Kingpin, who always appeared in horror stories. Those stories were so extraordinary that Gu Shenwei had always regarded him as a mythical figure and did not even expect to find out that he was real.
"It's over. Bighead Kingpin loves eating kids the most. No matter whether your butt is clean or not, he'll eat it anyhow."
The pointy-faced teenager turned pale and repeated it in four or five languages. His expression was not as frivolous as usual and his voice was trembling, which made his remark seem a bit more authentic.
All the children in the Western Region had heard the story of Bighead Kingpin of Iron Mountain. Once reminded, they all fell into a panic. Some timid children even curled themselves up in the haystack, shivering and not even daring to look up.
It was not Bighead Kingpin himself that spoke to the trade caravan at first. When the whole caravan was scared to death, a frightening voice came in.
"Don't be afraid. I'm a friend of the Supreme King. I don't do business in his territory. I'm not coming here to steal. I only want to buy something."
The merchants felt even more surprised that Bighead Kingpin of Iron Mountain wanted to "buy" something. No one dared to answer him, for fear that it was the bandits' slang. Once one stepped forward to fawn, what he got might be a fast knife.
After Bighead Kingpin's underlings threw two big packs of shining silver on the ground, the leader of the trade caravan ventured to ask,
"What would you like to buy, my lord? We have..."
"Slaves."
After hearing that, the merchants took three steps back all together. They all huddled together and wondered who had offended this big demon to the extent that he wanted to buy from them.
It was indeed unexpected that Bighead Kingpin would be an ordinary buyer. A skinny middle-aged woman came out of the bandit caravan and led a small team to check each slave cage. Then she let the team drag out the children that she liked.
The merchants felt relieved, but the slaves, who heard the news, were truly frightened. The pointy-faced teenager was stunned at first. Then he fumbled in the haystack, picked up two handfuls of ash and smeared it on his face.
His move reminded everyone. Even the despondent Gu Shenwei also joined the group to grab the ash, trying his best to make himself the ugliest and the most inconspicuous that he could be.
The skinny woman seemed to be capable of seeing through the children's guise at a glance. It did not matter how thick the ashes were on their faces. She simply glanced over the cage and chose two children.
Gu Shenwei made up his mind and jumped out of the cage by himself. The pointy-faced teenager was paralyzed in the corner, holding onto the hope that he could be safe, but a bandit eventually dragged him out.
The skinny woman finished her job quickly. In the end, she picked out 10 boys and 10 girls. All of them were around 10 years old. The two teenagers who had been chased by the Snowmountain swordsman, Long Feidu, were also chosen.
"Virgin boys' and virgin girls' flesh is the most tender. We are bound to have our butts washed and wait to be eaten."
The pointy-faced teenager only spoke in Central Plain Chinese this time. Then, he disappointedly followed Gu Shenwei, grasped his arm firmly and walked toward their new master.
Bighead Kingpin was at the forefront of the caravan the entire time. Gu Shenwei only heard his voice, but had never seen him. At this time, he boldly looked up and got a glimpse of him. Though he had already prepared himself emotionally, he was still scared. He wondered how there could be such a horrible person in the world.
Bighead Kingpin rode a dark horse. His upper body alone was almost as tall as a normal person. His name fitted him well, as his head was as big as a bucket, with loose fluffy hair that made his head look even bigger. He looked like a large ancient vessel carved with a Taotie (a mythical ferocious animal). With his giant eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, he resembled a statue just coming out of the temple.
His naked upper body had tight muscles, shining in the sun.
His black horse was also different. It was a circle bigger than an ordinary horse. With dense teeth and fierce eyes, it was like a fierce carnivorous beast.
Gu Shenwei somewhat believed the legend of Bighead Kingpin eating people. The pointy-faced teenager behind him staggered and almost fell on him.
Bighead Kingpin's caravan had many horses. More than a dozen horses were immediately led out. The new boys and girls were forced to mount the horses and ride by themselves or with others.
The pointy-faced teenager decided to stick with Gu Shenwei. He rode on the same horse as Gu Shenwei and wrapped around his waist from the back. No matter how hard Gu Shenwei struggled to get rid of him, the teenager would not let go.
The Iron Mountain bandits had bought enough people, so they turned the horses eastward and galloped away. There were nearly 10,000 taels of silver left on the road, enough to buy dozens of slaves. The merchants were still in shock. Though Bighead Kingpin had disappeared, no one dared to take the money.
บท 9: The Bandit Camp
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
The 10 pairs of boys and girls, who were held by about 50 bandits, rode at full speed and arrived at the camp of the bandits that same night.
Iron Mountain Gang's camp, instead of being hidden deep in the forest, was built just outside of a major city. It was populous and noisy, with weapons and flags placed everywhere. Seen from afar, the bandit camp looked like an army that was ready to attack a city.
"We must be outside Jade City now."
The pointy-faced teenager nervously was speculating after dismounting the horse, with one hand grasping Gu Shenwei's clothes.
He was right. The members of the Iron Mountain Gang, who came from various regions and could speak several different dialects, kept cheerfully mentioning "Jade City" in all of them. They tapped each others' shoulders as a way of sharing their joy.
Gu Shenwei was confused. He remembered that in the legends, Bighead Kingpin of Iron Mountain always dwelled in the Gobi Desert. Unexpectedly, he now made his appearance around Jade City, and did not seem inclined to sack it.
The teenagers were driven forward. There were almost no female bandits in the camp. The men in the camp were very curious about those children. They pointed at the children and laughed rudely, making those little slaves even more scared.
The tents were crowded in the camp. The tallest one in the middle was obviously Bighead Kingpin's main tent.
Bighead Kingpin went directly into his tent and the 10 pairs of boys and girls were also brought inside.
It was spacious inside his camp and it could accommodate around 100 people. The ground was covered with thick blankets. Frightened, the newly purchased little slaves stood near the door, waiting for their unknown fate.
Dozens of sub-chiefs followed their ringleader. Before taking his seat, Bighead Kingpin waved his big hand and shouted his order.
"Bring the meat."
The little slaves were frightened by his gesture. Two girls fainted and two boys were scared to tears. The pointy-faced teenager was so scared that his body became soft, leaning on Gu Shenwei's back and whispering fearfully,
"I was just kidding. They won't eat people, right?"
A bunch of underlings filed into the tent, bringing large amounts of meat and wine. The little slaves in the corner were also served with food.
The meat and wine were casually piled on the carpet. Sitting on the floor, the bandits ate and drank without ceremony.
The smallest piece of meat must have been five or six pounds. Half cooked, the meat oozed a trickle of blood after a bite.
"What, what meat is this?"
The pointy-faced teenager whispered. Hearing his words, several teenagers who wanted to eat put down the meat.
Gu Shenwei had not eaten anything for quite a few days and was very hungry. Without paying any attention to the pointy-faced teenager's words, he grabbed a large piece of meat and took a bite. It did kill his hunger despite being hard and smelly. Furthermore, it did not taste like human flesh.
Gu Shenwei was taking the lead, and the other teenagers began to eat the meat, but they were wondering what Bighead Kingpin had bought them for. It was definitely not to invite them to eat meat.
In the tent, even the sub-chiefs showed their ferocity, not to mention Bighead Kingpin. The normally dressed one showed his one arm, covered in scars and tattoos, while some of the drunken ones even stripped stark-naked.
They were energetic men, and the food and wine made them even more energetic. Without any other outlet to consume their energy, they chose to fight with each other. There had already been several fights in the 15 minutes since the banquet had started. Instead of stopping those fights, the bystanders cheered them on. Wine goblets were thrown everywhere.
After eating half a piece of meat, Gu Shenwei was full. Looking at those bandits, especially the strong and valiant Bighead Kingpin, Gu Shenwei suddenly thought of how nice it would be to get the help from Iron Mountain.
However, the Supreme King was Bighead Kingpin's friend. Gu Shenwei could only entertain this idea in his mind.
When the banquet was halfway finished, the passion of the bandits was running high. They took turns to toast Bighead Kingpin. He took all those toasts without discrimination. A big bowl full of liquor in the hands of an ordinary man was just a small cup in his hand.
One sub-chief was so drunk that he stood up unsteadily and began shouting loudly.
"In a few days, our Miss of Iron Mountain will get married. With the 10 pairs of girls and boys being bought, her dowry is complete. I thereby wish our lady to have a son early, and wish Bighead Kingpin to have a grandson!"
The Iron Mountain Gang did not care about etiquette. Even though they called their ringleader by his nickname, Bighead Kingpin did not take offense at that. He smiled and drank his bowl of liquor in a single draught. Obviously, he was happy with this toast.
The little slaves were relieved. They were to be used as the dowry of the Miss, and no longer needed to stay with Bighead Kingpin.
The pointy-faced teenager breathed a sigh of relief, and nervously whispered,
"Our Miss's father-in-law will not be a bandit, right?"
No one answered his question, and no one was concerned about it, because the sub-chief, after gaining the favor of Bighead Kingpin, spoke one more sentence.
"Bighead Kingpin, our Miss is reputed for her great beauty. Now she's getting married. I guess that it's time for us to take a look at her."
The proposal was cheered by many bandits, but the voices of approval died down as everyone saw that Bighead Kingpin's face had changed.
"You want to see my daughter?"
"No, no." The sub-chief knew he had made a mistake, and was scared, with his face turning green and his bowl falling to the ground. He murmured, "I don't want to, I, I..."
Bighead Kingpin suddenly stood up, picking up an iron spear laying beside him.
The iron spear was long and thick. Compared to it, the old servant Yang Zheng's lance was just like a toy for children.
The sub-chief knew that he had made a serious mistake and stepped back in fear. He forced a smile, but his expression became more twisted and rigid.
Bighead Kingpin angrily shouted, like a thunderbolt. Despite his bulky body, he nimbly jumped over the heads of more than 10 people. Before he had landed on the ground, his spear had pierced through the chest of the sub-chief.
Bighead Kingpin raised his spear, with the dying sub-chief hanging from it. The sub-chief held the spear, fearfully looking at Bighead Kingpin. He said with his remaining strength, "Please... please forgive me."
"With exception of my worthy son-in-law, no second man can see Bighead Kingpin's daughter. No man in the world. My worthy son-in-law is the son of the Supreme King, not you, bastard."
"Bighead Kingpin and the Supreme King are in-laws!"
Gu Shenwei was disappointed. There was no possibility of using Bighead Kingpin to kill the Supreme King's family.
There still was a silver lining. He could follow Bighead Kingpin's daughter into Golden Roc Fort. The Will of the Divine had made its appearance after abandoning him for a few days.
At once, Gu Shenwei settled his mind, as a clear path appeared ahead of him. He would make his way into Golden Roc Fort, search for the whereabouts of his sister, and assassinate at least one of his enemies.
The death of the sub-chief did not ruin the atmosphere of the banquet. His body was quickly removed, and the crowd continued eating and drinking.
After the banquet, the 10 girls were sent to the Miss's tent to wait on her, and the boys were taken to the smaller tent next to hers. Their daily work was to scrub the utensils and prepare her dowry.
When his sister, Gu Cuilan, was ready to marry, Gu Shenwei was just a young master who lived a carefree life. He only needed to command and his servants would carry out his orders. But now, he was carrying out the orders of a bandit's daughter, who he had never seen before. It was no easy feat for him to accept this.
The skinny woman, who had selected slaves for Bighead Kingpin, was the Miss's close servant. Naturally, the teenage slaves were under her charge.
The skinny woman ordered them to call her "Mama Xue". They were the first two words of Central Plains Chinese that the barbarian teenagers learned how to say.
Mama Xue's appearance was a far cry from snow. Her face was yellow, her cheeks were hollow, and her whole body looked like a stick. Knowing that most of those youths could not speak Central Plains Chinese, she spoke little to them. When there was an order, she commanded them by pointing her finger.
Her fingers were slender and hard, like 10, thin iron rods. If someone could not understand her orders at once, he would be poked by those fingers, which often left his body with bruises lasting two or three days.
The 10 teenagers all suffered her finger-poking, and even the pointy-faced teenager, who claimed to be the best at pleasing his master, was no exception. Each time he saw Mama Xue come in, the pointy-faced teenager immediately snatched his own share of the job and did it enthusiastically.
Gu Shenwei was poked several times in the chest and thought that Mama Xue had to be good at Kung Fu, as his little Internal Strength provided him with no protection.
Bighead Kingpin often led his bandits out of the camp. Sometimes they came back empty-handed. Sometimes they brought back many items. It was hard to say what kind of business he was in.
The exact date of his daughter's marriage had not been fixed. They kept saying "soon". But there was a rumor the marriage might be ill-fated.
Gu Shenwei had a hard time in this camp.
The pointy-faced teenager brought back rumors and reminded his company. "If our Miss cannot be married off, we're out of luck. This is a bandit gang. Today they stay here, but nobody knows where they'll go. Will Bighead Kingpin bring a bunch of kids with him? Are there any kids in this camp except us? I don't think Bighead Kingpin will sell us. Instead, he'll pierce us all together with his spear like a kabob."
The pointy-faced teenager imitated Bighead Kingpin's posture of piercing a person with a spear. Three children were so scared that they dropped the bronze wares to the ground.
On the fifth day after they entered the camp, Bighead Kingpin led his men out of the camp and did not come back at night.
After a tiring day, Gu Shenwei lay on a straw mat, but could not fall to sleep.
He was used to sleeping in a soft bed. For him, the straw mat was no different from naked ground. He also felt uncomfortable sharing a tent with others, as he used to sleep in his room accompanied only by the young attendant, Ming Xiang. Ming Xiang never snored, nor did he grind his teeth or twist and turn.
Gu Shenwei had accepted the fact that his entire family had been killed. His will to seek revenge became firmer day by day, but he could not easily adapt to such a life.
Someone was walking in the tent. A ray of moonlight found its way in through a hole in the roof. Gu Shenwei saw two teenagers sneaking toward the door.
It was the two teenagers who had been chased by the Snowmountain swordsman.
Gu Shenwei had once spoken for them on impulse. However, they did not seem to appreciate it at all. Of course, they could not speak Central Plains Chinese, but they had never expressed their gratitude.
Gu Shenwei did not care, for he had too many other things to deal with.
The two teenagers looked alike. Apparently, they were brothers. They looked around as they walked. In no time, the elder brother's eyes met Gu Shenwei's.
At that moment, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that the two brothers wanted to run away.
The elder brother was stunned for a moment. He pointed outside and made a few simple gestures. His eyes were darker than the night and glimmering, like the vigilant eyes of a cat.
The other children were fast asleep. Gu Shenwei rose up, staring at the pair of eyes close at hand. He understood their meaning. The brothers were inviting him to escape together.
It seemed to be a good time to run away. Bighead Kingpin had taken away a lot of his underlings, and most of the servants that were left did not know any Kung Fu. The bandits never arranged for any guards to look after the 10 boys. Jade City was miles away from the camp and was a good place to evade the bandits' hunt.
Gu Shenwei slowly shook his head, but gently waved at them to wish them good luck.
He could not waste this good opportunity to enter Golden Roc Fort. Unless he followed Bighead Kingpin's daughter, who would marry into Golden Roc Fort, he could not enter Golden Roc Fort by any other means with his ordinary Kung Fu skills.
His sister might be in the fort, but his enemies were also there.
The brothers were a bit surprised, but did not persuade Gu Shenwei any longer. Waving at him, the elder brother turned around, took his brother's hand, and carefully walked outside of the tent.
Gu Shenwei lay down again and thought that the brothers must have had the same unusual experience as him, but they could not communicate.
"Someone is running away! Come and catch them!"
Just as the two brothers had lifted a corner of the tent, the pointy-faced teenager suddenly raised the alarm. No one knew when he had woken up.
The brothers were taken aback. Hesitating for a moment, they turned around and rushed at the pointy-faced teenager, who had been sleeping inside the tent.
However, as the two of them were taking their first steps, they were picked up by someone, holding one in each hand.
It was Mama Xue. Dressed in daytime clothes, her response was incredibly quick, as if she had been waiting just outside the tent.
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