บท 17: Qigong Deviation
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
Yin Strength and Yang Strength needed to be practiced together. The higher level one reached, the more powerful he would be. Though it was safe to start from Yin Strength, it would take longer to master it. If one wanted to improve faster, he had to practice Yang Strength first with a top martial artist's guidance and help.
There were two sides to everything—a positive and a negative. If either strength went beyond their limit, it would be more harmful than beneficial. Therefore, Yang Strength practice had to be accompanied by Yin Strength practice for protection and vice versa.
If a practitioner started with the first level of Yang Strength and did not have Yin Strength to neutralize it, he would need to turn to an external force for help. The "external force" had to have reached at least the second level of Yin Strength.
When he practiced the first level of Yang Strength, Gu Shenwei was guided by his father, who had reached the fifth level of Yin Strength. While teaching the manual to his son, Gu Lun had been careful and reminded him that, to be safe, laying down a solid foundation was more important than anything else.
Gu Shenwei had used this as his primary excuse and had not practiced hard over the years. Therefore, he had not moved forward after mastering the first level of Yang Strength and had postponed reaching the first level of Yin Strength.
Gu Shenwei had intentionally not told this key point to Slave Yao. Instead, he had encouraged Slave Yao to study harder so that he could improve faster.
The faster Slave Yao practiced Yang Strength, the deeper he would suffer from Qigong Deviation.
It was the only way he could inconspicuously remove Slave Yao, who had two masters, Mama Xue and Slave Huan. If Slave Yao died because of practicing Kung Fu, the first suspect would be Mama Xue.
The plan seemed flawless, but the only problem was that Qigong Deviation was uncontrollable.
Gu Shenwei had learned a little about Qigong Deviation from his father, but he had no idea when Slave Yao would suffer from Qigong Deviation.
It would be useless for Gu Shenwei if Slave Yao were to suffer from Qigong Deviation several months in the future. Once Slave Yao entered East Castle, he would encounter many masters who would be able to identify their new apprentice's Yin and Yang Strength sooner or later.
Besides, Han Shiqi would come back in half a month and he had already chosen Gu Shenwei to serve him during the night.
Gu Shenwei felt the danger as if a sword was hanging over his head.
Gu Shenwei did not have a reason to be softhearted, but he was not a cold-blooded killer. When watching a still-living teenager walk toward death because of his plot, he unconsciously fell into self-reproaching from time to time.
"Should Slave Yao die? Must he really die?"
Since Gu Shenwei taught him Yin and Yang Strength, Slave Yao seemed to treat him as his friend. Certainly, in Slave Yao's eyes, "friends" were classified hierarchically. He never forgot to remind Slave Huan that he had a higher status and was stronger so he could provide wisdom and power and that Slave Huan should return his loyalty and appreciation.
He often instilled his philosophy of life into Slave Huan.
"You must have heard of the two rules for killers of Golden Roc Fort: First, no exposure—Hide in the dark as much as you possibly can. Second, show no mercy—Leave no further trouble.
"You know, being a slave is the same as being a killer. Masters have a higher status; servants have a lower status. If you want to climb up, you should throw all your rules and dignity away first. Do what they want you to do and show them you're happy about it. As I often say, 'wash your butt clean'. Is washing it clean enough? No, you should take the initiative to play up to them. Make something new to make them like you. Then, sometime you'll have a chance to see your new master by treading on the old master. Don't hesitate at that time.
"Friends? Are servants qualified to make friends? Everyone is like a rung of a ladder trod on by one another. Today, I step on you, but tomorrow, you may tread on me."
Hearing such a "heart-to-heart" talk, Gu Shenwei only listened to it and spoke to himself secretly, "He's right, so you can kill him without feeling guilty."
Slave Yao's Internal Strength advanced at a miraculous pace, and his power became stronger and stronger. The Tiger-taming Fist set that he had learned from Mama Xue was also quite fierce. They combined with each other and became increasingly more powerful.
The two of them often fought with each other. Gu Shenwei only knew the Baguazhang Technique. Though he had not completely mastered it, he was stronger than the new practitioner, Slave Yao. Especially during the first few days, Gu Shenwei totally gained the upper hand. However, with the uncontrollable growth of Yang Strength in Slave Yao's body, Gu Shenwei gradually could not handle it.
Slave Yao had only practiced Yin and Yang Strength for just over 10 days, unexpectedly more effectively than Gu Shenwei, who had half-heartedly practiced it for nearly 10 years.
Gu Shenwei even suspected that his father was wrong and that Qigong Deviation did not exist at all. Slave Yao was brimming with energy. There were no life-threatening signs.
The 14th day after Slave Yao had felt hot in his Dantian, something happened. After practicing the Tiger-taming Fist set, he was sweating profusely, as if he had just taken a shower. It had never happened before.
"You look a little tired."
"I'm fine. I have sweat a lot since I was a kid. I feel inexhaustible strength. Yin and Yang Strength is so helpful. How did you learn it? It seems that you're weaker than me."
"I didn't study hard, otherwise, I wouldn't have been caught and sold by them."
"Hehe."
Slave Yao did not ask anything further, for the teenagers had an unwritten rule that no one inquired about the other's origin. Even the most-talkative Slave Yao had never mentioned his past.
Slave Yao practiced Yin and Yang Strength one more time, stepping on 64 hexagrams, carrying the strength of Yin and Yang and taking a deep breath. After finishing it, he sweated more heavily and pressed on his chest, as if it was a little painful.
"Are you uncomfortable?" Gu Shenwei asked, trying his best not to let his voice appear that he cared too much about it.
"No, I'm fine. Mmm, I feel a little pain here. Just a little. Maybe I practiced it too hard."
Gu Shenwei immediately realized that the first sign of Qigong Deviation had shown up. Obviously, Slave Yao felt pain in the Tianchi acupoint, which was the same as what Gu Shenwei's father had warned him about before.
The Tianchi acupoint belonged to the Pericardium Meridian. Next, he would feel pain on each of the acupoints in his arms. When both his arms entirely shook uncontrollably, he would die shortly afterward.
"Maybe you're practicing Internal Strength too fast. You should slow down," Gu Shenwei sincerely said, though he had wished that Slave Yao could improve faster.
He did not expect Slave Yao to frown. It was the first time that he was angry with Slave Huan over the past few days.
"What do you know? Mama Xue puts a lot of pressure on me. She said that I have a long way to go and would get killed on the first day after entering East Castle. F**k, it's a real fight. No matter how clean you wash your butt, it won't help. I still want to enjoy my life. Practice it... though I have to suffer more pain, I'll practice it. I'll master the first level of Yang Strength, and practice the first level of Yin Strength. Then I can practice the shortcut manual."
Gu Shenwei somehow admired Slave Yao because the pointy-faced teenager, who was not accustomed to enduring hardships, now seemed persistent.
"I'll kill the bastard as soon as I become a killer."
Gu Shenwei did not ask whether the bastard was in the fort or was someone that Slave Yao knew before, nor did Slave Yao mention it.
"It would be meaningless for me to come to Golden Roc Fort if I weren't the most highly respected killer. Slave Huan, I'm not such a person who will always repay someone for his help. But I'll remember your help from this time. Don't worry. I know that you have a secret. I won't tell anyone. I want you to be my right-hand man."
Slave Yao blinked his eyes. Though he was under the moon, his little, thin face looked red and his two eyes shone, as if he had just taken a huge gulp of mellow wine.
From his words, Gu Shenwei did not know whether he should be moved, or resentful, or both. He was the young Master of the Gu family, not a right-hand man for a servant. However, in the ruthless Golden Roc Fort, he desperately wished that there was a "friend-like" person by his side.
Gu Shenwei squeezed out a smile and said, "I'm afraid I'm not qualified for that."
Slave Yao held his head high as he patted Gu Shenwei's shoulder. "Whether you're qualified or not is up to me."
At night, lying on the brick bed, Gu Shenwei prayed to the unnamed Will of the Divine in private and strengthened his resolve for revenge.
He was like an evil-minded doctor, who beheld his patient got an incurable disease. He not only held his tongue at this point, but also offered his patient sweet poisons.
However, Gu Shenwei would not have finally made up his mind if one thing had not happened later.
Gu Shenwei had been gingerly inquiring about where the jail of Golden Roc Fort was. He believed that his older sister, Cuilan, had to be having a rough time in such a place.
However, it was not easy. As a new slave in training, he only had a small chance to get out of the little yard. Each time they went out, they were led by someone and were not allowed to look around at will, let alone chat with others.
There were no residents in the small yard. People who went there were generally the dying and were not talkative at all.
However, one heavily injured man still revealed some important information. The man was beyond recognition. Different from former killer apprentices, he was smelly and immediately breathed his last breath after being carried into the room. The ones who were carrying him turned around and ran to the western door.
Slave Ji, who was supervising the teenagers to wash clothes, covered his nose and said,
"People from Ghost Yard are so smelly. I don't know how those guards can bear it."
A teenager, who had just learned how to flatter his superior, looked puzzled and interested in it. "Boss, what's Ghost Yard?"
"Obviously, one is a human being outside the yard, but becomes a ghost after going inside. You little bastards, if any one of you is naughty, I'll send you to Ghost Yard. You'll half-rot first before you're dead. Humph, I think Slave Yao isn't far away from Ghost Yard..."
Slave Yao was learning fist techniques in Mama Xue's place, so he could not hear the threat. However, he would know at night. Except for the brothers Slave Qi and Slave Xie, the other teenagers would scramble to tell Slave Yao everything.
Slave Ji rambled on. Gu Shenwei knew that Ghost Yard was just a dozen steps away from here. Its real name was Heart Cleansing Yard.
Ghost Yard and Ghost Cliff must have been neighbors.
That night, after practicing Yin and Yang Strength with Slave Yao, Gu Shenwei could not fall asleep. While the other teenagers were snoring, he sat up and quietly got out of the brick bed. It was the second time that he stealthily left the room. He kept his eyes open in the dark and was able to get used to the dim moonlight outside.
He went to Slave Ji's room. Slave Ji seldom locked the door while sleeping, as if he was waiting for someone all the time. Of course, the person he waited for could not have been Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei quietly opened the door. He often cleaned the room, so he was quite familiar with its layout.
Slave Ji was sleeping deeply with a rosewood stick by his hand.
Behind the door hung three keys, one of which could open the eastern door. What Slave Ji did was open it in the morning and close it at night.
Gu Shenwei took off that key and retreated from the room. Closing the door, he walked toward the eastern door.
Last time, he had just pushed the door, which aroused the night watchman's attention. He thought that it might have been a coincidence that the night watchman happened to be patrolling nearby. This time, no one would notice him if he had a bit of luck.
In order to find his older sister, he was willing to take any risk.
Listening for a while at the door, Gu Shenwei opened it and stepped outside. Then, he squatted down to listen carefully. After ensuring no one was hiding nearby, he stood up and walked toward the narrow alley against the wall.
Every morning, he would pass through the alley and pay his respects to the Eighth Young Mistress. However, he had never expected that behind the tall, plain door he had once passed by there was a jail.
บท 18: True Words
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
Gu Shenwei tiptoed along the wall. Even though it was only around 300 feet from the small yard to Ghost Yard, he cautiously observed his surroundings before every move, as if walking along the edge of a cliff.
Though well-prepared, Gu Shenwei underrated Golden Roc Fort's security system. He had only taken a dozen steps when someone caught him by the collar and lifted him up.
Like ghosts, night watchmen lurked around, and they always showed up at an unpredictable moment, no matter how cautious one was.
Captured flat-footed, Gu Shenwei calmed himself and he spoke in a low voice. "Let me go."
The night watchman was not the same one that Gu Shenwei had met previously, and he was a little astonished by Gu Shenwei's calmness. Even though his face was covered by a black veil, the night watchman's killing intent lessened.
"You've violated the curfew order."
"I'm on duty."
"For what?"
"Well..." Gu Shenwei was not able to make up a good excuse immediately.
Suddenly, Slave Yao's voice rang out. "I did. I arranged for him to go out." Gu Shenwei had thought that no one had noticed his actions, however, he had been spied on for a while.
The night watchman had not realized that there was a man behind him either. Slave Yao's appearance surprised him, so he threw Gu Shenwei to the side. His right hand held the hilt and left hand pressed on his scabbard's sheath.
"Who are you?"
"Slave Yao, serving the Eighth Young Master." Slave Yao comported himself better than Gu Shenwei, adding a bit of impatience and anger.
"You've violated the curfew order, too."
"I don't care what the curfew order says, I left something in the Eighth Young Master's yard, so I asked Slave Huan to get it back. What's wrong with that?"
Gu Shenwei did not expect Slave Yao to be here helping him to cover up his lie, and he was a little touched. However, it was not easy for Slave Yao to pack up the night watchman and send him off because he also held a low position.
As expected, the night watchman did not take his words seriously and said grimly, "You two follow me to see the on-duty Blademaster."
Blademasters were the core leaders of Golden Roc Fort. If someone was sent to meet a Blademaster, it meant his or her improper behavior would be recorded, and then harsh punishment would follow.
It would not be a big deal if Gu Shenwei had only snuck from the yard, however, the key he had stolen made things worse. Gu Shenwei would probably be imprisoned in Ghost Yard.
In fact, Gu Shenwei was now half-expecting to be imprisoned, where he would likely get the chance to find out about his elder sister. However, Slave Yao did not think so.
"You must be Killer Liu Xuan. Right? We are both slaves that belong to the Eighth Young Master, so we should work together. In other words, the Eighth Young Mistress has been in bad mood recently. If you send us to the Blademaster, it wouldn't benefit either side."
"How did Slave Yao know the night watchman's name?" Both Gu Shenwei and Liu Xuan were surprised. The night watchmen always wore black clothes and covered their faces in order to hide their identities.
"How... how did you recognize me?"
"Well... take it easy, dude. A while ago, you took the job as a guard in the Eighth Young Master's yard. I've met you a lot of times while learning martial arts from Mama Xue. You know, we serve the same master so we should work with each other."
Rolling his eyes, the night watchman Liu Xuan hesitated in taking them to the Blademaster. The night watchman hid their identities so that they could enforce discipline impartially. However, he had been recognized by Slave Yao and it was now hard to be "impartial" in this situation. Furthermore, violating the curfew order was not a big deal, and catching them would not further his career.
"Go back right now! Never break the curfew again."
"But, I need that thing that I left right away."
"You can't. Go back now. You serve the Eighth Young Master in his yard every day. There will be plenty of chances to get that thing back. Don't worry."
"Alright..." Slave Yao shrugged his shoulders with displeasure. "I'll get it back tomorrow." Then he reprimanded Slave Huan. "Go back now. It's really troublesome letting you do something for me."
Gu Shenwei answered him vaguely. Then he rushed back to the small yard... The night watchman Liu Xuan had totally blanked because his identity had been recognized. Eventually, he would figure out that Slave Yao was swindling him. But, he had freed them, therefore, it would be unnecessary to pay the two young slaves back.
Slave Yao snatched the key from Gu Shenwei and locked the gate. Later, he would put the key back into Slave Ji's room. He then came over and pulled Gu Shenwei toward the western gate where they always practiced martial arts. It was the quietest place.
"How dare you? You shouldn't have snuck out." Slave Yao sighed and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Thank you. It was fortunate that you recognized the killer."
"Hush! That was just a lucky guess. At first, I didn't know who he was until I saw how he held his sword. Everyone has their own characteristics when they hold a sword. This guy, Liu Xuan, doesn't do Kung Fu very well. But, he does like to show off so he always swings his right hand before holding his sword. Hopefully, he has nine lives. If Liu Xuan ever meets a master, he will be killed while he swings his hand."
Slave Yao had only been practicing martial arts for two weeks, and he did not have any real fighting experience. However, Gu Shenwei had been astonished by his observation skills and ability to deduce. Later he figured it out."Mama Xue must have told him and he just repeated it to others. If the person was not familiar with him, they would likely mistakenly regard him as an expert."
Gu Shenwei thanked Slave Yao sincerely.
Gu Shenwei now had a much better impression of Slave Yao. Moreover, he wanted to be honest with Slave Yao and rely on his assistance for revenge.
Born in the purple, Gu Shenwei had owned many slaves and thought he got along well with them. After becoming a slave, he found out that it had been an illusion. In fact, he had not learned how to survive among slaves, let alone how to build a good relationship with them.
It had been almost a month since Gu Shenwei had entered Golden Roc Fort, and he had only acquired a little information. These young barbarians still could not speak in Central Plains Chinese fluently, and they knew more of the gossip in Golden Roc Fort than him. As for Slave Yao, he was an expert on searching out news and was even more familiar with Golden Roc Fort than an old slave that had been here a decade.
If Gu Shenwei could have such an assistant, it would be much easier for him to seek out his sister and take revenge.
"Slave Yao, I want to tell you something. You're in danger, but I can help you."
Gu Shenwei decided to tell Slave Yao the truth, that he had Qigong Deviation. What he said was totally credible—Gu Shenwei definitely could help him, because he had already reached the First Level of Yin Strength.
Although he did not devote himself to martial art training during the 10 years he had been under the professional guidance of his father Gu Lun, he did have a profound foundation in Kung Fu. If he took training himself seriously, Gu Shenwei could make great progress in a short time.
Yin Strength did not improve a practitioner's Internal Strength. However, it helped the practitioner control their Yang Strength easily. If someone compared Yang Strength to a gateway for entry into their power, accordingly Yin Strength would be the key to controlling it.
Gu Shenwei thought he was capable of rescuing Slave Yao from Qigong Deviation and helping him control it when his Yang Strength arrived once he had achieved the First Level of Yin Strength.
Tutting with his mouth, Slave Yao shook his head and smiled at Gu Shenwei, as if he were a little child talking naively.
"I'm not kidding. You practiced your Yin and Yang Strength too fast and it might cause Qigong Deviation." Finally, Gu Shenwei told him the truth.
If he had not been afraid of waking people in the yard, Slave Yao would have laughed at him loudly. Even so, he still could not help laughing as he put his right hand on Slave Huan's shoulder. After a time, he stopped making fun of Gu Shenwei, who was staring at him angrily.
"Don't make me look down on you. You are not a person who can play tricks. Every time you tell lies, I really want to laugh at you. Telling a lie isn't your forte. Remember, sometimes being innocent makes you more loveable."
Gu Shenwei bristled and temporarily gave up the idea of helping Slave Yao with suppressing his Yang Strength. "Well, you helped me. I think it's better to pay you back. What do you want?"
Slave Yao's hand was still on his shoulder. "I know you have a secret."
"I can't tell you that."
"It doesn't matter. I don't want to know. However, once I tell someone else you have Internal Strength and a secret manuscript, your secret would be exposed to everyone."
Gu Shenwei shoved Slave Yao's hand away, feeling alarmed.
It was common for a slave to know Kung Fu in Golden Roc Fort. However, it would make a difference if a slave knew how to practice Internal Strength. Many people in this world could do some Kung Fu by moving their fists and feet. But, few people knew of Internal Strength. This method of practicing Inner Strength was a core secret of the martial arts schools, and it was inherited by their members exclusively, which represented a schools' uniqueness.
In the view of a martial arts expert, Yin and Yang Strength represented the Gu family from the Central Plains, more reliably than his last name.
"What do you want exactly?"
Slave Yao, who was shorter than him, took a step forward, smiling viciously like a grown man. "I like you very much, all the time."
"Well." Gu Shenwei was not fond of him, however.
"I hope you love me back."
"What are you talking about?" Gu Shenwei stepped back, feeling strange about Slave Yao's words.
"You still don't understand?"
"What should I understand?"
"Well, I won't force you. After you serve Slave Ji's killer, you'll realize what I'm saying. Just do the same thing for me. I'm, at least, better than him."
Hearing these words, Gu Shenwei understood the implied meaning. Han Shiqi was one of his most hated enemies and, to him, the most disgusting person in the world. He knew what Slave Qi and Slave Xie had experienced. Even though dozens of days had passed, the two brothers still carefully concealed their experience, and Slave Xie sometimes woke up screaming in the night.
Gu Shenwei could not imagine what Han Shiqi had done to them. However, one thing was clear—it had been horrendous. Slave Yao now was asking him to do the same thing.
His good impression of Slave Yao and his trust in him quickly dissipated.
Being offended but unable to fight back, full of anger but unable to unleash it, Gu Shenwei deeply felt the pain and weakness of being a slave. During his 14 years of life, all the humiliation he had suffered, added together, could not even be a patch on today's suffering.
Gu Shenwei totally gave up the idea of saving Slave Yao.
"Damn you," he said, and then went back to the small yard.
Leaning against the wall, Slave Yao watched the young man's shadow as it faded. He knew Slave Huan's life-threatening secret, so the only thing he needed to do was wait.
"You'll come back and beg me one day," Slave Yao mumbled.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew and a piercing, mournful wail, like the cry of a beast or the shout of a ghost, came from Death Cliff. Slave Yao rushed back to the small yard in a hurry, and locked the door, thinking, "Why don't people in Golden Roc Fort close this damn gate?"
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