บท 19: Outbreak
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
"Third Brother's coming back." Slave Ji excitedly announced the news like a young wife waiting for her husband's return. His face was full of expectation. Simultaneously, the way he looked at Slave Huan changed.
Slave Huan was the treasure he would like to consecrate to Han Shiqi. It was very difficult to find a benefactor in Golden Roc Fort, so he could not be jealous of anyone.
Gu Shenwei, who was forcibly named "Slave Huan", was freed from all his chores. He had nothing to do every day. He just rested and waited for the killer Han Shiqi's "kind" visit.
"Smile more. How many times have I told you! Don't look so lifeless." Slave Ji often lectured Slave Huan. He also wanted to find an opportunity to pass on some "skills" to Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei could only try to avoid seeing him as much as possible. Han Shiqi and Slave Yao had no direct connection at first. Things started to intertwine when Slave Yao made the same request as Han Shiqi. Moreover, Gu Shenwei's solution was related to both of them.
In conclusion, Slave Yao had to die and Gu Shenwei needed to take the white handkerchief back. He had mastered the Yin and Yang energy. He could begin to practice the shortcut manual. If the power of Yin and Yang Strength was as immense as Gu Shenwei's father said, he would be able to take revenge soon.
It was risky for people to practice the shortcut manual, as Qigong Deviation would break out in two or three years, but Gu Shenwei did not care. He would pay any price to save his missing sister and kill all his enemies.
Gu Shenwei no longer cared about his own life. Sometimes he even thought that death was better than living, especially when he saw the slave mark on his right arm.
It became more and more obvious that Slave Yao had entered into Qigong Deviation. The indications were the sharp pains that radiated from his Tianchi acupoint to his Tianquan, Quze, and Neiguan acupoints. Occasionally, his arms would tremble uncontrollably.
Gu Shenwei hypocritically advised him not to practice too fast. The more frequently he reminded Slave Yao, the harder Slave Yao practiced. Slave Yao did not take the shaking of his arm seriously and thought that the symptoms would naturally alleviate once he achieved a higher level.
Gu Shenwei was almost done reciting the whole practice of Yin and Yang Strength to him. The description of the Yang Strength after the third level attracted Slave Yao so much that he was even more reluctant to slow down in his practicing.
It was difficult to lay a solid foundation for practicing Yin and Yang Strength. In the beginning, the force might not be as powerful as the other martial arts to some extent. Therefore, practitioners would not be able to remold themselves until reaching both the second levels of Yin Strength and Yang Strength.
Gu Shenwei had been secretly searching for the white handkerchief the whole time. He would stealthily search Slave Yao while helping him correct his posture, but the white handkerchief was too light and thin to be felt from his clothes. Sometimes when Slave Yao was not there, Gu Shenwei would check his luggage. Unfortunately, he found nothing.
Slave Yao had hidden the white handkerchief very well.
Seeing that Han Shiqi was returning soon, Gu Shenwei was out of patience. He had once wanted to ask Mama Xue for help. However, he felt shameful that a killer would fancy a catamite. Besides, Mama Xue might not willingly interfere. Also, she could not solve the key issue, which was that Han Shiqi could recognize Gu Shenwei.
That was unless Gu Shenwei got into a fight like a month ago when his face was badly beaten, then Han Shiqi would not recognize or even have the slightest interest in him.
However, this simple plan was not easy to implement. In fact, the relationships among these nine young slaves had changed from when they had just arrived at Golden Roc Fort in the beginning. Slave Yao's status improved every day. He fully controlled the five young slaves. Even Slave Huan was unanimously considered to be his follower. Only Slave Qi and Slave Xie, the two brothers, stood out as a separate group.
Gu Shenwei would rather ally with these two brothers if he needed companions in Golden Roc Fort, even if they viewed Gu Shenwei only as a passer-by and barely spoke to him. Gu Shenwei thought it over. He decided to look for a fight with them.
Slave Qi did not seem to know any Kung Fu but he was burly and had strength. Gu Shenwei hoped that he would not displease Slave Qi too much or he could get seriously injured.
Gu Shenwei needed to wait patiently now. When Han Shiqi came back to Golden Roc Fort, he would fight with Slave Qi.
When Gu Shenwei was free, he would usually sit on the edge of Ghost Cliff. Here, Slave Ji would not bother him. No matter how desperately he wanted to teach Gun Shenwei his "skills", he would never set foot in this place.
Gu Shenwei often wondered how many bodies were thrown into Ghost Cliff. "Do the bodies slowly decompose or are they directly eaten by beasts? Perhaps there are tigers and wolves wandering underneath, waiting for food to fall from the sky."
It suddenly dawned on him. Was he thinking about his own fate, to be or not to be? To hopelessly live for revenge or to end his life by jumping off the cliff?
In his mind, Gu Shenwei hated a life filled with responsibility, revenge, humiliation, etc. He should have lived a completely different lifestyle that would suit him better.
"It's the Will of the Divine," he thought.
Every time he pondered his fate and future, Gu Shenwei came to the same conclusion. God supported him, an orphan who knew little Kung Fu, retaliating against the most dominating killer organization in the Western Region.
Like a humble follower on his last breath, Gu Shenwei survived because he believed in the nameless Will of the Divine. He had to and could only have faith in it.
The Will of the Divine manifested again just as he expected.
On the 30th day after entering Golden Roc Fort, Slave Yao died. For the rest of his life, Gu Shenwei would never forget how Slave Yao looked as he died. Although Gu Shenwei did not personally kill Slave Yao, he was the first person to die because of him.
That morning, the nine teenagers routinely visited the Eighth Young Master's yard to show courtesy to the Eighth Young Mistress. Miss Luo began to complain about the Meng family as soon as she stepped into the yard. "What's the Meng family so proud of? Her ancestors were just humble tradesmen and porters. Now the Meng family lends money for interest and gathers people to gamble. How many people have died because of that! How can their business continue to run without my father's help?"
"Miss, don't be angry. You're Bighead Kingpin's daughter and should not be bothered by such trifles from a snobbish person." Maid Little Sui, once named Little Ru, comforted her. Miss Luo had four maids and their names were previously "Chen, Xin, Ru, and Yi"—which means happiness. Now they were changed to "Chen, Xin, Sui, and Yi" because the Supreme King's daughter was called Shangguan Ru.
The Supreme King's wife was Lady Meng, who came from one of the richest families in Jade City in the Western Region.
"Humph, the Shangguan family are murderers and arsonists like my family. Lady Meng is so precious. Why did she marry the Supreme King of Stone Castle?"
Mama Xue stopped Miss Luo in time. After all, they currently lived in Golden Roc Fort. They had better not reveal the story of the Shangguan family.
Miss Luo entered the main hall and sat behind a folding screen. Only then were the slaves allowed to raise their heads while kneeling down.
"Swear to me." Miss Luo arrogantly ordered just like all the other self-conceited nobles. She gained satisfaction from these meaningless and insincere oaths.
The slaves repeated the oath one by one. They were often interrupted by Miss Luo when she felt like someone's tone was not sincere enough. If so, she would command Mama Xue to prod him until she was satisfied.
Everyone's oath was similar to what they had vowed on the first day. Every time Miss Luo felt upset, they would swear to her repeatedly.
This was by no means a good start to the day, but it was the same every day. After finishing the vows, the slaves would escape from Miss's and Mama Xue's supervision and spend the rest of the day normally. Though he never mentioned it, Gu Shenwei assumed that Slave Yao sometimes probably had a hard time learning martial arts from Mama Xue.
The swearing ritual came to an end that day. Only a fumbling old woman was left. She could never clearly vow to Miss Luo. If Mama Xue reminded her of the vows, she would be able to finish quickly, but then next time she would still forget the oath.
Miss Luo constantly accused the old woman of disloyalty. This time, she added her anger and censure on the Meng and Shangguan families. To everyone's surprise, at that moment, Slave Yao started laughing.
This was not an ordinary laugh, but a huge laugh. He laughed hysterically. Finally, he was out of breath. It seemed like he was taunting everyone in this yard as if they were clowns, and the most ridiculous one among them was Miss Luo, who sat behind the screen.
Slave Yao laughed so strangely that no one knew how to stop him. Mama Xue rushed at him and kicked his side until he was rolling on the ground.
"You're crazy! Why are you laughing?"
The place she kicked was an important acupoint of the human body, but it had no effect on Slave Yao. He continued laughing with his belly pressed and pointed at Mama Xue's face.
As sober and steady Mama Xue was, she became confused and puzzled. Mama Xue could not help rubbing her face. Then, she burst out in anger and shame, kicking Slave Yao and hitting his vital acupoints.
Slave Yao no longer rolled on the ground. His body lay as still as a fallen statue, but his laughter never ceased. It became more and more shrill, sounding like a beast was inside him.
Everyone in the yard was frightened and retreated away from Slave Yao. Sitting behind the folding screen, Miss Luo asked in horror, "Is he bewitched?"
Mama Xue did not believe in the possession of evil spirits at all. She kicked his Taiyang acupoint again. At last, he stopped laughing. "Don't be afraid, Miss. He is just lacking Internal Breath."
Only Gu Shenwei knew the truth among the crowd. Slave Yao's Qigong Deviation had broken out but it was beyond what he had imagined. The consequences of practicing incorrectly were actually very miserable and painful. He had thought that there would only be spitting of blood and then death.
Mama Xue ordered the other young slaves to carry Slave Yao back to their yard.
There were rooms in the small yard for dying slaves. These young men carried Slave Yao quickly into one of the rooms and then all ran away at once. Only Gu Shenwei remained.
Slave Ji glanced at Slave Yao and gloated after hearing them come in. However, he hated to stay with a dying man, so Slave Ji left hastily after telling Gu Shenwei to guard him.
Slave Yao was barely alive, breathing shallowly. Gu Shenwei checked that there was no one else in the room. He rapidly climbed on the bed and searched Slave Yao for the white handkerchief. He then pressed Slave Yao's Tianchi acupoint on his chest, raising his Yin Strength. He passed Internal Breath into Slave Yao.
Slave Yao screamed suddenly and awoke a few minutes later, staring blankly in silence.
"Where is the white handkerchief? Give it back to me!"
Gu Shenwei, who had placed all his hope on the white handkerchief, eagerly yelled. He could not let Slave Yao die without saying anything.
บท 20: Invitation
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
Slave Yao stared at Slave Huan for a while in confusion. He was looking at him, but he no longer knew him. It was like Slave Yao had turned a blind eye and no longer saw him. Suddenly, a deep flush rose on Slave Yao's face as he reached out and clutched Slave Huan's arm.
"What happened to me? You know. You can save me, can't you?"
"You're right," said Gu Shenwei, while he pulled away his arm stiffly, "but, first I want my white handkerchief back."
"The handkerchief, handkerchief..."
Slave Yao muttered, almost as if he had never heard those words before. Then his blush receded and his chest heaved rapidly. His arms twitched violently and he aggressively knocked on the brick bed. Slave Yao laughed again hoarsely.
Gu Shenwei anxiously reapplied pressure to Slave Yao's Tianchi acupoint. He was trying to put Internal Breath into Slave Yao's body through Yin Strength. Unfortunately, his Internal Strength was too weak to subdue the forceful and flood-like Yang Strength inside Slave Yao's body. Although Slave Huan exhausted himself trying, Slave Yao did not get any better.
Only powerful superiors, such as Mama Xue, could stop his Qigong Deviation with Internal Breath.
Gu Shenwei gave up rescuing him and tried to avoid his flailing arms. Then he searched Slave Yao's body thoroughly, even between his legs, yet he found nothing. Slave Yao must have hidden the handkerchief elsewhere.
After struggling for nearly an hour, Slave Yao had exhausted his energy and finally calmed down. He moved his arms once in a while and grunted like a someone drowning, struggling to get his last breath.
"The handkerchief! Give it to me!"
Gu Shenwei exerted all his strength while shaking Slave Yao's body, intending to squeeze the last of his vitality out of him.
Slave Yao fell into a confused state, the blush came and went, again and again. Sometimes, he would regain consciousness and chatter and babble nonsensically.
He could not recognize Slave Huan or the others. All that he said was nonsense—boasting this, cursing that, and sometimes begging as if he were a solo player, acting out several figures simultaneously.
Gu Shenwei was desperate. He had only completed half of his plan with the help of the Will of the Divine. Now, Slave Yao was dying and he did not know where to find the white handkerchief.
Slave Yao's situation was quite unstable. From early morning to sunset, neither a doctor nor Mama Xue came to treat him. This trivial thing was not worthy of notice in their eyes.
Gu Shenwei lay down, resting his head against the brick bed. It was impossible to get a clue about the handkerchief from the wheezing and nonsensical words that burst out of Slave Yao's mouth, who had completely forgotten about the handkerchief thing as well as Golden Roc Fort. All that he mentioned was past experiences.
What Gu Shenwei got from the miscellaneous murmurs was that Slave Yao's former master had been a very mean and despicable person, filling Slave Yao's heart with hatred toward the world.
However, it was strange that Gu Shenwei felt no fear sitting beside a person who was going to die soon. He focused all his attention toward his plans for the future. He would not be able to protect his life better than Slave Yao had. Sooner or later, he might be sharing the same fate.
How would he explain that to Slave Yao when they met in hell?
"Hey, it was me who led you to experience Qigong Deviation, but you also killed me by stealing that white handkerchief, so we're even."
How would Slave Yao respond? Maybe he would have found a new boss in hell, giving no concern to his soul's existence. Yet, if Slave Yao still had inordinate ambitions, Gu Shenwei made up his mind to kill him again.
"Slave Huan."
Slave Yao suddenly and calmly called his name, as if nothing had happened. Gu Shenwei's heart began to pound despite the fact he had remained calm the entire time. He turned his head and gazed at Slave Yao.
Slave Yao's eyeballs were terribly bright, almost as if they were burning. The mysterious light of a man who had returned to consciousness just before death.
"You will never be able to run away. I'll be waiting for you in hell."
Those were the last words that Slave Yao spoke. As if he had the capability to read people's minds, he read Slave Huan's. After these minacious, or maybe prophetic words, Slave Yao exhaled his last breath as his head tilted down and settled on his chest.
Gu Shenwei's heart pounded again. He knew Slave Yao was dead after he checked for his breath.
Gu Shenwei asked no one for help. Carrying the corpse, he walked out of the western gate and threw it off the end of Ghost Cliff. He felt a great relief and yet he knew there was another burden on his mind, one which he might not ever be able to cast off.
After he arrived back in the bedroom, the boys inside tried to avoid him for fear that they would be contaminated by the evil spirit of Slave Yao. So, they kept at least three feet away from him.
Gu Shenwei was too tired to care. He was too exhausted to even worry about the arrival of Han Shiqi, who would soon be arriving. So, he closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.
Things did not go as people wished. The next day, Slave Ji woke the boys with a rosewood stick by knocking it on the edge of brick bed. He announced that they did not have to pay respects to the Eighth Young Mistress because she believed that they had acquired evil spirits. They were left to clean up Firewood Yard, since "Third Brother" would come and rest here tonight.
This surprised Gu Shenwei and he was not sure how to handle it. He thought he might need another fight.
However, Slave Ji solved this problem for him temporarily. Even though his eyes were full of hatred, the target had been another boy. He asked Slave Huan, "Is that guy dead?"
Gu Shenwei nodded.
"Clean?"
Gu Shenwei nodded again.
"Take off your clothes, let the others burn them. You're not allowed to cross the threshold for three days."
Gu Shenwei finally felt at ease. He did not care about being possessed by an evil spirit. Instead, he thought that Han Shiqi would not trouble himself to look for him for a while.
He had dodged getting the rap for the disaster, but someone had to be his whipping boy. Slave Ji pointed to Slave Qi and Slave Xie and ordered them. "Come here."
The other boys left the room in a hurry as nobody wanted to be in the same room with Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei took off his clothes and tossed them out of the room. Soon afterward, someone took them away and then a new set was thrown into the room.
Gu Shenwei dressed himself neatly and then searched the whole room carefully. He looked in corners and behind the stone bricks that could be moved.
Slave Yao had hidden the handkerchief very well and Gu Shenwei could not seem to find it anywhere. He doubted that it had been destroyed by Slave Yao. However, since he had already memorized every word, there had been no need for him to keep it.
The boys would not dare to return, except for the brothers Slave Qi and Slave Xie. They had been exempted from the labor and were waiting for Han Shiqi's "favor".
The three boys awkwardly kept silent in the room.
They would have become friends if they were not ignoring each other over a misunderstanding that Gu Shenwei just could not explain.
In the past, the brothers had been ashamed of being "favored". However, they had calmed down. Even the young one, Slave Xie, did not weep or wail endlessly like he used to.
After a while, Slave Qi asked straightforwardly, "Did you kill Slave Yao?"
Slave Qi could not speak Central Plain Chinese very well, but he was sure about what he had asked. However, Gu Shenwei failed to understand his intention, so he remained silent.
"We need you to kill another."
He sounded certain and Gu Shenwei could tell that Slave Qi was looking for his help.
"Who?"
"That man."
Gu Shenwei understood who he was talking about. Out of the three boys, only he knew the name "Han Shiqi", while Slave Ji called the man "Third Brother". He was not sure whether that was the killer's real name or not.
Gu Shenwei did not doubt the brother's determination to kill Han Shiqi, but he decided not to answer immediately since they were not actually friends.
"We want our humiliation wiped out. I know you don't want it either. Would you like to join us?"
Speaking in a non-native tongue, Slave Qi's tone sounded crude. However, amidst his eyes, right under his thick eyebrows, Gu Shenwei could see his honesty and sincerity, which was rare among the slaves of Golden Roc Fort.
"I'm in," Gu Shenwei replied.
There was no need to refuse their help and he had no reason to play a trick on Slave Qi.
Slave Xie stepped forward as well. The three boys held each other's arms to express their trust. They had observed each other for so long that they could treat each other sincerely.
Slave Qi was tall, half a head higher than Gu Shenwei, and had a wild and prideful temperament. He acted like an animal cub that stood in the bustling world of humankind, incompatible and despised.
The younger one, Slave Xie, was more like a reticent child that had not outgrown their childhood yet. He followed his brother all the time everywhere. He could not seem to adjust to his current position or to his life as a slave. He acted more like a child from a wealthy family than Gu Shenwei did.
Obviously, these two brothers could not win anyone's heart with such characters. They were treated like toys by Han Shiqi, gifts and competitors by Slave Ji, and disobedient boys by Mama Xue. Anyway, they were punished far more often than the others, especially Slave Qi.
After several months living as a slave, there had been a visible change to him. No trace of immaturity could be found on his face. There was only a pair of vigilant eyes and a tight-lipped mouth, which was far from pleasing.
Gu Shenwei was the exception. He saw the same anger, hatred, and fright in the brothers. That killer from the faraway snow mountain also had the same bitter experience as they had.
Neither of them mentioned their past since there was no point in doing so. The pain would not be reduced or released. Instead, the weakness and fragility of the survivors would be revealed.
Now they were faced with the same predicament, the same danger, and the same enemy. Violence had to be met with violence, so they decided to seek revenge. But Han Shiqi was not Slave Yao, who knew nothing about martial arts. He was a killer of Golden Roc Fort, and even if he was not the strongest, he could destroy these three boys easily.
"I've got a plan," Slave Qi said.
He had been waiting for this moment for ages and was willing to take any risk to defeat the villain.
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