บท 26: Exposure
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
It was not easy for Gu Shenwei to find out who had returned the white handkerchief. He had less communication with the other five young slaves. Therefore, Gu Shenwei could not directly ask them, so he just warily observed and analyzed the entire matter.
To start with, he removed Slave Lei, Slave Zhao, and Slave San from the suspect list. They had once followed Slave Ji for a while, and later they had built a closer relationship with Slave Yao. It seemed impossible that Slave Yao would have let those three fence-sitters safekeep such an important handkerchief for him.
After his precise deduction, only Slave Xin and Slave Qian might have had the chance to do so. They were Slave Yao's devoted followers when he was alive. He carefully analyzed the situation. "Slave Xin is so timid. He once wet his pants when being tortured in Heart Cleansing Yard. If he was holding onto the white handkerchief, he would have told the truth to the others."
Hence, Slave Qian became the prime suspect.
Slave Qian and Gu Shenwei were the same age. He was an early-maturing and introverted young man. When flattering someone, not only did he please people, but he also did not grovel too much.
The more Gu Shenwei thought about it, the more firmly he believed that Slave Qian was the person who had given the white handkerchief back. However, he could not prove it, so he had to keep silent for the moment because there was no benefit in verifying it now. Moreover, Gu Shenwei would not like to and could not kill anyone. Knowing that Slave Qian had not exposed the secret to the others, he should wait and see what he would do next.
However, he was still very anxious. Slave Qian was illiterate, so he did not know what was written on the white handkerchief and perhaps Slave Yao did not tell him the details either. But how long this secret would be kept was unknown to everyone.
Gu Shenwei had continued to spy on Slave Qian until something unexpected interrupted his plan.
It had been almost a month since Firewood Yard had been reopened. Perhaps Miss Luo thought that the tumult had subsided, so she requested for the young slaves to greet her again every morning.
The six slaves were taken away by Mama Xu as usual. The newly inaugurated overseer was a well-polished person. He did not stop Mama Xue from taking all of them, and he also spoke humbly with her.
These young slaves brought by Miss Luo, as well as the other slaves, had suffered overwhelming curses, accusations, and tearful complaints in the Eighth Young Master's yard.
Bighead Kingpin's daughter was also affected by the murder scandal. She had brought Slave Qi and Slave Xie, so she had to take the responsibility of oversight. People mistakenly believed that Miss Luo had sacrificed her slaves to cater to the Eighth Young Mater's killers.
That was certainly not true, but it did not stop the rumors.
Miss Luo thought she had been totally wronged. Her husband, Shangguan Nu, particularly kept away from her because he thought that the bandit's daughter brought bad luck.
From behind the folding screen, the Eighth Young Mistress accused all the slaves of being ungrateful. She claimed that she was going to go back to Iron Mountain tomorrow, and by then, Bighead Kingpin would punish everyone here.
Mama Xue and her maidservants patiently persuaded Miss Luo for a while.
Gu Shenwei stared at the ground and thought disapprovingly, "It's been a month since the murder happened. She didn't leave this place at that moment, let alone now. This is Golden Roc Fort. Even though she is Bighead Kingpin's daughter, she can't come and go freely.
"Such a stupid and pretentious woman. She isn't a patch on my sister, Gu Cuilan." Gu Shenwei made this conclusion in his mind.
That day, after repeating the oath hundreds and thousands of times, all the slaves were allowed to leave, except for Gu Shenwei.
Mama Xue had asked him to stay behind.
Gu Shenwei had foreseen this situation. To be honest, he had been looking forward to it for a long time. Mama Xue had once lied about passing Internal Strength on to Slave Yao and had shouldered the responsibility of Slave Yao's Qigong Deviation for a reason.
After the other slaves had left, Gu Shenwei followed Mama Xue into the backyard. It was the first time that he had entered the room.
In a wing-room, Miss Luo was sitting behind a thick folding screen. All the maidservants had been asked to leave, except for a blind and mute young girl who could only hear people talking. She was the best keeper of secrets.
Miss Luo once cruelly punished this maidservant by having her eyes gouged out and her tongue cut out. Now, she took her as a trusted subordinate. Luo Ningcha did not think that it was a paradoxical thing.
Mama Xue ordered him to kneel down and said to Miss Luo behind the screen, "He's the slave that we want."
Miss Luo remained silent for a while, as if she was carefully sizing him up. And although they were separated by the thick screen, she could see a looming figure.
"Did he really kill the madman?" Miss Luo could no longer remember the boy who had practiced Kung Fu in the yard. She only had an impression of his mad laughter.
Although he was well-prepared, Gu Shenwei was surprised by Miss Luo's straight way of speaking. "It wasn't me, I..."
Mama Xue kicked him in his side. Her toes were as hard as her fingers. Gu Shenwei suddenly felt his Internal Breath stagnate and he could not say anything more.
"Shut up," Mama Xue commanded in an indifferent tone. Then she softened her voice and said to Miss Luo behind the screen, "Yes, he did it. It can't be wrong."
"Did he fake Slave Yao's death to look like an accident?" Miss Luo was not angry, but rather a little curious.
"He's kinda smart."
"Sinister and ruthless," the Eighth Young Master Mistress said verbatim without any emotion, as if the slave kneeling down outside was a dog that was fed and controlled by her.
"Right. He's sinister and ruthless. He's the slave that Miss wants."
For a while, no one spoke in the main hall. Gu Shenwei thought fast, "What kind of slave does Miss Luo want? Why does she need a 'treacherous' slave? What benefit could I gain?"
"All right, that's him," Miss said, "but make sure he's loyal to me."
Bighead Kingpin's daughter was not so foolish. The slaves' daily vows were only able to please her, but they were not enough to gain her trust.
"That's easy," Mama Xue said confidently. She turned to Gu Shenwei and started to question him.
"Slave Huan, tell me your real name."
"Yang Huan."
"Humph! Your name is Yang Huan. After entering Golden Roc Fort, your nickname is Slave Huan. What a coincidence!"
"I know that it sounds ridiculous, but it's indeed my real name."
"Where did you live before working in Golden Roc Fort?"
"I once lived in Shu-lik City. My former master was surnamed Lin."
Mama Xue kicked him in his side again. "You're lying. How dare you? What's the relationship between you and the Gu family from the Central Plains?"
Gu Shenwei was shocked that Mama Xue had realized that he was lying.
It had to be the Yin and Yang Strength. What he had taught to Slave Yao revealed his identity. Although Mama Xue was aware that he was related to the Gu family, she did not inform on him to Shangguan Nu...
Many things sprang to his mind, just like the ever-changing clouds covering this world. Gu Shenwei had to make up his mind quickly and bravely.
"Forgive me, my Miss. Forgive me, Mama Xue. I'm sorry to..."
"Enough meaningless talk. Tell me your whole life story."
"I'm indeed Yang Huan. My father's Yang Zheng, a martial arts manager of the Gu family."
"A martial arts manager's son? How could you learn Kung Fu that was exclusive to the Gu family members?"
"My..." Although Gu Shenwei had been aware that his speech and acting should be like a slave's son and had quickly changed his persona, he almost blurted out: "My father, Gu Lun". Then he cautiously continued, "My father, Yang Zheng, had a close relationship with Master Gu Lun, so I had the chance to learn the family-inherited Kung Fu. Nominally, they were master and slave, but in fact, they were sworn brothers. Therefore, the master broke the traditional rules and allowed me to practice the Gu family's Kung Fu—Internal Strength and Blademanship. Father also had passed it on to me in private, just a little. But I didn't learn it very well."
"It sounds convincing. Let me check out how much you've learned."
The moment Mama Xue pushed her hard palms on Gu Shenwei's neck, he felt a strong and fierce Internal Breath come into him, ripping and tearing him and rushing into the Dantian acupoint in his belly.
Gu Shenwei's Internal Strength was very frail. He had just reached the first level of Yin Strength and Yang Strength. He was a very long way away from mastering Yin and Yang Strength. Abruptly being pressed by external power, Gu Shenwei did not have much time to raise his Qigong and it spontaneously resisted Mama Xue's Qigong. This action exposed his weak Kung Fu foundation.
Gu Shenwei's Qigong power was very weak in contrast to Mama Xue's, like using a cup of water to put out a big fire.
Gu Shenwei only felt that his body was completely shaken. His Dantian acupoint seemed to burst in an instant. Being not ready for any of that, he fainted.
When he woke up, Gu Shenwei heard Miss Luo curiously ask,
"Is he alive?"
"Yes. He didn't deceive us this time. Slave Huan only learned some superficial Kung Fu. Slave Yao, you moron! He found such an incompetent teacher to learn Internal Strength from."
Gu Shenwei relaxed a bit and blushed.
"What's your purpose of coming to Golden Roc Fort?"
"I made up my mind to avenge my father," Gu Shenwei said and straightened his back in order to make his voice sound more sorrowful. They thought that he was talking about Yang Zheng. But in fact, he mourned his father, Gu Lun.
"The Eighth Young Master is who killed your father,"
Mama Xue said to Gu Shenwei frigidly. On hearing her words, Miss Luo giggled behind the screen, as if she had heard a joke just now but was too shy to laugh.
"Not exactly. My father was killed outside the village. A professional killer murdered him. Well... The murderer is the Eighth Young Master's subordinate."
"It's better for you to take revenge on my husband, so that I can return to Iron Mountain," the Miss said slowly.
"Miss! Take back your words. Now you belong to the Shangguan family. Nothing can change that. Never mention it again."
Mama Xue warned Miss Luo in a severe tone, as if she were lecturing a naive little girl. She did not look like the humble and prudent maidservant that she usually acted like. There were not many outsiders, so Mama Xue did not care about the discrepancy of the master-slave identity too much.
Miss Luo also did not treat Mama Xue as an ordinary maidservant, either. Therefore, she just snorted discontentedly, rather than scold Mama Xue. Miss Luo said in a low voice,
"Of course, I know."
Mama Xue turned to Slave Huan and said, "If you dare to spread this gossip, I'll throw you off the cliff."
"I won't tell anyone because I didn't hear anything. Heaven and earth can prove my loyalty to Miss and Mama Xue."
Gu Shenwei had totally destroyed his self-esteem with those begging words. From now on, he would never ever have any connection with the title "Young Master of the Gu Family".
He had no choice. If Gu Shenwei still had the identity of a young Master, he could not find his sister, let alone take revenge for his family.
"Humph. You? Even if you practiced for 100 years, you couldn't even hurt one of the Eighth Young Master's little fingers. Who killed your father? Killer Han Shiqi?"
"No. I still don't know who the murderer is."
Mama Xue walked around Gu Shenwei twice, observing him carefully, just like a calculating merchant who was about to buy some goods.
"You want to take revenge, right? It's possible. But you should stop taking any actions without my permission and end your secret investigation. Miss will reward you if you perform very well. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do. I won't hesitate to lay down my life if Miss and Mama Xue need it."
"Let's start from today. You'll replace Slave Yao now and learn Kung Fu from me. In one month, I'll send you to East Castle as a killer apprentice candidate, so you'll have the chance to be a killer in Golden Roc Fort. If you don't achieve it, then just end your life. You know what I mean, right? If you betray me, you'll die just like your father. Remember, young man, I'll kill anyone without playing tricks or informing on him if he's supposed to die."
บท 27: Kung Fu Practice
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
Gu Shenwei stayed behind and started to learn Kung Fu from Mama Xue the same day.
Although their relationship could not be called friendship, nor was it as simple as teacher and student, one intently taught Kung Fu and the other diligently learned it.
Gu Shenwei knew that Mama Xue and Miss Luo did not only desire to provide a killer apprentice for Golden Roc Fort. They helped him keep the secret for other reasons. However, he would be temporarily safe until they made their final demand.
This was such a strange team. Using the alias Yang Huan, the target of Gu Shenwei's revenge was very likely to be the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu, while the Eighth Young Mistress, Luo Ningcha, did not even care about it, and neither did Mama Xue. She also readily believed his words. As for Gu Shenwei, the young man with killing intent, he now had to ensure his safety with the help of two calculating women.
There was another thing that Gu Shenwei did not expect—he was not the only person learning Kung Fu from Mama Xue.
The method of naming maidservants in Golden Roc Fort was similar to that of naming male slaves. People picked up one word from the Thousand Character Classic as a part of their nicknames, and the only difference was that they added "maid" before their names.
It was Maid Lotus who practiced Kung Fu with Gu Shenwei. She was one of the 10 slave girls bought by Bighead Kingpin.
Maid Lotus was a girl of few words. If she was not so overly serious, one might even call her beautiful. She always seemed to be meditating upon something, and she was alert to everything around her. She paid special attention to every word Mama Xue said and observed every movement Mama Xue made.
In Mama Xue's opinion, Maid Lotus was an excellent apprentice.
Gu Shenwei had never heard Mama Xue mention her before.
The pointy-faced teenager, who had talked so much about the slave girls, had neglected to mention Maid Lotus as well. This was very strange for such a talkative cutup.
Mama Xue's way of teaching Kung Fu was completely different from the Gu family's. On the first day, she did not demonstrate any Kung Fu movements. Mama Xue only asked the two "apprentices" to fight with each other. It was not a simple Kung Fu training but a real fight.
Gu Shenwei was kicked down by the first strike and he realized that Maid Lotus was taking this seriously. At that time, he also realized why Slave Yao had often been wounded.
Although Maid Lotus did not have any Kung Fu foundation, with her good understanding of Kung Fu and great courage, she had managed to master some boxing skills taught by Mama Xue over dozens of daily lessons.
In the beginning, Gu Shenwei wanted to hide his real strength, but he soon realized he would have to spare no effort to beat her and he even used the power of the first level of Yin and Yang Strength. Even so, his fight with Maid Lotus ended in a draw.
Maid Lotus had never practiced Internal Strength before, but she had much more fighting experience than Gu Shenwei.
Just fighting for less than half an hour, Gu Shenwei was sweating profusely. He felt his breath becoming turbulent in his Dantian and found it nearly unendurable.
Mama Xue often guided Maid Lotus on how to move while watching their fight from the side. As for the new trainee, Slave Huan, she gave some advice or ordered him around only after the fight had ended.
"Forget the stupid movements you've learned and practice your Internal Strength. If you want to enter East Castle and become a killer, you should practice Kung Fu anew."
That afternoon, Mama Xue went to serve Miss Luo, so she asked Maid Lotus to teach Slave Huan Tiger-taming Fist.
Gu Shenwei already felt disgraced for being beaten by a girl of the same age. Now he was even more embarrassed as he had to learn Tiger-taming Fist from her, who treated him indifferently. She did not say anything else unless she was explaining Kung Fu movements to him, seeming very reluctant to teach him.
However, Gu Shenwei had a totally different experience when he went back to Firewood Yard.
The newly appointed overseer took the initiative to speak to Slave Huan for the first time. Furthermore, he encouraged him and told him that he did not need to look after the injured in the yard.
The other five young slaves also awkwardly smiled at him and welcomed their "sworn brother" back. Slave Lei even helped him brush the dust off his clothes. Their change in their attitudes was quick and obvious, which was difficult for Gu Shenwei to adapt to immediately.
Nevertheless, his focus was still on Slave Qian.
Slave Qian behaved himself as usual. Although he also showed his kindness to Slave Huan like the others, he did not talk too much. In an awkward silence, Slave Qian would start to speak. It seemed that he was the leader of this small group.
Gu Shenwei decided to temporarily put the white handkerchief issue away. He had to be devoted to Kung Fu practice in order to become a killer apprentice in East Castle and also to deal with the two women.
Golden Roc Fort was like a huge and indestructible mountain when people saw it at a distance. But there were noticeable small cracks when observing it closely. Luckily, Gu Shen had already found a few cracks. However, it was not enough for his revenge. He needed to continue to observe and find the junction of all cracks.
Gu Shenwei could practice Kung Fu aboveboard now. He spent all his time practicing Kung Fu, except for eating and sleeping. After he got back from Mama Xue's place, Gu Shenwei still went to Ghost Cliff to practice Yin and Yang Strength. He wanted to make up for the time that he had wasted over the last 10 years.
Mama Xue hoped the two teenagers she had recommended would become outstanding in East Castle. Therefore, she strictly supervised them as they practiced Kung Fu and even intervened in Slave Huan's Internal Strength training, out of fear that he would lose his life due to Qigong Deviation like Slave Yao.
Mama Xue used a forceful method to help Slave Huan improve his Internal Strength, unlike his father Gu Lun, who had taught Internal Strength step by step.
Gu Shenwei needed to practice Yin and Yang Strength in front of Mama Xue every day. While he was practicing, she sometimes poked him with her iron fingers on different acupoints. And each time, she passed the inner force into his body to help him break through his meridians.
This would benefit his Internal Strength practice a lot, but it meant that Gu Shenwei would suffer great pain. He became black and blue all over and could not even find a comfortable posture to sleep at night.
The daily Kung Fu practice with Maid Lotus increased his agony. The silent young maid had been inexplicably jealous of him from the very beginning. Later on, she regarded him as an enemy since Mama Xue was privately helping him improve Internal Strength.
Gu Shenwei had never been hated so much by anyone.
He had no idea about how to deal with it. Angry and ashamed, he eagerly wanted to surpass Maid Lotus in Kung Fu practice.
It was not an easy goal to achieve when studying Tiger-taming Fist. On one hand, he was not good at boxing; on the other hand, he had practiced it two months longer than Maid Lotus. However, the situation changed 10 days later when Mama Xue started to teach them how to move the saber.
The date of new killer-apprentices' admission was approaching. In order to speed up the training, Mama Xue needed to teach as many Kung Fu movements as possible in a short time.
Mama Xue reminded Slave Huan and Maid Lotus often, saying, "A Kung Fu practitioner needs to build their foundation with boxing training, which makes their movements quick and agile. Hence, you'll feel more comfortable when learning how to use other weapons later on. However, don't rely on boxing when fighting with people because it's just a basic skill. No matter how skilled you are at boxing, holding a sharp dagger makes you stronger. If someone with bare hands defeats an armed man, it must be due to an enormous difference between the two sides' Kung Fu strength. In other words, it doesn't prove that fists and feet are better than weapons. Remember, once you become a killer and live by killing, your boss will choose the opponents for you, not yourself. Therefore, never dream of beating armed people with your bare fists. You should use a saber to beat both armed and bare-handed men."
Mama Xue herself practiced Iron Finger. Obviously, she did not match her deeds to her words. But, Mama Xue was not a killer. Moreover, it was unnecessary for her to practice swordsmanship, as she had served Miss Luo for a long time and worked in the back yard.
Although he had carefully memorized his family's swordsmanship, Gu Shenwei needed to conceal the truth because he lied to Mama Xue, saying that he had not learned it very well.
Fortunately, Mama Xue did not care. She taught them the swordsmanship for real fighting, including 18 basic saber movements and no fixed action combinations. Each basic movement was very simple, for example, cutting, stabbing, or piercing, which were very similar. But once they could practice each with proficiency, Mama Xue asked them to randomly combine the 18 basic saber movements, so they could create other numerous movements.
Mama Xue said that the series of saber movements was Iron Mountain Knife Form, one of the martial arts that helped Iron Mountain Gang dominate the desert area.
Gu Shenwei felt that Iron Mountain Knife Form was not as skillful as the Gu family's swordsmanship. However, it was easy to understand and flexible. When performing the 18 basic saber movements, he could occasionally add one or two moves from his family's swordsmanship. Gu Shenwei found the connection between the movements was also very smooth, which sometimes brought unexpected effects.
However, it was an obstacle for Maid Lotus. Before the training, she had never touched a real saber. It took a few days for her to learn how to control her strength and hold it. Therefore, during fighting, she often fell behind. Sometimes, the gap between their power was so wide that Mama Xue replaced Maid Lotus and fought with Slave Huan herself.
Consequently, Maid Lotus became more silent and gloomy. Every time Gu Shenwei arrived at the yard, he saw Maid Lotus practicing the sword movements. After he left, she continued her training.
Gu Shenwei also made rapid progress on Yin and Yang Strength. Within a month, he separately arrived at the second level of Yin Strength and Yang Strength.
It was the first time Gu Shenwei had felt very good since he entered Golden Roc Fort. The improvement of Kung Fu also boosted his confidence in taking revenge. Although there was a long way to go, slowly but surely, he was walking toward the finish line.
He wanted to become the most powerful killer and then retaliate on the killers.
When Bighead Kingpin's daughter felt bored, she would go to watch Mama Xue teach them Kung Fu. Of course, Miss Luo still sat behind the folding screen. She had been forced to quit a lot of habits since she married the Eighth Young Master. But she insisted on one habit more firmly—she would not allow males to see her face except for her husband, and females could not see her real face, either.
It was said that Miss Luo wore several veils when greeting her mother-in-law every morning. This was quite understandable however, as the tension between them was palpable.
When Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus practiced Iron Mountain Knife Form, Miss Luo sometimes commented on their performance. Simultaneously, her four maidservants would seize the opportunity to recall the happy days in the past with Miss Luo.
From their chatting, Gu Shenwei learned that Miss Luo did not know Kung Fu at all. Besides, Iron Mountain was not a real place and it referred to the site where the bandit gang camped. They also talked about Mama Xue, who was not actually Miss's wet nurse. She had joined the bandit gang after Miss Luo was born a few years later.
It was the beginning of autumn in the lunar calendar when people in East Castle began to recruit killer apprentices. Although the sky was gloomy, the air at the peaks was fresh due to the first frost the night before.
Mama Xue brought Slave Huan and Maid Lotus to East Castle.
There were so many buildings in East Castle. Walking through the countless alleys and lanes felt like navigating a maze. If not led by someone familiar with the layout, outsiders could easily lose their way. Even though Mama Xue had not been in Golden Roc Fort for a long time, she knew the complicated paths in East Castle well, which was no surprise to Gu Shenwei.
Just like West Castle, there were numerous yards located in East Castle. Mama Xue guided them into a small one, which looked a little shabby, like other places in Golden Roc Fort after more 100 years of wind and rain. However, the registrar, sitting behind the long table in the wing-room, was very serious and respectable. It seemed that Golden Roc Fort manifested its real strength through its people, not its magnificent buildings.
The registrar glanced at the first group of visitors who wanted to sign up. He had not written anything down yet.
"Which yard?"
"The Eighth Young Master's."
"What's her name?"
"Maid Lotus."
...
The registrar began to ask lots of questions, for example, what kind of Kung Fu they had learned and so on. He recorded the answers verbatim. Mama Xue offered detailed answers for Slave Huan and Mama Xue, who just stood aside and listened.
Everything went well and Maid Lotus became the first recorded killer apprentice that year.
At this time, two or three groups of apprentices arrived. The small courtyard seemed a bit crowded.
Next, it was Gu Shenwei's turn. At first, everything went well also. The registrar had written Slave Huan's name down, and he would quickly finish the inquiry after the last few questions. But, when the registrar asked Gu Shenwei's Kung Fu foundation, a problem arose.
"He has learned Internal Strength?"
"Em... Just a little." It was still Mama Xue who answered, and she frowned.
The registrar lowered his head and crossed out the name "Slave Huan".
He looked up and said, "This slave can't enter East Castle."
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