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."
บท 28: Hostility
บรรณาธิการ: Transn
"A little more, just a little bit more." Gu Shenwei was close to taking the perfect step on his path of revenge. He had prepared well, but failed at the last moment, falling down from the light of the right path into the darkness of a sewer.
Someone in the yard had recognized Mama Xue and knew she was a maidservant serving the Eighth Young Mistress. People started to discuss them in hushed whispers and sneered at them in a "proper" way. They gossiped loudly enough to hear each other, but quietly enough that when Mama Xue turned around, she could not tell who had been talking.
Mama Xue's sallow face was slightly flushed. She did not say anything else and left Maid Lotus alone. Then, she hastily returned to the Eighth Young Master's yard with Slave Huan.
Gu Shenwei was asked to stay behind in the front yard, and Mama Xue went to visit Miss Luo. For a while, he faintly heard the Miss rebuking someone in the back yard.
As he was waiting, several slaves passed by. They were surprised by Slave Huan's appearance and then they were alarmed upon hearing the Miss's voice and left quickly without daring to ask what had happened.
Mama Xue walked out from the back yard in a hush after a quarter-hour. She passed Gu Shenwei without a glance, as if he did not exist.
Anxious and afraid, Gu Shenwei stood in the empty yard alone. Not only had he lost the opportunity to enter East Castle, but he also lost his value to Miss Luo and Mama Xue. How would they deal with him? Send him to the Eighth Young Master directly, or let him go and avenge his father?
If they decided on the former, he would have to try to kill the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu. This was the crux of his path to revenge. Shangguan Nu had murdered his parents and siblings with his own hand. He was the number one villain in Gu Shenwei's mind.
When Mama Xue came back two hours later, Gu Shenwei still could not come up with a good plan. She stared at the panic-stricken slave for a while, as if planning something herself. But Gu Shenwei could not figure out what by her facial expression. Finally, she said, "Pack your luggage and bring it here. From now on, you work in this yard."
This was at least better than the worst possible outcome. Gu Shenwei thanked and bowed to Mama Xue. Later, he returned to Firewood Yard. His footsteps were so heavy, as if he were carrying a big stone on his back. But he became optimistic again halfway through. Despite his failure to enter East Castle, he would work in the Eighth Young Master's yard. This meant he would have the chance to get close to Shangguan Nu and take his revenge.
When learning Kung Fu from Mama Xue in the daytime, Gu Shenwei had never met the master of this yard, Shangguan Nu, who always went out very early and returned late. He never liked staying at home.
Rumors had spread widely in Firewood Yard. Slaves became flurried. Seeing Slave Huan come back alone, they flocked to him and asked lots of questions.
Gu Shenwei told them the truth that he had been rejected. On hearing the news, the young slaves contorted their faces in disappointment. However, after learning that Gu Shenwei would work in the Eighth Young Master's yard, most of them envied him, in that no matter how hard and tiring the work was in master's yard, it would be much better than staying in Firewood Yard and serving dying people.
One of the five slaves was missing as they listened to Gu Shenwei's unfortunate story. When he finished the tale, Slave Lei told him another unlucky thing—Slave Qian had been taken away by Mama Xue. It was said that she might recommend him to enter East Castle.
Miss Luo and Mama Xue, who were the outsiders in Golden Roc Fort, had made a simple mistake. They knew little about the killer system, so they naively thought a killer-apprentice would be welcomed provided that he showed proficiency in Kung Fu. Also, the Miss fished the information from her husband, Shangguan Nu, who was the son of the Supreme King. From the moment he was born, his name was on the list of killers. Obviously, he had not attended any killer-selection activities. Hence, Shangguan Nu was not familiar with the system of selecting killer-apprentices, either.
Thus, Mama Xue diligently helped them practice Kung Fu, but had missed an important rule of killer-apprentice recruitment in East Castle—one could not be allowed to practice Internal Strength before entering East Castle.
It was widely said that killers in Golden Roc Fort had their own method of practicing Internal Strength, which differed from any other martial arts school.
No matter what the reason was, Yin and Yang Strength, which Gu Shenwei had practiced around the clock, was now a stumbling block for him, preventing him to enter East Castle.
When Mama Xue realized her mistake, she immediately discussed the issue with Miss Luo, and also called in yard-safeguarding killers to help them better understand all of the specific rules. She found that there was still a chance to correct the mistake.
In fact, the training for the apprentices in East Castle was identical, regardless of their Kung Fu foundations. Even if the apprentices did not know anything about Kung Fu, it did not matter. Killer-apprentices, the killers of the fort believed, should start anew in their practice of Kung Fu after entering East Castle.
Therefore, Mama Xue had gone to Firewood Yard and picked up another person to enter East Castle among the five young slaves. Slave Qian tasted the manna from heaven in surprise. He dropped the menial work that he was doing and became a killer-apprentice.
Before Gu Shenwei had returned, the remaining four slaves had gained the information from others. News was spreading that Mama Xue had lost face in East Castle. Even people working in the remote Firewood Yard had heard about it, while Gu Shenwei still did not know.
It proved perfectly just how isolated and unpopular the Eighth Young Mistress was in Golden Roc Fort. No one had told her the rules of killer-apprentice recruitment.
This was the so-called Will of the Divine. Gu Shenwei could not accept it. Neither did the other four slaves. They would rather believe the intelligent Slave Yao could become a killer and that Slave Huan, student of Kung Fu, could enter East Castle. But Slave Qian had nothing special. He was an everyman. For God's sake, how could luck have treated him so kindly? It was so unfair.
"He won't be able to get through it. Within a month, he'll be carried back," Slave Lei said with great confidence. Although killer-apprentices were not asked to have a Kung Fu foundation from the very beginning, according to tradition, it was better to have learned it before.
There was nothing more to say. When Slave Qian returned and had successfully become a killer, the young slaves, including Slave Lei, would be licking his boots.
Gu Shenwei visited the new overseer again and told him he wanted to pack his luggage and leave. But he was met with trouble, as Mama Xue could not decide by herself which yard the slaves should work in, especially Gu Shenwei, who belonged to Firewood Yard, where serviceable slaves were becoming fewer and fewer, making it very hard to find someone to replace him.
However, the problem was resolved quickly. Thoughtful as Mama Xue was, she had arranged everything. In the name of the Eighth Young Master, she took Slave Huan away.
Later, Gu Shenwei moved into a small stone house with his bedroll in the afternoon, next to the Eighth Young Master's back yard. He was to live with a housemate called "Elderly Zhang". Their responsibility was to take care of horses and stables.
People in Golden Roc Fort put the prefix "Slave" before the names of the male slaves, including the groom living with Gu Shenwei. But everyone called him Elderly Zhang all the same. His nickname was quite unique among slaves, who were generally called "Slave so-and-so".
Elderly Zhang was considered a working model for all slaves. He was loyal, hard-working, and earnest. As soon as he finished his work, he went directly to bed and never gossiped. Gu Shenwei had lived with him for several days, but they had few conversations.
Gu Shenwei was familiar with horses. When he was a young Master, people took care of his horses for him. The only thing he cared about was if his own horse ate well or not, and if its fur was bright. Now he was feeding horses for his enemy.
He tried not to recall the past, afraid of revealing his true emotion. Gu Shenwei was in a dangerous place now, so he had to be extremely cautious when taking actions. Even though Han Shiqi had died, no one could guarantee that there was not a second subordinate working for Shangguan Nu who knew he was the Master of the Gu family.
Besides, Slave Qian had entered East Castle and was out of Gu Shenwei's reach. What if he unintentionally told others the story about the white handkerchief?
Mama Xue was also a potential threat to him. Gu Shenwei understood why she asked him to stay in Shangguan Nu's yard. It was easier for her to oversee him. After all, Miss Luo and Mama Xue had discussed too many secrets in front of him.
However, Mama Xue rarely appeared. Except for the routine of paying his respects every morning, he met with her very few times.
Elderly Zhang was a slave of Golden Roc Fort, so he did not need to show his loyalty to Miss Luo every morning. Gu Shenwei guessed that this was the reason that Elderly Zhang never chatted with him—they were in different camps, serving different masters.
Gu Shenwei had witnessed the contradictions among the masters in Golden Roc Fort and also heard a lot of rumors about it. But his status was too slow and his power was too weak to pry open the cracks in the mountain that was Golden Roc Fort.
The only thing he could do was spare no effort in practicing Kung Fu.
It was known to all that Gu Shenwei knew how to practice Internal Strength. People knew Mama Xue taught him, so it was unnecessary to practice it secretly. Once he finished feeding and cleaning the Eighth Young Master's horses, Gu Shenwei would go somewhere to practice Kung Fu. Yin and Yang Strength, Tiger-taming Fist, Iron Mountain Knife Form... He practiced them all at least once.
Elderly Zhang was neither for nor against Gu Shenwei's Kung Fu practice. He only looked upon him coldly as a disinterested bystander. He only had one "privilege"—leading horses and waiting for his master respectfully at the front door at night. Every afternoon, he would lead the horses back to the stables.
Gu Shenwei had no chance of meeting Shangguan Nu. But during these days, he had learned of Shangguan Nu's living habits.
The Eighth Young Master kept a stable schedule. He went out early and came back at night no matter if it was rainy or windy. Every five to 10 days, he would bring one more horse with him. He would come back in three to five days. At that time, the horses totally changed in appearance, becoming thin and dirty, and sometimes one of the horses was missing.
Only then did the indifferent Elderly Zhang show his pity. No matter how late the horses came back, he would wake up Slave Huan, and they would feed and clean the horses together. Elderly Zhang would hug these exhausted horses and murmur to them, like a mother anticipating her sons' return.
Gu Shenwei founded himself stuck in his path of revenge. He could not move forward or step back. He was wasting time with an old man who loved horses more than human beings. But his enemy just behind the wall was living and killing people as usual.
Gu Shenwei, the 14-year-old young man, cultivated patience that he had never before possessed. He knew he had to wait because the Will of the Divine would guide him.
It had been two months since he became a groom's assistant. Fall went by, and winter arrived. A fresh layer of snow covered Golden Roc Fort. Finally, Gu Shenwei had a chance to see Shangguan Nu.
That afternoon, he was practicing Iron Mountain Knife Form, taught by Mama Xue with a wooden stick. To hide his identity, Gu Shenwei had to forget the familiar Gu family's sword movements. But he still did not understand Iron Mountain Knife Form very well.
The practice of Iron Mountain Knife Form focused on the practical application in fighting. There were 18 ways to move, which were easy to practice. However, the combinations of these movements were flexible. Gu Shenwei practiced them without a training partner, which was like practicing shooting without a target. He still could not understand the quintessence of Iron Mountain Knife Form, no matter how hard he practiced.
He also inadvertently added some sword movements from the Gu family, which he was very familiar with and could not entirely abandon.
Gu Shenwei devoted himself to sword training. One day as he was deep in study, he suddenly detected that someone was observing him from a few miles away, who seemingly had been against the wall for a while. This person did not hide intentionally, but nevertheless had gone unnoticed. This reflected an essential quality that a professional killer should have.
For an instant, Gu Shenwei froze. He had looked forward to approaching his enemy for a long time. Unexpectedly, his enemy was coming for him now.
It was Shangguan Nu.
Hate and anger were like a flammable catkin, which burned out instantly. All that remained were the seeds of fear.
"Did the Eighth Young Master find out my true identity?" His legs were trembling. Their meeting was not like what he had expected and he was not yet ready for it.
Shangguan Nu glared at the young man in front of him, who seemed a little depressed with eyes that expressed complicated emotions. He was a little shocked. His remaining left hand could not help holding onto the handle of his sword.
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