Chapter 47: Mine
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The twins began getting weary of the "assassination" game. When they returned to school, it was early summer. Lush green moss came out from the crevice of the rocks and the rich fragrance of unknown flowers permeated the air in Golden Roc Fort.
Gu Shenwei did not know why Mama Xue became so impatient. She kept forcing Slave Huan to try his best to flatter Shangguan Ru until he could follow her into Inner Residence. This was the first time Mama Xue had put forward a definite aim.
Gu Shenwei could only promise that he would do as she said. As an attendant, he knew it was quite difficult for him to enter Inner Residence. Most of time Shangguan Ru led him to play for fun, and treated him like her ordinary friend. However, when she was tired, she would return to being the young master and enter the red door, which divided their status. Masters of Golden Roc Fort and their henchman were inside while their reliable servant could only stay outside.
Gu Shenwei was tasked with cleaning Giant Rock Cliff every day.
Giant Rock Cliff now became a base for the twins. As the time passed, the interstices of the stone wall and the hidden caves under the boulder were full of various gadgets. The items, such as wooden weapons, small target butts, ropes, flags, and books were thrown everywhere. Gu Shenwei had to put them away and remember their exact positions so that he could immediately find them when the two masters needed them.
He was supposed to do the cleaning with other attendants, but since the twins returned to school, the other attendants had become lazy. They would only show up at noon, lest their masters come.
Gu Shenwei enjoyed it. He no longer needed to wait by the entrance to the school every morning, as Slave Qing did not like him and the other attendants excluded him. He came directly to Giant Rock Cliff. The little door of East Castle was always open for him. After putting those sundries away, he could concentrate on practicing kung fu without worrying that someone would disturb him.
The twins usually came to play for a while in the afternoon. Besides Shangguan Yushi, they sometimes brought other children of the Shangguan family, who were proud of this priority they enjoyed. In fact, the teenagers in the fort judged their status according to the number of times they had gone to Giant Rock Cliff.
A kung fu competition between Shangguan Ru and Slave Huan was always on the agenda. Now they no longer competed with fist techniques, but turned to the wooden saber. Their bladesmanship was much stronger than that of the others, so no one else dared to challenge Slave Huan. Even Shangguan Fei refused to fight with him in contempt.
Shangguan Yushi might have been the only one who was able to fight with these two, but she also refused to hold a contest with Slave Huan for no reason. Everyone knew she detested this servant.
There was some gossip among the teenagers about the three of them. Gu Shenwei did not take it seriously, but he remained vigilant at all times and was afraid that Shangguan Yushi would play more dirty tricks.
That morning, Gu Shenwei went to Giant Rock Cliff as usual. East Castle was as silent as it always was. He could sense that some guards were hiding near several of the crossroads as he passed. As he was close to Reincarnation Cliff, this feeling disappeared. The cliff was always the place with lightest guards in Golden Roc Fort.
However, as soon as he entered Giant Rock Cliff, Gu Shenwei immediately perceived an ambush on both sides of him. Though he tried his best to hold his breath, his stealth was nothing compared to the experience of the guards.
Gu Shenwei thought it was the twins, skipping classes to hang out near the cliff and wanting to play a joke on him, so like the previous targets, he also pretended that he did not know they were there and put the sundries away as usual.
The ambusher was obviously impatient, and launched a sneak attack as soon as Gu Shenwei stooped down for the first time.
Gu Shenwei decided he would sustain the blow to please the attacker, but the moment the weapon touched his body, Gu Shenwei suddenly changed his mind. However, it was too late to strike back. He could only roll forward to avoid the fatal blow, but he still got hurt and felt a burst of pain in his back.
When Gu Shenwei stood up, what he saw was not one of the twins but the cold-faced Shangguan Yushi, holding a shiny steel dagger.
He suddenly realized that Shangguan Yushi was not playing a trick. She really wanted to kill him.
Gu Shenwei was still astounded, though he had prepared for an attack. Shangguan Yushi was only fourteen, younger than him by a year. She had restrained herself for several months. Gu Shenwei had not expected that she would carry out a real assassination as a reprisal. There was no sign that her hate was reaching its limits.
He immediately understood, as he had participated in two murder cases, one for Slave Yao and the other for Han Shiqi.
Gu Shenwei thought she must be insane. Her desire to have someone all to herself could be compared to his will to get his revenge.
Shangguan Yushi was not insane. She was more composed than she had ever been. Slave Huan thought he had entered their coterie, adding an extra person to their two-person world. In her eyes, such a conceited servant deserved death.
Shangguan Yushi had failed with the first strike. She immediately pounced on him and pressed down hard, not giving him any chance to breathe.
Gu Shenwei stepped back repeatedly until he reached the edge of the cliff, with his heel already against the iron-chain fence.
He had been forbearing, but suddenly he became furious. In order to take revenge, he had paid many high prices. He had changed his name and had been sold as a slave to serve others and flatter them. He had never imagined that he would do those things, but now he had done it all and would keep doing it.
He would not be softhearted in his path to revenge. Shangguan Yushi wanted him to die, so he would return the favor.
Shangguan Yushi's kung fu was not much weaker than his. Moreover, she had a sharp dagger in her hands. Mama Xue was right. Fist and foot could not fight against saber and sword.
The only advantage Gu Shenwei had was his real killing desire. He did not even care about his own life, so long as he got his revenge.
Shangguan Yushi wanted to kill him, but she did not have the faintest understanding of "the killing desire". She did not have the will to kill people at any cost.
She was also somewhat lacking in experience, which was essential for killers. Once one held the upper hand, one must not stop the attack. She, however, did stop, as she believed she had already driven her opponent into frustration. Slave Huan was injured on his back. If he took a step back, he would fall off the cliff.
She, like most who seek revenge, wanted to say something before her enemy died.
People rarely realized that language and swords are of equal importance for revenge. Sometimes, language was much more important, as a torrent of abuse could express the feeling of successful vengeance. As he was killing Han Shiqi, Gu Shenwei felt regretful that he did not show his real identity and did not ask about his sister's whereabouts.
"She's mine."
Shangguan Yushi uttered the words ruthlessly. The malevolence implied in her words made him tremble with fear. She was no longer a 14-year-old girl at that moment. She had strode across a delicate borderline and entered the adult world. In this world, possession meant everything.
Gu Shenwei did not answer, because language could not stop the crazy woman. He took the opportunity to hold his body and catch his breath, thinking how to save himself.
"You smelly servant, how dare you compete with me?"
Gu Shenwei considered that the situation could be resolved if Shangguan Yushi would just speak to Shangguan Ru. After all, he did not pose any real threat to her. No matter how hard Slave Huan had tried, he was just a servant in Shangguan Ru's mind. Shuangguan Ru's only friend was Shangguan Yushi.
Slave Huan had at worst hung around on the edge of the coterie, which Shangguan Yushi had delimited. Nevertheless, she was like a king of lion proudly responding to a challenge. She could only vent her hatred by killing him.
"Go to hell!"
Before she finished speaking, she had stabbed Gu Shenwei with the dagger. Still, Gu Shenwei did not retreat. He just leaned to other side to avoid a blow to his vital parts and took the strike with his left shoulder. At the same time, he jumped forward and held Shangguan Yushi, making her fall heavily to the ground.
He had no choice but to self-destruct if he wanted to save himself.
This was Grappling Technique Mama Xue taught him. Once a move was made successfully, this murderous maneuver followed it. The two of them fought so closely that they could not complete a full move. The fight to death eventually became competition for strength.
Gu Shenwei finally regained the upper hand. Since Mama Xue had helped him improve his Internal Strength, his Yin and Yang Strength had improved quickly and was close to the third level of Yang Strength. As a boy, he himself was naturally stronger. After several moves, he seized Shangguan Yushi on her neck.
The dagger was still sticking out of his left shoulder, blood dripping, but Gu Shenwei did not feel any pain, because he had an urge to kill. All his strength was concentrated in his hands.
Shangguan Yushi tried to fight back, her face turning red from lack of air and her eyes full of terror. She was terrified, as the boy was becoming cruel as a beast, emitting an endless murderous aura. It was his killing intent that defeated her completely.
"Let go of each other. What're you two doing?"
Gu Shenwei raised his head and saw the panic-stricken Shangguan Ru standing beside the huge rock. Petrified, she had cried out but did not come to stop them.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Shenwei even wanted to kill Shangguan Ru as well. Her kung fu was almost a perfect match with his, or maybe stronger for some moves, but she was a little girl like Shuangguan Yushi, without a real killing desire. The "assassination" game just trained her skill, but did not instill in her a will to kill.
Reason came back to him at the critical moment. He was dragged back from the edge of the breakdown.
He began to carry out his plan for revenge. If he killed Shangguan Ru right now, he would ruin his own plan, as he could not cover up the murder. Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi were neither ordinary servants nor unqualified killers. If the two of them died on Giant Rock Cliff, he had no choice but to die with them.
Gu Shenwei loosened his hands and stood up blankly. He did not know how to explain this matter. It was Shangguan Yushi who had picked a fight with him. The dagger in his shoulder could prove everything.
Shangguan Yushi also jumped up. Before Slave Huan could explain, she pressed her cyanotic neck with one hand while pointing at her enemy with the other and crying. "He wanted to kill me!"
"No, I didn't..."
Gu Shenwei opened his mouth hastily to defend himself. However, he made the same mistake that Shangguan Yushi had. He hesitated when he held the upper hand. Worse still, he forgot that he was standing on the edge of the cliff.
Shangguan Yushi looked exhausted, but it was just illusion. She unexpectedly launched a sneak attack again with a kick under the Shangguan Ru's stare. It hit him exactly in his lower abdomen.
She tried to remove her opponent at any risk.
Gu Shenwei could not dodge it and could only take it. Shangguan Yushi gave the kick with all her Internal Strength. Even an adult could not bear it. He staggered, took a step back and was blocked by the iron chain that stood at half his height.
Even so, he could barely stand. Nevertheless, Shangguan Yushi did not show any mercy, giving the second kick in spite of Shangguan Ru's scream.
Gu Shenwei turned over and fell off the cliff. Though he waved his hands, he could not reach the iron chain, which was far away from him in the blink of an eye.
"How ironic." The first thought that came to Gu Shenwei's mind as he tumbled through the air was self-mockery, "I'm the only one dying in the series of 'assassinations' in the Golden Roc Fort."
Shangguan Ru's scream came faintly, but soon could not be heard.