Chapter 59: In the Air
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
When Shangguan Yushi was about to close the window, Gu Shenwei looked inside inadvertently and saw how Shangguan Ru had "taken care" of the Shadow Guard. The teenager with a knife was lying on the floor, motionless, tightly tied up, with his mouth stuffed.
Shangguan Yushi closed the window quickly, and his gaze from behind the black cloth was clearly a warning for Slave Huan that it was none of his business, but a "private matter" of the two young girls.
The four people were divided into two groups, with Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi in the front, and Shangguan Fei and Gu Shenwei behind them at a distance of more than 10 steps. In the hazy moonlight, they could barely see each other.
The Inner Residence was not as strictly guarded as the two castles, so they easily made it to the outer wall of the Six Kills Temple. Two young girls had already jumped on top of the wall and slid down a thin rope. They had made great progress in Qing Gong and the walls here were not as tall as those outside.
The "thieves" had entered the territory of the Six Kills Temple. Here, they needed to be careful at every step. The girls were still exploring the way in front and would signal the two teenagers behind them to follow when they were sure that it was safe ahead.
There were many torches outside the temple, which from time to time reflected a distorted figure, dimming the light of the stars and the moon.
The dozens of Sacred Masters, who were guarding the sacred temples of the Shangguan family day and night, could never expect that such "unworthy descendants" of the family would come here to steal something.
Under the red steps leading to the temple, there were many stone houses where the Sacred Masters lived, so it was almost impossible to pass through without being noticed. The only way to enter the temple was to climb up the steps.
The four teenagers quickly ran up without meeting anyone. It was far less strictly guarded here than expected.
On the left of the red steps, there was a several-foot-tall stone tablet, beside which there was a column with a string of lanterns hanging from top to bottom, making the words on the tablet very clear:
"Six rounds of reincarnation, no extermination."
Gu Shenwei was shocked with just a quick glance at it. These words made him realize the true meaning of the name Six Kills Temple and triggered some ideas in his mind. But he had no time to think it over as Shangguan Fei was already leading the way to the sharp corner in the east of the temple.
That corner was narrow and was occupied by a huge bronze tripod, where they barely found a place to stand. Now it was time for Slave Huan, who was the most powerful, to come in handy.
Gu Shenwei took the extended flying claw from Shangguan Fei and focused his eyes on the east wall of the Six Kills Temple.
Having never been here before, he did not know the exact location of the window except for some rough descriptions by Shangguan Fei, who was not attentive at all and could hardly tell the exact size or ground clearance of the window. He could only rely on his intuition as he made a darker location the target.
Shangguan Yushi kept nudging him on the waist, urging him to move quickly. He almost suspected that the girl wanted to make some trouble and place the blame for failure onto him.
Gu Shenwei threw the flying claw with Yang Strength, and just before the claw had left his hand, he attached some Yin Strength to it so that it could land lightly without making too much noise.
Although his Internal Strength was controlled by Mama Xue and could hardly be improved, he had been more and more skillful in the application of Yin Strength and Yang Strength.
The thin rope slipped quickly from Gu Shenwei's hands like a slippery snake. Their plan, which had taken them several days of preparation, was still full of holes. If the windows of the Six Kills Temple were closed in the evening, the flying claw could not hook onto anything and they could do nothing but gaze at the temple and sigh.
Finally, with a low click, the flying claw landed. The window was open.
They listened carefully without moving for quite a while. If that sound were to be noticed by the Sacred Masters, their entire plan to steal would be a total failure.
There were only the wind and the strange sounds that occasionally came from the abyss, sounding like a giant roc pecking at the eyeballs of a monster.
"Maybe there were people like us here," thought Gu Shenwei. He pulled the rope harder until it could not be pulled back anymore.
And the other three firmly tied the other end of the rope to the legs of the tripod.
Shangguan Yushi pulled the rope hard again. Making sure that it was firm enough, she nodded at Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru took a deep breath and grasped the rope from mid-air at first. She firmly held the rope with both hands and both legs, just like a monkey, and climbed toward the Six Kills Temple.
This was no joke. Although the cliff was the most powerful "guard" of Golden Roc Fort, it was different from humans. It would treat everybody equally and would not show mercy just because the challenger was a daughter of the Supreme King. Shangguan Ru would fall down and be smashed into pieces due to a touch of carelessness or if the flying claw was not firmly secured.
If such a tragedy took place, Slave Huan would have to pay for it with his own life, and even Shangguan Yushi would probably be unable to escape punishment. Therefore, these two kids were really haunted with fear.
Shangguan Ru's petite figure rushed into the darkness of the night and finally faded into the darkest shadow.
Following a flutter of tremors, the three teenagers at the corner finally relaxed as apparently Shangguan Ru had arrived safely.
Shangguan Yushi was next. Clutching the rope with one hand, she pointed at Shangguan Fei with the other hand, waved it, and then pointed to the distance, indicating that he should leave for observation.
During their practicing, Shangguan Fei had been very active. However, the rope was only a few feet above the ground then, but now, they were on a cliff with an abyss below them. He was extremely frightened and had to nod immediately to agree with his cousin's arrangement. He even felt that this arrangement was totally right.
Shangguan Yushi then turned to Slave Huan and waved her hand again.
Gu Shenwei was surprised. He could not stay. If he could not enter the Six Kills Temple, he would not be able to steal the wooden saber that Mama Xue wanted, and then his deliberate plan to make the twins "thieves" would simply be a game.
He shook his head.
But he had to nod at the firm eyes of Shangguan Yushi. After all, this was not the place for arguing.
He knew very well what Master Yu was thinking. Could anything else enhance friendship better than being "criminal partners"? She wanted to steal the Black Jade Palm with only two people and downgrade Slave Huan to a peripheral collaborator.
Shangguan Yushi climbed over along the rope. She was taller and her Qing Gong was much better, so there was almost no additional swing on the rope.
Gu Shenwei was pressing the rope with one hand. He only needed to shake it with a little "Yin and Yang Strength" and Shangguan Yushi would definitely fall, which would look like an accident, and he could get rid of a huge problem.
Gu Shenwei had never forgotten that this very girl had tried to assassinate him.
But the timing was not ideal. His most urgent task now was to steal the wooden saber.
He let go of the rope with regret, wondering when the next perfect opportunity would present itself.
Shangguan Fei looked at the torches in the distance with due diligence, not noticing the subtle movements of Slave Huan.
After Shangguan Yushi had also entered the temple, Gu Shenwei waited for a while and climbed onto the rope. He had already offended Master Yu anyway, and the grudges between them could never be resolved, so he did not care to offend her once more.
Shangguan Fei did not discover this until Gu Shenwei had climbed a few yards, and he stamped his feet anxiously. Not daring to stand between the cliff and shout, he could only watch the disobedient slave disappear into the darkness of the night.
Gu Shenwei had already climbed more than half of the way and was only a few feet away from the window. Suddenly, the rope loosened and he fell at once.
Gu Shenwei broke out in a cold sweat. However, after falling down for about a foot, the rope became stable again. Not daring to move rashly, he remained suspended in mid-air on the rope. Underneath him, there was an abyss that seemed to be able to swallow the entire world, and the rope was swaying in the mountain wind.
The idea of releasing the rope and ending everything was tempting to the young boy in danger, but he threw away the remaining idea of escape only for a short moment. He kept up his spirit and finished the final distance quickly.
The flying claw had moved from its original position and Gu Shenwei would have definitely died if there was not a small depression on the windowsill that had retained one hook of the claw.
Gu Shenwei immediately thought of Shangguan Yushi. It was definitely she who had loosened the flying claw to create an "accident".
Gu Shenwei grasped the flying claw again by force and fixed it in a firm position. Then, he turned to the inside of the Six Kills Temple.
The Six Kills Temple was extremely long and narrow, with long rows of pillars supporting the roof on both sides. A small silver plate was hung between every two pillars. On each plate there was a candle, illuminating the murals between the windows.
The murals were life-like portraits of knife-wielding men who were ancestors of the Shangguan family. There were many other places that were left blank, reserved for the descendants.
In the depths of the temple, however, there was not an ancestral tablet, but a huge, sheathless saber, which was even longer than an ordinary lance. Under the light of the row of candles, the snow-white blade was shining intimidatingly.
On the floor in front of the giant saber, two masked girls were tying up a gray-haired old man. The old man with his mouth stuffed was not resisting, obviously stricken by Shangguan Ru's overpowering drug. He did not faint but just lost his strength. Surprisingly, he even looked calm.
The girls looked up at Slave Huan and continued what they were doing. The lights were dim and came from a distance, so Gu Shenwei failed to clearly see Shangguan Yushi's expression.
This was not the right time for revenge. He looked around for traces of the wooden saber.
The hall was empty and the only objects inside were placed under the giant saber. Gu Shenwei went forward and saw the Black Jade Palm along with the altar, incense burners, porcelain vases, and various sacrifices. There were also some unique things that could never be seen in the ancestral halls of ordinary people, such as a pile of skeletons, real or not, and a few damaged armors. But there was no a sign of a wooden saber, which could be seen everywhere outside of Golden Roc Fort.
The giant saber was the only saber, but it was certainly not wooden.
Mama Xue clearly said that there was "a wooden saber". Gu Shenwei regretted not asking Mama Xue for more details, like for instance, if it was hidden somewhere.
Shangguan Ru jumped onto the altar and carefully appreciated the giant saber and the skeletons. This was the first time for her, probably also the first time for any female member of the Shangguan family, to enter the Six Kills Temple, so she was very curious about everything.
Shangguan Yushi waited by the altar for orders. Gu Shenwei looked around the hall again, but he could not find any place that seemed a possible location for the wooden saber to be hidden.
Shangguan Ru picked up the Black Jade Palm, which was just the size of a real palm, and put it into a bag that had been prepared beforehand. Then, she carried the bag and jumped off of the altar. She nodded at the other two and signaled them to leave.
Shangguan Yushi glanced at Gu Shenwei when passing by. But Gu Shenwei did not care at all. This was his only chance. If he could not find the wooden knife, he would probably suffer what Slave Qian had suffered.
The tied-up old man was lying on the ground and looking at the roof with a peaceful gaze, not caring at all about the three thieves who had intruded the hall.
Gu Shenwei also looked up at the roof. No, there was nothing there. Even if the wooden saber really was hidden there, he could not jump onto it.
Shangguan Ru called Gu Shenwei to leave immediately with a shush as she and Shangguan Yushi had already reached the window from which they had come in.
Gu Shenwei had no choice so he ran over quickly.
Shangguan Ru was still the first one to go out, leaving the pair of enemies, who ignored each other.
Shangguan Yushi suddenly turned to Gu Shenwei and said in a low voice, "Why do I always think you are planning some conspiracy?"
Gu Shenwei did not reply as he suddenly thought of a possible place where the wooden saber might be hidden.