Chapter 60: Failure
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Shangguan Yushi did not expect a clear answer from Slave Huan. She just wanted to show that she was not foolish and kept watching him. Hence, after achieving her goal, she humphed and climbed out of the window.
Gu Shenwei was all alone with an old man, who was still tied with a rope under the giant saber. The latter seemed obedient and did not care about anything in the world.
Gu Shenwei instantly looked forward against the wall. Soon his heart jumped because he had seen the wooden saber by chance. "God helps those who help themselves," Gu Shenwei thought. The wooden saber was inlaid on the wall near to him. A slender and tall man-in-black pictured in the mural held it, so it was slightly more prominent than the wall. Without purposefully and cautiously looking for it, the saber was hard to be found.
Gu Shenwei rushed to the wall. He quickly drew out the wooden saber tied on his waist and replaced the one in the mural.
Wooden sabers made in Golden Roc Fort looked basically the same. Even their owners had difficulty distinguishing one saber from the other.
Gu Shenwei stuck the fake saber in the mural and hastily glanced at the old man. The latter still stared at the ceiling and ignored what had happened around him.
"Perhaps the old man is a hidden kung fu master." This strange idea came to his mind. But he immediately ran back to the window. Now he could not think too much, because the most urgent thing was to fulfill the task ordered by Mama Xue.
He climbed out of the window and crawled along the rope. Staying with Shangguan Ru, Shangguan Yushi would likely be unable to move the rope in order to murder him again.
Back on the ground, Gu Shenwei untied the rope and let it hang outside of the Six Kills Temple's wall. The flying claw would stay there forever.
Four "great thieves" retreated to the roads from which they came and Gu Shenwei was the last one to jump out of the wall. They had never thought their heist would be completed so successfully, so they were excited but also worried.
After all, Golden Roc Fort was the masters' home. Once they exited Six Kills Temple, Shangguan Fei became brave again. Several times, he pestered his sister Shangguan Ru and wanted to see Black Jade Palm. However, Shangguan Ru rejected him. In her mind, their mission was still going on and they should continuously pretend to be the "great thieves".
However, Shangguan Ru was less steadfast, because she suspected that someone had known their plan and secretly helped them. Perhaps, it was another game arranged by others. Particularly, the old man in the temple was too vulnerable. He almost seemed willing to be tied up by them. The whole thing was doubtful.
Her doubts were quickly confirmed.
When they arrived back to Shangguan Ru's residence, someone was already waiting there.
In fact, there should have been a man in the room—the armed teenager, who they had captured. But now, the person in her room was not the tied-up young man.
This man, wearing a long and grey robe, was very thin and short. He was standing in the dark. As soon as the four "thieves" walked into the room, he lighted up the little candle on the table. The light lit up his face with a humble and well-prepared smile.
"I wish, Master Fei and Master Ru, everything goes well."
The man spoke in an over-pleased voice and bowed to the twins, which made his smile more hypocritical. But he did not greet to Shangguan Yushi.
"How could you be here? Who let you in?" It was Shangguan Ru's sharp reprimand.
When seeing this man, the four of them were astonished. But Shangguan Ru still behaved tyrannically. She ripped off the black veil and harshly questioned him, while looking for the armed teenager. Sure enough, he had disappeared.
Gu Shenwei was more surprised than the others, since he had met the man in grey once.
The person wearing the grey robe was surnamed Guo. People in Golden Roc Fort called him Mister Guo. In the murder case of Han Shiqi, he had suggested that all slaves in Firewood Yard were suspicious and insisted on enlarging the range of investigation, so they could find out the man behind the murder.
Gu Shenwei also heard the rumor that Mister Guo was the confidant of the Fifth Young Master. People said he did not get along very well with the Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu.
Mister Guo worked in Whiterobe Academy of East Castle. Gu Shenwei had not figured out what exactly people in Whiterobe Academy did, so he doubted he could enter Shangguan Ru's residence.
"Miss, I'm ordered to bring two items back."
"Whose order ?" Shangguan Ru said angrily.
Shangguan Ru was still tough and uncompromising. But Gu Shenwei was shocked again... "Two things? That means they might know I've stolen the wooden saber from the temple."
"The order that the Seventh Supreme King set down: Anyone trespassing in the Six Kills Temple will be beheaded. I follow it." Mister Guo answered calmly.
Shangguan Ru suddenly flushed. No one had threatened her with "death" since she was born. "Alright. You wanna kill me? Then do it."
After finishing her words, she untied the baggage and took the Black Jade Palm out. However, Shangguan Ru did not give it to Mister Guo, but held it tightly to her chest. She felt uneasy, not only because of Mister Guo's offensive behavior, but also the failure of their stealing. Standing behind her, Shangguan Fei was embarrassed and restless, while Shangguan Yushi had already clenched the wooden saber with a cold face.
Mister Guo's humble smile still remained. "Of course I won't dare to hurt Miss. I just want to take the two things back. Then Lord will personally deal with the rest."
Although he did not criticize them directly, his words revealed that Mister Guo thought they were treasonous. Shangguan Yushi could not help but raise her head and said scornfully, "Two items? Are you sure?"
Gu Shenwei took out the wooden saber and held it with both hands. He just stepped forward and did not know how to explain it.
"Humph! It's you. I knew it... "
Shangguan Yushi goggled and yelled at him. At this time, Shangguan Ru grabbed the wooden saber from Slave Huan. She quickly said, "I let him take it. Now both things are in my hand. But you don't deserve to bring them back."
Gu Shenwei lowered his head and dared not to say anything. Shangguan Ru had saved him again.
Although Shangguan Yushi did not believe Master Ru's explanation, she kept silent.
Mister Guo would not be annoyed by these teenagers' words. He just bowed again and gently said, "Miss is right. Now I'll invite someone qualified to come here."
When Mister Guo was going to leave, Shangguan Ru suddenly brandished the wooden saber toward his neck. The "Miss" from Mister Guo's mouth felt piercingly ironic to her.
Mister Guo suddenly stepped forward and narrowly avoided her attack. Then he went out of the room, as if nothing had happened.
Mister Guo seemed like a plain scholar, but surprisingly, he was a kung fu master.
"You won't be tricked by Miss, right?" Mister Guo spoke to the armed teenager.
"I won't." Standing outside the door, he answered in a low and muffled voice and then flashed into the room.
He was Shangguan Ru's Shadow Guard, who looked ashen from shame.
As a special group in Golden Roc Fort, Shadow Guards protected their masters, but they could not show their face.
Their responsibility required them to make no mistakes.
The armed teenager was tied up like a dumpling after he accidentally had smelled the knockout powder. It was not only a burning shame for him, but also meant his Shadow Guard career was over. Now Mister Guo ordered him to guard the four teenagers in the room, which clearly proved he could not be a Shadow Guard forever, because he had shown his face in front of his master.
The armed teenager stood at the door, right hand taking the saber. His finger became white, because he held the saber too tight. The young guard gazed at the corner and studiously avoided people's eyes.
"The two masters are very stubborn. You can take this opportunity to prove you're serious."
Mister Guo ordered from outside and then it became quiet again. He left without making any sound.
Shangguan Ru passed the Black Jade Palm and the wooden saber to Slave Huan. She raised her head up proudly and walked toward her Shadow Guard. "Are you serious? So am I."
Without completing her words, Shangguan Ru hit the guard with her right hand and obstructed his view. Simultaneously, she flicked the colorless and tasteless knockout powder with her left hand.
This was the second time she had played this trick. Of course, the guard would not be played like a fool again. He flashed quickly and dodged her right-hand attack, while using his left sleeve to ward off the knockout powder and rebounded off it.
Shangguan Ru herself breathed in the knockout powder. She could not stand steadily and fell backward into Shangguan Yushi's arms. Shangguan Yushi said harshly, "How dare you!"
The guard did not say anything but just drew out the saber. Shangguan Fei abruptly jumped behind the two girls. He yelled, "What are you doing?"
The guard wanted to prove he was definitely serious. His attack target was not the masters, but the only present slave.
Since being attacked by this guard, Gu Shenwei had known the armed teenager's kung-fu level was higher than his own. Now he held the wooden saber and Black Jade Palm in his hands, so he became more anxious. At this critical moment, Gu Shenwei suddenly took a deep breath and fell backward as he faced the saber.
He was wounded. The tip of the saber had cut his clothes and left a long and shallow mark on his chest.
The guard did not kill Gu Shenwei at the first movement, but he gave up attacking again. He put the saber back into the sheath and turned over, as if everything had been solved.
Now, the four "great thieves" knew the guard was "serious".
Gu Shenwei stood up unsteadily. His legs trembled from of the unexpected attack. If the armed teenager's kung fu were any better, he would have died in Golden Roc Fort, though nobody knew his true identity and purpose.
Luckily, Gu Shenwei's wound was not severe, so he did not need to bind it. Besides, no one tried to offer him help.
The knockout powder did not have an antidote, but recovery was quick. Carrying Shangguan Ru, Shangguan Yushi helped her sit on the edge of the bed and rubbed her forehead gently for a while. Soon Shangguan Ru could sit straight by herself. Her face flushed with anger. Gu Shenwei had seen it several times.
"Let the old rascal tell my father. No one dares to hurt you," Shangguan Ru said with great anger.
Shangguan Ru just humphed as Shangguan Yushi comforted her. She was planning how to "take revenge". In her eyes, Mister Guo and the armed teenager had committed the most heinous crimes.
"We're just playing a game with them, right? Later, we'll return the stuff."
Shangguan Fei murmured. He was a little frightened now.
Gu Shenwei knew he was not qualified to talk, so he remained silent and took the opportunity to observe Shangguan Ru's room.
The room was only a little bigger than the servants', so its decoration was also very simple. There was some stuff, like tables, chairs, and stoves. Curiously, he did not find anything special for a girl. Although Shangguan Ru was arrogant and owned lots of slaves in the castle, to his surprise, she lived in quite a simple room. Gu Shenwei realized that Supreme King spared no efforts making his daughter look like a boy.
After she could stand up, Shangguan Ru waved to Slave Huan and took the Black Jade Palm and the wooden saber back. Holding them now in each of her hand, she said stubbornly, "Unless Lord comes here, no one can take them away from me."
Shangguan Fei drew back his neck and kept silent, but Shangguan Yushi tightly held the Ninth Young Master's shoulder and showed a firm look, as did Shangguagn Ru. "Right, people in Six Kills Temple didn't stop us. Now they want to take the items. No way!"
Gu Shenwei expected the whole thing would soon pass, but also hoped Shangguan Ru could draw all people's attention, because he had brought two fake wooden sabers. One was inlaid in the mural, the other was held by Shangguan Ru. Actually, the real one had been concealed by him.
This trick was originally going to deal with Mama Xue, but he had used it because of the accident. Once somebody found the saber was fake, even Supreme King's daughter could not save the audacious servant's life.