Chapter 61: The Hostage
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Shangguan Yushi was the twins' cousin and best friend, and her father was one of Supreme King's late distant relatives and capable assistants. But none of these could save her from being beheaded as a sacrifice since, by Lord's order, she was as low as a servant.
She had expected that. Although she was only 15, Shangguan Yushi knew Stone Castle's rules better than most of the people. A disgraced master was no better than a favored servant. Shangguan Ru, whom she had been relying on, had not fully grown up. Though she was Supreme King's favorite child, she did not have power. This was the essential difference between the ninth child and the eldest child.
From this moment on, whether Shangguan Yushi and Slave Huan could live or not all depended on Shangguan Ru's will.
Shangguan Ru seized the dagger from her cousin, stood in front of them, and said to her elder brother, "No."
Shangguan Chui, Supreme King's eldest son, slowly shook his head. He always thought that his father should not spoil the twins. No such folly would have happened if his father had listened to him. "Enough, my little sister, don't be such a child."
Supreme King had nine sons and eight daughters, among whom Shangguan Ru was the youngest child. However, she had long been claiming to be a boy and older than Shangguan Fei, therefore, she was not happy with the address "little sister".
She held the dagger tightly, and her head high. "I said no."
With a look of disapproval on their faces, the two men at the door looked at the stubborn little girl. Unlike the Shadow Guard, they were experienced, so the dagger was as ridiculous as a baby's stick in their eyes.
Mister Guo took a step.
But Shangguan Ru put the saber against her own neck. "Stop. One more step, I'll kill myself."
There were about 10 steps between them. Mister Guo felt that he would be able to take Miss Ru's dagger, yet he still stopped and looked at his Young Master, with no intention of taking the risk.
"It's a mistake to let you wear men's clothes and learn Kung Fu. When do women in the Shangguan family start to disobey their father and elder brother?"
Shangguan Chui's words showed his attitude, thus Mister Guo took another step and measured his distance from Miss Ru. He only had to take two more steps to seize the dagger without hurting her.
Shangguan Ru suddenly put down her dagger, but she did not give up. She rushed to the bed, grabbed Shangguan Fei by her right hand, twisted it behind him, and then put the dagger against his brother's neck.
She had risked it all. She still remembered what Master Shifu had taught her, fixing her eyes at the blade and watching her enemies only from the corners of her eyes. "Since women in our family don't matter, then I'll kill a man."
No one expected that, including Shangguan Yushi, who dared not speak in front of Shangguan Chui but stood still in the corner with Slave Huan, letting the family drama decide whether she would live or not.
Shangguan Fei was undoubtedly the most surprised. From the moment his elder brother came in, he had been standing by the bedside with his head down, only too anxious to confess and end everything. The last thing he wanted was to become the center of attention. It never occurred to him that he would be taken hostage.
"Hey…"
Shangguan Fei's voice trembled. The dagger had just been used and was still stained with blood which seemed to be dripping onto his skin. Since they were born of the same parents and were always by each other's side. He believed the threat was real.
Shangguan Ru whispered "shut up", as she gripped his hand hard.
Mister Guo stopped again. He had learned about the group's scheme earlier, therefore he did not show up until he could catch them red-handed. Everything went as expected. The only thing he did not see coming was that Miss Ru could be so stubborn.
"Stop it!" Shangguan Chui uttered a scream of anger and wanted to seize the dagger himself as he stepped forward.
Shangguan Ru resolutely pressed the blade into Shangguan Fei's neck a little. Feeling a pain in his neck, Shangguan Fei immediately cried. "Spare me, my sister. Save me, my elder brother!"
Shangguan Chui had to pause. He only wanted to take advantage of this to suppress Lady Meng, a woman who was younger than him, yet increasingly favored by Lord, much more than any lady. This upset him a lot. Golden Roc Fort was a man's world, where women had no say, let alone power. All of this changed because of Lady Meng's marriage.
He did not like Shangguan Fei either, but he could not take the consequences.
Shangguan Ru's killer instinct was set off by the sight of her brother's blood. Finally, she could join a real battle, instead of a playful game. "I don't care about the 'The Draconic Ascent of the Ten Sons'. I'll kill one son first, then only eight will be left. Then we'll see how you explain it to father."
Shangguan Fei could do nothing but cry. He had always been weaker than his sister in Kung Fu. At this moment, he was more vulnerable than ever.
Gu Shenwei did not understand what "The Draconic Ascent of the Ten Sons" meant, for there was an unwritten rule in Stone Castle: The servants could gossip, but they were not allowed to talk about Lord and his descendants. Therefore, he did not have an answer to this until later. For now, he could only speculate that it was a prophecy that involved Supreme King having ten sons.
It was obvious that the Shuangguan family believed the prophecy and took it seriously because suddenly Shangguan Chui's countenance changed, and he stood back with eyebrows raised in fury.
If Shangguan Ru seized Lord's lifeline, she seized the Young Master's lifeline.
"What the hell do you want?" Shangguan Chui asked irritably.
"I want to see my father. I don't believe a single word of yours. I don't think my father will punish me."
She actually did believe so, but only in front of her father would she have the opportunity to act like a spoiled child, saving her two favorite people's lives.
Shangguan Chui hesitated a little, looking at Mister Guo. Mister Guo shook his head. They wanted to make Lady Meng ashamed. He must not give the little girl any chance to win. He did not believe she would kill her own brother, either.
The room was quiet and everyone's thoughts were like a snake's tongue, moving and sniffing around for the prey, ready for the next move.
Soon someone took action. It was hard to tell who was the first attacker, but all the same, the situation suddenly became chaotic. Everyone wanted to solve it in their own way.
Shangguan Chui and Mister Guo dashed like moving ghosts. One grabbed Shangguan Ru's dagger, and the other rescued the crying Shangguan Fei.
Shangguan Ru was so determined. Since she did not have the heart to hurt her own brother, she could only turn the dagger against herself.
Meanwhile, or even earlier, Shangguan Yushi rushed toward the twins and held the two of them. Although she was slower than the two adults, she was nearer to them, so the three of them reached their targets almost at the same time.
Suddenly, the light went out and the room was dark.
Gu Shenwei had knocked over the lamp.
He did not know how long Shangguan Ru could protect him and whether she could protect him or not. So he decided to trigger chaos. He would not die in peace if he had not killed anyone from the Shangguan family at the end of his life.
There were noises of fallen tables and chairs, slashing daggers, wooden sabers and swinging fists. Some shouted, and some screamed. Finally, someone snapped and said, "Stop, all of you. I'll go for Lord."
Finally, Shangguan Chui gave up. Supreme King had left the matter to him. He would be very embarrassed if something happened to the twins.
Everyone stopped. Gu Shenwei did not hit anyone, but stumbled over a body on the ground, stained with blood.
"Now..."
It was Shangguan Ru's voice. She made a mistake.
Shangguan Chui had received strict killer training, among which telling the sound in the dark was one of the required skills. He could not tell where they were at the beginning because of the chaos. Now that everyone had stopped, he quickly gained the advantage.
Before she could finish her words, Shangguan Ru screamed for she had already been seized on both sides by her brother. The dagger had been taken away as well.
Hearing Shangguan Fei's crying, Mister Guo darted to pick him up.
"Light it up." Shangguan Chui ordered.
Finding no serious injury on Shangguan Fei, Mister Guo released him and struck a match to find the lamp that was left with some oil in the dim light.
In such a short time, the room had become a complete mess.
Shangguan Chui frowned. He would lose face if people knew Supreme King's eldest son had been forced upon by his little sister.
"Cut off their heads, and bring these two scourges to Six Kills Temple."
Shangguan Chui wanted nothing now but to solve the problem as soon as possible.
"You said…"
"I said that after your conviction outside Six Kills Temple, I'd bring you to father."
Shangguan Chui tossed the dagger away, turning to Shangguan Fei and said, "What about you? You also want to see father?"
"No, I... I'll listen to you, my brother."
Shangguan Fei was still in shock, and did not dare to see his father at all. He went to the bed, picking up Black Jade Palm and the wooden saber and said, "We could also bring these two back."
Shangguan Chui nodded. "So many quarrels would have been spared if Lady Meng and his little sister behaved."
Shangguan Yushi sat on the ground, pale-faced and hair scattered. The Shangguan surname could not protect her, neither could the unusual friendship with Shangguan Ru.
On the other side, Gu Shenwei was still sitting in the blood, and the dagger thrown away by Shangguan Chui was at his feet.
"Wait for a miracle, or pick up the dagger and take the risk?"
"As long as I could kill one Shangguan's descendant," he thought. "I won't have gone through the humiliation and grief in vain." He chose Shangguan Fei as his target.
Just as he moved his finger, there came the "miracle", but not for him. A woman yelled outside. "Lord's order, Lord's order!"
Aunt Tong rushed in breathlessly. She did not practice Kung Fu and running around burdened her.
"Young Master, Lord's order, he'll come to settle this up in person."
Shangguan Chui's face became sullen. "I haven't received such an order."
Aunt Tong was slightly surprised as she glanced over the mess in the room, but she turned to her Young Master immediately. "I got the token."
Then she took out a small white jade knife from inside her sleeve, holding it up high.