Chapter 65: Family Affair
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Shangguan Nu slanted the saber in his left hand to the ground, wielded the hook on his right hand, and impaled Mama Xue's head. He then raised it high, appreciating it carefully.
Due to the excessive loss of blood and the pale moonlight, Mama Xue's originally sallow face seemed as stiff and lifeless as the stonemen's nearby.
The headless corpse collapsed, while the black-masked assassin vanished in mid-air, just as fast and mysteriously as he had appeared.
Gu Shenwei shivered several times in a row. With all the pores on his body fully opened, bursts of hot and cold air were emitted in waves, as if something that had been living in his body for a long time was frantically escaping.
He had never been soberer and calmer than he was now.
It turned out that the wooden saber and the stonemen were a trap that Golden Roc Fort had set for the Barren Sect. It was exactly through this that Shangguan Nu managed to find out Mama Xue's origin.
Next, how would the Eighth Young Master deal with the slave who had snitched on Mama Xue? Gu Shenwei struggled to stand up and rubbed off the blood and filth around the corner of his mouth, waiting patiently.
Although the burning pain had disappeared, the Internal Qi inside his Dantian was still unstable like billowing water. However, he had no time to attend to it.
Shangguan Nu sheathed his saber, used his left hand to pull Mama Xue's head off, and then said to the teenager hiding in the corner, "Throw it off."
Gu Shenwei was momentarily puzzled by the command, but he soon realized that "it" referred to the headless body and "off" the cliff at the end of the alley.
Since dumping corpses had been his old job in Firewood Yard after he entered Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei was familiar with it. He gripped the corpse by one foot and dragged it deeper into the alley, completely ignoring the blood left on the ground.
At the end of the stone figures was a pile of rubble, and behind it was indeed a cliff. After throwing the corpse off of it, Gu Shenwei suddenly felt relaxed, and the fear entangled in his heart also disappeared. In his eyes, the Eighth Young Master became an ordinary person, a common killer, and an average son of Supreme King.
Shangguan Nu had been following the teenager a few steps away, his left hand pressing his saber hilt. He was surprised by Slave Huan's change. A moment ago, he was vomiting violently because of Mama Xue's death, but now he was composed, as if what he had thrown off was merely junk.
Only those without fear toward death could qualify as real killers. Therefore, Shangguan Nu loosened his saber-wielding hand a bit.
Over the past year, Gu Shenwei had witnessed so many killings and deaths, but fear had never subsided in his heart until tonight. The black-masked assassin's one, clean, and swift cut had pushed his fear to the limit, and then it had faded away.
On the Giant Rock Cliff, he did not have such feelings when Supreme King's subordinates killed the giant rocs in a similar way. At that time, he was immersed in grief and neglected his own life-and-death situation.
Shangguan Nu stared at Slave Huan standing at the edge of the cliff. With a simple movement, he could kill the slave, and he could even avoid the trouble of dumping the corpse. What a great temptation.
"Let's go."
Shangguan Nu turned around with Mama Xue's head in hand and walked toward the alley's exit.
Gu Shenwei closely followed him. He felt the Eighth Young Master's killing intent gradually fade away as they walked on. Shangguan Nu had restored his inconspicuous state before they had walked out of the "hilt" part of the alley. Only the head that he carried indicated his identity as a killer.
A killer with black clothes and a red belt was waiting at the alley entrance. He immediately knelt on one knee upon seeing Shangguan Nu, holding a red wooden box high with both hands.
Shangguan Nu put Mama Xue's head into the box. He drew out a handkerchief, wiped the iron hook of his right hand carefully, and then cleaned his left hand skillfully. With a year of practice, his left hand was even more flexible than his right hand was before.
Shangguan Nu looked back, and Slave Huan immediately realized what he should do. Therefore, he stepped forth to take the red box from the killer and carried it as his master moved on while the assassin in black quietly retreated.
The two returned to the Eighth Young Master's place. Shangguan Nu seemed to have a well-thought-out plan. After they entered the courtyard, he directly walked toward the small hall in the backyard. Upon seeing the master, a killer guarding the hall bowed and left the yard right away.
Lights were on in the small hall. Obviously, someone was expecting the Eighth Young Master.
Shangguan Nu pushed the door open and went inside while Gu Shenwei hesitated a bit before following him in.
A half-transparent screen was placed inside, behind which the Eighth Young Mistress and Maid Cui's figures could vaguely be seen. The four maids, Chen, Xin, Ru, and Yi, stood beside the screen, panicking and seeming to wait for an imminent disaster.
Someone was kneeling on the floor. Gu Shenwei recognized that it was Maid Lotus, despite her being prostrated and her hidden expression.
Gu Shenwei knelt by Maid Lotus' side right away, understanding that Shangguan Nu meant to attend to his family affairs.
Since he rode into the Iron Mountain bandit camp and saw the ragtag group, Shangguan Nu had been disappointed with the marriage. The performance of Bighead Kingpin's daughter in Golden Roc Fort further justified his initial judgment.
Speaking of the people that she had brought, they turned out to have been bought on the spur of the moment. She had not even checked their backgrounds. In the end, two kids assassinated one of his killers and made him a laughingstock.
Speaking of her, she apparently knew that her husband and her mother-in-law, Lady Meng, were in the same league, but she still acted in an arbitrary and reckless way and almost offended everyone in the castle, weakening her husband's power and influence.
Finally, her wet nurse turned out to be a spy sent by Golden Roc Fort's enemy, which almost brought him big disgrace again in front of his father.
"She's a jinx with a fairly useless good appearance," Shangguan Nu thought bitterly. He had never wanted to be the only man that could see her face.
"My husband..."
Miss greeted him, her voice trembling. No matter how peremptory she was ordinarily, she had long sensed that the atmosphere was stifling, different from normal times. The strangest thing was that Mama Xue was nowhere to be found.
"Get out," Shangguan Nu ordered coldly.
The four maids near the screen all left, lowering their heads and holding their breath. The blind, tongueless Maid Cui only hesitated a short while, and then also walked around the screen and left the room. She was so panicked that she almost hit the door frame.
As all the maids had left, Bighead Kingpin's daughter felt much lonelier and asked, "My husband, what exactly has happened?"
"Show her." Shangguan Nu's voice could barely hide his fury.
.
Gu Shenwei moved on his knees to the edge of the screen and held the red wooden box high. He tried his best to keep his head low and not see the slightest bit of Miss Luo.
After a long, depressing silence, Miss finally spoke. Her tone sounded calm and even revealed a trace of self-mockery. "I have finally gotten rid of her. My husband, is this a gift from you?"
Neither Shangguan Nu nor Gu Shenwei had expected such a response from Luo Ningcha. For the first time, Gu Shenwei thought that maybe Miss was not as stupid as he had thought.
"Don't you want to know why I killed her?"
"She's humble concubine's slave and also yours. My Lord doesn't need a reason to kill a slave."
"Humph, what a good wife. Mama Xue was Golden Roc Fort's enemy. She sneaked here under a false name to steal something. It's a pity that the two helpers she selected snitched on her on the same day."
Gu Shenwei suddenly came to understand what Slave Qian said before his death, "Mama Xue will kill the three of us." Back then, he suspected that the third person could not be Maid Cui, who had delivered the message for them. "But Maid Lotus had seemed very loyal to Mama Xue, so why did she also snitch on Mama Xue? Has she also been planted with the finger energy that caused Qi Deviation? Most importantly, has she already revealed this to the Eighth Young Master?"
Gu Shenwei became uneasy again, but what Miss said next made him uneasier.
"Although Mama Xue claimed to be my wet nurse, in fact, she had never nurtured me. She came to Iron Mountain a few years ago. She dared to cheat my father. My husband, thanks to your keen observation, you've found out her true identity. I'll write to tell my father all this, and he'll be grateful to you."
"It's been years and you don't know the origins of the people around you. Which one is trustworthy among the slaves that you've brought?"
"Easy, my husband. These slaves always create trouble for you and me. There's no need to keep them, kill them all if you like."
Bighead Kingpin's daughter had never spoken to please another like this before. When she first entered the castle, she was mad for a long time just due to the matter of changing her maid Little Ru's name, but now she readily suggested killing all the slaves.
The advice was so vicious that even Shangguan Nu frowned. Mama Xue's death would inevitably cause some rumors, and if he killed a dozen slaves, it would probably become well-known to the people of Jade City at the foot of the mountain.
"Leave this alone. From now on, I forbid your father from sending more people here. It'd be better for those thieves and swindlers to stay at the bandit camp."
"Yes. Your humble concubine obeys your order."
It was unprecedented for Miss to speak in such a humble manner. Gu Shenwei even doubted that the person behind the screen was Luo Ningcha. Later, he heard her sobbing, and could not help sympathizing with her.
His wife's humility greatly alleviated Shangguan Nu's indignation. After all, she was Bighead Kingpin's daughter, and even Supreme King could not punish her casually.
"Somebody."
Hearing Shangguan Nu's call, a killer in black appeared from nowhere.
"Lock up these two slaves and wait for my order," Shangguan Nu said.
Gu Shenwei moved back on his knees, put down the red wooden box, stood up, and left the room with Maid Lotus. Since neither of them had gained the Eighth Young Master's complete trust yet, he was still considering how to deal with these two snitches.
The assassin in black strictly executed the master's order and shut the teenage boy and girl into the same room located in the front yard.
The room was rather small. Even though they stayed in different corners, they were still just a few steps away from each other.
It was past midnight. The assassin locked the door and went to rest. Since there were guards everywhere in the castle, he bet that the two slaves would not dare to escape.
Neither Gu Shenwei nor Maid Lotus lay down to sleep, nor did they speak to each other.
Gu Shenwei was haunted by considerable doubts, which kept arising before he could figure any of them out. It so happened that he was wondering why he had survived Mama Xue's last kick when the hot Qi in his Xuanji acupoint lost control again and rushed to his Dantian.
What a coincidence! Mama Xue predicted that he would frequently suffer Qigong Deviations and definitely die within three years. More than two months ago, he had already experienced it on the Giant Rock Cliff once, and now, he had to undergo it again.
However, compared with the powerful finger energy that Mama Xue used several hours ago, this Qigong Deviation came in a gentle and mild way. Gu Shenwei could even endure it without falling down, and only a layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He thought about the Chinese characters in the "Nameless Swordbook" and tried to turn the hot Qi into his own Internal Strength. This might have been the most painful cultivation method in the world. However, he had no alternative. He could not improve his Yin and Yang Strength without doing this.
The symptoms of Qigong Deviation gradually disappeared at dawn. Gu Shenwei heaved a long sigh and surprisingly found that he had reached the third level of Yin Strength. He had practiced hard but had gotten nowhere, today he achieved his goal because of the latent danger that his enemy had imposed on him. Thinking of this, he could not help smiling bitterly.
Maid Lotus, who had not looked at Slave Huan throughout the night, suddenly turned her head and asked, "You have Qigong Deviation, too?"
"Yeah, I've suffered it twice."
"I experienced my first a month ago," Maid Lotus said.
The fact that both of them had been planted with Peripheral Force by Mama Xue quickly bound them together.
"I think Miss will kill both of us," Maid Lotus said with a heavy heart.
Gu Shenwei was shocked by Maid Lotus' obtrusive remark, because he felt the same way.