Chapter 97: Alley Fighting
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
They separated at the southern border of South City. Tie Hanfeng took two horses to Southwall Tavern, while Gu Shenwei took the carriage to the apprentices' hideout.
Meanwhile, Shangguan Yushi was waiting for him angrily.
According to the plan, the assassination team should have returned to Golden Roc Fort by now. However, they were delayed by a servant for half a day.
"I thought that you had run away. If so, it would save a lot of trouble," Shangguan Yushi coldly said sarcastically. She pointed to the body in the middle of the hall. "Nobody will testify for you. Elderly Dragon is dead. How timely!"
The fatal blow to the body was on its chest and head, which was obviously not the style of a Golden Roc Fort killer.
"That's alright, I found another insider." Gu Shenwei turned toward the carriage in the yard. "He was trying to escape, but I got him."
"Did he confess?"
"No, he was trying to resist. So I knocked him out."
Someone went behind Shangguan Yushi, whose eyes flashed a more furious light than the killer leader. It was Liuhua, holding his shortbow in his left hand. He had already put his right hand on the quiver on his waist because he was so sensitive to the phrase "knock out".
"Bring him out and wake him up. I'll interrogate him myself." Shangguan Yushi ordered because she wanted to know who the hidden traitor was. "He should dare to plot against me. How bold!"
"I thought it best to take him to Heart Cleansing Yard on the mountain, in case a long night invites bad dreams." Gu Shenwei suggested, and stared at Liuhua, who survived last night purely out of East Castle's "no-kill order".
Shangguan Yushi was reluctant to take even one piece of the servant's advice. But not this time because she knew clearly that the hidden traitor being important in the castle meant that an interrogation by herself would not be safe, even she would get herself burned. It seemed to be best to let Heart Cleansing Yard handle it.
"Let's go now. Wait... wait till it's dark." Shangguan Yushi changed her mind as she shot a glance outside. Two dozen killer apprentices walking in the street in broad daylight would hurt their image. Moreover, it soon would be getting dark.
This fit in with Gu Shenwei's plan. "We need to protect the passenger. Elderly Dragon was killed, so our exposed hidden traitor obviously is also on the hit list."
Shangguan Yushi arranged apprentices to guard both sides of the carriage. She lifted up the curtain and swiftly turned back toward him.
Gu Shenwei, who was shadowing behind, whispered, "Someone must be coming, we'd better capture him alive."
Shangguan Yushi tilted away a little in disgust to keep her distance from him. She saw through his plan. "Has word gotten out?"
"Already to the entire South City."
Because Gu Shenwei had firmly believed in his Master Shifu's "spreading" capability, he now had to be in the tavern, "accidentally" leaking the news with his drunken talk.
"I hope you wouldn't be too smart this time again."
"My killer leader, I'm not the only one that he wanted to get rid of."
Shangguan Yushi snorted, but he said what was on her mind. In her increasingly close friendship with Shangguan Ru, she saw cruel fights in the castle, with both open and secret methods. Compared to that, this servant's threat was next to nothing.
Shangguan Yushi adjusted her orders. Five apprentices guarded the carriage, while the others hid in respective places in the yard. Besides, some traps were set up to attract the hunters.
A group of killer apprentices set up nets and snares to capture another killer alive.
The night had completely fallen on them. Still, with no attacker, the carriage would look suspicious if they continued to wait. Thus, Shangguan Yushi had to head back uphill to Stone Castle and carefully rearrange the details. She and four apprentices guarded the carriage and the other 16 hid in ambush. Slave Huan still filled in as the coachman.
It was cold. The rugged South City streets saw snowy water freeze at dusk and coaches move slowly. Apprentices held their sabers tightly and walked cautiously.
In the evening, it was rush hour in South City. Even severe weather could not stop visitors from emerging in all directions. Nevertheless, this gang of teenagers appeared out of the ordinary. Some avoided them, while some feared nothing and scrutinized them closely instead.
A drunk man appeared out of the blue from a lightless house and seized the shaft, vomiting on the ground. The carriage apprentices were caught off guard and had failed to stop him.
Shangguan Yushi did not hesitate to hack at him. Master Yu was fluent in Kung Fu, while the drunkard practiced Kung Fu as well. He was dexterous and crouched under the coach while cursing.
The nearby apprentices all scrambled and slashed under the carriage. The man hid from place to place safely. Moreover, he found the chance to jumped onto the carriage. Then he lifted up the curtain, and yelled "good dexterity". In the end, he jumped onto the nearby rooftops.
Gu Shenwei bore the saber under his thighs. He prepared himself as the drunkard showed up. As the man rolled over, he almost simultaneously struck with his saber.
The man was indeed dexterous, but he underestimated the coachman's skill. When he glanced into the carriage, he was hit on the left arm.
The ambushing apprentices reacted. Once the man had lost his chance, he was besieged from then on. Before he could say another "good dexterity", two more "good dexterities" headed toward him.
The drunkard could not make a sound but fell back. He was stretching his arms as if he was on ice. Then, he fell hard. One of the apprentices went to check it out and nodded at Shangguan Yushi. The troublemaker was dead.
He had bad luck. The rooftop that he jumped onto was where Wildhorse and another apprentice were.
Gu Shenwei was a bit disappointed not to capture him alive. Nevertheless, the man was obviously a spy, and more dexterous killers would follow.
The apprentices all became excited because fighting against unknown enemies was much more interesting than eliminating a tiny gang.
They were attacked on Pleasure Alley.
Pleasure Alley sat at a junction and was necessary to pass to return to North City. It also saw a large passenger flow, but few people could pay the price. Most of them just passed by and broke their necks hoping to get a sneak peek of some famous prostitute.
The carriage was besieged by the crowd. It was now even harder to keep pedestrians away. Hence, Gu Shenwei just drove regardless of the cursing people. He held both the reins and the whip with his left hand, while his right hand always held onto his saber because he knew it was about to be the last moment.
Windows were open on both sides. Many people leaned forward to view the scene and some were even famous prostitutes. It became more chaotic on the street.
An old woman shouted in a hoarse voice, "Hey you, girl in men's clothes, come here, I'll teach you some tricks to make men die for you."
Shangguan Yushi became furious and darted out a hidden weapon. Though the old woman was prepared for this, she still got hit in the shoulder. She then shrank back, barking like a mad dog. "Here comes the killer! Here comes the killer!"
The shouts were like signals. Those rowdy people on both sides all disappeared at once. In their place, a dozen arrows were shot simultaneously at the carriage.
The Dragon Year apprentices were well-known in Golden Roc Fort, while a few had heard of them here in Jade City. Ordinary people were bound to take these teenagers lightly.
There were more than 20 rival killers. But they could only shoot 14 arrows because the others were brutally eliminated just as they showed their faces. After one round of shooting, eight or nine bodies fell from the windows.
The prostitutes and elderly women all cried out in fear. This time, they were genuinely frightened, no longer bluffing.
The people on the streets did not figure out what was going on and took it as a new trick of the prostitutes. Some even cheered. After some were hit by stray arrows, the streets finally went into turmoil.
Four of the 14 arrows went astray, hurting the pedestrians. Seven were blocked by the apprentices. Still, three went inside the carriage.
With the reins in hand, Gu Shenwei turned around to block another arrow. He lifted up the curtain to check.
One arrow was nailed to the coach, the other two shot the real coachman. The siblings of the Xu family were shivering under the coachman's body.
"You drive!" Gu Shenwei shouted and snatched out Xu Xiaoyi. He passed over the reins and the whip. "Hold it tight, don't lose control." Then, he jumped onto the top of the carriage.
Xu Xiaoyi was even too scared to refuse. He shrank himself and held the reins tightly, as if his life was on the verge of death.
Fights broke out in every direction. In the houses, on the rooftops, and in the streets, the clashing of weapons lingered on. The teenage apprentices were silent, while the attackers shouted spiritedly. But the shouts gradually died out over time.
Last night's imperfect assassination had pushed their accumulated killing desire to the breaking point. They needed a release. Thus, the head-on attackers were like sheep into a wolf's den. They were shredded to pieces in an instant.
Gu Shenwei was kneeling on the top of the carriage with a single leg, looking around nervously. Suddenly, he discovered that the four apprentices and Shangguan Yushi were all gone. They had been lured by blood, all of them chasing on the rooftops after the last attackers.
The formation broke down in an instant and the fighting spread over to the other streets. No one was on Pleasure Alley, except for the single carriage and its only defender.
A group of people rode from the opening of the street. They smashed every lantern they met. It was like a flying cloud that was about to shroud the streets.
"Run!" Gu Shenwei commanded, but the carriage was still motionless in its spot. Xu Xiaoyi was scared stiff like a wooden saber. He just could not loosen his hand on the reins.
So, Gu Shenwei patted his head with the back of the knife. Xu Xiaoyi screamed, then fainted and fell over.
The two riding horses had been restrained for a long time. They ran like hell once they were released, almost making Gu Shenwei on the top of the carriage trip over.
Gu Shenwei held on to the edge tightly, cursing the useless Xu Xiaoyi in his head.
The carriage ran wildly for dozens of steps before it suddenly became smooth again. He took a look and discovered that it was Xu Yanwei who was holding the reins. She looked weak, but faced with a crisis, she was stronger than her brother.
"Don't drive too fast."
Gu Shenwei ordered her. The apprentices were high on killing. It was unlikely that they would leave any attackers alive, so he had to capture somebody himself.
Those people on the horses rode faster and faster. Now he could recognize that there were 11 people, judging by their figures. They all had the normal blades of a bandit gang and were not masked.
"That's him," somebody in the chase shouted.
Gu Shenwei's heart beat faster. Apparently, that "him" meant himself. "Why would they switch their target from 'the insider' to me?"