Death Scripture

The room was dimly candlelit. Even though it was midsummer, the windows, as well as the door, were covered using cotton quilts. Four huge copper furnaces were placed in different corners of the room and were burning hot. The moment Gu Shenwei entered the room, he felt an onrushing wave of heat which nearly choked him.

The killer knelt down on one leg and lowered his head to pay respects. He had concealed a dagger in his thigh area to give himself a fighting chance if circumstances became desperate.

“Killer Yang Huan pays respects to the lord.”

The Supreme King was wearing a baggy white robe. He stood more than ten steps away from the killer and was making panting noises as if he was a male lion which had just chased after a prey.

The panting continued for some time before the Supreme King began to talk. His voice sounded soft and weak, causing him to lose a large part of his dignity of former days and to seem rather more indifferent and weary. “What’s the taste of the fresh blood of the Shangguan Family? I’ve almost forgotten it myself, but since you’ve just tasted it, you can probably tell me about it. My son is beginning to collapse, and thus, as the first person to attack him, you should speak up.”

Gu Shenwei had come with a fearless mindset which was prepared for death. Yet, he involuntarily shuddered when he felt a chilly sensation rushing from his back to the top of his head, while the room became so hot that the air was beginning to feel thicker.

“I…” As the furnaces whirred, the puffs made by the Supreme King seemed to spray directly on to the killer’s face. Gu Shenwei was suddenly able to snap out of it. His tone became calm, and the chilly sensation bounced out of his head and never returned. “… didn’t taste anything.”

Shangguan Fa took a step back. He felt that it must have been due to his increasing age that he was unable to intimidate a young killer. His fiery killing desire was becoming unfamiliar together with the entire world, as if nothing had ever belonged to him, and everything was just illusory memories stuffed into his mind by other people. “Raise your head.”

Gu Shenwei did as he was told and exchanged eye contact with the Supreme King. He was not thinking of the latter as his enemy or the leader of the Golden Roc Fort. All he saw was a lonely old man who was trapped in a body which no longer listened to its owner, and who was futilely trying to push it to be as robust and agile as it used to be.

“Take revenge!” A fervent cry sounded from the bottom of his heart, as if a group of people was shouting up at him from the bottom of a cliff.

“Doesn’t seem so. Did you kill Immortal Peng?”

Shangguan Fa had changed the topic. After a brief daze, Gu Shenwei was able to suppress the fervent thought and replied, “Indeed.”

“What weapon did you use?”

“A sword.”

“How many movements did it take?”

“One.”

“You’re lying.”

“Immortal Peng’s kung fu wasn’t as good as it used to be. I was simply able to take advantage of an opportune time.”

Shangguan Fa remained speechless for a long time, as if he believed the killer’s explanation, or otherwise because he was no longer interested in talking. Subsequently, he plodded over to the killer and pressed a finger on the latter’s forehead. Although the force was not great, it was as hard as iron, causing Gu Shenwei to think of Mama Xue.

The killer’s heart pounded rapidly. He had seen the Supreme King’s kungfu when even a modicum of it was unfathomably powerful. Instead, he could not feel the same pressure that was as heavy as a mountain coming from the body of this old man. They were like two completely different individuals; the former was all-powerful and tyrannical, while the latter was weak and resigned to death.

Every sign attested that the Supreme King was sick. A fervor rekindled in the bottom of the killer’s heart, and his strength began to concentrate upon his right fingertip. In the blink of an eye, he could tear his trousers to pull out the dagger and stab it into the old man’s gut. This would not require excellent swordcraft or coercive killing intent, but simply courage.

Shangguan Fa did not find any killing intent on the killer’s body. What he saw was a dauntless pair of eyes which was honest and bright, which he had only seen several decades back when he became an ordinary human being and yearned for friendship.

When he realized that it was a youngster who was trying to compete on equal footing with him, Shangguan Fa’s weary heart was triggered and he was finally able to rouse himself from his slump. When he straightened his body, he became a lot taller and bigger, such that he nearly filled up the entire room.

“You may have learned how to kill, but not how to use a knife.”

This was a judgment and perhaps also a signal, albeit one which Gu Shenwei did not comprehend and paid no attention to. With the twitch of the lord’s fingers, two rigid masks appeared from the shadows.

“It’s all over,” Gu Shenwei thought. He had placed his focus entirely on Shangguan Fa and did not realize there were other enemies close by. They were both black-masked assassins and their kung fu levels were a mix of good and bad. It was the people by the Supreme King’s side who were the most powerful assassins.

A soft voice was heard from outside the door, breaking the silence and murderous mood in the room. “Father, I’ve come to see you.”

Shangguan Fa inhaled a deep breath and seemed as if his soul had returned to his body after a brief adventure outside. “Ru’er? Don’t come in, it’s hot in here.”

The black-masked assassins who had just revealed themselves quickly vanished.

“Yes, father. How’s your Divine Skill practice going?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be completed soon.”

“Oh. Let me kowtow to you from outside.”

“Alright.”

“Father, do you need me to do anything on your behalf?”

“No, I don’t.”

Shangguan Ru remained silent for a moment. “Father, is my killer with you? Did he do something wrong? Allow me to punish him.”

“No. I was merely asking him a few questions. You may bring him away.”

The Supreme King’s mystifying summoning of the killer ended just like this. Gu Shenwei bowed and exited the room, feeling the summer night wind blowing in his face at once. The pleasantly cool sensation made him feel reborn.

Shangguan Ru was wearing a full set of killer’s black clothes and a mask. To an unknowing person, she would appear no different from any ordinary female killer. Maid Lotus had gone somewhere and was not by her side.

The two walked out of the courtyard and went to a secluded spot, where Shangguan Ru whispered, “Never leave my side when in the Stone Castle ever again, no matter who’s looking for you.”

“Yes, Tenth Young Master.” Gu Shenwei did not question her. They both understood that the Supreme King’s killing intention had been aroused once more. What the killer could not understand was how he had not died just moments ago. A few sentences by the Tenth Young Master should not have been sufficient to change the lord’s mind. Shangguan Fa’s intentions were simply incomprehensible.

Shangguan Ru quietly led the way and came to an inspection point. She swiftly flashed her waist token and did not say a word. Gu Shenwei soon realized that they were not taking the route out of the Inner Residence. However, he simply followed without asking questions.

They took an increasingly devious path until they finally reached a place which seemed like an uncultivated garden. A dozen or so torches stood at irregular spots all over the place, which was somewhere near the border of the peak, and from where the high city walls could be seen.

Four killers appeared from the shadows. Shangguan Ru, who was prepared for this, fished out another waist token at once. One of the killers came forth to examine it under the torchlight, before turning towards his companions and nodding his head.

The quartet bent their waists and picked up two iron chains from the barren ground. Working together, they hauled up an iron door which had blended into its surrounding environment.

The night was becoming more and more bizarre, as if a special moment was imminent. The members of the Shangguan family were all behaving oddly and never offered any explanation.

Gu Shenwei followed as Shangguan Ru led the way down the underground steps.

At the bottom of the steps was a long passageway which had only a faint light coming from its innermost. Seeming a little timid, Shangguan Ru stood and waited for a brief while before she walked towards the light.

This was a dungeon which had only one cell. A small torch was hung on the wall outside it, illuminating only a very small spot. The beak-nosed jailer vigilantly received the waist token from Shangguan Ru’s hands and examined it for a long time before grumpily taking out the keys and opening the cell door.

The door was immediately locked from outside once the two visitors entered. “Knock on the door a little strongly when you want to come out.” The jailer departed as soon as he threw down these words, clearly not wanting to listen to the conversations that were about to take place inside.

The cell was directly dug out from the walls of a cave. It was approximately a dozen steps square in area, which made it not very big. There were no facilities save for a stone bed, a chamber pot, and a close stool. However, the place was very clean and tidy, and there was no unpleasant odor.

There was a window at a spot where the wall was only about a person’s height. Several iron bars, which were as thick as a wrist, were erected within it, and through their gaps passed the night breeze and the moonlight which the prisoner was reveling in with so much pleasure that he did not notice the visitors behind him.

“Third Brother,” Shangguan Ru murmured.

Gu Shenwei was slightly shocked when the prisoner turned his body. Among the children of the Supreme King he had seen before, it was this Third Young Master, Shangguan Yun, who resembled their father the most. With his narrow long face and sunken eyes, he seemed practically like a younger Shangguan Fa, albeit his expressions were completely different. The corners of his mouth were slightly arched upwards to reveal a mischievous smile, as if he was a thirty-something-year-old child.

The smile did not seem to be revealed to welcome the visitors. Shangguan Yun appeared very satisfied with everything in his surroundings, particularly the moonlight which provided him with ecstatic delight. Gu Shenwei had never seen a similar expression throughout Golden Roc Fort and the entire Jade City. His feeling was right; the members of the Shangguan family were all behaving oddly on this night. As he had personally just escaped from the menace intent of the Supreme King, the smile seemed increasingly inauthentic the more he looked at it.

“Long time no see, Younger Sister Ru. You’ve grown a lot taller and still love wearing boys’ clothes. Where is Master Yu? Why didn’t he follow you here? And who’s this? A new friend?”

Shangguan Yun offered up a series of questions which Shangguan Ru did not reply to at all. She took off her mask and sat on the stone bed. “Third Brother, I’ve fallen ill. Mother has allowed me to seek your help.”

Gu Shenwei guessed that Lady Meng would absolutely not have allowed her daughter to make a request so bluntly. However, Shangguan Ru was not one to beat around the bush.

Shangguan Yun took a stride forward, eliciting a clanking sound from the chains around his ankles. “But I’m not a doctor,” he replied in a tender voice as if treating his younger sister like an eight-year-old child.

“Someone from the New Moon Hall cast a force on my body. Mother says the only thing that can save me is the book our family has handed down.”

It suddenly hit Gu Shenwei that Lady Meng had ordered Shangguan Ru to return to the castle the moment she heard that her daughter had been “possessed” because she knew the severity of the condition and how to treat it. “The book handed down” was probably referring to the Wayless Book which both New Moon Hall and Barren Sect wanted to steal at all costs.

He had never imagined that Shangguan Ru needed the same “antidote” as himself. This offered him a great sense of relief. The book should be much easier to steal with the Tenth Young Master’s assistance.

Although maintaining the smile on his face, Shangguan Yun shook his head resolutely. “No, she’s wrong. The book cannot save you and will instead harm you. Never learn it.”

Shangguan Ru exhaled a breath calmly. “I guessed as much. In any case, there’s no need to worry because I won’t die so soon.”

Gu Shenwei was a little worried even if she was not. “Tenth Young Master, you’ve gone through two qigong deviations already. I’m afraid you can’t wait too long.”

Shangguan Yun looked at the killer, and without being annoyed by the latter’s impudence, he explained with great patience, “Wayless Qigong is a truly terrible technique. Anyone who practices it would find that their strength would completely disappear at regular intervals, causing their bodies to become as frail as a baby’s, and making it difficult for them to even stay alive.”

Gu Shenwei felt a click in his heart. He finally understood what illness the Supreme King was suffering from.