Death Scripture

On the same night when the Third Young Master escaped from the dungeons, Gu Shenwei was preparing to force Luo Ningcha to give up the wooden slab.

In the second half of that night, the chirpings of the crickets had gradually subsided. Gu Shenwei was sitting on his bed wearing the full night suit and was pondering about what was the best method to use for dealing with Luo Ningcha. Suddenly, a not-so-clear sound of a whistle was heard. This was a universal signal that was exchanged by the Stone Castle’s killers.

Gu Shenwei leaped out of the house as soon as he heard this signal. Maid Lotus appeared almost at the same time as he did, and since it was her turn to protect the Missus, Gu Shenwei said, “You stay behind.” He vaulted onto the rooftop and headed for the Inner Residence.

The sound of the whistle quickly stopped, and it did not alert many people. There was not much of a reaction from the Inner Residence. Only those who were trained in the discipline of killers and with patient observation skills would be able to spot multiple moving shadows that were all rushing off in one direction.

This was the moment when Gu Shenwei realized that Shangguan Ru’s jailbreak had set off the alarms. He had no idea why it took the Third Young Master this long to break out of his cell ever since he had sent the compass saw to him five days ago.

Luo Ningcha must be lucky tonight to be able to keep dreaming in her sleep, not knowing that a crisis was averted as Gu Shenwei had a sudden change of plans. He made his way into Shangguan Fa’s courtyard to wait for Shangguan Yun before taking any further actions. It was more important to wait than to obtain the “Wayless Book”.

The whistling alarms had just lured away a few more killers, but the personal guard of the Supreme King was still diligently guarding his post step by step. The next thing that this guard did surprise Gu Shenwei into thinking that this guard was not as stern as he had believed: after checking every possible ambush point and ensuring the safety of the king, he climbed up to the rooftop, blended into the shadows and disappeared without a trace.

Was Shangguan Yun here for revenge, was he here for something long-term, or had he merely fled? Although Gu Shenwei had only met the Third Young Master twice and did not know him very well, he was still very sure that Shangguan Yun would choose the first option.

All of the forces were successfully lured away; there could not be a better time than this to exact his revenge. Gu Shenwei was hoping that Shangguan Yun would do it on his behalf. If not, then the least he could do was to investigate Shangguan Fa’s background for him.

If this was three years ago, Gu Shenwei would kill his enemies with his own hands. But now that he has matured and sees through the eyes of a real killer, it was better for him to kill any person by using the safest possible method.

Gu Shenwei observed the surrounding with great concentration for a while but he still could not find any traces of Shangguan Yun’s whereabouts. But when he finally discovered the Third Young Master, he had no clue about how long he had been standing there right under the tree in the middle of the courtyard.

Shangguan Yun was still wearing the old prison outfit, resting one hand on the tree while looking at his father’s residential “hot chambers.”

The killers in charge of guarding the residence finally noticed that something was wrong. They were not the type to ask questions, or even scream and shout. These three unsheathed their sabers and slowly approached Shangguan Yun from behind while brandishing their blades.

Shangguan Yun was motionless and seemed to be oblivious of his surroundings until the killers reached within seven feet from him. When they were about to attack, he countered with a preemptive attack.

Shangguan Yun spread out his arms and spun reflexively, creating a gust of wind that blew up some leaves from the ground and caused the leaves still on the tree’s branches to rustle wildly.

The killers were hit by the storm of leaves and flew backward, causing them to fall heavily onto the ground. They were unable to get back up.

Although he was a little far away and the moonlight was not very bright, Gu Shenwei was still able to see that the killers were not dead; they had either fainted or were struck at the precise acupoints that stopped their movements.

It was evident that Shangguan Yun was still not ready to kill anyone yet. Gu Shenwei determined that he would probably have to personally pick up the pieces in the end.

This seemingly small battle had alerted many people. Dark shadows approached from all directions. Two killers were just a few feet away from Gu Shenwei. Good thing that all of their attention directed at the man standing in the courtyard and no one was able to notice the lurker within close proximity.

“Retreat,” ordered a voice coming from the ‘hot chambers.’ It was the Supreme King. The killers quickly withdrew as dexterously as they had arrived. In a blink of an eye, there were only two people in sight: one standing in the courtyard and the other on the rooftop; both with hearts fuming with revenge.

“You’re still as soft as ever.”

The Supreme King pushed open the doors. He was wearing a large robe that gave off a majestic look even though his complexion was past one’s prime. Gu Shenwei had a high impression of Shangguan Fa. The last time they had met, he was like an unwavering tower that filled up the entire room. But today, looking from afar, this was just an ordinary old man with thin bones and a weak frame that needed strong support.

‘This was the perfect time to take action, without delay and without speaking any nonsense,’ these were the thoughts that the killer on the rooftop wanted to implant into the avenger standing under the tree. Unfortunately, the precious opportunity went to waste; Shangguan Yun still opened his mouth with his voice filled with hatred.

“Parro is dead.”

“Parro? Is that a person or a bird?” Shangguan Fa seemed impatient. As if he was a scholar facing his long-awaited rival and the first words that his opponent uttered was a bunch of nonsense that made him feel greatly disappointed.

“You don’t remember her?”

“I remember now, that woman? The same woman whose son was the reason you wanted to kill your father then? After all these years, you still love her?

“Not then.” Shangguan Yun’s sleeves swelled up like balloons. The leaves swooshed, and everything else started to float in the air.

The Supreme King did not retreat. Instead, he stepped forward in response, “This little amount of killing intent can’t even match up to the apprentices in the East Castle. Aren’t you embarrassed at all, Shangguan Yun?”

Shangguan Yun made his move. Numerous rocks were propelled by the turbulent wind and were shot toward the Supreme King.

Gu Shenwei was delighted for just a moment before realizing that it was just a feint attack. The stones had brushed past Shangguan Fa and struck the doors and windows. They had great momentum, but they were not lethal.

Shangguan Fa stared at his son with a little contempt. “In a month, you will lose any chance to kill me. Aren’t you touched?”

Shangguan Yun calmed down in the face of his father’s provocation. His voice returned to its normal state, gentle and peaceful with a hint of cynicism. Gu Shenwei had a mischievous smirk on his face and contemplated whether or not he should kill the Supreme King with his own hands instead.

“There will always be chances, and you can always kill me. Aren’t you softhearted?”

“My dream is the Complete Ten Sons.”

“Ha ha, ‘The King of the Cross,’ Do you still believe in the fairytale from Immortal Peng?”

Gu Shenwei remembered that Shangguan Yun had told him before that the Supreme King used to practice martial arts with the dwarf. He couldn’t help but wonder, ‘so Shangguan Fa’s superstitions had come from Immortal Peng. But why did he not kill me back then? Was it because of his daughter’s plea to spare my life? That doesn’t sound like the conduct of the Supreme King.’

“That Immortal Peng is a con man, but his fortune-telling is still top-notch.”

“Big brother is dead, the fourth younger brother is dead, and that fortune telling Immortal Peng is also dead. Have you still not awoken from your dream?”

“I know my dream means nothing now, but I can still have more children. That youth was heartless and cruel; I wish that even one of my children will be like him.”

The father and son were talking about Slave Huan, causing Gu Shenwei’s heart to beat frantically.

“Heh. If one of your children were like the killer, the first thing he would do is kill you and take the throne.”

“Would our Shangguan family be afraid of such a thing? I am only afraid of my children not being malicious enough and being unable to secure the title of the Supreme King.”

Shangguan Yun’s voice turned serious and said, “is that why you wanted to torment and force me to become as cold-hearted as you?” Gu Shenwei remembered that the Third Young Master’s appearance was exactly the same as the Supreme King.

“Correct, among all of my children, you are the most similar to me. Not just in appearance, but your temper was also the same as when I was young. Therefore, I indulged you to wander the Jiang Hu and lead you to enter the Joy Pavilion with the hope that you would follow in my footsteps. Unfortunately, you wanted to live a comfortable life and had even fallen in love with a woman.”

“Don’t you dare mention her!” Shangguan Yun’s sleeves swelled once again.

“Why can’t I? What was that woman’s name again? Parro? I’m starting to remember her face now; her skin was as tender as water. She was constantly pleading in my arms, it was alright at first but started getting annoying after a while, so I punished her a little… ”

The fierce wind suddenly rose, even the killer standing on the rooftop was able to feel the breeze.

Shangguan Yun revealed his madness and challenged the Supreme King in the open, instead of secretly assassinating him. Just as Gu Shenwei anticipated, Shangguan Yu had missed the chance of a lifetime. Perhaps he never had the opportunity at all.

Four black-masked assassins suddenly appeared as if they came out of the walls. They waved their sabers in front of the Supreme King and suddenly vanished.

Shangguan Yun had indeed gone in for the kill: he missed his first attack and immediately went for his second attack, but before he could even lift a finger, several black-masked assassins appeared out of nowhere and stopped him.

One black-masked assassin who concealed himself on top of a tree was a death dealer. Although his blade was a bit slow and did not cut the head, he was still able to inflict a fatal deep wound on the enemy’s chest.

Shangguan Yun hit a black-masked assassin in the face with his palm, shattering the mask. The assassin fell backward and paused in the air for a moment before landing heavily on the ground.

Fresh blood splatted out from his chest. Shangguan Yun’s legs gave out and staggered before kneeling on the ground. No one can kill the Supreme King. Even if he lost his powers, there were loyal and devoted black-masked assassins guarding him.

“You are the only person who had two chances to kill me.” Shangguan Fa coldly said as his son was no longer able to speak. “You should be grateful that my self-destruction has diminished my killing desire. Unlike in the past when I would have killed anyone I wanted to kill. But, watching you finally able to break your abstinence from killing makes me very happy. I am somewhat disappointed in your kung fu not improving at all ever since one of the black-masked assassins had injured you. Cherish your life and return to the dungeons, don’t let me see you again.”

Shangguan Yun shook his head a few times and slowly fell, with his head landing on top of the corpse of one of the black-masked assassins.

Gu Shenwei did not make a move for a long time. He waited until Shangguan Fa had returned to his residence and for the other killers to leave the area. It wasn’t until just before the break of dawn did he make his move and returned to the Eighth Young Master’s courtyard.

Gu Shenwei now had to come up with another solution to kill the Supreme King. He must come up with a way to bypass the black-masked assassins.

It was now Slave Huan’s shift to “protect” the Missus. Maid Lotus gave him a nod indicating that she was able to take on another shift. Maid Lotus has never questioned Slave Huan about his whereabouts; she was the ideal aide.

Before falling asleep, Gu Shenwei began contemplating about whether or not he should ask Maid Lotus for help. There was only one month left until the Supreme King recovers his powers; this was the golden opportunity that he could not miss. Gu Shenwei would never forgive himself if he lets this slip by, he had to try at least once. He needed to lure the Supreme King out of the inner residence… His thoughts wandered on and on and he remembered that, during the death of the First Young Master, Shangguan Fa had made an appearance at the funeral but he didn’t appear for the Fourth Young Master’s funeral.

Gu Shenwei sorted out every possibility. What he lacked was a proper bait.