Death Scripture

Nothing happened for the following three days. People in Norland paid very little attention to the Dragon King. The war with the Central Plain and the upcoming Tournament of the Royal Court became the hottest topics amongst the people. The female archers from the Land of Fragrance were also a topic of interest. Among all the invited guests, Shangguan Ru got far more attention than the Dragon King or the Golden Roc Fort did.

Gu Shenwei did not visit any more Lords.

He had not met with King Kuari again since the banquet. Instead, he sent Fang Wenshi to contact King Kuari, and they reached an agreement: the Dragon King would not forge an alliance with King Kuari unless he helped the Dragon King get a summons to the Khan before the Golden Roc Fort did.

King Kuari stayed calm, but Fang Wenshi knew that he was furious. As the Dragon King was not his subordinate, he could not treat him in the same cruel manner that he treated his men. He needed to maintain his relationship with the Dragon King, so he sent his servant with gifts daily to show his concern.

King Dari, as well as the yellow-faced servant, Fu Yuan, took similar actions with the Golden Roc Fort as King Kuari did with the Dragon King. He wanted to show the Dragon King that joining him was his only choice.

Shangguan Yun and Zhang Ji visited King Dari, and returned drunk to their encampment past midnight every night.

Shangguan Ru sent Old Man Mu to inform the Dragon King that Shaomin might be handed over to Fu Yuan ahead of schedule.

Gu Shenwei did not believe that Shangguan Shaomin would be handed over ahead of time. In his eyes, Zhang Ji was not the kind of person who would pay before he got his goods. Therefore, Shangguan Shaomin was still safe until the Golden Roc Fort benefited from King Dari.

King Shengri seemed to be a drunkard, indeed. He was only interested in the Dragon King’s giant roc. Fang Wenshi paid a visit to King Shengri’s residence, hoping to meet him. However, King Shengri’s attendant responded rudely, “If the Dragon King has a giant roc, our Lord will pay him a private visit. Otherwise, don’t come here again.”

King Rizhu was eagerly awaiting the Dragon King’s visit. Of course, he hoped that the Dragon King would bring his Flame Foal with him when he came.

However, Gu Shenwei had no such intention now. King Rizhu treated him nicely only because he wanted Flame Foal. If he gave in now, he would lose his advantage. Given that, he resolved to observe and wait.

His bet with Fang Wenshi was still on. They were both collecting intelligence in their own ways. As they collected more information, they each became more confident in winning the bet.

Long Fanyun and Shangguan Fei met some difficulties while carrying out their tasks. For one thing, they were in a strange place and did not know anyone here. For another, they were not as good at gathering information as Xu Xiaoyi was. Two days passed, but they had only reported some gossip to the Dragon King.

For these reasons, Gu Shenwei decided to accept a guest’s visit. This guest had waited at Gu Shenwei’s encampment gate all day and all night.

The Royal Court’s attention to the Dragon King was declining. Only a macheteman called Bo Sang admired the Dragon King. In the beginning, he just imitated the Dragon King. The third morning after Gu Shenwei moved into his encampment, Bo Sang went there and begged to visit the Dragon King.

Bo Sang had spent almost all of his money on this visit.

He was a macheteman in the slums. Even though he could occasionally enter the craftsmen’s area, it was hard for him to get into the noble’s area. Only if he had a travel document would the guards allow him to enter.

Fortunately, he was able to buy a travel document. He purchased one with a hundred taels of silver, which had taken him years to accumulate. The document was a white piece of paper printed with the pattern of a gray steed carrying a dagger, which indicated that it was valid for ten days.

Bo Sang stood at the Dragon King’s encampment gate for an entire day. In the morning, he was exposed to the burning sun. In the afternoon, he was drenched by the pouring rain. He felt much better by the evening. However, he met the drunken Shangguan Yun, who had just come back from King Dari’s residence. The two almost fought each other, for Bo Sang was in a position that an assassin would normally choose.

After Shangguan Yun figured out why Bo Sang was waiting there, he burst into laughter. Since he was drunk, he shouted towards the Dragon King’s encampment, “Dragon King, you have a fan in Norland. Come here. Hurry! He is waiting for you. Otherwise, he’ll be taken away by others.”

Gu Shenwei refused to meet Bo Sang, not because he wanted to test his sincerity, but because he thought that it was unnecessary. “This strong young man seems to have no talent for martial arts. I could instruct him occasionally, but he does not deserve me spending my time training him,” he thought to himself.

Not until Long Fanyun and Shangguan Fei had made almost no progress did Gu Shenwei realize that Bo Sang was useful to him.

He was overjoyed when he was granted a meeting with the Dragon King. Before the guards led him to the Dragon King’s tent, he tidied his clothes and adjusted his long-saber and longsword to look proper.

He nodded at the Dragon King and began, “I have finished with my duties to my former employer. Your Highness, please accept my allegiance and allow me to join the Dragon Army.”

Then, he kneeled, lowered his head and waited for the Dragon King’s response. He had spent a long time thinking of these words.

Fang Wenshi stood aside and watched them. He was more interested in the Dragon King’s response than he was in the young macheteman.

Gu Shenwei stood beside the table with a cold expression, his left hand pressing his saber hilt and his right hand resting on the table. After a while, he said, “Rise.”

Fang Wenshi approved of the Dragon King’s actions towards Bo Sang and thought, “The Dragon King even treats a common macheteman well. To show his respect, he spoke to that macheteman with a serious expression while standing. That macheteman must be feeling excited and grateful now.”

Bo Sang rose slowly as his face turned red, and kept silent (since he did not know what to say next). He kept his head down, for he did not dare to look at the Dragon King.

Fang Wenshi coughed to break the silence. Compared to the Dragon King, he was much more enthusiastic towards the young man. He asked, with a smile on his face, “Is Bo Sang your name?”

“Yes,” replied Bo Sang.

“We met in Senior Shou’s shop. Do you remember me?” asked Fang Wenshi.

“A… a little,” Bo Sang replied as he raised his head and gave Fang Wenshi a quick glance. They had met six months ago, and at that time, Fang Wenshi was not as fat as he was now.

“Why did you leave Senior Shou?” asked Fang Wenshi.

“Senior Shou closed his shop. He was intending to buy some sheep and cows and leave the Royal Court. He asked me to leave with him to take care of his livestock, but I don’t know how to graze. So I… left,” he explained awkwardly.

Bo Sang blushed more. The truth was that he had quarreled with his former employer. During their quarrel, Senior Shou had even angrily accused him of being an ingrate.

Fang Wenshi glanced at the Dragon King. They both knew why Senior Shou had closed his business. King Kuari was a narrow-minded man. Although he had not taken measures to take revenge on Senior Shou, he would never spare this old man who had sided with King Dari. When he sat on the throne, all the people in Norland would be his subordinates, and he would punish anyone who had supported his opponent.

When their small talk ended, Gu Shenwei asked,, “Do you know much about the Royal Court?”

“Yeah,” Bo Sang replied, his voice trembling. After pausing for a moment, he added, “I often go to the slums and the craftsmen’s area. As for here… this is my first time entering.”

“If I ask you to collect some information, can you do it?” asked Gu Shenwei.

“Yes, I can,” Bo Sang raised his head with a pleasant look. “Your Majesty, please give me your orders. I know many people who have a lot of influence in Norland. Their status… is lower than yours, but they know many things,” he said.

Gu Shenwei nodded and decided to send him to Shangguan Fei. He said, “After you complete this task, I will consider whether or not to accept your loyalty.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will not fail you,” Bo Sang solemnly promised.

Their meeting came to an end. There were only some trivial matters left to deal with, such as arranging a tent for Bo Sang, introducing him to Shangguan Fei, and so on.

Bo Sang headed towards the exit, but he looked hesitant, as if he had something else to say.

Gu Shenwei understood what the macheteman was thinking and called to stop him. “Bo Sang, would you like to learn machete skills from me?” Gu Shenwei asked.

This time Bo Sang knelt down on the ground with an excited expression. His biggest dream was to become a first-rate macheteman. Before he had met the Dragon King, he had thought that he was close to achieving his dream. However, it had turned out that he was far from being a top macheteman. His purpose for this visit was to ask the Dragon King to teach him kung fu. But when he stood in front of the Dragon King, he thought that he was not worthy of making such a request. So when the Dragon King proposed it himself, he became ecstatically happy.

“Your Majesty… I really long to… I will practice hard… you can ask me to do anything. My saber…” Bo Sang was too excited to reply coherently. Soon, he composed himself and said, “Your Highness, I have spent all my life practicing machete. You can show me real machete techniques. I know I’m not very talented or smart, but I’m willing to practice hard. I promise that I will not disgrace you, as long as you will teach me. I will do anything to acquire great machete techniques.”

Fang Wenshi was much older than Bo Sang. Hearing the young man’s words, he curled his lips and thought in disdain, “He is less than 20. It’s ridiculous to hear him say that he spent his whole life practicing machete skills.” But he knew that the Dragon King had just acquired another loyal guard.

“Prove your fidelity first. We will talk about machete techniques later,” Gu Shenwei said, his trial for his new follower just beginning. No matter how innocent he looked, Gu Shenwei would not trust him easily.

Gu Shenwei adhered to one principal: one’s loyalty depended upon acts, not thoughts. He cared little about his subordinates’ thoughts, for he was only concerned what they had done for him and their decisions at critical moments.

Bo Sang considered the Dragon King’s words as a promise. A big smile appeared on his round face, and the veins on his neck stood out, making him look a little scary. He said, “Your Highness, you’re the best macheteman in the world. You will win the bravery contest. No one in Norland can defeat you. Even if the Central Plain and the Western Region send lots of kung fu masters to join the contest, you will still be the winner with your brilliant martial arts.”

Bo Sang stood there with his red cheeks saying these flattering words, not just to please the Dragon King, but because they were his real thoughts.

Fang Wenshi shook his head smilingly. He really wanted to tell the young macheteman that the Dragon King did not like flattery, and that the only way to get the Dragon King’s approval was to bring him useful information.

However, he immediately found that he was wrong. The Dragon King seemed to be interested in his flattery, and he even took a step forward. Soon Fang Wenshi understood the Dragon King’s abnormal behavior, so he quickly asked Bo Sang (before the Dragon King could), “Do you mean that the Central Plain and the Western Region are sending kung fu masters to join the bravery contest?”

Bo Sang did not know why Fang Wenshi would ask this question. He replied in confusion, “Every year, people from the Central Plain and the Western Region participate in the Tournament of the Royal Court. This year…the number of their contestants has increased.”

“How many?” asked Fang Wenshi eagerly.

Facing Fang Wenshi’s eager question, Bo Sang was even more confused. After thinking for a while, he replied, “I don’t know the exact number. But everyone is saying that the tournament will be exciting because the contestants from the Central Plain and the Western Region are real masters. But once the Dragon King joins the tournament…”

Gu Shenwei and his Military Counselor looked at each other. They finally understood why so many people paid so much attention to the Tournament of the Royal Court.

“This is your first task,” Gu Shenwei said. He changed his mind and decided to let Bo Sang collect information alone. He continued, “I need to know the names of the kung fu masters who have joined the bravery contest, especially those from the Central Plain and the Western Region.”

“As you command, You Majesty. I will not let you down,” Bo Sang replied happily, for he knew that he could complete his mission perfectly.

When Bo Sang left the tent, Fang Wenshi told the Dragon King, “It’s a brilliant plan. Promises from Norland and the Golden Roc Fort will be invalid at the tournament. Am I right?”

“Yeah,” Gu Shenwei answered. He became aware that the upcoming Tournament of the Royal Court would provide for legal killings.