Chapter 118 Threat
Even though Big Head God was sitting on his bed, his enormous body seemed to occupy the entire tent. Gu Shenwei almost felt like there was no room for him to stand.
The giant played with Luo Ningcha’s token for a long while before saying, “Say it. What does Big Head God’s daughter want?”
“Miss is not happy in the castle. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law’s relationship is bumpy, Miss was bullied and she misses you…” Thinking that Big Head God liked to be called by his nickname and considering that even he himself didn’t say his own name, Gu Shenwei changed his words in time. “She wants Big Head God to help her attack the caravans of the Meng family in northern Jade City, to let the Meng family lose everything and let Madam Meng know the Luo family’s power. Gu Shenwei kneeled on the ground and spoke out the idea he had instilled in the Miss.
‘Hey.’ Big Head God laughed and then remained silent for a moment. “You’re called Servant Huan?”
“Yes, little me is called Servant Huan. I entered the castle alongside Miss in the first place.”
“Oh, I remember, you’re a part of those ten pairs of virgin boys and girls. You’re going to be an official killer. Actually, I’ve heard a lot about you. Tenth Gongzi talks about you a lot, and it seems that you’ve done a lot along the way here. “
Gu Shenwei kneeled down on the ground. Thinking of Fang Wenshi’s words, he cautiously said, “I just did what I should do.”
“Did what you should do? As a killer disciple, you seem to have a lot of things you should do. Tell me, what do you think of her proposal?”
Big Head God released his momentum and Gu Shenwei immediately felt as if there were a huge boulder holding down his head so that he couldn’t raise it. “Little Me is just delivering a message for Miss, not daring to even add or subtract a word. Little me is reckless and dares not to judge the lord’s meaning.”
“Big Head God’s daughter is ill-natured and disliked by her mother-in-law. Since you treat her as your lord, you should have done your best to serve her and do what is best for her. What are you afraid of? Say it. Big Head God wants you to say it. “
Gu Shenwei forced himself to calm down and thought for a moment, “What I meant is that instead of fighting each other and losing overall, the two can work together. Right now Meng Fifth Gongzi is still in the hands of the wandering bandits. Rescuing and sending him back to Jade City in a magnificent and beautiful manner would make the Meng family owe a great favour to the Iron Mountain. The Iron Mountain has people, the Meng family has money, and the Shangguan family has power. If the three groups can ally together, then all parties will benefit. As for Miss, persuade her to put away her competitive desire for the time being, and focus on gathering more support at the castle so that she can somehow help Big Head God. If Big Head God becomes the great benefactor of the Meng family, Miss’s status would naturally be raised.”
Upon hearing this, Big Head God, who was leaning on his pillow, sat up and stared at the teenager who was kneeling in front of him, “You really got a knack for this, kid. I don’t mind telling you that Meng Fifth Gongzi was rescued long ago. I sent two hundred men to escort him home under the flag of the Iron Mountain. He is on his way back now. “
“Little me has a big mouth.” Gu Shenwei admired the poor scholar more and more. Big Head God was indeed a wise man. As soon as he learned of the hijacking incident, his immediate action w
as the one that worked in his best interest.
Big Head God clapped his hands and said, “Here’s a present for you.”
The gift was another jade ring. Gu Shenwei held it in his hand, not daring to say a word. Although he did not quite understand the meaning of the ‘gift’, there was an ominous heaviness in his heart.
Sure enough, Big Head God revealed a meaningful smile, “That maidservant also brought a token of the Miss, and she asked Big Head God to kill you immediately after hearing you out.”
Gu Shenwei’s heart thumped. Miss was not the stupid person he thought she was and surprisingly knew how to burn a bridge after crossing it. She ordered Little Sui to carry another token and pass another message to kill him with her father’s hand. He was suddenly caught unexpected and almost told Big Head God the secret of the Miss. He did not know the details of the secret, but Big Head God would have guessed it.
Gu Shenwei changed his mind instantly. At present, there was no advantage to be gained in stirring up tensions between the father and daughter. Gaining the trust of the two was the most important thing for him right now. “Little me is terrified and doesn’t know where I’ve offended Miss.”
“She was afraid you’d leak the message.”
“I dare not. If Big Head God and Miss are still not at ease, Little me would like to cut my throat to prove my innocence.”
‘Get up.’
Gu Shenwei kowtowed and obediently got up. He had a sabre by his waist. If Big Head God had any evil intentions, he would have to fight desperately, but he could feel that there was no killing aura in the tent.
Big Head God stood up and nearly touched the top of the tent. He put his fat arm over Gu Shenwei’s shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. You’re one of my son-in-law’s men. Big Head God thinks highly of you and will not kill you for no reason.”
Big Head God’s behaviour was a little too intimate, but Gu Shenwei didn’t know what to say.
In terms of buying over people, Big Head God was much more skilled than those young lords of the Shangguan family. Instead of behaving as the Chief of the Iron Mountains, he confided in the teenager as a father, which made the teenager feel much more important.
Big Head God seemed to have a kind of magic effect when he was conversing. Like how a god favours a believer, he could make others unconsciously believe that they were insignificant and want to devote their everything to him.
Just as he was saying this, a sub-chief came in and made a report. “The scout came back and reported a gathering spot of the ‘black lizards’ in the desert. It was the place with three dead trees that is a three day journey from the mountain pass by foot. In total, there were five ‘black lizards’.”
What puzzled Gu Shenwei was that the sub-chief reported the news in great detail in his presence, but Big Head God did not stop him.
After dismissing the sub-chief, Big Head God patted the teenager on the shoulder. Gu Shenwei had to use his internal energy to keep stand up. “You have heard that there are many ‘black lizards’ in the desert, if they are not removed in time, there will be endless troubles.”
“Big Head God is right. I just don’t know where these ‘black lizards’ came from.”
“Hah, who knows. A bunch of crazy women, probably the ones abandoned after being slept with by the killers of Golden Roc Castle. Haha, don’t worry. Big Head God and Unique King are very close friends. A small problem like this can be left to the Iron Mountain to solve, but…”
Big Head God pulled the teenager’s shoulder to let the teenager face him, looking as if he had something serious in mind.
“But you must keep it a secret, especially not to tell Tenth Gongzi. She’s just a kid and has suffered a lot on the journey, making her eager for revenge. She will surely risk her life as soon as she hears that there are ‘black lizards’ in the South. We must keep her safe, don’t you think?”
“Yes, we can’t let Tenth Gongzi know about this.” Gu Shenwei answered in a low voice. Not knowing whether it was his own imagination or true, he seemed to have seen Big Head God blinking quickly, as if… as if the two of them had reached an agreement.
Big Head God took the ring from the teenager’s hand. “Big Head God will keep this for now and will give it back when you leave. When you return to the castle, you must teach his silly daughter a lesson for Big Head God.”
After leaving the tent, Gu Shenwei spent some time removing the influence of Big Head God from him and began to think calmly.
The conversation was mostly a game of bribing and being bribed, pledging allegiance and receiving allegiance. What was different was that Golden Roc Castle had fixed and ritualized all this and therefore lost the emotional part of the communication, but it was still the same in essence.
The key was that last show of Big Head God. His tone and expression all implied that what he said was different from what he meant. Gu Shenwei found himself in an extremely dangerous dilemma when he returned to his house and thought it over.
What Big Head God said was ironic; his real intention was to let Servant Huan inform Shangguan Ru the whereabouts of the ‘black lizards’ and to encourage her to take revenge in the desert.
If Servant Huan didn’t correctly understand Big Head God’s intentions, or if he understood it but didn’t do so, he would be killed.
Big Head God took back the jade ring Little Sui brought for him, suggesting that he might satisfy his daughter’s request to kill Servant Huan. He only needed to make up an excuse after the event to satisfy Shangguan Nu.
Gu Shenwei’s analysis went deeper and deeper until he even began to doubt whether the Iron Mountain and the black-robed women had already colluded long time ago, all in order to let Big Head God naturally occupy a larger piece of land.
Nothing was real in this world, and nobody was trustworthy. Gu Shenwei warned himself again before trying to look at the whole matter from the point of view of Big Head God. This time, he finally understood the situation. Even if Servant Huan followed Big Head God’s order to leak the information to Shangguan Ru for her to step into the trap, Big Head God would still kill him as the accusation was luring the lord to claim credits by taking risks.
The matter became more and more complicated, and Gu Shenwei felt like he was walking on thin ice. He could not think of any way to protect himself so he simply fell asleep. His dreams were filled with scenes of Big Head God taking up the wine cup and chatting merrily with countless black-robed women.
Gu Shenwei woke up in the middle of the night, only to find that only he and Wild Horse were in the tent; Liuhua had disappeared.
This was another hidden danger. Gu Shenwei quietly left the tent and did not go far before finding the strange marksman hiding in a dark corner, holding a short bow in his hand and peering into Lotus’ tent not too far away.
Gu Shenwei looked at Liuhua for a moment before his killer instinct made him turn his head to see Servant Huan. His eyes were full of killing aura, but instead of making a move, he put away his short bow and made a detour back into the tent.
‘Mouth Sealing Liuhua’ sought revenge for the smallest of grievances. Gu Shenwei speculated that Lotus had offended him unintentionally, so he always wanted revenge.
Gu Shenwei didn’t tell Lotus about the incident, but he wondered if there were any ways to safely eliminate the hidden danger. But before he could do so, he had to think of a way to deal with Big Head God.
The next morning, Gu Shenwei summoned the brown-belted killers and discussed the issues of their return trip. Theoretically, he was still the leader of the guards, but the signs of Wild Horse and Liuhua’s disapproval were becoming more and more evident; neither of them had forgotten that the leader had fainted at a critical moment.
Gu Shenwei babbled continuously for a while before finally bringing up that he had heard someone in the camp talking about the black-robed women’s whereabouts. He asked the brown-belted killers to take turns guarding Shangguan Ru and to not let her hear of it, “Tenth Gongzi likes to take risks. Our job is to get her safely back to Golden Roc Castle and not make trouble.”
The other three nodded, showing they understood Servant Huan’s meaning.
As early as last winter’s assassination attempt on the Ten Dragons Gang, Gu Shenwei had discovered that Shangguan Yushi was trying to buy over killer disciples. Wild Horse and Liuhua were the two that Shangguan Yushi was closest to, and was hoping that one of them would go report the news to Shangguan Yushi. That teenage girl didn’t know of Big Head God’s plot and would act according to her habits.
Gu Shenwei could almost imagine the scene of Yu Gongzi excitedly instigating Tenth Gongzi to have a new adventure.