Golden Roc Castle's plot in the Royal Court was close to becoming a fiasco but Shangguan Yun looked neither anxious nor annoyed as if it were all a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.
"To live among a thousand women like this, is the Dragon King looking for the feeling of an emperor?" Shangguan Yun joked in the tone of an old friend, wearing a smile that Gu Shenwei was familiar with.
In fact, Shangguan Yun's trip to the Norland hadn't been easy this time. Like the Dragon King, he had been looked down upon everywhere. Although some situations were acts, fundamentally, it was all still a part of reality. He had put up with all of the humiliations, or, at least he didn't care about them at all.
"To walk in the night like this, you must be regaining your instincts of a killer," Gu Shenwei cautiously replied, always remembering that the words of the third young master were more deadly than a saber in his hand.
Standing there alone, Shangguan Yun looked up at the starry sky and did not seem to take the Dragon King's words as sarcasm, replying, "I've never been a good killer, as even the feelings I've revived are merely an afterimage. My kung fu instructor once told the Unique King that I was always absent-minded and couldn't concentrate on what I was doing, which would be a fatal flaw in the future. He really was right. How can I turn a blind eye to the beautiful stars high above to patiently wait for the best moment to unsheathe my saber?"
Gu Shenwei didn't like mysterious speeches. They were like tricks an enemy would use in combat; the more one paid attention to them, the easier it was for one to be misled. "You're not a good killer, and I'm not a good listener. What's your purpose in coming here?"
Shangguan Yun still gazed at the starry sky as if he were ruminating on his previous words, and when he spoke again, there was not a trace of sarcasm. "I'm here to talk about my sister with the Dragon King."
"Hmm," replied Gu Shenwei ambiguously, in an attempt to avoid revealing any of his feelings to the other side.
"She was in my hands, once."
"What about now?"
"She's been hidden away in a secret place, somewhere even I don't know. All I can tell you is that her final destination is the main tent of the Khan."
Gu Shenwei's heart sank. This was the result he was most worried about and was most reluctant to see. "Golden Roc Castle really takes care their own women meticulously, huh."
"No. Everyone knows that sister Ru is the Dragon King's woman. She has been driven out of the castle since a long ago and even helped you defeat the Golden Roc Army."
Shangguan Yun sighed. He had also joined the seaside slope battle. No matter how that incident was covered up, it was still a fiasco for him. "I like sister Ru very much. She's the only person I like in the whole family since she's like me, a rebel of Golden Roc Castle."
Gu Shenwei couldn't help but snort lightly. Shangguan Yun noticed and changed his statement in time, saying, "She's like the old me, but she's my enemy now. Even now, I do not want to hurt her, though I have no choice. Golden Roc Castle has been cornered by the Dragon King, and we can only act unscrupulously.
"Isn't that what Golden Roc Castle has always done?"
"You see, I told you I wasn't a good killer; I have to beat around the bush even when I'm threatening others."
"You've come to threaten me?"
"Yes, I'm threatening you, with my own sister." Shangguan Yun finally discarded the last bit of his shame, and he didn't seem particularly embarrassed about it. "Our original plan was to infect the Khan with … a strange disease through Shaomin, but in a way so that he wouldn't die right away. Ten days later, he would die suddenly beside sister Ru, so sister Ru would become the only murderer, a situation that would naturally focus all the blame of the murder onto the Dragon King's head."
"Then Shangguan Ru would be killed immediately, leaving no room for discussion." Gu Shenwei felt irrepressible anger and a strong impulse to draw his saber. "Good plan."
"Good plan, perfect plan, vicious plan, but now all it is an unsustainable plan. The Dragon King stole Shaomin and disrupted the deployment of Golden Roc Castle's men."
"So you and Zhang Ji then made a new plan."
"The new plan isn't that perfect. We can only resort to the more traditional methods of sending out killers and sneaking into the main tent to kill the Khan with King Kuari's help. When sister Ru wakes up, she will find herself with a bloody narrow saber in her hand. Neither Zhang Ji nor I like this plan. Because we have to rely on the ability of one or two killers, any mistake will result in a complete failure. Unlike the original plan, the executors were all unaware of the plan and therefore, couldn't reveal any of it even if they wanted to."
Shangguan Yun looked very regretful. Golden Roc Castle had begun their work on Shangguan Shaomin two years ago but didn't expect that halfway through the process, she would be taken away.
"Go on, I haven't heard any threats yet."
"I have another idea, and both Zhang Ji and King Kuari also agree with me. Since we are going to carry out the traditional plan, we might as well take a little more risk in pinning the murder of the Khan on the Central Plains, though this will cause some trouble because the last thing King Kuari wants is a war with the Central Plains after he inherits the throne."
Fang Wenshi had speculated that King Kuari had secretly colluded with the Central Plains. Gu Shenwei felt the counselor's analysis was becoming more and more credible.
"It was me yet again to make a suggestion," Shangguan Yun slowly said as if he were telling a story full of twists and turns. "There's no need to frame the Central Plains. Using a certain sect of the Central Plains is enough. Later we can say that they acted in private and that the emperor didn't know about the plan at all. Then we can send a group of experts to sneak into the Central Plains and wipe the sect out under the guise of revenge."
"In this scheme, there's no need for Shangguan Ru to appear," Gu Shenwei said.
"I said that I like my little sister very much and would save her if I could. But it would require the Dragon King's cooperation."
Gu Shenwei had already guessed what Shangguan Yun's 'threat' was. He hummed and motioned for him to continue.
"King Rizhu is a nuisance. King Kuari is very unsatisfied with but also a bit afraid of him. If the Dragon King can solve this trouble, King Kuari is willing to make a concession and let go of sister Ru. But if the Dragon King chooses to stay loyal, then King Kuari, in order to avoid more trouble, will have no choice but to let sister Ru appear at the scene of the assassination to blame the Dragon King for the murder."
"Or I can find a way to thwart the assassination plot and keep the Khan alive while seeing King Kuari's true colors."
"Of course you can, but that won't save sister Ru, and you can't defeat King Kuari. Even King Rizhu and Second Consort, who can visit the Khan at any time, won't tell the truth, so who would believe you?"
Indeed, in the Royal Court, more than one person had felt an ominous foreboding that the Khan was going to die unnaturally. Some people even took preventative action to try to stop the assassination but no one could frighten or stop King Kuari.
As an outsider, this was the most incomprehensible thing for Gu Shenwei. The Khan was acting so stoically and not reacting to his arrogant descendants at all.
"If I accept your threat, what is your guarantee?"
"I am the guarantee." Shangguan Yun appeared indifferent even when talking about himself as if he no longer belonged to himself. "I will stay as a hostage. Once it's done, you can kill me if King Kuari doesn't let go of sister Ru."
Gu Shenwei was hesitating. Meanwhile, at the camp of the Land of Fragrance, Old Man Mu was also hesitating.
"I can't kill you or maim you. Alas, how should I deal with you?" Old Man Mu muttered while rubbing his hands. Although his acupoints were still sealed, he was dancing with joy.
The sharp pain slowly lessened. Embarrassed by his own weakness, Dao Nian murmured, "Kill me, please kill me."
Shangguan Fei was standing by and watching. With his acupoints also blocked, he was more than happy to drop stones on the miserable old Taoist. "You old cur, he clearly said that he can't kill you, and now you want to play hero. What a hypocrite you are."
Very satisfied with his help, Old Man Mu nodded and said, "Right, but it's normal, as the whole Jade Pure Sect is hypocritical."
"The Jade Pure Sect is an orthodox sect. Old Man Mu, are you going to speak ill of your own sect?"
"Huh," Old Man Mu grunted incredulously as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. "I'll tell you what I have done to my 'own sect'. I fell in love with my Master's wife, killed my Master, and rewrote all the martial arts manuals. You old fool, don't you want to know the secret of my martial arts skills? I'll tell you: it is nothing but 'mercilessness.' The external kung fu of Jade Pure Sect values overcoming firmness through gentleness and letting nature take its course. I prefer overcoming hardness with hardness and fighting against nature. And it turns out I'm successful. Even ordinary moves become formidable and peerless in my hands."
"So that's how you mastered your unique skills," Shangguan Fei said in a praising and cooperative tone.
"Of course, you've seen my Five Hole Punch. In the fist technique manual, it says 'Penetrating the mystery and introspecting the five viscera', which refers to heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney. Can the old man be any more pedantic? I changed it to 'Penetrating' the enemy's five viscera with one punch. Haha, the power of my fist technique immediately doubled."
Shangguan Fei admired wholeheartedly, saying, "Old man is really formidable, no wonder no one can beat you."
Dao Nian recited a few verses in a low voice, and said, "Old Man Mu, you have done too many evil things. What goes around will come around."
"Old dog, you've forgotten you are a disciple of the Three Pure Ones and do not seek eternal life, and yet now you are talking about karma to me like the baldies? Speaking of immortality, when I look at you, you seem to get younger even as you grow older. Your kung fu of plucking yin and nourishing yang must be formidable. Tell me, how many women have you plucked?"
"Stop the nonsense. The Jade Pure Sect is an esteemed orthodox …"
"The more orthodox you are, the more you like to lie. Plucking yin to nourish yang isn't something amazing, do you think I haven't practiced it? Alas, if it had not been the harm done by Waning Moon Hall, I would have been younger than you."
Dao Nian refused to say anything.
Shangguan Fei, however, became interested, "is it really that magical?"
"Of course, but you can only pluck the yang, a winding path leading to a secluded spot. You can't nourish yourself though that method."
It was rare to see Shangguan Fei blush, "I, I haven't … done that for a long time."
"No need to explain. What haven't I seen before? Don't think that you are special. There are plenty of men like you. The Norland men look forthright but there is quite a bit of that going on behind the scenes."
Shangguan Fei's eyes brightened up, wondering why he hadn't found anyone like him in the Norland.
Old Man Mu looked at Shangguan Fei and Dao Nian several times before saying, "This is really a good idea. Since I can't kill or hurt you, how about this, Shangguan Fei, I'll do you a favor. Go 'pluck' this old Taoist."
The two cried out 'no' in unison. Old Man Mu, however, became happier thinking about it. He ignored Dao Nian and focused solely on persuading Shangguan Fei. "This is a rare opportunity for you. The Jade Pure Sect's kung fu in nourishing themselves is superb. Look at this old Taoist, he appears to be in his forties and his skin is like in its thirties, and some parts of his body appear even younger. Do you think he hasn't gained anything after taking away so many girls' virginity?"
Shangguan Fei shook his head, "What's his real age?"
"Uh, whatever it is it doesn't matter. Fairies are all thousand of years old when they marry mortals, and yet I've never heard of a mortal who would not be willing to accept them."
Dao Nian wasn't willing, so he anxiously said, "I'm seventy-six years old now."
Shangguan Fei was even less interested. Old Man Mu was about to persuade him again when the Dragon King lifted the curtain and came in, just in time to save the chastity of the elder of the Jade Pure Sect.
Dao Nian desperately begged, "Dragon King, please let me go, I'll do whatever is asked of me."
Gu Shenwei was very surprised, as he didn't expect Old Man Mu to be so skillful in interrogating, as this would save him a great deal of time.
"I want to see the Khan."
"No problem." Dao Nian's answer was resolute and decisive.
Gu Shenwei had to see the Khan. He wanted to know why an obvious assassination had been overlooked by the demigod-like lord of the prairie.