Chapter 175: Negotiations
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
One could still feel the heat emanating from the house that burned down last night. The corpses scattered all over the ground had not been dealt with. The two societies were preparing to negotiate for peace. To the people of the North City, this was a planned affair. The people of the South City were however, worried. They didn't understand what these machetemen were up to.
The casino was selected as the location for the negotiations. The master's was surnamed Sa, and the place was thus called Sa Casino. Since the wee hours of the morning, there had been machetemen gathering around here. They were all vagabonds and all wanted different things. Some were here to watch the commotion while others were here hoping to find a job. Still, some did not believe that peace could be easily achieved, and wanted to fish in troubled waters.
Half an hour before noon, people from the two societies started arriving at about the same time. One side was enthusiastic, while the other looked gloomy. The Horned Dragon Society suffered grave losses and the surviving machetemen's hatred could not be easily quelled. From the looks of it, it seemed possible that they were not here for negotiations. They looked like they were here taking a last stand.
Shangguan Fei sent out all 50 of his machetemen which were led by seven killers. They separated the two groups of rivals and blocked off a long alley so that no one could enter. Both the merchants and the occupants had been removed from their homes that morning. The machetemen guarded both ends of the narrow alley and forbade anyone from entering.
Both sides sent a number of swordsmen without any weapons to check on the security of the Sa Casino and its surroundings. When all was clear, the representatives entered the casino.
Gu Shenwei did not bring any weapons. He walked into the alley alone. He was being watched by the crowd that was present. Both Gu Shenwei and the Horned Dragon Society's representative arrived at the same time.
Gu Shenwei did not recognize this macheteman. The other person did not introduce himself either. Both men's tasks were simple. They sat down on opposite sides of the table. Three killers stood at the door and two secretaries presided over the negotiations.
Gu Shenwei had thought that the negotiations would be simple. However, it turned out that the other person was serious. He was extremely particular about the time, location and names. He nitpicked on every little detail. Gu Shenwei was really worried that he would be trapped.
The negotiations went on for over an hour. Both sides finally agreed that a temporary truce would start at three this afternoon and will last for 36 hours. The second round of negotiations would take place the next day. The leaders of both societies would take part and the negotiations would be hosted by the Ninth Young Master of the Golden Roc Fort, Shangguan Fei. The location would be at Sa Casino.
The negotiations had finally ended. There was still 15 minutes before the temporary truce took effect. The representative of the Horned Dragon Society let out a sigh of relief. He then carried a scroll with the written agreement and ran out of the casino without saying a word.
The two secretaries had also ran outside, leaving only the three killers to watch over Slave Huan. They left and closed the doors to the casino from the outside.
Gu Shenwei moved to the end of the table. He took out a hidden sword from under the table. He turned around to face Ye Silang, who was just exiting the inner room.
Both men had been waiting for this moment. After staying silent in several standoffs, the two men were exhausted. No one spoke. What's said has already been said. To someone who was about to get killed, words not only seemed unnecessary, they were an insult.
Both of them pulled out their swords and took a step forward at the same time. There was not a hint of hatred present in this encounter. Their only goal was to kill the other party. That was all.
Ye Silang's took a glimpse at one of the beams in the room, where Maid Lotus was hiding, lying in wait to carry out an ambush.
Ninth Young Master Shangguan Fei had satisfied both Fifth Young Master and Slave Huan's requests. He allowed two people to enter. Those machetemen would not be able to find them while the three killers received an order to ignore them.
Two killers would face one swordsman.
The swordsman took a step forward. They calculated each oncoming blow with precision. If the enemy thought that moves in the Rouge Forest were being used again, they would regret it.
Gu Shenwei stood firmly, looked down and closed his eyes. He looked like a coward who was awaiting his death.
Ye Silang stabbed. He was clearly over ten steps away from the killer, but the killer had suddenly closed in on him. His body was bent like a new moon and the sword in his hands gleamed like the moon.
The moment he unsheathed his sword, the swordsman swivelled to the right. With a swift move, he would be able to kill the first killer in a single blow. The sword would then swing upwards to block a blow that came from the top.
That was only if everything was as he expected.
Gu Shenwei leaned forward. He held a backhanded sword in his right hand and kept his arms close to his body. The tip of the sword was only a few inches above his head. It seemed like he wanted to deflect the swordsman's deadly attack with his head.
The tip of both swords clashed. They parted just as quickly as they came into contact. Gu Shenwei felt like he took a huge blow to his head. He took a few steps back to maintain his frontward-leaning posture.
Gu Shenwei did not die, but his sword had broken into pieces.
Ye Silang's sword was intact, but he died. He died due to the sword that came down from above. He thought that he would be able to fend it off successfully, but alas.
As a result, his sword did not pierce into the flesh of his opponent. It clashed with another sword instead.
The two masters engaged each other in this duel. They advanced and retreated, advanced and retreated. When their weapons hit their target, they retreated, not allowing the opponent to lash out as he struggled. Ye Silang was planning to pierce his opponent's neck with his sword, and then turning it upwards towards his head. But when the two swords collide, the force that came was greater than what the swordsman was ready for.
Everything had been thought out. The amount of force used to attack, to change up the moves and to defend. Ye Silang's calculations were precise but because of how his sword clashed with the other sword, his plan was botched.
The long sword broke the killer's sword. He then immediately changed its direction to confront the assassin, but it was a little slower.
What Maid Lotus needed was this little bit of time. Her sword gently hit the head of the macheteman and repelled him backwards by ten steps.
The duel had finally ended. There was no audience. Only two killers and one swordsman were present.
Gu Shenwei held the broken sword in his hand. He maintained an inaccurate squatting posture which looked ridiculous, but he looked serious.
Maid Lotus stood in a corner, masked and dressed in black. The tip of her sword was pointing towards the ground. The blade was smooth and gleamed. It had not been tainted with even a single drop of blood.
Ye Silang lifted his long sword which made him look like a statue that was directing the sword towards the sky. It looked like he was going to punch a hole in the roof with just a little more effort.
The swordsmen moved slightly and fell forward. There was not a single trace of love or hate in his empty eyes.
Gu Shenwei rushed over, and grabbed the swordsman's hair. With the remaining half of his sword, he beheaded the swordsman. The corpse fell to the ground. Gu Shenwei's moves were smooth and experienced. Even if the dead Tie Hanfeng was here, he would not be able to find any mistakes.
Swordsman, peach blossoms, affection, ruthlessness- the killer abandoned them all. He no longer cared for any of them.
Gu Shenwei threw the broken sword to Maid Lotus. He took out a piece of black cloth and wrapped the head in it. He took out a saber from under the table and nodded towards Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus picked up several pieces of the broken sword that were lying on the ground. She then leaped back onto the beam of the house.
Gu Shenwei carried the head that was wrapped in black cloth and picked up the agreement of the truce. He walked towards the door of the casino and knocked on the door.
The three killers opened the door. They bowed and made way for Gu Shenwei. It was as if they had already expected him. They were not surprised at all. They too were Dragon Year apprentices and were familiar with Slave Huan. No matter what their master came up with, they all believed that Slave Huan would win.
It was now three. The truce was now in effect.
On the streets, the representative of the Horned Dragon Society peered into the distance. Seeing the killer approach, he hopped onto his horse immediately and galloped away. He did not care about the outcome. His only task was to deliver the news of the outcome on time.
The situation outside seemed a little tensed. The crowds of machetemen had now dwindled to half. The remaining people were talking among themselves with excitement. It looked as though something big had happened.
Most of Tuo Nengya's machetemen from the Kun Society had left. Only five of them remained. One of them came up to Gu Shenwei to deliver a piece of bad news. "Kun Society is under siege. Master Yu had been gravely injured."
Shangguan Ru had made a move to counter attacks on the first night of the negotiations. Kun Society was planning to give him a taste of his medicine. 15 minutes before the truce, they launched a surprise attack. No one would have thought that their target would be Shangguan Yushi.
There were about 50 machetemen that had a red sash tied around their foreheads. They wore masks that children usually play with to cover their faces. They were holding longbows and sharp arrows. They had suddenly appeared at the meeting point of the Kun Society. They stood on rooftops and walls. They fired upon Master Yu and the few killers who were there.
This happened just as the representative of the Horned Dragon Society was leaving the casino.
The machetemen fired three rounds of arrows and retreated immediately. There was no scuffle and no one was injured either.
Wildhorse and several other killers tried their best to protect Master Yu but there was still one arrow that managed to hit her chest.
After rushing back to Kun Society, Gu Shenwei saw that the alley outside of the courtyard was packed with people. Someone recognised killer Yang Huan and shouted at him, "Revenge? Count me in. 500 taels for the head of one enemy!"
This caused a commotion in the crowd. Many machetemen had the same idea. They smelled blood and like moths drawn to fire, they were not afraid of death at all.
Gu Shenwei squeezed through the crowd. There were dozens of machetemen lining the courtyard of the Kun Society. Tuo Nengya guarded the entrance of the grand courtyard. As Gu Shenwei passed him, he bowed meekly and said in a soft voice: "I've sent men to inform the Tenth Young Master. There're 50 people protecting her."
Shangguan Ru would definitely rush to the South City without a moment's hesitation. So, Tuo Nengya's plans were very well thought out. Gu Shenwei nodded and walked into the grand courtyard. He placed the severed head and truce agreement on a chair.
Wildhorse and three other killers lined up. They knelt before a couch and placed their sabers close to them. They heard a voice from behind and turned around at the same time. Wildhorse grabbed his saber and his wide-spread eyes filled with rage.
The leaders of the two teenage killers stared at each other. For a while, no one moved. Wildhorse seemed to get the hint. He put down his saber and moved to the side to make room.
Gu Shenwei knelt before the couch on one knee, looking at the teenage girl lying on the couch.
The arrow was still in her body and her chest heaved weakly. Shangguan Yushi, dressed in men's attire, was pale. She was showing an unexpected unique charm of a girl. There was no hint of rebelliousness and arrogance at all.
She stared at Slave Huan for a while as if she had trouble recognizing him. Her expressions changed rapidly. Memories of anger, hurt, joy, melancholy, and other emotions flooded her mind. These memories all seemed to be leaving her just as quickly.
She had so little time left and she didn't know whether she should spend it reminiscing her friendship, or vent the hatred in her heart.
Shangguan Yushi raised her hand and grasped Slave Huan's hand tightly. He was her last source of strength. The two did not say a word but they understood what the other was thinking.
The two were like partners who fell into the water together. They had clutched onto a piece of wood, drifting and bobbing on the water surface. They had both desired to monopolize that piece of wood and to kick the other down the water.
Gu Shenwei was sure that Master Yu had planned all kinds of schemes so that Gu Shenwei could die. And to achieve that, she had no qualms supporting the Horned Dragon Society either.
Shangguan Yushi finally understood everything. The ambush laid by the Horned Dragon Society was too coincidental. It was this slave, this wretched slave, who planted the arrow in her chest.
"You've won."
Shangguan Yushi spoke in a scarcely audible whisper. Only Gu Shenwei himself could understand what she said by reading her lips.
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