Chapter 290: The Meeting
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Fang Wenshi was restless.
The Special Emissary from the Central Plains was growing impatient. If Dragon King did not show up and expose the imposter, the negotiation would most certainly fall through.
The Great Snowmountain and Tuo Nengya together only counted to about three thousand people. It was impossible for them to last through the winter.
Fang Wenshi liked things to be orderly and under his control. However, it was hard for the counselor to fathom the Dragon King's thoughts as he was consistently unconventional in his behavior.
Bad news continued to arrive, one after the other. Golden Roc Fort hinted that they had found Dragon King and would capture him alive any moment. Four Truths Temple and the many machetemen from Jade City were furious about the death of the holy monk and wanted to avenge the monk themselves. The Norland governor, Mo Chu, simply added fuel to the flames, publicly claiming that he would push for Norland and the Central Plain to send a coalition to take over Jade City if Dragon King was not punished for his crimes.
As luck would have it, Shu-lik had also sent a messenger to Jade City.
The peace negotiations between the Great Snowmountain and Golden Roc Fort was practically a form of betrayal towards Shu-lik. Fang Wenshi had spent endless words trying to convince the King of Shu-lik that Dragon King would battle it out with Supreme King. But now, only after two mediocre wars were fought, they planned to call for a truce. Shu-lik had lent their roads, land and even supplied part of the resources to the Great Snowmountain, but just as raising a tiger invites calamity, indulging one's enemy was surely asking for trouble.
Fang Wenshi had originally thought that the peace negotiations would be completed before winter arrived. Shu-lik would acknowledge the negotiations as long as they had the support of Central Plains and agreement from Norland.
However, the negotiation process was greatly delayed due to the mess made by the imposter Dragon King.
Shu-lik must be up to something if they sent a messenger over at this time.
The Shu-lik messenger was named Shi Ying. He was a relative of the King of Shu-lik and served as one of his minister. Fang Wenshi remembered him. He was the black-faced minister who had always been at loggerheads with him during the court session, opposed to the lending of roads to Great Snowmountain.
Fang Wenshi gritted his teeth and reluctantly went to pay respects to Shi Ying but was politely refused a visit. It was evident that Shu-lik intended to disrupt the peace talks.
Fang Wenshi felt helpless. He had observed how Dragon King resolved issues at the last moment; he could only hope that Dragon King would succeed again this time.
The "10 days deadline" was up. Fang Wenshi asked Chu Nanping whether he knew where Dragon King had been, but the young swordsman only shook his head.
Fang Wenshi went to meet the Special Emissary from the Central Plains with a heavy heart. He believed that his counselor's dream was about to be shattered. However, he quickly raised his spirits. Now that he had made a name for himself, he could always find another person who would recognize his worth even if he were to leave Dragon King.
The Special Emissary from the Central Plains also invited Governor Mo Chu, the messenger from Shu-lik, a chief from the Whiterobe Academy of Golden Roc Fort, a young master from Meng family and a monk from Four Truths Temple. This was not a formal meeting as the purpose was to reach a consensus on one thing: Would the Central Plain support the peace negotiations?
Everyone knew the answer. If Dragon King continued to indiscriminately kill people in Jade City, it would mean that Great Snowmountain was not sincere about the peace negotiations, and there would not need to talk about support from the Central Plains.
The seven of them exchanged pleasant greetings, before Fang Wenshi realized that he was being left out. Except for the Special Emissary from the Central Plains, no one was talking to him. The messenger from Shu-lik, Shi Ying, pretended not to know him, while Mo Chu actively glared at him. Dragon King had provoked him twice, causing one of his favored concubines to die, so naturally, he was still bitter.
The representative that Meng Family sent was Second Master, Mingshu. He was the first to bring up the main topic. He coughed and said, "The Great Snowmountain wants to make peace with Golden Roc Fort. This matter is of great concern and should be settled by today."
Xuan Sheng the monk spoke, "It is best to make peace. However, Dragon King has still not shown up. He has secretly killed countless people, with Master Lianhua counting among one of the victims. It is hardly believable that Dragon King is sincere about making peace."
The chief from Golden Roc Fort was a skinny old man. He looked like a scholar who knew nothing about martial arts, but his voice was as grating as metal on metal. He said, "Everyone is aware that Great Snowmountain has invaded us repeatedly and Yang Huan's killing desire is ever burning. Thus, Golden Roc Fort had no choice but to deploy soldiers to protect ourselves. However, we assure you that the head of Dragon King will be on this table in two days' time. The swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain will vanish from the Western Region by next spring. There is absolutely no need to discuss peace negotiations."
No one spoke after that. The Special Emissary from the Central Plains looked at Fang Wenshi and said, "Mr. Fang is the messenger from the Great Snowmountain. Do you have anything to say?"
Fang Wenshi was caught off-guard. He blurted, "Dragon King bears the burden of avenging his father. However, in order not to disrupt the lives of the people within the Western Region, he is willing to forsake his hatred and make peace with Golden Roc Fort. He is very sincere about it. I can assure you that the recent killings in Jade City have nothing to do with Dragon King and the Great Snowmountain."
"What use is your assurance?" It was the first time the chief from Golden Roc Fort had spoken to the Great Snowmountain messenger and it was extremely disdainful. "Let Yang Huan come and speak for himself."
"Hey, Golden Roc Fort has long schemed to send Dragon King to his doom. How can he show up so easily?"
"Yes, Yang Huan doesn't dare to show up. He has always sent his men to represent him, even asking his men to kill people for him." The disgust was plain on the chief of Golden Roc Fort's face.
"This is where the problem lies." Fang Wenshi had to restrain himself, remarking in a confused tone, "Dragon King entered the city alone with no one following him. He could not possibly be in two places at once either. Where did these 'men' come from?"
"He dares to act, but not take responsibility? Didn't Yang Huan once claim that he had thousands of soldiers? It is no big deal sacrificing a few men. He said that he entered the city alone, but who knows? There might be a group of men alongside him."
"I heard that Golden Roc Fort caught several captives?" Fang Wenshi turned the tables back on the chief of Golden Roc Fort.
"Yes."
"Did they admit to being the Dragon King's subordinates?"
"Of course. Is there a need to ask?"
"And they killed people using the Golden Roc saber?"
"Stop pushing the blame to Stone Castle. It is normal for Yang Huan to use a saber since he was once a Golden Roc killer."
"That was not what I meant." Fang Wenshi said cheerfully even though he was still uncertain. He said, "Dragon King is used to using the Golden Roc saber, but all his men are swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain. They are not used to using this type of weapon."
"This gentleman is good at arguing, but he is a little forgetful. There are more than one thousand machetemen in the Great Snowmountain military camp. These people are also under Yang Huan."
"Well, I am a little forgetful and I don't know any kung fu, but I do know one thing. No matter where you are from, machetemen are terrible at using the Golden Roc saber. Just look at the name itself, Golden Roc saber, who else would be specialized in using it? Why would Dragon King let his men use weapons that they were unfamiliar with?"
"What do you mean? Are you saying that Golden Roc Fort impersonated as Yang Huan's men and killed our own men?" The veins on the chief of Golden Roc's neck bulged, and he stood to his feet. His posture clearly showed that he knew kung fu and was skilled.
Fang Wenshi shook his head repeatedly as he took advantage of this loophole. He hoped that he could try to buy some time for Dragon King. "I have no evidence, so I will not accuse anyone. I only want to let everyone know that if Dragon King raises his flag, he will acknowledge his doings. If he denies any killings, he will not raise his flag. The current situation is obviously a conspiracy. Some people clearly hope that the negotiations will fall through so that they can take advantage of the chaos."
The chief of Golden Roc Fort mentioned from the start that he was unwilling to go through with the peace negotiations. Therefore, he felt that the messenger from the Great Snowmountain messenger was talking about himself. He then took a step forward and said sternly, "Chaos? Ha, the Great Snowmountain overestimates itself. You are not worthy to compete with Golden Roc Fort yet!"
Fang Wenshi was unsettled. He gritted his teeth and took a step forward boldly. He laughed and said, "Golden Roc Fort claimed that they could get the head of Dragon King in two days' time and wipe out the Great Snowmountain by next spring. However, I do not recall that Dragon King suffering any injury in the past three years and the Great Snowmountain was victorious in the last two wars fought. They have high morale, you know?"
The chief of Golden Roc Fort touched his hip out of habit before remembering that he was unarmed. "What high morale indeed. We shall wait and see then, Sir."
Governor Mo Chu was irritated by their verbal exchange. He considered himself to be the highest ranked among all present. Banging the table, he growled, "Cut the crap and let Dragon King come and explain everything himself."
Fang Wenshi bowed towards the Governor and said, "Sir Governor, it is not that Dragon King doesn't want to come, but the Golden Roc Fort killers are closing in on him. It is impossible for him to come."
"What's there to be afraid of? I can guarantee his safety." Mo Chu patted his chest, his thick white beard swinging back and forth, "I cannot protect him forever but if anyone dares to lay a finger on Dragon King today, that person will be regarded as an enemy of Norland."
After Mo Chu finished speaking, everyone looked at the chief of Golden Roc Fort. The chief bowed in response and said, "Since Lord Mo has spoken, Golden Roc Fort will obey your orders. Yang Huan will be safe for today."
Everyone then fixed their gaze on the messenger from the Great Snowmountain. Fang Wenshi found himself in a predicament. He did not know the whereabouts of Dragon King so he could neither accept nor refuse the offer.
Just when Fang Wenshi was running out of ideas, Shi Ying, the quiet messenger from Shu-lik spoke, "I would like to say something."
"Lord Shi, please speak," said the Special Emissary from the Central Plains politely.
"I have a message from Dragon King. If the Governor and the Special Emissary from the Central Plains can guarantee his safety, he is willing to show up and explain everything."
Everybody was shocked. Everyone thought that the messenger from Shu-lik was here to disrupt the negotiations. No one could have imagined that Shi Ying would be relaying a message from Dragon King himself. Fang Wenshi was the most surprised out of them all. He had no idea that his words had actually matched the intentions of Dragon King. However, he was displeased that he was kept in the dark once again.
Mo Chu smoothed his beard and coughed. He said, "Of course, as I said, I will guarantee his safety for today. I believe the messenger from the Central Plain has the same intention as well?"
"Yes, Lord Mo is right. For the sake of the Western Region, it is necessary for Dragon King to show up and explain himself. Likewise, the Central Plain is also willing to guarantee his safety. From now on till midnight, anyone who dares to harm Dragon King is not only an enemy of Norland, but also an enemy of the Central Plain as well."
"Good." Shi Ying agreed, but he did not seem too happy. "Mr. Fang, please go to the door and let Dragon King in. He trusts your words."
Fang Wenshi was perplexed. He walked to the door and saw the servants standing outside. Chu Nanping was among them, but there was no one else beside him.
"Dragon King, you can show up now. Norland and the Central Plain have guaranteed your safety."
The dozens of servants within earshot were surprised and started looking around in all directions.
One of the servants for the messenger of Shu-lik stepped out from the crowd, wiping the paint off his face with a handkerchief. He was Yang Huan, Dragon King.
The other servants whispered among one another. Chu Nanping looked very excited. Only Fang Wenshi felt uneasy, and whispered, "Did you find the imposter?"
Gu Shenwei nodded and walked into the room. He did not kneel down. He looked at everyone and said, "I have found the imposter."
"Who is it?" Governor Mo Chu was the first to ask.
"An exiled Golden Roc killer. His name is Wildhorse."