With the cruel Gobi on the left and the capricious desert on the right, it seemed like two completely different but equally deadly weapons determined to torture any creature who passed through.
This route which started in the Hui Kingdom of Xiaoyao Lake slanted northwestward until it reached the territory of Shu-lik. It was not the shortest route but it was the only safe passage available to them.
A corpse lay on a blanket, its blood already solidified. His empty chest was like an abyss, dark and bottomless.
There was one each day and this had been the third victim in three days. The killer who followed the group was organized, like a connoisseur who had tasted many delicacies, no matter what he ate, he would chew slowly, bit by bit.
Gu Shenwei was unable to force the rest to continue their journey. The relentless traveling throughout day and night to save time and lose their stalker had resulted in a tragic failure.
Like a shadow, they were unable to detect the killer by sight or sound. Once the night fell, he would mysteriously appear, kill a person and dig out their heart, before disappearing once again.
Gu Shenwei tried many defensive measures.
They did not stop to rest and traveled through the first night. However, a bandit at the rear was quietly killed before dawn. Not even a scream was heard even as his heart was dug out. He was left still riding on horseback, his horse trotting obediently behind the group.
It was not until dawn when someone turned around and saw such a strange sight: a corpse riding on horseback.
Shangguan Hong and Shangguan Fei had vomited on the spot and could hardly get back up on their horses. Shangguan Ru did not even come over to look at the sight. Upon seeing the tragic death of their peer, even the remaining four bandits, who had killed without batting an eye, turned pale as well.
Gu Shenwei personally carried the body off the horse’s back and leave the horse behind. He then ordered everybody to continue on their way as he and Maid Lotus remained at the back.
But nothing happened the entire day.
The following night, as they need to let the horses rest, the remaining nine of them sat in a circle and faced outward with their weapons drawn out as they took turns to keep watch. Except for the occasional crackle of a small fire in the middle and horses’ neighs, nobody noticed anything unusual, and no warning was raised by any of them.
In the morning, the bandit sitting between He Sancai and Zheng Tai was dead. His heart was removed, and the two people next to him did not even realize it.
The two of them admitted that they have fallen asleep at dawn.
That day, they traveled at great speed and no one suggested taking breaks of any sort. Everybody wanted to escape from the devilish hands that seemed to always surround them.
It was night again. The deceased was a bandit, his position was in the middle of the group. Shangguan Ru looked back by sheer chance and noticed a thick shadow darker than the night and immediately shouted to warn others. That was how they found the bandit with his heart dug out.
The sky slowly brightened and the blood of the deceased had solidified.
The person traveling behind the decreased was Shangguan Hong. He was unable to give any clues about what happened. Like a frightened bird, he had not noticed anything and would even be startled by his own shadow.
There were only seven people left. Gu Shenwei had to stop and solve this problem. It would take 11 to 12 days to cross the Gobi desert and if this went on, all of them would be dead even before reaching Shu-lik.
“He has a distinctive way of killing by digging a person’s heart out. I hope everyone can think it through, what kind of person will actually kill like that.”
Gu Shenwei had never heard of an expert capable of such means as his eyes scanned everyone. Maid Lotus and the three Shangguan siblings shook their heads immediately. He Sancai, the Invincible Machete of Tianshan, thought for a moment before shaking his head as well.
Everyone’s eyes rested on Zheng Tai. He was the local villain of Xiaoyao Lake and should be more than familiar with the people in this area.
“Xiaoyao Lake doesn’t really have such powerful experts. With the narrow lands and tiny population, not to mention poverty, I really can’t think of anyone with such skills and likes to dig their victim’s heart out.” Everybody’s hopes fell at Zheng Tai’s words. He too, was in low spirits and in fact, somewhat afraid.
“It’s a ghost, it must be a ghost. It never appears during the day, and comes and goes without a trace. What else can it be?” Shangguan Fei added as he hid behind his sister. His words scared himself as he shrank down further.
Everybody turned slightly pale whether or not they believed in it. The killer was ruthless and extremely skilled in Kung Fu, it might as well be a ghost.
Gu Shenwei knelt on one knee and checked the corpse carefully once again. Then he walked toward the horse of the deceased, and touched it back and forth, before inspecting under the horse’s belly.
“It’s not a ghost, it’s a person.” Gu Shenwei said with certainty.
“Have you found any clues, Dragon King?” Shangguan Hong’s eyes lit up.
Gu Shenwei nodded and closed his eyes. He tried to visualise the killer’s actions in his mind, then he opened his eyes and said, “He was hiding under the horse’s belly and jumped up sticking close to the horse. He immediately escaped after striking a blow and wore specially made black clothes which were almost the same color as the night sky before dawn.”
“A living person hiding below the horse’s belly yet the rider and horse did not notice anything?” He Sancai asked in surprise.
“Therefore, this person must be very small and light.” Gu Shenwei reasoned.
Hearing his explanation, everybody turned and looked at He Sancai again, since he was a short man himself, merely four feet tall. He jumped back, “It’s not me. I am short, but I am not light at all. Besides, all of you saw me, didn’t you? I can’t possibly duplicate myself, right? If my Kung Fu was so good, then I wouldn’t…”
He did not dare to finish his sentence. If he had good kung fu, back in the desert south of Shuangquan Village, he would not have been defeated by Dragon King and forced to receive the Jueyin Touch from Maid Lotus, thus becoming one of their men.
“Let’s continue.” Gu Shenwei was the first to straddle his horse.
Nothing happened during the day and they continued to push on without stopping in the first half of the night before Gu Shenwei ordered all of them to rest for the second half of the night.
They did not light a fire this time and Gu Shenwei sat down with his knees in the middle while the others circled him. No one was allowed to sleep, though no one was able to fall asleep as well. Everybody was alert as they waited for the enemy to arrive.
Shangguan Hong was the most nervous among them. His chattering teeth were extremely distracting to the other people.
As the night deepened, he could not hold it in any longer, so he said, “I think this person has a regular pattern when he strikes.”
“What’s his pattern?” Shangguan Fei asked. Although he detested his half-brother, he could not help his curiosity.
“He starts with the person with the weakest Kung Fu and chooses a stronger target each time.”
“Master Hong’s words seems reasonable.” Zheng Tai, the Sand Devil, said. The three bandits who had died were his men and he had the most say in their skill levels.
“I think…” Shangguan Hong swallowed with difficulty as he continued, “I think tonight, his target will be me.”
Shangguan Fei was sitting beside him but shifted to the side once he heard what he said.
“Dragon King, you have to protect me! I… I am still of great service to you.” Shangguan Hong pleaded, his voice trembling. He had pinned all his hopes onto Dragon King.
“Shut up.” Gu Shenwei needed silence.
Holding the Dragon Head Sword in his hand, he was ready to enter the realm of no thought and use the Death Scripture swordcraft to end the enemy.
This was an extremely risky move. If he failed, it would backfire on him just like it did to Maid Lotus, and he might lose his life because of it.
But it was his only choice.
During the day, all those words that he said were all made up. In fact, he was unable to find any clues and only wanted to reassure the group.
Only Maid Lotus knew how great of a risk Dragon King was taking so she held her “Huan” sword tightly and stayed even more alert.
It took a lot of energy and Internal Breath to feel the living energy. Gu Shenwei waited for a while before closing his eyes.
The vital breath of the six people in the group was clear and distinguishable, the different levels of kung fu resulted in different forms of their vital breath.
Maid Lotus’ vital breath shifted irregularly and it was difficult to grasp a specific shape. She was a first-class expert.
Gu Shenwei was slightly surprised that Shangguan Fei was one rank inferior to Maid Lotus. His vital breath was very strong but small compared to other people as it tried its best to restrain itself; this was a timid expert.
Shangguan Ru had been practicing Wayless Qigong and by default should possess better Kung Fu than her brother. However, her vital breath shifted slower than the others and the form barely changed. Her weakness was, therefore, the most obvious. She had really given up on her killing desire.
He Sancai was a famous bandit leader and his Kung Fu was definitely not weak. His vital breath was rough and insolent, but he was far from being a true expert.
The remaining two were almost the same. Judging from their vital breaths, the person who had the weakest kung fu was Zheng Tai the Sand Devil instead of Shangguan Hong.
There was no other sign of living breath other than these people.
Gu Shenwei did not know how much time had passed, but just when he could not hold out for any longer, the mysterious and ruthless killer appeared.
It was a very light vital breath. What was strange was that it did not coagulate into a ball but instead, took the form of a long, thin strip, like a twisted snake, which made it difficult for people to detect.
It circled around the group, approaching and retreating rapidly, sometimes far away sometimes close.
Gu Shenwei restrained himself and silently waited for the enemy to take the bait.
Unlike Gu Shenwei, this assassin could not possibly have learned the Death Scripture and feel the living energy around him. But he must have found another way to sense danger and was extremely alert. There were several times when he was near the target and ready to strike, yet he retreated again in a blink of an eye.
Gu Shenwei had plenty of patience but he could not possibly remain in this state of no thought.
The assassin was the first to lose his cool.
The long strip of vital breath struck before quickly disappearing and the form curled up from a long strip to a small ball.
Gu Shenwei drew his sword.
The sword struck a perfect blow. It did not backfire on him but struck the target squarely. Yet, it was not what he had imagined.
One after another, the survivors stood up and were all startled by the scene in front of them:
More than a foot long of Dragon King’s sword had pierced through Zheng Tai from the back, through the heart and out on the other side. A heart was pierced on the tip of the sword, it seemed like it was still beating.
Maid Lotus and Shangguan Ru leaped up one after another and pursued in different directions but soon returned empty-handed.
Gu Shenwei sheathed the Dragon Head Sword.
“Dragon King, Dragon King…” He Sancai legs gave way and fell to his knees. He was confused and thought that Dragon King was going to kill him.
“Look, there’s blood!” Shangguan Hong pointed to the ground and cried out.
There were several drops of blood on the gravel in front of Zheng Tai, it connected and formed a line pointing in the direction that Maid Lotus had just run towards.
Gu Shenwei had managed to stab the enemy after all.
“He escaped.” Maid Lotus said simply. She had followed the trail of blood for a hundred steps until the blood trail disappeared and the target was out of sight.
“The other person ran away as well.” Shangguan Ru said as she held her wooden saber. There was not a trace of fear on her face. “I saw him, it was Wildhorse.”