Shangguan Ru was deeply disturbed at the result of her softheartedness.
On the night as she lay awake, she heard Old Man Mu boasting about the people he had killed. So far, he had assassinated 25 soldiers from the Great Snowmountain and nobody had glimpsed his shadow lurking.
“Good girl, today I killed five people for you again! Haha, only the wicked have freedom…”
Therefore, Shangguan Ru recounted her interaction with Old Man Mu right from the very beginning. Upon hearing this, Gu Shenwei devised a way to lure him into a trap.
At that time, Old Man Mu was still being made to bask in the sun every day. In order to provoke Shangguan Ru to release him, he talked a lot, and all his words revealed his understanding and admiration of the Wayless Qigong of Golden Roc Fort.
It was Old Man Mu who divulged that there were eight chapters of the divine kung fu in the castle.
He was determined to be invincible, and if there was a chance for him to defeat Supreme King, he would not give it up easily.
Even so, Shangguan Ru felt that Dragon King’s plan was too simple, “Will he fall for it? He’s very cunning.”
“Yes. Not only is he cunning, he is also very arrogant and underestimates everybody. He will know full well that this is a trap but he will still fall into the trap willingly, just to prove that he is able to free himself from it.” Gu Shenwei was not familiar with Old Man Mu, but he could understand the heart of that man.
It was settled then.
The nobles who were used as bait were not innocent either. They were indeed hatching a plot to instigate thousands of slave soldiers in the camp to raise a mutiny and kill off Dragon King and the soldiers from the Great Snowmountain. At the very least, they want to drive them all out of the Land of Fragrance.
The tough life in the forest had not taught them a lesson, for they still thought that they held supreme authority over the slaves, and the slaves would naturally respond to their beck and call.
Indeed, the slaves were unable to escape the generations of slavery they were mired in. Even though they held sabers and swords, and Dragon King had rmoved the status and names of the slaves, they unconsciously drew a distinction between masters and slaves. However, to them, their masters were no longer the weak and useless nobles who were unable to fight on the battlefield, but the real soldiers from the Great Snowmountain and Dragon King.
As soon as the mutiny plan was leaked, the news reached Dragon King’s ears.
Gu Shenwei waited for a few more days. After the nobles who had taken part in the mutiny gave themselves away, he rounded them up and then used them to lure Old Man Mu.
Shangguan Ru was very self-conscious in front of Dragon King. With so many lives taken by his hands, she could no longer justify Old Man Mu’s existence.
Maid Lotus did not say anything. She expressed her thoughts only when it was just the two of them, “Your plan is not simple.”
Gu Shenwei nodded his head. He could not hide his plan from Maid Lotus, nor did he need to hide it , “It goes without saying that Old Man Mu covets the Wayless Qigong. But he won’t believe that the high priest possesses the divine kung fu and he will barge into the military camp. However, his target is not the high priest or the traitors.”
Maid Lotus understood immediately. This was why she assisted Dragon King. He was always quick to notice the truth of things, while she, like Shangguan Ru, had been kept in the dark by Old Man Mu.
“The Tenth Young Master.” She said. Old Man Mu was eyeing on the Wayless Qigong in Shangguan Ru’s mind, but there were still two things she could not understand, “Old Man Mu did not stop the Land of Fragrance from killing us, and he did not kidnap the Tenth Young Master even when he came out from the mountains.”
Gu Shenwei was slightly surprised that Maid Lotus still addressed Shangguan Ru as “the Tenth Young Master”, but he did not raise it and lowered his head to ponder about what she said, “It is purported that Old Man Mu’s going into retreat was to practice the highest level of the Five Hole Punch. If I am not wrong, he did not succeed this time.”
Old Man Mu had lived in seclusion for more than ten years prior to this. Even after his injuries had healed, he did not return to the jianghu immediately. Instead, he practiced his Kung Fu diligently. The impact of the Five Hole Punch was very powerful and it was a skill which he lived by. Therefore, it was only natural that the Kung Fu was of utmost importance to him. He would not have waited until now if he had been able to master it within a month.
From this, Gu Shenwei assumed that Old Man Mu still had not mastered the highest level of the Five Hole Earth Punch. The way he killed now, without removing the victims’ hearts, was probably just a cover-up.
He need not say more as Maid Lotus had already grasped what he meant, so she said, “But he thought he was able to master it, therefore, he was more eager to get his hands on Wayless Qigong after he failed.”
“Shangguan Ru must have left a deep impression on him when she managed to learn both the Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills and Seven Circles seven apertures Heart Stopping Finger in such a short duration.”
Other than Supreme King himself, there were four people who practiced the Wayless Qigong. Shangguan Fei seldom displayed his Kung Fu and was beyond Old Man Mu’s knowledge, while both Dragon King and Maid Lotus would never compromise. The simpleminded and softhearted Shangguan Ru was be the best choice for him to get the divine kung fu.
Maid Lotus’ train of thought became clearer, “He didn’t kidnap the Tenth Young Master immediately but killed people in her name instead so that he could discredit her and force her to leave the military camp on her own accord.”
Gu Shenwei nodded. He imagined that Old Man Mu had already harbored intentions to take Shangguan Ru’s Wayless Qigong, but he did not reveal it as his Kung Fu had not fully recovered. Something must have happened since then, to give him the confidence to assume that he was able to master the highest Earth level of the Five Hole Punch.
After another failure, Wayless Qigong was his main target once again.
This was the only way to explain Old Man Mu’s fickle actions. Gu Shenwei felt that he was spot-on on his guesses and did not think that the missing link was important.
“Tonight will be the best time for him to take Shangguan Ru away,” As Gu Shenwei explained to Maid Lotus. He was also trying to look for possible flaws in his reasoning. “I have already set up a trap, and the troops will naturally concentrate around the high priest and the traitors. He will pretend to fall into the trap and try to divert attention, before taking advantage to kidnap her. He has already killed more than 20 people. As long as he threatens to kill the remaining 900 people, it is possible to make Shangguan Ru reveal something.”
Maid Lotus thought that it was plausible. She wondered if Shangguan Ru would make up a fake version of the chapters and trick Old Man Mu with Qigong Deviation. She banished her thoughts and said, “If that is the case, that means it was not the Tenth Young Master who released Old Man Mu that time.”
Old Man Mu had escaped the ropes because they were cut off in secret. At that time, Shangguan Ru had aroused the most suspicion among them. However, she did not accept him as her Master Shifu, nor did she gave him the Wayless Qigong. She could never be the rope cutter since it was apparent that she was not in cahoots with Old Man Mu.
“It was not the Tenth Young Master indeed, because I know who it is.” Gu Shenwei said flatly, looking at Maid Lotus. He paused for a while and said, “It was Shangguan Fei.”
Maid Lotus was slightly surprised, “How could it be him?”
“Shangguan Fei had the foolish idea that he will be able to regain his father’s understanding and love as long as he has made a major contribution. So he continued to stay by my side and helped me gather my momentum. It is only worthwhile for him to sell me out once the Great Snowmountain is on par and can compete with the Supreme King. As he waits for that day to come, he needs to plant several helpers in advance, and Old Man Mu happens to be one of them.”
Dragon King was very astute in speculating a person’s true intentions. Sometimes, even Maid Lotus was concerned if he was too extreme, but she still chose to believe him unconditionally, “But you still want to keep him alive.”
“Let’s keep him alive for now. He intends to betray me but I also intend to make use of him as well.”
This was a complicated game. Indeed, Gu Shenwei did not trust Shangguan Fei but he did not tell the whole truth as well.
The plan to trap and kill Old Man Mu progressed in an orderly manner. Hundreds of swordsmen and machetemen hid in ambush. A large number of conscripted savages acting as archers positioned outside. These soldiers were unaware of Dragon King’s real plan, so all of them made careful preparation.
Shangguan Ru also participated in the operation. She knew she was unable to kill people, but hoped she could stall Old Man Mu for some time.
In her heart, she did not want to see anyone die, which included Old Man Mu as well. But she was well aware of what would happen if she interceded for him.
Everything was ready by nightfall. The highlight tonight was neither Dragon King nor Maid Lotus, nor the swordsmen and machetemen who were eager to seek for revenge, but 300 archers who made up of the conscripted savages. Gu Shenwei planned to shoot Old Man Mu to death.
The archers didn’t know their responsibilities, but all of them ha dreceived strict orders that once Dragon King shot a flaming arrow, they would follow suit and shoot in the direction of the arrow.
Gu Shenwei had positioned Shangguan Ru in an ingenious way such that he would have to bypass the archers if someone wanted to go near her, and the soldiers would shoot upon Gu Shenwei’s orders.
He was about to leave his tent when a soldier of nobility knelt outside to seek an audience with him. Several swordsmen tried to pull him away, but he was very persistent and refused to leave.
Gu Shenwei could have ordered the soldier to wait until the next day, but the panic in the soldier’s voice led him to change his mind.
Old Man Mu was used to sneaking attacks during the latter half of the night, and there was still some time as the sky had just turned dark.
The soldier who was anxious to see Dragon King was called Su Mohua. Like the rest of the surviving nobles from the Land of Fragrance, he served as guard troops of Dragon King. These guard troops were placed under strict surveillance. If it weren’t for the fact that most of the conscripted savages were involved in the operation tonight, Su Mohua would not have the chance to approach Dragon King’s tent unimpeded.
Su Mohua was a young man in his twenties. According to the traditional standards of the Land of Fragrance, his figure was slightly thick, but he looked frail in the eyes of the soldiers from the Great Snowmountain.
As soon as he entered the tent, he knelt in front of Dragon King and wept bitterly.
His brother was one of the main organizers who had incited the slaves to rebel against Dragon King. He had been detained and would be beheaded the next morning.
“Dragon King, who is as tall and magnanimous as the mountains, please pardon my brother’s life! He’s a fool, and he was tricked!” Su Mohua could only speak simple Central Plains Chinese. Although he spoke urgently and some words jumbled in order, the meaning was still clear.
Gu Shenwei felt that he was merely wasting his time, “Military orders cannot be changed.”
Tears streamed down Su Mohua’s face. He postrated himself, intended to beg again. However, after some pondering, he organized his words and said, “I know the rule of exchanging a life for a life. I am willing… to exchange my brother’s life for mine.”
Gu Shenwei was deeply surprised that such a righteous person would exist among the nobles in the Land of Fragrance. Very soon, he realized that he had misunderstood Su Mohua.
“I will use the Revered Devil’s life to exchange for my brother’s life.” Su Mohua added, because he was not planning on using his life in exchange.
The “Revered” was an address used by the Land of Fragrance towards older people who possessed wits and virtuous qualities. “Devil”, was a derogatory term. It was the first time Gu Shenwei heard these two words were used together. “Are you referring to Old Man Mu?”, Gu Shenwei was slightly surprised.
“Yes, him. He’s hiding in the forest, doing goodness knows what, and he’s planning to do bad things to you. I heard all about it.”