Chapter 285: Underground Chambers
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Gu Shenwei had never received training at Carvewood Academy. His understanding of a killer's primary training mainly came from his observations of Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus had undergone tremendous changes after a mere 10 months stint at Carvewood Academy. Other than her improved kung fu skills, she was also better at concealing her feelings compared to before. Her hatred for Slave Huan could not be noticed at all.
In contrast, the female killers of the Tianji Society seemed to be too naive. They were no different from a group of ordinary little girls crowding around their idol as they kept asking questions left and right.
Guan Shang mentioned that Shangguan Ru had taken over the Tianji Society two years ago. Even after the change of ownership, the trainer would not possibly be the Tenth Young Master herself. The training tutors should be familiar with all the methods taught in Golden Roc Fort and would never have groomed such unqualified apprentices.
Guan Shang and the few female archers under her seemed more like killers.
It was a rude awakening as Gu Shenwei realized that these little girls who "worshiped" the Dragon King were a ruse in order to deceive him and gain his trust.
The Bodhi Garden underground chambers seemed like a trap as Shangguan Ru refused to show up after so long.
Showing no emotions, Gu Shenwei continued to tell stories to the curious ones while also giving guidance on some machete techniques. Stretching lazily, he said, "It's getting boring. Who can show me around the place?"
Seven or eight little girls got up as they scrambled to be the guide.
The underground chambers covered a wide area, some of which were even deep under the lake. All of the passages and rooms were illuminated by torches and candles. The inadequate lighting was enough to simulate the night environment.
Nighttime was the killers' favorite period of time, and they were also the most active during this hour.
Gu Shenwei estimated that there were hundreds of people living in the underground chambers. He noticed many adult killers, both male and female, who were training the apprentices. The skills and temperament of these apprentices were not the same as the seven or eight little girls around him. The differences were barely noticeable, but he was able to see things more clearly since he had his suspicions.
Killer apprentices tend to be more silent, they observed more but asked less. They were usually taciturn and stern, especially in front of people who were in higher standings. During sparring sessions, these apprentices would ruthlessly attack as if they had a profound hatred towards the other person.
A normal killer would not trust others. Likewise, it was also difficult for him to win the trust of others.
Finally, the group arrived at a place with complicated paths, with nothing but a lit torch in sight much further away. Gu Shenwei remembered that this was not far from the entrance. "Let's go out for a breath, it's really stuffy in here."
"Okay, but we can't go out because we don't have the keys." A little girl seemed to be very disappointed. "I've been here for almost five months but I have never gone outside."
All of them nodded. The duration that they entered the underground chambers varied from a few months to six or seven months. Memories of the outside world were still fresh in their minds and they missed it very much.
Gu Shenwei was a little confused when he returned to his place of residence. He might have been too overly suspicious of the girls. They probably have not experienced formal training, and therefore still retained their innocent personalities. They have nothing to do with traps or conspiracies.
He pretended to rest and sent all of them away. After closing his eyes to sleep for a while, he quietly got up and tried to recall the path toward the entrance of the underground chambers. He was holding a small stone in his hand which he used to carved marks on the many intersections that he had passed when he was strolling around just now.
He should be able to leave the underground chambers unhindered if there were no traps.
But the result was that he became lost.
The markings were still there, but the place where the intersection was supposed to be not long ago had turned into a thick wall. This was not something that can be pushed away by mere human strength. Gu Shenwei was forced to take a detour. Soon, he could not find a way out and forgot the way he came from. It was not until he stumbled into a training room that a female apprentice helped to send the Dragon King back to his residence.
The apprentices were silent and had obvious alertness in their expressions. It was apparent that these fifteen or sixteen years old had shown signs of being trained in the Golden Roc Fort killer's forms.
Guan Shang came and replaced the candle before it burned out. She brought back many news, a few of which were not so good.
"The Governor's family is coming to visit the Bodhi Garden. We might not be able to go out for a while. But it is safe here so please stay at ease, Dragon King."
Guan Shang mentioned this casually among the many other news as if it was the least important thing. From this, Gu Shenwei finally confirmed that he had fallen into a trap. "The Governor's family seemed to prefer to visit the garden when it was out of season."
"Isn't it so? There is nothing here in the Bodhi Garden at this time. It's not much different from a wasteland."
The conversation about going out of the underground chambers ended so fast, and they quickly moved on to other topics.
The search in Jade City by the Golden Roc killers had become much more thorough, including many areas that were rarely involved in the past. Places such as Hope Alley and the Four Truths Temple had also been harassed to varying degrees.
The imitation Dragon King's acts had dropped drastically, but now the assassinations were targeting people who were of a much higher status. The corpse of a big Protector of Blacksmith Village was strewn across the street, with a Black Blood Flag stuck onto his stomach. An exiled aristocrat in North City was found dead naked on his bed, with dozens of brutally inflicted wounds on his body.
Guan Shang finally mentioned Shangguan Ru when she said, "The Tenth Young Master will not be able to come down from the mountain for a while. The castle is holding a martial arts tournament to examine the skills of the Shangguan family's children. The Lady hopes that the Tenth Young Master will use this opportunity to regain the Lord's favor, and is urging her to train hard. She will not be able to leave the fort for the time being."
"The Tenth Young Master has very good kung fu. Surely, she will be crowned champion."
"Yes, the Tenth Young Master's machete skills and internal strength are the best in the fort for someone so young. Even old killers who had been practicing for decades cannot compete with her. There are several good rising stars in the family, but they still pale in comparison with the Tenth Young Master."
Gu Shenwei thought that Guan Shang was going to continue talking about the competition, but she left it as it is, and started talking about other things. She did not mention another word about it up until she left.
But this was just a trick to confuse the Dragon King, in order to prevent him from becoming suspicious too early.
Guan Shang's expression was not very natural when she came by the next time. It seemed like there was something worrying her. Gu Shenwei knew that she was waiting for him to speak about it first, so he asked, "Did something happen to the Tenth Young Master?"
"No." Guan Shang replied immediately. After a while, as if contrary to her thoughts, she said reluctantly: "Who could have thought that there were two experts among the younger generation of the Shangguan family. It seems that it won't be easy for the Tenth Young Master to win the championship."
"Oh, who are these experts?"
"You might not have heard of them, Dragon King. The experts are brothers. The older brother is called Dewei, he is 18 years old. The younger brother is named Dezhi, and he is 16 years old. I don't know how they trained, but they were quite unknown and suddenly become really powerful. The old killers who observed them said that these two brothers are the top disciples of the Shangguan family."
"I don't think they are rivals of the Tenth Young Master."
Shangguan Ru practiced the Wayless Qigong, and this was a huge gap that others had no chance of overcoming.
"Yes, the Tenth Young Master... In fact, I shouldn't say this... But, Dragon King surely know that the Tenth Young Master has no problems with kung fu, it's the lack of killing desire. The others are kept in the dark about this. It is likely that she will be lenient in a crucial timing, whereas the two brothers are quite ruthless. I'm afraid... "
"The Tenth Young Master will produce sufficient killing desires when it comes to life and death situations."
"I hope so. Oh well, it would be great if there was a way to let the Tenth Young Master's killing desires become stronger. The Tenth Young Master is a good leader. If she was defeated, Lady Meng would most likely replace her with someone else to take charge of Tianji Society. "
Guan Shang purposedly did not fully disclose the information as she was waiting for the Dragon King to come to a realization about the implications of her words. If the Tenth Young Master lost the power to command the Tianji Society, then the Dragon King's safety in the underground chambers could not be guaranteed.
Gu Shenwei did not pick up the cue until Guan Shang announced that she was ready to leave. He said, "I hope that the Tenth Young Master can come here."
"The Tenth Young Master is currently..."
"I know, she is preparing for the tournament. It won't take up too much of her time. It is something important and I have to tell her personally."
Guan Shang hesitated for a while before saying, "Is it really important?"
"Very important."
"You can trust me, Dragon King."
"I do trust you, but I can only tell this to the Tenth Young Master herself."
"Ok, I will get someone to bring a message to the Tenth Young Master, but it's up to Lady Meng whether or not she can come down the mountain."
The Tenth Young Master will definitely come down the mountain. Gu Shenwei was very convinced now, but it was hard to determine who this "Tenth Young Master" could be.
He waited for two more days. Guan Shang brought back different kinds of news each time. One day the Tenth Young Master would be able to come and then the next, she could not. It was as if she was fiercely fighting against the obstructing forces in the fort.
Guan Shang came with good news this time when she returned. "Please follow me, Dragon King."
This whole ordeal seemed quite mysterious as she did not mention the Tenth Young Master.
Gu Shenwei made an expression of tacit understanding and nodded. He carried his saber and followed Guan Shang to meet with the Tenth Young Master.
The path was becoming more and more narrow. Several areas could only barely fit one person through it. Gu Shenwei felt that they were currently headed towards an area that was underneath the lake.
There was a long corridor that was quite unusual. As soon as they approached, the saber and dagger on Gu Shenwei started to become restless and floated up into the air. It tried to leave its master's grasp.
"Apologies, Dragon King, this corridor is made up of magnets. It is inconvenient to bring weapons. We better leave them outside."
Guan Shang removed her saber, but Gu Shenwei was not willing to surrender his weapons. After some consideration, he handed them over to Guan Shang. She kept them at the nearby stone room for safe keeping.
After passing through the magnetic corridor, two of them entered a spacious room.
The person inside turned out to be Shangguan Ru indeed.
The lights were slightly dimmed, but the person sitting at the table was definitely her. She was wearing a light yellow dress, and her appearance was exactly similar to when Gu Shenwei had seen her in front of the Four Truths Temple.
Guan Shang bowed and left the room.
"Tenth Young Master." Gu Shenwei slightly nodded, he felt very uncomfortable. He was the Dragon King now and was no longer a slave of the Golden Roc Fort.
"Slave Huan." Shangguan Ru addressed him by his former name. Her voice was very low as though she also felt as uncomfortable as Gu Shenwei. "I didn't expect to see you again."
"Yes, I never thought that you would send people to save me twice."
"You are my best... friend, I won't let anyone hurt you."
"I have always remembered the words that you said."
"I never forgot it as well."
The room was quiet for a moment, both of them seemed to be reminiscing about the past, slowly immersing in the joy of their reunion.
Gu Shenwei remembered that the 11-year-old Shangguan Ru had given the only chance of trust to Slave Huan, but he did not give her the same promise.
"You still can't kill."
"I don't know what happened to me either. It has been like this even after three years."
"I have a way to help you regain the killing desire, but you have to be willing."
"I... I am very torn. I don't want to kill, but others want to kill me."
"Yes, there is no way to survive in the castle without the killing desire. It's not that you want to kill, but you have to kill."
Gu Shenwei approached closer to her as he spoke.
"Don't come over." Shangguan Ru turned away slightly and seemed to be a little shy. "We are not children anymore. Others will misunderstand."
"Right," Gu Shenwei responded respectfully. It was like back in the past, when she was the master and he was the slave.
Suddenly he rushed over, with his left arm tightly strangled around Shangguan Ru's neck, his right hand held a sharpened chopstick against her throat. "Ninth Young Master, it seems that you really prefer being a woman."
Shangguan Fei was holding a dagger, but his arm was stiff in midair.