Tie Linglong’s preparatory work could be considered as very successful for an assassination.
She had escaped from the Dragon King’s residence on the second day after his departure from Jade City. She disguised herself as a teenage slave and sneaked into a merchant caravan heading to Xiaoyao Lake. She was hiding close to the Dragon King for many days but had never been discovered.
She continued to lie low when they had arrived in the Stone Kingdom, and it was during this time that she had gone to the royal palace to conduct some reconnaissance on the princess. As such, she had some preliminary understanding of the daily habits of the princess.
“If the Dragon King does not manage to marry the princess, I won’t have to do anything,” she thought.
On the day of the actual voting, she knew that the Dragon King would eventually be declared the winner of the entire competition. Therefore, she decided to make her move.
The assassination should have been carried out easily, except that it was Xu Yanwei who tried to protect the princess by leaping in front of her. This gave Tie Linglong a shock and she had no choice but to draw her saber back. Even though it was a very slight pause, it gave Guan Shang, who was standing watch outside, enough time to realize what was happening in the room and rush in.
The two women fought all the way out of the room. Tie Linglong was no match for Guan Shang and eventually became her captive.
Guan Shang recognized the young girl, but she would never have thought that the person who incited Tie Linglong to assassinate the princess would turn out to be Maid Lotus, the Managing Master of the New Moon Hall.
Guan Shang hid the young girl away and lied to the princess that the assassin had escaped. However, she was still uncertain; she could not comprehend the Dragon King’s intentions. In the end, it was Xu Yanwei who proved to be the most understanding; she knew Tie Linglong’s character very well too. “She must have been acting behind the Dragon King’s back again. It’s all my fault for having taught her too much nonsensical stuff,” she said.
This was the second time that Tie Linglong had acted without instructions. The first time was when she sneaked into the Golden Roc Fort with Chu Nanping, and it had forced the Dragon King to be passive.
As such, Gu Shenwei could not possibly forgive her again. It did not matter whether she did it out of goodwill or not; it was harmful to his plans.
“I won’t execute you,” said Gu Shenwei. He was not angry nor did he castigate her, but his tone was firm and his authority unquestionable. “Neither will I forgive you. From now on, you’re no longer the personal bodyguard of the Dragon King and a member of the army of the Great Snowmountain,” he continued.
Tie Linglong looked at the Dragon King in surprise. She knew that she would be reprimanded and punished, but had never thought that the consequences were so serious.
Gu Shenwei was not done speaking yet. He continued after a pause, “Return to Shu-lik and look for your brother; he’ll tell you who your enemy is. You can already get your revenge with the kung fu you have now. Never appear before me again, unless you believe your machete technique to be better than mine.”
Tie Linglong’s green eyes were welling up with tears as she spoke. “Dragon King, I know I’ve done wrong, but I did it for your own good, in your heart…”
“Then never do anything for my betterment ever again,” Gu Shenwei cut her off. “I need soldiers who can follow orders and not opinionated little girls. Get out,” he continued.
Tie Linglong bit her lips. She could not decide whether to be indignant or to plead with the Dragon King. She knew that it was useless to beg him for mercy for he was hard-hearted. As such, she lifted her head and turned around to leave, trying hard to control her impulse to break into tears.
After she left, Gu Shenwei turned his attention to Lin Xiaoshan and the other 20 or so swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain. “Tie Linglong is no longer one of us. From now on, all of you are to treat her as you would an enemy if you meet her. Anyone who tries to communicate with her secretly will be executed,” he said.
All of them bowed and acknowledged the Dragon King’s orders. No one dared to try to convince him to go back on his decision; no one remembered the Dragon King ever being convinced.
Tie Linglong wandered around aimlessly in the city, having no place to go to and no idea how long she would be walking for. She felt as if something was trapped inside her and missed her saber terribly. She was left empty-handed and felt as defenseless as a lion cub who had been declawed.
It was soon night time, and she saw a woman standing in her way. Tie Linglong knew that she would appear sooner or later, and could no longer fight back her tears. “The Dragon King doesn’t want me around anymore, he has chased me back to Shu-lik,” she said tearfully.
Maid Lotus approached her and looked as she continued crying. “The Dragon King chased me away in the past too, but you can see for yourself that I’m now back at his side and have won his trust as well,” she said.
Tie Linglong lifted her head to look at Maid Lotus. The latter’s eyes were as obscure as thick smoke and there seemed to be bits of starlight shimmering in its depths. It made Tie Linglong intoxicated, and a desire to worship Maid Lotus grew within her. She had not sold Maid Lotus out to anyone, even the Dragon King. “How did you do it?” she asked.
“It was because I perfected some exceptional kung fu techniques and am of a comparable skill level with him. He needs me, as I can help him realize his ambitions.”
“But I’m too foolish and could never learn any peerless kung fu technique. Even those pills that you gave me… I did not eat them.”
Maid Lotus laughed sweetly as she replied, “The pills are just an aid. You still need to put in the hard work to master any unique set of kung fu techniques.”
“I can put in the hard work, I can endure any hardship,” replied Tie Linglong, a steely gaze shining from her eyes.
Maid Lotus did not point the young girl in the right direction immediately, but gazed at her, as if she wanted to look through her entire body right into the depths of her soul. She then leaned over and whispered some words to Tie Linglong and fished out a piece of jade shaped as a crescent from her clothes. “Take it and go to the place which I’ve just mentioned. There are countless hardships there, and once you’ve endured all of them, you’ll have peerless kung fu skills,” she said.
Tie Linglong did have some doubts about this arrangement, but somehow she had come to trust Maid Lotus subconsciously, and she was spurred on by the cold-heartedness of the Dragon King. She took the crescent-shaped piece of jade over from Maid Lotus and gripped it tightly in her fist. “However, the Dragon King is still going to marry the princess,” she said.
“He won’t, I’ll take care of it,” Maid Lotus said gently with a slight smile. Even so, her authority was as unquestionable as the Dragon King’s.
At the same time, the King of the Stone Kingdom, who finally had real power in his grasp, was continuously issuing orders to hunt down the remaining members of the Yang family.
As for the Dragon King, he brought the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain up to the castle walls and they stood gazing far away at the Golden Roc Fort’s camp a few kilometers away from them. It was still all quiet there; they had not retreated nor made any move.
It was so quiet that it felt abnormal.
As it grew dark, the citizens of the city went to bed early but very few of them could fall asleep. They were all pricking their ears for any sign of unrest and seemed to be able to hear sounds emanating from the royal palace.
The king was tired; his health did not allow him to withstand long periods of intense thinking and to handle large amounts of matters of the state. However, he still did not wish to go to bed and remained sitting on his throne in the main hall of the palace, hugging the royal seal closely to his chest.
Before today, he had only sat on this throne once, and it was on the day of his coronation. After that, the main hall was sealed off, and all matters of the state were handled in the Prime Minister’s mansion and the discussion hall of the royal palace.
Finally, the Ju family had regained the throne.
He could not recall how many orders he gave during the day, and many of them were pertaining to insignificant matters. Under his request, the servants of the palace were fetching buckets after buckets of clean water to wipe down every spot that the Prime Minister frequented. The guards had also removed their weapons and tucked them in their waist sashes.
The King had an extremely peculiar feeling as he watched his orders being carried out rapidly. He felt that his body was slowing expanding and he was turning into a giant; even the main hall, which was empty now, would not be able to contain him very soon.
It was this feeling which made him order everyone out of the main hall and made him sit on the throne till now. “It’s all mine,” he muttered. He felt so emotional that he was nearly cried.
When the Dragon King walked into this place with a few men, there were only a few candles burning in the huge hall. Without the King’s orders, no one dared to make the room better lit.
The King looked at the armed man in front of him and hugged the royal seal even more tightly to his chest. A fiery anger grew within him; he had just issued a decree that no one, without being summoned or having announced his or her visit, was to be allowed into the hall. However, in the royal palace, the Dragon King had special status.
His fearsome machete men, who were more than 200 strong, remained the biggest armed presence in the city. The royal army was lacking in manpower and unity; they would be no match for a tough adversary.
Besides, the Dragon King had the ability to kill him anytime he wished to.
Very quickly, the King’s rage turned into fear, and he secretly hid the royal seal in his clothes. He opened his arms to welcome the Dragon King, “Ah, Dragon King, the savior of the Stone Kingdom, my right-hand man. We’ve succeeded. Are you here to claim the post of Prime Minister?”
“You’re right. This was the deal between us,” Gu Shenwei replied. He halted his approach, leaving more than 20 steps between them; he could pick up the concealed hatred from the honeyed words of the King.
“Yes, yes. It’s my honor to be able to jointly rule the Stone Kingdom with you, Dragon King. However, I feel that the post of Prime Minister belittles you,” said the King as his heart raced. He was trying to test the reaction of the Dragon King.
“I have no intention of becoming the Prime Minister of the Stone Kingdom,” replied the Dragon King. His words made the king rejoice, but he was not done speaking. “This man, however, would be the ideal choice for Prime Minister,” he continued.
Zhong Heng stepped out from behind the Dragon King and bowed respectfully to the king of the Stone Kingdom. “Your Majesty, I hope that you’ll be more satisfied with me as compared to Yang Dou,” he said.
“Satisfied, I’m extremely satisfied,” said the king with an unnatural smile plastered across his face. Once he had got a taste of power, he could not go without it anymore. However, he did not have the strength to rule his kingdom on his own and had to ally himself with someone stronger. “I hope the Central Plain would not mind parting with such a great general,” he continued.
Gu Shenwei did not wish to discuss matters pertaining to the Central Plain with the king and changed the subject. “How does Your Majesty wish to take care of the Yang family?”, he asked.
The Yang family was large, and there were more than a hundred of them, both sexes included. If he could rule by his own accord, he wished to eliminate every one of them. That said, he was still a little lucid. “I’m waiting to discuss this matter with you, Dragon King. They have violated everything that is sacred and should be severely punished,” he suggested.
“My suggestion is to reduce them to the status of ordinary commoners and exile a few important members of the clan. The others can decide whether to stay in the Stone Kingdom or not,” the Dragon King replied.
His suggestion was implicitly final, but the king could not help but counter it. “That’s all? We should at least behead Yang Dou along with a few of his sons and display their heads for all to see. None of them are good people,” he said.
“The Yang family has ruled the Stone Kingdom for many years and has wide connections. It has secured close relations with many nations in Western Region, especially in the kingdoms around the Xiaoyao Lake via complicated intermarriages. You’ll be isolating the Stone Kingdom by exterminating the entire clan, and might even be risking the revenge of the coalition forces. Spare him and let him escape; besides pacifying the other nations, we can also see who amongst them are our true friends.”
The King’s face grew red. The Dragon King had just taught him a lesson and it made him feel extremely uneasy. “Then let’s follow your suggestion, Dragon King,” he said. His passion had diminished greatly, and even the royal seal had lost much of its appeal.
Gu Shenwei walked out of the hall, pondering about how he could move his army at the western border of Jade City to the Stone Kingdom; he wanted a solid base for his people where they could grow. It was then, at the entrance of the royal palace, that he bumped into a few swordsmen who were escorting someone who had come looking for him.
It was Shangguan Hong; he had not escaped to the Golden Roc Fort’s camp, as he knew it was not safe there for him.
“Congratulations, Dragon King,” shouted Shangguan Hong, even when they were still at a distance away from each other.
“What are you here for?”, asked Gu Shenwei, his eyebrows wrinkled into a frown.
“You’ve forgotten, Dragon King. Mister Zhang left a secret with me. Hehe, I’ve said before that I would let you know what it is once the princess has chosen her consort.” / NovelFull.Com
Gu Shenwei had not forgotten about it, but rather he did not pay too much heed to it. He believed that he had seen through the teacher’s devious trick; it had to be that he wanted to protect Shangguan Hong.
As such, when he took over the kit from Shangguan Hong, he never imagined that it would contain a secret which would turn the situation around.