Shangguan Fei decided to stake everything on his hunch.
If he could withstand this torment, he would not trail behind his sister in regards to kung fu and be the weakest of the twins.
“I’m joking with you. Hehe, the moment I step out of the Dragon King’s military camp, groups of killers will come looking for me. How would I dare return to the Stone Castle?” he said to Maid Lotus.
Maid Lotus’s indifferent attitude made Shangguan Fei panic, so he decided to try outwitting her instead.
“Everyone says that both the Dragon King and you betrayed the Golden Roc Fort, but I don’t see it that way. The Dragon King and the Stone Castle killed the King. But how are you a traitor? You’re obviously the most loyal killer in the world. In the Stone Castle, both of you were working together, and weren’t you the one who set up the Tattooed Arm Gang? No matter where he went, you followed without question, even if the road ahead was full of danger. That’s loyalty. There’s no lack of obedient slaves in the Stone Castle, but people like you… tsk, tsk, they don’t exist there.”
Shangguan Fei was trying hard to laud Maid Lotus’s accomplishments, but he knew nothing about the complicated relationship between her and the Dragon King. “Loyalty” sounded extremely degrading to her.
“You have it all wrong. I serve the New Moon Hall, and I’m merely cooperating with the Dragon King,” she corrected.
“Eh? This… the subject is different, but it’s still the same loyalty. I bet you were undertaking a huge task for your Hall and sneaked into the Stone Castle just like the Dragon King — always having its best interest at heart,” he said.
“No. I was sold as a slave to the Golden Roc Fort. Before that, I had never even heard of the New Moon Hall,” she replied, emotionlessly.
Beads of cold sweat started to form on Shangguan Fei’s forehead as he tried his best to recall every tiny detail he knew about Maid Lotus. He could vaguely recall that she had always been easy to deal with. “Forced loyalty cannot be considered; the Stone Castle is full of people like that. Most of them will never have something that they are truly loyal for their entire lives, and they will switch allegiances very easily. You’re different. You possess a rare and unique quality…” he complimented.
“Are you saying that I can only be somebody’s follower my entire life?” she asked, harshly.
Shangguan Fei was forced into a dead end. He had originally wanted to please Maid Lotus, but he did not expect the woman to be as unemotional as a rock. “You’re mistaken, you’re mistaken! How could I harbor such a thought? Your kung fu is already on par with the Dragon King, and you have a group of loyal disciples. Who could have the right to be your master now? Even I wish to be your follower. It’s a pity that the New Moon Hall doesn’t accept male disciples,” Shangguan Fei said, in desperation.
“Let’s begin,” she replied.
“Ah?” said Shangguan Fei in surprise.
“You haven’t practiced the manual today,” Maid Lotus reminded him.
All of Shangguan Fei’s flattery was wasted, but he was more determined to bend Maid Lotus with words over focusing on learning kung fu. He did not give up immediately and continued, “Maid Lotus, we know each other well. Before beginning practice, there’s something I’d like to ask you: What are the chances, do you think, that the Dragon King will win this war?”
Maid Lotus remained silent, but she did not force Shangguan Fei to begin practicing just yet. This encouraged him, and so he continued, “To be honest, I really hope that the Dragon King is victorious. He’s my protector, and even though he may exhibit some sadistic tendencies, at least he didn’t kill me. But we can’t afford to overlook the cold, hard facts. If we were fighting on the north coast of the Xiaoyao Lake, I reckon that the Dragon Army would have already been completely defeated by now. Going south was definitely a good move, but it will only delay the inevitable, terrible defeat. We keep saying that cavalry are not suited to be unleashed in narrow areas, but there are only a little more than 20,000 mounted troops in the Golden Roc Army. The remaining 60,000 are all infantry.”
Shangguan Fei paused temporarily to observe Maid Lotus’s reaction. He was secretly delighted upon seeing that she was considering his statement. ” When dealing with women like Maid Lotus, it’s better to speak truthfully. Right, I should keep talking about the truth as much as possible ,” he thought.
“Now, the 30,000 strong Dragon Army is confined in the tiny An Kingdom and cannot escape. Our only form of protection is the Xiaoyao Lake, and once the Golden Roc Army manages to gather enough boats or construct bridges, we’ll become like lambs at the slaughter. None of us will be able to escape… no, some of us will, but very few,” he continued.
“The Dragon King will never flee,” replied Maid Lotus. Even though her tone was calm, she sounded extremely certain of this.
“Hehe, that’s right. Everyone thinks so. Besides, if they started to doubt the Dragon King, who would be willing to fight for him? Even so, there’s no harm in guessing, right?” Shangguan Fei said.
“There’s nothing to guess about,” Maid Lotus answered.
“Really? This battle will affect our lives. The difference between the two sides is not negligible. The Dragon King should be directing all of his resources into the fight, but instead, he sent a force of few thousand men into Wushan, and they still have yet to return after all this time. It’s been said that they were sent to protect the passage into the Land of Fragrance, but if there’s no intention to use it, what’s the point of wasting troops to guard it?” he queried.
Maid Lotus lowered her head, seemingly thinking about Shangguan Fei’s question before immediately raising her head back up and replying, “The Dragon King has his plans. Even if he wants to retreat, he’ll bring everyone along with him.”
“I have absolutely zero intention of being disrespectful, but Maid Lotus, your way of thinking is too naive. It’s not that the Dragon King doesn’t wish to bring everyone along with him, but he can’t. Think about it. He left the Land of Fragrance to my sister, one of the people he trusts the most, and he’s relying on the fact that she has no ambition and will return the reins of the country back to him at anytime. I’m afraid there’s some connection between Third Brother personally making a trip to the Land of Fragrance and the Dragon King’s decision to travel south across the Xiaoyao Lake,” Shangguan Fei responded.
Shangguan Fei hoped that Maid Lotus would continue the conversation, but upon seeing that she remained silent, he had no choice but to conclude his own theory. “The Dragon King is worried and therefore wants to get closer to Wushan, so that he can flee at anytime. The Land of Fragrance is a great place. It’s far from the Western Region and easily defendable…” he finished.
Suddenly, Maid Lotus snapped, “Shut up.”
Shangguan Fei was shocked at first but then started to be pleased with himself — Maid Lotus’s reaction proved that she had been affected by his theory. He decided that not only would he continue talking, he would take the opportunity to convince her further. “The Dragon King married the Princess of the Stone Kingdom, but it’s obvious that he never cared about her. There’s a good chance that he won’t be bringing her along when he flees to the Land of Fragrance. Honestly, I predict that he won’t bring any woman along, just to please my sister. From a young age, he knew how to please…” he continued.
In an instant, the sharp tip of a swoard was pointed at Shangguan Fei’s throat. He opened his mouth and dared not move any other part of his body except for his eyes.
Even though he did not understand the complexity of the relationship between Maid Lotus and the Dragon King, he could very clearly see there was something going on between them.
“I dare you to speak another word,” she threatened.
Maid Lotus did not seem to be the type of person that gave empty threats, and Shangguan Fei could feel the intent to kill coming from her. So, he kept his mouth shut and did not say another word.
He knew that she would let him speak again later.
Maid Lotus sheathed her sword, feeling dejected at her own impulsiveness. “Begin practicing. If you cannot generate any Sumeru Mustard Qi, I’ll still kill you, anyway.”
Shangguan Fei blinked his eyes and remained still.
“Cut it out. You can move now,” she said, sharply.
“I can?” he asked.
Maid Lotus’s silence emboldened Shangguan Fei even more. “Then l shall ask you another question. Between men and power, which would you choose?” he asked.
Maid Lotus’s palm came flying toward him. It was not too quick, but Shangguan Fei still could not evade it, even after trying to dodge it about five times. It struck him on the chest, and he flew backward with a cry before falling heavily to the ground. There was a sharp pain at the front of his chest, and he seemed to have broken a few ribs. He could feel fresh blood seeping out from his lips as he wiped the corner of his mouth.
That said, he felt no pain and realized that he could withstand the blow. He then forced himself to grin and said, “I was trying to take care of your interests, but you tried to kill me, anyway.”
“Take care of my interests?” asked Maid Lotus, her intent to kill undiminished.
“Alright, it’s for my own sake. I don’t want to continue learning this technique. I think you know that, just as you know that all of my words are true. You can kill me with one blow of your sword and serve the Dragon King loyally, or you can learn from him and have a few escape plans of your own. Since you entered the New Moon Hall later in life, why do you care about its hatred toward the Golden Roc Fort? Isn’t it better to have your own power?” he asked.
“You can’t even protect yourself, but wish to think of an escape plan for me?” she said.
Shangguan Fei was afraid of being attacked by Maid Lotus again, so decided that he might as well lie down on the ground. He reclined on his left elbow and felt around the front of his chest with his right hand, secretly relieved upon finding that none of his ribs were broken.
Due to his persistence, Maid Lotus was beginning to waver. Shangguan Fei decided to take the risk — as long as he could stop practicing this torturous “three-in-one qigong”, he was willing to do anything. “In fact, I already have an escape plan,” he ventured to say.
Maid Lotus grunted, obviously unconvinced. If Shangguan Fei really did have an escape plan, he would have fled long ago, and would not have stayed behind in the Dragon King’s Army to be tortured.
He let out a long sigh, relieving the pain in his body, and began to reminisce, “It was slightly more than a year ago when I left the Stone Castle to come to the Xiaoyao Lake, hoping for the Princess’s hand in marriage. Mother had predicted that the Lord might plan to kill me, and so we both came up with a contingency plan, just in case. In the end, most of it didn’t work, but Mother told me- ”
Shangguan Fei suddenly stopped talking as he sized up Maid Lotus. Then he began again, “This is my secret. You won’t tell the Dragon King about it, will you?”
“That will depend on whether you can convince me,” she replied.
That was enough in Shangguan Fei’s mind to continue. As long as there was a little hole in the relationship between Maid Lotus and the Dragon King, he was confident of prying them apart. “Mother said that all relationships are built on self-interest, even those of married couples and mother and son. She has a way to regain the trust of the Lord, but first I have to accomplish a unique feat before I can return to the Stone Castle safely. She needs the help of her son – me, that is – and will arrange everything for me,” he went on.
“So you faked your surrender to the Dragon King and are planning to accomplish your feat?” Maid Lotus asked.
“You shouldn’t put it that way. It won’t be easy to accomplish my task. I have to play it by ear. If the Dragon King had not been so ambitious and had remained behind in the Land of Fragrance, thereby isolating himself from the Western Region, I wouldn’t have remembered this matter about the Stone Castle. But, he insists on fighting to the death with the Lord and I don’t wish to accompany him in death,” Shangguan Fei continued.
“You really trust your mother that much?” asked Maid Lotus, incredulously.
“You’ve seen her yourself. What do you think about her?” said Shangguan Fei, boldly.
Maid Lotus remained silent. Lady Meng was one of the most scheming people she had ever met, and it was not entirely impossible for her to regain her old glory. That said, she made the grave error of having an affair with one of the Supreme King’s sons, and it was something that could not be easily erased with a few words.
“I believe her,” Shangguan Fei answered his own question, “And I have proof that she succeeded.”
Shangguan Fei stood up carefully and dusted the dirt off his clothes. He only continued speaking after feeling that he had aroused Maid Lotus’s curiosity sufficiently. “You can find out for yourself if there’s a Meng Mingshu in the Golden Roc Army. He’s the Second Young Master of the Meng family in North City, and he was always helping my mother. The Lord knew this as well, and I believe it was because of my mother that Meng Mingshu managed to regain the favor of the Lord,” he said, casually.
“There’s also a possibility that he regained the Lord’s favor by betraying your mother,” Maid Lotus replied. There was no need for her to check out Shangguan Fei’s information — she had long known about the Second Young Master Meng joining the Golden Roc Army.
“Hehe, if my mother was out of favor all this time, what credit could he have gotten for betraying her?” laughed Shangguan Fei.
Maid Lotus lowered her head again to consider his statement. This time, she took a very long time to think and Shangguan Fei tactfully remained silent. He had already said what needed to be said.
“What feat do you plan to accomplish? What does it have to do with me?” she finally asked. Her intent to kill had diminished substantially and was close to non-existent now.
“Securing your safe return to the Stone Castle is already a feat in itself. There’s also a task that only you can do,” replied Shangguan Fei, mysteriously.
“I won’t harm the Dragon King. I’m not capable of it, anyway,” she replied.
“I know. He’s surrounded by guards, and, besides, there’s no need to take that risk,” Shangguan Fei replied. He hesitated for a moment, knowing that victory was at hand, but he still did not know if he could trust Maid Lotus. That said, once he thought about the pains of learning kung fu, he decided that no matter what, he had to take the risk. “The Dragon King has a copy of a few incomplete chapters of the Wayless Book that has been partially falsified. Third Brother also has a copy that also has probably been partially falsified. I know where the real copy is, if you can get it…” he began.
This was the real feat he had to accomplish.