Chapter 8
A Sudden Thunderclap, But No Rain Yet
This unforeseen turn of events Sister As You Wish didn’t expect, and neither did Big Treasure.
The public road was desolate and deserted as before.
There was no third person who intervened.
What saved Big Treasure’s life was his own fat.
Because he was fat his body secreted oil, and it had secreted more because he had been exerting himself on the road. And he secreted it the most on his temples, the tip of his nose, his chest, and where the back of his head and his neck met!
As Second Treasure vanished and Sister As You Wish abruptly struck, he just happened to think of something he wanted to say.
In that split second, he was about to turn around.
Sister As You Wish’s finger was sweating as well, and the sweat met the oil and was slippery, plus Big Treasure was in the process of turning around so her finger did not land all the way true, and so her finger slipped off.
Due to the force she’d put into it, she couldn’t halt her momentum and she fell headlong.
Big Treasure turned around and went, “Ah! Buddy, sit properly, what’s all this? Come come come, look, you’ve hurt yourself, I’ll massage it for you.”
Saying that, he went over to help Sister As You Wish up out of the thick grass.
In a flash, Big Treasure suddenly stopped stiff.
He saw two people piled up together.
On top was the carriage driver, and on the bottom was also the carriage driver!
The two looked exactly the same!
The only difference was the driver on top was wearing clothes, while the one on the bottom was stark naked, not a thread of clothes on him.
Big Treasure said, “Alright, so you’re no good either!”
He stomped and Sister As You Wish was knocked out.
Big Treasure’s gaze shifted and he suddenly frowned, as if really puzzled, because he could see that the driver on the bottom was a genuine man.
He had assumed that the beauty disguised as a scholar who had gotten in the carriage at Sesame Town had been murdered by the driver, but it turned out that was not the case.
The killer was a man, and the murdered person was also a man, so where had the woman gone?
Big Treasure scratched his head. He had no idea.
Fortunately, Second Treasure just then came running back from the woods. It was like Big Treasure had been rescued, he waved and called out, “Second Treasure, hurry over here and look, something new has happened!”
Second Treasure ran over and asked, “What new thing?”
Big Treasure pointed to the One Dose Doctor’s body in the tall grass. “Look, that woman has a lot of tricks. She was clearly a woman, but after dying she somehow turned into a man!”
Second Treasure rubbed his head. “No way! That woman only knew martial arts, she didn’t know magic, how could a woman turn into a man?”
Big Treasure said, “If that man is not that woman transformed, then where did the woman go?”
Second Treasure said, “That question is no problem for Second Treasure, I just need to think about it carefully and I’ll surely come up with a reason.”
Big Treasure, “Wonderful, hurry up and think!”
Second Treasure nodded and really did start pondering it.
Big Treasure waited patiently off to the side.
The brothers had an unwritten agreement. When it came to fighting, Big Treasure always struck first, but when it came to something that required brainpower, it was Second Treasure who racked his brains.
Second Treasure thought for a while, then suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed, “I got it!”
Delighted, Big Treasure said, “Of course you got it, or you wouldn’t be Second Treasure. Well come on, out with it, where do you think the woman went?”
Second Treasure said, “Dead!”
Big Treasure was stumped. “Dead? You mean that man? You also think that man is the woman transformed?”
Second Treasure said, “No.”
Big Treasure said, “Then, how do you know the woman is dead?”
Second Treasure said, “My guess is the woman was definitely killed by that man, then later, the man was killed by the driver. That’s definitely what happened!”
Big Treasure was elated. “That makes sense, that makes sense!”
Second Treasure said, “So we don’t need to keep on looking for the woman. My guess is that 4,000 taels of gold is right here in this carriage!”
Big Treasure said, “Right, right, let’s search it quick. Once we find it, we’ll take this carriage and deliver the gold to Zhenjiang!”
And so, the brothers set to it, searching for the gold.
Of course there was no gold in the carriage.
Finally, not having found the gold, the brothers dismantled the carriage into a pile of smashed wood.
Big Treasure wiped away his sweat. “Second Treasure, you’re gonna have to think again, the gold’s not in the carriage. If we can’t find the gold we can’t go to Zhenjiang.”
Second Treasure said, “Let’s search the driver’s body, the gold might be on him.”
Big Treasure said, “That’s all we can do.”
And so the brothers went to the tall grass and searched Sister As You Wish’s body.
The brothers quickly found the 10,000 taels of gold in silver draft notes, but they couldn’t read a single word of it, so they didn’t know what the silver drafts were.
Big Treasure said, “Look, this guy’s got this big stack of protective talismans on him.”
Second Treasure said, “Let me see.”
Big Treasure handed over the ten silver draft notes.
Second Treasure flipped through them and nodded. “Yep, they’re protective talismans, they’re all the same. I’ve seen these talismans all over the place.”
Big Treasure suddenly sneezed.
He reached out and said, “Here, Second Treasure, give me one to wipe my nose with.”
Second Treasure took out one note and handed it to him.
Big Treasure took it and wiped his nose, then crumpled it into a ball and threw it away.
How many people’s sweat and blood, working hard all day just to earn two or three bits of silver, and this dear friend wipes his nose one time on 1,000 taels of gold. Even the richest man in the world was probably not that bold.
Second Treasure held up the other nine silver draft notes. “There’s no point carrying these things around, what do you think, should we throw them away?”
Big Treasure said, “Why throw them away? Might as well keep them for us to wipe our noses with.”
Sister As You Wish was still knocked out.
Second Treasure glanced at her. “What do we do with this guy?”
Big Treasure said, “Leave him be. I stomped him just now pretty hard, he’s suffered enough.”
Second Treasure nodded. “That guy he killed was no good either. Besides, he didn’t get the gold either, it’s fine to just spare his life.”
Big Treasure frowned. “Just now when I was searching him, I discovered this guy’s breasts were big and soft, just like a woman’s breasts. It’s useless for a man to have breasts like that.”
Second Treasure said, “Yeah, look how white and delicate the skin on the nape of his neck is, really not like a carriage driver at all. If we hadn’t drank with us at that little shop I’d be damned if I didn’t think he was a woman!”
Big Treasure said, “Enough about that, let’s get going!”
Second Treasure said, “Going where?”
Big Treasure said, “To Zhenjiang of course.”
Second Treasure said, “What are we going to Zhenjiang for when we haven’t found the gold yet?”
Big Treasure said, “We took that kid’s money, of course we must have an explanation.”
Second Treasure said, “Yeah, we ought to go tell that Golden Whip Zhao Zhongyuan that someone was going to send him 4,000 taels of gold, but it was swallowed up along the way.”
Big Treasure said, “The swallower was a woman. Oh, right, I forgot, what was that woman called, Sister something?”
Second Treasure said, “Sister As You Wish!”
Big Treasure said, “Right, right, Sister As You Wish. I remember now that you mention it.”
※ ※ ※
Half a month later, the brothers reached the escort agency in Zhenjiang.
Golden Whip Zhao Zhongyuan listened to the brothers’ explanation and was so touched he shed tears and sobbed so much he couldn’t speak.
The brothers’s explanation wasn’t complete, but Zhao Zhongyuan knew what the whole situation was.
Because before the brothers arrived, words of the Killer Star’s capture had already reached Zhenjiang.
Zhao Zhongyuan was so touched because he didn’t know the Killer Star at all!
What jianghu people most hold in esteem is a person’s chivalrous spirit. A true hero cares nothing about gold, silver, riches, jewels, or any other worldly possessions, so even though Golden Whip Zhao Zhongyuan didn’t receive a flake of gold from the two brothers, he was still just as grateful as if he had.
The Yunmeng brothers of course were treated well.
The brothers found is strange, they hadn’t delivered a single tael of golf, so it was lucky enough that they weren’t given a scolding, but why was Golden Whip treating them so nicely?
Zhao Zhongyuan knew the brothers liked to drink wine, so that evening he treated them to Zhenjiang’s most famous Gold Mountain Dew.
During the banquet, the brothers downed several cups of aged wine into their bellies and their guilty conscience was gradually dispelled, and so it was the same old story again, they told of how they had tailed that man and woman.
Zhao Zhongyuan’s eyes got wider and wider as he listened.
The brothers weren’t done with their story though. Lastly they took out the remaining “talismans” as proof that what they had said was no lie. The number of “talismans” remaining were four, no more, no less.
※ ※ ※
A lot of people never look at themselves in the mirror. Merciless Gold Sword was one such person.
Actually, sometimes there were many advantages in a person who didn’t like to look at himself in the mirror.
Take Merciless Gold Sword for example, if this Head Steward Ai were to stand in front of a mirror now, he would for sure be frightened to see his thin, haggard face in the mirror!
And this wasn’t the case only for Merciless Gold Sword either.
The other eleven Brocade Swordsmen had all become thin and haggard over the past couple weeks, looking famished, listless, not the least bit of vitality to be found in them.
Ever since that unexpected incident in Sesame Town, none of the swordsmen had gotten enough sleep.
When a person doesn’t get enough sleep, their stomach will be affected. If a person can’t sleep well or eat well, then becoming thin and haggard was to be expected.
In order to prevent that incident from occurring a second time, the pace of their journey was greatly reduced.
Every day before dark, Merciless Gold Sword would order them to stop and put up for the night, and whether it was a big city or a small town, he would always instruct them to find the best inn.
A good inn had doors that shut tight and had high-class patrons, so of course it was safer.
Then, all the swordsmen except Mastermind Star Fang Zhiyi were divided into five groups as he had arranged them the previous day, and they took turns standing guard during the five night watches.
Though Mastermind Star Fang Zhiyi didn’t have to stand guard with the others, he actually had it harder than his companions.
Because Merciless Gold Sword never left him. He had to stay by Merciless Gold Sword’s side at all times so that he could answer the steward’s difficult questions.
Merciless Gold Sword had a very strong sense of responsibility.
A person with a strong sense of responsibility usually sleeps less than others.
When Merciless Gold Sword didn’t sleep, Mastermind Star had to sit with him. If Merciless Gold Sword didn’t sleep the whole night, he had to accompany him till daylight.
So he was much more thin and haggard than the other swordsmen.
※ ※ ※
During this journey there was only one person who was an exception.
That was Shen Wuhai.
Shen Wuhai not only didn’t look thin and haggard, he had actually put on a fair bit of weight.
A person gaining weight for no reason of course was not a good thing, but as far as the Killer Star was concerned, it was the exact opposite.
Because the impression the Killer Star had given people before, if you had to pick some place where he was deficient, it was that he was too thin.
These past couple weeks, his life of abundance and stability had made good this defect in what was otherwise pretty much perfect.
Now he looked even more handsome.
※ ※ ※
On this day, the group reached Tong Pass.
Merciless Gold Sword for the first time looked happy, because once they were through Tong Pass, the Sword King Palace was not far away.
They stayed at Tong Pass’ biggest inn, First Inn in the East.
This First Inn in the East was one of the Guan-Luo region’s three most famous inns. Just the standalone compounds had more than five rows of rooms.
They stayed in the last row of rooms.
The first thing they did when they got to the compound was release Swordsman Zhu from the prisoner’s cage.
Ever since they had left Sesame Town, Shen Wuhai had not been put back in the prisoner’s cage, but was replaced by the swordsmen every day in turns.
Though he was restrained by his sealed acupoints and couldn’t move about freely, every day he sat comfortably in a carriage with Merciless Gold Sword.
This carriage of course was hired just for him.
The second thing they did after stopping was to prepare food and drink for him. Shen Wuhai was a connoisseur when it came to food and drink. Throughout the journey, wherever they went he could dash off an order for that locale’s most famous wine and food. Today the wine he wanted was Fen Liquor, and the food he wanted was steamed river carp, vinegared bamboo shoots, red stewed pheasant, and assorted tofu!1
The swordsmen saw the men and inwardly gasped in admiration.
On the one hand they admired the little devil for knowing how to treat his stomach, but on the other hand the marveled at each other, because they didn’t understand how a person could know that the day of their death was drawing closer and still have an appetite to care about food and drink.
It was around the end of the 8th double-hour and the beginning of the 9th, and the sun was setting behind the mountains.2
More and more idlers were gathering in front of the inn. Who knows who spread the word, but nearly all the residents of Tong Pass knew that the Killer Star has entered First Inn.
The swordsman who went to order the food reported to Merciless Gold Sword about how people were gathering outside the inn, and he asked for a way to get the busybodies to disperse.
Merciless Gold Sword thought for a moment. “No need to worry about it, this is Seventh Master Luo’s place, we can’t not send someone over to greet him, that’s protocol.”
Saying that, he turned and said to Mastermind Star Fang Zhiyi, “Zhiyi, take my name card and go over to Seventh Master Luo’s place, tell him I can’t get away and so can’t personally go over and call on him. Beg his pardon for me.”
Mastermind Star Fang Zhiyi took the name card and was about to head over there when the swordsman on door guard duty, Swordsman Sha, suddenly hurried in and reported, “Seventh Master Luo is here!”
As Merciless Gold Sword was frowning, a loud, clear laugh boomed from the courtyard.
Merciless Gold Sword had no choice but to get up and go out to meet him.
※ ※ ※
None of the jianghu people in the Guan-Luo region dared offend Seventh Master Luo.
Although this stretch of public road wasn’t Seventh Master Luo’s private property, once you stepped foot onto this road you couldn’t forget that Seventh Master Luo was on this road.
On this road, no matter where you went all you had to do was mention Seventh Master Luo and there was nothing that couldn’t be taken care of.
Similarly, if you think you had your own means and didn’t give face to Seventh Master Luo, whatever it was you were trying to do would for sure hit a wall.
Seventh Master Luo had a very peculiar nickname. He was called Wind and Thunder Quells Guan-Luo!
This “Wind and Thunder” didn’t refer to any martial arts but to Seventh Master Luo’s laugh.
Seventh Master Luo was not big or tall, but when he laughed it was astonishingly loud and clear.
The first time meeting Seventh Master Luo would leave one with a very good impression.
Because Seventh Master Luo rarely talked to people with a straight face, he was always polite and friendly, pulling on your hand, clapping you on the shoulder, laughing all the while, making you feel very cordial.
But those who knew Seventh Master Luo’s temper knew that he didn’t only laugh when he was happy. When he laughed, if his eyes were looking elsewhere, then something was not all wonderful.
In this situation, if you were smart, the smartest thing you could do was plan your funeral.
No one had ever seen Seventh Master Luo kill anyone.
But anyone who offended Seventh Master Luo, or if he just thought you had offended him, the result was the same.
He would politely see you out the main gates, but you would never make it out of the Guan-Luo road alive.
Some said that Seventh Master Luo’s martial arts was not that great.
That might be true.
But no one really knew the truth.
Because even though many people had disappeared from the jianghu in the midst of Seventh Master Luo’s laughter over the decades, no one had ever seen him actually fight anyone.
If a person had any trace of a hope of living, who would rashly provoke the Sword King’s maternal granduncle?
※ ※ ※
When Seventh Master Luo entered the room, the first place his gaze went to was Shen Wuhai.
“Is that that Shen kid?”
The one he was asking of course was Merciless Gold Sword, but when he asked he didn’t so much as glance at Merciless Gold Sword.
Merciless Gold Sword seemed like a different person the moment he laid eyes on Seventh Master Luo. The commanding presence usually had among his swordsmen had run off to who knows where.
In fear and trepidation he immediately said, “Yes, Seventh Master. I was just going over to see you… but just as I was saying that… you unexpectedly came over here first.”
Seventh Master Luo then glanced at the prisoner’s cage in the corner of the room and turned and said, “What’s that cage used for?”
Did it really need to be asked what the cage was used for?
He was asking to criticize Merciless Gold Sword for being so negligent in just letting such an important suspect out of the cage.
Merciless Gold Sword of course understood this from Seventh Master Luo’s tone.
This was what he had been worried about all this time.
He could only put on a smiling face and explain from beginning to end what had happened in Sesame Town to show that what he was doing was the safest course of action.
Seventh Master Luo listened to this and only frowned and said nothing more.
Seeing Seventh Master Luo frown, Merciless Gold Sword finally relaxed.
Seventh Master Luo frowning was not the same as ordinary people frowning.
Ordinary people frown to indicate something was troublesome. Seventh Master Luo frowned mostly to indicate he was making allowances for something.
So those who knew Seventh Master Luo’s temper all hoped to see him frown, and hoped not to hear him laugh.
Shen Wuhai was also looking at Seventh Master Luo.
He had a puzzled look on his face, as if he found it strange that a person of Merciless Gold Sword’s status and position could show so much respect to such a wretched old man.
His lip jerked, wanting to open his mouth several times, but he finally held back.
Time passed slowly and Merciless Gold Sword was getting more and more antsy. Because the food and drink that Shen Wuhai had ordered would arrive soon. How could he serve such a sumptuous feast to such an evil criminal in front of the Sword King’s maternal granduncle?
Mastermind Star Fang Zhiyi seemed to know what their steward was thinking. He waited till Seventh Master Luo was listening to Merciless Gold Sword tell of how the Killer Star had been captured and quietly leaned over to Shen Wuhai and used his message relaying skill to say, “Ole Brother Shen, I need to ask something of you, please, you must consent to it.”
Shen Wuhai dropped his eyelids, indicating he was listening.
Fang Zhiyi said, “That oldster is Sword King’s maternal granduncle. He has an odd temperament, not a good one to provoke. When the food and drink arrive in a bit, I hope you can permit us to serve the old man first. Once he leaves we will definitely order another round for you. If you’re not opposed, then please nod.”
Shen Wuhai quickly nodded.
Fang Zhiyi was delighted and said thanks, and inwardly he was grateful. He never expected Shen Wuhai to agree with such alacrity.
At once he found an opportunity to indicate with eye signals this good news to Merciless Gold Sword.
A short while later the food and drink arrived.
Merciless Gold Sword respectfully invited Seventh Master Luo to have a seat, and he himself took the least important place at the table and accompanied him.
Seventh Master Luo waved away the swordsmen. “With this old fellow and your steward here, there’s no need for you at the moment. You all can take this bit of free time and get something to eat also.”
The swordsmen bowed and said their thanks and withdrew.
Seventh Master Luo asked Merciless Gold Sword, “Which of that kid’s acupoints did you strike?”
Merciless Gold Sword said, “Shoulder Well, Gushing Spring, and Phoenix Enters the Cave.”
Seventh Master Luo nodded. “After the kid was seized, did he confess who he’s a disciple of? And his goal in going around killing all those people?”
Merciless Gold Sword said, “No. He said he wanted to see the Sword King before he would confess.”
Seventh Master Luo said, “Why?”
Merciless Gold Sword said, “He said the 10,000 taels of gold for his capture was put up by the Sword King, so only he had the right to interrogate him.”
Seventh Master Luo said, “Horseshit!”
Merciless Gold Sword said, “That’s that kid’s disposition. Your lowly subordinate simply didn’t have a way at all to nab him. Fortunately, in a few days we’ll be able to see our Master Lordson.”
Seventh Master Luo twisted around and took another glance at Shen Wuhai, but when he’d turned back around and was about to speak, a Swordsman Sang suddenly rushed in from outside, gasping for breath, and reported, “Reporting to Steward… outside… a… another… Seventh Master Luo… has arrived!”
Merciless Gold Sword was stunned. “What did you say?”
Panting, Swordsman Sang said, “Your petty ones… didn’t expect that someone one… actually… actually… have the nerve to impersonate Seventh Master Luo, but because this is such an important matter, no one dared make a decision without approval. Swordsman Fang is feigning civility with him now, please Steward, give your instructions quick.”
Merciless Gold Sword said, “What does he look like?”
Swordsman Sang said, “Appearance, voice, dress, bearing, are all exactly like Seventh Master Luo. Even the pipe he’s carrying is the exact same length, color, and sheen as Seventh Master Luo’s. If Seventh Master Luo had not already arrived here there would simply be no way to tell them apart.”
Merciless Gold Sword turned to Seventh Master Luo. “Seventh Master, how do you think we should handle this?”
Seventh Master Luo threw his head back and laughed. “I, Luo the Seventh, have lived such a long life, but now I’ve seen everything! The Killer Star captures, and even I, a wretched old man, am so popular. I never imagined, in this tiny Tong Pass, in the span of one day two Seventh Master Luo’s would appear! Hahahaha!”
His laughter suddenly cut off and with a serious face he boomed, “What are you all standing around for? Invite him in for me! I want to see who ate a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall to have the nerve to swagger around using my name!”
Merciless Gold Sword hurriedly said to the swordsman, “Did you hear Seventh Master Luo’s instructions? When you go out, whatever you do, don’t let that guy know that Seventh Master Luo is already here. Just treat him the same as the real Seventh Master Luo and invite him in properly. Once he enters, Seventh Master Luo will deal with him himself. This guy might just be the same assassin from Sesame Town. Go on!”
Swordsman Sang nodded and ran out.
Seventh Master Luo stood up. “Clear away the table here and let this old fellow hide in the bedroom, then take another chair and set that kid Shen in it by the door to give him a good opportunity to strike. You don’t need to monitor his movements. This kid Shen you can leave to this old fellow, I will take responsibility for his safety.”
Merciless Gold Sword did as told and quickly clear the food and drink off the table. Seventh Master Luo also darted into the bedroom.
Shen Wuhai sat in a chair that Merciless Gold Sword provided for him by the door.
Shen Wuhai followed Merciless Gold Sword’s arrangement without a trace of an expression on his face, till Merciless Gold Sword had everything ready, then he turned and went to the entrance, ready to greet this impostor Seventh Master Luo who was about to appear. Then he looked back and quietly asked Seventh Master Luo behind the door, “Friend, why haven’t you struck yet?”
Seventh Master Luo, hiding in the shadows, immediately had a gleam of disbelief flash through his eyes.
It was an amazed and excited gleam!
“I’m here to save you, ole brother.”
Shen Wuhai was not surprised to hear this.
He sighed lightly, “In the end I haven’t been mistaken. In order to repay your good intentions, friend, I can only give you one piece of sincere advice: Friend, think of a way to get out of here at once, there’s still time!”
The other’s response was to put his hands swiftly on Shen Wuhai’s shoulders, then run his hands down, from the shoulders to the back, from the back to the feet, all at the utmost speed, to unseal the three acupoints that were restraining him.
Shen Wuhai didn’t resist, he just shook his head with a wry smile.
He had too much he wanted to say and too little time to say it. Given the circumstances, all he could do was let things take their course.
From the middle of the courtyard once again came a loud and clear booming laugh.
This Seventh Master Luo—the real Seventh Master Luo—had evidently already been invited inside.
Shen Wuhai looked back and said, “Now is your second opportunity to escape, friend. If you’re discovered, I might be able to hold them off for a time.”
The person said in a low voice, “Ole brother, hurry up and circulate your qi through your veins, if we’re gonna go we’re gonna go together, or else I’m not leaving!”
Shen Wuhai suddenly realized something he’d never thought of before.
He realized this person was very young.
The person had called him “ole brother”, obviously to get him to trust him.
Actually this person had no basis for calling him ole brother.
To put it more plainly: If his guess was not mistaken, this person was no doubt an older child much much younger than himself!
He figured this out from the tone of the person’s voice in the last thing he said.
Because a worldly-wise man of the jianghu would never say such a childish thing as that.
Only an older kid close to adult age would talk like that and be that stubborn!
He was baffled!
How could a big kid like that impersonate Seventh Master Luo so perfectly so that even Sword King Palace people couldn’t see through it?
And most importantly, why would a big kid like that risk his life to come here and save him?
Had someone else put him up to it?
Then who would the person be who put him up to it?
He couldn’t guess.3
Over the past two years or so he had killed many people, and he had saved many people as well. The ones he killed everyone knew had been killed by the Killer Star, but none of the ones he’d saved knew who their savior was.
So he ought to only have enemies, he ought not have anyone who wants to repay him a debt of gratitude, and he really shouldn’t have any fools like this repaying him a debt of gratitude!
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Because he could already hear the footsteps, he didn’t even have time to think.
※ ※ ※
The first to enter the room was Seventh Master Luo.
Merciless Gold Sword and the swordsmen, like the stars surrounding the moon, followed closely behind.
The swordsmen looked nervous.
Everyone’s hand rested on the hilt of his sword, everyone’s eyes radiated flames of hate.
Because of the dead Swordsman Sun, and because of the torment they had endured on this journey, the swordsmen all earnestly wished in this moment that they could draw their swords and gang up and hack this person who they all firmly believed was an impostor Seventh Master Luo, to pieces.
Shen Wuhai suddenly had a trace of hope.
If the swordsmen were to take it upon themselves and take action and hack this real Seventh Master Luo to pieces, wouldn’t the matter be resolved?
Surprisingly, when Seventh Master Luo swept his gaze across it wasn’t with interest like that impostor one, he just gave an indifferent glance, then turned around and laughed. “Good, good! Quick, order the food and drink, you all have had a hard time on the road. This meal is on this old fellow. But this old fellow is not one to easily foot a bill either. After you all get back you have to tell Yingzhong that the Hundred Blossoms Dew he brews this year cannot be touched by anyone else lips besides his and Third Madame’s!”
Merciless Gold Sword heard this and his expression changed greatly.
The swordsmen were also dumbstruck.
Sword King Xue Yingzhong paid most attention to his personal life. Besides the Sword King Palace people, everyone knew that the Sword King actually kept several concubines.
Of these ladies, only one of them drank alcohol.
The Third Madame just mentioned!
Now, the facts were as clear as could be.
Of the two Seventh Master Luos, if one was an impostor, the impostor was definitely not the current Seventh Master Luo here now.
Merciless Gold Sword’s expression changed and he abruptly shot up and pounced like lightning at Shen Wuhai by the door.
The Brocade Swordsmen were also all on the alert.
The Brocade Swordsmen were not only outstanding when it came to swordsmanship, their experience and ability to adapt to circumstances were all exceptional.
Eleven swords were drawn at the same time, and none of them made the least bit noise.
Most frightening of all was that none of them went over to help Merciless Gold Sword, but rather six of them immediately withdrew from the room.
The six swordsmen who withdrew didn’t wait for anyone to give orders, they dispersed on their own, sealing off all the passageways.
Shen Wuhai slowly stood up from his chair.
He looked calm and unhurried, as if he didn’t even notice Merciless Gold Sword with his right hand into a claw like a falcon coming at him through the air.
Merciless Gold Sword was greatly surprised by this state of affairs.
In his imagination if an enemy had this much time to attack, it was a miracle if Shen Wuhai could still survive.
He didn’t expect that Shen Wuhai would not only survive, but the acupoints restraining him had unsealed on their own.
This head steward was so surprised he forgot to think deeper, about how Shen Wuhai’s acupoints had been unsealed. Now in midair he changed his claw attack to a smack, then used the force to spring back and come around again after pushing off with his feet, shooting back and yelling, “Ole Brother Sheng get out of the way quick, that guy behind you is the impostor Seventh Master Luo!”
Inside the room, the impostor Seventh Master Luo knew his cover had been blown. At the same time he could see that Shen Wuhai could now move freely. He shouted, “Over here, Ole Brother Shen, let’s charge out together!”
Then he took his pipe and readied to charge out of the room.
Shen Wuhai put a hand out to block him. “I’m in charge!”
Right now the most baffled was the real Seventh Master Luo.
He turned to Merciless Gold Sword blankly. “What’s going on?”
Merciless Gold Sword really didn’t have time to answer at the moment, but he also couldn’t offend this elder granduncle, so he hurriedly said briefly, “
“Someone has disguised himself as you and got here a step before you did. At first we thought this guy was an assassin, but now we know he’s a rescuer. Seventh Master Luo, please step back a bit, that kid Shen’s acupoints have been unsealed…”
Seventh Master Luo’s expression changed at once.
He stepped back and said angrily, “Then what are you waiting for?”
Merciless Gold Sword wasn’t in the mood to argue with him. Now he quickly swept the room and saw that the swordsmen’s swords were drawn and they had already sealed off all the exits and he was slightly relieved.
He took a step forward and staring at Shen Wuhai said coldly, “Given your intelligence, ole brother, you ought to be able to see that if you’re thinking of barging out of this parlor, then you would simply being charging toward a swift death.”
He paused and, emphasizing each word, said, “Ole Brother, you’ve been good this whole journey, we all know this thing today has nothing to do with you. As long as you’re willing to hand over that guy behind you who doesn’t know what’s good for him and stay out of this, I promise everything will still be as it was before, I won’t make things even a little bit hard on you. Seventh Master Luo is here, I’m as good as my word. Ole Brother, you might as well think it over!”
Shen Wuhai said calmly, “I’ve already thought it over.”
Merciless Gold Sword’s eyes brightened. “Ole Brother, do you think what I’ve said is reasonable?”
Shen Wuhai said, “It’s unreasonable!”
Merciless Gold Sword was taken aback, then let loose a cold chuckle, murderous intent appearing in his eyes.
Shen Wuhai said calmly, “It’s not only unreasonable, it’s nonsensical. Head Steward, there’s no need to grit your teeth and act all intimidating. To tell the truth, I’ve seen more unsightly faces than that, just looking all angry isn’t enough to frighten anyone. If you’re so confident, Head Steward, then let’s see what you’ve got, I await you any time, we can put violence before diplomacy. Let’s have a go and then we’ll talk!”
He saw that Merciless Gold Sword had no reaction and smiled faintly. “If Head Steward doesn’t want to resolve it with martial arts, then you might as well listen to my proposition. Just as Head Steward said, I had absolutely no advance knowledge of this thing today. However, since it did happen, there must be a way to resolve it. My way of resolving it is very simple, so simple it only takes one sentence: Let this fellow go, and pretend that nothing happened!”
He smiled again and looking at Merciless Gold Sword, said, “Head Steward, what do you think?”
Merciless Gold Sword’s expression jerked, but before he could speak, two people suddenly said at the same time, “No way!”
The two who shouted no way were the real and the fake Seventh Master Luos.
The fake Seventh Master Luo in the room said, “Ole Brother Shen, don’t do anything on my account, I never intended to make it out of here alive. If you’re taken by them to the Sword King Palace you’re dead for sure, it would be better to go all out now, you might haver a chance to survive. You took out the Four Gentlemen all at once, these Brocade Swordsmen shouldn’t be able to stop you!”
Shen Wuhai turned around and smiling, said, “They can’t stop me, but what about you?”
The fake Seventh Master Luo said, “I don’t care.”
Shen Wuhai’s eyes twinkled and he suddenly focused his eyes and asked, “You and I are strangers, friend, why are you have to sacrifice your life for me?”
The fake Seventh Master Luo said hatefully, “For an oath! I swore an oath that whoever took out the Four Gentlemen, my life was theirs, I would not hesitate even if I had to go through fire and water!”
Shen Wuhai was a bit surprised. “The Four Gentlemen? What enmity, what grudge did you have, friend, with the Four Gentlemen?”
The fake Seventh Master Luo gnashed his teeth. “What gentlemen? They’re just four beasts worst than the lowliest person! They wore one face during the day and another face at night, one face in front of you and another face behind your back. As long as they could cover it up there’s nothing they wouldn’t do. My aunt in their manor—“
Shen Wuhai waved his hand. “No need to say it, I know.”
Then he turned and looked at the real Seventh Master Luo, who had retreated behind two of the Brocade Swordsmen. “Sir, what’s your view?”
The real Seventh Master Luo nearly ran into the tip of one of the swordsman’s swords due to backing up too hurriedly. If the swordsman hadn’t moved his sword away in time, the tip would have pierced his back.
As far as the maternal granduncle of the Sword King was concerned, this was of course a face-losing affair.
So this maternal granduncle was waiting for an opportunity to take back his face.
Now that opportunity had finally arrived!
Unfortunately, this maternal granduncle’s face sank, seeing a pair of eyes that ran a chill through his heart.
Shen Wuhai was looking at him, smiling.
Notes
- This paragraph begins a lengthy section of text that was for some reason or another omitted from the online raws I am translating from. I am supplementing this text from the installment in Wuxia World magazine #621 to make up for what’s missing in the online raws. As you will see, it’s a really important section of the story.
- Around 15:00.
- Here ends the portion of text that was missing from the online raws. As you can see, it was a substantial and important few pages of story, so I’m glad I was able to amend it here. Problem is, coming up are sections that I don’t have access to the Wuxia World magazine installments to check against, so if such an omission happens again, there’s nothing I can do if it falls in one of the sections that I don’t have access to. The later installments of the novel I also don’t have access to in Wuxia World magazine. There have been small omissions here and there that I have amended, but in the future I won’t be able to do that as much. Hopefully there won’t be any more long passages omitted like this one. But if in the future the text suddenly seems to jump and not make sense, that’s why. Though I will mention it if it happens again. Whew! I mean that was over 2,500 English words of text missing!