Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Dog Butcher and his sister joined the Kongtong Sect as children, and he had become used to the strict and complicated rules of interacting with the major sects of the Central Plains long ago. But as a result, he had also become more and more unfamiliar with dealing with ordinary people, and this was only amplified after he had gone into closed-door cultivation for over ten years.
It was not too bad when he worked with Old Man Mu because the other side obviously didn't want to obey any rules and he himself also quite enjoyed the feeling of being unrestrained. But today, his partner was Shangguan Fei. This was the first the that the two were working together, and it left Dog Butcher at a loss for what to do.
"Your black suit looks good. Did you make it yourself?" Dog Butcher blurted out this random sentence after thinking it over for a long while. In his opinion, back at Kongtong Mountain, Shangguan Fei, as the younger generation, should have been the one to take the initiative to start talking to him.
Stunned by the random question, Shangguan Fei said replied, "My mother asked someone to make it for me. It's very ordinary and no different from any other suit."
"Yours seems to fit better."
"Maybe," Shangguan Fei replied absentmindedly. He wasn't interested in his attire. As he held up a bronze mirror, he looked left and right to see at the angles of his face in the mirror. "Alas, it's really annoying."
"Ah? I won't talk anymore." Dog Butcher felt uneasy as he thought that he had said something wrong.
Shangguan Fei shook the bronze mirror back and forth as if it were a fan. "It's not because of you. I was worried… about why the Dragon King hasn't come to Jade City yet. The truce has lasted for a month. He seems to have forgotten about us."
"Not really. We've been watching everything every day and pa.s.sing the news back to the Dragon King, and the Dragon King also sometimes sends letters back…"
"It's exactly because we can only see the letters rather than the person that I'm uncomfortable." Shangguan Fei looked very disappointed. But when he saw the surprise and panic in Dog Butcher's eyes, he peevishly added, "I know what you are thinking. Just say it out loud if you want to laugh at me. I'm more concerned about… Brother Fanyun's injury. There's nothing to hide."
When he saw Shangguan Fei's bold and straight att.i.tude, Dog Butcher felt embarra.s.sed instead. He coughed a few times but did not say anything.
The two fell silent. They were unfamiliar with each other and could have let the silence continue, but it bothered Dog Butcher too much. He had missed the opportunity to talk about Long Fanyun so he changed topics and said, "When I was young, one of my senior brothers was very kind to me. Not only did he help me practice kung fu, but he also sent me many gifts."
"And then?" Shangguan Fei was very surprised. He didn't expect this reserved elderly man to also have a deviant past.
"Then… That was it. He liked my elder sister and wanted me to act as a matchmaker for him, but my sister didn't like him. After that, he didn't even talk to me anymore. And a bit after that, he was sent to the outer sect as an executive because his kung fu wasn't that good. And we haven't seen each other much since then."
Shangguan Fei harrumphed scornfully. "What is this all about? Your senior brother was nothing but a lecher. Long Fanyun is a real… man."
Dog Butcher scratched his head and nodded slightly to show his agreement even though he didn't quite understand what Shangguan Fei meant.
Shangguan Fei's interest was aroused. "You've never done… it?" he asked.
"Done what?"
"You can't possibly be that simple, can you? This is Jade City and you've hung out with Old Man Mu for months. What haven't you seen these days?"
Dog Butcher blushed and rushed to say, "Oh, that kind of thing. No, never. I practice the Virgin Boy Skill and I can't get married."
"Haha, who said that you had to get married to do it? More than 80% of the men in Jade City had been wh.o.r.emasters at some point in their lives, but have you seen any of them marry a prost.i.tute? Don't you want to wander in Jianghu? Then you should try everything if you do."
Dog Butcher anxiously shook his head and said, "I've spent too much effort to reach my current kung fu skills. I don't want to ruin it in one day. The more temptation I have, the stronger my will will be. I can get through it."
"Pfft."
"Why don't you… try?"
"I've already tried." Shangguan Fei stood up, one of his hands holding a black cloth that covered his face and the other hand carrying a thick cloak. "It wasn't interesting at all. My ultimate pursuit is a little higher than yours. No, actually, it's two levels higher than yours."
"Heh heh, that's not what my master said." Dog Butcher could not agree with Shangguan Fei's boasting. "Cleansing one's heart and limiting one's desires are…"
"Don't talk about that garbage. It gives me a headache. Where's Old Man Mu? He's usually the one watching the enemy's movements with me."
"He's on a special mission." Dog Butcher's voice was full of envy as he answered Shangguan Fei. Although he also had advanced kung fu skills, he was not as good at carrying out dirty deals at night, which had eliminated his chances of joining the 'special mission.' "It must have been a.s.signed by the Dragon King."
"The Dragon King likes to mystify things. I thought that he would lead the army to Jade City and that all our problems would be naturally solved with that. Do you know why the Dragon King let the entire Norland Cavalry go?"
Dog Butcher thought it was getting late and that they should set off now. He looked out the window and said, "I don't know. Maybe… Maybe… I don't know."
Shangguan Fei laughed and then took the initiative to walk out first, thinking all the while that it was much better to have Dog Butcher as a partner than Old Man Mu.
There were not many pedestrians on the street during these winter nights. Both of them felt like it would be a waste of their time to move around stealthily. So instead, they simply went straight to their destination while chatting as they walked.
"I didn't expect Zhang Ji, that sly old fox, to be so crafty. I really don't understand how he can still hold the Unique King's trust after destroying Luoluo's hundreds of thousands of troops. And he was even appointed as the Heavenly Mountain Sect's counselor. It's incredible!"
Dog Butcher was really puzzled by Shangguan Fei's hostile relations.h.i.+p with his father. However, he wisely stopped himself from trying to dig into it. "Yeah, it's hard to understand. This Zhang Ji doesn't even know kung fu."
"It has nothing to do with kung fu. Fang Wens.h.i.+ also doesn't know any kung fu, but the Dragon King still put him in an important position despite that. The key is… the Unique King never forgives anyone for making a mistake. Zhang Ji's singular mistake should have been enough for him to die a hundred times."
Dog Butcher had never met the Unique King and also did not know Zhang Ji. So, he couldn't answer Shangguan Fei's question. "Hmm, this is quite strange."
There were not many people on the streets, but the taverns, brothels, and gambling houses on both sides were all ablaze with lights. They were obviously very popular and business was going well. Shangguan Fei let out a long sigh and said, "I never expected that I, Shangguan Fei, would be reduced to going to southern Jade City. When will I free myself from such misery?"
"When the Dragon King comes…"
"But he'll never come. Hundreds of thousands of Norland hors.e.m.e.n. Alas, it hurts me to even think about it. Do you know what my mother said?"
"I don't."
"She said that at his core, the Dragon King is still a proud killer and that he trusts his saber more than any of his armies. And because of that, he will never achieve his great ambition of hegemony."
"But I think that the Dragon King has a king's demeanor."
"Well, he can act kingly at times. When I was still the Ninth Young Master of Golden Roc Castle, even a stranger could see that I was unique just from how I stood casually. But now? I'm no different from you."
"Hmm, but the Dragon King is not acting… Ehh, are you saying that I am mediocre? When you come to the Central Plains, you will learn that even the Unique King and the Dragon King added together are not as influential as me."
Shangguan Fei had no interest in the Central Plains. "I just hope that everything will settle down soon so I can stay in northern Jade City for the rest of my life. I won't go anywhere else. And I'll also bring Brother Fanyun over. He can't move anymore, so I'll… I'll hire many people to wait on him."
Before Dog Butcher could express his thoughts, the two had come close enough to the Southwall Tavern that they needed to hide their presence now.
The Southwall Tavern was now one of the most heavily guarded places in Jade City. Many sabersmen who used to be killers acted as guards and had formed several defensive circles. Shangguan Fei could only bypa.s.s part of them, and couldn't break into the core circle. Therefore, he could only hide on a suboptimal roof, put on his black cloak, and prepare himself to spend the night like this.
Dog Butcher rarely ever joined in on surveillance missions, so he took his role seriously and stretched every one of his senses out. He even circled the tavern several times before midnight, but didn't find anything unusual. But during the second half of the night, he seemed to have been affected by Shangguan Fei and also remained at a fixed position, regretting the fact that he had neglected to bring his cloak.
Dog Butcher had specifically chose a suitable position which was neither too close nor too far away from Shangguan Fei, making sure that he didn't appear too distant nor too intimate from him.
Shangguan Fei didn't notice Dog Butcher's 'consideration.' He was preoccupied with silently counting the time. When he was really bored, he ever imagined what it would be like if he were the Unique King.
It seemed like the night would pa.s.s without any incident. So, when a figure flew past them, the two actually didn't immediately react.
The figure also didn't notice them. Like a large bird focused on the hunt, that shadowy figure jumped into the air, drawing multiple arcs as it jumped across the rooftops.
Shangguan Fei and Dog Butcher exchanged a glance and both saw the shock in each other's eyes. There was a sabersman hiding in the place where that person landed, but not a single sound had been made throughout the entire process.
Dog Butcher winked at Shangguan Fei to signal that they should follow them, but Shangguan Fei winked back in refusal. He could write an excellent message about what he had seen tonight, but he would never risk himself for information.
Dog Butcher hesitated for a moment before rus.h.i.+ng out alone, his heart beating wildly and his body heating up where all the previous lethargy was driven out. This was exactly the pleasant sensation that he was pursuing in Jianghu.
The sabersman was already dead. Dog Butcher had no time to inspect the corpse and continued following the figure.
With someone forging the path ahead, it was much easier to enter the backyard of the Southwall Tavern. As he slunk along the top of the wall, Dog Butcher didn't immediately jump down. Instead, he watched that figure slowly approach one of the rooms. Specifically, it was supposed to be Zhang Ji's bedroom.
That person had obviously underestimated the level of defense here. When he was a dozen or so steps from the door, seven or eight sabersmen suddenly surrounded the intruder, drew their sabers, and launched a deadly coordinated attack without a word.
This was a completely different scene from what he had seen in the Central Plains. Dog Butcher thought to himself that this was indeed a worthy trip.
In particular, that mysterious figure's martial arts skills were ineffably strange. He held no weapons in his hands, and instead used his bare hands, feet, shoulders, and knees to attack. It seemed as if every joint of his was a means of attack. Even though it looked disorganized, every move was aimed at the enemy's vital parts. This really opened Dog Butcher's eyes.
But the figure was nonetheless outnumbered and eventually forced to retreat. After pus.h.i.+ng the enemies in one corner back with a series of particularly vicious moves, he jumped out of the encirclement and seemed to rush into an unfamiliar area in a panic. But it turned out that he had made a U-turn in the air and landed behind attackers in the blink of an eye, fleeing along his previous path.
Dog Butcher was a bit fl.u.s.tered, and couldn't determine when the best time to retreat was. Before he could make up his mind, that figure and the sabersmen had already flown over the wall.
Shangguan Fei was still where he was, ready to throw off his cloak and flee at any moment. When he saw a figure running at him, he thought that it was Dog Butcher so he immediately got up and led the way.
That figure recognized Shangguan Fei and immediately swooped over.
Shangguan Fei was shocked and turned around to receive the blow.
That person's face was also covered, which only added to the air of mystery around him. In addition, his moves were really bizarre. He had somehow crawled under Shangguan Fei's arms, and then his left hand turned into a claw which firmly gripped his opponent's arm.
Shangguan Fei felt a sharp pain shoot through his body. Greatly shocked, his fighting spirit was roused and he quickly fought back with the Five Hole Punch.
The sabersmen behind had caught up by now. With no intention to be entangled in another melee, the mysterious person avoided Shangguan Fei's fists and fled into the night.
Shangguan Fei ran away in the other direction, completely leaving Dog Butcher behind. He only remembered two things: the sharp pain in his shoulder and the eyes full of hatred.
There was no doubt that mysterious figure had recognized him. But Shangguan Fei just could not understand. He had covered himself up very well. How had he still been exposed? And when had he provoked an enemy with such powerful kung fu skills?
