Death Scripture

It was quiet at night. There were many layers of guard around the vast encampment, and at first, each layer was tighter than the one before it. After the density of guards reached a critical point, it actually started to loosen, layer by layer, as one approached the center. And in the very middle area, there were actually some blank patches, which was somewhat surprising.

All the troops in the encampment knew that the Dragon King used to be a killer and that he could detect assassins by merely sniffing the air. So, any protection he had was nominal in nature.

Of course this impression was a slight exaggeration. Gu Shenwei still needed helpers. Actually, he had always felt that he needed more capable men. Old Man Mu and the others had been assigned to Jade City. So, Nie Zeng and Tie Linglong were the only ones available, which made him feel short-handed when assigning tasks.

For a top-notch killer, it would be very easy to sneak past these two juniors.

The green-faced assassin, Qian Ying, had approached the Dragon King’s tent three times, and with each attempt, she got closer to the tent. While the two teenagers were changing guards, she was watching them from a moderate distance. She could even tell their breathing rate.

But she couldn’t detect the Dragon King’s breath. That tent seemed totally normal, but she wasn’t sure whether there was someone in there or not, which made her suspicious and uneasy.

During her last approach, she decided to take some risks.

Nie Zeng was also hiding in the dark, moving to a new position about every two quarter-watches. Qian Ying waited quietly. When it was in the middle of the fourth night-watch and Nie Zeng was far enough away, she made her move. She sneaked over to the side of the tent, cut a lateral slit in the bottom of the tent, and slipped into the tent.

This slit was so small that a small cat could barely pass through it. Nobody would care even if they saw it.

The Dragon King’s tent was about four or five times the size of a common tent, and it even surpassed that of a senior general. The furniture in it was very simple – just a few tables and chairs, and the felt blanket on the floor was also fairly thin. Only the bed was soft and comfortable, but Qian Ying knew that the Dragon King seldom slept on that bed.

But tonight seemed to be an exception. Someone was sleeping in that bed, and their breath was occasionally undetectable. It was this breathing that had confused Qian Ying.

She lay prostrate in a corner, listening to the sounds from both inside and outside the tent. After confirming that this was not a trap, she decided to go to the bed and have a look.

Something was wrong, and she had to confirm what it was.

Unlike regular killers who usually approached their targets slowly, Qian Ying, with her superb lightness skills, always leaped to the target rapidly and then rapidly leaped back. Common kung fu experts could barely detect her presence when they were asleep.

The Dragon King was no common kung fu expert, and Qian Ying had even been defeated by him once, but she still wanted to give it a try.

“Doh.” A faint, short sound was heard. It was like a random noise made by someone in their sleep, but the timing was too much of a coincidence – it was made right when Qian Ying leaped to the bed.

It was totally dark in the tent, and there weren’t any sounds for quite a long time. At last, the one on the bed said, “You’re on my chest.”

With her dagger in her right hand and pressed against that person’s neck, Qian Ying slightly raised her left arm and asked in a low voice, “Han Fen?”

“Eek? You know me!”

Of course Qian Ying knew her. She knew every one of the Dragon King’s men, including those who had been assigned to Jade City. “Why were you sleeping here?”

“This bed is more comfortable. I came here to meet with the Dragon King, but he was not here. I lay down to have a rest, but I ended up falling asleep.”

“Why do you want to meet the Dragon King?”

“Um. I want to meet him because – Who are you? Why are you here? Why is your kung fu so good? Why are you immune to my knockout powder?”

Only very few people knew of Qian Ying’s existence. Han Fen had never met her before, and she had tried to immobilize her knockout powder just now. But it turned out that not only was Qian Ying immune to the knockout powder, but Han Fen also couldn’t even resist when Qian Ying’s dagger stabbed towards her.

“I’m the one asking questions, so just answer them.”

Han Fen could feel that the dagger pressing against her neck was very sharp. “Fine. I’m under your control. Fortunately, I’m just a prisoner. Otherwise, I’d have to kill myself.”

“It won’t be easy for you to die. Striking the Tian Shu Acupoint and using the Life-Retaining Powder – this is how you Waning Moon Hall guys expel the poison from people’s bodies, isn’t it?”

Han Fen remained silent for quite a while, and when she spoke again, her voice was quivering. “Who are you? You scared me.”

“Where’s the Dragon King?” Qian Ying asked again, feeling that she had intimidated this disciple of the Waning Moon Hall.

“I don’t know. He wasn’t here when I arrived.”

“Has Instructor Shangguan been here?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see her when I arrived.”

Qian Ying thought for a while before asking, “When you arrived? What about afterwards?”

“Um. I don’t know whether I should tell you or not. The Dragon King might be unhappy.”

Qian Ying pressed her left hand onto Han Fen’s lower abdomen and shot a stream of Qi through it to stimulate Han Fen’s various pain acupoints. Han Fen let out a scream and then suppressed the pain, biting her lips.

Qian Ying exerted more Qi into it, even as she slightly admired Han Fen – this disciple of the Waning Moon Hall was pretty good. Regular people would have found this pain unbearable by now, but Han Fen was still hanging on.

A quarter of an hour passed. Han Fen started begging, “Um… I beg you… let me go… ah… I… ah… can’t… ah… bear it… anymore… ah…”

“…”

Qian Ying immediately drew her hand back and straightened herself, keeping herself a safe distance away from Han Fen. “Are you out of your mind?”

Han Fen groaned for a little while longer before she could form a sentence. “You’re so good.”

Qian Ying was a green-faced assassin. Unlike common killers, the kung fu she had been practicing required her to keep her virginity. If weren’t for the fact that she had exceptionally good self-control, her face would have been flushed red by now.

“You evildoer,” she snapped as she recalled that there was a special cultivation method in Waning Moon Hall which enabled practitioners to turn pain into sexual pleasure. However, not many people learned it. She hadn’t expected to encounter one here.

“I am. Hall Leader Han once said that Waning Moon Hall is the demon, and that Golden Roc Castle is the devil. We’re actually family.” Han Fen had guessed that Qian Ying was from Golden Roc Castle.

“I’ll ask you again. If you don’t answer this time, I’ll kill you.” Qian Ying threatened her directly.

“I’ll answer all your questions,” Han Fen said amiably. “It’s okay if you kill me. But please don’t do that to me again. I nearly ascended to heaven.”

Qian Ying snorted. “Has Instructor Shangguan been here these days?”

“Which days were you referring to by ‘these days’?”

Qian Ying was surprised, “The last… three or four days.”

“She has been here.”

“For what?”

“Do you want me to tell you or to show you?”

“Tell me.” Qian Ying involuntarily moved a little further away from Han Fen, her right hand firmly grasping the dagger.

“They hugged each other, took off their clothes and kissed each other. I didn’t see many details, but judging by the sound, I believe that their skills suck. Dragon King was like a piece of wood and he wasn’t gentle at all. The little girl is also too young and lacks experience. She was too timid. If I were her…”

“Enough!” Qian Ying snapped, but she shut up immediately and listened for a while. After confirming that her voice hadn’t attracted anybody’s attention, she became relieved.

“They seemed to be pretty happy,” Han Fen explained. “And they grab every chance they have to do that thing. Alas. I don’t understand why didn’t the Dragon King ask me for help. I can teach him some moves, and I can use the Pleasure Finger Technique…”

Qian Ying knew what the “Pleasure Finger Technique” was. “If you dare to use this evil kung fu on master, I’ll cut you into pieces!”

“Good. I like being cut to pieces. But you’d better throw those pieces far away. Otherwise, the King of Hell will piece me back together.”

“I’ll skewer you and then slowly roast you over a fire. And then you will know what is it like to be tortured by the King of Hell even if you’re still alive.”

Han Fen was scared. “I won’t use Pleasure Finger Technique, okay? Actually I can’t use it even if you didn’t warn me. I’ve only used it once – and not on that little girl. The Dragon King was very angry.”

Qian Ying sat transfixed with shock for a while, her dagger still in its original position. She felt that she needed some more direct evidence, so she asked, “Where are they now?”

“Are they not in the little girl’s tent? For the past few days, they’ve been sneaking around all the time.”

“If they were there, then why am I here?”

“Then I really don’t know. Maybe they wanted to try something new, so they went to a strange place. The main tent of the Middle Corps is a pretty good choice – it’s large and spacious. And the Butchery Battalion. That place is the best – the fragrance of blood alone will blow you away…”

“Shut up,” Qian Ying ordered. She believed that Han Fen indeed didn’t know. “I should’ve killed you, but my master doesn’t allow me to kill in this encampment, so today’s your lucky day.”

“Your master’s so kind. Who is it?”

Qian Ying snorted, unaware of whether Han Fen was actually stupid or whether she was just acting dumb. “My service to my master is probably going to an end soon, so I’m warning you – if you dare disclose a single word of what happened tonight to anybody, especially to the Dragon King, I’ll come back and hunt you down even if I’m thousands of miles away. If I fail to skewer you and roast you alive for hours, I’ll strike my head on a tree and kill myself.”

“Don’t!” Han Fen yelled in panic. “Don’t kill yourself. I promise I won’t tell anybody.”

Qian Ying remained silent for a while. “Hello,” Han Fen stretched her arm out and found that nobody was beside the bed anymore. She stroked her neck and found that there was no dagger there. It was at this moment that she realized that she no longer felt anything sharp on her skin anymore.

“Impressive,” Han Fen muttered a compliment. And then she turned over several times, dragging the quilt back and forth. After a short while, she fell asleep once more, breathing evenly as if she was having a sweet dream.

It was late at night. Qian Ying was still searching for her master. Shangguan Ru and the Dragon King were not in any of the tents in the encampment.

This was the wilderness. The cold moon was high up in the sky. Withered grass was rustling. The high, mighty Heavenly Mountain was like a sleeping giant dragon, dwarfing the nearby encampment as if it were just a small worm.

The wind was cold. Two people had put a thick cape on the ground, and they covered their body with another one.

Shangguan Ru was curled into a ball, her head resting on Gu Shenwei’s thigh. Her whole body was covered by the cape, leaving only a narrow opening for breathing. The end of her nose was a little pale.

Gu Shenwei sat on the cape with his knees bent up, one leg on the ground, and the other stretched out. His right hand was tightly holding onto the cape, and his left hand was on her lower abdomen, occasionally imbuing her with a stream of warm Sumeru Mustard Qi to help them both stay warm.

They had been in this posture for almost four hours by now.

Gu Shenwei’s mind was blank, his eyes slowly sweeping around – from the cold moon in the sky to the vaguely seen grass, trees and insects on the ground. The sound of the wind, the rustling of the grass and leaves, and the sound of the animals crawling around – he identified all of them and stored them in his memory.

He wanted to remember all of these things and seal them up for good.

Shangguan Ru woke up. She slightly moved the edge of the cape with one finger, revealing her eyes which were blacker than the night. “Hasn’t dawn broken yet?”

“It will soon.”

Shangguan Ru jumped out of the cape like a rabbit and stretched dramatically. “I’ve never had a better sleep. You didn’t sleep?”

“I’m not used to sleeping at night.”

“Ha-ha.” Shangguan Ru knew this was a common habit for killers, but she had never been a real killer.

Gu Shenwei was the one who had arranged the defense of the encampment, and he had secretly set up an exclusive secret passage for himself so as to go in and out of the encampment without anybody knowing. This passage seemed very dangerous, but as long as one knew the relevant information and had decent lightness skills, they could easily sneak in and out of the encampment.

The two parted near Shangguan Ru’s tent and they ended this plain night with a fond kiss.

Qian Ying had been waiting for a very long time. She finally confirmed that it was about time she put an end to her service to her master and return to Golden Roc Castle.