131 Investigation (1/2)

Mr. Hong estimated that there were more than a thousand of these pitons in existence, since several blacksmiths in this village were hired to produce these pitons.

Gu Shenwei was surprised by Mr. Hong's conclusion and thought,”More than a thousand rock-climbing pitons. Is New Moon Hall planning to climb all the way up to Golden Roc Fort with these things? That's unbelievable. The hill is more than 3,000 meters high and is surrounded by a river which is very deep. Are they really capable of doing that?”

After they left Blacksmith Village, Maid Lotus told Slave Huan the reason that she had Mr. Hong make a pair of swords for them.

”This is the only way we can carry swords with us without arousing any suspicion. After all, everybody thinks that we're a couple. Isn't it the perfect excuse for us to carry this pair of swords with us? I've a feeling that we are going to need them very soon.”

Maid Lotus said this without any embarrassment at all. She was a natural born killer. She was cold, rational, and did not care much about the fact that she is a girl.

Gu Shenwei was relieved to hear that and approved of her idea. In East Castle, when two apprentices get romantically involved with each other, they would show their affection to each other by sharing a pair of items. Most of the time, they would choose to share a pair of swords or sabers.

Gu Shenwei was happy that he would soon be able to carry a sword around with him everywhere, but at the same time, he was a little worried that he would irritate Maid Lotus' admirers by doing so.

They made little progress with their investigation after they left Blacksmith Village. They might be able to find some clues if they went down to the foot of the hill and check. However, they did not have enough time to do that. In the end, they gave up tracking down the pitons and returned to the yard where they lived now.

As soon as they arrived at the yard, Liuhua came to tell them that Mister Guo wanted to meet all the brown-belt assassins.

Liuhua, Wildhorse, Slave Huan and Maid Lotus went to a private house in South City to meet Mister Guo. Last winter, when they had left Golden Roc Fort to eliminate the Ten-Dragon Gang, they had lived in this place, which also happened to be Mister Guo's base camp currently. The moment they arrived at the house, the street in front of it was packed with people, but its front yard was empty. They waited in the yard for Mister Guo's order.

A moment later, they were allowed to enter the house. Upon entering the hall, they found out that beside Mister Guo and his killers, there were several dozen teenagers present. They were Shangguan Yushi and her brown-belt assassins from the Little Flag Battalion.

Mister Guo looked grumpy. In his eyes, it's outrageous that Golden Roc Fort would permit such a group of teenagers to join the action against New Moon Hall and the Barren Sect. However, he had no choice but to accept this ridiculous decision, since the fort told him that it was the Supreme King's order.

”Little Flag Battalion is in charge of the southeastern area of South City. Shangguan Yushi, you're the killer leader of the brown-belt assassins and you have to send someone to report to me every morning. If you encounter any difficulties, you can contact us at anytime.”

”Yes, Commander,” Shangguan Yushi replied indifferently, without even the slightest nod towards Mister Guo at all. She still held a grudge against him, because he had treated her like a servant when he had caught the Black Jade Palm thieves.

Just like ”killer leader”, ”Commander” was also a temporary title granted to a team leader during a mission. Once the mission was complete, these titles would be revoked.

Mister Guo waved the teenagers away impatiently. He always had a welcoming smile on his face in Golden Roc Fort, but now his face was cold as stone.

When the teenagers were about to leave, Mister Guo singled out two of them and asked, ”Why did you go to Blacksmith Village today? Who sent you there?”

Upon hearing that question, Gu Shenwei quickly realized that Mister Guo was Du Qi's protector.

”I was...”

Before he finished his sentence, Shangguan Yushi suddenly interrupted. ”They were conducting an investigation. It's the Tenth Young Master's order.”

Gu Shenwei was shocked to hear that Shangguan Yushi, who hated him so much, make an excuse for him. He had planned to tell Mister Guo that he had been ordered to track down some enemies, but now Shangguan Yushi gave him a much more reasonable explanation.

”You can leave now,” Mister Guo commanded. ”Let's wait and see what a bunch of children can do,” Mister Guo thought to himself.

Shangguan Yushi and the brown-belt assassins went to a private house in the southeastern area of South City. She sent most of the teenage assassins out to perform different tasks, and selected the best assassins to work with her. Slave Huan was one of these assassins, but he was pretty sure that Shangguan Yushi would never give him an important and rewarding task.

”The Tenth Young Master said that her followers can be killed but can never be humiliated.” Shangguan Yushi said this to remind Slave Huan that she had just fulfilled her duty by answering Mister Guo's question for him. She continued to say, ”Let's kill as many enemies as we can to attain glory for Master Ru. Maid Lotus, what did you discover today in Blacksmith Village?”

Maid Lotus told Shangguan Yushi about the pitons. ”Do you really believe that those women from New Moon Hall and Barren Sect can climb up to Golden Roc Fort with those pitons?” Shangguan Yushi sneered and asked Slave Huan.

”There's a possibility that it could happen,” Gu Shenwei replied.

”It's impossible. Firstly, you don't know who bought these pitons. Secondly, why would those women waste their energy trying to climb up the Stone Castle? Do you think that there are no killers inside Golden Roc Fort now? Even if all the killers have left the fort, the Supreme King can still kill all the crazy women by himself.”

Although what Shangguan Yushi said was a little exaggerated, Gu Shenwei still had to admit that she had a point. Stone Castle was guarded by many kung fu masters. He believed that a few black-masked assassins would be enough to kill some crazy women trying to climb up to the hill.

”I think it may be a macheteman named Nie Qing who bought these pitons. His sister is probably a disciple of New Moon Hall or the Barren Sect. As for the pitons, I think they're some kind of tools.”