159 Splitting the Ground (1/2)

After more than two years as a professional killer, Gu Shenwei had developed a highly mistrusting heart. In particular, he did not believe that good things would be delivered on a golden plate, and thus did not think much of the slip of paper.

”This is a trap.”

”Why don't we have a look? How if someone really wants to divulge the secret?”

”If so, he'll come to us.”

Gu Shenwei recalled the time when he accepted an invitation to a prostitute's house, only to discover a corpse when he got there.

”We'll just have a peek without showing our faces, and then act according to circumstances.”

Shangguan Ru, who loved risky adventures, was intrigued by the mysterious slip of paper, and Gu Shenwei was forced to relent. Fortunately, Blacksmith Village was part of Kun Society's territory, and hence there were machetemen stationed there who could offer assistance in case of an emergency.

Riceflour Alley was not far from Blacksmith Village, but between them was a desolate abandoned village which had become the home of many otherwise homeless people and stray cats and dogs. Gu Shenwei maintained his vigilance while passing through it, and indeed, the trap which he had thought would be set within Blacksmith Village would actually take place here in the form of a surprise attack that came from above a courtyard wall.

The wall was quite high, and his first impression told him that it belonged to the house of a rich and influential family.

The assailants fired three arrows at them, two of which were aimed at Gu Shenwei and one at Shangguan Ru.

The latter two drew their sabers at the same time and deflected the arrows. Gu Shenwei predicted, from experience, that the enemies would shoot two or three rounds of arrows, but he was wrong this time. The assailants on top of the wall shot only one round of arrows before leaping off the wall on the side away from the duo.

”Hold it there!”, Shangguan Ru shouted and leaped off the ground. Her toes only needed to touch the wall once before she was already on top of the wall. Her Lightness Skill, which had all along been great, was even more outstanding at this time.

”Don't give chase!” Gu Shenwei could not hold her back in time nor dissuade her. He calculated that he would not be able to jump high enough to get on the wall, and thus could only run forward as fast as he possibly could in hopes that there would be a lower wall for him to jump across.

He found a break in the wall a few dozen steps ahead. Crossing through the break, he found nothing.

There was virtually nothing - no Shangguan Ru, no assailants, no trees, and no buildings.

The place, covered in a thick layer of snow, was apparently a garden which was abandoned during winter. A few dilapidated huts could be seen in the distance, and there was no sign of human life at all.

He wondered if Shangguan Ru had leaped on to the wall again and exited the place, but immediately disproved this idea. Although the sky was dark, it was not yet completely black, and he had not run very far. If Shangguan Ru had changed her route, she would have called out and informed him.

The garden appeared to be rather well-frequented, judging from the footprints of differing depths that were nearly everywhere. He found, at the foot of the wall, two shallow footprints which appeared to be left behind by Shangguan Ru. She, or the rightful owner of these footprints, subsequently leaped forward and landed in another person's footprints, and thus could not be tracked any further.

There were, in actual fact, no swordsmen nor traps in Blacksmith Village. This place was where the enemy had set up a nice trap.

Gu Shenwei was getting tricked by a simple gimmick. ”If it wasn't for Tenth Young Master...”, he began to think somewhat involuntarily, ”No matter how strong Shang Guanru's kung fu or how forthright her personality is, she has experienced too few things and thus lacks a killer's instincts.”

If the ambushers were from Horned Dragon Society, they would not dare to kill Shangguan Ru. But he would not be able to bear the responsibility if she was even slightly injured or went missing for one or two days.

Relying on the last ray of sunlight, he searched the snow carefully until he was brought into a jumbled maze by the mess of footprints and was forced to give up.

”She couldn't have disappeared into thin air,” Gu Shenwei thought. ”Either she has been abducted by a few quick hands... or she's hiding underground.”

He began to stomp in circles around the spot where Shangguan Ru had left footprints to test if it was hollow beneath. However, the garden was simply too big. The sun had set, and his legs had turned numb. Though he was able to detect a small hollow space, he did not find any clues.

He ran into the small huts in the garden but found nothing except spider webs and cotton fragments, proof that nobody had lived there for a long time.

He thought about enlisting the help of a few machetemen to investigate, but was afraid that if he left for a while and came back, Shangguan Ru would have been brought far away by then.

There were infinite possibilities. Gu Shenwei could only wait while stomping aimlessly on the ground. What frightened him most was if Shangguan Ru was not actually underground or in some secret underground tunnel; perhaps she had already been brought out of the garden, and what he was currently doing was not only foolish but wasting precious time which he could use to command his subordinates to seek out information in South City.

The sky became ever blacker. Shangguan Ru had already been missing for two hours. Gu Shenwei jumped up and down like a madman before he finally stopped. Kneeling on one leg, he sheathed his dagger and pulled out his sword. He then closed his eyes to allow himself to enter combat mode.

He was trying to seek out whether there was ”living energy” nearby.

Death Scripture was a type of kung fu which could not be practiced. Gu Shenwei had to imagine that there were enemies in front of him for it to work.

”There's a super-powerful enemy standing tall right in front of me. It casts a long shadow and is holding a sword...”

After half an hour, Gu Shenwei could finally detect a vague bundle of scents. The scents were as weak as the twilight musk, probably because they had crossed through a thick barrier. They were transient and unclear in shape, and were coalesced into a ball such that they were impossible to differentiate.

Gu Shenwei was about to take an uncalculated risk, but having already entered a state of killing in which there was neither thought nor mercy, he had no secondary consideration. He caught hold of one of the scents and discovered its weak points. Subsequently, he focused his mind and energy entirely upon his sword, such that he did not even notice the barrier in between him and the source of the scent.

He thrust his sword forward to hit his target without any apprehension or hesitation.