179 Synergy (1/2)

It turned out to be a false alarm for Gu Shenwei. Shangguan Fei had become clever and had not exposed Slave Huan. His gaze flitted away from Slave Huan and said, ”Your killers have ulterior motives. That Tuo Nengya wanted to kill me.”

Shangguan Ru remained as still as a statue, looking dejected as though she had not heard what her brother had said.

Shangguan Fei stopped talking and pricked up his ears to listen. The fight outside had ended very quickly. Suddenly, the door swung open revealing a young killer kneeling on one leg at the doorstep. He said, ”Ninth Young Master, we have killed sixteen people but seven ran away. We are in pursuit.”

There was a small flaw in this tremendous victory. Shangguan Fei's face sank and he unsheathed his saber. He asked, ”Where is Tuo Nengya?”

”He... He escaped.”

Tuo Nengya was an old and experienced old macheteman. Once he saw killers in black robe, he knew that something was not right. He had secretly set up a formation to counter them. However, the killers were more capable than the machetemen. After the first attack, the formation had crumbled. In order to preserve time, six machetemen protected Boss Tuo by escaping into the maze of nearby streets and lanes. As they were familiar with the streets of South City and the young killers could not catch up with them.

Shangguan Fei chopped off the young killer's left hand using his saber. Lifting his head, he commanded coldly, ”I want to see Tuo Nengya's head before dusk. If not, I will kill you.”

”Yes”, the young killer replied as he retreated in pain.

Shangguan Fei's good mood was ruined. His sister had become lifeless like a zombie. He was uninterested in torturing her any further. ”Bring Tenth Young Master to North City. If she is hurt, all of you will die.” He instructed.

Shangguan Ru's seven killers knelt on one leg and accepted Ninth Young Master's orders respectfully. Then, they got up. Maid Lotus supported Shangguan Ru and two other killers carried Master Yu's corpse as they left.

This was the sorrow of Tenth Young Master and the young killers' bitter defeat.

When Gu Shenwei brushed past Shangguan Fei, both of them looked into each other's eyes and understood each other's mind. Since Ninth Young Master had gotten ahold of incriminating information against Slave Huan, it would not do to be duplicitous. This was one of the reasons why Shangguan Fei didn't betray him immediately.

Gu Shenwei could not remember how many masters he had vowed to, but none of them had been sincere. He firmly remembered what Mister Zhang Ji had taught him: The slave is the most ideal betrayer.

Shangguan Fei always thought that he knew what slaves were thinking about, but it was merely indulging the delusion he had whenever he suffered a setback.

Shangguan Fei was delighted to see the other black-robed killers retreating. He was alone in the house, enjoying his victory when he raised his head and saw a young woman standing at the top of the stairs. She eyes were round and fearful. She trembled as if quivering under Shangguan Fei's intense gaze.

Xu Yanwei, who had been standing upstairs, heard everything. She was attracted to the cruelty and ruthlessness of the youth. He was younger than her brother but it was inconsequential to her. The capability of a man was not related to his age.

Xu Yanwei beckoned Shangguan Fei invitingly. Dazed yet excited, he hesitated for a second before climbing up the stairs. Xu Xiaoyi leaped like a rabbit past Ninth Young Master and escaped the building.

The war which had lasted for many days and had caused hundreds of deaths finally ended in an unexpected manner.

Tenth Young Master Shangguan Ru was depressed. By participating in the kidnapping in North City, it had directly involved Stone Castle and she was placed under house arrest in the North City residence.

Meng Mingshi had not only lost his money, his machetemen and his lover, but also had to ”thank” Golden Roc Fort Ninth Young Master for saving his life. He was also similarly depressed and fell seriously ill resulting in him being bedridden for months.

The undistinguished Ninth Young Master suddenly became the biggest winner. The Kun Society disintegrated and became an empty shell. Shangguan Fei kept its name so as to control the terrorities and merchants that Kun Society once owned. Horned Dragon Society came under the same master. Till now, it was the first time that most people realized Shangguan Fei was one of the founders of Horned Dragon Society.

Since then, Shangguan Fei made use of Horned Dragon Society to attract children of wealthy families from the North City and recruited many protectors and merchants into Kun Society. He controlled those machetemen and killers with a firm hand and he became a formidable force in Jade City. This was beyond the expectations of Lady Meng and the Supreme King, attracting the attention of his brothers.

It was a sweeping victory except for one flaw. Old macheteman Tuo Nengya remained missing. He had blended into South City like a piece of mud and had yet to reveal himself.

Shangguan Fei personally killed the killer but it was a futile effort. Even though those six machetemen who accompanied Boss Tuo during his escape had gotten captured, the person that Shangguan Fei wanted to catch still remained missing. Because of this, Shangguan Fei was furious and did not dare to visit South City for a long time.

Not only had two leaders of the societies been defeated by Shangguan Fei, one young killer had also been defeated by Shangguan Fei. This fact had remained unknown to everyone. Gu Shenwei's efforts to build a strong independent force were in vain. Not only had he spent a large amount of Tie Hanfeng's inheritance, he had also become Ninth Young Master's pawn.

His only achievement was that his swordcraft had been improved, but his sword was broken into several pieces. Tofool others, he kept up a pretence by leaving his broken sword in its scabbard.

The members of Shangguan family always exceed his expectations, Gu Shenwei reflected deeply. On many occasions, he had paid a price because he had underestimated his enemies.

The only reliable thing he had was his sword; it had never once failed him.

Shangguan Ru seemed unable to return back to her old self. She hid herself in the room and refused to meet anyone. She would occasionally regain her energy and summon her seven killers. She often talked about regrouping but could not produce any concrete and detailed plans.

Taking advantage of Shangguan Ru's fleeting enthusiasm, Gu Shenwei requested to return to South City to gather some information. When he was permitted to return, he went and took Maid Lotus with him.