191 Drawing the Snake Ou (1/2)
The first to react was an old man with a long beard that was in a white robe. He took out his long chain as he shouted at Gu Shenwei, looking agitated. ”You killed the Immortal!”
Gu Shenwei convinced himself that he was mostly right to have wanted to stay at the Pavilion. He had not come out empty-handed from his deal with the Immortal. His ability to channel the Internal Breath and the Lightness Skill had both increased greatly, further increasing his confidence in the sword craft that he learned from the Death Scripture.
Self-confidence was the the most important pre-requisite to kill in one blow.
”He is a fake immortal,” said Gu Shenwei as he walked up to the screen, looking at its contents. ”These so-called 64 methods of training are not even the equal of a single supreme technique.”
He knocked the screen down with force, smashing it into pieces.
This act enraged the other disciples and soon enough, they drew out their weapons. Although the Immortal was dead, they were still living under the illusion that everything he said was the truth.
Gu Shenwei stood tall and faced all of them with his sword drawn. Even though he had come up with a plan to kill the Immortal, he was not sure as to how he would deal with all these highly skilled disciples.
At this point in time, he had only thought about killing. He had been caught in the Immortal's web of deceit for more than a hundred days. Now that he had snapped out of his funk, he wanted to kill to satiate his anger.
”He is right,” said someone from the crowd. It turned out that the youth had his own supporters.
It was none other than Tuo Nengya. There were still some remnants of his disguise on his face. He stepped forward and spoke up for Gu Shenwei, ”The Immortal was deceiving all of us all this while. We do not need his advice to learn all these kung fu.”
”Both of you know nothing,” said the old man in the white robe. He was even more agitated than before. ”So what if he deceived us? It was his way of getting us to concentrate on our training. Without his aid, how could we have learned more complex kung fu techniques?”
Everyone who fell for the Immortal's hypnosis had their own reasons to believe him, and they would not be swayed easily.
Tuo Nengya had left his signature twin scimitars behind when he went undercover in the Joy Pavilion. He drew his machete and prompted Gu Shenwei to escape. ”Leave, what are you still staying behind for?” he said to the youth.
Gu Shenwei walked towards the edge of the window. He did not understand why Tuo Nengya wanted to help him, but it was the right moment for him to escape. The disciples were still in a state of shock and disarray. If he continued to stay, he could have to deal with all of them at the same time.
The old man's long chain flew towards Gu Shenwei. It was the same exact move which the old man had used to snatch his sword away before. However, he was no longer the killer that came a few months ago. Even though the level of his sword craft had not improved much, his reaction time and agility was much better. Furthermore, his action of walking towards the window was just a feint.
He could not leave the Pavilion before destroying the copy of the Death Scripture that he had given to the Immortal.
Gu Shenwei did not jump out of the window as the long chain drew nearer to him. Instead, he took a huge step back and landed on the soft couch. He snatched the dwarf's body away from Chu Nanping and lifted it up, shouting, ”No one is to come near me!”
Even though the Immortal was dead, his sacred standing in their hearts was not diminished. They gave off cries of alarm and were unsure of the youth's intentions. They took one step forward and two steps backwards in unison, worried that the youth would desecrate the Immortal's corpse.
Gu Shenwei shifted towards the window again, throwing a glance at Tuo Nengya, hinting at him that they should leave together.
Tuo Nengya moved towards the window as well.
”Leave the Immortal's body behind!” someone shouted in grief and indignation.
As he lifted the corpse with one hand, his other hand was already searching the body. Soon, he found what he was looking for. The Death Scripture was too important to the Immortal and it did not take a genius to guess that he would have carried it with himself.
”You can have it back,” said Gu Shenwei as he tossed the corpse towards the disciples.
He then leapt out of the window along with Tuo Nengya. They landed on the high wall, and went over it into the peach forest. They only stopped after running for several miles, leaving the peach forest behind them.
They were surrounded by the wilderness now. They had to make a big cirle around before they could return to Jade City.
All the denizens of the Joy Pavilion were mourning the passing of the Immortal, with the exception of one person. He remained in close pursuit of Gu Shenwei.
Gu Shenwei was a little surprised to see Chu Nanping. He told the boy, ”You are a 'heartless person', therefore there is no need for you to exact revenge on the behalf of the Immortal.”
Chu Nanping looked as callous as usual. He replied, ”I'm not here for revenge.”
”What are you here for then?”
”We have not completed our mastery of the Heartless Swords technique.”
To Gu Shenwei who is now free from the Immortal's influence, Chu Nanping is now just a child and had no right to rebuke him. He unsheathed his sword and looked coldly at Chu Nanping's short figure. ”I already have my own set of sword craft. It allows me to kill, and I do not have the need to continue learning whatever heartless or emotional sword craft. Find your own private place to continue practicing. If you have yet to free yourself from the Immortal's lies after a few years, come find me to take revenge on his behalf. Better yet, if you are already of clear mind, you can also look for me to seek justice for your brother's death. I'll be ready for you.”
Chu Nanping remained silent and looked at Gu Shenwei without flinching. It was as if he could not understand the words of an adult. When he finally spoke, he stuck to the same topic. ”We'll soon be learning the fifth stage - within three days, I'll be sure to kill someone that 'I do not wish to kill'.”
”Then go, and return after you have done so.”
Chu Nanping nodded solemnly and walked back towards the peach forest.
Gu Shenwei did not care who the boy wanted to kill. He only wanted to get rid of Chu Nanping.
He turned his attention to Tuo Nengya. ”You saved my life, but I have nothing to repay you with,” said Gu Shenwei bluntly to the old macheteman. He was a killer, and did not know how to show his gratitude.
”Hey, even if I had not stepped out, you would have been able to escape on your own. That lot would have come to their senses after a while. I followed you out for another reason.” Tuo Nengya understood the mentality of a killer and played down his role in the escape.
”You still wish to take revenge for the Eldest Young Master.”
”It's my duty. I was so close to paying off my debt to him, but then he was found murdered. I don't have any another choice, other than to avenge him.”
”Are you aware that I also contributed to his death?”