215 Rumor (1/2)
Chapter 215: Rumor
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
Zhong Heng told Gu Shenwei the whole story:
Wei Lingmiao came to Jade City three years ago, before his father, the current governor, had taken office. He hanged out with a group of dandies in the city and showed great interest in killers and their business. As he repeatedly expressed his desire to witness the process of an assassination, one of his friends, the Fourth Young Master Meng, decided to help him fulfill his wish and introduced him to the Eighth Young Master of Golden Roc Fort, Shangguan Nu. The details of their relationship were unclear, but what was known was that Wei Lingmiao partook in an assassination mission. Shangguan Nu intended to impress Master Wei with his perfect assassination skills, so he deliberately slowed down the process. Unfortunately, this decision allowed some of his targets to flee. Master Wei chased them along with Shangguan Nu, as the Eight Young Master promised to let him kill his own fiancée, Gu Cuilan.
”I don't know if Master Wei knew beforehand that Shangguan Nu's targets were his fiancée and her family, but I'm pretty sure that he didn't do anything to save them. Gu Cuilan recognized Master Wei and cursed him viciously before her death, and her curse haunted him. After killing her, he had trouble falling asleep and kept having nightmares,” Zhong Heng told Gu Shenwei.
Three years ago, when Zhong Heng had arrived in Jade City with the Governor, Wei Lingmiao had not yet recovered from the incident. Commandant Zhong managed to piece the whole story together from the incoherent ramblings of the young master, which he overheard during the countless number of times spent trying to soothe Wei Lingmiao's frayed nerves.
Since then, Zhong Heng had kept this secret buried in his heart.
Shortly after Wei Lingmiao came to Jade City again to help his father collect the ”Protective Talisman”, an informant who worked for Commandant Zhong came to him with good news: Master Wei was in Jade City for another important purpose, which was going to Four Truths Temple to appease Gu Cuilan's vengeful spirit.
”I'm sure that Master Wei hasn't completely gotten over that incident. He wants to keep it secret forever to protect his reputation. I asked him to pay me 100,000 taels of silver as hush money. Compared to the 'Protective Talisman' and the money he gives to prostitutes, that's nothing. I never expected that he would want to kill me for blackmailing him,” said Zhong Heng.
Gu Shenwei knew Wei Lingmiao's secret now, but feigned surprise to hide his real emotions from Commandant Zhong. In the meantime, he thought, ”I should count myself lucky for not telling Wei Lingmiao who I really am. However, why did he tell me that he still missed his fiancée? Did he think that I would tell it to Shangguan Ru and she would be moved by his love story? Or, perhaps, he just makes up this story to deceive himself and make himself feel less guilty about what he did.”A moment later, Gu Shenwei said to Commandant Zhong, ”I see, that's his secret, but the truth isn't important. I guess I still have to kill you to solve my problem.”
Upon hearing that, Zhong Heng smiled ruefully at the killer, regretting that he had taught the killer to focus on solving a problem instead of digging out the truth. ”Wait, that secret is just a gift for you. Now you also have something on Master Wei. My last bit of information is much more valuable than that,” he said.
Gu Shenwei waited for the commandant to continue telling him the last secret, with his saber in hand. Nevertheless, Commandant Zhong just shook his head and said, ”That's privileged information. I won't tell it to you unless my safety is guaranteed. Even if you torture me, you still won't get this information out of me. If you don't believe, you can try.”
”Alright, I agree to let you go, but where should I find you to get that privileged information?” Gu Shenwei released his grip on his saber shaft and said.
”Go to find the Eighth Young Master of the Golden Roc Fort. I'll stay with him, waiting for you,” Zhong Heng replied.
Upon hearing that Zhong Heng had already gotten in touch with Shangguan Nu, Gu Shenwei was stunned. ”It looks like you've prepared yourself for such a situation, Commandant Zhong.”
”I'm just a minor official. My superiors always think that they have a complete control over me, but just like you, I don't consider anyone my real boss. I have to rely on myself to survive,” said Zhong Heng.
Gu Shenwei stood up and went to knock three times on a wall. A moment later, three machetemen pushed the door opened and entered the room. Two of them carried something contained in a large cloth bag into the room, and the other one walked in with a small cloth bag in hand.
Commandant Zhang looked on as the machetemen emptied the contents of the bags. When he saw what was in them, he was so frightened that he nearly fell off the bed. The object in the large cloth bag turned out to be a headless body, while a human head was in the small bag. Under the dim light, he could see that the dead man looked just like himself. The cadaver seemed to be glaring at him with its mouth open, but its eyes were already dull and glassy. After a moment, Zhong Heng came back to his senses and said, ”Brother Yang, it looks like you've prepared for such a situation too.”
”I give you thousands of taels of silver every month. I want to get my money's worth, so I can't let you die that easily,” said Gu Shenwei.
Zhong Heng and the killer looked at each other smilingly. They did not trust each other, but that did not prevent them from cooperating with each other.
In fact, Gu Shenwei had never planned to strictly carry out Master Wei's orders. After he had gotten the young master's order to assassinate Zhong Heng, he immediately hired a craftsman to make a human head with wax. When Zhong Heng drank in the brothel during the day, the craftsman was observing his features as he sat nearby.
Gu Shenwei knew that this wax head could not withstand close observation, but he was sure that Master Wei would never want to come close to a dead body.
Gu Shenwei decided to spare Zhong Heng's life for the time being, but he would not hesitate to kill the commandant if he found out that he had been lied to.
After changing his official uniform for civilian attire made from blue cloth, Zhong Heng sneaked out of the brothel with the killer. The three machetemen chopped the headless body into pieces and then made some wounds on the dead prostitute's body, turning the room into a scene of a crime of passion.
As Zhong Heng had to flee Jade City as soon as possible, Gu Shenwei provided him some money and a horse. Before leaving, Commandant Zhong stood on the avenue, looked back at the city and sighed. ”I left nothing behind. Brother Yang, when Master Wei leaves the city, you should escort him.”
”I will.”
Even if Zhong Heng did not say that, Gu Shenwei would still find a chance to follow Master Wei when he left Jade City. As the young master and his entourage had to travel through the Iron Mountain Gang's territory to return to the Central Plain, Gu Shenwei decided to take this chance to find Zhong Heng at Shangguan Nu's camp to obtain the last bit of 'privileged information'.