271 The Gift of the Saber (2/2)
The long-saber was made of steel whiter than snow, and there was not a single nick or drop of coagulated blood on it, even after Gu Shenwei had used it to slay many enemies. Anyone could see that it was a weapon of rare quality.
Tuo Nengya went down on one knee and received the long-saber with both hands. At the same time, he pledged his loyalty to the young Dragon King. He believed in the killer's ability and wisdom, and he placed even more trust in their hatred of the common enemy. He had sensed the hate in the young killer when they met three years ago, but it was only recently that he knew they had the same target.
The Dragon King helped Tuo Nengya up and raised his voice as he addressed the entire camp. ”These are the sixth brothers from the Great Snowmountain—Luoshen Peak, Danduo Peak, Greatsword Peak, Smallsword Peak, Canopy Peak, and now we have the Machetemen Peak as well.”
The men from the Great Snowmountain cheered loudly as they welcomed the machetemen, treating them as their own tribesmen.
After that, came the burial of the dead. According to the customs of the Great Snowmountain, the corpses were sent deep into the Snowmountain and buried under the ice and snow to preserve the looks of the dead. However, they were now far from the Snowmountain now, and there was not much snow or ice around them. Therefore, they had to break from tradition and make do with what they had.
They made a clearing on a slope in the valley, where the Gu family's manor used to stand. Pieces of wood were stacked on the ground and the corpses were placed on top of the firewood. They continued stacking layers of firewood and corpses in the same manner until a tall tower-like structure was formed.
The warlocks, who had accompanied them, began praying to the heavens for its blessings and laid curses on their enemies. After they were done, the Dragon King set fire to the pyre and they watched as it burned to ashes.
”The soul rises to the Ninth Heaven, and the spirit falls to the Ninth Abyss. The living grief, while the dead rest in peace,” he chanted continuously as the ashes spiralled up into the skies.
More and more joined him in chanting, and these words soon became the Great Snowmountain's eulogy for their dead.
The Golden Roc Fort sent men to challenge the Great Snowmountain to another battle, but the Dragon King ordered his men to not react.
After the first battle, Gu Shenwei understood the difference between warfare and assassination. Dugu Xian, who remained hidden behind the scenes, had taught him a valuable lesson that he could not have learnt in the past few months, when fighting against the small forces that Shu-lik sent to suppress the Great Snowmountain.
That night, he summoned his military counselor for a private meeting. He apologized sincerely to Fang Wenshi, and said that he should have listened to his counselor's advice. The Dragon King knew now that contending for power in Western Region was different from taking revenge. The former required him to focus on building up his strength and consider killing as a means to that end. Whereas the latter spurred him on to crush his enemy even at the risk of perishing together with the enemy.
Fang Wenshi did not show any pride at having won over this master, even if he felt pleased with himself. ”There are always a victor and a loser in warfare,” he said. Even though 700 of the swordsmen had perished in the first battle, their leader was still alive and they had new allies in the machetemen. Fang Wenshi felt that things were still looking good for them. ”Also, the battle was not for nothing. We didn't lose, and displayed our strength for all to see. The Golden Roc Fort, however, made a grave mistake.”
”Their cavalry which came as reinforcements definitely were not put together at the last minute. They were well trained, and in his haste, the Supreme King exposed his ambition and strength to everyone to see. This would in turn give us an opening for suggesting a peace deal,” the counselor continued.
As he began giving serious consideration to making peace with the Golden Roc Fort, Gu Shenwei realised how hard it was to go against his original conviction. He had struggled and survived till now, fuelled by his need to exact vengeance. To ask him to give that thought up, even temporarily, made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
”Fine.” He felt a heavy burden was lifted from his soul as he said it. He could not remember whether it was his Master Shifu Tie Hanfeng who had told him before that even if hatred was a source of energy, one should control it and not be controlled by it instead. He trusted in his ability to consider the big picture and keep his own hatred of the Shangguan family in check. ”Let's begin the peace process now,” he continued.
He summoned Tuo Nengya to get his opinion on the issue. The macheteman was experienced in the ways of the jianghu, and immediately understood the Dragon King's motives once he heard what he had to say. He made no comments but raised two concerns. ”It won't be easy trying to make peace with the Supreme King, and I'm afraid Shu-lik would be displeased as well.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Wenshi immediately had a much more favorable opinion of Tuo Nengya. He felt that the macheteman and himself were of similar thought. ”That's right!” he exclaimed, unable to control his own excitement at having found a soul mate. His reaction scared Tuo Nengya a little. ”This is the crucial part of our plan to gain a foothold in Western Region,” Fang Wenshi continued.
Gu Shenwei decided to listen instead of speaking up, sensing that his counselor was eager to express himself.
”The Supreme King would definitely not want to make peace with us. The Golden Roc Fort has the upper hand now, and even a few thousand of our swordsmen are nothing in his eyes. Besides, it would diminish his authority and give us time to regroup by entering into a peace deal with us. On the surface, this negotiation is between the Golden Roc Fort and us, but in fact, we'll involve the Central Plain as our negotiation partner.”
Tuo Nengya wrinkled his eyebrows, puzzled at how the Central Plain was in the picture at all.
”The Central Plain has been consolidating troops to the east of Jade City all these years, but it's a very slow process, and they're not able to conquer the entire Western Region in one go as yet. Therefore, it would want to maintain the status quo, and would especially not wish for Shangguan Fa to become a legitimate king and claim Jade City for himself. Having to contend with the Great Snowmountain to its west, Shangguan Fa's conspiracy with Norland and coronation would definitely be delayed and affected. Using this fact, I'm confident of convincing the Central Plain to step in and force the Supreme King to make peace with us. Furthermore, I've heard that there's a rising force in Jade City gathering under the name of 'to Stop all Killing' and is anti-war. Its leader is the Four Truths Temple, and from our current situation, I feel it's also an important boost to our aim of achieving peace.”
”What about Shu-lik? Wouldn't our actions anger them and lead their army to attack us?” Tuo Nengya asked.
”Never,” said Fang Wenshi triumphantly. He emphasized each of his words as he continued, ”The King of Shu-lik is a sheep in wolf's clothing. He'll support the winning side. If we lose badly, he'll definitely take advantage of our weakness and inflict greater losses on us, to earn the forgiveness of the Golden Roc Fort. If we win the support of the Central Plain, he won't dare to react. The strong get stronger, and if Shu-lik wants us to do their dirty work, we'll aim to profit at their expense.”
This was Fang Wenshi's strategy and he split the duties with the Dragon King after concluding the meeting. He would pay a visit to the highest ranking official from the Central Plain residing in Western Region, while his lord would sneak into Jade City and link up with the anti-war factions. It would be the first time in three years Gu Shenwei re-entered Jade City, ever since his rebellion.
The only problem left was to convince the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain.