330 Retaliation (2/2)
Beyond his expectations, Maid Lotus failed to kill Fayan with one blow. She withdrew immediately after wounding the elderly monk. This was a habit she had developed during her killer career. Gu Shenwei knew that now she was probably hiding somewhere nearby, preparing to launch another attack.
”Very impressive, Dragon King,” Lianqing said coldly. ”You've seen through my disguise. I was indeed known as Zhuang Qiang before becoming a monk.”
By now, the other monks had already finished dressing Fayan's wound. A dull red flush suffused the skinny monk's face when he asked, ”Lianqing, now the murderer of your brother is standing right in front of you. What're you going to do?”
Lianqing turned around to bow to his Master Shifu and his seniors and then said, ”I'm deeply grateful to you for teaching me so much during the past two years, Master Shifu, but I still can't let go of my hate. I'm really sorry to let you down.”
Fayan still looked as calm as before, as if he did not feel disappointed at all. The flush on his face began to fade away, which meant that his wound was alright now. ”You're no match for the Dragon King,” said Fayan.
”I don't care. He killed my brother, so I have to kill him!” Lianqing glared at the Dragon King and shouted. In this moment, he completely forgot about his Master Shifu's teachings. He was not Monk Lianqing but Bandit Zhuang Qiang now.
Gu Shenwei could have launched a surprise attack on Lianqing and killed him when he was speaking, but he did not strike and instead walked out of the tent, waiting in the open for the monk.
Lianqing tore up his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body and a tattoo of a dragon engaged in fierce combat with a tiger covering his chest. He then drew a long knife out of his backpack, which was used by the monks to make clothes, and strode out of the tent, determined to fight the Dragon King till death.
Upon hearing the noise, all the monks in the neighboring tent came out. They were shocked at the scene before their eyes, but they could not interfere in this situation as their Master Shifu Fayan did not give them any order. In the end, they just pushed up the flap covering the entrance of the tent to let their Master Shifu watch the fight happening outside.
A dozen ”businessmen” also came to watch the fight. They maintained quite some distance from Lianqing and the Dragon King and each of them reached into his own robe to grab his weapon, preparing to join the fight at any minute.
”Did my brother offend you before?” Lianqing asked harshly. After having suppressed his anger for more than two years, he wanted to ask the Dragon King all the questions he had about his brother's death.
”No, I'd never met him before I killed him,” Gu Shenwei shook his head and replied.
”Did he block your path?”
”No, it was me who came at him, and not the other way around.”
”Then why did you kill him?” Lianqing raised his voice. Their conversation attracted more and more on-lookers. Upon seeing this, those ”businessmen” removed their hands from their robes.
”Because he had great kung fu. I needed to kill such a kung fu master to improve my swordcraft.” Gu Shenwei continued to speak in a calm and neutral tone, as if everything he said was a grain of common sense.
”Haha.” Lianqing flared with anger and then said with a laugh, ”To improve your swordcraft? What a reasonable explanation. Today, I'll kill you to improve my machete skills.”
Usually, Gu Shenwei never talked so much with his opponent, but when he glanced across at Fayan, who seemed to be reciting some Buddhist incantation inside the tent, he decided to continue this conversation.
”Did you and your brother always kill people for very valid reasons?”
”Of course,” shouted Lianqing, but almost immediately he realized how hypocritical he sounded, so he added, ”My brother and I were bandits. If we didn't kill anyone, how could we get our loot?”
”I'm a killer. If I don't kill anyone, how can I improve my skills?” said Gu Shenwei.
Lianqing was struck speechless. ”Now, you're a monk. If you can't let go of your own hate, why bother to pray to Buddha everyday?” asked Fayan, who still remained inside the tent.
”I...” Lianqing had no reply. Two years ago, he had chosen to become a monk in Four Truths Temple because he planned to seek for opportunities to kill the Dragon King under the cover of this prestigious temple. He had never expected that he would have been so deeply influenced by the Buddhist doctrines. Now he sincerely hoped to become a Buddhist, but he still could not give up the thought of avenging his brother's death.
Suddenly, some on-looker sneered coldly, ”What're you waiting for? It's your divine right to avenge your brother's death. If you don't do so, you'll be despised by the others.”
Upon hearing that, Lianqing felt no more hesitation. He lifted up his long knife and charged toward the Dragon King.
Lianqing took three big steps forward while the Dragon King took three small steps backward. In the blink of an eye, the monk was only about two meters away from the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei carefully calculated the distance between them. When he took the third step, he just touched the ground with the toes of his back foot, and then he leapt forward and raised his saber to strike at Lianqing. When the Dragon King launched his attack, the monk had not yet firmly pressed his front foot on the ground, so his stance was not very steady.
Gu Shenwei brushed past Lianqing and then continued to run several steps under the influence of inertia. The moment he stopped and turned around, a drop of blood slid down his Five Peaks Saber.
Lianqing had practiced for days to prepare himself for this duel against the Dragon King. He had never expected that he would have lost the fight because of one false move. It made him change from the offensive to a defensive during the very last minute of the fight. Although he managed to protect most of the vulnerable parts of his body by doing so, he still failed to dodge the Dragon King's saber. He got stabbed in his ribs just like Fayan.
”Your kung fu is not so good as your brother's,” Gu Shenwei said matter-of-factly. He failed to kill Lianqing with one blow since this time he had used a saber instead of a sword. Compared to the saber techniques he was using now, the sword skill that he had used to kill Lianqing's brother, Zhuang Heng, was much more powerful.
”Killing is so meaningless,” said Lianqing, as the warm energy inside his body as well as his hatred toward the Dragon King were gradually dripping away. Now he knew how death felt like and realized how absurd his urge for revenge was. He slowly sat down on the ground in a meditation position and continued repeating those four words ”Killing is so meaningless”.
Gu Shenwei sheathed his saber and nodded to Fayan. It turned out that their failure to strike a deal did not prevent them from achieving their respective goals.
After that, he walked toward the tents of the Great Snowmountain. All the on-lookers in his way simultaneously stepped aside to let him pass.
He spotted a familiar pair of eyes in the crowd, but these big and black eyes were on a shallow male face.
He and the ”man” looked at each other for a moment, but neither of them said a word.
Gu Shenwei heaved a sigh of relief when he returned to his tent. Many people in this camp had come here to assist Lianqing, but they had never anticipated that the Dragon King would have struck first to spoil their original plan. They could have worked together to kill him when the duel ended, but none of them had the courage to do so and thus missed this chance. They did not know that the Dragon King's guard was not around.
Maid Lotus should have returned to her job after injuring Fayan, but Gu Shenwei had not sensed her presence all this while.
Now he found out that she was sitting on the carpet inside the tent and her face was as pale as his. Apparently, she was severely wounded.