342 Running Away (1/2)

Chapter 342: Running Away

Translator: TransnEditor: Transn

It was a night without peace. Every group was either busy trying to garner support for themselves or incite discourse between the other factions. As soon as Gu Shenwei left Shangguan Fei's reception hall, he traveled to the courier station and disappeared for nearly four hours.

During that time, several groups of people had come seeking an audience with Dragon King one after another; however, they were all rejected by Lin Xiaoshan. ”Dragon King is not here. I will report to him as soon as he comes back,” he told them.

Before Dragon King reappeared, there was a slight commotion at the courier station. Since it lasted for only a short while and did not affect many, only a few people had noticed it.

Shortly after nightfall, about an hour after Dragon King disappeared, the assistant from the Central Plain, Zhong Heng, walked out of the courier station alone and empty-handed. He nodded his head at the doorman, looking as if he was going out for a stroll.

However, being away from Stone Kingdom's capital, the courier station offered nothing for recreation in the winter. The assistant's behavior looked somewhat strange.

Soon, the news reached the Special Emissary from the Central Plain, Lin Tao, and he immediately realized that something was wrong. As a result, he sent people to search the assistant's room. As he expected, Zhong Heng's weapon and silver were left behind, but all the documents he had kept were gone.

Lin Tao realized that Lord Wei Song's secret had been leaked. He dispatched eight kung fu masters to track down Zhong Heng, saying, ”Cut off his head and bring it to me.”

Lin Tao sat in his room, his head bowed as he pondered over the details of the past few days. He became more and more suspicious of Dragon King.

From Lin Tao's point of view, Dragon King was still a naive young man with merely good kung fu. He felt that Dragon King and his swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were just a mob and would only be useful as a pawn; however, they did not deserve to become allies with the Central Plain.

Two hours later, one of the kung fu masters brought back some news - Zhong Heng was hiding in Nengjue Temple situated beside the royal palace. Instead of taking action immediately, the masters returned to seek instructions from the Special Envoy.

Lin Tao snorted. A small country like the Stone Kingdom could not possibly protect a fugitive who the Commanding Officer of the Western Region wanted to kill. ”Be quiet and do not alarm the eminent monks of the Four Truths Temple,” he ordered.

The kung fu master left with his instructions. Lin Tao was still pre-occupied with the Dragon King. What was he thinking, disappearing at this point? Was the pale, young man hiding any conspiracy?

About an hour later, Lin Tao's doubts were answered; Dragon King reappeared at the courier station. The first thing he did was visit the Special Emissary from the Central Plain.

”You're really busy, Dragon King,” Lin Tao chuckled, feeling relieved. The young man was not with Zhong Heng, which meant there was no collusion between the two of them. ”I sent people to invite you over several times but couldn't get you to come.”

”I beg your pardon, Your Honor. There were still several bandits remaining in the desert and I heard that they were sneaking around and spying, so I went out to get rid of them.”

”What foolish bandits! How dare they challenge Dragon King!” Lin Tao rebuked sternly. He actually meant what he said - it was the idea of another confidant of Wei Song to hire bandits to intercept and kill Dragon King, and Lin Tao had disagreed from the very beginning. He believed that they should not kill Dragon King before milking the young man for all his worth; there was still value in him.

Dragon King's 'value', however, would only last for one more day. After he voted and the Emperor's son-in-law was selected, it would be time for him to disappear forever.

”Er, Dragon King, the reason why I invited you here is that I've heard a rumor that you are double-crossing both parties in this voting contest - that you've promised to vote for Shangguan Fei and the Prince of the Loulan Kingdom at the same time. Haha, I don't believe it, but gossip is a terrible thing...”

”The rumor is true.”

Lin Xia was astonished. He knew that Dragon King was the last swing voter whose identity had not been revealed, but he did not expect that the youth would admit to it in such a straightforward manner. Thus, he frowned as he questioned Dragon King, ”I am confused. Could you elaborate?”

”Firstly, please forgive my actions. I did not discuss anything with you before doing this because I have to keep the entire plan confidential.”

”As long as you have legitimate reasons to act in this manner, Dragon King,” Lin Tao said, looking amiable; however, he did not want to commit to anything yet.

”I did this to win Shangguan Fei's trust as I know that Golden Roc Fort is plotting a conspiracy which has something to do with your life.”

Lin Tao raised his eyebrows, surprised. ”Could it be that Shangguan Fei actually dares to kill me?”

To Lin Tao's surprise, Dragon King nodded solemnly. ”Shangguan Fei is cowardly and incompetent - one who treasures his life. The only task Supreme King had given to him was to marry the Princess at all costs. If he failed, he would lose his life.”

”What... what does this have to do with me?”

”Shangguan Fei has already deduced that my promise to vote for him was a lie. If that's the case, he will have only six votes, just like the Prince of Loulan Kingdom, and it will result in another competition round after tomorrow; however, he doesn't have the confidence or patience to wait for the next segment and try to win it, so he decided to throw caution to the wind and assassinate you. If you die, the Prince of the Loulan Kingdom would lose his support, and the tickets that belonged to him would naturally go to Shangguan Fei.”

”Is this true?” Lin Tao was skeptical. ”By doing so, Shangguan Fei would actually be declaring war on the Central Plain. Would he be so stupid? The Supreme King would definitely ask him to pay the price for his actions.”