392 Choosing A Victim (1/2)
The fourth person who secretly learned Wayless Qigong from Golden Roc Fort appeared as well. Everyone in the Flower Soul Forest, especially Old Man Mu, was surprised.
He turned and looked at Shangguan Fei, ”Hey, aren't you the weak and incompetent son of Supreme King? Did you learn the divine kung fu as well?”
”That's right. Just like the three of them, I am qualified to make a deal with you as well.” Shangguan Fei's eyes flickered around as he said that. He was usually afraid of the dark, but right now he was thankful for the cover of darkness. ”And I am willing to deal with you alone.”
Old Man Mu had the perfect plan intended for Dragon King and the other two so he was very displeased at the sudden appearance of Shangguan Fei. He said, ”You mentioned that you know Wayless Qigong. Prove it.”
Shangguan Fei had practiced Wayless Qigong for about three years now but never dared to show his skills to anyone. Even at this moment, he did not have the courage to display his Kung Fu in front of Dragon King. ”Uh-”
Just as he hesitated, Shangguan Ru called out, ”Are you crazy, brother? Once Old Man Mu gets his hands on Wayless Book, he will kill you.”
”No, not at all.” Old Man Mu said with a smile. He squeezed his legs, forcing the Blessed Child under him to turn around so that he could face everybody. ”For someone who betrayed their close ones and friends, this fellow suits me so well! Maybe I will even accept you as a disciple if I'm in the mood.”
”I would be more than honored if I have such an opportunity.” Shangguan Fei bowed to Old Man Mu with his hands wrapped in a fist. Then he straightened himself and told Shangguan Ru, who was away from him, ”Sister, I am not the one who is crazy. But you should really think it through and stop being so silly. Our father and Dragon King, they want to kill us both. If Dragon King wins, he will want to seek revenge. If our father wins, he will still regard us as his humiliation and get rid of us. We have no other choice but to save ourselves. Come over to my side, Senior Mu won't kill you.”
”No.” Shangguan Ru refused flatly. ”Old Man Mu is a murderous devil. I'd rather die than work with him. And his words cannot be trusted, don't believe him.”
Shangguan Fei shook his head. He had been walking on a tightrope all this while, and even at the end of the tightrope was still an abyss. Old Man Mu was not someone trustworthy, but he was willing to take a risk and switch to another tightrope. ”Senior Mu, actually I have been helping you all along. I was the one who secretly cut the rope for you.”
Maid Lotus glanced quickly at Dragon King. Everybody except for Gu Shenwei at that time had suspected that Shangguan Ru was the one who helped Old Man Mu escaped, but he had already guessed that it was Shangguan Fei who cut the rope.
Old Man Mu curled his lip with disapproval. ”You are very bold indeed. Did Supreme King misjudge you? Do you need me to help you plead for leniency? Supreme King still gives me some face, you know?”
hangguan Fei's eyes lit up for a moment before darkening again. He was no longer a child and was well aware that Old Man Mu was just humoring him. Moreover, his father would never give face to others. ”I appreciate your good intentions, Senior. I only want to exchange the Wayless Qigong with you. As for reconciliation with my father, it's better if I handle it myself.”
”Gee, what a good child. If everybody is as reasonable as you, this old man here won't have to spend so much time plotting schemes or conspiracies. Alas, why can't the world be simpler?”
Gu Shenwei was not going to stand here and listen to the two of them exchange hypocritical banter, so he said, ”Old Man Mu, now that you have already found a partner to deal with, do you dare to come out and duel with me?”
”Don't worry, we are not in a hurry.” Old Man Mu said readily, ”It is indeed quite tricky for me to handle the three of you. Don't worry, I will come up with something, it won't take much time. Well, Shangguan Fei, show me the Wayless Qigong, let me see if you have really learned it.”
Wayless Qigong was a set of Internal Strength, and it was hard to display it without the complement of high-level Kung Fu. Both Dragon King and Maid Lotus were able to make full use of the potential of the divine kung fu as they had learned the Death Scripture swordcraft. However, it was somewhat difficult for Shangguan Ru. Instead of the Kung Fu learned from Golden Roc Fort, it was actually the Seven Circles seven apertures Heart Stopping Finger that she learned from Old Man Mu that enabled her to make good use of the potential of the Wayless Qigong. Compared to them, Shangguan Fei fared the worst.
Shangguan Fei thought it over, then he smiled and said, ”The sky is so dark right now. It will be hard to gauge whether or not my Internal Strength is real. Let me recite a paragraph of the manual. You've traveled around and are well-informed. I'm certain you are able to distinguish between real and fake.”
”That's true. Nobody can try to fool me with fake manuals. There is always something in common among the Kung Fu in the world. This old fellow here will be able to tell whether it's good or bad, highly-skilled or not. Recite then, boy.”
Shangguan Fei scanned the three of them and decided that as long as someone started acting suspicious, he would immediately cry for help. Then, he recited a section of words from the Wayless Book. It was not very long, about a hundred words or so.
Shangguan Ru's face turned red. Both Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei exchanged an undecipherable look.
The words that Shangguan Fei had uttered was the last two sections of Chapter Seven, it was accurate and not single word was incorrect.
Old Man Mu's wrinkled brows furrowed as he concentrated on memorizing it, and he repeated it again in a low voice once Shangguan Fei finished reciting. For someone his age, he actually managed to memorize everything perfectly.
Both Shangguan Ru and Maid Lotus looked at Dragon King. This was a good opportunity to attack Old Man Mu.
Gu Shenwei shook his head slowly. There must be a reason for Old Man Mu to choose this place to meet with them. They would only fall into his trap if they acted too rashly.
Old Man Mu pondered about the meaning of the words uttered by Shangguan Fei. Slightly anxious, Shangguan Fei smiled and said, ”Senior, this is part of Chapter Seven of the Wayless Qigong. It is connected to Chapter Eight and it is really accurate.”
The chapters of the Wayless Qigong was directly connected and one would need to possess the previous chapter in order to learn the next chapter. This was why the successor of the Holy King of the Reborn Fort was unable to learn the Kung Fu even after hundreds of years. Both Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus had realized quickly that the scripture was incomplete at first.
”Yes, that's right.” Old Man Mu seemed to believe him, smiling happily.
Suddenly, like a fallen leaf picked up by the strong wind, Old Man Mu got up from the Blessed Child's shoulders and made a few turns before appearing at Shangguan Fei's side within moments. Like a young eagle catching a grown large sheep, he grabbed him by the neck from behind and quickly returned to his original position, setting his prey down by his side.
This was yet another good opportunity to make a move, but Gu Shenwei was still unmoved. He was determined to wait for Old Man Mu to strike first.
Shangguan Fei grew pale and was too frantic to display the Wayless Qigong that he had learned. He shrank involuntarily and said, ”Senior, you...”