409 Notorious Reputation (1/2)
In the quiet post station, there was a dead silence almost within reach.
A truly dreadful silence. Gu Shenwei immediately recalled that feeling when he was carrying corpses in Golden Roc Fort.
Maid Lotus was on guard against any possible dangers. She took out a small porcelain bottle, opened the lid and took a sniff. Then she raised it to Gu Shenwei's nose, regardless of whether he was willing or not.
Gu Shenwei took a quick whiff, and the smell of rancid salted fish rushed straight to his head.
Gu Shenwei was amazed at the fact that although Maid Lotus seemed thin, she always carried around with her endless bottles and bags. He also had a deeper understanding of the occult sciences from New Moon Hall.
The two of them did not enter the courier station and quickly retreated. Maid Lotus explained her actions earlier, ”The Undying Corpse Poison is one of the most advanced poisons in New Moon Hall. It spreads through the corpse and the toxicity will only become stronger. There is an antidote, but it is rare.”
”Won't it be endless if it continues to spread like this; until everything is wiped out,” Gu Shenwei inquired, slightly shocked.
”The Undying Corpse Poison also has its shortcomings: It can be countered with fire,” Maid Lotus admitted.
It was not long before the courier station was ablaze and the poison removed before it began to spread.
The fire grew more fierce, but nobody from the town cried for help. Gu Shenwei and Maid Lotus checked the households one by one and realized that the town had already been abandoned. Hundreds of families seemed to have moved away overnight, and they were very hasty in doing so, as apparent by the many heavy belongings left behind.
It was already light outside when the two of them left the town. They headed toward the capital of the An Kingdom, but could only walk slowly, as their horses were too fatigued.
Gu Shenwei suddenly remembered something. ”If the whole town had fled, then where did the corpse in the station came from,” he asked.
Maid Lotus seemed reluctant to answer this question at first, but she remembered that she had promised to tell Dragon King everything about New Moon Hall, so she said, ”It is very difficult to prepare the Undying Corpse Poison. A person must sacrifice themselves. That person must consume various poisons for many years, before committing suicide at the right time and place. The sacrifice must be voluntary; only then will they have the determination and willpower to consume all those poisons without being frightened to death.”
Gu Shenwei did not speak for a while. The more he knew about New Moon Hall, the more he thought it was evil. ”No wonder all the newcomers became insane. Normal people would not be able to remain inside, however—”
Maid Lotus did not seem to have changed at all, except for the occasional imposing demeanor, she was still the same as before: cold and restrained just like a few years ago, not a sign of madness was evident.
”To even use such a rare poison just to get rid of you, they spared no effort indeed,” said Maid Lotus.
”Or perhaps they only used this as a last resort? They knew that I was very familiar with the Undying Corpse Poison, but they still used this approach, which yielded no result,” she added.
The two of them spent the rest of the time focused on the journey ahead. Maid Lotus did not look thoughtful at all. However, around noon, she actually took the initiative and brought up a topic which might have seemed a bit abrupt. It also helped to clarify some doubts in Gu Shenwei's mind.
”Our opinions were divided on the matter,” Maid Lotus spoke. ”The secret techniques of the New Moon Hall are certainly unique, but it is easy for them to provoke hatred. Just like the Undying Corpse Poison, although the poison itself is powerful and may even wipe out a whole nation, once it spreads and people know that it comes from New Moon Hall, everybody will be deterred by the danger and will surely come together to attack us. New Moon Hall definitely won't be able to survive. The agreement of the Four Truths Temple back in those days was reasonable.”
Many years ago, due to pressure from all sides, Golden Roc Fort and New Moon Hall signed a truce at the Four Truths Temple. Golden Roc Fort would have to give up on using occult sciences and could occupy the Stone Castle, while New Moon Hall retained their occult sciences but had to retreat into the desert.
In contrast, Golden Roc Fort was only good at assassination, and this was much more easily accepted by the world.
”Master understands this as well, that was why she was trying all sorts of ways to strengthen our sect's Kung Fu and lessen the reliance on the occult sciences. ” She continued about why New Moon Hall was so adamant in getting the Wayless Book, and why she cooperated with Old Man Mu.
”I shared the same sentiment as Master, but there are still many disciples who insisted that the occult sciences remain as the essence of the sect and Kung Fu is non-essential.”
Maid Lotus was trained by Golden Roc Fort and naturally did not like the occult sciences very much. The reason why she did not become mad was that she never involved herself too deeply in the evil crafts. Gu Shenwei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
”Guan Shang has excellent Kung Fu, but even she is on the traitors' side,” Gu Shenwei said. He could still not understand.
Maid Lotus snorted with disdain, she had always been wary of Guan Shang. ”The words of the high priest in the Land of Fragrance were somewhat reliable, to say the least. New Moon Hall and Golden Roc Fort were one family, originally. Although the emphasis was different, there was always something in common. I believe Guan Shang went insane from the training to be a black-masked assassin. She was infatuated with the secret techniques of the New Moon Hall, despite knowing very little about them. She just didn't dare be too obvious about it when I was around.”
Gu Shenwei was hesitant — Ever since Maid Lotus represented New Moon Hall and proposed to cooperate with the Great Snowmountain, he had in mind a question that he been wanting to ask — and this was a good time to inquire. ”What is Master Han's main purpose in revamping New Moon Hall? Surely it was not only to recapture Golden Roc Fort and avenge these several generations,” he asked.
Maid Lotus looked down and did not speak. She deliberated as to which side she would be loyal. Gu Shenwei did not pressure her to answer. The two of them walked in silence for a while before Maid Lotus said, ”Master's ambitions are the same as that of Supreme King. Perhaps they might not be as big as Supreme King's, but she is interested in the whole of Jade City.”