425 Tricked (1/2)

As Gu Shenwei had expected, even after he issued a gag order, news that he was attacked in the palace spread quickly throughout the capital and into the military camp.

The Great Snowmountain army had already taken measures to prevent sneak attacks by the Golden Roc killers, and Gu Shenwei introduced even more security measures on top of these: Firstly, he restricted civilians from coming within five kilometers of the military camp. He also sent his cavalry to trample a special passageway between the camp and the capital city of the Stone Kingdom. In addition, unauthorized personnel were restricted from using it.

In the course of these measures, Gu Shenwei summoned the Shangguan brothers for a meeting.

Shangguan Hong and Shangguan Fei felt anxious and afraid as they were 'escorted' to meet the Dragon King by a few swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain. The path they took was windy, and they felt as if they were walking into a labyrinth. They were even blindfolded for the final stage of their journey.

The location of the Dragon King's quarters was now kept secret, and only a select few knew where to find him. That said, even such a privilege was temporary, as it was very likely that they would not find the Dragon King at the same location as before.

Shangguan Fei reminded himself silently, ”You know Wayless Qigong, the divine Kung Fu. Defeating these swordsmen would be easy.”

With this in mind, he kept himself ready all along the way but did not strike. As such, when he walked into the Dragon King's tent, his arms were all stiff and aching from tensing up.

Shangguan Hong fared worse than his brother. He was even more afraid; so much so that he did not even have the strength to escape, and could only bite the bullet. Upon meeting the Dragon King, he gave a deep bow in adulation, before realizing that it was out of character. He knew that the sudden change of habit was akin to admitting his mistake, and with this thought, he turned pale. He had prepared something to tell the Dragon King beforehand but now remained silent.

Gu Shenwei reinstated the old ban and no one could come within five steps of him. Outside of this five-step radius stood all of his guards, and they consisted of layer upon layer of swordsmen, machetemen, savages, and slaves. There were so many of them that there was nearly no space for anyone else to stand in the tent.

The two brothers walked in unison along the narrow passage toward the Dragon King and were intercepted once they were within 10 steps of him.

Gu Shenwei's killer temperament miraculously disappeared. He was now the Dragon King and of higher stature than everyone; only the weapons hanging from his waist symbolized the source of his authority.

”You two have nothing to be afraid of,” said Gu Shenwei. His tone was cold, which made the brothers even more afraid.

”It's great to see that you're unharmed, Dragon King,” Shangguan Fei said, beating his brother to be the first to speak.

”Your Kung Fu is superior, and there's no match for you out there. How could a few... lowly... Golden Roc killers... harm you?” Shangguan Hong said. He was a little unused to belittling his own killers.

Gu Shenwei did not react to their crude flattery and nodded to his guards. They began to snake out of his tent, beginning from the slaves at the outermost ring.

As space in the tent gradually increased, so did the anxiety of the two brothers. When the last swordsman closed the flaps of the tent, Shangguan Fei said, ”If you kill me, Dragon King, my sister--”

He stopped himself mid-sentence. It was the same sister who had heartlessly refused to let him remain in the Land of Fragrance and left him to the fearsome Dragon King; it was her who caused him to feel afraid constantly.

Shangguan Hong was obviously feeling more guilty. He swallowed his saliva and hurriedly began explaining, ”Dragon King, it's not me who leaked the secret. I've your best interest at heart and Xu Yanwei can vouch for me. I'm absolutely loyal to you.”

Shangguan Fei was stunned for a while upon hearing Xu Yanwei's name but he quickly realized the implications behind his sibling's statement. ”The Dragon King was attacked in the royal palace and hasn't that bitch always resided there?” he thought. He felt more relaxed once he was certain that he had nothing to do with the incident. As for Shangguan Hong, his so-called 'elder brother,' he now saw him as an enemy.

”She's not a bad hooker. She'll do anything for money,” Shangguan Fei added in without prompting.

Shangguan Hong glared at Shangguan Fei harshly as his mind spun faster than usual. He immediately shouted, ”I don't have any money, our relationship is--”

He had no way to accurately describe their relationship. Xu Yanwei used to be a sex worker and specialized in pleasing her customers, but now, Shangguan Hong was the one who tried to please her; there was no proper way for him to explain that.

As Gu Shenwei looked at the two brothers go, he reminded himself that he had to step up his own performance a notch. As such, he swept his gaze across their faces back and forth until they were blue in the face and said, ”There's no need to explain further. I trust you two. Those killers were planted in the palace years ago and have nothing to do with you.”

The two brothers heaved a sigh of relief.

”I've summoned the both of you because you two are also in danger,” the Dragon King revealed.

”Us?” the two of them asked at the same time.

”Well, the decisive battle between the Golden Roc Fort and the Great Snowmountain is at hand and according to tradition, killers are always sent to wreak chaos in the enemy camp. The first target will naturally be me. As for their other targets, I'm sure the two of you are among them.”

”Father... his Lord... the Supreme King will not be so ruthless, right?” Shangguan Fei cried as he asked. It was a rhetorical question; he was absolutely clear that his father was even more ruthless than that.

”We helped the Dragon King rescue the army of the Great Snowmountain; Shangguan Fa will never forgive us for that,” added Shangguan Hong. He did not have a strong impression of his father and therefore it was natural that he did not have many feelings for him. ”Therefore we are strongly bound to you, Dragon King. The others may betray you, but we definitely will not.”

Gu Shenwei nodded, signifying that he agreed with Shangguan Hong's opinion, ”Originally, I wanted to keep both of you by my side, but I've too many matters to attend to and I'm unable to constantly look out for you two,” he said.

”We can take care of ourselves,” Shangguan Hong was the first to reply. ”We are eternally grateful for you to even consider it, Dragon King.”

”Since both of you have turned to me, I will naturally have to ensure your safety. If not, wouldn't I become a laughing stock and cause my soldiers to be terribly disappointed?”

Shangguan Fei could sense that the Dragon King had something to tell them and immediately continued the conversation along this train of thought. ”Yes, yes, not only does this concern our lives, but it also affects your reputation, Dragon King. Tell us, esteemed Dragon King, what would you have us do?”