500 Rendezvous (2/2)

Maid Lotus felt much better. She stood up and pointed to Han Fen, saying, ”I knew she would, but I didn't expect you to come, too.”

Han Xuan looked doubtfully between the two, vaguely realizing she had been fooled.

Han Fen was embarrassed. She said, ”I didn't mean to fool you. The Managing Master asked me to sneak back to the barracks. I couldn't tell you in advance.”

Han Xuan kept silent with anger. When she persuaded Han Fen to make the move, Han Fen pretended to be unwilling. It turned out they had planned this beforehand.

”She trusts you, otherwise she wouldn't have let you come here with her.” Maid Lotus said patiently, knowing Han Xuan had close ties with her sect.

”I led her here.” Han Xuan corrected, feeling better.

Maid Lotus originally arranged one disciple of the New Moon Hall to stay with her. However, she still felt insecure, and so she ordered Han Xuan to return secretly. At that time, she did not have a clear target of suspicion. She only meant to make the defense measures tighter.

She had learned a lesson early in her life that a helper hiding in the dark was ten times more useful than the one standing in the light. She had been following this principle all her life.

This principle was proven to be true yet again. The disciple whom Maid Lotus had originally chosen died protecting her during the attack.

Han Fen claimed that she knew the Managing Master would be disguised as a corpse. Actually she exaggerated a little. The fact was that she and Han Xuan were in the barracks for more than half a day, and were planning to rescue Maid Lotus at nightfall. She did not realize Maid Lotus's plan until she heard that the captive had killed three people and fled.

Han Fen was not clever enough to make such a speculation. Her reaction was just her instinct based on the long-term training of her sect.

”Where are we going next?” Han Xuan asked the Managing Master about her plan, unaware of the rules of the New Moon Hall.

”We are going to find the Dragon King. You can go back to your Lady,” answered Maid Lotus.

Han Xuan hesitated. She did miss her Lady, but she also wanted to go on adventures with the disciples of the New Moon Hall. Finally, she shook her head hard and said, ”Well, the Lady has military protection. You two are too rash. Someone must take care of you. I'll go with you.”

Maid Lotus was amused by the way Han Xuan accused others of being reckless. Still, she was hoping that Han Xuan would stay with them. Both she and Han Fen were not familiar with Wushan, so they needed a guide.

Maid Lotus did not know that Gu Shenwei had entered the mountain secretly. They traveled day and night unceasingly, hoping to meet him at Gulping Wind Gorge to tell him about Shangguan Yun's plot.

Every once in a while, they would hear information from places that were habitated. They learned that the Dragon Army had lost the first battle and were retreating from the second battle. They also heard that the Dragon Army was making a great effort to retain the third line of defense, and the final decisive battle was just around the corner.

Then news came that the Dragon King had left the army and gone away alone. Although the rumors were that the Dragon King was staying in the capital of the An Kingdom, Maid Lotus knew for sure that he had really entered the mountain.

The Dragon King had walked into the trap, just as Shangguan Yun had planned.

Maid Lotus, with her party, ran into a group of three people in a small village.

Both groups were disguised. Without special attention, they would not recognize each other, even if they walked shoulder to shoulder. However, Shangguan Fei revealed himself by making an involuntary noise.

Shangguan Fei, Long Fanyun and Chu Nanping had passed Gulping Wind Gorge less than two days prior. Ever since they had entered the mountain, Shangguan Fei had been highly alert, constantly reminding the other two to keep low profiles and not reveal themselves. He warned, ”My third brother, Shangguan Yun, is no ordinary person. He is sinister, vicious and ruthless. If he finds out, he will not spare us, even though I am his biological brother.”

It was Shangguan Fei who exposed his identity after warning the others to be quiet.

They were sitting in the tea shed when they saw three ordinary-looking tribal women coming in. Shangguan Fei felt something was wrong and looked them over a few more times. All of a sudden, he realized that one of them looked like Maid Lotus, and he couldn't help crying out loud.

He had suffered a lot when Maid Lotus forced him to practice skills. Like a mouse meeting a cat, he sensed danger when she was close.

Maid Lotus came into the tea shed to get some water and ask for information.

The hostility was immediately eliminated after they recognized each other. Maid Lotus and Long Fanyun whispered almost at the same time, ”Where is he?”

They said ”he” instead of ”the Dragon King”, because there were other guests in the tea shed.

Although knowing that Maid Lotus would not force him to practice the skills at the moment, Shangguan Fei still hid behind Long Fanyun and said, with his head poking out, ”He must have entered the mountain to look for the mole. As long as we can find the mole, we can find the Dragon King. However, the mole may have been fabricated by Shangguan Yun, but as long as the Dragon King believes it, the mole is...”

A look from Maid Lotus worked better than a sword drawn by Long Fanyun. Shangguan Fei immediately shut up and felt once again that it was a good thing to have a man with wide shoulders and a thick back standing in front of him.

Of everyone there, only Chu Nanping had met with the Dragon King recently, but he could not provide any clues as to his whereabouts.

”We should go to Tuo Nengya's camp to look for him first,” Long Fanyun said, looking somber when mentioning Tuo Nengya. The news of the assassination of the old macheteman had been widely spread. All of the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain had great respect for him. When they heard about his death, they were sad.

Maid Lotus shook her head. Most people would guess that the Dragon King had entered the mountain to take over the army. However, she did not believe that the Dragon King would be fooled so easily.

Where the hell was the Dragon King?

Shangguan Yun had the same question. The trap was set, but the prey was nowhere to be found. He doubted his plan for the first time.