545 The Death of King Rizhus Son (1/2)

After remembering the scene when he had met Gu Shenwei in Tongtian Pass, Shangguan Nu connected that he was the little slave who had caused him to get his hand chopped off.

”He said that he was the son of Yang Zheng, the servant of the Gu family. But I'm sure that he's not the son of a servant,” Shangguan Nu had reported to King Rizhu after he had fled to Norland.

”At that time, he was already the Dragon King,” replied King Rizhu.

”No, he hasn't changed. When he first the joined the Golden Roc Fort, he pretended to be obedient, but his eyes and actions were suspicious. I should have suspected him at the time. But I never thought...” Shangguan Nu trailed off.

”There were so many things that you missed,” King Rizhu responded in disdain and thought to himself, ”A man's first betrayal can be forgiven. But if he betrays over and over again, then he is a man without honor. Shangguan Nu is an underdog. He is an almost useless man, so he does not deserve my respect.”

King Rizhu could not make his conclusion based only upon a traitor's words. Therefore, he decided to meet the Dragon King first to figure out whether or not he was Gu Lun's son. Everything went as expected, except that the Dragon King had stolen his Flame Foal. He had no other choice but to get straight to the point.

He was really fond of that horse.

”What do you want, to avenge your family or to dominate the Western Region?” he had asked Gu Shenwei.

King Rizhu asked bluntly, as he was tired of talking in circles. Gu Shenwei was overwhelmed by his anger and hatred, which made it difficult for him to focus on King Rizhu's question.

His inner hatred had never lessened. He had been forcing himself to oppress it all this time, but every once in awhile, he would be overpowered by it, like now. Killing the Lord of Norland became an irresistible temptation for him. He even imagined the ecstatic scene after he killed his foe. A voice deep inside of him kept urging him to take revenge now.

”Give me his skull,” Gu Shenwei said calmly, without a shiver in his voice. At last, he had overcome the temptation of hatred. After a fierce battle in his mind, he was exhausted, as if he had just fought ten top masters, one after the other.

The Dragon King's emotions had softened, and King Rizhu noticed. He regarded it as a good opportunity to make peace with the Dragon King. He replied, ”Of course, I will. It is useless to me now. I take no pleasure in torturing a dead man.”

”So you did not hire the Golden Roc Fort?” Gu Shenwei asked.

”Believe it or not, I did not kill him. I did intend to kill Gu Lun and even worked out a plan, but the Golden Roc Fort took actions before I did. They did not kill your family for revenge. Avengers want to watch their foes die slowly, and they enjoy torturing them as they die. However, paid killers only care about the results instead of process.”

Although Gu Shenwei was an avenger, he only cared about results. Even so, King Rizhu's words made sense. After all, most common avengers had the same thoughts as King Rizhu, but killers were an exception.

impleminded as King Rizhu looked, he was actually better at leading a person's thoughts than the cunning Wei Song. He had never mentioned the Central Plain, but he still managed to attribute Gu Lun's death to the people there. Apart from King Rizhu, the Minister of the Central Plain (who'd had conflicts of interest with Gu Lun) was also a suspect in his death.

”Wasn't Wei Song's son involved in that assassination?” King Rizhu suggested, as he had heard this from Shangguan Nu. He did not give any more hints, though, leaving the rest for the Dragon King to consider.

”How did Gu Lun, my father... kill your son?” asked Gu Shenwei.

According to the well-known story, the Imperial Guard from the Central Plain had assassinated King Rizhu's son as ruthless assassins were known to do. But Gu Shenwei could hardly believe this. He remembered his father as an honorable man confident in his martial arts skills, who would never resort to an assassination.

King Rizhu hated Gu Lun. When he reflected upon his son's death, his rage overcame him. However, he quickly composed himself. He lowered his head, lost in thought. After awhile, he began to tell what he knew.

”I know what others say happened. Out of their respect to me, many witnesses claimed that Gu Lun led a raid to kill my son. But in fact— ” King Rizhu sighed with a pause, as if he was unwilling to continue. ”Those rumors are not true. My son was an excellent rider and archer, but he was not a good swordsman. If a man wanted to kill my son, he would not need a sneak attack.”

Belittling his dead son and defending his foe was against King Rizhu's conscience. He took the wine bottle with his hands, poured a bowl of wine for himself, and then swallowed the wine in one gulp. Then, he proceeded to tell his story in a more emotionless manner, as if it didn't involve him at all.

The rumor was that the incident was caused by a woman, who had almost married King Rizhu's son. However, King Rizhu's story was different from that rumor. According to him, the Seventh Prince of the Central Plain had never even dated her. He was a Prince who had been held hostage for years in Norland. Aware of his status there, he always kept a low profile and never made any trouble. It was impossible for him to provoke a Prince in Norland.

King Rizhu had investigated their relationship. It turned out that his future daughter-in-law was a virgin, and had never even met the Seventh Prince.

So, he had to admit that his son was the instigator of the whole thing.

Like most men in Norland, King Rizhu's son loved bragging after drinking. That day, he had been overly excited and loud. After talking about war and horses, he led the conversation to his fiancée. He praised her beauty, and then declared that he had slept with her sister and personal maid.

”Women in her family are as tough as mares. Common men cannot satisfy their needs in bed,” he'd said.

It was still a mystery why King Rizhu's son had publically humiliated his fiancée's family. Perhaps he had lied because he had drank too much, which was common among young men in Norland. Some of them even bragged that they had sex with their father's favorite concubine just to show off their sexual prowess.