586 Bribe (1/2)

This was an assassination, neat and clean. After some careful investigation, Gu Shenwei had a rough picture of what had happened.

There were four main killers, perhaps with another one or two men waiting outside as lookouts, but the ones that did the deed were those four.

From behind the tent, the first killer shot a flying dagger which was collected and taken away later, leaving an indistinct crack. The people in the tent were startled and immediately understood that something was wrong.

Senior Shou was a man of much worldly wisdom but he was the first to panic in the face of death. He had slipped and left clear boot prints on the ground when he desperately ran to the door.

The second killer was already waiting at the door. Instead of slashing at the target as usual, the attacker simply stabbed at Senior Shou's heart and finished him off in only a moment. The cut was very deep, almost piercing his chest, but the wound was very small, indicating that the killer was ruthless and swift.

Senior Shou had then fallen to the ground without a sound. Half of his body was already outside the tent. He was later dragged back inside.

The saberman Bo Sang had been practicing drawing his saber quickly these days, so when the enemy appeared, he immediately unsheathed his blade and held it fast in his hand, and didn't let it go even after he was dead. But he had been confused by the hidden weapon flying in from behind the tent. Not knowing which direction the next attack would come from, he had hesitated, and shifted the center of gravity of his left foot once, leaving a deep footprint.

It was probably at the time when Senior Shou was cut that Bo Sang realized the intruder's identity. He had immediately made the right decision and ran to the hostage, trying to silence him.

The third killer had already burst into the tent at that moment and attacked without hesitation, making a long cut in Bo Sang's back.

Bo Sang fell but did not die at once. He turned over but just received another stab in the heart.

Kuo Zhen must have been overjoyed. He had suffered a lot these days and was already very weak. At the sight of the rescuers, he immediately burst out with strength and writhed with all his might, moaning with his gagged mouth to show that he was still alive. He would never have imagined that the purpose of these people, like Bo Sang, was to silence him.

The fourth killer came in, whose existence Gu Shenwei wasn't even sure of. Because the killers had left almost no footprints, the fourth person might not have existed and the one acting might still be the first two killers.

Gu Shenwei felt that if he had been the playmaker, there would have definitely been a fourth person to ensure the assassination process was swift and smooth.

Either way, this person walked up to Kuo Zhen and stabbed him in the throat.

Kuo Zhen had died instantly.

Next, the killers methodically vandalized the corpses, especially those of Senior Shou and Kuo Zhen, who was destroyed beyond recognition to create the illusion of fulfilling a vendetta.

”This is Kuo Zhen?” King Rizhu frowned. He was very familiar with his nephew, but he couldn't even recognize him now.

Gu Shenwei nodded.

”Maybe it's not the real Kuo Zhen.” King Rizhu still couldn't believe that King Kuari was so ruthless to even kill his own brother.

”It must be him. Look at the color of the rope on the corpse, it's the same as that of the ground. And these marks show that he was lying there for a while before the killers arrived.”

”Are the killers from Golden Roc Castle?”

”No, it might have been Golden Roc Castle who made the plan, but it wasn't them who carried it out.” Gu Shenwei recognized the familiar process but the saber wound on the corpses didn't look like a Golden Roc killer's style.

”When did it happen?”

”Probably this morning. I guess it was about six or eight hours ago.”

That was exactly the time when King Kuari had stopped the Dragon King and invited him to renegotiate in the small tent.

Gu Shenwei finally realized what a mistake he had made.

The enemy's strategy had been to isolate and drive the Dragon King away all this time. Except for bluffing tentative attacks, the enemy rarely launched a frontal attack. Gu Shenwei, therefore, unconsciously lowered his vigilance and had become slack, and King Kuari's offer to renegotiate also made him think that he still had some time.

He had guessed Bo Sang and others were in danger, but in order to prevent the enemy from following him to find them, he had not informed them, but revealed the information to King Rizhu, hoping that he could protect the three.

But King Kuari was more decisive than he had imagined.

”We are a bit late.” King Rizhu sighed with a bit of complaint. ”You should have told me earlier.”

Too many things had happened that 'should' not have, but King Rizhu had also concealed information, so how could Gu Shenwei believe him easily?

”We're in the same boat now, so we'd better be honest to each other.” King Rizhu quickly stopped blaming the Dragon King who he still needed to rely on. ”King Kuari has killed Kuo Zhen, so it means that he's probably thought of other ways to mobilize his troops. I can't delay any longer, so give me … lend me the Flame Foal. King Kuari has soldiers, but so do I.”

Gu Shenwei didn't answer right away. What he was thinking about now were the other three people. Bo Sang had exposed himself; how long could Lotus hide?

”I want to see the Second Consort.”

A gleam of anger flashed on King Rizhu's face. He knew it was a mistake to have let the two meet. ”Does the Dragon King think that I can't decide?”

”You can decide the arrangement of the meeting,” insisted Gu Shenwei. ”I hope that King Rizhu will be present, so that we can be 'frank and above-board'.”

”You're just wasting time.” King Rizhu suppressed his anger. ”The enemy is on the move, and we are still going to have a meeting?”

”This is very important.”