713 Borrowing an Army (1/2)
Gu Shenwei was full of doubts but he could only work through them one by one.
The two sides had already agreed to a ceasefire by the time Shangguan Ru and others came back. As soon as he could, Gu Shenwei summoned Silver Condor to talk to him privately. Because of the 'decree of Heaven' from the Great Shaman, the head in his hand was becoming more and more important.
As a sign of trust, Gu Shenwei gave the last remaining Indra Fragrance antidote to the other side first.
Silver Condor accepted the pill but didn't take it straight away. ”When I entered the tent, the five maids were still alive, and said something strange, but it didn't matter. Their smiles… were just like that of the disciple from the Waning Moon Hall.”
The five slave girls of the Khan had been trained by Han Fen, so they were bound to take on some of her habits. Silver Condor, therefore, was sure that the murderer was not the Dragon King.
”So you were interested in the Waning Moon Hall even before all this?” asked Gu Shenwei.
Silver Condor nodded and said, ”It wasn't the Waning Moon Hall that first caught my attention but rather King Shengri who rose up quickly compared to the rest of the ten kings and benefited a great deal from the death of the Khan. And many masters around the Khan also ended up joining his side. I never expected…”
Silver Condor had never expected that there would so many disciples of the Waning Moon Hall acting as guards and that their means would be so extraordinary.
”But I still do not understand.” Silver Condor thought that he had explained it clearly so he moved onto the next topic. ”What's your real relationship with the Waning Moon Hall and that woman Han Fen?”
”We used to be partners, but then we became enemies. Two years ago, we became allies again, but that broke yet again on the night the Khan was killed.” Gu Shenwei's answer was short and vague but succinctly explained the whole process.
The expressionless Silver Condor suddenly revealed a smile. ”The Dragon King seems to be particularly casual in the matters of establishing alliances.”
”Hmm, my general rule is that whoever comes will be welcome. Just a few tents away resides Shangguan Yun, the son of the Unique King; we've formed a temporary alliance.”
”The Khan would never have done something like that. He detested flip floppers, though he seemed to appreciate the Dragon King very much.”
”The main difference between the Khan and me is the same as that of innate power and the power gained through fights.”
Silver Condor pondered the words of the Dragon King for a moment before looking up and saying, ”So you are even willing to ally with your foes as long as you two share some purpose?”
”Please do not take me as a casual person who's always willing to show mercy to his enemies just because of common benefits. But for you, that is true.”
As he looked at the pill in his hand, Silver Condor sighed and said, ”Sparing me three times. You have done so. My only purpose left is to find the real culprit and avenge the Khan. I owe him this.”
Silver Condor swallowed the antidote and continued, ”My name is Mo Lin; it is my previous name and future name as well. I need a saber and —” Mo Lin, who had reverted back to his real name, took a breath and said, ”Some rough straw paper.”
His internal energy was not fully restored yet, but Mo Lin bore the churning pain in his stomach and stepped out elegantly from the tent.
Fang Wenshi rushed in. He thought that he would be the first to be summoned and couldn't help but be a bit jealous of the wing guard. ”Is he willing to hand over the Khan's head now?”
”We haven't talked about it yet, but before we find out the truth behind the 'Devil Bird,' there's no need to rush in searching for the head.”
Fang Wenshi shook his head but it actually meant he agreed with the Dragon King. The reason why the Dragon King had summoned him was not to comment on the wing guard, so he immediately began to explain, ”Please forgive me for acting on my own, Dragon King.”
”By uniting the three armies into one, you've already made amends for it.”
”Hehe, many thanks for the Dragon King's magnanimousness. I'm not interested in gaining merit, but only in avoiding mistakes. Well, the person who did most of the work was actually Queen Ju.”
This answer was really out of Gu Shenwei's expectation. Queen Ju had no foundation in the Norland, so where did she find the ability to unite the three armed forces?”
Fang Wenshi misinterpreted the Dragon King's expression and hurriedly added, ”I never met with the Queen from beginning to end; it was all Xu Yanwei who passed her words along.”
”Hmm, tell me about it.”
After the Dragon King left the camp yesterday evening, Fang Wenshi had carefully thought about the current situation and concluded that the 10,000 horsemen of the Second Consort were the key to solving all their problems. The main issue was that gaining the trust of that clever woman was an insurmountable obstacle.
The Second Consort was indeed very clever. In her mind, her status depended on only three factors: The Khan, the 10,000 horsemen, and Prince Duodun.
The Khan was dead, and Prince Duodun was far away in the Western Regions. As a woman, she had to hold fast to her army if she wanted to retain a foothold in the Royal Court and keep herself safe.
She trusted the Dragon King, but not to the point of surrendering everything.
Fang Wenshi had then come up with a bold idea. After he returned to the Dragon Army camp, he sent someone to invite Xu Yanwei to talk.
Xu Yanwei reluctantly came to see him after being persistently invited three times in a row, and the first thing she said after entering was, ”Do not play tricks with me. This Old Biddy here cares about people more than money now. Look at you, is the food on the prairie so good?”
”When did you become an 'Old Biddy?'” Fang Wenshi asked in surprise. The two had had a short relationship before, and he had to admit that he really was not as handsome as before.
”Alas, I'm really exhausted by the Dragon King's women. You don't know how hard they fought in prison. I'm basically an 'Old Biddy' of the Dragon King's now.”
Fang Wenshi smilingly shook his head and explained his plan.