742 Fish for Fame (2/2)

”And his brother?” Dog Butcher had been paying great attention to the details of the story.

”Lu Mian and Lu Xinghui…”

”Lu Xinghui's dead,” Gu Shenwei said. He suddenly recalled that swordsman from the Central Plains.

This had taken place before the Tournament of the Royal Court, when Chu Nanping had suddenly comprehended the secret of practicing the Emotionless Swordsmanship. Gu Shenwei had taken him along to the slums in search for a subject to practice their swordsmanship on. The first one was called Gong Ziying, who gave his sword to Chu Nanping as a present before he died and who told him that the name of the other person was ”Gong Xinghui”.

Lu Xinghui's swordsmanship was light and swift. Recalling the scene at that time, Gu Shenwei didn't think there were any similarities between his swordsmanship and that of Lu Mian.

”Dead?” Tu Pianpian was surprised. ”How come? Lu Mian has never mentioned anything that would hint at that.”

”He was using a pseudonym, so Lu Mian probably hasn't heard of it yet.” But Gu Shenwei was actually thinking that it was more likely that Lu Mian was pretending that he didn't know.

Having no interest in the two brothers of the Lu Family, Tu Pianpian shrugged. ”We'll put an end to this at noon tomorrow. Either the Dragon King will hand over the Khan's head, or the people of the Central Plains will give up. I can finally leave this damn place.”

”But if so, wouldn't the head be taken by the Qingcheng Sect?” Dog Butcher thought that his sister had missed an important part.

”Shut up! The Kongtong Sect's plans are none of traitors' business.” Tu Pianpian reprimanded.

After winning the head position, the Qingcheng Sect had to deal with more sect disputes, which was not the part that Gu Shenwei was interested in. ”It seems that Lu Mian's swordsmanship is not from the Qingcheng Sect.”

”Haha!” Tu Pianpian forced out several loud laughs, ”I knew that the Dragon King wanted to know the details of Lu Mian's swordsmanship. Sorry, but I can't tell you.”

Dog Butcher's eyes suddenly lit up. He knew his sister so well that he identified the problem immediately, ”So you failed to comprehend Lu Mian's swordsmanship as well, didn't you?”

”Do you still want to return to Kongdong Mountain? Do you still have the face to kneel in front of the Sect Leader and the Ancestral Master's tablets?”

Dog Butcher bent slightly at the waist and lowered his head after being rebuked. He had lost his momentum and didn't dare to speak anymore, neither truth nor lies.

Gu Shenwei walked out of the tent. The rain had just stopped and the sky was very clear, with shining stars and a bright moon.

Tens of disciples of the Kongtong Sect were standing around randomly. Their eyes were not focused on anything in particular, but their weapons were in their hands.

Further away, 5,000 Norland cavalrymen were preparing for a war. They didn't change their formation because of the heavy rain.

After several miles on their way back, Gu Shenwei said to Long Fanyun, ”You return to the camp first. I have something I need to deal with first. Old Man Mu, come with me.”

Although Long Fanyun was very surprised, he wouldn't question the Dragon King's order. It was Dog Butcher who spoke up first. ”Dragon King, it's late. The kung fu competition is at noon tomorrow. Don't you need some rest?”

Old Man Mu had been yearning to go out for several days and immediately replied, ”Shut up. The Dragon King has his own plans. Mind your own business.”

”I'll catch up.”

”Let me and Fan Yongda come. We can help.” Dog Butcher was eager to go out. After several years of closed-door cultivation, he now longed for an adventurous life in the martial arts world very much.

Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda's kung fu skills were not very compatible with that of the killers of the Western Regions, but the two were familiar enough with the people of the Central Plains and could be helpful, so Gu Shenwei agreed.

Thus, after midnight, the 5,000 Norland cavalrymen returned to camp but the Dragon King and the other three were still in the wilderness.

Fang Wenshi wouldn't sleep that night. After hearing this news, he was very disappointed. He started complaining to himself that the Dragon King was becoming less and less like a commander in chief, and several hours later, these complaints became public.

It was almost noon, and the people of the martial arts world of the Central Plains came to the camp by invitation. But the Dragon King still hadn't appeared.

”A king has to be true to his words. Behind the scenes you can make any plans, but in public you have to be true to your word. The time for the competition is at noon, so it has to be at noon. You can't be even a moment late… Dragon King, where are you?” Fang Wenshi flushed in his anxiety.

Long Fanyun was terrified and held himself accountable for this competition. He straightened up and said, ”Let me do it. After all, they never said that Dragon King had to take part in the competition himself.”

Long Fanyun was a valiant general, but he wasn't good at martial arts competitions. Shangguan Fei was the first to shake his head, but he didn't want to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. ”Mo Lin, your sabersmanship is the best among us, and you've also fought them before.”

”I can do this,” Mo Lin said flatly. ”Against Liu Qingpu, I think that I have a seventy percent chance of winning. As for Lu Mian, less than thirty percent.”

”What should we do?” Fang Wenshi was scratching his ears and cheeks. ”What did I say back then? We shouldn't have agreed to compete. But now that we did, we mustn't lose.”

”Let me have a try.”

There were still several kung fu experts in the camp. Han Wuxian and Shangguan Yun didn't volunteer. Instead, it was Chu Nanping.

Fang Wenshi was greatly confused. Although he knew nothing about kung fu, he had gleaned something from the Dragon King's remarks: this teenage swordsman's kung fu skills had greatly deteriorated and was not as good as before.

”Your sword… didn't it snap?” Fang Wenshi said carefully.

”I have an extra one,” Chu Nanping replied flatly.

Fang Wenshi suddenly noticed that Tie Linglong who had always stood by Chu Nanping's side was not around. He thought to himself, 'It seems like this pair of love birds had a quarrel. I hope that he's not making a joke out of this serious affair of the Dragon King's.'