868 Another Master (1/2)
Hu Shining had warned them not to enter a prolonged engagement. But in the end, it turned out that they nearly got wrapped up into one anyways.
The spacious King An's mansion suddenly became crowded. Most of the people in it were masked and in black. If someone let his companions out of sight for even an instant, he would be unable to distinguish his companions from his enemies forever after. It seemed as if none of the groups there had thought of putting on some kind of distinguishing mark on their clothes in advance.
If he still had his former strength, Old Man Mu would have been more than willing to venture into the mansion. But now, he strictly followed Hu Shining's ”order” – stand by. If anyone approached him, no matter if they were enemies or friends, he would transfer to another position immediately, always maintaining a safe distance from the battleground.
But Old Man Mu was soon disappointed. This was not the massacre that he had imagined. Although the situation was chaotic, every side had their own targets and killing people was nobody's top priority.
The ten disciples of Waning Moon Hall, who had been the first ones to join the fight, suddenly encountered powerful enemies and their immediate response was to flee. Meanwhile, Han Wuxian was tightly carrying Han Xuan in her arms as her long hair ran past her waist. She stood in the middle of the courtyard and as she watched those on the run, she burst into laughter. However, she didn't pursue them, and was totally indifferent towards those in black who were swarming either before or behind her.
Nobody cared about her either.
Followed by her men, Shangguan Ru went straight to a room on the western part of the mansion and then also carried someone out of it. Covering each other's paths, Shangguan Ru and her men started retreating. That person in her arms screamed, the shrill voice joining Han Wuxian's wild laughter.
It suddenly dawned on Old Man Mu that good girl was here to rescue Shangguan Shaomin.
Another group of Golden Roc killers, sabermen of Heavenly Mountain Sect to be precise, went past Shangguan Ru and pounced onto Tie Linglong and the other five killers of the Dragon King who had just rushed out of a room.
This was one of the few engagements that took place. After a few glances, Old Man Mu immediately realized that something was not right – the Dragon King was not among the common killers under Tie Linglong's command.
Old Man Mu quickly became uninterested. Seeing that Chu Nanping went to help them, he still didn't move. Looking around, he was searching for ”big scenes.” He thought, 'the Dragon King, Lotus and the Unique King are all ruthless people. They should be playing their trump cards and fighting a life-or-death battle.'
But he was disappointed yet again. Shangguan Fei's team entered the mansion but soon turned around and fled without even symbolically engaging the enemies.
Dog Butcher, who had always been the most obedient one, did something that greatly surprised Old Man Mu. He didn't flee or join the fight. Instead, he charged at a room in the eastern part of the mansion, followed by his five killers.
'It's King An who the Dragon King wants!' Old Man Mu was confused and also a little jealous. He had already confessed all his sins to the Dragon King, but the Dragon King still didn't trust him. Instead of him, the Dragon King had assigned the most important task to Dog Butcher, who had been the last one to join the Dragon Army.
After been tightly wrapped up by Han Xuan, King An had become a portable hostage. But Dog Butcher and his team were intercepted by another group of Heavenly Mountain Sect's sabersmen before they could leave.
Old Man Mu watched this fight for a relatively longer time and for a moment, he mistook one of those people for the Dragon King. However, he soon found that the person's kung fu was different from that of the Dragon King. But he was even more surprised at the fact that all Dog Butcher's team members were top-notch kung fu experts, and their kung fu skills were very different from the kung-fu of the Western Regions; they were less aggressive but grander and calmer.
'They're all Central-Plainsmen.' Old Man Mu was completely bewildered and had no idea what the Dragon King's plan was.
Dog Butcher was also perplexed. He had accepted the task, but he didn't know the identities of the members on his team. It was not until the fight started that he found some clues. ”Eek, Taishan Swordsmanship… Qingcheng Sect… Dragon and Tiger Mountain… ”
The five killers on Old Man Mu's team had left him behind and joined the fight. He also leaped down from the rooftop and entered a dark alley. He was still baffled, but he did know one thing for certain – neither the Dragon King nor Lotus would show up, and the fight, which he had expected to be intense and tangled, wouldn't happen either. After thinking for a while, he realized that a man as prudent as the Dragon King would never venture into northern Jade City since he already knew that this operation had been compromised.
Behind him, Han Wuxian's wild laugh abruptly stopped.
'The Dragon King's so cunning,' Old Man Mu thought in both annoyance and admiration. Maneuvering in those alleys, he followed Shangguan Ru and her men through southern Jade City.
It was probably because she had recognized her little aunt, but Shangguan Shaomin had stopped screaming a long time ago.
At the doorway of a dwelling on the riverbank in southern Jade City, Shangguan Ru handed her niece over to some female soldiers of the Land of Fragrance who had been waiting to welcome them. She then ordered all of her subordinates to go inside, turned around to face the position where Old Man Mu was hiding, and then said, ”Come out.”
Old Man Mu cupped his hands before his chest to pay respect to her as he walked forward, the tip of his sword rubbing against the solid ground with ”crash, crash” sounds. ”Good girl, it's good to see you. If I tell you that what I'm feeling right now are the same feelings as that of a young man finally being reunited with his mother after being away from home for many years, you wouldn't be too angry, would you? Because that's exactly what I'm feeling right now.”
Shangguan Ru giggled. ”I don't want to have a son like you. Why did you follow me here? Do you want to take her from me, or… are you sending a message for him?”
Old Man Mu had already walked in front of Shangguan Ru. He widened his eyes in amazement as he exclaimed, ”Taking her from you? Sending a message? What're you talking about? You seem to be under the impression that I'm your enemy. I've never once forgotten that it was you who saved my life several times, and you also spared me once. Previously I couldn't find you. But now that I've found you, I'll surely continue to loyally serve as your subordinate.”
”You're the Dragon King's subordinate. You took an oath in public,” Shangguan Ru corrected.
”Even ten thousand oaths can't compare to my allegiance to you, good girl. You don't have to say anything. As long as you don't object, then I'll shamelessly be here. I would completely disregard even an allegiance to the Jade Emperor, not to mention the Dragon King.”
Shangguan Ru knew very well that Old Man Mu was good at flattering and that his words were not reliable at all. She still smiled happily though, and then she seriously said, ”So you're willing to follow my orders?”
”Sure. If good girl says 'go to hell', then I'll do it without any hesitation. I'll do it with the sword if I have a sword, and I'll bang my head against the wall if I don't have a sword. Even if my hands and leg are tied, I'll hold my breath and suffocate myself.”
”I won't give such a cruel order. I only want you to do one thing – go back and serve the Dragon King loyally, and do whatever you can to keep him safe.”
”Er, of course. I'll follow good girl's every order. But to be honest, the Dragon King's kung fu is far better than mine. I can barely avoid becoming a burden for him. How am I supposed to protect him?”
”He's only one man and he doesn't have three heads or six arms. There must be something you can help him with.”
Old Man Mu threw out his chest, clumsily whipped out his sword, imitated the swordsmen of Big Snow Mountain, and gave a vigorous swing. ”With me as his companion, the Dragon King won't be alone any more. Rest assured, good girl. I can't guarantee that the Dragon King will never get hurt, but if he dies, I'll never see you again alive – don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I'll hide myself from you. I mean that I'll kill myself if he dies.”