879 Pawns (1/2)

Tu Pianpian's face was full of hostility. Dog Butcher was at a loss for what to do. One of the preconditions of his serving the Dragon King was that he would never make an enemy of the Central Plains. As the Governor of the Western Regions, Wei Song was a representative of the Central Plains.

”Are you joking with me and my elder brother?” Tu Pianpian asked coldly, considering what her first move should be. She believed that the Dragon King was best at winning fights with extremely risky moves, and that his actual kung fu skills were definitely not as good as that of the two elders of the Kongdong Sect.

Facing imminent hostility, Gu Shenwei didn't immediately make a response. When he did, his voice as bland as usual. ”I don't like making jokes. I just want to know whether the Kongtong Sect is loyal to Wei Song or the Central Plains.”

”It's not about who we're loyal to… ”Tu Pianpian suddenly realized that she had been misled. ”Lord Wei is the Governor of the Western Regions who has been appointed by the emperor. Protecting Lord Wei is synonymous with protecting the Central Plains. Don't try to drive a wedge between us, Dragon King.”

Gu Shenwei nodded approvingly. ”You're right. Wei Song should indeed represent the interests of the Central Plains. But if he's been secretly ruining the emperor's strategies in the Western Regions, then what would you call his deeds?”

Tu Pianpian stared at the Dragon King. Suddenly, she turned and faced her younger brother, asking angrily, ”What do you know about this?”

Dog Butcher spread out his hands in amazement. ”The Dragon King sent me to invite you here. I don't know anything else.”

”Idiot. You've been hanging around the Dragon King but you can't even get a scrap of intelligence. Is this how you wander in Jianghu?”

Dog Butcher's face flushed scarlet. He didn't dare argue with his elder sister, so he lowered his head, mumbling, ”But you never asked me to be a mole…”

Tu Pianpian put her crutch down, the hostility on her face slightly dissipating. ”I believe that you're not a liar, Dragon King, but not all people of the Kongtong Sect are fools. You said that Lord Wei secretly betrayed the Central Plains. Show me some proof.”

”I have proof, but first I want to ask – what do you think of the battle of Thousand Horsemen Pass?”

This was an ambiguous question, but Tu Pianpian instantly understood the connotations because this was not the first time that she had been asked about this issue. ”I'm not a henchman of Prince Xiao's, and I know nothing about his true thoughts. Since Prince Xiao said that the army of the Central Plains was just a bait and that the purpose was to breach the defensive line of Luoluo's army so that Dragon King could rush into the enemies, then I naturally believe him. Prince Xiao is the emperor's uncle, and he would never lie to the emperor.”

”Wei Song is also very interested in the battle of Thousand Horsemen Pass, isn't he? Has he asked you a lot of questions about the 'truth'?”

Tu Pianpian didn't answer. She didn't like the Dragon King's gaze and tone since they gave her the strange feeling that he was able to read her mind. But she also couldn't deny that his guess was very accurate. Wei Song had indeed asked her, and he almost explicitly said that the victory in Thousand Horsemen Pass was actually a lie.

Tu Pianpian had been in the battle herself and she remember every scene vividly. During the battle, Prince Xiao had desperately wanted to break through the encirclement of Norland cavalry forces, and he wasn't composed at all. Afterwards, when she, on behalf of Prince Xiao, had requested the Dragon King not to attack Thousand Horsemen Pass, the Dragon King had behaved extremely flatly, as if he didn't care about Prince Xiao at all.

She had told all this to Wei Song, but the other side of this issue was that neither Prince Xiao nor the Dragon King believed her, and eventually, it was only because of Luo Ningcha that the agreement had been reached. As a result, everything that had happened previously could only be explained by the words ”a show.”

Wei Song had asked her to offer some solid proof, but Tu Pianpian didn't have any. Then Wei Song hoped that she could offer her life as a guarantee and testify that the victory in the Thousand Horsemen Pass was a lie, Tu Pianpian declined. It was not because she was afraid of death but rather because the war was indeed beyond her expectations. It was like a plan that had been formulated in advance: the Dragon King led his army and circled around Luoluo's army. Then, Prince Xiao broke through the encirclement and destabilized the left wing of Luoluo's army, which was why the Dragon King had found a chance to rush into the enemies and secure victory.

Seeing that his elder sister was silent for so long, Dog Butcher began to admire the Dragon King again, but he also had a lot of questions. ”Why does Lord Wei suspect Prince Xiao?”

”Because of the partisan wrangle. Wei Song wants to bring down Prince Xiao and then ask for a reward in front of General-in-chief Pang Ning.”

Dog Butcher and his sister didn't know much about the disputes of the Imperial Court, but they had indeed heard some rumors. They just didn't know that the Kongtong Sect's benefactor, Wei Song, was also a part of them.

”Even so, there's no need to kill Lord Wei. The disputes in the Imperial Court should be resolved by the Imperial Court. Why do you have to be a busybody?” Tu Pianpian had actually been convinced, though she hadn't realized it yet.

”Wei Song wants to kill me, so I have to make the first move.”

”Lord Wei wants to kill Dragon King?” Dog Butcher was so startled that it seemed like his gray hair was about to fly off. ”But he doesn't seem like that kind of person.”

”People always first confuse their targets before killing them.” The flatter Gu Shenwei's tone was, the more Wei Song's conspiracy sounded real. ”Wei Song's plan is something like this: he wants to kill me with the help of Golden Roc Castle so as to trigger the retaliation of the Dragon Army. Then, the Central Plains will send their armies here and there will be another massacre, which will prove that Prince Xiao's strategies in the Western Regions were a total failure… ”

”Wait.” Tu Pianpian didn't want to be fooled by these words. ”Lord Wei asked Golden Roc Castle for help? He obviously hated Golden Roc Castle, and he frequently says that 'there will never be peace in the Western Regions if the Unique King is alive.'”

”They have reconciled and are colluding with each other,” Gu Shenwei said, as if he was telling her an obvious fact.

”Where's the proof?” Tu Pianpian was still displeased.

”Both of you know Shangguan Fei. He's the Unique King's son, and he was forced to leave his home for various reasons. But his mother is still next to the Unique King, and she can provide me with some information.”

Dog Butcher nodded repeatedly. ”The Dragon King's right. Shangguan Fei frequently goes to visit his mother and he gets some intelligence every time.”

Finally, Tu Pianpian admitted that she was convinced, but she was still more prudent than her younger brother. ”These are only words and there's no concrete proof. I'll go and ask Lord Wei himself about it.”