910 Shaking Snow (1/2)

Killers always tried to do things soundlessly. Even during the time when the stone castle was full of killers, they had to hide themselves in the dark for most of the time. Besides the training ground in the eastern part of the castle, killers were rarely seen anywhere else.

But after those killers had left, the people living in the stone castle could distinctly feel the emptiness. These tall stone walls, which used to seem very mysterious due to the existence of killers, were now merely stacks of stone bricks. Walking in those quiet alleys, people no longer had to worry that someone dressed in black with a narrow saber would abruptly show up. Instead, they were afraid of the vengeful spirits of the numerous victims that had been slain over so many years.

Killers killed people, so they were the only ones who were able to keep those spirits in the stone castle under control.

Zhang Ji naturally didn't believe in this kind of nonsense. He just felt that it was quiet. It was so quiet that it almost felt like he was on the prairie. On the prairie, he sometimes saw the same view for several days when riding, as if there was no end. Every tent he caught sight of seemed like an intimate old friend.

He was old, and he was not used to nor did he like riding a horse. Thus, he decided to walk to White Clothes Yard, which was next to the inner chamber, and which made this journey seem even longer.

He used to be a teacher in the West Castle, someone who would leisurely walk to White Clothes Yard if he had no tasks. He would read the records and books there, which outsiders usually found boring, but which he himself found very interesting.

Zhang Ji unconsciously reached back into the past, recalling another two teenagers who had shared that common interest with him.

Shangguan Yun had been different from his peers when he had been a teenager. He had liked seeking adventures in the castle, which had made him and the Tenth Young Master very similar. However, he hadn't needed any friends and always preferred to be alone. In his eyes, there had always been an arrogant, apathetic look which was symbolic of the members of the Shangguan family. He had had a temperament of prematurity that normally shouldn't have appeared on a teenager, but when he had smiled, he would become joyous and unbridled, as if that mature temperament had been merely a facade.

”What're you reading? Read it to me.” Shangguan Yun, who had barely been over ten years old, had ordered his teacher around, enunciating every word as if he were punishing a domestic ferocious dog. Zhang Ji had forgotten about many things, but for some reason, that teenager's look and tone at that time was one of those things that he still remembered vividly.

Zhang Ji had been pondering over the former Unique King's schemes and remarkable achievements at that time. He then raised his head in perplexity and looked at Shangguan Yun, whose figure was flickering in the sunlight from the window. He had a dim feeling that the future Unique King was standing right before him.

Before that, Shangguan Yun had been merely a naughty but smart student of his. Ever since he had become interested in the old paperwork in Zhang Ji's hands, he had been regarded as the future Unique King.

Zhang Ji had spent a lot of time teaching Shangguan Yun, imparting all the knowledge that he had accumulated through his life to Shangguan Yun.

Shangguan Yun, who had never been an attentive student in class, had become fascinated by the private reading session in a corner of the White Clothes Yard. Soon, he had turned from a student to a debater.

The arguments between the old man and the teenager had lasted for nearly three years, during the process of which Zhang Ji had gradually become more ambitious. He wanted to prove one thing: that advisors were stronger than killers.

Shangguan Yun had become the Third Young Master. Unlike his two elder brothers who went to southern Jade City to fight for their own territory, he had taken a couple of killers and apprentice killers to travel around. He had wandered further and further. He had even visited the Central Plains and made friends there. His noteworthy conduct and independent character, to a large extent, could actually be attributed to the influence of his teacher. He had one other thing to prove: killers were not the most powerful strength of Golden Roc Castle.

But when the Third Young Master came back, people had found that he had completely turned into someone else. Not only did the Unique King find him strange, but even Zhang Ji had discovered that he had lost a good student.

Shangguan Yun had originally scarcely had any friends in the stone castle, but when he was outside the castle, he had always regarded friendship as the most important thing. Eventually, he had been sent to the dungeon and locked up after he challenged his father before being ready.

Zhang Ji had always been waiting for his student to come to his senses, but then he had met the second teenager who he found special.

Zhang Ji had been thinking about the two names – ”Servant Huan” and ”Dragon King,” quite often recently, but he had never been able to accept the fact that these two names belonged to the same person. Surprisingly, though Servant Huan was more diligent and also more premature than Shangguan Yun, Zhang Ji had never seen any kingly potential in him.

But now, things had turned out to be quite the opposite. Servant Huan had become the Dragon King, who was a renowned overlord in the Western Regions, and who was an unprecedentedly dire threat to Golden Roc Castle. Meanwhile, Shangguan Yun had become a nobody like a flash in the pan, a coward living in the royal palace of the Xiaowan Kingdom with no fight in him at all.

After pondering it over for several days, Zhang Ji had finally drawn the conclusion that he had gotten used to the Unique King's style, like all the others who had lived in the stone castle for many years. The young Shangguan Yun had always held a condescending attitude towards the teacher, while Servant Huan had always acted in a modest manner. The former's manner had been more like that of the Unique King.

Zhang Ji was ashamed of his misjudgement. His underestimation of Servant Huan had directly shifted the balance of power between Golden Roc Castle and the Dragon Army, for which he was mostly responsible.

The White Clothes Yard had also become far quieter than before. There used to be a lot of busy servants here, but this day, Zhang Ji hadn't seen a single one yet.

Standing on a tree in the middle of the courtyard, the Unique King was looking up at the snow on the branches. Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, he said, ”Golden Roc Castle is like the snow on this tree. It only takes a slight shake to cause it to fall.”

”As long as the tree stands, none of the snow will not fall,” said Zhang Ji. No matter who he was standing in front of, he would always be a teacher, and he would never admit his mistakes even if it was a terrible one.

The Unique King threw out a palm attack. He didn't need to use his full strength to shake off all the snow without hurting the tree.

Snowflakes fell down in all directions. The Unique King stood still, but not a single snowflake fell on him.

This was a kung fu skill that Zhang Ji couldn't understand, and which he wasn't interested in either.

This time, the teacher was right. There was still some residual snow on the tree.

”Who's the big tree of Golden Roc Castle?” asked the Unique King. There was a suggestion of anger in his tone.

The Norland and the Central Plains were supposed to be two big trees that counterbalanced each other. They should have provided shelter for Golden Roc Castle. This had been the plan formulated by Zhang Ji. The Unique King had made huge sacrifices for this plan. He had even given up the killer force that the Shangguan family had spent nearly a hundred years accumulating. But in the end, he had gotten nothing.