911 Sons (2/2)

Shangguan Hong was surprised that Shangguan Fei was spontaneously talking about these shameful things that he used to do in his childhood. Meanwhile, he had also become a lot less vigilant. He hesitated for a while before saying, ”Me, too. In the past, I would ask my mother whether we could move out of the stone castle. I felt that, even if we had to sell vegetables on the street for a living, that it would be better than living in the stone castle. Back then, I was unaware that the King Lord was… my father.”

”Um. Everybody is afraid of the King Lord, but nobody knows that we, his children, are the most afraid.”

Shangguan Fei had actually used the word ”we,” acknowledging their brotherhood. Shangguan Hong became more amazed, and the hatred in him slightly abated. He even felt a glimmer of sympathy towards him. ”Our elder brothers tried to kill each other not because they hate each other, but because they're afraid that the King Lord will regard them as cowards.”

Shangguan Fei nodded approvingly. ”But there are exceptions. Our younger sister doesn't fear the King Lord. She has dared to act cute in front of him ever since childhood. Even now, when she is already an adult, she still gets to do whatever she wants, and she will always be forgiven as long as she shed one or two teardrops – that little bitch.”

Shangguan Fei cursed his twin sister. Shangguan Hong nearly started liking him. ”That's because she is just as cruel as the King Lord. Do you remember? She dared to kill people when she was still in school, and she beat up the other kids on a regular basis. She bullied us both. Isn't she just pretending to be merciful because she wants to gain the support of the Four Noble Truths Temple? I suspect that this is actually a conspiracy that she and the King Lord has come up with.”

”That's right,” Shangguan Fei slapped his leg. ”I share your opinion. It's a pity that the Dragon King has been bewitched by that little bitch and that he can't see the truth.”

The two brothers were getting more and more intimate as their conversation went on. Shangguan Hong still hated his brother, but the impulse to immediately kill him was gone.

”The King Lord hates his sons,” Shangguan Fei said in a sad voice. ”Especially me. He thinks that I've brought shame on him and the stone castle, but actually, he himself is just another lecher. He is only… slightly different. It's not like I can't have sons. I'll have a hundred sons if I have to.”

”Heh. You think that the King Lord hates you more than he hates me? Madam Meng and I once… ” Shangguan Hong shut up in time. He had gotten carried away and had almost forgotten that Madam Meng was Shangguan Fei's natural mother.

Shangguan Fei didn't get angry over this sensitive issue, which was very rare. ”Living in the stone castle with a father like him, we can be forgiven for anything.”

Shangguan Hong said nothing. He had just grown fond for Shangguan Fei and he didn't want to ruin this precious kinship because of Madam Meng.

”In all seriousness, I was very, very surprised that the King Lord didn't kill my mother. That was definitely not like him.”

”I think that I might know part of the reason.” Shangguan Hong had barely had any communication with his father, and neither was there any mutual trust between him and Madam Meng. However, when they had been in bed, they had still disclosed some secrets that others would never know about. ”The King Lord still loves your mother, and your mother also loves the King Lord. Their proof of love is them torturing each other, which is hard to understand for outsiders. Your mother wants to bear the King Lord another son because the King Lord believes in the prophecy that says that 'the man with ten sons will become a king.' I don't count, and Shangguan Ru will never become a son no matter how much the King Lord favors her.”

Shangguan Hong's tone was pained and sad. He was the Unique King's son, but he was unable to attain his father's acknowledgement.

Shangguan Fei also felt pained and sad. He believed that he was the only one that his mother could rely on, but unexpectedly, she wanted to bear him a younger brother. ”Judging from what you said, the King Lord definitely hates you more.”

”Tell me about it. Actually… I kind of implicated you too.”

Both of them were unwilling to make any explicitly apologetic remarks.

”You saw the King Lord in the Four Noble Truths Temple that day?”

”I did.”

”How did it go?”

”He hated me. I could feel it. He wanted to cut me to pieces.”

”Did you hear that the King Lord killed your mother a few days ago?”

”What?” Shangguan Hong had barely had any contact with the stone castle, and his mother was not an important person, so he had not heard nothing about her death.

”I wasn't going to tell you this, but you would find out sooner or later. Maybe it's better if you prepare yourself earlier.”

Shangguan Hong stayed silent. He had little affection for his mother. It was just that he felt a hatred towards his father when he heard about his mother's death.

”It is said that the King Lord tortured your mother for three days and three nights before he killed her himself. And after that, he said that you would be tortured even more cruelly someday.”

Shangguan Fei's voice was gentle, as if he was afraid that his brother would be scared. But Shangguan Hong was even more frightened. He took two steps backwards, fell onto the bed, and buried his head in his hands. ”I don't want to go back to the stone castle. I'll ask the Dragon King to let me go back to the stone kingdom – or to the Land of Fragrance. That'd be for the best. Shangguan Fei, you're closer to the Dragon King than I am. Can you-”

Shangguan Hong raised his head. To his surprise, Shangguan Fei had stood up. It was dark in the room, but from the moonlight falling through the window, he could still dimly see the smug smile on his face.

”Shangguan Hong, I came here to tell you one thing. The King Lord does hate you. He hates you even more than he hates the Dragon King. He'll torture you until you yearn for death. All those torture devices are waiting for you in the stone castle. Tomorrow, the Dragon King will ask the King Lord for someone. Maybe he'll trade you for that person.”

With a laugh, Shangguan Fei left. He had finally managed to shift part of his fear to Shangguan Hong.