930 Practicing the Swordsmanship (1/2)
Du Jian's eyes finally saw the two big birds. He was initially confused, but soon became pleasantly surprised. ”Aren't these the golden rocs? So it turns out that they haven't been burnt down. The King Lord will be happy to hear it for sure.”
Han Fen turned around and said, ”I'm even happier.”
Du Jian snorted but refrained from answering. It was a rare case that Han Fen could see through another person's thoughts. ”I hereby declare that these two birds are mine. I will give them to whoever I want, and I will certainly not give them to the Unique King,” Han Fen said.
”Yours?” Du Jian asked, his voice full of disdain. ”How dare you say that?”
Han Fen's eyes widened. ”Because I saw them first. First come, first served. Don't you know the rules?”
”The golden rocs have been in the castle for more than ten years and was stolen by the Waning Moon Hall. What's this so-called 'first come, first served'?”
”Seven years,” Gu Shenwei corrected.
”Seven years of what?” Du Jian's heart thumped because he suddenly remembered the rumors about the Dragon King owning a great roc.
”These two birds were killed seven years ago in Golden Roc Castle. They are free. They don't belong to anyone, including the Unique King.”
Han Fen was a bit disappointed. ”Not even me? I'll treat them as my treasures. The little kid always brags about his stuff, I can…”
Du Jian responded with a sneer. ”Heh heh, I can't decide who the golden rocs belong to either. Everything is up to the King Lord…” The underground maze was full of danger, and he had had enough. Now that he knew the whereabouts of the golden rocs, it was enough for him to report to the Unique King, and he didn't have to take any more risks. After signaling the bodyguard to guard his rear, he turned to walk towards the corridor outside the hall.
Han Fen crouched a little bit and hissed like an irritated wildcat. ”No, everything is up to the Master Commander.”
Having no intention of arguing, Du Jian quickened his pace. The bodyguard drew his saber and stood where he was, looking warily at the Dragon King. His duty did not allow him to turn around and run away no matter if he was the Dragon King's match or not.
The Dragon King didn't move. Actually, it was the eccentric disciple of the Waning Moon Hall who was eager to make a move. The bodyguard calculated the speed of the sect leader Du Jian and felt that it was about time, and he also began to retreat from the hall.
”Ahh…” A scream suddenly came from the corridor.
The bodyguard turned abruptly and stared into the dark corridor.
Du Jian walked back with his arms before him, groping along. His eyes were bleeding and his face was covered in blood.
”Help me,” he said as if he were giving orders to the bodyguard.
”Please help me,” he said again. It seemed like he was begging the Dragon King.
The bodyguard's killer's instinct kicked in. He remained unmoved by both the order and the begging of his sect leader and quietly get out of the way to let Du Jian pass while his eyes remained fixed on the dark corridor.
A young woman walked into the torch-lit hall with silent footsteps and a long sword in her hand. She turned a blind eye to the others, and followed Du Jian intently, observing his every move.
”Help me…” Du Jian was still groping his way along, getting closer and closer to the Dragon King and Han Fen.
The bodyguard took two steps back. Du Jian was just a nominal sect leader of the Heavenly Mountain Sect and couldn't obtain his subordinate's full allegiance.
”Han Ling?” Han Fen called out in a low voice as she retreated behind the Dragon King, looking a bit timid.
The young woman named Han Ling turned a deaf ear to the call and drew nearer and nearer to Du Jian.
”Who is it?” Du Jian finally felt the danger behind him. He abruptly turned and drew his narrow saber, his bright red eyes looking fiercer than ever.
Han Ling stabbed at the bleeding eyes again, her moves as gentle as falling leaves and as swift as a cat.
Du Jian had once been a good killer. His last assassination mission had been two years ago. In the face of the Dragon King who was concentrating on healing himself, he had still failed miserably. Since then, he had struggled to shed his killer's identity in the hopes of gaining more security with a higher status. But in the end, it turned out that he had even lost his alertness and self-protection ability as a killer.
The two shots were the same, but Du Jian still could not resist. He could not even counterattack. The only difference was that these two blows were deadly.
The moment Du Jian fell, the bodyguard in the corner moved slightly. This was the best time for him to make a move, but he quickly stabilized himself. The Dragon King didn't move, so he also didn't want to move.
”You're Han Ling?” Gu Shenwei asked. Han Fen kept nodding behind him, but she dared not to utter a sound. She used to know this Waning Moon Hall disciple, but she now felt that the other side was acting very strangely.
Han Ling stooped to check the corpse for a while before looking up and saying, ”Too much blood. It means that I have not yet mastered the killing intent in my heart. The sword moves are purely offensive, but the practitioner has to be both defensive and offensive at heart. It is too difficult. The Waning Moon Swordsmanship is too difficult.”
Han Fen mustered up some courage, stuck out her head, and said, ”Do not practice it if it's too difficult then. What's the rush?”
”You've always been undisciplined.” Han Ling hadn't lost her mind. She still remembered Han Fen. ”You'd have died long ago if the Master Commander didn't protect you.”
Han Fen revealed a silly smile. ”I am the Master Commander's 'sycophant'.” This was a new word that she learned in the Norland and had always regarded it as a positive description.
Han Ling shook her head. ”No, I'm so close. I have to practice harder.” She looked at the Dragon King and said, ”I heard that you also know the Waning Moon Swordsmanship and that you are only a little weaker than the Master Commander?”
”The Death Sutra Swordsmanship,” Gu Shenwei corrected. ”Your Master Commander learned it from me.”
”It doesn't matter who learned it from whom. Comprehension is more important in practicing one's swordsmanship. Junior practitioners might not be any poorer than senior practitioners. As long as I kill enough people, I can become invincible.”
The Death Sutra Swordsmanship had to be improved through actual fights, especially at the initial stage of the practice. Each kill would be a great help, but Gu Shenwei didn't understand why Wild Horse had let his own men kill each other. He also didn't understand why Lotus had indulged them.
”You're practicing it in the wrong way,” he said, feeling like he was lecturing a little child. ”The swordsmanship will backfire if you kill too many people in a short time. It's no difference from suicide.”