969 A Roll (2/2)

There were 284 monks. The numbers of words about their biographical sketches varied from a hundred to over a thousand. It would be an arduous task to write down all of them. Gu Shenwei went to handle some miscellaneous official business, but Old Man Mu stayed behind. It was not because he wanted to supervise the Buddhist monk, but rather because he wanted to find out whether this monk's memory was really as good as he claimed it to be.

Shi Qingjue wrote out one page after another, and Old Man Mu read every one of them. Suddenly, he pulled a page out of the roll and asked the monk what was on it. Shi Qingjue immediately recited the contents without a single mistake.

Even if this roll was false, Old Man Mu would have still admired this monk for his good memory. If it were an advanced kung fu manual, then he could memorize it after some hard work as well. But it was just a roll, the contents of which were very boring. Many narratives were very similar to one another. Upon reading those words, he gradually became sleepy, but the Buddhist monk kept writing quickly and smoothly in high spirits.

Gu Shenwei had scarcely walked out of the room when Red Bat walked towards him head-on, a faint concerned look on her face. \”Dragon King, someone has requested an audience with you.\”

Red Bat's duty was to take care of Long Fanyun and help him handle the official business in the Department of Guards. She seldom directly informed the Dragon King of the arrival of visitors. \”Who is it?\”

\”You'll find out when you see her. She asked me not to tell you.\”

There was a distinct hostility and scorn in Red Bat's voice, from which Gu Shenwei guessed the identity of the visitor.

Luo Ningcha was walking around in the room and inspecting things as if the place would soon be her new home. \”It's so difficult to have an audience with you. Your handmaid kept asking me all kinds of questions. You must be pampering her.\”

Red Bat's face went cold. Gu Shenwei said, \”She's not a handmaid.\”

\”Then she must be a slave girl that you brought here from the Norland. You always take in eccentric people. There's already a demonic, green-eyed little girl here. And now you have this-\”

Before Luo Ningcha could think of disparaging words to describe the slave girl with barbarian features, Red Bat coldly said, \”I'll give you some privacy.\” Then she turned around and left.

\”See? She's so impolite. Dragon King, you should teach her a lesson.\”

\”What can I do for you?\” Gu Shenwei asked.

Luo Ningcha frowned and cast a glance at the teenager behind the Dragon King. \”Get out. I want to talk with the Dragon King alone.\”

Qin Yeming already had a vague idea of the Dragon King's habits, so he didn't move, and instead waited for the Dragon King's order.

\”Just ignore his existence,\” Gu Shenwei said, as if he had no intentions of talking with Luo Ningcha alone.

Luo Ningcha peered at the teenager, puzzled. \”Is he mute and deaf? I think that I used to have a handmaid who was also mute and deaf, and she did a pretty good job. I should get another one… \” She nodded, thinking of some handmaid who was going to have a misfortune. \”There are several reasons why I came downtown this time. First, I'm tired of living in a tent… \”

\”Haven't you lived in a tent since your childhood?\” Gu Shenwei couldn't help remind this woman of this fact. As a daughter of the ringleader of some bandits, she had had no fixed abode and had lived in a tent before getting married.

Luo Ningcha was stunned. After quite a while, she miraculously came up with a remark to contradict him. \”You used to be a slave. Are you still a slave after you became the Dragon King? I've lived in a tent since childhood, so naturally, I took a dislike to tents after I lived in more comfortable houses.\”

There were no loopholes in Luo Ningcha's words. Gu Shenwei could only say, \”Go on. Why did you come downtown?\”

A smug smile appeared on Luo Ningcha's face. \”Heh-heh. It turns out that sometimes, I can outargue you. First of all, I'm tired of tents. I want to buy a house in southern Jade City and be your neighbor.\”

Given Luo Ningcha's character, Gu Shenwei believed she should have instead bought an expensive large house in northern Jade City, but he didn't ask any further questions.

\”Second, I came downtown to visit a couple of people. There's something that I want to figure out. Third, I came here to see you.\”

\”Keep talking.\”

\”I've already sent Cheng'er to the camp of the Dragon Army. Why are you hiding here instead of spending more time with him?\”

Gu Shenwei kept silent. Luo Ningcha didn't push him. \”All right. It's up to you. Cheng'er is growing up every day. Sooner or later, you'll know whose son he actually is. Actually, I came here to tell you that Pang Ning is not a good person. He's plotting against you.\”

\”Did he try to bribe you?\” Gu Shenwei had already been informed of every detail of the meeting between Pang Jing and Luo Ningcha.

\”He must have been blind to try and make mischief in front of me. I saw through him the moment he started speaking.\”

\”Pang Jing doesn't like women.\”

Luo Ningcha was transfixed with shock. After quite a while, she said, \”It turns out that you already knew it.\” Suddenly she widened her eyes and said, \”Did any of my subordinates divulge the secret? Nage. It had to be Nage. But it also might be Little Xin… \”

\”I knew it the moment Pang Jing arrived in Jade City,\” said Gu Shenwei. Shangguan Fei was more apt at distinguishing this kind of people from than anybody else. After the first meeting, he had promised the Dragon King that this Central Plains man probably had the same sexual orientation as him.

Luo Ningcha was deeply disappointed. She had intended to beat around the bush and then take the Dragon King aback. \”I don't care. Pang Jing tried to bribe me. He wanted to use me to prove Prince Xiao's fraudulent claim of military exploits. I turned him down. This counts as a contribution, and it's a big one, so you must reward me. Either you take the position of Lord of Jade City or you give it to Cheng'er. You can't give it to an outsider, right?\”

Gu Shenwei was just about to speak when Old Man Mu ran inside. \”Dragon King, the people of the Four Noble Truths Temple came here to grab the Buddhist monk.\”