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Chapter 548: Threat

He did not want to offend the bigwigs in Norland. According to his rule, he never took actions unless he was confident in his plan. He would rather be called a coward than break this rule.

In the meantime, he regarded Shangguan Ru’s request as a personal test. He reminded himself that she was his foe’s daughter. Although he could trust her, he could not cross that invisible and subtle line.

Refusing Shangguan Ru’s request reminded him of that boundary. It was Gu Shenwei’s personal struggle.

“I cannot help you. This is Norland. I cannot take the risk,” he said to her.

Shangguan Ru glared at the Dragon King angrily. Before she lost her temper, she overcame her anger. After all, she was not the Tenth Young Master or a little girl anymore. She composed herself as she said, “Why did you risk stealing the horse?”

“That was different,” Gu Shenwei replied, as he tried to find a good reason to explain, but failed. In fact, the two matters were very different, indeed.

“I forgot that you are the Dragon King. You never help anyone or do anything unless it benefits you or the Dragon Army,” said Shangguan Ru, as she took a deep breath and looked up.

“You’re right,” Gu Shenwei responded, as he did not want to explain. What Shangguan Ru said was the real reason that he refused her request.

“Fine,” Shangguan Ru said as her eyes turned cold. “What about the archers from the Land of Fragrance? Aren’t they are useful to you?” she asked.

Gu Shenwei was stunned and asked in a panic, “What… do you want to do?”

“Even without your assistance, I will use a thousand female archers to save her,” announced Shangguan Ru.

Gu Shenwei had not expected that Shangguan Ru would threaten him with the archers from the Land of Fragrance. He kept silent for quite awhile. Shangguan Ru tightened her lips and looked at the Dragon King with resolute eyes.

The first ray of sunshine broke into the sky.

“You do not own the Land of Fragrance,” Gu Shenwei retorted, though he knew his argument was weak.

“I know. Neither the Land of Fragrance nor those archers belong to me. They are part of the Dragon Army, and I am just a… coach. However, if I ask them for help, they will not refuse me as you did,” she said confidently.

To those female soldiers, Shangguan Ru was not just an archery coach. She was their savior, guardian, and ruler. She could be the Queen of the Land of Fragrance anytime she wanted, with their support.

Gu Shenwei did not think that Shangguan Ru would take the Land of Fragrance from the Dragon Army. However, he could not ignore her threat, for he knew she was serious.

“This is not a game,” he said.

“I’m not a little girl anymore. I am… a married woman,” she said. Shangguan Ru had never admitted that she was the wife of the Fifth Young Master Meng before. Now she announced it deliberately to irritate the Dragon King. She continued, “You killed my husband, so you owe me a debt.”

They had never talked about this before. Both of them were aware who had killed the Fifth Young Master Meng. In Gu Shenwei’s eyes, Shangguan Ru was the one who owed him a debt in this matter.

“Have you made up your mind to save Shaomin?” he asked.

“She is only sixteen. She was terrified when she learned that she would be married off to Norland. If she falls into the hands of Fu Yuan.. she’ll die,” she explained.

“I need to see her first,” said Gu Shenwei.

“Are you referring to Shaomin?” asked Shangguan Ru.

“Yes. Some people have said that the Shangguan family members are wolves. I need to know what kind of person she is,” he answered.

Gu Shenwei’s words were angry and sarcastic, but Shangguan Ru did not get upset. “I promise that she is a little lamb,” she answered with a bright smile on her face.

Gu Shenwei doubted Shangguan Ru’s judgment of people. He said with a snort, “You try to buy me some time. I don’t have a plan yet, so I need to observe for a couple of days first.”

“Shaomin is safe up until the beginning of the Tournament of the Royal Court. Third Brother… Shangguan Yun will not hand her over easily until he gets Fu Yuan’s promise,” Shangguan Ru replied.

It suddenly occurred to Gu Shenwei that he could utilize this opportunity to find out the true identity of this yellow-faced servant. He warned Shangguan Ru, “Do not act rashly. Keep an eye on Old Man Mu and do not let him out in public. This is Norland, and he has many enemies here.”

“I will not act rashly,” Shangguan Ru replied seriously with a nod, “I will arrange for you to meet Shaomin.”

It was almost dawn. They returned to their encampments the same way they had come. Gu Shenwei took the lead, and Shangguan Ru was ten steps behind him. He could not help but turn around to look at Shangguan Ru, for he thought that she was acting strangely.

She seemed to have turned into the confident, spoiled and innocent girl who aimed to achieve her goals at any cost.

Gu Shenwei still remembered that. When Shangguan Ru was told at Xiaoyao Lake that her parents planned to sacrifice her, she was depressed. Her sad mood didn’t go away, even when she first set foot in the Land of Fragrance.

When he had met Shangguan Ru on the grassland, she looked better, but still seldom spoke. At that time, she would have never threatened the Dragon King.

“There must be something that changed her,” Gu Shenwei thought. He did not want to ask her this, but he was very curious about it. When they reached the border of the Royal Court, he stopped and turned to her to say, “You’ve learned how to threaten others. It must be Old Man Mu’s doing.”

Shangguan Ru seemed to be insulted by his words. She raised her head as she replied with a grave expression, “I will never learn from him.” Then, she pretended to put on an evil look as she added, “Be careful. I could become more wretched if I wanted to.”

She ran away immediately, snuck into a mob of shepherds and then vanished instantly. Her different attitude showed that she seemed to have finally found a proper way to handle the Dragon King.

“What would Shangguan Ru look like if she became more wretched?” Gu Shenwei wondered. He felt his heart beat faster and became thirsty at the thought of this. If he’d had a bowl of wine, he’d have drunk it without hesitation.

When he returned to his encampment, he calmed down. He was ashamed of his rash actions. “I’m a killer and the Dragon King. I not only need to avenge my family, but also take responsibility for those tens of thousands of soldiers of the Dragon Army. If I can’t control my personal emotions, how can I propose strict rules for my followers?” he berated himself.

He needed to solve two problems: firstly, how to free Shangguan Shaomin to satisfy Shangguan Ru; secondly, how to keep the Land of Fragrance under his control. He did not want to be threatened again.

When he entered his tent, he saw Maid Lotus sitting in a chair. The slit he had made with the Five Peaks Saber had been stitched up. Maid Lotus began, “It’s right here. We can try it on someone any time.”

Maid Lotus had not changed at all. She still kept silent and did things without questions. Even so, Gu Shenwei thought Shangguan Ru was more trustworthy than her. No matter how Shangguan Ru changed, he could read her mind. However, Maid Lotus was always a complex woman. If it hadn’t been for her former betrayal, Gu Shenwei would have never figured out Maid Lotus’s thoughts.

A small porcelain bottle was on the table. This bottle only contained a few drops of liquid. A poison similar to this one had been applied to Gu Lun’s saber, which had caused the death of a prince in Norland.

“Mix the water with the poison in a ratio of 10 to one, heat the mixture, and then apply the mixture to the weapon evenly. The poison is effective for three days,” explainedd Maid Lotus.

“What about its antidote?” asked Gu Shenwei.

“No need to use any antidote for this poison since it’s not very strong. It will not kill a man if it is sucked out within an hour. This poison’s only merit is that it is not easy to detect, so people can use it in advance,” she said.

Gu Shenwei took the porcelain bottle, and observed it for a while. Then, he gave it back to Maid Lotus and said, “Keep it well. We don’t need it right now.”

“Okay,” replied Maid Lotus. As she was about to leave, Gu Shenwei called to stop her, “Wait. Did the New Moon Hall send spies to Norland?”

“I have no idea about that, because it was twenty years ago. I doubt it, though. The New Moon Hall has its specific targets: the Golden Roc Fort and Jade City,” Maid Lotus said.

“Your Master — when can I meet her?” asked Gu Shenwei.

Maid Lotus seldom mentioned her. It seemed that the New Moon Hall’s master- Han Wuxian did not exist. All the disciples of the New Moon Hall and its spies in Jade City took orders from the Managing Master, Maid Lotus.

However, that tall and pretty woman had left a deep impression on Gu Shenwei.

“Perhaps soon,” Maid Lotus replied, a little surprised. Obviously, she did not expect Gu Shenwei to suddenly mention her Master. She continued, “The Master will not show up until the Golden Roc Fort has no more influence. Like you, she prefers to give her enemy a fatal blow.”

Gu Shenwei did not further push the subject since he did not know Maid Lotus’s real thoughts.

Gu Shenwei thought that Shangguan Ru would bring Shangguan Shaomin to him in a couple of days. To his surprise, he saw Shangguan Shaomin that same afternoon.

A female official from the Land of Fragrance brought him some presents that Shangguan Ru had received from the second wife of the Khan. They had not met yet, so they sent gifts to each other as a greeting.

Shangguan Ru had sent the second wife of the Khan some herbal medicine, fragrances and precious flower seeds. The second wife of the Khan had given her gold, silver, jewelry and lots of food in return.

Shangguan Shaomin was disguised as a female soldier among the female archers from the Land of Fragrance.

An hour earlier, Shangguan Ru had gone to the encampment of the Golden Roc Fort, claiming that she wanted to show her niece around. Shangguan Yun and Zhang Ji had not stopped her.

That afternoon, attendants from the Golden Roc Fort followed Miss Ru and Miss Min at a distance. Shangguan Ru rode while Shangguan Shaomin sat in a carriage. They never thought that Shangguan Shaomin would disappear under their close watch.

Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Shaomin were surrounded by more than a hundred female soldiers. Shangguan Ru attracted the most attention from the attendants, which created a diversion for the real Miss Min to leave.

Shangguan Shaomin was Shangguan Chui’s eldest daughter. As her father had been dead for several years, she had become child-like and timid. She trembled with fear in front of the Dragon King, as if she was more scared of him than the eunuch she would soon serve.

Although Shangguan Fei stabbed Shangguan Chui, Gu Shenwei was the one who had pushed the saber to pierce his heart. Everyone in the Stone Castle knew it.

Their meeting was short. Gu Shenwei only wanted to see if Shangguan Shaomin had learned kung fu and received the training that killers did.

No matter how good an excellent killer was at hiding, he or she would still leave some signs that exposed his or her real identity. Gu Shenwei observed Shangguan Shaomin discreetly and found that she was just a common maid. Although she had lived in the castle with killers for sixteen years, she knew nothing about kung fu or killing.

In fact, it was a tradition in the Golden Roc Fort. Only the male descendants of the Shuangguan family were allowed to received training as killers, so the Shangguan family faced a problem: the girls who trained to be killers were difficult to marry off.

Shangguan Ru was an exception. Even though she had been trained as a killer, her training was incomplete.

Another reason for their short meeting was Old Man Mu. Shangguan Ru had asked him to arouse the Dragon King’s compassion. Therefore, Old Man Mu told the Dragon King, “That yellow-faced eunuch is a monster who uses crueler means than I ever did. He is fond of those highborn ladies and takes pleasure in torturing them. Within a year, six or seven concubines serving him had committed suicide by various means. His means…”

Before Gu Shenwei’s sympathy was aroused, Shangguan Shaomin fainted from fear.

Old Man Mu was taken aback when he saw her pass out. He continued, “I have not even mentioned the worst part. She is too timid. It’s not a bad thing that she passed out, though. Now I can speak to Your Highness alone. I did not tell the good girl all the details. Fu Yuan is not a simple guy. He not only uses those women for fun, but he utilizes them to practice some mysterious kung fu.”

His words aroused Gu Shenwei’s interest immediately.

Thanks to the support of all the readers. It was not easy for this book to go this far. It’s not because I have a strong will, but because you are reading this book that I can continue to write it.