Name

The marriage alliance between the Western Regions' largest assassin organization and its biggest bandit gang was destined to cause a stir in Jade City and be talked about for a long time.

Riding a horse in the wedding procession, Gu Shenwei was probably the only person not interested in the wedding itself. He had been to Jade City once before, and this counted as a return visit, but his mood was vastly different.

Two years ago, after nearly a month of arduous travel through the desert, the first place of dense population the Gu family saw was Jade City. To the parched, the first sip of water was naturally like nectar, and in the travelers' eyes, this place was no different from paradise on earth.

Starting from outside the city, shops and taverns lined the streets, filled with people from all corners of the world. Seeing so many foreigners for the first time, their eyes could barely take it all in, staring openly at each one.

The master, Gu Lun, disliked this place. After a brief stop to exchange travel documents at the government office, he set out again early the next morning, heading west to a oasis estate he had already arranged to buy hundreds of miles away.

Gu Shenwei and his two older brothers all regretted this. The second brother muttered about wanting to buy a Hu Ji, and was scolded by the eldest brother, though he himself couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful women on the streets, nearly falling off his horse.

The second brother had saved up quite a bit of private money, hidden under his bed, just for the chance to return to Jade City one day and buy a fair-skinned, big-eyed beauty.

The wedding procession entered the city through the West Gate, parading loudly through the streets. The roadside was packed with onlookers, all bowing in respect, and many scattered fragrant flowers on the ground. This union of assassin and bandit received treatment fit for royalty.

In Jade City, swords and blades were the crown.

Golden Peng Fortress sat atop a lofty peak outside Jade City, connected by a single zigzag mountain path. The starting point at the foot of the mountain was Jade City's North Gate. From afar, the fortress on the mountain resembled an imperial palace, while the city below served as its gateway and first line of defense.

There were also houses along the mountain path, though not as dense as in the city, they were far from desolate. Every household had decorated their doors and walls specifically to add festivity to the Golden Peng Fortress wedding. In fact, most of these families had various connections to the fortress, all relying on the Unrivaled King to establish their livelihoods.

As the altitude increased, the temperature gradually dropped. Even in the height of summer, there was a hint of chill.

Anyone approaching Golden Peng Fortress for the first time would be shocked. From below, one couldn't see that the fortress rested on a solitary, isolated peak, surrounded on all sides by bottomless abysses, with only a single stone bridge over ten feet wide connecting to the mountain path.

The stone bridge had no railings on either side. Walking across and looking down, one saw only swirling clouds and mist, hearing not a single sound, making one feel dizzy and unable to look for long.

When crossing the stone bridge, everyone dismounted and walked. No one dared take the risk; if their mount were startled, they would end up crushed to pieces.

Anyone who nervously crossed this narrow, dozens-of-paces-long stone bridge would find it hard not to feel awe for the fortress before them.

In front of Golden Peng Fortress's main gate was a vast open space paved entirely with bluestone, some of which was damaged, showing the fortress's great age.

The walls were also built from massive stones, varying in height but arranged in a pleasing disorder. The lowest sections were still thirty to forty feet tall, the tops lined with arrow parapets and watchtowers, countless banners piercing the clouds.

Such a fortress was truly one man holding the pass against ten thousand. As long as supplies within were sufficient, no one could breach it from outside.

Gu Shenwei increasingly believed in the existence of Divine Will, for only thus could he have entered Golden Peng Fortress by such a twist of fate.

The fortress's main gate was wide open, and the crowd welcoming the bride stood at the entrance.

Gu Shenwei had hoped to see the legendary Unrivaled King, Shangguan Fa, but was disappointed. Aside from Shangguan Nu, he saw no other members of the Shangguan family, and didn't even witness the couple's wedding ceremony.

The ten pairs of Boy and Girl Attendants, along with the countless dowry items, were now the property of the Shangguan family. As soon as they entered Golden Peng Fortress, someone took over and assigned them.

The girl attendants became the new young madam's personal servants and were sent to Shangguan Nu's residence. The ten boy attendants, however, were taken to a small courtyard with the words "Kindling Courtyard" carved on the lintel. From this, Gu Shenwei guessed their main job would be chopping firewood.

At this point, for these newly arrived youths, the wedding feast was reduced to distant music and faint laughter.

The first night in Golden Peng Fortress was calm and long. Aside from someone bringing dinner, no one bothered with this new batch of property. The ten youths all slept in one room on a large kang, barely enough to squeeze everyone in.

The sharp-faced youth Lin Yang was the first to recover from the shock. The finger marks on his face had faded, and his confidence had mostly returned. It was his idea to form a sworn brotherhood, so he declared himself the "Big Brother."

"Golden Peng Fortress, you know, this is Golden Peng Fortress. Even the great royal families of the Western Regions have to show respect to the Shangguan family. We're lucky—no, I'm lucky. I'm definitely going to rise to prominence. Maybe I'll even win the Unrivaled King's favor. To be favored in Golden Peng Fortress is to be favored in all of Jade City. As for you all, stick with me obediently, learn a few tricks of dealing with people, and maybe you'll make something of yourselves too. And don't say I didn't warn you—Golden Peng Fortress kills people every day, at least one. All of you need to be careful."

Lin Yang liked to scare people, and he liked being praised even more. Several youths played along, their faces pale as they begged him for protection.

Lin Yang chattered for nearly an hour before falling asleep contentedly. Then, one by one, the other youths drifted off. Gu Shenwei closed his eyes, then opened them again. He couldn't sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he had a good rest.

He had entered Golden Peng Fortress. His sister might be imprisoned somewhere here. He could even feel her calling to him. Though it was too risky, not investigating was unbearable.

Lin Yang might jump up and shout. The outside might be full of traps. But Gu Shenwei couldn't care about that. He quietly got up, barefoot, and sneaked out of the room.

The courtyard was small, with a door on the east and west sides. The east door led to an alley, the path Gu Shenwei and the others had taken to enter the courtyard. The alley was long and deep, guarded by soldiers during the day. He thought for a moment and decided to take the west door to see what was outside.

The door was ajar, a good sign. But outside was pitch black. Gu Shenwei took a while to adjust before he could barely make out his surroundings. The ground was flat dirt, scattered with many small stones. Not far away, tall trees stood in vague silhouettes.

This didn't seem like part of Golden Peng Fortress. It felt like he had already gone outside the fortress.

Leaving Golden Peng Fortress so easily surprised Gu Shenwei greatly. He carefully groped his way forward. After about thirty or forty paces, he felt a stone slip under his foot, then heard a strange sound. He stopped, looked down, and was startled!

He had reached the edge of a cliff. One more step and he would have fallen into the abyss. No wonder no one was guarding this place—there was no need.

The strange sound came from below, distant and faint, like the noise of a stone hitting the cliff wall, or like some sharp whistle. In the stagnant darkness, it seemed like an echo from hell.

Gu Shenwei's hair stood on end. He slowly stepped back two paces, turned, and ran back to the small courtyard.

Back in the courtyard, his mind slightly calmer, he tiptoed to the east door. He pushed it and found it locked. He stepped back a few paces, looking for a place to jump over, but bumped into something. Turning and looking up, he saw a person looking down at him.

The person was dressed entirely in black, face covered, almost merging with the night. His right hand was near his left waist. Looking closely, one could recognize the hilt of a knife in his hand. He was as silent as a ghost.

Was there someone else like him, also sneaking around Golden Peng Fortress at night?

Gu Shenwei was first surprised and delighted, but his experience at the cliff edge had made his mind sharper than usual. He stood still, not moving, and didn't speak.

The two stared at each other for a long time. Finally, the black-clad person spoke first.

"You've violated the curfew."

Gu Shenwei's heart turned cold. The black-clad person wasn't an ally, but a night watchman of Golden Peng Fortress. The fortress was impregnable from the outside, and its interior was equally heavily guarded.

"I didn't know. I just arrived. I... I needed to urinate."

"One of the Eighth Young Madam's people?"

Gu Shenwei nodded frantically.

The black-clad person hesitated. The hand gripping the knife tightened, then loosened.

"There's a chamber pot in the room."

Gu Shenwei understood he had just narrowly escaped death. He hurriedly nodded, then ran all the way back to the bedroom, found the chamber pot, but he was too tense. He held it in for a long time before squeezing out a little, always feeling that the night watchman was still listening outside.

Climbing onto the earthen bed, his heart was still pounding.

"Can't take any more risks," he silently reminded himself.

Snoring rose and fell in waves; the other youths were sleeping soundly.

Gu Shenwei hadn't yet thought of a way to take revenge. On the second day after entering Golden Peng Fortress, he realized that even seeing Shangguan Nu again was an almost impossible task.

Kindling Courtyard had nothing to do with storing firewood. This was the place where people were sent to die.

Anyone within the fortress who was injured, sick, of low status, and not worth treating would be sent to this small courtyard to await death. In Golden Peng Fortress, there were plenty of such people, just as Lin Yang had said, "There are dead people every day."

The Great Head God's daughter was enjoying her honeymoon, but the ten youths she had brought woke up to find themselves plunged into an abyss. Their assigned duty was to care for the dying.

Watching swords and blades kill people was one thing; personally touching the dead, witnessing festering wounds and blood flowing freely, was another. After a single day, the youths all seemed decades older, silent and gloomy, the stench of rot clinging to their noses. Even Lin Yang was dumbfounded, staring blankly without a word.

The steward of Kindling Courtyard was a man in his twenties, thin and frail, with a pale face dotted by a few pimples, as if he had been chronically ill and sent here to await death, only to never die and become the "master" of this place.

The steward's surname was Han, and his given name was "Jinu." When he spoke his own name, he ground his teeth, as if his ugly name was entirely the youths' fault.

He always carried a three-foot-long redwood stick in his hand, and his frequent saying was, "Beat the bones soft, and you can teach good servants."

The rules of Golden Peng Fortress were far stricter than those of the Iron Mountain Gang. The first thing Han Jinu did upon taking over the new slaves was to give them names. The naming method was simple: pick characters in order from the Thousand Character Classic, add the character "Nu" at the end. Characters that might be taboo or too complex were removed first, leaving about seven or eight hundred, which successive generations of slaves used in rotation.

Han Jinu's name came from this.

The register he brought out was covered in all kinds of symbols, indicating which characters were currently available.

"San Lv Xiao Yao, Xin Zou Lei Qian, Qi Xie Huan Zhao. Hmm, 'Lv' and 'Zou' have been used. Ten characters left, just enough."

The naming room was in the adjacent small courtyard. An old man with white hair and severely sagging skin was in charge of this task. Han Jinu would decide on the characters, and the old man would find the corresponding iron molds and heat them red in the fire.

Even though they didn't understand the Central Plains language, the youths all knew what was about to happen. They looked at each other, none daring to be the first.

"Hurry up, there's still a lot to do," Han Jinu urged impatiently.

Lin Yang—who would soon have a new name, "Yao Nu"—pushed Gu Shenwei beside him, and so Gu Shenwei was the first to receive a name, branded on his right forearm.

Huan Nu.

It was actually the same character as his childhood nickname.

The pair of brothers—the elder called Qi Nu, the younger Xie Nu.

The youths all had two ugly characters stamped on their arms, along with a bird spreading its wings, the emblem of Golden Peng Fortress.

Looking at his new subordinates with sweat beading on their foreheads, Han Jinu was very satisfied. He even revealed the characters on his own arm for everyone to see, then lowered his sleeve and said:

"You are now people of Golden Peng Fortress. In life, you are the King Lord's servants; in death, you will serve the old King Lord. But for now, your lives are in my hands."