Names

The marriage alliance between the Western Regions' foremost assassin organization and greatest bandit gang was bound to cause a sensation in Jade City and remain a topic of discussion for a long time.

Riding among the wedding procession, Gu Shenwei was probably the only person uninterested in the wedding itself. He had visited Jade City once before, so this counted as returning to an old place, but his mood was entirely different now.

Two years earlier, after struggling through the desert for nearly a month, the first densely populated place the Gu family had seen was Jade City. To someone parched with thirst, the first sip of water naturally tasted like nectar and jade dew. In the eyes of travelers, this place was nothing short of a paradise on earth.

Shops and taverns lined the road from outside the city onward. People from every corner of the land walked the streets in all kinds of attire. Having seen so many foreigners for the first time, everyone's eyes were barely enough to take it all in, and they stared boldly at each person in turn.

Master Gu Lun, however, had not liked the place. After a brief stay, he went to the yamen to exchange their travel documents, then set out westward again early the next morning for an oasis estate hundreds of miles away, which he had already commissioned someone to purchase.

Gu Shenwei and his two elder brothers had all felt bitterly disappointed. His second brother had muttered about buying a Hu woman and had been scolded by their eldest brother. Yet the eldest brother himself had stared unblinkingly at the beautiful women in the street and nearly fallen from his mount.

His second brother had saved up quite a bit of private money and secretly hidden it beneath his bed, all so that one day he could return to Jade City and buy a beautiful foreign concubine with fair skin and large eyes.

The wedding procession entered the city through the western gate and proceeded grandly along the streets. The roadsides were packed with onlookers, all bowing in greeting, while many scattered fragrant flowers onto the ground. This marriage between assassins and bandits received treatment fit for royalty.

In Jade City, blades were the crown.

Golden Peng Fortress stood atop the highest peak of a mountain outside Jade City. Its only approach was a winding, zigzagging mountain road that began at Jade City's northern gate. From a distance, the fortress resembled an emperor's palace, while the city below served as its gateway and first line of defense.

Houses also stood along both sides of the mountain road. Though less dense than those within the city, they hardly seemed desolate. Every household had decorated its gates and walls, deliberately adding festivity to Golden Peng Fortress's wedding. In truth, most of these families had one connection or another to Golden Peng Fortress, and all depended on the Unrivaled King to establish their homes and livelihoods.

As the mountain rose higher, the temperature gradually fell. Though it was the height of summer, wisps of coolness could still be felt.

Anyone approaching Golden Peng Fortress for the first time would be utterly astonished. What could not be seen from below was that the peak supporting the fortress was a solitary, towering cliff, with bottomless chasms on all four sides. Only a stone bridge a little over a yard wide connected it to the mountain road.

There was no protection whatsoever along either side of the stone bridge. Looking down while crossing, one saw only clouds and mist swirling below and heard not the slightest sound. It was enough to make one reel and dare not look for long.

Everyone dismounted and proceeded on foot when crossing the stone bridge. No one dared take the risk. Should a mount become frightened, the only outcome would be being smashed to pieces below.

After walking fearfully across that narrow stone bridge, which stretched for dozens of paces, it was difficult for anyone not to feel awe toward the fortress before them.

A broad open space lay before Golden Peng Fortress's main gate, paved entirely with bluestone. Some of the stones had already been damaged, revealing the fortress's venerable age.

The walls were likewise built from enormous stones, their heights uneven but arranged in an orderly fashion. Even the lowest sections stood three or four zhang high. Arrow slits and watchtowers covered their tops, while countless flags stretched straight into the clouds.

Such a fortress truly allowed one man to hold the pass against ten thousand. So long as there were sufficient provisions within, no one could possibly breach it from outside.

Gu Shenwei increasingly believed in the existence of Divine Will. Only because of it had he entered Golden Peng Fortress by a twist of fate.

The fortress gates stood wide open, and the people welcoming the bride waited at the entrance.

Gu Shenwei had thought he would get to see the legendary Unrivaled King, Shangguan Fa, but he was disappointed. Other than Shangguan Nu, he saw no one else from the Shangguan Family, and he did not even get to witness the husband and wife perform their wedding rites.

Like the countless wedding gifts, the ten pairs of Boy and Girl Attendants had now become property of the Shangguan Family. The moment they entered Golden Peng Fortress, someone took charge of distributing them.

The girls were the new young madam's personal attendants and were sent to Shangguan Nu's residence. The ten boys, however, were taken to a small courtyard. The words "Kindling Courtyard" were carved into the lintel above its gate. From this, Gu Shenwei guessed that their primary duty in the future would probably be chopping firewood.

For these youths who had only just arrived, the wedding banquet now consisted of nothing more than distant music and faint laughter.

Their first night in Golden Peng Fortress was calm and long. Apart from someone bringing them a little supper, no one paid any further attention to this new batch of property. All ten youths slept in a single room, on one large brick bed that could barely fit them all.

Lin Yang, the sharp-faced youth, was the first to recover from his shock. The finger marks on his face had faded, and his confidence had mostly returned. Since he had come up with the idea of swearing brotherhood, he appointed himself "Big Brother."

"Golden Peng Fortress, understand? This is Golden Peng Fortress. Even the various royal clans of the Western Regions have to give the Shangguan Family face. We've struck it lucky—no, I've struck it lucky. I'll definitely rise to great heights. Maybe I'll even win the favor of the Unrivaled King. To be favored in Golden Peng Fortress is to be favored throughout Jade City. As for you, follow me obediently and learn a few tricks of handling people and affairs. Maybe you can make something of yourselves too. Also, don't blame me for not warning you: Golden Peng Fortress kills people every day, at least one. You all need to be careful."

Lin Yang enjoyed frightening people, and he enjoyed being flattered even more. Several of the youths played to his taste, their faces paling as they begged him to look after them.

Lin Yang chattered for nearly an hour before contentedly falling silent and going to sleep. One after another, the other youths drifted into dreams as well. Gu Shenwei closed his eyes, then opened them again, still unable to sleep. He could not remember the last time he had slept well.

He had already entered Golden Peng Fortress. His elder sister might be confined somewhere inside. He could even feel her calling to him. Though it was terribly dangerous, not investigating was unbearable.

Lin Yang might still leap up and shout, and the outside might be riddled with traps, but Gu Shenwei could not worry about any of that. He quietly climbed up, barefoot, and slipped out of the room.

The courtyard was tiny, with a gate on either side, east and west. Beyond the eastern gate was a narrow alley, the route by which Gu Shenwei and the others had entered. The alley was long and deep, guarded by soldiers during the day. After some thought, he decided to take the western gate and see what lay outside.

The gate was ajar, which was a good sign. Yet outside was pitch-black. Gu Shenwei took quite some time to adjust before he could barely make out his surroundings. The ground was smooth dirt scattered with many loose stones, and tall trees stood indistinctly in the distance.

This did not look like part of Golden Peng Fortress. It seemed more like he had already gone beyond the fortress.

That leaving Golden Peng Fortress could be so easy surprised Gu Shenwei greatly. He carefully groped his way forward. After walking perhaps thirty or forty paces, he felt a stone slide beneath his foot, then heard a strange sound and stopped. When he looked down, he was startled.

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

The strange sound had come from below, distant and faint, like a pebble striking the cliff face, or perhaps some kind of sharp whistle. In this stagnant darkness, it seemed like an echo from hell.

The hairs on Gu Shenwei's body stood on end. He slowly backed away two steps, turned, and ran toward the small courtyard.

Back in the courtyard, Gu Shenwei felt somewhat calmer. He crept to the eastern gate and pushed it, only to discover that it was locked. He retreated a few steps and looked for somewhere he could climb out, then bumped into something. Turning and lifting his head, he saw a person looking down at him.

The man was dressed entirely in black and masked, nearly blending into the night. His right hand rested near his left waist. Looking carefully, Gu Shenwei could make out the hilt of a blade in his grasp. He was as soundless as a ghost.

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

Gu Shenwei was first shocked, then delighted. But his experience at the cliff had made him more alert than usual, so he did not move or speak.

The two stared at each other for some time before the black-clad man finally spoke.

"You violated the Curfew."

Gu Shenwei's heart sank. The black-clad man was not an ally but one of Golden Peng Fortress's night watchmen. Golden Peng Fortress was impregnable from outside, and its interior was guarded just as tightly.

"I didn't know. I just arrived. I—I wanted to urinate."

"Eighth Young Madam's people?"

Gu Shenwei nodded frantically.

The black-clad man hesitated, his grip on the blade tightening, then loosening.

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

Gu Shenwei understood that he had just escaped death and hurriedly nodded. He ran all the way back to the sleeping quarters and searched for the chamber pot, but he was too nervous. After holding it in for a long while, he managed to squeeze out only a little. He kept feeling that the night watchman was still outside, listening.

He climbed onto the brick bed, his heart still pounding.

I can't take another risk, he secretly reminded himself.

Snoring rose and fell around him. The other youths were sleeping soundly.

Before Gu Shenwei had thought of a way to take revenge, on his second day inside Golden Peng Fortress, he discovered that even seeing Shangguan Nu once more was nearly impossible.

Kindling Courtyard had nothing to do with storing firewood. It was where people were sent to await death.

Anyone injured or sick within the fortress, anyone of low status who was not worth treating, would be sent to this small courtyard to die. There were quite a few such people in Golden Peng Fortress. It was exactly as Lin Yang had said: "Someone dies every day."

The Great Head God's daughter was enjoying her honeymoon. Yet the ten youths she had brought with her woke from a single night's sleep and plunged straight into the abyss. Their assigned duty was to care for those at death's door.

Watching blades kill was one thing. Touching the dead with one's own hands, watching wounds rot and blood gush, was another. By the end of the day, the youths seemed to have aged several decades. They fell silent and gloomy, unable to rid their noses of the smell of decay. Even Lin Yang was dumbstruck, sitting there in a daze without saying a word.

The steward of Kindling Courtyard was a man in his twenties, thin and weak, with a pale face dotted by two or three pimples. He looked chronically ill. He had been sent to this courtyard to await death, but had somehow never died, eventually becoming its "master."

The steward's surname was Han, and his given name was "Jinu." Whenever he mentioned his name, he gnashed his teeth as if the youths were to blame for how unpleasant it sounded.

He always carried a three-foot-long rosewood cane. The sentence he often repeated was, "Beat the bones soft before you can train a good slave."

Golden Peng Fortress's rules were far stricter than those of the Iron Mountain Gang. The first thing Han Jinu did after taking charge of the new slaves was give them names. The method was simple: select characters from the Thousand Character Classic in order, then add the character "slave" after them. Characters that might violate taboos or were too complicated were removed first, leaving seven or eight hundred characters for slaves of successive generations to use in rotation.

That was how Han Jinu had gotten his name.

The register he brought out was covered in all kinds of symbols indicating which characters could currently be used.

"San Lv Xiao Yao, Xin Zou Lei Qian, Qi Xie Huan Zhao. Hmm, Lv and Zou have already been used. That leaves ten characters, just enough."

The naming room was in the small courtyard next door. An old man with a head of white hair and terribly slack skin was specially responsible for the task. Han Jinu chose the characters, and the old man found the corresponding iron molds and heated them red-hot in the fire.

Even though the youths could not understand the Central Plains language, they all knew what would happen next. They looked at one another, but no one dared go first.

"Hurry up. There's still plenty to do." Han Jinu urged them impatiently.

Lin Yang—who would soon have a new name, "Yao Nu"—gave Gu Shenwei a shove. Thus, Gu Shenwei was the first to receive a name, branded onto his right forearm.

Huan Nu.

It was unexpectedly the same character as his childhood nickname.

The two brothers were named Qi Nu, the elder, and Xie Nu, the younger.

Two ugly characters were branded onto each youth's arm, along with a bird spreading its wings—the mark of Golden Peng Fortress.

Seeing the sweat beading on the foreheads of his new subordinates, Han Jinu was very pleased. He even exposed the writing on his own arm so that everyone could look, then lowered his sleeve and said:

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