Swearing an Oath

Gu Shenwei—now going by his new name, "Huan Nu"—was assigned to care for his first dying man, a young man in his twenties with three deep gashes across his chest. Yet he lay motionless on the earthen bed, neither groaning nor making any requests, as if he felt nothing. Aside from his faint breathing, he might as well have been dead already.

"Care" meant simply watching his life ebb away, at most pouring him a bowl of water.

Not burying him alive was the only mercy the Golden Peng Fortress granted the wounded.

The youths had spent only one night in the fortress, not even familiar with their own new names, before being sent to keep vigil beside the dying, beginning their lives in their new "home" amid the thick stench of blood.

Tending to a single dying man required only one person, but these days were the "off-season," and this was the only injured man the courtyard had taken in. Han Jinu made everyone come over to "get used to it," as he put it, while he himself stood far off by the door, pinching his nose.

"This is what happens when you want to be a killer."

Han Jinu's tone was gloating. The dying man on the bed showed no reaction.

"His name is Xie Nu. He entered the fortress with me. Look, now he's lying there waiting to die, and I'm standing here watching him go. Heh heh. Want to be a killer? Try harder in your next life."

The young man called Xie Nu didn't argue. Maybe he hadn't even heard Han Jinu's words. It was Yao Nu (Lin Yang) who mustered the courage to lift his head and say:

"But if you become a real killer, you can rise above the rest, can't you?"

This remark angered Han Jinu. "Right, rise above the rest. Go ahead, all of you become killers. Whoever outlives me in the East Fortress, I'll kowtow to him. Just look at yourselves. Want to be killers? Hmph."

Han Jinu raised the redwood rod in his hand, but he didn't want to get near the dead man, so he turned and left in a huff. In his eyes, Xie Nu on the bed was already a corpse.

Xie Nu died that evening. The youths were extremely reluctant, but under the threat of the redwood rod, they had no choice but to carry the body together, walk out the west gate, and throw it off the cliff.

"This is the final resting place for all servants of the Golden Peng Fortress. It's called Ghost Cry Cliff. Listen, isn't there a strange sound from below? Like a dead man groaning."

Yao Nu was scaring everyone again. The youths turned and ran, scrambling to be first. Han Jinu, standing inside the west gate, let out a snort, whether in amusement or disdain, no one could tell.

Gu Shenwei ran along with the others. He had come here last night and truly heard screams rising from below the cliff.

Not long after, the youths learned from Han Jinu that the cliff outside the west gate was indeed called Ghost Cry Cliff. Yao Nu hadn't made it up. As for how he knew, he wouldn't say, and no one could guess.

Ghost Cry Cliff was a triangular platform with the remains of a stone altar in the middle. It was said that in the past, the dead were piled with firewood and cremated on this stone altar, which was the origin of the name Kindling Courtyard. Since the Golden Peng Fortress changed its customs, the stone altar had gradually fallen into ruin, leaving only a few broken stones with scorched black marks still on them.

In the following days, the youths' daily task was to watch someone die and then throw the corpse off Ghost Cry Cliff. Most of the dead were young men who had entered the East Fortress as apprentices with dreams of becoming killers, only to be brutally eliminated.

The Golden Peng Fortress was divided into several relatively independent areas. The East Fortress was where killers were trained, while the West Fortress housed various miscellaneous courtyards, like Kindling Courtyard, which specialized in taking in the dying.

Knowing that death far outweighed survival, yet people still rushed headlong into the East Fortress—the youths found it hard to understand. Most of them shared Han Jinu's view: stay put in the West Fortress, better to be a living servant than a dead killer.

The ambitious Yao Nu, however, seemed to think otherwise. He hinted several times that he had the makings of a killer, but he knew no martial arts and was no stronger than anyone else, so no one took him seriously.

Gu Shenwei had also seriously considered whether to strive for entry into the East Fortress. The Golden Peng Fortress's killers had wiped out the Gu family. Learning the trade here to become a killer and then take revenge was an appealing thought, the most perfect plan in his mind. Unfortunately, it was hard to achieve:

First, time was tight. The young master of the Gu family could be recognized at any moment; he had to seize the chance for revenge.

Second, the training in the East Fortress was brutal and bloody. Very few survived and passed through smoothly. He feared he would die there before getting his revenge.

Third, and most practically, without a recommendation, a lowly servant like him had no qualification to enter the East Fortress at all.

Gu Shenwei once again sought divine guidance, but got nothing.

Ever since he entered the Golden Peng Fortress, it seemed the divine will had been blocked out. He was now helpless, unable to find his sister or take his revenge. At this moment, forget wiping out the entire Shangguan family—he couldn't even catch a glimpse of Shangguan Nu's sleeve.

He was truly afraid he would be stuck in Kindling Courtyard carrying corpses for the rest of his life.

It wasn't just him. All the youths felt a sense of being forgotten. The Golden Peng Fortress seemed to have no real intention of treating these ten children brought as dowry seriously. They, like the endless stream of the dying, were to waste away their lives in this ill-omened courtyard until death came.

On the fifth day after entering the fortress, the youths finally saw a glimmer of hope.

Xue Niang, the maidservant attending Miss Luo Ningcha, arrived.

Although the youths had never received a kind word from Xue Niang, and though each of them had suffered under her "iron fingers," seeing her now felt like meeting a relative. Only she could rescue them from this sea of suffering.

That afternoon, Xue Niang pushed open the door and spoke as succinctly as ever: "Follow me."

The youths, who had been cleaning the dead man's room, almost cheered out loud. But with Han Jinu standing at the door, they dared not show their joy. His redwood rod was no joke.

"Who are you?"

Han Jinu stared in surprise at the unfamiliar middle-aged woman. She walked so quietly he hadn't heard a single footstep, and he was deeply displeased.

"I am Miss Ningcha's wet nurse."

Han Jinu frowned. He had never heard of a "Miss Ningcha" in the fortress, and the woman's figure was as flat as a coffin, not at all like any wet nurse.

"What miss?"

Xue Niang thrust out a finger. Han Jinu's face flushed red, and with a muffled grunt, he sat down on the threshold.

"Move."

Xue Niang turned and walked toward the courtyard gate. The youths hurried after her. Only Yao Nu was shrewd enough to help Han Jinu up and quietly tell him who she was.

Out the east gate, through alleys, twisting and turning, Xue Niang led the ten people to the residence of the Eighth Young Master, Shangguan Nu. The masters' homes in the Golden Peng Fortress were concentrated in the North Fortress, far from Kindling Courtyard. There were many forks in the road along the way. Gu Shenwei observed carefully but could only remember six or seven out of ten. That Xue Niang, who had entered the fortress not long ago, could find them was no small feat.

The Eighth Young Master's residence faced south, divided into two courtyards. Though not large, it was extremely quiet and elegant. It was hard to imagine that the master here was a killer.

Xue Niang pointed to the open space in front of the main hall and commanded: "Kneel."

Everyone obeyed. Gu Shenwei hesitated for a moment.

He had long resolved to take revenge by any means necessary. As long as he could get his revenge, there was nothing he couldn't endure. Thinking this, he quickly bent his knees and touched the ground at the same time as the others.

Xue Niang still glanced at him, not because she noticed the youth's momentary hesitation, but because his straight back caught her attention.

Beside the youths, the ten dowry maids and several personal maidservants were already kneeling there, their faces anxious, as if something major had happened.

The hall doors were open wide, and a semi-transparent screen stood at the entrance, casting the silhouette of a slender figure.

"Has everyone arrived?"

"Yes, Miss."

The Iron Mountain Great Head God's daughter disliked the title of Eighth Young Madam, so her personal attendants still called her Miss. From then on, everyone who came with her as part of her dowry addressed her only as Miss.

"Have them swear their oaths one by one."

This was indeed the voice of the Great Head God's daughter as remembered—no bridal shyness or happiness in her tone, but a barely contained anger.

"I, Xue Niang, swear to Heaven that in this life I will be loyal only to Miss Luo Shining Tea, daughter of the Iron Mountain Great Head God. I take her surname Luo and will never change it. If I break this oath, may Heaven strike me down with lightning, and after death may I fall into the eighteenth level of hell, never to be reborn."

Yao Nu was the first to follow with his oath, his words earnest. If Gu Shenwei hadn't known his background, he would have thought Yao Nu had served the Miss for years.

Yao Nu had ways of gathering information—for instance, he knew about Ghost Cry Cliff. This showed that his methods of dealing with people worked in Golden Peng Fortress.

Gu Shenwei needed to understand the nest of his enemies, so he followed Yao Nu as the second to speak. He had just received a new name, and now he was changing his surname. While his mouth recited the oath, his heart repeated over and over: I am Gu Shenwei.

The youths who weren't fluent in Central Plains speech had more trouble. Yao Nu volunteered as translator, and they stumbled through the sentences after him, eventually completing their oaths as well.

No one understood why the Great Head God's daughter had suddenly staged this.

After the oaths were done, the Miss behind the screen asked:

"Xue Niang, who do you think is suitable?"

"Other things are secondary, but this person needs to be sharp. I think he's the one."

The person she pointed to was Yao Nu. Yao Nu reacted instantly, crawling forward on his knees two steps and kowtowing as he said:

"Your little slave is willing to go through fire and water for Miss."

What he was suitable for, the Miss didn't mention. She only said, "He'll do," and the inexplicable oath of loyalty ended.

Afterward, the other youths were sent back to Kindling Courtyard by another maidservant. Yao Nu was kept behind alone and didn't return until evening.

Han Jinu grumbled quietly as he locked the courtyard gate. He had already learned Xue Niang's background and didn't dare challenge her directly, so he vented through innuendo. In his eyes, these ten youths "belonged" to his sphere of influence, and Xue Niang and the Eighth Young Madam's interference was breaking the rules and stealing his profits.

Yao Nu took the scolding in stride. Back in the shared bedroom of the ten youths, he kicked off his shoes, jumped onto the earthen bed, let out a relaxed sigh, lay on his back, and said nothing for a long time.

Everyone knew his temper. He would eventually speak up and boast about the special treatment he'd received from the Miss.

"Starting tomorrow, I won't be taking care of the dead with you anymore." Finally, Yao Nu spoke as if recalling something unimportant, his tone casual.

"Why? Are you leaving here?" someone asked curiously. In Golden Peng Fortress, Central Plains speech was the common language, and several of the Hu youths had learned enough to hold basic conversations.

"Xue Niang is going to teach me martial arts. In a while, I'll be a killer."

This startled everyone. Yao Nu had already shown interest in killers, but no one expected such good fortune to fall on him so quickly.

"Can you handle it?" Qi Nu said in stiff Central Plains speech from the side. He and his brother Xie Nu had joined the oath-bond, but they had never forgotten Yao Nu's betrayal.

In truth, everyone had the same doubt. The first dead person they had sent off was a killer apprentice eliminated from East Fortress. With Yao Nu's frail body, he probably wouldn't last a day before being carried back to Kindling Courtyard.

"What do you know?" Yao Nu was dismissive. "Killers are still people. There are ranks among them, and personal connections matter. An ordinary person going in would have no chance of survival, but I'm recommended by the Eighth Young Master and the Eighth Young Madam. Who would dare touch me?"

No one could refute him. They knew nothing about Golden Peng Fortress and didn't understand the real situation inside.

Gu Shenwei, however, was moved by these words.

He didn't want to waste time learning to be a killer. But if he could also win the favor and recommendation of his masters, wouldn't he have a chance to get close to Shangguan Nu?