Entering Devilhood

The Yin and Yang energies of Hehe Jin were cultivated in alternating fashion. The higher one trained, the greater its power became. Beginning with Yin Jin was safer but slow to master; to advance quickly, one had to start with Yang Jin—but that required the guidance and assistance of a renowned master.

Yang had Old Yang, and Yin had Old Yin. As the saying went, "When the dragon soars too high, it will regret its reach." When any kind of energy went too far, it could turn from benefit to harm. Thus, when cultivating Yang Jin, one had to use Yin Jin as protection, and vice versa.

Taking the first level of Yang Jin as the first step toward entering the hall and chamber, a cultivator whose body lacked Yin Jin to harmonize it could only rely on external force. This "external force" had to belong to someone with at least the second level of Yin Jin.

When Gu Shenwei cultivated the first level of Yang Jin, his guide had been his father. At the time, Gu Lun had already cultivated Hehe Jin to the fifth level of Yin Jin. Even while imparting the technique to his son, he had proceeded with the utmost caution, often reminding him to seek stability rather than speed. Laying a solid foundation was more important than anything else.

Over the years, Gu Shenwei had used this as an excuse not to cultivate diligently, causing him to halt after mastering the first level of Yang Jin and remain stuck, never advancing to the first level of Yin Jin.

When teaching Yao Nu, Gu Shenwei had deliberately concealed this crucial warning. Instead, he encouraged him to work twice as hard in pursuit of a meteoric rise.

The faster Yao Nu cultivated Yang Jin, the deeper he sank into Qi Deviation.

Only this method could eliminate Yao Nu without leaving a trace. Yao Nu had Xue Niang and Huan Nu as his two "masters." If he suddenly died while cultivating, suspicion would first fall on Xue Niang.

The plan was nearly flawless. The only problem was that Qi Deviation could not be controlled.

Gu Shenwei had heard only the barest hint of information about Qi Deviation from his father. As for exactly how far one had to cultivate, or when it would erupt, he had no idea at all.

If Yao Nu did not suffer Qi Deviation until several months later, it would be of little use to Gu Shenwei. Once Yao Nu entered East Fortress, where experts abounded, they would sooner or later see through the Hehe Jin of this new disciple.

Besides, Han Shiqi, who knew him, would return in less than half a month. He had already been "personally selected" to attend him at night.

Danger pressed in from every side, with a sword hanging over his head.

Gu Shenwei had no room for mercy, but he was not a cold-blooded killer after all. Watching a living, breathing youth walk step by step toward death because of his own design, he would sometimes fall into self-reproach without even realizing it.

Did Yao Nu deserve to die? Did he have to die?

Ever since Gu Shenwei had taught him Hehe Jin, Yao Nu seemed to regard him as a friend. Of course, within Yao Nu's system, "friends" were also ranked by status and superiority. He never forgot to remind Huan Nu that his own position was higher, that he was the strong one, providing wisdom and power, while Huan Nu needed to repay him with loyalty and gratitude.

He also often indoctrinated Huan Nu with his philosophy of dealing with the world.

"You've heard of Golden Peng Fortress's Two Killer Precepts, right? The first is clarity: stay in the shadows whenever possible. The second is softness: always cut the weeds and dig up the roots."

"Let me tell you, being a servant and being a killer are the same. The master is noble, the servant is base. If you want to climb upward, you first have to cast aside every principle and shred of dignity. Do whatever you're told, and do it happily. Like I always say, 'Wash your backside clean.' Is washing it clean enough? No. You have to take the initiative to fawn, add a few tricks, make him like you until he can't bear to stop. Then, one day, you'll have the chance to step on your old master and pledge yourself to a new one. When that time comes, don't hesitate."

"Friends? How could a servant be qualified to make friends? We're all one another's steps. Today I step on you, and tomorrow you can step on me."

Faced with such "heart-to-heart" conversations, Gu Shenwei could only listen, then secretly tell himself: He's right, so you can kill him with a clear conscience.

Yao Nu's Internal Force progressed astonishingly fast, and his energy grew stronger by the day. What he had learned from Xue Niang was a set of Tiger Subduing Fist, a fierce and forceful technique. The two complemented each other, making him increasingly imposing.

The two often sparred. Gu Shenwei knew only a set of Eight Trigram Palm, and had not even learned it completely, but he was still stronger than Yao Nu, who had only just begun studying martial arts. In particular, during the first few days, he had held the absolute upper hand. Yet as the Yang Jin within Yao Nu grew uncontrollably, Gu Shenwei gradually began to show signs of being unable to withstand him.

Yao Nu had practiced Hehe Jin for only a little over ten days, yet it had already proven more effective than the youth's nearly ten years of half-hearted cultivation.

Gu Shenwei even began to wonder whether his father had been mistaken, whether Qi Deviation did not exist at all. Yao Nu was full of vitality—where was the slightest sign that his life was in danger?

On the fourteenth day after heat began to stir within Yao Nu's inner elixir, he finished a set of Tiger Subduing Fist and was drenched in sweat, as if he had just bathed in hot water. This had never happened before.

"You look a little tired."

"I'm fine. I sweat easily; I've been like this since I was little. I feel like I have endless strength inside me. Hehe Jin really is boundlessly effective. How did you learn it? You don't seem as good as me."

"I didn't work hard enough. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been captured and sold."

"Heh-heh."

Yao Nu did not ask further. The group of youths had an unspoken rule: no one pried into anyone else's past. Even Yao Nu, who loved to chatter, never mentioned his own.

With his feet treading the positions of the sixty-four innate trigrams, his hands circulating Yin and Yang power, and his breath drawing in the energy of dragons and tigers, Yao Nu practiced Hehe Jin once more. After completing the exercise, he was sweating even more heavily and pressed a hand to his chest, seeming to be in some pain.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Gu Shenwei asked, doing his best not to let his voice sound too concerned.

"No, I'm fine. Hmm, it hurts a little here—just a little. Maybe I punched too hard."

Gu Shenwei's heart stirred. The first sign of Qi Deviation had appeared. The place Yao Nu was clutching was unmistakably the Tianchi Acupoint, exactly as his father had once warned him.

The Tianchi Acupoint belonged to the Pericardium Meridian of Hand Jueyin. Next, the acupoints along both of Yao Nu's arms would begin to ache one after another, and they would tremble involuntarily. Once that trembling spread through his entire arms, death would not be far away.

"Maybe you're cultivating your Internal Force too quickly. You should slow down a little." Although he desperately wished Yao Nu to advance even faster, Gu Shenwei meant those words with a trace of genuine sincerity.

Unexpectedly, Yao Nu furrowed his brows and, for the first time in days, turned a cold face on Huan Nu.

"What do you know? Xue Niang is driving me hard. She says I'm still far too weak, and that I'll be killed on my first day in East Fortress. Damn it, that place uses real blades and real spears. No matter how clean I wash my backside, it won't help. I still want to live and enjoy myself. I have to train, no matter how much it hurts. Once I master the first level of Yang Jin, I'll cultivate the first level of Yin Jin, and then I can practice the accelerated method."

Yao Nu had never been one to endure hardship, so Gu Shenwei was somewhat impressed that he could summon such tenacity.

"When I become a killer, I'll kill that bastard first."

Was that bastard someone from the Fortress, or someone Yao Nu had known in the past? Gu Shenwei did not ask, and Yao Nu did not mention it again.

"With me, if I don't become the most trusted killer, then I'll have come to Golden Peng Fortress for nothing. Huan Nu, I'm not someone who repays every kindness, but I'll remember this favor you've done me. Don't worry—I know you have secrets, and I won't reveal them. I want you to be my right-hand man."

Yao Nu blinked. Even beneath the moonlight, his thin little face was flushed red, his eyes shining as though he had just taken a great gulp of rich, aged wine.

Gu Shenwei did not know whether to be touched or furious by those words. Perhaps it was both. He was the young master of the Gu Family, not a servant's right-hand man. Yet in this cold and heartless Golden Peng Fortress, how he wished he had someone who came close to being a "friend."

Gu Shenwei forced out a smile. "I'm afraid I'm not qualified."

Yao Nu patted him on the shoulder and held his head high. "I decide whether you're qualified."

That night, lying on the kang, Gu Shenwei secretly prayed to the nameless Divine Will to strengthen his determination for revenge.

He was like a sinister doctor, watching his patient sink deeper into an incurable illness, refusing to say a word while offering him sweet, fragrant poison.

But if not for something that happened later, Gu Shenwei would not have made his final decision.

Gu Shenwei had always been carefully trying to find out where Golden Peng Fortress's prison was. He believed there had to be some place where prisoners were kept, and his sister Cuilan was suffering inside it.

It was not easy. As a new servant still in training, he rarely had any chance to leave the small courtyard. Whenever he did, someone accompanied him. He could not even let his gaze wander freely, much less chat with anyone.

Aside from Han Jinu and several youths, no one lived in the small courtyard permanently. Those who came were usually dying men, and none of them were talkative.

But one man covered in wounds still revealed some important information. His original appearance was no longer recognizable, and his injuries were unlike those of the killer apprentices of old. A foul stench wafted from his body. He died the instant he was carried into the room, and the men who had carried him turned and hurried straight for the western gate.

Han Jinu had been supervising the youths as they washed clothes at the time. Covering his nose, he said:

"Everyone who comes out of Ghost Courtyard stinks like this. I really don't know how the guards there can stand it."

A youth who had just learned how to curry favor with his superior put on an expression of confusion and intense interest. "Instructor, what is Ghost Courtyard?"

"Do you really have to ask? Outside, they're people; once they go in, they're ghosts. You little brats, whoever refuses to behave will end up in Ghost Courtyard sooner or later. You'll be half-rotten before you're dead. Hmph, I'd say that Yao Nu isn't far from Ghost Courtyard..."

Yao Nu was still learning boxing from Xue Niang and did not hear the threat. But by nightfall, he would know. Aside from the brothers Qi Nu and Xie Nu, all the other youths would fight one another to report everything to Yao Nu.

Through Han Jinu's rambling, Gu Shenwei learned not only that Ghost Courtyard existed, but also that it was not far from here, merely a few dozen paces away. Its true name was Heart Washing Courtyard.

Ghost Courtyard and Ghost Cry Cliff ought to have been neighbors from the start.

That night, after finishing Hehe Jin with Yao Nu, Gu Shenwei could not fall asleep no matter what. Everyone else was already snoring. He sat up, quietly climbed down from the kang, and slipped out of the room for the second time. His eyes had long since adjusted to the dim moonlight outside.

He first went to the outside of Han Jinu's room. Jinu rarely locked the door while sleeping, as though he were always waiting for someone—but certainly not Huan Nu.

Gu Shenwei gently pushed open the door. He often cleaned this place and knew its layout like the back of his hand.

Jinu was fast asleep, with a Rosewood Cane lying beside him.

Three keys hung behind the door. One could open the East Courtyard gate, which was opened early and closed late. That was one of Jinu's duties.

Gu Shenwei took down that key, slipped out of the room, pulled the door shut, and walked toward the East Courtyard gate.

The last time, he had merely pushed the gate and attracted the night watchman. He thought it might have been a coincidence, with the watchman simply happening to patrol nearby. This time, with a little luck, he should be able to avoid drawing anyone's attention.

To find his sister, he was willing to risk anything.

He pressed his ear to the gate and listened for a while before unlocking it and stepping outside. Then he crouched down and listened carefully again, confirming that no one was hiding nearby. He rose and walked deeper into the narrow alley with his back to the wall.

Every morning, when paying his respects to the Eighth Young Madam, he passed through this alley. He had walked past that tall, plain wooden gate again and again, never imagining that a prison lay behind it.