True Words

The distance from the small courtyard to the Ghost Courtyard was only a few dozen steps. Gu Shenwei moved forward, pressing himself tightly against the wall, listening and looking before each step, as if he were walking towards a cliff.

Even so, he had underestimated the strictness of the Golden Peng Fortress guards. He had barely taken ten steps before someone grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.

Night watchmen were like ghosts, lurking beside humans and suddenly appearing when you least expected it. No amount of vigilance could prevent it.

Seized so suddenly, Gu Shenwei actually calmed down and whispered, "Let me go."

This night watchman was likely not the same one from last time. Seeing Gu Shenwei's composure, he seemed slightly surprised. Although his face was hidden by a black cloth, there was less killing intent in his eyes.

"You've violated the curfew."

"I came out for something."

"What thing?"

"I..." Gu Shenwei couldn't come up with a plausible lie for a moment.

"I let him out," Yao Nu's voice suddenly emerged. Gu Shenwei thought he was being inconspicuous, but he had actually been followed the whole time.

The night watchman hadn't expected anyone else to be behind them. He was clearly startled, dropped Gu Shenwei, and gripped his saber hilt with his right hand while his left hand rested on the sheath.

"Who?"

"Yao Nu from the Eighth Young Master's courtyard." Yao Nu's voice was even calmer than Gu Shenwei's, even carrying a hint of impatience and reprimand.

"You've also violated the curfew."

"What curfew? I dropped something in the Eighth Young Master's courtyard and asked Huan Nu to retrieve it for me. So what, is that not allowed?"

Gu Shenwei hadn't expected Yao Nu to appear so suddenly or to help him cover his lie. He felt a sense of gratitude, but he knew that with Yao Nu's status, it wouldn't be easy to dismiss the night watchman.

As expected, the night watchman didn't accept Yao Nu's explanation. "Come with me to see the duty Blade Master."

Blade Masters were the leaders among the assassins of the Golden Peng Fortress. There were over a dozen of them. Meeting a Blade Master meant that the violation of the order would be recorded and punished accordingly.

Simply leaving one's courtyard at night was not a severe offense. However, Gu Shenwei was still holding the stolen door key, which was an unforgivable crime. He would most likely be thrown into the Ghost Courtyard.

Gu Shenwei, for his part, somewhat hoped to be imprisoned in the Ghost Courtyard to search for his sister's whereabouts. Yao Nu, however, did not.

"Aren't you Assassin Liu Xuan? We're all servants of the Eighth Young Master, why would you try to trip me up? The Eighth Young Madam has been in a bad mood lately. Do you think it's a good idea to blow this out of proportion?"

Gu Shenwei and Liu Xuan were both surprised that Yao Nu knew the night watchman's name. The night watchman wore all black and a mask precisely to avoid being recognized.

"You... how do you recognize me?"

"Sigh, why so tense? Weren't you the guard in the Eighth Young Master's courtyard a while ago? I was learning martial arts from Xue Niang and always saw you hanging around. We all serve the same master, so we should help each other out, right?"

Night watchman Liu Xuan's eyes darted around, showing some hesitation. The night watchmen concealed their identities to enforce the law impartially without scruples. Now that he had been recognized, it would be difficult to continue to be "impartial." Moreover, violating the curfew wasn't a major offense, and catching someone for it wouldn't earn him much merit.

"You two go back now and don't come out again."

"But I need that thing right now."

"That's not allowed either. Go back. You go to the Eighth Young Master's courtyard every day, no need to rush."

"Alright," Yao Nu shrugged, feigning displeasure. "Tomorrow then." He then turned to Huan Nu in a dissatisfied tone, "Hurry back, it's such a hassle to get you to do anything."

Gu Shenwei mumbled an acknowledgment and hurried back to the small courtyard with his head down. Liu Xuan, the night watchman, had lost his composure when his identity was revealed. He would eventually realize that Yao Nu was bluffing. If he truly wanted something, he wouldn't need to send someone out and then follow them. However, as long as they got past this hurdle, Liu Xuan wouldn't necessarily insist on apprehending the two young servants.

Back in the small courtyard, Yao Nu snatched the key, locked the main door, and then quietly returned the key to Han Jinu's room. After coming out, he pulled Huan Nu to the west gate, their usual practice spot, which was the quietest area.

"You're really brave, sneaking around here," Yao Nu said in a low voice, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. It's a good thing you recognized that assassin."

"Shh, that was a coincidence. I didn't know at first. But as soon as he gripped his saber, I recognized him. Everyone grips their saber differently. This fellow Liu Xuan isn't very skilled but likes to show off. He always flicks his right hand up before gripping his saber. Lucky for him, if he'd met a real master, that flick of his hand would have cost him his life."

Yao Nu had only been practicing martial arts for a little over half a month and had zero combat experience, yet he had made such a keen observation and reasoned it out. Gu Shenwei was very surprised. He then realized that these words must have come from Xue Niang, and Yao Nu was just repeating them. If he hadn't known Yao Nu's background, he wouldn't have been able to tell.

Gu Shenwei's gratitude was genuine.

His impression of Yao Nu had greatly improved. He even wanted to reveal some of his true feelings to him in order to gain his help.

Although Gu Shenwei came from a wealthy family and had many servants, and he had always felt he had good relationships with the household staff, it wasn't until he became a servant himself that he realized his previous feelings were an illusion. He didn't understand how to survive among servants, let alone how to build good relationships.

He had been in the Golden Peng Fortress for almost a month, yet he had only gathered fragments of information. Those Hu youths, their Central Plains Mandarin was still halting, and the various rumors they brought back were more numerous than his own. As for Yao Nu, he was an expert at gathering information, his familiarity with the Golden Peng Fortress comparable to that of a servant who had lived there for over a decade.

If he could have such a helper, it would be twice as effective, whether for finding his sister or for future revenge.

"Yao Nu, there are some things I need to tell you. You're in danger, and I can help you."

Gu Shenwei decided to tell Yao Nu about his qi deviation. As for being able to help him, it wasn't an empty promise. Just yesterday, he had finally broken through the first level of Yang Jin and mastered the first level of Yin Jin.

Although his cultivation over the past decade had been absent-minded, under his father Gu Lun's guidance, he had built an excellent foundation. Once he focused, breakthroughs came easily.

Yin Jin didn't increase a cultivator's internal energy, but it allowed for more precise control of Yang Jin. If Yang Jin was the method for increasing strength, then Yin Jin was the secret to using that strength.

Having reached the first level of Yin Jin, Gu Shenwei felt capable of helping Yao Nu suppress the Yang Jin within him, delaying and preventing qi deviation.

Yao Nu shook his head, clicking his tongue, a smile on his face, as if Huan Nu were a child spouting foolishness.

"I'm serious. Your cultivation of Hehe Jin is too fast, and you're in danger of qi deviation," Gu Shenwei finally revealed the truth.

If he hadn't been afraid of waking the people in the courtyard, Yao Nu would have burst into laughter then. But he still let out a snicker, placing his right hand on Huan Nu's shoulder, and laughed for a while. When Huan Nu's face showed anger, he finally said:

"It's not that I look down on you, but you're really not the type for schemes and tricks. Every time I see you lie, I want to laugh. Hehe, but that's your advantage. Sometimes innocence is more endearing, don't lose it."

Gu Shenwei's face turned completely red. He temporarily abandoned the idea of helping Yao Nu suppress his Yang Jin. "Alright, you helped me out a lot. I think I owe you. Ask for whatever you want."

Yao Nu's hand remained on his shoulder. "I told you, I know you have a secret."

"I can't tell you that."

"It's fine, I don't want to know either. But if I just tell others that you know internal energy and carry a secret manual, your secret will be lost forever."

Gu Shenwei pushed Yao Nu's hand away, becoming alert.

At Golden Peng Fortress, it wasn't surprising for a servant to know martial arts. However, if that person knew internal energy, it was a different story. There were plenty of martial arts styles involving bare hands or swords, but internal energy cultivation methods were rare. Each internal energy technique was usually the core secret of a sect, rarely passed down, and thus highly recognizable.

To experts, Hehe Jin was the symbol of the Gu clan of the Central Plains, more reliable than his surname.

"What exactly do you want?"

Yao Nu took a step closer. He was slightly shorter than Huan Nu, but his half-smile made him seem over a decade older. "I've always liked you."

"Mm." Gu Shenwei didn't feel the same.

"I want you to like me too."

"Huh?" Gu Shenwei took a step back, finding Yao Nu's words increasingly strange.

"Don't you understand yet?"

"Understand what?"

"Heh heh, I won't make things difficult for you. After you've served the assassins of Ji Nu, you can do the same thing with me. I'm sure I'm more to your taste than that guy."

Gu Shenwei understood what Yao Nu meant. Han Shiqi was one of his greatest enemies, and also the person who made him feel most disgusted. He had witnessed the experiences of Qi Nu and Xie Nu. It had been over ten days, and the brothers remained tight-lipped about it. Xie Nu still woke up in the middle of the night, crying out in terror.

Gu Shenwei couldn't imagine what Han Shiqi had done to them, but he knew it must have been disgusting. Now, Yao Nu was making the same request of him!

Any goodwill and trust Gu Shenwei had just built for Yao Nu vanished completely.

Provoked but unable to retaliate, his heart full of rage but forced to suppress it, Gu Shenwei deeply felt the pain of being weak. In his short fourteen years of life, all the humiliations he had suffered combined didn't amount to this.

Gu Shenwei completely gave up on the idea of saving Yao Nu.

"Go to hell," he said, then turned and walked back to the small courtyard.

Yao Nu leaned against the wall, watching Huan Nu's retreating figure, completely unfazed by the threat. He held the leverage over the young man and only needed patience.

"You'll come begging me," Yao Nu murmured. Suddenly, a cold wind swept through, and indistinct, mournful cries came from below the Corpse Disposal Cliff. They sounded like the wind, like beasts, like ghosts. Yao Nu's hair stood on end, and he hurried back to the small courtyard, closing the gate. He cursed Golden Peng Fortress inwardly, realizing that the gate to this place where corpses were sent was never locked.