Seizure

Han Shiqi was about to return to the fortress. Han Jinu announced this news loudly, his face full of anticipation, like a young wife waiting for her husband to return home for a reunion. At the same time, the way he looked at Huan Nu had also changed.

Huan Nu was the treasure he intended to present to Han Shiqi. It wasn't easy to have a stable backer in Golden Peng Fortress. He couldn't harbor any "jealousy."

Gu Shenwei, who had been forcibly named "Huan Nu," was now relieved of all duties. He had nothing to do every day except recuperate and await the "favor" of the assassin Han Shiqi.

"Smile more, don't always act like someone died in the family," Han Jinu often lectured Huan Nu, always trying to seize the opportunity to impart some techniques.

Gu Shenwei could only avoid him as much as possible. Han Shiqi and Yao Nu were originally two unrelated matters, but now they had become intertwined. Not only had Yao Nu made the same demand as Han Shiqi, but the solution Gu Shenwei envisioned also had to address both simultaneously.

Yao Nu must die, and Gu Shenwei must retrieve White Silk. He had now mastered both Yin and Yang Jin and could practice the accelerated cultivation method. If Hehe Jin was truly as powerful as his father had said, he could begin his revenge soon.

The accelerated cultivation method held immense hidden dangers, which would manifest in at most two to three years. But Gu Shenwei didn't care. As long as he could kill all his enemies and rescue his sister, whose whereabouts were unknown, he was willing to pay any price.

As for his own life, he had long stopped caring. Sometimes, staring at the brand on his right arm, he even felt that death was better than life.

The signs of Yao Nu's qi deviation were becoming increasingly apparent. The persistent pain had spread from Tianchi Acupoint to Tianquan, Quze, and all the way to Neiguan Acupoint. Almost his entire arm would tremble from time to time. If Yao Nu had even a slight understanding of internal cultivation, he would have realized something was wrong. But now, not only did he have no suspicion, he practiced even more diligently.

Gu Shenwei pretended to advise him to slow down his practice. The more he did so, the more diligently Yao Nu practiced. He wholeheartedly believed that the trembling in his arm was nothing serious and that the symptoms would naturally subside once he reached a higher level of cultivation.

Gu Shenwei recited almost the entire normal practice method of Hehe Jin to him. The description after the third level of Yin and Yang Jin made Yao Nu's heart yearn for it, making him even more unwilling to slow down his cultivation progress.

Hehe Jin had a difficult foundation and relatively small power. Only after cultivating both Yin and Yang Jin to the third level did the practitioner begin to undergo a transformation.

Gu Shenwei had been secretly searching for White Silk. While correcting Yao Nu's cultivation posture, he often searched him discreetly. However, White Silk was too light and thin, making it difficult to feel through clothing. He had also searched Yao Nu's belongings when he was away, and even the luggage of the other youths, but still found nothing.

Yao Nu had hidden White Silk very well.

With Han Shiqi's return date approaching, Gu Shenwei was becoming impatient. He had considered asking Xue Niang for help, but the matter of an assassin's interest in a young boy was ultimately difficult to speak of. Moreover, Xue Niang might not be willing to interfere, and it wouldn't solve the key problem: as soon as Han Shiqi saw Huan Nu, he would immediately recognize who he was.

Unless he fought again, just like a month ago, getting beaten black and blue so that Han Shiqi wouldn't recognize him, and perhaps even lose interest in him.

This simple plan, however, was not easy to execute. The relationships among the nine youths were now different from when they first entered Golden Peng Fortress. Yao Nu's status was steadily increasing, and he had completely controlled five youths. Even Huan Nu was unanimously considered to have sided with Yao Nu, leaving only the Qi Nu and Xie Nu brothers as a separate faction.

If he had to choose friends in Golden Peng Fortress, Gu Shenwei would prefer these two brothers. Although they were now like strangers and rarely spoke, after much thought, Gu Shenwei could only find them to fight.

Qi Nu didn't seem to know martial arts, but he was physically strong and possessed great power. Gu Shenwei only hoped not to provoke him too much.

All Gu Shenwei had to do now was wait. The day Han Shiqi returned to the fortress would be the day he fought Qi Nu.

When he had nothing to do, Gu Shenwei often sat alone by the edge of Ghost Cry Cliff. Here, he wouldn't be disturbed. No matter how much Han Jinu wanted to teach him "techniques," he was unwilling to come here.

He often wondered how many bodies this cliff had swallowed. Were the bodies that fell to the bottom slowly corroded, or were they directly eaten by wild beasts? Perhaps there were indeed wolves and tigers lurking below, waiting for a meal that fell from the sky.

Finally, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that he was contemplating his own fate: whether to live in the world, hopelessly waiting for revenge, or to simply jump off and end it all.

Deep down, he detested carrying such a heavy burden and enduring humiliation. He should have lived a completely different life.

"It is the will of the gods."

Every time he pondered, Gu Shenwei concluded with these four words. He needed the support of the divine will for a weak orphan to seek revenge against the assassin organization that dominated the Western Regions.

Gu Shenwei was like a devout believer, on the verge of death, living solely on a persistent belief. He firmly believed in the divine will that he could not name. He had to believe, he could only believe.

The divine will truly manifested once more.

Yao Nu died on the thirtieth day after entering the fortress. Gu Shenwei would never forget the way Yao Nu died in his entire life. Although he had not personally acted, this was the first person to die because of him.

That morning, the nine youths, as usual, went to the Eighth Young Master's courtyard to pay their respects to the Eighth Young Madam. As soon as the young lady stepped into the courtyard, she began to have an outburst. "What is there to be proud of about her Meng family? Her ancestors were merely peddlers and hawkers. How many people have they killed through usury and gambling? If my father hadn't shown leniency, could her businesses still continue?"

"Miss, there's no need to be angry. You are the daughter of the Great Head God, no need to bother with snobbish people," the maidservant Xiao Sui advised. She was the former Xiao Ru. "Chenxin Ruyi" could no longer be used, so it was changed to "Chenxin Suiyi."

The wife of Golden Peng Fortress's Unrivaled King had the surname Meng. She came from a wealthy merchant family in Jade City, and her maternal family was one of the foremost rich households in the Western Regions.

"Hmph, the Shangguan family and my father do the same dirty work of killing and arson. Why did she, so precious, marry into this stone fortress? I..."

Xue Niang quickly stopped the young lady. This was Golden Peng Fortress; it was better to reveal less about the Shangguan family's past.

The young lady entered the main hall. The screen blocked her figure, and only then were the servants allowed to look up, but they still knelt.

"Swear," the young lady commanded. Like all self-important nobles, she derived a sliver of satisfaction from these insincere oaths.

The servants repeated their oaths one by one, often interrupted by the young lady. Once she felt someone's tone was not pious enough, she would order Xue Niang to poke them until she was satisfied.

Everyone's oath was similar to the first day. Every time the young lady was in a bad mood, they had to repeat it.

This was by no means the start of a good day, but it wasn't much different from usual. After completing their routine duties, the servants could escape from the sight of the young lady and Xue Niang and have a normal day. Gu Shenwei sometimes guessed that Yao Nu, who stayed to learn martial arts from Xue Niang, might not have had an easy time, but he never brought it up.

The oath-taking ceremony was nearing its end, with only one clumsy old woman left. She stumbled over her words several times and couldn't clearly state the oath. She was always like this; as long as Xue Niang urged her a bit more, she could always recite it completely, though she would forget it again next time.

The young lady incessantly accused the old woman of disloyalty, interspersed with rambling accusations against the Meng and Shangguan families. It was at this critical juncture that Yao Nu did something that surprised everyone: he laughed.

This was not an ordinary laugh, but a loud laugh, which escalated into a wild guffaw, and finally, he laughed until he was breathless, as if everyone in the courtyard were clowns, and the most laughable of all was the young lady sitting behind the screen.

Yao Nu's laughter was so strange that no one reacted until he was rolling on the ground laughing. Xue Niang then rushed over and kicked him in the ribs, scolding:

"Are you crazy! What are you laughing at?"

Her kick landed on a vital acupoint, but it had no effect on Yao Nu. He continued to laugh, one hand covering his stomach, the other pointing at Xue Niang's face.

Xue Niang, usually composed, was also bewildered at this moment. She couldn't help but raise her hand and wipe her own face, then, enraged, she delivered several more kicks, all vicious blows that hit vital points.

Yao Nu stopped rolling on the ground. His body stiffened like a fallen statue, but the laughter did not cease. Instead, it became increasingly shrill, like wails and roars, as if emanating from the depths of his being.

The people in the courtyard were startled and retreated far away. The young lady behind the screen asked in terror:

"Is he... possessed?"

Xue Niang didn't believe in possession. She delivered another kick to Yao Nu's temple, and the laughter finally stopped. "Don't be afraid, Miss. He just lacks internal energy."

Among everyone, only Gu Shenwei knew clearly that Yao Nu's qi deviation had flared up. However, this situation was beyond his imagination; he had always thought qi deviation meant spitting blood and dying.

Xue Niang ordered the youths to carry Yao Nu back to his dwelling.

There was a ready room in the small courtyard specifically for housing dying servants. The youths carried Yao Nu directly inside, then scattered like a flock of birds, leaving only Gu Shenwei alone.

Han Jinu heard the commotion and came to take a look. He naturally gloated over Yao Nu's fate, but he also didn't want to stay by a dying person's side. He instructed Huan Nu to guard the place and then left in a hurry.

Yao Nu was not dead yet; his breathing was so faint it was almost undetectable. Gu Shenwei confirmed no one else was inside or outside the room. He got onto the heated brick bed and searched Yao Nu's body. Then, he placed his palms on the Tianchi acupoints on either side of Yao Nu's chest, circulated his Yin Jin, and infused a stream of internal energy.

After the time it took for an entire stick of incense to burn, Yao Nu let out a cry and woke up. His eyes were vacant, but he was no longer smiling.

"Where's White Silk? Hurry and give it back to me."

Gu Shenwei said urgently. He couldn't let Yao Nu die like this. That White Silk, which had reappeared, now carried his entire revenge plan.