Xuanji

This was a truly disappointing and embarrassing moment, especially for the Shangguan Family twins. Of all the people present, only the two of them were the Unrivaled King's children. With their father and elder brother absent, they seemed to have become the Golden Peng Fortress's "face."

Shangguan Fei lowered his head, appearing fidgety and uneasy. Shangguan Ru bit her lip, her face like rare red jade, her large dark eyes blazing with barely suppressed anger.

For a brief moment, Gu Shenwei even thought she would rush forward to scold the assassins and personally face Marshal Yang, who had already killed nine men.

A continuous drumbeat suddenly echoed from within the fortress, sometimes fast, sometimes slow.

To outsiders, it sounded like an attack. But to the Golden Peng assassins, it held a different meaning.

The remaining dozen or so assassins in front slowly retreated. They dared not be careless with each step, only turning to walk towards the Golden Peng Fortress when they were twenty paces away from Marshal Yang.

The assassins were withdrawing.

Marshal Yang simply watched, with no intention of stopping them. These pawns of the Golden Peng Fortress had never been his target. The nine corpses at his feet were merely his calling card to the Unrivaled King.

The Golden Peng Fortress had its "Two Precepts of the Assassin," and he, Marshal Yang, had his own principles.

The assassins walked with steady steps, showing no sign of panic. However, this did not alleviate the dejection of the young spectators. The twins first looked at their own assassins retreating with disbelief, then turned to gaze back at the fortress, expecting someone more formidable to emerge and replace these incompetent fellows. The Blade Master, the Young Master, the Green-faced Assassin – the Golden Peng Fortress hadn't unleashed its full strength yet.

But no one else appeared. Only the unchanging drumbeat commanded everyone to retreat.

Qing Nu sighed silently and stepped forward. "Young Masters, let's go back. Leave this matter to the Young Lords to handle."

The twins were still young and had not yet earned the title of "Young Lord."

Shangguan Ru ignored him, stubbornly staring at Marshal Yang in the distance as if trying to kill him with her gaze. Shangguan Fei had turned halfway to leave. Seeing his sister remain still, he turned back to his original position, unwilling to go.

Qing Nu wore a bitter smile and shook his head. The assassins were about to enter the fortress. Leaving a group of children here would not only be unhelpful but also extremely dangerous. He looked at Shangguan Yushi, his gaze pleading for help.

Normally, Shangguan Yushi was the bravest among them. Most of the twins' outlandish ideas came from her instigation. However, at this critical moment, she was more mature. She gently placed her hands on her cousin's shoulders and whispered in her ear.

Whatever she said, it was effective. Shangguan Ru's anger subsided slightly, and she turned to walk back into the fortress.

When the "Ninth Young Master" no longer insisted, all the other youths breathed a sigh of relief and hurried back into the safety of the stone fortress. What had started as an exciting spectacle had now become somewhat perilous.

Behind them, the assassins also filed in, and the heavy wooden gate slowly closed.

"Ahem." Qing Nu wanted to say something to comfort the two young masters. No one spoke on the way back, and the atmosphere was terrifyingly silent.

Shangguan Ru, however, had no patience to listen to a servant's nonsense. She suddenly broke into a run, heading towards the inner chambers. She wanted to ask her father, the Unrivaled King feared by everyone in the Western Regions, directly why he would endure such humiliation instead of sending his strongest man to kill the challenger with a single blow.

Shangguan Yushi, Shangguan Fei, and a few personal attendants followed closely behind. Qing Nu could only shake his head and then order the other attendants to disperse. They likely wouldn't be needed for the rest of the day.

Gu Shenwei had to exert the greatest willpower to control the joy and excitement surging within him. But he couldn't control his feet; before he knew it, he was running.

Old Zhang was not around. Apart from sleeping, he rarely returned to the stone house. The eccentric old man preferred to stay with the horses rather than interact with people.

Gu Shenwei paced back and forth alone in the room, too agitated to sit still. He had endured too much in front of others, and now his emotions poured out.

He practiced his dual skills of saber and spear one moment, then thought of practicing Hehe Jin the next, but couldn't stick with either for long. A chaotic flood of thoughts surged through his mind, preventing him from thinking clearly.

From Marshal Yang, he vaguely grasped many subtle points of the Gu family's martial arts, and he also glimpsed the prospect of revenge. He wanted to immediately verify the power of his saber and spear skills and also to plan a perfect escape route to rendezvous with Marshal Yang.

Marshal Yang, a master of martial arts, was right outside the fortress. What reason did he have to stay inside?

But he didn't act on any of his ideas. He was inside the Golden Peng Fortress and had to be extra cautious. Even the slightest carelessness could cost him his life before he could see Marshal Yang.

He had to hide his true emotions. What he couldn't understand was why the people around him weren't panicked at all. With Marshal Yang, who had killed nine assassins, stationed just outside the fortress, shouldn't the people inside feel like disaster was imminent?

Old Zhang seemed oblivious to the challenger's arrival, diligently tending to the horses. When Gu Shenwei brought up the battle outside during dinner, Old Zhang merely grunted noncommittally and continued eating, as if the deaths of several assassins were less important than the meat in his bowl.

Afterward, Gu Shenwei went to report the day's events to Xue Niang as usual. She was aware of the details of the challenge and even knew something about Marshal Yang. "This old fellow hasn't made an appearance in a long time."

With that single sentence, Xue Niang's conversation about the challenger ended. As always, she was more concerned about the twins' behavior. She was very displeased that Gu Shenwei hadn't managed to win their favor further.

"You need to try harder. Haven't you learned any more flattery from Yao Nu? Use everything you've got! The Young Lady has high hopes for you."

Xue Niang brought up the Young Lady again. Gu Shenwei knew very well that this was a case of borrowing power. He hadn't seen the Young Lady for several months and doubted if Luo Ningcha even remembered that Huan Nu existed.

"I'm already trying my best," Gu Shenwei mumbled in defense. The arrival of Marshal Yang had made him a little short-tempered.

Xue Niang glanced at him with some surprise, then realized. "I almost forgot, this Marshal Yang seems to be Yang Zheng's elder brother. How strange, why didn't you go to him for help, or..."

Gu Shenwei's heart skipped a beat. He had forgotten that when he confessed his background to Xue Niang and the Young Lady, he had impersonated Yang Zheng's son. How could he explain that he had never heard of Marshal Yang before his family was wiped out?

"I... I've never heard Father mention Uncle."

Gu Shenwei decided it was best to stick as close to the truth as possible. Xue Niang already didn't take his story too seriously; piling on more lies would only make her more suspicious.

"Are their brothers not on good terms? If they don't communicate, why would Marshal Yang seek revenge for his brother?"

"Yang Yuan... Uncle is probably not avenging my father. He's avenging the Gu family. I saw it; he used all Gu family's inherited martial arts, even more profoundly than my father learned them."

Xue Niang stared at Huan Nu, trying to find any trace of a lie on his face. Soon, she changed her mind. The young man's true identity didn't matter. As long as she could control him for her own use, it didn't matter if he was the Unrivaled King's illegitimate son.

"How is your internal energy cultivation progressing?"

Xue Niang abruptly changed the subject. Gu Shenwei felt a little relieved and also surprised. Xue Niang had always taught him hand-to-hand combat skills and hadn't asked about the progress of Hehe Jin for a long time.

"It's... it's alright."

"Is there anything wrong?"

"No, uh, why?"

"I don't want you to suffer qi deviation like Yao Nu."

"Oh, I'm fine. I don't think so."

"Is that so? Press the Xuanji acupoint on your chest, don't you feel anything unusual?"

Xue Niang's request was strange, her tone casual, yet Gu Shenwei still pressed his right thumb onto the Xuanji acupoint.

A surge of burning heat shot from the Xuanji acupoint straight to his Dantian, as if he had unintentionally swallowed a mouthful of extremely spicy chili, the heat traveling from his throat all the way to his stomach.

The sensation came so suddenly that Gu Shenwei felt as if he had returned to a few months ago, when Xue Niang, in order to help him improve his internal energy, used her iron-rod-like fingers to poke all of his vital acupoints.

He gasped, nearly falling over. After barely managing to steady himself, his face had already changed. "You, what did you do to me?"

Xue Niang's sallow face showed no emotion. "I knew it. It's about time."

"What, what's about time?" Gu Shenwei's voice trembled slightly. He had thought he had fooled Xue Niang, only to realize he had unknowingly fallen into her trap.

"You think you're the only one who can make others go mad with qi deviation?"

Xue Niang's words were like a basin of cold water thrown onto Gu Shenwei. He secretly circulated his internal energy; there were no problems, everything was normal. However, that sudden surge of heat was real, and Xue Niang's words were definitely not an empty threat.

"Xue Niang, I... Little Slave has always been loyal and devoted, with no other intentions. Little Slave always keeps Xue Niang's commands in mind. The two young masters already trust Little Slave very much."

Gu Shenwei knelt down with a thud, speaking what came to mind. This was how Yao Nu would react, and Huan Nu would have to do the same. That sharp-faced youth had died from his lack of understanding of internal energy, but in other aspects, he could have been Gu Shenwei's teacher.

"It's far from enough. You need to make the two young masters feel completely close to you, sharing everything."

"But, but..."

There were some things Gu Shenwei didn't know how to explain. He was a low-ranking attendant, lacking even the qualification to enter the inner quarters. No matter how much the twins might admire his martial arts skills, they wouldn't possibly treat him as a friend.

"There's always a way, as long as you try."

Xue Niang said coldly, then waved for Huan Nu to leave. As he retreated to the doorway, she added casually, "You don't need to worry about going mad with qi deviation for now; it won't act up within a few months."

"Yes, thank you, Xue Niang, for your leniency."

The excitement caused by Marshal Yang's arrival had almost completely vanished, but things weren't that bad. Marshal Yang's Hehe Jin cultivation seemed even stronger than his father Gu Lun's. As long as he could meet with him successfully, Marshal Yang should have a way to guide his internal energy back to the right path.

Marshal Yang...

Why was there no tension in the fortress at all, apart from the dozens of youths watching the event?

Gu Shenwei had just learned of a troublesome matter and really didn't want to be entangled by bad luck any longer, so he forcefully suppressed that sliver of ominous premonition.

But he hadn't slept much all night, either trying to circulate his internal energy and search for signs of qi deviation, or thinking about Marshal Yang outside the fortress. Several times, he even heard screams from outside, thinking Marshal Yang had attacked, but upon listening intently, everything fell silent again.