Teaching a Lesson

From Shangguan Ru, Gu Shenwei learned that the "Death Sutra" was an ancient incantation passed down in the Golden Peng Fortress. Over the years, most of it had been forgotten, leaving only these two lines.

Gu Shenwei pondered the words "The living suffer, the dead are at peace" in his mind. He felt a pain like a knife twisting in his gut. He was one of the "living" who suffered, but were the "dead," his closest kin, truly at peace? If he could know the truth of what happened after death, perhaps he wouldn't have to bear the burden of revenge.

Ignorance was probably the root of the "living's suffering."

The two corpse bearers returned empty-handed. As they passed their young master, they bowed respectfully. Their faces were pale, and their movements were silent. They soon disappeared into the depths of the alley, as if they too had been tainted by ghostly energy.

Shangguan Fei refused to play any longer. The two young girls, feeling uneasy, didn't insist either. This adventure ended there, and the nascent "Penglun Sect" initiation ceremony concluded without a hitch.

Gu Shenwei, however, had wanted to continue the "game." It would have been very helpful in pleasing Shangguan Ru. But Shangguan Yushi seemed very wary. As soon as they left the East Fortress, she demanded to return to the inner chambers. The frightened Shangguan Fei naturally agreed wholeheartedly. Shangguan Ru couldn't refuse the two of them and had to comply.

Gu Shenwei and the other attendants were not qualified to enter the inner chambers. After the masters left, Qing Nu severely reprimanded Huan Nu in front of everyone before dismissing the rest.

When reporting the situation to Xue Niang that evening, she also expressed great interest in the "Penglun Sect" game. She asked Huan Nu to continue instigating Shangguan Ru to play the next day. "See, as long as you try, things can be accomplished. You should ask the Ninth Young Master to teach you martial arts. She is the King's daughter. If she can really teach you a few moves, you'll benefit greatly."

This was naturally not Xue Niang's true intention. Gu Shenwei repeatedly agreed, his curiosity about this woman growing. Did she want to secretly learn the martial arts of the Golden Peng Fortress? But her skills were already excellent, especially those iron fingers. She didn't want to be an assassin; what could the Golden Peng Fortress possibly attract her with?

"You hit Qian Nu, very good. He's not happy, but it doesn't matter. He needs a lesson and some stimulation too."

Gu Shenwei outwardly agreed, but his heart sank. To please Shangguan Ru, he had offended many people today.

After bidding farewell to Xue Niang, Gu Shenwei returned to his stone house to quietly reflect on the day's events.

Being able to defeat Qian Nu in one move was beyond his own expectations. The extent to which "killing intent" had improved his martial arts was also unexpected.

Lying on the kang, Gu Shenwei attempted to summon "killing intent" again.

It was easy to say, but difficult to practice. Killing intent was not a servant that came and went at command. Gu Shenwei first faced the empty air, then the wall, but felt nothing. How could he generate the intent to "kill" when facing inanimate objects?

He needed to practice on a living person.

Old Zhang was fast asleep. He slept at one end of the kang, while Gu Shenwei lay at the other, several feet separating them, just about the distance for a duel.

Gu Shenwei imagined Old Zhang as Han Shiqi. This tactic proved effective. Slowly, his killing intent rose. He had no weapon in his hand, but he felt he could kill this person even with his fingers. Eyes, throat, groin – weren't there many vulnerable pressure points?

His murderous aura intensified, and Gu Shenwei could barely suppress the urge to act immediately. In that instant, he understood where his killing intent came from.

So-called killing intent was hatred devoid of fear.

Hating someone often meant fearing them as well. Only after overcoming "fear" could "hatred" transform into killing intent and then into strength.

Gu Shenwei had already practiced this during his fight with Qian Nu during the day, but he only fully grasped it now.

His vision cleared, and a new world of martial arts flickered just beyond his reach.

The light vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving only two terrified, enraged gazes.

"You, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Old Zhang, sleeping soundly, was suddenly struck by a chilling premonition, a feeling of being watched. He opened his eyes just in time to see the murderous young Huan Nu in the darkness.

Gu Shenwei jolted awake. The killing intent, like a shy, timid beast, immediately retreated into the darkness at the sound of the shout and refused to show itself again.

"It's nothing, I, I couldn't sleep."

"Couldn't sleep? If you can't sleep, go outside and look at the moon. Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm sorry, Old Zhang, I didn't mean to."

Old Zhang seemed genuinely frightened. He grumbled, turned over, and faced away from Huan Nu, trying to sleep again. But he couldn't close his eyes. He cursed again, crawled out of bed, put on his clothes, and left. He wasn't in the mood to look at the moon; instead, he went to the stables to check on his prized horses.

"Humans are less reliable than livestock," Old Zhang muttered softly.

As the day drew to a close, Gu Shenwei had offended yet another person. However, Old Zhang's reaction served as a reminder: he shouldn't casually practice his killing intent anymore. It was too conspicuous. Even Old Zhang, who knew no martial arts, had become alert. The martial arts instructor in the Carved Wood Courtyard had also changed his demeanor dramatically during the day.

This was not good for someone who only wanted to hide his identity and seek revenge in secret.

The next day, the plan to further please Shangguan Ru failed. The twins never appeared. Qing Nu was not surprised, yawning as she said, "It's almost New Year's. Madam must be keeping the two young masters by her side. I guess we won't have much to do for a while."

However, Shangguan Yushi did arrive. This was the first time Gu Shenwei had seen her attend school alone.

Without Shangguan Ru by her side, her expression was even colder and more arrogant than usual. A student was standing at the doorway chatting with a companion. She shoved him aside, sending him tumbling, and strode into the room without even glancing at him.

The student who was pushed down turned pale with anger. He clenched his fists and was about to curse when he saw it was Young Master Yu's back. The words caught in his throat. Although they were both Shangguan family disciples, their status was vastly different.

Approaching now and calling out "Uncle Yu Shi" would only bring him embarrassment. Gu Shenwei stood at a distance, not wanting to provoke this little demoness.

But trouble always found him like this; the more he tried to avoid it, the closer it pursued him.

The twins didn't come to school. According to custom, their attendants could disperse and attend to their own matters. As the sounds of chaotic reading echoed from the schoolroom, Qing Nu indeed allowed most of them to leave, keeping only seven or eight boys who usually served as sparring partners.

Qing Nu went off to chat with other attendants. The sparring partners stood in the corner of the courtyard. Suddenly, someone whispered:

"You shouldn't have done that."

It took Gu Shenwei a while to realize the words were directed at him. The boy who spoke didn't mention his name or look at him.

"What?"

"You shouldn't have called the Ninth Young Master 'Master'," another boy said.

Gu Shenwei was confused. Shangguan Ru had been delighted when he "became her disciple" yesterday. And how had this news spread so quickly?

"Mm," Gu Shenwei replied casually. He was already accustomed to the jealousy and competition among the servants. Because he hadn't listened to Qing Nu's words but had gained the favor of the two young masters, Qing Nu had always treated him with indifference, making it so that none of the attendants at the school gate looked upon him favorably.

"Don't you understand yet?" a third boy said.

Gu Shenwei was puzzled. These sparring boys didn't seem jealous; they genuinely seemed to want to warn him.

"Understand what?"

On the other side, Qing Nu was chatting happily, laughing heartily. The young boys all shut up nervously. Their status as sparring partners among the attendants was low, and they feared Qing Nu the most.

But in a sense, Huan Nu was their "savior." Ever since this servant, who was on par with the Ninth Young Master, arrived, their lives had become much easier. Some of them had even miraculously gone several months without getting injured, so they didn't want Huan Nu to fall into misfortune.

Qing Nu's laughter gradually subsided. The boy closest to Gu Shenwei lowered his voice and said, "You shouldn't get too close to the Ninth Young Master. Young Master Yu will definitely be unhappy."

Gu Shenwei suddenly realized. No wonder Shangguan Yushi had seemed so strange since yesterday, after he had called out "Master" outside the Moon Holding Courtyard. He had been trying to shake him off, and it turned out he was jealous!

It was one thing for servants to be jealous of servants, but for a master to be jealous of a servant was a bit hard to comprehend. Gu Shenwei couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

"He doesn't know!" one of the boys exclaimed in surprise, then immediately covered his mouth.

"Doesn't know what?" Gu Shenwei was getting a little annoyed. If these people wanted to help, why didn't they just say it clearly?

"Young Master Yu... has killed people."

After a long while, someone finally said it in an extremely low voice, and then no one spoke again.

Golden Peng Fortress was full of assassins who killed like flies. Yet, the boy was so afraid of a young girl who had killed someone. Gu Shenwei was a little dismissive. He had killed people too, and one of them was someone he had personally dealt with.

However, he had indeed witnessed Shangguan Yushi's brutality. Once, right in front of everyone, after winning a fight, she had stomped on and broken the arm of a sparring boy. That boy was now standing beside Gu Shenwei, his face pale.

Shangguan Yushi didn't look for someone to spar with during the break. She waited until noon, when the students had all dispersed and the old teacher had calmly left. Then, a page boy came out and ordered the eight waiting sparring boys to go inside together.

Strictly speaking, these boys didn't belong to Shangguan Yushi. They were servants assigned to the twins. But Young Master Yu's words carried the same weight as the Ninth Young Master's; no one dared to disobey.

Qing Nu didn't go in and continued to guard the main entrance.

The schoolyard was empty. The page boy led them into a room in the east wing.

The desks inside had been moved to the corners, clearing a space in the middle. Shangguan Yushi sat on a chair, her page boy standing behind her. Several members of the Shangguan Family stood on either side.

This didn't look like a sparring match. A thought flashed through Gu Shenwei's mind, and he understood that today's game was aimed at him.

Shangguan Yushi disliked anyone who excessively pleased the Ninth Young Master, especially if that person was just a servant.

"Brat, why aren't you calling me Uncle-Master anymore?"

"This servant dares not." Gu Shenwei knelt down on both knees.

To get revenge, he was willing to be a slave, and he had to act as much like a slave as possible. When faced with the humiliation inflicted by his master, his first thought was what Yao Nu would do.

That sharp-faced boy, whom he had caused to die, was still influencing him from beyond, guiding him.

"Dares not? I think you were quite bold yesterday. Are you a servant for the first time? After serving your master for only a few days, you dare to overstep your bounds and act recklessly? Calling the Ninth Young Master 'Master,' you're not worthy."

"He's the boy the Eighth Young Madam brought from the bandit camp."

A page boy behind Shangguan Yushi leaned in and said this, further fueling Shangguan Yushi's disgust. The Eighth Young Madam and the Madam were at odds, and the twins were the Madam's own flesh and blood. Those around them naturally wouldn't like the Great Head God's daughter or anyone she brought.

"I was sent by the Eighth Young Master..."

Gu Shenwei tried to defend himself a little more, but Shangguan Yushi suddenly stood up, her eyebrows furrowed. She kicked him, "Audacious dog-slave, you're as detestable as your lowly master. You don't deserve to live in Golden Peng Fortress."

Gu Shenwei hesitated for only a moment before his chest was struck. His Hehe Jin had also reached a certain level of proficiency, but he still couldn't withstand the kick from this young girl. He flipped backward and, as he knelt upright again, felt a sharp pain in his ribs.

Shangguan Yushi was still not appeased. She turned to the other seven sparring boys and coldly ordered, "Slap him. Teach him the rules of being a servant."

Gu Shenwei's blood churned. No matter how much he imitated Yao Nu, he wasn't a true slave. Humiliation was more unbearable than death. The murderous intent hidden deep within him began to stir, wanting to emerge.