If Heaven still held even a shred of fairness and justice, Gu Shenwei hoped it would prove it here and now. He could not imagine why he had ended up in such a miserable state. Was it because of sins in a past life? Then why had Heaven let him enjoy fourteen years as a "young master"?
The seven boys who had been brought along to beat him took turns slapping his face. Whenever one of them held back, Shangguan Yushi pinched and kicked him.
That was how it was: one was a master, the other a slave. It was obvious whose side to take. There was no choice involved.
That was how it was: Gu Shenwei had to suppress the urge to kill that stirred within him. After every beating, he still had to say, "This little slave won't dare again. Please forgive me, Young Master Yu."
There was no miracle, and no one intervened. Shangguan Yushi got what she wanted: she had punished the slave who didn't know his place. She looked at Huan Nu, his face covered in blood, with contempt and disgust. "I'll spare your dog's life."
With that, she led her companions away.
Several of the boys who had helped beat him stayed behind, at a loss. One of them wanted to help Huan Nu up, but he took only one step. Seeing that no one else moved, he turned back.
Qing Nu walked in and glanced around, as if nothing had happened. "Why are you still here? Get going."
Gu Shenwei got up and headed for the door. As he passed Qing Nu, the man grabbed him.
"I knew from the start you'd get into trouble. There's something wrong with your eyes. What slave has a look like that? You'd think you were the master of the fortress. Maybe you were a prince of some little kingdom before, but I'll tell you this: you're a slave in the fortress now, and you'll be one until you die. If you want to stay alive, behave yourself. Don't think that because you've entertained the two young masters, you're anything special. You're just a toy. Put away those ambitions of yours."
Gu Shenwei thanked Qing Nu for his "instruction" and hurried back to the stone hut. He grabbed a rag and wiped the blood from his face. The pain in his body was nothing. It felt as if countless sharp knives had been driven into his heart; every quiver of a blade brought endless agony. The urge to kill and the desire for revenge surged in like the tide, then rolled away, again and again, almost impossible to control.
Old Zhang returned with lunch. Ever since Huan Nu had frightened him the previous night, he had remained wary of the slave. Now, seeing the boy covered in injuries, he felt it proved his judgment had been right: people simply weren't as reliable as livestock.
Old Zhang set the big bowl of rice and meat on the edge of the kang and pushed it toward Huan Nu. A little while later, he picked a few pieces of meat from his own bowl and put them into Huan Nu's.
Gu Shenwei looked up in surprise at the usually cold and silent horse groom.
Old Zhang lowered his head and ate, ignoring him completely.
Gu Shenwei picked up the bowl and wolfed down the food. He said nothing, either.
Xue Niang wasn't as easy to "talk to" as Old Zhang. When Gu Shenwei went to give his usual report that evening, her face was colder than ever. She had learned what had happened during the day through certain channels. None of the boys who had witnessed Huan Nu's humiliation had thought to keep it from her.
"If it had been Yao Nu, there wouldn't have been a mess like this."
Xue Niang threw out the remark, though she knew little about the sharp-faced boy and had never shown any particular admiration for him while he was alive.
"If you were capable of killing him, you should have done better than him. Don't forget your little secret, or the trouble with your Xuanji acupoint. I won't treat a slave who causes trouble, much less help him avenge his father's death."
Xue Niang was usually stern, but she rarely threatened him so directly. Her frankness this time showed how dissatisfied she was with his progress.
Gu Shenwei knelt on the ground. He had spent the afternoon thinking about certain things. "This foolish slave begs Xue Niang's forgiveness, but I've already thought of a way to deal with this."
Xue Niang said nothing, so Gu Shenwei went on:
"I want to teach Shangguan Yushi a lesson in front of the Ninth Young Master. It's the last thing she'd expect, and what she fears most."
"You seem to have forgotten that you're a slave and she's a master."
"That makes it an even greater humiliation for her. The Ninth Young Master likes only the strong. Shangguan Yushi used to be the best in the school. I'll prove she's all reputation and no substance."
"Do you think a childish game like this will work?"
Gu Shenwei waited a moment before answering. "To the Ninth Young Master, everything is a childish game."
Xue Niang's brows drew together. Her fingers, hard as iron rods, tapped the armrest of her chair again and again, making a soft knock, knock.
She was old and didn't understand the minds of the young. She couldn't remember ever having been a child who liked playing games. Gu Shenwei's proposal struck her as improper, yet somehow likely to work.
"It doesn't matter if you get yourself into trouble, but you must never involve the young lady."
"I won't. This is only a matter between 'children.' The 'adults' won't care. Besides, Shangguan Yushi has shown the young lady no respect. She deserves a lesson, too."
"Hmph. Don't try to sow discord. She's a wolf raised by a woman of the Meng Family, so of course she sides with that bitch."
Xue Niang's tone turned sharp. Gu Shenwei knew his words had had an effect.
"Yes, Xue Niang sees clearly."
"Are you sure you can beat her? I hear that little girl is quite skilled, perhaps even stronger than the Ninth Young Master."
"Well... this little slave is bold enough to ask for Xue Niang's help."
"Hah. You slave know how to shift the blame. What, am I supposed to go out and play a 'children's game' myself?"
"No. This little slave wants to ask Xue Niang to teach him a few more moves, so he can defeat Shangguan Yushi in one strike."
Shangguan Yushi was no weakling. Gu Shenwei had seen her in action several times. In a fight to the death, he thought he could beat her once he worked up his killing intent. Though the girl was ruthless, she still didn't understand the true secrets of killing. But in an ordinary contest, his chances of winning were slim.
Gu Shenwei had gained only a slight understanding of the subtle difference between fighting and killing through Marshal Yang, but even that put him far ahead of the boys his age.
Xue Niang, however, was thinking about something else. She stared sternly at the audacious boy and said nothing for a long time. She wanted to see his true intentions.
Gu Shenwei failed to get a firm promise from Xue Niang, but he still carried out his plan step by step.
The next day, he arrived at the school gate early, waiting for an opportunity.
For days, he had mingled with the circle of attendants at the gate. No one paid him any attention, but for anyone willing to listen carefully, ears were far more useful than a mouth.
There were fewer than twenty pupils at the school. Apart from the Twins, all the others were close relatives of the Unrivaled King. Most had the surname Shangguan, while a handful came from other families. They ranged in age from seven or eight to fifteen or sixteen, and only Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi were girls.
Though they studied together, their status differed by heaven and earth. The Unrivaled King's children were "masters among masters." The Shangguan family's children had to curry favor with them carefully. Those at the very bottom of the hierarchy even received less respect than Qing Nu, who stood guard at the gate.
A master's status was reflected directly in his slaves. Gu Shenwei rarely interacted with the pupils, yet he could still make out the invisible pyramid by watching the attendants at the gate.
One of the pupils was named Shangguan Hongye. His name was grand, and so was his family background: his father had been the Unrivaled King's younger brother. Unfortunately, he had died young, and Shangguan Hongye had no grown older brother to protect him. His widowed mother and he lived at the mercy of others, leaving him among the lowest-ranking pupils at the school.
The day before, when Shangguan Yushi had entered the school, she had rudely shoved him to the ground. He had been bullied in front of everyone and hadn't even dared to talk back.
But Shangguan Hongye's expression at the time had made it clear that he cared deeply about the insult and was furious.
Gu Shenwei had watched the whole thing the day before and felt he could take advantage of it.
Shangguan Yushi threw her weight around, but she wasn't a true master. That was her greatest weakness.
Strictly speaking, she was less closely related to the Twins than Shangguan Hongye was. They had to trace their family trees back four or five generations before they reached a common ancestor.
The Twins and Shangguan Yushi didn't come to school that day. They had already begun celebrating the New Year early.
Qing Nu waited a while before letting the attendants leave. He himself stayed at the gate for a while, chatting, then went somewhere to drink.
Once the Twins' attendants were gone, half the people at the gate had disappeared. The boys who remained could only envy them. Who wanted to stand in the freezing cold just to hold some little item the master might not even use all day?
So no one noticed Huan Nu huddled in a corner.
At noon, the pupils poured out together. Shangguan Hongye headed home with his attendant, who also served as his book boy. He wasn't entitled to live in the inner compound, and stayed with his mother in a small, separate courtyard in West Fortress. Their route overlapped with Gu Shenwei's for a short distance.
Gu Shenwei followed them. After they passed through two gates, with no one in front or behind them, he called out, "Young Master Hong."
This was a good place for a private conversation. Guards stood at both gates, but they wouldn't interfere with children chatting. Nor were there any killers hidden nearby, watching them.
Shangguan Hongye stopped and looked in surprise at the boy catching up to him.
Gu Shenwei's injuries hadn't healed. His eyes were swollen and his lips were bruised. Shangguan Hongye stared at him for a while before recognizing him. He pursed his lips and turned to leave. Though he was looked down on at school, he still disdained associating with slaves, especially one who was just as unpopular as he was.
"Young Master Hong, you dropped something."
Shangguan Hongye could tell at a glance that the little bundle of rag in Huan Nu's hand wasn't his. He was about to refuse it, but the bundle had already been pressed into his hand.
He was a little annoyed. Huan Nu had crossed the boundary between master and slave, which was tantamount to an insult. But he swallowed the words before they left his mouth. He recognized the weight. He lifted a corner, and there were indeed a few pieces of silver inside. It wasn't much, but it was still tempting.
Shangguan Hongye was baffled. Huan Nu winked at him and smiled, then quickly left. Between his injuries and his expression, he looked so strange that Shangguan Hongye didn't react at first. After a moment, he quickly tucked the silver into his robe.
The Little Book Boy hadn't figured out what his master was thinking. He said happily, "Where did Young Master get the silver? Good thing someone found it and brought it back. We can pay off some of our debts before the New Year."
Gu Shenwei walked briskly ahead, but he felt far from confident. If Shangguan Hongye didn't think the silver was worth much, or refused to accept alms from a slave, his plan would come to nothing.
Silver was silver, after all. Gu Shenwei had already passed through the third gate and turned into an alley, but no one called after him.
The pupils were all a bunch of spoiled young masters, and gambling was rampant among them. Gu Shenwei had heard Shangguan Hongye's Little Book Boy complain several times that his master had lost money, racked up debts, and even docked the boy's wages.
Even a little silver was important to Shangguan Hongye, who stood near the bottom among the masters.
Gu Shenwei's revenge plan had taken its first step, but he still had to wait and see how Xue Niang would respond.
Before you continue