Assassination

Shangguan Ru wanted to carry out an "assassination." The location would be inside Golden Peng Fortress, but as for the target... she had not decided yet.

The plan was not only childish, but wildly fanciful. Aside from Shangguan Yushi's wholehearted support for Ninth Young Master, everyone else was beginning to have second thoughts.

Shangguan Ru widened her eyes, her gaze fierce and pressing. "Assassins have no way back. Either advance, or die."

Those words were rather frightening. Though everyone knew Ninth Young Master would not truly kill anyone, disobeying her would certainly bring suffering. So they all pretended to be thrilled and began discussing the first target of their "assassination."

Gu Shenwei wisely kept silent. He did not want to provoke Shangguan Yushi again. That jealous girl would not let him off easily; the only thing he could do was refrain from giving her an excuse.

The first victim of the "assassination" game was Qing Nu. No one knew who had proposed it, but everyone agreed. Shangguan Yushi specifically emphasized to the three "assassins," "Whoever dares to tattle is a traitor. And how are traitors punished?"

"Expelled from Stone Fortress, Hundred Blades," Shangguan Fei rushed to answer. It was Golden Peng Fortress's Family Precept, and he knew it well.

"That's right. We show traitors no mercy," Shangguan Ru said, stressing every word.

"Hundred Blades" was not frightening, but being expelled from Stone Fortress would be terrible. The three "assassins" immediately swore to heaven that they would not betray the secret. This was Gu Shenwei's specialty—he only needed to make a few alterations to the oath he had sworn to Luo Ningcha.

What happened before dawn on the fourth day proved that no one had betrayed them.

Qing Nu lived on the outskirts of West Fortress, where most of the houses belonged to adult servants. Every day before dawn, he left home, passed through a deep, shadowy alley, met up with two Youth attendants at its entrance, and headed to the school with them.

The six split into three groups, led respectively by the Twins and Shangguan Yushi. They followed Qing Nu for three days in a row and worked out his routine.

Gu Shenwei was still in the same group as Shangguan Yushi.

Although Young Master Yu never put much effort into training others, she had not neglected her own martial arts. Her Lightness Skill had advanced by leaps and bounds, and she deliberately competed with Huan Nu. Gu Shenwei had to remain completely alert just to keep up with her through the tangled maze of alleys.

Qing Nu had not the slightest idea that he had been marked. He was a servant born and bred in Golden Peng Fortress, raised among a gathering of assassins. One advantage of that was that he never had to worry about assassination. An ambush in Golden Peng Fortress? That was like flaunting an axe before Lu Ban's door. It was impossible even to contemplate.

Shangguan Ru planned the entire "assassination" herself. Shangguan Fei led the three Youth "assassins" into an ambush at the alley entrance, guarding against the two attendants ruining the plan, while Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi carried out the attack.

Though it was only a game, the youths felt the tension and thrill in their bones. Shangguan Fei was so excited that he nearly made a noise and spoiled everything several times.

The "assassination" went exceptionally smoothly. The four at the alley entrance did not see what happened inside, but they heard a heart-rending scream torn straight from the depths of someone's soul. The two attendants who came there every day to meet Qing Nu heard it as well. First, their bodies jolted and they nearly collapsed to the ground. Then they ran into the alley—but after only two or three steps, they exchanged glances and changed their minds, whirling around and scrambling home head over heels. Neither appeared again that entire day.

The two girls who had succeeded in the "assassination" raced out of the alley like two fawns that had only recently learned to run, leaping and bounding. Their cheeks glowed crimson, and their lips trembled as though they were using every ounce of strength in their bodies to suppress wild laughter.

The others fled at full speed as well, each returning to their original identity.

Qing Nu had been truly terrified. Though the blade held to his neck had only been wooden, his soul had genuinely taken a trip to the gates of hell. For three days straight, his face was deathly green. He had also developed a new habit afterward: if anyone spoke behind him, they were sure to make him leap in fright.

Qing Nu became the laughingstock of the fortress, but three days later, once his complexion returned to normal, he became smug. To be the first "assassination" target of Unrivaled King's biological daughter—was that not an honor? Besides, he had survived. It was practically a "miracle."

Qing Nu vividly described how the two girls had ambushed him, as if he had not only remained perfectly composed at the time, but had eyes on the back of his head. "Clean and decisive, without the slightest dragging of feet—like immortals descending to earth. When that blade came down, I was stunned. I'd already sensed something was wrong, but when I saw the blade, I was still stunned. You simply cannot imagine that such blade techniques came from children barely ten years old..."

Yet he severely punished the two attendants who had abandoned him in the face of death, intending to send them to do the hardest labor, such as tending the dead at Kindling Courtyard. In the end, the two youths' parents had to come personally and plead with him again and again before Qing Nu finally forgave them.

The Twins' fame rose abruptly, and their game grew ever grander. Their "assassination" targets gradually expanded until even Golden Peng Fortress's blade masters and young masters became targets.

Strictly speaking, however, only the first "assassination" had achieved true surprise. The later operations resembled games played in cooperation by both sides. Their targets always found ways to learn the Twins' plans in advance and pretended to remain in the dark; sometimes, they even deliberately walked alone, giving them opportunities to "strike."

Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi believed there was an "informer," but they never found proof. Gu Shenwei knew that Young Master Yu dearly wanted to pin the accusation on him, so he became doubly careful. Even with Xue Niang, aside from reporting what had already happened, he never uttered one extra word.

Xue Niang naturally did not care about children's games and even showed a trace of contempt. But she was very pleased that Huan Nu had entered the core of the organization founded by the Twins, so she continued helping him increase his Internal Force.

Xue Niang's Iron Finger was as hard as ever. Every thread of inner breath she sent into him was both a potent medicine for increasing Internal Force and a poison that could trigger Qi Deviation. Gu Shenwei knew this well, yet he still enjoyed the exhilaration of his Internal Force rapidly growing.

The "assassination" activities were in full swing. With Unrivaled King's tacit approval, no one dared call a halt to the game. But not every "assassination" target was as easygoing as Qing Nu. The old teacher at the school, for instance, "hunted down" the Twins for more than ten days, and they did not dare return to their studies for a long while.

Several blade masters of high standing would not bow and scrape like servants either. Without needing any warning, they could detect the little tricks of several youths. Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi nearly got caught several times; Shangguan Fei and the other two "assassins" were caught many times. Gu Shenwei had never been caught. The martial arts Xue Niang had taught him arrived at precisely the right time, and he put them all to use. Even so, he had barely escaped twice.

Before they realized it, all six youths had made tremendous progress in martial arts. The "assassination" game seemed more effective than the traditional teaching of master and disciple.

But Shangguan Ru's demands grew ever higher. A month later, she "dismissed" the two "assassins" who were always holding them back. Of the six-person organization, only four remained, and Gu Shenwei became the sole servant.

Shangguan Fei did not meet Ninth Young Master's standards either, but "dismissing" her own older brother was difficult. Whenever it came up, Shangguan Fei invoked "Mother" as a shield, and Shangguan Ru could only yield.

Still, she and Shangguan Yushi began adding a new part to the game: finding ways to shake Shangguan Fei off. Their confidence kept growing, and they no longer needed helpers very much.

Shangguan Fei's martial arts were inferior to theirs, so this tactic always worked. Gu Shenwei had been shaken off as well, and he suspected Shangguan Yushi had come up with the trick specifically to deal with him.

In truth, this was also an opportunity. He could have used their shared fate of being abandoned to win the trust of Young Master Shangguan Fei. But he was determined to pursue the two girls instead.

Half of it was his refusal to admit defeat. The more Shangguan Yushi resorted to schemes and tricks, the more he wanted to defeat her. The other half was calculation. Clearly, Shangguan Ru held a far higher position in the fortress than her brother Shangguan Fei. Winning her over would not only benefit Xue Niang's mysterious plan, but would also be of greater help to his future revenge.

Whenever Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi shook someone off, it came without warning. The two had a way of communicating that no one else could understand. While walking, they would suddenly break into a run. Their Lightness Skill was excellent, making them very difficult to catch.

Gu Shenwei treated it as a test. He constantly watched the two girls' every movement. After several attempts, he had basically grasped their techniques: a glance, a slight flick of a finger, a casual pause—all were signals that they were about to shake someone off.

Gu Shenwei practiced Lightness Skill day and night. After a number of humiliating failures, he finally managed to keep up with them and squeeze into this small, tightly bound circle. No matter how hard Shangguan Yushi tried, she could no longer shake him off.

Shangguan Ru, however, was delighted by his inclusion. Shangguan Yushi was her close friend, her sister and adviser, while this unusual little servant was her rival. Given her competitive nature, she liked having an opponent who matched her stroke for stroke.

The three spent vast amounts of time traversing more than half of Golden Peng Fortress in search of the best locations for "assassinations." Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi knew quite a few assassin techniques. Half from practical intent and half from showing off, they taught them all to the clingy little servant.

Gu Shenwei used this chance to investigate everywhere. At last, he became convinced that his missing older sister was definitely not in Stone Fortress.

Their nerve grew ever greater. Once, they even "assassinated" Eighth Young Master Shangguan Nu.

That time, Gu Shenwei also roughly gauged his enemy's martial prowess. Shangguan Nu had certainly noticed the trio's little scheme long before, but he gave nothing away and only swept them all up in one net when they struck.

It was a crushing defeat. Not one of the three "assassins" escaped—the first such failure since the "assassination" operations began.

As a servant under Eighth Young Master's command, Gu Shenwei had to kneel and kowtow in apology. The two girls, however, whined and acted shamelessly, even demanding that their "assassination" target apologize to them instead.

Shangguan Nu seemed genuinely fond of his youngest sister, showing a side entirely unlike his usual sinister, merciless self. Not only did he truly apologize, he even revealed a rare smile and displayed the Iron Hook on his Right Hand to please them.

That severed right hand was Shangguan Nu's greatest taboo. Usually, even an accidental extra glance from someone could invite a fatal disaster.

Gu Shenwei felt a thread of unease. He needed to maintain his hatred for Shangguan Nu. In his mind, this one-handed man was the greatest villain under heaven, and he did not want to see Eighth Young Master's gentle side.

After the failed "assassination" of Shangguan Nu, Shangguan Ru settled down for a while and went back to studying.

A few days later, when the "assassination" operations resumed, Gu Shenwei discovered that he had become the "target." And this time, it was far more than a simple game.