Bandit Camp

Twenty boys and girls were herded along by fifty or sixty bandits. With their horses galloping at full speed, they returned to camp that very evening.

The Iron Mountain Gang's camp was not hidden deep in the mountains or forests. It had actually been built just outside a great city. More than a thousand people were shouting and making a racket, weapons stood bristling everywhere, and flags fluttered in the wind. From a distance, it looked like an army preparing to attack the city.

"We're outside Jade City, aren't we?"

After dismounting, the sharp-faced boy made a trembling guess. One hand still clutched the back hem of Gu Shenwei's clothing.

He had guessed correctly. The Iron Mountain Gang was a mixed lot, and people speaking all sorts of languages could be found among them, but the words "Jade City" kept surfacing. Everyone who mentioned the city wore a delighted expression, slapping one another as if they shared some unspoken understanding.

Gu Shenwei was puzzled. He remembered that, according to legend, Iron Mountain Great Head God always appeared in the desert and wastelands. Yet now he had run all the way to the outskirts of Jade City, and he did not look as though he intended to plunder it.

The boys were driven forward. Nearly everyone in the camp was male, and they were curious about these children. As they passed, they pointed and laughed coarsely, adding to the little slaves' fear.

Tents stood packed tightly throughout the camp. The largest one stood in the middle, clearly Great Head God's main tent.

Great Head God went straight into the tent, and the ten pairs of Boy and Girl Attendants were taken inside as well.

The tent was spacious enough to hold more than a hundred people. Thick felt carpets covered the ground. The newly purchased little slaves stood trembling near the entrance, waiting for their unknown fate.

Dozens of leaders of every rank followed their chief inside. Great Head God had not even taken his seat before he swept out a large hand and loudly ordered:

"Bring the meat."

The little slaves jumped in fright. Two girls fainted, two boys burst into tears, and the sharp-faced boy's legs went limp. He leaned against Gu Shenwei's back and muttered in a tearful voice:

"I was only joking. He isn't really going to eat people, is he?"

A group of underlings filed in one after another, carrying lavish food and wine. Even the little slaves huddled in the corners were given something to eat.

The meat and wine were piled casually on the carpet. Everyone sat on the ground without bothering over etiquette, opening their mouths and eating and drinking their fill.

The smallest piece of meat weighed five or six pounds. It had been cooked only half through, and blood still seeped out when someone bit into it.

"W-what kind of meat is this?"

The sharp-faced boy asked in a low voice. Several children who had just picked up meat to eat immediately put it back down.

Gu Shenwei had barely eaten anything for days and was already burning with hunger. He paid no attention to the sharp-faced boy's words, grabbed a piece of meat, and bit off a large chunk. It was tough and gamey, but it filled his stomach, and it was nothing like the human flesh of legend.

Once someone had started, everyone began eating too. Yet they were all puzzled inside. Great Head God had bought twenty children. Surely it was not just to invite them to a meal?

Looking around the tent, there was no need to mention Great Head God himself. Every one of his leaders wore a ferocious expression. Even the most properly dressed among them had one arm bare, covered in scars and tattoos. Some became so carried away while drinking that they stripped completely naked.

These were men whose bodies brimmed with excess energy. No matter how much food and wine they stuffed inside, they could not force even a little of it out. Thus, they could only vent it through fighting. Less than a quarter of an hour after the feast began, four or five scattered brawls had already broken out. The onlookers not only failed to stop them, but became even more excited from the wine, shouting encouragement as cups flew everywhere.

After eating half a piece of meat, Gu Shenwei was already full. Watching this band of outlaws, especially the tall and mighty Great Head God, an idea suddenly occurred to him: If only he could win Iron Mountain's help.

However, Unrivaled King and Great Head God were two fiends who happened to be friends. Gu Shenwei could only indulge in the wild thought for a moment.

After several rounds of wine, everyone's spirits did not flag. Instead, they grew even higher, and they began taking turns to toast Great Head God. He refused no one. A large bowl of wine in an ordinary man's hands was no more than a small cup in his.

One minor leader had apparently drunk too much. He staggered to his feet, his voice rising above everyone else in the tent.

"In a few days, our Miss Tieshan will celebrate her wedding. With these ten pairs of Boy and Girl Attendants, her dowry is ready. I wish Miss Tieshan an early son, and may Great Head God soon hold a grandson!"

The Iron Mountain Gang paid no heed to etiquette and addressed even their chief by his nickname. Great Head God did not mind. Smiling, he tilted his head back and drained a bowl of wine, clearly delighted by the toast.

The little slaves all relaxed. So they were to serve as attendants in Miss Tieshan's marriage. It seemed they would not have to remain at Great Head God's side after all.

The sharp-faced boy exhaled in relief, then nervously asked in a low voice:

"Is Miss Tieshan's husband's family also made up of bandits?"

No one answered his question, and no one paid it any attention, because the minor leader, pleased with himself, added another sentence.

"Great Head God, our Miss Tieshan is famed throughout the world. There isn't a soul who hasn't heard of her. Now that she's about to be married off, shouldn't you let us uncles and brothers have a look at her?"

Quite a few people agreed with the suggestion, but the voices of assent died away as soon as they rose, because everyone saw Great Head God's expression change.

"You want to see my daughter?"

"No, no." The minor leader immediately realized he had spoken wrongly. His face changed as well, turning green. The bowl slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. "I don't want to. I, I..."

Great Head God rose with a thunderous roar and picked up an iron spear from beside him.

The spear was thick and long. Compared with it, old servant Yang Zheng's long spear looked like a child's toy.

The minor leader understood that he had brought disaster upon himself. He retreated in panic, trying to squeeze a smile onto his face, but only making it more stiff and twisted.

Great Head God gave a mighty shout, a thunderclap from a clear sky, then leaped. Despite his enormous, frightening body, he was astonishingly agile. He flew over the heads of more than a dozen people and, when he landed, drove the spear straight through the minor leader's chest.

Great Head God lifted the dying minor leader into the air on the spear. Clutching the shaft with both hands, the man stared at his chief in terror and used the last of his strength to say, "Forgive... forgive me."

"Great Head God's daughter can be seen by no man under Heaven except my good son-in-law. My good son-in-law is Unrivaled King's son, not a bastard like you."

Great Head God and Unrivaled King were in-laws!

Gu Shenwei's heart sank. There was no hope at all of borrowing Great Head God's strength to take revenge.

Then his heart leaped with joy. He would be entering Golden Peng Fortress with Great Head God's daughter. Divine Will had reappeared after abandoning him for several days.

His thoughts suddenly settled. A clear road appeared before him: infiltrate Golden Peng Fortress, search for his sister's whereabouts, assassinate his enemies—at the very least, kill one of them.

The minor leader's death did not disrupt the feast. His body was quickly carried outside, and everyone continued eating and drinking.

After the feast, the ten girls were sent to Miss Tieshan's tent to await her orders. The boys were sent to a small tent nearby. Their daily work was to scrub utensils endlessly and prepare the dowry.

When his elder sister Gu Cuilan had been preparing for marriage, Gu Shenwei had still been a pampered young master who lived without worry. He had done more talking than working. Now he had to toil for the daughter of a bandit he had never even seen, and his heart felt as though it were being cut by a knife.

The skinny woman who had chosen the slaves for Great Head God was Miss Tieshan's personal servant, so these young slaves naturally fell under her authority as well.

The skinny woman ordered them to call her "Xue Niang." Those Hu boys' first sentence in the Central Plains language was these two words.

There was nothing snowy about Xue Niang's appearance. Her complexion was waxen yellow, her cheeks hollow, and her body as thin as a bamboo stalk. Knowing that most of the boys could not speak the Central Plains language, she usually said little. Whenever she had an order, she generally just pointed.

Her fingers were long and hard, like ten slender iron rods. Anyone who failed to understand her meaning at once would be jabbed by one of those iron rods, and the jab often left a bruise lasting two or three days.

All ten boys had suffered more or less from her finger jabs. Even the sharp-faced boy, who claimed to be the best at pleasing his master, was no exception. Every time he saw Xue Niang enter, he would immediately snatch up the work that had originally been his and throw himself into it with overflowing enthusiasm.

Gu Shenwei had been jabbed several times in the chest by her Iron Finger. His meager Internal Force offered no protection at all, and he felt that Xue Niang's skills must be excellent.

Great Head God often led his men out of camp. Sometimes he returned empty-handed; sometimes he brought back many goods. It was hard to say what sort of "business" he conducted.

The exact wedding date still had not been set. They only said it would be soon, and there was even a rumor that the marriage might run into unforeseen complications.

Gu Shenwei began to find each day in the camp as long as a year.

The sharp-faced boy brought back a rumor, and after telling it, he did not forget to warn his listeners: "If Miss Tieshan doesn't get married, we'll all suffer for it. This is a bandit gang. We're here today, but who knows where we'll be tomorrow. Would Great Head God take a bunch of children with him? Look around. Besides us, are there any children in this camp? I think Great Head God won't sell us. He'll spear us all through with one thrust, stringing us together. Just like this."

The sharp-faced boy imitated Great Head God lifting people on his spear. Three children were so frightened that they dropped the bronze utensils in their hands.

On the fifth day after entering the camp, Great Head God once again led his men out. He did not return that night.

After a day of hard labor, Gu Shenwei lay on a straw mat, unable to fall asleep.

He was used to sleeping on soft beds. To him, the straw mat was no different from bare ground. Sharing a tent with ten people was also deeply uncomfortable. In the past, only Little Book Boy Mingxiang had slept in the same room as him. Mingxiang never snored, and he certainly never ground his teeth or tossed and turned incessantly.

Gu Shenwei had already accepted the reality of his family's destruction, and his resolve to take revenge grew firmer by the day. Yet he still could not easily adapt to the small details of life.

Someone was moving around in the tent. There was a hole in the canopy, and a thread of moonlight slipped in through the breach. Gu Shenwei saw two boys creeping toward the entrance.

They were the two boys who had been hunted by the Snow Mountain Swordsman.

Gu Shenwei had once impulsively stood up for them, but they seemed not to appreciate it at all. Of course, they could not speak the Central Plains language, but they had never shown any sign of gratitude either.

Gu Shenwei did not care. He had too many things of his own to think about.

The two boys looked very much alike, clearly brothers. As they walked, they glanced left and right. Before long, the elder brother's gaze met Gu Shenwei's.

It was then that Gu Shenwei suddenly understood. The brothers intended to escape.

The elder brother froze for a moment, then pointed outside and made several simple gestures. His eyes were deeper than the night, glimmering faintly like those of a wary cat.

The other children were all asleep. Gu Shenwei propped himself up and stared at the pair of eyes so close before him, understanding their meaning: the brothers were inviting him to escape with them.

It truly was a good opportunity to escape. Great Head God had taken many of his men with him, leaving mostly servants who could not practice martial arts. The bandits had never arranged a special guard for the ten boys. Jade City was only several li from the camp, making it the perfect place to hide from pursuit.

Gu Shenwei slowly shook his head, then waved gently, wishing them success.

He could not waste this golden opportunity to enter Golden Peng Fortress. Unless he followed the young mistress marrying into that household, a boy with only mediocre martial arts like him would find it harder than climbing to Heaven to approach Golden Peng Fortress.

His sister's whereabouts were there. So were his enemies.

The other boy was somewhat surprised, but did not continue urging him. He waved as well, turned around, took his younger brother's hand, and cautiously walked toward the tent entrance.

Gu Shenwei lay down again. These brothers must have had extraordinary experiences like his own; it was simply that the two sides could not communicate.

"Someone's escaping! Somebody, come quickly!"

The brothers had just lifted a corner of the tent flap when the sharp-faced boy's voice suddenly rang out. No one knew when he had woken.

The brothers were startled. After hesitating for a moment, they turned around together and rushed toward the sharp-faced boy sleeping at the very back.

But they had taken only one step before someone seized one in each hand and lifted them up.

It was Xue Niang. She was still wearing the clothes from the day, and she moved with unbelievable speed, as though she had been standing guard outside the tent all along.