A Gentleman Is Not a Tool

For the past several days, Liu Yunshen, Lei Zhaoye, Cai Yuelin, Gong Liefeng, and Cao Langao had followed the list Ying Hua had given them, carrying out assassination missions. One person from Han and Chu had each met their end!

They were Yang Chen, the treacherous imperial uncle of Han, and Zhu Yanwei, a son of the Zhu Clan, one of Chu's Eight Great Clans.

Both assassinations had been highly successful under Liu Yunshen's meticulous arrangements.

Yang Chen died in a brothel. At the time, he had been spending the night with a prostitute at Crimson Joy Court. Early the next morning, when Xiao Taohong, who had shared his bed, rose, her scream rang through the entire courtyard. Only then did everyone discover that the imperial uncle, whose power had overshadowed court and country, had had his throat slit by a single sword stroke.

Zhu Yanwei was a wastrel descendant of Chu's Zhu Clan, one of the Eight Great Clans. Sinister and vicious by nature, he had run rampant through Chu without restraint on account of his illustrious family background, always surrounded by more than a hundred guards.

After Liu Yunshen and Lei Zhaoye discussed it, they had first sent their junior sister Cao Langao to use a beauty trap to lure him beyond the city. Then the four men split into two groups: one group would make a failed assassination attempt to draw the guards away with a tiger-luring-from-the-mountain ploy, while the other waited for a chance to strike!

Yet when the assassination began, two guards at the peak of the Second Realm remained unmoved at Zhu Yanwei's side. Gritting his teeth, Liu Yunshen risked his life in a fierce assault. Though he killed Zhu Yanwei in one strike, he thoroughly alerted the two men, and their cries of battle alarmed the city guards!

At that time, Gu Jingchuan and Gu Feibai were boating outside the city. Hearing the commotion, they turned to look.

When Gu Jingchuan saw someone attempting to assassinate Zhu Yanwei, he had originally intended to go over and watch the excitement. But Gu Feibai laughed. "Big Brother, those shadows look somewhat familiar. You'd better not meddle, or it'll be awkward when you meet your friends later!"

"It's him?!" Gu Jingchuan gathered his power into his eyes. Once he saw the newcomer clearly, he finally sighed. "It's only right that Fat Zhu deserved to die, but he was still from one of Great Chu's powerful clans. If something like this happens, where will His Majesty's dignity be?"

"If Big Brother wants to go, then this little brother won't see you off!" Gu Feibai steered the boat to shore, then pointed with a grin. "Please!"

Gu Jingchuan picked up an oar, laughing and cursing as he moved to hit him!

"Catch the assassins! Catch the assassins!"

Covered in blood, Gong Liefeng, Cai Yuelin, and the others ran for their lives with all their strength. At the sight of Gu Jingchuan, they cried out inwardly in alarm!

"Get on the boat!" Gu Jingchuan's face was as dark as water, but he still stepped aside to make room.

"Thank you, Brother Gu!"

Ouyang Qingcang, Cai Yuelin, and Gong Liefeng entered first, followed by Cao Langao and Lei Zhaoye. Liu Yunshen leaped aboard last, and Gu Feibai lowered the curtains on both sides.

Before long, the pursuers reached the riverbank.

Their leaders were the two peak Second Realm experts, Zhu Zhi and Zhu Xin. When they saw the Gu brothers, they respectfully fell to their knees. "Greetings, Young Master Gu and Second Young Master Gu!"

Holding a bloodstained sword, Gu Jingchuan pointed toward the distant reeds!

"Thank you, Young Master Gu! Go, pursue them!"

The voices gradually faded into the distance.

With frost on his face, Gu Jingchuan entered the covered boat. The moment he sat down, he slapped Liu Yunshen across the face!

Gong Liefeng and Ouyang Qingcang flew into a rage. "Brother Gu, what are you doing?!"

"I, Gu, thought you were heroes who carried the world in your hearts. I never imagined you were merely a pack of unruly louts, heads unkempt and temples disheveled, fighting cocks in the marketplace! Squandering the best years of your lives to do something so foolish!"

"We do not need your lecture. We'll leave at once." Lei Zhaoye snorted and rose to his feet, but Liu Yunshen pulled him back. "Brother Lei, even Wu Zixu endured a moment's humiliation. Besides, Brother Gu's words are not without reason."

"You can endure it, but I can't!" Gong Liefeng turned his head aside in a huff.

Gu Jingchuan sneered. "I never expected Brother Liu to possess the ability to wipe his own face dry after being spat upon. Do you truly think that doing this sort of thing as a knight-errant makes it only natural and right?"

"Could you first send my friends beyond Chu's borders? Then this little brother will debate the matter with Brother Gu." Liu Yunshen's cheek was red and swollen with the imprint of five fingers, yet he still faced him with a smile.

Gu Jingchuan was greatly surprised. "Why wait until you've left Chu?"

"Brother Liu is afraid that one sentence will strike Big Brother's sore spot, and in your rage, you'll sell them out! Hahaha!" Gu Feibai giggled outside.

Cao Langao could not help but burst into laughter.

Gu Jingchuan sighed. "Am I, Gu, some petty man with the belly of a rat? Speak your mind, worthy brother."

"What Brother Gu said was right, and yet not right!"

Gu Jingchuan took a sip of tea and raised his head to gaze intently at Liu Yunshen.

"The Four Swords Sect truly has been driven into a dead end, which is why we took such a desperate risk. Brother Gu is right to say we acted on a common man's courage, and right to scold us for it. But Brother Gu has forgotten one thing: knights-errant have existed since ancient times. It is only that in this age, the chivalrous spirit has perished!"

Now it was Liu Yunshen's turn to stare at Gu Jingchuan.

"I would like to hear the details!"

"A knight-errant acts according to his spirit and violates prohibitions with martial force. Yet where there is injustice in the world, there will be gallant heroes. In this age, the state has lost its governance and human lives are as cheap as grass, so knights-errant arise as the times demand."

"Put another way, if the four principles were upheld and the granaries full, how could knights-errant exist?"

Gu Jingchuan laughed. "So by your reasoning, I should thank you for helping Chu eliminate those enormous pests!"

Please provide the text to revise.

Liu Yunshen's eyes were clouded and devoid of spirit. He removed the rusty iron sword from his waist. "Brother Gu, a sword is a weapon of killing, a useful tool carried by people like us. But have you considered this? Since a gentleman is not a tool, this thing should never have been at a gentleman's side, nor should it exist in this world!"

"You!" His words jolted Gu Jingchuan awake like a man roused from a dream. In shock and anger, he rose to his feet.

Lei Zhaoye, Cai Yuelin, and Cao Langao looked at the treasured sword hanging at Gu Jingchuan's waist and sneered repeatedly. Even Gong Liefeng, who had never been especially clever, could not help throwing back his head in wild laughter.

Gu Feibai chuckled. "Big Brother, what do you have to say? If you're lashing out from embarrassment, I'll count down from three. One, two..."

"Shut up!" Gu Jingchuan laughed and cursed, twisting Gu Feibai's ear through the curtain. Yet he continued to stare blankly at that rusty iron sword. "A gentleman is not a tool! What a fine 'a gentleman is not a tool'! I would like to see what changes worthy Brother Liu can bring to this chaotic age!"

"You scolded well, Second Brother! Your elder brother is proud of you!"

"Yellow..." Liu Yunshen gave a startled cry and sprang up in delight. Looking at the black smoke soaring into the sky from the distant capital, he nearly blurted out, "Brother Huang!"

But the voice transmission that had gathered from dozens of miles away had already vanished!

Gu Feibai's shout carried into the cabin. "Big Brother, there's a fire in the city! From the look of it, it seems the Zhu Residence has caught fire!"

"Good burn! I've long found Fat Zhu an eyesore!" Gu Jingchuan sneered. Gu Feibai teased with a laugh, "Oh, please. You just slapped someone over him... Ow! You hit me again!"

"Everyone, something has happened in the city. You can take this chance to head upriver! There should be no more pursuers!" Gu Jingchuan took out a stack of silver notes and stuffed them into Liu Yunshen's hands. Smiling, he said, "Don't refuse. I've heard about your Four Swords Sect as well! That brat Ying Xiao is deliberately making things difficult for you, and the Devil Palace must be stirring trouble behind it all! Be careful on your journey back! Be extra careful!"

"Brother Gu! I truly don't know how to thank you for helping us twice in a row!" Liu Yunshen felt deeply ashamed.

"With your current strength, the fact that you did not kill the two guards Zhu Xin and Zhu Zhi, and only took Zhu Yanwei's life, is enough to explain everything! I must return now! Take care!"

Without waiting for them to bid farewell, Gu Jingchuan and his second brother hurriedly leaped off the boat. Using the divine technique Treading Duckweed Across Water, they swiftly raced back into the city.

"Big Brother, to be honest, this little brother wants to follow Brother Liu and roam the martial world with a sword as well! Ever since the Yellow River Sect was destroyed centuries ago, there have been no more knights-errant in the world who pleaded for the people! All that remain are cultivators who will stop at nothing for their own selfish desires! Righteous path, Demon Sect—I say they are all demons! No wonder that in the past two hundred years, not one person from the Four Great Nations or Seven Great Sects has risen into the Earth Immortal Realm!"

Gu Feibai looked back, seeming deeply envious of Lei Zhaoye, Ouyang Qingcang, and the others.

"Once you reach the first tier of the Second Realm, I'll break down the Five Peaks Sword for you, then permit you to leave home! When the time comes, bring your sister-in-law with you. Once you two make a name for yourselves, return home, and Father will have face as well!" Gu Jingchuan looked calm as he smiled toward the covered boat several zhang away.

Gu Feibai was overjoyed. "Big Brother must not go back on his word!"

"A gentleman's word!"

"A fast horse needs but one whip!"

Liu Yunshen and his group steered the small boat northward against the current. At first, none of them knew how to handle a boat.

"Junior Brother Cai, aren't you from the Southern Dynasty? How can you not even manage a boat?"

"Oh, my father fled north when I was very young because of the war. I've never even touched water! Brother Gong, don't push me—I'm afraid of water!!!"

"Brother Liu is still the clever one. He learned to row so quickly!"

The little boat swayed back and forth across the river. They were youths after all, and even in a time of danger, they did not forget to fool around inside the boat, nearly squeezing Ouyang Qingcang and Cai Yuelin overboard.

In the end, Liu Yunshen and Lei Zhaoye were the first to fumble out a few techniques. The boat grew steadier and steadier, speeding north.

"The sect's elites have all gone out. Aside from Sect Master Lei staying behind to guard the sect, the other three sect masters and the disciples with the weakest cultivation have gone out to perform missions or escort caravans. We really are in a sorry state!"

"According to the plan, once we complete the third and final assassination mission, the sect should be saved!" Gong Liefeng sighed with a smile, only to see Liu Yunshen open the final notice, his face turning pale!

"What is it?"

All five gathered around.

Liu Yunshen sighed. "The final mission is to assassinate Zhu Xun, son of the Grand Tutor of the Zhou Royal House!"