Death Sutra

Chapter 722: Old Scores

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Nie Zeng was still not used to carrying a woman around on his back, especially when this woman had the ability to manipulate her weight like a monster. At he thought of this, he felt the back of his neck go slightly numb, and any pride he had previously held was immediately swept away.

If that was the Dragon King’s purpose, then it was very successful.

It was also because of this that Nie Zeng admired Shangguan Yun of Golden Roc Castle even more. The third young master was kind to everyone and was also very bold. He even dared to treat Han Wuxian as a normal woman, occasionally going so far as to banter with her.

Han Wuxian’s laughter clearly showed that she enjoy it quite a lot.

Shangguan Yun also did not neglect the silent killer. Nie Zeng felt that he had not said more than a few words in total, but somehow he had completely told the other side about his complex relationship with the Dragon King. “The Dragon King killed my uncle’s family, and I’ll obtain my revenge sooner or later.”

To Nie Zeng’s surprise, Shangguan Yun actually argued for the Dragon King after hearing the whole story. “He was at about your age at that time and he couldn’t help himself. If the Dragon King asked you to kill someone, could you refuse him? When Golden Roc Castle asked the Dragon King to kill, he was similarly not able to refuse.”

“It’s different,” Nie Zeng said angrily, completely forgetting about exercising due caution. “No matter how involuntarily my actions are, I won’t ever kill women and children who don’t know kung fu. And I already made an inquiry into it; it was not Golden Roc Castle who ordered the death of my uncle’s family but rather the Dragon King and his Master Tie Hanfeng.”

Nie Zeng had forgotten the backgrounds of the two listeners. His words were not recognized and didn’t resonate at all.

“Why do you say such ridiculous things when you call yourself a killer?” Han Wuxian said softly, as if she were educating a little kid who wasn’t eating their dinner properly. “Women don’t need your sympathy. Even if we don’t know kung fu, we can still kill people. If one of your rules is to not kill, then why do you want to be a killer?”

“Your uncle’s son was already a teenage boy at that time, wasn’t he? At his age, he could have been a killer disciple at Golden Roc Castle. So the Dragon King wasn’t that vicious after all.”

“They… they humiliated my aunt.” Nie Zeng flushed. Fortunately, they were riding in the dark, and no one saw he was embarrassed.

The three were riding with lax reins, not in a rush at all. It was more like they were going on a relaxing night trip and enjoying the atmosphere rather than an important mission.

“Humiliated? How? I didn’t know the Dragon King had the potential to do such a thing,” Han Wuxian curiously asked as if she really knew nothing about it.

Shangguan Yun thought about it for a while and then guessed the general situation. “That was something Tie Hanfeng would do. He used to be one of my killers and was quite something. He had seen through the nothingness of killers long ago and only wanted to earn money to eventually spend his remaining years in comfort. It must be him who humiliated your aunt. And he certainly would not kill your uncle’s family for personal grudges. Tie Hanfeng only killed for money. If no one paid him, then he would bear it even if one insulted him by kicking him in public.”

“The Dragon King never said that they were paid to kill,” Nie Zeng whispered but already understood how silly he was being. Of course the Dragon King did not kill a foreign saberman of his own volition; his unruly uncle must have offended someone somewhere.

Shangguan Yun seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and didn’t say anything for a long time. “The Dragon King is a unique person. I didn’t realize it when we met for the first time. That was really one of my worst mistakes.” Then he turned to Nie Zeng and said, “The Dragon King didn’t explain the situation because he wanted you to retainyour hatred towards him. Hatred is the most powerful motivator a killer can have. He appreciates you and wants you to become a top killer.”

Nie Zeng was speechless but he was still a bit unconvinced in his heart. “You are the Dragon King’s subordinates. Of course you would speak for him.”

“No.” Both of them refuted it immediately.

Han Wuxian’s long hair brushed past Nie Zeng’s neck. “There’s no one in the world who can make me, Han Wuxian, their subordinate. I’ll join hands with the Dragon King to destroy the traitors of Waning Moon Hall and then go our separate ways. If he wants to keep Golden Roc Castle all to himself, then he’ll be my enemy.”

Shangguan Yun smilingly said, “The Dragon King is my sworn enemy. Whoever wants to take over Golden Roc Castle will also be my enemy.”

Han Wuxian turned her head slightly, her smile seeming even more mysterious and charming in the darkness. “It’s really one of the great joys of life to ride side by side with my enemy, laughing and talking.”

“Haha, actually, we don’t have to be enemies.”

“Taking back Golden Roc Castle has been my lifelong goal; I won’t let go of it easily.”

“You don’t have to fight for it though. The castle is in sore need of a suitable hostess. If Hall Leader Han is willing to marry into the castle, then won’t everyone be happy? Well, except for the Dragon King.”

Han Wuxian giggled without a trace of anger. “Are you proposing for yourself or for your old man?”

Shangguan Yun seriously said, “With how ugly and incompetent I am, how dare I make an offer of marriage to the beautiful and invincible Hall Leader Han? The mistress of Golden Roc Castle can naturally only be the Lady of the Unique King.”

The topic of Nie Zeng ended just like that. He was obsessed with his own business and hardly noticed what the other two were saying.

Han Wuxian slowed down the combing her long hair a bit and seemed to be thinking considering Shangguan Yun’s suggestion. “That’s one way to go about it. Go back and ask the Unique King. If he really wants to do it, then he can make a public proposal. From then on, he will be in charge of the women in the castle while I’ll manage all of the killers. Our child will inherit the title and the castle. As for you, do not blame your stepmother for being cruel; just stay in the Xiaowan Kingdom and never go home. I’ll visit you once in a while, and then we’ll have a son, too, and he can inherit your throne.”

Shangguan Yun applauded and laughed out loud. “Hall Leader Han is really a straight-forward person. I’m okay with it but I’m afraid that the Unique King may not be as open-minded as I am.”

“Then go back and assassinate your father. Become the Unique King yourself and then come back marry me later.”

“I don’t have the ability to do that. Even if the Unique King’s martial arts skills are not the best in the world, they’re still the best in the Western Regions, not to mention the green-faced assassins around him. I’m no match for him.”

“Coward. With my help, are you still afraid that you won’t be able to kill the Unique King?” Han Wuxian appeared even more tender when reproaching the other side, almost reaching the point of being cloyingly sweet.

Nie Zeng was unable to pretend that he couldn’t hear their conversation now. He interrupted to change the topic, asking, “Who’s more formidable, the Unique King or the Dragon King?”

“The Unique King.” Shangguan Yun replied without hesitation. “The Dragon King is very powerful but he’s too busy fighting for hegemony and has spent too little time training, far less than that of the Unique King.”

“The Dragon King practices through real fierce fights.” This time it was Nie Zeng who defended the Dragon King. Real experts came from real fights. This was the first lesson he had learned from the kung fu instructor Hu Shining.

“That’s just one of the stages. It’s like how you have to first practice slashing your saber at a wooden stake first, and then after this stage, you have to learn something else. The fierce fights that the Dragon King has experienced is less than 20% of those of the Unique King, which is further proof that he’s no match.”

“All right.” Han Wuxian stretched herself out with a yawn. “I smell the disciples of Waning Moon Hall. This must be the place that the Cloud King was talking about.”

Looking at the camp in the distance, Shangguan Yun was full of admiration. “The secret arts of the Hall Leader are truly amazing. Yes, the golden roc killers reported that they had found something abnormal these two nights, and that the intruder’s method was very similar to that of the Waning Moon Hall’s.”

Han Wuxian looked for a moment and then suddenly jumped from her rattan chair to the ground. Then she leaped again into the grass and was soon flying like a bird.

Nie Zeng gaped, “I knew she could walk.”

“You should feel lucky that you had the chance to carry the Hall Leader of Waning Moon Hall.” Shangguan Yun showed a touch of envy.

“Why didn’t you volunteer?”

“I’m too old now.” Shangguan Yun, who was in his thirties, also jumped off the horse and followed behind Han Wuxian. Although his lightness skill was different, he was also an expert in lightness skills.

The two horses were left to Nie Zeng who felt that he had been slighted. But he still tied the horses to a nearby rock before plunging into the grass to pursue Han Wuxian and Shangguan Yun.

He hadn’t learned any fancy lightness skills like them, so he could only honestly proceed with his body lowered. From his point of view, Han Wuxian’s flight-like lightness skill was too conspicuous while Shangguan Yun’s graceful moves were also a bit flashy and were not in the golden roc killer’s style at all.

In any case, the two’s lightness skills were much better than that of the teenage killer’s. The distance between them quickly widened, neither of them taking Nie Zeng’s protection seriously.

“I’m not a horse-sitter,” Nie Zeng muttered as he changed his direction. He decided to run straight towards the camp. The closer he got to the camp, the more patrolling soldiers he came across. After managing to avoid all of them, his confidence increased a lot. But he still didn’t know what he was going to do. He knew little about the Waning Moon Hall and could find no clues in this strange land.

But the clue soon revealed itself.

Nie Zeng climbed up the palisade, jumped inside, and started sneaking around. Soon he heard someone shouting ‘assassin’ from a distance. Han Wuxian and Shangguan Yun had probably been exposed. Nie Zeng hummed in his heart, trying to decide what to do. One of the killer’s principles was to never rescue a partner that had been exposed because that was likely a trap.

He moved along and saw a figure jump out of the camp from afar, as panic-stricken as a rabbit being hunted by hunters. But there was actually no one running after that person.

This was certainly not a disciple of the Waning Moon Hall. Nie Zeng did not stop moving forward.

As the camp became more chaotic, Nie Zeng slowed down. He was still considering whether he should withdraw or not when seven or eight people came over with torches in their hands, one of whom looked like a woman.

Nie Zeng’s heart jumped a bit as he thought, ‘Aren’t the disciples of the Waning Moon Hall all women?’

These people seemed to be more interested in the palisades, and one of them said, “This is it. There are two other places where the other men have been sent to check. There was something climbing up and down, and the patrolling soldiers did not dare to utter a sound. Now they think that it was an assassin.”

“Idiot.” The person who looked like a woman was actually a man. “Seeing something abnormal but not reporting it. Are you still the Court Attendants?”

The others bowed their heads while one whispered, “Because it crawled very slowly and was unlike a human. They thought that it was the old Khan…”

“Shut up!” The man scolded and held his torch closer to the palisade. “Someone must be up to something…”

Before he could finish speaking, the palisade suddenly caught on fire. The fire was so fierce that it nearly ignited the garments of the torchbearer.

The crowd retreated, and a voice cried out, “Those are characters. What does it say?”

The chief threw away the torch, his legs weak with fear. He looked up and read out, “The black horse will perish.”

The soldiers gasped and ran away simultaneously, bawling and shouting. This time it was in the language of the Norland and Nie Zeng could not understand a word of it.

Only the chief remained stupefied for a while before crying out, “No, it’s fake…”

Nie Zeng rushed forward at once. He had recognized this man and decided to capture him.

The chief was precisely one of the shamans of the Court Attendants Army. Nie Zeng had seen him from afar before. Although he did not recognize his face, he remembered that the other side’s was covered with feathers.

The shaman didn’t know any kung fu. Nie Zeng easily knocked him on the back of the head with his saber hilt and caught the shaman in his arms before the other side fell to the ground.

A saber flew at him without a sound.

Nie Zeng pushed aside the captive and drew his saber to block it, his heart beating wildly. This was the first time he had been so close to death. Although he had prepared himself for this on the first day he became a killer disciple, he still could not help but feel nervous and afraid.

The attacker was clad in fully black clothes and waved a saber that was moving faster and faster through the air. Nie Zeng had lost the first strike advantage and could barely hold on. What frightened him more and more as time went on was that the other side’s saber technique seemed to be the same as his.

A voice rang out from the top of the palisade. “Let’s go.”

The masked person seemed determined to defeat Nie Zeng, but many soldiers were rushing over to see the ‘miracle,’ which obviously made this a bad place to stay and fight. The masked person finally leapt away and climbed to the top of the palisade in only two jumps, leaving a single sentence behind. “Your sabersmanship isn’t bad.”

Nie Zeng finally realized who these two people were and couldn’t help but become furious.