Death Scripture

In two months, Shangguan Cheng would be five years old. On Chinese New Year’s Day, he had received his present in advance – a real narrow saber. He had asked his father, “Has it killed a lot of people?”

The Unique King had then unsheathed the narrow saber, put it in the hands of his son, and held his small pair small hands tightly. “This is a brand-new saber. In the future, you will use it to make thousands bleed.”

The Unique King had had a happy new year because of this aspiration of his son’s, in spite of the existence of the Dragon King’s army camping outside the city.

In fact, Shangguan Cheng had no idea what “killing” meant. In his childish mind, it was just a word that his father liked. Thus, he uttered this word frequently, just like the smart kids who frequently called out “father” and “mother.”

It was a tradition of the Shangguan family that their children started learning kung fu and reading at the age of five. There was still two months before Shangguan Cheng turned five, so the first time that he had seen someone be killed was when he saw that pale-faced man hacking a body into pieces.

‘Is this killing people?’ thought Shangguan Cheng. He regarded everyone in the stone castle as his father’s subordinates, so he asked the Unique King, “Father, did you kill someone again?”

A Green-faced killer carried the King Lord’s youngest son forward, knelt down on the ground, and moved up the seven-step staircase on his knees. He lifted Shangguan Cheng up, handed him to the King Lord, and then descended the staircase on his knees.

As he held his son, the Unique King looked into those bright, sparkling eyes, and dimly felt that he looked somewhat like what Shangguan Ru had looked like when she had been a child. He was rather pleased, since his son wasn’t scared at all after seeing such a gory scene for the first time. He believed that this son would surely make for an excellent heir to Golden Roc Castle.

After glimpsing at the Dragon King, who was standing at the bottom of the staircase, again, he felt even more certain that those rumors were ridiculous.

“Look, some people have come here to challenge Golden Roc Castle,” the Unique King said.

Shangguan Cheng curiously craned his head out of his father’s arms. He knew what “challenge” meant. He just wanted to see who was so audacious. He felt that the pale-faced man was very impolite, since he dared to look him in the eyes with a cold gaze.

“I don’t like him,” Shangguan Cheng said, burying his face in his father’s arms.

The Unique King put his son on the throne behind him and said, “Father will chase him away.”

The Unique King was still as commanding as usual, but his tone had involuntarily become milder, making him seem uncannily similar to a common father. Even his movement of putting his son down appeared slow and gentle, as if he was afraid that he might hurt him by accident.

Looking on from the distance, Shangguan Fei was both sad and heart-broken. In all his memory, his father had never treated him like that. This privilege used to be solely owned by his younger sister, Shangguan Ru, and now it had been given to a child.

Under the influence of his mother, Shangguan Fei had always believed that he was the heir to the Unique King. Though this belief had wavered during his exile, he had never felt any distinct threat to his succession. But upon seeing that child stand on the black throne, he, for the first time, understood why his elder brothers had tried to kill each other, sparing no efforts.

Shangguan Hong was indifferent. He had never felt his father’s love for him, so he naturally wouldn’t be jealous. But when he saw the other side of the Unique King, the fear in him was greatly alleviated. ‘It turns out that the Unique King is also only human, and he also has emotions that normal people must have. Then naturally, he must also have a chink in his armor.’

Shangguan Hong reached out with his hand to touch the hilt of the soft sword wrapped around his waist.

The deputy envoy, Sun Chengqi, just felt embarrassed. They had lost the first round, which was not a good sign. Using hidden weapons was a very despicable deed, but the Dragon King hadn’t raised any objections, so it must be a tacit rule of the Western Regions. He looked in the direction of the Dragon King, trying to find a hint.

Two Green-faced killers escorted the second disciple of the Waning Moon Hall to the field of the competition. She was a middle-aged woman about thirty years old. Standing amid the blood with her head up, she said to the Dragon King, “You’re a mortal enemy of the Waning Moon Hall. I’m not going to thank you.”

Gu Shenwei glanced at her and then turned around to return to his own group without saying anything. He had his own thoughts and didn’t have to explain anything to her.

“Miao Chengxin.”

A Central Plains guard walked out of the team, bowed to the Dragon King and Sun Chengqi, respectively, and then strode into the kung fu competition field, unsheathing his sword casually as he did so.

Gu Shenwei had conducted some inquiries into the backgrounds of these Central Plains guards. Miao Chengxin was a disciple of the Taishan Sect, and he was one of the best kung fu experts among everyone here. Nobody had any objection to him fighting the second round.

Golden Roc Castle also sent another Green-faced killer, a female this time.

Gu Shenwei knew her. The female Green-faced killer’s name was Qian Ying, and she had once been responsible for protecting Shangguan Ru in the army camp. She also used to be a symbol of reconciliation between the Unique King and his daughter. Now, it seemed that she was finished with that job and thus no longer had to stay around the young master.

Qian Ying’s weapon was not a narrow saber but rather two short sabers slightly longer than a dagger. Just like the first Green-faced killer, she also said nothing and launched an attack on Miao Chengxin the moment he walked onto the kung fu competition field.

Miao Chengxin felt that his kung fu was surely better than that of an obscure female killer, but the lesson that Dog Butcher had been taught was still vivid, so he didn’t dare be careless. He wielded his sword and cautiously defended himself against the potential dirty moves of the opponent.

Tai Mountain was the head of the Five Mountains, and a key feature of the Taishan Sect’s kung fu was its steadiness and mountainous might. Although Miao Chengxin’s weapon was a sword, his moves were even more steady than Dog Butcher’s Mountain-cleaving Sabersmanship. Like a giant, round boulder, his moves were slow but very damaging and fierce. Anybody who was hit would be killed right away.

Like a swift small stone flying around a giant boulder, Qian Ying maneuvered around her opponent as she nimbly attacked him, not daring to fight him head-on.

The disadvantages of Golden Roc Castle’s kung fu skills were fully revealed.

Though the weapons and moves of the two killers were different, after seeing their kung fu, the Central Plainsmen found that there wasn’t anything special about the Golden Roc Castle’s kung fu. They felt that these killers’ kung fu merely focused on fast speed, and that they always tried to circle around and attack their enemies from behind. If their first surprise attack was a success, then their subsequent moves would indeed be very difficult to defend against. However, in a face-to-face kung fu competition, their biggest advantage was meaningless.

Gu Shenwei had once had a kung fu competition with Qian Ying before, so he knew that this was her actual skill, and that she wasn’t hiding part of her power. Maybe the kung fu of all the other Green-faced killers were also at this level.

Gu Shenwei warned himself not to underestimate the Green-faced killers. This kung fu competition was a compulsory task. When the Unique King really wanted to use this force, then by no means would he make this mistake. In another occasion, these Central Plains kung fu experts probably wouldn’t even be able to see these Green-faced killers before getting killed.

After they had exchanged a dozen moves, everybody could tell that Miao Chengxin absolutely held the upper hand. However, they also believed that this killer of the Golden Roc Castle would sooner or later make a dirty move.

“Defeat him!” A childish voice came out from behind the Unique King. It was an imperative tone, “Defeat him now!”

The Unique King coughed.

Qian Ying pounced on the opponent whose momentum was as strong as that of a giant rolling boulder. This time, she didn’t dodge and instead attacked head-on. Instantly, she was devoured by sword-light.

Blood splattered in all directions. The Central Plainsmen were shocked by this suicidal fighting style.

Miao Chengxin was also astounded, but he didn’t show mercy to his opponent. Since the Western Regioners had stooped to using poisonous hidden weapons, then there was no need for him to go easy on them.

Qian Ying was hit by several consecutive saber strikes, and a length of her right arm flew away alongside a short saber. However, in response, she finally managed to charge into the center of those sword-lights and target the most vulnerable part of the giant boulder.

Miao Chengxin let out several howls of anger. He had thought that this woman of Golden Roc Castle would fall to the ground due to the sharp pain, but unexpectedly, like a lifeless puppet, she let the opponent dismantle her while the remaining parts of her body kept moving forward.

Qian Ying stabbed the short saber into Miao Chengxin’s chest with her left hand. The first saber strike hit the target, and the subsequent moves immediately followed. After stabbing out seven or eight times in a row, Qian Ying leaped backwards and landed at the bottom of the staircase, her body covered in blood. Part of it was hers, and the rest of which was the enemy’s. The blood was still dripping to the ground as she stared at her opponent, as if she was still capable of launching another attack.

Miao Chengxin was holding his sword as blood gushed out of his chest. Almost all of Qian Ying’s saber stabs had hit the same part of his body, digging out a bloody hole in him.

The swordsman from the Central Plains fell to the ground with a thud.

No one uttered a sound.

The Western Regioners were quite used to this kind of scene, while the Central Plainsmen were too amazed to say anything.

A Green-faced guard whipped out his saber and cut off the head of the second prisoner from the Waning Moon Hall. Gu Shenwei strode up to the body and dismembered her in the same fashion as before.

Qian Ying also fell down, covered in blood. Two Green-faced killers picked her up and hurriedly left.

“Don’t let her die,” Shangguan Cheng yelled, as if his order alone was able to stop her perilous bleeding.

Gu Shenwei walked back to his original position. Miao Chengxin’s body had been taken back by those Central Plainsmen. His face as pale as that of the Dragon King, Sun Chengqi still hadn’t become accustomed to this kind of gory scene. He buckled at the knees and felt nauseous. “Is thi–this really a kung fu competition?”

“It is,” Gu Shenwei said.

A Green-faced guard escorted the third prisoner to the side of the competition field.

Looking at those scattered body parts and the bloody ground, Han Fen smiled in satisfaction. “Thank you, Dragon King. Please chop me into smaller pieces after I die. It would be better if you take my heart away. In that case, the God of the Underworld definitely won’t be able to recognize me.”

“I will,” Gu Shenwei promised.

Chu Nanping saw the Dragon King’s signal and walked onto the field. He pulled out his saber and slightly lowered his head, as if he were transfixed with fear and didn’t dare to look at the bloody scene around him. However, his footing was very steady.

The third Green-faced killer went onto the field. He was a middle-aged man. His features were so common that nobody would be able to find anything special about him even if they put a torch right in front of his face. His weapon was a narrow saber.

“Wait a moment,” Han Fen said and then took a deep breath. “Little Chu, I know that your swordsmanship is pretty good, but if you lose, I’ll die. So, you must do you best and outdo yourself. Just… just imagine that I am the green-eyed little girl.”

“Um,” Chu Nanping answered in a dull voice.

“And, Golden Roc Castle stole some pills from the Waning Moon Hall. You have seen that they were not afraid of pain. That’s because they have taken the Baimu pills. They won’t be able to feel any pain for two to four hours, so be careful.”

“Hmm.”

“And, if I’m going to die soon, then I want to say this first – the Master Commander is the most beautiful, toughest, and smartest person in the world. Is there anyone who disagrees?”

The blood and body parts had made the atmosphere in the grim main hall even more oppressive, so nobody was in the mood to contradict the subjective compliments of a crazy woman, except for an ignorant child.

“That’s not true. The toughest and smartest person in the world is the Unique King.” Standing on the throne, Shangguan Cheng yelled at the woman down below.

Han Fen turned her upper body back, her face full of smiles. “After I die, and after the God of the Underworld refuses to take me in, I’ll become a wandering ghost. I’ll spare some time to come to you every day and then we can discuss who is the toughest and smartest.”

Shangguan Cheng drew a step back and leaned against the back of the throne, his face full of horror. “I won’t allow you to come.”

“Ha-ha, you have no power over me. I’ll spend half a day with the Master Commander, a small half with the Dragon King, and the rest of it playing with you. After the Dragon King marries the Master Commander, I’ll… ”

“Start fighting!” the Unique King yelled, stopping the crazy woman from scaring his youngest son any further.

The Green-faced killer brandished his saber. His kung fu was better than that of the former two, and he also had more tactics. Having already come up with a plan to finish the opponent, he was waiting for him to approach.

Chu Nanping’s sword and the Green-faced killer’s narrow saber were thrust forward at almost the exact same time, but Chu Nanping’s strike was a little faster – just a little. When his sword sank into the Green-faced killer’s heart, the tip of the narrow saber was less than an inch away from his.

The Green-faced killer had made a fatal mistake. The first two contestants were both Central Plainsmen, and he had inevitably been influenced by the former fights, believing that this was going to be yet another protracted fight.

Chu Nanping’s kung fu was no better than those of the kung fu experts from the Central Plains. It was just that his fighting style was different. Just like the Dragon King’s ultimate goal, what he pursued was a striking speed that was always slightly faster than that of his opponent.

This fight had ended so abruptly that nobody made any sounds. Blinking, Han Fen had no idea whether she had been saved or not at all.

“The fourth round,” said Gu Shenwei, turning around to point at Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong. They felt a cold shiver of fear crawl up them at the same time as they leaned against each other to maintain their balance.

The Unique King squinted and took a step forward. He didn’t care about the results of the former three rounds. This final fight was what he was waiting for.