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Chapter 912: The Main Hall

Gu Shenwei stuck with his decision, and he had made adequate preparations. Zhong Heng was in command of the army of the Shule Kingdom in the west. Dugu Xian was the Commander-in-chief of the 20,000-men Central Plains army. And finally, Wu Zongheng stayed in the encampment of the Dragon Army. All troops were prepared for war.

The Golden Roc troops, who were stationed not far away, had gotten scared. They had closed the gates of their encampment and even withdrawn their scouts.

Gu Shenwei had invited the deputy envoy of the Central Plains, Sun Chengqi, to go to Golden Roc Castle with him. Sun Chengqi brought along a dozen kung fu practitioners from the Central Plains with him, including Luo Qikang. Only four of Gu Shenwei’s own subordinates had come: Shangguan Fei, Shangguan Hong, Chu Nanping, and Dog Butcher.

On the first day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the Dragon King and those Central Plainsmen entered Jade City through the east gate and headed to Golden Roc Castle for a visit.

This time, the pomp of the procession was not as great as when the envoy of the Central Plains had arrived at the city. The guards only numbered a hundred or so, but they also drew a larger audience.

Along the way, the crowds remained solemnly quiet. They all bowed to the Dragon King to pay their respects, as if he had already become the Lord of Jade City.

After they passed through the north city gate and stepped onto the twisting mountain road, the roadside immediately became quiet. Most of the residents on the mountainside were servants of Golden Roc Castle and retired killers. All of the doors were closed, as if there was nobody living in those houses.

They could see the high stone castle and the totally defenseless stone bridges. Sun Chengqi exclaimed in amazement, “It’s really hard to tell how big Golden Roc Castle is from the foot of the mountain. There is a saying that goes, ‘if one man guards the pass, ten thousand are unable to get through.’ If Golden Roc Castle dispatches a couple of killers at the other end of the bridge, then who would be able to get through?”

There was indeed only “one man guarding the pass” on the opposite end of the stone bridge.

Dressed in a long robe with wide sleeves, Zhang Ji believed that he was more powerful than hundreds of killers. He stood there, dozens of steps in front of the main gate, waiting for the guests to come. There were no other attendants around him.

“I’m Zhang Ji, the counselor of Golden Roc Castle as well as of the Heavenly Mountain Sect. Welcome, my honored guests.”

All the people here dismounted from their horses. The others didn’t feel disrespected, but this was not the warm welcome that he had expected, so he just nodded blandly and didn’t take this counselor too seriously.

Gu Shenwei was rather familiar with Golden Roc Castle. Back then, he had visited almost every corner of this castle with Shangguan Ru and Shangguan Yushi. The main hall was the only place that he had never entered.

The main hall was in the middle of Golden Roc Castle. It was a huge building made purely of stone bricks. After so many years, many of the stone steps had been worn down and broken. Sun Chengqi made another remark. “From the foot of the mountain, it seems high. From the outside, it seems big. But from the inside – ha, it seems a little gaunt.”

Gu Shenwei had become familiar with the dilapidated state of the stone castle a long time ago. Even when the castle had had the largest number of people living in it, there were still weeds growing in the cracks of the stones.

But Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Hong were both so surprised that they seemed somewhat flustered and restless. Since they had been born in and grown up in the stone castle, they had always ignored the cracks and worn stones out of sheer habit. In their memories, the stone castle had always been towering and mighty, as if it had been carved out of a single piece of stone. They didn’t expect that, upon returning, they would see such a dilapidated and bleak scene two years after they left this place. But in fact, this place had been like this for many years.

The two people exchanged a glance, and the fleeting empathy between them was instantly replaced with a deep hatred.

The servants of Golden Roc Castle began to show up. There were no killers, just common servants. They stood on either side with their heads down, welcoming the person who was a former apprentice as well as a current enemy. Everybody’s neck seemed a little abnormal. Most of the visitors felt that this was the first time that they had ever seen someone being forced to lower their heads.

There was no sign of dilapidation in the main hall. The floor was just as smooth as usual and there was not even a single dent in the surfaces of those perfectly circular tiles. The only downside was the dimness.

There were no window in the walls of this spacious hall. And torches had to be lit to illuminate this place, even during the daytime.

After so many years, the walls had become black from the smoke given off by those torches. Even so, the torches still couldn’t dispel the darkness that had lasted almost a century. Everybody walking inside felt like they had been devoured by a giant beast.

When they were halfway to the meeting destination, Sun Chengqi stopped and gave two coughs to conceal his fear. “Counselor Zhang, where’s the Unique King?”

As a guest from the Central Plains, Sun Chengqi had been walking in the middle, with the Dragon King on his left and Zhang Ji on his right. Behind him were a dozen guards. This small group of people couldn’t even take up a corner of this main hall. No wonder the deputy envoy felt nervous.

Zhang Ji pointed into the depths. “The King Lord is there.”

The instant his words ended, more torches were lit. Two rows of people, each one of whom was holding a torch, walked out and lit the torches fixed on the columns along the way.

All of these people were carrying narrow sabers. Clearly, they were the small, last group of remaining killers of Golden Roc Castle.

Sun Chengqi was startled again, and his impression of Golden Roc Castle worsened.

Gu Shenwei had recently seen the Unique King, who was sitting on the throne, and he had also seen something that had aroused rage within him. Two giant birds, taller than humans, were erected on either side of the throne with their heads propped up, their chests puffed out, and their wings wide open, as if they were protecting the throne. The golden feathers on their heads were still.

Although it had been many years since then, Gu Shenwei still couldn’t forget the scene of the golden-crowned rocs getting killed. It had happened right in front of him, but he had been powerless to save them, and he had even had to kowtow to the murderer to plead for his life.

Humans appeared small and humble against the giant birds. On his first sight, Sun Chengqi had also noticed the giant bird first instead of the Unique King sitting in the middle. He blurted out, “My God. Are tho – those real?”

“They used to be, but now they’re just two ornaments,” Zhang Ji answered in a habitual tone.

But the others were all shocked, and even Shangguan Hong and his brother were no exception. This was also the first time that they had ever seen the giant rocs of their family.

After a while, their shock abated, and awe spontaneously rose in them. Naturally, they were also awed by the Unique King. As they continued to walk towards the depths of the main hall, Sun Chengqi was no longer as discontent as he was before. By now, he couldn’t even remember the look of that cold, old man in the Four Noble Truths Temple, as if that had been just an inferior counterfeit. And the one who was sitting on the top of the seven-step staircase with his figure cloaked in the shadows was the true Unique King.

Zhang Ji stopped twenty steps away from the bottom step of the staircase, turned his head back, and signaled the guards of the Dragon King and Sun Chengqi to stop. Nobody objected. Only Chu Nanping and Luo Qikang consulted with their masters and only stopped after seeing their masters nod.

At the bottom of the staircase, Zhang Ji walked to the side silently.

The Unique King stood up, walked down three steps, and said, “Welcome.”

Sun Chengqi buckled at the knees. From this short distance, the two golden-crowned giant rocs looked stronger and more lifelike, as if they could peck at them and take their lives at any moment.

“Cough. The Dragon King and I…” Sun Chengqi raised his head, looked at the Unique King, and paused. He had actually forgotten why he had come here.

Gu Shenwei took two steps back and said, “Unique King, please hand over the three disciples of the Waning Moon Hall.”

Light suddenly dawned on Sun Chengqi. He also took two steps back. “Yes, yes. Please hand over the prisoners, Unique King. I’ll take them back to the Central Plains.”

In order to have the Unique King release Han Fen and the others, Gu Shenwei had made up an excuse: the disciples of the Waning Moon Hall were very sly, and they had killed a couple of Central Plainsmen while they were practicing their swordsmanship. Thus, they had to be escorted to the Central Plains where they would be put on trial.

This was a poor excuse, and the tens of thousands of troops outside the city were a more potent one.

The Unique King descended another stairstep. “Golden Roc Castle hands over no prisoners, only heads. I can have their heads sent here right away if you’d like.”

A wave of nausea swept over Sun Chengqi. “We don’t want heads. The Unique King will have to make an exception this time and hand over living prisoners. The Waning Moon Hall has myriad plots, and the Central Plains needs a detailed testimony.”

After staying silent for a while, the Unique King waved his hand. Before long, a couple of guards escorted three prisoners out of a side room.

Compared with how they looked a couple of days ago, Han Fen and the others appeared rather listless, but there were no obvious signs of torture.

“Hey, Dragon King. What took you so long?” Han Fen said weakly.

“I’m going to hand you over to Central Plainsmen,” said Gu Shenwei.

Han Fen shook her head. “I’m not going to the Central Plains.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” Sun Chengqi snapped. The sense of mystery and awe brought by the darkness and the golden-crowned giant rocks was waning, and he had recalled that he was the superior dignitary. “What are the Waning Moon Hall’s conspiracies? Have any other members infiltrated the Central Plains? You must honestly confess when you’re in the Central Plains.”

“I have to confess again?” Han Fen said resignedly. “I’ve talked about these things over and over again. The Unique King has more conspiracies than the Waning Moon Hall possibly could. Why don’t you ask him to confess?”

“The Unique King’s conspiracies have nothing to do with you. Just keep your mouth shut from now on.” To prevent Han Fen from talking nonsense again, Gu Shenwei interjected, turned around, and faced Shangguan Fa. “Please release them.”

“What a domineering ‘please.’” The Unique King descended another two steps to stand on the bottom step. “Then ‘please’ tell me who exactly am I supposed to hand over these three prisoners to? The Lord Deputy Envoy or the Dragon King?”

“To me.” Sun Chengqi gained more confidence from the four words “The Lord Deputy Envoy.” The Norland was in chaos, so the Western Regions was under the Central Plains’ sole control. “The Dragon King knows the Waning Moon Hall well. He will only help the Central Plains analyze the testimony.”

“Golden Roc Castle respects Lord Deputy Envoy and also the Central Plains.”

“The Central Plains will remember the Unique King’s kindness.” Gradually, Sun Chengqi felt that things were going in a more familiar way. “Now please hand over the prisoners to me.”

The Unique King walked down the last, bottom step. “Lord Deputy Envoy may take the three prisoners, but I have a request.”

“Go on, please. I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Not only are there numerous troops and generals, but there are also many kung fu experts in the Central Plains. I’ve always been meaning to see the Central Plain’s kung fu. How about we have a couple rounds of competitions today? The three prisoners will be the stakes.”

“Well… ” Sun Chengqi found that this was a situation that he was unfamiliar with. “You’re the Unique King, and I’m the envoy of the Central Plains. The rules of Jianghu are not really suitable for our business, are they?”

“It’s fine if you’re not willing to have a kung fu competition. Golden Roc Castle will still hand over a prisoner. The information that the different disciples of the Waning Moon Hall can offer is more of less the same. I think that one prisoner should be enough for you. I’ll kill the other two. What do you think, Lord Deputy Envoy?”

Sun Chengqi turned his head back and looked at the Dragon King. He was under Zhang You’s direct instructions to follow the Dragon King’s orders. He himself had no intentions to push the Unique King too hard.

“Are those who are not Central Plainsmen allowed to participate in the Kung fu competition?” asked Gu Shenwei.

“Sure. We’re all allies of the Central Plains. Just regard the kung fu competition as a game.,” The Unique King knew that the Dragon King would surely agree. Getting the prisoners was just a secondary reason. The Dragon King had once been defeated by him, so there was no doubt that he urgently wanted another chance to prove himself.

Neither the deputy envoy nor the counselor Zhang Ji could understand this competitive mentality of kung fu practitioners, and the latter even predicted that the Dragon King would definitely decline.

“Since it’s just a game, then we might as well make the stakes higher.”

“Oh? What does Dragon King have in mind?” The Unique King didn’t care about stakes.

Gu Shenwei turned around and pointed at his bodyguards who were not far away. “I have two of your sons in my hands. I’ll stake them. If I win, give me your youngest son.”

Shangguan Fei was startled. Last night, when he had talked about the exchange of hostages with Shangguan Hong, he was just trying to frighten him. He didn’t actually expect the Dragon King to do this. And the Dragon King had even staked them both on the kung fu competition.