Death Scripture

After blustering out a threat to Lady Meng and Meng Yuzun who was muddle-headed about the lady's secret, Gu Shenwei got a response on the following day.

In the afternoon, the citizens of South City got to witness a rare spectacle: more than 10 carriages, carrying two million taels of silver, were being transported to the Residence of the Dragon King in broad daylight.

The sole responsibility of the men sent by Meng Yuzun was to ensure that the silver was delivered; they even wanted to collect the boxes back. As such, the silver had to be stacked in the Dragon King's front yard after being weighed, and it literally became a mountain of silver. The taels of silver were so shiny that one would get dizzy just by looking at them. Everyone in the residence crowded around to see for themselves, their mouths agape in amazement.

More than 10 pairs of eyes could be noticed peeking unblinkingly and greedily at the silver from the door seams and over the wall of the front yard.

Fang Wenshi was also gazing at the pile of silver with his mouth wide open, and had to control his strong urge to throw himself on it. He had seen through the cunning ploy of the Meng family. "This was obviously done to cause trouble in the residence. How many people would come in hope of snatching it for their own use? This move by the fat man is indeed ruthless."

Gu Shenwei did not order the silver to be moved. Instead, he made the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain erect a flag near it. Fang Wenshi suggested against using the Black Blood Flag as it had a somber reputation now, and Gu Shenwei had to re-design another one.

The murder of crows on the Reincarnation Hill had left an indelible impression in Gu Shenwei's mind, therefore the new flag he designed for the Great Snowmountain was black based with a crudely drawn side portrait of a red crow in the middle of it.

Fang Wenshi did not really like this design, but grudgingly accepted it in the end.

Xu Xiaoyi had secretly contacted many underground banks in the hope that someone would accept the deposit of two million taels of silver, but none of them dared to. "It's too conspicuous. It'll be akin to openly going against the Meng Family by accepting your deposit. Furthermore, I don't have the resources to store it securely," replied Shopkeeper Lyu of Southwall Tavern. He was heartbroken to have to pass over a deal like this; he wanted to do it but was also extremely afraid of the Meng family.

That very night, the robbers came, just as was expected.

Greed overcame fear, and there were at least five groups of bandits loitering around the residence of the Dragon King once night came. They were already fighting amongst themselves even before laying eyes on the silver, and only calmed down after one of them was struck dead. They came up with a plan by dividing the residence into different parts and made a deal to launch a multi-pronged attack. It was up to the individual bandit to grab as much of the silver as he or she could.

They were still somewhat wary of the Dragon King, and dared not aim to grab all of the two million taels of silver; they only wished to get part of it amongst the chaos.

The atmosphere within the residence of the Dragon King had suddenly grown tense.

Those who did not know any kung fu were made to stay in the backyard, and they were separated by gender into two different rooms. Four machetemen, four swordsmen and Lianye stood guard over them. Lianye did not wish to take part in guarding the silver because of his status as a monk and volunteered to help guard the backyard instead.

The remaining 30 over machetemen from the Tianshan Sect and swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain were responsible for guarding the front yard with the Dragon King.

Gu Shenwei only allocated two men to stand guard under the Red Raven Flag. The other people were dispersed throughout the surrounding area and stationed themselves in the various rooms, waiting for their orders. A lantern was hung under each corner of the roof.

The anxious bandits finally struck when it was close to midnight, and snow was beginning to fall.

The first wave consisted of three groups, each made up of five to eight bandits. They came leaping onto the roof from the east, west, and north. Some of them had concealed their faces but some did not bother to do so.

The three groups of bandits stood hesitating on the roof. The silver was just below them, but none of them dared to make the first move. It was only after 15 minutes and when the snow started to get heavier, when a bandit shouted, "I'm Ma Er, Dragon King. My finances are a little tight right now, and I've come here to borrow some money. Please be generous. We can be friends. If you have any request, feel free to look for me from now on."

After the 'pleasantries' were over, more than 20 of the bandits leaped into the yard, seemingly simultaneously. They had drawn their sabers and advanced gingerly through the shallow snow towards the pile of silver.

The two swordsmen standing guard under the Red Raven Flag drew their heavy swords and readied themselves for battle.

However, it did not start immediately, as bandits always waited for someone else to start a fight; they were always looking to grab the loot when the others were fighting. Slowly, their steps became smaller and smaller until they were almost marching on the spot.

Snowflakes were starting to cover the sky, and the light emanating from the four lanterns was soon not enough to pierce through the snow in the air. It was pitch black around the pile of silver, which was at the center of the yard, but it did not matter to the bandits; it was why they were here.

Soon, the second wave of bandits was already on the roof. They were no less than 60. A muscular bandit gave a loud roar as he raised the scimitar in his hand. "The Dragon King has fewer men than us. Let's go!"

Thus, the battle began.

As the second wave of bandits leaped into the yard, the first wave rushed towards the pile of silver. The guards of the front yard came rushing out of the various rooms, and soon there were more than a hundred people congregating in the yard. The battleground immediately looked smaller, and this resulted in extremely brutal close combat.

As shouts from the front yard kept ringing out, those seeking refuge in the backyard trembled and huddled together. Fang Wenshi closed his eyes and quietly prayed. "I'll be fine, the Dragon King will be fine, and the silver will also be fine."

As the battle just began, someone had extinguished the flame from all the lanterns. The combatants were soon plunged into the pitch black night and never ending snow. There were only countless cries to be heard.

"Don't slash, it's me!"

"I've got the silver, let's go!"

"Grab a little more."

"Hurry, hurry."

"Dragon King! Dragon King..."

All of a sudden, a few torches were lit, and one could see the bodies dropping like flies. There were people continually being cut down and the blood from their wounds froze before it could splatter or gush out. This did not diminish the draw of the pile of silver, however. More and more bandits surged forward with a raging desire for the money. They hacked a bloody path towards the mountain of silver, not discriminating between friend or foe. Once they got there, they threw themselves on the silver and started stuffing their pockets and sacks full of it. They then turned back and tried to hack their way out again.

Gu Shenwei had never slaughtered bandits so easily before. Lin Xiaoshan was carrying a torch and darting around the combatants, and Gu Shenwei followed closely by his side. With the aid of the light from the torch, he killed a bandit with every single stroke of his saber. It was nearly a massacre without resistance, and only a few of his opponents tried to block his attacks.

The power of the silver was ten times more than he had imagined.

The battle ended around midnight, and there was not a single tael of silver missing. However, the pile of silver had been covered by blood and snow, and could not shine as brightly as before.

There were many corpses left behind in the yard, and only a few of the bandits came to their senses at the very last minute, leaving the silver behind and fleeing for their lives.

The lanterns were re-lit and everyone took inventory. A few of the machetemen and swordsmen were wounded and were sent to the backyard for treatment.

Gu Shenwei saw that there was a youth about 13 years of age standing at the now open main entrance, and asked, "Who's that?"

A swordsman replied, "He wants to be a disciple of the Dragon King, and he's the only one to stay behind; all the others have left."

When Gu Shenwei won the title of Machete God, a group of people had gathered at his doorstep, wishing to learn his machete technique. He had not accepted any of them, and all of them took it as a sign for them to leave, except for the youth who remained waiting stubbornly outside the main entrance.

His clothes were thin, and his face was red from the frost. He was hugging a short-saber and did not show any sign of fear upon seeing the corpses strewn in the yard, his gaze fixed steadily at the Dragon King.

"Bring him to me, if he's still here tomorrow," Gu Shenwei instructed the swordsman who had replied to him, before returning to his room to rest.

The first battle was over, but there would be stronger enemies coming their way.

The first two waves of bandits were probably machetemen from the city who had made a last minute career switch. Their methods were amateurish and disorderly. Real bandits would have got other people to attack first and only appear when they got a grasp on the enemy's strength. They were only looking for riches, but would never sacrifice their lives for it if possible.

Gu Shenwei had predicted the arrival of more bandits, but he had not predicted that his qigong deviation would attack at this critical time.

Previously, he would have a premonition two to three days before each attack—his body would feel cold for no particular reason at all. This time, it was sudden and came without prior warning.

He had felt a little cold when standing in the yard after getting rid of the first two waves of bandits, but he attributed it to the snow. It was only when he returned to his quarters and felt that the coldness was getting stronger instead of diminishing, that he knew all was not well.

"Get monk Lianye to come," he ordered Lin Xiaoshan.

Lin Xiaoshan could see that the Dragon King was even paler than before, and knew that something was amiss. He bowed to the Dragon King as a sign that he understood the order, with a tinge of uncertainty in his eyes, and then he went to the backyard to fetch Lianye.

Once the monk stepped into the Dragon King's room, he immediately made it clear that he was not willing to take innocent lives, "Wildhorse forced brother Lianhua and me into working for him and I want to kill him to avenge my senior's death. However, I won't kill to protect your silver, Dragon King, you..."

He stopped himself upon seeing that Gu Shenwei did not look quite right.

Gu Shenwei could not delay his resistance to the qigong deviation attack any longer, as it was extremely strong. He had to begin channeling his internal energy but was worried that there would still be people trying to get their hands on the silver when it got closer to midnight. He ordered Lin Xiaoshan, "Bring everyone to the backyard, and no matter what happens in the front yard, don't come over."

"Go to the backyard? What if there are bandits?" Lin Xiaoshan could not understand the logic behind the Dragon King's order. However, the Dragon King looked serious and did not seem like he was spouting nonsense. Lin Xiaoshan felt that he could only carry it out, but not before asking further, "Everyone?"

"Everyone. No one is to come to the front yard until dawn."

Lin Xiaoshan went to convey the Dragon King's order to the other machetemen and swordsmen. Gu Shenwei turned his attention to Lianye. He had no other choice left but to trust the monk. "There's been a slight problem with my internal breath, and I need to channel my internal energy to drive it away. I hope that you can be my guardian while I'm at it, Master."

Lianye had already detected an anomaly to the Dragon King's internal breath earlier at the Machete God Contest, and he had undergone the torment of qigong deviation before as well. As such, he understood Gu Shenwei's pain and brought his palms together as he said, "I humbly accept this post. However, I have to make it clear that I'll only protect you, Dragon King. I'll not be protecting the pile of silver in the yard."

Gu Shenwei nodded in agreement. The chill in his Dantian was growing stronger, and he no longer had the energy to worry about the silver. As such, he had simply sent Lin Xiaoshan and his other men to the backyard to protect the defenseless residents. It would be great if the next wave of bandits thought that the empty front yard was a trap and went away, but if not, he could only forsake the silver and place more emphasis on his personal safety.

A person who was withstanding a qigong deviation attack could not be disturbed in the slightest bit. Lianye walked out of the room and stood guard at the door, while Gu Shenwei stuffed his ears with cotton wool, closed his eyes and began channeling his internal breath.

However, it took him quite a while to enter a state of absolute concentration. He would be close to defenseless for the next 12 hours, and in the past, he had fought against the attacks by hiding in uninhabited areas, with Chu Nanping as his guardian. Now, he was in the bustling South City, and the two million taels of silver that everyone had eyes on was only about 10 steps away from him. What was more, he no longer had the loyal youth as his guardian, but a monk whom he did not know very well.

There was too much for him to worry about, and he could not relax entirely.

His saber and sword were just beside him, and he hesitated for a while before placing the Dragon Head Sword within easy reach. He felt that only the swordcraft from Death Scripture could save him if he was forced to act.

The chill was spreading towards his limbs and bones and he began to shiver slightly. He forced himself to concentrate and focus all his energy on withstanding the iciness in his body.

As he entered a state of absolute concentration, he could not be disturbed by any sound other than thunder or if someone was charging towards him. Therefore, he could consider himself lucky that he could not hear a voice coming from the front yard.

"Come on out, Dragon King, and receive your death! The Five Warlords of Tianshan are here to avenge Chipo's death!"