Death Sutra Chapter 96

Editor: Xu Xian

Chapter 096 Save People

Gu Shenwei felt something was not right as soon as he entered the house. There were no signs of life upstairs or downstairs. His heart thumped, he quickly searched the whole house.

The siblings of the Xu family had run away. Anything worth some value that could be easily carried were gone, only the short sabre Gu Shenwei had once used was still there. It was on top of the extinguished brazier.

Frustrated, Gu Shenwei sat down, he couldn't understand where the siblings could've escaped to. In the city, they would be quickly found. The area surrounding Jade City was either high mountains or the Gobi desert, even the nearest residential area was a few days away, and it was suicidal to travel outside the city in this season.

But then he realised he was wrong again. That man wearing a cloak wasn't a watchman from Golden Roc Castle.

Gu Shenwei got up and ran out of the house. He wanted to find someone to clarify one thing, he also wanted to find a horse. He ran towards the southwall tavern, even if Tie Hanfeng wasn't there, the tavern keeper would meet his two needs.  

Gu Shenwei had just run through the gap in the the city wall when he saw his Master walking out of the tavern.

Tie Hanfeng walked over to his disciple. "What happened? Everything looks like a mess."

News about the big fire outside the city and how killer disciples were looking for Old Dragon Head everywhere had spread throughout southern Jade City. Tie Hanfeng was well informed so, naturally, he had already heard about it.

"It's urgent, I need a horse."

Tie Hanfeng believed in his disciple, he turned around and went back to the tavern, coming out after a short time. Shortly, a sleepy-eyed waiter led two horses out.

"You're coming with me?"

"Of course."

Gu Shenwei thought this wasn't bad, he jumped onto the horse. "Which way is it to Stone Country?"

"Jade city only has two roads, one to the East, the other to the West. Stone Country is to the South, so we can go either way."

Gu Shenwei was blanked, then something flashed in his mind, "The west."

He remembered that short sabre, the sword hilt had fallen into the brazier and the tip of the sword had pointed West, it must've been a message Xu Xiaoyi left for him.

The Master and disciple rode their horses to the West road, Tie Hanfeng finally had a chance to ask, "What are you going to do?"

"Save people." Gu Shenwei blurted out these two words and slapped his horse to run faster.

Tie Hanfeng frowned, he didn't like to 'save people', a killer's responsibility was to kill people.

In a vast expanse of white wilderness, any moving objects were easily spotted. They kept moving forward until the sun rose high in the sky, from afar, Gu Shenwei saw a carriage moving slowly. Accompanying the carriage was a rider in a long black cloak. Originally, the cloak was used to conceal one's identity, but now it looked exceptionally conspicuous.

The carriage heard the click of the horses' hooves behind them and stopped on the roadside, the rider stood guard in front of the vehicle. Gu Shenwei and Tie Hanfeng rushed forward and saw the carriage curtain open, revealing the siblings of the Xu family.

Xu Xiaoyi lowered his head, his face a bit red. Xu Yanwei's face was filled with surprise and anger. "Why it is you again? Do we owe you money?"

Tie Hanfeng eyebrows furrowed tighter and tighter as he saw them. But he focused more on that rider, obviously, there was a sharp sabre hidden underneath the cloak.

"You two owe me your lives," said Gu Shenwei coldly, "so I can't let anyone else casually take them away."

Xu Yanwei harshly said, "You saved us of your own will, we didn't beg you to."

"How about this time? The younger prince wants to kill you two, I definitely won't lend a hand unless you open your mouth."

Xu Yanwei was momentarily stunned, before she could speak, Xu Xiaoyi rushed to say, "Brother Huan, the younger prince is taking us to Stone Country, not killing us."

The rider hadn't spoken until now, "I'm under orders to escort Miss Xu and Xu Gongzi to Stone Country, I have no intentions to kill anyone."

Gu Shenwei ignored him. Although the siblings of the Xu family had been living in southern Jade City since they were little and had learnt more ways of the world than him, they couldn't see as clearly as him when faced with a real conspiracy.  

"Think about it, the younger prince sent someone to kill his older brother, we're all insiders. Golden Roc Castle, the Meng family, and the patrol commandant also know it, but you two are different. You're not just insiders, you're living evidence. Amongst everyone, you two were the only people who saw bodyguard Ju commit murder and knew that 'Mi Gongzi' was the younger prince. Think about it carefully, the younger prince doesn't need to kill me because it's useless to kill me. But why would he keep you two alive? Once you leave Golden Roc Castle's territory, this guard with 'no intentions to kill' will silence you two."

The carriage driver carefully glanced back, he took this job because the employer was generous. He didn't want to be silenced.

The siblings of the Xu family looked puzzled, they turned to look at the rider. The rider lifted his cloak's hood, revealing a firm face of over forty years old. "The King misses Miss Xu and hopes to meet with you soon. Miss Xu, rest assured that I can guarantee you and your brother's safety."  

Gu Shenwei turned the horse, "I have finished what I want to say, where you go is your decision."

Xu Yanwei silently lowered her head, Xu Xiaoyi shouted, "Turn around, turn around, we won't go to Stone Country."

The driver was waiting for someone to say this, but he still had to wait for the rider who hired the carriage to speak.

"Miss Xu, what do you think?" The rider asked.

Xu Yanwei looked perplexed and alarmed, as if it was hard to make a decision. In the end, she sighed, "Let's go back to the southern Jade City first, we're not in a hurry to go to Stone Country."

The rider was silent for a while, then took off his cloak and drew the machete at his waist. "Then I have no choice but to offend you."

"You really wanted to kill us!" Xu Xiaoyi exclaimed. The siblings had the same idea, they wanted to see how the rider would react if they pretended to want to go back to the city, but didn't expect him to actually want to make a move.

"I have the King's order and have no choice but to follow it. I won't ask where you two are from, you'd better not say. Let's fight."

The second part was said to Gu Shenwei and Tie Hanfeng. The rider had guessed the two's origins and didn't want to be accused of killing the killers of Golden Roc Castle.

Gu Shenwei didn't accept the fight, he pulled the horse to retreat two steps instead and kept his distance from the rider, "We don't have to fight, this time no one is begging me, I won't meddle in others' business."

The rider was slightly stunned. The siblings definitely wouldn't let go of their only life saver unless they didn't want to live anymore.

"Brother Huan, please, please help us. The reason I left the short sabre was to remind you to run after us." Xu Xiaoyi opened his mouth first. He had long been sceptical about leaving the city and for Stone Country, but he couldn't persuade his elder sister, so he surrendered and followed her.

Gu Shenwei looked at Xu Yanwei, waiting for her reply.

Xu Yanwei changed her face so fast it was like she was possessed by Servant Yao's spirit. She instantly revealed a smile so enchanting even a fifteen year old teenager would be moved. "It has come to this point, what else can I do? Please, good brother, from now on, me and my little brother's lives and everything else are yours."

The rider roared and jumped off his horse. "Well, no more nonsense, let's see who can save them and who can kill them."

Gu Shenwei also jumped off his horse and drew his narrow sabre, but Tie Hanfeng rushed forward and snatched it. "Stinky kid, watch and learn, you're not his match."

He turned to the siblings on the carriage. "The one saving your lives is still my disciple, I'm helping him, not you two." Then he limped towards the rider. He casually gripped the narrow sabre, standing unlike an expert. He was more like a street rat who only knew how to mindlessly rush forward without caring about his life in a street fight.

As soon as the rider moved, Gu Shenwei knew his Master was right, he wasn't the rider's match. The rider moved fast, so did his sabre, Gu Shenwei couldn't even see any signs that the rider was going to make a move. The rider's killing aura was hidden very well and it only burst out in the last moment.

Gu Shenwei was startled, feeling very lucky that his Master had come with him to save people.

Gu Shenwei had only seen his Master kill once, the target was a guard with mediocre kung fu skills. This time, his Master's opponent was a real expert.

The rider and Tie Hanfeng had already finished feeling each other out back when Gu Shenwei was talking with the siblings, so they used all their strength to attack mercilessly once the fight started.

For an expert, the kill was always finished in one move, Gu Shenwei had seen it once. But when he saw it again after his kung fu skills had improved, he felt both excited and shocked. Like a fan listening to a famous actor singing an opera, a monk listening to an eminent monk preaching, even the turn of a toe or a shrug could make people feel like they had an epiphany.  

But in the eyes of the siblings, this kung fu competition was nothing but bloody. The machete cut from the top, the Cripple tilted his body as if he were going to fall, then made a seemingly weak horizontal slash. He immediately staggered back after the move to stand in a funny posture.

Tie Hanfeng actually used a lot of strength, but all his strength was used on his enemy, so he seemed very weak after the slash.

This was the highest level of using a sabre. Tie Hanfeng didn’t mean to hide it from his disciple, but without a formidable opponent, he wasn’t able to show it.

Gu Shenwei was both alarmed and excited. Even a crippled killer of Golden Roc Castle could have such sabresmanship, when would he have the ability to take revenge?

The rider dropped the machete, his left hand held his right side. The wound didn't bleed much, but the sabre had already penetrated his body and destroyed the vital organs his life depended on.

"Good sabresmanship," said the rider.

He sat on the ground, his body trembled slightly, as if he were going to fall, but in the end he just lowered his head like a monk in deep meditation, dead.

Tie Hanfeng circled round to the rider's back and cut off his head, he showed it to the siblings of the Xu family. The siblings and the carriage driver's faces became as pale as snow. Xu Yanwei recalled the last time someone killed a person in front of her, she immediately said, "No."

Tie Hanfeng threw away the head and gave back the narrow sabre to his disciple. "This is the outcome of an idiot choosing a place to kill. Remember, do the kill whenever you can, never waste an opportunity."

“Yes, Master.”

Gu Shenwei replied with respect, feeling more that he indeed had many things to learn from his Master.

The Master and disciple rode their horses in front, the carriage followed far behind them. The driver had made up his mind to stay far away from the Cripple who performed the kill.

"That bitch doesn't look bad, but you'd better be careful, doing good things has a price," said Tie Hanfeng after they travelled for a while. He still didn’t understand his disciple's act of saving people.

"Doing good things is like doing a business, what comes around, goes around."

Tie Hanfeng stared at his disciple, his expression mysterious, "Right, doing good things is like doing a business, you should have the ability to ensure that you can take back both the principal and interest, watch out or you'll end up with nothing."

Gu Shenwei revealed a knowing smile. "No, never, I promise."

Tie Hanfeng also did many 'good things' for his disciple before, so when he opened his mouth to ask for a return, Gu Shenwei knew he must agree.

Jade City looked close, but they still had a long way to go when it was already noon. Tie Hanfeng remembered something, he asked, "You're looking for Old Dragon Head?"

"Hmm."

"He died, someone killed him this morning, hot and fresh."

Gu Shenwei guessed it would probably be end up like this, but he was still a bit disappointed. He could've taken this opportunity to take revenge against Mr. Guo. He glanced back at the carriage and suddenly got an idea. May be he could draw the snake out of its hole while also letting the siblings of the Xu family pay back some 'debt'.

Chapter end