Chapter 577: Clean

Wildhorse could smell a trace of Slave Huan in Maid Lotus's assassination plan. Although he had an unresolved hatred towards Slave Huan, he had to admit that the guy with tatoos on his arm was sometimes very clever as a killer from Golden Roc.

A typical Golden Roc killer was like knife manipulated by its master, who decided how and where to stab. The Supreme King had trained these killers in this way so that they would be easy to control, although sometimes it was less efficient.

Slave Huan was a differect case. He was too clever to be controlled. In the end, he had to leave Golden Roc Fort and start his own business.

Mute as he was, Wildhorse always talked to himself. "Slave Huan is like the other clever men in this world -- born rebellious. He betrayed the Stone Castle, the Supreme King, the Eighth Young Master, Mama Xue, and the Tenth Young Master," he thought. Slave Huan had also betrayed Wildhorse.

In the past, they had discussed how to create an "accident" to kill Shangguan Ru and get themselves a new master. But at the last moment, Slave Huan betrayed Wildhorse, causing several people to be killed and Wildhorse to be expelled.

The expulsion had completely changed Wildhorse's fate. His promising career in Stone Castle was gone forever, and he was forced to live a nomad life on the grasslands.

Wildhorse would never forgive Slave Huan for that betrayal. When Slave Huan cut off one of Wildhorse's arms, he hated Slave Huan, but the feeling of being betrayed had been far more unbearable.

Now Wildhorse was on a mission under the command of the Dragon King. He told himself he must be especially cautious to not be betrayed again.

Shangguan Shaomin did not practice kung fu, but it was not easy to assassinate her. She was protected by dozens of Golden Roc killers. Many of them were experienced and had taken all necessary precautions to prevent any mishaps.

Therefore Maid Lotus's plan was to lure them out of their encampment and simply walk into the traps she had set.

"It must be Slave Huan's idea," Wildhorse thought.

At noon the next day (just one day away from the Tournament of the Royal Court), Yi, one of the three maids most trusted by the Eighth Young Mistress, Luo Ningcha, came to the encampment of Golden Roc Fort. She came on behalf of her mistress to invite Miss Min for a get together.

Wildhorse recognized that the maid was a disguised subordinate of Maid Lotus.

Han Fen had been watching Luo Ningcha and her three maids, as ordered. Just as Gu Shenwei had expected, Maid Yi was working for Golden Roc Fort. Everything about the Eighth Young Mistress had been reported to Shangguan Yun and Zhang Ji.

But Maid Yi had never been to the encampment of Golden Roc Fort herself. She had passed the messages via a shop manager while pretending to discuss with him about his wares. The manager woud then report the messages to a responsible Golden Roc killer, who would take them to Golden Roc Fort.

Therefore, neither Shangguan Yun nor Zhang Ji had ever seen Maid Yi in person. When they heard that Maid Yi was asking for a meeting, both of them were surprised.

Han Fen was good at disguises, and even her voice sounded authentic. Of course, given only one day of observation from afar, the disguise was not perfect. Still, apart from the shop manager, who was not present, no one in the encampment of Golden Roc Fort could tell that she was not the real Maid Yi.

"Maid Yi," repeated the invitation from her mistress, hinting that Shangguan Yun should accept it.

Although the invitation was a bit surprising, it seemed normal from the Eighth Young Mistress. So, Shangguan Shaomin left the encampment that afternoon and headed to the temporary residence of Luo Ningcha in the noble area. "Maid Yi" was with her in the same carriage.

According to tradition, it was not appropriate for a man to meet his sister-in-law. Therefore, Shangguan Yun could not go to Luo Ningcha's place himself. He sent a blademaster, ten killers, and twenty machetemen to escort Shangguan Shaomin, who was so important that he could not afford to make any mistakes these last few days.

The encampment of Golden Roc was in the east, while the residence of Luo Ningcha was in the southwest. On their way, they had to pass a craftsman's area, which was on a bustling street. Wildhorse and Liman planned to take action there.

The time and place was not preferred by Wildhorse, as a killer. A killer was more used to remote places and dark nights. Although Wildhorse had picked up kung fu from the Yuqing Sect, his killer's instinct had remained intact. Still, he did not object to Maid Lotus's choice. "A change of the habit may not be a bad thing. There could be some unexpected benefits," he thought.

Wildhorse and Liman arrived at the appointed location fifteen minutes ahead of time, hiding in the carriage. The driver lost himself in the crowd. No one paid any attention to the carriage, which stopped temporarily on the side of the road.

The other carriage came by. When the two carriages were almost side by side, Wildhorse and Liman jumped out.

It was late in the evening. Even the vigilant Golden Roc killers were surprised by the two masked assassins in black who suddenly rushed out of the unattended carriage, let alone the common people walking on the street.

People were still living in fear of the riots in the slums. The sound of a needle dropping onto the ground would be enough to scare them away.

Wildhorse and Liman had made a much louder noise than that, though. Each of them held a crossbow and shot wildly at the carriage of Shangguan Shaomin simultaneously. Then they dropped their crossbows and drew out their sabers.

The chaos spread to the surrounding area an extremely quickly. Shop owners along the street started closing their doors frantically. The pedestrians began running around in a panic. The people in Norland advocated militarism, so even though nearly half of the pedestrians in the street were equipped with weapons, they still ran while staring.

Although the Golden Roc killers were taken by surprise, they did not panic at all. Two killers blocked the arrows; four killers rushed towards the assassins; another four killers guarded the whole place; and the blademaster observed the situation while trying to make a decision, and then gave orders to the 20 macheteman to take action.

"An assassination against Golden Roc killers is like a competition of riding and shooting against the Norland Cavalry—ridiculous," thought the blademaster, who soon formulated a response plan.

The two assassins were even faster, though. Wielding their sabers, they did not turn away and flee, but kept running forward through the enemies. Before the blademaster could make up his mind about his next move, they had already made their way out by stepping on people's heads and quickly blending into the crowd.

Losing the assassins would be a shame for Golden Roc Fort. The blademaster sent half of his men to chase after the assassins, and instructed the rest to guard the carriage, just in case it was a trick to lure them away from Shangguan Shaomin.

Golden Roc Fort was destined to bear the shame. The pedestrians on the street were in a panic, and a group of cavalry had come over to try to restore order in the street. The calvarymen were quite confused about the situation, though, so they just whipped anyone they ran into. The Golden Roc killers in black were even more suspicious targets to them.

The killers did not dare resist. They had received strict orders, and were not allowed to make trouble in the Royal Court. Even when they were provoked, they had to try their best to withhold.

The Norland people did not respect killers. They despised them.

The disturbance began and ended quickly. "It was just a small incident. Two assassins tried to do a killing, but failed and had to run away," most of the people thought.

Shops opened again and the street returned to normal. Then the Norland soldiers realized that Golden Roc Fort was not the one that had started the trouble. Surprised, they immediately let Golden Roc Fort's men pass.

After they walked out of the street and the pedestrians dispersed, the blademaster realized that the lady in the carriage must be frightened, so he rode up beside it and stooped to call out, "Miss Min?" He called three times, but did not get a response, so he opened the curtain to check on her.

Both Shangguan Shaomin and Maid Yi were gone, and there was a huge hole in the floor of the carriage.

The blademaster took a while to react, realizing that he was in big trouble. He knew that he still had to do something, so he sent the killers in three directions: two macheteman were assigned to return to the encampment to report the situation to the Third Young Master; five killers and five machetemen were assigned to go back to check for clues along the road they had taken; and the blademaster would lead the rest of the men straight to the residence of the Eighth Young Mistress.

Luo Ningcha was both surprised and angry at the unexpected visit. She had no knowledge of the assassination plot, and regarded being questioned to her face as an insult. She stood behind a screen with her three maids standing in front, and criticized the blademaster, accusing the Third Young Master of looking for an excuse to bully her.

Shangguan Yun soon arrived. He reprimanded the blademaster and apologized to his sister-in-law. When he saw the real Maid Yi, he knew that he had been deceived.

The killers who had been sent back to the original road brought back the truth: after the disturbance ended, the Norland soldiers questioned the people in the other carriage, and asked them to move the carriage to the side. It was moved right next to the assassins' carriage. Miss Min must have been taken away at this time. She had either been drugged or had run away on her own.

The truth was that Shangguan Shaomin had left the carriage willingly. Han Fen persuaded her with only one sentence: "Shangguan Ru asked me to take you away."

It was a lie, but Shangguan Shaomin had believed it. She had been waiting for her little aunt to save her from her misery.

A few streets away, Wildhorse and Liman changed their apparel. After about half an hour, Han Fen and Shangguan Shaomin arrived, too.

Wildhorse was anxious during the waiting. "The Dragon King could have let Han Fen take the granddaughter of the Supreme King away and then frame King Rizhu," he had been thinking. Therefore, he had secretly assigned several men to watch Han Fen.

Wildhorse's influence in the Royal Court had surpassed that of Golden Roc Fort, not to mention the completely isolated Dragon King.

Shangguan Shaomin was finally delivered. Wildhorse was relieved and said to himself, "The Dragon King is, indeed, special. He will not take risks for an insignificant girl. He will only betray his allies at the most critical moments."

Han Fen had completed her mission. She did not say anything and just left.

Shangguan Shaomin felt that things were not right. She did not know the two men, and Shangguan Ru was nowhere to be seen. "Who are you? Where is my little aunt?" she asked.

Liman looked at the girl who was so famous in the Royal Court. She was beautiful, but not as stunning as the rumors made her out to be. He felt it a pity to have to kill her, so he turned his head away, waiting for it to be finished soon.

Wildhorse could not answer the girl's questions. He pulled out his saber, planning to kill her on the spot. The grass at his feet was perfect for a burial afterwards.

For him, to kill a person was a piece of cake. He did not care what kind of person the target was.

Shangguan Shaomin looked confused, as if wondering what the saber was going to be used for. Suddenly, she said, "Don't leave too much blood."

Wildhorse was surprised by her words. "Why did she say that? Is she hoping she can die cleanly?" he wondered.

The saber cut through her thin neck. He satisfied the girl's wish. As long as the angle and strength were right, there would be little blood. It would be clean and without the pain of death.

The girl fell down, eyes wide open, as if not realizing the horror of death until the last moment.

It looked as if she was not willing to die.

Wildhorse took away his saber. He felt a little lost, not because he pitied the girl, but because he felt that the entire plan was too successful to be real. So he bent down and rubbed her face with his cuffs.

This was somebody in disguise -- a young woman, but someone much older than seventeen.