Death Sutra

Chapter 534: Fat, White Man

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

Fang Wenshi wanted to stop the Dragon King before he offended the Naihang Tribe, but it was too late.

As soon as Fang Wenshi entered the tent, he said to the Dragon King, “I heard what happened last night. This time, you made a mistake. You should not have offended them over a thuggish devil. I should have arrived earlier to stop it. Now…”

Old Man Mu had never met a man who dared to speak to the Dragon King like this. Stunned, he asked, “Who is this fat, white man?”

Gu Shenwei and Fang Wenshi had not seen each other for six months. Fang Wenshi had gained a lot of weight.

This was the first time he had achieved his dream to be a counselor. He had brought a large sum of money to the hostile kingdom and lobbied for his master.

On his way to the Royal Court, he had considered running away with all the money. However, he never thought about it too seriously and continued on his way to the Royal Court. Every time he got scared or dispirited, he would think of the Princess of the Stone Kingdom, now Queen Ju. Thinking of her always cheered him up again.

Things change quickly, as does one’s mind. Fang Wenshi had been disturbed by his feelings for Queen Ju. He had lost his appetite and could not sleep because he missed her so much. But as soon as he reached the Royal Court, he got rid of his frustrations. He thought that it was time to achieve his goal, so he resolved to make full use of this opportunity to impress the Dragon King or his life would be meaningless.

The Royal Court was the capital of Norland, and the encampment of the Khan was surrounded by all kinds of people, ranging from nobles to beggars. In the beginning, Fang Wenshi was worried that he might be in danger since he was the Military Counselor of the Dragon King. Soon he found that he had thought too much. Like other courts, the people serving the Khan had different attitudes towards the Golden Roc Fort. Some sided with the Golden Roc Fort, while some (including many powerful figures) were hostile towards them.

To find out who was hostile to the Golden Roc Fort, he deliberately told people that he was the messenger sent by the Dragon King. One night, he received a response. First, an unknown middleman came to him, then the manager of a tavern, next a butler, and finally King Kuari.

There were ten kings inferior to the Khan of Norland. All of them had a right to take the throne. According to their ranking, King Kuari was the fourth rightful heir, and King Rizhu was the last rightful heir. As for their power and prestige, it depended on their talents and supporters.

King Kuari was hostile to the Golden Roc Fort because the Supreme King’s supporters were his political opponents.

By that time, the Dragon Army had not started a war with the Golden Roc Army, and no one in Norland believed that the Dragon King would defeat the Supreme King. However, King Kuari summoned Fang Wenshi and expressed his hope that the Dragon Army would fight with the Golden Roc Army. Actually, he was just using the Dragon King as an excuse to belittle the Supreme King in front of the Khan.

Fang Wenshi promised that the Dragon King would be the final winner in the battle of Xiaoyao Lake. He thought that he’d be better off dead if the Dragon Army was defeated. After all, he would never meet a wise master like the Dragon King again.

Soon, he heard the news that the Dragon Army had won the war. That night he received many invitations, most of which were from high-ranking bigwigs that he had not been qualified to meet before. Before he made any decisions, King Kuari took action. He sent people to escort him to his encampment, asked him to live there and treated him nicely.

Fang Wenshi never thought that he would receive such treatment. Suddenly, he had become an important figure overnight. He received four or five invitations daily. He accepted all of them so as not to offend anyone.

That was why the handsome Fang Wenshi had gotten fat and pale. Now he looked more like a sophisticated officer than a well-read scholar. He still dressed like a scholar, though.

“In the past, I would have sent Fang Wenshi away if he looked like this,” Gu Shenwei thought.

The fat Fang Wenshi was still an intelligent, insightful and ambitious man. Besides, his eyes had been opened ever since he got here. Within six months, he had learned more about Norland than he ever knew before. It wasn’t long before Gu Shenwei realized that it was wrong to judge a person by his appearance. He had come to find out that his investment in his military counselor was not in vain.

Fang Wenshi stared at the man who had interrupted him and said, “I’m Fang Wenshi, the Military Counselor of the Dragon King. Where are you from, you little, dark man?”

Old Man Mu did not have a dark complexion, but he had a wrinkled face. He replied, “I… I’m the subordinate, guard, friend and military counselor of the female leader of the Land of Fragrance, whom the Dragon King trusts the most.”

Old Man Mu gave himself a series of titles, and then glared at Fang Wenshi.

“So you’re Old Man Mu?” Fang Wenshi said, nodding. He then turned to the Dragon King and said, “I heard a rumor that King Rizhu intends to find an excuse to defame you in front of the Khan. That’s why I hurried here. However, I failed to come in time.”

Old Man Mu felt uneasy. “That fat, white man hinted that I got the Dragon King into trouble. If the Dragon King takes his words seriously, all my former efforts to please the Dragon King would have been in vain.” So he said, “Wait. The Naihang Tribe came to provoke us. We did nothing wrong. How can King Rizhu want to defame the Dragon King over that?”

Fang Wenshi did not expect to have to explain to the dark, little man. But considering that the Dragon King might have similar doubts, he explained, “Here’s the thing — King Rizhu couldn’t care less about affairs happening in the Western Region, but he is wary of the Dragon King over that matter with the Naihang Tribe.”

After having learned about his father’s experience in Norland from Wei Song, Gu Shenwei had written to Fang Wenshi immediately. In his letter, he had asked Fang Wenshi to collect information on the hatred between King Rizhu and the Gu family.

Fang Wenshi had completed his task. But he did not want to unveil it in front of Old Man Mu, so he did not mention it just yet. In the meantime, he wanted to let Old Man Mu know that the Dragon King and he were on intimate terms.

Fang Wenshi paused for a moment, and then continued, “King Rizhu wants to prove that the Dragon King came here with a plot. And he’s using Old Man Mu as evidence of that.”

“Did I do anything wrong?” Old Man Mu asked. In the past, Old Man Mu would have ripped Fang Wenshi’s heart out, but now he had to resist his impulse.

Fang Wenshi had no idea of Old Man Mu’s desire to kill him. He did not explain to Old Man Mu, but turned to the Dragon King and said, “You must know Old Man Mu’s infamous reputation. He has the nickname of ‘Ferocious Old Devil’ in Norland. He once bragged that he could take the Khan’s head anytime if he wanted. After what happened last night, everyone knows that he’s using the Dragon King for refuge. This… is prone to incurring suspicion.”

Old Man Mu’s eyes sparkled. He said, “‘Ferocious Old Devil’? I like that name but… I’ve turned into a good man. Who dared to say that I am evil? Besides, did I mention killing the Khan? Why don’t I remember that?”

“You talked too much in the past, so you must have forgotten it. But others have remembered your words,” Fang Wenshi said in a tough tone. Before meeting Old Man Mu, Fang Wenshi had a bad impression of him. Now he was even more hostile to Old Man Mu because he had called him “fat, white man”.

“I have lost half of my powers. How could I kill anyone?” Old Man Mu sighed. “Everyone knows it, including King Rizhu. How could he frame me?” he asked.

Fang Wenshi snorted, and said coldly, “You’re hiding something.”

“You mean that I’m lying?” Old Man Mu asked, clenching his fists. His impulse to kill Fang Wenshi grew stronger.

“King Rizhu will say that you are acting, and that you pretended to lose your powers just to get rid of the charge. Otherwise, why would you risk your life returning to Norland?” explained Fang Wenshi.

Old Man Mu blinked before saying, “I did whatever I wanted my whole life. Now, I have not only lost my powers, but also been charged with imagined crimes. All of a sudden, I have to answer for these crimes. Perhaps my fellow male junior apprentice, Taoist Yu, is responsible for this.”

“What the hell? Did my fellow male junior apprentice turn evil? He learned to frame others with his doings. How… how could it have happened?” Old Man Mu murmured, forgetting to argue with Fang Wenshi.

“You go out now. I want to talk to the Military Counselor alone,” Gu Shenwei commanded. “It is more urgent to solve the current problem than remedying the loophole in the three-in-one Qigong,” he thought.

Old Man Mu walked towards the exit absentmindedly. Before he reached the exit, he turned around and said, “Dragon King, I have nothing now. Please don’t sacrifice me at this critical moment. If you can’t think of any other options, please just allow me to return to the Land of Fragrance alone. As for the kung fu of the Yuqing Sect, you can come to me anytime you’re ready to learn.”

“No, you cannot leave. If you leave Norland, their suspicion of the Dragon King would increase,” Fang Wenshi said. Sacrificing Old Man Mu seemed to be the best choice, in his opinion.

Old Man Mu shot a imploring glance at the Dragon King. Soon, he realized that it was not working on him. “I need to find the good girl. She is the only one who can protect me in Norland,” he thought. He said, “I will not leave.” Then, he walked out of the tent and ran to Shangguan Ru.

“Well, tell me what you know.” Gu Shenwei said, knowing that Fang Wenshi had some information. “King Rizhu will not utilize Old Man Mu to accuse me in front of the Khan. He would never make such a mistake,” he mused.

“Dragon King, please tell me your real thoughts first. Do you really intend to negotiate with Norland?” asked Fang Wenshi.

“To be honest, I have not decided yet. It depends on the situation in Norland and the response from the Central Plain. I can’t hand the Dragon Army’s fate over to a great power easily,” said Gu Shenwei.

Fang Wenshi nodded with admiration, and then said cautiously, “I’m glad to hear that. However, under this situation…eh…if King Rizhu was the one who killed all the people in the Gu family, would you take revenge on him? In fact, your family name is ‘Yang’, so you don’t really have a deep hatred towards King Rizhu.”

“I have already expressed my stance about this,” Gu Shenwei said. He didn’t have the patience to explain it to his military counselor over and over again. “I can control my hatred, and I do not need to prove it to others,” he thought.

“Yes, you said that nothing was more important than seeking dominance,” Fang Wenshi said in relief. He did not pursue the subject further, but said, “Old Man Mu is not the important evidence against you that King Rizhu has. I heard — King Kuari told me himself — that a traitor from the Central Plain has claimed that the Dragon King and Commanding Officer Wei Song have planned an assassination. The traitor is with King Rizhu now.”

“I have revealed Wei Song’s plot to the messenger of Norland. What else could that traitor say?” asked Gu Shenwei.

“He’s special. He’s a killer, and he stole several important letters from Wei Song. You know this person. He’s the son of the Supreme King — Shangguan Nu,” revealed Fang Wenshi.

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