Death Sutra

Chapter 703: Stakes

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Tu Pianpian was very upset because nothing had gone according to plan this evening. Everybody she had met from the Western Regions were weirdos, and her fellow disciples were disappointments. Dozens of them had went out to set up a trap but they still let her worst enemy sneak inside.

“Shorty Deng, no more mystifying. Come out!”

The man’s voice sounded out loud and clear through the whole camp, but the tent he came out of happened to be the one closest to Tu Pianpian and the one that Gu Shenwei had temporarily hid in.

Gu Shenwei’s heart thumped. He didn’t expect that there was an expert hiding behind him.

“I am Deng Yuanlei, part of the Qingcheng Sect’s 17th generation of disciples.”

Deng Yuanlei wasn’t that tall, but he was still around half a head taller than Tu Pianpian and wasn’t a dwarf at all. He was in his forties, had small eyes, a relatively flat nose, a slightly round face, and a thin beard; but his eyes were as sharp as newly forged swords, so bright and shiny that it was hard for others to look straight at them.

Just from the name ‘Qingcheng Sect,’ Gu Shenwei knew that there was trouble again. The Xia brothers who had assisted Shangguan Yun in the Wushan Mountains, Gu Feng who specialized in striking acupoints, and Yang Yingshu who wielded dual halberds and dual swords, were all disciples of the Qingcheng Sect, and their deaths were all related to the Dragon Army.

“Heh, is the Qingcheng Sect really something? What’s there to brag about?” Tu Pianpian raised her cane and waved twice. Over forty disciples of the Kongtong Sect immediately gathered in front of her. Some of them removed their disguises while others kept their disguises of old people on. “They are from the Western Regions and have never heard ofthe big name of the Flashing Lightning Rolling Thunder, Deng Yuanlei.”

“Not really.” Deng Yuanlei’s sword-like eyes remained fixed on Gu Shenwei’s face. “The Dragon King has dealt with quite a lot of the Qingcheng Sect’s disciples.”

“Hmm, but they died too soon to mention your name,” Shangguan Fei rushed to say. One of the three Xia brothers had died in his hands, so he didn’t want the Dragon King to give in to this man.

Tu Pianpian and a few other disciples of the Kongtong Sect laughed out loud. Deng Yuanlei kept his composure and said, “No discord, no concord. We’ll get to know each other after a few more fights.”

Tu Pianpian looked around and said, “Where are the others? The Qingcheng Sect likes to use many to defeat the few. Why are you here alone today?”

“I came to see if the Kongtong Sect was up to something. It turned out to be a contest with the Dragon King. My hands itched to join it so I came out. The others haven’t arrived yet, and Sister Tu won’t use a large force to defeat a small one, will she?”

Han Fen, who had been silent, suddenly winked at the Dragon King, raised her head, and sniffed the air for a while before saying, “I can smell other disciples of the Qingcheng Sect. He’s not the only one here. There are two more people in this tent, and one more in that tent. Ehh, there are several more behind the cesspit. They are too stinky to hide from me.”

Han Fen was very abnormal. The disciples of the Kongtong Sect had also noticed this when they captured her and now they couldn’t help but retreat a few steps. Others also felt strange and had never heard of a particular sect having a unique smell.

Deng Yuanlei was obviously astonished, “How did you know…” Before he caught himself he realized that he had actually admitted to having accomplices.

Tu Pianpian didn’t believe Han Fen at first, but Deng Yuanlei’s reaction spoke for itself. She laughed out loud and said, “Disciples of the Qingcheng Sect, do not sneak around and embarrass your Ancestral Master anymore. Get out here!”

More than a dozen disciples of the Qingcheng Sect showed up one by one and stood behind Deng Yuanlei, somewhat sheepish and surprised.

The concealment methods of the Qingcheng Sect and Kongtong Sect were very average. Not long after Deng Yuanlei walked out of the tent, Gu Shenwei had discovered that there were others lurking around. To the killer, those hidden places were very obvious, and Han Fen had probably figured it out in a similar way. It was surprising that many people actually believed that it was because of her sniffing technique.

Deng Yuanlei looked Han Fen up and down and said, “Heh, the Waning Moon Hall does have its own unique skills after all. No wonder the Dragon King wants to save you.”

Han Fen smiled. “The Dragon King wants to save me because I’m his friend. Although he had a falling out with Master Commander, they may get back together again in the future. As long as the Dragon King is willing to bow his head, it’s easy…”

Han Fen was loose-lipped, and Gu Shenwei had to stop her. “Han Fen.”

“Hmm?”

“Keep your mouth shut until I let you speak.”

“Hmm.” Han Fen replied in a muffled voice.

Deng Yuanlei looked at Han Fen for another while before turning back to the Dragon King. “Dragon King, from the Western Regions to the Norland, several disciples of Qingcheng Sect have died in your hands. I have come a long way to seek an explanation.”

Gu Shenwei had lived in the Western Regions and fought openly and secretly with Golden Roc Castle for many years, and was long used to the killer’s rules. So he was quite perplexed by Deng Yuanlei’s demand. “They helped my enemies. Did they not think that their lives would be in danger and expected me to be lenient?”

The Dragon King’s point of view came from Golden Roc Castle and Shangguan Fei felt that he was fully qualified to clarify a few points. “Do not tell me that you don’t risk drowning if you swim every day; do not blame the Heavens if you fall into the abyss if you climb high mountains every day. Those who hold a saber must accept the risks of being stabbed and those who want to kill must be prepared to be killed. As kung fu practitioners, how do you not know such a simple truth? Why are you playing the role of the tyrant at will and expect others to not resist?”

Even Shangguan Ru felt that there was some truth in these words, but the disciples of the Kongtong Sect and Qingcheng Sect felt that they were quite strange. One of them said in a low voice, “What about the rules of Jianghu? You can’t always solve problems through fighting and killing.”

“Rules of Jianghu? The Dragon King is the Lord of the Western Regions. He has a queen, a counselor, many advisers, and thousands of soldiers to assist him. What rules of Jianghu does he need to follow? Besides, you are from the Central Plains. Since you’ve come to the Western Regions and the Norland, you have to follow our rules.” Shangguan Fei refused to back down.

“Haha.” Deng Yuanlei had no intention of having a verbal fight, “All right, let’s follow the rules of the Western Regions then and have a life and death duel. The loser should not hold grudges against the winner.”

Dog Butcher had listened while leaning on his crutches for a while, so now he let out a light breath and said, “Finally, we can play. I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

Since the trap had been seen through, Tu Pianpian, who was proud and arrogant, simply stopped mentioning it and cried out, “Let’s have a duel then. The one who survives is the winner and the dead ones are the loser. Direct and clear. We don’t even need a witness.”

Dozens of men raised their weapons.

“Hold on.” Seeing that Tu Pianpian might want to start a scuffle, Deng Yuanlei hastily slowed down the situation. “Although it’s a duel of the Western Regions, we still need some rules. The three parties can only choose one person from each side and no one else is allowed to interfere. What does the Dragon King think?”

Among the three sides, the Kongtong Sect had the most people, so Deng Yuanlei asked the Dragon King, who had the fewest helpers, first.

“I’m fine with that.”

Tu Pianpian snorted. As one of the elders of the Kongtong Sect, she was very confident in the martial arts of her sect and had never thought about starting a scuffle. “Of course it has to be this way. But it’s better to offer some stakes for the duel. The Dragon King has an antidote and we have a disciple of the Waning Moon Hall. What does the Qingcheng Sect have to offer?”

Deng Yuanlei swept the audience with gleaming eyes and seemed to have everything under control. “Bring him out,” he ordered.

Another two disciples of the Qingcheng Sect came out from a tent. They had removed their disguises and was carrying a man who was staggering along the way.

Tu Pianpian was taken aback. “Why is he in your hands?”

Deng Yuanlei smiled. “Your disciples all went out into the wilderness to set traps and gave us an opportunity.”

“If anyone of the Kongtong Sect dies…”

“Sister Tu can rest assured. The disciples of the esteemed sect have been very cooperative and no one was injured.”

It turned out that this captive had been in the hands of the Kongtong Sect but was snatched away by the Qingcheng Sect on the way.

Gu Shenwei knew this captive and Shangguan Fei also recognized him. “Silver Condor? You… What happened to him?”

No one answered Shangguan Fei. Tu Pianpian and Deng Yuanlei were engaged in a duel between their glares. Han Fen made a muffled noise as if she had something to say.

“You may speak now.” Gu Shenwei lifted her ban.

“I know, I know,” Han Fen exclaimed happily. “This man called Silver Condor sneaked into the Waning Moon Hall but he was too clumsy. We found him as soon as he crossed the perimeter. We had a noisy fight. Then he tried to escape but was drugged by the Indra Fragrance. Just then a large crowd of people came and took Silver Condor away, and we were forced to move our home again.”

Tu Pianpian was actually fighting for the antidote for Silver Condor. Gu Shenwei was quite surprised but figured out the reason in an instant. “So the people of the Central Plains came to the Norland to steal away the head of the Khan.

“Not only so…” Dog Butcher answered but immediately swallowed the rest of his words after being glared at by the angry eyes of Tu Pianpian.

“The Kongtong and Qingcheng Sects have arrived. Where are the other sects? Are they hiding somewhere and watching for fun?” Gu Shenwei suddenly felt more confident after understanding the other side’s purpose.

“Don’t worry about other people. It’s just us three today. The winner takes all and the losers have to accept the results,” Tu Pianpian said.

This time it was Deng Yuanlei’s turn to be dissatisfied. “Wait a moment.”

“What is it?” Tu Pianpian seemed very impatient as if the one who obstructed the duel was always others.

“Silver Condor knows the whereabouts of the Khan’s head. This disciple of the Waning Moon Hall knows how to detoxicate and can also provide many secrets. Both of them are very important. But the Dragon King is only offering an antidote as stakes. Isn’t that a bit unfair?”

Seeing that the other side was targeting the Dragon King, Tu Pianpian’s anger was relieved a bit. “What do you say then?”

“The Dragon King should also provide a person as stakes.”

Doctor Sun, who had been standing behind Shangguan Ru and Red Bat, sighed and came forward. “I knew that I couldn’t just run away. Forget it, I won’t make it hard on the Dragon King. Just fight and I’ll go with the winner as long as I don’t have to return to the Waning Moon Hall.”

Shangguan Fei disdainfully said, “Old Sun, you really know how to sail with the wind.”

“Not as well as Golden Roc Castle.” Doctor Sun didn’t blush at all. “Anyway, only the one with the highest martial arts skills can protect me. The Dragon King probably thinks the same way, doesn’t he?”

“That’s right. If I can’t defeat these guys, I’m not eligible to protect you.”

“Heh, I hope that the Dragon King can win.”

Gu Shenwei nodded, “This Divine Doctor Sun escaped from the Waning Moon Hall himself. He’s proficient in both poison and medicine and can cure Silver Condor.”

This was exactly Deng Yuanlei wanted, so he said, “Good. Whoever wins will take the three of them.”

“There’s no need to fight in turn. The three of you can play together and see who survives to the end,” Tu Pianpian announced loudly.

“Wait.” The duel was destined to not be smooth. This time the one who interrupted was Dog Butcher.

“Wait for what? We can talk about it later.” Tu Pianpian went on a rampage. “Stop wasting time. It’s going to be bright soon.”

“Yes, but I think it would be more interesting to have one more person on each side, for six people in total.

Tu Pianpian immediately got what he meant. “Yes, Dog Butcher and I will represent the Kongtong Sect. What about the Qingcheng Sect?” Without asking for the others’ opinion, she had already decided that there would be six people joining the duel.

Deng Yuanlei didn’t object either. He beckoned towards a young disciple to come over and said, “Brother Liu, I’m afraid I have to trouble you.”

Deng Yuanlei behaved quite courteously. Tu Pianpian was a bit surprised, asking, “Are you the son of Sect Leader Liu?”

The young disciple bowed and said, “Liu Fangsheng greets Seniors Tu.”

“Will your father come after us if you die?”

“Since we’ve made it clear that this is a duel, life and death will be decided by the Heavens and there will be no vengeance afterwards.”

Tu Pianpian then turned to the Dragon King, “What about you? Find yourself a helper.”

“Please give me a hand, Instructor Shangguan.”

Shangguan Fei heaved a sigh of relief but meanwhile, he was perplexed. This was a fight to the death but his sister held no desire to kill. Asking her for help was tantamount to tying one’s own hands and feet, so why would the Dragon King choose her as his partner?

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