Death Scripture - Chapter 756
Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations
Tu Pianpian was the first one to climb down the rope and as she landed on a rock, her eyes met Old Man Muâs instantly.
Old Man Mu turned his head to the Dragon King and said, âThis is not the bird I asked God for. Itâs yours, isnât it?â
Tu Pianpian sneered. âLooks like Iâm in the wrong place. Okay. Iâll go up there and tell them to leave right away.â
Old Man Mu hurriedly stretched his arms out to stop her and with a flattering smile, he said, âNot a bird⊠a fairy. I must have done many charitable actions recently, so God showed me great mercy by sending you down here. How did you know that we were trapped here?â
Tu Pianpian pointed at the sky, âThe Dragon Kingâs big birdâs been circling around up there, so I decided to come down and check.â
âGodâs will!â Old Man Mu assumed a look of melodramatic excitement. âPianpian, did you feel that? It is Godâs will.â
Tu Pianpianâs orange-peel-like cheeks blushed, and yet she soon said in a colder voice, âGet away from me. The Kongtong Sectâs got some unfinished business with you and weâll deal with that later. Now let me talk to the Dragon King.â
Old Man Mu stepped aside with great respect. As he turned around, he signaled for the Dragon King to try to please the old woman outside like he had.
âWhatâs your price?â Gu Shenwei asked.
âThe Dragon King went straight to the point.â
âLike I always do.â
âGood.â Tu Pianpianâs forthright, severe look reappeared on her face, âIâll get you out and youâll give me the Khanâs head.â
âI canât. Because itâs not mine to give,â Gu Shenwei calmly replied, secretly gauging the distance between him and Tu Pianpian. It was only five feet, but Tu Pianpian was also a kung fu expert, and it would be fairly difficult to catch her in one move.
âHa.â Tu Pianpian didnât seem to believe him. But instead of insisting, she made another offer. âAll right. No matter what, you did show me mercy once, and you also saved Fan Yongdaâs life. I canât believe that my silly younger brother was foolish enough to pledge allegiance to you. Thus, the moment you go up there, I want you to dismiss Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda and never contact them again â the Kongtong Sect will never have anything to do with the Dragon King from now on.â
âFair enough. But-â
âBut what?â Tu Pianpian widened her eyes and Old Man Mu thought, âThe old woman would not so ugly if her eyes were a little bigger.â
âBut I hope that we can let them choose for themselves.â
âHa, youâre not hoping that Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda would betray their Sect for you, are you?â
âI know that they wonât betray their sect, but it does no harm for them to have a choice.â
âDeal.â Tu Pianpian raised her palm first.
Gu Shenwei exchanged a clap with her to close the deal. Old Man Mu and Han Fen also stretched out their arms, though they were ignored by Tu Pianpian. The former two exchanged a glance instead to fulfill their wishes.
It was no easy job to break the refined steel paling, and they were terribly short of tools â they had only four chisels in total. Luckily, the disciples of the Kongtong Sect were all very strong. They took turns excavating the wall and their progress was not slow at all.
Old Man Mu suggested that they get the troops â they had all the tools they needed in the army camp and could speed up the excavation considerably. Yet Tu Pianpian pretended to not hear him as she was determined to get the three out, only with the Kongtong Sect.
They kept working and the paling finally loosened in the afternoon. Gu Shenwei and the others pushed with great force and eventually cleared the exit.
Old Man Mu picked up LĂŒ Mianâs body and walked out of the tunnel. Then he took a deep breath, âAh, why do I feel that even the airâs much fresher past the grate?â
A few disciple of the Kongdong Sect recognized the body and were startled. And the gaze they gave the Dragon King became quite different.
An expanding shadow appeared above their heads. The disciples of the Kongtong Sect were startled once again and leaped several steps backwards at the same time.
Hardly had Old Man Mu raised his head and started talking when the body in his arms was suddenly taken away.
The red-crowned giant roc still remembered this human who had hurt it. It grabbed the body and started tearing, pecking, and stamping at it violently. In a short while, LĂŒ Mianâs corpse had become unrecognizable scraps of flesh mixed with blood.
The disciples of the Kongtong Sect were all shocked. Some of them grabbed the rope and tried to climb up but their strength seemed missing.
Old Man Mu curled his lips. âYou see, kids? Make sure you donât offend the divine bird.â
The disciples of the Kongtong Sect repeatedly nodded their heads in a hurry.
After venting its anger, the red-crowned giant roc rubbed its long bloodstained beak alongside Gu Shenweiâs front and back intimately.
Han Fen finally saw the giant bird and she was so amazed by it that she couldnât even close her mouth. She stretched her trembling arms outt and slowly moved towards it.
The giant roc stopped its movements abruptly and stared at this bold human with its two eyes that were as red as fire.
Old Man Mu reminded her kindly, âDonât be silly, Han Fen. Itâs not some kind of kitty or puppy that was raised by the Dragon King.â
Yet Han Fen didnât seem to hear him and was still edging closer to it, muttering, âLet me be your servant. Feeding, bathing, joking, I can do anything. And after I die, you can just tear me apart and toss me to the ends of the earth.â
The giant roc started raising its feathers slowly, and Gu Shenwei felt that the situation was getting a little dangerous. âHan Fen, stop.â
Yet, Han Fen seemed to have lost her sanity and she stretched her arms and tried to touch the feathers on the chest of the giant roc.
The red-crowned giant roc lowered its head and peck once. Then, before Han Fen could react, it flapped its wings, generated a whirlwind, and flew up. It circled a circle once above their heads before flying into the higher further sky.
The back of Han Fenâs left hand was bleeding badly. She cried, but not because of the pain. She asked the Dragon King, âDoes it not like me?â
âThe people it doesnât like always die under its sharp beak. Youâre still alive, so that means it likes you â I have a scar on my leg myself.â
Han Fen smiled through her tears. She kissed the wound on the back of her hand and declared loudly with her bloodstained mouth, âIâll remember this wound. The next time we meet, Iâll try to get a second one on the other hand.â
Gu Shenwei didnât say how long it was going to be before they met the bird again. Nothing could restrain the giant roc and it was now flying far away. No one knew when it would return. Gu Shenwei had also been feeling that it was relying less and less on him and that sooner or later, it would leave him for good.
After arriving at the mountaintop, several dozen disciples of the Kongtong Sect were standing in neat rows and there were also a dozen disciples of other sects present as witnesses. Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda were heading the procession, waiting for the Dragon King to free them from their pledge â Tu Pianpian hadnât even let them go down to help with the rescue.
âToday, the Kongtong Sect saved me from adversity, which is enough to offset all the enmity between us, so I give my consent to the freedom of Dog Butcher and Fan Yongda. From now on, you no longer have any obligations to serve me.â
Tu Pianpian was very satisfied with the Dragon Kingâs remarks. âSee? What did I tell you? The Dragon King made this decision of his own free will. Heâs standing right here right now, and nobody can force him. You two may return to the Kongtong Sect.â
Fan Yongda didnât hesitate. He bowed to pay respect to Tu Pianpian. âAunt Master.â
Tu Pianpian smiled, which she didnât do very often as she replied back, âYou are a good disciple of Kongtong Sect who know how to repay your gratitude.â
But Dog Butcher didnât say anything. Tu Pianpianâs look turned cold as she chastised, âDog Butcher, what are you waiting for?â
âYou said that⊠the Dragon King would allow me to choose,â Dog Butcher said hesitantly.
âYou still want to be the Dragon Kingâs slave?â Tu Pianpian reprimanded.
âNo no,â Dog Butcher denied hurriedly. âI donât want to be a slave.â
Looking at his younger brother, Tu Pianpian looked relieved. âYouâre a grown man now, so you should learn to make your own decisions. This time around, we came to Royal Court. Although we havenât gotten the Khanâs head yet, Old Man Muâs clearly no match for you. So many yearsâŠâ
Old Man Mu chipped in, âHey, hey, we havenât even fought yet. How do you know that Iâm no match for him? Itâs Dog Butcher⊠heâs timid. Let me have a competition against him right now if you donât believe me.â
Tu Pianpian ignored him and resumed talking. âSo many yearsâ hard work have not been in vain. Sect Leader will be proud of you when you return to the mountain.â
Dog Butcher nodded repeatedly. Yet after his elder sister finished talking, he said, âI donât want to go back.â
âWhat?â Tu Pianpianâs attitude changed drastically, and her crutch sank heavily, by more than a foot, into the ground.
âBut I also wonât be anybodyâs slave.â Dog Butcherâs face was restlessly switching between red and white, like a disobedient teenager trying to reason with his mother. âI⊠I⊠want to spread my wings in the martial arts world.â
Tu Pianpian frowned. She had never expected that her younger brother would say something like this. âBut you will be sixty years old next year.â
âI know. But I have been practicing kung fu for so many years, and before coming to Royal Court, the only actual kung fu competition I took part in was against Old Man MuâŠâ
âThatâs not true. You have been in all kinds of kung fu competitions since you were fifteen â they should number at least a hundred, and you won almost all of them. Why do you think people gave you the title âOld Immortal Dog Butcher?’â
âThatâs different.â Dog Butcher flushed in his anxiety and he couldnât find the proper words to express his feelings. âWhat I am talking about are âreal kung fu competitionsâ â the kind that gives me buckets of cold sweat, the kind that I will never forget throughout my whole life.â
Old Man Mu giggled secretly, and said to the Dragon King in a low voice, âDog Butcher said he âwould never forgetâ me. Ha. Yet I donât remember a damn thing â except that I once kicked his ass really badly.â
Tu Pianpian frowned more and more tightly, âItâs very simple if you want to spread your wings in the martial arts world. Just come back with me to the Central Plains, and Iâll bring you to visit all the sects and schools.â
Dog Butcher shook his head firmly. âThere are too many rules in the Central Plains and thatâs not what I want. Elder sister⊠Senior Sister, please allow me to make my own decision.â
âNonsense! Youâre an old man whoâs going to die in a few decades, not a teenager â how could you possibly abdicate your position of Kongdong Sect Elder and talk about such nonsense as âspreading your wings in the martial arts world?â Come back with me.â
Dog Butcherâs head drooped lower and lower, and yet he didnât move at all. Fan Yongda also ventured at persuading her. âAunt Master, Uncle Master Dog Butcherâs kung fu is excellent and he can take care of himsââ
âBullshit! Who allowed you to talk? Iâll deal with you later.â Tu Pianpian was furious and started striding away. After a few steps, she said to those disciples who were confused and adrift, âWhat are you waiting for? Move!â
The disciples of the Kongtong Sect and other sects followed her hurriedly. Fan Yongda was the last one to leave. He cupped his hands before his chest in a gesture of subordinance and said to the Dragon King, âYou saved my life and I may never repay the favorâŠâ
âLike I said, weâre even.â
Fan Yongda still felt guilty. He tightly bit his lower lip with his upper teeth, and finally made up his mind. He walked beside the Dragon King, craned his neck and said in a low voice, âWei Song seems to have a series of plans for the Western Regions. Dragon KingâŠâ
âIâll be cautious about it.â Gu Shenwei knew what he was hinting at.
Fan Yongda nodded and hurried to catch up with the disciples of his sect.
Gu Shenwei looked at the sinking sun in the distance, wondering how the kung fu competition he had missed had gone. Then he turned to talk to Dog Butcher. âAre you the Dog Butcher whoâs about to spread his wings in the martial arts world for the first time?â
âHmm, thatâs me in the flesh,â Dog Butcher puffed out his chest. Although his face still looked a little pale, it was filled with a smile.
âIâm the Dragon King of the Western Regions, and I could use some help. The pay is good, with many perks. Would you like to join me?â
âIâd love to. I donât care about the pay. Just donât kick me aside when you go on an adventure.â
In the distance, Tu Pianpianâs voice suddenly came over. âLittle doggy, donât you come back without achieving anything.â
Dog Butcher was deeply embarrassed.
Gu Shenwei glanced at him, and thought âItâs nice to have an elder sister.â