Death Scripture

To an assassin, it was a mistake to know too much about his victim's life.

All it took for the two machetemen, who had lived dubiously in South City for many years, to reveal everything was a good flask of wine and a saber of the Golden Roc Fort. Although Gu Shenwei's face was badly scarred from all the fighting he had done, it seemed to conceal his age and made him appear a lot older than he was.

The two of them were from the same village as Nie Qing - Soldiers Camp in the northeast.

Many years ago, when the power of the Central Plain was at its peak, it set up many garrisons in the Western Region for its troops, which totaled more than a hundred thousand men. This gave it hegemony over nearly all countries at that time. When it returned to the Western Region after thirty years in Hedong and another thirty in Hexi, its troops had been reduced to only a few thousand, and Soldiers Camp, one of its garrisons, had been almost entirely abandoned.

Soldiers Camp had turned into an ordinary village. Putting away their armor, the remaining soldiers had become farmers, married and had children with the locals. Over time, in convergence with the locals, their manner of dress and way of life became increasingly unsophisticated. The only thing which did not falter was their military spirit. Most families kept weapons, such that the first piece of iron that a male baby touched upon entering the world was either a knife or a spear.

Nie Qing was one such child born in a Soldiers Camp. His parents died early, leaving him behind to his elder brother and sister, and a younger sister. Adhering to the traditions of Soldiers Camp, he practiced martial arts from a young age and became a farmer when he grew up. He never showed a hint of jealousy, at least not publicly, when he saw his youth's companions venture out into the world, return to the village rich, or pass away in a foreign place.

This continued until he was in his thirties, when one day, he put down his farming hoe and said to a few neighbors, "If this thing can be dug out, then so can swords and more."

His wife, having silently watched him for many years, had long known that the day would come when his adventurous spirit would get the better of him. Instead of opposing, she raised a single request. "I won't wait for you. Either our son and I follow you, or you break up with me now, and allow me to remarry and change our son's surname."

Nie Qing decided to bring his wife and son along. Treading along the same path that had been taken by many villagers, they soon arrived in Jade City. Exactly sixty days would eventually pass before the whole family was killed.

In the meantime, Nie Qing seemed to have acquired a sum of money from somewhere, or perhaps received some donations. In any case, his life was not as shabby as that of other wandering assassins. Although he could not find a wealthy patron who appreciated him, he remained able to support his small family.

His elder brother was a humble and earnest farmer, and was the only man in the village who did not like swords. His elder sister had married to a distant village and had long not been in touch.

These, however, were not the things that Gu Shenwei wanted to know, and hearing them only made him feel irritated. Only one matter caught his attention - Nie Qing's younger sister was taken away, at an early age, by an immortal, and this incident had caused a huge uproar even in distant villages.

But not much was known. The two machetemen could not tell where she was taken to or who she was taken by, and even expressed doubts that it was the act of an immortal. "Maybe she just died and this was all a fabrication."

After spilling everything they knew about their fellow villager, the two of them downed a final cup of wine and hurriedly scampered.

Gu Shenwei simply sat where he was and pondered over a few things before someone came up to him.

It was another macheteman. Tall and burly, he had round eyes and raised eyebrows, and possessed a dignified air about him. Slapping his palm on the table, he asked, "Was it you who killed Nie Qing and his family?"

"Go away." Gu Shenwei grasped the saber that was on the table.

"You could have just killed the man. Why the lady and child as well?" The macheteman did not relent and instead raised his voice, causing the tavern to fall into silence.

Gu Shenwei raised his head and looked at the macheteman. He had regained the impulse of killing someone upon feeling as though he was being judged. "Because he'd bonded their lives to his own when he decided to bring them with him."

But Gu Shenwei did not draw his saber and attack, and even he himself did not know why. There was no need to explain anything in words, particularly to an unfamiliar macheteman.

The macheteman cringed his face and spat a viscid lump of phlegm on to the saber's scabbard, before he turned and departed.

The noise in the tavern returned, albeit a little softer than usual.

Tie Hanfeng watched in surprise as the macheteman walked out of the tavern. He then took leave of the manager and signaled to his apprentice to follow him.

Outside, without saying a word, he jabbed the apprentice on his lower abdomen. "What the hell was wrong with you? Where was the anger you have when fighting with me? Go kill that fella and display his head back in the tavern."

"I don't feel like killing right now," Gu Shenwei replied stubbornly and turned to walk into a dark alley.

Tie Hanwei followed behind his apprentice, with his eyebrows deeply trenched. He had always felt that the latter was worthy of being trained, but that confidence was now slightly swayed.

The two of them followed the audacious macheteman into a village on the edge of the city, where they had killed a family of three a few hours earlier.

The macheteman entered into his own house through the main door. His head swirling with anger, he utterly failed to notice that he was being followed.

After hiding and waiting beneath a wall for a good amount of time, Gu Shenwei climbed over the wall and entered the house.

Tie Hanfeng kept watching outside while expecting his apprentice to emerge with a few human heads shortly. Eventually, however, he would be not only disappointed but bewildered. When Slave Huan came out of the house, he was holding a long and huge iron nail in his hand.

The nail was of seven or eight inches in length. It could possibly be used as a weapon because of its square head, which allowed it to be firmly clutched, and pointed end.

"What's this?" Tie Hanfeng asked when they reached a secluded spot.

"I don't know, but there're many of them inside the house."

The duo turned a corner and reached the door of Nie Qing's house. Tie Hanfeng was not amused. "You know it's the rule that a killer shouldn't return to the scene of his deed."

But Gu Shenwei climbed over the wall and entered the house. He discovered that the bodies had already been taken away, while the bloodstains remained. Underneath the firewood in the hearth, he found iron nails identical to the one he had.

When walking back through the dark alleyway, the teacher and apprentice began to discuss the iron nails whisperingly. Although Tie Hanfeng found them a little odd, he came up with a suitable explanation. "As machetemen, the iron nails are probably goods that they have to safeguard."

"But, what use are they? They're too thick for building houses, and aren't handy enough to be weapons."

"Go ask the fella who spat at you. I'm sure he can spit something else out."

"Let's not alert the snake for now."

"You seem a lot more cautious this time. Wasn't it your idea to find those women?"

"Indeed, and that's why these male machetemen aren't important. Hasn't the Whiterobe Academy secretly deployed many people in South City? Can't they be asked to monitor these guys?"

"I wouldn't know. You were supposed to be the bait while I kept watch - that's all I care about."

There was a lot of anger in Tie Hanfeng's words, and Gu Shenwei was aware that he had struck his teacher's raw nerve. In South City, Cripple Tie would be considered half of a Protector, but within the fort, he did not have much status.

They only managed to return to Xu Yanwei's place after midnight, when Xu Xiaoyi immediately told them a piece of bad news.

A Golden Roc Fort killer had just been assassinated.

The two of them hurried to the scene of the incident. It was a low-class brothel which also served as a guesthouse.

Members of the Golden Roc Fort had already sealed off the brothel and were interrogating the prostitutes and guests one-by-one. Tie Hanfeng displayed his waist token to gain access together with his apprentice, and quickly found out the details of the matter.

The killer, Wu Ling, was staying over in the brothel and having a good time with a prostitute when he was murdered by an assassin in a single strike.

He was somewhat famous within the fort and his swordsmanship was said to be exquisite. Although he was already rather old, he was still way above the average killer. Like Tie Hanfeng, he formerly served Third Young Master before he became a killer mentor.

While inspecting the body, the duo discovered that there was only a single wound. A sharp weapon had pierced through his left eye and out of the back of his head. He laid naked with his mouth gaped and half of his face covered in blood. His saber was left on the bed unsheathed, showing that he was completely unaware that he was being plotted against.

The prostitute who was on the bed with Wu Ling had yet to calm down, and was crying and screaming, "It was a ghost, a long-haired ghost! It killed him instantly with a sword!" She provided this answer to every question that was asked.

The assassination was of great discomfort to all of the killers present. Wu Ling was one of their best, and many of them were lying in ambush in the brothel's surroundings. This was a clear case of a trap to draw the snake out of its hole, yet the snake had been allowed to appear and slip away.

Gu Shenwei recognized Wu Ling as the mentor of Maid Lotus.

The killer mentor had, in total, taken in ten Dragon Year apprentices, but after a process of elimination, only two remained, one of which was Maid Lotus.

Four brown-belt assassins were left in South City as bait, accompanied by their respective mentors. Wu Ling brought Maid Lotus to live in the brothel. In Golden Roc Fort, there was no difference between male and female - to become a killer, one had to get rid of gender distinctions.

Tie Hanfeng gathered together and chatted with the other killers while waiting for people from the fort to arrive before they could decide on their next step.

Meanwhile, Gu Shenwei found Maid Lotus in a small room.

She appeared very calm, and had not looked at her mentor's body. "I bumped into the assassin in the courtyard but had no time to draw my weapon. Her qinggong was excellent, and the killers waiting outside were also unable to stop her."

"Something's not right."

"Indeed."

They talked in a highly illogical way which an outsider would not be able to comprehend - and it was deliberate.

To a person who had practiced the swordcraft in Death Scripture , "no time to draw my weapon" was an euphemism for nearly getting killed and that something was wrong with one's self.

Gu Shenwei had already felt that something was not right when he followed his mentor to kill Nie Qing and subsequently his family.

In Golden Roc Fort, he had killed even younger apprentices, while for the sake of practicing his swordcraft, he had killed many people he did not know. However, as he faced the fourteen-year-old boy, his heart wavered and his hands turned a little soft.

At Xu Yanwei's place, it was also because he was caught between two minds that he was struck by his mentor even before his hand could touch the hilt of his weapon.

And in the tavern, he let off the provocative macheteman because of a moment of indecision. Even though he trailed the man and discovered the weird iron nails after the fact, it was not the idea he had in the first place.

He was only able to kill Nie Qing and son because their skills were weak and they were unable to exert their swordcraft.

He was, in fact, no longer a killer in the eyes of his mentor Tie Hanfeng.

The Death Scripture 's swordcraft demanded speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness. A moment of indecision was contrary to its very essence.

Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei had the same feeling - it was only when they came across an assassin that they realized they were unable to draw their swords in accordance with the Death Scripture 's teachings.

"A monk is playing tricks on us."

They had the same suspect in mind - Master Tiger Monk had passed to them an Exorcism Manuscript set which he claimed was the correct reading of the Death Scripture. Only now did they realize it had a big problem.

What they could not confirm was whether the four other youths who studied the scripture with them were similarly affected.

"Have you seen the body?" Gu Shenwei asked. He had an even bigger question which he wanted to ask, or perhaps even interrogate, her about.

Maid Lotus shook her head.

"The person who killed your mentor used the Death Scripture 's swordcraft."

From just one look at the body, Gu Shenwei could tell that the swordcraft used was what he himself was familiar with - a single, fatal strike through the eye. However, he did not know anyone except Maid Lotus and himself who had practiced this technique.