Maid Lotus led Chu Nanping and two disciples of the New Moon Hall, tailing Shangguan Yun for seven days and eight nights . They had killed nine highly skilled kung fu masters, including Xia Wenxiong from the Qingcheng Sect, whom she hated the most .

Everyone else had died quickly, without a word . Only Xia Wenxiong was the exception . He had fallen victim to some unknown disease that caused soreness in his muscles . His right arm had a small, needle-like hole in it and the color of blackness started to spread outward from it . It began to fester under the eyes of everyone . No amount of gold medicines could stop it .

He begged the Cloud King and his companions not to abandon him . However, his voice (which was hoa.r.s.e beyond recognition) and his blood-shot eyes had frighetened everyone . No one dared to approach him, and everyone left hurriedly for fear of being infected .

It was not until they had pa.s.sed two hills that his shrieks finally faded away completely .

Shangguan Yun had never been so humiliated . However, he still ran away, using the technique of the golden cicada to disappear into the surroundings of the Gulping Wind Gorge .

Maid Lotus used few words to describe her experience . "We killed nine people . Shangguan Yun escaped and the two disciples were killed . "

Maid Lotus's expression was as cold as usual, as if she had just spent an hour carrying out a trivial task . However, Chu Nanping looked different from before . A killer's temperament seemed to emerge from him -- a force that even the training tutor had not been able to instill in him for nearly a year .

Following Maid Lotus to carry out the task brought him great satisfaction . When he left, he was even more in awe of Maid Lotus than he was of the Dragon King .

"Is there anything else?" Gu Shenwei asked, knowing that Maid Lotus had something to stay since she had stayed behind .

"The three-in-one qigong is effective . You should see Shangguan Fei's current kung fu skills . It's shocking . He had only trained a little . I think we can start now," she stated .

Shangguan Fei had been abandoned when he was with his third brother, Shangguan Yun . When the other kung fu masters escaped after protecting the Cloud King, they scattered away from each other . Only he stood where he was, panting with exhaustion . Seeing Maid Lotus and Chu Nanping, he smiled to greet them . "Hey, are you coming here to save me? You don't have to answer . Give me some ideas, or better yet, give me something to eat," he said to them .

He also came back to the camp of the Dragon Army . He thought there was no need to visit the Dragon King, so he found a tent and went to sleep .

Shangguan Fei killed Xia Yingxiong with a single punch . Maid Lotus went to examine the corpse deliberately, and what she saw shocked her .

Gu Shenwei raised his head and thought for a while . "No rush, let's observe him for a while more," he decided .

Maid Lotus's expression did not change . Gu Shenwei knew that she had her doubts . Ever since submitting the Death Scripture, the two had become practice partners in honing their kung fu skills . In terms of the great matter of the country, Gu Shenwei could ignore her . In terms of kung fu however, they had reached an agreement not to keep anything from each other .

Gu Shenwei owed her more than one explanation .

This was the night to resolve the problem . It must have been a result of being influenced by meeting the others before . Gu Shenwei felt that he had to explain himself now .

"Both Yin and Yang Strength and the Wayless Qigong are Internal Strengths that can easily go wrong -- Yin and Yang Strength in particular . The faster progress one makes, the more dangerous the situation one is in . Shangguan Fei did not look right . I will have to check it myself," he explained .

Maid Lotus could still remember how Slave Yao looked before his death . Suddenly, his abilities had seemed powerful -- his Internal Strength, which grew from nothing to high strength, even took Mama Xue by surprise . Therefore, the Dragon King's guess could be right . Shangguan Fei was, indeed, "not right" .

"Alright," Maid Lotus nodded as she was about to leave .

"Wait," Gu Shenwei called to stop her . He wanted to explain something else . "The Eighth and Ninth chapters of the Wayward Qigong . . . " he began .

Maid Lotus grunted and waited for him to continue . This was a sore spot for her -- a secret that Gu Shenwei should have told her from the beginning .

"If someone tries to tell its contents to you, don't ever believe it," he said .

"Including the Queen?" Maid Lotus queried .

"So someone has looked for you?" asked Gu Shenwei .

"Shangguan Fei," she replied simply .

"Yes, including the Queen . She has memorized two chapters . There was no adulteration, but I had a guess," he continued .

Gu Shenwei's guesses were usually very accurate . Maid Lotus knew what he meant immediately . "The Queen thinks that is the real scripture . However, it was a trap from the start . Only, it had not been activated in time," she concluded .

Gu Shenwei nodded his head . In the story that the priests of the Land of Fragrance had narrated, he could feel the resentment of a hundred years . The Golden Roc Fort's original owner was bitter towards the betrayal of the Shangguan family . He had hidden his most powerful divine kung fu in a pile of books . It happened to be the two missing chapters of the Golden Roc Fort . Since then, he had ignored them and had not allowed future generations to sort them out .

The plot of a hundred years ago was not much different from today .

"That is just my guess . Shangguan Fei was very interested in the eighth and ninth chapters . This is very good . You can help him with another experiment," he said to her .

Outside the eighteen tents, Shangguan Fei sneezed in his sleep . If he had known that the Dragon King had such high hopes for him, he would have fled at all costs . He would rather be banished to the Jianghu than to practice two unknown chapters of the Wayless Qigong .

Maid Lotus laughed softly . Gu Shenwei was puzzled and baffled . He did not know what he said that was so funny .

"Nothing," Maid Lotus said, steadying herself immediately . Her laughter had nothing to do with the Dragon King, but she felt a knot in her heart vanish easily . "You wish for Shangguan Fei to train the Eighth and Ninth chapters voluntarily?" she asked .

"It's best to do that .  I don't want to push him too hard," said Gu Shenwei .

"Have you ever considered the possibility that the three-in-one kung fu has no hidden dangers and the Eighth and Ninth chapters have no issues? Shangguan Fei's kung fu would increase so rapidly and surpa.s.s yours and mine . Then, he would not be so obedient," Maid Lotus warned .

Gu Shenwei considered this possibility . He felt that there was only one way to resolve this . "The best outcome is that the two sets of Internal Strength can come into use . We only have to get rid of Shangguan Fei himself . Watch him closely . He is good at disguising himself . Shangguan Yun must have taught him many things," he said .

Maid Lotus finally realised why the Dragon King wanted to choose Shangguan Fei as his trial target . Kung fu skills were not restricted to age and would not remain static on someone's body . Once a person learned the supernatural manual, and even if he was unable to continue with his training or sustain his vigilance, he would still be an expert . Shangguan Fei's timidity would always be his Achilles' heel, no matter how great his kung fu skills were .

"I will keep an eye on him," she agreed .

"Okay," Gu Shenwei said, feeling that he had more words he should say . However, he could not think of them . "Go rest," he finished .

Maid Lotus excused herself .

Gu Shenwei did not feel like admitting it, but was forced to: the anxiety that had plagued him for days had vanished . But he was so drowsy that he could barely lift his head .

He needed a good rest .

Maid Lotus was not sleepy at all . In this quiet night, she had more worries than anyone else . She refused to complain because that was a sign of weakness .

In the days while she was away, the tents in the camp were kept reserved for her . The disciple, Han Fen of the New Moon Hall, cleaned it for her every day .

Even though Han Fen kept complaining that Maid Lotus had betrayed everyone, she did not really believe that . She believed that the Managing Master had her reasons . She did not have to think about it, even if she did not understand everything . Worrying too much would cause her a headache .

"Managing Master," Han Fen said, standing at the door's entrance, a light gleaming in her eyes, but not daring to say another word .

"Well, how did you know I had returned?" Maid Lotus asked, surprised .

"The Queen sent men to send supper, saying that the Managing Master must be tired and asked you to pay attention to your health," she replied .

Maid Lotus was shocked . She could not understand why the Queen would try to pander to her . Moreover, it was the Dragon King who let her help Shangguan Fei steal the Eighth and Ninth chapters .

The Queen did not know that Maid Lotus had organized an a.s.sa.s.sination to kill her two years ago .

"Take them away," Maid Lotus said .

"Huh? Not eating anything? There is chicken soup . . . " Han Fen said, then felt that she had said too much again . She shut her mouth immediately and picked up the food bowl, leaving the tent . She thought for a while and decided to wake Han Xuan up to share the meal . She didn't even think to ask if it was too late .

Maid Lotus's doubts were answered the next day at noon . It happened in the tent of Miss Ming Zhen .

Ha Chilie was dead, and Ming Zhen had not figured out any of the details . So, she sent Han Fen to invite Maid Lotus over . On the surface, it was to thank her for her care after all these years, but in actuality, it was to find out the cause of her fiance's death .

Maid Lotus refused twice, but finally agreed the third time . She heard Han Fen say that Ming Zhen now served the Queen .

Ming Zhen had no desire to return to Gulping Wind Gorge . After Gu Shenwei found this out, he handed her over to the Queen and let the two become acquainted with each other as sisters . Ming Zhen knew her ident.i.ty now and was willing to be the Queen's maid . In the end, she stayed with the Queen as a "female officer" .

The meeting was a little awkward . Maid Lotus had forgotten how to chat with a normal lady . "Ha Chilie was killed by Shangguan Yun . I'm sorry that I failed to save him," she remarked .

Maid Lotus skipped over details of how she killed people with her bare hands . She did not want to lie deliberately, but to protect Ha Chilie's image and the tribal soldiers from rebelling, she had to .

Ming Zhen resisted her grief . She only had a vague impression of Ha Chilie, and her feelings towards him were even more vague . She was sadder about her own fate . "He . . . didn't suffer, did he?" she asked .

Maid Lotus fell silent for a while . She had killed Ha Chilie with the Divine Rotation . That was like torture to the living . It was hard to use "suffering" to describe it . "I don't know," she answered instead .

The two had nothing more to say . The meeting should have ended there, but as Maid Lotus expected, the Queen "happened" to come in .

This was a deliberately planned encounter . The Queen had found an excuse to hold off Xu Yanwei in order to speak with Maid Lotus alone .

Ming Zhen was unaware that she was being used, but when the Queen came in, she understood at once who the extra people were . She immediately excused herself to serve tea and handed the tent over to these women, whom she dared not provoke .

"I don't know if last night's supper suited your palate . It was made at the last minute . There weren't many choices available," the Queen said, smiling . Her tone was warm and gentle . Obviously, she did not treat Maid Lotus as a normal guard .

"Very well, thanks for your care and concern, Your Highness," replied Maid Lotus .

The two were both worried and kept quiet for a time . The Queen felt that Maid Lotus was similar to the Dragon King, so she resisted the temptation to ask other questions and started to broach the main issue . "By the way, have you heard? The Dragon King has handed the glory of the Seaside Slope victory to the women archers of the Land of Fragrance . This is a glory to us women . In the future, who could say that women are unfit for battle?" she began .

"Yes, women are fit for the battlefield," Maid Lotus said perfunctorily .

"That 'queen' of the Land of Fragrance, named Shangguan Ru- I heard she is the daughter of the Supreme King . The Dragon King actually trusts her very much . That is strange, isn't it? I have never met her . Can you tell me about her?" she asked Maid Lotus .

The Queen pretended to be curious, but Maid Lotus was furious . This woman had crossed her bottom line . She could not allow herself to be used and taken advantage of .