Martial King's Retired Life

“Shh.”

Upon seeing who covered his mouth, Su Xiao exclaimed in a muffled voice, “Baisu-apdin!” (Vice-Captain)

Shen Yiren held her free index finger over her lips. “Follow me.”

Of course, Su Xiao was overjoyed to receive a mission, but he faked a cough and stopped walking. “Uh, um, Vice-Captain, are we going to leave Tang Ye behind?”

Su Xiao wasn’t concerned for Tang Ye since he knew Tang Ye was Lord San Shen, but he still needed to pretend he was worried. Ming Feizhen did teach him to cover his bases when fibbing, after all. However, because Su Xiao classified lying as a sin, he wasn’t sure if he should’ve pretended. He was the type to spend ages deciding if he wanted porridge or tea at breakfast, so the scale of this problem gave him a headache.

“I’ve been watching from the shadows. If Tang Ye truly is in danger, I’ll intervene, but he’s already won. We have another job waiting for us.”

Su Xiao regained his joy as he didn’t expect Shen Yiren to care so much about them. Nothing could’ve gone wrong if she was ready to help them. This was why he could never understand why people accused her of being nasty.

Shen Yiren couldn’t resist scrubbing Su Xiao’s head when she saw him smiling to himself. “You’re worried about him, too, aren’t you?”

“N-, yes! Absolutely!” Since Shen Yiren was smiling and so nice, he couldn’t break it to her. Hence, Su Xiao scrunched up his face and said, “Mm… B-Bai Ju is really strong.”

“Bai Ju? Hah.”

Smelling danger, Su Xiao deemed it best not to ask what the reaction meant. “Vice-captain, where are we going?”

“I promised Principal Huang to look into who is responsible for killing his mentor. I can’t find any traces, so I referenced Shifu Shisan’s handbook.”

“You found something worth investigating in there?”

Though she was still smiling, Shen Yiren shook her head. “Shifu Shisan is the greatest detective of this generation; I can’t decipher what he can’t. I’m not unmotivated. I just know I’m not capable enough. There’s no point in me trying to do what he fails. However, considering how many years it’s been, and Fiends’ Genesis’ rampage this year, I finally have several more clues that Shifu Shisan didn’t have back then. This is the only thing I can hedge my bets on.”

“So there has been progress?”

“Not exactly. I just noticed some things that don’t make sense.”

“O-oh… I think Big Brother Ming is also investigating the case, but he has not found anything.”

Su Xiao wasn’t completely confident, but he thought he saw Shen Yiren’s smile sweeten when he mentioned Ming Feizhen.

“Your big Brother Ming certainly hits the nail on the head quite often and is perceptive; however, he often overthinks while overlooking details. I reckon the things he overlooks are the things I pay the most attention to. Maybe those are just the things we’re missing. In other words, perhaps there are things we missed regarding the events in the capital.”

“Oh, oh, but I was in the capital!” Believing he understood what was implied, Su Xiao thumped his chest. “Ask away. I know everything.”

“Uhm, I don’t need to ask. I have a good grasp of things. That being said, I overlooked some details in the reports. You know Liu Shan Men was vandalised in my absence, don’t you?”

“Of course. I returned to Liu Shan Men that night.”

“Lots of things happened that day, and you all reported a lot of things, but there were things omitted. You might’ve thought they weren’t important details, but there are things that don’t add up to me. Did you know Song Ou was assaulted that day?”

While Su Xiao was surprised to learn Song Ou was assaulted, he didn’t see why it mattered.

“Who was behind it?”

“Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor. They have been arrested.”

“Why?”

“Uh… because they did not like him?”

“See? You’re blindly guessing, as well.”

Su Xiao went red in the first.

“Like you guys, I initially disregarded it as unimportant as I’ve never considered anything related to Song Ou as an important matter. But then I thought: what grudge could Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor possibly harbour against Song Ou that they’d dispatch a team to assault him at the cost of being arrested? Isn’t it bizarre that that they’d sacrifice over a dozen men when they’re short on troops they can use in public given their circumstances?”

“That is suspicious, indeed. What is your opinion, Vice-captain?”

“Opinions are pointless; you need proof for investigations. I interrogated the captives at the Ministry of Justice one by one and have formed a skeleton. They went to Liu Shan Men in search of someone.”

“Who would be worth such a big risk?“

“They refused to divulge who it was, but I continued to go down the hole. Based on their tracks, I discovered they had been camping outside the Ministry of Justice long before they sprang into action. During the time they staked out there, only one person was released from the Ministry of Justice, and he happened to be the person the Qilin Guards fetched. According to Long Zaitian, the person in question knew a secret, which was why he was so valuable.”

“Where is he now?”

“We’re about to see him.”

Shen Yiren opened the doors to the room used for a variety of purposes. There were surprisingly people inside. A slender maiden who looked as though she hadn’t stepped into sunlight in ages was pummelling a grown man. Because he cried and groaned, she yelled at him and reached for the spiked club in the corner, threatening to shove it up his nose, which prompted him to plead for mercy.

“Wait!”

The young maiden looked over her shoulder and smiled brightly upon seeing who entered. Similarly, the man getting beat up cried out for help in joy.

“Ol’ Shen, got him. Cooking him right now. Whatchu want me to do with him?”

The man almost passed out.

Shen Yiren had always been good at selecting the right person for the right job. Since she needed to do something shady, she entrusted it to a specialist in criminal activity. She had a close friend she had great chemistry with just right for the job – Mountain Monster. Mountain Monster was starting to feel the capital was too dull and wondering when she could see some enemy blood when Shen Yiren offered the job. How could she turn down the offer when she could finally scratch an itch?

Stunned for a second, Shen Yiren asked, “He won’t confess?”

Mountain Monster scratched her head. “Confess what?”

With tears coursing down his face, Xiang Baxian cried, “All you’ve done is beat me up! You started assaulting me without even asking anything!”

Mountain Monster spun around and delivered a backhand to Xiang Baxian’s face. “Did you just raise your voice at me?! Huh?! Take a look at this spiked club!”

“Enough.” Shen Yiren rubbed her temples. She clearly recalled telling Mountain Monster to interrogate the man, but that clearly went out the other ear. Shen Yiren ambled over to Xiang Baxian. “You Xiang Baxian?”

“Y-yes.”

“I’m Shen Yiren. Do you know me?”

It didn’t take long for Xiang Baxian to locate the name in his database. “Everyone knows Vice-captain Shen!”

“Great.” Shen Yiren pulled two chairs over and sat in one. “I have a question for you. I look forward to hearing your honest answer.”

“Vice-captain Shen has questions…? What an attitude. Is having someone assault someone you require the assistance of how you treat people at Liu Shan Men?”

Shen Yiren signalled with her hand for Mountain Monster to not grab the spiked club. “Cut the b.s. I know what sort of person you are. I didn’t give her an order to assault you, but I never stopped her, either, because I don’t see it as a bad thing. How many students have suffered your tyranny at the academy? On what grounds are you demanding the treatment of a guest?”

Xiang Baxian averted his eyes when he met with Shen Yiren’s piercing gaze. “Wh-what do you want?”

“Tell me: why does Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor want you?”

Xiang Baxian had made up his mind to hide at the academy forever and stay away from things he shouldn’t have known about. Thus, he chose to keep mum.

“You once worked for Li Muye, and Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor is searching high and low for you. It’s obvious you know a secret of theirs.”

Xiang Baxian raised his head in astonishment.

“A secret of theirs that is their primary concern at the moment. Only two things fulfil the criteria. Li Muye’s safety and their family’s secret passage. Given Li Muye is in the imperial court’s hands, there’s nothing you can do to help there. As such, you must know about the secret passage. Do you really know where the secret passage is…? I’m surprised you know.”

A trail of sweat flowed down Xiang Baxian’s temple.

“So that’s why they’re trying to silence you? They’re silencing you because Li Muye told you the location of the secret passage? Good reason. I thought it was over at this point, but life sure is full of surprises, isn’t it? I’m starting to wonder why you know its location. Only two people from Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor know of the secret passage – Li Muye and his mother. How do you know about it? The only possibility is you heard about it from Li Muye, but why would he tell you? The only logical conclusion is that the passage was no longer exclusively theirs, which means that you aren’t the third person to know. Rather, you are one of the few people privy to it.”

Xiang Baxian looked as pale as a man listening to his sentence in hell.

“When… will the secret be publicised? That would be when they decide to use the passage, correct?” Shen Yiren grinned. “Since I couldn’t wrap my head around it, I placed characters onto a sand board and simulated scenarios for nights.

“Li Muye is frivolous. As a result, he was set up after initiating an alliance with Fiends’ Genesis. What gave him the idea he could command Fiends’ Genesis? Without someone’s support, he wouldn’t have had the gall to provoke an unorthodox group. Her Highness is impatient, but she’s not reckless. I was shocked when I found out she formed a pact with the White Princes. She had been cautious in every step of building up her family, so why would she abandon caution all of a sudden? Only once I placed the mother and son together did it occur to me that, no matter what, she was always a mother, and her son would always be her son no matter how foolish he was. Li Muye established the alliance with the White Princes, but both Fiends’ Genesis and the White Princes betrayed him. Fearing the repercussions her son would have to face, Her Highness had to agree to their demands. That brings us to the core of the problem.

“How do you know the passage’s location? I surmise it was when Li Muye gave the White Princes’ envoy a tour of the passage and proudly boasted about his ancestors’ project to boost his own value. On top of his stupidity, he’s also a coward. He needed a bodyguard when he met with them, but he didn’t dare to take one of his guards as he was afraid his mother would discover his plan, and he couldn’t trust an outsider. Therefore, his only option was someone who’d served him extensively and held membership at Daren Academy. Xiang Baxian, you accompanied Li Muye for the tour, correct? Not only does Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor know you know the passage’s location, but they also know you met the envoy.”

“You done?! What do you want to ask when you know everything?!”

“I don’t know everything. Which clan does the envoy belong to? That’s all I want to know. Answer me!”

Their identity would help identify who killed Yu Sihe and who was leading the fight against the imperial court.

With blood and tears running down his face, Xiang Baxian mumbled, “I… I won’t tell you anything. There’s only one person I’ll tell. I will never tell anyone else. Never…”

“And that’s why I brought him with me.” Shen Yiren pulled the other chair over. “Xiao Han, come in, and take a seat.”

Su Xiao entered without the foggiest idea what was going on. When he and Xiang Baxian made eye contact, both of them froze.

***

Even though it was summer, there was chill in the air at sunset that couldn’t be erased. The chests of the audience, however, burned with excitement. For the most part, the elder was viewed as an existence that shouldn’t have existed, but there were those who acknowledged his might.

In contrast, the pair that fought side by side against a menace had become the dream couple that was supposed to only exist in fiction. The way they held on to hope and sacrificed themselves for each other and eventually won gained them an army of fans.

Bai Ju furtively picked up his nephew and found a secluded spot to slap him awake. Every one of the three slaps carried the same amount of force just as his Dragon Emerges from the Clouds.

Still groggy, Che Gulu asked, “Uncle? Why am I here? What about the competition?”

“Lost.”

Che Gulu spent a while to process what Bai Ju meant. “Uncle! You came around!”

“…”

“You finally listened to me, right? I told you we can’t fight him. You didn’t fight him, right? Wait! What about the cheating monk? He tricked me several times, Uncle. We have to smash him. That baldy…”

Bai Ju tied up his nephew’s head with Iceriver Whip and walked off without listening to his nephew’s yelling.

“… Make him bleed! I’ll give him a finger spear, too. Uncle! Uncle! We actually have to smash him! It’s a fight we must fight!”

They never received a welcome, and they never received a goodbye, for everyone was focused only on the young man setting the maiden on the ground to treat. Even with several hundreds of eyes on them, he still only looked at her.

Tang Ye had a fair number of people he could call acquaintances, but he virtually couldn’t classify any of them as close acquaintances as he refrained from getting close to people. The shameless one he couldn’t shake off even if he tried – Su Xiao – and the one he never had to worry about losing because he was practically invincible – Ming Feizhen – were the only two exceptions. He definitely had opportunities to develop closer relationships with others; however, he chose to erect walls or cut them off. Though revenge was no longer the only thing that mattered to him, he still preferred to not have too much. He didn’t like the feeling of losing people and things; it wouldn’t be wrong to say he actually hated losing anything or anyone. If he didn’t have anything or anyone to lose, then he’d never suffer from the emotions that came with losses. Nevertheless, someone was knocking on his door hard.

He vaguely heard Bai Yumo call out to him when he was immobilised. He only intervened merely because he didn’t want to live with the guilt of ignoring her when he could’ve saved her. She, on the other hand, faced an opponent levels above herself, one who could crush her without having to even go all out, yet she stood her ground. He could feel someone trying to pry open his locked doors, but he refused to give in.

Tang Ye cracked a bitter smile, then glanced up to see Si Fu. Although her concern was easy to see, he chose to reject the feelings for the same reason he decided he wouldn’t interact with Bai Yumo again once he finished healing her.

Sensing the vigilance in Tang Ye’s gaze, Si Fu clamped her jaws and walked off. Tang Ye immediately averted his gaze, although it was unclear if it was because he refused to be affiliated with her or if he didn’t want to hurt her anymore than he already did.

Sorry… I can’t… accept something so precious. I’m not worthy.

Tang Ye raised a hand to mould energy, only for him to black out for a split second. Even after several recovery breaths, he couldn’t fight off the fatigue that pervaded every inch of his body. The only way he could rival someone of Bai Ju’s calibre was if he could gain appropriate control over his new potent internal energy. The new mental cultivation he came up with wasn’t enough to control all the internal energy; he merely created tracks for the new true qi to travel on. More work was needed for his meridians and muscles to handle it.

When Tang Ye moulded energy by force just now, it was akin to a kid able to lift five kilograms then thinking he could lift a fifty kilograms hammer, only for his unprepared self to end up gasping blood. Tang Ye recognised he might’ve been able to do what he wished if he could master Ancient King String one day, but today was not the day.

“Don’t rush. Try to slowly mould energy.”

Tang Ye gave it another try after hearing He Kanyu’s advice. Since moulding the two energy sources was tantamount to tyres stuck in a swamp, moulding little by little over time gradually set the energies in motion. Only now did Tang Ye realise he only controlled 20% of the internal energy at most. If he attempted to control more than that, he’d end up injuring himself if he didn’t go at the current slow pace. It went without saying that it’d be a fatal issue in live combat.

Tang Ye slowly siphoned small amounts of the internal energy over to Bai Yumo, lest he cause more harm to her. Thanks to her internal training and her internal discipline not discriminating between yin and yang qis, she was able to absorb it.

Discerning she was faring better when her complexion changed, Tang Ye took a deep breath and then siphoned a bit more. Despite his internal energy sharing unorthodox components, it worked on Bai Yumo as long as he went slow.

Nobody left the audience stands as they all looked forward to what they presumed would be a touching reunion.

“Bai Yumo… can you hear me?”

Bai Yumo slowly opened her eyes as Tang Ye expected. For the first time ever, Tang Ye felt she was pretty.

“Who are you talking to?”

Tang Ye jolted whilst spraying blood from his mouth before he realised he had been kicked. The contest wasn’t over even though the atmosphere created the impression it had. There were still two people in the ring.

Tang Ye raised his hands to block the blade coming down from above, but the force sent him flying out of the ring.

By the time the clouds were a red tinge, only Bai Yumo stood emotionlessly in the ring. The words she mouthed to him from the ring were colder than the cold in his heart. The maiden he wanted to keep at arm’s length opened the door in a way he never imagined.

“My name is Mo Yubai.”