Martial King's Retired Life

Arguably, Shen Wuzheng’s demise was the biggest shock in the pugilistic world for the ten years prior and after. Given his status, the imperial court would’ve strictly censored the news until there was a suitable time, lest the people panicked. Sadly, that was impossible when thousands of people witnessed a blaze consume his home and saw his children escape from the mayhem. The “upper echelon” didn’t think the news was meant to be censored.

His Majesty’s plan to personally hold a funeral for his late friend was met with vehement objections from officials until the silent Ye Yun made a bloody mess out of a protestor in court. Suffice to say, Ye Yun could’ve killed the official even without a hu, but he mounted the official and silently bludgeoned him whilst fighting back his tears that mixed in with the blood sprayed. His Majesty handed out a trivial punishment of self-reflection to Ye Yun for his actions.

On the day of the ceremony, it took His Majesty virtually all of his strength to stand. He showed no signs of pursuing the culprit, nor did he mention the consequences of Shen Clan’s downfall on the imperial court. Upon returning to court soon after, he never mentioned a word of it. Nobody dared to ask him about it ever since; they universally knew that his composure was just a pretence and asking him would’ve been poking the bear.

After nothing about it was brought up for years, it was assumed that it had passed. Little did they know how important it was to His Majesty and how capable he was. Without many being aware, he built himself up to force Ximen Chuideng into a decisive battle at Lawless Cliff a few years later, practically erasing Divine Moon Cult from the Central Plain. The event brought Shen Wuzheng’s passing back to the forefront for the majority again. It dawned on them at that point that His Majesty never got over his friend’s death, and he never forgot about avenging his friend. For all they knew, he could’ve made up his mind to destroy Demon Sect on the day of his late friend’s funeral.

Ming Feizhen felt lost when he caught wind of Shen Wuzheng’s passing. Although they weren’t close, Ming Feizhen occasionally thought of Shen Wuzheng’s smile and soothing voice. His impression of Shen Wuzheng was a scholar – composed, and organised. Shen Wuzheng gave the impression of a man who had an answer for any problem; if it was a really tough one, he’d talk you out of your pessimism and help you brainstorm together. Shen Wuzheng made for a great friend.

While the thought of investigating Shen Wuzheng’s death did come to Ming Feizhen’s mind, Yan Shisan was still active at the time. Yan Shisan swore to find the culprit behind Shen Wuzheng’s death, only to lead to Divine Moon Cult getting dragged in, destroyed, and even ruining himself. Most people stopped caring about Shen Wuzheng’s death after Ximen Chuideng fell from power, with only a few people still pursuing the case, one of whom was Ming Feizhen.

Divine Moon Cult and the imperial court were still enemies. The imperial court didn’t care if Ximen Chuideng was responsible for Shen Wuzheng’s death or not. Whatever the truth was, why did they have to care once Ximen Chuideng was gone? Divine Moon Cult was more focused on avenging Ximen Chuideng than caring about the reason behind Shen Wuzheng’s demise.

Ming Feizhen was the exception as there was never a clear-cut explanation for Shen Wuzheng’s death. Not even Yan Shisan was dead certain in his conclusion. Most importantly, the question of who killed Shen Wuzheng remained unanswered. Even though Shen Wuzheng wasn’t on Yan Shisan’s level, if Shen Wuzheng was still alive, Ming Feizhen was sure that he’d have been one of The Ultimate Three.

Shen Wuzheng wasn’t Confucianism’s Yu Sihe. He singlehandedly maintained the balance between the three bureaus. He was accustomed to dealing with schemers, and he wouldn’t have carelessly trusted someone, not even his closest friends, when he knew he was always living inside a tornado. Ming Feizhen couldn’t even imagine his current self being able to take out the calm Shen Wuzheng without the latter even being able to send out one last piece of information in his last moment. Why would someone as conspicuous as Ximen Chuideng, who loved being as flamboyant as possible, have assassinated Shen Wuzheng instead of making sure the entire capital was watching on? There was only one person who could’ve so one-sidedly defeated Shen Wuzheng, but Ming Feizhen wasn’t convinced Ming Huayu would’ve done that, so that possibility was removed. As long as he removed the part about Shen Wuzheng being unable to leave behind any information, Ming Feizhen had new routes to explore.

The blaze not only burnt Shen Clan’s corpses, but it also likely burnt any information Shen Wuzheng might’ve left behind. Assuming that was the case, they didn’t rely on martial prowess to overpower Shen Wuzheng. He could’ve been immobilised and been rendered unable to escape the flames. To be absolutely sure no traces of their involvement remained, they set fire to the property. The theory narrowed the possibilities, but it also expanded them.

There were only around a dozen people who could’ve been strong enough to kill Shen Wuzheng. If they used schemes and traps, however, the number of suspects could’ve been in the thousands. Therefore, the only alternative was to consider what could’ve immobilised Shen Wuzheng. One possibility was a phoenix’s roar, a conclusion that Ming Feizhen believed was most feasible after thorough deliberation.

Poison and contraptions were unlikely. Even ignoring Shen Wuzheng’s abilities, it would’ve been harder to plant contraptions in his home than to have assassinated him. Alas, it was impossible to prove that the phoenix’s roar was the cause.

Mount Daluo was one of the places closest to Six Evils, but Ming Feizhen truly didn’t know much about the phoenix roar. Ming Huayu told him the bird in a cage sounded better, and Hero Shenzhou snored as loud as a phoenix. In the end, he didn’t learn anything extra compared to prior. If there was nobody who could replicate the phoenix’s roar, then the theory didn’t hold up.

Until today.

“.. What do you know?” Feng Jiutian couldn’t hide his unease. “How much do you know about Shen Wuzheng’s death? Why did you link it with the phoenix roar. Don’t tell me y-”

“Shut up!” thundered Qu Ji. “He’s not under the roar’s control yet! Run f-”

“It’s too late to run,” Ming Feizhen declared.

Ming Feizhen flicked a silver thread from his finger through to the other side of a blackice wall, pinning Feng Jiutian to said wall via the latter’s shoulder.

Autumn King String – Moonlight.

Qu Ji predicted Ming Feizhen would make a move, but he failed to see the process when Ming Feizhen did move. One thing he knew for certain at that point, though, was that Ming Feizhen was immune to the phoenix roar.

Some warriors were able to still move a tad after hearing a phoenix roar. A Divine Realm warrior would’ve been able to move for a short distance. If a warrior had learnt to summon all their life essence to amplify their power, then they had a chance of going down with their foe. Ming Feizhen was one such foe. That was why they tried to lull him into a false sense of security and acted out an interesting fight before letting the would-eventually-be-stronger-than-him Feng Qizhi deliver the final blow. Arrogance, immobilisation, and forgetting to dodge were supposed to turn the odds in their favour.

“Yeah, why?” Ming Feizhen gave them a smile as he performed shoulder circles. “How bewildering. How did this happen when your opponent was overconfident,” he continued as he ambled forward.

“How are you…”

“Don’t let me down. Use your head. You have one, don’t you?”

Out of the blue, Qu Ji saw a colossal being that should’ve only existed in fantasies. Immeasurable fear pervaded his body, weakening his claw attack to the point that it bounced straight off his target. He stumbled back eight steps, yet he still couldn’t find his footing. Besides perspiring profusely, his mutated right arm hurt bad.

“You saw it? If that’s the case, you should understand now. It’d be weird if it worked on me when it doesn’t work on you, right?”

Qu Ji saw a titanic tree that couldn’t have existed in the realm of man, lightning between dense clouds that never ceased, a field of swords plunged into the ground, and a colossal crimson entity expressing an insatiable hunger. Though it only lasted for a split second, the display was enough to mentally break the viewer.

All Ming Feizhen did was smile to produce the freaky scene. “I’m a disciple of Mount Daluo, a disciple who inherited the ‘Ming’ surname. What makes you think mutations and I don’t go in the same sentence?”

With a wet back, Qu Ji mindlessly replied, “Rubbish… Daluo’s chaofeng went extinct long ago. This is impossible…” He cut himself off and showed regret.

“So people do expose themselves through clumsy denials when they’re freaked out. Guess the people before us didn’t lie. Of course the chaofeng hasn’t been mentioned at Mount Daluo, but it’s not something the outside world knows. The fact that you know about it means that you’re not an outsider. Which group are you with?”

Qu Ji didn’t answer. He was a reticent individual to begin with. Had the appearance of the Fengpeng not shaken him up, he wouldn’t have said so much. He was chosen to complete this mission for his steel resolve.

Eyes on Qu Ji’s mutated arm, Ming Feizhen and questioned, “Is your arm… Garuda?”

Qu Ji’s mutated arm suddenly released a turbid smell before quickly reverting to a normal human arm. As a result, his injury returned, wobbling him again.

“The fact that you can control your transformation at will despite only transforming one arm goes to show that you people are veterans of creating ‘mutants’. Some idiots assume the blood of the beasts are the magic that they can use to mass produce warriors, ignorant to the reality that the blood isn’t that useful unless the blood spilt in battle still maintains some of the original traces, which provides the most important piece of the puzzle.”

It wasn’t just Ming Feizhen’s immunity to the phoenix roar that astonished Qu Ji but also Ming Feizhen’s knowledge, reason being that Mount Daluo didn’t create mutants.

“Mm… It should be called ‘evil qi’ or ‘toxic qi’. That’s what transforms the human body and fuses with flesh and blood the most. It’s just that the blood you have coincidentally contained a large volume of toxic qi, so you can transform. Feng Clan’s creation is a demented product. It’s clear they relied on their vast fortune to find a way; it’s nothing legit. You must’ve suffered plenty to perfect your transformation. I’m sure there was a price to pay for it. How many died out of ten people? Six? Or seven?”

Qu Ji gritted his teeth and hung his head down.

“Even though you survived, you must’ve spent ages to master your control over it. You must be one of the few different warriors among your people. Who are you with, though? Sky Realm Palace wouldn’t accept men. Beiyou people aren’t so short. You’re not with Hidden Flow, and your style is different to Six Meridians. You’re with ‘Ruins’?” While Qu Ji was ready to accept death, Ming Feizhen just exhaled. “This is really annoying to put up with. I now understand why Uncle Shen couldn’t stand it. I can’t imagine how grating on the ears it would be if it was Nirvana’s roar.”

Ming Feizhen patted his head as if he was trying to get water out of his ears. “Since you don’t want to talk, there’s no point in me interrogating you. I’ll spare you.”

Autumn King Thread – Moonlight and Cicada Wings Lightsplitter.

Ming Feizhen split the thread that pierced Feng Jiutian’s shoulder, leaving two thin trails on the wall. Ming Feizhen pressed his hands onto the wall and mumbled, “It’d be a pity to ruin something so valuable.”

Ming Feizhen, using his bare hands, ripped an uneven big hole in the wall at the end of the two trails. “Brother Shanshan, there’s no need to kneel on ceremony,” he said as he stepped through the hole and into the final room. Looking at the panting Feng Jiutian, he jovially continued, “You don’t need to go as far as welcoming me on your knees.”

“I’m innocent! I don’t know the backstory behind Shen Wuzheng’s death! I’m innocent!”

“I believe you. You would’ve only been around ten years old at the time. Life would be too unfair if you were able to kill Shen Wuzheng.”

Although that took a weight off Feng Jiutian’s chest, he was still worried for his life after all he did to Ming Feizhen.

Ming Feizhen scanned the room, then heaved a breath.

“What’s the matter?”

“No food or alcohol. Is this any way to host a guest? What are people going to say about you?” While Feng Jiutian was busying searching for a response, Ming Feizhen added, “Whatever. You’ve treated me dozens of times. It’s time I repay the favour for a change. Let’s go. My treat this time.”

Dongpo was empty. Even though the drinks and dishes were ready, Lian Hua and Fu Dalong chose to wait downstairs while Ming Feizhen and Feng Jiutian sat at the table. Ming Feizhen nearly wrecked the floorboards when he mindlessly dropped Feng Qizhi and Qu Ji, who he stuffed into sacks, on the ground.

As soon as Ming Feizhen arrived, pork shoulders were served up instantly. Feng Jiutian couldn’t believe that they were ordered four hours ago, which was before Ming Feizhen had time to drop by. Ming Feizhen just stuffed his face while Feng Jiutian sat there in shock.

“Young Master!” Someone from Feng Clan finally came for Feng Jiutian after a while.

“Gan Fengchi?”

“You recognise me?” inquired Gan Fengchi.

Ming Feizhen chuckled. “You should recognise me, no? It’s been a while. Your value keeps dropping, huh?”

Gan Fengchi met Ming Feizhen in the past, but he didn’t recognise Ming Feizhen until he heard Ming Feizhen’s tone and attitude. “Y-you’re! Impossible…”

“Uncle Chi!”

Palor, Gan Fengchi clenched his teeth and said, “This one apologises for disturbing you,” before leaping off the second floor.

Seeing his last hope abandon him, Feng Jiutian exhaled. “If even Uncle Chi is jumping out, then it can only mean you are truly dangerous. I lose. I lost completely. Please tell me what you want.”

“Oh, you want to be a man now?”

Feng Jiutian smiled. “No, but we are acquainted, so you wouldn’t go as far as killing me, would you?”

“No. I told you already. I wanted to ask you something, but you kept avoiding me or stopping me. If you just sat down at the table with me, things wouldn’t have come this far.”

“I had no idea I was so valuable to you. Had I known, I would’ve accepted your invitation from the beginning.”

“It’s my turn to make things hard for you. I can’t out-debate you slimy businessmen.”

“You flatter me.”

“I feel the atmosphere in the capital is weird, so it’s a good thing to have your type around. Your corrupt kind makes it possible to speak freely without reserve.”

“You truly know me best, Brother Ming. What is it that you wish to know? I will not withhold anything if I know the answer.”

“Yeah, what do I want to know…? Just tell me one thing.” Wearing a stern expression, Ming Feizhen tapped on chopsticks. “Tell me: who exactly incited Black Lotus Envoy to turn at Lawless Cliff and sneak attack Ximen Chuideng?”

Glossary

Hu – A flat scepter that was used as part of their uniform in court. Originally, they were used in court to record orders from Emperors, but it became a ceremonial instrument once paper gained widespread use.

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Martial King’s Retired Life (Manhua) – 99March 13, 2020In "Martial King's Retired Life"

Martial King’s Retired Life (Manhua) – 002December 28, 2018In "Martial King's Retired Life"

Martial King’s Retired Life (Manhua) – 003December 28, 2018In "Martial King's Retired Life"

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