Martial King's Retired Life

Book 15: Chapter 101

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?”

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"