Martial King’s Retired Life

Book 16: Chapter 9

“I’m heading out tonight,” was the first thing Boss told me when I returned back to her place.

“Do you have to depart so soon?”

Boss was commanding her subordinates to pack. Half a dozen carriages were parked on standby outside Liu Shan Men already. There was a stipulation that prohibited departures from the capital at night, but she held a rank high enough to use the “back door”. Given the circumstantial evidence, Boss likely wanted to leave suddenly and at night so that she would not reveal her whereabouts.

“You know Kuang has already set out for Jinyong. I can’t stop him.”

Boss had been extra busy recently due to her brother’s decision. Instead of celebrating his placing in the imperial exam, she was extra worried.

“He’s an adult now; he has to do his own thinking. He just proved his competence by re-occupying Suzhou and convincing Cold Mountain Temple to turn over a new leaf for the imperial court. You don’t need to worry for him, Boss.”

“I’ve always known he’s smart from childhood. Still, I can’t help but worry…”

“Baima?”

Boss flinched. Shen Kuang proved his intellect with the way he dealt with Cold Mountain Temple; however, Baima was on another level. Having said that…

I shrugged. “Baima has always been impartial. He’ll stop at nothing to protect the border. As long as Young Master Kuang can be helpful, he won’t suffer. In contrast, he’d be valued.”

Boss knew that, except she could not stop imagining the worst scenario. She scanned me a few times and then muttered, “You make it sound like you’ve met before.”

Noticing me stiffen up, Boss asked, “You actually have? Don’t tell me you two have fought before, too.”

“Uh…”

“Far out.” Boss perceived Wang Muren as the pinnacle of martial arts in the imperial. Therefore, the fact that I survived a fight against him was the equivalent of helping her get back at him. “What was the result?”

“Mm… undetermined.”

We did not fight long enough to determine who the superior fighter was. If I had the chance, I would have loved to, but… forget it. Avoiding him was the better option because he was a nuisance.

I was as reluctant to see Boss go as I was confused. “Why are even you going to Luoyang?”

I was under the assumption that His Majesty dispatched me to Luoyang on account of my numerous contributions to the imperial court and placing in the imperial exam, yet my superior was also dispatched to Luoyang as punishment. Clearly, he was not rewarding me; he was ordering me to slave away for his adopted daughter.

Boss cracked a grin. “Oh, poor you can’t act like an overlord, procrastinate and abuse your privileges, right?”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “I was hoping to at least have fun for a month, but you will be arriving before me.”

“Uncle is relocating us to Luoyang so that Liu Shan Men can gain experience and to rebuild Liu Shan Men. Do you know what makes Luoyang different?”

“What? The peonies there are nicer?”

Boss rolled her eyes. “The central martial arts community suffered a big blow that they still haven’t recuperated from. The venerated elders of Luoyang are nowhere to be seen anymore, but smaller factions are rising, making it an ideal place for Liu Shan Men to also rise.”

I nodded all the way through the explanation. I figured as much. As if the daughter-con was going to let any of his daughters suffer.

“Yuan Kou and company will join you. Order them around as much as you can.”

Wearing a smile, Boss shook her head. “I will order them around. In saying that, your ‘shadow guards’ are far from qualified. If nothing else, I can’t see anything that indicates they’re subordinates of Mount Daluo’s successor. You need to put in more effort.”

I smiled back. “They’re far from qualifying as ‘shadow guards’. Until they pass the test, they’re just reserve troops. I don’t plan to give the shadow order yet.”

“I have been against you forming a ‘shadow’ squad since its inception because I feared Liu Shan Men would be associated with shady methods. Even if we were to do things legitimately, the work never ends, let alone having to clean up after questionable means. It now appears, though, that your insistence is warranted. There can be no light without darkness. There are some situations that require extraordinary means. Constable Ming, I entrust the squad to you.”

I held my hands up in a propitious salute and smiled. “As you command.”

Boss and I cracked up laughing for a brief moment. After we exchanged eye contact, she lowered her head and, in a low voice, queried, “Are you going to Hangzhou?”

“I did start this, so it’ll probably become a disaster if I don’t go.”

“Mm.” After a long silence, Boss added, “Take care.”

“I will.”

I saw Boss off until the carriages left the capital. The uncertainty of when we would meet again was unpleasant. As I made my way back to my room on my own, thought after thought popped into mind, making me instinctively shake my head gently.

“I held back too much,” I mumbled. One big banquet per day for a week, daily small banquets for five days is too modest. Five big banquets and three small banquets per day is more like it!”

Hahahaha! I’m the boss at Liu Shan Men now!

Boss’ early departure may have stopped me from running rampant in Luoyang, but I bet she forgot I would still be in the capital if she left.

On my joyful way back to my room to plan out the banquet menus, I suddenly heard someone shout, “Who goes there?! Freeze!”

“Miss Ling, what happened?” I shouted after I saw Ling Jialan flit from a rooftop to another.

“We have an intruder!” Ling Jialan yelled back, engaging the intruder in a fight.

Despite Ling Jialan’s skills, she was unable to gain an advantage over the intruder.

“Why are you attacking so ruthlessly when we have no grudge between us, Miss? Even if this one crossed you somehow in the past, it does not justify you drawing your sword on him. Must we resort to a fight to the death? This one has never formed any deep grudges with anyone. Do you have the wrong person? If that is the case, you owe this one an apology. If this one has never crossed you, you are going overboard. It would be awful if you hurt someone innocent. Even if the laws do not apply in the pugilistic world, justice exists. Justice exists in one’s heart. Everyone’s heart has a scal-”

“Shut up!” thundered Ling Jialan.

Is it just my imagination?

“Sixth?”

The intruder in white paused and then descended down in front of me. The young man who had an appearance that could have duped any woman bowed his head to me. “Your junior offers his respects, First Brother!”

It really is Sixth!