Martial King's Retired Life

The reason, or perhaps the condition, for sparing Tianfeng Clan was that they weren’t allowed to state their affiliation. Tianfeng was a surname that was occasionally mentioned in the pugilistic world afterwards, but nobody connected the dots or found it surprising. A number of survivors from the previous dynasty’s vassals survived and still lived thanks to Grandmaster sheltering them.

Those survivors did everything in their power to raise Fourth, sheltering and training him to be impervious against even blades as they feared the Tianfeng bloodline would end. However, they never once considered urging him to restore his family’s glory. Maybe their life of seclusion dulled their desire to restore their dynasty. Having said that, I believed there was a more important reason.

One question of concern was, why did Gongsun Chu not come to Mount Daluo to snatch away Fourth when his desire to restore Daxia was so strong?

I returned to the surface of the underground palace following the directions Jiang Chen left behind. I had committed the map to memory. There were no enemies around. However, finding a way back to where everyone was wouldn’t be easy since Fiends’ Genesis had blocked both paths there. I was trying to figure out how to get back when I heard footsteps.

“Ouyang?”

“Brother Wu? You’re back!” Although Ouyang Xiucai was rendered a mess after all the fighting, he looked happy to see me.

The two of us conversed as we walked. During my absence, Fiends’ Genesis’ group had constantly mounted attacks on us. Teng managed to hold off on one side with the assistance of the holes formation, Gu Xianxian and Yan Jiangnan. Elder Lianhua and Lang Qing didn’t join the fight after they came back. To ensure we always had enough manpower to fight on two fronts, Elise and Su Qi insisted on driving back the enemies alone multiple times for an entire day straight. Only once they exhausted themselves did Elder Lianhua and Lang Qing swap in. Meanwhile, Ouyang Xiucai was sent to search for me. Thanks to his competence and familiarity with the layout, he was able to take out some of the enemies outside, reducing the pressure on the others. Unfortunately, the situation was still deteriorating for us.

Elise and Su Qi weren’t going to be back at 100% anytime soon. If we continued having energy issues, it was only a matter of time before we were done in. How was I going to calm down both tense sides and tell them I found an exit?

“Brother Wu, you must have found a way out.”

“Indeed. Let’s talk about it once we regroup. How do we get back?”

“This way. There are no enemies in this direction. We will return via the holes formation. This one was wondering how he’d return, but we will be okay now with you back.”

I trusted Ouyang Xiucai’s judgement, so I followed him.

“Brother Wu, have you really found a way out?”

“Of course.” Whilst still contemplating Gongsun Chu’s matters, I casually shook the ornament around. “We need this.”

“Oh? That’s the former dynasty’s symbol.”

I looked over to Ouyang Xiucai in surprise.

Ouyang Xiucai smiled. “They liked white birds. The white bird emblem was the noble’s favourite.”

“You really do know a lot. What made you take up embroidery?”

“You mean this one’s knowledge is shallow. He once travelled around the Western Regions, where many cultural things from the Central Plain are no longer available. He just happened to see the symbol by luck.”

It was true that the Western Regions collected a lot of old items from our former dynasties.

“There really isn’t anyone here. You’ve found some good places just wandering around.”

There really wasn’t a single enemy footstep to be heard when we entered the stone room. Ouyang Xiucai’s exploration skills weren’t as advanced as mine, but it was still first rate. It was quiet, quiet to the point that I felt a chill up my spine.

“Oi, oi, don’t tell me…” I halted in my tracks and grabbed my head. “So this is how it is?”

I let out a big sigh. I spent all that time exploring, yet I glossed over something.

“The timing of Yuan Kou’s betrayal was unexpected, but he was going to turn sooner or later. Yan Jiangnan insulted his own intelligence with his turn. The most surprising part about Fiends’ Genesis’ turn is their loyalty to Fiends’ Genesis. Even though there was almost an element of surprise each time, I had a way of defusing the situation. You, to the contrary, truly surprised me.”

Without changing his facial expression, Ouyang Xiucai stretched his hands out to his sides, seemingly touching two walls of qi that restricted us to a fixed space that neither we nor our voices could pass through.

“Su Qi isn’t your match,” I muttered. I had a think before adding, “Neither are Yuan Kou nor Elise. Lang Qing might’ve had a chance, but not now that he’s lost his edge.”

“Brother Ming, how does it feel to become the prey?” Ouyang Xiucai queried in his usual tone and accompanying smile.

“Not bad.” I smiled back. “At least it’s something new.”

“You managed to overcome obstacle after obstacle and even undid Heaven and Earth Locks. Jiang Chen had no idea you were this capable. His instructions for me are rather simple.” Ouyang Xiucai shrugged. “I just have to kill anyone who can leave, no matter who it is.”

I took a big breath. “I knew Jiang Chen had a backup plan; I should’ve expected it even more after learning his true identity. I had to get rid of them, but I didn’t know who it was. I thought I’d have to kill Elise or Yuan Kou. Never did you cross my mind.” I rubbed my head and sat down. “Can you at least entertain my curiosity? Why would you take orders from Jiang Chen?”

“You sound like you know me well, Brother Wu.”

I shook my head. “Not really.”

Ouyang Xiucai stared at me for a long time and then sighed. “I don’t know why I feel what you said to me is true. To show sincerity, I shall be honest.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I did, for a fact, lose my friend. What I didn’t publicise was that he was my closest friend. We trained together, studied together and experienced a lot together for over fifteen years. The only lie I told was that I knew how he died and already tried to avenge him. Sadly, I almost lost my own life in the process due to my incompetence. I always wanted to infiltrate Tang Clan’s ranks to find the culprit, but I was never successful.”

“I heard Tang Clan is facing internal turmoil. They never liked having outsiders in their business, so I strongly advise against trying that again unless you have a death wish.”

Ouyang Xiucai shook his head. “Whether there is internal strife or not is of no concern to me, and the existence or absence of danger means nothing. All I want is for the culprit to pay with his life. I agreed to help Jiang Chen because he promised to provide me with a chance to infiltrate their ranks.”

“He definitely likes you. You’re cut from the same cloth, after all,” I mumbled, ignoring whether Ouyang Xiucai heard me or not. “That’s your motivation for killing?”

“Do you think I won’t kill?”

Ouyang Xiucai had always been categorised as someone whose affiliation was unclear due to how he conducted himself.

“You may not be a man of benevolence, but you wouldn’t deign to assassination.”

Ouyang Xiucai nodded. “You certainly do know me, Brother Wu. I was against the exchange until I learned who would be here. Evildoers from Divine Moon Cult, an assassin from Dongying, a martial-arts-obsessed maniac who’s taken countless lives… None of the others are worth me personally killing. Only you and Yuan Kou were unforeseen.”

“So you deliberately befriended me after I defeated Elder Lianhua to measure me?”

“Not entirely. The more I spent time with you, the more fun I had. If I had the choice, I’d very much wish to befriend you once we were out of here. Regrettably, life does not always work out the way we wish for it to.”

I shut my eyes to analyse all the events, causes and effects. “I always thought it was odd… It all went too smoothly. Instead of mocking Jiang Chen for being overconfident, it feels more like he doesn’t want to concern himself with us. It seems as though he was sure that we would fail no matter how we wore ourselves out. His confidence in our failure must’ve been rooted in his arrangements. Everyone, including Elise, served a function in here. In her case, that was drawing out Xue Yanjun. You were the only one who didn’t have a defined role. The fault lies with me for failing to realise your role.”

I opened my eyes and exhaled a slow breath. “I finally know who unlocked the other lock of Autumn Lock. Jiang Chen, I hate to admit it, but he’s a bloody smart bugger.”

Ouyang Xiucai’s gaze never left my hands no matter what I said. “You don’t have a formation here or your hidden weapons. Do you have any other means of protecting yourself?”

In a fair fight, I still wasn’t his match. All I could do to compensate for the gap was to exploit his weaknesses. He was the ideal executioner, cautious and attentive, reducing his risks of failing to zero. Therefore, it seemed that dying here was my only option.

“I have witnessed your earnest efforts during this time, and I must give you well-deserved adulation. I admire you. Brother Wu, let us meet again in the next life.”

Jiang Chen. Gongsun Chu. To hell with you, man… You win.