Ming Feizhen, True Hero (Part 1)
“Feizhen, Uncle scolded me.”
“You’re a lot more upset than I expected.” Ming Feizhen scratched his head. “It was just a short scolding.”
“No it wasn’t!”
“Ah? He even hit you?”
“He… He told me to get out of his sight!”
Ming Feizhen had trouble deciding if he should’ve passed Shen Yiren a handkerchief or a basin of water. In the end, she ended up grabbing his sleeve again. He was afraid someone would hear or see her crying, so he wanted to go close the door, but she forcibly kept him by the sleeve. She was virtually a different species. She was gentle, pitiful, sweet, and the way she looked at him as if to ask, “Where are you going?” nigh pushed blood out of his nose.
Helpless, Ming Feizhen had to sit back down and sacrificed his sleeve. “Boss, you didn’t have to front in the palace. You could’ve given in.”
“Why would I give in?! Never!”
“His Majesty was just worried about you. You could’ve just admitted you were wrong.”
“What did I do wrong? I refuse!”
“Then why are you crying?”
Shen Yiren had a brain stutter for a second, only to then start sobbing moments later. “Uncle scolded me.”
Ming Feizhen started coming up with silly ideas to make Shen Yiren laugh, something he was accomplished at thanks to his time with all the women and girls on Mount Daluo. With so many examples at his fingertips, it was easy to come up with a funny face. However, right as he was about to pull one, Shen Yiren sniffled and said, “Mm, I’m good now.”
“What?”
“I’m okay now.” Shen Yiren pulled Ming Feizhen’s sleeve over to wipe her nose, flicked it away and then exhaled sharply. “I feel much better after getting it all out. Song Ou, that pussy, no matter who he prays to, I’m going to make him regret dobbing on me.”
Ming Feizhen didn’t feel it was a shame that he didn’t get to show off his skills at comforting a lady, but he wondered why she cried when she never cried in the past when she went through adversary.
“What?”
“Nothing…” Ming Feizhen crossed his arms whilst examining Shen Yiren.
Ever since returning from Hangzhou, Ming Feizhen noticed that he saw Shen Yiren differently, and her attitude towards him noticeably changed slightly, as well. She seemed… more welcoming. Sure, she didn’t observe formalities around him in the past, but she never cried without reserve. Nevertheless, it wasn’t what was important at the moment, so he put it aside for the meantime.
“Boss, have you thought it through?”
“Leaving my post without permission isn’t that serious, and it’s not the first time I’ve done that. Although the timing wasn’t the best this time, it’s not enough to justify Uncle being so livid.”
“So, what was his plan?”
“Remember the conversation we had on the way back? What Liu Shan Men needs most right now is…”
“Time.”
“Exactly. Liu Shan Men has lost too much time, and there’s too much in the way to recover to even half of our prime. Uncle just gave me an opportunity.”
The father-con wouldn’t suddenly change into a menacing father. The main source of Emperor Yuansheng’s anger came from seeing his adopted daughter’s suffering away from home. Her suffering motivated his decision.
Though the three offices took different actions in response to the crisis, they all contributed. Emperor’s Entourage collected information. Tianhu drove the nail into the coffin. Yi Ya, representing the Qilin Guards, safeguarded the capital and eliminated invaders, laying down the foundation for the imperial court’s overall victory. Without his actions, they never would’ve been able to crush Fiends’ Genesis so efficiently. Representing Liu Shan Men, Shen Yiren located Jiang Chen, and Tang Ye relayed information to rescue the hostages. The White Princes’ efforts also needed to be acknowledged. Had any of them not done their part, Fiends’ Genesis would likely still be rampaging.
When it came to the sacrifices, Tianhu didn’t have as much as a scratch, and the other agents of Emperor’s Entourage were safe and sound. The Qilin Guards barely suffered casualties whilst defending the capital; they, in fact, looked almighty. In contrast, Ming Feizhen was kidnapped and missing in action. Shen Yiren operated covertly. Mountain Monster and Tang Ye nearly perished in action. Shen Yiren was Liu Shan Men’s ace, but she showed through the fiasco that she couldn’t compare to Ye Yun and Wang Muren when they barely did a thing the entire time. As a matter of fact, Liu Shan Men nearly lost their leader. The gap between the Qilin Guards, Emperor’s Entourage and Liu Shan Men was never as obvious. How was Emperor Yuansheng supposed to feel when he perceived the discrepancy?
It wasn’t a problem of who took home the most credit. Emperor Yuansheng had all the authority he needed to promote Shen Yiren to Captain of Liu Shan Men if she was willing to accept his good will. If he did that, though, she wouldn’t last in the seat. He knew that, if he put her in the seat, he’d be putting Liu Shan Men six feet underground because of Liu Shan Men’s core problem – a lack of firepower.
Shen Yiren was recruiting members as fast as she could, but it wasn’t easy to catch up to her competitors. When they took in Liu Shan Men’s members back then, they didn’t face any obstacles unlike Shen Yiren’s current predicament.
After reflecting on the status quo and accounting for the future, Emperor Yuansheng decided that the best course of action was to get Shen Yiren out of the capital as a means of providing her time to develop, track down former Liu Shan Men members and train her subordinates. He hadn’t wanted to do so in all the years prior because he wanted to wait until she was mentally ready. Had he sent her off before that, he might not have been able to shield her from harm. It wasn’t an easy decision for him to make, but he had to make it in order to help her fulfil her wishes.
“My parents are gone. Besides Kuang, Uncle is the only person who cares for me most. He genuinely sees me as his daughter… I know it hurt him more than it hurt me to reproach me. I couldn’t hold back my tears when I imagined how hard it must’ve been for him, but it was refreshing to cry out all my grievances, too.” Shen Yiren patted Ming Feizhen on the shoulder. “There’s no point mulling over it. We’ll have to deal with the problems as they come. I don’t have the faintest idea where I’ll be sent. You coming with me?”
“To the ends of the world, I’ll go. To be honest, I’m already sick of the capital – except for Mr. Shi’s braised pork.”
“Yeah? In that case, I’ll be bringing you along.”
“At your service. Not even eight horses will be able to hold me back.”
The two exchanged a smile, conveying all the thoughts through their smiles.
“By the way, what’s the chest behind you?”
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