A Life Tucked Away in the Mountains, Out of Harm’s Way
According to Feng Jiutian, in the month that I was coaching Zizi and procrastinating while I was it, a number of things happened around the capital. Firstly, Demon Sect resurfaced, and someone important among them had arrived. Two months prior, Emperor’s Entourage’s agents noticed signs unidentified people of the martial world gathering, but they didn’t carry out a large-scale annihilation for an unknown reason. However, it was probably safe to assume Emperor’s Entourage classified the people as threats no more dangerous than street thugs.
The group that convened illegally was called Yizhen Dream or something. Their name was supposed to sound poetic… I think? The members came from all over the land and groups, and their purposes were unknown. Emperor’s Entourage likely designated them as targets to watch out for because they popped up when Fiends’ Genesis was rampaging in the city, which was understandable given the circumstances. What was odd was that there were faces they’d never seen near the capital, and they couldn’t find any records of those individuals across the Central Plain. There was no need to think. Anyone who was able to avoid detection from Emperor’s Entourage in the Central Plain and then suddenly show up in the capital had pulled some strings. It went without saying, then, that they were no ordinary folks.
Emperor’s Entourage tailed the group, but they were careful to not prematurely alert the target for some time. It wasn’t until they found some strands of blonde hair at a gathering did they finally have a clue and theorised the target was from the Western Regions based on the hair. It took another two months of digging did they find out the hair belonged to a member of Demon Sect, and said member was in their records – Elise. They swiftly apprehended the maiden who was drawing something without hurting her.
I didn’t question Emperor’s Entourage’s combat abilities… Okay, I admit I didn’t think too highly of them. Based off Dugu and Tie Hanyi’s levels, I’d never have believed you if you told me they could’ve captured her without any sacrifices. Her Skywind Nine Forms was nothing to scoff at. Dugu had the ability to beat her, but it shouldn’t have been such a lopsided victory. Plus, it made no sense to me for someone of her status to have been alone without any guards in the capital. Nevertheless, as long as I knew where she was held, I figured it couldn’t have been too hard to break her out. Emperor’s Entourage weren’t ruthless, so she was probably safe and sound.
With my brows together, I said, “You’ve said a lot, but I don’t see how this has anything to do with me.”
Feng Jiutian responded, “Oh, she was captured, but they have to transport her to prison, right? I hijacked the escort.”
“You took the imperial court’s captive from them?”
You did my job already?!
“No, I would never do something so tasteless. I hate nothing more than the crude thing known as violence. My vast network of friends helped me.”
Your network is vast enough to even handle something of that magnitude? Emperor’s Entourage, Emperor’s Entourage, you call yourselves His Majesty’s last line of defence, yet someone managed to rescue a prisoner from your very hands.
“I would never dare to befriend Emperor’s Entourage’s agents. However, I had some friends among the escort. A little bit of manipulation was all it took to force the transport escort to go where I wanted it to.”
I finally knew why Tie Hanyi was looking for me urgently. Emperor’s Entourage needed Liu Shan Men’s help in finding out who attacked their escort. Since they most definitely heard about Boss’ sour mood following Shen Kuang’s placing and heard about my promotion, they came to me, who was now basically second in command at Liu Shan Men.
“What brings you to me, then, Brother Feng?”
“Haha, there you go asking the obvious again, Brother Ming. As I have stressed, I seek friends. The more friends one has, the more options he has.” He clapped his hands, prompting someone to bring up a big brocade box.
While the box was square, thin and flat, its dimensions were generous. Another man opened the box, took out a scroll and slowly unrolled it for my viewing. As the painter used the Western Region’s method of painting, which was trying to replicate the real version as close as possible, it was basically a painting of me that hadn’t been coloured in yet.
Elise painted me?
“Who is this?” I took the painting to scrutinise, turning it portrait, landscape, upside down, and diagonal. “Brother Feng, I’m confused now.”
Feng Jiutian smiled as he continued looking at me as if he’d been constipated for days. “Brother Ming, let us not beat around the bush. You and her are acquainted.” He blinked a few times, then added, “Or perhaps, former lovers.”
I set down the painting and firmly replied, “Brother, there are some things that should not be joked about. She is a wanted criminal. Your brother here is Official Ming of Liu Shan Men, a constable whose job is to arrest criminals, not court criminals. No matter how pretty she may be, you think I would harbour feelings for her?”
“So this painting…”
“Just a painting. Is it my fault she has a crush on me? Is being handsome a violation of the law? Don’t make a mistake that’s so easily avoidable.”
Feng Jiutian spent a while studying me, then finally nodded. “In that case… there is no point keeping her alive. Let’s just execute her.”
“Impulsiveness is the witch.”
“It is the demon.”
“The witch comes first, or who would give birth to the demon? She drew me, right? That proves she has strong feelings for me. You see, as men, we should cherish women and be considerate towards them. You want to pluck a flower when it blooms for the most beautiful flower, right? Every grain of rice is hard work, right? Since she had the thought, j-j-just leave it to me.”
Feng Jiutian smiled smugly. “You have finally admitted to it, Brother Ming, hahaha.” As he fanned himself, he continued, “Ever since I found the painting, I knew she was special. Since you are interested in her and we are friends, she is all yours.”
I finally stopped shovelling food into my mouth and looked at Feng Jiutian in a manner I had never before. I could’ve smooched his food and stuff without batting an eye. Of course, if he pulled out receipts on me, then I had to acknowledge it, but he wouldn’t have demanded repayments for any of those things. However, letting me rescue Elise wasn’t something I could just pretend didn’t happen.
“Brother Shanshan, I can’t just accept your good will for nothing. Whatever it is you need help with, how about telling your brother about it?”
“I appreciate it, Big Bro.”
It was my first time seeing Feng Jiutian wear a serious look – although he was still smiling. This time, I saw his work mode.
“I want you to bring someone to me.”
Glossary
Yizhen Alliance and Yizhen Dream – Another homophone joke. The pronunciations, except for the last character in Chinese, are identical. It’s another one of those situations where you mistake a character for another because you don’t have context.
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