Fengtian. Magicians Don’t Exist.
Fu Dalong frowned and cried, “What does that m-, Lian Hua, shut the doors! Shut the doors!”
Lian Hua just stood in place as stiffly as his face. The only sign of life coming from him were his breaths.
When did he seal Lian Hua’s major acupoints?!
As soon as Fu Dalong went to close the doors, he heard Lian Hua yell, “Elder, shut the doors! Hey, what do you m-, Elder?”
This time, Fu Dalong had been turned to stone.
“Wh-what sorcery was that?!” the two veterans of the pugilistic world shouted simultaneously upon being liberated.
Ming Feizhen, watching the duo with amusement, kindly adjusted the stools for the duo who didn’t know what to do. In a flick of his hand, the two stools spun to the back of their knees without as much as breeze generated. Warm external energy then made them go limp and forced them into the chairs. Next, the chairs moved them back to their original spots in the same position as they started, except in a totally different frame of mind. They no longer had any courage to even challenge the man who could control them without direct contact purely using his internal energy.
“You don’t need to be so tense. I don’t offer tea to my enemies.” Smiling, Ming Feizhen poured the two a drink of tea each. “Both Beggars Sect and Shaolin are sects I’ve admired for the longest time. If I’m not wrong, you are Elder Fu, Hundred Legs Snake, and you are one of the new Arhats, Shifu Lian Hua.”
Neither Fu Dalong nor Lian Hua were established individuals in the pugilistic world. Fu Dalong was only promoted to an eight pouch elder because the last one passed away from illness, and Fu Dalong happened to be old enough and contributed enough. Lian Hua had worked as Bronzeman at Wooden Alley, which was an obstacle disciples had to pass to leave the temple, for ten years. His shifu allowed him to join the 18 Arhats Formation, allowing him to become one of the eighteen Arhats. Both of them had accomplished a number of things, but they weren’t famous. Therefore, they were taken aback when Ming Feizhen identified them.
“There’s no need to drop your jaws and eyes. I already identified your backgrounds in our first meeting. While you can fool people with your techniques, Beggars Sect’s ‘Snake Washer Hands’ and Shaolin’s ‘Indestructible’ can’t fool people. There aren’t many people who can even learn those disciplines. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that I could identify you after some further investigation.” Ming Feizhen proceeded to smugly share where he gained his information on them. “Are you two going to deny it to the end?”
“Beggars Sect’s Fu Dalong pays his respects.”
“Shaolin’s Lianhua pays his respects.”
The two reversed their personalities once they were no longer in character.
“Mount Daluo’s Ming Feizhen pays his respects.”
The two of them were exasperated once again. The two of them exchanged eye contact, then lowered their heads.
“Forget it. We have no excuses. It is our fault for being foolish enough to fall for another’s scheme.” Fu Dalong let out a long exhale. “We will be upfront with you. This old man courted death for trying to challenge you. Please do not take it out on Beggars Sect. He will erase his training to apologise.”
Before he could raise his hand, Ming Feizhen had stopped him again without direct contact.
“This old one is a fool. Please do not take your anger out on Beggars Sect.”
“You are mistaken, Elder Fu. Beggars Sect and Mount Daluo have been friends for two generations. Furthermore, your young master and I am brothers. How could I possibly see you as an enemy over a small misunderstanding?”
Ming Feizhen executed a palm strike in the air, unsealing Lian Hua’s acupoints. Lian Hua was a stubborn bull in the truest sense. After he heard Ming Feizhen was a disciple of Mount Daluo, Lian Hua started using his own qi to wreck his meridians and erase his training. If he wasn’t stopped, he probably would’ve taken his own life, too. Had Ming Feizhen not covertly blocked Lian Hua’s meridians with his celestial spider silk, Lian Hua would’ve perished while Ming Feizhen was conversing with Fu Dalong.
Making eye contact with the confused monk, Ming Feizhen held his hands up in salute. “Shifu Lian Hua, Abbott Kongxu is the most respected man in the martial world. It was he who showed me the right way when I was on a self-destructive path. No matter what you have done, it would be my honour to carry any burdens you have. Monks are taught to practice benevolence and tolerance. Please do not be too harsh on yourself.”
Following comprehensive contemplation, Lian Hua softened his expression.
Crying, Fu Dalong expressed, “You put this old one to shame. It is so embarrassing to have been fooled by Feng Jiutian at this age.”
As a man not too good at expressing himself with words, Lian Hua clenched his tooth and shook his head. “Had it not been for your wisdom, we would have made a big mistake.”
“How did you know about the plot?”
Ming Feizhen smiled. “For starters, Feng Jiutian told me he desperately needed me to capture Bu Xusan, yet he has not urged me once since. When I first saw you two, I knew you deliberately showed up there to bait me in, which you yourselves reinforced when you tried to sneak attack me.”
Fu Dalong conveyed with admiration, “This old one had no idea you were aware we deliberately tried to catch you off guard.”
“Ever since I identified your backgrounds and saw your pretences, I knew that something was amiss. Your act that day was over the top. That was not because you are lacking as martial artists but because it went against your wills.” Seeing them both breathe breaths of relief, Ming Feizhen continued, “Based on my assessment, this is what I surmise: that day, you and Bu Xusan attacked me on his orders, but I didn’t follow you to Nine Heavens with Miss Ling. Arhat Lian deliberately tried to provoke her and even went as far as using uncouth language before turning back to me. Your plan was unexpectedly sabotaged when I came back as you tried to eliminate her. Elder Fu made a desperate attempt on my life due to the circumstances, but he failed. Therefore, he tried to reconcile with me.
“However, I took the reins and found Bu Xusan, who was preparing to catch me off guard. You went along with my tune and tried to take me out as a team of three. You two pretended to be hurt, but you were actually biding your time to catch me by surprise, not expecting me to abandon Miss Ling. As a result, you had no choice but to defeat her, disband your group of imposters and restart planning.”
They thought the plan was flawless when they heard it, never expecting to face challenges every step of the way, especially with Ming Feizhen going off script every time. Hearing him recount the strategy brought to their attention numerous flaws in the plan.
“You are correct.” Lian Hua solemnly elaborated, “Feng Jiutian fooled us into attacking you.”
“He must’ve made me sound distasteful to spur you two on to attack me?”
“Indeed,” answered Lian Hua. “He claimed you were a shameless official, a bully in gambling, a debauched man, a dine and dasher. After hearing you were gambling while lodging at the inn and seeing you abandon Miss Ling, we believed Feng Jiutian’s claims.”
Ming Feizhen suddenly found himself lost for words. While Feng Jiutian’s claims were exaggerated, those were things he had done before.
Fu Dalong grouched, “Now that I think about it, every place you went to was provided by him, yet he claimed you threatened him. How could he possibly care for small change considering Feng Clan’s wealth? I cannot believe we fell for his crocodile tears.”
“How did you two get acquainted with Feng Jiutian? I find it hard to believe you were interested in his money. Even if I was worse than how he described me, I believe you would not be willing to do someone’s dirty work.”
Beggars Sect was the biggest sect in existence. Though their members were scattered all over the lands, combined, they were large enough to topple huge powerhouses, which was why nobody dared to underestimate them. Elders of the sect were respected, led carefree lives and virtually never had to spend money. Shaolin disciples were even less interested in luxury. Plus, neither of them seemed to be the villainous type.
Fu Dalong sighed. “Had it not been for Bu Xusan, we would not need to take risks.”
“Bu Xusan?”
Fu Dalong smirked. “Not the one we worked with to attack you, but the real Bu Xusan.”
“I do not follow.”
“Feng Clan had an escort job a few months ago that they made a big deal out of despite the modest pay. As Beggars Sect owes them a favour, this old one took on the job since he is heading close to retirement and has no reputation in the pugilistic world. Master Lian also joined for similar reasons.”
Lian Hua bobbed his head. “I owe Feng Clan a favour, too, so I joined in on the job.”
“We did not expect to run into a kid who kept trying to hinder our escort job. Notwithstanding his tender age, he was clever in both mind and with his hands. Before we realised it, he had pinched an item.”
“Would that kid be Bu Xusan, Elder?”
“Indeed. It almost felt as if he had been training while he was in his mother’s womb. As we lost what we were tasked with protecting, we had to agree to help Feng Jiutian with three things to make it up to him. You have already deduced what happened next. Everything we have done, including our invitation today is to bait you in. While it is not a deed to brag about, his description of you riled this old man up. Now that he thinks about it, it seems that Feng Jiutian has been setting us up from the moment it was lost to harm you.”
Losing the product was an unexpected accident, but plotting everything subsequent to it around it was what made it believable. Had the target not been Ming Feizhen, it would’ve likely succeeded.
“I had no idea there were so many twists and turns. I was wondering why two people of your backgrounds would serve Feng Shanshan.”
Fu Dalong and Lian Hua lowered their heads in shame.
“You two need not worry. If you truly want to make amends, I have a favour to ask of you.”
The two responded, “We are at your service.”
“You need not make it sound like that. My request is simple. Please take me to the banquet.”
The two replied, “We cannot do that.”
“Why?”
Fu Dalong explained, “This old one does not know what designs Feng Jiutian has in mind, but none of his traps would be something to scoff at. This old one heard he has set up an inescapable trap to capture you. He has met the one posing as Bu Xusan, and he has morphed into something that can no longer be called human. While exterminating evil is important, the risks must be weighed out.”
“You are exceptionally strong, but two hands are hard to beat four. How about you bring your colleagues at Liu Shan Men? We can bring our brothers, as well.”
“The more convoluted, the better. If it is too straightforward, I would complain about his lack of creativity,” asserted Ming Feizhen. However, he had trouble convincing them to take him to the banquet, but then he had an idea. “It is reasonable for you to doubt my abilities. Test me.”
They didn’t dare to test Ming Feizhen when they knew he was stronger than them, not to mention the fact that he was a disciple of Mount Daluo.
Ming Feizhen picked up a pair of chopsticks. “You both displayed impressive skills that day. Allow me to provide you with some entertainment.”
Ming Feizhen plunged the chopsticks into the table. The table remained as smooth as it originally was. Lian Hua already did that, so it wasn’t miraculous by any means. Ming Feizhen then pulled the chopsticks out, which Fu Dalong already did, as well.
Ming Feizhen ran his hand over the table surface and smiled. “Please lead the way now.”
The two of them were so shocked that words failed them. He did what they did, but they wouldn’t have been able to retrieve the chopsticks from the table without bringing any of the table’s timber along, yet Ming Feizhen restored the table to its original state with a simple swipe of his hand as though it was magic.
Glossary
Wooden Alley – A place Shaolin disciples train.
Bronzeman – They are considered formidable monks from Shaolin Temple. There’s a very old movie on them if you’re interested titled 18 Bronzemen.
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