Ming Feizhen’s Minor Complaint
Rumours of a hot shot’s imminent wedding in Hangzhou were abounded. Supposedly, there was going to be an inferno from the heavens, shooting stars, sonorous cries, grilled birds, scratchy cats, biting dogs and more. There was no definitive answer for whether it was going to be held during the day or at night, if there was going to be a wedding or a barbeque. The rumours were bizarre to me. The more they spread and the further they spread, the more convinced I was that the situation was spiralling further out of control. Even the martial arts community in Hangzhou were behaving strangely.
It was as if all the oddities in the pugilistic world were convening in Hangzhou. Jingan’s sojourn palace was occupied immediately following her return to the capital. Hangzhou was overly crowded due to the wedding invitations drawing hordes of people in the martial world to the city. There were still people who had yet to arrive, yet the scale of it was as dramatic as the last event Luo Ming plotted at Luo Sword Manor already. On top of all that, there was rumour that Hua Yumeng was intoxicating every woman in Hangzhou with his greatness. Everything pointed to Hangzhou being suspicious, so I kept reminding myself that I had to exercise patience. The harder it was to explain a situation, the more likely it was to be a trap.
Hangzhou’s martial arts community had been normal for ages; how could it be in such a bewildering state in such a short time span? I was convinced that there was somebody rigging strings from the shadows to draw me in.
Sixth’s arrival was the last piece of the puzzle that I needed to form my blueprint. Shifu had laid the trap for me in Hangzhou and was waiting for me to trigger it while he was enjoying the embrace of ladies. It was definitely him!
I was being underestimated. No matter what sort of hell he had set up for me, I was untouchable for as long as I never stepped into the trap. Thus, I devised my ultimate plan: drift along aimlessly!
His Majesty gave me a few months’ time. As long as it was not yet time for me to take up my new post, I could stall in the capital. Thanks to Song Ou bringing his team back to Liu Shan Men, I could use him to kill some time. No matter how chaotic it was in Hangzhou, if Lass Yu tried to convince me to go, if Hangzhou’s martial arts community came under, or if someone snatched Jingan’s sojourn palace’s rights from here, I was not going to move from my seat…
Except for when these people came knowing.
“It is the last day today. When are you going to repay the money you owe?”
“Ahaha… SECOND!”
***
How was I supposed to know why Second had yet to send me any money when several days had passed already? I had not even received as much as a letter or oral message.
The debt collectors said that they would speak to my superior if I did not pay up. Why would I be against my superior paying my debts off for me? Therefore, I fled. That being said, I was a duke. While I was not a powerful duke, I was a duke, and I duke could not flee so embarrassingly, so I left a message for Su Xiao.
“Don’t you think you might as well not have left a message?” questioned Tang Ye.
“What makes you say so?” I replied.
“It makes you even more of an embarrassment.”
“Not my fault the money never arrived. What other option do I have besides letting Song Ou cover for now? Not everybody has hundreds of thousands to go around. Plus, if he’s paying, then we don’t have to feel burdened.”
Besides, Boss had left the capital, so there was nobody around to complain about me being embarrassing.
“Big Bro, we’ve left the capital for quite a while now. Where exactly are we going?”
I beamed with confidence. “We’re going to Hangzhou. As long as we move covertly, we won’t have to worry about alerting the enemy.”
“Hangzhou? Didn’t you say…”
“How many ages ago was that? That was then. The circumstances have changed.”
I was determined to not go to Hangzhou, but that was before the debt collector started heckling me. I had sent a letter to Night Fortress long ago. Given Second’s speed, he should have been able to deliver the valuables and money overnight so that I could show them why I was duke. Although Second was not always reliable, he was… could not always be relied on, but he was…
Why the heck have I been raising him?! Why did I believe that he could deliver the money in a timely manner? I should’ve known that trusting him with the money was the equivalent of burning it! Wait. Wait. Calm down. Let’s look at this again.
No matter how unreliable Second was, he would have responded to my letter. Even if the money was stolen, as long as he was breathing, he would have sent me a response. If he could not even do as much as reply to me, then the situation was extremely dire. Hence, I decided that I need to make a trip back to Night Fortress.
Second was strong enough to steamroll virtually anyone besides those who had reached Divine Realm. Even if he did face such strong opposition, considering our network and influence in Hangzhou, he should have been able to send help. Due to the pressing nature of the matter, I dragged Tang Ye along with me.
Tang Ye was looking for some sparring partners to perfect his two energies, so I dragged him along. The more people I had to bring along, the greater my burden would have been. That was the reason I ordered Su Xiao to catch up with everyone else later.
After travelling for half a day, I said, “We’re close now. Let’s dismount.”
“Why”
“Think about it. Considering how dashing I am, wouldn’t everyone recognise me as soon as I enter the city? What do I keep telling you? Keep a low profile. Change our appearance. Put on some makeup, and then change our clothes first.”
“Who are you disguising yourself as? And what about me?”
“I’ve thought about it already. I’ll be a rich young master out on a trip. My name will be Ming Feitan. You’re my bodyguard. You’re Jia Kenan. What do you reckon?”
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