Martial King's Retired Life

The Blast from the Past

The only viewer who was not confused was Ming Feizhen. He did not want to hurt just Hua Yumeng; he wanted to hurt the two young masters, too. To be fair, they had no intention of sabotaging him. To the contrary, they wanted to ingratiate themselves with him. They knew the adept was not travelling incognito for adopting sons. There was a problem, though. How were they to divide the amount of contribution if they hit him at the same time? It would be ridiculous for him to be a father to both of them, would it not? Thus, the most appropriate tactic was to take out the opponent first so that they could ensure their adoption. Never did they think their rival would think of the same ploy and give all the glory Ming Feizhen never wanted to him.

Since Ming Feizhen had his hearing turned up to maximum capacity, he heard the banker’s thoughts – it was not a bad thing to help Song Yanluo win, but the money did not go into his pockets. No matter how much he wanted to leave or go beat up the two, he had no legitimate excuse to leave the ring. That said, Proprietor Chen had even less of an excuse to leave the ring.

Proprietor Chen showed why he was one of the most successful businessmen in Hangzhou when he approached Ming Feizhen without any animosity. “Your name will soon be known throughout Hangzhou. There will be a big banquet tomorrow and moon gazing event at Moonward Pavillion for you. Remember to come.”

Even though he could hear all the curses aimed at him and the two families’ – and their allies – shouting at each other, Ming Feizhen continued searching for Hua Yumeng. Unfortunately, there was no trace whatsoever. He was sure that Hua Yumeng did not appear again, which implied that Hua Yumeng was not utilising his true qi. In that case, he was not going to show himself again. That said, knowing Hua Yumeng’s habits, he was guaranteed to show up as long as Ming Feizhen stayed by the target’s side, so there was tomorrow night. Hence, Ming Feizhen replied, “Does Moonward Pavillion refer to the tallest building here? Is that building not called Jade Moon Pavillion? Has the name changed the last few years I was gone?”

Proprietor Chen’s eyes flew open. “Y-you are…”

Seven years ago, Proprietor Chen’s business had yet to rise to the top of the cuisine food chain, and he wanted to invite some notable guests to elevate his business as part of his growth plan. Alas, only undesirable guests visited. Even Eagle Broadswordman and Wolf Swordsman were unwilling to yield; they had just joined Night Fortress at the time and demanded an exorbitant 200 taels per showing, not to mention they had to be invited together. They also refused to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony as well as demanded staff pick them up and escort them home. Consequently, Proprietor Chen spent a large sum to host a relatively famous individual’s birthday banquet.

The aforementioned guest’s birthday was still months away, but he paid enough, and modifying one’s birth date was nothing rare. Regrettably, the customer was a handful. The uncultured customer hosted ten banquets over the course of ten consecutive days, refused to leave, assaulted anyone who tried to stop him and demanded ownership of half of the business. Despite knowing what the barbarian was plotting, Proprietor Chen could only watch his clerk be assaulted daily, watch the barbarian barge into rooms under the disguise of being intoxicated and even barge into his daughter’s room.

At the same time all that took place, Proprietor Chen caught a young man attempting to dine and dash, but he let the young man go since he had a distinctly-dashing appearance. The honest-to-a-fault young man was forced to leave a valuable and then return with payment; however, he sincerely explained that his family back home was poorer than him who was wandering outside, although he was happy to leave a valuable item. The young man snatched a brush from a scholar next to him and, without dipping it into ink, wrote on the wooden table “White Jade Moon”. The hairs were obviously too soft to deal harm, let alone carve text onto a wooden table, yet they were perfectly displayed on the table as if he wrote on paper. Proprietor Chen had yet to snap back to reality and pick up his jaw from the floor after the young man departed.

As impressive as the writing was, it attracted all sorts of people. One person criticised the lack of strength in the writer’s hand. Another criticised the lack of style. One person jumped onto the table and stomped on it to see if the table was made out of flour. Two days later, everyone who desecrated or insulted the table over the last two days returned to apologise. Those who sabotaged the business after being invited acted as if they had sobered up all of a sudden. Not only did they speak cordially, but they even compensated all of their expenses and damages by twice the amount. The unbearable customer left, then returned with a broken leg and loudly announced all of his misdeeds while he was a customer, and then he listed off all of his lifetime’s misdeeds before leaving, never saying a word to anyone in the process.

After the customer left, business suddenly boomed. Oddly, the majority of new customers were folks of the pugilistic world, yet not one of them ever caused trouble; their behaviour was arguably even nicer than the most affable customers. Putting it down to the three characters on the table, Proprietor Chen had someone remove the table surface, framed and mounted. Henceforth, the building was named “Jade Moon Pavillion”. Later on, he learnt that the young man who wrote the characters was the master of Night Fortress, which was the reason he gave their members generous discounts on their orders – virtually free dining. Regrettably, Night Fortress’ master had yet to enjoy the benefit.

Speaking in a shaky voice, Proprietor Chen asked, “Night Fortress’ master, is that you?”

“Keep your voice down.” Ming Feizhen was not delusional enough to think that he was the only person in the world who could hear over a long radius, not to mention someone who had reached Divine Realm. “It wasn’t an easy journey back. My enemy is sneaking around here. If things escalate into a fight, please pardon me.”

“Should you require it, feel free to tear down the buildings,” replied Proprietor Chen, smiling. He was no longer the upstart he once was, and he had adopted a heroic spirit due to his frequent interactions with folks from the pugilistic world. “I must also inform you that I am in the process of building an even taller upscale restaurant on the west side. I will be placing your calligraphy masterpiece there and naming it ‘Jade Moon Pavillion’. As such, this place will be renamed to ‘Moonward Pavillion’.”

Smiling back, Ming Feizhen said, “It is nothing worth remembering, yet you have remembered it all these years. I appreciate the sentiment.”

“It may not be skin off your back, but it is a blessing to me.”

Ming Feizhen always found it a hassle to deal with being expressing gratitude, so he avoided dining at Lionwood Court. He had to go this time since he had no better alternative.

“I don’t want to stand out. There’s bound to be chaos soon. Please help me escape inconspicuously when it happens.”

“I understand.” Smiling, Proprietor Chen continued, “It is only natural that they wish to ingratiate themselves with you after witnessing your victory. Protecting your standards and principles instead of mingling with everyone seeking your attention, that is most worthy of learning from.”

“Uh…”

Hearing the ruckus from the displeased audience in the back, Proprietor Chen turned to face the martial artists and wagged his hand as he conveyed, “Calm down. Zhench-, Mr. Zhenchou doesn’t like to converse with people he doesn’t know. I understand your admiration, but…”

“Admire, my foot! Tell him to walk his behind over here!”

“What?”

No matter who won between Li Shoulin and Lu Jianqiu, one side was bound to attack the other side, and now Ming Feizhen had become the enemy of both teams.

“Who the hell does that ugly freak think he is? The two clearly fell out on their own. He’s not even qualified to be up there.”

“Where is he? I’ll skin him right now.”

“I want to scatter his ashes.”

“I want to throw him off the building so that he shatters into dust!”

Proprietor Chen’s cheeks twitched before he forced a dry chuckle as he recalled the scene of Ming Feizhen writing the three letters onto the table. “You can make whatever demands you please. Most importantly, though, leave behind your esteemed names and desires one by one. When I have time to pay him a visit, I will pass your messages on.”

It was far easier to explain himself with Proprietor Chen’s mediation. Meanwhile, Ming Feizhen sneaked off to a room.

Hua Yumeng had perfectly hidden his presence, but he was eventually going to approach his target during an inevitable fiasco. Therefore, Ming Feizhen went to seek help from the person in the room. Upon arrival, Ming Feizhen removed his mask, wiped away his makeup and asked the perplexed elder, “Patriarch Jin, do you still remember me?”