Martial King's Retired Life

Legitimately Heartless

Ming Feizhen inwardly cursed upon gaining awareness of what he blurted. Had Jin Buhuan not advised him to remove his disguise, Bai Zhiqing probably would have attacked already. This was also the reason Ming Feizhen tried to avoid asking Bai Zhiqing directly.

“You want to see my wife?” Bai Zhiqing surveyed Ming Feizhen, seemingly impressed, and then nodded. “I acknowledge you have good judgement for realising my wife’s greatness, but you know she is married. Misplaced feelings will only beget misery, young man. Don’t feel down. Come, let us share a drink.”

“You misunderstand. I had something to consult Lady Bai on, but I was afraid of inconveniencing you, so I asked Patriarch Jin to act as a middle man to show my respect,” explained Ming Feizhen, feeling annoyed since Jin Buhuan’s jovial temperament showed the opposite of respect.

“Hmm? Something to consult her on?” Bai Zhiqing nodded with a smile. “Of course, of course, good on you, to recognise my wife’s unparalleled genius.”

By this point, Ming Feizhen had grasped how to communicate with Bai Zhiqing. No matter one’s affiliation, they were his friend when praising his wife.

Holding his hands in a propitious salute, Ming Feizhen said, “Lady Bai absolutely is a rare genius. I took an indirect approach as I did not want to be a nuisance. I am glad to hear you do not find offence with my approach.”

Bai Zhiqing laughed heartily. “Out of consideration of your great judgement, my friendship with your shifu and my niece’s love, whatever it is you want to ask, let’s… Let me hear what you want to ask first.”

Ming Feizhen’s knees nearly buckled. He wanted to find out what happened between his shifu and Lady Bai in the past. How was he supposed to bring that up in Bai Zhiqing’s presence? Nonetheless, Bai Zhiqing was his second shiniang’s uncle, so he could not just flip out. “I was going to ask… about what happened with my shifu back then.”

Jin Buhuan almost reactively whistled. Though Ming Feizhen’s glare deterred him, he could not hide his entertained look.

In contrast, Bai Zhiqing earnestly contemplated it before shaking his head. “Uh… Sorry. Brother… Your junior calls me Third Brother, so you might as well follow suit. Brother Ming, pardon me, but I can’t accept your request.”

Who would have accepted the request when it was his shifu who hit on Lady Bai? Hence, Ming Feizhen bowed his head and conveyed, “On behalf of my shifu, I apologise for the unbecoming act! He deserves all reprimand!”

Bai Zhiqing wagged his hand. “That’s not it. It’s mainly because my wife… Um, Patriarch Jin, would you be able to, you know?”

“Oh, sure.” Jin Buhuan went to stand guard outside the door.

“Close the door.”

“Sure.” Jin Buhuan shut the door behind him as he walked back to where he was before.

“I meant close the door on your way out.”

Jin Buhuan shrugged. “Man, just say it if you have something to say. Why beat around the bush?”

“Piss off. Get out. Bugger off.”

“Haha, sure, but he has to come with me.”

“Why?” asked Ming Feizhen.

Quietly, Jin Buhuan replied, “Have you forgotten that you just promised to bodyguard me? What if the assailant beheads me when I step out? Who’s going to be held responsible for my needless death?”

“I’ll avenge you, of course. Patriarch Jin, our wise predecessor said, a life without integrity is worth very little. Consider it an investment in integrity.”

“Are you sure that’s what he meant? You’re not going to throw me under the carriage after you’re done with me.”

“Fret not. I do not hold grudges. I avenge them on the spot because I do not have that much patience.”

Judging from Jin Buhuan’s attitude, it did not seem possible to convince him to give them space, so Ming Feizhen told Bai Zhiqing. “Let him have it his way. He is not the sort of man to let this sort of information go. It would save the hassle of correcting misinformation that he might go and spread, too.”

Whether it was due to his time as a merchant or an innate fetish, the more secretive information was, the more it piqued Jin Buhuan’s interest. If he was kicked out and missed out on the information, he would have spread the wrong rumours – likely out of spite. Thus, Bai Zhiqing conceded.

“I honestly don’t know a lot about what happened. We would need to ask my wife if we want the details, except she,” Bai Zhiqing kept his gaze on Jin Buhuan, who resembled a scholar drooling for knowledge, “except she… she…”

“Can you just…” Bai Zhiqing noticed an oddity between when he took his gaze off Jin Buhuan for a second and then looked back. Jin Buhuan was not maintaining his expression but frozen.

“I sealed his acupoint. He can’t hear now,” explained Ming Feizhen.

“Impressive. If I knew you were here, we wouldn’t have had to snoop around; you could be the bad guy.”

Ming Feizhen felt a strong urge to comment on the shameless characters of Bai Clan.

“My wife practiced a unique discipline from childhood that required an external catalyst. She couldn’t be emotionally invested or let her emotions sway, or she’d be subjected to excruciating pain that would be hard to remedy.”

“You’re referring to ‘Love is Pain’?”

“You know it? That makes this easy. The drug for it is not something anyone can handle. If you consume a small amount and give it time to remedy yourself, there won’t be a fatal risk. However, because she practiced it from childhood, her body had become one with it. While she has been able to neutralise the majority of it since she’s spent her entire lifetime with it, she’s pregnant now, so I’m worried that recalling the past will rouse her emotions.”

That was an enlightening and reasonable explanation. Given Bai Zhiqing’s straightforward character, it made sense that he was only hesitant to speak his mind on account of the risk his wife had to bear.

“In that case, I will not disturb her. Still, I hope you can enlighten me to what transpired. It is not something I am determined to know no matter the cost; I am just searching for clues to the inexplicable events unfolding.”

Bai Zhiqing uncharacteristically accepted the explanation as he, too, had the same idea. By extension, it verified that the harassment was attributed to her past and not a new grudge of some sort.

“While my wife and I have secluded ourselves at Valley of Yearning and only occasionally involved ourselves in worldly affairs, we have not formed any grudges. Therefore, I’m certain that anyone targeting her would be involved with her past. Speaking of the past, it’s not all related to your shifu. I may not know what you seek to find out. Are you still willing to listen?”

Ming Feizhen bitterly smiled. “I am so curious that it would keep me up tonight if I do not hear it.”

“Members of Mount Daluo certainly have inherited the love for gossip. I remember your shifu also loves listening to gossip; he’s the type to keep peanuts on him just in case someone starts sharing gossip. I believe Hero Shenzhou also loves gossip.”

“We would like to keep the tradition alive.” Ming Feizhen took out peanuts from his pocket.

Bai Zhiqing had witnessed enough Mount Daluo antics in his lifetime to be accustomed to Ming Feizhen’s response. Nevertheless, he needed some time to sift through the past and piece memories together.

“Mm… It was roughly twenty years ago. I had just escaped from Fiends’ Genesis… Escaped isn’t really the right word since I’d only be a set of bones by now if it wasn’t for Nine-lives Cat Fiend.”

Ming Feizhen had read about the romance between Bai Zhiqing and Nine-lives Cat Fiend in Black and White Reflection, but he was mindless enough to question the involved parties.

Bai Zhiqing cracked a smile. “Well, it doesn’t matter if I don’t exist in the pugilistic world. It’s not as if the world stops moving just because Bai Zhiqing doesn’t exist. Brother Ming, never forget that the world will move on with or without you. Don’t think of yourself as irreplaceable. I know some people who believe the world needs them, yet they let people around them down. I can see you treading the same path, so I wish to talk you out of it. In the end, you’ll let everyone down, and you’ll be the only one to suffer from regret.”

“You do not have to worry about that. I have no sense of duty, so I will not make the same mistake.”

Bai Zhiqing thumped his chest and then flicked up a thumb. “Great. You have guts. You qualify as heartless.”

“You flatter me.”

Bai Zhiqing spent a moment digging up memories again. “My young self wanted to make a name for himself, which was why I exhausted all means to join the expedition. Frankly, I had no clue what wrongs Fiends’ Genesis committed; or rather, I didn’t care. I just wanted to prove myself to my two elder brothers. In that campaign… I had my most unforgettable encounter.”