“What I said? What’s wrong with what I said?!” inquired Hua Qing.
Su Li added, “I’ve heard about him, as well. Although he isn’t among the most famous people, he doesn’t have a poor reputation and is quite respected.”
“Not having any problems doesn’t earn you respect. Being able to hide your blemishes does.” Ming Feizhen continued, “My shifu said, a man with no skill labelling himself a hero can’t be good news. He doesn’t care for profit and fame, you say? Yet you know everything he’s done. Doesn’t care for profit and fame, yet he’s afraid the world doesn’t know. How many villains has he killed? How many good deeds has he done? If you can answer, how is he someone who doesn’t care for fame and profit? Money is manure to him, yet he somehow has so much to spare that he can donate large sums? Money must be growing legs and walking to his place.
“Moreover, he’s the only outsider to know Xu Clan has a treasured artefact. If there isn’t a snitch in the household, there’s a snitch outside of the household. As you said, the only survivor of Xu Clan is the youngest daughter. You’re not going to tell me she snitched, are you?”
“Of course not. She wouldn’t kill her father.”
“So, who are you left with?”
Hua Qing didn’t answer. Despite the bold speculation, there’s no smoke without fire. Nobody knew who revealed the existence of Repository Jade to the outside world. Nonetheless, speculation was only speculation. It was the same as framing someone if one accused another without evidence.
Ming Feizhen flipped through a small book he kept in his shirt, stopping at a certain page and jeering, “Told you he’s bad news.”
“What are you looking at?”
Ming Feizhen held up the handbook now covered in his oily fingerprints. “Before dumping me on Mount Wudang, my shifu wrote this guide for me so that I know who not to offend and who to befriend. Your buddy is rank seventeen in the ’99% Chance Likely to be Rubbish’ category.”
The only information Ming Feizhen had on the people in the guide was the names of people – unless the ranking categories he put the names in counted as information.
Elite martial artists with fame and the strength to hold their own wait even in gang fights, such as the Supreme Ten Saints, were listed under “Don’t start with them no matter what”.
The backbones of the martial world was divided into three categories, specifically “Has a Promising Future”, “Honest and Innocent For You to Burn Them as Firewood” and “99% Likely to be Rubbish”.
As for the category labelled “Crush Their Crotch as Soon as You Meet Them”, most of it was illegible. Hua Qing didn’t want to risk his life reading it after seeing “Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary” on the list.
“… Your shifu doesn’t want you accosting people? I’m pretty sure he’s offended the majority of the martial world with this book.”
”Heh, joke’s on you. You think my shifu needs this flimsy, shoddy handbook to offend his fellow martial artist? Wherever he goes, daggers are flying at him.”
“…”
Ming Feizhen shut the book. “By all means, you can visit the trash, but it’ll be a miracle if you last an hour should you carry Repository Jade on you. You’ll have a bunch of bandits taking turns hacking you. Meanwhile, if Zhuo What’s-his-face isn’t coincidentally out, he’ll have coincidentally just gotten hurt badly in a fight with bandits and will need several days to rest, if not on the day. Right after you’ve been hacked to pieces, he’ll suddenly recover and kill all the bandits. As for Repository Jade, it’ll have mysteriously disappeared; 99.9% chance that it was lost in the scuffle, or the bandits’ cohorts embezzled it. Either way, it had nothing to do with Zhuo What’s-his-face.”
Hua Qing felt as though he heard Ming Feizhen’s words with his ears and felt it with his body. Although there was no proof, he had no counterargument.
Su Li uttered, “Ming Feizhen, I have a question.”
“Which is?”
“Since the accusations of Young Master Hua are unfounded, why are they targeting me?”
Even if they didn’t know Su Li’s background, she had an attendant accompanying her at all times and plenty of money on her. Experienced criminals in the pugilistic world would, therefore, immediately start monitoring her. By the same account, most of them would discern she hailed from a wealthy family at first glance. Why go for such a tough target to frame someone who already had a tarnished name, though? There were plenty of opportunities to rob a defenceless maiden.
“You ask a good question, but I don’t hold the answer.” Ming Feizhen supinated his hands. “I don’t know them; how should I know what standards they use to select their victims? Whatever the case, there shouldn’t be any surprises. Either you’re important to Lord Miguo or you’re important to Zhuo What’s-his-face. Either way, you’re useful, though I don’t know what for. All I can be sure of is that it won’t be because you’re pretty.”
In response to Ming Feizhen ascribing the word “useful” to her, Su Li quietly grumbled, “Naughty boy…”
“You’re barely older than me, I bet.” Ming Feizhen then asked Hua Qing, “Oi, you made up your mind yet?”
Hua Qing answered, “… I still want to see Hero Zhuo… I don’t have any idea where this Lord Miguo is. Regardless of whether Hero Zhuo is a good or bad man, my innocence, or lack thereof, starts with him. Besides, I just don’t believe he… In any case, I won’t believe it until I see it.”
“Fine by me. Go ahead.” Ming Feizhen pointed to the ground. “What are you going to do about those three?”
Hua Qing sighed. “I guess, throw them overboard while it’s dark and then scrub the floor.”
It was almost daybreak by the time the trio finished their chat. Since none of them could pilot a ship, they were stuck until the crew came to. While Hua Qing was hard at work on cleaning, Su Li could only fetch water and tackle other light tasks since she had people waiting on her all her life. As for Ming Feizhen, he already fell asleep in a chair out of boredom.
As Hua Qing scrubbed, he stole ganders Ming Feizhen’s way every now and then, wondering what sort of environment Ming Feizhen grew up in to become the sort of youth he was. Over the last year, Hua Qing had witnessed darkness he didn’t think was possible, and that darkness was soon going to also target Su Li in addition to Ming Feizhen. No matter how he sliced it, Ming Feizhen was still a kid. Expecting a kid to take on the menace that he had no answer for was beyond daunting.
“Ming Feizhen?” Hua Qing called.
“Hmm?” Ming Feizhen kept his eyes closed.
“You mentioned payment. Guarding me… and Miss Su will pit you against many members of the martial world; you won’t be able to cruise to the finish line. Tell me what you want now. I’m not giving you the chance to ask for something preposterous after the job.”
Coming back with new water, Su Li chimed in. “He’s right. At the same time, we can’t demand free labour. What is it that you want?” In other words, “I’m confident I can give you whatever it is you want.”
Ming Feizhen opened his eyes. “… Nothing, really. All I want is good alcohol and food. I can find them myself. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you can find anything better than what I can find.”
They expected Ming Feizhen to be a money grubber. Hearing him sound similar to old men tired of the world brought an upward curve to Su Li’s lips.
“So you don’t want anything now? You were the one who says he doesn’t perform free labour.”
“Not entirely. I’m not helping you for my sake but the sake of the mission entrusted to me. I’m roaming the pugilistic world to complete a challenge my shifu gave me. Why else would I want to be on this shabby ship?”
Thinking back on Ming Feizhen’s beggar character, Hua Qing figured the boy really must’ve been tackling some challenge, though the specifics alluded him.
Su Li queried, “What task did you shifu give you? Is it tough?”
“Very. You two should be able to help me, nevertheless.”
Su Li: “What is the task, specifically?”
“… When I was younger, I asked my shifu, why do we learn martial arts? My shifu mused over the question for a long time before giving me his deep three word answer.”
Eager to hear what profound answer was given, Su Li and Hua Qing exchanged eye contact, then held their hands in a salute. “May we ask what your ambition is?”
Ming Feizhen gazed to the stars. “Money and women.”
