Ming Feizhen shook his head. “You couldn’t have missed the notice when I placed it in a conspicuous spot of your room… Did I get the wrong room? Who’s room did I put it in, then?”
“Mine.”
Hua Qing and Ming Feizhen both flinched when they espied the top half of Su Li’s face as she climbed up the ladder.
During Ming Feizhen’s stay on Mount Wudang, he spent his first year all alone in a dark room. In his first year, he wasn’t concerned with controlling the immense power inside him; he was purely looking to survive. The only thing he could do whilst in seclusion was perform experiments with his true qi to entertain himself. Among the experiments he tried, one of them was trying to decipher his environment without relying on visual information. His exceptional hearing was the result of not being able to view his condition, upgrading his internal energy potency and the experience of his “soul” separating from his body.
Drawing visual clues from something one’s eyes couldn’t be as reliable as relying on audible information.
Ming Feizhen’s subjects were the vast variety of animals on the mountain. Obviously, the volume and variety was a difficult subject for a beginner. Once he grasped it, though, listening in to human beings was unbelievably easier. By extension, sneak attacking him was borderline impossible. However, owing to the prolonged period of living in a secure environment, he often subconsciously missed information that his ears couldn’t pick up. For that reason, he almost reactively kicked Su Li’s head when she startled him with her arrival.
Su Li giddily found herself a spot to sit. “What are you two acting all suspicious for?”
Hua Qing; “Uh, we, uh, well, as the men of old say, gazing at the moon before bed is a m-”
“We’re talking about today’s meal,” Ming Feizhen interrupted.
Su Li brushed her hair. “… You believe Hero Zhuo is suspicious?”
Hua Qing: “Eh? What makes you say that, Miss Su?”
Su Li lowered her head. “I-I-I was just asking.”
Ming Feizhen: “Exceedingly suspicious.”
“Thought so.”
“Even you think he’s shady, Miss Su?”
Su Li, unable to handle speaking in front of men yet, meekly replied, “Not initially. When Ming Feizhen examined his ledger, though, I felt sceptical about something. My family used to run businesses, and I used to like tagging along with my dad. My mother entrusted a few stores to me once I was older since she knew I couldn’t sit still. I don’t think I’m bad, and I do like business, but I can’t be as meticulous and organised as Hero Zhuo, let alone for three years. I’m under the impression that he prepared the ledgers beforehand.”
Hua Qing: “That can’t be right. We only met them by chance today. Until today, nobody knew where we were. Plus, who would’ve expected Ming Feizhen to ask for the ledgers?”
Su Li: “What if it wasn’t prepared for us?”
“Can you elaborate?”
“For instance… what if somebody finds him dubious and is investigating him?”
Hua Qing: “That’s… also unlikely. Let’s someone is investigating him. Regardless of what their reason is, they’d investigate him secretly, which voids the purpose preparing his ledger beforehand.”
“What if they’re openly investigating him? What if they’re somebody he can’t just turn away?”
“Liu Shan Men!”
Su Li bobbed her head. “That’s why I came to see you two after I saw Ming Feizhen’s note. Disclaimer: I’m not suggesting Hero Zhuo is a bad man. Numbers that don’t add up in a business ledger is the norm. I don’t think my family is an exception, either. Being as detailed and precise as Hero Zhuo is just excessive to the point that it’s dubious, however.”
“… To tell the truth, I also noticed something but didn’t mention it because Yanran was there. When I recounted the events, Hero Zhuo didn’t mention Repository Jade even once. At first, I thought that was just in his chivalrous nature, so I was happy. Nevertheless, when I had time to reflect, it didn’t make sense. Repository Jade was the catalyst for Master Xu’s death. The more you try to hide a secret, the more obvious it is. The selfless impression he created was overkill.”
Stricken with fear, Su Li instinctively shifted closer to Hua Qing, causing him to blurt, “Smells so nice.”
The two of them fell into an awkward silence until Ming Feizhen, who didn’t give a toss for atmosphere, opined, “I, too, find him suspicious.”
Hua Qing cleared his throat. “In what ways?”
Ming Feizhen stared at his hands: “How did I lose to him?”
Su Li and Hua Qing were utterly speechless.
Shaking his head profusely, Ming Feizhen repeated, “Impossible. Impossible. Impossible…”
“You got stomped! You just can’t accept it! You’re just picking on him!”
“No, no, no, no…” Ming Feizhen shook his head maniacally again. “No, no, no, no…”
“You broken? Need me to snap you back in place?”
“Wh-wh-what do you I mean I can’t accept it? Th-think of something else me.”
“You’re also in denial!”
“Your misunderstanding is a product of you not knowing my true thoughts.”
“Which are?”
Ming Feizhen gnashed his teeth. “The jerk dared to beat me.”
“You still can’t accept it!”
“Whatever the reason, I can’t trust him. We can’t rely on him to solve our problems. I called you here to tell you that we have to take matters into our own hands.”
“So, what is the plan?”
“Now that Miguo Branch knows where you are, they’re definitely plotting their next move.”
“So, what is our plan?”
“Simple. We’ll knock on their doors. Give them a problem before they can give us one.”
