“At ease.”
Zhuo Fengru didn’t raise his head. “This one could not greet you before due to his son’s presence. Please pardon this one.”
“Hohoho, it’s fine. It was surprisingly pleasant to watch Zhuo Clan’s strict education.”
“This one apologises for the shameful display. We have four rendezvous points at Yichang. What urgency required you to come here?”
“Zhuo Fengru, you grow more audacious by the day, don’t you? Does His Excellency require your permission to deliver orders now?”
“This one absolutely did not mean that. However, there are a lot of outsiders at this one’s place at the moment. The young Ming boy is particularly strong. This one is afraid he will notice something… His Excellency has orders?”
“I am here to deliver them.”
Zhuo Fengru bowed his head whilst holding his hands in salute. “This one is at your service.”
It might be unbelievable now, but Zhuo Fengru did raid Shennong all alone with one sword. Any witnesses to the trail of slaughter he left in the forest would revere Lord Miguo even more.
Despite the years of serving Lord Miguo, the apostle never understood the wild ideas that Lord Miguo harboured – just as he had yet to understand what Lord Miguo did to or gave Zhuo Fengru to have the latter figuratively bending the knee.
“He wants you to begin capturing people in the martial world for him. Once he gets back the sarira, they’ll be the first serving of nourishment.”
Zhuo Fengru raised his head up vigorously. “One of the three conditions this one agreed on with His Excellency was that this one would not have to harm his friends in the martial world? Is this not a violation of our agreement?!”
“I, too, think it’s far too much. So, am I to understand you are defying orders?”
Zhuo Fengru’s actions showed he was tentative. “… This one just hopes His Excellency will honour his promise.”
“I’m not privy to what he promised you. I do know very well what he told me, however.”
In spite of Zhuo Fengru’s antagonistic aura, the apostle knew Zhuo Fengru wouldn’t try anything as he would’ve already attacked if he dared to.
“… You need not be so tense. All His Excellency seeks is power; he isn’t forcing you to kill family and friends. If you wish, you can choose your enemy. How about… Liu Shan Men’s Xin Buyi?”
“Though we don’t get along, he is unquestionably a good man, not to mention he is one of Liu Shan Men’s thirteen best constables. If we touch him, those two will get involved.”
“By those two, you mean Yan Shisan and Shen Wuzheng? They’re already looking into us. When I say that, I don’t mean he’s just coming around to check our ledger but borderline harassment. Shen Wuzheng was spotted at Shennong recently. Get my drift?”
Yan Shisan typically acted only as leader of Liu Shan Men, only personally and covertly doing field work if a case threatened the peace of the nation.
If Shen Wuzheng was involved, then it was the equivalent of a martial-law alert in the pugilistic world. As a show of respect to Shen Clan’s contributions, Shen Wuzheng’s martial prowess and status as Emperor Yuansheng’s sworn brother, some people nicknamed him Shen Tangseng. Liu Shan Men tried to stop the nickname spreading to no avail. As for Shen Wuzheng, he once laughed when he heard about it, then never mentioned it again.
Since Shen Wuzheng had visited Shennong, it could only mean that Liu Shan Men’s lax attitude toward Miguo Branch until now was a façade.
“His Excellency wants this one to assassinate Shen Wuzheng?! That is impossible!” Zhuo Fengru didn’t need the apostle to explicate what the order was when he had personally dropped into his home and hinted at assassinating Xin Buyi.
“And now you’re worried about His Excellency’s safety?”
“Of course not!”
“… There was no need to be so frank.”
Zhuo Fengru dryly coughed. “Consider it a slip of the tongue. Whatever the case, His Excellency best forget about it. Miguo Branch cannot bear the consequences of accosting Liu Shan Men. So what if he visits? Miguo Branch has plenty of bases. Just move out of Shennong. Why exert yourself and take unnecessary risks?”
“Shennong can’t be abandoned. If we leave Shennong, Lord Wugou will regain freedom. Once he returns to the Western Regions, we will become extermination targets of Lotus Cult. That’s significantly scarier than Liu Shan Men. Besides, Yan Shisan’s current whereabouts are unknown. Demon Sect is gradually growing in the Central Plain, while he is only one man.”
“Still, even if Shen Wuzheng is acting alone, it is rumoured he is on par with Supreme Ten Saints. While His Excellency is formidable, m-”
“That’s why I’m here. His Excellence is only a hair breadth away from Supreme Ten Saints; he will need the sarira to deal with Shen Wuzheng and Yan Shisan. That’s why we’ve been doing everything in our power to find Hua Feihua. We didn’t expect you to be so devoted to your old friend that you’ve let Hua Feihua roam free.”
“That is actually an erroneous presumption.” Zhuo Fengru bitterly smiled. “In truth, this one sees no opportunity to proceed. The young boy is always accompanying Hua Feihua. He even captured your members, did he not?”
“Hmm… While we are on that topic, I was going to ask you who the boy is. Based on my observations, he’s incredibly skilled and eccentric, but I can’t determine his lineage.”
“This one is not sure, either. Indeed, he is incredibly skilled, which can only mean he is the student of a reputable teacher. Accordingly, he should be the disciple of a prominent sect.”
“I agree. I’ve come across more adepts from famous sects than I can remember. I theorise he is a disciple of…”
In unison, they stated, “Shaolin,” “Wudang.”
Both of them: “What?”
Glossary
Tangseng – Technically written “Tang Seng”, the courtesy name of Tang Sanzang (Journey to the West). He was the sworn brother of Emperor Taizong.
