Once he completed a visual lap of the surroundings, Kongcang approached Hua Qing and, in a melancholic demeanour, queried, “Why did they fight?”
“Uh, ask me that question again once I figure out the answer for myself.”
“Understood.”
Although he was smiling on the surface, Kongcang deliberately approached Hua Qing, hoping to find an opportunity to make off with the relic and use Hua Qing as a hostage if a physical confrontation was inexorable. Hua Qing was an insignificant pawn in the whole plan; he shouldn’t have even been on the board since he was the typical character who should’ve died a forgetful death, but he happened to come into possession of the sarira. He would’ve been a useless hostage if it wasn’t for the relic.
Ming Feizhen slouched into a chair he pulled over, apparently sore and spent. “He’s finally admitted the skills he employed to make a name for himself all these years are stolen from Xu Clan’s ‘Aerial Flower Divine Seal’. This is the result of our fight.”
Kongcang took a glance at Zhuo Fengru. “Are you all right, young hero? May this one check your injuries?” He went over finger jabbed a series of spots on Ming Feizhen’s left arm, stopping three inches away from the first spot.
“Your examination method is quite advanced, old monk,” Ming Feizhen remarked.
“This is a method this one’s late junior came up with. Not only was he adept at martial arts but also had a heart of a gold. To say he is a hero is absolutely fair.” Speaking with a bitter smile, Kongcang continued, “Even though he has entered samsara, this one still misses him. Sword qi damaged your meridians, so it will take some effort to recover. Luckily, you have a Buddhist discipline supporting you. You will be fine as long as the uncontrolled true qi is controlled.”
“In that case, save your breath and deal with Old Zhuo.”
“But…” While he showed concern on his face, Kongcang was sneering inside, glad Ming Feizhen said those words.
“As a monk, benevolence is your principle, but my shifu taught me that people won’t submit if you don’t hit them while they are down. I’m going to exercise that now.” Ming Feizhen sprung out of his chair, but he wobbled. “The heck? It’s like I’m drunken.”
Ming Feizhen shook his head vigorously, then pulled up Zhuo Fengru. Instead of finishing Zhuo Fengru as Kongcang hoped, however, he palmed Zhuo Fengru on the back, using his hand as a medium to siphon true qi over.
Zhuo Fengru’s spirit gradually returned to him thanks to Ming Feizhen. He seemed fine as he scanned his surroundings until Kongcang’s appearance stretched his eyes wide.
“Oi, Zhuo Fengru, you lost to me, so you can talk now, yeah? What are you hiding? How did you link up with Lord Miguo?” questioned Ming Feizhen. “Fess up now. Else, you can take your secrets with you to hell.”
“… You won. What’s with all the drivel?”
“Tough guy, eh?” Ming Feizhen frowned, accelerating Kongcang’s heart rate. “If you were a wuss, I wouldn’t have spent so much time on you. If you’re not going to talk… I’ll start guessing.”
“What do you want?”
Ming Feizhen retreated to his chair, but he never took his eyes off Zhuo Fengru. “Zhuo Yupin isn’t your biological son, is he?”
Everyone started, while Kongcang scoffed at the conjecture inwardly. Lord Miguo blackmailed Zhuo Fengru with Zhuo Yupin’s life. Why would Zhuo Fengru submit to them if Zhuo Yupin wasn’t his biological son?
“Ming Feizhen! I respect you as a worthy opponent, but that doesn’t warrant this libel!”
“Save it. You knew I already realised it when you learnt I asked Liu Shan Men to investigate you, didn’t you? You aren’t riled up because you’re worried outsiders know but your real child here finding out.”
Kongcang’s confidence started to sway.
Zhuo Fengru, keeping his jaws locked tight for a while, eventually heaved a breath. “Why are you asking when you already know?”
“I’m not interested in meddling with your family affairs. Unfortunately, some fussy person insists I get to the bottom of it, right, Hua Gezi?”
Hua Qing nodded solemnly.
Su Li voiced, “Young Master Hua, you…”
Hua Qing deployed another head bob. “Yes, it’s me.”
“You’re Hero Zhuo’s illegitimate son?”
“Yes! I mean, no! No, I’m not! My dad used to sell duck eggs at a street stall. Although he really did sell salted duck eggs when I was a kid, I really do love him! I was referring to this secret.”
“It’s not you?!”
“Why would it be me?! Even you, Shifu?! Zhuo Fengru, stop with the ‘I’m so pitiable’ act! You know it’s not me!”
“It’s Xu Yanran,” Ming Feizhen asserted emotionlessly. “Xu Yanran is your biological daughter.”
Zhuo Fengru’s hunched body shuddered.
Xu Yanran slowly and indifferently lowered her head. “… How did you find out?”
“I never suspected it, but you and your wife are too kind to Yanran. I initially thought you were nice to her because she’s your old friend’s daughter and future daughter-in-law. As I observed more and more, though, I noticed that Lady Zhuo is really cold to Zhuo Yupin, yet she virtually treats Yanran as a daughter. That was when I started having wild suspicions.
“I noticed Zhuo Yupin doesn’t resemble you or Lady Zhuo whatsoever. Lady Zhuo is a belle, while you resemble a demented bear cub. In contrast, Zhuo Yupin is neither ugly nor handsome. Xu Yanran, on the other hand, somewhat bears a resemblance to Lady Zhuo.
“My shifu taught me, if you want to find the truth, you need to be stubborn and shameless. As I assumed, Zhuo Yupin was already three years old when you moved here to Yichang. Your neighbours never saw Lady Zhuo pregnant or know where your family used to reside. For that reason, I came up with a new hypothesis: your families exchanged children. Zhuo Yupin, therefore, should be the only and true descendent of Intelligence Branch.”
Glossary
Exchanging children – This isn’t something done out of hatred. It’s an old practice that Mencius is credited with. I’m not going to go in depth because each sentence would take a paragraph to convey in English (welcome to archaic Chinese). He argued that a parent can’t educate their child due to their emotional attachments. More specifically, eons ago, parents wanted daughters to become “phoenixes” and sons to become “dragons”. If a child wants to play Genshin Impact, their parents will strictly prohibit them. The parents’ friends, on the other hand, will be more logical, so they won’t be as strict. They might say, “Well, you’ve translated three chapters, so you can play for an hour.” He argued there’s a grey area between strict and loose that parents struggle to gauge due to their emotional attachments.
