Kongcang jerked awake. “Wh-what do you want?”
Ming Feizhen held up the invitation in his hand. “You’re the one who came up with this bright idea, aren’t you?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Ming Feizhen drove his foot into Kongcang’s face. “You sure you want to play this game?”
Kongcang, trying to stop blood spilling from his nose, responded, “St-stop it. Technically speaking, I’m your uncle.”
“I’m about to be your maker!” Ming Feizhen turned Kongcang’s face sideways with a spinning hook kick.
Bleeding from his mouth, Kongcang replied, “L-let’s talk this out… Stop the assault.”
Su Li: “Ming Feizhen, there’s no point in beating him. You need to question him.”
Xin Buyi elucidated, “Miss, it’s called establishing your roles. Another name for it is ‘caning the suspect fifteen times before granting an audience with the official’. Only once his bravado has been shut down will he tell the truth.”
“That’s not right in this context. I have another reason for beating him.” Ming Feizhen, staring holes into Kongcang, elaborated, “I don’t like the way he looks.”
“Doesn’t that just make it a personal vendetta?!”
Ming Feizhen shook his head whilst waving the invitation. “There’s this, too. Since he wants to set Hero Zhuo and me up, there’s no doubt he wants to have Hero Zhuo and I hurt each other for his enjoyment. Therefore, there’s no need to take a hostage. I surmise this is a backup command he passed on to his subordinate after he left the restaurant and realised I was pretending.”
“Doesn’t matter if you know that much. I didn’t write the invitation; Lord Miguo wrote it.”
“No wonder why it looks like someone wrote it with his foot. This is culture blasphemy, you traitor!” Ming Feizhen stomped Kongcang’s face into the dirt.
They say Shaolin’s monks self-imposed harshness to train themselves, but Kongcang easily ate more dirt, literally, than any monk ever did.
Kongcang: Why is it my fault that his handwriting is ugly?!
Hua Qing: “Give him a break before you hit him again. You’ve only been doing the torture part, not the questioning part.”
Once he recovered, Kongcang looked around at everyone’s reactions. “… I see.” He sat up, then continued, “Hahaha, they succeeded, I see. Yeah, it was me. You think I just ate, drank and slept for all these years? I always have a backup plan. I had my men kidnap your family when I first left the restaurant. How else would I make you lot submit?”
“All it takes is a blank for you to contrive something, huh?” On a rare occasion, Xin Buyi praised, “Pretty fast, huh? You really are a bloody genius.”
“Thanks for pointing out the obvious. Regrettably, there was a minor slipup. His Excellency truly possesses great foresight to predict my hiccup and have me bring several invitations with me. Even though I ended up underestimating you, who’s the winner now? Hero Zhuo, how does it feel to have your wife and son taken from you?”
In a low voice, Zhuo Fengru exclaimed, “It was all your work, was it?!”
Kongcang offered up a palm-fist salute. “You’re welcome.”
Zhuo Fengru performed an aerial-spinning twist to generate extra power for a downward palm strike that knocked out Kongcang’s teeth.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Kongcang’s foes had subdued him in the past. Every time, though, he’d start talking to them and then find an opportunity to turn the tables. Unfortunately, his foes this time weren’t the type to talk before getting physical.
“You frauds are attacking this old one while he is immobilised! Have you no honour?! Would any of you dare to face this one man to man?!”
Zhuo Fengru drew his sword from his sleeve. “Bring it on!”
“Let’s define the conditions properly first. We aren’t thugs. Hey, hey, hey, put the sword away. Yes, yes, that’s it. Put it back in the sheath. Now, where were we? Young Hero Ming, please take a seat. Come, come sit here. Don’t be so distant.”
Ming Feizhen: All those people who sail with the wind could learn a lot from this old bugger. Nobody has put him in his place when he’s been doing this for ages?
Kongcang rubbed his hands as if he was sitting at a bonfire with friends. “You, uh, spoken to the one who delivered the invitation, right?”
“I guess.”
“In that case, you should know what the conditions are, then.” Kongcang straightened up his torso. “Release me. Else, I can’t guarantee the safety of the hostages, hahaha. Where’s the messenger?”
Everyone pointed over to the corpse.
“Hahah-” Kongcang’s laughing face froze on his face. “You criminals! You don’t kill envoys when two states are negotiating! You even turned him into a practice board! Have you no conscience?!”
Kongcang: Thank god I’m a quick thinker, or I’d be in pieces if he’s full of arrows.
“Venerable Kongcang.”
“Yes, Young Master Hua?”
“I always believed even bad people in the pugilistic world would have some honour. I’m sad that…”
Ming Feizhen patted Hua Qing on the back. “Glad you’re getting used to it. Don’t worry about it,” then asked Kongcang, “So, what’s this whatever convention?”
“It’s ‘Lotus Convention’. It’s the most important event for Miguo Branch. His Excellency will announce he is the new leader of Lotus Sect at the event. Expect to see plenty of people in the martial world, from friends to foes. Needless to say, enemies will become his nourishment, while friends shall be there to witness his moment of unrivalled glory.”
“What gives him the authority to crown himself Lotus Sect’s new leader? Does he think the Western Regions will leave him be? Wait… is Lord Wugou already…”
“His Excellency is obviously making the move because he has confidence in himself. What’s there to fear once he has Repository Jade?”
Ming Feizhen pointed out, “And it happens to be with us.”
“Because caution isn’t a thing in your world? You dare refuse to attend?”
Evidently, this was Lord Miguo and Kongcang’s true plan. Lord Miguo orchestrated the kidnapping to force them into attending the convention. Kongcang deceived Zhuo Fengru and Ming Feizhen, as well as aimed to pinch Repository Jade. If they compared, the differences in the two strategies were quite pronounced.
“Long-story short, he wants to exchange Lady Zhuo and Zhuo Yupin for Repository Jade? Wishful thinking. I already have my promised one hundred thousand taels,” Ming Feizhen mocked.
Hua Qing: “Uh… what are you thinking?”
Ming Feizhen lifted the corners of his cheeks to his ears and showed two rows of shiny teeth. “What do you think?”
