A Princeâs Missing Phoenix. Kunlun.
I was fixated on the thought that mentoring someone meant welcoming through Mount Daluoâs doors because I thought under the assumption that His Majestyâs primary objective was Mount Daluo, not me. If Bossâ conjecture was right, then treating them as a guest was sufficient. His Majesty saw me as a weakling, so what reason was there for me to take a Prince on as a Mount Daluo disciple? Plus, His Majesty never mentioned anything about having to train a Prince in martial arts. I never realised this was alternative way of looking at it!
âI always knew people working for the government are corrupt. Damn, that was quick thinking.â
Whack! I took an inkstone over the head
âWho are you insulting?!â
âSorry, sorry, I blurted it out of habit.â
It wouldâve been discourteous of me to refuse His Majesty, and I wasnât sure what was going on back on Mount Daluo, so I concluded the safest course of action was to agree for the meantime. However, I needed to make it clear that me mentoring someone didnât equal Mount Daluo accepting a disciple. As for whether Iâd point that out to His Majesty or not, Iâd obviously drag it out for as long as possible. With all that said, I had circled back to a problem that cropped up since the idea was suggested. Every one of the Princes were a handful.
âI still donât understand. Why me? Are you sure heâs not setting me up?â
âPerhaps⊠he thinks youâll do a good job?â
As our conversation went on, we eventually brought up Feng Qizhi, prompting Boss to give me the filthy look again.
âI know that Feng Qizhi you mentioned. Itâs best for you to stay as far away from him as you can.â
I thought that was a given, but I wasnât sure why Boss said that.
âHe is a decent fighter. Heâs only a tad easier to beat than a fly. If heâs lucky, he might be able to match some forgettable flies,â I opined.
I wasnât insulting him. Never underestimate flies. They were great at dealing with people who tried to swat them. Theyâd go up, down, sideways, round in circles, ascend, and dive. The last was the worst to deal with. It was akin to poison. No matter how good you were at expelling poison, it was still poison. Leave it for long enough, and it could cause problems. On the other hand, poison didnât fear itself. Imagine that on a fly that had a strong will to live.
I used to play âstab the fliesâ with Chicken Yun back at Wudang with the stipulation of neither of us utilising internal energy. I always lost. Even though I improved, without using internal energy, I was only able to catch eight at most out of ten. I got so mad that I created three sets of qinna techniques and a set of finger skills in âNight Net Bookâ, namely, âHeadless Buzzing Handâ, âAzure to Cyan Light Severing Loopâ, and âGreat Clam Clawsâ, each focusing on either freedom of movement, fluidity or intensity. They combined qinna, palm techniques, and claw techniques. âDirectionless Fly King Fingersâ was a deadly set of skills I created whilst drinking and eating in the dead of night at an eatery by a creek. My two fingers would never miss if I used those skills. Even so, I only managed to catch nine out of ten.
In contrast Chicken Yun was able to skewer ten out of ten with his sword to roast if he wanted. I still couldnât figure out how he did it.
Shaking her head and wagging her hand, Boss said, âIâm not worried heâll harm you, but heâs special.â
Special? Iâd actually say heâsâŠ
âAnd heâs not right up north.â
Thatâs exactly what I thought!
âI mean when I say heâs special. Heâs not bad as you say, but his luck is as bizarre as it gets. One time, he was challenged to a fight to the death in Beijiang. His opponent was a monster in Beijiang, and the location for their duel was in enemy territory; it was beside a big swamp. He was a level below his opponent and outnumbered, yet Feng Qizhi fearlessly agreed to the duel. Donât you think heâs an idiot?â
âUh, yeah.â
âHe shouldâve perished there, yet he managed to throw his opponent off his game. His opponent had his subordinates hide nearby for an ambush if he was losing.â
Donât call a monster despicable. Would someone be called a monster if they werenât despicable?
âFeng Qizhi didnât show up at the appointed time. He was still nowhere to be seen four hours after the agreed time.â
âWas he hiding to try and assassinate the monster?â
It wouldnât have been dishonourable even if he did that since deception was the art of war, not to mention his opponent tried to do the same thing.
âHis opponent made the same attention, so he never took his eyes off the swamp, fearing Feng Qizhi was hiding deep underneath. His opponent decided to wait on the surface since there was a limit to how long one can hold their breath underwater, but wait and wait, nothing emerged by the time night fell. Having lost his patience, the monster had his subordinates dive in to check it out, and there really wasnât anyone down there.â
⊠My man took deception to a new level! He didnât even show up?!
âSo they didnât even have the match?â
âNo, Feng Qizhi did go there, but⊠he got lost. He was planning to hide in the swamp and assassinate his opponent, but he chose to hide farther away on account of maintaining stealth, never expecting to end up hiding in a nearby loo after getting lost. When his annoyed opponent grew sick of waiting and went to the loo, Feng Qizhi soared up from below, slicing his opponent right up the middle.â
Put some respect on the manâs name. Thatâs what you call enduring hardship to achieve a goal!
Feng Qizhi couldâve formed a group with Second and Sixth to debut. I even had a name ready for them â Crap Digging Trio. I could guarantee it was a name that hadnât been used in two hundred years and wouldnât be used for at least another two hundred years.
âUnlike your second brother, heâs not just unlucky.â Boss scrunched up her face. âIn addition to having horrible luck, heâs not too right up north, so he often contaminates other people with it. Heâs special because of his ability to spread his own terrible luck.â
Hong Jiu couldnât master that. Although he wasnât healthy right up north, either, he was a smart fellow. Feng Qizhiâs uncanny ability to make others unlucky was just like⊠just likeâŠ
âJust like you, right?â
Hey! Who called me a plague?!
âBut back on topic. If you can avoid publicising our involvement with him, that would be for the best. The only thing you will get out of that is trouble. Not only is he Blue Princeâs subordinate for many years, but heâs also a descendant of Feng Clan. I assume you know Feng Clanâs relationship with Uncle? While he and Brilliant Consort get along now, their marriage was to leverage Feng Clanâs wealth to begin with. Weâre not afraid of the wealthiest clan in the world, but itâd be better to not make an enemy out of them for something so trivial. Plus, I donât want to put Brilliant Consort in a tough spot.â
Weâre scared of Feng Qizhi? Sheâs just Brilliant Consort! Tell her Iâm knocking. I refuse to believe she wouldnât forsake her nephew for me.
âHmph, I was nearly assassinated.â
âPfft, I meant you beating him is trivial. As for the assassination part, you didnât tell me anything about all the attempts on your life while you were defenceless, but itâs âpoor meâ now that you can?â
âUh⊠Iâve gotten used to it. Thatâs why I didnât mention every little thing. Besides, I survived, didnât I? Are we really going to ignore Feng Qizhi?â
âOf course.â Boss suddenly frowned. âWait a second. What are you going to do if not ignore? Did youâŠâ
âYeah! I captured him.â
âWhat the hell for?!â Boss flicked me on the forehead and then took out her inkstone.
âBoss! What are you doing?!â
âI just told you heâs trouble, yet you hid him at Liu Shan Men? If anything happens, both of you are going to be sacrificial tributes for a Daoist.âđđŠđđŻđđŁđŠđ.đ€đ°đź
âI didnât mean to! I didnât know his background until now.â
âBefore he wakes up, and before he brings us grief, get rid of him. Also! Do not tell anyone we captured him, understood?â
âOkay, okay.â
Seriously, Boss. What plague, trouble, and bad luck. I canât believe you believe in those childish superstitions.
âReporting! Someone from Eight Deities has sent a package over,â someone reported outside.
âWhat package?â Boss asked.
âA sword⊠and a bill for two hundred silvers that is apparently Head Constable Mingâs.â
Wow, the moon outside is so roundâŠ
âMing Feizhen!â