Martial King's Retired Life

Thanks to Gu Xianxian’s interruption, I forgot where I was supposed to dig and the formation, making me have to map it out in my head again. Yes, there was a strategic thought to the digging. I learnt the method from my late grandmaster. Wait, I meant my grandmaster!

Till today, Grandmaster’s wondrous abilities to arrange army formations were still talked about. I couldn’t imagine him as Zhang Fei on the battlefield based on the legends passed down, but I did hear he was bloody formidable. From what I heard, he used formations to defeat divisions numbering tens of thousands and once surrounded dozens of elites alone.

In my shifu’s generation, Grandmaster’s formations underwent another evolution. Although I couldn’t say if my shifu truly surpassed my grandmaster, but I could guarantee that his formations were ten times better at triggering people. My jerkfu was a genius when it came to setting people up. There had yet to exist an underhand tactic that he wasn’t a master at. You could teach him a complex formation, and he’d transform it into a trap to screw someone over.

If I had the luxury of time, I’d have loved to show Lang Qing my Shifu’s two ultimate formations – “Feces Holes Eighteen Trips” and “A Fierce Man is Just Clothing”.

Shifu once said that the essence of hole digging lied in the phrases, “Outside the long pavilion. Beside the old road. Above the fragrant grass.” Evidently, he was an expert. However, I was told to learn what they meant on my own.

The formation I was digging up shared origins with my grandmaster’s formation theories and my shifu’s improvements. I couldn’t tell you the first thing on the theory side. My shifu considered himself above digging holes, so I was the one who dug holes for his traps the majority of the time. The saying went that the participant typically couldn’t comprehend the formation. As formations were ineffective on me, though, I ended up memorising the arrangement of the holes.

I think the holes had a wicked name like “Heavenly Dog Steed Fooks Your Dad and Aunt”. Don’t take my word for it. I didn’t understand the intricacies of the name, but can you argue that a formation that can screw over even your dad and aunt is overpowered?

We made a lot more progress thanks to Gu Xianxian’s assistance. Though he didn’t have a good head, he was physically fit. Plus, he was motivated to get revenge, so he worked harder than Yan JIangnan and I. We used the spare time to disguise he holes before we took a rest.

We had two hours until the allotted time for the duel.

“It’s almost time.” I got up and dusted myself. “What do you think our next step is?”

“Wait to butcher Lang Qing!” enthused Gu Xianxian.

“Please use some common sense. Killing Lang Qing isn’t a big issue, but have you thought about how you’re going to explain yourself to Zero?”

Gu Xianxian slammed the table. “My wife was stolen! Has Zero thought about he should explain himself to me?!”

I… didn’t think about that…

“But I was the one who challenged him to a duel. I can’t just butcher him without any preparation first.”

Yan Jiangnan: “I thought I am butchering him.”

I wagged my hand. “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours. There’s no need to fuss over such a minor point.”

“…”

“I need to go have a chat with Zero. I’m going to tell him Lang Qing has a grudge with me and seek protection.”

Yan Jiangnan: “Come back as soon as you can. Otherwise, there will only be two of us…”

“How long do you think it takes to get across a few sentences? Look at you shake.”

“Zero” actually knew about Gu Xianxian’s matter. While Gu Xianxian distracted “Zero” from suspecting me, I wasn’t completely safe. Since she knew Lang Qing’s personality, she most likely would’ve just laughed off my accusations and wouldn’t be able say anything even if I turned Lang Qing into a vegetable. After all, it’d be her fault for ignoring me when I reported the issue. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to tell her we had a duel arranged. The story would go that Lang Qing suddenly picked a fight with me, forcing me to defend myself. For that reason, speaking to her about Lang Qing was necessary.

I didn’t run into anyone on the way to Zero’s place. Howbeit, I noticed someone closing in real fast on me without any signs of slowing down. In other words, they were approaching me with a purpose. Most importantly, I had never seen them before, or I had never noticed them before as I had never heard his gait rhythm before or sensed his qi flow route.

Despite not sensing any qi locked onto me, he had amassed internal energy in his hand.

What is this?! What is this about?!

The moment I took a step forward during an opening, he chopped at me using his hand in an axing motion. Whoever he was, his internal strength rivalled Tiangou and Kuanggu Sheng.

Who the hell is this guy? Is he the ambassador of that perverted organisation Kuanggu Sheng wanted to join?!

I dropped and rolled. As a result, he chopped the wall and scattered stone chips. I called my evasion manoeuvre “Donkey Roll After Stealing the Tiger’s Dinner”, which was listed in my “Night Net Manual”. I initially created it as an evasion manoeuvre for after you stole food from someone. It might not have been the prettiest move, but it was effective regardless of the opponent’s three consecutive attacks. Its only weakness was that it only worked in combat, not when the opponent sneak attacked. Put plainly, you had to notice the incoming attack, or it was up to your luck. After all, in a fight for food, nobody was just going to sit back.

He reacted surprised that I managed to evade his sneak attack when he ensured everything was in his favour. At the same time, my profound martial prowess left him with qualms.

Come on, man, don’t give me that look. We really going to keep going?

Thus, I had to dodge three more times and asked, “Are you the one dispatched by the organisation?”

He flinched and stopped. Even though he had everything but his eyes and hands covered in black garments, his hesitation was visible from the way his eyes darted back and forth. As he heard the sounds of guards coming over in response to the sound he made, he snorted haughtily in a soft voice that had me scratching my head over his gender. Subsequently, he took off.

It was kind of awkward to see him withdraw so coolly while I could clearly hear him head south and find a hiding spot…

Shall I go have a chat with him later?

Judging from the shape of the shattered rock, he was quite strong. I thought he was the person Kuanggu Sheng mentioned.

It didn’t take long for “Zero” and her henchmen to arrive on the scene. She sighed a breath of relief when she spotted me, but she went back to being stern the moment she saw the shattered pieces. Therefore, she ordered the immediate capture of the culprit.

“Zero” questioned me over every detail she could think of, and I gave the most detailed answers I could provide. The only moment she wasn’t her usual collected self was when she heard I managed to dodge the first attack. Additionally, she kept asking me if there was only one person or if there were two.

“It’s ‘him’!”

You trained to read minds?!

She sounded as though she had been waiting to hear about the person in question. Well, she was probably mistaken over his identity, unfortunately.

“Lord San Shen’s patience has finally run dry.”

No, it hasn’t.

“What makes you say it’s him?” I asked.

She pointed to the damaged wall. “Look at the damage.”

“You can tell which sect’s skill was used to inflict the damage?”

“It doesn’t belong to any sect. The palm strike was delivered with pure brute strength. The internal energy has no properties, but it’s overwhelmingly potent. It’s an external Hard Realm internal energy.”

“How does that lead to the conclusion that it’s ‘him’?”

“Because he doesn’t utilise any specific discipline.”

“…”

It feels like she’s worked out the important part of an unimportant fact, but that fact is also wrong…

“He’s made his move… He’s finally made his move,” she muttered.

It doesn’t seem like this is the right time to bring up Lang Qing’s issue. How about I just off him first and then report later?

As I quietly retreated, I quietly said, “I shall take my leave…”

“I know how now!” She suddenly looked up and told her subordinates, “Follow Mr. Wu around the clock.”

“By your order!”

What? What did you just say?!

“Wait!” I yelled.

“What?”

“What are they following me around for?”

“To protect you, obviously. He is watching from the shadows, and we don’t know what he’s plotting. The fact that he started with you first proves that my conjecture is correct. Since he failed on his first attempt, there’s a possibility that he will try again. You’re his target, so we can catch him if we guard you.”

Her subordinates who went off before returned to report that they couldn’t find any traces of him.

What do you mean? He’s hiding right there!

“He only just made his move, yet he’s vanished without a trash? He must have a base…” She looked at me with a piercing gaze. “He must have another identity here. That’s the only way to explain how he vanished without a trace.”

Don’t follow that line of thought! I have a second identity, but he has another base! You can’t do this! What did I ever do to deserve this?! I’m innocent! Why is some group of perverts the one to ruin all my planning?! Just you wait. I’m going to drag you out of your hole!

“But I, it’s inconvenient for so many people to be following me around.”

“You have something important to do?”

I have an arranged duel to attend!