Martial King's Retired Life

Gu Xianxian rubbed his eyes. “I don’t care what you or anyone else says, Big Bro is my biological big bro. He has my respect from the bottom of my heart.”

Yuan Kou: “Incredible. Everything he does is worth learning from. He is my superior, and nobody can change my mind.”

Ouyang Xiucai, gazing with the eyes of a man questioning the world, exclaimed, “How?”

Lang Qing shut his eyes.

Teng: “… No objections.”

They didn’t take their eyes off us for a split second.

Ning Zhuoru smiled. “I told you the two of them are a couple.”

“Lord S-, My Lord, you must be tired. Would you like a back massage?”

“My Lord, are your clothes too thick? Shall I fan you?”

“My Lord, I did not realise you were so tall from far away.”

“My Lord, try this. I brought it over from the Western Regions and saved it all this time.”

“My Lord…”

“My Lord…”

Ever since Elise woke up, she perpetually orbited around me. Every time she discovered something, she’d make a huge deal out of it. As soon as I got up to help her with the tea, water and what have you, she’d immediately push back. My snacks doubled. The moment I conveyed my appreciation, she’d look ready to shed tears, questioning if her performance lacked. I couldn’t do anything except sit still and smile like a dork. I never expected the smile to make her squeal and bolt outside, so I became pedantic about keeping a straight face. Her solicitous behaviour made me feel bad and everyone else misunderstand me for being a kidnapper of naïve young girls.

Elise showed her real face once she returned with me, so there was no reason for me to continue wearing a mask. If you think about it, if the two of us were to show up at the same time, given my handsome f-, her beauty, she’d steal all the attention. Instead, however, her attitude towards me stole the limelight.

“You know…”

As soon as I opened my mouth, Elise stopped arranging the dishes she served up and cleaning the table to happily turn to me.

“Are you hungry, My Lord? I shall fill your bowl right away.”

“Fill it to the brim.”

Wait, that’s not what I was trying to say! Wait! Well, if you’re gone… give me some extra.

“Don’t go!” exclaimed Ning Zhuoru. “We’re short on food. He can’t eat so much on his own.”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” rhetorically asked Elise, as cold as usual, especially towards Ning Zhuoru.

Elise was a holy maiden, someone exalted amongst so many others, not to mention she was also the granddaughter of Bright Moon Faction’s leader. I vividly remembered the former holy maiden was equally cold to outsiders.

“He must be satisfied even if that means he has to eat all the food. What do your lives matter to me?”

Needless to say, nobody who wanted to live was happy to hear that, except they weren’t willing to argue with her.

Only Su Qi nodded at everything Elise said. Seconds after she was done, though, he mumbled, “Isn’t it dereliction of duty if I just sit around while he is starving? What was the point of all my training, then? What sort of man am I if I can’t repay my predecessors?” He then turned to me and said, “My Lord, your subject shall go fetch you some meat,” then grabbed his blade and sprinted off.

Get back here! What sort of meat are you going to cleave with that massive broadsword?!

“Stop, stop, stop. Let’s focus on the discussion. Leave the food iss-”

Elise sent down the bowl in her hand and slammed the table. “How can we leave it?! Are you trying to starve my lord?!”

“It’s war!” Su Qi drew his broadsword.

“Stop, stop. After we’re done, go see how much you can share with everyone else, and then sort out my food for the next few days… and then grab me a bit extra from their shares, happy?”

Su Qi and Elise immediately returned to my sides. It was the same as back in the Western Regions, and it was headache inducing. The audience couldn’t even get angry.

“Elise, is there really no way out?” I queried.

Elise stared at Ning Zhuoru hostilely a few times, then turned to me and beamed brightly. “Yes! I have tried to open the doors multiple times to no avail. It would seem Jiang Chen has had someone modify the contraption,” she replied with the anticipation of praise.

What are you so happy about…?

“Okay, do you know who modified it?”

Su Qi responded, “I have looked into it. It is one of the base’s general managers. He committed suicide after he modified it. Cough, he is evidence, so when you are hungry…”

What was that reminder for?! I don’t eat humans!

“He did not leave any traces for us to explore. I personally examined his corpse and can confirm his cause of death was suicide. There was no attempt to hide his cause of death.” Elise then proudly glanced my way and whispered, “I kept his body,” then leaned her head in towards me.

Throw it away! I don’t eat humans! Who started this rumour?!

“Understood. There’s no point fixating on who was responsible for modifying it. We need to decide on our next course of action. The most urgent task at hand is to unite everyone.”

Gu Xianxian: “Aren’t we all here already?”

I shook my head. “I mean everyone. Not the few of us here. Not including the men Elise brought. Everyone in the base. Everyone.”

Teng: “… Including Fiends’ Genesis?”

“Correct. My first recommendation is, spare Fiends’ Genesis’ members.” Since nobody said a word, I added, “I’ve been listening for a long time. None of them have committed any heinous deeds; they just happen to hold membership in Fiends’ Genesis. They’ve been trained for many years. Some of them have never even been outside this base before. They’re not guilty of anything deserving of a death penalty here.”

Elise: “So, we all need to…”

“So, as I said, unite everyone and come up with a plan for everyone to safely escape.”