Martial King's Retired Life

I combed through both versions, picking out every single mistake. Once I was done, I let out a long exhale and solemnly set them down beside me. My shifu truly was a genius. I didn’t understand squat. Forget the contents that resembled gobbledygook for a moment. Why did they have to practice upside down? Why, in summer, did they have to wear six layers of clothing and train under a blanket? Why, in winter, did they have to bury themselves naked in snow to train their qi? The author was clearly trying to prank readers.

I was stupefied from the first pages to the last pages. There wasn’t a single commonality between the two manuals. They were two completely different books! From what I saw, their execution was virtually identical, and their internal energy attributes were the product of the same discipline. Although their gains were different, they weren’t as drastically different as the manuals. How in the world did they learn something so similar when there was basically not a single identical page in the manuals? I finally understood why Shifu didn’t let me learn it back then. Forget practicing it. I couldn’t even understand what I read.

The moment I opened them, I felt as if I was sitting in an exam room. I never did the homework Shifu set me. The subject lines themselves were incomprehensible to me.

How the heck did those two gruff guys understand it? Doesn’t this mean that I’m even… stop, stop, there must be something amiss. I need to re-read.

I opened the two manuals again, turned to the second page, stared for a long while and… nearly fell asleep.

“Shifu, does this mean that I should continue practicing the next part?” Zizi asked whilst pointing at the second page.

“It means for you to…”

Hell as if I knew. I was going to fool him first to buy myself a few days’ time, only to realise something.

“You can understand this?”

“It says that the practitioner should push on and not stop, does it not? It says that here, as well.”

“Aren’t these two different books?”

“What are you saying, Shifu? They are saying the same thing.”

“Uh… Zizi, who teaches you to read and write?”

“Principal Huang and Prime Minister Li.”

No wonder! Doesn’t that mean you’re levels above m-, you rival me?

I tapped Zizi’s chest with the manuals. “You’re right. Keep training. You’re winning.”

***

“Lord Zi!” General Manager Bai looked as if her soul left her body when she saw a man come back instead of a boy. As she held him in her arms, she asked him what happened.

Zizi was on the cusp of crying when I patted him on the shoulder to signal he had to keep it a secret and to not cry. His growth was evident. He didn’t cry.

“Haha, it’s all thanks to me. You’re welcome. No need for thanks.”

Zizi and I were given warm welcomes as expected. However, General Manager Bai dotingly sent him to be treated, while she chased me down… with a blade!

“Why are you angry with me when I taught him cool stuff that would make his ancestors proud?!”

“Look at his wounds!”

“It’s just twenty-odd injuries. They’re medals of honour for men.”

“Let me give you some medals of honour, then! Don’t move!”

I finally understood her sentiments. Medals of honour needed to be earned in a certain way, and this wasn’t one of them.

After receiving a beating, I managed to make some time to visit Feng Qizhi. I couldn’t mistreat my Brother Feng’s cousin now, right? Before I even knocked, I saw Sir Sui come out with his head hung down and shout, “He is hopeless!”

Feng Qizhi soon came out afterwards carrying a flower pot and shaking his head. When he saw me, though, he warmly greeted me. “Brother Ming, Sir Sui really does have unique knowledge on cultivating flowers.”

I think you’re the one who’s unique. You’re the first person to make Sir Sui give up on someone.

“I feel inspired after spending some time learning about flowers from him. I have blended it into my swordplay and vice versa. One begets two. Two begets three. Three begets all things.”

“And that’s why you slashed up his flowerbed like this?”

“What do you think? Artistic?”

Keep it up. I’ll go ask Brother Feng for compensation.

Feng Qizhi staying at Liu Shan Men saved me the trouble of worrying about him doing stupid things, and I couldn’t be bothered with him. Since Brother Feng didn’t complain, I had no reason to.

I made my way to Daren Academy, where I had an appointment. As always, he beamed and skipped over when he saw me.

“Big Brother Ming!”

For quite some time now, I had been intermittently teaching Su Xiao some martial arts, and he had grown rapidly. He didn’t need me to teach him to begin with, but…

I caressed Su Xiao’s small head and asked, “Do you still remember what I taught you?”

“I do!”

“Get started, then.”

Su Xiao repeated back what I taught him while I listened in with a smile. As time quietly flowed by, the negative feelings welled up inside me gradually disappeared.