Home > urban > Martial King s Retired Life > Volume 8 Chapter 36 Su Xiaos Independence. Eloping Birds

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“An inn Why an inn” Emperor Yuansheng questioned.

“Master, you must bear in mind that we are only roughly fifteen days away from the commencement of Refining Divine Convention. It is a daunting task to highlight ourselves for an invitation in the short time remaining. On top of that, we have to search for Vice-Captain Shen, which requires trustworthy intelligence now more than ever.”

First of all, His Majesty wouldnt permit imperial troops and scouts looking into Boss whereabouts. Second, it would be more challenging to investigate from the shadows than to openly investigate.

I didnt mention I ran into Green Prince as I didnt know what sort of terms His Majesty and His Highness were on. I didnt stand to gain anything if I offended either of them, so I intended to let them sort it out with themselves; it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths.

“As the owner of the inn, we can advance or retreat at will. I hired some skilled artisans to renovate and decorate the place. We will be ready to open for business in less than a day. As we cannot afford to hire outsiders, we will have to handle all of the jobs ourselves. Fortunately, we have a number of elites who can easily tackle the duties of running an inn.”

I elaborated on the other benefits, mainly covering things that would help us move our plans forward. No matter high tight lipped they might be, something, such as how to obtain an invitation, would leak.

“That is a brilliant plan. Proceeding without having to run into personnel from the imperial court is the best outcome. You live up to… to… your status as Yuhua of the Worlds disciple. I have nothing to fear when I have Mount Daluos successor as my strategist, hahaha.”

If Im your strategist, how about showing some respect worthy of my status and paying me back Ill get three hundred thousand out of you the moment we find Boss. Hell no am I playing hide and seek with Black and White Reflections personnel!

“Umm…” Su Xiao showed up and gestured for me to come over urgently. “Big Brother Ming… Come here.”

Please dont tell me you lot have come up with another absurd idea…

I hurried over to ask, “Whats the matter”

“Umm… Are you hungry”

“Yeah. If youre still not done, Ill be hungry enough to eat eight of you.”

With an ashen countenance, Su Xiao leaned onto the wall: “Ar-are you starving that bad Luckily for you, I made a small dish that Ill bring up in a tick, hehehe.”

Spacing out at the sight of Su Xiaos beam, I absentmindedly replied, “Oh… Thank y-, ahem, what happened What happened to the dishes”

Su Xiaos world collapsed in his head upon hearing his alternative plan fall through: “Um… Weve… only just started cooking the rice. We… havent started on anything else. You might have to wait for another two hours.”

“Say what! You just started cooking the rice What have you been doing all this time!”

Are you cooking dinner or midnight snakes Wait, thats not even New Years Eve dinner anymore!

“Ye Luo and Miss Lyu not know how to cook and slow you down We can swap them out with some skilled warriors. Its a punishment for them to ask them to cook.”

“No, no, theyre doing quite well,” meekly replied Su Xiao, face flush.

“Why the delay, then”

“Well” - Su Xiao grabbed his robe and twisted his torso back and forth - “the pot blew up.”

Are my ears screwing with me

“How does a pot blow up!”

“I dont know. The pot I was working on started rumbling, and it was in fragments by the time I knew it. They mustve been using bootleg goods here.”

“Id be more convinced if you told me were standing upside down right now. This is the number one restaurant in the town! Theyre dishes are excellent. You blew up the pot, didnt you!”

You came here because you blew it up, I bet! This is what happens when you act competent at something youre not!

I pressed a hand to my forehead: “What in His Majestys name did you do when you cooked the rice”

“I… I tossed some seasoning in, did some dicing and then started a fire.”

I dont know what to blast first here. Threw in Dicing ingredients in a pot Start a fire Which of those actions take place in a kitchen

“Wait, what happened to the rice”

Su Xiao wrinkled his nose: “What does rice have to do with cooking rice”

“Xiao… h-how did you make me porridge last time”

“Add water and rice into a pot then bring to a boil. Simple. Cooking rice and cooking porridge arent the same.”

“Hold up.” I hammered my forehead as I asked, “Didnt the imperial chef go to the kitchen with you”

“Yeah, there are two of them. As soon as they entered, they began working on the prepared ingredients and whipped up over forty dishes!”

Thats what I wanted to hear. Let them work their magic.

“Since they looked busy, I was afraid theyd starve, so I made a small dish to keep their stomachs happy. After they ate it, though, they stopped speaking.”

“It was that disgusting”

“Why are you so rude, Big Brother Ming!” Su Xiao folded his arms and gave me his side, sulking, “They never complained it tasted bad! They just stopped speaking and moving!”

“Why are you flipping out on me Im analysing the situation for you, arent I Not speaking or eating… Did they also shut their eyes”

“How did you know So you do know what happened Oh, man, I was worried they had some disease or something.”

Stop smiling! Im starting to freak out!

“They… passed out after eating your dish”

“Who passes out after eating They mustve fell asleep due to exhaustion, hahaha.”

What new skill have you invented now!

“B-Big Brother Ming” I suddenly heard from afar.

“Sister Ye,” Su Xiao effused.

“Wh-whats the matter, Miss Ye”

Face pale, legs weak, a hand on her belly and leaning on the wall… This looks bad.

Ye Luo grabbed my arm and, in a breathy voice, conveyed, “Big Brother Ming, I have to, have to tell you. Only you can… can… blegh!”

Ye Luo projectile vomited tomato right past me, yet still looked more horrified than when we ran in to Abels.

“What happened, Miss Ye!”

“I-I had a bite of the tomato.” Ye Luo pointed to Su Xia and, in a raspy voice, shouted, “He… He…”

I saw Ye Luos eyes roll back into her head as she collapsed, finger still aimed at Su Xiao.

What the hell happened Lets not play this murder game on New Years Eve. Is that tomato by your mouth or blood Are you injured or poison Wake up!

I transferred true qi from my fingertips to Ye Luos wrist using Yijin Jing, my miracle fix for curing illnesses, extracting poison and exorcising evil. Yeah, I had Shifus medical knowledge and other styles at my disposal, but Yijin Jing was my foundation for it all, as it should be for anyone else. I gave her potent qi, yet three serves couldnt even wake her.

What black magic did he feed you!

“She said she was hungry, so I made her a snack…”

Wait, wait, wait, thats the snack you also wanted to feed me Have mercy, you serial murderer! Hold on, why was she stupid enough to eat your snack after the imperial chefs were done in

“She told me to make the snacks. She said that failure is the mother of success, so true men should not fear failure.” Switching from cute to serious, Su Xiao balled his fists: “Thats why I did my best!”

Hold back, then! Thats three youve downed already.

I noticed Ye Luo watching Su Xiao more than in the past ever since he saved her that night and would usually blush. I bet the lass developed a crush on Su Xiao; thatd explain why shed give him encouragement and praise when he doubted himself. Poor girl burned herself playing with fire.

“We need you to exercise patience now that were short on hands. Dont hold it against us,” Su Xiao asserted, picking up Ye Luo and making his way to the kitchen.

“Wait, wait! Ill go help. I shouldnt just wait to eat. Ill give you a hand,” I offered.

“Thats rare. Im glad youre learning to be a better man, though.”

I just dont want to die tonight!

When I relayed the message to Emperor Yuansheng, he told me, “Thats fine. Ill go with you. Ive never been into a kitchen; this is a good chance to take a look, especially since were going to open an inn.”

I dont have a problem with you trying to kill time, but I have a bizarre feeling about this…

Upon seeing us all head to the kitchen, Long Zaitian called Tie Hanyi over to query, “Ol Tie, what do you think hes doing Why does Master trust him so much”

Tie Hanyi cracked a smile: “I always knew Brother Ming wasnt just some side character. Had it not been for his insight and morale boost, we wouldve lost a lot of men against Black Winds Thirteen Wings. That was when I saw him in a different light - a character not to be underestimated. His Majesty must have also noticed.”

“A character not to be underestimated my foot. Tell me more about this Black Winds Thirteen Wings thing.”

“When they started the string of assassinations, they killed several Qilin Guads. Thanks to him warning me to be cautious, we avoided losing more members than we had to.”

“I copped earfuls for letting Qilin Guards die, yet he only gave you a heads up! After he screws me over, hes trying to get in His Majestys good graces Im obligated to depose him!”

Apparently, Long Zaitian forgot about him trying to court Shen Yiren and the times he screwed with Song Ou in those days.

“Its only right His Majesty hires him as a strategist when hes proven himself to possess the prudence necessary. What would you and I do”

Overhearing the conversation, Dugu chimed in: “Though I wont question his intelligence, he used dubious means to acquire the money and the rights to this restaurant. I wouldnt say its necessarily a good thing for His Majesty to be around him for too long.”

“See Every elite can tell hes a bad influence. What does he do besides drinking, hitting on girls, eating braised pork shoulders and being a bad influence on kids” concurred Long Zaitian.

“Hes a good guy, though,” opined Bai Laimu. “He taught me how to play dice the day before.”

Long Zaitian raised his chin at the others, gesturing, “Told you hes a bad influence.”

“We have to do something, or His Majesty will be another victim.”

“Long Zaitian, we may have different allegiances, but we share a common enemy. Use your time for something productive. As one of His Majestys aides, I wont acquiescence to you scheming behind the backs of others,” Tie Hanyi asserted with the approval of Dugu and Bai Laimu.

“Why do you all have tunnel vision When did I ever say I would set him up Knowing his nefarious brain and plague trait, hell curse me dead before I even set him up. You think Im stupid I couldnt ask to be farther away from him, let alone set him up. I was suggesting that we contribute so that he doesnt walk away with all of the glory. Even if we dont tick a box off, we can, at least, cheer His Majesty up tonight,” suggested Long Zaitian, sparking the discussion.

When the floor went down to the first floor, they saw a guzheng, erhu, sanxian and flute next to Tang Ye, who guarded the door.

Since Long Zaitian didnt have Qilin Guards to back him up, Long Zaitian had no desire to pick fights with Tang Ye, who could give him a run for his money, not to mention Ming Feizhen was around. Over time, he stopped resenting Liu Shan Men so much, even joking around with Liu Shan Mens trio at times during the journey. Howbeit, recalling the lectures he ate having to do with Ming Feizhen as per the talk with Tie Hanyi, Long Zaitians old nature surfaced.

“Liu Shan Men has the sissy Su Xiao, so having a Tang Ye pretend to be a musician certainly is necessary to form a complete couple,” mocked Long Zaitian.

“May I ask who you resemble as our new door guard” Tang Ye ribbed.

“You want to catch these hands!”

Dugu persuaded, “Why are you fighting when were on the same team”

Tie Hanyi inquired, “Brother Tang, why do you have instruments with you when you usually dont even bring baggage”

“The musicians previously playing here left them behind.”

The instruments inspired Long Zaitian to propose, “Since Master is fond of music, we could cheer him up and add a joyous touch to the atmosphere if we can play a tune.”

“Thats not a bad idea.”

While having musicians perform at parties was a custom in the imperial court, bringing one along on this mission was plain silly. Although the idea was nice, music wasnt their forte - minus Dugu, who could play the guzheng.

Tang Yes closed-arms pose and perceivably derisive visage prompted Long Zaitian to snap, “What, you know how to play music instruments.”

“Indeed.”

“Like playing drums with broadswords or cudgels Catch.” Long Zaitian tossed a flute to Tang Ye: “Prove it.”

Tang Ye assumed the ideal posture and played “Autumn Moon Over Han Palace” mesmerizingly from a music and martial arts standpoint. Refusing to lose, Long Zaitian threw Tang Ye a lute that the latter demonstrated he was an adept with, as well. Long Zaitian then threw an erhu over, and Tang Ye played “A Swallow Couple Soaring in the Rain”.

“Wh-wh-what else can you play” stuttered Long Zaitian, running out of instruments to challenge Tang Ye with.

Tang Ye scoffed through his nose and broke into song: “Upon opening my eyes, all I see is tall buildings and locked doors. Im sober, but the dark clouds have yet to lift. The resentment I felt last winter has returned to haunt me. The leaves fall alone, while a pair of swallows soars through the drizzle. When I first met Xiaoping, the courtesan stole my breath in her robe with twoheart characters embellishing it. She conveyed the emotions of yearning through her pipa, stealing my heart. The moonlight that night was mesmerizingly captivating. In the end, she disappeared like the cloud that never came back.”

Youre also a singer now! Did I just give this guy a job and make a fool out of myself!

Tang Ye delivered the song in textbook form; however, his voice drew an audience over. Dugu and company applauded, expressing, “We are hoping you could perform for His Majesty later on.”

Tang Ye kept playing as though he didnt hear them.

“Told you so! Told you hed still be here!” Behind the chubby man, who began searching high and low upon storming in, were thirty or so men. Upon spotting Tang Ye, he erupted, “Where is Cui Ping! What did you do with her”

While Tang Ye was surprised to the extent of hitting a note too high on the erhu, he switched to singing since the song wasnt complete: “Explore the heavens together…”

“Together!” thundered Green Prince.-

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