Martial King's Retired Life-Chapter 23Book 15:

Where Can One Find a Brightly Blooming Flower?

Perhaps out of trust in me, Tang Ye welcomed himself in without any hesitation. He didn’t believe anything could’ve gone wrong, and I would’ve been capable of dealing with any problems, since I had recovered my ability to fight. There was a problem, though! An internal problem!

Tang Ye looked at me, who just felt relief. I looked back.

“Wh-wh-what?! What are you looking at?!”

Tang Ye scanned the room. “Oh, just you?”

“Who else should be here?!”

“Nothing. Just asking.”

There was no bath tub and nobody behind the screen. It was just me, a table, a tea pot, and two tea cups. Everything was natural, graceful and serene… although I had to prepare it all on my own. The moment Tang Ye reached for the door, I performed a simultaneous double palm strike to my rear, sending the bath tub behind the screen without spilling a drop of water with one hand, and gently putting Boss onto the bed with my other hand. Due to the vacuum generated making it hard to even breathe normally, Boss was unable make a sound. The residue force closed the bed curtains as the tub silently landed on the ground. I completed the task before Tang Ye even set foot inside.

I’ll have you know exhibiting precise control of strength, the ability to link movements, all within in instant, and without hurting Boss was a daunting task, far more demanding than dicing the turkey a few days ago. Despite the awe-inspiring feat, Tang Ye frowned.

“What now?!”

Tang Ye eyed me from head to toe. “I thought you said you were changing.”

Can you please not have such a good memory?!

“I’m done. My bad for making you wait. Had I not been quick, you would’ve seen me naked. Brother, even though we’re both men, let’s respect each other’s privacy, shall we?”

Tang Ye looked even more confused.

“Now what?”

“What happened to the clothes you changed out of, then?”

… Who did you learn detective work from?! You’re investigating me now?!

“Oh, is that yours?” Tang Ye spotted a set of clothes behind me.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just changed out of it. See, the smell…” I picked up the set to sniff. It wasn’t different to the smell from the bath tub; it made my heart beat even faster than that. The light-pink set of clothes that Boss loved had the mixture of her sweat and fragrance. In other words, it was as if I had my face up against her skin! “…”

“Isn’t that a lady’s clothing?”

Don’t point it out! What sort of unaware guy, are you?! I’m already feeling awkward enough as it is! Can’t you just keep it to yourself?!

Tang Ye crossed his arms. “Based on its condition, it should be an old set. Judging from its size, the owner shouldn’t be tall. Also…”

Your eyes are too good, but they’re too good for the wrong reason! I never asked you to examine this!

“Stop him already! He might as well profile me if he keeps this up!” Boss thundered using Voice Transmission.

“It’s mine!” I exclaimed.

“Really?” questioned Tang Ye.

“Yes!”

“So you brought it here?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Tang Ye tilted his head to the side. “So, you wore on women’s clothing in Vice-captain’s room?”

Y-… No!

I shook my head vigorously.

“… I guess that doesn’t make sense.”

I nodded vigorously.

“So, you walked around in women’s clothing, then changed here. Ah, you didn’t want anyone to see, right?”

How did you get to that conclusion?! How did you get to that conclusion so casually?! How much have you grown in the capital?!𝘣𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙．𝘤𝘰𝘮

“What exactly are you here for?!”

“I needed to talk to Vice-captain, but talking to you about it would be the same thing since you can pass it on.”

I didn’t ask why Tang Ye was so sure I could pass it on. I didn’t predict what he had to say.

“What? Traces of Demon Sect?”

“Yes. Emperor’s Entourage found traces of Demon Sect. Although Sir Dugu mentioned there were probably only a small number of them, and did not evaluate them as being very skill, it does not change the fact that they hate the imperial court to the core. Given the current tensions in the capital, infiltrating the capital now is walking straight into their grave.”

Considering how much Tang Ye spoke, he knew the critical level of the matter. He was vaguely aware of my connection to Divine Moon Cult, after all. He would help me cover, nevertheless.

“Should we help them?”

My first reaction was to tell him to smuggle them out of the capital, but then I remembered Boss was right behind me!

“Uh…”

“I assume they are y-”

“I should discuss something so important with Boss first!”

How did this kid nearly kill me socially and physically twice in a matter of minutes?! Did you evolve?!

“I know what to do next. You can leave now.”

If my boss, who had already spewed over four hundred profane phrases, had to wait any longer, I probably wouldn’t have got to see tomorrow.

“Are you not leaving with me?”

“I… will stay here for a while longer.”

“You… still want to change?”

I never changed! Forget about the whole thing, will you?! Forget it once you step outs-, no forget it right now!

“What else are you going to do?”

“I’m, uh, well, thirsty. Want some tea? Haha.”

Tang Ye shook the teapot. “It is empty, though.”

“…”

“Let’s go for drinks. I will pay.”

I want to, and I’m thankful you’ll pay, but I really can’t leave! If I leave now, Boss will hold a grudge! Plus, I needed to speak to Boss to begin with!

“Just because there’s no tea in the teapot, doesn’t mean there’s no tea in the cup.” I set down the teacup in my hand. Needless to say, I filled it with the steaming amber liquid faster than Tang Ye could catch on. As for the liquid came from…

No, I was not going to drink it! No! I just wanted to prove my point! I did not drink the water from Boss’ bath tub! I smelt nice and looked nice, but I would never!

Despite having been proven wrong and rendered speechless, Tang Ye showed no intention to leave. Instead, he appeared to be searching for the next thing to say.

Since when did Tang Ye hesitate to speak his mind? Since when did he offer to buy me drinks?

“My junior, you have some problems you wish to consult me on, right?”

Tang Ye nodded. “Yes.”

I was pretty confident I knew what troubled him. As leaving Boss on the bed for too long would be inappropriate, I took out a notebook from my shirt and tossed it onto Tang Ye’s chest. It hit him faster than he could react, but he managed to catch it. After he skimmed it, his eyes widened.

“You think I’ve spent the last few days just snoozing? Take it.” I smiled. “While your internal energy is admirable, it’s not something you developed yourself. That’s going to make it impossible to perform what you wish at will. The technique from Ancient King that you practice comes from real combat; you never learnt the supporting mental cultivation.”

The last part was because I never wrote the mental cultivation. I spent ages deliberating and then noted down my thoughts in there. Use it as reference material for your own thinking. Let me give you a disclaimer, though: I have no means of teaching you every martial art I’ve learnt. Ancient King’s mental cultivation was designed to synthesise disciplines, but it’s not complete. It’s brief, but I’ve recorded how to utilise and develop internal energy in there. Although I created Ancient King String, I’ve never sifted through to trim unnecessary things. The essences of all thirty-six techniques are written in there. If you can master it, controlling ice and fire is easy. The two of them might not be enough for you, as a matter of fact.”

Tang Ye lowered his head. “Ancient King String?“

“Yep. Go study up. You can leave now, right?”

Tang Ye inhaled deeply, looking touched. “No, not yet. I have one more thing I need to talk about.”

That wasn’t what you wanted to talk about?! Why are you moved, then?! Give me my secret manual back!