Tianhu folded his fan, erasing all traces of the sinisterness moments before as he wore on an affable smile. “According to your subject’s investigations, Ming Feizhen is indeed suspicious. Your subject discovered a common denominator in the analysis Emperor’s Entourage drew from the occasions you were thrust into peril. Every time you have found yourself cornered in the last six months, he has been present. In addition, he is never far from the scene; on several occasions, he was even near you. Every time something major happens, he is nowhere to be seen.”
“I disagree. Although there are various factors involved with Cheng’er’s coup, it had nothing to do with Ming Feizhen. Meeting Luo Ming and our pilgrimage here is also linked to me. We are reaching if we say he is colluding with my enemies. If he is suspicious for those reasons, who isn’t suspicious?”
Tianhu reacted as though he expected that response. “Your subject concurs on those points. That is why your subject was not referring to the threats encountered but the neutralisation of those threads.
“Your recent encounters have been too coincidental. It is understandable for you to be targeted due to your involvement in the pugilistic world’s affairs. What is strange is that you survive every dangerous predicament.
“During His Highness’ act of treason, Lord San Shen showed up out of nowhere to help you, and then you ran into him again during Secretary Kong’s case. On your way to Huzhou, you met Night Fortress’ master. On Taihu Island, a self-proclaimed deity showed up during Refining Divine Convention. Every single time you have been faced with a crisis, some great individual has shown up, and they all share one common trait: they are all passing by and chose to defend justice, then walk off without explaining anything.
“Your Majesty, although you are blessed with a fortuitous fate, for you to come across such a situation once is once too many. The second time warrants suspicion. The third occurrence is evidence that it is deliberate. If their forms were not different on each occasion, you would think Lord San Shen and Night Fortress master is the same person.
“If he was only an ordinary warrior seeking employment under the imperial court, then it would not be a very serious issue. Howbeit, he is Mount Daluo’s successor for this generation. It is impossible for him to not be connected to those odd events. Let us pretend he is not extremely skilled and hiding his identity when approaching you. From this campaign in Nieyao alone, we can conclude that he is far above average. He is definitely the one who reached out for assistance. Your subject ran into League of Assassins’ members in Nieyao. Your subject believes Ming Feizhen sought their help.
“Regardless of whether he is leveraging Mount Daluo or it is his own competence, there is no doubt he can mobilise greats of the world. Night Fortress seems neither evil nor just, so let us put them aside for the time being. League of Assassins and Demon Sect are unquestionably unorthodox factions. He can even call on the likes of Lord San Shen. It is clear that he has the power to mobilise orthodox as well as unorthodox sects.
“If he was from Shaolin or Wudang, this may not be a big issue. However, Mount Daluo is known as ‘One dynasty, one invincible’. Hero Shenzhou has been ‘Invincible’ since the beginning of your family’s reign. Ming Huayu, who has been patriarch since your father’s era, is acquainted with people across all fields and cannot be evaluated using common sense. Even if we overlook his fickle character, is there any field of martial arts that he does not excel in?
“Ming Feizhen has inherited Mount Daluo’s teachings and has the support of unorthodox factions. Even as we speak, we still do not completely know him. If you are going to trust him by your side, we, as your agents, will be busy.”
“Hmm… Let’s say all of that was his work: what do you suppose he saved me for? To earn my trust?”
“Your subject cannot provide anything conclusive on that.”
“Had he asked for it, I might’ve betrothed Hongzhuang to him after the Imperial Martial Arts Tournament. If it’s my trust he covets, why not just become fuma? Wouldn’t it be better to earn my trust from there?”
“… Perhaps there is a reason that we do not know.”
“An upright man should distinguish between rights and wrongs. Irrespective of why he hid part of the story, there is no denying he has constantly helped in the past six months. For that, I owe him. Should your speculations be true, he has been saving me time and time again. I ought to repay him for what he did. Do not speak of ‘nipping it in the bud’ or anything of that nature. Nobody should repay kindness with ingratitude.”
Tianhu scrubbed his head, then supinated his hands. “While repaying kindness with ingratitude may not be the honourable thing to do, you are a monarch. As a monarch, it is only natural for you to be a little ruthless and willing to resort to underhanded means. As your subject on your payroll, your subject has a duty to fulfil his role. In your subject’s professional opinion, keeping him around is a tremendous risk to you.
“Your Majesty, please allow your subject to get the harsh words out of the way first: you must remove problems at the root. You can name any excuse you deem appropriate. We do not have a shortage of talent at fabricating them. The best story is that he died in the mouth of a calamitous beast. There will be no evidence, and it can be justified on Mount Daluo’s side. Otherwise, you will regret it.”
“Shut it! Be it as a man or as an Emperor, if he doesn’t uphold morals and the codes of honour, how can he have the shame to face his people. Should there be irrefutable evidence of his collusion, that is another story. How can we take a life purely out of doubt?
“If I will regret it, that is for my future self to deal with. Right now, I must do what is right. Who would be willing to trust me if the reward for saving me is execution? Even if the world doesn’t find out, how can I sleep at night?”
Tianhu shook his head. “You will regret this, Your Majesty.”
“Hmph, merit deserves reward. Errors deserve punishment. Ming Feizhen contributed immensely to slay the beasts and restore peace to Nieyao. Without his leadership, victory would be out of reach. He ended Shaman Monarch Palace’s corruption, eradicated the bandits of Nanjiang on top of helping Nanjiang’s various states. No matter how many elites Xiuyu had, they wouldn’t have been able to cross through the states; how would we have been able to fight in Nieyao without concern for our rear?
“Wanyu had four days. They could’ve stationed an army fifty kilometres behind us or in the forest to attack us from the rear. Had they done so, all the credit would be theirs. Moreover, we didn’t win just because we had superior military might but also because the enemy’s judgement was wrong. Without Heisina Tribe’s knowledge of the secret path, how would we have caught them by surprise? Why did Heisina Tribe work with us? One way or another, Ming Feizhen had a hand in recruiting them. Before a single monster was slain, Ming Feizhen already contributed more than anyone.”
Tianhu swiped his nose, unbothered by the rejection, “Seventeen letters have been sent from the capital, urging you to hurry. What do you think?”
“How can I disappoint my warriors?” Emperor Yuansheng flicked his sleeve, brushed aside his robe and then took a seat. “I will stay here in Nieyao to reward my brave warriors accordingly. I will personally applaud everyone who warrants a third-class merit. I will personally give Constable Ming praise! This is how a human being ought to behave!”
“But, uh, the capital w-”
“I am a man of my word; I will not go back on what I have said. Pass on my decree: until I am done awarding my men, I will not return. I refuse to believe it’s so hard to be an Emperor who can uphold morals and honour. Where’s Ming Feizhen?”
“Sleeping in the adjacent tent. What do you plan to…?”
“King Wen visited Ziya. I shall visit Ming Feizhen and, as King Wen did, I shall wait to pass on the good news to him. I am going to wait by his bedside now until he wakes.” Emperor Yuansheng left in a huff for Ming Feizhen’s tent.
Emperor Yuansheng pulled over a stool to sit when he saw Ming Feizhen biting on his blanket in his sleep. “Hmph, I refuse to believe it’s so hard to not be a conniving Emperor. I’d like to see who has the audacity to take this stool out from under me.”
Emperor Yuansheng probably never imagined he would glue his bottom to the stool for a month.
Glossary
One dynasty, one invincible – Where there is a dynasty, there will always be one invincible sect (Mount Daluo). Why isn’t there a subject after “invincible” you ask? Because that’s how archaic Chinese works. It leaves a lot of room for more sayings, quotes and so forth. If I insert a subject here, we can run into trouble when a variation is introduced.
Third-class merits – It’s part of a military merit reward system.
King Wen – Referring to King Wen of Zhou
Ziya – Full name: Jiang Ziya. I’ve gone over him a few times already, so I won’t go there again.
