Martial King's Retired Life

Book 15: Chapter 73

Early the next morning, Ling Jialan stood in the courtyard and peered into the cloudy heavens. Training outdoors early in the morning was a habit for her, but there was no outdoor training ground available in the capital. Therefore, she meditated in her room throughout the night and then headed out at her usual training time in the morning for visualisation practice using her unique method.

Ling Jialan’s visualisation method of training was born out of a desire to train when she was forbidden from touching swords. Having had three years to refine it, she was able to remain in training mode no matter how many distractions were around her – or even if she was in the middle of a conversation – as long as the sky was the same sky she saw on Mount Lu.

After gazing for a long while, Ling Jialing’s sheathed sword started releasing cold energy. The leaves in her vicinity as if she was a drawn blade scaring them away. As the intervals between her breaths lengthened, her spirit felt more pronounced.

While Ling Jialan saw several breakthroughs in her swordplay during her journey, she had plateaued for the last six months. She was aware that her swordplay’s form had become more consolidated, and her internal energy had increased in potency, but she was unable to move forward in her realm. She knew that breaking through would grant her exponential growth, but she also knew that her evolution would cease forever if she couldn’t ascend. For that reason, she struggled to find a worthy opponent. Assuming Feng Qizhi could help push her over the wall, she accepted Feng Jiutian’s request so that she could have Feng Jiutian and Ming Feizhen force Feng Qizhi “out of hiding”.

As Ling Jialan let her thoughts distract her, she lost the concentration of qi in her limbs, but her spirit increased in purity. She continued breathing in the relaxed state for a while. When she regained awareness, she was in an unstable illusion, one that she felt she’d escape if she used even the slightest ounce of strength. This was a world that she had never stepped in to. She felt as though she had been thrust into a natural loop. The profound sensation aligned with her Mount Lu swordplay.

For the first time ever, Ling Jialan was able to sense things she had never sensed before thanks to her senses being heightened. The flowers and foliage in the courtyard swayed in a systemised manner, not because of the breeze but because of someone’s movements, just as her breaths could subtly move the leaves.

It’s someone strong!

Ling Jialan snapped out of her dreamy state. The presence of the adept watching her occupied all of her attention before the new thoughts were able to leave a trace behind. As she was virtually unable to control her body straight away, she was in a precarious situation. She instinctively vaulted up onto the roof of the second floor, landing clumsily. Following her intuition, she located the spot the adept last was and then forced herself to decisively remove the tile to peer down.

There were no traces of the adept, just Ming Feizhen sound asleep below. She suddenly felt a chill down her back, bringing to her attention the fact that her shirt was actually soaked. She dallied for a brief moment before returning to her room.

“Good morning, Miss.” Ming Feizhen rubbed his sore shoulders and greeted Ling Jialan when he met her later. “Happy Chain Camp Inn isn’t among the best inns in the capital, but I love staying here the most because their beds have the perfect softness. I’ve slept on Liu Shan Men’s bed for so long that I’m almost not sued to sleeping on good beds.”

If Ling Jialan didn’t consider Ming Feizhen a waste of time to kill, she would’ve killed him ten times already. Rather than say she was angry with him, it would’ve been more correct to say she was disillusioned.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“To catch the thief.”

Noticing they were heading to Shuntian Bureau, Ming Feizhen frowned.

“You have something to say?”

“No. It is just that this trip will be for nothing.”

Ling Jialan condescendingly glared at Ming Feizhen. Not long after, they did waste their afternoon as Ming Feizhen said they would. They spent all afternoon waiting in line due to lots of people reporting crimes, only to find out that Shuntian Bureau didn’t have any records on Bu Xusan. Hence, she stopped arguing and followed Ming Feizhen.

“What is this place?” questioned Ling Jialan.

“The biggest pub in the capital, on the surface.”

“On the surface?”

“While it is true that it is the biggest pub, they also conduct underground trades and the short. There’s no way to stop business deals even if it’s the capital, let alone stopping people with ambitions. You’ll usually find some surprising information in these sorts of places, so it’s a must-visit if it’s information you want.”

“You… can be useful, huh?”

Ming Feizhen smiled. “Head on over there. There are some people from the martial world there. Those skilled martial artists are more suited for you. I will go ask the waiter and some others for information.”

While Ling Jialan went off in the direct Ming Feizhen suggested, he went and sat down at a table. “Brother Tie, do you have any information on this?” he asked after giving a summary.

Tie Hanyi smiled. “We did have some information on Bu Xusan, but we have lost track of him. His fast and crafty kind…”

Emperor’s Entourage handled major national problems. The headquarters in the capital, in particular, split half their members for handling the imperial court’s jobs, while the other half handled jobs related to the martial world. They wouldn’t have dealt with robbers unless the robber really caused a fiasco. Ming Feizhen knew this beforehand, so he only asked Tie Hanyi to get a general picture.

“How long ago did you last hear about him?”

“More than three months ago.”

“More than three months ago… So, basically, you’ve lost all hints.”

“Your just reminded me. Brother Ming, I would like to ask for your help in tracking down the witch from Demon Sect. I have good news.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the assassin after you.”

“Oooh.”

“It was Yellow Prince.”

Glossary

Shuntian Bureau – I’m changing it from Shuntian Prefecture because the author is using it in a different capacity to Shuntian Prefecture.

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