Book 15: Chapter 29
Let Spring Leave. Autumn Keeps One.
The fragrance of the new tea Boss poured into my cup was appetising, but I couldn’t feel any excitement to try it as I watched it the liquid fill the cup.
“What’s the matter? Not to your liking? This is a gift from Uncle.”
“N-no, it’s nice. Maybe it’s too hot…”
The only way I could describe my mood was returning empty handed after diving deep into the mountains for a treasure.
Did I lose something so valuable without realising it?!
I followed the trajectory of my cup that was stolen from me, raising my head to see Boss holding it carefully in her hands to blow it.
“Here.” Boss tenderly placed the cup in my hand and smiled. “It’s okay now.”
I blankly stared at the cup in my hand for a moment before swooping down for a nip. The moment the warm tea passed down my throat, all of my disappoint vanished.
When did Boss learn this magic spell?
I greedily, yet slowly, finished my drink, then giddily passed it back to Boss for a refill. She gave me a playful glare, then refilled my cup whilst saying, “Uncle wants you to teach them.”
I thought about that possibility, but I couldn’t comprehend the full scope of His Majesty’s thinking. He hadn’t minded that previous attempts to recruit Mount Daluo didn’t bear fruit, and he was probably just riding the wave this time, too. Based on Boss’ logic, though, he didn’t care too much about whether or not we supported a Prince.
“I’ve mentioned supporting the Princes already. That’s not Uncle’s true aim, so you can take it in stride. If it works out, great. If not, so be it. Uncle won’t take issue with it. I’m quite confident his main goal is to have you mentor them.”
“That’s the most perplexing part. What would he want me to mentor a Prince for? Does he want them to be worse than they already are?”
How would it make any sense to accept missing out Mount Daluo and choosing me? There were only two possible reasons I could think of. Firstly, he wanted to use me as a lever to control Mount Daluo, so there’d be hope even if we didn’t align with a Prince. I thought this was the most probable explanation until hearing Boss’ opinion. She had started to convince me that he didn’t have high hopes for recruiting Mount Daluo. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have passed up so many opportunities to discuss it with me after we returned from Nanjiang. The second possible reason was that he saw through my weakling façade. It didn’t seem probable after the act I put on with Zero.
There might’ve been more possible explanations; however, I couldn’t think of any plausible ones. If it was the second one, I should’ve been packing my luggage and running. Even if he knew my true skills, he shouldn’t have discovered I was Lord San Shen yet, which wasn’t to say that he wouldn’t start questioning everything related to me prior to his discovery. Therefore, my days in the imperial court’s employment would be in peril.
“Why can’t you accept that perhaps Uncle genuinely values you more than Mount Daluo?”
“I guess it’s acceptable to say that he’s confident in recruiting me but not Mount Daluo, albeit pushing it. After all, he’s never interacted with Shifu, while he has gone through some rough stuff with me. That being said, I’m not a deviant, but neither am I prim and proper. His Majesty thinks so highly of me?”
“First, there’s no proof that he hasn’t interacted with your shifu before. Second, why can’t you accept that Uncle doesn’t think highly of Mount Daluo’s mighty successor, but simple Ming Feizhen?”
For some reason, it sounded as though Boss had an answer for my query ready for a long time already.
“Me? For?”
“You want to know?”
“Yeah.”
Boss suddenly went silent, probably to decide whether to answer the question or not, but she blushed for some reason as if it was something embarrassing to say. She poked my forehead and said, “Probably your stupidity.”
I suddenly had a déjà vu moment. The last time I remembered this happening was also at Liu Shan Men, but the girl that day had changed.
“There’s this guy who’s stronger than a monster, done so many unbelieve things that many would consider him a hero, yet he chooses to work as a low-income constable at Liu Shan Men. He told me he sticks by my side because I’m stupid, but I’d argue he’s stupider. He’s the strongest martial artist I’ve met, yet he desires neither power nor authority. Instead, he only cares for food and wine. He’s done lots of things people would be considered a waste of time. He’s ordinary. He looks ordinary, speaks in an ordinary manner, likes ordinary things, and everything following him is ordinary. His hobbies are also ordinary. There are so many things out there that he could take as long as he wanted to, but he isn’t interested in them. Still, he’s always clear on what’s most important to him. I can understand the things he cares about.”
I had no clue how to react when Boss removed her finger from my forehead, but I saw her smile with a tinge of embarrassment.
“He’s an idiot, but he knows what’s most important in life. Though he possesses supreme might, he remembers to eat, sleep, make friends, live, and he knows how to live as a human being. Many who acquired his might forget, or perhaps they stopped caring, but he’s continued to care.”
I was sure those were words I should’ve said. Her eyes, the upward curve at her lips, they gave me the impression that she was pouring out her heart, but I couldn’t focus on anything besides what my eyes saw. I felt she had been avoiding me today, trying to hide something from me, and I now realised there was a tinge of gentleness in her eyes that justified shyness.
“What?”
“N-nothing, just, uh… just shocked.”𝚋𝚎𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎𝚕.𝚗𝚎𝚝
“Y-yeah?”
Whatever came to Boss’ mind next led her gaze underneath my nose a tad, and then she coughed.
“Back on topic. Based on my understanding of Uncle, I’m 80% sure I know why he holds you in high regard.”
Reflecting on big events, I had confidence in Boss’ confidence.
“Each Prince had his temperament and strengths. However, they grew up sheltered and treated as special people, so they don’t understand the people’s hardships. Or rather… they’re indifferent. I believe Uncle wants them to learn to sympathise with the people.”
“The people’s hardships, huh?”
I was an expert on that field and definitely overqualified to teach the subject, but…
“I still can’t take them under my wing.”
“Why?”
I explained my woes and the unacceptable risk of bringing them into Mount Daluo’s direct disciple line. It wasn’t a risk I could overlook. Even if their family was blessed, even if his sons weren’t ambitious in the wrong way – although that sounded so ridiculous to me – even if his sons didn’t want to be involved with Six Evils, even if they were too cowardly, or even if they feared Mount Daluo, who could’ve continued guaranteeing that remained true in the future? It took one precedence to trigger an avalanche. Humans had a limited lifespan; Six Evils didn’t. Who could’ve foreseen what’d happen once Grandmaster, Shifu and I were gone? If I let one of them through our doors, how would I know if a future patriarch of Mount Daluo would have the balls to stand up against pressure and refuse another member of the imperial family through our doors if I was struggling already?
Even if the Prince I took under my wing swore to not sabotage our sect if he didn’t ascend to the throne, I still had to seek approval from Grandmaster and Shifu. It wasn’t something I could haphazardly agree to. In this day and age, people would eat and then righteously walk out the front door without paying the bill. Ask them to pay, and they’ll deny it until you give up, let alone obtaining the authority to rule the world. What if they agreed to my terms and then dishonoured it a few years down the track?
“That’s what you were worried about? Not all teachers require people to become an official disciple to teach them literacy, martial arts or recite wisdom from sages, right, Can’t-fight Head Constable Ming?”
I… I… That’s… a good point.