The bouts for today were cancelled half-way through and were set to resume tomorrow.
Boss Shen left a job in my hands, and that is to go and see if anything strange has happened in the capital's martial world.
I really don't want to do this job.
The League of Assassins and the Divine Moon Sect can't be compared, and to be frank don't have much to do with me. I frankly don't object to them carrying out a hit in the capital. There's a hit every day after all. Nobody has the time and energy to deal with all of them. Moreover, the imperial court's warriors are guarding the capital. Even if the Black Winds Thirteen Wings were greater, there are only thirteen of them at the end of the day, so it's not like they could cause a huge ruckus.
But I can't just handle the job Boss Shen gave me thoughtlessly. She's smart so she'll be able to tell if I didn't put in any effort with a single glance.
I found a rogue make-up store and asked them to make me look like a boorish fellow in the pugilistic world.
Given my height, it wasn't difficult. They happily helped me put on make-up for a few pennies. Once I was ready, I walked towards my target location with a face nobody recognised.
Instead of running around looking for clues, why not go knock on their door directly?
And thus, I decided to go to the League of Assassins branch in the capital to talk to the branch leader.
However, the passcode used when my shifu and I met the leader back then has expired. It's also extremely hard to meet with the leader of the League of Assassins, no easier than trying to get my shifu to pay for his meal. So hoping to find him by running around randomly on the streets is wishful thinking.
But it's not like I have to see the leader. I just need to know what the League of Assassins is doing in the capital. This much I can do.
I'm here. I should say the passcode now.
Hmm, let me have a think……
"Love the nation, love the family, and love your junior martial sister!"
As soon as I said it, a hawker with sly, slit eyes jumped out and whispered: "Beware of fires, beware of thieves, and beware of your senior martial brother!"
I looked at the punk. He looked back at me and like a thief asked: "I haven't seen you before brother, are you after biscuits or steamed buns?"
Biscuits are yellow, so that meant you were working government, steamed buns are white, so that meant you were from the sects of justice of the martial world. When they sometimes run into those from the sects of justice, they'll throw a steamed bun to a dog, and then smile at the person from the sect of justice mockingly, because they don't understand what they're on about…..
Their choice of words for their passcode is quite interesting.
They used food as placeholders for different sects, of course, with differences for sects of justice and evil sects.
I seem to recall that Shaolin was glutinous rice rolls with sweet bean flour, Wudang was beef with mixed cold salad, and Emei was noodle soup… All their names are fucked up!
Also, I never understood why the Qilin Guards were called spaghetti Bolognese until I heard about them pursuing the three evils of He Dong. They sent more than four hundred men after those three pitiful bugs and tossed their steel sabres at them. Yeah, more than four hundred sabres. The three evils became minced meat on the spot. The stench of blood as a result of that…..
In short, the sects of justice are assigned relatively light coloured foods, while the evil sects are assigned relatively dark coloured foods.
And I should be……
"I'm used to having braised pork shoulders in soy sauce."
The person listened in awe.
"Those from the Night Fortress have rarely appeared recently!"
The night fortress… That's the branch of Mount Daluo that my shifu started in Jiang Nan. Because of how much of an embarrassment he was, he didn't dare to call it a branch of Mount Daluo again to avoid the grandmaster waking up in a fit of anger and killing him with a palm strike while still dazy. After that, Night Fortress continued to exist, but nobody actually knew it was a branch of Mount Daluo. And because of the terrible reputation Night Fortress had, it was always considered an evil sect by people.
But it's not like I could get into the League of Assassins by telling them I'm from a sect of justice.
The guy who received me took me into a gambling building. We crossed a long hallway, turned left, turned right and then unexpectedly ended up at the courtyard around the back. He opened the door, and I found I was at a completely different street.
He took me across another two streets and into a teahouse that looked laid back and elegant. It was a four-story teahouse. We went to the third floor and into a dark lattice, and continued going up to the fifth floor hidden in the roof that couldn't be seen from the outside or inside.
I was stunned. These guys will come up with anything for their intelligence gathering work. If I were from a sect of justice, I'd probably have lost contact with my backup and be crying for my mom by myself by now.
The person who received me went inside to report to the person inside. I waited at the door for a while and then they finally let me in.
Before I could enter, I could hear laughter that sounded like it came from a beast.
"Wahahaha, there's no way a fly could get into Jiang Nan. Even we don't dare to be flamboyant when operating in Jiang Nan. They say Jiang Nan's Ten Million, The Seven White Champion Princes. With those seven fierce tiger leaders around, none of my sect's members dares to act rashly. Only Night Fortress stands out. I've wanted to meet somebody from Night Fortress for quite some time now. Come in, come in."
I walked into the hall, and only saw a bloke who looked crude and laid back. Judging from his physique, I don't think he's three hundred kilograms. He had a pair of stinky feet, and a messy beard, but damn was he a lucky bastard. He had four beautiful young girls around him. Two were giving him a back and shoulder massage while the other two were massaging his leg and feet.
I truly felt sorry for the young girl massaging his feet……
"Hahahahaha, young man, you were the one who wanted to see me, Meng Jiangnan?"
It looks like he's the leader of the League of Assassins branch in the capital then.
But, bro, is your name a rip off of Meng Jiangnu?*
"Yes, my surname is Ming."
"That's right. A family member from Master Ming's Night Fortress should be surnamed Ming." He scanned me, revealed a big smile: "You do look like someone from our sect."
Those from the sects of evil don't call themselves members of "sects of evil". Some of them refer to themselves as "men of the forests", or "men of our sect", which both mean the same thing, and that is "we're in the same group".
"What have you come to see me for, Brother Ming?"
"I had something I wanted to ask you about, Boss Meng."
"You're too courteous." Meng Jiangnan waved his hand, chuckled and said: "Night Fortress have a great reputation. I highly respect Master Ming. Our members in Jiang Nan are like bitches, being scared by those bastards, the Seven White Champion Princes. But look at Night Fortress, you're completely different. Has anything happened all these years? No. Night Fortress has always managed to piss off the Seven White Champion Princes every time. I admire that. I admire that!"
Indeed, Night Fortress has never been given any grief in Jiang Nan. And that's because the seven sects that make up the Seven White Champion Princes know the actual background of Night Fortress. They don't give Night Fortress grief to avoid trambling on my shifu's reputation any further. It's so shameful I can't tell anybody about it…..
"You're too kind, boss Meng. I came here to ask….."
"Wait." Meng Jiangnan extended his short arm which resembled a pig's leg, "I won't answer your questions because I suspect that you're not from Night Fortress."
My heart froze: "What makes you say so?"
Meng Jiangnan chuckled and said: "Everybody says that we're the number one assassination organisation, but that's not quite true. We're just an organisation that brings assassins together. We don't sell assassins. We sell intel. Did you think we didn't know who you are?"
I looked at him and frankly asked: "Who am I then?"
"Your surname is indeed, Ming, but unfortunately, you're not from Night Fortress. You're from Liu Shan Men."
A murderous gaze appeared in Meng Jiangnan's eyes, and he shouted: "Ming Feizhen! You came out from Liu Shan Men. My subordinates saw you. You dare claim to be from Night Fortress? Men, kill him!"
Glossary
*Meng Jiangnu is a famous figure from Chinese folklore
Translator Comments: See comments for future of Martial King's Retired Life