Chapter 21

21. No affection.

Soaking in the hot bathtub while listening to the rain, it felt like paradise.

While my eyes were closed, the heavy rain gradually subsided.

After some time, the corridor became quieter than before, and the various sounds from the lower floor also diminished.

“……”

My senses and experience detected an unnatural silence, indicating something was amiss.

‘An ambush?’

If it really was an ambush, I would have to face the visitor in my naked, weaponless state.

Silence in a brothel is inherently abnormal.

However, I waited in the bathtub without calling anyone or ordering weapons to be brought.

I didn’t think anyone would come looking for me after I killed the three brothers of the Zhao family and the twin demons of the Huan Dao.

It wouldn’t be the Black Cat Gang. The collectors were too scared, so the possibility of a Black Cat Gang expert coming immediately was low.

Then it must be from within Riliang County.

The second-in-command from Li Hua Lou and Shi Hua Lou, who were skilled with swords, came to mind.

I’m not a prophet; I just know this clearly because I know the future and who is in Riliang County.

Of course, this was a prediction, and I was still half-doubting it. However, without any warning, footsteps were heard in the corridor, and the door to the bath opened.

I looked at the two people entering the bath and said,

“Is it you?”

They were local guys, so I naturally knew their faces.

Song Wujin from Li Hua Lou and Liu Junqiu from Shi Hua Lou.

Add Zhang Chengtai, and the lower-levels call them the “Tai Jin Qiu,” the leaders and managers of the brothel.

Upon confirming that I was naked in the bathtub, Song Wujin and Liu Junqiu rushed at me without a word, swords in hand.

In that brief moment, I thought,

This is normal in the world of killing and being killed.

I was naked and weaponless, but...

There was the bathtub.

As soon as I channeled the energy of the Yan technique into my hands, I grabbed the wooden planks I had torn from the bathtub, using them like wooden swords in both hands. Simultaneously, I released a burst of energy, splashing the water and broken remnants of the bathtub at Song Wujin and Liu Junqiu.

The broken remnants and water from the bathtub surged towards Song Wujin and Liu Junqiu from all directions.

Then, in my naked state, I swung the wooden swords.

Both were fighters on par with Zhang Chengtai.

This meant they posed no threat to me.

However, they had the advantage in weapons.

When my wooden sword was cut by Song Wujin’s sword, I kicked him in the abdomen with my left foot.

Thud!

I then dodged Liu Junqiu’s sword with a nod of my head and struck his hand with the wooden sword. Song Wujin, hit in the abdomen, charged at me with a red face, and Liu Junqiu, having lost his sword, rushed at me with his bare hands, intent on a close-quarters fight.

I maintained my distance.

To keep this distance, I retreated while channeling the energy of the Yan technique into the wooden sword, drawing it indiscriminately in the air.

With each “whoosh,” the wooden planks cut across the faces of Song Wujin and Liu Junqiu.

These wooden planks, barely qualifying as swords, allowed me to slash at the two men repeatedly.

In a moment, seven or eight attacks grazed their faces, upper bodies, and arms.

Each time, blood spurted and splattered across the bath.

I hoped their corpses would serve as a warning to others.

After swinging the planks until the two men were drenched in blood, I discarded the tattered planks.

Simultaneously, the men who had been cut by the planks collapsed to the floor.

The bath quickly filled with red blood, which flowed down the slope and gathered in the drain.

Song Wujin and Liu Junqiu lay dead in the bath, submerged in their own blood.

I picked up a sword from the floor, still naked, and walked out into the corridor.

“Chengtai...”

‘Did these guys team up with Zhang Chengtai?’

I didn’t think so.

The lack of response suggested he was either dead or being attacked by these men’s subordinates.

As I walked the corridor naked, a servant screamed and then covered her mouth.

I spoke calmly to the startled servant,

“Bring me some clothes. Anything.”

“Yes.”

As I passed several rooms, I said,

“Where is Lady Sun? Lady Sun...”

A servant ran up from behind with a pair of pants she had found.

“I only found pants. Please, use these...”

I put on the pants while asking,

“Have you seen Lady Sun?”

“Yes.”

“Maybe she’s hiding. She’s quick.”

In fact, Lady Sun couldn’t do much. She didn’t need to run, but perhaps she had told others I was taking a leisurely bath, which is why I was looking for her first.

I smiled at the trembling servant.

“Lady Sun has no affection. Right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I quickly descended the stairs, still in my pants, with a sword in hand.

If Zhang Chengtai was dead, I would find and kill those who killed him. If he was still alive, I would go to help him.

Song Wujin and Liu Junqiu must have chosen to ambush me.

Their subordinates were likely sent to Zhang Chengtai, and only these two came to me, as they were the leaders.

I realized I hadn’t put on shoes as I walked the rain-soaked street.

The pants kept slipping down. I temporarily secured them by jamming the sword into the ground.

“Zhang Chengtai.”

I called out, infusing my voice with inner energy, and listened. From the direction of Zha Jia Ke Zan, I faintly heard someone shouting, which sounded like cursing.

I ran towards Zha Jia Ke Zan, sword in hand.

* * *

Zhang Chengtai, leaning against the wall of an alley, was bleeding from his face. He held a dagger in his left hand, pressing it against a man’s throat, and a straight sword in his right hand, pointing it at the surrounding men.

Zhang Chengtai spat,

“Did Junqiu send you? You bastards...”

The men surrounding Zhang Chengtai still numbered over ten. During the push towards the quiet Zha Jia Ke Zan, Zhang Chengtai had killed seven of them, making it a surprising seventeen-to-one fight.

Naturally, if his direct subordinates were there, he wouldn’t be in this situation.

He was ambushed while moving the bodies of the twin demons of the Huan Dao with the Li Hua Lou riffraff, and the Li Hua Lou riffraff turned on him.

This neighborhood is indeed a mess.

Zhang Chengtai should have been more cautious. This was his mistake, as he usually considered himself stronger than Song Wujin and Liu Junqiu.

His subordinates and his own skills were indeed better.

However, Zhang Chengtai lacked experience in facing so many enemies alone.

After confirming that these men had no intention of retreating, he plunged the dagger into the throat of the man he was holding and advanced, swinging the straight sword.

With the blood loss, his only chance of survival was to quickly kill the ten men.

Zhang Chengtai attacked without hesitation, targeting limbs, faces, and any exposed parts. Even as his arm was cut, he stabbed the man’s face, and while being pushed back by a kick, he rolled on the ground and stabbed the ankles of the men around him.

More screams echoed.

Zhang Chengtai, covered in rain, blood, and mud, stood up and roared,

“Come on, you bastards!”

In a fight among third-rate people, momentum is crucial. These men, not being leaders like Song Wujin or Liu Junqiu, were easily influenced by such displays.

At this moment, a man who felt no camaraderie pushed an injured comrade towards Zhang Chengtai and ordered,

“Attack all at once.”

As the pushed man was impaled by Zhang Chengtai’s sword, the others, holding their weapons, charged simultaneously.

“Damn.”

Zhang Chengtai is not a fool. He had no choice but to retreat.

He instinctively knew he needed to change the psychological state before fighting again.

At this moment, a “thud” was heard.

In the darkness, it was hard to see, but another “thud” was heard, and a man fell.

Then a “splat” was heard, and a head flew into the air.

Only then did Zhang Chengtai recognize the voice of the damned waiter.

“Gang leader, are you alive? Wow, impressive.”

Zhang Chengtai shouted,

“Save me!”

Despite his relief, he was too excited, and his heart boiled. He muttered,

“...Bastards.”

* * *

I had no particular feelings towards the subordinates of Song Wujin and Liu Junqiu. However, since they tried to kill the gang leader, I couldn’t let them off. I aimed to thin their ranks, cutting or stabbing most of them with a single sword.

When only four or five were left, Zhang Chengtai joined in, shouting like a madman.

I sheathed my sword, and Zhang Chengtai, driven by personal revenge, went wild.

The “thud” sounds and Zhang Chengtai’s curses formed a brief harmony.

...

The bodies around Zha Jia Ke Zan kept increasing.

After killing all the riffraff, Zhang Chengtai dropped his straight sword and collapsed, breathing heavily.

“Huff... huff... huff... phew... ah...”

Then Zhang Chengtai looked me up and down.

I was holding my pants to keep them from slipping, barefoot, and naked from the waist up.

It was clear I had rushed out of the bath.

Zhang Chengtai looked at me for a while and asked,

“Did you come from a bath?”

I nodded and looked up at the sky. The heavy rain had stopped, but a light drizzle was still falling.

“I’ve bathed several times today.”

At this, Zhang Chengtai’s tension finally eased, and he laughed in a relieved manner.

“Ah...”

I extended the sword I was holding, pointing it at Zhang Chengtai’s chin.

“Chengtai.”

“Yes.”

I looked down at Zhang Chengtai and asked,

“Do you still find me ridiculous? Just a waiter?”

Zhang Chengtai, who had done nothing wrong, looked at me with surprise. However, I needed to further educate him.

To prevent today’s events from happening again.