Chapter 23

I used the next two hours to get ready. After the day I’d had, I couldn’t believe it wound up ending so well. I headed back home and dumped off my gear before getting a quick wash, ridding myself of most of the mud and blood. I kind of wanted to invite Yu Li to come with us, but I decided against it. For one, she still wasn’t even speaking to me yet and two, she had no one to look after Su Ling and where we were headed was no place to take a kid. Still, I reminded myself in advance to bring her back something nice and to tuck away next month’s rent money inside of it. I still couldn’t believe how easy it was to think like that now. I had enough money for three months’ rent for both of us and plenty to spare. Maybe I was splurging a bit going out tonight, but damn it, for what I’d been through today, I deserved a little celebration and R&R.

I even deserve a hot bath, I decided.

I got out of the tepid water, threw on some fresh clothes and headed for the bath house closer to the center of town. Most of the folks in the square still looked at me cross-eyed as I passed through but I didn’t care, I was on top of the world right now. I stopped at the money lenders in the central market and broke up the coin, my purse never feeling so heavy as I left with four and a half Taels of silver and almost 500 Wen of copper. I was careful to stash it in a rented locker when I hit the bathhouse.

I’d been to the baths only a few times before, on the rare occasions when I had the extra coin to spare. But now, not only could I enjoy a nice soak in some expensive herbal bath salts that helped soothe my body, but I also had a massage. The young girl who performed it gave me a nice bonus of lemonade too, frequently complimenting me on my muscles as her hands glided over them.

I used her lemonade to add even more.

When I finished, I decided to treat myself further and got a haircut and shave. I kept the beard but instructed the barber to trim it neatly, especially since Mu Lin said Xi Xha seemed to be into it. I then looked at my hair. I had grown it long and kept it pinned back in the customary Yee fashion that most people wore it. Not out of style, but necessity. I couldn’t afford to go to a barber every month and I didn’t have the skills to cut it myself. But now that I had some cash, why not? I told the barber to cut it short on the sides and leave a bit on top. By the time I finished instructing him with exactly what I wanted, I felt like I was looking at my old self again when I gazed in the mirror. A younger, and perhaps cooler, version of my dad.

I ended my self-indulgent splurging spree on a trip to the tailors and waited for half an hour while the artisans made me a fresh set of clothes suitable for a night out. Nothing too flashy to tip people off that I’d come into a lot of money, but ten times better than the old rags I wore to work each day. By the time I met up with Mu Lin and Lee, their jaws nearly hit the floor when they saw me.

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“Holy shit, Chun!” Mu Lin said, her eyes peeled wide like she was looking at an alien or something. “Is that really you?”

“Now you’re really trying to show me up,” Lee said, ruffling my short haircut playfully. “Who is this badass and what did you do with our Chun?”

I laughed, flexing with a little [Indifference]. “Come on, guys. Let’s have fun tonight.”

* * *

The restaurant district wasn’t a true district per se. More like a sub section of the city center. The portion we had access to as natives was perhaps considered within the rougher part of town, but compared to where we lived, a visit to the restaurant district was like a trip to Las Vegas.

Qi-powered signs lit up the night like neon, joined by strings of lanterns hung across the street. The atmosphere was already lively with music and laughter from the sizable crowd. There seemed to be a mixture of people here. While most were commoners or low-tier citizens of the empire, I spotted a few cultivators that stood out in their fine robes and dress, some of them even accompanied by an entourage of beauties and manservants, like that idiot Li Gong Qui.

The usual enforcers were on duty as well, but they didn’t seem to be eyeing the crowd as oppressively as they did in the market district. After a few minutes of crowd watching, Mu Lin began hopping up and down, waving to someone.

“There she is! Xi Xha! Over here!”

When I turned to see Xi Xha stepping through the crowd, I thought I was looking at a fashion model. Her hair was pinned up elegantly and her makeup was flawless, the look all pulled together in a sheer-fitting black gown. When she caught sight of me, I figured the feeling must have been mutual, because her lemonade hit me like a tidal wave.

“Oh my,” she said, her gorgeous green eyes stared at me with a hunger. “You look… Even better than I remembered, Chun. That hairstyle is so Terran. I love it.”

That caused a laugh to come from Lee and a bit of irritation to come from Mu Lin.

“Thanks.” I gave her a smile and a polite bow. “It’s nice to see you again as well, Xi Xha.”

“A new friend?” She gave a bow to Lee. “I am Xi Xha.”

“Pleasure,” he said bowing as well. “I’m Lee. I work with these two idiots.”

“Come on, let’s get going,” Mu Lin said, dragging both Lee and I by the arm. “This idiot is starving.”

Xi Xha helped us pick out a nice restaurant that specialized in seafood and I dropped two hundred Wen on the meal in advance. The place was half full, but big enough to seat at least fifty. The wait staff hauled large platters of amazing-smelling food while a small group of artisans played Qi-infused tunes on zithers and fiddles. The music added to the relaxed ambiance and by the time our food arrived we’d already finished off a bottle of rice wine, entertained the entire time by Lee’s stories of his adventures in the wild.

As I drank, I used the energy coming off of Xi Xha to train my Internal Strengthening by nullifying the alcohol in my system. I suppose it was a waste of booze and a good buzz, but I was probably getting something more worthwhile out of the deal in the end. If I could break through to the third stage of Internal Strengthening, the power of my Frenzy techniques would probably increase four-fold.

“You all live such adventurous lives,” Xi Xha said. “I feel almost embarrassed to say what it is I do all day.”

“Don’t you teach?” I asked. “That probably makes far more of a difference to society than what the hell it is we do.”

I then gave them a redacted version of my adventures with the great Li Gong Qui, which had them all in stitches, especially Xi Xha when I reenacted Li Gong Qui’s ridiculous use of Sen Cho as his mouthpiece.

“I guess some people are just like that,” Xi Xha said, still beaming with a laugh. “Especially from a core world. They’re a different breed.”

I chuckled. “Tell me about it.”

As the food came out, they placed it in the center of the table on a lazy Susan. Mu Lin, Lee, and I tore into it like starved prisoners, while Xi Xha picked through with far more etiquette and poise. Family-sized platters of noodles, shrimp, crab, duck and pork—we sampled it all with black vinegar, mustard and hot sauce, the food tasting better than anything I’d eaten in ages. It even gave Lysa’s home-cooked meal a run for its money. We laughed, drank and ate, Mu Lin on one side of me and Xi Xha on the other. I could feel Xi Xha inching closer to me as the evening went on, using every opportunity to pat my hand whenever she laughed at one of my stupid jokes.

Suddenly Mu Lin stiffened next to me, squeezing my bicep in a death grip. I was about to ask her what was wrong, but I sensed the fear in her even before I saw what she was looking at. And when I did, I completely understood why she had tensed up. Just entering the restaurant were three men in red and orange robes.

Fire Bird Sect members.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I whispered to her. “They got nothing to do with us.”

But it probably wasn’t just the thought of them somehow learning about our little secret that had her all shook up. Mu Lin had experienced a rough trauma through them and just seeing them was obviously some kind of trigger for her now. But I’d spotted a few Fire Bird members in the district already, so I didn’t think much of them coming in here. Maybe it was the fact that it was three of them that was triggering her as well.

But they didn’t look like the same type that had attacked her in the wild. These guys all looked young and sloppy. No better than the clowns Hein had brought with him to intimidate me.

I whispered to Mu Lin again, hoping to alleviate her fears. “Tell me how strong they are.”

Mu Lin leaned forward, adjusting her glasses. “Hmm… one of them is barely Foundation level. The other two not even Foundation level, I don’t think.”

I gave her a smile. “See. Nothing to worry about. You’re even stronger than those guys.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Xi Xha asked playfully.

“I was just asking her where your favorite tea house was,” I said quickly, throwing her off the subject in case she heard anything. “But Mu Lin said she wouldn’t tell me until I took her there first.”

“What!” Mu Lin shouted in protest.

I cracked a cheesy grin causing the whole table to laugh while Mu Lin continued to feign anger. “I did not say that! Xi Xha, don’t listen to this idiot.”

I kept an eye on the Fire Birds as the jokes and laughter resumed. They were weak, but something did strike me as odd as I watched them. They didn’t find a table to sit down. Instead, they seemed to be going from table to table, bothering the patrons about something. I couldn’t tell exactly what they were doing, but a few of the people gave them bows before handing over a few coins.

“So, I was most surprised when Mu Lin said you wanted to see me,” Xi Xha said distracting me from my Fire Bird watching, as she ran her foot atop mine.

I didn’t need the lemonade spewing from her to sense what she thought my motives might have been and at the moment she wasn’t entirely off base either, but the truth wasn’t something I could talk about openly. Still perhaps I could kill two birds with one stone. “Yes, it’s something a bit sensitive though. I’d originally planned this to be a more intimate affair, just you and I, but I owed these guys a night out.”

Xi Xha laughed after I smiled to let her know I was hamming it up.

“You sure did owe us!” Lee blurted while downing another cup of wine. “To the Chun!”

“The Chun!” Mu Lin laughed, clinking glasses with him.

“Well,” Xi Xha said. “I did enjoy the company and the meal. But the night’s still young. Perhaps we might find some time to talk afterwards?”

Her hand touched my knee under the table, her soul oozing so much lemonade I was having a hard time converting it all into Frenzy. I gave her only a subtle smile though, containing myself with [Indifference]. “Perhaps.”

That caused even more lemonade to flow.

Just as I was about to suggest we all call it a night, a palm slammed onto the table.

“Looks like someone’s having a good time, eh?”

I glanced up and sure enough, it was the barely Foundation-level Fire Bird member. He seemed to be the leader, the other two stepping back. He was tall and wiry, sporting a goatee and shaved head that reminded me a little of the dude Threja had headbutted straight into the afterlife.

“What’s it to you?” I said, leaning back in my chair with [Struggler’s Resolve.]

His features instantly contorted into a scowl, clearly not expecting my response.

“Don’t you see these robes? The Fire Birds are the protectors of this domain, your first words to me should be words of respect.” He then snorted out a laugh. “But since you all look like shit-ass Terrans, you probably wouldn’t know that.” He then looked to Xi Xha. “Except for this one. What are you doing with this trash, pretty lady?”

Xi Xha surprisingly didn’t cower, but she didn’t stand up defiantly like I did either. She instead let out a tired sigh before clasping her hands in a bow. “Honorable Sect member. How delighted we are to see you providing protection for us tonight.”

“See that?” The man looked at me with a wide smile. “That’s how you show respect to the Fire Bird Sect. Live and learn, Terran. Now since you’re all first timers, you probably don’t know about the tax either. Your protection comes at a cost and we’re here to collect it.”

I looked to Mu Lin. She seemed to be almost hyperventilating next to me.

Lee was frozen in between bites of his chopsticks.

Xi Xha leaned over and whispered to me, “I’m sorry, but this is normal. A few Wen from each of us should do.”

Ire built within me. To hell with that shit.

I looked around the restaurant. Still only half full.

“How about we make a little wager instead?” I asked.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me. I wager you all the coin you just collected from the patrons in here. I’ll match it. If you win, you get it all. If I win, I get it all. What do you say?”

The guy’s eyes bulged as anger pumped his insides. “You dare challenge me, you filthy commoner?”

I grinned at him with [Fear the Flame]. “Challenge? If that’s what you want to call it, sure. I’m just talking about a little friendly competition. Entertainment if you will. Unless you don’t think you can win, of course.”

“Win at what?”

“An old Terran game. Called face slapping.”

He paused and then laughed. “Is this a joke?”

Face slapping had its own connotations in Yee society, but I was talking about something very literal. Something I had seen on a YouTube video once, back when the world still made sense. Although a face slapping competition probably wasn’t the best example of that.

“No joke,” I said. “We take turns slapping each other in the face. One slap at a time. Last one standing wins.”

All three of them laughed now. “You must be an idiot. Do you even know who we are?”

“No, not really,” I said with [Indifference]. “Don’t really care either. So you want to play or not?”

That caused a swell of anger to come from the Fire Birds and fresh fountains of fear to come from my friends. I lapped it up all the same. “How much you got in that purse? Unless you’re afraid of losing it all.”

Now, it’d become more than just a challenge. Now he had to save face as well.

He grimaced. “I doubt you’d even have this much coin.”

“Try me.”

He smirked and dropped the equivalent of two Tael on the table.

Much to his surprise and my friends’ dismay, I reached into my purse and matched it.

“What are you doing?” Mu Lin said in a hushed whisper.

I stood. “Let’s go then. This should be fun. I’ll let you go first.”

He laughed. “The weaker should go first. That means you, asshole.”

I shrugged. “Fair enough.”

The entire restaurant went quiet as the guy then shouted: “This dumb Terran has challenged me to a face slapping match. Can you believe that? I’ve allowed him to go first. I hope this entertains you all. It should be quite short.”

Fear filled the room and I drew it all in, but not for my first hit.

“You ready?” I said.

“Do your best, weakling.”

I drew back my hand and released a grunt of effort as I struck him with what I hoped was only half my strength. The loud slap resonated throughout the restaurant. It had the effect I hoped. The guy barely flinched and then belly laughed along with his buddies.

“Easiest two Tael I’ve ever made!” he proclaimed. “Prepare yourself.”

He wound up as I presented my chin, bracing for the hit with [Indifference].

I barely felt it, but I went with the momentum of the slap, it echoing much louder than my own. I feigned weakness as I rubbed my jaw, pretending to stagger. He looked amused, but a bit off put that I was somehow still standing.

“That was a good hit,” I said, rubbing my jaw. “You ready?”

The crowd were on their feet now. Screams and yells were spilling from the patrons as was some lemonade. The music started back up and I egged it on with a clap of my hands. What started out as a showdown was slowly turning into a form of crude entertainment, which was exactly what I was hoping for. I used [Struggler’s Resolve] to rile them up more. Now that I’d established this as some kind of sportsmanlike competition between two men, him taking it any further than that if he lost would result in a loss of face he couldn’t afford.

And that meant it was now safe for me to slap the shit out of him.

He snorted. “I went way too easy on you. Go ahead then. My next hit will be the last you’ll ever taste.”

I leaned back and struck him with all of my casual strength, trying not to kill him.

The force of the hit was enough to knock him sideways and crash into the table next to us. The patrons at the table jumped up in alarm, but more than a few cheers came as well.

I sensed anger boiling within him as he straightened himself, his face fixed in a sneer. He didn’t say anything this time and immediately wound up for his hit. And then I sensed something else welling up inside him, something familiar.

Something that smelled like… Frenzy?

The slap hit me so hard I saw stars, distracted by what I’d sensed. I didn’t even have time to use [Indifference] as the blow sent me straight to the floor.

I lay there for a moment, the room spinning with cheers and jeers. Mu Lin, Lee, and Xi Xha were all standing over me. Xi Xha knelt down, stroking my face, asking if I were okay. Fear poured from her as concern filled her green eyes.

But I was more concerned about what it was I’d just sensed. It was still lingering there within him. It wasn’t Frenzy exactly, but was something like it. Far more raw and when I tried to siphon some of it, it tasted bitter like death in my soul.

Like Dark Frenzy if I could put a word to it.

The man laughed triumphantly, reaching for the coins. “Know your place, you filthy Terr—”

I slapped my hands over the coins as I pulled myself back onto my feet. “Not done yet. It’s [My Turn]!”

The room burst into cheers, rooting for the underdog, filling me with Frenzy.

I had no idea what strength this guy truly possessed, but I let it all fly.

I clocked him so hard he did an involuntary cartwheel before crashing into the table next to us out cold. The same kind of Frenzy-like energy came from the other two as they lowered reflexively into a combat stance. But I backed it off with [Fear the Flame].

“You two want to go next?”

They looked at each other, and their Dark Frenzy was replaced with regular old fear.

“Didn’t think so,” I said as I scooped half the coins off the table.

All fear turned to lemonade as wild cheers filled the room, especially from Xi Xha who was staring at me now like I was her own personal hero. And hell, maybe I had been for about a minute.

I tossed half the money to the two remaining Fire Bird members. “Give all these people back their money. And when he wakes up, tell him to think twice before messing with Young Master Hein of the Silver Leaf Clan.”

Both their eyes widened before immediately dropping to the floor with a bow.

“Great apologies! It won’t happen again, young master. We didn’t know who you were. The Fire Bird Sect would never dare to disrespect the Silver Leaf Clan so.”

I looked back to Lee, Mu Lin, and Xi Xha, their faces blank, their eyes still wide with shock.

“Let’s get out of here.”

* * *

“Oh, my shit, bro! I can’t believe you did that!”

Lee was laughing like a madman, slapping my back while gushing with lemonade. Xi Xha was more reserved in her admiration, giving me an amused smile while holding onto my arm, but her lemonade was gushing all the same.

Mu Lin however looked back towards the restaurant warily, fear bubbling up inside of her. “Are you sure they’re not going to come looking for us?”

“Not with the name I just dropped. Come on, you saw their reactions for yourself, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, who the hell even is that?” Lee asked.

I shrugged with [Indifference]. “I dunno. Some asshole probably.”

Lee laughed again but I wondered if I had just caused some kind of trouble for that prick Hein by doing this. I sure as hell hoped so.

“Well, it’s been a fun and eventful evening,” Xi Xha said. “But I do have class to teach in the morning. So, I must bid you all good night. Would you mind escorting me home, Chun? Perhaps we can have that talk along the way.”

I smiled at her. “Sure thing. Lee, you’ll make sure Mu Lin gets home okay?”

“I got you,” Lee said with a slick grin, giving me a bro hug.

I hugged Mu Lin as well, but she gave me the stink eye. “Careful now. That’s my teacher, okay?”

I laughed, ruffling her hair. “See you tomorrow.”

Xi Xha then extended her arm. “Shall we?”

* * *

Xi Xha took me through a section of the central district that I had only occasionally visited before. The whole area was considered the low-class entertainment capital of the city and that went for all kinds of entertainment. The Qi-lit signs slowly shifted from restaurants and eateries to bars and brothels. I had to force myself to keep my head straight as the various service providers displayed their ‘wares’ out front. Luckily, having Xi Xha on my arm kept most of them at bay, especially the guys who were always more brazen than the ladies.

“So you wish to make contact with someone in the Jianghu?” Xi Xha said, repeating my request. “That’s why you wanted to see me?”

“Well Mu Lin said you might have some contacts there.”

Xi Xha chuckled. “You perhaps made a few of your own just now.”

“What? The Fire Bird members?”

“They do control much of it. But I’m intrigued. What are you looking to do?”

I made sure we were out of earshot of anyone before I spoke. “I’m looking to buy a manual on fighting styles. I want to compete in the tournament.”

Her eyes widened but the smile on her face only increased as did her flow of lemonade. “You’re quite the risktaker aren’t you? But by the way you handled those Fire Bird initiates, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“So, can you help me?”

She stopped and took both my hands in hers as she turned to face me. “Is that the only reason you wanted to see me tonight?”

Her confident smile already knew the answer and I wondered if Xi Xha didn’t have some scholarly ability of her own to detect lemonade. Still, I played it cool with [Indifference]. “Primarily. But I do like to kill two birds with one stone whenever I can. So, I guess I should apologize for inviting Lee and Mu Lin on our first date.”

Xi Xha laughed as I gave her a cheesy grin.

“Oh, is that what this was?”

“You tell me. If you liked it, it definitely was. If not…”

Her smile didn’t leave her face as she wrapped her slender arms around my waist, rubbing her body against mine. “How’s this for an answer.”

Her lips found mine as she stood on her tip toes. By her eagerness, I could sense she’d been wanting to do that for a while. When we pulled apart, she was still smiling. “You know, I heard they have rooms in these places that you can rent for a night.”

Xi Xha sure wasn’t the shy and quiet type, but I wasn’t complaining. Taking this ‘route’ home through the red light district was probably no coincidence either and I didn’t need my powers to catch the intent of her overtures all night. I had to remember that while Xi Xha looked young, she was a grown woman nearly twice my age. This wasn’t the start of some puppy love romance. Xi Xha was looking for something else.

And I was fitting to oblige her.

“Is that so?” I gave her a grin, and then feeling slightly like one of the gigolos on the street next to us, flexed with [Struggler’s Resolve]. “You paying?”

A flush of lemonade came from her as she gave me a wicked smile.

“Let’s see if they’ll give us a couple’s discount.”

And with that Xi Xha took me by the hand and led me into one of the establishments.