CHAPTER 4

Drunk vs Blind

RUAN YANJUN

I yawned as I leaned back against the cushion. I had been sitting in this carriage since dawn. It was already past midnight yet I was still an hour away to Henmei District, the home of the Eternal Damnation Sect and the place of my main residence.

I had come all the way from Wun Empire where I had been searching for the priest with a Natural Core.

Most cultivators were not born with a core. Without a core, a cultivator could only cultivate until the third level.

Cores, whether dark or light, could only be implanted by master cultivators, meaning they had to be at least level six cultivators.

But there were very few who were born with cores already inside them, and they were called Natural Core Bearers.

In the history of martial arts cultivation for the past five hundred years, there were only a handful that had made it past the seventh level, also called the grandmaster level, and they were all born with Natural Cores.

That was the reason why this priest was that important to me. I didn’t think I could find another light Natural Core bearer for the next decade or so.

According to Huang Wen’s information, Wei Fan had been escorted by several soldiers of Kan Empire to the City of Nan in Wun Empire. Nan was not a very big city, so I had initially thought that the search would not take long.

It turned out, that Wei Fan had led a very private life within the confines of Frost Mountain and had been rarely seen in public. No one even knew his name. Although he was a prized alchemist and had recently made world-wide infamy for poisoning his own master, people only referred to him as the Divine Mage. Aside from his sect brothers who were unwilling to give out any information, no one even knew what he looked like.

The search had lasted for a week and returned no significant results. I had to immediately head back to Xianru when I received a message that the newly-crowned crown prince had fallen seriously ill and the imperial physicians could not point out the cause of his illness. I had known about the jealousy among the eight princes and the battle for the most coveted crown prince position had been fierce, so I had immediately expected a foul play.

In the meantime, I had ordered Huang Wen to correspond with the spies deployed near Frost Mountain to gather more information about Wei Fan and provide a more detailed portrait, even if they had to resort to abducting a few of Ethereal Frost disciples and force them to speak.

I sighed.

That Divine Mage was so elusive. He was draining off my patience. Many of those people who knew about the incident that Wei Fan had been involved with believed that the priest had been executed in secret so as not to alarm the Cultivation World, but I didn’t buy it.

The Cultivation World was not stupid. Just being a Natural Core Bearer had already made Wei Fan a rare treasure, so I was certain that some interested cultivators had come to his rescue and had taken him away.

The question now is… where in this whole damn continent has he gone?

I reached over to my left and lifted the curtain so I could take a look at my location.

I recognized the place. This was near the famous pleasure house that some of the Eternal Damnation Sect disciples would secretly visit during weekends. Unlike the righteous Light Sects, I was not very particular about the Eternal Damnation Sect disciple’s virtue, as long as they would not compromise the reputation of the sect and gave priority to their duties and training.

In more than an hour, I should arrive at my main residence in Henmei District. By dawn, I would have to travel for six hours going to the capital.

I was about to drop the curtain when I noticed a commotion from a distance. A group of young drunk men seemed to have been harassing a woman, and when the woman resisted, one of them grabbed her around the waist and forced her to go with them.

I took a good look at the woman and I recognized the familiar dress that the workers of the brothel wore as a uniform, so I assumed that she was one of those pleasure women.

Those men probably thought that since she was a prostitute, then they could just take her away as they please.

I probably would not have minded whatever they had intended to do with her, and watching such a scene was not of my interest, but when I saw another man who rushed into the scene and pulled the woman to hide behind his back, things became a little more intriguing, not because a hero had arrived but because… the thin figure in white was holding a stick that he used as a cane.

Is he blind?

I smirked.

Things had gotten even more interesting. I wondered what a frail blind man could do against three drunk men.

One of the drunk men grabbed the woman’s wrist and pulled her back to his side.

After that commotion, I thought a fight would ensue, but the blind man unexpectedly cupped his hands and bowed his head to greet the drunk men. He was calm and polite even to those people who did not deserve an ounce of respect.

“Stop the carriage,” I ordered the coachman.

Immediately, the coachman obeyed and the carriage came to a complete halt.

That man looked interesting. He might provide me some form of amusement after a month of exhausting travel. Most foolish people who played the hero of saving a damsel in distress usually ended up beaten to death, but this man’s ridiculous approach against a group of violent men was intriguing.

Although I was some distance away, my sharpened sense of hearing allowed me to listen to their exchange of words.

“You have been mistaken.” The man in white’s voice was gentle and calm like a deep-flowing river. “The miss is not one of those women. She only works in the kitchen.”

“What are you saying?” the man holding the woman’s wrist replied. “I know her. She was the one who taught me some tricks in bed. Now that I’m getting married, I need her to teach me more.”

The other two drunk men laughed while the woman’s face was red and flustered.

“She had already abandoned that job three years ago. If I may ask this gentleman to please respect her decision and let her go.”

“And what if I don’t?”

“I plead you… please let her go.”

I chuckled. He stepped into the scene like a courageous little hero, and when he was challenged, his solution was to plead?

How pathetic.

The drunk men laughed boisterously, and the one holding the woman’s wrist slowly and ceremoniously loosened his fingers as if to mock the polite fool.

As soon as she was freed, the woman quickly ran to hide behind the man in white.

“There, I let her go,” the drunk man said tauntingly. “Does that satisfy you?”

The man in white lowered his head to acknowledge the drunk man’s good deed. “I appreciate your kind consideration.”

Suddenly, the drunk man grabbed the man in white’s chin. “You’re quite a beauty yourself. How about you take her place? I don’t really mind bedding an untainted beautiful man over a worn-out pleasure lady.”

I got even more excited that I found myself straightening my back in anticipation of a thrilling scene.

This should be it. No man, regardless that he was blind and frail, would allow himself insulted in such a way. His courteousness would all end here.

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“I’m sorry, but I’m not into men,” he calmly replied instead.

I frowned in disbelief.

That foolish man was ludicrously too nice that even in the face of a perverted inducement he had still spoken in a very polite and calm tone. Other men would have straight away punched that creep’s face already.

The drunk man laughed. “But I am. So what can you do about it?”

The good man suddenly patted away the drunk man’s hand. “There’s no more reason to prolong this discussion.” He turned away.

“Hey.” The drunk man grabbed the other man to his embrace. “Damn, you’re a bit too thin for my taste, but I don’t mind.”

When the drunk man was about to kiss the good man’s neck, he was suddenly thrown backward.

While the drunk men were initially confused at what had just happened, I saw it all too clearly.

The man in white was not an ordinary fool after all. He knew some martial arts, and that move was not even basic. However, he was lacking in strength. If he had any, that hit on the drunk man’s vital point in the stomach would have sent the man spitting blood on the ground.

Regardless, he knew exactly where to hit, that even if he lacked strength, it was still enough to push the drunk man several steps away. Only cultivators beyond level three should be able to execute such a move.

But this overly courteous man did not look like he was even a level one.

When the drunk men had recovered from their initial surprise, they all glared at the man in white.

“You dare.” The drunk man tried a punch, but the man in white simply dodged it sideway and countered with another blow to his stomach. The rest of the men attacked, but they had all ended up on the ground, vomiting out whatever they had taken in.

I was almost convinced that I might have underestimated the frail-looking man when suddenly, he collapsed to his knees and vomited blood. The woman immediately came to him and helped him up.

I laughed inwardly.

So the man was indeed sick and frail, yet he used all his strength to fight off a bunch of useless drunk boys to save a prostitute who he probably knew too well.

That was quite a show with an interesting twist.

I could say… I was quite entertained.

These people simply never failed to provide me with amusement whenever I was bored. That was why I liked watching them make a fool of themselves.

“You did not have to fight so hard,” the woman said, supporting the blind man’s hand as they walked away. “We should have just run away. Now, look at you.”

“As long as you’re unharmed, it’s all worth it,” the man returned.

How sentimental. These two sounded like they were lovers.

As they approached in my direction, I took a good look at the man’s face.

He was indeed beautiful. He not only had a beautiful face, but he was also tall. He looked too dainty for a man. But the drunk man was right, he was a little too thin. If he gained more weight, he would be even more stunning. He would certainly attract the attention of both men and women.

However, although it was not the first time I had found myself admiring a man’s beauty, I had never really taken any advances towards men. Even beautiful women hardly caught my attention recently. Perhaps because I had withdrawn from intimacy a long time ago. I probably had too much intimacy already it no longer provided me with the pleasure that I used to get from it.

Regardless, I still found this man interesting enough that I would definitely come to check on him again some other time. I wanted to find out if those bunch of drunk morons would retaliate, and I wanted to know how his relationship with a seasoned woman would turn out.

Those were just two of the interesting things that I should follow through with this play. This was way better than any of the plays I had watched on stage.

“Let’s go,” I told the coachman.

As the carriage moved forward, the two stopped and looked.

The man’s eyes followed the carriage as it passed right in front of him, but then I noticed that he was not actually looking but rather… listening and following the direction of the sound.

There was a glaze in his eyes, a blank look.

I frowned.

He was obviously blind, but I still saw a faint glow in his eyes, which meant he had not completely lost his vision. He could probably see shadows at least.

After the carriage had made it pass them, I laughed out loud. The coachman probably thought I was crazy, but he was also probably used to it already.

The show was getting even more interesting now.

A sick, blind, and coreless martial artist who could execute some high-level skills but lacked the strength to do any significant damage…

That was quite unheard of. I could not wait to see the next episode of his story. It was really worth looking forward to.

*****

LUO FAN

“Where are we going?” I asked Jinjing as I followed her down a pathway in the middle of tall grasses.

This morning, after we had our breakfast, she had invited me out for a walk. It was almost noon now and we were supposed to go back to her house to cook for lunch, but she had decided to drop by this place first.

“We’re here,” she replied and stopped.

I also stopped.

Although I saw nothing but dark and light, I still turned my head around. The tall grasses surrounding me were not exactly what I had thought. They looked very familiar to me. We’re in the middle of a bamboo forest.

“What are we doing here?” I asked.

“You broke your stick last night, so I’ll get you a new one.” She had her back on me, but I could clearly see her shadow holding a pointed object. I had an idea what it was but was not sure until I heard the sound of a knife chopping off something.

Has she been holding that knife the moment we walked out of her house?

“Why do you have a knife with you?” I asked.

“After last night, I’m afraid those men might come back for us,” she replied without turning to look at me. “So I have to carry a weapon for our protection.”

“You should not point a knife against anyone. It’s dangerous.”

“I will if it’s necessary.”

“Do you even know how to use it? Have you ever fought with a knife before?”

She sighed and paused from what she was doing. “No.”

“Then don’t carry a knife or you might end up being the victim. When you’re in danger, do not engage in a fight and just run if you can, so hold something that can distract instead to buy you time to escape.”

“Like what?”

I found myself unable to answer. From where I grew up, violence and bullying were rare, so I had never felt the need to carry a weapon with me. Even though I used to own a sword, I had only used it for practice and duels.

Then I remembered something that my sect brother had shown me before. “I’ve seen a small round object that produces a lot of smoke if you smash it against a hard surface.”

“A smoke bomb?” she asked.

I nodded.

She laughed. “Yes, I’ve seen that too. However, it’s not cheap. Only the rich can afford that.”

“How much is a piece?”

“If I’m not mistaken, one piece is three silver coins.”

I was speechless. If I had not lost my purse, I definitely would buy her one.

“I can’t even earn that in a month, so let’s forget about it. Our best course is to not make any enemies. So the next time we get into trouble, do not engage in a fight.”

My own advice backfired on me. I had actually tried to avoid fighting with those drunk men, but I should have tried even harder.

She was right. For the likes of us, we were not in a position to make enemies. We should just swallow our pride and scamper away like rats.

“My mistake.” I cupped my hands and lowered my head. “I’ll see to it that it will not happen again.”

She giggled. “You don’t have to be so courteous with me.”

“You’re a woman. I must give you my utmost courtesy.”

“Fine, fine.” She laughed again. “You are so nice. Were you raised in a temple or something?”

I could not speak. I did not want to hide things from her after she had saved my life, but I did not want to recall my past either. I most especially did not want to even talk about it.

I forced out a smile and wished she would not press further with her question, and I was glad she did not.

She pulled the stick she just cut down instead and chopped the leaves off.

“I can probably do that,” I volunteered.

“No need,” she replied. “This is my gift for you, so I should do all the work. I’ll make it clean and smooth so you will not hurt your fingers.”

My heart contracted.

Who would not be moved by such kindness?

“That’s so kind of you,” I said.

“Because you are good to me,” she replied. “For a woman like me, most men see me as nothing but filth. But you’re different from them. You see me as a woman regardless of my past, and you treat me with respect. Even if you can barely see, you brave the dangerous streets at night just to pick me up from the brothel, to make sure that I make it home safely, and you even defended me from those drunk.” She paused and I heard her sniff.

I wondered why she was crying.

“It’s only fair that I must return your kindness. You’re the only man who had been good to me. I had almost forgotten how it feels to be a woman until you reminded me of it. You have brought back some self-worth that I had long lost.”

My heart was filled with pity. I did not feel like I deserved her praises, however, because I used to regard women of her status as women who had fallen from grace. I used to view them as weak people who had easily succumbed to the devil’s temptation.

I was just a naïve man back then. I had never understood the real meaning of suffering, of being poor. Although I was not rich and I barely owned anything, I had never experienced hunger, I had always had a room and a comfortable bed to sleep on, and I never had to pay for monthly rent or buy anything I wanted or needed. I could just write a request for anything, personal or not, and it would be delivered to me.

But the outside world was different. Nothing was free. Everyone had to work just to eat, and even work was scarce. Many people couldn't afford three meals in a day. Some could not even afford one.

I knew better now. Although I had only been staying with Jinjing for two months, I had already learned a lot.

“Here.”

Her voice woke me up from my deep pondering, and then I felt the tip of the bamboo stick touching my finger.

“See if it’s good enough for you,” she continued.

I took the stick and ran a hand along its length. It was smooth all the way to the other end. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“Wait. I’ll make it even more special,” she said and took the stick back from me.

I was not sure what she was doing, but from the movement of her arms, it seemed she was wrapping something around the stick.

“There you go,” she said and handed the stick back to me. “That’s my favorite scarf, so take care of it.”

I smiled as I felt the silk wrapped around one end of the stick. Silk was a luxurious commodity that very few commoners could afford, so this must be precious to her. “You don’t have to put your scarf here. It’s a waste of good fabric.”

“It’s a gift, so of course it has to be special. If you refuse it, I’d be offended.”

For a moment, I was in a dilemma. She had already helped me a lot and I felt so bad that I kept taking from her, but I did not want to offend her generosity either. “Thank you. I’ll cherish it.”

“You’re welcome.”

I stepped closer to her and hugged her gently. She momentarily stiffened, but a moment later, she raised her arms and stroked my back.

“Alright,” she said after I pulled away. “Let’s get out of here before the snakes find us.” She grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the dense bamboo forest.

I felt so light inside me. Although she was holding my hand, there was no malice between us. The touch was pure and innocent.

It felt like I had just gained a sister. The sibling relationship we had developed over the past two months had paved away the awkwardness of us living together under the same roof. As the days passed, the bond only grew deeper.