The Princess's Little Cockroach

The Master's Tower was crowded, with tables scattered haphazardly. The decor wasn't exquisite, and the place was noisy and chaotic. Its only distinguishing feature was the sheer number of people, most of whom were armed.

The back door of the Master's Tower led to a narrow, winding alley. Figures like lost souls always lingered in the alley. The back door of the Master's Tower always seemed to be locked.

Ning Chang'an decided against entering the Master's Tower through the front door, knowing it would be better to use the back. He also trusted that the back door would open for him.

Like other martial artists, he never parted with his weapon. Ning Chang'an's long sword was in a thick black cloth bag slung across his back. As he reached the alley entrance, someone's gaze fell upon him, their eyes hidden yet sharp.

Ning Chang'an's steps were steady, his expression calm. He walked unhurriedly into the alley.

A strange smell permeated the narrow, winding alley.

Those familiar with it would recognize it as the smell of blood, of rotting blood. It wasn't exactly foul, but it was potent, enough to make one nauseous.

Ning Chang'an couldn't help but frown. His nostrils twitched, and his expression shifted slightly. His eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell were all exceptionally acute now. While this had obvious advantages, it also came with drawbacks. For instance, the smell now affected him several times more intensely than it would an ordinary person, making it far more unpleasant.

A sickly, thin, short man suddenly slapped the wall with both hands and lightly floated in front of Ning Chang'an. A pale, deathly face turned towards Ning Chang'an. "New here?"

Ning Chang'an nodded. His eyes registered only two things: a pair of deep, dark eye sockets, and a pair of withered, gnarled hands like an eagle's talons.

The thin man grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth, and stepped aside, clearing the path.

Ning Chang'an wasn't sure if that was a smile, but the man's breath was incredibly potent, almost suffocating. After taking only two steps, a rumbling sound erupted before him, and a pungent smell of sweat washed over him. A person like a small mountain suddenly appeared, almost filling the entire alley and completely blocking his path. Ning Chang'an had thought he was quite plump, but compared to this person, he felt he could be described as delicate and slender, and that wouldn't be an exaggeration. He felt as though he was facing a mountain of flesh. However, it was rather strange for such a mountain of flesh to fall from a height of seven or eight zhang and remain unharmed.

Ning Chang'an tilted his head back and saw a small, slender girl sitting on the shoulder of the mountain-of-flesh man. The girl was so small that she looked like a doll perched on the big man's shoulder. She held the "mountain of flesh's" ear in one hand and a candied hawthorn in the other, eating with relish, her small feet swinging freely.

It was evident she was in a good mood.

Ning Chang'an's brow furrowed. He knew that some people were more dangerous when they were in a good mood.

"What's that on your back?"

The little girl asked curiously. She suddenly stopped eating her candied hawthorn, tossing it aside carelessly. She tilted her head, her eyes wide with curiosity as she looked at Ning Chang'an.

"A sword!"

Ning Chang'an smiled faintly. He thought the little girl looked like a porcelain doll, very cute, and felt no sense of danger.

"Can I see it?"

The little girl asked, like a child eager to explore, with a hint of mischief.

Ning Chang'an shook his head.

The little girl sighed, "This won't do!"

Ning Chang'an felt a weight on his shoulder as a head suddenly appeared behind him. He was immediately hit with an unbearable stench of bad breath, and his stomach cramped, nearly causing him to vomit.

Ning Chang'an let out a long breath, expelling the turbid air from his body. He already felt the person behind him fumbling with his cloth bag. Ning Chang'an sighed, "This is difficult!"

The porcelain doll-like little girl squinted and giggled.

An arm as thick as a bucket, with a palm the size of a large basin, swung down towards Ning Chang'an's head. It truly had the momentum of Mount Tai pressing down, or rather, a mountain of flesh pressing down.

Ning Chang'an didn't even look. He turned his body, facing a wall, and suddenly leaned back. This turn and backward lean were incredibly fast, almost instantaneous. The person who had just unfastened his cloth bag behind him cried out in surprise but couldn't dodge in time. Ning Chang'an slammed him against the wall. Ning Chang'an was also quite plump, so this sudden impact was disastrous for the person behind him. He was plastered against the wall like a sticker, not falling for a long time. Then Ning Chang'an threw a punch, hitting the palm of that fleshy hand. The palm seemed to be full of elasticity and sprang back high. The "mountain of flesh" had an extremely unpleasant expression on his face, as if he had struck an iron nail. He raised his thick arm, nearly hitting the little girl on his shoulder.

The little girl let out a surprised "Yi!" and flapped her wings like a lark, her small feet tapping on the "mountain of flesh's" head before landing in front of Ning Chang'an. She barely reached Ning Chang'an's chest. She stood there with her hands on her hips, cheeks puffed out, glaring up at Ning Chang'an.

Ning Chang'an calmly turned to face the person behind him. It was indeed the thin man. However, the thin man now appeared even more gaunt, his eyes sunken deeper, his eye sockets darker. Ning Chang'an took back the cloth bag containing the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword and smiled, "Brother, are you alright?"

The thin man's eyes darted around, looking extremely unwilling. He squeezed out a voice from his throat, "Why didn't you throw up?"

Ning Chang'an's expression shifted slightly. He remembered the thin man's extraordinary bad breath and then looked utterly astonished.

He casually pulled the thin man off the wall, discovering a human-shaped silhouette imprinted on it. The thin man's joints seemed to pop and shift, then returned to normal, indicating he was quite skilled.

Ning Chang'an turned back to the little girl, a smile on his face.

The little girl looked at Ning Chang'an, then at the candied hawthorn not far away, and became furious. She suddenly stomped her foot and lunged at Ning Chang'an, scratching and biting, yelling, "You pay for my candied hawthorn!"

Ning Chang'an grabbed the little girl and laughed, "I'll pay you for the biggest and sweetest one!" He could feel that the little girl was skilled, but she was smart and was merely acting spoiled and mischievous, not using her martial arts. It had to be said that this little girl was very clever. If she had used her martial arts, Ning Chang'an wouldn't have been so lenient. Since she was just being difficult, Ning Chang'an didn't pay it much mind.

The only thing that astonished and annoyed him was finding his chest clothes covered in saliva. Although the little girl's biting hadn't injured him, the result was even more unsightly.

However, the little girl immediately stopped when she heard Ning Chang'an would buy her candied hawthorn, blinking her eyes. "Really?"

Ning Chang'an nodded seriously and subconsciously loosened his grip. The little girl indeed behaved herself, jumping down from the "mountain of flesh's" shoulder first.

The "mountain of flesh" was blocking the path, so Ning Chang'an had no choice but to follow the girl to proceed.

There were still many figures like lost souls in the alley, all sorts of people. Ning Chang'an followed the little girl with a sigh, thinking, "A thin man, a fat man, and a little girl—truly three extremes!"

As Ning Chang'an mused, the incredibly cute little girl in front of him suddenly turned back, her large eyes sparkling as she looked at Ning Chang'an. She introduced herself very seriously, "My name is Princess!"

Ning Chang'an smiled faintly and sighed, "Indeed, a little princess like a jade-like beauty! And them?"

Princess pointed with her fingertip at the "mountain of flesh" behind her. "Little!"

Little?!

This could be called Little?! Ning Chang'an was speechless. In front of this "mountain of flesh," Ning Chang'an felt he should be called Little. However, calling such a "mountain of flesh" Little was indeed quite amusing.

Princess giggled, "Isn't it fun?!"

Ning Chang'an nodded in complete agreement.

Princess continued, "The thin, smelly guy is called Cockroach. An unkillable cockroach, but everyone calls him Little Strong!"

Ning Chang'an thought of how the cockroach had been plastered against the wall and emerged unharmed, and sighed, "He truly is an unkillable cockroach. But how did the three of you end up together?"

The Princess gave a sweet smile and said mysteriously, "That's a secret!"

Ning Chang'an didn't press further and instead said, "It's truly not simple for the three of you to establish yourselves here."

The Princess widened her bright eyes and proudly asked, "Amazing, right?!"

Ning Chang'an nodded. No one could establish themselves here without being formidable.

The Princess blinked and asked, "Do you have money?"

Ning Chang'an was taken aback and smiled. Of course, he didn't have money, because all the money was with Yu Fu. He only had a few dozen taels of silver on him. A few dozen taels might seem like a considerable sum to some, but to others, it was no different than having nothing, because some people's unit of currency wasn't measured in "tens of taels." For example, many people in the Master's Tower were drinking terrible, large bowls of tea.

As of now, Ning Chang'an was still very poor.

The Princess lightly held up three fingers and waved her arm in front of Ning Chang'an's eyes.

Ning Chang'an's eyes narrowed slightly, and he sighed, "Three hundred taels?"

The Princess looked at Ning Chang'an like he was an idiot and scoffed, "That wouldn't even appease a beggar! Ten times that!"

Ning Chang'an's eyes suddenly widened in surprise, "Three thousand taels?"

The Princess innocently replied, "That's just the entry fee!" As she spoke, the Princess had already silently flashed to the side of the wall.

Ning Chang'an said with a wry smile, "That's quite a high entry fee!"

"Not high, not high at all."

The reason the Princess flashed away was because of the person who had just spoken. This person had suddenly appeared in front of Ning Chang'an, staring at him with a cold expression, their eyes filled with amusement, like an old cat toying with a cornered mouse.

Ning Chang'an saw the coldness and cruelty hidden deep within the person's playful gaze. Ever since Ning Chang'an had decided to enter this alley, he knew it wouldn't be smooth sailing. This was like knowingly walking into a tiger's den. Why? Because he had confidence in himself. While he had confidence, he wasn't blindly arrogant, because this was Yongan Prefecture. In Yongan Prefecture, those who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth often met a terrible end, worse than pigs or dogs. Ning Chang'an said very sincerely, "Three thousand taels is a bit too much. I only have seventy-eight taels!" He actually had seventy-eight taels, three qian, and sixty wen. The three qian and sixty wen were intended for buying candied hawthorns for the Princess.