Lewd Beauty

After school, Zhang Tie ran to the station once more. He watched Teacher Daina board the bus quietly and with great reluctance, waiting until the vehicle vanished from his sight before leaving the alley behind the station to head toward Mingguang Street.

Although he could only watch from afar, Zhang Tie still felt time fly by as if it had wings. If he could, he would have been content to spend his entire life just watching Teacher Daina's back, but fate was not so kind. Teacher Daina had left, and once she was gone, Zhang Tie realized his stomach was growling.

He had been getting hungry exceptionally fast these past two days. He used to be able to hold out until after school, but now his stomach was already protesting by the time classes ended. Zhang Tie muttered helplessly and patted his shrunken belly, "You had braised pork for lunch today, you know!"

Thinking of braised pork naturally brought to mind the part-time job Captain Colin had introduced to him. There was a bus at the station ahead that went to Mingguang Street, but the fare was four copper coins. Zhang Tie was determined to earn that money himself. As he ran, he comforted himself: he was a young man with plenty of energy, and a little extra running never hurt anyone.

It wasn't Zhang Tie's first time on Mingguang Street, but every time he visited, every corner of this street made him feel an inexplicable sense of inferiority and alienation.

The street was lined with numerous shops, their display windows filled with a dazzling array of goods. Just moments ago, while passing a shoe store, Zhang Tie couldn't help but stop to gaze at a pair of leather shoes on display. The price tag had left him stunned for a long time—16 gold coins! Good heavens, the money his father earned in a year of work, combined with what his mother made selling Rice Brew at home, barely amounted to 16 gold coins. 16 gold coins, 1,600 silver coins, 160,000 copper coins—nearly seven tons of grain. He thought about it for a long time, but Zhang Tie couldn't reconcile the image of seven tons of grain with a pair of shoes on someone's feet. Although he knew this was the life of the wealthy, it was too much for his capacity to bear.

After seeing the price of those shoes, Zhang Tie became immune to the items displayed in the shop windows. The more he looked, the more meaningless life seemed, and a sense of inferiority would naturally well up. Thus, as he walked along Mingguang Street, he kept his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Beautiful cars were parked along the roadside, with uniformed chauffeurs diligently polishing them until they shone. Zhang Tie swallowed hard and drifted past, eyes fixed straight ahead...

Enticing aromas wafted from high-end restaurants by the road. Zhang Tie swallowed hard and drifted past, eyes fixed straight ahead...

At the entrance of a high-end club, a row of tall, sexy beauties stood with their high-slit dresses revealing snow-white thighs, exuding endless charm. Zhang Tie swallowed hard and drifted past, eyes fixed straight ahead...

At the entrance of a hotel, doormen and attendants in bow ties, tailcoats, and white gloves served guests with diligent attentiveness. Looking at the beautiful angel sculptures on the hotel gate, Zhang Tie swallowed hard and drifted past, eyes fixed straight ahead...

Handsome men and beautiful women of his age brushed past him on the street. Looking at their sophisticated attire and then at his own dowdy school uniform, Zhang Tie swallowed hard and drifted past, eyes fixed straight ahead...

Gentlemen and ladies whispered and laughed in the roadside cafes, chatting in groups. After glancing at the price board outside, Zhang Tie swallowed hard and drifted past, eyes fixed straight ahead...

In the eyes of the sharp-eyed attendants at the shops and hotels on Mingguang Street, Zhang Tie looked like a bumpkin and a transparent nobody who had come to see the world. Hardly anyone even let their gaze linger on him for a second.

After drifting like a ghost along Mingguang Street for half an hour, Zhang Tie finally followed the house numbers to No. 18. With No. 16 in front and No. 20 behind, he stared at the sign hanging on the pillars of the ten-step entrance—a large, brass plaque reading "Mingguang Street No. 18." Zhang Tie was instantly dumbfounded. Even more striking than the address were the large characters on the gate at the top of the stairs: Iron Thorn Combat Hall.

A combat hall? A combat hall... A combat hall!

The job Captain Colin had introduced him to was actually a part-time position at a combat hall. Zhang Tie almost burst into tears on the spot; he had truly wronged him. Captain Colin was a great man!

In this era, martial power was the greatest asset, and a combat hall was the best place to increase one's martial value—at least in Black Flame City.

Taking a deep breath and puffing out his chest as much as he could, Zhang Tie touched the recommendation letter in his pocket and strode toward the gate of the Iron Thorn Combat Hall.

Gold coins, beauties, here I come! Zhang Tie shouted in his heart...

"Halt, state your business!" At the entrance of the Iron Thorn Combat Hall stood four guards in full armor, swords at their sides. Their imposing appearance was quite intimidating. As soon as Zhang Tie approached the gate, one of them reached out a hand to block his entry.

Looking at the giant who stood two heads taller than him, clad in flashy full-body steel armor polished to a mirror finish that reflected his own distorted image, Zhang Tie felt a sudden, inexplicable loss of confidence. "I... I'm here for an interview. Captain Colin referred me!"

"Referred by Colin? Do you have proof?"

"Yes, yes..." Zhang Tie hurriedly took out the recommendation letter Captain Colin had given him. Only then did he notice that the thorn pattern on the top right corner of the envelope seemed to have some connection to this place.

The giant took the letter, looked it over, then looked at Zhang Tie, and finally returned it. "Keep the letter, don't wander off, and follow me!"

Holding the letter, Zhang Tie followed the giant inside. Unlike the scene he had imagined—where he would push open the door to find a group of burly men brawling in a heated, bloody frenzy—the interior of the Iron Thorn Combat Hall first revealed a lobby. There was a fountain, and the marble floor was so polished it could reflect a person's image. The area was impeccably clean, devoid of any unnecessary decorations like flowers or plants. Everything looked crisp and efficient, much like the high-end hotel lobbies he had seen outside. The only things that hinted at the nature of a combat hall were the armors and weapons displayed along the hallways; some were new, while others were scarred and battered, exuding an aura of slaughter.

The lobby was very quiet, with only the sound of the fountain's water and their footsteps.

There really were beauties. The armored giant led Zhang Tie past the fountain, and Zhang Tie saw them—not just one, but a whole row of beauties standing behind the service desk. Zhang Tie felt instantly dazzled. As that row of beauties fixed their eyes on him, he became slightly flustered. Before he could even appreciate their beauty, the armored giant pointed to one of them. "He's here for a part-time job interview. Take him to Manager Hans's office!"

The moment the giant mentioned the part-time job, Zhang Tie felt the curious gazes of the beauties shift away from him, as if he had instantly become an insignificant person.

"Follow me!" The beauty walked out from behind the service desk, said one sentence to Zhang Tie, and headed toward a side corridor. Zhang Tie hurriedly followed.

The beauty in front of him wore her hair in a pretty ponytail. She was in her twenties, wearing a tight black elastic tank top and white athletic pants that perfectly showcased her youthful, beautiful figure. A pleasant fragrance wafted from her. Walking behind her, it was the first time Zhang Tie had been this close to such a beautiful woman. Especially when he watched the captivating rhythm of her firm, rounded buttocks—wrapped in tight pants beneath her slender waist—as she walked, his blood rushed to his head, and his little brother instantly swelled and stiffened. It was too embarrassing; Zhang Tie quickly shoved his hand into his pocket to hold the restless fellow down.

The carpeted corridor was empty, with only the beauty walking gracefully ahead. Looking at her, Zhang Tie felt that as a man, he should say something. Finally, after walking a dozen steps, he gathered his courage and asked a foolish question from behind.

"H-hello, I... my name is Zhang Tie. May I ask what your name is?"

The ponytail beauty stopped, turned her head, and swept her gaze over him. She arched an eyebrow, then a mocking smile curled her lips—a smile that held a cold, keep-your-distance air. "My name is Mary. Actually, you don't need to know my name. Although we are both here to make money, you just need to know that there will be no intersection between my life and someone like you in this lifetime. Don't be a toad lusting after swan meat..."

Having his first attempt at flirting in life suffer a devastating blow, Zhang Tie's face turned slightly pale. He felt his facial muscles stiffen into a forced smile. He felt aggrieved and didn't understand what he had done wrong. It was just asking for a name—was it necessary to be like that? Did he look like a toad? At the same time, a fire of anger at being ignored and insulted flared up instantly.

When faced with insults, Zhang Tie's temperament was to return them twofold. Moreover, as a student at an all-boys school, his upbringing and environment had taught him a profound lesson: when someone bullies or insults you, you must react and strike back immediately... not tomorrow, not the day after, not after you've prepared, but immediately. Anyone who ignored this "strike back immediately" principle invariably became a pathetic coward and a target for bullying.

So, at that moment, Zhang Tie didn't know where the courage came from. He stepped forward, stared fiercely into the eyes of the woman named Mary, and, to her terrified shock, grabbed her shoulders with both hands. "Woman, do you believe that one day you will strip yourself naked and crawl before me, begging me to screw you? Just like this..." Then, Zhang Tie performed the lewd motion that Sista often did. He thrust his hips forward twice. The fatal part was that when he let go, his little brother, which he had been holding in his pocket, sprang up, creating a high tent in his trousers. The tent then struck Mary's lower abdomen twice through the two layers of fabric...

Being "clubbed" twice by the man holding her shoulders seemed to have terrified Mary. She had never imagined that in this world, in broad daylight, on their first meeting, a penniless, wet-behind-the-ears brat coming for a part-time job would do something so outrageous to her in a combat hall corridor.

Before Mary could scream, Zhang Tie let go, stepped back, shoved his right hand back into his pocket to hold his little brother down, and lifted his chin defiantly, putting on a rogue's face. "Lead the way, woman!"

Zhang Tie's heart was pounding. He hadn't expected himself to actually do it—to sexually harass a beauty he had just met in a corridor. Thinking of the wonderful sensation of those two bumps, he felt a strange, nervous excitement that made his hair stand on end.

Mary's face turned from red to white, then white to red. She wanted to open her mouth but held back. She pointed a finger at Zhang Tie, trembling with rage. Finally, after staring fiercely at him for over ten seconds, she turned her head away in anger and led the way without a word.

Zhang Tie breathed a sigh of relief. He had already decided that if she screamed, he would turn and run...

The Iron Thorn Combat Hall was huge. The two walked through the deep, well-like corridor for nearly a full minute before Mary led Zhang Tie to a door marked "Manager Office."

"This is Manager Hans's office. I've brought you here; go in yourself!" After saying this, Mary really did lift her head like a swan and drifted away without even looking at Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie knocked on the door.

"Come in!" A man's voice came from inside. For some reason, upon hearing it, Zhang Tie thought of Tang De, that stingy fat man. Then, Zhang Tie pushed open the door and truly saw a fat man, sitting like a mountain of flesh behind a mahogany desk in a luxuriously decorated office. With a monocle clamped over one eye, he was huffing and puffing, using a green velvet cloth to vigorously polish the gleaming brass buttons on his jacket...

This Manager Hans was definitely stingier than Tang De, who never even let him stay for dinner. That was Zhang Tie's first impression of Manager Hans.