Chapter 24

Inside the building, the lights were dim.

Luo Qingchen and Chen Ju first made a round outside, then re-entered the building to patrol the upper and lower floors. Seeing nothing unusual, they chatted for a few moments.

"The Town Guard has been swamped these past few days."

"It's not just our building that's had a murder; two other homicides have occurred elsewhere in town."

"Those people all had their hearts gouged out; the state of their corpses was truly wretched..."

Luo Qingchen looked at him and asked, "Brother Chen, you've been in your room cultivating these past two days. Where did you get this news?"

Chen Ju laughed. "I'm a night owl. I cultivate during the day and come out at night. I heard this news from Brother Wang and Brother Sun."

Luo Qingchen glanced at his right leg, and just as he was about to probe further, Sun Ping walked in from outside. She frowned and said, "If you're on night patrol, stop chatting. One of you upstairs, one downstairs. If something happens here again, we'll all be punished."

"Understood, Sister Sun!"

Chen Ju immediately agreed with a face full of smiles, then said to Luo Qingchen, "Brother Luo, you go upstairs, and I'll stay downstairs. If there's anything unusual, just shout loudly."

Luo Qingchen nodded and climbed the stairs.

Sun Ping watched his retreating back, frowning as she muttered, "The kid looks like he'd blow away in the wind. If the monster appears again, can he really handle it?"

Chen Ju also watched the figure heading upstairs and chuckled, "Sister Sun, don't underestimate him. Someone who can survive the Blood Medicine fights and become a cultivator is no simple matter."

Sun Ping gave a low huff and said nothing more.

Luo Qingchen went upstairs and began a diligent patrol outside each guest room.

Most of the rooms were silent and even lacked light, as if there were no guests inside.

After walking a few more rounds, he stopped at the corner of the corridor, leaning against the wall to close his eyes and rest while pondering matters.

Standing here, he could hear the movements in every room, even the exaggerated moans a woman was deliberately making in the room at the very end of the hall.

Before long, the woman's moans ceased.

Then, the door opened, and the sound of two sets of footsteps approached from the end of the corridor.

"Still didn't bring money?"

The woman's somewhat raspy voice rang out.

Luo Qingchen opened his eyes and suddenly heard a familiar voice: "Heh heh, my daughter is here; she has money."

The footsteps drew near and then stopped in front of the first room at the entrance of the corridor.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The sound of knocking echoed.

Zhao Laosan's voice followed: "A-Yun, it's me. Open the door!"

There seemed to be no movement inside the room.

Zhao Laosan immediately increased the force of his knocking, his voice growing louder: "A-Yun, I know you're in there. Open the door for me! If you don't open it, I'm going to start cursing!"

Only then did the door creak open.

Zhao Yun appeared in the doorway wearing thin, light clothing, her expression fearful.

When Zhao Laosan saw her, he immediately beamed. "Daughter, I didn't bring any silver today. You pay for me."

Zhao Yun glanced at the two of them and lowered her head. "I don't have any silver either."

The smile on Zhao Laosan's face vanished instantly. He gave a cold snort and said, "You don't have any silver? Who are you trying to fool? I heard that you entertained two noble guests from above these past two days and earned quite a bit. Your brother came to ask you for some yesterday, and you lied and said you didn't have any. Now that I've come personally, you dare say you don't have any?"

Zhao Yun kept her head down, silent.

Seeing her demeanor, Zhao Laosan's expression suddenly shifted as if he had realized something. He roared, "Did you lend the silver to that little beast Luo Qingchen? That little beast even killed his own sister—he's heartless and unrighteous. How dare you lend money to him?"

Zhao Yun looked up, her lips trembling. "Brother Chen would never hurt Xiao Yu, he..."

"Smack!"

Before she could finish, Zhao Laosan delivered a vicious slap to her face. He glared at her and barked, "Have you lost your mind? You thousand-man-ridden, dog-fucked little bitch, you dare talk back to me?"

With that, he raised his hand, preparing to strike her again.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared behind him and delivered a heavy slap to his ear, sending his body tilting and stumbling to the side.

Before he could fall, Luo Qingchen kicked him in the waist, sending him flying through the air to crash onto the floor five meters away.

Zhao Laosan sprawled on the ground, opening his mouth to shriek in pain.

At this moment, Sun Ping and Chen Ju, having heard the commotion, came upstairs.

Sun Ping asked urgently, "What's going on?"

Zhao Laosan immediately played the victim: "Manager Sun, your guard is beating a guest! He's beating a guest!"

Sun Ping looked at Luo Qingchen with a stern gaze.

Luo Qingchen's expression remained unchanged. "I was guarding the corner just now and heard this guest trying to dine and dash. Then I saw him assaulting Miss Zhao, so I intervened."

"Dine and dash?"

Sun Ping's expression darkened at these words, her gaze shifting to the bare-shouldered woman standing to the side.

This woman was named Qingmei, the girl who had just been attending to Zhao Laosan. Seeing Sun Ping look at her, she nodded and said, "He only said he didn't have any money after he finished. I followed him out to collect it, but I hadn't received it yet. Just now, he asked A-Yun for money, and when she said she didn't have any, he hit her."

Looking at the clear slap mark on Zhao Yun's face, Sun Ping flew into a rage. She pointed at Zhao Laosan and cursed, "You old bastard! You come here to play with girls without a cent, and on top of that, you beat one of my girls! Have you grown a bear's heart and leopard's gall?"

Zhao Laosan immediately clutched his waist and sat up, exposing his face to the light, his expression full of pain. "Manager Sun, it's me, Zhao Laosan! I'm A-Yun's father!"

Sun Ping retorted angrily, "I wouldn't care if you were A-Yun's grandfather! A-Yun is a girl of my Hundred Fragrance Pavilion. You've ruined her face—how is she supposed to entertain guests now? You old wretch, you've come here time and again to play with girls without paying. If it weren't for A-Yun's sake, I would have broken your legs long ago! And now, you actually dare to lay a hand on one of my girls? Of all places, you hit her face? Are you doing this on purpose to stop me from doing business?"

Hearing this, Zhao Laosan apologized profusely.

"Throw him out! And don't let this old bastard back in ever again!"

Sun Ping barked the order.

Chen Ju immediately walked over to Zhao Laosan, grabbed him by the back of the neck, hauled him up, and dragged him downstairs.

Zhao Laosan glared at Luo Qingchen, who stood to the side, with eyes full of venom.

Once Chen Ju had dragged Zhao Laosan out the door, Sun Ping looked at Zhao Yun with a gloomy expression. "No matter who he is to you, you are not to see him again during business hours. He has already sold you; you are a girl of my Hundred Fragrance Pavilion now, and there is no need for you to fear him anymore."

Zhao Yun kept her head down, clutching her cheek as she trembled and said, "Yes."

Sun Ping added in a deep voice, "Also, remember to pay the silver you owe Qingmei."

With that, she turned and headed downstairs.

Only then did Zhao Yun lift her head to look at the other woman, pleading, "Sister Qingmei, could I pay you back the silver in a few days?"

Qingmei frowned at this. "You really don't have any silver left? What about the money you earned that night? Did you really lend it to someone else? Luo Qingchen... huh?"

She suddenly turned her head to look at the young man standing nearby.

Only then did she realize that this new guard seemed to be named Luo Qingchen.

"Fine, just pay me in a few days. Don't forget, that's all."

Qingmei said no more. She gave the two of them a meaningful look before turning to leave and returning to her own room.

The hallway fell quiet.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Yun spoke softly, "Brother A-Chen, thank you for just now."

Luo Qingchen looked at her haggard appearance and the red slap mark on her face. "It is I who should be thanking you. That silver... I will pay you back as soon as I can."

A faint smile forced its way onto Zhao Yun's face. "It's fine, there's no rush."

Luo Qingchen hesitated, but couldn't help asking, "A-Yun, your father..."

"I don't want to talk about him."

Zhao Yun cut him off, keeping her head down as she said, "Brother A-Chen, you go back to your work. I'm going inside."

With that, she lowered her head, retreated into her room, and closed the door.

Leaning her back against the door, her tears began to fall.

Luo Qingchen stood in the hallway for a while longer before he continued his patrol.

Outside the window, it was night.

Inside the window, it was night as well.

Outside the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, Zhao Laosan clutched his aching waist, cursing and swearing as he walked down the street.

"That little bastard Luo Qingchen, you just wait! Don't think that just because you've become a cultivator, I can't deal with you!"

"And that little slut who bites the hand that feeds her! If you don't give me money tomorrow, I'll tell everyone about your dirty secrets! Let's see if any guests dare to visit you after that!"

Zhao Laosan's face was twisted, his teeth gritted in hatred.

In the darkness ahead, a shadow appeared from nowhere.

When he sensed something was wrong and looked up, all he saw was a gaping maw filled with fangs, carrying an endless darkness as it descended upon him.

"Wooo—"

In the dark woods nearby, the wind howled and the fallen leaves rustled.

After that, all was silent.