That day, Duan Yun arrived in Maplewood Town.
Once he got here, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
According to the information he had gathered, once he reached Maplewood Town, he only needed to head east for one day to reach Springwatch City.
This place already counted as the outskirts of Springwatch City.
In fact, he had sensed the presence of Springwatch City two days ago.
All he could say was that the closer one got to Springwatch City, the higher prices became. The day before yesterday, ten copper coins could still buy two flatbreads; now, they could only buy one.
After walking for so long, he was finally almost there.
Tall maple trees had been planted both inside and outside Maplewood Town. At this time of year, they brought wave after wave of cool shade.
Duan Yun even felt that the entire town was somewhat gloomy and eerie.
At that moment, he noticed several people of the martial world standing before a wall plastered with papers, talking animatedly.
One look told him it was a bounty wall.
Thinking of how prices were climbing by the day, Duan Yun wanted to earn some silver, so he walked over.
Maplewood Town was merely a town, and there were not many bounty notices on the wall. Yet the moment Duan Yun approached, he immediately perked up.
This was because several key phrases came from the mouths of those martial wanderers—"Lu Family, Red Tower Fairy, bounty."
Duan Yun looked at the wall and found that this really was right up his alley.
It turned out that the Lu Family in town had suffered at the hands of the Red Tower Fairy. Several of the men inside had already been fucked to death, yet that fairy still refused to let them go. That was why the bounty had been posted.
"Brother Li, are you going? Master Lu definitely won't be stingy with his money."
"That's a Red Chamber Fairy. Aren't you afraid of being fucked to death?"
"When it comes to fucking, who have I ever feared?"
"Besides, they say the Lu Family has invited an eminent monk from Ironwater Temple. We're just going there to freeload a meal."
"Brother Wang is right. Put plainly, we're just going to lend a fist."
For martial wanderers who roamed everywhere, lending a fist was one of their main sources of income.
At that, Brother Li hesitated and said, "Lend a fist? Have you heard what happened in Yellowwater City? A demon has been causing trouble. Even lending a fist isn't safe anymore."
"If you won't even lend a fist, what kind of martial world are you roaming? Money's been tight lately. If you're not going, I'm not going either!"
While those men were still debating whether to go, Duan Yun had already memorized the address and set off ahead of them.
He already had a grudge against the Red Tower Fairy. Why wait for something that could both avenge him and uphold justice on Heaven's behalf while earning him a reward?
This had practically been tailor-made for Young Hero Duan!
Although during this journey, the name Demon Duan had spread far and wide while Young Hero Duan remained unknown, he knew that was only temporary—merely other people's misunderstanding of him.
As long as he handled these chivalrous deeds well, handled them beautifully, and truly made his heroic name travel afar like Hua Wu, no one would misunderstand him anymore.
The Lu Estate was deep and secluded. At that moment, the slanting evening sun added a touch of profound depth to its courtyard.
Led by the Lu Estate's steward, Duan Yun headed toward the main hall.
The moment he entered the hall, he found quite a few fellow martial artists gathered there.
Though they were all fellow martial artists, even fellow martial artists came in different ranks.
Seated in the place of honor in the hall was a large monk with his upper body bare.
Three enormous azure dragons had been embroidered across the monk's body. The right eyes of two of them were the two protrusions on his chest, making them look like one-eyed dragons and giving off a baleful aura.
What a formidable monk!
This should be the eminent monk from Ironwater Temple mentioned in the rumors. He truly did not look like someone to provoke.
Beside the seat of honor stood a sword-bearing male Daoist and female Daoist, who looked like a Daoist couple, as well as a charcoal-black burly man wearing iron gauntlets.
These were clearly people of standing, while Duan Yun could only stand at the back with a group of fellow martial artists, mixed in with the servants.
Damn it, standing around like a lackey again.
Still, Duan Yun did not mind. As long as he could kill that Red Tower Madwoman and get paid, what job was not a job?
"Someone like him can come here to freeload too?" someone murmured.
Even among those standing around like lackeys, Duan Yun, carrying a cheap iron sword, was still looked down upon by certain fellow martial artists.
He did not get angry. After all, these martial artists were not particularly bright.
Though this Steward Lu was polite, he did not introduce him. He merely had him stand among the estate's thugs. Clearly, he did not think much of Duan Yun either and was only counting him as another body.
There was no helping it. He was young and handsome, unlike those masters who had trained themselves into bizarre shapes. At a glance, he radiated the air of someone here to freeload.
At that moment, a young man beside him leaned over and said, "Brother, are you here to freeload too?"
The young man had fair skin and delicate features. Like Duan Yun, he radiated the air of someone here to freeload.
Duan Yun raised a brow and replied, "More or less."
"Stay farther back later. See that big monk? He's an eminent monk from Ironwater Temple, nicknamed One-Eyed Azure Dragon. Once he starts killing, he can't rein himself in. He might even hit his own people," the young man warned quietly.
He kept his voice so low that if Duan Yun had not possessed sharp hearing, he might have thought a mosquito was buzzing.
"He even hits his own people, and they call him One-Eyed? Isn't he just blind?" Duan Yun could not help mocking.
He had never held monks in much regard to begin with. If that was the case, then although this One-Eyed Azure Dragon Monk was not one of the demon monks from Dusk Temple, he was hardly a good sort either.
Upon hearing him say that, the people nearby all retreated a step, afraid of getting themselves dragged into trouble.
The young man also tensed up and secretly glanced toward the big monk. Only after seeing that the man was still resting with his eyes closed did he relax slightly.
"Brother, you really dare to say it."
As he spoke, he moved a little farther away from Duan Yun as well.
Because he realized that not only did the other man radiate the air of someone here to freeload, he also radiated the temperament of someone who invited trouble.
At that moment, the male Daoist took a sip of tea and said, "Master, it's getting dark."
The big monk opened his eyes. "What, you stinking Daoist, are you scared?"
The middle-aged Daoist laughed heartily. "This poor Daoist is scared of my ass."
"You stinking Daoists only know how to put on airs. How about you and your wife take the lead later?" the big monk sneered.
At once, the Daoist fell silent.
The big monk gave him no face at all and continued to mock him. "Not daring to? If you don't dare, what's the difference between you and those freeloading rice buckets in the back?"
Duan Yun looked over alongside the group of "rice buckets," feeling that this big monk was truly very "polite"!
Later, he would have to see what this monk was capable of. If his skills fell short of Duan Yun's, Duan Yun would teach that mouth of his some physics.
On the way here, Duan Yun had already roughly figured out the Red Tower Madwoman's methods.
Master Lu was old and lecherous, and he had married a Red Tower Madwoman who pretended to be young. In the end, the Red Tower Madwoman not only fucked him, but also fucked two of his sons and two guards to death.
During the fucking, she did not merely drain their yang energy; she could even consume their flesh and blood.
That madwoman had even declared that she wanted to be with every man in Master Lu's family, just as she had devoured their flesh—never to be separated.
The madwoman came to the estate every night to seek men to fuck. This was already the fifth night. If not for the Ironwater Temple monk taking the lead, not many people would have dared come to freeload.
After all, the Red Chamber Fairies were nightmares to countless men.
Night had fallen. A fuzzy moon hung in the sky, and the moonlight was like frost.
The Lu Estate's main hall and its surroundings were, as expected, hung full of lanterns, as though everyone believed that enough firelight could frighten away the Red Tower Fairy.
"Damn it, she bullies the weak and fears the strong. This Buddha has come, yet that madwoman doesn't dare show herself."
The big monk took a sip of tea and spat. Several bits of tea leaf immediately shot onto the face of the female Daoist seated nearby.
Duan Yun saw clearly that the female Daoist's face held shock and disgust, yet she did not dare say anything.
She looked toward her Daoist partner beside her. The middle-aged Daoist wore a pained expression, but he did not dare do anything either. He merely silently grasped the female Daoist's hand, signaling for her to endure it.
Just then, a gust of chilly wind blew through. The lanterns outside the hall and the candles indoors swayed violently, as if they might go out at any moment.
"She's here! She's here!"
The servants outside suddenly screamed and scrambled into the main hall, rolling and crawling.
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