Hearing this, Shi Xuedong turned deathly pale with fright and whispered, "We're finished. There are so many of them and only two of us. We're probably going to get the worst of it tonight."
"This is only our first day here," Hu Xiaotian said. "We have a long road ahead. If we don't show them what we're made of, they'll only push us harder."
"What should we do?" Shi Xuedong asked.
Hu Xiaotian lowered his voice. "We won't attack unless they attack us. Find something that feels good in your hand. At worst, we brothers will have a proper fight with them tonight."
Hu Xiaotian's bold words stirred Shi Xuedong's blood, too. He nodded. "If I'd known, I would've smuggled in a butcher's knife. Whoever fucking dares mess with us, I'll stab him to death." He had once tossed out threats like these all the time, but his family's downfall had drained much of his swagger. He rarely spoke so arrogantly anymore, and even saying it now felt far less imposing.
"What would you want that for?" Hu Xiaotian said. "If someone caught you, they could accuse you of secretly keeping a weapon to murder His Majesty. That's a crime that could get your property confiscated and your entire clan exterminated."
Shi Xuedong sighed. Confiscation and clan extermination were hardly unfamiliar words to him these days. While no one nearby was watching, he crouched down, quietly picked up half a brick from the ground, and hid it in his sleeve. Hu Xiaotian took the opportunity to slip a whole brick into his own sleeve.
Hu Xiaotian and Shi Xuedong entered Room Two. Enemies were indeed bound to cross paths: the moment they stepped inside, they saw more than a dozen eunuchs sitting on the communal sleeping platform. The man in