Bandit's Excitement Pants

Before long, a carriage bearing a wooden plaque marked "Lin" left the gates of the Lin Family Clinic, carrying a man and a woman.

Meanwhile, above a three-story restaurant at the end of Ning'an Street.

A man dressed in coarse hemp clothing and a bamboo hat stood at a private room's window, watching the carriage approach along the street through a crack. A five-foot horse-cleaving saber rested beside him, and his eyes held a hint of disdain:

"That young brat's head is worth three hundred taels?"

Behind him, a cloaked man sat at a table, holding a teacup:

"Your services are worth three hundred taels, not him. I only hired you to make certain of success. If you botch this, you know the rules."

The saber wielder rather liked the sound of that, but still asked:

"What's the boy's background?"

"His surname is Xie, given name Jinhuan. Born in the third year of Changping, originally from Wanan County, Luojing. His father, Xie Wen, was once Wanan County's judicial officer. Three years ago, he was transferred to Nanning, Ruizhou, for negligence in handling a case. The boy has just returned to the Central Plains alone."

"How strong is he? Why kill him?"

The Cloak Person fell silent for a moment before explaining in detail:

"He's been studying at Wind Spirit Valley these past few years. A minor martial sect; his martial skills are passable. Yesterday, he tipped off the authorities about my warehouse and cost me several thousand taels in goods. He needs to pay the price."

The saber wielder looked slightly puzzled:

"The heat is on right now. They're hunting monsters and bandits everywhere, and there was a major disturbance in Dongcang Ward yesterday. Instead of lying low, you're going against the tide and hiring a killer for revenge. That's not very sensible."

The Cloak Person took banknotes from his sleeve and placed them on the table:

"In Jianghu, asking too many questions does you no good. Are you taking the job or not?"

Looking at the banknotes on the table, the saber wielder finally nodded:

"Yes. Turning down such an easy job would be picking a fight with silver."

The Cloak Person took a black medicine bottle from his sleeve and set it on the table:

"The heat is indeed on lately. Try poisoning him first. If that fails, use force."

The saber wielder picked up the black medicine bottle and examined it, frowning:

"This looks like a Sanhe House bottle. Since when did Sanhe House sell poison?"

"I just found a bottle to put the medicine in. Get it done quickly."

With that, the Cloak Person rose and left the room.

The saber wielder held the little black bottle thoughtfully, but ultimately tucked it into his robes...

Cold rain fell unceasingly, fog shrouding a thousand streets. The uneven buildings lining the roads lay enveloped in rain and mist, turning the entire city a somber blue-black.

The carriage traveled through the eastern city's streets. Jia Zheng, both driver and guard, sat outside the carriage in a bamboo hat. Perhaps bored by the journey, he hummed a desolate tune:

"Heaven suffers~ earth suffers~ a hundred thousand miles from south to north, nothing but a hero's grave~

"Buddhist or Daoist~ what does it matter~ eighty years roaming east and west, bones in a grave at last~..."

Drawn by two horses abreast, the carriage was quite spacious inside, with a small table by the left-hand window.

Wearing gold-rimmed spectacles, Lin Wanyi sat primly on the inner side, stroking Coal Ball's furry head and occasionally glancing at the white-robed young gentleman across the little table.

Xie Jinhuan sat with his back to the window, holding the Thirty-Six-Section Heavenly Gang Mace and carefully wiping it with a handkerchief. His gaze seemed to keep others a thousand miles away, yet held a hidden warmth. Not only was his expression flawless, but his posture, movements, and even the nuances of his gaze were all just right, making anyone who looked want to look again...

Lin Wanyi thought Xie Jinhuan's bearing was a little too perfect. Even someone who had trained their posture since age three might not achieve such poise. After a moment's silence, she could not help speaking first:

"Xie Jinhuan, are you thinking about something?"

Xie Jinhuan had far too much on his mind. All he wanted now was to stay alive. At her question, he came back to himself:

"Nothing. I just drifted off."

Lin Wanyi nodded slightly. Since they had only just met and had little to talk about, she searched for conversation:

"Does that weapon have special meaning to you?"

Like Coal Ball, Xie Jinhuan's Heavenly Gang Mace had come from a flea market.

It had cost him two taels of silver. The seller had boasted that it was a "Primordial Divine Weapon," but it was really just a big iron rod with nothing going for it except sturdiness.

Still, he needed a story when introducing it to someone. After some thought, he spun a tale:

"I first used spears and staves, following the principle that 'an inch longer is an inch stronger.' Later, I switched to sabers and swords, defeating enemies through technique. After that, weapons no longer mattered; plucked flowers and twisted leaves could wound a man. I had this mace forged not as a weapon, but as a warning to myself."

"A warning about what?"

"A mace has four edges but no cutting blade. It is a 'benevolent weapon,' following the path of fairness and moderation. Its purpose is punishment and deterrence, not taking lives or maiming limbs..."

"Oh..."

Lin Wanyi nodded slightly, her opinion of Xie Jinhuan rising another few notches.

Amid this nonsense, the carriage reached the vicinity of the Academy and stopped outside a gold-painted ceremonial archway. The sudden shower gradually subsided as well.

Outside the gold-painted archway was a dedicated parking area filled with carriages and sedan chairs. Beyond it lay an enormous market, crowded with merchants, including quite a few brown-haired, green-eyed foreigners.

After alighting, Lin Wanyi walked ahead and put on her veil, but her large breasts, full backside, and alluring figure still drew sidelong looks from many passersby.

Xie Jinhuan walked beside her, examining the roadside stalls along the way. As they passed a shop, he saw quite a crowd gathered at its entrance.

Inside the spacious shop, no goods were on display, only rows of boxes.

The boxes were all painted red, with brass clasps and seals marked "Wubei Institute," and varied in size.

People in all manner of dress carefully browsed the boxes, whispering among themselves:

"This one should have a short weapon inside..."

"The boxes aren't fakes, are they?"

"Who in Danyang City would dare counterfeit something from Danyang Academy..."

At the sight of these "blind boxes," Xie Jinhuan could not help stopping:

"This sort of Jianghu swindle works even in Danyang?"

Lin Wanyi had not been here in a long time. Seeing the "Many Treasures Pavilion" sign above the shop, she asked in puzzlement:

"Jia Zheng, what does this shop do?"

Following behind, Jia Zheng promptly answered:

"It opened recently. They say the owner is someone important from Wencheng Street. Everything inside was sourced from the Academy-weapons, protective gear, all sorts. Everything costs thirty taels."

Danyang Academy's Wubei Institute primarily researched city-defense machinery, weaving, waterworks, and the like, but it also had an artifact-refining discipline that taught students to craft magical implements and weapons.

With students and teachers conducting research, all manner of equipment naturally emerged, which the Academy sold to recover its costs.

But to avoid tarnishing Danyang Academy's reputation, anything allowed onto the market was guaranteed to be top quality. None of it was cheap.

Hearing that they cost only thirty taels of silver, Lin Wanyi grew curious:

"Are they genuine?"

"The goods are guaranteed genuine, but you can't inspect them before buying. Nine times out of ten, you lose money. Still, someone got a suit of soft armor a few days ago, struck it rich overnight, and made a thousand taels of gleaming silver..."

Lin Wanyi's interest was piqued. After a brief look, she turned toward the shop:

"Go ask around about the Dragon Yang Flower seller first. I'll come over shortly."

"Right away."

At that, Jia Zheng hurried deeper into the market.

Xie Jinhuan was considering how to evade the imperial authorities' investigation and had no interest in participating in such a Jianghu scam. But just as he followed her into the shop, the great succubus Ye, who followed him like a shadow, appeared beside him and pointed at a box:

"This one."

Xie Jinhuan paused and quietly glanced around. Only after confirming that no one had noticed his personal ghost did he move a little closer:

"What's inside?"

Ye Hongshang shrugged slightly. "Whatever it is, the material is special. You won't lose money. If I tell you outright, where's the fun in that?"

At that, Xie Jinhuan approached the shelves and picked up a small wooden box the size of a head. It felt quite light, but he could not tell what was inside.

Lin Wanyi wanted to buy one to try her luck, but thirty taels of silver was more than three months of Jia Zheng's wages-hardly a small sum. While she hesitated, she noticed Xie Jinhuan studying a box and asked:

"Is there something good in that box?"

Given Ye Hongshang's abilities, Xie Jinhuan felt she probably would not cheat him out of his silver. This box likely held the grand prize.

But all the silver he had amounted to twenty-odd taels. He could not afford it!

Seeing how curious Lin Wanyi was, Xie Jinhuan hesitated repeatedly before painfully offering up borrowed flowers to honor the Buddha:

"It looks good. Buy it and give it a try. If there's a profit, we split it evenly. If there's a loss, it's on me."

Naturally, this interested Lin Wanyi. She quietly picked up the box, took out silver to pay the shop assistant, and headed out with him:

"It's so light. Could there be soft armor inside?"

Xie Jinhuan did not know what was inside either. He examined it from beside her:

"We'll know once we open it."

Lin Wanyi carried the little box outside. Only after moving away from the crowd's gaze did she support it in one hand and peel off the seal. Having spent the considerable sum of thirty taels of silver on it, she was a little nervous.

Xie Jinhuan and Coal Ball both craned forward to look. When the box opened, they saw an exquisitely embroidered pouch inside.

?

Lin Wanyi froze, then handed the box to Xie Jinhuan and took out the pouch. Opening it, she found two pieces of black fabric inside.

Folded up, the fabric was only palm-sized, with an exceptionally smooth texture. Its sheen alone revealed that the material was precious and worth a great deal.

"Is this Ice-Soul Silk?!" Lin Wanyi's almond-shaped eyes brightened slightly at the remarkably fine fabric. "It really is soft armor. How could you tell?"

Ice-Soul Silk was a special thread produced by the Wubei Institute through a secret method. Said to be worth "a hundred taels of gold for one tael of silk," it made for astonishingly expensive soft armor.

Having agreed to split the proceeds evenly, Xie Jinhuan was initially delighted that the great succubus Ye had truly picked out the grand prize. But at the sight of the palm-sized pouch, he frowned slightly:

"Isn't this soft armor a little small?"

"Hm?"

Lin Wanyi examined the little pouch in her hand and also thought it seemed too small, so she took out one piece to inspect.

As the folded black fabric unfolded, a very strange pair of "pants" appeared before them.

The pants were like soft, sheer gauze, semitransparent and exceptionally stretchy, with intricate embroidery below the belly. Whether they offered any protection was unknown, but if a woman wore them, there really would not be much difference from wearing nothing...

Bandit's Excitement Pants?