Wang Gang rode out of the city. As he passed the Spring Breeze Pavilion, he saw red sleeves fluttering, dancing robes and singing fans, while decadent music filled his ears. He immediately rebuked it: "An affront to public morals! Damn it, I have business to attend to, or I'd have to give this place a thorough critique!"
"Is that the young master ahead?"
Just as Wang Gang was about to leave, a deep voice came from behind him. He turned and saw a fat man running over, huffing and puffing.
"Fatty Deng, why are you here instead of at the estate?" Wang Gang dismounted and greeted him. The newcomer was Deng Baichuan, a household retainer of the Murong family.
"Young master, where are you headed?" Before Deng Baichuan could say anything else, two more men approached, one reeking of wine and the other fierce-looking. They were none other than Gongye Qian and Feng Bo'e.
Wang Gang glanced at the Spring Breeze Pavilion, then swept his gaze over the three men and smiled. "Why's Old Bao missing?"
Feng Bo'e spoke first. "Third Brother Bao's on a matchmaking date today. I was bored, so when I saw Eldest Brother Deng heading into town, I tagged along!"
Wang Gang said in surprise, "Old Bao, on a matchmaking date? With that contrarian streak of his? Matchmaking, my ass! Snatching a wife would be more reliable!"
The three men chuckled at that. Wang Gang found their looks rather strange and was about to turn when a voice sounded behind him:
"Not so, not so! Though my matchmaking attempts have repeatedly failed, I fight on after every defeat, never discouraged. If I snatched someone, wouldn't that make me a bandit?"
Wang Gang turned and, sure enough, saw Bao Butong. He smiled. "If you'd listened to me, even just pretended to be mute, you might have brought a bride home long ago!"
"Not so, not so!" Bao Butong argued. "If I didn't speak, I wouldn't be me! If she married me, she'd have fallen for the silent me, not the real me. Wouldn't that mean I'd put a green hat on my own head?"
His speech was so long and convoluted that everyone looked this way and that, unwilling to listen to his rambling!
Wang Gang immediately changed the subject, looking at Gongye Qian. "Thank you for your help last time, Second Brother. But I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again over the next few days!"
"No trouble, no trouble! If you need anything, young master, just give the word!"
Feng Bo'e cut in. "What is it?"
Gongye Qian explained the matter of investigating the shop managers.
Feng Bo'e's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, "Why didn't you bring me along for something like that? I'm coming this time too! I haven't had a fight in days. My hands are itching terribly!"
Wang Gang had no objection. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he prepared to take his leave, only for Deng Baichuan to seize his hand. "Come, come, come! Let's keep talking inside the Spring Breeze Pavilion!"
Wang Gang hastily declined. "I can't. I still have to go to Swallow Dock!"
"What could be so urgent that you have to go today? I've already reserved seats on the second floor!" Deng Baichuan was so strong that Wang Gang could not break free at all.
"Eldest Brother Deng really is generous! The second floor costs no small sum. Don't miss out on such a fine opportunity, young master!"
Wang Gang said urgently, "I'm injured!"
"Injured?" Deng Baichuan looked him over suspiciously, then turned his hand and caught Wang Gang's wrist. A rich, powerful stream of internal power flowed into him and circulated through his meridians. Deng Baichuan exclaimed, "Young master, your internal power is actually this profound!"
Wang Gang said modestly, "I only practiced casually for a couple of days!"
"Young master, you're too..." Deng Baichuan had been about to say "too modest," but on reflection, something was wrong! "Casually," "a couple of days"-neither phrase sounded remotely modest!
"Heh heh, young master, your natural gifts are outstanding!" Deng Baichuan changed his words at the last moment, then said, "Your meridians are indeed injured! It must have come from a contest of internal power against someone with formidable internal cultivation!"
"Who did it? I'll go fight him!" Feng Bo'e jumped forward.
Wang Gang said bashfully, "I caused it by forcibly circulating my internal power!"
"Forcibly circulating your internal power?" All four were puzzled. How exactly had he forced it to injure his meridians? Surely it wasn't some sinister martial art!
"That's it! The young master's internal power is extremely profound, so profound that his meridians can't bear it! He must have caused this by circulating his power at full strength!"
Deng Baichuan's explanation only left the others more confused! Internal power was generated by circulating through the meridians in a complete cycle. How could someone's meridians possibly be unable to bear their internal power?
"I don't know either. I'd only practiced martial arts for a few days before this happened." Wang Gang smiled shyly. "Perhaps this is what they call talent!"
They all felt an urge to curse. In the end, Deng Baichuan had the best self-restraint. After a few twitches at the corners of his mouth, he recovered and asked, "Young master, are you going to Swallow Dock to ask the old master to treat your injured meridians?"
Wang Gang nodded. "I figured he's been injured plenty of times. A long illness makes a good doctor, after all! Maybe he can cure it!"
"Heh heh, you're right, young master!" Deng Baichuan laughed dryly, took a small porcelain bottle from inside his robe, and said, "But you needn't go to Swallow Dock. These Minor Return Pills of mine can repair hidden injuries to the meridians!"
"Shaolin Minor Recovery Pills?" Wang Gang was surprised. He had not expected Deng Baichuan to be able to obtain something so good.
"Ah, no! These have been passed down in my family, but they work extremely well!"
"Not so, not so! Your great-grandfather clearly stole the formula from Shaolin and changed a few ingredients. How can you call it a family inheritance?"
"Third Brother Bao, how can you sully my good name!" Deng Baichuan flew into a rage, the fat on his face quivering with anger as he said shakily, "My great-grandfather passed it down. How is that not a family inheritance?"
Wang Gang froze. So he was only defending the words "family inheritance," without saying a word about the stolen formula!
Still, with Shaolin's endorsement, Wang Gang felt safe taking it. He clasped Deng Baichuan's plump hand, took the porcelain bottle, and said sincerely, "Thank you for the pills, Brother Deng. In the future, I'll make sure these Deng Family Minor Recovery Pills become famous!"
Suddenly receiving someone else's recognition, Deng Baichuan looked touched. He grabbed Wang Gang and said excitedly, "Come on, let's go to the Spring Breeze Pavilion!"
Wang Gang hastily refused. "I'm not going. I'm a very upright man!"
"Oh, who isn't upright? We're going to help support the young ladies in the brothel!"
"Exactly! Didn't you say that the greatest heroes serve their country and its people? Aren't these young ladies people too?"
"No, I'm still too young!" Wang Gang struggled.
"Not so, not so! You're already married. How can you call yourself young?"
"Precisely! Today, I'll let you witness my romantic prowess!"
"No! I'm a scholar..."
"Not so, not so! A few years ago, the famed courtesans of an entire city saw Liu Sanbian off. Wasn't he a scholar?"
"That's right! You scholars come to these places more than anyone!"
Wang Gang was pushed, shoved, and dragged to the entrance of the Spring Breeze Pavilion. The madam was welcoming guests when she suddenly spotted them and hurried over to greet them.
Then her sweeping gaze caught Wang Gang among them, and her face instantly blossomed with smiles like a chrysanthemum. She cried extravagantly, "Oh, my Young Master Wang! It's been so long since you last came! Those daughters of mine pine for you every single day!"
The others immediately turned and gave Wang Gang strange looks.
"Heh heh, it's only been a few days, but you've grown even more graceful and charming, Madam Liu!" Wang Gang greeted her with a dry laugh.
Madam Liu, who was in her early thirties, giggled at his words and cast him a glance brimming with allure. "What charm do I have left? I'm already old, a pearl gone yellow. Don't tease me, young master."
"Old? Where?" Wang Gang cast a heated glance at the astonishing fullness below Madam Liu's waist and smiled. "They're all too young to know how lovely you are, Madam, and mistake the young girls for treasures!"
"Hee hee hee!" Madam Liu covered her mouth and giggled, her expression seductive. "No wonder those girls think of you day and night. Just a few words from you have my little heart fluttering!"
"Oh? Where's it fluttering? Let me rub it for you!" Wang Gang made to step forward.
"Stop sweet-talking me! My daughters are all getting impatient!" Madam Liu turned aside to evade him and smiled. "The private room on the third floor, as usual?"
Deng Baichuan and the others looked at Wang Gang again. The Spring Breeze Pavilion had three floors, each offering better service than the last, with prices that naturally rose accordingly. The third floor was more than one tier above the second.
Judging by the madam's words, Wang Gang had not merely been here before-he was a regular, and a lavish spender! To think they had been tugging and dragging him outside.
After Wang Gang nodded his agreement, they were led toward the third floor. The men exchanged glances, then all looked at Wang Gang.
"Didn't you say you were a respectable man?"
"I'm relieving suffering and saving those in distress! If you don't come and I don't come, how are these young ladies supposed to live?"
"Didn't you say you were too young?"
"You have to broaden your horizons while you're young!"
"Didn't you say you were a scholar?"
"A talented scholar and a beautiful lady make a pair!"
The four men: ...