BANG!
SMACK!
Zheng Fan was once again knocked to the ground by a wooden sword.
"My lord, do you need to rest?"
"One more time."
Gasping for breath, Zheng Fan scrambled to his feet, his hands gripping the wooden sword again.
Liang Cheng stood calmly with his sword, waiting for Zheng Fan's next attack.
The two of them had been practicing for three days now.
In other words, Zheng Fan had been getting thrashed for three days.
The feeling was far from pleasant, but fortunately, Zheng Fan could grit his teeth and endure.
"AHHHH!!!"
Zheng Fan launched another attack.
Their wooden swords clashed continuously. Zheng Fan's every strike was decisive, holding nothing back.
Liang Cheng, however, kept retreating, merely parrying his attacks.
Finally, after a barrage of attacks, Zheng Fan's momentum began to falter. Liang Cheng decisively seized the opportunity as Zheng Fan paused to catch his breath. He stepped forward and thrust his sword. Zheng Fan immediately moved his sword to block, but Liang Cheng changed his swordplay again. He turned, put force into his waist, and lifted his leg.
BANG!
Liang Cheng's foot slammed into Zheng Fan's sword. The force was too strong for Zheng Fan to deflect, causing him to stumble backward and fall hard to the ground.
HUFF... HUFF... HUFF...
Zheng Fan lay on the ground, the wooden sword having fallen beside him.
"It's getting late, my lord. Let's call it a day."
"Alright..."
Zheng Fan didn't insist. He lay on the ground for a while longer before getting up and heading back to his inner quarters.
Liang Cheng quietly packed up his things and headed to the well in the courtyard. A few maids were washing clothes by the well.
"Excuse me," Liang Cheng said.
"Brother, you do your washing, we'll do ours. We won't get in your way."
"That's right! Watching you bathe gives us more energy to wash clothes."
These maids had been taken in by the Hyena Gang. They were no longer young. In Feng Siniang's words, they "lacked potential for further development," so they were kept for labor.
They were women who had been sold by their husbands, or sold after their husbands had died. They had suffered hardships and had straightforward, unreserved personalities.
Liang Cheng said nothing, but first hoisted up three buckets of well water in one go.
Then, he turned, removed his upper garment, and neatly folded it.
The nearby maids watched intently.
"All of you, hurry up! Why aren't the clothes washed yet? There are other chores to do. Did the master keep you here to laze around together?"
An older maidservant came over. Her gaze swept over Liang Cheng's well-defined muscles several times before she cleared her throat and chided the other maids.
The women washing clothes by the well had no choice but to pack up their basins and clothes and leave together.
Finally, the area around Liang Cheng quieted down.
At this moment, Zheng Fan, still in his practice clothes, passed by. Seeing Liang Cheng bathing by the well, he couldn't help but stop and call out to him, "There's a bathhouse in the back courtyard. Let's go soak together."
The pool in the Hyena Gang's back courtyard had originally been built by the gang leader, but now Zheng Fan had taken it over.
When they were living in the inn, space was limited, and everyone's rooms were close together. Now, with the expanded grounds and the two adjacent houses, the back courtyard of the latter house was basically for Zheng Fan's exclusive use.
Every day, several little ladies, working in shifts, attended to Zheng Fan's daily needs. Under Siniang's training, they were making rapid progress.
Siniang had originally wanted to make a set of selection plaques for Zheng Fan; at night, he could simply flip the plaque of the lady he wished to spend the night with. However, Zheng Fan had flatly rejected this proposition without hesitation.
While comics featuring young, 'loli'-type girls had a vast market and audience in the comic world, Zheng Fan wasn't particularly keen on them.
He preferred a richer, more realistic, and voluptuous art style—something more like Feng Siniang herself.
Moreover, Zheng Fan had been thrashed every day since his return, leaving his energy nearly depleted by daytime. At night, he would typically soak in a bath, get a massage, and then fall straight asleep, having no energy for anything else.
Now, faced with Zheng Fan's invitation, Liang Cheng simply shook his head and said, "I don't like hot water."
However, perhaps feeling his refusal was a bit cold, Liang Cheng hesitated for a moment and added, "Thank you for your concern, my lord."
Zheng Fan shrugged. Perhaps it's because Liang Cheng is a zombie, preferring cold and disliking heat.
So, Zheng Fan didn't insist. Besides, a man insisting another man bathe with him always felt a bit strange.
"Where's Siniang?" Zheng Fan asked.
Every day after Liang Cheng "guided" his martial arts practice, Zheng Fan would soak in a bath accompanied by Siniang, followed by a massage.
There was nothing indecent involved, truly just an essential oil back rub or the like.
His body was covered with bruises. Though Liang Cheng was very restrained, some bruising was inevitable. Consequently, an evening massage from Siniang helped him sleep more comfortably.
When Zheng Fan returned to his quarters, he noticed Siniang wasn't waiting for him inside as she had on previous days, so he had come out to look for her.
"She's probably in the front courtyard," Liang Cheng said.
"Alright, I'll go look for her."
Zheng Fan left. Just as he passed through the front covered walkway, he saw Siniang and A Ming walking side by side.
A Ming was holding a cloth bag, discussing something with Siniang as they walked.
"Let's roll this out first and make a quick profit," A Ming was saying. "Then, once the business is established, we can produce alcohol and create perfume. After that, we can develop new products in combination with the soap."
"No," Siniang countered. "Either we don't do it, or if we do, it has to be the best. We're in Hutou City, a place too remote and unsuitable for mass distribution. Even though the heavens are high and the emperor is far away here, we can't just let things trickle along slowly. So, we either don't do it, or we aim for the high-end market. Only then can we maximize short-term revenue."
"Fine, fine. What about later then? This world has Battle Qi and magic; the intelligence of the locals isn't that low. No matter how many new things we come up with, it won't be hard for them to imitate us."
A Ming still felt that gradual development and releasing products bit by bit was the way to maximize profits.
"Once we're formidable, why would we still be doing business?" Feng Siniang rolled her eyes at A Ming.
A Ming chuckled. "You're right. I've been so engrossed in researching these things that my mind's gone a bit numb."
Right! Once they were powerful enough, who would still bother with business and earning money? They could just go out and plunder!
At this moment, Siniang saw Zheng Fan standing not far ahead. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand, then glared at A Ming and grumbled, "This is all your fault! You made me forget to give my lord his massage!"
A Ming suddenly envied Blind Bei.
Because Blind Bei could effortlessly roll his eyes at someone all day long without feeling tired.
"My lord, I'm coming, I'm coming..." Siniang cried, lifting her skirts and running towards Zheng Fan.
A Ming placed his right hand over his chest and bowed to Zheng Fan from afar.
Only after Zheng Fan and Siniang had walked further away did A Ming continue forward with his cloth bag.
SPLASH...
Liang Cheng was still rinsing himself.
A Ming leaned against the railing, looking at Liang Cheng, and called out, "I say, what's a zombie like you being so shy for? Still wearing underpants while taking a bath."
Liang Cheng ignored A Ming.
He chose to bathe here because the well water contained a faint evil aura.
The ancients considered Feng Shui when building houses. Beneath this well was a place where evil aura converged. This bit of aura might not be of much use to Liang Cheng, but it felt comfortable.
It was like how smoking is harmful to health, yet most smokers, upon seeing such a warning, would simply light a cigarette to calm their nerves.
"Has the evil aura in your body increased?" A Ming asked.
Liang Cheng shook his head.
"I've tried self-harm many times," A Ming continued, "but my recovery speed remains unchanged. I think the problem might not lie with us."
SPLASH...
Liang Cheng poured another bucket of water over himself. Putting the bucket down, he said, "Indeed, it's not with us. I've tried absorbing evil aura from graveyards, but there's always a limit. Once that limit is reached, the evil aura in my body can no longer increase."
"Tsk tsk, you're right. It seems we're in the same boat," A Ming said. "If we want to recover our strength, relying on our own arduous cultivation to recover our strength seems impossible. At least, that path is highly unlikely to work. I think we need to try other ways."
"Other ways?"
"Yes, for example..."
RIP!
The cloth bag in A Ming's hand suddenly tore open.
A newly developed bar of soap slid out from the bag. It landed on the wet ground beside the well and, due to its inertia, skittered a long way, right to Liang Cheng's feet.
"..." Liang Cheng.
"..." A Ming.
The most dreaded thing...
is when the air suddenly falls silent.
A Ming broke the silence, perhaps to ease the damned, inexplicable tension. He added, "I just developed it. Pick it up and use it."
Liang Cheng bent down to pick it up, but suddenly froze.
The most dreaded thing...
is a friend's sudden concern.
"You two are quite close."
Blind Bei's voice suddenly sounded from a corner.
Liang Cheng silently picked up the soap, looked up towards Blind Bei, and calmly asked, "Is something the matter?"
Blind Bei nodded. "We're having a meeting at the pavilion tonight."
Saying this, Blind Bei raised his hand slightly and gestured. "Alright, I've said my piece. You two can continue. I didn't see anything."
As he walked away, Blind Bei's sigh could be heard again, tinged with a hint of relief, "Good thing I'm blind."
——————
Thank you to Emotion, Ink and Water of Jiangnan for becoming the 39th Lord of 'Leading the Devil,' and thanks to Su Su, Su Mo Bai for the generous donation.