Chapter 31: Chapter 31

The Little Tavern had been open in Liangzhou City for seven or eight days, but business remained sparse.

The main reason was that its wine was not cheap. It offered only three varieties: Chang’an’s Daoyao Zui, Jiangnan’s famous Huadiao wine, and Shengjing’s Shaodaozi. Apart from the Shaodaozi, the other two were beyond the means of most ordinary people. A flask of Huadiao wine, for instance, cost three taels of silver. That price alone was enough to frighten away many customers. After all, Liangzhou could hardly be called prosperous.

The weather was pleasant that day. After many days of snowfall, the skies had finally cleared. Zhao Jiu carried a reclining chair into the courtyard and lay beneath a tree. Sunlight filtered through the bare branches and spilled across his body. It was not particularly warm, but it still felt entirely different from the dreariness of a snowy day.

The sunlight made him drowsy. Zhao Jiu covered his face with a storybook and leisurely enjoyed the tranquil afternoon.

The breeze was gentle, and the sunlight was just right.

Zhao Jiu drifted off to sleep. Winter days were short, and by the time he opened his eyes again, darkness had already fallen. He went out for dinner, bought a packet of tea, and sauntered back to the courtyard.

He had only just closed the door and lit the stove to boil water for tea when several coos came from the rooftop. He had not even finished his first pot of tea.

Zhao Jiu’s heart leaped with delight. After one or two months of waiting, business had finally come knocking.

He beckoned with one hand. The pigeon cooed twice before landing on his palm. He removed the bamboo tube tied to its leg, and a slip of paper fell out.

The first thing he noticed was the Six of Circles symbol on the paper, confirming that the carrier pigeon had come from Six Fingers. He unfolded the note. There were only a dozen or so characters written on it:

Twenty-seventh. Zi Hour. Liangzhou. Warm Fragrance Pavilion. Grade-A Room Two.

After reading it, Zhao Jiu tossed the note into the stove. He placed a blank slip marked with the Nine of Circles into the bamboo tube and released the pigeon.

He quietly considered whether this might be a trap set by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. After thinking it over, he decided to go anyway. Cowering before every possible danger was not his style.

Once he had made up his mind, he calmly drank his tea and cultivated. The twenty-seventh was still two days away, so there was no need to rush.

For the next two days, Zhao Jiu remained inside the courtyard. Apart from leaving to eat, he barely stepped outside, avoiding all unnecessary appearances as much as possible. This was also part of his preparations.

On the third night, Zhao Jiu waited until the Hai Hour before slowly rising to his feet. He changed into the clothes he had prepared in advance and activated Complete Transformation.

A series of faint cracks and pops that only he could hear came from his body. In moments, he had transformed into a man with small eyes and a wide mouth. After attaching two thin strips of mustache, he looked exactly like a sleazy young master from a wealthy family.

“Heh heh heh.”

He altered his voice and laughed, thoroughly satisfied with the result. At the very least, his disguise provided him with a first layer of protection.

The Warm Fragrance Pavilion was not far from The Little Tavern, but Zhao Jiu could not simply walk straight there. For one thing, it would not suit his current appearance. For another, it might arouse suspicion.

A lavishly dressed young master from a wealthy family walking to a brothel would be far too conspicuous.

Unfortunately, Zhao Jiu did not have a carriage. Even if he did, he could not drive it himself. What wealthy young master traveled without a single servant?

Thus, he devised a convenient excuse. He would pretend to be drunk and too unsteady to ride in a carriage, then stagger to the brothel on foot. It was not entirely convincing, but it was at least more plausible than walking there normally.

After turning a corner and crossing another street, Zhao Jiu first found a restaurant. He ordered a full table of food and wine. As he ate, he asked the Shopkeeper whether there were any nearby houses of pleasure, giving him the sort of knowing look that all men understood.

The Shopkeeper stroked his beard and chuckled. Their gazes met, and both men broke into broad grins.

Zhao Jiu stuffed a tael of silver into the Shopkeeper’s robes. Understanding immediately, the Shopkeeper leaned close and began telling him about the Warm Fragrance Pavilion nearby. He praised its attentive service, its considerate women, and every other virtue he could think of.

Zhao Jiu asked whether it was truly as good as he claimed.

The Shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, and a lecherous expression appeared on his face.

“That settles it,” Zhao Jiu thought delightedly.

He immediately assumed the appearance of a lust-crazed fiend, drained the wine in his cup, and impatiently bid the Shopkeeper farewell. Under the man’s envious gaze, he strode out of the restaurant.

The Warm Fragrance Pavilion stood on another street nearby. Unlike the pleasure houses of Jiangnan, it looked no different from an ordinary restaurant or inn when viewed from a distance.

Many of the windows were half-open, revealing tantalizing glimpses of exposed skin, while coquettish feminine voices drifted continuously from within. Even before Zhao Jiu approached, he could smell the heavy scent of powder and perfume. Several scantily dressed prostitutes were even soliciting customers outside the entrance.

The sight deeply shocked Zhao Jiu, who had spent so much time in Jiangnan.

After all, courtesans were one thing, while common prostitutes were another. The Warm Fragrance Pavilion most likely had little interest in refined entertainment. Its approach was direct, forceful, and straight to the point.

Zhao Jiu did not stand on ceremony. He allowed several women to tug him toward the entrance, calling each of them a “fairy” with a lecherous grin plastered across his face. He wrapped one arm around the woman on his left while pinching the cheek of another on his right.

Fortunately, the Madam had already come forward to greet him in the main hall, repeatedly addressing him as an honored gentleman.

Zhao Jiu smiled as he surveyed the room.

“Not bad. The women can at least be considered beauties. I want a Grade-A room. Only a Grade-A room is worthy of a man of my standing. Sweetheart, Big Brother’s silver is right here inside his robes…”

The woman beside him did not hesitate. She immediately reached inside his robes.

After searching for a moment, she found only two banknotes. When she pulled them out and saw their value, she nearly froze in shock.

Both were worth five hundred taels.

Zhao Jiu pinched her cheek and laughed.

“What is it? Are you planning to buy your freedom, sweetheart? Hahaha! Reach a little lower!”

“Oh, you wicked man~”

Zhao Jiu did not press the matter. He personally took out three taels of silver and placed them in the Madam’s hand before heading upstairs with his arm around the woman on his left.

Upon entering Grade-A Room Three, Zhao Jiu immediately struck the prostitute unconscious with a Knife-Hand Strike. He tossed her onto the bed, turned around, and knocked on the door of the neighboring room.

“Come in,” a voice called from inside.

Zhao Jiu pushed the door open. To his surprise, there was only one man inside, seated before a table of food and wine.

Noticing Zhao Jiu’s puzzled expression, the man spoke first.

“Ghost Market?”

“Ghost Market.”

“Help me kill someone.”

The man’s voice was slightly hoarse. There was a murderous gleam in his eyes, yet his tone remained perfectly calm.

“Two hundred taels,” Zhao Jiu replied without hesitation.

The man fell silent. He drank a cup of wine before asking suspiciously, “Are you certain you can kill him?”

“You are not asking me to kill the reigning Emperor, are you, my friend?”

The man smiled.

“How would I dare? He is merely a Fourth-Rank martial artist.”

Zhao Jiu frowned and adopted a troubled expression.

“That will cost extra! Two hundred taels is nowhere near enough.”

“How much do you want?”

“Six hundred taels. Not a single tael less!”

The man considered it for a moment, then placed three hundred taels in banknotes on the table.

“Huang Qi, Gang Chief of the Huangyun Gang. Seven days from now, at Fortune Restaurant. This is the deposit.”

Zhao Jiu did not stand during the ceremony. He picked up the banknotes and left.

Six hundred taels was not an excessive price for killing a Fourth-Rank martial artist.