Chapter 80: If You All Still Don't Know What Pain Feels Like

Zhou Yujuan jolted awake. From the corridor came faint noises that sounded like a fight.

She was not mistaken. Du Hongxi's two men had fought briefly with Li Banfeng before dying.

She slipped into her robe and crept to the door. Her hand brushed the doorknob, but before she could turn it, she stopped and pulled her hand back.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Through the door, she heard someone breathing.

Is it Du Hongxi? No, it doesn't sound like him

, Zhoui Yujuan thought.

The breathing was lighter than his and came from higher up, at a height that didn't match where Du Hongxi would normally be.

Knock, knock, knock!

The knocking began.

It's definitely not Du Hongxi! Du Hongxi would never knock on the door!

Zhou Yujuan muttered inwardly.

Zhou Yujuan stepped back toward the bed and pulled a pair of scissors from the drawer beside her pillow.

As a first-level Spycraft Cultivator, she was not skilled in combat, so she had spent a large sum of money on this special weapon.

The scissors measured more than twenty centimeters and were completely black except for a few dark red stains along the blades.

The knocking stopped. Zhou Yujuan held her breath and listened. The breathing outside the door continued.

Click!

The doorknob turned. The person outside the door was about to come in.

Creak!

The door was pushed open.

Zhou Yujuan slashed her palm and threw the bloodstained scissors toward the doorway. The scissors extended to nearly a meter in length and snapped open. They cut clean through the neck of the person standing outside.

The attack was swift and precise. As long as the timing was right, even first- and second-level cultivators had no chance to dodge or defend.

Zhou Yujuan listened as the corridor fell silent. She crept to the door and picked up the severed head.

Who could it be? Could it be that idiot who caused trouble tonight? That fool really has no fear of death. He actually dared to come back for revenge!

It is too kind of me to just cut off his head. I should have let Old Du deal with him and torture him to death. He should be bound as a ghost servant, and then...

Zhou Yujuan examined the head for a long moment.

It's bald. It looks like Old Du's head, but how is that even possible? He was sleeping on my bed just moments ago. How could it be his head that fell?

Did I cut it off? No! Absolutely not!

"It's not me!" Zhou Yujuan cried out in panic.

"Don't be afraid. It's not you."

"Not me!"

"I know it's not you."

"It's really not me."

At the side, Li Banfeng spoke in a soothing tone. "Don't be scared. It wasn't you. It was me. He was already dead. I killed him."

Someone came in!

Zhou Yujuan jolted fully awake and scrambled on all fours toward the spot where the scissors had fallen.

Li Banfeng snatched up the scissors first. "This thing is dangerous. I'll hold onto it for you. Now tell me where the money is."

"What money?" Zhou Yujuan asked, clearly confused.

Li Banfeng's eyes bulged as he glared at her. "My money! You took so much from me tonight. Did you already forget?"

Zhou Yujuan froze for a few seconds before it hit her. She finally remembered who the man was.

It's that idiot who caused trouble earlier. How is he back? Did he kill Old Du?

Zhou Yujuan met Li Banfeng's gentle smile and felt her mind go blank. She did not dare to think any further. "Of course not. I haven’t forgotten. I'll get it right away."

Tears streamed down her face as she turned and led him toward the counter on the first floor.

A mechanical cash register sat beneath the counter.

Click, click~

She entered the code with trembling fingers, the soft clicks of the keys breaking the silence. With a hard pull of the lever, the gears ground and the shafts turned until the drawer popped open.

Zhou Yujuan quickly grabbed two stacks of bills and held them out. "This is all your money, sir. Please, take it."

Li Banfeng gave the cash a quick glance and frowned. "How much is this?"

"It's two thousand." She had extorted two thousand from him earlier, and the wad of cash in her hand now was definitely even more than that.

"Do you think two thousand is enough?" Li Banfeng's tone matched the one Zhou Yujuan had used when she extorted him earlier.

"Not enough, not enough." Zhou Yujuan emptied the entire register and handed him all the cash.

Li Banfeng's tone didn't change. "Do you think this is enough?"

"N-no, it's not enough." Zhou Yujuan, knowing better than to argue, led him to the third floor and opened the safe.

Inside the cabinet sat more than three hundred thousand in cash. She packed the bills into a box and handed it to him. "All the cash is here. The rest is in the bank. I can take you there to withdraw it."

"Do you think it's suitable for me to go to the bank with you?" Li Banfeng wasn't about to follow her there. The moment he stepped outside with her, his life would probably be over.

With a surge of resolve, Zhou Yujuan pulled a key from a hidden compartment beneath the bed and opened a secret door behind the bookshelf.

Behind it was a narrow cabinet lined with gold bars, more than a dozen in total. "Sir, this is everything I've saved over the past ten years. It's all yours."

Li Banfeng frowned as he stared at the gold. "Is that all?"

Zhou Yujuan burst into tears. "I've handed over everything I have! I really have! Please let me go. Please..."

Li Banfeng snorted coldly and sneered. "Do you think you have the right to beg me? Do you think you're worthy of that? Go take a piss and take a good look at yourself..."[1]

Splash!

The moment Li Banfeng said it, he regretted it.

As the saying goes, you get what you ask for. Ask for a beating and you get a beating. Ask for piss and you will get piss.

A puddle spread beneath his feet, soaking the soles of his shoes.

Drip!

He lifted his foot, and water dripped from the sole.

"You actually pissed yourself?" Li Banfeng snapped. He grabbed Zhou Yujuan by the collar and threw her into the Pocket Dwelling.

"Ooooh my~ Husband's gone shopping agaaain~ Let me see what fine goods you've brought hoooome today~"

At first, the gramophone sang with joy, but soon it burst into furious scolding.

"Aiyaaa~ Where did this filthy woman come frooom? How dare she soil my hoooouse!

"Husband dear, when you buy a chicken, you pluck it clean~ Yet you toss her in here still dripping, unclean, unclean!"

***

Li Banfeng packed the banknotes and gold bars into the Pocket Dwelling.

Aside from cash, there were many other good things. Zhou Yujuan owned piles of fine jewelry, and Li Banfeng took them all. He also took two sets of exquisite solid-wood tables and chairs. He carried off the bookcase with its books. He took the candlesticks and the candles.

He moved the wardrobe as well but decided to leave the clothes behind. Du Hongxi's clothes did not fit him, Zhou Yujuan's clothes served no purpose, and the gramophone had no use for them at the moment. He took a sofa set as well. He kept two fine vases and left the flowers behind, thinking the vases would be perfect for holding dusters.

There were several oil paintings hanging on the wall. Just as Li Banfeng began placing them into the Pocket Dwelling, the gramophone burned them to ashes.

"Oh heavens above~ These shameless women, wearing near nothing~ Twisting and turning, posing and swaying~ What disgrace, what shame to see~"

Li Banfeng sighed. "Foolish woman! You know nothing of art!"

When Li Banfeng carried the hand-cranked gramophone into the Pocket Dwelling, the steam gramophone immediately destroyed it and scolded him, "Husband dear, it's fine to listen outside, but how dare you bring this thing home?"

He wanted to move in more things, but the gramophone grew displeased and sang out, "Hey yaaa~ Husband dear, if you keep bringing things in, you'll have nowhere left to sleep."

Both the outer room and the main room were packed full.

If only there were one more room, Li Banfeng thought. He took out the explosives he had bought from Shopkeeper Feng and set them in every corner of the dancehall.

The knowledge Li Banfeng had learned was finally useful. He knew exactly where to place the explosives.

The explosives at Puluo Province were unreliable, so Li Banfeng placed extra at critical spots. When everything was ready, Li Banfeng woke Old Gu, the man who was in charge of cranking the gramophone.

When Old Gu saw the iron ruler in Li Banfeng's hand, he was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. "Hero, I've never done anything bad! I'm just trying to make a living!"

Li Banfeng pulled out a pocket watch and said calmly, "I believe you haven't done anything wrong. Look closely at this watch. I'm giving you ten minutes to get everyone out of the dancehall. If even one person stays behind, you will pay for it with your life."

"Alright! Alright! That's easy enough!"

It really wasn't hard for Old Gu. Besides operating the gramophone, he had another job. Every afternoon at two, when the dancehall opened, he was in charge of summoning the girls to meet the customers.

Usually, he would play a piece of music first. Once they heard it, the girls would come downstairs. If some were still lazing in bed, Old Gu would blow the trumpet instead. The sound was loud enough to wake everyone up.

Old Gu skipped the music altogether that day and went straight for the trumpet. Within two minutes, everyone in the building was awake. He then shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fire! Get out! Move, move!"

The moment Old Gu shouted that there was a fire, some customers didn't even stop to get dressed. They rushed out half-naked with the girls who had been spending the night with them.

When they reached the street and saw not even a spark, the girls started scolding Old Gu. "Did you dream it up, old man? What fire?"

Old Gu didn't know how to answer.

Someone beside him shouted, "Where's the boss lady? Why isn't she out yet?"

"And Master Du's not here either! Old Gu, are you messing with us?"

***

On the first floor of the main hall, Li Banfeng struck a match and lit the fuse on the floor. He lifted his collar, pulled down the brim of his fedora, shoved his hands into his coat pockets, and quietly walked out of the dancehall.

Halfway down the street, he struck another match and lit a cigarette. The cigarette caught fire, and almost at the same moment, flames began to spread inside the dancehall.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion followed, shaking the street as nearly a third of the explosives detonated and blasted away half the building.

Half-destroyed? That's fine. I will leave the other half as a souvenir for the Jiangxiang Gang,

Li Banfeng thought.

The customers and girls who escaped were terrified. Those who had been standing too close were left with bloody cuts from the flying stones and debris.

"Run! Hurry!"

No one blamed Old Gu anymore. They forgot about him entirely, forgot everyone around them, and ran for their lives.

Li Banfeng looked at the Elysian Melody Dancehall and smiled faintly.

A moment later, another explosion tore through the building. One of the explosives that hadn't gone off earlier suddenly detonated with a thunderous boom! A burst of fire shot outward and engulfed him in an instant. When the flames died down, he brushed the small fires from his clothes and hair.

Damn it, I hate these half-dud bombs! Either explode early or don't explode at all! Good thing my Wanderlust Cultivation makes me fast, or I would be in pieces right now,

Li Banfeng muttered inwardly. He thought about taking another puff to maintain his usual poise, but the cigarette had already burned down to ashes.

Li Banfeng picked up his half-burned fedora from the ground, blew out the faint ember still clinging to it, and set it back on his smoke-scorched head.

Jiangxiang Gang! If you all still don't know what pain feels like, we will keep fighting!

With that, he turned and vanished into the night.

Author's Note:

P.S. Regarding the question of Zhou Yujuan's ears, many readers thought Zhou Yujuan's large ears were a talent of the Spycraft Cultivator. They thought that Zhou Yujuan might have larger earholes. I think that sort of assumption is just jumping to conclusions. It might not be that Zhou Yujuan's earholes are big, but that Du Hongxi's a bit smaller "elsewhere." That could be what it costs to practice Nightfiend Cultivation.

1. This was exactly what Zhou Yujuan said in Chapter 78. ☜