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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 19: The Rogue and the Stinky Beggar
Killer found himself choked by Mad Bull, unable to respond as his legs flailed helplessly in the air.
The Sand Bandits brought by Killer watched in disbelief as Mad Bull subdued him so quickly, never expecting that Killer would lose his ability to fight back in such a short time.
As the Sand Bandits stood up, Mad Bull shot a cold glance at Killer and tossed him toward them, knocking several of the bandits down. Seeing this, a woman turned and fled, no longer caring about the business at hand.
At that moment, a trembling attendant appeared behind Mad Bull. Mad Bull glanced at him and asked, "What is it?"
The attendant looked flustered as he replied, "Master wants to see Mr. Ji."
Mad Bull cast a sidelong glance toward Ji Zichen's private room before stepping aside and saying, "What are you standing there for? Go do what you need to do."
"Yes," the attendant hurriedly made his way toward Ji Zichen's private room.
Before the attendant arrived, Xia Zhou, Lin Chuyu, and Ji Zichen had already heard about his purpose. When the attendant reached Ji Zichen, he steadied himself and invited, " Mr. Ji, Master requests your presence."
Xia Zhou and Lin Chuyu stood up simultaneously. At that moment, the attendant added, "Master only wishes to see Mr. Ji alone."
Xia Zhou and Lin Chuyu exchanged worried glances with Ji Zichen. Noticing their concern, Ji Zichen smiled lightly and reassured them, "It's fine. I'll be back soon."
Lin Chuyu bit her lip as if wanting to say something. Xia Zhou spoke first, "If anything happens, make some noise."
Ji Zichen chuckled softly, "If they wanted to kill me, why would they be so polite?"
Ji Zichen left with the attendant, who led her to the top floor.
The top floor had a bright redwood floor. At the foot of the stairs was a plant stand with a potted fern on it. The corridor was long, with four wooden doors on each side. Each door was adorned with paper paintings of various flowers, birds, and mythical beasts, accompanied by plaques bearing names like Flower Pavilion and Flying Bird Pavilion.
Ji Zichen thought to herself, "It seems that only someone with a special identity can access this third level."
The attendant led Ji Zichen to the end of the corridor. She expected to find a room there, but instead, there was a staircase leading upwards. Without a doubt, this staircase must lead to the rooftop.
Ji Zichen followed the attendant up the stairs and found herself in a spacious area on the top floor. There was a garden filled with various potted flowers. A figure stood with their back to her, dressed in a loose robe, their hair tied up neatly, giving off an impression of cleanliness. However, what caught her attention was the person's bright red hair and the pair of red boots they wore.
Ji Zichen thought, "This person looks so familiar. Where have I seen them before?"
The individual had an empty left sleeve, suggesting they were missing their left arm. In their right hand, they held a pair of scissors, focused intently on trimming the branches of a plant.
At that moment, the attendant respectfully said, "Master, I’ve brought the person."
The Master nodded without turning around and continued trimming the branches. "You may leave now," they said.
"Yes," the attendant replied and stepped back.
Ji Zichen stared at the familiar figure's back in silence. After finishing with the plant, the Master finally turned around. Upon seeing their face, Ji Zichen gasped in surprise and exclaimed, "It's you!"
The Master smiled gently. "Yes, it's me. Long time no see, Ji Zichen."
Ji Zichen was utterly astonished. "You are the Master here!"
The Master chuckled lightly. "Why are you so surprised? Can't I live this kind of life?"
Ji Zichen struggled to muster even a hint of a smile as she replied, "That's not what I meant; I just didn't expect it."
The Master sighed deeply. "In the past, I never imagined I would become a Master."
Ji Zichen glanced at the Master's empty left sleeve and asked softly, "What happened to your hand?"
"Having lost a hand, I have exchanged it for a life of peace and wealth. Is it not worth it?"
"What do you want?" Ji Zichen asked bluntly.
"What do I want? You come into my territory causing trouble, and I haven't even questioned you yet, but you dare to hold me accountable first. I treat you like an esteemed guest; have I done something wrong?" Master replied with a hearty laugh.
Ji Zichen couldn't believe that Master held no resentment towards him, especially since he had personally killed Master's two brothers.
Ji Zichen despised such underhanded tactics. "If you want revenge, come at me openly. There's no need for all this sneaking around. I killed Lifeng and Big Tiger; if you want to kill me, I won't say a word."
Master was Fire Lion, who had once led the Western Desert Gang in hunting down Ji Zichen. During their last encounter in Divine Clan Gap, Fire Lion had fled, and since then, Ji Zichen had not seen him again.
Now that he saw Fire Lion being so polite, Ji Zichen couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Fire Lion remained calm and smiled lightly. "You see I've lost a hand. Even when I had both hands, I couldn't defeat you; now that I'm down to one, I'm even less of a match for you. Back then, I only sought trouble for money. Now that your bounty has been lifted and I've come into some wealth myself, why would I want to cause you any trouble?"
Fire Lion's reasoning was sound, but Ji Zichen was not one to easily trust him. However, if Fire Lion wasn't looking for trouble, that was the best outcome. "It's best if you don't seek trouble with me. I have a question for you."
"Please," Fire Lion replied with a smile.
"Did you brew this Swallow Brew?" Ji Zichen asked.
"One could say that," Fire Lion responded.
Ji Zichen furrowed his brow in confusion. "How did you come to brew this Swallow Brew?"
A strange glint flashed in Fire Lion's eyes as he said, "Well then, you'll have to thank me for that."
"Thank you?" Ji Zichen said with a frown.
"Of course, if you hadn't killed Madam Jiang, how could I have obtained her wealth? Without Madam Jiang's fortune, I wouldn't have the resources to build this place. You might not know, but Madam Jiang had the recipe for Swallow Brew," Fire Lion said with a light chuckle.
Ji Zichen was taken aback. "How could she have that recipe?"
Fire Lion smiled knowingly. "I can't say for sure, but I think you won't be able to ask her anymore."
---
Lin Chuyu and Xia Zhou waited in the Private Room for Ji Zichen for quite some time. They had already consumed half a pot of tea. Lin Chuyu, growing impatient, remarked, "Why is Brother Ji taking so long to come back?"
Xia Zhou casually replied, "Who knows? Maybe the Master here is a friend of his, so they’re just chatting."
Lin Chuyu shot Xia Zhou a glance. "That doesn't seem like a friend to me. Friends don’t act so secretively when they meet."
Xia Zhou shrugged. "It's fine. If he runs into trouble and makes a big scene, I'll go help him."
---
At that moment, Ji Zichen and Fire Lion arrived at the second-floor dining hall. Fire Lion noticed Killer slumped in the arms of two Sand Bandits and sighed, shaking his head. "Mad Bull, what happened here?"
Mad Bull's demeanor shifted to one of utmost respect upon seeing Fire Lion. "Master, these people came looking for trouble, but I've already dealt with it."
One of the Sand Bandits was infuriated by Mad Bull referring to them as "these people." He spat angrily, "Mad Bull, are you really betraying the gang?"
Fire Lion stepped forward calmly. "He is no longer one of you from the Yellow Sand Gang; he is a guard of my Fire Cloud Residence. You are guests here today, and I won't hold this against you this time. You may leave."
The Sand Bandit sneered at Fire Lion's dismissive attitude and noticed that Fire Lion was missing a hand. He mocked, "So you're the Master of Fire Cloud Residence? Turns out you're just a useless cripple."
Mad Bull's anger flared at those words. "You're asking for death!"
Mad Bull reached out to grab Sand Bandit, but Fire Lion said, "Stop."
Mad Bull's hand suddenly froze. Fire Lion gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "Losing a hand isn't a big deal; what's important is that I'm still alive. If you lose your life, what good would it do to have two hands?"
Though Fire Lion spoke lightly, there was an underlying, breathtaking aura in his words.
The Sand Bandit couldn't help but be intimidated by Fire Lion's presence. However, he gritted his teeth and faced the invisible pressure brought by Fire Lion, saying, "Dare to oppose us, Yellow Sand Gang? Aren't you afraid we’ll burn this Fire Cloud Residence to ashes?"
Fire Lion remained calm and unhurried, smiling slightly as he was about to respond. At that moment, Killer regained some of his senses. He let out a muffled groan, took a deep breath, and stood up straight. His right eye was swollen from Mad Bull's punch, and with his only functioning left eye, he scrutinized Fire Lion. After coughing twice to clear his throat, he finally managed to say, "You are Fire Lion of the Western Desert Gang?"
Fire Lion sighed as if reminiscing about the past and replied, "Fire Lion is already dead."
Killer didn’t understand what Fire Lion meant by that. He insisted, "No, I can't be mistaken. The rumors say that Fire Lion of the Western Desert Gang has a red lion on his head and wears red lion boots. I won't mistake you for anyone else."
The other Sand Bandits gasped when they heard Fire Lion's name. The one who had been confronting Fire Lion earlier instinctively took a few steps back in fear.
Fire Lion smiled slightly and said, "I have already passed; Fire Lion is dead. Now I am the Master of Fire Cloud Residence."
Although Fire Lion's demeanor was gentle at that moment, there was still an air of arrogance befitting the former Fire Lion of the Western Desert Gang.
Killer then said, "I didn't know you were the Master; this time it was our fault."
Killer pulled out a pouch of gold and placed it on the nearby table. "This is my compensation for the damages here."
He turned to the Yellow Sand Bandit Path beside him and commanded, "Let's go!"
Fire Lion smiled lightly and said, "You're welcome to come again next time; just don't break anything."
Killer did not respond but hurriedly left with the other Sand Bandits towards the exit. Ji Zichen watched in confusion and thought to himself, "Why are they so afraid of Fire Lion?"
Ji Zichen had clashed with Fire Lion numerous times, yet in truth, Kiko had never fully understood the man known as Fire Lion, nor did he know what deeds in the past could instill fear in those unruly Sand Bandits.
At that moment, Fire Lion glanced at Kiko and said with a smile, "Now that someone is here to compensate you, you can save your share."
Before Kiko could respond, a voice shouted, "Catch that Stinky Beggar! Don't let him escape!"
Kiko looked toward the entrance and saw Killer Yu Ren just about to step outside when a middle-aged beggar blocked his path.
A Sand Bandit immediately seized the beggar, who appeared gaunt and emaciated, around thirty-five years old. His filthy clothes were in tatters. As he was held down, the beggar cried out, "I... I'm not escaping! If I wanted to run away, would I have barged in here for you to catch me?"
Fire Lion walked toward the entrance. Seeing him approach, Killer hurriedly said, "Master, don't worry! I'll chase this Stinky Beggar away right now."
"Wait," Fire Lion said curiously as he stared at the beggar. "Are you here for a drink too?"
The beggar laughed, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Of course! I've been locked up by them without eating anything. When I caught a whiff of the wine, I thought I'd come in and ask for a bowl."
Finding the beggar amusing, Fire Lion chuckled and said, "A guest is a guest; come on in."
Killer exclaimed in shock, "Master, no! You don't understand; this Stinky Beggar is actually the rogue Fugitive!"
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