Chapter 92: Tang Wanzhuang

Chapter 92: Tang Wanzhuang

Fortunately, he did not enter through the main gate of the brothel, for if anyone saw him and went back to tell Xia Chichi, "Zhao Changhe went into a brothel," Zhao Changhe truly had no idea how he would die.

Entering through the back door, there was no sign of a brothel. Behind lay a small bamboo grove, with a corner of a bamboo building peeking through, fragrant and pleasant, secluded and quiet. Occasionally, the sounds of insects and birds came, echoing a strand of zither music from within the bamboo building. Though she was a high-ranking court official, the flavor of a secluded mountain dwelling overflowed.

Everywhere in the bamboo grove, burly men in tight outfits were hidden, glaring at Zhao Changhe as he entered.

Zhao Changhe paid them no heed and stepped upstairs.

His footsteps fell on the floorboards, and the moment he reached the door, the zither music ceased.

Zhao Changhe stood outside the door, looking at the woman inside. For some reason, all the high-ranking people Zhao Changhe knew disliked using servants when receiving guests. Back then, Cui Wenjing had waited for him alone in the pavilion, and now Tang Wanzhuang also sat alone in the bamboo building.

She was no longer clad in the thick fur coat as when he first saw her. She wore a simple white dress and long skirt, her hair hanging down to her waist, with an immortal grace and elegant refinement. Yet her face was still pale, and there was still a hint of melancholy between her brows—whether because her illness had not fully healed or because she was burdened with worries, it only added to her aura.

Tang Wanzhuang's slender hand stopped the strings. Turning her head to see Zhao Changhe standing at the door, she smiled slightly. "Please, come in."

That smile was like a fragile plum blossom blooming in the snow, and then the spring breeze brought warmth, and flowers bloomed everywhere.

Even Zhao Changhe's heart, which he considered as hard as steel, could not help but skip a beat. He thought to himself, this woman is truly beautiful, so beautiful that one simply cannot associate her with a position like the Chief of the Demon Suppression Bureau. Her frail, immortal grace made it impossible to imagine the strength that had once stood before the Vermilion Bird Venerable, making him so wary.

Yet he had seen it with his own eyes. What he had feared at the time was that she would kill him with one sword stroke, calling him a "betrayer of his master."

Half a year had passed since they last met, and it felt like a lifetime.

Zhao Changhe entered, and Tang Wanzhuang moved to sit by the tea table, her slender hands brewing tea.

Zhao Changhe sat quietly across from her. The fragrance of tea curled upward, steam rose, and Tang Wanzhuang's figure became even more ethereal in the mist, like a fairy in the clouds, elusive and unfathomable.

Zhao Changhe had a bellyful of words he wanted to say, but none came out. He had a bellyful of poetic sentiment, but lacking culture, he could not think of a single line of poetry, leaving only silence. It seemed that in the presence of such a woman, no matter how restless the rivers and lakes might be, they would quiet down, and the surging waves would gradually subside, flowing eastward peacefully in the sunset.

Tang Wanzhuang was also looking at him. The youth who had once been green but defiant now sat before her with a long sword on his back. The defiance remained, but the greenness had faded, and his posture was like a crouching tiger.

She set down the teacup and smiled. "Why does Master Zhao not speak? Could it be that you still resent me for the wanted notice back then?"

Zhao Changhe clicked his tongue. "Someone like you... this kind of atmosphere—it just doesn't let a person speak loudly."

Tang Wanzhuang laughed. "A true rogue of the rivers and lakes would only say, 'This woman is pretty, wash up and wait for me.' Where would there be any atmosphere or mood to prevent speaking loudly?"

Zhao Changhe: "..."

"Master Zhao is an educated man, which is why you can feel the mood of the bamboo grove and the river in the sunset," Tang Wanzhuang said. "Perhaps you even have a poem in your belly, but you refuse to speak it."

Zhao Changhe said bluntly, "Actually, I do have a poem... but if I said it, it might not be much different from 'wash up and wait for me.'"

Tang Wanzhuang was not offended; instead, she asked curiously, "I would like to hear it."

"If I said, 'I dare not speak aloud, for fear of startling the heavenly beings,' would you think I was flattering you?" Zhao Changhe said irritably. "But I'm also annoyed with myself, because just now, that really was how I felt. I can only say that being beautiful is truly cheating. I originally had some anger toward you, but I couldn't vent it. Instead, I felt a bit weak, and that really pisses me off."

Tang Wanzhuang ignored the latter part of his words and softly repeated the line of poetry, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Zhao Changhe asked in surprise, "Isn't that line in the classics? Why are you surprised?"

Tang Wanzhuang smiled without answering.

That the line existed in the classics, and that he could actually recite it from the vast sea of texts—that was one thing. But to recite a line and apply it to his own feelings—that was another.

The aura of a "scholar" in this man was revealed in just one sentence, and no amount of roguishness could conceal it. If he had only started studying urgently as an adult, to cultivate such an aura in half a year would be even harder than reaching the eighty-eighth rank of the Hidden Dragon in martial arts in half a year.

Was he really born in the rural village of Zhao Cuo?

She thought for a moment and then simply said, "Then why do you dare to speak now, and even more bluntly?"

Zhao Changhe said, "Since the conversation has started, it has broken that mood, so it doesn't matter anymore. So I suggest that in the future, you sit there playing the zither like a mute. People like the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger might turn and leave as soon as they see you... Oh, no, they're all women, so they might not fall for that. They'd be more likely to want to tear your face off."

Speaking of this, he felt a pang of fear. Now that the White Tiger was Chichi, if she knew he had come to see such a beautiful woman in private, the chance of her tearing that woman apart was high—or tearing him apart.

This woman was truly damn beautiful. Zhao Changhe suspected that if the Book of Chaos had a ranking of peerless beauties, she might be number one! Unfortunately, the Book of Chaos was not truly a book born for chaos; it was just a page of the Heavenly Book recording martial affairs in the mortal world. If someone really wanted to cause chaos, he felt that creating a ranking of peerless beauties would stir up even more trouble.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Tang Wanzhuang was saying, "So Master Zhao does indeed have some resentment toward me, because of the wanted notice."

"Not really. I was mentally prepared for the wanted notice at the time. Killing someone in front of the court's chief—if I hadn't been wanted, that would have been a ghost. That was the path I chose. Why would I blame you? You were willing to cancel the wanted notice, so I should thank you. By the way, you drew me quite well."

The smile in Tang Wanzhuang's eyes deepened. She found Zhao Changhe's demeanor quite amusing.

As he spoke, Zhao Changhe finally picked up the teacup and took a sip, then smacked his lips as if burned. "I just don't want to feel like a piece on a chessboard, with someone above, a heavenly being, looking down, occasionally throwing down a new piece, watching the board change as if watching an interesting monkey show. You are like that too, and so is another person. To be honest, she is even worse than you, so all my resentment is directed at her. I do have some anger toward you, which is why I often speak rudely, but I can't say I really dislike you."

Tang Wanzhuang did not ask who the other person was, nor did she defend her earlier behavior of observing him. She simply raised her cup gracefully in a toast. "Since that is the case, let me apologize to Master Zhao."

Zhao Changhe really couldn't vent his anger. He grumpily raised his cup to clink with hers. "I've said some nonsense to you a few times, and I apologize for that. Don't hold it against a rough fellow like me."

Before meeting, he had thought he wouldn't know how he would die, but it was actually this simple. When the other party had dignity and lofty aspirations, they would not haggle over a few casual words like an ordinary village girl. Instead, it was she who apologized first. A man who yields to softness rather than hardness naturally returns the apology, and so it was settled.

The two cups clinked with a crisp "ding," as if announcing the end of their grievances. From then on, they would talk about the future.

Tang Wanzhuang finished her tea and set down the cup. Suddenly, she bent over, covering her mouth with a violent cough. The elegant aura she had just displayed instantly collapsed, and she became so frail that she seemed as if a gust of wind could blow her over.

Poor Zhao Changhe, a straight man, had never seen such a scene. He sat there holding his cup, completely at a loss. How could a master like you choke on tea like this? No... this was because she had internal injuries that hadn't healed! What should he do?

Going up to pat her on the back was obviously inappropriate. So what should he do? Just sit and watch?

He thought for a long time and remembered that he still had some medicine from the Cui family, including some for internal injuries. He wasn't sure if it was suitable, but he took out a pill and handed it over. "This is quite effective for soothing internal injuries. I once got kicked in the dantian, took one, and it was fine..."

Tang Wanzhuang coughed painfully, took a few light breaths, and waved her hand weakly. "It's useless... This is from when I was too hasty in my breakthrough and injured my lung meridian. Even His Majesty couldn't do anything..."

"Damn, the number one on the Heavenly Ranking is like this?" Zhao Changhe blurted out. "Sometimes I think he's amazing, and sometimes I think he's an idiot! And you, a refined lady who always seems so calm, why were you in such a hurry to break through? Would the Great Xia have collapsed if you hadn't advanced that one level?"

Tang Wanzhuang looked at him with a strange expression as he raged. She said softly, "You must not disrespect His Majesty."

"I'm just a mountain bandit. I disrespect him. What, are you going to bite me?"

"...Especially you."

Zhao Changhe choked for a moment and then said bluntly, "I am not!"

"Is that so?" Tang Wanzhuang looked at the Dragon Sparrow on his back. "Then... why does the Dragon Sparrow rejoice because of you?"