Changban Slope? No, the Brothel Backstreets
Chapter 67. Instead of Changban Slope, Yuan Shu stood in the brothel district with a knife drawn, surrounded by men who growled at her. Yet her expression remained as arrogant as ever. After all, Zhao Yun was right beside her! From their very first meeting, this man had cut through a horde of Yellow Turbans to rescue her. This time would be no different—he would make those insolent fools pay dearly for their disrespect. If anything, Zhao Yun was the one feeling tense. Whatever mischief she had stirred up in that short time, she had clearly caused trouble again. Had she provoked complete strangers just to make them furious? How did she manage to earn everyone's dislike every single time? If that was a talent, it was a truly remarkable one.
Still, Zhao Yun had saved Yuan Shu from the thugs, but the situation had escalated. In his hurry to reach her, he hadn't realized how many comrades these men had. If he had known, he would have simply shoved them aside and fled with her. But regret always came too late. Now Zhao Yun faced the entire group alone.
What? They expected him to fight armed men bare-handed? While protecting a woman? And with his body still sluggish from the drug? He wasn't Zhao Zilong rescuing A'dou at Changban Slope. How was he supposed to win this...?
...Wait. He was Zhao Zilong. Only the location was a brothel alley instead of Changban Slope, and the person he had to rescue was Yuan Shu instead of A'dou. Changban Slope replaced by a brothel district... how utterly deflating.
Whether Zhao Yun's spirits soared or sank, the ruffians steadily tightened their encirclement. If he stayed still, they would simply stab him from behind without resistance. The desperate one had to move first.
Zhao Yun sighed and scanned for a weapon. All he saw were rolling liquor bottles, spoons, and chopsticks scattered on the floor. Could he really defeat armed thugs with those?
...If he didn't want to die, he had no choice.
Whoosh! Having made up his mind, Zhao Yun sprang backward, snatched a bottle, and smashed it down on the nearest man's head.
Clang!
"Aaaagh!"
With a crisp sound, the man clutched his head and collapsed. Whether the thug's skull was soft or the bottle was harder than expected, the vessel only cracked without shattering. The bald man beside him swung wildly in panic, but his attack was clumsy. Zhao Yun dodged lightly, slammed the bottle against a table to sharpen it, and drove the jagged edge into the man's exposed side.
Crash! The bottle shattered into a deadly weapon and sank into the bald man's flank like a knife through sponge.
"Kuh... aaaagh!"
Before the man could even process the pain, Zhao Yun's kick snapped his neck at a grotesque angle. He was clearly dead on impact.
Two men down in an instant sent the remaining thugs stumbling backward in fear. If Zhao Yun lowered his voice and told them to scram, maybe they would run?
"What are you doing?! It's just one man! Are you going to flee from a single opponent and make the Swordfish Gang a laughingstock?!"
At their leader's roar, the men steeled themselves and raised their blades again.
"The bastard who kills him gets the woman first! Charge! Now!"
Men were such pitiful creatures, sometimes ruled by their lust. The thugs' eyes gleamed with desire.
...Tch. This was going to take a while.
Yuan Shu, who had been fuming at the leader's crude words, startled when Zhao Yun took her hand.
"It looks like this will take some time. Please go down to the room first. ...And this time, stay quietly inside?"
"Y-yes... The air here is filthy anyway. Inside would be better."
Still flushed with anger from the leader's remark, Yuan Shu obediently turned toward the stairs.
"Shit! Where do you think you're taking the woman—grrk...!"
One lackey tried to stop her, but Zhao Yun's thrown knife half-severed his neck. He collapsed with a wheezing sound. The sight made the remaining thugs swallow hard and let Yuan Shu pass without interference.
Only after confirming she had safely descended did Zhao Yun turn back to face the Swordfish Gang. With his current condition, this should be easy. Their skills were so pathetic he almost laughed.
...Damn. Something felt off. Had they picked the wrong fight?
The leader, Sang Gu-su, felt an instinctive chill as Zhao Yun approached with a faint smile.
***
It took some time, but victory came easily. Zhao Yun examined the shallow cuts littering his body from the flurry of blades and thought to himself. If his body had moved normally, he probably wouldn't even have these scratches. Only after the fight ended did his limbs regain proper mobility, and he shook his head in irritation.
That damned poisoned needle... If it had been stronger, the corpses on the floor would have been his instead. The more he thought about those perverted bastards, the angrier he became. What kind of self-defense items were a poisoned needle and a dildo? Had their brains rotted from too much sex?
"Ughhh..."
Sang Gu-su, the Swordfish Gang leader, groaned as he rolled on the ground. Blood gushed from his severed arm despite his attempts to staunch it. He would likely die soon.
This wasn't how Zhao Yun had planned things, but the only survivors on the now-chaotic rooftop were Sang Gu-su, the gang's youngest member Woo Pi, and himself. Even with all this commotion, no one came. Was this sort of thing common in these alleys? The neighborhood was rougher than he had imagined.
Despite being a criminal, Woo Pi seemed to have been treated well by Sang Gu-su; the boy was sobbing while trying to stop his leader's bleeding.
"What are you crying for? You lot were trying to rape a girl and got wiped out instead."
"But... Sang Gu-su's... arm!!!"
The boy wouldn't stop crying despite Zhao Yun's words. He must have followed the man quite devotedly. Why not dream of growing up to become the next king of the back alleys?
...Why did this irritate him so much? If he stayed any longer, he might end up killing the child too. Time to leave.
He also needed to check if Yuan Shu was actually staying in the room. More than anything, he didn't want to listen to this sniveling anymore. Though he would probably have to endure her nagging instead once he went downstairs... At least that sounded preferable.
Leaving Sang Gu-su and Woo Pi behind, Zhao Yun returned to the third floor. When he opened the door, he expected Yuan Shu's usual petty complaints, but—
"What took you so long... Zhao, Zhao Yun...! Your arm!!!"
Yuan Shu screamed at the sight of his scratched body.
...Why was she reacting like that? Had his arm been cut off without him noticing? He turned his head left and right, but the only wound on his left arm was a light scratch.
"No, my arm isn't cut off, so why—"
"Blood! You're bleeding! Even when you fought those bandits last time, not a single drop fell, so how are you bleeding so much now?!"
The description of "bleeding so much" was inaccurate— not even a single drop was flowing from the wound. Nevertheless, Yuan Shu leapt up and rushed to him, stripping off his upper garment to inspect the scratches before screaming again. She was nearly in tears now.
It wasn't unpleasant to have such a woman worry over him, but... it felt overwhelming. She had gone all the way to the front lines during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, so why this reaction? She must have witnessed all sorts of deaths there... No, she probably hadn't. Thinking back, Yuan Shu had always shoved every battle onto Ji Ling, claiming it was beneath her.
What had she said again? Ah, right.
"Those above need only command those below well. With so many subordinates, why should I dirty my own hands? Ji Ling! Do I have to do such vulgar work myself?"
She had dumped everything on him. Poor guy... Zhao Yun remembered occasionally helping Ji Ling whenever he wore that dying expression.
Anyway, this meant it was Yuan Shu's first time seeing blade wounds up close. To her eyes, he probably looked like he was dying.
"It's... really fine, so just calm down—"
"This won't do! Zhao Yun! Just hold on a little longer!"
"W-wait! Where are you going like that?!"
Yuan Shu had been pressing torn cloth against his wounds while he lay on the bed, but before he could stop her, she bolted out the door.
Thud-thud-thud! She made a racket rushing downstairs in the middle of the night. Zhao Yun hurriedly dressed and followed, only to find her already berating the receptionist on the first floor.
"What? A prostitute?! How dare you call me that, you lowly wench! Watch your tongue! Send someone to the Yuan residence immediately! I said a person is dying!!!"
"T-this is...!"
When Yuan Shu flashed her golden family crest in fury, the woman paled and prostrated herself. Before Zhao Yun could intervene, she summoned servants and dispatched them to the Yuan estate.
What on earth was happening...?
***
And so they returned once more to the grand Yuan residence! Though Zhao Yun had used the family's youngest daughter like an onahole and roughly claimed her rear as well, he was still being treated as a benefactor who had twice rescued the young lady from peril. Proof of this was that Zhao Yun now occupied the master bedroom rather than a guest room.
Lying dazed on the plush bed with an expression that said he still had no idea what was going on, Zhao Yun finally gave up trying to understand. The moment they arrived, Yuan Shu had caused such an uproar, weeping and wailing, that the family physician had been summoned for "emergency" treatment. She had made such a fuss that Zhao Yun found himself wondering, Wait, was I actually hurt?
Of course, if he had truly been injured, he would be wrapped in layers of bandages. Instead, not only were there no bandages, but Zhao Yun hadn't even had any ointment applied. After a perfunctory treatment, he had bathed in hot water and was now trying to drift off to sleep, pleasantly tired.
At least everything had ended well. It was already late, so nothing else should happen tonight.
"...My lady! You said he was fine?! There's no need for you to go personally when your subordinates can—"
"Nonsense! How could he be fine after being cut like that?! Move aside!!!"
"Goodness... What wind blew today to make you go yourself..."
What was all this commotion now? The sound of hurried footsteps approached the master bedroom, and the door flew open with a bang. Startled, Zhao Yun sat up to see Yuan Shu enter, huffing and puffing as she carried a first-aid kit and set it on the table.
...What now?
"Those terrible people...! They didn't even apply medicine to an injured person? What are you spacing out for?! Zhao Yun! Take off your clothes! Right now!"
"......"