Chapter 169: Dressed in Red Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Gu Shenwei would rather believe in the illusory meaning of the “Will of the Divine” than pin his hopes on the fortune teller.
“Don’t you want to listen to everything? Immortal Peng said a lot; I’ve written everything down.” Brother Huan had an expression of indifference. Xu Xiaoyi became anxious.
“Next time.” Gu Shenwei was not really interested. “Don’t go out and wander about these days. Don’t ask anyone for any information wherever you go. Stay at home.”
“Oh.” Xu Xiaoyi jumped off her chair, walking out dejectedly. With a foot out of the door, she turned around and said, “Your sword skills aren’t better than his, but you’ll win the kill.”
This definitely did not sound like something that Xu Xiaoyi can come up with. Immortal Peng might just be a trickster, but he definitely made some sense.
Gu Shenwei thought for a long time, his confidence gradually being restored. He found Lotus Maid and expressed his own thoughts. “According to your plan, I’ll attract Ye Silang’s attention. You will kill him, but first, you have to kill another person.”
“Who?”
“Machete G.o.d.”
The sword craft of Death Scripture could only be elevated through countless killings. The higher the skill, the harder it was to find targets. Machete G.o.d Huang s.h.i.+’an was an ideal target. His skills were high-level, but did not compare with Ye Silang’s. This was like climbing steps- if you could step onto the corpse of the men before you, you’d have a greater chance of killing the men behind you.
“You could also do it yourself.” Maid Lotus understood Slave Huan’s intentions so she urged him to take on this rare opportunity.
“No, my heart isn’t ready. I’ll think of other ways to solve it.”
This was the fifth day when Ye Silang entered the South City to issue his challenge. The two killers made plans to kill Machete G.o.d Huang s.h.i.+’an for the third time.
After several hours, Shuang s.h.i.+’an sat opposite the Zhuang family. His face revealed a smile. But deep inside, he grew increasingly uncertain. He forgot how much money he had lost. He’d already fallen into the bottomless pit of the Meng family. No amount of loyalty will be able to fill this void. Only life alone can repay all his debts.
He still remembered his mother’s words to him when he left home. “You only have two items of worth on your body; Your life and your machete skills. So you should never incur debts, especially those that you’ll never be able to return even with your machete skills.”
This was the fate of every macheteman.
At the throw of every dice, he loses not just his money, but also his life.
“Earn it back, earn it all back.” Machete G.o.d prayed in his heart, a smile of indifference painted on his face. He yelled and had a great time with his brothers around him. Boasting became his only source of comfort. “Come on, flus.h.!.+ d.a.m.n, that broken hand. If I weren’t using that to wield my knife, I’d be cutting it down.”
The casino was severely overcrowded. But it was safe. Everyone was screened and Huang s.h.i.+’an need not worry about the killers of Kun Society. He was even slightly sorry that he hadn’t even had the time to accrue any success. And the war would soon be over. If he could only carry with him a string of severed heads to meet the Fifth Young Master, he probably wouldn’t have to repay his debts with his life.
No one gave him this opportunity. Huang s.h.i.+’an thought angrily. Even as the Machete G.o.d of Jade City, he had not joined many battles. Sitting in a large house surrounded by machetemen every day, his only pleasure came from gambling at Thousand Eyes. Occasionally, he would be used to attract killers as bait. He felt that all was unfair and unreasonable. He was clearly capable of leading a group of men to storm the Kun Society with pride and kill everyone entirely.
He was never afraid of any killer.
Huang s.h.i.+’an threw his dice forcefully, cursing Sword Sacrificer Ye Silang under his breath. That flashy empty vessel whose skills were just mediocre. How could he have had the guts to go shouting, running into the South City. It was as though no one was a worthy rival of killer Yang Huan and had to wait for him to make the first move. However, even after shouting for a few days, no one saw him approaching Kun Society a single step.
The smile on Machete G.o.d’s face vanished like a deflated balloon. He leaned on his chair, closed his eyes, and let darkness engulf him. His brothers were shouting excitedly, but not even these deafening sounds could excite him.
He then opened his eyes and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.
There had never been a lack of women in the betting arena. Machete G.o.d was somewhat famous. Ten thousand taels, and the Horned Dragon Society’s rich reward had made him the object of many women’s attention.
He was a normal man. In good spirits after winning big bets, he would spend them lavishly on women he liked. Though, this was the first time that he could be moved by a woman after losing a bet.
The woman was dressed in red, like a piece of gleaming jade in a fiery furnace. Her face was covered with beautiful makeup. Strangely, the same makeup would have appeared gaudy on another woman. On her, it was extraordinary, and even held a whiff of authority.
That woman in red had just walked into the betting arena, and she had caught everyone’s attention. Men forgot to throw their dices, and the women- they raised their eyebrows, hoping this compet.i.tor would choose her target quickly.
“Who is she?” Many asked softly in unison, shaking their heads in confusion.
“Old Mrs. Li’s new girl.” Someone in the crowd recognized her, but no one knew her name.
Many brothels in the vicinity would come to the casino for a gamble- a publicity stunt for their services.
The shock from the mesmerizing woman was only momentary. This was a betting arena. Everyone knew that no one could be as attractive or mesmerizing as pure gold and silver.
Even so, the Machete G.o.d could not take his eyes off her. That lady in red was also looking at him, smiling shyly.
Other women were relieved. These two were a perfect match. Machete G.o.d had better bring her upstairs. That way the rest could continue doing their business.
Machete G.o.d had lost badly tonight. And he lost his usual attractiveness.
That lady in red did not seem to understand her work very well. She stood at the door hesitating. But then she stepped forward, and the next instant, a tipsy brute who has made some winnings for the night rushed out, grabbed her by the waist, and kissed her roughly on the face. He pulled her into his arms, and with a voice that reached everyone in the betting arena, called: “Wine! Money! Woman! I’m going to get all tonight!”
That woman in red was frail and helpless. She could hardly be able to move a single finger of the brute even if she’d wanted to. Clearly, she did not like this customer very much, but she could not refuse. She looked secretly at Machete G.o.d, showing him a look of quiet desperation.
Huang s.h.i.+’an turned his head. Machetemen beside him urged him. “Brother. That’s a beautiful flower. Don’t let anyone take that away from you.”
“I don’t feel lucky tonight. I don’t want to touch any woman.” Huang s.h.i.+’an said gloomily. He shook his dice in the air for a long before throwing them.
When he looked up again, that brute and the lady in red had disappeared.
Machete G.o.d felt deflated. His luck did not improve.
Business at the betting arena continued.
Not long, a strange voice came down from upstairs. Someone was curious and ran up to listen. He came down with a coy smile, and the women in the betting arena smiled in schadenfreude. “She’s just unlucky to have gotten her first customer like Elder Song the Third. I don’t think she’ll be able to stand up properly for several days.”
The sounds grew louder, a booming deep masculine voice accompanied with slapping sounds. Occasionally, it was punctuated by a woman’s pleas, and for the people downstairs in the betting arena, such was divine entertainment. Spirits of the gamblers soared, and they placed bigger debts and threw smaller points.
Huang s.h.i.+’an could no longer see the count of the dices. His mind was no longer at the gambling arena, and anger grew in his heart. Finally, it exploded.
Machete G.o.d stood up. He took great strides and plodded up the stairs. “d.a.m.n, what’s the noise? How are people going to play like this?”
Everyone stopped. They raised their heads to look at Machete G.o.d, waiting for an exciting scene. Machetemen looked at him expectantly, saying, “Beat him up! Throw him out of the window!”
No one thought of helping or protecting Machete G.o.d.
Huang s.h.i.+’an raised his legs to kick the door of the room open. He barged in, and in the next moment, there was silence. Fighting sounds erupted and thereafter, one figure flew out from the room, dropping heavily onto the floor down below. The people around him avoided him, only by rolling and crawling away.
The women shrieked. It was a dead body. Elder Song the Third was covered all over in blood. His eyes were wide-open. Beer, money, women. He did not lack anything, but what he had achieved at the end of everything was death.
“Don’t shout. What’s killing a person to Machete G.o.d? If you want revenge, get it from Horned Dragon Society!” Machetemen pulled out their daggers, shouting at the crowds. No one dared to breathe a word. The two machetemen lifted the dead body, threw it outside, and the matter was thus ended.
Elder Song the Third was not any big shot. He was lucky to be dying in Machete G.o.d’s hands.
The betting arena regained normalcy. Dice throwing and flirting continued among the men and women. After half an hour has pa.s.sed, someone thought of Machete G.o.d. “Hey, Machete G.o.d is really great tonight. He persisted for such a long time. Usually, he wouldn’t even last a single minute.”
The machetemen were indifferent at first. Later, he appeared a little puzzled. Someone bold crept up the stairs lightly. A couple walked out of the adjacent room at the same moment. “Go and look at what’s happening inside. It has been quiet for quite a while.”
“Brother G.o.d…” The machetemen knocked on the door. The door was ajar and opened with a single push. Machetemen poked their heads in, and after a single glance, went downstairs immediately. They whispered a few words to their companions.
Four machetemen ran upstairs. They pulled their knives and waited outside the door. They did not let anyone do any snooping and did not answer any questions. The other few men ran out of the betting arena and not long after, brought in more machetemen.
The curious customers had not even found out what was going on before they were all told to get out of the betting arena. However, in the morning the next day, the customers in betting arena in the night; and even all the residents of Jade City had heard about the a.s.sa.s.sination of Machete G.o.d Huang s.h.i.+’an.
Machete G.o.d had died under the blade. The a.s.sa.s.sin was a woman. This embarra.s.sed the Horned Dragon Society and made him a laughingstock. Their hard-earned reputation had vanished completely in an instant.
The next unlucky victim was the brothel’s madam, Old Mrs. Li. She kneeled on the ground and swore weakly to a group of sinister machetemen that she had never received any woman dressed in red. She had never seen her, no, absolutely not.
Machetemen turned the brothel upside down. Several prost.i.tutes were stripped bare and s.h.i.+vered in the winter cold. And after everything returned to peace, Old Mrs. Li fell greatly ill. After her recovery, she joined the Kun Society.
That night, only two people knew about the details of the a.s.sa.s.sination. Gu Shenwei looked at a scarcely recognizable Maid Lotus and asked: “Was he a good macheteman?”
Maid Lotus nodded.
Through the a.s.sa.s.sination of Machete G.o.d Huang s.h.i.+’an, Maid Lotus’ swordcraft leveled up. Now, Slave Huan needs to improve his skills.