Chapter Forty-Nine: Accidental Homicide

That night, the two of them stayed at the brothel, spending the night there; having come to the capital, they could now claim to have visited such an establishment. In the depths of night, as they slept soundly, a knocking came at the door.

Zhou Yi got up to open it, and outside stood a prostitute, completely drunk, her breath thick with alcohol, staggering toward the bed and beginning to undress. He had never witnessed such a scene and was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

“Hey, what are you doing coming in here?” he asked.

Hearing someone speak, the woman turned toward Zhou Yi, her gaze hazy. “Oh my, the gentleman tonight is really quite delicate. Come here!”

With that, she slipped off her last piece of clothing. Zhou Yi saw her alluring figure and suddenly felt a scorching heat course through his body, his blood pounding.

“Hurry and leave, this is my room.” At the crucial moment, Zhou Yi managed to restrain himself. These women were not clean, and even if they were, Zhou Yi had no desire to become entangled with someone for whom he felt nothing.

“Come on, sir, let Xiao Cui serve you, I promise you’ll be comfortable.” As she spoke, Xiao Cui was already throwing herself at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi had crawled out of bed; this prostitute called Xiao Cui was unclothed, and through his thin clothing, Zhou Yi could feel her heartbeat.

“Yi, what are you doing?” Both of them spoke without lowering their voices. Baozi, rubbing his eyes, lifted his head.

“It’s nothing, go back to sleep.” Zhou Yi replied offhandedly.

Baozi murmured an “oh,” rolled over, and went back to sleep.

By now, Xiao Cui was wrapped around Zhou Yi like an octopus. Zhou Yi felt his head buzz, and two warm streams began flowing from his nostrils.

Blood splattered onto Zhou Yi’s shirt. Xiao Cui, seeing the nosebleed, only laughed, giggling as she tried again to climb onto him.

Zhou Yi was twenty-three, untouched by matters between men and women—a virgin. Xiao Cui’s advances were a tremendous temptation, and for a moment Zhou Yi lost himself.

His hand, almost against his will, reached toward Xiao Cui’s chest, while she began to undo his clothes.

A cold breeze from outside the window swept across Zhou Yi’s chest, causing him to shiver and instantly regain a shred of reason. Seeing himself in such a disgraceful scene with the prostitute, Zhou Yi was filled with regret.

“You vixen, how dare you try to seduce me?” Zhou Yi exclaimed, grabbing Xiao Cui’s arm and throwing her out the window.

It was deep in the night, the busiest hour in the Eight Alleys, where prostitutes and madams, lustful clients and their pimps formed a tableau unique to this district of pleasure.

Naked, Xiao Cui was hurled from the second floor; cries of shock rose from below.

Zhou Yi quickly leaned out the window to look down. Xiao Cui had landed headfirst, blood already pooling on the ground.

He cursed inwardly, “This is bad,” hurriedly gathered his clothes, dressing as he called Baozi, “Wake up, I’ve caused a disaster.”

Baozi, just asleep, was already partially awake from the commotion downstairs; Zhou Yi’s shout made him sit up at once. “Yi, what happened?”

“Don’t ask, just get dressed and leave now.”

Baozi didn’t press further, quickly putting on his clothes. They couldn't escape through the window—by now, a crowd had gathered below, all pointing and gesturing at Xiao Cui’s corpse.

With Xunfeng in tow, they opened the door and left the room. As soon as they reached the ground floor, the madam blocked their way.

“Everyone, come quick, these two are the killers, don’t let them escape!”

Zhou Yi and Baozi exchanged glances, both at a loss.

“Yi, what do we do?” Baozi’s most frequent words in a crisis, now spoken again as he grasped for ideas.

It was the era of the Republic—warlords ruled, and the city’s order was chaos. Law, if any, was merely a word from those in power. Zhou Yi dared not linger; who knew if the brothel was protected by some high-ranking official?

“Step aside. Xiao Cui’s death was caused by my mistake, but I have urgent matters. Once I’m finished, I’ll return to make amends. If you try to stop me, don’t blame me for any harm that comes to you.” Even as he prepared to flee, Zhou Yi felt compelled to explain—her death was his fault, and he would take responsibility.

“Run! Xunfeng, follow me.” With no better option, Zhou Yi’s only thought was to escape first.

With a burst of energy, the two leaped forward, reaching the door in a single bound and landing beyond the crowd. Zhou Yi glanced back to see Xunfeng baring his teeth at the crowd, unable to break free.

“Xunfeng, run!” Zhou Yi shouted urgently.

“Kill someone and expect to escape? Do you think the Eight Alleys are some kind of joke?” No matter the era, there were always gangs, and those gangs inevitably had ties to brothels and gambling houses.

The speaker, evidently a minor boss in the Eight Alleys, received monthly payments from the brothel; when trouble arose, it was his job to handle it.

Zhou Yi didn’t want trouble, but he certainly wasn’t afraid of it. “I truly have important business. Once it’s resolved, I will return and accept any punishment. But now, I must leave.”

“We’d welcome you any time, but you cause trouble and want to walk away? You must think little of me, Boss Liu.” Boss Liu said, patting his belly with a swagger.

Boss Liu had no spiritual energy—just an ordinary man. Zhou Yi had hoped to avoid force since he was no threat, but after repeated intimidation, Zhou Yi could no longer hold back.

“Xunfeng!” Zhou Yi called out in a low voice.

Xunfeng understood Zhou Yi perfectly; whatever he thought, the companion knew at once. As Zhou Yi finished speaking, Xunfeng suddenly reared up on his hind legs, his front hooves striking Boss Liu’s chest.

Boss Liu toppled backward, Xunfeng’s hooves pressing down on his shoulders. Amidst Boss Liu’s screams, a cracking sound was heard—the shattering of shoulder bones.

“Xunfeng, let’s go. My apologies to you all; I’ll return and answer for this.” Zhou Yi clasped his hands in salute to the crowd, then turned away.

Yet Boss Liu’s men, seeing Zhou Yi about to leave, would not allow it. The sound of guns being cocked echoed behind them.

Zhou Yi and Baozi exchanged looks—no time to hesitate. Gathering spiritual energy, they leapt more than thirty yards, bullets whizzing just past Zhou Yi’s head.

“Run!” Zhou Yi shouted as he landed, then leapt again.

Spiritual energy could subdue demons, true incantations could command thunder to strike ghosts, but neither could stop bullets. Hence, a group of ordinary men wielding firearms chased after Zhou Yi and Baozi.

When they had gained some distance, Zhou Yi looked back—Boss Liu’s men had fallen far behind, but one remained in pursuit. He was about twenty-four or twenty-five, dressed in a silver-gray Zhongshan suit and leather shoes.

Such attire was fashionable at the time and not unusual. Yet the man held an ancient coin sword in his right hand, his left hand forming a mudra before his chest, blue spiritual energy faintly visible around him—a cultivator.

May I shamelessly beg for some flowers? I’m off to mail the contract as soon as I wake up today…