Let's See if You Know What Pain Is

Zhou Yujuan jolted awake from her sleep. She heard a commotion in the hallway, sounding like a fight. She wasn't mistaken. Du Hongxi's two subordinates had engaged in a brief struggle with Li Banfeng right before they died. Slipping into her robe, Zhou Yujuan cautiously walked over to the door. Resting her hand on the doorknob, she was just about to push it open when she pulled her hand back. Through the door, she heard breathing. Was it Du Hongxi? It didn't sound like him. The breaths were lighter than Du Hongxi's, and they came from a position higher up than his. *Knock, knock, knock!* A knock sounded at the door. This definitely wasn't Du Hongxi. Du Hongxi never knocked. Zhou Yujuan retreated to the bedside and took a pair of scissors out of the drawer by the pillow. As a tier-one Scrying Cultivator, she wasn't skilled in combat, so she had paid a hefty sum for this special weapon. Over twenty centimeters long, the scissors were entirely pitch-black, with only a few specks of dark-red blood along the blades. The knocking stopped. Zhou Yujuan pricked up her ears and found that the breathing outside was still there. *Click!* The doorknob turned. The person was about to come in. With a creak, the door swung open. Zhou Yujuan instantly cut her palm with the scissors and hurled the blood-stained weapon toward the doorway. The scissors lengthened in an instant, their blades snapping wide to nearly a meter across, snipping off the head of the person standing outside. This strike was swift and precise. As long as the timing was right, most tier-one and tier-two cultivators stood no chance of dodging or parrying it. Hearing that the corridor had fallen dead silent, Zhou Yujuan crept cautiously to the door and picked up the severed head. Who could this be? Could it be that fool who had made trouble earlier tonight? That fool truly had a death wish, actually daring to come back for revenge. Cutting off his head was letting him off too easy. She should have let Old Du deal with him, torturing him to death, turning him into a ghost servant afterward, and then... Zhou Yujuan stared intently at the head for a good while. This head had no hair. This head... looked like Old Du's... How could it possibly be his? Old Du had been sleeping in her bed just moments ago. How had his head come off? Did I cut it off? It wasn't me. "It really wasn't me!" In her sheer panic, Zhou Yujuan cried out. "Don't be afraid. It wasn't you." "It wasn't me!" "I know it wasn't you." "It really wasn't me." Li Banfeng offered comforting words from the side: "Don't be afraid. It wasn't you, really. It was me. He was already dead—I killed him." Someone was in the room! Zhou Yujuan snapped back to her senses and scrambled on all fours, trying to crawl toward the scissors. Li Banfeng snatched them up a step ahead of her. "This thing is pretty dangerous. I'll hold onto it for you. Now, tell me, where's the money?" "What money?" Zhou Yujuan looked bewildered. Li Banfeng's eyes widened. "My money. You took a lot of money from me tonight. Did you forget that fast?" Zhou Yujuan froze for more than ten seconds before she finally put it together. She remembered who he was. Wasn't this that troublemaking fool? How had he come back? Did he kill Old Du? Looking at Li Banfeng's gentle smile, Zhou Yujuan didn't dare overthink it. "I didn't forget, I didn't forget! I'll get it right now!" Tears streaming down her face, Zhou Yujuan led Li Banfeng down to the first-floor counter. Beneath the counter sat a mechanical cash register. *Clack, clack* went the keypad as she entered the code, and with a hard pull of the lever, gears and drive shafts ground against each other before the cash drawer popped open. Zhou Yujuan grabbed two stacks of banknotes and handed them to Li Banfeng. "This is all your money, sir. Please take it." Li Banfeng glanced at it, frowning. "How much is this?" "This is... two thousand." Zhou Yujuan had extorted two thousand from Li Banfeng in total, and the money in her hands was now more than that, not less. "Do you think two thousand is enough?" Li Banfeng's tone was identical to the one she had used when extorting him. "Not enough, not enough..." Zhou Yujuan emptied every last cent from the cash register and handed it over. In the exact same tone, Li Banfeng asked, "Do you think this is enough?" "N-no, not enough..." Zhou Yujuan knew how to read the situation. She led Li Banfeng to the third floor and opened the safe. Inside were over three hundred thousand in cash. Zhou Yujuan found a case, packed it up, and handed it to Li Banfeng. "All the cash is here. The rest is in the bank. I can take you to withdraw it." "Do you think going to the bank is appropriate?" Li Banfeng had no intention of going to any bank with her. Step out that door with her, and his life might well be forfeit. Steeling herself, Zhou Yujuan retrieved a key from a hidden compartment under the bed and opened a secret door behind the bookcase. Behind it was a hidden cabinet containing over a dozen gold bars. "Sir, this is everything I've saved over more than a decade. It's all yours." Li Banfeng frowned. "Is this enough?" Zhou Yujuan broke into sobs. "I've given you all my money, every last bit of it! I beg you to spare me, I beg you..." Li Banfeng sneered, curling his lip. "Who are you to beg me? Are you worthy? Why don't you take a piss and look at your own..." *Splatter~* The moment the words left his mouth, Li Banfeng regretted them. As the saying went: ask for a hammer and you get a hammer; ask for a piss and you get a piss. A puddle of liquid swamped the soles of his shoes. *Drip, drop!* Li Banfeng lifted his foot. The bottom of his shoe was dripping. "You actually pissed yourself?" Li Banfeng was thoroughly exasperated. He hoisted Zhou Yujuan up and tossed her into the Portable Abode. "Oho~ Dear Husband has bought more groceries! Let me see what—" The gramophone was quite delighted at first, but before long, an outraged scolding rang out: "Aieee~ Where did this filthy woman come from?! How dare she piss in my room! Husband, even a chicken needs its feathers plucked before cooking—how could you send her in before tidying her up?!" ... Li Banfeng swept all the banknotes and gold bars into the Portable Abode. Beyond the money, there were other fine things. Zhou Yujuan possessed a great deal of fine jewelry, which Li Banfeng took. Two sets of exquisite solid-wood tables and chairs—taken. A bookcase, books included—taken. The candlesticks—taken, along with the candles. The wardrobe—taken. He left the clothes behind, though: Du Hongxi's were too small, Zhou Yujuan's were useless to him, and the gramophone had no use for them at the moment either. A set of sofas—taken. Two top-grade vases—he discarded the flowers and took the vases; they would do nicely for holding feather dusters. There were several oil paintings on the wall. The moment Li Banfeng stashed them into the Portable Abode, the gramophone scorched them to a crisp. "These shameless wretches, stark naked and striking poses—what an utter disgrace!" Li Banfeng sighed heavily. "You shrew, you have no appreciation for art!" Li Banfeng moved the hand-cranked gramophone into the Portable Abode, but the steam-powered gramophone tore it to pieces on the spot, warning him: "Husband, listening to tunes outside is one thing, but you dare bring such a thing home?!" He wanted to haul in more items, but the gramophone grew displeased: "Oho, Dear Husband, if you keep bringing things in, you won't even have a place to sleep." The outer room and main chamber were completely packed. If only he had another room! Li Banfeng brought out the explosives he had purchased from Shopkeeper Feng and placed them in various corners of the dance hall. A university education wasn't entirely useless after all; Li Banfeng knew exactly where to position the explosives for maximum effect. Explosives in Puluo Province were notoriously hit-or-miss, so he piled extra at the critical spots. Once everything was properly arranged, Li Banfeng woke Lao Gu, the man in charge of the gramophone. Staring at the iron ruler in Li Banfeng's hand, Lao Gu was frightened out of his wits. "Hero, I've never done anything bad! I'm just here trying to earn a bowl of rice!" Li Banfeng took out a pocket watch and said, "I believe you haven't done anything bad. Look at this watch—look closely. "I'm giving you ten minutes to get everyone out of this dance hall. If even a single person is left behind, your life will pay for it." "Yes! Yes! That's easy enough!" For Lao Gu, the task was genuinely simple. Aside from operating the gramophone, he had another duty: every afternoon at two o'clock when the dance hall opened, he had to summon the girls down to entertain guests. Normally, he would play a record first, and upon hearing the music, the girls would head downstairs. If anyone lingered in bed and refused to come out, Lao Gu would blow a bugle. The bugle was loud enough to wake every girl in the building without fail. Today, skipping the music entirely, Lao Gu blew straight into the bugle. In less than two minutes, the entire building was awake. Lao Gu shouted at the top of his lungs, "Fire! Everyone run, quick, get out!" Hearing that there was a fire, some guests didn't even bother putting on clothes, bolting outside naked alongside the girls. When they reached the street, there wasn't a spark in sight. The girls grumbled at Lao Gu, "Have you lost your mind? Where's the fire?!" Lao Gu didn't know how to answer. Someone nearby asked, "Where's the boss? Why haven't I seen her come out?" "Master Du hasn't come out either. Lao Gu, are you fucking playing us?" ... Down on the first floor, in the main hall. Li Banfeng struck a match, lighting the fuse on the floor. He pulled up his collar, pulled his fedora low, shoved his hands into his coat pockets, and quietly slipped out of the dance hall. When he had walked halfway down the street, Li Banfeng struck another match and lit a cigarette for himself. The cigarette caught fire. Blazes erupted inside the dance hall as well. Following a deafening blast, nearly thirty percent of the explosives detonated, blowing half the dance hall away. Half was just fine. Leaving the remaining half would serve as a nice souvenir for the Jiangxiang Gang. The escaped guests and dancing girls were scared half to death. Those standing too close were pelted by flying stones and debris, leaving them covered in bloody scratches. "Run! Run!" No longer blaming Lao Gu, they completely forgot about him—in fact, they forgot about everyone around them, focusing only on running for their lives. Li Banfeng looked back at Xianle Dance Hall, a faint smile gracing his lips. *Boom!* Another colossal explosion erupted. One of the dud charges had suddenly gone off, sending a massive plume of fire surging forward and instantly swallowing Li Banfeng. When the flames dispersed, Li Banfeng patted out the embers clinging to his clothes and hair. Either blow up early, or don't blow up at all. He bloody hated duds like that. Fortunately, a journey cultivator was quick on his feet, so he hadn't been injured. He wanted to take another drag of his cigarette to preserve his composure, but the cigarette had already been burned to pure ash. Li Banfeng picked up his half-scorched fedora from the ground, blew out the remaining ember, placed it onto his smoldering head, and quietly vanished into the night. Jiangxiang Gang, if you don't know what pain feels like yet, let's keep going!