Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 88: Sword Lake City

Zhao Changhe suddenly charging into their formation completely overwhelmed those who were besieging Han Wubing.

While Han Wubing had been able to kill a ridiculous number of enemies even while being greatly outnumbered, he was now incredibly exhausted. He was having a hard time even catching his breath. Sensing that Han Wubing was reaching his limits, Zhao Changhe felt like he had no other choice but to simply grit his teeth and charge onward.

What his opponents saw was a wild, ferocious warrior barrelling into their formation and fearlessly charging into battle. The momentum of his saber alone made others’ legs go numb, and he wildly swung it wherever he passed...

None of them noticed that Zhao Changhe himself was extremely exhausted. In the end, they lost the will to fight. They swiftly called for a retreat and ran away, fearing for their lives.

Zhao Changhe had originally thought that he would have to engage in bitter combat, so he was left dumbfounded at the sight of the enemies scampering away. He stood with his saber raised without a clue as to what he was supposed to do. “Am I really that scary?”

Han Wubing smiled. “Yes, you are very scary.”

“What a group of idiots. They dared to come and besiege someone at the fifth layer of the Profound Gate, yet they immediately fled in fear at the arrival of someone at the fourth layer. Tsk.” Zhao Changhe got off his horse and sat on the ground, exhausted. “Hey, how many more days are there until the start of summer?”

Han Wubing also sat weakly right beside him and counted in his mind. “There should still be seven days until then. You actually came really early.”

“Seven days, huh?” Zhao Changhe turned his head and scanned Han Wubing for a few moments. “How do you think you’ll be in seven days?”

“Oh, these are all just flesh wounds. They look pretty bad, but with good medicine, they’ll be fine in no time. I’ll probably be back in top shape in three days.”

Zhao Changhe smacked his lips in pain. “So what you’re saying is, after you recover from your injuries, we’ll have four days of nothing to do? Summer feels quite late—ugh...”

As soon as he uttered those words, he could not help but think of his girlfriend and cut himself short. [1]

The peeping Xia Chichi suddenly smiled.

Han Wubing had no idea why Zhao Changhe suddenly stopped talking. “These four days don’t have to be as boring as you might be thinking. Sword Lake City is just nearby, so you can go shopping or even just stroll around there if you’ve got nothing else to do. Or if you want to find the sword... Oh, wait, you use the saber, so you probably won’t be that interested in it.”

“So just because I don’t use the sword, I can’t be interested in it? Well, anyway, Yangyang said that even the Cui Clan could not find it, so who could possibly find it so easily? Those idiots just now? As if.” Zhao Changhe paused for a moment. “Wait, you want to find it so you can replace the one you broke just now? Don’t even bother. Just go to the city and buy yourself a new one.”

Han Wubing said, “I didn’t intend to look for it in the first place.”

“Alright.” Zhao Changhe stood up and said, “Get on. I’ll take you to the city so that you can rest up.”

Han Wubing mounted the horse without any pretense.

It would be difficult for others to tell that the two people riding together, who appeared to be on excellent terms with one another, had the intention of holding a fierce duel in just a few days.

However, what was even more bizarre was that the two fools never entertained the thought of simply moving the date of their duel earlier since they had already both arrived.

*

Sword Lake City.

This city had once been just a modest lakeside town. Needless to say, it was now a massive city that was even more prosperous than the province’s official capital. However, it was structurally still a town, and it had neither city walls nor guards. It did not even have an entry fee.

This actually played a part in how it had managed to become so prosperous.

Zhao Changhe rode in and looked around on the streets like a child, curious to see how it compared with Qinghe. An aromatic scent drifted from close by, filling his nose.

A well-dressed madam came up to him and said, “Oh, my. Sir, would you like to come and rest at our Myriad Flowers Tower? We have the most beautiful girls in the city, and they are excellent in the four arts...[2]”

Zhao Changhe stopped. “...Do you have anyone whose mastery of the four arts is on par with First Seat Tang’s?”

The procuress[3] was dumbfounded. “We do not.”

Zhao Changhe nodded. “Forget it then. Tell them to practice more.”

Han Wubing laughed out loud.

Zhao Changhe rode his horse forward and said, “The brothels here are honestly quite special. We’re all covered in blood, but they don’t care at all and they still try to solicit us.”

“Hah, you’ll get an even better idea of how things are after staying here for two days.”

Zhao Changhe did not, in fact, need two days as he was getting to see how things were right now.

There was another brothel up ahead, and people were fighting directly at the door. By the time Zhao Changhe came close enough to watch the fun, some people had already been beaten to death.

Several procuresses came out to carry the unconscious away, and the brothel continued to operate as if nothing had happened.

This time, it was Zhao Changhe’s turn to be dumbfounded. “What is this place’s yamen[4] doing?”

Han Wubing said leisurely, “The regulations here are still that of a small town. Who knows what His Majesty is thinking?”

“...With how prosperous the place is, why don’t they collect taxes? It’s such a waste.”

Han Wubing now also found himself at a loss. I am just a man of jianghu; I don’t know either.

Zhao Changhe’s head ached. “Is there a Demon Suppression Bureau here as well?”

Han Wubing knew a bit about this. “On the surface, they do not have an office, but in fact, there is one. However, I don’t know which residence or even which brothel it is.”

Zhao Changhe nodded. “Where did you live before?”

“I didn’t live in the city. I was afraid that you wouldn’t be able to find me, so I built a hut right next to the grave in the bamboo forest by the lake.”

“Does that mean you’d be fine with wherever?” Zhao Changhe glanced at a larger inn at the end of the street. The boss’s plaque read “A Home Away From Home,” and someone was leading a horse through the side door. It looked like there was a stable behind it.

He went straight over and said, “This place looks good. Innkeeper, do you have a private courtyard? Help me take care of my horse.”

The young waiter came up to them and said, “Sir, you’ve got great eyes. We have the best stables and the best fodder! I’m not just talking about the horses you ride on the street, but also the horses you ride in bed! I promise that you’ll have a great time!”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

Han Wubing: “...”

The young waiter carefully observed them, then said with a smile: “Sir, you want to find a place without horses? You can’t find that. Everyone has horses. Without horses, how can they attract customers? Hah, when you are away from home, there are—”

“Okay, okay.” Zhao Changhe knew that he might not be able to find a horseless place here, so he asked, “Is there a private courtyard?”

“Yes, sir, come this way. Please rest first. I will ask the girls to come over and show you the horse.”

Zhao Changhe said angrily, “No, we’re good. We don’t want anyone to disturb us.”

The young waiter’s eyes suddenly began wandering back and forth between Zhao Changhe and Han Wubing. Then, he showed an ambiguous smile and said, “I understand.”

Zhao Changhe was stunned for a moment. Before he could say anything else, the young waiter had already left.

He turned to look at Han Wubing numbly. “What does he mean?”

Han Wubing said expressionlessly, “It’s nothing important.”

“Fuck.” Zhao Changhe pointed to the room next to the private courtyard: “Damn it, my reputation is going to be ruined because of you. How unlucky.”

Han Wubing entered the room with a straight face. Damn it, if this really spreads, do you think it’s only your reputation that’s going to be ruined?

I heard that women who get involved with Zhao Changhe are unlucky. Who would’ve thought that even men can’t escape the same fate!

Anyway, even though Zhao Changhe looks like a wild brute, it turns out that he’s so pure that he doesn’t even dare let brothel girls touch him. His face turned red just from looking at them.

Han Wubing found it a bit funny. He seemed like an aloof person, but in fact, when he was lonely, he was not beyond visiting a brothel. Unexpectedly, Zhao Changhe, who everyone thought was a bandit, turned out to be the purest visitor of jianghu.

While he was applying medicine to his wounds and resting, Han Wubing’s ears suddenly twitched. He stretched out his hand and grabbed his broken sword.

There were very light footsteps outside, and he could even smell a faint fragrance.

An enemy? Is...

Han Wubing quietly glanced out of the window, but he saw an extremely graceful female figure standing outside Zhao Changhe’s room, knocking on the door softly.

Zhao Changhe’s angry voice came from inside the room, “Damn it! I told you not to disturb people’s purity, get out of here!”

The woman whispered softly, “I know that you are not a womanizer, respected sir, so this little brother does not feel any reservations about wearing female clothing in front of you.”

Han Wubing’s hair stood on end.

However, it was what followed that was truly hair-raising. A loud roar came from the room, followed by the sound of someone running into a table. Right after that, the door of the room swung open with a loud bang, and Zhao Changhe stuck his head out, showing an expression of extreme surprise. Then he glanced at Han Wubing’s room with some caution, then suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled the “little brother wearing women’s clothing” into the room.

Han Wubing hugged his knees and sat beside the bed, feeling that the place he was currently at was more dangerous than the sword lake back when he was being besieged.

I thought everyone was merely being victimized by rumors, but I didn’t expect yours to be true!

1. A reminder that Xia Chichi’s name literally translates to “late summer.” ☜

2. The four arts refer to the zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting. ☜

3. A procuror/procuress is someone who finds prostitutes for people. ☜

4. A yamen is an administrative office or residence of a local bureaucrat in late imperial China. ☜

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