The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 80 Unwelcome Guest at the Door

Chapter 80: Chapter 80 Unwelcome Guest at the Door

"What are you talking about? I don’t understand," said Zhou Pan, his expression quickly returning to normal as he asked nonchalantly.

However, those present were all veterans of the pugilistic world and were not easily fooled by any oddities.

Within the ranks of the Taixing Carriage Shop, a young man whispered to his companion, "Senior Brother, what is Anqing Hall?"

"It’s not a gang," his senior brother replied with a hint of a smile. "It was once the largest brothel for men in Chang’an City, run by Hall Master Lu Gongyuan."

"Oh~"

The young man suddenly realized and looked at Zhou Pan with a strange expression on his face.

The so-called brothel for men catered to male courtesans.

Preferences for male companions and same-sex relationships have existed since ancient times, particularly flourishing in the Capital and Min State, famously known as "Capital’s Gentlemen" and "Brothers of Min."

For instance, in the Capital, well-known establishments like Chunhui Hall and Jingyi Hall were dedicated to these men. The courtesans were not only required to learn music, chess, calligraphy, and painting but were also well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics. Thus, looks were secondary; without astuteness or the ability to speak elegantly, one would not do well.

Kidnappers from the Beggar Gang headed West, and human traffickers across various regions, upon finding young men with exceptional looks and refined speech, would deliver them to these halls, fetching a higher price than even the most famous courtesans in training.

However, such eccentricities were indulged only by nobility and the wealthy. Commoners, especially those from the pugilistic world who enjoyed hearty meals and strong drinks, typically looked down on such practices.

Hearing about Zhou Pan’s association with a brothel for men shifted the gaze of the crowd.

It seemed that this Zhou Monkey never had any children in his life...

But such preferences were personal matters. At most, they’d joke about it over drinks—how could it possibly relate to the death of Li Hu?

On the stage, seeing Zhou Pan’s denial, Li Yan narrowed his eyes, suppressing a cold murderous intent, and said solemnly, "There are no secrets that the wind does not reveal. Do you think you could keep this hidden?"

"At the time, my father took on a government task to find a kidnapped young master. Numerous leads pointed directly to Anqing Hall, but nothing was ever found."

"You colluded with Lu Gongyuan, sent people to secretly tip him off, leading my father to the brothel to look for informants, and as a result, he was murdered."

"Afterward, you rushed from Xianyang to Chang’an in a panic, coordinating with the government to raid Anqing Hall and hunt down Lu Gongyuan. Before long, that brothel also mysteriously caught fire, and all the women inside died tragically."

"You think by silencing them, there would be no witness left to this affair!"

As soon as he spoke these words, everyone on the stage was shocked.

Old Master Zhang Yuanshang’s face darkened, and he banged the table hard, "Zhou Monkey, so there was such an incident. My poor brother Li’s reputation was tarnished, and he couldn’t rest in peace for ten years."

"Damn it, if you don’t make this clear today, we’re not done!"

Even Boss Han of the Cao Gang shook his head and said, "Zhou Pan, if this is true, your methods are too despicable. So many lives lost, and you think you can retreat peacefully from the pugilistic world without consequence?"

The others were also filled with righteous indignation.

On the stage, Li Yan stood with murderous intent that could hardly be concealed in his eyes.

These pieces of information had been secretly passed to him just previously by Guan Wanche. Although he did not understand why Guan had not spoken out himself, looking at Zhou Pan’s demeanor, there was a high probability the accusations were true.

Recalling the turmoil his grandfather faced over these years, he felt fury rising in his heart, wishing he could immediately charge forward and sever Zhou Pan’s dog head.

Faced with the questioning of the crowd, Zhou Pan was silent for a while before he finally sighed, shook his head, and said, "All I can say is that at the time, I was following the orders of the Chang’an Prefecture Captain Bureau to capture Lu Gongyuan. A lot of time has passed, and I suppose the Captain Bureau would not pursue it now."

Looking at the crowd, he continued, "Lu Gongyuan’s hall and that brothel were both incense halls for the Maitreya Sect in Chang’an, secretly plotting rebellious acts."

"What?"

Shock registered on the faces of everyone on the stage.

There was no way to lie about such a matter.

Over a decade ago, a great drought hit Guanzhong, and the Maitreya Sect took advantage of the situation to cause chaos, inciting villagers to rebel. They not only killed government officers but also forced other commoners and those in the pugilistic world to participate. If anyone refused, they would resort to burning villages to the ground.

People of the pugilistic world were naturally wary of the court.

But by spreading demonic teachings and inciting rebellion, the Maitreya Sect was responsible for even more deaths.

Zhou Pan sighed, looked at Li Yan, and said, shaking his head, "This matter is related to state secrets. I dare not say more. All I can say is that your father was unlucky and stumbled into a den of thieves!"

"Stop playing dumb!"

Li Yan scoffed, "Setting aside the Maitreya Sect, if it weren’t for your intentional deceit, how would my father have been ambushed?"

Zhou Pan seemed already impatient, his face slightly somber as he shook his head, "That’s what happened. Your father walked into his own death. Are you expecting me to have stopped him?"

"Even if you take this matter to the government, it has nothing to do with me!"

While his words conceded the truth of the incident, his demeanor was defiant.

Li Yan’s eyes still blazed with killing intent, and Zhou Pan stuck his neck out, his gaze cold and fierce, "If you’re unsatisfied, come and seek justice from this old man today."

"Bullshit!"

Elder Zhang erupted in anger, slowly rising to his feet, "Zhou Monkey, you’re playing dirty and bullying the young, aren’t you? Come, this old man will seek justice for him!"

Bang!

Just then, a loud noise came from outside the hall.

Several disciples were seen flying backward, rolling on the ground with blood spilling from their mouths. As they crawled back, they cried out, "Master, someone is breaking in!"

The sudden turn of events disrupted the atmosphere in the hall.

Everyone turned to look, only to see the Zhou Family martial arts school’s disciples flying out the door like they had been struck by a wild beast, falling into the courtyard and screaming incessantly.

Following that, two figures slowly walked in from the courtyard gate.

A young man, about twenty years old, dressed in plain coarse black cloth, with half of his face covered in charred scars, of a stocky build, held a "Bone Flower" in his hand.

The Bone Flower, similar to a hammer, was a long handle with a small iron ball attached to the front. In the Tang Dynasty, it was a punishment mace, later becoming a ceremonial weapon, commonly known as a golden melon, also named guā zhūn.

Depending on its shape, it was further divided into garlic clove Bone Flowers and caltrop Bone Flowers.

In dramas, the dual hammers used by military officers were made of paper and cloth, and in actual battlefields, apart from those with Divine Power and Grandmasters, few people could manage to use them. After all, they required too much strength, and even if one could swing them, they could not last long in battle.

Thus, real war hammers had smaller heads.

The Bone Flower was even smaller, powerful and fierce, and easy to conceal, thus quite popular in the pugilistic world.

A regular blow could crack bluestone.

Behind him followed a middle-aged man, dressed in a blue robe and wide cloak, holding a tiger-head staff in his right hand and a "Healing the World" flag in his left, presenting himself like a folk healer.

His face was ordinary, with graying temples, and he walked with a relaxed and leisurely demeanor as if strolling through a garden, clearly there to back up the younger man.

Elder Zhang, upon seeing this, narrowed his pupils and sat down slowly with a cold laugh, "Zhou Monkey, it seems you have more than one aggrieved party at your door."

Zhou Pan’s face turned grim, and he spoke in a deep voice, "Who are you people, and what business do you have in my home?"

The young man playfully spun the Bone Flower in his hand with a raspy voice, taunting, "Oh, retiring from the underworld, are we?"

"How is it that after settling scores with the pugilistic gangs, us country folks can’t come knocking for an explanation?"

Zhou Pan’s face showed puzzlement, "I don’t recall having wronged you."

"Of course, you don’t remember."

The young man laughed like a fierce ghost, turning to look at the people on the platform, "You members of the pugilistic world, who use martial prowess to bully the weak and fear the strong, declare personal scores with the likes of you as grievances. But the deaths of common folks don’t matter, is that it?"

Zhou Pan squinted his triangular eyes, "If you’re seeking an explanation, you should at least clarify the matter."

The young man laughed uproariously, like a night owl, "Ten years ago, in Bazi Village on the outskirts of Chang’an, several of your disciples, claiming to be searching for bandits, busted into my home."

"When they saw my sister was beautiful, they moved to defile her; when my parents tried to stop them, they were beaten to death, then burned alive, claiming it was a den of thieves. Bet you didn’t expect a ghost like me to survive, huh?"

With these words, everyone suddenly understood and shook their heads.

Zhou Monkey was known for his lack of discipline and protective nature over his disciples, who committed plenty of misdeeds in Xianyang City; such an incident was not surprising.

Zhou Pan fell silent for a moment before replying, "I truly did not know about this. Each wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its debtor. If you have a grievance, you seek them, not me."

The young man sneered, "Don’t worry, they’re already dead. I skinned them alive, didn’t spare their families either. Tch tch, a whole family’s worth of resentful human skin fetched a good price."

"Now, I’m here to accompany you on a journey!"

All who heard exchanged glances.

Such bloody means of avenging wiped-out families were beyond the realm of normal pugilistic world rules and required the intervention of the government.

Indeed, Guan Wanche stood up, gestured with his hand, and the Government Officials immediately unshouldered their crossbows, shouting sternly, "Cease and desist, come with us, or face summary execution!"

"Summary execution?"

The young man’s face, covered with scars, twisted fiercely, his eyes maniac with rage, "You pack of lackeys; indeed, this world is full of demons, the sky itself is dark, all must be purged!"

At those words, the crowd’s expression changed dramatically.

Those words suggested a will to revolt...

At this moment, Li Yan’s face was grave; he stared intently at the older man behind.

He detected a familiar scent coming from the man.

It was the Crested Serpent he had encountered before!