Chapter 150: Chapter 120: Flower... Monk
Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu now had something of a mutually beneficial relationship.
Without Feng Bei’s personal Ghostly Realm, Zheng Xiu couldn’t manifest.
Without Zheng Xiu, even the Ravens wouldn’t dare approach Feng Bei, unless she were to shoot them down.
"See for yourself."
Zheng Xiu handed Feng Bei the message from the bamboo tube.
There was only one sentence on it.
"The Flower is not at the temple. Other complications have arisen."
Yue Yan’s message was concise. Though not encrypted, only those involved in the situation would understand it.
The two of them huddled in a corner, and after a brief discussion, they more or less understood.
Yue Yan and Dou Xie had gone up the mountain and sent back a message: the Playful Monk was not at Yunliu Temple.
But what did "other complications have arisen" mean?
"Let’s go. We’ll head up the mountain."
Glancing back into the room, Zheng Xiu knew this group of street urchins were just petty thugs, not the real Gentlemen’s Alliance.
Xu Shu had already done a sweep of this place, so Zheng Xiu didn’t expect to get anything out of them.
Before leaving, Zheng Xiu smiled at Pang Shengyun and Chu Susu. "Living off petty theft isn’t a sustainable solution," he said. "If you really want to find honest work, go to the Zheng Clan Chamber of Commerce in Yizhong County and look for a steward named Si Youqing. Just tell him you’re looking for a job to put food on the table, and that a man named Zheng Xiu, who was passing through, sent you. Knowing Steward Si’s character, he won’t make things difficult for you."
Chu Susu was utterly stunned. "You’re Zheng Xiu? The richest man, Zheng Xiu?"
A playful, mischievous glint appeared in Feng Bei’s left eye as she glanced at Tycoon Zheng. "Your name really gets around, Marquis Zheng."
Zheng Xiu rolled his eyes. ’What are you smirking about?’ he thought. ’I *am* Zheng Xiu, the one and only.’
It was awkward to answer, but awkward not to answer. So, Zheng Xiu simply smiled without a word, letting that serve as his reply.
Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei walked out through the hole in the wall.
Just then, a child gently tugged on Chu Susu’s sleeve. "Sister Susu..."
"Shh!"
But Pang Shengyun’s expression was wary. "You can know a person’s face, but not their heart. We shouldn’t get involved with people like them!"
The child looked down. "The buns... were good."
"Your Sister Susu and I will make sure you get to eat more buns sooner or later! Just stay away from them!"
A hesitant look crossed Chu Susu’s face. But just as the two were about to disappear from view, she ran after them.
"Susu!"
Pang Shengyun was alarmed, but he was half a step too slow. He could only watch as Chu Susu caught up to Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu.
"Are you two looking for someone called the ’Playful Monk’?"
Hearing this, Zheng Xiu whipped his head around.
He and Feng Bei exchanged a glance.
They had never once mentioned the name ’Playful Monk’ in front of these street urchins.
In fact, when Zheng Xiu learned they were merely using the "Gentlemen’s Alliance" banner to get by in this backwater town, he’d lost all hope of getting a lead from them.
He never would have expected this.
It was a stroke of unexpected luck.
What a coincidence.
"Who did you hear that from?"
"The man in black carrying a heavy sword," Chu Susu said. "He asked us the same question. Plus, I overheard you two asking about it."
Zheng Xiu frowned. "Xu Shu knows too?"
Feng Bei fell silent for a moment, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "The commotion we caused in Jiayang must have reached Xu Shu’s ears," she said. "It’s highly likely Xu Shu already instructed Uncle Fu to send word by Raven the moment we discovered anything."
Zheng Xiu sighed. "We were careless."
Feng Bei replied, "It’s not Uncle Fu’s fault. To him, whether it’s the Constellations or the Twelfth Moon, we’re all part of Ye Weiyang. He’s just doing his job."
Just then, Pang Shengyun rushed out, looking like he wanted to say something but holding back.
"Brother Pang, don’t worry," Chu Susu said, looking back to reassure him. "This gentleman and lady aren’t bad people."
Then, Chu Susu turned back to Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu. "I don’t know who the Playful Monk is, but there’s someone... and I have a feeling he’s the one you’re looking for."
Zheng Xiu said, "Take us to him. You can tell us on the way!"
「On the way.」
Chu Susu told them everything she knew.
"He’s a... strange man."
「About half a year ago.」
A Monk from Yunliu Temple named Ruchen found his way to the orphans’ hideout and said he wanted to join them.
Chu Susu and Pang Shengyun, wary of outsiders, naturally didn’t believe him. But the Monk simply sat by the courtyard wall, and he remained there for seven days.
Eventually, he really did start following Chu Susu, Pang Shengyun, and their band of orphans, dressing in disguise and taking up the dirty work of petty theft on the streets.
Pang Shengyun was reluctant to let the Monk join their "games" at first. But the Monk always managed to show up near their targets, his clumsy attempts at thievery making Pang Shengyun grind his teeth in frustration. He would curse the amateur oaf for ruining their operations.
In the end, to keep him from blowing their cover, Pang Shengyun and Chu Susu had no choice but to begrudgingly accept the Monk into their group.
It was during the same month the Monk joined their ranks that Chu Susu unintentionally awakened to a Miracle Technique. She had no idea that Miracle Masters or Path Cultivation even existed, and simply assumed the Celestial Dao was rewarding her hard work by granting her a special "Talent." Furthermore, with no Ye Weiyang branch stationed there, the newly-minted "Miracle Master" Chu Susu possessed a Miracle Technique without even realizing it, and had spent nearly half a year in blissful ignorance.
"He’s really strange. Most of the time, he calls himself ’this Little Monk, Ruchen,’ but whenever we were out stealing, he’d grin and tell us to call him ’Brother Xiaohua.’"
Night was falling, and the city’s lanterns were beginning to glow.
As they walked and talked, Chu Susu led them to a delicate, four-story pavilion.
From a distance, Zheng Xiu spotted the establishment’s sign: Thirteen Spices.
A name that practically oozed flavor.
As someone who was practically the king of bathhouses in the Imperial City, Zheng Xiu instantly knew what kind of place this was.
Brothels, of course. They always loved to pick names that sparked the imagination.
Feng Bei frowned. She clearly disliked such places.
Zheng Xiu asked, "The Playful Monk and a brothel... hmm, I think I get the picture. But are you sure he’s the one we’re looking for?"
Chu Susu bit her chapped lower lip and shook her head. "I don’t know how to explain it, but I just have a feeling you’re looking for him. When that man in black asked if we knew where the Playful Monk was, I immediately thought of him. I heard recently that he—"
"You stinking Monk! Shameless bastard! Damn it all, I’ve spent my whole life on my back to make a living, and I’ve never seen anyone as shameless as you! A perfectly good Monk, dressing up as a woman to scam men!"
THUD!
A figure in gaudy women’s clothes and caked in heavy makeup was carried out of the brothel’s entrance by several angry, burly men and tossed onto the street.
The middle-aged madam pointed at the person who’d been thrown out and continued to curse, her face purple with Anger.
That short tirade was packed with information.
’Stinking Monk?’
’Shameless?’
’Making a living on her back?’
’Dressed as a woman?’
Zheng Xiu and Feng Bei both wore bizarre expressions. The wig on the head of the person who’d been tossed out, which had been attached with rice paste, was now mostly torn off, revealing a bald scalp.
It was a Monk.
A cross-dressing Monk, no less.
This was...
Zheng Xiu was stunned. "He’s so over-the-top... no wonder they call him the ’Playful Monk’!"
