Chapter Sixteen: The Two Scoundrels

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When they returned to the village entrance, Wu Que stared at the screen before him, his brow faintly furrowed.

“Come on, hurry up. You’ve been agonizing over this for half an hour. You selfish little bastard—just because you don’t want a cigarette, does that mean this old man doesn’t want one either? If I’d known, I would’ve left you beneath that tiger’s claws!”

Hong Lei, unable to get his hands on a cigarette, scratched and tugged at his ears nearby, complaining every now and then.

Ignoring his master’s incessant muttering, Wu Que remained seated before the screen, carefully weighing his options.

Important locations unlocked: 3/4. Currently unlocked: Brothel, Horse-Calling Street, Old Residence.

Dream fragments collected: 1/3.

Dream demons slain: 2/5.

Nightmare dispelling progress: 35%.

The reward interface below was divided into three screens.

1. Tiger’s Roar: An instant-use skill that unleashes an explosive roar imbued with the might of a tiger. In addition to inflicting physical damage upon enemies, it also causes a brief daze. Required attribute: Strength 25. Usable once every hour.

2. Thirty random attribute points.

3. Bionic Craftsman: Usable once every twenty hours. Creates a bionic duplicate identical to you in every respect, with equivalent physical abilities, intelligence, weapon proficiency, and skills. It can assist in battle for five minutes. After five minutes, or once the bionic duplicate is completely destroyed, it will disappear. It may be summoned again after twenty hours.

It was not that Wu Que was deliberately dragging his feet. The choice was simply too difficult.

He knew perfectly well that both the daze effect and the bionic duplicate capable of assisting in battle could determine life or death in a fight. But he was too weak at present, and this dream was exceptionally dangerous. Thirty attribute points represented a substantial increase in strength.

He did not want to keep burdening his master, nor could he bear being trampled beneath other people’s feet and bullied any longer. Besides, skills were not irreplaceable. Better ones would come in the future.

Wu Que took a deep breath and confirmed his selection of the thirty attribute points.

The instant his choice was confirmed, he felt his entire body grow feverishly hot. Sweat poured from him like rain. He stretched, and the bones throughout his body cracked loudly while every muscle contracted and trembled.

He hurriedly opened his attribute panel and scanned it.

Name: Wu Que.

Dream Repair Number: 1997.

Attributes: Strength 37, Vitality 5, Immunity 2, Agility 24, Intelligence 10, Magic 0, Faith 15, Sanity -60.

“At last, I got Strength!”

Feeling power surge continuously through his body, Wu Que could not help but feel delighted.

“But what exactly is this Sanity…”

Looking at the Sanity score, which had fallen as low as minus sixty, three dark lines slowly appeared on Wu Que’s forehead.

“Am I really that irrational?”

“Stop admiring yourself. Now that you’ve chosen, hurry up and get moving,” Hong Lei urged impatiently.

“Where are we going? Wutai Manor?”

“To the street to buy cigarettes—and fill our stomachs while we’re at it,” Hong Lei replied with a lecherous grin.

“Wutai Manor may well be a smokescreen. Going there would only waste time.”

“Do you remember the rickshaw puller who gave us the map?”

Wu Que understood at once and continued along his master’s line of thought. “Although only two days have passed for us, at least ten years have already passed along the timeline of this dream world. Those rickshaw pullers know the local roads like the backs of their hands. We’re certain to learn something useful from them.”

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The master and disciple no longer hesitated. They set out from the village entrance and headed toward Horse-Calling Street.

Having made the journey once before, they knew the route back by heart. Before long, they had gone around the piles of stone and returned to the street entrance.

Time had passed, yet the street had not grown prosperous. Instead, it had become even more dilapidated. Worn-out shop signs stood alongside the few new ones, while the number of people strolling through the street had dropped by more than half.

For the two of them, however, this was actually a good thing. On this street, the more people there were, the more dangerous it became.

They found a roadside bun shop, ordered two baskets of still-warm buns, and sat outside the entrance to eat.

Hong Lei smoked and exhaled a plume of bluish-gray smoke. Rather than disperse, it drifted slowly across the street toward a group of rickshaw pullers standing together and chatting.

Among them was an old acquaintance—the man with the bulging eyes who had once given them the map.

The years had not been kind. The once sturdy and well-built man had become sallow and gaunt. His shifty eyes darted about as he joked and horsed around with the other pullers, grinning obsequiously in hopes of cadging a cigarette.

“Second Scab, you’ve picked up another scar!”

Second Scab did not answer. He inhaled drunkenly from the cigarette he had just begged for.

When he failed to respond, the others shouted even louder.

“You must’ve stolen something again!”

A smile appeared on Second Scab’s waxen yellow face. With the shameless air of a man who had long since stopped caring what happened to him, he said, “That’s right, I stole something. So what?”

Another puller shouted, “I heard you abandoned your wife and children, took the money your family had saved to buy land, and gambled it away. After losing everything, you went to a brothel, had your legs broken, and were thrown out!”

“What kind of magic do those brothels possess, anyway, that you’d give up your whole family for one? You’ve had your cigarette. We’ll chip in and buy you a bottle of liquor too. Tell us all about it.”

Second Scab took the cigarette someone shoved into his hand and instantly broke into a broad grin. He blew out the smoke, then sent two rings curling through his nose. His voice grew louder as well.

“Once you’ve been to a brothel, you won’t go just once.”

“The pleasures inside are beyond anything you can imagine, and there’s nothing they can’t provide. When we’re pulling rickshaws, we’re beasts. But once we step into a brothel, we’re emperors!”

“These are bad times now. Have you fellows ever heard of Bai Xian’er, the former star of the Red Lantern House? Let me tell you—ten years ago, when she was still an ordinary prostitute, I paid one silver dollar to sleep with her! That body of hers… smooth as silk.”

His words drifted over on the breeze and reached the master and disciple, leaving both of them speechless.

Back then, it had clearly been Second Scab begging to pay her. How had the story somehow turned into him paying for a night with her?

Seeing the envious looks of the other pullers, Second Scab raised his voice another notch.

“That’s the way of this world. A woman only has to stick out her backside to earn what we sweat and toil for all month. Who knows what tricks that shameless creature used? She’s retired from the trade now, and she’s even bought herself a courtyard house at the head of town. Tell me, is this world fair?”

For a while, laughter, sighs, and curses rang out without end. Second Scab swayed his head smugly, enjoying himself more than he ever had inside a brothel.

Just as he was lost in his own wildest fantasies, the fragrance of rouge suddenly flooded his nostrils. He hurriedly looked up.

His gaze traveled from the graceful figure beneath the woman’s white robes, over her soft, fair skin, and finally to her exquisite face. His heart missed a beat.

“Master, are we leaving?”

Seeing his besotted expression, the woman covered her mouth and laughed softly.

Her crescent-shaped eyes made Second Scab’s heart pound even harder. If the fairy before him had ordered him to become a dog, he would probably have agreed without a second thought.

Even without rouge, and despite the wear of ten years, that face remained breathtakingly beautiful. Second Scab and the other rickshaw pullers gazed at the goddess-like woman and unconsciously held their breath.

From a distance, Wu Que watched the scene and found it faintly amusing. He wondered whether the pullers would vomit up last night’s gruel if they could see what truly lay beneath that woman’s beautiful skin.

“Are we going or not?” Hong Lei asked again when he saw Wu Que staring blankly.

Second Scab suddenly came to his senses.

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“Going, going! Of course we’re going.”

“Gentlemen, I’ll leave you to it. My regular customer has arrived!”

The rickshaw pullers hooted and jeered, raking the woman with lewd gazes and spouting vile jokes. Yet, with remarkable unanimity, they fell silent about their earlier conversation.

Amid their shoves and catcalls, Second Scab grinned as he dragged out his battered rickshaw. Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone on the street to hear, he shouted,

“Honored guests, take your seats! Off we go!”

He turned around with a lecherous smile and looked at the white-clad fairy seated in the back.

“Bai Xian’er, where are we headed?”

Hong Lei pointed toward the bun shop. “First, we’re picking someone up.”

Second Scab placed both hands on the shafts. A clear thread of saliva traitorously slipped from the corner of his mouth.

“I must be dreaming.”

He stood there in a daze as one Bai Xian’er helped another Bai Xian’er into the back of his rickshaw.

Wu Que and Hong Lei sat side by side. The carriage was reasonably spacious, but the overwhelming stench of feet mixed with cigarette smoke was truly unpleasant, making Wu Que wrinkle his nose.

“Yes, yes, Mother! Granny! Master! That’s exactly the expression!”

Seeing the look of disgust on her face, Second Scab felt as though strength had filled his entire body. He no longer had the slightest inclination to wonder how Bai Xian’er could split herself into two.

“Bai Xian’er, where are we headed this time?” Second Scab asked obsequiously.

“Back to my residence,” Hong Lei replied from behind him.

“Right away! Honored guests, we’re off!”

Having worked as a rickshaw puller in the town for several decades—and having often loitered near the new residence—Second Scab needed no directions.

He summoned every ounce of strength and pulled the rickshaw onward with all his might. Every so often, he deliberately rocked it from side to side, solely for the pleasure of hearing the two beauties behind him protest coquettishly.

“Master, is this crippled idiot like you? Why does he keep limping every time he pulls the rickshaw?” Wu Que whispered to Hong Lei, feeling sick from the jolting.

“Watch your filthy mouth! Even if I gave him both my legs, he still couldn’t outrun me.” Hong Lei glared, angrily stroking his completely bare chin.

The bulging-eyed man naturally had no idea what the two lovely women behind him were saying. Listening to their voices, sweet as orioles, only made him more feverish and restless. He felt as if he had endless strength, and before long he had reached a cornfield.

“Hey, Fairy! We’re here. Take a look and see whether this place suits you.”

Second Scab stopped the rickshaw and pointed toward the cornfield ahead.

“Perfect, perfect. Your pulling skills may be nothing special, but you certainly know the roads.”

Hong Lei stretched his aching lower back and gave the rickshaw puller a thumbs-up.

The master and disciple looked toward the residence ahead.

It stood atop the highest mountain peak, with no neighbors for miles around. Two enormous pits lay to the north, linked by a narrow ravine. Not a blade of grass grew around the house, lending the place an especially desolate air.

“A grassless, heirless ground; jade-blade winds on either shoulder. When the wind blows, the bones grow cold and the family line is severed. This is a house of the direst ill omen.”

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