Firmament Sword

”I’ve never trained. I’ve just always been strong since I was a kid. I often go into the mountains to gather herbs, and sometimes I get into scuffles with beasts like tigers,” Xu Luo answered with a simple, honest look.

”You can fight tigers?” Monkey’s eyes lit up, and he said with dawning realization, ”No wonder you’re so strong. Kid, you interested in joining the Black Wind Gang? Stick with me from now on. You’ll eat and drink well, and you’ll get to sleep with pretty women!”

”Someone like me can join the Black Wind Gang? But I heard everyone in the gang is an expert,” Xu Luo said, his eyes wide as he looked at Monkey with a naive expression.

”Experts, my ass! Would an expert let you nearly crush his wrist?” Although he knew Xu Luo didn’t have the guts to mock him intentionally, Monkey couldn’t help but take it personally. He glared at Xu Luo and said, ”Just tell me, are you in or not?”

’A guy this strong, who can fight tigers... if I teach him a few moves, I can train him into a powerful enforcer. When that happens, how could he forget the good I did for him? How could he not repay me?’ Monkey thought to himself.

”But… I already have a wife. She’s sick, and someone needs to be home to take care of her. If you don’t believe me, come and see…” As Xu Luo spoke, he reached to pull Monkey by the hand toward the west room.

Hiding in the bed in the west room, the young woman’s heart leaped into her throat. ’This guy has some serious nerve!’ she thought. ’He clearly wasn’t going to search, but you’re actually inviting him in? Are you trying to get us caught?’

Monkey instinctively snatched his hand back, looking at Xu Luo with lingering fear. ”Damn it, don’t touch me!” he cursed.

With that, Monkey glanced toward the west room and said with a frown, ”A sickly woman? What’s there to see? The whole room stinks of medicine. I hate that smell.”

”Monkey, hurry the fuck up!” At that moment, an urgent voice called from outside. ”It’s about to get dark! It’ll be even harder to search then, so stop dawdling!”

”Did you get an eye for his woman? This isn’t the time to be getting your rocks off, Monkey! The boss is about to blow his top!”

”Alright, alright, I’m coming!” Monkey yelled to those outside, then lowered his voice to Xu Luo. ”I’m busy today. I’ll come find you tomorrow. Stick with me, and you’ll eat and drink well. As for women…”

Monkey frowned and shot a disgusted look toward the medicine-scented room. ”You can find a woman anywhere. You’re a grown man, why waste your time waiting on some invalid all day? Alright, I’m leaving. Remember, tomorrow!”

Without a single thought of checking the east or west rooms, Monkey turned and left.

Xu Luo respectfully saw him to the main gate. Seeing this from a distance, a few of the men teased Monkey, ”Hey Monkey, don’t tell me you threatened the guy and then did his wife? HAHAHAHA, look at that kid, he even saw you out. Seems pretty happy to be a cuckold!”

”Piss off!” Monkey retorted with a cold sneer. ’Just wait till I get this guy into the gang and teach him a few moves,’ he thought. ’By then, you’ll all probably be calling him ’Boss’!’

Although Monkey’s own strength was nothing special, he had an excellent eye for talent. Just from the way Xu Luo had grabbed his wrist, he had determined that the man’s strength was absolutely terrifying.

Moreover, someone who could fight a tiger and come back alive was on a completely different level than low-ranking grunts like them in the Black Wind Gang.

As the group of Black Wind Gang members walked away, cursing and swearing, Xu Luo took one last deep look at the burly man in the lead. He sneered inwardly, then closed the door and returned to the house.

He saw that the young woman had already thrown off the covers and was leaning against the headboard, looking at him with a faint smile. ”I have to say, your acting is pretty impressive. You fooled him so completely he wants to recruit you. And listen to that offer… ’eat and drink well, and have your pick of pretty women’… Ptooey! How vulgar!”

”What’s that got to do with me?”

Xu Luo rolled his eyes, then said softly, ”For now, we’ve cleared the first hurdle. The next step is to see if we can escape this town. But I want to know, what in the world did you do to make the Black Wind Gang so furious?”

The young woman glanced at Xu Luo and said softly, ”I stole Du Ke’s sword.”

”What?” Xu Luo looked at her in disbelief. ”That’s it?”

”What do you know? Du Ke is a Great Sword Master! That sword was passed down to him when he was in his sect. Not only is the sword itself a Divine Weapon, but more importantly, it proves his identity as a disciple from a major sect!”

As she spoke, the young woman sneered. ”Du Ke has always placed great importance on his status as a disciple of a major sect. It’s precisely that status that has allowed him to hold the top position in the Black Wind Gang, and it’s what made the Black Wind Gang the top gang in Black Wind Town. Otherwise, do you really think everyone would be so loyal to him?”

”The information you gave me said that Du Ke is the one person in Black Wind Town you must not provoke, yet you went and did it anyway. Even if the sword is a Divine Weapon, what good does stealing it do you?”

”Hmph. I felt like it. Is it any of your business?” The young woman seemed to have regained some of her spirit and instantly became more imperious. She looked at Xu Luo and ordered, ”I’m hungry. Go get me something to eat.”

”What’s it to me if you’re hungry? Who do you think you are, some rich young lady? You’re just a dirty little beggar, you know?” Xu Luo sneered. ’You just finished mocking me, and now you expect me to get you food? Not a chance,’ he thought.

”Hey, why are you so stingy? You’re a man, aren’t you?” The young woman seemed to realize her slip of the tongue and quickly added, ”We’re both men here, don’t be so petty!”

”Alright, alright, you win. I guess no good deed goes unpunished…” Hearing her claim that ’we’re both men,’ Xu Luo had to suppress a laugh. He pulled out his large backpack and took out some still-warm cooked beef and flatbreads. He handed a flatbread to the young woman and placed the beef in front of her.

”I’m hungry too. Let’s eat,” Xu Luo said, picking up a flatbread, rolling some beef inside, and taking a large bite.

The young woman, however, just stared at him blankly, her eyes welling up with tears.

Xu Luo asked in confusion, ”What’s wrong? You don’t like this kind of food? Or… should I go out and buy you something else?”

”I like it.” As if all her strength had suddenly drained away, her voice became very soft. She reached out, picked up a flatbread, and began to eat delicately.

Although Xu Luo sensed something was off about her, he didn’t dwell on it. He continued eating as he said, ”You should rest here for a few days. Wait for your injuries to heal a bit before we try to leave. The Black Wind Gang is sure to have this whole town on lockdown for the next couple of days, and it’ll be very difficult for you to escape while you’re injured.”

”Okay, I’ll listen to you,” the young woman replied softly.

The young woman’s sudden docile manner was a bit unsettling for Xu Luo. After eating two flatbreads and most of the beef, he finally felt full.

He glanced at the young woman and frowned. ”I thought you were hungry. Why are you eating so slowly? You eat like a girl! Take bigger bites, eat more!”

”I know,” the young woman said, rolling her eyes, already somewhat numb to his comments.

Watching Xu Luo walk out the door, the young woman could no longer hold back her tears, and they began to stream down her face. After crying for a moment, she suddenly thought of something and let out a small laugh. A hint of sweetness touched her smile as she started taking large bites of the flatbread in her hand.

「The night passed peacefully.」

Perhaps because the area had already been searched, no one else came by.

Early the next morning, as Xu Luo was preparing to go out and buy some new clothes, the young woman came out of her room. Looking at him, she asked, ”Do I really look like a girl?”

”…” Xu Luo stared at her blankly and nodded, wondering what this quirky girl was planning now.

”Then… if I put on women’s clothing, you know, a man dressed as a woman, do you think it would be easier to escape?” she asked, her bright eyes darting back and forth.

”A m-man dressed as a woman?” Xu Luo’s mouth twitched as he looked at her.

”That’s right. You said I look like a girl, and I’m also very skilled with makeup. So, if I disguise myself as a girl, I should be pretty convincing, right?”

”I… suppose so,” Xu Luo replied, his mouth twitching even more severely.

”Okay, then go and buy a few sets of women’s clothes. I’ve never tried dressing up as a girl before. When the time comes, you’re not allowed to laugh at me.”

”Don’t worry, I promise I won’t laugh,” Xu Luo vowed with a perfectly straight face.

After that, Xu Luo left the house and headed straight for the best tailor shop in town.

While buying the clothes, he was praised by the shop’s proprietress, who said he really doted on his wife and that men like him were a rarity in Black Wind Town.

Xu Luo finally beat a hasty retreat under the proprietress’s flirtatious gazes. When he returned to the small courtyard, he tossed the clothes to the young woman and then changed into the new clothes he had bought for himself.

When the young woman emerged from the room after changing, Xu Luo, who was waiting outside, was completely dumbstruck.

The woman before him wore a long, floral-print dress that cinched at the waist. Her fine hair cascaded over her shoulders, her features were as delicate as a painting, and her skin was fair and smooth. Gone was any trace of the grimy young boy from before; in his place stood an absolute beauty!

”Struck dumb?” The young woman waved a hand in front of his face and chided him with a shy smile.

”You’re beautiful,” Xu Luo praised with genuine sincerity.

Although he had seen her stunningly beautiful leg when he was applying medicine the day before, seeing her now in her true form still took his breath away.

”Dummy!” she said, her face shy as her bright eyes gazed at him. ”Am I really beautiful?”

”Yes, truly,” Xu Luo nodded.

”Then… how about I marry you?” she asked, her face turning an even deeper shade of red.

”PFFT—COUGH, COUGH.”

Xu Luo, who had just taken a sip of water, sprayed it everywhere and nearly choked.

”But… you’re a man!” Xu Luo gasped for breath a few times before he recovered. He was bursting with laughter internally, but he put on a pained expression and said, ”Do you have some kind of… mental problem?”

”You…” The young woman gasped sharply. Rolling her eyes, she said through gritted teeth, ”I was just testing your reaction! It seems my disguise… hmph, hmph, was quite a success!”