The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 99 Red Sleeves

That night, after Wu Chengyu and Aku finished dinner, Aku was very satisfied with her performance that day. She stopped eating in silence and, unusually, remembered that her mouth had more than just the function of eating. She started chattering away, and her aura as the leader of Wujiapo grew stronger and stronger.

As Wu Chengyu listened, he casually agreed, but in his mind, he thought about the resentful look in Shi Tong's eyes when he left. This guy clearly hated him and A Ku. Such a person had no bottom line, and Wu Chengyu always had the idea of ​​getting rid of him as soon as possible.

After A-Ku finished cleaning up the dishes, Wu Chengyu greeted her, took a change of clothes, and turned to leave his own yard. But before he had gone a few steps, he saw Wu Zhengliang waiting for him by the roadside.

“I knew you couldn’t resist going to settle scores with Shi Tong, but we really can’t kill him now. The family and several families in Suzhou have already made arrangements. This guy is insignificant. The real battle is with Shi Miyuan in Hangzhou. But if you kill him now, you’ll ruin the family’s plans.”

"Fourth Uncle, I once told an elder that I practiced martial arts so that I wouldn't be bullied and that I could deal with people I didn't like at will."

"This Shi Tong will definitely resort to some underhanded tactics against us. Are we just going to keep taking hits like this until the battle in Hangzhou is decided?"

"Alright, go and find out what's going on. Shi Tong is cunning and ruthless, so it's good to be on guard. But you can deal with him, don't kill him for now."

After listening to Wu Zhengliang's words, Wu Chengyu pondered for a moment, then went back to the small courtyard and took out something he had secretly hidden for a long time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Even before nightfall, the city of Suzhou is still bustling with activity; its nights are always filled with extravagance and decadence.

Wu Chengyu used the Crane Shadow Flowing Light technique and arrived outside Gusu City in the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn. The city wall, several meters high, could not stop him. He used the Gecko Wall Climbing Technique to enter the Gusu City in a few moves.

When he left, Wu Zhengliang gave him an address, saving him the trouble of slowly investigating in Wujiang at night. Before long, Wu Chengyu found a courtyard. This place was in the east of Suzhou, a place where high-ranking officials and nobles lived.

According to Wu Zhengliang, this place was a residence given to Shi Tong by a Suzhou merchant who had sought refuge with the Shi family. The merchant not only gave him a courtyard but also two concubines. Wu Chengyu was quite envious of this, as the treacherous officials were indeed living a comfortable life, being given both a house and women.

The courtyard was quite large, about six or seven hundred square meters. It was already the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), and most of the servants in the courtyard had gone to sleep, with only a few rooms still lit by candlelight.

Wu Chengyu was dressed completely differently at this time, wearing night clothes and a mask. His figure was completely different from usual. After using the Bone Shrinking Technique, he looked like an ordinary person who was only a little over 1.7 meters tall. His frame was not so big, but he was still a burly person.

There were still a few guards in the courtyard. Wu Chengyu first constructed a three-dimensional model of part of the courtyard in his mind, then found an empty courtyard wall and climbed over it.

His footsteps were extremely light. Cats are the best assassins at night. After using the cat step, every step was so light that it was almost inaudible. Wu Chengyu made no attempt to conceal himself and walked forward with ease. With the three-dimensional map, he could avoid people nearby in advance and was completely free from the risk of being discovered.

A guy like Shi Tong would definitely not go to sleep this early, but Wu Chengyu seemed not to have heard Shi Tong's harsh and arrogant voice.

Following the light of a candlelit house, they bumped into an acquaintance. A scarred, burly man was lying on a couch, sighing and cursing. Wu Chengyu almost burst out laughing when he saw him. It was none other than Iron Palm Invincible, who had been slapped to the ground by A-Ku during the day.

This guy fell pretty hard; there's a smell of medicine being brewed in the room. He'll probably be bedridden for the next few days.

Yu Heihu was simply cursing Aku and the other members of the Wu family, then grumbling and complaining about Shi Tong. It was clear that he had embarrassed himself and been scolded by Shi Tong.

However, since he was cursing Ah Ku, Wu Chengyu, who had originally intended to turn and leave, stopped. He gently pushed open the half-closed window and climbed inside. After a while, Wu Chengyu jumped out of the window again and gracefully left. There was no more cursing in the room. Iron Palm Invincible showed no signs of injury, but his eyes were wide open, clearly indicating that he was not entirely willing to leave.

This guy's behavior and ruthlessness have taken many lives. Since in the martial arts world, it's either killing or being killed, Wu Chengyu has no qualms about killing him.

Wu Chengyu did not linger in the courtyard. He had just interrogated Shi Tong and learned that Shi Tong was not at home at all tonight. He had taken his bodyguards to Hongxiuzhao in Changlefang early in the morning.

Chang Le Fang is located in the west of Suzhou. It is full of theaters and brothels. At night, it is brightly lit, with the sounds of opera singing and the laughter and banter of men and women playing around.

Suzhou Pingtan is a traditional folk art form that truly took shape in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, but it already had its prototype in the Song dynasty. At that time, it could be heard everywhere in Changlefang. Although the idiom "Wu Nong Ruan Yu" (soft Wu dialect) did not yet exist, the gentleness of the Wu dialect added a touch of romance to this place of pleasure.

In the most bustling and noisy part of Chang Le Fang, there is a four-story building, which is also the most lively and noisy at this moment. Rows of red lanterns hang under the eaves, shadows move in the windows, and there is the cacophony of string and bamboo instruments. The aroma of wine and rouge wafts into Wu Chengyu's nose for no reason.

This tall building is called Hongxiuzhao, the number one brothel in Suzhou, an absolute den of iniquity. Wu Chengyu had heard of it before and had been itching to go there several times, but today was the first time he had the opportunity to see it for himself.

He could accept visiting a brothel after he turned twenty to learn about it. After all, men are curious, and which modern man hasn't longed for ancient brothels, with their talented men and beautiful women, and romantic figures, and how many stories of love and romance have been passed down over thousands of years?

However, Wu Chengyu couldn't accept that he was visiting brothels before he was sixteen years old, and he always felt that it was a bit strange. But tonight's situation was special, and Wu Chengyu had a good reason to convince himself.

This time, he changed into a brocade robe again, using the same bone-shrinking technique to alter his body shape. His face was also disguised, and he casually pulled out a folding fan from somewhere and swaggered to the door.

"Red Sleeves Pavilion" is a good name; it's definitely more suitable for a brothel name than names like "Lichun Courtyard" or "Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion."

'A feast with tortoiseshell decorations, wine, and attentive beauties; do not hesitate to offer golden goblets.'

'Red sleeves and flowers seem to be burning, silver lamps are similar to daytime.'

The phrase "red sleeves" evokes a sense of allure without being vulgar, sparking the imagination. And the word "recruit," when changed from a verb to a noun, immediately becomes incredibly vivid.

The name always reminded Wu Chengyu of several young women dressed in sheer gauze, standing gracefully on the balcony, smiling charmingly, their beautiful eyes sparkling, speaking in soft Wu dialect, calling out: "Come on, come on," waving handkerchiefs a few times, how many men could resist them.

Yes, there really are a few girls lounging on the second-floor terrace of Hongxiuzhao, waving handkerchiefs and calling out "Grandpa" in drawn-out, affectionate tones, though it's unclear who they're calling for.

Wu Chengyu felt his pockets and found some silver. Now that he was disguised, he no longer had the face of a young boy. Before he could take a step forward, a pair of hands grabbed his arms.

"Young master, please come in. The ladies have been waiting for you for a long time."

(End of this chapter)