Chapter 63: Watermelon

Geng Zhiwei proposed three conditions. First, the Yu Family Pharmacy would give him a 50% share. Second, Yu Nan would marry him as his sixth concubine. Third, Yu Nan would be publicly beaten.

Yu Nan's face turned pale.

Jia Quansheng, standing nearby, said, "I think my brother's three conditions are quite good, Boss Yu. It would be a great fortune for you to marry into the Geng family!"

Before Yu Nan could speak, the guards behind her couldn't hold back. "Geng Zhiwei, you bastard! May your ancestors be cursed for eight generations!"

Geng Zhiwei spat. "Whose dog are you? Do you have a say here? Shopkeeper Yu, I've stated my conditions. Do you accept or not?"

He wasn't there to negotiate; he was there specifically to provoke and humiliate.

Yu Nan stood up and said, "Young Master Geng, it seems this matter can't be resolved with words. Since you show no respect, let's schedule another time to settle this by force!"

This meant a fight was imminent.

"Bold! I like your boldness!" Geng Zhiwei chuckled. "We don't need to arrange another time; today is perfect. Let's fight now!"

Two guards behind Geng Zhiwei charged forward with knives. Yu Nan drew her gun and aimed directly at Geng Zhiwei.

Geng Zhiwei remained seated, sipping his tea, completely unafraid.

A guard stepped in front of Geng Zhiwei. Yu Nan pulled the trigger, firing a shot that struck the guard in the chest.

Blood gushed from the guard's chest. He swayed twice, then, raising his saber, continued to charge at Yu Nan.

What a powerful physique!

Was this a Body Cultivator?

Yu Nan quickly fired a second shot at the guard.

Click!

The revolver's hammer struck the base of the bullet, but it didn't fire.

A dud!

Yu Nan fired a third shot, but it was another dud.

Was she really this unlucky?

This had nothing to do with luck. In Puro Province, gunpowder was unreliable; the success rate of firearms was less than 30%, and duds were extremely common.

This was also why Li Banfeng had never used firearms.

In Puro Province, firearms were not the preferred weapon. Revolvers were somewhat acceptable, but self-loading pistols that relied on recoil would be troublesome if they misfired.

Yu Nan fired six shots in succession, completing a full rotation of the cylinder, but only two bullets fired.

Both of those bullets hit the guard, who continued to bleed but never fell. Instead, Yu Nan was slashed on the shoulder by the guard's saber.

He took two bullets and showed no reaction?

He hadn't blocked or dodged; he had been hit by the bullets and simply endured them!

This was beyond what normal physical strength could explain; this guard was clearly no ordinary person.

From Yu Nan's understanding, this person might be a third-level Body Cultivator.

But why would a third-level Body Cultivator serve as Geng Zhiwei's guard?

To Yu Nan's knowledge, Geng Zhiwei's highest-level guard was a second-level Body Cultivator.

And it wasn't just one guard who was this powerful; another guard was fighting two of Yu Nan's assistants.

The assistants had no weapons, so they fought the guard with chairs.

When a chair leg broke, an assistant stabbed it into the guard's body. The guard bled, but his combat effectiveness remained undiminished.

One assistant was stabbed through the chest by Geng Zhiwei's guard and fell to the ground.

The other assistant, fighting one against two, desperately struggled against the opposing guards.

"Shopkeeper, run! You must go!" the assistant shrieked, as the guard's saber had already pierced his stomach.

Shouts of battle also came from downstairs, where the Yu family's cloth shop assistants had begun fighting Geng family pharmacy members.

A man from the Geng family pharmacy, his head split open by an axe, was covered in blood but still managed to fight with a dagger.

His head was split open, and he could still fight?

Could it be that everyone Geng Zhiwei brought today was a third-level cultivator?

That's impossible...

Yu Nan took another saber cut to her leg, her eyes filled with panic.

***

Late at night, Yu Nan returned to Baixiang Village with her people.

Out of thirty-three assistants, eleven had died. Two bodies were brought back, while the remaining nine were left at Wangchun Tower, their fate at Geng Zhiwei's hands unknown.

Everyone, including Yu Nan, was injured, and their wounds were severe.

As for the Geng family, many of their people were also seriously injured, but Yu Nan hadn't seen anyone on their side fall before she retreated.

She had never dreamed that the Geng family's strength had reached such a level.

After tending to their wounds, Yu Nan ordered her subordinates to set up a memorial hall to first honor their fallen brothers.

Everyone kowtowed. Yu Nan then guarded the vigil alone. After burning two bundles of joss paper, Yu Nan sighed deeply and said, "My brothers, walk slowly on the path to the underworld. I'll be there soon."

Li Banfeng entered the memorial hall and burned some joss paper alongside Yu Nan.

Although he didn't know them, it was a gesture of respect for the deceased.

Yu Nan looked at the bodies in the memorial hall, then lowered her head, her expression desolate. "I thought Geng Zhiwei inviting me to a banquet would at least mean courtesy before conflict. I never expected him to lure me out just to immediately start a fight.

"I knew I couldn't contend with the Geng family in terms of strength, but I never imagined their power was this immense.

"Geng Zhiwei will likely come to Baixiang Village for me tomorrow. I can't escape this ordeal.

"Master Qi, please take Boss Qin and leave quickly. I can barely protect myself, so I certainly can't protect you."

Li Banfeng asked, "You knew you couldn't contend with the Geng family, yet you still insisted on openly attending this banquet?"

Yu Nan lowered her head and replied, "I had no choice. If he sent an invitation, I had to go. That's a rule of the Jianghu."

Li Banfeng asked, "Is Geng Zhiwei someone who follows rules?"

"No," Yu Nan replied in a small voice.

"Then what good is your rule?"

After a long silence, Yu Nan raised her voice, "If I hadn't gone, my brothers and I would never have been able to hold our heads up again!"

Li Banfeng looked up at the two bodies in the memorial hall and asked, "Can they hold their heads up now?"

Yu Nan lowered her head and remained silent.

Li Banfeng asked again, "Tomorrow, if Geng Zhiwei kills you, will you be able to hold your head up?"

Yu Nan couldn't answer.

Li Banfeng asked one more time, "Tell me, what good is your rule?"

Yu Nan was speechless.

She didn't want to mention Jianghu rules anymore.

After struggling in the Jianghu for so many years, she had always considered herself a person of the Jianghu.

But encountering Geng Zhiwei this time made Yu Nan feel as if she understood nothing about the Jianghu at all.

After a long silence, Yu Nan sighed deeply. "Master Qi, perhaps I was wrong, but now is not the time to dwell on right or wrong.

"Geng Zhiwei won't spare me, and he certainly won't spare you. He'll find you sooner or later. I just want to warn you, Master Qi, leave quickly."

She was right about that. If Geng Zhiwei had his way and continued his rampage, he would eventually find Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng wouldn't be difficult to find; Geng could just capture some of Yu Nan's surviving subordinates, torture them, and they would reveal his whereabouts.

As they spoke, a young woman, tears welling in her eyes, entered the memorial hall. She held a pointed knife in her hand. "Shopkeeper, this knife belonged to Old Eight. I want to keep it as a memento."

This woman was Wang Xuejiao, Old Eight's elder sister.

Old Eight had died, and his body hadn't even been brought back.

Yu Nan nodded. "Keep it."

Li Banfeng looked at the knife. It had reddish spots, seemingly bloodstains, and Li Banfeng detected a peculiar pungent odor.

"Young lady, may I see the knife?"

Wang Xuejiao handed the knife to Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng sniffed it carefully. "Is this a watermelon knife?"

"Nonsense!" Wang Xuejiao exclaimed, agitated. "This is Old Eight's knife! He's carried it ever since he started working for the shopkeeper. It's covered in the blood of those bastards from the Geng family!"

Li Banfeng examined the reddish spots on the knife. "This isn't blood; it's watermelon juice. This knife must have been used to cut watermelons all day!"

Watermelon?

Yu Nan was stunned. Wang Xuejiao swore at Li Banfeng. "What the hell are you? How dare you insult my brother!"

Li Banfeng looked at the young woman without offering any explanation.

Yu Nan had someone persuade Wang Xuejiao to leave, then picked up the knife herself and sniffed it.

There was indeed a pungent smell, but Yu Nan couldn't distinguish whether it was blood or watermelon juice.

Li Banfeng said to Yu Nan, "Bring a few more weapons. We'll examine them one by one and know for sure."

Soon after, the assistants brought over more than ten weapons. Li Banfeng sniffed each one, confirming his judgment. "This is watermelon juice. Although there's a bloody scent, it can't mask the sweetness of the watermelon."

Yu Nan didn't believe him. "I can't smell it."

Li Banfeng picked up an axe from among the weapons and peeled off a tiny fragment from a rust spot on its head.

Anyone else would have considered this a rust flake, or perhaps a fragment of flesh from a Geng family member.

But only Li Banfeng could distinguish it by its scent.

It was neither of those.

Li Banfeng cleaned the fragment, then broke it open. It had a black outer shell and a white core. "Look closely," he said, "This is a watermelon seed."

Yu Nan examined it carefully for a moment, her pupils rapidly constricting.

This time, she saw it clearly. It truly was a watermelon seed.

***PS: Dear readers, while some Daoist sects face difficulties, it doesn't mean they aren't powerful. Please leave comments and vote for Salar.