8: Chapter 8 Listening to Music in the Brothel

The water in the bathtub gradually turned cold.

Liu Ruyan's hands paused on Chen Fan's shoulders, forgetting to move, her body trembling slightly.

"Young... Young Master..."

Chen Fan opened his eyes and stood up from the water. Droplets slid down his body, which was not muscular but well-proportioned.

He did not look at the steward kneeling on the floor, nor did he pay any attention to Liu Ruyan, who was pale with fright.

Take my dog's life?

Rid the people of a scourge?

These eight words echoed in his mind, and he could only find them absurd.

Oh, he was Zhao Long now, so that made sense.

These bandits actually have quite the ideals.

"Understood."

Chen Fan took the large bath towel from Liu Ruyan's hands, wiped his body nonchalantly, and then threw on his outer robe.

His movements were unhurried, as if what the steward had just said wasn't that someone wanted to kill him, but rather that dinner was ready.

Both the steward and Liu Ruyan were stunned.

This... was this his reaction?

"Young Master! Those bandits are extremely ferocious! I heard they are all desperate outlaws!" The steward was so anxious he was about to kowtow.

"Oh." Chen Fan fastened his belt. "And so what?"

He turned and walked towards the outside of the room.

Being a bandit didn't seem so bad.

Why bother caring? If he were really killed by bandits, it wouldn't matter to him; it would just mean changing identities and starting another life.

...

In Magistrate Zhao De's study, the atmosphere was so oppressive it could wring out water.

This Qinghe County Magistrate paced back and forth in the study, his face, which bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Zhao Long, full of agitation and anger.

"Rebellious son! You rebellious son!"

As soon as Chen Fan stepped through the door, Magistrate Zhao De's roar came head-on.

He grabbed a fine blue-and-white porcelain vase and smashed it fiercely at Chen Fan's feet.

"Clang!"

Porcelain shards flew everywhere.

Chen Fan stopped in his tracks, not dodging.

"Look at the good deed you've done! Now look, they've come to our doorstep! They want your life!" Magistrate Zhao De pointed at his nose, his hand trembling.

That was genuine anger, and also genuine fear.

He only had this one son.

"They are just a group of mountain bandits, Father, why be so angry?" Chen Fan's reply was calm and waveless.

This attitude only added fuel to the fire.

"Mountain bandits? What do you know!" Magistrate Zhao De's chest heaved violently with rage. "That group from Black Wind Mountain, their leader is called 'Black Wind Demon'. He used to be a squad leader in the official army before committing a crime and becoming an outlaw! He has real skills! Do you think that bunch of good-for-nothings at the county office can handle them?"

"You are holding a knife to your own throat!"

The more Magistrate Zhao De spoke, the more afraid he became. He rushed up to Chen Fan and gripped his shoulders tightly.

"I don't care! From today on, you are not allowed to step half a step outside the county! Don't you dare leave the mansion gates!"

"I have already sent men to the County Lieutenant to have him mobilize all the county soldiers to prepare for a sweep of Black Wind Mountain!"

"Before that, you stay put and behave! Do you hear me!"

Chen Fan looked at the face of this "father" of his, twisted by fear and anger, and nodded obediently.

"Your son will listen to you, Father."

Anyway, he hadn't planned on going out to begin with.

Watching his son's obedient demeanor, Magistrate Zhao De felt like he had punched a pile of cotton; his overflowing rage had nowhere to vent, eventually turning into a weary sigh.

"Get out! Go back to your courtyard! Don't let me see you!"

Chen Fan bowed, turned, and walked away, crisp and decisive.

In the following days, the atmosphere in all of Qinghe County became tense.

Inspections at the city gates became several times stricter.

The county soldiers, fully armored, increased their daily patrols throughout the city.

In the streets and alleys, the common folk discussed it endlessly, all saying that the bandits from Black Wind Mountain were coming to kill Young Master Zhao.

Some gloated, while others were terrified.

Yet Chen Fan, at the center of the storm, was living an unprecedentedly comfortable life.

His father wouldn't let him leave, which suited him just fine.

Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

The largest restaurant in Qinghe County, in a private room on the third floor, was filled with sumptuous food and wine.

Chen Fan sat in the main seat, lazily raising his wine cup.

A group of his fair-weather friends sat around him, each with a worried face, having no appetite for eating or drinking.

"Young Master Zhao, what are we going to do? That Black Wind Demon is a ruthless Devil Head who kills without blinking!" A fat man said, full of worry.

"That's right, Young Master Zhao, why don't you... go outside and hide?"

"Hide?" Chen Fan laughed and drank the wine in his cup. "My father is the Magistrate, and I am his son. If I hide, where does that leave my father's face? Where does that leave the face of the entire Zhao family?"

He slammed the wine cup heavily on the table.

"What is there to be afraid of! If the sky falls, my father will hold it up!"

"Come, drink!"

The group looked at his heroic display, glancing at each other.

Young Master Zhao... seemed different from before.

If he had encountered this in the past, he probably would have been scared to the point of wetting his pants.

Now, how was he acting like it was nothing?

The crowd was infected by his mood and gradually relaxed; the private room was once again filled with the clamor of clinking cups.

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, watching these people, his heart completely calm.

At night, he returned to Tingtao Pavilion.

Chen Fan did not go to Liu Ruyan or Su Qingyu's room, but instead pushed open the door to his legal wife, Lin Waner's room.

Lin Waner was sitting under the lamp reading, and seeing him enter, she only lifted her eyelids, too lazy to even move her body.

A month later, she was still that cold, icy self.

"I heard you are going to die."

She spoke, her words devoid of any worry, instead carrying a hint of satisfaction.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I won't be dying for now." Chen Fan walked up to her and snatched the book from her hands.

"You..." Lin Waner frowned.

"It's all over the outside world, aren't you worried that your husband, me, will have his head chopped off by bandits?" Chen Fan leaned down, bringing his face close to hers.

Lin Waner turned her head away, avoiding his breath.

"That is your retribution."

"Retribution?" Chen Fan laughed. He pinched her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Even if there is retribution, it will have to wait until I am done playing."

He scooped Lin Waner up by the waist and walked towards the bed.

"Let me go! Zhao Long, you beast!"

"Shh." Chen Fan threw her onto the bed. "Keep it down, outside are all the guards my father sent to protect me."

"If you shout too loudly and they hear you, how embarrassing that would be."

Lin Waner's struggle stopped abruptly.

Her body stiffened, and only tears slid silently from the corners of her eyes.

Chen Fan leaned down.

Outside the window, the moonlight was like water.

On the city walls, torches were bright, and the county soldiers watched the darkness in the distance nervously.

And inside the bedroom of the Zhao mansion, only suppressed gasps remained.

The next day, Chen Fan went to the brothel in the south of the city again.

He booked the best venue, listening to the most popular girl sing seductive tunes, waving a folding fan in his hand, looking every bit the dashing Young Master.

The madam accompanied him on the side, smiling until the wrinkles on her face blossomed.

"Young Master Zhao, you haven't been here for a long time."

"Busy lately." Chen Fan replied casually.

He was quite busy.

Busy enjoying life.

A songstress wearing a water-green dress, holding a pipa, sat in front of the stage, her slender fingers plucking the strings.

She was singing a song, "Lin Jiang Xian".

"The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, its waves washing away all heroes. Success and failure turn to emptiness in the blink of an eye..."

The singing was melodious, carrying a hint of desolation.

Chen Fan listened, actually becoming a bit entranced.

Yes, success and failure turn to emptiness in the blink of an eye.

In his previous life, he strived and schemed, but didn't it all turn to emptiness in the end?

In this life, being a prodigal, experiencing life, and being able to change identities and start over after death...

This was true freedom.

He picked up his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.