Midnight, third watch.
Bai Pu, having disguised simply at the Four Rivers Gang, changed into a scholarâs attire and arrived before a brightly lit building.
Lascivious sounds of men and women joking drifted to his ears.
Bai Pu felt a bit helpless, not expecting to circle back here again.
He composed himself and stepped into the brothel.
The madam, upon seeing Bai Pu, first had her eyes light up, then dimmed them, directing a turtle slave to greet the guest.
Scholars have the ability to observe facial expressions and read moods, and madams naturally have the keen eye to judge whether a visitor is wealthy.
The scholar before her had a sallow complexion, sickly (Bai Pu was in disguise), his steps light and weak, surely his pockets were bare!
Such poor scholars, however, are the heartâs desire of many inexperienced courtesans, one must be careful not to end up paying money along with losing the girl!
The turtle slave grinned falsely: "This gentleman seems unfamiliar, is it your first time at our Spring Breeze Tower? Do you have a favorite?"
"Call your top lady, the one named Ruyan, to drink with me," said Bai Pu.
"Oh, the gentleman has heard of Miss Ruyan? Sadly, quite coincidentally, Ruyan is serving Master Bao San of the Red Lotus Society. How about a substitution?"
"Nonsense!"
Bai Puâs face hardened: "What Master Bao San, crawled out from whose pants, dares to snatch a woman from me? Get him out here!"
Brothels thrive on cordiality and prosperity, the turtle slave and the madam heard Bai Puâs provocatively loud words, and their faces changed in fear, pleading jointly.
"Which little brat dares to bare teeth at the Red Lotus Society!" Two burly men upstairs, strong and muscular, ran down, the man in the lead reaching for Bai Pu with a palm as large as a fan!
This grab was solidly made. The lead man exerted effort, attempting to toss Bai Pu out, yet felt weighty resistance, Bai Pu remained unmoved!
Bai Puâs eyes flashed slightly, his right hand produced a Bone Hammer, smashing down! Squarely striking the big manâs crown.
The man trembled, ears buzzing, and was seized by Bai Pu and thrown out of the brothel.
The second man swung a fist, striking Bai Puâs side. He intended to send Bai Pu spinning away, but Bai Pu took the punch unswervingly, merely turning his face slightly!
Then, a Bone Hammer strike, from below, up to the vital point!
Bang!
A dull thud sounded, the second strong manâs eyes bulged instantly, clutching his groin and slowly sinking, incapacitated for the moment.
Bai Pu laughed heartily, addressing the whiskered middle-aged man on the second-floor railing, who looked panic-stricken: "Bao San, should I come up to find you, or are you coming down to me?"
Bao San had already sensed trouble and turned to flee.
Bai Pu slightly powered up, a blood-red light flashed on his legs, sending him leaping three to four meters high, straight to the second floor! [Jump Slash] skill activated, not yet landed, he swung a hammer toward Bao Sanâs back.
Unexpectedly, Bao Sanâs panicked face suddenly took on a sinister hue! He turned back with an elbow, both hands thrusting out, a shiny long saber whistling horizontally in slashes!
Slash!
Bao San slashed at Bai Puâs waist.
Bao Sanâs face, initially confident in success, suddenly froze. He found that his saber, capable of severing countless heads, seemed to have embedded into rawhide, unable to penetrate Bai Puâs waist and abdomen!
Slippery sensation transmitted, the slash ultimately skidded away, leaving only a long and shallow blood trace on Bai Puâs waist!
Bai Puâs body surface diffused a scaly layer. It turned out he had activated [Scaly Skin] in that instant!
Risking taking this slash, Bai Pu seized an excellent opportunity, striking Bao Sanâs Adamâs apple with a hammer.
Bao Sanâs face instantly turned blue and purple, clutching his throat, unable to utter complete syllables with "ha, ha" sounds!
This was the normal reaction of being struck at the throat; if Bai Puâs Power and Agility values were a few points higher, this hammer could have shattered Bao Sanâs Adamâs apple, taking his life.
Bao San, after all, being a high-ranking member of the Red Lotus Society, let out a muffled roar, swinging another saber, which instantly transformed into three, striking out three slashes!
Bai Pu merely shifted his body slightly, avoiding vital points, with Scaly Skin enduring these three slashes! Blood flowed profusely, yet Bai Puâs expression remained unchanged!
A piercing blood light suddenly rose from his body surface, forming a slightly quivering blood-tinged shield.
[Unstable Shield]!
Bao San felt a profound threat from that blood-tinged shield... if the fight continued, he would surely die!
Bao San turned to flee, rushing inside the room!
He tugged the panic-stricken top lady Ruyan over, shoving her toward Bai Pu while charging toward the window, attempting a graceful dive from the second-floor window!
A whistling sound emerged, a Bone Hammer spiraled out in the air, tracing a powerful arc, hitting Bao San squarely! The leap was abruptly interrupted, and he fell to the ground in disarray.
[Helical Throw]!
Bai Pu grabbed Ruyanâs soft arm without the slightest pity, pulling her along!
Ruyan screamed, flew over the second-floor railing, and tumbled toward the first-floor hall.
However, this saved her life as well.
Bai Pu caught the returning Bone Hammer, quickly closing in on Bao San! He reached out, grabbing Bao Sanâs arm with a cold smile, triggering a skillâ
Unstable Shield, second stage, explode!
Bang!
A muffled blast echoed, the whole room seemed to have detonated a grenade, bedboards, dressing table, red candles, wine cups... shot in all directions!
[Your Combat Skills: Unstable Shield caused 40 points of shock damage to Bao San.]
[Bao San is in a stunned state, Movement Speed reduced by 35% (15% resisted).]
Bao San spewed blood from the mouth, blood seeped from his ears, evidently his internal organs were injured.
And this was because Bai Pu was a full 3 levels lower than Bao San, with level suppression causing terrifying 30% damage reduction and control effect resistance!
Unstable Shield, when the shield explodes at full power, can inflict terrifying high damage in a single hit, truly deserving its rare skill status!
Bai Pu swung the Gleaming Bone Hammer, smashing it mercilessly onto Bao San.
The room splattered with red and white brain matter, chaotic like Hell itself!
[You killed the third leader of the Red Lotus Society in Chaisang City: Bao San.]
[Your Reputation in Wu County Lu Clan +240.]
Receiving the notification, Bai Pu swiftly grabbed the Blue Treasure Chest dropped by Bao San, leapt out of the window, and walked away gracefully.
Going from Level 2 Reverse Slash to Level 5 looked easy, but actually, if it werenât for [Scaly Skin] mitigating sharp damage, Bao Sanâs first slash couldâve gutted Bai Pu, completely overturning the subsequent battle.
Killing Bao San quickly was because Bai Pu faced attacks head-on without dodging, taking them all, only by doing this could he seize the initiative, avoiding the disadvantage in Combat Specialization.
Walking to the riverbank, Bai Pu opened the Treasure Chest, opting to draw cards.
Bao Sanâs Treasure Chest unexpectedly held 40 Spoils Cards! Bai Puâs scalp tingled, how many garbage items filled the count?
Fortunately, Bai Pu had two card-drawing chances, and Spirit Realm Will sent a new notification:
[Based on the evaluation of your present battle, youâve gained a privilege: Exclude (10) lowest-valued Spoils Cards. Execute?]
It seems a low-level defeating a high-level, triumphing over strength, enhances the probability of drawing good items.
Bai Pu chose to execute, immediately 10 Spoils Cards vanished first.
Among the remaining 30 cards, Bai Pu drew twice consecutively, the first draw yielding miscellaneous items: a red silk rope, seemingly some bedroom novelty, useless for combat, sold to Spirit Realm Will for dozens of Spiritual Points.
Bai Pu was speechless for a while, knowing 10 lower-valued garbage cards were already excluded first! Really canât imagine what those 10 cards were.
On the second draw, however, Bai Pu was elated, he actually drew that shiny long saber!
[Sharp Long Saber (Sealed)]
[Quality: Elite (Blue)]
[Equipment Position: Two Hands]
[Equipment Requirement: Basic Power 8, Basic Agility 8]
[Attributes: Attack Power 5~12]
[Additional Skills: Gale: Slashes forward three times consecutively, each hit causing 60% full damage, Cooldown Time 120 minutes. Using this skill consumes (1) Durability point additionally.]
[Durability: 25/30]
[Explanation: Baqiu Artisanâs Saber, blade cold as bone.]