Chapter 57: Extreme Obsession with Cleanliness

The main doors of Intoxication Pavilion were wide open. The guests were cleared out. The courtesans all hid themselves. The servants and maids were not qualified to receive the guest.

The sun had just risen, casting shadows from outside into the main hall. The man at the front was tall and muscular. Liu Liwa peeked through the door crack. This man appeared to be in his thirties. He wore a purple brocade robe and walked with powerful, confident strides. He had a square nose, a wide mouth, and a square-shaped face. A long scar stretched diagonally from his forehead, at least half a foot long, crossing his left eye all the way to his temple. It looked like a centipede crawling on his face, fierce and terrifying.

Yang Xiaosi trembled beside Liu Liwa, instinctively covering his bottom. He still feared the cane punishment from years ago. Clearly, this was the moody Wen Jun, Supervisor Wen, who had once served as the Emperor’s guard, survived battles against all odds, and now commanded heavy troops.

The man strode inside. No one stood within one meter of him. He emitted a stern, murderous aura, giving off an unfriendly, keep-away vibe.

Liu Liwa’s heart jumped into his throat. He gripped the wooden door nervously. This man was not old and was a vigorous soldier. It would be strange if he did not fall for the breathtakingly beautiful Qin Wan’er. It’s over, it’s over. It seems I can only learn from Wu Da and prepare for a life-or-de-death fight. Better that than a cowardly death.

Liu Liwa kept psyching himself up. His courage was rising. His inner universe was burning. Just then, he saw Wen Jun suddenly reach into his chest. Liu Liwa was shocked. Did he detect the killing intent from me? Does he want to pull out a weapon and fight me? But that can’t be. Judging by the scar on his face, it was caused by an ordinary blade. He probably hasn’t reached the stage of transcending the mundane to access higher perception or cultivate spiritual awareness. So how did he discover me?

Liu Liwa started to overthink. However, what Wen Jun pulled out from his chest still surprised him greatly. It was actually a white silk handkerchief. This big, tough man pinched it with delicate, effeminate fingers, using two fingers to hold the handkerchief, frowning as he covered his mouth and nose. His other hand kept swatting impatiently in front of him. It was cold, with no flies or mosquitoes. What was he swatting at?

Liu Liwa looked closely. It turned out that right at that moment, the sun had just risen. Intense light shone through the doors and windows into the room. The sunlight clearly illuminated the floating dust particles in the air. People would instinctively think the dust was dirty and worry about breathing it in. But usually, only children had such reactions. Adults knew that even without sunlight, dust particles existed; they just couldn’t be seen by the naked eye. Besides, most dust would be caught by nose hairs, rarely inhaled into the body.

Even though people of this era had not studied biology or chemistry, no one would cover their nose with a handkerchief every time they encountered a lighted place, right? Especially not a rough and bold military general.

Yang Xiaosi had said he was moody. Many years ago, he had chopped off a foreman’s hands for no clear reason and had all the male staff caned. Today, it seemed his reputation was well-deserved. And what happened next surprised Liu Liwa even more.

Wen Jun had just taken one step inside the door when he immediately stopped. Two soldiers in armor came out from behind him, standing to his left and right. Each held a bronze mirror, which gleamed under the sunlight. They instantly focused the light, turning the mirror surfaces to refract the sunlight onto the floor. The polished, glossy blue brick floor became even brighter. Wen Jun stood calmly behind the light, even his scarred eye wide open, carefully examining the blue bricks under his feet leading forward.

Liu Liwa was puzzled. What kind of physics experiment was this? The two soldiers held bronze mirrors, refracting light onto the blue bricks, like holding two flashlights. Wen Jun stopped after every step, waiting for the mirror light to move to the next brick. After three steps, he stopped, his face filled with anger. The change in his expression immediately made Wu Liniang on the stairs and Shen Zuijin behind him nervous. They followed his gaze to the fourth blue brick. Under the strong light, a clear shoe print was visible on that fourth brick!

That was where Liu Liwa had just stood. Throughout the cleaning process, he hadn’t taken off his shoes, so his shoe print was left on the newly wiped, still damp and slippery blue brick. But what did it matter?

Soon, Liu Liwa found out what it mattered. Shen Zuijin immediately rushed over, neatly spread her own white silk handkerchief over the blue brick with the shoe print, then stood aside anxiously, not daring to stand in the same line as Wen Jun.

Seeing the spotlessly white silk handkerchief, Wen Jun finally retracted his anger. He slowly stepped forward, treading on the handkerchief, and continued walking. He stopped after each step. The soldiers holding the bronze mirrors on both sides moved ahead of him like mine detectors, checking the path first.

Liu Liwa, covered in cold sweat, finally understood. The dust in the sunlight, the shoe print on the blue brick… Wen Jun was not some moody monster. He had a severe, possibly world-record-level obsession with cleanliness—an almost terrifying cleanliness obsession!

To confirm his suspicion, Liu Liwa intentionally asked Yang Xiaosi beside him, “Brother Yang, think carefully. How did that poor fellow who had his hands chopped off serve Supervisor Wen that day?”

Yang Xiaosi was briefly puzzled by the question but thought back carefully. “I remember it was deep winter. The Madam instructed us to warm Supervisor Wen up. That fellow went to the kitchen to bring a bowl of ginger soup.”

“Carrying the bowl?” Liu Liwa smiled. There happened to be bowls the courtesans used for meals nearby. He casually picked up a bowl, holding it with both hands. He held the bottom of the bowl with his palms, only his thumbs hooking over the rim. Yang Xiaosi understood his meaning at a glance, thought hard for a moment, and nodded. “Yes, just like that. What’s wrong with it?”

Wrong? Very wrong! In the food and beverage industry, serving dishes is even more critical for hygiene than cooking in the kitchen. After all, the kitchen is off-limits to outsiders; out of sight, out of mind. But serving is different—it’s directly facing the customers. If you carry a bowl of soup with both thumbs dipped into the soup, are you trying to wash your hands, or is the soup undersalted so you’re using sweat from your hands to make do? That kind of person deserved to have his hands chopped off!

This time, Liu Liwa was entirely convinced. This Wen Jun’s cleanliness obsession had reached a perverted level. And he was a powerful man with heavy troops and real authority—he could definitely work part-time as a hygiene inspector!

In the main hall, the two soldiers finished their “mine-sweeping.” Wen Jun finally made his way step by cautious step to stand before Wu Liniang. But he still stopped one meter away. Seeing the stunningly beautiful Qin Wan’er didn’t change his expression much; it was as if she too was something dirty not to be approached. Qin Wan’er naturally did not try to get close to him either. Wu Liniang had already told her about Wen Jun’s quirks; it was better to wait for him to make the first request. They simply exchanged formal greetings. Just then, Shen Zuijin, who had just eaten her fill and had been busy bowing and nodding nervously, suddenly let out a burp…

Wen Jun immediately widened his eyes, covered his mouth and nose, and unleashed a fierce, murderous aura. Shen Zuijin, terrified and panicked, scurried away under Wu Liniang’s signal. Having seen all this clearly, Liu Liwa thought of a good way to save Qin Wan’er!