Chapter 191: Duel Tomorrow
Chapter 191: Duel Tomorrow
The Shaanbei Diaoqu performance ended, and the audience dispersed.
The noisy, bustling crowd began to retreat.
Xing Honglang spent her days busy with running trade and rarely had time to sit and watch a play; this show made her quite happy, and she also threw a small ingot of silver onto the stage along with the crowd.
After it was over, she still felt somewhat unsatisfied.
She stood up to leave only to remember that Gao Chuwu was still sitting beside her; the two had actually sat shoulder-to-shoulder and watched an entire play together, making it seem like they were doing something…
Xing Honglang suddenly got angry: “I wasn’t agreeing to that!”
Gao Chuwu asked: “What didn’t you agree to?”
Xing Honglang snorted: “Hmph!”
After humming, she suddenly remembered something and unslung the thick-bladed large knife from her back: “This knife feels suitable for you, so I’m giving it to you.”
“Oh?”
Gao Chuwu was overjoyed.
Xing Honglang raged again: “What are you happily imagining? This knife doesn’t mean what you’re thinking.”
Gao Chuwu questioned: “Huh? What was I thinking about?”
Xing Honglang remained silent…
Embarrassment, an eerie embarrassment.
Several seconds later, Xing Honglang realized there was no need to be embarrassed at all; that simpleton hadn’t misunderstood anything and didn’t even notice her embarrassment, so there was no reason for it. She snorted and said: “This knife is a thank-you gift for helping me last time; there’s absolutely no other meaning to it, understand?”
Gao Chuwu grinned: “Understood! But I can’t take it.”
Xing Honglang’s anger instantly peaked: “Why won’t you take my gift?”
Gao Chuwu explained: “When I gave you chocolate, you refused it, so now when you give me this big knife, I can’t accept it either.”
Xing Honglang cracked her knuckles: “Duel tomorrow; if I win, you take this knife, and if I lose, you pay for it.”
Gao Chuwu was startled: “Aren’t you still injured?”
Xing Honglang retorted: “My injury healed long ago; tomorrow is a fair duel.”
Gao Chuwu agreed: “Alright!”
While those two were happily stirring up trouble over there, on the other side, Gao Yiye finished watching the play and was about to return to drawing her comic book when she suddenly heard the Deity’s call: “Yiye!”
Gao Yiye swiftly looked up: “Deity, what do you command?”
Li Daoxuan instructed: “Follow the dispersing crowd; out on the street, two newcomers are lost and helpless, so find them and chat.”
Gao Yiye grinned: “Got it, I’ll go right away.”
She bounced and skipped through the scattering crowd.
Thirty-Two’s daughter was twelve years old and tagged along behind Gao Yiye like a shadow, skipping and running too; in the blink of an eye, the two girls reached the two craftsmen’s spot.
At that moment, Xu Dafu and the lamp maker were pitifully looking around, trying to find Xing Honglang in the crowd to ask her what to do next; little did they know Xing Honglang was ahead challenging Gao Chuwu to a duel and had no intention of coming back.
As the two felt utterly lost, they saw two girls—one bigger in front, one smaller behind—beaming as they ran up to the pair.
A girl with dark circles under her eyes, looking like she had stayed up several nights, said, “Found you.”
The two artisans pointed at their own noses and asked, “Miss, are you looking for us?”
Gao Yiye let out a big yawn and replied, “Yes, looking for you.”
The two artisans looked at her curiously. They started by examining her clothes; though not luxurious, they were cotton garments, far better than the burlap clothing worn by the poor. Her outfit was also clean and not muddy, showing that this girl didn’t need to do hard physical work.
At the very least, she must be from a wealthy family.
The two didn’t dare be insolent, so they quickly bowed to Gao Yiye and asked, “Miss, what do you advise?”
Gao Yiye rubbed her dark circles and asked, “Is there a lamp maker among you?”
The lamp maker said in surprise, “This lowly one is the lamp maker. How did you… know?”
Gao Yiye answered, “Of course, the Deity told me.”
The two artisans each thought to themselves: The Deity? That must be the same Deity who had just awarded the “Special Prize” to the three mortar makers. He seemed like a very, very, very wealthy lord. If he took notice of someone, they could become rich instantly.
Thinking of this, the lamp maker suddenly got joyful—I’ve been singled out, hahaha, I’ve been singled out! He hurriedly put on an ingratiating look and said, “Miss, what does the Deity command?”
Gao Yiye pointed at the Gaojia Business Circle and said, “You’ve seen how this street looks now, right? It is pitch black everywhere, without any nice lamps. The Deity needs a lot of lamps to light up this whole area.”
The lamp maker perked up: So that was it, hehehe.
Gao Yiye tilted her ear to listen to the sound from above, then smiled and declared, “The Deity said, room and board included, three taels of silver per month, to make lamps for Gaojia Village. Are you willing?”
Three taels of silver!
When the lamp maker heard that wage, he almost knelt and kowtowed on the spot. He was just a simple lamp maker, handling bamboo and paper in a meager trade. Before, he had barely enough to eat and wore tattered clothes; when had he ever seen such a huge sum as three taels of silver?
Upon hearing the figure, he could scarcely believe his ears.
He dug hard inside his ear, pulling out a big chunk of earwax. Feeling his hearing clearer, he asked again, “Three taels? Truly three taels?”
Gao Yiye laughed and said, “How could I fool you? The artisans in our Gaojia Village have always earned decent pay. If you accept, go to Thirty-Two to check in.”
“Is Thirty-Two… the one who handed out the prize on the fortress wall earlier?”
“Yes!”
The lamp maker cheered and sprinted toward the main fortress, completely forgetting Xu Dafu.
Now, Xu Dafu felt embarrassed.
He didn’t know whether to chase after the lamp maker or stay put to find Xing Honglang; he felt truly stuck.
Li Daoxuan, seeing this man’s perplexed and helpless look, was slightly intrigued and said, “Yiye, ask him what he does.”
Gao Yiye relayed the question exactly.
When he was asked about his occupation, Xu Dafu grew a bit uneasy. He was a permanent worker, and in the gunpowder makers’ branch, which the court strictly monitored. After the big explosion in the capital—those who worked with gunpowder had been guarded very closely by officials here. Would revealing his identity get him hauled off to the authorities?
Dealing with gunpowder made him habitually cautious and careful, so he really didn’t dare state any details easily.
He hesitated for a while, mumbling incoherently.
Right then, Xing Honglang arrived with Gao Chuwu tagging along. Walking together, they debated loudly about the timing for their fight the next day.
Nearing Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu, Xing Honglang exclaimed, “Yi?” and slapped her forehead. “Oh! Xu Dafu, I forgot about the two of you staying here. Where is the lamp maker? Where did he run off to?”
Xu Dafu answered with a bitter laugh, “The lamp maker got hired and went to the main fortress to see Thirty-Two.”
Xing Honglang laughed and said, “Why the long face? No need to fret about finding work. You are the one the Deity specifically pointed out.”
Turning to Gao Yiye, she smiled and added, “Saint Lady, please tell the Deity that this man is a gunpowder maker—I brought him from Xi’an Prefecture.”
Li Daoxuan suddenly felt overjoyed on hearing this: So he is a gunpowder maker.