Archean Eon Art

Chapter 39: The Blood Cloud Bandits’ Second Head

Chapter 39: The Blood Cloud Bandits’ Second Head

Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon

When he saw the women in the brothel approach, Meng Chuan couldn’t help but panic. He had never been this nervous even when facing demons.

“Don’t disturb me.” Meng Chuan remained expressionless as he spoke.

“You grasping girls, move aside. Don’t disturb Young Master Meng,” said the old procuress immediately. “Young Master Meng, please come upstairs. Please come upstairs.”

The old procuress had sharp eyes. She could tell that Young Master Meng didn’t think much of these ordinary courtesans. After all, the ones in charge of solicitation were the ordinary ones. The ones that were genuinely ranked within the Azure Cloud Brothel didn’t easily show their faces.

A scion of a Godfiend family—who had extreme talent and chances of becoming a Godfiend—would usually be surrounded by servants and maids. Without sufficient looks, they probably couldn’t attract Young Master Meng at all.

This genius from the Meng family has never been to a brothel before. This should be his first time. If he becomes infatuated with a lady from our Azure Cloud Brothel... If news of this spreads, my Azure Cloud Brothel’s reputation will definitely increase greatly, right? The old procuress led Meng Chuan to the best room on the second floor.

“Young Master Meng, this room is the best. You can see the performing girls the closest here,” said the old procuress with a smile.

“Okay.” Meng Chuan nodded slightly and sat down. He was only twenty feet away from the stage below the window, and there was a direct view of the stage.

At this moment, two young ladies came in from outside the door, holding trays of drinks, fruit, and snacks.

“Serve Young Master Meng well,” instructed the old procuress.

“Yes.” They were twins who had yet to develop fully. They were very delicate, and their eyes were bright. Their faces were slightly red as they looked nervously at Young Master Meng Chuan.

The old procuress smiled and said, “Young Master Meng, these two young girls are only 16. They have always been learning the trade from their teacher, and have never served guests. Today is the first time they are serving guests.”

Meng Chuan’s status was just too high. A pair of twins that had yet to finish their studies could only serve him as maids. If Meng Chuan were to take a liking to the twins and wanted to take them away, Azure Cloud Brothel would be very happy. No matter what kind of status Young Master Meng Chuan had, he would never dine and dash.

“Young Master.” The two girls sat down next to Meng Chuan and helped him pour wine.

“Young Master Meng, if there’s anything you need, just instruct them.” With that said, the procuress left the private room with a smile and closed the door silently.

...

At this moment, in another private room on the second floor of Azure Cloud Brothel.

Only the fat man and the bearded man were drinking in this room. Neither of them wanted anyone to serve them.

“With that Young Master Meng Chuan coming, all the women below went crazy.” Inside the private room, the fat man scoffed. “We wanted to use the most central private room, but Azure Cloud Brothel wouldn’t allow us to enter! Once this Young Master Meng came, they immediately gave him the best room. Also, look at that pair of twins. Tsk, tsk... they are truly excellent. I’ve been having fun the past two days, but I’ve never seen these twins before. It looks like Azure Cloud Brothel has hidden some good stuff. It’s just not for us.”

“I’ve heard of Meng Chuan before.” The bearded man leisurely sat there. “He is a genius of one of the five great Godfiend clans, the Meng family. He reached the Unity realm at fifteen. He is a famous figure in the entire Eastcalm Prefecture. You have to behave yourself and not provoke him.”

“I understand. You said that we should keep a low profile in Eastcalm Prefecture and not cause trouble.” The fat man chuckled. “Actually, a soft-skinned person like Meng Chuan will be quite a pleasure.”

“Shut up.” The bearded man frowned.

The fat man shut his mouth and only smiled.

“It seems we won’t be able to sell the item,” the bearded man said calmly. “Let’s have two more days of fun before leaving Eastcalm Prefecture.”

“Back to the mountains again? It’s so boring there,” the fat man muttered. “I’m going to have fun tonight.”

...

Meng Chuan drank as he watched the performance below.

On the stage below, a blue-dressed woman was wearing a thin face veil. She carried a lute in her arms. The sound of the lute could be heard flowing through the brothel. The surrounding wealthy merchants and distinguished guests’ voices were soft.

Although Meng Chuan seemed to be listening to the lute, he was actually using his hundred-foot perception to observe the other private room on the second floor.

Within this domain, everything was extremely clear.

He could even “hear” the sound of mosquitoes, not to mention the conversation between the bearded man and the fat man. Although they had lowered their voices and the private room had soundproofing, Meng Chuan could still “hear” them.

Leave Eastcalm Prefecture and enter the mountains? Meng Chuan fell deep in thought. Are they bandits?

“Sister Guan’s lute performance is one of the best in our Azure Cloud Brothel.” One of the girls who was serving Meng Chuan spoke in a clear voice. “Her teacher is Old Mister Wang of our Eastcalm Prefecture.”

“Okay.” Meng Chuan nodded slightly.

Just like artists, there weren’t many people who were focused on music in this era. A few years ago, Meng Chuan had become the number one expert in painting. Not to mention how People Resonance had elevated his skill to a whole new level.

There were slightly more people who learned the lute and other musical instruments, but they were only used for entertainment. In this era, cultivation was ultimately ranked first, while entertainment enjoyed a very limited status.

“The two of us study the zither. We also learned it from a master,” said the other girl with a softer voice.

“The zither is not bad.” Meng Chuan casually commented as he continued observing the two men.

Bearded man, fat man...

He could see the bristles on an ant’s leg within a hundred feet, so he could naturally observe the two very carefully. Every single strand of facial hair was extremely clear.

Oh? Meng Chuan noticed that the fat man didn’t disguise himself, but the bearded man had disguised himself.

Fake beard? A wig? Artificial skin is plastered across his face? Without the hair and beard, he would look like... Meng Chuan’s heart stirred. As a member of a Godfiend family clan, he was familiar with the wanted fugitives in Eastcalm Prefecture.

He immediately thought of someone. Blood Hand Zhao Can.

The bald, skinny savage man had a black mole on his left cheek. However, the fake skin covered the black mole.

This was considered an impressive disguise technique. Even from a close distance, one couldn’t tell that it was fake skin. Only with Meng Chuan’s “senses” could he clearly identify the wig and fake skin. Under his perception, he could see the damage and flaws of what appeared to be a smooth strand of hair to the naked eye. This made him a natural enemy of disguise techniques.

It’s him? The killing intent in his heart soared.

Blood Hand Zhao Can.

He was from Eastcalm Prefecture’s Qin County. To cultivate the Blood Fiend Hand, he had killed over three hundred people in a few years, causing everyone in Qin County to panic. Later on, he successfully escaped when this was made known. After being placed on the wanted list by the imperial government, he joined the infamous Blood Cloud Bandits. The weakest of the Blood Cloud Bandits was said to be at the Mortal Shedding realm.

Their numbers weren’t high, but they were all considered powerful bandits. They were crafty and intelligent. They hid in the mountains at the border of three prefectures, making it difficult for them to capture them.

Blood Hand Zhao Can. Meng Chuan narrowed his eyes and stood up.

“Young Master Meng?” The two girls stood up in puzzlement.

“Something cropped up.” As he spoke, he took out a banknote worth a hundred taels of silver and placed it on the table. Although he had never been to this place before, he had heard of it before. Such a famous brothel would cost at least twenty taels of silver for a private room. This was the best private room, and they had arranged for two girls to serve him... Of course, with him only sitting there for a while, leaving behind a hundred taels of silver was definitely to Azure Cloud Brothel’s benefit.

“This...” The two girls looked at each other in dismay. To be able to accompany this scion of the Meng family, whose name was known throughout Eastcalm Prefecture made them extremely happy. In fact, they even had a bit of hope—they hoped that Young Master Meng would be able to redeem them.

They didn’t expect him to leave so quickly.

Meng Chuan exited the private room.

He headed straight for the private room where the two great bandits were in. Ignoring the sins of the Blood Cloud Bandits, just the 300 lives claimed in the Eastcalm Prefecture’s Qin County alone made Meng Chuan unable to suppress his killing intent. He had witnessed the slaughter committed by demons and how people in despair were killed. After experiencing that, his killing intent for wanted criminals whose hands were stained with blood was no less than that for demons.

Or rather, these serious offenses made them demons in human form.

Both of them deserve to die. He had already reached the entrance of the private room when he pushed open the door.

The two bandits—who were drinking and enjoying the performance in the private room—turned their heads in anger. When they saw the scion walk in, they were somewhat shocked.