Chapter 23: A Great Pair

"My sister? No, I thought we were supposed to explore on our own and meet up later."

"I may have scolded her by mistake. It was at a critical moment and I wasn't thinking straight." Kun Shag's face softened with remorse.

Kun Shang told Silang what happened. How Xiu'er put someone's life at risk but she did it for a good cause and he didn't see it until it was too late. He had already yelled at her and she had run away. He apologized again, expressing that he will find her and make amends.

Behind them, Lady Yangyi had finished with her song and exited the stage. She quickly found Silang and put a hand on his arm with a wide smile.

"Mister--"

She stopped herself in her tracks to notice the four girls that came onto the stage after her performance and started to dance. Three of them were wearing red clothes except for the one in the middle, who was wearing black. She had many layers of clothes on, even a heavy black coat on top which was strange for a dancer. Each of them had a veil covering their faces. Lady Yangyi whispered something to herself about never seeing them in the brothel before. Perhaps they were new hires, but girls usually dance in a larger group. Not four.

The entire house had died down to a silent, leaving the music to remain as the only sound. When the brothel became unexpectedly quiet, Kun Shang and Silang looked onto the stage to see what had caused everyone to stop chatting.

Kun Shang noticed the girl in the black, not because of her dancing skills, but because of her familiar eyes. He'd seen those black eyes before. She was the only one who could catch his attention with just her eyes. And soon later he was also caught in the trance of her dance, mesmerized by her soft black pupils and her long, fluttery lashes, her skinny fingers, her elegant footwork and agile arms. It was at this moment when he realized that he did know her, just not her name.

Everyone in the audience was also caught in a daze, staring in awe at the dancers on stage. The girl in black received so much attention. Other brothel girls were jealous she could dance better than them. She was swift but smooth, crisp but agile, dancing to the music as if it was the last thing she will ever do. She circled one hand up and one hand behind her. With the hand on her back, she pulled out the secret dagger she had stuffed into her outfit earlier and threw it at the Four Evil Gates Heroes.

The Elder Brother of the Four Evil Gates Heroes saw the weapon coming in from the corner of his eye. He grabbed his brother's head on the left and slammed both their heads on the table to avoid the dagger. Then, he climbed on top of the table and got into stance. When the other three brothers realized what was going on, they got up as well, pulling out their weapons. They all carried similar machetes that were very large.

Chun Yi flew off the stage, followed by the three girls. They landed right in front of the guy's table. She took out her sword from underneath the dress and pointed it at the Elder Brother. With equal numbers, the two groups started to fight in the middle of the brothel.

Kun Shang didn't waste his time and rushed in to help. He didn't know what was going on between the two groups, but he felt more familiar with the girls. Chun Yi clashed with the Elder Brother and drew their fight back onto the stage. When they broke a pause in their fight and pulled back at a distance, Kun Shang arrived and positioned himself in front of Chun Yi, as if protecting her.

Silang didn't follow Kun Shang. Instead, he and Lady Yangyi observed the fight from the entrance, curious to see what would happen next.

"Miss, let me help you," Kun Shang stated.

Chun Yi was surprised to see him before her. It's their third time meeting. Was it a coincidence or destiny? She took one step forward and came neck to neck with Kun Shang. She didn't need his help, but didn't bother opening her mouth to tell him that.

Chun Yi remained silent. Without her verbal rejection, Kun Shang led the fight and thrust his sword at the Elder Brother of the Four Evil Gates Heroes.

There was a quick conversation between the Elder Brother and him when the Elder Brother realized that he cannot beat them. He told Kun Shang to stay out of this fight. This was between him and the girl only. Kun Shang accused him of causing trouble for a lady and refused to step down until justice was served.

The Elder Brother flared his nose. He decided he would not waste time talking. The host madam came out of the side and freaked out when she saw the chaos happening in the brothel.

She was plump, thick and short. She had a stout body, a big belly and large droopy arms. Silang remembered her as the host madam who was announcing the performers.

"Oh heavens! What is going on? You there!" She pointed to a man picking up some broken furniture. "Go and stop them, what are you doing with a servant's job. I spent so much money hiring you stupid guards but you can't even handle this matter."

The guards knew what to do best. They knew these were martial artists, people with martial art skills who trained vigorously for years. And because of that, the guards were afraid to get involved so they just tried their best to clean up the mess while the fight was going on. The host madam continued scolding them with a shaky finger. A flying utensil hit her on the face by surprise. She backed away to lower her voice in embarrassment.

"I-I am going to go tell the Head Mistress. You guys will regret it!"

She disappeared the way she came from.

Kun Shang and Chun Yi make a great pair fighting against the Elder Brother of the Four Evil Gates Heroes. They seemed to be able to read each other's movements perfectly and coordinate their actions based on the other. The Elder Brother started to have a difficult time keeping up with the synchronized pair. Kun Shang's Sword of the Millennial Gods and Chun Yi's Elixir Sword fiercely attacked the opponent's large machete.

From the back of the room, Silang rested his right elbow on Lady Yangyi's shoulder and scratched his chin. She blushed shyly under the weight of his arm. As he watched the fight, he thought of the upcoming action when the Head Mistress appeared. Will she calmly ask them to stop, or will she yell at them for creating havoc?

"Miss Yangyi, what kind of person is the Head Mistress?" Silang asked.

"The Head Mistress? She is a rational and upright person." Lady Yangyi replied. "The Head Mistress correctly determines right from wrong and upholds justice in the brothel with fairness. But on the bad side, she has a short temper, especially towards ill-behaved customers. She hates martial arts people creating trouble in the brothel the most."

Lady Yangyi continued to express that the Head Mistress must've known martial arts to keep law and order in such a place for over 20 years. However, not many had seen her actually take action into her own hands. Just her mere appearance would drive sense into their brains.

In the midst of chaos, a long pink muslin (long roll of fabric) broke through the fight on stage and wrapped around Chun Yi's waist. Before it had the chance to pull her off, Kun Shang saw it and shuffled over to help her. He wrapped one arm around Chun Yi's waist and pressed her firmly against his front body to stop the pull. They spun on their feet. Unexpectedly, he pulled her a little too hard. As they spun, her neck yanked her head fiercely towards his face, coming into contact with his lips while he had his head bent down to her.

Silang's eyes went large when Kun Shang kissed the veil on Chun Yi's face, in which her lips lay just underneath the soft fabric. His eyes were not the only ones that were surprised by the indecent scene. Chun Yi and Kun Shang's eyes also widened slowly with shock while the whole audience got a perfect view of the couple kissing on stage. With only just a thin veil laying between their lips.