193 Friends (1/2)

Gu Shenwei was still thinking about what this piece of information could be used for when Xu Yanwei spoke again. ”Don't only be thinking about your own master. You should take care of my little brother from time to time as well.”

Xu Yanwei had long lost interest in Shangguan Fei. The only man that truly mattered to her now was her brother.

”I'm alright, I don't need looking after,” interrupted Xu Xiaoyi. He was peach red.

”He has also fallen under the spell of a man,” said Xu Yanwei disapprovingly. When she spoke of the Ninth Young Master's fetish earlier, she did not seem to care as much as she did now.

Xu Xiaoyi was of small built and did have some qualities of a male prostitute. As Gu Shenwei had personally seen many of such men in South City, he did not really mind if the boy had indeed become one. ”Have you presented him to the Ninth Young Master yet?” he asked Xu Yanwei.

”What do you treat us as?” She replied vehemently, smacking the railing hard as she spoke.

Before Gu Shenwei could reply, Xu Xiaoyi hurriedly explained, ”She doesn't mean that I've intimate relations with another man. Instead, I've found a friend.”

As he spoke of making a new friend, he straightened his back and spoke in a very formal tone. This made Gu Shenwei believe that Xu Xiaoyi was indeed not intimate with this 'new friend' of his. ”Isn't that good, with a friend to support you, you don't need my backing anymore.”

Now, both sister and brother wanted to speak. Xu Yanwei was faster than her brother. ”But his friend is weird. Just the night before, he came running here in the middle of the night, saying that he had to kill Xiaoyi. He looked as if he was about to do it, but he ended up just talking about it and ran off by himself in the end. From what I saw, he's not normal, and Xiaoyi would be better off staying away from him.”

Gu Shenwei's first thought was, ”It cannot be so coincidental” , but in the next moment, he remembered that Xu Xiaoyi had been summoned to have his fortune told when they went to Joy Pavilion together several months ago. He knew then that this could not be a coincidence. ”What did the boy look like?” he asked.

”Um, he looked like—” Xu Xiaoyi was interrupted by his sister before he could find proper adjectives to describe his friend. ”He looked like a girl, and the first time I saw him, I thought that Xiaoyi had finally became a man.”

”His name is Chu Nanping, and he's from Joy Pavilion,” added Gu Shenwei.

”Eeh, how did you know? Could he have informed others when he told me to keep it a secret?” exclaimed Xu Xiaoyi in a tone of surprise.

Xu Yanwei started laughing so hard that she was doubling over. ”So, it's a boy from Hope Alley. No wonder. Treat him well, my brother. Sigh, at the rate this is going, we prostitutes are going to lose our jobs.”

Of all three present, only Gu Shenwei did not find it funny. The siblings were taken aback by his stern expression. ”That boy is no ordinary person,” he said.

”Oh yes, his kung fu is very good. He's a particular way... of speaking as well. He's different from anyone I've ever met,” replied Xu Xiaoyi happily, not knowing that he was in danger.

”He's Immortal Peng's servant.”

Xu Xiaoyi became blank for a while. He had been to the third storey of Joy Pavilion, but he had never seen the faces of Immortal Peng and his servant before, as they were behind the screen. He had thought that his friend was a son of a smith from Hope Alley all along.

”He wasn't joking about killing you either.”

Xu Xiaoyi laughed. ”You must be joking...” But after realising that Brother Huan never joked, he continued, ”Are you for real?”

”He wants to kill you to complete his mastery of a certain kung fu technique.”

”Kill me to master his technique? I'm no stronger than a rat, what technique does he hope to master by killing me?”

”It's only natural that his learning method is not normal, as he's a disciple of an 'immortal'.”

The Xu siblings believed him now as they realised what he said was entirely possible, their mouths agape from their shock. Xu Yanwei could not think of any solution, and let off a sound of indignation before turning to her room. Soon, she came running back out of it and pointed at the killer as she spoke, ”The two of us have done so much for you. You have to protect us.”

Gu Shenwei shook his head and replied, ”I'm a killer, not a bodyguard.”

Xu Xiaoyi was already scared speechless. His sister quickly changed tack and started giggling demurely. ”Mr. Huan, there's negligible difference between a killer and a bodyguard. Don't they both use machetes? Even though Xiaoyi can be hard to control, he's still at least a little useful. Isn't it better to have him continue bringing you information?”

”I said that I'm a killer, but I didn't say I wouldn't protect him.”

Xu Yanwei reverted back to her original self. She was frowning and stamping her feet in protest as she replied, ”Making a fool of us.”

”If I kill Chu Nanping, in turn, he cannot kill Xiaoyi.”

Such was his plan, and it was simple and direct. Even though Chu Nanping was a child, Gu Shenwei knew that he would become a thorn in his side sooner or later. It was best to get rid of him at an early stage.

”It doesn't have to result in you killing him,” rebutted Xu Xiaoyi bravely.

”It's either him or you.”

Xu Xiaoyi cast his head down dejectedly. He had never got to make friends with anyone, and even Brother Huan was just a better master to him; Chu Nanping was different. He could still remember how bashful Chu Nanping had been the first time he tried to make conversation. However, when the boy spoke, he was blunt, and it made him seem as if he lacked social interaction.

After their first encounter, Chu Nanping came frequently to look for him to play together. Xu Xiaoyi was the elder by a few years, but as their height was the same, and they both looked immature, they seemed to be of the same age to bystanders.

Xu Xiaoyi knew the South City like the back of his hand, and was the chief instigator for their adventures. As Chu Nanping was not wise in the ways of the city, everything was new to him. He never rejected any of Xu Xiaoyi's ideas, which included stealing from the tavern, fighting with unruly children and eavesdropping on the sounds of pleasure from the roof of the brothel.

The past two months spent with Chu Nanping had been the best time of Xu Xiaoyi's life.

While he was still basking in his wonderful memories, Gu Shenwei was already thinking of how he would go about killing Chu Nanping. ”Don't accept any customer these two days, and stay indoors as well,” he ordered the siblings.

”Don't accept any business? I've just managed to hook a rich regular with much effort, and he's coming back tonight.”

”Let your brother die then.”

She stamped her feet indignantly again, and agreed after pondering for a while. ”Alright, I shall listen to you. Sigh, he would have brought me a few hundred taels of silver. I'm sure now he'll be spending it on some other woman.”

As she returned to her room, she realized she was at a loss. She did not know what to do for the next two days. Her routine would be disrupted if she was not going to receive any customer.

Toward evening, several dishes were delivered to Xu Yanwei's brothel, as the Xu siblings had planned to receive a guest tonight and ordered a meal from chefs in Pleasure Alley. Xu Xiaoyi did not reject the food. Instead, he ate them together with his Brother Huan.