Uninvited Guest

Huan Wei left the marketplace and walked around. He had buckles, alcohol and cloth in his soil bag, ready to burn. He still hadn't chosen where to start the fire. He was also thoughtful. "Huan Hong is going to do something on the alchemists. Huan Quon needs to get their attention. There is nothing in Bitter Sea Town to attract those merchants. At least not that I know of. If they know more than I do, then things might change."

The young man kept walking. He wandered through the empty streets, looking at the houses and shops. He had seen that alcohol was flammable, but he had to choose a place where the fire could spread easily. He couldn't choose the shops. Because shopkeepers would not leave their workplaces and wander around the marketplace. So he had to choose one of the houses. The houses in this part of town were better looking. Some of them had two floors. The people who lived here were really well off. Huan Fu had even assigned a few people to stand guard here. Huan Wei could see the town guards. Apparently they didn't want any thieves breaking into the houses while everyone was at the market.

Huan Wei walked. He kept changing his route to avoid confronting the patrols, but they would surely see him. So Huan Wei moved to a place where they couldn't see him. He reached into the bag of dirt, took out the hairpin and gathered up his hair just like Huan Hong's hair. Then he fastened it with a silver hairpin. Now it was clear what would attract the attention of those who saw him from afar. Comforted by this, he returned to the streets. He began to choose which of the houses to burn.

After a few minutes of wandering around like this, he hid the alcohol and the piece of cloth in his clothes to avoid being seen with the bag. It was a bit baggy, so it was not very visible. At that moment he cursed not having a storage ring. It would have made everything so much easier, but buying such a thing was out of the question right now. Even the smallest storage rings were worth at least a few gold coins. Only the richest people in town had them.

Huan Wei put the bag of soil aside and continued on his way. Occasionally he let a few guards see him. From a distance, all they will remember was the silver glow, but something unexpected happened. While he was spending the whole day here, there was some trouble in the marketplace. People were scattering to their homes. The streets were suddenly crowded. Huan Wei lowered his head and was careful not to make eye contact with anyone. At the same time, he could hear some of the conversations.

"I can't believe they're closing the marketplace tonight. I still have things to buy."

"You can go tomorrow morning. The traders need to rest too."

"But different people take care of the stalls at night. They should have rested during the day."

"Apparently not. I really wanted that Blue Wound Pill, but I'll have to wait for the morning. There's nothing I can do."

It was getting dark. Huan Wei hurried past people who occasionally looked at him. He turned his face away as he passed, but he was sure that dozens of people saw him. So he quickly left the area. After getting to a good place, he took out his hairpin and hid it. He would continue on his way as Huan Wei again. The marketplace was closed for the night, which disrupted things a bit. He wanted to set the fire at night to make it more noticeable, but there was nothing he could do today. He set off for home.

There was light in almost all the houses as people had retreated to their homes. It didn't take Huan Wei long to reach his own house. He knew his father was inside. So he wasn't going to bring the alcohol inside. He calmly walked to the back of the house and hid the alcohol behind some stones he found. He threw some earth on top of it so it wouldn't be seen. Then he went back to the front door and went inside. Huan Chao was in his usual place. He was angry again.

"Did you take my drink from the table?" he asked harshly. He was clenching his fists.

Huan Wei didn't budge. "What drink? Is there anything left on your table for anyone to take?"

"Don't lie to me, Wei," his father said as he walked up to the young man. "There was still liquor on my table. When I woke up in the morning, it was gone."

Huan Wei put his hands on his father's chest and gave him a little push. "Are you senile now? You don't even remember eating and drinking? Oh, I see, you couldn't find a problem to walk all over me. So you create the problem by slandering me. Face it, old man. You're old. When you're completely senile, I'll take you out to beg on the streets. Maybe you'll be of some use."

Huan Chao grabbed him by the collar and shoved him hard, knocking him to the ground. Huan Wei quickly recovered and stood up. It should have been time for a beating, but no matter what, he would not give up that drink. That bottle was the biggest part of the plan. He would never give it away.

Again his father did not walk over to him. Instead he turned his back and went back to his desk. Huan Wei also refrained from provoking him further. He calmly went into his room. He sat down on the blanket he had spread on the floor and began to think. There was something strange about Huan Chao. He had been restraining himself for the second time. It was not like this man to restrain his anger. Huan Chao was a man who even used martial arts to beat his child. Why was he holding back now? Perhaps he thought that he might actually have drunk the alcohol himself? Either way, it suited Huan Wei. He got to keep the alcohol and he didn't get beaten up.

The young man picked up one of the broken pieces of wood in his room. Yes, he no longer had his sword, but he must not stop training. If he waited until he found a new sword, he might lose his skills. It was his sword skill that had given him the upper hand over Huan Liwei. It was the only thing he could rely on as he was stuck in the on Pedestrian stage. So he found a suitable piece of wood and started shadow training.

He swung the wood forward, stabbed it. He met the attacks of his imaginary enemies with his wooden sword. He supported himself with his feet to avoid falling over if he was hit harder than he expected. He held his weapon with both hands to strike a harder blow than expected. There were few people in this world who held a sword with both hands. The vast majority preferred swords that they could wield comfortably with one hand, so as not to restrict them. That's why most swords were light, but Huan Wei saw the weakness there. Light swords were very prone to breaking, but using a heavy sword would also significantly reduce the cultivator's speed. So he chose to hold the light sword with both hands for hard blows. He could already use both hands separately. It wouldn't hurt to create a few trump cards for himself.

Huan Wei worked for about an hour. He was tired because the piece of wood did not fit well in his hand. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve and put the board aside. When he went to the bathroom to wash his face, he noticed the bottles in front of Huan Chao. Apparently he had gone and bought some new ones. Huan Wei said in an ugly voice, "You still have money, but you didn't even give me a few coppers. There is nothing to eat at home. Do you realize that?" His father didn't even see the need to reply to this sentence. The young man went into the bathroom and started to wash his face and hands, but he realized he smelled. He had not bathed for several days.

He brought the tub to the center and filled it with some water. Then he heated some water on the fire in the corner of the bathroom and added it. He took off his clothes, washed them on the side and hung them on the rack by the fire to dry. Unfortunately, he had no more clothes. When Huan Chao had smashed his closet, the clothes had taken their share. Then he got into the bathtub and let the soothing warm water wash away all his tiredness. He closed his eyes and waited in silence for a while. At that moment he forgot to curse his spirit that was stuck in a bottleneck. He just let the purity of the water wash away the hardships that life had thrown at him.

After resting for a while, he cleaned his body and got out of the bathtub. He covered himself with a towel and took his clothes. The fire had almost dried them. He went to his room, dried himself and put on his clothes. Then he went back to the bathroom and started combing his hair. At that moment, the sound of someone knocking on the door made the young man stop. It was not coming from the bathroom door, but from outside. But who would come to their house? Who could it be at this time of night?

Huan Wei came out of the bathroom and went to his father. "Were you expecting someone?"

The man first sipped from the bottle and drank a lot. Then he looked at his son with blank eyes. "Do I look like someone who likes guests? Look at the door. Who knows what idiot mixed up the house he was going to and came here."

Huan Wei curiously went to the door and opened it. He was astonished by the person he saw in front of him. It was none other than Huan Hong. Huan Hong smiled and greeted him. "Hello, brother Wei."

Huan Wei immediately got into character. "Hello, brother Hong. Welcome."

Huan Hong looked in and greeted the man at the table. "Hello, Huan Chao."

The man who was busy drinking looked at him with a disgusted expression and asked, "What do you want?"

Huan Hong's face changed for a moment. He was clearly angry at the man's reaction, but he was smiling again. He turned to Huan Wei. "I just want to have a talk with Huan Wei, are you available?"

Before Huan Wei could open his mouth, his father called out. "No, it's not. Now get lost."

Huan Hong took a deep breath. Then he took a bottle out of a bag. "Would you excuse us for a moment, Huan Chao?" he said as he put the bottle through the door.

The alcoholic man looked at the bottle first. Then at the two of them. "You only have five minutes," he said. Then he added, "Bring the drink, Wei." So Huan Wei gave him the bottle, left the house and closed the door. His curiosity was piqued. Why had Huan Hong even brought a drink to talk to him? Or had they found out something about Huan Liwei? Was he walking into a trap? Huan Wei stopped where he was walking.

"Let's talk here, brother Hong. Dad will get angry if I go too far away." He shouldn't go too far from home. Especially not in secluded places. How could he defend himself without his sword? Huan Hong's spear was still in his back. He could have riddled him with it. He had to secure himself somehow.

Huan Hong also stopped. "Sure, let's talk here. I've wanted to have this conversation with you for a long time."

With that, Huan Wei waited for his words.