Chapter 13 - This name of mine begets trouble

….

"You want to replace your identification token?" The man sitting at the desk raised an eyebrow. This was the first time he'd ever heard of incident where a cultivator had lost their emblem the same day they arrived at the residential district. Was this guy a retard?

"Yes." Sean replied.

The youth was stone-faced, his expression paralleled the likeness of a great Buddha. The man at the desk closed his eyes and nodded to himself. Of course not, this young man must have come from some influential family. Why else would he be standing there with such a dignified stature? Perhaps he was struck with some misfortune, or was forced to run from an arranged marriage of some kind? Could it have been that he had met an unfortunate soul along the way had saved them at the cost of his belongings? Surely, a man who gave off such an imposing aura would not be so dumb as to come to this cutthroat place with only the clothes on his back and without any connections?

In truth, Sean was trying to hide his nervousness. He never had an identification token to begin with, so he didn't know if asking for a replacement would get him kicked out.

"If you would provide us with your family name, we can issue you a new identification token within a few hours. Otherwise, you will have wait three days."

"…."

[Family name? Does this guy think I'm from some kind of distinguished household?]

Fuck, I don't know any influential families by name. Sean quickly scanned his surroundings. His eyes eventually landed on a document lying near a stack of papers. That looks like a good name, I'll use that one.

"My name is Shi Huang Zi."

The clerk at the desk paused. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Sean slowly raised his head, everyone in the room now had their eyes on him. Had he made a mistake?

"A scion of the Huáng Zì patriarchy." The clerk gulped, words finally passed through his lips. This family was one of the top powers in the western region. It was a clan of eunuchs led by an elder named Fei Huáng Zì. This clan of cultivators practiced a special technique that required them to reject their manhood. Many in their ranks had a woman's heart, and would aggressively chase after men.

[Why is he looking at me like that?]

Sean furrowed his brow. The clerk had backed himself into a wall and was talking to Sean from across the room. "Esteemed guest, we will have your token finished within an hour or two. If you would please wait in the lobby."

"Okay, but it says here in this paper that you need a drop of blood or a hand print, right?" Sean stepped forward.

The clerk now had on a terrified expression. "N-No, none of that will necessary."

"Um, alright then. I guess I'll just wait for you out here in the lobby then."

Tears came out of the clerk's eyes. This guy said he would wait for him. There was no longer any chance of escape. The Huáng Zì were known for their physical prowess. Once he was in this one's clutches, it would be all over. The clerk resigned himself to his fate. Mother, father, I can no longer get married. My manhood will soon be taken.

Meanwhile, Sean Wu was sitting in the lobby, oblivious to the mental damage he had inflicted on the clerk. When an incense time had passed, a soft-spoken woman called the young man into the office. Sean received his identification token and left the building.

"Is he gone?" The male clerk finally peeked his head from under the desk.

"Yes, but why were you hiding as if your life depended on it?"

"That one… comes from a dangerous line*."

"There, that's the one!"

No sooner had Sean Wu left the building did he hear a loud voice single him out. He recognized the man's face. The guy pointing at him had been present in the room when Sean announced his (fake) name.

"You are the one named Shi Huáng Zì?" A large man stepped up. He did not even bother to hide the overwhelming contempt on his face. One hand was tightly gripped around a wooden pole, whereas the other loosely held onto a lantern chained to the very same pole. The man did not wait for Sean to reply, and simply continued, "I am Huángjīn Gāo Wán. My brother, Yin Gāo Wán, died at the hands of your clan. Prepare to die, son of Huáng Zì!"

"Huángjīn Gāo Wán, you dare?! If you have a problem with my family, say it to my face!" A loud, masculine voice thundered from behind Sean Wu. A man dressed in a woman's gown stepped forward and pointed a spear at Huángjīn Gāo Wán. This newcomer had a short stubble on his chin and a flower wreath around his head. His face was sharp and well defined. His spear, which was decorated with a colorful assortment of flowers, shone with an otherworldly glow. Sean blinked, what the fuck was going on?

"In't that spear the legendary 推高某人的屁股, 'Impenetrable Coiling Dragon?!"

"Then he is… Wēnhé Huáng Zì!" A cultivator in the crowd shouted.

The surrounding spectators slowly backed away, forming a ring around the three men in the center. Wēnhé Huáng Zì, the Dancing Thorn, and Huángjīn Gāo Wán, the Prince of the Yellow-Light-District, who wouldn't know the history between their two families? The Huáng Zì clan and the Gāo Wán clan were constantly at one another's throats for the better half of the past three millennium. It never got bad enough to lead to an all-out war between the two great factions, however the evident disdain for the other side never subsided. It got so bad that a famous saying once spread throughout the region, "if a Sting tail* meets a rose*, one of the two inevitably comes out pricked*."

The crowd sucked in a mouthful of cold air. The two young masters standing before them had a reputation for having short tempers. A battle would definitely ensue if no one stepped in.

And what about that guy standing in the center? A member of the crowd gulped, was this guy some kind of hidden genius? Why was he was making such an unsightly expression? The crowd did not understand what role this guy played in the conflict, or why he was standing there like a chimp.

"I think I know," a scholarly cultivator from amongst the crowd stepped out. Pushing up his glasses, he began to explain, "notice how this one does not bat an eye despite standing between these two great geniuses. Do you see his expression? There can only be one reason why he has not moved, and that is to say, you are all trash! Come at me all at once!"

The crowd began to murmur and whisper amongst themselves. Of course, how could we have been so foolish! The act of standing there would imply he doesn't give a shit who it is, he would stomp them out regardless! Look, he's making a move!

Sean turned his head to the left and furrowed his brow.

[Why is that guy in a dress?]

Then, he turned his head to the right, and finally looked down to the ground.

[And why is this fucker glaring at me so hatefully? Fuck, better not make eye contact.]

The crowd was riled up! Through his body language, the one in the center seemed to be implying, "come at me if you dare, I will put the both of you into the ground this very second!"

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