Under the temptation of baked buns, these children, the eldest being eleven or twelve and the youngest only five or six, soon started searching everywhere for that reclusive, left-handed old man in his forties or fifties with a disability on his right leg.
Zhao Ya wasn’t idle either; he almost scoured the entire poor district of the Commandery, yet still found nothing.
This was something Zhao Ya had anticipated, so he wasn’t too disappointed.
If finding the Jade Butterfly was as easy as wandering the streets, earning those more than a thousand taels of gold would be far too easy.
Now Zhao Ya just hopes the net he cast earlier will soon bear some fruit.
"Old Lu, why are you back so early today?" someone laughed and said.
Lu Jicheng cheerfully replied, "Isn’t it raining today? The steward of the Martial Arts Hall felt sorry for my bad leg and let me come back early."
"Wow, Old Lu, you’re really lucky to be a doorman at such a prominent Grand Martial Arts Hall like Chenfeng. Not only do you get paid every month, but the treatment is also enviably good." The person spoke with admiration.
Lu Jicheng laughed heartily, "It’s all because the steward saw I was disabled and was kind enough to give me a meal ticket. But enough chatter, the rain is getting heavier; I must hurry home."
After chatting with the neighbors for a bit, Lu Jicheng limped home.
Passing by a liquor store on the way, he went in and bought the cheapest bottle of wine, along with two side dishes.
As he came out, the rain was pouring harder.
The thick curtain of rain seemed to obscure the entire world, even the bustling brothel in the distance had vanished, leaving only the sound of the rain around.
Lu Jicheng, wearing a raincoat, limped through the muddy streets.
If someone were to observe closely at this moment, they’d notice that even though normal people struggled on the muddy road, it seemed like flat ground under the lame man’s feet.
But in this torrential rain, people were eager to get home, so who would notice a cripple?
Lu Jicheng hid the bottle of wine and side dishes under his raincoat, planning to have a couple of sips to warm up once home.
But just then, a small figure dashed out and bumped into him.
Caught off guard, Lu Jicheng didn’t have time to dodge. Though he didn’t fall, the wine and dishes under his coat slipped to the ground.
It was only then that Lu Jicheng saw clearly that the person who bumped into him was a seven or eight-year-old boy.
Despite it being late autumn, the boy was barefoot, wearing tattered clothes, with a couple of large snot trails hanging under his nose—clearly a child from a poor family.
Regaining his composure, Lu Jicheng instantly flew into a rage and slapped the boy hard with his left hand.
"Damn it, running around in such heavy rain, are you blind?"
The slap was terribly hard, nearly sending the boy to the ground, with blood dripping from his mouth and nose.
Yet even then, the boy didn’t cry but instead spat viciously at Lu Jicheng.
"Old bastard!"
Then he turned his head and ran away.
Lu Jicheng didn’t chase after him. Though if he wanted to, the boy surely wouldn’t escape, but he didn’t want to reveal his secrets in public.
So he simply cursed twice, then bent down and picked up his fallen wine and dishes.
The wine was fine as it was tightly sealed, but the two side dishes were soaked in muddy water and couldn’t be used.
Lu Jicheng couldn’t be bothered to go back and buy more, so he leisurely walked away.
But he didn’t know that as he was heading home, the boy who had bumped into him ran to an abandoned earth temple and reported the incident to Big Eye Lamp.
After hearing it, Big Eye Lamp asked, "Did you see clearly?"
"I saw very clearly, lame in the right foot, forty or fifty years old, and left-handed," the boy said, pointing to his still handprinted right cheek.
"What’s more, I know this old bastard, his name is Lu Jicheng, and he lives near my home in Tongyi Square, I heard he works at Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall."
"Good, you did well." Big Eye Lamp gave the boy three meat buns.
The boy gobbled them up, speaking with his mouth full: "Boss, when you deal with that old bastard later, let me know, I need to pay back that slap."
As he chewed, blood was still streaming from the corners of his mouth.
"No problem, but is the injury on your face okay?"
"It’s nothing, a minor injury, if someone gives me meat buns to eat every day, I’d let them hit me like this every day," the boy said carelessly.
Big Eye Lamp nodded, leaving the boy to keep watch there while he himself dashed out into the rain to report back at Ping’an Square.
When he got to Ping’an Square, he quickly found Zhao Ya’s home, following the address Zhao Ya had given him.
After knocking on the door, he was surprised to see that the one who answered was an extremely beautiful lady. Usually bold, Big Eye Lamp instantly became rather shy.
"Who are you looking for?" Zui’Er asked curiously.
"I... I’m looking for Zhao Ya," Big Eye Lamp tried to stay calm, but his trembling voice betrayed him.
Hearing this, Zui’Er smiled understandingly, "You must be Dayan, come on in, Ya isn’t home now, but he should be back soon!"
With that, she ushered Big Eye Lamp in.
But Big Eye Lamp refused to enter and insisted on waiting at the doorway.
Just then, Zhao Ya returned from outside.
Today he had been out gathering information again, with no results as before.
But seeing Big Eye Lamp waiting at the door, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but perk up.
"Any news?"
Big Eye Lamp nodded vigorously, "Yes!"
But then he said nothing, just looked at Zhao Ya.
Zhao Ya smiled, reaching into his pocket for a silver note.
"This is a one hundred taels silver note from Shengyuan Bank, you can cash it anytime at the counter."
Big Eye Lamp had never seen a silver note before, but he still took it and examined it carefully before cautiously tucking it into his pocket.
"His name is Lu Jicheng, living at Tongyi Square, works at Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall."
Works at Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall!
Zhao Ya quickly caught onto the key information and then had a moment of realization.
No wonder he couldn’t find him before.
He had that identity as a cover after all.
It’s known that Chenfeng is a reputable Martial Arts Hall on par with Dingtai, and its master, Yuan Chenfeng, is also a top-notch expert on the verge of the Fifth Realm.
Such a presence is not to be underestimated, even the authorities have to tread carefully.
But these thoughts only flashed by, and then Zhao Ya solemnly asked, "Do you know the exact location?"
Big Eye Lamp nodded vigorously, "Yes."
"Good, take me there now."
"Let’s go!"
Though Big Eye Lamp considered himself a fast runner, compared to Zhao Ya, he was still far behind.
So Zhao Ya simply tucked him under his arm, and using his Lightweight Body Technique, he sprinted through the rain to Tongyi Square.
Tongyi Square is right next to Jade Belt River, and now with the torrential rain, the river had swollen, flooding some nearby shanties.
However, the place where Lu Jicheng lived was on higher ground, so it wasn’t affected.
Listening to the rain outside and the faint cries, Lu Jicheng found the wine in his cup seemed even tastier.
Though there was no side dish and just an old cucumber to go with the wine, Lu Jicheng didn’t mind.
He never cared much about food or drink, except when it came to women.
Thinking of women, he couldn’t help but recall the scene of Aunt Xue, who had died under him two days ago, making his lower abdomen heat up.
Looks like it’s time to find a suitable target to vent.
This time, find someone younger, preferably a maiden who hasn’t married yet, to see some red and drive away the bad luck.
Thunder rumbled in the sky.
Lu Jicheng suddenly felt a little uneasy.
What’s going on?
Just as this thought arose, the tightly shut door suddenly swung open, and a blade of pure light shot straight at him.