He approached the doorway and addressed the woman, "Are you here looking for a man?"
The woman nodded.
"You don’t have any specific requirements for the duration, do you?"
The woman let out a cold laugh. "If the duration doesn’t even matter, what kind of business are you running?"
Tang Changfa lowered his head, feeling a bit ashamed but also somewhat defiant. "If you’re going to be so picky, there’s nothing I can do. I’m the only man in this Book Residence."
"Nonsense," the woman stepped forward and hooked her finger under Tang Changfa’s chin. "There’s another man here, one from outside the city. I came here to find him."
Tang Changfa paused for a moment before saying, "There are no other men here. It’s really just me!"
The woman’s smile faded, and her face darkened. "Why are you hiding him? Just for his flesh and blood? This is negotiable. Hand him over, I’ll kill him, and his flesh and blood will be all yours."
Tang Changfa grinned foolishly. "What are you talking about? We’re not running some shady inn here."
Yan Qing’er, growing anxious behind the screen, urged, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring her inside."
Yan Hong’er whispered, "This person seems to be someone important."
Yan Cui’er wanted to go out and help. "Who cares about her background? Either way, she’s just plump prey delivered by the Shopkeeper."
The woman wiped her face and suddenly transformed into a man—it was the Drama Cultivator who had been relentlessly tracking Li Banfeng.
The moment Yan Cui’er peeked out, she got such a fright that she immediately pulled her head back in.
Yan Hong’er asked, "What happened?"
Yan Cui’er shivered, taking a long moment before stammering, "It’s the Eldest Young Master!"
Eldest Young Master Gu Rusong, the personal Disciple of Sun Tiecheng, the City Lord of Fool’s City!
Yan Qing’er was startled. "Why would the Eldest Young Master come to our place? What should we do?"
Yan Hong’er said, "From what he said, it sounds like he’s here for the Shopkeeper!"
Yan Qing’er exclaimed, "Where has the Shopkeeper gone? I’ll go find him!"
Yan Cui’er cried out in rage, "How dare you! If you dare sell out the Shopkeeper, I’ll fight you to the death!"
Yan Qing’er also became agitated. "Why would you fight me? I’m not the one who provoked the Eldest Young Master!"
Tang Changfa turned around and shouted, "Stop your damn yelling! We have a male guest. Tidy yourselves up and come out to greet him."
Gu Rusong frowned. "Tang Changfa, don’t play dumb with me. Don’t you know who I am?"
Tang Changfa shook his head. "It’s so dark, I really can’t make out who you are."
Gu Rusong smiled. "I’m this close, and you still say you can’t see clearly? You might as well not have those eyes."
"Alright, as you wish. I’ll go without them." Tang Changfa gouged out his own eyes and threw them on the table, leaving two deep, empty sockets in his face.
"Guest Master, I really can’t see now. My eyes are out—Ironclad Evidence as Firm as a Mountain," Tang Changfa said calmly. "If you think highly of our Book Residence, then pick a girl. If you look down on us, then please see yourself out."
Gu Rusong sighed. "Why put yourself through this? Don’t you feel pain?"
Tang Changfa laughed. "It hurts quite a bit, but what can I do? You said to get rid of them, so I did. This is giving you face, isn’t it?"
Losing his eyes, Tang Changfa had paid a considerable price.
His eyes were fake, but he believed them to be real, just as he believed he was truly alive.
Without these eyes, he could no longer see.
He had made such a great sacrifice, hoping to use his Technique to force Gu Rusong to retreat.
Yet, he possessed a Cloud Top First Layer cultivation level and was a Drama Cultivator.
"Very well!" Tang Changfa picked up a knife, sliced open his stomach, and promptly removed his steaming heart and liver, placing them before Gu Rusong.
"What else do you want? Just say the word!"
"You’re using your Technique on me again! First, it was ’Ironclad Evidence as Firm as a Mountain,’ and then it was ’Provoke and Challenge’," Gu Rusong said, taking out a handkerchief to cover his nose. "But your Technique stinks, and I despise it."
Tang Changfa stammered, "Wha-what smell?"
"The smell of a corpse, do I even need to say it?" Gu Rusong fanned the air with his handkerchief. "It’s utterly disgusting. How can you stand it every day? Doesn’t the stench sicken you?
"It’s somewhat bearable now in the cold, but when it gets warmer, aren’t you afraid you’ll be crawling with maggots?"
Tang Changfa began to tremble uncontrollably.
Yan Hong’er was shocked.
Still covering his nose with the handkerchief, Gu Rusong continued, "How many years have you been dead? Don’t you detest yourself even a little? Still running this Book Residence, still trying to do business? When have you ever actually had any? Would anyone willingly come to a place like this? Look at yourself! Don’t you feel like vomiting? It’s somewhat tolerable now that it’s cold, but when it warms up, aren’t you afraid your body will be crawling with maggots?"
After this tirade, Tang Changfa was shaking so violently he couldn’t speak or move.
Previously, Tang Changfa had employed the Foolish Cultivation’s ’Provoke and Challenge’ Technique against Eldest Young Master Gu Rusong. The essence of this Technique was self-harm: ’Provoke’ meant inviting the opponent to strike, and if they refused, one would ’Challenge’ by striking oneself.
Tang Changfa had gouged out his own eyes and sliced open his own stomach to remove his heart and liver, creating a profound psychological deterrent for his adversary.
Even though Gu Rusong was an Above the Clouds cultivator, the Foolish Cultivation Technique still affected him, greatly weakening his combat strength and willpower at that moment.
However, Gu Rusong also knew Foolish Cultivation Techniques and deployed ’Holding Others’ Strengths and Weaknesses.’
All of Tang Changfa’s actions had stemmed from endurance and concession, solely intended to make Gu Rusong retreat. Logically, having paid such a heavy price without committing any offense, his actions shouldn’t have provoked such a response.
But Gu Rusong disregarded this. The principle of the ’Holding Others’ Strengths and Weaknesses’ Technique lay in relentlessly seizing upon an opponent’s vulnerabilities and pain points.
He had seized Tang Changfa’s most painful spots and was now tearing open the wounds, bit by bit.