Thinking about it, the brothel manager suddenly felt itchy. He scratched himself a few times before realizing that he had touched Zhu Mingyue.
Panic exploded inside him.
Except for Xu Linguang, no one dared go near Zhu Mingyue. The manager had no way to release his anger, so he kicked over a table and chairs. Broken pieces of porcelain scattered everywhere. One sharp piece flew straight toward Xu Linguang’s face.
Xu Linguang tilted his head and easily avoided it.
“What are you going crazy for?” he scolded. “If it’s a disease, then call a doctor.”
He then looked at the frightened men standing outside.
“What are you all waiting for? Go get a doctor!”
The manager finally recovered from his shock and immediately shouted:
“Come back! No one is calling a doctor!”
Xu Linguang looked confused.
“Why not? You may not care about your own life, but doesn’t he deserve treatment?”
The manager yelled,
“His life? Is his life more important than the South Wind House?”
“If people find out someone here has a plague, the government will shut us down. How will we continue doing business?”
Xu Linguang sighed.
“Then what do you plan to do?”
A cruel look appeared in the manager’s eyes.
“Burn him.”
“What?” someone asked in shock.
“I said burn him! We’ll put him in a sack tonight, take him outside the city, and burn him. There’s no wind tonight. It won’t take long.”
Everyone fell silent.
No one expected such terrible words from someone who looked so refined.
Many people secretly looked toward Xu Linguang, hoping he would say something.
Most of them came from poor families. They did not want innocent blood on their hands, especially not the life of a young boy who had been healthy only hours earlier.
Xu Linguang tapped his fingers slowly on the table.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound made everyone nervous.
After letting the tension build, he finally spoke.
“If I remember correctly, this boy was bought for seventy taels of silver.”
The manager’s heart ached at the reminder.
He had paid that money because he believed Zhu Mingyue would make him much more in the future.
Now the boy seemed ruined, and the seventy taels looked completely wasted.
“I have a way to get your money back,” Xu Linguang said.
“What did you say?”
Xu Linguang did not repeat himself.
But the manager had heard clearly.
He quickly stepped forward, refilled Xu Linguang’s tea, and listened respectfully.
Everyone could see that he was willing to lower himself for the sake of money.
From the inner room came faint sounds of painful groaning.
It was obvious Zhu Mingyue was suffering badly.
For a moment, Xu Linguang lost focus.
Then he stood up and spoke directly.
“He was bought from those two men. Just return him to them.”
The manager frowned.
“That won’t work. First, we don’t know where they are. Second, why would they take him back in this condition?”
Xu Linguang calmly continued.
“Give him medicine to keep him alive. Then send a few strong men to return him.”
“Tell them he had a hidden illness and the deal cannot continue.”
“The boy goes back to them. The money stays with you.”
“Even if they report it to the authorities, it won’t help them.”
The manager’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
“This can work! We’ll do exactly that.”
“I’ll send people to find them tomorrow.”
“No need.”
Xu Linguang clicked his tongue.
“They should still be at the Red Blossom House.”
A few days earlier, a servant named Liu Hong had told him about the two traffickers.
After receiving the money, they had immediately planned to spend it at the local pleasure house.
Xu Linguang had never met them personally, but from what he heard, they were greedy and lustful men.
People like that would waste their money on pleasure as soon as they got it.
Most likely, they were still there sleeping beside beautiful women.
Seeing how confident Xu Linguang was, the manager stopped asking questions.
He immediately sent guards to wait outside the Red Blossom House that night.
The manager had a miserable night.
He kept worrying that he had caught the disease himself.
When he learned that the illness developed quickly and that he still felt fine by morning, he finally relaxed.
Now all he cared about was getting his money back.
While the manager was busy, Xu Linguang found time to visit the room where Zhu Mingyue was being kept.
Zhu Mingyue’s eyes were unfocused.
He had completely lost consciousness.
Earlier he had still been able to groan, but now he could not even make a sound.
“Wake up.”
Xu Linguang slapped his face several times, but got no response.
“How did he get this sick?”
His brows tightened.
Then he rushed out.
A short time later, he returned holding a green porcelain bottle.
He opened it and poured out a single pill.
Looking at it, he showed a trace of reluctance.
The medicine was clearly valuable.
Still, he pushed the pill into Zhu Mingyue’s mouth without hesitation.
However, there was another problem.
Zhu Mingyue was barely breathing and could not swallow.
Xu Linguang’s forehead twitched with frustration.
“I really owe you something,” he muttered.
“I’m barely surviving myself, and yet I’m trying to save someone else.”
He grabbed a teapot and drank several mouthfuls of cold tea.
Then he leaned down.
After opening Zhu Mingyue’s mouth, he carefully transferred the tea into it.
Zhu Mingyue choked slightly and instinctively swallowed.
When Xu Linguang checked again, the pill was gone.
The medicine worked amazingly well.
Within a short time, life returned to Zhu Mingyue’s eyes.
His mind slowly cleared.
“Do you still feel uncomfortable?”
Xu Linguang lay casually on the bed, supporting his chin with one hand.
“Not too bad,” Zhu Mingyue replied.
“My mouth just tastes bitter.”
Then he looked at Xu Linguang and then at himself.
“Why am I sleeping on the floor?”
The floor was hard and cold.
His expression clearly said: I want the bed.
Xu Linguang snorted.
“Then should I sleep on the floor instead?”
Zhu Mingyue wanted to say yes.
After all, Xu Linguang was much bigger and stronger.
But Xu Linguang was acting like an angry rooster ready to attack anyone.
Zhu Mingyue wisely kept quiet.
However, Xu Linguang spoke first.
“If I hadn’t given you medicine, you would have killed yourself.”
He tossed the medicine bottle beside Zhu Mingyue.
“So how are you going to repay me?”
Zhu Mingyue finally understood why he felt so much better.
The medicine was incredibly effective.
Even though the red rash remained, his body was rapidly recovering.
He knew he owed Xu Linguang.
The problem was that he had nothing valuable to offer.
After some hesitation, he said:
“I’ll earn money in the future and buy your freedom.”
Xu Linguang laughed coldly.
His freedom was not something money alone could buy.
And even if it were, how much money could Zhu Mingyue realistically earn?
By the time he saved enough, Xu Linguang joked, he might already be dead.
Wanting to tease him, Xu Linguang asked:
“So when exactly will you redeem me?”
“Uh…”
Zhu Mingyue scratched his head.
“Probably not anytime soon.”
“Ten years? Twenty years?”
“By then I’d be completely worn out.”
Zhu Mingyue felt guilty.
His promise sounded empty now.
But Xu Linguang still was not done teasing him.
“You do have one thing going for you.”
“Your face.”
“Maybe I should suffer a little and let you repay me by marrying me.”
Zhu Mingyue blinked.
He understood every word separately.
Together, they made no sense.
“Isn’t there a more respectable way?” he asked awkwardly.
Then he added,
“Besides, we’re both on the same side of the relationship. How would that even work?”
Xu Linguang stared at him.
Then he laughed in disbelief.
“You don’t actually think I’m the same as you, do you?”