Madman!

Chapter 22: My Senior Sister Led Me Astray

Ah Yue kicked off her shoes and stepped onto the platform between Chen Wujun and Shark Jiu. She bit her lip, gripped the steel pole, and began to sway her body.

Moments later, her white blouse slid to one side, revealing the white undergarment beneath and a stunning figure.

She was clearly nervous. Even as she danced, her body trembled slightly.

"What a killer figure..." Shark Jiu clicked her tongue in admiration, then beckoned Chen Wujun over, motioning for him to sit beside her.

She turned and asked him, "Well? Fresh off the boat, beautiful, obedient--even I feel sorry for her. And that body--absolutely scorching. Want to take her home? She'd only cost a few thousand a month to keep. Illegal immigrants don't come expensive--three thousand will do it. Try keeping a girl like that on the outside and you'd be looking at thirty thousand a month, minimum."

Shark Jiu held up three fingers and waved them in front of Chen Wujun's face.

"A girl this fine, stuck here where any man can ogle her for pocket change? What a waste!"

"Senior Sister, if you feel so sorry for her, why don't you take her home yourself?" Chen Wujun dragged his gaze away from the girl's chest and turned to her with a grin.

The woman was undeniably gorgeous with a body to match, but his mind was consumed with nothing but martial arts training and making money. He had no desire to spend time or energy on anything else.

"Me? A woman keeping another woman as a secret lover?" Shark Jiu shot him an odd look, then flopped back against the sofa."I hand you a gift on a silver platter and you don't want it? Fine, forget it!"

"Drink! Consider this your celebration!" She shoved a bottle straight into Chen Wujun's hands.

"Thanks, Senior Sister!" Chen Wujun clinked the bottle against hers, tilted his head back, and downed half of it in one go.

Up on the platform, Ah Yue bit her lip as her body swayed, and her short skirt slipped to the floor.

Chen Wujun leaned back on the sofa, his gaze roaming ceaselessly over Ah Yue's body.

"I thought you said you didn't want her? Come on--drink!" Shark Jiu grabbed Chen Wujun and challenged him to keep pace with her.

......

"What a lightweight..." Shark Jiu lounged against the sofa, mocking Chen Wujun as he lay slumped to one side.

Karen pulled the curtain aside and glanced at Shark Jiu's expression, then turned to Ah Yue. "You can get dressed now."

"Look at him--he can barely walk a straight line. Have Ah Yue take him home. Send two guys to follow behind them, make sure nothing happens." Shark Jiu grinned.

"I'll arrange it." Karen nodded, then pulled Ah Yue aside. "If you want to survive well in this Walled City, you need to find yourself a good backer."

A few moments later, Ah Yue struggled to haul Chen Wujun to his feet and guided him toward the exit.

The two foot soldiers Karen had assigned trailed at a distance behind them.

They hadn't made it far from the dance hall before Chen Wujun stopped by the roadside, hands braced on his knees, bent double.

Ah Yue gently patted his back. After a while, he vomited all over the ground. His eyes cleared somewhat. He fumbled several times before managing to fish out a cigarette and light it. Two drags later, a bit more clarity returned.

But when he raised his head, he looked just as drunk as before, letting Ah Yue support him the rest of the way home.

......

"Jiu-jie, you're so good to Jun-zai... even gifting him a woman! With a little grooming, Ah Yue could be a real cash cow!" Karen sounded wistful.

Ah Yue's looks and figure were genuinely top-tier by Walled City standards.

A girl with those assets would normally have men lining up with fat wallets to keep her. She'd never end up at a dance hall.

With just a little polish, she could become the venue's star attraction, drawing in droves of customers.

"Cash cow, my ass... She's just a woman like the rest of us. Even if she were a bit less pretty, those men would still come to watch, wouldn't they?" Shark Jiu scoffed.

"He's at that age where his blood runs hot. If we groom some beauty only for a rival to dangle her as bait and lure him away--then what? Better to expose him to all this now, so he won't be tempted by it later."

"And if that girl manages to latch onto him, it'll be good for her too."

Another thought turned in Shark Jiu's mind: let Chen Wujun see all this early, so he wouldn't end up ruined by a woman down the line.

Little Twelve had been ruined by a woman no one knew anything about. She'd gone to collect his body herself--and it had been barely possible to piece the corpse back together.

All of this, she had arranged on the spot the moment she'd laid eyes on Ah Yue, her mind spinning through the possibilities in an instant.

It cost her nothing, after all. Whether it worked out or not, she lost nothing either way.

"With a senior sister like me, that kid's hit the jackpot. I'm over here worrying myself to pieces for him!" Shark Jiu threw her head back and laughed at Karen.

"Check tomorrow if he kept her. If he did, set the girl up with something easy to do. If he didn't, groom her into our star attraction."

"Men--when something's served right up to their lips, who doesn't take a bite?" Karen's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.

Shark Jiu reached for the cigarettes on the table, then her hand froze. Her gaze swept across the tabletop, and she cursed with a laugh:

"That little bastard swiped my smokes and my lighter!"

......

The next morning, before Chen Wujun even opened his eyes, he sensed something was off beside him--as if someone else was there.

He reached out a hand and touched something soft and smooth.

Propping himself up, he found a woman lying beside him. Her skin wasn't particularly fair, but her features were refined, her figure stunning, and she was fast asleep.

Only then did the events of the previous night come flooding back.

But he couldn't be bothered with that just yet. He swung his bare feet to the floor, found a bottle of water, and tilted it back. That helped a little.

He leaned against the windowsill, thinking.

Last night he and Shark Jiu had gone through an entire case of beer. He'd been practically unconscious, though he'd sobered up a bit after leaving the dance hall. He'd let Ah Yue walk him home, and then the drunkenness had surged back.

After that, he'd brought Ah Yue into his room.

What followed--he remembered in fragments.

In summary: very soft.

"Drinking leads to bad decisions!" Chen Wujun let out a long breath as he leaned against the window.

He'd had absolutely no intention of keeping a woman.

Martial arts and money--those were the only things that mattered right now.

But last night the alcohol had gone to his head, and he'd kept her. It would be awkward to send her back to Shark Jiu now--that would make him look small.

"Whatever, I'll keep her for now." Chen Wujun scratched his head. His senior sister had said three thousand a month. For him, it was like adding one more flea when you're already covered in them--one more debt when you're already drowning.

His monthly shortfall for training was already over twenty thousand. He'd have to find ways to make money regardless, so what difference did another three thousand make? It was barely an extra handful in the pot.

'I've still got some cash and crystals on hand. For now, I'll settle in and focus on training, then look for ways to earn money.'

'But for the long run, I need my own business. Just like Senior Sister--she has her own operations, which means steady income without having to hustle for every penny.'

Having sorted his thoughts, Chen Wujun turned his gaze back to Ah Yue.

In the pale morning light filtering through the window, her body was laid bare before him in perfect clarity--breathtakingly beautiful. Something stirred in him again, wild and restless, like an unbroken stallion.

He was a young man, after all. Once you've tasted something sweet, it's hard not to crave more.

Chen Wujun went to the bathroom and drew some water, then came back and climbed into bed.

Ah Yue was startled awake by the movement. She opened her eyes, blinked in momentary confusion before remembering where she was, then quickly looked at Chen Wujun.

Her voice was soft and gentle: "You're awake? You drank so much last night--are you feeling alright? Should I cook some noodles for you?"

"Where would I even get noodles? I'd rather eat you."

Chen Wujun rolled over on top of her. His memories from last night were too hazy. He needed a proper experience this time.

......

"It's already late--no point rushing now." Chen Wujun glanced at his watch. It was already seven in the morning.

He decided to take Ah Yue downstairs for instant noodles instead.

"Add ham, sausage, and radish!" Chen Wujun called out to the shop owner, then turned to study Ah Yue sitting across from him. He asked casually, "What's your family situation?"

"My dad, me, and my little brother--we all came by boat together. It was pouring rain that day. Before we even reached shore, the smuggler forced us into the sea. A lot of people got swept away by the waves. We were lucky--we made it to land alive. But my dad's arm was broken."

"We walked through the night with the others until we reached the Walled City."

"We needed a place to stay, food to eat. My dad's arm is broken--he needs medicine." Ah Yue's voice was perfectly calm.

"When did you arrive?"

"Five days ago."

Chen Wujun studied the composure on Ah Yue's face and decided this girl wasn't nearly as meek as she appeared on the surface. There was a core of steel beneath.

But then again, who in the Walled City wasn't like a weed--tough and resilient to the bone?

You couldn't survive here otherwise.

"Where are you staying now?"

"In a stairwell," Ah Yue murmured.

After finishing his meal, Chen Wujun handed her three thousand.

"Get your family settled, then go find Karen and have her set you up with some work."

"Not the dancing kind."

Ah Yue took the money, looking lost for a moment, then bit her lip and tucked it away.

After that, Chen Wujun headed to the martial hall.

"You're late today," remarked Senior Brother Li, who was alone in the hall when Chen Wujun walked in.

"Something came up..." Chen Wujun felt a flush of embarrassment. He'd just been accepted as a disciple yesterday, and here he was, late on day one.

'Senior Sister led me astray!'

'Ah Yue led me astray!'

As for himself... what could he possibly have done wrong?

Chen Wujun changed into his training clothes and assumed his standing post. Before long, his brow furrowed.

His condition today was noticeably worse than usual, with a lingering sense of fatigue.

Soon, however, he cast all stray thoughts aside and turned his focus inward, replaying the sensations from yesterday's battlefield over and over.

A fierce, murderous aura began to seep from his body, rising slowly like smoke.

Faint, but unmistakably real.

Nearby, Senior Brother Li's hand paused mid-motion. He'd noticed Chen Wujun's poor condition but hadn't said anything.

What he hadn't expected was that after just one pointer from their master yesterday, the young man would grasp the killing intent forged on the battlefield so quickly--along with that unshakable mindset of absolute invincibility.

Senior Brother Li felt the tea in his cup had suddenly gone tasteless, no different from leaves boiled in plain water.