Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

It was no fun for a group of grown men to just drink.

Wu Hao had a lot of pull, so he hired a troupe of Dancing Girls from the Western Regions out of the Baihua Tower to dance for them and liven things up.

There wasn’t much nightlife in Ganshan City.

It was just wine, meat, and women.

For the poor, a delightful day meant drinking some strong liquor, munching on a few bites of pig’s ear, and collapsing into bed, happily drunk.

But for any Martial Artist, wine, meat, and women usually came as a package deal.

The drinking and carousing lasted until dawn.

Everyone fell into a deep sleep at the Beast Taming Garden.

Tang Wen didn’t bother going home either. He found a mat and, listening to the chorus of snores, collapsed and fell right asleep.

"Open the door!"

"Open up! Is Tang Wen here?"

"By order of the Gang Leader, you’re coming with us!"

At noon, a squad of Black Armored Guards shouted for the gates of the Beast Taming Garden to be opened.

Wu Hao went out to see and recognized them as the Gang Leader’s personal Black Armor Guards.

He sobered up instantly.

With his hands behind his back, he gestured to Tang Wen and said with a smile,

"Brothers, what can I do for you?"

As he spoke, he pulled a hundred-tael silver note from his robes.

He flashed it between two fingers before deftly stuffing it inside the breastplate of the Black Armored Guard before him.

The Black Armored Guard glanced at him and announced loudly,

"Which one of you is Tang Wen? By order of the Gang Leader, Tang Wen is to be brought to the Council Hall. If he resists, subdue him on the spot."

Everyone froze.

All eyes involuntarily turned to Tang Wen.

Tang Wen, who was still rubbing his eyes, looked utterly bewildered. "M-me? Wait, sir, I’m the gang’s Beastmaster. Is the Gang Leader looking for me? You don’t have the wrong name, do you?"

"Then there’s no mistake. It’s you!"

The Black Armored Guards swarmed in and surrounded Tang Wen.

Wu Hao and the others didn’t dare to move.

The Gang Leader’s Close Guard.

Every last one of them was a Martial Artist.

If a real conflict were to break out between them,

Wu Hao and his men would die for nothing.

Once they had him surrounded, the lead Black Armored Guard suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Think about what you did yesterday."

Tang Wen replied, "I ate, did my Martial Arts Training, and came out drinking."

Wu Hao and his subordinates all nodded in agreement.

The Black Armored Guard remained expressionless. "Tell it to the Gang Leader. Take him away!"

Despite the order to "take him away," they were surprisingly polite, using no forceful measures.

They merely formed a symbolic circle around Tang Wen as they led him out the door.

Wu Hao hurried off in the direction of Elder Li’s residence.

On the way, Tang Wen acted both puzzled and calm, even trying to probe with a question or two.

However, perhaps because he hadn’t offered any silver notes,

the Black Armored Guards fully demonstrated the professionalism befitting the Gang Leader’s Close Guard.

They didn’t say a single word to him.

The Black Water Gang’s Main Altar, the Council Hall.

The two Vice Gang Leaders, three Elders, and the Gang Leader were all present.

Vice Gang Leader Lin questioned him directly,

"Tang Wen, kneel and confess your crimes!"

Tang Wen glanced at him, his eyes filled with confusion.

Vice Gang Leader Lin spoke again, relentlessly applying pressure.

Tang Wen retreated step by step until his back was against a corner. He then gritted his teeth and said, "Confess what crime? Why don’t you show me how, Vice Gang Leader Lin? Let your subordinate learn from your example!"

"You’re courting death!"

"That’s enough, Old Lin!"

The Gang Leader’s deep voice rang out.

Vice Gang Leader Lin froze in his tracks and hastily backed away.

The Gang Leader looked at Tang Wen, his pitch-black eyes seeming to pierce right through to a person’s soul.

Tang Wen didn’t dare to meet his gaze. He lowered his head respectfully and saluted with cupped fists.

The Gang Leader said calmly, "Tang Wen, tell me everything you did yesterday. Spare no detail."

"Huh?" Tang Wen looked completely bewildered and at a loss.

Vice Gang Leader Zhao’s expression darkened. "What are you spacing out for!"

"Very well! My lords, please listen."

Tang Wen put on an expression as if he were laying it all on the line.

The expressions on the faces of those present were varied.

’Something went wrong with the mission.’

’As the Beastmaster, I knew I would inevitably fall under suspicion.’

’Plus, I’ve only been with the Black Water Gang for a short time.’

’They must think I have some kind of shameful secret in my past.’

’So, it’s highly likely they’d drag me in for questioning.’

Having anticipated this, Tang Wen had already come up with a strategy:

"Yesterday morning, I woke up and put on a pair of black boxer shorts.

Over them, I wore my black training clothes.

First, I went to the latrine to relieve myself for a quarter of an hour.

Then, I washed my hands with some flower-scented soap..."

"Enough!" Vice Gang Leader Lin cut in. "What nonsense are you spouting in front of the Gang Leader! It’s obvious you have a guilty conscience."

Tang Wen shot him a glance and said loudly, "How is it nonsense? Or are you telling me that you don’t wash your hands after using the privy, Vice Gang Leader Lin?"

As he spoke, a look of disgust crossed his face.

He even pinched his nose with his right hand!

The other leaders looked at Vice Gang Leader Lin, a hint of disgust in their eyes.

Even though they sometimes didn’t wash theirs either.

"You’re the one who doesn’t wash your hands! I oughta—"

"Old Lin!" Vice Gang Leader Zhao stopped him again, then turned to Tang Wen. "We asked you to be detailed, but there’s no need to mention washing up after using the privy."

Looking aggrieved, the latter continued,

"I trained for a while until I was hungry, then I went to the kitchen to instruct a Maid on how to cook."

He had just gotten to this part,

when Vice Gang Leader Lin let out a cold sneer, his eyes filled with suspicion.

As if he’d been insulted, Tang Wen practically jumped up and down as he said,

"I was teaching her to make a dish of dried shrimp and tofu.

First, you take a block of tofu, remove the skin from both sides, cut it into eighteen small pieces, and let it air dry.

Sear it in hot lard, sprinkling it with a little salt.

After flipping it, add a cup of tiger bone and deer antler wine, and eighteen large dried shrimp..."

The Vice Gang Leaders and Elders were listening, dumbfounded.

At first, they thought Tang Wen was just playing dumb.

’A Beastmaster who knows how to cook?’

’What kind of self-respecting man knows his way around a kitchen?’

’That’s a servant’s job.’

But they had been in the gang’s upper echelon for years. Even if they hadn’t achieved Mastery in all the vices of wining, dining, and womanizing, they had picked up enough through osmosis to know a thing or two about cooking.

As they listened to Tang Wen’s increasingly detailed description, right down to when to "slowly remove the pan from the heat,"

they actually felt a sudden urge to taste the dish themselves.

The Gang Leader frowned. ’How come I’ve never eaten this dish?’

He cut him off. "Alright! During yesterday’s operation, although some petty villains caused trouble,

but on the whole, it still achieved Perfection.

Your success in Beast Taming was meritorious, and you should be rewarded!

But, before I reward you,

I have something to ask you."

Tang Wen’s heart went cold. He understood that the answer to this question would likely determine not only his reward, but his very life.

He immediately gathered all his wits and said with a cupped fist, "Please ask, Gang Leader."

A sharp glint flashed in the Gang Leader’s eyes as he spoke, enunciating every word,

"Since the day you joined the gang, why have you always worn a disguise on your face?"

This!

Tang Wen truly hadn’t expected him to ask this.

He knew the makeup was a hidden danger.

He’d planned to reveal his true face after his next period of secluded training.

He never expected the Gang Leader to expose him now.

Tang Wen leaned back slightly, not bothering to hide the astonishment on his face.

"Little bastard, let’s see you squirm your way out of this one!" Vice Gang Leader Lin sneered ominously.

The expressions of the others also turned hostile.

Elder Li and Vice Gang Leader Zhao frowned as well.

’Not daring to show one’s true face.’

’It either means you’re hiding from a crime you committed, or you’re concealing some unspeakable secret.’

’Judging from Tang Wen’s reaction, he really was wearing a disguise.’

Unexpectedly, Tang Wen lifted his head, his voice tinged with surprise.

"Is that all the Gang Leader wanted to ask?"

He continued, "This subordinate did indeed disguise his face."

"Aha! He admits it." Vice Gang Leader Lin, still seated, slapped his thigh repeatedly. "Gang Leader, it seems the mole who leaked the gang’s operation is none other than him."

Normally, a man of Vice Gang Leader Lin’s age and status shouldn’t be so impatient.

But his old acquaintances in the hall all knew that this was just how Old Lin was.

It would be abnormal if he wasn’t hot-headed and impulsive.

Tang Wen ignored him, saying casually, "The Gang Leader asks why I disguise my appearance. This is a matter that requires no explanation from me. Just bring me a basin of water, I’ll wash my face, and all of you will naturally understand."