I am a swordsman in a strange city

Chapter 71 The Person Behind the Door
The development of the internet has made it easy for photos with a special atmosphere to spread.

In particular, someone filmed a video and combined the three flute sounds together. The flute sound started high-pitched, then became low and melodious in the middle, and finally transformed into a spacious and distant sound.

Especially at the end, when the only beam of light in the entire venue shone under the curtain on the second floor, a person dressed in an ancient black robe, wearing a brass mask, and playing a flute was revealed, becoming the only highlight of the entire venue. Everyone who saw it felt that the grand show was just an accompaniment for this flute player.

They were simply interpreting the swordplay and shadows in the sound of the flute, and the melancholy and helplessness beneath the swordplay and shadows of the martial world.

A world with extraordinary individuals is bound to be fragmented and privileged.

There is an invisible vortex that makes the lives of ordinary people dance around the extraordinary, or rather, revolve around fame and fortune. The extraordinary can obtain these things much more easily than ordinary people. However, Master Pei was not wealthy back then. There were many reasons for this, but Pei Ju knew that his grandfather did not think that the acquisition of money would benefit his will.

Therefore, Pei Ju, who grew up in the Pei Family Sword Academy, did not live a wealthy life.

Pei Ju had once heard his grandfather say that money cannot make a person's spirit and will strong. Even if it seems to bring satisfaction, it is all illusory and is just an external force.

External forces are not reliable indicators; every aspect of life leaves its mark on the soul.

When Pei Ju returned backstage, many people were looking at him. He still had his mask on, not because he had forgotten, but because he didn't want to. The gazes of the actors were just as intense as those of the audience, especially the actresses.

The audience didn't see Pei Ju's face, only a person wearing a mask, but his temperament and the sound of his flute were already amazing.

These actresses and backstage staff had seen Pei Ju's face before. Although he was wearing a mask at the moment, he was maskless in his heart, and everything could be imagined.

After he went backstage, he received applause, especially from the staff, who said, "That was a great performance."

Pei Ju simply smiled slightly without saying anything, then looked at Chen Sheng, who said, "Please sit inside for a while, I'll take care of some things."

She didn't care about other people's misunderstandings; she wanted others to misunderstand her. Only after others misunderstood her would these girls dare not throw themselves at her.

Upon entering the inner station, Pei Ju immediately saw a woman who was about the same age as Chen Sheng, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

One glance was enough to tell that this person came from a wealthy family. He didn't understand much about clothing, but he could tell that the fabric was good, the overall demeanor was elegant, there was a faint fragrance, and the makeup was delicate.

Pei Ju did not remove his mask. He was dressed in black, with his hair loose and concealing the mask beneath. He looked mysterious and exuded a unique aura that struck her heart.

She immediately thought, "Even if I'm not good-looking, it's better if I don't take off the mask."

The office was quite large. Pei Ju looked around and was about to find a seat when the woman spoke up, "Pei Ju, sit here."

When Pei Ju saw that the other person knew his name, he realized that the other person's relationship with Chen Sheng must be unusual.

He didn't care and simply sat down opposite her, observing her expression.

The inheritance from Pei's Notes on Slaying Demons, coupled with his brief study of secret arts under Teacher Han, and the knowledge he gained at Xionglan Peak, had already given him a profound understanding of secret arts. For someone who has reached this level, knowledge cannot be improved through mere study; it requires practical application.

However, it is not easy to tell if someone has a problem. Even if someone immediately senses that the other person might have a problem, it is still difficult to be sure.

“I just watched your performance, it was excellent. The sound of the flute was unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. I think not only I felt that way, but everyone would. You are destined to become a great star.”

"Thank you," Pei Ju replied calmly.

He didn't care whether he played well or not. Of course, it was good if others thought it was good. His real purpose in playing the flute was simply to express his feelings and release the depression in his heart through the sound of the flute.

"You're so aloof," the woman said.

Pei Ju's lips twitched slightly, but he only glanced at her and didn't say anything.

Xu Nian suddenly felt a surge of anger. She was somewhat indignant that a man would be so aloof towards her. After all, as the eldest daughter of the third generation of the Xu Group, although she might not inherit much, her status and position were something most people could never achieve in their entire lives. Moreover, many handsome men in the entertainment industry would fawn over her whenever they saw her.

"Are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you for a drink," Xu Nian said.

"Sorry, I'm busy," Pei Ju said.

"What, going on a date with your girlfriend?" Xu Nian asked.

Pei Ju shook his head and did not answer.

"Are you going with Sheng Sheng?" Xu Nian asked again.

"No, I want to go home and sleep," Pei Ju said.

Xu Nian felt a little annoyed.

A little while later, Chen Sheng came in and then went to drink with Pei Ju.

However, Pei Ju refused and immediately set off.

"Hey, let me take you," Chen Sheng said quickly.

"No need, I've been here before, I know the way." Pei Ju came out from the back door of the backstage area. He had been away from Hai City for many years, so he wanted to walk around Hai City and get to know this Rakshasa Hai City again.

The mirage under the neon lights is different from the mirage during the day. He walked on the street. The Lotus Theater was in a bustling area. He had changed his clothes and taken off his mask. His hair was casually tied up and secured with a hairpin.

As he walked through the bustling crowd, people kept turning around to look at him, and many took photos of him with their phones.

He didn't care, as long as he wasn't disturbed. He turned into some less crowded alleys and wandered through them, seemingly walking randomly, but actually heading in one direction.

It was getting later and later, and before we knew it, it was past midnight. We crossed one street and entered a small, dimly lit alley.

There was a sanitation worker ahead, pulling a garbage truck. When he saw Pei Ju, he seemed a little surprised, but he quickly lowered his head and coughed heavily, spitting out thick phlegm from his throat.

Pei Ju keenly heard that the rats in the nearby Di clan cave squeaked the instant he coughed.

The man's age was hard to discern; he appeared to be an elderly person. In most cases, such people are not young, since no young person would be willing to do this job.

He pulled the cart toward Pei Ju, who naturally walked inside.

Just as they passed each other, the sanitation worker suddenly released the handlebars with his right hand, his hand brushing against the opening of a black bag hanging from the handlebars. A flash of light appeared, cutting through the darkness, and aimed at Pei Ju's throat.

Unexpected events can occur from the elbow or underarm, making them the hardest to prevent.

Especially since they were so close, and Pei Ju didn't have a sword on him, even if they were, he wouldn't have time to draw his sword, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to unleash it or block the attack.

Without a weapon, an ordinary person's bare hands are simply no match for a short knife. Even if they manage to block it once, their tendons will be severed.

The outcome will be terrible, and there's no stopping it.

However, the flash of light stopped abruptly the moment it appeared, because it was caught between two fingers. The thin, short knife, with its extremely sharp blade, was now held between two fingers, and the sanitation worker tried to pull it out, but couldn't budge it.

By the dim light of the streetlights in the alley, Pei Ju could see that the man was in his forties or fifties, with a sparse mustache, and his eyes, hidden behind the hat, revealed extreme astonishment.

"squeak!"

He suddenly made a rat-like sound, and immediately a chorus of rat sounds echoed through the alley. Pei Ju frowned. He didn't like rats, not out of fear, but out of disgust. Rats were filthy.

While Pei Ju was still debating whether to subdue or kill the attacker in the face of this sudden attack, he had already exhaled a puff of black smoke.

This is a bewitching black smoke; those who are affected become confused, lose their sense of self, and will follow the other party.

Pei Ju raised his sleeve and waved it, a gust of wind suddenly rose, the black smoke swirled back, and a loud roar came from inside the garbage truck, a big black man leaped up from the garbage inside the truck.

The moment he jumped up, Pei Ju saw that his body was covered in garbage and sewage, but it looked like he had grown hair on his body. This was not human, but he must have been human before.

Seeing his opponent rushing towards him without any warning, he didn't make contact, but instead released his knife and retreated gracefully.

His body felt weightless, like a piece of paper blown by the wind, and he floated up. The big black man immediately missed his target. Of course, when he landed, he immediately saw that countless rats had already swarmed into the alley.

He didn't say anything, he just looked at the sanitation worker.

The sanitation worker, for some unknown reason, pointed at Pei Ju and said, "Kill him."

The big, dark-skinned man lunged at Pei Ju. In one leap, he covered a distance of five or six meters and reached a height of two or three meters as he pounced on Pei Ju.

Pei Ju recognized what it was immediately.

Zombies.

Or rather, someone is raising corpses.

I couldn't help but sigh.

He used to enjoy fighting, but over the past five years, he has grown to dislike it more and more.

Right after his grandfather passed away, he suddenly realized that it was wrong of him to always get into fights, as it always made his grandfather worry. So he gradually disliked fighting, especially these inexplicable fights.

But sometimes there's just no other way.

He reached out and grabbed a branch from the side, a branch that some child had used to knock down leaves along the flowerbed, and it was now in his hand.

Then the sanitation worker saw that the zombie he had raised pounced down, blocking his view, but the corpse he had raised for many years fell directly to the ground, as if it had missed its target and lost its strength in mid-air.

"boom!"

The zombie pounced on the ground, splashing mud and water everywhere.

"Who exactly are you?" the sanitation worker asked in a somewhat panicked manner.

“Just a passerby,” Pei Ju replied coldly.

"Then, it's all a misunderstanding," the sanitation worker hurriedly said.

“No, you’re not mistaken, you want to kill me,” Pei Ju said.

"How could that be? We're complete strangers. It's all a misunderstanding. I have a card here. Take it. There's over 100,000 yuan in it. Consider it our first meeting today."

"Of course, you can also consider it my toll." The sanitation worker took out a card from his pocket and handed it to Pei Ju.

Pei Ju neither laughed nor got angry; he just felt that some people were indeed very strange.

So he said, "Take one of my swords. If you're unharmed, I'll let you go."

As soon as Pei Ju finished speaking, the other party's expression changed. Although he hadn't seen Pei Ju's swordsmanship, he knew about the corpse he was raising. The fact that it had collapsed to the ground in front of him was suspicious.

Although he hadn't seen many people with strong swordsmanship, something unusual must be going on. What if he had encountered a powerful swordsman?
So he decided not to accept the offer and quickly said, "If my friend can pretend that he didn't see anything, our Underground Club will definitely reward him handsomely."

Before he could finish speaking, Pei Ju had already moved.

Then he saw the branch that Pei Ju was raising in his hand. In his eyes, he saw an ordinary branch, yet it seemed as if light was gathering on it.

He tried to back away and hide, but was blocked by the garbage truck behind him. He screamed in panic as the rats pounced on Pei Ju.

He crouched down, but the branch had already touched his forehead. He felt a sharp force pierce through his will, and he seemed to see a beam of light, like the light of the sun. Then his consciousness began to dissipate.

"Bang!" He fell onto the trash, but a tree branch was stuck in his forehead.

The person who had stuck the branch out was nowhere to be seen, and the rats scattered and fled.

Not long after, a group of people appeared; they were all short in stature.

"Who did it?"

"Don't worry about it for now, take it back, and don't let anyone find out. Tell the priest about this first, so as not to delay the priest's important business," another person said.

And so, the two men lifted the sanitation worker who had fallen to the ground into the garbage truck, and then they lifted the zombie in as well.

"Be careful not to break this branch."

"I know, I know."

"This looks more like a swordsman's technique."

"Never mind those things, Your Highness, please make your judgment."

……

Pei Ju, with his hands in his pockets, walked through dimly lit alleys and past blooming streetlights until dawn, finally arriving at the Pei Clan's Demon-Slaying Sword Hall.

Outside the Sword Hall, a different sign had already been hung up, but he ignored it and jumped straight in.

However, as soon as he entered the courtyard, he suddenly stopped, because he sensed that there was someone inside the house, and that person seemed to have noticed him outside, peeking out through the crack in the locked door.

(End of this chapter)