"There's a possibility that you could end up having your loved ones killed for a crime like this, you know."
Li Mu took a whiff of the herbal fragrance.
He realized that the Ninth Prince was indeed a bold one, given that all the herbs he was using were expensive ones.
Herbs as precious as this weren't even common in the capital city.
"I guess you really don't fear letting the emperor know, do you?"
All the servants who served in the Ninth Prince's residence had been sent by the emperor.
"I hardly have any loved ones to speak of."
"What about the ones in this house right now? You think they could survive on their own?" Li Mu continued to ask questions.
It was only then that he discovered that something was amiss in the place.
The servants in this house were unlike the others who served the other nobles or people of high status.
The airs about them—how they would all hold their heads high—weren't something that was supposed to be present in servants.
It would seem that the Ninth Prince had really been influenced by or inherited a lot from his mother.
All of the people sent by the emperor had rallied to the prince's side.
"I…"
The Ninth Prince was at a loss for words all of a sudden.
Yeah, I thought as much.
It doesn't matter that he dies.
But what about the servant girls in the house?
They're all so young still.
The way the prince saw it, those servant girls were all like older sisters to him.
"If this is where your level is gonna stay, I bet the emperor won't bat an eye. But, what if your powers spike?" Li Mu continued giving him the third degree.
The prince's pupils dilated all of a sudden.
There was simply no hiding from his third brother if that were to happen.
His third brother probably knew that he was training at the moment, but just chose not to be petty with him, given that his powers were far from being able to threaten the throne.
However, things would be different if he was actually able to amount to something with his training.
What should I do? The prince closed his eyes and pondered.
Li Mu shook his head. A softy like this prince would really hardly ever amount to anything in this world, indeed.
"Sir, do you have something in mind?"
The prince seemed to have realized something after quite a while.
"I have a way that will allow you to hide your powers. Make good use of it," Li Mu said right before he left.
He had spent enough time dallying around that night, given that he still had to check in elsewhere.
At that time, a soothing breeze blew into the prince's mind.
"Invisible Soul Chant? Sir, why are you helping me?"
The answer was only silence.
It was then that the prince realized that the sir had left.
He began to train in the Invisible Soul Chant.
...
Li Mu took quite a stroll outside the royal palace, before going home to sort out his loot.
"I've finally gotten myself a sword."
It was a common sword, yet nonetheless a handy weapon for him.
It was a far better weapon that a broom.
Despite having been doing check-ins for over a decade, this was the first time he had gotten a sword.
He didn't know what to say.
How about a celebration, eh?
So, how should I go about it?
If it had been in his past life, he would have lit firecrackers on such an occasion.
However, firecrackers were forbidden in cities, so he decided to do it in the countryside.
Well, since firecrackers are forbidden in the royal palace, I guess I'll just do it somewhere else.
He wasn't actually trying to celebrate per se.
It just so happened that he was in a good mood, and, having bottled himself up for so many years, he deemed that it was time to do something crazy.
There were no firecrackers to be found, so he decided to make some himself instead.
He knew the requirements like the back of his hand.
Some online novels even depicted formulas that brought about greater explosiveness.
He vaguely remembered some of them.
He had coal at his disposal.
He'd even gotten himself quite a bit of coal dust during Concubine Jing's period.
As for niter, it could be easily found in the walls of the toilet.
The only thing that required more legwork to get would be sulfur.
That was something that could be found in abundance at the dispensary.
A lot of sulfur was given to the eastern and western palaces every year for repelling bugs.
Li Mu made fireworks according to the formulas he remembered.
He stole some paper and rolled it up using a stick, sealing the bottoms with some dirt, and then filing up the rolls with the gunpowder before sealing the tops.
Li Mu recalled another plant at that moment: Japanese climbing fern.
He recalled that he could use it as a fuse.
Forget it.
I'll look for it when I have time.
He made some fireworks every day and managed to finish a dozen sticks two weeks later.
He took the firecrackers with him when he headed outside the royal palace for check-ins.
He planned to have fun somewhere in the mountains when he was finished checking in.
Huh?
Li Mu saw some people lurking about in the alleys just as he'd finished checking in.
That's big cities for you.
There are always people lurking around in the dark of night.
He thought nothing of it.
He'd seen quite a number of people in many places who seemed to be up to no good whenever he came outside for check-ins.
"Help!"
A faint shout for help reached his ears all of a sudden.
Li Mu halted just as he was about to get up and leave, peering into the compound to sense what it was.
There was hardly anything out of place both inside and outside of the palace.
Am I hearing things?
He perked up his ears again.
"Help!"
The faint cry could be heard from beneath the compound.
The voice was weak yet shrill.
A woman, eh?
Li Mu became alert right away.
A woman was being locked up underground.
A rapist or something at work here then?
He started to observe from the rooftop.
A group of men clad in black hauled a sack and entered the compound a while later.
He was able to tell from the breathing that it was a girl in the sack.
"This girl would definitely fetch a good price, once we're finished educating her," one of the men below murmured.
"As long as she's obedient, she could be sold as a maid even if she isn't that good-looking. If she turns out to be a babe, we could save her for the brothels. Boy, money, money, money."
"Relax, anyone who gets in here will definitely turn meek when they're ready to head out."
"Don't damage their bodies though, or the goods won't be worth sh*t."
"Oh, I know the rules. Just leave the rest to me."
…...
Li Mu realized what was going on after listening for quite a while.
An educational institute for brothels, eh?
That explains it.
He leapt from the roof and knocked the bouncers in the place unconscious, before sneaking into the dungeon below.
Well, well, I've never seen what such educational institutes in this world looked like.
"Check in."
"Successfully checked in at the brothel. Undershirt rewarded."
"The f*ck?"
He cursed right away.
He thought he would get something that Concubine Jing would find useful when she got lonely.
It was hard for a woman to stay cooped up in a palace for so many years.
It was quite embarrassing that he, a eunuch, was frequently asked to warm her bed after all.
Ptuih~
What the hell am I thinking?
In the dungeon...
Several pimps were giving brainwashing talks to the girls locked up in the dungeon.
They were totally oblivious to the figure sneaking up from behind them.
Li Mu looked at the tools in the dungeon with curiosity.
"It's not a shame to discard one's soul and principles. What's shameful is not fetching a good price! Women have to be harsh on themselves…"
Swoop~
Li Mu turned around to look at the pimp giving the talk.
He felt that his words sounded rather familiar.
The pimp then dragged one of the girls who had been disobedient and proceeded to verbally abuse her.
That was not all, as she was also physically punished later.
The abused girl didn't say anything throughout the whole ordeal.
She just wailed the whole time.
"Gosh, this is awful."
"What a stupid girl. Do you have any idea how many girls out there dream of servicing the rich guys and the nobles? Skin her tonight. She didn't want others seeing her skin, right? Well, we'll have the guys out there take a good look instead."
"Help! Noooo!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs.
...…
Li Mu felt very irritated.
Damn, why aren't the girls in this world fighting back?
Ah, forget it.
Best help them out.
He flicked his hand and caused the ropes, clamps, and whatever else in the room to jump.
Whack~
He quickly clapped the pimp down to the ground.
Claaaaang~
The locks in the cells and the ropes binding the girls were all opened.
He went outside the dungeon and came out above the brothel.
It was late at night.
The city was completely silent.
Only the brothel was all lit up.
Sounds of all kinds could be heard from the exquisite-looking place.
Man, quite a sight to behold, eh? I wonder how many suffered just so that you people could have fun. Well, if you people like being rowdy that much, let's make things even more rowdy, shall we?
He took off his rucksack and took out the firecrackers before sneaking inside the brothel.
Spring had yet to come, and it was still cold out there.
He found a match and lit all the firecrackers, which he then threw into the building.
Boom~
The place was shaken to its foundations and loud explosions could be heard.
Aaahhhh~
"Heeellllppp!"