Roaring Dragon-Chapter 15: The Bandit’s Excited Pants

Not long after, a horse-drawn carriage bearing a wooden placard with the character Lin departed from the front gates of the Lin Family Medical Hall, carrying a man and a woman.

Meanwhile, at the far end of Ning'an Street, on the upper floor of a three-story tavern—

A man dressed in coarse hemp robes and wearing a conical hat stood by the window of a private room. He peered through a crack, watching the carriage trundle along the street. Beside him rested a five-foot-long horse-slaying saber. His gaze was disdainful:

"Just that young brat? His head is worth three hundred taels?"

Seated at a desk behind him was another man cloaked in a mantle, tea cup in hand:

"It's you who's worth three hundred taels, not him. I hired you to make sure the job gets done. If it doesn’t, you know the rules."

The saber-wielding man rather liked that answer, but still asked:

"What's the kid’s background?"

"His name is Xie Jinhuan, born in the third year of Changping, originally from Wanan County in Luojing. His father, Xie Wen, once served as the judicial officer there. Three years ago, due to mishandling a case, he was transferred to Nanning, Ruizhou. The boy just returned alone to the Central Plains."

"How strong is he? Why do you want him dead?"

The man in the cloak paused briefly before answering in detail:

"He's spent the past few years training at Wind Spirit Valley, a minor sect. His skills are decent. Yesterday, he reported my warehouse to the authorities, costing me thousands of taels' worth of goods. He has to pay for that."

The saber-man looked a bit skeptical:

"Now of all times? With the authorities on high alert and crackdowns on demon beasts and rebels everywhere? Just yesterday, there was a huge stir at the East Warehouse Ward. You’re not even trying to lie low and are instead hiring a killer for revenge? Seems reckless."

The cloaked man pulled out a silver note from his sleeve and laid it on the table:

"In the martial world, asking too many questions doesn’t help you. So—will you take the job or not?"

The saber-man stared at the note for a moment, then finally nodded:

"I'll take it. A simple job like this? Turning it down would be an insult to silver."

The cloaked man then produced a black medicine vial and placed it on the table:

"Things really are tight lately. Try poison first. If that fails, then use force."

The saber-man picked up the vial and inspected it, frowning slightly:

"This looks like a bottle from Sanhe Pavilion. Since when do they sell poison?"

"Just used their bottle to hold the stuff. Get it done quickly."

With that, the cloaked man stood and exited the room.

The saber-man looked thoughtfully at the vial, then tucked it into his robe...

...

A cold rain drizzled endlessly, fog draping the city streets. Buildings of all shapes and sizes loomed from the mist, and the entire city looked dim, wrapped in hues of dark blue-green.

The carriage traveled through the eastern market district. Sitting outside, driver and bodyguard Jia Zheng wore a conical hat and, perhaps bored from the journey, hummed a somber tune:

"The heavens are bitter~ the earth is bitter~

Ten thousand miles north and south, all but a hero’s tomb~

Be it Buddha~ or Dao~

Eighty years wandering east and west,

In the end just bones in the ground~"

The carriage was pulled by two horses side by side, and the interior was rather spacious. A small table sat beside the left window.

Lin Wanyi, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) sat upright on the far side, absentmindedly petting Meiqiu’s furry head. She occasionally cast sidelong glances at the white-robed young man across the little table.

Xie Jinhuan sat with his back to the window, carefully polishing his 36-section Heavenly Gang Cudgel with a handkerchief. His gaze seemed cold and distant, but if one looked closely, there was a subtle warmth. His expression was flawless, his posture perfect—every movement and glance just right. It made people want to keep looking.

Lin Wanyi thought Xie Jinhuan's bearing was almost too refined. Even training from age three might not produce that kind of poise. After a moment of silence, she couldn’t help asking:

"Xie Jinhuan, are you thinking about something?"

Xie Jinhuan had far too much on his mind right now—mainly how to stay alive. Hearing her speak, he snapped out of his thoughts:

"Nothing. Just zoned out."

Lin Wanyi nodded slightly. Since they’d only just met, there wasn’t much to talk about, but she still tried:

"Does this weapon hold some special meaning for you?"

The cudgel, like Meiqiu, had been a flea market find. He’d bought it for two taels from a vendor who claimed it was an ‘ancient divine weapon,’ though it was basically just a really sturdy iron stick.

Still, when introducing it to others, it wouldn’t do to sound cheap. So he made something up:

"I started with spear and staff—'an inch longer, an inch stronger.' Then switched to swords and blades, relying on technique. Eventually, I found weapons unnecessary—pluck a flower, flick a leaf, and you can wound. This cudgel wasn’t forged as a weapon, but as a reminder to myself."

"A reminder of what?"

"A cudgel has four blunt edges, no sharpness—an ideal among weapons. It stands for fairness and balance. Its purpose is to warn and deter, not to kill or maim."

"Oh..."

Lin Wanyi nodded again, thinking a little more highly of Xie Jinhuan.

As their idle conversation continued, the carriage approached the Academy of Learning and came to a stop near a gold-lacquered archway. The sudden rain began to ease.

Beside the archway was a designated parking area, packed with carriages and sedan chairs. Inside was a massive marketplace filled with merchants—including many foreigners with brown hair and green eyes.

Lin Wanyi stepped down first and put on a veil, but her voluptuous figure still drew many sidelong glances from the guards and runners nearby.

Xie Jinhuan walked beside her, scanning the market stalls as they passed. One storefront in particular had a crowd gathered out front.

Inside, rather than goods, rows of red-painted boxes were laid out. Each had a brass lock and a seal marked "Martial Armory Institute," all in varying sizes.

Various runners and martial types were crowded around, picking through the boxes and murmuring:

"There’s probably short weapons in here..."

"Are these boxes legit?"

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

"Who’d dare fake goods from Danyang Academy?"

Xie Jinhuan paused when he saw the ‘mystery boxes’:

"People still fall for these Jianghu scams in Danyang?"

Lin Wanyi, having been away for a while, looked up at the storefront sign reading “Treasure Pavilion,” and asked curiously:

"Jia Zheng, what does this shop sell?"

Jia Zheng quickly answered:

"Newly opened. They say the owner’s a bigwig from Wencheng Street. All the items are from the Academy—gear and armor—all for thirty taels apiece."

The Martial Armory Institute specialized in city defense tools, textiles, hydraulics, and also taught students to forge weapons and magical tools.

Naturally, student work created a variety of items. To recoup costs, the academy would sell them—but only high-quality pieces would make it to the market. Nothing cheap.

Lin Wanyi was intrigued by the thirty-tael price:

"Are they real?"

"Guaranteed genuine. But you can't check before buying. Ninety percent are duds. But a few days ago, someone hit the jackpot and found soft armor—sold it for a thousand taels of snow silver."

Now curious, Lin Wanyi examined the storefront and walked up:

"You go ask around for the Longyang Flower seller. I’ll catch up later."

"Got it!"

Jia Zheng ran deeper into the market.

Xie Jinhuan, more focused on evading the imperial investigation, had no interest in street scams. But just as he followed her in, his personal ghostly companion appeared—Ye Dahuanmo—pointing at one box:

"That one."

Xie Jinhuan froze, glanced around to ensure no one noticed her, and stepped closer:

"What’s inside?"

Ye Hongshang shrugged: "Material’s special. You won’t lose out. But if I just tell you, wouldn’t that ruin the fun?"

Trusting her instincts, Xie Jinhuan picked up the box—it was head-sized and quite light, its contents a mystery.

Lin Wanyi, tempted but wary of wasting thirty taels—more than three months’ wages for Jia Zheng—saw Xie Jinhuan eyeing the box and asked:

"Think there’s something good in there?"

Xie Jinhuan figured Ye Hongshang wouldn’t lie—this was likely a jackpot.

But he only had a little over twenty taels. Not enough!

Seeing her curious, he made a painful but generous call:

"Looks promising. You try. If it’s a win, we split it fifty-fifty. If it’s a bust, I’ll take the loss."

Intrigued, Lin Wanyi discreetly handed over the silver and left with the box:

"It’s so light—could it be soft armor?"

Xie Jinhuan wasn’t sure. Watching closely:

"Only one way to find out."

Lin Wanyi opened the box once they were away from the crowd, peeling off the seal with some nervous anticipation.

Inside was a beautifully embroidered sachet.

?

She blinked, handed the box to Xie Jinhuan, and opened the pouch. Inside were two pieces of black fabric.

Each was palm-sized, soft and smooth, with an unmistakable luster—clearly expensive material.

"Ice Soul Silk?!" Lin Wanyi’s amber eyes lit up. "It really is soft armor. How did you tell?"

Ice Soul Silk was a secret-made fiber from the Martial Armory Institute—one tael of silk worth a hundred taels of gold. Soft armor made from it was priceless.

Xie Jinhuan, thrilled at hitting the jackpot thanks to Ye Hongshang, was about to celebrate—until he saw how small the pouch was.

"Isn’t this armor... kinda small?"

"Hmm?"

Lin Wanyi examined the pouch, took out a piece and unfolded it.

What emerged was a... very strange pair of “pants.”

They were as light and sheer as gossamer, almost translucent, and extremely elastic. Intricate embroidery adorned the lower abdomen. Whether they had any actual protective value was questionable—but on a woman, it’d be nearly indistinguishable from not wearing anything at all...

The Bandit’s Excited Pants?