The Empress’s Gigolo

After washing the customer’s hair, An Fei wrapped her head with a towel. When she raised her head, she saw Ren Baqian, who was standing to one side. At that instance, she opened her mouth in surprise and gave off an “ahh”.

“You have changed to a new job?” Ren Baqian asked and smiled.

“Yes.” An Fei’s lips opened and closed as she blurted out a word. She looked as though she had spent a lot of effort saying just that one word. She much preferred writing on a paper to convey her message.

“I saw your message, I will text you when I’m free,” Ren Baqian said, “Sorry for troubling you, I need you to cut my hair.”

“Ah!” An Fei quickly nodded her head. It seemed “ah” was easier for her to produce than any other words.

Ren Baqian lowered his head and let An Fei put shampoo on his hair and scrub it. An Fei’s hands were very soft. She was also very attentive while she washed Ren Baqian’s hair. Afterwards, Ren Baqian sat on a chair and let a barber give him a flat top haircut, leaving short hair on the top of his head. He resembled an inmate who was just released from a jail.

Because of the hot weather, Dayao people did not care about their parents’ health. Shaved completely was bald was a commonly seen haircut. For example, Xiong Pi was bald. And because of Xiong Pi, Ren Baqian always associated baldness with formidability.

[There’s an old Chinese myth that every time one cut his hair, his parents’ health will deteriorate by a bit. Because of the hot weather, Dayao people seldom get haircuts.]

How could one become stronger if he or she did not go bald…

It was a pity he could not become stronger even if he did go bald… It was such a pity…

Before leaving the salon, Ren Baqian even took the time to notify An Fei.

Half an hour had passed and Ren Baqian was sitting in a restaurant. Sitting opposite him was Chen Qing. He had not changed much from the past.

On the contrary, Ren Baqian had changed a lot. Mainly, he had become much fatter than before. His temperament also became much calmer and not as flustered as before. After all, he faced the risk of beheading in that world all the time. It was hard for him not to stay calm.

“What’s the matter?” Chen Qing suddenly asked after staring at Ren Baqian for quite some time.

It wasn’t weird that Ren Baqian asked him to have a meal together. Ren Baqian might not be someone that took initiative, but it was normal for him to ask for a meetup, especially when they had not met each other for so long.

However, Ren Baqian seldom asked him to meet up for lunch. Usually, they met up for dinner at night.

They might be free to meet now, but they were usually very busy during noon. Therefore, they preferred to meet in the nighttime as they were more free then.

“There’s indeed something that I need your help with. I need you to help me buy some things,” Ren Baqian nodded his head and said.

“What things? If you need my help, that means the things you need aren’t ordinary. Don’t tell me you need firearms?” Chen Qing was obviously joking. It was impossible that Ren Baqian wanted to buy firearms. It was also impossible that he wanted to obtain drugs. Chen Qing understood Ren Baqian too well. He wouldn’t be touching such things unless he was swindled by someone. It was also possible that he had encountered some kind of trouble.

Naturally, it wasn’t hard for Chen Qing to obtain these things at all.

However, what Ren Baqian said next stunned him.

“I need a handgun, a military crossbow, and some grenades,” Ren Baqian calmly listed.

Chen Qing looked at Ren Baqian as though a stranger had appeared before him. He lowered his volume and asked, “What are you trying to do? You have a bright future ahead of you, don’t do anything rash. No matter what has happened, I can help you think of a solution. There are legitimate ways to do thing, but why are you resorting to these methods? Are you mad?”

Ren Baqian did not know whether to laugh or cry. “You have thought too hard. Do I look like that kind of person to you?”

Upon hearing these words, Chen Qing heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he continued, “You gave me such a huge fright just now. I know you aren’t that bold. I still thought something drastic happened to you.”

“I will be going to the wild in a few days’ time. It’s quite dangerous out there, so I need a few weapons to protect myself.”

“Even so, do you really need grenades?” It’s understandable that Ren Baqian needed a gun or a crossbow if he was really going to the wild, but does he really need grenades? This kind of weapon wasn’t something to be handled with negligence.

“I have already said that I will be going to the wild. There are a lot of wild beasts out there, sometimes a gun might not be useful.”

“You can bring with you a rifle. Using it, you can kill anything that comes in your way with a single shot.”

Ren Baqian shook his head. Using a rifle would be too obvious. Even though a military cross bow looked technologically advanced as well, it wasn’t as obvious as a military rifle. And even though the empress was already slightly suspicious of him, he still couldn’t arouse other people’s suspicion.

Furthermore, if he really encountered danger and the other party was a human, holding a rifle would put that person on high alert.

A handgun would be less conspicuous than a rifle. A grenade also looked more like a metal brick, bringing less attention to himself.

There might even be idiots that tried to catch the grenades he threw. Even if they did not do so, they would also try to keep themselves as far away as possible from the grenades.

Ren Baqian’s idea was to use he crossbow as his primary weapon. If he really encountered danger, he would use the handgun with a silencer. This could make him less conspicuous and prevent other people from knowing too much about his weapons.

“A handgun, a military crossbow, some grenades, a silencer, ammunitions, arrows, a lightweight bulletproof vest, and anesthetic can be applied to the arrows. The anesthetic must be potent. I also need a military knife,” Ren Baqian calmly elaborated. To keep himself alive, he must do his utmost to make more preparations.

When Chen Qing heard Ren Baqian’s request, he furrowed his eyebrows and said, “I feel that you’re not preparing to go to the wild. You sounded more like you are preparing for a war. But I shan’t ask any more questions. I can help you obtain the things you need. Do you have any requirements for the things you need? And by when you need them?”

“Nothing else, except that they should be powerful enough. You should know that I know nothing about these things. But I need them quite urgently. I need them latest by the day after tomorrow. The best is if I can obtain by tomorrow. Other than that, I also need find a place where I can practice my shooting. I’m not familiar with using firearms. As such, I need to familiarize myself with them,” Ren Baqian said.

Chen Qing nodded his head and replied, “Finding a place to practice your shooting is not a problem, I know of a shooting range. As for the rest of things, I will help you ask around. There shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

After finishing his sentence, Chen Qing took out his phone and made a few calls. Following which, he received a text message. Then, he forwarded it to Ren Baqian. “Call this number and tell them Hei Zi send you. I will contact the shooting range later and forward you their number.”

Ren Baqian nodded his head. With this equipment, he would be fully fortified. He had made all the preparations he could make. The rest would have to depend on luck.

For the rest of their meal, neither of them mentioned these things anymore.

Just like what Chen Qing had said, as a friend, he would help obtain whatever Ren Baqian needed. He did not care about anything else.

Ren Baqian was also very grateful that Chen Qing did not ask him any further questions. This was one of the many aspects that he liked the most about Chen Qing.

Later that afternoon, after leaving the restaurant, Ren Baqian got into his car and immediately called the number that Chen Qing gave him. After saying the name of Hei Zi, the man on the other side of the call gave Ren Baqian two transaction options. The first option was to contact through WeChat and the other party would place the firearms in a certain place for Ren Baqian to collect.

The second option was to have Ren Baqian collect the firearms from them personally.

Ren Baqian did not know anything about firearms,so he preferred to see them for himself. Therefore, he chose the second option.

The other party directed him to a location. After waiting for a while, a van stopped at the roadside. At the back seat, there was a man. He passed a head covering to Ren Baqian and said, “It’s a rule!”

The man was muscular looked very fierce. If it was in the past, Ren Baqian would stay far away from this kind of man. However, after getting used to seeing the aboriginals, he felt that the man looked ordinary and not at all intimidating.

Ren Baqian nodded his head. He casually placed the head covering over his head. After all, this supplier was introduced by Chen Qing, his safety should be guaranteed.

The van drove for approximately an hour before stopping. Ren Baqian had no idea of where he was. Following which, he was led into a house. After walking down a flight of stairs, his head covering was removed. His surroundings were dimly lit. He seemed to be in a basement.

The variety of firearms in the basement was limited, completely different from what Ren Baqian expected. He thought there would be a dazzling line-up of firearms. However, after thinking about it, he felt everything made sense. After all, he wasn’t abroad.

There were roughly ten types of firearms. There were handguns, rifles and shotguns. There was a total of five types of handguns. On the wall, there were two crossbows, a big one and a small one. Both of them were equipped with scopes.

“Everything is here, take a look.”

It was at this moment that Ren Baqian noticed a middle-aged man slouching in a chair on the side.