The door that got kicked flying went straight through the window and landed outside.
With that much noise, even unrelated people could wake up, let alone the main victims, Buggy and Shanks.
"What the hell is going on?" Buggy scrambled up from the bed in a panic. Even the usually carefree Shanks snapped fully awake, thinking it was an enemy attack.
"Yo, you two slept like the dead. What were you doing last night?" Bai Chuan walked in with a smile on his face.
"Oh, it's you, Bai Chuan. Damn, you scared me," the two said.
The moment they realized it was Bai Chuan, they flopped back down, yanked the blanket over their heads, and acted like the outside world no longer existed.
"Alright, get up. The sun's already shining on your asses." Bai Chuan strode to the window and ripped the blanket off.
"What are you doing? Let us sleep a bit more." Buggy rolled over and even reached back to scratch his butt.
"Yeah. We didn't fall asleep until the second half of the night," Shanks mumbled.
"Talk. What did you do last night?" Bai Chuan did not believe two people could just stay in a room and still sleep that late.
"Went to a bar," Shanks replied drowsily.
"A bar? Why didn't you call me?" Bai Chuan got annoyed. He had missed out on perfectly good nightlife.
He grabbed both of them by the collars, lifted them up, and shook them hard twice.
"Awake now?" Bai Chuan released his grip.
Pa.
The two of them dropped straight onto the floor, sitting there in a daze.
"Let's go. We'll eat, then set off. Time to experience what a battlefield actually feels like."
"Fine." Neither of them looked energetic. They scratched their heads hard, got up, threw on clothes, and followed Bai Chuan out.
But the moment they reached the doorway, a group of people surrounded them. Even guests from other rooms opened their doors to watch the commotion.
"What do you want?" Bai Chuan asked coldly. One look told him they were not here with good intentions.
"Guest, we'd like to ask what you want," the leader said. "Why did you damage our door for no reason, and smash the glass too?"
"Haha, sorry." Once he heard the reason, Bai Chuan knew he was in the wrong.
"It's our fault. We'll compensate you."
The moment they heard "compensate," their expressions eased, and the tense atmosphere slowly faded.
"Good. The door, the window, and a cracked section of wall. Altogether, 100,000100,000 Beli. Pay up."
The leader held out his hand.
"No problem. We'll get it for you right now. Buggy, take out the money."
"Why me? You're the one who broke everything," Buggy said unwillingly.
"Stop talking. I'm broke. If I had money, I'd pay it myself."
"I'm broke too."
"Buggy, don't be so stingy. When I have money later, I'll pay you back double."
"Triple, quadruple, five times," Bai Chuan kept raising it when Buggy still would not move.
"Deal." The moment it hit five times, Buggy finally agreed.
"Nice. 100,000100,000 Beli for 500,000500,000 Beli, net profit 400,000400,000 Beli. I'm not losing at all," Buggy thought happily.
As for whether Bai Chuan would actually pay him back later, that was Bai Chuan's problem. Maybe he would pay when he was in a good mood. Maybe he would "forget." Maybe even the author would forget.
Once they got the money, those people left in high spirits. Fortunately, they were not the type to stiff a bill. Otherwise, if force got involved, there would have been medical expenses too.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Kather·Lynn walked over at that moment and asked with concern.
"Nothing. Let's eat. After breakfast, we'll take you back."
"Okay."
Nothing interesting happened during breakfast. They just ran into a few members of the Roger Pirates and exchanged quick greetings.
But from the way they looked, it was obvious they had enjoyed themselves a little too much last night. They looked like they'd been drained dry.
Yesterday they had been full of energy. Today they looked like they did not even have any spirit left.
"Sigh. As expected, once you're older, everything you do just feels harder," Bai Chuan concluded with a sigh.
"You'll become like that when you're old too," Kather·Lynn said, cutting down Bai Chuan's smugness.
"Don't worry. I won't get old," Bai Chuan said with a confident grin.
"Liar."
Nobody took Bai Chuan seriously. They all assumed it was a joke.
But more than ten years later, even twenty years later, Bai Chuan's appearance still had not changed at all. Only then did Shanks and Buggy realize he had been telling the truth.
He would not age.
Because of that, he became one of the world's most mysterious figures. The mystery was not his face or his name, but his ability.
Before they even left the city, Kather·Lynn still wrapped herself up tightly. It was uncomfortable, but to avoid exposure, she could only endure it a little longer.
"Hey, why aren't you three wrapped up? I'm the only one like this. That's so unfair." Kather·Lynn stared at the three walking openly and felt irritated.
"Because we're not wanted," Bai Chuan said smugly.
They had assumed that after making such a scene yesterday, they would definitely be put on the wanted list. But the posted bounties did not include their photos or sketches, so they immediately took off the uncomfortable disguise.
"Tch. So unfair," Kather·Lynn said again.
Bai Chuan flashed her a neat row of white teeth. "I'm grinning proudly."
That pride did not last long. Very soon, they were being pursued again.
"That's them. Those people from yesterday," someone whispered behind them. "The Moer Kingdom's princess is disguised, but the others haven't changed at all. They didn't even change clothes."
A few people were watching them from not far away, speaking quietly.
It turned out this had been a trap. If they were acting with the princess, they would definitely move together and stay disguised. But if they realized there was no bounty for them, they would relax their guard.
Sure enough, Bai Chuan and the others fell right into it.
"Bai Chuan, I think we're being watched," Shanks moved up beside Bai Chuan, scanning the surroundings and speaking in a low voice.
"I know," Bai Chuan said. "Didn't expect them to be this capable. That princess is disguised like that, and they still found us."
"Yeah, yeah," Shanks nodded in agreement.
"How about this," Bai Chuan said. "I'll take Kather·Lynn and draw their attention. You two take the chance to escape the city."
"Alright." Shanks shot Bai Chuan a surprised look. He did not expect Bai Chuan to have that kind of self-sacrificing spirit. Had they misunderstood Bai Chuan all this time?
Bai Chuan walked behind Kather·Lynn and scooped her up in a princess carry.
"What are you doing?" Kather·Lynn's face turned red as she asked in panic.
"Stop asking. Hold on tight. I'll take you to do something fun."
Kather·Lynn did not know what Bai Chuan was planning, but she still did as he said.
Then a white light spread across Bai Chuan's body, and it even enveloped Kather·Lynn.
"What is this? Ah!" Kather·Lynn screamed right after she spoke.
Because she discovered Bai Chuan was carrying her into the air.
"Buggy, Shanks, we're leaving first! You two hurry and catch up!"
"Bai Chuan, you shameless bastard!" Shanks and Buggy cursed at the same time, shouting at his back.
But Bai Chuan treated it like background noise and filtered it out automatically.
/-\
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