The winter night wind is always like a sharp blade, gradually stripping away the warmth from everyone. People who still wander in the dark night during this season generally have their own hardships.
The black ice formed by the trampled snow covers the roads, and the bare trees by the roadside resemble ghost shadows. If decent people have to go out at this time, they always hurry along, and might even slip on the ice, scaring themselves.
But to see someone like Su Ming and his companions, strolling leisurely in thin clothing, is almost unheard of.
After brushing past a few streetwalkers and rejecting their cheap invitations, one could see their eyes filled with disappointment and pain through the night and the poor-quality perfume scent.
But such expressions quickly turn numb. They spit on the ground, tighten their coats, and continue waiting for business by the roadside.
No one cares whether they need money for drugs or have a baby to support at home.
Their experiences have already proven that praying to God is useless, and at such times, calling upon the Devil might be more satisfying.
But people are like that; if they can live, no one wants to die. To avoid dying, people can make many, many sacrifices.
For example, selling their bodies or becoming vampires.
Su Ming and his companions reached the riverbank, continuing to walk under the dim streetlights, the sound of hooves accompanying their steps.
"The last time I came to Philadelphia was about eighty years ago, and it has really changed a lot." Palham hid his revolver under his coat, adjusting the hat on his head: "Back then, prostitutes used to stay in taverns or inns, wearing petticoats and corsets, and the transaction was called taking a bath, not like now."
Su Ming laughed and patted his shoulder, feeling that Palham still radiated warmth like a furnace.
"You mean when we passed by earlier, they opened their coats to directly show customers what's inside? Times have changed, and the pace of life is getting faster and faster. No one does the drinking and flirting routine anymore, and Philadelphia is now simply called 'Philly'."
"Yes, nowadays people are too lazy to even say a few extra syllables." Palham folded the reins in his hands, looking at the big river beside him, which was already frozen, and the water sound they heard earlier was just an illusion.
Mordo silently followed by the side, stimulated by the stark scenery, now questioning life, wondering why he had to witness such decadence.
In Kama Taiji, he saw the side of order and light, and now chaos and darkness appeared before him, to which he was extremely unaccustomed.
However, seeing both the Supreme Mage and the Evil Spirit Knight treat it casually, even discussing it with interest, Mordo felt there was still much for him to learn.
"Vampires are quite nostalgic. I think their fashion style might suit your aesthetic, and if you want to take a bath, I'll treat you today." Su Ming generously waved his hand, having already seen the neon lights across the river.
"Thanks, I'll go ahead and scout out some information for you." Palham didn't refuse, as he had deep old western traits, and having a friend or employer treat someone to a 'bath' was a common practice.
In fact, the only woman he ever loved was a prostitute, but unfortunately during a battle with a Black friend, the friend lost control and killed her.
Because impurity symbolizes fall, and fall is sin, and with sin comes punishment, the uncontrolled Spirit of Vengeance is as rigid as machinery.
Palham avenged her, but... the method was by thoroughly killing his benefactor. He didn't know if he was right to do so, but since then, he only loved prostitutes.
He wanted to find her shadow in them, but unfortunately, some people are unique.
"Not necessarily vampires; it could very well be a base of the Death Worship Cult." Su Ming looked across the frozen river at the small building where many people walked in openly, not like the style of vampires, as he pulled out a stack of bills, counting out five hundred to hand to Palham: "Find more, try them all."
The Southern Army Major pocketed the money, placing his gun in the bag on the horse's back, and smiled with a nod: "I will."
Having said that, he directly climbed down from the riverbank and walked across the ice toward the small building.
Su Ming pulled out a cigarette, lit it on his lips, exhaled in the cold wind, and quietly waited.
"Master, why do we allow darkness to exist?"
Mordo rubbed his hands together continually, disgusted by these environments that expose the darkness of human nature directly.
The Ancient One has enough power to make everyone radiant, but she remains indifferent. And Deathstroke is simply gray, with no clear line between black and white on him.
Su Ming tossed a cigarette to him, which Mordo initially wanted to refuse, as he didn't smoke or have any personal hobbies.
But the Supreme Mage glared at him harshly and stated that smoking was a must, it was an order.
Amid the swirling smoke, Mordo coughed repeatedly, tears turned into ice on his face, and only then did Su Ming answer his earlier question, with a rhetorical form.
"Little Mo, do you think in the world, is it the egg that came first or the chicken?"
"Cough cough... this... the chicken came first? Oviparity evolved later?"
"Wrong." Su Ming blew out a circle, which almost immediately dispersed in the wind under the light: "Try again."
Mordo felt despair inside; with only two options, it's either one or the other, so what's there to guess?
But since the Supreme Mage asked him to guess, guess he must.
"Egg first?" Mordo asked insincerely.
"Still wrong." Su Ming calmly retorted, looking at Mordo as if he were looking at a fool.
Mordo immediately made a bewildered expression, wasn't this a multiple-choice question? How can both answers be wrong: "Please enlighten me, Master."
Su Ming looked at him, as if disappointed in Mordo's inability to seize the moment, slowly shook his head, and sighed.
"Humans first."
"Huh?"
"Think about it yourself, without humans, the chicken wouldn't be called as it is now, and the egg wouldn't be called an egg either. Perhaps on some extraterrestrial planet or other dimensions, there might be similar creatures, but maybe the chicken is called 'pepper', and the egg is called 'curry' instead... Without human existence, without people considering this, the problem of whether chicken or egg came first simply doesn't exist, so the answer is humans existed first."
"This..."
Mordo got tangled up in words like a tongue twister, his entire brain became mush in the grinder of logic.
Su Ming turned his head, continuing to look at the dim lights across the river, and sighed: "Seems like even if you watched a chef crack a hundred eggs, you'd learn nothing. You'll have to put more effort into things in the future."
Actually, this was just an idealistic theory to confuse people, after all, the objective existence of chicken and egg is there. But with the series of uncertain actions performed by Deathstroke earlier, Mordo couldn't figure out how much knowledge he really grasped.
Furthermore, regarding the Theory of Evolution, it may not necessarily be true for a mage. Entities capable of creating humans and objects are plenty, sometimes the more you know, the easier it is to get confused.
While Su Ming was taking a moment to educate Mordo, he saw Palham unexpectedly returning the same way.
"Hmm?"
This speed... a bit too fast, wasn't it just three or four minutes of conversation with Mordo, and this Western cowboy is done? Are vampires really that formidable?
Palham couldn't discern any expression from Su Ming's face, thus had no way to read his thoughts. The one-armed man in a trench coat ran back along the riverbed, jumped the fence, and reported the situation to Su Ming.
"Didn't find any vampires, but the atmosphere is off, I'm uncertain."
"No problem, let's go check it out together, did you enter the building earlier?"
"I just walked around the small building, didn't sense too much sin inside, the people have sins, but not to my standard."
Palham has his own set of standards, but no one knows how he measures a person's degree of sin. Maybe becoming an Evil Spirit Knight gives one a numerical display in their brain like the battle power detector in Seven Dragon Pearls?
These standards are indeed quite subjective too.
Compared to him, the future next generation of the Evil Spirit Knight Johnny Blaze's standards are even lower; just stealing is enough for a death sentence.
Su Ming flipped single-handedly over the riverbank guardrail, leading the two and a horse towards the small building.
It appeared to be a brick and mortar building with some age, time had made its walls look mottled and faded, where the red bricks reflected black under the moonlight, like blood.
Though the building was old, the front decoration was anything but old. Not only was there a large advertising sign painted with bunny girls, but even the pink neon lights had various suggestive patterns.
"Elixir of Immortality? Quite a nice name for a brothel." Su Ming glanced before entering, casually commenting.
Of course, externally, this was not a brothel, just a hotel.
In the United States, brothels are legal only in Nevada, where Las Vegas is located, while Philadelphia in Pennsylvania is relatively conservative in societal demeanor, at least in these times.
As for why this place could exist so blatantly, it's due to certain underground rules, as long as enough tribute money is paid, everything is taken care of. Various agencies turn a blind eye to such a small establishment.
After all, even if there were an iron-headed child investigating, unless one records the transaction and payment process, there is no evidence to prove it is a sex trade, and it might provoke some underworld backlash and retaliation.
Judging by the steady flow of people entering and exiting, everyone leaving seemed ecstatic and swayingly triumphant, this place probably earns several thousand US Dollars a month.
For this era, that figure is enough to drive people insane.
Su Ming specifically paid attention to the necks of these people, despite their dazed states, weak legs, rolling eyes, and silly grins, their necks were clean with no bite marks.
After pondering for a moment, he pushed the door open and went in, while Palham searched around the entrance for a long time, ended up tying his horse to a roadside fire hydrant.
Inside was a world of red, everything was red, not the bright red typical of weddings, but a darker shade tinged with purple, like an undercurrent of black light.
In the lobby, many women wearing modified Middle Ages costumes walked around, such as those with just a corset and apron, seemingly forgetting to wear a skirt, exposing stockings and underwear.
Their expressions were very calm, absent of the usual wanton and degrading demeanor of prostitutes, but rather like queens surveying their territory, looking at incoming guests as if viewing slaves.
Mordo had already covered his eyes.