Only in a bathhouse where everyone was equal could Varro temporarily forget his slave status and recall his past life.
Especially when he walked into the hot tub, letting his body be completely soaked in the hot water. Every pore on his body relaxed, and Varro could not help but let out a satisfied sigh.
He closed his eyes in the pool, but after waiting for a while, Zhang Heng did not enter the water. So, he opened his eyes again. "Come on. It will be a little hot at first, but after you get used to it, you will feel that your fatigue will be taken away by the warm water. When I was still running an antique shop, I often invited my old customers to the bathhouse to discuss business …"
As Varro spoke, he seemed to think of something again. A touch of nostalgia appeared on his face, but soon the pain from the bruise on his chest pulled him back to reality.
It was left behind during his battle with Habitus. Although Zhang Heng's plan for him succeeded, it also angered Habitus. After that, the latter did not hold back. He slashed his sword at Varro's chest and won the battle. Fortunately, the doctor confirmed that his ribs were not broken.
Zhang Heng did not follow up on Varro's words. Instead, he pointed to a corridor on the south and asked, "Where does that lead?"
Varro poked his head out and took a look. "It should be the hot tub."
The hot tub was similar to a modern sauna, and it was the hottest place in the entire bathhouse. The temperature could reach up to 60 degrees, and a steady stream of hot air would emerge from the gaps between the walls and the floor. If one did not wear sandals, they would easily get scalded.
"Did you see anything suspicious when you came in?" Zhang Heng asked later.
"Suspicious … what do you mean?" Varro was a little puzzled.
Not many gladiators came to the hot tub at this time. Other than Zhang Heng and Varro, there were only two other gladiators in the hot tub. However, Varro knew that Zhang Heng was not asking about those two gladiators.
Zhang Heng did not explain much. Seeing that the other two gladiators were resting with their eyes closed, Zhang Heng did not ask them. Instead, he walked straight to the hot tub.
His observation skills had always been very good, especially after he lived with Sherlock Holmes in the deductive reasoning quest. However, this was the first time he doubted what he saw with his eyes.
Just now, the moment Varo pushed the door open, he saw a woman's figure disappear into the passage leading to the hot bathroom.
According to Varro's introduction, the Roman baths had designed different routes for men and women, but not many people followed it. The famous politician and orator Cicero even satirized this phenomenon, lamenting that it was moral corruption. However, it still could not stop the enthusiasm of women and men to enter the baths together.
However, this kind of thing would not happen in the bathing area of the gladiator school. According to the rules, this was the place where the gladiators and trainers bathed. The female slaves who worked in the gladiator school would bathe in the bathing area outside.
Therefore, logically speaking, it was impossible for Zhang Heng to see any woman here.
What's more, the other party's attire was very strange. He wore a black robe and wrapped himself up tightly. It was obvious that he wasn't someone from the school.
How did such a person pass the inspection of the gatekeeper of the bathhouse? How did he pass through the swimming pool and the yard in front of him? How did he walk all the way in under the watchful eyes of the gladiators who were wrestling?
Zhang Heng couldn't imagine how this was possible.
If it were an ordinary person, they might have forgotten about this matter. However, Zhang Heng instinctively sensed that the other party was probably coming for him. So he did not walk into the hot bath like Varro. Instead, he walked toward the hot passage where the woman in the black robe disappeared.
"Are you going to the hot bath directly? Don't you want to get used to the hot bath first? "Varro shouted behind him." Be careful not to faint from the heat. "
"Thank you for reminding me. Take a bath by yourself first. Don't worry about me," Zhang Heng said as he walked into the south corridor.
He could clearly feel the temperature around him rising as he walked. Compared to the heat wave coming from the hot bath, the steam in the hot bath was nothing. In fact, it would even make people feel a little cool.
This was a veritable sauna room. Its function was very similar to the fitness center from before. The ancient Romans seemed to believe that sweating could expel toxins and diseases from the body. Therefore, whether it was wrestling or this hot bathroom, they were all designed to make people sweat more when bathing.
Zhang Heng walked through the long and narrow walkway and entered the circular room. Because the floor was overheated, lying down here would not take long for him to get scalded. In order to let the bathers rest, the craftsmen who built the bathhouse made many niches in the middle of the wall.
On the other hand, these niches would also block the view of the people outside. Fortunately, Zhang Heng could tell if there was anyone in the niches by looking at the legs sticking out.
He walked to the first niche where a gladiator was sitting. The gladiator probably felt that he had enough steam. Before Zhang Heng walked to him, he got up and left the niche, walking to the hot bath outside. When the two of them turned to each other, he nodded slightly at Zhang Heng as a greeting.
Zhang Heng returned the greeting and walked to the next spot.
However, the legs that stuck out from the niche this time did not look like the ones Zhang Heng was looking for. It was a pair of somewhat thin and shriveled legs, indicating that the owner of the legs was an old man.
And Zhang Heng did not know why. Although he had never seen the face under the black robe, he seemed to be sure that it was a young woman.
Why was that? Zhang Heng frowned, feeling that something was not right. He seemed to have missed something.
At this time, an old voice sounded, "Did you leave anything here?"
Zhang Heng took another half step forward and finally saw the person in the niche.
It was the old Greek trainer he met when he first entered the gladiator school. The latter was dressed the same way as him, wearing only a tunic. He sat in the niche as if he wanted to blend in with the stone wall behind him.
Since the old man had spoken, Zhang Heng asked politely, "Have you been sitting here all this time? I wonder if you saw a woman in a black robe?"
According to common sense, the woman in the black robe was such a conspicuous target. If she entered the hot bath, the people inside would definitely notice her. And if he did not see her, he would probably ask if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
However, the reaction of the old trainer in the niche was very strange. He neither said that he had seen the woman nor doubted Zhang Heng's eyes. Instead, he said calmly, "Can you describe her appearance?"
"I can't see her face."
"What about other parts of her body? For example, what is she holding in her hand? Other than the black robe, is there anything else on her body?"
Little Dumbo said.
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