48 Hours a Day

It was probably only in a bathhouse where everyone was equal could Varo temporarily forget his status as a slave and reminisce about his past life. Especially when he walked into the pool and completely soaked his body in hot water, every single pore on him was loosened up. Varo could not help but let out a sigh of satisfaction.

He then closed his eyes in the pool, but he saw that Zhang Heng had still not gotten in after waiting for a while. So he opened his eyes again, “Come on. It can be quite hot at first, but you can feel that the hot water will take away your tiredness after getting used to it. When I was still operating the antique shop, I used to invite my regular customers to the bathhouse and strike a deal with them…”

Varo seemed to think of something as he spoke, and a look of nostalgia appeared on his face. But soon, the pain from the bruise on his chest pulled him back to reality.

He got the bruise when he fought with Habitus earlier. Although the plan that Zhang Heng came up for him worked wonderfully, Varo had also managed to anger Habitus. Afterward, the latter did not reserve his strength anymore. He struck at his chest with his wooden sword and won the battle. Fortunately, the doctor confirmed that his ribs were not broken after the battle.

Zhang Heng did not continue on Varo’s topic. Instead, he pointed at a corridor on the south side and asked, “Where does that lead to?”

Varo poked his head out and looked at it. “It should be a sudatorium.”

The sudatorium was similar to a modern sauna. It was the hottest spot in the entire bathhouse. The temperature over there could reach a whopping 60 degrees. A continuous flow of heat came from the gap between the wall and the floor, and it was easy for someone to get burned if they weren’t wearing a pair of sandals.

“Did you see anything suspicious when you came in?” Zhang Heng asked afterward.

“What do you mean by something suspicious?” Varo was puzzled.

There were not many gladiators who had come to the bathhouse to take a bath at this moment. Except for Zhang Heng and Varro, only two other people took a hot bath, but Varo knew that Zhang Heng was not talking about them.

Zhang Heng wasn’t bothered to give much explanation either. Seeing the other two gladiators closed their eyes and resting, Zhang Heng did not ask them the question either. All he did was walk towards the sudatorium.

His observation ability had greatly improved ever since he lived with Sherlock Holmes. However, this was the first time he doubted what he just saw. Earlier, when Varo opened the door, Zhang Heng saw a woman disappearing in the passage leading to the sudatorium.

According to Varo, the Roman bathhouse was designed in a way that men and women would not share the same space to bathe themselves. However, not many people followed the rules. The famous politician and orator Cicero even satirized this kind of phenomenon. He mentioned that it was moral corruption. That being said, it still did not stop the passionate men and women from bathing together.

Usually, such a thing would not happen in the gladiator school. According to the regulations, this was the place where the gladiators and trainers take their baths. And the female slaves working in the gladiator school would have to bathe at the public bathhouse.

Therefore, it was theoretically impossible for Zhang Heng to see any woman here. And the woman’s attire was rather strange. She was wearing a black robe that covered her entire body. It was clear to Zhang Heng that she was not from this school.

How did such a person pass the inspection of the janitor who guarded the gate of the bathhouse? And how did she pass through the swimming pool and the courtyard without being spotted by the gladiators who were sparring with each other?

Zhang Heng could not figure out how she did it.

If she were an ordinary person, Zhang Heng would not be bothered by her. However, Zhang Heng instinctively sensed that she was here for him. That was why he did not enter the pool after Varo. Instead, he walked towards where the woman in the black robe headed earlier.

“Are you going to the sudatorium right away? Don’t you need to get used to the heat in the pool first?” Varo shouted behind him, “Beware of fainting because of the heat.”

“Thank you for the reminder. Enjoy your bath first, and leave me alone for now,” Zhang Heng said as he walked towards the corridor on the south side.

Once he moved forward, he could clearly feel that the temperature around him was rising. Compared with the steam coming out of the sudatorium, the steam from the hot pool was colder.

It was no different from a sauna. The function of this room was similar to the previous fitness therapies in the courtyard. The ancient Romans seemed to believe that sweating could drain the body’s toxins and diseases. Therefore, whether it was wrestling or sudatorium, they wanted to make sure that the people could sweat more when they were in the bathhouse.

Zhang Heng walked through the long and narrow walkway and entered a round room. Since the floor was overheated, he would suffer from a mild burn if he laid down here. To let the people rest, the person who built the bathhouse constructed many niches in the wall’s middle.

But on the other hand, these niches would also block the person from looking at the people outside the sudatorium. Fortunately, Zhang Heng could judge whether there was anyone in the niches from the outstretched legs.

He walked to the first niche and saw a gladiator sitting there. The latter probably thought he had enough of the steam treatment. Before Zhang Heng could get to him, he got up and left the niche. The gladiator then wanted to head to the hot pool. When he walked past Zhang Heng, he nodded slightly at him to greet him.

Zhang Heng nodded back and walked to the next niche.

However, the legs sticking out from the niche this time did not seem to be what Zhang Heng was looking for. They were a pair of skinny and shriveled legs, indicating that its owner was an old man. And Zhang Heng could not figure out why he was certain that it was a young woman even though he had not seen the face under the black robe.

Zhang Heng frowned. He felt that something must have gone wrong, and he seemed to have missed something.

Suddenly, Zhang Heng heard the old man talking to him, “Did you leave anything here?”

Zhang Heng walked a half step forward and finally saw the person in the niche clearly.

It was the old Persian trainer he met when he first entered the gladiator school. The latter was also dressed in the same way as him, wearing only wore a corset and sat in the niche. It looked like he was integrated with the stone wall at the back.

Since the old man talked to him, Zhang Heng asked politely, “Have you been sitting here for some time? Did you see a woman in a black robe?”

It was not possible for others not to spot the black-robed woman if she entered the sudatorium. No one would turn a blind eye to her. And if others did not see her, it could only mean that the woman did not exist.

However, the old trainer in the niche reacted very strangely. He did not say that he had seen the woman or doubted Zhang Heng. Instead, he said calmly, “Can you describe her look?”

“I can’t see her face.”

“What about other noticeable places? For example, what is she holding in her hand? Is there anything else on her body besides the black robe?”