Chapter 9 - Meeting Again
Outside Swallow Phoenix Brothel, guests began entering in groups.
By the corner of the streets stood two young men. They wore simple but clean clothes.
"Second Brother w.a.n.g, do you really wish to enter? Entry and ordering a cup of tea alone will cost one tael of silver. We only earn that much after two months of hard work!" The two young men looked at Swallow Phoenix Brothel from afar and could vaguely make out the enchanting figures within.
"I am without any family. It is worth it as long as I can hear Fairy Clear Autumn"s music. Are you going in or not? I"m going ahead if you aren"t," urged a man with bushy eyebrows and big eyes.
"I… I need to feed my family. No. No, I won"t be going in. Yingzi will definitely scold me if she learns about it." A short man beside him shook his head after some hesitation.
"That haggard woman of yours? She scolded you an entire night yesterday. Moreover, you were rewarded with a tael of silver after picking up and returning the money bag to that benefactor, money that the haggard woman of yours doesn"t know of! Let"s go."
"No, you go on ahead. It"s too expensive."
"Don"t you regret it." The man with thick brows and big eyes strode forward and soon entered Swallow Phoenix Brothel.
The short man watched from afar and felt the cravings. Finally, he gritted his teeth and turned around to leave. "One tael of silver can buy more meat and food too. Our lives will become better as well. Yingzi will definitely be extremely happy when she sees the silver tael." The short man revealed a smile as he thought.
As for Qin Yun and Tian Bo, they also arrived at Swallow Phoenix Brothel on horseback.
"Young Master Tian, it has been a long time since your last visit. Please enter." An old procuress who appeared rather beautiful shouted out loudly. She must have been a beauty in her youth. There was a servant by the side who had hurriedly come forward and drag the horses away adeptly.
"Let"s go in." Tian Bo had dismounted the horse and led Qin Yun inside.
"Someone, come entertain the guests." The old procuress led the way in warmly.
A young and pet.i.te female attendant immediately came forward. "Young Master Tian, this way, please. This young master, is this the first time here at Swallow Phoenix Brothel?"
"This is Young Master Qin. Arrange a spot nearer the front of us." Tian Bo instructed.
"Young Master Tian, you can be rest a.s.sured that we will not dare slight your instructions," said the female attendant with a smile.
Swallow Phoenix Brothel was a combination of five buildings. The main building, east building, south building, west building and north building. The main building was usually used to welcome guests from all over the place while only distinguished guests were allowed to enter the other four buildings.
At that moment, Qin Yun and Tian Bo entered the main building and were led to a spot close to a railing.
The railing surrounded a stage in the middle. There were some musicians playing in the back while there were two dancers dancing onstage.
"Brother Yun, these are only ordinary women for now. Later on, renowned courtesans will appear. This spot is closest to the stage," said Tian Bo. The both of them sat down in front of a tea table. Tian Bo ordered routinely. "Get us some melon, fruits, and desserts. Add a pot of tea too."
"Make haste."
The young female attendant hurriedly prepared the tea beside them. At the same time, she instructed other female attendants to bring some melon, fruit, and desserts. Following that, she very naturally began ma.s.saging Tian Bo"s shoulders. "Young Master Tian, does Young Master Qin need someone to serve him?"
"There"s no need." Qin Yun said. He had roamed the world for six years and naturally understood the rules of a brothel. In a brothel like Swallow Phoenix Brothel, the female attendants only ma.s.saged one"s shoulders and legs but they did not offer s.e.xual services.
"Will Little Shuang be here tonight?" Qin Yun asked.
"Sister Xie Shuang changed her name after entering the brothel," replied Tian Bo. "Currently, her stage name is "Chen Shuang". She entered Swallow Phoenix Brothel on account of paying off her debt. It is natural that the Swallow Phoenix Brothel would want her to entertain guests frequently."
"Chen Shuang?" Qin Yun muttered softly. He felt a stabbing pain in his heart. The young girl of yesteryear had been forced to enter a brothel.
There was also some particularity when it came to the a.s.signment of seating in Swallow Phoenix Brothel.
The wealthy and distinguished guests were either in private rooms, which gave privacy but were situated a little further from the stage, or they were seated near the stage. Normally, there would be pretty female attendants who would tend to these guests by ma.s.saging or feeding them fruits. As for the seats behind, they were much smaller in size. Typically, they would only order the most ordinary pot of tea and not have attendants tending to them. That alone would incur the lowest cost of "one tael of silver"!
…
Time flowed by.
One performance after another went onstage.
Accompanying the melody of a flute, Swallow Phoenix Brothel"s most famous "Lady Clear Autumn" was dressed in green as she sat quietly onstage, blowing her flute. The flute"s melody was deep and sweet, peaceful and mild. It sounded like a weeping lament that made one lost in reverie without realizing it. All the troubles one encountered from the secular world seemed to disappear. Even Qin Yun could not help but be attracted to the melody.
By the time the flute"s melody came to a stop, Lady Clear Autumn had already stood up. She turned and left with her flute in hand.
"Where"s Fairy Clear Autumn?"
"It was like a dream. By the time I snapped out of it, Fairy Clear Autumn was already gone."
The surrounding crowd was left despondent before they exclaimed. Sitting in a corner, a young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes was extremely excited. "It"s simply worth it just listening to Fairy Clear Autumn"s melody. It was worth it!"
Qin Yun nodded upon hearing this as well. Her skill at playing the flute was indeed incredible.
"Fairy Clear Autumn"s flute melodies are only getting more and more extraordinary these days. From the way I see it, the Fairy Clear Autumn should take the spot of Courtesan Belle."
"How can the spot of Courtesan Belle be that easily clinched? Ever since Fairy Clear Autumn came to Grand Dominance City, she had only managed to enter the top three in the last two Courtesan Belle selections. She might not be able to clinch the position of Courtesan Belle."
"Last year, Lady Scented Dress only barely surpa.s.sed Fairy Clear Autumn to clinch the position of Courtesan Belle. The year before, it was really unfair that even Dreamlike Pavilion Lady was able to clinch the position of Courtesan Belle."
A flurry of discussion broke out.
"Courtesan Belle selection?" Qin Yun was aware that Grand Dominance City was a large city consisting of hundreds of thousands of people. Choosing a Courtesan Belle was a grand event! All the renowned brothels would do their best to vie for the spot. Ignoring the outcome of becoming Courtesan Belle, the courtesans would enjoy a great increase in fame if they managed to be one of the top ten candidates among so many renowned courtesans! One"s reputation was equivalent to money within a brothel!
"Swallow Phoenix Brothel will naturally do its best to vie for the position of Courtesan Belle as well. That Lady Clear Autumn from earlier is the number one renowned courtesan in Swallow Phoenix Brothel," remarked Tian Bo. "She was originally a daughter of an official. However, her family declined and she ended up becoming a courtesan. However, she quickly gained fame. Swallow Phoenix Brothel had invited her from the Wu County. With her being such a renowned courtesan, she is still a free person even after coming to Swallow Phoenix Brothel. She can leave anytime she wishes. Even Swallow Phoenix Brothel is unable to restrain her. One must spend a hundred taels of silver just to have a chance of meeting Lady Clear Autumn privately. Moreover, it will also depend on whether she is agreeable to it."
"Swallow Phoenix Brothel has been doing its best to help Lady Clear Autumn clinch the spot of Courtesan Belle. Unfortunately, she had failed in the last two years," said Tian Bo as he shook his head.
"What about Little Shuang? Did she partic.i.p.ate in the Courtesan Belle selection?" asked Qin Yun.
"In the early days when Sister Xie Shang just entered Swallow Phoenix Brothel, she was not eligible for the selection as she lacked the fame. She partic.i.p.ated in last year"s selection but failed to make it to the top ten," replied Tian Bo. "This year, it"s unlikely that there"s much hope for her. After all, she is only ranked fifth in Swallow Phoenix Brothel."
Qin Yun nodded and did not speak further.
Although there were plates of desserts and cut fruits in front of him, Qin Yun did not touch any of them. All he did was drink tea. Finally, after having two cups of tea…
"Swoosh."
A valiant-looking figure clothed in red flew out from behind. Her sword sliced through the air as she finally landed gently onstage.
Swallow Phoenix Brothel"s Lady Chen Shuang. Sword Dance!
"Little Shuang." Qin Yun tightened the grip on his teacup. The young lady, who was only thirteen when they parted ways, was currently nineteen. She was all grown up now.
His younger sister, Xie Shuang of yesteryear had never experienced sadness and was extremely naive. She may have been mentally prepared for her father"s death after he was bedridden for a prolonged period of time, but the blow to Xie Shuang was too much when her only relative, Xie Lei died. Back then, she still had to step forward and compensate the pitiful family members of the men who had perished. She eventually had to even sell herself to the brothel to make up the tally.
"She has grown up. She"s a big girl now." Qin Yun muttered softly. Xie Shuang had changed drastically.
Her sword-like brows accentuated her heroic look. Although the brandis.h.i.+ng of her sword gave one a sharp feeling, her disposition seemed to contain a faint sense of frailty.
Valiance and frailty both merged into one.
"She has changed the sword techniques that I taught her into this." Qin Yun shook his head gently. He felt mixed emotions.
Accompanying the music, Lady Chen Shuang on stage turned around and thrust out when she saw a table in a particular direction.
She was taken aback.
That figure…that man sitting beside Tian Bo…
Memories began flooding through her mind.
"Little Shuang, this sword move should be done this way." Back then, Qin Yun, who was still a thirteen-year-old, was teaching her.
"Brother Yun, I got it. I got it. Let me demonstrate to you again." Xie Shuang, who was eleven years old back then, was even more excited to make another attempt.
"You must practice well. Your Brother Yun is already in the realm of being one with the sword. He"s a lot stronger than me." Watching by the side, Xie Lei, who was rather well built for his fourteen-year-old frame, said with a laugh.
…
Lady Chen Shuang"s eyes reddened as tears could not help but appear.
Qin Yun was also looking at her.
The two locked eyes as Qin Yun nodded his head gently with a faint smile.