Chapter 427: Lonely and Miserable
Chapter 427: Lonely and Miserable
"Why did he choose you?" Qing Lan hesitated before slowly explaining, "I went to see Yu Lan, and he saw me. He stared at me for a long time with eyes like a venomous snake, disgusting and creepy..."
"I guessed he had ill intentions."
"And after Sister Yu Lan's death, my madam also told me..."
"Madam?" Mo Hua was slightly taken aback.
Qing Lan looked around discreetly and, seeing no one else, lowered her voice. "I mean the procuress. The girls under her call her 'Madam'."
Mo Hua nodded.
"Madam also told me that a guest specifically requested me," Qing Lan continued. "I asked her who the guest was, but she just smiled mysteriously and didn't give me a straight answer."
"When I pressed her further, she got angry, hit me, and scolded me for being bold enough to question her. She said I was a troublesome girl and that even if I died, I deserved it..."
"Your madam sounds terrible," Mo Hua frowned.
Qing Lan dared not speak ill of the procuress, so she just nodded slightly.
"Then what happened?" Mo Hua asked.
Qing Lan said, "So, I guessed that he must want me to accompany that gray-robed man."
"Sister Yu Lan died, and some other sisters before her didn't make it either."
"I... I..." Qing Lan couldn't continue and silently wiped away her tears.
Mo Hua poured her another cup of tea and gently comforted her. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you."
Qing Lan, with tears on her cheeks, looked at him as if she had found a lifeline, her eyes filled with hope. "I won't die...?"
"Everyone has to die eventually," Mo Hua said matter-of-factly.
Qing Lan: "..."
Mo Hua's small face turned serious. "But before he can harm you, he will definitely die first!"
Although Qing Lan felt that his words were a bit ambiguous, she still found comfort in them and slowly relaxed.
She didn't know the young master's background, but seeing how even Elder Su respected him, she guessed that he must be of extraordinary status. A glimmer of hope began to grow in her heart.
"Have you told anyone else about this?" Mo Hua asked curiously.
Qing Lan shook her head. "Who could I tell? Sister Yu Lan is dead, and the other sisters are also living precariously, not knowing when they might offend a guest and be beaten so badly that they can't get out of bed. And Madam... she's not a patient person either..."
Mo Hua frowned as he listened, "Isn't there anyone overseeing this place?"
Qing Lan bitterly smiled, "We lowly people are only seen as playthings by others. Who would care about our lives and deaths?"
Mo Hua felt a sour taste in his mouth. "What about your parents?"
Qing Lan's eyes dimmed. "I was sold here by my parents."
Mo Hua was slightly taken aback, and Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi also looked at her with sympathetic eyes.
After a moment of silence, Mo Hua asked in a soft voice, "Do you hate your parents?"
Qing Lan shook her head. "I don't hate them because they're already dead."
"Dead?"
"Yes." Qing Lan nodded. "They starved to death."
Tears glistened in Qing Lan's eyes, and her voice was choked with emotion. "My parents... they sold me to the brothel because they were afraid I would starve to death. They even secretly gave me the spirit stones they got from selling me, telling me to take care of myself and live well..."
Mo Hua felt a pang in his heart. "Were they miners?"
Qing Lan nodded. "Yes. My father worked in the mines for the Lu family, but he encountered a mine collapse and broke his leg. The foul air also eroded his heart meridian, and he couldn't work in the mines anymore..."
"My mother supported our family, but it was too much for her, and she fell ill. They both knew they didn't have long to live, so they sold me to the brothel to at least give me a chance at survival..."
Mo Hua's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is this brothel also owned by the Lu family?"
"Yes." Qing Lan replied, "Not just this brothel, but most of the businesses on Jin Hua Street—gambling, drinking, and prostitution—are all run by the Lu family..."
"Then do you want to leave the brothel?"
Qing Lan shook her head sadly. "I can't leave."
Mo Hua frowned, deep in thought, and murmured, "The Lu family, huh..."
Bai Zi Sheng whispered to Mo Hua, "This Lu family doesn't seem like a decent bunch either."
Then he mused, "The Qian family, the Sun family, the Lu family... none of these clans seem to be up to any good..."
Bai Zi Sheng suddenly looked startled. "I hope our Bai family isn't like that too..."
Bai Zi Xi glanced at him with her sharp eyes.
Mo Hua didn't know what to say to that.
Bai Zi Sheng scratched his head and mumbled, "It's hard to say..."
Mo Hua shook his head and asked, "Sister Qing Lan, do you know what cultivation level that gray-robed cultivator is at?"
Qing Lan furrowed her brows. "I'm not sure."
"It's okay if you're not certain."
Qing Lan hesitated before saying, "I guess he might be at the Foundation Establishment stage..."
"That's what Sister Yu Lan told me," she continued. "She was at the late Qi Refining stage, so if he could defeat her, he must be at the Foundation Establishment stage..."
Mo Hua shook his head slightly.
If the gray-robed man was indeed at the Foundation Establishment stage, things would be a bit tricky.
"When does he usually come to the brothel?" Mo Hua asked.
"He comes on the fourth and fourteenth day of every month, and the duration of his stay varies."
"I understand."
Mo Hua nodded. He pointed to the jade bracelet on Qing Lan's wrist and said, "Keep this bracelet safe and don't let others see it. On the fourth day, I'll come and say that you stole Elder Su's jade bracelet, and we'll pretend to reprimand you."
"That way, whether we succeed or not, you won't be implicated."
Qing Lan looked at Mo Hua and asked softly, "What... do you plan to do?"
"You don't need to worry about that."
Qing Lan nodded and glanced at Mo Hua and the others, still feeling a bit worried. "You're all so young. Don't fall into that gray-robed man's trap because of me. He seems sinister, and his actions will likely be treacherous..."
Bai Zi Sheng reassured her, "Don't worry."
He pointed at Mo Hua. "Don't underestimate him just because he's young. He's got plenty of tricks up his sleeve..."
Mo Hua was displeased. "Who's got a belly full of tricks?"
Bai Zi Sheng looked up at the sky, feigning innocence.
"And you're saying your junior brother has a belly full of mischief?"
...
The two bickered softly, their voices filled with playful banter.
Bai Zi Xi sighed in exasperation and patted both of their backs, her slap on Bai Zi Sheng's back slightly harder than the gentle tap she gave to Mo Hua.
Bai Zi Sheng grimaced in pain, baring his teeth. "Zi Xi, you're taking his side!"
Bai Zi Xi ignored him and turned to Mo Hua, saying seriously, "Let's get back to business. We should head back soon."
"Mhm." Mo Hua nodded in agreement.
After asking a few more detailed questions, Mo Hua instructed Qing Lan, "Sister Qing Lan, you should head back first. Don't mention any of this to anyone, and don't let it show on your face. We'll come find you in a few days."
Qing Lan pressed her lips together and nodded solemnly before leaving.
Mo Hua then went to find Elder Su.
Elder Su was leisurely enjoying himself, sipping wine, listening to music, and watching the female cultivators dancing gracefully below him.
When he saw Mo Hua, he asked, "Are you done asking your questions?"
Mo Hua nodded.
"Good." Elder Su didn't pry further, as he understood that such matters were private and it would be impolite to inquire too deeply. "Little Mister, do you want to stay and play some more, or..."
"It's getting late, so I should head home," Mo Hua said.
Although there was nothing wrong with what Mo Hua said, hearing those words at this time of day in a brothel did feel a little odd.
Elder Su looked a little disappointed. "Alright then."
Seeing the reluctance on his face, Mo Hua whispered, "How about we head back first, and then you can come back and continue having fun?"
Elder Su's eyes lit up at the suggestion, but he quickly shook his head. "No, no, no, no. What do you take me for? I'm not that familiar with this place, and there's... there's nothing fun about it anyway..."
Elder Su's denial was unconvincing.
Mo Hua looked at him, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Elder Su felt a twinge of guilt under his gaze.
The group then left the Hundred Flowers Tower. Along the way, Elder Su's expression was somewhat dejected.
This was the first time he had exercised such self-restraint, passing through a garden of beautiful flowers without plucking a single one.
To show his gratitude, Mo Hua took out several rare formation scrolls and presented them to Elder Su.
Elder Su was shocked. "Are these for me?"
Mo Hua nodded. "It's only polite to reciprocate."
Elder Su's face lit up with joy, and he forgot all about the women he had been admiring. He eagerly flipped through the formation scrolls, unable to hide his delight.
As they walked, Mo Hua suddenly asked Elder Su, "Elder Su, are the girls in the Hundred Flowers Tower all leading tragic lives?"
Elder Su's smile froze, and the cheerfulness in his eyes gradually faded.
He sighed. "Yes."
"Most of them are miner cultivators who were sold to the brothel. Their lives are like floating weeds, rarely ending well. Even if I wanted to help, there's little I can do..."
Mo Hua asked curiously, "Have you thought about helping them?"
Elder Su nodded, then looked a little embarrassed. "I do have some desires, and I occasionally indulge here, but it's always consensual. I can't bear to see them being mistreated like this."
"But I can't help them."
"Even if I could help, it would only be one or two of them. There are so many brothels on Jin Hua Street, and so many female cultivators. I can't possibly help them all..."
"Besides, even if I could help them, it wouldn't make a difference."
Elder Su sighed deeply.
"Why is that?" Mo Hua asked.
Elder Su pointed to the distant, pitch-black mines and said gravely, "The root of the problem isn't on this street, but in those mines."
"As long as the miner cultivators there are struggling and desperate enough to sell their children, this brothel will never run out of business, and there will always be a supply of female cultivators..."
"Of course, there are some who willingly fall into depravity and don't cherish themselves, but they are the minority."
"Most of the female cultivators detest this kind of life and don't want to wallow in this mire..."
Elder Su sighed deeply, his voice filled with powerlessness. "But this isn't something we Foundation Establishment cultivators can solve."
Mo Hua's eyes sparkled with thoughts whirling in his mind.
He praised, "Elder Su, you're a good person."
Elder Su smiled and nodded, but then shook his head after a moment. "No, no, it has nothing to do with me. I heard all this from a 'fellow cultivator'..."
"This 'fellow cultivator' you mentioned..." Mo Hua trailed off.
Elder Su waved his hands. "It's not me, really, it's not me..."
...
The issue with the brothel couldn't be solved for the time being, so Mo Hua decided to focus on dealing with the gray-robed cultivator first.
After bidding farewell to Elder Su, the trio returned to their cave abode and gathered to discuss their plan.
"Are we going to kill that gray-robed cultivator?" Bai Zi Sheng asked.
Mo Hua clenched his small fist. "First, we capture him, then we interrogate him, and finally, we kill him!"
"It won't be easy to capture a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
Mo Hua nodded. "It will be difficult with just the three of us."
"So, what do you plan to do?" Bai Zi Sheng inquired.
Mo Hua thought for a moment before whispering, "We'll report him to the Dao Court."
"Report him?"
"Yes." Mo Hua spoke with conviction. "This man hired an assassin, committed murder, and trafficked corpses. He has violated the Dao Laws and is guilty of heinous crimes. Naturally, we should report him to the Dao Court and let them handle the arrest. Why should we waste our energy?"
Bai Zi Sheng asked, "But what if the Dao Court can't catch him?"
"Then we'll let the oyster and the clam fight and we'll be the fisherman who benefits," Mo Hua replied softly.
(End of Chapter)
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