The Cunning of Wuxian

The world of a Prostitute is a tough life. Tougher than big city's Courtesans.

Only real beauties can be a courtesan. Those who don't make the cut, become Prostitutes instead. Forever sex slaves for a mere seven silver coins per customer. And forever in debt to the Brothel Mistress who provides their dresses and accessories, none of which, are cheap.

Wuxian was the child of a pair of Rogue Cultivators who were killed when she was young. And she found her parents' bodies and buried them outside the town where they left her...and that was how Slavers found her and dragged to the brothel for a quick buck. Because she was still a beginner, she was easy prey, unfortunately.

However, Wuxian never revealed her background as a cultivator nor her real name. She lied to the traders her name was Wan Yan, so brothel knows her as that.

Because of how she ended up, she didn't want to sully her parents' reputations as she learned quickly on how cruel society can be.

As a child, she was treated like a slave and she punished by ensuring nasty johns go to them and give them a hard time with magic she made up by knowing how to write talismans well enough to 'create her own language' she could create spells on the spot. Those who treat her well, get lucky instead.

Thus the atmosphere in the brothel was hard on everyone, if a nasty john comes. And as prostitutes, they cannot refuse a customer. No customer, no food next day. They eat congee every day. At least its tasty, and a bowl of rice and soup in one.

Girls like her were educated alright, how to sexually arouse and pleasure men, 'how to put a sensual show' other than dancing, playing music and keeping men company.

By the time she was fourteen, she was approached by 'little brother' Meng Yao who definitely feels different now. Because out of all those bogus books his mom bought, she found jackpot.

'Yan-jiejie, are you a cultivator?' he asked her.

The reason he asks that, is that he can finally sense her.

Wuxian knows his mother Meng Shi.

She was proud she can read, write and do math. Background unknown but she was sold here like the rest of them. If she was educated, she came from a well-off family. The problem is most likely family has fallen under hard times, or nasty stepmothers, but she's not talking anytime soon, is she? She was here as a teenager around her age, but she could afford to charge her johns 20 silver wen.

Good person and mother she was, but hopeful and naive...in worst way possible.

13 years ago, she fell pregnant that drastically lowered her price to seven wen which was standard price for their kind as she managed to retain her figure and beauty even if she got stretch marks, and the old hag ain't happy with her as she refused to abort her child in hopes that lover would come back for her if she bore a son. 13 years, he never did even if she had a son. She was disparaged for it as a result as men preferred their women 'innocent'. Because men hate it when a woman is superior to them in intelligence.

Wuxian was now that very 20 silver wen girl at age 14 declared by the old hag and being a cultivator, her skin gets fairer the stronger she gets and the ability to modify how she looks over time but its a slow progress that she focused on how she wanted to look for years, that she increased her value on her upcoming debut when the old hag checked her body.

She has large, shapely and perky breasts, narrow shoulders and a small waistline with flared hips and shapely legs. Her skin is smooth with no discoloration, and pore-less. Her teeth are also white and straight. Due to their humble diet of congee and tea, no bad breath. Due to how she looked, she passed as 15 when she's actually 14 because madam was eager to start selling her. And a girl's purity in a brothel, was worth 5 silver taels but because Wuxian was beautiful, price soared to 20 silver taels.

OUCH.

Ouch to her dignity and pride.

For Wuxian, her purity is worth more than 20 silver taels.

That auction was MEANT to pay for the costs it took to raise her in the brothel, that 5 taels was enough. But old hag was greedy. It woulda been good if much of that money went to her debt as a prostitute but old hag is called a bitch by everyone with good reason. Thus she was bound here until she pays her 'debt' off.

But she refuses to be a whore for sale. She loves herself too much for that.

By pretending she won 'motherlode' in the annual lottery, she paid her 'debt' off as well as that of Meng Shi's and Sisi's, but Meng Shi had nowhere to go with her son and she knows nothing else of how to survive, thus she was a 'Free Prostitute' who began earning her own money for keeps. Sisi at least, knows how to fend for herself. However, they have end of year to leave the Brothel and must serve the term.

That time was used to teach Meng Shi how to do chores. Something Meng Yao mastered ages ago as kids in the brothel are effectively slaves. He could do chores and was a competent cook. Their dysfunctional family lived together in an apartment and they were much happier there.

As for Wuxian who manages to avoid Virgin Auction, now works as Accountant instead to watch over Meng Yao until he's old enough to work. Her salary as an accountant is 10 silver wen a month. Combine that with 14 silver wen, they lived comfortably.

Poor kid gets bullied a lot by the other women as children are nothing but financial burdens to them and a reminder that having kids, lowers their value. The old hag settled for the money Wuxian gave her to free three of them before auction day and let her work as an accountant. And because Meng Shi and Sisi are free, the brothel will no longer pay for their dresses, accessories and must leave the brothel to rent their own apartment and pay for their own food while staying till end of year. Suits them just fine. For Meng Shi's sake, she uses the room Wuxian enchanted and ensuring she gets good johns.

There's a difference between educated and smart. Wuxian was both. Thus keeps her secrets to herself.

Being a prostitute isn't part of 'good life', dammit. Especially to impressionable kids like Meng Yao.

The fact that three of them are free and who was it who freed them, got the others jealous that tension was at all-time-high. And since they bullied Wuxian, how could they have known she'd treat well those who treated her well?!

'I am. But the way I'm bound here, I can't fully pursue.' said Wuxian with a bitter smile, masking her secrets. 'All I can do, is gather qi, childhood techniques and that's it. You know, you could leave and go to some other sect instead of wasting your time here.' she told him. 'You're thirteen, you can still enroll in a sect next year. Me? That ship has long sailed unless rules changed somehow!' she laughed weakly. 'I missed enrollment because I'm bound here until the debt I never had to begin with, was paid off and I just got lucky with lottery.' she grumbled. 'Fucking Slave Traders!' she harrumphed with an armfold. 'I'm reserving my purity to my Mr. Right!'

Families sell their daughters out of economic woe. Nothing wrong with that. But the problem was if slave traders gets you and pretends to be your father who sold you. Now THAT, is Slavery and that's illegal. But she had no way of proving her identity back then.

She killed them on her first night after seeing them drink off the silver they got for selling her, and stole said silver and others they had by the way, as future investment in her mother's qiankun pouch. She cannot physically overpower them, but she can fire a qi wave and pierced their brains without piercing their heads physically.

She never got the chance to count all that money and she didn't dare. But she did see a small mound of silver tiny boats in their illegal possession, as one silver tael is worth 1000 silver wen. So she has a small fortune for herself, actually.

'Then can Yan-jiejie teach me?' Meng Yao asked hopefully. 'I never got far in cultivation because mom tries her best but some of those books are fake...she still hopes father would get us if I showed promise.'

'Yeah, at least you'll go somewhere, kid.' Wuxian patted his head kindly. 'Because...your mom doesn't have much time left and you know it.' Meng Yao pursed his lips at that.

Meng Shi fell ill when he was ten.

Sure she recovered, but she was weakened. It does NOT help that they were bullied by other prostitutes, thinking them arrogant for being proud they are educated. And Meng Shi continued working and putting up a strong front, making her condition worse. The final straw, was that one abusive john who dragged her to the streets naked to shame her and Wuxian who was coming back from outside buying steamed buns that day, punched him in the face for it, resulting in a broken cheek and Sisi and Meng Yao quickly took Meng Shi back in.

'I never revealed I was educated because I know how society works when I lived in the streets prior to being sold here.' Wuxian told him. 'Society is a two-faced entity. They enjoy looking down on others yet hate it when people are above them, at the same time they never do anything to improve their lot in life. And any good or accomplishment you have is forever overshadowed by the bad things they know about you as a result of that mindset.' she lectured him. 'Its a world of hypocrites.'

'That's why always think before you act or speak. Not everything is always as it seems...for society will always be broken and corrupt despite how a city or town looks, and there's nothing you can do to change it. You can, however, break free from it.' she told him. 'My family did just that as we lived the lives of free spirits, happy, until a bad day that left me orphaned. They tried to come home to me but their bodies were found outside the town they left me in, too injured they didn't survive.' Meng Yao felt sorry for her.

She secretly gives him steamed buns or candied haw sticks and treats his and his mother's wounds from bullying and abuse by a john. But she could never help them in cat fights because she was too young to overpower those old women back when they were young. That job was mostly left to Sisi, his mother's only friend.

But at thirteen, she could finally help him with his mother and break up fights, being unusually strong for it. He never knew why, until he sensed her when he got to his current level today.

'What's your family like?'

'Rogue Cultivators.' said Wuxian. 'We lived by the road, never staying in one place too long. We were a 10 silver tael-per-job family of three as cultivators earn that much. However, cultivational tools are expensive.' she said. 'If a 10 silver tael can make a family of six happy for half a year with full stomachs, good clothes and shoes and easy annual tax payoffs, that amount for a cultivator however, is a fart in the air with Talismans alone as the cheapest talisman is 15 silver wen, that's about the weekly wage of a high-repute artisan and the most powerful talismans cost 500 silver wen or worse, one silver tael.' Wuxian explained.

'Those of Big Time Sects earn 200 silver taels per job even if they're Juniors. That unreasonable difference is because of Clan Repute and backing, and Rogue Cultivators' capabilities are doubted so people pay way less as a precaution.' she explained.

'Then...no doubt you know what kind of man my father is...' Meng Yao trembled. 'Why didn't you say anything?'

'Kid, your mom will not hear any of it, thinking he's a prince on white horse who can do no wrong and the sun rises and sets at his whim the way she talks about him, because that's the impression he left behind on her. But remember, womanizers are expert liars and actors. Something I learned while under study.' Wuxian deadpanned with an airy handwave. 'Its a waste of time. Besides, she'll simply say 'You're not born when I met him, how would a child know?' Come on, my parents told me about that world as bedtime stories.' she snorted. 'If you ask a random cultivator on the street who Jin Guangshan is, you're in for a rude awakening that what you learned from me, you'll hear the same story from them.' that was to his clear dismay since he too, grew up with his mother's hopes, but reality dashed it for him.

'When he was just a disciple our age, he was an incurable womanizer and to think he was engaged to a lady we now know as Madam Jin. But even when married, he never stopped going out, having mistresses of who-knows-how-many. And you have many, many older and younger siblings. His only legal child is Jin Zixuan, born to his legal wife. When he became Sect Leader of Jin, the Jin Sect is also known as Scandal Sect. Its reputation is in muck among cultivator society and his wife as well as any women he touched is a figure of pity but to the naive masses like townsfolk, they're respectable, wealthy and powerful.'

'That's...' Meng Yao wilted. 'It was doomed from the start?'

'Yeah. I'll teach you if you still want to pursue, but again, I remind you, I can only cultivate qi and skills any child is expected to know since my cultivational education ended way too soon...at least when you have a Golden Core, you'll be welcome in a Sect and you can get your mom out of here with a short period of relief when you start earning big before she passes on.'

'OK!' Meng Yao lit up.

'You're still young so by fifteen you can have a Golden Core...hopefully.' Wuxian sighed gloomily. 'This town's Feng Shui sucks even my own progress is slow!' this was her lament as when they stay in good Feng Shui places, she was a once-a-century talent to her parents' pride.

Meng Shi got wind of Wuxian teaching her son, she was grateful and entrusted Meng Yao to her. Meng Yao wanted to tell his mother the awful truth, but knew it would be no good...

He learned proper cultivation from her, and what basics Wuxian got from her parents. But Wuxian cannot teach him talismans and kept quiet about that, and kept teaching him qi techniques but cannot teach him skills that required a Golden Core. And as the feng shui of Yunping is awful, yeah. His development is S-L-O-W. Wuxian herself, has no Golden Core despite her age due to being bound here as she had nowhere to go herself as she told him.

He didn't know she was staying until Meng Shi dies which is also the day he leaves the town for good.

Paper, is 20 copper wen per SHEET. Hell no. Heck, the brothel writes in wooden slips and bamboo scrolls!

By end of the year, Meng Shi died from the aftermath of her illness and she was buried. Wuxian paid for Meng Shi's proper burial so Meng Yao can use his mother's money to travel, a thing Meng Yao was grateful for, and decided to leave Yunping to study cultivation in a sect, taking with him his mother's pearl.

'There he goes.' said Sisi as Meng Yao left and they watched him go.

'I gave him a lot of warning about his dear ol' dad.' said Wuxian with an armfold. 'Hope he heeds it or he's in for heartbreak. Its OK to dream, but at least, gather information so you'll awaken to reality before the truth hurts you. A-Yao wanted to tell Shi-jiejie but couldn't bring himself to. He wanted her to keep her dream until the end he went as far as lying to her on her deathbed with a letter I forged on his request, by the way. He didn't want her to die heartbroken. What a good son.'

'Its because he has a good parent.' Sisi told her with a wistful smile. 'Good parents raise good kids. Bad parents have shitty kids and become shitty adults come adulthood. That's how things roll. What about you?'

'Me? I'm outta here.' said Wuxian with a grin. 'I just waited for A-Yao to leave when Shi-jiejie dies. Wanna leave this shithole? We should go next town over to start anew, in a place where no one knows us as ruined women.' Wuxian wasn't ruined, but simply working in a brothel would get her that reputation by default.

'That'd be nice...'

She and Sisi did just that, and Wuxian purchased a house for Sisi enough for one woman to live in, because Wuxian would pursue being a Cultivator too as she wanted to be like her late parents.

Wuxian then traveled for a good cultivational spot...and put her many ideas to work, after traveling to Yunmeng Jiang under the guise of a traveler to scope out how strong disciples are. She has a front to maintain so she can't overdo it too much.

The strongest disciple was Jiang Wanyin, son of Sect Leader Jiang Fengmian. Using him as a benchmark, she now knows what's expected of a Junior Disciple level.

...in the Burial Mounds.

'Here I am.' she thought as she arrived, supplies on hand. 'I gotta be careful here as I'm taking huge risks already.'

And she made the Burial Mounds her home for a year. Harnessing and converting its power for her own use.

The energy was so thick...so potent...she was able to catch up, and more!

She then gained enough power to change her looks while enduring great pain, to become Wei Wuxian once more. The identity of Wan Yan, she 'killed' to protect her family's reputation even if she remained pure by ensuring she was never put up for sale, and bury the shame of her past forever even if it'd take years again. The girl called Wan Yan, was a girl who resembled her father's sister as he told her many times in the past that she apologized to her father in her sleep many times over. Sure she was able to escape Auction Sale and being a Prostitute, but she had a dang close shave, if she wasn't smart.

xxx

Age sixteen...now a well-trained Cultivator specializing in talisman magic and sealing techniques, Wuxian left the Burial Mounds, stronger than a typical Senior Disciple.

She wondered if she could still apply in a sect, and gathered information before enrollment day.

The other sects enroll only men. The Lan Sect and Jin Sect allows women to come.

But Jin Sect is dangerous to her, so she went to Lan Sect to apply to be a Disciple. Applying was easy, and she can choose courses.

She chose courses she needs as a Cultivator so she applied for stuff a Lan Female Disciple is supposed to know.

But hey, the clan techniques are kinda musical...but she applied for the Spiritual Flute Course. Carrying a bulky guqin? Hell no.

"I'm all set!" she thought in relief.

After enrolling and paying a cringey 1000 silver taels as tuition fee, she then was given a tour of the recesses, granted three changes of uniforms and other things as in Sects, you can only wear your clan uniforms plus forehead ribbon. She was the only female disciple to apply so far which was somewhat awkward that she had to study alone!

Ah well.

That night, Lan Qiren browsed through disciple applicants.

And to his horror?

Name: Wei Wuxian
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Year of Birth: Xuanzheng, Year 3 15th of Dongyue
Cultivational Stage: Golden Core
Parents:
(Father)Wei Changze
(Mother)Cangse Sanren
Status: Orphan
Marital Status: Single

Applied Course: Freshman Course(Except Magic Classes)
Magic Classes replaced with Martial Arts Classes on request, Pending Approval

"Why here and why not the Jiang Sect or something?" he looked at the ceiling as if he would the sky as he hasn't gotten over a certain memory he NEVER let live down...

"I hope she's different from that crazy girl..."