The farmer stood in the main hall of Lotus Pier, fidgeting nervously. He looked from Sect Leader Jiang, who appeared stoic but not unkind, to the scowling Madam Yu, who definitely appeared unkind.
Wei Wuxian, watching from the side, could understand the man's trepidation. It would take a cultivator with a heart of steel to withstand her glare. This mere non-cultivator did not stand a chance under her gaze.
"So, you believe that yourself and others have been attacked by a monster?" Jiang Fengmian asked.
"Yes," the man, who had introduced himself as Gu Cai, answered nervously, trying his best not to look at Yu Ziyuan.
"Because last month, you suddenly lost consciousness, and woke up somewhere else weak for days afterwards?"
"Yes."
"And you are sure that you have not all caught some disease?" Madam Yu frowned.
"No, ma'am!" Gu Cai gulped. "A physician checked us, and could provide no explanation for our ailment!"
She eyed him intently.
"I am willing to pay for your services!" Gu Cai begged. "Please! I no longer feel safe in my own hometown!"
Jiang Fengmian held up a hand. "It is not an issue of money. Your problem is not one that necessarily requires cultivator intervention."
Gu Cai looked pleadingly from Wei Wuxian to Jiang Wanyin, back to Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian knew that if he offered to go, Yu Ziyuan was likely to turn him down just to spite him. He elbowed Jiang Wanyin, ignoring his glare.
"Father, would you allow me to go and investigate? Just in case it is a spirit or monster which needs to be handled?"
Before Yu Ziyuan could deny him his request, Jiang Fengmian approved.
As they quickly left, Wei Wuxian turned to Gu Cai. "Aren't you lucky! The Yunmeng Jiang sect heir himself offered to investigate for you!"
For some reason, Gu Cai smiled uneasily.
oOo
After half a day of travel, they reached the place where Gu Cai had fallen ill. Despite the sun only beginning to set, the building was already brightly lit. There were ladies spread out on the street, inviting people in.
Gold calligraphy on a wide rectangular sign showed the name of the building.
'Yu Le Lou'
"So, this is the place where your evil monster attacks its victims?" Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow at the building in front of them.
"Yes." Gu Cai avoided eye contact.
Jiang Wanyin snarled. "You neglected to tell us your monster attacks happened in a brothel!"
Gu Cai quickly moved so that Wei Wuxian stood between him and Jiang Wanyin. "I couldn't say that with the way your mother was looking at me!"
The air suddenly became cold.
"Oh, don't worry," Wei Wuxian waved a dismissive hand, "she's like that most of the time."
"Wei Wuxian!"
Wei Wuxian continued, "are you sure you were actually attacked and that you didn't just, uh, enjoy yourself too much?"
"I am sure! I go to places like this all the time," Gu Cai ignored the choking Jiang Wanyin, "and this is the first time it has ever happened! Not only to me, but many others as well!"
"Well, if you're sure..." Wei Wuxian said.
"And there are monsters and evil spirits that bewitch us humans by disguising themselves as beautiful ladies, right? The lady who served me was the most striking being I had ever seen. She had exotic eyes of a shade I have never seen, skin as white as tofu and as smooth as pearl, lips as red as fresh chilli, features as beautiful is Xi Shi... no! Surely, she is even more beautiful than Xi Shi! Mere words cannot do her magnificence justice!"
"Alright, so she's a real beauty." Wei Wuxian tried to remain serious in the face of Gu Cai's impassioned speech. "Did she say anything strange to you? Make any physical contact?"
Gu Cai shook his head. "She was extremely shy. She did not say single word, nor did she touch me. She simply played music for me."
"So she played music, and you got tired. It is nothing dangerous," Jiang Wanyin rolled his eyes.
"After seeing her, I could not perform again for half a month!" Gu Cai wailed.
Wei Wuxian scratched his nose and said, "it may be harmless now, but we can never be sure how things might escalate. We can at least check it out and make sure it's nothing too dangerous." He saw Jiang Wanyin fidgeting, and grinned. "Consider this practice for later!"
"Practice? Mother will skin us if she finds out we've been to one of these places!" Jiang Wanyin spat.
"Hmm, you make a good point. We'll need to disguise ourselves so that people can't tell that we're cultivators. How do you think I'll look as a scholar? I could even stick on a fake beard..." Wei Wuxian grinned in the face of Jiang Wanyin's scowl. "Fine, I'll go in. You should stay outside as a backup, anyway."
oOo
Luckily, Gu Cai paid for the costume. Wei Wuxian was not sure how he would explain the necessity of purchasing such a disguise to the Jiang couple.
After fiddling with his hair, trying to get it into a neat bun, Wei Wuxian was finally satisfied with his disguise. He was fully garbed in the robes of a scholar of light blue with black lining. A square black scholar's hat sat atop his head, which he had to adjust now and then, unaccustomed to the hat.
Suibian was stored in a qiankun pouch in his sleeve for convenient access.
He even insisted on slicing off part of his ponytail to stick onto his face.
"I now look like a scholar!" Wei Wuxian said, waving his long, wide sleeves around and stroking his 'beard'.
"You now look ridiculous!" Jiang Wanyin said.
"You now look a lot like one of the regular patrons here," Gu Cai said encouragingly. "You need to ask for the most beautiful prostitute... no, lady. Ask to listen to music privately, and ask for the most beautiful lady, they prefer the use of that term. Because you're new, they will try to push any odd girl on you. They will pressure you, but you must insist! Only the most beautiful will do!"
Wei Wuxian looked at Gu Cai's determination. "Is that how you got that woman?"
Gu Cai's eyes became downcast. "No. I gave them a jade hairpiece and three golden bracelets. Here, you can pay them with this." He handed Wei Wuxian two pouches.
Wei Wuxian raised an eyebrow at the weights of the pouches. "Wow, you are willing to spend this much to capture this potentially evil monster?"
"This is my favourite brothel, I cannot have my experience here tainted in this manner!" Gu Cai said. "I even sold two cows and a corner plot of my farm for this!"
"Right..." Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin exchanged a look, lips quirking simultaneously.
"Jiang Cheng, wait over there," Wei Wuxian pointed at a noodle stall across from the brothel. "If I'm not out in a shichen, come and find me!"
"A shichen? Are you intending on having some fun in there?" Jiang Wanyin said, annoyed.
"No, but I might have to wait around for her, or it might even take some negotiation to get this 'most beautiful woman'."
Wei Wuxian straightened his back, and walked slowly in a manner he thought befitting a scholar.
Oh, he was missing a fan as part of his disguise!
oOo
Wei Wuxian was not sure how his frivolous reputation in the cultivation world came about, but he was known among cultivators as a flirtatious young man who courted and troubled many-a-woman with his charms. They probably thought he was a regular customer at places like these.
Of course, he knew what sort of place a brothel was and what activities occurred within. He was too curious not to know. But he had never dared to enter one.
Madam Yu would flay him alive if she discovered he ever set foot in one.
So the 'bearded scholar' approached the entrance of the brothel. He heard voices talking, laughter, and music from within.
"Welcome, Young Master!" A lady in yellow waved him over. He offered a smile, and waved at her.
Stepping through the entrance was like entering a different world. There were tables full of food and men seated among a sea of women on the ground floor. A large set of stairs led upstairs to the private rooms. Ladies in colourful silks leaned over the banister, giggling and waving their handkerchiefs. He tried not to scrunch his nose at the overly sweet aroma permeating the air, taking in the red curtains and the flowery designs all over the place.
An older woman, no less prettier than any of the other ladies in the brothel, zeroed in on him.
"Welcome, Young Master! Welcome! What can we do for you today? Would you like to have a meal? Have some private entertainment? I am sure that I, Madam Liu, can find the most suitable company for you while you enjoy the pleasures offered here."
"I wish to listen to music privately," Wei Wuxian made his request.
"A private show? You are certainly a man of culture, Young Master...?"
"Li Chun," Wei Wuxian said, stroking his fake beard.
"Young Master Li, you are cultured indeed. A-Fang!" She called out, and a short young lady rushed over to them.
A-Fang was definitely pretty. However, her face did not make him think of chilli on tofu.
"Not her," Wei Wuxian said firmly. "I want the most beautiful lady you have. I have been told that here resides a lady whose beauty and musical skill are incomparable."
Madam Liu looked taken aback, eyes scanning him, and quickly covered her surprise with a laugh.
"Our current top lady Hong Chi is already booked tonight. Perhaps tomorrow...?"
Wei Wuxian handed over the heavy pouch. Just the one, to see her reaction. Her expression lit up at the weight in her hand, and she looked at him with a strange glint in her eyes.
"Her appointment is in half a shichen, if you are quick, then you can spend some time with her before her appointment."
"Yes, please! I must see this beauty tonight, otherwise I will not be able to rest!" Wei Wuxian said eagerly.
He was led up the stairs, past the ladies who all waved daintily at him.
"Young Master!" They all greeted, batting their eyelashes. He offered them all wide grins, stroking his 'beard' appreciatively.
Madam Liu reached a door and knocked before opening it and stepping through. "Miss Hong, I have a customer here for you."
Wei Wuxian followed Madam Liu into the room, looking over her shoulder. A red silk curtain obscured half of the room. Hong Chi was not in the front half of the room, nor did she reply. Was she even there? Or was she so shy that she did not even respond to her Madam?
"Young Master, I will come to notify you when your time is up."
Wei Wuxian nodded to her as she shut the door behind her.
There was a round table with two stools in the front half of the room, a flask of wine and pot of tea already placed there ready for customers. Portraits of flowers lined the walls, and Wei Wuxian had to admire the quality of art in such an establishment.
Long, pale fingers curled around the side of the red curtain, lifting it to reveal the shy Hong Chi. She was dressed in light pink robes and wore a strange headscarf that covered her entire head, only leaving her face exposed.
He briefly wondered if she was bald.
Then Wei Wuxian contemplated her height. He had never seen a woman this tall before.
Gu Cai had not exaggerated Hong Chi's beauty at all. Her skin was as white as tofu. And those red lips did remind him of chilli.
Nice, lip-shaped pieces of chilli.
Other than her ethereal beauty, there was no strange energy coming from her. She really did look and feel like a human being.
He was certain that this was the lady Gu Cai was describing though.
Sharp, amber eyes looked at him from beneath thin, dark eyebrows. She bowed in greeting.
Wei Wuxian realised he had been staring, and shook himself out of his daze. He plastered a bright smile on his face and bowed dramatically.
"Miss Hong, I am Li Chun. I have heard much about your skill and beauty. I cannot yet speak of your skill, but I wish I had brought a walking stick because your beauty has blinded me!"
Hong Chi's expression did not change. Maybe she had heard that one before?
"Your beauty would certainly sink birds and embarrass fish!"
Usually that line got giggles from the girls. However, Hong Chi's eyebrow only twitched.
Wei Wuxian felt a hit to his pride. Now he really wanted to get a reaction out of her! At least then, she would appear more human.
And if she really was their energy-sucking monster, maybe he could elicit her energy-sucking reaction.
If flattery could not break that blank expression, then maybe...
Wei Wuxian adjusted his square hat and played with his fake beard. "Miss Hong, we will become quite intimately acquainted tonight. Please, call me Chun-ge. No? Chun-gege?" He gave her a confident smirk. "I know! Chun-chun!"
Another eyebrow twitch.
"Can I call you Chi-chi? Chi-chi, will you play some music for Chun-chun? I want to hear something romantic! Something that expresses Chi-chi's love for Chun-chun!"
Wei Wuxian inwardly cheered when her eyes flashed. She pulled the curtains all the way up to reveal a bed at the back of the room. At the foot of the bed, there was a low table with a guqin.
She waved at the stools where he could sit and listen to her playing.
He would have none of that though. Once Hong Chi knelt behind the guqin, ready to play, Wei Wuxian dashed to kneel right across from her.
"I need to be much closer to admire your playing," Wei Wuxian beamed.
Even though her expression did not change, he felt a shift in the air. Was she feeling uncomfortable? That was exactly what he wanted!
Delicate hands raised above the polished black wood, Hong Chi plucked a note.
Wei Wuxian felt spiritual energy wash over him.
Xi Shi (西施)- one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. All four of them are mentioned in idioms used to describe beauty, such as beauty that would make fish sink, or birds fall, or flowers be embarrassed. So Wei Wuxian deliberately messed up the idioms to try to get a laugh.
Gu Cai (古財)-Gu is a common surname, cai means fortune.
Hong Chi (紅赤)- Hong and chi both mean red. Because I'm not very good at coming up with names.
Li Chun (李春)- Li is a common surname, chun means spring.
Yu Le Lou(娛樂樓)- yule means entertainment, lou means building.
Shichen (時辰)- two hours.