"So you wish to offer yourself as a bodyguard, do you?" The Madam of the brothel blew out a puff of smoke from her pipe. "And how exactly does that benefit me?"
"I'm a cultivator. I'll serve you better than any commoner bodyguard. I'll effectively stop any client who tries to skip out on their payment."
The Madam paused in thought. A cultivator wanting to work for a brothel was unheard of. No cultivator would disgrace themselves like this. This may just be a good opportunity. She leaned closer to Pan Wukun. "Name your price."
"It's not money I want. I simply ask that you allow me to have room and board and continue to meet Meng Shi and Meng Yao without charging me any expenses."
"I don't know why you hold Meng Shi and her son to such importance." An amused glint appeared in the Madam's eyes. "But I won't say no to your services."
The Madam put out her pipe. "I shall set aside a quiet room for you. Unless you prefer a room where you can partake in the sounds of pleasure?"
Pan Wukun's cheeks turned pink. "A quiet room. Please."
The Madam chuckled. "A pleasure doing business with you, Pan-xiushi."
Being a bouncer in Ancient Fantasy China actually wasn't so bad.
Whenever a client attempted to run from the brothel without paying, Pan Wukun promptly tripped them with her leg. Other times, she stood in front of the exit, a hand patting Yuyun threateningly.
As for creeps who got too handsy and abusive with the prostitutes, she kicked them out, figuratively and literally.
When she wasn't on bodyguard duty, she trained Meng Yao.
When she wasn't a bodyguard or a cultivation teacher, she would leave Yunping for several days to a week, continuing her investigation into Baoshan Sanren and the mystery cultivator. - Unfortunately, still no luck on that end.
While she was away, Meng Yao studied the sword forms booklet on his own. The very same booklet that Pan Heng drew in for her when she first started sword training all those years ago.
Pan Wukun had brought the booklet along with her for review. Practicing specific sword forms daily improved her swordsmanship and cultivation. Didn't think she'd need it to train the main antagonist of all people but here she was…
Pan Wukun sent a letter by courier to Pan Heng, updating him on her new status as a cultivation teacher in Yunping.
Pan Heng responded with a resounding "WHAT?" and several pointers from his experience as Pan Wukun's cultivation teacher.
In order to appease the Madam about her absence, Pan Wukun set up talismans and arrays around the brothel as a makeshift security system to stop potential troublemakers. Once activated, the commoner bodyguards took care of the rest.
And so, this became Pan Wukun's latest routine.
"Pan-shifu[1]. How does this look?" Meng Yao waved the wooden practice sword around with fervor.
"You're making good progress." Pan Wukun adjusted his arm. "Make sure you keep your arm at this angle. It'll help improve your balance and stance."
Meng Yao nodded. "I see. Understood, shifu." And he continued swinging the sword.
Impressive. Meng Yao was picking up on these sword forms pretty quickly. A combination of his eidetic memory and determination made for a powerful force.
Pan Wukun looked up at the sky. The sun was halfway down over the rooftop. "That's enough training for today."
"But I can train more! I'm not weak!" Meng Yao protested.
"No. Strong or weak. If you don't rest, you will tear a muscle."
At Pan Wukun's sternness, Meng Yao rested the wooden sword at his side.
"Oh all right." Meng Yao rubbed his arm and looked up at Pan Wukun expectantly.
"Hm. You did good."
Meng Yao's face lit up.
Oh. This was the first time he was praised by someone other than his mother, wasn't it?
He looked so adorable. She could almost forget he became a mass murderer in the future.
But no! She wouldn't be fooled! He was still fully capable of becoming the Jin Guangyao she knew.
She would not let her guard down.
"Lunch is ready!" one of the brothel servants called out.
Pan Wukun grabbed the tray of food on the table, heading straight for her room.
Meng Yao didn't follow her, learning from a past experience not to.
The first and last time Meng Yao chased after her towards her room, she firmly told him that her company was available for training only, shutting the door in his face.
Pan Wukun ate alone in her room as always. No sense in eating with the others in the brothel and forming attachments.
The more distant she was, the better.
"He is here!"
Meng Shi rushed out of the brothel in excitement, calling out to a man pulling a cart of booklets. "Kindly bookseller! It is good to see you again!"
"Ah! Meng-guniang[2]! My most valued customer!"
"Do you have any new swordsmanship and cultivation booklets for sale? Meng Yao has already finished the set I purchased for him last time!"
"Already? Such a studious young boy!"
Pan Wukun observed the conversation from her position at the brothel's entrance. Her eyes narrowed.
She stepped forward and placed an arm out, stopping Meng Shi from handing the man her money. "Please excuse me, Meng-guniang."
She looked at the booklet seller. "You say you're selling cultivation and swordsmanship booklets, good sir? I would like to take a look."
The booklet seller took notice of Yuyun hanging at her hip and paled considerably. "N-No! You don't have to look at-"
Pan Wukun snatched the booklets away before he could finish. She opened them, looking over them with a critical eye. She handed them back to the booklet seller with a smile.
"Meng-guniang. These booklets are fakes."
"Wh-what?" Meng Shi stood momentarily stunned. "Fakes?… Then this whole time…A-Yao…"
Meng Shi's face erupted in fury. She stormed up to the booklet seller, jabbing a finger at him. "You! You lied to me! You fucking scammer!"
The scammer, caught red-handed, could only stammer, "Now now, we can talk about this!"
"Too late for that." Pan Wukun stomped on the scammer's cart, flinging the fake booklets into the air. She sliced them to bits with Yuyun.
The scammer gasped in horror, trying futilely to catch the scattered remains of his goods. "My merchandise!"
"Give Meng-guniang her money back. Now."
The scammer obeyed.
"Find something better to sell, cheat a corrupt nobleman out of his money for all I care, and piss off."
As the scammer scurried away, Pan Wukun turned back to Meng Shi. "Meng-guniang, are you all right?"
Meng Shi didn't answer.
"Meng-guniang?"
"Pan-xiushi. Surely you must've known that A-Yao's booklets were fake once he showed them to you. Why didn't you tell me?" Meng Shi's voice was still filled with anger.
"I needed you to help point out who the scammer was…And Meng Yao didn't want to make you sad."
Meng Shi's anger faded and she sighed, shaking her head. "Ah, that boy…I suppose I have my own foolishness to look out for. I should've realized it was too good to be true for a non-cultivator to have cultivation booklets on hand."
"It's - It's not really your fault, Meng-guniang. How were you supposed to know if those booklets were fake or not? You were only trying to care for Meng Yao as best as you could. That scammer was disgusting for taking advantage of a mother and her son." Pan Wukun hoped those were the right words to say.
Meng Shi smiled softly, but the happiness didn't reach her eyes. "...You have my thanks, Pan-xiushi."
Glossary
[1] shifu: "Master"
[2] guniang: "Miss"