In today’s society, pleasure houses were a dime a dozen in big cities. If you turn the wrong corner, you may accidentally find yourself in the red-light district. But among these numerous pleasure houses, there were a few that stood out and few that were special. If you stood at the door of these pleasure houses and took down the names of everyone who entered, you would find that most were bigshots in the cultivation world or dangerous rats that crawled in the underground.
Is it because these big figures were afraid to keep a lover? Or is it because their appetite was so big that their wife or husband at home couldn’t take care of them? Neither of these were true. It was because, hidden in the depths of a pleasure house, there was normally information to be gathered.
Fu Yishan glanced up at the tall building in front of him. Hesitation showed on his face as he glanced down at the red card in his hand. His brows furrowed. He turned, ready to leave, when an elegant hand slipped across his shoulders and the other grasped his bicep. He looked over irritably.
“Young Master, you’ve been standing at the door of our establishment for a while? Why not come in and take a look. I promise you won’t be disappointed,” the coy voice tickled Fu Yishan’s ear as the lithe body leaned into his embrace. “We have anything you could want—just come in for a taste.”
Fu Yishan had been sent to this city by his uncle. Initially, he hadn’t wanted his uncle’s help. After all, the man had watched his sister and brother-in-law die without even sending a last minute warning. But it was really difficult. After nursing his injuries for several months in the wilderness, Fu Yishan had finally recovered enough energy to start his revenge. Only to realize he had no power, no backing, and no information.
His reluctance to return to his uncle’s side was obvious. And when the man said he couldn’t help him, Fu Yishan nearly exploded right then and there. But, before he could get angry, his uncle had pressed a red card into his hand.
“I can’t help you,” his uncle had said, “But I know a place that can. If you still can’t find information, at least you can unwind.”
Fu Yishan’s brows furrowed tightly. He glanced at the person—who looked neither like a man nor a woman—and finally smiled.
The person in Fu Yishan’s arms was surprised. This young master had looked quite scary from a distance, to the point that the other courtesans refused to approach him. But, when he smiled, he looked extremely gentle. His eyes carried an amorous glint, making you feel as if you were the only person he would ever look at.
“I was a little nervous,” Fu Yishan said, lowering himself to the person’s ear, “But if you’re here, I think I can gain some courage.”
The person flushed. He pulled away from Fu Yishan’s embrace, carefully took him by the hand, and brought him in.
“How did you find this place?” the person asked, glancing back flirtatiously.
Fu Yishan looked a little troubled. “My uncle…”
“Uncle?” the person’s eyes widened. He felt an odd inkling.
“Mn. He saw that I was having some issues, so he directed me here,” Fu Yishan said.
“Do you have a referral card?” the person asked, releasing Fu Yishan’s hand.
Fu Yishan handed over the red card. The person’s eyes flickered over the card and hummed in understanding. He turned to Fu Yishan.
“Head up to the third floor and take the left hallway. The tenth door is where you need to be.”
The card was placed back into Fu Yishan’s hand and the person slipped off to inform someone of his arrival. Fu Yishan hesitated a moment. He wrinkled his nose and sighed. Well, the faster he got the information he needed, the faster he could leave this perfume-polluted place.
He walked up the stairs slowly and steadily. Whenever a courtesan paused to look at him, he would give them a polite smile. But no conversation was stirred up further than that.
Left hallway. Ten doors down.
Fu Yishan followed the instructions of the young man. He glanced down at the red card as a bubble of uncertainty surfaced. What was he going to see? Why did his uncle even send him here? Was it really to see the person that this red card would lead him to or—
A loud crash sounded in the room Fu Yishan had just walked past. His steps slowed and he frowned.
He listened to a series of profanities, being flung at whatever poor courtesan had been attending to this brute of a man. For a moment, Fu Yishan thought about going in. Even if this person was in the line of sex work, it didn’t mean they should be so horribly mistreated.
His foot shifted, but he paused. A wry smile appeared on his face.
What was he thinking? He couldn’t even take care of himself. Why was he even worrying about another person?
Fu Yishan lifted a foot to go forward when the doors crashed open and a person was flung into the wall opposite the door. His brows tightened as he watched the person, half dressed, slump to the floor. A second later, a burly man—about twice the person’s size—lumbered out of the room, as if to finish the job.
But he stopped.
The man glared at Fu Yishan. “What’s this? Trying to play the hero to save the beauty?”
“I’ve never even seen the man, so how would I know if he’s a beauty or not?” Fu Yishan asked. Still, he remained rooted in place.
The man laughed. “Listen, kid. You don’t know who this is—”
“I don’t. But I know that treating a person like this is wrong, no matter what they’ve done,” Fu Yishan said.
“Then, what if I told you that this thing was the Di son to the notorious cultivator, Ren Changhe (任昌河), who sold the secrets of Liuxing Alliance to the demonic cultivators!”
Fu Yishan glanced down at the unmoving body.
He had heard a bit about the Ren Clan when his family was still alive. At the time, it was a story from a far away place, told by the old storyteller who liked to set up stalls on the street corner. Yet, it was also the type of story he refused to let his little siblings listen to. While it was like any Jianghu story, it was exceedingly violent and gruesome. Even though Fu Yishan knew some details were made up, he still couldn’t help but feel bad for Ren Changhe’s family.
A perfectly happy family of three was destroyed in one night because of one man’s selfish motives. His wife was brutally murdered and strung up in the city gates, while his son had been carted off to god knows where. There were rumors that he was the price that his father paid to the demonic cultivators—as assurance, they say. Ren Changhe, himself, was caught by elder members of the Liuxing Alliance and executed. Months later—just a month before Fu Yishan’s own family was destroyed, actually—this Di son returned.
He was battered, obviously in a bad state of mind, but those crooks at the Liuxing Alliance didn’t let him off. Instead of allowing him to live a normal life, he was tossed into the streets after being locked up for so long and his identity was announced.
The people, in the name of justice, committed many atrocities.
And here he was—Ren Changhe’s son. Now an unwilling participant in the pleasure house.
“What are you doing?” the gruff man asked.
Fu Yishan bent down and gently pulled the other man up. From what he knew of the Ren Clan, Ren Changhe’s son should be younger than him by a few years. He turned the younger man over. His blood immediately turned cold.
He looked at the burly man darkly. “Did you do this?”
“I-it wasn’t me! He was like that when he was brought in. No doubt it was the demonic—”
A strong pressure exuded from Fu Yishan. The man’s eyes widened as he crumbled to his knees. He felt as if the air was being pulled from his esophagus. He looked up in horror as Fu Yishan walked closer.
“But the fresh bruises on his body,” Fu Yishan said. “They’re all you, right?”
The burly man choked, unable to answer.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“I’m sure you didn’t listen to his pleading either.”
The soft shifting of cloth behind him caught his attention. Fu Yishan turned and made direct eye contact with the younger man behind him.
Or it would have been direct eye contact. If only the younger man had eyes.
Fu Yishan knelt down to the younger man’s level. He softened his voice as much as he could—something he hadn’t done in nearly a year—and smiled.
“…Hey. Are you okay?”
The younger man didn’t answer. He fumbled with his clothes, only to find that there was little fabric around him. His pretty face scrunched horribly, as if he wanted to cry, but no tears came out.
Fu Yishan quickly took his outer robe off and threw it towards the younger man. The younger man froze. His pale, ruined fingers caressed the thick cloth.
“It’s not much, but use that for now,” Fu Yishan said gently.
The younger man bit his lower lip. “What…what do you want?”
The voice came out as a croak, as if his throat had long been worn out. Fu Yishan shrugged.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know why I saved you,” Fu Yishan admitted. He sat down, ignoring the pooling blood at his side. He propped up his arm on his chin and rested his chin against the palm of his hand. “I’m also in a bad situation, so it’s not like I can take care of you.”
The younger man’s fingers tightly pinched Fu Yishan’s outer robe. “I…I have nothing…to give.”
“That’s fine,” Fu Yishan said. “What’s your name?”
“…Si—”
“I mean, your real name,” Fu Yishan said. “Before you came here.”
The young man showed an expression of surprise. He lowered his head. “…Ren…Ren Yizhou.”
“Nice to meet you, Yizhou. My name is Fu Yishan.”
“Fu…Yishan…is that your real name?”
“Mn. Don’t tell anyone though.”
Ren Yizhou hesitated. He shifted and eventually pulled the outer robe around him. “Are you…here for…information?”
“So, you know?” Fu Yishan’s eyes widened.
Ren Yizhou slowly nodded. “A little.”
“Well, I want information. I don’t know if I’ll find anything,” Fu Yishan said. He glanced at Ren Yizhou before he reached into his lapel and pulled out a jade bottle. “Can I come over?”
Ren Yizhou hesitated. A moment later, he nodded.
Fu Yishan crawled over and sat down beside Ren Yizhou. He gently took Ren Yizhou’s hand and pressed the jade bottle to it.
“…What’s this?”
“Do you know of Qingyao Manor?” Fu Yishan asked.
Ren Yizhou nodded.
“This is medicine from there,” Fu Yishan said. “Just take one pill and the wounds on your body will be healed.”
“…Why are you giving this to me?”
“I don’t know,” Fu Yishan said. He glanced at Ren Yizhou. “Take it as payment for giving me gratification. I didn’t think there would be anyone in a worse situation than I am.”
Ren Yizhou’s grip on the jade bottle tightened. For a moment, Fu Yishan thought the bottle would be thrown back in his face. Instead, the lovely face scrunched up into an expression of displeasure.
“You have a foul mouth.”
Fu Yishan let out a short chuckle that eventually evolved into a full body laugh. He leaned back against the wall and watched Ren Yizhou take a pill.
“Use this sparingly,” Fu Yishan said. “When I’m in a better situation, I’ll come back for you.”
Ren Yizhou froze.
Even Fu Yishan didn’t know why he said that.
“I don’t like you or anything.”
“Good.”
“Hey—why do you say that?” Fu Yishan snapped.
“You seem like a jerk,” Ren Yizhou murmured, turning away.
“You—well, you seem like a spoiled brat.”
“If that’s what I am, then you are too,” Ren Yizhou said.
“You—” Fu Yishan glared at the younger man. He scoffed. “You’re not even going to ask why I would come back for you?”
“…I’m not interested.”
“Ask!”
“…Why? Do you need someone to fuck around with even if you’re in a bad situation?”
Fu Yishan choked. He glared at Ren Yizhou. This little brat said he had a foul mouth? Well, you have a fouler mouth!
“You know that an information network is behind this pleasure house.”
“…I do.”
“I heard rumors that Ren Changhe had a brilliant son—one who knew more information on Qingzhou City than even his father,” Fu Yishan heard himself say. “It’s a shame to let such a brilliant talent waste away.”
Ren Yizhou’s brows furrowed. “But…I’m nothing.”
“You’re nothing right now. That doesn’t mean you’ll stay nothing in the future,” Fu Yishan said.
Suddenly, he realized why his uncle had sent him here.
Fu Yishan’s resolve strengthened.
“Yizhou, if you promise to follow me, I’ll make sure to get you out of here.”
Ren Yizhou scoffed.
“Ten years—no. Five years. No. Three. If you can rise the ranks in this pleasure house in three years, I will get you out of this hell hole. I will establish the most extensive information network for you—more so than the one these ratty brothels have. You just have to keep it running.”
“…Why are you doing this? And why me?”
“I need a reliable source of information for what I want to do,” Fu Yishan said. “And I also need reliable partners.”
Ren Yizhou frowned.
“I’m not asking for us to be friends. I just need your brilliance.”
“…You really are weird.”
Fu Yishan wanted to yell at the younger man, but he was interrupted.
“If you’re still alive in three years…I’ll take you up on that offer,” Ren Yizhou murmured.
Fu Yishan’s eyes widened.
“…As payment. For your lousy medicine.”
Three years passed by quickly. Many things changed and shifted by the time Fu Yishan returned.
He glanced at the box in his hands and smiled. His fingers tapped on the top of it as he boldly stepped into the pleasure house.
It was still morning and there were no customers. At first, the servants were alarmed at the stranger’s presence, but when they saw who it was, they were the first to welcome him.
“Young Master Fu, Lady Si received your letter and has been eagerly waiting for you!”
Fu Yishan resisted the urge to cringe at such cliché words. He forced a smile. “Is that so? Is your lady in then?”
“Yes! Yes, she is. She is in her room.”
“Thank you,” Fan Yi bowed his head.
He quickly walked up the stairs to escape the prying gazes.
The room had steadily moved up throughout the years until it was at the top floor. Fan Yi raised a hand, but before he could knock, the doors were flung open.
He swallowed back any pleasantry he had planned and just glared at the younger man before him.
The younger person no longer looked so pale—nor was he so malnourished. He wore silky robes with much more layers than other courtesans would at an establishment like this. His hair was done up neatly, with few pins. If people didn’t know, they would think the person in front of him was a young master, rather than a courtesan.
“You’re late.”
“Just by a few days,” Fu Yishan said. “And it was all because I was getting a gift for you.”
“Are you my lover?” Ren Yizhou asked as they elegantly sat down.
“No, but you’re my beloved business partner,” Fu Yishan said. He placed the box down. “Open it.”
Ren Yizhou frowned. Their slender fingers felt around for the latch and carefully pulled the lid back. Their fingers ran over the orbs inside. Their frown deepened.
“What are these?”
“What do they feel like?”
“…They’re circular. Pills again? I don’t need—”
“They’re eyes.”
Ren Yizhou froze.
“I worked really hard to get them. They won’t allow you to see like you used to, but you can at least see forms of people,” Fu Yishan said. “And, at the very least, you can stop complaining about how your empty eye sockets would probably scare people off.”
Ren Yizhou’s hands shook. “This—how did you—”
“They were made by some inventor. My uncle found them. When you want to use them, you have to supplement them with your own spiritual energy,” Fu Yishan said. “It’s a bit of a power waste, but I figured—”
“Thank you.”
Fu Yishan’s eyes widened. A smile slowly took over his face. He chuckled and rubbed at Ren Yizhou’s head. “You know, you can actually be cute at times.”
Ren Yizhou slapped his hand away. He pulled down the ribbon from his eyes and held out the box to Fu Yishan. “How do I do this?”
“Before that.”
Ren Yizhou frowned.
Fu Yishan reached into his belt and pressed a piece of paper into the other person’s hands. “Guess what this is.”
Ren Yizhou had a blank expression on his face. “It’s a piece of paper.”
“But can you guess its contents?”
“How many things in this world are given in paper form?”
Fu Yishan scoffed. “You’re no fun. It’s your indenture. I did some tasks for my uncle and he loaned me enough money to buy you out. So, from now on, you’re—”
A heavy weight landed on Fu Yishan, causing him to collapse to the floor. He startled and looked at the smaller body against him. He coughed loudly and patted Ren Yizhou’s back.
“Hey, Yizhou, you—”
“Thank you.”
“…Listen, it’s just a little matter between business partners, you—”
Ren Yizhou shook their head, squeezing Fu Yishan tighter. “We’re not just business partners.”
“Then, what? Do you want to give me your body too?” Fu Yishan joked. He grunted when a heavy fist landed against his abdomen. “I—cough—I didn’t want you either. You’re too short to be my—”
“Shut up.”
“Okay.”
Ren Yizhou closed their eyes tightly. “I’ll help you. From here on out, even if I die, I swear to help you achieve your goals.”
“…Hey, now, that—”
“Thank you for giving me back my freedom.”
Fu Yishan looked up at the ceiling and finally sighed. He patted Ren Yizhou’s back. “I didn’t help you to get your undying gratitude…”
He closed his eyes silently. The two of them remained in the same position for a long time. Eventually, Ren Yizhou pulled back. A hand remained on Fu Yishan’s chest.
“Jianghu is still searching for your family’s vault.”
“I know that.”
“But you’re still surnamed Fu.”
Fu Yishan frowned. “Why would I—”
“This is the first step if you want to avenge your family,” Ren Yizhou said calmly. “You have to abandon your identity.”
“I…”
He knew that. Someone in the back of his mind, he had long known that. But for another person to put it out so blatantly made Fu Yishan’s stomach churn.
“You’ve been using another name already, haven’t you? What is it?” Ren Yizhou asked.
“…Fan Yi.”
“Alright,” Ren Yizhou stood.
Fu Yishan stood as well.
“Are you standing?”
“Yes, I’m—Yizhou!”
Ren Yizhou knelt down on one knee, their head lowered. “I, Ren Yizhou, pledge my loyalty to you, Fan Yi.”
“This…”
“If you want revenge, you have to do it cleanly,” Ren Yizhou said. He lifted his head with a small smile. “What better way to do it than to take away everything they’ve worked for? If you sit at the top, what else will they have?”
A realization dawned on Fu Yishan. He stared at Ren Yizhou’s clever smile as his heart hammered against his chest.
This was the destiny his uncle saw. This was why he was sent here.
“Alright. You’re right,” Fu Yishan said. He helped Ren Yizhou stand. “Then, from now on, I won’t be Fu Yishan. I’ll be Fan Yi. And I’ll make sure that, one day, this very name will strike fear in all their hearts.”
So from the very beginning, then, before the sect even started? As far as I’m concerned, Ren Yuzhou has earned the right to play with Tian Xiewen however they want to! What a brutal start. I love that they are so beautiful and confident now.
so true so true. ryz deserves the world ;-; THANKS FOR READING!!
!!!!! so cool :0