You're in Great Danger

Caiyue Tower.

The largest brothel in Yan Suburb City, and the favorite gathering place of the city's scholars and refined gentlemen.

In this world, brothels and whorehouses were distinct. Whorehouses were simple and direct, dedicated solely to selling flesh. Most were small and hidden away. Like the spider demon whorehouse Chu Liang had destroyed last time, which had been in an inconspicuous spot outside the city.

Brothels, on the other hand, leaned more toward selling talent. They were larger and served more as social gathering places. Normally, the good girls inside merely drank with guests and watched performances with them.

Of course, if you insisted on making certain other requests, then as long as the good girl agreed, it was not impossible.

It was simply difficult to get close to those popular courtesans. Even if you spent a fortune, at most you would earn an opportunity for elegant conversation and a banquet. It was not so easy to engage in a profound exchange.

Yan Xiaohu had recently been pursuing Caiyue Tower's most popular courtesan, a young woman named Rouyi.

Chu Liang had learned all this from the Yan family's gatekeeper. The uncle had been warmhearted; Chu Liang had politely asked a few questions, and he had told him everything he knew.

As for the fact that Chu Liang had politely handed over two taels of silver first, there was no need to mention that.

Night had just fallen.

By the time Chu Liang arrived at Caiyue Tower, soft songs and graceful dances were already underway. On the stage in the first-floor hall, several women dressed in gauzy silks danced lightly to the accompaniment of musicians.

Below the stage, guests sat three or five to a table, feasting and listening to music in the company of good girls. The second floor held private seats, separated into individual compartments by beaded curtains. The third floor contained private rooms, a place only generous, wealthy patrons—or utterly shameless ones—would visit.

Without a doubt, Yan Xiaohu was both generous and wealthy, as well as utterly shameless.

So as soon as Chu Liang entered, he followed the stairs upward.

At once, an older woman waving a fan hurried over, her eyes shining. "Oh my, this young master looks like a new face. What is it? Looking to go upstairs and call for some girls?"

"Hello, I'm looking for someone." Chu Liang said, "Young Master Yan Xiaohu is upstairs, right?"

"Oh, a friend of Young Master Yan's? Please wait, I'll have someone take you over right away." The madam was quite easygoing.

After all, Chu Liang was handsome and refined, every inch the modest gentleman. At a glance, he did not seem like someone who had come to cause trouble.

She waved over a servant and had him lead Chu Liang up to the third floor, where they stopped outside a private room.

Two burly men with bulging temples stood outside the room. They appeared to be Yan Xiaohu's new bodyguards, and their cultivation was clearly higher than that of the previous two.

"Please wait here for a moment, Young Master. I'll go in and announce you." the servant said.

"No need. I can go in myself." Chu Liang lightly pressed a hand on him, then stepped forward on his own.

The two bodyguards carried an intimidating air. The moment they saw Chu Liang approach, they assumed a stance that warned strangers to keep away. Yet Chu Liang was not the least bit afraid. He still walked over and politely said, "Hello, I'm here to see Yan Xiaohu. I'm his classmate."

"Classmate?" The bodyguard on the left furrowed his brow. "Young Master said he would see no one."

The bodyguard on the right was more direct. He coldly said, "Get lost."

"Is that so..." Chu Liang smiled faintly.

"When exactly is Miss Rouyi coming?"

Inside the private room, Yan Xiaohu wore an unhappy expression. Two good girls in colorful dresses sat beside him, both trembling with fear, terrified that this little tyrant might lose his temper.

"Sister Rouyi is currently in an elegant conversation with someone. She will come shortly. Please do not be impatient, Young Master Yan."

"I've spent several thousand taels of silver on her before and after all this, and I still can't be first in line?" The bruises on Yan Xiaohu's face had not yet faded. He angrily said, "I'm in a very bad mood right now."

It was precisely because he had taken a savage beating yesterday and lost tremendous face at Nanshan Academy that he had felt depressed and come here for some diversion. Yet when he arrived, he was told that Miss Rouyi was unavailable and that he would have to wait.

Just as he was venting his anger, several loud bangs suddenly sounded outside. The door was smashed open, and two bodyguards rolled inside.

"Who is it?" Yan Xiaohu immediately rose and shouted.

"Young Master, he insisted on forcing his way in. The two of us... the two of us couldn't stop him." The bodyguards climbed up and wailed.

"On Yan Suburb City's turf, who dares provoke me, Yan Xiaohu?" He was about to erupt.

Then Chu Liang strolled in as lightly as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze.

"Ah..." Yan Xiaohu's anger instantly vanished. First, a trace of bewilderment flashed across his face, then it turned into a polite smile. "Chu... Brother Chu, it's you."

He was afraid of Chu Liang now, and not merely because he could not beat him. It was because when his father saw the Sword Coin Chu Liang had sent over, he had directly told him that people like this were beyond their reach. He was not even to think about revenge.

When someone who could beat you also had a greater background than you, there was nothing to do but feel helpless.

"I came to check on you. They told me to get lost." Chu Liang said calmly.

"They really were far too rude!" Yan Xiaohu frowned and barked, "You two, get the hell out!"

The two bodyguards had been inexplicably scolded again. They could only scurry out in disgrace, closing the door behind them.

"Hehe, Brother Chu, have a seat." Yan Xiaohu wore a fawning grin.

"Thank you." Chu Liang stepped closer, then looked toward the two good girls.

The two good girls were both quite young. In their eyes, Yan Xiaohu was already Yan Suburb City's fiercest little tyrant. They had not expected this handsome young man to frighten him so badly.

That only made them more afraid.

But Chu Liang gave them a gentle smile, and their fear quickly melted away.

A young man with such a beautiful smile could not possibly be a bad person, could he?

"What is that behind you two?" The handsome youth pointed behind them, a puzzled expression on his face.

"What?" The two girls turned around to look.

Thud. Thud.

With two muffled impacts, the two good girls collapsed to the floor one after the other.

Behind them, Chu Liang held half of a radiant golden brick, disappointment written across his face.

"Ah..." Yan Xiaohu, who had witnessed the entire scene, opened his mouth, unsure what to say.

He was somewhat dazed.

The Yan family could be said to have passed down whoring and gambling from generation to generation. Since childhood, Yan Xiaohu had followed his elders through places of pleasure, and he had seen every sort of prop a brothel could offer.

But a brick? This was the first time.

What kind of fetish was this?

Chu Liang weighed the golden brick in his hand before putting it away. "Don't worry, they're fine. They just happened to be stunned. But you're in great danger, you know that?"

"I'm in great danger?" Yan Xiaohu froze for a moment, then nodded.

That was right.

With you here, wasn't I in great danger?

"Chen Da died last night as well. Of all the people who bullied Situ Yan, only you remain." Chu Liang said bluntly. "Situ Yan may have become a Skin-Painting Ghost, capable of taking on other people's appearances. Anyone who comes near you could be something it has transformed into."

"What?" Yan Xiaohu was greatly alarmed.

He had previously heard rumors that Situ Yan had become a Vengeful Spirit and was seeking revenge, but he had not taken them too seriously. Unlike those people, he cultivated martial arts and had skilled protectors. An ordinary Vengeful Spirit could not possibly kill someone within the Black Tiger Gang.

But...

If it was the legendary Skin-Painting Ghost, then killing a mere first-realm martial artist like him would be easy.

No matter how dangerous Chu Liang was, at worst he would beat him up. But if it was a ghost, it would take his life.

He immediately distinguished what was urgent and what was not. Realizing that Chu Liang had surely come specifically for him, he quickly asked, "Brother Chu, can... can you help me?"

"I came to save you." Chu Liang said. "I suspect the Skin-Painting Ghost has already set its sights on you, which is why I came to watch over you. I have a way to identify a Skin-Painting Ghost. Everyone who comes near you tonight will need to be checked."

"Okay, okay, okay." Yan Xiaohu nodded repeatedly, then pointed at the two good girls on the floor. "Brother Chu, hurry and check them."

"..." Chu Liang paused, then answered, "They've already been checked."