"Why had it fallen to you?"
Qing Lan hesitated for a moment, then slowly said:
"I went to see Sister Yu Lan, and he saw me. He stared at me for a long time, his eyes like venomous snakes—clingy and disgusting..."
"I guessed he had ill intentions."
"And after Sister Yu Lan died, Mother also told me..."
"Mother?" Mo Hua was slightly startled.
Qing Lan glanced around. Seeing no one else nearby, she lowered her voice. "The madam."
Mo Hua nodded.
The madam was the brothel keeper. She raised the girls under her, and they called her "Mother."
Qing Lan continued, "Mother also told me that a customer had specifically requested me... I asked who this customer was, but Mother only gave me a strange smile and refused to say."
"I kept asking her, and Mother got angry. She beat and cursed me, saying my wings had grown hard and I dared question her so incessantly. She even said I was a money-losing burden, and that even if I died, I would deserve it..."
Mo Hua frowned. "Your Mother is awful."
Qing Lan did not dare speak ill of the madam and merely nodded slightly.
"And then?" Mo Hua asked again.
Qing Lan said, "Then I guessed that he must have wanted me to accompany that gray-robed man."
"Sister Yu Lan died. Before her, some of the other sisters didn't survive either."
"I, I..."
Qing Lan could not continue. She silently wiped away her tears.
Mo Hua poured her another cup of tea and comforted her softly.
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen to you."
Tears streamed down Qing Lan's cheeks. As if she had seized a lifeline, hope filled her eyes.
"I won't die...?"
"Everyone dies eventually," Mo Hua said honestly.
Qing Lan: "..."
Mo Hua's little face turned solemn.