Famous Courtesan

No wonder this house carried a singular grandeur beneath its age and decay. It turned out to be the outer residence of a famous courtesan.

Luo Yuni.

This woman was famous courtesan Luo Yuni, the one the newspapers said had died miserably in this outer residence.

Was she the Old Woman's Home Spirit?

Where had these newspapers come from?

And what connection did Luo Yuni have with the Old Woman?

Seeing that Li Banfeng had yet to say her name, Luo Yuni seemed to understand his concerns.

"Do you want to know what happened afterward?"

Clang! Clang! Clang! The clock struck eleven times in succession. Its pendulum swayed, the scene shifted, and Luo Yuni continued telling her story.

The man who had killed her died, his corpse collapsing to the ground.

Luo Yuni sat beside the body and continued applying her makeup with care.

The man's corpse was taken away, but before long, the man returned. Standing beside Luo Yuni with an eyebrow pencil in hand, he wanted to draw her brows for her.

He clearly was not alive. This should have been the man's ghost.

Luo Yuni did not even glance at him. With a casual wave of her hand, she sent the man flying out the window.

There was a willow tree outside, and the man was left hanging from it.

Luo Yuni continued dressing herself, letting time flow away while her smile remained ever so enchanting.

The man hanging from the tree wore a besotted expression as he watched Luo Yuni in the room day after day.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, a young married couple moved into the house.

The husband wore a white shirt and black suspenders. He left early and returned late, apparently holding a fairly respectable job.

The wife busied herself with housework every day. She seemed never to have noticed that there was another woman in the house, a woman carefully applying makeup before the Old Grandfather Clock.

She could not see her.

If Luo Yuni had not appeared on her own initiative, Li Banfeng would not have been able to see her either.

Their days were plain but sweet, until one day, the husband saw Luo Yuni as she applied her makeup. Then he felt that things were no longer so sweet.

He felt that his wife was not that beautiful. Compared to a true beauty, perhaps his wife had never counted as beautiful at all.

Luo Yuni looked at the man with pity and gently extended an arm, handing him her comb.

The man was incomparably excited.

He carefully took the comb from Luo Yuni's hand. Being able to comb Luo Yuni's hair once became the achievement he treasured most in his life.

Li Banfeng could not understand his thoughts, nor could he understand the infatuation and intoxication on that man's face.

The man combed Luo Yuni's hair again and again, seeming unwilling to overlook a single strand.

Only when Luo Yuni grew tired and glanced at him did the man reluctantly put down the comb.

After putting down the comb, the man picked up the eyebrow pencil and wanted to draw Luo Yuni's brows.

Luo Yuni shook her head, and her figure gradually faded away.

She left, leaving the man standing there with the eyebrow pencil in hand, lost and helpless.

He stared blankly at the clock all day, unmoved by his wife's complaints and tearful pleas.

One day, he drove the eyebrow pencil into his own temple, stabbing it in again and again, the pain and smile on his face twisting together.

He saw Luo Yuni again. As long as he kept driving the eyebrow pencil into his temple, he could be with Luo Yuni.

Holding the bloodied eyebrow pencil, he wanted to draw Luo Yuni's brows.

His wife saw the scene and fled from the house in terror, but she could not make it out of the courtyard.

The dead soul hanging from the tree lashed out with willow branches, tangling her up and dragging her back into the house.

No wonder those willow trees would not let anyone leave the residence. Quite a few dead souls hung from those trees, and they were all Luo Yuni's slaves.

Her husband stabbed himself to death with the eyebrow pencil.

She was bound by willow branches until deep into the night, then Luo Yuni slit her throat with the short knife.

The wife died. The blade was smeared with fresh blood, but the blood swiftly vanished again.

The scene froze. Luo Yuni spoke softly to Li Banfeng, "This knife likes to drink blood at Zi Time. The more blood it drinks, the sharper it becomes.

"I spent three years uncovering this knife's mystery. That old hag spent thirty years and discovered nothing.

"We have only just met, yet I have told you this knife's secret. Is my sincerity still not enough?"

Luo Yuni's smile became even more captivating, but Li Banfeng's attention was not on her smile.

"You're lying." Li Banfeng shook his head. "That Old Woman knew this knife's mystery. She did not rush to kill me and deliberately kept me until Zi Time so this knife could drink my blood."

Luo Yuni smiled. "That is because I told her the secret last night. Didn't you notice? Her two sons did not understand why they had to keep you until Zi Time either, because the old hag had not yet had time to tell them.

"That old hag is just that stupid. If I had not told her, I fear she would never have seen through it in her entire life. Cultivating alongside her is an insult and torment to me."

Li Banfeng asked, "Then why did you choose her?"

Luo Yuni shook her head. "It was not I who chose her. She chose me. She was the only House Cultivator I had ever encountered, and she called out my name.

"Before I met her, I was only a Vengeful Spirit. Only after her summoning did I become a Home Spirit."

Li Banfeng's eyes lit up. "How can one summon a Home Spirit?"

Luo Yuni raised an eyebrow. "You don't know how? Aren't you a House Cultivator too?"

Li Banfeng raised an eyebrow as well. "You saw through me?"

Luo Yuni burst into laughter. "How could I fail to see it? Nothing you do in this house can escape my eyes.

"You have a special house, one ordinary people cannot see, a house even ordinary Home Spirits cannot see.

"But I am not ordinary. I can see it. I know you have a key that can open the house. It was because you returned to your house that you could swiftly cure the poison De Cai gave you."

Hearing this, Li Banfeng came to a realization. Unless absolutely necessary, he should not casually enter another House Cultivator's house in the future.

Luo Yuni asked softly, "Do you want to cultivate a Home Spirit? Why go to so much trouble? I am willing to become your Home Spirit. There is one ready-made before you, so why will you not take me?"

Li Banfeng frowned. "Why will you not tell me how to cultivate a Home Spirit?"

Luo Yuni shook her head. "It takes time and effort. It truly is useless."

Li Banfeng lowered his gaze. "You are hiding things from me. That proves your sincerity toward me is insufficient!"

Luo Yuni sighed softly. "Very well. I will do as you wish."

The pendulum swayed, and the story within the halo continued to unfold.

The dead souls of that married couple were hung from the willow tree, watching Luo Yuni with the same obsession.

After an unknown number of years passed, more than ten households moved into this house one after another. None stayed long before dying at Luo Yuni's hands. Their dead souls filled all the willow trees around the courtyard.

As the viewpoint shifted, Li Banfeng was astonished by the size of the courtyard. This courtyard was enormous; the one in the scene was far larger than the courtyard Li Banfeng had seen.

Another household moved in: a haggard woman of about thirty, bringing two children with her.

The Old Woman?

The woman entered the house. After living there for several days, her gaunt cheeks gradually filled out, and some color returned to her pale skin.

Her once-dull eyes became lively, and she had more strength when doing housework.

She had become compatible with the house. Li Banfeng had gone through something similar.

Whenever she cleaned and swept the main room, she would sniff about everywhere, as though she could smell a different kind of scent.

Whenever she stood in the courtyard to cool off, she would gaze up at the willow trees all around, as though she could sense the dead souls hanging from them.

She often fell into deep thought. As she pondered, the entire house seemed to become even more secluded and profound.

One day, she brought back several bundles of old newspapers and read through them carefully, page by page.

She selected more than ten sheets, studying the news on them and every photograph in the articles.

She did not recognize many of the words, but she recognized the photographs.

This was the house from the newspapers.

Late at night, she coaxed her two children to sleep in the eastern room, then came alone to the main room.

She lit a candle and stared intently at the Old Grandfather Clock.

She held her breath. The room was deathly silent.

Li Banfeng carefully observed every movement the woman made. He discovered that staring at the clock was a crucial element.

The reflection of the clock could be clearly seen in the woman's pupils.

Her slowing heartbeat could faintly be heard. The entire house trembled along with her heartbeat, and the willow trees outside trembled along with the house.

They had merged.

Li Banfeng could sense from the light and shadows that the woman had merged with this residence.

This was the power of a House Cultivator.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The bell rang. The clock in the woman's eyes gained a spirit, and she sensed where the Home Spirit was.

The woman took a deep breath and called out her name. "Luo Yuni!"

Clang!

Eleven thirty.

A single chime.

Luo Yuni's voice rang beside Li Banfeng's ear. "She heard the bell. From that moment onward, I became her Home Spirit."

Li Banfeng asked, "You never confirmed it with her face-to-face?"

In the scenes Li Banfeng had seen, Luo Yuni had never appeared at the same time as that woman.

Luo Yuni's laughter sounded. "For a full thirty years, I never let her see my true face or hear my voice. At most, I gave her a few hints. I found even looking at her one more time revolting.

"She devoted her heart and strength to pleasing me. Seventy percent of the dead souls hanging from those trees were given to me by her. I never felt the slightest gratitude toward her. Besides, she made her living through this trade anyway.

"Cultivating with her was purely out of helplessness. My comprehension was far superior to hers, and my level was far higher. I could have given her greater cultivation, but I only let her cultivate to the first level, because I detested her."

Li Banfeng was curious about this as well. The Old Woman was already so old, so why was she still only at the first level? "Didn't they say that ten years of cultivation earns one another level? She cultivated for thirty years. Why is she still at the first level?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Yuni gave a slight shake of her head. "You are a strange one. When you kill, you are like a seasoned veteran, yet when you speak, you are like a fledgling.

"When cultivators follow the proper sequence in cultivation, without mishap or flaw, only then can they gain one level in ten years.

"How many cultivators dare say they had not a single mishap over those ten years? How many dare say they made not a single error over those ten years? Cultivators who can rise from the first level to the second in ten years are as few as morning stars."

Li Banfeng asked, "What error did that old hag make, for her to fail to reach the second level even after thirty years?"

Luo Yuni smiled. "Her error lies with me. If a House Cultivator and Home Spirit are not of one mind, the Home Spirit will suppress the House Cultivator. That old hag disgusts me. Let her cultivate another hundred years, and she will still forever remain at the first level."

So that was it!

So even lying at home to cultivate was not so easy.

Both the Peddler and Ma Wu had said that the Home Spirit was key to a House Cultivator. If one did not get along with one's Home Spirit, one's cultivation would not advance.

At this point, Luo Yuni sighed deeply. "You have no idea how disgusting that old woman is. For thirty years, she neither sought men nor allowed her sons to touch women. If I exchanged even a single sentence with her two sons, she would go mad.

"She would not even allow her two sons to leave the house, insisting they spend their whole lives with her in this residence.

"Her eldest son, De Cai, practiced martial arts from childhood and wanted to buy medicine from the Peddler to enter martial cultivation. The old hag would not allow it. When he was thirty-five, the Old Woman forced him into poison cultivation. De Cai knew only a few characters; he grabbed several old books and mixed medicines at random, nearly poisoning himself to death.

"Her second son, De Mao, practiced martial arts as well, but the old hag would not permit that either. He was rather lucky. He had someone from the Jiang Xiang Gang secretly buy martial cultivation medicine for him, and he reached the first level last year. Unfortunately, no one guided him, so he could only learn some routines from books. When he met someone like you who does not follow routines, all he could do was throw his life away.

"When I encounter such a disgusting person, I pray every day that she will get the hell out of this residence. Why should I let her improve her cultivation?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "That is indeed disgusting. Just hearing it makes me sick."

But why did she not simply kill the old woman directly?

Were there not precedents of Home Spirits murdering their masters?

Li Banfeng restrained himself from asking that question.

All the images vanished, leaving only Luo Yuni applying makeup before Li Banfeng. Smiling enchantingly, she said to him:

"From the moment you entered this residence, I knew you were my true master.

"If I had struck with all my strength, you could never have defeated that old woman. You would not have had the slightest chance of victory.

"But I simply fancy you. Call out my name, and I will be yours. Come now, I am waiting for you, Master!"

For any other man, that single "Master" would have made him abandon all resistance.

But Li Banfeng remained unmoved. He shook his head and said nothing.

Luo Yuni's brows drew together slightly. "You do not want me?"

"It is not that I do not want you." Li Banfeng shook his head.

Luo Yuni pondered for a long while, trying to fathom Li Banfeng's thoughts. "You do not want this trade. You saved that mother and daughter, so you are a kind person.

"I detest this trade as well. I am sick of the days of killing too. I am willing to disperse every dead soul in this residence. So long as you take me in, I am willing to live a poor and bitter life with you."

Luo Yuni slowly extended her hand toward Li Banfeng.

Li Banfeng did not take her hand. He silently stepped away from the position directly facing the Old Grandfather Clock.

The Old Grandfather Clock was Luo Yuni's true body, but Luo Yuni's soul was not necessarily inside it at every moment.

For instance, right now.

From what he could see, Li Banfeng was speaking directly to Luo Yuni.

But judging from the reflection in the pendulum, Li Banfeng and Luo Yuni were in the same room, both facing the Old Grandfather Clock.

Put another way, the two of them were very likely sitting in the same spot, extremely close together.

At this moment, Luo Yuni's soul was beside Li Banfeng, or behind him.

PS: Today I furiously wrote eight thousand words. Vote and leave comments for Salad!

(End of Chapter)