Warm Fragrance Brothel

Food Cauldron Restaurant.

Zhong Lin found the proprietor of Food Cauldron Restaurant and rented some tables and stools, along with the space outside its entrance for a day, for ten Big Coins.

Food Cauldron Restaurant was one of Black Mountain County's four premier restaurants. It specialized in elegant vegetarian fare and excelled most at all kinds of Medicated Diets that nourished the body and purged toxins.

It was precisely because of its vegetarian dishes and Medicated Diets that the restaurant was especially popular with women. The Singing Girls from every brothel often ordered meals from here as well.

The Singing Girls rarely showed their faces in public, but they always had servants and attendants running errands for them.

Zhong Lin had no reputation. If he wanted to open things up quickly, he had to let customers see his work as soon as possible. Naturally, the best way would have been to set up outside Warm Fragrance Brothel.

Yet Zhong Lin could not shake the feeling that Scholar Xu meant him no good. At first, he had not thought much of it, believing the scholar had pointed him down the right path. But upon further thought, something felt off.

Unasked-for kindness hides either treachery or theft. What was more, Zhong Lin was going to become his competitor and steal his business. It would already be good enough if the man did not lead him into a ditch—why would he point him toward a bright road?

One must never be without a guard against others. So Zhong Lin decided to keep a card up his sleeve. Rather than setting up directly outside Warm Fragrance Brothel, he came to Food Cauldron Restaurant. Though he could only reach the Singing Girls' servants, he still had a chance.

After setting out the tables and stools, he hung up the two portraits of celebrities from his previous life that he had mounted yesterday, then sat confidently behind the table to wait.

With max-level Three-Dimensional Painting skill and colors applied to render the figures, it was practically a handmade camera.

It was around noon, the busiest time for the restaurant. Even the Singing Girls from the brothels were beginning to wake up and eat.

At a glance, these people noticed Zhong Lin at the entrance, as well as the paintings hanging there.

The lifelike Three-Dimensional Painting technique and the photograph-like resemblance instantly drew people in. Before long, a crowd had gathered around Zhong Lin. Some quick-witted ones had already grabbed meal boxes and hurried back at a run.

Zhong Lin watched them, his heart blooming with joy. Looks like I'll be open for business soon. How much should I charge when that happens?

Seems I misunderstood Young Master Xu. I should treat him to a meal sometime, Zhong Lin thought.

As he pondered, a pretty maid walked over and knocked on the table.

"Did you paint these?"

The maid wore twin-loop buns tied with blue ribbons. Her hair was soft, glossy, and smooth, falling obediently over her shoulders. Her lively eyes sized Zhong Lin up, while her delicate features stood out against her round little face. She looked utterly charming.

Even the maid was this pretty, so the young lady she served could not be much worse. Not only could he make money, but he could feast his eyes on beautiful Singing Girls too.

"That's right. I painted them."

Zhong Lin answered without caring in the slightest about the disbelief on the maid's face.

It could not be helped. At the moment, Zhong Lin truly did not have the bearing of a painter.

He was thin, dark-skinned, and brimming with the wild, unruly air of a mountain-bred youth. He was worlds apart from the frail, scholarly temperament of a refined gentleman.

For someone like him to create such paintings was indeed difficult to believe.

Zhong Lin said with a smile, "Whether I painted them or not, you'll know once you test me. It's not as though this can be faked."

The maid looked once more at the vivid portraits and nodded. "Come with me!"

Business had come knocking.

Overjoyed, Zhong Lin hurriedly rolled up the paintings, gathered his brushes and ink, and followed her. As for the tables and stools, there was no need to worry. Food Cauldron Restaurant's waiter was watching them. He had been keeping an eye on Zhong Lin all along, afraid Zhong Lin might secretly carry them off.

Zhong Lin left with the paintings, and the onlookers gradually dispersed as well.

Warm Fragrance Brothel stood beside the moat, which connected to the White Sand River outside the city. The surroundings were exceptionally beautiful.

Following behind the maid, Zhong Lin stepped into Warm Fragrance Brothel. He was rather curious about brothels—this was an ancient-era club, after all.

Inside was a main hall. At its center stood a stage about a meter high, clearly meant for dancing girls to perform on. Tables and chairs surrounded the stage, spaced more loosely the closer they were to it, while those around the edges were packed more tightly together.

Upstairs were private rooms. They had no doors, only screens serving as partitions. By lowering one's head, one could take in the entire stage at a glance.

It was not as bustling as he had imagined. Only a few servants were mopping and cleaning. After all, it was merely noon; the brothel was liveliest at night.

"Don't wander around. Follow me."

The maid turned and instructed Zhong Lin before swaying her slender waist around the stage, leaving the main hall and heading toward the small courtyard behind it.

"Xiao Xue, who is this?"

As they walked, a middle-aged man emerged from around a corner. He frowned at the sight of Zhong Lin and asked the question.

"Greetings, Steward Zhang." The maid Xiao Xue curtsied deeply. "He is a painter I found for Miss."

"A painter? Him?"

Steward Zhang looked Zhong Lin up and down, a strange expression appearing on his face.

This country bumpkin was a painter? Was that supposed to be a joke? Did he think I was blind?

"Steward Zhang, he truly is a painter. I met him at Food Cauldron Restaurant. His paintings are so lifelike, it's as though a True Person could step right out of them. Miss usually loves self-portraits, so..."

"Enough." Steward Zhang impatiently waved a hand. "Don't you know that the girls of our Warm Fragrance Brothel all have their portraits painted by people from the Exquisite Painting Workshop? Throw him out."

"But..."

Xiao Xue hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping herself. She had seen Zhong Lin's paintings and knew her mistress would certainly like them. It would be such a pity to drive Zhong Lin away.

"Impudent! A mere maid dares talk back to me? Don't think that just because you have Fu Xiang backing you, I can't deal with you. Don't forget—two months from now, it'll be time for you to be deflowered too."

A vicious look surfaced on Steward Zhang's face, like a hungry wolf eyeing a little white rabbit.

Xiao Xue's face went pale. Lowering her head, she softly replied, "Yes."

Zhong Lin, who had said nothing at the side, darkened as well. He had the urge to beat this Steward Zhang to death. His hard-won first job was just going to be ruined like this? Who the hell was this bastard?

Before he could speak, Steward Zhang snorted coldly, turned, and left at once, giving Zhong Lin no chance to say anything. Xiao Xue also pulled Zhong Lin toward the exit.

"You're afraid of him?" Zhong Lin asked.

At this moment, Xiao Xue was like a startled little rabbit, with none of her earlier charm left.

In a low voice, she said, "Steward Zhang is one of the managers of Warm Fragrance Brothel. He is specifically in charge of maids and servants like us."

"What's the deal with the Exquisite Painting Workshop?"

"It's an organization that specializes in painting. All the portraits of the young ladies at our Warm Fragrance Brothel are painted by them. Outsiders are not allowed to interfere at all."

Zhong Lin understood. It could be compared to a school cafeteria being contracted out in his previous life—apart from that company, no one else was qualified to do business there.

At the same time, Zhong Lin understood Scholar Xu's sinister intentions. As a painter, there was no way he did not know about the relationship between the Exquisite Painting Workshop and Warm Fragrance Brothel. Yet he had still "pointed Zhong Lin toward the right road." If there was no trick hidden in that, not even ghosts would believe it.

An organization capable of working with a brothel could never be merely an organization that knew how to paint.