Are You Deaf?

Green Willow Alley, Magpie Nest.

Xiao Liu had indeed not lied earlier.

Even if the name was a bit tacky, this two-story building was one of the few brothels in the alley with a proper archway, well-deserving of its reputation as one of the best.

A new table and two grandmaster chairs had been placed in the corner, specifically prepared by the madam, Sister Hua, for Lin Shu and his companion.

"Lord Fox."

"My surname is Lin."

"Master Lin..."

Sister Hua might have had a bit of charm in her youth.

But now her figure had lost its shape, and no matter how thick the powder she applied, it couldn't hide the layers of wrinkles on her face. Fortunately, she had already risen to the rank of madam and no longer needed to serve guests herself.

She was all smiles, introducing the situation at Magpie Nest in a soft, gentle voice.

There were seventeen or eighteen girls in total; the cheap ones cost seventy or eighty wen, the expensive ones two or three hundred, and there was even a virgin who had just been taken in, with her first night priced at three taels of silver.

Sister Hua explained these things to make it easier for Lin Shu to calculate the cash flow, so there would be no misunderstandings about them hiding money when it came time to take their cut.

She spoke earnestly, but the two men sitting there didn't seem to be listening.

"..."

Old Yang rubbed his nose, his expression dazed.

His mind was entirely occupied by the fat man who had stormed off in a rage earlier.

"Middle-stage Qi Refining" was the terminology used by those cultivator lords, and Old Yang couldn't really distinguish the levels.

All he knew was that these big shots could crush him with the flick of a pinky finger.

Old Yang felt a pang of bitterness.

Lin Shu had finally managed to walk out of the South Suburb and had a bright future in sight, only to run into such a monster, causing that future to dim rapidly once again.

"That's enough, I know."

Lin Shu interrupted Sister Hua's incessant chatter.

He took a sip of tea, showing no interest in these matters.

Even at his lowest point in his previous life, he had never stooped to earning money from women in this way.

What Lin Shu needed was the status provided by the Blackwater Gang; Green Willow Alley was merely a starting point.

He had no intention of staying here for long.

"Bring some food over."

"Right away."

Sister Hua hurried to turn around, ordering the girls to fetch some pastries prepared for the guests.

Although they were just simple rice cakes, because they contained plenty of sugar, they looked much more appetizing than cold flour pancakes or steamed buns.

"Gulp."

Old Yang could manage to keep his eyes straight when facing those scantily clad women.

But faced with this sweet, soft food, having been hungry for a day and a night, he instantly lost his composure.

Washing it down with the coarse tea on the table, Old Cripple grabbed the rice cakes and stuffed them into his mouth frantically, swallowing them before he could even chew.

Seeing this.

The smile on Sister Hua's face stiffened slightly.

The girls in the room also wore strange expressions.

Fierce wolves relied on strength, while foxes—though not strong themselves—relied on wealth and connections.

One had to be able to summon sufficiently formidable thugs to keep the place under control.

This Master Lin, in his washed-out clothes, already contradicted the lavish image of a "fox," and with this starving-ghost-like Old Cripple by his side, his connections seemed equally questionable.

One had to realize that Green Willow Alley was a very low-class place.

Among the patrons were plenty of thugs, ruffians, and desperate criminals; defaulting on debts, theft, and even beating the girls were common occurrences.

Without thunderous methods, how could one keep them in check?

Not to mention that Lin Shu had just offended Master Tian, making it impossible to invite him back for help even if he wanted to.

Thinking of this, a look of sorrow inevitably crept onto everyone's faces.

"Ugh."

Old Yang sensed the strange gazes around him.

His hand holding the rice cake paused slightly.

It was over.

Old Yang had always been the lowest of the low in the opera troupe, forced to read the room at every turn just to barely scrape by with his life.

He could clearly see that his own disgraceful behavior had caused Lin Shu to lose all prestige within the Magpie Nest.

With that thought, Old Cripple's lips trembled, a grain of rice still clinging to the corner of his mouth, as he looked across the table in shame: "I... I..."

"I what, I."

Lin Shu leisurely swallowed a piece of rice cake and wiped his hands.

He then casually pushed his own plate toward the other man and said indifferently, "Eat your food and stop thinking about useless things."

He seemed not to notice the gazes around him, or perhaps he simply did not care.

He might not have seen a brothel before, but he had certainly seen how to hold down a turf.

This sort of thing didn't rely on puffing oneself up to look bigger than one was.

To put it bluntly, the reputation of the Blackwater Gang was already enough to deter most petty thugs.

As for the remaining lot—the desperate, hard-nosed types—they wouldn't be scared off by mere superficial displays anyway.

"Has Master Lin finished eating?"

Sister Hua sensed the awkward atmosphere in the room and hurriedly squeezed out a laugh.

Regardless of anything else, this was a big shot from the Blackwater Gang; even if he couldn't bully others, he could easily make life miserable for the girls in the house.

He must not be offended.

She smiled ingratiatingly: "It's still early. Let me arrange for a few of our prettiest girls to help you wash away the dust of your travels?"

"No need." Lin Shu didn't even bother to turn his head.

Sister Hua worried this was just false modesty, so her smile grew even wider: "Trust me, I'll make sure to arrange..."

Her words were cut short before she could finish.

"Dirty."

Lin Shu, having eaten his fill, lazily closed his eyes to rest.

That single, simple word caused the expressions of all the girls nearby to change.

Hearing such a blunt remark, they exchanged glances, then bit their lips and lowered their heads, daring to be angry but not to speak.

A fox, yet even more arrogant than the wolves that came before.

If he found them so dirty, then he shouldn't be making money off them.

Besides, when it came to being dirty, who could be dirtier than the way these foxes earned their silver!

"Then, then Master Lin, please rest. I'll go attend to my business."

This time, even the smile on Sister Hua's face couldn't hold.

She straightened up, looking dejected: "Girls, get up and tidy yourselves. Prepare to receive guests."

The sky finally darkened.

The red lanterns at the entrance of Green Willow Alley were lit, casting a hazy glow over the lane.

People began to step into the area.

The girls suppressed their inner unease and braced themselves to receive customers.

Sister Hua no longer wished to press her warm face against Lin Shu's cold backside, leaving him and the old cripple to sit quietly in the corner as if they didn't exist at all.

The dark alley was different from those high-end brothels; there was no need for a pimp to stand outside bowing and scraping.

One only needed to push the door half-open so that passersby could catch a glimpse of the girls inside.

Sister Hua leaned against the doorframe, looking toward the mouth of the alley.

With her sharp eye, she could easily distinguish which men were likely to have more silver to spend.

Just then, a figure in white silk caught Sister Hua's gaze.

A young man with delicate skin and tender flesh paused leisurely, his hands clutching a cloth bag behind his back as he looked up at the tattered red lantern overhead.

He was young and handsome, and the jade pendant at his waist was clearly worth a fortune; he looked entirely out of place among the coarse-clothed, mud-legged commoners passing by.

A young master with such deep pockets would not easily set foot in a filthy place like Green Willow Alley.

"..."

Watching the man step into the alley, Sister Hua's breathing suddenly grew heavy.

There was no greed for silver in her eyes; instead, a thick sense of unease welled up.

This was the peak time for guests.

Sister Hua hesitated, but she soon gritted her teeth and hissed to Xiao Liu beside her: "Quick, get the door bolt! Close the door first!"

Under the confused gazes of the other girls, she pushed hard against the door, intent on shutting it.

The heavy gate was left with only a sliver of a gap.

A laugh drifted in from outside the door.

"Sister Hua, do you not welcome this young master?"

The slightly youthful voice seemed to transform into an invisible hand, gripping Sister Hua by the throat.

Beads of sweat seeped from the madam's forehead, and she dared not move a muscle.

She took a deep breath, forced the corners of her mouth into a smile, and pulled the door open again: "How could that be? You are joking, Young Master Zhang."

Hearing this name, the girls in the room all turned pale.

At the same time, the young master had already strolled into the room.

His gaze swept around casually before he walked to the table and slammed the cloth bag he had been carrying onto it with a thud.

"That's more like it."

The young master smiled amiably and lined up a tael of silver from his sleeve: "Same old rules, you make the arrangements."

This was no small amount of silver; even the most expensive girl in Magpie Nest would have to entertain four or five guests to earn it.

Yet everyone held their breath and quietly retreated backward.

Their resistant demeanor was clearly not the attitude one should have toward a guest.

Young Master Zhang, however, was not annoyed; instead, he watched them with evident enjoyment.

Sister Hua instinctively looked toward someone in the corner, but her line of sight was blocked by Zhang Ci's figure.

According to the rules, such matters should be handled by the lords of the Blackwater Gang.

But Lord Fox was a newcomer, and given the impression he had left on everyone today...

"Sigh." She exhaled and turned to look at the side.

"I beg you, I don't want this silver."

As the madam's gaze swept over them, the girls' voices were already laced with tears as they shook their heads one after another.

"Go to the back and draw lots."

Sister Hua hardened her heart and, expressionless, drove them into the room.

A long while later, a mournful cry rang out.

The madam finally emerged from the room with a woman whose face was smeared with tears and snot.

"Good girl, if something happens, I won't take a single cent of the silver; I'll send it all to your family."

She closed her eyes and let go of the woman's hand: "Go."

"Hah! Hah!"

The woman gasped for air, staring at the paper lot in her hand, utterly distraught.

The other girls peeked out from the room, looking like rabbits mourning the death of a fox.

They watched as the woman walked toward the second floor like a wooden puppet, only for her legs to give way. She collapsed on the stairs, her arms clutching the railing for dear life, before she finally snapped back to reality and shrieked:

"I won't go up! Two people have already died! I don't want to die—"

The shrill sound echoed through the room, yet no one dared to help her up.

"I remember now."

Old Yang stared nervously at the table, secretly edging closer to Lin Shu.

The cloth bag had tipped open, revealing contents that were less like quirky trinkets and more like chilling, blood-stained torture instruments.

His voice was as soft as a gnat's: "This man is Zhang Ci, the young master of Good Fortune Martial Hall. He has played several women to death in brothels, all of which were covered up by his family."

No wonder he had come to Green Willow Alley; clearly, his reputation was so foul that the brothels in the city had turned him away.

"Don't be afraid, dear."

Zhang Ci showed no sign of blaming the woman.

The smile on his face only deepened, his voice gentle.

"Come, go upstairs with this young master."

Zhang Ci reached out to grab the parcel, intending to help the woman up.

Just then, the hand he was using to grab the parcel was suddenly pressed down.

"Hm?"

Zhang Ci turned his head and finally cast his gaze toward the young man at the table.

Lin Shu's expression remained largely unchanged, still wearing that lazy look as he said casually: "The person can go up, but leave the things behind."

"Who is this?" Zhang Ci frowned at Sister Hua.

"This is Lord Fox, who just joined the Blackwater Gang."

Sister Hua had never expected Lin Shu to step forward at a moment like this. She stuttered for a moment, instinctively invoking the Blackwater Gang.

"Pfft."

However, Zhang Ci was clearly well-aware of the situation. He shifted his gaze back and sneered, "If Uncle Tian has already given his permission, who are you to forbid it? I suggest you keep that in mind, Lord Fox."

As long as the other party wasn't an idiot, the mere mention of "Uncle Tian" was more than enough.

Zhang Ci exerted force once again, yet he still couldn't budge the package.

As the dignified young master of the Good Fortune Martial Hall, suffering a setback in a lowly place like Green Willow Alley caused his expression to turn gloomy in an instant: "Don't you fucking push your luck!"

Facing the verbal abuse, Lin Shu finally lifted his eyelids.

He stared at the young master and repeated his words with earnestness:

"Are you deaf?"

"I said, put the item down."