Chapter 4-6

“One whole roast suckling pig and a bottle of Zhuyeqing. Sound good?”

After ordering from the waiter, Zhang Hong looked at Bai Shixuan and asked. Bai Shixuan shook his head.

“Rice wine instead of Zhuyeqing. And duck instead of pork.”

“Yes, understood.”

The waiter, who had been happily taking the order, frowned when Bai Shixuan replaced all the expensive dishes with cheaper ones, but answered anyway. Whether Bai Shixuan failed to notice or simply ignored it, he looked at Zhang Hong and spoke.

“What happened?”

“What? You mean the Flower Fragrance Pavilion?”

Zhang Hong asked back, and Bai Shixuan nodded.

“Ah, you really are impatient. My mouth only opens after a drink.”

Zhang Hong spoke teasingly, but when he saw Bai Shixuan’s gaze, he promptly shut his mouth.

‘What happened to him over the past four years for his eyes to become like that?’

He had possessed a rather fierce gaze even back then, but it had not been like this. Back then, there had still been youthful spirit in his eyes. Now, no emotion could be read from them at all. That very absence of emotion made them even more frightening.

“It suddenly disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

Still, it did not seem that Bai Shixuan had completely lost his emotions. When they had first reunited, delight had appeared in his eyes, and now he looked genuinely surprised. Watching him, Zhang Hong could still catch glimpses of the boy he remembered despite how much he had changed. It had been a long time since Zhang Hong had met anyone from the Flower Fragrance Pavilion, and perhaps because Bai Shixuan had once shared a room with him, he felt even happier to see him. But reunion was one thing, and for now, telling Bai Shixuan what he wanted to know came first.

“Can I have a drink first?”

“Yes.”

The food was not ready yet, but Zhang Hong stared eagerly at the rice wine the waiter had brought out first. Bai Shixuan poured some into the cup before him, and Zhang Hong immediately tossed it back.

“Khah. I drink this stuff every day until I’m sick of it, but somehow it tastes better when Shixuan is buying.”

“Just answer me already.”

Bai Shixuan poured Zhang Hong another cup. Zhang Hong was about to drink it immediately as well, but instead set the cup back down on the table.

“It was a little over a year after you left. We men didn’t really know what was going on inside, but something must have happened. The atmosphere had gotten pretty strange. Anyway, the Madam suddenly gave the male workers money and told us to leave. After that, we were practically driven out of the Flower Fragrance Pavilion. I don’t know what happened afterward.”

While speaking, Zhang Hong tore off a duck leg from the dish that had arrived and put it into his mouth. Once Zhang Hong finished, Bai Shixuan tossed back his rice wine. The bitter taste of cheap liquor spread through his mouth.

‘So in the end, there’s nothing to gain from this?’

He had held out some hope, but Zhang Hong could tell him nothing useful.

“Do you know anything about Sister Choryeong?”

“Choryeong? Hmm. I got kicked out all of a sudden too. There are a few people I still keep in touch with.”

Zhang Hong answered before drinking more rice wine. He then listed several names, but none particularly stood out to Bai Shixuan. Moreover, Jiang Taimu’s name was not among them. Jiang Taimu had practiced martial arts. He had definitely been connected to the Flower Fragrance Pavilion in some way. Zhang Hong, however, showed no sign whatsoever of having learned martial arts. He was, quite literally, an ordinary person. Most likely, everyone Zhang Hong knew was ordinary as well. If so, then the Hao Sect was all Bai Shixuan had left to rely on. Rather than personally seeking out every person Zhang Hong mentioned, he could only hope that the Hao Sect would bring him useful information.

‘There was definitely something unusual about the Flower Fragrance Pavilion.’

It had not been an ordinary pleasure house. Xuelan was a master. Not just any master, but an extraordinary one who could quickly make a name for herself in the martial world. Would an ordinary pleasure house raise someone like that? Impossible. The Madam had probably practiced martial arts too. No, perhaps every courtesan there had. Only the male workers, with the exception of Jiang Taimu, had been unaware.

-Creak

As Bai Shixuan was pouring rice wine into his cup, the inn door opened and someone entered. Zhang Hong, who had been drinking, looked toward the newcomer, and his eyes widened enormously.

“Whew!”

Zhang Hong was not the only one who whistled. Most of the men in the inn whistled and applauded when they saw the woman who had just entered. Bai Shixuan, however, appeared completely uninterested in their reactions and remained seated, thinking about what he should do next.

“Oh-ho. A beautiful young lady in a place like this? Hm? Is that the girl from earlier?”

Zhang Hong muttered while looking at the woman now standing beside him and Bai Shixuan. The woman who had been disguising herself as a man alongside Bai Shixuan—he did not know her name, but it seemed she had finally revealed her true appearance.

“What are you doing, miss? If you’re going to sit, sit. If you’re leaving, then leave.”

Zhang Hong spoke to Huang Zaizhen, who was standing there silently staring at Bai Shixuan. Huang Zaizhen glared at him, then sat down in the chair he indicated.

“I’m here.”

“…….”

Now that she had returned to her true appearance, Huang Zaizhen had also returned to her normal way of speaking. Bai Shixuan, however, seemed too absorbed in thought to care and merely nodded.

“Hey! I said I’m here!”

“Yeah.”

When Huang Zaizhen shrieked, Bai Shixuan nodded again. She had been about to shout once more at Bai Shixuan, who remained deep in thought, but when he finally raised his head and looked at her, she closed her mouth.

“W-What?”

“You said you’d help me, didn’t you?”

“Huh?”

At Bai Shixuan’s question, Huang Zaizhen stared blankly at him. She had put on makeup and dressed herself carefully. She might not have been the number one beauty under heaven, but Huang Zaizhen was quite confident in her looks. Yet Bai Shixuan simply looked at her as though nothing were unusual and asked his question. All she could do was nod in bewilderment—or perhaps frustration.

“The Hao Sect probably can’t investigate powerful martial sects in too much detail. I need you to look into something for me.”

“Huh? W-What?”

Huang Zaizhen stared at him blankly.

“The Flower Fragrance Pavilion. It probably wasn’t an ordinary pleasure house.”

“If I investigate it for you, will you grant me one request too?”

Huang Zaizhen was now speaking casually without hesitation, but Bai Shixuan did not seem to care. He merely nodded silently.

“Good. Then I’ll do it. Number Four! You heard that, right?”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

“Look into it. Find out everything you can about that Flower Fragrance Pavilion or whatever it’s called.”

Zhang Hong was startled to hear a voice despite seeing no one nearby and looked around for its source, but no one appeared in sight. Bai Shixuan poured rice wine into his cup and was just about to pick it up when Huang Zaizhen snatched the cup from the table and tossed the contents straight into her mouth.

“Ugh, couldn’t you drink something a little more expensive?”

Huang Zaizhen grimaced at the bitter taste of the cheap rice wine and set the cup down. Bai Shixuan pulled the cup she had just used back in front of himself and began pouring more rice wine into it.

“Hey! Bai Shixuan.”

Huang Zaizhen called out just as Bai Shixuan was about to drink.