Shen Mi: “…??”

He was stunned for a while. Tie Ci gave him a few more instructions, which stunned Shen Mi even more. But seeing that she had already turned the corner, he had no choice but to turn back. As soon as he returned, he saw that the crowd had actually dispersed.

A group of people scattered while cursing: “Damn it, never seen anyone selling themselves like this!”

Shen Mi went over and saw that the charming mourning woman had already stood up. With one hand holding up her skirt and the other slapping away an old rich man’s wandering hand, she said coldly: “With your measly three acres of land, you dare say you’ll buy me? Do you know how I should be served? Bird’s nest for rinsing my mouth in the morning, three seafood dishes, four mountain delicacies, five large plates, and six kinds of pastries at noon. No cheap meats like pork or chicken. Mutton must be from lambs, beef must be from young cattle tenderloin. Three pipes of the finest golden silk tobacco in the afternoon. Fried quail and pan-fried flower fish in the evening, paired with triple-steamed bamboo leaf wine. No fewer than three items for late-night snacks, and no fewer than five varieties of daily fruits and sweet preserves…”

The old rich man’s face grew paler as he listened, staring up at her in a daze, murmuring: “Ancestor!”

The charming lady crisply replied: “Yes!”

Everyone: “…”

The crowd dispersed even faster than it had gathered.

Shen Mi hid around the corner listening, marveling at the spectacle.

When most of the crowd had left, the disabled man scrambled up, rolled up the corpse, sighed, and was about to say something when the charming lady suddenly plopped down on her knees again.

The disabled man was startled. Turning his head to see Shen Mi emerge from the corner, he let out an “eh” sound, opened his mouth to prepare for another wailing session, but then felt something was wrong. His mouth remained half-open toward Shen Mi, revealing a set of crooked teeth.

Shen Mi: “…”

His feelings were very complicated.

He coughed dryly, composed his face into calmness as if he had heard and seen nothing, and handed over the money pouch, saying: “My master takes pity on the young lady and specially ordered me to bring silver.”

The man accepted the silver, wiping away tears: “Thank you, kind sir. Then… Xiao Yu, you go with this gentleman.”

The charming lady shyly hummed in agreement, half-raising her eyes to look at Shen Mi. Shen Mi was swept by those tear-laden eyelashes and the glance beneath them, and immediately felt completely overwhelmed.

Where was that difficult and fierce woman he had just witnessed?

Why was everything happening today so fantastical?

The charming lady had already walked to his side and secretly hooked his finger with her little finger.

Shen Mi felt as if struck by lightning, nearly jumping up on the spot. He barely suppressed the urge to shake his hand away, smiled and stepped back a few paces. He exchanged a few more caring words with the man, who claimed to be Miss Yu’s uncle and said he would use the silver to help bury her father, then return to the countryside to make his own living. He asked Shen Mi to take good care of his niece. Shen Mi nodded in agreement, watching as Miss Yu and her uncle performed another scene of life-and-death parting with clasped hands and tearful eyes. Unable to bear watching, he had to turn his face away and force himself to look sorrowful.

While this acting performance continued, he thought about the new boss he had met today – faced with this situation, she would definitely cry along, right?

Somehow, imagining Tie Ci and this little lady clasping hands with tearful eyes made him shudder repeatedly…

After they finished the complete farewell routine, he called for the large cart he had arranged earlier and helped Miss Yu onto it. Not daring to ride in the same cart with her, he squeezed in with the driver.

The cart rumbled forward, heading straight for Drunken Flower Street.

Miss Yu sat quietly in the cart without poking her head out to look.

The carriage went deep into Drunken Flower Street.

In the depths of the street, flowers bloomed in drunken splendor, rouge and powder for ten li.

Every county had such a place – a den of pleasure and gentle township where playboys who loved wild flowers could lie drunk and never rise.

At the very back was the county’s largest pleasure house, called “Supporting Spring Tower.”

Shen Mi stopped the cart at the entrance. The madam had already come out to receive them. Tie Ci had already made a trip here and given instructions. Now the madam lifted the curtain and looked – Miss Yu was raising her head.

Upon seeing her, the madam was so delighted her eyebrows nearly flew off the top of her head. She repeatedly said: “Miss, please get down from the cart, slowly, mama will help you.”

Shen Mi said to Miss Yu: “We’ve arrived. Miss, please follow the mama inside to get settled.”

The madam nodded repeatedly and ordered a servant to bring a stool for the beauty to step on. Looking down, she hissed.

What big feet.

Well, a beautiful face was enough.

Miss Yu got down from the cart and glanced at the interior decorations. This Supporting Spring Tower was originally rebuilt from a disgraced official’s mansion. It didn’t even hang a plaque, and since it was still afternoon, not yet time for the evening’s red lights and green wine, it currently looked like a dignified and refined mansion. The smiling madam was no different from a nanny in a wealthy household.

She shyly nodded and followed the madam through the door. Shen Mi stepped forward two paces, the madam shook her sleeve, and a package of silver was in his palm.

Shen Mi squeezed the silver, his feelings complicated. He didn’t understand how he had suddenly boarded a pirate ship and even become a human trafficker.

He followed Miss Yu through the door, turned through the corridor, and when no one was paying attention, turned around and left.

Then he heard doors closing one by one behind him, with scattered footsteps running to guard each layer of doors. He knew that tonight, this Miss Yu would find it hard to fly away even with wings.

Regardless of whether she wanted to scheme against that master, that master had turned around and sold her into a brothel.

He really didn’t know who was more wicked.

He walked away in a daze, clutching the silver. Meanwhile, the moment the doors closed layer by layer, Miss Yu, who had been walking obediently, suddenly stopped.

The madam thought she had caught on – should she use the whip immediately or threaten her first?

The moment Miss Yu turned around, wind swept through the corridor, the white mourning cap fluttered down, and her pinned-up black hair scattered. In that instant, everyone held their breath.

The madam stared straight ahead, thinking hazily that she had struck it rich and encountered a stunning beauty, when she saw Miss Yu suddenly raise her hand.

Those slender pale hands that had just been in her sleeves were suddenly at the madam’s neck. Before the madam could react, she felt tremendous force suddenly tighten around her throat. She even instantly heard her own throat bone make a terrifying creaking sound.

This move was so sudden and ruthless that no one expected this delicate beauty to strike to kill without warning. Everyone froze in place. The madam couldn’t even utter a plea for mercy, her hands desperately clawing while her throat struggled to make whimpering sounds.

The beauty didn’t even blink, her fingertips slightly contracting, making the crackling sounds increasingly clear. Everyone was trapped in a nightmare, staring at those hands while sweating profusely. After a long while, someone finally reacted and drew a knife to rush forward. The beauty flicked her sleeve, and the knife suddenly became entangled in her sleeve tip. The soft sleeve became a knife, the steel blade became cloth. Cold light flashed like scales, and in an instant, it silently shattered and fell at the hem of her white skirt.

The person who lost his knife stared blankly at the knife fragments scattered on the ground. After a long while, he let out a shout, and everyone scattered and fled in all directions.

But they heard the beauty say lazily: “One step taken, one limb lost.”

Everyone froze instantly.

Only then did the beauty release her grip. The madam collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud.

The beauty casually leaned against the corridor railing, pulled out a packet of sunflower seeds from her bosom, and lazily cracked them while calling out: “Be good, come sit.”

No one dared to sit, but they didn’t dare not to sit either. They all edged along the corridor railing, sitting on half their buttocks. The madam struggled up from the ground and said through gritted teeth: “…What… what do you want to do… do you know who… is behind our tower…”

“The Liaodong secret network, right?” the beauty said lazily.

The madam suddenly stiffened. Her hard-won confidence crumbled instantly, and her pale face showed uncertain fear in her eyes.

“What… what do you want to do…”

The beauty spat out a sunflower seed shell with a “poof,” and it lightly stuck to her face.

“To be a prostitute.”

The madam: “…”

The beauty continued cracking sunflower seeds without raising her head: “In a while, you’ll go out from this corridor and act as if nothing happened. If anyone asks later, you’ll say the tower took in a new girl, but she was fierce-tempered and would rather die than submit. During your attempts to discipline her, you accidentally killed her, so you wrapped her in a reed mat and threw her in the mass grave outside the city.”

The madam listened with flickering eyes, stammering hoarsely: “This… if this gets out… it might not be appropriate…”

“What’s inappropriate about it? Don’t Lao’er’s people often end up with such results?”

The madam completely shut up this time. After a long while, she tentatively asked: “Then miss, you…”

“Me?” the beauty said with a beaming smile, “I’m here to be your star courtesan. Look at my beauty – how many points would you give me?”

The madam said bitterly: “Miss… you have heavenly beauty… cough cough… how could we lowly people be qualified to judge?”

The beauty smiled broadly, bent down, and patted the madam’s face with her sleeve corner as if giving a reward. Though she called it patting, it was more like slapping. The madam didn’t even dare to dodge.

The beauty said with a smile: “Since that’s the case, you can see that with my arrival, you’ve gained a money tree and will surely have rolling wealth. Now that you’re making money, shouldn’t we discuss how to split it?”

The madam numbly nodded.

“Excellent, let’s shake hands on it!”

The madam extended her palm. The beauty raised her hand to meet it. The moment their hands met, she suddenly hooked and pressed with her long finger!

Crack! The madam let out a pig-like scream.

Her little finger was bent sharply backward and broken.

Amid the screaming, the beauty smiled: “I forgot to discuss the split. Ninety for me, ten for you?” Her finger slowly gripped the madam’s ring finger, preparing to press down again. “Or perhaps eighty for me, twenty for you?”

The madam screamed: “No, no, no, ninety for you, ten for me! Ninety for you! Ninety!”

The beauty smiled and withdrew her hand, casually tearing off a piece of the madam’s sleeve to slowly and methodically wipe her hands. While wiping, she leaned back and laughed: “Then now, bring up the bird’s nest, bamboo leaf triple-steamed wine, fried quail, pan-fried flower fish, young cattle tenderloin, lamb, three seafood dishes, four mountain delicacies, five-colored fine pastries… all of it!”

Author’s Note: Let me advertise my book “Mountain and River Feast.” The first volume of “Mountain and River Feast” physical book is now available for pre-order! If you miss this village, there won’t be this shop anymore.