Yan Xu barely managed to placate the loan sharks for the time being — but they only gave him three days’ grace.

These people made their living from this sort of trade, operating through underworld connections, so it was clearly impossible for Yan Xu to reason with them.

Yet the Yan family had been in business for so long and had accumulated such great wealth that their network of contacts was naturally very broad as well. Yan Xu also knew a number of influential figures in the underworld. As long as he found these people to mediate, the other party would not push him too hard.

But before any of that, he first had to find the one responsible for all this trouble.

“Young Master, this is the place.” The men sent out returned quickly with news of Yan Qin’s whereabouts.

It was a half-old alleyway, flanked on both sides by apartment buildings — all belonging to a single landlord, who rented them out for income. Just from collecting rent each day, the earnings were considerable.

Following the attendant’s lead, Yan Xu passed through the alley and arrived before a fairly new apartment building.

“Because of its good location, the rent here isn’t cheap.” The attendant said. “It’s very close to Hua Xi Fang. That area is packed with dance halls — a place that devours money. Many of the people who rent here are regulars and dance-hall girls who frequent those establishments.”

As they spoke, a woman dressed like a dance-hall girl walked past them, arm in arm with a man. She caught sight of Yan Xu and shot him a coy, flirtatious glance. As she passed, she left behind a sharp, pungent trail of perfume.

Yan Xu wrinkled his nose with distaste and fanned the smell away. He had no interest in women, and found such smells particularly unpleasant.

“Young Master, it’s on the second floor.” The attendant led the way.

Yan Xu muttered, “This Yan Qin is utterly absurd. Even if she wanted to rent a place outside, she could at least find somewhere decent. Why rent in an alley like this? Just look at the people coming and going here — nothing but disgusting lowlifes.”

As his grumbling continued, the attendant had already come to a stop before a door marked with the number 202.

“This is the one.”

Yan Xu tilted his chin. The attendant knocked on the door.

After quite a while, the sound of footsteps came from within, and then the door swung open. Yan Qin stood there in a silk nightgown, her hair disheveled, the skin beneath her eyes dark and bruised, as though she had not slept properly in a very long time.

“Who is it? What kind of knocking is that?” Yan Qin first saw the attendant and flared up at once. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I might just as well ask who you are.” When Yan Xu’s voice rang out, Yan Qin startled. Seeing Yan Xu right behind the attendant, she instinctively moved to slam the door shut.

Yan Xu thrust out his hand to block it, then shoved it hard. The force rebounded and sent Yan Qin staggering backward several steps.

“Stand aside.” Yan Xu strode in.

He swept his gaze around the room. The place was a complete mess — clothes strewn carelessly over the sofa and the wardrobe. And among those clothes, in addition to women’s garments, there were a great many men’s items as well, including undergarments.

The more Yan Xu looked, the angrier he became. He was almost certain that during the days Yan Qin had gone missing, she had been living with a man.

“You are truly shameless.” Yan Xu strode up to Yan Qin and brought his hand down hard in a slap.

Yan Qin was knocked sprawling to the ground, one side of her face swelling rapidly. She cried out in shock. “What are you hitting me for?”

“You have the nerve to ask? Look at what you’ve been doing — all these shameless things.” Yan Xu’s face was flushed crimson with fury. “You’ve been holed up here with a man. Do you have any thought for the reputation of our Yan family? You are a daughter of the Yan family, and you’ve run off to live with some disreputable person out here. You — you — “

So enraged he could not get the words out, Yan Xu’s face grew redder and redder — he looked as though he wanted to swallow Yan Qin whole.

Yan Qin picked herself up from the floor and shrieked, “Qing Jun is not a disreputable person! He is extraordinarily talented — a rare genius of the ages. It’s only a pity that he was born at the wrong time. His gifts go unappreciated, and all this while he hasn’t found the patron he deserves. This world has blind eyes — no one recognizes his vast learning, no one knows he is a man of great erudition. It’s truly a case of heaven being jealous of outstanding talent.”

Yan Xu stared at her. “What are you talking about? Who is Qing Jun? Who is Qing Jun?”

“Qing Jun is the man I love.” When she spoke that name, Yan Qin’s face filled with infatuated devotion. “He is handsome, he has talent, he writes poems of love for me, he is gentle and doting toward me. He says I am the most beautiful woman in the world, and the one who understands him best. He says he is willing to spend his entire life making me happy.”

Yan Xu’s mouth twitched twice. He turned and picked up a smoking pipe from the tea table, waving it in front of Yan Qin’s face — it nearly came down on her. His voice rose with his fury. “Oh, extraordinarily talented, is he? And his idea of extraordinary talent is to hole up here with you smoking opium? And — “

Yan Xu pointed to the wine bottles scattered every which way around the room. “His idea of extraordinary talent is to drink himself into oblivion with you?”

“You simply don’t understand what art is.” Yan Qin snapped back. “Art is a kind of inspiration. And this inspiration, in order to be awakened, requires different methods for different people. The way Qing Jun awakens his inspiration is through liquor and opium, and through the music of the dance halls. Only in this way can he write great works and bring out his true gifts. He says women are all vulgar things — only I am refined and transcendent.”

Yan Xu stared at Yan Qin, utterly speechless.

It was clear that Yan Qin had been completely bewitched by this man called Qing Jun, to the point where she could no longer distinguish right from wrong. Then again, thinking about it — she had never been someone who could tell right from wrong. She was unreasonable and foolish by nature, so it wasn’t particularly surprising that she had been deceived.

Yan Xu let out a long breath and closed his eyes. “Fine. Even if that’s how he awakens his inspiration — tell me why you took all the working capital from the shops and then mortgaged them at a fraction of their value. Don’t you understand that those people have shown up now to take the shops back?”

Yan Qin said breezily, “Qing Jun says that money and wealth are earthly things — nothing but grimy, ill-omened stuff. How could a pure and noble person be driven by something as base as money?”

“He smokes opium and eats and drinks — and none of that costs money? He hates money so much, why does he still spend it? He should go live in the mountains and farm.”

“That’s precisely why money must be spent!” Yan Qin raised her voice. “Money is worthless — once you have it, you should spend it, destroy it, turn it into something of value, provide Qing Jun with inspiration. That is its proper purpose.”

Yan Xu: “…”

Yan Xu felt as though he were trying to reason with a wall. He could not help but pace around the room in agitation, running his hands through his hair. This sister of his had nearly driven him to madness.

“Fine, fine, fine — I’m not going to argue with your twisted logic. I’ll ask you one thing: will this Qing Jun marry you?”

Yan Qin looked at Yan Xu with a pitying gaze, and her words came out in a half-dreamy, half-mystical tone. “Elder Brother, you and Qing Jun are worlds apart. Just look at you — utterly commonplace, eyes only for money and marriage. True love doesn’t need to be locked in a four-sided cage. It is free. It is simple. It has no ties, no bonds. Just like our romance — forever so happy and carefree, untroubled by worldly convention. That is the true meaning of love. He says he loves me, and that I am the person he will be devoted to for his entire life. We don’t need to marry — because marriage causes love to sour. We will maintain this relationship as it is and go on being happy forever…”

“Ptui.” Yan Xu couldn’t hold back and spat in contempt. “Every man who doesn’t want to take responsibility says exactly this kind of thing. If he doesn’t want to marry you, he doesn’t want to marry you — what’s the point of all these high-sounding words?”

“Elder Brother, I can’t communicate with you.”

“Fine, I won’t communicate with you. You’re coming home with me right now. You’ll wait there properly to be married off, and forget about whatever Qing Jun or Purple Jun — get him out of your head.” Yan Xu said, moving to drag Yan Qin away. Yan Qin retreated backward continuously.

“Elder Brother, I will be with Qing Jun for the rest of my life. I’m not going back. I will not return to that cage and walk the path you’ve all arranged for my fate. Qing Jun is right — freedom is something one must fight for oneself.”

“Freedom, my foot.” Yan Xu stomped. “Tell me — where is this Qing Jun?”

“He’s gone to the dance hall. He said he needs to find inspiration.”

“The money he uses to eat and drink and lounge in dance halls — you gave it all to him?”

Yan Qin said mournfully, “The people at those newspapers are all blind. They simply can’t appreciate his talent. His manuscripts keep being rejected. He doesn’t even have money for food anymore.”

“He says he loves you?”

“Yes — he loves me, and only me for his entire life, because I am his white moonlight, I am his cinnabar mole, I am his one and only. He says that without me, his inspiration will cease to exist, his light will turn to darkness, his body will wither, his…”

“All right, all right.” Yan Xu felt goosebumps crawling all over him. “Right now, take me to him immediately.”

“I don’t want to disturb him while he’s searching for inspiration.” Yan Qin shook her head.

“You think what he’s doing in a dance hall is searching for inspiration?” Yan Xu gave a cold laugh. “Men only go to dance halls for one reason — to have fun with women.”

“That’s not it. You just don’t understand Qing Jun. You’ve misread him completely. He goes to the dance halls only to hear the music inside and find his creative inspiration. He says women are all vulgar things — only I am pure and extraordinary.”

“Go get your clothes on.” Yan Xu said. “Hurry.”

“What for?”

“Get yourself dressed right now, or I’ll drag you into the street like this and let you make a spectacle of yourself.” Yan Xu said sharply. “Do you hear me?”

Yan Qin was still afraid of this elder brother of hers. Now that Master Yan was seriously ill, Yan Xu’s word was law in the Yan family. If she truly infuriated him, he might very well drive her out without any mercy.

Qing Jun needed a great deal of money to pursue his inspiration, so at this point Yan Qin could not afford to fall out with the Yan family.

“I’ll give you five minutes. I’ll wait for you outside.” Yan Xu said, and slammed the door behind him as he left.

Five minutes later, Yan Qin obediently dressed herself and shuffled out.

She looked at Yan Xu, her gaze unwavering. “Elder Brother, I will definitely prove to you that Qing Jun is not the person you think he is. You will be won over by his character and his talent.”