Previously, Yun Ye had fantasized that ancient brothels must be nearly perfect song and dance halls. Who knew that now truly being in this environment, he would discover he was wrong? The unchanging content of brothels was always selling sex appeal—nothing else to say about it.

Or perhaps he had chosen the wrong companions for visiting brothels? Would visiting brothels together with Kong Yingda and Yu Shinan be somewhat better? But having seen the performance of Zhangsun Chong, who was called an elegant gentleman, last time, he held no hope for their performance either.

Beyond boredom was only boredom. A group of people embracing and molesting teenage girls truly made Yun Ye feel uncomfortable from the bottom of his heart. Although he couldn’t be counted as a good person, many years of life principles still worked. He couldn’t stay in the cabin anymore. Yun Ye picked up a plate of grapes and walked outside. The breeze on the roof was gentle—just the right place to refresh one’s mind and wake one’s brain. Li Chengqian and Li Tai didn’t like these things and had long since come out to play Go on the second level. Although Li Ke liked it, if only he among the three brothers acted like a lecher, it wouldn’t be proper. Forcibly suppressing his covetous drool, he sat to the side watching those two play Go.

Not disturbing them, Yun Ye went up to the boat’s top from outside. No powder fragrance, no chaotic moaning—a very nice place. The deck was very clean. He sat down right there, eating grapes while appreciating the scenery on the Qu River. The boat slowly glided through the water. Below were rowers, occasionally rowing, sliding lazily.

“Would the guest like to hear music?” A small voice came over. Looking back, he discovered a woman wearing green garments huddled in a corner asking.

It was rather rare for singing courtesans to wear veils when meeting guests. Perhaps she wasn’t good-looking and had been chased out by that pack of beasts in the cabin. Everyone had to make a living—no need to mistreat people. Yun Ye casually tossed over a silver coin, pillowed his head on the back of his hand, exhaled, and said, “Sure. I want to look at the clouds in the sky while listening to the distant Sanskrit chanting. If you have a soothing tune, playing one would be excellent.”

The woman in green happily picked up the silver coin, moved slightly closer to Yun Ye, took out a pipa, and began playing. He didn’t know what she was playing, but it made people very relaxed. Moreover, this sound blended into the Sanskrit chanting without making people feel jarring.

Buddhism’s Sanskrit chanting seemed to have been specially refined. The rhythm was always gentle, like a wisp of breeze inadvertently sweeping past one’s ear, or like a pool of water rippled by the wind, ripples surging, wave after wave gently lapping at the shore.

These days, having seen all of Chang’an’s joys and sorrows—some happy, some worried—all kinds of human faces had been seen during these days. Although the Yun Family tightly closed their gate, at night those women’s crying could carry very far. Every time this happened, Xinyue would bury her head tightly in Yun Ye’s chest and then use the quilt to cover her ears. Grandmother chanted Buddha more and more diligently—whether celebrating or feeling fear afterward, who knew?

Thinking of these things, Yun Ye wanted to belt out two lines of Black Panther, but doing so would scare the people on the boat. He could only search his dried-up intestines and finally pieced together a song he could sing.

“Breeze laughs, water ripples on—whose wealth and honor stretches endlessly? Willows like silk, flowers like the sea, brocade piled high. Laughing at impermanence—last night’s cold window so lonely, today white silk fills the room. Just drink a cup, fall drunk in the arena of fame and fortune.”

“I love watching the leisurely blue water—never mind tomorrow’s melancholy.”

Not quite proper, he hummed casually along with the green-garmented woman’s melody. That woman raised the melody a bit higher, then finally stopped, asking softly, “The guest’s heart is not happy?”

Yun Ye looked at the woman strangely. She shouldn’t ask this question, nor could she ask it. Obviously inexperienced in the trade, right? But this was also good. Those false, affected compliments were truly tiresome to hear. Anyway, no one was around—chatting with her would be fine too.

“Yes, utterly meaningless. The whole world is like this. Where there are criers, there are laughers. All want a lifetime of fine clothes and good food. Once they grasp it, they never let go. If they lose it, they continue struggling to get it—didn’t our ancestors do just this?”

“This little woman doesn’t understand these things. I only know the guest wants quiet for a while. Shall I play another piece of music for you?”

“You don’t need to understand. You just need to listen. If you want to play music, then play. You play yours, I’ll say mine. When you’ve played to your satisfaction, I’ll also have spoken to my satisfaction. Each gets what they need—how about that? All this silver is for you.” Yun Ye took out all the silver from his bosom and pushed it all toward that woman.

The woman shrank back a bit, saying softly, “This little woman is merely a musician. I can’t use all this money. What you gave before is already enough.”

Yun Ye crudely placed the silver on her skirt and said to himself, “Everyone wants something. Monks want it, Daoists want it. One by one, they insist on stepping on others underfoot, shoving their heads into mud before they’re satisfied. Only mine is right—everything you all say is dog shit…”

Yun Ye didn’t know whether the little girl played the pipa or not. A heap of random words spewed from his mouth. He kept talking until his mouth was parched and his tongue dry before stopping. He plucked seven or eight grapes and put them in his mouth, sucked out the moisture, then violently spat out the grape skins—quite a heavenly maiden scattering flowers.

Others who wanted to calm down only needed to meditate quietly. Yun Ye belonged to the wild and unrestrained school—he needed to vent before becoming normal. This wasn’t at home, so he couldn’t roar Black Panther. Soft, gentle songs became fuel poured on raging fire.

Seeing monks annoyed him, especially when his eyes were full of monks. His mouth’s saliva became abundant again. Standing at the bow, preparing to continue cursing, just as he cursed out “bald donkey,” a broken straw sandal flew through the air and slapped Yun Ye’s face. The smell was extremely unpleasant. How could this be endured? Yun Ye hung over the bow vomiting wildly, vomiting until his whole body went soft. With the woman in green supporting him, he returned to the deck. After drinking three cups of tea in succession, he felt somewhat better.

Those dandies saw Yun Ye being supported into the cabin by a woman, as if his legs were so weak he couldn’t walk. Those singing courtesans chattered and gossiped. The dandies one by one raised their thumbs to the sky.

Before Yun Ye could summon his brothers to find the bastard who slapped him with a shoe sole, a black-robed monk with vomit all over his bald head walked in barefoot.

Chai Lingwu had just cursed “bald donkey” when he was kicked by a Black Dragon Tail Swing move and stuck to the wall, humming and unable to speak, causing the singing courtesans to scream and flee in all directions.

“Who just stood at the bow cursing people and vomited all over this Buddha?” The giant man like an iron tower stood there, immediately imposing and majestic, like a heavenly god descending to earth.

The entire cabin was full of masters accustomed to bullying people. Who would be frightened? Did they still want face or not? Cheng Chumo was furious and threw a punch. This kid had also trained and killed quite a few on the battlefield, but before the giant man, he was like a child. Seeing he was about to lose, Li Huairen immediately joined the fray. Zhangsun Chong grabbed a chair and smashed it on the giant man’s back. The giant man seemed to have no sensation—ignoring it completely, he punched Li Huairen in the stomach, sending him flying.

Liu Hongji’s family never produced anything good. Liu Zhengwu’s fist was about to hit when the giant man didn’t care—soft fists had no effect on him. But this bastard gripped fine salt in his hand and scattered it into the giant man’s eyes at once.

The giant man roared, lifted his leg, and his bare foot kicked Liu Zhengwu’s face. Blood spurted from his nose as he lay straight on the ground, not moving.

Today, for the sake of freedom, everyone had driven their guards to other boats, not allowing them to follow in. Now it was bad. Li Chengqian jumped and shouted for guards to come help. Just as he was about to rush forward, Li Ke grabbed him around the waist and dragged him backward. Yuchi Baolin, relying on his large build, grabbed one of the giant monk’s arms. Even so, nine-chi-tall Baolin was swung flying, his back striking a pillar—with a crack, he broke the pillar.

The giant man, with one hand free, grabbed around in all directions. Anyone he caught would immediately be thrown out of the cabin and fall into the water. Cheng Chumo had already taken two punches—blood threads flowed from the corners of his mouth. When the Pei Family’s third son was kicked again, jumping around like a shrimp, Yun Ye tore down the curtains from the cabin and immediately wrapped the giant man inside. Seeing an advantage to gain, Liu Zhenghui’s youngest son threw his whole body weight on top. Just seeing a large bulge on the cloth bundle strike his lower abdomen, one knew this guy was already useless.

Zhangsun Chong shouldered a table, jumped from behind, and pressed down. A muffled groan came from inside the cloth bundle. This method seemed rather effective. Cheng Chumo, aiming at what seemed to be the head position, smashed down with a round stool. The round stool shattered. The cloth bundle convulsed once and finally stopped moving.

Guards always arrived late. When they entered the cabin, this place was already full of wailing. Dandies lay all over the ground—clutching stomachs, rubbing cheeks, walking with legs clamped together, noses bleeding, covering chests and exhaling long breaths. Of course, there was one covering his bottom and laughing wildly.

Li Tai was extremely happy. Everyone here was injured—by the looks of it, not one was hurt less than him. Just as he laughed twice, Li Chengqian slapped the back of his head. He himself also felt it inappropriate and covered his mouth, making no sound.

The giant monk was tied up tightly by the guards with ox-tendon rope, no different from a rice dumpling. Only then did someone ask groggily what exactly had happened.

Yun Ye pulled the little girl in green from under the table. The little girl kept her mouth tightly shut without speaking, but nodded at Yun Ye, indicating she wouldn’t say anything.

This fight was inexplicable. The dandies were severely injured—definitely a major incident. Li Chengqian, with an iron-blue face, ordered them to find out this monk’s origins. He had no intention of letting anyone connected to this matter off.

A bucket of cold water was poured over him. The giant monk awoke groggily. His eyes were red from being stung by salt water. He opened his mouth and roared loudly, cursing incoherently. They couldn’t ask anything out of him.

The monk suddenly stopped shouting and quieted down, but this guy’s muscles were bulging. The cowhide rope cut into his flesh. Guards rushed to stop him, but it was already too late. The ox-tendon rope snapped from his exertion. With one roll, he smashed through the window and fell into the water.

When Yun Ye and his group hung over the stern to look, the giant man had already disappeared from the water’s surface…