Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Hate Born Part 21 (8)

Lan Xichen said, "Family Head Jin... could you explain the situation?"

Jin Guangyao remained silent, his knuckles turning pale.

Wei Wuxian said, "It seems Family Head Jin is unwilling to speak."

With a wave of his hand, a naked female corpse instantly appeared under his palm. Wei Wuxian placed his hand on her dark head and said, "But if you don't speak, does that mean I can't find out?"

As soon as he entered the empathic connection, before even opening his eyes, Wei Wuxian found himself surrounded by a strong scent of powder and perfume. A flirtatious voice escaped his lips: "...Her? She wanted to marry, but when she met that man, she was already in her twenties, no longer young. In a few years, she would surely lose her appeal, so she risked being scolded to have a son, just to escape. But that would only work if the man wanted her."

He opened his eyes and saw a rather splendid hall, quite spacious, with over a dozen large round tables. At each table sat several drinkers, along with a few attractive women. Some had their shoulders exposed, some had disheveled hair, some sat on the drinkers' laps, and some were feeding wine to others. All of them had sweet, drunken expressions.

It was obvious what kind of establishment this was.

Wei Wuxian thought to himself, "The one who was burned to death in the Guanyin Temple was actually a courtesan. No wonder the vengeful spirits were all naked—they must have been courtesans and their clients."

A drinker beside him laughed and said, "A son is still one's own. Would the man really reject him?"

The woman replied, "She said the man was a big shot from a cultivation clan. If that's the case, he must have many sons at home. When something is abundant, it's no longer precious. Why would he care about an outsider's child? She waited and waited, but no one came to claim her, so she had no choice but to raise the child alone. It's been fourteen years now."

Several drinkers exclaimed, "A big shot? Is that for real?"

The woman said, "Oh, why would I lie about something like this? Her son is working here as an errand boy. Look, that's him." She twisted her waist and waved at a young boy carrying a tray. "Little Meng! Come here!"

The boy indeed walked over and said, "Sister Anxin, what is it?"

In that moment, Wei Wuxian understood everything.

The drinkers scrutinized Meng Yao with sharp eyes. Meng Yao asked again, "Is there something you need?"

Anxin smiled and said, "Little Meng, have you been studying those things on your own recently?"

Meng Yao was startled. "What things?"

Anxin said, "The things your mother taught you, like calligraphy, painting, etiquette, sword techniques, and cultivation techniques... How are you doing with them?"

Before she could finish, the drinkers erupted into laughter, as if they found it extremely ridiculous. Anxin turned to them and said, "Stop laughing! I'm serious. His mother raised him as if he were a young master from a wealthy family, teaching him to read and write, buying him all sorts of sword manuals and secret cultivation techniques, and even sending him to school."

A drinker exclaimed in surprise, "Sent him to school? Am I hearing this right?"

Anxin said, "Yes! Little Meng, tell these gentlemen, did you go to the academy?"

The drinker asked, "Does he still go now?"

Anxin replied, "No, he returned after just a few days and refused to go back. Little Meng, was it because you didn't like studying or didn't like the place?"

Meng Yao didn't speak. Anxin giggled, poking his forehead with a bright red fingernail. "Kid, are you upset?"

She poked him hard, leaving a faint red mark on his forehead, like a remnant of vermilion. He touched his forehead and said, "No..."

Anxin waved her hand. "Alright, alright, it's nothing. Go on now." Meng Yao turned and walked a few steps, but she picked up something from the table and coaxed, "Here, take a fruit."

Meng Yao turned back, and the vivid green fruit hit his chest, falling to the ground and rolling away. Anxin scolded, "Why are you so clumsy? You can't even catch a simple fruit. Pick it up quickly, don't waste it."

Meng Yao forced a smile. He should have been fourteen years old, but perhaps because he was particularly small and thin, he looked no older than twelve or thirteen. The smile on his face was particularly unsettling.

He slowly bent down, picked up the fruit, wiped it on his clothes, and smiled even more broadly. "Thank you, Sister Anxin." Anxin said, "You're welcome. Go and work hard."

Meng Yao said, "Call me if you need anything."

After he walked away, one of the patrons said, "If my son were in such a place, I would absolutely take him back no matter what."

Another person said, "Is his father really a prominent figure from a cultivation family? Buying the freedom of a courtesan and giving her money to raise a child should be easy, right? Just a simple gesture."

Anxin said, "Can you really trust everything this woman says? Half of it is already too much. The 'prominent figure' is just her own fabrication. I think it's probably just a wealthy merchant with some money, and she exaggerated it a lot..."

At that moment, a scream came from upstairs, followed by the sound of dishes and cups shattering. A guqin was flung out and landed in the center of the hall with a loud crash, breaking into pieces. The people drinking and having fun at nearby tables were startled and started swearing. Anxin nearly stumbled, shrieking, "What’s happening?"

Meng Yao cried out, "Mother!"

Anxin looked up and saw a burly man dragging a woman out of a room by her hair. Anxin grabbed the patron beside her, her tone a mix of excitement and nervousness, and said, "She’s causing trouble again!"

Meng Yao bolted upstairs. The woman was holding her head, desperately trying to pull her clothes back onto her shoulders. When she saw Meng Yao running over, she hurriedly said, "I told you not to come upstairs! Go down! Go down now!"

Meng Yao tried to pry the patron's hand off, but he was kicked in the stomach and rolled down the stairs, causing a wave of gasps.

This was the third time Wei Wuxian had seen him being kicked and rolling down the stairs.

The woman screamed and was immediately dragged by her hair again, all the way downstairs. Her clothes were ripped off, and she was thrown onto the street. The patron spat on her naked body and cursed, "Ugly and full of tricks, an old whore still thinks she's new merchandise!"

The woman cowered in the middle of the street, not daring to get up, as any movement would leave her fully exposed. The passersby were both shocked and excited, hesitating to leave or stay, pointing and staring with eager eyes. The brothel's entrance was crowded with women from inside, giggling softly, just like Anxin, gleefully explaining to the patrons around them what had happened to this disgraced old woman. Only one woman turned and walked out, taking off her already thin gauze dress, revealing half of her snow-white, full chest wrapped in a bright red undergarment, her waist extremely slender, making her very striking. Everyone else quickly turned to look at her. The woman spat and shouted, "Look, look, look at your mother! Am I someone you can just look at? It costs money to look at me, fork over the cash! Come on, fork over the cash!"

As she cursed, she indeed reached out to the surrounding onlookers, demanding money. The crowd dispersed somewhat, and she threw the gauze dress she had taken off onto the woman, wrapping her up and helping her stagger into the hall, scolding as she went, "I told you to change long ago. Who are you acting so high and mighty for? You got what you deserved, learn your lesson!"

Wei Wuxian thought, "This woman's face looks vaguely familiar. Where have I seen her before?"

The woman whispered, "A-Yao, A-Yao..."

Meng Yao was still reeling from the kick, lying on the ground, unable to get up. The woman grabbed both of them, pulling the mother and son up and walking away. A patron beside Anxin asked, "Who is that beauty?"

Anxin spat out two melon seed shells and said, "She's a famous spitfire, really scary."

One person said disappointedly, "Is this the famous courtesan Meng Shi from back then? How did she come to this?"

Anxin changed her expression to a smile and said, "That's just how it is. She insisted on having a child. Can a woman still remain attractive after having a child? If it weren't for her past reputation as a 'talented woman' barely keeping her afloat, there probably wouldn't be many willing to pay her any attention. I say it's because of the little bit of education she had that ruined her."

One patron said, "That's right. People who dabble in books always have that inexplicable air of superiority, never willing to let go of that little bit of hope."

Anxin said, "If she could support herself with the books she read, I wouldn't say anything, but it's just a gimmick to attract patrons. To put it bluntly, we're all courtesans, so what makes you so noble just because you read a few books? What's with the airs? Not only do people outside look down on her, but do the other sisters here like her? Customers who come to such places occasionally want to see a young, delicate girl acting reserved and dignified, just for a bit of novelty. What's the point of paying to see an old, faded woman? She's long past her prime, everyone knows it, only she can't see it..."

At that moment, someone tapped Anxin from behind. She turned around and saw the woman standing there, raising her hand and slapping her across the face.

With a loud "smack," Anxin was slapped. She froze for a moment, then flew into a rage, shouting, "Bitch!!!"

The woman said, "Bitch!!! Always running your mouth, don't you have anything better to do with that tongue of yours?!"

Anxin screamed, "What I say is none of your business!"

The two women began fighting in the middle of the hall on the first floor, using nails and teeth, pulling each other's hair, and cursing with words like "I'll scratch your face sooner or later" and "You're not worth a penny even if you pay me," their language vulgar and unbearable to hear. Many patrons came over to break up the fight, saying, "Sisi! Stop fighting!"

Sisi?

Wei Wuxian finally remembered why the woman's face looked familiar. If you added seven or eight knife scars to that face, wouldn't it be the woman who came to Lotus Pier to inform on them, Sisi?!

Suddenly, he felt a wave of scorching heat rushing towards him, and the entire hall was instantly engulfed in a sea of red flames. Wei Wuxian quickly pulled himself out of the empathy!

When he opened his eyes, Lan Wangji asked, "How was it?"

Lan Xichen also said, "Young Master Wei, what did you see?"

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath, slightly calming his mind, and said, "I guess this Guanyin Temple is where Jin Guangyao grew up."

Jin Guangyao remained expressionless. Jiang Cheng said, "Where he grew up? Wasn't he..." He was about to say, wasn't he raised in a pleasure house, but suddenly he understood and said, "This Guanyin Temple used to be a pleasure house. He burned this place down and rebuilt it into a Guanyin Temple!"

Lan Xichen said, "Did you really set the fire?"

Jin Guangyao said, "Yes."

Jiang Cheng sneered, "You admit it quite readily."

Jin Guangyao said, "At this point, does it make any difference whether I do one more thing or one less?"

After a moment of silence, Lan Xichen said, "Was it to erase the traces?"

Although many people knew that Lord Lianfang grew up in a pleasure house, over the years, most people didn't know exactly which pleasure house he came from, which was quite strange. Everyone knew that Lord Lianfang must have deliberately manipulated things behind the scenes, but few would have expected that he would directly burn down the place where he was born and raised.

Jin Guangyao said, "Not entirely."

Lan Xichen sighed and didn't continue. Jin Guangyao said, "Aren't you going to ask me why?"

Lan Xichen shook his head, and after a while, he answered irrelevantly, "In the past, it wasn't that I didn't know what you had done, but I believed you had your reasons for doing so."

He added, "But you went too far. And I... don't know if I should believe anymore."

His tone carried profound exhaustion and disappointment.

Outside the temple, a thunderstorm raged, and the wind whistled through the cracks of the temple door. In the midst of this mournful wailing, Jin Guangyao suddenly knelt on the ground.

Everyone was stunned, including Wei Wuxian, who had just taken the sword from his waist. They saw Jin Guangyao weakly say, "Elder Brother, I was wrong."

"..." Hearing this, even Wei Wuxian felt embarrassed for him and couldn't help but say, "Uh, well, let's not talk, just fight. Can we just fight?"

This person's face changed at will, and his knees bent at will, showing no dignity or authority. Lan Xichen's face also showed an indescribable expression. Jin Guangyao continued, "Elder Brother, we have known each other for many years. No matter what, you know how I feel about you. I have no intention of holding the position of Supervisor of Cultivators anymore, and the Yin Tiger Tally has been utterly destroyed. After tonight, I will flee to the East, and I will never return in this lifetime. For the sake of all this, please spare my life."

Fleeing to the East, in plain terms, meant escaping. It sounded quite shameful, but Jin Guangyao was known for his flexibility and adaptability, always choosing to bend rather than break. The Jin Clan of Lanling could overpower one or two, even three or four clans, but if all the clans, big and small, united to condemn him, it would only be a matter of time before they repeated the downfall of the Wen Clan of Qishan. Rather than waiting for that, it was better to leave immediately, avoid the backlash, preserve his strength, and perhaps have a chance to stage a comeback in the future.

Wei Wuxian said, "Jin Guangyao, you said the Yin Tiger Tally has been utterly destroyed. Can you show it to me?"

Jin Guangyao said, "Young Master Wei, the replica of the Yin Tiger Tally is not the original, and its uses are limited. It has been completely destroyed. And you know better than anyone how much malice that thing carries. A useless item that only brings bloodshed, do you think I would still carry it with me?"

Wei Wuxian said, "I wouldn't know. Maybe you could find another Xue Yang?"

Jin Guangyao said, "Elder Brother, every word I say is true."

His words were sincere and earnest, and since capturing Lan Xichen, he had indeed treated him with respect. At this moment, Lan Xichen really couldn't immediately turn against him and could only sigh, "Jin Guangyao, when you insisted on planning that chaos at the Burial Mounds, I told you not to call me 'Elder Brother' anymore."

Jin Guangyao said, "The incident at the Burial Mounds was a moment of folly, a serious mistake, but I had no escape."

Lan Xichen said, "What do you mean by no escape?"

Lan Wangji slightly frowned and said coldly, "Brother, don't engage with him too much."

Wei Wuxian also reminded, "Family Head Lan, remember how you warned Family Head Jiang? Don't engage with him too much."

Lan Xichen also knew how manipulative Jin Guangyao could be. But when he heard there might be more to the story, he couldn't help but want to listen, and Jin Guangyao seized on this.

He whispered, "I received a message."