Though this was also Rouge Lane, it belonged to the rear street of Rouge Lane, lacking brothels, where the courtesans would rest and sleep. Now, as the girls were all in brothels on other streets, this place seemed much quieter, even a bit eerie.
Hu Feifei eyed a little girl running toward the courtyard, puzzled.
Chen Shi said, "Black Pot, were you chasing a human or a ghost just now?"
Black Pot’s fur bristled.
Chen Shi said, "That candied haw, did you eat it? What exactly did you eat?"
He walked into the deep courtyard mansion. Hu Feifei followed closely and looked around to find the courtyard empty, save for the little girl they had seen earlier playing alone by a stone stool, mumbling to herself as if talking to someone.
In Chen Shi’s eyes, however, the courtyard was crowded with people.
Some sat by the well, others by the corridor, some stood under the eaves, some curled up in corners, and some turned their backs to them, facing the white wall with plum blossoms painted on it.
Some were learning the zither under the pavilions, while others danced by the pond; a girl contemplated a board of leftover pieces, and some earnestly practiced etiquette.
They would occasionally disappear, suddenly reappear, and then be covered in blood, with terrifying faces.
Their ages varied, the eldest no more than about twenty, the youngest just eleven or twelve.
The little girl who had her candied haw snatched by Black Pot bowed her head, teasing the ants on the ground while talking to the woman next to her.
The woman, who looked pregnant, watched her affectionately. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"Miss, doggie is bad, stole my candied haw!" the little girl said angrily upon seeing Black Pot.
The pregnant woman suddenly turned her head, her gaze filled with deadly aura and a chilling yin energy.
Black Pot barked, and in fright, the pregnant woman’s face turned to terror. Ghostly figures scattered throughout the courtyard, frightened half to death, hiding themselves away.
Only the pregnant ghost, fearing they would harm the little girl, stayed in front of her and did not leave.
Chen Shi approached, pressed his left thumb against the nail of his middle finger, extended the other three fingers straight up, formed the Kan Ghost Seal, and pressed it onto the forehead of the pregnant ghost.
The ghost tried to lunge at him but was immobilized by the seal.
She looked up into Chen Shi’s eyes and felt his warm gaze, devoid of malice, unlike the ferocious demonic presence of the bad dog.
Chen Shi closed his eyes and instantly witnessed the pregnant ghost’s life experiences.
She had been a child trafficked by the Tianlao Society; sold to Yudou with several other little girls, they were bought by the old procurers of Rouge Lane and housed in this deep courtyard mansion, which was home to dozens of girls with similar origins.
They learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and how to please men; any slight negligence was met with a beating. Some girls were beaten to death, some could not bear it and drowned themselves in the well, others ran into walls to die, and yet others hanged from the eaves.
She had survived, started seeing clients, and once became pregnant, dying from a difficult delivery, hence her form as a pregnant ghost.
Her child in the womb, however, survived; because of the birth after death, the child had the ability to see both the yin and the yang, and could perceive ghosts and deities.
Chen Shi let go and looked at the little girl, smiling, "Little sister, what’s your name?"
The little girl, sniffling, looked up and smiled, "Little Bastard."
"Little Bastard, come here!"
A woman’s voice came from outside the door, "Why did you run here?"
The little girl quickly ran past Chen Shi, who touched her hand, warm to the touch; she was human.
He turned around to see a mature woman standing outside the door, tall with enduring charm. A noticeable black mole adorned her mouth, just below one corner.
"Madam," the little girl said.
The title "Madam" was a moniker used for the head of the brothels in Rouge Lane, a code name.
All the courtesans here had to address her as Madam.
Madam looked at Chen Shi, her eyes twinkling. She smiled, "Chen Shi, the young master ordered that if I encountered you, I should send his greetings."
— The cut in the plot is more serious than I expected; I apologize, and I’m not sure if I can get the second Chapter done tonight, but I will try my best. If I can’t make it, I will make up for it tomorrow. Also, after looking at the feedback, I decided not to change the name Yudou.
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