As evening fell, Haoteng Night Club gradually opened its doors.
Inside, the lights were bright, and several delicate and pretty girls had just gotten out of bed from the nightclub’s dorm.
The table was messily piled with cosmetics, and jewelry boxes were carelessly thrown aside, some shimmering earrings and bracelets spilling out.
One of the girls, no more than twenty years old, stretched lazily and pulled out a leopard-print miniskirt from her wardrobe.
The window was half-open, and noisy sounds were drifting in from the outside.
The girl yawned languidly and asked casually,
"Why is it so noisy outside today?"
A few of the early risers responded.
"It seems there’s some charity performance, from an acrobatics troupe from the city."
"I went down a while ago to take a look, it was quite interesting. There were people jumping through hoops of fire and pole dancing; I heard the lead performer can even curl up their body into a ball and be stuffed into a small box."
The girls in the room, being of an age heavy with curiosity, were all somewhat tempted to go down and check out the excitement.
Just then, the dormitory doors swung open, and a woman in her late twenties, dressed in a smart suit, walked in.
"Aren’t you ready yet? Sister Yan is about to arrive, and if she sees you all lounging around ..."
Before she finished speaking, the girls in the room all sprang into action like they had been fast-forwarded, none daring to chit-chat further.
The sharply dressed woman then snorted and turned to leave.
"Putting on airs for nothing, just a lackey for Manager Yan, always bullying us," one of the girls whispered, "She took away more than half of my pay this month."
"Shush, keep it down. She’s also working for Manager Yan, don’t talk nonsense. Remember what happened to Xiaomei."
At the mention of that name, everyone in the room involuntarily shuddered.
Xiaomei was once the top performer of the nightclub, not only beautiful but also boasted a figure that the others envied.
Yet, it was this very person who, because she clamored to leave and annoyed Manager Yan, met with a horrific end that gave them nightmares just thinking about it.
When they saw her again later, Xiaomei was almost reduced to a thin layer of skin, as if something had burrowed into her belly and sucked out all her internal organs.
Afraid of living, yet alive, a fate worse than death.
Manager Yan had all of them gathered in a room to witness Xiaomei’s fate.
"I’ve always been reasonable with you all. Just obey me, and you’ll live more comfortably than most women in this world."
"But if you must defy me, well." Yan Fangxin smiled tenderly, but it made everyone one drop their heads involuntarily.
From then on, no one dared challenge Manager Yan’s authority again.
Although Manager Yan’s requirements were indeed odd, she neither demanded that they attract more patrons nor did she need them to earn more money.
All she asked was that each time they went to meet a client, they brought along a crudely made wood carving...
"Stop dreaming, it’s almost time, get ready and let’s go."
Outside the nightclub, on the temporary stage set up for the performance, several acrobats were performing.
A banner was strung across the top of the balloon arch at the top of the stage.
"A warm welcome to the Provincial Acrobatics Troupe from Lingguang Province for their free performance in our city."
Next to it was a small blackboard listing the day’s performances.
"Dogs jumping through hoops of fire."
"Dragon and lion dances."
"Wire-walking thrills."
"Finale – A large-scale magic show by China’s eighth-generation Bone Shrinking Technique heir, the great Wood Carving escape."
In the acrobatics troupe’s tent, Ya Da, dressed in his performance costume, really wanted to express his annoyance.
Despite being an operation of the Supernatural Management Bureau, why was he still doing his regular job?
Come to think of it, could he get a reimbursement for the performance fee? His usual rate wasn’t cheap after all.
But should he submit the bill to the police chief of Zhuancheng or to Director Cui?
Ya Da fell into contemplation.