Chapter 32: Sister Meier

Marketplace
Spring Breeze Pavilion

The brothels in the county town were nothing like the lavish, dazzling establishments depicted in dramas. Instead, they were modest two-story wooden buildings adorned with red lanterns. On the upper floor, heavily made-up young women in revealing attire struck seductive or alluring poses, racking their brains to attract attention. Below, the patrons blushed and fumbled, hands wandering freely. Each side gained something—one secured the means to survive in these troubled times, while the other found satisfaction of both body and mind; a mutually beneficial arrangement.

This was Bai Xian's first time in such a place. Her autumn-water eyes brimmed with curiosity as she surveyed her surroundings, instantly drawing even more scorching gazes. How had such a delicate beauty wandered into the vulgar Spring Breeze Pavilion? While most ordinary girls would flee from such a place, Miss Bai had been the first to step inside, her interest piqued upon hearing of it.

Yang Xian coughed discreetly and addressed Bai Xian, whose sense of gender seemed somewhat ambiguous.
“Miss Bai, there’s no need for you to come here. Zhang the priest and I can look for Yangmei ourselves.”

The Yangmei he mentioned was a madam at the Spring Breeze Pavilion, and also He Shan’s lover in Jinjiang County.

Earlier, Bai Xian had led the plump Daoist Zhang Xuan to the Shunfeng Escort Agency to find Yang Xian, and the three of them had visited He Shan’s home. They found the decrepit house ransacked, bedding and clothes reeking of sweat and mold strewn in the yard. Bai Xian surmised that the man in black robes had arrived first, but from the scene, He Shan had likely not returned home. According to Yang Xian, He Shan was a solitary man with no parents, fond of drinking and gambling, but shrewd enough to avoid returning home if he knew he was being sought. However, his lover worked at Spring Breeze Pavilion, so he would likely go there. Thus, the group made their way to the brothel.

As soon as they entered the hall, a matronly woman swayed over, her smile somewhat forced. The trio—one stern-faced man with a spear, one lecherous-looking Daoist in a robe, and a woman of surpassing beauty and figure—immediately set off alarm bells. With her years of experience, the madam knew trouble when she saw it.

“Are you sure you’re in the right place, honored guests?”

“We’re not lost. We’re looking for Yangmei.”

The madam’s face stiffened, but she quickly forced a greasy smile. “You must be joking, sir. We’re not fruit vendors here. We don’t sell bayberries or green plums. There’s plenty of bayberry wine, if you’d like a drink…”

Yang Xian’s face darkened, uncertain how to proceed. Though a veteran of the battlefield, this was his first foray into such an establishment.

“We have questions for Yangmei. Please be accommodating.”
It was not Yang Xian but Bai Xian who spoke, tossing a silver ingot into the madam’s hands.

The madam examined the silver, a thumb-sized bar inscribed with the words “China Gold.” She had never heard of such a bank, but silver was silver. Instantly, her chilly demeanor melted into a fawning grin.

She called up to the second floor, “Sister Mei, you have a client—come greet them!”
A voice replied, “Coming!”

At the staircase appeared a woman of about twenty-three or twenty-four, descending gracefully in a red dress that left little to the imagination. Seeing the trio before the madam, her expression shifted momentarily, but she soon composed herself.
“Which gentleman has called for me?”
“I did,” Bai Xian stepped forward, wrinkling her nose at the overpowering cheap rouge.
“I have a few questions. Answer them well and these will be yours.” She revealed several more silver bars in her palm.

These silver bars were ones she had exchanged for in a gold shop back on Earth. Gold, with her limited means, was costly, but silver was cheap back home, so she had stowed plenty in her “little treasury.”

Yangmei’s eyes gleamed, clearly entranced by the silver.
“Please, miss—ask whatever you wish. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Do you know He Shan?”
Yangmei nodded without hesitation.
“Yes, he’s requested my company several times here.”
“Have you seen him recently?”
“No, I haven’t. He said he was out escorting a shipment. It’s been nearly half a month since he last came.”
“Does he have any other acquaintances in Jinjiang County?”
“You think I’d know? He’s only a client; how would I know such things?”

Bai Xian smiled, saying nothing of Yangmei’s answer, and tossed the silver bars into her arms.
“If you see He Shan, report to Scarface Cai Wei at the yamen. There’s a reward.”
Overjoyed, Yangmei agreed at once.
“Certainly, certainly.”

With nothing useful gleaned, the three left Spring Breeze Pavilion.

“How much of what she said do you believe?” Yang Xian asked as soon as they were outside.

“None of it. She’s definitely seen He Shan recently.”

The plump Daoist Zhang Xuan frowned. “Miss Bai, how can you be so sure?”

“When she saw us, her demeanor shifted for a split second. When I mentioned He Shan, her eyes darted down and she kept repeating the same gesture with her hands—classic signs of lying.”

Zhang Xuan pondered, recalling Yangmei’s behavior. There did seem to be such signs, but it couldn’t be proof enough of a lie, could it?

Bai Xian said, “Whether it’s a lie or not, we’ll soon find out.”

…

After Bai Xian’s group left, Yangmei lingered uneasily in the brothel for another half hour. She hurried through entertaining a customer, then found the madam in the main hall.
“Mama, I’m not feeling well today. May I take the night off and go home early?”

The madam wasn’t unkind, and Yangmei had brought in a tidy profit that day. She agreed at once, telling her to rest and perhaps fetch some medicine from the clinic.

After expressing her thanks, Yangmei changed into plain clothes to cover her delicate figure, then slipped out the back door. With the silver she’d received, she bought some takeout food from the next-door tavern and half a jin of braised pork before hurrying home.

Like He Shan, Yangmei had been an orphan since childhood—a street urchin, sold into the brothel at twelve by traffickers. She’d lost her innocence there and remained for ten years.

As for her relationship with He Shan, it was far more complicated than she’d implied to Bai Xian. As children, the two had wandered the streets together, relying on each other for survival. Then Yangmei was abducted, and they were separated for years. Only much later did He Shan, led on by fellow escorts, find his way to Spring Breeze Pavilion. When they met again, one was already sunk deep into the red dust, the other still struggling at the bottom. One felt unworthy of the other, while the other thought the first would find someone better. And so, inexplicably, they became madam and client.

Yangmei’s home was not far from the brothel—a dilapidated little courtyard. She soon reached her door, unlocked it, and pushed the wooden gate open with her shoulder. After locking up and putting down her things, she laid out the food on the table but did not eat, simply resting her chin in her hands and staring blankly at the spread.

Time passed unnoticed.

From the alley next door came footsteps, and soon a thin, wiry man entered the courtyard—not through the main gate, but crawling through a dog hole in the corner of the wall.

Yangmei hurried to help him up.
“I told you to use the front door—why do you always take the hole?”

The man stood, revealing an unremarkable face—none other than He Shan himself.
“Someone’s looking for me. If I use the front door, others might see and bring trouble to you.”

“There’s no one else ever around here,” Yangmei replied, only to change the subject awkwardly. “A client tipped me some silver today, so I bought some food from the restaurant—your favorite braised pork. Come, have a taste.”

She seated He Shan at the table and went to fetch rice from the pot—two rough porcelain bowls, one barely larger than a baby’s palm, the other piled high.

He Shan took the heaping bowl.
“You’re only having this little?”

Yangmei smiled. “I already ate at Spring Breeze Pavilion. This is just for show.”

“Oh,” He Shan said, untroubled. The girls at the brothel often ate the leftover food from guests.

He dug in, eating ravenously. For some reason, his hunger had grown insatiable these past two days, only meat could fill him, and he often found himself salivating over raw flesh.

“Eat slowly, there’s more in the pot,” Yangmei said, a gentle smile playing on her lips as she watched him devour the meal.

He Shan looked up from his bowl, gazing at her in a daze. The setting sun cast a golden glow behind her, her windblown hair sparkling like stars, her cheeks softened into dreamlike beauty.

She was exquisite.

He blurted out, “Sister Mei, you’re so beautiful…”