It had rained continuously for several days, leaving Sui Anlan completely listless and thoroughly dispirited.
Fortunately, heaven showed favor today, finally granting a rare clear sky.
Sui Anlan was by nature someone who couldn’t sit idle; she immediately went downstairs to wander around. On the street below, hawkers’ shouts echoed one after another. Everything felt novel to her, and she bought a bit of this and a bit of that, spending most of her spiritual stones in no time.
Strolling along, she arrived at the pier. A few black-canopied boats were moored at the shore. An elderly man wearing a bamboo hat caught sight of her, his eyes lighting up as he quickly hurried over to greet her: “Little lady, are you taking a boat ride? Where would you like to go?”
Sui Anlan waved her hand. “I’m not going anywhere in particular.”
“Oh? You don’t look like a local, young lady. Are you heading home?” the elderly man asked warmly.
Sui Anlan’s hand holding a chestnut froze. She stared blankly into the distance, lost in thought.
Home? She had no home, nor any family.
Firefly butterflies were not creatures that lived in clans, and she ultimately didn’t belong to Yunxi Town, she couldn’t stay in the inn for the rest of her life.
Where should she go? Sui Anlan stood dazed; she had never thought about this question before.
“Hey there! Guest, where are you headed?” A burly man shoved his way over, roughly interrupting her thoughts. His face was plastered with a flattering smile as he rudely shooed the elderly man away: “This old bag’s boat is small and leaks wind, rowing slower than a turtle! Why not take a look at my boat…”
The old man squeezed out a bitter smile to Sui Anlan, retreating to a corner in disappointment to sit down.
Sui Anlan felt uncomfortable watching this.
“No need, I’ll take this old gentleman’s boat.” Sui Anlan bypassed the burly man and hopped onto the old man’s boat.
“Old gentleman, let’s go,” she called out.
The elderly man nodded repeatedly. Ignoring the burly man’s glaring expression of rising anger, he hurriedly untied the rope, picked up the oars, and began rowing.
The oars rippled through the water. Sui Anlan narrowed her eyes into the distance, where clear, bright sunlight spilled over the surface of the river, illuminating the entire lake in a shimmering glow.
She cast a glance back at Yunxi Town behind her.
The main street was bustling with traffic and people. The shouting of vendors intermingled with the soft laughter of passersby. Unlike in past days, everyone carried a warm smile on their face.
She suddenly thought of her Benefactor. When he departed, had he ever turned back to look?
Yunxi Town grew further and further away.
“Old gentleman, tell me, where in this wide world is the best place to be?” Sui Anlan leaned over the bow of the boat, dipping a snow-white arm as fair as jade into the water.
The cool river water washed over her wrist. Flowing past her fingertips, it also carried away the restlessness in her heart.
Hearing this, the elderly man chuckled softly and said, “Do you rarely travel far from home, young lady? We aren’t far from the capital why not head to the capital to take a look?”
The capital?
Sui Anlan sat up, blinking her eyes. Since she had already concealed her demonic aura, why not go explore?
“The capital is full of wealthy folks, with plenty of fun things to do and pretty things to see. Will you consider it, young lady?” The elderly man had a flattering smile—most importantly, he could earn a much higher fare from this journey.
He chuckled merrily, leaving that last bit of truth unsaid.
“Alright! Let’s go to the capital.” Sui Anlan chewed on a chestnut, peeled another, and handed it to him.
“No, no need—” Before the old man could finish speaking, she stuffed it right into his mouth, leaving him to express his thanks indistinctly: “Thank… thank you…”
The journey took half a month. By the time they reached the capital, early summer had already arrived.
Along the way, the old man told Sui Anlan many things about the capital steamed soup dumplings, Ruyi cakes, date paste pastries. Listening to him made Sui Anlan’s mouth water continuously.
He mentioned there was also a type of pavilion dressed in green, inside of which lived many beauties.
The moment Sui Anlan pictured a pavilion filled with beauties, her smile broadened until her mouth couldn’t close. A place where beauties gathered, wouldn’t that be paradise on earth?
After landing ashore and bidding farewell to the elderly man, she headed straight toward this brothel.
Sui Anlan first slipped into a deserted alleyway, transforming into a butterfly to fly inside the brothel. Initially, she merely sucked nectar from the flower clusters in the courtyard. Although she was a demon who didn’t need to rely on flower nectar to fill her stomach like ordinary butterflies, having gone half a month without food, she wasn’t picky.
Speaking of which, that elderly man seemed different from ordinary mortals. Over the past half month, Sui Anlan had been unable to perceive his dreamscape at all, let alone feed on it.
Sigh, Sui Anlan let out a soft sigh. In these chaotic times, every person is truly fathomless.
Just as she perched on a flower petal, a pair of jade-white hands suddenly cupped around her, accompanied by a maiden’s joyful exclamation: “I caught it!”
The fragrance emanating from the owner of those hands was richer than fresh flowers, yet not at all overpowering.
Just as Sui Anlan was about to grow dizzy from the scent, the pair of hands slowly opened, revealing the maiden’s face: her hair was styled in a Hundred-Flower Bun, her eyebrows shaped like a new moon, with bright eyes and white teeth. She wore a pomegranate-red dress, radiating a graceful, ethereal beauty.
“This butterfly isn’t afraid of people at all,” Shen Xianhao remarked with a trace of surprise.
Sui Anlan flew onto the webbing of her hand, affectionately rubbing against her skin.
“Could this butterfly be so captivated by our Lady Shen’s beauty that it’s completely spellbound?” a little maid beside her teased with a smile.
“Nonsense,” Shen Xianhao shot her a gentle glare, yet couldn’t help stealing a few more glances at the butterfly in her hand.
Just as they were speaking, an ill-intentioned voice suddenly sounded from behind: “Yo, whose beauty is grand enough to leave a butterfly spellbound?”
Shen Xianhao’s face paled with fright, and she quickly dropped to her knees: “Sister must be joking. It was just us being foolish and messing around.”
Sui Anlan looked up. The newcomer appeared to be roughly the same age as Shen Xianhao, followed by a group of younger courtesan sisters.
Begonia’s lips curled into a mocking smirk as she coldly scrutinized Shen Xianhao kneeling on the ground. Arrogance dripped from her brow, making her otherwise pretty face appear somewhat mean and harsh.
Stepping forward at a leisurely pace, she caught sight of the butterfly resting on the back of Shen Xianhao’s hand. Her expression turned gloomy: “Unlucky beast.”
As Begonia spoke, she stomped her foot down! She missed the butterfly, instead stomping heavily onto Shen Xianhao’s hand!
“Ah!” Shen Xianhao cried out in pain, wanting to pull her hand back yet not daring to move.
Seeing this, the crowd behind Begonia quickly covered their mouths, sneaking laughs.
Who in this Yixiang Pavilion didn’t know that Begonia couldn’t stand Shen Xianhao? Every time they met, Begonia would ridicule her. Since Shen Xianhao possessed a gentle, non-confrontational nature, and everyone felt bored staying inside the pavilion, they simply treated it as a piece of entertainment.
Hearing their laughter, Begonia turned her head back with a frown. Seeing her displeasure, the crowd hastily cut their laughter short.
“This is a brothel. Don’t go parading around with that face of yours so often,” Begonia warned Shen Xianhao before leading her group away.
The maid helped Shen Xianhao to her feet, saying indignantly: “Miss Begonia only knows how to bully you!”
Looking at the red, swollen patch on the back of her hand, Shen Xianhao let out a sigh: “In the past… she wasn’t like this.”
What a powerful aura of sorrow!
Sui Anlan sensitively caught a whiff of this aura. Starving as she was, she quickly flew onto the back of Shen Xianhao’s hand, fluttering her wings.
Shen Xianhao gasped, prompting her alarmed maid to ask: “Miss, what is it?”
“It’s nothing,” Shen Xianhao shook her head. Why did she feel that ever since this butterfly flew onto her hand, the pain had vanished?
Instead, a soothing, cool sensation rolled across the back of her hand.
Shen Xianhao lowered her eyes, treating it as a mere illusion. Seeing that this butterfly seemed to understand human nature slightly, a fond affection welled up in her heart, and she brought it back to her room.
At first, she worried Sui Anlan would fly away. Later, seeing that the butterfly only circled around her, she relaxed her heart entirely.
Later in the evening, Shen Xianhao sent her maid to ask the madame for a potted flower.
When the maid walked in carrying a pot of evening primroses, the smile on Shen Xianhao’s face froze. She asked, “How come it’s evening primroses?”
The maid replied, “When I went to the Madame’s room, Miss Begonia was there as well. She was the one who told me to bring this flower.”
Shen Xianhao stared at the pot of evening primroses, her eyes unfocused as if lost in deep thought. After a moment, she said, “Leave it there then.”
The maid acknowledged her with a nod, set it down, and withdrew.
Looking at the evening primroses on the table before her, Shen Xianhao’s delicate brows knit slightly.
Sui Anlan flew onto the petals of the evening primroses to sip nectar. As she drank, she kept her eyes on Shen Xianhao. Her demon instincts told her that the relationship between Shen Xianhao and Begonia was far from simple.
However, right now she had no interest in their grievances, thinking only of filling her stomach.
Thus passed a few days in peace. Shen Xianhao treated her wonderfully, and the first thing she did upon opening her eyes every morning was check if the butterfly was still alive.
Sui Anlan thoroughly enjoyed days like these.
As summer set in, the weather grew hotter and hotter.
Along the carved railings on the third floor, the madame’s hand fan fluttered without pause. The main hall, which used to be packed with patrons, now sat sparsely populated with merely two tables of guests.
She let out a heavy sigh, complaining wistfully: “This ghost weather is wicked hot! The maidens in my pavilion can’t even hold a candle to someone else’s bowl of cold tea!”
“Madame, someone is looking for you,” a maid reported.
“Who?” The madame frowned. Before the maid could speak, noisy commotion sounded from the entrance.
“Why won’t you let me in?! We’re all in the same line of work, why can’t I come see your madame?” A man wearing powder and rouge shouted at the top of his lungs at the entrance.
With one hand resting on his waist and the other pointing aggressively at the servant blocking him, he cursed continuously. His scholar’s cap hung crooked at the back of his head, revealing a pink flower tucked behind his ear.
“Hurry up and call your madame out to meet me!” The man spoke loudly, quickly attracting a crowd of onlookers.
“What’s all the racket?”
The madame stormed out the door, assuming someone was making trouble. Just as she was about to blow her top, her eyes fell upon the ostentatious, showy man, and her brows instantly twisted into a tight knot.
“I take it you are the one in charge here?” The man bowed to her.
“I don’t lack people serving here, and I don’t hire old male courtesans,” the madame rolled her eyes at him, her tone dripping with impatience.
As soon as the words left her mouth, the crowd erupted into a burst of boisterous laughter.
“You!”
The man’s face flushed red with rage, his fingers trembling violently. It took him a long moment to recover: “Humph! I am the proprietor of the Nanfeng Hall that just opened across the street. As neighbors who see each other every day, I originally intended to bring some gifts to meet you earlier, Sister, but I’ve been terribly busy these past few days and only managed to free up time today.”
As the proprietor spoke, he shot a glance behind him, whereupon his attendants brought forward two trays covered in red cloth.
The surrounding crowd craned their necks, eager to see what was underneath.
The madame felt her heart sink. This fellow was spitting venom and cursing on the street just a moment ago, only to turn around with an eager-to-please presentation. What scheme is this old rascal hatching?
The proprietor pulled away the red cloth with a flourish. In an instant, a dazzling halo of light burst forth, nearly blinding the onlookers!
It was top-grade spiritual stones!
The proprietor’s face was plastered with a wide smirk: “A small token of goodwill—I hope you’ll accept it, Sister.”
Looking at his smirking face, the madame felt a surge of irritation. In a place as vast as the capital, why did his Nanfeng Hall have to open directly across from her Yixiang Pavilion?
A so-called Nanfeng Hall was no different from a brothel, except that those serving inside were all men. Making such a grand spectacle, was he here to provoke her?
The madame’s heart throbbed with anger.
“Then I thank you for your kind intentions, Proprietor. It’s just that this gift is far too grand for us to accept.”