CH 33

Chapter 33 – Fragrance Tucked in the Sleeves

Rising Fragrance House

TL Note: 3rd Mantra of Soul Song, Sealing Soul, changed to Bestowing Soul.

The Liu Province was a magnificently flourishing Province, far more than the You Province. Even in comparison to the Eastern Qin Province, it was still over ten times more prosperous.

The border area known as the Jiujiang Region was established in a strategic location where three rivers converged, making it adjacent to three different Provinces.

Inside the city, pavilion buildings could be seen everywhere, with countless shops of all varieties lining the streets. Even though the night had just begun, the wide streets had long been lit up with a myriad of multi-colored lanterns, making it seem as bright as daytime.

Xu Disheng was alone in a cozy, luxurious guest room, focusing on his sea of consciousness.

He could already use Passing Soul, the 2nd mantra of Soul Song, in a fairly practiced manner, but he still had no leads on the 3rd scripture which was called Bestowing Soul. However, he had a slight hunch that this mantra wasn’t oriented towards slaughter, but more towards supporting.

As he was deep in his thoughts, a knock came from outside the door. “Who is it?” Xu Disheng asked, spreading out his Soul Force to search the area within 15 meters of him.

The door was pushed open, and a youth wearing embroidered satin clothes entered. “Senior Martial Brother Sheng, I can’t fall asleep. This place is so lively, so we should go out and play.”

It was Su. His feelings towards Xu Disheng were extremely complex, since he was the person who changed his destiny. He was only a boy between 11 and 12 years old after all, so he couldn’t hide his thoughts so easily. It was clear that he always wanted to be close to Xu Disheng.

Xu Disheng lifted his gaze to look at him. “If you don’t work hard at your cultivation and only think about playing around every day, how are you going to survive in the Shangqing Sacred Sect? That place is nowhere near as easy as here. The life there is tough and cruel beyond belief.”

Su let out a toothy grin. “Senior Martial Brother Sheng, you’re only a few years older than me, how could you already like lecturing so much? Blindly submerging yourself in bitter cultivation is also not the way to go. I cultivated profound qi for a good number of days, but it hasn’t changed one bit.” He let out a strand of Shangqing Profound Qi from his fingertip, but it was only as thin as a hair.

When Xu Disheng heard what Su said, he became momentarily distracted. It wasn’t because of much; just that the phrase ‘you’re only a few years older than me’ he uttered caused his normally stable mental state to stir slightly. He thought to himself: Why do I always have the recollection that I have endured this kind of cultivation lifestyle for countless years? It feels so habitual, so natural to me. How could I forget that I was only 15 years old? Just what are these fuzzy memories in my head?

Xu Disheng knitted his brows as Shangqing Profound Qi began roiling around his body. His Daoist robe began to flutter although there was no wind, and his long, pitch-black hair began to float. The chairs and tables in the room began to vibrate. He couldn’t control his aura that was almost at the Cleansed Meridians stage, and it pressed down on Su so hard that it nearly forced him to the ground.

“Senior Martial Brother Sheng, what’s wrong?!” Su shouted anxiously. Su was extremely quick-witted, and he could tell at a glance that there was something wrong with Xu Disheng’s state.

A breath of refreshing, cool qi entered his heart and traveled throughout his body, suppressing the mess of disorderly thoughts in his mind. It was none other than the effect of the top quality Martial Treasure, the Muddy Heart Jade. Top quality Martial Treasures were only a step inferior to Spirit Tools. In the Secret Realms, they were considered to be extremely precious items.

When Xu Disheng regained his composure, he found that the truth that he had been searching for had only gotten buried far deeper into the depths of his mind. He lifted his head and said to Su with a smile, “Wait for me, let me switch clothes first.”

Su grew excited.

The Rising Fragrance House was the biggest and most popular brothel in Jiujiang City. The three-storied pavilion was built on a vast plot of land. People frequently passed through the entrance, which was decorated with many lanterns of all colors of the rainbow.

Xu Disheng stopped in his tracks and peered at Su, who was leading the way.

A little embarrassed, Su said, “Just now when I asked the servants in that restaurant where the best place to have fun and spend money quickly was, they told me it was this place.”

The attendant standing by the entrance welcoming customers had a sharp eye. He quickly caught on to those two who looked like they were the sons of nobles. One of them was a white-clothed youth with handsome red lips and white teeth, and the other was a slightly younger pretty boy. Both of their clothes were luxurious, although they seemed new here.

The attendant hurriedly stepped forward, greeting them with a flattering smile. “Young sirs, please come in. Both sirs are also here to participate in tonight’s Lantern Festival, I presume? You gotta make sure you bring enough money though,” he finished with a suggestive wink.

Su was actually somewhat eager to give it a go. He was once a beggar, and although he was clever and bright, he could barely provide adequate food and clothes for himself. He was never able to save up money. But now that he had gained the privilege, he wanted to see everything and play with everything he could.

“What Lantern Festival is this that you speak of?” Xu Disheng asked.

The attendant was surprised. “Young sir came here, not even aware of the Lantern Festival happening tonight?” Seeing both of their gazes on him, he felt pleased with himself. He continued in a bragging tone, “The Lantern Festival happens once every year in the Rising Fragrance House. It’s a famous event in Jiujiang City, and every time it occurs, sons of aristocratic families, Astral Qi martial artists, officials, local despots, and all kinds of other people all come flocking. There have even been times when Xiantian transcendents have paid a visit!”

“Why would a Xiantian transcendent come to the lantern festival of a trifling brothel?” Su asked with a smirk.

In the last few days, he had come to understand a lot of general knowledge, and he was aware of how rare Xiantian transcendents were. However, he wasn’t aware that the Eastern Qin Province and the You Province were unlike the Liu Province, in that every Region here had to have a Xiantian, given how prosperous the Liu Province was. The former Patriarchs of each of the clans were usually at the Xiantian realm as well, so on average each Region had between 2 to 3 Xiantian realm transcendents. Not to mention, aside from the Xu Clan that presided over this border area known as the Jiujiang Region, the other 3 great clans all had former Patriarchs that were at the Xiantian realm.

The attendant replied sternly, “Young sir, please watch your tongue. The Rising Fragrance House is the property of the Regional Lord. It isn’t some kind of vulgar, sultry brothel. Once you go in, you two will see why it attracts these kinds of people.”

Xu Disheng and Su shared a glance. “Lead the way then.”

The interior of the pavilion was like a completely different world with regards to its exceptional charm and beauty. Because of the Lantern Festival, the lobby was very organized, with private rooms on the second and third floor and general seating in the lobby.

Su tossed out a gold tael and requested a private room on the 2nd floor.

In the private room, there was a waiter who was there for the sole purpose of looking after the customers’ every need. Seeing that Xu Disheng and Su looked rather inexperienced, the waiter asked respectfully, “Young sirs, is this your first time attending the Lantern Festival?”

When Su nodded his head, the servant smiled. “Although it’s called the ‘Lantern Festival’, this is actually an auction.”

Xu Disheng’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, but he didn’t open his eyes.

Su’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I’d like to hear more details.”

“Gladly, it is my duty to do so. Since several decades ago, the Regional Lord has always selected a female child with Dao Channels every year, and raised her with many resources and spiritual medicines. Their progress with cultivating Astral Qi would always be extremely quick, and every year at the Rising Fragrance House’s Lantern Festival, these grown young ladies that possess Astral Qi are auctioned off. The customer that wins the auction will also be given the Plucking Yin Martial Technique along with their purchase. If the buyer wishes, they may undergo dual cultivation with the young lady, which will allow them to slowly plunder her Astral Qi to rapidly improve their own cultivation.

When Su heard this, he asked angrily, “Are these girls doing this voluntarily? What happens to them after their yin energy has been plucked?”

Xu Disheng opened his mouth at the same time, but his words were completely different. “Since these young ladies possess Astral Qi, if the customer who wins the auction has a lower cultivation and can’t control them, then what happens?”

The waiter glanced at Su but didn’t respond. On the other hand, he praised Xu Disheng, “Young sir is sharp; your words are spot on. I was just about to get to that part. Although these young ladies have Dao Channels, the Martial Technique that they were given to cultivate is called the Human Cauldron Martial Technique, which is meant to be paired with the Plucking Yin Martial Technique. From the start, the Astral Qi that the girls cultivate is very prone to be plundered through dual cultivation, and their Martial Technique completely lacks fighting power.”