A beautiful and charming courtesan knelt down to remove Fang Jie's boots. Fang Jie was startled and instinctively flinched. But he immediately realized his behavior was hardly befitting a customer, so he chuckled to cover his embarrassment: "No rush, no rush, how about having a few drinks with me first?"
The courtesan hummed in agreement and rose to pour Fang Jie a drink.
Fang Jie sat down again and asked, "What's your name?"
The girl's face wore a trained, professional smile, like a ripe peach, but her deliberate attempt at allure wasn't very successful: "My name is Zhuang Die. What's your name, sir?"
"Zhuang Die?"
Fang Jie immediately thought of Zhuangzi's butterfly dream, but that story didn't exist in this world.
"My surname is Fang."
Fang Jie smiled and replied.
"Young Master Fang."
Zhuang Die called out, obediently raising her wine cup to Fang Jie's lips. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but finally mustered the courage to sit on Fang Jie's lap. This was something she had learned over the years; although she hadn't actually used it yet, she knew how to please a man.
Fang Jie's body stiffened slightly, but he didn't stop Zhuang Die from sitting down. After all, today he was playing the role of a pleasure-seeking customer. He drank the wine Zhuang Die brought to his lips, his mind wandering as he smelled the girl's fragrance. In a different environment, perhaps Fang Jie wouldn't feel so uncomfortable. But in a brothel, he couldn't help feeling awkward. His past life's mindset prevented him from naturally enjoying the service of a brothel woman; he still felt a thief-like embarrassment.
"Where are you from?"
He intended to distract himself; after all, he wasn't a saint, and remaining unmoved by a woman's advances was ultimately difficult.
"I don't know..."
Zhuang Die smiled and shook her head. "My mother bought me here when I was very young, to learn my craft in this brothel. She seemed to have told me that our hometown was somewhere in Jiangnan. There were too many children in the family, and they couldn't make ends meet, so she sold me and an older sister. As for where we were from, my mother forgot, so how would I know?"
Although she smiled as she spoke, her expression was sorrowful and melancholic.
Fang Jie looked at her expression and realized there wasn't much sincerity in it. Her pitiful appearance was mostly an act, and he immediately understood. This feigned pitifulness was one of the ways courtesans pleased men; if a customer felt sorry for her, they might give her more money.
Considering that this girl had probably been in this brothel since she was very young, she indeed had little concept of her hometown. But her heart was definitely not as sorrowful and melancholic as she appeared. Fang Jie knew that courtesans like her were the brothel's cash cows, sold at a very high price the first time. Therefore, before receiving customers, they were often kept like prostitutes. They were well-fed and clothed, and no one mistreated them. Besides, they weren't forcibly bought or kidnapped; they already knew what kind of life they would face.
Their pitiful appearance was all for the sake of more money.
People say actors are heartless and prostitutes are cold-blooded. Fang Jie had no prejudice against courtesans, but today he had truly witnessed their skills. He thought to himself that this girl was still young. If they were seasoned veterans, they would be excellent actresses if they wanted to feign pitifulness and act cute.
"Oh..."
Fang Jie hummed in agreement. "Then your background is indeed pitiful. Don't worry, things will get better."
Zhuang Die was secretly delighted, thinking she had charmed this young master. She pressed her head against Fang Jie's chest and said, "I'm already a pitiful person; what good life could I possibly have? I just hope you'll be gentle with me and not hurt me. If you don't mind, just come back and visit this poor woman from time to time."
After saying this, she began to rub against Fang Jie. Her already well-developed breasts rubbed against Fang Jie's chest, while her slender hands wrapped around his neck. Initially, Fang Jie, seeing her innocent appearance, hesitated to make a move. But now, realizing he was in a brothel, how could he have been so foolish?
If he hadn't come today, she might be clinging to someone else's neck, feigning pitifulness.
Thinking of this, Fang Jie felt no remorse. He slipped his lips inside Zhuang Die's clothes and collar, kissing her haphazardly a few times. Zhuang Die let out a few sweet moans. Even knowing the moans were acted, Fang Jie's heart still fluttered.
This girl's skills were indeed remarkable; soon, she had Fang Jie aroused, his breathing becoming heavy. His manhood also began to stir. The girl straddled him, her small buttocks rubbing back and forth, the sensation indescribable. Zhuang Die placed Fang Jie's hands on her buttocks and began to unbutton her clothes. As soon as she untied two buttons, a patch of fair, water-like skin dazzled Fang Jie's eyes.
According to the custom of the Central Plains, girls were to marry at the age of thirteen or fourteen. Zhuang Die looked to be fifteen or sixteen; in an ordinary family, she would likely already be a mother. But in this brothel, she was inexperienced in such matters, and inevitably felt a little nervous and uneasy. Her learned skills were somewhat clumsy, but ultimately, the girl herself was alluring enough.
They remained intimate for a full ten minutes, and Zhuang Die's breathing became rapid. She could feel the enormous, already erect member beneath her, and remembering the things the other girls had joked about, her heart pounded like a deer's. She wondered how she would handle something so large. But then she thought of what the older girls had said about the bigger the better, and a sense of anticipation returned.
She removed her top, revealing a red bra underneath. The girl's healthy, tender skin was exposed, as alluring as a budding flower. She grasped Fang Jie's hand, intending to place it on her chest. Just as his large hand was about to cover her breasts, the seemingly aroused young man suddenly withdrew his hand, saying, "Let's have a few drinks first."
...
...
Fang Jie picked up the thoroughly drunk Zhuang Die and placed her on the bed. He checked to make sure she was completely unconscious before feeling relieved. He removed his rather large brocade robe, revealing a black, close-fitting outfit underneath.
He pulled a black face mask from a leather pouch at his waist, first listening at the door, then checking that it was locked. After preparing, he opened the back window and looked out. Seeing no one in the backyard, he leaped out. Once outside, he hooked one hand on the windowsill and closed the window with the other.
The backyard of the Crescent Moon Pavilion housed the private residences of the high-ranking young ladies, each a small courtyard. Fang Jie landed in one of these courtyards, floating lightly without making a sound. As Fang Jie climbed over the wall from the small courtyard, he vaguely saw two naked people intertwined inside the house, their soul-stirring moans blatantly reaching his ears.
Fang Jie couldn't help but shake his head and smile, then scaled the wall.
Following the alley behind the Crescent Moon Tower, Fang Jie moved like a cheetah through the night. He quickly ran through two alleys and stopped outside the wall of a house. He listened intently for a while, and finding nothing amiss, leaped onto the wall. The courtyard wasn't small, with two sections. The front house was dark and clearly uninhabited, while a light was on in the back.
Fang Jie climbed down from the wall and, using the moonlight, quickly crossed the front courtyard to the back. He concealed himself behind a tree and looked towards the house with the light on. The light cast a shadow on the window, suggesting someone was pacing back and forth. It seemed that such a large courtyard was inhabited by only one person.
Fang Jie tiptoed closer to the room, pressing his ear against the window to listen.
The only sound inside was footsteps moving back and forth, the steps somewhat disordered. Such movement was common when someone was alone, clearly indicating unease. Fang Jie wondered what troubled the man inside. "I'll help you relieve your troubles today," he thought, "after all, we're old friends."
Just as he straightened up to blow the prepared sleeping powder into the room, the man inside suddenly muttered a curse.
"Sneaky little thief, this is no place for you to cause trouble? I'm in a bad mood today, you deserve to die!"
Fang Jie was startled, thinking, "This man is extremely wary. He's been discovered." He was about to straighten up to defend himself, but the man inside didn't move. After waiting a while, Fang Jie understood. The guy inside hadn't noticed him at all; he was just hiding something, hence his cautiousness. He figured he wouldn't have to repeat this many times throughout the night. Only someone under extreme tension would react in such a near-manic way.
Fang Jie knew the person inside the house was at least a fourth or fifth-grade cultivator. With his current strength, dealing with such a person wouldn't be difficult. The difficulty lay in not letting anyone notice; if the person inside cried out, it would inevitably attract the patrolling soldiers.
He had initially intended to use sleeping powder to incapacitate the person, but suddenly changed his mind. He rummaged through his clothes and tossed the small bottle containing the sleeping powder into a corner. A soft click was heard, and the figure inside the house froze abruptly. Then, the window was flung open with a bang, and a figure wielding a knife swooped out like a night hawk, heading straight for the source of the sound.
As soon as the person emerged, Fang Jie leaped up and nimbly vaulted into the house. The person circled the courtyard and quickly spotted the bottle of sleeping powder. Picking up the bottle and examining it, the man sneered and muttered to himself, "So there really are some reckless thieves who dare to come in here. Not bad, though; I didn't even notice them outside the house."
This sleeping powder was something only low-life thieves would use; renowned masters would never stoop to such a level. But Fang Jie had no such awareness; he used whatever worked.
The man circled the courtyard, then leaped onto the wall to look around. After confirming no one was there, he turned back, grabbed his sword, jumped into the house through the window, and closed it. As soon as he turned around, he saw a man in black squinting at him. He was terrified and instinctively swung his sword.
The slash unexpectedly carried a chilling aura, but before it could be unleashed, the man in black slammed a powerful punch into his abdomen. The force of the punch was beyond imagination; the man's body bent forward, and before he could even cry out, the man in black gagged him. Then, the man in black struck the back of his neck, and the man collapsed limply to the ground.
Fang Jie took out an extremely strong cowhide rope from his leather pouch and bound the man tightly. After gagging him, he carefully examined the room. The man's cautious guarding of the room indicated something was making him uneasy.
Fang Jie searched the room carefully for a while but found nothing. He couldn't linger, and although he wanted to search more thoroughly, he had to leave quickly. He worried that if the man's accomplices returned, he would have difficulty escaping. Having caught the opportune moment and being alone, he naturally needed to leave quickly after succeeding.
Fang Jie hoisted the man onto his shoulder, not blowing out the candle, and quickly left through the window, following the man's footprints.
He dashed through two alleys, carefully avoiding the patrolling soldiers, dropped the man under a locust tree, and immediately turned to leave. As he left, Chen Qingshan, who had been waiting in the locust tree for half an hour, gracefully descended, grabbed the man, and quickly disappeared into the night.
Fang Jie returned to Xinyue Tower the same way. Passing the courtyard again, he found the people inside still engaged in a passionate encounter. Fang Jie thought to himself, "Good physique!" and then slipped back into Tingyu Pavilion through the back window.
He quickly changed his clothes and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Zhuang Die, who was still fast asleep, her clothes mostly removed.
He racked his brains, thinking… to go, or not to go?