Joy of Life

Baoyue Brothel was not a simple place. Seeing this well-hidden peephole, Fan Xian knew what was going on behind the scenes at this brothel. For as much money as they would earn from the prostitution trade, the proprietors would also collect information obtained from the eavesdropping upon the dialogue of officers who visited the place, those who thought they could spend their time privately and freely. If Fan Xian hadn’t been as attentive as he was, few would be privy to the knowledge that someone lurked behind the bathroom.

Sang Wen looked at him strangely, bit her teeth, and then fell to her knees before Fan Xian.

Fan Xian smiled gently, but did not stop her. He decided to make a quick sweep of the room to ensure there weren’t any more peepholes, so that their discussions could not be heard. As for why she fell to her knees, he was able to tell; but he chose not to say anything. He sat upon a chair and grabbed a blanket. He lay it across Yan’er, who remained unconscious upon the bed and as he did so, he said, “I ask, you answer.”

Sang Wen understood. She pulled herself back to her feet. She was of the guise that she was looking forward to having a talk with Fan Xian, and then walked in front of him. She gazed behind him and Fan Xian shook his head. He couldn’t spare the time to explain what he had done to Yan’er, but he wanted to bring comfort to her mind, at the very least. “She won’t wake up for a while, so there is no fear of her eavesdropping. You should relax.”

Sang Wen nodded in response.

Fan Xian was aware that Sang Wen had previously worked at another brothel called Tianchang Bordello. He did not ask what brought the Tianchang Bordello to shutter its doors for good, nor did he ask what terms the Baoyue Brothel used to employ Sang Wen. Those would be pointless questions to ask, so he said, “Do you have a contract with Baoyue Brothel?”

Sang Wen suddenly looked rather joyful, acknowledging that Fan Xian sought to help her out of her current situation with the brothel. She quickly responded, “Yes. But they forced...”

He did not wait for Sang Wen to finish her sentence, and so he continued, “Today, they had you serve me. Did they arrange this?” Fan Xian had assumed the unimportant identity of “Mister Chen”, so why would they have someone as distinguished as Sang Wen to perform exclusively for him?

Sang Wen decided to place her entire faith in Fan Xian, knowing that only the famous Overwatch Council’s Commissioner could release her from this esoteric establishment and perhaps even aid her in obtaining some sort of vengeance over the closure of the Tianchang Bordello that Baoyue was responsible for. She said, “I overheard that the people that run this establishment believe you are an officer of the Ministry of Justice, and that you have come here to investigate a homicide. That is why they sent out Yan’er.”

Fan Xian started laughing. He wondered how the brothel saw through his disguise, but was amused that they believed him to be an officer of a wholly different department. Sang Wen looked at him and said, “Your follower possesses the aura of someone who belonged to the government, and it scares people.”

That would be Deng Ziyue.

Fan Xian gestured to change the subject, and told her, “I would like to know something. Could you guess who the owner of Baoyue Brothel is?” Fan Xian used the word “guess” because inside the Overwatch Council, someone had been purposely concealing this person’s identity. Therefore, it was highly unlikely that she would know of this person. But still, she had worked and lived here, and this was one of Fan Xian’s only leads.

Even though Sang Wen did not know why the Overwatch Council was so invested in this topic, she still tried her hardest to remember. She was unsure, but said, “It must have something to with the Minister Lane. Whenever the Baoyue owner arrives, they do so in great secret. Despite that, however, the carriage this person uses to arrive is always the same. There are no signets on the carriage referencing any particular family or household, but I have seen its roof cluttered with many fallen leaves. I know of which tree such leaves belong to, and it is a native tree of the northern Qi Kingdom. In the entire capital, only the Minister Lane hosts such carriages.”

Fan Xian looked at her, and seeing this, she continued, “When I was young, I lived in Minister Lane, so I know all about it.”

Fan Xian then asked, “Who is the woman that manages this place?”

“Her surname is Yuan.”

Sang Wen’s dialogue came thick and fast, but sure and gentle. Fan Xian appreciated her aid and earnestness, and told her, “You are quite astute. You could most certainly work within my Council.”

Those that lived in Minister Lane were not actually all ministers. It was a place where many barons resided; the extremely noble sorts who helped in the founding of the kingdom. But now, the Emperor was strict in his ruling of the kingdom, so the influence and illegal dealings that were often done by the barons were few. They were well-behaved.

And in regards to this Ms. Yuan, Fan Xian simply smiled and thought about Hongcheng’s subordinate, Lady Yuan Meng.

With this heap of new intelligence, Fan Xian was more than satisfied with today’s outcome. His near-interrogation of Sang Wen had now turned into a friendly chat, due to how pleased Fan Xian was. Following their conversation, he was now aware that Baoyue Brothel had quite the background. The establishment had only been open since the summer, but in this short time, they had already been able to bring ruin to a number of other brothels in the capital. The method they used to accomplish this was bloody, and the brutality of their methods was what led to Sang Wen being within their employ.

“Within two days, I will have someone buy you out.” Fan Xian was not being helpful out of the kindness of his heart – he merely thought this to be a fair exchange. And having a singer like this relegated to performing in a brothel, of all places, was a waste of talent. Besides, even Wan’er adored this person, too. Therefore, he decided to arrange for someone in the council to visit, pay a fee, and deliver Sang Wen away from the brothel. He also thought that this would test the respect that the brothel’s owner held for the Overwatch Council.

Sang Wen was overwhelmed with joy. She had always been precarious during her time in Baoyue Brothel. She had even witnessed prostitutes from another establishment being beaten to death. She spent every moment in the brothel thinking of how to escape. She had only met Fan Xian once before, but she never thought of seeking him out due to their estrangement. She could never have dreamed that she would meet him again on this day, and to be made this promise. With Fan Xian’s position in the government, his plan would definitely go through. Due to her newfound happiness, she burst into tears and fell to her knees, thanking him.

Fan Xian had already seen her on her knees once, so he did not want it to happen again. He moved toward her and picked her up.

At that moment, from outside the room, there was a roar of utter fury.

“I’m going to kill you!”

After this bark from a middle-aged man, the door was broken into pieces. The shadow of a man quickly entered and rushed towards Fan Xian, throwing the palm of his hand in the direction of his chest.

“No!” Sang Wen was brought to terror and fell back down to the floor. As she looked at the assailant, she saw how his face had been wrapped up, masking his identity.

The palm was like a blade going towards Fan Xian’s face. He avoided the blow by turning his stance sideways and did not look back. Pulling his hand from out of his sleeves, he threw out his own palm towards the attacker.

The palm Fan Xian extended looked to be moving really slow, but this was merely an illusion. By the time the aggressor could cast another move, Fan Xian’s arm had extended to its fullest.

The palm coursed through the air at a plodding velocity, yes, but it was stable and of a directly composed trajectory. It slightly came into contact with the enemy’s hand.

And from this gentle collision erupted a deafening sound.

The foe who had entered the room with the speed and aggression of lightning and thunder, now made his exit with the momentum of a rocket. Through the force of Fan Xian’s palm, he had been launched out of the room as if he were the rock upon a catapult.

The wooden door that had already been shattered was now strewn about with this final smash. The enemy did not solely get thrown through the door frame, either, but he was launched far across the yard, all the way to the gate and into the pond there. A massive splash was heard.

Fan Xian then continued to stand there, as if nothing had happened.

Sang Wen, after viewing this scene, let out a loud scream over the fright and shock she had just experienced. In her mind, however, she was thinking, “Oh my days! A guy who seems so gentle wields such incredible power?”

She did not think about the attack Fan Xian had just committed, and quickly stood up. With tears still rolling down her face, she grabbed the length of her skirt and ran outside toward the pond. She wondered if the person who attacked Fan Xian was dead or alive.

Fan Xian looked down at his hands and noticed the presence of some dirt, which told him that his assailant had most likely been crouched down in the bushes outside. With a concerned expression, he humorously thought to himself, “With poor skills like that, he must be a reckless man.”

Sang Wen was pretty popular in the capital and it was expected of her to have fanatical obsessives following her, tasking themselves with her protection. Even though these captivated followers of Sang Wen could not beat the muscle of the Baoyue Brothel that guarded her, they still did their best to ensure her safety by protecting her from the shadows – to the best of their abilities, leastways. That one fighter must have been waiting in the yard for hours. Sang Wen had finished her performance a while ago and hadn’t exited the room for a long time since, so he must have thought Fan Xian was doing something awful to her. That most likely prompted the attack.

Fan Xian knew that this situation could not be hidden from anyone, so he ran into the yard, as well. At this time, Deng Ziyue was already at Fan Xian’s side with a grizzled expression. Shi Chanli, however, was still off in the land of nod. Fan Xian gazed over at Deng, the man whom he had selected to be at the head of Qinian Unit, and gave him a look of approval.

He wasn’t just satisfied with the speed at which Deng Ziyue woke up and sprung to his side, but he was satisfied with the results of his very own attack.

After he finished his attack, he reflected upon the time that he went to the capital from Danzhou and practiced in the Cang Mountains. He had been an ambassador to the northern Qi Kingdom and traveling on the road was an arduous trial, but one that proved fruitful in the betterment of his fighting abilities. The pressure of the road, combined with the battle he fought alongside Xiao En on the cliffs of Shangjing, and even with the fight against Haitang; he had received so many varying influences and witnessed so many different tactics and methods of combat, he had now combined them all into one. He believed that his power had now reached a level that was almost terrifying.

If this had happened before, his attack might have utterly destroyed his opponent’s right arm. But now, to possess this power, would it ever again be possible for him to suppress an enemy without killing them? Thinking of this, in his heart, Fan Xian expressed gratitude to Haitang and the late Xiao En. But of course, most of all, he appreciated the faith Chen Pingping always placed in him, and the opportunities he had provided.

He did not need to thank Wu Zhu, however, for he was family.

The pond’s water was still disturbed, and ripples continued to formulate. Whether or not the man who was floating upon its restless water was dead or alive remained to be seen. It was a dark night, though, and the blood that had seeped into the water was unable to be seen by those who had gathered there.

In a brief time following this event, the festivities of the Baoyue Brothel resumed, and the body of the man had been brought to shore with a net.

The Baoyue Brothel’s guards gathered around the pond, and in their midst was a good-looking, albeit aged woman. She possessed an expression of terror at first, but then approached Fan Xian to say, “I could not protect you, Mister Chen. This was all my fault.”

Her face seemed to show a combination of both fear and apology, but if one looked closely, her eyes told a different story. Behind that veil, she was looking upon Fan Xian with a certain coldness, and a desire to test him.