Chapter 69: Rouge Gu (Part 5)

In the kitchen, Yu Chu stood on a stool, her hands protected by a cloth, as she took a plate of cakes from the steaming steamer.

Although the Guo residence lacked an alchemical furnace, it did have a steamer. The sight of it made her hands itch. Since entering the Water Moon Flower Realm, it had been half a month since she last made cakes, and she had envisioned a new variety—rose milk cakes. Seeing that the roses in the garden were blooming perfectly, she used her magical tool to stealthily cut a few blooms.

As a foundation-building cultivator, she was sharp-eyed and soon spotted a long, completely transparent centipede-like insect crawling out from under the steamer. Her face turned pale, and she quickly tossed the steaming cakes into the stove.
How could there be insects in the food for the young lady?

Yu Chu took the manado (crow) pot from her sleeve. On that day, they each had one after refining it—she and Xu Qianyu. She hadn’t used it yet. Afraid of insects, she dared not touch them and cautiously lifted the pot’s lid, closing her eyes as she aimed at the insect and shot out a fire dragon to incinerate it.

While cleaning her hands with the fragrant flower petals, several more insects crawled out from beneath the stove.
Yu Chu:!
This kitchen is filthy.
She jumped down from the stool and swept the manado (crow) pot all over the kitchen.
Then, before her eyes, she suddenly gained many points.

Yu Chu:!!
Yu Chu felt that Qianyu was truly her good fortune. Whenever she was with Qianyu, even drinking plain water brought her luck.
She quickly steamed another batch of cakes, jumped down, and followed a rapidly fleeing insect out of the kitchen. Taking advantage of her small stature, she stealthily crept into the adjacent servant’s quarters. On the bed lay a sleeping maid, wrapped in a blanket, her cheeks flushed.

Seeing the insects making a line back to the maid’s bed, Yu Chu stepped on one, and when she lifted her foot, the demon insect had turned into a pile of rouge powder. Then she earned another point.
Indeed, they were demons!

With her courage growing, Yu Chu carried a fire lotus flower with her, plucked a petal, and blew it towards the maid’s face. The effect was like breathing fire, yet it didn’t harm her. Before long, the maid began to cough, and the rouge gu insects fell from her, prompting Yu Chu to stomp on them fiercely.

She now had fifteen points; she was no longer useless!
Meanwhile, Xu Qianyu was in the room cursing.
Upon returning to the Guo residence, the originally bedridden Guo Yi had disappeared.

“Where did he go?” 

The maid Xuehua replied, “The second young master took quite a bit of silver. Based on past habits, he likely went to the Lianyufang in the north.”
The Lianyufang was a Brothel.
Xu Qianyu crossed her arms and paced back and forth, feeling quite displeased.
She had worked so hard to eliminate the gu insects from Guo Yi’s body, thinking he would be sensible and rest for a few days, but he had fallen back into old habits so quickly. Could it be that the gu insects could bring him back to life? Or were there still hidden gu insects within him that she hadn’t removed?

“Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on him?” 
Xuehua stammered, “The second young master left too hastily, and we couldn’t stop him.”
Guo Yi, in his impatient state, would pester anyone he could reach, and the maids didn’t dare to stop him; they even handed him money willingly, lest they suffer the consequences.
Understanding the nuances of the situation, Xu Qianyu stopped blaming them and instead asked, “By the way, did you cook the chicken soup I asked you to make for him?”

“We did,” Xuehua said. “After the second young master woke up, he yelled about being hungry and ate two full tables of food before saying he was full.”
Xu Qianyu’s expression hardened. Very well, giving Guo Yi two tables’ worth of food only strengthened his desire for prostitutes. She should have let him go hungry; it would have been easier.

“However, after he was full…”
Another maid nudged Xuehua with her elbow, seemingly reminding her that this information wasn’t suitable to share with the young mistress.
But she still spoke up: “Qingyan came to seduce the second young master again! He pushed her away, but she came back to cling to him, shamelessly flaunting herself in broad daylight.”

Qingyan had originally been Guo Yi’s maid, but since he was infected with the gu, he often mistreated the maids. Some maids, hoping to improve their own standing, flattered him. Although Qingyan was nominally a maid, she had effectively become Guo Yi’s concubine, with her own separate room.

Xuehua thought the second young mistress would be furious, but Xu Qianyu pondered for a moment with a cold expression: “Where does she live?”
When Xuehua led Xu Qianyu to find Qingyan, they coincidentally ran into Yu Chu, who was holding a plate of rose cakes.

As soon as Yu Chu saw her, she lifted the cakes. Xu Qianyu was quite hungry and, upon catching the fragrance, pinched one. It was soft and fragrant, and Xu Qianyu ate two more, satisfied as she clapped her hands: “Next time, add more sugar.”
“Sure, young mistress.” Yu Chu patiently waited for her to finish, quickly raising the lotus flower over her head to show her the pile of dew that had formed on it.

“So soon, you’ve gained points.” Xu Qianyu raised an eyebrow. “Where did you get the ‘snacks’?”
“Right from this room,” Yu Chu pointed at Qingyan’s quarters. “A lot of gu insects crawled out; I burned them all.”

Xu Qianyu’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this. She turned to the maid accompanying her: “Lock Qingyan up for me. Don’t let her eat anything, and don’t allow anyone to interact with her.”
The rouge gu was indeed contagious. Guo Yi had first transmitted it to Qingyan. Just as she had managed to eliminate the gu within Guo Yi, Qingyan transmitted it back to him. Now that he was going to the Lianxiang Brothel, who knew how many people he would endanger through the prostitutes.

Xu Qianyu put on her veil hat and suddenly remembered that, as a lone woman going to the pleasure district, she might be turned away at the door. Thus, she went to knock on Guo Heng’s door.
Her senior brother had entered the Water Moon Flower Realm, and it seemed he was responsible for observation, so he also couldn’t reveal his identity.
Though Guo Heng’s eyes resembled Shen Suwei’s, his temperament was colder and more subdued.

When he entered the Guo residence, the servants playing cards and gambling had already caught wind of it, standing in two rows, holding their breath. Guo Yi didn’t even glance at them as he strode straight into the room, demonstrating Guo Heng’s usual commanding presence.
In front of outsiders, he also treated her with an air of formality, his demeanor quite stern.
But she wasn’t afraid.

At this moment, she knocked twice on the door: “Brother.”
“……”

Shen Suwei set down a ledger.
Previously, the two brothers of the Guo family were unmarried and had no wives to manage the accounts, so it was all handled by Guo Heng. After being away for several months, the ledgers piled up like mountains. He had been keeping accounts in Penglai and had to do the same here, which made him somewhat sentimental.

Despite this, whenever he had free time, he still managed to read a few books.
According to Guo Heng’s personality, he must be rather indifferent towards others, so he couldn’t possibly be as close with Xu Qianyu as Zhao Qinghe was.
Xu Qianyu was outside provoking him; he originally didn’t want to respond, hoping to force her to retract her words herself.

“Brother.” Xu Qianyu, seeing that no one answered, was about to leave. “Oh, is someone out?”
“Come in.”
Xu Qianyu pushed the door open, and Guo Heng leaned back in his chair, still flipping through the ledger. The charcoal fire reflected off his raven-black hair and eyelashes. “What is it?”
Xu Qianyu said, “Brother, can you accompany me to a brothel?”

Shen Suwei was taken aback and finally looked up: “What do you want to go to a brothel for?”
“Your brother has gone to consort with prostitutes.” Xu Qianyu looked at him innocently and said, “I’m going to catch him in the act; you have to support me.”

*

Outside, the sky gradually darkened, but inside the Mercy Fragrance Shop, the sound of wine glasses clinking and laughter was lively. The sounds of giggling, dice shaking, and wine clinking intertwined, disrupting the rhythm of the Hu Xuan dance.

As soon as Guo Heng entered by lifting the curtain, someone came forward. Dressed in snowy robes with charming features, he arrived in an extravagant carriage and had already drawn attention outside.
Even though he wore a Taoist robe and appeared aloof, the madam of the brothel’s eyes lit up, seemingly not noticing. She greeted him enthusiastically, “Taoist priest has come to enjoy himself; please come in, please come in!”

However, Guo Heng’s long hand that lifted the curtain did not lower, and a petite figure followed behind him, standing beside him. Dressed in a red skirt and wearing a veil hat, she was clearly a woman.

It was rare for a man to bring a girl to a brothel. However, there were always those with special tastes. The madam scrutinized the two and asked, “Taoist priest, how would you like to play?”
“Not playing; I’m looking for someone.” Shen Suwei handed over a gold ingot, “My younger brother Guo Yi, is he inside?”
“Oh, with so many people tonight, how could I remember clearly?” The madam saw that the two were not there to spend money but to cause trouble. She smiled politely but did not take the gold, turning to slip away, only to find herself unable to leave.

A fine whip with a hook caught her by the neck.
“Are you refusing to drink in favor of a penalty?” Xu Qianyu directly took off her veil hat, pushed the madam, and ordered Shen Suwei to take back the gold. Although she had no experience going into a brothel, she had spent fourteen years in Nanling as a spoiled rich girl, knowing well that people in such pleasure houses were very slippery.
Her senior brother was so gentle and polite; he was bound to be bullied.

Zhao Mingtang’s eyes were narrow and upturned, accentuated by heavy makeup, with a tear mole beneath her eye, sharp as a willow leaf cut, very piercing. “Guo Yi just married me two days ago, and he dares to come here to find his lover? How do I know you’re not the one encouraging him?”
“Ah, I didn’t! ” The madam raised her hands in surrender, “Miss, please calm down; I wouldn’t dare!”

“If you wouldn’t dare, then bring him out; if you find him, I’ll go home and beat him, and reward you.” The girl’s voice was crisp, drawing the attention of those in the private room. “I’m not in a good mood today and must hit someone. If you can’t find him, then it means you are the one bullying me, Zhao Mingtang. I’ll wreck your place and hit you instead.”
After saying this, she tightened her grip around the madam’s neck, causing her skin to tear, making her yell in fright.

With a swift motion of her right hand, she smashed two teacups on the table, making it clear that she had come specifically to cause trouble, which frightened those peeking in back.
“I’ll go find him right away! Miss, please calm down!” The madam, still caught by the neck, turned her eyes, worried about her business. “Please sit inside for some tea to cool off, and I’ll fetch him.”
Xu Qianyu huffed and walked inside, releasing her grip.
Shen Suwei couldn’t help but glance at her.

Xu Qianyu was still young, but for some reason, she had become quite experienced in catching someone cheating.
Inside the elegant room, the madam treated the two to good food and drink, while Xu Qianyu held onto her without letting go, demanding she find Guo Yi. The madam was in quite a predicament.
On one hand, Guo Yi was a regular customer; if she offended him, it would mean losing a lucrative source of income in the future.

On the other hand, Guo Yi happened to be in bed with her establishment’s top star, Li Xuexiang, at this very moment. Li Xuexiang was her treasure, and with Zhao Mingtang so furious, if she let her see him and something happened to her beauty, would her business survive?
“Miss Mingtang, please don’t make it hard for me.” The madam smiled apologetically. “I have to search room by room; it will take some time.”
“Then you go find him.” Xu Qianyu crossed her legs, blowing on her tea. “You look for your people, and I’ll look for mine. First, tell me, which little harlots does Guo Yi usually like to hang out with?”

This was exactly what the madam was hoping for: “In the past, he mostly drank with Linglong and Xuanji; I’ll take you to find them!”
Linglong and Xuanji were twin sisters who always appeared together. The madam thought that the two of them could handle Zhao Mingtang and lessen the trouble while also buying some time.
Earlier, she had signaled to a young maid to secretly inform Guo Yi. But for some reason, Guo Yi still hadn’t come out, and Li Xuexiang was also anxious, making her restless.
“Brother, you’d better not go in.” When they reached the door of Linglong and Xuanji’s room, Xu Qianyu leaned against the door and said, “To avoid sullying your reputation.”
“Okay.” Shen Suwei did not insist, just standing at the door. After Xu Qianyu entered, he caught a glimpse of the madam sneaking away and knew she was going to inform Guo Yi personally, so he quietly followed her.

Inside the room, Linglong and Xuanji were sitting together, holding hands.
They looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, their hair styled high, dressed in identical green tunics that highlighted their snowy skin. Their beautiful faces were similar, like twin lotus flowers, with Linglong wearing gold hairpins and glass earrings, while Xuanji wore jade hairpins and cat-eye earrings to differentiate themselves.
Both were glaring at Zhao Mingtang in front of them.

Linglong said, “You are too much.”
Xuanji replied, “You probably act this fierce because you can’t keep Brother Guo, yet you’re making things difficult for us.”
Although the two young girls were talking tough, they held hands and trembled with fear.
This was because Zhao Mingtang had rolled up the whip and was tapping the pale palms of their hands one by one. Just a moment ago, she had cracked the table with a lash, forcing them to eat the two boxes of rouge in front of them.
How could one eat rouge? Wasn’t this degrading?
“Stop wasting words.” Zhao Mingtang’s gaze was terrifyingly fierce. “Eat it.”

After all, they were in a brothel, and fate was not in their hands. Linglong couldn’t withstand it any longer. She glanced at her sister, picked up the rouge, and prepared to lead by example. Xuanji also shakily picked one up.
The rouge smelled intoxicating, and after a whiff, both girls had a long, transparent rouge worm fall out of their noses.
Before Xu Qianyu could speak, their eyes widened in horror, and they screamed, hugging each other and jumping from the table onto the bed.
Xu Qianyu calmly took out the Wanyao pot and exterminated the worms.
The two girls, witnessing this scene, didn’t wait for Xu Qianyu to say anything. They rushed over, one picking up a box of rouge to smell, the fragrant mist choking them as they coughed and sneezed, expelling numerous worms, all of which were burned by Xu Qianyu.
Xuanji still found the worm extermination insufficient. She opened the rouge, gritted her teeth, and prepared to pour it into her mouth.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Xu Qianyu quickly stopped her. “You really going to eat it?”

“I…”

“Don’t eat it, it’s toxic.” Xu Qianyu snatched the rouge away, and turning around, Linglong rummaged through the drawers, holding out a large handful of unopened powder and rouge, looking eagerly at her. “Fairy, this is for you.”
Xuanji also found a bunch of earrings and hairpins, saying, “Fairy, thank you. You’ve come to save us. We didn’t recognize a great person like you and insulted you earlier…”
“No need to thank me. If you don’t want to be drained by worms in the future, don’t hang around Guo Yi. And after Guo Yi, don’t meet his guests again.” Seeing the two nodding like chickens pecking at rice, Xu Qianyu picked a small box of peach blossom rouge and paused before asking, “Do you know who Guo Yi usually likes to find?”

The two sisters exchanged glances. “He has always been a guest of Sister Li Xuexiang. Just a few days ago, Sister Li had something to do, so he came to find us.”
“Li Xuexiang…” Xu Qianyu murmured.
Once out of the room, Xu Qianyu looked around and found that Shen Suwei was nowhere to be seen, feeling somewhat angry.
These rooms were all for courtesans. What was a Taoist priest like Guo Heng running around for?
Just as she was about to ask where Li Xuexiang’s room was, a paper kite flew from the sky and landed in her hand, with her senior brother’s writing on the wings: “Third room on the left side of the second floor, ‘Jiya Pavilion.’ Quietly.”
Xu Qianyu’s lips curled into a smile as she lifted her skirt and ran downstairs, carefully pushing open the door to Jiya Pavilion and peering inside.
As soon as Xu Qianyu entered, she saw Guo Heng’s back. He was very tall, wearing a snow-white Taoist robe, spotless. He stood before a jade bead curtain, gazing ahead, and there was no one on the small bed behind the curtain.
Upon entering, Xu Qianyu immediately understood why he stood at the door.

Though the bed was not visible, she could clearly hear the sounds coming from inside. Guo Yi and Li Xuexiang were in the room, whispering, the bed creaking violently.
The room was heavily scented with incense, the dew lily scent staining her clothes. As she approached, a gust of wind brushed by, and Shen Suwei sensed it, gently tilting his head.
He saw Xu Qianyu’s two buns swaying as she was not very focused, still studying the rouge in her hand.

The faint magical energy from the inner room drifted out, suddenly becoming loud with excited voices and repeated soft cries. The dew lily seemed to have absorbed other scents, becoming overwhelmingly fragrant.
Xu Qianyu was startled, feeling lost for a moment, and abruptly looked up at her senior brother.
Since Guo Niang had collected all related scripts under the instruction of Shui Ruoshan, Xu Qianyu had never encountered matters between men and women before and had no concepts of gender. Her idle friends went to brothels, but she never followed.
This could be considered her first time in a brothel.
Earlier, she heard the faint sounds of laughter and drinking in the corridor, but it had never been this clear.

As Xu Qianyu looked, she could see her senior brother’s jade-like jaw; he remained completely still, but his face was extremely calm, even somewhat indifferent. She quickly withdrew her gaze.
They were both cultivators; she should be more professional and focus on the magical energy.
Shen Suwei indeed listened expressionlessly to the noises from the room.
He came from Beishang Palace, which was at the end of a mortal dynasty, where foolish kings and treacherous ministers indulged in debauchery, and he had seen much of such filth. To him, it was mostly disgusting and unbearable. His eyes were clear, directly piercing through the superficial allure of beauty.

Yet, in just a moment, he suddenly sensed something was off; the person beside him was strangely quiet.
He lowered his gaze.
Xu Qianyu looked somewhat wilted as she stared ahead, her eyelashes blinking incessantly. She was still composed, but her cheeks flushed all the way to her ears.
This situation was originally inconsequential, but seeing her face turn red, Shen Suwei unexpectedly felt a moment of something collapsing within him. Moreover, it felt inappropriate; she was too young, her Dao heart was not strong enough, and he hadn’t considered this thoroughly.
Suddenly, Xu Qianyu’s vision went white. Her eyes widened, and she suddenly found herself unable to see or hear anything, enveloped in silence.
Shen Suwei sealed her sight and hearing.

He gazed ahead, grasped Xu Qianyu’s wrist with his right hand, gently pushed aside the bead curtain, and stepped into the inner room.
The magical energy grew denser, the worm and the worm mother emerging, right in the midst of extermination. Leaving her behind alone, he feared she wouldn’t feel secure.
Suddenly losing her sight and hearing, Xu Qianyu felt not only insecure but also extremely flustered. As she felt her senior brother grip her wrist, she struggled like a drowning person, grasping wildly and insisting on holding his hand.

Shen Suwei sensed this and, while moving towards the inner room, grasped her hand in return.
In just a few steps, he mimicked how Xu Qianyu had held onto him that day, adjusting his fingers to firmly grasp her hand. This grip was tighter, more capable of soothing her.
Xu Qianyu had no idea how she entered.
Though she truly couldn’t hear anything, for some reason, the sounds from the inner room still buzzed in her ears like an echo.

She felt the cold pearl curtain slide over her flushed cheeks, followed by her senior brother’s cool hand grasping hers. Then, to her surprise, his icy fingers slowly slipped through her fingers, intertwining them.
Before her was a sea of pure white, her feet stumbling slightly as she was almost dragged in by her senior brother, coming to a stop. She could only feel the intense scent of dew-laden lilies in the room, so fragrant it made it hard to breathe.
Shen Suwei’s hand was like an ice spear with a sword wind that “whizzed” through the two red silk curtains, piercing through the Gu Insect (Worm) and its mother!
The voices of the two people came to an abrupt halt, as if they had been frozen into a pair of embracing ice sculptures. The red curtains, torn down by the ice spear, just happened to cover the figures of the ice sculptures.
Even if the two of them woke up, they wouldn’t be completely exposed; even if someone unexpectedly entered the room, they wouldn’t lose face.

This was very much in line with Shen Suwei’s usual meticulous style—detailed, thorough, and precise to the last millimeter.
After observing for a moment, Shen Suwei finally lowered his eyes to look at Xu Qianyu.
Xu Qianyu stood in place, her senses dulled to just three, making the presence of the other person’s breath embedded in her fingers particularly evident.
Is he really my senior brother?
No matter in this life or the last, he had never been this close to her. For a moment, she didn’t even dare to move.

Shen Suwei had originally planned to wait for the redness on her face to fade a bit before taking her out, but after staring at her for so long and seeing her cheeks remain flushed, he also sensed sharply that her fingers moved slightly, and cold sweat began to seep from her palms.
This made him inexplicably tense.
After struggling for a long time, Xu Qianyu finally steadied her nerves, realizing that the sword wind that had brushed past her cheek had stopped and had been still for quite some time. She shifted her toes and accidentally stepped on a fallen brush, kicking it away in annoyance. “Are you done killing?”
Shen Suwei released her and quickly stepped back, but the brush kicked up by Xu Qianyu left a mark on his snow-white robe: “…”

As Xu Qianyu’s senses returned, she didn’t dare to look at the person on the bed, keeping her gaze straight ahead as she quickly walked out.
Shen Suwei watched her awkward retreating figure and deliberately waited for a moment before exiting.
Xu Qianyu had already seized the old lady’s clothes, dragging her into the private room: “Li Xuexiang can’t take customers anymore. She’s raising Gu mother and will harm people; we need to investigate her.”

“Hey, that’s not possible. We have to do business when we open the door,” the old lady said bitterly. What Li Xuexiang raised was none of her business; as long as it could make money, it had nothing to do with her.
Xu Qianyu replied, “Then let my brother cover her for a month.”
Before she could finish, she was coldly interrupted by Guo Heng, who had followed them: “People from the Daoist sect do not consort with courtesans.”
Xu Qianyu paused: “Then I will cover her.”
“Guo Yi will cover her for a month,” Shen Suwei interrupted her again, first handing over two pieces of gold. “Go to Guo Mansion later to collect the silver.”

Both of them were very satisfied. The old lady managed a smile, having received the gold: “No problem. Just ask her whatever you want.”
Meanwhile, in Jiya Pavilion, as the ice spear melted away, Guo Yi woke up. Seeing the current situation, he looked regretful and hurriedly sat up to put on his clothes. “Not good. Why am I here again?”
Li Xuexiang leisurely wrapped herself in the red silk curtain. “What’s wrong, Guo Lang? You don’t recognize me again?”
Her eyes were long and slightly upturned, a pair of captivating fox-like eyes with cherry lips. Although she was in her twenties, her skin was still as smooth as cream, and her black hair flowed like clouds.
Guo Yi said, “I….I just married Zhao Mingtang. How can I bully her like this? I need to go back and explain.”
Not to mention that Zhao Mingtang had saved his life in the carriage.
He quickly put on his boots, looking around, and dared not leave through the front door; he directly opened the window and climbed out.

Outside the window was an old locust tree, and he sat on a branch, just about to slide down, when suddenly a look of horror crossed his face. A cloud of black mist appeared behind him, enveloping and swallowing him whole.
Li Xuexiang coldly watched Guo Yi leave, sneering as she lazily combed her hair and slowly donned her brocade clothes.

As soon as she opened the door, a man and a woman were waiting for her outside.
The girl was petite, with a somewhat beautiful and fierce demeanor, dressed in a red dress; beside her stood an exceptionally striking man, whose flowing robes resembled clouds. His handsome face bore no smile, his eyes were calm, and an aura of coldness surrounded him.
Li Xuexiang’s gaze swept over Guo Heng’s face: “I’ll only talk to him.”
“You think too highly of yourself,” Xu Qianyu glared at her. “Either come with us or only talk to me.”