Chapter 287 – Green Is the Same Color, But It Can Also Play Separately (3)

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Lotus Pavilion was the largest pleasure house in Dujiangyan.

Due to its large scale and the exceptional beauty of its courtesans, many pleasure-seekers visited this place.

Lotus Pavilion consisted of four floors in total, with the floors guests could ascend to determined by their status.

Ordinary guests were limited to the second floor, while renowned masters or prestigious nobles could only reach the third floor.

The fourth floor could only be accessed by those who were at least the head of a martial sect. Naturally, the courtesans who served there were also peerless beauties with exceptional looks and learning.

Those qualified to ascend to the fourth floor of Lotus Pavilion were extremely rare. Even counting all those qualified to enter the fourth floor of Lotus Pavilion in the vicinity of Dujiangyan, there were only about ten people.

Since those with such qualifications were so rare, the pride of those who entered the fourth floor of Lotus Pavilion was beyond description.

Today too, Lotus Pavilion was bustling with guests. Not only the first, second, and third floors, but even the fourth floor was packed with customers. Because of this, Lotus Pavilion was in a state of emergency.

Even the courtesans who were usually on standby were all mobilized, and there was a shortage of musicians, requiring them to borrow from other pleasure houses.

The kitchen was constantly preparing appetizers without rest, and the laughter of courtesans never ceased from the rooms. The atmosphere was heightened, and the sound of music played by the musicians echoed throughout Lotus Pavilion.

“Today is also full of guests.”

Gi Ye-hwa was receiving a report from a middle-aged courtesan in her quarters.

The middle-aged courtesan’s face had almost no wrinkles. Though she was now treated as an aging flower, in her youth, there was no man in Dujiangyan who didn’t know her – she was that famous.

Now that she had aged, she had retired from the front lines and managed Lotus Pavilion.

She didn’t manage Lotus Pavilion simply because she had aged. It was possible because she was that deep in thought, quick-witted, and held the trust of many courtesans.

Gi Ye-hwa asked:

“Is there anything strange? It seems like the number of guests has suddenly increased recently.”

“There certainly is that aspect, but I don’t see anything particularly strange.”

“That’s fortunate, but…”

Gi Ye-hwa slightly furrowed her brow.

“Is there something on your mind?”

“Well…”

Gi Ye-hwa trailed off as she looked at the ledger.

The ledger recorded the sales that had occurred at Lotus Pavilion over the past month. What Gi Ye-hwa focused on was the sales that had occurred in the past five days.

The sales that occurred in five days far exceeded the average monthly sales. Such cases were never common.

“Has there been any good news in Dujiangyan recently?”

“No.”

“Then anything that would bring guests into Dujiangyan?”

“Well! I don’t think there’s anything.”

“But the sales doubled in five days?”

“Isn’t business originally full of surprises? When you’re in the entertainment business, these things happen sometimes.”

“That would be fortunate, but…”

“What could possibly happen?”

The middle-aged courtesan Mae-wol smiled gracefully.

Even at her generous smile, Gi Ye-hwa didn’t relax her stern expression.

“This won’t do. Call the child courtesans from the third and fourth floors right now.”

“Why them? Understood.”

Mae-wol was about to question but quickly answered instead.

Gi Ye-hwa was the vice sect master of the Hao Sect. There was a tremendous gap between her and Mae-wol, who was merely a pavilion mistress.

Mae-wol hurriedly called the child courtesans who had been waiting on the third and fourth floors.

Child courtesans referred to young courtesans. Though they hadn’t yet put up their hair and couldn’t formally serve guests, they were instead responsible for entering and leaving each room, tactfully livening the atmosphere and then withdrawing.

Gi Ye-hwa asked:

“Is there anything strange about each room?”

“Well!”

The child courtesans looked at each other’s faces, not understanding. But that was only for a moment, and soon they all spoke in unison.

“There’s nothing particularly strange.”

“Um…”

Then the smallest child courtesan carefully opened her mouth.

Gi Ye-hwa’s gaze turned toward her.

“What is it?”

“I’m in charge of the fourth floor…”

“And?”

“The guests on the fourth floor are a bit strange.”

“What’s strange about them?”

“Well… the guests don’t talk much. Usually, people who come to pleasure houses tend to loosen up somehow, but those people don’t talk much.”

The child courtesan carefully expressed her feelings.

“Tell me in detail.”

“Usually, guests who reach the fourth floor tend to talk a lot. Since they have much to boast about and have a strong desire to show off because of their success. But the guests currently on the fourth floor have none of that, and they barely touch their alcohol.”

“Really?”

“Yes. That’s what I confirmed.”

At the child courtesan’s words, the other child courtesans seemed to realize something and raised their hands one by one to speak.

“There are such guests on the third floor that I’m in charge of too.”

“Oh, I saw them too.”

Only then did Mae-wol’s expression harden. She too felt that the situation was taking an unusual turn.

Mae-wol’s gaze turned toward Gi Ye-hwa.

“Vice Sect Master, this is?”

But Gi Ye-hwa didn’t even give her a glance and asked the child courtesan:

“Describe their attire and appearance. Are there any distinguishing features?”

“That’s what’s strange. If they’re guests who should come to this place, especially the fourth floor, their clothing should naturally be splendid, but there’s none of that. Plain clothing and ordinary faces too. Having no special characteristics is what should be called their characteristic…”

“Oh, the guests on the third floor are the same. They too are remarkably characterless and bland.”

Gi Ye-hwa and Mae-wol looked at each other’s faces.

They were two people who had spent their entire lives in the roughest and harshest world of pleasure quarters. It would be stranger if they didn’t notice something odd at this point.

“Vice Sect Master?”

“Burn all materials related to our organization completely. Not a single piece of evidence should remain.”

“Understood.”

Mae-wol answered and hurriedly withdrew. The child courtesans followed behind her.

Left alone, Mae-wol’s expression became extremely rigid.

It wasn’t simply because of the child courtesan’s words. Her intuition was warning her.

‘Which place is it? The Martial Alliance? The Demon Cult?’

Due to the nature of the Hao Sect dealing with information, there were countless enemies targeting them. The most recent organization that had coveted the Hao Sect’s information network was the Dark Cloud of the Martial Alliance led by Namgung Chang.

Even after negotiations broke down, Namgung Chang endlessly coveted the Hao Sect, and because of this, the Hao Sect had to stop activities for a while and hide in the shadows.

‘The Martial Alliance? No. They have no connection to Sichuan Province whatsoever. Then the Demon Cult?’

Deep furrows formed between Gi Ye-hwa’s brows.

Though she had narrowed down the suspects, something didn’t feel right.

‘Is there a reason for the Demon Cult to specifically be wary of the Hao Sect?’

While Gi Ye-hwa was pondering like this for a while.

“V-Vice Sect Master.”

Suddenly, a child courtesan’s voice was heard from outside. The moment she heard the child courtesan’s anxiously trembling voice, Gi Ye-hwa felt the blood in her entire body turn cold.

“What is it?”

“One of the guests on the fourth floor wishes to see the Vice Sect Master.”

“A guest?”

“Yes! H-how should we handle this?”

The child courtesan’s careful voice was heard. At this, Gi Ye-hwa bit her lips firmly and said:

“Bring him inside.”

“Yes!”

With the child courtesan’s answer, the door opened. Then the child courtesan standing outside the door and a scholar standing beside her became visible.

He was a scholar with an ordinary appearance without any particular characteristics. He had a bland, characterless face that one might encounter several times while walking the streets for about a day.

When the door opened, the scholar strode inside with the child courtesan. It was as natural as entering one’s own inner chamber.

“…”

Gi Ye-hwa looked at him with an incredulous expression for a moment. No matter how much he was a fourth-floor guest, acting like this was rude.

“Who are you?”

“Sit down first.”

“…”

“Doesn’t your neck hurt looking like that? Sit down first.”

Pat! Pat!

The scholar lightly tapped the child courtesan’s shoulder. It was as natural as encouraging one’s own daughter. But every time his palm touched her, the child courtesan showed an extremely pained expression.

Finally, Gi Ye-hwa said to him:

“Please sit.”

“Thank you!”

The two sat facing each other.

Gi Ye-hwa said to the child courtesan:

“You go out and tell the pavilion mistress to bring refreshments to this room. Tell her that a precious guest has come, so pay special attention.”

“Yes! I’ll convey that.”

The child courtesan answered and hurriedly went outside.

When only the two remained, the scholar wiped away his smile as if nothing had happened. When the smile disappeared, what remained was a face with an expression as cold as frost.

He suddenly said:

“How did you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm! Are you going to come out like that?”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying, sir.”

“The effort of quietly monitoring for the past few days has gone to waste. This is why dealing with smart kids isn’t easy. It would be better to prevent them from thinking other thoughts by cutting off their breath for sure. Tsk!”

The scholar muttered indifferently and clicked his tongue. But the content contained within couldn’t be dismissed lightly.

His voice became even lower.

“Hao Sect Vice Sect Master Gi Ye-hwa.”

“How do you know that?”

“So it’s correct after all.”

The scholar showed a satisfied expression at Gi Ye-hwa’s sharp reaction.

Only then did Gi Ye-hwa realize her mistake. She had ended up acknowledging it herself.

“Who are you, sir?”

“Who I am isn’t that important. The fact that you’re the Hao Sect’s vice sect master is more important.”

“Why is that important?”

“Because we need the Hao Sect’s eyes and ears.”

Instantly, Gi Ye-hwa felt a strong sense of crisis.

Because strong confidence and power were contained in the scholar’s ordinary tone.

“I hope you make a wise choice. If this beautiful pleasure house disappears because of your wrong judgment, the people of Dujiangyan will be very sad.”

Right now, the scholar was threatening Gi Ye-hwa by putting the entire Lotus Pavilion at stake. Normally, Gi Ye-hwa wouldn’t have even snorted at such threats. She had experienced this level of threat from Namgung Chang of the Martial Alliance too. But now it was different.

Those presumed to be the scholar’s subordinates were positioned throughout Lotus Pavilion. It would be impossible to save the Hao Sect members without any damage from their hands.

As if reading Gi Ye-hwa’s thoughts, the scholar smiled and said:

“I hope you make a wise choice. As you well know, human life is precious.”

“Are you from the Demon Cult?”

“Do you think so?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Think as you please.”

At the scholar’s nonchalant answer, Gi Ye-hwa’s expression hardened even more.

‘It’s not the Demon Cult. Not the Martial Alliance either. Then a third force?’

Though they are called the Demon Cult by the world, they call themselves the Divine Cult. Therefore, they are particularly sensitive to the term Demon Cult and react unpleasantly. That would be the normal reaction.

Therefore, Gi Ye-hwa was certain that the scholar before her was not from the Demon Cult. And for the same reason, she judged that he wasn’t affiliated with the Martial Alliance either.

Martial Alliance warriors had a distinctive pride about them, but she felt no such sentiment from the scholar.

Then the scholar’s ears picked up noisy sounds. It was a very faint sound, but it was heard very clearly in the scholar’s ears.

“Tsk! A foolish judgment. To flee before even having a conversation.”

The scholar clicked his tongue.

At this, Gi Ye-hwa’s face became even more rigidly stiff.

What she had told the child courtesan about a “precious guest” and “special refreshments” was a code meaning a dangerous person had come, so everyone should evacuate. But the scholar had detected the sound of the pleasure house courtesans escaping through emergency passages with senses beyond imagination.

Snap!

Instantly, the scholar snapped his fingers. Then the warriors who had entered Lotus Pavilion with him all began to move at once.

“Ahhh!”

“Run away!”

The wailing sounds of courtesans could be heard from outside.

The scholar looked at Gi Ye-hwa and said:

“Come along quietly, child. Then you won’t get hurt.”

“Hmph!”

Instantly, Gi Ye-hwa snorted and pressed a button under the table. Then silver powder fell from the ceiling and attacked the scholar.

“Poison?”

The scholar’s complexion changed completely.

Instantly, intense heat arose around his body and burned all the poison.

After burning all the poison, when he raised his head, Gi Ye-hwa’s figure had vanished without a trace. She had disappeared completely in that brief moment.

The scholar clicked his tongue and stood up.

“This cute little b*tch. Do you think you can escape?”

He soon began tracking Gi Ye-hwa’s traces.