Chapter 1028: Dummy and Lady
Zu An was speechless. His complexion darkened. This woman really did leave him at a loss for words. He could only sigh and think to himself that Chen Zhou really didn’t know how to pick his girls…
Gao Ying was even more depressed. Even though his appearance couldn't compare to Zu An and Pei You, wasn’t being outright ignored a bit too much?
Pei You quickly came out to smooth things over, saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to pay you properly. This is Lady Pink; she’s precisely the… one we were looking for.”
Zu An and Gao Ying played along and said, “Let’s talk more inside.” The things they were going to ask about were private, so they obviously couldn't let people outside hear anything.
“Young masters, please follow me inside.” Pink enthusiastically moved over to Zu An’s side and rubbed her breasts against his elbow on purpose. She exclaimed, “This young master is so handsome! Where did you come from?”
Pei You became jealous. Pink had been polite and eagerly attentive when he sought her out previously, and he’d thought he had finally redeemed himself a bit back then. But who would’ve thought that once she saw Brother Zu, her enthusiasm would skyrocket? I’m not any less handsome than Brother Zu! Why is there such a huge difference in my affinity with women?
Zu An wasn’t as happy as Pei You imagined him to be. When he smelled the gaudy scent coming from Pink’s body, he couldn't help but frown inwardly. He replied coldly, “I came from Yi Commandery.”
“Wow, Yi Commandery is a great place…” Pink immediately began to praise Yi Commandery.
Zu An took the chance to examine Jasper Lane. Its exterior was somewhat cold and desolate, with snow covering the eaves. Overall, its colors were dull. But once they went inside, it was as if they had arrived in a completely different world! It was a dazzling sight filled with a hubbub of activity. The scent wafting through the air seemed as if it could tug at one’s soul. The entire place seemed to be heated by some kind of geothermal heat, making the temperature inside feel like spring or summer.
There were beautiful girls dressed in light clothing everywhere. Their steps were alluring and seductive, their voices charming and enticing. Not many men could retain their rationality in such an environment.
Zu An looked around him. What made this place different from the central continent was that there were many women who specialized in selling alcohol, as well as some fiend race girls. If the furries from his previous world saw such a scene, they might just faint from excitement.
The liveliness of the place wasn’t at all inferior to, and perhaps even better than, the Hub of Freedom he had visited before. The Hub of Freedom cared about its artistic mood, so the girls had to be a bit more reserved. Furthermore, they didn’t have as much staff either. This place was filled with enthusiastic and bold girls.
The group quickly followed Pink to a room, where she said, “My precious guests, please wait here for a bit. This humble one will come back after I change my clothes.”
“There’s no need for all that trouble; let’s just go on with this.” Zu An coughed. He obviously hadn’t come for a fashion show.
“Ah? Why is this young master in such a rush?” Pink blushed. She secretly gave them a look. She thought to herself that this young master was the most handsome, and she was willing to receive him even if she didn’t take any money from him. The young master Pei who had shown up previously was also pretty good. In comparison to the two of them, the boorish-looking man in the very back was a bit uglier. Sigh, I’ll just keep him in the back if I have to later. I just don’t have to look at his face.
I definitely have to have this white-clothed young master right in front of me later…
She began to loosen her waistband while acting shy. It was a habit that had been trained ever since she was little, so she was already extremely proficient at it. She could be seen as both enticing and also properly displaying the shyness of a girl.
“Ahem, you don’t need to undress. We just want to ask you about some things.” Zu An quickly stopped her.
Pink immediately pulled her clothes back up when she heard that, replying, “Hmph, did you all come here just to make a joke out of me? You didn’t come to Jasper Lane to have fun, but instead just to ask questions?”
She had thought it was going to be a huge business deal at first, and yet they hadn’t come to play. She felt that she’d run into bad luck. Even though this white clothed young master is handsome, he can’t just not pay!
Zu An took out a silver ingot and placed it on the table, saying, “Don’t worry, we’ll definitely pay you properly.”
Pink’s eyes lit up when she saw the large ingot. She immediately grabbed it and bit down on a corner. Then, she put it into her chest and said with a smile, “Young masters can ask me anything you want! This humble one will definitely tell you anything you want to know.”
Gao Ying felt a bit of disdain when he saw how quickly she changed her attitude. This really is the best representation of the phrase ‘ prostitute knows no feelings, only money’.
Zu An didn’t really mind. I don’t care if you love money; what I’d care about would be if you didn’t even love money. He asked, “Do you know someone named Chen Zhou?”
Pink’s smile froze when she heard Chen Zhou’s name. She began, “You are…?”
Gao Ying harrumphed impatiently and said, “We’re the ones asking the questions, not the other way around.”
Zu An said with a smile, “Miss, don’t worry. We’re decent people, and Chen Zhou is our friend.”
“Wow, you all were actually that heartless man’s friends.” Pink seemed to be a bit worked up as she continued, “That fella was so honest looking I thought he was a sincere man. Yet in the end, he was like everyone else. After tricking me and having his way, he didn’t care about a single thing anymore.”
“How did he trick you?” Zu An asked.
“He said really sweet words, about how he was going to ransom me from this place, and that he was going to make me his wife! He wanted me to wait for him. Yet more than half a year has already passed, but I haven’t seen a single trace of him. I finally understood then that all men are filthy, and that there isn’t a single good one in this world.” Pink was getting more and more worked up. Eventually, she had basically started denouncing all men.
Zu An sighed and said, “He’s already died.”
“Died and gone where?” Pink instinctively replied. Then, she suddenly had a blank look on her face as she asked, “What, he died?”
“Indeed. He died in the line of duty on a mission and was burned to death in a warehouse. I don’t think he was trying to fool you.” Zu An obviously couldn't let this woman hate Chen Zhou, since he wanted information from her.
“He actually died just like that? He was let off easy.” Pink said with a laugh. However, everyone in Zu An’s group was a powerful cultivator. They keenly sensed that her voice was shaking a bit compared to before, and her eyes had become a bit moist as well. As such, no one disturbed her at that moment.
A while later, she regained some composure and continued, “In the past, those fortune-tellers told meI was destined to be without a husband. I didn’t believe them then. Now, it seems best if I stay in the brothel and not think about that nonsense.”
Zu An sighed and said, “Miss, please don’t feel too bad.”
“Feel bad? Why would I feel bad? It’s not as if he was my man.” Pink’s voice immediately became louder. As if she were recalling the past, she mumbled to herself, “That guy is an idiot. What kind of place is Jasper Lane? Everyone who comes here looks for pleasure. Yet the first time he met me, he actually chatted with me the entire night.
“He was really wooden and slow. He didn’t know what to say to me at all in the beginning, and it was I who always had to find a topic.
“Then, he asked me why I had to do this kind of work, and he even advised me to marry and leave this job… Advising a girl from a brothel to marry and leave this place is the dumbest thing ever…” Pink sounded as if she were mocking him, and yet her words were also tender. “We encounter this kind of thing all the time in the pleasure quarters. The big mamas taught us how to deal with them. I just made up a sad backstory and said my mother is seriously ill, and that I have a younger brother. I said that I had no choice but to do this kind of thing.
“That dummy actually believed my stupid story.” Pink even felt that it was laughable when she remembered that scene. “He even gave me all of the money he had on him at the time.
“I didn’t even have to entertain a guest, and yet I could get silver, so why would I refuse it? From that day forth, he would find me from time to time and give me money. Later on, he found a medicinal recipe to help my mother’s fictional illness.
“He even stupidly asked me where my family was, saying that he’d help me take care of my mother and little brother. I obviously couldn't tell him. Not only did he not feel any suspicion, he instead became extremely worried.
“He really was a dummy…”
As Pink continued, her voice became softer and softer.
Zu An exchanged a few looks with the others. None of them interrupted her. Even though she was making fun of Chen Zhou, they could sense that there was a different meaning behind her words. Even Gao Ying’s expression was no longer as harsh as before when he looked at her.
Pink lowered her head and remained silent for a long time. In the end, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes burning with emotions as she asked, “Was he sent to his death by someone?”
Zu An hesitated for a moment. In the end, he nodded.
“Was it you who harmed him?” Pink’s voice was shaking a bit as she continued. She was clearly very scared..
Zu An shook his head and said, “We came to investigate his cause of death.” As he spoke, he took out his imperial court waist token and showed it to her.
“As if I can tell if that’s real or fake…” Pink said. Despite that, she still looked at it carefully.
Zu An let her look at it, then said, “We noticed that there was something strange with Chen Zhou’s death. We wanted to investigate further, but we have no clues. When was the last time you met him? Did he say anything strange to you, or give you anything?”
Pink continued to look at his waist token again and again, then asked about their identities. When she learned that they were part of the imperial envoy, she then said, “I didn’t realize anything before, but now that I think about it, his expression seemed to be a bit frenetic the last time I met him. He gave me a case to hold onto for safekeeping, and said he’d come back for it later.”
“A case?” Zu An and the others’ expressions became serious.
“I opened the case and looked inside before. It was just a shoddy key. I thought it would be some treasure or something,” Pink said while fiddling around with her bed area. She took out a case and handed it to the three of them.
Zu An and the others opened it up. Sure enough, there was only a key inside. Gao Ying even examined the case himself, but he didn’t see anything.
“I have no idea where the lock is, so what does having a key do for me?” Pink exclaimed angrily, feeling as if she had missed a treasury or something.
Zu An’s group asked her a few more questions. When they were certain that there wasn’t anything they missed, they got up to leave.
“Wait!” Pink called out after them. She picked up the silver ingot she had placed in her chest earlier, saying, “I’m giving this back to you guys. I don’t want it.”
“We’ve used up the lady’s time. This is something the lady should accept,” Zu An replied.
Pink shook her head and said, “I owe that dummy way too much. You’re all getting revenge for him, so how can I take your money?” She didn’t even wait for them to refuse and threw the silver ingot over. Then, she slammed her door shut.
Even though there were still shouts of happiness and laughter outside, the three with their higher cultivations could vaguely hear sobbing in the room. Zu An exchanged a look with the other two. His mood became heavier.
Gao Ying sighed and said, “Everyone says that actors are heartless and prostitutes have no morals. Today, I’ve learned that there are exceptions.”
“I’ve misunderstood that Chen Zhou as well,” Zu An said quietly.
Pei You said with a sigh, “A woman like this who is affectionate and true, I definitely have to come and help her out with her business more in the future.”
Zu An and Gao Ying were stunned.