Chapter 24 Beauty Market: Lower Market
Black hair and brown eyes, typical features of the Bactrian people.
Zhongjing, Wangyuan Escort Agency.
Xie Xingzheng's face remained frosty, and he was uneasy for a short while, silently following behind Tang Yu, as if he could find some sense of security that way.
Xiao Fangliang put down his teacup, his gaze falling on them, and asked in surprise, "You've clearly found the person, so why do you all look so unhappy?"
Tang Yu pushed Shi Wuduo forward from behind her, a half-smile on her face: "Wasn't it his bad idea?"
Shi Wushu quickly smiled ingratiatingly and recounted the method for entering the Beauty Market with added embellishments, emphasizing in his glib tongue that it was a "brilliant plan."
“They only recognize regular customers there. Even if someone recommends you, they still have to check you at every level. My method is the fastest and best!”
Xiao Fangliang tilted his head slightly, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips, his fingertips lightly tapping the teacup. "What's so difficult about that?"
His gaze slowly fell on Tang Yu. "This foreign woman doesn't necessarily have to be real."
The air suddenly fell silent. No one understood the meaning behind his words.
His voice carried a hint of languor: "Brother Su, don't you know some disguise techniques? Even if those criminal women from the Southern Frontier are willing to go, they may not be reliable. Why don't we have one of us... for example, Brother Yu, disguise ourselves as a foreign woman and infiltrate? Wouldn't that solve the problem?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes fell on Tang Yu.
She unconsciously took a step back, showing a hint of panic for the first time. She cursed inwardly: What a terrible idea!
"no!"
The group looked in the direction of the voice and were surprised to find that Xie Xingzheng was the first to refuse.
Wang Shanyue paused, his confusion deepening. He hadn't even figured out the previous suggestion yet, and now there was another thing he couldn't understand.
Xiao Fangliang's smile deepened, and he asked meaningfully, "Why not?"
Xie Xingzheng's jaw tightened, unsure how to explain. This was not a good opportunity; how could he reveal Tang Yu's true identity as a woman in public?
Tang Yu glanced at Xie Xingzheng's profile and was momentarily stunned.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. This refusal was actually his way of protecting her, just as Xie Xingzheng was considering the plight of those criminal women.
So... when did he find out? And why didn't he expose himself?
Although she often seemed to be at odds with him, even harboring malicious intentions and wanting revenge, she honestly didn't find him annoying. The reason for this was probably because Xie Xingzheng was an excessively upright person.
Even knowing that her background was suspicious and her purpose unclear, he would still subconsciously fear that she was in danger.
This was completely opposite to the grim aura he carried from years of battlefield experience, a contradiction that made him impossible to understand.
Seeing that he did not answer, Xiao Fangliang pretended to be puzzled and said, "Among the four of us, General Xie and A Yue are martial artists with broad shoulders and rough skin. They might not look very convincing as women."
He paused, then glanced at Tang Yu again. "But Brother Su has a slender frame and fair skin. With a little disguise, he could easily impersonate a beauty from the Western Regions or the Southern Frontier."
With her identity exposed, Tang Yu had already accepted the plan in her heart. However, being blatantly pushed into a fire pit by Xiao Fangliang still made her grit her teeth in resentment.
She quickly thought of a solution and asked with a smile, "Then why can't it be Brother Xiao? In terms of looks and cunning, Brother Xiao is far superior to me."
Upon hearing this, Wangshan hurriedly waved his hands, "No, no! A-Liang's father will beat him to death!"
"Smack!"
Xiao Fangliang slammed his folding fan on the table, a rare hint of impatience on his face. Wang Shanyue immediately fell silent and awkwardly took a step back.
Seeing the two of them like this, Tang Yu sighed helplessly, "Never mind."
She put away her usual smile, her expression unusually serious: "Then I'll go."
This was the first time Xie Xingzheng had seen sincerity in her eyes, and he couldn't help but feel a slight tremor in his heart.
He couldn't help but remind her, "The situation in the Beauty Ruins is unknown; we don't know what we might encounter."
“But I think, perhaps…” Tang Yu’s eyes darkened slightly, and she said in a low voice, “There is no one more suitable than me.”
Xiao Fangliang smiled faintly: "Even if Senior Brother Xie is worried about Brother Yu, he should at least trust himself. With you protecting him, what could possibly go wrong?"
Xie Xingzheng lowered his eyes for a moment, unable to find a more suitable solution. Finally, he raised his eyes and solemnly said, "I will protect you."
Tang Yu suddenly smiled, regaining her usual nonchalant demeanor, a sly glint in her eyes, "Then General Xie, you must... protect me well."
*
With the candidate chosen, there was no time to lose. Almost as soon as dusk fell, they had already made contact with the people at the Beauty Market.
The disguise itself didn't take Tang Yu much effort to begin with, and to make it look more realistic, she deliberately added several bruises to her wrists and ankles. Finally, she changed into a brightly colored gauze dress, which made her already beautiful features even more stunning.
She applied a touch of red to the corner of her eye in front of the mirror, making her eyes seem to bewitch and captivate.
Xie Xingzheng stood to one side, his brows slightly furrowed.
It wasn't because of her flawlessly beautiful face, but because this face was almost identical to the one he had seen that night.
Did she use her real appearance to infiltrate the Beauty Ruins? Or was this face actually a disguise?
While he was filled with doubt, Wang Shanyue was already convinced and clapped his hands in a simple and honest manner, exclaiming, "Brother Su's disguise skills are truly amazing! Even his eyelashes are curled as if they were real!"
Tang Yu chuckled, thinking that perhaps only Wang Shanyue would truly believe this so-called pretense.
She casually curled her already thick eyelashes with her fingertips and teased, "Brother Wang, this isn't a disguise."
Xie Xingzheng remained silent, his eyes never leaving her, as if trying to see through her appearance.
That face, apart from its black hair and black eyes, had almost all the characteristics of people from southern Xinjiang.
Is it innate, or is it something she did intentionally?
Before he could think any further, Shi Wushu hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed in: "Quick, quick! The car is ready over there!"
He rubbed his hands together, his gaze lingering greedily on Tang Yu's face. "This young lady's looks are sure to bewitch the noblemen of the Beauty Market!"
Xie Xingzheng's eyes turned cold, his murderous aura sharp as a blade, which frightened Shi Wuduo so much that he immediately shrank back and forced a dry laugh, "Then, then let's proceed according to plan."
When Tang Yu was stuffed into the sack, her eyes were watery as she looked at Xie Xingzheng, making his hand, which was tying the sack, freeze and almost drop the rope.
"Don't be shy." Tang Yu smiled brightly, then obediently curled up in the bag, displaying the "self-awareness" of someone who had been abducted.
Xie Xingzheng couldn't bear it after all. He left an opening, tied it loosely, put on a mask to cover his face, and then whispered, "Let's go."
Shi Wudu readily agreed and led them through several dark alleys, finally stopping in front of an inconspicuous house. When the door opened, a servant handed them a black cloth, gesturing for everyone to cover their eyes.
Although Xie Xingzheng was blind, he still keenly sensed that the person who came led them through the courtyard, and then a cold wind suddenly swept under their feet, and they were carried down the steps, obviously into a secret passage.
After many twists and turns, the black cloth was finally lifted.
What came into view was a simply furnished room, with a few oil lamps burning, which was barely bright enough.
Standing directly opposite was a woman of about forty years old, plump and adorned with jewels, but with a sinister and cold gaze.
Ignoring the two of them, she unceremoniously opened the sack, roughly grabbed Tang Yu's chin, and forced her to look up.
Even in the dim light, her face was strikingly beautiful, causing a flicker of amazement to cross the woman's eyes.
Tang Yu's eyelashes trembled at the opportune moment, revealing a look of panic mixed with forced composure. She opened her lips, but no sound came out.
The woman frowned, her voice sharp: "Why can't she speak?"
Shi Wu hurriedly stepped forward, rubbing his hands together and laughing, "Oh dear, I gave her some medicine to keep her from causing trouble. As long as you inspect the goods and find them suitable, the antidote will be provided immediately. You won't have to worry about her not being a singing oriole that can also make money."
The woman nodded, but her tone was full of regret: "Such a beautiful face, what a pity."
As he spoke, he brushed aside a few stray strands of hair from Tang Yu's forehead with his fingertips, stared at her, and muttered coldly, "Your eyes, your hair... none of them are right."
Women in southern Xinjiang mostly have chestnut hair and blue eyes, but the person in front of me has black hair and brown eyes, typical of the people of Daxia.
Shi Wuduo awkwardly said, "As you know, it's not easy to find girls in Southern Xinjiang these days. Our young master also went to great lengths. Look at her, although she is of mixed Great Xia and Southern Xinjiang descent, her appearance is more beautiful than most girls from Southern Xinjiang!"
"Hmph, what do you know?" the woman sneered. "No matter how beautiful you are, it's useless. Only those with pure Southern Frontier blood can be sold at the market. Those with even a trace of Great Xia blood are not even worthy of being sold."
After saying that, she took out a bag of silver from the cabinet and threw it to Shi Wuduo, saying, "It's only worth this much in the market."
Upon seeing the money, a greedy smile immediately spread across his face. He quickly noticed Xie Xingzheng's cold gaze and hurriedly put the money away. He then approached the woman solicitously and said, "The master we've met this time has some connections and isn't short of women, but..."
He paused, then lowered his voice: "He wants to see this legendary Beauty Market. You see, you want to inspect the goods, and our gentleman also wants to see how capable the Beauty Market is, and whether it can handle all its sparrows."
There wasn't much to say, but the meaning was already clear.
The woman naturally understood, her expression faltering slightly. She put away her original disdain and indifference, and her scrutinizing gaze returned to the masked man.
After a moment, he smiled warmly and said, "If you have any other good stuff, sir, you can come to me anytime. If you want to stay and take a look today, that's fine too; consider it a way of making friends with you."
I was too busy to thank you in person.
The woman waved her hand, and two servants immediately entered from outside the door and dragged Tang Yu out.
"Take her to the market to make up the numbers for tonight's event." The woman's voice was gentle, but it carried a chilling aura.
Xie Xingzheng's face was ashen beneath his mask, his fingers clenched into fists. Although he knew the two would inevitably part ways, the fact that he hadn't seen "Xiaxu's" true face still made him uneasy.
After dealing with Tang Yu, the woman immediately summoned a servant, handed him a black cloth, and gestured for the two to cover their eyes.
In the darkness, the two were once again led into the unknown depths.
*
On the other side, Tang Yu was also blindfolded and led to a quiet place. Several maids helped her change her clothes and then hurriedly left, leaving her alone in the room. Occasionally, footsteps could be heard outside, but the place remained so empty that it chilled one's heart.
She was still blindfolded, and after waiting for an unknown amount of time, doubts began to grow in her heart.
If the Beauty Market is truly as the courtesan said, selling beauty to the powerful and wealthy, then why did she, who was chosen to go to the "market" tonight, only change her clothes but not take a bath or apply makeup?
My curiosity about the Beauty Market grew stronger, and time seemed to pass incredibly slowly.
After waiting for a long time, the door was finally pushed open, and someone came in to lead her out.
In the darkness, the surroundings gradually became noisy. Tang Yu's nose twitched slightly as she smelled the faint, elegant fragrance in the air.
A chill suddenly ran through her heart.
Her superior sense of smell sometimes made her feel that it wasn't a good thing, just like now...
Even with her eyes blindfolded, she could smell an unidentifiable stench of blood hidden beneath the sandalwood incense and the damp, chilly air. It carried a cloying, stale scent, seemingly emanating from the depths of this ruin.
The smell inexplicably made her feel nauseous, and she lightly scratched her palm with her fingertips, forcibly suppressing the discomfort.
But deep down, an overwhelming sense of disgust still arises.
It was as if she had smelled the same scent somewhere before...
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