Gu Liyan paused, thinking to himself, "Just who is this Miss Xue'er? How come the whole town is so infatuated with her?"
Shaking his head to stop thinking about it, he turned into an alley along the street and looked around, feeling a little strange. "Why does this place feel so familiar?"
Walking down the alley, the vermilion gate deep inside was tightly closed, and fallen leaves had piled up in front of the gate, blocking the way.
Gu Liyan stepped forward, looking at the familiar gate, and the image of the girl who often appeared in his memories reappeared in his mind.
"Did that girl live here, as I remember?" Gu Liyan pondered, just about to push open the door to find out, when suddenly a voice came from inside, "Who is it?"
The aged voice was hoarse and weary, which startled Gu Liyan, who instinctively jumped onto the roof.
A moment later, the door slowly opened, and an old woman with a hunched back, leaning on a cane, came out.
Looking at the fallen leaves in front of the door, Li Erniang sighed with disappointment, "It's not Xiaoxue..."
"Is Xiaoxue back?" A weak voice came from inside, followed by a soft cough.
Li Erniang turned around and said, "It's not Xiaoxue, just someone passing by, right?"
With that, he closed the vermilion gate.
"Xiaoxue?" Gu Liyan looked on the roof with some surprise. He had just heard the name Xue'er from a passerby, and then from the waiter. He wondered to himself, "Could it be the same person?"
For some reason, Gu Liyan had a premonition that these two people were the same person, and that it seemed to be related to her amnesia.
Remembering what passersby had said—that Xue'er was the most beautiful courtesan in a brothel—Gu Liyan made up his mind to find out more.
The brothels were filled with singing and dancing day and night, and the aroma of wine could be smelled from afar. When you got close to the brothels, you could also smell all kinds of flowers that were not in season.
Seeing that everyone going out was either a man or a stunningly beautiful woman, Gu Liyan hesitated for a moment. "A brothel... I'm afraid my senior brother will laugh at me if I go. Maybe I should pass..."
"Take care, Young Master Han!" Just as Gu Liyan was about to leave, Hua Gu was seeing off a tipsy young man. Her eyes immediately lit up when she noticed Gu Liyan's magnificent clothes, and she thought to herself:
"Look at the workmanship and material of these clothes. They are definitely not from Qianjue Town. He must be a young master from Yancheng. And look at the mask he is wearing. He must be a mysterious person with a special identity, and a very, very rich person!"
Hua Gu looked Gu Liyan up and down and finally concluded one thing: This man is rich! Extremely rich!
"Young master wearing a mask, please wait!" Hua Gu said as she walked over.
Gu Liyan turned around and saw Hua Gu walking towards him. He pointed to his mask and asked, "Are you calling me?"
Upon hearing Gu Liyan's voice, Hua Gu smiled and approached him, saying, "It's you, young man."
Gu Liyan smiled awkwardly. If the age of the demon race were calculated according to the age of the human race, he would indeed only be eighteen years old.
"Is this your first time in Qianjue Town, young man?" Hua Gu asked with a smile.
Gu Liyan shook her head. "I came here when I was a child."
Hua Gu smiled and said, "So that's how it is. You must have never been to a brothel before, right?"
Gu Liyan nodded shyly.
Seeing Gu Liyan's shyness, Hua Gu couldn't help but smile. "Since you're here, why are you leaving so soon? Come, come, let me introduce you to some friends!"
"Friends?" Gu Liyan blinked, and before he knew it, Hua Gu had led him into the brothel...
Seated in a private booth on the second floor, with fine wine and delicacies laid out before him, Gu Liyan smiled awkwardly and stood up. "Um, actually, I didn't come here to..."
Before Gu Liyan could finish speaking, Hua Gu hurriedly pulled him down to sit, saying, "Oh dear, now that you're all here, how can you possibly have any thoughts of leaving? Besides, today Xue'er is performing on stage, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
"Xue'er?" Upon hearing Xue'er's name, Gu Liyan steadied himself, thinking to himself: This name always feels so familiar...
Suddenly, music started playing in the stands. Gu Liyan was immediately captivated, not by the melodious music, but by the beautiful women dancing in the stands to the music.
Dressed in white, her face veiled by a light gauze, her graceful figure swayed as she danced to the music…
"Miss Xue'er!"
"Miss Xue'er!"
The audience below the stage cheered her name in unison.
"Is she Xue'er?" Gu Liyan watched Xue'er dance gracefully, noticing her empty and lifeless eyes with some surprise. "Strange, why does she seem happy yet also sorrowful?"
Gu Liyan gazed at Xue'er for a long time until the music ended. Xue'er bowed slightly and prepared to leave, just then, a man in yellow robes below the stage shouted, "Halt!"
Xue'er stopped and turned around to look at the person.
Adorned in a yellow robe, with a dragon coiled around her, she exuded both magnificence and elegance. "Miss Xue'er is beautiful and charming, yet she wears a veil all day long. Are we, the common folk, not worthy to witness her beauty?"
Xue'er looked at the man and smiled gently, "May I ask where this young master comes from?"
"I am from Yancheng," the man said with a smile.
Xue'er smiled and said, "Young master comes from Yancheng. You don't know Qianjue Town or brothels, but you came because you know me, Xue'er, right?"
"I've heard that Miss Xue'er is incredibly intelligent, has superb dancing skills, and is absolutely stunningly beautiful, like a fairy descended to earth. I think that apart from myself, everyone behind me has come for Miss Xue'er," the man said with a smile.
Xue'er smiled faintly, "Since that's the case, I'm afraid you're all unaware of Xue'er's rules."
Everyone looked at her with suspicion, only to hear her continue, "Xue'er sells her art, not her body; she sells her posture, not her looks; she sells wine, not companionship! If you've come to appreciate Xue'er's dancing, then Xue'er welcomes you; if your intentions are impure, then I'm sorry, Xue'er will not accompany you!"
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