Otherwise, Mao wouldn't have used that tone in the first place.
Perhaps recalling the contents of the "Rules of the Royal Palace of Mount Oe," the courtesan Mao poured milk for Yoon-joo while asking her, "Who arrested you?"
"It is Lady Hanahime."
Yin Zhu held the steaming cup of milk, bent down and licked off the milk skin on top, then took a big gulp, leaving a white ring around her mouth.
Mao, the prostitute, had a somewhat subtle expression: "She should know..."
"Huh?" Yin Zhu looked blank, but she knew what Mao Changji was talking about: "She should know" - "Hana-hime should know that the returned Shuten-dōji has become a woman."
Yin Zhu had no idea what Mao Changji was thinking. He only saw her stare blankly for a while, then shake her head and force a smile: "It's nothing. You can stay here tonight, and I'll send you out tomorrow."
Watching the departing figure of the prostitute Mao, Yin Zhu finally remembered the story behind the name.
In the mythology of the land of cherry blossoms, Mao Changji was a child unwanted by her parents. Her father was a highly respected Buddhist abbot in the land of cherry blossoms, who, in order to maintain his noble image, actually sold her into the profession of geisha.
Despite having a father who was not human, Mao Changji played the qin (a seven-stringed zither) exceptionally well and was quite popular.
However, this was not the beginning of Mao Changji's good fortune, but rather the first step into her abyss. The owner of the brothel wanted Mao Changji to use her body to attract more customers, ignoring her resistance, and directly used various forms of torture to force Mao Changji to agree with tears in her eyes in order to survive.
However, Mao, the prostitute, remained exceptionally popular. This aroused jealousy among her peers, leading to her being shunned. Consequently, at the young age of 15, Mao died tragically, transforming into a stunningly beautiful and vengeful ghost who preyed on her lecherous clients.
As for why she was called a "hairy prostitute," besides her professional identity, it was also because after a lecherous client spent the night with her, his body would be covered in thick hair the next morning. This hair would desperately absorb the host's nutrients until the client died.
Yin Zhu remembered this story largely because the prostitute was so young. At 15, she would only be a junior high school student in China, yet in Japan, she experienced a meteoric rise to fame, a cold reception, and ultimately, being murdered. So, when she was learning about the supernatural in Japan, she even debated the plausibility of this plot with others.
At that time, an expert's single sentence effectively shut Yin Zhu down:
“Most of the ghost stories in Japan have historical prototypes. People like to attribute things they can’t explain to gods and ghosts, and they also fear people they have killed. The age is so accurate, something similar must have happened back then.”
Having recalled the story of Mao Changji, Yin Zhu suddenly knew how to address the problem.
Mao Changji harbored resentment towards her parents, hating them for abandoning her, yet she never sought revenge against them, which could be considered as repaying their kindness in giving her life.
Mao, a courtesan, was targeted by her colleagues, but she did not retaliate against those jealous and competitive women. This shows that she sympathized with those women who were forced into the profession to survive and struggled in feudal society.
Mao, the prostitute, hates men the most. Her unfortunate fate originated from her father abandoning her for the sake of her reputation. Her subsequent misfortunes came from her greedy boss and the customers who had desires for young girls. In her life, there was neither Zhao Pan'er, who saved her from prostitution, nor Qin Zhong, the oil seller who was deeply affectionate and righteous... Why does this feel like a feudal ancient version of Hirano San?
Yin Zhu slapped his thigh: That's obvious! If someone had saved Mao Changji, she wouldn't have become a demon. The fact that she became a demon must mean that she was unlucky enough in her life and never met any good people.
If Yin Zhu hadn't held onto Hirano Shan tightly, Hirano Shan would probably have become a human spy, a "demon" in another sense.
To summarize the situation regarding Mao's prostitutes...
Looking at the courtesan who brought him tea and snacks, Yin Zhu gave a bitter smile: "I'll still call you beautiful sister... Actually, I'll tell you a secret..."
Yin Zhu lowered her voice, but made sure she could hear: "I come from the human world."
"What are you talking about? We all come from the human world."
Mao Changji placed a plate of pastries in front of Yin Zhu, completely misunderstanding the meaning behind Yin Zhu's words: "Eat more, judging from your appearance, you've probably been starving."
Yin Zhu shook her head and continued to explain, "I fell in here by accident, but I want to go back to the human world to save my friend. Her father wants to sell her."
Mao, the prostitute, stopped.
Yin Zhu thought to herself, "She's taken the bait!" She immediately continued, "I've been here for several days now. If I don't hurry back, I'm afraid her father will sell her into a brothel."
Mao Changji's hands trembled slightly.
However, Yin Zhu did not continue speaking. Instead, she showed a shameful expression: "Sigh, I shouldn't have told you this. It's just... I feel that if I die, I won't be able to go back, and I won't be able to save her, so I couldn't help but say it."
"You're so young, what help can you possibly give?"
Mao Changji raised her head, her face showing no abnormality, but Yin Zhu noticed with alarm that her smile had become much stiffer, as if she was forcing it.
Beneath the mask, is it pain or anger?
Yin Zhu stopped asking questions because she knew very well that it was best to stop there.
If one day you really meet a stranger who talks to you about their own things at length, such a leading question is too obvious and may easily arouse the other person's suspicion.
Therefore, Yin Zhu patched up the wound; it's normal for a dying person to have the urge to confide in someone.
This piqued Mao Changji's curiosity, and Yin Zhucai stammered, "I don't know. Perhaps I can help her escape. Things are much better outside now than before. As long as we can escape, the world is vast, and there will always be a place for us to stay."
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