Liu Fuxin glanced at the documents and asked thoughtfully:
“Besides that, have you found any other clues? If Qinghuo is responsible, then the victims must share some trait related to its obsession. Aside from their background, there should be something else in common.”
Lin Jin paused.
“Not yet. But there is something else that stood out. This morning, I saw a young woman in white being sold into Mantingchun. But when I later asked the madam for her by name, she kept dodging the question. I suspect that girl is no longer in the building. And there’s also their top courtesan, Cuítáng—she seems to have done something that angered the madam badly. There’s a rather serious slap mark on her face.”
Liu Fuxin was sharp. With a bit of thought, she grasped the connection.
“You suspect these two matters are related?”
“Exactly.” Lin Jin nodded. “I kept Miss Cuítáng back to question her further, but then I overheard her conflict with the madam. You infiltrated Mantingchun as well—I assume it was for this case. Since our goals align, how about we cooperate for now? I’ll likely need your help next, and this is something only you can do.”
“If you put it that way, then of course I’ll help,” Liu Fuxin replied without much hesitation.
They briefly discussed their plan in a narrow alley beside Mantingchun, then split up. Liu Fuxin melted into a dark, unlit side street, while Lin Jin and Han Ao headed back toward the bustling Mantingchun.
Before leaving earlier, Lin Jin had told Cuítáng to wait in her room, but he didn’t know which room was hers, so he asked the madam for directions.
The madam was more than happy to oblige, but before the two men left, she sized up Han Ao standing beside Lin Jin, her expression turning complicated.
“Sir… you’re taking two people?”
Lin Jin understood immediately. His ears warmed slightly, but he held his composure and frowned faintly.
“Is that a problem?”
“It’s not that it’s impossible, but sir—you only paid for one. Cuítáng is our top courtesan. Serving two gentlemen at once for the price of one would really lower her value, wouldn’t it?”
The madam’s sharp little eyes gleamed with calculation, clearly hoping to squeeze more money out of him.
Lin Jin had no desire to argue further. He quickly took out a silver ingot and tossed it to her, then turned and left.
As he walked away, he still heard her muttering behind him:
“That little vixen Cuítáng really has some luck—face beaten up like that and still drawing customers. Two gentlemen at that, tsk tsk…”
“…,” Lin Jin rolled his eyes faintly.
He and Han Ao soon found Cuítáng’s room. Lin Jin knocked twice. Inside, Cuítáng seemed to pause for a moment before saying softly, “Please come in.”
Her room was quite spacious and neatly arranged. Unlike the cloying, powdery scent outside, the room was filled with a light, fresh fragrance of flowers and fruit.
Cuítáng sat by the bed holding a pipa, idly plucking its strings. When Lin Jin entered, she nodded.
“What would the two gentlemen like to hear? My playing is passable—I hope it may please you.”
She was dressed differently than downstairs. She had removed her hair ornaments and retouched her makeup, and several layers of clothing were gone. Now she wore only a thin gauze dress.
The window was half open. Lin Jin, fully clothed, still felt cold. Seeing how lightly dressed she was, he casually handed her the robe draped over a nearby chair.
“It’s cold inside. Put this on. We only want to ask you a few questions. Just answer truthfully.”
As he spoke, Lin Jin took Ballball out from inside his clothes and placed him on his lap. He’d meant to let him get some air, but after Ballball opened his eyes and surveyed the surroundings, his previously lazy posture instantly became alert.
He glanced at the lightly dressed beauty, then looked incredulously at Lin Jin beside him. Just as he was about to jump down and leave, Lin Jin pressed him firmly in place.
“When did you enter Mantingchun?”
Cuítáng pulled on the robe and replied,
“…I can’t quite remember myself. Maybe ten years, maybe twelve.”
“And over all these years, has anything strange happened inside Mantingchun?”
Her fingers paused briefly on the strings.
“Strange? There are so many patrons coming and going—odd people and odd events are nothing unusual. For example, you, sir: spending dozens of taels for a night with me, only to sit here asking such irrelevant questions. Doesn’t that count as strange?”
Lin Jin caught the fleeting anomaly in her reaction.
“That’s not what I mean. I’m asking about the women who disappeared without cause—Miss Li three years ago, Fangniang six years ago. Do you remember them?”
He deliberately slowed his speech and narrowed his eyes slightly, watching her closely.
“…Those were all my sisters. Of course, I remember them.”
Cuítáng’s expression remained calm as she let out a soft laugh.
“But do you know what kind of people the women in Mantingchun are? We’re the families of disgraced officials, lowly commoners, and children sold off by our own families. Those who can accept it stay and smile as they sell their bodies. Those who can’t jump into a dry well and end it, or, if they’re lucky, escape and change their names. Disappearances are the most ordinary thing in the world. Even the authorities won’t pursue them—why should you care, sir?”
“Oh?”
Lin Jin leaned back against the chair, confidence settling in his heart.
“Because as far as I know, things aren’t that simple. For instance, the disappearances at Mantingchun are actually the work of a ghost. Isn’t that right?”
“So you’re an immortal, sir. No wonder.”
Cuítáng set the pipa aside, opened her makeup box, and took out a small jar of lip rouge.
“Ghosts, gods—those aren’t things a mortal like me can meddle in. Whether there are ghosts or not, what does it matter?”
She dipped her fingertip into the color and applied it to her lips.
The color slowly deepened. Cuítáng looked up at Lin Jin, then curved her eyes into a smile—one even more captivating than the vivid red on her lips.
“Compared to ghosts, I think the human heart… is the most terrifying thing of all.”
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152