64

Chapter 66: Offering Oneself in Return

"Damn it, is there no end to this? All of you go to hell!" Luo Hou roared in exasperation.

"Oh, my dear sir, now that you've scared away all the patrons, you'll simply have to keep this little sister good company tonight!" a pretty young woman said to Luo Hou with a beaming smile, pressing her voluptuous bosom against his chest as she spoke.

Luo Hou, who had looked so imposing just a moment ago, wilted instantly like a frostbitten eggplant. "Oh, my good sister, I beg of you, please spare me!" Beside him, one of his subordinates shook violently, trying so hard to hold back his laughter that he looked like he had lost his mind.

Luo Hou said helplessly, "You girls may leave. From now on, don't walk this path anymore, otherwise—"

"Otherwise what?" Far from being frightened, the courtesans blinked playfully at Luo Hou.

"Ahem, Amitabha, dear ladies, are you truly unwilling to turn over a new leaf?" Luo Hou asked with a straight face.

"My good sir, it's not as simple as you make it sound! All of us girls have signed indentured servitude contracts; how can we just up and leave as we please?" one of the women sighed and said.

"Oh, indentured contracts? That's easily solved! Where is the madam? Where is the madam of this house?" Luo Hou bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Hearing this, a blush crept across the faces of the women, and a few of them began to cover their mouths in sniggering laughter.

While Luo Hou stood there in bewildered suspicion, an eighteen-year-old maiden appeared right before him.

The young lady wore an ivory-white long dress, overlaid with a sweeping, gossamer-thin veil embroidered with golden and silver threads depicting colorful cherry blossoms. Her dark hair was coiled into the shape of half a chrysanthemum, and peach blossom floral decals were meticulously pasted between her brows, accentuating her complexion which bloomed like spring. She had cherry lips, phoenix-shaped eyes, and temples as lush as drifting clouds. On either side of her hair were pinned two hollow-carved gold-wire peacock hairpins, each bird holding a string of black pearls in its beak, exuding an air of elegance without being ostentatious. The young girl snorted. "What madam? You of all people had to call it by such an ugly name!"

Luo Hou's jaw dropped in disbelief, and he couldn't help asking, "Miss, you are the madam here... um... the manager?"

The young girl tapped her jade-white chin. "Mmm-hmm, that's me. Is there something you need?"

Luo Hou instantly assumed the expression of a besotted fool. "May I be so bold as to ask the young lady's age? Are you betrothed? Do you have any family members at home?"

"My name is Zheng Yingying. You're a most unreasonable fellow, driving away the customers like this!" Zheng Yingying shot Luo Hou an annoyed yet shy glance, her eyes radiating a unique, alluring charm. A voice began to echo in Luo Hou's mind: *Take your men and leave, take your men and leave...*

As if guided by some supernatural force, Luo Hou turned and started to walk away. His subordinates hurriedly followed. When they reached the door, one of the men finally couldn't hold it in any longer. "Instructor Luo, we came here to cause trouble, didn't we?"

Luo Hou jolted as though someone had doused him with a basin of cold water, snapping back to his senses instantly. He scratched his head foolishly. "That's right, what on earth was I doing?" With that, he turned around and marched right back. "Dammit, Miss Zheng, hold on a moment!"

Zheng Yingying shook her head with a look of regret. "Sigh, it failed again!"

With a flushed face and a thick neck, Luo Hou said, "Miss Zheng, please hand over the indentured contracts!"

A flash of disdain crossed Zheng Yingying's eyes, tinged faintly with a hint of ruthlessness. "Could it be that the officer intends to buy every single girl in this place?"

Luo Hou straightened his expression. "Just produce them now, or don't blame me for being merciless!" Having spent many years in military camps, Luo Hou naturally exuded an aura of stern slaughter, causing the subordinates behind him to involuntarily take a few steps back.

Zheng Yingying sneered. "And if I don't give them to you, what will you do?"

Refusing to look into Zheng Yingying's eyes, Luo Hou knew that despite not understanding the full story, this woman was somewhat bizarre. He took a few steps back. "Prepare the crossbows!" The men behind him instantly whipped out their repeating crossbows and aimed them straight at Zheng Yingying.

Unflinching, Zheng Yingying produced a long sword from thin air. The weapon was quite unusual, carved entirely out of bamboo strips. "Hmph, I never imagined people outside were all so wicked!"

Realizing the futility of it, Luo Hou reined in his murderous intent and said to Zheng Yingying, "My young master has given orders not to slaughter the innocent. Why must you make things difficult for us, Miss Zheng? You are merely a manager here; why throw away your life for the Yangwei Escort Agency in vain?"

The bamboo sword in Zheng Yingying's hand instantly vanished from sight. "Oh, that's right. Why on earth should I risk my life for someone else?"

Luo Hou: "..."

Zheng Yingying waved her hand, and a stack of paper fluttered through the air right up to Luo Hou. Panic-stricken as if he were catching his own newborn son, Luo Hou clumsily caught the bundle of indentured contracts. A tightness gripped his chest—the residual force of Zheng Yingying's casual exertion.

Luo Hou cast a strange look at her and muttered, "Her martial arts are quite good, and she's pretty too, just a little dim-witted."

"Do you believe I'll kill you?" Zheng Yingying shot him an icy glare.

Luo Hou shuddered involuntarily. This was definitely not someone he could afford to cross! Clearing his throat awkwardly, Luo Hou brandished the bundle of papers triumphantly. "Dear ladies, your indentured contracts are right here in my hands!" With a fierce exertion of strength, he tore the stack into a flurry of confetti filling the sky. He let out a hearty sigh of relief, feeling the genuine satisfaction of utterly destroying the evidence. "From this moment on, you are all free!" he declared cheerfully.

The surrounding women stood frozen in shock. They hadn't expected Luo Hou to act so swiftly and decisively, leaving them no time to react at all.

Luo Hou grinned broadly. "What's wrong? Shouldn't you all be weeping with gratitude and offering yourselves to me in return?"

"Offer your head! What are we going to eat from now on, you blockhead? How dare you cut off our livelihood! Sisters, let's get him!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the women swarmed him in a collective attack. Cries of agony pierced the heavens.

"Stop, I have a solution!" Having finally broken through the encirclement, Luo Hou shouted with a bruised and battered face.

"What solution could you possibly have? Can you magically glue the contracts back together?" a pretty young girl asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

Zheng Yingying let out a sudden chuckle. In truth, she had long since grown weary of staying here. Having lost her parents early in life, she had lived a secluded, peaceful existence in the great mountains alongside her elderly grandmother, until the old woman passed away half a year ago. On her deathbed, her grandmother had instructed her to travel to Chang'an to seek out her senior martial brother. Zheng Yingying remembered his name was Yang Guang, and her grandmother had promised that he would take care of her.

Thus, the naive Zheng Yingying had ventured out of the mountains alone, never anticipating how complicated the outside world could be. She discovered that even buying a meal required something called silver. Wandering alone, she suffered endless bullying and was nearly defiled. Corrupted by the filth of society, Zheng Yingying finally learned to kill. All the way from the mountains to Bianliang, her hands had become stained with blood.

Later, she was tricked into a brothel. Lady Hu, one of the twelve operatives of the Yangwei Escort Agency, happened to oversee all the brothels under the agency's banner. Seeing Zheng Yingying's innocent nature, Lady Hu couldn't bear to ruin her completely, and instead appointed her as the... ahem... manager of one of the brothels!

Zheng Yingying sighed. "I want to go back to the mountains so badly!"