Start with a core cabin

Chapter 1639: The Oiran’s Path (Eating, sleeping, sleeping, eating is life)
In this way, Duanmu Huai started working as a waiter in Takaseya.

The so-called "Kakehi" are actually the bodyguards of the brothels. Their work includes collecting debts, dealing with troublesome customers, and occasionally chatting with the brothels.

Fortunately, for Duanmu Huai, these were not difficult. Although some people looked down on him because of his size at the beginning, after Duanmu Huai dealt with a few troublemakers, the originally chaotic Takaseya got back on track and resumed business.

With this identity, Duanmu Huai not only obtained information about the people inside Takaseya, but also used it as an excuse to get information when he went out to collect debts. Thanks to this, Duanmu Huai did get a lot of intelligence.

but………

"It's really tricky."

Sitting in his room, Duanmu Huai stared at the records in front of him and frowned.

In places like Yuguo, the level of chaos is no different from that of the lower levels of the Hive City. Here, injuries, deaths, and disappearances are not commonplace, but they are also commonplace. If evil ghosts want to hide here and eat people, then it is really difficult to track them.

However, there are still clues.

According to the information collected by Duanmu Huai, one of them is very important.

That is, no one knows where those famous courtesans went after they "graduated".

After all, oirans, like idols, rely on their youth. No matter how famous an oiran is, once they get older, they will become less and less attractive to customers. People like MEM, who are gifted and can still act like a JK at the age of 25, are completely exceptions. Besides, modern makeup techniques are not comparable to those of this era.

Therefore, no matter how famous the courtesan was, once they reached a certain age, most of them would start to consider retiring. Generally speaking, there were a few options for such courtesans: either stay as a handyman to supervise other girls, which was the so-called part-time job, or become a slave owner.

Or, they can find a suitable man to marry, which is also the way many prostitutes "retire".

The other thing is to pay the ransom and then find a place to start a new life. Although their age is a bit old for prostitutes, it is not too old for other professions.

Idols don’t need to be over 20 years old, and it doesn’t mean that after you turn 20 you can only get a pension - there is no such thing.

Of course, there were also many people who were cheated in this way. Duanmu Huai had heard many times about prostitutes who believed the sweet words of the customers and secretly left with their valuables. As a result, after leaving Youguo, the customers turned against them and not only robbed the girls of their valuables, but also killed them. Well, this kind of story is very common in Youguo.

There were also courtesans who married the owners of brothels and became the proprietresses, and in this way the brothels were passed down from generation to generation.

Well, nowadays, most of the prostitute houses in Yuguo are family businesses...the kind that are century-old.

During the investigation, Duanmu Huai discovered that all the courtesans born in Yoshiwara Yugao seemed to disappear mysteriously.

Of course, they would say to the outside world that they either escaped secretly or were picked up by men. However, not everyone believed this.

the reason is simple.

First of all, those who disappeared were the top courtesans in the shop. If the brothel would still exploit the middle and lower classes, then top courtesans like these would generally part ways amicably. There was no such thing as a top courtesan secretly escaping because the brothel would not let her leave.

After all, if this kind of thing gets out, other women won't dare to come to your shop, and the shop will be closed down, right? Although Youguo is indeed engaged in human trafficking, the shops are also competitors. They are all prostitutes, so they will definitely choose the shop that treats them well.

Secondly, some parts of the story are illogical. For example, a customer once told Duanmu Huai that he had made an appointment with a courtesan in a shop to celebrate her freedom the next day, and the latter happily agreed. However, when he went to the shop the next night, he was told that the courtesan had left.

This doesn't make sense at all. After all, the two parties are clients with a good relationship, and the courtesan will be free in three days. It's like being in prison and you only have three days left to serve your sentence before you can be released, but you insist on escaping from prison at this time. It doesn't make sense no matter how you think about it, doesn't it?
According to Duanmu Huai's investigation, this kind of thing happened in almost all the brothels in Youguo, but because of the saying "family disgrace should not be made public", each brothel kept this kind of thing secret. Even if the people below knew something about the situation, they would just think it was commonplace in Youguo.

This is actually easy to understand. For example, in a community, there is a theft here and there, and the amount of theft seems to be small. But if you aggregate these thefts and find that there are hundreds of thefts in this community, the amount involved is millions of dollars - that is another matter.

Just like now, when Duanmu Huai put together the information he collected, the situation that emerged was shocking.

As far as Yoshiwara Yukaku practitioners can remember, a total of 65 oirans have "disappeared", and none of them have left any evidence to prove that they have definitely left Yoshiwara Yukaku. In addition, there are some "rising stars" who are considered by customers to be qualified to become oirans, and the number exceeds .

Their common characteristics are that they are young, beautiful, and none of them exceeds a certain age.

Then it is easy to understand the evil ghost's preferences. Obviously, this evil ghost likes to eat young and beautiful girls, and the courtesans in various stores are also targets that it will never let go.

In this case, what needs to be done is simple.

According to Duanmu Huai's investigation, the most famous courtesans in Yoshiwara Yukari are Warabihime of Kyogokuya and Koika of Tokitomoya.

In other words, as long as he disguised himself as a guest and redeemed them, the evil ghost would definitely attack them before they left Youguo.

Of course, this is not an easy task. The amount of money to redeem an oiran is not low. The total amount of redemption = the redemption money of the prostitute herself + the loan the prostitute has taken out so far + the amount that may be earned in the future + congratulatory money to the prostitute's house employees and juniors + farewell party + miscellaneous expenses.

Well... after seeing so much, you will know that this money is definitely not a small amount, especially for the top courtesan.

But Duanmu Huai didn't care.

With the Demon Slayer Corps to take care of things, what is he afraid of?
You can't even come up with this little money, right?

No way, right?

However, meeting the Oiran is not as easy as imagined.

In Chinese martial arts dramas, people often go directly to brothels and ask the madam to "call out the most popular Ah Hui here!"

However, this kind of thing is impossible to happen in Yuguo. The prostitutes who can be directly named by customers in Yuguo are all middle and lower level prostitutes.

It's not easy to meet a top-notch courtesan like her.

First, the customer has to go through an intermediary called "Chaya" and spend a lot of money to buy off the relationship before he can get the chance to meet the oiran. Moreover, during the first meeting, the customer can only sit at the lower seat while the oiran sits at the upper seat. The oiran will not even talk to the customer, and the customer needs to ask the geisha to perform songs and dances to show off his wealth.

By the way, this is naturally a considerable expense.

The same thing happened the second time.

It is not until the third time that the Oiran will recognize the client and form an intimate relationship with him, and the client must also pay a valuable "bond money"...

Well, now you know why the Oiran is the number one money-making trump card of the brothel. With such a set of operations, the money is naturally endless.

This is just one guest.

Frankly speaking, Duanmu Huai really couldn't stand such trouble, but... that was the rule, and he had no choice but to go ahead with it.

Money itself was not a problem. The Demon Slayer Corps member named Ubuyashiki was indeed rich. When Duanmu Huai asked him to transfer money, he did so without hesitation. Then, he hired an oiran through the teahouse.

Duanmu Huai also made some arrangements, and then was told that he would need more sincerity to meet Ji Jue, but Li Xia was not so stingy, so he decisively decided to invite Li Xia to the banquet.

Frankly speaking, the banquet itself was very boring. Duanmu Huai had no interest in the Japanese geishas' babbling like ghosts. In addition, Li Xia sat far away from him and didn't talk, which made Duanmu Huai very bored. But the money was already spent, what else could he do?

It's just like setting a bait for fishing. If you have set the bait but don't catch any fish, wouldn't that be a loss?
So I had no choice but to continue.

It was not until the third banquet that Li Xia finally sat in front of Duanmu Huai.

"Master, I never thought you would call me three times in a row."

While pouring wine for Duanmu Huai, Li Xia whispered.

"Hmm? Can't I?"

"No, it's just......"

Li Xia raised her head and stared at Duanmu Huai.

"Isn't the young master interested in me?"

"………………………"

Duanmu Huai silently took the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. In modern times, it would be illegal for him to drink at his age, but it didn't matter in this era.

"You know."

"Of course, we in this business are very aware of how our customers view us."

Hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, Li Xia smiled slightly.

"When we first met, I realized that you had no interest in Li Xia. Although you were looking at me, you were not really looking at me. At that time, Li Xia was very uneasy and thought that I had done something wrong. But I didn't expect that after that, you would invite me one after another... You spent so much money, but you were not interested in me, so why?"

"It's very simple." Since the other party had seen through it, Duanmu Huai didn't care and gave a direct answer.

"I want to redeem you."

"Redeem...me?"

I have to say, although I was mentally prepared, Li Xia was still shocked when I heard Duanmu Huai's words.

"Young Master, I don't quite understand what you mean. Lixia is just an Oiran. How can she be so worthy of such honor..."

"Anyway, I have something very important to do, and redeeming you is a very necessary step."

Duanmu Huai put down his wine glass and stared at Li Xia.

"I can see that you are a smart person. I don't think I will say anything more. I can guarantee that you will not be in any danger. After you redeem yourself, you will be free again. This is not a bad thing for you."

"………………………"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, Li Xia lowered his head and silently poured him another glass of wine.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"So, guest, you don't have any feelings for Lixia, right?"

"Yes, you are a beautiful girl, but I redeemed you entirely for my own purposes."

"If that's the case..."

As he spoke, Li Xia lowered his head and bowed respectfully to Duanmu Huai.

"Please forgive Lixia for refusing."

"What's the reason?"

"In fact, there is a master who also wants to redeem Li Xia. That master wants to marry Li Xia and the negotiations are currently underway."

“……………………Is that so?”

"That's right. Li Xia is willing to accept your invitation this time, Master. I just want to know why you invite me again and again even though you obviously don't like me... But now it seems that you are unwilling to explain."

"It doesn't matter."

Duanmuhuai waved his hand.

"You have decided to marry him, then?"

"Just now, I have made a decision."

"That's fine...as long as you like it."

Duanmu Huai also breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to waste any more money—even though the money was not his own.

Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai picked up the wine glass again and looked at Li Xia in front of him. The latter was still wearing the pale foundation of the courtesan, looking like a female ghost. But...for some reason, Duanmu Huai always felt that she looked a little familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

"………………Master, what's wrong with you?"

"I think you look like someone I know, but I can't remember who it is right now."

Duanmu Huai frowned. He was sure that he had seen Li Xia's face somewhere before. However, Li Xia's current hairstyle was the kind of hairstyle that a prostitute would wear, with her hair combed back and tied up in a high bun. With this weird hairstyle, it was impossible to tell who this face looked like... Forget it, it didn't matter.

"Never mind. By the way, I remember hearing somewhere that this powder is bad for the skin and it's best not to use it often."

"…………………"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, Li Xia looked at him meaningfully, silently for a moment, and then lowered his head.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master. Li Xia will keep it in mind."

Not long after this, Duanmu Huai learned from other servants that Lixia had decided to get married, and the other party had already paid the ransom and was just waiting for the time to take her away from Youguo.

After receiving this news, Duanmu Huai finally cheered up.

Next, it’s time to see if your guess is correct.

Lixia sat in the room, facing the mirror, slowly combing her long hair.

Tomorrow is the day I will leave Shi Ren's house.

Thinking of this, Lixia was a little reluctant. Although for any girl, unless they had no choice, they would not come to Yuguo. But after living here for so long, it is not true to say that there is no affection at all. Moreover, she also loved the two children who served her very much. She didn't know if they could cheer up after she left.

"…………………"

However, at this moment, the figure of the young man appeared in Lixia's mind.

At first, she heard from the teahouse that a rich young man wanted to see her, but Lixia didn't take it too seriously. It was normal for rich young men to come to Yuguo to see the world and want to see the famous courtesan.

But after actually meeting, Lixia discovered that the situation was somewhat different from what she had imagined.

The other man was slender and handsome, a rare beautiful boy. However, the way he looked at her was not like other men, neither the passion of a young man in love, nor the greed and appreciation of a seasoned womanizer.

On the contrary, his eyes seemed to be full of impatience, as if the other party was completely unaware of his charm as an oiran.

This made Lixia very surprised and a little disappointed. Even after returning, he checked himself several times, wondering if he had done something wrong or overlooked something.

But at that time, Lixia thought that the boy would not invite her again.

To her surprise, the other party invited her a second time.

This time, Li Xia decided to avenge her previous shame and attract the boy's attention. She even made careful preparations. Even when she walked on the street, her appearance was enough to attract all the men's attention.

But...it still doesn't work on that boy.

The way he looked at her seemed calm, with a hint of impatience. But that was not because he wanted to be close to her, but more like he couldn't get used to this complicated ritual.

This was really something Lixia couldn't understand. Since the other party was not interested in her, why did he invite her again and again?
You know, these are very expensive.

So when Duanmu Huai invited her to the banquet for the third time, Lixia couldn't help but ask.

However, the answer she got was not entirely clear.

The young master seemed to be planning to do something, he even wanted to redeem himself, but he didn't make it clear what he was going to do. This made Lixia a little angry, she didn't know why, after all, there were many guests who were rude to her, but the attitude of this young man made Lixia a little unacceptable.

At that time, Lixia was considering the proposal of another nobleman, and she had been hesitant to agree. However, at that time, whether out of anger or something else, she decisively decided to accept the other party's proposal.

Even though she said that, the young man did not show any loss or shock on his face. Instead, he seemed relieved... Could it be that he was glad that he would not have to pay the redemption money?
Who does he think he is?
Thinking of this, Lixia couldn't help but tighten the comb in her hand. At this moment, she suddenly heard a noise behind her. So Lixia turned around and looked behind her.

“Who is it——————”

However, before Lixia finished speaking, she stopped, because at this moment, behind Lixia, stood a woman. Lixia was familiar with this face, she was none other than Kyogokuya's oiran "Warp Princess".

But at this moment, Princess Wei was completely different from the one that Lixia was familiar with. She stood there, staring at him with a cannibalistic gaze, with a hideous smile on her face.

"After tonight, you will leave, right, Lixia... I have to eat you before that..."

“…………………………”

Feeling the terrifying aura emanating from the other party, like a ferocious beast, Li Xia sat there in a daze, motionless. She could only watch the ribbons floating around Fern Princess stretching out towards her like poisonous snakes.

"boom!"

However, at this moment, the roof in front of him suddenly exploded, and then a bright red sword light fell from the sky and stabbed straight towards Fern Princess!