I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 26: Fellow Daoist?

Seeing that the sky was getting pale and the stars were sparse, and the night was about to fade, Xu Qing jumped onto the high wall, focused his eyes, and used the Qi technique of vision to take in the entire mill.

The mist of the five elements and five colors ranges from light to dark, and is different in every place.

He concentrated his mind and saw the calm orange crowd in the distant courtyard.

It was obvious that the people in the mill were still resting and had not yet woken up.

Xu Qing looked down at the mangled corpses scattered all over the floor and was about to leave, but he was still confused.

While thinking, he glanced around and used the art of looking at the air around him, and finally his eyes fell on a place full of fiery air.

It was originally a fire room where the kitchen staff used to light fires and boil water for cooking for the people working in the mill.

Xu Qing felt that the weather in February was still cold, and it was the right time for everyone to stay in bed and enjoy the warmth. He was a kind-hearted person and couldn't bear to see people suffer from the cold, so he decided to light a fire for the people in the black workshop before leaving so that everyone could warm up!
Thinking of this, Xu Qing was so moved that he almost went crazy. He quickly ran to the pyrotechnic workshop and worked hard. While it was still early, and in line with the principle of doing good deeds without leaving a name, he jumped over the high wall in a few leaps and disappeared into the streets and alleys.

The fifth watch passed in a flash, and the night watchman finished his night shift, carrying the gong and clappers, and was walking back leisurely.

When they met Ye Xiangfu who got up early and was busy on the road, the two acquaintances began to greet each other as usual.

"Hey, dung picker, you got up a little late today. I've already finished my fifth watch, and you're just starting to set up your stall?"

"Oh, forget it. It's cold out today, and no one wants to leave the night-scented bucket outside. I can't knock on the door to ask for it. Anyway, I got up early and it's just the same work, so I might as well stay late. I can finish it eventually."

As the two were talking, Ye Xiangfu suddenly stretched his neck, looked behind the night watchman, and asked in confusion, "Why is the sky so red over there? Is there a fire?"

The night watchman responded instinctively: "How is that possible? I just finished my patrol over there."

Before the two of them finished speaking, someone suddenly shouted in the distance: "Fire! Put out the fire quickly!"

One word caused a thousand ripples. Just as the night watchman was stunned, the sounds of dogs barking and children crying could be heard sporadically.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of thousands of people shouted, hundreds of thousands of children cried, and hundreds of thousands of dogs barked. In a short time, everyone on the entire street was awakened.

Ye Xiangfu hurriedly reminded him, "I told you to patrol the streets to prevent fire and theft. Now that something's happened, why don't you quickly start beating the gong?"

The night watchman came to his senses instantly after hearing this, and hurriedly picked up the gong and smashed it with the copper hammer like raindrops.

"It's a disaster - there's a fire! Everyone, hurry up and put out the fire!" There's no need to explain the professionalism of the night watchman, as he started with the same old tune.

Two blocks away from the mill, Xu Qing stood by the roadside, watching the yamen runners and soldiers carrying the water dragon and driving the water cart towards the scene of the incident.

He was not worried at all that the fire would spread to other places. There was a whole circle of alleys surrounding Cui's Mill to prevent fires in other houses from spreading to Cui's Mill.

Now the firebreak has become a good helper for them to enclose the land and burn themselves.

In addition to the patrol errand boy, Xu Qing also saw Linhe Constable Zhao Zhonghe, who was running towards the scene of the incident in a hurry with a group of his men who had just woken up.

I didn’t expect this captain to be so dedicated!

Xu Qing retracted his gaze, walked out of the dark alley, and looked towards Changdeng Street.

Changdeng Street is one of the most lively places in Linhefang. No matter it is day or night, raining or thundering, as long as the sky does not fall, you can see scholars and ordinary people coming and going everywhere.

Some people may ask what is the story behind this. Why is this place so lively when other places are not?

The answer is simple, because there are prostitutes here!

Xu Qing had been busy all night and was worried about having no place to rest, so he had to come to this place with bright lights and wine to warm himself up and listen to some music.

By the way, you can also try out whether the palace secret technique you just acquired is effective.

There are quite a few brothels on Changdeng Street. Xu Qing stood on the street, with brightly lit colorful buildings on both sides.

As he walked into the street, the lanterns reflected on his body, and even the coldness in his body melted away a little, which showed how popular this place is!
In front of the brothel, a cuckolded pimp came up to greet them.

He asked, Yichunyuan?
Never heard of it, no go.

Coming to the second house, Shuhuang Pavilion? Are there still talented women and beautiful women in it?
Then don’t go!
This fancy name sounds simple and expensive.

When he arrived at the third house, Xu Qing looked up and saw two big red lanterns hanging high at the door of each of the tall buildings with carved beams and painted rafters and upturned corners and eaves, with words inscribed on the lanterns.

Xu Qing was dazzled by the sight. A quick glance revealed the words "wind and flowers" on the left and "snow and moon" on the right. For a place as romantic as this, it was unlikely to have many pure words.

Look at the plaque in the middle, Cuiyun Tower.

This name sounds familiar.

After a moment's thought, Xu Qing recalled this place.

Isn’t this the new boss that Su Hongxiu found after returning to her old business?

At that time, the scandal of the Liu Mansion was spread throughout the streets and alleys. After Su Hongxiu was driven out of the Liu Mansion, she took advantage of her widow persona to become the most popular star in Linhefang.

With his own efforts, he managed to increase the value of the scandal by a few points.

It’s fate, this is the one!

Xu Qing was not very interested in the so-called widow, mainly because he was a nostalgic person and felt a sense of familiarity when he heard familiar place names and names of people.

It was February at this time and the weather was not yet warm. A thick and light warm curtain was hung at the door of Cuiyun Tower to block out the cold air. As soon as Xu Qingfu entered, he felt like he had arrived in the south of the Yangtze River where lotus flowers had just bloomed, and the warm air rushed straight to his face.

"Please sit inside!"

Different from the cuckolded pimps in the previous houses, this time he was greeted by the 'big teapot' on duty inside.

That is, the guys in the brothel.

When Xu Qing was helping the brothel hanger-on to be reincarnated, he learned a lot about this subject.

For example, the reason why the waiter in front of me is called Big Teapot is not because he is rich and generous, nor does it mean that he is called Big Teapot because he uses a teapot to refill water and tea for people.

This is because brothels mostly consist of elegant rooms, and most of the things the girls and guests are doing together are elegant things.

The two people were drinking water, chatting and expressing their feelings. The waiter couldn't just lift the curtain and come in like a tea boy or a waiter, as he would easily get beaten.

Who knows what the man and woman are doing in the house, so why did you suddenly go in?

But then the problem arises again. The waiter cannot go in without permission. What if the water in the room is used up?
It's simple to say. At this time, the guest only needs to pick up the teapot and knock on the teapot with the lid. When the waiter outside hears the sound, he will know it's time to come in and refill the water.

Some brothels with attentive service would even customize a large teapot with a three-foot-long spout so as not to disturb the guests, and add water through the window.

This is also a skill. Over time, the guys in the brothel got the nickname "Big Teapot".

"Then, big teapot, take me around first."

Xu Qing had never been to this place before, so everything he saw was new.

After chatting with Big Teapot for a while, I learned some of the rules of the building.

It turns out that Cuiyun Tower is not a single building, but a main building and twenty-four small buildings combined together. There are four entrances and four exits in total. Each building has a top star, and the rankings of these twenty-four top stars will be ranked at intervals.

Like Su Hongxiu, she entertains guests in Building 23.

Xu Qing asked about the price and found out that the cheapest top-tier item would cost at least three or four taels of silver a night, which was almost as much as he would earn from selling a corpse!
He pondered his purse, thinking that this 'gold-spending den' was indeed worthy of its reputation.

The aroma of high-quality laurel wax from the surrounding compartments wafted into Xu Qing's nose. He suddenly thought and randomly ordered a girl with an empty Spring Pavilion. Before going upstairs, he didn't forget to give a few instructions to the big teapot:

"Prepare some good candles, and some preserved fruit snacks. Remember to get some dried persimmons. I have a sweet tooth."

"Okay!" The guy smiled knowingly and happily took the small change that Xu Qing threw to him.

After waiting for no one to be around, Xu Qing went up to the attic alone. For some reason, from the moment he entered Cuiyun Tower, he felt that the yin energy here was much stronger than other places.

From the secluded inner chambers of the four-sided building, a familiar smell of incense wafted out.

Xu Qing knew what that thing was. Whether as a corpse driver or a zombie who often consumed spiritual incense, he was very familiar with this smell.

Could it be that there are also people practicing Yin sect or fellow practitioners in this place of entertainment?

(End of this chapter)