Chapter 89 - Consequences (Part III) (Patreon)

“Sister Yuan, you are always amazing,” a middle-aged woman said through labored breaths. She was lying sprawled across a red mattress, one arm resting over her forehead as sweat glistened on her skin.

Gently massaging the woman’s feet, Courtesan Yuan Yuan giggled sweetly as she sat up, saying, “Big Sister Wu is the amazing one. I admire you so much."

Finally calming her breathing, Sister Wu sighed deeply. “I’m lucky you have free time these days. Work has been unbearable lately, and that wastrel at home only gives me more problems to solve.”

Courtesan Yuan Yuan nodded quietly while continuing the massage. She knew her client only wanted to vent.

“The worst part is dealing with those sharks,” Sister Wu muttered, groaning slightly in pleasure. “Did you hear the rumors? People are saying the Tidal Church sacrificed cultivators to summon some god. Utter nonsense. It was done to clean the house, and the Shadow Alliance helped them—”

She abruptly paused, looking apologetic. Then, she glanced toward Courtesan Yuan Yuan, who merely continued smiling silently.

“Sorry, Sister Yuan,” Secretary Wu said, slapping her forehead. “I misspoke. Those people are your patrons. I shouldn’t say such things.”

“You can say anything here, Big Sister Wu,” Courtesan Yuan Yuan said, tilting her head slightly. “My lips are sealed, and they only open for you.”

The two women's eyes met, and Secretary Wu leaned forward, pulling Courtesan Yuan Yuan back toward the bed for another round of affection. Hours later, deep into the night, Courtesan Yuan Yuan quietly opened her eyes and slipped away from the sleeping woman's arms.

She dressed in silk garments and went to the front of a bronze mirror atop her desk. The room was almost entirely dark, illuminated only by faint moonlight slipping through the gaps in the window shutters. Yet, she could see her reflection clearly.

Biting her lip, she remembered the changes that had begun nearly a month ago.

Her senses had improved unnaturally while her body had grown stronger. She had even started refusing certain rougher clients after accidentally breaking two chairs and shattering several expensive beauty creams with careless movements. Adding to that, she only accepted new clients or those who were selfish and narcissistic. The color of her eyes had changed to gray, and anyone who cared about her would have noticed.

Courtesan Yuan Yuan had no idea what was happening to her. And because of that ignorance, she feared seeking help.

The changes had begun shortly after the rumors regarding the Tidal Church sacrifices and the disappearance of a few of her clients. Deep down, she constantly feared someone under Madame Ching would eventually come to interrogate her.

Not a single night passed without her waking repeatedly to confirm she was still inside her room, and not in a ship’s cabin.

Pressing a hand against her chest, she felt a faint pulse of pain from her heart.

“The doctor said it was probably from lack of sleep,” she muttered softly, recalling the brothel physician’s explanation regarding her palpitations and sudden bursts of pain over the last few days.

Eventually, she returned to bed.

The following days passed normally. Until one morning, while staring into the mirror, Courtesan Yuan Yuan suddenly screamed.

Hearing the fear behind the shout, a muscular woman burst into the room, glaring around and checking every corner.

“Is everything alright?” the brothel guard asked, scanning Yuan Yuan from head to toe before frowning. “Are you sick? I’ll call the doctor.”

“No!” Courtesan Yuan Yuan shouted, hastily covering her body with the bedsheets. “Get out!”

The guard nodded slowly and left the room in silence. Inwardly, she noted that she should inform the brothels' patrons of the possible venereal disease affecting Yuan Yuan.

Meanwhile, with trembling hands, Courtesan Yuan Yuan picked up the bronze mirror again, her eyes shaking as she stared at her reflection. Instead of flushed cheeks and smooth skin, she saw a sunken face, protruding collarbones, and dried dark spots scattered across her skin.

“Oh heavens." She held back another cry, covering her mouth with one hand. “What is happening to me?”

The heavens did not answer her, but someone else did.

“It is the backlash of a demonic technique.”

Courtesan Yuan Yuan's eyes bulged. She tried to scream for help, but her body was locked in place. An invisible force restrained her completely, leaving only her eyes free. And when she desperately used them to search the room for a culprit, she found no one.

“Do not bother searching for me,” the voice said. “You know that I am a cultivator, so behave and obey. I will release you now. Tell me if you understand.”

The pressure restraining her body vanished.

“I... I understand, Grand Cultivator,” she stammered.

“Good,” the voice said coldly. “Dress yourself and go outside. Cover all of your body. A woman with twin buns and green servant robes will guide you. Do so, and I will help you deal with your condition.”

Courtesan Yuan Yuan neither questioned the voice nor sought help from the guard outside. She had entertained cultivators before, and even if she could not judge their exact strength, she knew the person speaking to her was far stronger than what she could comprehend.

Half an hour later, following the orders, she left the brothel and met the green-robed servant waiting outside. The two walked silently through the red district. They passed brothels, artisan workshops, inns, and crowded restaurants.

At first, Courtesan Yuan Yuan thought they were heading toward the Broken Maze. That was the perfect place for a hidden meeting. But much to her surprise, they turned in the opposite direction, toward the noble district.

Goosebumps spread across her skin. Dealing with a cultivator tied to powerful people was way scarier than dealing with a rogue one. She kept her head lowered and pressed a hand against her aching heart. Without a word, she followed behind the servant.

Almost an hour later, near the walls of the noble district, she saw a grand mansion surrounded by a garden vast enough to resemble a forest. As she approached alongside the servant, she immediately recognized the clashing architecture that blended the Great Sea style with the Golden Peng Empire’s grandeur.

Everybody in Three Feathers City would recognize it. There was a painting of this mansion in half of the shops.

Entering through the front doors, Courtesan Yuan Yuan’s eyes widened in panic. Then, she bowed deeply with cupped hands and said with difficulty, “This lowly woman greets Chairman Bo Qing.”

Bo Qing chuckled softly in response before patting her shoulder.

“Come,” he said, his gray eyes flashing with interest. “We have much to discuss. You must be starving.”

Unaware of the hidden meaning behind those words, Courtesan Yuan Yuan nodded timidly. No matter what happened, she did not dare oppose one of the most influential men in Three Feathers City. She was aware that Chairman Bo Qing of the West Bo Merchant Chamber was a figure capable of changing the fate of thousands with a single word.

As they entered deeper into the mansion, Grandmaster Miao observed the scene from an upper floor with a faint smile on his lips.

They were aware of the people Lucian had used as bait because they were the ones who gathered information on Lucian’s targets before the massacre. After learning about Lucian's lack of connection with the Feathered Serpent Castle, Grandmaster Miao had dispatched servants throughout the city to search for clues, while secretly observing the several baits from afar, using investigative techniques.

And as though the heavens themselves had offered him a gift, Grandmaster Miao realized that Courtesan Yuan Yuan had been affected by a technique remarkably similar to the one tormenting Bo Qing.

Having already consumed a person’s blood to survive, Bo Qing was eager to obtain another subject for experimentation, besides the locked servant who was turned into a ghoul before him. They had learned a lot through that man's suffering. When left starving, the servant had become little more than a hollow shell, incapable of speech.

They had tested countless alternatives.

From cow blood, pig blood, fish blood, and even the blood of corpses. But nothing worked.

Only fresh blood from a living human produced the desired result, making the servant return to normal. Because of that, Courtesan Yuan Yuan’s appearance was an unexpected blessing for their plans.

Not only would she serve as a valuable subject for further observation, but keeping her under their protection would also allow them to call in a favor with Lucian in the future. They could claim they had prevented one of his victims from going insane in public, avoiding the terrible situation of her revealing the dangers of his demonic nature to the City Council and the other forces.

Even though Lucian had vanished after the massacre at the docks, neither Bo Qing nor Grandmaster Miao were particularly worried. They doubted a man like him would suddenly abandon all his plans within Three Feathers City, sever ties with every associate, and disappear without a trace.

Most importantly, Wang Chen continued using the connections Lucian had arranged for him to gather information related to city construction and sewage systems.

To them, this meant one of two things.

Either Lucian truly intended to construct something massive beneath the city, or the entire matter was an elaborate misdirection meant to divert attention from his real objective.

Whichever possibility proved true, Bo Qing and Grandmaster Miao chose to wait patiently for Lucian’s return while weaving their own schemes.