Chapter 391: Buying and Selling Information

The eunuchs saw the motion clearly and grinned; the man kicked back effortlessly, trying to dodge.

They thought he could avoid it, but Pan Yun's foot slammed squarely into his knee—visible, yet he couldn't dodge.

She kicked three times in rapid succession, leaving afterimages; all three heard a crisp crack, then three screams rang out as they all dropped to one knee.

Pan Yun retracted her foot, her face cold: "Too noisy. Shut up."

The eunuchs met her icy gaze and all bit their lips to stifle themselves.

They'd seen many people come and go; they knew they'd met a hard case.

They regretted judging by appearances and only then remembered: Qianxi Tower wasn't just a brothel.

Coming here in broad daylight? They'd come to buy information.

Their eyes swept over Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen's faces; none dared speak again.

Two little girls this young daring to come to Qianxi Tower? Clearly not ordinary.

Seeing they'd settled down, Pan Yun snorted coldly and turned to the eunuch of Qianxi Tower: "Do you take customers during the day?"

The eunuch snapped back to attention, nodding and bowing: "We welcome guests, we welcome guests—esteemed guests, please come inside."

The eunuch led them into the tower.

Qianxi Tower was silent; the entire building seemed empty—until the eunuch shouted, and two men emerged.

Both rubbed their eyes, frowned at Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen, and asked: "What do you want?"

Pan Yun: "Sell information."

The two paused, then went upstairs to call someone.

Soon, a woman in a sheer rose-pink veil emerged, half-asleep; she leaned on the second-floor railing and glanced at Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen, then lazily descended. When she drew near, she frowned, studying them, tilting her head: "Daoist Priest?"

Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen instinctively looked down at themselves—they were in casual attire; how did she know?

As if sensing their thoughts, the woman waved her silk handkerchief, half-covering her nose and mouth: "Daoist Priests carry too strong a scent. One whiff and you know."

Pan Yun's eyes widened; she couldn't help sniffing herself, disbelieving: "We bathe often."

The woman burst into laughter, lightly tapping Pan Yun's shoulder with her handkerchief: "Little Daoist, you're adorable. I didn't mean that kind of scent. Speak up—what information do you have to sell?"

Pan Yun: "I heard Qianxi Tower sets fair prices, honest with young and old."

The woman hummed: "Don't worry—I won't lowball you because you're young. Qianxi Tower is vast; your few coins don't matter. Besides, I'm not the owner—whether it profits or not is none of my concern."

Pan Yun: "Then can you multiply the price by a hundred for me? It's not your money anyway—why not be generous with someone else's?"

The woman glanced at her: "I'm beautiful, not stupid. What benefit do I gain from doing that?"

Pan Yun: "I'll secretly split half with you—let you take a cut."

The woman was momentarily speechless; after a long pause, she sighed: "You really shouldn't say that in front of so many people."

Pan Yun's gaze swept over the three beside her: "You could use your share to bribe them—get them to collude with you."

The woman snorted: "Typical stinking Daoist—just as annoying as ever."

She turned and ascended the stairs: "Come up. Information sales happen in the secret room."

The reason Qianxi Tower's information could be traded as a commodity was precisely because it was secret—not information easily known to ordinary people.

Thus, any information brought into Qianxi Tower, big or small, must be traded in a secret room.

There, soundproofed and kept away from bystanders, the chance of leaks was minimized.

Moreover, depending on the importance of the information, the secret rooms themselves differed.

Since Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen were young, she took them directly to Room Ding.

The two men also entered.

All three sat at the table; only then did Pan Yun realize they'd come together to hear the same information. She scanned the distance between them and suddenly understood: "Your boss is clever—you three barely know each other. One person trying to bribe all three at once? Difficult."

The woman poured herself tea, sipped, then said: "Little Daoist, you didn't come just to observe, did you? Speak—what information do you have to sell?"

Pan Yun pulled out Tang Peng's wanted poster and slapped it onto the table.

The woman glanced at it: "Tang Peng? Isn't he the one Hu Jing is hunting?"

Pan Yun: "I have his location."

The woman twirled her teacup: "Hu Jing already captured Jiang Shuxiao. With his ability, he'll catch Tang Peng soon. His information isn't worth much."

Pan Yun sneered: "Still talking about honesty? Even if you don't act on it yourselves, you could sell it to some hero eager to outshine Hu Jing and earn a fortune."

The woman stared at her in surprise: "Little Daoist, you're surprisingly well-informed. Not at all like the stinking Daoists I know."

Pan Yun: "How much will you pay?"

The woman said nothing, simply looked at the man across the table.

He scribbled and calculated, then said: "Fifteen taels."

!. Read

Pan Yun: "Exact location!"

"Fifteen taels, period."

Pan Yun frowned: "He's worth two hundred and eighty taels."

"Then go catch him yourself."

Pan Yun seethed, scanning the three men's faces: "I want fifty taels."

"Fifteen taels, Little Daoist. We have to make a profit on every piece of information that comes in and goes out. Think: would you pay fifty taels for a wanted criminal's location? I've calculated—the maximum is thirty. So we offer fifteen."

Half profit, huh?

So corrupt!

But they're so honest…

Pan Yun rubbed her chin, then nodded in agreement.

With fifteen taels in hand, Pan Yun didn't leave—she tossed a silver ingot in the air and asked: "What's the going rate for information from the opposite Wan Chun Tower?"

The woman in charge of gathering information let out a snort. "What valuable information could the other side possibly have? Just a rundown building."

"If it's not valuable, that's fine — I want to buy their information!" Pan Yun slapped down a five-tael silver ingot in her hand with a sharp *pa*.

The woman paused, glanced at the silver on the table, and frowned. "Tell me first — what information do you want to buy?"

Pan Yun: "Are all the girls in their building there through legitimate channels?"

The woman's eyes rolled. "There's not a single flower house where every girl inside came in through legitimate channels."

Pan Yun: "I want a map of their building — which room houses which person, what each room is used for. Mark it all clearly."

"What use could the rooms in a flower house possibly have…" Feeling Pan Yun's gaze, the woman broke off and asked, "Little Daoist, did they offend you?"

Pan Yun nodded. "They offended me. I want to find a few people to settle the score."

The woman let out a coquettish laugh, waving her handkerchief. "Fine, five taels of silver — sold!"

The man beside her frowned. "Ning Shuang!"

The woman said coolly, "Selling information is my sole responsibility. A layout map of Wan Chun House is all it is — five taels is within the price range. Is there a problem?"

The two of them glanced at the two ingots of silver in Pan Yun's other hand, knowing full well they could have hiked the price and still sold it — given the current situation, Pan Yun would definitely buy.

I'm not feeling well today — spent half the day running around the hospital, lay down for the other half, so I'm taking a day off. Once I'm a bit better, I'll make up for it.

(End of Chapter)