Chapter 398: Collective Redemption

The Embroidered Uniform Guard rode through the streets like a gust of wind, arrogant and loud.

Pan Yun stood by the window, watching them depart.

Wang Cong walked to her side, gazing after them until the Embroidered Uniform Guard vanished, then spoke, "That man named Liu Jing seems very formidable."

Pan Yun nodded. "I've replayed our last meeting in my mind several times—he may know me."

Wang Cong stared at her in shock.

But Pan Yun merely nodded once, turned, and said, "Get ready—we're leaving tomorrow."

Wang Cong pondered silently: Liu Jing had left too; they wouldn't cross paths anytime soon.

He exhaled, temporarily setting the matter aside.

With the Embroidered Uniform Guard gone, the city gates relaxed, no longer inspecting travelers' household registers or travel permits.

The owner and madam of Wan Chun Pavilion never expected they'd given the Embroidered Uniform Guard so many favors—hosting them for two or three days for free, only for them to simply walk away, nearly driving them to rage.

The Prefect snorted toward the city gate and told the County Magistrate, "Finally got rid of them. You go personally to soothe the people—these past days, citizens have stayed indoors because of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"In the first month, people don't stroll the streets—how can merchants make business? Without merchants' business, how can a city prosper?" the Prefect said. "You must calm the people."

The County Magistrate hurriedly agreed, then whispered, "My lord, what should we do about Wan Chun Pavilion?"

The Prefect looked at him with a half-smile. "What do you think?"

The County Magistrate lowered his eyes. "Opinions vary—some say bandits disguised as ghosts stole, but more people swear they saw actual ghosts. Since it's a ghostly matter, it falls outside the jurisdiction of the government office—perhaps the Dao Record Office should investigate."

"Besides, Wan Chun Pavilion colluded with human traffickers—this cannot go uninvestigated."

The Prefect nodded in satisfaction. "Precisely. Whoever breaks the law, the government office must not let them go—equal treatment for all."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard have left; they won't turn back for a mere Wan Chun Pavilion."

The County Magistrate understood: the Prefect was also deeply displeased with Wan Chun Pavilion's dealings—and this time, they bypassed the Prefect and him entirely, going straight to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Hiring outside monks to chant sutras always upset local Buddhist and Daoist clerics.

Pan Yun and the others left Jinan City the next day; even earlier were the escort agency's people.

They were well-informed—they left the city yesterday, right after the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

During the Embroidered Uniform Guard's city inspection, many merchants and travelers were trapped inside.

The moment the Embroidered Uniform Guard left, the city gate lifted its strict checks—they surged out immediately.

The escort agency smuggled the girls out hidden among the caravans.

By the time Pan Yun and the others left the next day, the city gate had returned to order.

They bought a cart on short notice, pulled by mules, because Hu Jing was injured, so their pace was slow.

The escort agency also moved slowly, as they had to deliver one girl home and detoured to stop.

When Pan Yun encountered them again, they were just ahead, not far off.

But after a single glance, both parties deliberately looked away, pretending not to know each other.

The two groups entered the capital almost one after the other.

And just as they entered the capital, Wan Chun Pavilion, which had held out for days, finally put up a "For Sale" sign.

All the money in Wan Chun Pavilion's storeroom and the madam's chambers had been looted—this hurt, but didn't cripple them; after all, the girls were still there. If the owner gritted his teeth and held on a while longer, he could recoup his losses.

Besides, spring had come—the season of renewal, when human passion ran high—perfect for making money.

But… Wan Chun Pavilion was haunted.

The rumors of Wan Chun Pavilion being haunted grew fiercer—though they attracted a few who craved unusual thrills, most people kept their distance.

They wanted beautiful women to flirt with, not female ghosts.

So Wan Chun Pavilion had no customers.

No customers meant no hope of recouping costs.

Wan Chun Pavilion's courtesan Zi Yu led the girls to the madam, demanding self-redemption: "Now all the girls in this pavilion are linked to ghosts—no customers come. Even if we leave, we'll be recognized. The sisters can't survive like this—we want to use our savings to buy our freedom."

The madam set a high price, but Zi Yu led the haggling: "Madam, we've served under you for years—not for any great merit, but plenty of hard toil. You know how much money the sisters have. After paying the redemption fee, we'll be utterly destitute. Have mercy—help us negotiate a lower price with the owner. At least leave us enough to eat."

The madam said, "You can't carry loads or lift weights—how will you survive outside the pleasure house? Better to lower your pride, take more clients—even if you charge less, at least it's a way to live."

"Madam, you're forcing us to die," the girls wept. "If you throw us out to take clients, we'll be dead in two years. Better to risk redemption—outside, we can sew clothes, wash laundry, scrape by. If lucky, we might marry an ordinary family—even if poor, at least we'll live."

The madam had once been one of them. Though cruel, she still felt some affection for these girls she'd worked with so long. Seeing them all weeping, she sighed. "Fine. I'll speak to the owner—see if I can lower your redemption prices further."

Zi Yu immediately said, "Madam, I'll go with you."

The madam took Zi Yu. Two days later, she returned with the new redemption price agreed upon—Zi Yu's face was pale and cold, but her mood was good.

As soon as she returned, the other girls clustered around her, helping her upstairs.

Zi Yu said, "The owner agreed—each girl's redemption price is reduced by three tenths. Prepare to pay."

The madam also smiled. "This is the owner's grace. Don't forget it when you leave. If, after two years, the rumors fade and Wan Chun Pavilion reopens, if you still wish to return, the doors will always be open for you."

The girls let out quiet cheers and turned to fetch their money.

Two girls helped Zi Yu back to her room. As soon as they entered, one spat outside. "She's good at playing the saint—this three-tenths reduction came from you, not her."

The other, heartbroken, held Zi Yu and whispered, "The sisters have money—why must you suffer for this three-tenths?"

Zi Yu leaned against the bed. "Look at the prices they set—except me, Zi Lang, Zi Lan, and a few others, who among them can afford to leave without draining their savings?"

"They've calculated every sister's money down to the last coin. Some sisters spent freely on food and play—they don't have enough," Zi Yu said. "If everyone redeems under these conditions, won't they suspect?"

Zi Yu lowered her voice. "So I must go—this lets the sisters redeem smoothly and removes their suspicion."

!. Read

She dismissed it. "It's just sleeping with a few men—they're no different from the ones before. If this one trip ensures everyone's peace, I won't lose."

The two girls gripped Zi Yu's hands, eyes reddening. "Sister…"

Zi Yu tossed them two handkerchiefs. "Wipe your tears—I'm not crying, why are you?"

She whispered, "Remind the sisters well—keep their money, jewelry, and clothes safe. Especially the money… that's their lifeline for the rest of their lives."

The two of them answered softly in assent.

All the misses in Wan Chun Tower redeemed themselves and left.

The reason they had such resolve was that one morning, when they woke up, a pouch of money had appeared by their pillow; opening it, they found it full of gold, silver, and silver drafts.

Coming into this money out of nowhere gave them the confidence to think about redeeming themselves.

This sum was not only enough for them to redeem themselves, but also enough to live on for several years afterward, giving them time to slowly find a new way to survive.

Added to the money they had saved themselves, if they were frugal, they could live to old age just fine.

The sisters who received the pouches all quietly tucked them away, not daring to let anyone know, but once they started paying attention to those around them, they noticed the sisters all seemed a little different somehow.

They accidentally probed a little, and then everyone spilled the beans — it turned out every single one of them had received a pouch.

Even Ziyu, the courtesan queen who wasn't short on money, had received one too.

So everyone decided to form an alliance and redeem themselves together.

Of course, at this point Pan Yun still didn't know that the haunting had affected the misses of Wan Chun Tower so greatly, directly changing their fates.

So much so that when she stood before the gates of Jingcheng and heard the Ling Realm alert her to receiving a large amount of merit points, she was still a bit dazed.

Pan Yun sank her mind in to look at the list of names revealed on the jade slip, and was momentarily dumbfounded.

【Chen Erya, Wei Sanniang? These uniquely distinctive names — why don't I have the slightest impression of them?】

【So many people giving me such a large amount of merit at the same time — why?】

Pan Xiaohei sensed the direction the merit was coming from. "Seems like it's from over Jinan way. That's not right though — the thirteen girls you rescued don't have these names either. Besides them, did you do any good deeds in Jinan?"

Pan Yun immediately thought of the misses in Wan Chun Tower.

Her gaze swept over those names. 【Oh, looks like they've changed their names back.】

Pan Xiaohei wasn't stupid either, and immediately thought of them too. He pursed his lips and said without ceremony: 【Didn't expect that robbing the rich to help the poor really can earn merit. Strange — you stole so much money this time, yet Heaven actually didn't dock your merit.】

Pan Yun: 【Probably because Heaven also feels that running a brothel to make money is a merit-destroying business. Whoever steals their money doesn't lose merit.】

"Little Xiao Shishu, how much longer do we have to stand here?" Wang Cong, seeing her turn her expressionless face toward him, immediately said ingratiatingly: "No rush, take your time reminiscing a bit more?"

"Reminisce about what? I don't have a single feeling for this city gate."

Back then she had been escorted out of the city by Tao Ji and Master Xuanmiao; Jingcheng had been like a wild beast with its great maw open, ready to devour people. She hadn't felt the slightest reluctance to leave.

Pan Yun turned and climbed onto the carriage, waving her hand: "Let's go, into the city!"

Seeing Miao Zhen, Miao He, and the three of them finally pulled back their awestruck gazes and climbed onto the carriage together with Little Xiao Shishu, exclaiming: "The gates of Jingcheng are really tall, really big!"

"Taller and bigger than every city we've ever seen."

Once inside the city, the two of them went "Wow!" again. "There are so many people in Jingcheng too!"

Tao Yanbai also watched, utterly transfixed.

(End of chapter)