Chapter 8

“Madman?” Tian Bo flinched slightly as he softly murmured, “Manman has been dead for nearly three years . “

“Dead for nearly three years?” Qin Yun’s expression changed .

When he first entered Western Mountain Sword Garden, he was the son of an ordinary constable and he was only ten years old .

Tian Bo was the son of a wealthy merchant of little significance and he was only nine years old .

Xie Lei’s family operated an armed escort company for the delivery of goods . He was only eleven years old .

Xie Lei was always very headstrong and had an impulsive temper . Hence, his nickname was ‘Madman Xie’ . At that time, Tian Bo had a frail and skinny body . He was also shy; thus, he was teased and called ‘Little Bobo’ .

Strictly speaking, Tian Bo was equivalent to lackey . Qin Yun and Xie Lei were the two with the strongest sword techniques in Western Mountain Sword Garden . The two of them frequently sparred with each other . Qin Yun treated Madman Xie’s sister, Xie Shuang as a younger sister . Qin Yun also once had a younger sister . However, she had died when he was eight years old . Both Xie Shuang and his sister looked similar . Even the way they wheedled was similar .

Qin Yun and Xie Lei’s relationship was extremely good . He could not believe that the extremely tactical and strong Madman Xie would simple just die like that .

“What happened? How did he die?” Qin Yun felt his heart wince . The various scenes from his youth surfaced in his heart as his eyes could not help but turn red .

“I had planned on telling you privately after the gathering today . ” Tian Bo lowered his voice . “You knew too that Madman’s father had been ill a long time ago . He had been bedridden and about half a year after you left, Madman’s father finally passed away! However, Madman had the strength and skill . He still managed to secure his position as chief of the escort company . A marriage for him was even later agreed upon . It was with a concubine’s daughter from a large family clan in Grand Dominance Prefecture, the Hong family . You could say that by doing so, he would have the Hong family as his backers . However, no one expected the incident before the wedding . “

“What happened?” Qin Yun followed up with a question .

“The Xie family received a request to escort some goods of extremely great value . ” Tian Bo said . “Madman personally led the escort . They were about to reach their destination when they unexpectedly encountered demons . That battle was rumored to be extremely horrifying . Only three out of the hundreds of people manage to survive while two of the demons died . When Madman died, his sword had managed to penetrate the demon’s head through its mouth . However, that monster also managed to shatter Madman’s heart . “

Qin Yun fell silent .

Demons…

If an escort company were to meet with a demon, all they needed to do is to offer the treasures and the demons might let them off . This was because, without absolute confidence, a typical escort company of considerable strength could vanquish a demon or two .

“These demons . ” Qin Yun clenched his teeth . Demons were generally of lower intellect than humans and there were some that were even dumber! With bad luck, offering the treasures would be useless . One could only rely on the weapons in their hands .

“What about Little Shuang?” asked Qin Yun .

With Madman Xie dead, the young girl was the only Xie family member left .

“That was a huge business . The escort failed so the Xie family had to compensate the clients . Despite so many of their men dying, the Xie family had to even make compensation . ” Tian Bo shook his head . “Sister Xie Shuang was rather just and honest . After the escort company closed down, she sold all her wealth to compensate the families who had their men die . Later on, she didn’t even have the silver taels needed for the compensation . She was forced to sell herself to Swallow Phoenix Brothel to amass the necessary amount . “

“She sold herself to Swallow Phoenix Brothel?” Qin Yun’s face turned white .

Madman was dead and his sister, Xie Shuang, had sold herself to a brothel?

Thankfully, Swallow Phoenix Brothel was a famous brothel in Grand Dominance Prefecture . The courtesans there only sold their trade and not their bodies . Only ordinary whorehouses would sell sexual services .

Providing sexual services was something extremely frowned upon . Typically, half a tael of silver was sufficient to pay for one session . As for the truly famous courtesans, they would be swarmed by rich and distinguished guests . Just treating the courtesans to a cup of tea or having a chat with them would cost the patrons dozens of silver taels! Furthermore, it was only if the courtesan gave consent . For example, some famous courtesans that were known by all would not even meet those from a distinguished family even after they spent more than a thousand silver taels!

Of course, if the famous courtesan was agreeable to it, they could be betrothed to a rich man but that was very rare .

“Sister Xie Shuang is the only daughter of the Xie family . She is proficient in sword dances and is great at the lute . She’s also extremely beautiful so she was able to sell herself for a high price,” said Tian Bo as he shook his head . “I originally wanted to help her monetarily but she needed nearly twenty thousand taels of silver . My Tian family would have had to sell half of its estate to make up for it . Furthermore, a fire sale would only lower the price . Therefore, there was no other way . My dad would not agree to it either . “

“Nearly twenty thousand taels?” Qin Yun nodded . Having that amount was enough to make one considered wealthy . It was already rather rare for the Swallow Phoenix Brothel to be willing to bear the cost of twenty thousand silver taels .

“Let’s go to Swallow Phoenix Brothel tonight,” said Qin Yun .

“Alright, I’ll accompany you . ” Tian Bo nodded .

…

Although he was anxious to meet Xie Shuang, Swallow Phoenix Brothel only opened its doors to guest at night . Furthermore, Xie Shuang had already been in Swallow Phoenix Brothel for more than two years . There was no point in rushing to meet her . Qin Yun waited patiently as he accompanied his old friends .

He sat beside a handrail and drank wine as he watched his good friends sparring above the water .

“Brother Qin Yun, why don’t you give us some pointers?”

“That’s right . Hurry, don’t just spend your time drinking . “

His friends beckoned him .

“Forget it,” said Qin Yun as he forced a smile . He was really not in the mood for it . Just thinking of Xie Shuang that had been sold to Swallow Phoenix Brothel, and Madman Xie that had passed away, he was repressing the pain within his heart .

“Brother Qin Yun,” a handsome youth dressed in casual and relaxed clothes walked over and sat beside Qin Yun . He was Young Master Wufeng that had established Western Mountain Sword Garden years ago . He said with a smile, “When you were thirteen, you had already achieved the ninth level of Qi Refinement . At fifteen, you began roaming the world alone . Now, you must have acquainted yourself with an immortal’s destiny and knocked open the gate of immortality, right?”

“After a great deal of suffering, I did eventually manage to knock open the gate of immortality,” replied Qin Yun .

Young Master Wufeng could not help but sigh, “Impressive . You are the only one from the Grand Dominance City’s younger generation that has knocked open the gate of immortality . Also, do you know why I’m so impressed by you?”

Qin Yun was puzzled .

“I’m impressed by your guts . ” Young Master Wufeng said, “With the talent from back then, joining any of the cultivation sects surrounding Grand Dominance Prefecture would have been easy . It wouldn’t have been difficult for you to knock open the gate of immortality either . However, you clearly thought nothing of these ordinary cultivation sects . You would rather tour the world to seek opportunities and perhaps, enter truly top sects . Maybe one needs such determination to embark on the path to immortality . “

Qin Yun was startled . He shook his head and said, “There’s no need to praise me . Back then, my journey away from home was fraught with difficulties . I was frequently on the brink of death and had to grit my teeth to endure through it . Subsequently, I really missed home . However, I discovered that I was already far away from home . The return journey was equally treacherous . However, having taken that path, I could only walk it to the end . “

“It is already amazing to bear going this far away from home . ” Young Master Wufeng raised his wine jug . “Let me toast you . “

Qin Yun raised his wine jug as well .

The two clinked their drinking vessels .

After drinking the wine, Young Master Wufeng said, “You are already different from us . Your lifespan is already different . After knocking open the gate of immortality, you can live past a hundred years old . If you were to step into the Congenital realm, just the False Core stage extends your lifespan to two hundred years! The legendary Golden Core realm means a lifespan of five hundred years, making them true immortals . In the future, playmates of your childhood such as us would return to the earth but you would still remain very young . “

Qin Yun faltered slightly but he did not speak a word . He looked at the friends that were sparring over the lake as he quietly drank his wine .

******

In the evening,

Qin Yun politely rejected the invitation for a gathering at night before leaving with Tian Bo .

“Let’s go to Swallow Phoenix Brothel . “

The two returned on horseback .

Swallow Phoenix Brothel was one of the biggest brothels in Grand Dominance Prefecture . Officials roamed the place as wealthy merchants gathered there . Just drinking an ordinary cup of tea inside required one silver tael . One silver tael could feed an ordinary family of three for three months .

At this moment, Swallow Phoenix Brothel had already opened its doors to receive customers . Red lanterns were long hung up . There was a group of beautiful female attendants that were warmly welcoming guests outside the main entrance .