Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 386 White Lotus Prostitute
The snow is raging and the sky and earth are grim and murderous.

It was nearly dusk, and on the long street where all doors were shut, there stood only a three-story building with its doors wide open, with lights shining through.

Looking inside through the flying snowflakes, the whole room is covered with gold and the warmth is melting. You can faintly hear the sounds of operas being sung in the brothel and the laughter of young girls.

Under the charming lights, inside the hall, outside the cabinet, and in all corners, there stood many pretty girls wearing cheongsams and good at dressing up.

Some are dignified and beautiful, with eyebrows and eyes as light as smoke; some are gentle and charming, well-educated and well-mannered, with just the right manners; some are heavily made-up and charming; some are delicate and petite; some are nestled in the arms of their loved ones, with their black hair as soft as silk; some are leaning against the carved railings, holding a silver-thread pipe between their slender fingers, exhaling light smoke from their mouths, with their clever eyes half-closed, as if they had just woken up.
There were also teapots of various sizes serving tea and water and greeting guests, the accountant sitting in the corner listening to songs and cracking melon seeds, and some gossipy ladies chatting.

The fire lights set off the magnificent hall, as if there was a mountain of gold hidden in the snow.

These days, it is absolutely impossible to make money in a legitimate business, and it is even more difficult to make big money in Tianjin, where all kinds of people mix together. The fastest way is to visit prostitutes, gamble, and smoke. Brothels, opium dens, and gambling houses all make a lot of money.

However, due to the strict rules set by Qin Huai back then, and the exclusive monopoly of the supply of secret medicine by the Baji Sect, there was no shortage of ways to make money. Therefore, this Jinlou, which stretched from Foshan to Tianjin, did not have so many dirty things, and was considered a breath of fresh air among the many brothels in the Zhili area.

The Golden Building in front of me is similar to the one in Foshan. It is three stories high and has red lights on all sides, which makes the surrounding area golden and red. It is the best brothel in Tianjin. There are hundreds of charming and charming girls in it. If they meet someone they like, they will play with them and earn some money. If they value themselves and are unwilling to lower their status, they can also become prostitutes, play musical instruments and sing to make a living and entertain people with their art.

At this moment, the wind and snow passed by, and the sound of horse hooves came from afar. The wheels of the cars rolled, leaving tracks on the layers of snow.

One, two, three.
A total of nine carriages entered one by one and entered the Tea Garden and Flower House Street located in Nanshi.

The curtain of the front carriage was lifted, and a man stepped out. He was wearing a Qilin martial arts uniform, with short, neat hair, a tall and straight figure, a stern expression, thick eyebrows, thin lips, and a sharp face. He stood with his hands behind his back.

"Master, you are back."

Seeing Qin Huai getting off the carriage, a man walked out of the building. He had a pale face, a not very big body, a kind expression, and was wearing a mink fur coat. It was Hailang, who had returned to his hometown in Tianjin, married and had children, and was now in charge of the Jinlou.

"I haven't seen you for a few years. You look a lot healthier."

Qin Huai looked at the golden building in front of him, which was full of Beijing and Tianjin style, and walked in.

"Thanks to you, the brothers have lived a much more comfortable life in recent years than before."

Sea Wolf led the way, while the idle accountants and pretty girls in the building were all waiting in the lobby on the first floor, looking at Qin Huai with curiosity.

"All those who came today are my fellow martial artists who are on good terms with my master. Tell the waiter to be careful and serve the good wine and food."

Qin Huai raised his eyebrows, looked at the stage in the hall on the first floor, and said casually: "Tell the girls to sing the excerpts to make it lively."

Hearing this, Hailang subconsciously looked behind Qin Huai and saw the actor in a female costume and with oil paint on his face getting off the carriage.

"Master, since you want to listen to opera, why don't you let Sister Lian perform it for you?"

"Sister Lian? She?"

Qin Huai turned his head and looked in the direction where the gaze was, and saw the mysterious actor.

"Yes, you just returned from a long journey and you may not know this, but this Sister Lian has been famous in the opera industry in the capital a few days ago. She recently moved to Tianjin and took shelter in our Jinlou to perform, which made the brothers earn a lot of money."

"Oh? How's her singing? How's she compared to Hongying?"

Qin Huai narrowed his eyes and looked at Sister Lian who walked into the lobby alone without any concealment.

Through the oil paint applied on his face, Qin Huai discovered that this man's brows were full of energy, his eyes were restrained, and his breath was quite long, not inferior to that of a master. He might have already achieved the state of transforming energy and killed the red dragon, which is why he has such a handsome appearance.

"This, this, sir, my ears are dull, I can only tell whether something sounds good or bad, as for anything above good, I really can't hear it."

Hailang looked confused and stuttered a little.

"That means it's on par with Hongying, or even better."

Qin Huai touched his chin and took a quick glance to receive the timely message.

Name: Lin Heier (Sister Lian)
Status: Qi Cun (able to sense and use spiritual Qi), Nuo Dance (a secret technique practiced by strange people in the secular world, which can control the divine Qi for one's own use, divided into three parts: stealing, performing, and transforming), Tianli (disabled), minor injuries that have not yet healed, and the life span is not long.

Specialization: Singing and dancing 91%, makeup 89%, swordsmanship 79%,

skill:
[Stealing Gods]: Call upon the spiritual energy stored in the Dantian to "steal" the power of worship from the general public, thereby merging it to produce divine energy derived from faith, and on this basis, produce consciousness based on legendary figures or gods - the godhead.

[Performing the God]: Calling upon the divine energy stored in the Niwan Palace, cooperating with the carrier of the divine nature (mostly a facial mask), through the Nuo dance, attaching consciousness, performing the divine nature with oneself, and merging with the divine nature.

[Transformation into God]: Burning a huge amount of divine energy, life span, soul energy, and blood and flesh essence in exchange for the brief arrival of the godhead. At the same time, one must endure the erosion brought by the godhead, which will cause great trouble.

Threat level: Light red

Note: You can get clues about [Special Code: Playing with Ghosts and Gods] from her.

"Okay, then let's ask her to sing a special song."

Qin Huai nodded. He had no interest in this Yihe old party member who called himself "Holy Mother of Yellow Lotus". He led a group of high-spirited warriors to the private room on the third floor.

Most of the people in the building were from all walks of life. When they saw this scene, they had different expressions. Some wanted to talk to Qin Huai, but when they saw the well-known figures in the northern martial arts world behind him, they weighed the matter for a long time and finally did not dare to speak first, so they simply kept their mouths shut.

However, there are still some people who can't sit still.

This building is a gold mine hidden in the grounds, and there are so many people who want to make money but have no way to do so. Now that this person has come in, he looks like the boss behind the scenes, so naturally I have to ask for his opinion.

"This brother comes from the south?"

Someone asked in authentic Tianjin dialect, and everyone present could hear it clearly.

"I just came back from Bian Meng. I haven't been to the south for a long time."

Qin Huai walked up the stairs without stopping, without even glancing at the side, and continued, "It's true that Jinlou started out in Foshan, but no one has ever made it clear that the boss is from Guangdong, right?"

"In order to avoid you from guessing blindly and wasting your time, I am not afraid of you knowing that I am the boss here. If you want to discuss business, don't bother me, go find him!"

Qin Huai stopped, turned around, and looked around with eyes as fast as lightning. Everyone who saw him was fascinated and dared not say a word, only focusing their eyes on the sea wolf he pointed at.

Ignoring the noise downstairs, Qin Huai led his fellow apprentices to a spacious private room, removed the wooden door, and connected the halls and rooms on both sides.

"Brothers, I have endured a hard day in the martial arts hall without any food or drinks. Please forgive me. At this moment, let's not talk about anything else, please!"

The food and wine were served. Qin Huai, as the host, knew that these martial arts brothers were all big-bellied men, so he was too lazy to say polite words. He opened the mud seal and started pouring wine from the jar. This banquet was Qin Huai's welcoming banquet, but only the younger generation like them were present. As for the elders from several major sects, due to their status, it was inconvenient for them to come to this place of dust and dirt, so they went to Wanchunlou, the best restaurant in Tianjin, to discuss something else.

As the warriors upstairs kept chopping wood, the sound of gongs and drums downstairs also rang out, and it was quite lively for a while.
-
In Tianjin, at Nian Gan Chu, we checked the station of the rebel envoys.

This government office, which had been built less than two years ago, was located on the street in front of the governor's office, close to the Haihe River. It had nearly a thousand warriors and new troops under its command, and was fully equipped with foreign rifles and cannons. Its power was so strong that only the Beiyang government could surpass it.

It was late at night, the snow and wind were getting stronger, and the lights were on inside the room.

"Snapped!"

There was a sudden sound of whip cracking.

Under the fluorescent light, a dark-faced man sat on an armchair, holding a leg of lamb, with a bowl of milk tea beside him. He listened calmly to the screams coming one after another.

"what!"

This heart-wrenching, inhuman scream came from the throat of a woman. Her body had long been whipped to leave shocking bloody marks. Although her clothes were tattered, there was no trace of her graceful beauty. Her hands and feet were tied tightly in the air with four ropes, which were stretched extremely tight.

There was not just one. In the huge dark room, there were nine people hanging in such a bloody and half-dead state, three men and six women. Two of them still had some human form, while the rest were almost whipped into rotten meat and had been dead for a long time.

"The nine of them have been carrying it for half a decade, and they only said the two words 'opera' and 'acting'. You are the last one, if you don't say anything, you can go to the underworld and tell the King of Hell."

The dark-faced man ate the lamb leg in his hand, turned his head to look at the White Lotus sect member he had captured before, and asked in a neutral tone: "Where is the Holy Mother of the Yellow Lotus?"

The trembling woman closed her eyes when she heard that, pursed her lips, and a streak of blood flowed down.

"You really can't help it. Throw it down to feed the dogs."

The dark-faced man looked at this scene, picked up the milk tea at hand and drank it in one gulp, then walked out of the cell like a dragon and a tiger and came to the front of the hall.

The snow outside the window has not stopped yet and the north wind is biting.

Several envoys were waiting respectfully on the side, holding a stack of lists in their hands.

"Have you checked all the tea garden theaters in Tianjin?"

The dark-faced man took the roster, glanced at it, and asked.

"Commander Kulun, we have checked most of them. There are only a few brothels with hidden forces behind them, and we haven't searched them yet."

The leader replied hurriedly and handed over a list written in red ink.

"Golden Tower, Fairyland, Osmanthus Garden, Beiyang"

The dark-faced man shook his head, as if he had heard a joke, with a fierce light flashing in his eyes: "What kind of clowns are these? They dare to go against the court. Do they want to be executed along with their entire family?"

Just as he finished speaking, a burly man suddenly jumped out from behind the screen in the lobby.

In the dead of winter, this man was only wearing a bearskin scarf with a black dragon around his neck. His face was cold and hard, his arms were as thick as elephants, his muscles were knotty, and his hands were full of bones and calluses like cast iron. Under the light, you could see his high temples and skin and flesh that looked like they were cast in copper and iron.

"Kulun, it doesn't matter if you offend others while investigating the White Lotus rebellion, but if you expose that magic gun, your fate will be even worse than mine."

"Baturu, I'm not like you. Once bitten by a snake, I'll be afraid of ropes for ten years. Now you and I have the skills passed down by our ancestors. As long as that spear is not used, nothing in Tianjin can stop the two of us from attacking together."

The dark-faced man pointed at these names and continued, "As a great master, I don't believe he would sacrifice his dignity and attack important officials of the imperial court just for a brothel."

"Grandmasters are not ordinary people. Trying to guess their meaning with your own mind is really courting death."

Baturu looked at Kulun who was noncommittal and shook his head: "Go check the rebellion tonight by yourself. I have to go lay an ambush and I don't have time to accompany you on the patrol."

"Huh, whatever you want."

The dark-faced man did not waste any time. With a command, nearly a hundred Qing soldiers and new troops serving in the government office and palace masters followed him and marched towards several opera houses where the "Yellow Lotus Holy Mother" Lin Heier might be hiding.
-
After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Qin Huai had just found an excuse at the table to start discussing the difference between aura and spiritual energy with [Iron-footed Buddha] Shang Yunxiang, when he heard the music downstairs suddenly interrupted and a loud, arrogant and rough voice resounded throughout the Golden Building.

"The steward, come out, investigate the rebellious government office and track down the traitors. No one should act rashly, get downstairs immediately!"

In the lobby of the Golden Building, two rows of elite Qing soldiers were lined up, wearing shiny new cotton armor, carrying swords and holding guns, aiming at every corner of the three-story building.

The leader was Hubilehan (Kulun), the leader of the rebel envoys from Nian Gan Chu Bai Tang. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a charcoal-black face, rat eyes and a curly beard. He wore a dark blue military uniform and his expression showed his emotions.

"Sir, we have a distinguished guest in the building today. It's inconvenient. Could you please understand?"

Seeing that Kulun was coming with such a fierce momentum, Sea Wolf thought that he would not give up, so he hurried forward and handed over a bag of bulging gold bars.

Kulun looked normal. He weighed his purse with his hand and grinned, but he looked creepy no matter how you looked at him.

"Bribing Bai Tang is a serious crime, take him away!"

"slow!"

Before he finished his words, a black shadow crossed the void and shot straight at Kulun's big hand that was trying to grab the waves.

Bang!
With a dull sound, the wood chips exploded and pierced into Kulun's thick skin, creating countless short thorns.

"you!"

Kulun looked up and was about to explode when he met Qin Huai's ferocious eyes.

"Just now I just wanted to invite this accountant to come back to the yamen for a talk, but you ignored me and brazenly attacked and injured someone. This is really too disrespectful to the court."

Cullen couldn't help but feel fearful when looking at the man on the third floor who could throw a thin piece of wood with the power of a bullet, and even his threatening words softened a bit.

"You are trying to frame me and take my people away on my territory without my permission. Who do you think you are?!"

Qin Huai snorted coldly upon seeing this, and the shadow of the Kaiming beast in his eyes stretched its neck and howled. Frost white spread from the void and rushed straight towards Kulun, who was facing a formidable enemy.

【Welling】!
(End of this chapter)