My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1038 Meeting an old friend in a foreign land

Living in the city built by Wenrui with the teachings of the Jie Sect, he was well-prepared to blend into the city and not reveal any of his true intentions.

Yun Zhongzi worked hard for a long time to achieve this small goal. He had suffered countless humiliations before he finally managed to scrape together enough funds to barely meet the minimum wage standard of the Demon Alliance.

Now that the initial goals have been achieved, it is a good time to make great strides. However, Yun Zhongzi is confused and really doesn't know where to start investigating.

Even by the most nitpicking standards, this city may not be perfect, but its level of civilization far exceeds expectations, surpassing even the most prosperous and powerful era of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Unless someone goes against their conscience, distorts the facts, and fabricates lies, Yun Zhongzi really can't find any major problems.

While agonizing over his situation, Yun Zhongzi wandered aimlessly through the night, mingling with the crowds. In his aimless wandering, he tried to stumble upon clues or events worth investigating, much like a cultivator seeking a serendipitous opportunity.

As he walked, Yun Zhongzi wandered into a secluded alley. As soon as he entered the alley, he sensed something was amiss.

The streetlights here are much dimmer than those in the commercial street because many of the bulbs on the lampposts are broken, and every few lampposts one goes out.

However, there are quite a few people in this alley, and upon closer inspection, most of the people who enter the alley are men.

These people had lewd looks and shifty eyes, and they looked like they were about to do something bad. When Yun Zhongzi was observing them, his eyes met those of a middle-aged fat man, who gave him a strange smile.

This was rather suspicious. Yun Zhongzi, who was worried about not finding any clues, quickened his pace and followed the suspicious men deeper into the alley.

After walking a while longer, along the dimly lit alley, every so often, a slender woman would lean against a railing or wall, striking a seductive pose, as if displaying something.

These women were mostly heavily made up and dressed scantily, and they came from various races, including humans, demons, and monsters.

The men who quietly entered the alley approached the women and whispered something to them before following them into the deeper, more secluded alleyways.

Yun Zhongzi, being well-informed, only needed a moment's thought to understand just how filthy this place was.

There is no doubt that the women standing on both sides of the street are engaged in a very ancient profession, and this place is indeed a den of iniquity.

Yun Zhongzi cursed his bad luck. He had thought that by discovering the suspicious points, he could follow the clues to find some evidence that the Jie Sect had corrupted the masses, but he was greatly disappointed.

Of course, this ancient profession is not very civilized and is indeed one of the evil consequences of improper education of the masses.

The problem is that even during the eras when the Chan Sect and the Western Sect were teaching and enlightening the masses, such as the heyday of the Great Zhou Dynasty or the heyday of the Peacock Dynasty in Xiniu Hezhou, they still failed to completely eradicate this ancient profession.

Even among the vassal states of the Great Zhou Dynasty, some government offices established public, government-run venues to replenish the national treasury.

Xiniu Hezhou even created a system of temple saintesses, which was also for the purpose of accumulating wealth and using the wealth obtained through extortion to offer to the gods.

Yun Zhongzi, who had spent a month in the municipal government's administrative hall, knew that this profession was illegal in the Demon Alliance and could not be licensed. There were no government-run brothels openly operating to make money.

The women in this alley are acting on their own; it can only be said that they are beyond redemption, not that the Jie Sect has corrupted the masses.

Compared to government-run initiatives, the spontaneous actions of individuals here completely surpass the level of education and enlightenment achieved by the Chan and Western sects. If Yun Zhongzi were to use this as an excuse, he would not stand on the moral high ground; it would be tantamount to slapping the faces of Yuanshi Tianzun and Buddha Tathagata. Although Yun Zhongzi disliked such acts of selling one's body, he could understand the hardships faced by ordinary people in making a living.

Although the city of the Demon Alliance is prosperous and has well-developed infrastructure, the cost of living is quite high, and making money is very difficult.

The city is highly inclusive, attracting a diverse range of ethnic groups to settle there, which has also triggered a massive wave of competition, with even low-level jobs that do not require high levels of education experiencing intense competition.

For example, even the lowest-paid laborers on a construction site are sought after by bull demons, horse demons, and camel demons. These kinds of demons are born with superhuman strength and eat grass. One demon can do the work of ten people, but they only receive one and a half salaries. Any boss would definitely choose to hire them based on their merits.

Even when serving dishes in a restaurant, the spider demon with four arms and four legs works more efficiently and carries more dishes.

Web-weaving spiders can find stable jobs in textile factories, but many fairy-like creatures that are transformed from spiders and hunting spiders have taken away many service jobs in the catering industry.

He, a peak Golden Immortal, is so poor in the city that he's practically sleeping in the park. How can some women who are uneducated, have no skills, and only have a pretty face survive in the city?
A quick glance at the women standing in the dark alley revealed that human women were the most numerous. The human race, especially the lower-ranking humans, whose overall quality was relatively average, clearly faced a more difficult situation in the Demon Alliance than other races.

"Hey bro, wanna come have some fun? What do you think of me?"

Just as Yun Zhongzi was feeling compassionate yet powerless and about to leave, a human woman suddenly spoke to him.

"I apologize, I took the wrong turn and ended up here. Besides, I have no worldly desires, so please have some self-respect."

Yun Zhongzi quickly declined.

The old professional who struck up a conversation with him was already quite faded in appearance. He was at least forty years old, his face was covered with thick powder, and he exuded a pungent smell of cheap perfume, which made Yun Zhongzi dare not approach him.

"Hmph, what are you pretending to be, being so ugly and old? What wicked thoughts are you harboring here? Do you think I can't tell?"

The woman muttered unhappily, "It's fine if you don't like me. Keep going in, there are young and pretty ones. If you like those hairy little vixens—I really don't understand the weird tastes of you stinky men, go to the alley next door, there are more there."

Yun Zhongzi's face turned red, and he dared not reply. He turned around and was about to leave the secret room.

"Fellow Taoist, please stay!"

He had only taken two steps when a familiar voice came from behind him. Yun Zhongzi seemed to be frozen in place, turning around in disbelief.

A slender figure suddenly appeared under the old locust tree at the alley entrance.

The woman was in her early twenties, wearing a plain white cotton and linen long dress. When the hem of her dress swept across the ground, not a speck of dust touched it.

Her eyebrows and eyes were extremely soft, with the peaks of her eyebrows resembling distant mountains shrouded in mist, yet without a trace of sharpness. The corners of her eyes drooped slightly, like a pool of clear spring water soaked in moonlight.

Whenever her gaze fell upon the scavengers huddled in the alley, the little demons scrambling for food, or the scantily clad and heavily made-up women nearby, a faint pity would spread across her eyes, yet she would look down upon them without a trace of mercy—as if she were of the same kind as these creatures struggling in hardship, only with a more clear-headed gentleness.

(End of this chapter)