How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

After the flower girls had rested enough in the afternoon, Liu Yin led them through a review of the morning's lessons. Then, just like in the morning, she sang "Pipa Language" to them. Afterward, she taught them to memorize the lyrics repeatedly before letting them sing along with the melody.

“Recalling the past years, the small building was first painted with the cold night rain…” As soon as the first line began, a sharp and piercing voice stood out from a group of gentle and soft voices.

Liu Yin felt a chill run through her body, as if she had heard the sound of fingernails scraping a blackboard in her past life. She quickly opened her mouth and shouted, "Stop! Stop!"

Even without her saying so, the flower girls had already stopped one after another, all looking at the girl in the middle.

The girl looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, not yet of legal age. She wore a plain dress made of common linen, which was already quite hot and humid at this time of year. She wore very little jewelry, just a few delicate velvet flowers, nothing more. Looking closer at her face, she didn't fit the current aesthetic of delicate beauty, nor was she stunningly beautiful; she could only be described as pretty. However, her eyes and brows held a rare air of heroism among the courtesans. At this moment, she was looking around blankly, seemingly unaware of what was happening.

Looking at her handsome face, Liu Yin couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "What a beautiful face! If he were a boy, he would surely charm countless girls."

Thinking of this, she said helplessly, "Don't strain your voice when you sing. Sing it properly again."

After hearing this, the girl realized that her attempt to sing in a high-pitched voice, which she had just tried to imitate her older sisters, hadn't sounded good, which was why she had suffered this fate. Her face flushed, and she opened her mouth as Liu Yin suggested, softly singing: "Remembering the past years, the small building was first painted with a cold night rain..."

Hearing the girl's natural voice, Liu Yin couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "What a beautiful voice!"

This girl's voice wasn't bad; on the contrary, it was excellent. Unlike the delicate and soft voices of girls her age, her voice had a steady strength, much like that of Mao Amin, a singer she greatly admired in her past life—grand, weathered, and very penetrating.

"Alright, don't learn this piece from me yet. Your voice doesn't quite match it. Just observe from the side for now, and I'll write a new piece for you later." Liu Yin paused after saying this and continued, "Besides, I think you look more heroic. You don't need to dress so delicately in the future. I'll discuss it with Mama Xu later and see if we can change your style."

Although the girl was somewhat confused, she understood what Liu Yin meant by composing a song specifically for her.

Because her imitations of her older sister and friends were somewhat awkward and often made people laugh, she was given the nickname "Dong Shi," which meant that she was like the legendary Dong Shi who imitated Xi Shi and was unaware of her own ugliness.

But now she had gained Liu Yin's approval and even received a song that was exclusively hers. She couldn't help but smile. The courtesans beside her, not only those who were about the same age as her, but even those who had been courtesans for a long time, couldn't help but look at her with envy and a little jealousy in their eyes.

It should be noted that the last person to receive the song from Liu Yin, the new priestess, was the former courtesan Qingyin, who was famous in the red-light district. Unfortunately, she was too short-lived to enjoy such good fortune. The crowd's thoughts were interrupted by Liu Yin clapping her hands.

Just as she was about to speak, she noticed Xu Yueling standing to the side, giving her a meaningful look.

She understood what the other party meant, of course. Compared to the many courtesans in the brothel, Xu Yueling's talent was not considered top-notch. It was only because she was Xu's mother's biological daughter that she was able to secure the top spots. Now that she was retiring from the stage, Xu Yueling was determined to take the lead, which was why she had come to her for training in advance.

Liu Yin didn't want to pay attention to her, but thinking of her agreement with Xu Mama, she could only sigh and say to everyone, "The new song is different from the past, and the songs I will play in the future will be even different from what you have learned in the past. I know you will not be able to change them in time, but I hope you can work harder. Your Yue Ling Niangzi is not only extremely talented, but also very hardworking, which is very good. I hope you will learn from her."

As soon as she finished speaking, the courtesans echoed her words in unison, and Xu Yueling's face revealed an undisguised smugness, making Liu Yin inwardly complain that she actually had such a talent for flattery.

When the lesson ended and the sun was setting, it was time to receive guests. Not wanting to be discovered, Liu Yin used the excuse of discussing the course and the subsequent changes of the girl whose voice sounded just like Mao Amin to go to Xu's room with her mother.

"Huh...?" A young man brushed past her, looking at her back with some suspicion.

"What's wrong, Ziheng?" These two were the students who had talked about Liu Yin on the second floor when she went on stage earlier. The one who looked at her with a puzzled expression was Ziheng, who was so eager to find her.

"That woman just now... she looks just like that Qingyin lady who took the stage the other day..." Ziheng frowned slightly, puzzled, as he watched Liu Yin's disappearing figure.

"Impossible, isn't Lady Qingyin already deceased? You must be mistaken." Mo Zhu leaned back before turning to her best friend and saying, before her friend could even question her, she pulled her away, "Never mind, you must be mistaken. Come on, I specially invited Lord Wen's second son to come, you can't be absent."

Having been told this by his friend, Ziheng had no choice but to follow his friend's lead and was pulled into a private room.

"I heard from Yue Ling that you want to train Luanqin?" As soon as the two sat down, Xu's mother spoke up anxiously.

"I think she's pretty and has a clear voice, quite different from the courtesans in brothels. She's a promising talent." Liu Yin praised her without any reservations; she really liked the girl named Luanqin.

Mrs. Xu frowned, looking puzzled: "Although she is pretty, she is still a girl. How can a girl with such a masculine appearance be considered a good prospect?"

"Mom, our brothel has been around for so many years. There are all kinds of girls, from aloof to gentle, charming, and beautiful. But since I came here, I have never met one as spirited as him. Being different makes things rare and precious. He is definitely a good prospect."

"This..." Mrs. Xu hesitated. Although she felt that Liu Yin's words made some sense, she was still hesitant to try them.

Seeing her attitude, Liu Yin knew what she was thinking and said with a smile, "Mother, there's no need to worry. I won't push her out rashly. She's only fifteen or sixteen now, just the right age to be officially recognized. But there's still some time to go. Why don't I let her perform on stage soon after I've trained her enough? We'll see how she reacts then. She's just a trump card."

"Alright, whatever you say..." Madam Xu was completely persuaded. She had thought about it too. Although Luanqin had a nice name, she was really useless. She even thought about throwing her away to Yanxia Courtyard. But if Liu Yin could help her a little, that would be even better. After all, throwing her away to Yanxia Courtyard would mean that all those years of training would be wasted.

"That's good. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now." Liu Yin nodded and took her leave.

"Wait a moment. Because of Qingyin's unexpected death, some regular customers felt sorry for her being so young and dying so early. They wanted to buy her a simple coffin to send her off. Since she was abducted and had no parents or hometown, they set up a coffin for her next to the mortuary. Some of them even said they wanted to go and pay their respects. After I declined several times, they finally agreed to only offer a distant prayer. You are still alive, so we can't really make a tombstone. I came to you today to discuss this with you." After hesitating for a long time, Xu Mama finally explained the reason for looking for Liu Yin.

"I don't really care. After all, Qingyin is just a title, it doesn't matter. It's just a cenotaph." Liu Yin didn't care about these things. On the contrary, she thought it was a good thing. She couldn't openly erect a monument for the original owner, but she could use this opportunity to build a cenotaph for her.

“A cenotaph will do. I was thinking of putting the body of Yueya’er, who passed away the other day, in there and pretending it was yours, but since they’re not going there anyway, a cenotaph will do.”

"Crescent Moon?" Liu Yin was taken aback, looking puzzled. She hadn't heard that anyone had died at Qingyin Hall today.

"It's that girl who came on the first day that Prince Cui arrived..." Madam Xu's voice was tinged with regret. "She was sold into this place when she was three years old and has been following Instructor Liu ever since. That day, she was just unlucky. She was supposed to be resting in the backyard, but she ran to the front yard to peek and was discovered by Prince Cui, which led to this whole mess..."

"It's her..." Liu Yin was stunned. It was the girl who had been abused. Was she really dead...? Thinking of this, she resolutely said, "Let her be buried. She has nowhere to go..."

"Okay, as long as you don't mind." Mrs. Xu was also feeling a bit down at this point, but seeing that Liu Yin had agreed, she didn't say anything more.

The two exchanged a few more words about teaching before Liu Yin took her leave.

As soon as they arrived at the backyard, Lan Yan greeted them: "Miss, Mama Xu has arranged a sedan chair to take us away."

"I understand..." Liu Yin replied, only then noticing the puzzled look on Lan Yan's face. "You have something to say?"

“Miss, I’ve heard people say that being a courtesan is a hard life, but I’ve seen that the courtesans at Qingyin Hall are all called ‘little masters,’ and the guests pamper them in every way. From the time they are registered to the time they are married, being one or two regular customers is enough. They can even enter the guests’ backyards. So…” Lan Yan glanced at Liu Yin and asked cautiously.

Liu Yin sensed her unfinished meaning and replied with a smile, "Whether they are gentlemen, courtesans, or women who have entered the inner courtyard, in the end, whether they are first-class, second-class, third-class, or private prostitutes, to these men, the women here are just playthings, only differing in their level of preciousness. Just like a velvet flower is an ornament, and a gold hairpin is also an ornament, to women they are merely embellishments on their temples, but their level of preciousness is different."

“But… if I were to work as a courtesan in a first-class brothel, wouldn’t that be better than being a woman from an ordinary family? At least I would have nice clothes and good food.”

“Ordinary women can marry ordinary men and live openly as wives. Women from brothels are always inferior to others. Even if they are redeemed by patrons, they are just concubines to be bought and sold. A few years of wealth is exchanged for a lifetime. It’s not worth it…” Liu Yin looked at Lan Yan. She knew that Lan Yan had been sold to a slave trader by her parents for a mere three taels of silver, just to exchange for a dowry for her brother. From a young age, she had to shoulder the household chores, was often hungry and cold, and was often scolded. The life of a first-class courtesan was like a fairy tale to her.

"Even as the wife of an ordinary family, she only has three meals a day of coarse tea and plain rice, and she has to suffer all kinds of hardships. Being a concubine is at least... at least it won't be worse than this..." Lan Yan's murmur reached Liu Yin's ears. She was stunned for a moment before realizing that women from ordinary families in this era did not have an easy life either.

"Lan Yan, life is very long. You must remember that there is no such thing as a free lunch. The more free something is, the higher the invisible price you will have to pay..." Liu Yin gently advised, not paying attention to whether Lan Yan listened or not, before getting into the sedan chair and instructing the sedan chair bearers to go home.

Unbeknownst to her, just as she left, a figure emerged from the bamboo grove behind her. The figure stared at her retreating back for a long time without moving, its eyes filled with interest in her. Of course, if she were there, she would have recognized who this person was...