How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Liu Yin had considered that Xu Mama wouldn't continue supporting Luanqin given her personality, and she had even thought about Luanqin being kicked out of the brothel. In the past few days, she had also thought about how she could help her. However, she never expected Xu Mama to be so ruthless. Even when the Anle Prince's Mansion sent someone to deliver the so-called medicine money and mentioned that Luanqin was implicated by Yinling and even suffered serious injuries because of Yinling, Xu Mama showed no gratitude or kindness. She only wanted to squeeze every last bit of value out of Luanqin.

Looking at Luanqin in her arms, and then at the maids of Baifangyuan who were eager to grab her, she secretly made up her mind and asked directly, "How much did Mama Xu sell to Baifangyuan for?"

"What? You're planning to buy her freedom?" Mrs. Xu was taken aback for a moment, then said with a mocking look, "That little bit of money isn't enough to buy her freedom."

"How much do you want?" Liu Yin had long known that with Xu Mama's greedy nature, she wouldn't let her leave with the people as she wished.

"Not much, not much. I bought her for ten taels of silver that day, and now, after so many years of nurturing her, I've spent a lot on her food, clothing, lodging, and apprenticeship." Hearing the implication in Liu Yin's words that she really wanted to spend money, Madam Xu immediately perked up. If she could squeeze some money out of Liu Yin, it would be much more worthwhile than selling her to Baifangyuan. She took out her abacus and started calculating. "She's only been listed for a little over a month now. Even if she earns a lot on the day she's officially listed, she's spent even more over the years. How about this, I won't charge you any more. Three hundred taels, you can take her as you please."

"Three hundred taels!?" Liu Yin was almost laughing in anger. She was willing to bet that Xu Mama sold it to Baifangyuan for no more than three taels. "She made more than five thousand taels for you on the day she was married. That's only been thirty-odd days. You think I'm stupid? And Luanqin was only bought in eleven years ago. How much money could she have spent on you in just four or five years?"

"Don't worry about that. Just tell me whether you're going to pay or not." Xu's mother knew she was in the wrong, but conscience can't put food on the table. She also knew that Liu Yin was soft-hearted and would definitely pay the money, so she naturally wanted to take advantage of her.

Liu Yin was furious, but looking at Luanqin in her arms and at her expectant and pleading eyes, she couldn't bring herself to refuse, nor could she bear to watch a girl die so tragically.

Looking up at Xu Mama, who was leisurely drinking tea, he felt an unbearable rage. But after thinking it over and over, he suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth before saying, "Fifty taels, and I'll take the indenture and the person with me."

"Three hundred taels, no bargaining," Madam Xu replied without even looking at the item.

"One hundred taels."

"Three hundred taels."

"One hundred and fifty taels, don't go too far."

"Take the two hundred and fifty taels with you, or I'll let Baifangyuan take it away," said Madam Xu, seemingly accepting the situation with a helpless expression.

"Even if you sell twenty girls into Baifang Garden, you still won't get the price I'm offering you, one hundred and fifty taels. I'll also throw in a set of lyrics and music." Liu Yin wanted to bite her just looking at her smiling face, but she knew that Madam Xu was doing this on purpose. She also knew that if she insisted on going all the way, Madam Xu would rather suffer a loss and sell the girls into Baifang Garden in order to suppress her, who had become uncontrollable since leaving Qingyin Hall.

"Alright, for the sake of my friendship with your mother." Xu's mother's face showed that she had lost out, which made Liu Yin feel nauseous. After all, knowing that the other party was deliberately trying to extort money from her, and having to swallow this loss in silence would be a bitter pill to swallow for anyone.

Liu Yin nodded and hurriedly called someone in. She put Luanqin, who was relieved and full of gratitude, on the bed, and then said to Xu Mama, "Since it's settled, you can arrange for someone to go to my house to get the money. Also, have someone call a car to pick up Luanqin and me."

Madam Xu readily agreed and then gestured for the somewhat disappointed maids from Baifangyuan to leave. After watching them depart, Liu Yin sat down beside Luanqin's bed, looking at her anxious face and reassuringly saying, "Don't be afraid, my family is small, everyone gets along well, so don't worry. It's just that my home isn't as comfortable as this place; you'll probably have to live with others."

Luanqin didn't care about such things at this moment. She had already escaped death once, and now she was rescued from the abyss. Not to mention that she was also redeemed from the filthy brothel. In this great joy and sorrow, she wished she could sit up and kowtow to Liu Yin. She would agree to live with Liu Yin, even if he asked her to live in a shed or a pigsty.

Seeing her so agitated, Liu Yin repeatedly reassured her, "You shouldn't be so emotional right now. Take good care of yourself. Don't worry about anything else. Relax, we'll go home in a bit."

The word "home" seemed to completely unlock Luanqin's long-closed heart. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she sobbed, unable to speak, only vaguely uttering the word "thank you."

She never imagined that after being sold into prostitution by her brother, she would one day hear the word "home" again, let alone have a home of her own.

Seeing that she was getting emotional again and her face was covered in tears, Liu Yin quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe her face: "Okay, okay, don't cry anymore, your face is all messed up."

Hearing this teasing remark, Luanqin couldn't help but smile through her tears, finally calming herself down. Looking at her hands and legs with some worry, she said to Liu Yin, "Master, in my current state, going to you would only be a burden. I've already made you spend so much money; why don't you sell me off too? I don't hate you, anywhere but Baifangyuan is fine." She paused slightly before adding, as if making a decision, "If that doesn't work, Baifangyuan will do!"

"You were just acting like you were going to die, but now you're not even afraid of Baifangyuan?" Liu Yin was both amused and exasperated, but she understood the other person's gratitude and couldn't help but tease, "Alright, there's no need to end up like that. Now that I've saved you from this fire pit, I naturally won't push you back in. You're very useful."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Looking at the time, it shouldn't be anyone from the family who had come in such a short time. Liu Yin looked at Luan Qin with some doubt and mouthed "I'm looking for you." Luan Qin shook her head. It wasn't that no one wanted to visit these days, but Xu Mama had blocked them all. As a result, no one had come for quite some time. She really couldn't think of anyone who would come at this time.

Liu Yin heard the knocking on the door continue, so she simply stood up to open it. She was taken aback by the person standing outside the door, and it wasn't until that familiar face spoke that she realized what was happening and stepped aside.

When Luanqin peeked out with a puzzled look, she found that people seemed to be endlessly crowding in from outside the door. At a glance, she saw that there were familiar people and unfamiliar people, friendly people and people who had been hostile to her.

Seeing the room fall silent, Xu Yueling, who was leading the conversation, spoke up: "We've all heard about what happened. It's your good fortune that you were able to leave the red-light district with the priest. We sisters all wanted to come and see you off. We didn't have anything prepared, so we pooled some money together for you to keep safe."

"No, no need, how can I accept this? My sisters have worked so hard to save every penny, how can I take this money?" Luanqin was deeply moved that even her usual rivals would show her such kindness at this time, and she was unwilling to accept this generous gift.

"It's not much, it's all from everyone's heart, so please accept it without worry. People like us probably won't be able to save up enough money to redeem ourselves in our lifetime. Keeping this money around would just be a waste. Just consider it money you're keeping for us. If any of us are fortunate enough to leave this brothel one day, you can return it to us or give us a place to stay." Standing next to Yue Ling was Lan Yue, who usually didn't get along with Luan Qin the most. At this moment, she looked at Luan Qin with eyes full of despair for the future.

Liu Yin didn't speak, nor did Luan Qin. They remained silent, a silence lingering between them. They both knew Lan Yue was right: only one in ten thousand courtesans could leave the red-light district alive. Most of the time, they would fall from the top courtesans all the way down to the lowest brothels, then die quietly one day, and be thrown into a mass grave.

In the end, Luanqin tearfully accepted the settling-in money from her sisters, which consisted of silver notes, broken silver, gold and silver jewelry. She then followed the carriage brought by Liu Yin and headed towards a new future, watched by everyone.