How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Willingly debase herself." This was Madam Xue's final assessment of Yuening, and also Liu Yin's first assessment of her at this moment.

Ke Yuening didn't care at all. At this moment, she was only determined to replace Liu Yin and reach the top. She was thinking that she must work harder and harder to win that most dazzling pearl.

"Do you know what you promised today?" Liu Yin's impression of Yue Ning was only that of the charming young girl who followed Madam Xue closely on the stage, innocent, naive and carefree. She never thought she would see her in the red-light district, and couldn't help but wonder if she had been deceived by Madam Xu.

To her disappointment, Yuening looked at the challenge in her eyes and smiled smugly: "Of course I know. Mama Xu told me, and my master sent me here. I knew about the mission before I came." As she spoke, she glanced at the two trembling children.

Liu Yin's face instantly turned cold: "Since you know this, why are you still helping the wicked? Madam Xue treats you like her own daughter, and you..."

Seemingly stung by Liu Yin's disappointed gaze, Yue Ning snorted coldly: "What I want is the glory of being the number one female poet in the world, not the ordinary life that Master spoke of. I am willing to sacrifice everything for this."

"Including your master and your conscience?" Liu Yin looked at her with some confusion, feeling that her thought process was really strange.

“Yes!” Yuening replied firmly.

"Hahahaha, the number one poet in the world, you really are..." Liu Yin couldn't help but laugh when she saw that her innocent face had been distorted by greed, losing its former naivety.

Her laughter startled Yuening for a moment, then she realized what she meant and asked her calmly, "What are you laughing at?"

"I laugh... ha, I laugh at your master for being blind, I laugh at your self-degradation, I laugh at your failure to enjoy your blessings, I laugh at your stupidity like a pig." Liu Yin pushed the two children in her arms into Xu Yueling's arms, patted her dress, stood up and looked at Yue Ning.

She looked at Yuening, then at Xu Yueling who was worried about her but still tightly protecting the two children, and then at Xu's mother who had a cold expression, before saying to Xu Yueling, "Your name is Yuening. I suppose it was given to you by your master or an elder in your family. Yue means joy throughout your life, and Ning means smooth sailing throughout your life. This name is truly touching."

Yuening was a little confused, but she nodded cautiously: "My master gave me the name."

"It seems your master paved the way for you, but unfortunately you won't walk it." Liu Yin's voice turned cold, and she continued with a sneer, "The number one female poet in the world, ha, what a great honor, but what good is it?"

"Yesterday, everyone praised me as the number one poet of Qinhuai, and everyone praised me as the pride of Huaicheng. But last night, the Prince's Mansion forced me into their mansion. They called it appreciation, but to put it bluntly, what's the difference between this and the ladies leaving the house?"

“If it weren’t for the fact that I’m still from a respectable family, who would know whose bed I’m sleeping in today? They’re quite brazen towards me now, but you’re of lowly status, aren’t you? In their eyes, someone of lowly status is less than an ant! Even so, you still want to go down this path?”

"Let's go! I've studied for ten years just to stand at the top. If being a musician won't work, then I'll become the number one lyricist in the world!" Yu Ning's face was a little pale. She had thought that she might not be able to protect herself, but she never thought it would be so difficult. However, her desire for fame had overwhelmed everything at this moment.

"Do as you please. If you're willing to debase yourself, I won't stop you. But if you're going to personally send these two children to someone else's bed to pave your way, I will never allow it!" Liu Yin stared at her coldly, as if she were looking at countless people who had died for fame and greed in their past and present lives. She knew that there was no point in trying to persuade her anymore, so she simply didn't come here today to try to persuade her.

"This is not up to you." Xu Mama, who had been watching the show for a long time, put down her teacup and looked at Liu Yin with cold eyes. "Liu Jianniang, I have said that this is not up to you. It is fine if you do not train her, I will arrange for someone else to do so. But you will still have to bear this name in public."

"Use my name to buy your future? You're welcome to try." Liu Yin looked at Xu's mother without any fear.

"I can't do anything about you, but isn't your Lady Liu very kind-hearted? At worst, I'll just pick a few more girls from the brothel and send them over as an apology. I don't think the young master will care about such a small matter." Madam Xu sneered, picked up her teacup and continued to sip her tea.

Liu Yin knew that the other party meant what they said. She couldn't bear to watch the children go into the fire, but she also couldn't accept taking the blame for them. At this moment, she really couldn't think of any other way.

Seeing that Liu Yin didn't say anything more, Xu Mama revealed a hint of smugness. She knew that she had her back because of Liu Yin's soft heart. Thinking of this, she opened her mouth and called two maids in from outside the door.

She pointed at the two children to the two maids and waved her hand. The maids immediately took the children from Xu Yueling's arms. Xu Yueling wanted to stop them, but she was frightened by a look from her mother and dared not move.

Liu Yin held onto the two children tightly, refusing to let go, until the slightly older girl said to her, "Sister, although we don't understand what you're saying, we know you're doing this for our own good. But we're just cheap lives, and it's already worth it to be able to eat and stay warm. Thank you, sister..."

Hearing the childish "thank you," Liu Yin's hands trembled. She knew she had no way to save the two children until her aunt forcibly pried her hands open, taking the slender wrists away from her grasp, taking away the last bit of warmth from her hands as well.

Finally, Xu's mother proudly took Yuening to the back to prepare to discipline the two children. Xu Yueling looked at Liu Yin, opened her mouth but didn't know what to say, and could only sigh deeply and say, "Qingyin... just consider it our fate. Not everyone can be as lucky as you."

Looking at the empty room, Liu Yin felt suffocated. She pushed open the door, looked at Mei Wu who was looking at her with concern, shook her head gently, said nothing, and took her home.

When she arrived home, she looked at the small house and felt lost. When she saw Madam Liu looking at her with concern, she suddenly threw herself into her arms and burst into tears.

Madam Liu didn't know what had happened, but seeing Liu Yin's unprecedentedly sorrowful appearance, she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. She hugged Liu Yin and gently comforted her, "It's alright, your mother is here. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."

Liu Yin cried for a while before she stood up from Madam Liu's arms. She felt a little embarrassed looking at the clothes she had soiled. She told Madam Liu everything after she had changed her clothes.

Upon hearing this, Madam Liu slammed her hand on the table and angrily rebuked, "What a shameless thing!" But then she sighed deeply, sat down at the table, looked at Liu Yin with a sorrowful expression, and said, "Child, this is how the world is, and this is how our fate is as women."

“This shouldn’t be a mother, it shouldn’t be like this. Even animals cherish their young, but these people are worse than beasts.” Liu Yin looked at Madam Liu. “And has it always been right? They say brothels are a woman’s world, but I say it’s a prison built with women’s blood and bones. Or perhaps it’s not just brothels, but in this era and this world, everyone is cannibalizing people. The emperor eats the powerful, the powerful eat the gentry, the gentry eat the common people, and the common people eat themselves…”

“Mother,” Liu Yin looked at Madam Liu as if she had made up her mind, “I want to write another book, not just a book about women, but a book about children who were eaten, people who were eaten, and people who were eaten…”