How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Miss?" Aunt Qian saw Liu Yin staring blankly at what had just happened and assumed she still wanted to turn back and save the girl. "Miss, you're too soft-hearted. It'll only make things harder for you in this world..."

"I know, I'm fine, Aunt Qian." Liu Yin came back to her senses, realizing that she had made her elders worry about her, and quickly replied with a smile.

After walking another two or three hundred meters, the carriage stopped in front of what looked like an ordinary courtyard.

Liu Yin got off the carriage with Aunt Qian, looked around briefly, and was then helped into the courtyard by Aunt Qian.

The courtyard was not large. The main house was directly opposite the gate. To the left was a livestock shed, and to the right was a shack. The shack was dark, and only a few figures sitting or squatting on the ground could be vaguely seen. Before she could take a closer look, the slave trader and his wife invited her into the main hall.

"Please sit down, young lady. What kind of person are you looking for?" The brokerage owner, seeing that a young woman was in charge, gave his wife a wink, signaling her to step forward and handle the situation.

"As long as he's honest, hardworking, and keeps his mouth shut, his appearance doesn't really matter," Aunt Qian said, stepping forward.

"Alright, then please have a seat for a while, I'll bring the person up with the manager right away."

In no time, the broker brought about twenty girls, aged fifteen or sixteen to seventeen or eighteen, into the room, instantly filling it with a noisy din. Before Aunt Qian could even ask them to make way, the broker gave a soft shout: "Back up, back up, spread out."

Under his command, the group of girls quickly stood in neat rows of five. Once they were in place, the matchmaker approached them and said, "Miss, take a look. These girls are all well-trained and very quick. I dare say there are no better ones in Qinhuai Prefecture than mine."

Looking at the group of girls, their clothes were tattered and their faces showed signs of hasty washing. They stood there with their heads down, lacking any of the vitality that should be present at their age. This was the first time in her life that she had encountered such a scene of human trafficking. She was at a loss for what to do and looked up at Aunt Qian.

Aunt Qian didn't hesitate. She stood up and walked in front of the girls, carefully examining them. She would lift the hem of their skirts from time to time and ask them to raise their arms and legs from time to time.

In no time at all, she had picked out five that she was satisfied with, and then told the broker to take the rest away: "These five are all alright, young lady, pick one that catches your eye."

Liu Yin watched as the five girls imitated Aunt Qian's mannerisms, then looked them over and lowered her head in thought.

At that moment, a girl who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old suddenly rushed in from outside, knelt down in front of Liu Yin, and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Please, miss, buy me! Please, I don't want to go to a brothel, I don't want to go..."

Liu Yin was startled. When she came to her senses, she found that the girl's head was bleeding from the bump. She quickly bent down to help her up, but before she could touch the girl, Aunt Qian stopped her.

"Miss, this is an internal matter of the brokerage firm. Let's not make things worse," Aunt Qian said softly in Liu Yin's ear as she helped her up.

The broker quickly stepped forward and kicked the girl. Just as he was about to kick her again, his wife stopped him, saying, "What are you doing? You'll startle the guests."

The broker then realized what had happened and hurriedly bowed to Liu Yin to apologize: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'll just pull her away."

He reached out to pull the girl up, but it was unclear whether she was truly at her wit's end, because the broker couldn't lift her up.

"Wait," Liu Yin interrupted the broker, "I want to say something to her."

"This..." The broker was about to refuse when he saw Aunt Qian take out a silver note and give it to him. He took the silver note and then smiled and stepped aside, "Please, miss, please."

The girl, still recovering from the kick, looked at Liu Yin with pleading eyes and kept saying, "Save me, save me, I won't go to a brothel..."

Liu Yin looked at her, unsure of what to say for a moment. After a moment's thought, she whispered in the girl's ear, "The place I came from is one you don't want to go. Do you still want my help?"

Upon hearing this, the light in the girl's eyes instantly went out. Liu Yin waited for a moment and, seeing that she didn't react, knew that this was her rejection, so she stood up.

Just as she was about to get up and walk towards the other five girls, she looked down and found that the hem of her skirt was being held in a girl's hand. She stared straight at Liu Yin.

"Aunt Qian, I want to buy this girl, and that one too." Liu Yin understood the plea in the other woman's eyes, walked to Aunt Qian's side, and pointed to the girl on the ground and one of the five girls beside her who were looking at her with concern.

“Okay, two will do.” Aunt Qian agreed without hesitation, smiling as she turned to discuss the price with the broker.

In a short while, Aunt Qian had everything arranged, took the two girls' indentures, and told Liu Yin to leave.

Since there were two more people, Aunt Qian simply asked the broker to help her find a larger carriage, and the group walked out along the original road.

The streets were now more crowded, with many children, mostly girls. These girls appeared to be only four or five years old, skin and bones, their large eyes revealing not the numbness of the adults around them, but the bewilderment and confusion of children. Among them were many middle-aged women dressed in fine clothes, accompanied by thugs, who were looking around at the girls.

Seeing that these people were dressed in fine silks that ordinary people couldn't afford, Liu Yin assumed that some steward was selecting children to be raised in the mansion. Then she heard Aunt Qian whisper to her, "Miss, look, this group of women are from the second and third-class brothels in the red-light district. Usually, the good ones are taken directly by the first-class brothels. And since few people from the brokerage firm go into the brothels, those who can't find good ones can only come here to pick some up and find some bargains."

Liu Yin then realized that the maids of the powerful and wealthy were all born into the household and would be bought by brokers who would deliver them to their door. How could they possibly pick and choose on the spot? Meanwhile, the madams and brothel owners in the red-light district could afford fine clothes. Thinking of this, she lost interest in continuing to look around.

The group hadn't gone far from the market when the carriage suddenly stopped. Just as she was wondering what was going on, the coachman asked, "Honored guest, a young lady is lying on the ground, blocking the way."

After hearing this, Aunt Qian lifted the carriage curtain and glanced inside. Liu Yin then heard her exclaim in surprise, "It's her?"

Liu Yin peeked out of curiosity and saw that it was the girl she had seen earlier who had been kicked and coughed up blood, now lying unconscious in front of the carriage.

She gently tugged at Aunt Qian's sleeve, interrupting Aunt Qian's words about throwing the girl aside, and whispered in Aunt Qian's ear, "Aunt Qian, it's fate that she collapsed in front of our vehicle. Why don't we take her to the clinic? Saving a life is worse than building a seven-story pagoda."

"This..." Aunt Qian hesitated for a moment, and was about to nod in agreement when she suddenly thought of something and said, "Never mind, bring him into the house."

Liu Yin was already very happy to see that she had agreed, and now that she had an unexpected gain, she nodded repeatedly with even greater joy, and did not think much about why the other party suddenly changed her mind.

Seeing her so happy, Aunt Qian couldn't help but smile and pat her head, without offering any explanation.

The sight of two going out and five returning prompted even the frail Madam Liu to step out of her room to check: "Oh dear, why did you buy three?"

“Our young lady is kind-hearted. She buys one and gives one away. She even picked one up on the way.” Aunt Qian couldn’t help but make a joke before instructing the two maids, “Go to the side room over there and tidy yourself up before you come to see the madam and the young lady. Oh, and carry this girl in. A doctor will examine her later.”

Upon hearing this, the two maids nodded repeatedly, looking restrained and frightened, and carried the girl into the side room that Aunt Qian pointed out.

"You, I'm afraid you'll be unhappy if I don't let you go. The market is really dirty and messy. Why don't you go and wash up?" Madam Liu came to Liu Yin's side, nodded her head with a doting look, and urged her into the house.

Liu Yin smiled, lifted the hem of her skirt, curtsied, turned around, and quickly ran back to her room, displaying a rare girlish demeanor.

Upon entering the room, she discovered that warm water had already been prepared behind the screen beside the canopy bed. She happily took off her clothes, intending to relax, completely unaware of the furtive glances exchanged between Madam Liu and her servant as she turned around.

"How was her performance today?" Madam Liu showed no signs of illness as she leaned back in her armchair, holding a cup of tea.

"Reporting to Madam, this young lady is kind-hearted and compassionate..." Aunt Qian respectfully recounted Liu Yin's behavior today. If Liu Yin were to repeat this, she would be extremely surprised, as Aunt Qian had mimicked her demeanor and words today to a degree of 90%.

"It seems that Mr. Xu wasn't lying to me. This girl looks smart and isn't stupid. She just has a kind heart and is very soft-hearted." After hearing this, Madam Liu took a sip of tea and said with a smile before carefully instructing Aunt Qian: "Have that little girl keep a close eye on her and make sure she's not discovered. As for the two extra girls, put them elsewhere for a while and train them properly before sending them back to her side."

"This old servant understands, Madam, please rest assured." Aunt Qian's face remained unchanged, her expression calm.

"Alright, you may leave now. Be careful in your actions. Sometimes it's good to be open and honest with each other. After all, we don't intend to harm her." Madam Liu gave a few more instructions before dismissing the servants.

After everyone left, she smiled suddenly while holding the tea and said softly, "It's good to be soft-hearted. Looks like I picked up a good child."

Liu Yin, completely oblivious to the master and servant's plan, was still pleased that she had managed to save the two of them today, which could be considered a good start in this era.

In the evening, the three maids who had been tidied up came over to kowtow. Liu Yin was surprised to see that the girl who had been unconscious was now coming over to pay her respects as if nothing had happened. She paused for a moment before asking, "Is she... alright?"

"Don't worry, young lady. I've asked the doctor, and she just fainted from hunger," Aunt Qian said with a smile as she stepped forward.

"She...vomited blood..." Liu Yin's eyes widened in surprise as she looked the girl up and down. What a strong person she was; she could recover completely even after vomiting blood.

"This... this old servant doesn't know either. The doctor only said that this girl is physically strong and is a good prospect for martial arts." Aunt Qian was also taken aback by the question before replying with a smile. Before Liu Yin could speak, she added, "Madam was just saying that we should send her to a martial arts school to have someone teach her properly so she can be a martial arts partner for the young lady."

"Alright... As long as Mother and Aunt Qian have made arrangements, that's fine." Liu Yin could only nod when she heard that her elders had already made arrangements.

Afterwards, the three girls were renamed based on their original names. The girl who practiced martial arts was named Mei Wu, the girl who asked for help was named Zhu Mei, and the girl who bought the girl was named Lan Yan. From then on, Liu Yin had Lan Yan, who was good at styling hair, Mei Wu, who was proficient in martial arts, and Zhu Mei, who was familiar with household affairs.

Because of her impulsive actions, she suddenly added three mouths to feed in the family, which made Liu Yin feel a little embarrassed. That evening, she proposed to start teaching at Qingyin Hall the next day to help with household expenses. Madam Liu did not object after hearing this, but only told her to be careful in her daily life.