How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

"Our Lady Liu is quite kind-hearted?" Li Linfeng said with a smile that was hard to decipher.

“She is a woman after all, perhaps she feels sorry for her own kind…” Fu’an replied.

"Do you know whose it is?" Li Linfeng asked after a moment of contemplation, his hand on his forehead.

"I've inquired about it; they're just a fallen aristocratic family," Fu'an replied, bowing his head before recounting what he had learned in detail.

"Then forget it." Li Linfeng said.

“That…that book?” Fu’an continued to ask.

"Never mind it, it's just a medical book..." Li Linfeng withdrew his hand, abandoning his idea of ​​keeping it for himself to gain fame.

"Yes," Fu'an replied respectfully.

With the grass growing and birds singing, the group had been traveling for several days. On this day, Liu Yin and the others, who had just gotten up from staying at the inn, received a message from a servant of the Li family: "Master Liu, the master said that we will be taking the waterway next. If you need anything, please buy it today, as we may not be able to disembark for several days."

Liu Yin wasn't surprised. Ever since she learned that Li Linfeng planned to travel north by boat from Anfu, she had some doubts. After all, Qinhuai and Liangfu were located in a water town, so traveling by boat was convenient. However, Li Linfeng's choice was quite illogical.

However, when she saw that the other party was heading towards Linan Town, which is the border between Qin and Qing Prefectures, and when she saw a group of people secretly entering Li Linfeng's courtyard from outside the window last night and not coming out again, she began to suspect something.

"There's nothing we need, let's go wait on the boat first." After seeing those people yesterday, Liu Yin knew that Li Linfeng would definitely send her away today to prevent her from finding out that there were more people in the group.

"Alright, then we'll arrange for someone to escort everyone onto the ship." Upon hearing this, a hint of joy flashed in the servant's eyes, and he quickly agreed.

These ships were quite magnificent and richly decorated. They even flew the imperial flag, demonstrating to the outside world that they were ships on official business for the royal family, and also warning those who robbed and plundered on the river not to act recklessly.

Liu Yin and the others waited on the boat for a long time before it finally set sail.

Having been informed by Liu Yin, Liu Xuemei and Mei Wuzao had to suppress their doubts and obediently stand guard on either side of Liu Yin to prevent being overheard through the window.

Liu Yin was not idle either. During this time, she not only supplemented the last volume of "Biographies of a Hundred Flowers", but also began to prepare lyrics and music for her trip to the capital.

"Master Liu." A servant from the Li family came over to deliver the message after the ship set sail, "Master, my master said that it's a bit boring on the ship. If you're bored, you can prepare some presentable lyrics and music for the girls, or continue teaching them skills."

"I understand, thank you for your trouble." Liu Yin didn't mind, after all, in her heart Li Linfeng was indeed that kind of person. Since he brought her to the capital, he would naturally think about how to extract value from her along the way.

"That's good. Then this servant will go and report to the master. If there's anything needed, just have someone contact us." The servant of the Li family respectfully agreed and turned to leave.

“Miss…” Liu Xuemei was about to speak, unable to contain herself any longer.

A burst of firecrackers interrupted her, and the boat stopped. Liu Yin was a little surprised, since the boat had only been sailing for a short time.

"Xuemei, go and see what happened?" Liu Yin thought for a moment and then asked Xuemei to go out and find out.

"Yes, miss." Liu Xuemei replied and turned to go outside.

The sounds outside continued, and even crying could be heard, which made Liu Yin even more puzzled.

Before she could stand up and go out to see, Liu Xuemei had already pushed the door open and come in. Her face looked rather unwell, and she frowned as she approached and said, "Miss, they are preparing for a human sacrifice."

"Human sacrifice?" Liu Yin frowned, full of confusion. "I haven't heard that there's been a lot of rain in Lin'nan Town. Why would they suddenly hold a human sacrifice?"

"I made a few inquiries, and it turns out it wasn't for good weather or a bountiful harvest. This human sacrifice was being held by a local aristocratic family." Liu Xuemei still frowned.

"Aristocratic families?" Liu Yin frowned even more deeply. "Have aristocratic families become so audacious these days? They actually dare to openly perform human sacrifices?"

"How can you explain the ways of the world..." Liu Xuemei wasn't so angry, but rather carried a somewhat ambiguous emotion.

"Do you know who was sacrificed?" Liu Yin frowned, an idea forming in her mind.

"I've inquired, and they're a brother and sister chosen by the town." Liu Xuemei frowned as she recalled the scene she had witnessed.

"Let's go take a look!" Liu Yin stood up and was about to go out.

Liu Xuemei stopped her: "Miss, this matter concerns the local aristocratic families, and we really cannot interfere."

“…Let me see.” Liu Yin didn’t say she definitely wouldn’t help, but looked at Liu Xuemei firmly.

Liu Xuemei looked into her eyes, hesitated for a moment, then lowered her hand and turned to the side.

Liu Yin walked past her, followed by Mei Wu. However, unlike Liu Yin who walked away without hesitation, Mei Wu stopped beside Liu Xuemei: "You've always been like this, Miss. If you weren't like this, Zhu Mei and I would have died somewhere long ago."

Upon hearing her words, Liu Xuemei's eyebrows twitched, and her eyes softened instantly as if she had thought of something. She smiled and then quickly followed after her.

The boat was now anchored in the middle of the river. Looking into the distance, on a high riverbank that jutted out over the water, a group of people were gathered together. People dressed in shamanistic costumes made of colorful ribbons were dancing a sacrificial dance around a man and a woman.

The brother and sister who were surrounded were not the young children Liu Yin had imagined; on the contrary, they were teenagers who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old.

The brother and sister were hugging each other, with the brother protecting his sister, while the crying came from a middle-aged couple not far away.

Because they were not far away, their cries could be faintly heard, and from the cries, it could be known that the couple were the biological parents of the brother and sister.

"Alright! Stop crying, it's not like the head of the family didn't give you money!" A richly dressed woman looked at the parents with disdain and impatience.

"Please, please, we only have these two children left. We don't want the money anymore, please, please..." The couple cried bitterly. The shiny silver was thrown on the muddy ground. The silver, which had always been sought after, was now being trampled on by several pairs of feet and covered with countless filthy dirt that no one cared about.

"Alright, alright, don't make such a show of it, as if the Nan family is heartless. If it weren't for your two lowly children, whose fortunes are perfectly aligned with our eldest daughter's and who can lend her a helping hand, you wouldn't have the chance to do this for our Nan family's eldest daughter. Many people would love to do that..." The woman still maintained her haughty demeanor.

"Please, please tell the head of the household that we're quitting, we're quitting, please, please..." The couple kowtowed repeatedly, ignoring the muddy ground.

The woman's face showed a hint of mockery, and then she leaned down and whispered something in their ears.

The couple's faces suddenly turned pale...