Chapter 61: Brothel Search
Taking advantage of the dim night, Liu Xunyi, dressed in black, walked through the streets and alleys of Huodu City. About half an hour later, he finally hid in front of a beautiful building with red and pink lanterns hanging on it. Looking up, he saw three bright red characters "Tianxiang Tower" on the black plaque on the lintel.

"This is the Tianxiang Tower that Ding San mentioned. Cao Qin's son was kidnapped here." Liu Xunyi hid in the corner and muttered quietly, "Someone kidnapped Cao Qin's son at this critical moment. This is definitely not a coincidence with Cao Qin bringing back the Jingfenghuayu Tu. If I guessed correctly, the people who kidnapped Cao Gongzi were probably here for this picture. These people dared to kidnap people under the nose of Yulong Palace. They must have made some preparations. As long as I can find these people, I can follow the clues and find out the news about Jingfenghuayu Tu."

Although it was late at night, Tianxiang Tower was far less quiet than Long'an Inn. People could still be seen in the brightly lit lobby, and the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses were endless.

Although the people of Huodu City were in panic because of the disturbance caused by Yuhu Hall, Tianxiang Tower did not become the target of public criticism. Instead, it was still a peaceful scene with singing and dancing. It seemed that Cao Qin could not find any useful clues here.

There are many "beauties" in Tianxiang Tower. Liu Xunyi learned from Ding San that the girl who spent the night with Mr. Cao yesterday was a girl named "Xiaoqing", who was also Mr. Cao's mistress for many years.

But at the moment, Liu Xunyi not only didn't know Xiaoqing's whereabouts, he had never even seen Xiaoqing's face. Therefore, if he wanted to find clues, he had to find this girl first.

Liu Xunyi thought for a moment, then glanced at a dozen empty wine jars piled in the corner. These were thrown out from Tianxiang Tower. Many of them still had some wine in them, and were now emitting a greasy smell.

Liu Xunyi suddenly had an idea, and quickly took off the black scarf on his face, loosened his clothes a little, and randomly rolled up one sleeve, deliberately dressing up in a loose manner. Then he picked up a wine jar, stirred it a few times, and then slapped his hands covered with wine up and down on himself, making a pungent smell of alcohol.

Since Liu Xunyi drank a lot in Long'an Inn tonight, his slightly flushed face looked like he was drunk, and coupled with the smell of alcohol, loose clothes and staggering steps, in the blink of an eye, the clear-headed Liu Xunyi had turned into a lazy drunk.

"Boom!"

With a noise, the drunken Liu Xunyi slammed open the door of Tianxiang Tower, tripped over his left foot and stumbled into the lobby.

Tianxiang Tower was full of drunken and lustful men, who were hugging beautiful women on their left and right, and were being served wine and food while they were touching them dishonestly, having a lot of fun. Therefore, no one cared about the sudden appearance of Liu Xunyi.

"This young man looks unfamiliar. This must be his first time visiting our Tianxiang Tower, right?"

The heavily made-up old madam didn't expect that a customer would come to her house so late at night. She was stunned for a moment, and then she walked forward with a smile on her face, waving a peach blossom fan to greet the customer.

She first looked around outside the door, then carefully closed the door. As she turned around, her white and tender hands took Liu Xunyi's arm. She wanted to stick her greasy and delicate body to Liu Xunyi. When she smelled the alcohol on Liu Xunyi's body, the smile on her face became more intense. She said, "Sir, if you want to have fun, just come to our Tianxiang Tower. I wonder what kind of girl you like?"

Liu Xunyi felt embarrassed, but he didn't dare to show any abnormality, so he had to bite the bullet and said with a sly smile: "Find the most beautiful girl here to serve me."

"Look at what you said, sir. All the girls here are beauties. It depends on which one you like." The madam said, her eyes rolling, and she smiled with a hint of meaning, "Of course, if you want a canary, you have to prepare a golden cage first, hehe..."

Of course Liu Xunyi understood the madam's implication. He pretended to be unsteady and was about to speak when he suddenly stumbled and fell on a fat man dressed in jewels next to him. With the fat man's curses and the girls' giggles, Liu Xunyi, with the madam's help, finally stood up again, bowing to the fat man to apologize.

"Young master, please slow down." The madam reminded carefully.

"Here!" Liu Xunyi turned around and threw a large silver ingot to the madam, saying, "Is this enough to make a gold wire cage?"

"Enough! Enough!" The madam was so greedy that she couldn't stop smiling. She even more attentively helped Liu Xunyi upstairs, calling out loudly as she walked, "Prepare the good wine and food. Ladies, come out to meet the guests!"

As Liu Xunyi stepped onto the stairs, he inadvertently turned his head and glanced at the fat man who was still unaware, and a sly smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The madam invited Liu Xunyi into the side room, and soon a table full of delicious dishes was served. At the same time, more than a dozen young women with frivolous eyes and half-dressed came in one after another, and stood in a row in front of Liu Xunyi, each of them flirting and using all their seductive skills.

"These are the most beautiful girls in Huodu City. I wonder which one will catch your eye?" The madam stood beside Liu Xunyi and introduced them one by one, as if giving advice. "This girl Xing'er is only eighteen years old... That girl Zilan is good at singing and dancing..."

Liu Xunyi, who had been listening to this, was overwhelmed. He pretended to be drunk and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I heard that there is a girl named 'Xiao Qing' here, who is known as a beauty of the country. This young master wants her to serve him."

Xiao Qing was the top prostitute in Tianxianglou, so it was not surprising that Liu Xunyi had heard of her name. However, after hearing the word "Xiao Qing", the madam showed an embarrassment for the first time.

"This young man is really good at choosing girls. Xiaoqing is indeed capable, but..." The madam seemed to be hesitant to speak, and smiled awkwardly, "It's just that Xiaoqing is not feeling well today, I'm afraid she can't come..." "Not feeling well?" Liu Xunyi was stunned when he heard this. He knew that Xiaoqing had spent the night with Mr. Cao last night, so how could she suddenly feel uncomfortable? He knew without thinking that this was the madam's excuse, so he pretended to be angry and said, "Why? Do you look down on me? Or are you afraid that I can't afford to pay?" As he said that, Liu Xunyi threw out another ingot of silver from his sleeve, and it hit the table with a "clang", which made the madam and the girls' eyes sparkle.

"How could that be?" The madam gritted her teeth and took the silver in her hand, waved her hand to signal the girls to leave, and whispered to Liu Xunyi, "It's just...something happened in the early morning of today, I'm sure you should have heard about it. Xiaoqing...she's really not suitable to meet guests now."

Liu Xunyi stared at the madam with drunken eyes and said with a smile: "I know Xiaoqing is the woman that Mr. Cao likes, but since she is in Tianxiang Tower, she should know the rules of this business. Can she just give up the business? I understand what you mean. I came here just to see Miss Xiaoqing's beauty. After that, we will go our separate ways. Mr. Cao will never know." As he said that, Liu Xunyi stuffed another silver ingot into the madam's hand.

"Sir, you have misunderstood. It's not that Xiaoqing cannot receive customers, but..." The madam said halfway, her eyes suddenly became fierce, and she said frankly, "I'd better call her here for you to see for yourself! But let me say this first, I will take this money but..."

"What is given to you is yours. I won't ask you to take it back. Go call Xiaoqing!" Liu Xunyi urged impatiently.

Hearing this, the madam was immediately delighted. She no longer hesitated, filled a glass of wine for Liu Xunyi, and quickly left the room.

Liu Xunyi waited for a whole stick of incense before the madam finally came. Following behind her was a slim woman with an embarrassed look and a white scarf on her face.

"Sir, she is Xiaoqing." The madam introduced with embarrassment.

"You can go out!" Liu Xunyi waved his hand.

"Well..." But the madam had no intention of leaving. She still stood at the door hesitantly, smiling bitterly, "Why don't you take a look at her first? If you don't mind, I'll leave. If not, I'll find another girl to serve you as soon as possible."

Liu Xunyi was startled when he heard this, and then hesitantly looked at Xiaoqing who was standing in the corner and shivering. Especially when he saw the scarf in front of Xiaoqing, he couldn't help but feel puzzled. He frowned slightly and said, "Take off the scarf and let me see what you look like."

"Xiaoqing... Xiaoqing is afraid of scaring the young master..." Xiaoqing's voice sounded a little muffled, without the graceful and crisp voice that a woman should have. Liu Xunyi could even clearly hear a hint of crying in it.

Liu Xunyi seemed to have anticipated something, and turned to the madam and said, "You are no longer needed here. I will let her serve you tonight. You can get out now!"

"But young master..."

"Get out!" Liu Xunyi glared at her. The madam didn't dare to say anything more. She could only look at Xiaoqing helplessly, then sighed and left the room.

"It's okay, just pick it!" Liu Xunyi said softly.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, sir..."

Xiaoqing's voice was full of inferiority. Under Liu Xunyi's solemn gaze, she mustered up her courage again and again, and finally stretched out her trembling delicate hands and slowly took off the scarf in front of her.

Suddenly, a bloody face appeared in front of Liu Xunyi. There were more than 80 cuts on his face. The cuts were so deep that the skin and flesh on his face were turned outward. The bright red blood seemed to be flowing all over his face. In addition, the wound medicine that had been condensed with the flesh and blood was red and black. The eyes, nose, and mouth were twisted into a ball. In the red and swollen rotten flesh and blood scars, it was impossible to tell which was which. Such a shocking face was not a beauty at all. It was even more terrifying than the evil spirits in hell.

Even though Liu Xunyi had already guessed it, he still subconsciously took a breath when he saw such a cruel scene.

"You...what's wrong with your face..." Facing Xiaoqing who was crying, Liu Xunyi couldn't help but feel his throat tighten.

"Master Cao was abducted from Tianxiang Tower because of me, so this is... the punishment given to me by Hall Master Cao..."

……

(End of this chapter)