Chapter 140 Xiaohe

Lin Yun shot him another speechless look. "Do I honestly look like someone capable of protecting you right now?"

Song Xizheng: "..."

Fair enough. I’ll behave myself from here on out.

"So, gentlemen, what might I call you? And how would you like to enjoy yourselves here at our Red Sleeve Pavilion?" Madam Yao flicked the handkerchief in her hand toward Xiong Qi’s face.

Xiong Qi shuddered visibly — he’d never encountered anything remotely like this before in his life. He quickly pointed toward Song Zhenzhen instead. "We’ve actually come to ask her to play us something on the piano!"

George and Song Xizheng exchanged a quick glance and jumped in just as fast, backing him up. "That’s exactly right — we heard they play beautifully, so we specifically wanted to come and listen for ourselves."

Lin Yun and Song Zhenzhen: "..."

Madam Yao’s expression soured noticeably. "Piano, is it? Wouldn’t you rather see our finest courtesans instead? Qingqing and Lanlan were both trained personally by Xiao He. If it’s music you’re after, Xiao He’s really the one you ought to seek out~"

"No, no, no — we’re really here for these two today. We’ll be sure to look for Xiao He another time."

"That’s right, we want to see how skilled Qingqing and Lanlan are first. Best to take things one step at a time, don’t you think?"

The three of them worked together seamlessly, steering the conversation firmly back toward the two women each and every time.

Madam Yao regarded them with open disappointment, as though they’d deliberately passed up the finest goods for something far lesser.

"Very well, then. You two — take the young masters up to your rooms. See that you serve them properly, or you’ll answer to me."

She pointed a sharp finger at the two courtesans, though the moment her gaze shifted back to the three guests, a smile slid smoothly back onto her face.

"Young masters, their room’s on the third floor. Just head up the stairs and you’ll find it easily enough."

"Right, right, we’ll head up now. Go on and attend to your own business — no need to worry about us."

George and Song Xizheng each took hold of one of the women and headed upstairs, with Xiong Qi trailing close behind.

Once inside Qingqing’s room at last, all five of them let out a collective, heartfelt sigh of relief, the tension visibly draining from their shoulders.

"Wait, hold on — aren’t we supposed to be inside a haunted house right now? Is this actually the haunted house?"

Is that really accurate, though?

Song Xizheng posed what felt like a genuinely profound question.

Everyone else silently shared the same thought — none of this looked remotely like a haunted house.

Knock knock knock.

Someone rapped at the door.

Lin Yun rose quickly, shot Song Zhenzhen a quick look, and went to answer it.

"Qingqing, Auntie Yao’s asked me to come play a tune for you."

The newcomer smiled gently, a pipa cradled in her arms.

Lin Yun paused for a moment — something about this felt familiar. This had to be Xiao He, the very name Madam Yao had mentioned earlier.

She stepped aside to let her in.

Once inside, Xiao He offered a graceful bow toward the three men. "Esteemed guests, Madam Yao sent me along to play the pipa for you."

The moment she lifted her head and caught sight of Song Xizheng, her expression shifted entirely, twisting into something close to disbelief.

Song Zhenzhen, busy pouring out wine, caught the strange change in Xiao He’s demeanor out of the corner of her eye.

Song Xizheng, for his part, wasn’t even looking her way at all — he was too busy silently wondering whether the food served inside a brothel like this one was even remotely safe to eat. Wasn’t this technically still part of the same amusement park, after all? Maybe it was wiser not to risk eating just anything they were offered in here.

Xiao He quickly masked her expression, and when no one responded, she asked again, a touch more urgently. "...Guests?"

"No need, really. We came specifically to see Qingqing and Lanlan today. We’ll seek you out another time. We’ve already cleared this with Madam Yao — you’re free to go."

George turned her down as politely as he could manage.

Privately, all three of them were equally baffled. They’d already declined the madam’s offer outright — so why had she sent Xiao He over regardless?

Xiao He’s expression shifted once more. She lowered her head, falling silent, and when she finally looked back up, tears were streaming freely down her face.

George froze completely, utterly at a loss. What on earth was happening? It felt as though he’d somehow bullied her.

"Young master, did Xiao He do something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing like that..."

"Then why not let Xiao He stay and serve you as well? There are only two of them — Qingqing and Lanlan — how could they possibly attend to three young masters properly all on their own?"

Xiao He kept her gaze fixed unwaveringly on Song Xizheng, who still hadn’t so much as glanced her way even once, her eyes welling steadily with unshed tears as she murmured a quiet, pointed accusation in his general direction.

Lin Yun found herself stunned all over again. What kind of turn was this story taking now?

"Young Master Song — surely you’d want Xiao He to serve you too, wouldn’t you?"

Seeing Song Xizheng continuing to ignore her entirely, Xiao He finally addressed him outright.

At the sound of that familiar phrasing, Song Xizheng’s head snapped up at once. "...What?"

Xiao He stared at him intently, only to find his expression looking back at her utterly, genuinely unfamiliar.

Lin Yun let out a sharp cry. "Oh no! This girl’s got her sights set on Song Xizheng! He’s in danger!"

Standing right beside Xiao He, who was far too preoccupied to notice, Lin Yun quickly shot Song Xizheng a warning look.

Thankfully, Song Xizheng wasn’t slow on the uptake. "I’m not sure what you mean, Miss Xiao He. We’re only here for the music. We don’t need anyone serving us personally."

Before Xiao He could get another word out, the door swung open from outside.

"Oh, my deepest apologies, gentlemen."

It was Madam Yao.

She swept in quickly and pulled Xiao He back by the arm. "I’m terribly sorry — I had no idea Xiao He would come up here on her own. Please accept my apologies."

"If a guest hadn’t specifically asked after her, I never would’ve realized this troublesome girl had wandered up here to bother you all."

"Don’t you worry, gentlemen — I’ll have a maid bring up some wine and food for you shortly."

With that, Madam Yao swiftly pulled Xiao He away, her expression thick with apology the entire way out.

Once the door finally shut behind them, the whole group visibly relaxed at last.

"That Xiao He girl seemed to actually know you, Song Xizheng?" Xiong Qi had been watching her closely the entire time.

Lin Yun clapped Song Xizheng on the shoulder. "Song Xizheng. Danger."

Song Xizheng gasped dramatically. "A restorative, quick! Sister Lin, save me!"

"Good luck, man." Lin Yun patted him again, her expression deadly serious.

Xiong Qi clapped his other shoulder with an equally grave look. "Bro, based on what just happened, if Madam Yao hadn’t let Xiao He come up here herself, that means Xiao He must’ve spotted us the moment we walked in."

"And since she clearly knows you already, she came up with an excuse just to get close to you on her own."

George chimed in with his own analysis to round things off.

"And that’s not even the worst part. Did you see the way she looked at you? Like she was staring straight at some heartless man who’d wronged her!"

Lin Yun added, twisting the knife a little further for good measure.

Song Xizheng: "..."

I’m numb. Genuinely numb at this point.

Song Zhenzhen pulled up a couple of chairs so Lin Yun could sit as well. "Honestly, I have a feeling that as long as you’re anywhere near this brothel, Xiao He’s not going to let the chance slip by. You’d better watch yourself, Song Xizheng."

Song Xizheng let out a wail of pure anguish. "The restorative—!"

"Somebody please save me!"

"Hold on a second — where did those tourists who walked in ahead of us actually go? I don’t see them anywhere."

Lin Yun suddenly remembered the group that had entered before them, and then, with a jolt of horror, realized she couldn’t actually picture what any of them had looked like.

She’d clearly gotten a good look at them all while they were waiting in line together — and yet now, that memory had gone frustratingly hazy.

The others’ expressions turned grim one by one, making it clear they were experiencing the exact same unsettling gap in memory.

"Those tourists..."

Xiong Qi nodded, his face equally grim — he couldn’t recall their faces either, no matter how hard he tried.