The building itself was gaudily dressed in scarlet with gold trim, visible on the awnings, the banners, and the lanterns hanging from poles. On the front doors, the image of an ox reclining had been tapped, point by point, into a plating of gold leaf on copper.
Hong Fei observed that the doors were also thickly reinforced. The Yu’s dūtóu was dressed simply, like a woodcarver who’d stumbled upon a fortuitous sale. Beside him, Sun Han was similarly attired. Hong Fei gestured, so that the disguised scholar might also note the thickness of the doors.
The brothel was supposedly a legitimate business, and as such wasn’t subject to investigation by the city. The connection to the local gang, the Rock Knives, was tenuous, at least officially. Yet, that protection didn’t dissuade the brothel’s owners from preparing for the worst.
The boss, a fellow going by the name of Big Ox, was known for being careful. So said Kang Lian who’d had personal dealings with the man, “dealings” being a polite description for the Rock Knives’ brand of ruinous loans, extortion, and trade in dream blossom wine.
A guard at the Qi Gathering realm stood in front; he opened the door for guests, which was surely an honor for the clientele. He did so for Hong Fei and Sun Han, as well, after checking to ensure that neither of them carried any obvious weapons. That was distinctly less of an honor, but understandable given the recent tensions in Ruby Swift City.
Just two days ago, the Yu estate had been assaulted by unknown people wearing tiger masks. They’d assassinated the Duchess Yu Hui before mysteriously vanishing. If the vaunted Yu family could be attacked so boldly, then anything might happen.
Hong Fei bobbed his head when the guard was finished, his smile appropriately obsequious. Sun Han’s was more open. The scholar was excited for this visit, since he claimed to have never been to a brothel before. His studies had precluded it.
The door open, the two men were greeted by a red curtain and the scent of floral incense. Underneath the flowers was the scent of too much wine being drunk. Hong Fei heard the murmurs and laughter of a crowd enjoying themselves deeper inside.
Pulling aside the curtain revealed an interior just as gaudy as the exterior. Men and women clustered in groups on the couches and settees placed around the salon. Private alcoves dotted the walls for those wishing more private conversation. Brass sconces between them provided light, and music came from behind a paper screen near where the stairs lead up.
A pair of guards stood at the landing to the second floor. The bedrooms would be located past them, while the business office and residents’ living quarters were on the third floor. There was to be another set of stairs at the end of the second-floor corridor leading up to it.
Many men and women enjoyed the brothel’s offerings, but Hong Fei’s eyes picked out two in particular. In a corner sat Chen Wenbin disguised as a pompous merchant. The role fit the Yu’s xiàowèi much too well, he thought. The man’s black and white robes suited his rigidness. As usual, his mustache and beard were immaculately groomed.
The shízhǎng Cai Shi stood awkwardly near him, disguised as the merchant’s bodyguard. The man was as dependable a soldier a commander could wish for. His acting skills, however, left much to be desired. Fortunately, that awkwardness could easily be interpreted as inexperience. A young woman was enjoying herself in teasing him.
As for the brothel’s boss, the thickset man sat on a large plush chair set on a dais at the room’s other end. Silk draped his body, making him look like the tents the Askalousans used when traveling long distances across the steppes. Gold hoops hung from his ears, and more gold was visible at his wrists. This was Big Ox; his description matched the one provided by Kang Lian.
A slimmer version of him, his brother Little Ox, sat adjacent in a smaller chair. The two brothers leaned over their armrests to whisper to each other. A pair of deathly white number 2s hovered above both their heads.
The men were on edge, Hong Fei noted, their faces stiff despite the smiles on their faces. Neither appeared armed, but Big Ox was Body Forged, which was a danger all on its own. Kang Lian had spoken about that, too. The brothel’s boss liked to use his strength against those weaker than him.
Little Ox was also a cultivator, though his realm was uncertain. The man responsible for handling the Rock Knives’ loans was cagier about demonstrating his capabilities. That the two were together this evening boded well, at least. It would mean less work for the Yu family’s soldiers, and Hong Fei’s eyes glittered in anticipation of the evening’s raid on the brothel.
An older woman dressed more elegantly than her Rock Knife bosses approached him. Her robe was also silk, but better fitting and stitched with the representations of many flowers, like she carried a garden on her body. Gray streaked her hair, which was tied in a bun and held in place with a glittering pin. Though her expression was warm, Hong Fei couldn’t help feeling his worth being weighed.
“Welcome to the Dreaming Ox,” she said, smiling. “How may we serve you?”
“This is our first time here…” Hong Fei said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.
The woman nodded. “That explains why I don’t recognize you; I recall everyone who visits, so that I know their preferences.” Her smile turned beneficent. “Enjoy the food and drink, and when you are ready, you only need to tell me what sort of company you wish for, and we will make it so.”
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“Ah…” Hong Fei lowered his voice. “We’re ready now, but can we get a discount if it’s just one woman?” Before the madam could get upset, he rushed ahead. “It’s not because we don’t have money—we do—but it’s that we two brothers share in everything.”
A delicate eyebrow raised in response, and the brothel’s madam glanced between Hong Fei and Sun Han. “Everything?”
The two men nodded together.
The eyebrow raised a little higher. “Certainly, we can accommodate you,” she said, “but unfortunately, there can be no discount. You must understand: this is not some low house where men stand in line for a… a poke.”
Hong Fei ducked his head. “Sorry. Yes, we understand. Then give us a woman that’s pretty.”
“That’s all you want? Just pretty?” the madam asked, her expression becoming confused.
Sun Han cleared his throat. “And not too strong. We’re not here to wrestle.”
The madam blinked. “Where do you go normally? No, don’t answer that. I don’t believe I wish to know.” She gathered her thoughts and gestured for a woman pouring wine for guests to come to her.
This woman looked to be approaching forty, with fine lines at the edges of her eyes. Her clothes were less revealing than many of the others in the room, and a faint scar marred the point of her chin, which certainly didn’t disqualify her from being “pretty” in Hong Fei’s opinion.
The madam said, “This is Early Plum, who has been with us for many years and can… handle your request.” A moment later, she added to Early Plum, “A tael for both of them together. Use room five.”
If the request came as a surprise, Early Plum didn’t show it. She simply bobbed her head. “Sirs, if you’ll follow me.”
The stairs were carpeted and whispered as Hong Fei’s and Sun Han’s feet trod upon them. Eyes watched them climb toward the bedrooms—most were simply curious glances, others were more intent, namely Chen Wenbin’s and Cai Shi’s. The two soldiers from the Yu family were waiting for the signal for the raid to begin.
The idea had been the xiàowèi’s, and he needed it to be successful—a demonstration of his capability to counterbalance the revelation that it’d been a pair of his subordinates who’d turned traitor against the family. Ma Zhi and Ma Mo were dead now, and the rest of their clan in hiding, but the impact of their betrayal couldn’t be underestimated.
Truthfully, everyone attached to the Yu family needed the raid to succeed. They must demonstrate their willingness to retaliate against the Rock Knives, and the gang’s brothels were profitable businesses. There were several of them in the city, and every five days, they sent their profits to the Fragrant Ox.
The money for the repairs to the Yu estate had to come from somewhere, not to mention the treatments for the injured, as well as the losses from customers now avoiding the Yu family businesses. No one wanted to be marked as a potential ally until the political landscape settled.
So, the raid had been planned, and Chen Wenbin had come to Hong Fei to “consult on the matter.” Those had been the words used—uncomfortably said, but said nonetheless.
The xiàowèi had heard the account of Rock Knives dying upon capture. The gang was clearly uneasy about keeping their secrets. To get the most from the raid, therefore, the Yus needed someone to slip into the brothel’s restricted places to see what could be gained from them before the killing started and evidence might be destroyed. And so, he had approached the dūtóu for a consultation, and Hong Fei had devised the plan to go in disguised at first.
As Hong Fei climbed the stairs, the two men’s eyes met, then glanced away from each other.
The corridor at the top was less sumptuous than the salon below. By that point, patrons were likely to be drunk on either wine or desire. Why spend money on furnishings they wouldn’t or couldn’t appreciate? The only nod to luxury was in the paintings on the wall; they all appeared to have been created by the same artist—forest scenes in black ink on white paper with dabs of color to indicate the flowers and birds.
A red curtain at the far end blocked the way to the stairs leading up.
There appeared to be eight rooms in total on the second floor, and the various noises one might expect from a brothel came from several. From the spacing, one could tell that not all the rooms were the same size. Number five was apparently one of the smaller ones.
Their door opened onto a bed, and to the side was a bench where clothes might be placed. At the bench’s far end sat an empty brass plate and a pot of wine with a pair of cups. A shuttered window kept the night breeze partially out. There was a gap at the bottom that cooled the room past what was comfortable.
Early Plum turned to face the two men with her. “Place a silver tael on the plate,” she said gesturing, then asked, “Who would like to go first?”
Sun Han raised his hand with a smile on his face. “Me, and I’d like to start with you exposing your back.”
Early Plum glanced toward Hong Fei, and seeing no reaction from him, focused on Sun Han again. “Sir?” she questioned.
The scholar nodded to show she’d heard him correctly.
Uncertain about what he intended, Early Plum moved to kneel on the bed, looking toward the closed window. She let the robes fall from her back, then turned so that she could watch the two men behind her.
Sun Han bent to examine her back—the shapes of the muscles and bones hiding under her skin. He lightly tapped the points that coincided with where various meridians terminated, his fingers infused with qi. At the last tap, Early Plum fainted dead away. She slumped on the bed, unconscious.
“There we go,” he said. A faint sigh followed. “The Dustborn are so easy. She’ll sleep until morning.”
Sun Han turned and saw that Hong Fei had already shed the mask of the woodcarver he’d portrayed. The clothes were the same, but the man in them had changed, his eyes already calculating their next move.
Sun Han stiffened his spine. “Your orders, sir?”
“We continue as planned,” was the reply. Hong Fei cracked the door open to peek into the corridor, then glanced back to make sure Sun Han was ready, which the scholar was.
His eye caught on Early Plum sprawled on the bed, however. He waited a moment, wondering at why he’d paused, when it occurred to him that it’d been chilly earlier and likely to get colder still.
There was no gallantry associated with the plan this evening. There hardly ever was in the kinds of fighting in which Hong Fei seemed to most often engage, which was why he looked for opportunities. His ideals as youth had long been trampled, but small mercies were sometimes possible—little things that held no weight in the struggles between people, families, and nobles.
“Cover her up,” he whispered.
The order confused Sun Han. “Sir?”
“Early Plum—use the blanket to cover her.”
Sun Han looked at the bed. A couple of breath’s time passed before he seemed to register the human being lying on it. “Oh,” he said, then did as he was instructed.
Hong Fei checked the corridor again. The guards at the other end were focused on the salon below. The way to the curtain hiding the stairs leading up was clear, so he gestured for Sun Han to follow.
The warrior and the scholar slipped out into the corridor.
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Scholar Sun Han, a summon
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Big Ox, a Rock Knife boss, responsible for the gang's brothels
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Chen Wenbin, the xiàowèi of the Yu's soldiers
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Cai Shi, a shízhǎng of the Yu family
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Kang Lian, Little Ruyun's mother
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Little Ox, a Rock Knife boss, responsible for the gang's loans
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Ma Mo, a traitor to the Yu, deceased
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Ma Zhi, a traitor to the Yu, deceased