The Renowned Courtesan

No wonder this residence possessed an air of unique grandeur beneath its aged antiquity—it had once been the outer residence of a renowned courtesan. Luo Yuni. This woman was the very person mentioned in the newspaper: the renowned courtesan Luo Yuni, who had died a gruesome death in an outer residence. Was she the old lady's dwelling spirit? Where had those newspapers come from? And what intersection did Luo Yuni have with the old lady? Seeing that Li Banfeng hesitated to speak her name, Luo Yuni seemed to understand his reservations. "Do you want to know what happened afterward?" *Clang! Clang! Clang!* The mantel clock struck eleven times. The pendulum swayed, the scene shifted, and Luo Yuni continued telling her story. The murderer who killed her was dead, his corpse collapsed on the floor. Luo Yuni sat beside the corpse, meticulously doing her hair and makeup as before. The man's corpse was carried away, but before long, he returned. Standing beside Luo Yuni with an eyebrow pencil in hand, he sought to trace her brows. This was clearly no living man; it had to be the man's ghost. Without sparing him a single glance, Luo Yuni gave a casual wave of her hand, sending the man flying out the window. Outside the window grew a willow tree, and the man was left hanging from it just like that. Luo Yuni continued grooming herself. As time flowed past, her smile remained enchanting. Hanging from the tree with an expression of infatuation, the man watched Luo Yuni inside the room day after day. Who knew how much time had passed when a young couple moved into the residence. The husband wore a white shirt and black suspender trousers, leaving early and returning late, seemingly working a fairly respectable job. Busy with household chores each day, the wife seemed never to have noticed there was another woman in the house—a woman constantly grooming herself before the old mantel clock with utter dedication. She could not see her. Had Luo Yuni not revealed herself willingly, Li Banfeng would not have been able to see her either. Their days were plain yet sweet, until one day the husband caught sight of Luo Yuni doing her hair and makeup, and he felt that things were no longer so sweet. He felt his wife was not so beautiful after all; compared to a true beauty, perhaps his wife had never been beautiful at all. Luo Yuni looked toward the man with an expression of pity, gently extending her arm to offer him the comb. The man was incomparably thrilled. He gingerly took the comb from Luo Yuni's hand. Being able to comb Luo Yuni's hair just once became the achievement he cherished most in his entire life. Li Banfeng could not fathom his thoughts, nor could he understand the obsession and intoxication on the man's face. The man combed Luo Yuni's hair again and again, reluctant to miss a single strand. Only when Luo Yuni grew weary and cast him a glance did the man reluctantly set the comb down. Setting down the comb, the man picked up an eyebrow pencil, wanting to trace Luo Yuni's brows. Luo Yuni shook her head, her figure gradually fading. She was gone, leaving the man standing there in a daze, holding the eyebrow pencil at a total loss. He spent his days staring blankly at the mantel clock, utterly indifferent to his wife's complaints and tearful pleas. One day, he stabbed the eyebrow pencil into his temple, plunging it in again and again, agony and a smile twisting together across his face. He saw Luo Yuni once more; as long as he kept stabbing the eyebrow pencil into his temple, he could be with her. Holding the bloody eyebrow pencil, he wanted to trace Luo Yuni's brows. Witnessing this, the wife fled the house in terror, but she failed to make it out of the courtyard. The dead soul hanging from the tree lashed out with willow switches to entangle her, dragging her back inside. No wonder those willow trees refused to let anyone leave the compound—many souls hung from them, all slaves of Luo Yuni. Her husband had stabbed himself to death with the eyebrow pencil. Bound by willow switches until late at night, she had her throat slit by Luo Yuni with a short knife. The wife died. The blade was drenched in blood, which then swiftly vanished. The scene froze. Luo Yuni spoke softly to Li Banfeng: "This knife loves drinking blood during the Zi hour. The more blood it drinks, the sharper it becomes. "It took me three years to figure out the secret of this knife, while that old hag spent thirty years and never noticed a thing. "This is our very first meeting, yet I shared the knife's secret with you. Isn't that enough sincerity on my part?" Luo Yuni smiled even more alluringly, but Li Banfeng's attention was not on her smile. "You're lying," Li Banfeng said, shaking his head. "The old lady knew the knife's secret. She was in no rush to kill me, deliberately keeping me until the Zi hour just so the knife could drink my blood." Luo Yuni chuckled. "That's because I told her the secret just last night. Didn't you notice that her two sons had no idea why she kept you until the Zi hour? The old hag hadn't had the chance to tell them yet. "The old hag is just that stupid. Had I not told her, she likely never would have figured it out her entire life. Cultivating alongside her was an insult and a torment to me." "Then why did you choose her?" Li Banfeng asked. Luo Yuni shook her head. "I didn't choose her; she chose me. She was the only Dwelling Cultivator I had ever encountered, and she called out my name. "Before meeting her, I was merely a vengeful spirit. Only through her summons did I become a dwelling spirit." Li Banfeng's eyes lit up. "How does one summon a dwelling spirit?" Luo Yuni raised an eyebrow. "You don't know how? Aren't you a Dwelling Cultivator too?" Li Banfeng raised an eyebrow as well. "You could tell?" Luo Yuni laughed aloud. "How could I not tell? Not a single move you made in this compound escaped my sight. "You have an extraordinary residence—one invisible to ordinary people, and invisible even to ordinary dwelling spirits. "Yet I am no ordinary dwelling spirit; I can see it. I know you have a key that unlocks it. And it was precisely because you returned to your residence that you quickly neutralized the poison Decai gave you." Hearing this, Li Banfeng had a realization: unless absolutely necessary, he should never lightly enter another Dwelling Cultivator's house in the future. Luo Yuni asked softly, "Do you want to nurture a dwelling spirit? Why waste all that effort? I am willing to be your dwelling spirit. With one ready and waiting, why won't you take me?" Li Banfeng frowned. "Why won't you tell me the method for nurturing a dwelling spirit?" Luo Yuni shook her head. "It wastes time and effort. It really is useless." Li Banfeng lowered the corners of his eyes. "You're hiding things from me, which proves you're not sincere enough!" Luo Yuni sighed softly. "Very well, I'll humor you." The pendulum swayed, and the story within the halo of light continued to unfold. The souls of that couple were hung upon the willow tree, both gazing obsessively at Luo Yuni alongside the other. Who knew how many years passed after that; over a dozen families moved into this compound one after another. Before staying long, every one of them died by Luo Yuni's hand, their souls filling the willow trees around the courtyard. As the perspective shifted, Li Banfeng was astonished by the compound's size. It was vast—far larger in the projection than what Li Banfeng had seen with his own eyes. Then another household moved in: an emaciated, haggard woman, seemingly in her thirties, arrived with two children. The old lady? After entering the house and staying for a few days, the woman's gaunt cheeks gradually filled out, and some color returned to her pale skin. Her once-dull eyes grew spirited, and she had more strength when doing household chores. She had harmonized with the residence; Li Banfeng had undergone a similar experience. While wiping and sweeping the main room, she would always sniff about here and there, as if catching unfamiliar scents. When standing in the courtyard enjoying the cool air, she would look up at the surrounding willow trees, as though sensing the dead souls upon them. She frequently sank into deep thought, and with her contemplation, the entire compound seemed to grow even quieter and more profound. One day, she brought back several bundles of old newspapers and leafed through them page by page. She picked out more than a dozen sheets, scrutinizing the news articles and every photograph in them. Many of the words she could not read, but she recognized the photos. This was the very residence shown in the newspapers. Late at night, after coaxing the two children to sleep in the eastern room, she came to the main room alone. She lit a candle and gazed fixedly at the old mantel clock. Holding her breath, she stood in absolute silence. Li Banfeng carefully observed the woman's every move, realizing that staring at the mantel clock was a key element. In the pupils of her eyes, the reflection of the clock was clearly visible. Her slowing heartbeat could faintly be heard; the entire house trembled in unison with her heartbeat, and the willow trees outside trembled along with the house. They had merged. Through the light and shadow, Li Banfeng could sense that the woman had merged with this compound. This was the power of a Dwelling Cultivator. *Clang! Clang! Clang!* The chimes rang out. In the woman's eyes, the clock gained a spiritual presence, and she perceived where the dwelling spirit resided. The woman took a deep breath and called out her name: "Luo Yuni!" *Clang!* Eleven thirty. A single chime. Luo Yuni's voice sounded beside Li Banfeng's ear: "She heard the chime. From then on, I became her dwelling spirit." Li Banfeng asked, "You didn't confirm it with her face-to-face?" In the scenes Li Banfeng had witnessed, Luo Yuni had never appeared alongside the woman. Luo Yuni's laughter rang out: "For thirty whole years, I never let her see my true face or hear my voice. At most, I gave her a few hints. Even casting another glance at her filled me with disgust. "She dedicated herself entirely to pleasing me. Seventy percent of the souls hanging from the trees were gifts from her. I never felt a shred of gratitude toward her, and in any case, she lived by that trade to begin with. "Cultivating with her was born of utter helplessness. My comprehension is far superior to hers, and my realm far higher. I could have granted her greater cultivation, but I only allowed her to reach the first tier, because I loathed her." This was something Li Banfeng had also been curious about—why the old lady was only at the first tier of cultivation at her age: "Isn't it said that ten years of cultivation yields an additional tier? She cultivated for thirty years, so why was she still at the first tier?" Hearing this, Luo Yuni shook her head slightly. "You are truly a strange one. When killing people, you act like a seasoned veteran, but when speaking, you sound like a greenhorn. "When a cultivator trains step by step, without a single misstep or error, it takes ten years to gain a single tier of cultivation. "How many cultivators dare claim they won't make the slightest misstep in those ten years? How many dare say they won't commit a single error? Cultivators who can advance from the first tier to the second within ten years are few and far between." "Then what missteps did the old hag make that kept her from reaching the second tier in thirty years?" Li Banfeng asked. Luo Yuni smiled. "Her error lay with me. If a Dwelling Cultivator and their dwelling spirit are not of one mind, the spirit suppresses the cultivator. That old hag disgusted me. Even if she cultivated for another hundred years, she would forever remain at the first tier." Indeed! Cultivating while lying around at home truly was not that simple after all. Both the peddler and Ma the Fifth had mentioned that the dwelling spirit was the key for a Dwelling Cultivator; if one did not get along with their dwelling spirit, their cultivation would make no progress. At this point, Luo Yuni let out a long sigh: "You have no idea how disgusting that old crone was. For thirty years, she never took a man, nor would she let her sons touch a woman. If I so much as spoke a single word to either of her sons, she would go mad. "She wouldn't even let her two sons leave the house, forcing them to spend their whole lives with her in this compound. "Her eldest son, Decai, practiced martial arts from childhood and wanted to buy medicine from the peddler to enter the path of a Martial Cultivator, but the old woman refused. When he reached thirty-five, she forced him onto the path of a Poison Cultivator instead. Decai barely knew a handful of characters; clutching a few old books, he recklessly mixed remedies and nearly poisoned himself to death. "The second son, Demao, also practiced martial arts, which the old woman forbade as well. He was somewhat luckier—he secretly bought Martial Cultivator medicine through members of the Jiangxiang Gang and reached the first tier last year. Unfortunately, lacking guidance, he could only learn a few routines from books. Against someone like you who disregards all conventional forms, he stood no chance but to throw his life away. "Dealing with someone so repulsive, I prayed every single day for her to get out of this compound. Why would I ever let her cultivation improve?" Li Banfeng nodded. "That truly is sickening. Just hearing about it makes my skin crawl." Yet why didn't she just kill the old woman directly? Wasn't there precedent for a dwelling spirit slaying its master? Li Banfeng held back and refrained from asking this question. All the images faded away, leaving only Luo Yuni doing her hair and makeup before Li Banfeng. Smiling bewitchingly, she said to him: "From the moment you stepped into this compound, I knew that my true master was you. "Had I gone all out, you wouldn't have stood a chance against that old woman—you wouldn't have had the slightest hope of winning. "Yet I took a fancy to you. Call out my name, and I will be yours. Come, I am waiting for you, Master!" For any other man, that single call of "Master" would have made him abandon all resistance on the spot. But Li Banfeng remained unmoved. He shook his head and said nothing. Frowning slightly, Luo Yuni asked, "You don't want me?" "It's not that I don't want you," Li Banfeng replied, shaking his head. Luo Yuni pondered for a long while, trying to fathom Li Banfeng's thoughts: "You don't want this kind of business. You saved that mother and daughter; you are a kindhearted person. "I loathe this business too. I'm sick of days spent killing. I am willing to disperse all the dead souls in this compound. As long as you take me in, I am willing to live a simple, frugal life with you." Luo Yuni slowly extended her hand toward Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng did not take her hand. Silently, he moved away from the position facing the old mantel clock. The old mantel clock was Luo Yuni's vessel, yet her spirit was not necessarily inside it at all times. For instance, right now. Visually, Li Banfeng appeared to be speaking directly to Luo Yuni. Yet from the reflection in the pendulum, Li Banfeng and Luo Yuni were both in the same room, facing the old mantel clock. In other words, the two were very likely sitting in the exact same spot, extremely close to each other. At this very moment, Luo Yuni's spirit was beside Li Banfeng—or behind him.