In a dimly lit hallway, a woman with fair looks carried a tray of glasses surrounding a smoking flask. She was dressed in little clothing, moving with swaying hips that would make men drool.
The hall was lined with several wooden doors, each carrying whispers of soft moans or grunts. Finally, reaching the end of a hall, she took a quick glance out of a blurred window. Only a few lights continued to flicker, and a couple of hobbling stragglers shuffled about in the streets.
The woman's apathetic eyes didn't stay, before shifting towards the door to her right. As she raised a closed fist to the rough wood, a horrifyingly bright light exploded out from under the door, half blinding the woman. The tray hit the floor as glass shattered across the ground, each sparkling like stars with the reflection of the intense light.
A scream was heard from inside the room, followed by the rustling of fabric and quick footsteps. The door swung open as a young woman covered only by a thin bed sheet ran out of the room, tripping over the debris, and sprawling out on the ground.
"What… the hell?" Just getting hold of her bearings, the standing woman took a glance at her fallen colleague, now covered with plenty of small cuts and bruises.
"Who do you think you are, boy!?" A shout came out from the room, pulling the woman's attention back to the now dim area.
Inside, the woman saw a scene that made her mouth hang open. The room was a mess, with books scattered across the floor and the curtains half falling off their rods. On the bed, a large, shirtless man sat angrily pointing at a figure in the corner.
The woman's eyes slowly traveled to the far side of the room, where the naked figure of a teenage boy stood upright. Long black flowing hair fell at his sides but was unable to hide his frail physique. However, what was most magnificent about him were his set of glowing blue eyes, meeting her own. A hazy golden aura enveloped the boy, slowly fading away. She felt her soul shake for a moment and stood in awe.
But after a few seconds, the youth's eyes dimmed to a sleek gold, before resting shut. His body fell forward onto the rug in front of him, leaving three wild pairs of eyes in complete and utter confusion.
~FENGHUANG BROTHEL: MORNING~
Zi Xin slowly opened his eyes, initially startled by the unfamiliar room. Morning light shone through the window, making him squint. He lay in a bed clothed in rough white robes, curiously looking around the room. In front of him was a human-sized, wall-mounted mirror. Looking at his reflection, Zi Xin's eyes opened slightly wide.
Staring back at him was a pale and skinny youth, with wild black hair falling off his shoulders. His face, if not for his starved outlook, would promote a delicate nature, only contrasted by his sharp eyebrows that hung above his golden eyes. His skin was now a healthy white, glowing with youth. His body, though still rather skinny, visibly held much potential for growth.
Zi Xin tried to remember how he ended up here. Instantly, his mind grew hot and he lurched backward in pain. He saw flashes of red and black and was overwhelmed with an intense feeling of terror. Returning back to reality, Zi Xin grasped his head in his hands, desperately trying to regain control of his breath.
Grabbing a beam of the bedframe to stand himself up, he stretched his arms and legs before shuffling towards the door. As he entered the hall, he was immediately greeted with dim red lighting and the consistent sound of sweeping. To his right, a girl no older than himself carefully brushed up a few of seemingly hundreds of pieces of glass from the floor.
Zi Xin took a small step forward, creaking the floorboards beneath him. The girl's head perked up, and upon meeting eyes with him, she dropped her broom and stuck a fearful finger toward a door at the end of the hall.
"M-Miss Han will see you now."
With a confused look, Zi Xin silently walked past the girl, who now couldn't seem to remove her eyes from the floor. He slowly pushed the door open and stepped in. Inside, several lamps illuminated the face of a mature woman, whose black hair was wrapped tightly into a bun. Between them stood a grand desk, filled completely with paperwork, in a language that he couldn't comprehend.
"You will owe us for the damages and injuries to Little Fei'er."
Lady Han refused to look away from her work as she jotted down notes on the side of a long chart.
"Excuse me?"
"..."
Finally pausing to take a look at him, she spoke in a quiet but unbending tone.
"When you exploded into one of my rooms, you not only injured our most popular worker but also lost us the business of one of our regulars."
"In times such as these, we cannot allow a single spirit stone to fall through the cracks. We will require this debt to be paid, or it will be your life."
Unfazed by the woman's threat, Zi Xin shook his head and spoke.
"I don't know where or who I am. How am I supposed to repay you?"
"Considering your obvious lack of cultivation, I think your only path forward will be employment at this establishment." A sly smile wrapped around her face as she pulled out a contract and a pen.
"Cultivation?"
Lady Han gave him a skeptical look.
"You really remember nothing do you, boy?"
"Only my name… Zi Xin."
"Hmmm…" The woman considered him for a moment before continuing.
"Well, if you truly know nothing of this world then I'll keep it short, one sentence even… power is everything. Strength and wealth rule above anything else, and you clearly have neither." She pushed the contract further towards him. Zi Xin eyed the paper.
"As for where we are, you'll be very disappointed to know you've reached just about the bottom of society, Fenghuang Village. There isn't a single scum of the earth that isn't attracted to this place.
"What would you have me do?"
"Well, aside from cleaning and serving food, I know some ladies who would pay a pretty penny for a night. With a little more meat on your bones, you could be a bestseller."
As Lady Han talked, Zi Xin's demeanor grew colder and his brow furrowed.
"There might even be some men in the town who–"
"I'll not sell my dignity, Lady Han. I will find your money elsewhere."
As if instinctively summoned from deep within himself, Zi Xin spoke with an air of cold excellence. For a moment, Lady Han's lips parted to speak but found herself wordless.
"Very well. But I'll need some assurances…"
She reached into a side drawer and pulled out a metal brace, fit with a small dark orb.
"This is a pearl bomb. Should it be removed or activated upon my instruction, it will explode. You will lose both your arm and quite likely your life. I require 100 spirit stones on my desk in a week. Any later than that and I'll–"
"I understand."
After placing his arm on the desk, Lady Han fixed the brace onto his wrist. Within seconds, the brace tightened, becoming unmovable on his arm. Zi Xin slowly moved his arm through the air, adjusting to the new weight.
"I'll be off, then."
As he turned and exited the room, Lady Han sighed to herself.
"He'll be dead before the day's end."