The next morning, they said goodbye to the man and Shi Yin, who was feeling better after Xinxin had fed him the brew with endless patience.
She warned him not to engage in any strenuous physical activity and gave his father the recipe for the tincture that Shi Yin should take regularly, even if he was feeling better.
Then they set off for the capital, Dafang. On the way, they were picked up by a trade caravan and taken along, which drastically shortened their journey and allowed them to arrive in Dafang three days earlier than planned.
However, their peace and quiet was not to last long, because as soon as they entered the inn, they heard an argument.
"I need a doctor, a healer, anyone, please, my girl is not well," cried a woman's voice in distress.
Liu Yan sighed. He didn't even need to look at Xinxin to know that her curiosity had been piqued.
"Feng Lin, I'm sorry, but hardly any doctor with a good reputation will set foot in your establishment. You'll have to ask somewhere else," said the innkeeper and sighed.
"My establishment? They're good enough to amuse you, but no one wants to help," said the woman named Feng Lin, getting upset. Xinxin approached her.
"Guniang, I am a healer and can help," she said, pointing to herself. The woman turned around. An intoxicating cloud of perfume wafted toward them.
The lady was not as young as her enthusiasm might have suggested. Instead, she was heavily made up and sparkling jewelry jingled on her wrists and ankles. She looked at Xinxin with watery eyes.
"You would help?" she asked hopefully. The innkeeper shook his head.
"Miss, this lady runs a brothel. Someone like you has no business here," he interjected.
Liu Yan raised an eyebrow. No one told Xinxin what to do or not to do. She gave the innkeeper a cool look.
"That's my decision, and I can go wherever I want. I'm afraid my physical integrity is none of your concern," she said icily.
The innkeeper waved her away. He was tired of arguing with stubborn, rebellious women.
"Do whatever you want," he grumbled.
Feng Lin raised her fist in frustration, as if to threaten the curmudgeon. Then she turned to Xinxin.
"Thank you very much, miss," Feng Lin began, then her gaze fell on Liu Yan, who was standing behind her. Her eyes darted over his body, lingering on his face.
"Gongzi," she chirped sweetly. "Are you a healer?" she asked, focusing on Liu Yan. Xinxin stepped into her field of vision and gave her a wry smile.
"No, I am! That..." she pointed at Liu Yan, "is my husband," she added more harshly than intended. Liu Yan gave Feng Lin a brief, laborious smile.
"What's the problem?" Xinxin asked a little more gently and professionally. Feng Lin quickly glanced back and forth between the two a few times, but then seemed to decide that her problem was more urgent than ensnaring a handsome man.
"My girls are sick. I'm afraid bad karma is concentrated in my house," she replied.
The words "bad karma" piqued Liu Yan's curiosity as well.
Feng Lin led them through the intertwined, confusing streets of the huge capital city. They reached an entertainment district that contained not only a brothel, but also several arcades and other dubious businesses.
Liu Yan immediately felt the high-pitched whistling in his ears and the alternating hot and cold sensations. But his body was now stronger and more resilient, so the presence of a demon no longer brought him to his knees so easily.
Xinxin entered after Feng Lin. The courtyard was decorated with colorful cloths, tables were scattered everywhere, and there were platforms for dancers.
The building itself had three floors. In the lower hall, there were several elaborate stages, tables, and seating areas. A winding staircase led up to the first floor.
Silk fluttered in the wind. There were private rooms and spaces for private enjoyment. Feng Li led them out of the halls and the magnificent building to the back of her courtyard.
The house that stood here looked far less magnificent, and Liu Yan sensed a dark, swirling cloud of corrupted qi. This was the first time since meeting Jingzi that he had perceived something like this, and he felt not only nervousness but also anticipation.
Xinxin had also noticed the miasma. Feng Lin invited them into the house where the girls stayed when they weren't performing.
It was quiet. Only sobbing and whimpering could be heard, but no cheerful conversation or laughter. Feng Lin called the girls to him. At first, a few came, looking frightened but not sick.
They let Xinxin examine them, but she shook her head. Then a young woman came in, her face completely covered.
"My name is Ye Chan, show me your face," Xinxin said gently. The woman looked at Liu Yan and seemed visibly uncomfortable. Xinxin followed her gaze and waved him out with one hand. Reluctantly, he let himself be shooed out.
The warm wind blew the flowers across the courtyard, mixing the sweet scent of spring with the foul, putrid smell of concentrated miasma.
He looked around. But nothing seemed to indicate a demon like Jingzi. There were no unusual growths like the miasma flowers in the forest.
He ran across the courtyard and looked in every nook and cranny, but he couldn't clearly identify the source of the feeling inside him. Instead, he found someone else. A hooded figure crouched behind the house, whimpering and uttering one curse after another.
When Liu Yan approached her, she was so startled that she fell backward and the wind blew her veil off her head. What appeared underneath sent a shiver down even his spine.
The woman's face was disfigured. Deep, bulging scars ran across her face. Some glistened, others pulsed. They looked like living worms burrowing into her face.
Holes of decay had dug so deep into her flesh that he could see her teeth through her cheek. He paused.
"Don't look at me," she hissed.
Don't look at me, don't talk to me—those words came to his mind. Liu Yan crouched down and took a closer look at the disfigured face. Without caring about the shame the woman felt.
She tried to hide and raised her hands to stop him from staring at her so openly. But he just tilted his head and looked at her with his usual distant coldness.
"Please," she begged.
"This is not a disease!" he stated. "This is a curse!" He had learned a lot about diseases in a short time. He liked to learn.
Even though he wasn't particularly interested in the craft of healing, he wouldn't pass up any opportunity to learn something new.
He knew most physical ailments and the diseases of the mind, as Xinxin called them, and nothing he had learned matched what he saw. When he reached out to touch the bulging scars, the woman jumped up and ran away.
Xinxin came out of the house late, Liu Yan was sitting on the porch watching the petals float to the ground. He stood up when she stepped beside him.
"Well?" Feng Lin wrung her fingers when they had put enough distance between themselves and the dormitory. Xinxin sighed.
"I'm afraid this is not a normal illness," she said.
"You said something about bad karma, what did you mean by that?" Liu Yan interjected. Feng Lin smiled forcedly as she visibly squirmed.
"Well, this is a house of fine arts. Every now and then, there are girls who don't make it or who succumb to rivalry," she said hesitantly. Xinxin shook her head.
"I can treat the external wounds, but as long as the cause is not clarified, nothing will change. More girls will be disfigured and driven mad," she said sternly. Feng Lin bit her lip.
"I... don't know... I can't say for sure..." she stammered.
"Maybe I should summon some cultists?" she asked hesitantly. Xinxin sighed.
"I'm afraid by the time they arrive, it might be too late for the girls. If you tell us the truth, I'll see what I can do," Xinxin said more seriously. Feng Lin looked at her hopefully.
"Are you well-versed in cultivation?" she asked. Xinxin shook her head.
"Not particularly, I admit. But I can still manage a few spells. As long as you're honest with us. A lie could lead to a mistake that only makes things worse," she warned.
Feng Lin nodded. She thought feverishly about whether and how far she could trust Xinxin. She was the only one who had agreed to help.
If Feng Lin sent her away, how long would it take to find someone else who would help her? She ran a brothel.
Everyone liked to come here for fun, but no one had come to her aid. If she were a man, the situation would certainly be different. A man would be trusted more and given more support. She finally sighed in defeat and hung her head.
"Please follow me, I'll tell you what I know," she finally said, pointing toward the multi-story house.
Feng Lin served them tea and pastries, then sat down.
"Some of the girls reported seeing a figure before they were kidnapped," she began. Xinxin frowned.
"Kidnapped?" she repeated. Feng Lin glanced at her briefly, as if assessing how much she should reveal. Then she nodded and continued.
Without exception, all the girls report the same thing. First, they dream of a figure dressed in black and wearing red makeup. She dances and sings, and at first everything seems to be a typical performance, like those celebrated here in the house.
But the figure becomes increasingly eerie. She comes closer and closer until they finally see her when they are awake.
Behind a curtain in a private room. Everywhere in the main hall. She seemed to be following them, mocking their little mistakes and beauty spots, sowing doubt and unease. And when they are so close that they can touch each other, they are abducted.
No one notices anything, only recently. Since the girls have become more attentive, they notice when someone disappears for several hours. But no matter how long and hard they search, they cannot be found until the figure releases them.
But then it is too late and their faces are horribly disfigured.
"My girls are afraid. The figure is spreading like a disease," said Feng Lin.
"A curse," corrected Liu Yan.
"You saw it too!" It was more of a statement than a question, which is why Liu Yan didn't answer.
"Ye Meng is right. It's a curse mark that behaves similarly to a disease and is quite contagious. However, it infects a place and not individual people. The wounds and scars on the faces are only externally visible symptoms," she explained.
"The figure that everyone saw must be the cause of this curse. Who is she?" Xinxin asked.
"I don't know," Feng Lin evaded. Liu Yan didn't move, but the mere fact that Feng Li didn't contradict Xinxin, even though she had been so careful to avoid referring to the ominous figure as a woman, said more than Feng Lin was willing to admit.
Xinxin took a deep breath and stretched as she looked around.
"When does the house open?" she asked. Feng Lin shook her head.
"Not at all right now. Since we closed, the nightmares have stopped," she said. Xinxin nodded before leaning over to Feng Lin.
"You have to open it so we can lure her out," she said calmly. Feng Lin just raised an eyebrow and looked at her suspiciously.
"I don't have any girls to perform," she replied quietly. "My most beautiful and talented ones have all been cursed, as you say, and the others are either still in training or so frightened that no amount of money in the world would get them on stage.
"
Xinxin thought for a moment, then grinned from ear to ear.
"Open up, you'll have a performer." Feng Lin closed his eyes briefly, and even Liu Yan couldn't help but snort with amusement.
"And who's performing?" he asked cheerfully. "You, perhaps?"
Xinxin puffed out her cheeks indignantly.
"It's just a matter of luring that curse out of hiding," she replied indignantly. Liu Yan laughed dryly.
"You're more likely to traumatize the guests forever than to delight them," he remarked.
"I can play the guqin a little," Xinxin said aggressively, ready to argue.
Feng Lin rested her head on her fingertips and sighed.
"You're supposed to help me, not ruin me," she groaned. Xinxin spun around.
"Either the house opens tonight and the curse appears, or Ye Meng and I are moving on first thing tomorrow morning," she said decisively.