“Are you serious?” Fu Ran asked, his voice tinged with skepticism.

His eyes were locked with an old wooden sign that bore a hand painted purple flower on it. The sign read: The Violet Court. The writing stood above the door in a lone alley. While most of the view was quite blank and dull, as soon as Fu Ran entered this thin walkway, there were blankets of colors up above. A canopy of white and purple flowers held up shining little orbs of light to create the illusion of majesty. From the scents wafting, to the colorful and lively air of femininity, one thing was clear: This was, without a doubt, a brothel.

Tian Han smirked. “Why not?” he replied. “The courtesan’s know all about men. They can probably even tell a few things about Shizun, if you were to ask. If the man we search for prefers to travel through the alleyways, a woman working here would have seen him.”

The tyrant is certainly full of surprises, and it seems to be never ending.

Since Tian Han seemed to have no more words of excuse or explanation, Fu Ran walked to the door. The scent of flowers grew even stronger as the he approached. He swallowed deeply, and his hand shook. He had never been to a place like this before, so his mind raced with worry. Tian Han chuckled and opened the door instead of waiting on Fu Ran.

Upon entering the Violet Court, Fu Ran was immediately struck with heavy scents of violet flowers and smoke incense. He had stepped into a completely different world filled with sensuality. The interior walls, and coverings over each door were draped in deep purple and lavender colors. Couches, soft and plush, lined the walls providing more than enough seats for customers to wait.

Even the air was thick with not only smoke, but also low sultry music and the soft murmur of conversation.

Walking further inside, a small hunched elder lady waited at the counter. Her hair tied up into a high gray bun, but she was made up no differently than the other women here. She wore bright colored makeup, and her robes matched perfectly. Her wrinkles shifted her face into amusement when she looked at Tian Han. “Oh, it has been quite some time since you graced our establishment with your presence.”

Fu Ran nearly choked at the familiarity.

With questioning looks, Fu Ran shared a glance between Tian Han and the older woman, but his companion waved a hand in front of his face.

“Don’t let your thoughts run wild,” Tian Han begged.

“I did not need to know your personal hobbies!” Fu Ran whispered, keeping his words away from elder ears.

Tian Han crossed his arms. “Can Shizun refrain from making assumptions just once?”

The quiet banter was interrupted then the woman spoke again. “Oh, did you bring a friend this time, your highness?”

Tian Han flew over to the front desk and quietly offered, “shh.” The woman eyed him quizzically. Looking from Fu Ran to Tian Han, she seemed to have produced a thought and her sunken cheeks rose in intrigue.

Fu Ran had heard much about the workings of brothels, and he had read plenty of stories about them too. Oftentimes, fitting nicknames would be given to guests, and truthfully, with how well Tian Han fit to the look of gold: He did excuse the air of royalty. But Fu Ran still pursed his lips. Certainly, he didn’t want to stay long enough to be given a similar name of familiarity. He didn’t really want to be seen hanging around a brothel, at all, really, despite the fact that no one here would know who he was.

The elder woman continued, “I understand, dear guest. I will keep the title away for now. Welcome to Violet Court. What purpose has brought you into our humble business?” This time she was inviting Fu Ran closer with the wave of a pipe in her hand.

He didn’t shy away, and moved closer to explain. “We are looking for a man…” Fu Ran started, but was interrupted with laughter.

The elder woman’s eyes twisted into content slits. “In a house of women?” She asked, amused.

The words nearly caught in his throat as his cheeks heated up. Indeed, that was not the best wording he could have used.

Fu Ran brought a hand to stroke through strands of his hair, and slender fingers worked on pulling off his mask. “Sorry, perhaps I should be more clear. There is a man who looks like me, and has been causing trouble for us cultivators.”

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“A double?” With this she was instantly made more curious, and she scrutinized his look. Her fingers abruptly grabbed at Fu Ran’s soft cheeks, pulling him closer to inspect the features around his shocked expression.

“I normally believe in quiet customer privacy, but since you have brought an important man along with you, I will explain.” She released Fu Ran and sat back in her seat. “I have seen no one who shares this face. We only have one customer tonight and, while loud, he does not look like you at all. You are free to talk to some of the other women here though.”

“You are more than trusted to do so.” With her last added sentence, she looked to Tian Han and gave a subtle nod.

“Then… we should do that.” Tian Han said.

The two cultivators were guided into the next room, where soft sultry music was still lingering. Women danced near separate areas, and there sat only one younger looking man in all black. His face was clear and visible, despite being in Jinan. He wore no mask. Since it seemed to be a slower day, with not many customers, the girls mostly chattered among themselves until they noticed the new presence.

Girl’s hopped from their seats to surround Fu Ran and Tian Han. They all dressed in such pretty dresses, dyed purples and reds, and their faces were on the spectrum from soft and innocent to mature and seductive. Suddenly, they were hounded by three.

“Oh, well if it isn’t our little child giver!” said one woman in purple, latching her arm around Tian Han.

“What?” Fu Ran asked, stunned. Suddenly the turn of events was feeling less and less like the tyrant's personal hobbies, and instead, something completely different.

Tian Han’s face was tinted pink and his brows pressed together. He raised his voice in worry, “Li Mei, please do not say that! Wording something like that will only cause misunderstanding.” The girl with her hair in a high ponytail, Li Mei, smiled. She covered her red lips with painted nails and let her gaze fall to Fu Ran.

“Oh? Would this be your Shizun?” Fu Ran felt that incredibly weird. While no, he wasn’t Tian Han’s Shizun at all, he was often called that by the tyrant. How would a brothel worker know that? Especially considering the fact that Tian Han has been at An Xian Yun Peak since he met Fu Ran.

Would he happen to know these girls more than he first thought? Fu Ran wanted to question his companion, but seeing the flustered look on his face stopped him. He could hound him later when girls were cooing over him. Fu Ran merely raised his hands into a polite bow, and lowered his head.

“I am Peak Master, Fu Ran. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Upon the introduction the girls bowed and did the same. The woman with a high ponytail, and red painted lips was Li Mei. Tian Han called her by name, so Fu Ran suspected that they knew each other well enough. The girl with her hair cut just above her ears, a fashion style not much seen, was Qianqian. The last girl, with her robes draped the lowest and her chest nearly exposed, was Xi’er. Each of the women wore no masks here. But that made sense… the products they sold were their faces.

The introductions seemed to have gathered a small amount of outside attention. The man in all black had cut a gaze to the large group. In fact, his eyes seemed to first turn to look when Fu Ran mentioned being a Peak Master, but he didn’t recognize him, so he didn’t think about it any longer.

Though he did find himself reluctant to pull away from an intense look. Had he done something to warrant such foul eyes? When he noticed his gaze was being reciprocated, he turned his head away with a, “humph,” and his cheeks showed a pout.

Somehow that is a bit annoying, he mentally complained.

Fu Ran let the man fade from his mind and turned back to the woman. From one horrid sight to another. Two of the women had snaked their arms around Tian Han’s and they clung like desperate children to him. Fu Ran tried to blink away the shock, but it was no use.

Tian Han didn’t seem terribly bothered to talk with them casually like this, like he hadn’t noticed the presence of their bodies against him, at all. He only appeared the slightest flustered when Fu Ran caught him in such a state. “Shizun, I… It seems the girls haven’t seen a face like yours either.”

Qianqian shook her head. “I remember pretty. I feel you would be hard to miss.”

“Pretty??” Fu Ran gasped at the sudden uncalled for compliment. Perhaps the tyrant emperor could be considered pretty — though handsome is much better — but certainly not me!

Qianqian giggled at Fu Ran’s shock. “Does this cultivator not get told enough? Then let me say it twice! Fu Ran has a lovely face with such enchanting eyes.” He couldn’t stop the flush of red on his cheeks. How could anyone when given a compliment so… genuinely? Qianqian smiled without an ounce of deception in her eyes, and this made it even harder to handle her words.

“To hear those words of an unpaid courtesan, must make it true. Right, Shizun?” Tian Han merely added to Fu Ran’s blush. No! Not from you, too! He mentally screamed. He could nearly handle the sweetness from the lips of women, but when given by Tian Han it was too different!

Li Mei unlatched herself from Tian Han’s arm and moved to stand near Fu Ran. She exchanged glances between both cultivator men slyly. “His highness has good taste in gems, Peak Master. Do take it as truth.”

Fu Ran covered his ears and screwed his eyes shut. He stuttered out words, “So… So no one here has seen my face before?” Fu Ran felt the need to remind the girls urgently to focus. Lest he be completely charmed under their spell of sweet words and compliments. The courtesan women were pretty and sweet, but perhaps it was the tyrant’s spell he feared the most, as his previous words lingered on his mind.

It was a bit shameful when those playful giggles disappeared and pretty faces turned into pity. They shared glances with one another and shook their heads.

“Well, it can’t be helped,” Tian Han sighed.