An Oriental Odyssey

The brothel keeper's eyes darted around as she muttered under her breath, "You want salt? To buy salt, you need to go out."

Zhao Lanzhi sternly said, "Enough nonsense! I know you smuggle private salt here. You demanded ten gold ingots as the down payment. Well, here I have twenty. Is that enough for you?!"

The brothel keeper pondered for a while and asked, "Sir, how much salt do you want?"

"One hundred units."

"When do you need it?"

"Immediately!"

The brothel keeper shook her head, "Immediately won't work. All orders are made one day and delivered the next."

Without any hesitation, Zhao Lanzhi turned to Yuan'an and said, "Bring the box! We're leaving!"

The brothel keeper hurriedly stopped them, "Hey, wait! Let me think it through. Wait here for my message. When we dock, I will have the salt brought to you."

"So, you already have the salt on the ship?"

The brothel keeper snorted, feeling victorious, "Did you think I started doing this urgent business just yesterday?"

Zhao Lanzhi said, "Take me to the warehouse! I want to inspect the goods!"

"There's no such rule!"

Zhao Lanzhi coldly smiled, "If your salt is mixed with sand, selling one unit as two, what can I do after taking it away? Shouldn't you be held accountable? Isn't that reasonable?" He pulled Yuan'an, "Let's go!"

The brothel keeper kept her eyes on the box full of gold ingots in Yuan'an's hands. They had come already; she couldn't let them leave now. She immediately held on to Zhao Lanzhi, "Alright, follow me! I'll take you to the warehouse to inspect the goods! No problem at all. Look closely, and then you can take it away on your boat!"

As they were negotiating, the young boy had been taken aboard the ship and arrived outside the kitchen. A foreman with not enough staff handed him a tray filled with exquisite delicacies, instructing him to take it to the Feihua Hall. The young boy followed orders, holding the tray, weaving through the Qianduan Pavilion, dodging back and forth between guests, searching for a trace of his little master.

A tipsy dance girl stumbled out of a private room and grabbed the boy, "Where are you taking the food you are carrying?" She dragged the boy into the room, where there were several young and alluring women. He looked around, feeling a bit scared.

The women found him particularly intriguing, saying, "Hey? When did we hire this little servant? Such a handsome boy! Yes, really good-looking. Look at those eyes, those lips. Every part of him is so adorable!"

The boy was surrounded by the dance girls, embraced by their soft arms, and they even tried to kiss him! The boy struggled fiercely, managed to escape, and rushed to the other side of the ship. Suddenly, he turned back and saw Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan'an passing by on the opposite side.

Meanwhile, the brothel keeper was leading Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan'an, taking a winding path, going up and down stairs, seemingly trying to make them lose their way. Zhao Lanzhi paid attention to the rooms they passed, their decorations, and furnishings, using them as markers. Unexpectedly, they ran into Jiang Ren and a few guests. Jiang Ren looked surprised when he saw Zhao Lanzhi in disguise, and Zhao Lanzhi lowered his head to avoid eye contact. Jiang Ren took a few steps forward, then turned back.

Zhao Lanzhi and Yuan'an followed the brothel keeper, gradually leaving the area with many guests. They descended about forty steps, winding down to the lower deck, entering complete darkness, where the brothel keeper suddenly disappeared.

In the dark warehouse, Zhao Lanzhi lit a fire with oil, and Yuan'an stayed beside him.

Yuan'an glanced around her eyes and asked, "Madam, where are you?"

The brothel keeper's voice came from the darkness, "Gentlemen, this is the warehouse where I store salt. Come inside."

The firelight revealed various objects scattered around, and there was a narrow passage in the middle. Yuan'an and Zhao Lanzhi continued to walk inside until they were suddenly blocked. Before them stood a tall iron door, and there was a massive lock.

Zhao Lanzhi called out again, "Madam, where are you?"

There was no response this time.

Zhao Lanzhi approached the lock and tried to open it, but it was tightly secured and wouldn't budge. He used a knife to strike it, but there was no response. Yuan'an thought for a moment and suddenly remembered what the Master had told her in the cellar. It seemed as though she understood something in an instant. She walked over, took out a jade hairpin that looked like a crescent moon from her bosom, and twisted it into the lock's keyhole. Surprisingly, the door opened. Zhao Lanzhi looked at her in astonishment, and said, "It turns out this isn't a hairpin; it's actually a key!"

The two of them entered the warehouse, which was about thirty feet square. It was filled with dozens or even hundreds of large sacks. Zhao Lanzhi cut open one sack and tasted the contents with his finger, confirming that it was salt. So much salt! This was the warehouse where they stored their private salt!

Yuan'an was ecstatic, "We finally found it!"

While they were rejoicing, they didn't notice that the warehouse door was slowly closing from the outside. With a snap, the lock was secured. Yuan'an rushed to grab it back, but it was too late—the door had been locked from the outside. A small window on the door opened, and the brothel keeper's face appeared outside.

The brothel keeper's face, filled with wrinkles, turned into a smile like a blooming flower. "How is it? Officer, have you finally found what you were looking for? Satisfied now, aren't you?"

Zhao Lanzhi remained calm, "Madam, what are you saying? Who is the officer? Aren't we just doing business here? Quickly open the door and discuss matters."

The brothel keeper sneered and gritted her teeth, "No need to be polite! Once Li Gui was caught, I was already waiting for you! You're quite capable; you even found the key! Humph, it's the hairpin that unfortunate girl Ru Yue stole from me! Now it's become your death warrant! Both of you will die together!"

Yuan'an was horrified and started to pound on the door.

The brothel keeper looked down from above, "Stop dreaming! What can you do by going outside? Do you know whose business this is? It belongs to the third son of Official Pei, Xianya! Do you think you can compete with him? It's better for you to die comfortably here! This is the consequence of knowing too much. Just like Ru Yue, it'll be the same for you! Go die as enlightened ghosts!"

With that said, the brothel keeper closed the small door and triggered the mechanism. Suddenly, water began to flood into the warehouse. The Qianduan Pavilion had already set sail on the canal, and the warehouse filled with salt bags turned into a sealed water tank. Yuan'an desperately pounded on the door but fell back to the ground after a few attempts. Zhao Lanzhi pushed the salt bags to stack them high on the ground and pushed Yuan'an on top. As the water poured in, it rose higher and higher, threatening to submerge both of them.

Yuan'an panicked and cried, "I don't want to die here! I don't want to die!"

Even the usually composed Zhao Lanzhi was at a loss. There seemed to be no way out.

Just when both of them were on the brink of despair, the small door on the warehouse door opened, and the face of the young boy appeared outside!