Xi Fu Interlude 3: I can't believe this Brothel is such a scam!
---
Xi Fu trod through the streets of Redscale City. Being in Core Formation, his status had transformed and he no longer had to worry so much about random arrests based on his 'wanted' condition.
He arrived in what seemed to be a residential district, making his way to a large multi-story house. A buff man with a shortsword by his side guarded the door.
Xi Fu approached, pulling up his sleeve to expose a flower tattoo on his wrist. The guard nodded, opening the door.
Within was the Pure Ecstasy Brothel. The place Xi Fu had grown up. Immediately, one's eyes were assaulted by what most would consider pure, disgusting degeneracy.
There was an elderly lady with a suspiciously young boy on her lap, a fat man eagerly whipping the back of a prostitute and other things. Xi Fu did not see any of it as strange. He had no standard of normalcy to compare it to, having grown up within the brothel's warped logic. Even stranger scenes would appear when one looked at the private rooms where the bulk of the Brothel's money was made.
"Brother Xi Fu! Is that you?" A girl ran over to him, eyes wide.
"Hey, Xiaomei," Xi Fu waved.
She pulled him into a tight hug.
The Pure Ecstasy Brothel relied on its own 'employees' to produce the next generation of 'workers'. There were always plenty of kids being born, and Xi Fu had known many of them as his childhood friends.
"How did you manage to come back? You said you had to run because you were wanted?"
"Hah, your old friend Xi Fu doesn't have to worry about that anymore. I've become a powerful cultivator now!"
Qi gathered around Xi Fu's feet and he floated several feet into the air. Xiaomei's eyes widened.
"Wow! No way! Is that some kind of trick?"
"Nope, it's all real," Xi Fu laughed.
"Say, why don't you buy a private room with me, and we can catch up?" Xiaomei leaned forward eyes lidded.
Xi Fu pulled back, an awkward expression on his face. He mostly viewed his childhood friends like they were his siblings. He didn't think Xioamei would try something like that unless she really needed money. He pulled a large bag of gold from his spatial ring and handed it to her.
"Just take it as a gift," he said.
Xiaomei's eyes widened, and she hastily nodded, looking grateful.
"Do you know where my mother is?" he asked. "My sisters?"
"Aunt Huang managed to get a job at the Tianfei library since she's literate. Your sisters are doing fine as well. Xilei got married to the son of a bigwig at the Ironark Mining company, and Hafu became the handmaiden to a minor noble from the Redscale clan, Lady Mei."
Xi Fu noted down the names. He'd visit his remaining family members and drop them off some money, just in case. In the meantime, he had other plans.
"I need to see the matron," Xi Fu said, sighing.
Xiaomei, nodded, watching as Xi Fu strode towards the backrooms. He pushed his way through a door into an office, where an elderly lady scribbled upon papers. She looked up, squinting through her glasses.
"Hmm? Who is it?"
"Do you remmenber Xi Fu?" he smiled.
"Xi Fu? You're that troublemaker from back then- Do you know how much bad attention we got as a result of your escapades?"
Xi Fu shrugged.
"Are you crawling back for a job? I wouldn't normally let a guy like you have one, not pretty enough, but I know you're good at seducing women, I suppose I could consider-"
"Shush,"
Qi pulsed from Xi Fu, and the matron froze, eyes widening in fear. She blinked, taking note of the cloud-covered robes that covered Xi Fu.
"When I was young, I didn't really understand it, but now I do. You're one of the people most responsible for the horrible shit that happens in this place, right?"
He had seen too many cases of an elderly prostitutes being tossed out onto the streets to freeze when she had no use anymore. Or people forced to work with disgusting clients who had spent enough money. None of that had to happen. The Brothel made absurd sums of money, it could easily take care of its members.
Xi Fu had been a bandit and a cultivator, had killed his fair share of people in battles. Whether it be the armed escort of a merchant or a cultivator fighting him for a treasured weapon, they all had families who would mourn them. He would never claim to be an upright person, but he also never treated his own people with the cruelty and callous apathy the Pure Ecstasy Brothel did.
The matron tried to speak, but another pulse of Xi Fu's aura forced her to stumble off her chair.
"I'm currently in Core Formation, the third realm of Qi Cultivation. That probably doesn't mean much to a mortal like you but understand that it makes me essentially untouchable in this place. Furthermore, I'm now a Captain of the Sky Swallowing Gulper Armada. Even if a stronger cultivator you have a connection with wants to, he wouldn't dare offend me. I could kill you now and not face a single consequence."
The Pure Ecstasy Brothel had a lot of high-class clientele, including elders of the Redscale clan, giving the Matron a broad array of connections to protect herself. But, none of it mattered because Xi Fu was strong enough. Even a Nascent Soul Elder of the Redscale clan would have to treat him with respect.
"From now on, there are going to be some big changes around this place," Xi Fu said. "First of all, you don't own this place anymore, the workers do. they'll make decisions by vote. Secondly, all the slaves who are owned are now free. They can leave if they want, or stay for pay. The profits of the brothel are going to be distributed to the workers fully, and they can refuse any client they want."
Xi Fu couldn't just wave his hand and completely eliminate injustice, but if he could make life better for the people from his home, who he'd grown up alongside, he would. It was the least he could do.
'And one day, if I reach the level of that dragon expert or the Swordfather, then I actually
could just directly make life better for all human beings with a single law. maybe something like 'Anything I don't like no longer exists!', huh?'
Xi Fu wasn't like Bing Meilu, who was detached from the mortal world, letting the cycles of joy and suffering churn endlessly below her. He was someone with his own moral compass, who couldn't abide by any rule or law he didn't like. If he hadn't possessed such a personality, he would not have been able to comprehend Heaven Defying Spear Intent.
'No compromise, no restraint. If something displeases me, I'll destroy it. I only need to be strong enough. Otherwise, I'll disappoint my own Spear Intent!'
Xi Fu gave the matron one last look.
"I'll check up on this place in a few years. If it's not run to my standards, believe me when I say there won't be any force capable of keeping you alive."
Xi Fu would announce the change to the prostitutes, before heading to see his family.
He grabbed the Matron by the shoulder and dragged her into the open room.
"Hey everyone, gather up! The Matron has an announcement to make!"
---
"Wow! That was so cool!" Xiaomei clapped, smiling. "I never imagined seeing the Matron look so terrified would be so cathartic."
Xi Fu laughed, rubbing the back of his hair. He sat on a couch, reminiscing with some of his old childhood friends from the brothel.
"Yeah, fuck that old hag! Serves her right, for scamming us all for so long," agreed Tang Fu, a popular male escort. "Now that I'm not a slave anymore, I'm getting the
fuck out of here."
"Where will you go?" Xiaomei asked.
"Well, I could always join the city guard," Tang Fu joked, flexing his non-existent muscles. He had always possessed a slim, androgynous body that was popular with some female clients. "Just kidding. I'll probably find some rich, lonely widow and live off that."
"You always were a mooch," Xi Fu laughed.
Since Tang Fu was a slave, he wasn't paid like Xi Fu and Xiaomei had been, so he was always sponging off them to buy him stuff.
"What about you, Xiaomei?" Tang Fu asked.
"Well, I-" she turned to Xi Fu hesitantly. "I've never wanted to stay in a place like this. Could- Could I come with you, brother Fu?"
Xi Fu blinked in surprise before smiling.
"Sure, my faction is growing fast. I'm sure I could convince my boss to hire some mortal servants. Believe me when I say, you'll never dream of how much money cultivators have. Even servants can afford spirit medicines. Actually, tell any of the others, if they plan on leaving the brothel, they can come with me out of the city for a good job."
Xiaomei smiled happily, giving Xi Fu a hug.
---
Inside a small library, a middle-aged woman sat, transcribing a book. She had long black hair and a pretty face. Even now, she still possessed an elegant beauty, and it was easy to understand why Xi Huang had been a popular prostitute when she was younger.
With a sudden flash, a large bag of coins appeared on her desk, alongside a note. She raised an eyebrow picking it up.
'Still, regret not aborting me
?'
When he had been young, that was how she chided Xi Fu whenever he misbehaved. Xi Huang smiled, shaking her head.
'That boy...'
"Are you so scared you won't even come to see me in person? Did I spank you too hard last time?"
"I'm not scared, I was being
suitably mysterious, Mom," Xi Fu complained, appearing behind her.
---
Xi Xilei sat on a chair, bouncing her son on her lap, a weary expression on her face. No one had told her being a mother would be so tiring!
"It's almost time for studies now, dear," she whispered.
Her son whined.
"But mooom! I spent all yesterday studying, can't I take today off?"
"No, sweety. You know that you have to learn this stuff. Don't you want to be a rich merchant? You can't do that unless you know your characters."
"Can't I just hire a servant to read things to me aloud," he grumbled, hugging her.
"No, sweety," she laughed shaking her head. "What do I always say about wasting money?"
"A penny saved is a penny earned," he recited.
She patted her son on the head and sent him off, pulling out a book.
"So that's my nephew? Only one generation removed from poverty and already so rich in attitude,"
Xilei spun around, blinking in shock at the sight of Xi Fu.
"Big brother? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Just checking up on you,"
The two exchanged pleasantries, and Xi Fu sat down, arms crossed behind his head.
"Are you happy here?"
"Mhmm. My husband loves me and treats me well, and I get to sit around all day reading."
"Sounds good. If your son turns out to be able to cultivate, I'll take him in. Is Hafu doing well?"
"Yeah, she's got this rich lady eating out of the palm of her hand," Xilei smiled.
"Good, I don't have much time left before I have to head back to my faction, take this money for a rainy day, and give Hafu half. I might be able to visit in some years."
"Alright, I'll miss you!"
---
Xi Fu returned to the hotel where his faction was staying at. He pressed through the door and froze at the sight of a powerful cultivator glaring at Bing Meilu. Xi Fu recognized him from a statue. Grand Elder Houyi of the Redsclane clan.
'Why'd you have to offend someone stronger than a Nascent soul? God dammit Bing Meilu!'
