Silent training.

Yin Long maintained his gait as he walked through the city, pulling up the sleeves of his yellow robe and resting his hands behind his head. The city had already started to return to normal after the public funeral, but the atmosphere hanging over it was still somewhat heavy.

He had memorized the path that Jiu Meiyu showed him so he quickly reached the extravagant three-story building decorated with blue and red silk bands. He pushed open the doors and entered the neat greeting room, the raven-haired proprietress smiling sweetly at him.

"Good afternoon, Young Master. Can I interest you in the pleasures of the mind or pleasures of the flesh?"

It was the same question she had asked when he was here last time, but the truth was that the answer really didn't matter. Even if you asked for the pleasures of the flesh, it could very well be that you just came to listen to some music and see some dancing, and the opposite was true for pleasures of the mind. It all depended on which girl you asked for. Of course, none of these mattered to Yin Long, who hadn't come here for the sake of pleasure.

"Pleasures of the flesh, please. I'd like the same room as last time, the one on the bottom floor that isolates sound properly. Is Young Lan Yun available?"

He repeated the key points of what Jiu Meiyu had said last time, the proprietress nodding her head while maintaining her smile. She swept her hand across the table in front of her and then stepped away from it, opening the door that led into the main section of the brothel. She pointed at one of the circular couches spread throughout the large room, giving Yin Long a polite bow before bidding him farewell.

"Taken a liking to her have you? Well, that's her good fortune, she'll be with you shortly."

It wasn't uncommon for patrons to become fond of certain prostitutes and always ask for them, especially when it came to uncommon ones like Lan Yun. She was a special case since her virginity was still intact and she was mainly a mind-based prostitute, focusing on dancing, music, and storytelling to entertain their customers. Of course, if someone offered enough money, then even her virginity could be bought. And Yin Long was exactly one such person, the Young Master of the Lang clan, he could certainly buy her virginity if he wanted.

Yin Long didn't respond to the proprietress' statement, not bothering to sit down on the couch while he waited. And sure enough, Lan Yun quickly descended one of the spiralling staircases and arrived in front of Yin Long, cupping her hands and bowing respectfully.

"Good afternoon, Young Master. This Little Yun is overjoyed that you would choose me for your pleasure partner. Please, follow me and I will take you to the chosen room."

The two stepped away descended down a set of stairs until they reached the carpeted hallway lined with doors. She repeated the procedures from last time even repeating her question of if the meeting was for business or pleasure. She then opened the secret passage, the two descending on the stone hallway and following it until they reached the large underground room that Jiu Meiyu had brought them to last time.

Jiu Meiyu wasn't there currently, and Yin Long didn't know if there was anyone else working with Jiu Meiyu and Lan Yun, so he guessed that it was currently just the two of them there. And Lan Yun swiftly confirmed his guess, walking over to one of the scattered seating areas and taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Jiu Meiyu will arrive within a few minutes to half an hour, until then it'll be just us, so please take a seat."

Yin Long sat down on one of the two couches that were present in this seating area, which consisted of two couches, two chairs, and a table in the midst of them all. He leaned back a little and allowed his gaze to roam over the various items hung up on the walls of the room. The first few minutes passed in silence, Lan Yun not looking like she was planning on actually saying anything. As such, after the 10th minute passed, it was Yin Long who broke the silence.

"Can you tell me a little about Mother and Father?"

It was only after entering this underground room a few days ago that Yin Long learned that his mother and father had actually been involved in the darker deals of the clan. As such, it would be a lie if he said that he wasn't interested in learning about parts of his parents that he didn't know about before. Lan Yun's brown eyes turned a bit distant due to Yin Long's question, a very soft breath escaping her mouth after a few seconds.

"I did not interact with Master Meng, so I can only tell you what I know about Mistress Hua. As Jiu Meiyu stated, I was an orphan when she picked me up. She found me in a camp that belonged to a small wandering tribe, everyone else dead without any external injuries. I was only three or so at the time so Mistress Hua brought me back to this city."

A wandering tribe was exactly what the name suggested, a group of people who wandered from area to area. Most of the time it was because they couldn't afford to live in one of the cities or villages, but at other times it was because they just preferred the less rule-confined lifestyle. Of course, not living within one of the cities or villages also meant that they weren't protected, so it wasn't too uncommon for some tribes to just vanish due to Demonic beast attacks.

"But she didn't publicize anything about me and kept me hidden, teaching me how to dance, how to sing, how to tell stories, she even taught me how to play a few simpler instruments, the harp being one example. And then, when I turned 12, she put me to work in the establishment above."

Lan Yun casually pointed at the ceiling to imply the brothel they had just left, one of Yin Long's eyes rising in surprise. People were often forced to grow up quickly due to the brutal nature of this world, but that didn't mean that it was common for legal brothels to employ people of such a tender age. He was also a bit curious as to why his mother had taught Lan Yun how to sing and dance rather than something more cultivation focused. His question was clearly written on his face, Lan Yun answering it without much thought.

"It's easier to gather information if the people you are trying to get it from are happy and sated. The things she taught me helps ease the minds of my customers, which makes it easier for them to accidentally spill some information."

A mind at ease was an unguarded mind, some people would easily spill secrets while they were experiencing euphoria. This was especially the case if they had also been drinking at the same time, it was for this reason that most brothels had some form of contract that their prostitutes had to follow.

Lan Yun frowned for a second before she opened her mouth to explain further, Yin Long evidently wore an expression of disbelief or doubt. But he cut her off with a flick of his wrist before she could continue talking, a sigh escaping him.

"No, I believe you. It's just a bit hard for me to immediately connect my gentle mother with someone who would groom a young girl to work as a prostitute."

He could understand his mother working in the darker side of the clan, there were few people in the clan more suited to it, mainly due to how strong his parents had been. But for that kind and always smiling mother to also groom a young girl just so that she could be a diligent prostitute that would gather information? That was a piece of information that was a bit harder to immediately digest. Lan Yun's expression softened for a short second as Yin Long worked on digesting the information, adding a bit more to her explanation.

"She did what she had to for the clan, there are no people more loyal than those you raise yourself. And I'm not a fully-fledged prostitute yet. Mistress Hua made sure that my virginity stayed untouched until we could find a big fish that we could reel in using it. If possible, she hoped that we could sell it to one of the people leading one of the four villages, that should have made it much easier to get close to them from an angle they won't expect. But she has passed, and you've come here, so that is probably not possible any longer."

She was certain that Yin Long coming to work here meant that he shared his mother's thoughts, just about everything was allowed for the sake of the clan. After all, if not even the dark side of the clan could think like that, then how could a clan ever hope to prosper?

Yin Long didn't comment on his mother's actions being for the sake of the clan, nor did he comment on his mother's plans for Lan Yun's virginity. But he was a touch curious about what his two visits had to do with what his mother had planned. Luckily, his question was once again immediately apparent on his face, Lan Yun once again giving a simple explanation.

"Mistress Hua was one of the leading figures of the Lang clan, even if she didn't reveal herself, it was still more than easy to place some pressure on the brothel to ensure my virginity until it was needed. But with her gone, that pressure will also be gone. And with you visiting me twice already, some of my repeat customers are bound to get nervous, after all, none of them knows when you will try to make a true move on me. I imagine that someone will come to make an offer very soon, and Proprietress Jilu will most certainly accept it, they'll definitely pay well."

In truth, it wasn't impossible for Yin Long to place the same type of pressure on the brothel if he wanted to maintain her virginity until they found the best possible buyer. But to do so he would have to talk with Lang Huo and explain things to her so that she could place the appropriate pressure in the right places. But doing so would drag her into the dark side of the clan, something Yin Long wasn't willing to do.

Silence fell over the two again when they finished their conversation, Lan Yun quietly closing her eyes while Yin Long's eyes flickered in thought. They had already been waiting for 10 minutes so it didn't take much longer for Jiu Meiyu to arrive, entering from one of the 12 doors that lined the left side of the room.

"You came far quicker than I had expected, are you not a bit too hasty?"

Jiu Meiyu's gaze lingered on Yin Long as he spoke, a trace of hesitation visible in his pupils. Lan Yun opened her eyes and stood up, Yin Long shrugging his shoulders as he also stood up.

"There's a lot I have to learn, I can't afford to waste much time."

He had to not only learn from Jiu Meiyu but also from Bai Xiang, he also had to spend time with his sisters, go on missions for Jiu Meiyu, and finally also focus on his own cultivation. There was a lot he had to do, so he really didn't have too much time to waste in an idle manner. The hesitation in Jiu Meiyu's eyes only drew deeper as Yin Long shrugged his shoulders, it was to the point where he couldn't help but speak out.

"...Are you completely sure that you want to do this? It won't be easy, neither the training nor the missions, and no one will thank you or even know that you've done it. Hell, a single wrong step can lead to your death. It's still possible for you to just go back."

If it was up to him, then he would much less prefer to not involve Yin Long in this. He was the only son of his closest friend, he didn't want to involve Yin Long or his sisters in this dark world where he worked. But even if he knew the stakes and lack of rewards, Yin Long still nodded his head, an unprecedentedly serious light in his eyes.

"I'm certain. It's just a bit more training, I can handle it."

Jiu Meiyu might call the training hard, but hadn't he been training under Bai Xiang for several years already? The training practically only consisted of him enduring attacks, a single slip up and he would get hit until his bones creaked. And if he feared death then he wouldn't have entered the area above Underearth Forest to train, so there was no way those words alone would be enough to discourage Yin Long. Jiu Meiyu also understood this, nodding his head and pointing at one of the doors after one final moment of hesitation.

"...Very well. Then we will start with one of the more important things to learn. Lan Yun and I will enter that room over there, once we've closed the door, I want you to walk from one end of this room to the other."

One of Yin Long's eyebrows rose in curiosity, but he didn't ask anything as Jiu Meiyu and Lan Yun entered one of the rooms and closed the door behind them. He himself walked over to one end of the room and leaned his back against the wall, curiously inspecting the two-kilometre long walk ahead of him.

He stretched out his senses but was unable to discover anything so he could only raise his foot and start walking. But his senses caught a change in the surroundings after a mere three steps. A piece of the stone floor suddenly flew up and launched itself at him, smashing into his right thigh with a dull thud.

He quickly hopped to the side, but that action only resulted in more stones rising up and launching themselves at him, stone after stone smashing into him. His pupils narrowed sharply after the sixth stone hit him, his lungs drawing in a quick breath as he stopped moving.

He allowed the seventh and eighth stone to hit him and fall to the ground, but he didn't make any more moves, he didn't even breathe. No more stones shot at him as he stood there, but as he took another two steps forward and accidentally kicked a small pebble, another stone rose up and shot at him. He quickly lowered his body to dodge the stone, the light of understanding flashing in his eyes as he gazed at the stone that rose up from the floor while he ducked.

"I see, so that's how it is..."

His mutter resulted in more stones rising up, each one probably launched by Jiu Meiyu, who was using the sound Yin Long made to locate him. An assassin or information gatherer could not be discovered, as such, it was imperative that they knew how to move around without being discovered. And this relentless training was meant to teach Yin Long exactly that.