A fall into a ditch makes you wiser...
"You idiotic scumbag, son of a dead prostitute, and a shame to the Lin noble household."Xiao Yuer heard before a sharp kick landed on his stomach, sending him flying backwards. With searing pain, he struggled to force his eyes open.
"Such disrespect towards a grandmaster. You're courting death," Xiao Yuer thought as he tried to open his eyes.
"Do you think you're quick-witted enough to trick us and escape... How laughable, you abominable son of the Lin family," another hoarse voice sounded, followed by the thick smell of alcoholic drinks wafting his nostrils.
Xiao Yuer felt lightheaded.
Lin household... Who or what was that?
His thoughts were disrupted when he heard another voice at a distance. "It's just a waste of breath dealing with this cut sleeve. Let's go, boys."
Murmurs of insults followed by the footsteps of his attackers sounded, until they became inaudible. Xiao Yuer lay on the floor, his body aching.
"Cut sleeve? How did they find out about it?" he wondered.
He had always kept his attraction for male folks hidden. Who could have found out? As if answering himself, the image of Wu Zhong flashed through his thoughts, and his eyes shot open.
Xiao Yuer squinted at the bright environment before it became normal. He forced himself into a sitting position and scrutinized his surroundings.
"What happened?" he asked aloud.
This cottage he was in seemed to be in chaos. Tables, chairs, and a bed made out of bamboo were turned upside down. Glasses were broken into shards, and the door of the house was uprooted as if a monstrous Xiangmo had attacked.
Xiao Yuer sighed as he looked around. He could recognize that this wasn't the cave he died in. He exhaled, marveling at the power of the alchemy of souls.
"So, I actually had my soul transferred into another body? How unbelievable!" he exclaimed to himself.
But then, a thought struck him, and his face dropped. He began to recollect all that had happened before he ended up in this situation.
Before now, a report had reached his sect from the Accolades. A group of messengers who helped dictate the presence of a demon terrorized place. They informed him of the village of Ghangzang, which was terrorized by a soul-consuming Xiangmo that had caused the residents to go missing.
The village of Ghangzang wasn't unknown to him, despite its reclusive nature. Its residents lived a life of hunting down beasts for food, while a few reared diary animals. The village had a minuscule amount of residents, as many died from sickness, beast rampages, or poisonous grasses their cattle ate.
Despite the perils they faced, none of the residents ever thought of leaving. They respected and valued their village's descent and would rather die than abandon it.
Xiao Yuer sighed. "How pitiful," he muttered.
He then recollected how he had informed the head of the Accolades not to inform other sects that they could handle the powerful soul-consuming Xiangmo. This act was borne out of a desire for fame, but now Xiao Yuer regretted it.
"How naive of me to let cheap fame lead me to my grave," he spat out.
They had approached the village of Ghangzang and began their search for the Xiangmo, whose aura was powerful enough to go undetected by the Reverent Compass they carried.
When they finally found the Xiangmo's location, they launched their attack, but it proved to be too powerful, resulting in the loss of many members. The second-in-command disappeared and then reappeared to kill Xiao Yuer, and he still couldn't understand why Wu Zhong had done that.
"That wretched betrayer! I hope he's now enjoying his position as the sect's grandmaster," Xiao Yuer cursed. Though feeling grateful for his second life.
Maybe that was what Wu Zhong had wanted.
Xiao Yuer cursed himself for his foolishness. He concluded his thoughts and focused on his current situation. Who was he and where was he?
Earlier, one of the unknown people who had attacked him mentioned something about the Lin household and the mother of this body being a prostitute. They called this body an abomination and a cut sleeve, and all this had Xiao Yuer frowning at the insults.
How horrible was this individual he inhabited?
If his reputation was so horrible, then his alchemy skills must not be noteworthy.
Xiao Yuer groaned and, with the little strength he had left, got up and began searching the apartment for clues about the owner of this body. He found a golden note with a wing crest on it, a miniature scented cushion, a resignation letter, makeup kits, and a pouch of coins.
"Not so unfortunate, I'll say," he muttered as he joggled the pouch of coins.
Xiao Yuer overturned a nearby table and spread out all the items he found on it. Without wasting time, he began to read the golden note and piece together the information.
It was easy. Bai Qian, as written in the note, was the mother of this body he now inhabited. She worked in a popular brothel nearby, the Fengling brothel, known for its fine wine and beautiful women. Just as the unknown men had mentioned.
Bai Qian, the mother of this body, was indeed a prostitute. The makeup kits confirmed it.
Having traveled around various provinces, towns, and villages, Xiao Yuer understood the situation better. The Lin household was a lower noble house headed by Hanguang Lin. Back then, from Xiao yuer's memory. After the birth of his son, Lin Zhihao, a grand party was thrown and Xiao Yuer and a few of his fellow disciples had attended the ceremony after completing a mission to hunt down a flesh-eating Xiangmo.
They enjoyed themselves at the ceremony but were later punished for it. Xiao Yuer smiled at the memories of those good old days with his fellow disciples, although some had left to pursue other paths.
Perhaps, as things were going, Lin Zhihao grew up to become a spoiled youth who frequented brothels, and ate cunt. "As expected of noble kids," Xiao Yuer thought. And in the process, he must have hooked up with Bai Qian, who was likely pretty and voluptuous, to work within the brothel. The scented cushion confirmed that since nobles gave them to prostitutes they had appointments with.
However, Another factor that could have led to this unwanted outcome was unprotected lovemaking. Resulting in the birth of this body, Lin Cai'er.
As usual, nobles cared only about satisfying their sexual urges in the presence of brothels while leaving their wives at home. Lin Zhihao must have returned home to his wife as if nothing had happened, while Bai Qian carried his child. Although Xiao Yuer wasn't sure, he could tell that Bai Qian must have decided to keep the baby rather than abort it, like her fellow prostitutes often did. The resignation letter indicated that she had quit her job after becoming pregnant with Lin Cai'er. She must have told Lin cai'er everything before she died.
"Tat,tat, Tragic," Xiao Yuer commented as he continued his thoughts.
Twenty years old Lin Cai'er, growing up without a father and with a prostitute as a mother, must have felt frustrated with life. But he had survived thanks to his quick wit and cunning nature. However, being a cut sleeve only made matters worse for him. People must have seen him as a prostitute chasing after males, just like his mother. While still in a tender age.
And precisely, maybe Lin Zhihao must've loathed the cut sleeve behavior of Lin cai'er and saw him as an abomination in his household. And for worse, if he had another son who was legitimate and loathed Lin cai'er then it's possible that rumors And if Lin Zhihao had another legitimate son who despised Lin Cai'er, it's possible that rumors about him would have spread, worsened by the other son.
Wait...
There really was someone...
As the unknown men left, Xiao Yuer had caught a name, although he didn't dwell on it. He heard one of them mention, "This scumbag is worse than Lin Cheng."
Perhaps, the mastermind behind Lin Cai'er's suffering was this Lin Cheng. While Xiao Yuer continued his thoughts, a low growl sounded, and he frowned.
Meaning of words.
Chai: It's a hairpin for hairs. Has certain significance among Chinese ladies.
Cut sleeve: A homosexual.
(๑•﹏•)(๑•﹏•)