Traces in the Brothel

Third Pov:

YuHan looked ZiNuo dead in the eyes, but since he agreed to solve a case, he's willing to sacrifice whatever it takes, especially when this case had something to do with his mother's sect. ZiNuo held his hand out and grabbed YuHan's hand. They headed into the large building. Upon coming in, the area was decorated in vibrant colors that YuHan had never seen. YuHan's impression of the brothel was that it was a place where rich men fooled around with women, drinking expensive wine, and pretty much a chaotic place, a place where he would think he would never come to.

"This place is very bright compared to the places I went to." ZiNuo smiled while looking around his surroundings. YuHan's eyebrows furrowed. How many of these places have he gone to before, he thought.

"Hello, there you two gongzi," a lady waved her hand with a handkerchief. She wore light pink clothing and a gold hairpin with shapes of flowers adding a shine on her. "Do you two want a room? There's a lot of beautiful women here. I know at least one would suit your taste," she smiled.

"No thanks, for now, me and my friend over here, need to discuss some things," ZiNuo smiled, putting his hand on YuHan's shoulder, walking away from the lady. "Why do you look so stiff?" ZiNuo looked at YuHan with a concerned look. YuHan diverted his gaze from ZiNuo.

"I feel uncomfortable here…" YuHan mumbled.

"If you don't feel like being here, you can go outside. I'll do the rest of the investigation."

"But I don't want to leave you here either."

"When did you start caring about me so much?" ZiNuo teased YuHan. YuHan felt like facepalming himself.

"Sometimes I feel like you're targeting me when I talk-" YuHan sighed. He was going to continue his sentence before a crowd of men separated him and ZiNuo. YuHan looked around to find ZiNuo. ZiNuo was standing at the front of a large stage. Men surrounded him, anticipating for someone to come onto the large platform. YuHan tried his best to make it past the crowd to ZiNuo but got stuck in the middle. YuHan's hands trembled, fearing that he would lose ZiNuo in the crowd of people. His heart beating faster in a panic. The crowd cheered when a lady stepped on the stage. The cheers of the crowd would only get louder. Their hands are up in the air, blocking YuHan's view of ZiNuo.

The lady is decorated in gold jewelry, wearing a soft pink-colored dress, and a mask over the lower half of her face. Melody played as she danced, and the crowd was star-struck by her movement. YuHan stared at ZiNuo, who was staring at the dancer.

YuHan Pov:

A familiar scene, this feeling, it felt like it all over again. My headache as the music played through my head.

"Mom?" I looked around, lost in a crowd of people in the market. It was a never-felt feeling of panic and distress. I walked past everyone searching for my mother. I walked to a nearby show, that's where I found my brother and mother standing there, watching someone perform. They looked happy, with smiles on their faces. I ran up to my mother, crying. This was the first time that I felt the feeling of abandonment, and I never want to feel it again.

I felt something land in my arms, disrupting my thoughts. A ball landed in my arms, and all eyes were on me. The lady on the stage stared at me. I looked back down onto the ball. I was about to throw it before someone grabbed onto my hands. I looked at the person who grabbed my hand, Yin ZiNuo.

Third Pov:

"Don't tell me you were about to throw that ball away," ZiNuo whispered.

"What's so important about this ball?" YuHan looked at ZiNuo.

"It's our only way of getting to the place we need to go to so that we can find the culprit behind all of this. I assure you I'm never wrong with demon scent." He placed his hand on YuHan's shoulder.

"The gongzi who caught the ball, please come with me," the lady from before walked up to YuHan.

"Can I bring a friend with me?" YuHan asked.

"I'll make an exception since your friend is quite good-looking," she smiled. What kind of society were they living in? Is that all that matters? YuHan's eyebrows furrowed because of the mention of the words good-looking.

"What do you expect? I'm a popular bachelor among the ladies," ZiNuo smiled.

"Have you heard about personalities? Because it doesn't seem like you have one." ZiNuo's mouth is wide opened because of what YuHan said.

"Did you, a person with a plain personality, just called me boring," ZiNuo covered his mouth in disbelief. "Your real personality is showing."

"Okay, okay, gongzi(s), please stop the chit chatting for now and follow me." YuHan and ZiNuo followed the lady up the stairs to the highest level of the building. "Miss Mi will be there soon. Go ahead and pour yourself some tea for the remaining time. We serve the best green tea in town," the lady smiled before walking away. ZiNuo opened the door and went inside the room, and YuHan followed, closing the door when he entered. They sat down at the table. ZiNuo was about to pour tea into a cup, but YuHan grabbed his hand, preventing him from pouring tea.

"What's wrong now?"

"Don't drink anything here. What if there are some other substances mixed in the tea? After all, this is the place where the culprit might be." YuHan coughed a couple of times, and ZiNuo tried to hand him tea, but YuHan refused to drink it.

"Yuhan, you need some water. Your coughing isn't going to stop."

"I told you, don't drink the tea. My coughing is going to go away soon, it's nothing bad."

"If you say so," ZiNuo said as he placed the cup down. Moments later, the door opened. The girl from the stage before walked into the room with a fan covering the lower part of her face.

"What brings the two of you here?" she asked.