Chapter 7

After waking up to Little Fairy’s voice, Jun Zishu looked at the unconscious Ning Qinghuan lying a short distance away from her.

The three men had knocked them unconscious before dragging them away. Hence, Jun Zishu had no idea what happened after they were knocked unconscious.

However, judging by the three men’s conversation she had previously overheard, it was obvious that the place the men had brought her and Ning Qinghuan to wasn’t anywhere good.

What’s the situation, Little Fairy?

[Those men sold you two to the brothel, Host. You are currently locked in a room in the rear courtyard. What do we do now?]

Little Fairy didn’t expect such a development to occur, either. According to the original plotline, Ning Qinghuan hadn’t encountered such a problem when she snuck out of the manor by herself.

Now, though, the situation was terrible. Not only were Jun Zishu and Ning Qinghuan merely 13-year-old girls, but Jun Zishu was even someone with zero combat power. While Ning Qinghuan’s martial arts might be useful against other girls, her combat prowess would be utterly useless in this situation. There was no way they could escape with just the two of them.

Don’t panic. Give me a layout of the brothel first. Also, mark the areas with people.

[Okay.]

Seeing Jun Zishu behaving so calmly, Little Fairy calmed herself and started compiling the information Jun Zishu asked for.

At this time, Ning Qinghuan had also woken up. When she found that her hands were tied behind her back and her mouth was gagged, her eyes widened in shock. She had never suffered such injustice and humiliation before. Immediately, she started struggling with her bindings. Unfortunately, whoever tied the rope on her did an excellent job, and the rope did not loosen no matter what.

Then, when Ning Qinghuan noticed Jun Zishu staring at her, she couldn’t help but give her little cousin an apologetic look. If she hadn’t been adamant in sneaking out of the manor without any servants, none of this would’ve happened.

A short moment later, Little Fairy sent a map of the brothel into Jun Zishu’s mind, the information increasing Jun Zishu’s confidence.

Fortunately for them, the brothel happened to be at its busiest hour right now, so the brothel’s procuress was currently at the front greeting customers. Hence, now was the perfect time for them to make their escape.

[Do you have an escape plan, Host?]

I do.

While the use of force could help one solve many problems, force wasn’t always necessary. Sometimes, one could solve problems using their brains as well.

After hatching an idea, Jun Zishu indicated for Ning Qinghuan to calm down, to which the latter nodded. Then, Jun Zishu started dragging her body across the floor, relying on her extraordinary flexibility to move closer to Ning Qinghuan. Upon arriving next to her cousin, Jun Zishu turned her body the other way, showing her back to Ning Qinghuan.

Ning Qinghuan immediately understood Jun Zishu’s intentions and turned her back to her little cousin as well. Then, she began helping Jun Zishu untie her bindings.

[Host! Host! The fourth prince came to the brothel! I’ve marked his location already!]

Jun Zishu was elated by the happy coincidence.

After regaining her freedom, Jun Zishu hurriedly untied the rope binding Ning Qinghuan’s hands. Then, the two of them proceeded to untie their feet and removed the gag in their mouths.

The coarse rope used to bind them had left bloodied marks on Jun Zishu’s wrists, and Ning Qinghuan couldn’t help but feel her heart aching when she saw these wounds.

“It’s all my fault, Little Wan’er.”

“It’s fine, Big Sister. Now isn’t the time to talk about this. Let’s focus on escaping this place first.”

“Mhm, mhm.”

The door was locked, so they couldn’t leave through there. Instead, Jun Zishu silently pointed at the window at the top of the wall, then pointed at the various objects stored in the room.

“You’re so smart, Little Wan’er.”

Ning Qinghuan quickly understood Jun Zishu’s plan and started moving the objects in the room, stacking them up to create a makeshift staircase. Once done, she quickly climbed up the staircase and out of the window. Her many years of jumping over the manor walls also allowed her to land without making much sound. Afterward, she caught Jun Zishu, who followed after her, and the two of them hurriedly made their escape.

Security was tight right now, so it was impossible to escape from the brothel now. The only thing they could do was hide for the time being.

“Big Sister, let’s go in front and hide there first. There are too many people at the entrance, so we can’t escape now. The people here should go to sleep once it’s morning, so we’ll leave at that time.”

“Mhm, mhm.”

[Hide quickly, Host. They’ve discovered that you two are missing and are currently looking for you.]

Okay.

Even if the procuress found out that she had lost the two children she had just bought, she couldn’t launch a full-scale search for them since it was business hours now. So, she could only secretly send people to search the brothel’s rooms.

“Listen to me, Big Sister. Once we go inside that room, I need you to knock out the woman inside. Can you do that?”

“I think so,” Ning Qinghuan said in an uncertain tone. She didn’t know how tall the other party was. If the woman in question was too tall, then she wouldn’t be able to knock the other party unconscious.

Jun Zishu originally planned to head straight for the fourth prince’s room. However, upon hearing that her pursuers were approaching, she worried that she might not get the chance to call out for help before the brothel’s guards covered their mouths, silencing them. So, she decided to seek shelter inside a nearby room first.

When they entered the room, the girl occupying the room was doing her eyebrows in front of a mirror. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ning Qinghuan quickly ran up to the other party and knocked her unconscious with a chop to the back of the neck.

“Quick, move her to the bed.”

The girl looked around 16 years old, so Jun Zishu and Ning Qinghuan managed to move her to the bed without much trouble. After doing so, Jun Zishu pulled down the green curtain, hiding the three of them.

“Lie down, Big Sister. Don’t make a sound no matter what happens next,” Jun Zishu said, her forehead sweating out of anxiety. Then, after Ning Qinghuan laid down on the bed, Jun Zishu sat atop her and covered them and the unconscious girl with a blanket.

[They’re coming. They’re at the door now.]

Little Fairy anxiously said.

It’s all or nothing. Jun Zishu thought, mentally preparing herself. Then, she pinched herself and started letting out soft cries, “Ah… Ahn… Mm… Gentler…”

Unlike her usually calm tone, the soft voice coming out of Jun Zishu’s mouth now carried hints of teasing. Even so, Jun Zishu’s expression remained calm throughout this process, the sweat covering her forehead flowing down and dripping onto Ning Qinghuan’s face.

Ning Qinghuan widened her eyes in surprise at this situation. However, when she heard footsteps coming from outside the door, she quickly understood what Jun Zishu was trying to do, so she cooperatively held her breath.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu slowly tugged at the unconscious girl’s body one time after another, making it seem as if the unconscious girl was moving.

Jun Zishu’s hands started sweating out of anxiety. She didn’t know if her voice sounded convincing enough. If the guard outside the room could tell that she was faking her voice, it would be the end of the road for both her and Ning Qinghuan.

However, Jun Zishu did not wish to meet her end in such a place, so she persisted with her act. Though, she dared not make any excess sounds for fear of giving herself away, so she only moaned repeatedly.

In the meantime, Ning Qinghuan felt her mind growing dizzy as she looked at Jun Zishu’s calm expression. She didn’t know how her little cousin came to learn of such actions and even reenact them so skillfully. She only found her cousin’s voice to be pleasant to the ears. Apart from that, her mind failed to think of anything else. She had even momentarily forgotten that they were in a precarious situation.

While Jun Zishu was shaking the unconscious girl’s body, her body inevitably moved as well. Meanwhile, Ning Qinghuan’s body stiffened when she sensed Jun Zishu’s body moving atop of her, and she subconsciously balled up her fists to suppress the unknown emotions welling up within her.

[They’ve left! They’ve left, Host!]

Jun Zishu and Little Fairy simultaneously sighed in relief. After wiping the sweat on her forehead and gently pushing the unconscious girl away, Jun Zishu got up from Ning Qinghuan’s body.

“It’s safe for now, Big Sister,” Jun Zishu said in a relieved tone. However, when Jun Zishu looked down and saw Ning Qinghuan staring at her with a dumbfounded expression, her face twitched a little as she realized what she had just done in front of the mission target.

Little Fairy, I think I just went OOC.

[Life is like an act. Everything is but an act. Good luck, Host. Little Fairy will be cheering for you!]

“Big Sister…?”

Jun Zishu helped Ning Qinghuan up from the bed, a blush appearing on her face.

At this time, Ning Qinghuan finally snapped out of her daze and got rid of the illusion in her mind. When she felt Jun Zishu’s breath blowing past her ear, though, she couldn’t help but nervously gulp.

“You’re really smart, Little Wan’er,” Ning Qinghuan said as she shook her head to empty her mind of thoughts. Then, she raised her sleeve to wipe away the sweat covering her face.

When Jun Zishu saw that Ning Qinghuan’s face had become as red as a tomato, she thought she had suffocated her cousin previously.

“Let’s hide here for a little longer, Big Sister. Afterward, we’ll head to another room and see if there is anyone who can help us.”

“Okay.”

Throughout this entire time, Little Fairy had constantly been updating the mental map in Jun Zishu’s mind, so Jun Zishu was finding a good opportunity to run for the fourth prince’s room.

The fourth prince occupied a room on the third floor while they were on the second floor. However, there was no way to safely reach the third floor as there were people all over the place right now.

“Little Wan’er, how… How did you…” Ning Qinghuan repeatedly stammered as she struggled to word the embarrassing question in her mind.

“I once overheard my father and one of his concubines letting loose back at home. I was in a hurry just now, so I…” Jun Zishu let her words trail off, a blush forming on her face. Although what she said was a lie, nobody could disprove her words. Not to mention, it was unlikely that Ning Qinghuan would tell others about this matter, either.

“You’re amazing, Little Wan’er.”

Realization dawned upon Ning Qinghuan. She also mentally chided Jun Zishu’s father and his concubine for being so open in their relationship. She felt that they shouldn’t have polluted Jun Zishu’s eyes with those acts. However, she also couldn’t deny the fact that if it weren’t for their promiscuity, Jun Zishu wouldn’t have been able to think up such a solution to get them out of trouble.

After pondering over the matter, Ning Qinghuan ended up blaming herself for her incompetence.

After the two of them sat inside the room for some time, Ning Qinghuan noticed that the unconscious girl had started showing signs of awakening. So, she quickly landed another chop to the back of the girl’s neck, knocking her unconscious once more.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu felt that it was about time for them to leave, so she secretly climbed out of the bed.

Is the fourth prince doing it right now, Little Fairy?

If the fourth prince was in the midst of enjoying himself and the two of them suddenly barged into his room, they would probably traumatize him. And if that trauma ended up causing his lower half to malfunction, let alone becoming friends, the fourth prince would probably try to kill them.

[Nope! He’s so strange. He’s just listening to music and nothing else. The woman in that room is even singing for him.]

Although Jun Zishu didn’t know why the fourth prince would come to a brothel only to listen to singing, that was none of her business. It was fine so long as the fourth prince wasn’t doing business.

“Follow me, Big Sister. We’ll run to the third floor. Generally speaking, the third floor should be reserved for nobles. We’ll run into a random room and ask for help.”

“Okay.”

After receiving Ning Qinghuan’s agreement, Jun Zishu opened the door, her action attracting the attention of a girl standing outside the corridor. While the girl in question was calling for help, Jun Zishu pulled Ning Qinghuan’s hand and ran upstairs. Then, she ran straight for the fourth prince’s room without hesitation.

The fourth prince, who was about to take a sip of wine, froze when two girls suddenly barged into his room. Then, his eyes fell on Jun Zishu.