Chasing You (Arcs 1-7)

My Dear Emperor (X)

Xu XiuLan was awakened by Bao Bao's gentle nudging. He had almost forgotten that he couldn't see when he opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness. His body felt tired and creaked like a machine that was in need of oiling. He then realized that Bao Bao had activated his vessel's passive skill.

He murmured, "What's wrong?"

Bao Bao had tears in his eyes. He had spent the last two hours calling for his host and awaiting a reply, but nothing ever came. None of his sensors went off stating that Xu XiuLan was in danger, this only made him more worried because he wasn't sure what to do. So he could only try and physically wake him up. It had passed a full hour before he finally got a response.

He hugged his host. He was very scared that his host wouldn't wake up once again. Xu XiuLan was puzzled at Bao Bao's reaction, he wasn't even aware how deep he had slept. He returned the hug and patted Bao Bao's back. Bao Bao sniffled and wiped his runny nose.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, he opened his mouth and started spilling out everything in one breath. He talked on how he was so worried because Xu XiuLan didn't wake up, how he had thought that Xu XiuLan fell into another long slumber, how the plot is messed up in some way as things weren't going according to what was stated, how Wu QingJue wasn't like the plot had said he was, how the emperor was a scary demon, how Tu HeJian was the only normal person, and how Zuo NaLi was hooking to other government ministers that were from the emperor's faction because Wu QingJue wasn't going with his plan. He huffed as he had spit out everything like a rapid machine gun.

Xu XiuLan rubbed his glabella. Things were very complicated at the moment and his soul capacity was very low already. Having to deal with an A class difficulty world wasn't something that he wanted to fail at the moment. Although it was risky for him to have entered a world, it was also the fastest way for him to recover his soul from what Bao Bao had told him. If not, he may take as long as eons to regain his soul's strength if he was to just sit in the space and recover. He wouldn't try and court death again by going back to his own world.

If it had been before, Xu XiuLan would've been able to receive better rewards from the worlds, but the administrators had put a restriction on the benefits that the hosts would receive. As many issues of them consuming their very own system came up. It caused a major disruption in order as many tried to take over, and a witch hunt ensued to restore balance.

It was very disadvantageous to him to not know what to expect from the upcoming world, having nothing be known until they had entered it. It was like playing russian roulette.

To ensure things will be progressing smoothly Bao Bao and him made plans on how they would proceed from here on out. They decided that Bao Bao would mainly monitor Zuo NaLi and Wu QingJue. As for Tu HeJian and Tu HuaLi, he would do a routinely check every couple of days to see what they were up to.

Xu XiuLan bid goodbye to Bao Bao as they departed to start lurking. It was now time for him to start selling his services. You Du knocked on the door to his room, "Lan'er, it's time."

He opened the door to see an attractive man sitting elegantly by the window. His hair had been partially put up with gold and ruby hairpins and buyaos adorning it. He donned on a deep plum red robe with golden magpie birds and faint flowers embroidered onto it, and in the middle of his forehead was a five petal flower. His lips were a light cherry color that flattered his eyeliner and eyeshadow color. He gave out a blinding smile, "En."

In a large room filled with music and laughter, a beautiful person was dancing in the middle of the room. The windows were all open to let in the scent of the summer flowers and the cool night breeze.

The person dancing was like a pleasant storm that only made the wine they were all drinking more sweeter underneath the light of the full moon. The way their eyelashes flutter seductively as they moved their body to the sound of the music. His long hair swayed behind him as slid his feet in a smooth motion to the side. The enchanting sounds of the pipa accompanied this bewitching sight.

With a flick of his wrists the fans in his hands open. The fans were a rare scarlet color that had a gold shimmer to it. Exquisite flower designs were lightly sprinkled across the fan and added more extravagance to the dance. His captivating grey eyes were the only visible part as he drew the fan across his face. With a fluid movement, he slightly rotated his wrist and created a small undulating movement with the fans. His pearly white fingers peeked out from underneath his long wide sleeves as he danced.

They all gulped heavily as they were enthralled by his performance. Their eyes burned with intensity as they all stared fixedly at his slender figure.

After the song ended, leader of the group of men stood up and clapped with great enthusiasm. His face was flushed from drinking one too many cups of wine, "Good, good, good! You really deserve the name 'Biyue'."

Xu XiuLan bowed and respectfully thanked him. The man walked over and took his hand into his and started to drag Xu XiuLan to his table. Xu XiuLan wanted to pull his hand back but refrained from pulling away suddenly, he still had to remember that this was his job.

The man look back and timely caught Xu XiuLan smiling sweetly at him. His heart almost flew out of his chest from the one look. He coughed. How lucky he was to have such a person by his side.

He sat down and beside the man. He handed Xu XiuLan the jade bottle that contained the liquor and held his cup up, "Won't you pour me some wine, Biyue."

Xu XiuLan's eyebrow twitched at his request but obliged to it anyways. He was lucky as he poured the wine directly into the cup. As the night progressed on, Xu XiuLan wondered if this man was secretly testing him or did he have it in for him as he kept on asking him to do things. Did he not know that Xu XiuLan was blind? Was there no other courtesans here that would care for him?

He drape an arm over Xu XiuLan's shoulder and laughed, "Biyue, won't you accompany I, this official for a night?"

His alcoholic breath smacked right into Xu XiuLan's face and almost caused a frown to appear. Xu XiuLan had no idea what the man was talking about as he had never gone to a pleasure house before, so he did not know the uses of a pleasure house. The original was only a prostitute that sold his arts and not his body as the others had, but because of his beauty and talents many would try and buy him. Xu XiuLan could only use the tactics that the original had used to get out of many similar situations before without offending this man.

He leaned in and faintly brushed his cheek against the other. His breath tickled their ears, "I, this lowly servant will have to humbly decline your offer, as I cannot accompany you tonight."

The rush of his enticing scent wafted into the intoxicated man and made him even more drunk. Xu XiuLan's voice held the right amount of charm that it magnetized the man's attention and he quickly forgave him, "Ah, it's alright. I will come to see you again, Biyue."

Xu XiuLan didn't forget about his job and would use his eloquent words to slowly extract information from the man. He only had a couple of major people afterwards, before he called it a night. He laid in bed exhausted from his constant smiling and laughter. It was draining to keep a boisterous act. He really had to applaud the original for sucking it in and entertaining clients every evening to night.

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A/N: I just want to clarify. In ancient China, there were prostitutes that sold their arts as well as their bodies, those that sold only their arts, and those that sold only their bodies. Usually the prostitute that sold only their bodies were found outside of establishments or were very low level prostitutes.

There's not much information on the lifestyle of a prostitute, so I could only fill in their daily life with random things. Some of the things mentioned are not going to 100% authentic but I will try my best to make things fit... If they'll fit that is. (^～^;)ゞ