The great river, carrying minerals valuable to agriculture, traveled in a long line for hundreds of li, creating a fertile city most suitable for cultivation in the central plains. It was a land coveted by warriors to serve as a vital granary for military forces. Thus, Chang'an City was a city inhabited by many, a renowned trading hub where people popularly brought goods from distant lands to turn a handsome profit.

  At this moment, there was fog, though the weather was not very cold. Even though winter was approaching, many people still sat waiting to enter the city before the sky was bright, and among that crowd was Jin Tianwang.

  Jin Tianwang wore light yellow clothes, both the outer robe and the fitted martial attire underneath, with only his shoes being black, reaching up to his mid-calf. After registering and paying the tax to enter the city, Jin Tianwang walked into the market, looking for a tavern named The Warlord’s Tavern.

  The Warlord’s Tavern was famous in the past because a warlord surnamed Xiang had campaigned everywhere to unite the land for the Emperor. When the country entered a peaceful era, the warlord, who hailed from the southern lands, was stationed as the governor of this city. He preferred food with strong flavors, leaning towards spicy and hot. It happened that there was a chef who could cook southern food very well. General Xiang thus established this tavern for said chef to settle down in this city. Since then, this tavern had been passed down for three generations, remaining renowned for cooking spicy southern food.

  Upon arriving, Jin Tianwang hurried to The Warlord’s Tavern. However, he did not come because he liked spicy southern food, but rather to investigate clues about a certain matter. Two months ago, at this tavern, a woman had been beheaded.

  This woman had been a chef in the tavern for some time. She possessed excellent ability in cooking spicy food. Since she began working at this tavern, the number of appreciative customers had grown. However, concerning her death, the tavern owner suppressed the story, merely organizing a quiet funeral for her.

  Jin Tianwang seemed to know something of the story already. Using the excuse of being a distant relative of hers, he gained the opportunity to hear the account of the event from the owner and a few young staff members in the shop. All believed it was likely the act of a passing bandit, for the chef surnamed Qi had no enemies in the city. Although she had a somewhat fastidious nature, she was well-liked by the people. Chef Qi was likely near the age of thirty, living alone in a rented house behind the market. She was unmarried, likely due to her freckled face.

  Jin Tianwang suddenly thought of a sweet and lovely woman. She was a renowned smiling courtesan in the eastern lands. The reputation of her beauty compelled many people to travel to this small city at the river mouth. Wealthy merchants were willing to pay vast sums of gold and silver just to glimpse her beauty for a mere moment, willing to bestow precious gifts just to listen to the sound of her zither and critique the sound of the flute with her. The Poet-Sage Kang Tingxia once praised this knowledgeable beauty, saying: “Traveling a thousand li is not worthless to meet a beautiful woman of great knowledge. Abandoning scriptures, forgetting texts to meet her, willing to bow in respect to her Three Smiles Brew.”

  That famous woman was named Qi Yiling, alias Three Smiles Brew, a name bestowed after The Poet-Sage Kang Tingxia praised her and toasted her with wine. From then on, the tale of her beauty spread by word of mouth until she became famous throughout the eastern lands.

  One year ago, on a night when the moonlight shone as bright as midday, Jin Tianwang traveled to the small city at the river mouth to visit The House of Ten Thousand Stars, the most famous brothel.

  While Qi Yiling was welcoming high-ranking guests by playing the zither, the lively melody evoked sorrow in people, as if encountering a separation from loved ones due to a distant journey. When Qi Yiling finished playing, not a few guests shed tears, reminiscing about the past. However, the sorrow did not last long; suddenly, the sound of wine cups being knocked in a lively rhythm drifted from the outer guest reception room.

  The guest reception room outside was a place for the masses to seek entertainment together. The guests there were mostly destitute travelers, seeking only female companionship for conversation and drink.

  Jin Tianwang, having little money, merely ordered a pot of wine and a small plate of fried peanuts, finding joy in the outer room. After listening to the song played by Qi Yiling, the guests there all wore sorrowful faces. A strange silence fell over the room. Jin Tianwang, who always wore a smile, naturally could not endure it. He thus picked up the chopsticks in his hand to knock on his tea cup, creating a lively rhythm. Moreover, he sang a song familiar to the people, the lyrics of which spoke of farmers inviting each other to go to war, to build the nation, earn a reputation, fight for victory, and bring back rank and wealth, before rushing back to find the beautiful wives waiting.

  Other guests familiar with the song sang along loudly, creating great merriment for the visitors. Jin Tianwang both sang and acted out gestures, his right hand tapping the rhythm, his left hand holding the wine cup, walking around while casting glances at all the beauties in the brothel, as if they were beautiful wives waiting for young husbands to return from the battlefield. When the song ended, many guests laughed until they shed tears, rushing to toast Jin Tianwang. The song that Jin Tianwang sang not only drew the guests inside to come out and join the fun, but even Qi Yiling came out to watch the spectacle.

  That was the first time Jin Tianwang met Qi Yiling.

  That night, great merchants did not mind drinking wine with carriage drivers. Various guests vied to sing the fun songs they liked. Only the sound of laughter resounded through The House of Ten Thousand Stars, creating a strangely warm and lively atmosphere. Qi Yiling did not come down to join the fun like the other beauties but watched from the upper balcony. She stared, constantly observing Jin Tianwang moving from one corner to another. She observed that the strangest thing about this stranger was that Jin Tianwang was drunk, drunker than everyone. As dawn approached, many guests gradually left. Others remained, sleeping drunkenly at the tables. But by now, Jin Tianwang had not left, still drinking in a stupor alone.

  Therefore, Qi Yiling approached to converse with Jin Tianwang. “Young Master Jin, having drunk so much wine, is it still not enough?”

  “The wine paid for is not yet finished; how can I leave?” Jin Tianwang poured and drank from the pot on his table. Although he had drunk a lot last night, it had been the wine of others who had happily come to toast him.

  “Last night, was Young Master happy?”

  “Last night I cultivated many friends, creating great happiness for me.”

  “After this night passes, these friends of yours likely will not remember the events of last night.”

  “This is the charm of wine friends. If one drinks enough, even sworn enemies can embrace and converse. Just like last night—was the beautiful lady happy?” Jin Tianwang told the story while gesturing to match his words.

  “I watched you all smiling and laughing. A night like that counts as quite a special night.” Qi Yiling spoke these words, and recalling the image of people laughing, she could not help but smile.

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  “A night like that is indeed a special night. I drank wine, drank until I was drunker than anyone.”

  “But it is still you who can continue drinking, seeming not drunk in the slightest.”

  “Do you suspect I am drunk? If I am drunk, it is because I am intoxicated by your beauty.” Jin Tianwang spoke these words while leaning closer, staring into her face.

  “You are likely truly drunk to say I am a beautiful woman.” Qi Yiling spoke while turning her face away.

  “If the lady is not a beautiful woman, then which woman is fit for the word ‘beauty’?”

  “True beauty, what is it like? For example, we women worry about our beauty day and night, maintaining and enhancing it—powdering faces, painting lips, trimming eyebrows. In truth, will anyone ever know what our true faces are like?”

  “External beauty is like a mirror reflecting what is within. You all make up your faces and paint your lips to look beautiful; naturally, there is beauty both inside and out.”

  “You speak words too contrary to your heart. For example, you—your face seems to wear a smile all the time. In truth, within your heart, has there been a smile even once? You like fake friends; is it because you are also a fake person?”

  “. . .” No answer came from Jin Tianwang, save for a smile given to her. Then he lifted the wine pot, drank until the last drop drained from it, and walked out of The House of Ten Thousand Stars.

  Jin Tianwang visited The House of Ten Thousand Stars for many consecutive days until he was acquainted with many patrons. In a city so small and remote, no one had ever heard the name of Merry Meanderer Jin Tianwang. Everyone knew him only as Jin Tianwang, a good-humored young man who could sing merrily, found every night in front of The House of Ten Thousand Stars.

  Before long, guests often called for Jin Tianwang incessantly. The beauties in The House of Ten Thousand Stars also liked him quite a bit. Often he received invitations from those courtesans, but he always refused, citing his love for Three Smiles Brew Qi Yiling.

  However, Qi Yiling never spoke or conversed with Jin Tianwang in the slightest. She was the only woman who seemed to dislike Jin Tianwang; moreover, she rather detested him. Jin Tianwang’s attempts to woo Qi Yiling became a source of amusement for everyone in the know, and they often used it to tease him. Not only did he not take offense when teased, but he even embellished the story to make it even more humorous.

  Over these past many days, quite a few guests at The House of Ten Thousand Stars did not seek the company of women but came to drink and discuss funny stories with Jin Tianwang instead. Sometimes Jin Tianwang was invited to listen to Qi Yiling play the zither in the special reception room, causing Qi Yiling considerable annoyance, though it was great fun for the other guests.

  The funny saga between Jin Tianwang and Qi Yiling played out every night. Before long, the tale of the two became a source of amusement for the whole city, spreading from one person to another, becoming more colorful each day. Until early one evening, Qi Yiling summoned Jin Tianwang to meet her inside her dressing room. Qi Yiling sat in the inner section, while Jin Tianwang sat at the table outside, with an orange curtain dividing them.

  It was still Qi Yiling who spoke first, “Young Master Jin, for many days, people have laughed at and mocked me. It is probably a matter that satisfies you greatly, I suppose.”

  “They are the same as me; they all like you greatly.” Jin Tianwang moved his chair closer to the orange curtain, intending for his voice to penetrate more clearly.

  “I think these stories are not only not fun, but not amusing in the slightest. What you are doing every day is hurting me severely.”

  “. . .” Jin Tianwang offered no words in response, merely sitting and smiling in his chair.

  Qi Yiling suddenly threw open the curtain and walked out. “I hate that smile of yours the most.”

  Jin Tianwang was stunned to see Qi Yiling at this moment. Her face, unadorned by white powder, was freckled and covered in dark spots. Even her lips were of a dark hue, unpleasant to look at.

  “Whatever plan Young Master thought to lay in the past, I do not want to know. I only hope for you to leave.” Qi Yiling spoke these words while walking up to face Jin Tianwang.

  “You knew from the start.” Since Jin Tianwang saw the face void of powder and rouge, he no longer spoke with a playful smile.

  “Correct. Moreover, I have always believed in my heart that you held malicious intent towards me.” Qi Yiling grabbed another chair and sat down beside Jin Tianwang, looking him directly in the eyes.

  “You are right. I accepted a promise from someone to kill you.” Jin Tianwang answered, his gaze locking with Qi Yiling’s.

  “That person is probably a woman, because I have harmed hundreds and thousands of families.” She said this because she believed there were many men who abandoned their families because they were infatuated with her, causing problems. This thought had circulated and hurt Qi Yiling’s mind all along, but she could not abandon the profession that fed her.

  “No. You did not harm her family. She wanted to kill you only due to the reputation of your beauty.” Jin Tianwang avoided her eyes because he suddenly thought of another woman.

  “In that case, why did you not hurry to act from the start?” Qi Yiling spoke, furrowing her brows.

  “Because I once believed that I could destroy the reputation of your beauty without killing you.”

  “So it is like this.”

  “But now I understand that I was wrong. Besides killing you, I have no way to destroy the reputation of your beauty.”

  “When I have an appearance like this, you still say that I am beautiful.” Qi Yiling spoke these words, raising her right hand under her chin to reveal her freckled face.

  “If comparing the beauty of the skin, you could not compare to her from the first meeting. But I just understood today that you have only used inner beauty all along. No matter how beautiful her outer appearance is, she naturally cannot compare to you, for now I know that only you possess flawless beauty.” Jin Tianwang spoke as if he were a great scholar, or perhaps he was trying to imitate The Poet-Sage Kang Tingxia?

  “You... You make me think of someone.” She finished these words and rose from the chair, making no attempt to be close to Jin Tianwang anymore.

  “You think of your lover.”

  “I am a courtesan; how can I have a lover?” She lowered her head, a posture showing shame before Jin Tianwang.

  “Cruel murderers can still have lovers; why can you not?”

  “I do not have a lover. I only love him one-sidedly.”

  “One-sided love, in truth, is sometimes perhaps even more beautiful than fulfilled love.”

  “How can that be?” Qi Yiling spoke those words while shaking her head in denial.

  “Because if you only love one-sidedly, your days pass by creating an ideal love. Love that does not exist in the real world is naturally much more beautiful than love in reality.”

  At this point, I fear Jin Tianwang and the great poet Kang Tingxia probably did not differ much.

  “You are extremely similar to that person.” Qi Yiling compared Jin Tianwang to a man, not knowing if it was Kang Tingxia or not.

  “. . .” No words came from Jin Tianwang, but his eyes betrayed confusion and contemplation.

  In the morning, a beautiful woman suddenly went to meet a man at a tavern in the market. They sat down to eat for a moment before an argument broke out. The man used a dagger to stab through the beautiful woman’s body, killing her. Then he fled the city in haste.

  People crowded around to watch. Someone recognized that this beautiful woman was Three Smiles Brew Qi Yiling, lying submerged in a pool of blood under the table, her eyes still wide open. The scene became even more chaotic when people from The House of Ten Thousand Stars heard the news and confirmed it was indeed Three Smiles Brew Qi Yiling.

  A number of people immediately went out to search for the perpetrator. Some said it was the pleasure-seeking man who had just appeared in this river mouth city who killed Qi Yiling. However, some who witnessed the event said it was him, while others said it wasn't, because they believed that the good-humored hedonist held deep love for Qi Yiling. It was more likely that he was the one chasing the murderer into the forest behind the market.

  Finally, officials from the authorities came to collect Qi Yiling’s corpse, and no one saw that good-humored pleasure-seeker again.

  However, Qi Yiling had already died once in front of many people in the market at that small river mouth city. Why did she come to die again at Chang'an City? Or was it merely a coincidence that the two women shared the same name and surname?

  Jin Tianwang did not think so, because at that small river mouth city, he was the one who had plunged the dagger into Qi Yiling’s body until she was submerged in a pool of blood. He had then run to the forest in the back to change clothes, returning in the guise of a corpse collector along with another close friend who played the role of a city official, managing to clean up the scene and take the soulless body of Three Smiles Brew Qi Yiling away.

  Half an hour later, the beautiful woman named Qi Yiling of that small river mouth city was no more. One month later, a woman named Qi Yiling appeared to apply as a chef at this very Warlord’s Tavern.