I quickly pushed the woman away. Because I used a bit too much force, her delicate high heels couldn't keep her steady, and she toppled straight to the ground.

I didn't bother apologizing to her. I rushed to check under the umbrella, but the boy was already gone.

I glared at the woman angrily, but she gracefully extended a hand adorned with jasmine flowers, waiting for me to help her up. Her other hand was caressing the Buddha amulet around her neck.

"These old alleys aren't clean. Although it's inconvenient to offend the gods while doing business, you still have to bring something with you. Otherwise, you work hard all night, and the next day you find a handful of hell money. That wouldn't be fun."

The woman's eyes were alluring, and she swayed her waist like a snake. Seeing that I still wasn't helping her up, she twisted her wrist gracefully, tucking the jasmine behind her hand, and actually reached out to grab my arm.

I coldly shook her off. "Do you know what you just did?"

"Of course, I saw that you were being followed by a little ghost. I was afraid it would suck away your yang energy, so I kindly helped you chase it away." The woman leaned closer and blew a breath at me.

"You can see ghosts?" I asked, surprised.

Seeing my eagerness, the woman was no longer in a hurry. She slowly lit a cigarette, took a puff with her bright red lips, and watched the smoke rings slowly dissipate in the dim alley before saying, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I really don't have the ability to see ghosts. I just smelled the stench of dead fish on you. That child isn't the first to bring Daoists into this alley. Every time, he's carrying two stinky, rotten fish, but for some reason, people are willing to follow him into this broken alley.

"Little Daoist, listen to me, don't waste your kindness and effort. The result will disappoint you."

"You know the child's background?" Although I knew asking would let the woman lead me by the nose, I still asked directly.

The woman blew a smoke ring right at me. "Of course, I know. His mother is Qingwen from our Red Chamber. She's a very unfortunate girl, with a heart higher than the sky and a life thinner than paper. But compared to that child, his mother is living quite comfortably."

"Can you tell me what you know?" I looked at the woman very sincerely, completely ignoring her commercialized charm.

When it comes to charm, she's really not in the same league as Eighth Sister. I suddenly felt that I should thank Eighth Sister. Thanks to Eighth Sister's training, I was very resistant to women.

"Then it depends on whether you're willing to come sit with me. We can sit down and chat slowly. I'll tell you everything I know. Anyway, there aren't any customers today. It wouldn't be bad to have a handsome young man keep me company." The woman directly put the jasmine flowers in my hand.

I didn't refuse. I even reached out and helped the woman up from the ground, following her to the so-called Red Chamber.

The Red Chamber didn't have a courtyard. It was just an old residential building without a sign. Only a cloth banner fluttered gently in the night wind, occasionally guiding half-drunk men into the old building.

The night was hazy, and the windows upstairs, glowing with faint purple light, seemed to float in the air, giving a strong sense of unreality. Everything seemed to be swept into chaos.

Did the people who came here really know what they were doing?

When I passed the front desk, I paid the overnight fee normally, so when I entered the room, my serious posture, waiting to hear the story, made the woman laugh.

"Sir, don't you really want something to happen? We don't give refunds here, even if you don't do anything."

"Just tell me your story, and I'll leave after I hear it." I waved my hand, indicating that the woman didn't need to try to develop additional consumption from me. I really only came with her for news about the boy.

Maybe I was too serious. The woman suddenly smiled a little sadly, but it was only for a moment. The smile quickly returned to her face.

The woman sat at the table, poured two cups of tea, and began to tell the story of the boy's mother.

The boy's mother's original name was already forgotten. All that was known was that she hadn't been in the Red Chamber long before she was nicknamed Qingwen because she was beautiful, sharp-tongued, and ambitious. The boy's mother wasn't offended by the name. Anyway, no one used their real name in this kind of place, so later she simply went by Qingwen.

Qingwen had an unfortunate childhood. Her mother died early, and her stepmother, considering her a burden, threw her to her grandmother, who barely raised her until she was sixteen, when she was kicked out to work.

Qingwen couldn't stand the dirty air in the factory, nor could she stand the damage that high-intensity labor did to her beauty. She took half a month's wages and went to the city alone. After being swindled out of her money and seduced a few times, she finally succeeded in finding a job as a nanny in a wealthy area.

Qingwen wasn't a peaceful woman. Two years of struggle in the big city had given her insight into the hearts of the rich. In just two months, she began flirting with the son of the employer. When there was no one else at home, the young master would even pour tea for her and clean up.

According to Qingwen herself, the two were truly in love. Although the employer's son was born into a wealthy family, no one understood him. He had lived a very depressing life for the past eighteen years, until he met Qingwen. It was as if a light had appeared in his life, allowing him to see hope again.

Qingwen said that she and the young master were completely innocent. At most, they just held hands, but the employer couldn't tolerate her and kicked her out, not even letting her take the jewelry that the young master had given her.

Qingwen regretted not having done something more with the young master. On the third day after being kicked out, she secretly called the young master with a new number, took his virginity, and became his first woman. The young master felt sorry for her and wanted to give her some money, but she refused.

This was the woman's mindset. Qingwen had lived enough poor and bitter days since she was a child and didn't want to go back to that kind of life. She wanted a future with the young master. She wanted to join the ranks of the rich. If she took the young master's money, then her relationship with the young master would be over. The young master would eventually forget her and return to his normal life.

She wanted to make the young master owe her, to make the young master feel that she had given everything a woman could give, but the young master hadn't given her anything. This way, the young master would never forget her, and she might have a future with him.

Unfortunately, things didn't develop as she had hoped. She did indeed get a hold of the young master, but she underestimated the young master's family. The day after Qingwen met the young master, his family arranged for him to go abroad, along with a suitable girl, and all his contact information was changed.

Qingwen didn't get any money or a man. After living a life of luxury for two months by the young master's side, she couldn't go back to her old ways. After loafing around for half a month, she was sold into the Red Chamber by loan sharks.

Qingwen became pregnant in her second month in the Red Chamber.