Chapter 2444: Chapter 1637: Oiran Procession (The True Meaning of Life Is Eating and Sleeping)

Just like that, Duanmu Huai started working as a Guahui at the Takase House.

What is known as Guahui is essentially the bodyguard of the Courtesan House. Their work includes collecting debts, handling troublesome guests, and sometimes chatting with the courtesans.

Fortunately, for Duanmu Huai, these tasks were not difficult. Although some people initially underestimated him due to his small stature, after he dealt with a few troublemakers, the previously chaotic Takase House got back on track and resumed its operations.

By leveraging this position, Duanmu Huai not only gained information about the internal personnel of Takase House but also used it as a pretext to gather information while he collected debts. Thanks to this, Duanmu Huai indeed gathered quite a bit of intelligence.

However......

"Indeed, it’s tricky."

Sitting in his room, Duanmu Huai stared at the records before him, furrowing his brows.

In a place like the brothel, the level of chaos is no different from the lower layers of Hive City. Here, injuries, deaths, and disappearances, although not everyday occurrences, are often seen. If the Evil Spirit wants to hide here to prey on people, then it would indeed be hard to track.

But, it’s not completely without clues.

According to the intelligence Duanmu Huai collected, there is one very important point.

That is, after those renowned Oiran "graduate," no one knows where they go.

After all, Oiran, like idols, thrive on their youth. No matter how famous an Oiran is, as they age, the attraction to customers decreases. Of course, those like MEM, who possess extraordinary talent and can still pose as Jks at 25, are exceptions. Besides, modern makeup techniques aren’t comparable to those of this era.

Therefore, no matter how famous an Oiran is, once they age, they mostly start considering retirement. Generally speaking, these Oiran have a few options: either stay as a Supervisor to oversee other girls, essentially becoming a master over slaves.

Or, find a suitable man to marry, which is also a common path to "retirement" for many courtesans.

Another option is to pay the redemption fee and restart their lives elsewhere. Although their age might seem significant for a courtesan, it’s not too old for other occupations.

Idols don’t even want anyone over 20, and it’s not like turning 20 means you can only collect retirement pay — there’s no such good fortune.

Of course, there are also quite a few who are deceived. Duanmu Huai has often heard of courtesans who believed the sweet words of customers, quietly leaving with their belongings, only to be betrayed once they left the brothel — the person not only stole their possessions but also killed them — indeed, such stories are common in the brothel.

Some Oiran marry the owners of the Courtesan House, becoming the proprietress and passing down the Courtesan House through generations this way.

Yes, now in the brothel’s Courtesan Houses, they’re basically family businesses... the kind that have been around for a century.

And during the investigation, Duanmu Huai discovered that Oiran originating from Jiyuan Youguo seemed to mysteriously disappear.

Of course, the outside world claims they either secretly fled or were taken away by men. However, not everyone believes these claims.

The reason is simple.

Firstly, those who disappeared were the store’s top Oiran. If the Courtesan House often exploited the lower and middle classes, for the top Oiran, it usually ended amiably; there wasn’t a situation where the top Oiran had to secretly flee because the Courtesan House wouldn’t let them go.

After all, if such incidents spread, no other women would want to come to your establishment, and the business would falter. Although a brothel indeed deals in human trade, they are also competitors with each other, ensuring that courtesans choose the establishment best for them.

Secondly, certain aspects make no sense. There’s an instance where a customer told Duanmu Huai he had arranged to celebrate an Oiran’s exit to freedom the next day, and she gladly agreed. Yet, when he visited the store that night, he was told that the Oiran had already left.

This makes no sense. Considering they were quite close, and the Oiran was regaining her freedom in three days, it’s akin to someone escaping prison with only three days left to serve — it just doesn’t add up, does it?

And according to Duanmu Huai’s investigation, such incidents have occurred in nearly all Courtesan Houses within the brothel, but because of the sentiment "family disgrace should not be made public," these matters are kept tightly under wraps by the Courtesan Houses. Even if those below are somewhat aware, they just consider it a commonplace occurrence in the brothel.

This is actually easy to understand. For example, in a community, there may be a theft here, and another there, seemingly trivial amounts. But when you combine all these thefts, realizing there were hundreds of thefts in the community involving millions of currency — that’s a whole other issue.

Just like now, when Duanmu Huai compiles the information he has gathered, the situation reveals itself to be shocking.

From the memories of Yoshiwara’s brothel workers, a total of 65 Oiran have all "disappeared," without a single valid evidence proving their definitive departure from Yoshiwara’s brothel. Beyond that, including some whom customers deem potential future Oiran, the number surpasses three hundred.