A geisha.
This was a profession dedicated to pleasing guests through conversation and art, without selling one's body.
Of course, reaching this level was not something an ordinary person could achieve.
Often, out of thousands or even tens of thousands of people, not a single one could be selected for the role.
It required the highest level of literary cultivation and mastery of etiquette.
If one's looks, figure, or age were anything less than perfect, they simply could not survive in the trade.
They were by no means ordinary streetwalkers.
At least, in Luo Li's memory, Brilliant City had no such talented individuals.
To navigate between countless top-tier nobles while remaining untainted was a feat only possible for those standing at the pinnacle of their era.
However, given the predatory nature of nobles, such a business could not last forever.
The reason they had not made a move yet was likely because they were still enjoying the thrill of the 'ambiguous' chase.
The things the wealthy liked to play with were truly different from those of ordinary people.
But human patience was limited.
Over time, those greedy nobles would eventually tear off their mask of civilization and reveal their beastly nature.
Of course, if she had methods like those of Empress Wu Zetian, perhaps she could maintain the status quo indefinitely.
"Izzy, do not ask too much about this for now. You will find out later. This lady's identity is extraordinary. No matter what, you must protect her well."
Izzy was still filled with confusion.
Though he was clever enough, he could not understand what kind of riddles and games these two were playing.
Seeing the confusion on Izzy's face, Luo Li chuckled to herself.
He was smart and sharp, but without sufficient information, no matter how clever he was, he would never guess who she was.
With that, Aiya glanced at Luo Li and then turned back to Izzy.
"Izzy, go outside for a moment. I have something I want to discuss with Miss Li Luo."
"You two did not even know each other before this, did you?"
Izzy blinked in surprise.
But before he could say more, Aiya pushed him out of the room.
"Wait outside! We are going to have some girl talk."
"Hey—"
With a bang, the door slammed shut.
Izzy stood dazed in the dark corridor, his eyes wide with bewilderment.
He wanted to turn back, but at the thought of Aiya's words, his feet stayed planted.
Standing at the door, he scratched his head and muttered helplessly under his breath.
"Are all women like this?"
Inside the room, Luo Li stood in her original spot, watching as Aiya pushed Izzy out.
The moment the door closed, Aiya paused for a heartbeat, then suddenly turned back to look at Luo Li.
"Though I have already guessed, I would still like to ask you to show me some proof."
It seemed the reason Aiya had been a geisha for three years without falling into the abyss was because she was this cautious in everything she did.
"Very well."
Luo Li nodded and reached into the air. The Moon Banner was drawn from her storage space.
"This is the Moon Banner. Seeing this, you should know."
Aiya stepped forward, studying it carefully for a moment, then took half a step back and bowed low.
"Aiya, a woman of the demimonde, greets Her Highness the Saintess."
As she prepared to kneel, Luo Li quickly stopped her.
"This is a dangerous place. There is no need to kneel."
Aiya shook her head and insisted on kneeling on the floor.
Then, reaching into her ample cleavage, she pulled out the ledger.
From Luo Li's angle, she could clearly see the pale, bountiful curves.
Hmm... they were about the same size as hers, but this woman's figure was clearly more slender and elongated.
She was also more than half a head taller than Luo Li.
In comparison, Luo Li suddenly felt a pang of self-consciousness.
I am the Saintess. Mere height is... hmph!
"Your Highness, this ledger is filled with records of secret transactions between several families."
"Among them are the illegal slave trade and the sale of military weapons."
"There is also evidence of several families conspiring to frame others."
"Your Highness, please examine this!"
Looking at the ledger held high above Aiya's head, Luo Li's brow furrowed slightly. She did not take it immediately, but hesitated for a moment.
"Stand up first."
"Your Highness, this ledger contains nothing but evidence of crimes. Are you going to turn a blind eye to it?"
Aiya looked up sharply, her beautiful eyes filled with grievance and indignation.
"These families have colluded to exploit commoners, seize property by force, and illegally trade slaves and military supplies. These are ironclad proofs of their guilt. Do you... intend to protect them as well?"
Luo Li shook her head.
"I said I would not let a single one of them go. Since I have said it, I will not go back on my word."
"Then why..."
"Get up first. I have something to ask you."
Luo Li turned and glanced behind her, finding a chair at random and pointing to the one opposite it.
She signaled for Aiya to sit and talk.
Aiya pursed her lips and walked over to the chair across from Luo Li.
She nodded to Luo Li first before taking a seat.
Looking at the ledger sitting on the table, Luo Li knew that as long as she held this, cleaning up Moonrise City would be as easy as turning over her hand.
"This evidence is good stuff. With it, I could wipe out more than half of the families in Moonrise City in one go."
"If that is the case, then why did you..."
"Let me finish."
Luo Li raised a hand to stop Aiya, falling into thought for a moment.
"These nobles have deep roots. They have stood in the Kingdom of the Moon for a thousand years. They know the wisdom of having multiple bolt holes."
"Even if this evidence is brought to light, the branches and main houses in other locations will completely deny it."
"Cutting off the tail to save the life, or sacrificing the pawns to save the king—this is one of the ways large families survive."
"Even with this, I cannot guarantee that I can completely eradicate certain families."
She paused, her gaze lifting to meet Aiya's.
"Aiya, I am glad you did this. But I still want to know: what is your relationship with Izzy? And what is the relationship between you two... and the Borgia family?"
After a long silence, Aiya let out a bitter laugh.
"It seems you have already guessed something."
"I have only guessed a little. For the rest, I need to hear it from you."
She sighed and began to recount an event from five years ago.
"Five years ago..."
...
The door creaked open, and Izzy, who had been squatting by the door half-asleep, jolted awake.
He turned to see the two young women walking out of the room.
Aiya's face still held a trace of redness, and her eyes were downcast and rimmed with tears.
"What on earth did you two do?"
Izzy looked at them, completely bewildered.
"Aiya, what happened to you? Why are you crying? Did Miss Li Luo bully you?"
"No, it is just... hah, it is nothing."
Aiya wiped the corners of her eyes. Though she had stopped crying long ago, the redness in her eyes would not fade quickly.
Seeing this, Izzy's expression gradually turned ferocious. He whipped his head around to glare at Luo Li.
"Miss Li Luo, Aiya may have her faults, but if she has done something wrong, please tell me directly! There was no need for this!"
"Izzy, you misunderstand. It has nothing to do with Miss Li Luo. It was my own—"
"Aiya, you do not need to say anything."
Izzy stepped between Aiya and Luo Li, shielding Aiya behind him.
"Miss Li Luo, it seems our deal ends here."
Luo Li was not in the least bit worried. She simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Aiya, you should explain the rest to him. In the state he is in now, he probably will not listen to anything I say."
No matter how smart a man was, when it involved the woman he loved, a flash of rage would strip him of his reason.
Those who could remain rational while their loved ones were being bullied usually did not love deeply enough, or perhaps they lacked that spark of affection entirely.
It was better to let Aiya talk to him.
Aiya nodded and grabbed Izzy's collar, whispering a single sentence into his ear.
Izzy's ferocious face froze halfway through hearing it, and his eyes widened.
"You mean her?"
He subconsciously pointed a finger at Luo Li, asking in utter shock, "Her? She can barely save her own skin right now. How can she help us?"
Aiya explained helplessly, "She can. As long as you can protect her for these few days, I am certain she will have a way."
Izzy's brow furrowed tightly. He looked at the earnestness in Aiya's eyes and fell silent for a long while.
"Fine. Since even you have said so, then I... can only choose to believe."
As he spoke, Izzy turned to study Luo Li again, his gaze still filled with suspicion.
Luo Li looked outside.
The sky was still filled with a drizzling rain.
According to the state of magical element turbulence—the weather forecast of this era—this typhoon was expected to hit within the next few days.
Given the flight speed of the Dragon Knight Corps, they could reach over a hundred and twenty kilometers per hour even against the wind.
The straight-line distance between Brilliant City and Moonrise City was about seven hundred kilometers.
However, because the northern part of Moonrise City was a branch of the Holy Mountains, they had to take a detour.
In other words, the journey was at least eight hundred kilometers.
But the Dragon Knight Corps was an aerial unit and could ignore terrain.
If they were fast enough, they should arrive in about six or seven hours.
Checking her pocket watch, the time was 1:30 AM.
This meant that by 8:00 AM this morning, the Dragon Knight Corps would arrive in Moonrise City.
At this thought, Luo Li felt a wave of relief.
As long as the Dragon Knight Corps was present, there was almost no one in the Kingdom of the Moon who could threaten her safety.
"Seven more hours."
"Seven hours?"
Izzy stepped forward, looking Luo Li in the eye.
"Miss Li Luo, I will not ask what you said to Aiya for now. But regarding these seven hours... are you saying someone is coming to meet you?"
"Yes."
Izzy lowered his head in thought.
"Seven hours is not that long. Aiya, can Miss Li Luo hide here with you for now?"
Aiya did not refuse. In fact, she nodded in agreement.
"No problem. No one would dare to search my place lightly..."
Just as she finished speaking, a commotion erupted outside once more.
This time, the noise did not just come from the front entrance.
Similar sounds appeared in the back alley and the streets to the left and right.
Immediately after, the sound of high heels clattering against the wooden stairs came from below.
"You two, get inside quickly."
Aiya pushed the two of them back into the room.
Then, she turned to face the top of the stairs.
As a pale face appeared at the stairwell, Aiya cursed inwardly, 'This is bad!'
The pale face belonged to the owner of this brothel, the 'Madam' of the girls.
This Madam had seen much of the world and rarely showed panic.
But right now, her face, thick with makeup, was written with terror.
"It is bad, it is bad! Aiya, things have turned bad!"
"Madam, do not panic. Tell me exactly what happened."
Aiya stepped forward to block the Madam's path.
Otherwise, the moment she entered the room, the two people inside would be exposed.
How many people who frequented such dens of vice could be considered loyal or honorable?
If the Madam knew Aiya was hiding two people, she would undoubtedly sell them out in an instant.
Even if Aiya was the star of the brothel and the Madam's cash cow, when it came to saving her own life, the Madam would never hesitate to make a trade.
"The young master of the Borgia family is here! And this time, he did not just bring a hundred men. The streets outside are crawling with soldiers! Oh, what have I done to deserve this? How can I keep doing business like this?"
With that, the Madam began to wail.
Aiya's brow furrowed as she glanced downstairs.
The previous search had only lasted fifteen minutes. For them to make a comeback in such a short time meant they must have obtained specific leads.
The first time they accurately found the Saintess's hiding place could be called a coincidence.
But to be this precise a second time? That was no coincidence!
"Madam, do not worry. Wait a moment. Who exactly is it?"
"It is the young master of the Borgia family! Master Casma!"
"Him!?"
Aiya's expression turned grave.
The Borgia family's properties in this part of Moonrise City belonged to an elder's branch of the family.
And this Casma was the grandson of the First Elder of the Borgia family.
In Moonrise City, he was a man of considerable standing.
He was also heavily involved in the Borgia family's secret transactions.
Aiya had dealt with Casma before and knew exactly how difficult he was to handle.
Biting her lower lip, she looked at the Madam and gave an instruction.
"Madam, you go down first and stabilize the situation. I will touch up my makeup and come down shortly."
"Aiya! Why are you touching up your makeup at a time like this? Did you not just do it? The fire is at our doorstep!"
Aiya gave the Madam a confident smile.
"Of course. When facing a noble young master like him, it would be far too rude to lose one's composure, would it not?"
"Besides, can General Bill even be compared to Master Casma?"
"That... that is true."
Though the Madam was still a bit confused, she nodded and looked at Aiya.
"Then you must hurry. If you are too slow, I fear he..."
"I know, Madam. Go on. I will be there as soon as I am ready."
"Then I am going first!"
As she spoke, the Madam headed back down the stairs, looking back every few steps.
The pleading look in her eyes made it clear she was counting on Aiya to save the day.
Aiya watched the Madam descend. The moment she disappeared, Aiya's expression changed instantly!
She turned and rushed back into the room.
"Izzy, take her and leave now! Casma already suspects me!"
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