Amnesiac General and Infatuated Brothel Keeper 1

Volume 2: Fragrance of National Beauty

Su Jinzhi lost consciousness amidst the unceasing, severe pain in his chest, only to wake up to another kind of unspeakable agony.

He felt as if his lungs were burning, hurting so much they were about to explode. He wore no shoes on his feet, stepping directly on the uneven ground littered with gravel and dead branches. His right hand was tightly gripped in someone's palm, being pulled along as they ran forward desperately.

The emotions from right before his death in the previous world were still affecting him. Coupled with his physical pain, Su Jinzhi blinked, and tears immediately pattered down. He sniffled, only to see the person pulling him suddenly turn around, looking at him anxiously, "Jinzhi!"

Qin Yezhou?!

Su Jinzhi froze for a moment the instant he saw his face clearly. He subconsciously looked at the man's legs, and upon seeing him standing steadily on the ground, he quickly realized—he was now in another world. This person was absolutely not Qin Yezhou, but his new Salvation Target.

The younger-looking version of Qin Yezhou stopped in his tracks and supported Su Jinzhi. "Jinzhi, can you still run?"

However, let alone speaking, Su Jinzhi felt that even catching his breath was a major issue right now.

"Jinzhi, you go first. I'll lure them away." The younger-looking version of Qin Yezhou obviously noticed his discomfort as well, pausing for a moment before saying this.

No. 1 was also reminding him, "The people behind are catching up."

Su Jinzhi gasped for air in large mouthfuls and replied to No. 1 in his mind, 'But I fucking can't run anymore. What the hell is going on?'

No. 1 said concisely, "You are being chased."

"I'm not blind!"

"You don't have to run." No. 1 gave him a spoiler. "Those people won't kill you, but that might not be the case for Jiang Lishan."

Su Jinzhi asked, "Jiang Lishan?"

No. 1 told him, "He is your Salvation Target for this world."

Su Jinzhi was panting. He didn't have time to sort through the relevant information about this world that No. 1 had sent him, but he figured that since those people wouldn't kill him, he should let Jiang Lishan run first.

"Jiang... Jiang Lishan..." Su Jinzhi panted heavily, raising a hand to grab the hem of the man's clothes. "They won't do anything to me, but if you take me with you, you'll definitely have no way of leaving here..."

"Jinzhi..." Jiang Lishan frowned deeply. His face, which looked seventy to eighty percent similar to Qin Yezhou's, was filled with sorrow, causing Su Jinzhi to become slightly dazed.

More chaotic footsteps and clamor came from behind. Su Jinzhi took a deep breath, shoved Jiang Lishan, and growled in a low voice, "Hurry and go!"

Jiang Lishan stumbled back a few steps, then stepped forward again, taking the blood jade tied around his neck and fastening it around Su Jinzhi's neck. "Jinzhi, wait for me. I will definitely bring people to save you."

After saying these words, he leaned down and kissed Su Jinzhi on the lips.

Su Jinzhi was stunned by his kiss. He smacked his lips but tasted a salty, bitter flavor—it was Jiang Lishan's tears.

"I'll wait for you..." Su Jinzhi murmured, gripping that piece of jade tightly.

Jiang Lishan looked at him, turning his head back with every three steps he took, before finally gritting his teeth and disappearing into the depths of the dense forest.

Su Jinzhi was leaning against a tree trunk to steady his breathing. Within a few minutes, the group of people relentlessly pursuing them arrived. Su Jinzhi had just raised his head when he saw a dark shadow flash before his eyes. With a sharp slap, someone struck him viciously across the face.

"Fuck, trying to run away!" That person wasn't satisfied with just one slap. He grabbed his hair, kicked him to the ground, and mercilessly stomped on his soft abdomen again and again.

Su Jinzhi let out a miserable scream, then curled his body up tightly. He felt as if all his internal organs were being churned and sliced by a blunt knife. The sweet, metallic taste of blood lingered in his throat, slowly seeping out from the corner of his lips. Compared to this, the slap from earlier was nothing at all.

"Enough! Stop hitting him!" Another person rushed over and stopped the man who had been beating Su Jinzhi.

"This bitch bit off Old Third's finger!"

"Even so, you can't hit his face! If you ruin his face, how are we supposed to sell him for money?! Tie him up and take him back first..."

Su Jinzhi laid paralyzed on the ground, his vision pitch-black. His forehead and palms were covered in cold sweat, and he spasmed in waves of pain. This body seemed very weak. Even though Su Jinzhi bit the tip of his tongue, wanting to keep himself somewhat awake, his consciousness still gradually faded, ultimately plunging into a deeper darkness.

When he woke up again, the moment he opened his eyes, he felt an uncontrollable itch in his throat. Next, a sweet, metallic taste gripped his windpipe and climbed up desperately. Su Jinzhi wanted to prop himself up on the bed, but he found his arms were so soft that they had no strength at all. He could only turn his head towards the pillow and cough up a mouthful of thick, red blood.

"Madam, he's throwing up blood again!"

Su Jinzhi was still in a daze and hadn't yet seen the world before his eyes clearly when he heard a commotion by his bed. The sound of hurried footsteps and faint screams mixed together, gradually approaching him.

A fragrant breeze gracefully approached. Su Jinzhi caught a glimpse of vermilion from the corner of his eye. The next moment, he felt a soft palm resting on his forehead, followed by a gentle and warm male voice saying, "Alright, alright, I see it. What are you screaming blindly for? The doctor said he'll be fine once he coughs up the congested blood in his chest."

Hearing this, that person quickly admitted his mistake, "Madam, I was wrong..."

"Sigh, how could he be beaten into this state? I haven't even made any money since buying him, yet I've spent so much silver treating his illness and letting him heal..." The man sighed deeply. Soon after, Su Jinzhi felt his face being lifted up, someone pinching his chin to examine him closely. "Fortunately, his face isn't injured. As for the whip wounds on his body—Ping'an, go to Shaoli Alley and invite Ci Chun over for me. While the wounds on his back haven't healed yet, let's try the Blood-carved Tattoo he mentioned last time."

Su Jinzhi tried hard to open his eyes but could only manage to weakly lift his eyelids, making out the vague silhouettes of the few people standing by his bed. The man pinching his chin had a gorgeous face, with a pink peach blossom tattoo at the corner of his eye. Meeting his gaze, the man broke into a smile again. "You're awake?"

Su Jinzhi's mind was still a mushy mess. He blinked twice before his head sank and he fainted once more.

By the time he opened his eyes again, more than half a month had already passed. The room he was sleeping in was completely silent, without a single person around. Su Jinzhi opened his eyes wide, staring at the tassels hanging from the exquisitely embroidered and magnificent bed canopy before him. After a long while, he called out softly, "No. 1?"

No. 1 quickly gave him a response: "Good morning, Host."

Su Jinzhi: "..."

Good morning his ass. He wasn't good at all; he was in so much pain he was dying, fuck.

Su Jinzhi cursed loudly, "What the hell is going on?" How was it that he was being hunted down the moment he arrived in this world?

No. 1 continued to be concise: "You were sold."

Su Jinzhi: "???"

Hearing No. 1 say this, Su Jinzhi hurriedly closed his eyes and sorted through the memories No. 1 had transmitted to him at the very beginning, organizing his identity in this world as well as the tasks he needed to accomplish.

This world had an ancient setting and was divided into five kingdoms. The Zhuhua Kingdom he had now been sold to was the weakest of them all, surviving by clinging to the larger kingdoms. And the owner of this body he was in, was the brothel madam of Huaqi Pavilion, the largest male brothel in the prosperous capital of the Zhuhua Kingdom—the number one beauty of the Zhuhua Kingdom, Hua Wuyan.

Among the five kingdoms, anyone who had seen Hua Wuyan, regardless of whether they were male or female, would be utterly captivated by him. They all praised him as a heavenly being, possessing divine beauty and a gorgeousness that overshadowed the entire world. Just seeing him once in this lifetime meant one could die without regrets. And if one could become his honored guest and book him for a night, it would be the most fortunate and beautiful thing in the world.

Su Jinzhi threw off the embroidered brocade quilt covering his body and got out of bed. His feet landed on an extremely soft and warm carpet. The room he slept in was decorated with utmost luxury and exquisiteness: glazed curtains made of five-colored jade beads, and a soft bed layered with fine silk and brocade. And he was the flower of the Zhuhua Kingdom, carefully set off by this pile of wealth and treasures.

Hua Wuyan. Su Jinzhi murmured this name carefully between his lips and teeth, thinking to himself, 'This name is truly too unsuited to reality.'

The original body was named Jun Changle. He was a member of the Jun Family of the Chongluo Kingdom, the most powerful among the five kingdoms.

His courtesy name was also Jinzhi. Originally, he was not a person of this red-light district. He possessed an incredibly prominent background, his flesh and bones flowing with and covered by the meticulous cultivation of a noble aristocratic family. Yet, he had fallen in love with someone he shouldn't have loved—the son of a condemned official and descendant of the Jiang Clan, Jiang Lishan.

Jiang Lishan was three years older than him. The two grew up together and were incredibly close. When Jun Changle was fourteen, the two privately pledged their lives to each other.

That year was filled with the most passionate and sweetest love, but it was also the most unbearably painful.

The Jiang Clan angered the monarch, and their entire family was executed.

But Jun Changle loved Jiang Lishan too deeply to bear seeing him suffer. Thus, he kept it a secret from his family, snuck out of the Jun Family, and bribed the prison guards to rescue Jiang Lishan. However, during the journey to help Jiang Lishan escape, the jewelry and traveling expenses he carried for Jiang Lishan attracted bandits who came to rob them, resulting in both of them being abducted to the bandits' lair.

They took advantage of the night to escape together, but were discovered by the bandits' night watchman. To cover for Jiang Lishan so he could leave successfully, Jun Changle ran out of their hiding spot, only hoping that Jiang Lishan would bring people back to save him after leaving.

But Jiang Lishan accidentally fell off a cliff on his way down the mountain and injured his head. When he woke up, he had lost his memories.

He was picked up by the people of the reclusive Ghost Cloud Valley. After learning exceptional martial arts, he left the mountain and joined the army. He established illustrious military exploits and became the Great General of the Chongluo Kingdom, Feng Jiuli, forgetting the Jun Changle who was still waiting for him to save him.

And the Jun Changle who failed to wait for his return was eventually sold by the bandits to a male brothel in the Zhuhua Kingdom. He went from a high and mighty noble young master of an aristocratic family to a wretched prostitute living an ignoble existence beneath his patrons. Over ten years, Jun Changle struggled through this life of prostitution, accumulating a body full of illnesses and pain, but still unable to wait for the person he had always been waiting for.

That love, which had originally been etched into his very bones, thus brewed into a pain where love and hate were difficult to separate. In the end, because he was suffering from a severe illness and had lost the will to live, Jun Changle passed away filled with resentment.

But the current timeline was wrong. He was clearly still alive.

Thinking up to here, Su Jinzhi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. A sense of foreboding flashed through his mind, "No. 1, bring up the data panel for me to see."