The Overlord of Puluo

Zhou Yujuan, the owner of the Elysian Melody Dancehall, stood on the second-floor balcony in a dark purple cheongsam. She rested one arm on the railing and lightly fanned herself with a round fan in her other hand. Her gaze moved across the dance floor below and came to rest on Li Banfeng. After watching him for a while, her brows drew together in a faint frown.

On the dance floor, Li Banfeng had already danced six songs in a row and switched partners six times.

This guest doesn’t know the rules too well, Zhou Yujuan thought.

In a dancehall like this, dancing was never the real purpose. The real objective was to find a partner. After two or three songs, once a match was made, the pair would usually head upstairs or step outside to find a more private spot for what came next.

However, Li Banfeng was only dancing and not picking anyone, which was not a suitable behavior in such a place.

Zhou Yujuan beckoned one of the girls over and whispered, ”Tell that man it’s eighty yuan per dance. Have him pay first.”

A song lasted barely three minutes. Charging Li Banfeng eighty yuan was her way of telling him to leave and stop taking advantage of the girls.

The girl returned soon after, holding a thousand yuan in cash. ”Sister, that customer said he’s having a great time and wants to keep dancing.”

Zhou Yujuan’s frown deepened.

The Elysian Melody Dancehall was one of the finest establishments in Medicine King Gully, but its prices had never been that high. A thousand yuan was enough for a man to spend the entire night upstairs with two partners.

So what is this man trying to do, spending all that just to dance? Zhou Yujuan thought. Her years of experience told her he was here to cause trouble.

She gave another instruction. ”Tell Old Gu to change the record and play When Will You Return?”

Old Gu was the one operating the hand-cranked gramophone. When he heard his boss’s order, he immediately understood what she meant and quickly changed the record.

「 Good flowers bloom, but not for long,

Good times fade like an old love song.

Smiles dissolve in sorrow’s light,

Tears stain her ribbon of longing tonight. ♪」

Every night, the Elysian Melody Dancehall ended with the song When Will You Come Again?[1] It was the closing song, and everyone knew what it meant. As soon as the melody began, people hurried to find a partner, for once it ended, the dancehall lights would dim and the doors would close.

All the gentlemen in the hall had already chosen their partners. Li Banfeng’s partner held both his hands and pressed them to her heart as she asked softly and affectionately, ”Sir, shall we go upstairs?”

With a serious look, Li Banfeng asked, ”Why go upstairs? Isn’t it nice enough just dancing here?”

The girl looked at Li Banfeng anxiously. ”Sir, once this song ends, we’ll be closing.”

”What right do you have to close when I just paid?” Li Banfeng said indignantly.

The dancer whispered, ”If you take me upstairs, you won’t need to pay extra.”

”Who said he doesn’t have to pay!”

The voice came from the staircase. Zhou Yujuan, the owner of the Elysian Melody Dancehall, was walking down slowly. The girl’s whisper had been soft, yet Zhou Yujuan had heard every word.

What sharp ears she has. She must be a Spycraft Cultivator.

The music stopped abruptly. Zhou Yujuan approached Li Banfeng with a polite smile. ”Sir, we are closing. Please come again tomorrow.”

Li Banfeng said, ”I just gave you one thousand yuan, and you’re closing? Does that seem right to you?”

Zhou Yujuan, pretending to be surprised, said, ”Sir, you are dancing while holding our girls close. Do you really think you shouldn’t pay for this?”

Li Banfeng looked straight at her. ”I paid for dancing. Each dance cost eighty yuan, and I did seven dances. You are kicking me out when I have only spent half of my thousand?”

The other customers slowly drifted away from the center of the dance floor. Everyone knew that at the Elysian Melody Dancehall, dancing itself was free. The money was for the drinks and for spending the night with the girls.

They also knew that if the owner came out to demand payment for dancing, it meant someone was about to cause trouble.

Zhou Yujuan curled the corner of her mouth and said to Li Banfeng, ”Eighty yuan is for the dance, but for a full song, there’s an extra hundred in hands-on money.”

Li Banfeng frowned. ”Hands-on money? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Zhou Yujuan smiled faintly. ”It’s still in your hands.”

Li Banfeng froze. His hands were gripping the girl’s bosom. It wasn’t that he wanted to. She had grabbed his hands earlier and placed them there herself.

The girl was no longer warm and welcoming. Her face flushed with anger and embarrassment. She tore his hands away and snapped, ”Sir, what are you doing?”

She acted as if he had insulted her. Yet anyone watching could tell she had gone up to dance with him on purpose, especially for this final song.

Li Banfeng didn’t argue. He nodded earnestly. ”I’ll pay the one hundred yuan hands-on fee.”

Zhou Yujuan’s big eyes glittered as she looked at him pityingly. ”Other customers don’t have to pay because the girls are willing. If a girl is willing, you can touch wherever you like. But you’re different. If the girl finds you disgusting and refuses, even brushing a fingernail means you must pay.”

Li Banfeng was astonished. ”I put my hands on all seven girls?”

Zhou Yujuan nodded seriously. ”They are young women. If you touch their hands, that counts as a loss for them.”

Li Banfeng thought it was unreasonable. ”Is there any dancing that doesn’t involve touching hands? Do all the customers here pay?”

Zhou Yujuan’s big eyes glimmered with pity as she looked at him. ”Other customers don’t have to pay because the girls are willing. If a girl’s willing, you can touch wherever you like. However, you are different. They find you disgusting. If they aren’t willing, you will have to pay even if you only touched their fingernails!”

Li Banfeng was still planning to reason with Zhou Yujuan when he suddenly sensed danger approaching.

He lifted his head and looked toward the second-floor balcony.

A middle-aged bald man in a gray, front-buttoned cloth shirt stood behind the railing. He was at the height of around 1.6m and had a full beard. In his hands, he rolled a pair of walnuts over and over.

At this moment, he fixed his gaze on Li Banfeng. Many of the guests recognized him. Some took their partners and left for the night, while others left money for the drinks and hurried out without another word.

It was remarkable that such a skinny man could command so much fear.

Li Banfeng had never met him before, yet he recognized who he was. He could see that this bald man was not the only one standing on the balcony. There were more than a dozen others standing behind him.

To be exact, it was a total of fifteen. Li Banfeng had counted.

There were both men and women among the fifteen, each wearing different clothes, yet all were wreathed in flickering green flames.

They were the ghost servants of a Nightfiend Cultivator. This skinny man was none other than Du Hongxi, the Wind Watcher of the second branch of the Medicine King Hall in the Jiangxiang Gang.

When Du Hongxi appeared, the guests scattered one after another.

At this point, Zhou Yujuan’s smile was no longer as warm as before. ”Sir, it’s only a bit of money. I’m not going to be petty about it. Just leave another thousand yuan and go home.”

”Another thousand?”

Zhou Yujuan nodded. ”You think I’m asking too much?”

”Why another thousand? What kind of logic is that?” Li Banfeng wanted to hear what excuse she would come up with next.

Zhou Yujuan laughed. ”You want to reason with me? Do you think you’re worthy of that? Go take a piss and take a good look at yourself. See what kind of trash you are. I am in a decent mood right now, so hand over the money and get lost. Next time, keep your eyes open and don’t go poking around where you don’t belong.”

Li Banfeng glanced again at Du Hongxi. Two of the ghost servants behind him passed through the railing and slowly descended from the second floor.

Li Banfeng arched his brows. He opened his wallet, took out one thousand yuan in cash, and handed it to Zhou Yujuan.

Zhou Yujuan took the money and said with a gentle and loving expression, ”Get lost!”

Li Banfeng turned to leave, while Du Hongxi commanded his ghost servants to follow.

Li Banfeng strode quickly out of the hall. The two ghost servants passed through the wall into the corridor, but they found no trace of him, only the wide-open doors at the end of the hall.

He’s gone? So fast? the ghost servants thought. They searched for a while but found nothing. There wasn’t even a trace of a living human nearby.

It seemed that Li Banfeng had truly left. The ghost servants returned to Du Hongxi’s side, while Zhou Yujuan went back to the second-floor balcony.

Du Hongxi wrapped an arm around Zhou Yujuan’s waist and kissed her on the cheek. ”Next time you run into a punk like that, don’t bother arguing. Just tell me and I will teach him a lesson.”

Zhou Yujuan gave a coy pout. ”Master~ It’s such a minor thing. How could I let you get tired because of something this small?”

Du Hongxi laughed. ”My little sweetheart, even if I drop dead from exhaustion for you, I’ll die grinning.”

Zhou Yujuan smiled faintly and said, ”Master, those were your own words. So tonight, you can’t say you’re tired.”

The two headed into the third-floor bedroom, and the fifteen ghost servants spread out in three teams to watch over every corner.

With these ghost servants guarding him, not even a third-level martial cultivator could reach the third floor, much less harm Du Hongxi.

They needed no direct command from Du Hongxi and guarded him at all times. When it was time to fight, they would fight without fear. When there was no need for them to fight, they remained vigilant at all times. They were never afraid of threats, nor could they be lured by temptation. As long as their souls remained intact, they would never abandon their post.

However, tonight was different.

At three in the morning, a singing voice suddenly came from the gramophone in the first-floor hall.

「 I had a love story to tell,

But to whom could I confide?

My dearest left through the door one day,

And since then, no word, no reply~ ♪」[2]

The ghost servants craned their necks and looked toward the first floor.

Never had they heard a song so beautiful. They listened hard, but the gramophone was a bit too soft. In the end, two of the ghost servants couldn’t resist anymore. They passed through the railing, left the third floor, and floated down beside the gramophone.

The others hesitated for a moment before following. Soon, all of them were gathered around the gramophone, quietly listening to the song.

Li Banfeng slowly turned the gramophone’s handle, counting the ghost servants as they came. Soon, all fifteen had gathered around.

1. This song was first released by Zhou Xuan (周璇) in 1937, with music composed by Liu Xue’an (劉雪庵) and lyrics written by Huang Jiamo (黃嘉謨). It is a romantic farewell song sung from a woman’s perspective as she bids her lover goodbye, wondering when they will meet again. In 1978, Teresa Teng (邓丽君) revived the piece, transforming this old Shanghai-era tune into a timeless classic. Since the Puluo is set in the early 20th century, Zhou Xuan’s original version would be the more accurate one. You can listen to Zhou Xuan’s version on YouTube for reference, or check out Teresa Teng’s 1978 rendition to hear how the song evolved into its later, more modern form. ☜

2. The song 《我有一段情》 (I Once Had a Love) was released during the golden age of Shanghai popular music in the 1940s. Its lyricist, Chen Dieyi (陳蝶衣), a renowned songwriter of the time, published the piece under the pseudonym Xinyi (辛夷), while the composer Yao Min (姚敏) used the pseudonym Mei Weng (梅翁). The song was first performed by Wu Yingyin (吴莺音) in 1957. ☜