Chapter 101:
The Galaxy
VIRTUE APOTHECARY on the main avenue of Luoyang was about to close for the evening, with only a solitary doctor remaining in case of emergencies. After a thorough inspection of the sick man, Hongjun saw that his body was being eaten away by festering wounds, and that the vital energies in his meridians were nearly depleted.
“He’s beyond saving,” the doctor said. “Young men nowadays are too happy to waste away in brothels. He deserves to bear the consequences of his own actions—and you should hurry home before it gets dark.”
“What sickness is this?” Hongjun didn’t know of any illness that manifested with such symptoms.
“Don’t touch him.” He’d seen the way Hongjun had felt the sick man’s pulse and assumed this young man came from a family of doctors. “Touch people with open sores on their skin, and you’ll catch what they have as well,” he warned. “Your skin is smooth now; best be careful, or you’ll end up covered in pustules.”
Hongjun gave the doctor an appraising look. After another moment of consideration, he stepped into the apothecary and purchased some herbs, then returned and helped the man up.
“Let’s go. I’ll help you,” he said. He looked up at the doctor. “I’ll take him home and see if I can treat him.”
“Young man, it’s pointless!” The doctor would have continued to persuade him, but Hongjun had already turned away. The doctor huffed in dissatisfaction—but as this young man had a pretty face and didn’t seem to be disrespecting him on purpose, he sighed and let it go.
Halfway back, Hongjun had a thought: What if Li Jinglong finds him disgusting? This man had apparently contracted some venereal disease, but Hongjun didn’t think he deserved to die. Even so, Li Jinglong was sure to tell him off if he brought the man back. He pondered as he walked—what should he do? What if Li Jinglong refused to let him bring the man inside? He couldn’t just leave him on the street, could he? He could already see this turning into an argument.
“Thank you—thank you,” the man said as he stumbled forward. Bracing himself for a scolding, Hongjun led him to the abandoned Department of Exorcism headquarters. He’d already thought of a few ways to plead his case with Li Jinglong.
By the time they arrived, Li Jinglong was pacing outside the building, waiting for him to return. When he spotted Hongjun in the distance, he was shocked to find him with an arm around a strange man’s shoulders, holding him upright.
“What’s going on?!” He hurried over to help the man inside, exclaiming to Hongjun, “I was wondering why you were gone so long!”
Hongjun stammered out his prepared explanation, but Li Jinglong didn’t speak a word of complaint. “We should remove his clothes and take a look.”
“It’s dirty,” Hongjun warned. “You shouldn’t touch him.”
“You’re the one who shouldn’t touch him,” Li Jinglong said in exasperation. “Come on, let’s wipe him down.”
Hongjun was stunned; not only did Li Jinglong refrain from reprimanding him, he even started wiping the man’s skin clean himself. The man was covered in ulcers from head to toe; even the gentlest dab with a towel made him scream in pain.
“Almost all his skin is completely raw,” Li Jinglong said. “What happened? Normal diseases spread in brothels aren’t as brutal as this.”
Hongjun cast him a suspicious look. “You’ve seen those diseases?”
“Some of my less well-off brothers in the Longwu Guard liked to spend their nights with the dancers from foreign caravans. They contracted quite a few diseases afterward, so yes, I’ve seen them… Sir, what’s your name?”
“Wen… Wen Bin,” the man groaned. “It itches…”
“Stop scratching,” Hongjun said, pushing his hands away. He hurried off to make a medicinal paste to reduce the itching and ulceration.
After carefully removing Wen Bin’s pants, Li Jinglong called, “He’s fine down here. Doesn’t look like that’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?” Hongjun asked.
After another moment of thought, Li Jinglong pronounced, “It looks like he was poisoned.”
“I think so too,” Hongjun agreed. “Feel his pulse—it’s so weak. There are all these sores on his skin, but it doesn’t smell like rot. Instead, there’s an odd fragrance.”
Li Jinglong had learned the basics of treating bruises and internal injuries during his time in the Longwu Guard. While he wasn’t as knowledgeable as Hongjun when it came to medicine, he could broadly distinguish between diseases. He paused before asking Wen Bin, “What was her name?”
“I—I don’t remember. There were too many…”
They laid Wen Bin on the bed, stripped of all his clothing. He was a tall man—almost as tall as Li Jinglong—and even his raw, weeping skin couldn’t obscure the fact that he was exceptionally well-built, with broad shoulders and a sturdy waist. In fact, he might have been even more handsome than Li Jinglong, though he lacked the chief’s gallant aura. A man like this should have had no shortage of beautiful women eager to spend time with him—and if he lacked funds, some might be happy to make him their kept man.
“Speak clearly,” Li Jinglong said. “We’re trying to save your life here.”
Wen Bin itched terribly, an excruciating pain like ants crawling through the marrow of his bones. He groaned. “In the Galaxy—a week ago, I met Xiangyu…”
“Xiangyu—as in taro?” Hongjun asked in curiosity.
Spotting the medicine in Hongjun’s hands, Wen Bin begged, “As in fragrant jade… Give me the medicine… Please… Give it to me—”
His broken cries made the corners of Li Jinglong’s mouth twitch. Hongjun wore a blank expression—Wen Bin sounded exactly like he had when he’d pleaded with Li Jinglong in bed.
“I’ll head to the Galaxy for a look,” Li Jinglong said.
Hongjun started; there was no way he was letting Li Jinglong go to a brothel alone. He hastily smeared the paste over the ulcers on Wen Bin’s skin and ran after Li Jinglong, who turned to him with a smile. “Afraid I’ll be tempted? It’s not like I’m—”
“I’m so curious.” Hongjun hooked an arm around Li Jinglong’s shoulders and pulled him close, making a great show of his irrepressible interest as they walked out together.
Li Jinglong asked around for directions to the Galaxy; everyone told him to cross Tianjin Bridge and look for an opening in the cliff surrounded by people. These instructions baffled Hongjun. Soon after crossing the bridge, however, they spotted a large group of people waiting around a hole cut into a cliff face on the other side. It looked quite ordinary, with a plaque above it bearing the words The Galaxy.
Both stopped short at the sight. Was this place a brothel or a mausoleum? As Hongjun craned his neck for a better look, he caught the eye of several lecherous men milling outside.
“Oho, looks like I’ve found a sweet little piece already. What’s your name, darling? Let’s go out for some wine!”
Li Jinglong’s face darkened instantly. Worried he was about to beat someone up, Hongjun whispered, “The case—the case is our priority here.”
He didn’t spend any more time looking around before dragging Li Jinglong inside the pitch-dark tunnel. As their eyes adjusted, they heard music and unfettered laughter coming from further in. Li Jinglong realized with a shock: Luoyang’s brothels were all underground!
Rumor had it that the empress Wu Zhao had abhorred prostitution. She had ordered a thorough inspection of Luoyang to remove them during her reign, forcing many to relocate underground. The Galaxy was built into a section of the massive canal dug under the orders of Emperor Yang of Sui, the last ruler of the previous dynasty. Before the wide and well-ventilated underground canal could be made use of, however, Emperor Yang was hanged, and the project abandoned.
After they walked just a short way, their surroundings suddenly brightened.
“Wow,” Hongjun marveled. He squinted, almost blinded by the lights—just as every boy was during his first visit to this place.
The Galaxy was nothing like the seedy brothel they’d expected. Before them stretched an entire underground metropolis. Wooden buildings rose on either side of a long avenue, hung with red lanterns that glowed with mesmerizing golden light. No sun shone here; there was no day or night in this place, only the eternal brightness of the lanterns, casting a dreamlike glow over streets crowded with people drinking, flirting, and reclining on carpets to watch ladies dance. It resembled a marketplace—a vast and teeming marketplace, where flesh was sold along with lodging.
Indeed, shops lined the street as far as the eye could see. From the size of the bustling crowds, Li Jinglong estimated no less than ten thousand patrons had flocked to this underground haven. Quaint buildings resembling those of the Central Plains lined the left side, while the right was a forest of tents in a foreign style. Thick, sprawling carpets from the Western Regions were laid out before many of them, piled high with pillows. As they walked, they watched several local men push foreign women down onto these carpets and take them right then and there.
Hongjun had never seen anything so wanton; he felt dizzy at the sight. He was doubly relieved now that he hadn’t let Li Jinglong come alone. Li Jinglong had visited the Spring Oriole, but that was considered a refined and elegant establishment. When had he ever barged into a place like this, where people spent money like water and brazenly indulged their basest urges?
“Hello, young man!” A group of foreign women, catching sight of Hongjun, descended on them in a flurry of color. He shrank behind Li Jinglong, wary.
Li Jinglong’s expression shifted but he tried his best to act the part of a charming patron as he asked one of the ladies, “Is there a Miss Xiangyu here?”