A Record of Pleasure

She couldn't understand what was so funny about the name "Greedy Pleasure." It was a bit vulgar, but it was honest enough.

At least it's better than names like Ahua and Amei, right?

She didn't ask for much; all she wanted was food and a place to live. Her parents' favoritism was nothing to worry about.

Anyway, she's never been a good girl, so it's normal that she's not well-liked.

She never expected that she would have such a good talent for martial arts; she could remember it after just a glance and learn it after just a few practice sessions.

There's nothing anyone can do if they're jealous of her.

She felt that having enough money was enough; she could occasionally indulge in a lavish meal, but she didn't need to be incredibly wealthy. Sometimes, having too much money could be a problem.

But why do so many people covet the treasure map?

"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime." Everyone in the world falsely claims to be exceptionally wise. In her eyes, they are all fools!

Ah, humans, they really are the strangest animals in the world!

Chapter One: Wu Tanhuan, the Concubine's Daughter

The Wu family of Jiangnan is considered a prestigious family in the martial arts world. Although they haven't produced any grandmasters or martial arts leaders, their swordsmanship is still quite formidable. Back in the family's early days, the Wu family produced several top-tier martial arts masters. However, that was hundreds of years ago. Now, the Wu family's population has dwindled, but their status in the martial arts world remains considerable, and people still speak of the Wu family of Jiangnan with a degree of respect.

The current head of the Wu family was Wu Canyang, a young and promising man of elegant bearing, and a highly skilled martial artist. His wife was Du Shuizhen, and the two were deeply in love. In a society where polygamy was common, Wu Canyang only married one wife and resolutely refused to take concubines. He and Du Shuizhen had a son and a daughter. Their son, Wu Qingfeng, was seven years old, and their daughter, Wu Qingqiu, was five. The family of four lived a happy and fulfilling life.

When Tan Huan first arrived at the Wu family, she was not even five years old. Her dark eyes stared unblinkingly at the two people in front of her. The man's face was very ugly, and the woman's expression was sad, and, well, it also carried a bit of hatred.

Tan Huan unconsciously took a step back. As a child, she didn't understand much, but she was very good at discerning the emotions in the eyes of the adults around her, especially liking and disliking.

For a helpless orphan girl, Tan Huan's greatest skill was reading people's expressions; it was her survival skill.

"I..." Wu Canyang's voice was somewhat agitated. He looked at his wife helplessly, "I really don't know..."

Du Shuizhen pointed her finger at Tan Huan, staring hatefully at her husband. "This child looks about the same age as Qingqiu. You, you actually..." Tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. "You bastard!"

Wu Canyang immediately stepped forward to embrace his wife, but she easily broke free. "Yes, yes, yes, I'm a bastard. I was out having dinner with some friends from the martial arts world and I got drunk, wasn't I?"

Don't blame your mistakes on being drunk!

"Yes, yes... Oh, I'm sorry..."

Watching the two entangled before her silently, Tan Huan didn't utter a word. She only knew one thing: these two didn't welcome her, and this place didn't welcome her. Tan Huan looked down at her tattered clothes and disheveled hair, but where else could she go?

“Little girl,” Du Shuizhen suppressed her disgust and kept telling herself that the child was innocent, but to little avail, “Is your mother dead?”

Tan Huan nodded. Everyone around her said her mother had died.

Du Shuizhen sighed deeply. She couldn't just leave her husband's child outside. She asked softly, "What's your name?"

Tan Huan shook her head; no one had ever given her a name.

Du Shuizhen frowned and said, "Can't you speak properly?"

"Yes," Tan Huan replied softly, her gaze cautious.

Du Shuizhen turned to look at Wu Canyang, her voice stiff, "Give her a name!"

Wu Canyang looked helplessly at his wife, then slowly shifted his gaze to the little girl. This little girl was the result of his momentary pleasure. That year, Du Shuizhen was pregnant, and he went out drinking with some friends from the martial arts world. In his drunken stupor, he somehow ended up having a one-night stand with a dancer. He kept it all to himself, returning home filled with guilt, intending never to mention it again. In fact, he had almost forgotten about it, but unexpectedly, the dancer died suddenly, and someone brought this little girl to him.

His figure was reflected in Tan Huan's dark eyes, and she stared intently at him. She stood motionless, a little timid and a little uneasy, but she still held her head high. They hated her, but she had nowhere else to go. She spoke softly, "Father."

Wu Canyang's face turned green, and he squinted at her.

Du Shuizhen's expression also stiffened.

“I’m not sure if you’re my daughter yet,” Wu Canyang said bluntly. “We need to do a blood test first. If the result is correct, then I’ll acknowledge you as my daughter.”

Tan Huan was young then and couldn't understand what he meant. Then, a sharp pain shot through her finger, and fear finally appeared on her blank face. She reflexively pulled her hand away, thinking she was about to suffer some kind of persecution.

One drop of bright red blood, then another.

Two drops of blood slowly gathered and merged in the bowl.

Du Shuizhen's tears also fell. She didn't want to acknowledge this child, but the teachings she had received since childhood made her understand that she couldn't let the Wu family's bloodline be scattered outside. The child is innocent, the child is innocent... she told herself again and again. When she opened her eyes, she saw the little girl's dirty face, but the dirt couldn't hide the girl's delicate features. She could imagine that the woman who gave birth to her must have been a beauty.

Seeing this child would involuntarily conjure up images of her husband and other women making love in bed, causing her unbearable chest pain.

Wu Canyang pulled his wife into his arms, sighed deeply, and looked at his daughter with complicated eyes, "Don't you have a name?"

I think I asked that question just now. Tan Huan's memory was exceptionally sharp, but she still obediently nodded, her big, dark eyes looking at Wu Canyang, seemingly understanding but not quite, and asked, "Can I call you 'Dad' now?"

Wu Canyang sighed again, gazing into the distance out the window. He held his sobbing wife even tighter. “It’s all my fault, all my fault. I was just indulging in pleasure for a moment…” He looked away and carefully examined the dirty little girl in front of him. “From now on, your name will be Tanhuan, Wu Tanhuan.”

Tan Huan vaguely knew that she could stay in this house. After hesitating for a moment and holding back, she tentatively asked, "Dad, I'm hungry. Can I eat?"

From that day on, Tan Huan lived in the Wu family, nominally as the second young lady. However, her life was far from that of a young lady. The master of the Wu family did not love her, and the servants did not respect her. Fortunately, no one abused her, and Tan Huan was well-fed and warmly dressed, which she was quite content with. Every day she could sleep on a warm bed, covered with soft blankets, and the food she ate was much better than before.

It was late at night, and Tan Huan's small body lay alone on the empty bed. She looked up at the bed curtains, white and light, like a dream, as if it were the boudoir of a wealthy young lady. She chuckled, her eyes darting to her left. There was a mirror, a chair, and a table in the room. On the table were a teapot, teacups, and snacks. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

Her small, frail body trudged off the bed, wearing only a thin garment. A cold wind seeped in through the window, and she shivered slightly. She reached out and touched the mirror. Such beautiful wood carvings, such a clear and bright mirror surface—it was wonderful. It looked so expensive. She never imagined she could own something so fine. The child's fingers traced the mirror's surface, leaving faint marks, tiny fingerprints like the dampness of a snail's crawl.

Tan Huan, shivering from the cold, hugged her shoulders and ran around the room, reluctant to go to bed. She touched and fiddled with everything, jumped onto a chair, pressed her whole body against the table, brought her nose close to the pastries to sniff, stretched out her finger to touch them, pulled it back, and touched them again. She giggled, jumped off the chair, her lips almost purple from the cold, and then crawled back into the warm blankets.

"Why are they so nice to me?" Tan Huan's little face was confused. "They clearly don't like me..." She burrowed her head into the blanket. "If I could make them like me... wouldn't they be even nicer to me?" She drifted off to sleep.

Things that you think you can never have

……