"That Sect Master Zhou should be coming out of seclusion soon. With Boss's help, he will definitely succeed in forming his core!"
At the mention of Zhou Lili, Xiao Rong could not help but think of Zhou Shengqian, who was still in closed-door cultivation.
Seeing this, Yao Ranran continued naturally.
"Yes. If you are free, you should go and congratulate Sect Master Zhou. For the sake of Grandma Zhang's long and healthy life, Xiang Yin, take a few days to rest."
Tang Xiangyin thought of how Zhou Lili would be returning soon. She nodded with anticipation.
Xiao Rong and Tang Xiangyin left, while Yao Ranran also walked out of Longyin Village.
She was on her way to Huicui Tower in Shiyan City to keep her appointment.
-
Huicui Tower.
Yao Ranran gazed at the cultivators hurrying past and felt the bleak atmosphere in the air. No one dared linger on the streets. Every face carried the same wary vigilance.
On the second floor of Huicui Tower, courtesans leaned lazily over the railing, waving down to passersby.
But the rushing cultivators only turned their eyes toward Yao Ranran.
"Fairy, are you the new head courtesan of Huicui Tower?" one bold male cultivator stepped forward to ask.
Yao Ranran quickly waved her hands. "No, I am a guest!"
Saying this, she hurried inside.
"A guest? For such a beautiful Fairy to come here, is she here to bring them business, or to steal away the little business they still have?"
The man rubbed his chin in disbelief.
He refused to believe such an otherworldly guest existed. If she truly did, then he would sell himself into Huicui Tower immediately, just to serve this breathtaking customer.
What Yao Ranran did not notice was that, the moment she entered, more than ten cultivators rushing by outside all turned their heads in unison and followed her inside.
Like that first man, they all believed she must be the newest jewel of Huicui Tower.
Even in such troubled times, they could not suppress the lust rising in their hearts.
After all, such peerless beauty was nearly impossible to find. In nearly a thousand years since Huicui Tower had stood in Shiyan City, no woman of such overwhelming charm had ever appeared.
The thirteenth floor of Huicui Tower.
This was the top floor, one never open to ordinary customers.
A man in dark robes sat cross-legged, his brows sharply defined, his aura commanding.
Li Luoqi rested one hand behind his back, eyes scanning the stream of men flooding inside.
"Shameless woman. She does not even know how to disguise herself when she leaves the house, always luring bees and butterflies."
He gave a cold snort and closed his eyes again.
Led by the seasoned madam, Yao Ranran stepped onto the thirteenth floor.
Green pearl curtains hung down, and through them she could glimpse the perfect profile of a man.
The madam lifted the curtain, but Li Luo Qi did not move. Only his faintly mocking voice reached her ears.
"Yao Ranran, dragging so many tagalongs along your way here. Was it not exhausting?"
"Tagalongs? Where? There are such insects? Are they poisonous?"
Yao Ranran's eyes darted nervously around. She almost pulled out the Nine Lotus Ring.
Li Luo Qi's brow twitched. He could not help but glance at her.
Her posture was tense, hand gripping a brand-new sword as if ready to slash the air itself.
He pressed his brow with a sigh.
"Yao Ranran, you truly do not know?"
Seeing his calm expression, Yao Ranran frowned suddenly. "You were bluffing me? There are no such insects at all!"
Li Luoqi waved the madam away with his sleeve. "I was not bluffing you. Look down. Do you not understand why those men came?"
Yao Ranran gave him a look as if he were the fool.
"This is Huicui Tower. How can you not know? They did not come for the tea, did they?"
Li Luoqi fell silent. Somehow, he could never explain anything clearly to her.
"Demon Sovereign, where is the thing I asked for?" Yao Ranran cut straight to the point.
Thinking of those treasures that had been waiting for her, guilt pricked her heart.
Li Luoqi fixed his eyes on her.
Just as Yao Ranran began to wonder if something had happened to those items on the way, he finally spoke.
He raised his hand and pointed down. "Yao Ranran, those people did not come here for the women."
"…Then they came for you?" She suspected the Demon Sovereign was dragging out this conversation just so she would praise his charm.
Li Luoqi's fingers trembled slightly. Seeing the look of sudden realization on her face, he confirmed his suspicion.
After so long in the Eastern Wilderness, her mind had clearly gone awry.
Forget it. Not worth arguing.
"How did you arrive in the Eastern Wilderness so quickly?"
When she revealed her general hiding place, he was startled. From the Central Continent to the Eastern Wilderness, without the aid of a flying boat, her cultivation level would require at least half a year of travel.
That she had appeared so quickly was far beyond his expectations.
But Yao Ranran already had her excuse prepared.
"My mother left me a storage bracelet. Inside was an ancient Escape Talisman. After my last meeting with Shen Yuefu, I used it to flee here."
"And what of your injuries? I see not a single wound on your body."
"Internal injuries," Yao Ranran answered calmly.
Unable to find a flaw in her expression, Li Luoqi's face darkened. "Come here. Let me see what sort of internal injuries you have."
Yao Ranran stood firm, refusing flatly. "Demon Sovereign, you must not!"
"And why not?" Li Luoqi surged to his feet, reaching to seize her.
Yao Ranran secretly activated her protective robe, slipping aside. "Demon Sovereign, physical contact between men and women is forbidden!
Li Luoqi's face turned even darker.
Yao Ranran landed lightly in another corner, her tone serious. "Demon Sovereign, have you ever heard this saying?"
"What saying?" he asked, barely restraining his anger.
Lowering her voice, she said, "A wise man once said: trust the person you use, and do not use the person you doubt. I have worked for you. Do you still not believe that I am injured?"
"No."
The single cold word fell like ice.
In a flash, Li Luoqi pierced her protective barrier and seized her pale wrist.
Their eyes locked.
His lips curved into a slanted smile. "Yao Ranran, you still do not understand your place. You are only a piece on my board. You have no right to speak to me like this."
His grip was iron, making her wrist ache.
She noticed the wounds on his hand, torn open by the Blood thorn, were already knitting closed. Not a drop of black blood leaked.
"Demon Sovereign, I had not finished!" she blurted.
"Then finish now." Dark demonic energy coiled from his palm into her wrist.
Yao Ranran looked at the writhing black qi crawling under her skin like worms and said firmly, "I am not only suffering internal injuries. I was poisoned as well."
"What poison?" Li Luoqi arched a brow, dismissive.
Calmly, she summoned pure white spiritual light, letting it flicker in her palm. "Perhaps a purifying poison. One made specifically to restrain demon cultivators."
Li Luoqi let out a sharp breath. In shock, he severed their connection at once.
His right hand smoked, scorched as if burned by lightning. A curl of white vapor rose from the skin.
"Looking at this… it truly is a purifying toxin!"
Yao Ranran widened her eyes in genuine surprise.