"Where are the two young masters heading?"
"Wherever this young master wishes to go. Is Shanghua young lady awake yet?"
"How would a lowly one like me know? But I can ask for you, young master."
"At least you have some sense."
Xu Jin watched as Chu Xingchen casually tossed out a fifty-tael silver note during their brief exchange.
The servant moved swiftly, picking up the silver note while bowing and scraping with a forced smile.
"Young master, please wait a moment. I'll go ask right away."
The servant immediately turned and left, moving with remarkable speed.
Chu Xingchen glanced over but continued walking forward without a care.
Xu Jin, seeing Chu Xingchen's action, followed while asking in confusion:
"Shouldn't we wait?"
Chu Xingchen's pace remained unchanged as he answered:
"For someone who's a core disciple of the Mystic Clear Heavenly Sect, you haven't learned a thing about throwing your weight around. With our status, others are responsible to us, not the other way around."
Xu Jin nodded slightly. "I understand this principle, but last night the wish power I'd hidden was discovered. Are we really being this arrogant today?"
Last night, after they'd just picked their rooms, before Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin could conduct a nighttime exploration of the brothel, Xu Jin's internal spy wish power was traced back by someone.
Unfortunately, this was the enemy's home ground. Helplessly, Xu Jin could only sever the connection to his spy wish power.
If it had been earlier, he might still have been able to sense something vaguely. Now, it was basically like a blind man feeling an elephant.
One had to hand it to the Buddhist Sect.
You could say they were shameless, but you couldn't say they were incompetent.
Chu Xingchen had his own opinion on this—how could a core disciple of the prestigious Mystic Clear Heavenly Sect be so useless?
To have his own spy turned against him? Playing double agent?
The nighttime exploration had to be temporarily cancelled. They could only hope to find some clues during the day.
"Then what do you suggest? Since the Buddhist Sect transformed Banruo City into this state, there must be a reason." Chu Xingchen strode forward. "Now I can only use myself as bait, feeding myself to the tiger to clean up your mess."
Xu Jin fell silent, watching Chu Xingchen—who was supposedly "feeding himself to the tiger"—leisurely tossing money around and approaching a mature woman who had guided them yesterday and was waiting early outside today.
He watched the woman's eager attentiveness.
What kind of "feeding himself to the tiger" was this? The kind where women from the lowlands were tigers?
Xu Jin sighed softly but quickened his pace to follow.
After Chu Xingchen tossed out the silver note, his tone suddenly turned serious:
"What you said yesterday wasn't right. Did you take me for my foolish younger brother and deceive me? Since when does Lady Shanghua live next to me?"
The woman hurriedly stuffed the silver note into her bosom before urgently replying:
"The clean courtesans all live in the inner courtyard at night, but the room you're staying in is where Lady Shanghua practices and rests during the day. How would I have the gall to deceive you, young master?"
Chu Xingchen frowned slightly. "What's the use of her being there during the day?"
The woman froze at his words, momentarily at a loss for how to respond. Though Chu Xingchen's intentions had been obvious all along, this was perhaps a bit too obvious.
Chu Xingchen asked, "Tell me, which room in the back courtyard belongs to Lady Shanghua, and how do I get there?"
The woman quickly advised, "Young master, that won't do. The back courtyard of the clean courtesans is off-limits. There are experts guarding it."
"Is that something for you to worry about?" Chu Xingchen stopped, looking at the woman with ill intent. "I only asked you to tell me, not to guide me. Whether to enter or not, and how to enter—that's my choice. It's not for you to tell me whether I should go."
The woman was about to say something more, but as she breathed, feeling the enticing touch of the silver note against her chest, she leaned close to Chu Xingchen's ear and whispered:
"Young master... I'll draw you a map later... But please, whatever you do, don't say it came from me."
Chu Xingchen smiled with satisfaction, pushing aside the woman who still wanted to linger at his side:
"This young master has many virtues, and conveniently, loyalty is one of them."
Saying this, Chu Xingchen casually dropped another silver note.
The woman's eyes lit up as she happily tucked it away. "Young master, do you have any plans for today?"
"Do you have arrangements?" Chu Xingchen looked over. "Unfortunately, when this young master is being devoted, he only loves one."
The woman froze at his words.
When he's being devoted, he only loves one? So when he's not being devoted, he loves many?
That sounded both scummy and elegant.
"This young master has never liked being arranged by others. I only do what I like to do." A frivolous smile appeared on Chu Xingchen's face. "Do you know what's sweetest in this world?"
The woman slowly shook her head.
"It's the human heart. The heart of a beauty." Chu Xingchen's smile deepened.
"A genuine heart devoted to you—that is the most delicious, the most unforgettable. The body... that's merely lowly pleasure."
For the first time, the woman's voice stuttered. "Young... young master speaks the truth."
"Now this young master has a task for you." The smile instantly vanished from Chu Xingchen's face. "Arrange a meeting between your master and me. I know this place has connections to cultivators, and coincidentally, so do I."
Chu Xingchen pointed to the silent Xu Jin standing to the side:
"This is the grand-nephew of Daoist Yuyang, the Dao Son of the Grand Dao Sect, one of the eighteen immortal sects of Central Continent."
Xu Jin closed his eyes at these words.
Sometimes, when beside Chu Xingchen, he wished he could just go deaf.
The woman froze. She didn't recognize any Grand Dao Sect, but the relationship of "grand-nephew"... wasn't that so distant it was almost out of the nine generations of kinship?
"I know you don't understand the significance of this." Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow. "Just pass the message. If your master sees you, you'll have credit. If not, this young master won't let you run errands for nothing."
As he spoke, Chu Xingchen smoothly pressed another silver note into the woman's hand.
"Your commands are my duty, young master."
The woman quickly put on a smiling face.
Chu Xingchen urged, "Go now. This young master's time is precious."
The woman nodded gently before turning to leave.
Xu Jin took a deep breath, walking to Chu Xingchen's side and asking:
"Aren't you taking too big a step? What evidence do we have to prove any relationship between us and Daoist Yuyang?"
Chu Xingchen didn't answer. Instead, he silently retrieved a jade pendant from his spatial ring.
On it, the characters "Yuyang" danced elegantly—truly magnificent and beautiful.
That day, besides giving one to Li Junzi, Chu Xingchen had also exchanged his handwritten bamboo slip as his identity token with Daoist Yuyang.
Chu Xingchen exchanging identity tokens with Daoist Yuyang was a recognition of friendship.
Actually, Chu Xingchen hadn't initially expected this use. Originally, he had planned to see if it could work as a discount token.
After all, Daoist Yuyang's reputation was indeed significant.
He just hadn't expected it to have this unexpected use now.
Since this brothel had connections to cultivators, ordinary wealthy merchants wouldn't catch the real fish.
After all, gold and spirit stones weren't equivalent.
Chu Xingchen handed the jade pendant to Xu Jin with a sincere expression:
"You know I've always been a poor actor, especially when it comes to playing the grandson—I have zero experience. So I'll leave this to you. Besides, I just said it was you, and it's too late to change now."
Xu Jin's eyes widened. No wonder Chu Xingchen had been making decisions on his own all along without consulting him—he had been waiting to trap him here!
Your acting is poor? Then whose acting is good?
He said sternly, "I've never played the grandson either!"
Chu Xingchen sighed, his face filled with helplessness:
"Then you'll be responsible for playing the fool. Leave the rest to me."
"You wouldn't want the matter of saving the common people to fail at your hands, would you?"
Xu Jin slowly tightened his grip on the jade slip engraved with the name of his defeated opponent.
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