Xu Qi’an turned his head and looked at Mu Nanzhi, seeking her opinion.
She shook her head and smiled sweetly.
She was happy because Xu Qi’an always gave her the utmost respect, always seeking her opinion in everything. For Mu Nanzhi, this was a very novel experience.
She felt valued, and felt that when they interacted, their positions were equal, not that of a subordinate.
“Sorry, we’ve been travelling all the way, weary and dusty. We don’t want to move.”
Xu Qi’an politely declined the woman in the long indigo dress.
She furrowed her delicate brows, but didn’t say anything more. She put away the gold ingot and turned to leave.
“Today, whether you want to move or not, you have to!”
Suddenly, a mocking voice rang out. The handsome man who seemed to be the master of the East Sea Dragon Palace stepped over the threshold and said pompously.
He wore a black robe embroidered with gold and silver threads, his ornaments jingling, exuding an air of nobility.
Xu Qi’an glanced at him and noticed at least three points where he had broken the rules.
If I were still a Silver Gong right now, you’d already be a dead man… He frowned inwardly. The “Palace Master’s” attitude annoyed him, so he replied indifferently:
“And what if I don’t?”
The handsome man’s lips curled slightly as he drawled, “Zhu’er, teach him a lesson.”
Without warning, the woman in the long indigo dress struck out. Two concealed weapons flew at Xu Qi’an. As he turned his head to dodge, the pretty girl moved like a startled rabbit, launching a powerful collapse punch straight at Xu Qi’an’s face.
Her fist roared through the air.
Suddenly, she let out a soft cry. Halfway through the punch, she seemed to lose all strength, stumbling and unable to stand steady.
“Peak Refining Qi, still a bit lacking.”
Xu Qi’an snorted. With a whip kick, he sent the girl flying. She crashed heavily into the wall, making a loud boom, clutching her waist, her face as pale as paper and drenched in cold sweat.
A martial artist of the Refining Qi level could barely fight back against him. By combining his breath with the air, he could exhale a colourless, odourless poison, easily paralysing a Refining Qi-level opponent who had no danger sense.
The Poison Gu could create different toxins depending on the environment. When fused with the air, he could produce a colourless, odourless poison. It wasn’t as potent, only causing paralysis, but it was enough.
The Strength Gu greatly enhanced his strength. He’d already shown restraint; otherwise, that whip kick would have snapped the girl in the indigo dress in half at the waist.
Seeing this, the young man in the black robe was not angry, but rather delighted. He applauded:
“Impressive, impressive!”
At this moment, a cool and pleasing female voice echoed, “Dear Li, you’re causing trouble again.”
Outside the courtyard stood a graceful, stunning woman. She wore a long azure dress with a moon-white cloak patterned with bamboo branches, elegant and composed, giving off the air of an abstinent young matron.
“Sister Qing, you came at just the right time.”
The handsome man in a black robe embroidered with gold and silver threads pointed at Xu Qi’an and said,
“Zhu’er kindly asked him to give up the courtyard, but not only did he refuse, he even attacked and injured her. Poor Zhu’er, look how hurt she is.”
To tell the truth, this handsome man’s looks were among the best that Xu Qi’an had ever seen.
In terms of “exquisiteness”, only Xu Erlang could compare.
The woman addressed as “Sister Qing” frowned slightly and gave Xu Qi’an a once-over before saying,
“Why did sir attack her?”
It seems that this woman is the one who commands respect here… Xu Qi’an was about to explain, but the man in the black robe cut in first. He leaned close to the cool beauty and whispered in her ear,
“I want to live here. It’s quieter and the scenery is best. Spending the night with Sister Qing, drinking and chatting, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
A blush crept up on the cold beauty’s pale face, lending her an alluring charm.
She truly was a stunner.
She shot him a glare, her attitude growing icy, “Move out now. I won’t hold you accountable for injuring someone, otherwise…”
Xu Qi’an interrupted with a cold chuckle, “Otherwise what?”
People in the jianghu were frank and blunt, but brawling over a few words or even a glance was also common, causing many headaches all around.
Sometimes, just saying the wrong thing, or exchanging a certain look, could start a fight.
When roaming the jianghu, don’t be surprised if some brainless villain pops up to provoke you, it’s standard practice.
For someone like Xu Qi’an, accustomed to life in the capital, it was a little hard to get used to. He would need some time to adapt.
The icy beauty snorted, “Take ten moves from me and survive, then we’ll talk.”
She pressed her slender hand to her shoulder, then flicked her arm. Amid the whooshing wind, her moon-white cloak spun and flew towards Xu Qi’an.
The cloak floated down but failed to catch Xu Qi’an, he had already appeared beneath the shadow of a tree two yards away.
The icy woman now stood where he’d just been, next to Mu Nanzhi, grabbing the cloak and turning her head to look at Xu Qi’an under the tree.
She raised a beautiful eyebrow, “Someone from the shaman clans of the Southern Marches?”
The Buddhist nail in his Baihui point had sealed his spirit, robbing him of a martial artist’s danger instinct, but it hadn’t affected his judgement. He’d shadow-stepped pre-emptively as soon as she made her move.
“Nanzhi, go inside.”
Xu Qi’an said calmly.
The princess consort obediently slipped back inside. Her survival instinct was always strong, never a burden.
The graceful woman didn’t stop her. Once Mu Nanzhi had returned inside, she dashed a few steps forward, cracking the blue bricks underfoot, becoming a blur as she lunged at Xu Qi’an.
Xu Qi’an shadow-stepped again, appearing under the eaves. Just as he materialised, the beautiful woman had already sensed him in advance.
Wind howled. The cool beauty fought with ruthless skill, her skirt flying, knee slashing fiercely at him.
Xu Qi’an remained calm. His left palm attempted to press down her knee, while his right hand formed a claw, right into soft tofu.
The elegant beauty arched an eyebrow. Her face, already icy, now seemed shrouded in frost. She punched into his palm.
Smack!
Xu Qi’an was knocked backwards through the air, about to crash through the door and into the house. Yet, in the blink of an eye, his body vanished. In the next instant, a shadow was flung backwards beneath the trees, then vanished.
From under the table, a shadow was flung out, then vanished again.
From the shadow behind the man in the black robe, a figure tumbled out, then disappeared once more.
Xu Qi’an’s figure repeatedly flashed through every shadow in the yard, tumbling backwards each time. After a dozen such flickers, he finally dissipated the terrible force of the attack.
Thump, thump, thump… Xu Qi’an retreated several steps, resolving the last of the force. He looked at the woman in the azure dress under the eaves, his face growing solemn.
A fourth rank martial artist, no, the peak of fourth rank. As formidable as Yang Yan or Jiang Lyuzhong.
How could a mere Pingzhou county produce a fourth rank at the peak? And to top it off, I just had to run into her, and worse yet, get into a conflict with her… Xu Qi’an inwardly cursed his luck, his expression staying cold as he calmly gazed at the beautiful woman under the eaves.
She slowly raised her hand. The back of it was tinged with blue-black, and visible strands of black qi coiled over her pale skin, spreading upward.
Beneath her skin, a network of blue-black veins bulged.
Scalding qi surged within, trying to expel the poison. The blue-black qi and searing qi were deadlocked.
“Sister Qing, are you alright?”
The handsome man in black, full of tender concern, looked on.
“Don’t come closer!”
She barked, then her eyes softened. She said quietly, “This poison is extremely potent.”
Xu Qi’an grinned at the corner of his mouth. Lately he had refined and absorbed the poison of the ancient corpse, bringing his Poison Gu to a whole new level.
It definitely wasn’t enough to kill a peak fourth rank, but it was sufficient to have a massive negative effect, forcing her to focus all her strength on driving out the poison, as now.
Additionally, the reason he’d been able to dodge a martial artist’s danger sense was because he used the Heaven Gu’s power “shifting the constellations”.
The man in black shot Xu Qi’an a hateful look and said in a low voice, “I’ll go find Sister Rong.”
“Enough. I’m not fighting anymore.”
The beautiful woman frowned, clearly reluctant, and said coolly, “Let’s go.”
She didn’t spare Xu Qi’an another look and left straight away.
Although she had been poisoned, at most it would be troublesome. She would not even be injured, let alone have her life threatened. She was not afraid of this unremarkable man in the azure robe, but simply chose to stop when it was appropriate.
First, the other party had displayed strength worthy of respect. There was no need to risk life and death just for a courtyard.
Second, this was an inn, within Pingzhou town. If they truly fought with all their might, many would die.
Lastly, both sides had actually been restraining themselves. She allowed that woman to return to her room, while the azure-robed man had not taken the opportunity to ambush Dear Li.
The man in the black robe glared at Xu Qi’an, then followed after her, saying softly:
“Sister Qing, does it hurt? Let me suck the poison out for you.”
…
The two walked for a while and entered a nearby courtyard. This courtyard was larger, but lacked finesse, and the layout and furnishings were far inferior to those in the elegant pavilion where the plain-looking couple were staying.
In the spacious bedroom, a smokeless silver-charcoal brazier was blazing, crimson flames dancing brightly.
On the soft couch sat a charming woman with her legs folded. She was dressed in a thin gauze robe, a pink bodice, and white undergarments that reached only to the tops of her thighs.
Her bodice was plump and taut, a hint of snowy smoothness visible, carrying seven taels of allure (see note 1)1.
The seductive woman looked at her younger sister’s blue-black right hand and giggled:
“I did a divination for you today, I knew you were going to have trouble.”
The graceful woman snorted coldly.
She was unconcerned about the poison in her body, but when she saw her elder sister’s long, snow-white legs hooking around the waist of the handsome young man, she showed displeasure and warned:
“He’s mine tonight.”
The charming woman snorted, then said coquettishly, “Dear Li, between Qing’er and me, who do you like more?”
The black-robed man glanced left and right, smiling, “Both are dear to me, I can’t do without either, I can’t do without either.”
The seductive woman poked his forehead with her delicate finger and scolded playfully, “So slippery.”
After a pause, she leaned against the handsome man’s chest, looked at her sister, and frowned. “Who is staying in that courtyard?”
The graceful woman shook her head. “He used shaman clan methods, but he is a Central Plains man.”
The charming woman pursed her fiery red lips in thought. “The shaman clans never pass their Gu arts on to outsiders, and even among the seven main branches, there is severe sectarianism. Let alone a Central Plains man.”
The graceful woman frowned. “Never mind them. We are out for important business this time. Best to avoid unnecessary trouble.”
The black-robed man held the elder sister’s supple waist, looked at the younger sister, and said, “My only worry is if he’s ‘in the same business’.”
…
After lunch, Xu Qi’an took Mu Nanzhi around the market, buying many pieces of warm-glazed porcelain. He acted as a fortune detector himself, but after an entire afternoon, did not locate a host of dragon qi.
This left him a little disappointed.
Before dusk, they returned to the inn. Mu Nanzhi was full of energy and still wanted more.
Originally, each of them had a separate room, but because of the altercation earlier in the day, the princess consort feared the other party might retaliate at night, so she shared a room with Xu Qi’an.
They slept in separate beds.
She wrapped herself in bedding that smelled of sunlight, her head peeking out, jet-black eyes gazing quietly at the man sitting by the table who was deep in thought.
He would sit at the table pondering every few days.
Mu Nanzhi enjoyed watching him contemplate by the table. Watching him, she would drift off to sleep, and it gave her a sense of security.
She kept this small sense of security tucked secretly in her heart, telling no one.
How long is this wretched woman going to keep secretly watching me… My Desire Gu is flaring up again… Maybe I should visit a brothel tonight. No, the East Sea Dragon Palace’s people are next door… Xu Qi’an muttered to himself.
Enduring the effects of the Desire Gu made him recall a tough period from his previous life: deleting all “wife” videos from his hard drive, quitting all chat groups that constantly posted lewd pictures, and abstaining out of necessity.
Today, seeing those two stunning sisters was like seeing a forbidden image, and suppressed impulses surged up like thunder meeting fire.
Still, come to think of it, I really should go and squander some money at the brothels or Jiaofangsi. I can’t keep suppressing the Desire Gu all the time. The Sevenfold Gu works as a whole, and now the Poison Gu has nearly reached a bottleneck. If I want to advance further, the other Gu arts must keep pace.
Otherwise, the Poison Gu and Corpse Gu will hardly improve any further. Luckily, the side effect of the Heart Gu and Corpse Gu is only that the Gu Master likes to keep company with animals and corpses. Corpse parties and animal revels aren’t a necessity…
I’ll set a small goal: within three months, raise the Sevenfold Gu to the point where I can match a fourth-rank expert.
After setting the goal, Xu Qi’an glanced at Mu Nanzhi, she had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Xu Qi’an got up from the table, walked to the bed, and gazed thoughtfully at the plain face of the greatest beauty in the Great Feng. Then, he crawled under the bed.
Exhaling a long breath, Xu the freeloaded felt he’d found his home, his body and mind at ease.
Hmm, I can make another note now: excessive use of one Gu art will temporarily intensify its side effects. Suddenly, I understand why Lina always has a big meal after a fight.
Xu Qi’an closed his eyes and drifted sweetly into sleep.
In a courtyard not far away, in a bedroom as warm as spring,
The handsome young man, with two soft, delicate female bodies to either side, opened his eyes, felt the ache in his waist, sighed softly, and went back to his deep sleep.
…
Half-asleep, Xu Qi’an heard someone calling him. He jolted awake, crawled out from under the bed, and saw a good-looking young man sitting at the round table, his black robe embroidered with gold and silver threads, luxurious beyond measure.
Spotting Xu Qi’an crawling out from under the bed, the handsome young man immediately knelt and bowed:
“Hero, save me!”
His tone was sincere, completely different from the headstrong arrogance he’d shown by day, it was like a different person.
How did he get in?
And I didn’t even notice… Xu Qi’an felt a secret chill, though his face showed nothing:
“Our paths simply crossed by chance, you’re being rather hasty.”
“Hero, at least let me finish.”
The black-robed man gave a wry smile. “I am the Holy Son of the Heaven Sect, Li Lingsu.”
???
Xu Qi’an almost lost control of his expression, his mind full of question marks.
The Heaven Sect Holy Son? Is he Li Miaozhen’s senior or junior? Er, I do recall Li Miaozhen mentioning she had a senior brother travelling… but still, what are the chances I’d actually run into Li Miaozhen’s senior here?
Xu Qi’an looked at him indifferently. “Why should I believe you?”
Li Lingsu answered straightforwardly, “You’re currently in a dream, I entered with a strand of my primordial spirit. Tell me, if I wasn’t a Daoist, how could I possibly manage that?”
No wonder I didn’t notice him come in, he entered via primordial spirit into my dream… Xu Qi’an retorted,
“A Warlock could too, and would be even better at it.”
Li Lingsu was momentarily speechless, then sighed,
“If I was a Warlock, I’d be reading my own fortune daily. I’d never have fallen into the hands of those sisters.”
Xu Qi’an raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t those two beauties your mistresses, then?”
“They are both confidantes of mine, true, but I have no freedom by their side, am not happy, and in fact my waist aches…”
What the fuck are you doing showing off? Xu Qi’an’s face twitched, and he said in a deep voice:
“Tell me, what’s going on, and I’ll consider whether to help you. And, why me? Were you picking a fight on purpose earlier?”
(Author’s Note) PS: 7 taels is roughly an E cup (roughly); for reference only to the LSPs [gooners] ↩
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