Chapter 35

Mist swirled through the room, turning the bath into something dreamlike—a painted beauty come to life, those enchanting eyes soft as silk.

Ye Rui stared blankly at Mu Xue. The bathtub was strewn with flower petals, and the whole scene took on a beauty that seemed to conceal something while revealing even more. Anything she shouldn’t be seeing, she couldn’t see—unless Mu Xue suddenly stood up.

“I can wait for you to finish bathing. There’s no need to make me watch you get out of the tub.”

Ye Rui reacted quickly. She grabbed a chair, turned it around, and sat down with her back to Mu Xue, though she didn’t go out of her way to avoid her.

Mu Xue was taken aback. Ye Rui hadn’t reacted the way she expected. She could only smile helplessly and look at the back of that figure. “Are you Tang Sanzang?”

“I’m the Monkey King.”

Ye Rui laughed under her breath, then added, “The one who specializes in beating up demons. You’d better watch out.”

Mu Xue found that amusing. She laughed until her whole body trembled; water rippled, washing away the frustration she’d felt at Ye Rui’s lack of reaction just now.

“You’re so interesting. Why would you choose to follow that sickly Xie Tinglan?”

Mu Xue rested both hands on the rim of the tub and looked at Ye Rui, who still hadn’t said a word. Suddenly, inspiration struck her. “You two fought?”

Before Ye Rui could even answer, Mu Xue went on, “Come work for me. It’s much safer here.”

For a moment, Ye Rui was tempted. But asking her to betray Xie Tinglan and leave right now was something she absolutely couldn’t do.

“This time, I came to ask you for some information.”

Ye Rui didn’t take Mu Xue’s bait, and Mu Xue didn’t care either. She remained lazily soaking in the tub, her smile fading as she said seriously, “So you’re here to talk business. The information you want probably won’t be cheap, and what I want, you may not be able to afford.”

Mu Xue stirred the water, and a pleasant wash of sound flowed through the room, but Ye Rui still sat motionless, arms folded, her back to Mu Xue.

“You want money?”

Ye Rui’s heart was pounding. She’d saved up quite a bit: her regular monthly stipend, the five thousand taels from the Fire Sparrow Herb, and the three thousand taels she’d won back. After deducting her own spending, she could probably scrape together a neat seven thousand five hundred taels.

Heavens, she’d worked so hard to save it; was she going to spend it all at once? Could it be reimbursed?

Hu Tu: [Reimbursed, my ass. I swear you coming to Rain and Mist Pavilion has already made Xie Tinglan mad enough, and now you’re even thinking about reimbursement.]

Ye Rui: [Huh? I’m here for work. Why would she be angry?]

Hu Tu: [No idea; it’s a system’s intuition.]

Ye Rui: [You’re a system built on nothing but data, and you want to play the human intuition card?]

Hu Tu: [Fine, I’m not worthy of having intuition, hmph!]

Hmph? The system had actually hmphed at her?

Mu Xue gave a low laugh. Ye Rui heard water splashing behind her; Mu Xue must have stood up. Ye Rui’s back instantly stiffened, hoping Mu Xue wouldn’t do anything inappropriate.

Thankfully, Mu Xue didn’t come over. After drying herself off, she casually slipped into a cross-collared long dress, then walked step by step toward her vanity to do her makeup.

“I like silver. I like it a lot. But for you, what I want isn’t silver anymore.”

Only after confirming Mu Xue had dressed did Ye Rui turn to look. She saw Mu Xue sitting before the mirror, drawing on her brows with a serene expression, her clothes draped loosely over her body in an utterly carefree way.

Ye Rui walked over, pushed aside the hanging gauze, and leaned against the vanity, arms folded. “Then what do you want?”

Mu Xue’s hand paused slightly as she drew her brows, then she laughed. “You’re not suited to be a merchant. I haven’t even said what you want yet, and you’re already asking what I want? How am I supposed to put a price on that?”

Not suited to be a merchant...

That line sounded familiar too. Wait—what did she mean, even?

“I’m sure you know that Gu Sheng isn’t dead, and that he attempted to assassinate Xie Tinglan at the Divine Martial Square.”

Mu Xue kept drawing her brows and didn’t answer. Ye Rui continued, “I want to know who rescued Gu Sheng back then.”

By the time Mu Xue heard this, her brows were nearly finished. She looked up at Ye Rui, the corners of her narrow phoenix eyes curving upward.

For some reason, Ye Rui suddenly thought of the phrase, money talks.

“That’s quite the piece of information. For Gu Sheng to survive for two more years without anyone noticing, then even get into the Imperial Palace as a eunuch and wait for an opportunity to assassinate someone; whether it was the person who rescued him or the one behind him, neither could have been simple.”

Mu Xue looked languid and easygoing, like someone who spent every day drinking without a care in the world. Yet with a few words, she hit the heart of the matter, piercing through the whole affair in an instant.

Ye Rui knew Mu Xue was no simple person, but hearing her say this only made her feel even more strongly that she was anything but ordinary. She definitely wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill figure from the martial world.

“I do know some of the information, and I can dig up more.”

Mu Xue picked up several cases of lip color to compare them, then looked up at Ye Rui, whose expression was growing heavier by the second, and smiled. “Don’t look so grim. I opened my doors for business to make money, naturally, and I haven’t even said what compensation I want yet. Why do you look like I’m after your entire fortune?”

With that, Mu Xue laughed to herself. She really did love how every emotion on Ye Rui’s face was written so plainly.

Ye Rui finally composed herself. A number of thoughts had already flashed through her mind. “First, I won’t leave the Xie residence. Second, I won’t sell my body. Third, I won’t do murder or robbery.”

She stated her bottom line immediately, afraid that if she agreed too quickly, she’d end up switching sides to Mu Xue’s camp.

Mu Xue selected a box of vivid red lip color, raised an eyebrow at Ye Rui, and smiled. “You do know how to block every path I have.”

“You can’t be a merchant, but you’d be perfect for the kind who use their brains.”

Mu Xue flicked her sleeve and sighed. “Fine. If you jumped ship to my side, that sickly woman probably wouldn’t let either of us off. I don’t want to provoke that lunatic.”

Ye Rui was speechless.

Mu Xue’s one sentence summed up Xie Tinglan perfectly. It was just... the Xie Tinglan at night, the Xie Tinglan lying beside her, was a side of her no one else had ever seen.

“I’m quite taken with you. I can give you a discount this time too.”

After applying the lip color, Mu Xue picked up a carved wooden comb and began smoothing out her still-damp hair, her mist-bright gaze still fixed on Ye Rui.

“Then say it properly; you’re willing to give me a discount, not that I asked for one.”

After Ye Rui spoke, Mu Xue lowered her head and laughed again. “You’re clever now. Don’t worry; I’m willing to give it to you. I don’t want your favor.”

Mu Xue kept combing her hair. The silky black strands slid through the teeth of the comb over and over. In a daze, Ye Rui thought of Xie Tinglan’s hair, black mixed with white, and the words she had said: her foundation has been damaged; in a few more years, she may have even more white hair.

Damn it, why was she thinking of Xie Tinglan again? It had only been a few days since she’d seen her, so why was she thinking of her every moment? She really was losing her mind.

“Keep me company on a trip to a place; three days. If you’re unwilling, then it’s thirty thousand taels of silver. I’m sure your dear Prime Minister Xie can afford that.”

Even if she could afford it, that wasn’t money to be thrown around like this!

“Where to?”

Ye Rui knew Mu Xue was cunning, so she decided she’d better ask clearly before agreeing; otherwise, if she got dragged off, she wouldn’t even know what happened.

“Yulan City. I have something to handle there, and you’ll act as my attendant for three days.”

Yulan City? Ye Rui knew that city. It was at least three days’ journey from the Capital City, and it was a place currently preparing for development. Before, she’d heard from Ri Xi that while Xie Tinglan was recovering from her injuries, she had specifically transferred an important official surnamed Tang there to handle affairs. After Xie Tinglan returned to court, that Guarded Nation Marquis Murong Yu had wanted to expose Xie Tinglan for embezzling and pocketing military funds; however, he hadn’t realized the account books in his hands were being managed by that official surnamed Tang.

That blunder had happened because Xie Tinglan had already submitted a memorial to the emperor asking to hand over the accounts for the three remote cities to the official surnamed Tang. When the emperor reviewed the memorial, Xie Tinglan had also deliberately buried it in a pile of miscellaneous documents; she had been certain the emperor wouldn’t remember it.

Murong Yu was so sure he could kill Xie Tinglan partly because the emperor also thought those account books were under Xie Tinglan’s control. Just as Xie Tinglan had said, the emperor would occasionally cooperate with Murong Yu’s faction to weaken her, only to be countered by Xie Tinglan in turn.

Back then, Ye Rui had wondered why Xie Tinglan had been able to anticipate that the Guarded Nation Marquis would use this matter to attack her. Ri Xi had said something meaningful at the time: the Ministry of War was a battleground everyone fought over, and accounts were the easiest place for trouble to arise; so Xie Tinglan had made preparations long ago.

Xie Tinglan really could account for everything without error, but with her, she had already miscalculated twice. Could it be that Ye Rui was her nemesis?

Seeing that Ye Rui still hadn’t agreed, Mu Xue thought she was suspicious of some ulterior motive, so she smiled. “Relax. I don’t want your body; taking it would only cost me more.”

Mu Xue’s words pulled Ye Rui back to her senses. She clicked her tongue and said irritably, “You women are all too damn sharp-tongued. I’m not interested in you either, okay!”

Mu Xue’s eyes darkened a little, but the corners of her mouth still held a faint curve. “Perfect. I just want this trip to be a little more interesting. What do you say? I’m practically a conscientious merchant.”

Ye Rui gave a soft laugh. In her heart, she was still grateful to Mu Xue; perhaps with time, they really could become friends.

“There’s one more thing I want to ask you about.”

After hearing that, Mu Xue put down the comb, crossed her legs, leaned forward, and looked far more serious. “The second question won’t come with a discount.”

Ye Rui smiled lightly. After some thought, she said, “Do you have any news about Longevity Grass and Yama Flower?”

When Mu Xue heard those two names, the curve of her lips widened and widened, and then she gave a soft laugh. “You really like Xie Tinglan, don’t you?”

Mu Xue stood up, her slender hands fastening her sash at the waist and smoothing down her lapels without the slightest hint of concern about Ye Rui watching.

Ye Rui’s mouth twitched. She thought to herself: Do you really not treat me as an outsider at all?

“Why aren’t you speaking?”

A trace of coldness entered Mu Xue’s beautiful eyes. When she looked at Ye Rui, her lids were half-lowered, and her long lashes cast a shadow over those eyes.

“So you also know Xie Tinglan needs these two medicinal herbs.”

Ye Rui straightened, avoiding Mu Xue’s gaze, and wondered inwardly: Could Mu Xue and Xie Tinglan have some sort of grudge? Her expression changed just now; she seemed very unhappy that I was looking for these two herbs for Xie Tinglan.

“Actually, I can get more information from you. Xie Tinglan can afford silver too, but she’s never come to find you. Do you two have a grudge?”

Ye Rui looked at Mu Xue. The gloom from a moment ago had been swept away completely by Mu Xue. In that instant, Ye Rui couldn’t help but sigh at how quickly Mu Xue changed expressions; this woman really was no simple person.

“Of course. Naturally, there’s a grudge.”

Mu Xue ground her teeth, then sat back down. Only after a long silence did she speak again. “I can do this business with you.”

“What are the conditions?”

Ye Rui had a feeling she probably couldn’t afford the price. She had come here with the mindset of trying her luck, to see what the terms were. If she could do it, then she’d do her best.

Sometimes Ye Rui couldn’t figure out why she did so much for Xie Tinglan. Clearly, it hurt that Xie Tinglan didn’t respond to her; clearly, she knew the two of them might never have a future. And yet, whenever it came to anything involving Xie Tinglan, Ye Rui still wanted to do it well.

She had once heard people say that love is instinct; only now did Ye Rui finally understand. She simply couldn’t control where her heart wanted to go. Even when reason told her to stay away, to pull back, she would still give for her.

Did she want something in return? Ye Rui hoped there would be some return. She wasn’t that noble. But whether there was any return or not, she wouldn’t force it; after all, this was her own choice.

“Become mine and work for me.”

Mu Xue said with a half-smile, “I said it already; there’s no discount for this second matter. I don’t care about those three bottom lines of yours.”

She didn’t look at the complicated expression on Ye Rui’s face and continued, “Might as well tell you; I already have the Yama Flower, and I also know where the Longevity Grass is. Xie Tinglan didn’t not come looking for me before; we had a grudge in the past, so naturally I wouldn’t tell her.”

“Still, having you work for me; one life for one life is quite worth it.”

Mu Xue stood up, turned away, and opened the gilded incense burner, preparing to light incense. “Of course, you can think it over whenever you want and then come back to redeem the second matter. In any case, that cold poison won’t kill Xie Tinglan for now; it’ll only make her suffer unbearably.”

After hearing this, Ye Rui wasn’t angry. Once she learned these two herbs had a lead, she actually felt happy instead, which only made her waver. If leaving could save Xie Tinglan’s life...

Mu Xue had just said the poison wouldn’t kill Xie Tinglan for now, which meant Xie Tinglan could very well be tortured to death by it. How much time did she still have to consider? Or was Mu Xue deliberately making the situation sound worse so Ye Rui would make a decision quickly?

“For the first deal, when do we leave, and when can you give me the information?”

Seeing that Ye Rui was avoiding the second deal, Mu Xue wasn’t in a rush. There was no need to hurry in business.

“Three days from now. The journey doesn’t count as part of the deal; we’ll stay in Yulan City for three days.”

“What exactly do I need to do?”

“I’ll have you do whatever I want.”

Ye Rui was a little speechless and was about to speak up when Mu Xue preempted her. “Relax; for this first deal, I still remember those three bottom lines of yours.”

As she finished speaking, the incense was lit as well. Today, Mu Xue had chosen rosemary incense, with a faintly fragrant, bitter aroma.

“I can give you the information tomorrow. I only hope you won’t break your word. You can go ask around about what happens to those who make deals with my Rain and Mist Pavilion and fail to honor them.”

Mu Xue was smiling when she said it, but Ye Rui could clearly feel the cold threat hidden beneath it. Mu Xue, when talking business, was completely different from her usual self. Normally she was sly, sharp-tongued, and playful; when she did business, she was like a great tiger, with a clear target, bold and sweeping in her methods, yet cautious, meticulous, and airtight.

For someone who could manage the Capital City’s largest and most famous brothel, a place the black and white worlds both feared to provoke, Mu Xue’s means could hardly be simple.

“One last question.”

Ye Rui was about to leave, but curiosity still got the better of her.

“Go on.”

Mu Xue stretched lazily, placed her slender hand on the window, and pushed it open. The midday sunlight spilled over her body, making her face shine even more like polished jade; layers of light haloed around her, as if a divine maiden had descended to earth.

“Why me of all people?”

Ye Rui had only just come out of the mountains. Her martial arts were nothing special, and her grasp of the world’s information was lacking too. Why were Xie Tinglan and Mu Xue both fighting over her?

“Then why did Xie Tinglan want you?”

Mu Xue walked toward Ye Rui, swaying with every step, graceful as a lotus in bloom, all bewitching beauty. Ye Rui looked at her and couldn’t help taking a step back.

Her Monkey King really was starting to fear the demoness.

“We’ve lived in this world long enough that our eyes can see what others can’t; especially when it comes to finding hidden gems. You’re also very interesting. I like you a lot.”

Mu Xue spoke earnestly; at the end, she even curled her lips and raised her brows. “If I put it more simply, I just want to steal someone from Xie Tinglan.”

Ye Rui rolled her eyes at Mu Xue, said, “I’m leaving,” and was just about to go when Mu Xue called her back.

“Ye Rui, do you think I’m pretty?”

“What? Our great beauty Mu Xue is insecure about her looks too?”

At the words great beauty, Mu Xue immediately beamed, sweeping away that serious look from before. “What if you compare me to Xie Tinglan? Who’s prettier?”

Now it was Ye Rui’s turn to be in a bind. Why was she asking a life-or-death question like that?

“I’m the prettiest; you two can forget it.”

Ye Rui tossed out a perfunctory answer, then slipped away as fast as she could. Mu Xue couldn’t even call her back in time; in the end, she could only watch that retreating figure leave with a bitter smile.

Only after she could no longer see her did Mu Xue’s gaze sink down, and she murmured to herself, “So where exactly am I inferior to Xie Tinglan?”

“What on earth is so good about her that you’d go to such lengths?”

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Author’s note: Our beautiful Mu Xue~ Anyway, I quite like her, hahaha!

[dog head][dog head]