Drunken Spring Pavilion (4)

Yan Jue’s mind went blank with a buzzing rush. Her whole body went limp at once, and she instinctively lifted a hand to hook it around Qi Xianqing’s neck.

The little bells at the girl’s neck shimmered with a soft golden light, jingling as they swayed; against that, her skin was white as snow.

Yan Jue had no room to resist at all.

The gauze curtain fell, obscuring the hazy spring scene within.

Pinned beneath Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue looked up at her in terror.

Not to mention how fiercely Immortal Spirit Physique blood tempted her; every cell in her body seemed bent on obeying Qi Xianqing’s will.

The perfection of the Foundation Establishment Realm was absolute crushing pressure for her, a mere second-realm cultivator.

The faint fragrance around them made one’s bones go soft. Qi Xianqing leaned down, her vivid, dewy lips right in front of Yan Jue, as if she were about to kiss her ear.

Yan Jue suddenly felt heat rise at the root of her ear.

Qi Xianqing frowned, probably thinking she was being too uncooperative. She flicked the bell at Yan Jue’s neck with her fingertip and said softly beside her ear, “Just do as I say.”

Yan Jue’s whole body stiffened at once. She looked up at her in disbelief. “Okay.”

She... why had she touched her bell?!

She wasn’t doing it on purpose. She definitely wasn’t doing it on purpose!

-

Night gradually deepened, but Qingye Town’s red-light district only grew livelier.

The man in black had been waiting on the roof of Drunken Spring Pavilion for quite some time, watching for the best moment to make his move.

Although that day’s operation had failed, he naturally would not give up.

After all... the evil art he had painstakingly cultivated needed women’s hearts as materials.

Though a woman’s heart was of little use when freshly obtained, after some time... it became an excellent seasoning. He had relied on that supplement to break through from the Qi Refining Realm to the late stage of Foundation Establishment in just half a year.

To cultivators, humans were nothing but lowly ants. So what if the authorities sent soldiers after him? The technique he practiced would always let him slip away in time.

Besides, this was only a small town; there was no great expert here whose cultivation surpassed his. Even if there were...

They still could not catch him!

The black-clad man moved lightly across the rooftops, searching for a suitable target. For some reason, there didn’t seem to be any women taking clients in Drunken Spring Pavilion tonight. Even if there were, they were only ordinary stock; hearts like that were nowhere near enough for him to refine pills.

Suddenly, he stopped.

From the room beneath his feet, there came a faint sound.

The black-clad man froze; he nearly fell from the eaves.

He hurriedly steadied himself and heard the creak of wood shifting.

He smeared a little saliva on the window paper and peered inside.

Layers of green gauze curtains hung within, and through them he could vaguely make out two slender silhouettes.

Those two figures were faintly visible behind the drapes. A breeze lifted the gauze, revealing their graceful outlines.

These two women were clearly no ordinary goods; compared with the few he had preyed on before, they were even better.

These two women were actually...

In his excitement, the man also felt a trace of hesitation, but then he suddenly heard a sound from within the curtains.

It was like the moan of someone in pain, so soft it seemed to melt away.

That kind of sound... could it be fake?

Now was the best time to act!

The mere thought that he might obtain two women’s hearts this time made the black-clad man’s eyes burn with greed, red bloodshot veins showing at the corners; he leaped down in a flash.

He was fast as lightning. Vaulting through the window, he turned his wrist and produced a silver iron magical implement.

The room was filled with drifting fragrance, and the light was dim.

Breathing inside the bed curtains was ragged, the sounds seductive.

The bloodshot veins in the man’s eyes spread wider and wider. He raised the magical implement in his hand; his lips trembled as he was about to recite the spell.

The green-gauze curtains suddenly burst apart with a crack of thunder. A woman in an ice-blue dress reached him in only a few breaths, so fast that Yan Jue hadn’t even seen her sword unsheathe.

A flash of blue-green light; then Qi Xianqing had already returned her sword to its scabbard. Wind rushed in through the window, whipping the woman’s dress into a fierce flutter.

The man’s entire body was charred black as if he had been roasted; he lay on the floor, groaning nonstop.

The room’s lamp was lit again.

Qi Xianqing knelt halfway to the floor, picking up the man’s weapon to inspect it.

Yan Jue’s heart was beating so hard it felt ready to burst through her chest. The ease with which this senior sister had subdued the man in just a few breaths still left her deeply shaken.

And then there had been what happened on the bed...

She had never expected this woman to emit those... all-too-real sounds without the slightest change in expression, then rush out of the gauze curtains so cleanly and decisively!

Too violent...

It made all of Yan Jue’s earlier plans seem not worth mentioning in front of Qi Xianqing.

Yan Jue couldn’t help thinking that if Qi Xianqing had been the one sent on this mission instead of her, then that black-clad man might already have been caught the last time.

Yan Jue knew this was the power of cultivation.

Standing beside Qi Xianqing, she asked, “What kind of magical implement is this? How can it take someone’s heart in one slash?”

It was just an ordinary long blade, with faint cracks visible at the tip.

Qi Xianqing lowered her head and fiddled with it. “This is only a common weapon. It was merely infused with a thread of demonic energy, and that made it viciously poisonous. After it is thrust into a woman’s chest, it clings to her body and automatically absorbs her yin essence. Once it is done, the woman will turn into a pile of dried flesh. It seems the sect’s information was indeed wrong.”

To think such a magical implement would appear in this tiny Qingye Town.

And on top of that, there had been the Demonic Cult massacre in the Northern Frontier a few days ago...

It seemed the Demonic Cult truly had started moving again.

But looking at this man, he really was only an ordinary cultivator; Qi Xianqing found no demonic energy in his body. She turned him over and searched him thoroughly, but found nothing related to the Demonic Cult.

Perhaps it had just been a coincidence.

Or perhaps he had simply chosen the demonic path because that method of cultivation made it easier to achieve his own goals.

There were six major immortal sects in this world, as well as some minor, unsanctioned cultivators in the jianghu.

These loose cultivators had no fixed inheritance or school; they relied only on secret methods gathered from all over the place, and sometimes even used demonic arts to cultivate. They could not stir up much of a storm.

What truly warranted caution was large-scale demonic activity.

Qi Xianqing quickly finished analyzing what she had found, then turned to look at Yan Jue.

This mission had seemed simple on the surface, but it tested patience.

This person had clearly known the mission was overdue, yet still hidden in the brothel for a full month. Even Qi Xianqing had to look at her in a new light.

At first, the Administrative Hall had only commissioned her to come to Qingye Town to collect the corpse of a Watercloud Sect outer disciple.

Since she’d learned that the person wasn’t dead, she should have taken her leave.

But for some reason just now, she had suddenly thought that since she was already here, she might as well solve the trouble while she was at it.

Only...

A sudden pain shot through her neck.

A complex look flashed in Qi Xianqing’s eyes.

After hearing Qi Xianqing’s explanation, Yan Jue’s brows also drew together, and the blood in her body seemed to turn cold.

It was fortunate she had run into Qi Xianqing tonight.

Otherwise, if a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator like her had run into such a magical implement, she wouldn’t even have known how she died.

Qi Xianqing stood up and said indifferently, “The mission is complete. After you return to the mountain, you can go to the Administrative Hall to exchange for your reward. But remember to send a flying pigeon letter to the Administrative Hall requesting an extension.”

Only after speaking did Qi Xianqing realize she had somehow said more than usual.

She was used to leading the younger disciples of Thunderflame Sect down the mountain for trials, and she had always been quite well regarded as the senior sister in charge; perhaps it was just a habit from her role.

Since she had already said so much, Qi Xianqing simply finished what she wanted to say: “You should be able to handle this person, right?”

Yan Jue swallowed hard. “Mm, I know.”

Qi Xianqing gave a faint nod, then raised a hand to loosely cover her neck and walked out with a cold expression.

Yan Jue stared at Qi Xianqing, then suddenly noticed something and froze.

Beneath Qi Xianqing’s snow-white neck was actually... actually a ferocious wound, a little like a bite mark.

Yan Jue’s mind went “buzz.”

Just now on the bed, Qi Xianqing had been too close.

She had lost control and bitten Qi Xianqing.

Yan Jue licked her lips and could still taste a faint trace of blood.

So that was it. She had come kindly to help, and who would have thought Yan Jue would repay kindness with enmity, seizing the chance to give her a hidden bite.

Yan Jue was on the verge of tears; it was likely the heroine’s desire to kill her had grown another layer.

Watching her back, Yan Jue bit her lip and said, “Senior Sister, Chu Fu and I... there’s nothing between us. What happened before was because I was too immature. I know I was wrong now.”

“I just now... wasn’t doing it on purpose!!!”

Qi Xianqing’s steps faltered slightly. Her gaze turned icy as she looked back. “Do not mention this matter to anyone.”

Was Qi Xianqing referring to what had happened on the bed just now, or to the fact that she had come to the brothel to help her?

Yan Jue froze. “No—”

Before she could finish, Qi Xianqing’s face already full of coldness, she turned and walked out.

Yan Jue: “...”

Her face burned red, and a layer of mist gathered in her eyes.

This heroine was so cold, sob sob.

Just how was she supposed to lower the heroine’s hatred toward her?!