A bowl of snow fungus soup was placed on the main hall table. Chen Yi casually wiped off the spilled water and waited for Yin Weiyin to get up and enjoy it.
As he calculated the ti, he realized it was about ti to pay a visit to Wei Wuque.
"Where are you going?"
Chen Yi adjusted his belt, and as he was turning around, he spotted Lu Ying standing at the door.
Lu Ying was standing very straight, like soone who had nothing to fear.
"Nowhere special, just heading to Yingxiang Garden to discuss sothing with Wei the leader."
Chen Yi noticed her glance at his belt. Perhaps it was precisely his small gesture of adjusting it that made her realize he was about to go out.
She noticed his small gesture.
Chen Yi caught this detail but had no idea what to say about it.
After hesitating for a mont, Lu Ying said, "I'll go with you."
"…Yingxiang Garden is a brothel."
"I… I've gone with you to another brothel before," Lu Ying paused and then said, "Are you disgusted by ?"
Before Chen Yi could respond, she quickly added:
"Why would you dislike ? Even though you're a protector, I'm the chief disciple of the Sword Armor. In terms of Sword Dao comprehension, I might be better than you. Moreover, how can you definitely be more virtuous than ? Even Confucius once took a seven-year-old child as his teacher."
Chen Yi was montarily speechless. Finally, he spread his hands and said:
"Alright, then we'll go together?"
He was quick to agree, and Lu Ying's breath hitched, suddenly feeling as if she'd punched into cotton.
She still rembered the words she said before leaving with a dramatic flourish yesterday—not only did she feel so free-spirited, but she thought it showcased her detachnt from worldly gains, caring nothing about what others thought… But she wondered, did he see it that way?
Thinking about this, she straightened her back a little more.
The two stepped over the threshold, and the uneven streets and alleys of Shantong City ca into view. Gazing farther into the distance, the horizon was cloaked in drifting yellow sand.
After asking for directions, Chen Yi headed toward Yingxiang Garden. The brothel was located near the west gate. Back when the silk road through Jinxian Mountain had not yet fallen into disrepair, rchants transporting Shu brocade into the Central Plains often stopped at the brothel upon entering the city, sparing no expenses in competing for the Oiran—not with gold or silver, but with silk and satin. Even now, traces of silk fabric that once wrapped the faded red pillars could still be seen.
Along the way, Lu Ying paused, almost losing sight of Chen Yi. When Chen Yi turned back to find her, he saw her holding out a mask to him.
It was a large pig's face.
"When roaming the Jianghu, wearing a mask can sotis be quite useful. I bought it casually, consider it a gift of thanks for the protector."
Chen Yi's gaze beca layered and inscrutable as he silently accepted the mask.
Walking with Chen Yi past the towering city walls, Lu Ying saw the rugged and shadowy mountain terrain outside the city, where the air was thick and hazy. The distant rumble seed to herald looming dust storms, though nothing could be certain. Unable to resist, Lu Ying stopped several tis to take another look. Shantong City was situated on the border of Great Yu, beyond which stretched the northern desert, a place where walking alone left travelers accompanied only by yellow sand—a solitude beyond words.
Thump.
Her forehead was lightly tapped.
Lu Ying turned her head and glared at him angrily.
"Such a young age, and already lancholy beyond your years?" Chen Yi teased with a grin.
Hearing those familiar words, Lu Ying felt annoyed but steadied herself and replied, "Wait until you're my age—you'll understand."
Chen Yi almost chuckled but managed to keep his composure.
He guessed, "Are you pondering loneliness again?"
Lu Ying rembered sharing her inner thoughts with him before and regretted revealing such feelings. But her curiosity won over as she asked:
"Aren't you lonely?"
"I revel in nightly indulgence. Do you think I'm lonely?" Chen Yi pointed to himself with a smile.
Lu Ying glanced at him, imagining this rogue had probably never spent his days truly alone. She chastised him:
"No wonder you're not a true expert."
"I'm Fourth Rank in Martial Arts."
"Still not high enough."
At her words, Chen Yi shrugged and said, "Alright, alright, I've never worried about being lonely, but now I'm worried that you are."
"…Why?"
Her ears caught his remark, and her heart unexpectedly sank.
"I'm afraid your loneliness might lead you to fancy , which would break Yin Sword Mountain's rules." He grinned cheekily.
Lu Ying bristled with irritation. Her thoughts heated up, and without thinking, the words escaped her lips:
"Who would fancy a pig?"
As the words left her mouth, she worried they might have been too harsh, cutting too deep. Turning to look at him, she unexpectedly saw a peculiar expression—not heartbreak, nor amusent—but fear?
"I'm terrified."
"Afraid of what?"
"I'm afraid you might fall for this pig."
With that, Chen Yi donned the pig-faced mask she had given him.
Lu Ying was montarily taken aback by his reply, feeling a vague bitterness in her heart while laughing brightly at the sa ti.
"Who would fall for this pig mask of yours?"
"Oh, really?" Chen Yi muttered in dismay, "Actually, so people fancy and beg to act like a pig—and I still refuse."
"I know who that is."
"Who?"
Lu Ying replied, "A blind person."
Saying this, she quickened her pace and walked forward without looking back.
Chen Yi tucked the mask away and, almost imperceptibly, let out a small breath of relief.
Yingxiang Garden was drawing closer. From afar, he could already see the extravagantly built five-story pavilion. Constructing such a tall building in this kind of district was undoubtedly a breach of Great Yu's architectural codes, but the mountains being high and the Emperor far away ant no one batted an eye. Besides, how could a low building ever match the lavishness of silk rchants? The half-open gates of the garden were painted vermilion, while the fra was left in its natural wood—a blend of invitation and hesitation, much like a woman who wants you to co but doesn't want you to truly stay away.
When they walked through the gates and relayed the coded phrase to the servant, he led them down a corridor to the main hall. The space had several sparse tables and chairs, each occupied by drinkers. A few prostitutes flitted around, entertaining them. As Chen Yi glanced around casually, one of the idle prostitutes called out loudly:
"Which brother-in-law has co to visit?"
"The new brother-in-law," the servant replied with an ingratiating smile.
"Oh, and you've brought soone along."
The idle prostitute approached eagerly, reaching out for his hand, but Chen Yi deflected with a single palm strike.
The prostitute, snubbed, backed off awkwardly and said:
"Find yourselves an empty table to sit at. If brother-in-law fancies any of the sisters, let us know."
The prostitutes here at Yingxiang Garden did not call their clients "patrons"; instead, they referred to them as "brother-in-law." Such was the flavor of the northwest culture.
Seeing how the woman tried to grab Chen Yi's hand right off the bat left Lu Ying annoyed. She ntally cursed, "Northwest barbarians, so tactless—just like Ruo Shu."
Dong Gong Ruo Shu: "?"
Luckily, Dong Gong Ruo Shu wasn't in the main hall.
The servant went upstairs to search for soone while Chen Yi casually found a place to sit. As he glanced around the room, the idle conversations at nearby tables floated into his ears.
"The Jianghu nowadays is truly full of experts. Yesterday, soone caused an uproar at Yuanfeng Building. Even the masters from Liu Yang Studio made an appearance, yet the troublemaker still managed to escape—how magnificent!"
"They say it was a young hero, apparently no more than twenty or thirty years old."
"I heard it was a seventy- or eighty-year-old ghost who rejuvenated and looks youthful again."
"Who told you that? You think this is from so ghost story collection?"
One of the prostitutes, chatting with her companion, said with a laugh, "Even if it was truly a young hero, in my eyes, none are more handso than our brother-in-law here."
"Miss Hanyu, of course you wouldn't dare say we aren't handso when you're right in front of us."
"Certainly not, I wouldn't dare lie to you."
"Well then, Miss Hanyu, tell us—who in the world is more handso than us?"
The prostitute rolled her eyes playfully and then said with a smile, "I've heard that this generation's Taichua Goddess is said to surpass in beauty. Surely her Dao companion is also more handso than any of you."
"You really know how to speak, comparing yourself to the Taichua Goddess and us to her Dao companion, Chen Qianhu."
At this point, one of them seed to recall sothing and said:
"It's said that Chen Qianhu only rose to prominence after eting the Taichua Goddess!"
"I heard he's nothing without her—just her male cauldron. Without the Taichua Goddess, he'd be a nobody." One sneered, "Isn't this a case of the frog eating swan at?"
"I envy him! Why can't I, as a frog, eat swan at too?"
"Maybe Chen Qianhu is a golden toad while you're just an ordinary frog."
Chen Yi: "..."
Well, Yin Weiyin wasn't wrong—there were indeed perks, and so people were envious.
From the side, Lu Ying caught snippets of the drinkers' chatter. Thinking of how Chen Yi, the frog, had sohow managed to climb up to Yin Weiyin, she couldn't help but feel a flicker of emotion. Her eyes shimred faintly with a mysterious light that was hard to decipher, her girlish thoughts an enigma. Yet Chen Yi, perceptive as ever, imdiately noticed the subtle shift in her deanor.
At first, he paid it no mind, but by re chance, his peripheral vision caught the unmistakable glances of two or three prostitutes that kept sweeping toward them...
He placed his hand on his sword hilt and called out loudly:
"Wei the leader, please, let's not play gas!"
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