ng Bai found that the woman were a lot less reserved than he first thought.
At first, it had been harmless.
Teasing glances. Soft laughter. Playful jabs about his cultivation and his cute nose.
But now ng Bai was starting to sweat—and not from excitent.
The won had drawn closer. Too close.
The one who had poured him tea earlier now had her hand resting atop his, her fingers slowly tracing faint circles on his skin. Her eyes, though still smiling, held a weight to them—one that didn't quite match the playful tone of her voice.
"Senior Brother ng," she purred, "you must have so truly rare treasures on you. Surely a powerful young man like yourself carries more than just good looks?"
Before he could respond, the second woman leaned in from the other side, brushing her lips near his ear as she whispered, "You know, we've always heard that n from the Silent Lotus World carry the scent of spirit lotuses… Is that true? Or is it just you?"
Her breath sent a shiver down his spine—not from pleasure, but sothing deeper.
The third woman, who until now had been the most reserved, suddenly leaned forward with a bright, radiant smile.
"Senior Brother," she said sweetly, "why don't you show us your storage ring? I'm curious what kinds of trinkets a cultivator of your caliber would carry. We promise not to touch—just a peek."
That was the mont ng Bai's instincts flared.
He had been raised in the Green Lotus Temple for a few years now. Trained by Lin Mu himself. Tempered by years of drills, spiritual lessons, and occasional threats involving flying rocks from the naughty trio. Daoist Chu might have taught him a bit about the art of flirtation, but Lin Mu had drilled into him sothing far more important:
If it feels too good to be true, it probably involves poison, illusions, or a very large bill.
He laughed—nervously. "Ahaha, you all are quite curious, aren't you? But unfortunately, my ring is sealed by my master's decree. Can't open it without blowing myself up. Very inconvenient, yes."
ng Bai was not going to reveal the contents of his ring that might very well put several immortal sects to sha.
"Really?" the first woman tilted her head. "That sounds like an awfully specific seal…"
"It is," ng Bai nodded rapidly. "Exploding eyebrows. Very grueso." He made up an excuse on the spot.
He stood up suddenly, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeves. "Anyway! It's been a delightful evening, truly, but I just rembered I left my beast companion in the garden and he gets cranky if left too long."
"Little Shrubby?" the second woman asked with a grin far too knowing. "He's been watching from the rooftop this whole ti."
ng Bai froze.
He slowly turned his head and saw, indeed, Little Shrubby's glowing yellow eyes staring from above a tiled roof. His tail was flicking slowly. The look on his face was the sa one he had when he found a squirrel hiding in a flowerpot—amused, alert, and one blink away from violence.
"…Ah," ng Bai said weakly.
"Co now," the third woman said as she gently tugged on his sleeve. "Why rush away? We haven't even told you our nas yet."
"No, no," ng Bai said, carefully disengaging himself, "mystery is good. Builds tension. Daoist Chu always said, 'A little distance makes the heart explode in romantic combustion.' Or sothing like that."
He bowed—far too deeply—then practically fled the teahouse.
Behind him, the won watched him go, the smiles fading from their faces one by one.
The first let out a sigh. "He's more alert than expected."
"Too bad," the second said. "He seed easy at first."
The third leaned back in her seat and tapped her fan against the table. "Let's report this. If he's sharp now, we'll have to adjust the plan."
Several rooftops away, ng Bai landed in a crouch beside Lin Mu and Little Shrubby, panting slightly.
"Master," he said, wide-eyed, "those won were not just flirtatious."
"Obviously," Lin Mu replied, sipping calmly from his tea gourd. "What gave it away? The probing questions or the request to see your storage ring?" There was no way he was going to leave ng Bai alone with the won.
"…Yes." ng bai uttered.
Lin Mu had sensed there was sothing wrong with them. While he was used to the attention of woman, having been the target many tis, he could tell they were a bit excessive with ng Bai. Praising his cultivation base endlessly, even though he was not even an immortal.
Of course being a Peak Nascent Soul realm cultivator at the age of twenty four was still praise worthy even in an Immortal World, but the won were all immortals. Normally they shouldn't be this probing with junior cultivators.
Little Shrubby growled quietly. "Their scent was off. They were using mild charm talismans."
ng Bai blinked. "Wait. What?"
Lin Mu sighed. "Low-grade illusion charms. Subtle, hard to detect unless you're trained or immune. You were resisting on instinct."
ng Bai's ti in the Green Lotus temple had tempered his mind and he wasn't going to go astray so easily now.
"Does that an…" ng Bai frowned. "They were spies? Thieves?"
"Maybe both," Lin Mu said. "Or just bait for soone else. Either way, there's a chance they knew we'd be passing through here or they suspect sothing."
A tense pause.
Then Lin Mu added, "You did well to pull away. Daoist Chu would be proud."
ng Bai sat down, suddenly exhausted. "That was not the romantic evening I thought I was getting…"
"Well," Lin Mu said dryly, "welco to adult cultivator life." Even though he himself had not participated in it as much.
He stood up and looked westward, toward the fading sun.
"Let's move. We'll leave soon. The first city was just a taste."
ng Bai rose to his feet with a groan. "Great. So we're just walking into traps now, huh?"
"No," Lin Mu said, smirking faintly. "Now we're walking into them prepared."
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