Master Superficial

Yaoqin lowered her gaze to the crumpled talisman in her hand.

The blood energy contained within it was ferocious and highly aggressive, but at its core, it seemed similar to the blood spirit stone Chu Xingchen had given her.

However, the blood energy in the talisman was clearly being used as a weapon, while the energy in the spirit stone was relatively stable.

Chu Xingchen's cultivation had advanced so rapidly.

She had trusted him without asking too many questions.

The Qingfeng Sect was actually quite far from Yuzhou City.

Why would they risk extending their reach to the vicinity of Yuzhou City? That would be like asking for trouble.

It didn’t align with their interests unless they were here to track Chu Xingchen.

But Chu Xingchen was leisurely staying in Yuzhou City, clearly confident that he had handled things cleanly without leaving any loose ends.

Chu Xingchen was no fool. If someone had been following him, he would have noticed quickly. Otherwise, given the dangerous situations he’d been in before, he would have been long dead.

This meant… Chu Xingchen must be hiding something from her.

Or perhaps he had turned to demonic cultivation!

Yaoqin tightened her grip on the talisman. "I’m going out to change my clothes. We’ll talk when I get back."

Her maid quickly asked, "Miss, aren’t you taking me with you?"

"No," Yaoqin replied decisively as she picked up her clothes.

Little Ling hesitated but could only watch as her mistress hurried away.

Yaoqin once again glanced at the note in her hand.

It was from Chu Xingchen, containing his current address.

After confirming it, she stood in front of a tightly shut courtyard—Chu Xingchen’s current residence.

Yaoqin reached out and gently knocked on the door.

The response came quickly.

"Coming~"

It wasn’t Chu Xingchen’s voice but that of a woman.

The door soon opened.

A pure and beautiful young girl, smiling brightly, opened the door. Her expression froze when she saw Yaoqin, and her smile faded.

"Did you get the wrong house?"

Yaoqin frowned slightly at the girl before her and asked coldly,

"Does Chu Xingchen live here?"

Li Yingling was also taken aback by the cold, elegant woman before her.

Who was this person? She had just dropped her master’s name so casually.

Was she an old flame?

Or an enemy?

More importantly, how should she answer this question?

Did her master even live here?

It was clear that the woman before her had cultivation, and her own Foundation Establishment level strength couldn’t see through her.

"That name… sounds familiar. What do you want with him?"

Li Yingling tried to deflect the question.

"I have business with him."

"What kind of business?"

Yaoqin’s brow furrowed. "What does that have to do with you? Does he live here or not?"

Li Yingling put on a friendly smile.

"I’m not sure about the name, but my brother has a good memory. He’ll definitely know if Chu Xingchen lives here. Let me ask him. Wait a moment."

With that, Li Yingling quickly closed the door.

She hurried to her second junior brother’s room and knocked urgently.

Li Xingtian soon opened the door, looking at his senior sister. "What’s wrong? Did something happen?"

Li Yingling whispered, "There’s a woman at the door looking for Master. I don’t know what it’s about. Go find Master and tell him a cold, beautiful woman is looking for him."

"If she’s here to cause trouble, give me the signal when you come back, and I’ll say Master doesn’t live here."

"If she’s an old flame… tell Master to come back quickly."

Li Xingtian frowned… Was his senior sister overthinking this?

But seeing the seriousness in her expression, he nodded and agreed to her plan.

After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Li Yingling added, "Go out the back door. I’ll stall her!"

"Senior sister, be careful too," Li Xingtian said before quickly turning and heading for the back door.

As for where his master was now, Li Xingtian had a rough idea.

His master always told his disciples where he was going in case something happened.

Right now, his master was most likely… at the brothel, listening to music?

Ever since his master had fished up a corpse, he had decided to change his method of tempering his mindset.

Though Li Xingtian didn’t understand how listening to women sing could help with that.

What was so great about listening to women sing?

Li Xingtian slipped out the back door, carefully observing his surroundings to make sure no one noticed him, and then quickly headed toward the brothel his master had mentioned.

The brothel wasn’t far.

A few streets away were nothing for a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator.

Soon, Li Xingtian arrived at the brothel his master had mentioned.

Several scantily clad women were leaning seductively against the brothel’s entrance, holding instruments like pipas and singing suggestive lyrics.

Just the entrance alone made it clear this was no decent establishment.

It was utterly disgraceful. Didn’t Yuzhou City have any rules?

Master, how could you be so foolish! These women are nothing but deceitful temptresses!

Li Xingtian’s expression turned cold. He had long seen through such shallow charms.

However, entering the brothel required payment.

A servant waiting at the door quickly approached him.

"Sir, here to listen to some music?"

Li Xingtian had no time for small talk. He shoved some silver into the servant’s hands and walked into the brothel.

His eyes scanned the room. Almost every man had a brothel girl in his arms, engaging in indecent behavior.

Soon, his gaze landed on his master in the far corner.

What surprised Li Xingtian was that his master wasn’t behaving like the other men, groping and fondling.

Instead, he was calmly sipping tea, a gentle smile on his face as he chatted with a pipa-playing brothel girl.

Li Xingtian didn’t think too much about it and quickly walked over.

Chu Xingchen sipped his tea leisurely.

The pipa-playing brothel girl before him looked at him with admiration.

She murmured, "You are truly remarkable, young master… Your insights are profound, and I am deeply impressed."

The man before her had a unique perspective and exceptional knowledge, whether it was poetry, music, astronomy, geography, or even the changes of the world.

Cheap brothel girls, like the ones singing at the entrance to attract customers, naturally didn’t need to learn much. They just had to know how to sing and play a few instruments.

Every profession had its hierarchy.

She had been trained as a top-tier courtesan since childhood, studying poetry, music, and dance meticulously. Even her every word and action had been carefully cultivated.

Her vision and abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people. She knew how to appreciate and could truly appreciate.

Most of the men she encountered were lustful, crude, and vulgar, their greed evident in their eyes.

But this young master was different.

His every word and action exuded the demeanor of a true gentleman.

And he was… incredibly handsome.

His eyes seemed to shimmer with starlight.

It was said that her job was to entertain guests, but now she felt like she was the one being charmed.

Talking to this elegant man felt like basking in a warm spring breeze.

This contrast made the handsome man before her seem like an immortal from the heavens, not of this world.

Chu Xingchen gently set down his tea, seeing the admiration in the woman’s eyes. It seemed his charm hadn’t faded.