You don't want the task of saving the world to fail in your hands, do you

"Where are you two gentlemen headed?"

"Wherever we please. Is Miss Shanghua up yet?"

"How would a lowly one like me know such things? But I can certainly inquire for you."

"At least you’ve got some sense."

Xu Jin watched as Chu Xingchen casually tossed out a fifty-tael silver note during the brief exchange.

The attendant moved swiftly, scooping up the note while bowing and scraping with an ingratiating smile:

"Please wait, sir. I’ll go ask right away."

With that, the attendant turned and hurried off.

Chu Xingchen barely glanced at him before continuing forward without a care.

Xu Jin, following closely, couldn’t help but ask in confusion:

"Aren’t we waiting?"

Chu Xingchen didn’t break stride as he replied:

"For a core disciple of the Mysterious Purity Heavenly Sect, you’re hopeless at throwing your weight around. With our status, it’s others who answer to us—not the other way around."

Xu Jin nodded slightly. "I understand the principle. But after my hidden devotional power was discovered last night, should we really be this brazen today?"

Just the night before, barely after settling into their rooms—before Chu Xingchen and Xu Jin could even begin their planned nighttime exploration of the pleasure quarters—Xu Jin’s covert devotional connection had been counter-tracked.

Stuck in enemy territory, Xu Jin had no choice but to sever the link. What had once been faintly perceptible was now pure guesswork.

One had to admit—the Buddhist sect lived up to its reputation.

You could call them shameless, but never incompetent.

Chu Xingchen had his own take: "How can a core disciple of the Mysterious Purity Heavenly Sect be this pathetic? Getting your own spy turned against you? Some double-agent nonsense."

Their nighttime reconnaissance had to be scrapped. Now they could only hope to uncover clues in daylight.

"What else can we do? Since the Buddhist sect remodeled Banruo City like this, there must be a reason," Chu Xingchen said, striding ahead. "Now I’ve got to be the bait, risking life and limb to clean up your mess."

Xu Jin said nothing, watching as the so-called "bait" Chu Xingchen lazily flicked another banknote toward the mature woman who’d guided them yesterday and now waited eagerly outside again.

He observed her fawning attentiveness.

This was what he called "risking life and limb"? More like "women are tigers" from those mountain folktales.

Xu Jin sighed inwardly but quickened his pace to keep up.

After tossing the silver, Chu Xingchen’s tone abruptly turned serious:

"You lied to me yesterday. Did you take me for one of my idiot friends? Miss Shanghua doesn’t live next to my room at all."

The woman hastily stuffed the note into her bosom before stammering:

"The pure courtesans all stay in the inner compound at night. But the room you’re in—that’s where Miss Shanghua practices and rests during the day. How would I dare deceive you?"

Chu Xingchen frowned. "What use is daytime?"

The woman froze, unsure how to respond. While his intentions had always been obvious, this was beyond blatant.

"Tell me," Chu Xingchen demanded, "which room in the inner compound is Miss Shanghua’s, and how do I get there?"

"That won’t do, sir!" the woman protested. "No men are allowed in the pure courtesans’ quarters. There are powerful guards inside."

"Is that your concern?" Chu Xingchen halted, glaring. "I asked for directions, not a chaperone. Whether or how I enter is my choice—not yours to dictate."

She hesitated, but feeling the crisp banknote against her skin, she leaned in and whispered:

"Sir... I’ll draw you a map later... Just swear you won’t say it came from me."

Chu Xingchen smiled approvingly and pushed away the woman clinging to his arm:

"I’ve many virtues, and coincidentally, loyalty happens to be one."

With that, he tossed her another note.

Her eyes lit up as she tucked it away. "Do you have plans today, sir?"

"You offering?" Chu Xingchen smirked. "Pity—when I’m sentimental, I only love one at a time."

The woman blinked.

Only one when sentimental? So many when not?

The line was shameless yet smooth.

"I dislike being managed," Chu Xingchen added with a roguish grin. "Do you know what’s sweetest in this world?"

She shook her head slowly.

"A woman’s heart," he said, smile widening. "That genuine devotion to you—that’s the real delicacy. The most unforgettable. The body? Mere base pleasure."

For the first time, she stammered: "Y-you’re absolutely right, sir."

"Now, I do have a task for you," Chu Xingchen said, all levity vanishing. "Arrange a meeting with your master. I know this place has ties to cultivators. Coincidentally, so do I."

He gestured to the silent Xu Jin:

"This gentleman is the grandnephew of Daoist Yuyang, one of the Central Continent’s Eighteen Immortal Sects’ Taidao Sect."

Xu Jin closed his eyes.

Sometimes he wished he’d gone deaf around Chu Xingchen.

The woman looked puzzled. She didn’t know the Taidao Sect, but "grandnephew"? Wasn’t that practically outside the nine degrees of kinship?

"I know you don’t grasp the prestige," Chu Xingchen said, raising a brow. "Just deliver the message. If your master agrees, you’ll be rewarded. If not, I’ll compensate you anyway."

Another note slid into her palm.

"Of course, sir. Your wish is my command."

She forced a smile.

"Go now," Chu Xingchen urged. "My schedule’s tight."

After she scurried off, Xu Jin took a deep breath and stepped closer:

"Aren’t you overreaching? What proof do we have of any relation to Daoist Yuyang?"

Without answering, Chu Xingchen produced a jade pendant from his spatial ring.

The characters "Yu Yang" danced across its surface in flamboyant elegance.

Back when Daoist Yuyang had gifted Li Junzi, Chu Xingchen had traded his handwritten bamboo scroll as a token of friendship, swapping for this very pendant.

Originally, he’d imagined using it for discounts—Daoist Yuyang’s name carried weight. But now it served an unexpected purpose.

A brothel with cultivator backing wouldn’t bite for mere wealthy merchants. Gold and spirit stones weren’t interchangeable.

Chu Xingchen pressed the pendant into Xu Jin’s hand, dead serious:

"You know I’m a terrible actor—especially at playing the grandson. That’s your role now. Can’t change it after what I just said."

Xu Jin’s eyes widened in realization. No wonder Chu Xingchen had been making decisions unilaterally along the way without consulting him—he had been setting this up all along!

"Your acting is bad? Then whose is good?" he snapped sharply.

"I’ve never played the coward either!"

Hearing this, Chu Xingchen sighed, his face a picture of helplessness.

"Then you handle playing the fool. Leave the rest to me."

"You wouldn’t want the fate of saving the common people to be ruined in your hands, would you?"

Xu Jin’s grip slowly tightened around the jade slip engraved with the name of his defeated rival.