Why are you looking for me in the middle of the night

"Miss, haven’t we met somewhere before?"

Qi Zun curled his lips into a smile, turning around to stop the woman in the red dress ahead.

"No, we haven’t."

The woman’s tone was cold, and her pace didn’t slow.

Watching her graceful figure gradually fade into the distance, Qi Zun grew anxious. "I am the son of the city lord of Qi City, Qi Zun. May I ask for your name, miss?"

Hearing that he was the son of the city lord, the woman in red paused and turned to look at him. Her red lips parted as she said, "Conveniently, there is something I need you to do."

Qi Zun’s spirits lifted. He puffed out his chest with an air of arrogance. "Qi City is my territory. Here, I can do anything. Whatever you need, just say the word!"

"That won’t be necessary."

The woman said slowly, her crimson eyes glowing as she fixed her gaze on him.

In the next moment, a dazed look crept into Qi Zun’s eyes, a faint red gleam flickering within them.

The woman in red turned and walked away with a graceful, swaying stride.

Behind her, Qi Zun moved stiffly, following step by step.

……

Night fell over the inn.

Outside the window, a light rain began to fall, pattering softly, carried by a gentle breeze that rustled the leaves and brought a chill.

Ye Tian stared at the endless threads of rain through the window, frowning slightly. "It’s been three days now, and still no one from the Xu family has come to negotiate."

"Stay calm."

An Yi sipped his tea, speaking in a leisurely tone.

In truth, whether the Xu family showed up or not didn’t bother him at all.

One thing was certain—the Xu family was bound to stir up trouble.

His goal was still to raise his Destiny Points and complete this bastard’s main quest.

Ye Tian pulled the curtain closed for An Yi. "Alright, it’s late. Young Master, get some rest."

"Stay alert," An Yi said lightly, setting down his teacup.

Ye Tian nodded solemnly.

Both of them understood that things were unlikely to remain so simple from here on.

After Ye Tian left,

Long Aoxue’s slender figure appeared in the room.

"Play chess!"

Long Aoxue held up the board seriously.

An Yi’s forehead creased with exasperation as he patiently advised, "Playing chess is a waste of time. At your age, you should be using it for sleep, not getting hooked on these little games."

Long Aoxue looked a bit puzzled. Then, she held up two fingers. "If you win one round, I’ll take off two pieces of clothing."

An Yi was speechless.

This was ridiculous!

What if he couldn’t win a single round? Then taking off one, two, or even ten pieces wouldn’t make any difference!

Besides, he was the mighty Night Emperor—not some lecherous scumbag!

"Tell you what, I’ll teach you another game. It’s called chess, and it’s way more complex than simple tic-tac-toe."

An Yi grinned, pulling out a different board from his storage space.

Long Aoxue’s eyes lit up. "An Yi, I want to learn this."

Ten minutes later.

"You—didn’t you say the elephant can’t cross the river?"

"I’m on the red side. After twenty moves, I unlock the river-crossing ability."

"Why did you use my chariot to kill my horse?"

"Because my pawn is an engineer who secretly swapped the parts on your chariot. Now the chariot is mine."

"Oh..."

An Yi gripped his piece, a knowing smile curling at the corners of his mouth, and took Long Aoxue’s general with a decisive move.

One round settled the game!

"Pay up," An Yi said leisurely.

Long Aoxue stared blankly at the board. After a long while, she shook her head. "This game feels… unfair…"

An Yi smiled. "Your experience is too shallow. In this world, nothing is fair. That’s reality."

"Alright…"

With that, Long Aoxue unzipped her jacket’s zipper.

An Yi caught a glimpse of pale skin and couldn’t help swallowing. He put on a show of reluctance. "No, you don’t have to… it’s just a game…"

Even though Long Aoxue seemed naive, she wasn’t some little girl. In fact, she was curved in all the right places—a strikingly beautiful woman.

Since arriving in the Ancient Continent, An Yi hadn’t had any real action for a long time.

And this Long Niu girl—foolish and gullible as she was, she was also gorgeous and stacked.

Under her jacket, Long Aoxue wore a black short-sleeve shirt. Through its outline, An Yi could vaguely tell she was going braless.

"Cough, maybe we should stop…"

An Yi raised a hand to stop her movements.

Long Aoxue stared at him in confusion.

An Yi sighed helplessly.

This girl had no idea what she was doing, and it would stir up guilt.

What he was about to do was no different from those creepy uncles who lure innocent little girls with candy!

"A bet is a bet!"

Long Aoxue insisted stubbornly, her face earnest.

"Come on, this—this—ugh, how do I explain it to you…"

Thump, thump!

A knock at the door interrupted Long Aoxue’s unveiling, putting her on high alert. She quickly ducked into the storage space.

Dammit!

An Yi’s forehead creased with irritation as he stepped into his slippers, ready to knock Ye Tian upside the head!

What the hell, knocking at this hour!

Thump, thump!

Another soft knock came.

Just as An Yi was about to open the door, a woman’s sweet voice drifted in from outside.

"Brother Pockmark, are you there?"

The vaguely familiar voice made An Yi freeze for a moment.

Xu Yiyun?

What did this woman want with him this late at night?

"Coming!"

An Yi put on his ghost mask and transformed into Wang Pockmark before opening the door.

Standing outside, soaked to the bone and looking pitiful, was none other than Xu Yiyun.

Her pink dress, drenched by the rain, clung to her body, accentuating her graceful curves.

"You—you got soaked like this…"

An Yi’s throat felt dry as he struggled to speak.

This woman might be a shameless flirt, but she wasn’t bad-looking. Even if she wasn’t a perfect nine out of ten, she was still quite appealing.

And now, seductive in her tight, wet dress—what man could resist?!

Expert-level tea ceremony oil!

"I, I didn’t expect it to rain when I left, and I didn’t bring an umbrella…"

Xu Yiyun spoke in a soft, frail voice, her look utterly pitiful as she gazed at him.

An Yi remained cautious. "What are you doing here?"

He still couldn’t figure out why the eldest daughter of the Xu family would come looking for a servant like him.

Was she after his good looks?

Impossible! Commander Ma was way too ugly!

"Here’s the fifty thousand gold coins. I brought them."

Xu Yiyun gently tugged at the top of her dress, pulling out a few banknotes with an exaggerated motion that revealed a hint of her figure.

An Yi took them blankly.

They were all high-denomination notes worth a thousand gold coins each.

A thick stack!

An Yi quickly accepted the notes, which still carried a faint scent of perfume, and counted them.

Fifty notes, exactly.

Something’s off…

"Cough, why would you give these to me? I’m just a servant," An Yi said, pocketing the notes cautiously. "Besides, I can’t figure out why you, a young lady, would have to come deliver these yourself in the dead of night."

He was truly baffled, racking his brains and still not getting the logic.

"My father always saw that while you’re outwardly just a servant, Ye Tian listens to you. That’s why he sent me to give you the gold notes in exchange for the marriage contract," Xu Yiyun explained.

An Yi pressed on. "But why at night?"

Couldn’t she come during a proper hour?

Xu Yiyun looked at him with seductive, enchanting eyes, avoiding his question and gently changing the subject. "Brother Pockmark, that phrase you once said—'A young man must not be looked down upon'—still echoes in my ears to this day. Truly, it was eye-opening and deeply admirable."

An Yi: "..."

The way this plot is developing... something's not right!