Chapter 753: Red Dust Emotional Suppression Pavilion

After thinking about everything that happened from the moment he broke down the door, to the seemingly contrived banquet, to the way Tenth Prince arrogantly took out the bag of holding, Xu Qing was left thinking one thing.

It seems entirely possible this Tenth Prince isn’t the silkpants everyone thinks he is....

Although it seemed like a case of Xu Qing making a big splash and Tenth Prince acting domineering, the reality was more nuanced. There were deeper things going on.

That said, in many instances, one isolated incident isn’t enough to make a broad judgment. The only way to determine if Tenth Prince really had set the entire thing up would only become apparent later as he took other actions. Given that, Tenth Prince’s actions actually made a lot of sense. He didn’t care if people other than Xu Qing and Ningyan realized what was really going on, as the power of words could overcome many obstacles.

As Xu Qing thought about those things, Ningyan was at his side, his eyes also flickering thoughtfully. As an imperial prince, Ningyan was naturally not an idiot, and he had picked up on some of the same clues. He looked over at Xu Qing, and Xu Qing looked back and nodded. Together, they returned to Ningyan’s mansion.

Back inside, Ningyan took Xu Qing to the mansion’s shrine hall. There, he opened the bag of holding to reveal a scroll painting. There was nothing else inside. Apparently, it wasn’t something that would normally be stored in a bag of holding, as it took effort to extract it without destroying the bag itself and losing the scroll to spatial rifts. The scroll painting was wrapped up in a special package that was designed to facilitate its storage in the bag of holding.

All of that made it abundantly clear the Tenth Prince had been meticulous in making preparations that required a lot of time and effort to handle properly.

That was another reason why Ningyan had been in such a hurry to leave, and hadn’t bothered checking thoroughly what was inside the bag of holding.

After taking out the scroll painting, Ningyan felt a bit shaky. He rubbed the painting with trembling hands, his eyes glimmering with reminiscence. Finally, he unfurled it and hung it on the wall of the shrine hall.

It depicted a young woman. She wore a simple yet elegant blue gown. Her hair was not bound and her smile seemed shrewd and even crafty. She wasn’t stunningly beautiful, and in fact, there were many people in the world more attractive than her. But there was no doubt that she had a strong personality. The light in her eyes shone through even in the painting, making it clear how vivacious she was.

Looking more melancholy than ever, Ningyan approached the painting, lit some incense, and bowed to his mother.

Xu Qing solemnly stepped forward, lit some incense, and bowed. Then, as he looked at the painting, and specifically Ningyan’s mother’s eyes, his expression flickered.

He had no idea who had painted this image, but they executed it in a very lifelike way. For example, he had gone to the trouble of painting the pupils in the eyes. But it wasn’t just the pupils that were painted in detail; there were also reflections in the pupils. Although they were somewhat blurry, the general shape was visible, and at first, it seemed like an altar.... But if you looked more closely, you would realize it was actually a building. The specific details of the building weren’t clear.

Xu Qing decided to revisit the matter later. Looking to the side, he saw that Ningyan was lost in thought as he looked at the painting. Xu Qing, having experienced moments like this himself, knew that Ningyan probably wanted to be alone. He left the shrine hall, being careful not to disturb Ningyan. As he made his way through the mansion, he encountered occasional patrolling swordsages. Other than them, the mansion was relatively empty. A faint breeze blew, causing the bells hanging from the eaves to chime. That only added to the emptiness.

Plumdark hadn’t returned, nor the Captain. Both of them were handling their own matters in the imperial capital. Kong Xianglong went out to pay a visit to Li Yunshan.

That meant that the only people left in the mansion with Ningyan were Xu Qing and Wu Jianwu.

Some distance away, Wu Jianwu sat at the edge of the lake reciting some poetry in the breeze.

“The water ripples, mortality is tangible; a koi fish roasts here in the capital!”

“Great poem. Really great poem!”

The poem was recited by Wu Jianwu, and the praise came from the parrot.

Xu Qing scanned the lake with divine will and saw Wu Jianwu sitting there, looking thoughtfully at the surface of the water. As he continued to recite more poetry, the parrot didn’t just spout praise. It had taken on an additional task. It was keeping a record. It was recording all of Wu Jianwu’s poetry in a jade slip, for when Wu Jianwu occasionally needed to reference them.

Seeing how much fun they were having, Xu Qing chose to just sit down on the stone slabs of the courtyard. The sensation of the breeze, and the sound of the chiming bells, caused him to gradually relax. As he reviewed all of the information of late, he came to the realization that he was probably going to be in the capital for a while. After all, he was here, yet the emperor hadn’t summoned him yet.

Xu Qing wasn’t in a hurry. After getting his thoughts in order, he closed his eyes and started working on his cultivation. The spirit energy in the capital was stronger than in Sea-Sealing County. And though there was still mutagen, it existed in much lower levels. For mortals, it meant that their longevity was very close to normal. For cultivators, it meant that cultivation progress came a lot quicker, and the chances of mutation were infinitely smaller.

Therefore, Xu Qing didn’t want to waste this opportunity, and immersed himself in cultivation. As of now, he had three god troves. Unfortunately, he wasn’t even sure of how to progress with his fourth. It was something he needed to put some thought into going forward. Other than that, he had his god states.

The god state associated with his first god trove was easy to sustain. But his second-level god state needed Crimson Mother’s flesh, and that was a big waste, especially considering the god state didn’t last for long. There was little need to mention his third-level god state.

I need to figure out a way to change that.

Before coming to the imperial capital, he had asked Master Seventh about the situation. His Master had told him that he would be able to find the answer in the imperial capital.

There were red lanterns everywhere, and a lot of foot traffic in the area. The open-air courtyard was filled with small buildings separated by ornamental rocks and connected with meandering paths. The little buildings all had spell formations that could be used to create privacy.

Meng Yunbai was obviously a regular here, as he was immediately noticed by the granny in charge, who walked over with a smile on her face. She was called ‘granny,’ but was actually an attractive middle-aged woman. She had a flirtatious look in her eyes, but if you looked closely, you could see a cold glint there. Being hot on the outside but cold on the inside was one way to make yourself a lot more attractive.

Meng Yunbai casually slipped his arm around the ‘granny’s’ waist and then pointed at Xu Qing. “Recognize him?”

The ‘granny’ looked Xu Qing over, and the pupils in her beautiful eyes constricted. She smiled. “Young Sir Xu! Who hasn’t heard about you?”

Xu Qing’s expression was the same as ever as he looked around. He wasn’t very comfortable in places like this. As for Huang Kun, though he had started out being reserved, being in this familiar environment, he started to loosen up a bit. As Meng Yunbai continued to laugh and chat, the ‘granny’ led them onward.

The smell of perfume filled the air, lending a sense of romance to the place. It was a really nice brothel, that was clear. Some of the buildings had guards, and when they spotted Meng Yunbai, they clasped hands and bowed.

There were beautiful, alluring women everywhere. When they noticed Xu Qing, almost all of them stopped and stared. In sharp contrast, Xu Qing ignored them.

Before long, the ‘granny’ had led the three of them to one particular building which was completely empty except for a young woman playing a zither.

However, as Xu Qing got closer, it was like walking through a sheet of water and into an otherworldly paradise. Within that otherworldly paradise was a huge immortal hotspring. The spirit energy a dense mist that filled the area and cleared the mind. Not too far away were a dozen or so young men, toasting each other and chatting. Each young man had a beautiful woman at his side, each of whom was attractive in a different way.

Seated in the very middle was a young man in a black robe embroidered with a starry sky. He was extraordinary, being very handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and eyes that sparkled like stars. He was currently chatting with the woman next to him. He was obviously the host of this event, the junior emperor of the Star Emperor Preeminence Sect. Music drifted about, and there were dancers performing. The atmosphere was very warm.

When Xu Qing, Meng Yunbai, and Huang Kun entered, everyone in the immortal hotspring looked over. Meng Yunbai stepped forward, clasped hands to the young man in the starry sky robe, then laughed heartily.

“Brother Peng, sorry that Huang Kun and I have come late, but we brought a new friend with us. I don’t think I need to introduce Xu Qing to any of you. You’ve all heard of him.”

All gazes shifted to Xu Qing. Some people even rose, smiled at him, and clasped hands.

Junior Emperor Peng looked at Xu Qing and nodded. His expression wasn’t cold, but neither was it warm. It was neutral.

Xu Qing nodded to everyone, then found a place to sit down. Meng Yunbai chatted for a bit, then went over to Xu Qing to explain who everyone was. They were either nobility or disciples from major sects. They were sizing Xu Qing up while he did the same to them. Regardless of what they were thinking on the inside, they were all smiles on the outside.

Eventually, some beautiful girls arrived, and one of them, who was fairer than any of the others, gracefully sat down next to Xu Qing.

“Young Sir,” she said with a smile, “you look a bit out of sorts.”

Xu Qing wasn’t necessarily out of sorts. It was just his first time being in a situation like this.

***

In the Red Dust Pavilion’s shrine hall, the clay fox stirred, and hēr eyes suddenly glittered.

Should I go have a look at the naughty little boy...?

1. We met Meng Yunbai in chapters 547.1 and 547.2. ☜

Deathblade's Thoughts

This chapter was much longer than average, being around 4,500 Chinese characters instead of the standard 3,000.

ALSO!

Starting with this chapter, I'm uploading a ton of chapters in preparation for my trip to China. I want to make sure there are plenty on the WW end in case I experience travel delays or internet issues. As a result, there are going to be about a week of chapters with NO shoutouts for reviews. Once I'm in China, back on line, and start uploading chapters to WW again, the shoutouts will resume. Thank you for your patience!