CH 32

9-11 minutes 12.05.2023

Li Xing knew that it was time for him to choose a side.

Should he help the Holy Saint keep this matter a secret, or should he betray his own Holy Saint and stand with the Holy Maiden?

It wasn’t a difficult choice.

Although the Holy Maiden has a stunning figure, the Holy Saint had been treating him and his companion far better.

The Holy Saint had helped him clear his debts and let him and his companions live a normal life. He had even brought them to the famous Red Blossom Pavilion in the entire city to enjoy…

“Ah, haha… Holy Maiden, how could we know where the Holy Saint went while looking like this?”

Li Xing said with a forced smile, and he signaled to Old Wang beside him.

Old Wang, who understood his intentions, nodded at their Holy Maiden.

Bai Xiaoyao narrowed her beautiful eyes.

“You are all disciples of the Demon Sect, you should know what the consequences of deceiving me are, right?”

Her tone remained indifferent.

Li Xing felt his legs go weak.

He couldn’t bring himself to say, “How could we dare to deceive the Holy Maiden?”

At this point, Bai Xiaoyao smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to blame Senior Brother for anything. I just have some business with him.”

Under the enchanting smile of the demoness, Li Xing almost couldn’t hold on.

But he managed to hold back.

Seeing that the two of them were still hesitating, Bai Xiaoyao changed the subject:

“I heard that you have a grudge with a craftsman named Lu Bin?”

Upon hearing Bai Xiaoyao’s words, Li Xing and Old Wang were both stunned, but their eyes flashed with a hint of resentment.

“I brought him back from the Demon Sect and put him in the Demon Artifact Pavilion, on the third floor, in the wooden box near the stairs.”

The two officers were stunned for a moment, then looked at their Holy Maiden with surprise.

“My Senior Brother may not have told you about this, but we have many other plans besides this. That’s why I’m here to find him,” Bai Xiaoyao explained persuasively. “He didn’t ask you to keep his whereabouts a secret from me, did he?”

(Actually, he didn’t…)

Li Xing was a bit dazed.

Keeping this kind of thing a secret was an unspoken agreement, and he subconsciously felt that he couldn’t tell the Holy Maiden.

But now it seems that he may have been mistaken?

Is the Holy Maiden really looking for the Holy Saint for a legitimate reason?

He exchanged a glance with the old Wang next to him.

After thinking for a moment, old Wang finally said, “The Holy Saint is on the fourth floor, in the room of the courtesan Yao Ji.”

“But Yao Ji is only selling her arts, not her body. The Holy Saint is just listening to music up there!” Li Xing, who knew that old Wang wouldn’t speak up, quickly added.

Satisfied, Bai Xiaoyao nodded and once again merged into the light and shadow.

Although her senior brother had really come to Red Blossom Pavilion, if he was only there to listen to music…

It still wasn’t very good. How could the dignified Holy Saint of the Demon Sect come to a place like this to listen to music? If she wanted to listen to music, she had some knowledge of music theory herself and could easily have her senior brother stay at the newly purchased mansion to listen to her play music.

Seeing the Holy Maiden disappear, the two young officers also breathed a sigh of relief.

But then they became a bit uneasy.

They shouldn’t be betraying the Holy Saint, right?

…………

Bai Xiaoyao quickly found the right room.

After all, the room of a courtesan was always somewhat different. There was even a sign outside the door clearly stating that they only sold their art, not their bodies, which made it easy to distinguish.

But Bai Xiaoyao frowned as she silently entered the room.

There were only two women in the room.

One of them was quite beautiful, with a plain wooden harp in her hand, and looked like the courtesan Yao Ji of Red Blossom Pavilion.

As for the other woman, based on her attire, she was probably Yao Ji’s maid.

“But what about my senior brother?”

Bai Xiaoyao didn’t believe that the two staff members from the Demon Artifact Pavilion would dare to deceive her.

So she tried to sense her surroundings.

If her senior brother was really in this small room, even if he was intentionally concealing himself, he couldn’t completely hide from her.

(He’s not here…)

Bai Xiaoyao was puzzled.

After a little thought, she approached the second woman in the room a bit.

She saw the courtesan who was kneeling on the ground playing the zither, lightly laughing a couple of times to the maid next to her.

“I’ve been at the Red Blossom Pavilion for so long, but it’s the first time I’ve seen such a strange guest. He just left hastily from the window after listening to my song. It makes me wonder about my own charm.”

The maid, Xiao Guai replied, “That gentleman doesn’t know how to appreciate beauty. Sister Yao Ji is beautiful and her music is even more beautiful. It’s his loss if he doesn’t listen to more songs.”

“You’re quite eloquent… I suppose that gentleman has other business to attend to. If even my musical talent is rejected, I don’t know what else I have to offer.”

Yao Ji covered her mouth and smiled.

Bai Xiaoyao, who was eavesdropping in secret, flashed her eyes.

(They  must be talking about my senior brother… It seems that he did come here, but he left after listening to just one song…)

So her senior brother didn’t come here just to listen to music, but had another purpose?

Her senior brother was indeed her senior brother.

She didn’t know what his real goal was, and why he had to bring those staff officers along to cover his tracks…

Did the person who lured her here know her senior brother’s true purpose?

(No, I have to find my senior brother as soon as possible.)

Bai Xiaoyao quickly made a decision and glanced at the still-open window before leaving the area while keeping herself hidden.

It wasn’t until she was far enough away that the two people in the room put away their smiles.

“Sister, was that…”

The maid Xiao Guai looked at the woman in front of her with a solemn gaze.

“That girl must be here to see the young master from before,” she said.

Yao Ji shook her head and lightly plucked the strings of her qin with her pure white fingers. “Although I can’t sense her cultivation level, these eyes of mine can tell that the girl is using a demonic technique.”

“Demonic technique?” Xiao Guai frowned. “So it seems that the young master is also a member of the Demon Sect.”

At this point, the young girl snorted again. “That guy must not be a good person. He intentionally used a false name to see elder sister and was so willing to spend money. He must have originally had improper thoughts about elder sister, but his intentions dissipated after listening to her music and he left.”

“Long Dahai? How could anyone have such a ridiculous name?”

Yao Ji recalled the handsome young man in white clothes with a sword at his waist, but smiled and said, “You guessed wrong this time.”

“Hmm?” Xiao Guai was a bit puzzled.

“He really just listened to my song the entire time, he had me play 5 songs in succession.”

Yao Ji plucked the qin strings, emitting a clear and melodious sound.

Xiao Guai’s face clearly showed an expression of disbelief.

But she still said with an unnatural expression, “Well, I guess he can be considered a decent person.”

(But he could clearly have continued listening…)

Yao Ji kept her thoughts to herself but maintained a composed expression on her face. “How is the preparation coming along?” she asked, getting down to business.

“It’s ready, but we need to wait for another month to get the perfect timing,” replied Xiao Guai, her expression solemn as she spoke.

“Good. We only have one chance at this, and we can’t afford to mess it up,” said Yao Ji with determination.

“Yes,” agreed Xiao Guai, bowing before leaving the room.

As she left, Xiao Guai couldn’t help but glance at the ancient qin that Yao Ji was caressing. It seemed different from the one she saw earlier. Why did her elder “sister” replace the qin? There must be a deeper meaning behind it.

Once Xiao Guai was gone, Yao Ji lightly stroked the qin, and it disappeared as if the space had shifted. In its place was another almost identical qin, except that there was a beautiful Star-Moon jade embedded in one corner.

Touching the beautiful jade, Yao Ji looked in the direction of the window. “Hmph, he says he’s not interested in women, but he’s clearly got the attention of a stunningly beautiful girl,” she muttered, showing a hint of irritation at the image she had seen with her “eyes”.

“You only said that if some men come to find me, I can tell them the truth of what had happened here, but you didn’t say what to do if a woman comes to find you…”

“But what I had implied to that girl should be beneficial for you.”

“Just take it as a return gift for the jade you gave me.”

There was a big smile on Yao Ji’s face.

She believed that the young master would come to listen to her music again in the future.

She had confidence in her skills with the qin.