Chapter 31

Yun Yan was like a spineless pufferfish, puffing up in anger but looking completely harmless. He was about to argue with these ignorant brats who had repeatedly offended them when Chu Xianyue lightly pressed the Ancient Dragon Blade back down with one hand before it had even revealed half of its blade.

Yun Yan glanced at Chu Xianyue, then reluctantly sheathed his sword, glaring resentfully at Li Jingyuan and the others.

Chu Xianyue turned to Li Jingyuan with a calm and indifferent gaze, a look that seemed to see right through them.

Chu Xianyue calmly raised one hand, and suddenly, a spiritual script appeared in his palm in mid-air, reaching the city lords of the twelve cities of the Immortal Sect. This spiritual script was now being sent to the city lord of Jianshui City. With a wave of his hand, the spiritual script turned into a wisp of gold and drifted away.

Everyone saw his spiritual message. Only the most virtuous and respected cultivators among the four great immortal leaders had the authority to relay messages to the city lords of the twelve cities of the immortal sect at any time. And clearly, it was obvious that Chu Xianyue's message was definitely to the city lord of Jianshui City.

Li Jingyuan scrutinized Chu Xianyue and Xie Wen's group with a probing gaze, thinking to himself that they did indeed seem to have some cultivation, but so what? Li Jingyuan directly asked Chu Xianyue, "What did you send to my father? You better not tell on me!"

Xie Wen snorted coldly, "What, is this young city lord scared? He's such a grown man and he's still so afraid of his father? What a coward."

From childhood to adulthood, what Li Jingyuan hated most was people saying he was afraid of his father, because it was an unavoidable fact. Xie Wen had touched a nerve with Li Jingyuan, who glared at Xie Wen angrily and said, "What did you say!"

Xie Wen raised an eyebrow, completely ignoring Li Jingyuan's anger, and said, "Fine, you made me say it again, you're just afraid of your father. Coward."

Li Jingyuan was already furious and shouted, "You're talking nonsense! I'm not afraid of my father. What is he anyway!"

Li Jingyuan's anger resounded through the sky, even the Xuan Cha couldn't help but wipe a bead of sweat from his brow, while the attendant beside Li Jingyuan was already drenched in cold sweat, whispering, "Young City Lord, please keep your voice down, lest you disturb the City Lord."

The servant's barely audible voice had faded when Li Jingyuan slapped him so hard he was dizzy. "Shut up! I fucking said I'm not afraid of my own father!"

No sooner had Li Jingyuan finished speaking than a burly figure appeared out of thin air behind him, slapping Li Jingyuan so hard that he seemed to shrink back and bounce up and down a few times in mid-air. Li Jingyuan turned around and cursed angrily, "Who the hell is that!"

"Your father!" A powerful figure emerged from the shadows beneath the city wall, his face cold and stern, his brows exuding an aura of authority.

Upon seeing the newcomer, the messenger and his attendant immediately shrank even smaller.

For a moment, Li Jingyuan seemed to shrink back, but he quickly raised his head again.

It really was his father.

Li Zhun grabbed Li Jingyuan by the collar and lifted him up like a chick. Li Jingyuan seemed quite adept at it; it appeared that grabbing someone by the collar was standard practice for this father and son. "I told you, don't cause me any trouble. When have you ever listened to me? I'll settle the score with you when we get back!"

Li Jingyuan's face was full of defiance, his eyes filled with stubbornness. He grabbed Li Zhun's hand that was gripping him and said, "Let go of me! I'm here to exorcise evil spirits!"

Li Zhun simply said, "You?" before tossing the man aside without another word. He then turned to Chu Xianyue, his earlier sternness replaced by politeness and respect. "Immortal Qingheng has come to exorcise evil spirits, which is very welcome. You should have informed me earlier so I could have prepared to welcome him."

Chu Xianyue said indifferently, "No need." He only glanced at Li Jingyuan slightly and said in a light tone, "Just discipline your son well."

Li Zhun slapped Li Jingyuan again, bowing slightly, "That's right. I'll go back and discipline him properly."

While stubbornly refusing to accept defeat, Li Jingyuan glared hatefully at Chu Xianyue and Xie Wen. Xie Wen, seeing Li Jingyuan's expression, became even more smug. She made a face, her smug look as if to say: What can you do to me?

On one side, Xie Wen was teasing Li Jingyuan like a dog, while on the other side, Chu Xianyue and Li Zhun were discussing serious matters. Not long after, Xie Wen and his party were taken by people arranged by Li Zhun to the largest restaurant in Jianshui City to settle in temporarily.

The group stood beneath the massive cylindrical building, its opulent glow gleaming under the cold moonlight. This was Guitingyan, the largest restaurant in Jianshui City. Only the wealthy and powerful could afford to stay there.

Li Zhun ordered his men to arrange some of the best rooms for Chu Xianyue and his group. As soon as they stepped into the restaurant, they heard some young noblemen grumbling, "What do you mean by this? Are you making us check out at the last minute? Did I not pay enough?" They then threw handfuls of silver notes at the waiter.

Silver notes clattered down as the waiter picked them up, saying helplessly, "We didn't follow orders from above. The city lord told us that a big shot was coming."

"I don't care who you are, I am a big shot, why should I give up my room?!"

Seeing that the waiter was really getting on his nerves, Chu Xianyue couldn't stand it anymore and said speechlessly, "There's no need for them to check out. Just arrange a regular room."

The three of them finally settled into their lodgings. The Guiting Banquet Hall was a massive circular building, with layers upon layers of interconnected rings, densely packed with rooms, grand and imposing. The center of each ring was hollow, revealing a huge lobby where a shout could be heard echoing. The lobby was filled with various banquets, and at the very top was a platform where entertainers and dancers sang and danced all night long, the wealthy young men indulging in wine and women, living a life of decadent pleasure.

Heavy, colorful veils hung from the top of the circular structure, cascading to the ground. Several dancers, draped in these veils, swayed gracefully or displayed enchanting dance moves. Each of these women, with their soft, fragrant skin and fair complexion, captivated Xie Wen, a woman herself. Suddenly, a dancer, holding onto the veil, flew gracefully to Xie Wen's side, raised her hand, and gently touched Xie Wen's chin. Xie Wen's heart was immediately drawn to her, and a shy blush appeared on her cheeks.

Chu Xianyue: "..." This is the first time I've seen Xie Wen act shy.

Yun Yan watched the dancers swinging in the air with indifference, and eventually got sleepy, chuckling as he said he was going back to his room to sleep.

Xie Wen, however, could no longer walk.

In the end, Chu Xianyue turned Xie Wen's face around and dragged him back to his room, saying, "Go back to your room and sleep!"

Xie Wen rested her chin on her hand, thinking: How did Chu Xianyue figure out that she wanted to go down and have some fun? After all, such a good opportunity doesn't come often.

Meeting Chu Xianyue's resolute and unquestionable gaze, Xie Wen sighed: Forget it, let's just go to sleep.

Chu Xianyue simply said, "The people here are a mixed bag, so it's best not to wander around too much. If anything happens, Yundang can call me."

Xie Wen nodded obediently. She had no choice but to obey Chu Xianyue, foregoing the entire night of passion and obediently returning to her room.

"Old-fashioned, so boring," Xie Wen thought to himself.

Chu Xianyue suddenly turned around and glanced at Xie Wen, as if he had guessed what Xie Wen was thinking. He knew what Xie Wen was thinking without him even having to think about it.

Because they are simple-minded, they can't hide anything.

Chu Xianyue didn't say anything and went back to his room.

The three rooms were connected. After walking a few more steps, Xie Wen also entered his own room, lay down on the soft bed, and stared at the ceiling. The soundproofing was excellent; although the lobby was noisy and bustling, not a single sound could leak into the room.

Xie Wen lay sprawled out, drifting off to sleep, when suddenly, the window paper fluttered open. Xie Wen abruptly opened her eyes. This aura was exactly the same as the evil energy she had felt at the entrance to the Netherworld when she first transmigrated there, flashing past her window.

Xie Wen immediately sprang up, smashed open the window, and leaped out, following the trail of that evil aura as he flew away.

In the brightly lit room, a servant poured a cup of tea and handed it to Jin Huaran, saying to the gentle-looking man before him, "Your Highness, it's chilly at night, please remember to keep the doors and windows secure."

Jin Huaran calmly brought the tea to his lips, his lips still damp, when suddenly, a gust of wind shattered the sturdy window. The window crashed open with a loud bang, and the rushing air swept towards Jin Huaran, his long hair flying wildly. He paused, holding the teacup, looking at the reflection trapped in it, its shadowy form flickering in the moonlight.

Jin Huaran slowly looked up and saw a woman who had broken open the window and was squatting on the window frame. Her clothes and hair flowed with the night breeze, and the bright moon hanging high behind her clearly outlined her figure. The woman's face was cold and she frowned as she said, "Is there something evil in your room?"

The attendant He'an stepped forward to block Jin Huaran's path, asking, "Who is it?"

However, Jin Huaran simply put down his teacup, gestured for He An to step back, looked into Xie Wen's eyes, and asked, "Where is the evil creature?"

Xie Wen, sword in hand, focused his attention and sensed the surroundings. Strange, strange, he couldn't sense it anymore. That wisp of evil aura had vanished; it had stopped here?

“Gone. Vanished from your side,” Xie Wen said.

He An looked at Xie Wen with the eyes of someone who was crazy. "What evil spirit? I think he's just trying to scam us." After all, there were countless people who wanted to get close to their prince with such clumsy tricks, and He An was already used to it.

Xie Wen was furious; he had truly been wronged this time. "I don't even know you. Why would I try to scam you?"

He An blurted out, "Of course they're coveting our prince."

Xie Wen clicked his tongue, and only then did he take a proper look at Jin Huaran. Hmm, he was indeed handsome, with gentle features. His eyes shone with a compassionate light under the moonlight, like a bodhisattva with lowered eyebrows, a smile that was not quite a smile.

It's no wonder he's coveted because of his looks. Xie Wen clicked her tongue again, suddenly at a loss for words. It was true that she had barged into someone's room without permission, and she was indeed in the wrong.

Can……

But she really didn't covet him. She didn't even know him. It was a perfectly reasonable argument, yet she didn't know what to say.

Seeing Xie Wen scratching her head in bewilderment, Jin Huaran felt a sense of helplessness, like an honest man being falsely accused. He couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "Miss, what's your name? Are you a cultivator from a great immortal sect who came down the mountain to exorcise evil spirits?"

They started by talking about evil spirits, so it was easy to guess Xie Wen's identity. Xie Wen didn't hide anything and said frankly, "Xie Wen of the Heavenly Evolution Sword Sect."

Jin Huaran lowered his eyes and chuckled, "As expected." He paused before introducing himself, "My name is Jin Huaran."

Xie Wen clasped his hands in a fist salute as he held the sword. "I understand. I've bothered you today, but consider it a friendly visit." The last part of his sentence, though tentative, was spoken quite frankly, with a natural and sincere manner.

Jin Huaran: "Great. I've decided to be your friend."

Xie Wen: "Until we meet again." Since the evil spirits were no longer here, she didn't linger any longer. Leaving these four words behind, Xie Wen vanished into the moonlight in an instant, just as she had come.

On the way back, Xie Wen sighed. She had made a wasted trip and was even treated like a frivolous trespasser in her "boudoir." His servant looked like he was about to drag her to the authorities at any moment. Fortunately, the young master didn't take it to heart.

Xie Wen comforted himself, thinking that perhaps he had misperceived something. In any case, the most important thing now was to hurry back to sleep!