Chapter 37

Jin Anxu suddenly froze for a few seconds, then burst into laughter as if he had heard the funniest joke ever. "Friends? This jinx actually has friends?"

Xie Wen roared, "Shut up!"

Jin Xu'an said, "Do you know that his mother was imprisoned in the Cold Palace because of him? And do you know..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jin Huaran interrupted him with a sharp rebuke, "Shut up."

Xie Wen looked up at Jin Huaran. It was surprising that such a gentle person could let out such a powerful roar.

Jin Anxu's expression changed. "You dare to yell at me?! You're tired of living, aren't you?" His face twisted, and he curled his lips into a cold smile, saying, "I'll settle the score with you when we get back."

Xie Wen stepped forward, staring warily at Jin Anxu.

After a long while, Jin Anxu remained silent with a mocking expression. Xie Wen then turned to look at Jin Huaran, who shook her head at Xie Wen, smiled gently, and said, "It's alright, thank you, Xie Wen."

Xie Wen shook his head and said, "No need to thank me, we are friends."

Standing beside the two, Chu Xianyue watched them with a complex expression, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him. He desperately wanted Xie Wen to look him in the eye and demand, "Xie Wen, whose disciple are you? Which side are you on?"

Unfortunately, in the end, no matter how many thoughts swirled within him, they all vanished into silence, leaving only a silhouette. He turned to attend to his business.

All the disciples of Huangqi Palace had already been counted, and the immortals of each sect were questioning their disciples one by one, not letting a single suspicious person go unpunished. Only then did everyone realize how serious this incident was. After all, the assassination attempt on Qingheng Immortal Venerable's disciple by breaking into his room was something that would be difficult to explain without a clear explanation.

After questioning everyone one by one, it seemed that each person had enough witnesses and physical evidence to prove their innocence.

But that's a headache.

The most troublesome party is Huangqi Palace. If they can't find the assassin, they will bear a large part of the responsibility. Ling Hua thought that even finding a scapegoat would be fine. She just wanted to give Chu Xianyue an explanation as soon as possible.

But it wasn't that simple. They worked for most of the night until the sky began to lighten, the continuous drizzle stopped, the sky became clear, and the rising sun painted the world red.

After a busy night, there was still no progress. Chu Xianyue then openly pointed the finger at Huangqi Palace, saying, "There's no need to investigate anymore. We've investigated for so long but haven't found anything."

"Imagine, who else could come and go so freely in your Huangqi Palace, know it so well, and then leave no trace afterward?" Chu Xianyue sneered at Ling Hua, continuing, "Besides people from your Huangqi Palace, who else could do that?"

Although this was something everyone knew in their hearts, and everyone inevitably suspected Huangqi Palace, since they were on Huangqi Palace's territory, even if they had doubts, they had to leave themselves an out and dared not speak out openly.

Now, even Chu Xianyue has openly and honestly pointed out Huangqi Palace, saying what everyone was thinking. For a moment, Huangqi Palace felt like it was being attacked by a group of people.

Chaos erupted at the Sun and Moon Platform, and a fight almost broke out. But in the end, both sides backed down and saved face for each other.

Chu Xianyue was only speculating about this matter and had no evidence. Huangqi Palace stubbornly refused to admit it, and no one could do anything about it.

The matter had to be dropped. However, at the same time, a large number of people believed that Huangqi Palace was the most suspicious. Before long, Huangqi Palace was caught in a media storm, and everyone avoided it. Most of the sects left before the Immortal Sect Competition on the second day of the Flower Banquet.

After what happened last night, who would dare to stay in a place like this anymore?

Xie Wen felt that things were not so simple. Moreover, Chu Xianyue's rash act of pointing the finger at Huangqi Palace in public was also very inconsistent with Chu Xianyue's style.

Xie Wen asked Chu Xianyue, "Master, do you have other considerations? Are you deliberately pointing the finger at the people of Huangqi Palace, pushing Huangqi Palace into the eye of the storm? Doing so actually proves that you know it wasn't the people of Huangqi Palace who did it, right? Do you already know who the black-cloaked person is?"

Chu Xianyue nodded slightly and said, "Not stupid."

Xie Wen clicked his tongue, this time without rolling his eyes. Aside from being a bit arrogant, Chu Xianyue was alright. Xie Wen decided to let it go for now.

Therefore, Chu Xianyue's purpose in doing this was simply to make the person behind the scenes mistakenly believe that he had successfully escaped suspicion and to shift the blame onto the people of Huangqi Palace, killing two birds with one stone, so that they would lower their guard against Chu Xianyue and his group in the future.

After Xie Wen explained it to Yun Yan, she roughly understood what was going on.

After daybreak, the three did not leave Huangqi Palace immediately, but instead visited the Palace Master Ling Hua before departing.

The visit didn't go smoothly. As soon as the three entered the palace, Ling Hua said politely, "Immortal Venerable Qingheng, our Huangqi Palace is truly innocent. As you can see, no one in our palace has acted abnormally. Huangqi Palace and Tianyan Sword Sect have always maintained peaceful relations. We have no reason or position to target you." She was still talking about the assassination attempt.

Chu Xianyue replied, "We didn't come here for this matter."

Ling Hua's expression changed: "What is it?"

Chu Xianyue: "I just wanted to confirm again. Are you sure you don't know someone named Mei Da?"

The atmosphere froze for a few seconds before Ling Hua said firmly, "No. I told you you've mistaken me for someone else. If you keep bringing this up, don't blame me for being impolite."

She's not even pretending anymore. With that expression and those words, it's impossible not to have something to hide.

For some reason, Xie Wen was certain that Ling Hua was Mei Da. But she refused to admit it, and Xie Wen and the others couldn't do anything about it.

Chu Xianyue simply said, "In that case, we'll take our leave."

The three walked down the street, temporarily putting the assassination attempt from the previous night behind them. Their next destination was Leling City, near Huangqi Palace.

Fufeng City was as lively as ever during the day. Linghua had kept the events of the previous night strictly confidential, and not many people knew about what had happened at Huangqi Palace. However, with so many people attending the flower banquet, Linghua couldn't control public opinion forever; she could keep it a secret for a while, but not forever.

Xie Wen suddenly felt a little guilty towards Huangqi Palace, but then she thought about it again. Ling Hua was clearly a member of the Mei family, yet she was so wary of her past identity and avoided the Mei family like the plague. It was hard to say she didn't have something to hide. Thinking about it this way, she didn't seem to be wronged.

It takes a day and a night to travel from Fufeng City to Leling by carriage. Xie Wen had just experienced the terrifying assassination attempt the night before and was too exhausted to travel by sword.

Chu Xianyue also looked a little tired. He closed his eyes, his long eyelashes casting shadows, and quietly rested.

Xie Wen felt incredibly sleepy and drifted off to sleep amidst the jolting of the carriage. When he woke up, it was already pitch black, and he seemed to be leaning on someone's shoulder. The person next to him had a steady shoulder that didn't sway at all.

That's why Xie Wen was able to sleep so soundly. When he got up, he saw that Chu Xianyue, who was meditating with his eyes closed, immediately opened his eyes and asked Xie Wen, "What's wrong?"

Xie Wen sat up, a little embarrassed, and said, "I'm awake." Yun Yan opened her eyes upon hearing this, snorted coldly, and said sarcastically, "Senior Sister was sleeping so soundly."

Xie Wen: "You flatter me." She really does have a talent for sleeping.

Yun Yan was speechless: "..." I wasn't praising you!

Xie Wen lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside. "Where are we now?"

As soon as Xie Wen finished speaking, the coachman shouted "Whoa!" and the horse was brought to an abrupt stop. The momentum caused Xie Wen to fall uncontrollably towards Chu Xianyue. She pressed herself against him for a few seconds, burying her head in Chu Xianyue's neck, making his neck and heart itch. He could vaguely smell the fragrance emanating from Xie Wen's hair.

Chu Xianyue helplessly pushed Xie Wen away and turned his head away. Xie Wen said awkwardly, "Sorry, sorry." As he said this, he was thinking to himself, "As expected of Chu Xianyue, his core strength is stability. He didn't budge an inch despite such violent shaking. Impressive."

Chu Xianyue used his long fingers to lift the curtain and asked the coachman what was going on. The coachman pointed to the huge crowd ahead and said, "There are so many people and carriages ahead, it's a traffic jam and we can't move."

Chu Xianyue looked and saw that it was indeed true; the area in front was crowded with people, and many carriages were stuck there, unable to get in or out.

They had no choice but to give up and got off the carriage there.

The three lingered there. Xie Wen was shocked by the sea of ​​people in front of her. How could there be so many people? Just a moment ago, the streets were deserted.

Looking around, these men all seemed to have the same destination—brothels.

A brothel stands at this intersection. The brothel is not very big, but countless men rush to squeeze in as if they are bewitched.

This is strange.

The three exchanged a glance and walked toward the brothel in perfect unison.

The closer one gets, the clearer one can sense the eerie aura emanating from the brothel, with men's frenzied cries echoing through the heavens. It was extremely strange.

Yun Yan hesitated, somewhat reluctant, especially unwilling to let Chu Xianyue enter such a filthy place. After all, how could his sacred master possibly enter such a place? It would be a complete defilement of his master.

Yun Yan: "Master, you'd better not go in. My senior sister and I can go in and find out what's going on."

Chu Xianyue said, "It's alright." As he spoke, he casually cast a spell, and the people surrounding the entrance of the brothel automatically parted to make way for Chu Xianyue, who strolled in leisurely.

Xie Wen thought to himself, "See? Yun Yan, your master isn't as spotless and pure as he seems. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to enter a brothel so naturally." Xie Wen then recalled some unbearable events from the Ghost Palace illusion. He suddenly remembered Chu Xianyue in the illusion; whatever she asked him to do, he did. Back then, he wasn't pure at all.

Xie Wen now felt like biting her lip until it bled, but looking at Chu Xianyue, he seemed not to care at all.

Indeed, he cultivated the path of ruthlessness, and his heart was devoid of love and affection. To him, doing such things was perhaps merely the collision of two naked bodies. He had absolutely no desire for it.

Xie Wen clicked his tongue, wondering what he was thinking again. Dispelling these thoughts, Xie Wen resumed his usual nonchalant demeanor.

As soon as Yun Yan entered the brothel, a group of ethereal women swayed and swayed towards him. Yun Yan immediately dodged away in disgust, as if he had encountered something filthy. Meanwhile, Chu Xianyue, without anyone noticing, raised his finger and cast a transparent barrier around himself, making it impossible for anyone to get close to him.

Those pretty young women all had a keen eye for Chu Xianyue and kept surrounding him, but for some reason, they were always separated by an invisible barrier and could never get close. They were very distressed to see such a handsome man but not be able to touch or have him.

The madam of Zuixianglou was very good at judging people. She could tell from a distance that Chu Xianyue had an extraordinary appearance and was either rich or noble just by looking at him as he walked in.

The madam turned to the person next to her and said, "Go, invite Ali out. We have an important guest."

Hearing that Ali was the top courtesan at Zuixiang Pavilion, Xie Wen overheard the men in the lobby shouting for her to come out, some even willing to spend a fortune just to see her. Their fervor was almost obsessive.

Xie Wen and the others had only been inside the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion for a short while when a servant led them to rooms on the second floor. He wanted to take each of them to a separate room, but none of them were willing to do so.

Yun Yan: In a place like this, I absolutely cannot be separated from my master!! What if my master is defiled…

Xie Wen: In a place like this, it's better for the three of us to stay together. That way, we can avoid any unexpected events along the way.

Chu Xianyue: Even in a place like this, he still couldn't rest easy about his two apprentices...

The three refused to separate, leaving the servant in a dilemma. Just then, a clear and pleasant voice, like flowing water, came from the room behind him: "Azi, just let all three of them in."

Ah Zi hesitated for a moment, but ultimately let Xie Wen and the others in. Before leaving, she reminded Ah Li, "Ah Li, don't do anything reckless. Mom told me to keep an eye on you. What if you get sick..."

"Hey, stop nagging. Ah Zi, you should hurry up and go." Ah Li urged her impatiently.

Upon entering the room, a pungent fragrance wafted out. The room was decorated in bright colors, appearing luxurious at first glance but actually quite vulgar.

Beneath the crimson curtain, a woman lay asleep, her chin resting on her hand. The wind outside the window caused the curtain to sway, and the woman's slender, white legs were sometimes visible and sometimes hidden within it, creating a very ambiguous atmosphere.

Xie Wen spoke first, "You must be Ali?"

Upon hearing this, the person behind the curtain sat up, her delicate fingers lifting the curtain to reveal an exceptionally sweet face. Her bright, watery eyes looked like those of a young animal, and her arched eyebrows swayed gently beneath her bangs. Sparkling flower-shaped beads and colorful stones adorned her dark hair. They suited Ali perfectly.

She looked like a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, even younger than Xie Wen.

When Ali opened her mouth, her words seemed to become even more childlike and sweet. Ali stared at Xie Wen and said, "Sister, I've seen you before."