Chapter 118: Alliance Invitation
A deadly blade, sharp enough to draw blood, was pressed against his neck. The young master slightly tilted his head back, avoiding the glint of the dagger. From this angle, his gaze was lowered, his eyelids drooping, making him appear silent, a hint of gloom lingering within him. Yet, a faint smile still played at the corners of his lips.
Bai Feifei emerged completely from the darkness, her cold expression like the eaves of a frozen roof in the snow, the murderous intent in her eyes like snow melting at the tip of a sharp edge. She said, "What do you think?"
She was clearly asking a question, but she made it sound like a final decision, as if if a single "no" were to be uttered, the next sound in the room would be the sound of the young master's head falling to the ground.
She moved silently, her superb lightness skill could not be ignored, and her martial arts pressed down like a boulder. The young master, however, remained unchanged, his smile growing wider and wider, and simply said, "Why not? Let's go together. It's truly a great blessing in life for a young lady to have such a sincere friend."
Xie Huailing glanced at him, then shoved the half-written letter under the inkstone. After putting the inkstone down, she thought for a moment, then grabbed the letter back, crumpled it into a ball, and tore it to shreds. "What's so lucky or unlucky about this? It's nothing special. Don't you have any friends?"
Having been bluntly rebuked again, the young master laughed and replied, "You're quite sharp-tongued; I'm truly impressed. But further words are pointless. You know my mother's identity, so you'd better come with me soon."
Bai Feifei's dagger drew closer, a thin line of blood already trickling out, recounting his perilous brush with death on the cliff. Xie Huailing burned the fragments of the letter into the lamp, then opened the drawer. Her drawer was usually filled with all sorts of things, stuffed with everything imaginable, but tonight, this drawer contained only one type of item—bottles, a dozen or so identical small porcelain bottles piled together.
Xie Huailing ran her fingers through the porcelain vases, causing them to collide with each other, and said to the young master, "Don't be in such a hurry. You've come so rudely, without a visiting card or a generous gift, yet you expect me to go with you. Naturally, you should make up for it with something else."
Then she gestured to the young man, showing her generosity, friendliness, and sincerity: "Pick a bottle to drink, it's on you."
The young master let out a long sigh of frustration. The red thread, winding and growing longer, snaked its way into his collar, as if he had truly been bullied by her: "Miss is indeed being aggressive. Is there even one bottle among these that isn't poisoned?"
“Of course there is,” Xie Huailing said, “but if you drink it, you’ll only be able to take a knife.”
She sat down politely, adopting a composed and expectant demeanor. The young master met her gaze, laughing back and forth, but didn't engage in further maneuvering. Perhaps he was confident of victory, feeling that he could recover from any loss, or perhaps he had other plans in mind. In any case, he casually picked out a bottle, unscrewed the cork with two slender fingers, and drank it all in one gulp.
It didn't taste good; Xie Huailing wouldn't have prepared colorless and odorless poison for him. However, he drank it without changing his expression and placed the bottle back on the table. There was no intense pain, nor immediate death. He was gambling, betting that Xie Huailing still had some reservations and wouldn't kill him here. The fact that he was still alive meant that his gamble paid off.
Since Xie Huailing had reservations, he naturally became more composed and said with a smile, "Alright, young lady, please come with me."
.
Xie Huailing had considered where Wang Yunmeng might be hiding and had also looked at the map of the entire city, so she wasn't too surprised when she saw this magnificent mansion.
The carved beams and painted rafters are magnificent beyond compare. One archway after another divides the courtyard into countless layers that seem to have no end. The last rays of sunlight fall upon the deep courtyard, and the pale moonlight echoes through the winding corridors. Stepping further into these scenes, one feels that when the wind is still, people move, and when people are still, the wind sways. Everywhere is a painting, and everywhere is a poem. Not a single penny of Gao Shanqing's legacy has been wasted. One can only wonder how he would vomit blood if he knew this in the afterlife.
None of this mattered to Xie Huailing. She had seen all sorts of layouts in Bianjing, and no matter how good the courtyard, it couldn't compare to her bedroom in the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. Besides, in her view, everything was determined by people. Even a frail thatched hut was worthy of being remembered for eternity if it was the residence of a hero. From this perspective, it seemed that all the grandeur in the world was concentrated in the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, so she couldn't care less about these things.
She wasn't interested, and Bai Feifei certainly wasn't either. The young master led the two unremarkable women to a magnificent building several meters high, and turned to them, saying, "This is the place. Please come up with me, young ladies. As for your friend, he'll have to wait here for a while."
After saying that, he led Xie Huailing into the building. Before going in, Xie Huailing told Bai Feifei not to worry and to follow him inside.
The two walked up the stairs. One of them deliberately leaned against the wall, while the other seemed to have twisted his ankle and kept coming closer to her, laughing and joking.
"You seem utterly unafraid, young lady," the young man chuckled. "It's just a pity you'd better prepare before meeting my mother. How about this: just tell me your name, and I'll put in a good word for you. What do you say?"
Xie Huailing didn't believe he didn't know her name; her identity was far too famous, and he was incredibly shrewd. She said, "You dare say you don't know?"
The young master then said, just as she had thought: "Miss Xie, your name is very famous. It would be foolish of me to say that I don't know your name. I asked you this because I want your nickname. Young women raised in seclusion always have one or two nicknames."
Xie Huailing didn't answer, nor did she say whether she had it or not. Instead, she asked, "You're really dreaming. Then let me ask you, what's your name?"
Without hesitation, the young man, seeing no need to lie any further, said, "I take my mother's surname, Wang, and my given name is Lianhua. What is your nickname, young lady?"
"I already told you you're dreaming." Xie Huailing said expressionlessly, her tone cold and hard.
Wang Lianhua wasn't angry, because they had already arrived at their destination, in front of a door. A faint fragrance wafted out from behind the door, all of it hooked, alluring yet inexplicably unsettling. He shook his head and said, "What a pity, Miss Xie should have told me. Oh well."
He smiled slightly: "I always have a soft spot for women, so let's go in together."
He then knocked on the door, and a "Come in" quickly came from behind it. It was a single word, spoken through the wall and the wooden door, yet it felt as if it were right next to Xie Huailing's ear, whispered in her ear, and spoken only to her. Xie Huailing was certain it was Wang Yunmeng's voice—the former number one female demon of the martial world, a peerless heroine in her youth, unmatched among women, the epitome of cruelty and ruthlessness, right behind that door.
Without further hesitation, Wang Lianhua, who seemed to have some respect and fear for her mother, immediately pushed open the door and let Xie Huailing in.
Upon entering, Xie Huailing did not notice the furnishings in the room.
No one would have the chance to notice the furnishings in the room at first glance. Anyone who can still see and whose eyes are not blind should look at the woman in the middle of the room at first glance.
She was beautiful. That's alright; many women are beautiful. But her beauty was so striking that it seemed she *was* the word "beautiful," indistinguishable from the legendary goddess Shi Guanyin. Almost all other beauties paled in comparison to her. Such beauty defied description; even the finest words would be embellishments, only highlighting the incompetence of scholars. Her beauty shone brightly, impossible to capture.
So we'll just have to watch, we can only watch.
However, if a person becomes obsessed with watching it, they will die very soon.
She, Wang Yunmeng, was smiling. She smiled the moment she saw Xie Huailing. Her smile was indescribable. Leaning back on a soft couch, she said to Xie, "Please sit, Miss Xie, don't be so formal. This place cannot compare to the opulence of Bianjing, but it is still adorned with gold bricks and tiles. I wonder how it compares to the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion in Miss Xie's opinion?"
In every way, he was inferior and only brought shame upon himself. But Xie Huailing could not say that. He found a soft chair, sat down, and said, "Everyone has their own unique style, why bother comparing them?"
Wang Yunmeng chuckled a few times, then turned to look at her son. In an instant, her face turned cold, and she commanded, "What are you all standing there for? Aren't you going to pour tea for the guests?"
Wang Lianhua was no longer the dashing playboy he once was. He stood solemnly with his head bowed, completely submissive to his mother, showing the utmost fear. The majesty and methods of the Fairy of Cloud Dreams could be glimpsed in his utter lack of rebellion. Without uttering a word, he dutifully poured Xie Huailing a cup of hot tea and then went to stand by the wall to wait.
Xie Huailing took a sip of tea, and after thinking it over, he realized that testing Wang Yunmeng would be pointless, so he asked, "I've already admired the courtyard and witnessed Madam Wang's splendor. You should speak frankly about why you invited me here tonight."
Wang Yunmeng chuckled softly. Her age only added to her charm, and her expression was quite gentle, which showed where Wang Lianhua had learned her mannerisms: "Miss Xie is very clever, so I will be frank. There is no need to be nervous. I am not here to seek justice for my good-for-nothing son. He was defeated by you because he was not as skilled as others. It is his own incompetence. Why should I seek justice for him?"
These were such harsh words; how shallow was the bond between mother and son. Yu Guangzhong and Wang Lianhua lowered their heads slightly.
But it was just acting, and Xie Huailing really couldn't be bothered to look at him. Wang Yunmeng then said, "I invited Miss Xie here because I wanted to discuss a business deal with Miss Xie, Master Su, and the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. Since Miss Xie is in charge of the Pavilion Master's orders, seeing him is like seeing Master Su. It would be best to discuss this only with Miss Xie."
Xie Huailing's brow twitched slightly, and she said, "Madam Wang, why don't you tell me what kind of business it is?"
Wang Yunmeng elegantly curved her red lips, revealing her pearly teeth. Her gaze swept over him seemingly casually, but Xie Huailing could not mistake the deeper killing intent and hatred she harbored. Before Wang Yunmeng even spoke, Xie Huailing understood what she was about to say.
As expected, Wang Yunmeng said, "I know Miss Xie is investigating someone. Coincidentally, I am also investigating him and want his head. So I asked Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou to do this business. It's fine if you help me kill him, or it's fine if you kill him for me."
Regardless of whether their goals align, the business deal Wang Yunmeng described sounded even more lucrative than doing the same thing with Liufenbantang. Xie Huailing loved to push the boundaries of Su Mengzhen's bottom line, was a master of acting first and reporting later, and enjoyed provoking him to get angry, spending her days doing this. However, she also knew that there were some things she absolutely couldn't do. She was satisfied with her job and currently had no intention of dragging her boss down with her.
Moreover... Wang Yunmeng's invitation to Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou to do business only indicates that she has encountered trouble regarding the matter of killing Chai Yu Guan, and this trouble is by no means insignificant.
Xie Huailing didn't answer, she just looked at her. Wang Yunmeng was obviously aware of the reputation of Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou, and knew that the powerful figures in the righteous path wouldn't easily ally with her, nor that direct coercion wouldn't work, yet her smile grew softer and more confident.
"I also know that the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion is the most loyal and righteous pavilion in the world, and it is irreconcilable with someone like me. But since I can say that I want the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion to help me, I have naturally prepared my sincerity for the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion. As long as Miss Xie knows my sincerity, she will definitely agree."
Generally, at this point, a person's mind is filled with terrible premonitions, and they absolutely cannot pay the price for their curiosity, waiting for the door to a path of no return to open. However, Xie Huailing is no ordinary person; someone who would insist on watching even the worst film to the end would not interrupt at this moment. She said, "Madam Wang, please speak."
Wang Yunmeng laughed even harder, her face blooming like spring flowers, stunningly beautiful for a moment. Her eyes gradually glazed over as she reminisced about her past, saying, "When I was young, I roamed the martial world and enjoyed all the riches and honors there. There were few in the world who could rival me, and every man was captivated by my beauty. But I still felt it wasn't enough. These things were not good enough for me. I should have wanted more. I was missing one thing. Power. I had no power."
She sighed softly: "I didn't originally think that way, but I went to Bianjing. I looked at the people in Bianjing, who were clearly incompetent and knew nothing, but as long as they had power, they could do anything. I was moved and decided to fight for the highest point of power for women in the world, not just in the martial arts world. So, I did something."
"Unfortunately, things changed drastically, and I didn't stay there for long. In the end, I had to leave in a hurry and return to the martial world, where I once again established my name as 'Fairy of Yunmeng'. However, this past experience was quite useful. Later, I escaped death and, as I grew up, I occasionally recalled my youth and realized why I couldn't succeed back then."
Wang Yunmeng said quietly, "Compared with those who seem to be born to play power games, I am indeed inferior in these matters. It's like a huge secret and a huge handle were presented to me, but I only realized it now and only now do I understand."
Then she said something.
Then Xie Huailing's eyes, which were never fully open, involuntarily widened. For the first time.
She couldn't possibly look at Wang Lianhua's reaction; she didn't have the energy. The buzzing in her head drowned out everything else. She must have had a profound awakening, as if all her countless dreams had vanished at this moment.
When she awoke from her dream, she realized how joyful her life had been. She finally understood why someone had been searching for her even ten years after Wang Yunmeng's death.
But she quickly suppressed it, as if nothing had happened.
Wang Yunmeng couldn't see through her fluctuations or discern her true intentions, but she was extremely confident in the bargaining chips she had offered. She said, "I can say these things because I have evidence in hand. As long as Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou does this business with me, I will give the evidence to Miss Xie after the deal is done. With the evidence, Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou will be able to rise several levels in Bianjing City in no time. What do you think, Miss Xie?"
What do you think?
As clever as Xie Huailing was, she could immediately grasp the intricacies of the situation. Why would Wang Yunmeng reveal such a secret? Shouldn't she keep it to herself to continuously gain benefits? Did she truly have evidence to back up these claims? Could such a ruthless woman truly be telling the truth by revealing such shocking information?
Shadows loomed, danger lurked everywhere. Anyone could tell how perilous what lay hidden behind this spiderweb was; the risks were enough to crush a person into mincemeat, the chances of success unimaginably low, and the possibility of derailment at any moment. Only a gambler blinded by greed would place their bets at this table. But—
But now is the time to take the gamble!
She had already jumped into this rushing river; Xie Huailing was no longer afraid of anything.
Xie Huailing raised her head, and she actually smiled, a smile that even Wang Yunmeng was momentarily stunned by. But before that, she had something else to do.
“Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou will not do this business with you, Madam Wang.” She smiled tenderly, her charm as ethereal as a misty haze. “But I, I will do this business with you.”
She wanted to remove Su Mengzhen from her life.
He was the protagonist of her chosen story, and there were certain things, risks, and deviations that she would absolutely not tolerate or accept. In truth, Gong Jiu had never misjudged her: "How could I bear to hand over such useful information?"
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