Elder Tianxian carried the horse and ran away.
There was chaos at the banquet. Some people were trembling with fear, some were confused and whispering. The vast majority of the disciples who did not know the truth were filled with grief and mourned deeply for the deceased Junior Sister Ningning.
Some bowed their heads in silence, some chanted sutras, some prayed for the salvation of souls with the Buddha's light. It was a normal Ten Dharma Assembly, but now it really felt like a Ten Dharma Event. It was so tragic and the sadness was like a river.
"Stop, stop! Young Taoist priests, things are not what you think!"
Luo Yuanming hurried back from the stable, busy and exhausted, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve: "What Elder Tianxian meant is that he hopes everyone can succeed. As for Miss Ningning, she is alive and well and is now at the venue - Miss Ningning, where are you?"
He was answered with silence again.
After a long time, a young man with dragon horns finally walked out from the corner. But he was seen trembling all over, with his head down and never looking at the people around him. His eyes were very red, as if he had cried a lot not long ago, and even his voice was tearful.
"Senior Sister Ningning, she..."
The gazes from all directions were like needles. Lin Xun was not used to the dense gazes of so many people. He felt nervous, panicked and confused. The tears that had been frightened by Tian Xianzi before began to flash again. He tightly grasped the cuffs of his sleeves and took a deep breath to hold back the urge to cry: "She left... not long ago."
The reason why Lin Xun dared to speak out in public was that he just wanted to explain for Ningning so that she would not end up socially dead.
He was timid, and just saying this sentence had exhausted all his courage. After he finished speaking, he immediately shut up, lowered his head and shrank back into the shadow of the corner.
Look at the tearful eyes and the reluctance to speak, the tone of voice that pretends to be strong but can hardly hide the crying, and the word "gone" that is filled with infinite sorrow.
In just two words, they expressed so much bitterness, pain, sorrow, joy, and separation. Everyone couldn't help but lament that the lovely and intelligent Junior Sister Ningning had finally died in the battle with the Demon Lord.
Someone hesitated to speak, which seemed particularly abrupt in the suddenly quiet hallway: "Elder Tianxian... Could it be that because of Junior Sister Ningning, he drank to drown his sorrows and became like this now?"
"This way, everything can be explained!"
Another person suddenly realized and agreed: "The elder is missing her so much that he is sick. He hates himself for not being able to protect her. He is so sad that he is crazy like this! It is really a touching master-disciple relationship, so touching!"
"Alas, her junior brother is also pitiful. Why is he crying like this? It seems that the friendship among the disciples of Elder Tianxian is really deep. It's a pity that Ningning can no longer feel it."
So Tianxianzi transformed himself into a good master who valued friendship and loyalty. Poor Ningning, she did nothing, but became a dead person inexplicably. There were even several disciples who were seriously discussing building a monument to praise her great spirit of sacrificing herself to eliminate demons.
Luo Yuanming: ...
Luo Yuanming glanced at Ji Yunkai beside him and said, "Master Ji, are the disciples of your great sects all so capable of divergent thinking?"
=====
With just one sentence, Lin Xun deservedly became the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing Ning Ning's already limited reputation to become even more distorted, and in many people's minds, she was completely dead.
However, she, as the protagonist mourned by the public, knew nothing about this. After seeing Tian Xianzi rushing out on his horse, she followed him without hesitation and chased him all the way.
After all, Tian Xianzi was a master with profound cultivation. Even though he was drunk, his legs seemed to be equipped with motors and he ran very fast. Later, he even leaped into the air under the horrified gazes of countless passers-by, turning into the most beautiful scenery in the air.
The horse was so frightened that its limbs were twitching and it fainted at some point.
Pei Ji had been following her quietly. Suddenly, he raised his eyelids and a voice appeared in his ears along with the wind: "The criminal envoy is here."
Ningning was shocked when she heard that. Sure enough, she saw several dark and bleak shadows on the eaves of the high pavilion in the distance, emitting a murderous aura that was visible to the naked eye.
The Criminal Division is the law enforcement agency in Luan City. They can intervene in cases as big as murder and arson, or as small as the dispute between He Zhizhou and Ye Zongheng.
Now Tian Xianzi was riding a horse and rushing around in the street. Naturally, he would be invited by this group of people to have tea. But then he saw a figure from the corner of the eaves swaying, and then several black shadows attacked from all directions.
The criminal envoy was very considerate. Although Tian Xianzi looked like a fool at this moment, he still used a powerful formation.
The black shadow left a damaged shadow in the air, and its spiritual power was as sharp as a knife, pouring down vertically accompanied by gusts of strong wind, and gathered into a huge net on the roof where Yu Tianxianzi was. When he was completely trapped in the net, the streets were suddenly filled with cheers and applause from the people.
It is really unheard of for the reputation of the elders of the Immortal Sect to be reduced to such a state.
Tian Xianzi caused such a commotion in the city. As the saying goes, the emperor is guilty of the same crime as the common people. Even if his status is high, he has to follow the criminal envoy to reminisce about the past.
Although the ending was a bit tragic, at least the person was fine. Ning Ning was anxious, and when her master was about to be taken away, she flew forward and came to Tian Xianzi's side.
"Ning-ning, Ji-ji."
Tian Xianzi's eyes were confused. When he looked up and saw Ning Ning, a silly smile finally appeared on his face that was as numb as a stone sculpture: "The city lord is looking for you."
"I know."
Ning Ning was filled with mixed feelings and asked him seriously, "Master, besides you, where did Senior Sister and Senior Brother He go?"
His eyes were dull for a moment, as if he was remembering some extremely shameful scandal. His eyes were ferocious and his teeth were bared, and he was panting heavily along with Brother Ma above his head.
"Are you finished?"
A criminal justice officer closed the net and was about to take Tian Xianzi to the Criminal Court. It was only at this moment that he finally came to his senses from his anger. The moment he was forced to turn around and leave, he gritted his teeth and said five words to Ning Ning:
"Remember, Nuanyu Pavilion."
=====
Warm Jade Pavilion.
Judging from the extremely ambiguous arrangement and combination of these Chinese characters, and what Lin Xun said, the three of them all ran to the depths of the flowers like monkeys, dancing with joy. Ningning dared to swear on Pei Ji's reputation that Nuan Yu Pavilion must be one of the places of fireworks.
For the people of the entire Luancheng, "Baihuashen" is a very special street. It is indeed a beautiful and dreamy paradise, but it should never be described in detail. It is filled with fine wine, lights and beauties, with music and revelry every night, and is extremely gorgeous.
Although it was Ningning's first time to enter such a place, she did not feel anything strange. Instead, she looked around with curiosity. When she saw the beautiful sister, she couldn't help but tug at Pei Ji's sleeve, indicating that he should appreciate the beauty with her.
——After all, there are 360 professions and every profession has its own top talent. The world of cultivation has not prohibited the development of the sex industry. Although the girls in the depths of Baihua do not have a high social status, they are indeed in formal professions. Who doesn’t love beautiful big sisters in all shapes and sizes?
Perhaps because it was noon, the place was not as bustling and bright as it was at night. Looking ahead, there are rows of pavilions and towers, with vermilion eaves set off by carved railings and jade bricks. The long roads are like thousands of nets, winding into the alleys in all directions, with no end in sight.
The buildings on both sides of the road are magnificent, with tulle curtains occasionally fluttering, and vaguely visible are vines, green grass and scented incense inside the houses.
Wherever you go in the streets, you can find men and women walking together.
Many single women can be seen in the shops, some leaning lazily against the door to attract customers, some standing behind the window screen in a daze. There was a young girl standing by the window watering flowers, and when her eyes met Ningning's, she waved at her and curled her lips in an unguarded smile.
She and Pei Ji searched all the way and arrived at the door of Nuanyu Pavilion without much effort.
In terms of scale, this building with carved eaves and painted buildings is twice as large as the other buildings, and is undoubtedly the brightest star.
There were still guests coming and going during the day. The woman welcoming guests in front of the building caught a glimpse of them, raised her eyebrows in surprise, and grinned, "Are you two going to come in?"
The Star Mark Sword was slightly worn out in the secret realm, so Ning Ning sent it to the blacksmith shop for careful repair; Pei Ji carried the sword with him, and with his cold temperament that kept people at a distance, it was easy to tell that he was a swordsman with a bad temper.
People who practice Taoism always pride themselves on being noble and seldom come to places like this, not to mention that he has a very pretty girl with him.
"Sister, we are here to look for someone."
Ning Ning's voice was clear and pleasant, with a slight smile. When she took a few steps towards her, she smelled a delicate plum fragrance: "Last night our master, senior brother and senior sister were all drunk, and we haven't found any trace of them until now. I wonder if any sword cultivator came here last night?"
Upon hearing this, the woman's calm smile froze suddenly: "You... know those two people last night?"
Two people.
Ning Ning's eyebrows jumped as she continued, "Your senior sister did not come here. The ones who broke into Nuanyu Pavilion were two handsome young men. They tried every possible means to beg us to take them in. They really tried their best. Sister Hongyu, who was in charge, softened her heart and agreed to let them stay here."
Ningning was delighted: "Thank you, sister! I wonder how they are doing now--"
The woman smiled and waved her fan: "It's a pity that you are late."
She had a pair of slender phoenix eyes and looked extremely young, probably less than twenty years old. Her hair was loosely tied behind her, and when the breeze blew past, her eyes looked even more charming and her pupils were slightly rippling.
The voice was also soft and gentle, like a boneless hand gently caressing the earlobe: "Those two people disappeared today, and we don't know where they went."
Ningning's expectations were suddenly shattered, and she showed a somewhat lost expression.
Luancheng is so big that finding someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack. If they don't find He Zhizhou and Senior Sister Zheng as soon as possible, and wait for those two to get drunk and go crazy in public like their master did, their own reputation and even the reputation of the Xuanxu Sword Sect will be completely ruined.
She was worrying about it when she suddenly heard Pei Ji beside her say, "Did they mention any useful clues last night?"
He is handsome, and even if he walks on the street without saying a word, he can still attract a lot of people's secret gazes. The woman looked at him steadily, with a hint of surprise in her eyes. Finally, she turned her head to look at Ningning, and the smile on her lips deepened:
"What a coincidence! Their behavior last night was really outrageous. I specially used my vision to record it. I wonder if you two are interested in taking a look?"
Ning Ning was stunned: "Spiritual vision?"
This thing is expensive and not something that ordinary people would carry with them.
"Haven't there been women disappearing in Luan City recently?"
She frowned slightly, not knowing what she remembered. "You may not know that the last person who disappeared, Wei Lingyuan, was the girl from our building. Since then, everyone has been worried about their safety and has bought knife charms and vision spirits to carry with them, hoping that they will be of some use if they encounter danger one day."
Ning Ning has always been very concerned about the serial disappearances in Luancheng. Upon hearing this, she asked anxiously, "Did that girl's disappearance leave any clues?"
The woman shook her head. Although she still had a smile on her face, she revealed a hint of helplessness and bitterness:
"We women have no relatives, no parents, and if Sister Hongyu hadn't been friends with her and hadn't come to visit her after noticing she hadn't shown up for a few days, we would never have discovered that she had disappeared."
Ningning frowned and lowered her head to think carefully: "There are all kinds of people in the depths of Baihua. Once night falls, it is difficult to find out what is going on around, and it is even easier to take action. Since most of the people here are orphans living alone, maybe the number of missing people... is actually much larger than the number that has been found so far."
"Exactly!"
The woman had not expected that she would be so concerned about this matter. She raised her voice several degrees and said with gritted teeth, "We have thought of this possibility a long time ago, but the criminal justice envoys are so self-righteous and arrogant that they disdain to interact with us. Every time they just hurriedly walked through the scene and claimed that they found nothing."
It seems that even in the world of cultivation, which is much more open than in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the status of prostitutes is not high.
Several girls who were quietly waiting for guests in the Nuanyu Pavilion heard the conversation. One of them stepped forward and asked curiously, "Are you investigating this matter?"
"It can't really be called that—"
Ningning scratched her head. Although she was very interested in this matter, she had never seriously investigated or collected evidence. The only few clues she had were heard from Tian Xianzi and Pei Ji.
She paused and added unconvincingly, "But I will try my best."
"real?"
A girl with pigtails who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old ran up barefoot, her round eyes narrowed by the sunlight:
"Sister, you must find that bad guy! You don't know, Sister Lingyuan is a very, very good person. She buys us candies every day. I was once bullied by a customer in public, and she stepped forward to help me. I heard that the Taoist priest couldn't summon Sister Lingyuan's soul. Maybe she is still alive now!"
The girl spoke carelessly, totally unaware that failure in summoning the soul could very well indicate another, more cruel possibility: the soul would be scattered.
The woman next to Ningning scolded in a low voice: "Mingyue, stop being rude!"
After she finished speaking, her expression softened and she smiled softly at Ning Ning and Pei Ji: "I'm sorry, this child is young and ignorant, and we definitely don't mean to order the girl around."
Ning Ning shook her head: "It's okay, she is kind-hearted and lovable."
After thinking for a while, he said, "You are all familiar with Miss Wei Lingyuan. I wonder if you have found any clues?"
"More than just clues?"
Another girl sitting not far away turned her head and squinted her bright cat eyes at her. Her voice was as sweet and lazy as a house cat's: "Many of our people here are suspicious of the mayor's wife."
Ning Ning was startled: "Luan Niang?"
"Young lady, you should know that she was a dancer before she married the city lord."
The girl raised her eyebrows and smiled, propping up her chin with her palm: "At that time...she was the top star of Nuanyu Pavilion."
Perhaps everyone had reached a consensus on this, and no one stopped her this time, so the girl continued without hesitation: "Because she is a girl, her parents sent her here when she was less than seven years old, in exchange for money to raise her newborn brother. How should I put it, people like us who grew up in a brothel since childhood, everyone knows what kind of people the others are."
She paused and snorted, "In short, almost no one in the building likes her."
Ningning continued to ask curiously: "Why?"
"He's very scheming."
She answered without hesitation, with a hint of contempt in her tone: "She wanted to be an otaku, and she used all means to seduce many men, many of whom were our regular customers. After all, we all work in Nuanyu Pavilion, and we can barely be considered to have some friendship. Isn't it a bit too much to blatantly steal our business like this?"
"There's more."
Seeing Ningning listening attentively, another girl followed up, "She has become a completely different person since she met the city lord. Logically speaking, Luan Niang has never been to school and cannot possibly be literate. However, she often recites poems with the city lord and writes beautiful calligraphy. Even a fool can see that there is something wrong."
The girls chattered and Ningning listened attentively, but she didn't expect the topic to come to an abrupt end here -
A heart-wrenching scream came from the corridor near Nuanyu Pavilion. When Ningning and the others arrived at the source of the sound, they were stunned.
The door of the utility room beside the corridor was opened by the servant. Unexpectedly, in addition to the piles of brooms and rags in the room, there was a terrified woman lying there.
Her outer clothes were taken off, leaving her wearing only a messy white robe. Her hair ornaments were also rudely plucked away, leaving her black hair as disheveled as a pot of spoiled silk. Her whole body was tied up tightly with hemp ropes, and a piece of cloth was stuffed in her mouth.
Several girls immediately ran forward in shock and hurriedly untied the rope and the cotton cloth from her mouth: "Sister Hongyu, what's going on? Shouldn't you be entertaining guests at this time?"
"Quick, go to Master Ji's room..."
The woman's face turned pale, and she tightly grasped the cat-eyed girl's wrist. "The man we took in last night was still drunk, and he locked me up here when I was not paying attention. He not only took away my clothes and jewelry, but also--"
As she spoke, she revealed an extremely terrified look, her eyes widened, and she imitated the man's crazy tone with a weak breath: "He also said to me with a very scary expression: Go away, let me enjoy the experience alone! I am the most beautiful woman!"
Ningning: ...
By the way, He Zhizhou used to be an oiran. Now that he was drunk and the scene brought back memories, he might have mistaken Nuanyu Pavilion for the brothel he had stayed in before, and taken it for granted that he was the most beautiful courtesan, and then -
She had already guessed what would happen next. Her vision went dark again and she began to pinch her philtrum hard.
=====
At the same time, in the side room of Nuanyu Pavilion.
As the most prestigious flower building in Baihua Deep Area, the interior decoration of Nuanyu Pavilion is truly unique.
The veil is hanging low, and the white smoke of incense is swaying, falling hazily like fog. The light but fascinating fragrance seems to have the effect of making people drowsy and is very intoxicating.
A gauze curtain separated the two people. Master Ji sat outside the gauze, and the outline of Miss Hongyu sitting on the other side could be vaguely seen. The intricately carved wooden bed was not far away, but from his perspective, it was as blurry as the woman not far away.
"Miss Hongyu."
He had longed for this beautiful and talented girl. Today was the first time he came to see her alone, and he couldn't help feeling very nervous: "We have been sitting like this for half an hour without saying a word... When can I come in and see you?"
The other person was sitting at the table, seemingly eating some fruits and snacks on the table. He looked up when he heard the voice, and said in a strangely hoarse and low voice: "Wait a minute."
After a pause, he coughed again and said, "I have caught a cold and I can't pass it on to you, young master."
"So what!"
Master Ji was impatient and rushed forward with his long legs, pulling open the gauze curtain. Miss Hongyu seemed to be very shy, and immediately dropped the watermelon in her hand and crawled into the quilt of the bed next to her.
No, it's not shyness, maybe it's a hint.
Master Ji was overjoyed. He stepped forward and hugged her tightly in his arms. He stretched out his hand excitedly and stroked the little bit of her head that was exposed: "Miss Hongyu, I have admired you for a long time. Today I can finally be alone with you in a room... Your long hair is so beautiful. I can't wait to see more."
Miss Hongyu maintained her original posture without moving. He thought that she was just embarrassed, so he patiently stretched out his hand and slowly moved it down from the top of her head.
"Miss Hongyu."
He kept touching it and felt that something was not right: "Your ears...are so big?"
She seemed to have drunk some wine, and her whole body exuded a strong smell of alcohol. She responded muffledly from his arms: "Of course, it's so that I can hear you better."
He was delighted by this answer, as if he had found a treasure, and continued to point his finger downwards: "Miss Hongyu, how could your eyebrows be so thick?"
The other party smiled shyly: "Of course it's so that I can see you better. And my nose and mouth are all made for you to feel you better."
With a beauty in his arms and the tempting aroma of wine, Mr. Ji's nose and heart were tingling with sweetness. He could not wait any longer and wanted to lift the quilt immediately to spend a good night with Miss Hongyu.
He was full of confidence and was about to take action when he heard a hurried knock on the door.
The sound was really annoying, but he was afraid that it was his father who came to the brothel to catch him, so he dared not not open the door.
I didn't expect to see a large crowd of people as soon as I opened the door.
This group of people all looked panicked, and they seemed to want to say something but stopped talking when they saw his messy clothes. The most conspicuous among them was the girl Hongyu whom he had been thinking about all the time.
Wait, Miss Ruby.
Master Ji was confused.
Since Miss Hongyu is here, then who was the person who was so close to him just now?
Ning Ning didn't care about anything else, she walked straight into the room, raised her voice and called out, "Senior Brother He?"
Congratulations, Brother.
Senior brother.
Brother.
Master Ji was only willing to pray to Buddha for five hundred years, hoping that this damn "Senior Brother He" was not the one in the room. However, things did not go as planned. As soon as Ningning finished speaking, the man curled up on the bed arched his body like a soft worm.
When he stood up, even through a layer of gauze, Master Ji could still see that there was a man taller than him.
The man walked unsteadily with uncoordinated limbs as if he was drunk. He fell to the ground as soon as he got out of bed. He struggled for a long time and finally stood up. He took only two steps before he fell again.
There was dead silence in the room.
Several pairs of eyes watched him fall to the ground and thrash around wildly. After standing up and falling down several times, he finally gave up on getting up and crawled out with his body stiff, allowing his bones to collide and make extremely strange cracking sounds.
When the man finally reached the gauze curtain, he suddenly lifted it up.
Master Ji was almost frightened to the point of vomiting.
What came into view was a big head that looked extremely confused, with dull eyes and a stiff expression. It tilted its neck in a cute way, and when it saw the stunned Ningning, it grinned with its bright red lips.
This is not the scariest thing.
The most frightening thing is that this guy had eaten a lot of watermelon before, and before he could swallow one bite, he hurriedly hid in the quilt without chewing or swallowing.
At this moment, when he smiled and opened his mouth, watermelon juice immediately leaked out of his mouth, red mixed with white, and white with black, it was like the Pea Shooter at twice the speed.
This person pulled open the gauze curtain with one hand, hiding his body behind the curtain, leaving only his pale face and grinning. It looked extremely scary, and children would twitch their hands and feet and kneel down to chew the dirt when they saw it.
Master Ji really wants to cry.
It turned out that the thing he was hugging just now was this thing.
That year, with apricot blossoms and drizzling rain, his true love was ultimately misplaced.
He Zhizhou drunkenly looked at Ning Ning, but he still didn't give up. He stared at Young Master Ji with dead fish eyes.
He glanced at it again and again, as if he remembered something happy, and he even laughed out loud shyly, and every word he spoke seemed to be a death sentence: "Sir, is my hair really that beautiful?"
Mr. Ji: ...
Master Ji rolled his eyes and fainted immediately.
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