By the time Li Yun finished drinking with Cao Wenxuan, night had fallen.
After seeing off Cao Wenxuan, who appeared drunk, Li Yun quickly burned away the strong smell of alcohol on himself with his King-Grade True Qi.
Only then did Xiuhe appear before him.
"You're going to the Cloud Immortal Residence?"
When Xiuhe learned what Cao Wenxuan had come to ask, her first reaction was neither jealousy nor displeasure, but wariness.
"Young master... could Cao Wenxuan be up to no good?"
"The Cloud Immortal Residence... Since I came to Western Mountain Commandery, I've heard people mention it several times. That place... it doesn't feel like anywhere good."
"Even you've heard of it?"
Li Yun was surprised. If even Xiuhe had heard of the Cloud Immortal Residence, it really was famous.
Entry tokens to a notorious pleasure house had been bid up to thousands of taels of gold, yet it still stood untroubled. Clearly, it had considerable power behind it.
Perhaps the so-called Cloud Immortal Maiden was only a figurehead put forward by some major faction, a puppet dancing on someone else's strings.
"Yes, I've heard of it."
"I've even met people who've been there. Whenever they talked about the Cloud Immortal Residence in private, every one of them grew excited. They kept calling it a sacred place, as if it truly were the holiest place in the world."
"It's very strange..."
Li Yun raised an eyebrow, then relaxed it. "Strange is exactly what it should be. If a place like that were ordinary, how could it drive people mad enough to throw money around like dirt?"
"Young master, are you really going?"
"I am. I'll go first thing tomorrow morning and take a look. Don't worry about my safety. If I dare go, I'm fully confident I can leave