Young Master Ji, That's Not How You Use the Seventh Move, Yuanshuang

"Great!"

The beautiful madam waved her hand, and two maids closed the scroll.

Everyone knew the conditions were coming.

Just then, the talented young man who claimed to be from Heluo Academy spoke with a confident air:

"I know what Miss Yuanshuang is testing us on."

"It's an appreciation of the painting, right? I'll go first. The painting is masterfully executed, and the artist has an exceptionally keen eye, capturing the scenes of ordinary streets in Taiping City..."

"Wait!" The beautiful madam smiled. "Wrong."

"Miss Yuanshuang showed you this scroll, but the challenge isn't to appreciate it."

"Rather..."

"From morning until night, how many pedestrians appeared on East Third Street in this Taiping River Map? How many carriages? What color were the wheels of the last carriage? And how many buns did the peddler at the bun shop sell?"

At those words, everyone was stunned.

Silence. Utter silence.

Not a single person in all of Yunjian Pavilion spoke.

Many people trembled, rattled by the question.

What kind of damn question was that?

After a while, someone frowned and protested:

"The scroll was only unrolled for less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. And it was so long! We were all absorbed in the artist's skill. Who could possibly know the answer to something like that? There must have been at least a thousand people in the painting... and that's not even counting the other details. Isn't Miss Yuanshuang making this impossible?"

"Exactly! Even if you let me look at it again, I might not be able to count them... Unless someone counted while we looked..."

"Seriously... who could answer that?"

There was no denying it: the question was truly difficult.

The figures in the scroll changed with the light. Even though it depicted only a single street, the pedestrians moved as the light shifted. How many people would there be from sunrise to sunset?

You might not be able to count them even if you set out to do so properly.

And that was before trying to pay attention to all the other details.

"Yuanshuang isn't an easy one to deal with..." one of the servants beside Feng Wuque whispered. "Young Master, what should we do?"

"No matter. No one here should be able to answer."

Feng Wuque shook his head. "As long as Yuanshuang can't find a suitable companion for the night, I'll still have a chance."

Just then, a handsome, spirited young man spoke up:

"Hmm... There were three thousand two hundred and twenty pedestrians, seventy-eight carriages. The wheels were pear-yellow. As for the bun-shop peddler... he sold one hundred and seven baskets of buns?"

He sounded quite certain about every answer except the last.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Mu Ye looked too. What a ridiculous question. Even in True Mode, with the scene synchronized with him, his Cultivator's memory might... actually, he still couldn't remember. His attention hadn't been on that at all.

Let me see who this is...

"Shen Qingchan...?"

Mu Ye was rather surprised.

At the same time, the beautiful madam stared at the unfamiliar young man in astonishment.

"Impressive, young master... But you got only three answers right. One was wrong."

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

Someone had really gotten them right?

Was that for real?

Disbelief and astonishment filled the gazes fixed on him.

Shen Qingchan gave a soft huff and said nothing.

"That girl really is a genius..."

Mu Ye watched for a while, then could only fall silent.

Even in the Cultivation World, if she had a spiritual root, she'd be an absolute genius. Her comprehension and memory were both terrifying. She'd become a top expert at anything she put her mind to.

She definitely hadn't counted on purpose. She'd probably looked at the scroll once and reproduced almost all its details in her mind.

Sometimes, you just had to admit it.

There really were geniuses in this world...

I'm no genius, but I can reload a save.

Mu Ye shrugged. He reloaded and tried again, counting every detail carefully—over and over.

He found that Shen Qingchan had gotten only the last answer wrong.

The rest were all correct.

She'd missed it because a dog had snatched a basket of buns from the peddler—and then paid for it.

Shen Qingchan probably hadn't noticed, so she'd counted one basket too few.

And so...

"Three thousand two hundred and twenty pedestrians, seventy-eight carriages, pear-yellow wheels, and one hundred and eight baskets," Mu Ye had his character answer.

"..."

The beautiful madam's eyes widened in delight.

"Congratulations, Young Master Ji. Your answer is completely correct."

Shen Qingchan glanced over, frowned slightly, then quickly understood. A trace of annoyance crossed her face.

"This Young Master Ji... Aunt Yun said he's a libertine who's been hanging around Zuixiang Pavilion these past few days..." Shen Qingchan muttered to herself. "I didn't expect him to have such talent, too... Master was right. There are so many capable people in this world..."

"In that case, it seems I won't be able to complete the task Aunt Yun gave me... I'd better leave quickly. If the disciples from the Divine Fist Martial Hall see me... I don't want Young Hero Mu to get the wrong idea..."

With that, she feigned disappointment and withdrew behind the crowd.

The beautiful madam spoke again:

"The second question is a little simpler. Miss Yuanshuang would like to know what kind of woman she is in your eyes."

This question was purely subjective.

There was no right answer. Everyone offered their own opinions, almost all of them lavish praise.

It seemed the real contest was to see who could flatter her best.

[1, a demoness who drains the marrow from her victims]

[2, a peerless beauty who could topple a kingdom]

[3, she's really just a poor soul.]

[4, ...]

These choices...

The first one exposed her true nature. How could he go meet her after choosing that?

As for the second, everyone there had already praised her plenty.

The third was unconventional, a break from the usual approach. It might catch her attention and seemed like the best choice.

Mu Ye chose 3 to try it out. The beautiful madam paused, then said with an ambiguous smile, "Do you mean to suggest that Zuixiang Pavilion mistreats Miss Yuanshuang?" A prompt appeared, indicating that his Favorability had reached the required level. The madam's expression soon softened, and she told him to go meet Miss Yuanshuang herself, then escorted him to her chambers.

"So the option can only be chosen once you've reached a certain Favorability..."

When he arrived at Miss Yuanshuang's chambers, the maids had already withdrawn, leaving the two of them alone.

The night was beautiful.

Mu Ye was familiar with the room; he'd been there once before. But this time, Yuanshuang wasn't hidden beneath the covers.

She sat before her dressing mirror.

Her graceful silhouette was reflected on the screen in front of her. She wore only a sheer gauze dress, lending the scene a rather alluring air.

"Young master, why do you think I'm a poor soul?" Her composed, mature voice carried a hint of seduction.

It made his bones feel weak and tingly.

"Yuanshuang, Yuanshuang... 'Red sleeves birth vitality, frost falls to make spring mud.' Your name comes from that poem. It compares a woman to spring mud, dressing all things in its finery. Isn't that rather pitiful?"

Mu Ye made up an explanation on the spot.

Miss Yuanshuang froze inside, then hurried out, trailing a wave of fragrance, and threw herself into his arms.

"Waaah... This servant had already heard all about you at Zuixiang Pavilion... I thought you were just a libertine who liked to toy with women, a man without talent or virtue. I never expected to learn today that you're not only gifted beyond measure, but can understand seven-tenths of my heart without even meeting me..."

"Young master, I like you so very much..."

A beauty in his arms, soft as jade and sweetly fragrant, her enchanting voice making his bones go weak—why, even a monk would break his vows.

Is that so?

Then why hadn't your Favorability changed? Mu Ye wondered.

I don't believe a word of it.

You're a demoness through and through!

Yuanshuang took his hand and led him gracefully to the bedside, her eyes brimming with affection.

"Young master, let's sit down and discuss the art of painting and calligraphy... There's so much I want to talk about with you..."

[You have been charmed.]

Mu Ye read the notification and smiled.

This time, he wasn't worried in the slightest.

Before long, they reached the bedside. Yuanshuang blew out the candle, and the room fell dark.

A moment later...

"Young master... how do you know Zuixiang Pavilion's eighteen moves? And how did you reach such a profound level?"

"Of course I learned them from the women at Zuixiang Pavilion."

Mu Ye couldn't help chuckling to himself.

Brothel Patron's secret martial arts talent was abysmal, but for some reason... he learned the Zuixiang Eighteen Touches incredibly quickly, as if the secret art had been made for him.

In half a month, he'd mastered this assassination art, which had been adapted into the Bedchamber Arts of Zuixiang Pavilion.

Terrifying!

A long, long time passed.

"Young master... you... you're truly gifted..."

"How can this be..."

"..."

As they explored the art together, Mu Ye once again felt that powerful marrow-sucking technique.

But this time, with his kidney Divine Aperture fully open and the Zuixiang Eighteen Touches mastered, Yuanshuang was no match for him at all.

By the time the first glimmers of dawn appeared, Yuanshuang lay on the bed, her eyes opening and closing slightly. Her affection was plain, but she was utterly exhausted.

"Young master, this servant has fallen in love with you..." It had taken only two hours for her voice to change from mature and alluring to soft and sweet.

Hah, is that so?

But your Favorability still hasn't changed much, has it?

Mu Ye didn't believe a word.

A demoness who could drain a master thief dry couldn't possibly be that simple.

"Why don't you redeem me, then?" Yuanshuang traced circles on his body with one fingertip, her words dripping with affection.

"But I don't have any money," Mu Ye said.

"I have a way..." Yuanshuang suddenly sat up, looking mysterious.

"What way?" Mu Ye knew this was the important part.

Yuanshuang reached to the side of the bed and pulled out an old painting.

"Young master, look..."

Mu Ye glanced at it. It was the same mysterious painting he'd seen when he sneaked in earlier.

"This painting is quite old... It seems to be hiding something."

"Young master, you have a fine eye for paintings," Yuanshuang whispered. "That's right. A treasure map is hidden in the painting. If you can find the treasure, you'll have money. This is my secret; I've never even told the chief steward. If I didn't truly care for you, I wouldn't have revealed a single word."

Heh.

"A treasure?"

"That's right. Look at the painting from four different angles, and you'll see four characters. Put them together, and they spell 'Taiping City Prefecture.'"

"The treasure is there."

The demoness had finally shown her hand.

The Seven Absolutes Imperial Map was in the hands of the Seven Absolutes Demon. If the treasure was there, then that Seven Absolutes Demon was there too!

Mu Ye pondered. He had the information he needed now.

Taiping City Prefecture was an official government institution. But the court's authority in Taiping City was weak, and the city lord did little of consequence. The prefecture was rather deserted.

Wait.

No, the Seven Absolutes Demon was actually right here in the city?