Su Mu came slowly toward them, trailing a fragrant breeze. It wasn't the scent of powder, but a fresh fragrance like a hundred flowers. The moment you breathed it in, your mind felt clear and refreshed; then you began to float, as if ascending to immortal realms. "I said I'd give it to you, so I'm giving it to you. If you keep refusing, I'll get angry." Luo Yun opened her fan and waved it hard.
"Is this Young Master Hong Yi? We've already discussed profound principles, so there's no need to discuss them again." Su Mu spoke, each word crisp and clear, like pearls dropping onto a jade plate. Her voice left listeners tingling, itching, their pores opening all over, filling them with indescribable comfort.
"You're the clearheaded one." Hong Yi had cultivated the supreme spiritual-soul scripture, the Amitabha Sutra, and undergone the Jade Maiden Contemplation. He could hold fast and remain unmoving, his soul strong and unclouded by external sights, sounds, scents, and tastes. Yet when her voice seemed to come straight for him and reached his ears, Hong Yi's body reacted strangely. He lifted his eyes and watched Su Mu approach with measured steps, feeling an urge to flee.
"Among all these people, Hong Yi's the only clearheaded one."
"Princess, thank you for lending me the Shark Slayer Sword as a wager just now. Now that I'm returning it, I owe you another favor." His words startled the young noblemen, who had been jostling to flatter Su Mu and speak with the beauty. They came to their senses and saw the displeasure on Princess Zhennan Luo Yun's face. Every one of them was suddenly awkward.
Luo Yun gritted her teeth. "Hong Yi, I'm giving you this Shark Slayer."
All at once, Hong Yi remained neither servile nor overbearing as he picked up the Shark Slayer Sword and presented it to Luo Yun with both hands. His voice rang out, his chest expanded, his lungs filled, as loud and resonant as a sage's words in a book.
"Archery is one of the six arts. It's hardly a trifling skill, so please don't underestimate yourself, Young Master."
"These young noblemen are all supposed to be well-mannered. Why do their bones turn to jelly at the sight of a woman? Then again, it's no wonder. If I hadn't practiced the Amitabha Sutra's visualization method, I'm afraid even I couldn't have held firm. She's simply too beautiful, and her bearing is extraordinary." Hong Yi thought to himself.
After Hong Yi accepted the Shark Slayer, Luo Yun turned to Su Mu. "I've long heard that Miss Su Mu is the capital's foremost talented woman and loves discussing profound principles. I hear that at a gathering, she once debated them so thoroughly that even an elder of the Zhengyi Dao was left speechless. Young Master Hong Yi also loves discussing such things. Why don't you two talk and let me enjoy the exchange?"
"This is the princess's beloved sword. Lending it to me as a wager was already a great kindness. How could I dare accept it?" Hong Yi was startled. Seeing Luo Yun grit her teeth, he knew the Shark Slayer was her cherished sword.
Su Mu smiled calmly, walked over, and spoke to Hong Yi. Once Hong Yi had steadied himself, his modest voice rang out, jolting the young noblemen back to their senses as well. After that first moment of shock, the Amitabha Buddha's true image flashed through his thoughts, and his soul cleared.
Hong Yi shook his head and could only accept the sword. The young noblemen, including Young Marquis Changle, all stood rooted to the spot when Su Mu approached. For at least three breaths, they were utterly captivated by her beauty and bearing.
Luo Yun, meanwhile, watched the young noblemen fawn over Su Mu and grew so angry she was practically panting. She waved her folding fan hard, then snapped it shut with a crack, gripping it until its ribs creaked.
Though this was a brothel and a courtesan was hardly someone of noble status—indeed, the more beautiful the courtesan, the more she was usually teased—Su Mu's appearance left every young nobleman present without the slightest thought of treating her with disrespect.
Huff, huff.
Not one of these young noblemen was a fool. They knew their behavior had displeased the princess.
"Sorry. Hong Yi has clearly studied until the words sank into his heart. He isn't swayed by a peerless beauty; he sees beauty and keeps his heart unmoved. Compared to him, I'm a step behind."
"Miss Su is too kind. It's only a trifling skill."
The young dandies all scrambled to shower her with flattery.
He had seen that Luo Yun was unhappy, so he had returned the sword to comfort her. After all, the princess had helped him a great deal. Returning even a little of the favor was still a favor returned.
He visualized beauty turning into a skull: flesh rotting away, bones exposed. The sight of Su Mu before him immediately became ordinary. She was still breathtakingly beautiful, but her radiance no longer had the power to seize his mind.
"I'm not late, I'm not late. Waiting for Fairy Mu is no trouble at all." Just then, one of the young noblemen hurried to speak. The others chimed in. "That's right, that's right. We haven't waited long. To see Fairy Mu's radiant beauty, we'd happily wait three days and nights. A mere hour or two is nothing."
Hong Yi sensed something was amiss. The Amitabha Sutra's teachings immediately surfaced in his mind, and he began to visualize: the peerlessly beautiful woman before him, the capital's foremost talented woman, covered in maggots and swarming flies, her flesh rotting until only white bones remained.
Hong Yi suddenly came to his senses.
When Su Mu walked over, everyone present held their breath, too astonished by her beauty to speak.
"Young Master, your archery was remarkable just now. You truly opened Su Mu's eyes."
Seeing the young dandies itching to strike up a conversation now that a beauty stood before them, yet afraid of displeasing Princess Zhennan, Hong Yi found their awkwardness rather amusing.
"Hmm?" Young Marquis Changle was, after all, the eldest legitimate son set to inherit his marquisate. He had received a far better upbringing than the other young noblemen, and was already beginning to reflect on himself.
She had once been surrounded by adoring admirers, but now she was being neglected, and Su Mu had become the moon around which the stars revolved. Naturally, she was furious, but she couldn't show it, so she could only seethe in silence.
"Hmm? Why would I have such a thought?"
The woman was a beauty beyond compare. She moved with light, lotus steps, wearing a pale green gauze skirt and a white shawl. Several maids followed behind her. She looked like an immortal from a painting, descending gracefully into the mortal world.
Seeing the young noblemen's brief daze, Su Mu's eyes held a note of satisfaction. But then her gaze fell on Hong Yi, and she noticed how quickly he recovered.
He had only stood dazed for a few breaths. It was hardly the sort of intoxication that made a person lose himself; it was just the shock of seeing such beauty. But on a battlefield, a few breaths of distraction would have meant being killed several times over.
"No self, no person, no sentient being, no lifespan. Beauty is a skull; flesh and skin are white bones."
Indeed, even Hong Yi felt breathless with shock at Su Mu's beauty and perfect bearing as she approached.
Beauty made people forget to breathe.
Su Mu smiled and looked at Hong Yi, surprise and meaning in her eyes.
Seeing Hong Yi bow as he presented the sword, Luo Yun saw that his eyes were clear and his heart upright, without the slightest trace of wicked or improper thoughts. A wave of relief washed over her.
"I used to read in the histories that a beauty's smile could topple a city, and a second smile could topple a kingdom. Some emperors loved beauty more than their realm. I always thought those stories absurd. How could a mere woman compare to the sacred vessel of the state? But now it seems there may be some truth to them. If one had to choose between a woman like this and the sacred vessel of the state... the sacred vessel of the state... a peerless beauty... the sacred vessel of the state... a peerless beauty..."
Hearing Hong Yi's voice, Young Marquis Changle's thoughts fully cleared. He inwardly called himself ashamed.
Su Mu smiled, curtsied, and said, "Su Mu is late. I'm sorry to have kept you gentlemen waiting."
Before you continue