Past Events

"You can follow me."

Miao Yunshang moved with lotus steps, arriving before Fang Yuan. She clasped her hands together in a bow, then leaned in to whisper by his ear.

"Young Master, this won't do!"

Fang Qian grew anxious, ignoring his injuries as he hurriedly spoke.

Miao Yunshang was the face and flower of the Drunken Dream Pavilion; many came drawn by her fame alone.

"Won't do?"

Fang Yuan cast a faint glance at Fang Qian, his tone calm as he echoed the question.

"Everything is as the Young Master commands!"

Fang Qian's stomach still ached, and he dared not offend this master before him again, replying with nearly all his strength.

"Withdraw for now."

Fang Yuan found the half-dead Fang Qian an eyesore; having been away from the family too long, the man had gradually forgotten the proper order of rank.

"The Young Master is here. Whatever happens, he decides. No defiance." Fang Qian instructed the madam.

Fang Yuan dismissed the madam, pointed at the cluster of young maidens before him, then ordered Xiao Zi:

"Tonight, have them wash up and rest here. Tomorrow, find lodging in the city for those who stay."

"And the Young Master?"

Fang Yuan chuckled lightly. "I haven't reached the point of being unable to manage myself. Isn't she here with me?"

As he spoke, Fang Yuan's gaze drifted meaningfully toward Miao Yunshang.

He had chosen to keep Miao Yunshang mainly because she had revealed her identity—she was from the Murong Family of the Royal City.

The Murong Family of the Royal City—Fang Yuan had some ties there, after all, since he had a fiancée among them.

"You're from the Murong Family of the Royal City. How did you end up at the Drunken Dream Pavilion?"

The Murong Family's strength was even a cut above the Fang Family's. Even if a disciple fared poorly, they shouldn't have sunk to such depths.

Moreover, Fang Yuan could tell that Miao Yunshang's talent was not low.

At her age, being in the Xiantian Realm would make her a key cultivation target among the younger generation of the Murong Family.

Few would likely guess that the Drunken Dream Pavilion's top flower was actually a Xiantian Realm expert.

"I am the Murong Family Head's illegitimate daughter. The Matriarch cast me out, and I barely escaped with my life."

Miao Yunshang's tone was very calm, but Fang Yuan could hear the turbulent undercurrents hidden beneath that placid lake.

"The Matriarch sent people to hunt me all the way. I was forced to flee to Clear Sea City and chose to hide in a place of wind, flowers, snow, and moon."

Miao Yunshang was indeed clever. Who would think that the Family Head's own daughter would take shelter in a brothel?

Though the brothel saw a constant flow of people, she was the top flower. Those qualified to meet her were few and far between.

"You intend to take revenge later?" Fang Yuan saw through Miao Yunshang's thoughts at once.

"I dare not hide it from you, young master. The Murong Matriarch treated me so cruelly. I will take her life with my own hands."

Miao Yunshang's tone was resolute. Her seemingly delicate frame hid a fiercely unyielding spirit.

"I might become your father's son-in-law in the future—your brother-in-law. I could send you straight to the Murong Family."

Fang Yuan stared at Miao Yunshang, speaking with keen interest.

She had spent no short time in the Drunken Dream Pavilion; there was no way she didn't know about the marriage alliance between the Fang and Murong Families.

Miao Yunshang paused. "I can sense it—you are a good person!"

"Sense it?"

Fang Yuan felt a bit confused, looking at Miao Yunshang with eyes full of doubt.

If this sense of yours is wrong, saying those words could cost you your life.

"Since I was young, I've been able to distinguish people who mean me good or ill. I've never been wrong." Miao Yunshang explained.

Avoiding harm and seeking good fortune?

Fang Yuan could only think of that possibility. He never imagined such a miraculous talent existed in the world.

It seemed keeping Miao Yunshang by his side was worthwhile.

"Young master, it's late now. Why not stay here and rest?"

Miao Yunshang lightly untied the sash at her waist, slipping off her long dress to reveal her undergarments, showcasing her exquisite, graceful figure.

A thunderbolt!

"What are you doing, miss?"

Fang Yuan was just about to leave when he saw the beauty offering herself, though his eyes never left Miao Yunshang's form.

Caught off guard!

"Attending to the young master's rest," Miao Yunshang said softly.

"Rest assured, young master. All the supplies in Dream Room No. 1 are replaced daily."

Miao Yunshang said coyly, "Besides, I am still a virgin. I have never been in close contact with any man before."

The first half of the sentence was normal, but the second half left Fang Yuan stunned.

The top courtesan of the Drunken Dream Pavilion was still a virgin?

"Yunshang would not dare deceive the young master!"

No woman would lightly joke about her own chastity. Fang Yuan figured it was likely true.

Besides, lying before him would not withstand scrutiny.

"If you stay by my side from now on and serve me wholeheartedly, the day of your revenge will come."

Fang Yuan smoothed his sleeve, glanced at Miao Yunshang, and sat down on the large round bed behind him, speaking calmly.

Though a beauty stood before him, he was not swept away by lust.

Seeing her thoughts seen through, Miao Yunshang's face showed a trace of embarrassment, a hint of awkwardness creeping in.

"Thank you, young master."

Miao Yunshang had weathered many setbacks to reach where she was today, and she quickly adjusted her mindset.

The next day.

A ray of sunlight fell through the window into the room.

Fang Yuan, still groggy with sleep, felt a fragrant breeze fill his nostrils, a warm, soft jade in his arms, and strands of hair brushing against his eyes.

A gentle bower, a hero's grave!

Fang Yuan declared to himself that he must not sink into such an atmosphere; he needed to cultivate properly.

By noon.

Someone knocked at the door outside, and Fang Yuan rose from the bed to eat the carefully prepared dishes brought by the servants.

"Find a residence in the inner city. The women we took in yesterday will be your foundation."

Fang Yuan waved his hand, conjuring a bag of silver coins for Miao Yunshang's daily expenses.

"Young master, I still have money on hand." Miao Yunshang's face flushed red.

"From now on, just focus on your cultivation. If you lack resources, send someone to find me," Fang Yuan said.

He had many things to do in the future and could not handle everything himself; he needed to build his own power.

"Please rest assured, young master."

Leaving the Drunken Dream Pavilion, Fang Yuan returned home. On the way, he noticed many disciples casting strange looks at him.

"Greetings, Young Master!"

But when disciples crossed paths, they still bowed respectfully.

"Did you hear? Yesterday, the Young Master spent the night at the Drunken Dream Pavilion, with a courtesan as company!"

"Where did you get that news? Is it reliable?"

"The Young Master has always kept himself pure. Why would he go to a place like that?"

Some disciples had glimpsed Miao Yunshang's grace from afar at the Drunken Dream Pavilion and couldn't help sighing.

"That courtesan is indeed beautiful—more than our Fang Ke'er and Fang Qingyun, no less."

"Are you crazy? Comparing women from a pleasure house to them?"

Others looked at him with disdain, as if a lofty goddess had been defiled.

But thinking that their own goddesses were also on close terms with the Young Master, their hearts ached unbearably.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

"The Young Master went to the Drunken Dream Pavilion to clean things up. Don't you know? Fang Qian's dantian has already been crippled."

A female disciple, unwilling to accept it, revealed the news she had obtained.

"Is that so..."