Entering the Hall of Rites, Long Boji saw a woman sitting alone over tea. Black gauze veiled her face, revealing only a pair of eyes that flowed with soul-hooking, spirit-stealing allure.
Long Boji vaguely caught a faint fragrance, but when he tried to trace it, he could no longer find it.
It was like a fleeting daze that brushed the heart—truly there once, and truly gone.
What a sin... That single glance had nearly unsettled his Dao heart.
This person's strength was unfathomable. No wonder she was Heart Fragrance's number one.
Long Boji's thoughts turned several times. As he took his second step, he had already regained his composure. As the sole true disciple of the Command of Fate True Person, he began considering the possibility of cooperation between Southern Dipper Hall and Three-Part Fragrance Pavilion.
"Long has just received a reprimand from his master in the Command of Fate Hall, making Miss Meiyue wait here for so long. I have been terribly discourteous." Long Boji adjusted his Daoist crown and sat down with great poise.
By his ear came a languid voice. "Three-Part Fragrance Pavilion has come to ask a favor of your sect. What is an hour and a quarter, plus twenty breaths, of waiting?"
It seemed reproachful, yet resentful—much like Long Boji's embarrassed state of mind. "...My apologies."
"What are you saying?" Meiyue, the visitor, laughed softly. "Our two families share the same breath and branch. How could I fuss over such things?"
"Of course, of course." Long Boji nodded unconsciously, then paused. "But how exactly are we of the same breath and branch?"
Meiyue's tone was leisurely. "We are both in the Southern Regions; are we not branches joined together? We both have to swallow Chu Kingdom's airs; are we not of the same breath?"
"Chu