After passing several private rooms, they arrived at a window overlooking the river on the top floor.
Wearing a white marten-fur cloak, Xu Yuan stood by the top-floor window of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, looking down at the bustling nightlife of this southwestern stronghold.
The Drunken Immortal Pavilion was one of the tallest buildings in the north of the city. From its top floor, one could look out over the lights and life of half of Jingjiang City.
The city's nightlife was lively. This world had no streetlights, but the authorities had carved small Bright Pattern Lamps into the buildings on both sides of the street.
Looking down, the Drunken Immortal Pavilion stood beside the Jinhuai River.
Even in winter, the waterside town carried a few traces of damp, biting cold. The common folk bustled about, hawking their wares and calling out to customers. Pleasure boats moored for the night drifted gently along the Jinhuai River, while the elaborately dressed courtesans beneath the Drunken Immortal Pavilion constantly drew the eyes of passing men.
The Drunken Immortal Pavilion and the Xiaoxiang Pavilion in the south of the city were pleasure houses on par with the government-run Imperial Music Bureau. Naturally, each had its own unique appeal. After all, most of the people at the Imperial Music Bureau had their status to lend them an extra allure.
Beyond their looks, even their clothing was chosen to entice, every detail just right.
Suppressing the restlessness in his heart, Xu Yuan took a deep breath and turned back to sit cross-legged on the bed.
His body was in poor shape, so he had to be disciplined and give up alcohol and women.
After more than half a week of cultivation and recuperation in the Mystic Eagle Pavilion, the body the original owner had run ragged with his debauchery had grown much healthier. But some things still needed time to heal.
The original owner had spent every day popping pills and carousing in brothels, which was bad enough. Worse, the pills he took were cheap, third-rate little pills bought by his lackeys.
Xu Yuan wasn't sure how potent they were, but their side effects were truly severe. Taking them every day had left his organs with hidden ailments.
Whenever Xu Yuan thought of this, he felt the original owner really hadn't been very bright. No wonder he'd been used as a stepping stone for the plot's protagonist, controlled by the players, to show off and slap him down.
If he wanted pills, he could've just asked his eldest brother for them. Even if he got beaten up, his brother wouldn't refuse.
His organs had long since been overworked. If not for his family's deep resources and the tonic meals they provided, Xu Yuan figured he'd already be lying in a coffin, waiting to be buried.
At least most of those lackeys were dead now.
Ever since Big Ice Block had kidnapped him, Xu Changge had come to Jingjiang City in person. He'd killed nearly every lackey around the original owner.
He couldn't kill his own younger brother, but Xu Changge had no qualms about killing the useless lackeys around him.
Xu Yuan had no comment on Xu Changge's methods. Those people had tricked the original owner into stealing plenty of antiques and paintings from his family and selling them off cheap. Most of those valuables had probably ended up in the lackeys' hands.
But regardless, Xu Changge's actions had created a very real problem for him.
According to the timeline,
the protagonist should have already left Burial Village on Great Yan's border and be nearing Jingjiang City.
Yet now, with things he wanted to take care of ahead of time, he didn't have a single useful person at his disposal.
He couldn't even do the most basic thing: find the protagonist somewhere in this enormous Jingjiang City.
Those lackeys might have been scoundrels, but when it came to the business of the three teachings and nine streams, he could give them an order and they'd take care of it properly.
After all, no matter how much of a wastrel the original owner was, people still flocked to lick the boots of the Prime Minister's Third Young Master. And the original owner, that fool, had been quite generous.
Some gang leaders, merchant-house scions, and even people in the City Defense Bureau had all been the original owner's "close friends."
If those people were still around, finding someone in a city as vast as Jingjiang would have been no problem. But Xu Changge had wiped them all out in one fell swoop.
And with those people as a warning, who'd dare risk getting chopped up by your big brother just to curry favor with you?
Should he ask Ying'er or Zhou Chen to do it?
Those two were like towering Buddhas.
Ha. Xu Yuan figured he might as well wash up and go to sleep early. Anything was possible in a dream.
Besides, ever since leaving the Mystic Eagle Pavilion, he hadn't seen Ying'er at all. She was probably crouched in some hidden nook or cranny, spying on him.
His eyes thoughtful, he tapped the edge of the wooden window with his fingers, then let out a long sigh.
With no one useful at hand, it seemed he could only send the newly hired guards from the estate. He just wasn't sure whether this new batch would listen to the Third Young Master.
After setting the task in motion, Xu Yuan spent the next two weeks indoors on the top floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, having someone set up a Spirit Locking Array.
Whenever he ran into problems with his cultivation, he went to seek advice from the great master Zhou, who was growing thinner by the day from drink and women in the room on the top floor.
Thanks to Zhou Chen's talkative nature, he taught Xu Yuan far better than that taciturn, surnamed-Ran Big Ice Block. Most of the problems Xu Yuan encountered were quickly resolved.
With guidance from a renowned master and the support of all kinds of pills, Xu Yuan had been cultivating for less than a month in total when his cultivation smoothly advanced to the ninth rank.
Just like when he'd first broken through into the ranks, there was another "pop," and the bottleneck inside him gave way without the slightest resistance.
Feeling the changes as Source Qi surged through his body, Xu Yuan opened his eyes with satisfaction and chuckled.
"Breaking through with this Innate Dao Body really is as easy as eating and drinking."
For an average cultivator with decent talent, going from never having cultivated to reaching the ninth rank took about a year. He'd reached it in less than a month!
Lowering his eyes, he clenched a fist. The faint threads of blood-red Source Qi that had once surrounded his hand could now wrap around his entire fist.
He turned his fist into an open palm and watched the bewitching blood-red Source Qi change shape at will in his hand.
The fullness that came with the surging Source Qi made Xu Yuan grin.
So this
was what power felt like?
The thought crossed his mind, and Xu Yuan shook his head ruefully.
Heh... so edgy.
He put those scattered thoughts away, extended his Will Soul, and retrieved the Source Crystal at the center of the Spirit Locking Array into his Sumeru Ring. Then he sat cross-legged and absorbed all the liquid Source Qi in the room before finally letting out a long breath.
He'd been so focused on cultivating that more than half a month had passed since he'd sent those guards to gather information. It was time to ask how they were getting on.
Besides investigating the protagonist, he'd also asked the guards to find out whether any of the pleasure houses in Jingjiang City had recently been grooming a new star who was about to make her debut.
As he thought of this, Xu Yuan called loudly toward the door.
"Someone, go call Xue Yong."
A quarter of an hour later,
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Someone knocked on the door of the top-floor room in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
"Come in."
With permission granted, a young man in black fitted clothes entered the room. He had handsome features and a serious expression.
The young man glanced around, then looked toward the long-haired man seated by the tea table, leisurely drinking tea.
The man's black hair spilled across the floor. He didn't look at the young man, simply pouring and sipping his tea on his own.
Seeing the Third Young Master's manner, a trace of amusement flashed through the young man's eyes.
Rumor had it that the Third Young Master liked to imitate the Eldest Young Master's mannerisms. Seeing him in person now, the rumor was clearly true. But it was still just a case of an ape imitating a tiger, only to end up looking like a dog.
Stepping forward, Xue Yong bowed slightly and cupped his fists. With his head lowered, he said flatly,
"Third Young Master, we found the person you previously asked us to investigate in secret."
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. He took a small sip of tea and asked unhurriedly,
"Which one?"
The original guards at the Xu Estate had been killed or reassigned by Xu Changge. These new guards had been transferred from the side of the adopted daughter Xu Yuan's father had taken in—the woman outsiders called the Fourth Miss.
They were responsible for his basic security whenever he went out.
Though Zhou Chen and Ying'er, two powerful masters, protected him openly and in secret, he couldn't have them handle everything. He naturally needed some capable guards to deal with those reckless little fools.
As it happened, Xu Yuan had already put these people to work tracking down the protagonist and a certain "pure courtesan."
The young man in fitted clothes replied in a low voice,
"It's the pure courtesan you wanted to find."
Not the protagonist?
Xu Yuan was a little disappointed, but he was quite pleased that they'd found the woman. He smiled and asked,
"Is she at the Xiaoxiang Pavilion in the south of the city?"
The young man shook his head.
"No, she's here at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. She's making her debut tomorrow."
Xu Yuan's fingers paused on the porcelain cup. Then he sighed.
Well, there went another part of the plot he thought he knew.
In Cangyuan, there were plenty of routes in which the original owner died in the Wanxing Mountain Range, but there were also many routes in which Xu Changge rescued him.
After returning to Jingjiang City, there were several ways the original owner could die because of this "pure courtesan" he'd just mentioned.
The reason was simple: he'd fought with the protagonist over a woman.
The conflict kept escalating until, through a twist of fate, the protagonist controlled by the player killed him.
Only, in Cangyuan, the woman had clearly appeared at the Xiaoxiang Pavilion in the south of the city. How had she ended up at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in the north?
Xu Yuan hadn't gone to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, where the original owner used to spend most of his time, even once this past month. He'd stayed at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion in the north instead, and the woman had followed him here.
It was almost as if she'd come specifically to spark a conflict between him and the protagonist.
Of course, Xu Yuan knew it couldn't be that simple.
Like Ji Qingyue, that "pure courtesan" had probably set her sights on him, the Third Young Master.
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
Xu Yuan drained his cup of tea, then regarded the young man before him thoughtfully. Suddenly, he asked,
"When did she arrive?"
"More than half a month ago," Xue Yong replied flatly.
"More than half a month ago?" Xu Yuan chuckled.
At that answer, a thread of anger slowly crept into his heart.
Xue Yong and the guards under him hadn't taken his orders seriously at all.
Xu Yuan had been cultivating on the top floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion every day, and the guards had been stationed at all the key entrances leading up to it.
Xue Yong and the others were inside the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. They could've just asked the madam there. Given how much Third Young Master Xu spent, she certainly wouldn't have kept the information from him.
They were supposed to find someone for him, Xu Yuan—Xu Changtian?
Find my ass!
If he hadn't asked today, he might not have heard a thing until tomorrow, when the woman officially made her debut and he saw her with his own eyes.
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes at Xue Yong and said softly,
"Xue Yong, I remember telling you to investigate this woman two weeks ago. She arrived at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion more than half a month ago, and you've only found out just before her debut?"
The young man in fitted clothes glanced at Xu Yuan, then silently bowed lower.
"This subordinate failed in his duty. Please punish me, Young Master."
Though he said that, his voice was flat, and he met Xu Yuan's gaze without the slightest fear.
Xue Yong didn't care about Xu Yuan's reprimand at all.
The Prime Minister had three sons and one daughter: two dragons, one phoenix, and one rat.
He belonged to the Fourth Miss. He'd only been temporarily reassigned to serve as the Third Young Master's guard after the kidnapping.
Everyone in the Prime Minister's Estate knew the Fourth Miss looked down on this Third Brother of hers.
His duty was to protect the Third Young Master, not to serve him while he chased women.
If he disobeyed, he'd get beaten. That was all.
Xu Yuan could hit him as much as he liked. That good-for-nothing Third Young Master couldn't even hurt him if he tried to cut him with a sword.
"..."
For a while, the room fell silent.
Xu Yuan sat cross-legged on his cushion, eyes lowered as he toyed with the expensive porcelain cup in his hand. For a long time, he said nothing.
Having experienced it firsthand, he understood why the original owner had been so sensitive and prone to impotent rage.
His status was indeed high, but it was an empty shell.
Whether the people beneath him listened depended entirely on their own moods.
The worst part was that he had no way to deal with them.
Complain?
You're going to complain because someone didn't find you a woman? Heh.
Of course,
he could beat the hell out of them. His men wouldn't dare fight back, but all that would do was make his own hands hurt.
Cultivation gaps didn't care about status.
After thinking it over for a moment, Xu Yuan sighed, then suddenly smiled.
"Xue Yong, twenty-two years old, at the peak of the sixth-rank Iron Body stage, and not far from reaching the fifth rank. My younger sister seems to think highly of you. That's not bad. A young genius like you certainly has reason to be proud."
"..."
Xue Yong narrowed his eyes, surprised that Xu Yuan knew his cultivation level.
As Xue Yong watched, the Third Young Master slowly rose to his feet and spoke softly.
"But since you're asking for punishment, then very well."
Xu Yuan quietly circulated his cultivation method and walked toward Xue Yong, hands behind his back.
Bewitching blood-red Source Qi began to spread across his palm.
He didn't know whether his cultivation, just newly advanced to the ninth rank, could pierce the defenses of Xue Yong, who had already reached the peak of the sixth-rank Iron Body stage. But Xue Yong probably still thought he was an ordinary person and wouldn't activate his cultivation method to defend himself. A surprise attack should be enough to injure him.
He had to establish his authority.
Otherwise, not only would these subordinates, who followed orders but ignored commands, be no help, they might make his life even harder in the days to come.
As Xu Yuan approached,
Xue Yong continued to watch the Third Young Master with an indifferent expression. He wanted to see him fly into a rage and make a fool of himself.
Xu Yuan gave him a slight smile, then suddenly thrust out his hand, wreathed in blood-red Source Qi!
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Xu Yuan's hand had only made it halfway out
when Zhou Chen, holding a wine gourd, suddenly appeared beside Xue Yong like a ghost.
His arrival was just as abrupt as ever.
"..." Xu Yuan.
Zhou Chen shook his head at him.
Then,
he casually tapped Xue Yong's right arm, which was still raised in a formal fist salute.
The air fell silent for an instant,
Xu Yuan clearly saw Xue Yong's expression shift from disdain to astonishment, then to terror.
"Ah!!!!!!"
A shrill scream rang through the entire Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
The immense force slammed Xue Yong onto the ground, and his entire right arm had been twisted out of shape.
Zhou Chen, who had done all this, kept the smile on his face unchanged. He glanced at the blood-red Source Qi in Xu Yuan's hand and smiled as he bowed to him:
"Congratulations, Third Young Master, on reaching the ninth grade."
Then he glanced at Xue Yong, who was howling on the ground like a dead dog, and slowly shook his head:
"Even a mere guard dares to show disrespect to the Third Young Master. Tsk, tsk. Are the people under Fourth Miss all this ill-mannered? Heh."
With that,
Zhou Chen looked at Xu Yuan, his eyes curving as he casually asked:
"Third Young Master, should we cripple him, or kill him outright?"
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