Bone of Charm, Soul of Bewitchment

Zhou Chen hummed a little tune, not bothering to look back as he sauntered slowly toward the top floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Exiting the Bamboo Garden, he had barely turned the corner when he saw a man with delicate, feminine features leaning against the blue-tiled wall with his arms crossed.

Si Ziyu.

Seeing him, Zhou Chen was not surprised, asking with a chuckle:

"Yo, what made you decide to come out?"

Much like Ying'er, Si Ziyu had been hiding in the shadows these past few days, never once showing himself, to the point where even Xu Yuan believed that Zhou Chen and Ying'er were the only ones protecting him.

Si Ziyu cast a glance at Zhou Chen, a faint smile playing on his lips:

"I saw your behavior was strange and came out to ask. Are you... planning to follow the Third Young Master from now on?"

He had seen everything: the Third Young Master's actions over these past few days, as well as that earlier dressing-down he had given Zhou Chen.

He certainly had some tricks up his sleeve, but they were only just that—tricks.

Such methods were surprising coming from the Third Young Master, but for any other scion of a noble house, they were merely the most basic principles of managing subordinates.

The Third Young Master's transformation was enough to make his old friend restrain himself, but to see him acting this obedient was going a bit too far.

Zhou Chen laughed, raising a hand to pat Si Ziyu on the shoulder, signaling for them to talk as they walked:

"I never said I was going to follow the Third Young Master forever. Helping him with these things is just to make up for the mess I made earlier. Besides, doing these things doesn't cause me any real loss, and it satisfies the Third Young Master's ego—why wouldn't I do it?"

He paused.

Zhou Chen pointed toward the top floor of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and grinned:

"Keeping the Third Young Master happy has its rewards, too."

Si Ziyu knew exactly who he was referring to—those two sisters—and his eyes filled with disdain.

Seeing this, Zhou Chen simply threw an arm around Si Ziyu's shoulder and chuckled:

"You people just care too much about your pride; you think losing face will affect your state of mind for cultivation."

"Si Ziyu, look at the bigger picture. The Third Young Master has an Innate Dao Body now. If he has truly turned over a new leaf, then with my current performance, I'll be his first confidant. And if he hasn't, well, there's no shortage of fun to be had in terms of food, drink, and entertainment~"

The alley was silent, their conversation restricted to a radius of half a zhang around them.

Si Ziyu shook his head helplessly and spat out two words:

"Mercenary."

Zhou Chen didn't get angry, nodding in agreement:

"Indeed mercenary. I'm different from you noble-born types; I'm very poor."

Si Ziyu glanced at Zhou Chen, looking as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately held his tongue.

He sighed, paused, and then suddenly asked:

"By the way, what do you make of the Third Young Master's changes?"

"..."

Hearing this, Zhou Chen immediately turned his head to look at Si Ziyu.

The two stared at each other for several seconds.

"What do you mean by that?" The smile vanished from Zhou Chen's voice.

"Before the Eldest Young Master left, he told us to keep an eye on the Third Young Master," Si Ziyu replied.

"You practice Qi; you should know better than I do that a soul-possession technique wouldn't carry over memories."

"..."

Si Ziyu was silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing:

"It wouldn't carry over memories, indeed. But Zhou Chen, do you think the old Third Young Master would have been capable of that dressing-down earlier?"

Zhou Chen shook his head with a laugh at the question, countering:

"Si Ziyu, do you think if the old Third Young Master had tried that dressing-down, anyone would have paid him any mind?"

"..." Si Ziyu fell silent.

Zhou Chen let out a long sigh and patted Si Ziyu on the back:

"Don't overthink it. We'll just report the facts as they are; let the Eldest Young Master and the Prime Minister make their own judgments."

"Mm, fine."

"Oh, right, do you want to come with me to the top floor and have some fun?"

"What?"

"There are twin sisters there~"

"...Get lost."

"Hahaha."

In the elegant bamboo building, the private room was silent.

All external sounds were completely cut off.

Sometimes, Xu Yuan felt that transmigrating was a good thing.

At the very least, the identity he had transmigrated into was a good thing.

It allowed him to see up close just how beautiful these ethereal heroines truly were, and even to taste their fragrance.

He was an old lecher, after all.

Without saying much more to this heroine born with a seductive charm, Xu Yuan fell silent after his words, observing the shifting expressions on Su Jinxuan's face.

He wanted to try and deduce which path the protagonist of this world was taking based on Su Jinxuan's upcoming actions.

In Cangyuan, there were certain routes where Su Jinxuan would meet the protagonist early on, even developing secret feelings for him while they spent time together.

The silence within the private room persisted.

Su Jinxuan lightly bit her red lips, remaining speechless for a long time.

Seeing that she hadn't moved, Xu Yuan lifted his teacup for a sip, staring into her alluring peach-blossom eyes:

"Why don't you move?"

Su Jinxuan finally spoke slowly:

"Young Master, please do not make things difficult for this humble woman."

"Heh, it seems Miss Jinxuan requires a little help from this young master."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan stood up and walked directly toward Su Jinxuan.

The original owner of this body would not have been so direct.

It wasn't out of any sense of chivalry or tenderness; it was simply that having gorged himself on grand feasts, he had come to enjoy the rhythm of flirting with these beauties.

Life required a sense of ritual.

The more buildup there was, the more delicious the final meal would be.

However, this was likely one of the reasons the original owner had been manipulated into becoming a simp by Su Jinxuan.

Xu Yuan had no intention of giving Su Jinxuan any room to maneuver.

Walking up to her, under the gaze of Su Jinxuan's eyes, Xu Yuan leaned down and reached out to grab the woman's low-cut red robe.

He wasn't fast, but he was fast enough for her to react.

Su Jinxuan's boneless-seeming body leaned back slightly to dodge, and she deftly pulled the jade hairpin from her hair, pressing it against her own neck as she bit her lip:

"Third Young Master, please don't do this."

As the jade hairpin was pulled out, three thousand strands of dark hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and the alluring woman's eyes held a hint of perfectly measured defiance.

"..."

Following her words and observing her expression, Xu Yuan inexplicably felt a trace of imperceptible hesitation.

But the next moment, Seeing the strong sense of déjà vu of the woman holding a hairpin to her own neck, he couldn't help but chuckle aloud.

What era was this? Still pulling this stunt?

"Pfft~"

Seeing this, Su Jinxuan bit the corner of her lip and pressed the hairpin inward with force.

The hairpin instantly pierced her fair skin, and wisps of blood flowed down along her collarbone into the abyss of her cleavage.

"..."

His smile stiffened. Xu Yuan slowly took a step back and raised his hands in a gesture:

"Jinxuan, this young master was only joking. Why did you take it so seriously?"

Su Jinxuan stared at Xu Yuan in silence.

Xu Yuan smiled and retreated another two steps.

Only then did Su Jinxuan slowly lower the hairpin in her hand, her chest heaving slightly as if she had let out a sigh of relief:

"Third Young Master should make fewer jokes like that."

"Whoosh—"

A wisp of blood-colored Origin Qi erupted from Xu Yuan's fingertip, shooting through the air directly toward the wrist holding the hairpin.

"Ah!"

With a cry of surprise, Su Jinxuan had no ability to resist, and the hairpin flew straight out of her hand.

But seeing this, Xu Yuan did not continue to step forward; instead, he cautiously retreated two more paces.

He realized he had already been ensnared.

With the Innate Soul Body's intent-soul being both resilient and sensitive, combined with the powerful exclusionary nature of the Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique, the moment he circulated his cultivation method, Xu Yuan immediately discovered that every move this woman made was tugging at his thoughts.