Let's Go Back to the Estate

"So that's how it is."

Xu Yuan understood the gist of it, but his feelings were complicated.

From what he knew, Su Jinxuan was a stunningly beautiful courtesan with no cultivation.

But in reality, Su Jinxuan was a stunningly beautiful courtesan with a special constitution—and still no cultivation.

It didn't contradict the original plot, but the original plot had never mentioned it, either.

After a moment of silence, Xu Yuan glanced at the unconscious Su Jinxuan beside him and asked softly, "Do you know what kind of constitution lets someone control another person's body?"

"Mm, there are several," Zhou Chen replied quietly.

Xu Yuan considered it for a moment, then added slowly, "By attaching tiny particles to the surface of someone's Will Soul, you can control their body. And once those particles burrow into the Will Soul, the person gets brainwashed."

Zhou Chen pondered for two seconds, glanced at Su Jinxuan, and asked quietly,

"Third Young Master, can she still affect your emotions without you realizing it?"

"Mm."

"..."

At those words, Zhou Chen looked back at Si Ziyu. They exchanged a glance, both wearing strange expressions.

Ying'er remained standing alone where she was, eyes lowered and silent.

Si Ziyu gave Zhou Chen a slight nod. Zhou Chen turned and clasped his fists, speaking quietly.

"Third Young Master, this woman... this woman must have the Charm Soul Demon Body."

"The Charm Soul Demon Body?"

Sitting cross-legged on the red bed, Xu Yuan murmured the words, his expression turning strange as well.

That constitution reminded him of a cultivation technique: one of the only three blood-ranked techniques, the Great Joy Yin-Yang Art.

Don't laugh.

Back when he played the game, Xu Yuan had wanted to poke fun at the cliché name, too. But he couldn't deny that the thing was genuinely useful.

It was the technique cultivated by the protagonist when he took the evil path.

Even the Will Soul secret art that came with his Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique was little more than a little brother compared to the Great Joy Yin-Yang Art's devouring style.

He had never cultivated it, so Xu Yuan didn't know the Great Joy Yin-Yang Art's finer details.

But the fact that it could ignore the difference in cultivation levels was enough to crush his Will Soul secret art outright.

Unfortunately, the technique was in a ravine near Burial Village, so he couldn't get his hands on it. Besides, the cultivation methods recorded in the later parts of the Blood Origin Heart-Fall Technique were powerful, too. There was no need to switch.

The guidebook said the Charm Soul Demon Body was best suited to the Great Joy Yin-Yang Art. At the time, Xu Yuan had thought that only made sense. Now that he was experiencing it firsthand, he understood just how terrifying it was.

Paired with the Charm Soul Demon Body's bizarre spores, it could silently drain someone's cultivation. If exposed, it could take control of their body by force. And if the spores burrowed into their Will Soul, they would be a furnace for life. If the mood struck, it could even take things slowly and cultivate a relationship—the Charm Soul Demon Body could affect people's emotions, too, so there was no need to worry they wouldn't fall in love with you.

A perfect match.

Gathering his thoughts, Xu Yuan quickly settled on a plan. He looked at Zhou Chen and said,

"Mr. Zhou, report this to Xu Changge."

Xu Yuan didn't yet know what Mr. Qin was planning, and the man wasn't strong enough to warrant Xu Yuan handling this himself. So, naturally, he wasn't going to act tough and deal with it alone.

Why not call for backup when you could?

It was an old villain's tradition.

Beat the young ones, and the old ones would come running.

"Yes." Zhou Chen bowed and clasped his fists.

Xu Yuan rose slowly, glanced at Yue Niang on the ground, then quickly turned the thought over in his mind and asked,

"Taking Yue Niang back directly might alert them. Mr. Zhou, did she see you when you knocked her out?"

Zhou Chen's eyes flickered. He shook his head.

"No."

Xu Yuan considered it briefly and instructed him,

"Good. Put her on the bed in my top-floor room. Before you leave, give her a Heart-Confusing Pill. You should know how to stage the scene."

The Heart-Confusing Pill was a little aphrodisiac.

"..."

Zhou Chen thought it over and realized that Third Young Master didn't intend to alert Mr. Qin. His heart sank a little.

Taking Yue Niang back might indeed have yielded some information, but it would also have made Mr. Qin wary.

The Charm Soul Demon Body's strength went without saying, yet the other party had been willing to use someone with that constitution as bait.

If Third Young Master's Innate Soul Body hadn't had some degree of resistance to the Charm Soul Demon Body, he might already have been under its control.

To control the Third Young Master of the Prime Minister's Estate?

This Mr. Qin seemed to be far more than he appeared.

In that light, trading whatever information Yue Niang might have for Mr. Qin's vigilance was clearly a losing bargain.

Xu Changtian was cleaning up after his rash actions.

Zhou Chen sighed softly and bowed.

"Third Young Master, I was rash."

Xu Yuan glanced at him and waved a hand.

"No matter. You didn't know beforehand that the woman had the Charm Soul Demon Body, Mr. Zhou. Your judgment was entirely reasonable. Go on. Make sure the scene looks convincing. Yue Niang is an old hand at playing the field."

At that, Zhou Chen let out a chuckle, but quickly fell silent and reminded him,

"Though the situation is clear now, Third Young Master, you'd best avoid too much physical contact with someone who has the Charm Soul Demon Body."

Xu Yuan glanced at Su Jinxuan's curvaceous figure and frowned.

"Why?"

"The more intimate the physical contact, the more likely it is that your mind will come under her control."

With that,

Zhou Chen cupped his fists, then picked up Yue Niang and left while Xu Yuan stood there in a daze.

The room fell silent once more.

Si Ziyu watched Xu Yuan discreetly, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

Ying'er still stood with her eyes lowered, not saying a word.

The incident of Xu Yuan being endangered right under her nose seemed to have dealt her a heavy blow.

Xu Yuan came back to himself and sighed. After a moment's silence, he suddenly looked at Ying'er.

"Ying'er, wake Su Jinxuan up."

"..." Ying'er.

After a brief silence,

perhaps because she had failed to protect him, Ying'er didn't refuse his order this time.

She walked slowly to the bed, took a small bottle from the pouch at her waist, uncorked it, and bent over to hold it beneath Su Jinxuan's nose.

Xu Yuan turned his head slightly and glanced at Ying'er's peachy bottom as she bent over. The corners of his mouth lifted.

Seeing that smile, the androgynous-looking Si Ziyu realized what was about to happen. His eyelid suddenly twitched.

Then,

"Smack—"

A crisp slap rang out.

The air fell deathly silent.

Si Ziyu's head ached.

It was definitely Third Young Master himself.

He'd learned his lesson last time, and still dared to touch that woman's butt.

Ying'er remained in the same position, standing completely still, as though she hadn't been the one struck just now.

Xu Yuan glanced at her and silently withdrew his hand behind his back. It had grown a little red and swollen, and was still trembling.

He endured the pain and turned his head calmly to look at Si Ziyu.

Their eyes met.

"..."

Si Ziyu fought back the urge to laugh and looked away.

"..." Xu Yuan.

After a quarter of an hour, Su Jinxuan slowly came around. Seeing the scene before her, she quietly shrank into the corner of the bed, biting her lip and saying nothing.

Seeing that she was awake, Ying'er put the little bottle away, then silently returned to her original place and stood with her eyes lowered.

Xu Yuan glanced at her.

The redness and pain in his hand had already faded. Ying'er had only been teaching him a lesson.

With a soft laugh,

Xu Yuan turned to Su Jinxuan on the bed. With Ying'er and Si Ziyu standing behind him, he spoke slowly with a smile.

"Jinxuan, I've already found a physician for you. Come on, let's go back to the estate."

As he spoke,

a trace of coldness entered Xu Yuan's eyes as he slowly reached out toward her, curled up in the corner of the bed.