Part 2: The Little Yellow Text is Released

Meng Lan gently rolled up her sleeves and quietly ground the ink. The faint scent of ink drifted into the air, tickling her nose and causing her thoughts to drift.

Turning her head, she watched Xue Mu writing rapidly with his brush. His posture was composed, carrying an air of leisure and elegance rarely seen in this world. His focused profile was incredibly handsome, a sight that was truly pleasing to the eye.

Men are visual creatures, and in truth, so are women. Good looks are justice; they influence first impressions and, consequently, all subsequent developments.

Meng Lan recalled that quiet, late night when she had stood by his side just like this, grinding ink for him and stealing glances at his profile from time to time. What had she been feeling that day? She couldn't quite remember.

Hmm... it was likely the hope that this man's ideas would be useful, that he could bring the Hundred Flowers Garden back from the brink of death and save her from the fate of potentially having to sell her smiles at any moment. That day, her heart had been filled with both trepidation and anticipation, until the moment his story was fully revealed and her attention was completely diverted.

Honestly, she admired him and was quite grateful to him, but the distance between them felt far from any romantic entanglement. Even though she had once tried to seduce him, she had merely viewed him as a stepping stone.

But what about today?

She didn't know what she was feeling. It looked the same on the surface, but she knew it was different.

He was already her master. If he wanted her to live, she would live; if he wanted her to die, she would die. Even if he asked her to do something shameful, she would have absolutely no room to resist.

He was clearly an ordinary man without a shred of cultivation, yet he could flip the world upside down with a mere turn of his hand. It was as if he were using a living example to mock her: You say you've practiced martial arts for over a decade? What the hell is the use of that?

Meng Lan sighed softly and turned her attention back to his story.

He had already written half of it.

The story was about a young master of a noble family named Xiao Mu who was competing with his brothers for the right of inheritance, doing everything in his power to win his father's favor. His brothers were all working hard at martial arts, hoping to win through force and gain their father's recognition. Only this Xiao Mu was more flexible, knowing how to observe his father's other preferences.

He discovered a portrait hanging in his father's room—a stunning, beautiful woman whom his father often gazed at with long, wistful sighs. This must have been his father's long-lost lover from his youth, whom he still missed to this day. He came up with an idea: find a woman who looked similar and present her to his father; his father would surely be pleased.

After a long search, he finally discovered a courtesan named Qing'er at the Hundred Flowers Garden who looked eighty percent like the woman in the painting. He spent a fortune to redeem her, preparing to present her to his father.

One could not simply enter a noble household; before that, he had to teach the girl many rules and etiquettes, as well as explain his father's taboos and preferences. To achieve his goal perfectly, Xiao Mu personally accompanied and guided Qing'er, sometimes having to touch her to correct her movements. Qing'er was gentle and graceful, with a charming demeanor, and Xiao Mu was a dashing young master. After a few days of intimate proximity, they unexpectedly developed feelings for each other and fell deeply in love.

Now Xiao Mu was in agony. Give away the woman he loved, and to his own father at that? He couldn't bring himself to do it no matter what...

Seeing this, Meng Lan subconsciously looked up at Xue Mu again. This guy, why does he always have to write such contradictory and complex mindsets? Is he only happy when he's torturing his protagonists to death?

However, his theory had already been proven by facts. The more conflicted and contradictory the situation, the more people discussed it. Over the past day and night, countless people in the Capital City had been debating how the Wandering Swordsman should treat Qianqian. Some had even started fights over their differing opinions, which invisibly spread the story's fame even further, driving more people who hadn't read it to go find it.

Xue Mu continued to write furiously, and Meng Lan continued to read.

Xue Mu truly had a knack for writing about the inner conflicts of the human heart. The internal contradictions of the Wandering Swordsman from the last story had been etched with profound depth, and Xiao Mu's agony was equally heart-wrenching. Should he stick to the original plan to please his father? Or should he claim Qing'er for himself for the sake of his love?

Thinking that Qing'er was still a courtesan... the more Xiao Mu thought about it, the more unwilling he became. Finally, one day, his emotions erupted, and he ended up in bed with Qing'er. Qing'er, sensing that her beloved was troubled, did not refuse his advances but instead catered to him, hoping to soothe the pain in his heart.

This bed scene was as explicit as it could be, yet it was interwoven with Xiao Mu's painful state of mind and Qing'er's gentle comfort. Instead of feeling lewd, it left the reader feeling a profound sense of melancholy, anxious about what kind of ending the two would face.

Finally, the clever Qing'er dropped hints to Xiao Mu's trusted subordinates and learned the truth of the matter. She lay awake under the oil lamp, thinking for an entire night, before finally making a difficult decision.

Without Xiao Mu's knowledge, she begged his trusted subordinates to send her into his father's room.

When Xiao Mu found out, he rushed toward his father's room like a madman. In that moment, he finally realized that he could not tolerate such a thing; even if it meant losing his inheritance, he had to stop Qing'er and his father!

With a loud "boom," Xiao Mu kicked the door open, but the sight that met his eyes left him stunned on the spot.

His father was holding Qing'er and weeping bitterly. Seeing Xiao Mu enter, he sobbed with tears streaming down his face: "Xiao Mu, you've come at the right time! This is your long-lost biological sister!"

Xue Mu threw his brush down; the story ended there.

"..." The god-like plot twist left Meng Lan dumbfounded.

What was this... Qing'er didn't sleep with his father, and everyone was happy? No... the heart-wrenching love between Xiao Mu and Qing'er, did it mean in the end that they were siblings?

Was this incest? But they had already slept together!

What would they do now?

Meng Lan swallowed hard, lost in the finality of the ending. Xue Mu hadn't written any further. No one knew how broken Xiao Mu and Qing'er felt inside... and even less did anyone know if they would continue their incestuous affair or if it was completely over.

Everything was left for the readers to guess, discuss, argue about, and spontaneously promote the story.

Wait... Meng Lan's eyes suddenly widened.

She recalled Xue Mu's earlier, meaningful words: "Do you want to see, Sister?"

A romance between siblings... Qing'er and Xiao Mu... the Sect Master and Xue Mu...

Only at the very end did Xue Mu truly bare his fangs! This was killing two birds with one stone. Writing a little story related to the Hundred Flowers Garden was secondary; this was clearly a retaliation against the Sect Master for sending her to seduce him. He was launching a counterattack against the Sect Master. Was this... could this be interpreted as a love letter? Or was it a naked declaration of war?

He was practically defying the heavens!

Looking back at the description of the bed scene earlier, the more Meng Lan read it, the more Qing'er's demeanor seemed to resemble the Sect Master...

Yet, on the surface, he had only written a short story to promote the Hundred Flowers Garden. The story was thought-provoking and would surely spark a discussion no less intense than the previous one... If the Sect Master were to get angry, he could simply claim it was only for the sake of the Hundred Flowers Garden and tell her not to take it personally...

Meng Lan was very much looking forward to seeing what kind of expression the Sect Master would have after reading this story.