Different Roads, Same Destination

After a while, a maid indeed brought over some clothes. She gave Xue Mu a curious glance, covered her mouth, and smiled. "There's a bath barrel upstairs. Shall this servant draw water for you now, Young Master?"

Xue Mu looked at the well in the courtyard and waved with a smile. "What sense is there in making a girl draw water? Go on, I'll do it myself."

Perhaps Meng Lan had instructed her not to stir up trouble, so the maid did not insist and left with a smile.

Drawing water from the well in the middle of the courtyard, Xue Mu sank himself into the bath barrel and washed away his fatigue.

Why had she tried to seduce him... If it had not been a deliberate test, then there was only one possibility—he was the Sect Master's relative. Was that not enough for disciples in a place like this to fawn over him? Maybe she wanted to seize this chance to become the person in charge here. All he could say was that the girl had been too eager; they had only just met... The Demon Sect was still the Demon Sect. No matter how lofty its martial prowess seemed, there were always times when it felt rather... well, that kind of place...

He casually flipped through the clothes laid beside the barrel. There was a full set, inside and out. The fabric felt quite comfortable, and at a glance, the various decorative patterns were rather beautiful as well. Xue Mu fiddled with them absentmindedly, pondering in secret.

Clothing, food, housing, travel—once expanded upon, these things encompassed a great deal. Clothes, for example, involved cotton and mulberry, weaving, tailoring, dyeing, even aesthetic design. It was easy enough to say that martial strength reigned supreme, but if everything besides martial power was looked down upon, then how had those things developed? Whenever Xue Mu read novels, he often felt they made it sound as though everyone did nothing but cultivate. Yet it was not as if they went around naked.

Thus, ever since arriving in this similar world, Xue Mu had constantly been observing such things. It was not merely curiosity; understanding the world was the prerequisite for all action. Those who sat down and buried themselves in cultivation from the start were fated to be taken for a ride the moment they stepped outside.

From his analysis so far, this world did indeed revere martial arts, but that did not mean other fields had failed to develop. It was like ancient times in his own world, when only Confucian learning was honored. Folk crafts might have been despised, but they still developed and advanced all the same. The principle was the same. Pursuing a better life was human nature. As long as society was stable, people naturally did their utmost to improve the conveniences of life. This brand-new set of ready-made men's clothing was proof enough. Xue Mu remembered that ready-made garments in ancient times seemed to have appeared only in the Song Dynasty, which was not particularly early, yet they had already appeared here. And whether in materials, workmanship, or design, they were not inferior in the slightest.

So... revering literature or revering martial arts was not fundamentally all that different.

In his own world's ancient times, some who studied literature might indeed have harbored grand ambitions, but more of them merely sought fame and profit, seeking to become people above others. This world revered martial arts—could it truly be that everyone pursued the true meaning of the martial path, that everyone sought to uphold the justice in their hearts?

Were most people not still striving to rise above the crowd and live better lives? Martial arts were merely the means to achieve their goals. Put another way, if there were another route to achieve all that, they would not necessarily need to practice martial arts.

Meng Lan could crush him to death with one finger, yet she had still come to flirt with him. Was that not precisely the reason?

Xue Mu let out a breath and revealed a relaxed smile. No matter the world, in the end, different roads led to the same destination.

As he was lost in thought, his vision suddenly blurred, and a slender figure appeared before him out of thin air. Focusing his eyes, he saw Yue Xiaochan standing before his bath barrel, her head tilted as she examined the shoulders exposed above the water. Her smile was rather suggestive.

Xue Mu made no pretentious attempt to cover himself. He lazily leaned against the barrel wall and said helplessly, "I already said I didn't see you clearly back then, and you still insist on getting a look back? Fine, fine. Enjoy yourself."

Yue Xiaochan propped her elbow on the edge of the barrel, rested her chin on a small fist, and smiled sweetly. "Someone clearly has not a shred of cultivation, yet he forcibly withstood the Charm Technique. Master greatly admires that self-control, and I was curious how you did it. I came especially to see whether you were made of wood, but one look tells me you're clearly flesh and blood."

"You already knew about that? Was Meng Lan really sent by you to test me on purpose?"

"Not at all. We don't know what she was doing either... In fact, ever since you left, Master has been secretly observing your conduct. Master was very satisfied with the results. Congratulations, this time Master truly intends to make you the accountant." Yue Xiaochan smiled. "How did you do it? Is Meng Lan not beautiful?"

"Are you people not a little too confident? That Charm Technique was indeed alluring, but surely not everyone loses all self-control over it. Besides, she did not go all out, did she?"

"Our secret art is not as useless as you imagine. It stirs up the most primal desires in a person's heart and reaches straight into the soul; it cannot be resisted through self-control alone. Even if Meng Lan did not use her full strength, it should have been nearly impossible for an ordinary person without cultivation to withstand it. Unless you carry some treasure that clears the mind and suppresses evil—but you're naked as a jaybird, with nothing on you." Yue Xiaochan's eyes rolled as she smiled. "Hey, you actually don't like women, do you?"

Xue Mu had no mind to care about being mistaken for gay. In that instant, he thought of the pattern on his palm. Could it be that I resisted so easily not because of my battle-hardened experience, but because some cheat ability was suppressing it? He probed, "Could it have something to do with that World-Suppressing Tripod?"

"The World-Suppressing Tripod does indeed have such an effect. It suppresses evil and banishes enchantments, vast and righteous beyond compare," Yue Xiaochan said casually. "But it is not yours. It will not fend off evil influences for you personally."

Xue Mu drew in a silent breath. It seemed he really had gained a cheat ability—and perhaps this cheat was as thick as a thigh, with only the tip of the iceberg revealed for now... Afraid she might notice something, he did not dare continue the topic and hurriedly changed the subject. "Hey, you're a young girl. Are you really planning to watch me stand up?"

"What does it matter? You don't like women anyway."

"I can tell you with absolute certainty that women are what I like most in this life." Xue Mu could not be bothered to say more. If this little girl was not afraid, why should he be afraid of her looking? So he rose straight to his feet, sending a spray of water splashing.

A great spear stood tall, bracing heaven and earth. Yue Xiaochan's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. She hurriedly turned around and stamped her foot. "You really stood up! Pervert!"

"Huh? Hearing the word 'pervert' come from your mouth is truly refreshing." Xue Mu found it rather amusing. "I thought you people simply did not care about such things."

Yue Xiaochan fell silent and said nothing. She merely flicked her hand and tossed the clothes over to him.

Listening to the sound of Xue Mu drying himself behind her, Yue Xiaochan suddenly sighed softly and murmured, "If we truly did not care about such things, why do you think I tried to gouge out your eyes when we first met? Was it merely cruelty?"

Xue Mu froze. Yue Xiaochan's sudden sigh felt strangely out of place to him, and her words felt even more so... He truly found it difficult to associate this sect, which always carried an air of smoky-eyed seduction, with notions of chastity. Not to mention that they ran brothels—but from the sound of it, had he misunderstood something?

He suddenly understood...

So you flirted on the surface, but never actually gave anything away... Do you know how excessive that is? Those young heroes you had duped until their faces were covered in blood would have to hate you to death...