"Damn it, does this Infatuation Path really require me to sleep with someone?"
Yu Qinglian abruptly opened her eyes, a demonic peach-red gleam flashing across them.
She had been terribly restless lately.
The Infatuation Path was a cultivation path that refined Qi, just like the other Daoist sects, but it followed a course utterly unlike any other method in the world.
It did not prize hard training or honor strict rules. Instead, it took the deep affections and greatest pleasures of the mortal world as the foundation of cultivation. One had to use the seven emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire—as a guide, immersing oneself in them completely without losing oneself.
Over the years, she had experienced five of those emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, and hatred.
Only love and desire remained unexplored.
If she wanted to advance her cultivation any further, there was only one path left: truly immerse herself in love and desire.
As the pure courtesan of the pavilion, she was exceptionally beautiful. Plenty of men had wanted to buy her freedom over the years, but most were the sort she wouldn't give the time of day.
At present, her best prospects were none other than Zhang Xun, the county magistrate's adopted son, and Hu Ma, a hall master of the Black Wind Gang.
Zhang Xun had a decent face, but he was a womanizer. Rumor had it he secretly dallied with numerous married women. He only wanted to buy her freedom so he could take her as a concubine. Worse, some said he had repeatedly offered his own concubines to the men around him for their amusement.
Just thinking of him sent a chill of revulsion through Yu Qinglian.
As for Hu Ma...
He had a good background, strength, and standing. He didn't look down on her origins, and was willing to marry her with all due ceremony. Unfortunately, his appearance was simply too hard to stomach.
Yu Qinglian gazed at the lotus pond in the courtyard outside her window and drifted into thought.
"Miss! Miss!"
A flustered yet excited cry came from outside, accompanied by hurried footsteps.
Her fourteen-year-old maid came running up, panting. Yu Qinglian looked at her. "What is it? Why are you in such a rush?"
The maid caught her breath, beaming. "Miss, a young master wants to see you."
Yu Qinglian raised an eyebrow.
She hadn't wanted to meet him.
Over the years, far too many rotten fish and shrimps had sought her out. It was true that she kept a pond of suitors, but when there were too many fish, she had to sort through them. Better to have none than settle for less.
Besides, she was already troubled by the few fish in her pond.
Still, professional courtesy compelled her to ask, "What's this young master's background?"
The maid shook her head and answered honestly, "I don't know..." Then her cheeks flushed, and she added excitedly, "But he looks quite young, and he's very tall. He's especially handsome. All the sisters in the courtyard are praising him."
Yu Qinglian's eyes flickered. The handsome figure she'd glimpsed on the second floor instantly surfaced in her mind. She hurried to her feet. "Show me the way."
[Destiny Talisman Coin -1]
[Destiny Talisman Coin -1]
Lin Yi watched the Destiny Talisman Coins before him steadily dwindle, silently keeping track of the time.
A polite knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," he said.
The instant the door swung open, a fierce gust swept in from the courtyard, whipping Yu Qinglian's hair into disarray. She raised a hand to shield her eyes.
A few breaths later, the wind died down. Only then did she look into the room.
"Young master..."
The words had barely left her lips when Yu Qinglian's pupils abruptly contracted.
Beside the windowsill, gauzy curtains billowed in the wind.
Outside, early-spring peach blossoms drifted down. And there, by the window, a figure as beautiful as an immortal descended from heaven sat serenely amid the hazy, pale curtains, two locks of hair fluttering lightly across his brow.
He was breathtaking!
The whole scene seemed so perfectly composed that she couldn't bear to disturb it.
[Strong Luck deactivated, 100 Destiny Talisman Coins expended this time]
Lin Yi understood women.
Most women were emotional creatures who judged by appearances.
When a woman decided whether a man was worth loving or fit only to support her, there was often just one condition: his face.
And it usually took only one glance to make up her mind.
He lifted his gaze slightly, a faint smile curving his handsome face. "I'm fortunate to have met you."
The room fell silent. Only the wind rustled outside.
Yu Qinglian sat across from Lin Yi, carefully studying his features. She had met countless men over the years, but most looked fine from a distance and ordinary up close.
Lin Yi was the first man whose beauty remained flawless even at close range. A slight blush crept across her face.
"You must be new to Willow Pavilion, young master. I don't recognize you."
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"Yes." Lin Yi took a sip of tea.
"Then what brings you to Willow Pavilion today, young master...?" Yu Qinglian asked curiously.
Lin Yi lacked the debauchery of a man who frequented pleasure houses. Instead, his air of nobility stood out all the more, making her even more curious about his purpose.
Lin Yi set down his teacup and looked straight at her. "I came for you."
A bright smile bloomed across Yu Qinglian's face. "You really know how to tease..."
But his next words snuffed out her smile. Its brightness turned to frost in an instant.
"I'm not joking. I came here for you, and you alone." Lin Yi's expression remained calm. "Yu Qinglian, the Infatuation Path..."
A gale suddenly roared.
Yu Qinglian's gaze sharpened. True Qi burst from her body, and in an instant she flashed before Lin Yi.
A blade glinted. When the wind died, a gleaming dagger was pressed against Lin Yi's throat.
She straddled his waist, looking down at him with narrowed eyes. Her tender red lips were pressed tight, and a keen killing intent seeped from her.
"Who are you?"
"Just a Rogue Cultivator with no cultivation worth mentioning." Lin Yi gave a helpless smile. "Fairy, don't worry. I mean you no harm. But if I die, you'll be the one in trouble."
His tone was unhurried. "I've written some of Miss Yu's little secrets in a letter and deposited it as collateral with the Hidden Origin Chamber of Commerce. If I don't personally show up to reclaim it tomorrow, the letter will be made public."
"As for what it contains, that includes—but isn't limited to—the fact that you're a ninth-grade cultivator of the Infatuation Path who hasn't yet begun gathering Primordial Yin; your bust, waist, and hips measure two chi and seven cun (86), one chi and eight cun (59), and two chi and nine cun (90), respectively; and your monthly period comes at the beginning of the month..."
"Oh, and a list of the letters you've exchanged with those 326 young masters."
"Heh..." Yu Qinglian laughed, though only because she was furious. "You have such a handsome face. How did you end up so vile?"
Lin Yi had found her weak spot and pressed it hard.
The Infatuation Path was one of the Four-Nine Heterodox Paths, an unorthodox and sinister way that had never been accepted by the world. In the eyes of ordinary people, it was no different from demonic cultivation.
Women who cultivated this path were regarded as wanton.
What was more, she had kept many fish in her pond over the years and had been involved with even more men, some of them men of considerable standing.
If this man actually made his letter public, all the effort she'd put into cultivating her image would go down the drain.
Worse still, if word reached those people from the Joyous Sect, she might be dragged back and truly reduced to that bastard's tool for dual cultivation.
At the thought, Yu Qinglian slowly lowered her dagger.
"What do you want?"
"Simple. Help me kill someone."
"Heh, I'm a pure courtesan in a brothel, not an assassin. I'm just a delicate woman. Don't you think it's ridiculous to ask me to kill someone?" Yu Qinglian said mockingly. "Killing someone is risky. I won't do it."
Lin Yi smiled. "Who says you have to kill them with your own hands? Have you ever heard the phrase 'a beauty is a calamity'?"
"In this world, how many people have died because of a beauty?"
Yu Qinglian grasped his meaning at once and pouted. "You're the calamity. Your whole family is a calamity..."
"Besides, why should I help you? Because you're threatening me?"
"Hmph. Even if I can't stay in Jiaqing County, I can find another way to make a living somewhere else."
Lin Yi's expression didn't change. He spoke calmly. "I can help you take revenge.
"Let me think..."
"Back then, the Joyous Sect slaughtered your whole family, kidnapped you, and raised you with the method of cultivating a Cultivation Vessel, all so they could eventually use you as a tool for dual cultivation..."
He paused, his gaze settling on Yu Qinglian's suddenly constricted pupils, then continued unhurriedly.
"But it seems you've been mistaken about who your enemy is all these years. What if the Joyous Sect was merely a blade kept and wielded by someone else? Someone else was truly pulling the strings from behind the scenes."
"Impossible!" Yu Qinglian's whole body trembled.
"Why is it impossible? The method for cultivating a Cultivation Vessel could mature one by the age of fourteen, but you were fifteen when you escaped five years ago, weren't you? If you'd already been cultivated into a vessel, why had those people from the Joyous Sect never used you...?"
"Besides, you weren't the only Cultivation Vessel back then, were you? It seems all the vessels who were successfully cultivated were later taken away by other people..."
The habitual seductiveness vanished from Yu Qinglian's eyes, replaced by a sharp chill.
She narrowed her eyes like a cat suddenly bristling and stared hard at that outrageously handsome face before her. Each word came out clipped and deliberate. "Who... exactly are you?"
"How do you know so much about those things?"
Lin Yi smiled faintly. "Perhaps I'm just another admirer who was captivated by your beauty and secretly looked into your past."
"So, Miss Yu, would you be willing to give this admirer a chance?"
"Help me kill someone, and I'll tell you who your real enemy is—and help you take revenge."
Yu Qinglian was silent for a long time before she finally asked, "Who do you want to kill?"
"Hu Ma."
A flicker of surprise crossed Yu Qinglian's eyes. "You want to kill him? Do you know he's the most devoted of all the men courting me? He has Grade A Bone Structure, has entered the Martial Way through Qi, is an Eighth-grade martial artist, and is also a hall master of the Black Wind Gang."
Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. "Can't bear to lose him?"
Yu Qinglian smiled, a hint of playfulness in it. "I mean, you'll have to pay more."
Lin Yi frowned. "What else do you want?"
Yu Qinglian's gaze slid slowly from his face to his waist, then swept down and back up. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "When it's done, you'll spend one night with me."
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