Miss Nan Zhi

"Who are you calling a savage?"

"You, of course. What about it?"

For a moment, the two sides argued without end.

Miss Nan Zhi?

Li Ping'an unconsciously walked toward the crowd. The closer he got, the more violently the Heaven-Tempering Hammer within him began to throb for no apparent reason.

Could it be...

Just then, someone shouted loudly:

"Look! Miss Nan Zhi has come out!"

The door curtain gently parted, and a young lady of peerless beauty stepped out from the room.

She wore a long ice-blue robe, thin as cicada wings, faintly revealing her graceful figure. With cherry-red lips, bright eyes, pearly teeth, and exquisite large eyes like a pool of spring water, one could fall into them with a single glance.

"Wow, she really is so beautiful! Miss Nan Zhi truly deserves to be the top courtesan of Beautiful Spring Courtyard!"

The crowd cried out in amazement.

"Miss Nan Zhi, this is a jade flute I brought for you. It is carved from pure jade. I know you enjoy playing the flute, so I specially found it for you!"

"Miss Nan Zhi, this is a scroll of calligraphy and paintings that I went to great lengths to obtain. It was made by a famous master. Would you care to take a look?"

"Miss Nan Zhi..."

A crowd of people pounced forward like fawning lapdogs, each presenting his own gift.

Yet Nan Zhi remained as cold as frost, utterly unmoved.

Just then, a burst of mocking laughter erupted from the crowd.

"Hahaha, you old man truly have no shame in your old age! At your age, you still came to see Miss Nan Zhi!"

"My heavens, is Miss Nan Zhi's charm really that great? Even an old man this ancient came to see her!"

"Old man, this is a place of refinement, not somewhere a decrepit old fool like you should come. Get out already and stop making a spectacle of yourself!"

"Tsk, tsk. For Miss Nan Zhi, have you even cast aside your reputation in your twilight years?"

The sudden uproar caught Nan Zhi's attention, and she looked toward the commotion.

There, amid the crowd, stood an elderly man with a grizzled white beard. His clouded eyes silently and fixedly watched her.

He was actually an old man in his seventies or eighties.

"Old man, Miss Nan Zhi could be your granddaughter! What are you doing here? Get out already!"

The crowd jeered, wanting to drive Li Ping'an away.

Yet Miss Nan Zhi spoke up, her voice clear, melodious, and wonderfully pleasant:

"Wait."

At Nan Zhi's words, everyone immediately turned to look without blinking.

Nan Zhi slowly walked down from the upper floor and headed toward the old man.

"Elder, what did you come here for? Did you truly come to see me as well?"

Nan Zhi studied Li Ping'an with a face full of curiosity.

She had many admirers, young and old alike, but an old man like Li Ping'an—so aged and decrepit, with one foot already in the grave—was something she had never seen before. She could not help but feel somewhat curious.

"Yes, yes, that's right."

Li Ping'an had also been moved by Nan Zhi's beauty, but what concerned him more at that moment was this:

As Nan Zhi approached him, he could clearly feel the Heaven-Tempering Hammer within his body pounding wildly.

Obviously, whatever the Heaven-Tempering Hammer had sensed was on Nan Zhi.

Heh heh!

Nan Zhi was amused by Li Ping'an's blank, dazed expression, and she asked again:

"Sir, what kind of work do you do?"

Li Ping'an said:

"Uh, I... I'm just a blacksmith."

A blacksmith?

At those words, the crowd burst into thunderous laughter. A mere blacksmith dared to pursue Miss Nan Zhi?

Just then, someone suddenly recognized Li Ping'an.

"No, he seems to be that blacksmith who forged iron in the sect for sixty years and caused the Heaven-Ringing Bell to ring!"

What?

Everyone drew in a sharp breath.

This matter had long spread throughout the sect, and tales of Li Ping'an's deeds had circulated through the areas around it as well. They had never expected this man to be the one who had caused the Heaven-Ringing Bell to ring.

Heavens, he was actually this old.

Anyone who could cause the Heaven-Ringing Bell to ring possessed a temperament far beyond ordinary people. How could he come to a place like this?

Faced with their doubts, Li Ping'an did not care in the slightest. He merely smiled at Nan Zhi.

"That's right. I'm the menial who has forged iron for sixty years."

Upon hearing of Li Ping'an's deeds, a strange glimmer arose in Nan Zhi's eyes, and her gaze toward him gained a measure of solemnity.

She had a maid bring over a cup of wine, poured Li Ping'an a cup herself, and personally handed it to him.

"Elder, this humble woman offers you a toast."

At this sight, everyone broke into an uproar. What?

Miss Nan Zhi had actually taken the initiative to offer a toast to an old man?

But seeing that Li Ping'an was merely an old man about to be buried, no one took much issue with it. What danger could a man with one foot in the grave pose?

Perhaps Miss Nan Zhi was simply showing respect for an elder.

"Thank you."

Li Ping'an accepted the wine cup, and his fingers inadvertently brushed against Nan Zhi's small hand.

In that instant, the Heaven-Tempering Hammer immediately began to operate madly within his body, frantically trying to draw in the unknown toxin on Nan Zhi.

It happened so suddenly that even Li Ping'an failed to react in time.

If it absorbed it here in full view of everyone, he would likely be exposed. Li Ping'an hurriedly suppressed the Heaven-Tempering Hammer within him, preventing it from continuing to absorb.

Yet in that brief instant, Nan Zhi felt as though stormy waves had risen within her body.

She could clearly feel that when she touched the old man, it was as though an incomparably blazing furnace within him had entered her body, making her entire chest feel as if it were on fire.

Even the old hidden ailment buried in her body for years seemed to have eased somewhat.

Th-this... what was going on?

Nan Zhi was shocked beyond measure. Her beautiful eyes flickered as she looked Li Ping'an up and down, trying to find some trace of the extraordinary in this slovenly old man.

But there was none. He was utterly ordinary. Just what secret did this old man possess?

Nan Zhi steadied her emotions, then suddenly broke into a radiant smile. "Elder, would you honor me by coming to my room for a private talk?"

What?

Hearing this, everyone was stunned.

Could Miss Nan Zhi truly intend to spend the night with this old man?

No way, right?

For a moment, everyone felt their hearts shatter.

"Miss Nan Zhi, don't! You can't do this! You can't spend the night with him!"

But Nan Zhi paid them no heed. Supporting Li Ping'an, she led him toward her private chamber.

The crowd began to wail and howl, their faces filled with unwillingness.

They could not understand why Nan Zhi had not chosen them, but had instead chosen a slovenly old man.

Was there any justice in this? They actually could not compare to a dead old man???

For a moment, everyone looked at Li Ping'an with murderous intent.

If looks could kill, Li Ping'an would have died countless times already.

Li Ping'an followed Nan Zhi into her private chamber.

The moment he entered, he saw that the room was decorated with great elegance. A faint, tranquil fragrance rushed into his nostrils. It was clearly the chamber of a refined young lady.

"Sir, quickly, please sit."