A different golden flower

Meng Huai heard a soft, lovely voice behind him and immediately turned around. Although he knew the woman standing there was He Huaying, she looked like an entirely different person.

He Huaying wore a white blouse with a pleated skirt. It should have been a fairly basic outfit, but on her, it looked utterly captivating!

The greatest change was in her face. Its shape had remained the same, but her features seemed to have been rearranged, creating an impression of absolute perfection.

If she had been an ugly duckling during the day, she had now transformed into a white swan, irresistibly charming and drawing every eye.

Feigning shyness, she smiled and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? It's not as though you've never seen me before. You're making me feel embarrassed. I'm so shy."

Meng Huai quietly drew a breath, and his Natal Golden Cicada Gu exhaled as well. His mind immediately cleared, and the woman no longer stirred him.

He chuckled and said, "I've heard that girls change dramatically as they grow up. I always thought that meant the change from childhood to adulthood. Who knew that with you, it meant the change from day to night? What a delightful surprise!

"But which is the real you—the woman you were during the day, or the woman you are now? Leaving things so ambiguous hardly seems right!"

He Huaying sat beside him and had You Xueli pour her a cocktail. Gently swirling it, she said, "Does it really matter which one is me? They're both me, after all.

"Xiang Yu is a pitiful fellow. He might seem particularly happy, but whatever he wants always remains beyond his reach.

"This time, the Special Envoy helped him, and he thought he would finally get his wish. Who knew you would come barging in halfway through and snatch it away from him!

"Speaking of which, you really do have remarkable luck with women. Such a delicate beauty fell into your lap for nothing and submitted to you in bed. Shouldn't you thank us?"

Meng Huai's expression turned cold. "Stop spouting nonsense. Do you think your wicked words can deceive everyone? You're dreaming!

"Let me ask you something. What happened to those female students who died in the villa? What did they do wrong? And what about that model who died? What did she do wrong?"

Still smiling brightly, He Huaying said, "They were all students at Diancheng Arts College. Their mistake was being vain and greedy, dreaming of reaching the top in a single leap. Life doesn't offer that many easy rewards.

"You only know that they died. You don't know that before they died, they had already received everything they wanted from us—a life of luxury they had never even dared imagine before!

"As for that model, she failed to keep a promise she made to someone. We were simply paid to take care of someone's troubles. That hardly counts as wrongdoing.

"We have no reason to interfere with each other. From now on, you go your way, and we'll go ours. How about we leave each other alone?"

Meng Huai said coldly, "I don't care what path you take. You cannot use Gu to harm people here. As a Gu Master, I have a duty I cannot neglect.

"You're demons from hell, constantly tempting people. Whatever those people have done, they should be punished by the law, not by you!"

He Huaying put on a startled expression. "Now you're frightening me. I'm just a helpless girl, and I'm so scared! My heart is pounding. Why don't you feel it?"

Seeing that this woman actually dared to seduce him here, Meng Huai found her utterly outrageous. If he didn't teach her a lesson today, she would never understand who she was dealing with.

He formed a hand seal, intending to release his Gu insects. To his surprise, not a single one appeared. A chill ran through him. What was going on?

An alluring woman walked over and sat beside him. "What are you trying to do, sir? I'm Hu Tianzhen, the owner of the Butterfly Bar.

"If you're feeling friendly, call me Zhenzhen. If not, call me Sister Zhen. This is a Lawless Land. No one may fight here, no matter what you are."

Meng Huai's heart lurched. He had never expected this place to be a legendary Lawless Land. No matter how advanced someone's cultivation was, they were no different from an ordinary person here.

Martial cultivators fared somewhat better. Even if they couldn't use magical power, they could still hold their own with their fists.

For spell cultivators, however, this was a deadly trap. Once they lost access to their spells, many were physically weaker than ordinary people!

Strictly speaking, those who cultivated Gu arts also fell within the category of spell cultivators, though they should be classified as summoners, with their Gu insects considered pets.

A Lawless Land could sever the connection between summoners and their pets, preventing those pets from entering at all. Naturally, that left the summoners helpless.

Still, a Lawless Land was fair. If he couldn't use any spells, neither could his opponents. If this world were a game, a Lawless Land would be a safe zone.

He rested his hands on the bar and said with a faint, ambiguous smile, "I never expected this to be a Lawless Land, or its owner to be such a beautiful lady. Forgive my lack of courtesy.

"I got carried away just now and acted rashly. I hope you won't hold it against me. I'm merely borrowing your fine establishment to discuss a few matters!"

Hu Tianzhen smiled brightly. "Well, isn't that interesting? What would I have to take offense at, so long as you follow the rules? I hope you won't make things difficult for me."

Meng Huai nodded with a smile. This woman deeply unsettled him. He felt that his meager abilities wouldn't cause so much as a ripple in front of her.

As the old saying went, a wise man knew when to adapt. Heading into a mountain despite knowing a tiger lurked there could be called courage. But standing unarmed before a tiger and daring to pat its backside could only be called fucking stupidity.

He Huaying grinned. "You're much smarter than I imagined. But why would a smart man do something foolish? Wouldn't it be better if we both took a step back?"

Meng Huai fixed her with an intense stare. "There are things I can back down on, and things I can't. Now that I'm here today and know what happened, there's nothing left to discuss."

He Huaying shook her head helplessly. "How disappointing. We don't want to make an enemy of a Gu Master either, but if we're left with no choice, we can only fight with everything we have.

"Since your mind is made up, we have plenty of time ahead of us. We'll have some proper fun when the time comes. Unfortunately, I won't be able to keep you company, but someone else will."

Meng Huai's heart jolted at her words. Suddenly, his head grew heavy. When his mind cleared again, he was lying in his own bed.