The palace-dressed woman behind her trembled, nearly dropping the torch in her hand. Though Chen Chen did not turn around, it was as if she had eyes in the back of her head and saw everything clearly. She chuckled. "Zixia, if that is the case, you ought to have a heart-to-heart with your senior sister. Perhaps I can help you out. Well, at the very least, I can vet him for you. Tell me, who exactly is this fellow of yours? Your senior sister has seen countless men, after all. I am surely less naive than you, right?"
Zixia behind her burst out laughing. "Senior Sister Chen, if you truly wish to help me, you should first figure out what 'having seen countless men' means."
"Huh? What is wrong with it?" Chen Chen asked in vexation. "Doesn't it just mean having met many people? You have no idea—on this trip out of the valley, I met quite a few jianghu figures. Isn't that precisely 'having seen countless men'?"
"But... Senior Sister, where did you hear this phrase, 'having seen countless men'?"
"Well... Zixia, if I tell you, you cannot spread it around."
"Of course not. Senior Sister has protected me every step of the way and cared for me in every possible detail, almost as much as Master herself. How could I possibly reveal Senior Sister's secret?"
"Well, um... I heard it when I secretly went to... Zui Xiang Lou to listen to little tunes while leaving the valley."
"Zui Xiang Lou? What sort of place is that?" Zixia did not understand.
Chen Chen leaned close to Zixia's ear and explained at length. Zixia listened with a slight frown, then lightly spat. "Senior Sister, honestly. What good phrases could come from a place like that? You..."
Then she too leaned