Yang Qianhuan

The pleasant atmosphere was instantly shattered. The courtesans all lost their smiles. One moment they were like sisters, the next they looked like female soldiers about to go into battle, despite their flushed faces and alluring figures.

"Sisters, since Master Xu has come to my Qingchi Courtyard today, I will take the liberty of letting him stay. I hope you will do me the favor."

Would the courtesans do anything convenient for them? Of course not!

There's no sisterhood in the brothels; if there is, it's all fake. The effort and sweat they put in behind the scenes to rise from ordinary women to top courtesans, along with their shrewdness, wisdom, and daring attitude, make them unwilling to give up easily.

For Xu Qi'an, this was an opportunity. An opportunity to get rid of the courtesans; it was too dangerous for them to stay here. Once they started fighting, the resulting shockwaves would kill everyone.

Warriors, on the other hand, are straightforward, violent freaks, lacking in fancy Law Technique.

To be honest, I quite enjoy this kind of thrill, like the Nine Yin Manual. I imagine the goddesses in my past life must have felt the same way when they kept backup lovers. Xu Qi'an coughed and looked around at the women:

"Miss Mingyan's hospitality is too much to refuse, so I will stay here tonight. Ladies, please go back first. I will visit you all one by one another another day, and I will keep my word."

What men say at the dinner table is just as unreliable as what they say in bed.

But what can they do when the person in charge has already spoken? You can't force these things.

Only Fu Xiang looked at Xu Qi'an with a sorrowful expression, tears welling up in her eyes. "Xu Lang."

Although Xu Qi'an was stubborn, he had a soft heart. He initially wanted to lower his head and drink, ignoring her, but seeing her aggrieved look, he said irritably, "Go back first, I'll come find you again tomorrow."

Fu Xiang gave him a deep look, then covered her face and sobbed, before running away.

The courtesans all took their leave.

The courtesan Mingyan, her face beaming with joy, rose gracefully and said shyly, "It's getting late, Young Master Xu, please come with me."

Entering Mingyan's boudoir, one finds smokeless charcoal burning and sandalwood incense wafting through the air. Compared to the elegance of Fuxiang's room, this place is far more opulent.

The female demon bowed to Xu Qi'an and obediently said, "This servant will assist you in your bath, young master."

"You should rest. I wouldn't dare let you serve me." Xu Qi'an shook his head and glanced at Ming Yan, the courtesan. "Back in Yingmei Pavilion, it was Fu Xiang who served me."

Bathing together? As the most beautiful courtesan, Mingyan had never had such an experience before, and she felt both shy and embarrassed.

She gritted her teeth and said softly, "He'er, I will serve Young Master Xu."

After their passionate bath, Xu Qi'an put on his robe and white silk trousers, cursing under his breath. "That damned Song Tingfeng, he still hasn't arrived?"

"Young Master Xu, what are you waiting for?" Mingyan asked, huddled under the covers, a little annoyed.

She was a woman, and there were some things she couldn't say aloud, otherwise she would seem like a sexually frustrated woman. But there was nothing she could do; she had never seen a man enter her room and spend fifteen minutes wiping a knife or drinking tea for fifteen minutes.

The bed was all warmed up for him; if he hadn't come soon, he would have fallen asleep on his own.

"The night is long, there's no rush. I'm thinking about some things," Xu Qi'an said, feigning profundity as he spoke these meaningless words.

He glanced at the enchantress out of the corner of his eye. If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move; if the enemy dares to move, I'll stab her.

Just as he was thinking this, Xu Qi'an suddenly felt dizzy, as if he hadn't slept for three days, and his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

He was poisoned. A chill ran through him, and he looked sharply at Mingyan, the courtesan, only to find her fast asleep and motionless.

"What is Young Master Xu waiting for?" A light laugh came from behind, and the maid who had been meek and obedient just moments before seemed to have become a different person.

Her gaze was alluring and unrestrained, fixed on him with a rather aggressive intensity.

"Who are you? Why did you poison me? I have no grudge against you. Poisoning a Nightwatchers is a capital offense that warrants the confiscation of your property." Xu Qi'an feigned panic and probed.

"Of course, we're waiting for Lord Xu." The maid giggled, her otherwise pretty face gaining a touch of allure.

"Me?" Xu Qi'an asked, puzzled.

He tried to regulate his breathing, but the Qi in his Dantian was as thick as honey and he couldn't move it. His limbs felt weak and limp.

Damn it, that brat Song Tingfeng ruined my life!

Trusting the Nightwatchers watchman's office, he chose to stay, not wanting to miss this opportunity to capture the demoness. But now it seems that Song Tingfeng must have encountered some trouble, otherwise he would have made several trips back and forth between the brothel and the office over this long period of time.

There's no reason for it to have dragged on until now.

"The night is long, and my wife is already asleep. Let me take her place and look after Young Master Xu." The maid walked slowly, removing a piece of clothing with each step.

Xu Qi'an was startled.

This is not a sensual or pleasant thing. Having been Nightwatchers for so long, he has accumulated experience and knowledge rapidly. He knows that many female demons are skilled at absorbing male essence, turning men into medicinal residue.

The dregs of medicine usually met a violent end.

Where did she poison me? Sandalwood? Wine? I don't know much about poisons, and that's not the key issue. The real key issue is that she had already planned to deal with me. My visit to the brothel today was purely on a whim, and there's no reason she would know that Xu Qi'an wouldn't understand.

When the enchantress came within three feet of Xu Qi'an, a sharp light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and all his emotions subsided.

Clang!

The black and gold longsword was drawn, and a thin line of light flashed in the room before fading away.

Xu Qi'an ignored the result, unleashed his remaining strength, and sprinted forward, crashing headfirst into the window.

He wanted to make a scene so that outsiders would notice and make the demoness hesitate to act rashly.

Thump. Xu Qi'an fell heavily to the ground, his foot tripping over something.

It was a thick, long, gray tail, fluffy, like a fox's tail.

Xu Qi'an looked back, but the maid's figure had disappeared, leaving behind a paper figure cut in two.

With a "whoosh," a wet tongue licked his face. Xu Qi'an turned his head inch by inch and saw that the maid had appeared behind him at some point.

Her pupils turned amber as she sized him up like a predator, her tongue deftly licking his face.

"Your Qi and Blood is so strong; just smelling your scent makes me unable to resist."

She was telling the truth because Xu Qi'an had a physical reaction to her appearance.

For the first time, I felt aversion towards women. Xu Qi'an froze, a sense of crisis plunging him into extreme anxiety.

The power I just unleashed was half unleashed potential and half from chewing on a powerful pill hidden under my tongue.

He tried to strike the demoness unexpectedly, but Xu Qi'an underestimated her strength.

What should we do now? If we shout, we'll definitely be killed instantly.

Roll over forcefully? After all, even gods can't roll around all day. Or maybe you should poop a fragrant lump of fertilizer to disgust her.

The enchantress smiled and extended her finger, tearing Xu Qi'an's silk trousers. Just then, her expression suddenly changed, she looked to the side, and shouted, "Who!"

"You don't need to know who I am, because those who know my name are all dead."

A dark figure appeared in the room at some unknown time, with his back to the two people, dressed in white.

The demoness let out a low growl, baring her teeth at the man in white. She decisively lunged towards the window, intending to escape.

Bang.

She crashed into an invisible wall of air and bounced back.

"How pitiful." The man in white shook his head, sighed, and said with pity.

Then, he snapped his fingers, and the array patterns on the soles of his feet spread out, enveloping the demoness.

Unrealistic chains extended from within the array patterns, binding the demoness's wrists and ankles, immobilizing her in place, and preventing her from escaping no matter how much she struggled.

"Leave her alive." Xu Qi'an was terrified that this seemingly powerful expert would kill the demoness.

The white-robed expert stood with his hands behind his back and said, "So you are Xu Qi'an?"

"That is indeed me," Xu Qi'an said. "Senior, you are..."

"Yang Qianhuan from the Bureau of Astronomy, you should have heard of me," the man in white said calmly.

"Sorry, I've never heard of you before." Xu Qi'an suddenly realized, "So you're Senior Yang, I've heard so much about you."

"Oh?" The man in white sounded quite pleased. "Was it Junior Sister Caiwei who told you, or that paranoid Song Qing?"

"Yes, yes, I have them all," Xu Qi'an guessed that the other party was one of the disciples of the supervisor.

"But it was my colleague who notified the senior?"

"That little copper gong?" The man in white nodded. "That's right. He notified the Bureau of Astronomy two incense sticks' worth of time ago, saying there were Demon Race here. I've been outside the courtyard just now."

"Huh? Then why didn't you make a move sooner?" Xu Qi'an opened his mouth, looking bewildered.

As if reading his mind, the man in white chuckled and said, "The true hero always makes his appearance at the very end. What do you think?"

I think you're a fucking lunatic. Xu Qi'an nodded with a forced smile.

Yang Qianhuan nodded in satisfaction and said in a deep voice, "Ask whatever you want."

Xu Qi'an exhaled, sat up shakily, and stared at the demoness in the formation. "Are you a remnant of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons, or Demon Race from the north?"

The enchantress smiled coldly and remained silent.

The illusory chains suddenly tightened, and arcs of energy flowed along the demoness's body. She screamed in pain, her delicate body convulsing.

"Heh, this is my self-created torture array. It can rip apart the physical body and the Primordial Spirit. Few humans or demons can withstand such pain," the white-robed man said calmly, standing with his hands behind his back.

Extreme fear was evident in the enchantress's amber eyes.

"The Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons, I am a fox spirit from the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons," she said.

"Did you commit the Sangbo case?"

"Yes."

"Is Heng Hui one of your people too?"

"Yes."

What is your purpose?

"Destroy Sangbo and release what's inside."

"What's inside?"

"I don't know, I really don't know."

Xu Qi'an glanced at the man in white, and seeing that he didn't speak, he believed the demoness and continued to ask, "I have three more questions:

"The first question is, since the sealed artifact has been released, why did you still instigate Heng Hui to cause trouble, kill the Earl of Pingyuan, and launch a night attack on the Ministry of War's residence?"

"The second question is, who are the people you are working with?"

"The third question is, why are you targeting me?"

The enchantress hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "I don't know about the first two questions. I'm infiltrating the capital, following orders, and I know nothing else."

"As for dealing with you, I recently received instructions that as soon as Tongluo Xu Qi'an enters the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district), we should find a way to take his life."

The man in white remained silent. Xu Qi'an frowned. So, the Demon Race hiding in the brothel was instructed by this demoness to kill me to silence me, because I was so close to the truth of the case, so they planned to eliminate the threat at its source and eradicate me?

At least it wasn't a complete loss; Heng Hui was indeed the breakthrough point in this case.

"One last question: Was Miss Mingyan an accomplice?"

The enchantress sneered, "I'd like to say yes." Arcs of electricity crackled and exploded, her expression changing drastically. She shook her head, saying, "She knows nothing."

"Senior, I've finished asking my questions," Xu Qi'an said.

"Could I keep this demoness as a token of my merit?" he thought to himself, when he heard the man in white say, "Very well, this demoness is my token of merit, I'll take her with me."

"Huh? No, aren't you a master? This answer isn't what I expected." Xu Qi'an replied somewhat blankly, "Hmm, okay. Also, are there any Demon Race lurking here?"

"Now that I've arrived, even mountains of knives and seas of fire will become paradise," Yang Qianhuan said arrogantly, adding, "The Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) is very safe."

Although he felt this guy was a bit off, his skills were undeniable, so Xu Qi'an nodded in relief.

"Lower your head for two breaths," Yang Qianhuan suddenly said.

Xu Qi'an did as instructed in a daze. Two breaths later, he looked up and found that the man in white was gone.

After checking that Mingyan, the courtesan, was breathing and had a normal heartbeat, Xu Qi'an left Qingchi Courtyard, a question echoing in his mind: Why did I have to bow my head for two breaths?

Xu Qi'an dragged his tired body into Yingmei Pavilion and was led into the master bedroom, where he saw Fu Xiang with eyes swollen from crying.

The courtesan sat on the edge of the bed, turned her head slightly away.

Xu Qi'an glanced at her, too lazy to explain, and pulled up the covers to go to sleep.

He didn't want to stay overnight at Qingchi Courtyard, and since it was too late to go back, he could only rest at Yingmei Pavilion.