On the other side, the Judicial Review Bureau.
The yamen was brightly lit, and Chen Xuance was ordering many embroidered-robed officials to investigate Qian Zhong's secret entry into the capital.
Inside the chief officer's office, Ye Xingge sat obediently on the couch. The lime powder on his hair and robes had been cleaned off, but his eyes were still a little red and swollen in order to make the performance more realistic.
Luo Xuanqing, dressed in a blue robe, gently wiped her eyes with a cotton ball soaked in medicinal wine. Her stunningly beautiful face was as cold as ice, clearly indicating that she was furious!
After being taken advantage of by this brat, she thought he would be unable to sleep at night and would sneak over to see her again in the middle of the night. She was even thinking that if he kept pestering her, she would stand up and beat him up.
And look what happened! This kid ignored such a beautiful and aloof fairy and went off to risk his life again!
You're probably addicted, aren't you?
He went out to run errands without telling her, and then came back to ask her for favors to pay for his injuries. What does he take her for?
Are they "welfare girls"?
Or was it a mistress he was secretly keeping?
Moreover, the reason for falling for this is absurd. Seeing that the thief was unarmed, he fought him bare-handed, won, and was then ambushed by the thief who threw lime powder at him!
At this moment, Luo Xuanqing wiped his eyes, his voice slightly cold as he continued to berate:
"You think roaming the martial world is child's play? You broke Duan Lianshan's weapon in a fight and then switched to fighting bare-handed. I didn't reprimand you then, but when you were splashed with lime powder at the theater, didn't I warn you to be careful? You made the same mistake twice. If this happened on Mount Jiuhua, you'd be facing the wall for three months..."
Ye Xingge acted with discretion. Seeing the Great Beauty Luo reprimanding him like an iceberg master, he smiled and said:
"We were indeed careless. This will not happen again."
"Hmph~ If you dare to act rashly and cause trouble again, I'll cripple your legs!"
Luo Xuanqing snorted coldly, her eyes filled with murderous intent, but her hands were gentle as she stood in front of the man, wiping his cheeks and occasionally blowing on his eyes with a pout.
"Phew~"
With a large melon right in front of him, and someone even blowing air into his eyes, Ye Xingge couldn't help but feel a little unsettled.
But Luo Xuanqing was clearly still reeling from the incident with the heavy snowfall at Diaozhong. Noticing the brat's wandering eyes again, he grabbed his collar.
"Are you never going to stop? Do you really think I won't beat you?" Ye Xingge slightly raised his hand:
"No, no, I can do it myself."
"I've already finished wiping everything, what are you doing here? Lie down and rest!"
"Good."
Ye Xingge leaned back on the couch, closing her eyes as if to rest.
Luo Xuanqing was finally satisfied. He stood in front of Ye Xingge. He originally wanted to turn around and leave this brat out in the cold.
But this young man risked his life to make contributions to the Judicial Review Bureau, which made Gongsun Yanwu so envious that she cried. As the head official, she couldn't just ignore him...
But we can't just give it away for free...
If I keep giving him freebies, this guy will push his luck and we might really start having sex in the office.
And just as he was lost in thought, footsteps sounded outside the study, along with Chen Xuance's words:
" Lord Luo, Duke Wu has arrived."
Luo Xuanqing was somewhat puzzled by this, but he managed to calm his wavering Dao heart for the time being, straightened his clothes, and stood up.
"You rest first, I'll go check on things."
Tap tap tap...
Clatter~
The door closed, and the office fell silent.
After watching the graceful Great Beauty Luo leave, Ye Xingge listened carefully to make sure no one was around, then quietly raised his right hand:
"How's the situation?"
Hongyu, who had been secretly following them, responded at this moment:
Zhang Jin ran to a private residence in the West Market and waited. The person behind the scenes hadn't arrived yet, but he had already notified his men inside the sect to come and take over.
"Furthermore, you've also revealed that you are the 'Crown Prince of Crown Prince of Western Shu.' As long as the intelligence spreads quickly enough, South-Flying Swallow should be able to take the bait herself in a couple of days."
Ye Xingge had just returned and had actually noticed Lady of Anyang, but perhaps because the two of them had been seen naked, Lady of Anyang was too embarrassed and got into the carriage with his head down, without exchanging any words with him.
Seeing that Great Beauty had already laid out the bait, Ye Xingge didn't say anything more. He lay there waiting for a while, and then footsteps sounded outside again, followed by the door opening.
With a creak, Ye Xingge turned around and saw the Great Beauty Luo in a green dress. She then turned and closed the door.
Unlike before, the iceberg's expression had completely vanished, and his gaze held a strange quality, as if he had heard some good news.
Ye Xingge looked slightly puzzled and sat up:
" Sister Luo, what's wrong?"
Luo Xuanqing was genuinely delighted upon hearing Duke Wu's words, but she didn't tell Ye Xingge about it at the moment. Instead, she gracefully walked to the bedside.
"It's nothing, it's just that Duke Zhang praised you for being capable and said I did a good job mentoring you, encouraging me to keep up the good work..."
"Really? That's good..."
"Hmph~"
Luo Xuanqing gave a soft hum, smoothing her skirt with her hand, her plump, green peach-shaped pillow resting on the couch:
"You've done a good job, and I've received praise from my superiors. Shouldn't I reward you as well?"
"Um?"
Ye Xingge had just had a feast for the eyes and thought the Great Beauty Luo would be haughty for a few days, but seeing that the wealthy and generous Three Feet One was back, he naturally perked up a bit:
"That's true. What will Sister Luo reward me with?"
"Um..."
Luo Xuanqing pondered for a moment, then scanned Ye Xingge's figure:
"If you lose at the gambling table, you have to get it back at the gambling table. You want to push your luck? I'll give you a chance."
Ye Xingge sat a few inches closer:
What are we betting on this time?
"I already know that you just killed Qian Zhong and improved your ranking. So I'll be the bookmaker, and you'll have to guess our current ranking. If your guess is within three places, you win."
As Luo Xuanqing said this, a meaningful glint appeared in his fox-like eyes:
"As for the wager, if you win, I'll let you kiss something I've seen before!"
"Oh, really?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Xingge couldn't help but think of the peach blossom valley, its white petals tinged with pink. However, asking for such things would be beneath him. After some thought, he replied:
"Then I'll set the question, and Sister Luo will guess. If she guesses wrong, don't blame me?"
Luo Xuanqing, relying on inside information to seek revenge, softened his gaze upon seeing Ye Xingge's sensible nature: "Alright. If you lose, I'll give you a riddle to guess. A correct guess will be rewarded, a wrong guess will result in fifty strokes of the cane, which I will personally administer!" "Huh?"
Ye Xingge felt that this was going a bit too far, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"Alright. But it's a deal, this time I won't hold back. If you guess right, Sister Luo has to forgive you, and you'll have to be a little generous..."
Luo Xuanqing was confident:
"Okay. Guess."
Upon seeing this, Ye Xingge also began to carefully examine the question.
Current ranking, within three places of error...
This looks like an easy question.
But Great Beauty Luo, having suffered so many losses, couldn't possibly have forgotten. The fact that she dared to gamble so heavily meant she was certain he couldn't guess correctly.
The only thing he could never guess was that there was something wrong with the rankings on the Gold List. Just now, Duke Wu came to deliver a message, Great Beauty Luo knew the truth.
As for why he was suddenly told this, it's easy to understand—he killed Qian Zhong and let Zhang Jin escape, and they still haven't figured out Qian Zhong's purpose in coming to the capital. The Inspection Bureau and the Peacekeeping Bureau are both extremely busy.
Therefore, the answer is his current actual ranking.
According to Great Beauty's calculations, he was originally around 330, but killing Qian Zhong would have increased his power by about half a year.
After five years of improvement, Shangjin Ferry improved its ranking by 67 places, averaging 13 to 14 places per year.
Half a year's worth of skill would only get you around 7th place, but the ' Great Nine Yang ' is a celestial-grade skill.
The divine weapon is judged by the mind; it doesn't depend on how well he practices it, but only on whether he knows how to use it. As long as he can remember it, the technique is already considered to be in accordance with the Great Nine Yang.
With a celestial-grade cultivation technique, doubling the training speed is quite normal, resulting in a 14-place improvement.
330 minus 14 equals 316.
After careful consideration, Ye Xingge looked at the Great Beauty Luo in front of him:
"316?"
(← ←)?
(⊙⊙)!
Luo Xuanqing was initially confident of victory, with a hint of smugness in his eyes.
Upon hearing these words, Luo Xuanqing's casual and alluring expression suddenly froze, then her eyes widened in disbelief as she said:
"You were originally ranked 358, and killing Qian Zhong can raise your rank by nearly forty? Do you think Qian Zhong is made of gold? Hmm... I'll give you one more chance!"
Seeing this, Ye Xingge knew he had guessed the range correctly.
"Just 316, I'll admit defeat if we lose, but what's the actual figure?"
"..."
Luo Xuanqing took a deep breath, his clothes visibly bulging, and tried his best to maintain the demeanor of a female boss as he looked into her eyes.
But Ye Xingge was truly stubborn; her momentum gradually softened, and her eyes began to dart away.
"Were you eavesdropping just now?"
Ye Xingge slightly spread his hands:
"I had a feeling something was off when I started today. It's normal to guess roughly, but what was the actual amount?"
Luo Xuanqing felt like he had gotten himself into trouble again. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said:
"314, but Duke Zhang hid the ranking to mislead Wu Chenglie, so he has to suppress it by 20 places. You need to be careful with your acting in future battles to avoid attracting too much attention. Also, the birthday banquet and the rewards for ranking will be calculated according to the Gold List, so you need to improve by more than 30 places."
Ye Xingge understood this perfectly.
To climb another thirty places is simply to figure out another round of things, so he can get the reward promised by the imperial court and even have two days of rest left.
Seeing that he had guessed the range correctly, Ye Xingge asked again:
"Then I'll set the questions?"
"Well..."
Luo Xuanqing made a bet using inside information and was ultimately defeated; there's really nothing more to say. Thinking it over, she should act like a bold and responsible female boss.
"Speak."
Ye Xingge scanned the blue-robed imperial concubine across from him with a meaningful look, until the Great Beauty Luo showed embarrassment and annoyance, then he spoke earnestly:
"Hmm... I've seen that thing on Sister Luo before. It's round, and I'd guess it's over three feet in circumference. It's always covered by silky fabric, but if you lift the fabric, you can see a girl's most alluring parts..."
"?"
Luo Xuanqing initially tried to maintain his dignified expression, but as he listened, his face flushed red, and he lightly tapped the small table:
What the hell do you want to kiss?
Ye Xingge shrugged slightly, speaking with an air of self-righteousness:
"I didn't say what it was. According to the rules, whatever Sister Luo guesses, she has to give it to her..."
"Tch~"
Luo Xuanqing thought this boy was outrageous! He'd seen it on her before— Three Feet One, covered only by a piece of cloth, but when lifted up, you could see a woman's most alluring parts. What else could it be but a large, green peach?
Guagua letting me touch it is one thing, but how can she let me kiss this thing?
Riding on your face...
Having learned from his previous mistake, Luo Xuanqing temporarily suppressed his embarrassment and anger, and earnestly inquired:
Are there any further hints?
Ye Xingge thought for a moment:
"Lifting the fabric, the first thing you'll see is skin like a peeled egg, and A Thread of Pink, divided into two halves..."
Clang--
Luo Xuanqing could no longer bear it. He stood up, drew his Black Banner Saber, pointed at Ye Xingge with one hand behind his back, and his eyes were like those of a stern Flower Judge:
" Ye Xingge, do you really think I'm someone to be trifled with? You could have said anything else..."
Ye Xingge sat on the couch, slightly spreading his hands:
" Sister Luo, this is really inappropriate. I haven't even said what it is, and you're already a sore loser."
Luo Xuanqing didn't believe he could guess wrong this time; his eyes were slightly cold and aloof.
"Tell me. If I can match it, I'll accept the loss; if I can't..."
With a slight flick of the wrist, the Black Banner Saber emitted a buzzing sound.
Ding~~~~
The sound wasn't loud, but the frequency was extremely high, creating an astonishing sense of pressure.
Seeing that the Great Beauty Luo had already made up her mind, Ye Xingge looked slightly helpless, stood up, and picked up the black veiled hat that was placed on the shelf from the side of the office.
Then she walked back to the Great Beauty Luo and helped her put it on her head, before lifting the curtain.
The curtain, like a veil, was lifted as the silky veil revealed two alluring red lips, followed by a stunningly beautiful, aloof face.
However, her wide, fox-like eyes slightly disrupted the aloof atmosphere of the female swordswoman, making her look a bit like a bewildered young Daoist nun...
(⊙⊙)?!