An Extraordinary Phenomenon Arises Out of Nowhere

Ye Fu raised his right foot and brought it down gently. At once, a thread of Qi pierced through space and enveloped Zhou Ruosheng in an instant. He did have that much of a vengeful streak.

Outside, Zhong Suihua was immediately displeased to hear Zhou Ruosheng say that. Wasn't he looking down on her by describing her customer that way? Besides, she had always felt that Ye Fu was no ordinary person, and she feared he might overhear Zhou Ruosheng and take offense.

"Zhou Ruosheng, if you keep making a scene like this, don't ever think of setting foot in my Cloth Robe Workshop again," Zhong Suihua said coldly.

"Oh, fine, I won't say it anymore. Suihua, you're so petty." Zhou Ruosheng raised his fan to half-cover his face, curled his fingers into a delicate orchid gesture, and gave Zhong Suihua a coquettish look.

He was completely unaware that there was anything wrong with what he had said.

Everyone fell silent, everyone stunned.

Zhou Ruosheng wondered why everything had suddenly gone quiet. He turned around, only to see everyone staring at him, mouths agape and faces full of disbelief. He hurriedly tugged at his servant. "What's going on?"

"Young master, your... your voice!" The servant's eyes widened as he spoke in terror.

Zhou Ruosheng curled his fingers into an orchid gesture in confusion. "What's wrong with my voice?" After asking, he even swayed his hips.

Suddenly, he noticed something and shrieked, "Oh my, what's happened? How did I end up like this?" As he shrieked, he swayed his hips, turned this way and that, and curled his fingers into orchid gestures.

Everyone else looked disgusted and sickened. Some of the tough, rugged men even retched aloud.

Terrified, Zhou Ruosheng hurriedly turned around and ran in tiny steps to Zhong Suihua, his hips swaying. "Hua Niang, I'm not like this! I'm a proper man, not some sissy. Please don't misunderstand!"

Zhong Suihua had been struggling to hold back her disgust, but she still frowned at the way he kept referring to himself so coquettishly.

When Zhou Ruosheng saw that, he shrieked, sank to the ground with a mournful look, and burst into tears like rain on pear blossoms. "Oh, Hua Niang, you..."

He covered his face and burst into loud sobs, then scrambled up and ran outside in a panic, swaying his hips as he went. In the most effeminate voice imaginable, he cried, "I really am a man!"

"Young master, your shoe!" His servant hurried after him.

Once Zhou Ruosheng was gone, most of the people there finally lost control and retched aloud. A chorus of discussion rose around them.

"So Zhou Ruosheng was a sissy all along. I only found out today."

"And to think I used to drink and make merry with him. How disgusting."

"Hua Niang, don't misunderstand. We're all real men. Who knew Zhou Ruosheng had hidden it so well?"

Zhong Suihua offered everyone a few words of reassurance, then persuaded them to leave. Only then did she turn helplessly and return to the sewing room. She swore she would never let Zhou Ruosheng come within half a step of her again. He was simply too disgusting.

The crowd dispersed.

In the farthest corner stood a handsome young man with a dot of cinnabar between his brows. His eyes were like stars, and his breath was soft and warm as he murmured, "Interesting, interesting. This time, the Great Curtain in Black Stone City really is quite interesting. I wonder which Household this outstanding talent belongs to."

He swept his sleeves aside, turned, and strode away.

Chapter 17: An Extraordinary Phenomenon Arises Out of Nowhere

Ye Fu casually breathed out and gave a leisurely sigh. "Those who humiliate others will always be humiliated in turn."

Qin Sanyue looked at Ye Fu in bewilderment.

Zhong Suihua came in from outside. Before they saw her, they heard her charming laugh. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, honored guest."

She came around the screen with graceful bearing and dipped in a curtsy, revealing a dazzling expanse of white.

Ye Fu nodded in response. "It's nothing. I should thank you for your trouble, Boss Zhong, having to deal with spoiled young masters all day."

"It's no trouble, no trouble at all."

"All right, then let's begin. We've stayed here rather long."

As Ye Fu spoke, he sat up straight. Since he was going to make it himself, he certainly couldn't follow the local style of dressmaking. Most of the women's clothes on the street looked much the same, with nothing fresh about them.

Ye Fu looked at the green cloth and decided to make a green gauze dress. With that in mind, he set to work.

When he first began, there didn't seem to be much to it, except that it showed the people around him that this guest really did know needlework, and was quite skilled at it.

But as they continued watching, they often found themselves frowning. Even Zhong Suihua, Master Zhong, the most accomplished seamstress present, put aside all her alluring airs and watched in earnest.

In everyone's eyes, every movement Ye Fu made now flowed into the next, without the slightest wasted motion. Whatever dimensions he needed to cut, he seemed to be extraordinarily familiar with Qin Sanyue's measurements. He didn't even use a ruler. Wherever the scissors fell, the cuts were clean, without a single frayed edge.

The bolt of green cloth seemed to flutter in his hands, every fold seeming to have a reason for being there. Each movement, big or small, added another change to the cloth's appearance.

To an expert like Zhong Suihua, every movement Ye Fu made-every stitch, every snip of the scissors, every fold and press-brought a qualitative change to the garment in his hands. Shaping it, forming its edges, turning and folding it: every movement brought an entirely different transformation.

Everyone present marveled at his craftsmanship, which flowed like clouds and water and seemed wrought by the gods themselves. Some had only just entered the trade on the strength of their talent, while others had worked in it for twenty or thirty years, yet all of them independently thought the same thing: never in their lives had they seen such skill. He was practically bringing the garment to life in his hands.

Someone like Master Zhong, who loved the craft, was even more absorbed. She felt that watching Ye Fu sew was an immense pleasure, and without realizing it, she leaned against a pillar, her eyes dreamy as she watched his movements.

Qin Sanyue was no expert. All she could see in Ye Fu's movements was that they were "flowing like clouds and water," "nimble," and "pleasing to the eye." She noticed boundless admiration in the eyes of the older sisters watching around her, and even the beautiful, glamorous boss was looking at him rather strangely.

The innocent young girl unconsciously lifted her chin, feeling a little pleased, because the person they admired was her own "Teacher Ye."

But if Ye Fu's dressmaking skills were merely this much, they would still be far from reaching the maximum level.