He was not only someone who frequented such places of romance, but also a playboy who broke the hearts of countless women, and he’d seen through such tricks a long time ago. As such, he was also able to snap out of Qiu Honglei’s bewitching charm.
Aside from Zu An, he was probably the most clear-headed man in the Immortal Abode.
Xie Daoyun’s smooth, porcelain face became tinged with redness. “You oily-mouthed smooth-talker. So there are the skills you obtained by deceiving all those girls. No wonder all those distinguished young misses suffered so badly.”
Xie Xiu immediately voiced his injustice. “Sis, I was trying to help you out!”
“Quiet! She’s getting ready to play.” Xie Daoyun made a shushing gesture, and then settled in to observe the performance attentively.
As a well-known talent in the arts, her skill at the zither was naturally flawless. Now that she was here to evaluate a performance that was within her specialty, her demeanor became more serious.
Her momentary sense of inferiority vanished without a trace, replaced by a glowing radiance which spread outward from her cheeks to the rest of her face.
Xie Xiu looked at her delicate features, and sighed deeply. “Truly, a great beauty. It really is a pity, too much of a pity.”
Even though Xie Daoyun was seriously evaluating Qiu Honglei’s zither skills, she was still distracted by her brother’s words. “What is a pity?”
Xie Xiu winked and said with a crafty smile, “It’s a pity that you are my dear older sister! Otherwise, why would I need to go looking for other girls?”
After saying this, he immediately leaped out of her reach. Sure enough, Xie Daoyun huffed in shame and annoyance. “You little brat, you even dare to tease me!”
She jumped up and began to chase him. When she caught him, she immediately twisted his ear.
“Sis, please have mercy~” While Xie Xiu was pleading, a melodious wave of music washed over them. Qiu Honglei already began to play.
Everyone pricked up their ears, paying special attention to the heavenly music. After all, it was rumored that Qiu Honglei would choose to meet someone personally that day, but no one knew what method she would use to choose her guest. That was why no one was willing to let any clues go. She might ask everyone for their opinions after she finished playing.
As the crowd was entranced by Qiu Honglei, the female brothel-keeper Hua Weimian made her way out from a corner of the hall and said to Chen Xuan, “It truly was inconsiderate of us not to have prepared an invitation for your distinguished self. Our Immortal Abode has specially prepared a feast for all of you to enjoy.”
After finding out that he was a sixth rank expert, the Immortal Abode had quietly changed their mind about him.
After all, this was a world that revered strength above all else. Within the boundaries of Brightmoon City, someone at the sixth rank could already be considered a top-notch expert.
Such an expert was worth buttering up and being on good terms with.
No one around them was at all surprised by this. In fact, it was only natural. This was just how the world worked.
Chen Xuan frowned. He still wanted to settle his score with Zu An, but since Qiu Honglei had begun to play her zither, causing a further disturbance might incur the wrath of everyone here.
Moreover, he was also interested in this great beauty and wanted to listen carefully as she played, so that he could form a considered opinion when asked.
Not wanting to stir up further trouble, he nodded at the brothel-keeper. With a member of the Immortal Abode staff leading the way, they were brought to a table on the other side of the hall.
Hua Weimian sashayed over to Zu An and the others, apologizing profusely to Wang Yuanlong and Chu clan’s brothers. She arranged a new spread of food for them, and assured them that their expenses for the day would be fully covered by the establishment.
With the offer of such generous treatment, there was no room for them to object. On top of this, they were worried they might miss out on Qiu Honglei’s music. Chu Hongcai was already engrossed, straining to catch every nuance. How could he spare any attention for Sister Hua?
Zu An sighed. This Sister Hua really was a formidable woman. Her grasp of timing was impeccable.
She seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth just as they had been about to fight to the death. Yet, once Qiu Honglei began to play the guqin, she had immediately emerged to mediate things. A great crisis was quietly averted without any fuss.
Zu An kept his silence. This was the wisdom of survival, after all. There was nothing more to be said about it.
He let himself be drawn in by the music of the zither.
The music carried a special type of magical power. Even though there were no lyrics, the melodious sounds still managed to craft a poignant series of images in the mind.
A cool breeze brushing past,
The falling blossoms beautiful and diverse,
A man drinks alone by a lakeside pavilion,
Like an immortal exiled from heaven.
A lady’s heart ripples, summoning courage as she steps forth,
The two face each other before the flowers and under the moon, paying their respects in love.
One day, the man leaves without a farewell.
The woman waits by the lakeside every day,
Only for the man to never return again.
After many years, the man comes in search of the woman, his face covered in wind and frost.
The woman is nowhere to be found,
Because she has long passed away.
Heartbroken and grieving, he drinks away his feelings by the lake,
Only to learn from the mouth of a fisherman:
There used to be a woman who sat here waiting for her man,
However, she didn’t manage to wait until his return.
One day, as she held a jar of wine,
She sat by the lakeside, drinking and weeping.
When the people found her,
She had already drowned.
No one knew if she had lost her footing, or if she had chosen to die.
When he learned about all of this, the man wept silently.
…
As the mournful music washed over them, all the men who had come seeking pleasure began to weep.
1. Also known as Six-flavored Rehmanni. It is a common type of Traditional Chinese Medicine used to treat yin deficiency, or ‘heatiness’.