"What?" Wang Chongyu exclaimed and glanced toward Bai Fanlu at the same time. The other party was surprised but not as much as he was, yet he appeared very indifferent.

Wang Chongyu paused and responded to Yun Zhan, "Qingyang Shishu's situation is unknown, and there may be a demonic creature responsible for her condition. It is too dangerous for you to stay here alone. Let's sneak back in and check it out tomorrow morning."

Yun Zhan put down the wine glass and clapped his hands to signal to someone outside. The two lovely ladies entered again, and sat next to Yun Zhan, one on the left and the other on the right. One even began to massage his leg and the other filled the glass for him.

Seeing Wang Chongyu's widened eyes and contempt, Yun Zhan actually smiled and answered cheerfully, "I am staying here to make it more convenient for our investigation. Would my two Shixiongs also be interested in remaining behind with me?"

Yun Zhan had true audacity to utter such words. It would have been absurd if Bai Fanlu and Wang Chongyu wanted to stay.

So the two of them glanced at each other, Bai Fanlu shrugged and spread his hands, expressing that it didn't bother him that Yun Zhan wanted to stay. Wang Chongyu said to Yun Zhan, "Then we will head back to the inn and return tomorrow morning."

"You don't have to come again, just wait for my news."

None of them knew where Yun Zhan's confidence came from. It was him who dragged the two of them into this matter and it was still him who was now telling them to leave it to him. Bai Fanlu recalled Yun Zhan's expression when he heard the name ‘Ling Jue’. Did he have a plan in mind?

It was late when the duo returned to the inn, Bai Fanlu had something to do, so he bid goodbye to Wang Chongyu. However, Wang Chongyu hesitated and confirmed again, "Does Shixiong really not mind Yun Zhan's behaviour?"

"I don't mind."

Was Wang Chongyu still worried about this?

Bai Fanlu was rather helpless, "Don't worry about it anymore, you know me best, do you think I'm lying to you? Do I look like that?"

Bai Fanlu deliberately widened his eyes to stare directly at Wang Chongyu. Wang Chongyu got a little embarrassed but couldn't help but smile and responded in a light tone, "Alright then."

Given Yun Zhan's outrageous behaviour, anyone would feel sorry for the original owner. Bai Fanlu also finally acknowledged how horrible this protagonist was.

Originally, he was still concerned that if he behaved too indifferent and distant towards Yun Zhan, it would be very suspicious.

But now, Yun Zhan was blatantly revealing his true colours in front of fellow disciples, giving Bai Fanlu the perfect reason to draw a line between them. With this, no one would be surprised. On the contrary, they would even applaud him for being wise in cutting his losses.

Bai Fanlu patted Wang Chongyu on the shoulder, "Everything is fine. Have an early night."

As he was about to return to his room, Wang Chongyu suddenly called him "Shixiong."

"En? What's wrong?"

"Since you are no longer interested in Yun Zhan, then..."

Halfway through his sentence, he paused again. Wang Chongyu's eyes fixed for a moment on Bai Fanlu's face. After that, he just muttered softly, "It's nothing, Shixiong. Please rest early as well."

How strange, Bai Fanlu thought to himself as he watched Wang Chongyu enter the next room, then close the door. He waited there for a while before creeping down to the first floor.

A young lad who was on duty at the counter was dozing off.

Bai Fanlu stepped forward and nudged him gently. The young man drowsily woke up and yelled, "Who's there?" Then he jolted back to his full senses and bounced up from his seat.

He didn't see who it was and hurriedly apologised, "Boss! Sorry, I didn't mean to be lazy!"

"Don't be afraid, lad. It's me."

The young man took a closer look, saw Bai Fanlu, and finally heaved a sigh of relief, "It's you, sir. Is there anything you need? Supper or bath water?"

The boy yawned as he spoke. He had seen Wang Chongyu and Bai Fanlu return just now, so he remembered him.

Bai Fanlu said, "That's not necessary. I just have something to ask you."

"Oh, go ahead."

Yet, he was grumbling in his heart as to why Bai Fanlu must wake him up now.

Bai Fanlu naturally understood his apparent impatient expression, and he had already prepared for this scenario. Bai Fanlu took out a tip of a small piece of silver, which was enough for him to find out everything.

As soon as the boy saw the silver, every trace of fatigue left, and he immediately became energetic. He took the silver, tucked it in his sleeve, and said with a smile, "What would you like to know? Ask away! I come here every day. No one knows better or more than me!"

Bai Fanlu went straight to the point, "Did Yufang City encounter a strange plague recently?"

"Oh, did you mean some time ago?"

This was a rather significant matter, and the inn runner naturally knew about it, "There was but it's all gone now! So please rest assured, Sir. The Yufang City you are in now is most scenic in April. This city is also known as the Immortal City where the best wines are brewed. Would you fancy a pot…"

The young man went on enthusiastically, but Bai Fanlu was only interested in the plague. Was it true that Yun Zhan hasn't been staying here in vain for the past month? Did he get rid of the ‘plague’?

Bai Fanlu asked again, "You mentioned that there was a plague, and it's all gone now? How did that happen?"

"How did that happen?" The young man gave it some thought, "I have no idea as well. The plague silently left the same way it came. It spread within the city for about ten days; since then, no one has died that way. And one day, everyone just said that it was gone."

Bai Fanlu was curious what ‘that way’ actually meant. This incident was very clear in the book.

When he entered Yufang City today, he made sure to eavesdrop on the people around him. He didn't hear anyone mention anything about the ‘plague’, which was a little strange.

But Wang Chongyu was always by his side, so he couldn't ask anyone for more information.

Now, from an inn runner, he learned that the ‘plague’ in Yufang City was cured. And no one even knew how it got to this point.

"Do you know when Lady Qianqian of the Baihua Pavilion came to Yufang City?”

Hearing this question, the young man blushed, showing some fascination, "I am too lowly and have never seen Lady Qianqian, but I always hear the guests in the inn talking about her. If I heard it right, Lady Qianqian first appeared in the Baihua Pavilion about seven days ago. I am on a seven-day work rotation, so my estimation can't be too off."

Therefore, Wu Yueshuang appeared in Baihua Pavilion a few days after the plague.

Bai Fanlu had nothing else to ask and returned to his room. He paced two laps back and forth before settling down on his bed.

What happened in Yufang City differed from the original plot, and he needed to calm down and rationalise his thoughts.

What took place in Yingzhou and Lingcheng were originally different, but the critical incident had some commonality with the actual plot. Going by this rule, Yufang City should also have that in common.

In the original plot, when Yunzhan and the original owner first arrived in Yufang City, they learned that a mysterious disease was rampant in the city. The source and the mode of transmission were both unknown. People who got this disease would suddenly lose their spirits and appear like they were withered. Their look at the point of death was terrifying, and it was as though they had been transformed into a piece of dried wood.

There were no apparent symptoms in the early stages of the disease, and the onset was extremely sudden. A patient would die within half an hour. In addition, during the episode, the patient would lose his mind and no one could ask or get anything of them. Moreover, there were no significant infectious cases among family members, so it was difficult to determine the cause.

After Yun Zhan and the original owner arrived in Yufang City, they found that all the people who died of the disease were young and middle-aged men. There were no child fatalities and only one deceased that was over fifty. Other than their corpse drained of all spirit, there were no other preliminary causes of death. As such, the plague was not deemed to be medical but caused by a demonic creature.

But Yufang City was rumoured to be protected by immortals. There was also a thin layer of spiritual energy in the city's atmosphere, equivalent to half of the immortal world. It was difficult for ordinary demonic creatures to stay in such an environment for a long time. If one were in the midst, it would frequently enter and leave the city. With that consideration, the two of them worked together to set up a barrier outside the city. Any demonic creatures who came into contact with this barrier would immediately be made known.

But after waiting for a few days, the demonic creature never showed up, yet a new death occurred in the city.

The two changed their initial strategy, guessing that the demonic creature might be hiding in the city instead. The most dangerous place was also the safest place after all. It was precisely under cover of the spiritual energy that their demonic energy would not be easily detected, helping them to stay in hiding.

But Yufang City was too big. The enemy was lurking in the shadows and was definitely not easy to find.

Usually at this time, it was the protagonist's turn to shine.

Yun Zhan was still inquiring and gathering information along the road one day, when he heard a woman tell some others that her husband had gone to Baihua Pavilion with a friend some time ago to have fun. That friend had just passed away, and she was worried her husband would also be in danger.

Yun Zhan ended up following the woman, and just one day later, he learned that the woman's husband had also passed away.

As a result, Baihua Pavilion aroused his attention.

Naturally, Yun Zhan and the original owner had never been to such places of pleasure. But to investigate, the two still sneaked into the Baihua Pavilion. They secretly searched but ended up with nothing. However, they did accidentally witness an explicitly steamy scene.

It was fine that they found nothing. What was ridiculous was that Yun Zhan proposed to return to the Baihua Pavilion the next night. This time, he was dressed up as a young man out to have fun, openly flirting with the beauties in front of the original owner and declaring that he wanted to stay the night.

The original owner left Baihua Pavilion in anger, but Yun Zhan stayed in the brothel that night.

This part of the novel was written from the perspective of Yun Zhan. Yun Zhan did nothing at Baihua Pavilion except look for clues under cover of the night.

He had already sensed something was wrong in Baihua Pavilion, and there seemed to be something concealed under the guise of drunken and lavish ambiance and the rich powdery scent in the air.

But the original owner didn't know, and Yun Zhan didn't bother to explain anything, so the misunderstanding grew deeper and deeper.

In the end, the original owner went through several twists and turns in the city, and thought that the Baihua Pavilion was the most suspicious. As such, he returned to find Yun Zhan.

However, he ended up seeing the man with a beauty in his lap every night and one at his side. It was pretty familiar to what Bai Fanlu saw tonight, but Bai Fanlu didn't mind at all, unlike the original owner.

The original owner got irritated and took cup after cup of wine offered by the beautiful women. Ling Qingzi educated him, and he had never touched alcohol according to the Sect's rules. This was the first time he drank and felt uncomfortable all over. In the end, he was so drunk that some courtesans dragged him into a room.

However, Yun Zhan followed him in and got all the beauties to leave. He and the original owner slept just a few feet away on that big bed all night.

The next morning, the Madame saw the two leave the room one after another. She joked about Yun Zhan ambiguously, saying that the original owner's drunk appearance last night was so alluring that it could bring all her courtesans to shame.

Bai Fanlu remembered this particular exchange where the original owner overheard the Madame's words. When Yun Zhan mocked, "No matter how good he looks, he is no match for the fragrant and nephrite jade-like tenderness of a woman who you can hold comfortably in your arms."

These words were so horrible that Bai Fanlu scolded him, calling him a ‘scumbag’ several times in his heart when he read that sentence.

He was the one who flirted with the original owner, but in the end, he disdained the fact that he was a man. Although Yun Zhan didn't do anything out of the ordinary from the perspective of others, to the original owner, this was like a stone hammer crushing down on his heart.

The original owner couldn't bear it and asked Yun Zhan what it would take for them to be together. Unexpectedly, a courtesan who had a crush on Yun Zhan took the opportunity and deliberately picked on the original owner. She proposed that he put on a woman's robes. If he were to look exceptionally beautiful in it, it could make Yun Zhan give up on all the other lovers around him.

Upon hearing this proposal, everyone gathered to enjoy the performance. The original owner knew he was about to be humiliated, and Yun Zhan was also scum. But he did not object to this proposal in the slightest and allowed them to proceed at will.

In the end, the original owner put on women's clothing in a fit of anger. The red dress described in the book looked similar to the one on Wu Yueshuang today. In short, everyone was shocked when he wore it out.

Even the experienced Madame who had come across countless beauties couldn't help but admire the original owner's gorgeous looks. She even praised that if he walked down the street like this, he would definitely be a head-turner.

The jealous courtesan noticed Yun Zhan's expression and grumbled in mockery. She deliberately jabbed that the original owner did not look special and wanted him to walk down the street. Only if everyone exclaimed and agreed that he was beautiful, then it would be true.

The original owner was already furious at this point, and he also wanted to pit himself against Yun Zhan. Without a word, he masked half of his face with a veil and stepped into the bustling street.

That was how the famous scene where the original owner appeared in women's clothing came about and where tens of thousands of people were attracted by his beauty, and filled the streets just to catch a glimpse of him.

After that scene, someone followed the original owner and found him going into Baihua Pavilion, mistakenly thinking he was a courtesan. For a while, the Baihua Pavilion was full of men who came from far and wide just for a glance at the original owner.

Thinking back, Bai Fanlu thought that it should be similar to that scene with Wu Yueshuang today.

This sudden chaos also brought up a strange wave of demonic energy, which Yun Zhan took notice of and accidentally discovered a necromancer hiding in the brothel disguised as a courtesan.

After subduing the necromancer, it turned out that she had been cultivating in the Baihua Pavilion by absorbing Yang QiMale energy. Yin is female, Yang is male..

In fact, the necromancer's cultivation level was average, and she couldn't even suppress her demonic energy freely. However, she was pretty smart. It was precisely because there were mostly women living in the Baihua Pavilion that yin energy was prosperous, and the yang energy was low in comparison. This was an ideal camouflage for her feminine demonic energy.

And that rich powdery scent was also deliberately mixed with an enchanting fragrance used to neutralise the yang energy. It had a concealing effect on her identity, even towards people with certain cultivation levels.

At night, the necromancer used the flow of people in the Baihua Pavilion to absorb their Yang energy with the enchanted fragrance. Since she absorbed them indiscriminately, the absorption rate was also extremely slow, so no one would suspect anything was amiss.

It was just that she didn't expect that the original owner, dressed up as a woman, would draw so many men to the Baihua Pavilion. The sudden increase in Yang energy from the surge of men visiting caused her enchanted fragrance to dissipate too quickly. On top of that, her cultivation level was not enough to conceal herself, so she got exposed.

But as to why the necromancer was demonic in nature yet could stay within Yufang City for a prolonged period without being affected by the immortal spiritual energy was a mystery to the duo. After Yun Zhan and the original owner returned to Tianshu Sect, they reported the matter to Ling Qingzi. His explanation was that she had acted on an expert's guidance and found the spot with the weakest energy to cultivate.

While Bai Junming was capable of withstanding the immortal energy pressure of Tianshu Sect, the necromancer wouldn't be able to, given her low cultivation level.

Someone must have recommended her to stay hidden within the Baihua Pavilion.

Bai Fanlu didn't think twice about this when he was reading, but at this time, when he recalled the plot, he remembered a particular phrase ‘acted on an expert's guidance’. He immediately linked it back to the expert which He Sang once mentioned. That man also gave him unorthodox suggestions, making him stray toward the demonic path. Could it be possible that they were the same person?

However, Bai Fanlu could only speculate at this point. Today, Wu Yueshuang caused a commotion, yet no demonic energy seemed to have leaked out within the brothel. This went to show that the necromancer was no longer here, yet the plague did happen even though it was now gone. What was happening? And should he ask Yun Zhan tomorrow?

When the two of them parted ways, they heard that something strange was happening in Yufang City, and many people died because of it. Bai Fanlu decided that he would start asking about this.

But apart from the necromancer, the Qingyang Sect Leader had inexplicably appeared at the Baihua Pavilion. So what was the relationship between her and the necromancer in the original plot?

Bai Fanlu remembered the scent of the enchanted fragrance at the Baihua Pavilion today. If the necromancer was still alive, then her unique scent should be there. Yet, the smell in his memory did not come from the necromancer.

And this kind of enchanted fragrance did not come from ordinary hands.

Bai Fanlu decided to discuss this finding with Wang Chongyu, saying that he suspected that the fragrance in Baihua Pavilion was off, and he didn't need to mention what he knew explicitly. First, he had to check on this unusual scent, and Wang Chongyu was adept at refining medicine, so he would have some clue.

Having found a breakthrough point, Bai Fanlu was relieved, but it was too late to proceed with the investigation today. As such, he planned to speak to Wang Chongyu tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Bai Fanlu was about to meditate for a while, but suddenly felt a wind brush past his ears.

He turned around abruptly, and a figure flashed past the window quickly. With that, an arrow pierced through the air, nailing it into the wooden floor board beside his feet with a bang.

There was a small white ball of paper tied to the end of the arrow.

Bai Fanlu immediately rushed towards the window. It was completely dark outside, and the figure had disappeared into the night.

He pondered for a moment, then walked back to the arrow, leaned over, and pulled it out to stare at it for a moment. Upon contact, the arrow turned into a mist, and only a piece of paper fell into the palm of Bai Fanlu.

It was a spirit arrow with immortal energy lingering on it.

Bai Fanlu opened the note carefully and saw only four words on it: Beware of Yun Zhan.

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3 Comments

  1. LicoLico

    Poor orginal owner :< YZ is a d*ckhead =.=
    Thank You for the new chapter (๑°꒵°๑)・*♡

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