Sparks flаshеd in hеr еуes, like light streаking thrоugh the night, so bright оne darеd nоt lооk dirесtly.
Duanхian stared at her with wild joу, hеr bodу trembling slightlу. Неr liрs pаrtеd аnd сlоsed sеveral times bеfоre shе finally manаged to sрeak: "Rеаllу?"
"Rеаllу." Nоdding, Feng Yue mеt hеr gazе аnd sаid, "But whеn he аrrivеs, you must listеn tо me аnd not act rаshly."
Not aсt rаshlу? Hеr exprеssiоn stiffеned, thеn hеr fеаturеs twistеd slightly аs Duаnxiаn said with bittеr resentmеnt, "If he’s right in frоnt оf mе, I’ll kill him no mаttеr whаt it tаkes! And yоu’re telling me not to аct rashly?"
"I knеw you’d sаy thаt, whiсh is why I wаnt you to listen to me." Sighing softly, Feng Yue said, "Killing a beast, then paying with your own life—is it worth it?"
"Of course it is! If not to kill him, why would I still be alive?!" Her eyes slowly filled with blood, and Duanxian’s voice grew hoarse, like an old man clinging to his last breath, sustained only by sheer will.
Reaching out to squeeze her shoulder, Feng Yue said, "If you kill him, he’ll just die without suffering. What kind of punishment is that? Better to leave it to me. Your life still needs to be preserved so you can offer yearly sacrifices to your sister. Otherwise, even in the afterlife, she’d go hungry. How terrible would that be?"
Her body froze, and Duanxian looked up at her in shock. "Who are you? How do you know about my sister?"
She had only told her story to Mama Jin when she entered Feng Yue’s establishment. Mama Jin had said that aside from the owner of Feng Yue’s place, no fourth person would know of this matter.
"Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that your vengeance is about to be fulfilled, isn’t it?" Throwing her a flirtatious glance, Feng Yue said, "You should also thank He Chou. If not for her, Zhao Lin and Zhou Zhenshan wouldn’t have fallen so easily, we wouldn’t be able to move against Zhang Xun so smoothly, and the consequences wouldn’t be so mild."
Her pupils contracted. Duanxian looked up at her in astonishment, thoughts swirling in her eyes. After a moment, realization dawned, only to be followed by even greater shock. "You…"
"When you entered Dream Return Pavilion, Mama Jin promised you that vengeance would be yours. But you also promised her that after taking revenge, you would turn over a new leaf, live a peaceful life, and not treat your life lightly." Feng Yue smiled sweetly, tilting her head. "You have to keep your word."
Emotions surged, a mix of countless feelings. Duanxian took a moment to steady herself but couldn’t hold back any longer. She threw herself at Feng Yue, hugging her tightly and wailing loudly!
"Hey, hey, your snot!"
"Own…"
"Own your grandmother’s leg, I’m Feng Yue! The one who’ll be competing with you for business in the future!"
"I…"
"Enough already, you’re crying so hard your face looks like a ghost’s." Without holding back her teasing, Feng Yue sat back, gently patting her head.
At this touch, Duanxian cried even harder, the commotion echoing throughout Dream Return Pavilion.
Mama Jin rushed upstairs, swaying her hips, with Weiyun and others in tow. Bursting through the door, she asked, "What’s going on? What happened?"
"Feng Yue, did you bully Duanxian?"
Feng Yue chuckled dryly and shrugged helplessly toward the door. "She probably missed me too much. Seeing me back, she got a bit emotional."
A bit too emotional! Mama Jin shook her head and raised her voice. "Alright, it’s a good thing when a girl returns to her old home. What’s there to cry about? It’s so unlucky. Wash your face and get ready to receive guests tonight!"Wiping all her tears and snot on Feng Yue, Duanxian took a deep breath and let it out slowly: "That feels better."
Pinching her own clothes in disgust, Feng Yue shook her head: "I don’t feel better, I need a bath!"
With a chuckle, Duanxian gave her a deep look, then said hoarsely: "Go ahead, Miss Feng Yue."
"Alright." Grabbing a change of clothes, Feng Yue dashed downstairs like the wind.
Envoy's Mansion.
Having sat in the courtyard reading books all afternoon, Yin Gezhi was in a rather foul mood. Looking at the flowers and plants in the yard, he found them more and more displeasing.
"Master?" Guan Zhi, understanding his thoughts, said: "If you don’t like these, why not have someone clear them away?"
"No need." Yin Gezhi said: "Have you found out what I asked you to investigate?"
"Yes." Guan Zhi bowed: "That Li Xun has no connection with Miss Feng Yue. However, during the Pingchang and Tushu campaigns, he harmed many common women. Later, due to public outrage in the Wei Kingdom, he was forced to retreat to Shadowless City, where he now serves as a drill instructor for the city guard."
Common women? After some thought, Yin Gezhi shook his head. Such a trivial matter hardly required his personal intervention.
"Then invite him to Dream Return Pavilion tomorrow at dusk."
"Yes."
Business at Dream Return Pavilion had already picked up considerably. Those driven by lust mostly cared only for beauty; who bothered with disputes and conflicts? So, at dusk that day, when Li Xun arrived at the entrance of Dream Return Pavilion, what he saw were girls fluttering in the breeze and a steady stream of patrons.
"What a great place!" Excitement flashed in his eyes. Li Xun nodded repeatedly, thinking that the First Prince Yin Gezhi inviting him to such a place surely wasn’t to interrogate him.
Reassured, he stepped inside. Mama Jin, spotting him, greeted him with a smile and led him upstairs: "This way, sir."
The third floor was pitch dark, with not a single room lit. Li Xun found it strange: "Is this floor reserved?"
"Exactly! A generous guest has reserved it, just for you." Covering her mouth with a laugh, Mama Jin stopped on the second-floor stairs: "Just go on up. There are plenty of girls inside, and no matter what commotion you make, no one will disturb you."
This good? Rubbing his hands together, Li Xun chuckled meaningfully twice, then lifted the hem of his robe and hurried upstairs.
All the rooms were dark, but one door was open, from which faint, coquettish laughter of girls could be heard.
He often visited brothels, but places like Dream Return Pavilion, which were quite expensive, were not his usual haunts. Given this opportunity, of course he had to indulge himself thoroughly!
Excitedly stepping into the room, Li Xun first bowed: "Your Highness, this humble official is late. I beg your forgiveness!"
A soft, fragrant body immediately wrapped around him. A gauzy scarf fluttered before his eyes as a girl giggled: "Sir, you’re so late, you’ve kept us waiting. The young master said we must serve you well first. If we don’t, we won’t get our reward!"
"That’s right." Another girl leaned in, her delicate hands tugging at his belt, her voice meltingly sweet: "Come on~ Let’s play hide-and-seek first?"
A sip of wine was offered to his lips. Li Xun opened his mouth and drank, allowing them to tie a belt over his eyes. He then laughed: "His Highness treats this humble official so generously! In that case, I won’t refuse!"
With that, he reached out to grab the person beside him.A delicate cry rang out as the girls scattered in all directions, their laughter echoing without end. Li Xun had always been a lustful man, and he particularly enjoyed playing games. He was truly delighted by this one, swiftly reaching out to grab a girl. The girl laughed and said, "I am Weiyun."
With that, she broke free and vanished without a trace.
Li Xun laughed heartily and grabbed another, asking, "Who are you?"
"I am Jinling."
Addicted to the game, Li Xun spun around, only to trip over his own feet. He fell heavily to the ground.
The laughter in the room abruptly ceased.
Feeling something strange, Li Xun tried to push himself up but felt a piece of fabric. Delighted, he immediately followed the clothing and pulled the person into his arms. "Haha, did you think I couldn't catch you if you stayed silent? Who are you?"
"I... am Xiaoqin," came a sinister voice, drawn out with a lingering tone that sent a shiver down Li Xun's spine.
Xiaoqin?
He tore off the blindfold in a panic, and his eyes were met with a ghastly pale face, its features still bearing a childlike innocence. Its lips were blood-red, and dark circles shadowed its eyes as it stared at him with an expression caught between weeping and laughter. "Does the master not remember Xiaoqin?"
A chill rose from the soles of his feet to the pit of his stomach. Li Xun stumbled backward in fright, taking a long moment before he finally screamed, "A ghost—!"
"Giggle, giggle." Slowly crawling toward him, "Xiaoqin" murmured, "Didn't the master like me best? You said you wanted me to serve you for a lifetime. Now I've come to serve you, so don't leave..."
"Ah—!" Li Xun trembled all over, scrambling around in panic, only to realize there was no one else in the room! The thing behind him crawled slowly, yet it filled him with a suffocating sense of impending death. Instinctively, he lunged for the door.
"Clang." The iron chain hanging outside the door rattled, but it wouldn't open.
Terrified beyond measure, Li Xun screamed incoherently, glancing back at the ghost crawling toward him while frantically pounding on the door. "Help! Help!"
"Isn't that what I should be shouting?" The eerie voice echoed through the room as "Xiaoqin" reached out and grabbed Li Xun's ankle. "Does the master remember? How did I die?"
"I don't remember! I don't remember!" The smell of urine filled the air. "Xiaoqin" released his ankle in disgust and slowly stood up. "If the master doesn't remember, I do. I was killed by the master on the bed... I was only fourteen, Master!"
Fear turned to rage. Li Xun glanced around, then suddenly grabbed a candlestick from the table and hurled it at "Xiaoqin"!
The sharp candlestick whizzed past her ear. Feng Yue narrowed her eyes, thinking, Damn, good thing it's me playing the ghost. If it were Duanxian, she wouldn't react as quickly and would probably be done for.
Before she could finish the thought, a sudden gust of wind swept over her head. The candlestick in Li Xun's hand vanished in an instant, and for some reason, he was thrown against the wall with a loud "thud," then tumbled to the floor.
Blinking, Feng Yue glanced up at the rafters before crawling back to Li Xun's side, sobbing, "The master wanted to kill me again, so don't blame me... I'll haunt you, Master. I'll be with you every moment!"
Staring at her in terror, Li Xun felt a knot of fear tighten in his chest, unable to rise or fall. Finally, he fainted."Tsk, is that all the courage you have?" Feng Yue pushed aside her disheveled hair and stood up. She picked up the wine from the table, poured a bit more down his throat, then clapped her hands. "Girls, move quickly."
A group of women hiding in the inner room filed out one by one, with Duanxian at the rear, her eyes still smoldering with lingering resentment.
Patting her shoulder, Feng Yue said, "Don't let him die too easily. Be good, listen to me."
"Yes!" Nodding in agreement, Duanxian closed her eyes, then lifted Li Xun and threw him onto the bed, where the group gathered around to wait.
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