Chapter 410: The Many Affairs of the Previous Dynasty
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Meng Qi was silently cursing Gu Xiaosang when he noticed the others staring at him. He looked up only to see Mi Zijing and Bai Wenyuan with surprised expressions that instantly gave way to boorish grins. They raised their cups and toasted him. They hadn’t known that Su Meng, the Killing Blade, was such a man! Indeed, one couldn’t judge a book by its cover. He looked so upright and heroic but was even more wicked than they were!
Bai Wenyuan set his cup down and saluted Meng Qi to show his respect.
w.a.n.g Zai was absolutely horrified. It was as if he was seeing Meng Qi in a new light. He appeared embarra.s.sed and unhappy to be a.s.sociated with Meng Qi.
They were at least on the Seven Apertures level and had excellent hearing and sight. Thus, they still heard Nianxue despite her whispering into Meng Qi’s ear at such close distance amid the sound of stringed instruments!
Buzz… Meng Qi felt as if his head had just been hit by a giant sledgehammer.
His reputation… His reputation!
If Gu Xiaosang appeared before his eyes at this very moment, he wouldn’t hesitate to strike her with his Five Thunder Bombardment of Sky!
“Miss Nianxue is a courtesan indeed. You’re good at all sorts of methods. We just got here but you’ve already broadened my horizons.” Meng Qi gave a dry laugh and did his best at an explanation, pretending not to know what was going on.
Mi Zijing gleefully smiled. “Miss Nianxue usually only displays her skills in the arts but she has seen all kinds of people since she’s from the mortal world. Naturally, she’s able to accurately grasp the thoughts and preferences of her customers. She’s an excellent courtesan indeed.”
On the surface, he seemed to be acknowledging Meng Qi’s explanation. Upon closer inspection, he was really saying that they were merely playing along with Meng Qi’s preferences.
“To be honest, I’ll probably only be able to appreciate something like that when I’m older. I didn’t know you’re so mature, Brother Su.” Bai Wenyuan’s barbarian-like face was full of admiration. He had also begun calling him Brother Su.
“Why are my eyes always br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears? Because this world is too cruel and misunderstandings are never resolved…” Meng Qi thought, torn by grief and indignation. On the outside, he maintained his composed demeanor. He couldn’t afford to break his facade!
“Miss Nianxue was probably joking. Brother Su hasn’t even said anything yet.” w.a.n.g Zai recalled that Meng Qi had only asked why Nianxue had picked him and hadn’t hinted at anything else. He felt that Meng Qi was being misunderstood and thus tried to help him.
Meng Qi looked at him with burning intensity. Brother w.a.n.g Zai was such a good man! It was so difficult to find a man that truly understood him!
Meng Qi’s gaze shocked w.a.n.g Zai a little but Nianfeng had already taken a seat next to him, causing him to sit upright and stiffen all over. He looked focused as if he was guarding a Political Affairs Hall rather than sitting in a brothel.
The remaining ladies, Nianhua and Nianyue, picked Mi Zijing and Bai Wenyuan respectively. The room was soon filled with laughter and chattering.
Meng Qi took the chance to use Secret Voice-sending to ask Nianxue, “What did that young lady ask you?”
Nianxue picked up the jug of wine and slowly filled their cups. She said, as if making small talk, “I met a strange customer recently.”
“A strange customer?” Meng Qi replied, playing along.
The rest looked over at them, ready to hear Nianxue recount her tale.
“He would come every now and then and ask for only my company,” Nianxue said, bringing a cup of wine to Meng Qi’s lips.
“Haha, isn’t that normal? If I can only come here occasionally, I’d ask only for Miss Nianxue’s company as well.” Mi Zijing casually went along with the flow.
Nianhua, who was beside him, was suddenly on the verge of tears. “Childe Mi, you… do you think I’m not as good as Nianxue?”
“Of course not. Miss Nianxue plays the zither to please, while you serve wine with a side of intimacy…” Mi Zijing instantly comforted her with gentle words.
Nianxue smiled. “I say he’s strange because he has never touched me. Instead, he has only ever asked me to play the zither while he drinks cup after cup of wine. He looks like he has a fiery gaze but he has never flirted or tried to be intimate with me.”
“That’s a strange man indeed, only drinking and listening to music despite being in front of a beauty!” Bai Wenyuan cried in shock.
w.a.n.g Zai froze when he heard that. He s.h.i.+fted further right again to increase his distance from Nianfeng and drank the wine on his own.
“I’m like that too…” Meng Qi thought. He knew that Gu Xiaosang wouldn’t go to such trouble just to poke fun at him. Hence, he laughed and probed, “What does he look like? And what did he say?”
“Perhaps he’s an ugly fellow who’s afraid of committing blasphemy against such a beauty.” Bai Wenyuan made a guess.
Nianxue’s lips curled into a smile. “He looks rather neat, around 40 or so, and dressed like a scholar. He had a cold and creepy feeling to him. There are small growths on his face. Whenever he got drunk, he would call out for Little Yue while staring at me. It seems that he has a sad story. The burning look in his eyes made me feel like he was going to eat me alive.”
“I’d like to ‘eat’ you alive as well…” Mi Zijing chimed in, flirting with her. In a place like that, his behavior was a completely different from usual. He was more defiant of convention and looser with his actions and speech.
Little Yue… 40 or so… dressed like a scholar… cold and gloomy… growth… Those few words resounded in Meng Qi’s heart. He felt as if he could see the faint outline of a figure.
He turned to look at Nianxue and took in her appearance, sizing her up. She was refined, gentle, and looked very agreeable. He would probably mistake her for a young madam or the young lady of an aristocratic family if they met under different circ.u.mstances. He felt like he had met once someone similar… Someone with such an ident.i.ty and disposition…
He was reminded of one of the best heterodox in Yangxia as well as owner of the red light district, ‘Pink and Mellow Hand’ Xiao Yue!
She was also the lover of Old Zhong, a member of the Myths. Due to his practice of the Kungfu of Heaven and Demon, he eventually consumed her after hatred and love tore him apart…
Was the scholar Old Zhong? Old Zhong, who practiced the Sky Devil’s Golden Body Divine Skill? Old Zhong, who had escaped from Ruan Yaoguang?
So Gu Xiaosang had discovered some clues about the Myths…
Meng Qi’s intense stare made Nianxue feel somewhat anxious. She whispered, “Sir, is there something on my face?”
“There isn’t. I was just thinking that this Little Yue might look similar to you.” Meng Qi looked away, thinking to himself that Old Zhong was being literal when he said he wanted to ‘eat’ her… Thankfully Gu Xiaosang discovered him and exposed his tracks, or else Nianxue would be meeting her doom…
“What is love?” Bai Wenyuan couldn’t help sighing after hearing about Old Zhong’s story. He believed that Old Zhong’s love for Little Yue was true and wondered why they had parted.
He appeared to be a rugged and boorish man but he was easily swayed by touching stories due to his young age.
“Yes, I feel the same way.” Nianxue motioned for the stringed instruments to stop and got an errand boy to bring her own zither over.
“How often does the strange man come? What time is it when he does?” Meng Qi casually posed his questions.
Nianxue thought for a moment before replying, “I’m not too sure. Sometimes he’d come about seven days apart, sometimes only two days apart. He always comes at noon when there’s hardly anyone around.”
Had Old Zhong been in Ying City for that long? Meng Qi had a suspicion that the Myths was trying to exact revenge on him and must have confirmed his location after hearing about the Party of Happycloud. Thus, Old Zhong would have been here for at most half a month, unless they already happened to have their people here.
“How long has it been since he first came?” Meng Qi asked.
“About two months ago I think,” she answered.
Two months ago… There hadn’t even been news of the Party of Happycloud back then. Based on the timeline, that was more or less when Old Zhong had escaped from the Dongyang Villa. Had he directly escaped to Ying City? Meng Qi calmly continued, “Then when was his most recent visit?”
“Just this afternoon. He left about an hour before your arrival,” she replied honestly.
“Su Meng, why care about some man? Come, let’s drink!” Mi Zijing appeared unaffected as he called for them to drink.
Meng Qi had pretty much asked all he wanted to ask, so he raised his cup and drank with them.
When Nianxue was done playing a piece, Meng Qi laughed and said in a self-deprecating way, “I went up the Misty Rain Mountain today, and only then did I realize that Ying City was the capital of the previous dynasty. How ignorant I am!”
He made use of that to lead into the conversation.
“Sigh, ostentatiousness is always abandoned by time. Ying City is no longer the place it was hundreds of years ago.” Mi Zijing sighed. “During the time of the previous dynasty, our family was only a wealthy landlord in the countryside. We were insignificant in the city but we were able to establish ourselves as our fortune changed.”
“You probably gathered a lot of the impartations of the former dynasty’s aristocratic families in Ying City…” Meng Qi thought to himself. He smiled and said, “This is the former capital, so there must be a lot of rumors acc.u.mulated over hundreds of years.”
“But of course.” Mi Zijing had been born and raised in Ying City. When it came to the past glory of his hometown, he still felt honored to talk about it. Suddenly becoming chatty, he said, “There are hundreds and thousands of rumors about the Han family of Ying City. It was said that many aristocratic families turned their backs on the emperor when he was on his deathbed. Since he had no Dharmakaya master to hold down the fort for him and he could hold on for only a little longer, he had a trustworthy subordinate hide his family impartation and secret treasures somewhere. The goal was for their disciples to escape and retrieve them after things had settled.”
“Rumors also had it that he didn’t want the country to fall apart and frantically sent people to excavate the temple to look for the Sword of the Human Sovereign. He didn’t find it but made some gains that he turned into some secret treasure. In the end, he still met his doom at the peak of Misty Rain Mountain. The secret treasure ended up being useless.”
“There was also the rumor that he didn’t have the time to transfer their treasure trove and had his family’s warriors take his young children and impartation away, and wait for the right time to rise again.”
“Another rumor said that he eventually accepted his fate and gave up. He intended to contact the Nine Evil Paths so they could fight the aristocratic families that had abandoned him and some of the sects on their side.”
Meng Qi listened with rapt attention and thought about what Mi Zijing had said in conjunction with w.a.n.g Siyuan’s hints. What was Crown Prince’s target? The rare treasure or the treasure trove?
Someone from the Han family had definitely made it out alive. After hundreds of years, where would they be?
w.a.n.g Zai was rather interested in the previous dynasty as well and kept asking questions, making Mi Zijing feel even better and spurring his chatter.
After listening to the rumors of Ying City, Meng Qi noticed that Mi Zijing and Bai Wenyuan were all tangled up with the courtesans next to them. He saw that Nianxue was about to lean against him as well and instantly stood up. He saluted and said, “I suddenly remember something that I need to attend to. I’ll be taking my leave first.”
He was speaking the truth. He had to warn Jiang Zhiwei about Old Zhong. The Myths might not dare to anger Su Wuming but those who practiced the Kungfu of Heaven and Demon always had a few screws loose and weren’t sensible. They were capable of anything.
On top of that, he had to get someone to keep an eye on the Moon-Embroidering Pavilion in case Old Zhong came again.
Mi Zijing looked dazed as he asked, “You’re willing to leave such sweet and tender ladies behind?”
“It’s a matter of great importance. I must take my leave first,” Meng Qi replied.
Seeing that he was resolute, Mi Zijing and Bai Wenyuan nodded in agreement.
Meng Qi turned to face w.a.n.g Zai. “It’s a tough problem, so I’d like to ask for your help, Brother w.a.n.g.”
“Sure!” Overjoyed, w.a.n.g Zai had tears of grat.i.tude swimming in his eyes.
Nianxue and Nianfeng saw the two of them out of the VIP room. Just as they were about to leave the junk, Nianxue neared Meng Qi and said in a hushed, sweet voice, “The young lady also said that if you didn’t try to touch me, I can praise you on her behalf.”
“Huh?” Meng Qi’s instincts told him that it probably wasn’t anything good.
However, Nianxue had already begun speaking.
“Hubby, you’re a good monk…”