Chapter 31

People in the martial arts world say that the Longevity Pavilion can make people immortal. When this rumor spread, many people flocked to it eagerly. Some believed it, some doubted it, and some were curious, but all wanted to enter the pavilion to investigate.

Later, it was rumored that the Longevity Pavilion was filled with experts, mostly men, each with ruthless methods. Anyone who tried to break in had no chance of coming out alive. This claim weakened the intentions of those who wanted to enter the pavilion to investigate.

As a result, the Longevity Pavilion’s status in the martial arts world was elevated, on par with the Four Directions Association. Although some were discontented, they were too afraid to do anything about it at the moment.

The Longevity Pavilion was located outside Jiaohuang City, composed of several tall pavilions surrounded by walls. Two jade stone steps led to the front, with green tiles and vermilion beams, as magnificent as the imperial palace.

The rumbling sound of a carriage slowly came to a stop at the foot of the jade stone steps. A flawless hand like jade parted the curtain, and Jiang Ming Yue, with an indifferent expression, swept his gaze over the woman who came to greet him, then elegantly alighted from the carriage.

“Young Master, the Pavilion Master instructed this servant to invite you to the Book Pavilion,” Nie Qing said, her head bowed extremely low, her gaze fixed on her own toes, not daring to overstep in the slightest.

Jiang Ming Yue seemed not to have seen her, his face showing no ripples of emotion. His feet did not stop as he passed by the woman and walked up the steps.

No one dared to stop him, nor did anyone dare to say anything more. Only after the young man had entered the pavilion compound did Nie Qing dare to raise her head. She glanced at the expressionless black-clad man beside the carriage, then turned and followed into the compound.

She should go and report to the Pavilion Master.

In the spacious bedchamber, Jiang Ming Yue unhurriedly poured the essence from a jade bottle into a copper container filled with clear water. The water visibly darkened. He raised his hand, pressed his fingertip against his fingertip, and let a drop of fresh blood fall into the water.

The blackened clear water instantly turned deep red.

Jiang Ming Yue picked up a small round plate placed nearby. As soon as he opened it, the Gu worms inside eagerly surged out, crawling and writhing onto the young man’s palm, their plump bodies becoming increasingly transparent and crystalline.

After staying in the young man’s cool palm for less than a moment, they were thrown into the container.

Small splashes rose from the deep red water surface. If not for the ripples produced by the Gu worms’ movement, no one would have noticed there was something in the blood-red water.

Jiang Ming Yue lowered his gaze to look at the Gu worms in the container, then averted his eyes. He slowly walked towards the imperial couch, removing the silk outer robe draped over his body as he walked. The garment slid to the carpet.

He undid his jade belt, allowing his clothes to hang loosely, and reclined lazily on the imperial couch. His ink-black hair spread out on the couch like a black mist. The loose clothing, following the young man’s movements, turned the red-patterned imperial couch into a sea of white. The extreme contrast of black and white accentuated the young man’s sculpted jade-like face, breathtakingly beautiful.

Jiang Ming Yue pillowed his hand under his face. The room was so quiet that not a sound could be heard. There was not even the slightest chirping of insects or birds outside, because every so often, someone would come to clear away those creatures that he found noisy, eliminating them completely.

The young man’s eyes, as black as night, were half-closed, his icy gaze faintly revealing a hint of confusion as it fell silently on the intricately patterned, expensive carpet.

Somehow, he suddenly thought of the person who had unsettled his emotions. He had helped her several times, but not only did she not show gratitude, she avoided him like the plague. Truly ungrateful.

Especially those eyes of hers, just like a young child’s. When looking at him, forget about desire, not even a trace of amazement could be seen. Hah, could it be intentional, thinking that this way he might remember her somewhat?

Hmph, truly displeasing.

“When the Gu worms are fully formed, I’ll teach you a lesson.” The young man’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, his thin lips lightly uttering murderous intent.

“Knock knock” The knocking sound from outside the door interrupted his thoughts. The temperature around Jiang Ming Yue suddenly dropped, and his cold gaze turned towards the door.

Outside the door, Nie Qing seemed to sense something, and her knocking motion suddenly froze. She swallowed hard, suppressing the chilling sensation, and respectfully said, “Young Master, the Pavilion Master has instructed this servant to invite you to come over as soon as possible.”

The prolonged silence from within the room made Nie Qing feel uneasy. Although she was a trusted subordinate of the Pavilion Master, the person inside was the Young Master of the Longevity Pavilion. He had always killed at will, not needing to show consideration even in the Pavilion Master’s presence. The previous woman in her position had lost her life for displeasing him.

Thinking this, Nie Qing felt the urge to retreat. She shifted her feet slightly, about to leave to report back to the Pavilion Master, when suddenly a faint response came from within the room.

It was just a very casual sound, so slight that any background noise could have covered it. Nie Qing, with her keen hearing, relaxed her brow and bowed her head respectfully, saying, “Then this servant shall take her leave first.”

There was no further response from inside. Nie Qing raised her head to look at the tightly closed door, then turned and left the young man’s residence.

Jiang Ming Yue slowly propped himself up from the imperial couch, barefoot, and walked with graceful steps behind the screen. Through the screen, a faint shadow was cast, vaguely showing the young man removing all his clothing. His slender body, delicately defined collarbone, and beautifully contoured waist and abdomen were revealed, without any unnecessary bulk despite years of martial arts training.

He picked up a long robe prepared nearby, covering his alluring body. After preparing everything, Jiang Ming Yue walked to the table where the container was placed and glanced at the bright red water surface.

Seeing no movement on the water’s surface, he extended his finger and traced it across the water. The previously still surface immediately rippled. The young man paid no further attention and strolled out of the bedchamber.

The towering copper doors were oval-shaped, their brownish-black surface covered with bizarre patterns. In the center was a totem that was neither quite a dragon nor a flood dragon, but more like a venomous snake coiled on the door. Its eyes, as large as lanterns, were set with two large black pearls, gleaming with a poisonous cold light.

In front of the door stood two black-clad guards. Seeing the young man slowly approaching from a distance, they quickly knelt on one knee.

“We respectfully welcome the Young Master back to the pavilion.”

After speaking, the two stood up and pushed open the heavy copper doors in unison.

What met the eye were bookshelves lining all four walls, reaching up to the ceiling. Books were neatly arranged on the shelves, and a faint smell of ink wafted out. In front of the bookshelves, a woman was sitting on a high ladder, holding a book and seeming deeply engrossed in reading.

A hint of disgust flashed across Jiang Ming Yue’s features as he entered the Book Pavilion. The copper doors closed silently behind him. There was a three-foot-wide skylight above the pavilion, its light falling precisely on the spot where the woman was reading.

The woman’s profile suggested she was about twenty years old, her eyebrows and eyes quiet and scholarly. No one would have guessed that this person was the Pavilion Master of the Longevity Pavilion, Jiang He, renowned for her ruthless killings. Her current appearance was extremely inconsistent with her actual age of over forty.

“I had Nie Qing call you over at noon, why didn’t you come?” The woman turned a page in her book, her voice devoid of any discernible emotion.

Jiang Ming Yue had no desire to stay here longer or waste words, his tone cold: “May I ask why Mother has summoned me?”

The hand turning the pages paused, and Jiang He raised her eyes: “What’s the matter? Are you so unwilling to spend time with me?”

The disgust in the young man’s brow became more evident.

She seemed not to notice and continued flipping through the book in her hand, asking casually, “Why weren’t you able to bring back the deer skin map this time?”

“Mother has also said before that there are always those better than us. If there’s blame to be placed, blame Mother for underestimating the opponent, sending such inferior goods to compete. They were defeated in just a few moves.” Jiang Ming Yue mocked without restraint.

Jiang He was not bothered by his tone, but rather nodded in agreement: “Indeed, we underestimated the enemy.”

“Then, why not find an opportunity to reclaim the map?”

Jiang Ming Yue’s patience was already exhausted. He left only a sentence “I have my own plans” before turning to leave the Book Pavilion.

The woman’s profound gaze lifted, falling on his departing figure. A moment later, she placed the book in her hand back on the shelf and casually took down another one.

Returning to his bedchamber, Jiang Ming Yue walked straight to the table where various Gu containers were placed. His deep gaze swept over the differently colored containers, finally settling on a bright red one at the very end.

He picked up the Gu container and opened it. Inside, vermilion-colored Gu worms wriggled slightly. He took out the Gu worms and placed them on his palm. In just a moment, the Gu worms disappeared into his palm.

The darkness in Jiang Ming Yue’s eyes deepened. He closed his hand into a fist and walked with graceful steps to the bronze mirror, witnessing firsthand the earth-shattering changes happening to the face in the mirror. The tear mole under his eye transformed into a scarlet pattern curling up to the corner of his eye.

—

“Eh?” Shen Yao Xing carefully counted the silver in her hand, counting again and again, feeling something was amiss. “You’ve given me too little, haven’t you?”

The criminal she had just caught was worth fifteen taels of silver, but no matter how she counted, this was five taels short.

The yamen runner standing in front of the young girl rolled his eyes: “It’s already not a small amount. Little girl, you shouldn’t be too greedy.”

How could such a burly woman possibly have been subdued by this girl who looked like she hadn’t even grown into her feathers yet? She must have taken advantage of some great hero’s work and come here to claim the reward.

Ten taels of silver was already too much, the yamen runner thought disdainfully.

Shen Yao Xing was unaware of his thoughts. As long as the count wasn’t right, it wouldn’t do! She took out the wanted poster she always carried with her, unfolded it, and pointed at the reward amount written on it: “It clearly says fifteen taels of silver here. You’ve given me five taels too little.”

The yamen runner’s face showed some impatience as he said directly: “You didn’t even catch the person yourself. How dare you haggle with me over silver!”

“If I didn’t catch the person, did you catch them?”

The yamen runner couldn’t be bothered to argue with her anymore. He pushed her roughly: “Are you leaving or not? If you don’t leave, I’ll arrest you and throw you in jail!”

The young girl didn’t budge an inch. She silently stared at the person in front of her for a while, then walked past him and picked up the sturdy woman who hadn’t yet been imprisoned, lifting her from the ground like a sack of potatoes. She turned and silently walked towards the exit.

The yamen runner was stunned by the young girl’s strength. When he came to his senses, he hurriedly went forward to stop her, and eventually returned the remaining silver to her.

On the bustling street market, Shen Yao Xing walked while counting the copper coins in her money pouch. The last tael the yamen runner didn’t have in silver, so he had made it up with these copper coins. Counting them one by one made her eyes blur, and she still hadn’t finished counting.

“Sixty-seven… sixty-eight…”

The young girl kept her head down, counting as she walked. When passing through a rarely frequented street, she didn’t notice the threatening voices and cries for help until a man fell at her feet. Shen Yao Xing was startled and quickly hid the half-counted money pouch in her bosom.

She looked down at the person lying in front of her.

Just then, the man raised his head. It was an extremely bewitching face, especially the scarlet pattern circling from under his eyes to the corners, like a red spider lily, making his already captivating features even more soul-stirring.

“Miss, please save this lowly one…” As if having suffered a great fright, the man’s soft voice trembled slightly, his watery eyes filled with earnest pleading.

“……” Where did this spirit come from?

Shen Yao Xing glanced at the group of people not far behind him who clearly looked like they were up to no good, then looked at the man on the ground whose bewitching aura couldn’t be concealed even with his clothes slightly disheveled and in a somewhat sorry state. She fell silent.

Quietly feeling the silver in her bosom, the young girl took a step back.