Chapter 243: A Meeting Gift (1)

Women visiting pleasure houses were hardly a rare sight in the Great Flame Empire, but this particular woman clearly did not look like someone who frequented such places.

Besides, Phoenix Roost Pavilion was already deserted. With Grandmasters fighting inside, every patron capable of fleeing had long since fled. Yet through the silent ruins, the woman in the crimson robe walked toward the two of them, one unhurried step at a time.

The slender, pliant sword in her hand twirled casually around her fingertips, blooming into delicate sword flowers. Flashes of cold light traced one graceful arc after another through the air. Her feet made not the slightest sound upon the rubble. The hem of her long robe swept across the ground, making her resemble a blood-red spider lily blooming on the far shore.

She was like a specter, an Immortal banished from heaven. It was just as it had been during the chaotic battle in the main hall. Though she had sat there gently plucking the strings of her zither, no one had noticed her, not even the Sage’s remnant soul.

Xu Yuan was already wondering whether he should expose the Sage's remnant soul and flee for his life. Something like this had only happened three times before. Once with Lou Ji. Once with Tian Yan. And once with Xu Changge.

As Xu Yuan and Li Junqing continued backing away, Eunuch Hou finally cracked. Bracing himself against the crushing pressure, he stepped forward and cupped his hands. “My master is His present—”

Before he could finish, a streak of red light flashed.

Eunuch Hou’s face visibly deformed, and with a thunderous bang, he was sent flying backward. He smashed into the floor of the main hall and left behind a deep crater.

The woman in red calmly withdrew her sleeve and uttered two words. “Too noisy.”

At the sight of this, Xu Yuan stopped moving.

Li Junqing also stopped moving.

Eunuch Hou was not stirring. He probably was not pretending to be dead.

That settled it. This woman was at least a second rank cultivator, if not stronger. Two useless weaklings like them could do absolutely nothing.

The silence in the hall spread with every step the woman took.

Xu Yuan’s expression darkened as he called out inwardly, “Old Luo. Old Luo, can we run?”

“Forget it.” The Sage's remnant soul answered without the slightest hesitation. “This woman is on the same level as your number-three sweetheart.”

Number three… Xu Yuan badly wanted to complain, but he held it in.

While he was secretly conversing with the Sage's remnant soul, the Third Prince beside him took the initiative and stepped forward.

Xu Yuan’s heart sank.

Li Junqing cupped his hands, his voice sincere. “Miss Fairy, please hear me out.”

The woman in red stopped roughly ten feet away from them. Her phoenix eyes quietly studied the Third Prince.

Without hesitation, he lowered his voice and said, “If you have come for the six million taels of silver, I can return it to you. But my brother here has nothing to do with this matter. I humbly ask that you spare him.”

The woman’s expression could not be seen beneath the red veil. She said nothing, but the supple sword dancing casually around her fingertips suddenly stopped. “I came for him.”

The sword’s tip pointed directly at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan stared back.

Li Junqing froze for a moment. Then he let out a long breath of relief and broke into a broad grin. “So it was all a misunderstanding. In that case, Miss Fairy, please carry on. This Wang shall—”

Clasp… Li Junqing felt someone seize his wrist, and his heart sank.

Keeping a firm grip on him, Xu Yuan looked at the woman in red and spoke with utmost sincerity, stressing every word. “His Highness the Third Prince and I are brothers who have faced life and death together. He commands the Imperial Shadow Guard. Should anything happen to me, once he returns to the capital, he will never let you off lightly.”

Li Junqing slowly turned his head toward Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan gave him a shy, bashful smile.

The slender sword continued spinning around the woman’s long fingers. “And what, exactly, would not letting me off lightly look like?”

Xu Yuan immediately pointed at Chu Jingyi, who was still pinned to the floor. “You can look at what happened to her.”

The woman in red curled her lips slightly, then turned her gaze toward Li Junqing. “Is that so? You did call him your brother just now.”

The Third Prince drew a deep breath. His eyes were earnest, his tone grave. “Brother Zhou and I are indeed sworn companions who have shared life and death. But one matter is one matter. If you harm my brother, that would make us enemies. But if you allow me to leave, that would be a favor. The debt and grievance would cancel each other out, leaving neither of us owing the other anything.”

This time, it was Xu Yuan’s turn to be struck speechless.

The woman in red also remained quiet for a long moment before saying, “You are very good at balancing accounts.”

The Third Prince smiled faintly and replied with great respect, “You flatter me.”

The woman flicked the sword in her hand, dismissing him. “Take your attendant and leave.”

The Third Prince immediately turned to go, but Xu Yuan still had not released his wrist.

Li Junqing looked back at him, sorrow filling his eyes. He seemed to have a thousand words trapped in his throat. Then he placed his free hand over Xu Yuan’s and pried his fingers loose one by one.

“Alas…” He let out a sigh full of pity and compassion, turned around, and walked away. He hoisted the unconscious Eunuch Hou and Chu Jingyi off the ground, then, without so much as looking back, vaulted over the railing and jumped down.

The woman in red did not attack immediately. Instead, she studied Xu Yuan from head to toe with her phoenix eyes.

After enduring the silence for a while, Xu Yuan finally lost his nerve and spoke first. “Ahem… Big Sister, what business do you have with me?”

At the words Big Sister, the face beneath her red veil seemed to shift slightly, though Xu Yuan could not see her expression clearly.

She drew a deep breath. Then the woman casually turned around and walked toward the table where she had been sitting earlier. As she went, she reminded him, “Do not think about using that thing in your chest to escape. Follow me.”

At once, Xu Yuan abandoned any thought of using the Sage's remnant soul to flee and silently followed her.

The woman returned to the table and sat down, then pointed at the seat across from her. “Sit.”

Xu Yuan obeyed. He smiled and was just about to speak when the woman suddenly removed her veil. Her raven hair stirred in the breeze. She had graceful phoenix eyes, a delicate jade-like nose, and lips as red and lustrous as pearls.

She looked like an Immortal maiden descended into the mortal world.

Xu Yuan froze. Then he hurriedly searched his memory for a woman with this face. He found nothing. He searched through every corner of his memory, yet still could not find anyone who matched the woman in red.

Surely… she was not another consequence of his past sins. There was no way he would forget a woman this breathtaking.

Seeing the nervous look on Xu Yuan’s face, the woman in red smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. Her voice was slightly husky, yet gentle. “Relax. I mean you no harm.”

She took three jade boxes from her Sumeru Ring and slid them across the table toward him with a warm smile.

Xu Yuan glanced at them but did not touch them. There was no such thing as a free gift. A Ninefold Serenity Pill, a Meridian Mending Pill, and a Meridian Nourishing Pill. They were not quite as precious as the pills he had found in the abode, but the difference was not large.

After a brief hesitation, Xu Yuan asked cautiously, “May I ask what these are for...?”

“A meeting gift.” The woman propped her chin on one hand and gazed at him across the table, her eyes gentle. “Take them.”

The confusion in Xu Yuan’s eyes only deepened. “You know me?”

The woman in red gave him a teasing smile. “Of course I do. You did not want your identity exposed, did you? That is why I sent Li Junqing away.”

Xu Yuan frowned inwardly and pointed at his own face. “Big Sister, are you sure you have the right person?”

“That is a human-skin mask. My cultivation art allows me to see through such things.” As if to prove it, the woman deliberately circulated her art. A strand of golden light immediately appeared within her pupils.