[Fantasy] Immortal Cultivation of the Heart (Complete) - 16-18

In the first chapter of the fifth episode

, Li Se reached out and pulled back the covers, revealing Bi Ning who had been hiding there. No matter how clever Gu Xiangjun was, she never expected that Bi Ning would be in her bed. She had only been gone for a short while, and her husband had already brought another woman to bed with him.

Gu Xiangjun was stunned and said, "My lord, you... how can you be so petty! Miss Bi may have offended you, but you don't have to treat her like this!"

Li Se said with a bitter face, "I've been with you the whole time, how could I have captured her? Let me tell you, she was brought here by four lecherous thieves, it has nothing to do with me. But now... sigh!"

Gu Xiangjun said, "What? My lord, I know you're hiding something from me. Your ring and prayer beads are gone! Tell me everything! How did you get involved with lecherous thieves again? It's really strange!"

Li Se then briefly explained the situation and said, "Look, that's how it is. Now Miss Bi doesn't trust me, so please go and explain it to her!"

Gu Xiangjun smiled and said, "Don't even mention her, even I'm confused. No wonder she doesn't believe me. Alright! I'll take care of Miss Bi, you can go out and keep watch."

Li Se happily said, "Yes, ma'am." He bowed and then left.

Gu Xiangjun organized her thoughts and first pressed the Huantiao acupoint on Bi Ning's leg, immobilizing her lower body, before releasing the acupoint.

Gu Xiangjun helped Bi Ning up, and Bi Ning angrily said, "Release my acupoints immediately and let me go, otherwise, when I get out, I'll tell my father, and you won't escape either."

Gu Xiangjun smiled and said, "Good sister, is it worth getting so angry? Although my husband was rude to you, you heard what happened, right? He's not in cahoots with lecherous thieves. He didn't exactly save you, but he didn't harm you either! How about we make up?"

Bi Ning angrily said, "Make up? Unless he kowtows and apologizes to me."

Gu Xiangjun thought to herself, "You little brat, you've really gone too far!" "!" But she said, "Okay, what's wrong with that? But what will you tell everyone when you get out? Where did you go?"

Bi Ning frowned and said, "Of course they'll say I was captured by your good husband! Is there any other way to say it?"

Gu Xiangjun laughed and said, "Miss, you're really joking. Alright! I know you're very angry. I'll have Li Lang apologize to you properly, and then throw a banquet to welcome you back. That way, everyone can clear up the misunderstandings from before. What do you think?"

Bi Ning stared intently at Gu Xiangjun's face for a long while. Gu Xiangjun asked curiously, " "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Bi Ning sneered, "My dear sister! You're actually trying to find a way for him! How could you be so foolish? His lies were full of holes, did you really believe him? Sister, I think you've fallen for that lecherous scoundrel's scheme. Don't be afraid, boldly expose him. Don't worry, I'm here! Not to mention my father, everyone will support us and help us. What big waves can a little lecherous scoundrel cause? Don't worry, with your looks and status, you won't have trouble finding a good match in the future." "My lord, and my sister was deceived by a lecherous scoundrel. Everyone will forgive her. Don't ruin your life's happiness for the sake of saving face."

Gu Xiangjun frowned when she saw that Bi Ning still thought Li Se was a big bad guy after talking for so long, and even pitied her. "Miss, I wasn't deceived by anyone. As for who is good and who is bad, I know very well. But you, to put it bluntly, are indeed a bit confused."

Gu Xiangjun actually had a very good temper, but she couldn't help but get angry when she heard others speak ill of her lord.

Bi Ning choked for a moment, then sighed after a long pause, "Sister, you are truly stubborn. It seems you are deeply misled by that scoundrel. I can't persuade you right now. You should release my pressure points first and let me leave here. I'll try to persuade you later!"

Gu Xiangjun said, "Alright. But don't tell anyone what happened. Just say you went out to play. As long as you insist on not saying anything, I don't think anyone will make things difficult for you."

Bi Ning said, "But what about you? Are you really willing to be with this lecherous scoundrel?"

Gu Xiangjun angrily said, "He's not a..." "What a lecherous scoundrel! He's a big shot. Don't talk nonsense."

Bi Ning thought to herself, "It seems that lecherous scoundrel is quite capable. Gu Xiangjun actually trusts him completely and even idolizes him. I don't know how she became the young lady of the Huashan Sect. She has no sense of propriety at all. Forget it, I'll just lie to them and let me go first, and then save her."

She said, "Okay, I was lying. Let me go, and I won't mention you when I get out."

Gu Xiangjun was very clever. Seeing Bi Ning's expression, she knew that Bi Ning was lying, so she stopped answering, sighed, and turned to leave the room.

Li Se had been listening to the conversation inside from outside the door. Gu Xiangjun came out and said apologetically to him, "My lord, I'm sorry, I couldn't help you. I couldn't stand her saying bad things about you, and I couldn't persuade her."

Li Se shook his head and comforted Gu Xiangjun, "It's okay, there's plenty of time. We'll think of another way."

At that moment, the two of them seriously thought of ways to deal with Bi Ning, but after thinking it over, they could only come up with the idea of persuading Bi Ning.

Li Se said angrily, "I don't believe she's a blockhead. I'll go and persuade her." He pushed open the door and went inside. Gu Xiangjun thought for

a moment, then didn't go in, remaining in the outer room. Bi Ning waited for a long time without any movement. She wanted to shout, but dared not. Suddenly, she saw Li Se walk in with a murderous aura. Startled, she asked, "What are you doing?"

Li Se walked to the bedside, paused, then immediately put on a smiling face, saying obsequiously, "Miss Bi, why do you say such things? You are a noble young lady, how could I dare offend you! I dare not do anything, I've only come to let you go."

Bi Ning was secretly pleased, pouting, "Hmph, I suppose you wouldn't dare to be rude to me. My father is Bi Haixin! If you offend me, with just one word from me to my father, you'll all die without even knowing how."

Li Se cursed inwardly, but said aloud, "Yes, yes..." "Very well. Miss Bi, you are very magnanimous. I offended you unintentionally, and I'm sure you won't take it to heart, right?"

Bi Ning said. "That's not necessarily true. You have offended me greatly, far more than a small offense. Moreover! You are all lecherous thieves of the martial world, none of you are good people. Don't even think about me sparing you."

Li Se said, "Hmm, not bad. Miss Bi, your beauty is unparalleled, and your insight is also extraordinary! Alas! I was careless and took the wrong path. Does Miss Bi really not give us a way out? Alas! Well, let's just let you go, you noble and beautiful lady! If we are really killed, it's just our bad luck!" After saying that

, he sighed again. Li Se's act fooled Gu Xiangjun outside the door, let alone Bi Ning inside the room. Bi Ning said, "Look at your pitiful appearance, it's actually quite easy for me to let you go..."

Li Sexi said, "Really? Then tell me quickly, what do you want me to do for you to let me go?"

Bi Ning said, "As long as you repent and become a good person, that's fine!"

Li Sexi said, "Hehe, you're such a good girl, definitely, don't worry, I'll teach those guys to be good people from now on." As she spoke, she was about to release the pressure points on Bi Ning's legs.

Bi Ning screamed, "You're not allowed to touch me! I haven't finished speaking! Also, you're not allowed to be with Sister Xiangjun anymore. You have to leave the capital immediately and never come back."

Li Se was taken aback and said, "Okay, I'll leave right away. But Xiangjun is my wife. We came together, and we have to leave together." Bi

Ning firmly said, "No, absolutely not! You can lie to her, but you can't lie to me. It's fine if I didn't see her, but now that I've seen such a good sister, and she's been deceived by you, you scoundrel, I absolutely cannot tolerate your evil deeds anymore. And you must remember, if I find out you've done anything bad again, no matter how far away, I will have my father kill you."

Li Se was furious, but still forced a smile and said, "I will definitely change. Please, Miss, grant me this small request."

At this moment, Gu Xiangjun also pushed open the door and said, "Miss Bi, please, I am willing to go with him. Please let us go together!"

Bi Ning said, "No, sister, you are so confused. You don't understand now, but I will persuade you later, and you will understand everything!"

Li Se could no longer hold back and sneered, "You really won't allow us to be together?"

Bi Ning said, "No, that's it."

Li Se was furious and said, "Fine, do you not want to live?" She grabbed Bi Ning's neck with one hand, her eyes wide and like copper bells, staring at Bi Ning.

Under this threat, Bi Ning still did not yield, coughing, "You...you kill me. I...I can't...see her suffer."

After a while, seeing that Bi Ning really had no intention of giving in, Li Se sighed, released her hand, and walked out of the room.

Li Se waited outside for a long time before Gu Xiangjun emerged, looking exhausted. She shrugged and said, "No, that girl is so stubborn. No matter what I say, she neither believes you're a good person nor that I wasn't deceived."

Li Se sighed, "There's no way. We have to persuade her. I've thought of other methods; let's see if we can convince her."

Li Se and Gu Xiangjun had tried every possible method and strategy, but even as the night deepened, they couldn't gain Bi Ning's trust or change her mind.

Frustrated, they could only discuss countermeasures outside.

Li Se sighed, "Fine, I admit defeat. I never expected there to be a woman like this in the world. I tried reasoning with her, appealing to her emotions, but she just ignored me. I'm at my wit's end." He secretly resented those four lecherous men; they were indeed determined to get what they wanted.

Gu Xiangjun thought for a while, then suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Ah! Li Lang, I've got it!"

Seeing Gu Xiangjun's happy expression, Li Se quickly said, "Tell me, you really have a good idea this time?"

Gu Xiangjun said, "Yes! Li Lang, I brought you that book about flowers and butterflies! In it..."

Li Se exclaimed with delight, "Absolutely, absolutely!" He excitedly hugged Gu Xiangjun, kissed her lips, and said, "Hurry up, bring the book. There's something called 'The Art of Picking Up Girls' in there. Hehe, if it works, dealing with a little girl like her will be a piece of cake!" Gu Xiangjun said,

"Ah? No..." but couldn't bring herself to say it, so she went inside to get the book.

Bi Ning, on the bed, saw Gu Xiangjun flipping through some books and going out, and was very surprised, not knowing what she was going to do.

Li Se took the book Gu Xiangjun had found, found the "Art of Picking Up Girls," and began to read it carefully. The general introduction stated: "The key to picking up girls lies in winning their hearts. While beautiful women may possess unparalleled beauty and be considered the essence of heaven and earth, their personalities differ. Therefore, the methods of picking up girls are ever-changing and cannot be generalized."

Li Se thought, "Hey, not bad, this is like my swordsmanship. Well written, very reasonable."

Li Se continued reading, but the more he read, the more discouraged he became. All he saw were descriptions of how to please beautiful women... The book contained methods for winning a woman's heart, how to get a beautiful woman's body, and so on. Finally, Li Se angrily slammed the book down, shouting, "Damn it! I was looking for ways to persuade a woman, and this book says, 'Never try to reason with a woman, never try to persuade a woman who has already made up her mind.' Tell me, isn't this lousy book deliberately trying to annoy me?"

Gu Xiangjun picked up the book, thinking, "Silly husband, why did you read this?! Why didn't you read that 'The Art of Winning Over Women'?" She pouted and ignored Li Se.

Gu Xiangjun had tried to persuade Bi Ning several times, but Bi Ning refused to believe that Li Se was a good person. She was convinced that Gu Xiangjun had been deceived and that she would forget Li Se after leaving him for a while. Finally, Bi Ning said, "Sister, you're under a spell! You can't hear anything good, and you don't know right from wrong. Listen to me, leaving that lecherous scoundrel is the right thing to do. If I'm wrong later, you can take my head!"

Gu Xiangjun was furious, saying, "Do you think I'm a fool? Don't you understand what you're doing?" "What?"

Bi Ning bit her lip and whispered, "I think so."

Gu Xiangjun was truly enraged by Bi Ning, thinking to herself, "Fine, you actually called me a fool? Fine, I'll show you who the fool really is. I'll have my husband use his 'flower butterfly' skills to bewitch you and make you his concubine, and then see how I torture you, and see who's truly infatuated with Li Lang!"

Gu Xiangjun was determined, fully expecting that mentioning the "flower butterfly" book would make Li Se, in his current desperate situation, remember the "Manipulation Manual" in the book that could bewitch Bi Ning. Who knew that Li Se was like a fool, completely oblivious.

Gu Xiangjun was so angry with Bi Ning that she took it out on Li Se. After a while, she realized what she had done wrong and thought, "I was so confused! With me here, how could my husband treat Bi Ning like that? Besides, my husband is a gentleman. If I didn't lie to him, he wouldn't have treated Bi Ning like that."

She looked up and saw Li Se pacing back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, looking very anxious and quite cute. She couldn't help but chuckle.

Li Se stopped, looked at Gu Xiangjun, and asked curiously, "What are you laughing at? I'm so angry I'm about to explode, and you're still laughing." Gu Xiangjun said, "Nothing! My lord, do you remember how you and Xiaoxue got together?"

Li Se frowned and said, "Why are you bringing her up now? Think about serious matters first. Hurry up and deal with that girl Bi Ning. It's past midnight; you should be resting by now."

Gu Xiangjun said, "Xiaoxue used to be very difficult to deal with! But later she became obedient and very compliant to you. How did you deal with her? I think you should use the same methods you used on Xiaoxue to teach her a lesson. Who told her to be so stubborn and so ignorant? You can do as you please; I won't be jealous at all."

Seeing that Li Se's face grew increasingly ugly and furious under her persuasion, she knew that her words had worked and was secretly pleased.

Li Se gritted his teeth and said, "Ru Xue, Ru Xue..."

He remembered that Leng Ru Xue was a master of the Tianshan Sect, with real power, and a respected beauty in the martial arts world, yet she was still completely obedient to him! All the beauties he had ever met, though incredibly beautiful and of noble status, were always very polite to him and not spoiled or willful. But this Bi Ning... she was just too infuriating.

Thinking of this, veins bulged on Li Se's forehead, and he roared, "Outrageous!" He kicked the door open and rushed in.

Gu Xiangjun was overjoyed and quickly closed the door, thinking, "Hehe, I'll teach this girl a lesson and see who's right and who's wrong. Even if you kneel down and beg me, I won't help you."

Gu Xiangjun sat in her chair and heard screams, curses, and even groans from inside the room. After a while, Gu Xiangjun's face grew increasingly grim. She had initially acted impulsively, wanting Li Se to teach Bi Ning a lesson, but as she calmed down, the thought of her lover being with another woman filled her with jealousy, anger, and self-pity, plunging her into painful contemplation.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly saw Li Se emerge smiling. Faint sobs could be heard from inside. Li Se held a bright red bra in his hand. Gu Xiangjun fell into Li Se's arms, crying, "You heartless man!" She pinched Li Se's arm hard.

Li Se quickly grabbed Gu Xiangjun's hand, asking in surprise, "What's wrong? Why are you like this?"

Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock at the door, and the lights outside were on. Li Se exclaimed, "Oh no! I was careless; I forgot to gag her. Someone must have heard us!"

Seeing the situation, Gu Xiangjun dared not be willful any longer and quickly stopped crying.

Li Se said, "Go inside quickly and hide her. I'll go out and deal with it."

Li Se casually handed the tube top to Gu Xiangjun. After Gu Xiangjun went inside, Li Se tidied himself up, opened the door, and asked, "Who is it? What brings you here so late?"

Li Se stood in the doorway to prevent anyone from rushing in. Under the lantern's light, he saw Chief Steward Feng Yong, wearing a bamboo hat, approaching with a smile. He gestured to Li Se, saying, "Young Master Li, please, let's speak privately."

Li Se was suspicious, fearing that if Feng Yong left, his men would rush into the room. He said, "Lord Feng, what is it? Can we talk here? It's raining so hard outside, why did you come in person?"

Chief Steward Feng chuckled, "Hehe, well..." He gave Li Se a strange look, then said to the guards who had come with him, "You may leave now! Don't worry about me."

One guard handed him a lantern, and then the others left. Seeing the unfriendly look in Steward Feng's eyes, Li Se thought, "Oh no, this guy must be here to interrogate me, but I doubt they're confident enough to barge into my room."

Sure enough, Steward Feng said, "Young Master Li, normally I shouldn't interfere in your affairs. However, Xiangjun is an excellent maid; I've always treated her like my own daughter. But my status is low, so I have to serve her as a mistress, just like my young lady. She's gentle, virtuous, beautiful, and has exceptional drinking skills—all so rare! She's also a young lady from a wealthy family. Although I heard you and your father-in-law had some misunderstandings, Xiangjun is a very good and kind girl!"

Li Se hadn't expected Steward Feng to speak to him like this so late, in the rain, at the door. He could only reply, "Well, thank you for your praise, Steward. Actually, my wife isn't as good as you say. As for my family matters, they're nothing serious." He sighed inwardly after saying this.

Upon hearing this, Steward Feng said angrily, "Your wife is such a good woman, and you still complain? You are truly blessed... Oh! Actually, that's not what I meant." Then he chuckled and said, "Hehe, you young people's thoughts! I understand them all, haha, I was once a young man like you, what haven't I experienced! Although we haven't known each other for long, we hit it off immediately. I'll take advantage of my age and say a few unpleasant things, I wonder if you'd like to hear them?"

Li Se was secretly puzzled and said, "Please speak! I'm all ears." He thought to himself, "Let's see what you're really up to."

Steward Feng stroked his short beard and said earnestly, "You young people are full of energy, a little playful is fine. Hehe, when I was young, I was quite the playboy! If you have time, I can teach you a few tricks! Hehe." He then burst into laughter.

Li Se was taken aback by Steward Feng's words and, unsure of their meaning, could only reply, "Yes, yes."

Steward Feng then said sternly, "The matter between men and women is a matter of great moral principle. You, as husband and wife, should respect each other and refrain from any frivolous behavior. Oh dear! How can such a delicate girl like Xiangjun withstand your torment? It's not that I'm senile and want to meddle, but I simply can't bear to hear it..." He spoke with extreme anguish, as if he himself were suffering some torment.

Only then did Li Se understand Steward Feng's meaning. He realized that the sounds Bi Ning made when he was dealing with Bi Ning must have caused Steward Feng to misunderstand. Li Se blushed deeply and was speechless.

Steward Feng continued, "Don't worry, although I'm old, I'm definitely not some old Taoist priest. Whatever tricks you want to play, I'll take you to the Qinhuai River tomorrow. What kind of women don't they have there? You can do whatever you want. But remember to treat Xiangjun well! She's from a respectable family; how can she compare to those other women?"

Li Se didn't know how to respond, so she could only nod and agree repeatedly. Steward Feng went on and on, and seeing Li Se's complete obedience, he left satisfied.

After he left, Li Se found it amusing, shook her head with a smile, and went inside.

Chapter Two: The Fox Girl Saves the Day

Li Se returned to the room, and Gu Xiangjun, having climbed out of bed, pulled her to the outer room, asking, "What's wrong?"

Seeing Li Se's smiling face, she assumed nothing was wrong and scolded, "Tell me quickly! Don't tease me."

Li Se laughed and recounted the incident with Steward Feng, concluding, "How ridiculous! He must have mistaken Bi Ning's voice for yours. Luckily, that's how it was, otherwise I don't know what I would have done! In my anger, I forgot to consider anything else."

Gu Xiangjun didn't laugh; her expression darkened, and she looked like she was about to cry, saying, "You're still laughing? Miss Bi is crying so hard! How do you plan to treat her now? You've ruined her reputation; you can't be so heartless."

Li Se asked curiously, "What? She brought this upon herself! What does it have to do with me? Besides, you saw how infuriating she was. And taking one of her clothes isn't really defiling her reputation."

Remembering what had just happened, her face flushed, and she felt she had been somewhat harsh on Bi Ning. Before getting angry, she thought she could do anything; afterward…! Once his anger subsided, he felt a pang of regret.

Gu Xiangjun exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! You...you, you didn't take her..." Li Se said, "You mean? Uh! It's like this..."

It turned out that Li Se saw that Bi Ning was extremely stubborn and no amount of persuasion could change her mind. She was confident that Bi Haixin's daughter would not dare to kill her, so she acted with impunity.

Li Se was furious, thinking that he couldn't deal with her without resorting to extreme measures. So he rushed into the house and yelled at Bi Ning, "I'll give you one last chance. Will you listen to me or not?"

Seeing Li Se's angry face and eyes blazing with fire, Bi Ning was a little scared and said, "What are you going to do? Don't do anything rash, my father won't let you get away with this."

Li Se grinned maliciously, "Fine, let him come."

He ripped open Bi Ning's clothes, revealing a red bra. Bi Ning was shocked and screamed. Li Se laughed loudly and said, "So you're scared now."

Bi Ning shouted, "You lecherous thief, get away from me! You scoundrel, you'll die a horrible death!"

Li Se roared, "Fine, I'm a lecherous thief, then I won't let you go." He reached out to kiss Bi Ning, but Bi Ning's hands were still mobile, so she desperately tried to stop him.

Li Se grabbed her hands and pressed her pressure points, saying with disgust, "You're so ugly that just seeing you makes me lose my appetite. If I were to kiss you, wouldn't you be taking advantage of me?"

Bi Ning cried, "You're talking nonsense! You're the ugly one!"

Li Se stared at Bi Ning, shaking his head, "Those guys really have no taste. If they're going to grab someone, they should at least grab a beautiful woman! It's strange that they're interested in an extremely ugly woman like you. But since you won't let me go, I'll just have to humble myself!" With that, he laughed wildly and pulled down Bi Ning's bodice, completely exposing her breasts. Bi Ning was stunned and even forgot to cry.

Li Se pulled away Bi Ning's strapless bra and said sternly, "Let me tell you, this is all your own doing. Who told you to be so vicious and refuse to let me go? I've told you the reason, but you wouldn't believe me, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic."

Bi Ning then realized what was happening and burst into tears, cursing, "You...bastard, you bastard who deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces..." But she dared not utter the word "lecher" again.

Li Se ignored Bi Ning and said, "To tell you the truth, I am a well-known figure in the martial arts world. Hehe, several leaders of the six major sects are my... subordinates. They listen to me in everything. Otherwise, if I were of lowly status, why would Bao'er recognize me as her brother? I'll take your bodice. I'll release you in a bit. If you go around spreading rumors, I'll say you tried to seduce me and, in a fit of anger, lied to frame me. Even if people don't believe me, they can't do anything to me for the time being. I'll leave in a few days, and this matter will be forgotten. Also, the imperial court... um, the current crown prince, you know him, right? He and I are very close, we hit it off immediately. People may not believe my character, but even the crown prince is my friend, so people will consider that, right? Besides, I have evidence that you seduced me. You could have a hundred mouths, but they wouldn't be worth a single thing I have."

Although Bi Ning was crying and cursing, she still heard Li Se's words. She cried, "You...you are the worst bastard in the world!"

Seeing Bi Ning closing her eyes and cursing with tears streaming down her face, Li Se became unrestrained. He stared at Bi Ning's body for a few moments and said, "Haha, you have a black mole on your left breast. That's the evidence that you seduced me. You filthy slut, you've been pestering me for two days, even stripping naked to tempt me. Don't you even look at how ugly you are? If you really don't care about your reputation, you can accuse me of being a lecher. But then I will release the evidence that you seduced me." After saying this, Li Se felt that his story was flawless and couldn't help but feel smug.

Bi Ning had always considered herself exceptionally beautiful, but seeing Li Se repeatedly call her ugly and show such obvious disgust, she was furious. Forgetting everything else, she cried out, "I'm not ugly! You're talking nonsense! Where am I ugly? Don't you have eyes?"

Li Se was taken aback; he hadn't expected Bi Ning to say such a thing. He glanced at her a few times and saw her snow-white skin, smooth as brocade, a slender waist, firm breasts, and a cleavage that was incredibly alluring. Curiosity arose, and he thought to himself, "If I touch her now, it shouldn't be a problem, right?" With that thought, he couldn't resist and reached out to touch Bi Ning's breasts.

Bi Ning was stunned, so frightened that she forgot to cry. She felt a stimulating pleasure mixed with some pain—a sensation she had never experienced before! She groaned and looked up at Li Se.

Hearing Bi Ning's groans, Li Se finally came to her senses. Startled, she looked up and met Bi Ning's gaze. Their eyes met, and both paused, as if reading something else in each other's eyes. They quickly lowered their heads in embarrassment.

Li Se, ashamed, grabbed her bodice and hurried away. Bi Ning, meanwhile, burst into tears, though she herself didn't understand why she was crying.

Gu Xiangjun, after hearing Li Se's explanation, realized that Li Se hadn't done anything to Bi Ning. Although pleased, she still scolded, "You still say you didn't do anything to Miss Bi? Didn't what you did to her defile her purity?"

Li Se smiled wryly, "People of the martial world don't have so many taboos. Besides, if we don't say anything, and she doesn't say anything herself, who will know? How can you say I ruined her purity?"

Gu Xiangjun pouted, "So you mean to say that girls of the martial world are all unruly wild girls who don't know manners?"

Li Se laughed, "Forget it, why are you bringing this up yourself?" "Oh, my dear Miss Gu, what do you want? It's my fault, how do you want to punish me?"

Gu Xiangjun said, "I wouldn't dare punish you, but you must go and apologize to Miss Bi, and don't let her be sad."

Li Se said, "Silly girl, wouldn't that ruin everything? How can I scare her then?"

Gu Xiangjun said, "That's true, otherwise, after a few days, you should coax her to be happy and make her forgive you."

Li Se said, "Alright!"

He also felt extremely guilty towards Bi Ning, but he thought that not appearing in front of Bi Ning in the future might be the best way for Bi Ning to forget the humiliation, and it was also what she hoped for most.

Gu Xiangjun said, "Your plan has succeeded, so take advantage of the night and release her quickly!"

Li Se said, "No, there are many guards outside, and we don't know their locations. If we are discovered on the way, it will be terrible. We know the locations of the guards during the day, so it will be easier to send her back to her residence then."

The two agreed and prepared to rest for a while, and talk about it again at dawn. Gu Xiangjun went into the inner room to accompany Bi Ning, while Li Se rested on a bed in the outer room. The outer bed was meant for the maids, but Li Se and his wife found it troublesome and didn't allow them to stay there.

Li Se had just lain down, feeling like he'd only slept a short while, when he suddenly heard a knock at the door and someone calling, "Young Master, please open the door, quickly!"

Li Se, still half-asleep, asked, "Who is it? Coming so early?" He guessed it was Wang Bao'er and felt a surge of annoyance.

The person shouted, "Young Master Li, open the door quickly, or we'll break it down!"

Li Se was startled and quickly dressed and got out of bed, calling out, "Wait, I'm coming!" He rushed into the inner room, saying, "Xiangjun, get up quickly."

He saw that Gu Xiangjun had also heard the noise and was getting dressed, concealing Bi Ning, so he hurried to open the door.

Li Se opened the door, and several people were about to barge in. Li Se snorted coldly, "Who are you? What do you want?"

At this moment, one of them stepped out and said, "You lot, step back." Then he bowed and said, "Brother Li, please forgive my intrusion, but I heard that there was a lot of noise coming from your room last night, as if someone was hiding inside. I heard it this morning and came to check immediately. Brother Li, you won't stop me, will you?"

The person who came was Nangong Xuan, one of the Four Young Masters.

Li Se inwardly cried out in alarm, his face instantly changing color. He then burst into laughter, "Brother Nangong, you really care about me! But it's really going too far to suspect me so easily. What if I don't let you search me?"

Nangong Xuan, in a moment of panic, could no longer contain himself and angrily retorted, "You have no choice but to comply. This time, you won't get off so easily."

Li Se had never seen him lose his refined demeanor before; his domineering manner was quite ferocious. He also angrily retorted, "Are you afraid of me? Come on, let's have another match!"

Suddenly, a delicate voice called out, "Wait, brother, don't make a move yet!"

Li Se turned around and saw Wang Bao'er rushing over, with Steward Feng behind her. He probably already knew the situation and, seeing things were going badly, had summoned Wang Bao'er.

Wang Bao'er walked to Li Se's side and said, "Brother, if you're upright, you have nothing to fear. Let him search you. If he can't find anything, then we'll settle the score with him." After saying this, she gave Nangong Xuan a disdainful glare.

Li Se inwardly cried out, "No, my wife is inside! We can't let these rude men in!"

Nangong Xuan, having regained some composure, noticed Li Se's insistence on not being searched, her flustered and strange expression—a stark contrast to her usual calm—and deduced something amiss. He sneered, "Please ask your wife to come out first! Then we'll go in. Qixiang Residence is already surrounded. If you want to leave, there's no way you can escape. I'm not afraid of any tricks you might pull."

Li Se secretly groaned. She had hoped Wang Bao'er would help her and prevent Nangong Xuan from searching, but she had unwittingly made things worse. Wang Bao'er continued, "I'll go in and call my wife out. Do you think my brother is hiding someone? He promised to save Sister Bi! Yet you suspect him. Let's see how you handle this."

Li Se couldn't stop Wang Bao'er, and she was about to enter the house. Suddenly, someone behind him said, "Li Lang, let them search!" He then walked to his side.

Seeing Gu Xiangjun suddenly appear and brazenly order a search, Li Se wondered if she could hide her away in the sky. Li Se could only sigh and step aside as Nangong Xuan's men stormed in.

Nangong Xuan glanced at the dejected Li Se, snorted, and quickly followed, searching as well. Li Se turned and winked at Gu Xiangjun, who feigned surprise, asking, "My lord, what do you want to ask?"

Frustrated and helpless, Li Se stamped her foot and followed her into the inner room to see what was happening, while simultaneously plotting how to resolve the crisis. But even with a thousand mouths, what could she say if Bi Ning was discovered?

As soon as Li Se entered the room, she saw that the rest of the room had been thoroughly searched. Several people pulled back the bed curtains, revealing a bulge in the blankets, indicating that someone was hiding there. One of them had already pulled back the blankets. Li Se thought to herself, "Oh no! Foolish wife! How can you hide someone like this?! Do you think your husband has many heads?" As soon as

the blankets were pulled back, the body of a young girl was revealed, wearing only an undergarment, revealing her fair skin. The girl, suddenly exposed, cried out in surprise.

Nangong Xuan rushed to the bedside, excitedly saying, "Ning'er, are you... alright? Who... who are you?"

Li Se, already disheartened and closing her eyes to lament her fate, was bracing herself for impending doom when she suddenly heard Nangong Xuan's unusual voice. Startled, she opened her eyes and was stunned. The girl before her was beautiful beyond compare, but it was not Bi Ning at all; it was the fox spirit Hua Ruxue.

Hua Ruxue didn't answer Nangong Xuan's question, but quickly pulled over a satin quilt to protect herself, then burst into tears, crying, "Robbers...bad guys...where did you come from? Get out of here!"

Nangong Xuan was stunned. At this moment, Wang Bao'er and Gu Xiangjun entered the room. Wang Bao'er, seeing Hua Ruxue, was very curious. Seeing her crying so bitterly, she quickly went over, embraced her, and tilted her head, saying, "Little sister, don't cry, I'll help you."

She was delighted to see that Hua Ruxue was extremely cute and beautiful, and looked even younger than her.

Hua Ruxue threw herself into Wang Bao'er's arms, continuing to cry, "I'm a good girl! Today, these bad men have seen my body! My innocence! How can I ever get married again?"

Wang Bao'er angrily retorted, "You big bad pumpkin, get out of here right now! We'll settle accounts with you later!"

Nangong Xuan had searched everywhere else before finally finding the bed. He thought, "That brat Li Se deliberately plotted to harm me!" With a bitter face, he waved his hand and led the others away. He walked to Li Se's side and suddenly asked, "Brother Li, who is this girl? How did she get here? I've never heard of her before."

Li Se didn't know how to answer when Wang Bao'er angrily said, "You haven't seen her before, so you took this opportunity to come and see her! You stinky pumpkin..." Nangong Xuan didn't dare to cause any more trouble. Although he was furious, he still slunk away.

Li Se saw that Nangong Xuan had left, but Wang Bao'er was still there. He didn't dare to ask where Bi Ning had hidden her. However, seeing Gu Xiangjun smiling, he knew that she was confident and felt relieved.

Hua Ruxue was still crying, repeatedly crying out, "Miss, you are so beautiful, generous, gentle, and incredibly intelligent. You must be my young master Li's sister! I know he came to see you, hearing you were an exceptionally beautiful woman, so he came to see you. Who knew you'd be defiled by those scoundrels? Who would want me now! Miss, you must stand up for me!" She cried again.

Wang Bao'er quickly patted her back, saying, "Alright, alright, don't cry. I'll definitely avenge you and kill that scoundrel."

Li Se knew Hua Ruxue's background. Seeing Hua Ruxue's sweet words and how she had pleased Wang Bao'er, he knew she was acting, though her crying seemed fake. He chuckled inwardly but didn't expose her, refraining from comforting her.

Hua Ruxue, hearing Wang Bao'er's words, cried, "No, even if you kill him, no one will want me!" She cried even harder, but secretly gave Gu Xiangjun a wink from within Wang Bao'er's embrace.

Seeing this, Gu Xiangjun hurried to the bedside and said, "Alright! Good sister, don't cry. I know you suffered so much because of Li Lang. If you don't mind, let Li Lang have you. Bao'er, what do you say?"

Wang Bao'er was taken aback and said, "Okay!" Then she clapped her hands and laughed loudly, "Hey, what's your name? I'm your aunt. Remember to listen to me from now on! I'll take good care of you."

Hua Ruxue immediately smiled and said, "Hello, aunt. My name is Hua Ruxue. I used to be Li Lang's maid. I knew you were a good person before, but I didn't expect to meet you in person. You are so good, understanding, beautiful and lovely. You are such a good girl."

Gu Xiangjun said, "So, I'm the only one who's not good?"

Hua Ruxue hurriedly said, "How could that be? Sister is the best too!"

The girls chattered and laughed, as if nothing had happened.

Li Se stood there stunned, realizing they had betrayed him in just a few words. He hurriedly said, "Hey, what nonsense are you all talking about! Miss Hua, what brings you here? Stop joking with Bao'er, everyone be serious, stop making fun of me."

Hua Ruxue smiled, her eyes full of affection, "Who's joking! Young master, how convenient my timing is today! I've been a great help to you! You won't look down on me now, will you? And besides, I've run the restaurant very well! I've made a lot of money, but you don't need to thank me, it's all what I should do." "I did it."

Li Se saw Hua Ruxue's every smile and frown, so beautiful and alluring, and his heart stirred. He thought, "This vixen is getting more and more beautiful." Composing himself, he said, "Miss Hua, no matter what, I must thank you properly. How about this? If you don't mind, I'll take you as my sister, how about that?"

Before Hua Ruxue could speak, Wang Bao'er immediately stood up menacingly, spat in Li Se's face, stomped her foot, and cried, "Bad brother! You're the worst villain in the world!" Then she ran away crying.

Li Se was initially confused, then remembered his promise not to take her as a sister, and hurriedly said, "Good sister, don't go, listen to me..."

But Wang Bao'er was already far away.

Chapter Three: Love Like a Cocoon .

Seeing that Wang Bao'er had driven away, Li Se was dejected. Suddenly, he saw Hua Ruxue smiling at him, and then he remembered that there was still one problem!

Before he could even speak, Hua Ruxue pouted and said, "Young Master, no wonder you rushed to the capital. It turns out you have such a beautiful younger sister, so of course you don't care about me! No wonder you left me all alone in Zhenshan!"

Li Se forced a smile and said, "How could that be! You are much more beautiful than her! By the way, what brings you here? Did you destroy that restaurant?"

Hua Ruxue said excitedly, "How could that be! I have Xiao Shitou managing it now! Don't worry, although she's not very capable, she's been with me for several years and is quite clever. With her managing the restaurant, there won't be any problems. And guess how many taels of silver I've earned?" After saying that, her eyes sparkled with excitement as she glanced at Gu Xiangjun and then looked at Li Se.

Li Se said, "I can't guess."

Gu Xiangjun hurriedly said, "My lord, I just saw the situation was critical, so I used the tail that Sister Hua gave me to summon her."

Li Se said "Oh," and suddenly remembered that he didn't know where they had hidden Bi Ning. He hurriedly said, "Don't talk about that yet, where did you hide Miss Bi?"

Hua Ruxue said, "Look at you, you just made one girl run away, and you immediately have your eye on another girl! Look, isn't she perfectly fine in bed?"

Li Se looked closely and indeed saw Bi Ning lying quietly with her eyes closed next to Hua Ruxue. He didn't know how Hua Ruxue had hidden her.

Seeing Bi Ning's beautiful face and long eyelashes, Li Se thought to himself, "Miss Bi is indeed a beauty, but she's too noisy and stubborn, making her unbearable."

Suddenly, he heard Hua Ruxue scold, "Young master! She just arrived, coming all this way to see you, and this is how you treat her! You said you only like Sister Xiangjun! You've brought several beauties, but you ignore her completely! If you continue like this, she won't help you next time."

Li Se then realized his mistake and quickly bowed deeply to Hua Ruxue. He clasped his hands and said, "Miss Hua, you are truly a savior! I, Li Se, thank you so much."

Hua Ruxue giggled and said, "Is this girl your new wife? How did she end up being chased all the way to your house? Sister, you're with him, why don't you do anything about it?"

Gu Xiangjun said, "I dare not do anything about it! He doesn't listen to me, didn't I tell you? Don't you believe me?"

Hua Ruxue laughed, "That's right. But Li Lang has excellent taste! This girl and Miss Wang from earlier are both very beautiful!" She tilted her head and looked at Bi Ning.

Li Se quickly said, "Please don't misunderstand, they are not related to me. Bao'er is my sister, and Miss Bi beside you has no relation to me."

Hua Ruxue giggled again, "Sister, listen to him, he's lying to my face, he's slept with her and still says he has nothing to do with her!"

Li Se blushed deeply upon hearing this. He thought that this vixen was speaking without restraint. If he didn't know that she was still a virgin, he would definitely think she was a harlot!

Gu Xiangjun saw Li Se's embarrassed expression but did not help him. Instead, she joined in the teasing and chatted with Hua Ruxue endlessly.

Hua Ruxue, eager to claim credit, produced a large wad of silver notes and exclaimed with a smile, "Sister, look! I've made 30,000 taels of silver running this restaurant! Aren't I amazing?"

Gu Xiangjun exclaimed in surprise, "Impossible! It's only been less than two months! Even if you sold the restaurant, you wouldn't have that much money. You must have used your own money to make me happy! Sister, you don't need to be like this. I know your heart."

Li Se sighed, "It's true! She made it! Her deeds have caused a sensation in the martial arts world! Our restaurant is now famous."

Gu Xiangjun asked in surprise, "Really? You knew all along?! Sister, how did you do it?"

Hua Ruxue replied, "It was very easy! I stood on the wine counter, had someone prepare a wine jug, and announced that whoever bought two jin of wine and then dropped a copper coin into the wine bottle would marry me. But the copper coin couldn't be taken back." "Who knew so many fools would flock to bet, until the wine supply couldn't keep up. They started throwing silver, not caring about the wine, just betting. Eventually, the town ran out of copper coins! They all gathered at our place! I offered them a high price to trade, and they actually agreed! What a bunch of fools! They had no idea I used magic! Even if their throwing skills were top-notch, they couldn't get the silver in. Hehe!"

Li Se said, "Your methods are ultimately unorthodox! Sigh! I wonder what you've done to the inn."

Seeing Li Se's displeasure, Hua Ruxue quickly said, "No! I stopped playing this game long before I came here! Anyway, I've made quite a bit of money! Now our inn is famous for its good wine! You don't know! A month after you left, a guy in his forties came to the inn, with a really funny mustache! He drank some wine at our inn and kept saying, 'Oh! This...'" "The wine is fragrant but not strong, the brewing time wasn't right, what a pity!" "Hmm, this wine is sweet on the palate, but the aftertaste is too weak, too much water was used, a failure. This is hardly the wine my disciple brewed! What a shame!" In short, he completely disparaged our hotel's wine. I was furious when I heard the waiter's report! So I arrested him! I punished him by making him brew wine, and if it wasn't good, I would punish him! But who knew that the customers who drank his wine praised it highly? I tasted it, and it was bitter, not good at all!"

Gu Xiangjun asked anxiously, "What happened next?"

Hua Ruxue said, "Later, everyone loved his wine, so I wouldn't let him go. He worked in our hotel! Our hotel's wine is very famous! Sister, he didn't ruin your reputation, the customers all say it's good."

Gu Xiangjun said, "He's my master, of course he brews better than me!"

Hua Ruxue said in surprise, "What?" "Is he really your master?"

Li Se asked curiously. "Impossible! Isn't your master some kind of old man, Du? Miss Hua said he's not that old!"

Gu Xiangjun said, "My master's name is Old Man Du! It doesn't refer to his age. When he was little, his family was afraid they couldn't raise him, so they gave him this strange name."

Hua Ruxue covered her mouth and said, "Oh no, oh no!"

Gu Xiangjun exclaimed, "What? You killed him?" Hua Ruxue said, "No, but..."

Gu Xiangjun was very concerned and asked, "What happened?"

Hua Ruxue said, "I thought his beard was funny, so I cut it off for fun! Sister, I'm sorry, I don't know him!"

Gu Xiangjun sighed and said, "Alright! We'll go home in a few days and make amends then! It's no use saying anything now." Gu Xiangjun remembered the two bottles of wine Li Se had given her, which should be enough to apologize to her master.

Hua Ruxue burst into tears and cried, "Sister, hit me! It's all my fault."

Gu Xiangjun quickly comforted her, and Hua Ruxue calmed down after a while.

Li Se watched quietly from the side, thinking, "Wow! Hua Ruxue is amazing. She can actually subdue Xiangjun with tears, more than my wife Xiangjun, and she can do it so easily. She's incredibly powerful. It seems there's always someone stronger! She's comparable to my sister Bao'er."

Suddenly, Gu Xiangjun said, "Li Lang, what are you doing? You seem so happy."

Li Se replied, "Nothing. Oh, right, Miss Bi, let's hurry and take her to her room! Otherwise, things might get complicated. I'll go check if anyone's watching outside."

Gu Xiangjun said, "No need to check! I'm sure someone will be watching us. But there's someone here who can do it for you without anyone noticing. Why don't you ask her?"

Li Se said, "This... Miss Hua, could you please do me another favor?"

Hua Ruxue said, "Sure! Of course I'll help you!"

Li Se said, "I want to send her back to her room. How can I do this without letting anyone know?"

Hua Ruxue said, "I'll use a spell. You carry her on your back, so no one can see her. Is that okay? Sending her away out of thin air is a bit difficult!"

Li Se happily said, "Great! That will do."

Hua Ruxue said, "You don't want her anymore? Are you tired of playing with her?"

Li Se smiled bitterly, "It's not what you think. I'll tell you later."

Hua Ruxue smiled, "Okay." She closed her eyes, waved her jade hand over Bi Ning, and Bi Ning's body disappeared.

Li Se carried Bi Ning and pretended to visit Xue Yaoguang at Baixiang Hall. Hearing from the maid who came to greet him that Xue Yaoguang had gone to Tianxiang Pavilion, he was secretly pleased. The maid told him to wait in the room, and Li Se readily agreed.

Li Se entered the living room and said to the maid, "Please take me to Miss Bi's room. I want to see if there are any clues about her disappearance."

Many martial arts figures had seen Bi Ning's room these past few days, so the maid, unsuspecting, readily agreed.

Li Se arrived at Bi Ning's room and quickly placed her on the bed, saying, "Miss Bi, please forgive my offense. If you don't value your reputation and insist on not letting me go, you might not get away with it. There are countless experts helping me; look, even my

little maid is so skilled."

After speaking, Li Se tried to release Bi Ning's pressure points, but he couldn't see her, so he could only grope around.

He had been so eager to place Bi Ning on the bed that he forgot her approximate location, and accidentally touched Bi Ning's full, smooth breasts again.

Li Se was startled and quickly said, "I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional." However, the sensation was so pleasant that he almost touched her again.

He calmed himself down before slowly releasing Bi Ning's pressure points. Not daring to linger, he quickly flew away, relieved to hear no cries from her.

Li Se left Bai Xiang Hall, intending to go home, but then remembered that Wang Bao'er had left him crying. He knew that if he didn't comfort her, she would ignore him for days. Although that would give him some peace and quiet, her birthday was approaching, and how could he be a good brother if he upset her?

Li Se decided to coax Wang Bao'er. Arriving at Tian Xiang Pavilion, he heard from Xiao Qing that Xue Yaoguang had just left. He was pleased; firstly, he could use his charm to coax Wang Bao'er without worrying about his image; secondly, he didn't want to see Xue Yaoguang—beautiful women were attractive, but also troublesome.

Li Se entered Wang Bao'er's room. Wang Bao'er didn't speak, glared at him, and then snorted.

Li Se laughed, "Wow! Your casual 'hum' is as clear and melodious as a nightingale's song in a secluded valley. If you could speak to me, wouldn't that be like hearing celestial music? That would be the greatest blessing on earth!"

Wang Bao'er's face remained cold, but her eyes were already smiling as she said, "People say my voice is beautiful? But some people just ignore it and call it celestial music! That's just ridiculous."

As soon as Wang Bao'er spoke, Li Se knew things had taken a turn for the better. He smiled and said, "No, I was just confused for a moment. Please forgive me this once! By the way, don't you want to know about Miss Bi?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Bao'er immediately stood up, grabbed Li Se's arm, and said, "What...there's...news about her? Good brother, tell me quickly, how is she now?"

Seeing Wang Bao'er's anxious look, Li Se thought, "Bao'er is so cute, so kind-hearted."

He smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, she's perfectly fine in her room! Not a single hair is missing." He thought, "Only her bodice is missing."

Thinking of this, he looked down and saw that Wang Bao'er's skin under her neck was as white as jade, and her breasts were slightly raised, revealing her green bodice. He was suddenly moved and became infatuated.

Wang Bao'er, completely unaware, clapped her hands and laughed, "Wow, that's great, brother, thank you so much, you're so kind."

Li Se then realized what was happening. Seeing Wang Bao'er's adorable appearance, he smiled bitterly to himself, thinking, "Her habit of making all those 'wah' noises has influenced me. Why do I often act like that too?"

Wang Bao'er said, "Brother, what are you doing! Come on, let's go see Sister Bi. How did you save her?" Saying this, she pulled Li Se away.

Li Se said, "Don't rush, wait until she rests for a few days and calms down before you go see her! I didn't save her, maybe she came back on her own! Maybe she went out for a trip."

Wang Bao'er laughed, "Brother, you're still hiding things from me. By the way, I forgive you this time! But if you try to claim any more sisters without permission, I won't be so polite."

Li Se quickly agreed.

Wang Bao'er said, "Your girl is fun, I'll go see her again. Why didn't you bring her with you?"

Li Se said, "This... I don't know."

Wang Bao'er looked at Li Se strangely, thinking, "What is my brother talking about?"

The two arrived at Qixiang Residence. Gu Xiangjun and Hua Ruxue saw Wang Bao'er arrive and hurriedly greeted her. The three girls huddled together, chattering and laughing incessantly.

Hua Ruxue wanted to please Wang Bao'er and Gu Xiangjun, so she performed magic tricks for them, making the two girls very happy.

Wang Bao'er kept asking, "Wow, where did you hide that purse? How did you do that?"

She rummaged through Hua Ruxue's clothes, making Hua Ruxue giggle.

Li Se watched coldly for a while, thinking, "How stupid! Hua Ruxue knows magic, of course it's all illusions! How could you tell?" After watching for a while, he stopped watching.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Xue Yaoguang pushed it open, saying, "So you're all here! I've been looking for you. What? You've got such a beautiful little girl, are you trying to hide her from me?"

Gu Xiangjun greeted her with a smile, "So it's Miss Xue."

Li Se also stood up and nodded with a smile.

Gu Xiangjun said, "This is Miss Hua Ruxue, my good sister. Let's all get to know each other!"

Xue Yaoguang praised Hua Ruxue's appearance. She was a worldly person and knew how to please people.

However, seeing that Hua Ruxue was indeed beautiful and cute, with crystal-clear white skin, she couldn't help but feel jealous, thinking, "Where did that kid Li Se get such a beauty?"

After exchanging a few polite words, Wang Bao'er said, "Little Xue, you haven't finished your magic tricks yet! Show us more!"

Hua Ruxue then performed some other tricks, which the girls found amusing.

After a while, Hua Ruxue said, "Hehe, it's nothing really. I'll demonstrate it for you slowly." Then Hua Ruxue explained in detail, and the girls finally understood the trick.

Wang Bao'er said, "Ah! It's just an illusion, it's all fake!"

Hua Ruxue said, "Of course, once you know the trick, you can perform it too!"

Wang Bao'er was very interested and excitedly learned from Hua Ruxue.

Li Se was stunned and thought, "It's not magic, it's just an illusion! I didn't even see it at first! I'm so stupid!" Li Se felt ashamed.

Little did he know that after Hua Ruxue cultivated into a human, she was initially naive. When she encountered magicians, she was very curious and thought they were immortals with magic powers, so she tried every means to learn from them. Only after learning did she realize that it was just a trick to deceive people.

The girls chatted and laughed for a while. Hua Ruxue said, "Why isn't Young Master chatting and laughing with us? What is he doing there all alone?"

Wang Bao'er pouted and said, "That's just how he is. He's often lost in thought and doesn't pay attention to us." But then she smiled and said, "I bet Brother is thinking about something important. Don't you think so, Sister-in-law?"

Gu Xiangjun smiled and said, "He is thinking about something important, but not entirely. He's just a little reserved because there are so many girls around."

Hua Ruxue said, "Ah! If we don't pay attention to Young Master, he'll be so lonely! I'll go keep him company." Saying this, she ignored the girls' surprised looks and went straight to Li Se's side to talk.

Xue Yaoguang was the first to react and deliberately changed the subject, saying, "Bao'er, do you know that your Sister Bi is back?"

Wang Bao'er said, "Yes, Brother told me to wait until Sister Bi is in a better mood before I go to see her!" She didn't look at Xue Yaoguang, but stared at Hua Ruxue, her eyes suddenly becoming melancholy.

Xue Yaoguang quickly turned to look at her. Hua Ruxue walked up to Li Se, took his arm, and leaned closer, giggling, "Young master, are you feeling down? Come with me for a walk, okay?"

Li Se was startled and tried to pull away, but Hua Ruxue was pulled along, her body leaning even heavier against him.

Li Se felt a delicate fragrance waft over, his heart pounding, and he exclaimed in surprise, "No...don't do this!"

Hua Ruxue said sweetly, "Don't worry, they're not strangers! Let's go!"

Li Se exclaimed, "No...I won't go."

Hua Ruxue, seeing her lover's firm refusal, was confused and stared with innocent eyes, asking, "Why?"

Just as Li Se was feeling awkward, Xue Yaoguang suddenly came over with a smile, dragging Hua Ruxue away, saying, "Good sister, Brother Li must have important business to attend to. If he won't accompany you, how about I accompany you instead? You won't mind, will you?"

With that, she dragged the somewhat unwilling Hua Ruxue away.

Chapter Four: Virtuous Women and Words of Wife. The

two women arrived at the Spring Appreciation Garden, where they found the flowers in full bloom and the willows vying for attention, a truly delightful sight. Hua Ruxue, initially reluctant because Li Se wasn't with her, became happy upon seeing the garden's beauty.

The two women sat under the shade of the flowers to cool off. Xue Yaoguang noticed Hua Ruxue with her eyes closed, deeply inhaling the fragrance of a flower. Her appearance was incredibly charming, with two small dimples on her face, making her even more endearing. Xue Yaoguang felt a pang of jealousy.

Xue Yaoguang asked, "Sister Hua, how did you meet Brother Li?"

Hua Ruxue then breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, settled herself down, and turned to Xue Yaoguang, saying, "Ah! It was in Zhenshan! We were both there, and we just happened to meet! It was fate. He is the most intelligent and charming man I have ever met in the world." She then looked completely captivated.

Xue Yaoguang was taken aback and asked, "How can you be the smartest?"

Hua Ruxue replied, "Hehe, you know it yourself! Why are you asking me?"

Xue Yaoguang asked curiously, "How would I know?"

Hua Ruxue said, "If you don't know, how could you like him? Sister, has he ever kissed you?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Yaoguang blushed and spat, "You little brat, how can you talk nonsense! I'm ignoring you." Saying this, she got up to leave.

Hua Ruxue quickly grabbed Xue Yaoguang, her eyes wide as she asked, "Sister, don't go! Did I say something wrong?"

Xue Yaoguang retorted angrily, "Of course not! Brother Li and I are friends. He saved me once! He's my benefactor. Our relationship isn't what you think! Besides, how could a girl like you say such shameful things?"

Hua Ruxue said, "I'm sorry! I spoke carelessly, I didn't know I shouldn't say that, but what's shameful about it? If Li Lang kissed you, just say yes; if he didn't, then no, why be angry? Hehe, he not only kissed me! He even touched me! Ah! That feeling was so fun, a unique feeling. It's a pity that Li Lang never touched me again after that, I'm so sad!" She sighed softly after saying that.

Xue Yaoguang stood there stunned for a long while before her face turned completely red with embarrassment. She stamped her foot and said angrily, "You're becoming more and more outrageous, saying such crazy things. Do you take me for some lowly person?" Then she left.

Hua Ruxue quickly stopped Xue Yaoguang, saying, "Did I say something wrong again? I didn't say anything!"

Xue Yaoguang angrily said, "Get out of my way, or I'll hit you."

Seeing Xue Yaoguang's angry face, Hua Ruxue knew she was truly upset. This was Li Se's guest place, and she couldn't act recklessly. However, she had offended Li Se's friend for no reason, and he would definitely be angry with her. She panicked, and tears streamed down her face. She stepped aside and cried pitifully, "I...I didn't do anything wrong!"

Seeing Hua Ruxue's genuine appearance and pitiful crying, Xue Yaoguang stopped and said, "You really don't know what you did wrong?"

Hua Ruxue said pitifully... "Yes! I really like you, sister! You're so beautiful and gentle, but why don't you like me?"

Xue Yaoguang said, "I don't dislike you, but don't say such nonsense!"

Hua Ruxue said, "Okay, but how can I know if you don't tell me what you mean?" Xue

Yaoguang asked curiously, "You really don't know? Didn't your parents or family teach you anything?"

Hua Ruxue said, "No, I'm all alone! I have no parents."

Xue Yaoguang then understood and said affectionately, "Poor child, no wonder you said those things just now. Come, let me tell you properly." As she spoke, she stroked Hua Ruxue's soft hair, and the two sat down on the stone bench.

Xue Yaoguang said, "We girls should be mindful of womanly virtues and speech. You should also uphold these virtues; that's what makes a good girl!"

Hua Ruxue asked, confused, "What are womanly virtues and speech? What do they mean?"

Xue Yaoguang explained, "It means that we girls should be dignified, graceful, gentle, and proper. As for speech, it means saying things that are appropriate for a girl, things that shouldn't be said. Like what you just said, those were things you shouldn't have said."

Hua Ruxue said, "But those were my true feelings! Why can't I say them? Is it better to lie?"

Xue Yaoguang paused, then blushed, saying, "You can't say it, and you can't say it."

Hua Ruxue said ... "You're so domineering! But I won't say anything."

Xue Yaoguang said blankly, "You...you call me domineering! I didn't make these rules."

Hua Ruxue said, "Then who made them! It's outrageous that people aren't allowed to tell the truth. Young Master reprimanded me, telling me not to lie. So who should I listen to?"

Xue Yaoguang felt at a loss for words. Besides, she had never met a girl as outspoken as Hua Ruxue. She was also very curious about love, but as a lady from a respectable family, she had never thought about it carefully. Suddenly, Hua Ruxue had stirred up her thoughts, and she couldn't help but want to know too.

Xue Yaoguang said, "Hmm, you're right to tell the truth, but you can only tell it to your friends. You can't tell it to bad people. Do you say that I'm your friend?"

Hua Ruxue smiled and said, "Yes! You're the young master's friend, so naturally you're my friend too!"

Xue Yaoguang said, "Then let me ask you, why do you like him? He... he kissed you?"

Hua Ruxue immediately said with a grin, "I said you're good to me! You said the same thing to me! When we first met, he was so nice to me! But we didn't get along very well after that, I don't know why? I'm a person! Not some animal, why would he dislike me?" She wrinkled her cute little nose and started thinking.

Xue Yaoguang had no idea about Hua Ruxue's background. Although she was extremely intelligent, she couldn't guess the meaning behind Hua Ruxue's last sentence. Besides, her mind wasn't on that. She only heard Hua Ruxue say shyly and softly, "You...you said you like him touching...touching you..."

Hua Ruxue said, "Yes! You must have never been touched by him before. It's very exciting and fun! If you want to know, try it and see if I'm lying to you."

Xue Yaoguang felt flustered, her face flushed, and she said, "I won't..." Her mind was in a mess, and she didn't know what to do.

Xue Yaoguang, being a clever woman, quickly regained her senses and snapped out of her lust. She was filled with shame and thought, "How could I have been so shameless? To think such things! It's all Li Se's fault!" She hurriedly said, "Sister Hua, remember not to tell anyone what we said today, otherwise you'll be looked down upon. I'll tell you why later, okay?"

Hua Ruxue replied, "Alright! I remember. It's so hard to be a person!"

The two became increasingly intimate as they talked. Both were beautiful girls and wanted to please each other. Although they occasionally disagreed, they still became friends.

Xue Yaoguang wanted to find out from the other women why they liked Li Se and why he was so popular, so she subtly inquired about him.

It wasn't until evening that Hua Ruxue excitedly returned to Qixiang Residence. As soon as she entered, she said, "Young Master, Sister, I'm back! Sister Xue is very kind; she likes me a lot! She's taught me so many things."

Gu Xiangjun pulled her to sit on the bed and said, "Who wouldn't like such a lovely little sister?"

Hua Ruxue said, "What lovely little sister! Young Master's sister is the lovely one."

Li Se said, "You're all lovely; I treat you all like my own sisters."

Hua Ruxue said, "Hehe, that's great! You're my real brother!"

Li Se was frightened by her extremely seductive voice, which was captivating. Seeing her alluring eyes and flushed face, and smelling a hint of alcohol, he asked, "You? You've been drinking?"

Hua Ruxue said, "Yes! I had a little. Sister Xue told me to drink; she said a little wouldn't hurt."

Seeing that she was a little drunk, Li Se gestured for Gu Xiangjun to take care of her and went to the outer room.

A moment later, he heard the door open and saw Hua Ruxue smiling as she opened the door and came to his side. Her face was radiant, and she carried an intoxicating fragrance, a scent very different from Gu Xiangjun's.

Li Se hurriedly sat up, pulling

the covers over his head, and asked, "You... why did you come out?" Hua Ruxue didn't answer, but lowered her head shyly and suddenly untied the satin quilt draped over her. With a soft moan, she threw herself into Li Se's arms, completely naked. Li Se, holding a vibrant and alluring woman with large breasts, felt his mind go blank and almost lost control, about to kiss her.

However, Li Se had great self-control and quickly calmed down. He supported Hua Ruxue's body and said seriously, "Miss Hua, what are you doing? Do you know I only see you as a younger sister?"

Hua Ruxue buried her head and said, "I know! I know you're good to me. I like you too!"

Li Se was taken aback and said, "Knowing that, why did you do this? Quickly put the sheets back on, and let's pretend today never happened."

Hua Ruxue asked curiously, "Why! You're good to me, why don't you want me?"

Li Se angrily said, "I treat you like a sister! What do you take me for?"

Hua Ruxue looked up, stunned, and said, "Only sisters are this affectionate! I'm your closest person! Come on! Good brother, I'm willing to do anything for you, I like you very much."

Only then did Li Se realize that Hua Ruxue was very naive and only half-understood many things in the world. He sighed, "I treat you like my own sister, so we can't be husband and wife, do you understand? Siblings can't be like us. You'd better stay away from me and go back to your room to sleep."

Hua Ruxue said, "Why can't siblings be like this? I insist on being like this, I want you to hold me while I sleep." After saying that, she opened her arms and hugged Li Se tightly, without saying another word.

Li Se's breathing quickened as he struggled internally. Remembering the mantra his master had taught him, he quickly recited it silently: "Female beauty is like a stinking bag of skin. Look upon it without moving or wavering, without being confused or deluded. See it as if you don't see it, meet it as if you don't. Be constantly vigilant, always reflect upon yourself, and don't let even the slightest desire arise within your heart..."

Li Se's mind was calm as still water. He opened his eyes and found Hua Ruxue asleep in his arms, breathing evenly. Li Se gently released her arms, laid her down, covered her with the blanket, and quietly got out of bed and went into the inner room.

Gu Xiangjun was already asleep in the room, and Li Se didn't disturb her. He simply pondered, thinking about Hua Ruxue and Bi Ning, and didn't sleep a wink all night.

At dawn, he went to visit Xue Yaoguang. He knew Xue Yaoguang was usually very busy. Although she often visited him at Qixiang Residence when she had free time, it wasn't easy to find her available when he visited her. Therefore, he went early to see her.

Li Se was led by a maid to Xue Yaoguang's boudoir. Seeing a maid combing her hair, Li

Se said, "I've come too early, I'm sorry to disturb you, Miss. Please go ahead with your work, don't mind me." Xue Yaoguang chuckled, "Alright, please sit down or make yourself at home."

Li Se hummed in agreement. Seeing that Bi Ning wasn't there, she was overjoyed and sat down, looking at Xue Yaoguang.

Xue Yaoguang styled her cloud-like hair and applied some light makeup. She noticed Li Se staring blankly at her, and her heart pounded. She told herself, "Don't be afraid, what am I afraid of? Is he going to eat me?"

But despite these thoughts, her hands moved of their own accord, taking more than twice as long as usual to do her hair. After she finished, the maid discreetly left. It was only after a while that Li Se came to her senses, feeling both strange and sorrowful. Could it be that she really liked him? But he wasn't anything special!

Xue Yaoguang thought for a while, and seeing that Li Se was still staring blankly at her, she suddenly became furious, thinking, "How rude of you!"

She shouted, "Brother Li!" The voice sounded quite loud, as if it hadn't come from her, and she herself was startled.

Li Se then realized and said, "Oh..." Then, looking at Xue Yaoguang, he said, "Miss, I have a favor to ask of you."

Xue Yaoguang hadn't yet recovered from her shock when she suddenly heard Li Se's words, and her heart skipped a beat. She thought to herself, "Oh no, he... he didn't succeed in proposing? What... what should I do?"

Just as Xue Yaoguang was wondering what to do, she heard Li Se continue, "Alas! This matter is a bit difficult to say, but only you can help me. I saw that Miss Hua listens to you, and she praised you highly when she came back yesterday! You are a famous talented woman, very intelligent, and helping me with this little favor is no problem at all."

Xue Yaoguang was stunned, looking at Li Se, not understanding what he was saying.

Li Se said, "I only consider Hua Guniang my own sister. I hope you can help me with this favor, to let her know and stop bothering me. Are you willing to help me?" He then gazed into Xue Yaoguang's eyes, his expression pleading.

Xue Yaoguang was slightly disappointed and said, "I'll try! I'm clumsy with words, I might not be able to do it."

Li Se was overjoyed and said, "With your help, it's definitely going to work! Thank you in advance." He then stood up and bowed.

Xue Yaoguang quickly returned the bow, saying hastily, "You once saved my life, I can't accept such treatment."

Li Se laughed, "This is a matter of life and death for me, you deserve it. Besides, what did I ever do to save you? Why do you still hold it in your heart? I came here specifically for this matter. Now that it's done, I'll take my leave." He then laughed heartily and departed.

Seeing Li Se leave so carefree, Xue Yaoguang hurried to see him off. Just as she reached the door, Xiaoqing brought one of the maids who served Li Se and his wife closer. The maid said, "Young master, Madam asked me to give you this invitation. It says that Lord Yang Rong has sent someone to invite you to a gathering at Shangxin Tower at noon. Lord Xie Jin will also be accompanying you. Please be sure to attend!"

Li Se was taken aback at first, then took the invitation, and immediately exclaimed with delight, "Others are fine, but I have long admired Lord Xie and will certainly go to see him." He bowed to Xue Yaoguang and departed in haste.

Xue Yaoguang was well-versed in court affairs and knew that this Lord Yang Rong, courtesy name Mianren, was from Jian'an and originally named Yang Zirong. He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the imperial examination) in the second year of the Jianwen reign and was appointed as an editor.

When the current emperor, Emperor Yongle, defeated Emperor Jianwen in the Jingnan Rebellion and arrived in the capital, Yang Rong greeted him, stopping his horse and asking, "Your Highness, will you first pay homage to the imperial tombs, or first ascend the throne?"

Emperor Yongle was greatly surprised and wisely chose to pay homage to the imperial tombs first.

After this incident, Yang Rong was highly valued by the emperor. Upon ascending the throne, Emperor Yongle summoned him to the Wenyuan Pavilion and renamed him Yang Rong.

Two years ago, Yang Rong was demoted to the position of prefect of Hangzhou due to a minor offense, but recently he was transferred to the capital and, along with compiler Yang Shiqi and reviewer Jin Youzi, entered the Wenyuan Pavilion again to directly participate in state affairs, forming what is known as the Grand Secretariat.

The name Grand Secretariat originated with Emperor Yongle. During Emperor Yongle's reign, there was no prime minister; the Grand Secretariat was equivalent to the prime minister, directly consulting the emperor, but with much less real power compared to other dynasties.

Originally, in the early Ming Dynasty, the Central Secretariat was established at the central level, with left and right prime ministers managing the affairs of the six ministries: Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works.

Subsequently, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty reformed the central governing structure. At that time, the power of the Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng) was held by Left Chancellor Hu Weiyong and others. They acted arrogantly and tyrannically, deciding "life and death, promotion and demotion" without consulting the emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang had ordered that "meetings should not be reported to the Secretariat."

This was clearly a measure to curb the power of the Secretariat.

However, Hu Weiyong and others did not restrain themselves but instead intensified their actions, organizing cliques, recruiting troops, colluding with Japanese pirates, and submitting to the remnants of the Mongol nobility, requesting military support and plotting an armed coup. In

the thirteenth year of Hongwu (1380), Zhu Yuanzhang executed Hu Weiyong and others, abolished the Secretariat and the Chancellor system, and distributed the powers of the Secretariat and Chancellor to the Six Ministries, relatively increasing the power and status of the Six Ministries, with the Ministers of the Six Ministries directly responsible to the emperor.

Xue Yaoguang was extremely surprised to see that Yang Rong, a high-ranking official of the time, had actually invited Li Se to a banquet, accompanied by other high-ranking officials.

Li Se was unpredictable at every turn, his mystery only growing with closer inspection. He promised to rescue Bi Ning unharmed, and sure enough, she returned mysteriously within a day. However, she was always lost in thought, refusing to speak no matter what was asked, and even refusing to see Nangong Xuan. When pressed, she cried, "Sister, please don't ask anymore! I wasn't insulted. But I must avenge this!"

Xue Yaoguang couldn't get any further information and had to give up. She didn't know if Li Se had rescued Bi Ning.

Xue Yaoguang pondered for a long time but couldn't find a clue. She first sent someone to follow Li Se to see what he was doing with the current ministers. In the afternoon, remembering Li Se's request, she instructed her maid to invite Hua Ruxue over.

Hua Ruxue was a lively person, and naturally, she was happy to come over after Li Se left. As soon as she entered, she smiled and said, "I was just thinking of coming to play with you, sister! But Sister Gu said you were busy, I didn't expect you to send someone to invite me."

Xue Yaoguang stood up, took Hua Ruxue's hand, and said, "No matter how busy you are, you still find time to see your sister! Here, I have a gift for you, I don't know if you'll like it." As she spoke, she pulled Hua Ruxue into her boudoir, opened a delicate little box, and a string of pearls appeared inside.

Hua Ruxue smiled and put it on, saying, "Thank you, sister. Can I wear it? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at me?"

Xue Yaoguang said, "No need to thank me. A beautiful girl like you will look even more beautiful wearing it. No one will laugh at you; they'll only envy you."

Hua Ruxue was overjoyed. Xue Yaoguang said, "Tsk, tsk. My sister is so beautiful, but why does she like Brother Li? It's such a pity."

Hua Ruxue asked curiously, "He's a good person! Why is it a pity? Did I make a mistake in liking him?"

Xue Yaoguang said, "He is a good person, but he has a wife. If you like him, you're making a mistake."

Hua Ruxue shook her head and said, "I don't understand. Can you explain it to me, sister?"

Xue Yaoguang said, "You! You really don't understand anything. Think about it! He has a wife. If you like him, you can only become a concubine. How tragic is that!"

Hua Ruxue pouted. "What's so tragic about that! I like him, and being by his side is enough. Who cares about anything else! Hehe, actually I sold myself to Sister Gu, becoming her maid! She dotes on me and treats me like a young lady! But it's really nothing. Whoever is good to me, I'll be good to them. Anyone who bullies me, I'll teach them a lesson!"

Xue Yaoguang was taken aback and said, "What?" Then she laughed and said, "Oh! Is that so? Then it's nothing. But your thinking is still short-sighted. Haven't you thought about your future children?"

Hua Ruxue said happily, "I have! But Young Master Li ignores me, how can I have children?"

Xue Yaoguang blushed and said, "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about your future children! They'll suffer because they won't be born of the legitimate wife, and they won't have much inheritance, just like this..." "A necklace like that, your sister's child will be able to wear something very expensive in the future, but your child won't have the money to wear something valuable. How unequal is that! You probably haven't thought about that, have you?"

Hua Ruxue giggled incessantly. Xue Yaoguang asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Hua Ruxue replied, "You're saying the reason I can't be a concubine is because of money? Well, I'm not afraid. I have plenty of treasures. I have many necklaces like this. If my sister hadn't given them to me, I wouldn't care. But Li Lang told me to pretend to be poor, not to let others know I'm rich, or they'll harm us!"

Xue Yaoguang's mouth gaped open. "Really? Oh... that's really interesting. So why are you so rich?"

Hua Ruxue said, "There are so many treasures in the mountains! I found them myself, but Li Lang said that..." "That's nothing special."

Xue Yaoguang slowly calmed down, thinking, "They're always so strange and eccentric. I always judge them by common sense, which only makes me more surprised. I'll have to be more careful in the future. I don't believe this girl won't listen to me." After thinking for a moment, she said, "Well, since you're so determined to like Brother Li, I'll teach you a trick! Otherwise, he won't like you."

Hua Ruxue said, "Ah! That's great, sister, please tell me quickly!"

Xue Yaoguang said, "You have to be neither too warm nor too cold towards him, and be dignified and polite. He'll gradually come to like you. If you're too enthusiastic, he'll look down on you and won't like you."

Hua Ruxue said, "No wonder he always ignores me when I try to be affectionate with him. So that's why. I understand now. You're truly my good sister."

Xue Yaoguang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Hua Ruxue asked again, "He went to Shangxin Tower. Do you know that place, sister? Shall we go together?"

Xue Yaoguang replied, "That would be nice, but I can't get away. I have things to do later. Let's go another day!"

Hua Ruxue's eyes darted around, and she said, "Then I won't bother you any longer, sister. I'll take my leave now." 03-02
Chapter 5 What Makes a Good Official?

Li Se returned home, and around noon, Gu Xiangjun helped him change his clothes. They asked someone to lead the way and headed straight for Shangxin Tower. Before leaving, Hua Ruxue insisted on going, but Li Se argued for a long time that it was a serious matter and she couldn't go, so she finally gave up.

Shangxinlou was a restaurant on the banks of the Qinhuai River, offering views of the river from its upper floors. It was a famous restaurant in the capital. Li Se was led by a waiter to a private room upstairs. Three people inside stood up, and one of them laughed heartily, "Young Master Li, you've come at just the right time! Come, please take a seat."

Li Se recognized the speaker as Yang Rong, of medium height and slightly plump build, with a warm smile. Beside him were two other men: one was elegant and refined, a man of noble character, none other than the talented scholar Xie Jin, whom he had met before; the other was a tall, thin, and scholarly-looking old man, whose face was also quite familiar, though Li Se couldn't recall where he had seen him before. He paused, momentarily stunned.

Li Se cupped his hands and said, "The three lords have condescended to summon me, but I am but a humble commoner. How could I dare to take a seat? Wouldn't that be beneath my dignity?"

Xie Jin stroked his short beard and said, "When you were a commoner, you should not underestimate yourself; when you are in the court, you should not overestimate yourself. We are all friends, so there is no need for such formalities. Besides, a dragon lies dormant in the abyss, waiting for its time. We old fellows would not dare to underestimate you. Please, have a seat!" He then laughed heartily.

Seeing Xie Jin's amiable manner, Li Se felt as if he were bathed in a spring breeze and said, "In that case, I have been presumptuous." He then took a seat.

Yang Rong said, "I heard you have met Brother Xie before, but have you met this gentleman?" He then pointed to the smiling old man.

Li Se was taken aback, then smiled bitterly, "I have a vague recollection, it seems I've seen it somewhere before, but I'm too foolish to remember."

The old man smiled, then his expression darkened, and he said, "Alas! You are but a madman, deluding yourself to attain enlightenment, only to be reduced to ashes like dust in the end, your heart and spirit waning, your desires driven to madness. Alas, spring grasses wither, autumn winds startle, autumn winds cease, spring grasses grow again. Brocades and silks are gone, pavilions and ponds are empty, zithers and lutes are silenced, mounds and graves are leveled. From ancient times to the present, all who are born must die, none can escape drinking their sorrow and swallowing their sobs."

Upon hearing this, Li Se exclaimed in surprise, "I remember now, we were at the Jade Pin Pavilion!" "We even drank together,"

the old man said. "Indeed."

Xie Jin said, "This is Lord Yang Shiqi. After meeting you once in Hangzhou, he spoke of you to me many times, praising you as a talent of our time. When we met at the last gathering, I saw that your reputation was indeed well-deserved."

Li Se was astonished to find that this old man was none other than Yang Shiqi, who was known as the First Prime Minister. He knew that Yang Shiqi served the Emperor closely, participated in important military affairs, and was deeply trusted. He never expected that this humble old man would be so unassuming. No wonder his fame spread throughout the land!

He never discussed official matters in private, not even with his closest relatives. In front of the Emperor, he was respectful and prudent, adept at handling situations, and magnanimous. He would cover up and make amends for others' minor mistakes. He was a highly respected minister.

Li Se hurriedly stood up and said, "What honor I have to meet such sages of our time! I... I don't know what to say, so I'll just offer you three a cup of wine. I don't know if that's impolite."

The three of them also stood up, raised their cups, and drank them down in one gulp. After they sat down, Xie Jin saw that Li Se was very flustered, so he patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "Actually, the people who should have met you the most are not us. If we're talking about the most sages of our time, he is number one! He should have met you the most, but the three of us beat him to it. Haha, if he knew, he'd probably be furious!"

Yang Rong and Yang Shiqi also laughed loudly.

Li Se was surprised that Xie Jin would joke, and her mood relaxed considerably. She said, "I don't believe there's anyone in the world more capable than the three of you."

Yang Shiqi said, "There is indeed such a person. He is skilled in both literature and martial arts, moving between the worldly and the otherworldly, straddling the line between immortal and mortal. Among all the great figures throughout history, there is no one quite like him. He has a deep connection with you, but we cannot reveal it. He will surely meet you in the future, and you will know when that time comes."

Li Se nodded and said, "Yes." She was puzzled, wondering who else in the world besides her master knew him, and why Yang Shiqi praised him so highly.

Yang Shiqi then said, "You must be wondering why I went to Hangzhou to see you, right?"

Li Se blushed and said, "No, no."

He regretted mentioning earlier that he had seen Yang Shiqi at the brothel Pinyu Tower and quickly denied it.

Yang Rong laughed, "You went to Hangzhou to rescue me and happened to meet Young Master Li. I'll speak for you!" Then he said seriously, "Alas! I thought that in matters of the world, the problem wasn't strictness, but laxity; not clarity, but chaos. Now I realize how naive and laughable I was!" He shook his head and sighed.

Li Se said strangely, "Really? A clear and bright world is a good thing, isn't it? I don't understand."

Yang Rong said, "Do you remember I promised you that every penny of the silver you gave me would be used for the people?"

Li Se said, "Of course I remember. Your esteemed name is known throughout the world, and I believe you can do it."

Yang Rong said, "But if it weren't for Brother Shiqi's help, I would have made a huge mistake."

Li Se said, "Uh?" He knew there was definitely something more to it.

Yang Rong said, “During my tenure as the prefect of Hangzhou, I maintained strict discipline and devoted myself wholeheartedly to serving the people. Although I gained a good reputation, the results were minimal. Corrupt officials were endless; they could not be eradicated. Seeing my strict measures against corruption, they dared not openly embezzle anymore, but they became even more secretive and cunning, making them impossible to guard against. Whenever I issued an order, they would find ways to delay it, and I could not easily find any fault with them. In truth, I owe the people of Hangzhou a great debt! I have done nothing for them.” Li Se was stunned.

Xie Jin said, “Integrity is to deter greed. If I am truly not greedy, why should I brand myself as incorruptible, thus attracting the attention of greedy men? Humility is to deter contention. If I am truly not contentious, why should I establish a reputation for humility, thus inviting the wrath of violent men? This is truly the warning of a gentleman!”

Li Se was greatly impressed and inspired. Yang Rong was also taken aback, saying, “Brother Xie truly lives up to his reputation as a talented scholar; his words are indeed insightful.”

Yang Rong continued, “When I was handling affairs in Hangzhou, I was constantly hampered. These people, seeing that I was blocking their path to wealth, joined forces to drive me away. When the floods struck, they became even more hostile towards me. What's

the point of not having money embezzled if things aren't done well? Fortunately, Brother Shiqi has come to Hangzhou…” His words of instruction enlightened me, allowing me to complete my task perfectly. This time, when I returned to the capital and rejoined the Wenyuan Pavilion, I was no longer rash in my duties. The Emperor said I was "too straightforward and acted inappropriately," and it turns out he was quite right!

Li Se asked, "May I ask, how did you manage to govern those officials?"

Yang Rong replied, "Brother Shiqi, please elaborate!"

Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "What profound theories? I simply focused on doing good for the people. These officials are quite difficult to control. If we measure all officials by 'greed,' I think every official in the world is corrupt. Our salaries are too low; the higher the rank, the less money they have for expenses. It's just that conscientious officials accept less bribes." "What makes a good official? Only an official who focuses on their work is a good official. Human greed is unavoidable, except for a few. No matter how strict the national system, it still needs people to enforce it, and that's where human relationships come into play. Looking at the systems of the past thousand years, they emphasize the three words: reason, emotion, and law, with emotion preceding the law. How can greed be completely eradicated? Alas! If future generations could achieve a system where the law is not subject to human intervention, and the law precedes reason and emotion, then perhaps that would be a truly clean and prosperous era!"

The others nodded in agreement. Yang Shiqi continued, "I treat my subordinates with strict self-discipline and leniency towards others, leading by example. However, Brother Rong is different. I suggest that Brother Rong, for officials who value loyalty, then..." He befriended him, telling him that if he considered him a friend, then treating the people well was the way to show his loyalty. Different officials require different approaches; they cannot all be treated as subordinates, nor can they be pressured solely with the law. One must be gentle and reasonable with them, after all, most officials are scholars and good people. However, their salaries are far too low. Several of us have estates bestowed by the Emperor; otherwise, how could we support our families with our meager salaries?”

Li Se didn't know their salaries, but he assumed Yang Shiqi wouldn't speak carelessly. He felt deeply ashamed, remembering his limited knowledge of officialdom and his indiscriminate comments at Xue Yaoguang's gathering.

Yang Rong said, “Indeed, after receiving instruction from Brother Shiqi in Hangzhou, I changed my approach. Before, I always refused invitations to banquets, which made me isolated. Aside from discussing official business with my subordinates, I had no other interactions. How could I possibly know how to appoint the right people? Moreover, I was too upright before; people avoided me. Gentlemen and petty men each have their uses; only by using their proper methods can we achieve true justice. What makes a good official? A capable official! I only gained a reputation for being upright.” " He may have a reputation, but when it comes to achievements, he has none. What kind of good official is he? The best way is to follow the middle path, to blend in with the world!"

Xie Jin said, "Honest officials often have no descendants because they are too pure; foolish people often have many blessings because they are close to the virtuous. Therefore, although a gentleman values integrity, he must have the magnanimity to tolerate impurities. Although he should guard against foolishness, he does not need to have the keen insight to cleanse himself of filth. Moreover, there are quite a few officials who are mired in the desire for fame. They only seek their own reputation and do not know how to be flexible in their actions. How can they do good things?" "What you say is true, "

Yang Shiqi said. "It's not easy to do something well. Once you get stuck in a single standard, it's not easy to succeed."

Li Seqian said, "Hearing your insightful opinions, I am deeply ashamed. I used to think that everything in the world was very easy!"

Xie Jin said, "Young people are not worried about their lack of drive, but about their recklessness due to drive. Therefore, their impetuousness should be suppressed. Mature people are not worried about their lack of composure, but about their timidity leading to retreat. Therefore, their laziness should be encouraged. These are all things to pay attention to. But no matter what, the world today lacks the drive of young people like you. If everyone is mature and prudent, what can be accomplished? Everyone will just drift along with the tide. How can society progress? How can the people benefit!"

Yang Shiqi frowned and said, "Brother Xie is right, but I have something to say. I wonder if Brother Xie will mind?"

Xie Jin said, "Brother Shiqi must have some golden words. Please don't hold back and speak freely!"

Yang Shiqi said, "I, Yang Xiu, have seen ..." He was killed by Cao Cao to reveal his own strengths; Wei Dan's tomb was vandalized by Zhong Yao to conceal his own merits. Therefore, wise men often conceal their talents and hide their brilliance, and virtuous men often humbly praise others and uphold goodness. Brother, you are highly talented, yet you act unrestrainedly and freely, which may cause you to worry about the same things as your predecessors!

Xie Jin solemnly said, "Please enlighten me!"

Yang Shiqi said, "I remember that you were intelligent from a young age, and you passed the imperial examination in the twenty-first year of Hongwu. You were appointed as a junior compiler in the Secretariat and were highly favored by the late emperor. One day, the late emperor said to you in the west room of the main kitchen: 'My relationship with you is that of ruler and subject.'" "Your Majesty's kindness is like that of a father and son; you should know that I will speak freely." My brother immediately submitted a memorial of ten thousand words, and I still remember a few lines from it: "In recent years, the administration of the Censorate has become lax. They consider the severity of criminal cases as their achievement, and the number of prisoners they question as their merit; this is hardly the way to encourage integrity and maintain the dignity of the officials. Censors' impeachments are all carried out under secret orders. Whenever they hear of an imperial pardon, they deliberately insist on it, thinking that this will make the emperor's favor even greater. These are all the petty tricks of sycophants seeking favor; why doesn't Your Majesty open your heart and reflect upon them? Your Majesty appoints people without considering their merits, granting them positions..." Regardless of importance, laws are established that are not for the benefit of the ruler, a practice known as "taking every last penny"; articles are placed that allow treacherous individuals to exploit the law, a practice known as "using them like mud and sand." Students of the Imperial Academy and those who have passed the imperial examinations, though learned and virtuous, are often relegated to lower ranks; those of filial piety and integrity, though blind and incompetent, may find themselves in high positions. The shrewish and unruly, the foolish and ignorant, are buried alive. They discard their weapons in the morning and don official robes in the evening. They discard their baskets and chests on the left and gather official documents on the right. Therefore, the virtuous are ashamed to be ranked among them, while the mediocre all follow their example. They consider greed as a means to escape punishment and integrity as a pretext for punishment. Those who come from the Ministry of Personnel are not distinguished by virtue or vice. Those who enter the Ministry of Justice are never judged fairly. The world says His Majesty decides life and death based on his whims, but they don't realize it's all due to the lack of loyal and virtuous officials among his ministers! Xie Jin

said, "I'm amazed that Brother Shiqi still remembers my careless words from the past; I'm truly ashamed!"

Yang Shiqi laughed, "I admire your courage. You're the first person to dare tell the late Emperor that 'the world says His Majesty decides life and death based on his whims!'"

Xie Jin also laughed, "Thinking back on those childhood events, I'm truly lucky! But the late Emperor was incredibly magnanimous towards me!"

Li Se and Yang Rong both nodded in agreement. Although Li Se was unfamiliar with court affairs, he knew that the late Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was a cruel and bloodthirsty man, and by nature suspicious. It was truly an anomaly that someone who dared to challenge him to his face hadn't been killed.

Yang Shiqi said, "It's good that you know this, but why are you so careless with the current Emperor? I remember once the Emperor said to you, 'There's a sentence in a book that's difficult to match with the next line. The sentence is "difficult to match with color."' You casually replied, 'Easy.' After a while, the Emperor still didn't understand and asked, 'Since you said it was easy, why haven't you matched it yet?' Only then did you reply, 'I just matched it.' The Emperor then realized his mistake and burst into laughter. This story spread far and wide." "Everyone in the world says you are incredibly talented, but do you know that this is a major taboo? You have already brought great disaster upon yourself, don't you realize it?"

Xie Jin smiled bitterly, "Brother Shiqi is truly a person who loves me. Such wise words are truly enlightening. I am not unaware of them, but my nature is already ingrained, and it is difficult to change!"

Li Se asked curiously, "Then, Mr. Xie, would it be better to pretend you couldn't answer the couplet just now?"

Yang Shiqi said, "That's not necessary. Just say the next line truthfully, and you can show off..." "To flaunt one's talents and embarrass the Emperor—is this the way of a subject? Cruel calamities often arise from negligence; great achievements frequently crumble over trivial matters. Hence the saying: 'Everyone praises you, but beware of one person's folly; every task is accomplished, but beware of one failure.' Xu Da, the Prince of Zhongshan, how great were his achievements? He failed to avoid mentioning taboos and ultimately died an unjust death. These past events are not far off; should we not learn from them?"

Xie Jin bowed deeply to Yang Shiqi, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, but now that I know the danger, I will surely find a way to deal with it." He then turned to Li Se... With a smile, he said, "Perhaps you, sir, are my savior?"

Li Se was taken aback and said, "Me? How could that be! I know nothing about this."

Yang Rong then laughed and said, "That's all for later. Come, please drink. The dishes are all served. Let's just talk about romance and poetry, and not discuss anything else."

The three of them cheered and began to drink heartily. At first, Li Se was a little reserved in front of the three of them, but after a few cups of wine, he naturally became more relaxed as the three of them chatted and laughed. Just

as the wine was flowing freely, a waiter suddenly brought a maid upstairs. Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Xie Jin immediately stood up when they saw her.

Yang Shiqi said, "Why is Miss Zizhu here?"

Although Li Se found it strange, she had no choice but to stand up as well.

The girl named Zizhu smiled and said, "The princess said that the person invited by the three prime ministers must be a remarkable person of our time, and she insisted on sending someone to see who it was. She heard that it was a young gentleman, and she was very curious. That's why she sent me to invite him! She wants to personally summon him." After saying that, she glanced at Li Se and smiled slightly. Only then did Li Se realize that she was actually a palace maid, and she couldn't help but take a closer look.

Yang Rong said, "Congratulations, Young Master Li! The princess is very discerning and rarely appreciates anyone. It's truly a cause for celebration that you've gained such favor!"

Xie Jin smiled and said, "I met the princess after court today. We were talking about inviting someone for drinks with you two gentlemen, and I didn't expect the princess to take it to heart!"

Yang Shiqi said, "Very good, Young Master Li, please go! We'll meet again another time."

Li Se was full of doubt and said, "The princess wants to see me? How can I, a mere commoner, go to see the princess?"

Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "Go ahead! This princess is different from ordinary people; she's extraordinary. You'll definitely want to see her."

Li Se knew that Yang Shiqi didn't speak lightly, so he buried his doubts and went with the palace maid.

Chapter Six: The Peerless Princess.

Li Se was led by the palace maid to the palace. Entering the imperial city, he saw magnificent gold and jade, a grand and imposing sight that made one hold their breath in awe. The imperial aura was solemn and extraordinary.

Passing through palaces and halls, turning corridors and crossing bridges, Li Se was led by a palace maid to a grand hall, where he was told to wait before leaving on his own.

The hall was magnificent, but Li Se paid no attention to its furnishings, his heart filled with trepidation, unsure of what kind of princess he was to meet.

Since entering the martial world, he had encountered nothing but incomprehensible events. But today's events were even more peculiar. Even in his dreams last night, he never imagined he would be drinking with several high-ranking officials of the court today, let alone that the current princess would summon him.

"Why does this princess want to see me? Could it be that the three officials invited me to a banquet, and she is genuinely curious, thinking I am an extraordinary person, which is why she wants to see me?" As

Li Se was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the tinkling of jade pendants, and a group of palace maids escorted a person in. One of the maids said, "The princess has arrived!"

Li Se immediately knelt down and said, "This humble servant Li Se greets the princess!"

A soft voice came from behind him: "Please rise, young master! There is no need for such formalities!"

Li Se slowly stood up, but still kept his head down, not daring to look up.

The princess waved her hand and said to the palace maids, "You may all leave! I will call you back to serve me."

After the maids withdrew, the princess suddenly chuckled and said, "Young master, why don't you look up at me? Perhaps we know each other?"

Li Se hurriedly smiled and said, "Your Highness is too kind. I am but a commoner, how could I possibly know you?" He still did not look up.

The princess sighed and said, "Alas! I never expected you to be such a man. When you see me, you act like a servant, without any dignity. It is extremely disappointing."

Li Se smiled and said, "Your Highness is a dragon among men, and it is only natural for everyone to respect you. I am acting out of courtesy, not to fawn over you. If Your Highness would allow me to see your beautiful face, I would be so bold as to offend you." Li Se

slowly raised his head, and the princess smiled at him, her eyes containing a smile that seemed to hold a deeper meaning.

Li Se stared at the princess, his face calm as still water, but his heart was in turmoil. It turned out that this princess was none other than the palace maid he had rescued from Liang Gongchang and the other four lecherous thieves.

Li Se's heart skipped a beat. She thought, "Is she pretending to be a princess to coax me, or is she really a princess? How should I respond?"

The princess smiled and said, "How do I look to you?"

Li Se replied, "As beautiful as a fairy."

The princess said, "Oh? Just that one sentence? Nothing else? What are you thinking?"

Li Se said, "Why does the princess want to see me? I'm very puzzled."

The princess said, "Seeing me is fine! What's the reason? Don't you like seeing me?"

Li Se smiled bitterly, "If there's no danger, seeing you wouldn't hurt!"

The princess laughed, "So you mean you have a weakness I can't control? Are you afraid I'll punish you?"

Li Se sighed, "I guess so! I didn't expect you to be a princess. It's laughable that I was worried about you!"

The princess said urgently, "Why do you say that? If I'm a princess, aren't you worried?"

Li Se said in surprise, "What's there to ask? You are... " "Princess, of course you have many people to take care of you. And since you can change your appearance at will, your martial arts skills must be superb. Naturally, no one needs to worry about you."

The princess said, "Hmm, that makes sense. But, in your heart, do you hope that the person you saved that day was a princess?"

Li Se was taken aback, then said, "Answering the princess's question so seriously is really a headache. I haven't thought about this; it just seems unbelievable."

The princess smiled and said, "Alright! I know you know my identity, and you're wary of me now, no longer considering me a friend. How about this? Today is our first meeting. My name is Zhu Wushuang, and we'll be friends from now on. I hope you won't treat me like a princess, okay?"

Li Se said, "Alright! Since the princess thinks so highly of me, I won't refuse. However, I'm rather foolish and clumsy. If I do something wrong in the future and offend the princess, please forgive me."

Zhu Wushuang laughed, "You're such a sly one. You've already laid the groundwork, so you can ask me to help you when something happens later."

Li Se said, "You're the one who told me to treat you as a friend. Shouldn't I help a friend in trouble?"

Zhu Wushuang chuckled and said, "That's right, you're right. I was wrong."

Her smile was completely different from her previous noble elegance; it was truly captivating. Li Se was momentarily stunned and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at her again.

Seeing Li Se remain silent with his head down, Zhu Wushuang said, "Don't be so formal. You'll get used to it as we meet more often. Although I'm a princess, I'm still just an ordinary person. Come on! I'll show you around the palace and then see you out! It's getting late, I'll treat you to drinks and conversation another time."

Li Se hurriedly replied, "How could I trouble you, Princess? I'll take my leave now. A palace maid can take me out."

Zhu Wushuang gave Li Se a reproachful look and said, "Look at you, have you forgotten we're friends?" She then led the way.

Li Se had no choice but to follow.

Zhu Wushuang pointed things out to Li Se along the way, smiling amiably, but Li Se knew this wasn't her true self.

The first time he saw Zhu Wushuang disguised as a palace maid, she was innocent and adorable, a perfect imitation. Now she was approachable and warm towards him, but Li Se had been fooled once and felt this wasn't the real her. What exactly was this princess's purpose for him? Li Se was completely clueless, but in this situation, he could only try to be attentive and deal with her.

As the two approached Zhengyang Gate, Li Se, rousing himself and chatting with Zhu Wushuang, suddenly heard a woman's cry of "Help!" coming from a group of soldiers ahead. The voice sounded very familiar.

Li Se thought for a moment, then exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no, could it be her?" He quickly flew over, with Zhu Wushuang following leisurely beside him.

From a distance, Li Se saw Hua Ruxue calling out with her eyes closed, "Help! Help!"

Beside her was an old man in his fifties or sixties dressed in official robes, with triangular eyes and a sickly appearance. But the strangest thing was that he had removed his official hat, revealing a bald head with a Buddhist precept on it—he was actually a monk.

Li Se hurriedly called out, "Sir, please have mercy!"

As he approached, the soldiers made way for him. Li Se walked to Hua Ruxue's side, and Hua Ruxue opened her eyes, exclaiming in surprise, "Ah! Li Lang, it really is you. Hey, big monk, how did you know he would come to save me?"

Li Se was confused and didn't understand. The monk smiled slightly but didn't answer Hua Ruxue's question, only looking Li Se up and down.

Li Se felt uncomfortable under the gaze and said, "My lord, this girl is ignorant. What serious crime has she committed? Can she be forgiven? If not, I am her elder brother; can I take her punishment?"

Seeing that the monk in official robes was only scrutinizing him without speaking, Li Se continued, "My younger sister is naturally mischievous. Seeing me enter the palace today, she must have followed me out of curiosity. She doesn't know the rules; please have mercy and forgive her."

Li Se's prediction was correct. Hua Ruxue, after leaving Xue Yaoguang's place, went to Shangxin Tower first. Hearing that Li Se had gone to the palace, she thought, "Hmph, he went to the palace without taking me. Do you think I can't go by myself?" Knowing she possessed some magic, she secretly sneaked into the palace. However, before she even passed the Meridian Gate, she was discovered by an old official.

Hua Ruxue tried to escape, but the old official's magic was powerful; he used a "Heavenly Thunder Strike" to knock her down from the air and subdue her.

In her anxiety, Hua Ruxue cried out, "You old man, you're so wicked! If you kill me, I'll have no son, and my whole family will be extinct!"

The old man replied, "Hehe, this old monk truly has no descendants. This old monk is a monk."

He then removed his official hat, revealing a genuine monk with a Buddhist precept on his head.

Hua Ruxue, terrified, was at a loss. It was the first time she had ever seen such a formidable figure. She could only weep uncontrollably. The monk said, "Little girl, don't cry. Shout 'Help!' three times, and someone will come to save you."

Hua Ruxue immediately suppressed her sobs and said, "Really, don't lie to me."

Tears still clung to her face. Seeing the monk merely smiling, her curiosity piqued, she cried out. Before she could even shout a third time, Li Se came rushing towards her.

Hua Ruxue was overjoyed and exclaimed happily, "Old monk, you kept your word! You won't kill me! Look, my husband has indeed come to save me!"

Li Se, hearing Hua Ruxue's question, inwardly groaned. Seeing her reckless and uncooperative, spouting nonsense according to her own ideas, he was filled with rage. He could no longer contain himself and snapped at her, "How can you speak so recklessly? Do you really not want to live?"

Seeing Li Se's anger, Hua Ruxue knew she had done wrong and was in the wrong. She could only lower her head, still muttering, "What's there to be afraid of? I don't want to be your sister. You said that if I were your sister, I couldn't marry you." Before

Li Se could even get angry, he saw the monk burst into laughter, and laughter came from beside him. Turning his head, he saw Princess Zhu Wushuang sneer beside him.

Li Se blushed and said, "No, Princess, that's not true."

Upon hearing Li Se's words, Hua Ruxue's eyes lit up immediately. She rushed to Zhu Wushuang's side and exclaimed, "Look! Sister, so you're a princess! And so beautiful! No wonder Li Lang didn't bring me to the palace. You're the Emperor's daughter, everyone listens to you. Quickly tell this monk not to kill me! He's very fierce!" She then grabbed Zhu Wushuang's sleeve and hid behind her.

Zhu Wushuang smiled slightly and said to the monk, "Young Master, please don't joke with this little girl. Look how scared she is!"

The monk laughed, "Her magic is very powerful. I thought I couldn't catch her, so I used a bit more force. No wonder she's afraid! Alas! It seems I'm really getting old; my magic isn't as effective as it used to be."

Li Se finally breathed a sigh of relief, glared at Hua Ruxue, and said, "Aren't you going to thank the Young Master? Look at you, always causing trouble."

Hua Ruxue stuck out her tongue and said behind Zhu Wushuang, "Great Monk, I thank you for not killing me. I wish you a son soon so you won't be childless."

Zhu Wushuang was taken aback, then giggled incessantly. The monk was also amused and exasperated. He reached up and put on his official hat, saying, "Alright, I won't joke around with you anymore. Kid, you should call me Uncle-Master, remember that." With that, he laughed and strode away.

Li Se gazed at his retreating figure and asked curiously, "Princess, did you hear that? He told me to call him 'Uncle-Master'! Who is this person? Is he an official or a monk?"

Zhu Wushuang smiled and said, "You don't know him? His Dharma name is Daoyan, and his secular name is Yao Guangxiao. He is my father's most favored minister. As soon as my father ascended the throne, upon seeing him, he granted him a seat beside him, appointed him as a Zishan Dafu (a high-ranking official), and also as the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor. He personally bestowed upon him a royal residence and ordered him to restore his original surname. My father personally addressed him as Junior Tutor without his given name. However, he is quite strange. Except when attending court, he still wears monk's robes in his own residence. My father bestowed two palace maids upon him, but he declined them."

Li Se exclaimed in surprise, "So he is a highly accomplished monk!" "Oh, right, why did he make me call him 'Uncle-Master'?" she thought. "Could he be Master's junior brother? But Master is a Taoist priest, and he's a monk. He couldn't possibly be my Uncle-Master, and Master has never mentioned it. However, I only heard about Uncle-Master Tian Lingzi from Master when we met."

Zhu Wushuang smiled and said, "I don't know about that. You can ask him yourself later. Alright, I'll see you here! It's very close to the palace gate. You can go on your own!"

Hua Ruxue skipped over to Li Se's side and said to Zhu Wushuang, "Goodbye, Princess Sister. If you ever leave the palace, come find us. This palace is so scary; I dare not come again."

Zhu Wushuang smiled and said, "Okay."

Li Se noticed that Zhu Wushuang had suddenly stopped seeing him to the palace gate. He sensed that although she smiled, she was somewhat unhappy. He couldn't help but say, "Princess, don't be angry. Miss Hua is very innocent, but there's really nothing between us."

Zhu Wushuang laughed in surprise, "Haha, what's your relationship with her? Why are you explaining to me? Besides, why am I unhappy?"

Li Se blushed deeply, feeling utterly ashamed. He quickly said, "I was talking nonsense! Forget what I said, please forgive me." He hurriedly pulled Hua Ruxue away.

After leaving the palace, Li Se and Hua Ruxue walked along. Li Se felt that what he had said to the princess had been greatly misunderstood. He had intended to clarify his innocence, but his words sounded as if he was afraid of upsetting the princess.

"There's nothing between us, no wonder the princess was so adamant," Li Se thought, feeling even more ashamed. He silently pondered his thoughts and didn't speak to Hua Ruxue.

Seeing that Li Se ignored her, Hua Ruxue assumed Li Se was angry and thought to herself, "Oh no! Sister Xue told me not to talk nonsense and to observe proper ladylike conduct so that he would like me. No wonder he likes the princess. The princess clearly likes him, but she pretends not to. So that's what men like!"

Seeing Li Se go to see the princess, she assumed they were having a secret rendezvous! She thought the princess must like Li Se, and besides, she thought Li Se was exceptional, assuming everyone else thought so too. Her thoughts were quite similar to those of Leng Ruxue, the Jade Maiden of Tianshan.

Lost in their own thoughts, the two soon arrived at the Wang family's residence. Upon returning home, they found Wang Bao'er there as well. Gu Xiangjun smiled and said, "Bao'er, you've been looking everywhere for Xiaoxue! So you're together!"

Wang Bao'er asked curiously, "Yes! Xiaoxue, how did you two get together? Wasn't my brother invited to drink by Uncle Jie and the others?"

Hua Ruxue said, "Oh! Aunt, don't mention it! Later, the young master even went to the palace! I secretly followed him, but I encountered an extremely fierce monk; it was terrifying!"

Gu Xiangjun laughed, "I don't believe that. Today isn't some kind of memorial day; how could there be a monk in the palace?"

Wang Bao'er said, "I know, I know! There is a monk in the palace, but he's wearing court robes! How do you know he's a monk?"

Gu Xiangjun, curious, stared at Hua Ruxue, waiting for her to speak.

Hua Ruxue patted her chest, her face pale, and said with lingering fear, "Don't talk about him, don't talk about him! He was so powerful, he struck me with lightning! He scared me half to death. Hehe, but luckily I met the princess, she's very beautiful!"

Gu Xiangjun and Wang Bao'er were very curious and surrounded Hua Ruxue, chattering for a long time, asking her all the details before they stopped, leaving Li Se unattended.

Li Se was happy to have some peace and quiet since the three women weren't bothering him, but his good fortune didn't last long. After the two women finished questioning Hua Ruxue, they started interrogating him.

Wang Bao'er excitedly came to his side and said, "Big brother, it seems you're quite familiar with the princess! How did you meet her, and why is she so nice to you?!"

Li Se stammered, "Well, nothing special! She summoned me once, it was very ordinary. Today was the first time I met the princess, and she didn't say anything to me. I don't know why she saw me. Maybe she was curious why Mr. Xie and the others invited me for drinks, so she wanted to see what kind of person I was."

Li Se knew that the two women would pry, so he naturally dared not mention that he had met Zhu Wushuang before.

Wang Bao'er, however, was not easily convinced, saying, "The princess is extremely proud. Her master is said to be some kind of 'Holy Mother of Lishan,' a legendary immortal! She only returned to the palace three years ago, and I've tried to see her several times without success. How come you saw her all of a sudden, and you still say you're not familiar with her?"

Li Se said, "Yes! I'm also wondering! I'm just an unknown nobody, and today I've met so many important people. It's quite strange!"

Wang Bao'er pouted and said, "Hmph! You clearly know them all, yet you're just trying to fool me. You didn't take me with you when you went out to play. I don't care, you must take me out to play tomorrow."

Li Se was most afraid of Wang Bao'er's words, and exclaimed in surprise, "No, it's dangerous outside."

Wang Bao'er said, "Then why were you able to take Xiaoxue out? Ah! I understand now, you... you're not a good person." After saying this, her face turned completely red.

Li Se asked curiously, "What's wrong? How am I not a good person?"

Wang Bao'er, pressed by the question, retorted angrily, "You still dare to talk? You must have turned her into a woman! You're lying to me! Humph, you're a big bad guy!"

Li Se gasped in surprise, her mouth agape, unable to close.

Chapter Seven: The Book of Escape Techniques .

After meeting the princess, not only did the women's attitudes towards Li Se change slightly, but a steady stream of martial arts figures and court officials also came to visit her.

Li Se couldn't refuse, and was greatly annoyed. He started counting down the days until his return. That day, he said to Gu Xiangjun, "Xiangjun, there are only four days left until Bao'er's birthday. We're finally about to go back. But what birthday present should we give Bao'er?"

Gu Xiangjun said, "I really like those flower baskets and wreaths you made. I think she'll like them too."

Li Se laughed and scolded, "You're just trying to fool me. How could she be like you?"

(26) Old feelings burn brightly. He was

deeply moved by the past days of Li Se and Gu Xiangjun. Suddenly, he grabbed Gu Xiangjun's slender waist and pressed his lips to hers. Gu Xiangjun said urgently, "Don't do this. The servants will see..." Before she could finish speaking, her cherry lips were covered, and she couldn't say anything. Although she felt shy, she was instantly melted by Li Se's passionate kiss. She unconsciously let out a soft kiss and hugged Li Se's strong body.

After a brief, passionate kiss, both feeling intensely hot, they disregarded everything else and began to undress. Soon, they stood naked before each other. They eagerly embraced, kissing passionately, their bodies burning with fiery passion. Gu Xiangjun's skin was smooth and incredibly elastic, and Li Se greedily grabbed and kissed her body.

He vigorously kneaded her breasts, causing them to sway irregularly. Gu Xiangjun's body writhed, her fragrant sweat pouring down. Her alluring eyes were half-closed, her tongue occasionally darting out and swirling around her lips, making her even more captivating.

Li Se parted Gu Xiangjun's thighs, revealing her alluring vulva between her pink legs. He reached in and found a large amount of her juices flowing. He thrust his glans into her opening.

Gu Xiangjun immediately felt a fleshy glans squeeze inside, and hurriedly spread her legs apart. Li Se thrust hard, and his large penis was halfway inside. Gu Xiangjun immediately felt a fullness in her vagina, her tender opening

stretched to its limit. Li Se thrust hard again, and his entire penis was inside her. Gu Xiangjun felt another wave of intense pleasure, and at the same time, she twisted her body, trying to make the penis go in even deeper.

After Li Se's penis was inside her vagina, he lay on top of her, motionless, his hands caressing her breasts. Gu Xiangjun's vagina began to itch. But Li Se's kneading of her breasts and kissing of her nipples made her feel extremely comfortable all over. Li Se caressed her and kissed her, and she also put her tongue into Li Se's mouth, and the two of them sucked on each other's tongues.

After a while, Gu Xiangjun felt a tingling itch in her vagina, an itch that was unbearable, and she felt his penis throbbing inside her. She cried out softly, "Oh... my vagina is so itchy..."

Li Se lifted his buttocks and pressed down. Gu Xiangjun felt a wave of comfort in her vagina. A surge of pleasure welled up within her. Li Se began to thrust gently, and after a while, Gu Xiangjun, unable to wait any longer, embraced Li Se and moaned, "My lord, thrust faster..."

Knowing she was enjoying it, Li Se lifted his buttocks and began thrusting repeatedly. With each thrust, Gu Xiangjun felt an unparalleled pleasure, waves of tingling sensations, and a strange swelling within her. Her vagina was so wet that it began to gush forth, and soon she started moaning and groaning. "Oh... ah... yes... harder... push... ah... oh my god... um... big cock... ah... so full... um... so swollen... so good..."

Gu Xiangjun moaned, panting, her hands tightly embracing Li Se. Li Se could no longer restrain himself. He immediately got up, placed Gu Xiangjun's beautiful legs on his shoulders, and grabbed a pillow to place under her buttocks to allow for deeper penetration. Then he thrust forcefully, and Gu Xiangjun's vagina gushed forth even more fluid, making a "sizzling" sound.

"Mmm...it's so deep...I want to...bite it...mmm...uh...ouch...ah...fuck...fuck Xiang'er to death...fuck...thrust...shh...faster...ah...ah...I...ascend...to heaven..."

Gu Xiangjun was being fucked to the point of death by Li Se, dazed and panting, screaming wildly, her hands grabbing at his body, his sweat dripping onto her body, creating a beautiful picture of a woman emerging from a bath, as her own fragrant sweat had already soaked through. The penis went in and out of her vagina, making her even more frenzied.

"Xiang'er, lie down, raise your buttocks."

"Mmm...my lord...whatever you want to do...Xiang'er will do as you say..." Gu Xiangjun hurriedly lowered her delicate body, raising her fragrant buttocks high. This position made her curves even more perfect and moving. Li Se climbed on top of her, his large hands grabbing her high buttocks, his large penis aimed at her vagina and thrusting in again.

"Oh...ah..." The direct entry of the large penis made Gu Xiangjun cry out in pleasure again. Then came a frenzied series of thrusts, causing Gu Xiangjun's ample breasts to sway incessantly. Li Se reached forward and kneaded them incessantly, while simultaneously accelerating his thrusts.

The intense stimulation drove Gu Xiangjun even more mad, pushing her to one peak after another, frantically thrusting her buttocks back, increasing the friction. Her vagina was gushing with fluids from the relentless pounding of his penis. Li Se, like a raging lion, was unstoppable. The force with which he kneaded her breasts increased, and he continued to thrust faster. His penis slid in and out as if it were his own.

"Mmm...mmm...so good...mmm...hmm...my lord...it's going in...so deep...so deep...my lord...you're so good at fucking...hmm...my little hole is about to ascend to heaven...hmm...hmm...you really know how to do it...hmm...Xiang'er is so happy..."

Hearing these lewd words, Li Se went even crazier, his penis thrusting wildly, rotating in all directions, occasionally grinding against her clitoris. Soon, Gu Xiangjun could no longer resist. She felt waves of tingling numbness and a surge of pleasure coursing through her vagina. She felt as if her soul had flown to another realm, floating on air, her whole body trembling. This trembling caused all her pores to open, as if she were about to take flight, a strange heat gushing outwards.

Gu Xiangjun hurriedly used her last remaining strength, frantically thrusting her hips backward, her vaginal walls contracting violently, trying to lock onto the thick, massive penis. She cried out, "My lord...faster...Xiang'er is about to cum again...faster...harder...oh...big cock...fuck me harder...my vagina is going to heaven...ah...ah...oh...oh...good lord...Xiang'er is going to heaven again...so good...oh..."

Li Se, knowing he could no longer hold back, thrust wildly, making Gu Xiangjun's vagina squelch and cry out. After a while, Li Se's whole body convulsed, then his penis trembled violently, and a thick stream of semen shot out. At this moment, Gu Xiangjun, who was experiencing ecstasy, felt an intense heat in her core after being ejaculated by Yang essence, as if her vagina was blooming. Her Yin essence involuntarily leaked out again, her body trembled, and she murmured to herself, her lips slightly parted like a fiery snake spitting pearls: "Ah... my lord... Xiang'er is dead..." Her hands loosened, and she lay motionless, like a dead woman.

The next day, Li Se thought, "Xiangjun loves me, so naturally she dotes on me, but Bao'er is different. She's used to seeing treasures, so what to give her is a problem." He then went to ask Hua Ruxue.

It turned out that since returning from the palace, Hua Ruxue had stopped bothering Li Se. Overjoyed, Li Se realized it was all thanks to Xue Yaoguang, but he didn't know what methods Xue Yaoguang had used.

As Li Se entered the outer room, Wang Bao'er rushed in excitedly, saying, "Big brother, great news! Father wants me to go to the Great Bao'en Temple to offer incense. Come with me! I've asked you to take me out to play several times, but you always refused. This time Father promised, so you have nothing to say, right?"

Hua Ruxue also chimed in, delighted, "Great! I want to go too!"

Wang Bao'er grasped her hand, saying, "Of course, how could I not take you!"

Li Se had no choice; besides, it would also prevent others from visiting him, which was a good thing. So, he took Gu Xiangjun and Hua Ruxue and followed Wang Bao'er to the Great Bao'en Temple.

The Great Bao'en Temple was located southeast of Changgan Bridge in the south of the city, only a few miles from the Wang family's residence. In the tenth year of the Yongle reign, Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) built the Great Bao'en Temple, a massive temple in southern China, and a nine-story glazed pagoda on the site of Changgan Temple, the earliest temple in Nanjing.

Why did Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) build the Great Bao'en Temple? It turns out that Zhu Di was not born to Empress Ma; his birth mother was from Goryeo (present-day Korea).

His mother gave birth to him prematurely, a highly inauspicious event, and was tortured to death by Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma with the "iron skirt" punishment.

After Zhu Di seized the throne from his nephew Zhu Yunwen, to repay his mother's kindness in raising him, he commissioned the construction of the Great Bao'en Temple and its pagoda on the sites of the former Changgan Temple of the Sun Wu dynasty, the Ashoka Temple of the Southern Liang dynasty, the Tianxi Temple of the Song dynasty, and the Ci'en Jingzhong Temple of the Yuan dynasty, under the guise of commemorating the Ming Taizu (Emperor Hongwu) and Empress Ma.

This project was enormous, utilizing vast amounts of manpower, resources, and finances.

The construction of the Great Bao'en Temple Pagoda alone cost nearly 2.5 million taels of silver. One hundred thousand soldiers and laborers, under the supervision of Huang Ligong, the Vice Minister of Works, and the eunuch Zheng He, worked for many years, and the project is still not complete.

The Great Bao'en Temple was built to the same standards as the imperial palace. The main buildings, the Mahavira Hall and the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings, are built on foundations of finely carved, jade-like white stone. The halls and pavilions are adorned with colorful paintings, creating a magnificent and opulent atmosphere. Only the imperial palace could rival its grandeur.

It is one of the three largest temples in the capital, off-limits to ordinary people except for high-ranking officials and

nobles. Only prominent figures like Wang Bao'er were permitted entry. Wang Bao'er and her entourage, including Li Se, stayed at Bao'en Temple, which was very close to the Wang family residence. Wang Bao'er often played there as a child because of its strong security. As she grew older, she found it less frequent and came less often, but having been cooped up at home for a long time, she was overjoyed to be able to come and offer incense.

Wang Bao'er enthusiastically showed Li Se, Gu Xiangjun, and Hua Ruxue around the temple, explaining its features. The most noteworthy structure was the Great Bao'en Temple Pagoda, located behind the Mahavira Hall, commonly known as the Glazed Pagoda.

This octagonal, nine-tiered pagoda, thirty-nine feet tall, was constructed from massive white porcelain-bodied, five-colored glazed components.

Each component, weighing over several hundred kilograms, is sculpted with Buddha or animal figures. The design and manufacture of these prefabricated parts are extremely precise, with billions of golden Buddha statues on the tower. Each golden statue is composed of dozens of glazed bricks. The folds of their robes are perfectly aligned, their faces are perfectly detailed, their beards and eyebrows are perfectly aligned, fitting together seamlessly as if crafted by divine hands.

Li Se and his party climbed to the top of the tower and gazed into the distance, taking in the palaces, houses, green mountains, and clear waters—a truly exhilarating sight.

As evening approached, Li Se finished his meal. Seeing the women chattering away, he had no opportunity to speak, so he slipped out of the inn to wander around alone.

As Li Se approached the Guanyin Hall, he was about to enter a gallery when he suddenly heard someone calling softly from around a corner, "Yu Da, Yu Da..."

Li Se was startled and turned around to see that the person calling him was indeed "Eastern Yin" Liang Gongchang. He quickly ran over, pulled him aside to a quiet corner, and asked, "Why are you here? What's the matter?"

Liang Gongchang smiled and said, "Yu Da, I have some good news to tell you!"

Li Se thought to himself, "Oh no, this must be another mess I have to clean up! What good could they possibly have?"

He said urgently, "I told you not to do anything. Wait for my instructions. In a few days, I can calmly teach you how to do things. Have you gotten into trouble again?"

Liang Gongchang said, "Don't worry, Master Yu, we wouldn't have acted without your orders. This time, the news I received is that a secret manual that our master once told us about has been found. With this manual, we can bring glory to our sect!"

Li Se finally calmed down and said lazily, "What secret manual? I don't know anything about it."

Liang Gongchang said, "It's the 'Heavenly Book of Escape Techniques'! You must know about it, right?"

Li Se said, "This book... it's nothing special ..." "What's the use? I'll teach you the powerful martial arts left by your master later. Don't waste your time thinking about these worthless books."

Liang Gongchang said anxiously, "Ah! Yu Da, you didn't know how powerful this book is! Legend has it that this book is a heavenly book, divided into three volumes. The first volume is called 'Heavenly Escape,' the second volume is called 'Earthly Escape,' and the third volume is called 'Human Escape.' Heavenly Escape allows one to ride the clouds and wind, ascending to the void; Earthly Escape allows one to pass through mountains and rocks; Human Escape allows one to travel the world, conceal one's form and change shape, throw swords and knives, and take people's heads. Now you know how powerful it is!"

Li Se laughed and said, "You believe such nonsense? Who lied to you? Let's go! You'd better leave quickly! If people see us together, it will be difficult for me to do my job." After saying that, he took a step and left.

Liang Gongchang quickly grabbed him, saying, "Ah! Boss, wait a minute. It seems you won't be interested unless I tell you the origin of this book."

Li Se had no choice but to say, "Alright, tell me quickly. My wife will come looking for me if she doesn't see me soon."

Liang Gongchang said, "During the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, there was an extraordinary person named Zuo Ci. Do you know him?"

Li Se said, "No!" He thought to himself, "This person is a remarkable man, mentioned in historical records. Why is he mentioning him?" Liang

Gongchang said, "Then I will tell you his story in detail!"

Liang Gongchang told the story of Zuo Ci teasing Cao Cao. This event is described vividly in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms": In the tenth month of winter, the Wei King's palace was completed, and he sent people to collect rare flowers and fruits from various places to plant in the rear garden. An envoy went to Wu, met Sun Quan, and conveyed the Wei King's order to go to Wenzhou to collect tangerines.

At that time, Sun Quan was showing respect to the Wei King, so he ordered his men to select more than forty loads of large tangerines in his city and send them to Ye County overnight.

Midway through their journey, the porters, exhausted, rested at the foot of the mountain. There they saw a man, one-eyed and lame, wearing a white rattan crown and a blue robe, who bowed to them and said, "You are all weary from carrying these loads; how about I carry one for you?"

The porters were overjoyed. So the man carried each load for five li. However, the loads he carried were lighter than before. The porters were all astonished. Before leaving, the man told the official in charge of the oranges, "I am an old friend of the King of Wei from his hometown. My surname is Zuo, my given name is Ci, my courtesy name is Yuanfang, and my Taoist name is Master Wujiao. If you go to Ye County, please tell him of Zuo Ci's intentions." Then he turned and left.

The man who took the oranges went to Ye County and presented them to Cao Cao. Cao Cao personally cut one open, but it was just an empty shell, with no flesh inside. Cao Cao was greatly surprised and questioned the man who took the oranges. The man told him about Zuo Ci.

Cao Cao did not believe him, but a gatekeeper suddenly reported, "A man claiming to be Zuo Ci requests an audience with Your Majesty."

Cao Cao summoned him. The man who took the oranges said, "This is the very person I saw on the road."

Cao Cao scolded him, "What sorcery did you use to steal my delicious fruit?"

Ci laughed and said, "How could such a thing be!" He took an orange and cut it open; inside were pieces of flesh, which tasted very sweet. But the oranges that Cao Cao cut open were all empty shells.

Cao Cao was even more surprised, so he offered Zuo Ci a seat and questioned him. Ci asked for wine and meat, which Cao Cao gave him. He drank five dou of wine without getting drunk and ate a whole sheep without being full.

Cao Cao asked, "What skill do you possess to achieve this?"

Ci replied, "I studied Taoism for thirty years in the Jialing and Emei Mountains of Xichuan. Suddenly, I heard a voice calling my name from within a stone wall; but upon looking, I saw nothing. This continued for several days. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shattered the stone wall, revealing three volumes of celestial books, called the 'Book of Escape Techniques.' Your Majesty, you hold the highest position among ministers; why not step down and follow me to the Emei Mountains to cultivate? I will then bestow upon you the three volumes of the celestial books."

Cao Cao said, "I have long desired to retire gracefully, but the court has not found the right person."

Ci laughed and said, "Liu Bei of Yizhou is a descendant of the imperial family; why not yield this position to him? Otherwise, I will take your head with my flying sword."

Cao Cao was furious and said, "This is Liu Bei's spy!" He ordered his men to seize him.

Ci laughed incessantly. Cao Cao ordered a dozen jailers to arrest and torture him.

The jailers beat him severely, but when they looked at Zuo Ci, he was fast asleep, showing no sign of pain.

Cao Cao was furious and ordered a heavy cangue to be brought. Iron nails were driven in, iron chains were fastened, and he was sent to the prison to be imprisoned and guarded. Soon, the cangue and chains fell off, and Zuo Ci lay on the ground, unharmed.

He was imprisoned for seven days without food or drink. When Cao Cao checked on him again, Zuo Ci was sitting upright on the ground, his face turning red. The jailer reported this to Cao Cao, who took him out and questioned him.

Zuo Ci said, "I have not eaten for decades, yet it does me no harm; I could eat a thousand sheep a day, and I could finish them all." Cao Cao was helpless.

All the officials went to the palace for a grand banquet. During the banquet, Zuo Ci, wearing wooden clogs, stood before the banquet. The officials were astonished.

Zuo Ci said, "Your Majesty has prepared both land and sea delicacies for today's grand banquet for your officials. There are many exotic items from all directions. Is there anything missing? This humble Taoist priest is willing to fetch it."

Cao Cao said, "I want dragon liver to make soup. Can you get it?"

Zuo Ci said, "What difficulty is there?"

He took an ink brush and drew a dragon on the whitewashed wall. With a flick of his sleeve, the dragon's belly opened. Zuo Ci pulled a dragon liver from the dragon's belly, fresh blood still flowing.

Cao Cao didn't believe him and scolded him, "You should have hidden it in your sleeve first!"

Ci said, "It's cold today, and the grass and trees are withered; Your Majesty, please choose any flower you desire."

Cao Cao said, "I only want peonies."

Ci said, "Easy."

He ordered a large flowerpot to be brought and placed before the banquet. He then watered it. In an instant, a peony sprouted, blooming with two flowers.

The officials were greatly surprised and invited Ci to sit and eat with them.

After a while, the cook brought out fish sashimi. Ci said, "The sashimi must be from the Songjiang perch to be truly delicious."

Cao Cao said, "It's a thousand miles away, how can you obtain it?"

Ci said, "This is not difficult to obtain!" He ordered a fishing rod to be brought and fished in the fishpond below the hall. In an instant, dozens of large perch were caught and placed on the hall.

Cao Cao said, "I have this fish in my pond."

Ci said, "Your Majesty, why are you deceiving me? All the perch in the world have only two gills, but the Songjiang perch has four. This is easily distinguishable."

The officials looked and indeed it had four gills.

Ci said, "To cook the Songjiang perch, you must use purple ginger."

Cao Cao asked, "Can you also get some?"

Ci replied, "Easy."

He ordered a golden basin to be brought, and Ci covered it with his robe. A moment later, a basin full of purple ginger appeared, which he presented to Cao Cao. Cao Cao took it with his hand, and suddenly a book appeared inside, titled 'Mengde's New Book.'

Cao Cao examined it and found not a single word was wrong. Cao Cao was greatly suspicious. Ci took a jade cup from the table, filled it with fine wine, and presented it to Cao Cao, saying, "Your Majesty, you may drink this wine and live a thousand years." Cao

Cao said, "You may drink first."

Ci then removed a jade hairpin from his crown, drew a line in the cup, and divided the wine in two; he drank half himself and offered the other half to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao scolded him. Ci threw the cup into the air, where it transformed into a white dove, circling the palace. The officials looked up at him, but Zuo Ci had nowhere to be found.

Liang Gongchang continued, "Maoshan is eighty li from the capital, and was formerly known as Juqu Mountain. It borders Jinling to the west and overlooks Taihu Lake to the east. Its mountain shape is winding, with naturally formed caves and ruins, and it has been known since ancient times as 'a blessed land for health and a sacred site for achieving divinity.' Legend has it that during the Western Han Dynasty, three brothers from Xianyang, Mao Ying, Mao Gu, and Mao Zhong, crossed the river here to cultivate Taoism and became immortals, flying away on white cranes. The local people built a temple to worship the Mao brothers and renamed the mountain Maoshan. Later, Zuo Ci came to Jiangdong, entered this mountain seeking immortality, and met the Three Mao True Lords, who bestowed upon him a divine mushroom." From then on, Maoshan became a famous Taoist mountain and scenic spot in Jiangdong. The Maoshan Taoist sect, together with the Tianshi sect of Longhu Mountain and the Lingbao sect of Gezao Mountain, were known as the "Three Mountains of Talismans" of Jiangnan Taoism. This "Book of Escape Techniques" became the secret manual of the Maoshan sect. However, I have already found out that the "Book of Escape Techniques" has now fallen into the hands of the Wang family. If Yu Da were to obtain the "Book of Escape Techniques," wouldn't it greatly increase the strength of our Butterfly Sect? Even if Yu Da cannot become an immortal after cultivating it, he can still dominate the martial arts world. "Ah!"

He finished speaking and laughed heartily, but after a long while, he realized he was laughing in the wrong place. He quickly suppressed his laughter and, seeing Li Se still deep in thought, said, "Boss, what are you thinking about? If we kidnap Wang Bao'er and make that old man Wang Laocai exchange the secret manual for it, are we afraid he won't comply?"

Li Se then woke up with a start and said, "What? You actually used such a despicable method?"

Liang Gongchang asked in surprise, "As long as the method is effective, what's the point of talking about benevolence and morality? We're not those hypocritical upright people!"

Li Se said, "Oh, no, I mean your method won't work. Actually, you're exaggerating. If this secret manual is so powerful, then the Wang family members who cultivate it will be incredibly powerful. Would we still be able to extort them? Wouldn't that be courting death? Don't believe this rumor.

Besides, you're ignorant! Do you know? Those immortal arts and demonic spells are more likely to cause trouble than success. They're not enough to deal with people with high concentration and martial arts skills. Immortal cultivation..." "Cultivating the Dao is about nurturing the mind and character. What's the use of learning magic to fight with others?"

Liang Gongchang's expression changed. He said, "What Yu Da says is true. But Yu Da, don't you know Master's background?"

Li Se said dismissively, "What does that have to do with Master's background?"

Liang Gongchang said solemnly, "Because Master is Wang Laocai's younger brother. This secret manual was obtained by Master, but unexpectedly, Wang Laocai kept it all for himself. However, he must be too incompetent to keep such a secret manual, like possessing a mountain of treasure, without knowing how to use it. I think he must be afraid and has hidden it. This news is absolutely true, Yu Da, please rest assured."

Li Se exclaimed, "So Senior Hua is Wang Bao'er's uncle?"

Liang Gongchang said, "Of course."

Li Se's face turned pale, and he secretly groaned, thinking, "If Bao'er knew about this, how would she treat me?"

Liang Gongchang said, "Yu Da, this matter is absolutely true. We must avenge my master." "I'm so angry! He was driven out of the Wang family's house. Leaving aside the humiliation, the anger over having his secret manual stolen is unbearable! Wang Bao'er is here tonight. I'll kidnap her. Please, Master Yu, don't interfere."

Li Se coldly replied, "No! She's my sister, and also your master's niece!"

Liang Gongchang said, "They're heartless, so naturally we'll be unjust. Besides, our goal is to force them to hand over the secret manual, so there's nothing wrong with that."

Li Se said, "I'll keep an eye on the secret manual. Don't worry, I'll definitely get it from the Wang family."

Liang Gongchang suddenly knelt down and cried, "Master Yu, this is Master's last wish. I must do it. Even if you forbid it, I will do it. I'll accept your punishment later. I'm not doing this for myself; you know that."

Seeing Liang Gongchang's resolute determination, Li Se knew he couldn't persuade him. In truth, although he was the sect leader, how could he possibly control these four lecherous thieves? If they turned against him, he would be completely helpless.

Li Se thought for a moment and said, "So you're determined to do it?"

Liang Gongchang replied, "Indeed, please grant my request, Master Yu."

Li Se already had a plan and said, "Alright then! But Wang Bao'er is my sister, and I need to protect her. If you're capable, you can kidnap her tonight by yourself. I'll dismiss her guards and only have a few girls accompany her. If you're not capable of kidnapping her, you'll have to listen to me and we'll discuss it further and find a way to retrieve the secret manual."

Liang Gongchang said with difficulty, "But that means fighting with Master Yu, which is..." "Great!"

Li Se laughed. "Don't worry, if you hurt me, I won't blame you. It's just that my skills aren't up to par. Go! See you tonight."

Liang Gongchang stood up, grinning, and said, "Then Yu Da will have to be lenient tonight."

Li Se said, "Alright! Don't worry, you're pretty good at snatching people away." Seeing Liang Gongchang leave with a smile, he thought to himself, "Hehe, you don't know, I have a beautiful and powerful vixen helping me! You still think you can get away with this!"

He was very pleased with himself and went back to make his arrangements.

Chapter Eight: The Battle of Immortal Arts.

Li Se returned to the inn and hurriedly said to Gu Xiangjun, Wang Bao'er, and Hua Ruxue, "Something terrible has

happened! Tonight, a lecherous thief will come to kidnap Bao'er! That thief is very powerful, everyone must be careful. Don't sleep tonight, stay together." The three women were greatly surprised and asked what had happened. Li Se couldn't explain directly, only saying, "I heard that a lecherous thief is coming tonight. The guards outside are useless; we'll have to deal with it ourselves."

Wang Bao'er said worriedly, "Ah! Then quickly tell my father! Tell him to send more men!" "The people protecting me now are all experts! Aren't they good enough?"

Hua Ruxue said excitedly, "Don't be afraid! I'll protect you. As long as it's not that guy who looks like a monk but isn't a monk, I'm not afraid."

Li Se was pleased to see Hua Ruxue volunteer, and said, "Yes, yes. With Miss Hua here, there's absolutely no problem. Why make a fuss? Besides, although my martial arts are low, I can still hold them off for a while."

Wang Bao'er trusted Li Se a lot, and seeing his guarantee, she wasn't worried anymore. She even excitedly discussed with Hua Ruxue what a lecherous thief should be like and other such questions.

Li Se heard Hua Ruxue say, "No, I bet he'll grow a long beard." Wang Bao'er said, "No, he'll be skinny like a monkey, without a beard."

Li Se was listening with amusement when Gu Xiangjun quietly pulled him aside and whispered, "My lord, what happened?"

Li Se whispered, "A lecherous thief is trying to kidnap Bao'er. The three of us can beat him, so I'll make him suffer tonight. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

Gu Xiangjun said, "But can we really succeed?"

Li Se laughed, "Miss Hua and I can't, but our Miss Gu is highly skilled in martial arts!"

Gu Xiangjun said... "Hmph, let's see if you can keep your mouth shut. When we can't beat you, I'll run away."

Li Se laughed, "If we can't beat you, we'll just hand you over. Once a lecherous thief sees a beauty like you, he won't bother you anymore."

Gu Xiangjun blushed and said, "Pah, my lord is just talking nonsense. I'm ignoring you."

She walked to Wang Bao'er's side and said, "What kind of lecherous thief is he? Just look at the man in our room."

The two women looked at Li Se and giggled. Li Se made a face and said, "I'm a ghost, I'll scare you to death, not a thief!" The three women laughed again.

The four of them chatted and laughed until late at night, but there was no sound. Wang Bao'er and Hua Ruxue couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep on the table.

Gu Xiangjun said, "My lord, you haven't misheard the news, have you? Why hasn't anyone come yet?"

Li Se said, "Isn't it better if they don't come? But that guy is very cunning; he'll definitely take advantage of our unpreparedness to launch a sneak attack. However, I specifically instructed that there be extra guards outside. I don't believe he can get past them. Hehe."

Gu Xiangjun laughed, "Look at how smug you are, as if you've gained a great advantage."

Li Se laughed, "Come on, come on, let me let you take advantage of me."

He reached out to hug Gu Xiangjun, who half-heartedly resisted and slapped him away. Just as they were snuggling together, a sudden burst of laughter rang out. They saw Hua Ruxue lying on the table, laughing incessantly, and realized she was pretending to be asleep.

Embarrassed, they quickly separated. Just then, a long howl rang out, and a figure burst through the window, heading straight for Wang Bao'er.

Li Se, startled, leaped to intercept, simultaneously striking out with a palm. The figure didn't even glance at Li Se, casually meeting Li Se's right palm, but its momentum didn't slow; its left hand was about to grab Wang Bao'er.

Li Se met the man's palm with his own. The man trembled slightly, but Li Se was forced back a step. At the same time, Li Se saw the man reach out and grab Wang Bao'er's shoulder. Li Se thought to himself, "Oh no! How did Liang Gongchang suddenly appear? Are all the guards outside dead? This guy is really powerful. This is bad."

But to his surprise, Liang Gongchang immediately withdrew his hand as soon as it touched Wang Bao'er, and at the same time, he suddenly retreated three feet.

Just as Li Se was wondering what was going on, he saw Hua Ruxue raise her head and clap her hands with a grin, saying, "You lecherous thief, you're quite powerful! Your hand wasn't pierced."

Wang Bao'er also woke up, unaware of what had happened, and just stared curiously at the extra person in the room.

Only then did Li Se notice that there was a hedgehog-like thing on Wang Bao'er's shoulder, which disappeared in an instant.

Liang Gongchang stared intently at Hua Ruxue and said, "Such a pretty little girl actually knows magic, no wonder Yu... Heh, let's see what you're capable of." After saying that, he stretched out his hand, and a gourd appeared in his hand.

Li Se was shocked, knowing he was about to use some strange magic—it was one of his treasures. He immediately attacked with a palm strike, shouting, "Everyone, attack quickly! Don't let him pull any tricks!"

Before he finished speaking, a golden arrow, gleaming in the sunlight, shot straight towards his mouth. Li Se, unaware of the enemy's power, dared not block it with his hands and quickly dodged. However, the arrow was too fast, and he could only fall backward, landing awkwardly on the ground, but he had avoided the attack.

The others were in a different situation. A large net covered the heads of the three women. Gu Xiangjun, without her sword, could only dodge. Wang Bao'er, however, was terrified. Her martial arts skills were so low that she could be said to know nothing at all, so she didn't even have the thought of dodging.

Hua Ruxue, however, remained calm. She smiled slightly, and with a flick of her small hand, a ball of flame flew out, burning directly at the large net.

Liang Gongchang quickly withdrew his spell, and the gourd returned to his hand. However, before he could unleash another attack, Hua Ruxue waved her jade hand, and a flying sword shot towards him out of thin air.

Startled, Liang Gongchang immediately activated the "Heavenly Demon Illusion Technique" to dodge Hua Ruxue's flying sword attack, and then reached for Wang Bao'er.

Li Se and Gu Xiangjun would not stand idly by and immediately attacked to block. The room was a large house of several dozen feet, but with four people fighting, it still felt cramped.

Despite having a flying sword behind him and enemies in front, Liang Gongchang remained calm and suddenly sat down cross-legged. Just as the flying sword was about to pierce Liang Gongchang, and the others were wondering why he was courting death, Hua Ruxue's flying sword suddenly changed direction, bypassing Liang Gongchang and attacking Li Se instead.

Li Se hurriedly withdrew his attack to dodge, but the flying sword was too fast and too close. Caught off guard, Li Se only managed to avoid a vital point on his chest. Just as he was about to be struck in the shoulder and was thinking, "Oh no!", the sword abruptly stopped in mid-air, its tip pressed against his shoulder, but it wouldn't advance any further.

Li Se knew this was thanks to Hua Ruxue, but before he could even rejoice, he saw Liang Gongchang mutter something under his breath. Then, the gourd suddenly enlarged and spat out three red snakes, each over a foot long, which lunged at Li Se, Gu Xiangjun, and Hua Ruxue.

The three snakes came like lightning; the three people were so close, how could they possibly dodge?

Gu Xiangjun was terrified, but there was no time to avoid them. She could only reach out to block them; even an injured arm was better than a damaged face.

Gu Xiangjun had expected her arm to be injured, but before her hand could even touch the snake, a white light shot out, instantly turning the red snake into smoke. Overjoyed, she saw that it was Hua Ruxue who had come to her aid, and the red snake that had shot towards Hua Ruxue was also reduced to ashes by the white light emitted from her eyes.

But before Gu Xiangjun could rejoice, she saw Li Se's palm being bitten by a red snake. Gu Xiangjun screamed in alarm, and Hua Ruxue, her starry eyes filled with anger, quickly drew her flying sword and slashed the red snake down.

While the three were struggling to cope, Liang Gongchang moved swiftly, restraining the stunned Wang Bao'er, and laughed, "The three of you don't need to exert yourselves. You can rest assured, I just..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hua Ruxue opened her cherry lips, and a fiery red pearl shot out, dazzlingly bright.

Knowing the danger, Liang Gongchang quickly shielded Wang Bao'er with his body, but the Xuanzhu, like a flying sword, changed direction and struck towards his head. Left

with no other choice, Liang Gongchang pushed Wang Bao'er aside and used the momentum to float towards the back window.

However, he was only focused on the Xuanzhu when, suddenly, he felt a tightness around his body as a furry rope bound him. Startled, Liang Gongchang quickly shrank back, using his bone-shrinking technique, but the rope tightened as well. Liang Gongchang groaned as he was firmly bound.

Hua Ruxue giggled, "Haha, this lecherous thief is indeed formidable, but we've finally caught him! Sister is so amazing!" At the same time, she slightly opened her mouth and retrieved the Xuanzhu.

Gu Xiangjun said, "What's so amazing about me? It's all thanks to my sister's excellent teaching."

It turned out that the rope binding Liang Gongchang was Hua Ruxue's original tail, which Gu Xiangjun had thrown to her.

The two women smiled at each other, and Li Se breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to step forward to congratulate him, Liang Gongchang suddenly took a deep breath, and his body shrank, becoming smaller and smaller until he was only three inches long.

Li Se had seen him shrink before and wasn't surprised, but the three women were seeing it for the first time and were stunned. By the time they realized what was happening, Liang Gongchang was already free of his ropes.

Liang Gongchang laughed loudly and said, "You all are very capable. Farewell." Then, he slightly cupped his hands, raised his arms, and his figure shot out of the window like a stone, landing several dozen feet away. The sky outside was pitch black, and in the blink of an eye, his figure had vanished into the night.

Wang Bao'er cried out, "Ah! What a pity! That lecherous thief got away!" Among the crowd, she was the first to react.

Hua Ruxue retorted defiantly, "Hmph, I'll definitely catch him next time. He

was lucky this time." Li Se, however, was secretly pleased. Liang Gongchang's departure was the best outcome; otherwise, he would have had to rack his brains to figure out how to let him go. But it wasn't dawn yet, and he wondered if Liang Gongchang would be unwilling to admit defeat and try to snatch Wang Bao'er again. He said, "Everyone was frightened, but we can't let our guard down yet. He might come

back!" Hua Ruxue replied, "No way! He used a lot of magic today and won't recover in a short time. With his martial arts skills, how could he possibly defeat us? It's really no fun; we wasted our energy."

Gu Xiangjun said, "Sister, you chased away the bad guy and did a great job! Don't be discouraged!"

Li Se also smiled and praised Hua Ruxue. What he said wasn't an exaggeration; Hua Ruxue had contributed the most to defeating Liang Gongchang.

Hua Ruxue's greatest hope was to win Li Se's favor, and seeing that Li Se had truly praised her, she became happy.

Wang Bao'er had never witnessed such a miraculous battle before, and having just experienced a close call, she was actually quite excited, asking all sorts of questions. She first inquired about the magical rope, then about Hua Ruxue's mysterious pearl. She already liked Hua Ruxue, and seeing how capable Hua Ruxue was, her affection only grew stronger.

Li Se, seeing that dawn was approaching, smiled as he watched them chat. Suddenly, Hua Ruxue's expression changed, and she said, "Listen outside!"

The group was startled; sure enough, approaching from afar, came a clear sound of footsteps outside the window—clack…clack…clack… Each sound was heart-wrenching, heavy and rhythmic.

The group crowded to the window and saw a giant approaching from afar. It was six zhang long and over ten zhang tall, with a gigantic face, eyes like bronze bells, emitting an unbearable, strange light. Its head resembled a human head, but it lacked eyebrows, beard, and ears.

Li Se gasped, "What is that?"

Hua Ruxue said, "This is a giant controlled by a talisman-wielder. Ordinary people, when wielding powerful spells, must first gather soil from the five directions a thousand miles away, along with gold, silver, pearls, jade, cinnabar, copper, iron, wood, stone, rope, thread, paper, and pen—all the necessary items—before daring to use it. He must have gone back to find these things before casting the spell. But he just used so much magic power; how could he possibly still have the energy to cast such a spell? It's truly strange."

Li Se said, "Is this clumsy giant very powerful?" "?"

Hua Ruxue said, "Extremely powerful."

Li Se said anxiously, "Then what should we do? You should also summon a giant with your talisman!"

Hua Ruxue smiled bitterly, "Drawing talismans to summon ghosts and gods is the most difficult thing. You must use qi to control form, and form to control qi. Only when form and qi are unified can yin and yang be connected, and heaven and earth be in harmony. Not only can you command gods and ghosts, and control lightning and thunder, but you can also move objects and change their forms. But I just used so many spells, and I am already exhausted. How can I still have the ability to summon ghosts! I'm sorry, Li Lang." She finished speaking with infinite tenderness and full of apology.

Li Se smiled and said, "It's okay. You are already very powerful and have helped me a lot. Why are you apologizing?" Although he was very anxious, comforting Hua Ruxue was the right thing to do at this moment.

Hua Ruxue frowned slightly and said, "It seems I'm not yet qualified to talk about 'cultivation.' It's like a city; I haven't even seen the walls, let alone how many houses are inside! That guy doesn't seem any stronger than me, so how can he have the power to exorcise monsters?"

Li Se said, "It's alright, we can't beat him, but we can always run away, right?"

Hua Ruxue said, "If we can run away, what's there to be afraid of! That monster is made of paper; if we run, it will smell our scent and follow us with the wind. We won't be able to escape!"

Li Se thought to himself, "This is bad." His master, Chuanying, forbade him to learn magic and such things, saying that these were all ghostly tricks. If he learned them, he would fall into the lower realms, which would be very inappropriate for cultivating his mind and character. If he relied on these magics for everything, how could he cultivate?

At most, he could become more powerful with magic, but the path to immortality would become increasingly difficult. If he hadn't been so obsessed with these illusions in the past, with his talent, he might have already broken through to the true path and ascended to immortality!

Therefore, Chuan Ying warned Li Se not to learn from her, which is why Li Se wasn't very good at these things.

Seeing Li Se's increasingly grim expression, the three women were at a loss.

Seeing their worried faces, Wang Bao'er mustered her courage and said, "Big brother, don't worry. Since you can't defeat them, just hand me over. I won't implicate you."

Li Se was shocked and deeply moved. He reached out and stroked Wang Bao'er's hair, saying softly, "Bao'er, you're so good. You've really grown up, so sensible. But you don't know, the three of us are not in any danger. That lecherous thief only wants you; he won't harm you. What they want is a treasure. Don't worry, even if they capture you, I will rescue you unharmed."

He had never imagined Wang Bao'er would be so selfless. Now, deeply moved, he made up his mind to protect Wang Bao'er no matter what.

Wang Bao'er was overjoyed by Li Se's gentle comfort. She wouldn't care about any danger, especially after hearing Li Se's explanation, which put her heart at ease.

However, she sensed that Li Se still treated her like a child and was about to object when Hua Ruxue said, "So they only want to capture Bao'er? Then I have a way!"

It turned out that Hua Ruxue called Wang Bao'er "Little Aunt," but Li Se said it was impolite. Hua Ruxue, oblivious to the impropriety, changed her address to Bao'er. Seeing the giant approaching, Li Se hurriedly said, "Tell me quickly."

Hua Ruxue said, "With Bao'er by my side, that guy can't catch us, but I'm worried about you and my sister."

Gu Xiangjun knew Li Se's background and hurriedly said, "Take Bao'er and leave quickly! Once Bao'er is gone, they won't hurt us."

Li Se said, "Exactly, once you leave, they won't bother us for no reason. I'm just afraid you won't be able to escape."

Hua Ruxue laughed, "How could that little paper thing break my magic?"

After saying that, Hua Ruxue stomped her feet, and suddenly smoke enveloped her. She pulled Wang Bao'er away as if riding on clouds, disappearing in an instant.

The monster outside the window roared, as if it had fainted, suddenly spinning around several times before pouncing on the room where Li Se and Gu Xiangjun were.

Seeing that the situation was bad, the two quickly rushed out the door. The giant smashed the house with a few blows and then pounced on Li Se again.

Startled, Li Se dared not confront the giant head-on and hastily fled. However, the giant was surprisingly agile, and Li Se couldn't dodge in time. Left with no other choice, he forcefully channeled his inner

energy to take the giant's palm strike head-on. The giant was indeed incredibly strong; Li Se was sent flying by the blow. Although he managed to deflect some of the force, he still crashed heavily to the ground.

Seeing the giant about to pounce again, Gu Xiangjun quickly stepped in front of Li Se. Li Se shouted, "Liang Gongchang, you despicable villain, are you trying to betray your master and

ancestors?" The giant stopped three feet in front of Li Se and Gu Xiangjun. From afar came Liang Gongchang's shout: "Master Yu, I'm only doing this for the good of our Butterfly Sect. Please forgive me, Sect Leader. However, although your little girl is powerful, Wang Bao'er will not escape my grasp."

He then laughed loudly, and the giant slowly walked towards the source of the sound. A moment later, both the giant and the voice disappeared.

Li Se murmured, "What a pity! If I had my original martial arts skills, I could have withstood this monster, no matter how powerful it was. But now I'm disguised as a white dragon, completely at their mercy!"

Gu Xiangjun said softly, "My lord, don't worry, your martial arts will improve. I believe in you."

Li Se smiled and said, "I hope so! Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's hurry and find Bao'er and the others, and see if they've escaped!" 03-02
Chapter Nine Bao'er Captured

Li Se and Gu Xiangjun wanted to go find Hua Ruxue and Wang Bao'er, but at this moment, the surroundings were silent and pitch black. If it weren't for the collapse of their room, the terrible fight just now would have seemed as if it had never happened.

The two were stunned. Gu Xiangjun said, "Where are we going to find them?"

Li Se sighed, "That's right, we don't know where to find them. Let's wait here! They'll be back at dawn."

With nothing else to do, the two began to tidy up the collapsed room. Strangely, despite the loud noise, none of Wang Bao'er's guards appeared, and the monks from the temple were nowhere to be seen.

Finally, dawn broke, and Wang Bao'er's guards and the monks from the temple arrived in alarm.

Seeing they were completely unaware, Li Se loudly complained that the house was flimsy and had collapsed for no reason, but thankfully no one was injured. He then added that Wang Bao'er had gone home, and so on.

The monks and guards were completely confused and quickly shifted blame. Seeing that Li Se didn't take it seriously, they let it go.

However, Li Se and Gu Xiangjun waited and waited, but Hua Ruxue didn't return with Wang Bao'er. Li Se said, "Oh no, could they have encountered danger again? But how could that Liang Gongchang be so powerful? Even if he knew magic in his past life, he couldn't possibly possess such high-level magic at such a young age."

Gu Xiangjun said softly, "Don't worry, Li Lang! Miss Hua has hundreds of years of cultivation. Although she's not particularly powerful, she's still stronger than that lecherous thief, right? They're probably just playing around; they'll be back in a while."

As the two were pondering this, they suddenly saw Hua Ruxue staggering back alone. Li Se went to meet her and exclaimed in surprise, "Where's Bao'er?"

Hua Ruxue swayed and fell into Li Se's arms, crying, "Young Master, I'm so sorry! I lost her!"

Seeing Hua Ruxue's pale face, Li Se guessed she was injured. Although he was shocked, he smiled and said, "It's alright, tell me slowly, don't worry."

Hua Ruxue said, "I flew away with her. I used my illusion magic to keep the monster from finding us, but when we were resting in one place, someone suddenly started casting spells on me. I held on for a long time, and finally fainted. When I woke up, Bao'er was gone. My lord, I really did my best! I've never seen anyone with such powerful magic. That must be some kind of ghost or monster, so powerful!" After saying this, she threw herself into Li Se's arms and cried loudly.

Seeing that Hua Ruxue was quite frightened, Li Se had no choice but to force himself to be calm and gently comfort her until she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Only then did he let Gu Xiangjun carry her to her room to rest.

Li Se rushed towards Xuanwu Lake. Because he had the waist token given to him by Liang Gongchang, which was used to impersonate a guard of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he entered Xuanwu Lake without much effort.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was a guard force personally commanded by the emperor, possessing immense power. Not to mention ordinary officials, even high-ranking officials of the court were somewhat afraid of them.

The origin of the Embroidered Uniform Guard can be traced back to Zhu Yuanzhang. After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, his four trusted confidants were Gao Jianxian, Xia Yu, Yang Xian, and Ling Shuo.

These four men, who "made a living by observing and fighting," were "dedicated to investigating officials in all government offices in the capital, reporting any injustices, illegalities, or rumors."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "These men are like vicious dogs; people fear them."

Qian Zai, a minister under Zhu Yuanzhang, was conscripted to compile excerpts from Mencius. After court, he returned home and composed a poem: "At the fourth watch, I rise and dress, still feeling late for court at the Meridian Gate. When will I be able to enjoy the pleasures of rural life, sleeping until the food is ready?"

The next day at court, Zhu Yuanzhang asked him, "You wrote a good poem yesterday, but I didn't 'dislike' you! Why didn't you use the word 'worry'?"

Qian Zai was so frightened that he kowtowed and apologized.

When Wu Lin, the Minister of Personnel, retired to his hometown of Huanggang, Zhu Yuanzhang was worried and sent someone to investigate his whereabouts. Only when the messenger reported that Wu Lin was honestly farming at home did Zhu Yuanzhang feel relieved.

Song Ne, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, sat upright with an angry expression. The next day, when Zhu Yuanzhang asked him why he had been angry the day before, Song Ne was greatly surprised and truthfully explained the reason for his anger. He asked, "How does Your Majesty know this?" Zhu Yuanzhang then showed him a portrait he had secretly commissioned to be painted.

Later, in the fifteenth year of Hongwu's reign, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was specially established, with its subordinate Zhenfu Division, prison, and court, known as the Imperial Prison. The Embroidered Uniform Guard became the emperor's personal dogs, and therefore all officials feared them.

Li Se arrived at the lake and went to the same spot to look for Liang Gongchang and the others. He waited by the lake for a while and, sure enough, saw Liang Gongchang rowing over with a smile.

All four were on the boat and respectfully welcomed Li Se into the cabin.

Li Se did not answer and flew into the cabin. He saw that Wang Bao'er had indeed been acupunctured and was sitting in a chair, looking at him with terrified eyes. When she recognized Li Se, she showed a look of joy, but tears streamed down her face.

Seeing this, Li Se felt both pity and pain. He immediately went over and released Wang Bao'er's pressure points. Wang Bao'er threw herself into Li Se's arms and cried.

Li Se angrily said to Liang Gongchang, "You bastard, you really have the ability to capture my sister!"

Liang Gongchang smiled ingratiatingly and said, "Master Yu! I had no choice. You see, we didn't dare to touch a single hair on her head! Besides, you won't go back on your word, will you?"

The other three also hurriedly spoke up for Liang Gongchang.

Li Se frowned and said, "Damn it, I won't say anything more to you bunch of bastards. What do you want? Tell me quickly so I can get my sister away. Look how pitifully she's crying!"

Liang Gongchang said, "Yes, yes. Great insight, Yu Da! We want that 'Book of Escape Techniques.' That book is a treasure of our Butterfly Sect! We must fulfill our master's last wish, otherwise how can we face his spirit in heaven?"

Li Se said, "Alright, alright. It's just a book, right? I'll get it for you, but I'll take Bao'er with me first." After saying that, he put his arm around Wang Bao'er and started to leave.

Liang Gongchang quickly stopped him, saying urgently, "Yu Da, you can't do this! Only by using Wang Bao'er as a hostage can we force that old fox Wang Laocai to submit and obediently hand over the secret manual. If she leaves, we won't be able to get the manual!"

Li Se thought to himself, "If we use Wang Bao'er as a hostage, the four great families and the imperial court will send troops to deal with these four bastards again. Are these guys out of their minds?" He then said, "Alas! You guys are truly foolish and incompetent! It's all my fault for not having time to teach you. I originally planned to wait a few days until you left the capital with me, and then I would properly educate you. Now it seems that won't be possible. Alright! Now I will teach you a lesson first."

The four asked curiously, "What does the sect leader want to say?"

Li Se said, "What is the essence of Senior Flower Butterfly's unique skill?" "You know what? That's not about using force on a woman or taking her body. The highest level of seduction is making her unable to resist you, involuntarily falling in love with you, overjoyed when she sees you, and longing for you when she doesn't. She won't want to eat or sleep—that's the skill of a lecher."

By this time, Wang Bao'er had calmed down. Seeing Li Se and the four men acting strangely, she became very curious. Hearing Li Se's words, she interjected, "That's right! That's how I feel about Brother Li, I'm always thinking about him!"

Li Se thought, "Wow! Bao'er is really smart, she's so good at cooperating with me." He gave a thumbs up and said proudly, "Hey! Now you know how powerful I am!"

He sat down in the chair, intending to push Wang Bao'er away, but seeing her clinging to him, and in front of the others, he had no choice but to give up.

Wang Bao'er nestled in Li Se's arms, seeing the four men surrounding Li Se with great respect, treating him like their master, she felt happy and thought Li Se was so amazing. Seeing that the four men were all quite interesting, except for Liang Gongchang, who had captured her, who was very handsome, the others were a big, clumsy man who was particularly ugly; a fat monk with an extremely unsightly belly; and a confused little child. She couldn't help but look around happily.

Seeing the four men staring at him wide-eyed, Li Se continued, "Hmm, is being a lecherous thief so easy? The true nature of a lecherous thief is to be romantic without being vulgar, and vulgar without being romantic. As the saying goes, 'To die beneath a peony is to die romantically, even as a ghost.' To be a good lecherous thief, one must understand that human nature is inherently evil… Do you all understand?"

The four men looked confused and said, "Master Yu, what you're saying is too profound! We don't understand!"

Li Se thought to himself, "Of course you wouldn't understand! I'm just talking nonsense! Alas! What were those books about 'Flower Butterfly' written? I've forgotten them all, how can I teach them?"

He said seriously, "Your level is not high enough, of course you can't understand. I spent over ten years, a lifetime of experience, and still haven't mastered martial arts, but…" "These 'womanizing techniques' and 'woman-taming manuals' are practiced to an unparalleled level, unpredictable and divine! In short, being a good lecher isn't about how many women you pick, but about how many girls' hearts you steal. You must treat women gently, considerately, and obediently. Think about it! Being a woman is so difficult! You have to take care of your husband, take care of your children, and support him. Running a hotel or doing business is very difficult; is money so easy to earn? If you don't treat women well, are you even human? Hmm! That's definitely not what a good lecher should do."

The four men became increasingly confused, but they couldn't ask questions, so they could only say, "What Yu Da says is absolutely right, absolutely right."

Li Se said, "If you treat women well, they will treat you well. In this way, you're good, she's good, everyone's good!"

Li Se was speaking enthusiastically when suddenly a loud, heart-wrenching cry rang out. It was the head monk "Xise" Tieding. He cried out, "What 'you're good, I'm good, everyone's good,' it's all a lie! My dear daughter was raped and killed by those bastards from the rich and powerful, so I'm going to take revenge. I'll rape all the women of officials and wealthy families. Oh, my dear daughter!" He stole glances at Wang Bao'er as he cried.

Li Se was shocked to see this, never expecting Tie Ding to have such a painful past. However, judging from his expression, Bao'er was in great danger. She hurriedly said, "Uncle Monk, you're wrong about this. Your daughter is dead, just raise another one! Just kill your enemy, there's no need to take your anger out on everyone in the world! And let me tell you, karma is very effective. Senior Hua has some incantations, listen carefully: 'If you seduce another man's wife, your own wife will be seduced; if you embrace another man's daughter, your own daughter will be embraced; if you are killed by adultery; if you are left without descendants by adultery; if you lose your family fortune; if you lose your fame and longevity; if you give birth to lowly children and grandchildren! If you are deceived and run away, the retribution for lust is extremely severe, Heaven's judgment is merciless.' You can't do anything foolish again!"

The other three lecherous thieves also advised Tie Ding not to be sad.

Tie Ding cried, "But my daughter is dead! She'll never come back to life! Look at this little girl, she looks just like my daughter. If she were alive, she'd be about my age!"

Li Se, hearing this, quickly said, "Bao'er, hurry up and recognize the monk as your godfather! It would be so nice to have someone who loves you!" He then winked at her.

Wang Bao'er pouted and said, "No, my father doesn't treat me well, I won't do it! But I have an uncle! He treats me very well, so I'll recognize the monk as my uncle!"

Then she walked to the monk's side and sweetly called out, "Uncle Monk, don't be sad! From now on, Bao'er will treat you like your daughter."

Li Se secretly praised Wang Bao'er for being clever and obedient. Tie Ding, as expected, beamed with joy, and the other three also became happy, offering their congratulations in unison.

Li Se said, "Alright! Now we're all family, I'm taking Bao'er away!"

Liang Gongchang hurriedly said, "No, no!"

Li Se angrily said, "Why are you still saying no, no? What are you up to?"

Liang Gongchang pleaded, "Boss! That secret manual! Have you forgotten it?"

Li Se said, "Didn't I say I'd steal it for you? Why are you still nagging?" Liang

Gongchang said, "Master Yu, you don't know! That secret manual is in the Wang family's treasure vault, the Inviting Moon Pavilion! It's on the lowest level, separated from the upper levels. It's surrounded by iron sheets; without a key, you absolutely can't get in. And inside..." "The traps are too many, there's no way to steal it! Otherwise, I would have done it already."

Li Se said, "Don't you trust me? If I say I can steal it, I can steal it."

Liang Gongchang said, "Alright! Then I'll wait for you, Boss, for a while. But we can't let Wang Bao'er go. She's your sister, and she's even become the monk's uncle. How could I harm her? Let her play here for a few days, Boss, you won't object, will you?"

Seeing that there was no way, Li Se said, "But my precious sister is very difficult to take care of. Can you take good care of her?"

Liang Gongchang hurriedly assured him that there would be no problem. The other three only listened to Liang Gongchang, and seeing that Wang Bao'er was beautiful and lovely, they all nodded in agreement.

Li Se had no choice but to say to Wang Bao'er, "Little sister, you'll have to bear with it. I'll take you back in a couple of days. This place is like your home. Just ask for whatever you want. If these four guys offend you, see how I deal with them."

Hearing Li Se's words and seeing that the four men indeed listened to him, Wang Bao'er said, "I'm hungry! I want to eat macaroni."

Liang Gongchang said, "Okay, okay. Third brother, go and buy it quickly."

Wang Bao'er said happily, "I want the ones from the Zhang family in Qinhuai! The others aren't good."

Liang Gongchang said, "Third brother, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and go!"

Du Kaixian said, "Ah! That's so far! You want me to go? There are some nearby, is that not enough?"

Wang Bao'er said angrily, "I'll eat from that one! If you're not going to buy it for me, then let me go!"

Seeing Liang Gongchang glaring at him, Du Kaixian quickly said, "Okay, okay, I'll go." Then he said to Tie Ding, "You stinky monk, your daughter is so hard to please."

Tie Ding laughed heartily at this.

Seeing this, Li Se felt relieved and went ashore to go home. If Du Kaixian was going to Qinhuai, they could travel together, but Li Se didn't want to get involved with him, so he went ahead first.

As Li Se walked, he thought, "Wang Bao'er's disappearance without a trace is terrible. How can I convince the Wang family that Wang Bao'er hasn't disappeared? This is the most important question before I can think of a way to steal the book; otherwise, it's meaningless.

" Li Se racked his brains but couldn't come up with a solution. He thought, "Damn it, these lecherous thieves are courting death, going down the wrong path. What does it have to do with me? I have to try my best to avoid conflict for them, getting upset on both sides. Forget it, I might as well just help the Wang family capture these lecherous thieves!"

Thinking of this, Li Se vaguely felt that something was wrong. He thought of Hua Hudie. Because he had read Hua Hudie's book, he seemed to feel very close to him, and even felt that the four lecherous thieves were like his brothers.

Li Se shook his head and sighed again, recalling his previous interactions with them. He wasn't entirely disliked, and thought, "These guys aren't too bad, not truly hopeless. I should try my best to help them! Butterfly doesn't seem like such a wicked person after all!"

Li Se was lost in thought when suddenly someone blocked his path, nearly bumping into him. He quickly stopped and looked up.

The man was dressed in the uniform of an inner court guard, seemingly a leader, in his forties, extremely imposing, and glaring angrily at him.

Li Se quickly smiled apologetically, "Greetings, Your Excellency," bowed, and begged for forgiveness before turning to leave.

The man said, "Halt! Where did you come from, brat? This is forbidden territory. How did you get in?"

Li Se replied, "I'm just a lowly guard, here on official business. Please let me through, sir!"

The man sneered, "Show me your official badge."

Li Se had no choice but to hand over his waist token. This token had been given to him by Liang Gongchang and the others; it was a fake, obtained by four lecherous thieves who had coerced the garrison commander of Xuanwu Lake. They had first threatened him, then bribed him, thus giving them official identities to enter and exit the area.

The man looked at the token, sized Li Se up and down, and after a long while said, "Since you're a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who do you work for?" Li Se thought to himself, "Oh no!"

If he was a fake, how could he know who was in charge? He could only mumble, "This... I'm new here. You're quite strange, official. Do you think you're allowed to question us about the affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Because the Embroidered Uniform Guard were the emperor's confidants, they didn't even respect officials. Li Se thought this explanation would get him through! He had done it this way before, and those who had questioned him with suspicious eyes had obediently stopped bothering him.

But then the man laughed loudly, "You little thief, you actually dare to impersonate a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard! You have quite the nerve!"

Li Se said, "You... don't talk nonsense."

The man's imposing aura pressed closer to Li Se, saying, "Nonsense? Do you know who I am? I am Yang Guang, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If you are my subordinate, how could I not recognize you? Kid, you're going to die!"

Chapter Ten: The Princess's Secret History.

Yang Guang spread his arms and attacked Li Se. His moves were fierce and without any warning. Li Se felt his mind go blank and haphazardly defended himself.

Suddenly the two separated, and Yang Guang said in surprise, "Kid, your martial arts are actually quite good."

At this moment, Li Se felt utterly exhausted. He had only managed to parry three moves and was already nearly collapsed. In desperation, an idea came to him, and he shouted, "Commander Yang, please hear my explanation! I am Princess Wushuang's bodyguard, serving her exclusively. Therefore, you have never seen me. If you don't believe me, you can take me to the princess for a confrontation."

Yang Guang was taken aback, then sneered, "Boy, your lying skills are utterly terrible! Princess Wushuang is an extremely noble person. She dislikes being disturbed. Where would she have any bodyguards? She is a disciple of the Holy Mother of Lishan, and her martial arts are far superior to mine. Would she need you to protect her? It's laughable! She usually only has a few eunuchs and maids around her, and she dislikes being disturbed the most. You actually say that she sent you on a mission. You can fool others..." "If you're trying to fool me, haha, you've come to the wrong person."

Li Se hurriedly said, "I'm a secret. Only the princess knows me. Look, that waist tag says Dylan's name, but my real name is Li Se. That's a fake identity the princess gave me to use. Although I can't protect the princess, I'm very useful. Whatever the princess wants to eat, play, or needs, I'll serve her. Any important matters are handled by me. If you don't believe me, take me to see the princess! Or do you want to rebel, act first and report later, and put me to death?" Seeing

Li Se's confident demeanor, Yang Guang became suspicious, thinking, "If he really is the princess's man, this matter can't be acted rashly."

Little did he know that Li Se was taking a desperate gamble. Li Se realized that his identity had been exposed, and there was no way he could escape. Moreover, even if he hadn't met this person, the only way to resolve Wang Bao'er's matter was for the princess to help cover up the lie, saying that she had invited Wang Bao'er for a few days. Only then would the Wang family believe it. Therefore, no matter what, he had to trouble the princess.

However, how would the princess treat him? Li Se had no idea. He and the princess had absolutely no connection. Although Li Se had helped her when she was disguised as a palace maid, she didn't need help then. She must have been investigating them. The fact that she didn't harm the lecherous thieves was already a huge favor to Li Se. Would she help him out of this predicament now?

Li Se smiled at Yang Guang, though he was inwardly groaning. He could only take it one step at a time.

Seeing Yang Guang's somewhat tempted expression, he added, "Since I'm in your hands anyway, I can't leave or run away. Why don't you verify it? It's all beneficial!"

Yang Guang's eyes narrowed, and he said, "Fine, I'll take you to see the princess. If you lie to me and make me lose face in front of the princess, then you can expect to be torn to pieces!"

Li Se was shocked. He knew Yang Guang wasn't lying; the Embroidered Uniform Guards were capable of anything when they were ruthless. He couldn't help but pray in his heart, "Princess, please, for the sake of knowing me once, save my life! Ah! You promised to help me."

But why would the princess help him? The more Li Se thought about it, the less confident he became. The closer they got to the palace, the more grim his face grew.

Seeing Li Se's expression, Yang Guang laughed and said, "Boy, if you're lying, it's not too late to admit your mistake. As long as you atone for your crime by implicating some of your accomplices, I might spare you."

Li Se asked curiously, "How do you know I have accomplices?"

Yang Guang said, "What's so strange about that? If you didn't have accomplices, where did you get your waist token?"

Li Se, on the other hand, had made up his mind and sneered, "You can ask the princess about that." When

he arrived at the princess's palace, Li Se walked slower and slower, looking around, hoping to run into the palace maid named Zizhu who had brought him to see the princess that day. In that case, he could pretend to be close to her, and Yang Guang might let him go if he saw how familiar he was with the princess's palace maid, and then he wouldn't have to see the princess at all.

But hope is just hope. Reaching the palace gates, she was nowhere to be seen. Yang Guang sneered, "I'll see what you're really up to."

At that moment, a palace maid came out. Yang Guang said, "I am Yang Guang, Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I have something to report to the princess. Please inform her." At the same time, he was secretly on guard, fearing Li Se might suddenly escape.

After the maid left, Yang Guang suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! Look who's here!" He stretched out his finger and attacked Li Se, striking her pressure point.

Seeing that Li Se didn't move, a mocking expression on her lips, he asked curiously, "Why didn't you dodge?"

Li Se coldly replied, "You don't need to do this. My martial arts are not as good as yours; I can't beat you in a fight. Why bother with tricks? Besides, this is the palace. Do you think I can escape?"

Yang Guang felt no shame, only stubbornly arguing, "I'm afraid you'll escape. If you have nothing to hide, then what's there to be afraid of! What's there to worry about after I've struck your pressure point?"

Li Se smiled and said nothing more. Sometimes, fate simply requires waiting. After a while, Yang Guang was summoned inside. Some palace maids outside noticed that Li Se remained motionless, which puzzled them.

Zhu Wushuang was practicing her martial arts in the palace when she heard that Yang Guang, the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was requesting an audience. She was quite impatient, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard was not an ordinary government office and could not be easily offended. Besides, she knew that no one would bother her unless it was something important.

After Yang Guang finished his greetings, he had just stood up when the princess said indifferently, "Commander Yang, I wonder what business

you have with me? You are a busy person; you wouldn't come to the palace without a reason." Yang Guang smiled and said, "Indeed, otherwise, how would I dare to disturb Your Highness! Today, I caught a villain outside named Li Se. He claimed to be someone who serves Your Highness and said that Your Highness assigned him this task. Judging from his appearance, he is not a good person. If Your Highness does not recognize him, then I will throw him into the imperial prison and sentence him to death by a thousand cuts." "...

Suddenly, the princess exclaimed 'Ah!', then laughed, 'Ah! You mean Little Serzi! No wonder I didn't see him today! He is indeed my eunuch, who takes very good care of my daily life. To be honest, I wouldn't be comfortable living a single day without him. Only he knows my preferences. If he really does something wrong and offends you, sir, you must show him mercy!'

Yang Guang felt a buzzing in his head, and two beads of sweat rolled down his back. He thought to himself, 'Have I taken the wrong medicine?'" " What nonsense are you spouting? I came here to verify something, and you're already talking bad about that brat? Princess Wushuang is the Emperor's most favored person, even more so than the Crown Prince. I've really offended you this time!"

He quickly smiled apologetically, "I knew it! Look at his handsome features, so clever and approachable. He's definitely a confidant of the Princess. He couldn't possibly be so exceptionally handsome if he weren't someone close to the Princess. I'll go and invite him right away, Princess, don't worry."

Yang Guang hurriedly apologized and left, rushing off to fetch Li Se, thinking, "Oh no, that brat claims to be the Princess's guard, Princess..." "The master actually said he was a eunuch! They were all lying! This kid must be the princess's lover! No wonder the princess rejected all the Emperor's arranged marriages after returning from her apprenticeship three years ago, claiming she wanted to pursue immortality. It was all a lie; she already had a lover. Who knows who this kid is? What are we going to do now?!"

Yang Guang was a seasoned veteran, having spent a long time navigating the palace. The palace was the most difficult place to survive in the world, its intrigue and power struggles even more intense than those in the martial arts world. The fact that he had risen to the position of Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard showed his extraordinary abilities.

The thought that he had inadvertently stumbled upon the princess's secret today filled him with dread. The secrets of the palace were something one should never meddle in; at best, it meant death, at worst, ruin. Thinking of this, Yang Guang felt like crying!

Yang Guang leaped towards Li Se, releasing his pressure points, and exclaimed joyfully, "Master Li, my dear Lord Li! Why didn't you say so sooner! Look how I've offended you! You are a magnanimous man, please forgive me. I will definitely visit you again. In front of the princess, I hope you can be lenient and not hold it against me."

Seeing his sudden change from arrogance to obsequiousness, Li Se guessed it was because of the princess, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was relieved. He smiled and said, "Ignorance is no excuse, my lord, please don't be so polite. It's also my fault for not having seen your esteemed face before, causing you to misunderstand. It will be better in the future."

Yang Guang hurriedly said, "Yes, yes. We're all family now. Young master, please feel free to give us any orders." The two chatted and laughed as they entered the house.

Li Se bowed to the princess, and Zhu Wushuang said, "Little Se, quickly apologize to Commander Yang. If it weren't for Commander Yang's magnanimity, you'd have both your heads on the ground."

Li Se was confused, thinking, "What kind of address is this!" He had no choice but to follow Zhu Wushuang's instructions and bow in apology.

Yang Guang dared not accept it and quickly helped Li Se up, showering him with compliments.

Zhu Wushuang said, "This little eunuch of mine! Apart from being a little mischievous, he's very good at everything, especially taking care of people. He's my most prized servant."

Yang Guang nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Only then did Li Se understand Zhu Wushuang's words, thinking, "Oh no, what we said doesn't make sense! Luckily, Yang Guang is mindful of the princess, otherwise he would definitely expose us. Ah! Oh no, could it be that the princess is going to..."

Li Se's face turned from red to white, looking extremely unpleasant.

After the princess finished speaking, Yang Guang, with his silver tongue, showered the two with praise before taking his leave.

After Yang Guang left, Zhu Wushuang frowned and said, "That was close! Young Master Li, how could you be so careless as to offend the Embroidered Uniform Guard? They are all my father's confidants. If you had been arrested, not only would it be difficult for me, but even my elder brother would have had a hard time getting you out of their clutches!"

Li Se bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you so much, Princess. If it weren't for your righteous rescue today, I might be dead! Your kindness will forever be etched in my heart."

Zhu Wushuang chuckled and said, "Your words sound strange. Aren't we friends? Don't be so polite."

Li Se quickly replied, "Yes, yes, we are all..." "You're a friend, and Princess, you're kind-hearted, the most adorable girl. Your kindness will surely be rewarded. I have two wives! You're a woman, you know how miserable it is for a woman to be a widow! You absolutely cannot do such a thing, leaving someone a widow!"

Zhu Wushuang's brows furrowed more and more as she listened, and finally she couldn't hold back any longer, angrily saying, "Li Se, you bastard, how dare you spout nonsense in front of this princess? Don't you want to die?"

Li Se also said urgently, "I don't want to be a eunuch! Even if you kill me, I won't do it. Please, have mercy and let me go!" The last sentence was almost choked with tears.

Zhu Wushuang was astonished, then blushed and spat, "You... what nonsense are you talking about? Who... who asked you to be a eunuch!"

Li Se asked curiously, "You... you didn't? But I clearly heard you say that just now."

Zhu Wushuang chuckled, "You silly girl, didn't you lie to Commander Yang and say you were the eunuch serving me? I'm covering for you! What are you afraid of?"

Li Se exclaimed, "Oh no, oh no! I told him I was your bodyguard!"

Zhu Wushuang laughed, "I don't have any bodyguards, only eunuchs and palace maids. You can't say you're a palace maid, can you?"

Li Se said, "Yes, yes. Luckily, the princess didn't say I was a palace maid."

Zhu Wushuang's smile deepened, "Look at you, are you confused? Why are you talking incoherently?"

Li Se He said, "Alas! I was quite frightened, and today is truly a terrible headache. If it weren't for Your Highness's rescue, I would have lost my life."

Zhu Wushuang said, "That's not the case. Someone will protect you. I just helped you along the way. Why did you think of asking me for help? You have so many friends!"

Li Seqi exclaimed, "What other friends do I have?"

Zhu Wushuang said, "The three Grand Secretaries of the Wenyuan Pavilion are far more important than a little girl like me!"

Li Se sighed, "I can't really call them friends. Besides, no one can help me, and no one is willing to help me, except you. You know I have some connection with the lecherous thief who has caused chaos in the capital, but you are magnanimous, not only forgiving me but also trusting me." He looked at Zhu Wushuang with gratitude in his eyes.

Zhu Wushuang smiled and said, "You're trying to sweet-talk me! Tell me! What else do you need my help with?"

Li Se scratched his head shyly and said, "I'm telling the truth, but I really do have something to ask of the princess. It sounds like I'm trying to coax her with sweet words."

Zhu Wushuang laughed and said, "Alright! I'll assume you're telling the truth, but if I help you again, I'll have to offer something in return! It's not good for you to ask for favors for no reason."

Li Se said, "But the princess is of noble birth, she has everything she could want! I don't have anything good to offer you." Zhu

Wushuang said ... "If you only have one sachet on you, will you give it to me or not?"

Li Se laughed, "Is it that easy? I have two sachets on me! You can take them both."

Zhu Wushuang was stunned and said, "Aren't you afraid your wife will be angry? Why are you giving it to me so easily?"

Li Se said, "Although the sachet is a token of my wife's affection, I have to part with it for the sake of my friend. She will understand."

Zhu Wushuang said, "Oh, she's very understanding!"

Li Se said, "What? Does the princess still want the sachet?"

Seeing Zhu Wushuang's listless appearance, he couldn't help but ask curiously.

Zhu Wushuang said, "No, I'm not interested anymore."

Li Se said, "Then... then will you still help me with the matter I asked the princess for?"

Zhu Wushuang lazily said, "Tell me what it is first."

Li Se said, "Sigh! I beg you to send someone to tell the Wang family that you invited Wang Bao'er to the palace for two days. Will you agree?"

The princess suddenly laughed and said, "Alright! Did you lose the Wang family's precious girl? I can keep it a secret, but what if you can't find her in two days and the Wang family comes to me for her? What will I do then?"

Li Se thought about it and realized that the princess's words made a lot of sense. Besides, he really wasn't absolutely sure he could steal the secret manual. What if he failed? What would he do in two days? Li Se sighed, "So, the princess isn't going to help!"

Unexpectedly, Zhu Wushuang casually said, "Alright! I'll help you this once."

Li Se looked at the princess in surprise, his face showing both gratitude and astonishment. The princess smiled and said, "What's wrong? Does it seem strange that I'm helping you?"

Chapter Eleven: Inviting the Moon Pavilion.

Li Se returned to the Great Bao'en Temple and saw that Hua Ruxue was still unconscious under Gu Xiangjun's care. He realized that she had used all her strength to protect Wang Bao'er, and he felt both grateful and guilty.

Gu Xiangjun, seeing him lost in thought, asked, "My lord, where have you been? How is Bao'er?"

Li Se replied, "She's fine now. I've made all the arrangements, but we need to accomplish one thing before we can save her. We need to go back to the Wang family first."

Gu Xiangjun asked, "What if Bao'er isn't here? How do you explain that?"

Li Se gave Gu Xiangjun an approving look and said, "The princess will cover for me. Let's go back first."

Although it was best not to disturb Hua Ruxue at this time, he was still worried about leaving Hua Ruxue and the other woman behind.

The two then transported Hua Ruxue back to the Wang family by carriage. By this time, the princess had already informed the Wang family that Wang Bao'er had been invited to the palace. Li Se was secretly grateful to the princess. After settling Hua Ruxue in, Li Se hurriedly went out to inquire about the Yaoyue Tower.

Li Se hadn't paid much attention before, but after inquiring, he easily learned the general situation. It turned out that the Yaoyue Tower was actually called Yaoyue Baolou, rumored to be the Wang family's most treasured possession, famous throughout the martial arts world. It was nearly evening when Li Se went directly to observe. He saw a few scattered guards there, who, upon seeing him, knew he was a guest of the Wang family and didn't question him.

Li Se saw that the front half of the Inviting Moon Pavilion leaned against a small lake, while the back half was within a garden. A faded lacquered plaque hung beneath the eaves of the upper building, below which was a pink screen. The plaque bore four golden characters: "Inviting Moon Pavilion." Li Se remained silent and quietly returned home.

At midnight, Li Se carefully evaded the guards of the Prince's mansion and, under the moonlight, reached the Inviting Moon Pavilion. He fumbled and knocked on the iron gate, but it wouldn't open. After surveying the surroundings, he gave up, thinking, "No wonder the guards here are so lax; it's truly impenetrable."

Dejected, Li Se returned home. Gu Xiangjun asked, "My lord, what happened?"

Li Se shook his head, "It's no use. Without the key, we can't get in. Going upstairs is useless; we're not stealing useless gold."

Gu Xiangjun anxiously asked, "Then what should we do?"

Li Se said, "..." Tomorrow, go and find out from Steward Feng who has the key to the treasure vault and where it's hidden. The more detailed the information, the better. We still have two nights, otherwise we'll be in big trouble!

Gu Xiangjun said, "It's alright. Li Lang, we'll definitely get through this."

Li Se said, "Yes, we'll do our best. How is Miss Hua?"

Gu Xiangjun said, "She woke up and ate something, but she's very weak. There's nothing seriously wrong with her."

Li Se said, "That's good."

The two of them had nothing else to do but rest. They finally waited until dawn, and Gu Xiangjun went to gather information.

Li Se waited anxiously in the hall when a maidservant came to report that someone was requesting an audience. Li Se, unsure which sycophant was coming to curry favor, impatiently replied, "No, I won't see anyone." Before

the maidservant could turn and leave, a man laughed loudly, "Young Master Li, I knew you were too high-ranking to see just anyone, so I barged in. Please forgive me."

Li Se looked up and saw that it was Yang Guang. He wondered what Yang Guang was doing here so early; Yang Guang was the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, someone not to be trifled with. Li Se quickly offered him a seat. Seeing Yang Guang's obsequious manner, it seemed he wasn't there to cause trouble, and Li Se felt somewhat relieved.

Yang Guang said, "Young Master Li, I was truly reckless yesterday. I was so blind to your talent that I couldn't even recognize someone as important as you. I've come to apologize; please forgive me."

Then he stood up and called out to the outside. Instantly, several guards carried in some items, and one of them presented a gift list.

Li Se exclaimed in surprise, "Lord Yang, what are you doing? I can't accept this. Do you need my help with something? Please just say it. I absolutely dare not accept these gifts."

Yang Guang said, "Hey! Why are you being so formal with us brothers? I came here with the intention of making friends with you, brother. I have no ulterior motives. If you don't accept them, then you're looking down on me. I, Yang Guang, am doing you a disservice." He finished speaking with obvious displeasure.

Li Se was provoked and had no choice but to accept them. Besides, he didn't dare to offend Yang Guang, and why should he offend anyone?

Most importantly, Li Se suddenly noticed a thousand-year-old ginseng on the gift list. It was a highly effective tonic, exactly what the ailing Hua Ruxue needed. Moreover, his gathering with Yang Shiqi and the others had greatly influenced his views.

He said, "Since Brother Yang is so kind, then I shall respectfully accept your offer."

Yang Guang was delighted and laughed heartily, saying, "That's more like it!"

The two then began to chat. Yang Guang had sent someone to investigate Li Se's situation, and Li Se was considered quite strange and mysterious by others, which made Yang Guang think he was someone important, so he was even more eager to curry favor with him.

Although Li Se did not know his intentions, he was now in a position of power and status that he could not afford to offend anyone. Even if not for himself, for Gu Xiangjun's sake, he had no choice but to endure it and feign enthusiasm.

He thought to himself, "Once I finish my foolish business here, I will leave. If you want me to help you with anything, you're wasting your time. It would be extremely disadvantageous for me if I didn't accept your gift, so I have no choice but to accept it."

Yang Guang stayed for two whole hours before leaving, satisfied. Li Se was very anxious when he left, but Gu Xiangjun had not returned. However, there was no use in being anxious, so he made the ginseng into soup and fed it to Hua Ruxue.

After Hua Ruxue ate it, her complexion indeed improved significantly, becoming rosy and healthy. She sat up and laughed, "Li Lang, where did you get this treasure! It's wonderful. In just one more day, I'll be fully recovered."

Seeing that Hua Ruxue was ill, Li Se brushed aside her overly formal address, simply telling her to take good care of herself and not worry about anything else.

Afterwards, Xue Yaoguang came again. Finding Gu Xiangjun absent and Hua Ruxue asleep, she chatted with Li Se for a while.

Li Se, somewhat reserved in the presence of a beautiful girl, rambled on about other people's affairs. He learned from Xue Yaoguang that Nangong Xuan had been driven out of the Wang family by Wang Bao'er and that Zhao Si Gongzi had gone home, only then realizing why he hadn't seen them for the past few days.

However, he dared not ask about Bi Ning's recent situation.

Seeing Li Se's absent-minded and listless appearance, and with Gu Xiangjun absent, Xue Yaoguang wondered what was wrong. After sitting for a while, she took her leave and slowly strolled back to Baixiang Hall. Li Se picked a flower on the road and casually plucked its petals, feeling quite melancholy. Thinking of Li Se's situation, her mind was in turmoil.

Gu Xiangjun returned in the afternoon, and Li Se hurriedly went to greet her, asking, "How did it go? Did

you find out anything?" Gu Xiangjun said, "Don't worry! I'll definitely steal the key for you tonight, but I'm afraid the building is full of traps;

it would be very dangerous for you." Li Se said, "Don't worry about that. I won't do anything dangerous. At worst, we'll leave and let the Wang family handle Bao'er's matter. If that happens, it's those lecherous thieves' bad luck; they brought it on themselves. I can't help them!"

Gu Xiangjun said, "Alright, then we'll invite Steward Feng to dinner tonight." "Wine, the key to the treasure trove, he has it on him. We'll get him drunk, and the key will come to us!"

Li Se clapped his hands and shouted, "Great idea!" He thought, "Xiangjun always helps me when I'm in trouble; it's truly embarrassing!"

Gu Xiangjun rallied her spirits and personally cooked many delicious dishes. Since the newly brewed wine couldn't compare to the old vintage, she only used some of her previous brew. She remembered the century-old wine she had obtained in Hangzhou, which she had left in Zhenshan, unable to use today—a great pity. If she had that wine, given Manager Feng's fondness for wine, he would be drunk without her even needing to be forced to drink.

Feng Yong, hearing that Gu Xiangjun had invited him to wine, arrived early, delighted. Li Se praised Feng Yong at the banquet, relentlessly urging him to drink. In his joy, Feng Yong drank a lot and then brought up the events of that night, admonishing Li Se to cherish Gu Xiangjun, praising her virtues, and so on. Li Se could only nod in agreement, secretly hoping he would get drunk soon.

Just as the wine was flowing freely, someone knocked on the door and entered. Gu Xiangjun welcomed her in and said to Li Se, "My lord, this young lady is here to see you." She looked at Li Se with great surprise.

Li Se looked up and exclaimed, "Ah! The princess?"

Feng Yong slurred, "Yes...yes! I know the current princess. She is extremely beautiful, but she is also incredibly powerful." After saying this, he tilted his head and fell asleep.

Li Se quickly welcomed Zhu Wushuang to the table and said, "Has the princess eaten? Let Xiangjun prepare some new dishes for you."

Zhu Wushuang smiled and said, "No need. Is this your wife? She is indeed dignified and beautiful. You have excellent taste."

Gu Xiangjun said, "Your Highness flatters me. I am not beautiful at all! Since coming to the capital, I have met many beauties and realized that the capital is truly a place where dragons and tigers hide!" Zhu

Wushuang took Gu Xiangjun's arm and said, "Madam, there is no need to be modest. I used to think that the martial arts world was full of falsehoods! But after meeting you today, I realize that it is not entirely true." The two women chatted amiably and then sat down to eat and talk.

Li Se was inwardly groaning. He saw the princess arrive that evening, and it was unclear how long she would stay, or what her intentions were. He couldn't leave in her presence, nor could he reach for Feng Yong's key. But time was of the essence. If he couldn't act tonight, even if he had another chance tomorrow, could he succeed in obtaining the secret manual in one go?

Seeing Li Se's increasingly grim expression, Zhu Wushuang couldn't hold back any longer and laughed, "What are you playing games with me for? Quickly tell me the truth! Otherwise, I won't leave tonight."

Li Se smiled bitterly, "Princess, you've hit my weak spot."

He had no choice but to tell the whole story with a bitter face, and finally said, "Alas! That's how it is. The princess will surely expose me!"

Zhu Wushuang said, "Are you going to be a thief? Haha, that's really funny! If you take me with you, then I won't dare to expose you!"

Gu Xiangjun said, "I want to go too."

Li Se looked at the two of them in surprise, and after a long while said, "Xiangjun, you can't go. I think the princess looks more like a thief." The three of them burst into laughter.

They found the key on Feng Yong and Li Se and Zhu Wushuang set off.

The two hid in the bushes not far from the Yaoyue Pavilion. Li Se said, "Princess, you can meet me outside."

He didn't want Gu Xiangjun to come because he was afraid she might be in danger. He figured the princess couldn't refuse, so he'd let her meet him; he expected her to accept.

However, the princess said, "Don't underestimate me. Don't worry, even if my martial arts aren't strong, I can protect myself. You don't need to take care of me."

Li Se had no choice but to abandon his plan.

A bright moon shone in the sky, illuminating the steps of the Yaoyue Pavilion, dazzling the eyes.

Li Se and the princess observed from the bushes for a while, confirming the guards' situation. Then, when no one was paying attention, they reached the iron gate. Li Se took out the key, inserted it, and opened the dark iron gate. Li Se breathed a sigh of relief, and the two quickly slipped inside, then closed the door. Instantly, all they could see inside was darkness.

Although Li Se possessed martial arts skills and had better eyesight than most, he still couldn't see in the dark. He hurriedly patted himself down, exclaiming, "Oh no!"

Zhu Wushuang asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Se smiled wryly, "I forgot my tinderbox! Now I'm in trouble; I have to go out and get it." Zhu Wushuang chuckled, and then a flash of light illuminated the room.

Li Se looked embarrassed and said, "Luckily, the princess was so thoughtful."

Zhu Wushuang said, "Look at you, you thief! You didn't even bring a tinderbox."

Li Se's face flushed, and he said, "I'll remember next time."

Zhu Wushuang just smiled and said nothing more.

The two looked around and saw that at the end of the passage, which was several dozen feet long, there was a two-story stone hall surrounded by winding corridors and pavilions. There were several rooms resembling alchemy rooms and scripture pavilions, as well as stone beds, stone chairs, stone tables, stone benches, stone cups, stone bowls, and other such items, all complete, along with many rare and precious treasures. The room was surrounded by stone walls, and the four large characters "Shuiyue Pavilion" were engraved on the main wall of the front hall.

Li Se said, "This cave is deep and elegant, it seems to be naturally formed, truly a treasure trove!"

Zhu Wushuang also agreed, saying, "The Wang family's treasure trove is indeed well-deserved! I've seen it for myself today."

Li Se laughed, "Hehe, it's so easy to get in, it seems being a thief is easy!" He then tried to step forward.

Zhu Wushuang quickly grabbed him, saying, "What are you doing? You're just going to go forward like that?"

Li Se said, "Of course! Do you expect me to kneel down, pray, and then go look for the book?"

Zhu Wushuang said, "This ten-zhang-long road is a death trap, you don't know that, do you?"

Li Se laughed, "Princess, you're joking, you just like to tease me. This is such an ordinary road, what's so scary about it? I won't fall for it again." Then he picked up a few stones and threw them onto the stone path ahead. A few soft sounds came, but there was nothing unusual about it.

Zhu Wushuang frowned and said, "I didn't tease you. Besides, when have I ever teased you before?"

Li Seqi said, "Have you forgotten? The time you dressed up as an ugly girl? Alright! I'm not talking to you anymore." She turned to leave.

In her haste, Zhu Wushuang reached out and grabbed Li Se's belt, leaving Li Se with one foot in the air, feeling incredibly embarrassed. If Zhu Wushuang weren't a princess, Li Se would definitely be furious.

Before Li Se could speak, Zhu Wushuang quickly said, "This road has been set up with a Heavenly Gang Array by a master sorcerer. This array can manipulate creation, reverse yin and yang, shift stars, and cause sand and stones to fly. If you step into the array, once it's activated, what ability do you have to deal with it? I'd like to ask you!"

Li Seqi said, "It's not as powerful as you make it out to be! I was unharmed when I threw stones at me."

Zhu Wushuang said irritably, "Then go try it yourself! Don't you see there's not a single living creature here?"

Only then did Li Se begin to look around carefully. Sure enough, the cave was unusually clean, without a single insect or rat. He said, "You mean this formation will activate as soon as any living creature approaches?"

Zhu Wushuang replied, "Exactly."

Li Se said, "Let me try it with one foot." He stuck one foot in, and instantly felt the world darken and the wind howl, as if he had entered another world. Li Se thought to himself, "Oh no, even one foot doesn't work. Everything around here is the same. Where can I go back?"

Just as he was in shock, he was suddenly pulled back and found himself back beside Zhu Wushuang.

Seeing that Zhu Wushuang wouldn't even look at him, clearly angry, Li Se felt extremely dejected and said, "I was wrong, I don't understand anything, the princess is incredibly powerful." He thought, "She must look down on me because she sees how stupid I am! Oh well, what does it matter if she looks down on me?"

Zhu Wushuang said calmly, "It's not the thought that's scary, it's the realization that's too late. It's not too late for you to admit your mistake now. This formation was set up by some high-level experts, taking the essence of this place, sealing it off completely, setting up talismans and incantations, communicating with gods above and ghosts below. If anyone offends it, it will activate the formation, and once trapped, it's a matter of life and death. I won't describe what it's like inside, you already know."

Li Se said dejectedly, "I know! I can't break it, it's a waste of my time to come in. How could a mortal like me obtain such treasures? It seems we have to leave."

Zhu Wushuang said, "That's not necessarily true, there's someone here who might be able to break this formation!"

Li Se said excitedly, "Will you help me? But will it be risky?" "Isn't it a big risk?"

Zhu Wushuang said, "There is certainly a risk, but the chances are much higher."

Li Se sighed, "Then let's forget it! A princess is of noble birth and cannot take risks. Besides, it's not worth it for you to take risks. I'm doing this to save someone; if I risk losing someone, what's the point?"

Zhu Wushuang was slightly taken aback and said, "Are you worried about my safety? If I were that ugly girl you first met, would you still be worried about me?"

Li Se was startled and said, "I don't know! Your question is strange. I haven't thought about it. Aren't you the same person? What's the difference?" Zhu

Wushuang smiled slightly, with a strange charm. Li Se looked at her strangely, thinking, "How come the princess is just like Xiangjun? Always asking such inexplicable and stupid questions! But I'm not smart either! Sigh!" Suddenly

, she saw the princess's smile, like a flower in full bloom, her red lips almost dripping with moisture, exuding an indescribable charm. Li Se was stunned.

While Li Se was in a daze, he heard Zhu Wushuang say: "Stepping the Gang, also known as Stepping the Dipper and Stepping the Heavenly Gang, is a ritual performed by a sorcerer who uses a ten-foot-wide piece of land to lay out a Gang sheet, symbolizing the nine heavens. Wearing cloud shoes, he contemplates the nine heavens and walks according to the image of the Dipper constellation and the diagram of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. He can then fly to the nine heavens to deliver memorials, suppress ghosts and gods, and summon thunder from the ground."

"The Step of the Dipper (步罡) evolved from the Step of Yu (禹步). When Yu the Great was controlling the floods, he saw a large bird on the shore of the South China Sea that possessed forbidden magic and walked with a strange gait that could turn large rocks over. So Yu the Great imitated its gait and turned it into a spell, which was very effective. Because it was created by Yu, it was called the Step of Yu. The basic steps of the Step of Yu are three steps and nine traces."

Li Se listened carefully and memorized them. Zhu Wushuang said, "If we want to pass through this formation, we must use the Step of the Dipper (北斗玄枢) that is transformed from the basic method of the Three Steps and Nine Traces. We must rely on our senses and walk on a calm and peaceful place. Only then can we..." "We must not touch the spirits or violate their taboos, and we must cross this road according to their will."

Li Se asked, "What if we go the wrong way? Will there be any danger?"

Zhu Wushuang replied, "I believe that even if I fall into the formation, I can get out. However, if you fall too deep into this formation, I won't be able to save you. I'll go into the cave to find the book for you! You wait for me here."

Li Se said solemnly, "So you also have a way to teach me how to cross the formation. I want to go in too. Will you help me?"

How could he feel at ease if a girl helped him like this and risked her life for him? Even if he found the book, he wouldn't be happy. Besides, the Wang family's treasure trove was so mysterious; since he was here, how could he not take a look?

Zhu Wushuang laughed, "Alright, actually, as long as you follow my steps closely, there shouldn't be any danger. Although this formation is powerful, my master is most skilled at breaking these kinds of formations. You're really lucky to have found me to help you."

Li Se thought to himself, "It's not that I sought you out, it's that you took the initiative to find me! My luck is beyond words, it's simply unbelievable!"

Zhu Wushuang patiently taught Li Se how to walk. The basic function of this stepping technique is to symbolize flying through the nine heavens and to restrict external objects and spirits. Gang, also known as the Heavenly Order and Earthly Discipline

, is the first function of stepping Gang, which is to follow the diagram. It is also believed that one has ascended to the nine heavens, passed through the nine provinces, toured the world, and flown through the immortal realm.

Starting from the Kan trigram, one steps to the Li position; starting from the Li trigram, one steps to the Kan position.

The nine numbers of the Hetu represent nine regions in the sky, or nine constellations: Tianying (Kan 1), Tianren (Kun 2), Tianzhu (Zhen 3), Tianxin (Xun 4), Tianqin (Zhong 5), Tianfu (Qian 6), Tianchong (Dui 7), Tianrui (Gen 8), and Tianfeng (Li 9).

While walking, incantations are recited, indicating the direction of each step, its symbolic meaning, and its power.

Li Se learned very quickly; he understood all the Yin-Yang, Eight Trigrams, and Hetu star-stepping techniques, and soon he was quite proficient. Zhu Wushuang smiled and said, "Alright! You learn very quickly. Remember to follow my steps perfectly, one step at a time." With that, Zhu Wushuang stepped into the formation and extended her hand.

Li Se had no choice but to give her his hand, feeling very ashamed. He quickly took a breath and began to calm himself down.

Li Se, hand in hand with Zhu Wushuang, slowly followed her step by step. After three steps, a sudden realization dawned on him. He felt as if the surrounding area was a raging storm, yet within its center lay several quiet spots. Zhu Wushuang was walking in these quiet places, and these spots matched the footwork she had taught him. However, there were more than one such spot.

A surge of pride welled up within Li Se, and he naturally began to walk on his own.

Strangely enough, none of the strange phenomena or spells within the formation occurred. Li Se was secretly pleased, knowing he could now break the formation. He quickened his pace, catching up with Zhu Wushuang, and took her hand, leading her through the formation.

Zhu Wushuang was startled to see Li Se leading the way. Glancing at his imposing and confident demeanor, she felt a moment of confusion, but followed his steps, suddenly trusting him completely and willing to obey his every whim.

By the time Zhu Wushuang realized what was happening, they had already exited the formation, and Li Se released her hand.

Zhu Wushuang was shocked. Biting her lip, her starry eyes shone brightly as she stared at Li Se. Seeing him shout with joy and run into a room, she paused, then followed him in.

Li Se was initially too excited, rummaging through everything, but gradually calmed down and began searching carefully, only looking for books that resembled secret manuals, ignoring the other treasures.

Then, Li Se found some books and treasures in a hidden compartment. Opening the books, he suddenly saw the four large characters "Heavenly Demon Great Art" written on one of them.

Li Se was startled, thinking, "Isn't this the Demonic Sect's secret manual? How did it end up here?"

He casually flipped through it and saw that the first few lines of writing were very familiar. He was shocked and looked closely, thinking, "It really is Hua Hudie's handwriting!"

Hua Hudie wrote: "In general, all martial arts under heaven should be practiced gradually in terms of breathing. One must inhale to the root and exhale to the tip, so that the breath flows gently and smoothly, so that the mother and child have a direction, and water and fire can immediately meet. Over time, one will accumulate internal strength and become a person of merit. One should not seek results too quickly, otherwise the qi will flow in the wrong direction." "The harm is considerable. This skill truly lives up to its reputation. Although its power is immense and its progress is too rapid, once mastered, it's like a leech clinging to one's bones, making it impossible to stop. On every full moon night, life is worse than

death. However, due to the circumstances, I have no choice but to practice it. My heart is loyal to it, and even if I die a hundred times, I will not regret it. Only future generations who practice it should be cautious! Be cautious!" Li Se suddenly recalled the day Hua Hudie died. Looking at the familiar handwriting, it was as if Hua Hudie was earnestly admonishing him. Li Se suddenly felt that Hua Hudie was so close to him, like an old friend. But wasn't he the one who killed him?

Li Se's eyes were melancholy, and he vaguely knew that here, perhaps he could find the secret of Hua Hudie's background; here, perhaps, a lonely soul was hidden! Chapter 1

of Episode 6 : The True Colors of a Lecher Li Se sneaked into the Wang family's treasury and indeed found a martial arts manual of the Demonic Sect, "Heavenly Demon Great Art," which was clearly written in Hua Hudie's handwriting. After examining it closely, Li Se recalled the words the butterfly had spoken before its death, mentioning something about finding release. Knowing the power of this demonic art, he quickly discarded it. Zhu Wushuang, seeing his strange expression and fear of being poisoned, picked up the manual and looked at it for a while before smiling and putting it back. Turning around, she saw Li Se staring blankly at another book, his face shifting between light and shadow, as if he were in a daze. Surprised, she quickly moved behind him to see what the book in his hand was all about. Li Se slowly and carefully examined it, page by page. Zhu Wushuang then realized that the book was actually a person's notebook, about a man named Wang Xian from the Wang family. Zhu Wushuang looked at it for a while, then suddenly realized, thinking, "I understand now. So the infamous lecherous thief, Flower Butterfly, is actually a member of the Wang family. For some reason, the Wang family incurred a lot of debt twenty years ago, and their finances were in dire straits. This man named Wang Xian then diligently practiced demonic arts and stole a lot of treasure to pay off the Wang family's debts. This is truly an astonishing secret! No wonder so many wealthy families' treasures were stolen back then, and their whereabouts were unknown, considered a major mystery at the time. It turns out the Wang family was the ones who disposed of the stolen goods, so of course they couldn't be traced!" Zhu Wushuang wanted to look again, but saw Li Se blankly putting the book in her bosom, not saying a word, her expression extremely dejected. She knew that Li Se and Flower Butterfly must have some connection, otherwise she wouldn't have risked going to save a lecherous thief she had no connection with. However, she didn't care much about these things. Nothing in her heart ever weighed on her mind. She just smiled lightly, walked away, and went to look at other treasures, leaving Li Se alone in her daze. The two were searching for treasure in the cave when they suddenly heard a sound in the distance. They quickly extinguished their tinder and hid behind a large rock. With the sound, moonlight streamed in, the door opened, and an old man entered. He lit his torch and then closed the door. Li Se was astonished and whispered, "It's Old Man Wang! What's he doing here so late? Did he discover someone was in and come to search?" Zhu Wushuang said, "Not necessarily, let's wait and see!" They saw Old Man Wang muttering incantations and performing a series of steps, passing through the formation and getting very close to their stone hut. The two hid behind the rock, calming their breathing and daring not to speak again.

Old Wang arrived at a stone house opposite the two men, lit the oil lamp prepared inside with a torch, sighed, sat down on a stone chair, and stared blankly at a memorial tablet in front of him.

After a long while, Old Wang finally stood up, walked to the stone table where the tablet was enshrined, and murmured, "Shuiyue, in two days it will be the anniversary of your death. Fifteen years have passed. I didn't expect time to fly by so quickly. I'm already an old man!" As he spoke, Old Wang touched a few strands of gray hair on his head, seemingly very sad.

Slowly, Old Wang reached down and took the memorial tablet, cradling it to his chest. He seemed unsteady on his feet, sliding down the table to the floor, muttering, "Shuiyue, I've come to see you again at this time, but today is different. Our daughter is almost an adult! She can get married. I've cared for her for fifteen years. Although I promised you I would take good care of her, she looks too much like you. Every time I see her, it's like seeing you, it breaks my heart! So I avoid Bao'er whenever possible. She must resent me, her father, for not caring enough! But she won't have to be afraid anymore. At her birthday banquet, I'll find her a suitable husband. With a lover, she won't be lonely anymore, and a knot in my heart will be lifted."

Old Wang murmured to the memorial tablet, recounting his past with Shuiyue in a jumbled mess. Li Se and Zhu Wushuang heard everything clearly. Old Wang was lost in his memories, unaware that someone was eavesdropping!

As Wang Laocai confided his feelings to his beloved wife, he couldn't help but whisper sweet nothings. Zhu Wushuang blushed deeply, thinking, "Love is indeed a complex and mysterious thing. This guy is so old, and his children are so grown up, yet he still seems like a young man. My master warned me to calm my mind and be careful; it seems his advice wasn't in vain."

Thinking this, she suddenly remembered that Li Se, a grown man, was also beside her. Her face flushed again, and she quickly stole a glance at him.

She saw Li Se with his brows furrowed, lost in thought, seemingly not having heard a word Wang Laocai said.

After a while, Old Wang said again, "Shuiyue, I have a bad feeling. It seems that something bad has happened to Xiandi. It's been over a year, and there's been no news of him. If he hadn't been willing to sacrifice his personal happiness back then, our Wang family's foundation probably wouldn't be what it is today. As his older brother, I didn't take good care of him, letting him wander the world and earning him the bad reputation of a 'lecherous thief,' unable to return home. It's all my fault!"

Old Wang beat his chest and stamped his feet, then said, "Alas, I know he loved you terribly, and you two were such a good match in age. It's a pity that I was bewitched back then, loving you to death, thinking that only I could bring you happiness. Otherwise, you would have married Xiandi long ago, and you wouldn't have died so young after giving birth to Bao'er. There wouldn't be any 'lecherous thief Hua Butterfly' in the world."

As Old Wang said this, Zhu Wushuang suddenly saw Li Se acting like a madman, desperately pulling at his hair, his eyes gleaming with the eyes of a wild beast.

Zhu Wushuang was startled, fearing he might do something drastic. She quickly pressed his pressure points and whispered in his ear, "Young Master Li, I'm sorry. But you don't need to blame yourself. We can talk about it later, okay?"

Seeing Li Se's gaze soften, she felt somewhat relieved.

Wang Laocai then complained to himself, "Shuiyue, Bao'er seems to have fallen for someone. She's always sticking to that boy. His name is Li Se, and he's only about twenty years old! He seems to have quite a background. It's said that the six major sects of the martial arts world want him to be their leader, but I don't know if that's true or not. I tested him; he's incredibly intelligent, and most importantly, he doesn't have the vanity, pride, or susceptibility to being provoked that most young people have. He's a real talent! I only became indifferent to fame after I turned thirty. But since he has deep ties with the six major sects, he's naturally our enemy." But that's a major obstacle. However, that's not the worst of it. The most troublesome thing is that this young man already has a wife, and he's naturally a womanizer, having affairs with several girls. A few days ago, I saw the maid who was looking for him; she was extremely beautiful. If Bao'er marries him, she won't be happy. Although I value him highly, I have no choice but to give up. But don't worry, there's someone even better! Zhao Ming, the fourth young master of the Zhao family, is handsome and dashing. I've watched him grow up, and he and Bao'er are deeply in love. They are a perfect match…”

Zhu Wushuang, who had been dozing off from Wang Laocai's ramblings, suddenly woke up when Wang Laocai suddenly mentioned Li Se. Hearing him recount Li Se's romantic escapades, for some reason, a sudden surge of resentment welled up within her. Biting her lip, she thought to herself, "That bastard is definitely no good." After a while, she finally came to her senses, surprised, "What...what he does has nothing to do with me? Tranquility and naturalness are the true nature of the heart. Why...why should I resent him?"

As Zhu Wushuang was bewildered and lost, she suddenly heard a light knocking at the door. It turned out that Old Wang had finished speaking and had already gotten up and left.

Zhu Wushuang, remembering that Li Se's acupoints were still sealed, quickly used her jade fingers to gently release them, saying, "I did this because I was afraid you would lose your composure. You won't blame me, will you?"

Li Se stretched his arm and said, "No, I won't. But you don't need to worry, with you here, I won't cause any trouble."

Zhu Wushuang sneered, "Then I was overthinking it!"

Li Se was taken aback and said, "No, Princess, you're overthinking it. I meant that even if something happened to me, I wouldn't disregard the safety and feelings of others, making myself unpleasant or causing trouble for them."

Zhu Wushuang still coldly said, "Is that so?"

Seeing her unfriendly expression, Li Se dared not say anything more and left the room, going to the stone house where Wang Laocai had just been. Li Se arrived before the memorial tablet, which read: "Tomb of the Virtuous Wife Zhang Shuiyue."

Li Se stared blankly for a moment, then stepped back, knelt, and kowtowed several times, silently praying, "Auntie, Senior Flower Butterfly has already gone to see you! I didn't know he had so many hardships in his life, but now that I'm trapped in this mortal world, burdened with countless helpless matters, I understand how painful and helpless life can sometimes be. You can't judge a person by their appearance, but it's too late now, and I deeply regret it! If you know this in the afterlife, please tell Senior Wang Xian! My current predicament is a punishment from heaven, so please ask him to be understanding and not blame me."

After finishing her prayer, Li Se stood up. Suddenly, Zhu Wushuang sneered behind her, "What are you muttering? Are you perhaps telling your mother-in-law that you will cherish her daughter?"

Li Se asked in surprise, "What? What exactly is the princess saying?"

Zhu Wushuang said, "Hmph, don't try to hide it from me. Didn't you hear what Wang Dacaishen said about Wang Bao'er liking you? He even praised you!"

Li Se forced a smile and said, "Uh? Yes! But he also said I have a wife, so naturally I can't be Bao'er's husband."

Zhu Wushuang raised an eyebrow and smiled coldly, "Is that so? But will you let this go? Have you already come up with some plan in your mind?"

Li Se said anxiously, "I treat Bao'er like my own brother and sister, and I have absolutely no evil thoughts. If the princess doesn't believe me, I'll swear it. I'm not that kind of person!"

But before Li Se could swear, Zhu Wushuang grabbed his hand with a smile and said with a grin, "Alright! I saw you looking so unhappy, so I'm just trying to cheer you up. What kind of oath are you making? You can marry whoever you want, what does it have to do with me?"

Li Se sighed and said with a wry smile, "The princess really knows how to make fun of people. Alright, let's leave here quickly!" After saying that, he wanted to leave.

Zhu Wushuang asked, "Aren't you looking for any secret manuals?"

Li Se was taken aback, then slapped his forehead hard and said, "Oh dear, I'm so stupid, I even forgot why I came here. If I forget something so important, what will become of me!"

Zhu Wushuang said calmly, "It's nothing serious! Just a little girl. Hmm, it seems Wang Bao'er isn't anyone particularly important to you."

Li Se smiled wryly, "No, Bao'er is my sister, how could she not be important? But I'm always a bit of a scatterbrain! Let's go look again! It seems the treasures here are just randomly placed. The Wang family relies on the outer formation, there aren't any hidden mechanisms inside. But finding a book in such a large place won't be easy. We've wasted a lot of time, it might be almost dawn!"

Li Se took a few steps and saw Zhu Wushuang smiling but standing still, saying, "What's wrong? Is the princess tired? Alright, let me look for it myself."

Zhu Wushuang said, "You mean that 'Book of Escape Techniques'? I've found it!"

Li Se said happily, "Found it? That's great, let me see it quickly."

Zhu Wushuang said, "Why should I show it to you?! I found it myself."

Li Se was stunned and said, "This..."

He felt extremely annoyed and confused, not knowing what the princess wanted to do, and with his mind in such turmoil, he was even more at a loss.

Zhu Wushuang said, "Look how anxious you are! You say Wang Bao'er is just your sister? Is it that simple? Take it! If you get sick from worrying, it'll be my fault." She then casually tossed over a piece of cloth.

Li Se sensed something was off about the princess; she seemed different from her usual noble, elegant, and generous self, almost like a little girl. He wondered what was wrong with her, then thought, "A princess is a girl, of course she'll have a little temper. I'm the one who's confused!" He remembered seeing the princess dressed as an ugly woman before, and how different she was now.

Confused, Li Se smiled at the princess and went to look at the cloth. He was also curious about the "Heavenly Book of Escape Techniques," wanting to know how magical it was and what it looked like.

On the ordinary cloth was written: "'Heavenly Book of Escape Techniques' is indeed a heavenly book. Unfortunately, I obtained it at the wrong time, so I hid it at the Immortal Water Rock of Dragon Tiger Mountain, to be retrieved later." The handwriting was clearly left by a flower butterfly. Then there were several strange maps.

Li Se looked at it over and over again, stunned. "This... just these few words? This is bad." He recalled the treasure maps that Flower Butterfly had left him, all of which contained only a few words. It seemed he really did like to hide his treasures.

But this time it was about saving someone. Since the Heavenly Book wasn't here, rescuing Wang Bao'er would be quite troublesome. Moreover, judging from Old Man Wang's words, he was indeed very close to Flower Butterfly and wouldn't steal any of his treasures. Since this treasure map was here, the secret manual naturally wouldn't be here either.

Zhu Wushuang said, "Yes! Isn't it clear from just these few words? If you want to find the 'Heavenly Book of Escape Techniques,' just go to the Immortal Water Rock on Dragon Tiger Mountain."

Li Se frowned and said, "That's not it. Oh no, something so simple, do those guys even believe me? Won't they force Bao'er to stay?"

Zhu Wushuang said, "I can't interfere in your affairs. Let's go! Everything's done, let's go out!"

The two left the Inviting Moon Pavilion. Li Se was about to go home when Zhu Wushuang stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, you've finished your business, it's time to play with me."

Li Se didn't expect the princess to say such a thing. This playful remark was something Wang Bao'er often said. He couldn't help but look her over a few times. He really couldn't figure out what the princess was like.

However, Li Se still stubbornly refused, saying, "No...no way! The key is still in our hands. If Steward Feng wakes up and finds the things missing, it will be terrible. We should go back as soon as possible before dawn."

Li Se looked at Zhu Wushuang's face, fearing that she would get angry and put on airs like a princess.

Zhu Wushuang remained calm, took the key from Li Se, and said, "That's easy, I'll let it return to that person's arms by itself."

As she spoke, she muttered incantations, and the key vanished from Zhu Wushuang's hand, flying off to who knows where.

Li Se opened her mouth wide, then closed it, thinking, "Why am I making such a fuss? The princess is very capable, what's so strange about this? But the princess is really mysterious." She asked aloud, "Where are we going to play?"

Zhu Wushuang didn't answer, but simply turned and left, and Li Se had no choice but to follow. Once the two left the Wang family's residence, they no longer needed to carefully avoid people, and they walked side by side.

Seeing Li Se's distracted state, Zhu Wushuang said, "What are you worried about? Now that the book has been located, we won't have to worry about getting it. Let's go to Bao'en Temple, and you can go rescue Wang Bao'er at dawn. It won't delay your important matter."

Li Se asked curiously, "What are we going to Bao'en Temple for?"

Zhu Wushuang smiled but remained silent.

Zhu Wushuang and Li Se sat down on the roof of the main hall of Bao'en Temple. It was past midnight, and although there were many stars in the sky, the moon was hidden behind the clouds, and it was pitch black all around. However, on this summer night, the cool breeze was refreshing, and the two of them felt very comfortable.

Zhu Wushuang murmured, "This used to be the site of Tianxi Temple. My master and I lived here for a while. I used to like climbing onto the roof to play by myself. Other girls were afraid of the dark, but I liked it. It was dark and quiet all around, and being surrounded by the night felt so warm!" After saying that, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

By the starlight, Li Se saw the princess's jade-like face and was momentarily stunned. He turned his gaze elsewhere and casually said, "Oh!"

Zhu Wushuang was greatly dissatisfied with Li Se's perfunctory attitude. As a princess, she was usually fawned over by everyone she met, but Li Se was acting quite the opposite. Although she was naturally intelligent and indifferent to external matters, she inexplicably felt resentment towards Li Se; otherwise, she wouldn't have felt that way in the jeweled pavilion.

She couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? You seem distracted. What are you thinking about?"

Li Se quickly smiled bitterly, "We went to steal, but even if we succeeded, we wouldn't go back. I'm afraid my wife, Xiangjun, will worry."

Zhu Wushuang stared at Li Se, her bright eyes shining like pearls in the darkness, and said, "So you were thinking about her! You...you two are so loving! It's rare to see someone who loves his wife as much as you do."

Li Se said, "Love? I don't know. Sometimes I feel so painful thinking about it. Do I even love her? After learning about the background of Senior 'Flower Butterfly' today, I hate myself even more. I'm ignorant and foolish. I feel so guilty towards Xiangjun. Perhaps I'm not good enough for her at all. If she hadn't met me, how happy she would be!" "

Zhu Wushuang said, 'I don't know what your relationship with that person is. But I see your wife is very happy now, that's for sure!'

Li Se said, 'You don't understand, you don't know.'

Zhu Wushuang said, 'What don't you understand? Don't you like her anymore? I understand! You like another girl now, and you're a little tired of her.'

Li Se smiled bitterly, 'No, no.'

Zhu Wushuang smiled slightly and said, 'It's nothing, most men are like this, there's nothing to be ashamed of.'

Seeing that Zhu Wushuang was misunderstanding him more and more, and knowing that he had learned about Hua Hudie's background today, Li Se felt extremely sad. He had so much to say and wanted to confide in someone, but who could understand his own feelings? Only in front of the elegant and insightful Sister Yang could he confide in her, but where was she now?

Li Se opened his mouth wide, then silently closed it, looked up at the sky, then lowered his head sadly, his heart filled with sorrow. But how could he speak of such loneliness and pain!"

Seeing Li Se remain silent and dejected, Zhu Wushuang chuckled, "I've hit the nail on the head, haven't I? But don't worry, I've been in the palace for a long time; I'm used to this kind of thing. My father has three palaces and six courtyards, and ministers also have many wives and concubines; it's all commonplace."

Li Se listened blankly to Zhu Wushuang's words of comfort, then suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if struck by a heavy hammer. She could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

Zhu Wushuang was taken aback, wondering why Li Se was like this. Then, a look of disdain appeared on her face, and she felt an indescribable disgust for Li Se. It took her a while before her expression calmed down.

Li Se paid no attention to Zhu Wushuang's expression. Reflecting on the fate of the flower butterfly and his own past, he was heartbroken and said, "Do you know my origins? I was originally a disciple of Chuan Ying, renowned in the martial world as the 'Knife Master.' But due to a

series of unfortunate events, my martial arts were crippled, and now I'm reduced to this wretched state. How can I bear this?" He then recounted his experiences since leaving the mountain. His heart was in turmoil, and he involuntarily recounted all his past misfortunes.

Zhu Wushuang listened intently to Li Se's account, her contempt lessening considerably, though she still felt uneasy. She said calmly, "If that's the case, aren't you and Gu Xiangjun a loving couple who have shared hardships together? What's wrong with that?"

Li Se replied sadly, "It's better to forget each other in the vast world than to cling to each other in hardship. Flowers confined to pots lack vitality; birds caged lose their natural charm. It's better to let the flowers and birds in the mountains roam freely, enjoying their beauty and tranquility. That kind of freedom is the greatest joy in life."

Li Se continued, "If she weren't burdened by me, she would be married to a noble young master, free from the struggle for food, living a carefree and happy life. Wouldn't that be the ultimate happiness? She is a beautiful, kind, and intelligent young lady." "What could a lowly, foolish boy like me possibly be worthy of her? There are countless wealthy and powerful families in the capital, and even more outstanding young talents, all a hundred times better than me. The title of the Four Great Young Masters of the Martial World isn't just empty praise from the martial arts world. I've met Nangong Xuan and the Fourth Young Master Zhao, and they truly possess extraordinary bearing. They come from good families and have high martial arts skills. I, among them, am truly ashamed. If I hadn't promised my sworn sister Wang Bao'er, I would have left long ago. Alas! Poor Xiangjun, she met the wrong person, this foolish, useless boy like me."

Li Se paused, then said softly, "Alas, if only she hadn't met me!"

Seeing Li Se's overwhelming sorrow, Zhu Wushuang suddenly felt inexplicably saddened as well, her heart no longer calm.

Zhu Wushuang murmured, "It's better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes than

to cling together in hardship. Clinging together in hardship..." She knew this phrase came from "The Great Master" in Zhuangzi, the original saying being: "When the spring dries up, the fish are stranded on land, breathing on each other to moisten each other, clinging to life in this precarious state, but it's better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes." It means that when the spring dries up, many fish stay on land, breathing on each other to moisten each other, but this is less desirable than forgetting each other in the rivers and lakes; rather than sharing life and death like this, it's better to be free and forget each other in

the rivers and lakes. Zhu Wushuang saw Li Se's utterly desolate figure and suddenly felt her face burn, her heart filled with shock. Her martial arts were based on cultivating the mind, and her heart was usually as calm as a deep pool, undisturbed, but now it was greatly shaken, hence her great shock.

Li Se, lost in her own thoughts, didn't realize that dawn was breaking when she finally came to her senses and hurriedly turned around to look around, but there was no sign of the princess.

He recalled confiding his secrets to Zhu Wushuang the night before and was filled with remorse and shame. The thought that he had cried in front of the princess only added to his embarrassment; he wished he were dead. It seemed the princess must despise him for leaving.

But since he had already done it, there was no going back. He resolved that after rescuing Wang Bao'er, he would immediately leave the capital and never see the princess again.

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[Fantasy] Immortal Cultivation of the Heart (Complete) - 16-18

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