Chapter 66: Rouge Gu (Part 2)

As Xu Qianyu reached the second floor, she sensed the presence of the Soul Lock and saw Lu You, instantly feeling relieved.
Lu You had a system; it was guaranteed that she would snatch it.
When Lu You spotted Zhao Mingtang, her eyes widened in surprise, and she felt speechless. She hurriedly turned to look for Xie Yuzhen.

The young man was hidden among the crowd, and she couldn’t find him, biting her lip anxiously.
Seeing Zhao Mingtang move closer to the Soul Lock, Xie Yuzhen offered to retrieve it for her. At that moment, they happened to encounter the owner of the Fanghua Building, who stopped Zhao Mingtang’s convoy, presenting a fortuitous opportunity.

However, Xie Yuzhen returned with disappointing news:
He said he had failed, and the owner of the Fanghua Building had taken the Soul Lock with him.
What could she do? Lu You hurriedly made her way to the Fanghua Building. Fortunately, her identity as the Holy Maiden provided some advantages: the owner of Fanghua Building, Liu Yian, had been saved by the Holy Maiden during a visit to a medical clinic years ago. She could leverage this favor to request the Soul Lock.

But when the owner heard this, he looked at her thoughtfully, neither agreeing to give it nor refusing. Now, he even brought Zhao Mingtang along, proposing that the two of them fight it out, determining the winner who would then receive the newly acquired treasure.

Why was it so difficult?

“The owner clearly promised me earlier that it would be returned once found,” the Holy Maiden exclaimed anxiously. “There’s always a sequence to everything.”
Xu Qianyu said, “Indeed, there should be a sequence. However, since it belongs to the owner, if the owner wants to give it, then it will be given; if not, then it won’t. Changing the rules is not a big deal.”

Though her words were flattering, they made people feel at ease. Liu Yian chuckled softly. “What the second miss said is absolutely right.”
Xu Qianyu was eager to try. “Since it’s a treasure and many seek it, that only shows its value. I’m willing to compete fairly with the Holy Maiden. Come on!”

Lu You: “……” Who exactly is Zhao Mingtang? There’s never anything good when I see her.
Liu Yian is a businessman, and businessmen only care about profits. Xu Qianyu and Lu You competing here is merely a gimmick to attract customers to his Fanghua Building; why would he not be pleased?

At that moment, two waiters called out from below, announcing that the two ladies would be competing for a treasure and inviting the patrons in the tea house to come to the second floor to watch.
The crowd below abandoned their meals, pressing against one another, eagerly rushing up to the second floor. They were not only there to see the spectacle but also to get a glimpse of what the second floor of Fanghua Building looked like.

As the gray curtain lifted, it revealed a pool inside.
This pool was originally used for water opera, with water dragons appearing on all sides during performances, surrounded by swirling mist, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. Now, the stage slowly descended, sinking into the water, while numerous plum blossom stilts emerged from beneath the surface.

So they were going to fight while standing on stilts.
The holy maiden lightly tapped her toes, elegantly landing on the plum blossom stilt, floating like a celestial fairy. Xu Qianyu also transformed into a red shadow, leaping up, tugging at her headscarf, and turning to see the crowd gasping in awe.
In the center of the water, all external sounds became muffled. She could only hear a buzzing noise, unable to make out the words being said.
A waiter came to ask about weapons.
Lu You said, “I’ll use a sword.”
Xu Qianyu replied, “I’ll use a sword too.”
Lu You couldn’t help but glance at her.

However, Xu Qianyu didn’t look at her; she had just spotted a shabby little boy selling cicadas swaying through the crowd. Her heart stirred, and when she turned her head, she indeed saw that ragged boy had made it to the second floor.
But it seemed he had been knocked down by someone and was sitting helplessly on the ground, with mud underneath him. He looked at the ground, furrowing his brow, urgently shouting something.

Xu Qianyu felt anxious. Before she could get a clear look, he was blocked by the noisy crowd.
After a while, the figures in the crowd shifted, and Xu Qianyu finally saw: one of his legs was deeply sunk in the mud, and he was in a panic trying to pull it out.
How could there be a muddy pit inside?

At the moment the boy fell, Xu Qianyu quickly pointed and shouted, “Did you see over there?”
Unfortunately, the spectators below were too packed and couldn’t hear her voice, only puzzled why the two weren’t starting to fight even after taking up swords.
The child hugged his leg, his face pale as the mud seemed to open its mouth, swallowing and tugging at his knee.

Xu Qianyu stepped on a plum blossom stilt and jumped down. Upon seeing her descend with a sword, the onlookers gasped in shock, their faces filled with fear as they hurriedly scattered to the sides.
The sword cut through the air, slicing into the mud with a “whoosh,” releasing strands of black demonic energy.
Xu Qianyu felt it quiver.
It didn’t feel like she was hitting mud but as if she had struck something tough and fleshy, and then with a “pop,” the child abruptly pulled his leg out, losing balance and tumbling backward.
However, Xu Qianyu’s sword became stuck in the mud and wouldn’t come out.

The blob of mud quivered for a moment, suddenly swelling to a thousand times its size, crashing toward her like a tidal wave. Xu Qianyu’s vision went dark. She was engulfed.
Screams erupted from Fanghua Building.

To the onlookers, it appeared as though a massive blob of mud had suddenly risen up like a waking monster, pressing against the beams and breaking the railings. The people nearby looked like ants being swept away beneath it.

Xu Qianyu couldn’t see anything; in the darkness, it felt like she was wrapped in silk or trapped inside a gigantic stomach. The living mud was soft and cold, exuding a strange fragrance as it slowly coiled and moved like a mollusk. She held her sword upwards, attempting to slice it with her spiritual energy, but it seemed ineffective. Even switching to her spiritual sword yielded minimal results.

In the inky darkness, she couldn’t even see the outline of her spiritual sword, only able to feel around.
The mud constricted around her like a snake, compressing her space.
She felt increasing pressure on her limbs and heard a creaking sound beside her ear; it was the frame of her headscarf being crushed. The exotic fragrance grew stronger. If it tightened any more, she would suffocate.

For the first time in such a situation, Xu Qianyu’s heart raced like thunder, filled with fear, but she told herself to stay calm, stay calm…
After a moment, she closed her eyes, calming her mind and sinking into her spiritual pool.
Her senior brother had previously told her that a cultivator’s spiritual consciousness is the sixth sense beyond the five senses, allowing one to see the unseen and hear the unheard. Although she didn’t possess spiritual consciousness, her awareness should suffice.
But she hesitated.

Every time she used her awareness, she would need several days to recover. Today, she had already used her awareness once; could she do it again?
When she saw her awareness within the spiritual pool, Xu Qianyu was taken aback.
This… is this her awareness?
Before her, the light mass was no longer something as small as a firefly; it was as big as a sparrow, radiating brilliantly like a small moon. As she thought of it, the little moon floated out of her body like a lantern, clearly illuminating the path ahead.

She clearly hadn’t opened her eyes, but she “saw” the golden threads crisscrossing within the blob of mud like veins and seemed to hear the sound of blood surging.
As the space grew tighter, Xu Qianyu focused and entered a state of calm, temporarily forgetting her fear. Like a fetus curled up in the womb, she hugged the interior of the mud, slowly exploring the sights before her.

If it constricted too tightly, she would stab the mud, forcing it to loosen before continuing her exploration.
Gradually, those golden veins became finer and more concentrated, and at the intersection of countless golden threads, she saw another glowing mass.
Could this be considered the heart of the mud?
She slowly moved toward that light, which was a luminous sphere with something moving inside it.

As Xu Qianyu approached the light sphere, she saw a vividly colored butterfly with wings that shimmered in a hundred hues, so brilliantly beautiful it seemed poisonous.
As soon as Xu Qianyu touched the light sphere, the mud suddenly trembled. She could see the outline of her light sword with her awareness; she gripped the luminous sphere tightly, ignoring its violent writhing, and forcefully carved it out with her spiritual sword.

With a loud splash, the blob of mud burst like a punctured bladder, and daylight flooded in, dazzling Xu Qianyu, causing her to close her eyes in shock and, in the process, accidentally crush the light sphere. She hurriedly released her grip; fortunately, the butterfly was still fluttering in her arms.

Unfortunately, when the muddy water burst forth, it poured down like torrential rain, soaking Xu Qianyu from head to toe.
People around her immediately stepped back several feet, leaving her alone, kneeling in a puddle of mud and water.

As Xu Qianyu opened her eyes, she saw the boy selling cicadas, startled, retreating repeatedly, abandoning his straw target, and running away.
… It seemed his legs were fine.
Xu Qianyu tucked the nearly lifeless butterfly into her sleeve, shook the mud off her hands, and stood frozen in place, feeling as if there were thorns in her back.
At this moment, she was like a mud person from head to toe; her first reaction was that she didn’t want to continue.
She just wanted to go home.

Fortunately, her hat was still on her head, and her face was not covered in mud. But having been glamorous all her life, she had never made such a fool of herself in public, and the thought of retreating grew stronger; she never wanted to see these people again.
After a pause, she thought of the soul lock and that she still needed to enter the inner door, forcing herself to turn back. On the stage, Lu You was already stunned. A few attendants, seeing her covered in black mud and looking ridiculous, couldn’t hold back their laughter. Liu Yian, however, did not laugh; he looked at her seriously.
Before Xu Qianyu could say anything, Liu Yian waved his sleeve and said, “How can you compete like this, getting my place dirty?” He added, “Someone, take the second young lady to the fourth floor to bathe and change; then we can compete again.”
The crowd erupted in noise. It was said that the fourth floor of Fanghua Building was a spirit pool hot spring made for wealthy young ladies, accessible only to a few close friends of the building’s owner. Even the rich and powerful could only dream of seeing such a place. Miss Zhao, by misfortune, had truly struck a big deal!
However, Xu Qianyu did not hear any of this.

Upon hearing “bath and change,” she eagerly stood up, faster than anyone else.
The water in the pond was crystal clear, with many shimmering light spots flying out; it was indeed a spirit pool.
Not only that, but the entire space outside the pond was made of large spirit stones. The polished spirit ore was extremely transparent and often used to make mirrors. At present, someone had laid it on the ground, creating a pristine white area free of dust.

As Xu Qianyu walked over, she left a trail of muddy footprints behind. She furrowed her brows.
“…” Someone should be cleaning this up, right?
With no one around, Liu Yian negotiated with her: “Miss Second, could you give me the Pheonix Saucer?”

Xu Qianyu pulled out the half-dead butterfly from her muddy sleeve: “This one?”
“Exactly.”
“I caught it, so it’s mine,” Xu Qianyu said. “If you want me to give it to you, what will you trade?”
“This is a demonic object,” Liu Yian chuckled. “Little girl, you are just a cultivator.”
“Shh, shh, shh!” Xu Qianyu hurriedly interrupted. The owner of Fanghua Building had some skill and knew about the celestial sect; he could actually see her identity as a cultivator, but it couldn’t be revealed, or she would be violating rules.

Liu Yian realized he had misspoken and pressed a folding fan against his lips.
“Why do you want it?” Xu Qianyu asked. “You say it’s a demonic object; how do I know you won’t use it to harm others?”

“This object is the demon core of an earth demon; you should have seen that the earth demon is a fiend that devours mortals. Usually, the Pheonix Saucer serves as bait. If someone captures it, they will fall into its trap. My people have been watching it for a long time and didn’t dare to act rashly; that ignorant boy dared to reach out and catch it.”

Liu Yian extended his fingertip, and the Pheonix Saucer fell into his hand, disappearing in the blink of an eye: “The earth demon has been killed by you. The demon core cannot exist independently. It’s dying. Once it dies, I will turn it into jewelry, and Fanghua Building will have another treasure. I hope the second young lady will come to appreciate it then.”
Xu Qianyu thought to herself that she had killed a demon; no wonder her score had suddenly soared.

Liu Yian took the tray handed to him by a maid, which contained a folded white dress: “I won’t take your things for free. This is water from the spirit pool; you’ll ascend soon, so go soak in it.”
Xu Qianyu was extremely surprised; the owner of Fanghua Building could even see her cultivation level. She saw him unfold the dress he wanted her to wear, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Seeing her expression of no joy, Liu Yian’s face showed displeasure, and his expression cracked, his gaze sharp and unhappy: “What? Don’t you like it?”
“It’s pretty,” Xu Qianyu said awkwardly, looking at the dress. It was pure white, adorned with feathers and jewels, shining with a refined elegance that was hard to describe. She closed her eyes and said, “Can I exchange it for something else?”
On ordinary days, she would be very willing to wear it. But since she had to practice her footwork, that dress would trip her up. Plus, with so many feathers on it, if she won, it would be fine; if she lost, it would be a mess of feathers flying everywhere, and what a scene that would be.
“My Fanghua Building’s top-grade white feather dress, so many people would find it dirty just to look at it, yet you dare say you don’t like it!” Liu Yian said incredulously, waving his sleeve and leaving. “Wear it if you like it or not.”

Xu Qianyu stepped into the pool, washing off the mud. Her clothes were already dirty; she could only reluctantly take the dress and change into it.

“Mintang.”

As Xu Qianyu was fretting, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her, clear and cold as dew. She turned in surprise: “Sister!”
Her senior sister wasn’t good at dressing up; she couldn’t even apply a bit of snowflower fat, but it was clear that her focus on cultivation allowed her to surpass Xu Qianyu in level. It was one thing for Xu Qianyu to be unambitious, but to meet her sister in such an extravagant outfit was incredibly shameful. “You, you wait a moment.”

Shen Suwei had sensed the demonic energy earlier and knew Xu Qianyu was in danger, so she rushed straight to Fanghua Building.
“What happened?” Xu Qianyu, who usually spoke with confidence, felt lacking for the first time today. She thought to herself that this wasn’t good, unleashing her fighting spirit, drawing her sword with a bright gaze, and walking through the gauze curtain.

There, Xu Qianyu sat by the pool’s edge in a white dress, her feet still submerged in the water. Her wet hair fell loose, partially concealed behind the gauze curtain, and she looked at him shyly, momentarily stunned.
In this place, the spirit stones reflected like mirrors, breaking through the fabricated facade. Xu Qianyu’s originally shallow features appeared; her eyes were slightly rounder, her pupils a bit larger, and when she was unhappy, her emotions leaked out especially.
Xu Qianyu also stared blankly at him.
The spirit stones were snow white, illuminating the entire space, free of dust. Zhao Qinghe held her sword, her expression cold; the two shadows overlapped, and the person in front had slightly raised eyes, rosy lips, and a pair of eyes as white as snow and bright as the moon.

Was this how her sister used to look? Why did she resemble her imagined mother a bit?
Moreover, today she also found out that her mother looked somewhat like… her senior brother?

“Mingtang?” Shen Suwei called again, breaking her train of thought.
Xu Qianyu came back to reality, delighted, and said, “Sister, you’ve come at the right time. Can you swap clothes with me?”
Shen Suwei: “…”
He glanced at the dress Xu Qianyu was wearing and knew that the outfit the landlord gave her was too cumbersome, hindering her swordplay.

Seeing her senior sister’s silent consent, Xu Qianyu felt a surge of hope. She remembered that Zhao Mingtang was small and could not pull off the Liuxian dress; if she exchanged it for Zhao Qinghe’s, it would be a perfect match: “You wear mine; you’ll definitely look good in it.”
Shen Suwei saw her start to take off her clothes and quickly lowered the curtain to block her.
Xu Qianyu said again, “I’ll take it off right away and give it to you. There’s no mirror here, so I don’t know how it looks. Once I change, you can try it on for me.”
“I won’t wear it,” her senior sister replied coldly and resolutely.

Xu Qianyu was used to this and quickly undressed, folding the Liuxian dress neatly. She pushed it through the gap below the gauze curtain. Shen Suwei didn’t take off her own clothes; instead, while Xu Qianyu was changing, she retrieved a brand-new outfit from her mustard seed gold beads and pushed it back through the gap.
On the other side, there were rustling sounds, and Shen Suwei averted her gaze. When Xu Qianyu finished changing and let out a relieved breath, she raised her eyes.
The gauze curtain cast shadows, dimly reflecting the girl’s figure. Xu Qianyu dipped her fingers in water to comb her hair into a spiral bun, using all the hairpins she had. When she went to tie the other side, her hands fumbled on the ground, finding no more hairpins.
Seeing this, Shen Suwei swiftly cut off a piece of the skirt with her sword and quietly passed it through the bottom.
Xu Qianyu was still searching when she suddenly felt a piece of silk ribbon and a half-cold fingertip. She smiled brightly over her shoulder. Grabbing it, she tied it in her hair, seeming very pleased: “Thank you, sister.”
Shen Suwei didn’t speak but relaxed her expression, appearing content as well.
Originally, Xu Qianyu felt somewhat tense because, in her past life, she had faced Lu You three times without winning even once.
However, with her senior sister’s clothes feeling dry and refreshing and her hair neatly styled, she felt completely warm and capable. Suddenly, Xu Qianyu felt a surge of courage to fight. She patted her dress and stood up.
Outside the curtain, Shen Suwei also stood up.
Since her senior sister didn’t want to wear the Liuxian dress, Xu Qianyu thought she must not have an outer garment at the moment. While moving, she averted her gaze to avoid any inappropriate sight and casually rolled up the curtain.
The curtain billowed lightly, like a thin cloud, wrapping Shen Suwei inside, preventing her from being seen. Xu Qianyu said, “Sister, wait for me! I’ll be back as soon as I finish!”
Not holding the curtain, Xu Qianyu dashed out, and it slowly drifted back to its original position.
In his hands, he held the Liuxian dress Xu Qianyu had changed out of, still warm and slightly damp. He lowered his eyes.
In the past, he saw men and women merely as various creatures, without feeling much difference. Today, he suddenly gained clarity; there was a distinct separation between man and woman.
Men are like grass and trees, coming and going like the wind, carefree and unrestrained. Women are like this piece of snow-white grease in his hands. If held tightly, it would melt, seep into the crevices, and stain him, leaving a mark forever. But if kept at a distance, he could feel its subtle aura entwined with him.