Chapter 951: The Same Old Mr. Wang¹ Method

Sister Hong’s voice was sincere, but her eyes now carried a hint of shyness. Feeling slightly moved, Ye Wenxin replied, “Thank you, Sister Hong.”

Smiling softly at her, Sister Hong leaned in to whisper by her ear, “Can you call me Xiao Hong?”

Her gaze was bright and full of warmth. Ye Wenxin’s heart skipped a beat. Something about this development felt off.

But she had no cheat. No matter how confident she seemed, it shouldn’t cause such a strange misunderstanding.

Thinking Sister Hong wanted to be friends, Ye Wenxin obliged the request and called her Xiao Hong.

Sister Hong blushed. Ye Wenxin felt incredibly awkward.

The two descended the stairs in silence. They seemed almost too quiet compared to the bustle around them. When they were about to reach the first floor, Sister Hong released Ye Wenxin’s hand and walked ahead of her.

She began methodically organizing the Treasure Pavilion’s guards. It was hard to imagine what the place would be like without Sister Hong as its backbone.

“The Fang family descended from generals. Funnily enough, Gu Qingcheng once met Fang Hong when she was a child.”

Long Qingyue’s voice suddenly came from behind. Ye Wenxin felt a chill down her spine. The way she could appear without a sound was far too unnerving.

Ye Wenxin turned and saw Long Qingyue smiling faintly. The smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Yue’er, why bring that up all of a sudden?” Ye Wenxin didn’t understand why Long Qingyue mentioned the Fang family’s past. But she also pieced together why the Fang family had no elders.

Many years ago, Old General Fang died in battle, followed by his son, General Fang. Sister Hong had to take up the burden of the entire Fang family. She was now nearly forty, yet remained unmarried.

“No reason. I just heard her thoughts. She’s planning to give you a hug tonight. Thought maybe it’d make you feel better,” Long Qingyue said offhandedly.

Curious to see what expression Long Qingyue could be wearing while saying something like that, Ye Wenxin stared directly at her. “So, are you jealous?”

Long Qingyue’s expression shifted ever so slightly. “Why would I be?”

Seeing that she’d taken the bait, Ye Wenxin stuck to the classic routine and pressed her. “Well, if you’re not jealous, why are you so worried I might do something with Xiao Hong tonight?”

For a brief second, Ye Wenxin saw Long Qingyue’s pupils sharply contracted.

Realizing she might’ve pushed too far, she quickly added, “In any case, we’re just friends.”

She tried to give more explanation, but Long Qingyue quietly pulled a small notebook from her bag of holding to jot something down. Once finished, she looked up and smiled at Ye Wenxin.

Ye Wenxin had goosebumps. The notebook probably contained a list of her transgressions against Long Qingyue.

She immediately sat up straighter, hands on her knees.

Meanwhile, the Treasure Pavilion guards and the One Short Sect priests had gathered in the lobby. Qian Duoduo and Priest Wang finally stirred.

“Ghost!”

“You brazen fiend! Have a taste of my sword!”

The two jolted awake in different poses, only to see the crowd around them.

Qian Duoduo blinked before quickly slipping back into his boss persona. Priest Wang looked mortified. To think that he, head of the One Short Sect, had gotten possessed so easily.

Surrounded by his disciples, he could only embellish the parts he didn’t remember.

Ye Wenxin watched in amusement from a distance, making no move to approach.

Firstly, she was still pretending to be weak. Secondly, the only place she felt safe was by Han Shanxue’s side.

Qian Duoduo and Priest Wang later learned what had happened to them and about their savior.

“So where’s this ‘Celestial Master Ye’ you mentioned? I must thank her personally,” Priest Wang said, now calm and scanning the room for her.

Sister Hong paused for a second and pointed toward where Ye Wenxin was.

“She’s the one in white robes. Don’t mistake her for someone else.” She added the last part so he wouldn’t confuse Han Shanxue for Ye Wenxin. She also wanted to see what would happen when Ye Wenxin and Priest Wang meet.

Everyone watched with interest. Priest Wang’s breathing slowed when he saw Ye Wenxin.

Before anyone could react, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed hard to her.

“Thank you for saving my life, Grandmaster!”

Even though he had been slightly arrogant earlier, his legs weakened once he saw that his savior was Ye Wenxin.

After a stunned pause, Ye Wenxin let out a laugh. “Priest Wang, it’s been a long time. You’re still fond of kneeling, I see.”

Priest Wang’s old face flushed red, but kneeling to Ye Wenxin was entirely proper. He quickly turned around and shouted at his disciples, “Why are you all still standing? Pay your respects to the Grandmaster!”

Despite their confusion, the disciples obediently kowtowed three times toward Ye Wenxin. Dozens of them kneeling and bowing simultaneously made for a spectacular scene. Seeing Sister Hong’s complicated expression and the surprised look on others, Ye Wenxin felt a bit awkward.

“That’s enough, get up now.” She hurriedly let Priest Wang stand.

“Thank you, Grandmaster.” Priest Wang exhaled in relief, about to stand up until he saw Ghost Mother out of the corner of his eye. A greeting reflexively formed at the tip of his tongue, but his gaze caught an even more beautiful woman nearby.

Priest Wang’s legs gave out again, and he called out, “Wang You of the One Short Sect greets—”

Ye Wenxin recalled that Priest Wang had seen Long Qingyue before, so he recognized her now. But if he kneeled to her, everyone would know the Eldest Princess was among them.

Ye Wenxin immediately interrupted him. “Why are you kneeling again?” she said meaningfully. Priest Wang had fifty years of experience in bootlicking. How could he not understand what Ye Wenxin implied? He hastily turned to Ghost Mother and said, “Greetings, Madam!”

Ye Wenxin, who just felt relief, almost broke down. Why did Priest Wang have to call Ghost Mother that?

“Oh goodness, he recognized me, too,” said Ghost Mother, confused as to why this old man was suddenly friendly toward her. However, after hearing her new title, she smiled sweetly.

Her devastating smile fooled everyone. Still, having to clarify their identities and relationship became a real headache.

Ye Wenxin could only tell everyone that she had been arguing with Ghost Mother at the waterfall. So, Ghost Mother cried for help to mess with her, which barely passed as an explanation for the whole incident.

But neither the storyteller nor Fei Chai believed it, much less Long Qingyue. The low-profile persona Ye Wenxin had worked so hard to maintain collapsed just like that. Ghost Mother glanced at Sister Hong, then at Long Qingyue, and finally, happily took Ye Wenxin’s arm and planted a kiss on her cheek.

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Footnote:

1. 1. This might be partly referring to “Mr. Wang from next door”, a Chinese term used jocularly to refer to a neighbor who is supposedly having an affair with one’s wife. ↩︎