The news of Jia Renyi’s return to the martial world had spread throughout the capital by the next day.

“So Mo Lingya really is a bastard! He actually just threw me into the arena like that!”

Gu Chenyan couldn’t help but smile. The woman across from her had been cursing Mo Lingya in all sorts of creative ways for nearly half an hour. Was she not tired?

Noticing the smile on Gu Chenyan’s face, Yin Yin furrowed her brows. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.” Gu Chenyan shook her head quickly. “I completely agree that Mo Lingya is a bastard.”

She poured tea into the two cups in front of them. “I heard Liu Ruoxi got injured? The young masters of the capital practically emptied out all the pharmacies.”

“Was that really necessary?” Yin Yin took a sip of her tea. “It was just a minor injury.”

Gu Chenyan raised her cup and blew on the tea. “It’s a perfect opportunity to show off how attentive they are.”

Yin Yin pursed her lips. “Is she that popular?”

Gu Chenyan blinked at her. “Don’t worry, Young Master Ling Long only has eyes for you.”

Yin Yin’s face turned red at once. “That’s not what I’m worried about!”

Gu Chenyan chuckled but said nothing more. Yin Yin glanced around and couldn’t help but sigh in admiration. “But really, the environment here is quite nice.”

There was water, a small bridge, flowers, and trees.

“Mmm, when it comes to perfumery, mindset matters most. Only here do I feel calm enough to focus.”

“How’s your new fragrance coming along? Isn’t the Fragrance Banquet in a couple of days?”

Gu Chenyan only gave a mysterious smile in response. “You’ll see soon enough.”

She popped a small pastry into her mouth. “Oh right, I also heard that a girl wearing a ghost mask showed up at the Martial Arts Conference?”

At that, Yin Yin frowned. “Yeah, Ling Long said her name is Qing Shancha.”

“Qing Shancha?!” Gu Chenyan looked genuinely surprised, even putting down the pastry in her hand.

“You know her?” Yin Yin asked.

“Is she a descendant of Qing Lanxin?”

“Yes.”

“Then I have heard of her.” Gu Chenyan frowned. “The Qing family is known for perfumery. Qing Shancha is the only daughter of the old Qing couple. Although the Qing family has declined over the years, she was still a well-known perfumer in Nanping County. But something major happened two years ago.”

Oh boy, here we go again.

This was clearly a test of Yin Yin’s self-control.

But this time, before Yin Yin could even ask, Gu Chenyan took the initiative to continue.

“Two years ago, a young master from the Ning family was traveling through Nanping County with some friends when he met Qing Shancha. They fell in love at first sight and soon reached the stage of discussing marriage. The Ning family is a prominent household in the capital, so it would’ve been a perfect match. But the night before the wedding, a fire broke out at Qing Shancha’s residence. Thankfully, it was discovered in time and she was rescued. Unfortunately, her burns were severe, and she had also been poisoned.”

Poisoned and set on fire? Someone clearly wanted her dead.

What kind of grudge was that?

Yin Yin asked darkly, “Who did it?”

“Her personal maid, I think her name was Luzhu. She had always followed Qing Shancha closely and had apparently fallen for the Ning family’s young master at first sight too. When she saw the two were about to be married, she was consumed by jealousy and decided to kill her mistress.”

“And where is Luzhu now?”

“She ran away. They said many people heard the two of them arguing that night, which is why the fire was noticed so quickly. Luzhu was initially caught, but she escaped in the chaos. Poor Qing Shancha. The poison didn’t kill her, but it took her voice. Worse still, her face was horribly scarred by the burns.”

Truly, a woman’s heart could be the most venomous. Yin Yin sighed inwardly. “Then how did Qing Shancha end up joining Tianxiang Society?”

“I don’t know. But after what happened, of course the wedding was called off. She was devastated and locked herself away, not stepping outside for a long time. Later, I heard she ran away from home and vanished. So she joined Tianxiang Society, huh?”

Yin Yin frowned in thought. “She joined them…… do you think she’s planning revenge?”

Gu Chenyan’s hand paused on her teacup. “That young master has already married. His wife is from another powerful family in the capital.”

Heartless bastard!

Yin Yin cursed him silently.

“What about Luzhu? Any leads?”

Gu Chenyan shook her head. “Qing Shancha likely joined Tianxiang not just to train in martial arts, but to use their influence to find Luzhu.”

Yin Yin responded with a heavy “Mmm” just as Li Li came running in from outside, flustered. “Eldest Miss! Eldest Miss, the madam is here!”

Yin Yin blinked. “My mother? Why is she here?”

Gu Chenyan said, “I heard that Madam Yin is serving as one of the judges for this year’s Fragrance Banquet.”

“Eldest Miss, the madam is staying at Bafang Inn!” Li Li finally caught up and delivered the news.

……

Yin Yin bid farewell to Gu Chenyan and left with Li Li to meet her mother at Bafang Inn. But that night, she returned to stay at Zhuwang’s headquarters.

The truth was, Yin Yin had always been a little afraid to get too close to Madam Yin. Book Yin Yin had been raised by her after all, and it was too easy to slip up in front of her.

Although even if Yin Yin did slip, who would believe she had transmigrated?

Just as she was spiraling in her thoughts, she heard Ling Long call her name, “Yinyin.”

“What is it?”

Ling Long sat at a stone table in the courtyard, moonlight cascading down over him, making him look like a painting.

Yin Yin let out a little ‘Awoo~’ in her heart and trotted over to him.

“I heard Madam Yin has arrived?”

“Yes, she’s here to be a judge. She’s staying at Bafang Inn.”

Ling Long nodded slightly. “The new alliance leader has been chosen. Did you know?”

Ah? Right! Today was the final day of the Martial Arts Conference.

“Who is it?” Yin Yin looked at him expectantly.

“Jia Renyi.”

……

Yin Yin had never felt a night breeze so cold.

The martial world was still a child. Couldn’t he let it grow up first?

Senior, really?

“No one could beat him. In the end, they had no choice but to follow the rules and name him alliance leader.”

Yin Yin: “……”

If she ever saw Jia Qing again, she swore she’d grab him by the collar and shake him hard. ‘Why did you let Jia Renyi out? Why?!’

“Did he issue any weird orders?” Like making the entire martial world take up cut-sleeve^[1]a historical euphemism for homosexuality between men practices or something?

“No.” Ling Long shook his head. “He didn’t say a word and just left.”

What?

Yin Yin scratched her cheek. “Then why’d he even show up?”

Ling Long thought for a moment. “Maybe…… he just wanted to find someone to fight?”

……

That sounded like something Jia Renyi would do.

Whatever his goal was, the Martial Arts Conference had technically ended successfully.

────ρя


Two days later, the Fragrance Banquet was held as scheduled, and Yin Yin attended with Madam Yin.

The lively atmosphere rivaled that of the Martial Arts Conference. But because the attendees were all refined scholars and literati, the event instantly felt far more upscale.

But with all the different fragrances mixing in the air, Yin Yin suddenly started to feel a bit dizzy.

“Yinyin.” Gu Chenyan approached. Yin Yin forced a smile. “Yanyan, this is my mother.”

After greeting Madam Yin, Gu Chenyan turned back to her. “You look pale. Don’t tell me you’re getting overwhelmed by the fragrances?”

Fragrance-sick? She was indeed feeling pretty dizzy. +_+

“How could you be fragrance-sick?” Madam Yin looked at Yin Yin strangely. “You grew up surrounded by scents.”

“I…… Haha……” Yin Yin felt a bit weak. “Maybe I’m just not used to the local air.”

Gu Chenyan took out a mint-like leaf from her sachet and handed it over. “Smell this. It helps with nausea.”

Yin Yin held it beneath her nose and took a sniff. A cool sensation shot up from her nostrils to her forehead, clearing her mind a good deal.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Master Gu. Back again this year?”

A sharp, arrogant voice rang out from ahead. Yin Yin looked over and saw a woman with her hair done up in a Daoist hairstyle, and dressed in modest grey robes. Her outfit was low-key, but her expression was anything but. It was downright mean.

Gu Chenyan merely frowned and didn’t respond.

The woman noticed Madam Yin and clearly recognized her. She greeted Madam Yin first, then turned back to Gu Chenyan. “You’re clever, I’ll give you that. Your perfumery hasn’t improved much, but you’ve certainly learned how to curry favor.”

Yin Yin wrinkled her nose. What a hateful woman!

She looked at the other party and smiled. “So if someone talks to my mother, that’s ‘currying favor’? Wow, you’re so sharp.”

The woman with Daoist hairstyle: “……”

Suddenly, the crowd stirred again. A graceful young woman entered, wearing light purple silk and a green sachet at her waist.

“Who’s that? Is she famous?” Yin Yin asked Gu Chenyan beside her.

Gu Chenyan shook her head. “I haven’t seen her before. She must be a first-time participant.”

“Her name’s Qingmei. She’s staying next door to me.” Madam Yin said, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the newly arrived girl. “But…… I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before.”

Seen her before?

Yin Yin studied Qingmei carefully, but still couldn’t place her.

She tilted her head slightly, and in that moment, spotted Qing Shancha standing in a corner, wearing her signature mask.

Her heart skipped a beat. She tugged Gu Chenyan’s sleeve and signaled toward the corner. “That masked girl over there, that’s Qing Shancha.”

Gu Chenyan looked over too and immediately saw the grotesque ghost mask. She nearly gasped out loud.

“What’s she doing at the Fragrance Banquet?” Yin Yin muttered.

Gu Chenyan thought for a moment. “The Qing family is a perfumery family, and she’s a perfumer too. It makes sense she’d be interested in the banquet.”

Does it?

But why does it feel like Qing Shancha was watching…… Qingmei?

Yin Yin felt a bit uneasy, but the banquet soon began, and she focused her attention back on the event.

Suddenly, she had a strange, uncomfortable feeling. Not physical discomfort, but more like an animal’s instinct— an alertness sharpened over generations of natural selection that warned of predators.

She turned her head stiffly and saw Mo Lingya standing beside her with a cold, expressionless face.

……

Damn it!

Why are you everywhere, Hero Mo?!