Chapter 932: Begin Your Performance

“Junior Sister Ye, we’ve already heard about it,” said the storyteller.

“Yeah, we’ve already taken on this job,” Fei Chai nodded. “But we’ve agreed to each take only fifty spirit stones. The rest will go to you and Miss Gu.”

Ye Wenxin felt something was off with this. Friendship usually capsized fast when it came to splitting money. She suspected these two men were on some strange drug for them to be unusually generous.

She glanced at Ghost Mother, who smiled sweetly at her. Ye Wenxin realized Ghost Mother had probably persuaded them. Although she still didn’t understand why Ghost Mother was helping her find work, Ye Wenxin focused on asking the man a few questions.

“My name is Fang Lü.”

Ye Wenxin didn’t bother checking the luck of a man with such a half-hearted name. She already knew he was just a background character. But her past experiences with female leads had taught her one thing—every seemingly random event usually signaled the arrival of a new opportunity.

Considering Han Shanxue was a female lead, Ye Wenxin suspected fate had taken pity on her poverty and sent her a walking wallet.

Han Shanxue was reticent, but Ye Wenxin could tell she had a bit of pride. She had been racking her brain for a way to support her without hurting her ego. Then Fang Lü coincidentally appeared.

“Young Master Fang,” Ye Wenxin said, “among us, only Miss Han, Fei Chai’s master, is at the Golden Core stage. But we’re a team, so we’ll act together.”

Considering Han Shanxue’s habitual silence and Fei Chai’s simple-minded honesty, Ye Wenxin thought she’d better handle the negotiations with Young Master Lü herself. Of course, her ultimate goal was to swindle a few more spirit stones if she could.

“You’re all very strong, but I can’t afford that many people.” Young Master Lü’s dejected expression seemed oddly familiar to Ye Wenxin. However, she couldn’t place where she’d seen a similar face before.

Whatever the case, Young Master Lü was like a sheep. If she tugged at his wool, generous rewards would fall out. Seeing his hesitation, Ye Wenxin added, “We offer a full three-package service.”

“What do you mean ‘three-package’?”

“We protect you, advise you, and help you court your girl.”

Knowing that the object of his affection was an ordinary girl with no cultivation, Ye Wenxin laid it on even thicker. Young Master Lü agreed, adding a few hundred more spirit stones as a bonus.

Everyone watched as Ye Wenxin’s expression shifted from calm to animated. She kept persuading Young Master Lü to raise the price without breaking composure. The bodyguard fee ended up costing him a thousand spirit stones.

“Junior Sister Ye, you’re amazing!” exclaimed the storyteller. “Even I can’t improvise that fast!”

“You don’t get it. This is what we call earning with real skill,” Ye Wenxin replied, not feeling any guilt. She even thought they still got the short end of the deal.

Based on what Young Master Lü had told them, his romantic rival’s followers likely included at least one Nascent Soul stage cultivator. While they were as common as cabbages in the Golden Age Dynasty, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator was nothing to scoff at.

“Master will be so happy when she finds out,” said Fei Chai. He wasn’t overthinking things and just looked forward to seeing Han Shanxue’s reaction.

After sending Young Master Lü on his way, the group gathered around a table, waiting for Han Shanxue’s return.

They chatted for about half an hour before Han Shanxue appeared. She seemed to be heading straight upstairs but suddenly caught the group sitting nearby.

“Master, Master! We have great news for you!” Fei Chai eagerly filled Han Shanxue in on everything. The three had assumed that landing such a lucrative side gig would earn them Han Shanxue’s rare praise. But instead, her eyes grew even colder as they settled on Ye Wenxin.

“You’ll get them killed,” she said.

“Relax. Don’t they have you and me?”

As Ye Wenxin had expected, Han Shanxue sensed something was wrong but didn’t refuse. That meant Han Shanxue had confidence in her ability to handle a Nascent Soul stage cultivator. What Ye Wenxin wanted to know was whether she had been the one behind Tundra Demesne.

If she was, why take over someone else’s body to come here?

The two locked eyes, neither willing to look away. But after many eye-staring contests with Fairy Fengya, Ye Wenxin had grown much more tolerant of these unreadable types. Seeing Han Shanxue also made her nostalgic for those good old days of bullying Fairy Fengya.

After a moment, Han Shanxue looked away first, squeezing out the words “Don’t die.”

Ye Wenxin nodded. Han Shanxue turned and headed upstairs. The storyteller and Fei Chai finally felt like they could breathe again.

“That scared me,” Fei Chai whispered. “Master was so cold. I thought she’d say no.”

“Yeah, your master’s terrifying,” the storyteller said. “How did you survive living with her?”

Meanwhile, Ghost Mother sat ramrod straight, determined not to let Ye Wenxin see her fear. She had mellowed out considerably after her breakthrough. But seeing Ye Wenxin and Han Shanxue gazing into each other’s eyes just now, she refused to back down.

Ye Wenxin observed the three. In the end, Ghost Mother’s stiff posture made her smile. While listening to the three’s wild speculations, she recalled her younger days—doing shady things with Long Qingyue to earn small money.

……

Early in the morning, a shriek jolted Fei Chai and the storyteller from their sleep.

Still groggy, it took them a second to recognize the voice.

“That was Miss Gu’s voice! Something’s wrong—they’re in danger!” The two bolted out of the room without even stopping to throw on their outer robes.

They burst through the door to the three women’s room and promptly turned beet red.

A fully dressed Han Shanxue was leisurely sipping tea in the corner. But what was happening on the bed completely clashed with that serene scene.

Pinned under Ye Wenxin, Ghost Mother cried for help almost the same as she did at the waterfall when they first met Fei Chai and Han Shanxue. Yet, Ye Wenxin looked perfectly unruffled.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to come with us? Then put these clothes on,” she ordered.

“No! Nooo!”

Ghost Mother flailed her arms, and when she noticed the two men, the pleading in her eyes became even more obvious.

Fei Chai and the storyteller stood frozen, too stunned by her sweet, innocent, and vulnerable appearance.

Unlike Han Shanxue, who could only be admired from afar, Ghost Mother exuded an aura that made people want to bully her. And after receiving so many of Ye Wenxin’s “lessons in love,” she’d only become better at evoking in others a desire to dominate her.

The men swallowed hard. Ye Wenxin frowned, aware that Ghost Mother was putting on an act again.