Perhaps because Xue Mu had continuously pushed the narrative that he could help their sect scale their business ever since they first met, or perhaps because his constant display of calm, magnetic confidence carried a heavy infectious quality, Yue Xiaochan didn’t dismiss his claim as mere hot air.
On the contrary, she looked rather eager, playfully poking his arm with her chopsticks.
“Alright, let’s hear it.” Menglan kept her head lowered slightly, her expression shifting into a complex mask.
To be completely honest, she still couldn’t decode Xue Mu’s exact corporate placement.
Even if he were a close blood relative of the Sect Master, the Young Sect Master shouldn’t be interacting with him in such an incredibly casual, uninhibited manner…
She began to panic internally, realizing her earlier honey-trap attempt might have been a critical career blunder.
Wait, did I just accidentally commit political suicide by trying to steal the Young Sect Master’s man?!
“First, I need to verify a few baseline parameters.” Xue Mu held up a single finger.
“Number one: Is the operational model for every brothel in the Imperial Capital roughly identical?
By that, I mean they rely strictly on a combination of visual aesthetics and performance arts, with zero additional marketing angles?” Menglan answered, “They are all pretty much the same.
Of course, some capitalize on the gimmick of a performer who ‘sells her art but not her body,’ but sooner or later, their maiden nights are still put up for auction.” Xue Mu nodded in understanding.
“Number two…
are you guys afraid of offending the righteous path?” Menglan blinked, thoroughly blindsided by the pivot.
How did a basic commercial turf war suddenly escalate into picking a fight with the orthodox sects?
If they were trying to crush their business competitors, the ones getting offended should be their fellow unorthodox cults, shouldn’t they?
Before she could form a reply, Yue Xiaochan practically bounced out of her seat.
“Who do you think we are?!
How could we possibly be terrified of crossing that bunch of self-righteous hypocrites?
Our only regret is that they don’t die fast enough!
Besides, even if we play nice, it’s not like they’re going to stop hunting us down.
We literally just fought a brutal turf war down south—do you honestly think anyone is counting on ‘peaceful coexistence’ to rake in profits?” “Excellent…” Xue Mu shifted closer to Yue Xiaochan’s side, beckoning her with his hand.
Yue Xiaochan instinctively tilted her tiny head closer.
Xue Mu leaned down toward her ear, preparing to map out his plan.
But as a man’s breathing brushed closer to her small ear than anyone ever had before, Yue Xiaochan suddenly felt a physical jolt, like an electric current snapping and crackling wildly through her entire body.
Her heart rate spiked out of control in a fraction of a second, and a sudden wave of heat surged from within, painting her cheeks in a deep, burning crimson.
Right beneath Xue Mu’s eyes, her translucent, delicate earlobe began to violently shift colors, turning a stark, vibrant pink before the flush bled rapidly across her face and down her neck.
Xue Mu stared at the visual, completely stunned, and instinctively swallowed a lump of saliva.
Well, I’ll be damned.
This kid is an absolute, pure-cut amateur…
No wonder she had been so genuinely furious earlier when he misjudged her sect’s morals.
She was a complete rookie when it came to romance.
That soft, blushing pink earlobe seemed to radiate a localized, magnetic allure at this exact moment—fresh, vibrant, and incredibly endearing.
A sudden, burning desire to lean in and plant a kiss right on it flared up in Xue Mu’s chest.
However, his adult rationale slammed the brakes instantly, screaming that such a train of thought was downright unhinged.
This kid is only thirteen years old, damn it.
There is absolutely no universe where I should be catching feelings for a middle-schooler!
One could only conclude that a young girl’s genuine, instinctive modesty was infinitely more mesmerizing than any engineered charm magic.
It was as if the air between them had frozen solid.
Off to the side, Menglan rested her chin on her palm, watching the scene unfold with immense amusement.
Their particular sect didn’t subscribe to The Joyous Union Sect’s predatory doctrines of dual-cultivation drainage.
Deep down, they actually harbored a genuine romantic idealism toward true affection.
However, a demonic cult was still a demonic cult; leveraging a woman’s natural biological assets to reduce men to drooling simpletons was an art form they mastered with effortless ease.
The Young Sect Master had been widely hailed as a once-in-a-century prodigy within the sect.
By all rights, they should have waited until she reached her golden teenage years before launching her into the martial world to mesmerize all living things and topple empires under her feet…
Who could have predicted that before she even made her official debut, she would be completely reduced to a blushing mess in her awkward, pre-teen phase by a normal man?
If the Sect Master witnessed this right now, she would probably cough up a lung.
Sensing Menglan’s highly amused gaze, Yue Xiaochan frantically scrambled back into her original seat.
She glared at Xue Mu with pure, defensive fury.
“Spit it out already!
If you’ve got a strategy, Martial Sister needs to help execute it anyway, so why are you whispering in my ear?
Are you deliberately trying to hit on me?!” Now that the physical proximity was gone, Xue Mu let out a soft, relieved breath.
“Relax, I’m not interested in little brats.” Yue Xiaochan’s eyes flared with rage.
“You—!” Xue Mu executed a lightning-fast topic pivot.
“Right, I forgot to ask you guys: Do the major orthodox sects have uniforms?
Uh, by that I mean standardized, matching sectarian attire?” Yue Xiaochan knew perfectly well he was deflecting, but she had no choice but to take the bait.
She grumbled angrily, “Most of them do.
Why do you ask?” “Then our corporate strategy is officially ready to launch.” Xue Mu stopped playing mysterious and rapidly laid out his cards.
“You can have the hostesses completely overhaul their wardrobe…
For instance, have them change into traditional Daoist robes and instruct them to introduce themselves to the patrons as spiritual priestesses cultivating under a specific righteous sect.
Or perhaps outfit them in sleek combat gear with swords strapped to their waists, carrying the ice-cold, razor-sharp persona of a martial heroine from an orthodox sword clan.
The absolute critical key to this play is that they must stay entirely in character…” Yue Xiaochan had originally been a chaotic cocktail of embarrassment and fury, her heart rate failing to stabilize even a fraction.
But as his words drilled into her ears sentence by sentence, her teenage romantic panic instantly vanished to the edge of the heavens.
Her wide eyes grew brighter by the second, and a look of immense, predatory excitement slowly bloomed across her doll-like face.
Menglan’s eyes lit up simultaneously.
Locking gazes with Yue Xiaochan, both women bolted upright from their seats at the exact same moment.
They didn’t even need to cross-examine the theory; their industry instincts told them this play was viable—monstrously viable.
Those elite orthodox sects stood high and mighty above the masses, never even bothering to glance at ordinary civilian wanderers.
If a common martial artist secured a chance to strike up a casual conversation with one of them, he would probably float on pure euphoria for three days straight.
This deliberate concept of roleplay marketing was bound to tap directly into the repressed psychological desires of the masses, creating an immediate stampede of customers.
Whether they actually managed to fool anyone didn’t matter in the slightest.
The patrons weren’t looking for real priestesses; they were chasing the psychological thrill of defiling a high-and-mighty goddess.
Menglan could practically visualize the Hundred Flowers Pavilion being completely overrun by a tidal wave of wealthy clientele.
There was absolutely zero suspense about its success.
This tactical maneuver was incredibly wicked and thoroughly diabolical.
It generated massive profit margins while simultaneously torturing the psychological well-being of the righteous sects—making it an absolute, flawless match for the specific tastes of these demonesses.
One only needed to look at the predatory gleam flashing across Yue Xiaochan’s eyes to know she was already applying his core theory to extrapolate even more outrageous, unhinged scenarios in her tiny head…
Furthermore, this corporate strategy was completely bulletproof against imitation from market competitors.
Establishments with ordinary civilian backgrounds would never dare to cross super-factions like The Sword-Seeking Sect or The Profound Heaven Sect.
But who were they?
They were the Star-Moon Sect!
They were already fundamentally built on the foundation of clashing with the orthodox factions.
Causing their enemies to choke to death with sheer rage was literally their primary career objective.
At most, their fellow titan of the unorthodox path, The Joyous Union Sect, might dare to copy this play.
But even if they did, it didn’t matter in the slightest.
It would simply split the aggregate pressure of the righteous factions’ incoming retaliation.
In fact, if The Joyous Union Sect’s business ended up booming even more because of it, the Star-Moon Sect would lose its status as the primary target.
This was a miracle strategy engineered specifically for their unique positioning!
It was a zero-capital, high-yield, multi-purpose masterstroke with a near-instant turnaround speed.
Menglan felt so much awe she practically wanted to drop to her knees.
How on earth did this man’s brain operate?
“Yes, yes, yes!” Yue Xiaochan paced the floor in pure euphoria.
“The Sword-Seeking Sect’s wardrobe carries the absolute best aesthetic value—spotless white robes paired with a posture as sharp and straight as a master sword?
Hahaha…
I heard Mu Jianli is currently undertaking a ten-thousand-mile ascetic sword pilgrimage.
If she finds out her trademark image is being embraced in the arms of wealthy patrons, will she literally cough up blood and die right on the trail?
Oh, and those annoying, stinky Daoist nuns from The Profound Heaven Sect, hahaha!
Their religious robes are highly recognizable…
I am going to organize an acquisition party right now to hunt down those hypocrites who walk around with their noses in the clouds and strip a few outfits off them to use as samples.” Seeing Yue Xiaochan reaching a state of dangerous over-excitement, Menglan carefully offered a baseline procedural reminder.
“It would still be best to run this by the Sect Master first.
After all, it is highly likely to trigger a catastrophic wave of retaliation.” Yue Xiaochan waved her hand dismissively.
“Master will do nothing but shower me with corporate praise!
I’m heading over to tell her right now.” Having lost all patience to use a conventional door, she took flight and burst straight out of the window frames.
Yet, the exact microsecond her bare feet touched down on the outer ledge, she suddenly recalled something.
She whipped her head back, offering a deeply suggestive, teasing smirk.
“Hey, if you’re genuinely that fascinated by a woman’s earlobes, you can always go ahead and kiss Martial Sister’s.
Didn’t she already try to seduce you anyway?” Leaving behind this final parting shot—making it impossible to tell if she was throwing a jealous tantrum or intentionally causing workplace friction—her figure flickered once and vanished into the night.
Left behind in the private box, Xue Mu and Menglan locked eyes, instantly plunging into an incredibly dense, agonizing wave of awkwardness.
To be perfectly fair, Menglan’s mature age, polished features, and shapely figure aligned much closer with Xue Mu’s actual operational tastes back home.
If the timing, location, and global parameters weren’t completely mismatched, he would have been more than willing to develop a highly illicit, unscripted adult narrative with her.
But the ambient psychological atmosphere had been completely broken by the kid.
Forget about resuming their previous flirtation; just standing alone in the room together felt paralyzingly awkward.
It took a considerable while before Menglan finally gathered her composure.
She raised her cup, offering him a formal toast.
“My deepest thanks to Young Master for this miraculous strategy.” Xue Mu forced his brain cells away from the distracting romantic debris.
Taking a light, disciplined sip of his wine, he fell into deep calculation.
“An entertainment parlor is ultimately not a sustainable long-term corporate model.
In reality, your organization has immense potential to pivot into far more sophisticated fields of development.” Menglan shook her head helplessly.
“Young Master might not be aware, but a decade ago, our sect didn’t even possess a single legal commercial asset out in the open.
We spent every single day hiding out in muddy ditches, constantly fleeing from coordinated extermination campaigns.
It was our Sect Master who possessed such monstrous, unmatched natural genius that she broke through the transcendent limits of the Heaven-and-Man Realm during her prime youth, intimidating both the orthodox and unorthodox factions into a ceasefire.
Only then did she secure a baseline safe harbor for us to plant roots and scale our numbers.
None of us actually understand proper asset management or commercial economics.
Running an entertainment house simply plays to our baseline strengths as enchantresses; we genuinely have no idea what else we could possibly manufacture.” Xue Mu spoke in a flat, effortless tone.
“From my perspective, scaling your enterprise is laughably simple…
The only tragedy is…” His voice steadily dropped in volume.
The only tragedy is that I am not a real relative of Xue Qingqiu.
Why on earth would they hand over absolute operational control of their cult to me?
Meanwhile, over at the remote headquarters of The Six Gates, Xue Qingqiu was suddenly summoned out of her stealth positioning by her disciple.
Upon initially hearing that she was being interrupted for some petty red-light business, Xue Qingqiu had been nursing a wave of irritation.
But as the full tactical breakdown drilled into her ears, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“This strategy is downright malicious.
Xue Mu actually engineered this play for you?” “Yes, yes!” “Heh…
It seems that Xue Mu guy actually possesses some genuine corporate utility.
Our energy wasn’t wasted on patching up his wounds after all.
Go ahead and launch the campaign.
If those self-righteous hypocrites start making a massive public scene, your Master shall personally hold the frontline line for you.” As expected, their shared demonic heritage ran perfectly down the same lineage.
Yue Xiaochan’s forecast had been absolute reality: her Master had done nothing but shower them with corporate praise…