A few moments later, a young maidservant arrived to deliver his clothes.
She stole a curious glance at Xue Mu before covering her mouth to hide a giggle.
“There is a bathing tub upstairs.
Shall this servant draw the water for Young Master right now?” Xue Mu noticed a stone well standing right in the middle of the courtyard.
He waved his hand with a chuckle.
“There’s no reason to make a lady carry heavy water around.
Go on ahead, I’ll take care of it myself.” Perhaps Menglan had explicitly instructed her not to cause any trouble, because the maid didn’t press the matter.
She offered a brief smile and went on her way.
After drawing fresh water from the courtyard well, Xue Mu submerged himself completely in the deep wooden tub, allowing the crisp chill to wash away his exhaustion.
Why on earth was she so eager to seduce me?
If it wasn’t a deliberate loyalty test ordered by the bosses, then there was only one logical explanation left: they thought he was a close relative of the Sect Master.
For a local disciple stationed out here in the branches, what greater ticket to a massive promotion could there be than currying favor with the boss’s family?
Throwing herself at him could easily transform her into the absolute ruler of this entire region.
You can only say this girl was far too impatient, making a move the exact second we met…
A demonic sect is a demonic sect after all.
No matter how elegant and high-class their martial arts might be, their methods are still downright shameless at times.
He idly sifted through the garments laid out by the edge of the tub.
The set included everything from undergarments to outerwear.
The fabric felt incredibly luxurious to the touch, and even a casual glance revealed that the embroidered patterns carried a refined aesthetic.
Xue Mu turned the clothes over in his hands without thinking, sinking deeper into his own thoughts.
The concept of “food, clothing, shelter, and transportation” was vast when broken down.
Take clothing, for instance: it encompassed cotton farming, silk cultivation, textile weaving, garment tailoring, chemical dyeing, and even visual fashion design.
It was easy for the natives to just claim that might makes right, but if absolutely nobody respected anything outside of martial power, how did all these industries manage to evolve?
When Xue Mu read web novels back home, he always felt they portrayed worlds where literally everyone focused exclusively on cultivation—yet none of those characters ever ran around naked.
That was precisely why Xue Mu had been closely observing these details ever since he arrived.
It wasn’t just idle curiosity; understanding the blueprint of a society was the baseline requirement for any successful strategy.
The kind of idiot who immediately shut himself in a room to blindly meditate the moment he transmigrated was bound to get scammed to death the second he stepped outside.
Based on his current analysis, this world was undeniably obsessed with martial arts, but other societal sectors hadn’t just frozen in time.
It was exactly like ancient China, where society officially only venerated Confucian scholarship; despite common craftsmanship being socially looked down upon, civilian industries still steadily marched forward.
Seeking a higher quality of life was a fundamental trait of human nature.
As long as a society remained reasonably stable, people would naturally do everything in their power to make daily life more convenient.
This brand-new, ready-to-wear male outfit was proof enough.
In his memory of Earth’s history, ready-made clothing lines didn’t really pop up until the Song Dynasty, which was relatively late.
Yet, this world already had a flourishing market for it.
Furthermore, whether it was the quality of the material, the craftsmanship, or the fashion silhouette, it wasn’t lagging behind in the slightest.
Therefore…
a society built on intellectual scholarship and a society built on martial dominance were fundamentally the same thing.
Back on Earth, while a tiny handful of ancient scholars might have been driven by noble, grand ambitions, the overwhelming majority studied for nothing more than fame, fortune, and the right to stand at the top of the social food chain.
In this world where everyone worshipped strength, did people really practice martial arts out of a pure devotion to the “ultimate truth of the Dao” or a burning desire to defend global justice?
Aren’t the vast majority of them practicing just to stand out, to live a better life?
Martial prowess is merely a tool to achieve a goal.
In other words, if there were another path to secure all of this, they wouldn’t necessarily bother with grueling cultivation.
Take Menglan, for instance.
She could crush me with a single finger, yet she still came over here trying to seduce me.
Doesn’t that prove my point exactly?
Xue Mu let out a breath, a relaxed smile spreading across his face.
No matter the world, different roads ultimately led to the exact same destination.
Right as he was lost in thought, the space in front of him flickered.
A slender figure materialized out of thin air.
Focusing his eyes, he saw Yue Xiaochan standing right in front of his wooden tub.
She tilted her head, inspecting his bare shoulders peeking above the water line with a highly suggestive smirk.
Xue Mu didn’t bother with any theatrical scrambling to hide himself.
Instead, he simply leaned back lazily against the wooden wall of the tub and said, completely exasperated, “Look, I already told you I didn’t get a proper look at you guys back then.
Do you really have to get even by peeping back?
Fine, fine.
Feast your eyes.” Yue Xiaochan propped her elbows on the rim of the tub, resting her chin on her tiny fists.
She grinned playfully.
“A certain someone has absolutely no cultivation, yet he managed to completely shrug off a targeted charm technique.
Master says she deeply admires your ironclad mental fortitude.
As for me, I was just dying to know how you pulled it off.
I came over specifically to check if you were made of wood, but looking at you now, you’re definitely still flesh and blood.” “You guys already know about that?
So Menglan really was acting on your orders to test me?” “Oh, not at all.
We had no idea what she was up to…
Fact is, from the moment you two left the main group, Master has been secretly observing your performance.
The results were highly satisfactory.
Congratulations!
Master is officially planning to let you take over the books now.” Yue Xiaochan giggled.
“But seriously, how did you do it?
Is Menglan not pretty enough for you?” “Don’t you think your sect is a little too overconfident?
I admit her charm technique was incredibly alluring, but believing that absolutely nobody could resist it is a bit much.
Besides, she wasn’t even going all out, was she?” “Our secret arts aren’t as useless as you think,” Yue Xiaochan countered, her smile fading into a proud smirk.
“It triggers the most primal, raw desires dormant within the human soul, striking straight at your spirit.
It isn’t something you can defeat with mere willpower.
Even if Menglan didn’t unleash her full power, it should have been completely impossible for an ordinary human without cultivation to withstand it—unless you’re carrying some top-tier spiritual artifact that clears the mind and repels evil.
But you’re completely stripped bare; you have nothing on you.” Her eyes darted around mischievously as she smirked.
“Hey…
don’t tell me you actually just don’t like women?” Xue Mu didn’t have the energy to care about being misidentified as gay.
A sudden realization struck his mind: the emblem on his palm.
Could it be that his effortless resistance wasn’t due to his seasoned corporate maturity, but rather because his newly acquired cheat code had actively suppressed the magic?
He threw out a careful probe.
“Could my resistance be tied to the influence of that World-Suppressing Cauldron?” “The World-Suppressing Cauldron does possess that exact property,” Yue Xiaochan replied casually.
“It repels evil and dispels illusions with an absolute, unmatched aura of righteous majesty.
But it’s not like the cauldron belongs to you.
It’s not going to act as your personal bodyguard against charm magic.” Xue Mu took a sharp breath internally.
It seemed he really did possess a cheat code, and it might just turn out to be a monstrously overpowered one.
For now, he was only seeing the tip of the iceberg.
Fearing they might notice something amiss if he pushed too hard, he quickly abandoned the topic and shifted gears.
“Hey, you’re just a young girl.
Do you seriously intend to watch me get out of the tub?” “What’s the big deal?
It’s not like you like women anyway.” “Let me make one thing crystal clear to you: my absolute favorite thing in the world is women.” Xue Mu didn’t bother wasting any more words.
If a teenager isn’t afraid to look, why on earth should a grown man like me be embarrassed?
With a sudden splash of water, he stood straight up.
Faced with the sudden, unfiltered display of his masculine physique, Yue Xiaochan’s eyes nearly popped right out of her skull.
She spun around in a frantic blur, stomping her foot in annoyance.
“You actually stood up!
Decadent!” “Huh?
Hearing a word like ‘decadent’ come out of your mouth is certainly a novelty,” Xue Mu replied, genuinely amused.
“I honestly thought you guys didn’t care about this kind of thing at all.” Yue Xiaochan fell completely silent.
She didn’t offer a snappy comeback, choosing instead to blindly hurl his clean garments over her shoulder toward him.
Listening to the rustle of the towel as Xue Mu dried himself off, Yue Xiaochan suddenly let out a soft, gentle sigh.
She whispered in a quiet voice, “If we truly didn’t care about these things…
why do you think I wanted to gouge your eyes out when we first met?
Do you honestly believe it was just out of mindless cruelty?” Xue Mu paused.
The sudden, vulnerable sigh Yue Xiaochan had just let slip felt completely jarring, and her words were even more puzzling.
He found it incredibly difficult to reconcile a sect that constantly projected an aura of seductive, calculated flirtation with a strict code of modesty.
Furthermore, you guys literally run a massive chain of brothels!
Yet, listening to her tone, it seemed he had harbored a massive misunderstanding all along.
Suddenly, a realization flashed through his mind like lightning.
Ah…
So your sect just plays the seductive teaser game on the surface, but you don’t actually let anyone close…
That is incredibly cruel, you know that?
No wonder those poor young heroes who get baited by you end up bleeding from their wallets and hating your guts.
It would be a miracle if they didn’t!