Then again, the whole concept of driving men wild with desire while keeping them at arm’s length was a business model Xue Mu knew inside out.
What was his actual line of work back home?
He was a girl group manager, an idol manufacturer.
When you build up a female idol, sell her perfectly tailored persona, and market her pure, flawless image, what is the ultimate objective?
The fans treat these idols like real-life lovers, sobbing their hearts out if a dating scandal leaks.
But do those idols actually have anything to do with you?
They bleed your wallet dry, and do they ever give you a real shot?
Just getting a slot at a high-five event leaves you so ecstatic you refuse to wash your hands for a week.
If they do settle down with someone, it’s certainly never going to be one of the fans.
A demonic sect…
is basically an idol agency?
This sudden realization thoroughly amused Xue Mu.
While their methods differed, the core mechanics were practically identical.
In other words, they were in the exact same industry!
After all this time, could he technically consider himself a branch of the demonic sect?
Yue Xiaochan huffed defensively.
“Whatever.
We’re just a bunch of demonic enchantresses anyway.
Think what you want.” “What if I told you I actually prefer enchantresses?” Xue Mu offered a deeply amused, knowing smile.
Looking at Yue Xiaochan now, he was viewing her strictly through a professional lens.
With her terrifyingly perfect natural traits, if he launched her as a solo artist, she would easily become a nation’s top superstar.
Completely oblivious to the bizarre thoughts running through his head, Yue Xiaochan scoffed, “Hypocrite.” Xue Mu didn’t bother trying to explain their shared industrial DNA.
Instead, he pivoted to a different angle.
“Look, the reality is that you saved my life, patched up my wounds, and gave me a roof over my head.
No matter how your sect operates, even if the entire world brands you as evil demonesses, you are still the person I feel closest to in this foreign land.
If some self-righteous hero picks a fight with you, I’ll be the first one helping you cut him down.” Xue Mu meant every word.
His closest anchor in this bizarre world truly was the young girl standing right in front of him.
If they ever clashed with the so-called orthodox factions, there was absolutely zero question about whose side he would take.
Yue Xiaochan burst out laughing.
“You?
Helping us fight?
A regular person could blow a gentle breath and send you flying across the room.” Despite her mocking words, her tone had grown noticeably lighter and more upbeat.
“Still, judging by the fact that your heartbeat and body temperature didn’t fluctuate a single bit while saying that, I’ll take it as a sincere promise.” “It’s as real as it gets,” Xue Mu seized the opening immediately.
“I don’t know martial arts, but you can always teach me.” Hearing that he was fully dressed, Yue Xiaochan finally spun back around.
She opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes suddenly lit up the moment she looked at him.
“Whoa.
You actually look incredibly handsome dressed in our embroidered silks!” Xue Mu had only idly sifted through the garments a moment ago, but now that they were on his body, he could see the full picture.
It was a style of clothing he had never encountered before—somewhat resembling the fitted combat gear of martial heroes in television dramas.
The sleeves were tapered securely at the wrists and the trousers were neatly tailored to allow for effortless movement, lacking any of the dragging, cumbersome bulk of a scholar’s traditional robes.
Yet, the material itself was incredibly precious.
The intricate embroidery, rich coloring, and jade-accented belt wrapped around his waist lent him an unmistakable aura of nobility.
A clean, white mandarin collar stood upright at his neck, injecting a touch of polished, elegant sophistication.
When combined with Xue Mu’s innate persona as a sharp, confident modern white-collar executive, the result was a striking departure from the intense, razor-sharp aggression typical of this world’s martial artists.
At the same time, he lacked the frail, overly delicate look of traditional scholars.
All in all, it gave him a highly unique, devastatingly handsome presence.
As the saying goes, clothes make the man.
The previous terry-cloth bathrobe had admittedly looked ridiculous, but dressed like this, Yue Xiaochan’s eyes practically started shooting stars.
Xue Mu checked his reflection in the bronze mirror, highly satisfied with what he saw.
He chuckled.
“I didn’t expect I could pull off this look so well.
I look pretty fly.” Standing behind him, Yue Xiaochan blinked.
“What does ‘fly’ mean?” “It just means handsome.” Xue Mu spun around and struck a playful pose.
“Seeing how dapper I am, are you sure you can’t teach me how to cultivate?
Or does your sect’s magic only allow women to practice it?” “Narcissist.” Despite her teasing words, Yue Xiaochan’s gaze continued to linger as she checked him out up and down, clearly fond of his sharp new look.
She answered, “The core techniques of our Star-Moon Sect aren’t restricted by gender.
It’s just that the standard methods we are allowed to leak to outsiders are nothing but superficial entry-level tricks.
If you want to learn the real deal, you have to officially join the sect.
Due to a major incident many years ago, we haven’t accepted a male disciple in a very long time.
However, there is no explicit ban on it either; it all depends on Master giving you the green light.
You can ask her yourself when the timing is right, and I can drop a few hints to back you up.” Xue Mu grinned.
“Treating me this well?
Don’t tell me you’ve actually been charmed by me?
Aren’t you worried I might be a spy trying to infiltrate your ranks and steal your sect’s secret arts?” “Please, steel away if you think you have what it takes,” Yue Xiaochan countered with absolute indifference, her smile blooming like a fresh flower.
“Starting from absolute scratch at your age and with your baseline talent—not to mention having a cocktail of bizarre toxins permanently trapped in your bone marrow…
forget it, I won’t depress you.
Truth is, our sect is entirely made of women, and I got bored of looking at the same faces ages ago.
Having a handsome guy around is great eye candy.” Xue Mu was left completely speechless.
Whether it was because his earlier declaration of loyalty had worked wonders or because being highly attractive carried a distinct advantage in any universe, Yue Xiaochan was currently bubbling with excitement.
She grabbed his sleeve and dragged him toward the door.
“Are you hungry?
Come on, let’s head over to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.” “Hey, a little girl like you is seriously dragging me to a brothel?” “Do you honestly think a brothel only sells women and doesn’t serve a massive feast?
Master was completely right—handsome men really do have nothing but cabbage where their brains should be.” So, I’m basically the fantasy world’s male equivalent of a ‘bimbo’?
Look, I’ll completely take it on the chin if you say I’m a total amateur at fighting, but you’re an uneducated brat who can’t even sort out basic grade-school arithmetic, and you dare to tell me I’ve got nothing but cabbage in my skull…
Xue Mu truly didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Still, he was incredibly intrigued by their underlying commercial business model, so he enthusiastically followed Yue Xiaochan out.
The duo arrived at the main layout of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, where they were immediately met by Menglan.
She shot Xue Mu a complex look, laced with a mixture of quiet anxiety and lingering resentment, before lowering her head in a formal salute.
“Young Sect Master.
Master Xue.” It was clear the girl still had no idea her attempted seduction had been broadcasted live via spiritual surveillance.
Yue Xiaochan didn’t bother exposing her either, simply offering a bright smile.
“Arrange a private box for us.” Xue Mu chimed in with an add-on.
“Preferably one with a clear, unobstructed view of the main hall below.” “Oh?” Yue Xiaochan tilted her head, shooting him a curious glance.
“Are you seriously getting into character to take over our bookkeeping?” Xue Mu offered a faint, incredibly confident smile.
“Trust me.
What I can do for your establishment goes far beyond mere bookkeeping.” Even if this place is just a glorified fantasy bathhouse, I have the operational tools to scale it into the ultimate luxury entertainment empire.
Following Menglan up to a refined private room on the upper tier, Xue Mu’s gaze was instantly drawn to the scrolls of calligraphy and paintings adorning the walls.
There were ink-wash landscapes, freehand paintings of flowers and birds…
and even accompanying poems inscribed on the borders.
So, artistic culture did exist in this world.
However, the technical quality of these poems and paintings was downright amateurish.
He couldn’t tell if the global standard of art in this timeline was just lagging across the board, or if the Hundred Flowers Pavilion simply had terrible taste in decor.
Glancing down at the main hall downstairs, the elegant, rolling chords of a guqin drifted up through the air.
Xue Mu stepped closer to the edge of the balcony, narrowing his eyes to listen intently.
Compared to critiquing visual art, music was his absolute field of expertise.
After listening for a short while, a wave of profound shock hit Xue Mu.
It wasn’t because the performance was terrible—on the contrary, he was shocked because the execution was absurdly, mind-blowingly exceptional!
The musicality completely blew those subpar wall paintings out of the water!
Solos on traditional string instruments usually carried heavy technical limitations.
Because of this, modern music back on Earth relied heavily on complex tracking, digital production, and chord progressions to build depth.
Yet, the single female musician downstairs was using nothing but a seven-string guqin, paired with a syrupy, velvety vocal tone, to effortlessly construct a lush, intoxicating atmosphere of sheer romance.
Hearing it felt like a warm spring breeze sweeping directly into your chest, leaving your nerve endings completely numb with pleasure.
This was a masterful, high-tier integration of songwriting, instrumental tracking, and vocal arrangement.
The melody struck straight at the soul, reaching a pinnacle of performance quality that would be incredibly rare to find even back in his modern world.
Their broader literary foundation is trash, yet they are absolute masters of singing, dancing, and instrumental performances…
This doesn’t just resemble an idol agency anymore.
This is literally a world-class pop group, and they happen to be a tier-one powerhouse of raw vocal talent!