As Jiang Xuan removed his silver mask, he revealed a rather plain, even somewhat ugly face. This, of course, was the effect of the cosmetic lotion produced by the system. The magical property of this lotion was not just to alter his appearance, but to completely suppress his maxed-out charm as well.
At this moment, Jiang Xuan was very confident. With how he looked now, he was sure he wouldn’t attract any trouble. After all, no woman could possibly be so desperate as to fall for someone this ugly.
As he revealed this face, his gaze remained fixed on Leng Wushuang. He was expecting to see a look of disappointment on her face. However, to his surprise, Leng Wushuang’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. She remained calm, as though she hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary.
At that moment, Leng Wushuang slowly spoke. “Master, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Leng Wushuang, from the Dajiang Empire. Your appearance was quite unexpected, but being able to see your true face is still an honor for me. Please accept these one hundred million High-grade Spirit Stones. I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.”
With those words, Leng Wushuang handed Jiang Xuan a storage ring, then calmly left the room on her own.
Jiang Xuan stared at the storage ring in his hand, momentarily stunned. He had prepared a lot of lines to deal with an angry or utterly disappointed Leng Wushuang. But unexpectedly, she simply glanced at him and left. For the first time, Jiang Xuan felt that making Spirit Stones was actually this easy. Heaven help him, but he had really just encountered a bigger and dumber cash cow than Xia Xiaoyu.
Jiang Xuan even felt as though he was blessed by the goddess of fortune today. A deal that was supposed to earn him five million Spirit Stones had unexpectedly turned into a profit of one hundred and fifty million!
Meanwhile, on the top floor of Tianxiang Pavilion, in a private room, Leng Wushuang stood directly in front of Mu Yunxue, who was trembling in fear and kneeling halfway on the ground.
“Your Majesty, I deserve death. I truly believed that man was a once-in-a-thousand-years handsome genius. That’s why I recommended him as the Emperor candidate. I didn’t expect… he’d turn out to be just an ugly man… But even setting aside his looks, his talent is unparalleled, and his temperament is exceptional. These misled me. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
As she finished speaking, a female guard beside her scolded, “Pavilion Master Mu, it seems you’ve been staying in other empires too long. Have you forgotten what Her Majesty likes? His talent may be admirable, but Her Majesty prefers handsome men above all else. If you hadn’t assured Her Majesty that this musician was an extraordinary beauty, she would never have lowered herself to come here!”
At this moment, Leng Wushuang lightly coughed and interrupted, “Enough. That young man’s face beneath the mask is indeed average, but oddly enough, I didn’t feel any anger. In fact, my body instinctively felt drawn to him.”
The female guard beside her widened her eyes in shock. “Your Majesty… could it be that your tastes have changed? Even the most handsome men in the Dajiang Empire only seem mildly pleasing to you—and yet you feel an urge to approach this one?”
Reminded by the guard, Leng Wushuang suddenly smiled beautifully. “Shiyin, it was the right decision to make you my guard. Thanks for reminding me, I almost began to doubt myself. Yes, after all those attempts, I’ve thoroughly understood my body’s instincts. If my instincts aren’t wrong, then there’s only one explanation. That young man’s current appearance isn’t his real face. He used a double disguise. His real appearance must be so stunning that it triggered my subconscious urge to push him down.”
Hearing this, Mu Yunxue finally came to a realization. “Your Majesty, could it be that you’ve found the right person to become the Emperor?”
“Not yet,” Leng Wushuang replied calmly. “While I trust my instincts, I still want to see his true face with my own eyes. Oh right, Pavilion Master Mu, you’ve been in the Imperial City for a long time. Have you heard of any famously handsome men around here?”
“Yes, there’s someone. The most handsome man in the Dajiang Empire is said to be the young master of the Jiang family, Jiang Xuan. However, that young master rarely goes out. On the few occasions he does, he’s heavily guarded. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen him in person because I’ve been too busy managing Tianxiang Pavilion. Still, those who’ve seen him all consider him their ideal husband. It’s just a pity he’s already engaged to the number one spoiled young lady of the Imperial City, the eldest daughter of the Nangong family. I heard the two of them were even strolling through the city together yesterday. That was a rare public appearance for Jiang Xuan, but I missed it. The crowd was too large, and I couldn’t push through. Reportedly, when the news spread, countless women rushed to see him, causing half the Imperial City to be paralyzed. Fortunately, the Nangong family sent guards to restore order.”
Hearing Mu Yunxue’s description, a smile appeared on Leng Wushuang’s face. The Jiang family, Jiang Xuan? So it was him. That makes sense.
“Oh right, didn’t that master prepare to leave after his performance? I’ll go see him off personally.”
At the rear exit of Tianxiang Pavilion, Jiang Xuan had just counted today’s earnings. As usual, he quietly prepared to leave from the back to avoid drawing attention. Normally, Mu Yunxue would escort him out personally and schedule their next trade. Jiang Xuan waited for a while but didn’t see her. He figured it was just as well—he probably wouldn’t come back anyway. Encountering a Martial Emperor expert today had already made him lose all favorability for Tianxiang Pavilion. New chapters come out on novelping.com first.
Thankfully, that Martial Emperor was a rich fool and got successfully scammed by him. But Jiang Xuan knew this probably wouldn’t be the last time. For safety reasons and to prevent any unexpected situations, he decided to unilaterally end all cooperation with Tianxiang Pavilion.
Having made up his mind, Jiang Xuan walked out the back door without looking back. Suddenly, a voice called from behind him.
“Master, please wait a moment.”
Jiang Xuan turned around and saw that it was Leng Wushuang. Internally, he panicked.
“Why is this bigshot here? Did Mu Yunxue betray me? Fine, so this is how it’s gonna be, huh? If I ever perform here again, I’m a dog! Who needs this place anyway!”
On the surface, Jiang Xuan maintained a calm expression and asked, “Miss Leng, what brings you here? Is there something you need from me?”
“Master, your performance was amazing. I just wanted to ask when your next show will be.”
“Ah… probably next month. Pavilion Master Mu will announce it in advance. Don’t worry.”
In his heart, Jiang Xuan was thinking:
[Next time? I’ll be long gone by then. If you manage to catch me again, I’ll admit defeat.]
[Grab the Spirit Stones and run. What can you do to me?]
After he said that, Leng Wushuang smiled and replied, “Thank you for letting me know. When I have time, I’ll visit the Jiang family to see you.”
“No problem, feel free to—”
Jiang Xuan suddenly froze mid-sentence. Then he quickly corrected himself, “Wait, what do you mean visit me at the Jiang family? I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Miss Leng.”
Leng Wushuang slowly stepped closer. “What’s wrong? Still playing dumb? Let me think… Should I call you Master, or would it be more accurate to call you Young Master Jiang Xuan?”
Jiang Xuan: [!!!]
Hearing that, Jiang Xuan instantly questioned his system in his mind. “System, get out here! Didn’t you say your products were quality guaranteed? Why was my identity exposed? Don’t tell me this lotion stopped working?”
[Host, please rest assured. There are absolutely no quality issues with the system’s products.] Visit g.com for the full chapter.
After repeated assurances from the system, Jiang Xuan ruled out the possibility of faulty lotion. That only left one explanation: Leng Wushuang was just testing him with a guess.
Having reached that conclusion, Jiang Xuan calmly replied, “Miss Leng, it seems you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I’ve heard of this Jiang Xuan—first-ranked beauty of the Imperial City, demonically handsome, like a banished immortal. But I don’t even compare to a fraction of his charm. Are you insulting me by comparing me to him?”
“Sigh, so Young Master Jiang refuses to admit it? Fine then, in that case, you won’t be able to escape today. Stay with me for a romantic night.”
Jiang Xuan: “???”
“What? Miss Leng, you’re into this look?”
Flustered, Jiang Xuan took off his mask and grabbed Leng Wushuang’s hand, placing it on his face. “See for yourself! This is my real face—nothing like that Jiang guy!”
Unexpectedly, Leng Wushuang blushed and mumbled, “Men and women shouldn’t casually touch… I didn’t think Young Master Jiang would be so forward… You’re practically throwing yourself into my arms.”
As she spoke, she actually started pinching Jiang Xuan’s face.
At that moment, Leng Wushuang judged from her body’s instinctive reaction that Jiang Xuan’s true appearance far surpassed that of any man she’d ever seen. As her hand touched his face, it triggered the strongest physical response she’d ever experienced.
Seeing how forward Leng Wushuang had become, Jiang Xuan felt things were going downhill.
[This isn’t right. Something feels off. Could it be this bigshot has a strange taste and actually likes ugly guys?]
[Oh no… could it be that in her eyes, being ugly is actually a rare delicacy? If this keeps going, I really might get forced to stay here.]
[If that’s the case, I’ll have to cancel the effects of the cosmetic lotion.]
So, Jiang Xuan quickly turned around and applied the makeup remover on his face. Once he confirmed the lotion’s effect had worn off, he turned back around and said, “Miss Leng, I now understand your… unique preferences. I apologize for hiding it before. This is my real face.”
Jiang Xuan had no fear of revealing his real appearance. After all, he and Leng Wushuang had never met before. As long as he didn’t admit he was the Jiang family’s young master, it would be fine.
He thought that once Leng Wushuang saw his real face, she’d finally give up on him. But unexpectedly, Leng Wushuang flashed a mischievous smile and softly said, “It’s alright. I don’t mind that you tried to hide it. In fact, I like your real face even more.”
Jiang Xuan: “???”