What a handsome young man
“Yes, yes! We’ll buy lots and lots of them, and hang them all over Master’s peak when we return to Worry-Free Peak!”
“Uh…” He Xuan imagined his palace adorned with all sorts of oddly shaped lanterns and found the thought somewhat unbearable.
Not wanting to deal with Mu Lingyan, he turned and walked into the crowd with a dark expression.
“Hey!! Master, wait for me!”
She laughed as she ran, because when she said the word “hey,” it reminded her of a popular short video from modern times.
First, my name isn’t “hey,” it’s Chu Yuxun. Second, I’m not being arrogant—I’m genuinely angry. Third, if you keep playing these kinds of games with me, I’ll beat you until you look like pigs.
This cheesy meme that swept across various short video platforms still made people laugh to this day.
Out of the corner of his eye, He Xuan caught Mu Lingyan stifling a laugh and thought she was laughing at him. He reached out and flicked her smooth forehead.
“Ouch…” Mu Lingyan covered her head, crying out in pain.
Pouting, she muttered, “Master is so cruel. I’m such a delicate girl, and you used so much force!”
He Xuan scoffed, “What a ‘delicate girl’ indeed.”
A breeze blew by, and a few strands of dark hair clung to He Xuan’s cheek.
Mu Lingyan, as if guided by some ghostly impulse, stood on tiptoe and reached out to gently brush away the tousled hair from his face.
She was careful throughout the process, her gaze filled with deep affection.
He Xuan knew this was the perfect moment. Seizing the opportunity, he pretended to be flustered and caught her hand.
“A Yan, don’t fool around.”
At this soft call, warmth surged from the depths of Mu Lingyan’s heart, making her feel as if her entire body was about to steam.
His voice was cool, yet his tone carried an unusual intimacy.
It was as addictive as opium.
She tilted her face slightly, her small hand enveloped by his slender, pale fingers. Mu Lingyan’s heart nearly leaped into her throat.
She screamed inwardly, was it what she thought?
Or was it something else?
The brief touch of skin was fleeting, and by the time she regained her senses, her hand had already been released.
He Xuan’s expression remained as calm as ever. He took a few steps forward and, noticing that Mu Lingyan hadn’t followed, turned back to ask, “Disciple, didn’t you want to eat yangchun noodles?”
Mu Lingyan hesitated for a moment before mumbling a vague response and quickly catching up.
…
When they arrived at the place selling yangchun noodles, the owner’s business was booming.
A young couple bustled around the stove, their service warm and enthusiastic.
Mu Lingyan ordered an extra fried egg.
Once the steaming bowls of noodles were served, the two fell silent, focusing solely on eating.
Half the reason for this noodle shop’s popularity was that, not far diagonally across the street, there was a brothel.
Some people couldn’t enter, but watching from here was thrilling enough.
Many girls, clad only in sheer gauze, leaned out with half their jade-like bodies exposed, beckoning to customers.
“Disciple, let’s change seats.”
Mu Lingyan was taken aback. “Why?”
He Xuan didn’t answer, but his brows were tightly furrowed, as if sitting on pins and needles. The tips of his ears flushed a faint red.
“Look at that young man over there, so fair-skinned and handsome!” A woman’s soft, seductive voice drifted over on the night breeze to Mu Lingyan’s ears.
She couldn’t help but chuckle.
So that was why he wanted to change seats.
“He’s so handsome, I wouldn’t even charge him. I’d gladly follow him home!”
“Who wouldn’t? If he wanted me, I’d die for it!”
“Forget wanting me—just letting him hold my hand would be worth it!”
“Pah! You thick-skinned hussies, can’t you see the young lady sitting across from the gentleman? She might be his wife, and she’s a hundred times more beautiful than any of you!”
“Exactly, stop it! Don’t make people laugh their heads off!”
Hearing this, her face flushed crimson.
Mu Lingyan turned to look. Several women were holding round fans, covering their mouths as they giggled, huddled together and still whispering suggestive remarks.
They thought He Xuan and his companion couldn’t hear, but cultivators had exceptionally sharp hearing.
She picked up her bowl. “Master, if we switch seats now, those young ladies over there will laugh even harder!”
He Xuan thought about it and realized she was right.
He grew even more restless.
Mu Lingyan hadn’t expected that the lofty, aloof, and unfeeling Immortal Lord He Xuan could be like this.
She really wanted to be rebellious and tease him a little.
Suppressing her self-destructive thoughts, she lowered her head and picked up a fried egg for He Xuan.
“Master, have a fried egg to replenish your energy, hehe…”
He Xuan felt that in the current atmosphere, he really couldn’t eat this bowl of noodles, so he simply set down his chopsticks.
While waiting for Mu Lingyan, he noticed a woman standing under a large red lantern ahead. Her face was deathly pale, her hair disheveled, and she exuded a sinister ghostly aura.
The woman was staring intently at a man.
The man wore a green robe and was chatting politely with the madam at the entrance of the brothel, his demeanor refined and courteous.
Mu Lingyan called out a few times, but seeing that He Xuan didn’t respond, she followed his gaze.
Just then, she saw the female ghost follow a man into the brothel.
The customers at the neighboring table thought Mu Lingyan and He Xuan were staring at that man and immediately switched to gossip mode.
“Young lady, the man you were just looking at is the only imperial scholar in White Egret Town, and now he’s also the wealthiest merchant here.”
Tsk, so he’s got both scholarly prestige and money?
Mu Lingyan asked, “Then this scholar truly has talent—not only is he well-read, but he also knows how to do business.”
The person beside her slurped a mouthful of noodle soup and slammed the table.
“Hey, what talent does he have? He’s nothing but an ungrateful scoundrel!”
Mu Lingyan’s eyes lit up. “What do you mean by that?”
He Xuan lowered his eyelashes slightly, glancing at Mu Lingyan’s animated little face, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
The gossipers spoke passionately. “Because he’s the only imperial scholar in White Egret Town, the town’s richest man betrothed his daughter to him. But not long after they married, first Mr. Li died unexpectedly, and then Miss Li passed away from illness. So all the Li family’s shops and money ended up in his hands.”
“People say he was already involved with a pretty widow in town before the marriage. Now, Miss Li hasn’t even finished her first week of mourning, and he’s already coming to this brothel looking for women.”
“Truly, the human heart is unfathomable, unfathomable!”
“He looks refined and gentle, but he’s actually worse than a rough brute!”
After listening, Mu Lingyan felt that what these gossipers said was mostly accurate. The female ghost standing under the red lantern earlier must have been the deceased Miss Li.
“Master, do you think Miss Li intends to seek revenge tonight?”
He Xuan sat upright, his expression distant and detached.
“She wants to, but she can’t.”
Mu Lingyan asked, “Why?”
He Xuan sighed almost imperceptibly and looked up at the eaves nearby. “Her ghostly aura is too weak. She can barely manifest before ordinary people, let alone seek revenge.”
Mu Lingyan gritted her teeth. “Is there any way we can help her? Otherwise, that heartless scoundrel will get away with it!”
He Xuan shook his head helplessly.
The two were whispering when Mu Lingyan spotted an old acquaintance.
A man dressed in elegant attire stood before the red-lacquered building, gently waving a folding fan. The madam inside soon noticed this distinguished guest and came out to welcome him.
And this person…
was none other than Moga, whom she had encountered at the market that afternoon.
Why would the Ghost King himself come to a brothel in a remote town?