Chapter 1606: Chapter Sixty-Three: Misplaced Payment_2

“You!!!” Dongmei turned back in shame and anger, her delicate voice shouting: “Shameless!”

“Don’t be angry, Miss Dongmei, aren’t you just worried that old Xu will pester your lady and eventually take you as a concubine?” Xu did not get upset and waved his hand with a smile: “Rest assured, rest assured, even just to avoid you, I won’t take advantage of your lady.”

“You!!!” Dongmei, unable to speak due to being choked up, had thousands of thoughts in her mind, but the only word that could escape her lips was this one.

Unable to believe that this libertine in front of her dared to be so rude, Dongmei, who had been spoiled by Zhen Ping’er since childhood, was infuriated to tears.

But the strong-willed young girl would not let tears flow in front of this shameless rogue; her eyes bulged as she held back the tears in her eyes, her little face turning red, like an angry little hamster.

“Ha ha ha ha.”

Amused by the young girl’s appearance, Xu pulled out a fragrant white silk scarf from his sleeve and held it in front of Dongmei: “There, there, don’t worry. This young master will be leaving Danmu Town soon, and I came to bid farewell to your lady.”

Looking at the fragrant silk handkerchief in front of her, Dongmei sobbed: “Who would believe your nonsense!”

“This is not nonsense, it’s the truth.” Xu spoke gently: “Wipe your tears, lest Lady Zhen thinks I’ve bullied you later on.”

“Hmph, so the libertine is scared after all!” Dongmei coldly sneered and took a step back: “I will go see the lady just like this, so she sees your true colors!”

“Ts ts ts, such an innocent little girl.” Xu smirked and tucked away the handkerchief, winking at Dongmei as he teased: “Perhaps when your lady hears that I have taken a fancy to you, she might betroth you to me, what then?”

“That’s impossible!” Dongmei’s face turned deathly pale in fright from Xu’s words: “The lady is very fond of me…”

“Blinded by love.” Xu grinned confidently: “Men and women are the same; when they can’t get what they want, they’ll employ whatever foolish means necessary.”

Dongmei, who had intended to warn this libertine while leading the way, was now terrified, realizing that due to the lady’s infatuation with this shameless man, his prediction might very well come true.

Just thinking of giving herself to such a person, Dongmei felt utterly uncomfortable; wiping away her tears haphazardly, she dashed away.

The lack of curses in his mind made the latter part of the journey quite peaceful, yet once again meeting that intense gaze still made Xu somewhat uneasy.

“Thank you, Lady Zhen, for willing to rehire the agency Kaba.”

Xu gritted his teeth and bowed to the graceful woman: “Xu is here to bid farewell to the lady.”

“You’re leaving?” Zhen Ping’er stood up in surprise, disbelief filling her beautiful eyes: “Is it because Zhen Ping’er did something wrong that upset the young master, and now you have to leave in a hurry?”

“Not at all, just that a wandering swordsman is used to drifting; today unknown, tomorrow unknown, wherever I stop is home.” Xu smiled: “Tired of Danmu Town, I must find a new place.”

“Then… will young master come back?” Zhen Ping’er looked longing at the swordsman with peach blossom eyes, her gaze full of reluctance.

“I should… probably come back.”

“Then Zhen Ping’er will wait for young master!”

“Ah… um.” Xu felt like he was bewitched; he had clearly come to make a clean break, yet somehow, he had made a promise of meeting again another day.

Feeling the woman’s joy and determination, Xu Lao Ying suddenly felt some heartache for this woman madly in love: “Is it worth it?”

“What?”

Xu Lao Ying’s expression was somewhat complex: “You insist on waiting without knowing when I’ll return. What if I never make it back to Danmu, or if I die in a strange land, or if… I forget? Wouldn’t Lady Zhen’s deep affections have been misplaced…”

“Misplaced… then let them be misplaced.”

The woman, past her thirties, displayed bravery and naivete in her eyes. She stood up, her figure graceful as she descended, the swaying white gauze unable to conceal her graceful figure, like a white moth flinging itself towards the light: “I would be content if the young master, during a visit to see an old friend, could also spare a moment to see me, Ping’er.”

Leaving the inner courtyard, Xu Lao Ying had mixed feelings, realizing that to be truly pathetic in love was indeed a possibility.

After visiting the Kaba couple, Xu Clan’s member left Danmu Town for Yan Fu, occasionally turning his head back towards Danmu as he travelled through the air; the visage of that deeply yearning face would emerge in his mind.

…

No matter how deep the affection, if it’s worlds apart and no longer thought of, memories will eventually blur and fade.

Especially when one sinks into the sea of desires, all troubles are easily diluted.

But this method only works for ordinary people. For someone like Xu Lao Ying, who refines the ability to command women as part of his cultivation and can even perceive the thoughts of others, it’s hard to truly immerse himself.

Instead, the image of Zhen Ping’er appeared frequently in his mind–an image of a woman he had only met a few times, yet her impact was fierce.

‘It seems I have too much idle time. I could advance my imperial techniques to the ‘Twenty Late Heavens’.’

Taking it for idle musings, Xu Lao Ying simply increased the intensity of his cultivation practices. After all, the wealth accumulated from assassinations was enough to support his spending, so he might as well fill his days to the brim with it.

Busyness has always been the best way to kill time. Once cultivation occupied most of his day, the image of Zhen Ping’er no longer appeared.

Xu Lao Ying’s life returned to normal: daily sword practice, cultivation, turning a deaf ear to the outside world. While his actions seemed absurd, his power and skills were growing day by day.

Prosperous places are bound to be pleasure dens, especially a metropolis like Yan Fu in the southern heavens, replete with brothels and pleasure quarters, bustling streets and green alleys, and entertainment agency.

Tens of thousands might be engaged in such trades within the city, which to Xu Lao Ying, seemed like a land of abundance, making him forget about the passage of time.

To say he had forgotten wasn’t completely accurate; he just didn’t want to return to Yuanzhou.

It wasn’t that he was reluctant to give up his wandering position; once back in Yuanzhou, it would become much harder for him to leave again.

With both his grandfather and father having discovered new sword intents and becoming Sword Saints, they invested their main energies into the quiet refinement of their sword intents in the Sword Pavilion.

As a result, both the Divine Sword and Falling Star armies had vacancies for commanding officers. If he chose to relinquish his wandering position now and return, it was inevitable that he would be conscripted to lead troops.

He wasn’t actually against leading troops; the key issue was that Yuanzhou was simply not conducive to his cultivation.

Moreover, once in charge, he would be representing the Xu Clan’s face as a junior official. Would he still be able to frequent the brothels and pleasure quarters every day?

Alright, even if he was brazen enough to do so, how much time could he possibly spare for cultivation each day?

Of course, if he really let go of all decency, enjoying idle pay and visiting brothels wouldn’t be impossible, but being shameless was one thing–dragging down his family was another.

His father, Changfeng Sword Saint, was the most upright and distinguished swordsman of the previous generation of the Xu Clan, while his grandfather, Heavenly Phoenix Sword Saint, was steadfast and incorruptible all his life. Further back, even the least of them was a master who ruled and commanded respect. And here he was, loafing about brothels…

He wouldn’t even need to wait for orders from the Sword Pavilion; the clan’s own punitive statutes would give him a hard time.

After much thought, Xu Lao Ying still felt it was best to delay his return. After all, with so many Divine Swords in the clan, even if another wanderer was appointed, they wouldn’t miss his Emperor’s Void Phoenix… right?

Thinking this way, Xu Lao Ying made up his mind, feeling like a genius with an unbeatable strategy. Although he was a bit anxious, he figured it was probably just a side effect of indulging in too much bedroom activity–it didn’t matter!

“Madam, send twenty more girls for this young master!”

With the bold courage of one who chooses to be a romantic hero even in death, Xu Lao Ying called out loudly outside of his room, beginning another day happily devoted to his ‘cultivation’.

And so, days passed by, as he switched from one brothel to another. Oblivious to the affairs outside, Xu Clan’s wanderer didn’t realize that Danmu Town had been turned upside down.

Until one day, while sipping wine after a period of rest, he accidentally overheard two itinerant merchants boasting at the drinking table.

They were saying that the eldest of the Zhan Clan from Danmu Town had entered the Fierce Realm and had mastered a powerful divine technique. Within three days, he had defeated several renowned figures in Danmu Town, seizing control of the town for the Zhan Clan, and had even forced Danmu’s most beautiful woman, Zhen Ping’er, to become his concubine.