Chapter 95: Chapter 93: The Famous Brothel Courtesan’s Secret

Princess Chunshui, whose stage name was also Yu Chunfeng.

She had become quite famous lately. Someone had even posted a request on the Wangjiang Cave Mansion’s bounty board to uncover Princess Chunshui’s secrets, offering a reward of one hundred Primordial Pearls!

Whether Princess Chunshui truly had any secrets was unknown, but the size of the reward on the Wangjiang Cave Mansion’s bounty board undoubtedly added another layer of mystery to the beautiful woman.

Song Ciwan and Xie Yunxiang sat at a table by the railing on the second floor. Looking down, they saw a small stream winding its way from the depths of the garden into the courtyard below.

Strange rocks were piled along both banks of the stream, interspersed with flowers and sparse trees. No one was in sight, but a voice, ethereal and faint, drifted over.

The singing was like a light mist at sunset, or a haze in a dense forest—gentle and cool. It seemed to float down from the clouds, coiling around every listener’s ears and hovering in their hearts.

The woman sang, "I see my love off to the Five-Mile Mound, and another five miles I’ll walk him down. I’d see him off for thirty miles more, but my bound feet are tired and sore..."

"Oh, woe is me, the heartbroken sees off the heartbroken..."

With each verse, her cries of "heartbroken" were so mournful and plaintive they made one’s heart tremble.

Finally, with a splash of water, a graceful figure appeared. Standing on a small boat and poling with a green bamboo rod, she emerged from between the flowers and trees in the distance, slowly drifting along the courtyard stream and into everyone’s view.

The woman on the boat had a face like a blooming hibiscus and a waist as slender as a willow branch.

She furrowed a pair of fine eyebrows, as soft as smoke and mist. Her voice was sweet and melodious, and her gaze swept over the crowd.

With just that single appearance, that one glance, all the disputes that had arisen because of her suddenly seemed justified.

Song Ciwan overheard someone at the next table exclaim, "Ah, so this is Princess Chunshui! For a beauty like her, what’s so strange about causing a few disputes? What’s the point of a bounty? Why hasn’t anyone claimed those hundred Primordial Pearls?"

At the same table as Song Ciwan, Xie Yunxiang was also staring intently at Princess Chunshui, muttering, "This trip wasn’t a waste, not a waste at all. Brother Xin, the rumors truly don’t do her justice. For a woman like Princess Chunshui, it would be stranger if a few rich young masters *didn’t* fight over her, wouldn’t it?"

Song Ciwan shot Xie Yunxiang a surprised look. She felt his captivated, soul-stirred expression was a bit over the top.

But when she looked around, she saw that nearly everyone had a similar expression. Compared to them, Xie Yunxiang actually seemed relatively restrained.

As for people like Song Ciwan, who acknowledged Princess Chunshui’s extreme beauty but remained clear-headed and rational, they were few and far between.

In fact, a quick scan of the room suggested to Song Ciwan that she might be the only one.

Having poled her boat over and finished her enchanting song, Princess Chunshui placed her hands by her sides and gave the crowd a graceful curtsy. Then, without a word, she gripped the bamboo pole, pushed off, and the boat glided smoothly back the way it came.

Before anyone could react, they could only watch as her delicate, elegant back disappeared into the depths of the sunset, leaving an impression of gentle melancholy.

A moment later, a collective sigh rippled through the audience.

Someone shouted, "Why is she leaving already?"

That shout was like flipping a switch. The crowd, as if waking from a dream, began to clamor as well.

Amidst the noisy chatter, a Steward emerged in the courtyard garden below, leading a group of maids carrying flowers. He tapped a small jade drum in his hand and announced in a raised voice, "Gentlemen, let flowers be the judge of friendship. Today, the gentleman who offers the most flowers will have the chance to spend an hour alone with Princess Chunshui..."

Before he could even finish, someone eagerly shouted, "Me! I’ll give ten flowers!"

"This humble student offers twenty flowers!"

"I will give fifty flowers!"

"This young master will give one hundred flowers!"

"..."

Fresh flowers, still glistening with dew, were brought up by the maids. At ten taels of silver per stalk, men opened their purses generously. The flowers were then tossed down from the second floor, raining down over the courtyard stream.

Xie Yunxiang, caught up in the fervent atmosphere, couldn’t help but stand up. He immediately pulled one hundred taels of gold from his Storage Talisman and bought one hundred flowers in one go.

Song Ciwan watched as he clutched the flower basket, his face flushed with excitement. Leaning against the railing, he tipped the basket forward, and the vibrant reds and purples spilled out like a waterfall of blossoms, rushing down to the courtyard below.

Someone below called out the count: "Guest at table C-23, one hundred flowers!"

"Guest at table D-71, fifty flowers!"

"Guest at table C-56, two hundred flowers... three hundred... four hundred..." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Five hundred flowers!"

"..."

Xie Yunxiang was at table C-23. Seeing someone’s flower count far exceed his own, he took a deep breath and shouted, "Another hundred—no, three hundred! Four hundred! Six hundred—"

Before he could finish, a hand reached out from the side and gently tapped him on the shoulder.

It was Song Ciwan!

She had reached out to pat Xie Yunxiang’s shoulder, trying to stop him from getting in any deeper.

But unexpectedly, the moment her palm touched Xie Yunxiang’s shoulder, the Heaven and Earth Scale stirred once more.

[Celestial Demon Sound. Heart’s Desire Qi from a Qi Transformation Stage Cultivator. Value: one mace and three cents. Available for trade.]

’It’s actually the Celestial Demon Sound!’

Song Ciwan was stunned for a moment.

The Heaven and Earth Scale could actively collect qi in several ways. The most common was when someone felt intense emotions—emotions directed at Song Ciwan. After the emotional qi reached a certain threshold, the Heaven and Earth Scale would automatically collect it.

But right now, although Xie Yunxiang was extremely agitated, his emotions were clearly not directed at Song Ciwan.

That meant it had to be the other scenario: the target was passively emitting qi. When Song Ciwan made physical contact, the Heaven and Earth Scale would collect this dissipating qi.

This was how it had collected the "Eighty Percent Hermit’s Qi" in the past.

However, the qi Song Ciwan could collect through touch was usually just a surface-level emission. After a while, it would dissipate on its own even if left untouched.

Even if the Heaven and Earth Scale collected it, it would have no effect on the person themselves.

Therefore, although Song Ciwan’s pat had collected a portion of his "Heart’s Desire Qi," Xie Yunxiang merely glanced back at her. A moment later, as if drunk, he opened his mouth to shout again, "Six... six hundred... HIC!"

Song Ciwan patted him again, this time channeling her Palm Thunder. A minuscule thread of the Power of Thunder and Lightning passed silently into him. This time, Xie Yunxiang swayed and let out a large hiccup on the spot.

His mouth fell open, and he turned to look at Song Ciwan in astonishment.

Song Ciwan said, "Daoist Xie, have you forgotten? We agreed to go to the Seven Treasures Tower this evening."

With that, she turned and started walking away.

She moved quickly through the boisterous, excited crowd, like a single drop of water slipping past countless noisy lotus leaves swaying in the wind.

Xie Yunxiang, as if waking from a dream, hastily scrambled to follow her.