The lanterns were just lit.

In the Yangquanfang market.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, which was supposed to be a day for family reunions, the business at the Feixiange was even more bustling than usual, with the entire outer courtyard hall almost full.

There were fewer disciples from the sect and children from prestigious families, but there were many Independent Cultivators who had ventured out on their own - after a busy and dangerous year, they naturally wanted to come and enjoy themselves, see beautiful women, listen to music, and relax.

"Has anything big happened near Yangquan recently?"

"Yes, in early October, a fierce person appeared in Qingyang City, nicknamed 'Qingyang Ferocious Ape'. He killed Xue Shanhut, who had a Qi Refining fourth level cultivation and was at the Innate eighth level, and threw his head directly on the street!"

"I heard about this too. The whole Qingyang City went crazy that night. It seems that the city lord's mansion colluded with several forces from the transportation gang to target the Qingyang Martial Alliance. They sealed off the city and killed tens of thousands of soldiers!"

"The Xue family was in a miserable state. They were wiped out, and more than a thousand martial arts experts were killed, with blood flowing like a river. They didn't even spare three-year-old children. That Zhong Yan is eight feet tall, with arms thicker than other people's thighs, full of muscles, and a fierce and evil appearance. He directly crushed half-sized children over his head, bursting them into a rain of blood. He's simply a demon..."

"You're talking nonsense! Do you think the reputation of the Mountain Tiger was given for nothing? Can someone with a Qi Refining fourth level cultivation kill him? It took two Qi Refining later stage experts fighting together to kill him!"

"Geese geese~ It's not like what you guys are saying. Zhong Yan came to our Feixiange and he is a very handsome young man."

"..."

"Do you know that the Fire Cloud Sect found a spiritual root but it mysteriously disappeared?"

"Wow~ a spiritual root! Is it true? The Fire Cloud Sect will turn the entire Yan Kingdom upside down."

"It seems that the problem lies between Qingyang and Wangyi. It is said that the Fire Cloud Sect dispatched two Foundation Building later stage elders and dozens of disciples from the Enforcement Hall, but they haven't found any clues after searching for several months."

"..."

"The Wei Kingdom, which has been established for thousands of years, is about to perish. More than twenty vassals are fighting, with blood staining the mountains and rivers, and refugees fleeing in large numbers. It's so tragic."

"I think, at most, within five years, the Wei Kingdom will completely disappear from the Eastern Region."

"Five years? Hehe, now the Chen Kingdom, the Qi Kingdom, and our Yan Kingdom are all eyeing it, and they can't sit still. Once they enter, it will be divided in minutes. In the end, only the wrangling on the negotiation table can delay the time."

"That's right, Shunyi City has already stationed troops, and the capital has dispatched a gathering of 1.5 million troops. It is estimated that there will be action after the New Year."

"..."

"I heard that yesterday, some members of the Fang family from Wangyi who went on a demon hunting expedition to Mangdang Mountain have returned."

"So fast?"

"Still fast, it's been two years. A small team came back recently, with only two out of eight members remaining. This time, five people returned together, and they are all martial artists."

"Martial artists, they should be the ones providing support on the outer periphery. Cultivators don't know when they will break through, so they won't come out without any gains."

"..."

The entire hall, upstairs and downstairs, was filled with all kinds of news, hearsay, true and false.

Bai Siyuan, dressed in a black robe, walked in. When he heard the name "Zhong Yan," he listened for a while with his ears pricked, then his mouth twitched, and he shook his head as he looked for a seat.

"Oh, Young Master Bai! You've come!"

The Water Fairy couldn't help but move when she heard the news. She immediately spotted the "fat sheep."

Bai Siyuan couldn't help but twitch his mouth again. He didn't want to go into the private room anymore.

Shuixian looked outside the door and said, "Why is it only the young master today?"

"Ah~" Bai Siyuan sighed, "Shuixian, you really hurt my heart."

"Geese geese~ it's the younger sister who misspoke. Come, let's go inside. The younger sister will accompany you for a drink or two!"

Bai Siyuan directly refused, "No, just come and sit for a while. I have to go back to practice. I rented a training room in the market and can't waste it..."

They chatted for a few moments.

Bai Siyuan found an empty seat and waited until Shuixian was out of sight and disappeared from his spiritual perception. He immediately embraced the girl accompanying him for drinks and headed towards the basement.

On the other side, Shuixian also twisted her waist and went to the basement, muttering in anger.

"Eight hundred!"

"Eight hundred!"

"At least eight hundred people coming in and out today, but only twenty or thirty entered the private rooms!"

"A bunch of poor people!"

"They only know how to drink discounted alcohol in the outer courtyard!"

"They can never afford the girls in the back courtyard!"

Arriving in front of the door numbered sixty-nine, Shuixian rang the bell.

After waiting for a while, Ruoyun finally opened the door.

"Why are you dawdling? It took you so long!"

Ruoyun's gaze dodged, and she smiled, "Shuixian sister, business is so good today, why do you have time to come down?"

"Enough talk, they're all poor people. They can only earn a meager living...," Shuixian said, looking at Ruoyun's face and feeling something strange. She walked straight into the stone room, "Of course, I came to find you!"

Ruoyun closed the door and looked at her, her heartbeat inexplicably quickening, filled with anticipation.

Shuixian looked at her with a smile that wasn't a smile.

"Ah~ annoying!" Ruoyun blushed and punched her, "Sister said, did he come?"

"He came!"

Shuixian rolled her eyes, "He's upstairs!"

Ruoyun's smiling face instantly bloomed, and she immediately ran to the dressing table to prepare.

Shuixian shook her head inwardly, a hint of mockery appearing at the corner of her mouth, sneering, "But he didn't come to see you, he called someone else."

Ruoyun's movements with the hairpin froze for a moment, then continued, forcing a smile, "If he wants to call, let him call. It's normal, isn't it? Does he have to find me?"

Shuixian clearly saw the disappointment on that pretty face in the mirror, sighed, and walked over to sit beside her.

"Then why are you putting on makeup? I've never seen you so proactive before!"

Ruoyun held back the bitterness and smiled, "We're friends after all. It's only right to toast a glass of wine."

Shuixian stared at her in silence for a moment, then suddenly spoke rapidly.

"You forgot the first lesson from the elder? Courtesans cannot have emotions!"

"Don't forget your identity! You are not on the same path! It's impossible for you to be together!"

"Do you think that by not accepting other clients, he will look at you differently?"

"Do you think that just because he has sought you out three times, he has truly fallen in love with you?"

"At this moment, he is indulging with another woman!"

Ruo Yun lowered her head, pursed her lips, and tears uncontrollably fell.

Shui Xian reached out and firmly pressed her shoulder. "Dear sister, forget about him! Focus on what you should do. In the future, you can find an honest man to marry and escape this suffering! Let me remind you, if you refuse to accept clients again, I won't speak up for you. You know the elder's methods!"

Ruo Yun reached out and held her chest, shaking her head repeatedly. Droplets of water fell, wetting her dress. She bit her lip and choked out, "I tried, but I can't forget him. I can't do it. He is like a part of my heart. Every time I think about not being able to see him or be with him in the future, it feels like my heart is being twisted, and my chest feels heavy, making it hard to breathe..."

Shui Xian scolded coldly, "Even if you can't do it, you have to force yourself! If the elder sees you like this, he will throw you into the beast pit! Haven't you seen the fate of other sisters who were thrown into the beast pit?"

Speaking of the beast pit, even Shui Xian couldn't help but shudder. It was a place filled with disgusting and foul-smelling slime, inhabited by ugly monsters. Once drugged, the massive tendons would render a person unable to survive or die.

"Tomorrow, I'll try to arrange a client for you, otherwise the elder will become suspicious."

After speaking, Shui Xian stood up to leave.

Ruo Yun grabbed her and pleaded, "Sister Shui Xian, please help me!"

Shui Xian shook her hand off. "Haven't I helped you enough? I don't want to be implicated!"

Ruo Yun held onto her tightly, not letting her go, and anxiously said, "He likes me, he definitely likes me! Otherwise, why would he reward me with fifty spiritual stones last time?"

Shui Xian was taken aback and blinked. "Fifty? When was this?"

Ruo Yun nodded, let go of her hand, and wiped away her tears. "It was the last time you took a break."

Shui Xian muttered to herself, "This person is really extravagant. Fifty stones, many Independent Cultivators can't accumulate that much in years..."

Ruo Yun hurriedly said, "Sister Shui Xian, you are knowledgeable and resourceful. You must have a way to help me, right? You understand me, and I will definitely repay your kindness. Don't worry, sister, I will definitely repay you in the future!"

Shui Xian's gaze flickered for a moment, and it was unclear what she was thinking. She spoke frankly, "He didn't come, Bai Siyuan came alone. The one surnamed Bai has been renting a cultivation room in the market and hasn't left."

"He didn't come..." Ruo Yun blinked her eyes, her mood instantly brightened, a smile appeared on her lips, but the next moment, she frowned and turned her face away.

Shui Xian was suspicious, staring at her and delivering a blow, "But Zhong Yan has always wanted to marry a female cultivator. But you come from the mortal world. Even if you haven't had other clients, he might not believe it. Even if he believes it, can others believe it? Now that he has a reputation in Qingyang, would he want to be seen with a courtesan and become a laughingstock?"

Ruo Yun's eyes dimmed, then became determined. "Since he came to the brothel, he won't care too much about these things. I will do it with a clear conscience. Only then can I have the face to follow him. I don't seek status or anything else. I will silently follow him, see him every day, and be with him. That's enough..."

As she spoke, Ruo Yun suddenly covered her mouth, her eyebrows tightly furrowed, looking uncomfortable.

Shui Xian raised an eyebrow, realizing what had happened, and immediately grabbed her wrist to check her pulse. Her face changed dramatically, and she lowly growled, "You, you, you're going to die!"

Oh my god, she's actually pregnant!

The previous few times when she said she felt unwell and didn't want to accept clients, I thought she was making excuses, but it turns out it was really inconvenient!

Shui Xian widened her eyes, her face full of disbelief. How could she dare to do this?

Breaking the dual cultivation technique after becoming pregnant was a major crime in the Immortal Pavilion. There was only one way to go, and that was death!

Suppressing the feeling of nausea, Ruoyun knelt down with a thud, clutching the leg of Shuixian and pleading, "Shuixian sister! I beg you! Please help me!"

"Since I arrived at Feixian Pavilion, you have always taken care of me. I have always respected you and treated you sincerely. Can you help my sister this time? Even if you can't save me, please save my child!"

"I'm going to be killed by you!" Shuixian paced back and forth for a while, staring at Ruoyun and asked in a suppressed voice, "Did you do it on purpose?!"

Ruoyun cried and shook her head firmly, "No, it wasn't intentional! After he left last time, I realized that I had fallen in love with him. My heart was in chaos, and I forgot to take my medicine for a while. At that time, he was going back to the city to deal with Xue Shanhu. I was worried all the time. By the time I remembered, it had been half a month and the medicine was useless. Then I found out that I was pregnant. Really, Shuixian sister, I'm not lying!"

"Who would believe that!"

Shuixian scolded coldly, her anger building up, "Not to mention that being pregnant is already a capital offense. If Zhong Yan doesn't want this child, if he thinks you deliberately used this child to manipulate him, he can have the elders execute you!"

She glanced at Ruoyun's belly, calculated the time, it had been three or four months. Even if she used her spiritual energy to suppress it, it wouldn't last long. With such a big belly, it couldn't be hidden.

"And now the only choice is to get rid of it! Use all your skills, serve the guests diligently, don't let anyone discover anything, and quickly regain your cultivation!"

Ruoyun caressed her abdomen, tears streaming down her face as she shook her head repeatedly, "This is my flesh and blood, it's mine and Zhong Lang's child..."

"Zhong Lang?"

Shuixian retorted sarcastically, laughing coldly, "You became foolish three years after getting pregnant, and became a fool after falling in love. That's really true! You have both at the same time, and now you have no wit at all!"

"Do you think Zhong Yan would be willing to be a father? You, a brothel woman, who guarantees that the child in your belly is his? If he finds out, he might avoid you like the plague!"

Shaking her head, Shuixian turned and walked away, "You can live or die on your own!"

Ruoyun sat weakly on the ground, lost and confused.

As Shuixian walked to the door, she added coldly, "I advise you not to inform Zhong Yan for now, otherwise, you might die even faster!"

Ruoyun suddenly looked up, a sharpness flashing in her teary eyes. In order to save her child, she prepared to do whatever it took, and stood up and called out, "Shuixian sister! I know your secret!"

Shuixian slowly turned around, staring at her expressionlessly.

Ruoyun bit her lip and said, "September 19th, Sixfold Courtyard! But I never thought of using it to blackmail you, I beg you, without implicating yourself, please make it easier for my sister, help me save this child!"

"You can go tell the elders and see who dies first."

Shuixian said indifferently, opening the door and leaving.

Standing in the corridor, she regretted her actions. She had thought that Ruoyun was sensible and kind, and had relied on Zhong Yan, a powerful independent cultivator, and had planned to sincerely befriend her. But the result was a disaster.

She had told so many lies inside, and if they were discovered, it wouldn't be a capital offense, but she would at least lose face.

Now, she was holding her own handle!

"Stupid!"

Clenching her fist, Shuixian's face turned ugly as she muttered to herself, then hurriedly went to the outer courtyard, scanning her surroundings.

On the other hand, Ruoyun despaired for a while, then quickly sat in front of the dressing table, touched up her makeup, and hurriedly left the room.

She had been hesitant before, but now she couldn't care about that anymore.

...

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