Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 119

Jiangnan, Linglong Pavilion.

This pavilion was not a major sect in the martial world, yet it was renowned for its peerless intelligence network and the cultivation of elite scouts. More than that, it was a notorious “den of gold-melting pleasures” in the Jiangnan region.

The titular head of the pavilion was a woman named Su Linglong. Born into an official’s family, she was relegated to a government-owned brothel after her father and brother were implicated in a rebellion. To remain chaste for her fiancé’s family, she had proactively scarred her own face. Her actions earned the Emperor’s praise, a Chastity Arch in her honor, and the gift of Linglong Pavilion itself.

However, the pavilion was essentially a state-run brothel. Rumors in the Jianghu suggested that Su Linglong’s face was actually scarred by her true master behind the scenes—a master who used her as a figurehead while managing the business from the shadows.

Inside the pavilion, incense curled in the air and the sounds of silk and bamboo music filled the atmosphere with decadence. Li Ting, dressed in black male attire, stood tall and straight. Her expression was cold and detached. Though young, her innate nobility and frosty aura made people wary of approaching.

Beside her, Si Xiaoxiao was also disguised as a man, even sporting a slightly comical fake mustache. However, her beauty was too dazzling to hide. With skin like snow and eyes that flickered with a natural charm, anyone with a glance could tell she was a woman in disguise.

The Madam of the house was a shrewd judge of character. Seeing the two in male garb, she didn’t expose Si Xiaoxiao’s identity. Instead, she approached with a sycophantic smile, waving a scented silk handkerchief. “Welcome, young masters! Which of our ladies would you like to have serve you?”

Si Xiaoxiao, filled with curiosity, let her lively eyes roam over the decor and the fluttering “birds and flowers” of the pavilion. She didn’t answer the Madam. Instead, she turned her head, winked playfully at Li Ting, and naturally reached out to lightly tug on Li Ting’s sleeve at the wrist.

Li Ting, who was on high alert, was startled by this sudden, intimate gesture. She instinctively looked down at the slender, pale fingers gripping her wristband. The warmth of those fingertips seeped through the thin fabric—gentle, yet carrying a hint of command that brooked no refusal.

“Hmm?” Seeing no reaction, Si Xiaoxiao gave another light tug and signaled toward the ceiling beams with her eyes.

Li Ting understood instantly. Suppressing the strange flutter in her heart, she raised her hand and flicked an invitation—written earlier by Si Xiaoxiao—directly into the wooden beam of the pavilion.

The sudden movement shattered the mellow music. The Madam’s face transformed from flattery to malice. She shrieked, “Fine! You dare stir up trouble in my Linglong Pavilion? Men! Take these two arrogant fools down!”

Before her voice faded, a dozen burly, fierce-looking men in black surged from the shadows, surrounding the pair with murderous intent.

“Hmph! No need to ‘take us down,’ because we never planned on running!” Si Xiaoxiao stood with her hands behind her back, looking incredibly arrogant. She waved her hand with the casual air of a playboy commanding a servant: “Xiao Li, get ’em!”

Li Ting had rarely seen Si Xiaoxiao fight on this journey. She wondered if Si Xiaoxiao had internal injuries. If she were too injured to fight, why would she travel with an enemy like Li Ting and set a one-month deadline?

Li Ting reasoned that Si Xiaoxiao must have a hidden trump card. Judging by her bossy, “young master” attitude, she simply didn’t deign to move herself.

By now, Li Ting was used to it. Observing the thugs, she saw they were heavy-set and possessed basic martial skills, but were ultimately clumsy. Since they were here to deliver the “Heroine’s Invitation,” she assumed Si Xiaoxiao wanted her to use a display of force to intimidate the crowd. Better use some impressive moves then, Li Ting thought.

True to her nature, Li Ting’s mind raced through layers of calculation in a single breath. She had already pegged Si Xiaoxiao as a deeply calculating person who hid her true strength, making her even more cautious.

Li Ting moved like a phantom. The crowd saw only a blur of black and felt a sudden chill. Without even drawing her sword, using only her palms and eerie footwork, the dozen thugs fell like harvested wheat in just a few breaths, knocked unconscious.

Chaos erupted. Guests and courtesans scattered like startled birds, and the pavilion echoed with screams.

The previously aggressive Madam instantly threw herself onto the floor, pleading in a shrill voice, “Great masters, I was blind! Please forgive my offense…”

“Call your Master out,” Si Xiaoxiao said, revealing her sharp little tiger teeth. She snapped open a folding fan with a flourish, looking every bit the dashing rogue.

“This… the Master isn’t here…” The Madam stammered, a trace of malice flickering in her eyes.

If the Master hadn’t traveled far and taken the elite guards, how could these wretches act so wildly! she thought.

“I’m talking about your Pavilion Master, Su Linglong! Not some Seventh Prince!” Si Xiaoxiao continued to smile, yet her words were bone-chilling. She had publicly outed the true power behind the pavilion.

The room fell into a dead silence. Everyone present looked on in disbelief. No one expected that the mysterious, powerful Linglong Pavilion was actually backed by the Imperial Seventh Prince!

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, a figure finally descended slowly from the second floor. She wore a veiled hat (weimao) and moved with the grace of a willow in the wind. Every step seemed to bloom like a lotus, exuding the elegance of a high-born lady. She even took the time to bow to the duo.

“May I ask what business these two warriors have here?”

“Delivering a post, and looking for some fun,” Si Xiaoxiao replied, fanning herself with a cryptic smile. She was thoroughly enjoying her role as the “riddle-maker” with superior information.

Li Ting stood like a solid, reliable shield half a step behind Si Xiaoxiao, her eyes locked onto Su Linglong with vigilance. She still didn’t fully grasp Si Xiaoxiao’s ultimate goal, but since they had an agreement, she followed through.

She wouldn’t ask questions; after all, it was only for a month.

“Fun? Indeed, those who come to Linglong Pavilion seek nothing else.” Su Linglong moved with ethereal speed. Suddenly, the invitation Li Ting had thrown into the beam was in her hand. Her movement was incredibly graceful, marking her as a master of profound internal strength.

Li Ting was shaken. She hadn’t expected such a formidable master to be hidden within this pavilion. She secretly began to calculate how much of an advantage she might hold if they were to trade blows.

To her surprise, upon receiving the invitation, the woman’s face paled drastically. Her entire body swayed as if she were on the verge of collapsing, and she seemed to exert immense effort just to maintain her composure. She managed to choke out: “You two… please follow me.”

No fight? Li Ting’s brow furrowed. Suspecting a trap, her hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of her sword.

Si Xiaoxiao, however, seemed entirely unfazed by Su Linglong’s reaction. With a sharp clack, she snapped her fan shut. In a perfectly natural motion, she reached out and grasped Li Ting’s wrist—right over the hand holding the sword. Her fingertips were warm, exerting a steady, calming pressure.

“Let’s go, Xiao Li.” Her tone was breezy. Tugging on Li Ting’s wrist, she followed Su Linglong upstairs with casual abandon.

With her wrist held in that grip, the sensation was so distinct that Li Ting forgot to pull away for a moment. She could only follow passively, acutely aware of the warmth radiating from Si Xiaoxiao’s palm.

The two were led to the most luxurious and secluded private room on the second floor. Su Linglong dismissed her attendants and gestured for them to be seated. She then personally lifted the teapot and began to brew tea with elegant poise, seemingly intent on playing the host.

Li Ting grew even more bewildered. She had assumed that wherever this “Demoness” Si Xiaoxiao went, blood would flow and people would scream for her head. She never expected the Master of Linglong Pavilion to offer them hospitality.

She couldn’t help but glance at Si Xiaoxiao, only to find the other woman looking around with great interest. She was inspecting the room’s decor with a clear, curious gaze, like a country girl entering the city for the first time—utterly unafraid of any potential ambush.

Is this… the nonchalance of a peerless master? Li Ting could only once again attribute it to Si Xiaoxiao being “unfathomably deep.”

Si Xiaoxiao noticed Li Ting’s tense posture and wary eyes. Suddenly, she flashed an incredibly bright, dazzling smile at Li Ting. Reaching out with both hands, she hooked her arm around Li Ting’s and pulled her forcefully toward the soft cushion beside her.

“Don’t just stand there like a post, relax a bit.” Si Xiaoxiao practically pulled Li Ting into a half-embrace as she forced her to sit. Their arms were pressed together, their body heat mingling.

Li Ting went stiff. She tried to withdraw her arm, but Si Xiaoxiao held on even tighter. She could even smell a faint, refreshing scent lingering in Si Xiaoxiao’s hair—something entirely different from the heavy incense of the pavilion.

“Please, have some tea.” Su Linglong acted as if she hadn’t seen their little exchange. Maintaining her facade of a refined lady, she gently pushed two cups of fragrant tea toward them.

Si Xiaoxiao didn’t touch the tea. She simply said, “Pavilion Master Su, I assume you know why we are here.”

“I…” Su Linglong opened her mouth, but no words followed for a long moment.

Si Xiaoxiao suddenly slammed her fan onto the table. “The person beside me is the Holy Maiden of the Hehuan Sect, the top disciple of the Sect Leader! Do you have nothing to say?”

Li Ting was baffled by the claim, but she watched as the woman before them began to tremble violently.

Is this attacking the heart? Li Ting wondered. This tactic seemed somewhat inconsistent with Si Xiaoxiao’s usual flamboyant style.

“It’s me… I am the one who harmed my benefactor…” Su Linglong barely finished half the sentence before tears began to stream down her face.

The rumors in the Jianghu were indeed ridiculously false.

The truth was that the Seventh Prince had taken a fancy to Su Linglong and wanted her as a concubine. However, the Su family had sided with his brother, the elder prince. In retaliation, the Seventh Prince fabricated evidence of rebellion, intending to force Su Linglong into becoming a government prostitute so he could eventually take her into his manor. To his surprise, Su Linglong resisted fiercely and attempted to sue him.

In a world ruled by men, a woman’s voice carried no weight. The Seventh Prince devised a sinister plot: he had Su Linglong’s face scarred and then used her “Chastity Arch” as a psychological tool to suppress other women, confining her in Linglong Pavilion to manage its sordid affairs.

Because her feet had been bound, every step she took was an agonizing, bone-deep pain. She couldn’t run. Back then, she was a weak woman with no strength to truss a chicken, trapped in a small pavilion, living out her days in a daze.

That was until a woman caused a massive scene at Linglong Pavilion. Although that woman was eventually driven away by the Seventh Prince’s experts, she had recognized Su Linglong’s helplessness. That very night, she returned and left behind a manual for a martial arts technique called the “Crescent Moon Broken Jade Script,” encouraging her that one day, she would be able to kill her enemies with her own hands.

That manual brought a glimmer of hope to her life, but it also cast the shadow of death over her benefactor.

After practicing for several years, Su Linglong attempted to assassinate the Seventh Prince. However, she was no match for the elite imperial guards at his side and was captured, heavily wounded.

The Seventh Prince couldn’t understand how a mere lady of the inner chambers knew martial arts. He ordered a thorough search of her room and eventually found years of correspondence between her and her benefactor.

The Seventh Prince was a devious and cruel man; he preferred watching people suffer more than killing them. He forced Su Linglong to swallow a “Heart-Devouring Gu” parasite. As for that “meddlesome rat” of a benefactor, he had a much more “precious” and “interesting” method in mind.

“What method?!” Hearing that the Seventh Prince intended to target her master, Li Ting couldn’t sit still. She demanded an answer immediately.

Seeing Li Ting so anxious, Si Xiaoxiao interjected with a hint of jealousy, “Probably some bottom-tier, trashy trick.”

Su Linglong quickly revealed the answer: “It is the Love Gu.”

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