The Cold And Aloof Senior Sister Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 5

The Drunken Spring Pavilion was ablaze with lights on this night.

In the main hall on the first floor, lightly clad girls sat beside men, smiling charmingly as they drank with them.

Miss Rouyi was especially happy today.

A wealthy young master from the capital city, who was searching for the Dao of Immortality, had seen her portrait and immediately taken a liking to her.

Not only did he request her company for the entire night yesterday, but he had also come looking for her again tonight!

It was already a difficult profession for girls like them. The death of the top courtesan, Miss Lihua, a while ago had already worsened their business, and afterwards, several other top performers left one after another. The once bustling Drunken Spring Pavilion had become even more desolate.

Just last night, a stunningly beautiful young girl had arrived at the Drunken Spring Pavilion and even occupied her own Cuiwei Palace. She was likely here to steal her customers. If her few remaining patrons were drawn to the new girl, how would she survive?

To avoid affecting the mood of the other girls when receiving guests, the madam kept the matter very quiet, only instructing a servant boy to secretly bury the person.

Rouyi knew nothing of this, only sensing something strange, like the faint scent of blood she occasionally noticed when waking up every morning…

In the room, Yan Jue lay on the bed. On the surface, her heart was as calm as an ancient well, but inside, it was beating very fast.

“Miss Wenxiang! Miss Wenxiang!” Someone knocked on the door.

Yan Jue: “Come in.”

The door was opened, and the madam walked in from outside, then turned to close the door behind her. When she turned back to look at Yan Jue, the fawning smile on her face vanished completely.

The madam frowned bitterly, took a step forward, and whispered, “Immortal Sir/Upper Being, everything depends on you tonight!”

Yan Jue nodded heavily: “Don’t worry, I will do my utmost.”

The madam left with a heavy expression.

Yan Jue sat up from the bed and touched the talisman hanging at her waist, which was as white as the bright moon. She was currently only at the Foundation Establishment early stage, her cultivation shallow; she wasn’t even an “Immortal Sir” like the madam called her, nor was she a savior hero. Why else would she be in a place like this if not for a mission?

The arrow was already on the bowstring, ready to be loosed, but as the bait to lure out the murderer, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Yan Jue lay sideways on the bed draped with green gauze curtains, her clothes slightly undone, revealing snow-white skin. Her two long legs were well-proportioned, and faint veins could be seen on the tops of her fair feet. She looked so seductive and refined that it was hard to believe she wasn’t a courtesan of this establishment.

Her Iron Sword was summoned from her storage bag and lay quietly beside her.

Half an hour passed, and the night grew deeper. A gust of cold wind swept in from outside the window.

Yan Jue lay on the bed, waiting in vain. Unable to wait any longer, she got up.

In that instant, a pair of pitch black, large ears appeared above her head, flapping outwards like they were catching the wind. The original owner’s fox demon form did have some advantages, such as extremely sensitive hearing and smell, allowing her to perceive things others could not.

“…”

Suddenly, a very light sound of footsteps came from the eaves outside the window. The friction between roof tiles accompanied the steps, which quickened as if something was running towards this place.

Yan Jue’s nerves instantly snapped taut. On the surface, she remained seemingly unaware, lying on the inner side of the bed, but secretly she stared intently at the window, gripping the Iron Sword tightly, her whole body tense.

Suddenly, Rouyi in the next room let out a deafening scream.

Yan Jue was stunned, quickly opened the door, and rushed out. The murderer hadn’t come for her this time, but had gone to the adjacent Chaoxia Hall!

The two rooms were very close. Within a few breaths, Yan Jue arrived at Chaoxia Hall and violently kicked the door open. What greeted her eyes was the back of a tall man. The man, dressed in a black night suit, stood with his back to her, tightly strangling Rouyi’s neck. Rouyi’s face was pale, her clothes disheveled, and she was screaming loudly. On the ground, a completely naked man was already lying in a pool of blood!

Yan Jue, holding the cheap Iron Sword, silently recited the sword techniques she had practiced, raised her hand, and fiercely chopped towards the back of the black-clad man’s neck.

This sword strike landed on the man’s back, causing blood to flow profusely for a moment. The man quickly dodged and reached out with a thick hand to grab directly at Yan Jue.

Yan Jue’s heart clenched, and she quickly threw the quicklime hidden in her sleeve towards the exposed eyes of the black clad man. The quicklime stung his eyes, and the man let out a muffled groan. An extremely sharp dagger flashed in the air, swinging towards Yan Jue with seemingly immense force.

Yan Jue took the opportunity to pull the now freed Miss Rouyi backward and sidestepped the black-clad man. The black clad man jumped out of the window.

Yan Jue chased after him with the Iron Sword in hand. The night deepened, yet the red light district was bustling with visitors. The murderer’s movements were swift, leaping across the roof beams like an arrow loosed from a bow, his ghostly figure gradually turning into streaks of afterimages.

Yan Jue’s original body was a fox demon, whose divine abilities were far superior to cultivators of the same realm. She pursued closely behind the black-clad man, jumping from one roof beam to another. However, she was only at the Foundation Establishment early stage; initially light-footed, she gradually became exhausted, and her steps grew heavy.

Yan Jue watched the black-clad man getting farther and farther away, feeling a sense of dread. A surge of demonic energy thrashed wildly in her chest, and the familiar burning sensation washed over her. Yan Jue silently recited the Heart Calming Incantation several times, retracting the tail she had inadvertently exposed. She then saw the black clad man leap over the city gate. Yan Jue followed closely, and after jumping over the gate, she found herself in a forest outside Qingye Town.

The black-clad man had vanished without a trace.

“The black-clad man… ran into the forest?”

The forest was quiet, with only a few eerie bird calls faintly heard from the trees a stark contrast to the city. Yan Jue gripped her Iron Sword and walked some distance into the forest. The dry fallen leaves under her feet made a crisp sound as she stepped on them. It was pitch black; she couldn’t see anything.

“…”

The pursuit tonight was likely in vain. Yan Jue looked at the darkness before her and felt a pang of dejection. The black clad man came to the brothel once a month. She had lost him this time, and she didn’t know when he would come next. Every talisman from the Management Pavilion had an expiration date. If the murderer went into hiding to recuperate, the mission would already be overdue by next month. If the mission expired, she wouldn’t be able to receive the next talisman for half a year! By the time she received another one, she would have already been killed by the ice queen heroine, Qi Xianqing!

Yan Jue’s mind was in chaos. She raised the Iron Sword and struck an ancient tree in front of her. The thousand-year-old tree remained completely still, only showing a shallow mark where she struck.

Yan Jue: “…”

Now, Yan Jue completely understood the importance of cultivation in this world. If her Qinggong (Lightness Skill) had been better, or her cultivation higher, perhaps the murderer wouldn’t have disappeared without a trace.

Yan Jue knew there was no point in staying there any longer; she should hurry back to check on Miss Rouyi’s condition.

Just as Yan Jue turned to leave, she noticed something, and her steps halted abruptly. In the dark depths of the nearby forest, a faint glimmer of light had appeared at some unknown time.

In the silent forest, a few extremely faint sounds suddenly emerged. So faint that they would vanish in an instant if one wasn’t paying close attention. The black ears above Yan Jue’s head instantly stood erect, turning left and right like they were catching the wind, confirming that the faint sound was indeed coming from the direction of the glimmer.

“Top-grade medicinal herb! Only three spirit stones!!!”

“High grade bat eyes! Can be taken away with just a hairpin ahhhh!”

Footsteps, shouts… it somewhat resembled the noisy marketplace in the modern era!

Yan Jue frowned, gripped her sword, and walked toward the faint light. Passing through the messy undergrowth, everything around her gradually became clearer. Yan Jue froze and unconsciously widened her eyes. Deep in this forest was… a market?!

The dense forest abruptly opened up in this area. People of all sorts had set up small stalls on both sides of the open space. Various items were displayed on the stalls. People bustled back and forth in the middle, very lively.

Yan Jue walked in and noticed that the surrounding people were not surprised by her entrance, which slightly eased her tense nerves.

“…”

Yan Jue browsed this market, which was neither very large nor very small, and made an astonishing discovery. All the stall owners in this market were demons! As a fox demon, the original owner had a natural sense for her own kind. These stall owners, while appearing human on the surface, all had a dense circle of black aura above their heads demonic energy.

A young man passing by enthusiastically introduced it to her: “This is the Myriad Demon Pavilion, Madam. You can find unexpected treasures here.”

This world was divided into three major forces: Humans, Demons, and Devils. Demons were a neutral group between humans and devils and had their own independent living space. This Myriad Demon Pavilion was a market opened by a turtle demon family, as the legend went. They weren’t just here; they had chain stores in other major cities as well. All demons in the world could sell their treasured items here. Demons had their own lives; just like humans, they needed to eat and trade, so having their own market was normal. Yan Jue didn’t find it strange at all. She herself was a little fox spirit.

Yan Jue unconsciously stopped at one stall. What caught her eye was a square piece of metal that shone brilliantly under the moonlight. The wooden sign next to it had a few large characters written on it: Demon Locking Ring.

The stall owner, a pig demon, enthusiastically introduced it to Yan Jue: “Madam, this is a Demon Locking Ring made of North Sea Dark Iron. Carrying it with you will lock down your demonic aura, making it difficult for cultivators to detect. It’s very cheap, why not try it?”

Yan Jue’s eyes lit up: “This item…” She stopped halfway through her sentence. Embarrassment struck. She had no money on her. For cultivators in this world, common currency was useless; transactions were basically conducted using spirit stones. However, the original owner had only focused on accompanying the male lead and neglected her missions, so she naturally had no savings.

The pig demon seemed to sense her predicament and looked eagerly at her head: “Why worry, Madam? This Demon Locking Ring isn’t that precious. You can exchange it for the hairpin on your head!”

Yan Jue was stunned, took the hairpin from her head, and handed it to the pig demon: “Is this acceptable?” She knew about bartering in ancient times, but she didn’t know it could be used like this. Wouldn’t the value be unequal?

After some questioning, Yan Jue finally understood that for old demons living deep in the mountains and forests, these human decorative items were extremely rare. Previously, demons could simply rob for these trinkets, but now with the increasingly strict governance of the demon realm by the Five Great Immortal Sects, no demon dared to rob anymore. Rouge, hairpins, pouches, handkerchiefs, and similar items could all be used as currency in the Myriad Demon Pavilion. In this sense, the spirit stone currency common in the cultivation world was worthless in the Myriad Demon Market.

Yan Jue took the glittering golden Demon Locking Ring, wondering why such a neatly square object was called a ‘ring,’ when she saw a flash of golden light in her palm. This piece of North Sea Dark Iron suddenly changed! The originally square piece of dark iron slowly elongated in her palm and gradually closed upwards, gradually transforming into a glittering golden necklace. It was clean, with a lock hanging in the center of the golden necklace, and three small bells dangling below the lock.

The pig demon boss laughed: “This piece of Dark Iron has a strong spiritual nature; it changes according to the user’s temperament. In your hands, Madam, it has become a Longevity Lock. In someone else’s hands, who knows what it would become?”

Yan Jue instantly had an epiphany and immediately put the Demon Locking Ring around her neck. The cool necklace rested on her neck, and she felt a subtle change in her body. The uncontrollable demonic energy on her seemed to dissipate significantly in an instant. In the original book, the author vaguely mentioned how the original owner managed to infiltrate the Five Dragon Mountain. But a fox demon cultivating into human form has inherently difficult-to-remove demonic energy. The reason she was later pierced by the heroine Qi Xianqing’s sword was precisely because she had not done proper demonic energy protection, leading to her discovery. Now, she urgently needed this item!