Chapter 72 Part 1

A knock came at the door.

The discussion among the Blood Rain Pavilion members came to an abrupt halt.

Because in their hearts, they knew clearly that at this hour, the only ones who could be knocking were the two guests invited tonight by the Deputy Pavilion Master.

Before opening the door, the woman in red shot a meaningful glance at the man in black.

The meaning was obvious.

Prince Yan was no easy character. His presence here could easily stir up trouble.

The man in black understood. He immediately rose and left his seat.

Holding his sword, he concealed himself behind the screen.

Everyone stared at the door, but no one made a move. It seemed they were all waiting for one person to take the initiative and open it.

Seeing this, the earlier proposer sought to atone for his earlier blunder.

He put on his blood-red mask, stood up, and bowed to the woman in red. “This subordinate will open the door.”

The others, watching his action, also donned their own masks.

Though each mask was only half, barely covering the upper face, the intricate and eerie patterns were more than enough to conceal their true features.

The woman in red raised her hand and fastened her Blood Butterfly Mask in place.

She waved dismissively at the proposer. “Go on, then. Attend to our esteemed guests carefully. Do not be negligent.”

Overjoyed, the proposer hurried to open the door.

But when he opened it and saw the person seated in the wheelchair, a flicker of confusion crossed his face.

This was the legendary Prince Yan, infamous for his paranoid, violent, and temperamental nature?

He didn’t look the part at all.

However, the moment the proposer looked at Chu Shao, who stood by Xiao Jin’s side, a single glance was all it took to confirm their identities.

A peerless beauty like her, willingly pushing the wheelchair of the person beside her.

Then the man seated in the chair could only be the Prince Yan, the one who had stormed the capital in fury for a beautiful woman’s sake.

The proposer, originally a citizen of Qi, instinctively smoothed his sleeves upon seeing a reigning prince, a respectful smile almost surfacing.

But just as the smile began to form, he remembered he was now a secret agent of the Blood Rain Pavilion.

And what’s more, he worked directly under Yard Master Shen.

With these two factors combined, he suppressed his smile.

Adopting a strictly business-like demeanor, he bowed simply to Xiao Jin and led them to the vacant seats at the banquet.

But the proposer had never expected this.

Before taking their seats, the young prince of Qi, notorious across the land, actually raised her head and stared for a long while at the utterly ordinary landscape screen.

Her expression was faint, her gaze equally faint.

Her face was as delicate and refined as a woman’s, possessing no inherent intimidation.

But some people were simply like that.

Even seated pale-faced in a wheelchair, she inexplicably made the Blood Rain Pavilion members feel a twinge of guilt, even sparking a trace of nervousness.

This, of course, excluded the woman in red and the man holding the folding fan.

It wasn’t until Xiao Jin withdrew her gaze and touched the porcelain cup at hand that the others averted their eyes.

Xiao Jin and Chu Shao were seated on the right side of the upper seats.

The former drank her tea without a word. The latter was even more breezily indifferent, not even bothering to glance at the people at the table.

For a moment, an unusual silence fell over the Sunrise Pavilion.

No one spoke. No one dared to utter a single word first in such a setting.

After a long while, only when the woman in red had finished appraising the two of them did she let out a few somewhat abrupt laughs and gracefully rise to her feet.

Lifting her empty cup, she addressed Xiao Jin. “I have long heard of the great name of Prince Yan of Qi. To finally meet Your Highness in person today is truly an honor.”

Xiao Jin neither raised her cup nor responded. She merely stared blandly at the blood-red mask on the woman’s face.

Her gaze seemed to say:

If you have long admired my name, why not dare to show your true face?

The woman in red’s hand hung in the air.

Xiao Jin showed no intention of acknowledging her toast, and she showed no intention of withdrawing her hand.

Someone at the table couldn’t stand it any longer and couldn’t help but snort coldly. “Prince Yan, since you’ve come to Jade Splendor Tower for this meeting, you are a guest invited by our Deputy Pavilion Master.”

“The host has raised her cup, yet the guest remains unmoved. The airs of the Qi royal family are truly grand!”

Another person, agreeing with this sentiment, slammed the table and boldly chimed in. “This Jade Splendor Tower is our Blood Rain Pavilion’s territory! Whether you’re an emperor, a feudal prince, or a king, once you enter our domain, you obey our rules!”

The words of these two were rather hostile.

The woman in red, her entire face hidden behind the mask, calmly held up her cup, showing no intention of stopping them.

Xiao Jin observed everything but remained silent.

Only when the tea in her cup was finished and her thirst quenched did she set the porcelain cup down and speak lightly. “Actually, you’re all overthinking this.”

Hearing this, Chu Shao had a hunch that Xiao Jin was about to say something unexpectedly startling again, so she simply smiled.

The Blood Rain Pavilion members, unfamiliar with Xiao Jin, just felt utterly baffled.

What did she mean, they were overthinking it?

Soon, Xiao Jin answered their confusion. “When I say you’re overthinking it, there are three main reasons. Although I’m well aware that your time is precious and these words may sound long-winded, I must say them.”

At this point, she added casually, “After all, this is important.”

All eyes in the Blood Rain Pavilion fixed on Xiao Jin.

The expression on her face was clearly very calm, with nothing unusual about it. But for some reason, they all had a feeling they were being… styled on by Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin’s features were naturally cold and aloof, and the robes she usually wore were deep in color. Her entire bearing exuded a certain oppressive air.

Though the corners of her mouth now held a smile, it was worse than no smile at all.

It gave off an impression of a smile that didn’t reach the eyes, a mere surface pleasantry.

If one looked closer, there was even a faint hint of… killing intent hidden within it.

Of course, the reason the Blood Rain Pavilion members were having this strange illusion actually had an explanation.

Before issuing the quest, the System had told Xiao Jin, “Detecting the excessive difficulty of the Host’s current quest, and considering this factor, the System will provide a free layer of ‘Aura Enhancement.'”

In short, Xiao Jin might not be able to defeat them on her own, so an extra buff was needed.

Xiao Jin was speechless.

“What do you mean, ‘Aura Enhancement’?”

The System explained considerately, “It means that during this period, your every action and gesture will appear extremely profound and deeply meaningful.”

Xiao Jin was choked up. “What do you mean, ‘appear deeply meaningful’?”

The System: “This enhancement allows you, no matter what you do, to exude an aura of overwhelming presence from the inside out, thus achieving the effect of shaking your opponent’s very soul.”

…

Using sheer swagger to intimidate the soul. This might be the most useless buff in history.

Xiao Jin experienced the buff firsthand and found its effect quite simple. It meant that while she couldn’t overpower them in terms of actual strength, she could intimidate them through sheer presence.

Very well, very spirited.

Milk-emboldened by her maxed-out aura, Xiao Jin got straight to the point. “First, I need to clarify something. You seem to be misunderstanding. I did not come here as a guest.”

Everyone at the table wore half-masks.

At this moment, Xiao Jin couldn’t see their expressions, nor could they see each other’s.

However, the mask design clearly left room for leeway. Though half the face was covered, holes revealed the lips and eyes.

Thus, the Blood Rain Pavilion members could all notice that their colleagues’ lips held not a trace of a smile.

Xiao Jin didn’t care what the Blood Rain Pavilion members thought. After all, she had accepted this negotiation invitation only to achieve her ultimate goal.

And now, she needed to engage with the person at the table who held the most authority.

With this in mind, Xiao Jin turned her head and looked at the woman in red seated at the head of the table.

She knew this person was the Deputy Pavilion Master the head manager had mentioned.

Facing the highest-ranking person present, Xiao Jin felt no fear. Instead, her words were calm as she laid out a fact.

“Some time ago, members of the Blood Rain Pavilion barged into my temporary residence in the dead of night. I believe this was an intentional act by your esteemed organization, not your people going out for a scenic stroll and accidentally taking a wrong turn.”

Xiao Jin’s words were extremely sharp.

Unless the Blood Rain Pavilion members were fools, they wouldn’t have taken a wrong turn.

The Blood Rain Pavilion members also understood. Since Xiao Jin had said this, if they later tried to make excuses and claim it was all a misunderstanding…

Then they’d be branding themselves as those fools.

Sitting on Blood Rain Pavilion territory, not a single soldier by her side, and yet daring to be so arrogant. What an insolent, reckless fool.

After hearing Xiao Jin’s words, some at the table were already finding it hard to sit still.

Yet the woman in red remained very composed.

She even set down her empty cup, poured herself some tea, and said with a soft smile, “Prince Yan, I’m ashamed to say, those useless wastes who took a wrong turn and trespassed into your residence were indeed our Blood Rain Pavilion’s people.”

The Blood Rain Pavilion members, now branded as useless wastes, exchanged glances.

The woman in red sighed slightly. “It’s just that, in our line of work, nothing is truly done intentionally. It’s simply a matter of taking someone’s money to avert disaster for them.”

“The Blood Rain Pavilion has no intention of making an enemy of you, so one thing must be made clear. For minor matters like accepting bounty orders, the Pavilion Master and I typically don’t intervene. They are entirely handled by the Third Yard.”

Xiao Jin raised her eyes to look at her. “Then who among those seated here is the Master of the Third Yard?”

The woman in red only smiled, not answering.

A moment later, she pointed a finger at the floor and said softly, “He is already dead.”

Xiao Jin frowned slightly, clearly not believing her words.

The woman in red looked at Xiao Jin and continued, “The Pavilion Master discovered that the Third Yard Master’s background wasn’t clean. He suspected the man was a spy planted in the Blood Rain Pavilion by another power. So, he was executed on the spot.”

Xiao Jin keenly noticed that every time the Blood Rain Pavilion’s Pavilion Master was mentioned, the demeanor of the Pavilion members became somewhat unnatural.

It seemed they deeply feared that unseen figure.

Although the Blood Rain Pavilion’s Pavilion Master had never revealed himself, ever since she had transmigrated into this book, that person’s shadow had always lurked behind events.

Xiao Jin frowned. “So, Deputy Pavilion Master, what you mean is… the one who wanted to harm me wasn’t the Blood Rain Pavilion itself.”

“You just chose the wrong Yard Master, accepted the wrong bounty order, trusted incorrect intelligence, and then casually took someone’s money to avert disaster for them?”

This string of words perfectly dissected the Deputy Pavilion Master’s implied meaning.

The reason she had told Xiao Jin this was to make her let the matter rest. To not make an enemy of the Blood Rain Pavilion over an insignificant little girl.

The woman in red was somewhat surprised.

She had merely mentioned that the Blood Rain Pavilion had been infiltrated by other powers, without revealing too much information.

But Xiao Jin had guessed correctly. The Blood Rain Pavilion had indeed, by a series of coincidences, received erroneous intelligence.

And it was precisely because of this error that they had accepted that bounty order.

The intelligence indicated that Prince Yan and Princess Consort Yan would not be in the residence that night. The two would be accompanying the Crown Prince to Commandery Governor Xu’s mansion in Qingzhou to discuss disaster relief.

Given that premise, the two Shen Yard Masters had accepted the bounty order and led assassins to eliminate the three targets.

When they saw the Crown Prince and Prince Yan in the courtyard, they had already realized something was wrong.

But the Blood Rain Pavilion always kept its word. Once a bounty order was accepted, there was no turning back.

Cornered, the two Shen Yard Masters had decided to split up, creating a diversion.

This impromptu plan could have succeeded. They just hadn’t expected a peerless expert to intervene and obstruct them.

Recalling these events, the woman in red contemplated Xiao Jin’s earlier words.

Chose the wrong Yard Master, accepted the wrong bounty order.

Trusted incorrect intelligence, and casually took someone’s money to avert disaster for them.

The first three things, though sounding like shifting blame, were indeed facts. The fourth was simply the Blood Rain Pavilion’s modus operandi.

The woman in red nodded, acknowledging the reality that the Blood Rain Pavilion members were all desperadoes. “Indeed so.”