Bai Xiaoxiao looked up at the massive complex of buildings bearing the name “Hongxing Auction House.”
They were currently in Fengdu City of the Central Continent. They’d come for two purposes: first, to rest, and second, the monthly auction that was about to begin.
When Jing Ying learned about the spirit plant Ming Jingqiu needed, she remembered they might try their luck at the auction house. Since they were already here and Fengdu City wasn’t far, the group decided on the spot to check out the auction house.
But the auction wouldn’t start until the next day, so they’d have to spend a night in the city.
Jing Ying was very familiar with the auction process. She smoothly led the group through the formalities.
Bai Xiaoxiao was there to sell demonic beast corpses—but this time, she wasn’t so careless. She went to conduct the transaction alone and didn’t tell the others what she was selling either.
Mostly because she had no idea how to explain the origin of a horde of demonic beast corpses.
Fortunately, the auction house did accept demonic beast corpses and offered a pretty good price. The deal was settled on the spot.
Then came the spirit plant Ming Jingqiu needed. After checking, the auction house’s Steward found that the spirit plant they needed was indeed available—and it was in the very next day’s auction.
So the group had no choice but to stay in the city for a night.
After deciding to attend the auction tomorrow, Ye Xingtong and Jing Ying, with their deep pockets, directly secured a private room, then were sent off with smiles by the Steward.
With one worry resolved, everyone relaxed a bit and strolled along the street.
Bai Xiaoxiao was especially curious—this was her first time in a human city since transmigrating. She couldn’t hide her curiosity in the least, finding everything fascinating.
It was almost nightfall now, and the city was even livelier. Both sides of the street were lined with stalls selling all sorts of trinkets.
Bai Xiaoxiao’s eyes could barely keep up, feeling that it was quite different from what she’d seen on TV.
Her appearance was clearly noticed by the others, and Ye Xingtong couldn’t help laughing. “Xiaoxiao, it feels like you’ve never been to a city before?”
Bai Xiaoxiao snapped back to the present and shook her head sheepishly, speaking softly. “I really haven’t been… well, mostly because I’ve only been human for a short time.”
Ye Xingtong’s eyes widened as she finally remembered that Bai Xiaoxiao wasn’t human.
She was a spirit beast.
“Ah, right! No wonder you seemed so…”
Ye Xingtong had always been outspoken, never caring about others’ feelings, doing whatever she pleased.
Jing Ying, who had grown up with her, knew her personality inside out. The moment she heard where that sentence was heading, her brows jumped, and she chose the perfect moment to reach out and manually shut her up.
“Sorry, she’s a bit slow in the head.”
Jing Ying smiled lightly at Bai Xiaoxiao.
Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t help laughing. She waved her hand. “It’s fine. Xingtong’s right. I really haven’t seen much of the world, which is why I’m so curious.”
It seemed her reaction really was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
Bai Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly at the thought.
Ye Xingtong disdainfully pushed Jing Ying’s hand away and said proudly, “What’s there to see? Follow me—my treat tonight. I’ll show you the world!”
Bai Xiaoxiao’s eyes curved. “Then I won’t stand on ceremony. Thank you, Eldest Miss Xingtong, for treating us.”
Ye Xingtong waved her hand generously. “No problem at all. Let’s go—to the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion!”
Ming Jingqiu paused.
Jing Ying gave a mysterious smile.
Only Bai Xiaoxiao and Rong Yuzhuo were completely confused.
Seeing their expressions, Bai Xiaoxiao instinctively felt something was up. She asked hesitantly, “What’s the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion?”
Judging by their expressions, it didn’t seem like a good place?
Was it a brothel or something?
Jing Ying laughed. “Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist Bai. The Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion is just a place to eat.”
Bai Xiaoxiao’s expression was doubtful. “Really?”
Jing Ying nodded with an innocent face, casually pressing down Ye Xingtong, who seemed about to speak.
Ming Jingqiu’s expression flickered, but seeing Bai Xiaoxiao’s cautious yet eager, expectant look, she ultimately curved her lips slightly and swallowed her words.
So when the group stepped into the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and were led by a maid reeking of perfume to their seats, Bai Xiaoxiao vaguely felt that something was off.
Her gaze swept the surroundings—women in scant clothing, ears full of their tinkling laughter.
Bai Xiaoxiao’s expression slowly stiffened. Her eyes darted away, but no matter which direction she looked, she couldn’t escape. In the end, she could only stare at the table in front of her as if there were flowers painted on it.
“…Didn’t you say this was a place to eat?”
Bai Xiaoxiao finally managed to mumble out.
Jing Ying blinked. “It is. It’s truly a place to eat—just with a bit of entertainment to liven the mood.”
Bai Xiaoxiao: “…”
She glanced, then looked away as if burned.
Ye Xingtong found her expression amusing. “Don’t be so stiff. You have to experience more things. Not to the point of indulgence, but it’s also a kind of cultivation.”
Cultivation… What kind of cultivation was this? Cultivating how to visit pleasure houses?
Bai Xiaoxiao was completely numb, beyond uncomfortable.
At this moment, she only prayed that Shen Zhiyue’s divine sense wasn’t on her Soul Fragment. Otherwise…
Why did she feel so guilty?
Bai Xiaoxiao forcibly suppressed her racing heart and reassured herself that Shen Zhiyue probably hadn’t seen anything.
But the inner architecture of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion must have been designed by some master—every private room could clearly see the performance stage.
Bai Xiaoxiao discovered that both the stage and the private rooms were actually moving, all to give guests the best experience.
Such extravagance… Bai Xiaoxiao didn’t feel much else, but she had a real taste of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s absurd wealth.
Bai Xiaoxiao retreated into her shell, not daring to look anywhere. It wasn’t until the ordered dishes arrived, fragrant aromas wafting over, that she finally snapped out of it, eyes lighting up.
“So fragrant!”
Ye Xingtong laughed heartily. “Right? Didn’t I tell you? The Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion really is a place to eat. Their cooking is out of this world. Isn’t it worth it?”
Bai Xiaoxiao looked at the table full of dishes, beautiful in color and fragrant in smell, and nodded in agreement.
Setting aside the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s actual nature, purely as a place to eat, it was indeed worth it.
Bai Xiaoxiao couldn’t wait to pick up her chopsticks. She narrowed her eyes in bliss at the delicious food, completely conquered by the flavors.
These ingredients all contained spiritual qi. Eating them wouldn’t burden the body—on the contrary, they were beneficial.
So Bai Xiaoxiao quickly became absorbed in the food before her, completely forgetting where she was.
That was why, when the surroundings suddenly fell quiet in the middle of her meal, she didn’t react at first. She looked up in a daze—and found a beautiful woman pressing close to her, reaching out toward her. The fragrance that rushed at her face made Bai Xiaoxiao jolt all over.
It turned out their private room had, at some point, rotated to the side of one of the stages, right in time for the dancers’ interaction segment with the guests.
And she, apparently, was the selected guest.
Bai Xiaoxiao was dumbfounded. Before she could react, she felt her cheek lightly touched, and then the woman smiled sweetly and flitted away.
“Oh my, Xiaoxiao, you’re so lucky! That was Moyen, the Top Courtesan of the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion. I heard someone once spent tens of thousands of High-grade Spirit Stones just to meet her!”
Bai Xiaoxiao tossed aside the flirtation and stared with wide, horrified eyes.
“What did you say her name was?”
Ye Xingtong didn’t understand her shock and thought she was just amazed. “Moyen! Isn’t she gorgeous? I used to think her fame was exaggerated, but seeing her today, she truly outshines the flowers. Come to think of it, you two are actually the same type.”
Bai Xiaoxiao drew in a sharp breath. The instant she heard that name, cold sweat nearly poured down.
“System, isn’t this Moyen a Devil Cultivator?!”
“In the original novel, Moyen is a Fox Demon lurking in the Cultivation World.”
Bai Xiaoxiao fully remembered now. Moyen really wasn’t a Devil Cultivator—she was a Demonic Cultivator!!
Watching Moyen dance gracefully, Bai Xiaoxiao’s pupils quaked.
Was the Cultivation World even salvageable? A demon had slipped right under their noses, even become a Top Courtesan, and no one had noticed a thing.
Bai Xiaoxiao stared at the woman, blankly, for a long while—until Ming Jingqiu patted her and she suddenly snapped back.
“You… you don’t actually like…”
Ming Jingqiu’s expression was hesitant.
She’d initially found Bai Xiaoxiao’s stunned expression a bit amusing, but then realized that after being teased, the child seemed to have flown away with the woman, soul and all. Ming Jingqiu’s expression immediately changed.
After all, she was Shizun’s spirit pet. She couldn’t just let someone flirt her away! If she brought her out safe and sound but didn’t bring her back…
Ming Jingqiu had never seen Shizun angry, and she didn’t want to be the first.
She immediately pulled Bai Xiaoxiao back to her senses with a serious expression, already drafting a speech in her mind—if Bai Xiaoxiao really did like that woman, how could she tactfully dissuade her from this terrible notion?
Bai Xiaoxiao was still immersed in the shock of discovering a huge secret when Ming Jingqiu’s question hit her out of nowhere, short-circuiting her brain.
“What?”
Her expression dazed as she asked again.
Ming Jingqiu studied her expression carefully and found she didn’t look bewitched. Her doubt grew.
“You really don’t like her? That woman is indeed very beautiful, but she…”
Birth wasn’t something one chose, and Ming Jingqiu didn’t want to say it casually, so she stopped short.
Bai Xiaoxiao finally reacted. She looked around and found everyone wearing curious, gossip-hungry expressions on their faces, completely indifferent to her plight.
She waved her hands in shock. “No, no, I really don’t have any feelings for her. It’s just…”
Just how was she supposed to say that the woman was actually a Demonic Cultivator?
Bai Xiaoxiao’s face fell. The words circled on her tongue before she swallowed them back.
For one thing, since this Demonic Cultivator had made a name for herself at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion and had been in daily contact with cultivators without being discovered, she clearly had skills.
And a nobody little cultivator like her, saying someone was a demon at the drop of a hat—her credibility was literally zero.
After turning it over in her mind, Bai Xiaoxiao could only say, “I was just startled by the sudden movement. I didn’t develop any feelings for her. Senior Sister, you can rest easy!”
She said it with righteous conviction, and there was indeed not a trace of affection in her eyes. For some reason, the others inexplicably felt purified by the sight.
Hearing this, Ye Xingtong immediately lost interest. “And here I thought you’d fallen for Moyen. But she really is beautiful.”
Jing Ying glanced at her. “Ye Xingtong, you superficial face-lover.”
Ye Xingtong said matter-of-factly, “So what? Who doesn’t like beautiful people? Are you saying you don’t?”
Jing Ying paused, looking away. “No matter how beautiful, in the end it’s just bones beneath rouge. There’s no need to care.”
Ye Xingtong rolled her eyes at her. “There you go again, pretending to be deep, Young Pavilion Master.”
Jing Ying pressed her lips together and said nothing. After a moment, she spoke. “Don’t you hate Rong Qingqing? She’s not bad-looking either. Why don’t you like her?”
Ye Xingtong looked disgusted, picking at her food with her chopsticks. “I did have some goodwill toward her at first. Like you said, she’s decent-looking and her smile is warm. Unfortunately, it was all an act.”
She clicked her tongue. “That woman really is a bit weird. Even the way she talks is like something out of my storybooks—all passive-aggressive and strange. What use is a pretty face with a personality like that?”
Jing Ying looked surprised. “I thought it was just your Eldest Miss temperament acting up?”
Ye Xingtong shook her fist, threatening her to watch her words.
Jing Ying laughed again.
Bai Xiaoxiao looked between the two, feeling there was something going on, but Ye Xingtong seemed completely oblivious.
Still, hearing Ye Xingtong talk about Rong Qingqing, she was a little surprised.
In the original novel, Rong Qingqing did indeed have a way of deliberately drawing people’s attention, but it wasn’t strong. Perhaps the author wrote it well enough that she wasn’t hateful.
But only after experiencing it firsthand did Bai Xiaoxiao clearly feel the malice radiating from Rong Qingqing.
It wasn’t like a mischievous child who didn’t know any better—it was pure malice.
As Bai Xiaoxiao thought this, she looked at Rong Yuzhuo, who had been silent all along.
Originally, after leaving the secret realm, Rong Yuzhuo was going to leave. But Bai Xiaoxiao had a hunch that she was important, so she invited her to travel with them for a while.
It happened that Bai Xiaoxiao had a pile of demonic beast corpses to deal with, and Ming Jingqiu needed a spirit plant. So at Jing Ying’s suggestion, the group decided to look around the city before returning to the sect.
Rong Yuzhuo only hesitated briefly before agreeing.
However, because of her appearance, she could still feel the subtle attitude the others had toward her.
Rong Yuzhuo felt quite helpless. She was already thinking about going home and asking her mother if she had a twin sister.
Receiving Bai Xiaoxiao’s gaze now, Rong Yuzhuo was startled and quickly said, “I don’t know anything about this. If I hadn’t met you all, I wouldn’t have known there was someone who looked so much like me.”
Bai Xiaoxiao smiled. “Fellow Daoist Rong, don’t misunderstand. Meeting is fate. We can keep in touch in the future.”
Rong Yuzhuo breathed a sigh of relief. Although she felt Bai Xiaoxiao’s look at her was a bit strange, she agreed.
In truth, Bai Xiaoxiao just wanted to build a good relationship with her, so that if she ever found out something later, she’d have someone to ask.
As she was thinking, her Sea of Consciousness suddenly stirred.
Bai Xiaoxiao realized what time it was and immediately understood. But before she could say anything, Shen Zhiyue’s voice rang out coldly.
“You’ve grown quite capable, Bai Xiaoxiao.”
Bai Xiaoxiao closed her eyes in utter despair.
