Chapter 9: Ye Yu’s Secret
Mu Residence.
In a rather spacious study, Mu Zhi’an leaned back in his chair, holding a thin booklet and reading.
In this day and age, cultivating immortality not only required practice, but also the support of theoretical knowledge.
The Mu family had abundant resources, with very detailed records on Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, and even Spirit Refinement and Reversion. Mu Zhi’an was currently at the third level of Foundation Establishment, still quite a distance away from Spirit Refinement. However, reading the insights left behind by his predecessors in advance would also be helpful for his future cultivation.
After roughly flipping through the booklet in his hand, Mu Zhi’an sighed as if in lament, “My brain wasn’t very smart before, but fortunately I wasn’t too stupid either. I knew to first advance to the Foundation Establishment stage before messing around.”
Formally entering the path of immortal cultivation began from the Qi Refinement stage.
And the Qi Refinement stage was generally best done between the ages of ten to fifteen, because during this time, children’s fantasies about the opposite sex were not yet too exaggerated. They wouldn’t be thinking about breasts all day, so it was the most suitable age for cultivation.
Because the most important requirement during the Qi Refinement period was to remain chaste, this was the same for both men and women.
Even though Mu Zhi’an indulged in pleasure in the past, that was only after he advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage.
After all, once one lost their virginity, the essence would be unable to condense into a furnace within the body, making it harder than ascending to the heavens to step into the Foundation Establishment stage.
Just as he was flipping through the booklet in his hand, at this moment, Mu Zhi’an suddenly vaguely saw a seven-colored flowing light flash past his eyes by the window.
Mu Zhi’an’s gaze focused slightly as he muttered to himself, “Another paper crane…?”
He stretched out his fingertip, and that paper crane wrapped in seven-colored flowing light flew into the window and landed on Mu Zhi’an’s fingertip.
“The immortal energy on this paper crane… is the same as yesterday’s.” Mu Zhi’an’s eyes moved, somewhat surprised as he muttered to himself, “This transmission speed… Could it be that the person writing the letter is also in Tianxuan City?”
Transmitting messages with paper cranes was usually something done between cultivators. It could have a fixed recipient, or it could let the paper crane fly around aimlessly, like a message in a bottle.
And the transmission speed of the paper crane was naturally determined by distance.
The other party replied so quickly, there was a high possibility that it was someone within Tianxuan City… Otherwise, it would be one of those great immortal cultivation experts.
However, the latter possibility was not high.
After all, how could such a powerful expert have such worries like a lovesick young lady?
While thinking this, Mu Zhi’an unfolded the paper crane, and the contents of the letter appeared before his eyes.
“This handwriting… is indeed the same person as yesterday.” Mu Zhi’an muttered inwardly.
He swept a glance over the contents of the letter, which were roughly about some emotional counseling.
For example, what to prepare for leaving the family for the first time, whether to leave a letter, or whether to inform the elders of the clan in advance.
With the idea of helping others in mind, Mu Zhi’an thought for a bit, picked up a brush, dipped it in some ink, and wrote his suggestions in the letter in great detail.
After doing all this, Mu Zhi’an refolded the letter into a paper crane and threw it out from the window.
That paper crane flapped its paper wings and gradually flew towards the horizon.
“I hope it can be of some help to that ‘caged bird’ young miss.” Mu Zhi’an raised his head to look at the paper crane gradually disappearing from sight outside the window, muttering inwardly.
After reading in the study for a while longer, Mu Zhi’an left the study and found a servant in the main hall, saying, “Send a secret agent to secretly monitor Ye Yu of the Ye family. If there’s any news in the next few days, come report to me at the first opportunity.”
From Ye Yu’s performance yesterday, he clearly didn’t seem like that waste who was dispirited due to losing his talent in his impression.
It was necessary to pay a bit of attention.
Ye Yu…?
The servant was obviously stunned for a moment, thinking in his heart why the young master would have a secret agent monitor a waste for no reason.
But he didn’t ask further. After answering with a “yes”, he left the study.
Knowing too much was not a good thing. For these servants, this sentence had to be kept in mind.
Next… let’s just wait for news for now.
Mu Zhi’an sat in the main hall and leisurely poured himself a cup of tea. After resting for a while, he got up and headed to the training ground to receive training from the maidservant.
Wei Mengrou was already waiting at the training ground.
She stood with a sword, wearing a deep blue top and a patterned silk skirt. Her proud bosom propped up the fabric, giving off a sense of stern beauty.
Perky breasts, slender waist, and long legs too. No wonder I wanted to get handsy with Sister Mengrou before… Mu Zhi’an’s gaze couldn’t help but glance a few more times, sighing inwardly.
It’s just a pity that the other party was a Spirit Refinement realm cultivator. If it wasn’t voluntary, no one could force her.
Wei Mengrou raised her eyes to look at the young man in front of her, somewhat surprised, “I didn’t expect you to actually persist for two days.”
If it was the Mu Zhi’an of the past, he probably would have started crying for his parents after a day, not wanting to train. Then he would have snuck out early in the morning to go to the brothel to appreciate the dancing of the top courtesans and order two or three of them to feed him some wine.
However, now, not only did this fellow not sleep in or go to the brothel, he actually ran to the training ground early in the morning…
The sun really rose from the west.
Hearing this, Mu Zhi’an only smiled and said, “I will persist all the way.”
Wei Mengrou raised her brows slightly and said indifferently, “Hopefully.”
She paused and continued to ask, “You sent someone to investigate Ye Yu?”
Mu Zhi’an lightly nodded, “That person is a bit strange. I’m somewhat concerned.”
How did Ye Yu know last night that Bai Ruoxi was at the Mu residence?
Very clearly, someone had secretly leaked the news to Ye Yu… and the purpose went without saying. On one hand, it was to provoke Ye Yu’s hatred towards the Mu family. On the other hand, it was probably to prevent the Mu family from getting involved in the Bai family’s matters midway.
The other party was worried that Bai Ruoxi’s dedication would make the Mu family take action to protect the Bai family, so they used Ye Yu.
Then the answer was very obvious. The one who leaked the news was naturally the Gongsun family and Morning Glory Chamber of Commerce who were suppressing the Bai family, or one of them was secretly scheming.
“The spiritual energy Ye Yu exuded last night was at least at the seventh level of Qi Refinement.” Wei Mengrou said.
Mu Zhi’an slightly raised his eyes, a bit surprised, and said, “I remember Ye Yu had a period of time in the past when no matter how he cultivated, the spiritual energy couldn’t be absorbed into his furnace. Even the spiritual energy in his furnace was slowly dissipating. Later, he became a waste… From the looks of it, he should have solved this problem?”
Wei Mengrou lightly nodded.
“I saw him on the street two months ago. At that time, he wasn’t even at the Qi Refinement stage.” Wei Mengrou paused and continued, “In just less than two months, advancing from a waste who wasn’t even at the Qi Refinement stage to the seventh level of Qi Refinement, that eldest young master of the Ye family is indeed a genius.”
Mu Zhi’an nodded slightly.
Not just a genius, this was simply monstrous.
Under normal circumstances, the biggest requirement of the Qi Refinement stage was to condense a furnace within the body, and this often took two to three years to achieve.
Ye Yu only used two months to return to the Qi Refinement stage and even stepped into the seventh level of Qi Refinement. Such cultivation talent was simply terrifying to the extreme.
However, this probably wasn’t Ye Yu’s own talent…
There must be some unspeakable secret on Ye Yu’s body, so that mysterious black-robed man was so concerned about Ye Yu, even saying before that he only wanted Ye Yu to be handed over to him once the matter was done.
Mu Zhi’an didn’t believe that a mysterious expert at the Spirit Refinement realm would specially come to Tianxuan City without any purpose.
…It couldn’t be that the black-robed man was into men and had taken a fancy to Ye Yu, right?
Mu Zhi’an lightly shook his head, not thinking further. He raised his sword and pointed it at the gracefully standing Wei Mengrou, saying, “Come, Sister Mengrou, please guide me!”
Wei Mengrou lightly “mm”ed, her attitude still seeming cold.
However, when she raised her sword towards Mu Zhi’an, the look in her eyes when looking at the youth seemed to have softened a few degrees.
…
In the next two days, Mu Zhi’an received the same paper crane reply every day.
The “caged bird” young lady in the letters went from hesitating at the beginning to being encouraged by Mu Zhi’an and feeling a bit moved, until today’s reply letter expressed that she had decided to set out and leave her clan to pursue her freedom.
Regarding this, Mu Zhi’an felt very gratified. He once again gave her some encouraging words and reminded her to remember to bring money when going out.
Yes… According to Mu Zhi’an’s impression, that young lady was likely someone inexperienced in the ways of the world. She probably had servants accompanying her when going out usually, so she likely wouldn’t know to bring some money or dry rations.
After writing the letter, Mu Zhi’an folded the letter into a paper crane and threw it out the window as he had done before.
That afternoon, Mu Zhi’an was sitting in the study reading when a faint knocking sound came from the door.
“Young Master Mu, I’m back.”
It was the secret agent Mu Zhi’an had ordered to monitor Ye Yu two days ago.
Returning in just two days, was there some news…? Mu Zhi’an said in a deep voice, “Come in.”
The man wearing a black veil quietly walked into the study and respectfully said, “Young Master is indeed divine in foreseeing matters. That Ye Yu is indeed strange.”
Glancing at Mu Zhi’an who had a calm expression, the secret agent continued, “This morning, the Ye family held a clan competition. Ye Yu defeated several geniuses in the clan… I observed his level at that time to be at least at the seventh level of Qi Refinement.”
Sister Mengrou is indeed very accurate in judging people, befitting of a Spirit Refinement realm expert… Mu Zhi’an inwardly understood and said, “Any other intelligence?”
“Ye Yu seems to have gotten close to the third young master of the Gongsun family these past two days.” The secret agent said.
“How did Ye Yu hook up with Gongsun Zan?”
Mu Zhi’an secretly frowned, feeling a bit surprised in his heart.
The patriarch of the Gongsun family had six children. The third young master was named Gongsun Zan, and like Mu Zhi’an, he had an extremely poor reputation in Tianxuan City.
However, if comparing who was worse, Mu Zhi’an was still much better than Gongsun Zan.
Gongsun Zan would make a move on any woman he liked, regardless of whether they were married or not. Mu Zhi’an at least wouldn’t flirt with married women.
He generally only sought out top courtesans. Occasionally, he would also take a fancy to some beautiful girls, but he usually obtained their affection through pursuit.
No matter what era, as long as one had money, pursuing girls would be a bit simpler. Moreover, Mu Zhi’an had a good foundation. This gentle and handsome face could easily capture the hearts of young ladies.
In short, when the people of Tianxuan City saw Gongsun Zan, they would generally try to avoid having any interaction with him as much as possible.
Theoretically, Ye Yu should also know about Gongsun Zan’s reputation and should avoid suspicion. But why did the other party not only not avoid suspicion, but even have dealings with Gongsun Zan…?
Mu Zhi’an pondered for a moment. After dismissing the secret agent, he got up and left the study, walking along the corridor towards the courtyard gate.
“Young Master, are you going out?”
The old master happened to be watering flowers in the courtyard. Seeing Mu Zhi’an, he couldn’t help but ask.
“Mm… I’m preparing to go to the brothel.” Mu Zhi’an nodded.
Old Master: “?”
Usually when Mu Zhi’an went to the brothel, he would sneak over. If he ran into him, he would joke around and try to gloss over it. But today, he was actually so direct…?
Finally not pretending anymore?
Mu Zhi’an continued to explain, “I’m going to find someone.”
Gongsun Zan was also a frequent customer of the brothel. He wanted to probe a bit and see if he could get some words out of his mouth.
The old master lightly “mm”ed and said, “Just pay attention to restraint yourself.”
Very clearly, he didn’t believe Mu Zhi’an’s words.
Going to the brothel to find someone? Who could he find?
A top courtesan?
Regarding this, Mu Zhi’an didn’t explain. He only smiled and was about to walk out of the courtyard.
At this moment, a servant walked over hurriedly and said softly,
“Young Master, Miss Bai seeks an audience in the side hall.”
As he spoke, his eyes were filled with strangeness and envy as he looked at Mu Zhi’an.
The strangeness was because he was puzzled as to why this beauty of Tianxuan City was running to the Mu residence every few days recently. The envy was because this young master Mu could have contact with a beauty every day… Perhaps they had already done some intimate things.
If the people of Tianxuan City knew that in the end, it was Mu Zhi’an who got this beauty, they would probably have a hard time sleeping at night, right?
“Bai Ruoxi is here?”
Mu Zhi’an repeated, then pondered for a moment and said, “Have her wait for me at the teahouse opposite the brothel.”
The servant was stunned for a moment and couldn’t help but glance at Mu Zhi’an. He tentatively said, “Young Master… If Miss Bai asks where you went, what should I say?”
“Say what should be said, tell the truth.” Mu Zhi’an smiled.
“Or you can directly tell her that I went to the brothel.”
