Chapter 112: Radiant Seton (Part 4): Erotic Paintings! Part 2

They could not stay silent forever. Mu Qian Tan stood up. “Tianyu Sect, Yao’e.”

“Yao’e Immortal?” Fu Yuzhu’s eyes darkened slightly. “Quite renowned.”

Most people would say this to her face only to humiliate her, as Yao’e Immortal’s fame was overwhelmingly negative. But she did not seem to mean it that way and spoke with apparent appreciation. “You’ve just returned from Pot City, haven’t you?”

Mu Qian Tan had changed to a false identity upon entering the city, not to fully conceal her tracks but simply to fool the Pot City locals.

After all, as a town that strictly banned Yao’e Immortal from entry, waltzing in openly without disguise would immediately make her the Pot God’s target—no way to progress normally. Now that the task was done, she no longer cared if others knew who she was.

It was not surprising if outsiders guessed her true identity; she had not acted very convincingly anyway. Anyone with a bit of insight could figure it out.

The words “Pot City” struck Qin He’s sensitive nerves. As the site of one of the three great demon atrocities, it instantly linked to the third rumor about her sister. The relaxation she had felt over the past two days tensed up again, plunging from spring into winter.

“No matter how I racked my brain, I never imagined there was an Immortal Wang Lan in the Immortal Realm. I originally thought she was a loose cultivator, but later I learned there was a little girl wearing a Five-Colored Cloud Robe by that immortal’s side, named Shang Shan. I heard my daughter say she has a friend by that name in Tianyu Sect too. It’s so unique—probably no one else shares it—so I couldn’t help but think of you.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Rumor has it the Fu Clan stays secluded from the world year-round, yet your information network is impressively sharp.”

Fu Yuzhu replied, “People enter society for nothing more than to rise above the masses and make their names known across the seas. The Fu Clan is fortunate enough to enjoy such privileges from birth, so why bother venturing out? And as for seclusion? That’s all in the past. No family business, however grand, runs itself. These days we need manpower, and the good-for-nothings at home aren’t cutting it. As family head, I have to hustle around, scout some malleable talents to prop things up.”

“Moreover,” her pale golden eyelashes seemed to ignite her jade-green eyes, burning with a dark, cold flame, “many rumors can’t be trusted. You should know that better than most.”

Malleable talents—right, she meant recruiting accomplices for shady dealings. Mu Qian Tan had no interest in playing along. “The Narrow Sea is vast. Rumors don’t make it through. I haven’t heard a thing.”

Fu Yuzhu said, “Yao’e Immortal, you’re so refreshingly carefree. I like you. Once you leave here, perhaps we’ll cross paths again someday.”

That was unlikely. Mu Qian Tan inclined her head. “Looking forward to it.”

Fu Yuzhu placed her right hand horizontally before her and gave a light curtsey. The polite gesture carried an undercurrent of aggression in her execution—especially with her height advantage of over half a head—which made it distinctly uncomfortable. Mu Qian Tan knew all about her little quirks. She left her hanging without returning the courtesy, turned away, sat back down on the soft chair, and sipped her wine.

Yao’e Immortal already had a rotten reputation; tacking on “poor etiquette” wouldn’t change much. Anyway, this major villain wouldn’t dare blow her cover right now, no matter how annoyed she got.

Fu Yuzhu watched her with keen interest. After a moment, she turned sideways toward Jiang Zhouyao and asked, “This must be Feng Ling Immortal? You look awfully familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”

Mu Qian Tan thought: The old “pretend to be a friend from way back” routine is so clichéd even I find it eye-roll worthy. You and Fu Li really are mother and daughter—same playbook for cozying up.

Jiang Zhouyao clenched her fingers back into her palm, pressing down on the wound. “Probably not.”

“Your hand is injured,” Fu Yuzhu said, lowering her gaze. “This is my daughter’s failing in her duties. As her mother, I apologize to you—to Yao’e Immortal and these two young female cultivators as well. I rushed back tonight and couldn’t arrange proper hospitality. Please don’t take it to heart. Once I wrap up family matters in a few days, I’ll host a proper banquet. I won’t let you leave feeling this trip was a waste.”

Her subtext: Tonight’s half-baked roast meat feast was over. She’d make it up to them another day. Two banquets in a row ruined midway—Fu Li’s face alternated between red and pale, but she didn’t dare utter a word. She kept her head down.

Fu Yuzhu glanced back. “Li? Don’t just stand there. Take Feng Ling Immortal to get her hand bandaged.”

Fu Li’s throat bobbed. She replied, “Okay.” She walked to Jiang Zhouyao’s side. “Immortal, come with me.”

Mu Qian Tan rose too. She flicked her sleeves without a word, stepped over the mess on the floor, and departed.

Qin He clenched her fists, then released them. She gave Fu Yuzhu a salute and followed behind Jiang Zhouyao. Shang Shan was still clutching her face. After a moment’s hesitation, she grabbed her bundle and chose to trail after Mu Qian Tan back to their room.

Fu Yuzhu stared at their backs as they vanished into the darkness, lost in thought.

Moments later, outdoors where fine snow drifted about.

Xi Chen presented the black right-hand glove with both hands. Fu Yuzhu took it and peered through the iron gate’s bars into the room. A medical cultivator was bandaging Jiang Zhouyao’s wound; the woman kept her head bowed, her features refined and elegant. “Tianyu Sect’s two hall masters—you invite them, and they actually show up. Not bad.”

Fu Li stood before her, head initially lowered. Hearing this, she assumed it was praise and looked up—only to get smacked on the head with the glove.

Fu Yuzhu slipped the glove on, her fingers methodically pushing apart the dented sections. “Bringing such capable people into the house without knowing their stance or loyalties? I wasn’t home. What if something went wrong?”

Fu Li rubbed her forehead. “This is my home. We’ve got plenty of experts here. What could go wrong?”

“It’s our home,” Fu Yuzhu corrected. “That doesn’t mean you get to lay all our weaknesses bare for outsiders.”

Fu Li sounded aggrieved. “I didn’t. Besides, you promised before—said I could invite friends to my birthday banquet this year.”

Fu Yuzhu said, “I did promise, but you took full advantage, inviting four of them outright. And who told you to let that woman out again?”

A thick layer of fine snow had accumulated on Fu Li’s head and shoulders. She dropped her hand and fell silent.

The area was dimly lit, illuminated only by a few beams leaking from the room. Fu Yuzhu’s face was half-shadowed. “All these years, I told you to kill her. You insisted on keeping her alive. I thought it was mercy at first, but then you keep dragging her out to torment her now and then. What’s the point?”

Fu Li clenched her jaw and took several deep breaths before shaking her head. “I just didn’t want her to die that easily.”

“Save the excuses. Keeping her breathing is nothing but trouble. Clean it up—that’s the right move.” Fu Yuzhu tugged the glove fully into place and fixed her with a piercing stare. “Do you know why I hit you?”

“Because I let that woman out?”

Fu Yuzhu said coldly, “I told you not to act so extravagantly, and what did you do? Hired dancers for performances, threw a golden pill feast, cleared out Seton City’s main street of citizens, paraded that golden carriage around for show, even let outsiders roam the palace freely. Don’t you know every word and action of yours gets dissected under a microscope? Everything I taught you went straight to the dog’s belly.”

“How did you kn—” Fu Li cut herself off midway. Her mother always had ways of knowing everything she did. She was used to it by now.

Fu Yuzhu continued, “I didn’t strike you in front of the servants, but I did it in front of guests. That face you bought with heaps of gold squandered on extravagance—one slap enough to wipe it all away?”

The swollen spot on her face throbbed faintly. Fu Li fell completely silent.

Indeed, the vanity and fleeting satisfaction she’d chased with the golden carriage, white bears, golden pills, and more—all evaporated under that sharp slap.

After a long pause, she said, “I’m sorry, Mother. It won’t happen again.”

“One more thing.” Fu Yuzhu’s eyes held a scrutinizing glint. “I told you not to indulge in lust, not to toy with men. You’ve listened all these years. But now you’re fawning over that one in the room. You’re not thinking of playing with women, are you?”

Fu Li jolted in shock. Her cheeks burned even redder as she waved her hands frantically. “No! What are you talking about, Mother? How could I even think that? I just… I just think she’s a good person. Very kind. Why would you even go there?”

Her panicked flailing was straight out of her childhood. Fu Yuzhu said, “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt—no guts for that anyway.”

The weight of those words sobered Fu Li up a bit. She patted her chest.

Fu Yuzhu glanced toward the room again. “You’ve invited them, so host them properly. Act mature. Once the immortal’s hand is bandaged, go get that face of yours looked at.”

“Okay, Mother.”

On the other side, Shang Shan sat on the edge of the bed, sewing her clothes. She’d torn off a strip earlier to bandage the woman’s wound, and needed to mend it. She’d asked a servant for fabric. Hearing her master bathing in the inner chamber, she’d pondered for a while, then requested blue cloth matching her master’s skirt. She cut it into a strip and sewed it onto the cuff—it actually turned out quite nice.

She picked up her Five-Colored Cloud Robe and admired it, growing more pleased the longer she looked. Mu Qian Tan emerged from her bath and caught her looking smug.

Shang Shan swung her legs. “Pretty?”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Didn’t I tell you not to go around naked?”

Shang Shan replied, “I was just mending the clothes. See? Pretty or not?”

Mu Qian Tan said, “Put it on first, then I’ll tell you.”

Shang Shan did as told and shook out the sleeves. “Pretty now?”

Mu Qian Tan was blunt. “Not pretty.”

“Master, you’re the worst!”

Fresh from the bath, her body felt utterly relaxed, and the room’s warmth amplified it. Mu Qian Tan ignored the girl’s grumbling, dried her hair in a hurry, and slipped under the covers. The soft bedding and mattress enveloped her bones in comfort; she had zero desire to get up.

Having lived frugally for so long, she’d assumed she wouldn’t adjust to this luxury. But her body remembered.

More precisely, her soul did.

It was still early; she wasn’t in a rush to sleep. After savoring the moment, she sat up against the headboard and read. She still had vast gaps in her knowledge—some of it crucial for later plot points. Even for her own sake, she had to study. Stock up now, and she’d handle things smoothly like she had in Pot City last time. She couldn’t afford to waste time again from knowledge gaps like when she’d first entered this world.

She memorized silently for a bit when she caught a flicker of movement in her peripheral vision. She glanced over and saw Shang Shan inching toward the bed’s edge, pretending not to look at her. Once up, she sprawled out motionless, angling for a sneaky spot right next to her.

Mu Qian Tan turned a page. “Get down.”

Shang Shan flipped over and thudded straight to the floor, vanishing from the bed in an instant.

Two pages later, a hand clawed its way back up. “I want to read too.”

“Go ahead.”

“I want to learn new things.”

“Mm.”

“Aren’t you curious what I’m learning?” Shang Shan dragged over the bundle of books she’d bought in Seton City. “Not even a little?”

Mu Qian Tan barely lifted her eyelids. “I’m more curious why you let her call you a dog and didn’t hit back.”

That line—”like a dog trailing behind”—had grated on her ears too. It just hadn’t been aimed at her, so she hadn’t spoken up.

Shang Shan pulled out a book. “Little dogs aren’t bad. Little dogs are the most loyal—the cutest little lives. Humans are the worst ones, but you use little dogs as an insult. That’s on you. Besides, I do follow you everywhere, and I’m happy to be your little dog. She wasn’t wrong.”

“. . .” Mu Qian Tan said, “Fine, whatever.”

Shang Shan asked, “You don’t like little dogs?”

Mu Qian Tan adjusted the pillow behind her waist. Pets that demanded time and emotional investment were off-limits for now. “Don’t like them.”

“Then I’m not a little dog.”

“Mm.”

“Do you like little cats?”

“Nope.”

“Then I’m not a little cat.”

Mu Qian Tan let out an inexplicable light chuckle and closed her book to swap it for another. Shang Shan heard the laugh; her ear tips flushed, her heart itching. She slapped the open book over her face and mumbled, “Then… do you like Shang Shan?”

Mu Qian Tan was about to reply when she noticed the extremely explicit cover on the book draped over the girl’s face. The words caught in her throat. She asked, “What’s that?”

“Huh?”

“What book is that in your hands?”

Shang Shan lowered it matter-of-factly. “Spring Palace Diagrams, duh.”