Xuanqing Guard

"Lord Shen, is this your idea of decorum? You probably already have some idea about Lian Xiang’s situation, so what’s the point of pestering her like this? Or did you never have good intentions from the start?"

Ning Ziye’s words were especially cutting—classic "If you don’t do things my way, you’re just not a decent person!"

Shen Hao was all too familiar with this kind of argument; there were plenty like this in his past world, and he never bothered with any of them.

He just gave Ning Ziye one last glance, the corners of his mouth curling up as if watching a joke, then turned and jumped off the bell tower, leaving together with Nie Yun.

Really... just left like that?!

Ning Ziye still had quite a lot left unsaid, but watching Shen Hao leave without so much as a backward glance, she was genuinely... incredulous for a moment. How long had it been since anyone dared not give her face like this?! She was the famous Ning Ziye of the Le Family in the Jingjiu Dynasty! Admirers as countless as the Bai River, followers everywhere she went—But this... this Shen guy was clearly not right in the head!

By Ning Ziye’s reckoning, since she was coming forward personally, she’d at least be able to talk to Shen Hao on equal footing. Then she’d spell out the risks, and get this lazy toad to stay away from Lian Xiang. That way, Lian Xiang would be kept in Hong’en Hall and never get close to this Shen guy ever again, and whatever little spark she had for him would quietly die out with time.

Ning Ziye had seen plenty of men lusting after beauty like this, all heartless bastards. They’d sweet-talk you one day, throw gold at your feet, promise the world—whatever it took. But as soon as they had you, they’d get bored after three or five months and toss you away like old shoes. Some would even turn the story around and claim you’d tricked them, complain endlessly that the relationship wasn’t worth it...

According to Xiaorong, this Shen was a recently-promoted, notorious young Hundred Households in Xuanqing Guard, ruthless to the core, nicknamed ’Evil Star’, and rumored to be a direct disciple of Jiang Cheng, the Governor of Jingxi. Well trusted, no less. Plus, he’d climbed to this level from the very bottom of Xuanqing Guard. His cultivation had already reached Gathering Spirit Realm, Fifth Layer.

Someone like that—not even thirty and already doing so well—would be the darling of the mundane world. Would he really throw it all away for a songstress?

What’s more, by Lian Xiang’s account, this Shen guy seems to have already guessed something about her true identity, and is convinced that she’s far from just some ordinary songstress. That can’t be good! If Shen happens to be up to no good or leaks her identity, Lian Xiang’s fate is basically sealed—getting thrown into the Black Abyss would be the least of her worries.

So Ning Ziye wanted Shen Hao to back off, and she’d even mapped out a few strategies. For example, try reasoning with him emotionally, or tempt him with profit. He might be successful, but he’s not from a Sect, so cultivation resources are bound to be lacking. Ning Ziye felt that if she really bled a little and bribed him with some quality elixirs or spirit stones, she could probably buy him off.

If that didn’t work, she could always resort to force. A mere Gathering Spirit Realm Fifth Layer cultivator—Ning Ziye didn’t even have him in her sights, and had plenty of shadowy tricks to make him toe the line. The easiest was using a soulquake ’sound’ to mess with his cultivation, making him completely unable to enter into a cultivation state. That would be enough to ruin Shen’s day. For more, she could even silently shatter his cultivation foundation without him noticing, and so on.

But before coming here, Ning Ziye had never imagined she’d get snubbed before her speech was even halfway finished, and then get asked "Who the hell do you think you are?" straight to her face.

Forget about trying profit; there’s no way she could swallow this indignity. But using force? Suddenly she didn’t dare. Not even her sneakiest tricks would work now—because she’d just realized Nie Yun was so close to this Shen fellow. Even though the two hadn’t talked in front of her, Nie had accompanied Shen Hao all the way over in the middle of the night, playing the part of a guard—now that spoke volumes.

Dare go after Nie Yun’s friends? That’s basically courting death. In all of Jingxi Territory, aside from those Profound Sea Realm powerhouses, you could count on one hand the people bold enough to try that shit.

So what now? Go fry some eggs and call it a day!

At this moment, Ning Ziye was in an absolutely foul mood, and even more dead set against Lian Xiang getting all sentimental about this Shen guy. From the looks of it, Lian Xiang was just digging her own grave.

No way! I have to find a way to make Lian Xiang give up this idea.

...

On the other side, back in his courtyard, Shen Hao was absolutely speechless. He’d said he didn’t want to get involved, but Nie Yun just wouldn’t believe him and dragged him off to "smooth out his thoughts"—what a waste of half an hour.

"Sleep, time for bed. What a waste of a trip." Shen Hao was about to turn back inside when Nie Yun grabbed his arm.

"Hold on, got a question for you."

"What?"

"That woman just now—what’s her name? Where’s she from?"

This time, it was Shen Hao’s turn to smirk. He gave Nie Yun a once-over—up and down, round and round—staring until Nie Yun actually took two steps back, before finally saying, "So that’s why you were so eager to push me to meet that Sound Cultivator, Nie. You’ve got your own plans, huh? Not going to explain yourself?"

"Heh, what’s to explain? That woman had a diamond-shaped Red Jade Pendant, with a Shadow Mist Flower engraving. I used to have a friend with one just like it, also a Sound Cultivator. I’ve searched for a long time—never thought I’d run into her today. So I wanted to check."

Nie Yun’s laid-back attitude didn’t seem all that interesting, but come on, it was Shen Hao we’re talking about—he saw the little spark of excitement flash over Nie Yun’s face.

Ever since Shen Hao got to know Nie Yun, aside from the moment right before a fight when he got hyped, the guy always played it cool, doing things as the mood took him. No way would he get excited just over a regular acquaintance; if anything, he was working extra hard to hide that excitement from Shen Hao.

You’re acting real sus, you know that?!

Smiling with eyes narrowed, Shen Hao watched Nie Yun for a good while but didn’t push for details. After all, not everything needs to be said out loud. If Nie didn’t want to talk, he wasn’t going to be annoying about it.

"That woman’s pretty famous—Ning Ziye. Oh, you probably haven’t heard of her; from the secular world, a Le Family performer who goes around selling her art, playing instruments and singing songs. As for the rest, her identity’s a bit of a mystery—I couldn’t say much more." Shen Hao kept things vague and didn’t dig deeper; for example, he didn’t mention his suspicions about Lian Xiang. Whether she was related to Ning Ziye or not, it wasn’t something to blurt out—even to his buddy.

"Le Family? Ning Ziye?" Nie Yun repeated the names, nodding to show he’d made a note of them.

"She’s probably still in Fengri City these days. If you want to find her, go to Hong’en Hall."

"Hong’en Hall? That’s a Flower House, isn’t it?"

"Yeah."

"I’m broke." Nie Yun just looked at Shen Hao, holding out his right hand like it was the most natural thing in the world, palm open.

Shen Hao: "I..."

I have seriously never met anyone this shameless in my life!