Humming a little tune, Zhou Chen didn't look back as he ambled lazily toward the top floor of Zuixian Tower.
The moment he stepped out of Bamboo Courtyard and turned his head, he saw a feminine-faced man leaning against the green-tiled brick wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
Si Ziyu.
Seeing him, Zhou Chen wasn't surprised at all. He chuckled and asked, "Yo, look who finally decided to come out?"
Much like Ying'er, Si Ziyu had stayed hidden in the shadows these past few days without ever showing his face, to the point that Xu Yuan assumed the only people protecting him were Zhou Chen and Ying'er.
Si Ziyu glanced at Zhou Chen with a faint smile on his lips. "I saw how strange you were acting and came out to ask: are you... planning to stick with the Third Young Master for good?"
He had observed the Third Young Master's recent conduct, as well as how he had previously put Zhou Chen in his place.
The young master certainly had some methods, but that was all they were—merely some methods.
Such tactics coming from the Third Young Master were indeed surprising, but on any other scion of a prominent clan, they were the most basic techniques for managing subordinates.
The Third Young Master's transformation had been enough to make his old friend rein himself in, but becoming as obedient as he was now seemed a bit excessive.
Zhou Chen chuckled and clapped a hand on Si Ziyu's shoulder, gesturing for them to talk as they walked. "I never said I'd stick with the Third Young Master forever. Doing these things for him is just to make up for the mess I caused before. Besides, doing this doesn't cost me anything real, and it satisfies the Third Young Master's pride. What's not to like?"
Pausing, Zhou Chen pointed toward the top floor of Zuixian Tower and grinned. "Keeping the Third Young Master happy has its perks, too."
Si Ziyu knew he was referring to the twin sisters, and his gaze turned disdainful.
Seeing this, Zhou Chen slung an arm around Si Ziyu's shoulders and snickered, "You people just care far too much about saving face, acting like losing face will ruin your mental state for cultivation.
"Si Ziyu, take the long view. Right now, the Third Young Master possesses an Innate Dao Body. If the prodigal son truly turns over a new leaf, with the way I'm performing now, I'll be his very first confidant. And if he doesn't, well, I certainly won't lack for good food, fine clothes, and all the pleasures of life~"
The alley was quiet, their voices confined within a half-zhang perimeter around them.
Si Ziyu shook his head helplessly and spat out two words: "Mercenary."
Zhou Chen wasn't offended in the slightest. He nodded in agreement. "Mercenary indeed. I'm not like you noble scions—I'm very poor."
Si Ziyu glanced at Zhou Chen, hesitating as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he held his tongue.
Sighing, he paused for a moment before suddenly asking, "By the way, what do you think of the Third Young Master's change?"
"......"
Hearing this, Zhou Chen immediately cut his eyes toward Si Ziyu as well.
The two stared at each other for several breaths.
"What do you mean by that?" The laughter vanished from Zhou Chen's voice.
"Before the Eldest Young Master left, he told us to keep an eye on the Third Young Master," Si Ziyu replied.
"You cultivate qi, so you should know better than I do that possession doesn't retain memories."
"......"
Si Ziyu fell silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. "It's true that it doesn't retain memories. But Zhou Chen, do you think the old Third Young Master could have disciplined you like that?"
Hearing this, Zhou Chen shook his head with a chuckle and countered, "Si Ziyu, do you think anyone would have paid attention if the old Third Young Master tried to pull that off?"
"......" Si Ziyu remained silent.
Zhou Chen let out a long sigh and patted Si Ziyu on the back. "Don't overthink it. Let's just report the facts truthfully. Leave the actual judgment to the Eldest Young Master and the Chancellor."
"Mm. Fine."
"Ah, right, do you want to head up to the top floor with me to have some fun?"
"What?"
"There's a pair of twin sisters~"
"...Get lost."
"Hahaha!"
Inside the elegant bamboo building, the chamber was dead silent.
All outside noise was completely shut out.
At times, Xu Yuan felt that transmigrating was quite a fine thing.
At least, the identity he had transmigrated into was a fine thing.
It allowed him to see up close just how breathtaking these celestial female protagonists truly were—and perhaps even taste their charms.
A true degenerate at heart.
Without wasting words on this woman of innate allure, Xu Yuan quietly watched the shifting expressions on Su Jinxuan's face after finishing his remark.
He wanted to deduce which route the protagonist of this world was on based on her next move.
In certain routes of Cangyuan, Su Jinxuan had already met the protagonist by this point, and feelings had even begun quietly blossoming between them during their time together.
The silence lingered in the chamber.
Su Jinxuan lightly pressed her red lips together, remaining silent for a long while.
Seeing that she wasn't moving, Xu Yuan raised his teacup, took a sip, and stared into her alluring, peach-blossom eyes. "Why aren't you moving?"
Su Jinxuan finally spoke in a soft, measured tone. "Young Master, please do not make things difficult for this humble girl..."
"Heh... It seems Miss Jinxuan requires a bit of assistance from this young master."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan rose directly and walked toward Su Jinxuan.
His former self would never have been this blunt.
Not out of tender consideration for the fair sex, but simply because having gorged on feasts too often, he had grown to relish the playful tease of flirting with beauties.
Life needed a sense of ceremony.
The more elaborate the foreplay, the more delicious the meal when finally savored.
Then again, that was probably one of the reasons his former self had been played like a lovesick fool by Su Jinxuan.
Xu Yuan had no intention of giving Su Jinxuan any room to maneuver.
Stepping close under Su Jinxuan's watchful gaze, Xu Yuan leaned down and reached out to grab the woman's low-cut red robe.
Neither hurried nor sluggish, but leaving ample time for her to react.
Su Jinxuan leaned her supple, boneless frame back slightly to evade his grasp. In the same motion, she pulled the jade hairpin from her coiffure, pressed it against her throat, and pursed her lips. "Third Young Master, please do not do this..."
With the jade hairpin pulled free, her cascading dark hair fell like a waterfall. The alluring woman's eyes held an exquisitely measured touch of defiance.
"......"
At her words and the look on her face, Xu Yuan inexplicably felt an imperceptible twinge of pity.
Yet in the very next instant,
the overwhelming sense of déjà vu from seeing a woman hold a hairpin to her neck made him chuckle aloud.
What era was this? Still pulling that trick?
"Pfft—"
Seeing this, Su Jinxuan bit her lip and pressed the hairpin inward with force.
The hairpin instantly broke through her fair skin, and rivulets of blood trickled along her collarbone, flowing down into that deep ravine.
"......"
His smile stiffening, Xu Yuan took a slow step back and held up a hand. "Jinxuan, this young master was only joking. Why take it so seriously?"
Su Jinxuan stared at Xu Yuan in silence.
Smiling, Xu Yuan retreated two more steps.
Only then did Su Jinxuan slowly lower the hairpin in her hand. Her chest rose and fell slightly, as if letting out a sigh of relief. "Third Young Master had better make fewer jokes like this..."
*Whoosh—*
A streak of crimson origin qi erupted from Xu Yuan's fingertip, shooting across the air straight for the wrist holding the hairpin.
"Ah!"
With a gasp, Su Jinxuan, utterly defenseless, let the hairpin slip from her grasp.
Yet upon seeing this, Xu Yuan did not press forward. Instead, he took two cautious steps backward.
He realized he had already fallen under a spell.
The Innate Soul Body made his intent-soul exceptionally resilient and sensitive, and combined with the Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art's powerful rejection of foreign influences, the moment his cultivation technique had circulated, Xu Yuan immediately realized that this woman's every move was subtly swaying his thoughts...
Chapter 41