Aunt Lou Ji

Xu Yuan paused slightly in his step, glancing back at her over his shoulder. Light rippled across the lake's surface, and a gentle breeze stirred the woman's long, black hair. Those peach blossom eyes—ordinarily so alluring they could bewitch anyone—appeared clear and luminous at this moment. Xu Yuan was quite pleased with Su Jinxuan's reaction. Compared to talking about feelings, he preferred talking about money most of the time. Talking money might hurt feelings, but talking feelings sometimes ruined both money and feelings. The cultivation secret art for the bewitching soul seed was precious, but only to someone with a Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique. Without that physique, no matter how valuable the manual was, it would only serve to prop up a wobbly table leg and gather dust. "Good. I'll remember it too, and I'll be waiting for you to repay me in the future." "Mm." Su Jinxuan hummed softly in assent, a trace of a smile showing in her lovely eyes as she carefully tucked the manual into her sleeve. The wetland lake basked in gentle breezes and bright sunlight, everything quietly serene in just the right measure. Under the warm winter sun, the two walked side by side, but after a short while, only the woman remained beside the tranquil lake. Xu Yuan had departed. Now that the investment had been made, he needed to report back to that old Aunt Lou Ji in the Imperial Capital. He made his way toward the northwestern courtyard. This time, the guards on duty did not stop him as they had in his memories. His status as the Third Young Master remained unchanged, and as his conduct had grown increasingly reliable over recent days, all the restricted zones within the estate had been opened to him. Entering the secluded, quiet secret chamber alone, he saw the massive spherical crystal used for communication resting quietly at the center of the formation runes on the floor. Over the past few days, Xu Yuan had used this contraption several times and already knew how to activate it. The transmission array was intricate, but activating it was remarkably simple. Stepping to the center of the empty chamber, Xu Yuan placed his hand onto the spherical crystal's surface. The next instant— *Hum—* With a low hum, a glow of white light spread outward from inside the spherical crystal, lighting up the intricate formation runes across the floor like water flowing through channels. A few breaths later, the brilliance faded, and the sphere that had rested against the floor floated gently into midair. Watching the sight before him, Xu Yuan let out a breath in quiet wonder. At times, he truly marveled at this world's tech tree; given a few more millennia to develop, they might actually manage to cook up some bizarre, cultivation-world version of a smartphone. The formation was active; next came "dialing." After fiddling with it for about a minute, Xu Yuan pulled his hand back from the Source Crystal's surface, sat down cross-legged, and began regulating his breath. Making a call in this world was a hassle; after all, the person on the other end couldn't be standing by the transmission array around the clock. After sitting cross-legged and meditating in the secret chamber for about half an hour, a woman's voice suddenly rang out: "Sorry to keep you waiting. Our Changtian actually deigned to reach out to his big sister of his own accord." The voice echoed through the quiet, empty chamber, so dripping with sultry charm that water could almost be wrung from it. Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes at the sound, her appearance reflexively surfacing in his mind. To be honest, judging purely by appearance and personality, this Lou Ji resembled a Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique far more than Su Jinxuan did. In her free time, Su Jinxuan always preferred wearing plain white robes to conceal her proud, voluptuous figure, whereas Lou Ji wandered around the Chancellor's Manor every day in low-cut gowns—a wardrobe choice that perfectly recreated the character portrait art from his previous life. A seductive, bewitching, venomous femme fatale. Of course, "venomous femme fatale" was only how the story's protagonist and his camp saw her. In the Black Scale Guards' central dungeon, several captured "uncles" and "aunts" of the protagonist were currently locked away; due to their Origin Realm physical resilience, almost all the torture was administered by her alone. The dreaded head of the Black Scale Guards, whose very name struck terror into people's hearts. But that was only toward outsiders. Lou Ji had always treated him exceedingly well. From his childhood right up to the present. She had once gone so far as to risk damage to her origin qi and regressing in realm just to use her cultivation art to forcibly cleanse his marrow and alter his tendons. It was only a pity that she failed. And that failure had directly cast a psychological shadow over his young mind back then. It had simply hurt too much. Having never cultivated, he hadn't understood any of it, only thinking that this malicious woman wanted to torture him... Reflecting on this, Xu Yuan spoke softly: "Aunt Lou..." "Call me Sister~" Lou Ji's tone was soft, smiling playfully. "Understood, Aunt Lou." "......" Lou Ji fell silent for a second before letting out a giggle. "Changtian really isn't being a good boy. Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson when you return to the Imperial Capital~" "Whatever you say," Xu Yuan replied. "Tsk, you're getting less and less cute." *Ahem.* Xu Yuan cleared his throat lightly, steering the topic back on track. "I've already given the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique manual to Su Jinxuan." Lou Ji's thoroughly alluring voice sounded somewhat sour. "I know. You had Ying'er come beg me for that thing just to hand it over to that vixen, didn't you?" Thanks to his memories, Xu Yuan was well-accustomed to her tone and countered directly, "Calling her a vixen... isn't that a bit rich coming from you?" Lou Ji didn't mind his words in the slightest, her tone remaining cheerfully teasing. "I don't have a Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique, so why can't I call her a vixen? You've only known her a few days and you're already speaking up for her. Your sister's heart is aching, you know~" Saying that, her voice took on a hint of grievance. "A manual worth fifty thousand taels on the market, handed away just like that. Because of this, that old man Hua Hong has been nagging me all day, demanding my Black Scale Guards compensate his Tian'an Chamber of Commerce fifty thousand taels." Hua Hong was one of his father's trusted confidants. President of the Tian'an Chamber of Commerce, he always wore scholarly spectacles like an old pedagogue. An absolute, incorrigible miser. "So did you pay him?" Xu Yuan asked with a smile. Hearing this question, Lou Ji went quiet for two seconds before snorting irritably. "Pay? Pay for what? Every single coin of my Black Scale Guards' money was earned with blood and lives. Why should I pay?" Hearing this, Xu Yuan immediately understood. The finances of the various factions under his father were relatively independent. Only in times of deficit would his father or that advisor uncle step in to allocate funds and cover the shortfall. As for where the Black Scale Guards got their money... The intelligence trade was a lucrative business no matter the world or dynasty. Moreover, judging by Ying'er's taciturn nature, Xu Yuan suspected the Black Scale Guards ran an assassination business on the side as well. Xu Yuan snapped out of his thoughts. Then, he realized that the dreaded leader of the Black Scale Guards was still muttering away on the other side like a resentful woman: "...My Black Scale Guards compile information and investigate inside scoops for his Tian'an Chamber of Commerce every single day. Never mind that the chamber doesn't pay me a cut, they even hold back their intelligence payments! And now he dares turn around and demand money from me?! "Ha! An item bought for a thousand taels, and he wants me to pay fifty thousand? The old bastard actually has the nerve to say that out loud!" Even across tens of thousands of li, Xu Yuan could feel the deep-seated resentment this older woman had harbored for who knew how long. Pausing, she took a deep breath on the other end and suddenly piped up: "Changtian, your big sister is right, isn't she?" The corner of Xu Yuan's eye twitched slightly. Clearing his throat, he agreed, "Right. Totally extortionate." No personal bias, purely genuine feeling. This Tian'an Chamber of Commerce was just as ruthless as in his previous life. Acquiring a manual for one thousand taels and selling it for fifty thousand—a fifty-fold gouge. "Hehehe~" Hearing Xu Yuan's agreement, Lou Ji's voice turned delighted, and she said with a bright laugh, "Changtian is the best. You must have other business contacting your sister, right? Do you want elixir pills, or intelligence? Or if you want someone killed, you can tell your sister too~" Lou Ji's obsession with the word "sister" seemed exceptionally deep. Xu Yuan hesitated slightly before declining. "No need. I wanted to ask how the Black Scale Guards plan to deal with Qin Weijiu." "Ah~ that..." Lou Ji's alluring voice trailed out lingeringly. "Is it confidential?" Xu Yuan frowned. "Call me Sister and I'll tell you~" Lou Ji giggled. "......" Xu Yuan was speechless. "All right, all right, if you don't want to say it, don't. Why go silent?" Lou Ji said with mock petulance. She thoroughly enjoyed teasing him. Pausing for a few breaths and seeing that he remained quiet, the amusement in Lou Ji's voice gradually receded. "Actually, even if you hadn't brought this up, Changtian, I would have contacted you in a few days to ask you a question." "Ask away, Auntie." "......" Lou Ji fell silent. Lou Ji gave a soft huff. "Ahem. Are you willing to part with that Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique?" Xu Yuan was somewhat surprised to hear this. "Auntie, what do you mean by that?" "......" Huffing once more, Lou Ji resumed in her usual voice, "If you're willing to let her go, I plan to deploy her as an undercover agent. She might die." These words carried quite a bit of information. Xu Yuan had previously assumed Xu Changge came all the way to Jingjiang Prefecture specifically to kill Qin Weijiu, but now it seemed that was not the case. If Qin Weijiu were killed, Su Jinxuan naturally wouldn't be able to return to his side. Pondering for a few moments, Xu Yuan answered with a question of his own: "There's someone behind Qin Weijiu?" "Hm?" Lou Ji let out a surprised murmur, her tone sounding caught off guard, but she immediately laughed with delight. "It seems our Changtian has gotten smarter. Over the past month or so, our Black Scale Guards uncovered some clues. Qin Weijiu might not be the man at the top." "Nothing more?" Xu Yuan pressed. Lou Ji's voice grew somewhat helpless. "Changtian, the situation in the Imperial Capital right now is extremely complicated. We don't have the leeway to attend to other matters. Without alerting them, this is all we could dig up. If we want to dig deeper, we can only resort to other means." "Is that so..." Xu Yuan understood. "So, Changtian, are you willing to part with her?" Lou Ji asked again, seemingly genuinely caring about what he thought. "Of course." Xu Yuan smiled at her question. He hadn't invested in her out of charity. A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step. From ruthless powerhouses at the top like Lou Ji and Hua Hong, down to grassroots dynamos like Zhou Chen, all had been cultivated step-by-step by his father. He just hadn't expected that no sooner had he made his investment than he would need to put her to use. Pausing, Xu Yuan nonetheless offered a quiet reminder: "Still, it would be best to see what she wants." A willing undercover agent and a coerced one were entirely different matters. Lou Ji chuckled in response. "Rest assured, I already asked her through Ying'er earlier. She said she's willing." Xu Yuan was left speechless. When it came to major matters like this, Lou Ji's inquiry was indeed merely a formality; she had already set things in motion behind the scenes. Xu Yuan didn't mind this, but simply continued his reminder, "Aunt Lou, Su Jinxuan's temperament doesn't seem quite suited for acting as an inside operative." Xu Yuan was telling the truth. This succubus miss came across as not particularly sharp. In the carriage, he had coaxed a great deal of information out of her with just a few sentences. Moreover, she had no idea how to conceal her inner emotions. Acting as a mole would make her very easy to catch. "Not suited to be an inside operative?" Lou Ji laughed lightly. "Don't worry. Things like personality and conversational skills can be trained into someone, after all." "Trained?" Xu Changtian raised an eyebrow. Lou Ji's voice carried a hint of seductive enticement. "If you're interested, Changtian, I can have Ying'er take you along to try it out too. That way, you'll always call me Sister in the future, hehehehe~" Xu Yuan shuddered. "Never mind." As the saying went, leave professional matters to professionals. Once Lou Ji had laughed her fill, she suddenly instructed, "Right, although that Su Jinxuan has already agreed, it would be best for you to ask her in person, Changtian." "Why?" Xu Yuan didn't catch on right away. Lou Ji's voice carried a touch of chiding reproach. "You really don't understand a woman's heart, Changtian. If you don't go ask her, that vixen will be heartbroken. When that happens, she might end up belonging entirely to my Black Scale Guards~" "......" Xu Yuan realized: the older woman was telling him to cultivate his own direct loyalists. Just as his father had done with Lou Ji. "Thank you," Xu Yuan said earnestly. "Don't thank me, call me Sister." Lou Ji's grudge on this point ran truly deep. "Fine, Sister." Xu Yuan indulged her. Hearing the word "Sister," Lou Ji laughed with even greater delight. "Good boy! Do you have anything else to ask, Changtian?" Xu Yuan fell silent for a few breaths, then suddenly asked, "Did you know that Qin Weijiu wants me to ambush and kill Qin Mo?" "Of course I know. That little beast left over from Burial Village, right?" Lou Ji chuckled softly. "My original recommendation was to beat him at his own game—kill Qin Mo, and then seize the opportunity to send Su Jinxuan back to Qin Weijiu's side. But your brother vetoed it. He said it might put you in danger, so everything has to wait until he arrives." "......" Xu Yuan thought to himself. Fortunately, Xu Changge hadn't agreed; otherwise, Xu Yuan would have had to find an excuse to decline. He had no desire to charge through the Gates of Hell according to the original plotline. "Then if we refuse, how will we explain it to Qin Weijiu?" Lou Ji's voice was breezy. "Don't worry, an explanation has already been delivered to his side. We told him that you possess a secret treasure shielding your soul, so you cannot be fully controlled just yet." Xu Yuan said softly, "In that case, I have nothing more." Having finished discussing serious business, Lou Ji was in no rush to disconnect. Instead, she asked with a smile, "Don't be in such a hurry. Your sister still has something to ask you." "Ask away, Auntie." Xu Yuan reverted to his original address. "......" Lou Ji let out a soft huff before asking, "I heard from Ying'er that you haven't been visiting places like Zuixian Tower lately?" "Mm," Xu Yuan replied. "Why?" "Why what?" Xu Yuan countered. Lou Ji's voice sounded playful and amused. "Don't you miss those little ladies of yours?" "Of course I do," Xu Yuan said truthfully. "However, I find cultivation more interesting right now. Only by growing stronger can I prevent what happened before from repeating itself." "......" Lou Ji suddenly fell silent. Two brushes with death really had changed Changtian immensely... Letting out a sigh, she said gently, "Changtian, don't worry so much. Go relax once in a while. Even if trouble does arise, us elders will be here to hold up the sky for you." "Yet I still fell into their trap," Xu Yuan pointed out. Lou Ji suddenly felt her composure crack. "Tsk, I'm going to discuss this with that old bastard Hua Hong. Tomorrow, we'll petition the Chancellor together to bring you back to the Imperial Capital. In such a chaotic situation, what's the point of abandoning you in Jingjiang?" Xu Yuan felt a faint warmth in his heart and advised, "Auntie, this is a compromise between my father and Marquis Wucheng. That commandery princess probably doesn't want to see me anytime soon." "Sigh..." Lou Ji sighed, her enthusiasm dampened. "Fine. Once Changge gets there, he should make adjustments for your safety. Anything else?" "Yes." "What is it?" Xu Yuan cleared his throat. "*Ahem.* Sister, I'd like the most comprehensive internal intelligence report on the northern war."