"He—"
After waking up, Tian Qingfeng saw Luo Shuangfei standing nonchalantly by Miao Yi’s side and immediately pointed at him, gasping in surprise.
Miao Yi raised his hand and continued, "—has already surrendered to me."
‘Surrendered?’ Everyone was stunned, but they didn’t have any right to rebuke. They were actually a little ashamed—it had been their duty to protect Miao Yi. They never expected to be the ones being protected by him instead.
The School of Blue Jade disciples tidied up the place. They still chose to rest at the same spot for the time being.
Daybreak the following day, Miao Yi tossed Luo Shuangfei’s storage ring back to him, which surprised him a little.
"Uhh Cave Master. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll…" Luo Shuangfei waved his storage ring around, implying—‘Aren’t you afraid that I’ll ambush you once you return my weapon to me?’
Tian Qingfeng and the rest had already woken up, so it wouldn’t be so easy to ambush him now. Ignoring him, Miao Yi asked, "What about those subordinates of yours?"
When he thought about those subordinates that left him for dead, Luo Shuangfei ground his teeth in hatred, "When there was something to gain, everyone was eager to share. But when there was danger, they would cast their Boss aside and run away. Bunch of bastards. I’m better off without them!"
Miao Yi nodded, then motioned with his hand, "Let us hurry along on our journey then!"
A squad of dragon steeds galloped out of the valley. Luo Shuangfei caught up to Miao Yi and asked, "Uhh Cave Master. Where are we going exactly?"
"You’ll know once we’re there."
Luo Shuangfei turned to look at the men behind him, then switched to voice transmission and asked, "Last night, you were poisoned by my Black Rakshasa, then bitten by Zi’Er. How are you fine?"
"I don’t know."
"Cave Master, aren’t you being a little too aloof here? I’ve already become your subordinate. Just reveal a little something to me…"
A few days later, a black eagle with a wingspan over one zhang was circling around the sky at the their previous location. It has sleek black feathers, large and vicious talons; and a razor-sharp beak. Its head constantly moved, the gaze from its gold irises sweeping across the mountain range beneath it with a ferocious and terrifying aura.
On its back, was a black panther with a powerful build. The panther had spiny blue quills on its back, just like a porcupine; and a pair of sharp fangs looming over its lower jaw. It kept sniffing around with its red nose.
The giant black eagle was hovering up in the sky with the black panther on his back. It was a strange sight to behold.
‘Growl….’ The black panther suddenly lifted its head and growled. Then, abruptly jumped off with its mighty legs, falling straight from the sky towards the ground beneath them.
The black eagle circled around in the air once more, then gave out a high-pitched screech before quickly swerving around to fly off. It became a black spot, and eventually disappeared into the distance.
The odd-looking panther had nimbly descended onto the ground by then. It sniffed around the surrounding mountain forest, then quickly dashed past the trees. Soon, it arrived at a river nestled in a valley, and paced about the riverside, constantly sniffing around.
Shortly after, the black eagle that had flown off, returned carrying a black-robed man on its back. The man was tall and slim, with a complexion fair like jade. Stroking his three long tufts of facial hair against the billowing wind, his gaze was deep and still like the ocean.
The black panther by the valley's river below howled at the skies. The black-robed man looked down at it, then vanished from the black eagle’s back; descending onto the river valley in the blink of an eye. He surveyed his surroundings, before coldly remarking, "There was a battle here, Little Hei. Are you sure that the Young Princess was here before?"
The black panther began shining with a blue light as it approached, shapeshifting into a blue-haired man. He spread his arms and stood up, cupping his fists, "Sir Zuo. This place has a trace of Zi’Er’s scent that’s a few days old. If we didn’t chance upon this place as we did and came by even a moment later, I’m afraid that even I wouldn’t have been able to detect anything."
The black-robed Sir Zuo threw a cold gaze at him, "Little Hei. Zi’Er usually never leaves the Young Princess’s side."
The blue-haired man called Little Hei understood what he meant, and replied, "It’s precisely because Zi’Er’s scent is a little special that it’s easy to identify. The average person would have a hard time leaving any sort of trace in such a breezy place after two days. I suspect the Young Princess has some way of concealing her scent."
Sir Zuo’s eyes brightened, "Why do you think this is the case?"
Little Hei pointed around him, and said, "The surrounding vicinity doesn’t have any trace of Zi’Er’s scent. Only this place does. This clearly shows that someone knew it would be easy to track them once they exposed Zi’Er’s scent, and likely kept Zi’Er hidden all this while. The only one who knows about this is probably the Young Princess. Which is why I am confident that she has been concealing herself this entire time."
Sir Zuo’s eyes gleamed as he swept his gaze across the river bank, "Even though the Young Princess knew that she would be easily discovered if she released Zi’Er, she still used it here. What’s more, this was the scene of a battle. It seems like the Young Princess met with some sort of trouble. Let’s hope that she’s alright."
He continued, "With this, it seems that the Young Princess should be within the domain of the Celestial Nation. At least we have an idea of her location. This little Junior Sister is really such a handful. It seems we’ll have to send word to the search parties in the other nations, and have them focus their efforts in the Celestial Nation."
After saying this, the black eagle hovering in the air swooped down into the valley. The two men jumped onto the its back, then they quickly flew off into the distance….
At a brothel called Rouge Manor.
In a private room, amidst a table full of fine foods, wine, and the high-pitched laughter of women, Miao Yi was wedged between two young ladies; utterly speechless.
He watched Luo Shuangfei seated on the opposite end, endlessly laughing in a lewd manner. He laughed in delight as he wrapped his arms around two young ladies, kissing one, then the other; having a sip of the wine offered by the lady on the left, then tasting the food fed to him by the lady to the right.
Even more confounding were his hands, constantly groping the bodies of the two young ladies; forcing them to frequently squeeze their legs, twist their bodies, and cover their chests. They would teasingly joke, "Young Master is so bad."—to which Luo Shuangfei would madly laugh in response. He was completely enjoying himself.
Their party had journeyed far before finally reaching this city. Some of them were stationed just outside the city to keep watch over their mounts, while some entered the city to purchase a few necessities. Meanwhile, Luo Shuangfei had dragged Miao Yi with him, telling him that he was going to bring him to a nice place.
Along their journey, Miao Yi realized that Luo Shuangfei was rather knowledgeable, so he had a high opinion of him, thinking that he had recruited a talented individual. Miao Yi’s knowledge was severely lacking, so he would ask for Luo Shuangfei’s opinion at times. This was also why he didn’t reject Luo Shuangfei’s invitation when he asked.
He never imagined that Luo Shuangfei would actually drag him to a place like this.
As they entered, Miao Yi saw how Luo Shuangfei acted like he was the boss, shouting orders and casually throwing his money about after taking a quick look around the place. This bastard was clearly a frequent patron of such places. He knew his way around extremely well.
In the midst of his merrymaking, Luo Shuangfei would secretly glance over at Miao Yi from time to time. He saw that Miao Yi was completely disinterested with the two ladies serving by his side all this while. The two young women reluctantly serving him could only sit coolly by the side, and watch the excitement over on the other end of the table.
After giving a kiss to the two ladies by his side, Luo Shuangfei let go of them, then leaned forward and asked, "Brother Miao. Do the ladies here not catch your fancy? We can change them if you’re dissatisfied. We’ll keep changing them until you’re pleased."
It was best not to address him as Cave Master since they were already in a brothel.
Miao Yi indifferently said, "Hurry up."
"Then could it be you’re dissatisfied because there are too few ladies?" asked Luo Shuangfei. He didn’t wait for Miao Yi to answer before giving the ladies beside him a push, "Four of you, serve him together! Ladies, you’ll have to showcase your best skills today. As long as this Lord is satisfied with your services, you’ll be heavily rewarded!"
‘PAH!’ Luo Shuangfei dropped a large bag of Gold Crystals on the table. It was probably worth about a few hundred thousand White Crystals.
The four ladies’ eyes instantly brightened. All four of them held onto Miao Yi, and tried their hardest to please him in any way possible. On the other side, Luo Shuangfei looked on with delight whilst pinching the hair of the black mole on his face.
If they were in East Arrival City, Miao Yi could simply toss out the ladies who were constantly annoying him. However, they were in someone else’s territory, which made these ladies the followers belonging to said person’s domain.
"Let’s go!" Miao Yi shouted at Luo Shuangfei. He didn’t have the patience to accompany him any longer. Tearing himself away from the ladies, he stood up and took his leave.
As soon as he opened the door, Luo Shuangfei yelled from behind him, "Very soon. Very soon. Just wait a little while longer."
Miao Yi turned around and saw Luo Shuangfei had already brought the four ladies with him to the bedside.
Luo Shuangfei pushed the four ladies onto the bed. As he quickly undressed them, he poked his head out and shouted, "Brother Miao. Please help me close the door. I’ll finish this quickly. Please wait a moment."
Miao Yi was lost for words. He stepped outside, closed the door, then waited in the corridor with his hands behind his back.
Inside, Luo Shuangfei laughed lewdly and ripped out a few strips of fabric, tying them around the eyes of the four ladies.
"Young Master. Why are you blindfolding us?"
"To make things more interesting."
"So Young Master likes these sort of things!"
The rustling sounds of clothes being taken off came from within the room, accompanied by Luo Shuangfei’s devious laughter.
Soon, the shameless moans of the women could be heard from inside the room. Miao Yi waited outside with his hands behind his back, not fazed in the least. If he wasn’t worried that the bastard had something else planned, he would’ve left him here long ago.
Luo Shuangfei’s so-called ‘moment’ ended up with Miao Yi waiting outside for two whole hours. There were a few times when he wanted to go inside and rush him, but the lustful voices inside stopped him from barging in.
‘Clack!’ The door opened, and Luo Shuangfei walked out with an expression full of vigor. He gave his clothes a little tug and tightened his sash, then cupped his fists towards Miao Yi, "I’ve made Brother Miao wait long."
A sinful smell drifted out from inside the room. Miao Yi furrowed his brows, and quickly turned to leave.
Seeing Miao Yi leave with hurried steps, Luo Shuangfei puckered his lips and snickered.
Followed by the earnest invitations of the madam for them to come again, the two walked out of the Rouge Manor. Miao Yi turned to face Luo Shuangfei and warned, "Don’t come to these places so often from now on."
Luo Shuangfei was puzzled and asked, "Where else can men go if not to places like these? Are you dissatisfied because the ladies here aren’t beautiful enough? Don’t worry. I won’t disappoint you next time."
"I don’t have much of an interest towards such establishments."
"How is that possible? How can there be a cat that’s not interested in fish in this world? You can stop pretending. I am also a man. How can there be a man who is not interested in these things?" As he walked beside Miao Yi, Luo Shuangfei leaned his head forward and examined his expression. Seeing the indifferent look on his face, Luo Shuangfei couldn’t help asking, "This can’t be your first time in such a place, right?"
This question was an awkward topic for someone who had never experienced such things before. Miao Yi refused to answer, and took large strides towards the crowded street.
However, Luo Shuangfei wouldn’t let the matter rest, and continued to pester him, "Is it really your first time visiting such an establishment?"
"I told you I have no interest in these immoral establishments."
"Immoral?" Luo Shuangfei chased up Miao Yi and sized him up a few times. Then he sighed, "I get it now. I forgot that you have personal handmaidens! That’s why the common girls here don’t catch your fancy. Alas, I can’t compete with you. You have your personal handmaidens doing these things for you. People like me can only come to these places. That’s right! Are those handmaidens of yours pretty? How pretty are they?"
Miao Yi was too tired to even bother with him.
However, Luo Shuangfei was relentless, and kept heckling Miao Yi on the subject. Even going so far as to ask Miao Yi if he often did it with his own handmaidens, or not.
Miao Yi was starting to go crazy. As soon as they departed the city gates, and he saw that fellow still jabbering away, he couldn’t help rebuking, "My focus is entirely on my cultivation. I haven’t before participated in such depraved acts before. In future, speak less of it when I am around.
"You haven’t done it with your personal handmaidens either? That’s impossible. You’re definitely lying to me."
"If you mention this again, don’t blame me for being discourteous!" Miao Yi gave Luo Shuangfei a serious warning, then swept his arm and left.
Frozen where he stood, Luo Shuangfei’s eyes gleamed. Back in the brothel, he noticed Miao Yi’s reaction and was a little suspicious about whether Miao Yi had done those such things before or not. Now that he forced the words out of Miao Yi himself, he couldn’t help biting his lip. Then, he snorted, "I don’t believe you!"